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Digitized by the Internet Archive
in 2011 with funding from
Princeton Theological Seminary Library
http://www.archive.org/details/parallelofdoctriOOboye
qq^ V /CW^jT- s?"s/Ts
TrtL
i t r
PARALLEL
O F T H E
Doctrine of the Pagan s,
WITH THE
Doctrine of the $&&M$%& ;
And- that of the
Conftitution UNIGENITUS
ISSUED BY
Pope C % € ÔP € 0 % XI.
Divided into feveral Chapters and Sections, Shew- ing the contrary Sentiments of the Pagans and Jesuits,
CONCERNING,
I. The Knowledge and Love of God and Jufrice.
II. The Worfhip due to God, and the Love due to our Neighbour.
III. Sins of Ignorance, and wilful or premeditated Sins.
IV. Precipitant Abfolutions.
V. The fervile Fear of God.
VI. Vain Swearing.
VII. Concupifcence, and the fenfual Pleafures.
VIII. Publick Shews, loofe Converfation , obfcene Tracts, lafcivious Looks and Behaviour.
IX. Sins of the Marriage Bed.
X. Pimps and Procurers.
XI. Luxury and Vanity of Women.
XII. Gluttony and Drunken- nefs.
XIII. The Murder of Kings,
I will difcover thy Skirts upon thy Face, and I will fieiv the Nations thy Nakednefs, and the Kingdoms thy Shame.
And I will cafi abominable Filth upon thee, and make thee "Silei and ^ill [et thee as a gazing Stock. Nahum iii. 5, 6.
Translated from the Original printed in France. To which are added, Copies of the faid Ccnftitution, and of the 101 Pro- posions of Father Quefnel thereby condemned.
LONDON, Prinred for J.Pemberton at the Buck and Sin in Fleet Jlreet, 1726.
Daily Courant, September 10. 171 £.
Arrêt of the Court of Parliament of Paris, of the 29th of Auguft, 172^.
Extracl of the Regifters of the Parliament.
This Day the King's Council entred the Court, and M. Peter Gilbert de Voifins, the King's Advocate, fpeaking for the reft, faid,
MeJJieurs,
WE are bound in Duty to lay before the Court a printed Piece, a Copy whereof we have got, which bears all the Characters of a moll fcan- dalous Libel.
It is entitled, A Parallel of the Doelrine of the Pagans with that of the Je fuit s, and of the Conftitu- tion of Pope Clement XL which begins with thefe Words^ Unigenitus Dei Filius : And this Title, in- jurious in it felf, is accompanied with a PafTage out of the Holy Writ, the unjuftifiable Mifapplication whereof, mews the higheft Pitch of Animofity.
The fame Spirit runs thro' the whole Work ; for wherever the Author oppofes the Moral of the Pagans to that of the molt remifs Cafuift, and picks out of the Writings of the latter all that a perni- cious Subtlety could fuggeft moft oppofite to the Purity of the Chriftian Moral, 'tis not fo much with an Intent to confute the fame, as to injure a whole Religious Society, and efpecially to declaim againft the Conftitution Unigenitus.
Tranfported by the Paflion which blinds him, every thing that confutes beforehand his Invectives and Calumnies againft that Bull, irritates him the more. Nothing is fafe from the Strokes of his en-
venom'd
venom'd Pen -, neither the Memory of the late Pope Clement XI. Author of the Conftitution, nor the Bifhops who accepted it, nor even the good In- tention of thole who zealoufty endeavour'd to pro- cure Peace to the Church.
His Indifcretion carries him .-even to renew the Remembrance of fuch Opinions as ought to be con- demned to an eternal Oblivion, the Enormity whereof has filled cur Forefathers with Horror, and which they have ftifled as Monirers -, all which he does as it were to fiiew, that there are Hill fome who dare aiTert them, or that it is to be feared the fame may be revived before your Eyes, and go unpunifhed.
Such a bold and unwarrantable Writing cannot but raife y t Indignation ; and we think it ufelefs to lay more of it, in order to juilify the Severity of our Conclufions, which we leave to the Confi- deration of the Court.
The King's Coimcil being withdrawn, the above- mentioned Libel fhewn, and the Matter taken into Confederation, the Court ordained, that the laid Libel be torn in pieces and burnt by the common Hangman in the Court of the Palace, at the Foot of the great Stair-cafe : Forbidding moreover all Printers, Bookfeliers, Hawkers, and others, to print, fell, or otherwife diitribute the firme ; and enjoining all thofe who have any Copies thereof, to bring them forthwith to the Chamber of the Roll, in order to be fappreiled, Wc. Which Sentence was accordingly executed on Tburfda-] the 2cth of Au- gufi, 1726.
vBÈk
^mm
TO THE
Right Reverend Father in God,
BENJAMIN,
Lord Bilhop of
S A R U M.
May it pleafe your Lord/hip^
Do my felf the Honour to at- tend your Lordfhip with the Copy, if I may fo call it, of an Original Painting in two Parts, which, with your Lordfhip's Indulgence, I will A venture
ii Dedication.
venture to compare to a Night piece and a Storm. In the former, are re- preiented the beautiful Rays of Light which glimmered in the dark Ages of rude uncultivated Nature : In the latter, fome of the blackejt Clouds that have appear ?d in the Chnftian Horizon fince the Revelation of the Glorious Light of the Gofpel 5 attend- ed with the fatal Shipwreck that ma- ny drunken Pilots of Believers have made of the Faith in Chrijls»- Tis in other words, my LORD, a Tranflation of a Treatife writ by a Foreign Divine, to fliew the different^ the contrary Leflbns taught by the P A- G A N S and JESUITS, concerning the Knowledge, Love, and Fear of the DIVINE BEING, as well as the Practice of Moral Virtue and Vice.
The
Dedication. iii
The Original, was no fooner print- ed in a neighbouring Kingdom, than it was fupprefs'd, and even lmother'd by the Flames of Authority 5 but af- ter having been brought over to Eng- land with great Hazard and Difficulty, was directed to be tranflated into Eri-
This Tranflation, my LORD, I have moft humbly prefum'd to dedicate to your Lordfliip, and to fub- mit to your favourable Conftru&ion, not doubting but the Reverend Au- thor, who feems to have had TRUTH always in View, and to have purfued it with equal Courage and Candour, and who muft on this Account be the more acceptable to your LORD- SHIP, woud have made the fame Choice if he had writ it within the A 2 EngTtJb
iv Dedication.
Engli/h Tale. But unhappy for him, he has followed fo çlofe at the Heels of Truth, that he has difgufted an imperi- ous implacable Order of Men abroad, who, finding him deltitute of fuch a PATRONasyour LORDSHIP, have taken a fummary Method to convince him, to his dear Experience, that THEIR Sovereigns KING- DOM IS OF THIS WORLD.
I perfwade my felf however, that it will be no fmall Comfort to him to find his Work mfcrib'd to your Lordfliip, whofe Conftancy and Sue- cefs in Defence of the TRUTH, has made YOUR NAME dear to all Pious Chriflians wherefoever difpers'd 3 and whofe candid Reception of it in what Language foever it comes, encou- rages me to hope alfo that you will pleafe to honour this Tranflation with
your Countenance.
I
Dedication. v
I intreat yourLordftiip's Pardon for this bold Intrufion 3 and take Leave to fubfcribe,
MILORD,
Tour Lordjh'tfs moji devoted,
moji obedient and,
moji humble Servant,
Stephen Whatley.
THE
[vu]
T H E
PREFACE,
By way of an Epiftolatory Addrefs from the Author, to the Reverend Fathers the JESUITS.
Y 01) already perceive \ my Fathers, what is the Thrift of this Treatife, by the Title of it. yTis only to com- pare the moral 'Precepts of the Pagans with the "Doctrine of your Society, of which the Bull is a Vindication. Nothing in Nature can be fairer than fuch an Undertaking, and yet, perhaps, nothing will feem to you more hateful and more intolerable.
For as no body Jo well knows your un- common Merit ; and fince you have ftil'd your Je Ives, ' A Society, not of Men, but
* of Angels, and the Spirits of Eagles, the 1 Lights of Mankind, the Preceptors of 1 all the World, the Reformers of Manners,
• who have baniflfd Vice, and made Virtue < to flourijk (*)/ Good God ! you'll fay,
(a) Such is the Charafier the Jefaits of Flanders give of their Society, in their Book intitled, Image du premier fiécle de la Societatc de Jefus. See Pages 4i054o65*7>53>4oi,$o,36,£22.
A 4 Jhall
viii The PREFACE.
jhall fach Men be compared with Thilofo-
phers, Orators, and 'Poet s ! * What, jhall
4 W E, who are a Company of Phœnixes,
' Men eminent both for Learning and Wif-
* dom ; new Sampfons ; fliall W E who are
' the guardian Angels and Trotetlors of 4 the Church ; W E generous Lions, who
* came into the World arm'd with Head-
* pieces y whofe youngeji Novices are worth
* Men of a hundred Tears old, and whofe
* Brothers are more than Thilofophers. ' Shall W E, in fhort, who are that Lace f of Gold, Blue, Silk, Turple ana Scarlet, ' which the Scripture calls the Breajiplate
* °f judgment, and who are worn upon ' the Breafl of the High-Triefl of the Jews ;
* Jhall we be paralleled with the profane
* Vulgar ! '
T)on't exclaim fo loud, my Fathers, mo- derate your Complaints. Ton fee already that I don't conceal your Titles : I neither alter nor diminijh them. I jhall punctually exhibit the reji of 'em in due Time and Tlace, and will take care to omit none ; for the moji zealous of all your Tanegyrijls, let him be who he will, cannot be more im- patient than I am to fet you forth in your true Colours and Magnitude.
yTis trtte^ and I cannot help confejfng to
youj that notwithjianding the high Opinion
you entertain of your fives, I tremble for
you not a little. I very much fear, that
when the Tub lick has read your T)oitrine^
they
The PREFACE. ix
they will think your whole Society falls fomewhat jhort of what they are in your Efteem, viz. * A Company of Angels (b),
* foretold by Ifaiah in thefe Words (c), Go 4 forth, ye fvvift MefTengers.' / fear the World will allow you but a fcanty Tortion of that pompous Character given you by Ef- cobar ; and that they will not fo readily be- lieve as that honeji Father, that you are the True TDoEiors of the Church, that your Maxims are as ' fo many Revelations, pro- ■ ceeding out of the Mouth of the Lamb
* (d), and given to the chief Authors of
* your Society as his chofen Scribes! I fear alfo, that when the Reader comes to fee the difference betwixt the Tagans Mora- lity and yours, betwixt the Bull which canonizes your Errors, and Reafon which condemns them, I fear that they will then- call to mind all your pompous Titles, and fay to you with Cicero, ■ That (e) it is a ' very ugly thing for a Man to talk much
* of himfelf; especially with Thrafo that "* vainglorious HeBor, to brag of things
* that are fal/e} and to make Sport for the '• Company!
(h) Ibid. p. 401. (<:) Jfaiabxym, 2.
(d) Ego folurumodo fnemoro referationem fa&um ab agno fuis Autoribus Jefuitis. Efcob» in idea open's in fine.
(e) Déforme etiam eft de feipfo prasdicare, falfa praefertim ; & cufti irrifione audiemium ijimari miïitôm gloriofurn. Cicer. "de Cffic. L. i. c. 38.
But,
x The PREFACE.
But, my Fathers % I would not have you think, that while I undertake to fcatter your T>arknefs by the Light of the Pa- gans, I make Saints of Men whom the divine Trovidence only raised up to en- lighten the Mind. Thofe Sages whom I fhall bring into the Field againjl you, left Mankind with the fame depraved Appetites that they fomid it ; nay, while they fet a- bout the Reformation of others, they did not reform themfelves. Alas ! how was itpof Jible for them to be truly Wife, Jufl, and Virtuous ? The Crofs of Je fus Chrift, the only Source of true Wifdom, Juftice, and Virtue ', was unknown to many of 'em, and ridicuPd by others of 'em who had heard it mentioned.
Why then, you'll fay, jhould WE be at- tacked, W E who compofe the Society of JESUS, out of the Books of Men who were without a Saviour, and withont Faith in the World ? For two Reafons, my Fa* thers : Firf, becaufe thofe Men, as great Reprobates as they were, thought better and fpoke better than you ; and tho they did not praBife Truth from a Love of it, they taught it, however, with as much Tower y Tlainnefs, and Extent, as you do Error and Impiety, The fécond Reafon is, be- caufe I thought it would be doing you too much honour, to combat you with the Sa- cred Text, and the Writings of the Father sy I and that a Vittory gain'd with fuch Wea-
c pons
The PREFACE. xi
s pons, would have nothing glorious in it (f)' For where would be the Proportion be- tween the Peters, Pauls, Bafils, Gregories, Ambrofes and Auguftins, on the one hand, and the Efcobars, Sanchezs, Tambourins, Baunis, Molinas, Sfondrates, Francolins, and the reji of your Cafuits on the other hand. And indeed, take ye all together, both An- cient and Moderns, tho fortify yd with the Conjiitution into the Bargain, are you able to Jland againfl, I do not Jay the leaf Ca- tholick who can give a good Account of his Faith, but the meanefl Pagan whofe Mind was enlightned with Reafon and good Senfe ? / know that tho you have been thrown upon your Backs for a long time by the mojl formidable Authorities, you fill lift up your Heads ; c I know that you Jïng 1 Victoria, tho you carry about your Necks,
* as it were, the Picture of your Overthrow
* andyour Shipwreck in the Faith (g). I fee,
* in Jhort^ that you rally again, becaufe (h)
* the only Safety of the Vanquijh'd is in
* defpair of Safety' But muji the Canons of the Church incejfantly rattle over our Heads for this ? Once again, I fay, 'tis do- ing both you and the Conjiitution too much honour.
(/) «Nee habet vi&oria laudem. Virg* Mn. L. ii\
(&) ' Cantas cum fra&a te in trabe piftum
Ex humero portes — — — Per/. Sat. I
(&) In media arma ruaraus,
Una falus viftis nullam fperare falutem.
Virg. iîneid, L. it.
Mofes,
xii The PREFACE.
Mofes, in order to bend the Jlubborn Hea7nt of Pharaoh, and to humble his proud Spirt, employ d neither Arms nor Soldiers. (/) A Jwarm of Flies was fuficient to mortify the fwelling Tride of that haughty Monarch ; and the Hearts of himfelf and his whole Court relented, as foon as thoje vile Infeffs appeared.
Was not Gideon victorious over the Mi- dianites, with the Sonnd of a few Trum- pets, the Noife of a few broken Vejfels, and the dim Light of a fmall number of Lamps {k) ? And was not Goliah, that fcornful Enemy' of the Ifraelites, thrown -upon his Face by a little round /moot h Stone , which David Jlung at his Fore- iead(l) ?
After the Example of thefe Men of God, tho, compared to them, I am but a Shrimp, I come to you — ye Thunderbolts of War (ni), one of whom, if your Words may be taken, will do as much Execution as a whole Army. But I come to you in the Name of the God of Ifrael, whom you at this "Day defy (n) : I come in the Name of that God, not to give him AJfiftance, for what am I tç defend him, or you to at* tack him ? But I come to clothe you with
(i) Exod. viii. 24,25. (k) Judges vii. 10.
(/) Limpidiflïmos lapides, 1 Sam, xvii. 405 49. (m) Piâîure of the firfi Century, p. 41 o, (») 1 Sam, XYii» 45»
the
The PREFACE. xiii
the greateji Shame and Confuflon that you were ever covered with yet. And I advance not with the Books of the Prophets, Apo- files. Fathers, and T)offors of the Church, but with the Text of the Poets, Orators, and Philofophers of Pagan Antiquity, to confound 'your Morals and your "DoÊlrine, to* gether with the Bull Unigenitus, which is your Majlerpiece.
9Tis a bold ^Undertaking, and you will think it rajh. What, fay you, will a fin- gle Man, with a few Pagans, pretend to cope with a Company fo formidable and fb numerous I Tet, my Fathers, you are not the only Perfons that I Jloall attack in this Treatifè. Certain Politicians, who, like Micah (0), worjhip the Idol becaufe they have given it the Name of the Propitia- tory, will be therein confounded as well as you. I Jhall alfo take the Liberty to fpeak fometimesofPope Clement XI. of Cardinal Sfondrates, and alfo of my Lords of Bifly and Languet, who are your good Friends. But I hope to give both Tou and Them Sa- tisfaction. I Jhall quote their Writings with the fame Exa6lnefs as yours, and Jhall treat their Perfons and their facred "Dig- nity with all proper Refpetf. If after this they complain, and blujh, like you, to fee fome oj their Errors exposed, let them blame themfelves and not me ; otherwife the Pub-
(0) Judges xvii. 4, 5.
lick
xiv The PREFACE.
lick will tell them, that all their Com- plaints and Reproaches will not miflead their Judgment (/), and that they deceive them- Jelves.
* O Lord, thou knoweft that I trufl not * in my Bow^ and that my only Hope is in 4 Thee (q) : Help me therefore thou who \ art my God (r)r for 'tis in thy Name only 4 that I go againji this Multitude'
(/>) . — Cui verba ? quid iftas
Succinis ambages tibi luditur ? — Perf. Sat. iii
{q) Pfal, xliv. 6* (r) 2 Chron. xiv. II.
Thi
The P R E F A C E. xv
The Author s Note concerning the Je- Juitsy he has quoted in this Book.
SOME Perfons who read thefe Sheets before they were printed, were defirous that it might every where be obferv'd, that the modern Jefuits are the true Difci- ples of thofe who have gone before them ; and therefore they were for having the one diftinguifh'd from the other at every Quota- tion by the Words Antient and Modem. We thought that fuch a Nicety as that wou'd not only be too fcrupulous, but tirefome to the Reader ; the rather, becaufe we do it very often, and have always taken care to fet down in the Margin the Years in which the modern Jefuits have renew'd the Errors of their Predeceflbrs. But tho we had not taken thefe Precautions, the Pub- lick are not Strangers to the Names of the antient Jefuits ; and when they heard the Names of new ones, they wou'd have faid of their own accord, Thefe are modern Jefuits.
To this fome will object, that the mo- dern Jefuits, whofè Paiïages you quote, are much more numerous than the antient Je- fuits ; but tho this were true, and tho they were a Legion, as they appear to be in the new Hexaples, yet every body knows that the Society of to Day refembles that of Yef-
terday ;
xvi The P R E F A C E.
terday ; and all the World has been con- vince by the laft Declaration of our belt Univerfities^iy the Mandates and late In- ftruétions of our mod illuftrious Prelates (a)> that th? Jefuits of our Days hsxtfiWdufthe meafitre of the Iniquities of their Fore- fathers. In fine, if any Doubt remains with Perfons in this matter, the Conftitution can- not but clear it ; fince the Jefuits made that Conftitution for no other end but to con- demn the Truth, and to fiipport the loofe Difcipline of their Cafuifts, and the Errors of their Molina.
(a) The Btjhops of Bayeux, Montpellier, Rhodes and Auxerre.
A
Ci )
A
PARALLEL
O F T H E
DOCTRINE
O F T H E
9 A G A N S,. &c
CHAP TE R the First.
Of the Knowledge of God, and of Jufltce.
HO W pleafant is it to look into thofe dark Ages, when Licentioufnefs fee tri- ed to take the Place of Law; how entertaining, and even how edifying is the Reflection, to fee Men rifen above the common Prejudices, and piercing thro' the Clouds of Flefh and Blood, in order to come at the Throne of Reafon, to fearch for the Duties and Obligations of Mankind ! 6 Learn, ve Mor-
B ' * tals,
$ A "Parallel of the Tïotfrine
5 tals, (a) learn betimes, to know your felves,
* and to reafon about things. Learn what Man c is, what he is born for, what Order he ought e to obferve in all things. — Study to know what 4 the Divinity would have you to be here below,
* and the Rank you ought to keep in.'
Would not one think this the Language of fome Chriflian Preacher ? yet 'tis no other than the Hea- then Poet Perfius -, who, notwithftanding his be- ing a Pagan, was very fenfible that Man was not born to live like Beafts, but on the contrary, to find out Truth, and conform his Conduct to it. Cicero tells us this, more than once, in his admi- rable Treatife Be OJficiis -, ' There is nothing, fays
* he, (b) which has fo much affinity with the c Soul of Man, as the Difquifition of Truth. To c learn, and to meditate, (fays he, in another Place) c is the Nourimment of the Mind — (c ). And ' *tis for this Reafon we have all fuch a Third af-
6 ter Knowledge (à). 'Tis an Inclination, (fays 4* he again) which Nature it felf has implanted in c us, (e) to fuch a degree, that we are no fooner ' at liberty from the common Cares and Bufinefs
* of Life, but our Heads are prefently at work
(a) Bifcite vos miferi, 6c caufas cognofcite rerum i Quid fumus, & quidnam vi&uri gignimur; ordo Quis datus.—
.Qiiem te Deus effe
Juiïît, & humana qua parte locatus es in re
Difce. Per/. Sat. III.
(&) Primus ille, qui in veri cognitione confîftit, maxime na- turam attingit humanam, Cicero de Offic. Lib. I. c. 6\
(r) Hominis autem mens difcendo alitur, 6c cogitando. Ibid. c. 30.
(d) Omnes enim trahimur 6c ducimur ad cognitionis 6c fci- entix cupiditatem. ibid. c. 6.
(e) In primifque hominis eft propria veri inquifîtio, atqua invefligatio. Iuque cum fumus necefiariis negotiis cuiifque va- cui, turn avemus aliquid videre, ac difcere. ibid. c. 4.
* upon
of the Pagans, Sfc i
* upon fomething to be either feen, heard, or
* learnt — becaufe every Man values himfelf upon c being wifer than his Neighbour i while, on the 4 contrary, (f) we think nothing fo miferable and c fcandalous as to be in Ignorance, or in Error ; to
* be miftaken, or impos'd upon.' And from
all thefe Sentiments, engraved on the Heart of Man, Cicero draws this curious Inference : c That no-
* thing is fo congruous to the Nature of Man, as
* the Knowledge of Truth in its naked Simplicity, 4 and perfect Purity (g).
Plata, who liv'd before both Perjius and Cicero, had the fame Sentiments : and nothing can be more magnificent, than what he fays of the Duties of Man, and the Knowledge of real Good : ' We 4 muft, fays he, (h) ufe all our Endeavours, to
* attain as far as we are capable to a Refemblance c of God,' (as it is exprefly commanded in the Gofpel, Be ye perfetl, even as your heavenly Fa- ther is perfetl.) ' Now, continues the Pagan, that c which forms our Refemblance to that divine Mo- c del, is Holinefs, Juftice, and Prudence. — And
* 'tis in the Knowledge of thefe three things, that c true Virtue and real Wifdom confift ; as, on 4 the contrary, not to know them, is manifeft Ig~ ' norance and Depravity.
Who then can help admiring at Pagans {o en- lighten'd as thefe were ; who fo well knew what Man is defign'd for, and the Advantages of his
(/) in qua (fcientia) excellere pulchrum putiimus ?
îabi autem, errare, nefcire, & decipi, & malum & turpe duci- mus. Cicero de Offic, Lib. III. c. 6.
(g) Ex quo intelligitur, quod verum fimplex, (Incerumque fît* id efFe naturae hominis aptiiïimum. ibid. c. 4.
(h) Quare conandum eft ut Deo fimiles pro viribus efficia* mur. Deo fimiles efficir. cum prudentia, juftitia, fimiil & fan&i- tas— horum fane cognitio vera virtus 5c fapientia : ignora tio contra infritia & improbitas manifefta. Plat, That. p. i*8,
B a Nature?
4 A Tarallel of the Tïottrine
Nature ? For is it poffible to give a more convin- cing Demonftration that we are made to know Truth, and that Ignorance not only degrades us, but alio renders us Criminals ?
Yet, if we may believe Father Filliucius, a JE^ SUIT, ProfefTor, and Cafuiil in the Roman College, and the Pope's Penitentiary, a Man is not oblig'd to take any Pains to attain to the Knowledge of his Duties and Obligations. ' Itfeldotn or NEVER c happens, fays he, (i) that a Man is oblig'd to c prepare himfelf for Grace, in order to get out c of his Ignorance.'
What Jargon is this, compar'd with the Lan- guage of Perjius ? ' Learn, ye Mortals, learn be- w times to know your felves \ Learn what is Man, c What he is born for.' Plato would have us en- deavour all we can to approach as near as poflible to the J i(ft ice and Holinefs of God ; and here'0 a Prieft, who calls himfelf one of the Society of Jeii s, ex- cufes us from taking the leaft Thought or Trou- ble, to know wherein Juftice or Holinefs confift. * But undoubtedly it will be faid, Whence comes it that FïIlÏHcius makes this Declaration in favour «of Ignorance ? Father Pilton, a modern Jefuit, is going to tell us the Reafon, viz. ' That there can t b!t no Sin, where there is no Knowledge of the * Deity (k)' So that, according to this fine Prin- ciple, there is no greater Happinefs than to be in a profound Ignorance of the Being of God. For, the Privilege of not finning, do whatever we will, being annex'd to that happy Ignorance, who doubts but 'tis preferable to the molt perfect Knowledge
(i) Raro aut nunquam tenetin- homo fe pracparare ad gra- tiam tit tollat ignorantiam. Fillmc. Qu&Jl.Nlor. Tom.ii. r. zi. c, io. p. 44. col. 1. 11. 572.
(k) Non dari poteft peccatum fine aliqtia Dei notifia. Pit- ton faid this in a Thefis -which he maintain'd at Liegz the ijth of Febr. 1687. Conclut xix.
of
of the Pagan s, &c. 5
of God and Truth, that a Man can poflibly have in this World -, becaufe fuch Knowledge does non procure that entire Impeccability, the holieft and wifeft of Men being not without Sin? 1 John i. 8.
This Confequence ftrikes one with Horror, and is repugnant, as Cicero fo juftly obferves, c to the * Nature of Man \ who is made to know Truth in c its utmoft Simplicity and Purity -, and who, when c he is ignorant of it, is, according to Plato, in a c manifeft State of Depravity.' Yet this Confe- quence, horrid as it is, did not put Cardinal Sfon- drate to the Expence of one Blufh : He own'd it, and prefs'd this Doctrine more barefacedly than his Matter Molina. ' Not to know that there is a God, 4 fays he, (I) muft be efteem'd a great Benefit and c Favour. For Sin being efTentially an Affront to 4 the Divine Being, by offending him -, take away 4 this Knowledge of God, and it neceffarily fol- 4 lows, that there is no Affront, no Sin commit- 4 ted, and no Eternal Punifhment to be fear'd.* So that, according to this Cardinal, 'tis more for a Man's advantage to be ignorant of his God, than to know him : Tho Jefus Chrift lays, John xvii. 3. that to know God is Life eternal.
Who would ever have thought, that one who was both a Priefl and a Cardinal, cou'd have had the Front to advance fo impious an AiTertion ? But wThat is much more deplorable, is, that the very Book wherein he has this blafphemous Doctrine, was printed at Rome, by the Direction of Cardinal Albania afterwards Pope Clement XI. And this Pope not only made it publick, but even defended
(/) Deum ignorare— id quoque magna beneficii & gratiae pars fuit : cum enim peccatum fit eiTentialiter ofFenfio & inju- ria Dei, fublata Dei cognitione, neceflario fequitur nee injuriam, nee peccatum, nee aeternam paenam efîe, Sfondr. Nod, prtd, d'tf. foU Parsi. § 2. p. 15 a.
B 3 it
6 A Tar aile I of the *Do Brine
it againft the moft eminent Prelates of the Church, who juftly demanded the Suppreflion of it.
After this, no wonder to find that fame Pope declaring himfelf fo great an Advocate for Igno- rance : being of the fame Opinion as Sfondrates and Molina, that 'tis a great Benefit, and a mighty Favour of Heaven, to have no Notion of a God, cou'd he bear that Men fhould be taught to know him by- reading of good Books ? Surely, no. Therefore he taxes Father Quefnel with being a Falfe Prophet, a Lyar, * and a Seducer -, becaufe he had taught, 6 That it was profitable and neceffary to ftudy, and f to know the Spirit, the Piety, and the Myfteries 6 of the Scripture (m). That every body fhould
* read that divine Book (n). That it was the Milk 6 of a Chriftian ; and that it was dangerous to of-
* fer to keep it from him (o). That to force this
* holy Book out of his Hands, was to fhut the 6 Mouth of Jefus Chrift (p). That to forbid him
* the reading of it, was to forbid the ufe of Light s to Children of the Light (q). And laftly, that
* Women, as well as Men, had a Right to read 4 thefe holy Books (r).
But here I v/ould put a fair Queftion : Is it right to call a Man who teaches fuch Doctrine a Seducer, a Falfe Prophet, and a Lyar ; and ihall the Man who condemns it be reckon' d a True Prophet, a Catholick Doctor, and one who fpeaks Truth ? But we leave the Reader to decide this Queftion, and fhall content our felves with making a Comparifon between the Conducl of Clement XI. to the Faith-: ful, of whom he was calPd the Father, and the Car- riage of Cicero to his Son,
* See the Trsambie te the Vope's Conjlitution UnigenitHS.
(w'J §titefneF& Proportions, 79. (n) Prop. 80. (0) Prop, 82. (/•) Prop, 84. (n) Prop. 85. (r) Prop. 83.
This
of the Pagans, &c. j
This Pagan being convinced that Ignorance was the Source of all Crimes, and of all Acts of In- juftice, compofes three Books of the Duties of Man ; which carry in them a Syftem of Morality fo com- pleat, and fo pure, that one mould be almoft tempt- ed to think he had drawn it out of the Gofpel, if the Evangelifts had written before his Time. He compofes this Treatife, I fay, for the Inftruction of his Son, viz. to teach him, on the one hand, to beware of the erroneous Doctrine of the Epicu-* ream, which he confutes with a marvellous Spirit ; and, on the other hand, to inftruct him to live ac~ cording to the Rules of Honefty and Virtue (f). For, tho he had trufted his Education with the moft ex- cellent Philofopher of that Age (t), yet he did not think himfelf excus'd from taking care of it : and this is what he tells him with all the Affection of a Father. ' Tho I am fatisfy'd that dear Cratippus c daily inculcates to you all the neceffary Precepts, « and that you take in every thing that comes from
* that Philofopher, the moft eminent of this Age ; 4 yet I think it not amifs that you mould have a
* few Rules from me : being perfwaded that it will
* be for your advantage to have fuch Inftruction c founded in your Ears from all Parts ; and that,
* if pofiible, you mould hear nothing elfe (u).'
Certainly, fuch a Father as he, would never have taken a Book out of the Flands of his Son, which had been compos'd by the Gods for the In- ftruction of Mankind, and forming their Manners. Yet we find this done by a Pope, who calls him-
(/) Conftanter honefte'que vivendi. C/V. L. iii. c. 2.
(?) Cratippus, the Peripatetick Philofopher,
(«) Quanquàm à Cratippo noftro, principe hujus memorise pVu'ofophorum, hoc te afïiduè audire atque accipere confîdo ; ta- men conducere arbitror, talibus aures tuas vocibus undique cir. cumfonare, nee eas fi fieri poflit, quidquam allud audire. ib.c.2.
B 4 fdf
8 A ^Parallel of the 7)oâ?rme
felf the Father of the Faithful. God himfelf has been pleafed to inftrudt us -, and has recommended Books to us dictated by his Spirit : We read, and delight in them. But, at a time when we thought there was the lead danger of lofmg them, a Hand, which is call'd Fatherly comes and takes them from us. We cry aloud againil this Violence ; and de- mand, How we and our Children mall know our God, at leait in a profitable and laving way? But initead of refloring us thefe Sacred Books, they are flill lock'd up -, and, to make us amends, Doc- tors and Writings are left us, which teach us to look upon it as a fignal Favour and Benefit, even not to know God. And laftly, to infult our Mi- fery, a Bihhop comes and tells us in cold Blood, and upon feveral Occafions, that he cannot imagine what there is in the Conftitution to alarm us : This is M. Languei Bifhop of Soijfons, in his firft Adver- ii foment. But we return now to our D odors, who are fuch Advocates for Ignorance.
'Tis true, and we muft do them the Juftice to own, that they have taken care to tell us how, or in what Senfe, the Ignorance of a God is the Grace and pure Gift of Heaven. This, fay they, is ac- Company'd with a happy Difability of finning : Nay, the Fathers P reft on and Sabran, both Jefuits, fay, That fuppofing there be no Notion of a Deity, it will be impoffible to fin (x). But how comes it to be impoffible ? Hear two other Jefuits, the Fa- thers Blondel and Eberfon^ who fay. That there can he no Sin, without fome Notion of God (y). And this is fo true, that the Jefuit Roderick of Arriaga, one
(x) Fa&â* igitu? hypothefi, quod Deus Tub nullo conceptu cog- riofcatur, impofTjbile erit peccare. In a Thefts maintained at Liege, in Oftob. \6%i. Conciuf. xi.
(y) Requintur ad peccatum aliqua noritia Dei. In a Thejis maintam'd at Lieg?, the nth cfMzy 1689. Conciuf. xx.
of
of the Pagans, ï&c. 9
of the greateft of Authors, fays, ' That a Man, ' who is in this State of Ignorance, fhall not fin É mortally, tho he commit Murder, and tho he ' thinks {mark this) at the fame time, that he does ' 111 (z).' So that if a Man kill another, if he kill his Father, his Mother, his Brothers, his Sifters, his Mailer, his King, tho his Confcience tells him he does a wicked Action, he will not fin, provided he has the Happinefs of being ig- norant that there is a God. Who can have pa- tience to hear fuch Doctrine, and not cry out againfl the BJafphemy and Impiety of it ? This we did. But Clement XL inftead of giving ear to Complaints fo juft, has fent us a Bull which favours and fupports thofe deteftable Doctrines : and, becaufe we cou'd not refolve to receive this Bull, the Pope declared us * entirely feparate from his Charity, and from that of the Holy Ro- man Chnrch : In a word, he has excommunicated us.
Let none imagine that the Jefuits difown the impious Doctrine of their Father Arriaga ; on the contrary, he is a Man of whom they give a pompous Character. f He has deferv'd, fay they,
* in the Bibliothèque of their Writers, (a) on account
* of the Delicacy of his Wit, the Excellency of c his Doctrine, and his laudable Virtues, to be i plac'd among the chief Luminaries 01 the Sp- 1 ciety.'
(z.) Ergo talis homo ignorans Deum non peccabit mona- ster etiamfi alium occidet, & putet fe malefaçere. In his Theological Courfes, Vol. i. Trad, of the Unity of God and the Trinity , Djfp, 2. Sect. 3, p. 31.
* See the Letters which begin with the Words Pajloralis Officii.
(a) Vir omnium judicio ob fubtilitatem ingenii, Do&rinas praeftantiarn, 6c Virtutis commendationem, inter prima Socie- tatisluminamerito collocandus, p. 72,9,
But
ï a A Parallel of the Tïofîrine
But by the way, If one of the brighter!: Lumi- naries of thofe Fathers is but Darknefs, how * thick muft be the Darknefs of the whole Society ? Yet, 'tis to this very Society that Clement XI. refers us by his Conftitution, becaufe he only authorifes the Doctrine which thofe Fathers have had the rafhnefs to teach.
But, to confound both the Conftitution and its Author, with all the Jefuits and the other Advo- cates for Ignorance, there needs nothing more than to fet down what Cicero fays in his Treatife of Laws. He as much exalts human Nature, as all thofe ignorant Doctors have debafed it ; and efpe- cially as to what concerns the Knowledge of God, which is one of the Advantages that diftinguifhes us from other Animals. ' Our Soul (fays that
* Pagan) comes immediately from God ; (b) and ' this perfectly cceleftial Origination gives us a 4 right to fay, that we belong to the Gods, by c virtue either of Confanguinity or Kindred, or,
* as he had faid a few Lines higher, we are of one
* and the fame Family with them, and our Ge- i nealogy is the. fame -, (obferve that they are the 6 fame Terms which St. Paul us'd in his Sermon in c the middle of Areopagus.) And, continues Ci--
* cero, of all the numerous Species of living
* Creatures, Man alone has any Idea of the Divi-" ' nity % and among Men, there is no Nation, how 6 fierce or favage foever, but knows there muft be
* Matthew vi. 35.
(b) Animum efte ingeneratum a Deo 5 etf quo vere vel ag- natio nobis cum cœleftibus, vel genus, vel ftirps appellari poteft (paulo fupra) ut homines Deorum agnatione & gente teneantur j itaque ex tot generibus nullum eft animal praster homincm, quod habeat notitiam aliquam Dei ; ipfïfque m ho- xninibus nulla gens eft, neque tarn immanfueta, neque tarn fera, qua: non etiamfi ignoret qualem habere Deum deceat, xaroen habendum fciat. Cicero lib. x. Le?,
of the Pagans, SJr. \i
« a God, how unacquainted foever he may be « with the Attributes which characlerife him.'
CHAP. II.
Of the tnmnctble Ignorance of the Law of Nature.
WE concluded the foregoing Chapter with the Declaration, even of a Pagan, that there is no Nation^ how barbarous and fierce fo- ever, but knows there mufi be a God : We mall now fee, that, according to this fame Pagan, there is no Man but has fome knowledge of the Law Natural, and confequently of the principal Dutys which that Law prescribes to us.
* Nature, fays Cicero, has not only given Man- ? kind Reafon in general, but has alio beftow'd f upon them right Reafon, which is nothing lefs
* than a Law, as far as it commands or forbids t any thing (a). -~ Common Senfe, fays he^ in ano- ' ther place (£), has fketch'd out the firft Notices c of things in the Soul, and has given us a ge-
* neral Knowledge of them ; according to which c we rank what is Honourable under Virtue, and c what is Scandalous under Vice.'
{a) Quibus enim ratio natura data eft, îifdem etiam refta ratio data eft j ergo ôc Lex quse eft retta ratio in jubendo 6c Vetando. C'tc. de Leg, lib. I.
(b) Nam & communis intelligentia nobis notas res etfkir, eafque in animis noftris inchoavit, ut honefta in virtute po- suntur, in yhiis turpia. Cic. ibid,
Ti<
12 d Parallel of the T>oEirine
'Tis this fame Common Senfe, or this Natural Light, which has implanted in all Men, of what Nation foever they are, uniform Sentiments to approve Good, and reject Evil. * For, in what
* Country, as Cicero fo juftly cbferves, is not Cour-
* tefy, Generofity, a Senfe of Favours, and Gra-
* titude efteem'd ? And where is the Place in 4 which the Proud, the Mifchievous, the Cruel and
* Ungrateful, are not defpis'd and hated (c) ? The
* Law natural is therefore a firft Reafon imprinted
* in Nature, which prefcribes what Things are to
* be done, and forbids the Things not to be
* done. And it was neceffary there mould be a 4 Law of this kind (d)9 which, by declaring a- 4 gainft Vice, and taking the part of Virtue, 4 might be the Spring of thofe Precepts we have 4 need of for a Good Life/
But let no one imagine that Cicero confounds the Law Natural with the Pofitive Law. The Law he treats of here, is not a Law written upon a Plate, or a Stone, but 'tis right Reafon imprefs'd and feal'd by an immortal Nature, in an immortal Spirit (e). ' Thus, fays he, our greateft Philo-
(c ) Qucs autem natio non comitatem, non benignitatem, non gramm animum, & beneficii memorem diligit ? Qua: fuper- bos, quae maleficoy, quae crudeles, quae ingratos non afpei> natur, non odit ? Cic. ibid.
(d) Vitîorum emendatricem Legem efTe oportet, commen: datricemque Virtutum, ut ab ea vivendi Do&rina ducatur, Ctc. ibid.
(e) Hanc igitur video Sapientiflîmorum fuifle Sententiam, J^egem neque hominuni ingeniis excogitatam, neque fcitum aliqucd eflTe populorum, fed aeternum quiddam quod univerfuin mundum regeret, imperandi, prohihendique fapientia. Itai principem Legem illam & ultimam mentem eflfe dicebant omnia ratione aut cogentis aut vetantis Dei $ ex qua ilia Lex quam Dii humano generi dederunt, rede eft laudata. Eft enim ratio ad jubendum & ad deterrendum idonea, Cic. de Leg. lib, l*
4 fophers,
of the Pagans, &fe\ ïj
* fophers were unanimoufly of this Opinion, that c the Law of Nature is not a human Invention, 4 nor any thing like the common Laws, but 4 fomething Eternal, which regulates the Univerfe
* by the Wifdom of its Commands and Prohibi-
* tions. They therefore faid that this firft and lalt 4 Law, is the Mind of God himfelf, commanding 4 or forbidding all things by Reafon. And 'tis 4 from this Law, that the Law which the Gods have
* given to Mankind derives its Worth ; for 'tis 4 no other than Reafon which commands Good, 4 and forbids its contrary. Therefore, fays Cicero, 4 in another place (/), whoever fhall attain to the 4 Knowledge of himfelf, will immediately perceive 4 fomething in him that is Divine, namely this 4 Reafon which commands Good^ and forbids its 4 contrary. He will confider his Mind as an Image
* of the Divinity confecrated in a Temple ; and 4 in this View of it, he will be continually doing 4 and thinking fomething which is worthy of the 4 Gods, who have made him fo great a Prefent/
To be plain,
Man finds what he is by thofe Lineaments wnich are fo natural to us, and which fo jultly charade- rife us -, and, with Thankfgiving to Him who is the Principle of his Reafon, he contemplates the Difference he has made betwixt him and other Animals. For what Creature but Man knows that he ought not to do to another, what he wou'd not have done to himfelf; and how many Dutys are contained in that which Reafon difcovers to us ? What Créature but Man is fenfible that 'tis better to be a faithful, tender, compafTionate,
(/) Qi" feipfum novit primum aliquid fentiet fe habere divfnum ingeniumque in fe fuum ficut fimulacrum alicjuod dedicatum putabit, tantoque munere Deoruni, Temper dignum aliquid fie faciet «3c fentiet. Ck. de Leg. lib. I.
3 upright,
1 4 A Parallel of the *Dottrine
upright, and hearty Friend, than to have great Employs, and be in the higheft Dignitys ? What Creature but Man knows that 'tis better to be Juft, than to be Rich -, or rather, that there are none Rich (g), as Cicero well obferves, but they who have Virtue ? In fhort, what but Man has any Notion of Order, and Decency ? and who is there that knows it not ? 4 For this Knowledge is one 4 of the great Advantages of the Human Nature
* and Reafon, it being what, as Cicero fays again 4 (h), makes a Man take care that in all his Words
* and Aérions, there be a Decency* a Meafure,
* Connection and Order -, it being that which warns
* him to do nothing that is unbecoming, mean*
* or effeminate, and that, neither in his Senti-
* ments, nor any part of his Behaviour, there
* be any thing irregular, or that favours of Paf-
* lion or Caprice. And from all this, fays the ? Pagan, refults what is call'd Wifdom and Ho-
* nefty ; which, fays be, to ufe Plato's Words,
* wou'd be the moil admir'd of all Beautys, if they 4 were as vifible to the Eyes of the Body, as. c they are to thofe of the Mind : I fay to thofe 4 of the Mind, becaufe, as Seneca has excellently 4 re??iark'd, the greateft BleiTing of Nature, is
* that Virtue which is nothing elfe but Wifdom and 4 Honefly, diffufes its Light into the Minds of all
is) Qpâ prsediti qui funt, foli funt Divites. Cic. C. Paradm
(h) Nee vero ilia parva vis naturae eft, rationifque, quod
unum hoc Animal fentit, qui fit ordo, quid fit quod deceat in
faclis di&ifque, qui fit modus, cavetque ne quid indecorè
'effeminativè faciat, turn in omnibus & opinionibus & factis, ne quid libidinofè aut faciat aut cogitet. Quibus ex rebus
conflatur & efficitur id, quod quserimus, honeftum (quod)
fi oculis cerneretur, mirabiles amores, ut ait Plato, excitarec fapientiae. Cic. de Offia. /, i, c . 4, v $.
8 Mankind
tf the Pagans, &tt 1 5
< Mankind (i), and that even they who don't 4 follow it, do neverthelefs fee it.'
After Teflimonies fo authentick, and certain, becaufe they flow from the very Hearts of Pagans, who fo publickly depofe in favour of human Na- ture, fo happily extol its Advantages, and prove fo far beyond all difpute, that to know what is Order and Decency Wifdom and Honefty, what to do, and what to avoid, is fufficient to conflitute Man ; who can without Indignation hear what we are going to be told, not by a Pagan, but by a Jefuit, call'd Father Merat ? ' That fome (k) univerfal Princi-
* pies of the Law of Nature, fuch as thefe, That
* one muft not fteal, nor kill, nor commit Adul-
* tery *, that Parents mull: be honour'd, and the
* like (as if thefe were not enough for him, or as if they were hit 'Trifles) c a Man may be invincibly
* ignorant of, even a long time, tho not during
* the whole Courfe of his Life.
Is it really poflible to degrade human Nature to fuch a pitch, and can more be faid to make a Man a Beafl ? What, can a Man be invincibly ignorant* for any confiderable time, that he ought to worfhip God, and honour his Parents ? Can he be ignorant that Robberies, Murders, Adulteries, and other Abominations of that kind, are prohibited ? Oh ! what a Monfler is this, wou'd Seneca fay, if be were here, who teaches that Man is capable of fuch
(i) Maximum hoc habemus naturse Meritum, quod virtus in omnium animos lumen fuum permittit : Etiam qui non fequun- tur illam, vident. Senec. de Benef L. iv. p. 717. torn. 1.
(k) Principia aliqua univerfalia Legis Naturae, ut funt hacc, non efle furandum, occidendum, adulterandum, parentes hone- randos & fimilia 5 etiï non pofTunt ignorari invincibiliter toto humanae vitae tempore, pofTunt tamen aliquo brevi, imo etiam fatis longo. Merat? in his Dilutes upon the Theological Sum* mary of St. Thomas, Tom. i. Treatife of sins , Difp. ix.§7- p. 577. col. i.
ftrange
[Ï6 A Parallel of the TïûÏÏrme
ftrange Ignorance ! an Ignorance which we don't hear of even among Pirates and Cor fair s : for, as that Philofopher well obferves, the Laws of Nature are facred among them (I).
But what would this Pagan have faid, if he had heard what is ftill more mocking -, that this Igno- rance, far from being a Sin, cancels all the Sins committed while it prevail'd ? Cancels, did I fay, it does much more than that, for it exempts from all Sin, (as we fhall find in the next Chapter:) which is more than the Sacrament of Baptifm does ; becaufe a Man may have been a Sinner before he receives this Sacrament, whereas, if he is lock'd up in the Ignorance defended by the Jefuits, it was impoffible he could ever have finnrd, and it keeps him in Innocence, do what he will.
The jefuit Azor fbifi.es die Light of Nature in fôme Men to the fame degree, with refpecl to For- nication. ' If we mean the Fornication, fays he, 4 which is committed with a common Proftitute,
* (m) whom the Republick has thought fit to tole-
* rate, a Man may fometime chance to ftumble
* upon her, who perhaps is fo dull and uninform'd, c as to be invincibly ignorant that fuch Fornication
* is a Sin.'
FilliuciuS) another jefuit, fays likewife, c That
* there are many of the common People, who fee- c ing that fimple Fornication is not punifh'd, or ' that common Whores are tolerated, imagine that
(1) Naturae jura facra funt etîam apud Piratas. Ssnec, Cort* trov, L. iii. p. 233.
(m) Si autem loquamur de Fornicatione, quae eft concubitus vagus cum meretrice, omnibus expofitâ & in Republica permif- fa, hinc aliquando in hominem rudem §c rufticum poteft ca- dere ignoramia invincibiiis. In bis Moral Injîïtutions, Part iii. Lib. iii, ch 4. p. 163. col 1.
* 'tis
of the Pagans, &c\ 17
* *tis (n) no Sin to have to do with them ; which 6 is the very Cafe in Cities' (mark how far he car- ries the Ignorance of this Sin) * where care is taken to ' inflrucl the People in Matters of Faith and Re- 4 ligion.'
In a word, to let no Uncleannefs efcape, Father Bonucio^ a very modern Jefuit, afferts, That a Man may âlfo be invincibly ignorant that fecret Inconti- nence (o\ is intrinfically evil : and fo he adds of many other fuch Pollutions, to the end that it may not be thought he looks upon any one of them as a Crime.
We will flop here, and fhew farther, that the Pagans, without the Light of Faith and Religion, did not believe, as the Jefuits do, that 'tis poiïible for a Perfon to be invincibly ignorant that Adulte- ry, Fornication, and all other Scandals, are things wicked in themfeives ; and then we will fhew what they would have laid of fuch Ignorance, fuppofmg it had been poffible.
Let us hear Cicero. He begins with Adultery ; and nothing furely can be finer than what he fays upon it.
(p) c Tho, in the Reign of 'Tarquin, there had ' been no written Law againft Adultery, it would
(fi) Putant non eiïe Peccatum, ad eas accedere. Quod eti- am in civitatibus aiioquin bene inftitutis in fide & religione f*epe locum habet. Qu&ft, Mor, Tom. i. tr. 30. c. 2. p. 380. col. I. n. $0.
(0) Poteft quis invincibilitèr ignorare— *— pollutionem eiïe intrinfecè malam, & alia hujufmodi. In his Booh of the De- fence of the Decree of Alexander VIII. againft the thirty ont Proportions, printed at Rome in 1704. § 2. p. 10. n. 14.
(p ) Nee fi régnante Tarquinio, nulla erat Roma? fcripta lex
de ftupris : ideirco non contra illam Legem fempiternam. —
Tarquinius vim Lucretiae attulir. Erat cairn ratio profe£ta à rerum natura, & ad rede faciendum impellens, & à deli&a avocans, quae non turn denique incipi: lex eiïe, cum fcripta efta fed turn cum orta eft ; orta autem fimul eft cum mente divina. Quamobrem lex vera atque princeps apta ad jubendum & ad ve^ tandum, ratio eft reâa fummi Jovis, C/V. de Leg, Lib. ii.
c » folj
1 8 A "Parallel of the T>o6lri^e
4 follow neverthelefs, that the Violence done by 6 his Son to Lucretia the Wife of Collatinus, was a ' Violation of the Decrees of the Law Eternal : ' For there was always a Reafon founded in Na~ 6 ture, (viz. not to do to the Wife of another, what 4 we would not have done to our own) which inclin'd 4 to Good, and deter'd from Evil. And this Rea-
* fon has the Force of a Law ; not only from the 4 Day that ''tis committed to writing, but from
* the very Moment that it begins to fried its Rays. 4 Now 'tis undoubted that it began with the Spirit c of God himfelf. From whence he infers, that the 4 Law, properly call'd the Firfh and Principal Law,
* fuch as has really the Power of commanding and c forbidding, is that Right Reafon of God, where- 4 of Man's Reafon (as Seneca fays) is a Part (q) ; 6 and which fhews him what this firfh or principal 4 Law forbids or approves.
How muft the Men be confounded,, who pre- tend to be the Mafiers and Teachers of Mankind, to fee a Pagan better inform'd than they, and to hear him telling them, that Adultery, as well as all other Crimes which are repugnant to Nature, is a Thing intrinfically Evil, and prohibited by the Eternal Law -, and that this Law is a Light which enlightneth every Man that comes into the World.
In the next Place, let us hear the Proofs which this very Pagan brings againft thofe Doctors-, that Fornication and other Acts of Uncleannefs are for- bidden by this fame Law, and that they are repug- nant to Reafon. And his Argument is the ftronger, becaufe the Perfons he is going to mention, are they whom the Jefuits lay down for an Example j that is to fay, the moft ftupid and uninformed.
{q} Ratio autem nihil aliud eft qiram in corpus humanum pars 3>ivini Spiritus merfa. Stntc; Epift. 66. p. 234,
"
of the Pagans, &c, jp
(r) c If among thofe who are not mere Beads, c (for we find fome Men who are only diflinguifrYd
* from them by Name) if, I fay, among thofe 6 who are but one degree above Brutes,5 (it were impqffible to ft them in a lower Clafs ; yet, obferve what Cicero is going to fay of thefe Men) c there c are any who are overcome by their Lulls, yet a c fecret Shame makes them conceal and difguifethe
* Love of thofe Pleafures.5 Now no body conceals or blufhes at any thing but what is wicked \ there- fore Cicero concludes, c that the A£ls only of con- ' cealing and blufhing, fhew that in the Pleafures of ' the Body there's fomething beneath the Dignity
* of human Nature -, and that therefore they ought
* to be defpis'd and rejected.5
Really, 'tis very aftonifhing that the Jefuits, who have read Cicero, and are turning him over every Day, fhou5d trample that Light under their Feet, which fhines in every part of his Writings ; and if they have not perceiv5d it, they muft have been fmitten with a flrange Blindnefs. But if they are not excufable in that refpect, how much more in- éxcufable muft they be for not having heard this Voice of Nature and of Reafon, which has reach5d even to the Scythians and the moil barbarous Nations ; a Voice which has been even lifted up fo high, that the moft ftupid Clod-pates cannot help blufhing. when they have been overcome by Pleafure -, fo that in their prefent Confufion, they chufe Dark- nefs, in order to conceal from Day-light, at lead, the Crime which they cannot hide from their Con- fciences.
(r) Quinetiam fi quis eft paulo ad voluptates propenfior, mo- do ne fît ex pecudum génère (funt enim quidam homines non re fed nomine) fed fî quis eft paulo eredior, quamvis volup- tate capiatur, occulat & diffjmulat appetitum voluptatis, pro- pter verecundiam. Ex quo intelligitur corporis voluptatem non fatis effe dignam hominis prseftantia, earnque contemni 3c re- jici oportere. C/V, de 0$c. L. i. c, 30.
C 2 Thus,
ad A ^Parallel of the *DoBrine
Thus, if I am not miftaken, is the invincible Ignorance of Robbery, Murder, Adultery, For- nication, Self-Pollution, and all the other Abomi- nations, which the Jefuits don't name indeed, but leave us to guefs at -, thus is this pretended invinci- ble Ignorance dilbwn'd and demolifh'd : not by the Authority of the Fathers, and by the Canons of the Church, but by Men who had no Governor nor Teacher but Reafon -, and who with that Light on- ly, were convinc'd that fo monftrous an Ignorance was not to be found even among Pirates : In which they have fhewn more Knowledge than a Company of Priefts, who befides the Light of Nature, have been enlighten'd with that of Faith.
It now remains for us to fhew what the Pagans wou'd have thought of fuch Ignorance, fuppofing they had believ'd it poflible ; and whether they would have exempted it from Sin, as the Jefuits have done that* and all the blacker! Actions that follow in its Train : and with this we mail begin the next Chapter.
CHAP. III.
Of the Sins of Ignorance.
CICERO obferv'd to us in the firft Chapter, that even the moft fierce and barbarous Nations were not ignorant of the Being of a God. In the Second, he prov'd to us that the principal Du- ties of the Law of Nature, viz. thole which for- bid us Adultery, Fornication, and every other Un- ci eannefs, were not unknown even to juch Men, as are only fo in Name ; from whence it follows, that when he talks of Ignorance, he does not mean
the
of the Pagans, &c. 2 i
the Ignorance of thofe firft and principal Duties, the Knowledge of which, fays he, is erTentially an- nex'd to the Condition and Nature of Man.
From thence the Inference is yet ftronger, that he much lefs intended to treat of an Ignorance which is the Confequence of habit in a Crime, and which ftifles all Light, and all Remorfe of Ctfnfci- ence, if fuch a thing can be. For Cicero, and the other Pagans who have treated of Ignorance, ne- ver knew any of this fort *, at lead we have not ob- ferv'd that they have made mention of it in their Writings : and if they have done it in fome place that has efcap'd our notice, we may imagine how they would have treated it, by their manner of ex- prefiing themfelves upon that fort of Ignorance which they thought compatible with human Rea- fon ; but not invincible Ignorance, becaufe they have tax'd it with Sin, and very great Sin.
Had we no other Pafifage than that which we have already quoted from Cicero, where fpeaking of Ignorance in general, he calls it a Mifery and a Scandal -, would not this be a plain Demonstration what he would have thought of the Ignorance of a God, and of the general Duties of the Law of Nature, if he could have imagin'd fuch an Igno- rance poflible ? But here is a new Paffage, which is much ftronger, and more decifive -, ' Whoever, fays this Pagan, 6 is ignorant of this Law, namely 6 of Right Reafon, which is the Rule of Com- c mands and Prohibitions ; whoever, fays he, is c ignorant of this Law, written or unwritten, the 1 fame is an unjuft Perfonf^y.'
Now, if, according to Cicero, 'tis an unjuft thing to be ignorant, not of the Being of a God, and the
(a) Quae lex eft re&a ratio imperandi atque prohibendi, quam qui ignorât is eft injuftus, five eft ilia icripta ufpiam five ntff- quanit C/V, de Leg, L. i.
C 3 grin-
aï A Tarallel of the DoEirine
principal Duties of the Law of Nature -, fuch as forbid us Adultery, Fornication and other Acts of Uncleannefs, becaufe he has prov'd, that this Ig- norance is not to be found even among ft the favage and ftupid part of Mankind ; let any one judge what Sentence he would have pafs'd upon fuch Ignorance, if he had thought it poffible : becaufe he boldly pro- nounces, that he who is ignorant of the other Du- ties, more remote from the Law of Nature, is a Sinner ; for this is what we mufl underftand by the Word unjuft.
What, can a Pagan think the Man unjuft, and a Sinner, who is ignorant of certain Duties of the Law of Nature -, and mail a Cardinal, with a So- ciety of Priefts, pronounce the Perfon innocent, who is fo ignorant as not to know that he has a God, and who during fuch Ignorance mail rob, kill, commit Adultery, Fornication, and other fuch Ads of Uncleannefs ? what, will all thefe Crimes, which, according to Cicero, make Nature blufh, pafs for innocent Actions in the Eyes of the Jefuits, becaufe the Perfons who committed them did not know that they were prohibited ? and mail phis twofold Ignorance, of God and the Law of Nature, be reckon'd a great Benefit, and a fpecial Favour of Heaven ! who would have thought it !
