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J"lngdlahou of a }'rince by the Roman (,lel'
Y in the 13th ('(,ntuIT
THE
GREAT
RED
DRAG-ON;
OR THE
l\Ii
STER- ICEY TO POPERY.
BY
ANTHONY GAVIN,
BORl\IERLY O
E OF THE ROl\IAN CA.THOLIC PRIESTS
OF SARAGOSS.-\., SPAIN.
.
"And bebold a GREAT RED DRAGOJ, having seven heads and
tcn horns," etc.-REV. xii. 3.
BOSTON:
PUBLISlfED BY S
r\.
IUEL JONES,
86 ,v ASIIr:NGTO
STREET.
1854.
Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1854, by
SAMUEL JONES,
In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of Massachusetts.
CONTENTS.
PART I. Page.
R01\IAN-CA THOLIC Auricular Confession, - - - 13
Confession of a Young Woman in Saragossa, - - - - - 21
Private Confession of a Priest at the point of death, - 35
Private Confessions, - - - - - - - - - - - - 43
PART II.
Pope's Bull, from Spanish, - - - - - - - - - - - 77
Form of Absolution under the Bull, - - - - - - - 82
Brief, or Sum of the EstatioDs and Indulgences of Rome, 83
Bull of Crusade, - - - - - - - - 85
PART III.
A Practical Account of their l\lassC's.
Privileged Altars, Transubstantiation, and Purgatory.
ARTICLE I.
Of their l\Iasses, - - - - - - - - - - - - 117
ARTICLE II.
Of the Privileged Altar,
- - - - - 134
ARTICLE III.
Transubstantiation, or the Eucharist, - - - - - 135
ARTICLE IV.
Purgatory.
- - - - - - - - - - 153
PART IV.
Of the Inquisitors and their Practices,
Order of the Inquisition to arrest a Horse, -
163
190
Prayers. .f1doration of Images and Relics.
AR
ICLE I.
Prayers, .
19
3
4
CONT&.,-.rS.
ARTICLE II.
Adoration of Images, - - - - - - 204
Inquisition of Goa, - - - - - - - -
17
Inquisition at l\Iacerata in Italy
- - - - - - 233
Summary of the Roman-Catholic Faith, 248
Purgatory, - - - - - - - - - - - 259
Worsbip of the Virgin' l\Iary, Saints, Reliques) Im-
ages, &c. &c. - - - - - - - - - 260
Indulgences, - - - - - - - - 262
From the Pope's Tax nook, - - - - - - - - 263
Letters from Rome by a Physician, to his Brother in
America, - - - - - - - - - - 272
Power of the Priests to forgive sins, - - - - - - 269
Preservative against Popery, by tbe Rev . James Blan-
co 'Vhite, - - - - - - - - - - - - 291
Dialogue II. - - - - - 311
Dialogue] II. -.. - - - - 325
Dialogue IV. - - - - - - 344
Defects occurring in the JJlass.
No. I. - - - 363
No. II. - - - - - - - - "
No. III. - - - - - .. - - "
OathD to be taken to de fend the Papacy, - - - - 374
No. IV. - - - - - -
No. V. - - - - - - - - "
"
Bishops' Oaths,
- .. 375
No. VI.
E:xtirpation of Heretics,
"
- 376
NOTES.
Notices of the Papal Church in the United States, - - - 379
Damnation and Excommunication of Elizabeth, Queen of
England, and her Adherents, - - - - - - 404
Excommunication pronounced by Philip Dunn against
Francis Preeman, for embracing the Protestant
Faith, - - - - - - - -.. - - - - - 406
Dreadful Form of Excommunication denounced against
the Pope Os Alum 1\laker, - - - - - - 407
PREFACE.
WHE
I first designed to publish the following sheets, it was a matter of
some doubt with me, whether or no I should put my name to them; for if I did,
I considered that I exposed myself to the malice of a great body of men, who
would endeavor on all occasions to injure me in my reputation and fortune, if
not in my life; which last (to say no more) was no unnatural suspicion of "-
Spaniard, and one in my case, to entertain of some fiery zealots of the Church
of Rome.
But 011 the other hand, I foresaw, that if I concealed my name, a great
part of the benefit intended to the public by this work, might be lost. For I
have often observed, as to books of this kind, where facts only are related,
(the truth of which in the greatest measure must depend on the credit of the
relater,) that wherever the authlJrs, out of caution or fear, have concealed
themselves, the event commonly has been, that even the friends to the cause,
which the facts support, give but a cold assent to them, and the enemies
reject them entirely as calumnies and forgeries, without ever giving themselves
the trouble of examining into the truth of that which the relater dares not
openly avow. On this account, whatever the consequences may be,I resolved
to put mv name to this; and accordingly did so to the first proposals which
were made for printing it.
But, hy this means, I am at the same time obliged to say something in vin-
dication of myself from several aspersions which I lie under, and which
indeed I have already in a great degree been a sufferer by, in the opinion of
many worthy gentlemen. The first is, that I never was a priest, because I
have not my letters of orders to produce. This, it must be confessed, is a
testimonial, wittIout which no one has a right, or can expect to be regarded as
a pqrson of that character; unless he has very convincing arguments to offer
tile world, that, in his circumstances, no such thing could reasl nabl}" be eX 4
pected from him; and whether or no mine are such, Ilea ve' the world to judge.
l\:j case was this:
As soon as it had pleased God by his grace to overcome in me the prejudices
of my education in favor of that corrupt church, in which
had been raised,
and to inspire me with a resolution to embrace tbe protestant religion, I saw,
that in order to pr
sen;e my life, I must immediately quit Spain, where an
A2 5
s;
PREFACE.
persons, who do not publicly profess the Romish religion, are condemned to
deilth. Upon this I resol..-ed to lose no time in making my escape, but how to
reake it was a matter of the greatest difficulty and danger. However, I de-
tennined rather to hazard all
vents, than either to continue in that church,
or expose myself to certain death; and accordingly made choice of dis-
guises as the most probable method of favoring my escape. The first I made
use of, was the habit of an officer in the army: and as I was sure there would
be strict inquiry and search made after me, I durst 110t bring along with me my
1etters of ordels, which, upon my being suspected in any place, for the person
searched after, or any other unhappy accident, would have been an undeniable
evidence against me, and consequently would have condemned me to the
inquisition. By this means I got safely to London, where I was most civilly re-
ceived by the late Earl Stanhope, to whom I had the honor to be known when
he was in Saragossa. He told me that there were some other new converts of my
nation in town, and that he hoped I would follow the command of Jesus to
Peter, viz. ,\Yhen thou art converted strengthen thy brethren.
Upon this I went to the late Lord Bishop of London, and by his lordship's
order, his domestic chaplain examined me three da}s together; and as I could
not produce the Zellers of orders, he advised me to get a certificate from my
Lord Stanhope, that he knew me, and that I was a priest, which I obtained
the very sam
day; and upon tills certificate, his lordship received my recan-
tation, after morning prayers in his chapel of Somerset-house, and licensed
me to preach and officiate in a Spanish congregation composed of my Lord
Stanhope, several English officers, and a few Spanish officers, new converts.
By 'Virtue of this license, J preached two years and eight months, first in the
chapel of Queen's Square, Westminster, and afterwards in Oxenden's chnpel,
Ilear the hay-market. But my benefactor, desirous to settle me in the English
church, advised me to go chaplain to the Preston man of war, where I might
have a great deal of leisure to learn the language; and being presented and
approved by the Bishop of London, the Lords of the AdmiraJty gmnted me
the warrant or commission of chaplain. Then his lordship, though he had
given his consent in writing, to preach in Spanish, enlarged it in the wa11'ant
of the Admiralty, which license I shall take leave to insert here at large.
Whereas the Reverend l\1r. Anthony Gavin was recommended to me by
the right honorable Lord Stanhope, and by the same and other English gentle-
men, I was certified that the said Reverend l\Ir. Gavin was a secular priest,
an:! master of arts jn the university of the city of Sarago
sa, in thE' kingdom of
Arragon, in Spain, and t11(\t they knew him in the said city, and cOllversed witb
him several times: This is to certify that the said Reverend Mr. Gavin, after
having publicly and solemnly abjured the errors of the Romish religion, anll
neing tht'reupon by me reconciled to the church of Englalld, on the 3d day o{
JaJUlary, 1715-16, he then had my leave to officiate,;u the Spanish langunge,
PRE1'ACE.
..
. n the chapel of Queen's 11quare, '\Vestminster; and now being appointed
rhaplain of his l\Iajesty's ship, the Preston, has my license to preach in Eng w
lish, a:ld to ad
inister the sacraments, at home and abroad, in all the churchel
and chapels of my diocess.
Given under m.y hand, in London, the 13th of July, 1720.
Signed, JOHN LONDON.
The certificate, license, and warrant, may be seen at any time, for I have
them by me.
After that, the ship being put out of commission, and my Lord Stanhope
being in Hanover with the king, I came over to Ireland 1m the importunity of
a friend, with a desire to stay here until my lord's return into England: But
when I was thinking of going over again, I heard of my lord's death, anù
having in him lost my best patron, I resolved to try in this kingdom, whether
I could find any settlement; and in a few days after, by the favor of his
grace my Lord Archbistlop of Cashel, and the Reverend Dean Percival, I got
the curacy of Gowran, which I served almost eleven months, by the license of
my Lord Bishop of Ossory, who afterwards, upon my going to Cmk, gave me
his letters àismissory.
I was in Cork very near a year, serying the cure of a par
sh nEar it, and
the Rev. Dean Maule being at that time in London, and I b
ing recommend-
ed to him to preach in his parish church of Shandon, he went to inquire about
me to the Bishop of London, who, and seyeral other persons of distinction,
were pleased to give me a good character, as the Dean on my leaving him did
me the favor to certify under his hand, together with my good behaviour during
my stay in Cork.
Now my case being such as I have represented it, I freely submit it to the
judgment of every gentleman of ingenuity and candor to detennine, whether
it could be expected from mE', that I should have my lellers of orders to show:
and yet whether there can be any tolerable reason to suspect my not having
been a priest. I think it might be enough to silence all suspicions on this
account, that I was received as a priest into the church of England, and
licensed as such to preach and administ. r the sacraments both in that kingdom
and this; and I hope no one can imagine, that any of the bishops of the best
constituted and governed churches upon earth, would admit any person to so
sacred a trust, without their being fully satisfierl that he was in orders.
I shalJ, on this occasion, beg lea\Te ':0 mention what the Bishop of London
said to me, when I t lId him I had not my letters of orders, but that my Lord
Stanhope, and other gentlemen of honor and credit, who knew me in my
native city of Saragossa, would certify, that I there was esteemed, and officia w
ted as a priest. Bring such a certificate, said he, and I will receive and Jicense
you; for I would rather depend q,on it, thån any letter
of orders you could
IJroduce, which, for ought I could tell. vou might have forged.
B
PREFACE.
I hope what I ha: e here said may convince even my enemies, of my being a
dergyman: And how I have behaved myself as such, since I came into thIs
kingdom, I appeal to those gentlemen I conversed with in GowrJ.n, Gortroe
and Cork, and for this last year and a half, to the officers of Co!. Barrel, Briga
dier Napper, Col. Hawley, Col. Newton, and Co!. Lance's regiments, wh0 .
am sure will do me justice, and I desire no more of them; and upon an inquir}
into my behaviour, I flatter myself that the public will not lightly give credit
to the ill reports spread abroad by my enemies.
Another objection raised against me is, that I have peljured myself in dis-
covering the private confessions which were made to me. In one pomt inàeed
they may call me perjured, and it is my comfort and glory that I am so ill it,
viz: That I have broke the oath I took, when I was ordained priest, whicl'
was, to live and die in the Roman Catholic faith. But as to the other perjury
charged upon me, they lie under a mistake; for there is no oath of secrecy at
all administered to confessors, as most protestants imagine. Secrecy indeed
is recommended to all confessors by the casuists, and enjoined by the councils
and popes so strictly, that if a confessor reveals (except in some particular
cases) what is confessed to him, so as the penitent is discovered, he is to be
punished for it in the inquisition; which, it must be owned, is a more effectual
way of enjoining secrecy thau oaths themselves.
However, I am far from imagining, that because in this case I ha.ve broken
no oath, I should therefore be guilty of 110 crime, though I revealed every
thing which was committed to my trust as a confessor, of whatever ill conse.
quence it might be to the penitent; no, such a practice I take to. be exceed-
ingly criminal, and I do, from my soul, abhor it.
But nevertheless there are cases where, by the constitution of the church of
Rome itself, the most dangerous secrets may and ollght to be revealed: Such
as those which are called" reserved cases," of which there are many; some
reserved to the pope himself, as heresy; some to his apo!'>tolic commissary or
deputy, as incest in the first degree; some 10 the bishop of the diocess, as the
setting a neighbor's house o'Ytjire. Kow in such cases the confessor cannot
absol ve the penitent, anrl therefore he is obliged to reveal the confession to
the person to V\ohom the absolution of that sin is reserved; though indeed he
never mentions the penitent's name, or any circumstance by which he may
be disco\'ered.
Again, there are other cases (such as a con.piracy against the life of the
Prince, or a traaorous des'ign to orerturn the gOl'ernment) which the
confessor is obliged in conscience, and fot the safety of the public, to reveal.
But besides all these, whenever the penitent's case happens to have any
thing of an uncommon difficulty in it, common prudence, and a due regard
to the faithfu'. discharge of his offrce, will oblige a cOllfess(1r to discover it to
men of expel ience and judgment in casusitry, that he may have their advice
PREFACE.
9
.
now to proceeclm it: And that is what confessors in Spain not only may do;
but are bound by the word of a priest to do wherever they have an opportu-
nity "\f consulting a college of confessors, or, as it is commonly called, a
moral academy.
I believe it may be of some service on the present occasion, to inform my
readers what those moral academies are, which are to be met with through
Spain, in every city and town where there is a number of secular and regular
priests: But I shall speak only of those in the cíty of Saragossa, as being the
most perfectly acquainted with them.
A moral academy is a college or assembly consisting of several Father Con-
fessors, in which each of them proposes some moral case which has happened
to him in confession, with an exact and particular aCCQunt of the confession,
without mentioning the penitent's name: And the proponent having done this,
every member is to deliver his opinion upon it. This is constantly practised
every Friday, from two of the clock in the afternoon, till six, and sometimes
till eight, as the cases proposed happen to be more or less difficult. But when
there is an extraordinary intricate case to be resolved, and the members can-
not agree in the resolution of it, they send one of their assembly to the great
academy, which is a college composed of sixteen casuistical doctors, and
four professors of divinity, the most leamed and experienced in moral cases
that may be had: and by them the case ill debate is resolved, and the resolu-
tion of it entered in the books of the academy by the consent of the prf'sident.
and members.
The academy of the holy trinity, founded and very nobly endowed by
Archbishop Gam boa" is one of the most famous in the city of Saragossa; and
of it I was member for three years. I was very young and inexpert in cases
of conscience, when I was first licensed to be a confessor; for the pope having
dispensed with thirtt::en months of the time required by the canons for the age
of a priest (for which I paid sixty pisto:i.es) I \tas ordained before I was twenty
three years old, by- Don Antonio Ibannez de la Rivia de Herrera, Archbishop
of Saragossa, and Viceroy of Arragon, and at the same time licensed by him
to hear confessions of both sexes. In order then the better and more speedily
to qualify myself for the office, I thought it my most prudeL1t way to apply
as soon as possible, to be admitted into this learned society, and as it happen-
ed, I had interest enough to succeed.
Now among many statutes left by Lhe fcunder to this academy, one is
this, ,liz: That every perc;on who is chosen a member of it, is, on his admi5-
sion, to promise upon the word of a priest, to give the whole assembly a
faithful account of all the private confessions he has heard the week before,
which have any thing in them difficult to be resolvcd: yet so as not to men-
tion any circumstance by which the penitents may be known.
And for tltii end there is a book, where the secretary enters aU the case.
.
10
PREFACE.
proposed and resolved every Friday; and every third year there is, by the
con
ent of the pre
dent and members of the acaòemy, and by the approba-
tion of the great one, a book printed containing an the cases resoh'ed for
three years betore, and which is cntitled, "compendium casuum moralium
acaclemiæ S. S. trinitatis." The academy of t..'1e holy trinity is always com-
posed of tw
nty members, so that e\'ery one may ea
ily pf'rceive, that each
of the members may be acquainted in a year or two, with many hundreds of
I'rh"ate confessions of all r:mks and conòitions of people; besicies those \\lllch
were made to themselves: '\Vhich remark I only make, by the by, to satisfy
some men, who, I am tolc!, find fault with me for pretenòing to impose on the
puhlic for genuine, several confessions which were ndt made to myself, and
consequently for the l'eality of which, I can have no sufficient authority.
N ow after all that has been said on this head, I believe I need not be at
much trouble to vindicate myself from the imputation of any criminal breach
of secrec:r; for if the reader observe, that on the foregoing grounds, there is
no confession whatever which may not lawfully be revealed, (provided the
confessor do not discover the penitent,) he cannot in justice conòemn me for
publishing a few, by which it is morally impossible, in the present circum-
stances, that the penitents should be known. Had I been much more partic-
ular than I am in my relations, anrl mentioneò even the names and every
thing else I knew of the persf)ns, there would scarce be a possihility (consid-
ering the distance ami little intercourse thêre is between this place and Sara-
gossa) of their suffering in any degree by it: And I need not observe t\-)at
the chief, and inrlee.-! only reason of enjoining and keeping secrecy, is the
hazards the penitent may run by discovery, but I do assure the reader, that in
every confession I have related, I have made use of feigued names, and
avoided every circumstance by which I had the least cause to suspect the
parties might be found out. And r assure him further, that most of the cases
here published by me, are, in their most material points, already printed in the
compendiu'ms of that 'lYWral academy of which I was a member.
As for the reasons which moved me to publish this book, I sh()l1 only say,
that as the corrupt practices, which are the subject of it, first set me upon ex-
amining into the principles of the church of Rome, and by that meau: of
renouncing them; so I thought that the making of them public might haiJpily
proòuce the same effect in some others.
I did design on this occasion to give a particular account of the moti\.es of
mv I'(',",version, and leaving Spain; but being confined to three hundred pages,
I must leave that and some other things relating to the sacraments of the
church of Rome, to the second part, which I Ultenct to print if the pubJir.
'think tit to encourage me.
PREFACE.
II
I must beg the reader's pardon for my presumption in writing to him in Ius
own language, on so short an acquaintance as I have with it. I hope he
wiIl excuse the many mistakes I have committed in the book: I shall be very
well pleased to be told of, and 1 shall take the greater care to avoid them m
the second part.
PREFACE TO THIS EDITION.
The preceding preface, which was written by the original author of this
valuable work, is published in his own words, in order that the reader roilY
understand his motives and views in disclosing the important facts which had
come to his knowledge in relation to Popery. Having abjured the errors of
the Romish religion, he felt constrained to warn others of the insidiou
arts to
which he had been himself the victim, and to point out the absurd contrivan-
ces by which the priesthood of that denomination impose upon the credulity
of the ignorant and unsuspecting. In doing this he has gh'en to the worIn a
mass of facts which cannot be disbelieved, nor contrm'erted, and which must
satisfy every intelligent mind of the gross fanacy of the doctriJH's of that
.ancient church, and the dreadful corruptions practised by those who adminis.
ter its concerns.
As a christian people, it becomes us to examine carefulIy the grounds of
our belief, and to decide with rlue caution for ourselves, whether the doctrines
and standards of faith proposed for our acceptance by any set of men, con-
form with. those handed down to us by the fathers. By placing this book in
the hands of the American reader, he will be enablerl to compare it with
the only safe rule of f;:t:th and practice, the blessed Gospel of Christ, which
is all truth, purity, and wisdom, and cannot mislearl.
The American reader will also decide, whether the fnnns of the Roman
catholic religion are suited to the circumstances of a repuhlican people. IC
even the doctrines of that faith, were safe and pure, we cannot belie,'e that
the complicatE'd machinery, the expensive and mU11paning pararle, and the
rlcspotic principles of its church government, coald ever be receh.ed iuto
practice hy the good sense of intellIgent and frøe people.
To make this compilation r.1ore complete, we have added to the original
work of Mr. Gavin, an account of " The Inquisition of Gna," hy the celc-
IJrateri Dr. BlI
hanan, who travelled and resided in A
ia; an account of " The
Il1qui
ition at I\Iacerata in Italy," by Mr. Bower; ami a Summary of the
ROll1rtn catholic faith, carefully prepared from their .Jwn works, and which
\I..ill p
ace the .whole suhj('ct cIf'arly wiùlin the comprehension of the phinest
un
tcrstanding.
.
THE GREAT RED DRAGON.
PART I.
OF THE RO:\L'\.N-CATHOLICS' AURltJULAR CO
ESSIO:rt
AURICULAR confession being one of the five commandments
0: the Roman-Catholic Church, and a condition necessarily
rf quired in one of their sacraments; and being too an article
d.at will contribute very much to the discovery of many other
errors of that communion, it may be proper to make use of
the l\tlaster-Key, and begin with it: And first of all, with the
Father confessors, who are the only key-keepers of it.
Though a priest cannot be licensed, by the canons of their
church, to hear men's confessions, till he is thirty years, nor
to confess women till forty years of age, yet ordinarily he
gets a dispensation from the bishop, to whom his probity, se-
crecy, and sober conversation are represented by one of the
diocesan
examinators, his friend, or by some person of inter-
est with his lordship; and by that means he gets a confessor's
license, most commonly, the day he gets his letters of orders,
viz.: Some at three-and-twenty, and some at four-and-twenty
years of age, not only for men, but for women's confessions
also. I say, some at three-and-twenty; for the Pope dispenses
with thirteen Inonths, to those that pay a sum of nlOney; of
which I shall speak in another place.
To priests thus licensed, to be judges of the tribunal of con-
srience, men and women discover their sins, their actions, their
thoughts, nay, their very dreams, if they happen to be impure.
I say, judges of the tribunal of conscience; for when they arc
"" Those that are appointed by the bishop, to examine those that are to b6
ordained, or licenserl to preach and hear cOllfessiolls.
B 13
14
l\oIASTER-KEY TO i'O.l.'1!..:\l'.
licen
ed, they ought to resolve any ca
e (h
t it be ever so hard)
propused by the penitent: And by th
s means it must often
happen, that a young n1an who, perhaps, does not know more
than a few defini
ions (which he has learned in a little manual
f some casuistical authors) of what is sin, shall sit in such a
tribun:ll, to judge, in the n10st intricate cases, the consciences
f men, and mp.n too that TI1ay be his Inasters.