But let us hear Seneca again. He exprelfes him- felf upon the Subjeét of Ignorance as ftrongly as Cicero. What then is Evil, fays he (b), but the Ig- norance of 'Things, as the Knowledge of them is Good ? He had borrow'd this Phrafe from Socrates, who faid, c That Knowledge is the only Good, and Ig- ' norance the only Evil (c).*
(&) Quid eft ergo bonum ? Rerum fcientia. Quid malum pft : Rerum imperitia. Seme, Ep. xxxi. p. 118. torn. 2.
(c) Dicebat & unicum bonum efle fcientiam ; & unicum ma» hm infeitiam. Thefe Words are tranjlated from the Greek,
Plato
of the Pagans, &c. 23
Plato is altogether as exprefs. * An ignorant
* Soul, fays that great Philofopher (d), is a Soul ' altogether diforder'd and deform'd.'- — ' I am ' aftonifh'd, fays he elfewhere (e)9 when I think of ' theftrange Evil which Ignorance occafions among
* Men ; becaufe it hinders us from feeing the Evil c which we commit : And the worft of all is, that 6 thro' Ignorance we fometimes ask Things in our 4 Prayers which are very pernicious to us.' Ob- ferve, that Plato does not fpeak here of the Igno- rance of a God : He fuppofes, on the contrary, that the mod flupid Mortals know there is a God ; becaufe he charges them with fuch Stupidity as not to know what they mould ask of him.
Befides, this Philofopher does not only tax this fort of Ignorance with Sin ; but according to him, 'tis a Crime not to know what is the moil perfect Being, and wherein Perfection conflits (f). And in the PafTage we quoted in the firft Chapter, he fays alfo, c That not to know wherein confift Ho-
* linefs, Juftice, and Prudence (g), is Ignorance,
* and manifeft Depravity.' And what would he have faid then of a Soul which our Doctors, who call themfelves Chriftians, fuppofe to be capable of fo much Ignorance, as not to know its Creator, or the molt univerfal Obligations of the Law of Na- ture -, namely, thofe that forbid Robbery, Murder, Adultery, Fornication, &c. .? Can it be thought that Plato, like the Jefuits, would have reckon'd
(d) Animam igitur ignorantem inconcinnam atque défor- mera vocare decet. Plat. Soph. p. 153.
(e) lllud autem cogito quantorum malorum caufa fit homi- nibus ignorantia, quandoquidem propter hanc nos latet, cum male quid agimus ; & quod deterrimum eft, ob earn peffima nobis quandoque precamur. Plat, Alcib. ii. p. 40.
(/) Malum igitur ignorantia optimi, & quod optimum eft ignorare. Plat. ibid. 40.
(#) See his abovemention'd Tratt, P. 2,
C 4 fuch
?4 'd Tarallel of the Tïottrine
fuch an abominable Soul innocent, and have pro- nounc'd its Ignorance as an effectual means to ex- empt its Robberies, Murders, Adulteries, and o- ther Acts of Uncleannefs, from Sin ?
In a word, what would both Plato and Cicero have faid, if they had heard it afferted, c That a
* Sin ( mark what follows) tho never fo repugnant 4 to Reafon,' (and by confequence that which brought down Fire from Heaven) ' is but a (light and par-
* donable Fault,' (for this is what muft be under- flood by the Words following) c is not mortal, when 6 committed by a Perfon who is invincibly igno-
* rant of God, or (pray obferve this) who at the ' time of committing it, does not confider that
* there is a God,or that God is offended with Sin ? (hf Verily, the Pagans would fay, there is not a more grievous Evil or Sin amongft Men. For where is the Man, if he be not invincibly ignorant of the Being of a God, (which is impoilible) but muff re- flect that there is One, when he fins ; or at leafl will think that he is offended by his Crimes, elpe- cially when they are Crimes to which a Man has a violent Propenfity, and on which his Heart is al- moft entirely fet ? This is what the Pagans would fay, with this Addition, That they want Words to characterize fuch perverfe Doctrine. Yet this is what is taught by the Jefuits Darell and Skinner, in a Thefis which thofe Fathers maintain'd at Liege, on the 20th of June 1691. Conclufion xx.
Father Platella, another Jefuit, talks in the very fame Strain, c Let a Sin, jays he (z), be never fo
c re-
(h) Peccatum quamvis graviter rationi repugnans, commif- fum ab invincibiliter ignorante, vel inculpabiliter non adver- tente Deum eue, aut peccatis offendï, non ell mortàle.
(i) Peccatum quantumvis graviter rationi repugnans com- miflum ab invincibiliter ignorante, aut non advertente Deum cfTe ; aut peccatis offendi, non eft mortale. Stare poteft cum
chaii-
of the Pagans, fee. 25
ç repugnant to Reafon, (and confequently be it the Crime by which Man degrades and forgets himfelf mofi) ' if it be committed by a Perfon who is in- * vincibly ignorant of God, or who does not con- ' fider that there is a God, or that fuch God is of: f- fended with Sin, 'tis not mortal : For as this ' Sin does not carry in it any Contempt of God, ? either virtually or implicitly, 'tis compatible with c the perfect Charity and Love of God.'
Since the Pagans have left us with an Abomina- tion of fuch Doctrine, not in the leaft imagining that it could ever enter into the Heart of any Man, we will take their Poft for once, with this fhort Argument.
It cannot be doubted, that if it was ever poflible for a Nation to be invincibly ignorant of God, it was the barbarous and pagan Inhabitants of So- dom and Gomorrah. I know that Plato and Cicero would not allow the Suppofition, that this People could poffibly be in fuch a State of Ignorance : But the Jefuits will not be fo ftiff in this Point, and 'tis againft them that I argue : Mean time, in cafe they fhould fcrupie to grant me this Hypothefis, they will at leafl allow, that thofe People, in the Fury of their brutifh Paflion, did not confider that there was a God ; or however, did not actually believe that he would be offended at their Sins. Now, ac- cording to the Jefuits Platella, Darell, and Skinner^ this Circumftance alone was fufficient to prevent their Sin from being mortal, and to preferve them in the perfect Chanty and Love of God, at the very Time that they committed their abominable Crime. Nevertheleis, God brought down a Shower of Fire and Brimftone upon the Heads of that Peo-
charuate perfe&â & amicitiâ divînâ. Platella, w his Book en- titled Synopfis curfus Theologici, Pars ii. c. 3, t, 3. n. 189. p. 116 3 and 117.
pie,
î6 A Parallel of the Tïotfrine
pie, which confumed them to Afhes. Now 'tis not juft in God thus to punifh his Friends, who at moil commit a venial Sm. Therefore, according to the Fathers Platella, Barell, and Skinner, it was wrong and unjufl in God to proceed to fo flrange an Extremity. So blafphemous is the Tenor of the Jefuits Doctrine !
But before we proceed, let us juft draw up the feveral Expedients which we find the Jefuits have contriv'd to exempt Mankind from all Mortal Sins, and place them in one Point of View, ift, The invincible Ignorance of a GOD exempts the black- eft Actions from Sin, tho even the Perfon that commits them fhould think he thereby does Evil. 2dly, The invincible Ignorance of the principal Duties of the LAW OF NATURE, gives the fame Privilege to fuch as violate thofe Obligations in any manner whatsoever. 3 dly, When they who know God, have not the Fear of God before their Eyes, or barely do not confider that he is offended with Sin ; either of the two is flifficient to exempt thofe Actions which are moft grievoufly repugnant to Reafon, from Mortal Sin. Now, certainly, a Man muft be very unhappy, if he does not find himfelf in one of thefe two laft Gaffes. Yet if, when a Man does Evil, he cannot help thinking that there is a God, or that he is therewith offend- ed, here's a new Expedient offer' d us by the Je- fuits, whofe Charity for Mankind is inexhauftible in Remedies !
(k) i If any one, fays Father de Rhodes, com-
(k) Si quis committat adulterium, aut homicidium, advertens quidem malitiam & gravitatem eorum, fed imperfe&iiTïmè ta- men St levilîimè, ille, quantumvis graviflîma fit materia, non peccat tamen nifi levitèr. Ratio eft, quia ficut ad peccatum requiritur cognitto malitiae, fie ad grave peccatum requiritui* plena & clara cognitio ôc confideratio illius. De Rhodes, in. his Scholaftic Theology, Tom, i. tr. 3. Of the A&s hum. Difp. ii. Quaeft. a. § a. p. 312, col. 2.
* mits
of the Pagans, &c. 27
4 mits Adultery, or Murder, and at the fame time 4 confiders the Malignancy and heinous Nature of * thofe Actions, but in fuch a manner only as is 4 very imperfect and fuperficial, tho the Matter of 4 it is very grofs, yet his Sin is venial : And the 4 Reafon of it is this ; viz. as a Perfon mull neceiTa- 4 rily know all that is Evil in an Action, to make 4 that Action a Sin ; fo he cannot commit a grie- ' vous Sin, if he does not fully and clearly know 4 and confider all the Evil of it.' So that, unlefs a Man fits down as it were to meditate, and very ferioufly to ponder all the Enormity of Adultery, or Murder, unlefs he does this, according to the Je- fuit de Rhodes, there is no mortal Sin in commit- ing either the one or the other. But if a Man re- flects on thofe Sins after a light fuperficial manner, and then fuffers himfelf to be hurry' d away by Pleafure or Paflion, he will only be guilty of a ve- nial Sin, whether he lies with the Wife, or kills the Hufband -, and if he does both, they will on- ly be two venial Sins. So that here's God again condemn'd by the Jefuits, for having inflicted fo terrible a Punifhment on the Adultery and Murder committed by David. For there is no manner of Appearance that this Prince ferioufly confider'd the Heinoufnefs of the Crime which he committed with Bath/heba^ or the Blacknefs of the Treachery whereby he put Uriah to Death ; which hinder'd him from committing two mortal Sins.
It naturally follows from this Principle, (viz. that in order to commit a mortal Sin, 'tis not enough to make a (light Reflection on the Evil and Fla- grancy of the Sin, but the Man muft have a tho- row Knowledge and Confideration of its Enormity) from hence it's very plain, that the moft harden'd Wretches, thofe who drink in Iniquity like Rivers of Water, are no longer Sinners, when once they are arrived to that happy State of Stupidity, to
have
5g A ^Parallel of the Doffrine
have ftifted all Thought and Reflection. And this is the very thing which Father Pirot the Jefuit, and the celebrated Author of the apology for the Ca- fuifis, teaches ( / ) in the Name of the whole So- ciety. c Yea, fays he, if Sinners, compleat and c thorow-pac'd Sinners, have no Knowledge nor c Remorfe when they blafpheme, and plunge fe themfelves all over in Debauchery -, if they have € no Knowledge of the Evil they do, I maintain,
* with all the Divines, (the Jefuits) that they do
* not fin by thofe Actions that favour more of the
* Beaft than Man -, becaufe without Free Will there
* is no Sin, and there cannot be a Free Will to
* avoid Sin, unlefs there be a Knowledge of the
* Good and Evil in the Object propos'd to us.' In fhort, to carry Impiety to its Ne plus ultra,
Father Rhodes teaches, that in fome Circumflances Crimes become Virtues : ç If, fays he (m), you in- e vincibly believe that to tell a Lye in order to fave c your Friend, is an Act of Virtue, your Lye is a 6 Work of Mercy. If you think it a good Action c to kill a Perfon who blafphemes, even that Mur-
* der will be a religious Aclion? Therefore, a Dif- ciple of this Jefuit, who fhould think he would do a good Deed to kill a King who had fupprefs'd in his Dominions the troublefome Subfcription to the Formula, which would be worfe in the Society's Opinion than fpeaking Blafphemy, would do an excellent Action. Can any thing be more fright- ful than fuch Tenets, which, as Juvenal words it in), make black white, or turn Vice into Virtue ? Surely,
(Z) Pagetf.
(m) Si exiftimes invincibiliter quod mentiri eft a&us virtu- tis ad falvandum amicum, mendacium tuum erit opus mife* ricordiae. Si putes bonum efTe hominem occidere qui blas- phémât, erit opus religionis illud homicidium. Tom. i. tr. des AEles hum. p. 32,4. col. I.
(n) — — -—Qui nigrum in Candida vertunt. cJuv, Sat, i.
had
of the Pagans, tec . 29
had that Pagan been alive now, he would have cry'd out much more loudly than he did, when he faid (0), Was there ever a more general Deluge of Vices ? becaufe they who call themfelves the Mas- ters and Teachers of other People, are fo ftrangely corrupted. What a happy Age (p), would he fay agairt, was that of the old Romans, when Wicked- nefs was as rare as a Monfter ? whereas 'tis now not only juftify'd, but they who give the Sanction to it are exalted to Honours, while the Teachers of Truth are treated by a Pope as Seducers, Falfe Pre- phets, and Teachers of Lyes (q).
As to this Father Rhodes, 'tis fit the Reader mould know he is no common Jefuit. For, after having taught Divinity thirteen Years, he was ad- vane'd for his Merit to the Poft of Rector of the Jefuits College at Lyons. His Dodtrine, of which we have here given fome Specimens, has been ap- proved by three Divines of the Society, and print- ed with the Licence of Father Grannon, Provincial of the Province of Lyons : In a word (r), he is rank'd among the illuftrious Authors of the Society.
[0) Et quando uberior vitiorum copia ? Juv. Sat. £.
(p) Improbitas illo fuit admirabilts aevo. Sat. xiii.
(fl) See the Preamble to the Conflit ution. (r) See the Bibliothèque of the Jefuit Authors*
CHAP. IV. Of Servile Fear.
NOthing is more wonderful, as we have jufl now feen, than the Care which the Jefuits take to teach Men, not to pra&ife Virtues, but to
com-
JB A Tar aile I of the ^Do Urine commit all manner of Crimes, tho never fo mock- ing, without being criminal. But it was not enough for them to have taught this fine Secret : They muft needs extend their Charity farther.
And really, confidering how many filly flupid Creatures every Day brings forth, that know not how to ufe the Means put into their Hands, tho never fo eafy to practife, it was Condefcenfion in thefe kind Fathers, to obviate the Necefllties of fuch indolent Souls, and to fupply them with fome new and eafy Expedient to get out of Sin, and be reflor'd to Favour with God, after they have mor- tally offended him.
For Example, a Perfon who, before the com- mitting of Adultery, was fo ill advis'd as to confi- der the Evil of the Action, and knew all the Enor- mity of it *, fuch a Perfon becomes guilty of mor- tal Sin for committing that Adultery after fuch Reflection, and fo much Knowledge. But for all this, let him not be alarm'd : He has no need to figh and groan under this Sin. Provided he is for- ty he has committed the Crime ; not becaufe God forbids it, but becaufe he is afraid of being damn- ed : he wants nothing more to procure his Pardon in the Sacrament.
This is a new Invention of the Jefuits for Sin- ners of this Tribe, and for all who are guilty of mortal Sins : So that according to thofe Fathers, with a Fear not mix'd with Love, (for of this care mufl be taken) but entirely deftitute of the Love of God -, a Fear purely fervile, and which they call imperfect Attrition or Contrition : with this Fear only, fay they, all Sinners are reconcil'd to God in the Sacrament of Penance. Let us hear how clearly and precifely they determine this Point
Sor-
of the Pagan s, &c. 3 i
« Sorrow, fays Father Bauni (a), which has for 4 its exprefs Object the deferv'd Pains of Hell, is c fufficient in the Sacrament for a Man's Juftifica-
* tion.'
The Jefuits of Louvain hold the fame Doctrine. « No wonder, fay they, that Attrition, which is c the refult of the Fear of Hell Torments, duly and
* fufficiently difpofes the Sinner to receive the c benefit of the Sacrament of Penance (b).9 And to the end that no body may doubt that this is the Opinion of the whole Society, Father Pin- there au fays, in a Book which he has made pub- lick, (c) c that all the Jefuits teach unanimoufly 4 as true Catholick Doctrine which comes up very
* near to Faith, and is exactly conform to the 4 Council of 'Trent, that Attrition only grounded 4 upon the fingle motive of the Pains of Hell, 4 fufficiently difpofeth a Man for the Sacrament of 4 Penance.'
Such was the Doctrine of the whole Society to- ward the middle of the laft Century : And we fhall find that the Jefuits who have flourifh'd in the World fince that time, were of the fame Sen- timents.
4 We lay it down, fays Father Slaughter, for an 4 undeniable (d) TRUTH, that there's no necef-
(a) In his Book intitul'd, Somme des pèches, or Summary of Sins, Ch. xlii. p. 687. Edit. 6:
(J?) Non mirum eft attritione ex gehennae metu conceptâ, débité peccatorem difponi, ac fufficienter ad gratiam Sacra- menti pcenitentiae. In their famous Thefcs of 1642. Ch. iu Art. 18. p. 84. Col. 2. n. 1.
(c) This Bock isintitidedy Les Impoftures & les ignorances du libelle intitulé la Théologie morale des Jefuites, i. e. The Im» fofture and Ignorance of the Libel calVd the Moral Theology of the jefuits. See Part ii. p. 50, 51.
(d) Ut indubitatum ftatuimus non requiri perfe&am illam (Contritionem) quae amorem Dei includat appretiativè fum- mum fufticit attritio etiam cognita. In his The/is main- tained at Liege July 9. 1696, Cenci, 49, 50.
6 fity
3
p A Tar diet of the Ttotfrine
* fity of coming to the Sacrament of Penance c with that perfect Contrition which includes a
* Love of God above all things — - — . For even
* Attrition, when 'tis apparent, fufficeth ■. And
c elfewbere, he fays , (e) that Doctrine which allures c it to be fufficient, is a Doctrine fafe in Practice,
* and morally certain.5
The Jefuits of Rome talk the very fame Lan- guage. ' To obtain the Effect of Juflification (f)
* in the Sacrament of Penance, 'tis fufficient for
* a Perfon to have a real pure Attrition, diftin- c guifhed from that perfect Contrition which con-
* tains in it the Love of God above every thing.
* And it is not neceffary that this Attrition
c proceed in any meafure from the motive of Di-
c vine Love, but 'tis enough if it fprings from
4 the bare fuper-natural motive of Fear.'
Laftly, This is the very Point which Father Raye maintain'd at Antwerp m 1710(g). c That At- c trition, fays be, which refults fingly from the c Fear of Hell-Torments, without any formal and fi explicit; Love of God in it, is fufficient for ob-
* taining Juftification in the Sacrament.'
After the reading of thefe Paffages, what Man wou'd fay with Jefus Chrift that few are the Eleïï* ? wou'd he not fay on the contrary, that the number of them is very great, and that the
(e) De ipfâ attritione quid ftatuendum eft > Tuta in praxi, & moralitèr certa fententia eft. In his Thejis of the 12th of November 1697.
(/) Sufficit fi procédât ex folo motivo fupernaturali timoiis, In a Thefts maintained in their College at Rome in 1700. at Concl. 53.
(g) Amino quae ex folo gehennje metu fine ullo formali & explicit d amore Dei benevolo concipitur, fufficit ad juftifi- cationem in Sacramento confequendam. In his Thejis of July 23. p. 16. Pof. z6.
* Mat, xxii. 14.
4 Gale
of the Pagan s, &c. 3 3
Gate 'which leads to Life is very wide f ? For is there one Sinner in Chriftendom but fears Hell» and is forry for having provok'd God, not be- caufehe is ibvereignly Good and Amiable, but be- caufe he is terrible in the Vengeance he takes for Sin ? Yet, fay the Jefuits, there needs nothing more in order to be juftiry'd in the.Sacrament of Penance.
'Tis true that the Jefuits only afcribe the virtue of producing fo ftrange an Effect, to fervile Fear, becaufe they think it capable of converting the Heart from the Love to the Hatred of Sin. And this is what they teach with incredible Boldnefs.
4 Imperfect Contrition, fays Father de Maes, 6 which they call Attrition, is true Repentance. € From whence we infer (g)9 that the Fear of Hell,
* when unaccompany'd with any other Confidera-
* tion, will pofi tively free the Mind from anyByais c to Sin.5
Father de Meyer, another Jefuit, teaches like- wife, c that imperfect Contrition (Jo) which is th<3 c refult of nothing but the fear of Hell, will pofi»
* tively exclude all manner of Will to Sin.'
The Fathers Vander-Wœftine and Matin {peak out as clearly as their Brethren whom we have juft now quoted, 6 That the fear of Hell is capable of it
* felf to banifh every internal Propenfity to Sin (i)' The fame Father Vander-Wœftine fays alio,
j- Ibid.vii. 14.
(g) Metum gehennae poiTe fe folo pofitîvc omnem exclu- dere voluntatem peccandi. In a Thefts maintained at Lou- Tain, Dec. 12. 1691. Pof, 4.
(h) Imperfecta contritio ex folo metu gehennae concepta^ cxcludere pofïtivè omnem voluntatem peccandi poteft. In a Thefis he maintain' d at Louvain, July 10. 1696* p. 1 1. Pof. 24.
(i) Timor gehennae per fe poteft excludere omnem volun- tatem, etiam internam peccandi. In another Thefts maintained at the fame face July , 8. 1699. p. 11. Pof. 30.
D < That
34 'A Taralkl of the "Do&rine
4 That fervile Fear is good, not only to flop the 4 Hand, but to check the Will (£).'
Father S alt on, a famous Jefuit of Poi fliers, bold- ly preach' d up this very Doctrine in 171 7. ' The 4 Sinner, fays he (I), by thefe Motives {the Defor- 4 mity of Sin, and the Fear of Hell) is truly con- 4 verted to God, and abfolutely diverted from 4 any mortal Sin whatever ; becaufe thefe two Mo- 4 tives are extended to all mortal Sins.'
It wou'd be fuperfluous to quote any more Paf- figes from the Divines of that Society, upon this Head: For 'tis manifeft that 'tis the common Doctrine of their School, of which any one may be convinc'd by only referring to the Proof of it given by the Jefuits of Louvain themfelves, in their famous Thefes againft Janfenins, of which we will jufl give this fhort Conclufion. 4 Therefore, 4 fay they, There is a Fear grounded on the threat- ' ning of Hell, which carries in it all that con- 4 ftitutes true Repentance, tho it does not pro- 4 ceed from a Motive of Love (m).9
This is what they call clear and pofitive Deci- fions \ according to which 'tis evident that the more a Man is pofTefs'd with Fear, he is the better Pe- nitent and Convert. But 'tis aftonifhing how Men, who fet up for Teachers in Ifrael, cou'd pofîibly advance fuch Paradoxes ; for from whence did they fetch this Doctrine ? Certainly, they did not find it in the FATHERS, whofe Doctrine upon this Article comes as near as pofllble to this
i\î) TfcïiOr fcrvilis bonus eft, neque manum tantùm fed & animum cohibere poteft. In his Thefis of July 13. 1705. Pof* 7. N°7.
(/) Verè ad Deum convertitur, & abfolutè avertitur à quo- cunque lethali peccato, quoniam haec motiva ad omnia letha- lia peccata extendunrur.
(m) Timor ergo aliquis ex gehennâ intentatâ conceptus, com- ple&itur omnia qua: vera pcenitentia, etfi non ex charitate pro- ic&a, comprehendit. At cap. 2. Art. 16. p. 76» col. 2. n. 5.
Pro-
of the Pagan s, Sfr. 3 j
Propofition of Father Quefnel (n\ c That Fear 4 only flops the Hand, and that the Heart is ad- ' dieted to Sin fo long as the Love of Juilice is not
* its governing Principle*.
Nor did they find it in the Writings of the PAGANS; for thofe Men, with the Eye of Rea- fon only, faw very clearly that Fear alone is not capable of converting the Heart, nor of ba- nifhing finful Intentions. The moft that Fear can do, as they fay very well, is to flop the Hand from committing criminal Actions ; but it cannot reflrain the Will, nor fupprefs the Longings after Sin. ' The Man, fays Terence, who does his Du- c ty by Conflraint (0), and from a Fear of Punifh- ' ment, withholds his Hand a little from commit-
* ting a Fault, when he thinks he fhall be found
* out : But if he hopes to conceal himfelf, he pre-
* fently relapfes into his natural Depravity ; where-
* as he whofe Heart is well inclin'd, does his Duty
* cordially and with Affection.'
Is it poffible to give a better Character of Fear and Love ? And if I had not nam'd Terence, wou'd not the Reader have thought I had quoted that Paffage from the Books of St. Auftin ? There's another I fhall borrow from Cicero, which one wou'd be apt to think was another Quotation from St. Auftin. c The Wife Man only (p), thai is,
* the juft, good Man, obeys the Laws not for
* fear of the Punifhments which they threaten, but
(») Gift. Of the condemned Propojitionsi
(0) Malo coa&us qui fuum officium facit, dum id refcitum iri credit, tantifper cavet : Si fperat fore clam, rurfum ad in- genium redit. Quern bénéficie* adjungas, ille ex animo facit. Ter. Adelph. aft. i. fc. I.
(p) Di&um eft ab eruditifiïmis viris, nifi fapientem— efïe— qui legibus quidem non propter metum paret, fed eas fequitur atque colit, quia id falutare maxime efle judical. Cicer. 5. parade c, 1.
D 2 * becaufe
3 6 A parallel of the T^oBrine
4 becaufe he loves and honours them, and thinks c nothing more wholefom than a Conformity to 4 them.' Therefore the Jefuits Penitent, who is only influenc'd by the Fear of Puniihment, is foolifh, unjuft, and wicked. 4 For, fays St. Au- 4 guftin, they who are deterr'd from doing Evil 4 (q) by Fear, ought not to be rank'd among the 4 Good -, for adds he, 'tis not the Fear of Puniihment, 4 but the Love of Juftice that makes a good ' Man. And whoever, fays St, Profper, is influenc'd 4 only by the Fear of Puniihment, and does not 4 alfo love to fee Juftice and Holinefs bear fway, 4 is not innocent (r). This is exaclly the Thought of 4 Horace. The Love of Virtue alone, fays that 4 Heathen Poet, makes honeft Men flee Vice (s). 4 But for thy part ('tis to the Jefuits, and their 4 Penitents, that this is apply9 d) nothing but the
* Fear of Puniihment makes thee avoid Sin ; and 4 if thou coudft hope not to be detected, thou
* woud'ft jumble facred Things with profane (/).'
(q) Non — boni pronuntiandi funt, qui — > metuendo non peccant. Non enim bonus eft quifpiam timoré pcense, fed amore juftitiae. Aug, Epifi, i$g. ad Maced. Tom. z. p. 330. (r) Nullus enim eft infons folâ formidine pœnae, Qui fanftum & juftum non amat imperium.
Profp. Epigr. 43. p.C^. (;) Oderunt peccare boni virtutis amore. Tu nihil admittes in te formidine pcenae Sit fpes fallendi, mifcebis facra profanis. Hor. Ep, 16. (/) I don't believe the Jefuits will cavil with me here, he' caufe the Pagans \ whom I quote, only /poke of ?iatural Fear* The Reverend Fathers themfelves have confounded it with fuper» natural Fear ; and fo far they were in the right. For as to Fear, the one is as natural as the other for working Converfiony iftofearisfufficientfor Converfion. Whatever happens, if they take it amifs that I have not quoted their Pajfages relating to the Efficacy of Natural Fear% let them but fpeak, and they JJjall quickly have abundant Satisfaction 5 tho after all, no- thing can he faid more Jlrongly than 'what the Bull fays, viz* That one may approach to God with Fear like JSeafts.
Let
of the Pagans, &c. 37
Let every Man now lay his Hand upon his Heart. Will he not acknowledge that were he not reftrain'd by Fear, he wou'd Hick at nothing, provided he was fure of Impunity ? Let us then admire on the one hand thofe Pagans I have juft now quoted, who fo well knew the Heart of Man, and the only thing capable of converting him. But on the other hand, we mult equally admire at the Jefuits, that are neither Chriftians nor Pagans, who ftifle all the Sentiments of Reli- gion and Reafon, and who in defiance of the Cry of all Confciences, that it belongs to Love alone to banifh all Inclination to Sin, alîèrt, with a rafh- nefs not to be conceived, that the Fear of Punifht ment alone is capable of producing that Effect.
Nor have they been content to propagate their Errors, without caufing the contrary Truths to be at leaft condemn'd. For having found a fair op- portunity, they have improv'd it. And by ma- king ufe of the Name and Authority of the Pope who was perfectly devoted to them, they have gone fo far as to caufe thefe two Propofitions, fo agreeable to Piety and good Senfe, to be con- demn'd. c 1. That Fear only withholds the ' Hand *, and that the Heart is abandon' d to Sin c fo long as 'tis not guided by a Love for Juftice. * 2. That he who only abftains from Sin for fear c of the Punifhment f, commits it in his Heart, c and is already guilty before God.'
Now, from the Condemnation of thefe two Truths, thefe two Errors necefTarily follow. 1. That Fear alone is capable of banifhing the Will of finning from the Heart, 2. That the Abfti- nence from Evil thro' Fear, is furHcient to render us Juft and Innocent before God. And thofe are the two favourite Tenets of the Jefuits, which tho
* Proportion 6u f Prop. 62.
D 3 Clemen?
3 8 A Tar aile I of the T^oBrine
Clement XI. authorifes by his Conftitution, we have confuted by the Pagans.
Surely, Cicero wou'dfay, is it pofîible that Men who call themfelves Wife, Reafonable, and alfo Infallible, fhou'd be capable of fuch grofs Mif- takes ? For, the Pagan wou'd add9 can any Man in his Senfes fay, c That (w) they are really chafte 6 who only abftain from Adultery out of Fear ?'— Alas! faid hebut juft before^ c how I blufh for fuch 6 Philosophers (x) !
It has been feveral times aflferted, but here is plain Demonflration, that the Doctrine authoris'd by the Conftitution, wou'd have made the very Heathens blufh, And really that muft be a very odd Decree, becaufe one of the moil zealous Stick- lers for it (31), finding that the Truth was there- by wounded, wou'd not juftify it but by advanc- ing thefe Maxims, to which every one may give what Character they pleafe. ' 1 . That tho it were
4 certain that many of the condemn'd Propofitions, ' (z) are naturally fufceptible of a good Meaning, ' and tho fome of them were ftriSly true in the fi very Terms of them, yet the Truth thereof,
* whether real or apparent, or the favourable Con- 6 ftruction which may or ought naturally to be e put upon them, are no Reafons why the Pope
* and Bifhops have not juftly condemn'd them,
* 2. That even tho they had been innocent before
(w) Quid enim ? poflumus eos, qui ftupro arcentur mem,' pudicos dicere — me — iftorum Philofûphorum pudet. Cic. U 1, Leg.
(x) Cicero was declaiming againft the Epicureans : whereby we fee the conformity of their Doclrine with that of the Jefuits end the Conftitution.
(y) M. Languet, Btjhop of Soiflbns;
(z) His Advertifement or Warning, p. $2.,
3 * the
of the Pagans, &c. 39
* the Condemnation of them, they ceafe to be fo « fince (*).'
I own that, with regard to the firft Maxim, I ceafe to wonder, when I fee Jefus Chrifl, who is the Truth it felf, condemn'd by the chief Priefts, and the Sovereign Pontiff. But, as to the fécond, with the Bifhop of Sol/Jon's leave, I don't fee why they who thought Jefus Chrifl: Innocent before his Condemnation, mull pronounce him guilty fince it pafs'd upon him.
And let not the Bifhop of Soijfons fay that I de- ceive my felf, and that the Maxim which he has advanc'd, only justifies the Condemnation of Truth, and not that of Perfons. For if he talks at this rate, I fhou'd reply, tho with refpecl, tibi ludi- tur, that is to fay, you deceive your felf my Lord. 1. Becaufe your Maxim ferves you to condemn Father Quefnel. 2. And what is a better Proof than all is, that the Major includes the Minor. Now, according to you, the Pope and the Bi- fhops may juftly (for this Term muft not pafs un- obfervM) condemn Truth, which is infinitely above Perfons how innocent foever. Draw the Confequence, my Lord ; for, to a perfect Rea- foner as you are, a word is enough. Obferve only, that by changing the word juftly into unjuftl% your Maxim will be true,
{a) The fame, p. 5?.
D 4 CHAP.
4'o A Tarallel of the ^oElrine
CHAP. V.
Of the Love of God.
AFTER having taught Men that Fear alone is capable of converting them, and recon- ciling them with God in the Sacrament of Penance, it were necefiary to fortify them againft the Con- fternation they might have been under upon ac- count of thole Words of the Apoftles St. Paul and St. Jobn9 Cur fed be every one who doth not love the Lord Jcfus (a ). He who hath not Love, abideth in Death (b). For every Believer knows the Im- port of the firlt and great Command of the Law, One only God /halt thou worftvp, and -perfectly love. And from hence arifes that Trouble in Confciences, which are only difturb'd by Fear, without any mix- ture of Love.
But, fay the jefuits ; c Let not this alarm you.
* The Command, Thou /halt love the Lord thy 6 God with all thy Heart (c), with all thy Soul,
* and with all thy Strength, does not fignify that c he ought to be lov'd in reality. This wou'd be
* taking things too flriclly in the Letter. Now
* the Letter killeth, but the* Spirit giveth Life (d). 4 What the Apoftles therefore, and Jefus Çhrifl be- c fore them, meant by it, is this : Thou /halt c love the Lord, that is to fay, Thai /halt not hate 6 him. That's all that's imply'd in thofe Words, ■ which terrify you fo much. And doubt not
* but that is the Senfe of them, according to the
* Authority, not of Jefus Chrifc, or of an Apo-
(*) i Cor. iC. 22. {b) i John 3. 14. (c) Mat. 2a. 37. (d) 2 Cora 3. 6.
of the Pagans, Sfc. 4^
c ftle, but of the famous Father Sirmond. Be- c hold, fays that Jefuit, the Goodnefs of God,
* and how great it is ! He has not fo much com- 6 manded us to love him, as not to hate him (e)9
Wou'd one think it poflible to blafpheme af- ter this manner ! What, becaufe God is good, he mail not be lov'd, but we may content our felves with not hating him ? Neverthelefs, * This Doc- 4 trine, fays Father Pinthereau, is (/) a Holy
* Doctrine, authoris'd Time out of mind in the ' Church of God, and which none but the ungodly, c that is to fay, the Janfenifts, will prefume to op- 4 pofe •,' for they are the Men whom this Jefuit marks out by the Name of Ungodly, and par- ticularly M. Arnaud, and M. de St. Cyran, who maintain'd the neceflity of loving God. Who wou'd have believ'd that a Son is ungodly, becaufe he maintains that he ought to love his Father ? and who wou'd have taken the Jefuits for Men full of Religion and Piety, when they plead againft loving our Creator, who out of his fuper abundant Love gave us his own Son to be the Sacrifice for our Sins ?
Now a Man wou'd undoubtedly be curious to know, why thofe Reverend Fathers are fo much for banifhing the Love of God, efpecially when Sin- ners feek to be reconcil'd to him in the Sacrament of Penance. The Reafon is this : ' That Love ' of God wou'd, fay they, hinder them from re-
* ceiving the principal Effect of that Sacrament.' Yea, fays Father Valentia the Jefuit, Contrition, that is to fay, a Sorrow for Sins founded upon the Love of God above all other Motives (for this is his Definition of it, that no Man may mijlake him.)
(e) In his Book. intituVd, La defenfe de la vertu, or the Defence cf Virtue, Treat, z. Sect, i. cap. 2, 3.
(/) In his Book intituVd, Les impoftures 6c ignorances, em I part, p. 62»
« That
42 A "Parallel of the ^DoEtrine
4 That Contrition, fays he (g)9 is not neceffary in 4 it felf for receiving the primary Effect of the 4 two Sacraments (Baptifm and Penance) but on 4 the contrary, is rather an Obftacle to it : from * whence he concludes very well, that- the requi- 4 ring Contrition in order to receive thofe two 4 Sacraments duly, and with Advantage, wou'd 4 be an abfurd Precept'. This is what they call racking the Brain to find out fhort and plain Prin- ciples. The Love of God is a Hindrance to Conver- fion in the Sacrament of Penance : That's the Prin- ciple. Therefore to require that hove, in order to be reconciled to God, wou'd be an abfurd Precept: That's the Confequence. After this, who will not fubfcribe to the Character which the Jefuits give of themfelves in their own Panegyrick, viz. 4 That they have chang'd the Face of (b) Chrif- 4 tianity, and that they have caus'd the Chriftian 4 Knowledge to flourifh every where, by teaching 4 Men to beware of loving their God, efpecially 4 when they feek to be reftor'd to Favour with 4 him ?'
But thefe Doctors don't flop here, for being fruitful in Difcoveries, they have found out that the Difference between the Old and New Cove- nants confifts in that, by the firft, a Man was oblig'd to love God, whereas by the fécond he is excus'd from that Obligation -, that is to fay in a Word, that the Love of God above all other Con- fiderations was good for a Jew, but that a Chrif-
(g) Contritio in re ipfâ non eft necefTaria ad effe&um pri- marium ejufmodi Sacramentorum percipiendum : imo obftat potiùs qnominus ille fequatur. Igitur abfurdum effet praecep- tum, quod contritionem ad earn rem requireret, ut conveni- enter Ôc fruâuofe ifta Sacramenta fufcipiantur. In his Com=- menu Theolog. Tom. 4. Difp. 7. Quaeft. 8. pund. 4. p, 1383.
(h) In the Preface to their Picture of the firjl Century.
tian's '
of the Pagans, Sfc. 43
tian's Portion is a ftrong Fear join'd with the Sacra- ment. Let us hear Father Merat, who was cele- brated by the Society for his Knowledge, uncom- mon Qualifications, and his honourable Employ- ments : He is going to give us a clear Idea of the Difference betwixt the two Covenants.
c The Evangelical Law, fays this great Jefnit (z), 4 is more agreeable than the Law of Mofes, m 6 that it takes away the NecefTity which there was. 4 under the Law, of having Contrition, or a Sor-
* row for Sins animated by the Love of God ;
* which is a Matter of no fmall difficulty.' Father Pinthereau, fpeaking in the Name of the
whole Society, whofe Defence he undertakes, ex- plains himfelf with no lefs Freedom upon this Ar- ticle : c For the Law of the New Teftament, fays 6 he (k)9 is a Law of Grace, made for Children, c and not for Slaves. Is it not fitting that it fhou'd c require lefs at their Hands, and that God on his ç part mould give more ? It was reafonable, there- c fore, that he mould take off the heavy and dif- c ficult Obligation, which was in the Penal Law, of c exercifmg an Act of perfect Contrition, in order ' to be juftify'd.*
Father Faber, another Writer and Advocate for the Society, makes the like publick Declaration a- gainft the Obligation of loving God : ' If perfect ' Contrition, fays he (I), namely, that which carries c in it a hove of God above every other Confederation,
* were neceffary in the Sacrament, we Chriftians
* mould be in a much worfe Condition than the
(/) In his Difputes on the Summary of St. Thomas, Tom. ui. Tnatife of Penance, Bifp. xisc. § z. p. 567. n, 7.
(k) In his Book of the Impoflure, &c. Part ii. p. $3.
(I) Si contritio perfe&a in Sacramento effet neceffaria, longe pejoris conditionis effemus, quàm Judaei ante Chrifti adventum.
Quis dicat fervos mitius & liberalius excipi quam filios î
Dialog, xviû p. 366. col. 2. n. 38.
* Jews
44 A Tarallel of the TïoBrine
« Jews were before Chrift came into the World. 4 Now, who durft fay that Slaves are treated with s more Lenity and Goodnefs than Children ?' Can any Words more clearly exprefs, that the old Cove- nant was altogether a Covenant of Love, and the new one a Covenant altogether of Fear ? and by confequence, Is any thing more capable of fubvert- ing the Order of Things ?
Father Salton, m the loofe Papers which he dic- tated at Poicliers, teaches the fame Doctrine. * If c Attrition, fays he (m), be not fufficient, the Way c of Salvation, in this Cafe, would be render'd c more difficult under the Law of Grace, than un- c der the Law of Mofes, or that of Nature.5
' If this Love, fays alfo Father de Brielle, Divi- nity Profeffor of the Jefuits College at Rheims, (n)
* were neceflàry in the Sacrament, the Way of ' Salvation would be more difficult under the Law 4 of Grace, than under the Law of Nature, or
* that of Mofes' So that it feems our Privilege, as Chriftians, form'd upon the Crofs in the Heart of God, who is cali'd Love (o), our fpecial Privi- lege will be, greatly to fear that God who hath greatly loved us ( p ). And according to this Doc- trine, when we happen to have offended him mor- tally, that is to fay, after a ferions Reflection and ihorow Knowledge of the Evil and Heinoufnefs of Sin, (for without this there's no mortal Sin) we may reconcile our felves to him by means of a fervile Fear : and this becaufe we are not Pagans or Slaves, as were the Jews, for whom it was good to love ;
(m) Denique, nifi fufKceret attritio, via falutis reddita effet ex hac parte difficilior in lege gratiae quam in lege Mofaïca au£ nature. In his Treatife of Penance, DifTert. ii. ch. 7.
(n) Tertium (argumentum) colligitur, ex eo quod via falutis effet difficilior in lege gratiae quam in Mofaicâ, aut naturae, lu his Notes upon Penance a Quaelh 2.
(0) 1 John iv. 8. (J>) Ephef ii9 4,
but
of the Pagans, &c. ^
but becaufe we are the Children of the new Cove- nant, whofe peculiar Character is fervile Fear.
After this, I don't wonder that Pope Clement XL who confulted the Jefuits as his Oracle, cou'd not bear thefe Proportions of Father Quefnel : c Cha- ' rity alone fpeaks to God ; and God
* gives Ear to no Voice where there is ProP* **" 4 not Charity. fcGod crowns only Cha-
c rity : He that runneth with another — "*
c Motion, and from another Motive,
c runneth in vain. God rewards Charity proP *$
4 alone, becaufe Charity alone honoureth
* God. There's no God nor Religion propt 5g# 4 where there's no Charity. In fhort,
* whofoever would draw near to God, propm $çm ' ought not to come to him with Fear,
' like Beafts, but with Love, as Children/ Thefe Propofitions had been good in the Days of the Pa- gans and Jews ; but iince the Publication of the Gofpel and the Eftablifhment of Chriftianity, for a Man to come and teach that we mould love God, and that the being feiz'd with Fear like a Beafts is not a fufficient Qualification to draw near to him and to gain his Love, is manifeft Impiety, according to Father Pintbereait. And 'tis for this Reafon that Pope Clement XL has characterize all thofe Propo- fitions as Errors, and Errors the moft criminal (q).
Methinks I now fee the angry P,eader calling out for fome Pagan to confound the Bull, and the Je- fuits, whofe Errors it favours -, and here Seneca comes in very à propos, who firft treats of the Man- ner in which we mould make our Approaches to God : ' The Worfhip due to God muft be per-
* form'd, fays the Pagan (r), with a Heart full of
(q) See the Preamble to the Conftitution.
(r) Deo qui colitur & amatur non poteft amor cum timoré mifceri. Senec. Epift. xlvii. torn. z. p. 161. Thusalfo the Apo- file St. John exprejfes himfdf, There is no Fear in Love, fays
46 A Tar aile I of the ^DoBrine
* Love, and not with a Mind which is difturb'd
* only with that Fear which cannot unite with Love.* St. Anguftin has exactly the fame Di&ion (/), c To 4 honour God truly, is to love him.' c Would
* you, fays Seneca elfewhere, render the Gods pro-
* pitious to you ? Be Good (/).' Perhaps the Je- fuits will cry out, We fay fo too \ but then we will tell them in our turn, Tho your Language is the fame, yet your Meaning is different: for your Good Man, as you drefs him up, is only Attrite and Fearful; whereas Seneca's Good Man is only fuch from the Love of Honefty in it felf, and not from any fervile or beftial Fear. And if they won't take me upon my word, let them hear the Philo- fopher himfelf, and blufh to be as ignorant as this Pagan was enlighten'd. c No, fays this great Man9 *- I will not call that Woman chaile, who is only
* fo from the Fear of the Law, or of her Huf- ' band ; for, as Ovid has very well remark'd, fhe 6 is criminal in her Heart, who only abftains from
* the Crime becaufe it is prohibited : from whence
* Seneca concludes, that thofe Wives who are only ' chafte from Fear, and not from a Love of Chat ' tity, are defervedly rank'd in the Number of
* AdulterefTes (//).' Really, could any thing be better exprefs'd ; and, by the Rule of Contraries, could the Jefuits, and the Bull which came after them, have made a worfe Declaration, than to fay that an Adulter -eft may become chafe, by a fervile Fear like that of Beajls ?
(/) Qnde colitur Deus, nifl chamate. Aug* Tom. ii. p. ^8.
(/) Vis Deos propitiari ? Bonus efto. Senec. Epift.xcv; p. 470. torn. 2.
(u) Non dicam pudicam quae aut legem aut virum timuit,
ut ait Ovidius : 6su& quia non licuit, non dealt, ilia, dédit. Non immerito in numerum peccantium refertur quae pudicitiam ti~ mori praeftiiit & non fîbi. Senec, de Ben. L. iv. p.7i4- ^m. 1.
I
of the Pagans, £?<t. 47
I know very well, that the Motive which has induc'd the Jefuits to afcribe fo miraculous a Pro- perty to Fear, was the Defire of furniihing Sinners with a Method that mould be always in their Pow- er, to be reftor'd to Favour with God, and to ba- nifh all Defire to fin from the Heart. But their too great Charity has blinded them ; and being fal- len down the Precipice of Error, they draw all thofe after them that hang upon their fooliui Deci- fions. For the Tranfition from Injuftice to Jufiice, and from Vice to Virtue, is not thro' the Path of fervile Fear. Nor have the profane Writers thought the PaiTage more eafy than the infpir'd Penmen ; as one may judge by thefe Words of Plato : c We c eafily fall into Vice (x), we go into it as it were c full fpeed But 'tis not fo with Virtue : Many " are the Labours, and great the Toils which the f Gods expect we ihould go thro', before v/e
* attain to it ; and they have render' d the Road te- c dious and difficult.' — This too is the Language of the Council of Trent \ ' If we fall after having 4 known the Way of Truth, we cannot get into
* it again, without, abundance of Tears, and ex- 6 traordinary Labour (y)'
But believe nothing of it, fay the Jefuits. Fear but Hell, and fear it very much -, and this Fear, together with the Sacrament, will reconcile you to God, and banifh every Inclination to Sin from your Heart. Judge now, if trufting to fuch Guides be not the ready way to Ruin : Judge, how is it pofTible for fuch ConfeTors, I mean fach as are purely
(x) Ad vitium pervenire facile eft : plana enim eft via & admodum prope habitat. Ante virtutem autem fudorem Du pofueiunt longamque viam & arduam. Plat, de Republic. L. ii» p. 414.
(y) Ad quam tamen novitatem & integritatem fine mag-
nis noftris fletibus & laboribus, divinâ id exigente juftitiâ per- Venire nequaquam pofliimus. Conç. Trid, Self. xiv. c. 2.
Attritây
4§ A Parallel of the *Do&rine
Attrite, to convert a Tingle Soul ? And what is it then that they do ? Why they feal the Crimes of their Penitents by as many Sacrileges, as they give them Abfolutions and Communions.
To make this ftiil more plain : Suppofe two Perfons who only abftain from Adultery for fear of Punifhment. One applies to Seneca, if you will, and lays to him, / would fain wait upon the Deity, and be reconciled to him, but I love Pleafure, and only abftain from Adultery by reafon of the Apprehenfwn I am under of the Wrath of God, who forbids Crimes of this nature. The other applies himfelf to Fa- ther Valentia, and tells him the fame thing. The Jefuit makes anfwer to him without hefitation, "Thai is enough to reconcile you to God. But replies the Penitent, Fear is my only Principle ; and the De- fire of committing Adultery fubfifts in my Heart at the fame time with it. ' No matter, fays this Jefuit, c this very Fear, provided it be ftrong and good, c will be fufficient for you along with the Sacra- c ment : And never trouble your Head with a c Sorrow for Sins grounded upon the Love of c God ; for fuch Contrition would be an Obftacle to c the Reception of the principal Effecl of the Sacra- 1 ??ient -, and the Man that fhou'd require it of you, c would be impertinent.9
Now, let us compare this Difcourfe of Valentia with what Seneca fays ; ' Tou have only Fear9 the Pagan would fay, c this is not fufficient to come c before God, and to render him propitious to ' you. A Man muft be good, and have a Love 4 to Juftice ; for as long as you are poifefs'd with ç the Fear of Punifhment, the Love of Pleafure c will fubfift in your Heart, and by confequence c the Defire of committing Adultery, (z) For who-
(z.) Incefta eft: etiam fine ftupro quae cupit ftuprum. Sente* Excerpt, contr, L. vi. p. 477. tQm* 3.
3 fievci
of the Pagans, Sfr. ^q
% foever defireth it, hath already committed it in his ç Heart, tho 'tis not yet come to Atlion? I own it may be faid that Seneca is a Janfenift, and that this Propofition is the fame verbatim as that of Father Quefnel, condenm'd by Clement XL viz. c He that
* abftaineth from Evil only for fear of Punimment, c committçth it in his Heart, and is already guilty
* before God.' But I hope they will be fo good as to obferve, that 'tis alfo St. Âuftitfs Doctrine verbatim : ( He, fays that Father, who abftains 4 from Sin, not out of Choice and his own ac-
* cord, but from Fear, commits Sin in his Heart,
* and in his fecret Intention (a).J I leave it now to Reference, whether it would not be better to have a Seneca or a Plato for Director, than all the Jefuits put together.
But, fome will fay, what have the Jefuits, (for after all, they are Priefts, and Priefts too of the So- ciety of Jefus) abfolutely abolifh'd the Command to love God ? No ; for to give them their due, they do indeed acknowledge there is a Time when this is a Duty. 'Tis true, not when a Perfon is arrived to Years of Difcretion, becaufe that would be too early ; nor when an adult Perfon goes to receive the Sacrament of Baptifm, becaufe Attri- tion being fufficient at fuch a time, the performing fuch Act of Love would at ieafr. be fuperfluôus. But, perhaps, this may be done upon Saints-Days and Sundays ? Oh no, becaufe thofe Days are too good for it. When then ? Is it a Duty when a Perfon has receiv'd any fpecial Favour from God ? No, that would favour too much of Gratitude. Is it a time to do it when a Man is ftrongly tempted to commit any Sin ? By all means, if there's no avoid- ing the Temptation any other way -, but if it can
(a) Profe&o in ipsa intus voluntate peccat, qui non volun- tate fed timoré non peccat. Aug* Arfvtrf ii. lift, Pelag. cap, 9, torn.. 10. P. 41*.
E be
yo A Taralkl of the 'Doffrine
be done otherwife, the Obligation does not take place. In fhort, then, tell us when it does : Is it when a Perfon is going to fuffer Martyrdom ? No. Is it in the Hour of Death ? No. Is it then after Death ? Oh, there I think you have hit it. But before that time, 'tis certain, according to Father Lejjeau, that a Perfon is not oblig'd to it. If you won't believe me, take his own Words for it ;
* A Perfon is not oblig'd, jays this pious Jefuit, (b)
* to love God, neither upon Saints-Days, nor in the c Hour of Death-, nor when a Perfon has receiv'd
* any fpecia) Favour from God, nor when he goes
* to the Sacrament of Baptifm, nor when he is c oblig'd to perform an Act of Contrition, nor
* when he is arriv'd at the Years of Difcretion, nor 4 when he is under Sentence of Martyrdom, be-
* caufe at that time Attrition is fufficient.' Father Sirmcnd fays the fame thing (c) ; and 'tis
he that puts the Cafe of a Temptation, after which he adds, 4 Suarez fays, neverthelefs, that a Perfon 4 is oblig'd to it (to love God) at a certain time : ■ but at what time, guefs you ; or rather, he leaves 4 it to your Judgment, for he knows nothing of
* the Matter. But, continues Father Sirmond, what
* this Doctor does not know, I can't tell who does.' So that when Hertando de Mendcfa advanc'd, c That
* this was a Duty every Year, Coninch every three 4 or four Years, Henrique s every five Years (d) i
(b) Non omnibus diebus feftis, nee in articulo mortis, nee cum aliquis fîngulavi aliquo beneficio à Deo afficitur, nee cum vult baptifmum fufcipere, nee cum tenetur a&um contritionis elicere, nee cum martyrium fubeuwdum eft, quia tunc fufficit at- tritio. In his Loofe Papers chelated at Amiens, when he there taught Cafes of Confcience. In his Treatife of the Ten Com- mandments, Seel:, iii. Of Charity, Art. I.
(c) In his Book of the Defence of Virtue, Treat, ii. Se A. I. c, i, and 3.
(d) See Efcobar3 Traft, i. ex. 2, n, % 1. and Tr. 5. ex. 4. n. &
' thefe
c/^fe Pagans, &c. 51
1 thefe three Jefuits talk'd at random, and knew 4 not what they faid.'
For, when all is done, this would be impofing too painful a Yoke upon the Necks of Chriftians. And, as Father Sirmond very well obfrrves, Jefus Chrifl, by his fpecial Grace and Favour, hath re- leas'd us from this odious Slavery. H? makes this Remark upon occafion of thofe Words of Jefus Chrift : If the Son therefore fh all make you free, you Jhall be free indeed. 4 Yea, fays he, we mail be 4 free, as I hope, by his own Teflimony, even 4 from that too ftrift Obligation which fome would 4 lay upon us, of loving God, in the Point of Me- 4 rit (e).9 So that according to this accomplinVd Jefuit, we are freed by Jefus Chrifl himfelf from the too find Obligation of loving God, his and our Father, and of ferving him with Love, and in a manner which may be meritorious of Eternal Life.
Ah foolifh People ! may we well fay, as an Au- thor does, whofe Work will fome time or other be taken for a Prophecy, tho 'tis but an Explana- tion of the Antients. c Ye filly Wretches, make 4 hade and prepare to fit upon the twelve Thrones, 4 to judge the twelve Tribes of (f) Ifrael! You would judge the Apoflles themfelves, and condemn them for their Ramnefs, in having impos'd this ftricl: Obligation upon us, of loving a Godwhofirft loved us (g)\ and in having pronounced a Curfe upon all thofe who do not love his Son our Lord Jefus Chrifl (h).
(e) Sirmond, in his Book abovement\on>d> Tr. iii\ p. £o.
(f) IVth of the Groans on account of the Conflitution, p. 3 \l
(g) We therefore love God, becaufe he firfl loved us, 1 Joh. iv. 19* (h) if any Man love not the Lord Jefus Chrifl, let him be ac*
cur fed, 1 Cor. xyi. 22.
E 2 But
yj d ^Parallel of the T)otfrine
« But the Hell where you wou'd find that Faith
* which is only accompany'd with trembling, thofe
* Groans and Tears which never proceeded from
* the Love of an offended God : Ah ! what mer- 4 cy 'tis, that Hell, the frightful Picture of which
* is fo affecting to your Penitents, does not pre^
* fentit felf before your Eyes ! — '[_Groan.IV. p. 3 2.]
Come, you would lay to thofe infernal, attrite, and fearful Souls, s Come, ye hiejfed of the Fat her y
* (i) inherit the Kingdom prepar d for you from the ■ Foundation of the World ;' becaufe you never lov'd your God, and becaufe, according to the Doctrine of Father Sirmond, you believ'd that Je- ius Chrift fit you free from the too ftricl Obligation of loving him. Come alfo, becaufe, as you had the Happineis to be inflrucled in the Truth, of which our Father Valencia was fo wonderful a Teacher, You thought Contrition a hindrance to the Reception of the principal Effet! of thofe two Sacraments, Baptifin and Penance ; and that the requiring of fuch Contri- tion for receiving thofe two Sacraments duly and with advantage, was an imperiinent Precept. Come, in fhort, and receive a Kifs from the Bridegroom,
* You, who when you made your Addreffes to him, ap-
' proach'd him with brutal Paffons, or Prop. 6C ' were conducted by a natural Inftintl, or
' by Fear, as Beafts* But as for you, ungodly Wretches, Father Pin- thereau will fay, who made it your fole Bufinefs to love God, and who have been fo impertinent as to enjoin it upon others as a Precept and an indifpen- fable Duty; you who have always look'd upon that happy Fear which puts the Slave upon Action and the Beaft upon Motion, to be infufficient for ap- proaching to God, and being reconcil'd to him :
(i) Matt, xxv. 34»
l You
of the Pagans, &c. 55
* You, who have taught, that without Love there *■ can be nothing but Darknefs, Wander-
c ing and Sin ; that Love alone performs Prop. 48.
ç Chriltian Actions in a Chriftian manner ; 45*
* that Love alone fpeaks to God, and *£ c that God hears, crowns, and rewards 5$.
* nought but Love, becaufe 'tis Love
' alone that honoureth God.' Go, ye curfed, with all your Apoflles, and in particular the Apoftle Paul, who has ; talk'd even plainer than you have done, becaufe he fays, that ' Tho a Man fpoke
* with the Tongues of Men and Angels, tho he c had the Gift of Prophecy, tho he knew all Se^ € crets and all Knowledge (k), tho he had all Faith,
* fo that he could remove Mountains, tho he fed
* the Poor with all his Goods, and tho he even
* gave his Body to be burnt :' that is to fay, tho he mould fuffer Martyrdom -, which is much more than to fear God as a Beail doth Blows, yet all this prorlteth him nothing if he hath not Love. Be gone, ye too zealous Preachers of the Love of your God, depart into ever lofting Fire, prepared for the Devil and his Angels (I). Thus, if the Jefuits were to judge the World, or rather, if they were to revife the Sentence which Jefus Chrift. is to pafs at the great Day, they would mew him that he is quite miftaken , and by reverfing the Order of Things, they would command all the Saints in Hea- ven down to Hell, and caufe the trembling affright* ed Devils (m), with all the Reprobates, to rife out of the loweft Abyfs to the higheft Heaven ; where, at leafl, they would turn Paradife into Hell, be- caufe 'tis altogether a Place of Fear, and Hell intQ Paradife becaufe 'tis all over Love.