I s
nv a reyerend fathcr$ who had been eight-and twenty
years professor of divinity in one of the most considcrablet
universities of Spain, and one of the most famous men for hiE!
learning, in that religion, kneel down before a youngt priest
oÎtwen
y-four years of age, and confess his sins to him. vVho
would not be surprised at them both? A lllan fit to be the
judge, to act the part of a criminal before an ignorant judge,
who, I am sure, could scarcely then tell the titles, of the Sum
Inæ l\iorales.
Nay, the Pope, notwithstanding all h:s Infallibility, doth
kneel down before his confessor, tell him his sins, heareth his
. correction, and receives and performs whatever penance he
imposeth upon him. This is the only difference between the
Pope's confessor, and the confessor of l{.ings and other per-
sl.mf:, that all confessors
it down to hear Kings and other per-
sons, Lut the Pope's confessor kneels down hÍ1nself to hear the
Holy :Father. \Vhat, the holy one upon earth humble himself
as a sinner? Iloliness and sin in one and the same subject,
is a plain contradiction in terms. '
If we ask the Rom:ln-Catholics, Why so learned men, and
the Pope, do so? They will answer, that they do it out of rtV-
erence to such a sacrament, out of humility, and to give a token
and testimony of their hearty sorrow for their sins. And as for
the Pope, they say he does it to show an example of humility,
as Jesus Christ did, when he washed the Apos
les' feet.
ThIs answer IS true, but they do not say the whole truth in
it; for, besides the aforesáid reasons, they have another, as
l\Iolina tells them, viz: That the penitent ought to submit
entirely to his confessor's correction, advice, and penance; and
he excepts no body from the necessary requisite of a true pen-
itent. \Vho would not be surprised (I say again) that a II tan
of noted learning would submit himself to a young, unexpe-
4Þ Fr. James Garcia.
t The uni\'ersity of Saragossa, in the kingdom of Arragon, in Spain, which,
ac
o(ding to thej; historians, was built by Sertorious.
:t. The thing happened to me when I was 2-1 years of age.
In this :\loral Summ. Chap. À\ iii. of the requisites of a hue pellltent.
l\IASTER-KEY TO POPERY.
15
nenced priest, as to a judge of his conscience, take his advice,
and receive his correction and penance?
'\Vhat would a Roman-Catholic say, if he should see one of
our learned bishops go to the college to consult a young colle-
gian in a nice point of di\-inity; nay, to take his advice, and
ubmit to his opinicn? llealiy, the Roman would heartily
laugh at him, and with a great deal of reason; nay, he could
say, that his lordship was not right in his senses. '\Vhat then
can a protes
ant say of those infatuated, learned men of the
church of ROlne, when- they do more than what is here sur-
posed?
As to the Pope (I say) it is a damnahle opinion to compare
hÏ111, in this case, to our Saviour Jesus; for Christ knew not
sin, but gave us an example of humility and patience, obedience
and poverty. I-Ie washed the apostles' feet; and thougb we
cannot know by the Scripture whether he did kneel down or
not to wash then}: Suppose that he did, he did it only out of a
true humility, and not to confess his sins. But the Pope doth
kneel down, not to give an example of humility and patience,
l'ut really to confess his sins: Not to give an example of obe-
òien
e; ft)r, being suprfme pO'lltifex, he obeys nohody, and
assunles a command over the whole world: nor of poverty; for
Pope and necessity dwell far from one another. And if some
ignorant Roman-Catholic Ehould say, that the Pope, as Pope,
has no sin, we may prove the contrary with Cipriano de Va-
leria,$ who gives an account of all the bastards of several
Popes for many years past. The Pope's bastards, in Latin,
are called ncpotes. Now n1ind,O reader, this comlnon saying
in Latin, an10ng the Roman-Catholics: Solent clerici fitios
suús l'ocare sobrinos aut ncpotes: That is, The priests use to
call their own sons cousins or nephews. And when we give
these instances to some of their learned men, (as I did to one
in LonJon,) they say, Angclo'l"um est peccure, lwrninumque
Tcnitere: i. e. It belongs to angels to sin, and to men to repent.
By this they acknowledge that the Pope is a sinner, and nev-
rtheless they call him His holiness, and the most IIoly
father.
,"Tho then would not be surprised to see the Inost holy Jesus
Christ's vicar on earth, and the infallible in whatever he says,
and doth submit himself to confess his sins to a man, and a man
too that has no other power to correct him, to advise and impose
a penance upon the nlOst holy one, than what ?is holiness has
:!!o The lives of the Pope
, anù the sacrifice of Mass.
16
MASTER-KEY TO POPERY.
been pleased to grant him? Every body indeed that has a
grain of sense of religion, and reflects seriously on it.
I come now to their Auricular Confession, and of the ways
and methods they practise and observe in the confessing of their
sins. There is among them two ranks of people, learneù and
unlearned. The leúrned confess by these three general heaès,
hought, word, and deed, reducing into thelTI all sorts of sins.
rhe unlearned confess the ten commandments, discovering by
I qem all the mortal sins which they have conunitted since their
t confession. I say mortal sins; f
r as to the venial sins or
s
of a small matter, the opinion of their c
suistical autbors$
is, they are washed away by the sign of the cross, or by sprink-
ling the face with the holy water. To the discovery of the nlor-
tal sinsS' the filther confessor doth very much help the penitent;
for he s
rnetin1es, out of pure zeal, but most commonly out of
curiosity, asks then1 many questions to kno,v whether they do
remember all their sins or not? By these and the like q ues-
tions, the confessors do more mischief than good, especially to
the ignorant people and young women; fur perhaps they do not
know what simple fornication is? What voluntary or involun-
tary pollution? \Yhat impure desire? "Vhat simple motion of
our hearts? '\Vht"t relapse, reincidence, or reiteration of sins?
and the like; and then by the confessor's indiscreet questions,
the penitents learn things of ,,-hich they never had dreamed
before; and "'hen they come to that tribunal with a sincere.
ignorant heart, to receive advice and instruction, they go home
,,-ith light, kno,vledge, and an idea of sins unknown to them
before.
I said, that the confessols do ask questions, most commonly
out of curiosity, though th(
y are warned by their casuistical
authors to be prudent, discreet, and very cautious in the ques-
tions they ask, especially if the penitent be a young woman,
or an ignorant; for as Pineda says,t It is better to let them go
ignorant than instructed in 1 ew sins. But contrary to this
good maxiIn, they are so indis.
reet in this point, that I saw in
the city of Lisbon, in Portugal, a girl of ten years of age, com-
ing from church, ask her mothe r what deflouring was? For the
ather confessor had asked her whether she was defloured or
)k Parez, lrribarren, and Salazar, in his compend. Moral. Sect. 12. de
Pitiis et peccatis, gives a catalogue of th
venial sins, and says, among others.
,hat to eat fle8h on a day prohihited by the church, without minding it, was so.
To kiJl a man, throwing a stone through the window, or being drunk, or in the
Srit motion of his passion, are venial sins, &c.
t Tract, de renit. Sect. 1. sect. vii.
MASTER-KEY TO POPERY.
17
not? And the mother, 1110re discreet than the confessor, tola
the girl, that the meaning ,vas, ,,,hether she took delight in
smeiling flowers or not? And
o she stopped her child's curi-
asity. But of this and many other indiscretions I shall speal{
more particularly by and by.
Now observe, that as a penitent cannot hide any thing from
the spiritual judge, else he would make a sacrifegious confes-
sion; so I cannot hide any thing from the public, which is to be
my hearer, and the temporal judge of my work, else I should
betray my conscience: Therefore, (to the best of my n1elllory,
and as one that expects to be called bef0re the dreadful tribu-
nal of God, on account of what I now write and say, if I do
not say and ,vrite the truth from the bottom of my heart,) I
shall give a faithful, plain account of the Rornan's auricular
confession, and of the most usual questions and answers be-
tween the confessors and penitents; and this I shall do in so
plain a style that every body may go along with me.
And first, it is very proper to give an account of what the
penitents do, from the time they come into the church till they
begin their confession. 'Vhen the penitent comes into the
church, he takes holy water and sprinkles his face, and, ma-
I{ing the sign of the cross, says, per signum c'I.ucis de inirnicis
nostris libera nos Deus no
te1.: In nomine Patris ct Filii, ct
Spiritus Sancti. Amen. i. e. By the sign of the cross deliver
us our God from our enemies, in the name of the Father, and
of the Son, and of the IIoly Ghost. Amen. Then the penitent
goes on, and kneels down before the great altar, where the
great host (of which I shan speak in another place) is I{ept in a
neat and rich tabernacle, with a brass or silver lamp, hanging
before it, and burning continually, night and day. There he
m:'lkes a prayer, first to the holy sacrament of the altar, (as
they call it) after to the Virgin l\lary, and to the titular saints
of the church. Then turns about upon his knees, and visits
five altars, or if there is but one altar in the church, five times
that altar, and says before each of them five times, Pofn. nos.
tel", &c. and five times Ave l1Iaria, &c. with Gloria Pafria, &c.
Then he rises, and goes to the confessionary: i. e. The con-
fessing place, where the confessor sits in a chair like our hack-
ney chairs, which is most commonly placed in some of the
chapels, and in the darkest place of the church. The chairs,
generally speaking, have an iron grate at each side, but none
at all before: and some days of devotion, or on a great festival,
there is such a cro,vd 'of people that you may Eee three peni-
tents at once about the chair, one at each grate, and the other
B2
18
MASTER-KEY TO POPERY.
at the door, though only one confesses at a time, whispering
in the confessor's ear, that the others should not hear what he
says; and when one has done, the other begins, and so on: But
most commonly they confess at the door of the chair, one after
another; for thus the confessor has an opportunity of knowing
the penitent: And though many gentlewomen, either out of
bashfulness, shame, or modesty, do endeavor to hide their fa-
ces with a fan, or veil, notwithstanding all this they are known
by the confessor, who, if curious, by cratly questions brings
then1 to tell him their names and houses, and this in the very
act of conf
5sion, or else he examines their faces when the
confession s over whilst the penitents are kissing his hand or
sleeve; and if he cannot know theln this way, he goes himself
to give the sacrament, and then everyone being obliged to
show her DiCe, is known by the curious confessor, who doth
this not without a private view and design, as ,vill appear at
the end of some private confessions.
The penitent then kneeling, bows herself to the ground be-
fore the confessor, and makes again the sign of the cross in
the aforesaid fùrm; and having in her hand the beads, or rosa-
ry of the Virgin Mary, begins the general confesßion of sins,
which some say in Latin, and some in the vulgar tongue; there-
fore it seems proper to give a copy of it both in Latin and
English :-
Confiteor Deo Omnipotenti; beatae IVlariae semper Virgini, I
beato l\fich3.eli Archangelo, beato Joanni Bapti jfae, sanctis
apostolis Petro et Paulo, omnibus sanctis, et tibi, Pater; quia
peccavi nimis cogitatione, verbo, et opere, mea culpa, Inea
culpa, mea maxima culpa: Ideo pre
or beatam Marian} sem-
per Virgin em, beatum Mich
elem Archangelum, beatum J oan-
nem Baptistam, sanctos apostolos Petrum et Paulmn, omnes
sanctos, et te, Pater, orare pro me ad Dominu.i} Deum nos-
trum. Amen.
I do confess to God Almighty, to the blesserl M'lry, always a
Virgin, to the b!essed Archangel l\Iichael, to the bloss
d J vhn
Baptist. to the holy apostles Peter and Paul, to all the saint::;,
and to thee, 0 Father, that I have too much sinned by thought,
word, and deed, by my fault, by my fault, by my greatest fault.
Therefore I beseech the blessed l\Iary, always a Virgin, the
blessed Archangell\lichael, the blessed John Baptist, the holy
apostles Peter and Paul, al1 the sa!nts, and thee, 0 Father, to
pray to God our Lord for mc. Amen.
This done, the penitent raises him from his prostration to his
knees, and touching with his lip either the ear or the check of
)IASTER-KEY TO POPERY.
19
the Spiritual Father, begins to discover his sins by the ten
commandments: And here it may be necessary to give a trans-
lation of their ten commandments, word for word.
The commandlnents of the law of God are ten: The three
first do pertain to the honor of God; and the other seven to the
benefit of our neighbor.
I. Thou shalt love God above all things.
II. Thou .shalt not swear.
III. Thou shalt sanctify the holy days.
IV. Thou shalt honor thy father and mother.
V. Thou shalt not kill.
VI. Thou shalt not con1mit fornication.
VII. Thou shalt not steal.
VIII. Thou shalt not bear false witness, nor lie.
IX. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife.
X. Thou sh::tlt not covet the things which are another"s.
These ten commandlnents are cOluprised in two, viz: To
erve and love God, and thy neighbor as thyself. Amen.
Now, not to forget any thing that may instruct the public, it
is to the purpose to give an account of the little children's con-
fessions; I mean of those that have not yet attained the seventh
year of their age; for at seven they begin most comn10nly to
receive the sacrmnent, and confess in private with all the for-
malities of their church.
There is in every city, in every parish, in every town and
village, a Lent preacher; and there is but one difference among
them, viz.: that some preachers preach every day in Lent;
some three sermons a week; some two, viz.: on ""Vednesdays
and Sundays, and some only on Sundays, and the holy da) s
that happen to filll in Lent. The preacher of the parish pitcn-
es upon one day of the week, most commonly in the middle of
Lent, to hear the children's confessions, and gives notice to
the congregation the Sunday befúre, that every falher of a
family may send his children, Loth boys and girls, to church,
on the day appointed, in the afternoon. The mothers dress
their children the best they can that day, and give them the
offering llloney for the expiation of their sins. That afternof'n
is a holy day in the parish, not by precept, but by custom, for
no parishioner, either old or young, man or 'woman, misseth to
go and hear the children's confessions. For it is reckoned,
among them, a greater diversion than a comedy, as you nlay
judge by the f0110wing account.
The day appointed, the children repair to church at three of
the clock, wher(' the preacher i8 waiting for them with a long
2[,
l'tIASTER- KEY TO POPER1:..
reed in his hand, and when all are together, (sometimes 150in
number, and som
times less,) the reverend Father placeth
them in a circle round himselt; and then kneeling down, (the
children also doing the same,) makes the sign of the cross, and
says a short prayer. This done;he exhorteth the children tc
hide no sin from him, but to tell him all they have committed.
Then he strikes, with his reed, the child whom he designs to
c()nfess the first, and asks him the following questions:
Confessor. How long is it since you last confessed?
Boy. Father, a whole year, or the last Lent.
Conf. And how many sins have you committed from that
time till now?
Boy. Two dozen. .
N ow the confessor asks round about.
Conf. And you?
Boy. A thousand and ten.
Another win say a bag full of small lies, and ten big sins;
nnd so one after another answers, and tells many childish
things.
Coif. But pray, you say that you have committed ten big
sins, tell me how big?
Boy. As big as a tree.
Conf. But tell me the sins.
Boy. There is one sin I committed, which I dare not tell
your reverence before all the people; for somebody here pre-
sent will kill me, if he heareth me.
Conf. vVell, come out of the circle, and tell it nle.
They both go out, and with a loud voice, he tells him, that
such a day he stole a nest of sparrows from a tree of another
boy's, and that if he knew it, he would kill him. Then both
corne again into the circle, anJ the father asks other boys and
girls so many ridiculous questions, and the children answer
hin} so many pleasant, innocent things, that the congregation
laughs all the while. One will say, that his sins are red, ano-
ther that one of his sins is white, one black, and one green, and
in these trifling questions they spend two hours' time. '\Vhcn
the congregation is weary of laughing, the Confessor gives
the children a correction, and lids then} not to sin any lnore,
for a black boy takes along with him the wicked children:
Then he asks the ofI'erin6', and after he has got all from them,
gives them the penance for their sins. To one he sa}' s, I give
you fJf penance, to eat a sweet cal{e; to another, not to go to
school the day following; to another, to desire his mother to
buy him a new hat and such things as these; and pronouncin
JUSTER-KEY TO POPERY.
21
the words of absolution, lie dismisseth the congregation with
Amen, so be it, every year.
These are the first foundations of the Romish religion for
youth. Now, 0 reader! You may make reflections upon it, and
the more you will reflect, so much more you will hate the cor-
ruptions uf that communion, and it shall evidently appear to
you, that the serious, religious instruction of our church, as to
the youth, is reasonable, solid, and without reproach. O! that
all Protestants would remenlber the rules they learned frOlll
their youth, and practise them while they live! Sure I aIll;
they should be like angels on earth, and blessed forever after
death, in heaven.
From seven till fifteen, there is no extraordinary thing to.say
of young people, only that from seven years of age, they begin
to confess in private. The confessors have very little trouble
with such young people, and likewise little profit, except with
a Puella, who sometimes begins at twelve years the course of
a lewd life, and then the Confessor finds business and profit
enough, when she comes to confess. Now I come to give an
account of several private confessions of both sexes, beginning
ffom people of fifteen yea:s of age. The confession is a dia-
logue cetween the Spiritual Father and the penitent; there-
fore I shall deliver the confessions in a way of dialogue. The
letter C. signifies Confessor, and several other letters the
names of the penitents.
The confession of a young woman in Saragossa, whom I shall call l\-1ary.
And this I set down chiefly to show the common form of their confeS5il1g
penikllts. The thing was 110t public; and therefore I give it under a sup-
posed name.
Confessor. flow long is it since you last confessed?
J.1Ia1.Y. It is two years and two months.
Conf. Pray, do you know the commandments of our holy
n10ther, the church? ·
Ia1.Y. Yea, Father.
Conf. Rehearse them.
JJIary. The comnJandments of our holy mother, the church.
Ðre five. 1. To hear Mass on Sundays and Holy days. 2.
To confess, at least, once in a year, and oftener, if
herc he
danJ);er of death. 3. To receive t
..
eucharist. 4. To faE'.t.
5. To pay tithes and Primitia.
* Primitia is to pay, besides the tenth, one thirtieth part of the f11titS of the
.
.rth, towards the repair of the church vestments, &c.
22
MASTER-KEY TO POPERY.
ConJ. Now rehearse the seven sacraInents.
Mary. The sacraments of the holy mother, the church, are
15even. 1. Baptism. 2. Confirmation. 3. Penance. 4. The
Lord's supper. 5. Extrenle unction. 6. Holy orders. 7.
l\Iatrimony.-Amen.
ConJ. You see in the second commandment of the church,
and in the third, among the sacraments, that you are obliged
to confess every year. 'Vhy then have you neglected so much
longer a time to fulfil the precept of our holy mother?
lJlary. As I was young, and a great sinner, I was ashamed,
reverend Father, to confess Iny sins to the priest of our parish,
G)r fear he should know me by some passages of my life,
which would be prej'ldicial to me, and to several other per-
sons related to my family.
ConJ. But you know that it is the indispensable duty of the
11linister of the parish, to expose in the church, after Easter,
all those who have not confessed, nor received the sacrament
Let(Jre that time.
1}[ary. I do know it very well; but I went out of the city
towards the middle of Lent, and I did not come back again till
after Easter; and when I was asked in the country, whether I
had confessed that Lent or not? I said, that I had done it in the
city: and when the minister of the parish asked me the same
question, I told him, I had done it in the country. So, with
this lie, I freed myself from the public censure of the church.
ConJ. And did you perform the last penance imposed upon
you?
JJlary. Yea, Father, but not with that exactness I was com-
nlanded.
COllJ. 'Vhat was the penance?
lJ[ary. To fast three days upon bread and water, and to give
ten reals of plate,*' and to say five masses for the souls in pur-
gatory. I did perform the first, but not the second, because I
could not get money for it unknown to my parents at that time.
ConJ. Do you promise me to perform it as soon as you can?
ltlary. I have the money here, which I will leave with you,
and you may say, or order another priest to say the l\lasses.
Conf. Very well: but tell nle now, what reason have you
..0 come and confess out of the time appointed by the church 1
Is it for devotion, to quiet your conscience, and merely to make
your peace with God Almighty, Dr some worldly end?
liIary. Good Father, pity my condition, and pray put n1e in
.. A real of plate is about
e'.'('n pence of our money in Irp1an i.
MASTER-KEY TO POPERY.
23
the right way of salvation, for I am ready to despair of God's
mercy, if you do not quiet and ease nlY troubled conscience.
Now I will answe..: to your question: the reason is, because a
gentleman who, under promise of n1arriage, has kept nle these
two last years, is dead two months ago; and I have resolved
in my heart to retire myself into a monastery, and to end there
my days, serving God and his holy mother, the Virgin Mary.
Conf. Do not take any resolution precipitately, for, may be
if your passion grows cool, you will alter your mind; and I
suspect, with a great deal of reason, that your repentance is
not sincere, and that you come to confess out of sorrow for
the gentleman's death, more than out of sorrow for your sins;
and if it be so, I advise you to take more time to consider
the state of your conscience, and to come to me a fortnight
hence.
j,1Iary. l\Iy Father, all the world shall not alter my mind,
and the daily renlOl'Se of my conscience brings me to your
feet, with a full re30lution to confess all my sins, in order to
obtain alsolution, and to live a new life hereafter.
Conf. If it is so, let us, in the name of God, begin the con-
fession, and I require of you not to forget any circumstance of
sin, which may contribute to ease your conscience. Above
all, I desire of you to lay aside shame, while you confess your
sins; for, suppose that your sins exceed the nUInber of stars,
or the nUlllber of the sands of the sea, God's nlercy is infinite,
and accepts of the true, penitent heart; for he wills not the
death of a sinner, but that he should repent and turn to him.
Mary. I do design to open freely my heart to you, and to
follow your advice, as to the spiritual course of my life.
ConJ. Begin then by the first commandment.
]}Iary. I do confess, in this commandment, that I have not
loved God above all things; for all Iny care, these two years
past, has been to please Don Francisco, in whatever thing he
desired me, and, to the best of my memory, I did not think of
God, nor of his mother, l\Iary, for many nlOnths together.
ConJ. IIave you constantly frequented the assemblies of
the faithful, and heard Mass on Sundays, and holy days?
lJlary. No, Father; sometimes I have been four rllonths
without going to church.