(k) 1 Car. xiii. I, % * (/) Matt. XXY. 41? {m) Jam.iU 19.
E3 CHAR
j4 A Tar aile I of the Doctrine
CHAP. VI. Of the Worfhip due to God,
A GOD, whom it is enough for the Creature to fear, and whom it would be impertinent to love, for the fake of being reconcile to his Fa- vour ; a God for whom we are not oblig'd to have one Sentiment of Love, not even when we go to appear before him to receive Sentence from him ; a God, whom no body knows when they ought to love him, becaufe the famous Jefuit«SW* ez knows it not : A God, in fhort, whom one ought not to love in a manner that may be meritorious to us, as we are taught by the religious Father Sir- mond ; fuch a God may well be honour'd with a Worfhip different from Adoration in Spirit and in Truth.
'Tis true, J ejus Chrift fays that his Father is a -Bpirit -, and from thence he makes this Inference, that whoever would worfhip him in Truth, mufl "worfhip him in Sprit -, and that (a) fuch are the Perfons whom God feeketh to worfhip him. But fuch Language, (thou knoweft, O God, how my Soul abhors this impious Difcourfe) is only fit for the Simple, who have not learnt from the Teachers of this World, I mean the Jefuits, to underfland the Scriptures. No, no ; it muft not be imagin'd that the Worfhip we. owe to God requires Difpofitions from us to be fway'd or dictated by the Spirit and the Heart. Piety would have fomething in it too anxious, and Prayer fomething too ferious, if they fnould demand the whole Man j and this would be
{a) John iv. 23, 24*
fending
of the Pagans, &c. 55
fending us back to the Jewijh time, when the Heart and Lips were to honour God in concert.
Be it known therefore, and always remember'd, that, in order to render to the fupreme Being the Homage and Worfhip, not of a Jew, but of a Ghriftian, 'tis fufficient to appear before him with a wandring Mind, a Heart altogether diffracted, not involuntarily, but with fetDefign and full Purpofe ; and that voluntary Diffractions, when Prayers and Vows are offer' d up to him, do not hinder fuch Prayers from being Incenfe of an agreeable Odour.
Some warm Zealot will not fail here to exclaim againfh the Impiety and Blafphemy of all this ; but he will fee presently whether his Zeal is inlighten'd ; or rather, that he may perceive his is a Zeal with- out Knowledge, let him give Ear to this marvel- lous Principle, and then draw his Confequences.
As a Perfon who bows the Knee to an Idol with- out any Intention to commit Idolatry, wou'd ne- verthelefs be taken for an Idolater, fo they mull be deem'd as praying properly to God, who fing his Praifes, tho without any Intention to pay him due Homage and Honour.
To be fincere, is not this Argument in form of a Period peremptory ? and it could not enter into the Head of any of the common Rank, it being no lefs a Man than the famous Father Bauni who is the Inventor of it. ' Yea, fay that antient Father ? of the Jefuits (b), as he, who, without any In- ' tention of committing Idolatry, mould bend the c Knee before an Idol, would neverthelefs be ta- c ken for an Idolater, fo we mull believe that they 6 are in the Duty of Prayer, who recite the Office, 4 tho without any Attention.'
(b) In his Catalogue of Sins, Ch. xx. p. 33$. Edit. £,
E 4 But
56 A 'Parallel of the 'DoElrine
But fome, who are accuftom'd to a way of Thinking that a Man ought at leafl to deal with God as he would with his Prince and King, in put- ting up a Petition to him, will fay, perhaps, that this is praying in jeft : And this is altogether ow- ing to the PrepolTeiTion of a devout Mind, who has not ftudy'd his Bauni. 'Tis very true that it would be praying in jeft, if it was not attended with a modeft Air. ' But neverthelefs, fays this
* Jefuit, there muft be that Decency kept up, and
* that outward Compofure which fuch an Action c requires (c)* Let us learn then once for all, that neither Attention nor Intention, neither the Spirit nor the Heart, are abfolutely necefîàry to difcharge the Command of Prayer -, but a fair Appearance, a fine Outfide well compos'd, in a word, a wbited Sepulchre.
I am very fenfible, that, notwithstanding Father Baum's Authority, fome will be ftill fo obftinate, as to think voluntary Wandrings of the Mind in- compatible with the EiTence of Prayer. But what more clear and explicit Decifion would fuch have, than the following, which I now lay before them from the Jefuit Gobat : viz. * That (d) voluntary
* Diffractions are confiftent with the EfTence of yo- c cal Prayer?* What more plaufible Argument would fitch defire, than this Oracle of the Jefuit Piatella ? (e) ' It feems more probable that no
* Attention at all, neither internal, nor formal, nor
* virtual, is requir'd in a Man's repeating the Of- e fice.' In a word, what can they expect more de-
(c) In the fame Place»
(d) EfTentiam vocalis orationis confiftere cum voluntarzis df= ftra&ionibus. Tom. i. tr. 5. n. 842, & 843.
(e) Videtur probabilius nullam omnino requiri attentfonem imernani, neque formalem, neque virtualem. In bis Abridge msnt of a Co'urfi of Divinity 9 Part in. § u
3 mon-
of the Pagans, &c. jy
monftrative, than this Argument of the Jefuit Lorthioir : c To honour falfe Gods, (f) tho with 4 a voluntary Diffraction, is a true Act of Idcla- « try : Ergo, To pray to God with voluntary Dif- ' tractions, is an Act of true Religion ?' Really, if thefe Deeifions are not convincing, is it for want of proving, and clearly proving too, that 'tis an- fwering the Command of Prayer, and putting up Prayer worthy of God, to treat him as one would do an Idol ?
'Tis the fame thing with refpect to the facred Myfteries -, or rather, even a more voluntary Dif- fraction is allowable at the hearing of Mafs, than in the making of vocal Prayers. This judicious Remark we have from the fame Jefuit Lortbioir : ' Obferve, fays he, that 'tis not neceffary for a Man ' to be more attentive in the Hearing of Mafs, 1 than in repeating his Primmer (g) : On the con- c trary, a lefs Attention is fufficient ; for, fay the ' Divines, (the Jefuits) 'tis more difficult for a Man ç to fay his Prayers himfelf with Attention, than f to be prefent with Attention when another prays5
* and offers the Sacrifice.' And left he mould be miftaken in this Word Attention, he has taken care to explain it. c We ought, fays be, to lay it down 8 for a Principle, (h) that the other internal At-
* tendon, that is to fay, the Application of the Mind c and Heart to God, does not feem neceffary to ful- 4 fil the Command.' I know not whether there cou'd be a bolder AfTertion againfc Jefus Chrift Jiimfelf, that God may be honour'd with the Lips, while the Heart is far from him (i).
(f) Falfps Deos colère cum voluntariâ diftra&ione, eftverus a&us idolatriae : Ergo eft verus a&us religionis Deum cum vo-» Juntaria diftra&ione orare. In his Treatife of Moral Virtues^ n. 817, delivered in 17 oj or 1708 in the Seminary at Touinay,
{g) In the fame Place, N. 882.
{h) N. 877. (i) Matt. xy. 8,
Yet
58 A ^Parallel of the T>o6irme
Yet this is not all, and I beg the Reader to ob- ferve how far the Jefuits are going. According to thofe Fathers, 'tis not only poflible for a Man who is prefent at the Sacrifice of Jefus Chrift upon our Altars, to do his Duty there with a rowing Mind, provided that the external Man be ferene and fober ; but it may alfo be difcharg'd by afiifl- ing at it with a criminal Heart, and immodeft Eyes. ' Yea, fays Filliucius, (k) an evil Thought 4 at the time of hearing Mafs, fuch as looking c luftfully at Women, is not contrary to the Com- c mand. Therefore, the Man who hears Mais * with fuch Thought, fulfils the Command, pro- 4 vided he be fufiiciently attentive ;' that is to fay, provided he puts on an external Air of Conti- nence.
What Efcobar fays is altogether as indecent. 4 A wicked Thought, fays be, fuch as calling an 4 immodeft Eye upon Women, is not incompatible 4 with the Duty of hearing Mafs (I).9
The famous Bufembaum, in his Marrow of mo- dern Divinity, which his Brother Jefuits call MeduU lam auream, or Marrow of Gold -, explains him- felf with no lefs Indecency (m) : c If any one, fays 4 be, is prefent at Mafs from Vain-glory, or with a 4 View of ftealing, he may nevertheless fulfil the 4 Precept -, even tho it be attended with an Ac- 6 tion which is criminal in its Circumftances.'
(k) Prava intentio conjun&a voluntati audiendi mifTam, ue afpiciendi fœminas libidinosè, dummodo fit fufficiens attentio, *ion eft contraria huic praecepto, quare fatisfacit. §lu&ft. Mor. Tom. Hi, tr. $. c. 7. p. 128. col. 1. n. 212.
(/) Non obeft alia prava intentio, ut afpiciendi libidinosè fœ- minas, priori conjun&a. Theol. Mor. Tr. i. Exam. ii. cap. 3, i>. 23 r. n. j 1.
(tn) Si quis interfit facro, ob vanam gloriam, vel etiam ut furetur, poteft nihilominus implere praeceptum, etiam per a&um ex circumftantiis peccamjnofum. h,u tr, 1. c. 3. D. 1. p. 31. n. 1, Edit, 5,
I
of the Pagans, 8fc. 59
I can no longer hold in Perftus : He has been teazing me for a great while ; and is fo provok'd to hear fuch Difcourfe, that I muft for Quietnels fake indulge him a Word or two. (n) ' Ye gro- c veiling Souls, who have fo little Notion of
* Things ceieftial, to what purpofe is all this Dif-
* play of the Diforder and Corruption of our Man- ' ners, even in our Temples ? And how can ye
* judge of what will be agreeable to the Gods, c from what is fo to your wicked Appetites ?' But let us return ; for 'tis not time yet to hear the Pa- gans, whofe Doctrine will appear to be the more pure, after we have heard the profane Decifions of the Divines of the Society, and feen how far they are authoriz'd by the Bull.
The Jefuits pretend, therefore, that an Obedi- ence is paid to the Precept which enjoins the hear- ing of Mafs, tho a Perfon is taken up all the time in criminal Thoughts and unchafte Defires. And not only the old Jefuits are of this Opinion, but the Moderns perfectly tally with them in this Point : For, fays Father de la Croix, who was Bufem- baum'j Commentator ■, 6 Even tho the Intention of 4 hearing Mafs be accompany'd with an evil In-
* tention, (0) yet hitherto you comply with the c Precept : As for Example, if you re inclin'd to
* hear Mafs, even from a Motive c Vain-glory, c or to feaft your Eyes at the fame ti' le by ogling
* a Girl then prefent, you fulfil tb Command,
(») O curvae in terras anima?, & caeleftium manes ! Quid juvat hoc templis noftris immittere mores, Et bona diis ex hac fceleratâ ducere pulpâ. Per/. Sat. ii.
(0) Etiamfi intentioni audiendi miflam adjungaturalia intentio mala, adhuc fatisfacis prascepto, v, g. fi vis audire miflam, eti- am principaliter ob vanam gloriam, aut fimul volens te delegare turpi afpe&û puellae przefentis fatisfacis. lta autores 20 omnino graves quos nominatim recenfit Pafqualigo q. 1313. Gobat, n.208. La Croixy Tom. ii. 1. 3. pars 1. p. 371. n. 636 <
6 which
66 A Parallel of the Dofîrine
c which enjoins you to hear Mafs. This is what
* has been decided by twenty grave Authors, whom
* Pafqualigo and Gob at have mention'd by Name.' And Father de la Croix crowns his impious AfTer- ' tion with this additional Blafphemy ; ' That, not- c withilanding fuch criminal Intentions, Honour is c done to God, (p) to whom the Sacrifice is of-
* fer'd by the Mafs-Prieft and thofe who are pre- « fent.'
Who would have believ'd, not that a Chriftian fo corrupted truly honours God, but that Men who advance fuch monftrous Maxims, mould have in- fluence enough to get thefe Propositions of Father Quefnel condemn'd as falfe and dangerous Doffrine ? viz. ' Whofoever would draw near to Prop. eg. « God, mull not come to him with bru- ' 59. < tifh PafTions. — But by Faith and Af- ^°* c fection as Children. The Prayer of s the Ungodly is a frefh Sin. 'Tis in vain for us
* to call God our Father, if it be not with a Spirit
6 of Love. Love is the only thing Prop. ^5. < tnat performs Chriftian Actions after a
6 Chriftian manner, with refpect to God Proper. c and jefas chrift. Obedience to the
* Law ought to fpring from Love as its Source. c When the Love of God is a Man's inward Prin-
* ciple, and his Glory his End, the outward Man is
* pure -, otherwife 'tis Hypocrify, or counterfeit
* Righteoufnefs.' All thefe Proportions, fays Cle- ment XI. are fo many falfe and pernicious Doctrines. And why fo ? becaufe, according to the found Doc- trine of the modern Fathers of the Church, there's no necefiity for Love in the Heart in order to obey the Law ; becaufe to perform a religious Action, 'tis fufficient to bow before God as Men would do
(p) Nam per hoc colîtur Deus, cm* per facrifkantem & afltf"» tentes iramolatur facrificium» Ibid»
before
of the Pagans, CSV. 6i
before an Idol ; becaufe the Command of Prayer may be fulfill'd with a Mind wilfully taken off from the Duty, provided that the outward Man be Decent and Composed (q) -s becaufe a Man may be prefent at the facred Myfteries with an Inten- tion to ileal, or from a Principle of vain Glory, or with a Heart, Mind and Eyes full of unclean and profane Affections -, becaufe, provided that Modefty appears in the external Air, God is ho- nour'd at Mafs, tho the Perfon (r) diverts him- felf all the while by looking luftfully at youncr Women ; becaufe, in a word, (let's hear this new Blafphemy) as we are told by the Fathers Schiel- der, and Humbert de Precipitin, who was after- wards Archbifhop of Mechlin (s). e The Com-
* mand of Jefus Chrifl is as well fulfill'd by a fa-
* crilegious Communion, as a facrilegious Bap-
* tifm.' Thefe, fay I, are the Reafons why Fa- ther ghiefnel's Doctrine is difahWd.
Great God ! who feeft thy Truth fo abus'd, and its Defenders fo vilify'd, wilt thou be filent any longer, and not difplay thy Power, to the Confu- iion of that Error and Impiety which triumph at this Time ? Lord, how lonj Jhall the wicked, how long jhall the wicked triumph ? How long Jhall they utter and /peak hard things, and all the Workers of Iniquity haft them/elves (/) ? See what a Pals we are come to. Decrees which canonize Error and Blaf- phemy are ififued from the Apoftolical Chair.' Pa-
(q) Theje are Bauni'* very Words.
(r) This is the very Term us1 à by the Jefuit de la Croix.
(s) In a Thefts intituled, Synopfis Theologica de Sacramen- to Ecclefiae, i. e. a Theological Synopfis of the Sacraments of the Church, which they maintained at Lou vain the z ifi of April 1648. p. 1$. Col. 1. §.34. Thefe are their Words, Impie- tur praeceptum Chrifti j ficuc baptifmo ita & communione fa- crilegicâ.
(0 PfalmxciY, 3,4.
ganifm
6z A Tarallel of the ^Doftrine
ganifm blufries at the Doctrines of our Teachers ; and the Maxims of the latter when paralleled with thofe of the Heathen Orators, Philolbphers, and Poets, can no more ftand than Darknefs before the Light.
For what will become of all the Doctrines juft now particularisa, when compar'd with that facred Maxim of the Romans, which we find at the Head of their Laws, which they call'd facred Laws. * Let (u) Men approach the Gods with
* a pure Heart, and come before them with a ' godly Mind. He that does otherwife, God c himfelf will take Revenge on him.' What can be more religious than this Maxim ? And by the Rule of contraries, what lefs edifying than this Doctrine of the Jefuits, viz. that God is honour'd by a Man who diverts himfelf with flaring im- modeftly at young Women during the Cele- bration of our mofl Holy Myfleries? or than that other Doctrine of the Bull which confirms it, viz. that a Perfon may draw near to God with briitîfh Paffions I
Let the Jefuits come then with their Bull to the School of the Pagans, and learn from Cicero in particular, after what manner God muft be honour'd, and what Worfhip is due to him. The Leffon they will have from that Orator, is this (w\
* The Law demands that we fhou'd approach the
* Gods chaftly, that is to fay, with a Mind free
* from all Impurity ; nor does the Law difpenfe
* with the Chaftity of the Body 5 but wou'd have
(«) Ad Divos adeunto caftè, pietatem adhibento— Qui fecus faxit, Deus ipfe vindex erit. Cic. de Leg. 1. ii.
(«u) Caftè jubet lex adire ad Deos, animo videlicet in quo funt omnia : nee tollit caftimoniam corporis. Sed hoc opor- tet intelligi, cum multum animus corpori praeftet, obfervetur- que ut cafta corpora adhibeantur, multo ette in animis id fer- vandum niagis, Cic, dj Leg. 1. ii.
f it
of the Pagans, &c. 63
4 it to be underftood, that fince fo much care is 4 taken about the Body, there's much more rea- ,* fon for keeping the Mind pure, as 'tis far more 4 excellent than the Body.' 1
Is it poflible to make a better Commentary upon thefe words of Jefus Chrift/(#), Cleanfe fir ft the infide of the Cup and PlatterLtbat the outfide of the?n may be clean alfo. And can there be a better Argument at the fame time to confound the pharifaical Worfhip of the Jefuits (31) ? c Wo 4 unto you new Scribes, and new Pharifees, Hypo- 4 crites, for ye make clean the outfide of the Cup 4 and Platter, while your Hearts, and the Hearts 4 of thofe whom you direcl, are full of Extortion 4 and Excefs.' For, don't you fay that the Pre- cept of hearing Mafs is comply'd with, and that God is honour' d, tho there's a defire in the Heart to Steal, and a Luft of the Eye after Women, provided that there be an Air of Decency and Modefty outwardly ?
Learn therefore from Cicero, and never forget, that Piety confifls (2), 4 no more than any other 4 Virtue, in outward fhew ; and that the Worfhip 4 we owe to the Gods (a\ is a Worfhip full of Af- 4 feclion, a Worfhip the moil Pure, Holy and 4 Pious, and ought to be with an inviolable fin- 4 cerity and Purity of the Heart and Lips.' And fince you are too profane to approach the Deity, and fince your Prayer might probably be a frefh Sin, make Interefl to thofe who oppofe your
(x) Mat. xxiii. 26. (y) lb, xxv.
(z) In fpecie autem fi&ae iimulationis, ficut reliquas vîrtutes, ita pietas ineffe non poteft. Cic. de nat. Deor. 1. i.
(a) Deos & venerari & colère debemus. Cultus autem Deorum eft optimus, idemque caftiflïmus, atque fan&iffimus, plenifïîmufque pietatis, ut eos Temper purâ, intégra, incor- rupta, & mente & voce veneremur. Ck. ibid. 1. ii.
2 Maxims,
6% A "Parallel of the ¥)c£trine
Maxims, to the end that they may pray for you ;■ and fay to them as JEfchlnes laid to Mitiôn his Fa- ther (b)9 ' Go rather your felf, Father, to pray» 4 to the Gods -, for I am fure that as you are a c much better Man than I am, they will grant
* your Requefl fooner.'
Learn alfo from Seneca^ that, to make an Ac- tion good, 'tis not enough that it be fo exter- nally, but that it proceed from a good Heart. 1 For an Action, as this Pagan very well remarks^ c cannot be right unlefs the Will is fo too (c)%
* becaufe the Act proceeds from the Will ; and
* the Wili cannot be right unlefs the Mind is
* right at bottom, for thence fprings the Will.
* Now the Habitude of the Mind cannot be very
* good unlefs it knows the Rules on which the
* whole Life fhou'd be form'd, unlefs it judges ' truly of every thing, and has juft Ideas of it,
* whereby a Man fhou'd conduct himfelf, and un-
* lefs it reduces every thing to the Standard of
* Truth.'
Learn of that fame Pagan, c that there's no c Good in doing Evil,' I mean that a facrilegious Communion or Baptifm is not fatisfying any Com- mand ; becaufe, as that Philofopher faid very well (d)y 6 As what is Honourable cannot arife 4 out of what is Bale, fo nothing Good can come ;'* out of Evil.'
(b) Tu potius Deos comprecare, nam tibi eos certè fcio,' quo vir melior multo es5 quam ego mm, obtemperaturos ma- gi's. Ter. Adeiph. Aft. 4. Sc. «5.
(c) Actio re&a non erit, nifi re&a merit voluntas ; ab hac enim eft Adio. Rurfus, Voluntas non erit re&a, nifi habitus animi re&us Aient; ab hoc enim voluntas. Habitus porro animi non erit in optimo, nifi totius vitae leges perceperit, & quid de quoque judicandum fit exegerit, nifi res ad verum re« degerit. Senec. Ep. 9$. p. 471, 472. Tom. 2.
(d) Quemadmodum ex turpi honeftum non nafcitur, ita ne ex malo quidembonum. Senec, Epiji. B7. /. 378. Tom. 2.
Learn
of the Pagans, Ôfc. 6j
Learn alio from Plato, that Father of the Phi- lofophers (e), * That the juft Man only, ma &* c that deft res to be fo, can find Favour with the 6 Gods, and bend them by his Prayers and Of- 4 ferings.'
c But that, as for the Wicked, as he fays elfe* c where (f), whole K^-ts are unclean, it be- c comes neither God nor a good Man to receive c their Gifts. Therefore, fays this Pagan, in vain
* do the wicked fatigue themfelves in QrFering
* up Prayers and Vows to the Gods, while all c Holy Men pray with Succefs.' And, to incul- cate this Truth the better, he fays again, ' That it be- B comes a good Man to facrifice to the Gods,
* and to afiift in the facred Myfteries ; that 'tis 4 he who is fitted: to pleafe the Deity, to pay him
* Homage, to offer him Prayers and Prefents ; c and that 'tis he alone who can from thence
* expect for his Reward a Life of uninterrupted c Happinefs (g). But that as for the Wicked,
* all his Prayers, all his Prefents, all his Homage c mall only bring down Misfortunes upon him.*
Learn in fhort, from this fame Plato, c That
* to think (h) that the Gods can be appeas'd by
(e) Deos— nee predbus ullis muneribufque praeter juftum placari. Plat. Ef>, p. 700.
(/) Impurus enim mail eft animus ab impure autem
capere munera, neque bonum Virum neque Deum decet. Fruftrà itaque Deos profani laborant, quod opportune faciunt omnes fan&i. Plat, de Leg. 1. iv. p. 601.
(g) Bonum virum decet facrifîcare Diis, & intereffe Divi- nis. Nempe illos profequi orationibus, muneribus alioque culm divino, pulcherrimum, optimum, commodiiîimum ad beatam vitam— Malo autem contra contingunt omnia. Plat* ibid.
(h) Neceflè eft igitur eum qui credit Deos veniam homi- nibus in juftis praebere, Ci quis ipfis rapinae partem tribuerit, «licere eos veluti eflfe canes, quibus lupi particulam rapinae con- cédant, 3c illi muneribus his placati, greges diripi patiantur» Plat, de Leg. /. xi. /• 673.
2 F 'the
66 A ^Parallel of the T^oEirinc
c the unjuft, who offer them a part of their Rapine,
* is to fay that the Gods are like Dogs to whom c the Wolves give a fhare of the Booty, that they ' may abandon the Flock. But God, fay be, f in another place (z), is not of fuch a Nature as c to be gain'd by Prefents like a covetous Ufurer.
* And we ffcou'd be out of our Senfes if at any c time we thought to render our felves a jot the c more acceptable to God by reafon of our Pre-
* fents. And really it wou'd be doing him an c Injury to think that God wou'd have more re- c fpect to our Gifts and Sacrifices, than to the ' Mind, whether it be Juft and Holy. Surely 'tis ' to this he has much more regard, than to the 4 Sacrifices and fumptuous Pageantry which pri- ' vate Men or whole Republicks offer up to him " every Year with a guilty Confcience. For God, ' who is not to be corrupted by Prefents, rejects
* all this Worfhip. This is almofl the very words
* of Jfaiah (&), To what Purpofe is the multitude ' of your Sacrifices, unto me, faith the Lord? c They are a trouble to me- Put away the c Evil of your doings from before mine Eyes, 4 ceafe to do Evil, learn to do well ' And af- ter this come before me, and you will be agree- able in my fight.
Thus, Fathers, you have had an Antidote for the Poifon of all your Errors about the Worfhip of
(i) Neque enim ejufmodi eft Dei natura, ut ducatur mune- ribus, quemadmodumimprobus fcenerator. Sed nos nimiùm deihamus, 'fiquando nos — propter munera acceptiores Deo efîe ducimus. Etenim grave effet, Cl Deus ad donaria & facrificia noftra refpiceret potius quàm ad animum, utrum juftus fan&uk que fit. Ad quern equidem Deum arbitror multo magis atten- dere, quàm ad multi fumptus pompas atque facia, quae nihil prohibet eum qui multa in Deum hominefque peccaverit, feu privatus fit, five refpublica fingulîs annis perficere. Deus au- tem utpote a muneribus incorruptus, fpernit haec omnia, ut ipfe, ejufque Propheta prsedixit. PL Ahib, ii. />. 45,
(*) fa'1* 1 h i*> 17. God,
of the Pagans, S>r . 6y
God. Thus have you feen all the Truths which you got Clement XI. to brand with the moil odious Characters, own'd and acknowledg'd by the Wife among the Pagans. There, in a word, is your Condemnation, and at the fame time a Vindication of Father Quefnel j a fcandalous Condemnation, but a glorious Juftification, becaufe Reafon comes be- hind Religion to be her Second in the Defence of that illuftrious Defender, and Confefibr of Truth.
CHAP. VII. Of précipitant Abfohùons.
A God whofe Laws are obferv'd and fulfilPd by Actions 'barely external, even by Sacri- lege and Profanation -, a God who is honour'd by coming before him with a Heart altogether cor- rupted and full of unclean Parlions, provided that the outward Man be modeft and referv'd ; a God who may be pray'd to after the manner of Idols, that is to fay, without any Intention to pay him any Honour or Adoration ; a God of this Nature is certainly not fevere towards Sinners, and it can be no difficult Task for one that has offended him to make his Peace, and be reconcil'd to him.
Heretofore indeed Sins were expiated by Tears and Grief, which fiow'd from a contrite and af- flicted Heart. Penance, that painful Baptifm, was the only Refource of Sinners, who employ'd all their Strength to appeafe the Wrath of a juftly incens'd God ; and the Body, the Soul, the Mind, and the Heart, all form'd but one Victim which was inceflantly offer'd up to him in Sacrifice.
F 2 How
68 A ^Parallel of the 'Doftrine
How plain and honeft were thofe Primitive Penitents ! They imagin'd that all this mournful Preparation, I mean thefe Tears, thefe Labours, thefe Heart-breakings were really necefifary. They took every thing that was faid to them about the Difcipline eftablifh'd by the facred Canons, in a literal Senfe, and did not perceive that 4 the Cypri- 4 ans, the Auguftins and the other Fathers, talk'd 4 oratorically, as the Jefuit Francolin (a) has fo ju-
* dicioujly remark' }d, when they exhorted to Vir- 4 tue, and urg'd the neceflity of a tedious pain- 4 ful Penance, animated, and try'd by the Touch- c ftone of Charity or Love.'
Oh ! what a happy and ever blefTed Minute was that, moft fubtle Francolin, when you made this wonderful Remark ! All Sinners will here fay, may your Name, incomparable Jefuit, be for ever celebrated, for having taught us that all thofe old Canons, that antient Difcipline, in a word, all thofe old Notions of Penance were only human Inven- tions, Figures of Rhetorick, and they who pro- pagated them antiquated Rhetoricians, whofe Maxims were harfh, mortifying and fevere :
* Yours indeed, as you, admirable Francolin, fay 4 very well, are gentle, agreeable, and (b) we
* agree with yon, that 'tis altogether owing to the
* Divine Wifdom that your way of dealing with s Sinners is fubftituted in the room of that antient 4 Severity which only ferv'd to increafe Licenti-
(a) Igitur ORATORIE locutus eft aliquandô Auguf- tinus, ORATORIE reliqui Patres — dum populum fuum— ■ ad virtutem impellunt, dum necefTariam efle dicunt longam, afperam, probatam, 6c charitate plenam pœnitentiam, dum— * Canones laudant. Franc, Tom, ii. Dtfp. II. p, 321.
{b) Haec fatis oftendunt fuaviorem hanc adminiftrandi Sa- cramenti Pœnitentiae rationem— non hominum vitio inventam fuuTe, fed potius divino Confïlio. Diff>,z,f>, ao,
4 oufhefi
of the Pagans, &c . 69
4 oufnefè {c\ becaufe it frighten'd thofe from Pe- 4 nance, whom it did not turn away from Sin.'
It muft be own'd therefore to the Honour of the Jefuits, they are much more frank and com- plaifant than all the antient Fathers. Being Men perfectly good-humour' d and courteous, they are none of that wafpifh Tribe which there's no com- ing near without being flung. 'Tis Father le Moine who gives this fine Character of all his So- ciety. Being deputed by the whole Body to fpeak their Praifes, he fays, in the Name of all the Je- fuits (d)9 ' No, no, we are none of thofe me-
' lancholy Teachers nor favage Directors We
are come into the World to teach what before was unknown, and what, if any body elfe had taught wou'd ne'er have been believed. Well, what then ? Hear him and admire, viz. That Sins are expiated in thefe 'Times with much more Joy than they were heretofore committed.
Verily, this is not to be difputed. That's a fine Secret, and is come into the World very a propos : For in the Age we live in, Sins are nu- merous, and fo are Sinners. And to the end that no body may think I impofe upon Mankind, thefe are the Jefuits own Words, in their Book intituled^ The Piclure of the firft Century of the Society of Jefus. c Crimes are expiated (e) now always with
* much more Fervency and Alacrity than they
* were heretofore committed So that many
* Perfons no fooner contract Guilt, but they wafh 4 off the Stain.'
(c) Nullum igitur is rigor licentïae frœnum tunc fuit, 5c forte fuit ejus augendae occafio ; quin certe fuit, dum quos non ab- fterruit àfpeccatis, abfterruit à pœnitentiâ. D'tfp* 1 1, p. 329.
(d) In his Manifefte Apologétique, p. 95.
(e) Alacriùs multo atque ardentius fcelera jam expiantur, quam ante folebant committi — plurimi vix cuius maculas con- trahunt quàm eluant. L\xu c,B. p. 372.
F? It
qo A Tardlel of the T>oBrhe
It may be thought, perhaps, that thefe Words are purely calculated for Converfation, and to prevent Sinners from being alarm'd. Not at all. The Jefuits are altogether as amiable in Practice, as they are in Speculation, and if Proofs are re- quir'd, here's enough.
Let a Perfon, for Example, who has a very fair opportunity and a ftrong Temptation to com- mit a Sin which he is not willing to let go, only confult the Reverend Father Bauni : This Jefuit will abfolve him on the Spot. But fome rigid Janfenift will fay, Father Bauni is a loofe Con- fefTbr -, for the firitStep which a Man ought to take to render himfelf worthy of Abfolution, fhou'd be to quit the fair Opportunity ; but that's talking exactly like a Father of the Church, I mean an Orator. For, before a Man fhou'd talk thus, and act confequentially, itmuft be inquir'd whether fuch Perfon has not fome legal Reafon which êxcufesv him or her from letting the opportunity of finning flip ; as for Example, the danger of lofmg Repu- tation, or Honour, orEftate -, for at fuch time the Bufinefs is, not to refufe Abfolution, but to grant it. How can this be ? ' Tis as Father Bauni fays, ' becaufe when this Penitent has a juft Reafon to
* expofe himfelf to the danger of finning, he nei-
* ther feeks the Opportunity directly or exprefly, nor
* the Sin confequent thereupon, but all he aims at 4 is his Conveniency, viz. the Prefervation of his
* Credit, Honour, or Eftate, in which he might s be a Sufferer if he omitted or avoided fuch Op-
* portunity of finning (/).
(/) Qpa cum eft )u^a cau^a exponendi fe peccatî perîculo, p.q?nitens nee occafionem vult exprefsè & a&û, nee peccatum ex eâ confequens, fed commodum fuum, nempè privationem damni in famâ, honore, pecuniis; quo bono non frueretur, il occafionem perditam omitteret, aut vitaret. Bauni Thed, Mor, part u Traft. 4. de P&mt. q. 14. />. 94,
Thi§
of the Pagans, &c. jf
This is a very plain Principle, and yet, for want of knowing it, a Janfenift wou'd tell you in the very words of Jefus Chrift, c that a Man had better ' part with a Leg, or an Arm, and even pluck c out an Eye and caft it from him, than to fuffer 6 them to offend him * ' But to talk after this manner, is talking like the Gofpel, whole Lan- guage, as we fee, favours very much of the Ora- tor : Whereas according to ftricl Truth, I mean, according to Father Bauni, a Man is not oblig'd to proceed to fuch Extremities ; and provided that he does not directly or exprefly feek the Oppor- tunity of finning, but only his own Conveniency, for the Security, in fhort, of his Honour, Repu- tation or Eftate, he has juft Caufe to expofe him- felf to the danger of offending God.
A Confequence ought to be drawn from fo ad- mirable a Principle, and this is what Father Bauni has not fail'd in (g). c It follows, fays be, from
* all that I have now faid, that Absolution may ( be given to a Woman who enrertains a Man in
* her Houfe, with whom flie often Sins, if me
* cannot civilly get rid of him, or if me has any 4 reafon to let him lodge with her longer ; pro-
* vided fhe takes a firm Refolution to fin no ' more with him.' Pray take Notice that this word provided, &c. is of an uncommon Accep- tation -, for every body wou'd have been apt to think, that 'tis much more difficult to form a Refolution all on a fudden firong enough to break the Chains of Pleafure in an Inftant, and to rectaee the Will from Vice to Virtue, than it is to fend away a
* Mat. v. 29, 30. f. xix. 7.
(g) Sequitur ex âiàis abfolvi poffe fœminam, quae domi fuas virum excipit, cum quo fazpe peccat, fi eum honeftè inde non poteft ejicere, aut caufam aliquam habet eum retinendi, dum- modo firmiter proponat fe cum eo ampliùs non peccaturun?. Ibid. q. 15. /. 96.
F 4 Maa
7 £ A Tar aile I of the "DoEîrine
Man civilly who is the Caufe of Sin. But to think after this manner, betrays an Ignorance of the Heart of Man, and efpecially thofe of Women ; for Father Banni who knew them much better, thinks quite otherwife.
But this honefl Jefuit is not near fo indulgent to the Men, as to the Women. He grants Abfolu- tion to all manner of Sinners, always indeed with this Condition, provided they truly repent of their Sins, and take a firm Refolution to relapfe no more into them. He goes even further -, for he abfolves all in whom he fees no hopes of Amend- ment. Ts it poffible ? yea, 'tis much more than poffible 5 for 'tis real. c May one grant Abfolu-
* tion, fays this Father, to a Perfon who often con- c ferles the fame Sins, tho one fees no Hopes of ' Amendment (h) V n s is his Anfwer (i). c I fay c in the firft place, that altho the Penitent has a c habit of finning, whether it be Swearing, or ' any thing elfe contrary to the Commandments
* of God, the Law of Nature, or the Precepts of
* the Church, yet Abfolution muft not be deny'd
* him, if he truly repents of the Sins he has com- 6 mitted, and refolves to amend,
c In the fécond place, I fay, that Abfolution 4 ought neither to be refufed to him, nor defer'd,
* tho there be no fign of his future Amend-
* ment.9
(h) An danda fit abfolutio confitenti fepe eadem peccata fine fpe profe&us ?
it) Dico primo : Et fi psenitens confuetudinem peccandi habeat, jurandivè, aut aliud fimile quid admittendi contra Legem Dei, Naturae aut Ecclefiae j non eft tamen ei neganda abfolutio, (î verè eorum admhTorum pœnitet ôc emendandi fui propofitum habet.
Dico fecundo nee negandam, nee difFerendam ei, etfi emen- dationis futurae fpes nulla appareat, %awi ibid. p« IOQa
of the Pagans, &c. 73
I pafs over all that the fame Jefuit fays, (k) c re-
* lating to Servants, and Coufins of both Sexes ; 4 Mafters and their Handmaids, who prompt and 4 affift one another to fin ;' and proceed to the fa-* mods Father Pirot, who is going to give us the Sentiments of the whole Society, who had chofe him before all others to make an Apology for the Cafuifts. He explains himfelf after this manner on the Subject we are treating of : (I) 4 The Prieft, 4 fays be9 ought therefore to abfolve the Penitent,
* tho he fuppofes that he will return to his Sin.
* The Divines, (Jefuits) adds he, go farther, and 4 fay, that even tho the Penitent mould think 4 himfelf likely to relapfe foon into his Crime, yet
* he is in a proper State for Abfolution, provided 4 he is difpleas'd with the Sin at the time of Con-* 4 feffion.'
'Tambourin carries this Matter flill farther. He fays, in his Addrefs to the Confeflbrs, 4 When {ni) 4 you obferve your Penitent very much addicted 6 to a Crime, be cautious how you prefs it to him 4 to be forry for fuch darling Sin ; for there wou'd 4 be danger of his having a real Abhorrence of it 4 when he cal I'd it to Mind. You muft content 4 your felves with his Deteftation of it in general, 4 in which there will be little or no difficulty.'
To be plain -, Can there be more civil Confef- fors than thefe in the World ? Was ever fuch loofe Difcipline known ? Alas ! my Fathers, (for ye are all Tambourins and Bannis) what has Jefus Chrift done to you, that you mould thus profane his Blood ? What has the Church done to you, who has receiv'd you, and flill harbours you in her Bo-
(k) In his Catalogue or Summary of Sins, Ch. 46. p. 71$. Queft. 5. Edit. 6.
(1) Apology of the Cafuifts > p. 182.
{tn) In his eafy Method ofConfefton, L. i. ch.l. § 2. p. 5. n. $.
fom,
74 A Tarallel of the Tioctrine
fom, that you mould make a Jeft of her Maxims, and treat them like the Maxims of an Orator ? What have fo many diftemper'd Souls done to you, that you mould feal their vitious Habits by as many Sacrileges as you grant them Abiblutions ? "What, in fhort, has Truth done to you, that you mould get it condemn' d more ignominioufly in your Conjiitution than it was heretofore, when be- ing conceal' d under the Veil of our Flem, it was drove out of the Field to be hang'd on a Gibbet? For what Characters can be more infamous, than chofe which you have heap'd up for every one to throw at thefe two Proportions of Father Shtefnel? in) c 'Tis a Point of great Wifdom, Knowledge, fc and Charity, to give Souls time to humble thenv ' felves, and to be fenfible of the Nature of Sin *, \ to beg a Spirit of Repentance and Contrition,
* and to begin, at leaft, to fatisfy the Juftice of
* God, before they are admitted to a Reconcilia-
* tion of the Church. — (o) We know not what is
* Sin, and true Repentance, when we would be
* ibon reflor'd to the Enjoyment of the Felicity i which Sin has depriv'd us of, and when we are 6 loth to bear the Confufion of fuch Separation.' — 4 Thefe two Proportions, fays the Conftitutwi, are
* either falfe, or captious, or harm, or mocking to
* pious Ears ; or fcandalous, or dangerous, or rafh,
* or injurious to the Church and her Cufloms. As 4 for rhz Terms outrageous and feditious^ I dorft 1 think they are fo ; but they may be either impi- ' ous, or blafphemous, or fufpedted of Herefy, or e favouring of Herefy, or favourable to Hereticks, '' Flerefies, and Schifms -, or, in a word, errone-
* ous, or heretical.' That's the Infcriptipn which ought to be placed (p) at the Head of the Conftitu*
(») Propofition 87. (0) Prop. 83.
(/>) Mark xv. 16 .
tion 1
of the Pagans, fee. yf
twn\ becaufe 'tis the Reafon for condemning 101 Propofitions, and in particular thofe two about Pe- nance, juft now mention'd. But this is not all : Thefe two Propofitions are even a Part of that Poi- [on and corrupt Matter (q) of the Ulcer, which Clement XL found in Father Quefnel's Book ; and which, like an excellent Surgeon, he lanc'd to let it out : And Father Quefnel, for his Punilhment for having thus fill'd his Book with Corruption and Venom, has been term'd a Wolf covered with Sheep's clothing, and (r) the true Son of the old Father of Lys.
O God! what mufl become of the Church, if thou fuffereft the Conftitution to make further Pro- greis ? How can this Church, thy Spoufe, be fruit- ful ? Innocence vanifhing almoft as foon as Reafon fprung up, me had no other Refource left but this, I mean that of Repentance ; but 'tis condemn'd and excommunicated ; and they who know the Rules of it, and enforce the Practice of 'em, are treated as Wolves and Satan's Pupils. Once more, O God! how then can the Male-Children (f) of thy Church form a Family, if thou doft not pro- cure a Revocation of the Order which the Society has caus'd to be given out, to drown them ? (t)
Alas ! O Lord ! how many are already dead, banifh'd and interdicted ! and what fills up the meafare of our Grief, is to fee a Bifhop (u) who aukwardly mimicks the Language of a Friend, come and tell us, with an Air of Enthufiafm, ' That
(q) See the Preamble to the Conftitution.
(r) Ibid. (f) Exod.'u 22.
(t) The Jefuits being the Authors of the Conftitution, they only fire chargeable with all the Briefs, and all other Laws of Death, which excommunicate and exterminate the Janfenifts.
(«) M, Languet Bi/hop o/Soiflbns,
' to
y 6 <A Parallel of the Tïofîrine
' to be alarm'd ac the Conftitution is injuring (x) c the Church, as if the Church could do lefs than ab-
* hor fuch a Decree ; and that to murmur at it is ' criminal.' — Pray God forgive him the Crime he has been guilty of in uttering fuch Words, or at leaft in fuffering them to appear in his Name. But let us return to our good-natur'd Con fetors.
'Tis a confiant Maxim with the Jefuits, Not to defer Abfolution to habitual Sinners. And if any body mould be ftagger'd in the Belief of this, after what we have faid already, we hope that all his Doubts will difappear, when he has fttn what we are now going to mention.
4 No, fays Father Archdekin, according to the
* common Rule, (y) Abfolution ought not to be
* deferr'd to thofe who are habited in Sin, till they ' are actually reform'd : And this is taught by fo
* many Divines, that I could reckon up thirty out
* of different Schools v/hom I have read, and care-
* fully examin'd ; among whom are our Fathers
* Suarez, Lugo^ Dicaftillo^ and others.'
Father de Rettlx, another Jefuit, fays likewife, (z)
* That to refufe Abfolution to habitual Sinners,
* till fuch time as they have entirely fhaken off
* the ill Habit, is not acting like the Vicar of a ç meek Shepherd ; and inftead of throwing out the
<(x) C. i. Advert, p. 71.
(y) Caeterum, ut fupra dixi, non efTe lege ordinaria difFe- rendam confuetudinanis abfolutionem, donee actu vitam emeu» dent, docent tanto numéro Theologi, ut ex ipfis poffim omnino triginta reftè leftos & examinatos ex variis fcholis proferre, in- ter quos eft Suarez, Lugo, Dicaftillo, çyc. Archdekin, in his Theology or Polemic Refolutions, Part iii. Tr. 1. Queft. 15. p. 140.
(z) Confuetudinariis abfolutionem negare, donee confuetudi- nem penitus exuerinr, non eft boni 6c manfueti Paftoris Vica- rium agere ; fed pro falutis anchora defperationis laqueum ob- jicere. In a Thefts ma'mta'm'd at Louvain, July 18. 1688. Po- ilt. 40.
* An-
of the Pagans, &c. 77
c Anchor of Salvation, is leading them into the
* Gulph of Defpair.'
Father Maes, another Jefuit, decides this Point with the fame Freedom (a). c Abfolution, fays c he, muft neither be deny'd nor deferr'd to a Sin- c ner, precifely becaufe he will not forfake the next
* occafion of mortally finning, when he has no juft
* Reafon to forfake it.' And as he is a mighty Man for Principles, thefe are two on which he founds his Decifion : c For, fays be, that Maxim» viz. ' that a Relapfe is a Sign that the Repentance ' was not fmcere -, and the other Maxim, viz. that
* Sinners are not converted on a fudden, have nei-
* ther of 'em the Appearance of Truth/ So alfo, fays Father Archdekin, (b) c No regard ought to be ' had to the new Method of a few Confeffors, who
* condemn this Practice {of granting Abfolution on tbe
* Spot) upon a miftaken Notion, that the fudden
* Converfion of Sinners is feldom fincere.'
Come away, therefore, ye Sinners, be the Crowd never fo great : Come, ye that are flx'd in old Habits, and ftand at the very brink of Sin ; come all away to this Vicar of the good Shepherd. But what did I fay ? No no, come rather to Perfius ; and you'll fee that the Jefuits impofe upon you, when they tell you, that to think Converfion is work'd flowly and by degrees, is only a new Method, and a falfe Pretext to defer Abfolution. You are de- ceiv'd, dear Friends, with all your Jefuits. This
(a) Nee adeo praecisè alfcui neganda am differenda eft abfo lutio, quod proximam peccandi graviter occafîonem nolit de- ferere, quando juftam non deferendi habet rationem.— — Veri fpeciem non habet illud, relapfum non verè prius pœnituifle, nee illud peccatores fubito non converti. In a Thefts maintain' d at Louvain, in July 1693* Pofit. 36.
(£) Nee audienda eft contra hanc praxim methodus nova pau- corum, falfo fundamento innixa, quod nempè fincera ^eccato- ris converfio non foleat efle repentina. In the Place already quoted. Part iii, tr. 6, p. 597. n. 7.
Pagan
y8 A 'Parallel of the ^oElrtne
Pagan Poet will tell you that you are miftakeri, if you fuppofe there's fuch a Rapidity in the Transi- tion of the Heart from Vice to Virtue. But the Penitent will fay, I have already made an Effort. ' No no, Perfms will fay, I don't believe you are
* a Convert for all that -, becaufe (c) you have 4 once check'd the Violence of your Pafllons, and
* once refus'd to yield Obedience to them, don't c tell me that you have broke the Links of the ' Chain. 'Tis no fuch Thing : For a Dog, which 4 after great ftruggling breaks the Noofe and runs c away, (till drags part of the Chain with him by
* which he was fallen' d.' This is what Perftus would fay, without granting Abfolution : by which 'tis plain how much he was an Anti-Jefuit.
Horace would talk in the fame Language to an habitual Sinner. He would fay to fuch a one, Your Heart is like a VefTel in which fome bad Liquor has flagnated. Now, you know, 4 that (d) c a VefTel retains the Smell of the firft Liquor that ' is put into it, for a long time.' So that he is for no Abfolution.
Catullus would alfo tell him, c That a Paffion,
* fuch as that of Love, for inflance, ftrikes its ' Roots deep -, and that the Heart (e) infected with
* it, does not get rid of it all at once.'
Seneca would alfo fay to the voluptuou s Man -, You know not what an Enemy you have admitted
(c) Nee tu cum obftiteris femel, inftantique negaris Parère imperio rupi, jam vincula dicas.
Nam & lu&ata canis nodum abripit : attamen ille Cum fugit, à collo trahitur pars longa catenae.
Perf. Sat.v. 1. i$7,©fc#
(d) Quo femel eft imbuta recens, fervabit odorem, Tefta diu Hor. Epift. ii,
(e) Difficile eft longum fubitô deponere amorem, Difficile eft, ■ „ C<W#/.Epig.lxxvii.
into
of the Pagan s, k§c. j?
into your Heart : ' What Enemy (/) more out-
* rageous and troublefom have ibme Men than c their own Pleafures, which when they have once ' made familiar and cuftomary, they can't get rid 1 of 'em, but are as it were drown'd in them whe- c tber they will or no. For, fuch is the unhappy
* Condition of the Voluptuous, that they are Slaves ' to their Pleafures without the true Enjoyment of c 'em \ and v/hat is the greatefl Misfortune of all,
* they hug their Chain :' Therefore don't t'link ye are fo foon free.
The Jefuits will not fail to fay, that all thefe Pagans are Quefnellifts ; and for this very good Reafon, becaufe they teach all the Truths that are oppofite to their Errors. But there are others be- hind, who by no means believe that the Conver- fion of Sinners is wrought fo fpeedily as thofe Fa- thers imagine ; or that the Tranfition is fo rapid as they fay it is from Vice to Virtue. No no, a Man does not become honeft with the fame Eafe as he does a Libertine : As Plato fays very juftly, • We c fall (g ) eafily into Vice ; we run into it, as one 4 may fay, full fpeed. But 'tis not fo with Virtue : c The Gods expect that we mould go thro' many c Toils and Sweats before we attain to it -, and they 1 have made the Road tedious and difficult.'
The Poet Lucilius makes ufeof the fame Terms to exprefs the fame Truth : c The (h) Gods, fays
(f) Ql"s hoftis in quemquam tarn contumeliofus fuit, quam
in quofdam voluptates fuse funt ? Voluptatibus itaque fe
mergunt, quibus in confuetudinem addu&is carere non poflunt — ferviunt itaque voluptatibus, non fruuntur ; & mala fua, quod malorum ultimum eft, amant. Sen» Ep. xxxix. p. 136. t. 2.
(g) See the abovementiori'd Author, p. 48. where you'll find the Paffage in the Latin,
(h) Virtutem voluere Dii fudore parari
Avduus eft ad earn, longufque per ardua tra£tus, Afper 5c eft primum : fed ubi alta cacumina tanges, Fit facilis qu* dura prius fuit, inclyta virtus» LuciU
6 be,
8o A Parallel of the ^oEirine
* he, have decreed, that Virtue {hall only be attain-
* ed by the Sweat of the Brow. The Road which
* leads to it is tedious, painful, and difficult. 'Tis
* fteep at the firft fetting out -, but when you have
* furmounted the lofty Cliffs, the Path to illuftrious 4 Virtue, which you at firft thought impaflable,
* will become eafy, and then you'll be recompense 4 for all your Toil.' I did not care to fupprefs thefe laft Words, becaufe I had a Mind to fhew, that the Pagans would not only have refus' d Ab- folution, but at the fame time would have com- forted their Penitents.
Now from all thefe fine Principles let us draw the Confequence, which is perfectly natural and plain ; but muft be terrible to the Bull, and to you the Vicars of the good Shepherd. Now, ac- cording to Perfius, Horace, Catullus, Seneca, Plato, and Lurilms, a Perfon muft be ignorant of the Na- ture of Sin, who thinks that Converfion is a Work of Rapidity, and in confequence that an habitual Sinner may be immediately reconcil'd to God. Therefore, 'tis a Behaviour full of Wifdom, of Light, and of Charity, to defer Abfolution to fuch as are fo liable to Sin : And by the Rule of Contraries, 'tis a Behaviour full of Folly, Blind- nefs, and Cruelty, to grant fudden Abfolution to Sinners of this kind : Yet, Fathers, this is your Behaviour, and what the Bull authorizes ; but 'tis a Behaviour diiallow'd by holy Men, and con- demn'd by the Profane : whereas the Conduct of Father §uefiiel is juftify'd by all Tradition, (*) all the Fathers, all the Doctors of the Church ; and before their time, by the wifeft of the Pagans.
(i) See the 10th Part of the Hexaples, Tom. iv. Difcipline »f Penance, p. $48.
You
of the Pagans, &cl 81
You have more to fay ftill, my Fathers. Your Father Francolin deferves a particular Attention. But before we produce his Sentiments, 'tis fit the Publick mould know, that Baldhajfar Francolin^ a famous Divine of the jefuits Society, caus'd a Theological Trad to be printed at Rome in the Year 1705, with the Permifîîonôf Clement XL the then Pope, intitled, (k) LTbe Roman Clergyman forewarned againft too much Severity -, in which he has mufter'd up the feveral extravagant Sayings of the Cafuifts, relating to the Adminiflration of the Sacrament of Penance, in order to defend them : That is to fay, this Jefuit took Pains from that time to juftify the new Doctrine of his Brothers ; to the End, that when the Bull had difpers'd the old Doctrine, the new might be the only one of weight and authority in the Church.
After this mort Preamble, let us juft: call to mind what this Romijb Clergyman told us before^ concerning the primitive Fathers of the Church :
* That they talk'd like Orators when they exhorted i to Virtue, and demanded a tedious painful Pe-
* nance, try'd and animated by Charity.' — Let us alfo not forget that curious Secret he difcover'd to us -, ' That it was the Refult of Wifdom altogether 6 divine, that the Jefuits had found out fo gentle c and agreeable a Method in the Adminiflration of
* the Sacraments, inftead of the antient Severity :
* A Severity, fays be, which, far from reftraining
* Licentioufnefs, has been the occafion of augment-
* ing it, by diverting from Penance thofe whom
* it did not turn afide from Sin.' To thefe Strokes we will add what he tells us further, which is per- fectly comfortable.
(k) Clericus Romanus contra nimium rlgorem inpnitus, &c*
G * Our
Si A "Parallel of the <Doftrine
(I) ' Our' prefent Condition, fays he, with a po-
* fitive confident Air, is much happier than theirs
* was who liv'd in the foregoing Ages :' — And why ? Is it becaufe inftead of Cyprians and Auguf tins, we have Efcobards, Tambourins, Baunis, Va- lencias, Francolins, Archdekins, and the like ? moft certainly. Says this Romifh Clergyman again, (m) c I
* deny that there was more Piety in that infant
* Church which you call rigid and fevere, than c there is in it now.' What this Piety is, which truly flourifhes in our Time, and for which we are oblig'd to the Jefuits, we fhall fee prefently. (n)
* Never till now, fays he, were the Churches fo
* fplendid ; never fo many Spectacles, or Shews
* of Piety in our Temples, fo many religious Of-
* flees, nor fo many Remedies for the Cure of
* Souls.' — What Jargon is here ! Remedies, Spec- tacles, Offices, fine Churches : yea, Francolins and Archdekins -, this favours ftrongly of a Stage-Player, and not of an Orator. Alas ! be it known to you Father Francolin, and your whole Tribe ; know, that with all your Practices of eafy Piety, were they even as your Father Le Moine fays, (o) c more c eafy than Vice, and more agreeable than Plea-
* fure : Know, that with all your trifling Reme- 4 dies of Weekly, or at moft Monthly Expiations,
* which are made for Crimes with more Alacrity
(/) EiTe longe meliorem noftrorum temporum conditioner!* quam praecedentium. Franc .Tom. ii. Diip. n. p. 31a,
(m) Loquor de fîdelibus Ecclefiae adolefcentis, quam feveram & rigidam appeilas : hanc ergo fan&iorem fuiiTe nego. lbtd\ p. 314.
(») Nunquam uberiora fuerunt adjumenta, quàm modo, cum tantus eft Templorum nitor, tot in Templis pietatis fpe&acula, tot officia religiofa, quae exercitationes tam varias— tot morbis animae curandis remédia. Ibid. p. 3 1 3.
(0) In bis Book of Eafy Devotion, p. 191.
4 than
of the P AG ANS, &c. Bi
* than they were formerly committed (p) -* know, that with all your Spectacles or Shews, which are not fo edifying as they are fcandalous and profane, by reafon of the Luxury and Immodefty of the Perfons who afiift therein : Know, that when all's done, ye are but Quacks : Know, in fhort, that with all your fine, magnificent, gilded Churches, ye are nothing before God but whited Sepulchres, if Love, reprefented by that Gold, doth not dwell in your Hearts. Perhaps you think I am fending you to Jefus Chrift or St. Paul to learn this Truth : you are miftaken, thofe Matters are too fublime for you. Perfius is the Man I recommend you to: Hear the Queftion this Poet is going to put to you, and fince you can't anfwer it, he will for you.
c Tell me, (q) ye Ponhfices, or Gentlemen Pon- 1 tiffs, for what ufe is all this Gold in your facred
* Places? Why it fignifiesjuflas much as the jointed
* Babies, which when the Girls are too big to play
* with they offer to Venus.9 Hear now what this Pagan is going to add -, c Let us prefent the Gods
* with an honeft, fmcere, generous Heart, affect-
* ed with the moft lively Paffion for Juftice and
* Honour : That's all I wifh to give them, and I € am fure of obtaining what I want, tho I mould
* give them no other Sacrifice than a little Meal 4 and Salt.' — But to offer fuch a Heart as this to the Deity, would be relapfmg into the Practice of
(/>) Alacrhis multo atque àrdentius fcelerâ jam expiantur, quam ante folebant committi : nihil jam menftruâ, nihil hebdo madaria expiatione moribns receptum magis. In the Vitture of thefirft Century , L. iii. c. 8. p. 371.
(fl) Dicite, Pontifices, in fanfto quid facit Aurum > Nempe hoc quod Veneri donatae à virginc pup*
Quin damus id fuperis^
Compofitum jus fafque animi, fan&ofque receflus Mentis & incoftum generofo peâus honefto ? fee c*do m adraoyeam Templis & faire litabo.
Perfi Sat. iî. G 2 the
84 A ^Parallel of the *Doftrine
the antient Orators, and this is what neither Fran* colin nor his whole Society will admit of.
No doubt, a Queftion will arife here, What are the Difpofitions which the Jefuits require for ap- proaching to the holy Table ? But let none expect to find them fo rigid as the Romans were with re- gard to the Veftals. Thofe PrieftefTes, while they were in the Service of the Goddefs Vefta (r)y ana took care to keep in the Flame which was to burn for ever upon her Altar, were to preferve them- felves pure, on pain of being interr'd alive. This was a Purity that look'd well enough indeed in the Pagans time. But as for us, who are born in more happy Days, we are not oblig'd to be fo much up- on the Referve ; and efpecially fince Father Le Moine the Jefuit is come, to give to Pleafure the Honour due to it (f)> and to reduce it under Dif- cipline.
Ask now the Jefuit Azor, c Whether Nocturnal € Pollution, fuch as (/) is defcrib'd by St. Thomas^
* hinders the Prieft who is therewith defiled from
* celebrating Mafs that Day ?! he will tell you,
* That perhaps 'twas formerly a Command of the ' Church, not to facrifice during that time. But, 4 he*ll add, (u) whatfoever fuch Precept of the
* Church was, which does not appear to me to
(r) Tho here we fet the Severity of the Romans*» oppofition to the loofe Difciplme of the Jefuits, we don't expeft that they fiould deal with their Penitents as thofe Pagans did with their Fejlals.
(/) Father Le Moine'; Eafy Devotion, p. 202.
(t) Quseritur an quando noûurna pollutio talis eft, qualem S. Thomas defcribit, impediat miflie faciificium eo die. Inftitut, Moral. Tom i. 1. 10. c. 31. p. 1307.
(«) Sed quidquid fie de hujufmodi praecepto Ecclefiae, quod mihi non videtur impofitum fuifle, multo verius eft quod alii docuerunt fas, e(Te facerdoti eo die facrifïcare, praemifsa confef- fione cum legitime cordis dolore. Ibid,
* have
of the Pagans, Sfc 85
c have been eftablifh'd, 'tis much more true as
* others have taught, that 'tis lawful for a Prieft to
* facrifice on that Day, after having confefs'd his c Sins with a legal Sorrow of Heart.' Now, the Reafon he gives for it is not unworthy of remark :
* For, fays be (x), there is no other mortal Sin c whatsoever (provided it be expiated by a legal ' Sorrow and Confefîion) which is a Bar to the
* Celebration of the facred Myfteries.' So that neither Adultery, nor Inceft, nor other Crimes yet more horrid, ought to hinder a Prieft from cele- brating Mafs, after he has once confefs'd with a good Attrition : for that's what Azor means by a legal Sorrow.
Mafcarenhas, another Jefuit, decides likewife, ' That he who is defil'd with any criminal Impuri- ' ty, in what manner foever, may without Sin re-
* ceive the Communion the fame Day, after he has 4 confefs'd. 'Tis true, be adds, that the Difficulty
* is greater upon the Perfon who has committed
* Wickednefs with another ; whether it be Forni-
* cation, Adultery, or the Sin againftNature, &c.\y) One would be apt to think, that now he is
confounded. Not at all : For, continues be, * I
* fay, whoever is guilty of fuch voluntary and mor-
* tally fmful Pollution, whether in fecret, or with 6 a Partner (z), may receive the Sacrament upon
the
(x) Nullum quippe aliud quodlibet lethale peccatum, modo illud fît dolore legitimo 5c confeflione expiatum, facrificium im- pedit. Ibid,
(y) Sive habeatur, per fornicationem, five per aduiterium^ five per peccatum contra naturam, vel quocunque alio modo. Tr. de Sacram. tr. 4. de Eucharift. Difp. v. c.7. p. 239.
(z) Dico, qui habuit voluntariam & mortaliter peccamino- fam pollutionem, five cum complice, Civq fine illo, fi habeaç debitum illius Dolorem, praemifsâ confefllone, potent in eodem die communicare, quin in hoc peccet mortaliter, nee etiam ve«? «ialker, Ita Sytyefter, Navarrus, Pater ^£gidius, P. Hurtados,
Q 3 ?.
86 <A Tar aile I of the 'Dofîr'we
.« the fame Day, after he has confefs'd in due
* Sorrow, and herein he will not fin either mor- tally, or even venially. And this, be addsy
€ is according to the Decifion of Silvefter, Nà-
* varrus, and our Fathers Giles, Hortado, Azory c Suarez, Layman, Henriques, Facundez, Jobannes ' Sancius, and many others f all Vicars of tbe good She] berd.
But, fome perhaps will object, Suppofe a Forni- cator has made a Vow not to receive the Commu- nion on the very Day he has finn'd, ought he not to keep his Vow ? ' No, fays Mafcarenhas, for 6 there's no difficulty but he can get over (a). And
5 from hence, fays be, I infer, that a Vow made ' by a Perfon not to receive the Eucharift upon
* the Day that he has committed Fornication, even
6 after he has confefs'd with a true Sorrow, is not
* valid : for fuch a Vow is an Obftacle to a greater c Good, and therefore cannot be a true Vow, nor
* bind the Perfon who made it.'
In a word, this Jefuit, in order to rivet his Maxim, and to crowd the Tables of Jefus Chrift with abominable Guefbs, fays, that Confefibrs Ought to advife Sinners to receive the Sacrament on the very Day that they have abandon'd them- felves to the moft criminal Impurities -, ' Nay, fays c be, (b) fuch Sinners ought rather to be advifed
* to receive the Sacrament, provided they are duly ' fitted for it by Confeflion.' — Can there be a bold-
P. Azor, P. Suarez, P. Laymanus, P. Henriques, P. Facundez, & cum multis Johannes Sancius. ibid.
(a) Et hinc infero non eiïe validum votum factum non fuf- cipiendi Euchariftiam die habitas copula; fornicariae, etiam pra> mifsâ confeffione cum vero dolore ; nam tale votum eft impe- ditivum majoris boni ; ideo non poteft habere rationem voti nee vim obligandi. ibid,
{b) Imo potius confulendum quod communkentj dummodQ iînt per confeffionsm rite difpofui. Ibid*
er
of the Pagans, &c. 87
cr Aflertion againft Jefus Chrift himfelf that we muft give that which is holy to Dogs (c) ?
Yet, fuch is the Doctrine of which Mafcarenhas makes the Virgin Mary Patronefs, by the Dedica- tion of his Book to her; wherein he declares,
■ That he teaches nothing in the Book, but what
* he learnt from her as his Miflrefs \ and that it
■ was by Infpiration from her that he compos'd it.* But if he had infcrib'd it to Venus rather than the holy Virgin, nothing would have been more true,
The Father de Moya, a Spanlfh Jefuit, after hav- ing copy'd the PafTages out of Mafcarenhas which we have before quoted, explains himfelf upon this Subject thus : 4 Our moft learned Father Francis 4 Suarez, whofe fingle Teflimony is worth a thou- 4 fand others,5 {Jo that this Spaniard throws in a thoufand Jefuits upon us at once) 4 contends alfo for
* our Opinion :* And thefe are his Words \ * One
* need not flick to declare, that there is no Sin in 4 receiving the Sacrament foon after the Commit
* Hon of a mortal Sin, provided the Sinner has firft
* duly confefs'd.' Since this Paffage is worth a thoufand, we'll conclude this Subject with the fol- lowing Extract of a Letter from M. Charles Bru- lart de Genlis, Archbifhop of Ambrun, to M, de Harlai, Archbifliop of Paris, \dzted* J une 28, 1686".
* The Pulpit of my Metropolitan Church, fays
4 this illuftrious Prelate, having been for above a
4 Century appropriated to the Jefuits College, they
4 have preach'd before me, that the Sacrament of
4 Penance juflifies, if accompany*d with the Fear
4 of Punifhment, without any Motive of the Love
* of God whatever. And that tho a Perfon mould
* be guilty of all the Crimes of the Damned, yet 4 if he confefTes, and promifes his ConfefTor to 4 amend, he needs nothing more to qualify him
(c ) Matjk, yu. 6,
G 4 &F
5 8 A ^Parallel of the Tïoflrme
f for receiving the Communion, inftantly after
6 fuch Confeffion.' What a Harmony is here be^ twixt this Doctrine of the Jefuits, and that which is author iz'd by the Bull ? viz. c That a Man may 6 draw near to God, and come before the Lord 6 with brutifli Parlions, and demean himfelf with 6 a Fear like that of Beads/
But what a horrid Harmony is this ! sTis much more pleafant to hear the Speech which yEneas made to his Father, when they went together out of Troy, Mneas was juft come from a Battle with the Greeks, and his Hands being ftill befmear'd with Gore, he fays to Anchifes9 ' Do you, Father, take ' the Holy Things, and the Images of our Houf-
* hold Gods ; for as I am but juft come from the ' Battle, and all over bloody, I don't think it fit
* for me to touch them, till I have waûYd my felf & in River- Water (d)* What a Scruple was here ; or rather, what Refpecl ! Mneas, with Hands which were rather pure than unclean, becaufe he had been juft fighting for his Country, yet pre- fumes not to lay them upon Idols ; while Hands that are altogether profane, are not afraid to touch the Holy of Holies, and bring him Hearts for his Tabernacle, which are reeking hot with the moil; infamous Crimes.
How far might we expatiate on this Subject, if we were to take in all that we have already quoted from the Pagans in the foregoing Chapter, as to the manner of coming before the Lord? But as, the Reader will undoubtedly call them to mind, we we will conclude with this fine Sentence from 6V- neca? Thai a Mind cannot take in God, if it be not
(d) Tu, genîtor? cape fâcra manu patriofque pénates. Me belîo è tamo digrefTum, & caede recençi .Attre&are nefas, donee me flumine vivo ftblusro „.j_i sa — « Virg. JEn. L. \u
•pure
of the Pagans, &c. 89
pure and holy (e) -, which are Words as edifying in the Mouth of a Pagan, as the Expreflions of the Bull and the Jefuits are impious and fcandalous.
(e) Animus, nifl purus & fanttus eft, Deum non capit. Seme. Epift. lxxxvii. p. 377. torn. 1.
CHAP. VIII.
Of the Love of our Neighbour.
AFTER Chriftians have been taught by the Jefuits, that all their Duties and Obligations to: their Creator confift only in Duties that are barely external ; after they have been told that 'tis fufHcient to fear him, without loving him -, after they Jiave been taught rather to offend and infuk him, than to obey him, and pay him the Homage which he has a right to expect from 'em : it will not be ftrange if we find the Jefuits have not much regard for Neighbours, when they have fhewn fo little for God : Vifcera impiorum crudelia (a). The Mercies of the Wicked are cruel.
c What is written in the Law P (b) faid Jefus Cruift one Day to a certain Expounder of the Law, who flood up and tempted him : c Thou (halt
* love the Lord thy God with all thy Heart, and with
* all thy Soul, and with all thy Strength, and with all
* thy Thought ; and thy Neighbour as thy felf.' This was the Doctor's Anfwer -, of which Jefus Chrift fhe \v- ed his Approbation, and faid to him, This do, and thou /halt live. But, fay the Jefuits, Don't perform one
(a) Prov, xij\ 10; (h) Luke x, i$, 2£, 27, * &•
Tittle
ço A Tarallel of the Doftr'me
Tittle of it, and thou malt live neverthelefs.
This was exactly the Language of the Devil formerly, when he was difguis'd in the Form of the moft fubtle of all Animals; Tefhall not furely die (c)9 faid he to our firft Parents, for eating the Fruit which was forbidden on pain of Death. So fay our prudent cautious Doctors, Don't think you mall die, becaufe you don't love God with all your Heart, with all your Soul, and with all your Strength : 'tis enough if you don't hate him ; that is the Senfe of the Command.
Then, as for your Neighbour, 'tis enough too, fay they, if you don't hate him ; for that was all Jefus Chrift requir'd by thofe Words, (d) ïhefe things I command you, that you love one another. So when St. Paul faid, He that loveth another hath ful- filled the Law (e) ; all he intended by it, was, that he who doth not hate his Brother hath fulfilled the Command, on which hang all the Law and the Pro- $hets (f).
But fome Men, who have not the Honour to be of the Jefuits Order, will fay, This Interpreta- tion is abfolutely falfe ; for when Jefus Chrift com- manded us to love our Neighbour, he plainly gave us to underftand, that it was not enough not to hate him : Tbi s is my Commandment , fays he, that ye love one another as I have loved you (g). Now I did not content my felf with not hating you, but I lov'd you even to die for you, at the time when we were Enemies (h) -, from whence St. John concludes, that we ought alfo to lay down our Lives for the Bre- thren (i).
But this is an hard Saying, (k) cry the Jefuits, We can't bear it. Which is an Anfwer that we don't
(c) Nequaquam morte morîemîni, Gen» iii. 4.
(d) John xv. 17. (e) Rom. xiii. 8. (/) Matt.xxiu 4©.' (g) John xv. 12, {h) Rom. V. 10. (/) 1 John in. iff {k) Johji vj, 6*f. put
of the Pagans, ($c. «^
put into their Mouths on purpofe to make them odious, but only beeaufe they have cafhier'd the Goipel, and taught a Doctrine contrary to Jefus Chrift. In order to be convinc'd of this, let us hear their Father Tambourin.
' As 'tis certain, fays he, that we are oblig'd to
* love our Neighbour according to the faying in
* St. Matthew, Thou Jhalt love thy Neighbour as thy
* felf. I think it altogether as certain that there's
* no Obligation to Love him by any internal Act
* or Motion exprefly tending towards him (I).* At firft, one wou'd have thought that his
meaning by thofe Words, Thou Jhalt love thy Neighbour, was, that he muft be lov'd indeed; but 'tis quite otherwife. He preferves the Gofpel Terms, but overthrows the Meaning. Thou Jhalt love, that is to fay, Thou Jhalt not love internally v comes from the fame Mint with unjuft Excom- munication, which fignifies juft Excommunication, and true Duty, which fignifies falje Duty (m).
Father Lamy, one as deeply vers'd in the Scrip- tures as Father Tambourin, makes ufe of an Ar- gument which is altogether as cunning. ■ We are ■ not oblig'd by virtue of this Command to love ' our Neighbour, otherwife or better than our ' felves (n). Now we are not bound to love our
* felves with an internal Action of Love, ergo, we f are not under the Obligation of fuch Love to our ' Neighbour.'
(/) Ita mihi cermm videtur non adefle obligationem eum diligendi per aliquem aftum internum exprefsè tendentem in ipfuni proximum. Tamb. in bis Explan, of the Decal. Par. iu I. 5. ch. i. p. 1. col. i. n. 1.
(/») Inftr. Paft. des xl. p. 11$.
(») Vi hujus praecepti non tenemur diligere proximum aliterf Vel plus quam nos ipfos. Atqui nos ipfos non tenemur diligere aftu interno charitatis : ergo nee proximum. Lamy in his Theological Works, Tom iy. Difp. 28. Seft, 1. ». 15./. 377.
Befides,
ç± A ^Parallel of the *Do£trme
Befides, fays he again, and a fhrewd Remark it is, * If we were oblig'd to love our Neighbour
* after that manner, many wou'd be damn'd for
* not having exercis'd fuch internal Act of Love
* towards all Men (o) ; which is impertinent, and 4 by no means probable. So that as the Number c of the Elect i according to him, is very great (j>),
* as the way which leads to Life is very broad (q)> ' and many there be that find it, it follows that a 6 Man is not oblig'd to love his Neighbour from c his Heart.' This they call good Logick, of the fame Standard with that of the Bifhop of Soijfons.
Who wou'd have believ'd that a Doctrine e- qually impious and ridiculous, wou'd have obtain'd Credit with any Set of Men except the Jefuits, by whom it was brouch'd. Neverthelefs, M. le Roulx Divinity Profeflbr at Rheims, copying after Tam- bourin and Lamy, has not blufh'd to advance it in our time, and to tell his Scholars in his Treatife of Penance. That the Partage in St. John, He that hath not hove, abideth in Death (V), does not mean a formal explicit brotherly Love; and all that the Âpoftle intended by it, was to exclude the Hatred of our Neighbour.
No wonder that after the Jefuits have thus weaken'd, or rather overthrown the Command enjoin'd us, to love our Neighbour ', they fhou'd teach that we may wifh his Death. 6 We maywifh. * harm to our Neighbour without Sin, fays Father
{o) Multi damnarentur ex eo quod hujufmodi actum inter* num çharitatis erga omnes homines non elicuerint, quod eft argumentum ab abfurdo & improbabilu Ibid,
(j>) Matt. xx. i£. (q) Matt. vii. 13, 14.
(r) Teftimonium Joannis, Qut non àïligit tnanet in morte,
- -De fraternâ charitate formali 6c explicita non agit , ,, ■ m
V wit foliim excludi odium proximi. Le Roulx*
Bauni
of the Pagans, t§c. 93
c Bauni (f), when we are pufh'd upon it by fome c good Motive. Thus, continues he, Bonacina holds 4 that Mother guiltlefs who wifhes the Death of her
* Daughters, when by reafon of their Deformity
* or Poverty me can't marry them to her Heart's
* Defire.' So 'Tambourin excufes the Son who wifhes the Death of his Father, that he may the fooner come to his Eftate. c If you defire the 4 Death of your Father with with a Provifo, the c Anfwer is plain that you may do it lawfully (t) ;
* for if any Son fays to himfelf, if my Father dies,
* I fhou'd enjoy his Eftate, then he does not re-
* joice for the Death of his Father, but for his
* Eftate k That's the firft Leffon which this
Jefuit teaches Children, to fhew them how they may honeftly and lawfully defire the Death of their Parents. The fécond LefTon follows. c I defire c the Death of my Father, not as an Evil to him, 6 but as a Good, or a caufe of Good to my felf, c viz. becaufe by fuch his Death, I mail fucceed 4 to his Eftate (u).
This is exactly the Argument of Wolves, and other favage Creatures when they devour Men. They don't kill them for mifchief fake, but to feed upon their Flefh, and for their Subfiftance. But they fpare the Animals of their own Species.
* For, fays Juvenal, who ever faw Lions or wild
(/) Quod ob deformitatem aut inopiam nequeat juxta animi fui defiderium eas nuptui ttadere. Bauni in his Somme des pèches or Catalogue of Sins, ch. vii. p. 77. concl. 4.
(t) Si defideres Tub conditione, facilis item refponfîo licite poffe. Si quis enim hunc aftum eliciat : Si meus pater more- retur, ego haereditate potirer, & gauderet hunc ille, non de patris morte, fed de haereditate. Tamb. in his Explanation of the Decalogue, part ii. /. 5. ch. u S. 3. n. 30.
(«) Cupio mortem patris, non ut malum patris eft, fed ue bonum meum, feu ut caufa mei boni ; nimirum quia ex illius morte ego ejus haereditatem adibo. Tamb. ibid.
c Boars
94 A Parallel of the ^DoEîrine
* Boars kill and worry one another to pieces ? € The very Tygers, as ravenous as they are,
* maintain an inviolable Peace with their own 4 kind, and fo do the Bears (w).9 Thus the wild Beafts are not fo cruel as the Jefuits, and they who follow their barbarous Doctrine; a Doctrine which teaches human Creatures to murder and eat one another to gratify their Heart's Defire, and to gain the leaft Temporal Intereft : For if 'tis lawful to wifh the Death of our Parents, in order to be Mailers of their Eftates, it muft with much more Reafon be fo to defire the Death of other Men, when we may be thereby Gainers.
I own that I no longer ftand aftonifh'd at the Difcourfes and Complaints which I hear every Day upon the Wickednefs of the Times*; that go where we will, we fcarce find any People but what are ungrateful, perfidious and traiterous, that Friendfhjp and Fidelity are but empty Names; that Intereft and Covetoufnefs are the vital Principles of all Mens Actions : I ceafe to won- der at it fince I fee the Jefuits fpread over the Face of the whole Earth, and become the Teachers of Doctrine. Every good Tree^ faith Jefus Chrift, hringeth forth good Fruit ; but a corrupt Tree can- not bring forth good Fruit (*). And what really can be expected from a Doctrine which teaches every private Man to wifli for publick Calamities, pro- vided that in the Ruin of Families and Govern- ments he only has a View to his own perfonal Intereft and Profit ?
(«/) Sed jam Sefpentum major concordia t parcit Cognatis maculis fimilis fera : Quando Leont Fortior eripuit vitam Leo I Quo nemore unquam Expiravic aper majoris dentibus apri ! Indica tigris agit rabidâ cum tigride paceiii Perpetuam. $nvm* $«, Wfê
(x) Matt. viî. 17» i*a &
But
of the Pagans, &c. 95
But this was not the Do&rine of Seneca, So great a Friend was he to Mankind, that he was againft one Man's defiring the Death of another ; and did not think that a Man mou'd content him- fe]f barely with not hating his fellow Creature. He requires on the contrary, that we fhou'd love one another, and in order to infpire us with this reci- procal Love, he tells us, c That (y) all this Uni-
* verfe which contains the Gods and Men, is but
* one ; that we are all Members of that one great
* Body, and that Nature has made us all Brethren,
* having taken us all from the fame Stock, and
* deftin'd us for the fame End. That for preferv- ' ing the Union, fhe has planted in us a M U-
* TUAL LOVE for one another, and has c render'd us jQpbiable ; that Nature has conftituted
* Juftice and Equity, Virtues which teach us, that
* 'tis a much greater Evil to do an Injury than to
* receive one ; that our Hands ought always to be c ready to help our Brethren, and that in order to
* keep this Difpofition alive in us, a Man fhou'd
* always have in his Heart and Mouth this faying c of Terence, I AM A MAN, and by Confe-
* quence think my felf interefted in every thing
* for the good of the Publick. To promote this
* Good in fhort, fays the Pagan, is the only thing
* we are come here to do, becaufe human So-
* ciety is like an Arch, which wou'd tumble if the 4 Stones did not bear up one another.'
(y) Omne hoc quod vides, quo divina atque humana con- clufa funt, unum eft. Membra fumus corporis magni. Natura nos cognatos edidit, cum ex iifdem & in eadem gigneret. Haec nobis amorem indidit mutuum, & fociabiles fecit. Ilia aequum juftumque compofuit. Ex illius conftitutione, mife- rius eft nocere, quam laedi, & illius imperio paratae funt ad juvandum manus. Ille verfus & in pettore & in ore fit, Homo f urn, humant nihil a me alienum puto, Habeamus in commune quod nati fumus Societas noftra lapidum fornica- tioni fimillima eft, quae cafura, nifi invicem obftarent, hoc ipfo fuftinctur. Senec, Ej>if. ?5. />♦ 47 0, 47 1. Tom. *•
What
96 A Tar die I of the ^DoElrme
What an excellent Republick wou'd that be where all the Thoughts and Actions of every body fhou'd be directed in pursuance of all thofe admi- rable Maxims ! Wou'd not that Country be a Paradife, where all the Members fhou'd be fo con- formable to one another, and fo unanimous as to make the common Good their particular Intereft ? On the contrary, what a Babylon, or rather Hell upon Earth, muft that Republick be, where Fathers and Mothers fliou'd defire the Death of their Chil- dren, and Children on the other hand wifh the Death of their Parents ? where Men fhou'd have no more Tendernefs for one another than if they had the Hearts of Bears and Tygers, having a view only to their own Satisfaction, turning every thing to their private Intereft, and wifhing to fee the Ruin of others, the Decay of their Fortune, and finally their Deftruction and Death, in order that themfelves may be rich and great. Yet fuch are thofe Republicks and States who have the Je- fuits for their Teachers and Mailers, and conform to their Maxims.
How do I wifh to raife my Voice to confound thofe Enemies of Civil Society ! But if you talk of the Obligation to love God and our Neigh- bour, your Mouth is ftop'd immediately, and you are call'd (z) Teacher of Lies, an artful Seducer, who under a fpecious pretence of the moft folid Piety, imperceptibly insinuates pernicious Doctrine. Thus does Clement XL tax Father Quefnel for having advanc'd in his moral Reflections fifteen Propofitions (a), which are all for the Love of God and our Neighbour. But if he had faid, as Ta?n- bourin, that a Son may defire the death of his Father, that he may the fooner be Matter of his
(z,) See the Preamble to the Conftitutions (a) See from Prop, 44, to 59,
Eftate %
of the Pagans, &c. 07
Eftate ; if he had faid as Sonatina, that a Mother may wifh the Death of her Daughters, becaufè they have not Charms, or Fortune enough to be marry'd happily -, if he had taught, with Baumr that a Man may without Sin wifh harm to his Neighbour, the Jefuits wou'd have fpar'd himfome of the Prailes which they have fo profufely be- ilow'd upon themfelves. Inftead of the odious Name oîfalfe Prophet, they wou'd have calPd him as they do themfelves, ' a Man eminent for Learn- 6 ing (b) and Wifdom, a Hero, a tutelar Genius.,
* an Oracle of Popes, an Angel, in a word, a 1 Jefuit.' But becauie he has taught that Love ought to infpire all our Actions, and that where there is no Love, that is to fay, a Love for God and our Neighbour (c), there is no Religion, he has deferv'd to be calPd a Child of the Devil, or if you pleafe, of the Old Father of Lies.
Mean time, let the Conftitution and the Jefuits fay what they will, 'tis falfe that Men are allow'd to defire the Harm and wifh the Death of one another for their own private Advantage. If we come into the World indeed to mind our felves only, and our own particular Intereft, it might be true -, but as Cicero has well exprefs'd it, c There
* is nothing more true (d) than that excellent fay- c ing of Plato, that we are not born for our felves c alone, but for our Country, our Parents, and our ' Friends. And, as the Stoics fay moreover, all
{b) See the Pitture ofthefirft Century. (c) Prop. 58.
(d) Ut praeclarc fcriptum eft à Platone, non nobis foluni nati fumus : Ortufque noftri partem Patria vindicat, partem pa- rentes, partem amici : atque ut placet Stoicis, quae in terris gf- gnunturad ufum hominum omnia creari; homines aurem ho- minum caufà efle generatos, ut ipfi inter fe alius alii prodefTe poflTent. In hoc naturam debemus Ducem fequi, & communes militates in medium afferre, mutatione ofKciorum dando, acci- piendo, turn artibus, turn opera, mm facultatibus devincire ho- Hiinwra inter homines Soeietatem, Ctc, di offic, U i, c . 7,
H * the
98 A Parallel of the 7)ofifrine
4 the Productions of the Earth are created for the ufe
c of Man, fo was Man begotten only for Man's fake,
* that is to fay, that one might be helpful to another.' From whence Cicero infers, c that we ought all to c follow where Nature is our Guide, to throw c common Benefits into the common Stock, and 4 by an Intercourfe of good Offices, as giving
* and receiving -, by Arts, Induftry, and all our
* Faculties, to incorporate Mankind into one So- c ciety.'
This is not the Language of Banni and Tam- bourin, who fay, c That a Man may wifh his Neigh- c bour hurt ; that a Son may defire the Death of c his Father, and an inferior Clergyman, that of c his Superior (V), or his Prelate, for the fake of c attaining to his Prelacy, becaufe the Succeflion 6 to a Father, and the Honour of Epifcopacy are
* Things which may be lawfully defir'd, provided 4 that the Expectant does not rejoice for the other's
* Hurt, but for his own Good procur'd by fuch ' Death.'
Eut this barbarous killing Doctrine does not flop here. It even permits Children to attempt the Lives of their Parents, and in fome Cafes to kill them. ' Yea, (f) fays the Jefuit Dicaftillus, a Child 4 when unjuftly attack'd by the Father, may re-
* pel Force by Force, and fo may Servants their
(e) An pofïît fubditus mortem cupere fui praelati, ut praela-
turse ipfe fuccedat Si folùm defîderes, vel cum gaudio ex-
cipias ejufmodi effe&us, hereditatem — praelaturam, facilis eft refponfio. Licite enim hase optas vel ample&eris, quia non gaudes de alterius malo, fed de proprio bono. Tambourin in bis Explanation of the Decalogue, part ii. 1. 5. ch. i. §.3.». 31, 32,33-
(/) Colligitur ulterius licitum efTe filiis contra parentem, fervis contra Dominos, vafTalis contra Principes vi vim repellere quando actu invaduntur injuftè — idemque de Monachis aut fubditis contra Abbates & fuperiores. Dicajlil, L ii. de jufli tr» 1, difp, 10, Dub, l, n, 30.
< Mailers,
of A Pagans, &c. gg
% Matters -, Vaftals, their Princes \ Monks, their 4 Abbats and Superiors.'
Leflius is altogether as exprefs upon this Article, 4 It is as lawful for the Clergy and Monks, 4 fays he (g), as for the Laity to kill others, 4 in order to fave themfelves -, and they may ufe 4 this Liberty againft any Perfons whatfoever, not 4 excepting- their Superiors, whether it be a Monk 4 againft his Abbat, a Son againft his Father or 4 Mother, a Servant againft his Matter, a Subject 4 againft his Prince— — ' So that according to this bloody Doctrine, a Clergyman that fees his Bifnop, or a Monk his Abbat, or a Soldier his Captain, or a Child his Father, or a Subject his Sovereign, take up a Sword to ftrike him, any of thefe Per- fons have full Liberty to ward off the Blow, and to kill for fear of being kill'd. And as if Leflius had not faid enough before, he adds, 4 That in 4 whatfoever Function a Prieft be employ'd when 4 he is attack'd, tho it be while he is celebrating 4 Mafs at the Altar, he may defend himfelf (&), 4 and if need be, kill the Aggreffor, and then go 4 On with the Mafs i' juft as if he had only made his Hands more clean, by dipping them in the Blood of his Neighbour, and thereby render' d himfelf more worthy to drink that which Jefus Chrift lhed for his Enemies.
The famous Molina ftill allows greater Liberty to fpill human Blood, and to put all Aggreflbrs
0>) Quare étiam Clericis 6c Monachis hoc concefTum ficut & Laicis, idque contra quofcunque, etiam contra fuperiores, ut Monacho contra Abbatem, filio contra Parentem, fervo con- tra Dominum, VafTallo contra Principem. Lejf. de juft, er jur, l.ii. c. 9. D. 8. «.-41. p. 84.
(h) Et in quocunque Officios fit quis ocenpatus, ut fi celebret, & invadatur, poteft fe tueri & occidere invaforem, (i necefle fît, 5c poftea facrum continuare, Lefs. ibid,
H 2 to
>ioo A ^Parallel of the Tïotirine
to Death. 6 'Tis lawful, fays he (i), to employ all * manner of Means, and to ufe all forts of Wea- 4 pons, that may be neceflary to our defence ;' which is as much as to fay, that one may lawfully deftroy all that have a Defign upon us, whether by Sword, Fire, or Poifon, in a word, by what Death we pleafe. So different is the Doctrine of the mo- dern Apoftles from that of the old ones, who en- join us only to blefs them which perfecute us (k) ; who forbid us to recompenfe Evil for Evil (1% and to avenge cur felves (m) -, and who fhew us, that if need be, we ought to lay down our Lives for the Brethren (n). But fuch Difpofitions and Sentiments' of Love and Companion for our Neighbour, are not agreeable to Men who are all Thunderbolts of War, To burn, kill, maffacre, poifon Fathers, Mothers, Kings, and all Perfons whatsoever who bear a Grudge to us, is the Science of the Jeiuitsr and what they teach to their Difciples. Therefore, hereafter let 'em fet over the Gates of their Schools an Arm wielding a Sword ; becaufe they are fuch excellent Fencing-Mailers, and give fuch good In- iiructions for the Ufe of the Dagger.
But this is not all : Not content with having taught Men to kill thofe who have a Defign upon their Lives, they fortify them with the fame Inftruc- tion againft fuch as aim at their Eftates. ç There ' feems, fays Leflius (0), to be the fame Reafon
(;) Fas eft quâcunque via & ratione, & quibufcunque armïs id totum efficere quod ad totam defenfîonem merit neceflàrium, Molina de juft» vjur. Tom. iv. tr. 3. Difp. 1. n. 5. p. 1757.
(It) Benedicite perfequentibus vos. Rom. xii. 14,
(/i Nulli malum pro malo reddentes, ver. 17.
(m) Non vofmetipfos defendentes, ibid. 19.
(») Et nos debemus pro fratribus animas ponere, 1 John iiu
(0) Et eadem videtur effe ratio in invafîone fortunatorum. Nam fortunse funt necefTarium vitae inftrumentum, fubfidium & ornamemum. Le/s. de jvft,& jur, I. z. c. ?. d. 8. «.49.
8 for
of the Pagans, &c. iof
c for killing fuch as invade our Properties, becaufe c our PofTenTons are the neceflàry Means, Support, c and Ornament of Life.' c And, fays he, they 4 may be kill'd who unjuftly hinder our Debtors
* from 'paying us (p).' So that even/ one muft take care to keep their Hands off of the Jefuits Revenues, and not to deprive them of the means of living comfortably -, for the Ornaments of Life being in their Opinion preferable to the Life of any Man that wou'd take them away, they would put him to death, even tho it were a King, without refpect to his facred Perfon. This deferves more notice than is imagin'd, and ought efpecially to be remark'd by thofe Princes who lay fuch heavy Taxes on the Jefuits, that they can't afford to live commodioufly, and delicioufly.
Molina fays, 6 That he would not prefume to c tax that Man with Sin, who mould kill a Man
* that goes to rob him of the Worth of a Crown, c or any thing of lefs Value (q). Which put Efco- bar upon eftablifhing this general Rule, ' That re-
* gularly a Man may be kill'd for the Value of a c Crown, according to Molina (r).* But this I pafs over, and proceed to the famous Queftion, Whe- ther 'tis lawful to kill fuch as attack our Honour and Reputation ? And here the Jefuits make a pompous Flourifh with their Logick, * sTis law-
* fid, fays Efcobar (s\ for Clergymen and Fryers
* to kill a Robber, when 'tis neceifary for prefer-
* ving their temporal Goods.' That is the Princi-
(/>) Si impedis inique meos debitores ne mihi fatisfaciant* Ibid, D. 12. n, 78.
(q) Unius aurei, vel minoris adhuc valoris. Molbu Tom, iv. tr, 5. Difp. 16, D, 6.
(r) Efcob. tr. i. ex. 7. n. 44.
(s) Licitum eft Clericis & Religion's in tutelam fuarum fa- cultatum furem occidere, fi alius modus non fuppetat ; ergo 2c In tutelam honoris, Efi. irt i, ex. 7, ch. j. n. 4$,
H 3 pie \
loi A Tarallcl of the T>o5irine
fie -, now fee the Lirf'ajience. Ergo, c 'Tis as law- « ful for rhern in defence of Honour their to kill c thofe who feek to rob them of it.'
The Jefuit La?ny alfo puts the Sword into the Hands of all the Clergy and Fryers, to kill thofe that go about to dishonour them. * 'Tis lawful,
* fays be (t% for a Clerk or a Fryer to kill a Slan-
* derer, who threatens to publifh any great Crimes, € either of him, or of his Order, when there's no
* other way of preventing fuch Defamation ; as c there does not feein to be, when the Slanderer is & ready to publifh his Calumnies againft fuch c Clerk's or Fryer's Perfon or Religion before Per- ' fons of Note, if he be not kill'd on the Spot.'
The Jefait Languet fays alfo (//), c That 'tis law- c ful to commit Murder in defence of a Man's c Honour, and for repelling what may blaft our ' Reputation.' Yet thefe Doctrines are not of a Dye deep enough to put the Society to the Blum ; the more fanguinary and the more barbarous they are, with the more Impudence do they maintain them ; like thofe Women that Juvenal fpeaks of, who, the more infamous any thing is which they undertake, with the more Courage and Intrepidity do they put it in Execution (w). That's the true Character of the Jefuits, with relpect to the Point v/e are treating of. Inftead of joining with the
(/) Unde licebit Clevico vel Religiofo, calumniatorem gra? via crimina de fe vel fua religions fpargere minantem, occidere, cjuando alius defendendi modus non fuppetit ; uti fuppetere non videtur, fi calumniator {it paratus ea vel ipfi Religiofo, vel ejus Religioni publiée coram graviflïmis viris impingere. Lamy Tom, v. Diff 36. ». 118.
(u) Ad tuendum honorem fuum & propulfandam infamiam licet occidere. Languet in his Notes upon the $tb of the Ten
Commandments, g. 4. Anfw, 1,
(w) Forrem animum prasftant rebus quas turpiter audent» ^uv. Sat, yu
Publick
of the Pagans, &c. 103
Publick in condemning the Cruelty of the Frater- nity, Father Pirot, in his apology for the Cafuifts (#), where he fpeaks in the Name of his Society, ca- nonizes all this murdering Doctrine ; after which, he fanfies he has given a peremptory Anfwer to every thing laid againft this bloody Doctrine, by a Blufter of Words. ' Who would have thought, c fays he (y\ that the Janfenifts would reinforce their c Cabal with Houfebreakers, Pickpockets and Slan- 4 derers, and take them into their Protection, againft c all the Men of Honour in the World, purely to c make War upon the Cafuifts, and to fet Fellows * of that Stamp upon their Backs :' Which is as much as to fay, That unlefs, like the Jefuits, we had always our Swords drawn, to kill all that hurt us in our Eitates or Reputation, we mult be JanfemftS) Protectors of Houfebreakers, Pickpoc- kets, and Slanderers : and tho God fays pofitively 'Thou /halt not kill (2), we muft neverthelefs tranfc grefs the Command, and put all our Enemies to death ; becaufe otherwife Men of Honour would be too much expos'd.
Alas then, my Fathers ! (for ye are all Men of Honour) if you had known me before I had pub- lifh'd this Tract, I mould have had but a mort and a bad Time on't : for tho you fay, after put- ting the Quefrion, Whether the Jefuits might kill the Janfenijls? (*) c That they ought not to kill them, 4 becaufe they obfcure the Luitre of the Society, c no more than an Owl does that of the Sun.' This Decifion, and this way of arguing, favours, in my Opinion, fomewhat of the Gafcon. For, have you not made War for near a Century part upon all thofe Owls of the Janfentfts ? You have perle-
(x) Pag. 84. (y) In the fame Page.
(s) Npnoccides, Exod, xx. 13,
{*) Caraiuovel, n. 114S & 1147. p. 545. & 54!?.
H 4 cuted
1 04 A Tar allé I of the cDodtrine
cutcd them wherever you found them, in France, in the fevcral Countries of Europe, in the Eaft, and in the Weil. Read but the Vlth Column of the Hexaples, Part 13, where there is a fhort Account of the bitter Calumnies you have fpread againft them, and of the Evils of all Kinds which you have made them fuffer. Remember alfo the Rage with which you were animated to deftroy the mofl facred Monaitery of France, I mean Port-Royal ; a Rage which you extended even beyond the Grave. How came it, ye Thunderbolts of War, the Flow- er of Chivalry, ye new Sampfons, who came into the World every Man of you arm'd with a Head- piece, What was it that put you into fo great an Alarm, fo terrible a Panick ? Why did you trem- ble before you heard the Sound of the Trumpet ? (a) Why, did I fay ? A Company of Virgins, not living, but long fince dead -, their Afhes and their Coffins ' have terrify'd you, and put you into Con-
* fufion :' And after this, will you come and tell us, that you make no more account of the Janfe- nifts, than the Sun does of an Owl ? ' This Story
* may go down with others, my Fathers, with
* them who are Strangers to you T but, for my 4 part, I know you thorowly (£),' and am fure that if I lay at your Mercy, you would fay of me, as your Father Pet au laid of the great Arnaud, Draw the Ncofe, a?id jlrangle him inftantly (c). Alas ! ye tender-hearted, good-natur'd, charitable Souls, I wifh you would but go and offer your fervice to all
(d) Quae tanta animis ignavia venit >
Fœmina palantes agit, atque haec agmina vertit. —Cur ante tubam tremor occupât amis ?
Virg. JEwtià. L. if. (£) Ad populum Phaleras : Ego te intus, & in cute novi.
Per/. Sat. Hi (c) In the Book which he pu&iijh'd by Order of his Superiors, againft the Treatife of frequent Communion
the
of the Pagans, f$c. 105
the Parliaments and Tribunals of the Kingdom, to be their common Hangmen : for as you fo well understand the Ufe of the Sword and the Halter, this ProfeiTion would fuit you better than any body elfe.
Don't expect that I lhould here combate you with the Example of a God -, who, tho he could with a fmgle Blaft of his Breath have deftroy'd all his Enemies, yet fubmitted to Death rather than that one of them mould perifh : Nor think that I am going to attack you from the Oracles of the Holy Spirit-, to apply them for confuting your Bar- barities, would be profaning them. No, no ; my Fathers, you muft become good Pagans before you'll be Chriftians. Learn therefore, ye Murde- rers of Mankind, learn from Cicero, ' That there c are certain Duties (d) to be obferv'd, even to
* thofe from whom we have receiv'd Injury, and ' that there ought to be a Mean, both in Revenge ' and Punifhment.' Hearken well to what this Pa- gan adds, e And I know not but it may be fuffici-
* ent for the AggreiTor to be brought to repent of c his Injury, both for his own Amendment, and c for the Terror of others. Therefore, fays he
* elfewhere, (e) Hearken not to thofe, ('tis you, my
* Fathers, that he Jhuts the Ear againft) who take it f to. be the Part of a brave and refolute Man to 4 be violently angry with an Enemy : For there is c npthing more praife- worthy, nothing more be-
(d) Sunt autem quaedam Officia etiam adverfus eos fervanda, à quibus injuriam acceperis. Eft enim ulcifcendi & puniendi mo- dus. Atque haud fcio, an fatis fit, eum qui lacefTerit injuriae fax pcenitere * & ut ipfe nequid tale poft haec committat, & cœteri fint ad injuriam tardiores. Cic* de Ojjic. L. i. c. n.
(e) Nee vero audiendi qui graviter irafcendum inimicis pu- tant, idque magnanimi atque fortis via e(Te cenfent. Nihil enim laudabilius, nihil magno & praedaro viro dignius placabilitate atque dementia. C/V. ib» c, s 5.
coming
io6 A Parallel of the cDo£irine
c coming a great and good Man, than Clemency « and Good-nature. — But to rum madly into Dan- 4 gers, without Fear or Wit, and to engage an c Enemy hand over head, is only Brutality and 4 Outrage (/).' See, ye Difciples of Molina and Efcobar, what an Enemy this Pagan was to Blood ; how he taught Men to forgive their Brethren, and not to kill 'em for the Value of a Crown-piece, and even for an Apple, (g) as your Father Lejfiiis fays, when 'tis difgraceful to lofe it.
Learn alfo from the Behaviour of the Romans to Pyrrhus, that, let Father Molina fay what he will, 'tis not juilifiable to make ufe of every Method to get rid of an Enemy. c "When King Pyrrhus, 4 fays Cicero (b), made War upon Rome, and the
* Quarrel was purely for Empire, with a powerful s and a generous Prince ; there came a Deferter
* from Pyrrhus into the Tents of Fabricius -, and ' promis'd him, upon Condition of a confiderable
* Reward, that he would convey himfelf back as
* privately as he came, and poifon the King. Fa- 6 bricius order'd this Man to be carry'd back to « Pyrrhus : And the Senate applauded what he had ' done.' Really, my Fathers, if Fabricius had been of your Mind, King Pyrrhus would have been a dead Man. c But, as Cicero admirably obferves, 4 how fcandalous and impious would it have been, 4 to have conquer'd a noble Enemy with Treache-
(/) Temerè autem in acie verfari, & manu cum hofte in- fligere immane quiddam & belluarum fimile eft. Cic. ib. c. 23.
(g) Aut pro porno. Lejf. n. £8.
(/?) Cum enim Rex Pyrrhus populo Romano bellum ultro in- tuliffet : cumque de imperio certamen effet cum Rege generofo ac potente ; perfuga ab eo venit in caftra Fabricii, eique eft pollicitus, fi premium ei propofuiiTet, fe, ut clam venilfet, fie clam in Pyrrhi caftra rediturum, & cum veneno necaturum. Hunc Fabricius reducendum curavit ad Pyrrhum, idque ejus fac? turn à Senam laudatum eft. Cic. de Ojfic. 1. iii. cv a*»
<7
of the Pagans, &c. i 07
c ry inllead of Virtue ! (if Confefs, my Fathers, that you, who have no Notion of any thing but fhedding Blood and putting Mankind to Death, are perfect Strangers to fach Doctrine and fuch Sen- timents.
Now learn from Lycurgta, that great Law-giver of the Lacedemonians *, how Infults and Affronts ought to be reveng'd (k) : ' This great Man had
* made a Rule, which ftop'd the Courfe of all De-
* bauchery and Riot in Sparta. The Rich, who c were exceeding angry with him for it, purfu'd 4 him one Day with Stones -, and as he was flying c into a Temple, a Youth nam'd Alcander, who c was of a very hafty pafiionate Temper, flruck
* him in the Face with a Stick, and thereby put c out one of his Eyes. TmYyoung Fellow was ap- 4 prehended, and brought to Lycurgus , that
* he might take what Revenge upon him he
* thought fit.' Now, ye Difciples of Garajfe (I), and Lejjius (m), who fay that a Box on the Ear or a Stroke with a Cudgel, is a juft Caufe for the Death of the Aggrefior, how d'ye think he re- veng'd himfelf ? ' He only punifh'd him by keep- c ing him in his Houfe ; and the Kindnefs and
* Good-nature with which he treated him, fo turn'd € the young Man's Heart, that, fays Plutarch, he
* who was before violent and paflionate3 became 6 very fober and moderate.'
(i) Sed magnum dedecus & flagitium— -eum non vii'tute fed fcelere fuperatum, Cicer. ibid,
(k) Plutarch** Lives of illuflrious Men, Lycurgus.
(/) If a Peafant, fays this Jefuir, had the AJfurance to give a Gentle-man a Bcx-of-thy-Ear} (much more furely if a Blow with a Cudgel that fhou'd ftrike out his Eye) there can be no Satif- jfaSlion made for the Injury, but by the Death of the Criminal, Garatfe, in his Somme Theolog. L. ii. p. 194.
(/») See Left L. ii. c. 9, I), iz. n. 77. and Efcob. Tr, i. ex. 7. n, 48. p. 123.
Mean
i oS A Tarallel of the HoEirine
Mean time, Lycurgus was the Son of a King, (n) and by confequence a good Gentleman, and a Man of Honour -, but yet he did not think himfelf the worfe Man for pardoning the Affront, nor that Sa- tisfaction cou'd not be made for it without the Death of the Criminal. And, as Seneca obferves, c Tho in fc Matters of Courtefy 'tis but honourable to repay
* one Favour with another, (o) yet 'tis not lawful to c return Injury for Injury ; and 'tis as fhameful, adds i the Pagan, to be overcome with Chokr and Re-
* fentment, as it is glorious to excel others in a 6 greatnefs of Soul and Generofity.' — c What, fays c Epi&etus (/>), becaufe the Perfon who has abus'd
* me has already injur'd himfelf, muft I needs add to
* his Mifery, by abufmg him in my Turn ? No,
* furely. And the Reafon is, becaufe, according to
* Seneca, the very Term Revenge is repugnant to
* human Nature -, 'tis an Expreffion only known' c among Barbarians, and differs from the Affront 8 in nothing but in order of Time (q)' — You fee, Fathers, that the Pagans had no great Notion of thofe Reafons which induce you to kill all that af- front you -, and that they were far from thinking that they became Protestors of the Infolent, becaufe they forgave Injuries.
Again, learn, ye nice, tender-hearted Gentle- men, but tender only to your dear fëlves •> learn, that to find fault with your Turpitude, and to fall
(») He was the Son of Eunomus King of Sparta.
(<?) Non enim ut in benefîciis honeftum, mérita mentis re. penfare ; ità injurias injuriis illic vinci turpe eft i hie vincerc. Senec. de Ira, L. iii. p. 83. t. 1.
(P) Qu^ erD° • ^um <Iu*a ^e fibi nocuit dum injuria me afficit, ego non dabo operam ne noceam, ilium viciflim affici-5 endo ? Epié'tet.
(q) Inhumanum verbum eft ultio 5 & à çontumeliâ i\on
diffeit nifi ordine. Senec, ibid, as above,
upon
of the Pagans, &c, 109
upon your Extravagance, is not itriking at your Honour. For where is your Honour ? I put the Queflion to your felves. Is it not a Rational Be- ing ? Therefore talk no more at that rate, and let not the Publick laugh at you more, to hear you call your felves Men of Honour, You are J e fuit s ^ my Fathers, that is your true Name, and contains all your Qualities in Miniature. Now I demand of you, whether 'tis poflible, without telling a Lye, to fay any good of you ? You'll make anfwer, What fhall we fay of our felves then ? I leave you to confider that, and in the mean time take this good Advice, which I give you from Eplcîetus* c If c any Perfon comes and informs you (V), that
* fome body has revil'd you -, never trouble your 4 Heads to vindicate your felves, but only return 4 Anfwer, that he who has reproach'd you did not
* really know all your Faults, otherwife he would
* not have ftop'd there.' Speak the Truth, my Fathers, don't your Confciences tell you as much, whenever you read fome Books, as for Example the Provincial Letters^ or the Sixth Column of the Hexaples ?
Hearken to this other curious Reflection of Ci- cero : (s) ' There's nothing more abfurd than
* what we obferve in moil People who are admo-
* nifh'd or corrected : They are uneafy at what c ought to give them no Pain, and thoughtlefs of
* what fhould give them moll Uneafinefs. For
* they are under no Anxiety for the Faults they
* have committed, but purely for being corrected ; 4 whereas they ought to be forty for the Offence*
(r) Epi£tetus, in his Manual, Ch. 48.
(s) Atque illud abfurdum eft, quod ii qui monentur earn mo- leftiam quam debent capere non capiunt: earn capiunt quam debent vacare. Peccafîe enim fe non anguntur, objurgare mo- lette ferunt : quod contra oportebat, deli&o dolere, coireûionc gaudere. Cic.de AmiçUiâ^c. 24,
2 ' and
i i o A Tar allé I of the T)o£lrine
c and glad for the Correction.'- — Rejoice therefore, my Fathers, 'tis a Pagan of good Senfe who in- vites you to do it : Rejoice at all the good Advice, the wholefom LeiTons, and all the juft and well- grounded Reproaches you meet with from the Jan- Jenifts -, and inftead of thanking them as you do, by Letters de Cachet, Banifhrnent, Imprifonment, or as your Father Pet au was for doing with Ar- naud, by drawing the Noofe immediately, and ftr ang- ling, return them Thanks from Hearts truly grateful.
You fee, my Fathers, how all your ftrange bloody Maxims are confuted by the Pagans. There remains nothing more to conclude this Chapter, but to mew you from the Mouths of thofe very Pagans the heinous Nature of the Crime you com- mitted at Port-Royal, by digging up the Bodies of the Saints which refted in the Vaults of that facred Houfe.
Learn therefore, ye Breakers up of Tombs, ye Enemies to both the Living and the Dead -, ye fu- rious Priefts, who carry your Refentment even w the Allies of thofe that you hate : Learn, that by the Law of the Twelve Tables, the Romans were not fo much as c permitted to gather up any of the c Bones of the Dead to carry them elfewhere (t) :5 and that Solon, as Cicero tells us, fpeaking of Se- pulchres, c forbad them to be defcroy'd, and de- " creed a Punifliment for the Perfon who fhould c violate, throw down, or break a Tomb or Mo- c nument (u).9
Tiberius, as great a Monfter as he was in point of Cruelty, will alfo furnifh you with a Lefton.
(/) Homini mortuo ne ofTa legito quo poft funus faciat. C/Va de Leg. L. ii.
(u) De fepulchris apud Solonem— ne quis ea deleat—
pœnaque eft fiquis buftum (nam id puto appellari to^ov) auc monumentum, inquic aut columnam yiolarit, dejecerit, fregerit» C/V. ibid*
la
of the Pagan s, Sfc . i \ \
In the third or fourth Year of his Reign, there having been a great Earthquake in Afia^ Gaps were left in fome Places, (x) c in which were ' found Bodies of a prodigious bignefs. From one 4 of thofe Bodies a Tooth was taken, which was ' above a Foot long, and it was prefented to the c Emperor, to know whether he would pleafe to
* have the whole Body brought to him. But he 1 contented himfelf with ordering a Head to be ' made proportionable to fuch a Tooth, that he
* might be able to form a Judgment of the Size of € the Body -, and then fent back the Tooth, to be
* put into the Place from whence it had been taken : c as thinking it a Crime as bad as Sacrilege, to c violate the Burial-Places of the Dead.' But you, my Fathers, you thought it an Action full of Re- ligion and Piety, to caufe the Ground to be open'd, and the Temples of the Holy Ghofl to be broke in pieces, by Men drunk with Wine. And do you think, becaufe you are Jefuits, to come off with Impunity, for a Crime which the Heathens would have feverely punifh'd ? No, my Fathers, the Blood which you have fhed cries like that of Abel from Earth to Heaven (y).
(x) Hiftory of the Emperors, by M, de Tillem. Tom. i.'p.7£.
{y) Genefis iv# io. Vox fanguinis fratris tui damat ad me de terra.
CHAP,
i fi A Taralkl of the Tloftrme
CHAP. IX. Of OATHS.
WE have feen in the foregoing Chapter, that the Command, Thou Jhalt love thy Neigh- bour as thy felf^ has no other meaning, according to the Jefuits Commentary, than that we fhou'd not hate him ; and that it did not oblige a Man to love his Neighbour by any internal Act, becaufe in that Cafe a great part of Mankind would be damn- ed. Then we fhew'd, that according to thofe good Fathers, 'tis allowable to wifh harm to one's Neigh- bour, when one is provok'd to it by any proper Motive -, as a Mother, for inftance, who has de- form'd Daughters, may wifh their Death, becaufe of fuch Deformity : and as a Son may defire the Death of his Father, that he may come the fooner at hisEftate. In a word, thofe very Doctors have own'd, without any Scruple, that a Perfon may kill his Father, his Superior, and even his King, for fecuring his own Life, Honour, or Eftate. They have alfo given us to underfland, that a Man's Life may be taken regularly from him fora Crown- piece, and fometimes for an Apple ; and all this without breach of the Love we owe to our Neigh- bour. That's the Sum and Subftance of the Le£ fons which the Jefuits gave us in the foregoing Chapter.
In this they propofe to teach us to deceive Men by falfe Promifes, and to fwear a thing to be black when we know 'tis white, and yet our Promhe fhall be flill reckon'd fincere, and our Oath facred: at leaft, this is what they pretend to, and that by means of directing the Intention, Let us hear Fil-
liucius*
of the Pagans, tic, Ï13
liucitis, that famous Cafuift and the Pope's Peni- tentiary : He ftands up to fpeak firft, and is going to give us a dear and evident Proof, to let us tho- rowly into the meaning of a Direction of the In- tention.
4 The Man, fays be, who has externally pro- c mis'd any thing, (fuppofs a Sum of Money) but
* without an Intention of promifmg,' (pray don't fail to obferve ihefe Words, WITHOUT AN IN- TENTION OF PROMISING, for here lies the Juggle) ' that fame Perfon, fays this great Jefuit (a), c being ask*d whether he made fuch a Promife, £ may deny it ; meaning to himfelf that he did
* not make a Promife that was binding : Nay, fays
* be, he may go much farther, for he may even i fwear to it, or elfe he wou'd be urg'd to pay what
* he doth not owe.'
Tambourin^ who goes beyond Filluicius, excufes even thofe from keeping their Word and Oath, who make a Doubt whether they intended to o- blige them le Ives to keep fuch Words or fuch Oath, (b) c Tho you are fure, fays be, that you
* have made a Vow or an Oath, 'tis probable, in
* my Opinion, that you are not bound by it, if c you doubt whether you had an Intention to o- ' blige your felf to (land to it.*
But Valentia, one of the four Beafts mention'd in the Revelations, as Efcobar fays, goes a great deal farther, and in this Réfpecl is much more complai-
(a) Affeni folent exempîa aliqua, ut primo ejus qui promifit ëxteriuSj & abfque intentione promittendi fi enim interro- getur an promiferit, negare poteft, intelligendo fe non promi- iilTe promiffione obligante, ôc fie etiâm jurare, alioquin urge- rctur folvere quod non debet. Filliuc. Tom. ii. tr. 2$. n. 523.
(b) Si certe vovifti vel jurafti, at ambigis an animum te oblt- gândi habueris per ilia verba, feu per illud juramentum ■ Puto non efTe improbabile te nequaquam obligari» Tambour, in Decal. L.i. e. 3. § 7. n,- S=
I fant,
î 14 A Tar aile I of the T^oBrinë
fant He is of Opinion, c that (c) even tho one
' made a Promife with an Intention of being o-
* blig'd to it -, the Obligation does not take place, c provided there was no defign to perform the
* Thing promis'd :' And the Reafon he gives for it is very curious, * becaufe, fays he, the Vow (and to
* be fure he vjoifdfay the fame of an Oath) becomes e null and void, if you have no Will to put it in c Execution.'
Let us Hop a little, to furvcy this Cafcade of Intentions, the fined and beft contriv'd in Nature.
1 . If a Man makes a Promife, with an Intention not to bind himfelf to keep it ; this Direction of the Intention, according to Filliucius, actually ex- cufes him from keeping it, and even gives him a Right to fwear that he did not make it.
2. If he doubts that he had an Intention to en- gage himfelf by a Vow, or an Oath, which he is fure he made, this very Doubt, according to Tam- bourin, difengages him from his Vow or Oath.
3. Nay, tho a Man had the beft Intention in die World, and the fulleft Refolution to be oblig'd to his Promife ; yet, according to Valentia, he is not oblig'd, when he has not the Will to perform the Thing promis'd. This is a Sample of the Jefuits Doctrine, how to make Vows, Promifes, and Oaths, which are not binding. But I demand if this is not the Divinity of Cheats and Knaves.
An honeft Man, as Cicero, would tell you,
* The Foundation (d) of Juftice is Faith -, that is
(c) Scio Valenciam 2. ii. D. 6. q. 6. p* 1. cenfere : fi pro- mittas animo quidem te obligandi, fed cum voluntate rem pro- miflam nullatenùs exequendi, tunc nullam exurgere obliga- tionem, quia fi nullam habes voluntatem rei facienda:, nullum emittis votum. Tambour, ib. L. in. c. 12. § 1. n. 4.