ConJ. You have done a great injury to your soul, and you
have given a great scandal to your neighèors.
j,llLl'I"Y, As for the first, I own it, for every Sunday pnq holy
day I went out in the morning, and in so populous a city, they
onld not know the church used to resort to.
2 L l
MASTER-KEY TO POPERY.
Conf. Did it come into your mind all this while, that God
would punish you for your sins?
lJlary. Yea, Father: but the Virgin l\lary is my advocate.
I keep her image by my bedside, and used to address my
prayer to her every night before I went to bed, and I always
had a great hope in her.
Conf. If your devotion to the Virgin l\Iary is so fervent,
you mllst believe that your heart is moved to repentance by
her influenc\3 and mediation; and I charge you to continue the
same devotion while you live, and fear nothing afrerwards.
J.llary. That is my design.
Conf. Go on.
]}[UI"!/. The second comnlandrnent is, Thou shalt not swear.
I never was guilty of swearing, but I have a custom of saying,
Such a thing is so, as sure as tlwre is a God in lwaven: and
this I repeat very often every day.
COllf. That is a sinful custom, for we cannot swear no1."
affirm any thing by heaven or earth, as the scripture tells us;
and less by Ilim who has the throne of his haLitatÏon in hea-
ven: so you. must break off that custom, or else you commit a
sin every time yon make use of it. Go on.
ll/ary. The third is, Thou shalt sanctify tlw holy days. I
have told you already, my spiritual Father, that I haye ne-
glected, sometinles, to go to Mass, four months together; and
to the best of my memory, in these two years and two months,
I have missed sixty Sundays and holy days going to Mass,
and when I did go, my mind was so much taken up with oth-
er di versions, that I did not mind the requisite devotion, for
which I am heartily sorry.
Conf. I hope you will not do so for the future; and so, go
on.
lJlary. The fourth is, T/wu shalt h.onor fat/ler and mother
I have father and mother; as to my father, I do lové, honol
and fear him; as to my mother, I do confess, that I have an-
swered and acted conJrary to the duty, respect, and reverence
due to her, for her suspecting and watching my actions and
falsesteps, and giving me a christian correction: I have abus-
ed her, nay, sometimes, I have lifted up nlY hand to threaten
her; and these proceedings of mine towards my good mother,
torture now my heart.
Conf. I arrÎ glad to observe your grief, and you may be
sure, üod will forgive you these and other sins upon your
hearty repentance, if you persevere in it. Go on.
lJlary. The fifth is, Thou shalt not kill. I have not trans-
1\IASTER-KEY TO POPERY.
25
gressed this commandment effectively and immcdiatt;,Jy, but I
have done it affectively and mediately, and at second handj
for a gentlewoman, who was a great hindrance to my designs,
once provoked me to such a pitch, that I put in execution all
the means of revenge I could think of, and gave ten pistoles
to an assassin, to take away her life.
Conf. And did he kill her?
JJ[ary. No, Father, for she kept her house for three months,
and in that time we were reconciled, and now we are very
good friends. ,
Coif. Have you asked her pardon, and told her your de-
sign?
]Jlary. I did not tell her in express terms, but I told her
that I had an ill will to her, and that at that time I could have
killed her, had I got an opportunity for it: for which I hearti-
ly b
gged her pardon: she did forgive me, and so we live
ever since like two sisters.
Conf. Go on.
IJf ary. The sixth, Thou shalt not commit fornication. In
the first place, I do confess that I have unlav.rfully conversed
with the said Don Francisco, for two years, and this unlawful
commerce has nlade me fall into many other sins.
COllf. Did he promise solemnly to marry you.
JJlary. He did, but could not perform it, while his father
was alive.
Conf. Tell me, from the beginning, to the day of his
death, and to the best of your memory, your sinful thoughts,
words, actions, nay, your very dreams, about this matter.
JJlary. Father, the gentleman was our neighbor, of a good
falnily and fortune, and by means of the neighborly friendship
of our parents, we had the opportunity to talk with one anoth-
er as much as we pleased. For two years together, we loved
one another in innocence, but at last he discovered to me one
day, when our parents were abroad, the great inclination he
had for me; and that having grown to a passion, and this to
an inexpres'sible love, he could no longer hide it from me:
that his deEign was to marry me as soon as his father should
die, and that he ,vas willing to give me all the proofs of sin-
cerity and unfeigned love I could desire from him. To this I
answered, that if it was so, I was ready to promise never to
nlarry another during his life: To this, he took a sign of the
crucifix in his hands, and bowing down before an image of the
Virgin l\Iary, called the four elements to be witnesses of the
nncerity of his vows, nay, all the saints of the heavenly court-
e
26
L4.STER-KEY TO POPERY.
to appear against him in the day of judgment, if he was not
true in heart and words; and said, that by the crucifix in his
hands, and by the image of the Virgin l\Iary, there present, he
promised and swore never to marry another during my hfe.-
I answered him in the same manner; and ever since, we have
lived with the familiarities of husband and wife. The eflect
of this reciprocal promise was the ruin of my soul, and the
beginning of my sinful life ; for ever since, I minded nothing
else, but to please him and myself, when I had an opportunity.
Conf. I-Iow; often did he visit you?
IJ[ll1"y. The first year he can1e to my room every night,
after both families were gone to bed; for in the vault of his
house, which joins to ours, we dug one night through the earth,
and made a passage wide enough for the purpose, which we
covered on each side with a large earthen water-jar; and by
that means he came to me every night. But my grief is
double, when I consider, that, engaging my own maid into
this intrigue, I have been the occasion of her ruin too; for by
my ill example, she lived in the SaITIe way with the gentle-
man's servant, and I own that I have been the occasion of all
her sins too.
Conf. And the second year did he visit you so often?
]J[ary. No, father; for the breach in the vault was discov-
ered by his father, and was stopped immediately; but nobody
suspected any thing of our intimacy, except my mother, who
fi'om something she had observed, began to question me, and
afterwards became more suspicious and watchful.
Conf. Did any effect of these visits come to light?
Mary. It would, had I not been so barbarous and inhuman
to prevent it, by a remedy I took, which answered my pur-
pose.
Conf. And how could you get the remedy, there being a
rigorous law against it?
Mary. The procuring it brought me into a yet wickeder
]ife; for I was acquainted with a friar, a cousin of mine, who
had always expressed a great esteem for me; but one day after
dinner, being alone, he began to make love to me, and was
going to take greater liberties than he had ever done before.
I told him that if he could keep a secret, and do me a service,
I would comply with his desire. lIe promised me to do it
upon the word (,f a priest. Then I told him my business, and
the day after he brought me the necessary medicine; and
ever since I was freed from that uneasiness. I have lived the
same course of life with my cousin; nay, as I was under such
MASTER-KEY TO 1'0PERY.
27
an obligation to him, I have ever since been obliged to allow
hÜn many other liberties in my house.
Conf. Are those other liberties he took in your house sin-
fu) or not?
Iary. The liberties I mean are, that he desired lne to
gratify his companion too, several times, and to consent that
Iny maid should satisfy his lusts; and not only this, but by
desiring me to corrupt one of my friends, he has ruined her
soul; for, being in the same condition I had been in before, I
was obliged, out of fear, to furnish her with the same remedy,
which produced the same effect. Besides these wicked ac-
tions, I have robbed ll?-Y parents to supply him with whatever
Inoney he demanded.
Conf. But as to Don Francisco, pray tell me, how often
did he visit you since?
JJlary. The second year he could not see me in private
but very seldom, and in a sacred place; for having no oppor-
tunity at home, nor abroad, I used to go to a little chapel out
of the town; and having gained the hermit with n 1 :)ney, we
continued our commerce, that way, for six or eight times the
second year.
COlif. Your sins are aggravated, both by the circumstance
of the sacred place, and by your cousin's being a Priest, be-
sides the two murders comn1itted by you, one in yourself, and
the other in your friend. Nay, go on, if you have any more
to say upon this subject.
Mary. I have nothing else to say, as to the commandment,
but that I am heartily ßorry for all these my misdoings.
Conf. Go on. ,
)JIU'J-Y. The seventh, Thou sllalt not steal. I have nothing
to confess in this commandment but what I have told you al-
ready, i. e. that I have stolen many things from my father's
house, to satisfy my cousin's thirst of n10ney; and that I have
advised my friend to do the same; though this was done by
me, only for fear that he should expose U
, if we had not given
him what he desired.
Conf. And do you design to continue the same life with
your cousin, for fear of being discovered?
J.lfary. No, Father; for he is sent to another 'Jonvent, to
be professor of divinity for three years; and if he comes back
again, he shall find me in a monastery; and then I will be
safe, and free from his wicked attempts.
Conf. How long is it since he went away?
Afary. Three months, and his companion is dead; so, God
28
M..A.STER-KEY TO POPER1:.
be thanl\ed, I am without any apprehension or fear now, and
I hope to see my good design accomplished.
Conf. Go on.
]}[ary. The eighth is, Thou shalt not bear false witne-ss,
nor lie. The ninth, Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife.
The tenth, Tlwu shalt not covet any things wltich are another's.
I know nothing in these three commandments, that trouble my
conscience: Therefore, I conclude by confessing, in general
and particular, all the sins of my whole life, committed by
thought, word and deed, and I anl heartily sorry for them all,
and ask God's pardon, and your advice, penance and absolu-
tion. Amen.
ConJ. Have you trangressed the fourth commandment of
the church?
111. "ry. Yea, father; for I did not L"lst as it prescribes, for
though I did abstain from flesh, yet I did not keep the form of
fasting these two years past; but I have done it since the gen-
t1enlan's death.
ConJ. Have you this year taken the bull of indulgence
?
lJlary Yea, Father.
ConJ. Have you visited five altars
the days appointed for
his holiness to take a soul out of purgatory?
lJlary. I did not for several days.
Conf. Do you promise me, as a minister of God, and as if
you were now before the tribunal of the dreadful judge, to
amend your life, and to avoid all the occasions of falling into
the same or other sins, and to frequent for the future, this
sacrament, and the others, and to obey the commandnlents
of God, as things absolutely necessary to the salvation of your
soul?
lJ[ary. That is Iny design, with the help of God, and of the
blessed Virgin IHary, in whom I put my whole trust and confi-
dence.
Conf. Your contrition must be the foundation of your new
Jife, for if you fc"lll into other sins after this signal benefit you
have received fronl God, and his blessed mother, of calling
you to repentance, it will be a hard thing for you to obtain
pardon and forgiveness. You see God has taken away all the
obstacles of your true repentance; pray ask continually his
grace, that you may make good use of thesc heavenly favors.
But you ought to consider, that though you sh.all be fI.ced by
my absolution from the eternal pains yonI' manifold
;ns de-
serve, you shall not be free ftOlll the sufferings of purgatory,
'yhere your soul must be purified by fire, if you in this pre-
ZtIASTER-KEY TO POPERY.
29
sent life do not take care to redeem your soul from that terri-
ble flame, by (jrdering some masses for the relief of souls in
purgatory.
]}Iary. I design to do it as far as it lies in my power.
Conf. Now, to show your obedience to God, and our moth-
er, the church, you must perform the following penance : You
must fast every second day, to mortify your lusts and pa
sions,
and this for the space of two months. You must visit five al-
tars every second day, and one privileged altar, and say in
each of them five times Pater noster, &c., and five times Ave
]}[ary, &c. You must say too every day for two months' time,
three-and-thirty times the creed, in honor and memory of the
three-and-thirty years that our Saviour did live upon eartl1..;
and you must confess once a week; and by the continuance ot
these spiritual exercises, your soul may be preserved fronl
several temptations, and nlay be happy forever.
]}fary. I will do all that with the help of God.
ConJ. Say the act of contrition by which I absolve you.
]}[ary. 0 God, iny God, I have sinned against thee; I am
heartily sorry, &c.
Conf. Our Lord Jesus Christ absolve thee; and by the au-
thority given me, I absolve thee, &c.
A private confession of a woman to a Friar of the Dominican order, laid
dcwn in writing before the Moral Academy, 1710, and the opinions of the
members about it. The person was not known, therefore I shall cal1
her Leonore.
. Leonore did confess to F. Joseph Riva the following misdo
lngs: .
Leonore. My reverend Father, I come to this place to
make a general confession of all the sins I have committed
in the whole course of my life, or of all those I can re-
member.
ConJ. How long have you been preparing yourself for this
general confðssion?
Leon. Eight days.
ConJ. Eight days are not enough to recol1ect yourself, and
bring into your memory all the sins of your life.
Leon. Father, have patience tin you hear me, and then you
lna y judge whether my confession be perfect or imperfect.
COIIJ. Å.!'.d how long is it since you confessed the last
time?
Leon. The last time I confessed was the Sunday b
fore
Easter, which i
eleven months and twenty days.
c 2
30
MASTER-KEY TO POPERY.
Conf. Did you accomplish the penance then imposed upon
you?
Leon. Yea, father.
Conj. Begin the..n your confession.
Leon. I have neglected my duty towards God, by ,,,hOBe
holy name I have many tin1es sworn. I have not sanctified
his holy days as I was obliged by law, nor honored my pa-
rents and superiors. I have Inany and many times desired
the death of my neighbors, when I was in a passion. I have
been deeply engaged in amorous intrigues with many people
of all ranks, but these two years past most constantly with
Don Pedro Hasta, who is the only support of my life.
ConJ. Now I find out the reason why you have so long ne-
glected to come and confess; and I do expect, that you will tell
Ine all the circumstances of your life, that I may judge the
present state of your conscience.
Leon. Father, as for the sins of my youth, till I was sIxteen
years of age, they are of no great consequence, and I hope
God will pardon me. Now my general confession begins from
that time, when I fell into the first sin, which was in the fol-
lowing manner:
The confessor of our family was a Franciscan friar, who
was absolute mastf}r in our house; for my father and mother
were entirely governed by him. It was about that time of my
life I lost my mother; and a month after her my father died,
leaving all his substance to the father confessor, to dispose of
at his own filncy, reserving only a certain part which I was to
have, to settle me in the world, conditionally that I was obe-
dient to him. A month after my father's death, on pretence
of takjng care of every thing that was in the house, he ordered
a bed for himself in the chaInber next to mine, where my maid
also used to lie. After supper, the first night he came home,
he addressed himself thus to me: l'tly daughter, you may with
reason call me your father, for you are the only child your
father left under my care. Your patrimony is in my hands,
and you ought to obey me blindly in every thing: So in the
first place order your maid's bed to be ren10ved out of your
own charnber into another. 'Vhich being done accordingly,
we parted, and went each one to our o'''n roon1; but scarcely
had an hour past away, when the father came into my cham-
tel', and what by flattery and promises, and what by threat-
cnings, he deprived n1e of my best patrimony, my innocence.
'tVe continued this course of life till, as I believe, he was tired
of me: for two n
;')nths after, he took every thing out of the
MASTER-KEY TO POPERY.
31
house, and went to his convent, where he died in ten days
time; and by his death I lost the patrimony left me by my fa-
ther, and with it all my support; and as my parents had spared
nothing in my education, and as I had always been kept in the
grea-
est affluence, you may judge how I was affected by the
miserable circumstances I was then left in, with servants to
maintain, and nothing in the world to supply even the neces-
ary expenses of my house. This made me the more ready
to accept the first offer that should be made me, and my con-
dItion being known to an officer of the army, he came to offer
me his humble services. I conlplied with his desire, and so for
two years we lived together, till at last he was obliged to re-
pair to his regiment at Catalonia; and though he left me ap-
pointments more than sufficient for Iny subsistence during his
absence, yet all our correspondence was soon broken oft.. by his
death, which happened soon after. Then, resolving to alter
my life and conversation, I went to confess, and after having
given an account to my confessor of my life, he asked my
name, did promise to come the next day to see me, and to put
me into a comfortable and creditable way of living. I was
very glad to get such a patron, and so the next day I waited at
home for hiIn.
The father came, and after various discourses, he took me
by the hand into my chmnber, and told me that if I was wIl-
ling to put in his hands my jewels, and what other things of
value I had got from the officer, he would engage to get a
gentleman suitable to my condition to marry me. I did every
thing as he desired lTIC; and so taking along with him all I had
in the world, he carried them to his cell.
The next day he came to see me, and made me another
proposal, very different from what I expected; for he told me
that I must comply with his desire, or else he would expose
lne, and infornl against me before the holy tribunal of the in-
quisition: So, rather than incur that danger, I did for the space
of six months, in which, having nothing to live upon, (for he
kept my jewels,) I was obliged to abandon myself to many
other gentlemen, by WhOlll I was maintained.
At kist, he left me, and I still continued my wicked life, un-
lawfully conversing with married anù unmarried gentlemen a
whole year, and not daring to confess, for fear of experiencing
the.. same treatment fI'mTI another confessor.
Conf. But how could you fulfil the precept of the church,
and nut be exposed in the church after Easter, all that while?
Leon. I went to an old easy father, and promised hinl a pis.
32
MASTER-KEY TO POPERY.
tole for a certificate of confession, which he gave me witr!
out further inquiring into the matter; and so I did satisfy tht;
curate of the parish with it. But last year I went to confess,
and the confessor was very strict, and would not give me abso-
lution, because I was an habitual sinner; but I gave him five
pistoles for ten masses, and then he told me that a confessor's
duty was to take care of the souls in pUI'gatory, and that upon
their account he could not refuse me absolution; so by that
way I escaped the censure of the church.
Conf. How long is it since you broke off your sinful life?
Leon. But six weeks.
Conf. I cannot absolve you now, but come again next
rhursday, and I wilJ consult upon all the circumstances of
,our life and then I will absolve you.
Leon. Father, I have more to say: For I stole from the
hurch a chalice, by the advice of the said confessor, and he
made use himself of the money I got for the silver, which I
cut in pieces; and I did converse unlawfully several times in
the church with him. To this I must add an infinite number
of sins by thought, 'lcord and deed, I have committed in this
time, especially with the la
t person of my acquaintance,
though at present I am free from him.
Conf. Pray give me leave to consult upon all these things,
?-nd I will resolve them to yon the next confession; now go
In peace.
The first point to be resolved was whether Leonore could
sue the Franciscan convent for the patrimony left by her fa-
ther in the confessor's hands?
The president went through all the reasons, pro and con,
and after resolved, that although the said Leonore was never
disobedient to her confessor, she could not sue the community
without lessening her own reputation, and laying upon the or-
der so black a crime as that of her confessor; and that it was
the common maxim of all casuists that, In rebus dubiis, mini-
mum est sequendum, in things doubtful, that of the least evil
consequence is to be pursued; and seeing the losing of her
patrimony would be less damage than the exposing of the
whole Franciscan order, and her own reputation: It did seen1
proper to leave the thing as it was.
The second point to be resolved was whether Leonore was
in proxima occasione peccati, in the next occasion of sin, with
such a confessor the two first months?
Six members of the academy did think that she was; for
Immediate occasion of sin signifies, that the person may satisfy
MASTER-KEY TO POPERY.
33
his passions toties quoties, without any impediment which Leo-
nore could ào all that while. But the other members of the
,
academy did object against it: That the nature of occasio
pl'oximll, besides the said reason, implies freedom and liberty,
which Leonore did want at that tin1e, being as she was, young,
inexperienced, timorous, and under the confessor's care and
power; so it was resolved, that she was not the first two months
in proxima occasione peccati.
The third point: VVhether she committed greater sin with
the second confessor, wha threatened her with the inquisition?
And whether she was obliged to undergo all the hardships,
nay, death itself, rather than comply with the confessor's
desire?
It was resolved nemine contradicente, that she was obliged
for self-preservation's sake, to comply with the friar's desire,
and therelòre her sin was less than other sins.
The fourth: '\Vhether she was obliged to nlake restitution
of the chalice she stole out of the church by the advice of the
confessor?
The melnbers could not agree in the decision of this point,
for some were of opinion that both she and the friar were obli-
gej to make restit.ution grounded in the moral maxim: Faci-
entes, ct consentientes eadem paena puniuntur, those that act
an,] those who consent are to be punished alike. Others said,
that Leonore was only an instrument of theft, and that the
friar did put her in the way of doing what she never had done,
hnt for fear of him, anJ ÌlJ.at she was forced to do it; therefore,
th3.t she had not committed sacrilege, nay, nor venial sin by
it; and that the friar only was guiity of sacrilege and rob-
bery, and obliged to malie restitution. Upon this division, th
Rev. 1\11'. Ant. Palomo, then professor of philosophy, was ap-
pointed to lay the case before the members of the great acad-
emy, with this limitation, that he should not mention any
thing of the friar in it, except the members of the academy
s
lOuld ask him the aggravating circumstances in the case.
He did it accordingly, and being asked by the president
about the circumstances, it was re
olved that Leonore was
free from restitution, taking a tull of pardons. And as fOI
the friar, by his belonging to the community, and having noth-
'n,
of his own, anJ obli
ed to leave at his death, every thing
to the convent, he lTIUst be e
cused from making such restitu
tion, &c.
The fifth point: \Yhether the chIH\.:h was desecratnd hy
tht.:ir unIawf
ll commoì'cc? an
whether the confesso: was
34
MASTER-KEY TO POPERY.
obliged to reveal the nature of the thing to the bishop 01
not?
As to the first part, all did agree, that the church was pol-
luted. As to the second, four were of opinion, that the thing
was to be revealed to the bishop in general tern1s; but sixteen
did object against it, and said that the dominical, GtJ]Je'l-gc8 me
Hysopo, et rnundabor, thou shalt sprinkle 111e with hysop, and
I shall be clean, &c. When the priest with the holy water
and hysop sprinkles the church, it wa&,. enough to restore and
purify the church.
After which, the president moved another quesiion, viz:
'\Vhether this private confession was to be entered in the aca-
òeu1Y's book; ad perpetuam rei memoriam, in perpetual mem-
ory of the thing. And it was agreed to enter the cases and
resolutions, mentioning nothing concerning the confessors, nor
their orders. Item, it was resolved that the proponent could
afely in conscience absolve Leonore the next confession, if
she had the bull of indulgences, and promised to be zealous
in the correction and penance, which he was to give her &c.
And accordingly he did, and Leonore was absolved.
The private confession proposed in the Academy, by father Gasca, Jesuit,
and member of the Academy: of a woman of thirty-three years of age.
1\lost reverend Dnd learned fathers, I have thought fit not
to trouble you with the n1ethodical way of private confession I
heard last Sunday, but to give you only an account of the diffi-
cult case in it. The case is this: a woman of thirty-three
years of age, came to confess, and told me, that fron1 sixteen
years of age, till twenty-four, she had committed all sorts of
lewdness, only with ecclesiastical persons, having in every
convent a friar, who, under the name of cousin, did use to vis-
it her :-and notwithstanding the multiplicity of cousin
, she
lived so poorly, that she was forced to turn procuress at the
same time, for new cousins, and that she had followed that
wicked life till thirty-two years of age. The last year she
dreamed that the devil was very free with her, and those
dreams or visions continuing for a long while, she found her-
self with child; and she protests that she knew no man for four-
teen months before.-She is delivered of a boy, and she says
that he is the devil's son, and that her conscience is so troub.
led about it, that if I do not find son1e way to quiet her mind
she will lay violent hands upon herself. I asked her leave to
consult the case, with a promise to resolve it next Sunday.
N
w I ask your wise advice upon this case.
.
MASTER-KEY TO POPERY.
35
The president said, that the case was impossible, and that
the woman was mad; that he was of the opinion to send the
WOl11an to the physicians to be cured of som'3 bodily distemper
she was troubled ",ith. The Jesuit proponent replied, that
the woman was in her perfect senses, and that the case well
required further í'onsideratiol1: upon which, F. Antonio Pal-
omo, who was reputed the most learned of the academy, said,
that saint Augustin treats de 11lcubo et Sucubo, and he would
examine the case, and see whether he might not give some
light for the resolution of the case?
And another member said, that there was in the case some-
tþing more than apparition and devilish liberty, and that he
thought fit that the father Jesuit should inquire more carefully
into the matter, and go himself to examine the house, and
question the people of it; which being approved by the whole
assembly, he did it the next morning, and ln the afternoon,
being an extraordinary n1eeting, he came and said,
Most reverend and learned fathers, the woman was so
strongly possessed with such a vÜáon, that she has made pub-
lic the case among the neighbors, and it is spread abroad.
Upon which the inquisitors did send for the woman and the
Inaid, and this has discovered the whole story, viz: That fa-
ther Conchillos, victorian friar, was in love with the woman, but
she could not endure the sight of him. That he gained the
maid, and by that means he got into the house every night,
and the maid putting some OpitU11 into her mistress's supper,
she fell fast asleep, and the said father did lie with her six
nights together. So the child is not the son of the devil, but
of father Conchillos. Afterwards it was resolved to enter
the case for a memorandum, in the academy's book.
The friar was put into inquisition for having persuaded the
maid to tell her nlistress that it was the devil; for she had
been under the same fear, and really she was in the same
condition. 'Vhat became of the friar I do not know, this I do
aver for a truth, that I spoke with the woman myself, and with
the maid; and that the children used to go to her door, and
call for the son of the devil. And being so mocked, she left
the city in a few days after, and we were told that she lived
after a retired christian life in the country.
The private confession of a pricst, being at the point of death, in 1710. I
sharJ. call him Don Paulo.
Don Paulo. Since God Almighty is pleased to visit me with
,.,his sickness, I ought to ßmkc good use of the \.. me I have to
.
a6
MASTER-KEY '1'0 POPERY.
live, and I desire of you to help me with your prayers, and to
take the trouble to write some substantial points of my confes-
sion, that you may perforln, after my death, whatever I think
may enable me in some measure, to discharge my duty to-
wards God and men. 'Vhen I was ordained priest, I nlade a
general confession of all my sins frOl11 my youth to that time;
Rnd I wish I could now be as true a penitent as I was at that
time; but I hope, though I fear too late, that God will hear
the prayer of my heart.
I have served my parish sixteen years, and all my caI'C has
been to discover the tempers and inclinations of my parishion-
ers, and I have been as happy in this world as unhappy before
my Saviour. I have in ready money fift(.{'n thousand pistcIes,
and I have given away more than six thousand. I had no pat-
rimony, and my living is worth but four hundred pistoles a
year. By this you may easily know, that my money is unlaw-
f..: 'ly gotten, as I shall tell you, if God spare my life till I mali:e
an end of my confession. There are in my parish sixteen
hundred families, and nlore or less, I have defrauded them all
some way or other.
My thoughts have been impure ever since I began to hear
confessions; my words grave and severe with thenl all, and all
my parishioners have respected and feared me. I have had
so great an empire over them, that some of them knowing 01
my misdoings, have taken my defence in public. They have
had in me a solicitor, in all emergencies, and I have omitted
nothing to please them in outward appearance; but my actions
have been the most criminal of mankind; for as to my ecclesi-
astical duty, what I have done has been for custom's sake.
The necessary intention of a priest, in the administration of
baptism and consecration, without which the sacramcnts are of
no effect, I confess I had it not several tiInes, as you shall see,
in the parish booli:s; and observe there, that all these names
marked with a star, the baptism was not valid, for I had no in-
tention: And for this I can give no other reason than mv mal-
ice and wicli:edness. Many of them are dead, for which I am
heartily sorry. As for the times I have consecrated without
intention, we must leave it to God Almighty's mercy, for the
wrong done by it to the souls of my parishioners, and those in
purgatory cannot be helped.
As to the confessions and wills I have received frOln my pa-
rishioners at the point of their death, I do confess, I have made
myself master of as much as I could, and by Ü at nlCal1S I have
ßathered together all my riches. I have sent this morning for
)IASTER-KEY TO POPERY.
37
fifty bulls, and I have given one hundred pistoles for the bene.
fit of the holy crusade, by which his holiness secures my soul
from eternal death.
As to my duty towards God, I am guilty to the highest de-
gree, for I have not loved him; I have neglected to say the
private divine service at home every day; I have polluted his
lwly days by my grievous sins; I have not minded my superi-
ors in the respect due to them; and I have been the Canso of
nlany innocent deaths. I have procured, by remedies, sixty
abortions, Inaking the fathers of the children their murderers;
besides nlany other intended, though not executed, by some
unexpected accident.
As to the sixth commandment, I cannot confess by particu-
lars, but by general heads, my sins. I confess, in the fir!'t
place, that I nave frequented the parish club twelve years.-
We were only six parish priests in it; and there we did con-
sult and contrive all the ways to satisfy our passions. Ev-
ery body had a list of the handsomest women in the pariEh;
and \vhen one had a fupcy to see any woman, remarkable for
her beauty, in another's 1'arish, the priest of her parish sent for
her to his own house; and having prepared the way for wick-
edness, the other had nothing to do Lut to meet her the....e, and
fulfil his desires; -and so we have served one another these
twelve years past. Our method has heen, to persuade the
hnsbands and fathers no
to hinder them any spiritual com-
fort; and to the ladies to persuade them to be sulject to onr
advice and will; and that in so doing, they should have liberty
at any time to go out on pretence of communicating some
Fpiritual business to th& priest. And if they refused to do it,
then we should speak 'u their husbands and fathers not to let
them go out at all; or, which would be worse for them, we
should inform against them to the holy tribunal of inquisition:
And by these diabolical persuasions they were at our COIn-
mand, without fear of revealing the secret.
I haye spared no woman of my pari
h, whom I had a fancy
for, and many othcr cf my brethren's parishes; hut I cannot
tell the ntll11ber. I have sixty nepotes aliye, of several women:
n
lt my principal care ought to 1-e of thof'e that I havc Ly
the two young \\ omen I keep at home since their parcll
s
dicd. Boíh are sistcrs, and I had by the eldest two Loys, and
by the YOl
ngest, one; and one which I had by my own f:is:c.l'
is dead. Thercfl)-;,e I leave to n1Y sister fi'.'e tho:waw 1 pistole<=:,
upon conditicn that she would en'cr nim in St. TIcrnarû'
1110nastery; r
nd ,
pGll the Sfimc condi
ion Ile3.ve '.YO 1hJL:.sanù
D
38
1\1<\.STER-KEY TO POPERY.
pistoles a-piece to the two young women; and the remainder
I leave to lì1Y three nepotes under the care of l\lossen JOhh
Peralta, and ordering that they should be heirs to one another
if any of them should die before they are settled in the world,
and if all shouid die, I leave the 11loney to the treasury of the
ehurch, for the benefit of the seuls in purl;atory. Item: I or-
der that all the papers of such a little trunk be burnt after my
confession is over, (which was done accordingly,) and that the
holy bull of the dead be bought before I die, that I may have
the comfort of having at hQme the Pope's pass for the next
world. Now I ask your penance and absolution for all the
sins reserved in all the bulls, from the first Pope; for which
pu.rpose I have taken the bull of privileges in such cases as
mIne.
So I did absolve him, and assist him afterwards, and he died
the ne\:t day. What to do in such a case, was all my uneasi-
ness after his death; for if I did propose the case before the
members of the acaden1Y, every body could easily I{now the
person, which was against one of the Qrticles we did swear at
our admittance into it: And if I did _lot propose it, I should
act against another article. All my Óifliculty was about the
haptislns which he had administered without intention: For it
is the known opinion of their church, that the intention of a
priest is absolutely necessary to the validity of the sacrament,
and that without it there is no sacrament at all. I had exam-
ilIeJ the books of the parish, and I found a hundred and fift\"-
two nmnes marked with a star, and examining the register "Cf
the dead, I found eighty-six of tt:err.. dead: According to the
principles of the church, all those th
t were alive were to be
baptized; which could not be done WHo -(\1lÌ great scandal, and
prejudice to the clergy. In this Uneafò.lneSS of mind I con-
tinned, till I went to visit the reverend father John Garcia,
who had been nlY master in diyinit?, and I did consult him,
on the case, sub secrcto naturali. I-Ie did advise me to pro-
pose the case to the assembly, upon suppmÚtiofl, that if such
a case sh
uld happen, what should l:;e done in it; and he recom-
Inended to me to talk with a great deal of caution, and to in-
Hist that it ought to be communicated to the bishop; and if the
n1em8ers did agree with mp, then without further confession,
I was to frO to the bishop, and teU his lordship the case, under
se
recy of canfessi::m: I did so, and the bishop said hI;} wouLJ
send for the books, an;:] take the list of an those n;hnns;
nd
as many of them as cOllld l:e fmn:l he woulJ f;en
l for, one by
011C, into hi::> 0'.\"11 ch:lm
cr, and Lap:izc tl13m; cmnmandilìg
MASTER-KEY TO POPERY.
39
them
under the pain of ecclesiastical censure, not to talk of it,
neither in public or private. But as for the other sins, there
was no necessity for revealing them, for by virtue of the bull
of Crusade, (of which I shall speak in the second chapter,) we
could absolve them all.
Hear, 0 heaven! Give ear, 0 earth! And be horriblyaston-
ished! To see the best religion in the world turned into super-
stition and folly; to see, too, that those who are to guide the
people, and put their fl.Jck in the way of salvation, are wol\"es
in sheep's clothing, that devour them, and put them into the
way of damnatiou. 0 God, open the eyes of the ignorant
people, that they may see the injuries done to their souls by
their own guides!
J do not write this out of any private end, to blame all
sorts of confessors; for there are some who, according to the
principles of their religion, do discharge their duty with exact-
Iless and purity, and whose lives, in their own way, are un-
hlamable, and without reproach among men. Such confes-
sors as these I am speaking of, are sober in their actions:
they mortifY their bodies with fasting over and above the rules
prescribed by the church, by discipline, by kneeling down
in their closets six or eight hours every filay, to n1editate on
the holy mysteries, the goodness of God, and to pray to hitn
[>1' all sort
of sinners, that they may be brought to repent-
ance anù salvation, &c. They sleep but few hours. They
spen.! most of their spare time in reading the ancient fathers
of the chuI'ch, and other books of devotion.
They live poorly, because \vhatever thcy have, the poor are
enjoyers of it. The tirne they giv
to the public is but very
little, anù not every day; and then whatever counsels they
give are right, sincere, without flattery or interest. All pious,
religious persons do solicit their acquaintance and conversa-
tion; but they avoid all pomp and vanity, and keep them-
selves, as much as they can, within the limits of solitude; anò
if they nlake some visitt:, it must be upon urgent necessity.
Sometimes you may find them in the hospitals among the
poor, sick, helping and exhorting them: but they go there
lnnst commonly in the night, for what they do, they do it not
oat of pride, but humility.
I knew some of these exemplary men, but a very few; nnd
I heard some of them preach \vith a fervent zeal about the
promoting of Christ's religion, and exhorting the people to
pllt their lives voluntarily in the defence of ihe Reman-Catho-
lic f.tith, aJ:l extirpate an:1 de
troy all the cnewics of their
10
J\IASTER-KEY TO POPERY.
communion. I do not pretend to judge. thenl, for judgment
belongeth to God: This I say with St. Paul, that if those re-
ligious men have a zec:l of God, their zeal is not acc01'ding to
ltlLOwledge. .
TI1e private confession of a N
n, in the convent of S. O.-Before I bpgm
the confession, it will not be improper to give an account of the cus-
toms of the nuns, and places of their confessions.
By the constitutions of their order, so many days are ap
pointed, in which all the nuns are obliged to confess, frOlD the
l\Iother Abbess to the very wheeler; i. e. the nun that turns
the wheel near the door, through which they give and receive
every thing they want. They have a father confessor and a
Htther companion, who live next to the convent, and have a
small grate in the wa.ll of their chamber, which answers to
the upper cloister or gallery of the convent. The confessor
hath care of the souls of the convent, and he is obliged to say
IllaSS every day, hear confessions, administer the sacraments,
and visit the sick nuns. There are several, narrow closets in
the church, with a small iron grate: One side answers to the
cloister, and the other to the church. So the nun being on the
inside and the conf
ssor on the outside, they hear one an-
other. There is a large grate filcing the great altar, and the
holes of it are a quarter of a yard square; but that grate is
double, that is, one within andanothor without, and the distance
Lctween both is more than half a yard. And besides these,
there is another grate for relations, and benefiLCtors of the
cOl1lIllmáty, which grate is single, and consists of very thin
iron bars: the holes of such a grate are near a quarter and a
h3.lf
quare. In all those grates the nuns confess their sins:
for, on a solemn day, they send for ten or twelve confessors;
otherwise they could not confess the fourth part of them, for
there are ip. some 1110D.asteries 110 nuns, in others 80, in oth-
ers 40, but this last is a small number.
The nnns' fc'lther-confcssor hath but little trouble ,vith the
young nnns, for they g.enerally send for a confessor who is a
f'tranger to them, so that his trouble is with the old ones, who
have no business at the grate. These trouble their confessor
nlmost every day with many ridiculous trifles, and wil-l keep
the poor man two hours at the grate, telling him how map_y
times they have spit in the church, how many flies they ha\'e
killed, how many times they haTe flown into a passion wi!h
their lap clog
, and o
her nonsensical, ridicl:loas things lil,c
these; and the reason is L ecause they have nothing to {!o, no-
)IASTETI-KEY TO POPERY.
41
body goes to visit them nor cares for them; so sometlmes they
choose to be spies for the young nuns, when they are at the grate
with their gallants; and for fcar of their Mother Abbess, they
place SOffit: Jfthe old nuns before the door of the parlor, to watch
the :L\-Iother Abbess, and to give them timely notice Gfher coming;
and the poor old nuns perform this office with a great deal of
pleasure, tàithfulnes8, and some profit too. But I shall not say
any more of them, confining myself wholly to the way of
living among the young nuns.
Many gentlemen send their daughters to the nunnery when
they are some five, some six, some eight years old, under the
care of some nun of their relations.. or else some old nun of
their acquaintance; and there thé y get education till they
are fifteen years old. The tutress takes a great deal of care
not to let them go to the grate, nor converse with men all the
while, to prevent in them the l{nowledge and Jove of the
world. They are caressed by all the nuns, and thinking it
will be always so, they are very well pleased with their con-
finement. They have only liberty to go to the grate to their
parents or relations, and ahra ys accompanied with the old
Inuther tutress. And when they are fifteen years old, which
is the age fixed by the constitutions of all the orders, they re-
ceive the habit of a nun, and begin the year of noviciate,
which is the year òf trial to see whether they can go through
all the hardships, fastings, disciplines, prayers, hours of divine.
service, obedience, pGverty , chastity, and penances practised
in the monastery: But the prioref.s or abLess, and the rest of
the professed nuns, do dispenE,e with, and excuse the novices
from all the severities, for fear that the novices should be
dissatisfied wÜh, and leave the convent: And in this they are
very much in the wrong; for, be
idcs that they do not otsen'c
the precepts of their monas tical l"uIe, they deceive the poor,
ignorant, inexperienced young novices, who, after their pro-
fession and vows of perpetuity, do heartily repent they had
been so much indulged. Thus the novices, flattered in the
year of noviciate, and thinláng they will be so aU thcir life
time, when the year is expired, make profession, and swear to
01"'serve chastity, obcàience and p(J1
erty, du.ring their Ii, es, and
cla1lsura, i. c. con.fincmer..t; obliging thenlf-:elves, by it, noyer
to go ont of the monastery.
After the profes
ion is made, they tegin to feel the
cverity
and hardships of the monastical ìife; fcJr one is n
a(le a door-
kCCpel"; anoth('r turner of the wheel, to recpi,'c and deliver hy
it ail the nun._,' ll1cssngcs; Ul1o'hf'r l(,
lnt
n, that i
j to c311lhe
D2
42
1'tIASTJ.
R-K}:Y TO })OPERY.
nuns, when anyone comes to visit them; another baker; anoth..
er book-keeper of all the rents and expenses, and the like; and
n the performance of all these employments, they must ex-
pend a great deal of their own money. After this they have
liberty to go to the grate, and talk with gentlemen, priests and
friar
, who only go there as a gallant goes to see his mistress.
So when the young nuns begin to have a notion of the pleas-
ures of the world, and how they have been deceived, they
are heartily sorry, but too late, for there is no remedy. And
n1Ïnding nothing but to satisfy their passions as well as they
can, they abandon themselves to all sorts of wickedness and
mnorous intrigues.
There is another sort of nuns, whon1 the people call1as for-
c.adas, the forced nuns; i. e. those who have Inade a false step
in the world, and cannot find husbands, on account of their
('rimes being public. Those are despised and ill used by
their parents and relations, till they choose to go to the nun-
n.ery: So by this it is easily known what sort of nuns they
will make.
Now as to the spending of their time. They get up at six
in the morning and go to prayers, and to hear mass till seven.
From seven till ten, they wod{ or go to breakf:'lst, either in
their chanlbers, or in the common hall. At ten they go to the
great mass till eleven: After it, they go to dinner. After
dinner, they may di\'ert themselves till two. At two they go
to prayers, for a quarter of an hour, or (if they sing vespers)
for half an hour; and afterwal"ds they are free till the next
11lorning: So everyone is waiting for her devoto, that is, a gal-
lant, or spiritual husband, as they call him. "Vhen it is dark
evening, they send away the devotos, and the doors are locked
up; so they go to their own chamber to write a billet, or letter
to the spiritual husband, which they send in the morning to
them, and get an answer; and though they see one another
almost every day, for all that, they must write to one another
every Illorning: And these letters of love, they call the reCl"ea-
tion if tlte .ypirit for the time the devotos are absent from
them. Every day they must give one another an account of
whatever thing they have done since the last visit; and iu-
deed there are warmer expressions of love and jealousy be-
tween the nun and the devoto, than between real n ife ap<.
husband.
}IASTER-}{EY TO POPERY.
43
N('W' I come to the private confession; and I wish I could have the styi"
of an angel, to express myself with purity and modesty in this confe
sion.
Nun. Reverend Father, as the number of my sins are se
great, and so great the variety of circumstances attending
themj mistrusting my memory, I have set down in writing
this confession, that you may entirely be acquainted with ev-
ery thing that troubles my conscience; and so I humbly beg
of you to read it.
ConJ. I did approve the method of writing, but you ought
to read it yourself, or else it cannot be oris confessio, or con-
fession by mouth.
Nun. If it is so, I begin. I thought fit to acquaint you
with the circumstances of my past life, that you may form a
right judgment of my monastÏcallife and conversation, '" hich
in
onle nleasure, will excuse me before the world, though not
before God, our righteous judge.
I am the only daughter of counsellor N. E. who brought n1e
up in the fear of God, and gave me a writing master, which is
a rare thing. I was not quite thirteen years of age, when a
gentleman of quality, though not very rich, began his love to
Ine by letters which he (gaining my writing master) sent to me
by him. There was nothing in the world so obliging, civil,
modest and endearing, as his expressions seemed to rne, anù at
last having the opportunity of meeting him at the house of one
of nlY aunts, his person and conversation did so chal'm my
heart, that a few days after we gave one another reciprocal
promises of an eternal union: But by a letter which was un..
fortunately miscarried, and fell into my father's hands, our
honest designs were discovered; and without telling me any
thing, he went to see the gentleman, and spoke to him in this
lnanner: Sir, my daughter, in discharging of her duty to so good
a father, has communicated to me your honorable designs, and
I come to thank you for the honor you are pleased to do nlY
fitmily: But, being so young, we think proper to put off the
performance of it, till she comes to he fifteen years of age
Now 8he, and I also, as a father to you both, (for I looh: upon you
as upon my own son) do desire of you the filvor not to gi\'f
any public occasion ot censure to the watchful neighboff;, and
if you have any regard fùr her, I hope you will do this and
more for her and for me: And to shew YOll my great aflèction, I
offer yon a captain's commÍFFion in the regimC'nt that the city
rai
:eth ft.!" the l"\.
n;, and ad\'ise you to serve twO) carF 9
nJ
44
l'IASTER-KEY TO POPERY.
afterwards, you may accomplish your desIre. The genflemar
accepted it, and the next day the conunission was signed anr
delivered to hinI, with an order to go to Catalonia. At thp,
sanle time the writing nIaster was sent out of the town under
pretence of receiving some money from my father; and I
was kept close at horne, so he could not get an opportunity
of seeing or writing to me; for my father told him I was
sick in bed. As soon as he left the town, my father told me
that he was dead, and that I must retIre myself into the nun-
nery, for that was his will: So immediately he brought me
here, and gave severe directions to the mother abbess, not to
let Ine see any body but himself. Indeed, he did spare noth-
ing tù please me, until I recei,-ed the habit, and made the
profession and vows of a monastical life: After which he
told me the whole story himself; and the gentleman was kill-
ed in Catalonia the first campaign.
I do confess, that ever since, I did nut care what should be-
come of me, and I have abandoned myself to all the sins I
have been capable to conlnlit. It is but ten months since I
made my profession, and bound myself to perpetuity; though
ns I did it without intention, I am not a nun before God, nor
obliged to keep the vow of religion; and of this opinion are
1l1any other nuns, especially ten young nuns, my intimate
friends, who, as well as I, do cominunicate to one another the
most secret things of our hearts.