(d) Fundamentum juftitia: eft Fides, id eft, Di&orum conven-
toriimque conftantia credamufque, quia fiat quod di&um
p ft, appellatam fidem, Ck. de Ojfc* L. f.-c. 7.
« to
of the Pagans, ïâè. 1 15
* to fay, a Firmnefs and Truth in our Words, Pro-
* mifes and Contracts ; and we believe, fays be, ( that Fides is fo called, quia fit quod diffumeft, be- c caufe that which is faid is done.' That was the Divinity of the honeft Pagans : But to fay that a Perfon is not the lefs lion eiler Man, becaufe he does not keep his Promife *, and to make all the Faith of Promifes depend upon the Will of not keeping them, that is as çiuch as to fay, upon Infidelity it felf -, becaufe Infidelity in Promifes is nothing elfe but the Will of not doing what is promised ; is not that the Divinity of Cheats and Pickpockets ?
Yet, if we will take the Jefuits Word for it, they are the moft admirable of human Beings ; their Society being nothing lefs than the Houfe of Wifdom (e), the Support of the Church-— the City of God himfelf ; of whom fuch glorious Things are faid, gloriofaditla funt de te civitasDei. But tho all thefe Titles fhould be allowed them, which they give, as they fay, without Arrogance, to their Humble Society -, wou'd it not cover them with the greater Confufion, becaufe if they were allow'd, it would
(e) c It was chiefly for the Honour of our Society, that thé
* Wife Man fays in the 9th Chapter of his Proverbs, Wifdom i hath built her Houfe, and hewn out her [even Pillars. For may
* we not with Reafon call that the Houfe of Wifdom, on the 1 Front of which the eternal Wifdom of God was pleas'd to
* engrave his Name Jefus; the Name he aflum'd when hecon^
* vers'd in this World. If you ask now where are the Pillars,
* 1 will tell you, that Perfons of great note, and even the So- ■ vereign Pontiffs, have declar'd a long time ago, that God had
* rais'd up this Society to be the Support of the Church in ' thefe deplorable Times Therefore I may venture, yeâ
* undoubtedly, I may be allow'd, without arrogance, to afcribe
* to the HUMBLE Society of Jefus, that Oracle which the c Prophet-King publifh'd of Sion\ that is to fay, of the Church « of Jefus Chrift : Glorious Things are fpoken of thee, O City of
* God.' Thefe are the very Words of the Jefuits, in their Bock of the Picture of the firfi Century of their Society, p. 704, and 58a. The Original is in Latin.
I 2 be
îî6 A Parallel of the T^oBrine
be only to make them the more fenfible, that they have turn'd the Houfe (/) of God, if not into a Den of Thieves, at leaft into a Sanctuary for Cheats, and thofe well vers'd in the Arts of de- ceiving ?
What is it, In effecl:, but mere juggling, which Sanchez teaches on the Art of fwearing by a double Entendre ? that is, to fwear and not to fwear in a Breath : So that by the means of fuch enfnaring Oath, you make others believe a Falmood, with- out perjuring your felf. 'Tis a curious Secret, I profefs, and a very plain one too ; for all the Myf- tery of it conflits in cutting off a Letter : but as curious and fimple as it is, it is no lefs than down- right Fraud -, which take as follows, and then judge of it. c When one goes to fwear, fays this ' aniient Inhabitant of the City of God, or when ' one is prefs'd to take an Oath, fay Uroy which ' figniiies / burn (g), inftead of fnro, I fwear ; c which, whether you burn or not, would be but 4 a venial Lye at moil' — I defire the Magiilrates to take notice of this, otherwife the Gentlemen of the Houfe of JVifdom may make Fools of 'em when they put them to their Oaths.
Here's another Secret of the fame Sanchez, which is of great help. c If, fays this Contriver of * double Meanings (h)y a Man mould fwear that he
' has
(/) Matt, xxi. f?.
(g) Similiter non effet plafquam veniale mendacium dicere Vro, ablata/, cum verc nil urat. Smch. L. iii. c. 6, n. 37.
(h) Si quis — juret fe non fecilfe aliquid quod rêvera fecit,
ihtelligendo intra fe aliquid aliud quod non fecit, vel aliam di- em ab ea in qua fecit, vel quod vis aliud additum verum, rê- vera non mentitur, nee eil perjurus, immo hoc eft utilîiîimum
ad tegenda multa Caufa vero jufta utendi his amphibologiis
?ft, quoties id neceffarium aut utile eft ad falutem corporis,
honoi-em, res famiH.ires tuenda, Item licebit refpondere fe
non
of the Pagans, SSc. i i 7
c has not done a thing which in reality he lias,
* meaning fome other thing within his own Breaft 4 which he has not done, or fome other Day than
* that given for the Thing done -, fuppofe it be be-
* fore he was born, or any fach true Circumflance,
* he is neither perjur'd nor a Lyar.' c And, he
* adds, this is very convenient to hide many things. 4 — But the juft Caufe of making ufe of fuch Am- 4 biguities, is, as often as 'tis necefïary or ufeful for
* the Defence of one's Perfon, Honour, or Eftate. ' So a Man may lawfully fay he did not kill Peter,
* meaning privately another Man of that Name, or c that he did not do it before he was born.'
Any one may judge from hence what the Je- fuit.c would flick at, if the Honour or Eftate of their Society were at flake. But the chief Point to be confider'd, is, how manifeflly this Doctrine tends to make Oaths common, and to multiply the Occafions of Perjury. For when once a Man may be allow'd to fwear that he has not done a thing, tho he has done it, by a private meaning to him felt that he did not do it upon fuch a Day, or before he was born -, who is there that will not play with an Oath, and who will make a Scru- ple to perjure himfelf as often as 'tis for his Inte- reft, tho never fo little ?
Now it was to reftrain this Licence, and to com- bat the Doctrine which authorizes or rather teaches it, that Father Çjïuefnel had wifely remark'd, in his Book of Moral Reflections, c That (f) there is no- c thing more oppofite to the Spirit of God and
* the Doctrine of Jefus Chrifl, than to render
* Oaths common in the Church ; becaufe 'tis to
* multiply the Opportunities of Perjury, and lay
non occi jiiïe Petvura, intelligendo alium ejufdem nominis, vel ctiam eundemmet, intelligendo antecjuam nafceretur. Sanch, ib. n. 1^, 19, & 26. (i) Prop, j of.
I 3 * Snares
ii8 A Tar aile I oft he ^DoSirine
6 Snares for the Weak and Ignorant ; and that it c fometimes proftitutes the Name of God for pro- 4 moting ungodly Defigns.' — There could not be a better Reprefentation of the fatal Effects of the licentious Doctrine of the Jefuits. But thofe Fa- thers, inftead of fiibmitting to the Truth which condemn'd them, have caus'd the Truth it felf to be condemn'd. They fingled out this Propofition from Father Quefnelh Book, laid it before Clement XI, and that honefl Pope put it into his Bull, as one of thofe that were only fit to poifon the Souls of Mankind.
But I demand of every Man that has any Reli- gion or good Senfe left, whether 'tis fit to accept a Bull which fo palpably condemns Truth and fa- vours Error. Yet, if we will believe M. Langitet Bifhop of SoiJJbm\ there's no other means to avoid Error and Death ; and 'tis Infolence to exclaim againft the Bull and its Author. ' Alas !' fays be? with a mournful Tone, and the Stile of an Eclogue, t Alas \ the Sheep (k) that are now poifon'd, info- ? lently prefume to bleat againft the Shepherd, f who drives them out of erivenom'd Meadows -, e they are angry at his Watchfulnefs, and being f more defirous of their Liberty than their Health, * they have a fatal Curiofity to ftray into enfnaring ? Failure, where they will quickly lofe themfelves, & or find Death.9
Poor Prelate ! I am fure that this Phrafe coll him a great deal of Study, and that que can't fay of him, (/) 6 That he did not bite his Nails, nor 4 rap the Table before he hatch'd it.' But when all's done, what are thofe envenom'd Meadows, that enfnaring Pafture, thofe poifon'd Sheep, and
(k) i Advert, p. 6%u
(/) Kec pluteum csedit3 nee demorfos fapit ungues,
' ' PeïfcSau I
that:
of the Pagans, &c. i 19
that Shepherd's Crook which is to bring them into one Fold ? 'Tis a Song almoft in the fame Strain with thofe which 'Tityrus warbled upon his Flute or Flageolet (m). Now it feems that the produ- cing of Songs to prove the Duty of receiving the Bull, is Argument. But let us leave this Prelate with his Mufick and his fine Ditty, and return to our Doctors of Equivocation and mental Refer- vation, and we will try to confound them and their Bull ; not from the Gofpel, but from the Words of Cicero. Hear this Pagan, therefore, ye Inha- bitants of the City of God, from whom ye have already heard fuch glorious Sayings, and from whom we have yet more to repeat. Give ear, 'tis Cicero who now fpeaks : c (n) In the fécond Punic 4 War, after the Battel of Cannes, Hannibal fent
* ten Prifoners to Rome, under an Oath of return-
* ing, if they could not obtain the Liberty of fuch ' and fuch Prifoners in Exchange. — The Cenfors c fet a Fine during Life, upon all their Heads that
* were forfworn.'
Speak your Thoughts, ye Difciples of Valentia^ Don't you think this was very unjuft Treatment ? For, you wou'd fay, as to thofe Romans breaking their Oath, it was becaufe they had not a mind to keep it : now what needs more to render it null and void ? No, there needs nothing more indeed, as you think : But according to the Romans, who were Men of Honour, the Oath was neverthelefs as much an Oath as ever \ and 'twas upon this ao?
(m) Tityre, tu patulae recubans Tub tegmine fagi, Sylveftrem tenui mufam meditaris avenâ.
Vlrg. Bucol. Eclog. i.
(») Secundo autem Punico bello, poft Cannenfem pugnam, quos decern Annibal Romam mific, adftri&os jurejurando fe re- dituros efTe, ni(î de redimendis iis, qui capti erant, impetraf- fent; eos omnes, Cenfores, quoad quifque eorum vixit, qui pejeraffent, in aerariis reliquerunt. C/V. de Offic. L. i. c, 13.
I 4 eounç
rï 20 A Tarallel of the DoSîrine
count, that they who had taken it were degraded by the Cenfors, and branded as Perjurers *, not- withstanding the honeft Intention they had not to keep it. But this is not all : Hear what Cicero fays further.
(0) c Nor was there any Exception as to him
* who was no fooner gone from the Camp, but he € found out a Shift to evade the Oath, and pre- ? fently went back, under colour of fomething left c behind him ; and then returning, went his way, & as if he had thought himfelf difcharg'd from the ' Obligation of the Oath : And fo he was indeed
* in Words, but not in Effetl. For in all Oaths, 4 Promifes, or Pledges of Faith, the Intention is to
* be confider'd, and not the Letter! — So that even tho this Soldier and his nine other Comrades, had been fo fubtle when Hannibal made them fwear, as to have faid Uro for Juro, (for they talk'd Latin in thofe Days) the Cenfors wou-d neverthelefs have degraded them °, and wou'd have thought fuch a Quirk too mean a Shift for an honeft Man to make life of. In a word, it was the Prmciple of the old Romans, c (p) That whatfoever we have fjvorn, lo s as to have a full Perfwafion in our Minds, that 6 it ought to be done, That mull be obferv'd.'
Ye Difciples of Filliiicius, Tambourin, Valentia^ and Sanchez, are you fenfibîe of the Difference between thcfe Principles and yours ? If you are. reform your fubde, ' deceitful Divinity, and take
(0) Nee minus ilium qui jurisjurandi fraude culpam invene- ?at. Cum enim Annibaljs permiflu exifîet è caftr?s rediit paulo poft, quod fe oblitum nefcio quid diceret ; Deinde egreffus c caftris, jurejurando fe iblutum putabat : Et erat verbis, re non erat. Semper autem in ride, quid fenferis, non quid dixeris co- gitandum. Cicer. ibid.
(p) Quod enim ita juratum eft, ut mens deferentis concipe- ret fieri oportere, id obferyandum eft, Cic. de Offic, Lib. ul
thefe
of the Pagans, 6fc\ \ti
thefe Pagans for your Mailers : They'll teach you alio, ' What is to be confider'd in an Oath, and f what Obligation we lie under of keeping it (q)9
* viz. its Force and Sacrednefs : For an Oath,
* fays Cicero, is a Religious Affirmation ; and what- f foever we promife pofitively, as in the Prefence ' of God, we muft keep it ; not for fear of the ' Anger of the Gods, — but from a Love to Faith ' and Juftice : that Faith on which Ennius makes
* this glorious Exclamation :
* O holy Faith ! Thou facred Oath of Jove,
c And fit to have thy Manfionvcith the Gods above,
Verily, the Je fuit s wou'd fay, thefe are fine Principles, and very different from ours. But were thefe Pagans the fame in Practice as in Spe- culation ? For as for our part, we are no Hypo- crites, True, my Fathers, for as you fpeak wickedly, fo you act, and there is no Contradic- tion between your Behaviour and your Words. So much for your Comfort. Nor is there any Con- tradiction in the Pagans : They acted juft as they talk'd, as you will now fee by the Story of the ge- rous Regulus, which Cicero gives us in thefe Words.
(r) ' Marcus Attilius Regulus, in his fécond Con- f fullhip, when he was furpriz'd and taken Prifoner
(q) Sed in jurejurando quae \is fit, debet intelligi. Eft
enim jusjurandum afErmatio religiofa. Quod autem affirmatc quad Deo tefte, promiferis, id tenendum eft : Jam enim non
âd iram Deorum fed ad juftitiam & ad fidem pertinet. Nam
praeclarè Ennius ; O fides alma, apta pnim & jusjurandum Jo- yis. Cicer. de OfEc. L.iii, c. 29.
(r) M. Attilius Regulus, cum Conful iterum in Africa tx infî- diis captus effet, Duce Xantippo Lacedaemoniq, Imperatore $utem patre Annibalis Amilcare, juratus muTus eft ad fenatum,
ï il A Parallel of the ^DoBrine
' in Africa, by Xantippus the Lacedœmonian, a
* Commander under Amilcar the Father of Hanni-
* bal, (who was then General) was fent to the Se-
* nate, under an Oath of returning to Carthage, un-
* lefs certain Carthaginian Noblemen mould be re-
* leas'd in exchange.
' Being come to Rome, he had before him a ' fair Colour of Profit, which was that he might
* flay in his own Country, and live at home with c his Wife and Children :' — For as to his Oath, as your Father Valentia has faid fince, he need' only have faid, that really he did intend to oblige him- felf, but that he did not intend to perform what he had promis'd. That's what he might have done very well if he had been a Jefuit -, but being an upright Man, and an honeft Pagan, he acted quite the contrary.
fi For he came into the Senate, told them his c Bufinefs, but refus'd to give his Opinion \ alledg-
* ing, that fo long as he was under an Oath to the
* Enemy, he was in the Condition of a Prifoner, c and not of a Senator — But that which he did c fpeak was againft himfelf- — for he would not al-
* low it to be for the Intereft of the Romans to ex- c change their Prifoners, for they were young Men, ' he faid, and good Soldiers ; but that for his
* part, he was wafted with old Age. His Autho-
* rity prevailing, the Prifoners were detain'd, and
ut nifi redditi eflent pœnis captivi nobiles quidem rcdiret ipfe Carthaginem.
Is cum Romam venifiet, utilitatis fpeciem videbat ma» nere in patriâ, efle domi fuae cum uxore, cum liberis.
In Senatum venit : mandata expofuit. Sententiam ne dl~ ceret recufavit j quamdiu jurejurando hoftium teneretur, non efle
fe Senatorem. Atque illud etiam -reddi captivos negavit eflç
utile : Ulos enim adolefcentes efle & Bonos duces, fe jam con- fe&um fene&ute. Cujus cum valuiflet au&oritas, captivi retenti funt, ipfe Carthaginem rediit, neque eum caritas patriae retinuir, nee fuorum. Cic. de Offic. Lo iii. c„ 2,7.
« himfelf
of the Pagans, &c. ï 23
' himfelf return'd to Carthage, without being kept 4 back by the Affedtion he had either for his dear 6 Country or his Friends.'
(s) ' Neverthelefs, he was not ignorant to how
* cruel an Enemy, and to what exquifite Tor- ' ments he expos'd himfelf, by his Return ; only
* he was refolv'd not to violate his Oath. There- c fore, when they had watch'd him even to Death,
* his Condition was yet more honourable than
* if he had ended his Days at home, a fuperannua- 4 ted Captive, and a forfworn Senator.9
Say, now, Father Jefuits, is this laying one thing and doing another? are not Practice and Spe- culation both agreed here ? and does not this Pagan appear to you to have been as fcrupulous or as nice of his Honour in a good Action, as you are pro- fufe of it in Wickednefs ?
(t) ' But, fays Cicero, (and a very remarkable ' Saying it is) in the whole Character of Regidus, 6 the mod wonderful Part of it was his Opinion for c detaining the Prifoners. For as to his Return, f tho we wonder at it now-a-days, he could not f yet, at that time, do otherwife.' — This is as if he had faid, that Plain-dealing and Fidelity were then as much in vogue among the Romans, as Knavery and Falfhood are now among thofe Re- verend Fathers, who call themfelves the Pillars of the Church.
(s) Neque vero turn ignorabat fe ad crudeliffimum hoftem, & ad exquifita fupplicia proficifci : fed jusjurandum confervan- dum putabat. Itaque cum vigilando necabatur, erat in me- liore causa quam fi domi fenex captivus, perjurus & confularis remanfiiïet. Cic. de Offic. L. iii. c. 27.
(t) Sed ex totâ hac laude Reguli, unum illud eft admfratione dignum, quod captivos retinendos cenfuerit. Nam quod rediir, nobis mirabile videtur : illis quidem temporibus aliter facere non potuit. Ibid, c, $ia
< So
1 24 A Tarallel of the ^oEîrine
c So that, adds Cicero (//), it was the Glory of ' the Age, rather than of the Man : For our Fore- ' fathers always look'd upon the Tye of an Oath,
* as the ftrictefl Obligation in Nature.'
6 (x) Happy Age, may we fay once more with
* Juvenal, when Wickednefs was looked upon as c a Monfter !' — when Equivocations, fly Craft, and Subtlety were held in fuch Abomination, that the Man who rlrft put them in practice was treated as an infamous Scoundrel ! I mean, that Roman we have been fpeaking of, c the One out of Ten, 4 who returned to the Camp almofl as foon as he c was out of it, upon a Pretence that he had left
* fomething behind him ; by which Return he
* thought himfelf difcharg'd of his Oath -, butwith- 4 out Reafon -, for Fraud does not diifolve the
* Perjury, but bind it falter. Therefore, it was a « FOOLISH PIECE OF CUNNING, and c a moil perverfe Imitation of Prudence. Here-.
* upon, adds Cicero, the Senate decreed, that this
* ihifting Juggler mould be fent bound to Hanni- ' bal (y).9 Alas, what would become of you, O City of God, and ye Pillars of the Church, who un- derftand fo many of thefe difhoneh: Tricks ! what a Condition woa'd you be reduc'd to, if you liv*d in a Republick where thofe old Romans were to
(#) Itaque ifta Iaus non eft hominis fed temporum. Nullum enim vinculum ad adftringendam fidem jurejurandp majores ar&ius efle voluerunt. Cic. de Qfïïc. L. iii. c. 31.
(x) Improbitas illo fuit admirabilis sevo. Juv. Sat. u
(y) Unum ex decern qui paulo poftquam egreflus erat è ca? fhïs, rediifTet quafi aliquod cflet oblitus. ■ Reditu enim in çaftra liberatum fe efTe jurejuiando interpretabatur. Non rede ; Fraus enim diftringit, non ditfblvit perjurium. Fuit igitur STULTACALUDITAS, perverse imitata prudentiam. Itaque decrevit Senatus, ut ille veterator & callidus, yin&us a4 ^nnibalem duceretur. Cic. de OiEc. L. iii. c, 3 a,
compoie
of the Pagans, &c. 125
compofe the Senate ! Surely, never Galley-Slave was lb chain'd as you would be.
But in the main, is it not what you richly de- ferve, for having taught, c that 'tis neither Perjury, ' nor any Sin whatever, (z) to make ufe of Èqui- ' vocation for a good Purpofe ?' which is another Afiertion of your Father Filliucius.
Your Father Stoz fays, too, c He who has com- c mitted a Crime in fecret, may (a) deny it when 6 examin'd about it, with a private meaning, that
* he did not commit it publickly.' c A guilty c Man (b), fays he again, when examin'd by a
* Judge, concerning a Crime which cannot be ful» ' ly prov'd, unlefs he himfelf confefs it, may deny 4 he has committed it, if by confefTmg it he friou'd ' run the Hazard of his Life, Liberty, or Eftate.* — c In fhort, fays he, in all thefe and the like Ca- c fes, If the thing is fo circumftanc'd, andReafon
* require it, a Perfon may confirm what he fays c with an Oath (V), provided it be accompany'd c with a clever Equivocation -, becaufe LeJJius has c thus determin'd it.'
I hope this will open the Eyes of Magiftrates, and that, with a juft Refentment at a Doctrine which teaches Men to fport with Juilice both hu-
(z) Secundo qusero, an fit perjurium vel peccatum uti amphi- bologia ex honeftâ causa î Refpondeo & dico primo talem non efle perjurum. Filliuc. Tom. ii. tr. 25. n. 323.
(4) Poteft quis fuum crimen occultum negare, fubintelligendo ut publicum. Stoz, in his Book intitleà, Le Tribunal de la Pe- nitence, or, The. Tribunal of Penance, L. i. Part 3. p. 1 7 3 . n.2*Q.
(h) Reus à judice interrogatus de deli&o, quod fine propria illius confefiione plene probari nequit, poteft illud negare, R ex ilia confeffone fit incurfurus periculum vitae : Quod extenditui* etiam ad quodcunque aliud grave malum, v. g. exilium, bono- rum omnium amiitionem. Stoz. ibid.
(c) PolTu? t bœc omnia fi res ita ferat, & ratio poftulet etiam juramento conflrmari : modo débita Se congrua sequivocatio ad« hibeatur Leffius. Stoz, ibid.
man
3
ii6 A Tarallel of the ^DoBrine
man and Divine, and to yiolate the facred Obli- gation of an Oath, they will at leaft impofe Silence on thofe Teachers of Lyes, Equivocation, and Perjury. For 'tis not to be imagin'd, that the Jefuits of this Day are different from thofe of yef- terday. They underftand ode another to a Mira- cle, and to be convinc'd that there was never a more perfect Concert, one need only hear what is faid by Father Cafnedi, (a Jefuit of Lisbon, and Qualificator of the ïnquifîtions of Spain and Por- tugal) in a Treatife he lately publifh'd, with the Title of ' Crifis Tbeologica, printed at Lisbon m ij 19, (a late Date) with the Approbation of the Di- vines of the Society, and of Father de Sou/as, Pro- vincial of Portugal. Thus does this celebrated Je- fuit exprefs himfelf, and with him all the Divines' of the Society who have approv'd it.
(d) c I fay, that the guilty Perfon, when exa- c min'd coram Judice, as a Malefactor, for a Crime'
* by him committed, that is to fay, in order to* 4 be punifh'd, is not oblig'd, for fear of Sin, to
* confefs his Crime frankly, if by hiding it under
* fome mental Reftriction or Phrafe, purely mate- ' rial or equivocal, he hopes to evade capital Pu- c nifhment, or what is as bad as capital, fuch as
* the Galleys, or great Infamy, or clofe Imprifon- ' ment, or Forfeiture of Eftate, or the like Pains
* and Penalties equivalent to Death.. Nay, he may
(d) Dico quod reus de commiiïb à fe crimine interrogatus à judicè juridicè criminaliter, feu ut puniatur ; fi occultando reftric- tione fenfibili, aut locutione pure material' aut aequivocâ fuum crimen, fpem habeat evadendi pœnam capitalem, ut funt magna infamia, triremes, career durifïïmus, bonorum omnium confia catio, de fi miles pœnx équivalentes morti, non teneatur fub culpa reatum fuum candide fateri ; quin licite poflit fuum cri- men etiam jurejurando occultare, five reftri&ione fenfibili, five Jocutione pure material'* Cafneâ. Tom. v. Difj*. 9. n. 316". p. 7 6. col. 1,
' even
of the Pagans, &c. 127
6 even conceal his Crime by an Oath, whether 4 with a mental Reftri&ion, or in fo many exprefs
* Words/
Was ever any thing more explicit and pofitive ? But at the fame time was there ever a greater Profanation of the Sacrednefs of an Oath ? A Pro- fanation which yet we find authoris'd and approved in 1 7 19, by a Provincial, and Divines of the So- ciety.
To conclude ; Such then is the Doctrine of the modern Jefuits. They and their Predeceflbrs have gone hand in hand in forming an unanimous Tradi- tion of Equivocations, and mental Reftrictions, which teaches Men to perjure themfelves in an in- nocent way, and to deceive the Magiftrates in an Article which the Pagans efteem'd as the moil Re- ligious and Sacred.
But they go much greater Lengths than all this ; for in order to render Oaths common, they have taught, c That 'tis not fw earing to fay (e) upon
* my Faith ; upon my Confcience ; upon the Faith 4 of a Chriftian ; upon the Faith of a Prieft ; or a
* King -, in good Truth ; or to fay, this is as true
* as that Pm a Chriftian (f) -, as I'm a Friar -, as c Pm a Prieft -, as Pm an honeft Man -, or to fay,
* if this be not fo, I don't believe in God, or I
* deny a God (g ) ; or to fay, 'tis as true as that
4 there
(e) Jurâmenta non funt : in mea fide, in mea confcientiâ, in fide Chriftiani, in fide Religion*, in veritate. Emm. Verb, juram. n. I. p. 295.
(f) Ut fum Chriftianus, Religiofus, Sacerdos, vir bonus, ita eft. Efc. tr. 1. Ex. 3. n. 16.
(g) Non credo in Deum, vel abnego Deum fi hoc non eft ita. Coram Deo ita eft. Deus fcit ita efle, vel Deus videt efTe ita. Efcob. ibid. n. 16. & 20.
Teftis eft mihi Deus. Sanchez.^ L. iii. c. 2. n. 21.
Non
î 28 A "Parallel of thé TïoBrïne
' there is a God ; as that Jefus Chrift is in the
* Holy Sacrament of the Altar -, or as true as the 4 Gofpel -, or to fay, 'tis fo before God ; God
* knows or fees it to be fo ; 1 call God to witnefs :* All this amounts to nothing if we'll believe the Je- fuits. ' 'Tis not fwearing, as both Confeflbrs and 4 Catechifls teach, left we fhou'd fin thro9 a mifta- 4 ken Confcience. And altho thefe and the like 9 Applications are commonly taken for blafphe-
* mous Swearing, yet this is not clear, becaufe
* there is no Invocation of a Witnefs ; nor does 6 a thing feem to be blafphemous, if true.'
So, according to the Fathers Bonacina and Bauni9 4 If a Man fhou'd add the Name of God to Head,
* Belly, &c> this is no Blafphemy, on the contrary + 4 fuch Terms fay they, are Ornaments of Speech j 4 and they add, that even tho thofe Parts fhou'd be 4 nam'd in Wrath, provided they are not utter'd in 4 a Paflion againft God, 'tis not Blafpheming, be- 4 caufe by thefe words, Head, Belly, &c. there 4 is nothing mentioned of God which is falfe, be- 4 caufe 'tis true that God being made Man, he has 4 fuch parts as Man (£).'
They have alio taught the miraculous Secret, 4 how a Man may fwear by all the things that a 4 Man can fwear by, and yet not fwear : That is
Non funt juramenta (quod confefiarii & catechifte moneant,
ne ex erroneâ confcientiâ peccetur)— In veritate, fide boni
\iri, per fidem meam, fide boni Chriftiani, vel Sacerdotis, vel Regis. Bufemb. L. iii. tr. 1. c. 2. n. 10.
Quamvis has & fimiles comparationes : Tarn verum eft, quam Deus eft, quam Chriftus eft in venerabili Sacramento,
quam verum eft Evangelium communiter videantur jura-
mentum continere cum blafphemia, id tamen non fatis apparet, quia nullus in teftem invocatur. Neqite videtur efle blafphemia fi fit verum. Bufemb. ibid. Tambourin fays the fame thing,
(h) Bauni, in his Catalogue, ch. 6. p. 66.
Bonacina is of the fame Opinion, and Bauni quotes him and
others to confirm it.
* to
of the Pagans, &c. \<i$
1 to fay, that Peffons may fwear (i) by every thing
* they are capable of iwearing by, and might by
* confeqiience make an Oath including all others^ and c yet not fwear all the while,
In mort, they have dar'd to afïèrt that thefe Words, « By God, By Jefus Chrift, Jo far from c Swearing, are, on the contrary, certain Modes of c Speech invented at firft by fiich as wou'd a-
* void it -, and that tho fuch ways of fpeaking 4 may be cohftrued as fwearing by ignorant and c unthinking Perfons, yet they are not dee?n9d fuch by
* Men ofSenfe ; becaufe they are but broken imper-
* feci: parts of Speech, which do not affirm any
* thing, and therefore are not Oaths (k).
This is a new Specimen of the glorious Things to be faid in praife of the Houfe of IVifdom^ of the City of God, of the Pillars of the Church.
And what might I not add farther to their Ho- nour and Glory, fnon'd I fct about to convince them of having taught that frequent Perjuries and Blafphemies, or fuch as are the Produce of an in- veterate Habit, are at mofl but venial Sins? For is not this what their Father 'FîlUudus teaches info ma- ny words ? ' If when a Perfon blafphemes, fays he; 1 he does not fully advert to what he fays, be his
* Habit of Blafpheming never fo great, he does not
* fin mortally (/).' Is not this alfo what Efcobar
(i) Deducitur non efTe jus)ur2ndum quod commtiniter aîiquï
furamentum vitare volentes dicere folent : per totum id ï
quod jurare pofiiim. Sanchez, L. iii. c. i. n. 2$.
(k) Alios loquendi modos adinvenit defîderium non peje- randi, fcilicet pofFum jurare per Deum, per Chriftum — Qui qui- dem loquendi modi, licet imperitis 5c incautis juramenta vide- antur, verè cum nihil affirment, fed fufpenfa fît oratio, jura- ttienta non funt. Efcob. Tr. 1. E.y. 5. n. 17.
(/) Si défît advertentia plena, êc ex ea oriatur blàfphëmïa., ëtiamfî confuetudo adfit blafphemandi, non committitur pecca- turn mortale. Fill. Qgfft. Trior. Tom. \u tr. 25. c. t. n. 27* fi$li col I.
K teaches*
130 A ^Parallel of the ^DoEtrîne
teaches, c If Blarphemy, fays he (/#), arifes from a 1 Habit accompany'd with Inadvertency, 'tis not a
* mortal Sin. ' But we will conclude this Sub- ject with a notable Decifion by Filliucius, upon the falfe Oaths which one Man is delir'd to take for another.
(n) ' There's no intrinfical Evil, fays he, in de- fc firing a Perfon to take an Oath, who we know c will forfwear himfelf, provided the Petition be 4 grounded on certain Conditions, of which thefe t are the chief, asfome juftCaufe, viz. Necefllty or 1 Intereft, becaufe otherwife it wou'd be unfriendly c to make a Tool of one's Neighbour for fuch a 4 Purpofe.' And tho he was very fenfible that fuch Perjury for the fake of Temporal Intereft is Death to the Soul of his Brother, yet he was not afraid to add, ' That neverthelefs (0) this is not ' unfriendly, becaufe Affection does not oblige a c Man to fufferLofs rather than that another fhou'd < fm.9
I don't believe, the Publick is very much edify M by this Doctrine, and if they are offended at it, how much more will they be fcandaliz'd to hear the Bifhop of Soijfons accufe « rigid Moralifts as
* Perfons who furioufly defame the Jefuits (j>), be-
(m) Confuetudo quidem abfque advertentiâ lethaie peccatum «on facit. Efcob. Theol. mor. tr. i. ex. 3. c. 6. n. 28. p. 7 2.
(») Non efle intrinfecè malum petere juranientum ab eo quern fcimus pejeraturum, dummodo ferventur aliquae conditio- nes— Ut fit aliqua jufta caufa id petendi, neceflitas, vide- licet, vel militas, alioqui eflet contra charitatem proximum conftituere m tali occafione. Filliuc. torn. ii. tr. 21. c. 11, ». 346.
(0) Nee propterea eft contra charitatem, quia hsec non obligat ad vitandum peccatum aîterius cum proprio damno. Fill. ibid.
(p) I Avert. />. 113.
6 cauic
of the Pagans, Sfc Ï3 1
* caufe they combat their Errors, and expofe them « to the World/ Verily, if M. LanguetbaA talk'd after this manner in an AfTembly of honeft Pagans, they wou'd have pour'd jout the fame Anathemas upon his Warnings, the Bull, the Jefuits, and their Doctrine.
CHAP. X.
Of Concuplfcence, and other fenfual ipleajîires.
OF all the Subjects we have hitherto treated of, this is the mod difficult and crabbed : Not becaufe 'tis a barren Theme, but on the con- trary too copious : For 'tis a bottomlefs Abyfs ; and I wou'd gladly keep off of the Brink of it, not only by reafon of its Depth, but becaufe nothing is more offenfive than to be raking long in the midft of Mud and Dirt.
One runs no rifque in treating of Equivocations, mental Refervations, Craft and Subtlety ; nor is it of any Confequence to laugh when one hears it faid, that when a Man is put to his Oath, he does not fwear if he does but fay uro inftead of juro. i. e. I burn inftead of I fwear. But when the Sub- ject takes in Obfcenities, Nudities, Criminal Li- berties, in a word every thing that is offenfive to a modeft Ear, one is fadly perplex'd for fear of de- filing others, and dawbing our felves.
Now it was to avoid both thefe Inconveniencies
that I wou'd fain have fupprefs'd this Article. But
the Conftitution wou'd not let me. For 'tis luch a
favourer of every thing which the Jefuits have faid
K 2 upon
Ï3 2 A Tar aile I of the T>oEîrïne
upon Concapifcence, and the fenfual Pleafures, that I thought it of importance to let the World know it -, to the end that People might confider the Doctrine of thofe. Fathers, and the Decree which authorizes it, in the fame Light.
But we will endeavour to treat this Subject as becomes a Chriftian, who has the honour to write in defence of the Truth. We mall pafs over many things in Silence ; we mall alfo foften fome Ex- pressions which we think too odious. And if after all this Precaution the Reader fhou'd be offended at any thing he finds under this Article, we depend on his Candor, that he will not fo much blame us, as the Conftitution which oblig'd us to reveal the Turpitudes it favours. To conclude, if on the one hand Perfons are fcandalis'd to fee a Company of Priefls teaching Maxims altogether profane, al- together Epicurean, on the other hand they will be very much edify' d to fee a Company of Pagans teaching the m oft pure, and what we may term Chriftian Maxims.
After this fliort Preface which I thought very neceffary, we mall now enter upon the Subject. And as this Chapter will be very Icoig, we chufe to divide it into feveral Sections.
SECT. I.
Of Concupijcence.
I T cannot but be very true, that we are born Sinners and Slaves to Sin, becaufe the Pagans were convinc'd by the Light of Reafon only, that Man was altogether full of Corruption, and that his Heart is a fink as it were of all forts of Iniqui- ty.
of the Pagans, & 133
c ty. We are all inconfiderate, imprudent, inconitant, c quarrelfome and ambitious; or rather, (Tor thefe
* foft Expreflions, fays Seneca, only tend to palliate ' that Ulcer which has fpread over Mankind) < WE ARE ALL WICKED. And every one ' will find that in himfelf, if he looks into his own 4 Breait, which he condemns in another (q.)9
A deplorable Picture this of human Nature ! but a Picture which reprefents us to the Life, and is fo much the lefs to be fufpected, becaufe it was drawn by the Hand of a Stoick, that is to fay, a very proud, conceited Philofopher. WE ARE ALL WICKED, fays he, and every one carries in his own Heart the Root of all the Evil which he difcovers in others. Now what was it cou'd induce this vain Philofopher to make fo humble a Confeffion but the Senfe he had within himfelf of that Law of Siny that is to fay, that C one upi fence which dwelt in him (r), and which wrought in him all manner of evil Defires.
Cicero, another Stoick, after having duly con- fider'd Man, or rather his own Nature, was under a Necefîïty of making the fame Confefiion. Man appeared to him fo vitious and irregular, that he judg'd it was Man's firil Duty to cure and correct himfelf. ' Nor, fays he, fhou'd we aim fo much ' at acquiring thofe Talents which it has notpleas'd
* Nature to give us, as to fhake off ourVices (f) -, of
(q) Omnes inconfulti 8c improvidi fumus, omnes incerti, queruli, ambition*. Quid lenioribus verbis ulcus publicum ab- fcondo > OMNES MALI SUMUS. Quidquid in alio repre- henditur, id unufquifque in fuo finu inveniet. Seneca de Ira I. 3, p 137. t.i.
(r) Romans vii. S, 1 7.
(/) Non eft tarn enitendum, ut bona quœ nobis data non fimt fequamur, quàra ut vitia fugiamus, Cicer. L i. de Ofjic~ (. 3.
K 3 which
134. ^ Parallel of the 'Dofîrine
which according to him, and Archytas whofe words he quotes, ' the greateft, the mod dangerous, and 6 moft mortal, is Concupifcence (t).'
Surely this is a perfect Defcription of Concu- pifcence, or nothing is -, thus we have feen the Man in whom it dwelleth review'd and declar'd a miferable Sinner, and all this by Stoick Philofo- phers. According to fome, he is full of Pride and Wickednefs -, according to others, he is vici- ous and intemperate -, and by the Confeflion of the moil moderate, his bent towards Pleafure is the moft dangerous, and the moft mortal Plague of his Nature. So that in the Eye of Reafon, as well as that of Re- ligion, Man is compleatly miferable. Pie has no Guft, Affection, and Inclination for any thing but Evil, and from hence are thofe numberlefs Pre- cepts and Exhortations to practife Virtue, and to flee Vice, which we are furpriz'd to find the Books of the Pagans fo full of.
If the Jefuits had confider'd Man in this Light, they wou'd no doubt have prefcrib'd him the fame Remedies -, and inftead of Mattering him in his "Wickednefs, they wou'd have talk'd to him in the fame ftrain as the Pagans. But (u), far from pouring in Oil and Wine into his Wounds, they have not fo much as told him of his Diftemper -, nay, they will have it to be an Argument of his Health. This perhaps will not feem credible, and yet no- thing is more true ; and it will fobn appear that I don't impofe upon thofe Fathers, when I fay, that for the fake of turning all Crimes into innocent Actions, they conftrue Luft, namely, that Concu- pifcence which our fenfe tells us is a Propenfity to
(i) Nullam capitaliorem peftem quàm corporis voluptatem, hominibus dicebat à natura datam. Citer, de Ssneùl, c. 12.
(«) Luke x. 34*
all
of the Pagans, &c. 135
all manner of Evil, which St. Paul (w) calls by the Name of Sin, becaufe according to the Coun- cils, 'tis the [our ce of all Crimes (x) -, according to St. Ambrofe, a facrilegious Hunger (y) -, according to St, Aufiin, an Evil which muft be deftrofd (z) -, accord- ing to Fulgentius, the Devil's Snare (a) -, and accord- ing to the Pagans, the Seed of all kinds of Evil : they have term'd this Concupifcence, I fay, to be a natural Property of Man, an Appannage of his Nature, of which God may be the Author.
6 Nay, fays their Father Vaillant^ Concupifcence c is not an Evil of or in it felf -, and this, he adds, is c an Article of Faith (b).9 Man, fays alfo their Fa- c ther de Reulx, may pofiibly have been created 6 from the beginning, as prone to Concupifcence as c he is now born (V)-' So that here's God, who is Holinefs it felf, made the Author of the Principle and Source of all the Crimes, and all the Abo- minations which have been committed ever fince the beginning of the World, and which mail be committed to the World's End.
Let any one judge from hence, whether the Divinity of the Jefuits is very much for the Ho- nour of God, or for the Good of Mankind. Let them judge whether it tends to reform and cure
(w) Sed quod habitat in me peccatum. Rom.yii. 21.
(x) Fontem Peccatomm. Concil, Tria. Sejf.v. n. <>.
(y) Sacrilegam famem. Lib. vii. in Luc. torn. i. p. 144.5.
(z,) Malum eft, clarum eft — debellandum eft. L. iy. op. imp, u 10. p. 915.
(4) Laqueus eft diaboli. Serm.v. de Carit. p. «563. •' (£) Concupifcentia non eft de fe de intrinfecè mala, eft de fide. Vail. tr. de pec. Dijferi.i. depeccat. origin. Seel. 5. § 3.
(c) Potuit igitur ab initio creari homo concupifcentise ob- noxius, ficut jam nafcitur. De Reulx, in his Thefis upon the Epiftle to the Romans, maintained in the Jefuits College at Louvain, upon the 19th of April 1684, the firft ierfe of the Zth Chapter.
K 4 us,
rl3^ A parallel of the ^DoEtrine
us, and to teach us, as at leaft the Pagans have attempted to do, to diveft our f elves of our Vices , Defers and Malignity, or whether it does not tend on the contrary to juliify all our Pallions and Irre- gularities. For let us follow their Principle, and fee whither it will carry us.
Concupif nee, fay they, is not evil, and pofhbly God Subjected Man to it the very moment he came out of his Hands. Therefore the ufe of Marriage for.Pleafure only, is not a Sin in marry'd Perlons : Therefore Concupiscence may be gratified by de- liberate Defines after the Crime, and by the volun- tary Pleafure Men take in representing it to their Imagination \ therefore a Man may indulge his fenfual Appetite by drinking or eating to a Surfeit, for his Pliai lire only ; therefore he may gratify all his other Defires, Luxury, Vanity, Vain-Glory ; therefore wanton Looks, publick Shews, loofe Talk, lafcivious Touchings, and expofmg of Nudi- ties, are Things indifferent and allowable : There- fore, in a word, the Lull of the Eyes, the Luft of the Flefh, and the Pride of Life, are not things evil in themfelves, nor of diemfelves : And therefore, .God maybe the Author of them, tho an Apoftle (d) exprefly fàys the contrary. That's the Gulph into which that fine Principle of the jefuits carries us.
And Jet it not be faid that thefe are Confluences truly jufl, but difown'd by the Fathers -, wou?d to God it were So; but they are what the Jefuitshave taught in exprefs Terms, and we are going to fhew that ctiis is actually their Creed touching Concupis- cence, and the very Gofpel which they are come to preach to the World -, and 'tis apparently on this pretence, that they have given themfelves the fol- lowing Encomium, in their Book intitul'd, The
{d) i $ohn\u i69
PltJur?
of the Pagans, fee. Ï37
Figure of the fir ft Century (e). ' Behold nowthefe 6 new Inhabitants of the Earth, mall I call them An- c gels ? Verily you will find in this Society, God's * diligent Adjutants in procuring the Salvation of 6 Mankind. Men, who for the Glory of their c God, and the Defence of the Church, moil e- 4 loquently combat the Hereticks, viz. the Jan- c fenifts, by their Sermons and Writings. Thefe f are new Michaels. They who carry the glad c Tidings of the Gofpel to the Indies, ^Ethiopia* c Japan, China, and the remotefl parts of the c World, are new Gabriels. They who comfort c the Poor and lowly minded, v/ho cleanfe and f convert Souls by their Preaching and Confeflion, c and attend upon the Sick and Weak in Hoipitals, f are new Raphaels.
But now let's examine this Golpel, and this Creed, Article by Article.
SECT. IL
Of pihlick Shews, loofe Converfation, ob* fcene TraEls, wanton Looks, and expofing of Nudities.
c IF it be true, as a Poet /aid of the Auguflan Age, c That the Modefly of thofe Women who
(e) I ntuere modo no vos in terris, dicamne Àngelos? Cette in mundi falute procurandâ fedulos Dei adjutores, invenies in hac Societate, qui pro Dei fui Gloria & Ecclefîae defenfîone,
cum haereticis ore & calamo difertifïimè decertent. Mi-
chaelem hi referunt. Alios qui ad Indos, jEthiopes, extremos hominum Japones terribilibus circumvallatos cuftodiis Sinenfes, £c remotiffima quseque terrarum, laetiflimum Evangelii nuncium déférant, Gabrielem illi adumbrant. Alios qui pauperum fata- gunt, humilium & abjeftorum animas purgant, infirmos in Xenodochiis & fordibus confolantur, populum pro concione «radium, lmag. pim'i fie* Sec. Jefa, />• 402.
I frequent
1 3 8 A Parallel of the Tïoiïrine
4 frequent the Amphitheatres, tho with a Defign c only to fee and be {çcny commonly fuffers fatal * Shipwreck (/).' If it be true, as Seneca alfo fays, 6 That nothing is fo dangerous to good Manners, c as to be prefent at any Shew, becaufe at fuch € Times Vices Hide more eafily into the Heart, thro' 6 the Canal of Pleafare (g):* What muft we think of the Jefuit Fllliucius, who fpeaking of Comedy, in which every body knows that Concupifcence fteals in at the Ears and Eyes, yet thinks it no harm for any one to be prefent at it ? Nay more ; for, as if he wou'd fain perfuade all Mankind to go to fuch Comedies, he declares, ' That even the Clergy ' don't fin when they go thither, provided it gives c no Scandal ; which, he adds, is rarely the Cafe,
* according to a judicious Remark of Sanchez, be- c caufe they are very often there (h).y This does not need any Reflection, fo that I pafs to difhoneft Conversion.
' 'Tis dangerous, fays Epictetus (/), to talk or c to liffcen to nafty Difcourfe : When therefore it
* happens that you hear fuch Difcourfe from ano- ft ther, if you have Authority to reprove him, you É ought to do it -, if not, you ought at leaft to ' bear your Teftimony by a Blufh or a Frown, that 6 fuch fort of Converfation does not pleafe you. —
* As much as 'tis in your Power, fays he, in anc-
* ther Place (k\ turn off your Friend's Converfa-
* tion upon good Subjects. And if you are with
(/) Spe&atum venitmt, venîunt fpe&entur ut ipfae. Ille locus cadi damna pudoris habet.
(g) Nihil vero eft tarn damnofum bonis moribus, quam in aliquo fpectaculo defidere. Tunc enim per voluptatem facilius vitia furrepunt. Senec.Epift. 7. Tom. 2. p. 17*
{h) Nee etiam Clerici peccant fublato fcandalo, quod ferè non intercede ex Sanchez, quia frequentifïîme interfunt. Fill. Tom. 2. tr. 21. c. 11. n. 346.
(i) In his Manual, ch. 55.
\k) In the fame Booki ch. 42.
c People
of the Pagans, &c. 139
People over whom you have no Command, chufe
to be filent.'
Thefe are Maxims which we may call wife and honefl, and worthy of a good Pagan. Let us fee if we can fay as much of thofe of the Jefuits.
e What mull we judge, fays their Father Filliu- c cius, of fuch as give ear to fmutty Converfation ? 6 I anfwer, fays he (/), that 'tis a thing indifferent ' in it felf. And the fame thing mull be faid, he ■ adds, of thofe who read vile Books, and fuch as
* profeffedly treat of obfcene Amours (m).9 Really here is as plain a Contrail as can be ; fo that we will not flop to make a Remark upon it, but pro- ceed to treat of thofe Immodeflies and Nudities which are againfl all Decency.
4 Such Decency or Decorum,' fays Cicero {n\ that great Friend of Modefty and Honefty, c mews it
* felf in all our Words and Deeds, nay in the ve- c ry Motions and Poftures of the Body. Nature c her felf is our Miftrefs and Guide in this Article. 6 For it mull be obferv'd, that Nature feems to c have taken great care in the forming of Man's 4 Body ; and there is no quellion but the natural c Modefty of Men conforms it felf in this particu-
(/) Quaeres de auditione rerum turpium } Refpondeo, ex fe efTe rem indifferentem. Fill. Tom. ii. c. 10. n. ziz.
(m) Idem dicendum eft de legentibus libros turpes, & trac- tantes ex profeffo de obfcacnis amoribus. ibid. n. Z13.
(n) Decorum illud in omnibus fa&is & di&is, in corporis de-
nique motibus & ftatu cernitur Corporis noftri magnam
natura ipfa videtur habuifTe rationem hanc naturae tarn di-
ligentem fabricam imitata eft hominum verecundia. Quae enim natura occukavit, eadem omnes qui fana mente funt, removent
ab oculis eas neque partes, neque earum ufus fuis nomini-
bus appellant Itaque nee aftio aperta rerum illarum pe-
tulantia vacat, nee oratio obfecenitate. Nee vero audiendi funt Cynici, aut — penè Cynici, qui reprehendunt & irrident, quod ea quae turpia re non funt, verbis flagitiofa dicamus. Çic. L. iii. c. 35,
« lar
140 A "Tar aile I of the *Do Brine
c lar to the exquifite Fabrick of the Body ; for c whatsoever Nature has conceal'd, all Men in their
* right Senfes do naturally keep out of fight——»
* and either call fuch Parts, nor the ufe of them,
* by their proper Name Infomuch that thofe
c things cannot be done openly without Impudence,
* nor {q much as mention'd without Obfcenity.
' Wherefore, there's no hearkning to the Cy-
* nicks, nor to fuch as are almoft Cynicks,' (nor, fay we, to the Jefuits) c who blame and laugh at 4 thofe things to be foul in Words which are not fo ' in Deed.'"' 'After this, Cicero mentions a falfe Reafoning of the Cynicks, (like to the Sophifms of the Cafuifts) in their Endeavour to prove that 'tis allowable to {peak publickly of the greateft Scan- dals, and to call every thing by its proper Name. (0) ' Now, fays he^ we find a great deal more to
* this purpofe againft Modefty in their publick
* Difputations. But for our part, he adds^ we are c to follow Nature, and to fly whatfoever may of-
* fend either the Eye or the Ear of a modefl Man. c Nay, in our very Poflures and Geflures, as walk-
* ing, {landing, fitting, lying ; in the very Coun- c tenance, the Eye, the Motion of the Hands,
* there mull a regard be had itill to that which is
* becoming. In all this there are two tilings we
(0) Pluraque in earn fententiam ab eifdem contra verecunr <diiun difputanmr. Nos a litem naturam fequamur \ & ab omni ouod abhorret ab ipsa oculorum, auriumque comprobatione fugiamus. Status, incefïus, fefiTo, accubatio, vultus, cculi, ma- r.uom moms teneant illad decorum. Quibus in rebus duo funt maxime fugienda, nequid efFceminatum aut molle, & nequid durum aut ' rufticum fit; nee vero hiftrionibus, oratoribufque concedendi'm eft, ut iis haec apta fint, nobis diflbluta. Scent- corum quidem mos tantam habet à vetere difciplina verecundi- nm ut in feenâ fine fubligaculo prodeat nemo. Verentur enim ne fi quo cafu evenerit, ut corporis partes quaedam aperiantur, afpiciantur non decorè. Noftro quidem more, cum parentibus puberis rllii cum foceris quidem geneii nonîavantur, Cic. deojjic, L.'u cap. 35.
6 fhould
of the Pagan s, tie. t^ï
6 mould beware of\ the one, not to do any thing s that is too foft and effeminate ; the other, to
* avoid things that look harm and clownifh : For
* why mould any think thofe things proper for an 4 Orator or a Comedian, but that WE are under 4 no Rule V Why, fome will fay, were the Come- dians in former Days fo circumfpect and referv'd ? Yes, fays Cicero.
4 The Difcipline of the Theatre, fays this Ta-
* gan, has a long time had ilich a regard to Mo* 4 defty, that no Man enters upon the Stage with-
* out Drawers ; for they are afraid left fome Parts
* of the Body coming to be difcover'd by chance, c that ought to be conceal'd, mould make an in-
* decent Appearance. 'Tis alfo a Law among us, 4 (fays he) not to allow Sons, when they are Men
* grown, fo much as to bathe with their Fathers ;
* or Sons-in-Law with the Parents of their Wives.* It were impofiible to make a better Declaration
in favour of Modefcv, Bamfulnefs, and Decency. Let's fee whether Filliucius talks in this Strrin. Thefe are his Latin Expre Tions, which good Man- ners don't allow us to tranflate.
{a) Partes quœcunque corporis proprics vel alienee^ quœ communiter & honefiè in humano conviclu ojlendi folent, nt brachia, peclus, crura, abfqiie peccato ullo afpici poffunt. Who would ever have thought, that in the common Converfe of Mankind, it were allowable for a Man to fhew himfelf in a Pofture fo flrangely indecent ; and that it were poffible, without Sin, to converfe with and look upon other Perfons of a different Sex, who fhould make fuch an immodefb and indecent Appearance ? Yet this Jefuit goes further, and fays,
(a) Fill'mc. Tom. if. c. io. n, 217»
Jotum
142 A Tar aile I of the ^Dottrine
tfotum (b) etiam corpus coopertis in balneo Vel flu~ mine, ft necejfitas vel utilitas aliqua, vel etiam com~ tnoditas9 vel deleElatio ob fanitatem intercédât, abfque ullo peccato afpici poteft. Which is as much as to fay, that when a Perfon is bathing, alone or in Company, he may give his Eyes a full Loofe as it were -, and if they mould take fuch entire Liberty, Efcobar does not at all think it malum infe. Enim- vero (fays he) fi effet afpeclus partium quas pudor ve- lat, vel (mind the Impudence of it) ipfius concubi- ius, fpeculativè quidem non damnare?n (c).
Let us come now to what Hiftory tells us of the Refervednefs and Modefly of young Alexander, when after the Defeat of Darius, he had that Prince's Wife in his Power, together with his Daughters, whom he had made his Captives.
4 He not only treated them like Queens, fays
* Plutarch (d ), but the greater!: and molt Royal 4 Favour which they receiv'd from him, was, that 1 as they had always liv'd with great Sobriety and 6 Modefty, they never heard a fingle Word that 4 was indecent, and never had a Moment's Snfpi- c cion, or Apprehenfion, of the leaf! thing that
* was contrary to their Honour. They had the
* Comfort of being in Alexander's Camp, not as
* in an Enemy's Camp, but as in a facred Temple, c or in fome holy Place, fet apart to be the Sane- c tuary of Virgins ; and to live retir'd, without c being feen by any body, and no Perfon dar'd to c approach to their Apartments.
* Neverthelefs, fays Plutarch, Darius' s Wife was c the moil beautiful Princefs in the World, as Da-
* rius himfelf was one of the handlbmefl and moil
* graceful of Princes ; and the Princefîès their
(b) Fillwc. Tom. iî. c. to. n. 217.
(0 Efcob. Tr. i. Exam. 8. c. 1. n. 4. p. 13$.
{d) Plutarch, in his Lives of illupiom Men. Alexander.
c Daugh-
of the Pagans, Sfc . 143
c Daughters refembled them. But Alexander think-
* ing it was more like a King to conquer himfelf
* than his Enemies, not only did not touch them,
* but would not fo much as caft an Eye upon
* them, nor fuffer their Beauty to be mention'd
* in his hearing.'
Let us ftop here for one Moment, and fuppofe now that this young Prince had been a Chriftian, and had had for his ConfefTor a Jefuit of the Stamp of Filliucius or Efcobar. What wou'd fuch Jefuit have faid to him, if he had ask'd him whe- ther he might without Sin feafl his Eyes with the Pleafure of looking upon Objects fo capable of wounding him to the very Heart ? But we have already feen what Anfwer he wou'd have return'd to this Queftion ; an Anfwer which is too lewd to be repeated : and therefore I fhall only take notice what a Happinefs it was for thofe modeft PrincelTes, that Alexander had not a Jefuit Con- fefTor at that time ; efpecially fince he was a Prince not infenfible of the Charms of Beauty. c For, ' as Plutarch fays, he perceiv'd by two things that
* he was but a mortal Man, viz. by Sleep, and ' Love : and therefore, when he faw other Perfian 6 Women that were of the Number of his fair
* Captives, whofe Shape and Beauty ftung him,
* he faid that the Perjians were the Bane of his
* Eyes. But, fays Plutarch, by fetting the Beauty 4 of his Continence and Sobriety, in oppofition
* againfb their Beauty and Gracefulnefs, he pafs'd ' by them with no more Emotion than if they ' had been fo many fine Statues.'
Probably 'twas from this illuftrious Example of Alexander, that Epiiïetus drew this Maxim : (e) ' If
* any Object ftrikes your Eyes, and is fo beautiful
( e ) Epi&etus, m his Manual, ch. 74.
' as 3
Ï44 ^ 'Parallel of the Dottriné
* as to excite your Defire to it, refill it with the
* Virtue of Continence.'
Pompe j acted exactly like Alexander: (J) c This
* General of the Romans, after he had defeated
* Mit bridâtes King of Pont us, and oblig'd him to c fly, enter'd into Arbela, the Capital of that ■ Prince's Dominions, when immediately the c King's Concubines were brought before him 5
■■ but, as Plutarch obferves, HE WOULD NOT « SO MUCH AS SEE THEM, but fent them ' all home to their Husbands or other Relations ;
* for they were moft of 'em the Daughters or 4 Wives of the chief Generals and the prime No- e bility of the Court.'
Wou'd not one be apt to imagine, that Alexan- der and Po?npey had, like Job, made a Covenant with their own Eyes (g), that they might not fo much as think of a Virgin ? What happy Princes were thefe, who had neither for their Guides nor Counfellors, Men who feem to be Enemies to all Modefly, and who give all the Indulgence poflible to the Wantonnefs of the Eye;
SECT. IIL
The Secret of the Conftitution unveiPd, and the Myjlery of Iniquity difcover^d.
I OFTEN hear it faid, by fome who think themfelves very wife, that ' this Conftitution, c which is fo attack'd from all Quarters, efta-
* blifhes no Doctrine, and advances no Error.' I grant it, and not only fo, but I fay farther, it could not be otherwife.