Each of this assembly has her devoto, and we are every day
in the afternoon at the grate : We shew one another the letters
we receive from them, and there is nothing that we do not in-
vent for the accomplishment of our pleasures.
COllf. Pray, confess your own sins, and omit the sins of
vour friends.
'" Nun. I cannot, for my sins are so confounded with the sins
of my friends, that I cannot mention the one without the
other.
But coming now to my greatest sin, I must tell you, that a
nun of our assembly has a friar her devoto, the most beautiful
young man, and we contrived and agreed together to bring
hÏIll into the convent, a
we did, and ha\re kept him two and
twenty days in our chamber: During which time we went to
the grate very seldom, on pretence of being not well. \Ve
have given no srandal, for nobody has suspected the least
thing in the case. And this is the greatest sin I have commit-
tt:d with man.
1\I.ASTER-KEY TO POPERY.
45
ConJ. Pray, tell me, how could you let hÏ1n In without
s:and.al?
lVun. One of the assembly contrived to mat all the flo r :.. of
her chamber, and sent for the mat-malier to take the llieasure
of the length and breadth of the room, and to make it in one
piece, and send it to the Sexton's chamber, who is a poor ig-
norant fellow. \Vhcn the Inat was there, and the man paid fur
it, one day in the evening we sent the sexton on several Ines-
sages, and kept the key of his room. The friar had aEked
leave of his prior to go into the country for a month's tin1e,
anù disguising himself in a layman's habit, feeing well two
porters, came in the dusk of the evening, into the sexton's room,
and rolling up hinlself in the Inat, the porters brought the mat
to the door, where we were waiting for it; and, tnking it, we
carried it up to one of our chambers. \Ve '" ere afi'aid that
the porters would discover the thin;, but by money we have
secured ourselves from them; for we hired ruflians to nmke
away with them. \Ve put him out of the convent in a great
chest which could be opened on the inside, and of which he had
the key, and giving the chest to the sexton, he and the ser-
vant or the convent carried it into the sexton's rOOIn. 'Ve or-
dered hin1 to leave the key at the door, for we expected some
relations which were to take a collation there; and we sent
hiln on some errand till the friar had got out of the chest and
of danger.
A month after, three of our friends began to perceive the
condition they were in, and left the convent in one night, by
which they have given great scandal to the city, and we do
not know what has become of them; as for me, I design to do
the same, for I am under the same apprehensions and fear;
for I consider that if I do continue in the convent, my unusual
size will discover me, and though one life shall be saved, I
shall lose mine by the rulers of our order in a miserable man-
ner, and not only so, but a heavy reflection will fall upoe the
whole order, and the dishonor of m.y family shall be the
ore
public: \Vhereas, if I quit the convent by night, I save two Ii" e
,
and the world will renect only upon me, and then I shall t
ke
care to go so far off that nopody shall hear of llle; and as I mn
sure, in my conscience, that I ain not a nun for ,vant of inton..
tion, when I did promise to keep obedicnce, chastity, pOl."crly,
find perpetuity, I shall not incur the crin1e of apostacy in lca,-
ing the convent; and if I continue in it, I am fL.ly resolved to
prevent my ruin and death by a strong operating renlCòy
46
MASTER-KEY TO POPERY.
This is all I have to say, and I do expect from you not only
your advice, but your assistance too.
'-....')nf. I do find the case so intricate, that 1 want experi-
ence and learning to resolve what to do in it; and I do think
it proper for you to send for another confessor of years and
learning, and then you shall have the satisfaction of being well
directed and advised.
IVun. Now, reverend father, I do tell you positively, that
I shall never open my heart to another confessor, while I live j
and if you do not advise me what to do, I shall call you before
God .for it; and now I lay upon you whatever thing may hap
pen In my case.
COllf. Ignorance will excuse me from sin, and I tell you]
am ignorant how to resolve the case.
Nun. I am resolved for all events, and if you refuse me
this comfort, I shall cry out, and say, that you have been soli-
citing and corrupting me in the very act of confession, and you
shall suffer fOi' it in the inquisition.
Conf. \Vell, have patience, means may be found out; and
if you give me leave to consult the case, I shall resolve you
a bout it in three days time.
IVlln. How can you consult n1Y case, without exposing the
order, and my reputation too
perhaps, by some circumstance?
Conf. Leave it to me, and be not uneasy about it, and I do
promise to come with the resolution on Sunday next.
Nun. Pray, Father, if it be possible, come next IVlonday
morning, and I shall be free frOlll company.
Conf. It is very well: but in the mean time, have before
your eyes the wrath of God against those that abandon thern-
selves and forget that he is a living God, to punish suddenly
great sinners; and with this, filfewell.
l\Iy mind never before was so much troubled as it wa
after
this case. I was, more by the interests of others, than by my
learning, appointed penitentiary confessor in the cathedral
ehurch of
t. Salvator; and as the duty of such a confessor is
to be e\Tery day, in the Inorning, four hours in the confessiona-
ry, from eight to twelve, except he be called abroad-every
body thinks that such a confessor Inust be able to resolve all
cas
s and difficulties: But it was not so with Ine; for I was
vonno- and without ex p erience. And as to this case, the next
'"'
academical day I proposed it in the fi)llowing manner:
There is a person bound by word of nlOuth, but at the Saine
time without intention, nay, with a mind and heart averse to it;
oound, I say, to obedicnce, chastity, and poverty. If the person
1\L\.STER-}i.EY TO 1'01)ERY.
47
leaves the convent, the crime of apm,tacy is not commieed in
fo/"o inferno; and if the person continues in the convent, the
consequence is to be a great sin in foro externo and interno.
The person expects the resolution, or else is fully resolved tc
expose the conte,ssor to scandal and personal sufferings: This
is the case which I humbly lay down before your learned re-
verences.
The president's opinion was, that in such a case, the con-
fessor was obliged, in the first place, to reveal it in gener,tl
terms to the holy inquisitors; for (said he) though this Caf5C is
not nlentioned in our authors, there are others very like thi
,
which ought to be revealed, viz: all those that are against ei-
ther the temporal or spiritual good of our neighbor, which cases
are reserved to the bishop or to his deputy; and this case, by
the last circumstance, being injurious to the holy tribuna], the
confessor ought to pre\'ent the scandal which might otherwif:e
fiLII upon him, to reveal the last cirCUlllstance. As for the first
circumstance of the case, in this and others, we must judge se-
cundum allegatct and probata; and we nIust suppose, that no
penitent comes to confe
s with a lie in his mouth; tl
refore, it'
the person affinlls that he was Þound without intention, he is
free before God: Besides, in rcbus dubi-is miJ.i1lZum. cst seq'llen.-
dum.; so to prevent greater evil, I think the person ìì1ay be ad-
vised to quit the convent; and this is agreeable to the Pope's
dispensations to such persons, when they swear and produce
witness, that (before they were bound to the vow) heard the
person say they had no intention to it.
The reverend IVIr. Palomo's opinion was, that the confessor
was to take the safest part, which was to advise the penitent
to send to Rome for a dispen
ation, which could be obtained by
money, or to the Pope's l.Yuncio, who would give leave to quit
the convent for six months, upon necessity of preserving or re-
covering bodily health; and in that time, may be the person
would disf'ipate some fumes of grief or melancholy fhncies, &c.
But I replied to this, that the person could not do the first,
for want of witness, nor the second, for being in perfect health,
the physician never would grant his certificate to be produced
before the Pope's NUllcio, which is absolutely necessary in
mch cases; and as to revealing the case to the holy inquisi-
tor
, it is very dangerous, both to the person and the confessor,
us we could prove by several instances.
To this, several mernbers being of my opinion, it was re-
solved, that the confessor, first of all, was to absolve the peni-
tent, having a bull of crllzadc and c.rlra confcssiollcm, or out of
48
MASTER-REY TO POPERY.
confe
sion give, as a private person, ad \Tice to the penitent to
quit the convent and take a certificate: \Vherein the penitent
was to specify, that the confessor had given such advice extra
actum confessionis. The case and. resolution was entered in
the academy's book. And accordingly IHonday following, I
wcnt to the nun and performed what was re.solved; and the
very same week, we heard in the city, that such a nun had
made her escape out of the convent.
Two years and a half after this, I saw this very nun one
day at the court of Lisbon, but I did not speak with her, for as
I was drcssed like an officer of the army, I thought she would
118t know me; but
was mistaken, for she knew lne in my dis-
guise as well as I did her. The next day she came to my
lodgin 6 s followed by a lacquey, who, by ,her orders, had dogged
me the night before. I was so troubled for fear to be discover-
ed, that I thought the best way I could take was to run away
· and secure myself in an English ship: But by her first words,
I discovered that her fear was greater than mine: for after
giving me an account of her cscape out of the convent, and safe
delivery, she told me that a Portuguese captain happening to
quarter in the same town where she was, took her away one
night, and can'ied her to Barcelona, but that she refusing to
comply with his desires, on any but honorable terms, he had
married her and brought her to Lisbon: That her husband
knew nothing of her having been a nun; that she took another
naIU.c, and that she was very happy with her husband, who was
very rich, and a rnan of good sense. She begged me with
tears in her eyes not to ruin her by discovering any thing of
her life past. I assured her, that nothing ehould happen on my
account, that should disoblige her; and afterwards she asked
HIe why I was not dressed in a clerical habit? To which I de-
sired her to take no notice of it, for I was there upon secret
business and of great consequence, and that as there was no-
body there who knew me in
aragossa, it was proper to be dis-
guised. She desired my leave to introduce me to her husband.,
under the title of a country gentleman, who was come thither
for Charles the 3d's sake. I thanked her, and she went hon1c
overjoyed with my promise, and I was no less with hers. The
next day her husband can1e to visit nIP, and ever after, we vis
itcd almost every day onc another, till I lcft that city. This]
Eay, shc was a bettcr wife than she had been a nun, and lived
mare religiously in the world, than she had done in the dois.
-cr of the convent.
Now I nIust leave off the accot1nt of private cases and crn-
MASTER-KEY TO POPERY.
49
feAsions J not to be tedious to the readers by insisting too long
a time upon one sulject. But, as I promised to the public to
discover the most secret practices of the Romish priests, in this
point of auricular confession, I cannot dismiss nor put an end
to this first chapter, without. performing my promise.
By the account I have already given of a few private con-
fessions, every body may easily know the wickedness of the
Romish priests, but more particularly their covetousness and
thirst of money will be detected by my following observations.
First of all, if a poor countryman goes to confess, the father..
confessor takes little pains with him, for, as he expects little or
nothing from him, he heareth him, and with bitter words cot--
rects the poor man, and, most conlmonly, without any correc-
tion, imposing upon him a hard penance, sends him away with
the same ignorance he went to confess.
2. If a soldier happens to go to make his peace with God,
(so they e
press themselves ,,,,hen they go to confess) then the
confessor sheweth the power of a spiritual guide. He ques-
tions him about three sins only, viz. thefts, drunkenness and
uncleanness. Perhaps the poor soldier is free from the two
first, but if he is guilty of tile last, the confessor draws the con-
sequence that he is guilty of all the three, and terrifying him
with hell, and all the devils, and the fire of it, he chargeth him
with restitution, and that he is obliged to give so much mOßey
for the relief of the souls in purgatory, or else he cannot get
ahsolution. So the poor man, out of better conscience than
his confessor, offers a month's pay, which must be given up-
on the spot (for in the shop of confessors there is neither
trust nor credit) to appease the rough, bitter confessor, and
to get al:solution ; and I believe this hard way of using the
poor soldiers is the reason that they do not care at all for that
act of devotion; and as they are so bad customers to the con..
fcssor's shop, the confessors use their endeavors, when they go
to buy absolutiün, to sell it as dear as they can; so they pay at
one time for two, three, or Inore years.
I heard a soldier, damning the confessorE:, say, "ii. I con-
tinue in the king's service 20 years, I will not go to confess,
for it is easier and cheaper to lift up my finger$ and be absolved
The custom of ihe Spanish army in the field, and the day before the battle,
or before f3e engagement, the chaplain goes through all the companies, \0 ask
the "fficers \\,.hether they have a mind to confess, and if anyone has any thing
to say, he whispers in the chaplain's ear, and so through all the officers. As
for the priv.ü.te men: Crying out, says, he that has a sin, let him lift up one
finger, and gives a general absolution to all at once.
E
50
MASTER-KEY TO POPERY.
by our chap1ain, than to go to a devilish friar, who cloth noth.
in cr but rail and grumble at me, and yet I Inust give him money
r,;' masses, or else he will not absolve me: I will give him
l
ave to bury me alive, if ever he gets me near hÜn again."
If a collegian goes to confess, he finds a nlild and sweet con..
fessor, and without being questioned, and with a small penance,
he generally gets absolution. The reason the confessors have to
use the collegians with so great civility and mildness is, first,
because if a collegian is ill-used Ly his confessOl, he goes to a
deaf trial', who aosolves ad dc.'Ctc'ram and ad si
,tist7"æm, all
sort.... of penitents for a real of plate; and after, he inquireth
and examineth into all the other confessor's actions, visits and
intrigues; and when he has got matter enough, he will write a
lampoon on him, which has happened very often in Iny time.
So the confessor dares not meddle with the collegians, for fear
that his tricks should he brought to light; and another reason
is, because the collegians, for the generality are like the fiUes
de joye in Lent, i. e. 'Vithout nlOney, and so the confessor can-
not expec-t any profit by them.
I say, if absolution is denied to a collegian, he goes to a
deaf confessor; for sonle confessors are called deaf, not be-
cause they are really, but because they give small penance
without correction; and never deny absolution, though the sins
be reserved to the Pope. I knew two Dominican friars, who
were known by the Ilalne of deaf.confessors, because they
never used to question the penitent.
Only one of such confessors has more business in Lent, than
twenty of the others, for he (like our couple-beggars, who for
six pence do marry the people) for the same sum gives ahso-
lution. And for this reason all the great and habitual sinners
go to the deaf confessol", who gives, upon a bargain, a cer-
tificate, in which he says that such a one has fulfilled the com-
mandment of the church, for every body is obliged to pro-
duce a certificate of confession to the minister of the parish
before Easter, or else he must be exposed in the church: So
as it is a hard thing for any old sinner to get absolution, and a
certificate from other covetous confesRors, without a great deal
of money, they generally go to the deaf confe'(
8ors" I had
a friend in the same convent, who told me, that such confes-
sors were obliged t.o give two-thirds of their profit to the
community, and being only two deaf confessors in that con-
vent, he assured me, that in one lent, they gave to the father
prior 600 pistoles 3. piece. I found the thing incredible,
thinking that only p )01' and debauched people used to go to
IASTER-KEY '1'0 l'OPERY.
51
them; but he satisfied me, saying, that rich and poor, men
and women, priests and nuns, 'were custonlers to them, and
that only the poor and loose people used to go to confess in
the church; but as for the rich, priests and nuns, they were
5ent for by them, in the afternoon, and at night; and that the
poor Deafs had scarcely tÜne' to get their rest; and that when
they were sent for, the common price was a pistole, and some-
times ten pistoles, according to the quality and circumstances
of the person. And thus much of deaf confessors.
4. If a friar or a priest comes to contess, every body ought
to suppose, that the father-confessor has nothing to do, but to
give the penance, and pronounce the words of absolution; for
both penitent and confessor being of the same trade, and of
the same corporation, or brotherhood; the fashion of this
cloak of absolution is not paid among them, and they work
one for another, without any interest, in expectation of the
Same return.
This must be understood between the friars only, not be-
tween a friar and a secular priest; for these do not like one
another, and the reason is, because the friars, for the general-
ity, are such officious and insinuating persons in families, that
by their importunities and assiduity of visits, they become at
last the masters of families, and goods; so the secular priest
hath nothing to busy himself with; and observe, that there
are twenty friars to one secular priest, so the small fish is
eaten by the greater; therefore, if it happens sometimes upon
necessity, that a priest goes to confess to a friar, or a friar to
a priest, they make use of such an opportunity, to exact as
much as they can from one another.
I know a good merry priest, who had been in company with
a friar's devota, i. c. in proper terms, mist'l"eS8; and jested a
little with her: Afterwards, the poor priest having something
to confess, and no other confessor in his way, but the devoto
of that devota, he was forced to open his heart to him; but the
confessor was so hard upon him, that he mitde hiln pay on the
nail two piecés of cight, to get absolution. So he payed dear
for jesting with the mistress of a friar; and he protested to m(\,
that if it ever happened, that that friar should come to confes:5
to him, he should not go away at so chen? a rate.
This I can aver, that I went to a Franciscan convent the
second day of August, to get the indulgences of the Jubilee of
Porciunculæ, and my confessor was so hard, that he bcgan to
per3uade me, he could not absolve me withuut a pistole in
hand: I told him, that I had not coníèssed any reserved sin,
5
MASTER-KEY TO POPERY.
and that he did not know I could ruin him: But the friar,
knowing that it was a great scandal to get up from his feet
without absolution, he insisted on it; and I was oLliged to
avoid scandal, to give him his demand. After the confession
was over, as I had been in a great passion at the unreasonable
usage of the friar; I thought it was not fit for me to celebrate
the .L\lass without a new reconciliation (as we call the short
confession,) so I went to the father-guardian or superior of the
convent, and confessing that sin of passion, occasioned by the
covetous usage of such a confessor, his correction to me was,
to paydown another pistole for scandalizing both the friar 3;nd
the Franciscan habit; I refused the correction, and went home
without the second absolution. I had a mind to expose both
of them; but upon second thoughts, I díd nothing at all, for
fear that the whole order should be against me.
5. If a mûdest, serious, religious lady comes to confess, he
useth her in another way; for he knows that such ladies never
come to confess, without giving a good charity for Masses; so
all the confessor's care is, to get himself into the lady's favor,
which he doth by hypocritical expressions of godliness and de-
votion, of humility and òtrictness of life. lIe ::;peaks gravely
and conscientiously, and if the lady has a family, he gives
her excellent advices, a
, to keep her children within the
limits of sobriety and virtue, for the world is so deceitful, that
we ought always to be upon our guard; and to watch continu-
all y over our souls, &c. And by that means and the like,
(the good lady believing him a sincere and devout man,) he
becomes the guide of her sou], of her house and family, and
Inost commonly the ruin of her children, and sometimes her
own ruin too. I will give the following instance to confirm
this truth; and as the thing was public, I need not scrupie
to mention it with the real names. In the year 1706, F. An-
tonio Gallardo, Augustin friar, Inurdered Donna Isabella
Mendez, and a child three weeks old sucking.. at her breast.
The lady was but twenty-four years of age, and had been
nlarried eight years to Don Francisco l\Iendez. . The friar had
been her spiritual guide all that while, and all the family had sc
great a respect and esteem for him, that he was the absolute
master of the house. The lady was brocght to bed, and Don
Francisco being obliged' to go into the country for tour days,
desired the father to come and lie in his house, and take
care of it in his ab:;ence. The father's room was alway
ready: so he went there the same day Don Francisco we"nt
into the country. At eight at night, bo
h the father and the
.
1\-IASTER-KEY TO POPERY.
53
. ady ,vent to supper, and after he sent all the maids and ser-
vants into ihe hall to sup, the lady took the child to give him
suck; and the friar told her, in plain and short reasons, his
love, and that without any reply or delay, she must comply
with his request. The lady said to him, }'ather, if you propose
such a thing to try my faithfulness and virtue, you know my
conscience these eight years past; and if you have any ill de-
sign, I will call my family to prevent your further assurance.
The friar then in a fury taking a knife, killed the child, and
wounded so deeply the mother, that she died two hours after.
The friar made his escape, but whether he went to his convent
or not, we did not hear. I myself saw the lady dead, and
went to her burial in the church of the old St. John.
6. If a Beata goes tt) confess, which they do every day, or
at least every other day, then the Confessor, with a great deal
of patience, hears her (sure of his reward.) I cannot pass by
without giving a plain description of the women called Beatas,
i. e. blesscd 'lComen. These are most commonly tradesmen's
wive
, (ge.nerally speaking, ugly] and of a middle age. But
this rule has some exceptions, for there are some Beatas young
and handsome. They are dressed with lllodesty, and walk,
with a serious countenance. But since their designs in this
outward modesty, were discovered, they are less in number
and almost out of fashion, since king Philip came to the
throne of Spain; for the French liberty and freedOln being
introduced amongst the ladies, they have no occasion of strat-
agems to go abroad when they please: So, as the design of a
Beata was to have an excuse, on pretence of confession, to go
out, sublata causa tollitu'lo e.fJ'cctus.
The Confessor, I said, of a Beata, was sure of his reward;
for she, watching the living and the dead, useth to gather
money for masses, from several people, to satisfy her confessor
for the trouble of hearing her impertinences every day. A
Beata sometimes Inakes her confes
or believe that many
things were revealed to her by the floly Spirit; sometimes
she pretends to work miracles j and by- sueh visions, fancies,
or dreams, the confessors fall into horrible crimes before God
and tht world.
The following insldnce, WfUCll was pHbllshed by the inquisitors, will be a tes-
timony of this truth. I gi";e the real names of the persons in this account,
because the thing was made public.
In the city of Saragossa, near the college of S1. Thomas of
Villancuva, lived l\Iary Guerrero, married to a tayloJ'; she
1::2
M
MASTER
KEY TO POPERY.
was handsome, witty, and ambitious: but as the rank of It
taylor's wife could not make her shine among the quality,
she undertook the life of a Bcata, to be known by it in the
city. The first step she was to make was to choose a confes-
sor of good parts, and of good reputation among the nobility;
so she pitched upon the reverend Father Fr. Michael Navarro,
a Dominican Friar, a man who was D. D. ánd a Dlan univer-
sally well heloved for his doctrine and good behaviour. But,
quando Venus vigilat, 1
Iinerva dorm it.
he began to confess
to him, and in less than a year, by her feigned modesty, and
hypocritical airs; and. by confessing no sins, but the religiow3
exercises of her life; the reverend father began to publish in
the city her sanctity to the highest pitch. Many ladies and
gentlemen of the first rank, desirous to see the new saint,
sent for her, but she did not appear, but by her maid, gave a
denial to gll. This was a new addition to the fame of her
sanctity, and a new incitement to the ladies to see her. So
some, going to visit Father Navarro, desired the favor of him
to go along with them, and introduce them to the blessed
Guerrero: But the father, (either bewitched by her, or in ex..
pectation of a bishoprick, for the making of a saint, or the bet-
ter to conceal his private designs,) answered, that he could
not do such a thing; for, knowing her virtue, modesty, and
aversion to any act of vanity, he should be very much in the
wrong to give her opportunities of cooling her fervent zeal and
purity.
By that means, rich and poor, old and young, men and wo-
men, began to resort to her neighbor's house, and the Domin..
ican church, only to see the bl(ssed Guerrero. She shewed a
great displeasure at these popular demonstrations of respect,
and resolved to keep close at home; and after a long consult-
ation with the Father Navarro, they agreed that she should
keep her room, and that he would go to confess her, and sa)
mass in her room, (for the DOlninicans, and the four Mendi-
cant orders, have a privilege for their friars to say l\'ia
s, or,
as they say, to set an altar every where.) To begin this new
way of living, the father charged her hustand to quit the
house and never appear before his wife; for his sight would
be a great hindrance to his wife's sanctity and purity; and
the ...001' sot believing every thing, went away and took a
lodging for himself and apprentice.
They continued this way of living, both she and the Father,
a whole year; but the fatigue of. going every day tù say lVlass
Ilnd confess the blessed, being too great for the reverend, he
)IASTER-KEY TO POPERY.
5f,
asked leave from the reverend father Buenacasa, then prior of
the convent, to go and live with her as a spiritual guide. The
prior, foreseeing some great advantage, gave him leave, so he
went for good and all to be her lodger and Jna
ter of the
house. When -the father was in the house, h
began by de-
grees to give permission to the people now and then to see the
blessed, through the glass of a little window, desiring them not
to make a noise, for fear of disturbing the blessed in her exer-
cise of devotion: She was in her own room, always upon her
knees, when some people were to see her through the glass,
which was in the wall between her room and that of the rev-
erend. In a few months after, the archbishop went to see her,
and conversed with her and the father Navarro, who was in
great friendship with, and much honored by his Grace. This
example of the prelate put the nobility in mind to do the same.
'rhe viceroy not being pern1Ítted by his royal representation
to go to her, sent his coach one night for her, and both the fa-
ther and the ble8.çed l
ad the honor to sup in private with his
Excellency. Thi
being spread abroad, she was troubled
with coaches and presents from all sorts and conditions of
people. lVlany sick went there in hopes to be healed by her
sight; and some that happened to go when nature itself was
upon the crisis, or by the exercise of walking, or by some other
natural opera:tion, finding thelnselves better, used to cry out,
a rniracle, a miracle! She wanted nothing but to be carried
on a pedestal upon the ignorant's shoulders: The fame of
her sanctity was spread so far, that she was troubled every
post day with letters from people of quality in other provinces,
so the reverend was obliged to take a secretary under him,
and a porter to keep the door; for they had removed to another
house of better appearance and more conveniency. Thus
they continued fi)r the space of two years, and all this while
the reverend was writing the life of the blessed; and many
times he was pressed to print part of her life; but the time of
the discovery of their wickedncss being cmne, they were ta-
ken by an order from the holy inquisition.
The discovery happened thus: Ann l\loron, a sUfgeon's
wife, who lived next door to the bl(wsl'd, had a child of tcn
months old; and, as a neighbor, she went to desire the rever-
end to beg of the blessed to take the chilJ and kis
him, think
ing, that by such an holy ki
s, her child would 00 happy
forever. But the reverend desiring her to go heu elf ano
Jnake the request to the blcssed, she did it accordingly. l\lary
GuerrerJ took the child, and bid the mother leave him \
Tith
ð6
)IASTER-KEY TO POPEKY.
her for a quarter of an hour. Ann Moron then thought that
her child was already in heaven; but when in a quarter of an
hour after, she caJlle again for the child, the blessed told her,
that her child was to die the night following, for so God had
revealed to her in a short prayer she made for the child. The
child really died the night following, but the surgeon, as a
tender father, seeing some spots and Inarks in his child's body,
opened it, and found in it the cause of its unfortunate death,
which was a dose of poison. Upon this suspicion of the
child's being poisoned, and the foretelling of his death by the
blC3scd, the father went to the inquisitors, and told the nature of
the thing.
Don Pedro Guerrero, the first inquisitor, was then absent;
so Don Francisco Torrejon, second inquisitor went himself to
examine the thing, and seeing the child dead, and all the cir-
cumstances against the blessed, he then ordered that she and
the l'everend, and all their-donlestic servants, should Le
secured immediately, and sent to the holy inquisition. All
things were done accordingly, and this sudden and unexpect-
ed accident made such 8. nuise in town, that every body rea-
soned in his own way, but nobody dared to speak of the
inquisitor. At the sallie time every thing in the house wa.s
seized upon, with the papers of the reverend, &c. Among
the papers was found the life of the blessed, written by father
Navan'o's own hand. I said in the beginning that he was
bewitched, and so many people believed; for it seelned in-
crediLle that so learned a ImUl as he was in his own religion,
should fall into so gross an ignorance as to write such a piece,
in the method it was found con1posed; for the manuscript
contained about six hundred sheets, which by an order of the
inquisitors, were sent to the quaZ'i.ficatoTs of tlte holy o.-g:ce, to
be reviewed by them, and to have their opinions thereupon.
I shall speak of these qualificator
, when I come to treat of
the inquisitors and their practices. Now it is sufficient to
say, that all the qualificators, being examinators of the crimes
committed against the holy ca
holic faith, examined the sheets,
and their opinion was, that the book entitled the life of tlte
blessed 11[ory Guerre'J"o, composed by the reverend father Fr.
l\Iichael Navarro, was scandalous, false, and against revealed
doctrines in the scripture, and good nIanners, and that it de-
served to Le burnt in the conlnlon yard of the holy office, by
the mean officer of it.
After this exanIination was made, the inquisitors summoned
lwlJ priests out of every parish church, and two friars out of
}L\STEI.-.KEY TO POI'ERY.
57
every convent, to come such a day to the hall of the holy
triLunal, to' Le present at the trial and examinations against
J\Iary Guerrero, and l\Iichael Navarro. It was my turn to go
to that trial for the cathedral church of St. SalvatoI'. \Ve
went the day appointed, all the summoned priests and friars,
to the number of one hundred and fifty, bes des the inquisitors,
officers of the inquisition, and q ualificatürs; these had the
cross of the holy office before their breasts, \\ hich is set upon
their habits in a very nice manner. The number of qualifi-
cators I reckoned that day in the hall, were two hundred and
twenty. When all the summoned were together, and the in-
quisitors under a canopy of black velvet, (which is placed at
the right corner of the altar, upon which was an image of the
crucifix, and six yellow wax candles, without any other light,)
they made the signal to bring the prisoners to the bar, and
inlmediately they came out of the prison, and kneeling down
before the holy fathers, the secretary began to read the
articles of the examination, and convictions of their crimes.
Indeed, both the father and the blessed appeared that day
Yf'ry much like saint
, if we will believe the Roman's proverb,
that paleness and thin visage is a sign of sanctity. The
examination, and the lecture of their crimes was so long,
that we were summoned three times more upon the sanle
trial, in which to the" best of my nlemory, I heard the follow-
ing articles:
That by the blessed's confession to IHichael Navarro, this
in the beginning of her life says: 1st. That the blessed crea-
ture knew no sin since she was born into the world. 2d. She
has been several times visited by the angels in her closet; and
Jesus Christ hinlself has come down thrice to give her new
heavenly instructions. 3d. She was advised by the divine
spouse to live separately from her husband. 4th. She was
once favored with a visit of the holy trinity, and then she
saw Jesus at the left hand of the Father. 5th. The holy dove
came afterwards and sat upon her head nlany times. 6th.
This holy comforter has foretold her, that her body after death
shall be always incorruptible; and that a great king, with the
news of her death, shall come to honor her sepulchre with
this motto: "The soul of this warrior
is the glory of my
kingdom." 7th. Jesus Christ, in a Dominican's habit, ap-
peared to her at night, and in a celestia] dream she was over-
Fhadowe"_ by the spirit. 8th. She had taken out of purgatory
"" Guerrero, in Spani5ìh, Si
llifiQ
v a1l1or.
58
MASTER-KEY TO !)OPERY.
seven tir ,es !1e soul of her companion's sis'ter. (VVhat folly!j
9th. The Pope and the whole church shall l'ejoice in her
death; nay, his holiness shall canonize her, and put her in the
litany before the apostles, &c.
After these things, her private miracles were read, &c., and
so many passages of her life, that it would be too tedious to
give an account of them. I only write these to sho,v the stu-
pidity of the reverend Navarra, ,vho, if he had been in his
perfect senses, could not have committed so gross an error.-
(This ,vas the pious people's opinion.)-The truth is, that the
Blessed was not overshado,vcd by the spirit, but by her con.
fessor; for she being at that time with child, and delivered in
the inquisition, one article against the f:1.ther was, that he had
his bed near her bed, and that he was the father of the new
child, or monster on earth.
Their sentences were not read in public, and what was
their end we know not; only we heard that the husband of
the blessed had notice given him by an officer of the holy
office, that he ,vas at liberty to nlarry any other he had a fancy
for; and by this true account the public may easily know the
extravagancies of the Romish confessors, who, blinded either
by their own passions, or by the subtleties of the wicked bea-
tas; do commit so great and heinous crimes, &c.
There is another sort of beatas, whom ,ve call endemonia
das, i. e. demoniacs, and by these possessed the confessor gets
a vast deal of masses. I "rill tell you, reader, the nature of the
thing, and by it you will see the cheat of the confessor and
the demoniac. I said before, that among the beatas there are
two sorts, young, and of middle age, but all nlarried; and that
the young undertake the way of confessing every day, or
three times a ,veek, to get opportunity of going abroad, and be
delivered a whiìe from their husbands' jealousies: But many
husbands being jealous of the flies that come near their wives,
they scarcely give them leave to gò to confess. Observe fur-
ther, that those ,vomen make their husbands believe that out
of spite, a witch has given them the evil spirit, and they nmke
such unusual gesturef., both ,vith their faces and mouths, that
it is enough to make the world laugh only at the sight of them.
'Vhen they are in the fit of the evil spirit they t'llk blasphe-
Inously against God and his sain
s; they beat husbands and
'servants; they put thenlseh r es in such a sweat, that ,vhen the
evil spirit leaves them for a while, eas they
ay,) they cannot
!tand upon their feet for excessive fàtiJue. The poor deceiv-
ed husbands, troubled in mind and body, senl for a physician;
MASTER-KEY TO POPERY.
59
but this says, he has no remedy for such a distemper, and that
physic knows YIO manner of devil, and so, their dealing being
not 'with the spirit, but with the body, he sends the husband t.c
the spiritual physician; and by that means they are, out of
a good design, procurers. for their o,vn 'wives; for really
they go to the spiritual father, begging his favor and as
istance
to come to exorcise, i. e. to read the prayer of the church, and
to turn out the evil spirit out of his wife's body. Then the
father makes him understand, that the thing is very trouble-
some, and that if the devil is obstinate and positive, he cannot
leave his wife in three or four nights, and may be, in a month
or two; by which he must neglect other business of honor
and profit. To this the deluded husband promises that his
trouble shall be well recompensed, and puts a piece of gold in
his hand, to make him easy; so he pays beforehand for his
future dishonor. Then the father exorcist goes along with
him, and as soon as the wife hears the voice of the exorcist,
she flies in
o an unmeasurable fury, and cries out, do ;ot let
that man (illeaning the exorcist) COIne to torment me (as if the
devil did speak in her and for her.) But he takes the hysop
with holy water and sprinkles the room. Here the demoniac
throweth herself on the floor, teareth her clothes Q.nd hair, as
if she was perfectly a mad woman. Then the priest tieth
the blessed stole, i. e. a sort of scarf they make use of among
other Ornalllents to say mass, upon her neck, and begins the
prayers. Sometimes the devil is very timorous, and leaves
the creature immedia cly easy; sometimes he is obstinate,
and "rill resist a long while before he obeys the exorcisms of
the church; but at last he retires himself into his own habita-
tion, and frees the creature from his tonnents; for, they say,
that the devil or evil spirit, smnetimes has his place in the
head, sometimes in the stOlllach, sometimes in the liver, &c.
After the wom&n is easy for a 'while, they eat and drink the
Lest that can be found in the town.
A while after, when the husband is to n1ind his own busi-
ness, the wife, on pretence that the evil spirit begins again to
trouble her, goes into her chamber and desireth the father to
hear her confession. The y lock the door after them, and
what they do for an hour or two, God only kno,veth. These
pri vate confessions and exercises of devotion continue for
several m.m
hs together, and the husband loth to go to Led
with his wife, fJr fear of the evil spirit, goes to another cham.
her, and the father licîh in the sarne room with his wife en n
1ìcld-bc3, to be ahvays ready, when the n1aliznant spirit COl1U::S
60
M.A.STElt-KEY TO POl'I'
RY.
to exorcise, and beat him with the holy StC'la. So deeply
ignorant are the people in that part of the ".orld, or so great
bigots, that on pratence of religious remedies to cure their
wives of the deviiish distemper, they contract a ,vorse distcrn-
per on their heads and honors
which no physician, either
spiritual or corporal, can ever cure.
'\Vhen in a month or two, the tàther and the demoniac have
settled matters between theillselves, for the time to come, he
tells the husband, that the devil is in a great lneasure tanled,
by the daily exorcisms of the holy mother, the church, and
that it is time fOl' him to l'etire, and mind other business of his
convent; and that, it being in1possible for him to continue lon-
ger in his house, all he can do, is to serve him and her in his
convent, if she goes there every day. The husband, ".ith a
great deal of thanks, pays the father for his trouble, who, tak-
ing his leave, goes to his community, and gives to the father
prior two parts of the money (for the third part is allowed to
him for his o,vn pains.) The day fullowing, in the morning,
the demoniac is ,vorse than she was before: Then the hus-
band, out of faith, and the zeal of a good Christian, crieth out,
the fhther is gone, and the devil is loose: The exorcisms of
the church are not ready at hand, and the evil spirit thinks
himself at liberty, and begins to trouble the poor creature: Let
us send her to the convent, and the bold, malignant spirit shall
pa y dear there for this ne,v attempt. So the wife goes to the
tàther,3.ud the father takes her into a little room, next to the
vestry, (a place to receive their acquaintance, only of the fe-
male sex,) and there, both in private, the father appeases the
devil, and the ,voman goes quiet and easy to her house, where
she continues in the same easiness till the next morning.
Then the devil begins to trouble her again; and the husband
says, 0 obstinate spirit! You make all this noise because the
hour of being beaten with the holy stoIa is near: I know that
your spite and malice against the exorcisms of the church is
great; but the power of then1 is greater than thine: Go, go to
the father, and go through all the lashes of the stoIa. So the
woman goes again to the futher, and in this manner of life
they continue for a long while.
There is of these beatas, in every 'convent church, not a
few; for sometimes, one of these exorcists keeps six, and some...
times ten, by whom, and their husbands, he is very well paid
fur the trouble of confessing them every day, and fur tam.ing
the devil. But the most pleasant thing among those demoni-
acs is, that they have different devils that trouble them; for,
MAST2R-KEY TO POPERY.
61
by a strict commandment of the father, they are forced to teU
theIr names, so one is called ßelzebub, another Lucifer, &,c. :
And those devils are very jealous, one of another. I sa,v seve-
ral times, in the body of the church, a battle among three of
those demoniacs, on pretence of being in the fit of the evil
spirit, threatening and beating one another, and calling one
another nicknames, till the father came with the hysop, holy
water and the stoIa, to appease them, and bid them to be si-
lent, and not to make such a noise in the house of the Lord.
And the ,,
hole matter was, (as we knew afterwards,) that the
father exorcist was more careful of one than the others; and
jealousy (which is the worse devil) getting into their heads,
they give it to their respective devils, who, with an infernal
fury, tòught one against another, out of pet and revenge for
the sake of their lodging-room.
In the city Huesca, where (as they believe) Pontius Pilate
was professor of la,v in the university, and his chair, or part
of it, is kept in the bishop's palace for a sho,v, and a piece of
antiquity, (and which I sa\\
myself,) I say, I saw, and conver-
sed both with the father exorcist and the beata demoniac
about the follo,ving instance:
The thing not being publicly divulged, but among a fc
persons, I 'will give an account of it under the names of father
John and Dorothea. This Dorothea, ,vhen 13 years old, was
married, against her inclinations, to a tradesman 50 years old.
The beauty of Dorothea, and the ugliness of her husband,
were very much, the one adlnirf'd, and the other observed hy
all the inhabitants of the city. The bishop's secretary nmde
the match, and read the ceremony of the church, for he ,vas
the only executor of her father's will and testament. She
\vas known by the name of Young dancing eycs. Her hus-
band ,vas jealous of her, in the highest degree: She could not
go out without him; and so she suffered this torm
nt for the
space of three years. She had an aversion, and a great an-
tipathy against him. lIeI' confessor ,vas a young, well-sh
ped
friar; and whether out of her own contrivance, or by the
frial"s advice, one day, unexpected by her husband, the devil
,vas detected and manifested in her. What affliction this ,vas
to the old, amorous, jealous husband, is inexpressible. The
poor man ,vent himself to the jesuit's college, next to his
])Ouse, for an exo'i"cist, but the jesuit could do nothing to ap-
pease that devil, to the great surprise of the poor husband, and
Inany others too, who believe, that a jesuit can commanQ and
F
62
MASTER-KEY TO POPERY.
overcome the devil himself; and that the deviJs are Inore
afraid of a jes LÌt, than of their sovereign prince in he11.
The poor husband sent for many others, but the effect did
not ans'wer the purpose; till at last her own confe
or came
to her, and after mnnyexorcisms and private prayers, she
was (or the devil in her) pacified for a while. This was a
testimony of the father John's fervent zeal and virtue to the
husband; so they settled ho\v the case was to be managed for
the future. }'riar John was very ,veIl recompensed upon the
bargain; and both the demoniac and friar John continued in
daily battle with the evil spirit for two years together. The
husband began to sleep quiet and easy, thinking that his \vife,
having the devil in her body, ,vas not able to be unfaithful to
him; for while the malignant torments the body, the woman
begins to fast in public, and eat in private ,vith the exorcist;
and the exercises of such demoniacs are all of prayers and
devotions; so the deceived husband believes it is better to
ha ve a demoniac ,vife, than one free from the evil spirit.
The exorcisms of friar John, (being to appease not a spir-
itual, but a material devil,) he and Dorothea were both dis-
covered, and found in the fact, by a friar in the same convent,
who, by many presents from friar John and Dorothea, did not
. reveal the thing to the prior, but he told it to sonle of his
friends, which were enemies to friar John, from whon1 I heard
the story. For my part, I did not believe it for a ,vhile, till at
last, I kne,v, that the friar John was removed into another con-
vent, and that Dorothea left her house and husband, and went
after him; though the husband endeavored to spread abroad,
that the devil had stolen his wife. These are the effects of the
practices of the demoniacs and exorcists.
N ow I come to the persons of public authority, either in ecclesiastical, civil,
or military affairs, and to the ladies of the first quality or rank in the world.
As to those, I must beg leave to tell the truth, as well as of the inferior
peo}Jle. But, because the confessors of such persons are most commonly
all Jesuits, it seems very apropos to give a description of those Fathers, their
vractices and lives, and to write of them, what I know to be the matter oC
fïct.
Almost in all the Roman-Catholic countries, the Jesuit
fathers are the teachers of the Latin tongue, and to this pur..
pose they have in every college, (so they call their convents)
four large rooms, which are called the four classes fur the
grammar. There is one teacher in each of them. The city
corporation, or political body, paying the rer.tor of the JcsuitJ
MASTER-KEY TO POPERY.
63
.
10 Inuch a year, and the young gentlemen are at no exp
nse
at all for learning the Latin tongue. The scholars lodge in
town, and they go every day, frOlll eight in the mOl ning till
eleveT.., tn the college; and when the clock strikes eleven,
they go along with the four teachers to hear mass: They go
at two in the afternoon, till half after four, and so they do all
the year long, except the holidays, and the vacations frOl11
the fifteenth of August till the ninth of September. As the
four teachers receive nothing for their trouble, because the
payment of the city goes to the community, they have con-
trived how to be recompensed for their labor: There were
in the college of Saragossa, when I learned Latin, very near
six hundred scholars, noblemen, and tradesmen's sons; cvery
one was to pay every Saturday a real of plate for the rule (as
they call it.) There is a custom, to have a public literal act
once every day, to which are invited the young gentlemen's
parents, but none of the con1mon peopl
. The father rector
and all the community are present, and placed in their velvet
chairs. To the splendid performance of this act, the four
teachers chuse twelve gentlemen, and each of them is to make,
by heart, a Latin speech in the pulpit. They chuse besides
the twelve, one emperor, two kings, and two pretors, which
are always the most noble of the young gentlemen: They
wear crowns on their heads that day, which is the distinguish-
ing character of their learning. The emperor sits under a
canopy, the pretors on each side, and the kings a step lower,
and the twelve senators in two lines next to the throne. This
act lasts three hours; and after all is over, the teachers anù
the father rector invite the nobility and the emperor, with
the pre tors, kings and senators, to go to the common hall of
the college, to take refreshment of the most nice sweetmeats
and best liquor. The fathers of the emperor, kIngs, pretors,
and senators, are to pay for all the charges and expcr..se
,
which are fixed to be a hundred pistoles every month. Anù
every time there are new emperors or kings, &c. by m0lÍerate
cOlnputation, we were sure, that out of the remainder of the
hundred pistoles a month, and a real of plate every w
ek frOl11
each of the scholars, the four father teachers hall dear, to
be divided among themselves every year, sixteen hundred
pistoles.
\Ve p.!ust own that the jesuits are very fit, and the m(:
t proper
persons fùr the education of youth, and that all these cÀRrcises
and public acts (though for their interests) are great stinl
11a-
tiuns and incitements to learning in young gentlemen; for one
.
64
!\-IASTER-KEY TO POPERY.
of then1 will study night and day only to get the empty title 0:
emperor, &c. once in a month; and their parents are very
glad to expend eight pistoles a year to encourage their sons
and besides that, they believe, that they are under a great o'1li-
gat ion to the Jesuits' college, and the jesuits knowing their
tempers, become, not only acquainted with them, but absolute
masters of their houses: I must own, likewise, that 1 never
heard of any jesuit father, any thing against good manners or
Christian conversation; for really, they behave themselves,
as to outward appearance, with so great civility, modesty, and
policy, that nobody has any thing to say against their deport-
ment in the world, except self-interest and ambition.