(/) Plutarch, In his Lives ofillttflrious Mm. Pooipey. {g) Job xxxi. u
m tot
of the Pagans, &c. 145
For the Jefuits were the fitted Men to eflablifh new Articles, and to make a new Body of Doc- trine : That was the Province of thofe Fathers, and 'tis what they have fucceeded in to a Miracle. But when that was done, there was a Necefllty of authorizing and giving Credit to this new Doctrine *9 riot indeed directly, for that would have been too flagrant -, but indirectly : that is to fay, that there was a neceffity, without making mention either of the Jefuits or their Doctrine, for flriking a pow- erful formidable Blow at once, to demolifh all the antient Faith of the Church in all the fundamental Truths of Religion. There was the fame Necef- fity for fligmatizing that antient Faith with the blacked Characters, in order to create an Abhor- rence of it. But where mould they go to feek for this antient Faith ? mould they look for it in the Scriptures, or in the Fathers ? No \ that would have been too plain a Difcovery of the Defign. Whither mould they go to hunt for it, but in a certain Book of Piety, where they wou'd find it exprefs'd clearly, exactly, and conformably to the holy Scriptures, to Tradition, and the Councils.
This* in a few Words, is the Secret of the Bull ; a Secret known at firft to the Jefuits only, and which they hid under the Cover of Janfenifm ; till by flriking at Janfenifm, they had brought an O- dium upon all the Truths oppofite to their own Doctrines : and then they laid their Heads toge- ther, and made ufe of all their Power and Cun- ning to hatch the Bull.
I don't fee what Objection can pofllbly be made here but this, viz. i That I ought not to tax the c Jefuits with fo wicked a Defign, unlefs I was
* very certain that Father §>uejheh Doctrines,
* condemn'd in the 101 Propofitions, does clear-
* ly and exactly exprefs and deliver the antient Faith of the Church/ Now this u a Point
L, of
Ï4Ô ^ Parallel of the TïoEirine of which I am very fure. I add, that I am con- vinc'd at the fame time, that the Doctrine of the Jefuits is as contrary to right Reafon as it is to Religion. And fince this Treatife is a Demon- stration of it, all that I am now to prove, is that the ioi Propofitions condemn'd by the Conflitu- tion, contain the pure Doctrine of Tradition and the Fathers.
But fome body perhaps will fay, You are not to be trufled, and therefore we will not believe you, unlefs you bring us fome foreign Authority, as ftrông in favour of Quefnel and his Proportions* as the Authority of the Pagans you have quoted to us is againfl the Jefuits and their Morality : In a word, prove to us from fome grave Author, for whofe Authority we have fome Veneration, and efpecially one who is no Janfenïft, that Father Quejheï's Doctrine, in his ioi Propofitions con- demn'd by Clement XL is the Doctrine of the Fa- thers of the Church, and by confequence the Doc- trine of Tradition.
Really 'tis very hard that no other Condition will go down but this : But as there is nothing which we will not do to convince the moil obfli- nate, we are willing to grant their Demand ; and we mull fay, that never was there an Author more grave on this Subject, or lefs fufpected of Janfemfm, than him that we are now going to quote -, for 'tis the Cardinal âe Bijfy.
His Eminency being alarm'd to fee fuch an afto- nifhing Number of Quotations from the Fathers of all Ages in the Hexaples, and being convinced by his own Eyes that all thofe PafTages taught no- thing elfe, (often in the fame Terms, and always in Subftance the fame) but Father £>uefnel9s Doctrine in his ioi Propofitions, his Eminency did not think fit to aflume the Gafcon Tone of my Lord Lang- te i7 and to fay, like that Prelate, that the
Hexa-
of the P a ô a n s, &c. V47
Hexaples were only a Rhapfody of Pajfages (p\ col- lected to juftify each condemn'd Proportion, but like a frank, honeft Man, he confefs'd the Harmo- ny of the 1 01 Propofitions with the Texts of the Fathers. Thefe are his own Words :
' In order to juftify Quefnel (i) by the Parallel
* of his Propofitions with the Texts of fome Fa-
* thers, it were abfolutely necefTary to fhew, that g thofe Fathers from whom thofe Texts are quoted, \ HAVE NOT ERR'D in the Subj eel of the 101
* Propofitions.'
Now, I ask, if ever there was a finer Demon- ftration of the Conformity of the Doctrine con- demn'd by the Bull, with the Doctrine of the Fa- thers of the Church ? So great and fubftantial is this Conformity, and M. de Bijfy was io very fen- fible of it, that defpairing of having it in his Power to deny it, he chufes rather to think that the Fa- thers have err'd in talking as they have done, than that Clement XI. was miftaken in condemning what the Fathers have taught.
But 'tis proper to take notice, that what M. de Bijfy calls fome Fathers , are only all the Fathers of the Church, from Age to Age, .fince the Apo'ftles Time, whofe Texts are quoted in the Hexaples, to fhew how near they come to the condemn'd Propofitions.
I confefs, and 'tis but Juilice due to the Car- dinal de Bijhi that he was very forry to be drove to fuch an Extremity, and to be fore'd to make ïo humble an Acknowledgment. He would have been charm'd, if he had not found fo great a Re- femblance between Father Quefnel and the Fathers of the Cfturch -, and he was very fenfible what a fhameful Recantation it was both for him and the
(h) Firft Advertifement, p. 79» (i) Paftoral Inftrttftion, p. 269,
L % Bull,
148 A Tar aile I of the ^Doflrme
Bull, (for which, however, he is the greater!: Stick- ler, next to the Bifhop of Soijfons) to fay, that in order to juftify the 101 Propofitions, it were ne- cefTary to fhew, that the Fathers have not err'd in treating of thefe Propofitions ; for fuch an Expref- fion as this, is confetti ng plainly that the Bull does not fo much condemn Father ^uefnel and his Doc- trine, as the Fathers that have err'd, and their er- roneous Doctrine.
Alfo when his Eminency fpeaks of the Parallel Texts made ufe of by Father Quefnel, to difcover the All-fufHciency of Grace, fuch as the Works of the Creation, the Refurredion and the Miracles of Jefus Chrift, Texts which thofe Fathers equally made ufe of, to reprefent the Power and Freenefs of the faid Grace, his Eminency did not dare to repeat what he had faid, of the neceffity of mew- ing, that the Fathers in ufing thofe Parallel Texts have not err'd \ but for fear of falling again into the fame Pit, he run into another that was deeper, by faying, c That there would be a neceffity of
* proving, that thofe parallel Texts are drawn from
* the Writings of Fathers, that are neither forg'd ' nor alter'd (£).'
I don't examine whether 'tis poffible to over- turn all Tradition more effectually, than M. de Bif- fy does in this Place, by reprefenting the Writings of the Fathers to us, which are much nearer our Times than thofe of the Prophets and Apoftles, as Writings that may be forg'd and alter'd -, but what I propofe to obferve, is, That this is a fécond Demonftration as compleat as the firfl, of the Con- formity of Father Quefnel9s Doctrine with that of the Fathers -, for in con fequence of this Conformity, 3VI. de BiJ/y fuppofes thofe Writings of the Fathers to be forg'd and corrupted, which, the fartheft from
(k) Pajîoral Injlrnftion, p, 26?.
? being
of the Pagans, &c. 149
being Apocryphal, have been univerfally own'd, and the moft inconteitably receiv'd -, and whofe Sayings have been all along quoted as lb many Au- thorities, and Authorities irrefragable.
We agree (ibme will fay) that you have demon- flrably prov'd by the Authority of the Cardinal de Bijfy, an unfufpected Author, that the condemned Proportions contain the Doctrine of the Fathers and Tradition : But wTe think, on the other hand, that you are too fevere on the Cardinal, for he does not abfolutely fay that the Fathers have err'd, nor that their Writings are fuppofititious and corrupted. It Jhoulcl be prov'd, fays he, that nei- titer the one nor the other is true : fo that he only doubts of it ; now a Doubt is not an Affirmation.
I am very fenfible that he who doubteth does not affirm, but then I know very well, that M. de BiJ/y is not that Man -, becaufe, after having laid what we have juft mention'd, he reproaches the Anti-conilitutioners with not having prov'd that the Fathers did not err, nor that their Writings are not forg'd and corrupted. c Nothing of all this has ' been done, nor even (/) Jays be, is the thing c poffible, fince the Bull is receiv'd by the Church.'
But I ask, if the aiTerting that 'tis impojjible to prove that the Fathers have not err'd, or that their IVritings are not fuppofititious or corrupted, does not imply his Opinion that both are true : There- fore I have not been too fevere on the Cardinal de Bifpj. Now M. de Biffy only believes one of theie two, becaufe the Bull which he fays is receiv'd by the Church, condemns the Proportions which are in the proper 'Terms, as he himfelf lays, or in equi- valent Terms in the Fathers (m) ; therefore, accord- ing to his Eminency, the Proportions condemn'd by the Bull, are the pure Doctrine of Tradition :
(0 Ptjtoral Injlnittion, p, 2 £9. (m) Ibid. p. 2 £4.
L z and
ï yp ATarallel of the TïoEirine
and therefore the Jefuits, by caufing thofe Propo- fitions to be condemn'd^ have caus'd the Faith and antient Belief of the Church to be condemn* d.
The Reader, no doubt, anticipates me, and is fenfible how I fhould confound the Cardinal de Bijfy, if I fhould fay to him \ My Lord, fmce you wrote in favour of Molinifm and the Conftitu- tion, you have quoted a great many PafTages from the Fathers : But by thofe Pailages you have only prov'd Errors, or at leafl you have prov'd nothing ; for thofe Fathers on whofe Authority you rely bave err'd, or at lead their Works are forg'd and altered. But we will fet by his Eminency, to make room for another Evidence, who is ready to depofe in favour of Father Quefnel and his Proportions, and to confefs openly, that Clement XL and the Bifhops who have receiv'd his Bull, have condemn'd the Truth, by condemning the Doctrine of that pious Prieft.
Who wou'd have imagin'd that this other Wimefs fhould be the incomparable M. Langnet ? Surely he can't be reproach'd with Janfemfm : Therefore let's hear him, for he is preparing to fpeak.
(n) ' Nay, fays he^ tho it were certain that fe-
* veral of thofe Proportions (Father QuefneFs) are c naturally fufceptible of a good meaning ; tho c fome were even ftrictly true in the very Terms c of 'em ; their Truth either real or apparent, nor
* the favourable Senfe which may or ought natu- c rally to be put upon them, don't hinder but the < Pope and the Bifhops may have juftJy condemn'd
* them And tho (o) they were innocent before
c they were condemn'd, yet they ceafe to be fo af-
* ter it.'
(n) Tirfl Advertifemnt, or Warning, p. 3 2. {0) Ibid. p. 59.
Here
of the Pagans, &c. i 5 {
Here every body muft be as fenfible as I am, that fuch Words are the mod authentick Proof that can ever be brought of the Orthodoxy of Fa- ther Quefnel and his Proportions. For I don't think that any body will fay the Bifhop of Soijfons does not affirm, but only fuppofes that feveral of Father Quefnelh Propofitions are true and innocent : Such an Hypothecs, and in the Mouth too of fuch a Man as M. Languet, is Demonftration, or there never was any.
For, if Father Que/hePs Propofitions had been as wicked and as full of Rottennefs and Corruption as the Bull declares, M. de Soijfons, in order to prove that Clement XL had juftly anathematiz'd 'em, would not have had recourfe to fuch an un- heard of Principle, as this, That t be Pope and Bijhops may juftly condemn true and innocent Propofitions . (No body ever had the Thought before, of laying it down for a Principle, that Truth may juftly be con- demn'd, in order to juftify the Condemnation of Error.) If the Prelate had gone the common way to work, he would have fhewn, that the Doctrine contain'd in thofe Propofitions was contrary to Scripture and Tradition : but having found them conformable to both, he was forc'd to change his Rout, and in order to juftify the Condemnation of them, was under a neceffity of faying, That the Pope and the Bifhops might juftly condemn true and innocent Propofitions. Thus, by the Confef- fion of M. de Soijfons, the Conftitution taxes with Rottennnefs and Corruption, and confequently con- demns, true and innocent Propofitions. Now the Je- fuits are the Promoters of the Conftitution ; there- fore the Jefuits have caus'd the Truth to be con- demn'd, by calling fuch a Cenfare on Father ^uef- nel's Propofitions.
L 4- But
j 5 % A ^Parallel of the Doffrine
But after all, was there ever a more Catholick Truth than this ? Charity makes a good ufe of the Senfes, Concupifcence a bad one -, and this is the for-? ty lixth Proportion. But the Jefuits, who think that Concupifcence is not Evil in or of it felf and that %tis even an Article of Faith, that God from the Be- ginning of the World poffbly fubjecled Man to Concu- pifcence•, have caus'd Father Quefnel and his Propo- rtion to be condemned. No, fays the Bull, Con- cupifcence does not make an ill ufe of the Senfes \ con^- fequently it leaves us to conclude, that Perfons may without finning give their Senfes all the Gra- tification they defire. They may, for example, go innocently to the Theatre and other publick Shews ; they may hear fmutty Difcourfe, read naughty Books, fuch as treat chiefly of lewd Amours -, they may put on Airs offend ve to every modefl Eye, and expofe themfelvesin that manner to the World ; and finally, they may give a boundlefs Liberty to their Eyes : which is the Doctrine of Filliucius and Efcobar -, a Do6trine founded on this Principle, That Concupifcence does not make an ill ufe of the Sen-r fes ; and a Principle confirm'd by the Conftitution.
aTis plain, now, whether the Cardinal de JSIoailles had not Reafon to fay, at the very firfl Appearance of the Bull, that it was a Decree which tended ra- ther to floake the Faith than to eftabliflo it, and to offend the World, rather than edify it. ' It gives c Hereticks an Handle, [aid this great Cardinal at
* that time, to rife up fcornfully againft the Holy
* See, and againft the Catholick Church The
c Faith of the new Converts is fhaken by it » c a great many Perfons of diftinguifh'd Piety are c alarm'd at it—— —Tender Confciences are troubled c at it — : — And all the Societies, both of the Church f and State, are more apt to cavil with it, than ? they are difpos'd to fubmit to it.5
Such
of the Pagans, 6fc. 153
Such was the Language of his Eminency the Cardinal de Noailles, m a Letter which he wrote to Clement XI. in concert with thofe feven Bifhops who adher'd to him. But, good God, how diffe- rent is the Style in which he lately addrefs'd him* Mf to Benedict XIII ! I will not draw the Parallel, I have a greater Regard for his Eminency's Ho- nour than to do it -, tho 'tis much more to the Re- proach of his pernicious Counfellors -, I mean thofe Men whom the Author of the TESTIMONY, the T AC I TUS of our Days, has fo plainly made known to us, by revealing to us the Thoughts of their Hearts.
c To what purpofe' fays this admirable Writer, af- ter a verbal Quotation of the Words of one of thofe Sages, who is without difpute the Hero of Politicians, c to what purpofe does he fo prepofle- 6 roufly expofe himfelf (p) ? In every Step we take c we mould firft of all confult what advantage c may refult from it. Tho I be facriflc'd, the Af~ ' fair will take its own Courfe. Peace, Oh my c God, Peace, '(Here the Man is feen9 the Pitlure is too much like him to be tniftaken) c mufl not fomething c be done to preferve it ? 'Undoubtedly -, it
* were to be wifh'd the Conftitution had never € been granted, but that's not my Fault. Is it my ■ Bufinefs to mend it ? GOOD EXPLANA- ' T I O N S, well connected, fave the Truth : c That's enough ; and even tho fomething mould f neceffarily be defetlive in the Clearnefs of the Con- ' netlion, 'tis not neceflary for Men to fee the
* whole of it, and too much Refolution fpoils all. c Let us abandon fomething to fave the Principal. c Befides^ obftinate Refiftance only makes us
* ufelefs, and by a timely Compliance, we are in c a Condition to re-take with one hand what we
(j>) Teftimony of Truth, p. tfa, and Ç$t
give
7j4 ^ Parallel of the DoBrine 4 give with the other. In fhort, is it not doing 1 greater Honour to the Truth, to fuppofe that * the Pope cou'd not condemn it, than to fuppofe 4 that he has actually condernn'd it ? As if, 4 according to an excellent Remark of our Author, the 4 Honour of Truth depended on the Pope, or any 4 one whatsoever.'
But we m uft obferve alfo in our turn, that in order to fuppofe that the Pope has not condernn'd the Truth, we muft neceffarily fuppofe that he has condernn'd Errors. Now there's no forming this Hypothefis, without fuppofmg in the firft Place, that the condernn'd Proportions are erroneous -, or if they are true and innocent, as M. de Soiffons fays, an erroneous Senfe muft be put upon them, to juftify the Condemnation of them by the Pope, and the bitter Names he has given them : and this is ex- actly what our Politicians and Sages have done,
In order to receive the Conftitution, and to con- demn the Propofitions we find in the Fathers in Jhe very Terms, or in Terms equivalent, as has been obferv'd by the Cardinal de BiJJy (q), an unfufpected Witnefs, they did not care to fay with his Emi^ nency, that thofe Propofitions were fo many Er- rors, and that the Fathers who taught them had err'd, or that their Writings were fuppofititious and corrupted ; this would have been too great a Blun- der in Men of their Sagacity. Nor did they care to. fay, with M. de Soiffons, that Father Quefnel's Propofi- tions were indeed true and innocent Propofitions, but that the Pope and Bifhops might juftly condemn fuch Propofitions ; which is as much as to fay, that in
(q) Here the Author dejtres the Reader to compare what he has been faying with the i $th Chapter of Daniel, and to have par' ticular regard io the loth, i \fl, zjth, â^ift, ^$d, tfth, 6i/i Ver- ges : This is the "tory of Sufannah in the Apocrypha, which the vulgar Verfion makes an additional Chapter to DanielV Pro- phecy*
order
of the Pagans, &c. $55
prder to convert Truth into Error, the Pope and the Bifhops have nothing to) do but to condemn it, which are Paradoxes that there is but one M. Lan- guet in the World capable of advancing. But, fay they , let us ufe Artifice and Cunnings and put what Senfe we pleafe, fo it be falfe and erroneous, on the condemn'd Proportions, and by fo doing we ïhall turn the Condemnation and all the Anathe- mas of the Conflitution upon thofe pretended Er- rors. By this means, we fhall fhelter fome Truths, fave the Pope's Honour, and bring our felves out of the Scrape.
(r) O ye Heavens^ be aftonifttd at the Sight of fuch a Train of Iniquities ! Becaufe a Bull condemns the Faith of our Fathers, therefore our Fathers mull be reckon'd Teachers of Error, or their Writings muft be call'd adulterated and poifon'd Fountains. Rather than that this Bull mould be condemn'd, a Power is given to the Pope and Bifhops, which God himfelf has not nor can ever have -, I mean, the Power of JUSTLY CONDEMNING TRUTHS, and by fuch Condemnation chang- ing them into Errors. The Truth is boldly afpers'd by Men who wilfully and againft the Voice of their Confciences, put falfe and erroneous Conftruc- tions upon Propofitions which are true ana innocent r even by the Confeffion of M. de Soijfons. A De- cree is receiv'd, which favours Infamy, Error, Im- piety, and Blafphemy. In fine, by receiving this Decree, an innocent Man, a Prieft, and a Teacher of Truth, is branded as a Wolf% a Deceiver^ and the Son of the old Father of Lyes -, and the Inven- tors of it hug themfelves for having founds out fo fine an Expedient.
(r) yerem. ii. 1 2. Obftupefcite cceli fuper hoc
* It
i $6 A "Parallel of the "Do Brine
c It was expedient^ (s) O ye Sons of Men, is c this judging uprightly ? (/) Have not ye rather 4 imagin'd Mifchief in your Hearts, and do not c your Hands execute Cruelty upon the Earth ?' — Know ye, that he whofe Eye feeth and whofe Ear heareth every thing, has fe?n and heard all that pafs'd in your AfTemblies. And this is what he fays to you, (u) c How long will ye who fupply my Place upon ' Earth, and who, by virtue of the Commiflion I c have given you, are look'd upon as Gods, and even
* bear that Name, how long will ye judge unjuftly,
* and accept the Perfons of the Wicked ?— (x) Hath
* the Throne of Iniquity Fellowship with thee, c and is my Tribunal like your Tribunal of Injui- 6 tice ? You forge Wrong for a Law (y) -, you ga- c ther together againft the Soul of the Righteous, ' and condemn innocent Blood -, know that your ç Malice will turn upon your own Head, and that
* it will be the Caufe of your Ruin and Mifery.
* The Curfe is already pronounc'd, and fee if it 4 is not levell'd at you : " Wo unto you (z) that " call Evil good, and Good evil, which put Dark- iC nefs for Light, and Light for Darknefs -, which " put bitter for fweet, and fweet for fowre. Wo " unto you that are wife in your own Eyes, and " prudent in your own fight. Wo unto you — " who for the fake of a Reward, already received " by fome, and expeïïed by others , juftify a wicked
(s) John xviif. 14. (t) Pfal. lviii. 1,5.
(u) Pfal.lxxxii. 2,3. (x) Ibid. xciv. 20,21,23.
(<y) This is a Translation according to the Original, from which the Vulg< differs.
(&) Vx q A dicitis malum bonum, & bonum malum, ponen- tes tenebras bcem, & lucem tenebras, ponentes amarum in dulce, 5c dulc^n amarum. Vx qui fapientes eftis in oculis ye- ftris, & coram , obifmetipfis prudentes. Vx- — qui juftificatis impium pro munertbus, & juftitiam jufti aufertisab eo. if a. y.
tLQ, 21, 2|.
a Society
of the Pagans, &c. ï 57
" Society inilead of withftanding them to their Faces " (a), and take away the Righteoufnefs of the " Righteous from him. Wo unto you, in fhort, ** who for near an Age have with your Lyes made *' the Heart of the Righteous fad, (b) whom God " hath not made fad, and who have ftrengthen'd " the Hands of a wicked Society, that they fhou'd u not return from their wicked way and live."
You will fay, no doubt, in your own defence* 'tis we, neverthelefs, who have Wifdom and Knowledge for our Portion ; 'tis we who are the teaching Church -, 'tis we, who, as Mefïïeurs de Biffy and Languet have fo clearly difcover'd by their Writings, are Matters in Ifrael, and Teachers of the Law. c But,' fays the Lord by his Prophet, c (c) how dare ye to fay, We are wife, and the Law 6 of God is with us ?' Hear what you are with all your Inflructions, and your Body of Doctrine, in fhort, with all your Writings put together in fa- vour of the Bull -, c The Pen of the Scribes of the c Law is really a Pen of Error, it writeth nothing
* but a Lye. The wife Men are afham'd -, they
* are afraid and taken : lo, they have rejected the c Word of the Lord, and what Wifdom is in
* them ?' I am loth to mention what the Prophet adds in the following Verfe, becaufe I have great Heavinefs, and continual Sorrow in my Heart {d).
(a) In faciem ei reftiti, qui reprehenfibilis erat, Galat. ii. ij.
(b) Pro eo quod mcerere feciftis, cor jufti mendaciter, quem ego non contriftavi \ & confortaftis manus impii, ut non re- Verteretur à via fuâ malâ, & viveret. Ezech. xiii. 22. ,
(c) Quomodo dicitis fapientes nos fumus, & lex do~,/iini no- bifcum eft? Verè mendaciura operatus eft ftylus rymJax fcri- barum. Confufi funt fapientes, perterriti dc cap', funt : Ver- bum enim Domini projecerunt, & fapientia n ilia eft in eis> 2er. yiii. 3, ?. (d) Rom. iv 2.
But
i j 8 A Tar allé I of the ^Do Brine
But I cannot help obferving, that they who re- ceive the Bull purely and limply .> are not fuch for- midable Enemies as thofe wife Politicians ; I mean the Compilers of the Body of Doctrine, thofe Men of Moderation, who pretend to eftablifh Peace be- tween Jacob and Efau, who ftruggkd together in the Womb (e) -, who endeavour to reconcile two Na- tions and two People, that fhall always be at Vari- ance, according to the Word of the Lord, till the one has got the Maftery over the other : ' Who uri- 4 dertake by lying Words, or rather in a fcanda-
* lous ignominious way (f ), that is to fay, by Ex-
* planations whereby the Truth is fcandaliz'd and Juf~ ' tice opprefs9d, to heal the Breaches (g) which the 1 Bull has made in the Church, by laying Peace, ' Peace, when there is no Peace (h)9 Nay, I fay, and confidently affirm it, Thofe Men, who, ac- cording to the Prophet I laft quoted, have committed Abominations (i), are more hateful than the Jefuits themfelves in the Eyes of God and his true Wor- fhippers -, becaufe they know Good and Evil, Truth and Error, and neverthelefs by confounding them together, they unite two things abfblutely incom- patible, I mean, Yea and Nay, Light and Dark- nefs ; and by fuch means deceiving and mifleading thofe who are not upon their Guard, they make them unknowingly receive Jefus Chrift and Belial
(e) Gen. xxv. 22, 23.
(/) The Hebrew Word 'which the Vulgar Tranjlation of the Bible has rendered by ad ignominiam, is capable of both Con- jlruftions.
^ (g) Ife fanabant contritionem filiae poptili mei ad ignominiam, dicentes lux, Pax, cum non effet pax. Jer. viii. 1 1.
(h) They are the -very fame Expreffions with thofe we quoted from the Hero of our Politicians, {according to the Author of the Teftimony) f eace, O my God, Peace.
(0 Aboniinationem fecerunt. Jer. \ïiï. u0
S botlr
of the Pagan s, &c. i (£
both in a Breath, which the open and declar'd Ad- vocates of Error cannot do*
In fhort, M. de Bijfy may come and tell us as much as he will, that the Conformity of Father <3>uefnel9s Doctrine to that of the Fathers of the Church, ought not to hinder us from receiving the Bull, becaufe the Fathers themfelves have err'a, or becaufe their Writings are forg'd and adultera- ted -, this, inftead of engaging us to receive the Bull, wou'd rather force us to curfe it. And let the Bifhop of Soijfons come, in Contradiction to the Cardinal de Bijy, and tell us in his turn, that tho the condemn'd Proportions are true and innocent ; yet, becaufe the Pope and Bifhops have cenfur'd them, they are thereby become falfe and cenfura- ble : we will all tell this Prelate, that fuch Impie- ties tend only to flop the Ears inftead of opening them ; but to veil Truth (pardon me this and the Exprefïion that follows) in a Mask of Error, for the fake of getting it condemn'd -, and to cover Error with a Lay of Truth, for the fake of getting it receiv'd ; is nothing more or lefs, in plain Terms, than what we call hiding Iniquity to render it my£ terious -, that is to fay, calling a Veil over its Tur- pitude, and by that means to lay a Snare for the Weak, and thofe who are not upon their guard ; and, in fhort, to make them turn Apoftates.
Therefore, every one ought to be convinc'd, that of all the Enemies the Church has, Politicians in Affairs of Religion are the mofl formidable and enfnaring -, becaufe, as we have juft now proved with refpect to the Point in queflion, all their Po- licy is to get a Decree accepted, which c as foon ? as it was fpread among us,' as the Author of the Veftimony very well cbferves (k), ' was the Abhor- * rence and Aftonifhment of honeft Men, the Con-
(k) Tefmoignage de la vérité*
« tempt
i6o A Taralkl of thé 7)oflrme
' tempt of wife and learned Men, the Banter of 4 the Libertines and Enemies of the Church, the c Difturbance of Politicians, the Perplexity of its c Advocates, the Confufion of its Authors ;'— and, as we may add, a Decree which makes Paganifm blufh at this Day, becaufe, as we have already fhewn, it not only authorizes Immorality and Er- ror of all Kinds, but alfo, as we are now going to demonftrate, all forts of Debauchery.
SECT. IV.
Of Criminal Liberties, and of the VJe of Marriage,
I SHOU'D be glad to know what End and what Defign a Chriftian and a Priefl can have by putting this Queftion to himfelf :
An amplexus nudi cum nudo — -pojjit etiam ejfe in- ter taclus caufa benevolentice (I).
Was there ever a plainer Defiance of Confcience ? Nay, the Anfwer is yet more fo : Refpondeo, fays he, fi fpeculativè loquamur, etiam ilia eft res indifférées : i. e. ' I anfwer ; if we talk fpeculatively, 'tis even c a thing indifferent (??i).9 This is very edifying Doclrine, and very proper for the Reformation of Manners !
Efcobar puts another Queftion touching Perfons promis'd in Marriage, which we fee, together with the Anfwer, in thefe Words of Sanchez, whom he quotes as an Oracle -, tho this Author, by the Con- feflion of all People, is the moil obfcene Debofhee of all the Jefuits. Sanchez citatus ait licere ofcula &
(I) Fillmc, tr. 30. c. ?. n. 174, (m) Fill, ibid,
taftia
of the Pagans, Êfà igf
laBus extemos, etiamfi fecutura pollutio prœvideatur dwnmodo adfit jufta can fa fponfo, fcilicet ad vit an- dam inurbanitatem & aufteritatis notdm {n). Really, a Man mud make very little Account of Virtue, which renders us like the Angels, if he has the Front to affert, that one who has made a Pro- mife of Marriage may commit a Crime which is really a Mortal Sin^Trather than appear unpolinYd and favage.
Yet, if you ask Lejfius, why his Brodiers Efco- bar and Sanchez allow fuch Liberties to Perfons promis'd in Marriage, he will give you this Rea- fon : Sponfis conceditur quia eft fignum copulce futur œy in quam ratione matrimonii confentire quodainmodo pojfunt (o). And when they are marry'd they may give full fwing to their Lull, like thofe Creatures which are under no reftraint, and whofe only Guide is Pleafure.
Peccantne venialiter, fays Efcobar, coeuntes cap- tandœ voluptatis caufa ? Negative refpondet Sanchez^ Difp. 29. q. 3. (p). And as to old Men, who cari have no Fruit of their Marriage, tambourin gives them this Indulgence, Senes quamvis credant non am- plius filios generaturoSy copula uti queunt (q). Nor does the Evil confift only in this, but in what he adds to it, which is fo fcandalous that I mould tranfgrefs the Bounds of Modefty, iliouid I even put it down in the Latin. Our own Language would blufh ftill more mould I tranflate what Efco- bar fays, and with him Tambourin, Filliucius^ San- chez, Facundus and Layman, concerning thofe (r) Liberties excejfively criminal which they permit to
* (») Efcob. tr. 1. Ex. 8. n. 74*
(0) tejf. de Juft. L. iv. c 3. D. 8. n. 59.
(/>) Efcob. tr. 7. Ex. 9. p. 883. n. 164.
(of) Tambour. L.vli. Decal. c. 3. fe&. 5. n. 4$.
(r) Quilibet taftus qirelibet ofcula. Efcob* tr. 1. Ex. 8. c. Q a, ij. p, 148, M marry'a
4
162 A ^Parallel of the Tïottrtne
marry'd Perfons, for they except none ; and thefe, too, are not only Crimes, and Crimes unheard of, but monftrous Crimes. Non funt crimina fed monftra.
Neverthelefs, the Conftkution, that excellent Piece, which is fomewhere compar'd to the Letter from St. Leo, favours all thefe ExcefTes : For to condemn, as it does, this Propofition of Father ghefnel, Concupifcence makes an ill ufe of the Senfes, is it not faying in plain Terms, that the ufe which Concupifcence incites us to make of the Senfes, is good and lawful ; that the Gratification of the Parlions which it kindles in us is allowable, and that the Pleafures to which it provokes us are innocent ? Is it not as much as to fay, in fhort, that carnal Pleafare is not evil in it felf, or of it felf -, that it may be purfued, and purfued folely in the Ufe o^ Marriage ; and that Perfons may take every Step that's necefTary for their enjoying it in every degree ?
Let us now plunge out of this Mire, and go and waili in the pure clear Streams that flow from the Fountains of the Pagans. Behold even Archytas, à Pythagorean Philoibpher, who offers his Service In the moil graceful manner that can be, to purify our Minds, and teach us what we ought to think of carnal Pleafure.
' Of all the Plagues to which the Nature of 6 Man is fubjecl, there's none, fays this great Phi- % lofopher, #more pernicious or more mortal than 1 carnal Pleafure -, for which there's fuch a Luft,
* efpecially in Youth, that they run fo madly in
* purfuitofit, that nothing can Hop them. From
* hence arife Confpiracies againfl the State, the 4 Subverfion of Commonwealths, fecret Corre- ' fpondence with Enemies ; and, in fhort, there 4 are no Crimes, no Wickednefs whatfoever, which
* a Lufl after fuch Pleafure does not prompt to,
4 befides
of the Pagans, &c. i$$
* befides Incefl, Adulteries, and all other Kinds of c Lewdriefs which are owing to no other incen- ' tive (s).' What Language is this, compar'd to that of the Jefuits and the Bull ! But let's hear him farther.
6 Moreover, as Nature or God has given no- g thing to Man more excellent than Reafon (/), fo c nothing is lb great an Enemy to that divine Gift
* and Prefent, as Pleafure. For as long as the ' Lull of Pleafure rages, there is no room for;
* Temperance ; nor has this or any other Virtue ' place in the Kingdom of Pleafure.
* To make this the more intelligible, this Phi-
fc lofopher wou'd have one fuppofe a Man to have
* the mofl lively Guft of Pleafure that 'tis pofliblé
* to conceive, No body will doubt, (fays he) but c a Man in fuch a Tranfport of Pleafure is abfo-
* lutely out of a Capacity of thinking, or making c any ufe of his Understanding and Reafon. From
* whence it refults^ that there is nothing fo D E- ' TESTABLE and POISONOUS as Plea- i fure, becaufe the more intenfe and lading it is,
* the more it darkens all the Rays of Reafon (u)*
Thefe
(5) Nuilam capitaliorem peftem, quam corporis voîuptatem^ liominibus dicebac à natura datam : cujus voluptatis avidae libi- dines temerè 5c efFrœnatè ad potiundum incitarentur. Hinc patriae proditiones, hinc rerumpub. everfiones, hinc cum hofti- bus clandeftina colloquia nafci : nullum denique fcelus, nullum malum facinus effe, ad quod fufcîpiendum non libido volup- tatis impelleret : ftupra vero & adulteria, & orrine tale flagitiurri nulîis illecebTfs excitari aliis niû volùptatis. Cic. de Sene£t. c.Î2i
(t) Cumque homini five natura, five quis Deus nihil mente praeftabilius dediflet ; huic divino muneri ac dono nihil efle tara inimicum quàm voluptatem. Nee enim libidine dominante temperantise locum eflfe, neque omnino in voluptatis regno vir> iutem potfe confiftere. Cic. Ibfd.
(«) Quod quo magis intelltgi poffet, fingere animo jubeba^" tanta incitatum aliquem voluptate corporis, quanta percipi pof- &t maxima. Nemini cenfebat fore dubium, quin tamdiu dura.
M % "*•
(i(54 A 'Pwalkl °f the TDofîrïm
Thefe are the Words, not of à Jefuit, but a Pagan, and as they are quoted by another Pagan, I mean Cicero^ in his Book of Old Age. And Ci- cero himfelf afterwards makes this Declaration a- gainft Pleafure. 4 Yea, fays he, 'tis a Clog to the 4 Underftanding, an Enemy to Reafon, offufcates 4 the Eyes, as it were, of the Mind, and has no 4 Correspondence with Virtue (x).y
But undoubtedly the Jefuits will fay, This is extravagant Talk. 'Tis not true that Pleafure is incompatible with Virtue, c becaufe, befides all 4 our Cafuifls, our famous Father le Moine is come * in particular, to pay the Honour due to Pleafure, 4 (y) and to reftore its Difcipline.' Befides, Cle- ment Xlth's Bull fhews, that to give way to its Charms, is not to make an ill ufe of the Senfes ; as Quefnel falily pretended. Let's hear Cicero re- ply to this Argument, which the Jefuits think un- anfwerable.
4 Know, ye Difciples of Calliphon and Dinoma- 4 chus, that whoever mould propofe, like thofe in- 4 famous Philosophers, to join Pleafure and Ho- 4 nefly together, he may with the fame Propriety 4 couple Man and Beaft, (the very thing which the 4 Bull does \) but Honefty is fo far from admitting 4 fuch a Conjunction, that it abhors and rejecls 4 it (z)Z
îtà gauderet nihil agitare mente, nihil ratione, nihil cogitatione confequi pofTet ; quocirca nihil effet tam DETESTABILE, tamque PESTIFERUM, quam VOLUPTATEM : fiquidem ea cum major eiTet atque longior, omne animi lumen extingueret. tic. de Seneft. c. ii.
(x) Impedit enim confîlium voluptas, rationi inimica eft, ac mentis, ut dicam, perftiingit oculos, nee habet ullum cum vir- tute commercium, Cic. ibid.
(y) Eafy Devotion, p. 202.
(z) Quo magis reprehendendos Calliphonem & Dinoma- chum judico, qui fe diremturos controverfiam putaverunt, ft cum honeftate voluptatem, tanquam cum homine pecudem copulaviflent. Non recipit iftam conjun&ionem, hogeftas, afper» %mr, repeljit, tic. dç Oflkt h, iii* c» J $« * What
of the Pagans, &c. i6j
c What, has God, or Nature, which I may call € the Mother of all Things, given you a Soul ' than which nothing can be imagined more excel- 4 lent and more divine, and have you the Mean- ' nefs to debafe your felf to fuch a degree, that
* you know no Difference betwixt your felf and
* a Beaftf Is there any one Good which does not
* make the PofTefTor the better for it ?' (tbefe Words deferue to be written in Letters of Gold,)
* The more a Man participates of Good, the more
* is he to be prais'd. But what Good is there
* in Pleafure ? Does it make a Man better, or
* the more to be efteem'd ? Does any one think 6 himfelf the better Man for the Pleafures he en- ' joys ? If therefore, Pleafure which has the far
* greateft number of Patrons, cannot be reckon' d c a real Good, and if, by how much the greater ' 'tis, by fo much the further does it remove Rea- 4 fon from its place and ftation, confefs therefore
* (ye Defenders ofConcupifcence) that the only way
* to live well and happily, is to live honeflly and c regularly (a).'
Let us now in our turn reafon a little upon thefe laft words of Cicero.
Why then, if there is no other Good but Hcnefty and Virtue^ that is to fay Charity, which alone
(a) Tu cum tibi five Deus, five mater ut ita dicam rerum omnium natura, dederit animum, quo nihil eft praeftantius, neque divinius, fie te ipfe abjicies atque profternes, ut nihil inter te atque quadrupedem aliquam putes interefle ) Quid- quam bonum eft quod non eum qui poflidet meliorem facit ? Ut enim quifque eft maxime boni particeps, ita & laudabilis
maxime Quid autem eft horum in voluptate ? Meliorem ne
efficit, aut laudabiliorem virum î An quifquam in potiundis voluptatibus gloriando fefe & praedicatione effert ? Atqui fi vo= luptas quae plurimorum patrociniis defenditur, in rebus bonis ha- benda non eft, eaque quo eft major, eo magis mentem à fua fede & ftatu dimovet ; profe&o nihil eft aliud bene & beat» Vjvere, nifi honefte 5c refte vivere, Cicer. Parad, i, c. 3.
M I truly
ï 66 A Tarallel of the JDofîfrine
truly deferves the Name of Honefty and Virtue, becaufe 'tis Virtue eminently fo call'd -, and if there is no good and happy Life but what is regulated by fuch Charity, what's the Inference ye Father Je- fuits ? Hear it, it follows then that Father ghtefnel taught the Truth when he faid that, c CHARITY « ALONE DOTH GOOD > that Charity made c a good Ufe of the Senfes, and Concupifcence 4 a bad one. It follows that your Efcobars, your
* Filliutius's, your Facundez's, and your Laymans, ? that in a word, all your Society, the Patrons of f Voluptuoufncfs., Concupifcence and Lufl, is not f the Ho ufe of Wifdom, nor the City of God^ but r the great Whore of the Revelations (b), who has
* made all the Inhabitants of the Earth drunk c with the Wine of her Error and Fornication.' It follows that the Bull your Mafter-piece is a manifeft Condemnation of Truth, and a compleat Apology for all your Scandals. It follows, in fhort, as Father ghicfnel has happily obferv'd in his 48th Proportion, which you have caus'd to be con- demn'd, it follows, I fay, c That without Charity f there can be nothing but Dark nefs, Error and
* Sin :' and if a doubt remains with any one upon this Head, let them look into your Lives, and fee whether fince you have combated the neceffity of this Charity which is the Soul or vital Princi- ple of all Good, you have been any other than Sinners, Men gone aftray, and to whom God has fent ftrong Delufion that you fhou'd believe a Lye (c). m
You little thought, my Fathers, that you your felves havefram'd an Apology for that Proportion. Yet 'tis notpoffible to juftify the Truth of it bet- ter than you do, fince you have look'd upon the
{h) Revet, xvii. z„
(c) Ideo mfttet illis peus operationem Erroris ut credant mendacio. 2 Thejf. iu u.
Obli-
of the Pagans, &c. 167
Obligation of loving a God who dy'd for us as an infupportable Burden ; fince you have perverted the Command of loving our Neighbour, and made it fufficient not to hate him ; fince in ihort you have rais'd Concupifcence upon the Ruins of Cha- rity. c For what have you taught elfe fince that ' c difmal Epocha, but falfe Vifions and Divina- c tions, things of nought, and the deceit of your * Hearts (d)V And if one were to make a com- pleat Lift of them, wou'd they not amount to a far greater number than your Father Bauni's Cata- logue of Sins ? The very Subject we are treating of is inexhauftible ; and I can truly fay, / fink in deep ?nire where there is no ftandlng (e), tho I have only endeavour' d to give an Abftract of your Tur- pitudes.
SECT. V.
Of premeditated Vice, and of the T leaf ire Men take in forming Ideas of it.
EVERY body knows the Story which Titus Livy tells of two young Conquerors, Scipo and Mafimjja King of Numidia (f), juft after they had gain'd a great Victory over Sypbax the Enemy of the Romans ; how that Majinijfa not being fo much upon his Guard as Alexander was, and Hand- ing too long to hear Sopbonisba, the Wife of Sy- pbax, and to furvey her Beauty, from a Conque- ror quickly became a Captive.
{d) Vifionem mendacem ôc divinationem, & fraudulentiam, 5c fedu&ionem cordis fui prophetant vobis. Jsrem. xiv. 14. (e) Infixus fum in limo profundi. Pfal. lxix. a. (/) See Titus Livius. Lib. xxx. n. 12.
M 4 £?Fcr
Ï68 A ^Parallel of the Tïotfrine
For this Woman falling at his Feet to intreat him, not to abandon her to the Mercy of the Romans, fo melted his Heart by her Careffes, and her fair Speeches, that he not only took her into his Protection, but for her greater Security mar- ry'd her that very Day.
Scipio who had been his fworn Friend for many Years, being griev'd at his Soul to find him fo fuddenly enflav'd to a difhonorable Paffion, try'd to roufe him out of his Enchantment, and after having put him in mind that the firft Band which had united them together, was the Love of Con- tinence and Chaftity, he gave him this admirable Lecture, c Believe me, dear Majimjfa, believe c me (g), our Age is not in near fo much danger c from arm'd Enemies in the Field, as from the ' Pleafures which furround us on every Quarter,
* Whoever checks and fubdues them by his Tem- ' perance, certainly acquires much more Glory,
* and gains a far greater Victory than that which
* we have won by the defeat of Sypbax.9
This Speech had fuch Effect, that Mafimjja, not- withstanding all the Charms of Sopbonisba's Youth and Beauty (b\ diffolv'd his Marriage, and con- quer'd his Paffion.
That's a fine Inftance of what Plato lays accord- ing to the Report of Cicero, ' That of all Beauties,
* Chaftity and Honefly is that which wou'd fire
* the Heart moft, if it was perceivable by the na-
* ked Eye (i)99 becaufe Maffimjla no fooner beheld
(g) Non eft, non Cmihi crede) tantum ab hoftibus armatis aetati noftrae periculum quantum ab circumfufis undique vo- luptatibus. Qui eas fuâ temperantiâ fraenavit ac domuit, nae ynulto majus decu?, majoremque vi&oriam fîbi peperit, quam nos Scyphace vi&o habemus. Titus Livius, L. xxx. n, 14.
(£) Forma erat infîgnis & florentifîïma cetas. Ibid, n. ia.
(0 This Paffage is quoted with the Lectin in the Margin, in the zd Chapter cf this Book,
2 her
of the Pagans, têc. Ï69
her with the Eyes of the Mind, but in a trice he came to himfelf to fuch a degree, that he forgot ail the Charms of his Captive, and bravely fnapp'd the Links afunder with which fhe had bound him.
I here join with the Reader, and demand of the Jefuits, why, when they were writing Trea- tifes of Morality, they did not go to the Pagans for thefe fine Models and curious Speeches ? Since they did not care to go and fetch their Maxims from the Scriptures and the Fathers, why did they not fearch at leafl among the profane Writers of Antiquity, for fuch Inftru&ions as were m oft edify- ing, and moft capable to form good Manners ? But we have already feen the Anfwer to this Que£ tion. If the Jefuits had look'd upon Pleafure with the fame Eyes as young Scipio, that is to fay, as more formidable and terrible than an Army of Banners, they wou'd have talk'd like that young Pagan : But when they were poffefs'd with a No- tion that 'tis one of the Appannages of our Nature, and a Prefent from Heaven, they cou'd not avoid fpeaking to it's Credit and Advantage, and even oppofmg what the Chriftians and Pagans had faid to the contrary.
However odd this may feem, 'tis flill more in- tolerable to fee what a plain Contempt they put upon the moft facred Writings (k). For the Law fays pofitively, ' Thou malt not covet thy Neigh- t bour's Wife : And Jefus Chrift to confirm the i Law, fays expre/ly, That whofoever looketh on ' a Woman to Luft after her, hath already com- * mitted Adultery with her in his Heart (I). — ' But how do the Jefuits make void the Words of the Law, and of Jefus Chrift ! They tell you, c That there is no Evil in Concupifcence, 4 that this is an Article of Faith, and that
(£) Rom. vii. 7. DM. v. 21,
CQ Mato v. 28,
' pofïibjy
Ï70 «A ^Parallel of the Ttottrine
* pofTibly God may have been the Author of it.' By that means they render the Defires of Concu- pifcence innocent, and permit what the Law and Jefus Chrift have prohibited. Let us hear San- thez,
1 Nee peccaret deft der ans aecedere ad aliquant, ft ' effet fit a uxor. Nee Religiofus aut conjugatus deft-?
* der ans uxor em ducere, ft tile a voto, Me a conjugio
* liber effet (m).9 By confequence, a Nun and a marry'd Woman wou'd not commit Sin neither, if they fhou'd defire in the like Senfe to go to a Man, provided the one fays to her felf, if I was free from my Vow, and the other, if I was loos'd from the Band which ties and confines me to my Huf- band.
And the Reafon which Sanchez gives for it is this -, becaufe, fays the Wretch, Deleclatio volun- tatis de objeclo conditional^ quod fedufa conditione ef- fet peccatum mortale, nunc aut em ea pofttâ non eft illi- cita ; ut gaudium voluntatis de concubitu, ft effet uxor (n).
Ftllmclw gives the fame Leflbn as Sanchez, to Perfons who have dedicated themfelves to God by Vowrs. c Yea, fays this Roman Cafui/J, when an ' Action is accompany'd with a Condition which < takes away the Evil of it ; (o) as if a Man c mould fay, I would eat Flefli in Lent if it were c not forbid. Cognofcerem Titiam ft effet uxor, c with fuch a Supposition, fach Defires may be c form'd (p) •,* becaufe, fays Layman, concubitus turn muliere, apprehenfa fab conditione £s? ftatu confab
(m) Sanch. L. i. mor. c. 2. p. 0. col. 2. n. $4.
C«) Sanch. ibid,
(0) Quando conditio tollit malitiam ab a&u, ut comederem carnes in quadragefimâ nifi effet vetitum.
(p) Tunc poteft abfque peccato defiderari res ex objeclo jporralis.- Jill, mor. q. Tom. ii. tr. a 1. c. 8. n.. 296. p. 27.
of the Pagan s, tec. 171
gii, non eft malum fed bonum objeclum (q). Such are the Moral Reflexions which the Jefuits give us in the room of Father Quefnel's which they have caus'd to be condemn' d : Thefe, fays Efcobar, are the Revelations which the Lamb has made to the chief Writers of the Society. That, in fhort, is the Com- mentary which they give us upon thofe Words of the Law -, " Thou malt not covet thy Neighbour's " Wife •," and thofe of Jefus Chrift, " Whofo- 4C ever looketh on a Woman to lull after her, hath " already committed Adultery with her in his " Heart."
I defire the Reader to give his Opinion here, whether they could poffibly propofe any other View by talking after this manner, than to teach Souls to defile themfelves in a fpiritual way, by all man- ner of Lewdnefs. I leave him at the fame time to judge whether M. Languet has reafon to come and tax me with furioujly worrying (r) his Friends, becaufe I expofe them to the World for Teachers of all forts of Abominations. In fhort, I pray him to tell me whether 'tis lawful to give Powers to thofe new Gabriels and new Raphaels to preach and confefs. ' But, fay fome, they comfort, purify, c and convert Souls by their Sermons and Confef- c fions.' A ftrange way of converting, comfort- ing, and purifying Souls, to teach the young and old, Men as well as Women, Fryers and Nuns, that they may all by deteftable, voluntary, and de- liberate Defires, corrupt the Mind and the Heart, c which are the two Sanctuaries (s) that Wifdom * orders us to keep with all diligence free from all 6 manner of Filth •,' becaufe, as that fame Wifdpm
(q) Layman, Lib. i. tr. 3. c. 6. n. 12. p. 41.
(r) Advertifement, p. 113.
(s) Omni cuftodia ferva cor tuwn. Prov, iv. 23.
has
Ï72 A Tarallel of the Doftrine
has taught us fince the Incarnation, c Blejfed are the *• pure in Hearty for they Jhall fee God (t).'
I hope I fhall be allowed now to declare my Thoughts. I hear it faid fometimes, that the Je- fuits are very learned -, that their Manners are well regulated, and that no Sin lies at their door. God grant it, I fay ; and I wifh it were fo with all my Heart : But certainly, if their Bodies are chafte, their Hearts are very foul -, and in this S^nfe, like that Spirit which prompts to all manner of Wick- ednefs, they are guilty of all manner of Crimes, without committing any themfelves.
Thefe Pharifees of the new Law, as they call themfelves (u), and we will not difpute the Title with them, make clean the outfide of the Cup and Platter, but within they are full of Extortion and Excefs (w). For is it poffible, that Men who ad- minifter fuch Confolation to others, fhou'd admi- nifter none to themfelves ?
But they will fay, we take a great deal of care to fix the Condition, and we always fettle this Pro- vifo, If it were lawful for us : Si Titia effet uxor. Which is as much as to fay, that they are not only loofe and corrupt in their Inclinations, but that they are alfo Magicians : For is it not real Magic, to think by two or three Words to take away all the Evil that would otherwife lurk in the Confent to fuch a wicked Action ?
What aftonifhes me mod of all, is, to fee that the Education of Children is committed to fuch Men, to whom Obfcenities, the reading of naughty Books, wanton Looks, profane Shews, criminal Li- berties, fhameful expofing of Nudities, evil 'Thought s , deliberate Dejires of the moft infamous Crimes, are all
(/) Beati mundo corde, quoniam ipfi Deura videbunt. Mat9 V. 8.
(«) This is a Remark made by the Curates of Paris in their fécond Paper* (zv) Mat, xxiii. 2,5.
things
of the Pagans, &c. ij$
things indifferent^ finlefs, and in Jhort, innocent and lawful I
Let not the Jefuits pretend to fay, that they don't teach thefe Maxims to Youth -, for that would be a Lye with a Witnefs : becaufe, in the firft place, their Books and loofe Pieces demon- flrate that they teach them to the Youth who ftudy Divinity under their own Roofs ; and fecondly, be- caufe as to their other Scholars, they direct and guide them according to thofe Maxims -, fo that the latter learn the very fame things from the Con- feflion-Chair, as the former do in the Schools. For, in mort, either the Jefuits are the fame in Practice as in Speculation ; or elfe they are Self-contradictory. Now, can any body believe, that in the Confeffion- Chair, where they whifper but to one at a time, and where they have all the Liberty that can be, they mould be more upon their guard than they are in their Pulpits, in their Thefes and Sermons ; in fhort, in their Writings and their Books which they themfelves make publick.
Learn therefore, ye Parents, learn from Cicero> that 'tis not lawful for you to truft fuch Mailers with the Education of your Children -, c becaufe (x) c of the many Snares which are laid for the Mind, c either by thofe who being plac'd about us in our c Childhood, make us take whatever Stamp and ' Imprefîion they pleafe, in that tender Age -, or c elfe by the Allurements of that Pleafure, which * when it has once made a Lodgment on our Sen» 6 fes, puts on the counterfeit Appearance of Good, ' at the fame time that it breeds all the Evils ima-
(x) At vero animis omnes tenduntur infidise, vel ab iis qui — - teneros & rudes cum acceperunt, inficiunt & fle&unt ut vo- lunt j vel ab ea quae penitus in omni fenfu implicata infider, imitatrix boni voluptas malorum autem mater omnium, cujus blanditiis corrupti, quae naturâ bona funt, quia dulcedine hac & fcabie carent, non ce.mimus ims» Ck, ge Leg. L. i.
* ginable ;
î 74 A Parallel of the Tïûfîrine
* ginable; from whence it happens, that in time c we are fo captivated and blinded by its fawning 6 CarefTes, that we can hardly perceive thofe things c which are really good in their own Nature* becaufe
* they are not fo inviting or tempting to the Eye.'
Now what Ravages muft the Maxims of the Je- fuits make, in a young and tender Heart, already inclin'd to Pleafure, and which perhaps has unhap- pily had a fmack of it, which is too commonly the Cafe of Youth ! What Evils, as Cicero calls it, will not fuch Maxims breed in concert withPleafure ?
Hear therefore, young Men, give ear to that important Advice which you are now going to re- ceive from that very Pagan.
6 It is the Duty of a young Man to reverence c his Elders, and to make his choice of the beft c and moil approved among them for his Directors ' and Governours. For the Ignorance and Folly "' of Youth, mould be order'd and conducted by 6 the Prudence of the Aged. But above all things* c Youth mould be retrained from Debauchery, and 4 train'd up rather in the Labour both of Body and c Mind.'"" 'And even in the Intervals, when they ' are for relaxing the Mind, and taking Diverfion,
* they mould beware of Intemperance, and keep c within the Bounds of Modefty, which they wou'd 4 not find fo difficult, if they would chufe their & Seniors to be Spectators of what they do (y) -* fuppofing them, as he had faid before, to be Men of Probity and Virtue.
{y) Eft igitur adolefcentis majores natu vereri, ex his quae deligere optimos & probatiiïïmos, quorum confilio atque auto- ritati nitantur. Ineuntis autem aetatis infcitia, fenum conftituen- da & regenda prudentiâ eft. Maxime autem haec aetas à Iibi- dinibus arcenda eft, exercendaque m labore patientiâque 5c
animi & corporis Atque etiam cum relaxare animos & dare
fe jucunditati volent, caveant intemperantiam, meminerint ve- reeundiiE. Quod erit facilius, fî ejufmodi quoque rebas majores nam imerjefle velinté C/V, de Oific. L. i. c. 34*
But
of the P A G A N S, fSc. iff
But will* any one fay that the Jefuits are Men eminent for Virtue and Probity ? Are they not ra- ther like thofe Cynick Philofophers, whom Cicero ipeaks of elfe where ; (z) c whofe Maxims are k not to be endur'd, becaufe they are Enemies of 4 Shame, without which there can be nothing vir- 4 tuous nor honeft.'
Plato likewife treated long before Cicero of the Education of Children, and of the Maxims which ought to be imprefs'd upon their Minds : And as this is a Subject of the laft importance, we cannot fupprefs what that great Philofopher has faid upon it, there being nothing more curious, and at the fame time more inftructive.
4 Are you ignorant, fays he, that in all things the * Beginning is of the greater!: confequence, efpeci- 4 ally to a young and tender Perfon, who being 4 then fufceptible of any Impreflion, may be form'd 1 and moulded as it were into what fhape we pleafe. 4 This being the Cafe, can we fo eafily fuller our 4 Children to hear every idle Story that Perfons are 4 pleas'd to invent, and can we be eafy to fee
4 them imbibe Notions which are generally contra-
5 ry to thofe we think they ought to have when 4 they are advanc'd in Years ? Surely we will not 4 fuffer it. The firft thing therefore which I think 4 ought to be done, is to appoint fuch to fuperin- 4 tend thefe Mythologifts,' (the fabulous Style was at that time the way of writing and fpeaking a- mong the Learned) c as "have Wit and Judgment 4 to fingle out thofe Fables which are good, viz. 4 fuch as are fit to form the Manners of Youth -, and 4 to reject the bad, or fuch as are only fit to cor- 4 rupt them. The next Care mould be, to have
(z) Cynicorum vero ratio tota eft ejicienda. Eft enim ini- mica verecundiar, fine qua nihil re&um efle poteft, nihil hone- ûu;n. Ciç. Offic. L. i. c. 4i.
4 the 3
ijS A Tarallel of the Dottrme
* the Fables thus fele&ed told to the Children in
* fuch a manner, by their Nurfes and Mothers, that c their Minds may be improved more by thofe < Fables, than their Bodies can be by all the Pains 6 they take with them. In a word, as there is no- c thing generally more difficult to cancel or rub out c of the Mind, than what we learn and take for c Truth at that tender Age, there's an abfolute c Neceflity to take care that the firft Fables which c Youth learn, be fuch as tend naturally to make
* them in love with Virtue (a).