An:) really, the Jesuits' order is the richest of all the orders
in Christendom; and because the reason of it is not well known,
1 will now tell the ways by which they gather together so great
treasures every where. As they are universally teachers of
the Latin tongue, and have this opportunity to know the youth,
they pitch upon the 1110St ingenious young men, and upon the
richest of all, though they be not very witty; they spare
neither time, nor persuasions, nor presents, to persuade them
to be of the society of Jesus (so they name their order): the
poor and ingenious are very glad of it, and the noble and rich
too, thinking to be great men upon account of their quality:
so their colleges are composed of witty and noble people. By
the noble gentlemen they get riches; by the witty and ingeni-
ous they support their learning, and breed np teachers and
great lTIen to govern the consciences of princes, people of
public authority, and ladies of the first rank.
They do not receive ladies in private in their colleges, but
always in the middle of the church or chapel; they never sit
down to hear them. They do not receive charity for masses,
nor beatas, nor demoniacs in their church, (I never saw one
there) their modesty and civil manners charm everyone that
speaks with them; though I relieve, all that is to carryon their
private end and interests. They are indef,"ltigable in the pro-
curing the good of souls, and sending missionaries to catechise
the children in the country; and they have fit persons in every
college for all sorts of exercises, either of devotion, of law, cr
policy, &c. They entertaiJ;l nobody within the gate of the
college, so nobody knows what they do among themselves.
If it some
imes happens that one doth not answer their expect...
ation, after he has taken th
habit, they turn him out; for they
have fourteen years trial but as soon as they turn him out,
.hey underhand procure a handsome settlement for him; so
1\IASTER-KEY TO POPERY.
65
that he who is expelled dares not say any thing against them,
for fear of losing his bread. And if, after he is out, he behaves
himself well, and gets some riches, he is sure to die a jesuit.
I heard of Don Pedro Segovia, who had been a jesuit, but
was turned out, but by the jesuits' influence, he got a prebenda-
ry in the cathedral church, and was an eminent preacher. He
was afterwards constantly visited by them, and when he came
to die, he asked again the habit, and being granted to him, he
died a jesuit, and by his death the jesuits became heirs of
twenty thousand pistoles in money and lands.
There are confessors of kings and princes, of ministers of
state, and generals, and of all the people of distinction and
estates. So it is no wonder if they are masters of the tenth
part of the riches in every kingdom, and if God doth not put
a stop to their covetousness, it is to be feared, that one way or
other, they will become masters of all, for they do not seek
dignities, being prohibited by the constitutions of their order,
to be bishops and popes; it is only allowed to then1 to be car-
dinals, to govern the pope by that means, as well as to rule
emperors, IÜngs, and princes. At this present time all the
sovereigns of Europe have jesuits for their confessors.
Now it is high time to come to say something as to their
practices in .confessions; and I will only speak of those I knew
particularly well.
Fir..;t, The reverend father N avasques, professor of divinity
in their college, was chosen confessor of the countess of Fuen-
tes, who was left a widow at twenty-four years of age. This
lady, as well as other persons of quality, kept a coach and
servant for the father confessor. He has always a father
companion to say mass to the lady. She allows so much a
year to the college, and so much to her confessor and his com-
panion. All persons have an oratory or chapel in their
houses, by dispensation from the pope, for which they pay a
great deal of money. Their way of living is thus, in the
morning they send the coach and servant to the college, most
commonly at eleven of the clock: the father goes every day at
that time, and the lords and ladies do not confess every day;
they have mass said at home, and after mass, the reverend
stays in the lady's company till dinner-time: then he goes to
the college till six in the evening, and at six goes again to see
the lady or lord, till eleven. \Vhat are their discour
es I do
not 1\ now . This I know, that nothing is done in the family
without the reverend's advice and approbation. So it was
F2
56
MASTER-KEY TO POPERY.
with the countess' family, and when she died, the college got
four thousand pistoles a year from her. ..
The reverend fa
her Muniessa, confessor of the duchess of
Villahern10sa, in the same manner got at her death thirty
thousand pistoles, and the reverend father Aranda, confessor
to the countess of Aranda, got two thousand pistoles yearly
rent from her, all for the college. Now what means they make
use of to bewitch the people and to suck their substance, every
body may think, but no body may guess at. An ingenious
politician was asked how the jesuits could be rightly described
and defined, and he gav
this definition of them. Amici
frigidi, and inimici calidi, i. e. cold friends and warm ene-
nlies. And this is all I can write concerning their manners
and practices.
Before I dismiss this subject, I cannot pass by one instance
more, touching the practices of confessors in general, and that
is, that since I came to these northern countries, I have been
told by gentlemen of good sense, and serious in their conversa-
tion, that many priests and friars were procurers (when they
were in those parts of the world) and shewed them the way
of falling into the common sin. It is no doubt they know all
the lewd women by auricular confession, but I could not believe
they would be so villanous and base, as to make a show of
their wickedness before strangers. This I must say in vindi-
cation of a great many of them (for what I write is only of the
wicked ones,) that they are many times engaged in intrigues
unknown to themselves, and they are not to be blamed, but
only the persons that ,vith false insinuations, make them be-
lieve a lie for a truth, and this under a pretence of devotion.
To clear this I will tell a story, which was told me by a colonel
in the English service, who lives at present in London.
lIe said to me that an officer, a friend of his, was a prisoner
in Spain: his lodgings were opposite to a counsellor's house.
The counsellor was old and jealous, the lady young, handsome,
and confined, and the officer well shaped and very fair. The
windows an,-l balconies of the counsellor were covered with
narrow lattices, and the officer never
aw any woman of that
house. But the lady, who had several times seen him at hIS
window, could not long conceal her love; so she sent for her
f.1.ther confessor, and spoke with him in the following manner:
l\ly reverend father, you are my spiritual guide, and you must
prevent the ruin of my soul, reputation, and quietne
s of my
life. Over the way, said she, lives an English officer, who is
constantly at the window, making signs and
emonstrations ot
MASTER-KEY TO POPERY.
67
love to me, and though I endeavor not to haunt my balcony, for
fear of being found out by my spouse; my waiting maid tells
me that hE is always there. You know my spouse's temper
and jealousy, and if he observes the least thing in the world, I
am undone forever. 80 to put a timely stop to this, I wish you
would be so kind as to go over and desire him to make no more
signs; and that if he is a gentleman, as he seems to he, he will
never do any thing to disquiet a gentlewoman. The credu-
,ous confessor, believing every syllable, went over to the Eng-
lish officer, and told him the message, asking his pardon for
the lIberty he took; but that he could not help it, being as he
was the lady's confessor.
The officer, who was of a very fiery temper, answered him
in a resolute manner. Hear, friar, said he tù the confessor,
go your way, and never come to me with such h'llse stories,
for I do not know what you say
nor I never saw any lady over
the way. The poor father, full of shame and fear, took his
leave, and went to deliver the answer to the lady. What, said
she, doth he deny the truth? I hope God will prove my inno-
cence before you, and that before two days. The father did
comfort her, and went to his convent. The lady seeing her
designs frustrated this way, did contrive another to let the
officer know her inclination. 80 one of her servants wrote a
letter to her in the officer's name, with m&ny lovely ex-
pressions, and desiring her to be in her garden at eight in the
dark evening, under a figtree next to the walls. And recom-
mending to her servant the secret, sealed the letter directed
to her. Two days after, she sent for her confessor again, and
told him, Now'my reverend father, God has put a letter, fronl
the officer, into my banns to convince him and yo
of the truth.
Pray take the letter an
go to him, and if he denies, as he did
before, show him his own letter, and I hope he will not be so
bold as to trouble me any more. fIe did accordingly, and the
English gentleman answered as the first time; and as he
flew into a passion, the father told him, Sir, see this letter, and
answer me: which the officer reading, soon understood the
meaning, and said, Now, my good father, I must own my foi-
Iy, for I cannot deny my handwritin
, and to assure you,
and the lady, that I shall be quite a different man for the fu-
ture, pray tell her that I will obey her commands, and that I
will llever do any thing against her orders. The confessor,
very giad of so unexpected good success, as he thought, gave
the answer to the lady, adding to it, Now, madam, yon may be
quiet, and withùut any fear, for he will oboy you. Did not I
us
MASTER-KEY TO POPERY.
tell you, said she, that he could not deny the fact of the letter!
So the confessor went home, having a very good opinion of the
lady, and the English officer too, who did not fail to go to the
rendezvous, &c.
Every serious, religious man, will rather bla.me the wicked
lady, than the confessor: for the poor man, th0 1 1fh he was a
procurer and instrument of bringing that intri!!ue to an effect,
really he was innocent all the while; and how could he sus-
pect any thing of wantonness in a lady so devoutly affÆ:Jcted:
and so watchful of the ruin of her soul, honor, and QUietness
of her life? ' \Ve must excuse them in such a case as this was"
and say, That many and many confessors, if they are prOCl1r
ers, they do it unknown to themselves, and out of pure zeal
for the good of the souls, or to prevent many disturbances In a
family: But as for those that, out of wickedness, busy them-
selves in so base and villanous exercises, I say, heaven and
earth ought to rise in judgment against them. They do de-
serve to be punished in this world, that, by their example, the
fJame exercise might be prevented in others. .
I have given an account of some private confessions oÏ
both sexes, and of the most secret practices of some of the
Roman-Catholic priests, according to what I promised the pub-
lic in my printed pr9posals. And from all that is written and
said, I crave leave to draw some few inferences.
First, I say, that the pope and councils are the original
causes of the aforesaid misdoings and ill practices of the
Romish priests. l\larriage being forbidden to a priest, not by
any commandment of God or divine scripture, but by a strict
ordinance from the pope, an indisputable canon of the council.
This was not practised by them for many centuries after the
death of our saviour; and the priests were then mure reli-
gious and exemplary than they are now. I know the reasons
their church has for it, which I will not contradict, to avoid all
sort of controversy: But this I may say, that if the priests,
friars and nuns were at lawful liberty to marry, they would
be better Christians, the people richer in honor and estates,
the kingdom better peopled, the king stronger, and the Romish
religion more free from foreign attempts and calumnies.
Tl1f'Y do make a vow of chastity, and they break it hy
living loose, lewd, and irregular lives. They do vow poverty,
and their thirst for riches is unquenchable; and whatever they
get, is most commonly by unlawful means. They swear
obedience, and they only obey their lusts, passions and in-
clination. How many sins a re occasioned by binding theln.
!IASTER-KEY TO POPERY.
69
selves with these three vows in a monastical life, it is inex-
pressible: .f.\,nd all, or the greater number of sins comlnitted
by them, would be hindered, if the pope and council were to
nnitate the right foundations of the primitive church, and the
apostles of Jesus Christ our Saviour.
As to particular persons, among the priests and friars,
touching their corruptions and ill practices in auricular con-
fession, I say, they do act against divine and human law in
such practice, and are guilty of several sins, especially sacri-
lege and robbery. It is true, the Moral Summs are defec-
tive in the instruction of ponfessors, as opinions, grounded in
the erroneous principles of their church: But as to the settled
rules for the guiding and advising the penitent, what he ought
to do, to walk uprightly, they are not defective; so the con-
fessors cannot plead ignorance for so doing, and consequently
the means they make use of in the tribunal of conscience,
are all sinful, being only to deceive and cheat the poor, ignor-
ant people.
Their practices then, are against divine and human law,
contrary to the holy scriptures, nay, to humanity itself: For,
Thou that teach est anothe'l', thou s/talt not kill, nor commit adul-
tery, nO'l" ste,al, nor covet thy neighbo'I"s goods, nm" 'll"ife: Dost
thou all those things î And to insist only on sac1-ilege and
robbery. \Vhat can it be but robbery, and sac'l'ilege, to sell
absolution, or, which is the same thing, to refuse it to the pen-
itent, if he does not give so much money for masses?
This may be cleared by their own principles, and by the
opinions of their casuistical authors, who agree in this, viz. :
That there are three sorts of sacrilege, or a sacrilege which
may be committed three different ways. These are the ex-
pressions they make use of: Sacrum in sacro: Sacrum ex
sacro: Sacrum pro sacro. That is, to take a sacred thing for
a sacred thing, a sacred thing in a sacred place; and a sacre
thing out of a sacred place. All these are robbery and sacri-
lege together, according to their opinions; and I said that the
confessors in !heir practices are guilty of all three; for in their
opinion, the holy tribunal of conscience is a sacred thing;
the absolution and consecrated church are sacred likewise.
As for the money given for the relief of the. souls in purgato-
ry, Corella, in his Moral Sum, says, that that is a sacred
thing too. Now it is certain among them, that nu priest can
receive money for absolution, directly nor indirectly. Those
then that take it, rob that money which is unlawfully taken
from the penitent; and it is a sacrilege to.o, becalU
e they take
70
MASTER-KEY TO IJOPERY.
a sacred thing for a sacred thing, viz.: the sacred money for
masses taken for absolution. They take that sacred thing
in a sacred place, viz.: in the sacred tribunal of conscience:
and they take a sacred thing out of a sacred place, viz.: the
church,
Again: Though most commonly, Quodcumque ligæveris
super terram; erit ligatum et in cælis, is understood by them
literally, and the pope usurps the power of absolving men
without contrition, provided they have attrition, or only con-
fession by mouth, as we shall see in the following chapter of
the pope's bull. Nevertheless the casuists, when they come
to treat of a perfect confession under the sacrament of pen-
ance, they unanimously say, that three things are absolutely
necessary to a perfect confession, and to salvation too, viz.:
Oris confessio, cordis contritio, and operis satisfactio. Though
at the same time they say, except in case of pontifical dispen-
sation with faculties, privileges, indulgences, and pardon of
all sins committed by a man: But though they except this
case, I am sure they do it out of obedience, and flattery,
rather than their own belief. If they then believe, that with-
out contrition of heart, the absolution is of no effect, why do
they persuade the contrary to the penitent? Why dò they
take money for absolution? It is, then, a cheat, robbery, and
sacrilege.
Secondly. I say, that the confessors [generally speaking]
are the occasion of the ruin of many families, of many thefts,
debaucheries, murders, and divisions among several families
[for which they must answer before that dreadful tribunal of
God, when and where all the secret practices and wickedness
shall be disclosed]; add to this, that by auricular confession,
they are acquainted with the tempers and inclinations of peo-
ple, which contribute very much to heap up riches, and to Inake
themselves commanding masters of all sorts of persons; for
when a confessor is thoroughly acquainted with a man's tem-
per and natural inclinations, it is the most easy thing in the
-Norld to bring him to his own opinion, and to be "master over
him and his substance.
That the confessors, commonly speaking, are the occasion
of all the aforesaid mischiefs, will appear by the following
observations :
First, They get the best estates from the rich people, for
he use and benefit of their communities, by which many and
ffidny private persons, and whole L.'lmiles, are reduced and
"uined Observe now their practices as to the sick. If a
MASTER-KEY TO POPERY.
71
nobleman of a good estate be very ill, the confessor mnst be
by him night and day; and when he goes to sleep, his com-
panion supplies his place, to direct, and exhort the sick to die
as a good christian, and .to ad vise him how to make his last
will and testament. If the confessor is a down-right honest
man, he n1ust betray his principles of honesty, or disoblige
3is superior, and all the community, by getting nothing frOln
the sick; so he chargeth upon the poor man's conscience, to
leave his convent thousands of masses, for the speedy delivery
of his soul out of purgatory; and besides that, to settle a yearly
mass forever upon the convent, and to leave a voluntary gift,
that the frial's may remember him in their public and private
prayers, as a benefactor of that community: And in these and
other leuacies and charities, three parts of his estate go to
the chu;ch, or convents. But if the confessor have a large
conscience, then without any christian consideration for the
sick man's fan1Ïly and poor relations, he makes use of all the
means an inhuman, covetous man can invent, to get the whole
estate for his convent. And this is the reason why they are
so rich, and so many fhmilies so poor, reduced, and ruined.
From these we may infer thefts, n1urders, debaucheries,
and divisions of families. I say, the confessors are the ori-
ginal causes of all these ill consequences; for when they take
the best of estates for themselves, no wonder if private per-
sons and whole filmilies are left in such want, and necessity,
that they abandon themselves to all sorts of sins, and hazards
of losing both lives and honors, rather than to abate something
of their pride.
I might prove this by several instances, which I do not
question, are very well known by several curious pêople: and
though some malicious persons are apt to suspect that such
instances are mere dreams, or forgeries of envious people; for
my part I believe, that many confessors are the original cause
of the aforesaid evils, as may be seen by the following matter
of façt:
In the account of the jesuits and their practices, I said that
the reverend Navasques was the confessor of the countess of
Fuentes, who was left a widow at hventy- four years of age,
and never married agaIn: for the reverend's care is to advise
them to live a single life. (Purity being the first step to
heaven.) The lady countess had no children, and had an
estate of her own, of 4000 pistoles a year, besides her je,vels
and household goods, which, after her death, were valued "it
15,000 pistoles. All these things and her personal estat
72
hASTER-KEY TO POPER
.
were lcft to the jesuits' collf:'gc, though she had many near re-
lations, among whom I knew two young gentlemen, second
cousins of her ladyship, and two young ladies kept in the
house as her cousins too. She had promised to give them a
settlement suitable to their quality and merits: which promise
the father confessor confirmed to them several times. But the
lady died, and both the young ladies and the two gentlenlen
were left under the providence of God, for the countess had
forgotten them in her last will; and the father confessor took
no notice of them afterward. The two young ladies abandon.
ed themselves to all manner of private pleasures at first, and
at last to public wickedness. As to the young gentlemen, in
a few months after the lady's death, one left the city and went
to serve the king, as a cadet: the other following a licentious
life, was ready to finish his days with shame and dishonor
upon a public scaffold, had not the goodness and compassion
of the marq nis of Camarrassa, then vice-roy of Aragon, pre.
vented it. Now, whether the father confessor shaH be an.
8werable before God, for all the sins committed by the young
iadies, and one of the gentlemen, for want of what they ex-
pected from the countess, or not? God only knows. '\-Ve may
think and believe, that if the lady had provided for them ac-
cording to their condition in the world, in all human probabil.
ity they had not committed such sins. Or if the college, or
the reverend father had been more charitable, and compas-
-sionate to the condition they were left in, they had put a time-
ly stop to their wickedness.
Thirdly. I say that confessors and preachers are tbe occa-
sion, that many thousands of young men and women choose a
single, retired life, in a monastery or convent; and therefore
are the cause of many fanlilies being extinguished, and their
own treasure exceedingly increased.
If a gentlenmn have two or three sons, and as many daugh-
ters, the confessor of the L"lmily adviseth the father to keep the
eldest son at home, and send the rest, both sons and daughters,
into a convent or monastery; praising the monasticallife, and
saying, that to be retired from the world, is the safest way to
heaven. There is a proverb which runs thus in English: It
is better to be alone, tItan in bad company. And the confessors
alter it thus: It is better to be alone, titan in good company;
which they pretend to prove with so many sophistical argu.
ments, nay, with a passage from the scripture; and this not
only in private conversation, but publicly in the 'Pulpit. I re-
member, I heard my celebrated 1\11'. F. James Garcia preach'
MASTER-KEY TO POPERY.
73
a sermon upon the subject of a retired life and solitllde, whIch
sermon and others preached by him in Lent, in the cathedral
church of St. Salvator, were printed afterwards. The book
is in folio, and its title Quadragesima de Gracia. He was the
first pr('acher I heard make use of the above proverb, and alter
it in the aforesaid way; and to prove the sense of his altera-
tion he said: Re1nernber the woman in
he apocalypsis that ran
from heaven into the desert. What! was not that woman in
heaven, in the company of the stars and planets, by which are
represented all the heavenly spirits 1 Why, then, quits she that
good company, and chooses to be alone in a desert place 1
Because, said he, that woman is the holy soul, and for a soul
that desireth to be holy, it is better to be alone than in good
company. In the desert, in the convent, in the monaste
y,
the soul is safe, free from sundry temptations of the \vorld ; and
so it belongs to a Christian soul, not only to run from bad
cumpany, but to quit the best c.ompany in the world and retire
into the desert. of a convent, or monastery, if that sou) desire
to be holy and pure; this was his proof, and if he had n'ot been
my master, I would have been bold to make some reflections
upon it. But the respect of a disciple, beloved by him, is
enough to make me silent, and leave to the reader the satis-
faction of reflecting in his own way, to which I heartily
submit.
These, I say, are the advices the confessors give to the
fathers of fam ilies, 'who, glad of lessening the expenses of thè
house, and of seeing their children provided for, send them
into the desert place of a convent, which is really in the mid-
dle of the world. Now observe, that it is twenty to one, that
their heir dies before he marries and has children: so the es-
tate and everything else falls to.the second, who is a professed
friar or nun, and as they cannot use the expression of meum
or tuum, all goes that way to the community. And this is the
reason why many families are extinguished, and their names
quite out of memory; the convent so crowded, the kingdom
so thin of people; and the friars, nlins, and rnonasteries so
rieh.
Fourthly. I say that the confessors, priests, and especially
friars, make good this saying among the common people:
Frayle 0 fraude es todo uno: i. e., friar or fraud is the same
t
ing; for they not only defraud whole families, but make use
of barbarous, inhuman means to get the estates of many rich
p:-rsons.
The Ivlarquis of Arino had one only daughter, and his sec.
G
74
fvIASTER-KEY TO POPERY.
ond brother \Vas an Augustan friar, under whose c.tre the
marquis left his daughter when he died. She was fifteen vears
of age, .
ch and handsome. Her uncle and executor was at
that time doctor and professor of divinity in the university,
and prior of the convent, and could not personally take care
of his niece and her family; so he desired one of her aunts to
go and live with her, and sent another friar to be like a stew-
ard and overseer of the house. The uncle was a good, honest
man and mighty religious. He minded mure his office of prior,
his study and exercise of devotion, than the riches, pomp,
magnificence, and vanity of the world; so, seeing that the
discharge of his duty and that of an executor of his niece were
inconsistent together, he did resolve to marry her; which he
did to the baron Suelves, a young, handsome, healthy, rich
gentleman; but he died seven months after his marriage, so
the good uncle was again at the same trouble and care of his
niece, who was left a widow, but without children. After the
year of her mourning \Vas expired, she was married to the
great president of the council, who was afterwards great
chancellor of the kingdom, but he died, leaving no ehildren.