That's the Method, you fee, in which a Pagan would have Children brought up. He was for putting every thing falfe and obfcene far from them, and for teaching them nothing but what is capable of rendering them virtuous and honeft. That is the Leflbn which Plato reads to all Per- fons who are trufted with the Education of Chil- dren, and to thofe who are oblig'd to procure them good Mailers *, fuch as are the Magiit races to whom the Prince has committed this Truft, and upon whofe Vigilance he relies. c 'Tis not Gold nor
* great Riches, fays be, that we mould drive fo
* much to leave our Children, as a great ftore of
(a) An nefcis in unaquaque re maximum efle principium J PraeFertim juveni ôc tenero cuique. Maxime enim tunc Forma- tur, induiturque figura quam quis unicuique imprimere velit, omnino quidem. An adeo Facile permittemus quaflibet Fabulas à quibuFcunque fi&as audire pueros, animiFque imbibere opi- niones ut plurimum contrarias illis, quas cum adoleverint, ha- bere illos debere exiftimamus ? Nullo modo id permittemus. Frimum igitur, ut videtur, Fabularum fictoribus praeficiendi Funt* qui ft quam bonam Fabulam Fecerint, eligant, reliquas autem abjiciant. Quas denique eligerimus, per nutrices & matres pue- ris narrandas curabimus ut ipForum animi Fabulis multo magis
inFormentur, quam corpora manibus Sed quae in ea aetate
o^inionibus accipiuntur, difEcillimè elui evellique conFueverifit. Quorum Forte gratia danda omnino eft opera, ut hae Fabellas quas primas audient, optime inftitutas ad virtutem /int. Plati de Republ. L, ii. p. 42 ?2 430.
« Mo-'
of the Pagan s, &c* iyy
% Modefty.' ' Therefore, he adds, a wife Legi-
* flator will always charge old Men to be fobef
* and modeit before Youth, to take great care
* that no young People fee them do any thing 4 that is fcandalous, or hear them talk any thing
* that's bafe.' And the Reafon he gives for it is this9
* becaufe young Men cannot fail of being fuperla-
* tively impudent, when they fee fo little Modefty
* in old Men (b) f and, as we may add, when the Teaehets of Doctrine give publick Leflbns for polluting the Mind and the Heart, by filling the one with the moil wicked Thoughts, and the other with the rankeft and moll deadly Poifon ; and all this becaufe Concupfcence is not an Evil id fe nee per fe,
SECT. VI.
Of Tirngs and Trocurers*
AFTER the Jefuits have fpo'ke fo much in favour of the Gentlemen and Ladies of Pleafure, k were but natural to expect they fhould treat as favourably of the Inftrumerits and Tools they make ufe of to procure it. The one leads to the other. Let us therefore hear the Leflbns which thofe Fa- thers give to Domefticks to teach them Obedience to their Mafters, when they command their fervice in Debaucheries;
(b) Liberis ergo non auri, fed. HJDORIS multum opoitee telinquere— — Sapiens itaque Legum lator fenioribus praecipieè potius, lit fint coram junioribus verecundi, ac fummopere ca- veant ne quis juvenum eos aut videat, aut audiat agentes turpe aliquid, vel loquentes. Nam ubf ' fenes minus pudici funt, ne*»1 ceffe eft ibi juvenes impudentuUmos eflTec Plat* de Leg. L. y„ P. «of,
N Gqfca*
i78 A "Parallel of the Tïofirwe
Gafpar Hurtado, who feems to me to be one of the 24 old Men in the Jefuits Apocalypfe, fays, 1 That a Servant, if his Mailer bids him, may ' fee which way a Woman goes, and find out where
* me dwells ; that he may carry fmall Prefents tp
* her, and wait upon his Matter, either for State or ' Defence, when he goes to fee her; that he 4 may fupport his Matter's Foot, while he goes in
* at her Chamber Window, and buy him the Pic- *• ture of the Jilt to whom he is that vile Slave ;' & ire ad concubinam &? ei dicere, herus meus te vo- cal -, 6? earn ad domum heri comitari, & januam ape- rire £5? eis letlum fternere -, non tamen -poteft earn in- vit are ad actum ipfu?n inhoneftmn cum hero.
• A Son, fays this honefi Jefuit, may do the very 4 fame things if commanded by his Father ; efpe- ' daily if by his Omiflion he fears t@ incur his Dif-
* pleafure. And what a Servant and a Son may do
* upon thofe Occafions any other may do.'
He did not care to fpeak out plainly, that a Daughter might do the fame thing for her Father, or Mother, or a Wife for her Husband ; but he lays as much in obfcure Terms. 8 Any body elfe,
* fays he, may do the fame,' mark what are the Motives, ' if he does but hope to gain any confi- c derable Advantage by it, and much more if he c would avoid any great Lofs or Damage (c)'
(c) Famulus poteft jufTu heri videre quo foemina aliqua ear, & ubi habitat, eique munufcula déferre, herumque comftari ad domum concubins, five caufa honoris, five defenfionis her;, & ei pedem fuftinere ad ingrediendum per feneftram domum 4'oncubina;, 6c ei picturam concubinas emere.
Et eadem omnia poteft filius ad mandatum patrîs, prjefertim fi ftc omiflione indignationem patris timeat. Et eadem omnia qux pofTunt famulus ôc filius, etiam poteft quilibet alius titulo alicujus confiderabilis utilitatis fibi accrefcentis, & multo melius titulo vitandi aliquod grave incommodum aut damnum. Gafp. Hurt, apud Dian. Part v. p. 435. In the additions and Emen- dations in Part v. Refp. Mor. in Tr. yii, de Ltand.
. . it
of the Pagans, tec. 179
It may be imagin'd, perhaps, that what the Je- fuit had in view by talking at this rate, was to contradict St. Pauly who fays (J), c That not only 4 they which commit Acts of Wickednefs are wor-
* thy of Death, but alfo they which favour them 1 that do them.' And indeed, properly fpeaking, it may be true enough that fuch was the Jefuit's Intention ; but yet I believe that Gafpar Hurt ado would fo far agree with the Apôftle, that a Perfon renders himfelf guilty when he confents to Wick- ednefs gratis i but not when he favours it for Money;
But after all, the Jefuits will fay, does not your Juvenal^ whom you fo often quote againft us, fay pofitively, ' That there's a fweet Savour in all \ manner of Lucre (<?).' Very true, Fathers, and he adds too^ ' This is the Leffon which old School-
* Dames teach little Boys and Girls to know, even c before they can read A, B, C :' By which, you Tee, he makes a meer Jell of you and your old School-Mafters, I mean your School-Divines and your Cafuifts, who teach Boys and Girls that they may for Money favour the Debauchery of their Fathers or Mothers, and who tell Men and Maid- Servants, that they may be Pimps and Procurers to their Mailers and Miftreffes.
By this you fee that Juvenal alfo banters your Father Sanchez -, who, afraid of being out-rival'd in the Glory of being an Advocate for Lewdnefe more than any other Cafuift, fays in plain Terms,*
* That *tis lawful to accommodate a Fornicator
* with Money or a Bedchamber, when a Perfon can-
(d) Romans i. 31.
(e) « .Lucri bonus eft odor ex re
Qualibet
Hoc monftrant vetulae pueris pofcentibus aflem 2 Hoc difcunt omhes ante alpha &. bâta puellaê.
Juvt Sat. x'm N 2 « hot
i8o A ^Parallel of the T)o Brine
* not deny cither without great damage to himfelf?
* proportion'd to the Evil (f) ;' that is to lay, without running the Hazard of lofing a considera- ble Sum which is promis'd you, or for which you intend to bargain : for if you lent your Money or Chamber without Intereft, Sanchez would not like it ; becaufe if you reap'd no Profit, there would be no Proportion betwixt the Crime committed, and wThat you lent : So that this Jefuit wanted nothing more but a Balance ftrong enough to weigh all the mortal Sins committed in luch Chamber, againft the like Weight in Money.
This is a fpecial LeiTon to teach People all at once to be rich, without being Ufurers, and to fa- vour the greatefl Crimes without being Accompli- ces ; and this muft needs be reckon'd in the Num- ber of the glorious Things which have been f aid of the Society, Therefore it will be laid of you, O Houfe of Wifdom, City of God, new Gabriels and Raphaels \ it will be faid of you, c That ye have c taught the Lawfulnefs of lending Money and a c Bedchamber to commit fin with Women ; that ' ye have allow'd domeflick Servants to be the In-
* ftruments of their Mafters Lewdnefs, and Chil- 4 dren to do the fame Office to their Parents.'
I don't wonder that Seneca, who liv'd in the Time of St. Paul, and who by confequence was very far from that happy Century which gave Birth to the Jefuits, was ignorant of this Doctrine.
(g) ' Let's do a Pleaiure, fays he, and perform ' a Service -, but let it be done in fuch a manner
* that
(/) Undecimo deducitur Ifcere alicui dare mutuô nummos ilteri, aut cubiculum accommodâre petenti ad fornicandum, quando abfque gravi det.rimento proprio proportionate) denegar© nequit. Sancb. op. mor. L. i. c. 7. n. 3 1.
(#) Benefïcium demus quod ufu ac magis placeat, quod nun- quam in malum yertat. Pccwniam non dabo quam numeratu-
rum
of the P A G A N S, Off. I 8 ï
* that the faid Pleafure and Service may be the c better for Time, and never turn to the Mifchief
* of the Perfon whom we have thereby oblig'd.
* For my own part, I will not let go my Mo- *> ney to a Man whom I know will give it to an
* Adultrefs, left I mould be found to be an Ac- ' complice in fome bafe Action or Defign. If I
* have lent my Money to ftich Perfon, I will call
* it in ; and if I can't recover it, at leaft I will not 6 lend him a hand to commit the Crime (h) -, and
* I will take care that he fhan't fay, He has klliW ' me with Kindnefs*
'Tis needlefs to flop here to make a Comparifon betwixt this Doctrine and that of Sanchez and Gaf- par Hurt ado : The Contraft is fo plain, that the Jefuits themfelves cannot forbear faying, that this Pagan would have made a good Janfenift, at leaft as to Maxims ; and we wilt add, that he would never have made a Jefuit, nor a Tool of Pleafure. For, as he fays himfelf, he would never have lent his Money out at Intereft to be fquander'd among Proftitutes, nor have held another's Foot from flip- ping, while he clamber'd in at the Window of his Miftrefs's Chamber. Nor, like Sanchez, would he have fet up as a Protector of common Women.
Like Sanchez ! cry the Jefuits : Did our Father Sanchez, one of the mod eminent Members of our Society, ever follow that infamous Calling ? He has done much more than that, my Fathers, for he has been the Advocate of the Protectors of Har- lots. Hear him in his own Words : e 'Tis law-
rum adultéras feiam, ne in focietate turpis fa£H aut confilii m- veniar. Si potero revocabo : fin minus non adjuvabo fcelus m „Non committam ut poflit quandoque dicere, ille me aman- ào occidit. Senec. de Benef. L. ii. torn. I. p. 630.
(h) It may alfo be trattflated, on the contrary, I will divert him from it if I can»
N 3 I ful
ï 8 1 A parallel of the T)o Brine
c fui (0 for the Protestors of common Women to do * them that Office, (to protect them) when there'$ 4 no defign to favour Debauchery, but only to hiiv ' der their being wrong'd.' Is not this clear, my Fathers ? Hold your peace then, and when you talîç confider what you fay beforehand, for you have ab- furdly fix'd the odious Character of an infamous Calling on fo honeft a ProfefTion as that of defend- ing Perfons from Wrong.
Mean time, I leave it to Judgment whether 'tis any thing lefs than protecting Debauchery, to hin- der the putting of a flop to that Liberty and Li» centioufnefs without vyhich it could not fubfift. I alfo fubmit it to Judgment, whether the debauch- ed "VVoman might not make the fame Excufe as is urg'd for her' Protector, by faying that fhe does not love the Crime, but only the Profit fhe gets by it ; that fhe has the fame Averfion to her difor- derly way of living, but that fhe is forc'd by Necef- fity, having not wherewith to live without profti- tuting her Body ; that, in fhort, flnce Concupifcence docs not male an ill life of the Senfes^ according to the Determination of the Bull Unigenitus, fhe may yery well lend her Body to gratify the Concupi- fcence of others ; efpecially fince fhe has no other View in it but to gain a Livelihood.
Now, fays Juvenal^ fhall my Ears be perpetually jdinn'd (k) with the Abominations of the Bull and the Jefuits, and fhall not I fpeak in my turn ? No ; it ,^ere better that a thoufand Lives were loft, than that one Morfel of Bread mould be purchas'd at the Expence of Honefty. Obferve with what
(iy Quamvîs enîm id munus obire liceat, quando non ut me- Tetncio faveant, id obeunt/ fed utincoIun~.es meretrices; fer- Vent. Sancb. op. mor. L. i. c. 7. n. 20. p. 23.
(£) Semper ego Auditor tantùm, nunquamne reponam \
Juv. Sat. U
Warmth
of the Pagans, &c. 183
Warmth he fpeaks it. ' Confider it, fays he, as c the greateft of Crimes to prefer Life before Ho-
* nour, and by a too great Fondnefs for Life, to c forfeit the only thing which makes it valuable.' Or thus : * Believe it to be confummate Wicked- 4 nefs to prefer Life to Modefty ; and never think
* to preferve Life, by the very means which juftly
* fubject you to the Lofs of it (I)'
How fharp is this ! the Jefuts will fay. And how harm, will the Whores fay in concert with them -, whereas our Doctrine, fay the Jefuits, and that of the Bull, is much milder and more agreeable : And in- deed, fay we, 'tis fo agreeable, or rather fo foft and effeminate, that 'tis Softnefs and Effeminacy it felf. Therefore, my Fathers, lay afide your Bull and your Doctrine, and you will not find any thing too harm or too fevere in Juvenal. Father Tarte- ron himfelf, who has tranflated that Author twice, and who is one of your Society, found nothing in him but what was exactly true. But to fay all in a Word, with fuch a Pagan even a Jefuit ceafes to be a Jefuit : He is under a happy NecefTity of per- ceiving the Truth, and in fpite of himfelf becomes a reafonable Creature, and even almoft a Chriftian -9 tho indeed when he is out of fuch Company he re- lapfes into his Nature. But to return.
It would be better, therefore, according to Juve- nal, to die a thoufand Deaths, than to forfeit our Title to Life. And upon the whole, this was the very Sentiment of young Jofepb : Being of Opi nion that nothing was preferable to Modefty, hè chofe to make a Sacrifice of it in appearance, for the fake of preferving it in reality, and to expofe himfelf to Death (m), rather than confent to the unreafonable PafTion of his Mafter's Wife.
(/) Summum crede nefas animam praeferre pudori,
Et propter vitam vivendi perdere caufas. Juv» Sat. viiû (jn) G*».xxxix. 6,ctt. N Thus
j 84 A Tarallel of the "Doctrine
Thus alfo Sufannah reafon'd the Cafe, when fhc found her felf furpriz'd by thofe two infamous old Men, whom we read of in the Apocrypha ; 6 I t don't fee, fays fhe, to thofe two lecherous Elders (n\ 6 any thing but trouble, look which way I will ; ' for if I dp this thing it is Death unto me *■ (be- caufe I ft hall thereby lofe the Ornament of my Life, and all that makes it dear to me) c and if I do it not, 4 I cannot efcape your Hands. But it is better for
* me to fall into your Hands and not do it, than 6 to fin in the Sight of the Lord/
Thefe were the Sentiments of two devout Per- fons, one of each Sex -, and the Sentiments of a Pa- gan, too, as Juvenal was : Bat the prettieft Argu- ment of all, is that made ufe of by the Jefuit Cor- nelius à Lapide^ a Commentator on the Scripture. Let all the Earth hear him.
' Sufannah, fays he, when fhc was under fo great p a Terror of Infamy and Death, might have look- 4 ed upon her felf as merely paffive, and have 6 yielded to the Pafiion of thofe Elders, provided
* fhe had not confented to it by any internal Ac- 4 tion, but had held it in Abhorrence and Exécra- 4 tion ; becaufe LIFE AND A GOOD NAME c ARE A GREATER GOOD THAN CHAS- ES fi'pY . From whence it follows, that 'tis lawful f to expofe Modefly for the lake of Reputation-—
* Therefore Sufannah was not oblig'd to cry out; s but might have faid, I don't confent to the Action,
* but will iuflfer it and hold my peace, for fear you J fhould take away my Reputation and Life (0)*
So
(n) Dan. xiii. 22, 23. N. B. Our Translation makes this Hif- sory part of the Apocrypha, tho Foreigners add it to the Book of
(0) PotuilTet Sufanna in tanto metu infamize mortifque, nega- tive fe habere, ac permittere fe in eorum libidinem, modo in- terno a&u in earn non confenfiiïet, fed earn deteftata & exe- crate
of the Pagans, tec. 185
So Jofepb ought to have faid to the Wife of Poti- phar. And fo might all Perfons fay, who happen to be in the like Circumftance ; and this, becaufe the Society has fo determin'd it, by the Mouth of Cornelius à Lapide.
Tremble, ye Father Jefuits : For Perfius has heard this Paflfage, and in his Indignation makes this addrefs to Jupiter againft you. c Great (p) 4 Father of the Gods, when you punifh thofe Mon- 4 iters of Nature who allow People to abandon 4 themfelves to the moft abominable Crimes, give * -them no other Punifhment but a. fight of the 4 Charms of Virtue ; that when they know what it 4 is, they may pine themfelves, and defpair for 4 having forfaken it.' This is the very Punifhment which the Royal Prophet foretold to the Wicked who Jfhall fcorn the Righteous : 4 The wicked, * fays be (q\ mall fee him (the righteous Man in 4 all his Glory) and be griev'd, he mail gnafh with 4 his Teeth, and melt away.'
Pine away therefore, my Fathers, and pine not with Spite and Rage, but with a faving Sorrow, which may keep you one Day from Defpair. And that fo happy a Compunction may ariie in your Hearts, may you in the firft place blufh with Shame and Confufion, at what Plutarch is going to tell you of a young and tender Pagan, but a great Friend to Modeity.
çrata fuifTet : Quia majus bonum eft vita & fama quam pudic*- tia J uncle hanc pro ilia exponere licet. Itaque non tenebatur ipfa exclamare, fed poterat dicere : Non confentio a&ui, fed patiar Ôc tacebo, ne me infametis & adigatis ad mortem. Cor± nel. à Lap.
(j>) Magne nater Divum, faevos punire Tyrannos Haud alia ratione velis, cum dira libido Movent ingenium, ferventi tin£ta veneno t Virtutem videant, intabefcantque relida. Per/* Sat. iii.
(q) Peccator videbit & irafcetur, dentibus fuis fremet & tabe- fcet. PfaL c^ii. xo.
3 4 While
i %6 A Parallel of the Dottrine
* While (r) Demetrius of Macedon fojourn'd at c Athens, he wanted to debauch a young Stripling c who was fo handfome that he was called DEMO- < CLES THE FAIR. For this End, Demetrius
* employ'd Emiffaries who were not wanting to
* tempt him with the greateft Offers, and to ter-
* rify him with the molt horrid Menaces. But the
* Lad was proof againfl every Temptation and 4 every Menace, and refolv'd to appear no more
* in publick, but to bathe by himfelf in a private
* Bagnio. Demetrius having fet a Watch upon him, c went to the Bagnio in the very nick of Time
* when he was all alone ; Democles having no body
* to call to for help, and being too weak to refift 4 the Rage of Demetrius, took the Lid off of the 1 Cauldron, where the Water was boiling for the
* Bathj and leaping into it he was immediately « fuffocated.'
You mud own, my Fathers, that fuch a Story is of more weight than all the Reafoning of San- chez, or Cornelius à Lapide. Blufh then, if you have any Shame left, as God grant you may -, and in this Cafe take care that you avoid the too com- mon Fault of new Converts, of going from one Extreme to another. Don't caft either your felves or others headlong into boiling Cauldrons : For without a particular Infpiration (s) from the Spirit of God, it is not lawful for a Man to put himfelf to Death. Only pray to God, in the firft place, to give you as much love for Modefly, as it has appear'd by your Writings you have for the oppo- fite Vice -, and then, whatever happens, you will no longer fay, * That 'tis juftifiable for Perfons to
* expofe their Modefly for the fake of preferving
* Life and Reputation, nor that it was lawful for
(r) Plutarch, in his Ihes of illujlrious Men» Demetrius. "(0 See St, Auftin de Civitate Deie
< Su-
of the Pagans, &c. 187
c Sufannab to fay, I will fuffer the Violence you ' offer to do to me, and hold my Peace/
SECT. VII.
Of the Luxury and Vanity of Women.
O F all the Foibles of Women, there's none greater than the Defire of being agreeable and appearing handfome. 'Tis by their own Confef- fion their prevailing Paflion. Yet 'ris a Pafiion than which nothing more degrades them, and which reduces them to the vileft Condition : For what is a Woman who is a Slave to Luxury and Vanity, and who has nothing to fet her off and recommend her but Drefs, Wafhes, Paint, and immodefl Airs ? Is fhe not a Devil incarnate ? or at leaft, is not that the Veil under which the wicked and unclean Spirit xrhufes to difguife himfelf ? This being fo, is it not an unpardonable Crime in the Priefts, who pretend to be the Salt of this World, to favour that Vice in the Sex, which only tends to ruin it, and to make this Sex the vile Inftrument in the Hands of the unclean Spirit, to debauch and deflroy the other. Yet this is what the Jefuits are guilty of.
' Yea, fays their Father Emanuel Sa (t), a Wo-
* man may deck her felf to conceal her Deformi-
* ty -, and if fhe does it out of Vanity, and to ap-
* pear handfome when fhe is not fo, there's no mor-
* tal Sin in it. This is alfo true, he adds, with re- 4 gard to a Nun ; provided, neverthelefs, that her 4 Drefs be not extravagant, that is to fay, that fhe
(/) Ornari poteft foçmina ad tegendam turpitudinem, quod fi fiat ad vanitatem, ad fingendam pulchrimdinem, mortale non eft, etiam in religiofa ft moderate fe ornât. Sa, Verb. Oxn. n 1. p. 48 f3
? dQCS
, 1 88 A Tar allé I of the TtoElrine
4 does not fpend in Ornaments what fhe is obliged
* to give the Poor.'
So much for the Doctrine of Emanuel %S a -, now for that of Efcobar (it). 4 When a Woman dref- 4 fes with no ill Defign, but from a natural In-
* clination to be gay, 'tis at mofl but a venial 4 Sin, and in fome Cafes none at all. — ' Thefe are fine Sentences to be embroider'd upon the Toilets of the fine Ladies, as is alfo the following of Father Lejfeau. ' Women, fays this Jefnit (ïv\ 4 do not fin mortally when they expofe themfelves 4 on purpofe to be fhir'd at by young Men, who
* they are fure will look upon them with a lewd 4 defire, provided they do it from Neceflity, or 4 for fome Advantage, and to preferve their
* Liberty, either of going abroad, or of Handing 4 at their Doors or Windows.' Really a Manmuft have ftified all Senfe, I need not fay of Chrif- tianity, but of Modefty and native Honefly, who afiferts that a Woman may expofe her felf with a fafe Confcience at her Window or her Door, by virtue of her Privilege and Prerogative, even when ihe knows that young Men will look upon her with wanton Eyes.
Neverthelefs this Jefùît does not flop there, but adds further. c Women, fays he (#), do not fin f mortally, when they deck themfelves with fuper- f fluous Ornaments, when their Apparel is fo thin
(«) Ornatus corporis fi fiat non malo fine, fed ob naturalem faftûs indinationem, veniale tantùm erit, aut aliquando nullum. Efcob. tr. i. ex. 8. c. i. p. 1S1. a. 5.
(w) Mortaliter non peccant mulieres, quae fe praebent con» fpiciendas adolefcemibus, à quibus fe credunt turpiter concu- ir>ifcendas; fi hoc faciant aliqua necefînate, aut militate, aut ne fe privent fua libertate vel jure exeundi domo, vel ftandi ad o- jlium vel feneftram domus. Lefleau the Profefor's Cafes of Con- science, in his Dijfertation at Amiens upon the Decalogue, Art. iv.
(.v) Seethe Factum of the Curates of Amiens 0/ July «5, 16S&
4 that
of the Pagans, $te. 189
* that one fees their Breads thro' it, nor even ' when they make their Breads quite bare, if ic
* be in Compliance with the Cuftom of the Coun- 8 try, and not from any wicked Intention.' Thus, according to Father Leffeau, Cuftom and Fafhion is the eftablifh'd Rule for the Behaviour of Wo- men, fo that if by degrees it fhou'd grow into a fafhipn to go ftark naked, Women wou'd not fin by following the Mode.
Be filent then ye Preachers, who cry out fo earneftly againft immodeft Actions. Know that the Gofpel of our Days is that of Cuftom and Fafhion. Don't exclaim as you do againft Con- cupifcence, which breeds all thefe Modes, there's not fo much harm in it as you imagine. What did I fay? 'Tis really good ; and of this the. Bull Unigenitus aifures you, by afTerting that it does not make an ill life cf the Senfes.
Neither is there any more harm in Ornaments, Paint or Perfume, which are the pious Arts of Concupifcence, to fupply the defects of Nature ; and a Man muft have no Tafte who condemns them. Know therefore once for all, and 'tis a grave Au- thor who fays it, for 'tis Father Stoz the Je fuit, Know c that if a Woman makes ufe of vain Or- c naments, Paint and Perfumes, purely fromaPrin-
* ciple of a little vain Glory, and to gratify her
* defire of appearing handfome, me does not fin 4 mortally, tho fhe knows in her Heart, that 4 when the Men fee her thus drefs'd they will be
* violently in Love with her (y).
This is what we may properly call talking like a Jefuit -, whereas an unmannerly Janfenift, if he faw a Face patch'd, lick'd over, or perfum'd, wou'd be apt to fay bluntly with Juvenal, 4 The Face
* which is in need of fo many Plaifters and Oint-
()-) Stoz, in his Trib. de la Pœnit. L. i. Part. 3. Quaeft. $. art $, §. 3, 11.31*. p. S28. col. a.
4 merits,
ïjfë A 'Parallel of the ^odîrme
4 ments, what fhall we call it a Face or an UÎ- % cer (z) ?' If Women were talk'd to in this man- ner, they wou'd become fober and modeft ; but the Jefuits avoid it, becaufe then they cou'd not fay with that ill-natur'd Pleafure what the Poet we have now quoted declar'd with a hearty Sorrow,
* That a virtuous Woman is a Creature as rare as
* a black Swan (a). Nor cou*d they confine the
* long (lay of Chaftity upon the Earth, to the c Reign of Saturn only (£), when their Society was ' not yet in being :' In a word, they wou'd think their Miflion vain, their Works fruitlefs, and that they had loft their Time and Labour if they fhou'd hear the fame Commendation of all Women that Seneca gave of his Mother Helvia.
(c) ' Immodefty, fays he, which is the prevailing
* Vice of THIS AGE, never carry'd you to the « CIRCLES or ASSEMBLIES. Pearls and pre-
(z.) Sed quae mutatis inducitur atque fovetur Tot medicaminibus, cottaeque fïliginis offas Accipit, & madidar, facies dicetur an ulcus ?
Juv* Sat. vt. (4) Rara Ayis in terris nigroqUe nigroque fimillima cygno.
Juven* ibid* (b) Credo pudicitiam Saturno rege moratam In terris, vifamque diu. Juven, ibid.
{c) Non te maximum fceculi malum, impudicitia, in nume- rum plurium adduxir, non gemmae te, non margaritae flexe- runt : Non tibi divitiae, velut maximum generis humani bonurt* refulferunt : Non te bene in antiquâ 5c feverâ inftitutam do- mo periculofa etiam probis, pejorum detorfit imitatio : Nunquam te fsecunditatis tuae quafî exprobaiet aetatem, puduit : nunquam more aliarum, quibus omnis commendatio ex forma petitur, tumefcentem uterum abfcondifti, quad indecens onus ; nee in- tra vifeera tua conceptas fpes liberorum elififti : Non facierri lenoci niis ac coloribus polluifti : nunquam tibi placuit veftis, qnae nihil amplius nudaret, cum poneretur. Unicum tibi or- namentum, pulcherrima 8c nulli obnoxia astati forma, maxi- mum decus, vifa eft pudicitia. Swec* de Confol. ad Helv. Tom. i. p. 199.
.3 € CÎOUS
of the Pagans, ï§c. xgï
cious Stones have made no impreffion upon you. You have not been dazzled by the Splendor of Riches, which are efteem'd the greateft happinefs of this World. The Example of the Wicked which is fo dangerous even to the Good, has been of no prejudice to the good Education you had in a Family which was regulated by the fevere Difcipline of our Anceftors. You never blunYd at your bearing many Children, as if it had been the Reproach of your Age. You never conceal' d your Pregnancy as if you had been afham'd of the Burden, like other Women, WHO HAVE NOTHING TO RE- COMMEND THEM BUT THEIR BEAUTY. You never promoted Abortion. You never defil'd your Face with PAINT, and borrow' d Colours. You was never pleas'd with that fort of Garments which expos'd Wo- men as much as if they were undrefs'd. All your Ornament, all your Drefs, all your Beau- ty, and your greateft Honour was CHASTITY, that BEAUTY which fadeth not away. Here I beg leave to obferve, that St. Peter gave juft fuch a LefTon to the Primitive Chriftian Wo- men. c Let not your adorning fays he (d)9 be that ■ outward adorning^ of plaiting the Hair, and of ' wearing of Gold, or of putting on of Apparel : 6 but let it be the hidden Man of the Heaft, in 8 that which is not corruptible, even the Orna- J ment of a meek and quiet Spirit, which is c in the fight of God of great Price- -' But fuch Difcourfes as thefe, like old Medals which were of Currency and Service in their time, are of no worth now but for their Antiquity. We bring you others that are more modern and fuitedto the Tafte of the prefent Age.
(d) i Pet, iii. 5, 4.
' Ever
Iff À Tar aile I of the Tïoftrine
(e) * Everfince the Creation, the Youth,' ('tis that polite Jefuit Father le, Moine ', who fpeaks this to the young Ladies and pretty MifTes) ' the « Youth, fays he, always thought they had a Right c to adorn themfelves. Nature every Day decks
* with new Colours, the Rifing Sun-—. There-
* fore it may be lawful to put on Ornaments at
* an Age which is the Bloffom and Verdure of
* Life, the very Morning and Spring of Time — . 4 *Tis only allow'd to the Stars, fays he again (f)9 6 to be always in ArTembly, always in a Dance, c becaufe perpetual Youth is granted to the Stars c alone.'
As to other Perfons who are advanc'd in Years, he talks to them in a very different Strain. c In c this refpecl (g), he tells them, the belt way wou'd
* be to confult Reafon and a good Looking-Glafs,
* to conform to Decency, and to retire when c Night approaches. Surely there's little Plea- c fure, and much lefs Honour in affecting an ap- c pearance among the Beau monde, with the ruins c of a good Face or Shape, and in frequenting all ' Affemblies and Drawing-Rooms, when the Per- c fon ought rather to be thinking of a Church-
* yard or a Coffin — . In a word (h), that muft be c a green Head indeed which is not ripe at art ' Age, that wou'd rot Oaks and demolifh Mar- 4 bles.' I grant it -, but is a Tongue that expreffes it felf after fuch a manner, a certain Sign of a very ripe Head ? And in fuch Flights as thefe, do we difcover the Language of a NEW GA- BRIEL, or a NEW RAPHAEL ? \ But the next LefTon which is yet more extraordinary, is the Edification which the Jefuit propofes at the Lady's Toilet, and the LefTons of Modefty which he
(?) Father le Moine** eafy Devotion, p. 163. (/) Page 127. (£) Ibid. (h) P. 128.
pretends
of the Pagans, &c. 193
pretends to find in their very Diverfions and Orna- ments. ' Nay, fays he, in his Letter to Madam
* de Toify, there are Leflbns and Patterns of Mo- ' defty in your Diverfions and Ornaments, and
* I know not whether there is more to be ken 4 at Courts and Balls, or in the Concerts and Af-
* femblies of the Stars.9
Is this again the Language of a Pried, or is it not the Voice of a Devil transformed into an Angel of Light (i) ? or rather into a Jefuit ? Alas ! young Ladies, Seneca tells you (£), c That of all
* things you muft beware of the Speeches of fuch
* Men. Thefe are they that infinuate Vices, and € carry them into all Countries far and near» 6 Heretofore they who betray'd Converfation, and ' turn'd Informers, were reckon'd the worft of
* Men ; but thefe Men carry Vice it felf about ■ them wherever they go. Their Difcourfe is very € mifchievous. For tho it. does not do immediate c Hurt, yet it leaves that Seed of Poifon in the
* Mind, which after we are gone from them breaks
* outjind fpreads. In fhort, as a Concert of fine
(i) 2 Cor. xi. 14.
(k) Horum omnium fermo vitandus eft. Hi funt qui vitia tradunt -, & alio aliunde transferunt. Peilîmum genus homi- rum videbatur qui verba geftarent. Sunt quidem qui vitia geftant. Horum fermo mukum nocet. Nam euamfî non ftatim officit, femina in animo reliquit, fequiturque nos etiam cum ab illis difcefTerimus, refurrecturum poftea malum. Quern- admodum qui audierint fymphoniam, ferunt fecum in auri- bus modulationem illam ac dulcedinem cantus, quae cogitationes impedir, nee ad feria patitur intendi : lie adulatorum & prava latfiJantium fermo diutiùs hafret quàm auditur, nee facile eft animo dulcem fonum excutere : profequitiir 5c durât, & ex intervallo recurrit. Ideo claudendae funt aures malis vocibus, 6c quidem primis. Nam aim initium fecerunt, admiifaeque funt, plus audent. Inde ad haec pervenitur verba : virtUS 5c phi- lofophia, & juftkia, verbofum inanium crepitus eft. i>enec, Epift. exxiii. Tom. i, p. £15.
O ' M«-
194 A "Parallel of the 'Do&rine
4 Mufick leaves fuch a fweet Harmony in the Ears
* of thofe who hear it, that for a while they cannot
* entertain or purfue a ferious Thought -, juft fo
* the words of Flatterers, and thofe who fpeak well
* of ill things, buz a long time after upon the Drum
* of the Ear, and 'tis no eafy matter to banifh 4 the delightful Sound out of the Memory ; for it
* follows you inceflantly, and even returns after
* a Repulfe. Therefore you mull Hop your Ears
* againft all evil Difcourfe, and withdraw as foon
* as it begins, becaufe when once it has made an
* entrance, you know not where it will end, till
* at laft it becomes familiar to you to hear it faid
* and believ'd, that Virtue, Philofophy, and Juftice
* are but mere Sound and Bubble.
The next piece of Advice which the fame Pa- gan gives, is to the Ladies who are converfant with the World.
Q) * Let the honoured Matron, who wou'd be
* fafe againft Temptation, never appear abroad in
* any Drefs but what is neat and plain. Let her 4 Companions be Perfons venerable for their Age,
* and too grave for the Conyerfation of Libertines
* and Debofhees. When fhe walks, let her Eyes be
* always fix'd on the Ground, and when fhe is
* to return a civil and obliging Salute, let it be in a
* modeft way, tho it be not altogether fo polite/ Is it not wonderful to hear a Pagan give fuch
fine Leflbns ! Let us hear Epiïïetus again, and fee whether he approves of Father le Moine** gen-
(/) Matrons quae fe adverfus follicitantes falvam volet, pro- deat in tantum ornata, ne immunda fit : habeat comités qui impudicqs verecundiâ annorum removeant : Ferat jacentes in terram oculos : adverfus officiofum falutatorem inhumana po- tius quam inverecunda fits Senec* Controv. 1. ii. Tom, 5. p. 115.
teel
of the Pagans, ?Sc0 195
teel Carriage to his young MifTes (ni). When
4 Girls, fass this Pbilofopber^ are attain'd to the
' Age of fourteen, they are fo tickled with ten-
c der and florid Expreiîions, that they think of
1 nothing but how to win the admiration of the
c Men ; and 'tis with this view only that they mind
* nothing but Drcfs. Therefore it were proper
* they fhou'd be convinc'd by our Carriage and
* Talk to them, that we efteem and honour ' them no farther than as they join Modefly and 4 Temperance to the Virtues which are the Glory < of the Sex.'
This is the Paint and Pomatum, not of the Je- fuits but of Epffetus. That's all the Ornament which he requires of young Women ; and wheri they are come into the marry'd State, the greateft Portion, fays Terence («), which they can bring their Hufbands is Honefty and Modefty.
SECT. VIII.
Of Gluttony and T)runkennefs.
I N order to finifh this Xth Chapter which treats altogether of the three forts of Concupi- fcence, there needs nothing more than to report the Sentiments of the Jefuits upon Intemperance in eating and drinking, and then we mail have a perfect Epitome of their Creed upon all the fen- fual Pleasures. Let us fee therefore what they have to fay to us upon this new Subject.
Ye Friends of the Trencher and the Bottle ; (and when all's done, there's a neceflity according
(jri) In his Manual. Ch. lxii.
(n) Probitas pudorque Virgin*» dos optima eft. Ter. Adslph* Â&. V. fç. 10.
O 2 tO
196 A Tarallel of the TioBtine
to their Morals, of marrying Bacchus to Venus) don't think that they are going to talk to yon of Frugality, Temperance and Sobriety ; thefe are Virtues which cramp Senfuality too much.
No reftraint, fay thofe amiable Fathers ; eat and drink as much as you can. There's no Evil in pleafmgthe Appetite, and humouring the Palate, if we may believe Efcobar. ' Is it a fin, the Jefuit asks, ' for a Man to eat and drink his Fill without any 4 Necefiity, and only for the fake of Pleafure?
* No, fays be with his ufual Confidence. I return c you an Anfwer even with Sanclius my Brother,
* that there's no Sin in it, provided it is not hurtful 6 to the Conftitution (o).9
Surely his Decifion was made in a Circle of Flaggons and Glafles, fo that I can't help ex- claiming with Horace, Happy thofe Cupswhofe lovely Liquor irfpircs Wit and Eloquence (p) ! For what more eloquent and finer Phrafe can be imagin'd than this Maxim. Hear it once more, ye Sons of Bacchus, that you may never forget it. Verily* A MAN MAY EAT AND DRINK HIS FILL WITHOUT ANY NECESSITY, AND FOR THE SAKE OF PLEASURE ONLY. They who thus infure you from Sin are two famous Je- iliits. Take care only not to prejudice your Health, for that's more precious to thofe honefl Fathers than your Confcience. And to the end that you may have no fcruple, and that you may flop the Months of the Rigid, and efpecially the Arjoftles St. Peter and St. Paul, who forbid Riot- ing and Drunkennefs, Chambering and Wanton- Co) An ccmedere & bibere ufque ad fatietntcm abfque ne* ceffitate ob folam voluptatem fit peccatum ?
Cum San&io refpondeo negative, modo non obfit valetudini, Efcob. tr. ii. Ex. i. n. 192,. p. 304.
(/O Facimdi calices, cjuem non fesejre difertum \ Horat, Ep. V.
nefs,
of the Pagans, &c. içj
nefs, Strife and Envy (q)> and excefs of Wine (>), engrave thefe words in your Mind, c That the
* natural Appetite (s), may be indulg'd in all its
* Cravings, merely for the fake of Pleafure.' A- bove all never forget that fine Sentence of the Buil Unigenitus-, c That Concupifence, that is to
* fay, Senfuality does not make an ill Ufe of the 4 Senfes,' and that confequently a Man may eat and drink till he can eat and drink no longer : and when you are furniûYd with thefe two Principles, or if you will, with the Bull in one Hand, and Efcobar in the other, make your entrance into all the Taverns, and there cram your felves with all forts of Wines and Sauces, and change the Bottles and Difhes ad infinitum, to give you the greater Pleafure, you will commit no Sin, provided you don't prejudice your Health.
Alas ! Such a bleffed Gofpel as this, which teaches Man to make a God of his Belly, and to be- come perfectly like a Beaft which I will not name, is above being preach' d by common Men, or by any Beings inferior to the new Gabriels. Yea, to them it belongs to go and preach it ; 'tis the Bu- finefs of thefe new Raphaels to go and comfort Souls ; and finally, thefe are the new Michaels, who are to go and take the Field for you againft the Janfenifts.
Go therefore, ye Father Jefuits, Go, c to the
* Indies, Ethiopia, Japan, China, and to the remo- 6 teft parts of the Earth -, Go in Ihort all ovef c the World, and into every Country, folding up- f on a Tun like jolly Bacchus. Demand c What 6 Sin there is in Gluttony, and then fay witfy
* your dear Father Efcobar of h.ippy Ml inory, that
(q) Rom. xiii. 13. (r) I Pet. iv« ?.
{i) Quia licite poteft appetttus aaturaKs fuis aûibus fruî, obv fylain voiuptatem. Efcob. ibid.
0 ?
ï 98 A Tarallel of the Ttoffrme
' 'tis only a Sin of the venial kind, if a Man with- out any Neceflity, eat and drink till he is crop- 1 fick and vomit, provided he does not perceive it does much damage to his Health (/) ; nor is it a mortal Sin, you'll fay, according to that grave Author, tho he is guilty of fuch Excefs, with a premeditated Defign to gorge himfelf till it e comes up again.'
Juvenal horridly furpriz'd at this, comes and interrupts me, faying, c That thefe People feem f to be only come into the World to eat and c drink (u)' For, obferve^j be, they don't pre- fcribe how much 'tis convenient for a Man to take to fupport the Body, but what he may do after Nature is fufnc?d. A Man may cloy himfelf, fay they : So that when you are at a Detfert, then their Maxim takes place, and then may you begin a frefh Bill of Fare, and give that quantum to Sen- fuality, and the natural Appetite, which is allow'd to fufHce Nature. Now this is perfectly new, judge of it by the manners of our Anceftors (he is charm'd to fhame the intemperance of the Jefuitsa by the frugality of his old Romans, and we muft indulge him this fmall PleafureJ.
c Our Forefathers (fays Juvenal) made Enter- tainments upon Holidays, as well as their Birth- Days ; and what think ye was their Treat ? Why a Gammon of Bacon. That was all they gave their Friends, except now and then fome * Fragment which happen'd to be left of the lafl
(/) Quodnam peccatum gula eft? Ex genere fuo veniale* etiamfi abfque militate fi quis cibo & potu ufque ad vomitum ingurgitet, nifi ex* ejufmodi vomitione gravia faluti incommo? da experiantur. Eftob. tr. i. ex. 2. c. 8. n. 5 6. p. 288.
Mortale non eft, imo quamyis advertenter id faciat ac evq- mat. Efcob. ibid.
(«) Et quibus in folo yivendi caufa palato eft. Juvtn, Sat. if.
' Sacrifice*
of the Pagans, tèc. ïçç
i Sacrifice. If they had any Relation who had
* been Dictator, General of the Army, or thrice
* a Conful, he came to his Kinfman's Houfe foon-
* er than ordinary from the Field, with his Plough-
* fhare upon his Shoulder, but no addition to the
* Pot over the Fire And as their Fare was plain ' and homely, fo were their Furniture and Hou-
* fes (w).f O tempora, O mores, may we well cry out ! How different were yours from ours ! The En- tertainments made by Dictators, Generals of Ar- mies, and Confuls, that is to fay, Men of a fupe- rior Rank to Kings, were regulated by Frugality, Plainnefs and Temperance i whereas the Banquets of our modern Citizens wou'd be thought lan- guid, infipid and loathfome, if they were not fea- fon'd with Luxury, Profufion, Intemperance and Lewdnefs. O tempora, O mores !
I am very fenfible that the Doctrine of the Je- fuits confirm'd by the Bull, and which, by Con- fequence, if we may believe thofe Fathers, is the only Doctrine that ought to be follow'd, I know that unaccountable Doctrine favours all the Ex- travagancies of our Days. But 'tis from thence I prove that the Bull and the Jefuits are only fit to be rejected with the laft degree of Contempt, or rather that they deferve the Curfe (x), de- nounc'd in the Epiftle to the Galatians, becaufe
(w) Moris erat quondam feftis fervare diebus, Et natalitium cognatis ponere lardum ; Accedente nova fi quam dabat hoftia, carne ; Cognatorum aliquis titulo ter Confulis, atque Caftrorum imperiis & Diftatoris honore Fundus ad has epulas folito maturius ibat, Ereftum domito referens a monte ligonëm— Tales ergo cibi, qualis domus atque fupellex.
Juven* Sat. iij
(x) Sed licet nos aut Angélus de cœlo, evangelizet vobis prseterquam quod Eyangelizavimus vobis, anathema fit. ÇaL i. 8?
Q 4 they
2oo A ^Parallel of the Tloffrwe
they are fuch entire Friends to Lewdnefs, Drunk- ennefs and Gluttony, and impudently give the Lye to St. Paul, who has plainly declar'd, that Drunk- ards and Whoremongers fhall not inherit the Kingdom of God (j).
But the Jefuits don't flop there, for they make Drunkennefs to be a fort of Jubilee and Plenary Indulgence. The Parallel is very flrong, and yet we fhall fee prefently that 'tis not expreflive e- nough -, for the Jubilee is no Argument that a Perfon has not offended God, whereas ' Drunk- c ennefs according to Efcobar, excufes from ALL « MANNER OF SIN in general, fuch Actions c as are committed, tho injurious to another, 6 whether the Perfon who does the Injury be in ' his right Senfes or not, and even tho it be
* Blafphemy, Infidelity and Perjury (z).' In a word, it excufes from all manner of Sin, con* fequently Robbery, Murder, Self-Pollution or Defilement of others, Fornication, Adultery, In- ceft, and other Crimes againft Nature ; and for that Reafon I have given it the name of a Plenary Indulgence.
After fuch a Pafiage at this, one wou'd think it needlefs to quote what the Jefuit Gobai fays, ' That
* tis lawful for a Man to intoxicate himfelf with
* Wine, for the fake of PRESERVING or RE- 6 COVERING his Health, as alfo to make him 5 infenfible of a Baftinado (a)' But what I wou'd chufe to obferve here is, that in order to a Man's
(y) Qui talia agunt (ebrietates, comeffationes) regnum Dei iiOii couiequentur. ifad. v. 21.
(z) Ebrietas excufat ab omni pecçato in his quae infanâ men= te fiunt injimofa, ac proindè quae fana quidem rnente peccata cflTe.u. Itemblafphemia, infidelitas, perjurium, in ebrio. Efcol\ tr. ii. ex, i. c. 12. n. $6. p. 2S5.
(a) £obat, in ha moral Trwifc'u Tom,iii< tr. «fc ch. 18L fe&. 1.. n,o. " " 1
acquiring
of the Pagans, fSc. %oi
acquiring Impeccability, or a ftate of Innocence, he has nothing to do but to drink luftily after he has been confefling with a fervile Fear, and to get foundly drunk, either for the fake of PRESERV- ING his Health if he be well, or for RECO- VERING it, if fick ; I fay, he has no more to do but to lofe his Reafon after his Confeffion, and to keep himfelf in that happy ftate of Stupidity by a continual Tippling, and then he may commit all the Crimes that can be imagin'd, and yet go ftrait to Paradife if he has the Happinefs to dye in his Drink. To be plain, there's no enduring this any longer -, let's have no more of this leche- rous fuddling Doctrine of the Society -, but before we quite drop the Subject, we will edify our felves with the Pagans, and hear fome of their Leflbns upon Temperance and Sobriety.
' In our very Clothes and Dyet, fays Ckerc, c we fhou'd ftill keep an Eye rather to matter- •6 of Health and Strength, than to the humour-
* ing of the Fancy or Palate ; and if we will
* but duly weigh and examine the Dignity and ' Excellency of human Nature, we mail find how
* fhameful a thing it is to dilTolve in a luxuri- c ous Softnefs and Delicacy ; and how becoming
* on the other fide to live frugally, temperately,
* gravely and foberly (by
6 Remember, fays Seneca, to adhere to this fo-
* lid, wholefom Plan of Life, viz. to indulge the 16 Body with nothing more than what is neceflary c for Health -, to live hard fometimes, left it fhou'd 4 be too unruly for the Mind to govern -, not to
(b) Itaque vi&us, cultufque corporis ad valetudinem referan- tur, & ad vires, non ad voluptatem. Atque etiam fi coniide- rarc volumus quae fie in naturâ hominis excellentia & dignitas, sntelligemus quà m fit turoe diffiuere luxuria, & delicate ac mol- liter vivere, qiumque honeftum parce, continente»', fevere, fo- re; C/V. dç Qffic. L, i. ch. 30.
fêî A Parallel of the Doctrine
f eat and drink your Fill, but only juft as much as
* fufficeth to appeafe Hunger and Thirft -, to put c on no other Raiment than what is fufHcient to
* keep out the Cold ; and to be content with fuch
* Lodging as defends you from things that may
* be hurtful to the Body (c). In a word, confider
* that there is nothing in you to be admir'd but
* your Mind -, that great Being, in comparifon of
* which nothing is great, becaufe it is fuperior to 4 every thing elfe.'
'Tis plain that fuch Maxims as thefe were broach' d fafting, and not in a Circle of GlafTes and Flaggons, like thofe of the Gobal\ Efcobar's, and Sanftiufs.
Here follows another from EptSletus^ which does not favour Debauchery. * 'Tis a Mark, fays this c Philcfopher^ of a very narrow Soul (d%* Hear this ye Father Jejuits^ ' to wafte much time in any thing
* relating to the Body -, whether it be in eating,
* drinking, or the other Necelïities of the Body ; 1 for all thefe things mould be done as it were en « pajfant^ and our entire Application mould be to c cultivate the Mind.'
Really 'tis âftonifhing to find Pagans wholly employ'd in things relating to the Mind, while the jefuits regard nothing but the Body ; own there-, fore to your Confullon, ye Men of Flefh and Blood,
(c} Hanc ergo fanam & falubrem formam vitae tenere me- mento, ut corpori tantum indulgeas, quantum bonx valetudini fatis eft : durius tra&andum eft, ne animo male pareat. Cibus famem fedet, potio fitim extinguat, veftis arceat frigus, domus munimentum fit adverfus infefta corporis — Cogita in te, prae- ter animum nihil efTe mirabile, cui magno nihil magnum eft, Senec. Epift. 8. t. 1. p. 23. See alfo the <>ifi Letter againfi Luxury and Delights j to which add what is [aid Epiftle no. p. 547. and Epift. 120. p. 591. towards the middle of the Page-, they are allfinijh'd Pieces,
(d) Epi&euis, in his Manual^ ch. IxiiL
whofè
of the Pagans, Ç&. ioj
whofe Belly is one of your favourite Deities, con- fefs with Juvenal, ' That all your Anceftors, all
* your Predeceffors, as well profane as facred, de- f pofe againft you ; and that their mining Merit is
* as a Torch, by the favour of which you difcover
* your Reproach (<?/—• Therefore, you may well
* adorn your Halls (/) with thofe old Waxwork
* Effigies of fo many Heroes of your Society.9 Tou may tell us as much as you pleafe of your Thunder- bolts of War, your new Sampfons, your guardian Angels, your Oracles, and your Breaftplates ; and even cf your Gabriels, Raphaels, Michaels *, in a word, of your City of God. All this does not Hind me, fays Juvenal, for Virtue alone is true Nobility. But you have abandon' d it to become the Protectors of Vice : by confequence you are not the Houfe of Wifdom, but the Houfe of Folly.
It muft be allow'd that there's a Pleafure in fee- ing a fmart Pagan in clofe Argument with the Je- fuits -, and efpecially fo good a Poet as Juvenal^ who I think has clinch'd 'em.
But now I hear the famous Father Pirot mutter- ing -, he is the Mouth and Pen of the whole So- ciety, and no doubt has fomething to reply -, there- fore he muft have Audience : The whole Society could not invent any thing better and ftronger to juftify the Intemperance of the Cafuifts than what he is now going to fay to the Janfenifts.
6 As to a Man's gorging himfelf without Ne-
* ceffity, even till he vomit, which you condemn c as a mortal Sin, I know not but it may be pure
(e) Incipit ipforum contra te ftare parentum Nobilitas claramque facern prseferre pudendis.
Juv. Sat. Yiij.
( f) Tota licet veteres exornent undique ceree Atria : Nobilitas fola eft atque unies Yirtu?.
Juv. ibid.
* Com-
204 A Tar aile I of the ^o Brine
1 Complaifance to the Ladies which has made your c Cenfure fo fevere (g).' This fets out well enough ; Let us fee whether the End of the Apology is an- fwerable to the Beginning. fi If it was the Com-
* plaifance (continues he) which you have for the
* Sex, that made you condemn fuch Cramming as
* a mortal Sin, you had better fortify fuch delicate
* fquéàmifli Souls from the 15th Chapter of St.
* Matthew's Gofpel, and give them to underftand, < that what goeth into the Mouth defileth not the c Man ; and that God is not offended at every
* thing which we think indecent/
That, fay the Jefuits, is a thorow Juftification of our Cafuifts ; and I fay, 'tis a compleat Juftifica- tion of what Juvenal had faid, That there's nothing more uncommon in a great Station, (h) fuch as is that of the Jefuits, than to have common Senfe. The Publick mail judge which of us two is in the right. Mean time I'll give them this other little piece of Advice from Juvenal ; c Pray to the Gods 6 to grant you a found Mind in a found Body, that 4 you may argue more rationally and fenfibly (i)*
Q) Vhot's Apology for the Cafmfts, p. i$G.
(h) Rarus enim ferme fenfus communis in ilia
Fortunâ -, Juv. Sat, viiîf
(î) Orandum eft ut fit mens fana in corpore fano.
Ibid. Sat. xr.
CHAP.
of the Pagans, &c, 205
CHAP. XL
Of the Murder of Kings.
WH I L E I thus fet the Pagans in Battle a- gainft the Jefuits, I think I ought not in Juftice to omit any Argument that appears from that quarter in their favour. As they have read C/- cero^ and turn him over every Day, they would not fail to complain of me, if in the frequent Quotations I have made from this Author, I mould wholly pafs over an Article in which He and They feem to be agreed : Why, (they would fay, with fome colour of Reafon) muft every thing be aggra- vated that condemns us, and nothing taken notice of that has a tendency to juftify us ? 'Tis to avoid this Reproach therefore, that we will clofe this Treatife with what relates to the Dodtrine of thofe Fathers concerning the Murder of Kings.
Yea, my Fathers, Cicero has faid (a), c That 'tis c not pofîlble a Man's Life mould be profitable to
* himfelf, when the Condition of it comes to be fuch c that Poflerity will ever have a Veneration and
* Efteem for thofe that take it away.'
c It were well, fays he elfewhere, if the whole
* Race of this impious peftilent fort of Men, (fpeak- c ing of Tyrants) were exterminated from having " to do with Mankind. For as we cut off morti- 4 fy'd Limbs when the Blood and Spirits have in a c manner forfaken them, and that they grow dan- c gerous to the reft, fo mould that fierce and out- 6 rageous Brutality in human fhape, be feparated,
(a) Cum ejus vitœ ea conditio fir, ut qui ilia m erîpuerit, in msuihm gratia futurus fit 5c gloria. Ci(. de OfHc. L, iii, c. 21.
' if
166 A Taralkl of the ^Do£îrinê
« if I may fo fay, from the common Humanity of « the publick Body (*).*
But it muft be obferv*d, before we go farther, that Cicero, in the former Place, fpeaks of Cœfar+ who had lately facrific'd the Honour and Glory of his Country, to the Paflion he had to be a King f
* That Prince, who had opprefs'd Rome it felf by c a Roman Army, and by Force brought under his
* Yoke a City that was not only free in its own c Conftitution, but which had alfo given Laws to
* others (c), arid had bound it felf by a folemn
* Oath, after the Expulfion of Tarquin the Proud,
* never to fufFer any Perfon to reign over it as Mo-
* narch and King (a).9
And in the fécond PafTage he alludes to Pbalaris, that infamous Tyrant of Agrigentum, who fhut Men up alive in the brazen Bull, under which he caus'd a great Fire to be kindled, that he might divert himfelf to hear their Groans, which paflirig thro' the Neck of it, made a Noife like the bellowing of thofe Beads. Now it may be faid, by the way, that there's a great difference betwixt fuch a Man and our Kings Henry III. and IV.
It muft be obferv'd, in the fécond Place, that Cicero had not learnt by the Example of a God, to
(b) Atque hoc omne genus peftiferum atque impium ex ho- minura communitate exterminandum eft. Etenim ut membra quaedam amputantur, (i & ipfa fanguine & tanquam fpiritu ca- rere cceperunt, & nocent reliquis partibus corporis, fie ifta in figura hominis feritas & immanitas belluse à communi tan- quam humanitate corporis fegreganda eft. Cic. de Offic. L. iii. cap. 6.
(c) Qui cum exercitu populi Romani, popuîum ipfam Ro- manum oppreflifTet, civitatemque non modo liberam, fed etiam gentibus imperantem* fervire iibi coegiflet. ibid, L. iii. c. ai.
(d) Omnium primum avidum novae libertatis populum, ne poft modum fle&i precibus aut donis regiis poftet, jurejurando adegit (Brutus) nemincm Romae pafluros regnare. Tit. Liv* L. ii. n, x.
give
of the Pagans, 6fr. %$f
give himfelf up a Sacrifice to the Fury of Men, ra- ther than to make them Victims of his Wrath and Indignation. Nor had he heard that Oracle of the great St. Paul, * Let every Soul be fubject to the 4 higher Powers, which he that refifteth, refifteth ? the Ordinance of God (<?).' But you, my Fa- thers, who call your felves the Society of that Je- fus who fubmitted to the Powers, even fo far as to dye upon a Crois -, you who call your felves his new Apoftles, and who by Virtue of your new Miffion thruft your Nofes even into the Palaces of Kings, to gain their Confidence, you teach their Sub- jects, c That there is a Cafe (/) when it is lawful
* for a private Man to kill a King, viz. when
* there's a Tyrant in any City, whom the Citizens < otherwife cannot expel.'
I confefs that here you fpeak of a Prince who had conquer'd or ufurp'd a Kingdom, I mean that in this refpect you talk like Pagans. But as you are Chriftians, you have been pleas'd to diftinguifh your felves, and for this purpofe you have granted the fame Liberty to Subjects to attempt the Life of a Lawful and Natural King, who misbehaves, and abufes his Authority. ' I don't believe, fays ■ your Father Mariana, that whoever ATTEMPTS « TO KILL SUCH A ONE (g\ when the Pub- 4 lick wifh him dead, commits the leaft Injuftice,*
(e) Romans xfii. I, 2.
(/) Eft autem unus cafus in quo licet privato cuîlibet occî- dere eum : puta tyrannus eft in civitate aliquâ quern aliter non pofîiint cives expellere. Tolet, in fummâ, L. v. c. 6» n. 17. p. 738.
(g) Qui votis publicis favens eum perimere tenta verit,
haudquaquam inique earn fecifle exiftimabo. Mariana, in his well-known Book De Rege, & Regis inftitutione, which was condemned by an Arret of the Parliament o/Paris, June 8, 16 10. to be burnt by the common Hangman, becaufe of Tome execrable Blafphemies in. it againft Henry III. King of France ; thofe are the very Words of the Arret,
And
2o8 d ^Parallel of the Tïottrîne
And in order to fortify Princes againfl a Doctrine fo capable of alarming them, you fay, That Per- fons ought not to proceed to that Extremity; c That Princes are in no manner of danger, evert
* tho they are call'd Tyrants by the unanimous 6 Voice of the Publick, if the People will take the c Advice of grave and eminent Doctors, whom
* Mariana mentions ; and thefe Doctors, fay you, ' are the Jefuits (h).* So that, my Fathers, you are at once the Confidents of Princes, and the Mas- ters of their Lives. You govern their Confciences as to you feemeth good -, and if you pleafe to difc pofe of their Lives on pretence that they don't be- have well, you deliver them over into the Clutches of the Publick.
What moil furprizes me, my Fathers, upon this Head, is not the open and exprefs Contempt which you put upon the Word of God, and Canons of the Church,which condemn your bloody Maxims ; ye are fuch new Doctors and fuch new Apoflles, that all your Doctrine mull confequently fmell of Novelty.
But what aflonifhes me, is to fee that after your Father Guignard was hang'd in the Place de Grève, for having, as he himfelf declared with a burning Taper in his Hand, 6 wickedly, and unhappily,
* and againfl the Truth, aiTerted that the late King
* (Henry IIL) was juflly kill'd by Jacques Clement ; c and that if the prefent King (Henry IV.) did not
* dye in War, there was an abfolute Neceflity of
* putting him to Death :' That after your Fathers OLDECORN and GARNET fuffer'd the fame Punilhment in England, the one for approving the
(h) Principibus nihil periculi imminet quando totius populî fenfu pro tyrannis habentur, fi populus fequatur Do&orum & gravium virorum, quod Mariana exigit confilium, 1IQTIE SINT JESUITS. T/'; Leflms who freaks thus.
Gun-
of the Pagans, tSc. 209
Gunpowder Plot ; the other for having been privy to it and not difcovering it ; and both for holding Opinions dangerous to the Lives and Authority of Sovereigns : I fay, I am aflonifh'd more than I can exprefs, that after Punifhments fo ignominious, but at the fame time fo juft, inftead of abandon- ing a Doctrine that carries you to the Gallows, you mould on the contrary canonize it, together with thofe three monftrous Priefts, Guignard, Oldecom, and Garnet, 'Tis your Father Joavency, fo much célébrât d for his fine Latin, and efpecially for that of the Bull Unigenitus, artd the Briefs of Clement XI. who in a Hiflory he has given of your Society, has been fo unadvifed as to hang out thefe three Gal- lows-Birds for three illuftrious Martyrs, whofe Inno- cence has been manifefted from Heaven by Mira- cles (i).
But, iny Fathers, you have more than one String to your Bow. In order to make Kings tremble and fubmit to you, you not only (hew them the Sword, but moreover you frighten them with the Power of the Pope, to which you make them truckle, in cafe they happen to fall into Schifm or Herefy. c If, fays Vafquez (£)> 4 all the Princes of the Royal Family are Here-
{i) See Pages S , 28, i$, 184, 1S6, i8S, 190 and 191, of the Book intitled, A Collection of Papers concerning the Hiftory of the Society of Jefus, compos'd by Father Jofeph Jouvency, a Jefuit.
(/?) Quod fi omnes de ftirpe Regiâ haeretici fint, tunc devol- vitur ad Regnum nova Regis Electio. Nam juftè à Pontifîce omnes illi fucceflbres regno privari poffunt ; quia bonum fldei confervandae, quod majoris momenti eft, ita poftulat. Quod fi ctiam regnum infeftum effet, Pontifex ut fupremus judex in causa Fidei, affignare poffet Catholicum Regem pro bono to- tius Regni, & ipfum vi armorum fi opus effet introducere. Nam bonum fldei & religionis hoc expofcit, ut fupremum Ec- clefise caput tali regno de Rege provideat : & jura regni fi opus fuerit tranfgrediatur. Vafquez, in his Difputes upon the ift and zd of the Summary of St, Thomas, Tom. ii. Difp. 169. c. 4. p. 123. n, 42 and 43.
P ■ ticks,
aïo A 'Parallel of the *Dotlrine
ticks, then the Nation has a right to chufe a c new King ; for all his SuccefTors may juftly be
* deprived of the Kingdom by the POPE ; and
* that for the fake of preferving the Faith, c which is of greater importance. And if the
* Kingdom, fa)s he, be infected likewife, the « POPE, as SUPREME JUDGE in the Caufe
* of Faith, may appoint and nominate a Catholick
* King for the Good of the whole Kingdom ; and 1 if neceffary, put him in pofTeiïion hy FORCE ' OF ARMS : For the Interefts of Faith and Re- « ligion require, that the SUPREME HEAD of c the Church GIVE A KING to a Nation which 4 is in fuch a State ; and if neceffary, that he even c pafs by the Rights of the Kingdom.'
So that if a King and his whole Family become Janfenifts(l), that is to fay, if they REJECT THE CONSTITUTION, they and their whole Race, ipfo faclo, become Leprous, and only fit to be turn'd out of the Field ; and, if I may ufe the Terms of Suarez, fuch a one becomes a Wolf, that ought to be drove out of the Sheepfold by the Sovereign Shepherd, i.e. by the Pope. His Subjects, Jay Gretfer (m), and Santarel (#), two o- ther Jefuits, are difpem'd [rem their Oath of Fide- lity ; and in cafe they perfevere in their Loyalty to him, an Excommunication, tho unjuft, fulminated by the Pope, ought to deter them, according to Clement XI. and the whole Society, from difcharg- ing that Duty {q)? which the Lords the Biihops of
(/) Suarez, in his Defence of the Catholick Faith againfl the Errors of the Seel of England, L. iii. c. 23. n. 10.
(m) Gretfer, in his Book intitled, L'Hérétique chauve-fouris, i. e. The Heretick Bat, or Flitter-Moufe.
(n) Santarel, in his Treatife of Herefy and Schifm, crc. and of the Power of the Pope, c, 30 and 3 u of the Treatife of Herefy,
(0) Profofition 91*
the
of the Pagans, &c. 2 ii
the AfTembly of 17 14, thought neverthelefs to be a real Obligation.
To all thefe Blafphemies of the Jefuits and the Conftitution, let us oppdfe the Doclrine of Father Quefnel, in his Book of Moral Reflections, tho Cle- ment XI. with the whole Society, calls the Book an Ulcer, and the Doctrine which it contains corrupt Matter.
c No Reafon,' (Jaw that loyal Subjetl of his Prince upon tbofe Words of Jems Chrift, (p) RENDER THEREFORE UNTO ŒSAR THE THINGS WHICH ARE CM S AR'S) « No c Reafon, fays that pious Pried, no Conjuncture, no
* human Power, can difpenfe with Subjects Loyal- 1 ty to their Princes, becaufe 'tis the Ordinance of « Jefus ChrirV
' Jefus,' (as he fays in another Place , mon thofe Words of St. John(*;, MY KINGDOM IS NOTOFTHISWORLD) < Jefus teacheth
* us to obferve a Modefty and Refpect towards
* Magiflrates, and the Powers of the Earth, even
* tho they mould not do their Duty. The King- 1 do m of Jefus Chrift is not of this World ; nor
* does he any where intrench upon the Govern-
* ment of the Kings of the Earth.*
And upon thofe Words of St. Paul (r), LET È- VERY SOUL BE SUBJECT TOTHE HIGHER POWERS, this is the Lecture Which he reads to the Jefuits and Popes, but a Lecture which neither the one nor the other cou'd hear with Patience : ' A Doctrine Apoftolick and
* Divine of the lawful Power of Kings and other
* Sovereign Princes, over rebellious Clergymen,
* who on Pretence of Religion violate Religion it c felf, by making off an Authority which comes
* from God.' This is what he adds,
(p) Luke xx. z 5. (g) John xviil %6.
(r) Rem. xiii. |, p 2 < Jfe
«12 A "Parallel of the ÏÏoBrinë
' The principal Duty of Subjects is to own the c Sovereignty of Princes, and their Authority in c their Officers and Magiftrates, and the Obedience « which is due to them. They are both of Divine c Right ; and this extends, according to St. Paul, « to all Mankind without Exception ; that is to « fay, according to St. Chryfofto?n, it extends to
< Apofdes, Evangelifls, Prophets, Bifhops, (of ( Rome as well as others) to Priefts, Monks, Fry- » ers • (and by consequence to the BEGGING FILT- ERS OF THE SOCIETY OF JESUITS) ■ who c ought to be fubject, not for Wrath, but for
< Confcience-fake.'~ — ' The Apoflle, as Father c Quefnel again obferves, adds the Quality of Higher c to that of Powers, becaufe Kings have none above c them in Temporals, but God alone. Omnibus 4 major j folo Deo minor (s): God is the firft Majefty, 6 a King the fécond. His Crown is independent of 4 every created Power.'
What Language is here, compar'd with that of the Jefuits and the Bull, who pretend, That the Fear of unjuji Excommunication ought to hinder m from doing our Duty ? Let me ask you, ye Princes of this World, what would become of you if all your Subjects were Jefuits and Conftitutioners ? • Ask your Parliaments, and you will find by their Anfwer, that of all your Subjects you never had any, tho the Conititution fays the contrary, more tractable, more fubmiffive, more refpectful, and more heartily attach'd to your facred Perfons, than they whom the Jefuits, your Murderers and Confi- dents, reprefent to you in fuch hateful Colours un- der the Name of Janfenifts.
O flrange unaccountable Society, which is nei- ther Chrifdan nor Pagan ; for what Fate are you therefore allotted ? You triumph at prefent, be-
(s) Tertullian.
caufe
of the P A G A N S, Off. 213
eaufe you have had the Secret of getting all your Impieties and Villanies canoniz'd b}' a Conftitu- tion from the Pope, who was a perfect Bigot to your Society. But don't you fee that this fame Conftitution is nothing elfe but a Manifeftation of your Apoftacy •? What, condemn'd as you are, both by Reafon and Religion, do you hope to be juftify'd by a Decree, which that fame Reafon and Religion condemn ? And tho, which is altogether impofîible, this horrid Decree might juftify you, yet guilty as you are, cou'd you appear innocent in your own Eyes, and woud not your own Con- fciences be your Executioners ; becaufe the flrft Punifhment which a K wicked Man feels, is that c even tho his ConfefTor fends him away innocent, c yet in his own Confcience he cannot perfuade him- ? felf but he is guilty (t) ?
HEAR now the Summary ; not of all your Abominations, for what Man cou'd draw up a complete Lift of them ? but of fuch as I have talc en notice of in this Tract.
To be ignorant of God and his Law, is, in your Opinion, a Benefit and Favour of Heaven -, be- caufe with fuch twofold Ignorance, the Actions which appear the blackeft to the Eye of Reafon it felf become perfectly innocent.
To have extinguiuYd all natural Light, all Re- morfe of Confcience, and every religious Senti- ment, is, according to you, a Privilege which ex- empts from all future Sin.
To have no Thought in the Commiflion of Adulteries and Murders, or to reflect but flipcr- ficially upon the Evil and Enormity of thofe Crimes, is the means, fay you, to make mortal Sins . be- come at moil bat venial.
(t) Prima eft haec_ukio quod fe
Judice nemo nocens abfolvitur— . juven, Sat: xiii,
P 5 To
% 1 4 A Parallel of the Tiofîrhe
To fear God without loving him, is, in your Opinion, fufHcient to juftify a Perfon in the Sacra- ment of Penance ; becaufe, according to your No- cons, where there is but Fear, there can be no Will to Sin,
Not to hate God, is, as you think, all that is en- join'd upon us in the firft Commandment ; and the Obligation of loving a God who died for us, ap- pears to you to be • an infupportable Burden, fit to be laid only upon the Shoulders of a Servant and a Slave, that is to fay a Pagan and a Jew.
To pray to God as to an Idol, is, in your Opi- nion, a fatisiaclory compliance with the Precept of Prayer : So to be prefent at our moft holy My- fleries, widi immodeft Eyes and Defires, pro-. vided that the outward Man be decent and com* pos*d, is complying with the Precept of hearing the Holy Mafs ; and in like manner you think it pofTible to perform the Pafchal J3uty by a facrile- gious Communion,
To bind Sinners by your precipitant Abfolu- tions, even fafter than they were by the Chains of their Sins ; and to give the Body and Blood of your Lord to abominable Wretches, reaking with their Crimes, is what you call a good Action, and what you require to be perform'd by all Conferibrs.
To defire the Death of a Father, or other Re- lations, not becaufe k is an Evil to Them, but be- caufe 'tis an Advantage to Us -, or in other words, to defire the Death of all of them that he may inherit their Eltates, is a Willi which you fay is lawful.
To burn, kill, mafiacre, or poifon Fathers, Mothers, Princes, Kings, and all that attempt our Lives and Honour, is what you think jufli- fiable, and what you loudly teach.
To pronounce Words which are really blaf- phemous, is, according to you, the Embellilhinent
and
of the Pagan s, fee. 1 1 j
and Ornament of Speech, or the ufing of certain Phrafes invented purely from a defire not to fwear.
You have alfo taught the noble Secret of ma- king a Promife without keeping it, of affirming by an Oath that a thing is iàlfe which one knows to be true ; and you have not fcrupled to affert that we may defire other Perfons to forfwear them- felves for our fakes, when fuch Perjury may turn to our Advantage.
What have you not faid in favour of Lewdnefs, Senfuality, Luxury, Vanity, Intemperance, in a word, all Concupifcence, and all carnal Pleafures ? What Crime is there in fhort, to which you have not given a Sanction ? What Truth is there which you have not attacked ? And all thefe your Er- rors, all thefe your Miftakes, you have crown' d with your murdering Doctrine, which puts a Dag- ger in the Hands of Subjects to flab their Sove- reigns.
After fuch a Rehearfal, who can be fo far blinded as not to fee the Jefuits in that Picture which the ApofUes St. Paul and St. Jude give us of thofe Men who fhou'd rife up in the lafl time, novijjimo tempore (u)9 that fad and fatal Time which will be the forrowful Epocha of the Myftsry of Iniquity wrought among us. ' Thofe Men, fays c St. Jude, will be Mockers, illufores -, who will
* walk after their own ungodly Lulls, fecundum
* dejideria fua ambulantes in impietatibus \ who fe- c parate themfelves ^making a feparate Body 6 which is neither Chriflian nor PaganJ qui fe- 6 gregant femet-ipfos ; fenfual, having not the Spirit,
* animales fpirïtum non hob entes \ becaufe they don't 6 reli(h things that are of the Spirit, as they do
* who walk after the Spirit, and only mind the
P 4 < things
2i$ A Tar aile I of the T)o£irine
* things of the Flefh, as they that are after the
* Flefh (w).\ — - But this Picture is only an imper? feci: Sketch, here we have one that is more lively and compleat.
c Thefe Men, fays St. Paul, mail be Lovers of c their own felves, covetous, boafters, proud j
* Erunt homines feipfes amantes, cupidi9 elati, fu- ■ perbi (x). Thefe are fuch true Drawings as re- prefent them to the Life ; and it muft be own'd, that the Jefuits are plainer to be feen in this Draught than in that falfe one whicl} they drew of themfelves in their Pitlure of the firft Century ^ where they don't blufh to flile themfelves the humble Society of Jefus. Minimes Jefu Societati.
But this is not all : St. Paul has plainly defign'd them by a great many other mafterly Strokes -, and we fhali find prefently, that were we now to draw their Picture, we cou'd not perform it better than that Apoftle has, tho he painted them near 1500 Years before they ftarted into Being. They fhall be Blafphemers (vj, aggravating the fmallefl Faults of thofe they hate ; dtfobedient to Parents (z), that |s to fay, v without Refpect or Submiflion to the Decifions of the Church, and thofe who are the Fathers of it, and teaching others to look upon the Works of the Fathers as erroneous, fpurious and corrupt ; unthankful (a)9 towards God whom they will not love, and alfo towards our Kings their Benefactors, whom they will put to Death themfelves, and teach others to kill ; Unholy (b\ Read only their Creed, I mean the Bull which H the Mailer-piece and Epitome of all their Impie- ties.
Befides this, they fhall be without natural Af fefticH (Vj, allowing rVl<:n to cut one another's
(<u>) Rom. viii. 5. (x) 2 Tim. iii. 2> (y) Blafphemi.
(z) Parentibus non obedientes. (a) Ingrati. (£) Sce-
Idti. (c) Sine afFe&ione»
Throats -,
of the Pagans, têc. tij
Throats ; Truce-breakers (d). This puts one in mind of all their Equivocations, and mental Referva- tions, by which they teach Chriftians to trick one another, to deceive the Magiftrates, and to violate the iacrednefs of an Oath. They mail be falfs Accufers (e) ; what Terms have they fpar'd to de- fame the Reputation of thofe who have attack'd their Enormities? Incontinent (/)-, they allow Eating and Drinking, even to Surfeit and Vomit- ing.
Finally, they mall be fierce (g), even fo far as to draw the Noofe tbemfelves to flrangle the Janfenifts. De- ffifers of thofe that are good (h) ; were Men ever fo pious, if they fail into their Clutches, they will caft them into a Dungeon to rot, as they did the Cardinal de Toumon at Macao. Tractors (z), they will look you fair in the Face, but will flab you in the Back. Heady and High-minded (k\ I may be excus'd from any Comment here. For was ever any Mortal more haughty and infolent than a Je- fuit ? Lovers of Pleafuresy more than Lovers of God (I). To délire to cohabit with a Woman if me has been marry'd, is allowable -, and the vo- luntary Pleafure which a Man takes in fuch a Thought, is not a Pleafure unlawful. But to re- quire Contrition, that is to fay, the Love of God, in order to receive the Sacrament of Penance du- ly, and with Advantage, is an impertinent Precept. Thus the Jefuits, who are Lovers of Pleafures more than Lovers of God, are come to reflore the Di£ cipline of Pleafure, and to oppofe the Precept of loving God. What Men are thefe !
(d) Sine pace. (e) Criminatores. (f ) Incontinentes. {g) Immites. (h) Sine benignitate. (i) Proditores.
(k.) Protervi, tumid i. (/) Voluptaumi amatores quam
î>ei. ver, 4, 5*
Yet
5 1 8 A Parallel of the DoEtrine
Yet thefe Men, fays St. Paul, will have a Form of Godlinefs {m\ a fair outfide, decent and grave, while within they are full of Uncleannefs and A- bominations : They are content alfo that others appear outwardly modeft, without enjoining it as a Duty on them, to purify the Heart, and there- fore continues the Apoftle^ they will deny the Power thereof (n).
From fuch turn away (o), adds St. Paul, But how is it poflible to turn away from Men who are every where, and who to gain the more Credit, have render' d themfelves formidable even to Kings, and this by cutting off their Lives? How can we fly from fuch Men who are the Arbitrators of For- tune, and Difpenfers of Favours, and who as a certain Spirit faid to Jefus Chrilt, declare to all thofe that they are defirous fhou'd fubmit to them, and become their Slaves, we will give you fuch a Be- nefice, we will procure you fuch a Poll, we will raife you to fuch a Dignity, if you will but fall down and worfhip the Society ? Hœc cmnia tibi dabo9 Ji cadens adoraveris me (f), This is the Picture of the Society of Jefus, a Picture which we fee has not Matte r'd them, but is done from the Life by the Pencil of St, Paul -9 and which, tho but in mini- ature, will always be prefer'd to that which the Jefuits have drawn of themfelves in a great Volume in FOLIO : I mean in the Picture of the fir ft Cen- tury of their humble Society.
Now who wou'd have thought that a Society of Men, of fuch corrupt Minds , and fo reprobate concerning the Faith (q)9 (this ltill is St. Paul's Cha- racter) fhou'd become Rulers of the Church, ancj
fm) Habentes fpeciem quidem pietatis.
(») Virtutem autem ejus abnegantes
(oj Et hos devita. (p) Mat. iv. 9.
(3) Homines corrupt» mente, reprobi circa fldem.
Rulers
of the Pagans, âfr. 219
Rulers thereof, to fuch a degree as to make a Law for others, and to prefcribe Formulas to them, the bare Subfcription of which opens the Gate of the Sanctuary, while the refufmg of fuch Subfcrip- tion, not only (huts up the entrance of it without Mercy, but alfo turns thofe out of it, who were its Ornament and Glory ?
Who wou'd have thought, that Men who give publick LefTons to teach Perfons to be forfworn, and to falfify their Oaths, cou'd have the Forehead to require others to bear their Teftimony to a Fact, the Belief of which makes no Man either a bet- ter Chriftian or a better Subject, with fuch Impre- cations as were enough to make the Heart of eve- ry Believer tremble ?
In a word, who would have thought, that Men openly wicked, after having, like Jannes and Jam- bres (r), feduc'd all the great Men of the World by their Enchantments, mould lead away Popes and Bifhops too, by procuring Bulls from the one, and getting the others to receive them ; and that they mould feduce the latter to pay fuch a Regard to Bulls which overturn the Faith, as to pronounce them admirable and facred ? The excellent Confti- tution, fay the Forty ; the HOLY CONSTITU- TION, fay the Prelates deputed from the laft Af- fembly, in their Letter to the King -, 'tis a Law which is not to be controverted (s), fay the Bifhops of Sicily by the Mouth of the Archbifhop of Pa- lermo^ hecaufe the Ruler of the univerfal Church ("Cle- ment XI J cannot order any thing which is not facred: 9Tis a definitive Decree, fays the Archbifhop of
(r) Ibid. ii. 8.
(4) Set the Tefiimonies of the foreign Bifhops, inferted in the Colleclion which M. de Biffy has pultijh'd, under the Counter- fat Title of the Teftimony of the Univerfal Church, p. 59.
Seville,
(fcH A Parallel of the 'DoÏÏrine
Seville, the contefting of one Tittle whereof is enough to bring down a fpeedy Anathema (t). In a word, if you will believe the Bifhop of Cracow, 'tis an Oracle of the Holy Ghoft (u). The Bifhops of Spain, fays the Archbifhop of Saragojfa, have re- ceiv'd it as written with the Finger of the living God (w). And the Prelates of France, who have re- fused to receive it, fays the Bifhop of Laufanne in Switzerland, are perjured Pe-rfons, who trample under their feet the Sacrednefs of the Oath (x), whereby they engaged themfelves at their Confecration to obey the Pope.
What Impieties and Blafphemies have not the Je- fuifs been guilty of ! But, at length fays St. Paul, they fhall proceed no further, for their Folly Jhall be manifeft t: all Men (y). And God grant that this Tra6t may contribute .to the producing of this good Effect ; for I declare to the Jefuits, that was the View I had in compofing it.
Let us conclude with this Verfe out of Virgil- —
O Gens infelixl cul te exitio for tuna refervatiz).
c Oh unhappy People ! ("deplorable Society j c what Deftruction has Fate in flore for you, be- 6 caufe it hath not yet punifh'd you.*
But oh my God ! far from oppofing that Ven- geance which thy Juftice has a right to take, and which it will infallibly take upon that unhappy People, according to the Declaration thou madeft by one of thy Prophets, c I have long time hold- 6 en my Peace ; I have been ftill and refrain' d
(t) Ibid. p. £f. («) p. 185. (w) P. 173,
(*) P. III.
(>) Sed ultra non proficient ; infipientia enim coram ma- nifefta erit omnibus, 2 Tim* iii. 9. M r/Vg. iEncid. L. vi.
c mv
of the Pagans, &c. 221
* my felf : Now will I cry like a travelling Wo-
* man, I will deftroy and fwallow up at once (a)* Suffer me to pray to thee for that charitable Spirit, which thou gavefl in fuch abundance to the greac Paul thy Servant and thy Apoflle. Give me, O God, his Companion and his Love for his Brethren ; and then I will fay with him, Revenge thy felf, O Lord, but let it be on me ; that, after the Example of thy dear Son, I may be accurfed for the Society. Save them, notwithflanding they are obflinately bent on their own Deflrucfion. Convert them, notwithflanding they proudly refift thy Power, and think their Arm ftronger than thine. Let the Scales of thick Darknefs drop off from their Eyes ; fhed thofe Beams of Light upon them, which done round about Saul thy Perfecutor. Finally, remove ' their Deafnefs and let them hear.
And as for you, ye illuflrious Men, ye intrepid" Defenders of the Grace of Jefus Chrift our King, who fland by the Prophets, Apoflles, and holy Bifhops of old, that have been perfecuted from Age to Age -, and all thofe divine Men who have gone before you, and whom our Age has feen, tho now taken away from us as well as you, becaufe we were not worthy of them -, you who have paid fo noble a Teflimony before the Magi- flrates to 101 Truths profcrib'd and condemn'd ; who have not known the Art of confounding Truth with Falfhood, and Darknefs with Light, and who are now fcatter'd to and fro thro' the Hatred and Envy of the Jefuits * Pray ye for them likewife.
I know that they are the Authors of all the Evil you fuffer-, but you know alfo that
(4) Tacui, Temper fîlui, patiens fui, ficut parturiens loquar : Difllpabo, & abforbebo fimul, ljai. xlii. 14.
2 'they
522 ATarallelofthe^Dô&rine, &a
they are your Brethren as well as mine. I own that they have rifen up againft you, and that they have deprived you of your Liberty, but they have not taken away your Ldps, nor perverted youf Hearts. Be reveng'd therefore for their Treachery and Malice, by loving them, and begging Grace and Mercy for them ; and confider, that even tho they mould perfevere in their Malice againft you, the divine Providence will turn the untoward Blaft into a favourable Gale, which will carry you the fefer and the fooner into Port.
; *«•
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THE
CONTENTS.
CHAP. I.
Of the Knowledge of God, andofjuftice.
Page i CHAP. II.
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Of the invincible Ignorance of the Law of Nature. 1 1 |
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CHAP. III. |
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Of the Sins of Ignorance. |
20' |
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CHAP. IV. Of fervile Fear. |
29 |
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CHAP. V. |
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Of the Love of God. |
40 |
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CHAP. VI. |
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Of the Worjbip due to God. |
H |
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CHAP. VII. |
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Of precipitant Abfolutions. |
*7 C H AP. |
The CONTENTS.
CHAP VIII.
Of the Love of our Neighbour. Page 89
CHAP. IX.
Of Oaths. 1 1 z
CHAP. X.
Of Concupifcence and the fenfual Tleafures.
SECT. 1. Of Concupifcence. 132
SECT. 2. Of public k Shews, loofe Con- version , obfcene Traffs , wanton Looks, and Nudities. 137
SECT. 3. Secret of the Conflitution unveiïd% and the Myjiery of Iniquity di/coveryd. 144
SECT. 4. Of Criminal Liberties , and the TJfe of Marriage. 1 60
SECT. 5. Of premeditated Vice^ and the Tleafitre in forming Ideas of it.
1 57
SECT. 6. Of Timps and Procurers.
l71 S E C T. 7. Of the Luxury and Vanity of
Women. 187
SECT. 8. Of Gluttony and ^Drunken-
nefs. I9S
CHAP, XI.
Of the Murder of Kings. 205
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A Catalogue |
of the feveral Au- |
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thors, |
&c. |
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PAGANS, |
3i<£©Œ3l€©, Sec. |
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Y)ERSIUS. JL Cicero. |
T?ILLIUC IUS9 JF the Pope's Peni- |
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Plato. |
tentiary. |
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Cratippus. |
Pilton. |
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Seneca. |
Cardinal Sfondrate. |
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Juvenal. |
Molina. |
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Terence. |
Languet, Bifhop of Soif |
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Horace. |
fons. |
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Mfchines. |
Prefton. |
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Catullus. |
Sabran. |
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Lucilius. |
Blonde!. |
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JEneas. |
Eherfon. |
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Virgil. |
Roderic of Arriaga. |
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Fabricius. |
Merat. |
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Lycurgus. |
Azor. |
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Plutarch. |
Bonucio. |
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Epicletus. |
Darell. |
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Solon. |
Skinner. |
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Tiberius. |
Platella. |
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M. Attilius Regulus. |
De Rhodes. |
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Archytas. |
Pirot. |
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Alexander. |
Grannon, Provincial of |
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Pompey. |
Lyons. |
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Scipio. |
Bauni. |
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Mafiniffa. |
Pinthereau. |
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Democles. |
Slaughter. |
|
|
Helvia, Seneca's Mother. |
Raye. |
|
|
Titus Livius. |
De |
De Maes. De Meyer, Vander Wœftine. Matin. Salton. Sirmond. Valentia. Faber.
De Bridle, Divinity Pro- fefîbr of the Jefuits College at Rheims. Leffeau. Francis Suarez. Efcobar.
Hertando de Mendofa. Conincb. Henriques. Gobât. Lorthioir. Bufembaum. De la Croix. Pafqualigo. Scheilder. Humbert de Precipian^
afterwards Archbifhop
of Mechlin. Francolin. Le Moine. "Tambourin. Archdekhi. Lugo. Dicaftillo. De Reulx. Mafcarenbas,
3!£§aï3l€@, &c.
Sylvefter.
Navarrus.
Giles.
Layman.
Facundez.
De Moya.
Johannes Sancius , or
Sanchez. Gafpar Hortado. Lamy. Le Roulx, Divinity. Pro-
fefïbr at Rheims. Bonacina. Petau. Garajfe. Stoz. Cafmedi. De Soufasy a Provincial
of Portugal. Emmius. Vaillant.
Cardinal de Bijfy. Cornelius à Lapide. Emanuel Sa, Mariana. Jouvency. Vafquez. Gretfer. Santarel.
Archbifhop of Palermo. Archbifhop of Saragojfa. Bifhop of Cracow. Bifhop of Laufanne. Pope CLEMENT XL
CO
APPENDIX.
The Conflitution Unigenitus.
CLEMENT BISHOP,
Servant of the Servants of God^
7 all the Faithful of CHRIST, Greetings and the Apoftolical Beneditticn.
ââ||pa H E only begotten Son of God, ■ WL made Man for our Salvation and that of the whole World, while he inftru&ed his Difciples in the Do&rine of Truth, and taught his univerfal Church in the Apoftles, difpo- fmg of prefent Things and forefeeing future, has admonifh'd us with a fingular and moil falutary Precept, to beware of falle Prophets, who come to us in Sheeps Cloathingj by
A whpij
i The Confiitittion
which Name are chiefly pointed at, thofe ly~ snrv Teachers and Mockers, well verfèd in the Art of Deceiving, who privily infinuating erroneous Opinions, under the Ipecious Pre- tence of Piety, fet abroach pernicious Princi- ples, under Colour of Holinels : And to the End that they may more eafily furprize the Unwary, laying afide, in a manner, the Wolfs Skin, and wrapping themfelves up with the ExprefTions of the Divine Law, as it were with certain Sheep Skins, ilily abufè the Words of Holy Scripture, and even of the New Teftament it felf, which they di- verfly wreft to their own Deftruclion, and that of others ; imitating, without doubt, the Ex- ample of the old Father of Lyes, by whom they were begotten, and being taught by their Mafter, That there is not a more ready Way at all to beguile, than where the Deceitfulnefs of an impious Error is to be brought in9 there to pretend the Authority of the Divine Words.
We being inftructed by theie really Divine Admonitions, as fbon as ever (not without the moft deep Bitternefs of our Spirit) we heard, That a certain Book, in the French Tongue, was ibme time fince printed, and di- vided into lèverai Tomes, under the Title of Sthe New I'eftament in French, with Moral Reflections upon every Verfe, &c. At Paris, 1693. And otherwise. An Abridgment of the Morals of the Gofpel, Acts of the Apoftlesy Epiftle of St. Paul, Catholick Epiflles, and Re- velation : Or, Chriftian Confiderations upon the ffext of thofe Sacred Books, &c. At Paris, 1694. Although this Book was at another Time con- demned by us 5 arid we perceive that Falfities
of
U N I G E N I T U S. 3
of corrupt Doctrines were in many Places thereof actually mingled together with Catho- lick Truths ; neverthelefs, as if it wa*e free from all Error, it was kept by many, every where thruft into the Hands of" Chrift's faith- ful Servants, and by the Means of fome Per- ions, who are always for fetting Innovations on foot, too diligently difpers'd on all Sides $ it was alio tranflated into Latin, that the Con- tagion of the pernicious Inftruclion might, if it were pollible, pais through from Nation to Nation, and from the Kingdom to another People ; whereupon we were mightily griev'd that the Lord's Flock, committed to our Charge, mould by degrees be led afide into the Way of Perdition, by fuch crafty Delations and Fallacies : Wherefore being flirred up as well by the Motives of our Paftoral Care, as by the frequent Complaints of the zealous AfTertors of the Orthodox Faith ; but chiefly by the Letters and Entreaties of many vene- rable Brothers, efpecially Bifhops of France, We have determin'd to put a Stop, by fome ftronger Remedy, to the increafmg Difeafè, which may, one time or other, break out into worfe Effe&s.
And indeed, turning the View of our pro- vident Confederation upon the very Caufe of the fpreading Mifchief, we clearly diicern, That the utmoft Bane of fuch a Book chiefly fpreads it fèlf and grows ftronger , upon this Account, That the fame lies hid with- in, and, like corrupt Matter, does not break forth 'till the Ulcer be lanced ; fince the Book it felf, at firft fight, intices the Readers with a certain Shew of Godlinefij for the Words of it are as ibft as Oil, but are very A 2 Arr
4 Ihe Ca?iftitutiott
Arrows, and that too with a bent Bow, lb artfully prepar'd to hurt, that under Covert they fhoot at the Upright in Heart- There- fore we judg'd, that nothing could be done by us more teafbnably or profitably, than to explain, after a more clear and diftindl Man- ner, the fallacious Doctrine of the Book, (which we have hitherto only fhew'd in general) by particularly extracting many Proportions out of the faid Book ; and to let, as it were, before the Eyes of all Chrift's faithful People, the notorious Seeds of Tares taken out of the Middle of the Wheat, with which they were envelop'd : So that not one or another, but many grofs Errors, as well thole that were ibme while fince condemn'd,as others lately dis- cover 'd, being laid bare, and, as it were, expos'd to publick View, we certainly trufl, That, by the Bieffing of the LORD, all will be con- ftrain'd to yield to the Truth, which is now apparently difclos*d and made manifefl.
This Courte will mod: of all tend to the Ad- vantage of the Catholick Caufe, and be great- ly profitable for conrpofmg the Diteords rais'd, especially in the moil flourifhing Kingdom of Trance^ among Spirits that are of different Opinions, and now proceed to more grievous Ï) indentions ; in a Word, it will be very ad- vantageous, and almoft abfblutely neceffary, for fettling the Tranquillity of Conferences. And indeed, not only the aforefaid Bifhops, *>ut even chiefly our moil dear Son in Chrift, Lewis the moil Chriftian King of France (whole fingular Zeal in maintaining the Truth of the Catholick Faith , and extirpating Errors, we cannot fiifficiently commend) lias often made Protestation to, and importunate-
iy
UNIGENITUS. 5
îy fbllicited us, to that Purpofè, with repeated fincereJy pious Offices, worthy of the moft Chrifiian King, and with earneft Defires, That we would provide for the prefling Neceflity of Souls, by forthwith iiTuing out the Cenfure of the Apoftolical Judgment.
Whereupon, by the Favour of the LORD, and relying on his Divine Afliftance, we have fèt about the profitable Work, carefully and diligently, as the Importance of the Affair re- quired • and have order' d a confiderable Num- ber of Proportions, faithfully extracted out of the aforefaid Book, refpectively, according to the above mentioned Editions, and exprefs'd as well in the French as in the Latin Tongue, to be accurately difcufs'd, by many Profèiîbrs of Sacred Theology ; at firft, indeed, before two of our venerable Brothers, Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church : But afterward we commanded the Matter to be ftrictly can- vafs'd and examin'd before Us, (a Council of divers other Cardinals beinsr alfo call'd) by fe- veral repeated Congregations, after every par- ticular Proportion, over and befide, had been moft exactly compar'd with the very Text c>f the Book, with the greateft Diligence and Maturity of Deliberation. The Proportions are as follow, "viz.
PRO»
The Conftitutwn
"PROPOSITIONS.
i
What remains to a Soul (who is deprived of God and his Infinite Goodnefs) but Sin, and the direful Confèquences thereof, a beg- garly Pride, a poor and indigent Lazinefs, a total Imbecility to a Spiritual Labour, either by Prayer or good Works ?
II.
The Grace of Jefus Chrift, a Principle efficacious for all manner of Good, is necefTa- ry for all Good-works ; without it nothing is done., or can be done.
3
III
""Tis in vain, O Lord, that you command^ unlefs you give yourfelf what you command.
IV.
Yes, O Lord, all Things are poflible to him in whom you render all Things poflible in ope- rating the iame in him,
V. Whefl
UNIGENITUS. 7
v.
When God mollifies not the Heart by the inward Unction of his Grace ; then Exhorta- tions, and outward Graces, ferve only to make it more obdurate.
VÎ.
The Difference between the Jewijb and Chriftian Covenant is, That God requires in the one the relinquishing of Sin, and the ful- filling of the Law in the Sinner, tho leaving him in his Corruption; and in the other. That God bellows on the Sinner whatever he de- fires, in purifying him by Grace.
VII.
What Advantage is it for the Man in the old Covenant, whom God leaves to his own Weaknefs, making him iubjed: to his Law ? And what Happinetë is it not, to be a Mem- ber of that Covenant in which God bellows on us that which he requires of us ?
VIII.
We are no longer Members of the New Covenant, than that we are Partakers of the New Grace, which worketh in us that which ^ve are commanded by God.
IX.
The Grace of Jefus Chrifl is the Sovereign Grace, without which we can never confefs, and with which we never deny him.
A 4 X. Grace
8 The Cônfiitutktt
Grace is the Operation of the Hand of Al- mighty God, which cannot either be hinder'd or retarded by any thing.
XL
Grace is nothing elfe but the Will of Al- mighty God, governing and doing whatever he willeth or ordaineth.
XII,
When God will fave a Soul, the undoubted ExFecl:, always, and every where? follows the Will of God.
XIII.
W7hen God will lave a Soul, and when he touches it with the inward Hand of his Mercy, then no Human Will is able to refill him.
XIV.
Aitho' the obftinate Sinner be never fb far off from being faved, yet muft he fubmit him- felf ; he muft humble himfelf, and adore his bleffed Saviour, when Jefus Chrift manifefts himfelf to him by the enlivening Beams of his Grace,
XV. When
UNIGENITUS. 9
xv.
When God accompanies his Commandment, and his Eternal Word, with the Unction of his Spirit, and the inward Power of his Grace, it works in the Heart an Obedience, fuch as it requires.
XVI.
There are no Allurements that can refift thofe of Grace, becaufè nothing is able to re- fift an Almighty Being.
XVII.
Grace is the Voice of the Father, which inftructeth Men inwardly, and bringeth them to Jefus Chrift: Whoever approaches him not, after he hath firft heard the outward Call of the Son, is not the Father's Difciple.
XVIII.
The Seed of the Word, which the Hand of God waters, brings forth always its Fruits,
XIX.
The Grace of God is no other but his Al- mighty Will ; it is the Idea which God gives of it in all his Writings.
XX. True
i c The Constitution
XX.
True Grace is the Idea that God would have us be obedient to him ; he worketh and all is done, he fpeaketh as a Lord, and all Things are fubjed: to his Power.
XXI.
The Grace of Jefus Chrift is Strong, Pow« erful, Sovereign, and Invincible, becaufe it is the Operation of the Will of the Almighty, the Confequence and Imitation of the Working of God, who hath fent into the World, and raifed up his Son.
XXII.
The All-powerful Harmony of the Operation of God in the Heart of Man, with the free AiTent of his Will, is immediately ihewn unto us in the Incarnation, as being the Source and Model of all the other Operations of his Mercy and Grace, which are free^ and have ftkewife their Dépendance on God, even as this Original Operation.
XXIII.
God himfeif has given the Reprefentation of the Operation of the Almighty Power of his Grace, in the Figure or Type of that by which he hath formed all Creatures out of no- thing, and reftored Life to the Dead.
XXIV. The
UNIGENITUS. ii
XXIV.
The true Conception the Centurion had of the Almighty Power of God5 and Jefus Chrift, in healing of Bodies by the Motion of his Will alone, is the Image of the Idea which we ought to have of the Almighty Power of his Grace, cleanfing Souls from all fmful Con- cupifcence.
XXV.
God enlightens the Soul, and heals it as well as the Body, by his Will alone j he com- mandeth, and they obey him.
XXVI.
No Graces are given but through Faith alone.
XXVII.
Faith is the principal Grace, and the Foun« tain of the reft.
XXVIII.
Pardon of Sins is the firft Grace which God granteth to Sinners.
XXIX. No Grace is beftow'd out of the Church,
XXX, AU
12 The Conflit ut hn
xxx.
All whom God will have to be faved thro' Jefus Chrift, are undoubtedly faved»
XXXI.
The Defircs of Jefus Chrift are always effectual -y whenever he requires, he produces Peace in the Heart.
XXXII
Jefus Chrift yielded himfelf a Sacrifice, that the Firft-born, -viz. the Eleâ:, might be de- liver'd by his Blood for ever, from the Hand of the deflroying Angel.
XXXIII.
Alas ! to what degree mull: a Man have carry 'd Self-denial, and his renouncing all worldly Interefts, before he can have the Con- fidence truly to appropriate to himfelf, if I may fpeak ib, Jefus Chrift his Love, his Death, and Myfteries, as St. Paul does when he fays, He has loved me, and has given himfelf for me.
XXXIV.
The Grace oîAdam produceth only Human
Merit.
XXXV, The
U N I G E N I T U S. 13
XXXV.
The Grace of -Adam is a Sequel of the Crea- tion, which was due to Nature found and en- tire»
XXXVI.
The real Difference between the Grace of Adam^ or the State of lnnocency, and th» Chriftian Grace, is, that the firft was received perfonally by every one, and the other is not received but in the Perlbn of Jefus Chrift ri- fèn from the Dead, to whom we are united.
XXXVII.
The Grace of Adam which fanclrified him in his own Perfbn, was proportioned to him; the Chriftian Grace, which fan&ifieth us in Jefus Chrift, is Almighty, and worthy the Son of God.
XXXVIII.
The Sinner is not free but for the Evil, without the Grace of the Deliverer.
XXXIX.
The Will which Grace does not prevent, hath no Light but to miftake, no Heat but to precipitate, no Force but to wound itfelf , it is capable of all Wickednefs, but can do no Good.
XL.
14 The Conflitution
XL.
Without Grace we can do nothing, but what tends to our Condemnation.
XLI.
Ail the Knowledge Men have of God, even the Natural, and that which the Heathen Phi- Jofbphers had, proceeds from God only • and without Grace it produces nothing but Pre- fumption, Vanity and Oppofition to God him- felf, inftead of an Inclination either of wor- shipping, acknowledging, or loving him.
XLII.
The Grace of Jefus Chrift alone renders a Man fit for the Sacrifice of Faith , without him, there is nothing but Impurity and In* dignity.
XLIII.
The firft Effect of Baptifmal Grace, is, that we die unto Sin, lb that the Spirit, the Heart, and the Senfes, may have no more Life for Sin, than a dead Man has for the Things of the World.
XLIY.
There are but two forts of Love, from whence, all our Affections and Actions arifè ; the Love of God, which doth all for him, and
which t
U NIG EN IT US. 15
which God rewardcth 3 the Love, by which we love our felves and the World, and which, for not referring every thing to God as it ought, becomes thereby bad.
XLV.
The Love of God not ruling in our Hearts any more, carnal Concupifcence mull needs govern them, and every Action becomes cor- rupted thereby.
XLVI.
Concupifcence or Charity render the Ufe of the Senfes either good or bad,
XLVII.
The Obedience of the Law muft neceffarily arifè from fome Source, and that Source is Charity. When the Love of God is its inward Principle, and God's Glory its End, then that which appears outwardly is pure, otherwife is Hypocrify or feigned Righteoufnefs.
XLVIIL
What can we be without the Light of Faith, without Chrift, and without Charity, but Er- ror and Sin ?
XLDL
i6 Tie ConjUtution
XLIX.
i
As no Sin is without the Love of our felves, fo no good Works can be without the Love of God.
L.
In vain do Men call unto God, and call him Father, if they don't call upon him with the Spirit of Charity.
LI.
Faith juftifies when it operates, but ope* rates only by Charity.
LIL
All other Means of Salvation are compfe* hended in Faith, as in their Bud and Seed j but this Faith is not without Love and Confi- dence.
LIIL
Charity alone performs Chriftian A&ions after a Chriftian Manner, in reipecl: to God and Jefus Chrift,
L1V.
Charity alone fpeaks to God^ and he only hears it-
LV. God
UNI GEN ITU S. 17
LV.
God crowns Charity alone 5 he that goes by another Motive runs in vain.
LVI.
God recompences Charity alone, becaufe Charity honours God alone.
LVII.
Every thing fails a Sinner when Hope fails him, and there can be no Hope of God where there is no Love of him.
LV1IL !
God, as well as Religion, is not to be found where there is no Charity.
LIX.
The Prayers of the Wicked is a new Sin, and that which God grants them is a new Judgment againft them.
LX.
ïf the Fear of Punifhment alone caufes Re- pentance, the more violent it is, the more it leadeth Men to Defperation,
£ tXl
i8 The Conflit ution
LXI.
Tears flop only the Hand, but the Heart remaineth adherent to Sin as long as it is not dire&ed by the Love of Juftice.
LXIL
He who abftains from Evil only out of fear of Punifhment, commits it in his Heart, and is already guilty thereof before God.
LXIII.
He who is baptiz'd, is yet under the Law, even as a Jew^ if he doth not fulfil it $ or if he fulfil only through Fear.
LXIV.
They that are under the Curfe of the Law do no. good, becaufe 'tis Sin either in doing Evil, or in fliunning of it through Fear.
LXV.
Mofes and the Prophets, the Priefts and Doctors of the Law, are dead, without fend- ing any Children to God, fince they have made but Slaves through Fear.
LXVI.
U N î G E N I T U S. 19
LXVI.
He that approaches God fhould not come to him with his brutal Pallions, nor be led by a natural Inftincl:, or Fear, as Beafts, but by Faith and Love, as Children.
LXVII.
Slavifh Fear reprefenteth God as a fe- vere, imperious, unjuft, and unmerciful Mailer.
LXVIIL
The Goodnefs of God hath abridg'd the Way of Salvation, in comprehending all in Faith and Prayer.
LXÎX.
Faith, the Ufe, Encreafe, and Reward of Faith, are all a Gift of the mere Liberality of God.
LXX.
God never afflið the Innocent ; Afflicti- ons ferve always either to punifh the Sin, or to purify the Sinner.
A 1 LXXL
20 The Conflit ut ion
LXXL
Man, for his Prefer vation, can diipence with this Law, for his Advantage, which God hath made for its Ufe.
LXXIL
The Mark of the Chriftian Church is, that it ought to be Catholick, or Univerfal, com- prehending all the heavenly Angels, all the Elect, all the Righteous of the Earth, and thofe of all Ages.
LXXIII.
m
What is the Church but the AfTembly of the Children of God living in its Bolbm, adopted in Chrift, fubfifting in his Perfon, re- deemed by his Blood, living by his Spirit, act- ing by his Grace, and expecting the Glory of the Life to come ?
LXXIV.
The Church hath the Word Incarnate as its Chief, and ail the Saints as its Menw bers.
LXXV.
The Church is one Man, compos'd of many Members, whereof Chrift is the Chief, the Life, the Subftance, and the Perfon ; one Chrift, compofed of many Saints, whereof he is- the Sanctifier.
LXXVL
UNIGENITUS. 2£
LXXVÏ.
Nothing is more extenfive than the Church of God, becaufe it confifts of all the Elect and Righteous of all Ages.
LXXVII.
He that leadeth not a Life worthy of the Son of God, and a Member of Chrift, has God fpiritually no more for his Father, and Chrift for his Head.
LXXVIII.
That Man is feparated from the Eiecl:, whofè Image has been the Jezvijb People, and the Head is Chrift, in not living as well according to the Gofpel, as in believing the Gofpel.
LXXIX.
It is ufeful and neçefîary, at all Times, in ail Places, and for all Sorts of Perfons, to ftu- tiy and underftand the Spirit, Piety and My- fteries of the Holy Scriptures,.
LXXX.
The Reading of the Holy Scripture is for all Men»
£ 3 LXXXL
22 The Conflit ut wn
LXXXI.
The holy Obfcurity of the Word of God is not a fumcient Reafon for the Laity to ex- cufe themfelves from the Reading thereof
LXXXII.
Chriftians are to fanctify the Lord's Day with reading godly Books, more particularly the Holy Scriptures j 'tis dangerous to deprive^ them of it.
LXXXIIL
'Tis an Impofition to perfuade the World , That the Knowledge of religious Myfte- ries ought not to be communicated to Women by reading holy Books : It is not from the Simplicity of Women, but the haughty and proud Knowledge of Men, that the Scripture$ have been abus 'd, and that there are rifen io many Hcrdks.
LXXX1V.
To pull the New-Teftament cut of the Hands of Chriftians, or in keeping it dole and fealed up, by taking away from them the Means of undentanding it, is to fhut the Mouth of Çhrift againft them.
LXXXV.
UNIGENITUS. 23
LXXXV.
To forbid Chriftians the reading of the Holy Scripture, and efpecially the Gofpel, is to forbid the Ufe of the Light to the Chil- dren of Light, and to punifh them with a kind of Excommunication.
LXXXVI.
To forbid the ignorant People the Comfort of joining their Voice to that of all the Church, is a Cuftom oppofite to the ancient Practice of the Apoftles, and even to the Intention of God.
LXXXVII.
5Tis a Behaviour full of Wifdom, of Light, and of Charity, to give to Men Time and Opportunity of humbling themfèlves, and to be fenfible of the Nature of the Sin, to âsk a true Contrition and Humiliation from the Spirit, and, at leaft, to begin to fàtisfy the Juftice of God, before they are admitted to a Reconciliation of the Church.
LXXXVIIJ.
We know not of what Nature Sin is, and true Repentance, when we would be foon re- ftor'd to the Enjoyment of the Felicity which Sin has depriv'd us of, and that we are afham'd to bear the Confufion of that Se- paration.
A 4 LXXXIX,
24 The Confiitutton
LXXXIX.
The 14th Degree of the Converfion of a Sinner from Sin, is, that being already recon- ciled, he hath a Right to aflift at the Offices of the Church.
XC
The Church hath Power to excommunicate, which is to be executed by the chief Paftors, with the Confent, at leaft, of the whole Body.
XCI.
The Fear of an unjuft Excommunication ought not to deter us from doing our Duty ; we never go out of the Church, no, not even when we feem to be driven out of it by the Malice of Men, when we adhere to God, Jefus Chrift, and the Church through Charity.
XCII.
To fuffer Excommunication, and an un« juft Anathema, rather than to betray the Truth, is to imitate St. Paul, fzx from oppo- fing Authority in the leaft, or breaking the Unity.
XCIII
UNI G EN IT US. 25
XCIII.
Jefus healeth fbmetimes the Wounds whicrj are made without his Commandment, through the too great Precipitation of principal Paftors ; Jefus re-eftablifheth that which they retrench by an indifcreet Zeal.
XCIV.
Nothing gives a worfèr Idea of the Church to its Enemies, than to fee the Exercife of Au- thority over the Faith of Believers, and to fo- ment Divifions for Things that are neither prejudicial to Faith or Manners.
xcv.
Truths are now reduc'd under one Lan- guage, which is in a manner unknown to the greateft part of Chriftians, and the Man- ner of preaching them, is a kind of an un- known Idiom, fb different it is from the Sim- plicity of the Apoftles, and the common Un- derftanding of the Faithful ; and there is no Regard taken that this Defect is one of the Marks of the Decay of the Church, and of (he Wrath of God againft his Children.
XCVl
26 The Conflitution
xcvi
God fuffers, that all Powers be contrary to the Preachers of Truth, that its Con- queft may be attributed to the Divine Grace alone.
XCVIÏ.
It happens too often that the Members v/hich are the moft holy, and the moil ftriclly united to the Church, are regarded unworthy of being in the Church, or as if they were ex- cluded ; but the Righteous liveth by Faith, and not by Virtue of the Opinion of Men
XCVIII.
The Condition of Perfections, and Suf- ferings, that one undergoes, either as Here- tick, Malefactor, or Ungodly, is very often the laft Tryal, and the moft meritorious, be- caufè it maketh Man more refembling Jefus Chrift.
XCIX.
The Infatuation, Prevention, and Obftina-
cy, of not being willing to examine Things,
' ; or
UN I G EN I TU S. if
or to acknowledge an Error or Miftake, change and pervert, every Day, far too many Ferions into an Odour of Death to Death, which God hath plac'd in his Church for to be an Odour of Life to Life ; as for Example, Good Books, Inftrudfcions, and holy Per- formances.
C
?Tis a deplorable Time, when Men think of honouring God in perfecuting the Truth, and its Difciples : That Time is now come. To be reputed and ufed by the Minifters of Religion, as impious and unworthy of all Convention with God, as a rotten Member, capable to infect all Things in the Society of Saints, is, to pious and godly Men, a Death more terrible than that of the Body. In vain does any one natter himfelf with the Purity of his Intentions, and with Zeal of Religion, in perfecuting, by Fire and Sword, honeft and godly Men, if he is blinded by his own Paflions, or feduced by thole of others, be- cauie he will not examine into the Matter ; we often believe to iàcrifïce an impious Man to God, and we facrifice a Servant of God to the Devil
CI.
There is nothing more oppofite to the Spi- rit of God, and the Doctrine of Jefus Chrift, than to render Oaths common in the Church, beçaaife it is to multiply the Opportunities of
Penury.,
28 The Conflit ittlon
Perjury, and lay Snares for the Weak and Ignorant ; as alio occafions that the Name and Truth of God, ferve fometirnes for the promoting of ungodly Defigns.
Having, therefore, as well heard by Word of Mouth, as receiv'd in Writing, the Suf- frages of the aforefaid Cardinals and other Divines -y and having firft implor'd the Affift- ance of the Divine Light, by private and even pubiick Prayers appointed to that End ; we do respectively, by this our Ordinance, which fhall perpetually ftand in Force, declare, con- demn, and difallow, all and Angular the above- inferted Proportions, as falfe, captious, ill- lb unding, oifenfive to pious Ears, fcandalous, pernicious, rafh, injurious to the Church and its Practice ; not only outragious againft the Church, but even againft the fècuîar Powers, feditious, impious, blafphemous, fufpe&ed of Herefy, and favouring of Herefy it felf • as alfo encouraging Hereticks and Hercfies, and even Schiim, erroneous, often condemn'd5 and, laltly, alfo Heretical; containing divers Herefies manifeftly tending to Innovation, and principally thofe which are found in the famous Proportions of ' Janfenius^ nay, even as taken in that Senfe in which thefe were con,- demnd.
We command then, all Chrift's faithful People, of both Sexes, That they do not pre- sume to think, teach, or preach, touching the laid Proportions, otherwife than as is con- tain'd in this our fame Ordinance : So that . whofbever teaches, maintains, or publifhes %\\zm0 or any of them, jointly or feparately,
or
UNIGENITUS. 29
or even treats of them by way of Diiputation, publickly or privately, unleis perhaps to im- pugn or difprove them ; mail be, ipfo fpMo^ without any other Deliberation, liable to the Ecclefiaftical Cenfures, and to other Penalties appointed by Law, againft thofe that commit the like Offences.
And further, By the expreis difallowing of the aforefaid Proportions, we do not by any Means, intend to approve cf others contain'd in the faid Book, efpecially, {nice in the Courfe of the Examination, we have found therein, many other Proportions very like and near of the lame Stamp with thofe that were ccn- demn'd as above, and tainted with the fame Errors ; and indeed, not a few, as it were under a certain imaginary Colour of a Perfe- ction that is now on Foot, fomenting Difo- bedience and Obftinacy, and faifély crying them up under the Name of Chriftian Pati- ence y a particular Enumeration of which, for that Caufe, we have judg'd to be both too te^- dious, and not at all neceffary. To conclude, what is more intolerable, we have found the facred Text of the New Teftament itfelf dam- nably corrupted, and, in many Refpecls, con- formable to another French Verfion at Mons^ long ago difallowed • but very much difa- greeing and fwerving from the Vulgar Edi- tion, which is approv'd by theUfè of {o many Ages in the Church, and ought to be look'd upon as Authentick by all Orthodox Ferions -y and often, not without the greateft Perverie- nefs, wrefted into ftrange, foreign, and even pernicious Senfes.
We
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