The first and second husband left all their estates to her; and
she was reckoned to have eighty thousand pistoles in yearly
rent and goods. A year after, Don Pedro Carillo, brigadier-
general, and general governor of the kingdom, married her,
but has no children by her. I left both the governor and the
lady ali\Te, when I quitted the country. Now I come to the
point. It was specified in all the matches between the gen-
tl
men and the lady, that if they had no issue by her, all the
estate and goods should fall to the uncle as a second brother
of her father; and so ex necessitate the convent should be for-
ever the only enjoyer of it. It was found out, but too late,
that the friar steward, before she first married, had given her
a dose to make her a barren woman; and though nobody did
believe that the uncle had any hand in it, (so great an opin-
ion the world and the lady's husband had of him,) everybody
did suspect at first the friar steward, and so it was confirmed
at last by his own confession; for, being at the point of
death, he owned the fact publicly and his design in it.
Another instance. A lady of the first rank, of eighteen
years of age, the only heiress of a considerable estate, was
kept by her parents at a distance from all sorts of company,
except only that of the confessor of the family, who was a learn-
ed and devout luan: but as these reverends have always a
father companion to assist them at home and abroad, many
MASTER-KEY TO POPERY.
75
times the mIschief is contrived and effected unknown to the
confessor, by his wicked companion; so it happen'ed in this
instance. The fame of the wonderful beauty of this young
lady was spread so far abroad, that the king and queen being
in the city for eight lnonths together, and not seeing the cele-
brated beauty at their court, her majesty asked her father one
day, whether he had any children? And when he answerea,
that he had only one daughter, he was desired by the queen
to bring her along with him to court the next day, for she had
a great desire to see her beauty so much admired at home and
abroad. The father could not refuse it, and so the next day
the lady did appear at court, and ,vas so. much adn1ired that a
grandee (who had then the command of the army, though not
of his own passions) said" this is the first time I see the sun .
among the stars. The grandee began to covet that inestima-
ble jewel, and his heart burning in the agreeaþle flame of her
eyes, he went to see her father, but could not see the daugh-
ter. At last, all his endeavors being in vain, for he was
ar:-
ried, he sent for the confessor's companion, whose interest and
mediation he got by money and fair promises of raising him
to an ecclesiastical dignity; so, by that means, he sent a letter
to the lady, who read it, and in a very few days he got her con-
Bent to disgui$e himself and come to see her along with the
father companion; so one evening in the dark, putting on a
friar's habit, he went to her chamber, where he was always in
company with the companion friar, who by crafty persuasions
made the lady understand, that if she did not consent to every-
thing that the grandee should desire, her life and reputation
were lost, &c. In the same disguise they saw one another
several times, to the grandee's satisfaction, and her grief and
vexation.
But the court being gone, the young lady began to suspect
some public proof of her intrigue, till then secret, and con-
sulting the father companion upon it, he did what he could to
prevent it, but in vain. The misfortune ,vas suspected, and
owned by her to her parents. The father died of very grief
in eight days' time; and the mother went into the country with
her daughter, till she was free from her disease, and, after-
wards, .both ladies, mother and daughter, retired into a monas-
tery, where I knew and conversed several times with them.
The gentleman had made his will long before, by which the
convent was to get the estate in case the lady should die with-
out children; and as she had taken the habit of a nun, and pro-
fessed the vows of religion, the prior was so anlbitious that he
.
76
MASTER-KEY TO POPERY.
l1sked the estate, alleging, that she., being a professed -r.. In,
could have no children; to which the lady replied, that
he
was obliged to obey her father's will, by which she was TIlis-
tress of the estate during her life; adding, that it was better
for the father prior not to insist on his demand; for she was
ruined in her reputation by the wickedness of one of his friars,
and that she, if pre
sed, ,vould show her own child, who was
the only heir of her father's estate. But the prior, deaf to
her threatenings, did carryon his pretensions, and, by an
agreement, (not to make the thing more public than it was,
for very few knew the true story,) the prior got the estate,
obliging the convent to give the lady and her mother, during
their lives, 400 pistoles every year, the whole estate being
5000 yearly rent.
I could give several more instances of this nature to con-
vince that the confessors, priests, and friars are the fundamen-
tal original cause of almost all the misdoings and mischiefs
that happen in the families. By the instances already given
every body may easily know the secret practices of some of
the Romish priests, which are an abomination to the Lord, es-
pecially in the holy tribunal of confession. So I may conclude
and di
miss this first chapter, saying, that the confession is
the rnint of friars and priests, the sins of the penitent the
metals, the absolution the coin of rnoney, and the confessors
the keepers of it. Now the reader may draw from these ac-
counts as nlany inferences as he pleases, till, God willing, I
furnish him with new arguments, and instances, of their evil
practices in the second part of this \Vork.
PART II.
This is a truç copy of the Pope's Bull out of Spanish, in the t. ansla nO:1 of
which into English, I am tied up to the letter, almost word for word, and
this is to prevent (as to this point) all calumny and objection, which lllay
be made against it, by some critic among the Roman-Catholics.
MDCCXVIII.
BULL of the holy crusade, granted by the holiness of our
lTIOst holy father Clement, the XIth, to the kingdoms of Spain,
and the isles to them pertaining, in favor of all thein, that
should help and serve ,the king Dn. Phirip V.. our lord, in the
war and expenses of it, which he doth make against the ene-
mies of our catholic faith, with great indulgences and pardons,
for the year one thousand seven hundred and eighteen.
The prophet Joel, sorry for the damages which the sons of
Israel did endure by the invasion of the Chaldean armies,
(zealous for and desirous of their defence, after having recom-
mended to them the observance of the law) calling the 801-
diers to the war, saith: That he saw, for the comfort of all, a
mystical spring come out from God and his house, which did
water and wash away the sins of that people. Chap. 3, v. 19.
Seeing than our most holy father, Clement XI, (who at this
day cloth rule and govern the holy apostoliral see) for the
zeal of the catholic king of the Spains, Dn. Philip, the Vth, for
the defence of our holy faith, and for that purpose gatheret.h
together, and maintaineth his armies against all the enemies
of christianity, to help him in his holy enterprise, cloth grant
him this bull, by which his holiness openeth the springs of the
blood of Christ, and the treasure of his inestimable merits;
and with it encourag-eth all th.e christians to the assistance of
this undertaking. For this purpose, and that they might enjoy
this benefit, he orders to be published the following indulgen-
ces, graces, and f.'1culties, or privileges.
· 1. His holiness doth grant to all the true christians of the
said kingdoms and dominions, dweJler
, and settled, and inhab-
itants in them, and to all comers to them, or should be found ill
them; who, moved with the zeal of promoting the holy catho-
lic faith, should go personally, and upon their own expenses,
G 2 77
78
MASTER-KEY TO POPERY.
to the war in the army, and with the forces which his majesty
sendeth, for the time of one year, to fight against the Turks,
and other infidels, or to do any other service, as to help per-
sonally in the same army, continuing In it the whole year. To
all these his holiness doth grant a free and full indulgence,
and pardon of all their sins, (if they have a perfect contrition,
or, if they confess thern by mouth, and if they cannot, if they
have a hearty desire of it) which hath been used to be grant-
ed to them that go to the conquest of the holy land, and in
the year of Jubilee: and declares that all they that should
die before the end of the expedition, or in the way, as they
are going to the army before the expedition, should likewise
enjoy and obtain the said pardop and indulgence.
He granteth a150 the same to them, who, (though they do
not go personally) should send another upon their own exppn-
ses in this manner, viz.: If he that sends another is a cardi-
nal, primate, patriarch, arch-bishop, bishop, son of a king,
prince, duke, marquis, or earl, then he must send as many as
he can possibly send, till ten; and if he cannot send ten, he
must send at least four soldiers. All other persons, of what
condition soever they may be, must send one; in such a case,
two, or three, or four, may join and contribute, everyone ac-
cording to his abilities, and send one soldier.
2. Item. The chapters, * all churches, monasteries of fri-
ars and nuns, without excepting mendicant orders, if ten, with
the consent of the chapter or community, do join to send one
soldier, they do enjoy the said indulgence; and not they only,
but the person too, sent by them, if he be poor.
3. Item. The secular priests, who, with the consent of
their diocesan, and the friars of their superiors, should preach
the word of God in the said army, or should perform any other
ecclesiastical and pious office (which is declared to be lawful
for them, without incurring irregularity) are empowereJ to
serve their benefices, by meet and fit tenants, having not the
cure of souls; for if they have, they cannot without his holi-
ness' consent. And it is declared, that the soldiers employed
in this war are not obliged to fast the days appointed and com-
nmnded by the church, and which they should be obliged to
fast on, if they were not in the war.
4. dIem. His holiness grants (not only to the soldiers, but
to all them too, who, though they should not go, should en-
courage this holy work with the charity undermentioned) all
the indulgences, graces, and privileges in this bull contained,
nnd this for a whole year, reckoning from the publishing of it
l\IASTER-KEY TO POPERY.
79
n an} place whatsoever, viz.: that (yet, in the time of apos-
tolical, or ordinary interdictum, i. e., suspension of all ecclesias-
tical and divine service) they may hear mass either in the
churches and monasteries, or in the private oratories marked
and visited by the diocesan; and, if they were priests, to say
Inass and other divine offices; or, jf they were not, to make
others to celebrate mass before them, their familiar friends
and relations, to receive the holy sacrament of the Lord's sup-
per and the other sacraments, except on Easter Sunday, provi-
ded that they have not given occasion for the said interdicturn,
nor hindered the taking of it: Provided, likewise, that every
time they make use of such oratory, they should, according to
their devotion, pray for union and concord among all Chris-
tian princes, the rooting out of heresies, and victory over the
infidels. .
5. Item. His holiness granteth, tha t in time of interdictum,
ilieir corpse may be buried in sacred ground, with a n10derate
J-Jneral pomp.
6. Item. He grants to all, that should take this buH, that
au ring the year, by the counsel of both spiritual and corporal
physicians, they may eat flesh in Lent, and several other days
in which it is prohibited: And likewise, that they n1ay freely
eat eggs and things with mi.Ik; and that all these, who should
eat no flesh, (keeping the form of the ecclesiastical fast,) do
fulfil the precept of fasting: And in this privilege of eating
eggs, &c., are not comprised the *patriarchs, prirnates, arch..
bishops, bishops, nor other inferior prelates, nor any person
whatsoever of the regulars, nor of the secular priests, (the
days only of Lent,) not\vithstanding frmll the mentioned per-
sons, ,ve except all those that are sixty years of age, and al
the knights of the military orders, who freely may eat eggs,
&c., and enjoy the said privilege. .
7. Item. The abovenamed, that should not go, nor send any
soldier to this holy war, out of their own substance, (if they
should help to it, keeping a fast for devotion's sake, in some
days, which are of no precept, and praying and imploring the
help of God, for the victory against the infidels, and his grace,
for the union among the Christian princes,) as many times as
they should do it during the year, so many times it is granted
them, and graciously forgiven fifteen year
, and fiftcen.quar-
antains of pardon, and all the penances imposed on them, and
in whatever manner due; also that they be partakers of all
the prayers, alms and pilgrimages of Jerusalem, and all the
so
MASTER-KEY TO POFERY.
good ,yorks \vhich should be done in the universal militant
church, and in each of its members.
8. Item. To all those, who, in the days of Lent and other
days of the year, in which* estations are at Rome, should visit
five churches, or five altars, and if there is not five churches,
or five altars, five times should visit one church, or one altar,
praying for the victory and unio.n above mentioned, his holi-
ness granteth that they should enjoy and obtain the indulgen-
ces and pardons, which all those do enjoy and obtain, t.hat
personally visit the churches of the city of Rome, and without
the walls of it, as well as if they did visit personally the said
churches.
9. Itert
. To the intent, that the same persons with more
purity, and cleanness of their conscjences, might pray, his
holiness grants, that they might choose for their confessor any
secular or regular priest licensed by the diocesan, to whom
power is granted to absolve them of all sins and censures
\vhatsoever, [though they be reserved to the apostolical see,
and specified in the bull of the Lord's supper, exc"p.pt of the
crime heresy,] and that they should enjoy free and full indul-
gence and pardon of them all. But of the sins not reserved
to the apostolical see, they may be absolved toties quoties, i. e.,
as many times as they do confess them, and perform salutary
penance: And jf to be absolved, there be need of restitution,
they Inight make it themselves, or by their heirs, if theÿ have
nn impediment to make it themselves. Likewise the said con-
fessor shaH have power to communicate or change any vow
\vhatsoever, though made with an oath, (excepting the vow
of chastity, religion, and beyond seas) but this is, upon giving
for charity what they should think fit, for the benefit of the
holy crusade. .
10. Item. That if, during the said year, they should happen,
by sudden death, or by the abse!1ce of their confessor, to
die without confessing their sins; if they die hearty peni-
tents; and "in the time appointed by the church, had confessed,
and have not been negligent or careless in co'nfidence of this
grace, it is granted, that they should obtain the said free and
full indulgence and pardon of all their sins; and their corpse
might be buried in ecclesiastical burying place, (if they diu
not die excommunicated,) notwithstanding the interdictum.
11. Likewise his holiness hath granted by his particular
brief, to all the faithful Christians, that ta\{e the bull twice a
year, that they might once more, during their lives, and once
more at the point of death, (besides what is said above,) be
j\IASTER-KEY TO POPERY.
81
absolved of all the sins, crimes, excesses of what nature soev-
r, censureg I sentences of excommunication, though comprised
in the bull of the Lord's supper, and though the absolu-
tion of them be reserved to his holiness, (except the crime
and offence of heresy,) and that they might twice more enjoy
all the graces, indulgences, faculties and pardons granted in
this bull.
12. And his holiness gives power and authority to us, Don
Francis Anthony Ramirez de la Piscina, archdeacon of AI-
carraz, prebendary and canon of the holy church at Toledo,
primate of the Spains, of his IVlajesty's council, apostolic,
genetal commissary of the holy crusada, and all other graces
in all the kingdoms and dominions of Spain, to suspend
(during the year of the publishing of this bull) all the graces,
indulgences, and faculties, granted to the said kingdoms, do-
minions, isles, provinces, to whatever churches, monasteries,
hospitals, brotherhoods, pious places, and to particular persons,
though the granting of them did contain words contrary to
this suspension.
13. Likewise he gives us power to reinforce and make good
again tlJ.e same graces and faculties, and all others whatso-
ever; and he gives us and our deputies power to suspend the
interdictum in whatever place this bull
hould be preached;
and likewise to fix and determine the quantum of the contri-
bution the people is to give for this bull, according to the
abilities and quality of persons.
14. And we, the said apostolic general commissary of the ho-
ly crusada, (ill favor of this holy bull, by the apostolical author-
ity granted to us, and that so holy a work do not cease nor be
hindered by any other indulgence,) do suspend, during the
year, all the graces, indulgences and faculties, of this or any
other kind, granted by his holiness, or by other popes his pre-
decessors, or by the holy apostoliral see, or by his authority, to
nIl the kingdoms of his majesty, to all churches, monaster-
ies, hospitals, and other pious places, universities, brother-
hoods, and secular persons; though the said graces and facul-
ties be in favor of the building of St. Peter's church at. Rome,
or of any crus[.da, though all and everyone of them should
contain words contrary to this su
pension: So that, during
the year, no person shall obtain, or enjoy, any other graces,
indulgences or faculties whatsoever, nor can be published,
except onJy the privileges granted to the superiors of the
mendicant orders, as to their friars.
15. And in favor of this bull, and by the sa: a apústolical
82
l\IASTER-KEY TO POPERY.
authority we ded ire, that all those that would take this bull
might obtain and enjoy all the graces, faculties and indulgen-
ces, jubilees and pardons,. which have been granted by our
holy fathers, Paul the 5th, and UrLannus the 6th, and by other
popes of happy memory, and by th
holy apostolical see, or by
its authority, mentioned and comprised in the said su
pension,
and which, by the apostolical commission, we reinforce and
make good again; and by the same authority do suspend the
interdictum for eight days before and after publishing this
buH, in any place whatsoever (as it is contained in his holi-
ness' brief): And we command that everybody, that would
take this bull, be obliged to keep by him the same which is here
printed, signed and sealed with our name and sea], and that oth-
erwise they cannot obtain nor enjoy the benefit of the said bull.
16. And whereas you (Peter de Zuloaga) have given two
reales de plata, which is the charity fixed by us, and have
taken this bull, and your name is written in it, we do declare,
that you have already obtained, and are granted the
aid in-
dulgences, and that you may enjoy and make use of them in
the abovementioned form. Given at l\'ladrid, the eighteenth
day of l\larch, one thousand seven hundred and eighteen.
Form of absoJution, which, by virtue of this bull, may be given to all those
that take the bull once in their life time, and once upon the point of
death.
l/lisereatur tlli Omnipotens Deus, &c. By the authority of
God and his holy apostles St. Peter and St. Paul, and our most
'holy father (N.) to you especially granted and to be committed,
I absolve you from all censure of the greater or lesser excom-
munication, suspension, interdictum, and from all other cen-
sures and pains, or punishments, which they have incurred
and deserved, though the absolution of them be reserved to the
apostolic see, (as by the same is granted to you.) And I
bring yòu again into the union and comnlunion of the faithful
Christians: And also I absolve you from all the sins, crimes,
and excesses, which you have now here confessed, and from
those which you woulJ confess, if you did remember them,
though they be so exceeding great, that the absolution of them
be reserved to the apostolical see; and I do granL-you free and .
full indulgence, and pardon of all your sins now and whenever
confessed, forgotten, and out of your mind, and of an the pains
and punishments which you were obliged to endure for them
in ')'Urgatory. In the name of the Fath
r, of the 8(11, and of
the floly Ghost.-Amen.
MASTER-KEY TO POPERY.
S3
Brief, or sum of the estations and indulgences of Rome, which his holines8
grants ilJ aU those that would take and fulfil the contenk of thlß bull.
The first day in St. Sabine, free and full indulgence.
Thursday in St. George, · do.
Friday in St. John and St. Paul, do.
Saturday in St. Criffon, do.
First Sunday in Lent, in St. John, St. Paul, do.
Monday in St. Petcr ad Vincula, do.
Tuesda y in St. Anastasie, do.
. And this day everybody takes a soul out of purgatory.
Wednesday in St. J.\;lary the greater, free and full indulgence.
'lhursday in St. Laurence Panispema, do.
Friday in the saints apostles, do.
Saturday in St. Peter, do.
Second Sunday in Lent, in St. Mary of Na-
vicula, and St.
lary the greater, do.
Monday in St. Clement, do.
Tuesda y in St. Balbine, do.
Wednesday in St. Cicile, do.
Thur::;day in St. l\Iary trans tiber, . do.
Friday in St. Vidal, do.
Saturday in St. Peter and St. Marcelin, do.
. And this day everybody takes one soul out of purgatory.
Third Sunday in Lent in St. Laurence,
extra IHuros, free and full indulgence.
* And this day everybody takes one soul out of purgatory.
Monday in St. l\tlark, free and full indulgence.
Tuesday in St. Potenciane, do.
'Vednesday in St. Sixte, do.
Thursday in St. Cosme, and St. Damian,
the image of our lady of Populi and
Pacis, is shown. do.
Friday in St. Laurence in Lucina, do.
Saturday in S1. Susane, and St.
Iary of the angels.
Fourth Sunday in Lent in St. Crosse of Jeru
alem, do.
*This day everybody takes one soul òut of purgatory.
l\londay in the 4-crowned free and full indulgences.
Tl1: esda y in St. Laurence in Damascus, do.
Wednesday in St. Peter, do.
Thursday in St. Silvastre and in St.lVlary in
the mountains, do.
Friday in St. Usebe, do.
SaturdftY in St. Nicholas in prison, do.
Fifth Sunday in Lent in St. Peter, do.
84
:!\lASTER-KEY TO POP.ERY.
l\londay in St. Praxedis,
Tuesday in St. Priske,
\Vednesday in St. Mary the greater,
Thursday in St. John de Leteran,
Friday in St. Crosse of Jerusalem, and in St.
Mary of the angels, do.
Saturday in St. John de Leteran, do.
Easter Sunday in S1. J\tlary the greater, do.
l\Ionùay in St. Peter, do.
Tuesday in St. Paul, do.
'Vednesday in St. Laurence, extra muros, do.
*This day everybody takes a soul out of purgatory.
Thursday in the saints apostles, free and full indulgence
Friday in St. J\tlary Rotunda, do.
Saturday in S1. John Deleteran, do.
Sunday after Easter in St. Pancracy, do.
ESTATIONS AFTER EASTER.
In the greater litanies: St. l\lark's day; in St.
Peter, do.
A:;;;cension-day in St. Peter, do.
Whitsunday in St. John de Leteran, do
l\londay..in St. Peter, do
Tuesday in St. Anastasie, do.
\Vednesday in St. l\lary the greater, do
Thursday in St. Laurence, extra muros, do.
*This day everybody takes a soul out of purgatuxy.
Friday in the sa ints apostles, free and full ind ..tlgt:'t
.
Saturday in St. Peter, do.
ESTATIO:NS IN ADVENT
First Sundày in St. l\lary the grea ter,
And in the same church all the holy days of
our lady, dQ
Mond 1 Y in S1. Crissone, free and full indu]gence
Tuesday in S1. Quirce, do.
'Vednesday in S1. Marcelle, do.
Thursday in St. Appollinaris, do.
Friday in S1. Estephan, do.
*This day everybody takes one soul out of purgatory.
Saturday in S1. John ante Portam Latinam, free and full In-
dulgence.
* And this day everyone takes a soul out of purgatory.
Sixth Sunday in Lent in St. John de Leteran, full and free in-
[ d ulgence.
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
MASTER-KEY TO POPERY.
85
Second Sunday in St. Crosse of Jerusalem, free and full In-
The same då y in St. l\Iary of the angels, do. [dulgel..ce.
Third Sunday in St. Peter, do.
'Yednesday of the four rogations, in St. 1\1ary the greater.
Friday in the saints apostles, do.
Saturday in St. Peter, do.
Fourth Sunday in the saints apostles, do.
CHRIST
VIAS NIGHT.
At the first mass in St. l\lary the greater, in the
Manger's chapel, do.
At the second mass St. Anastasie, do.
CHRISTIVIAS DAY.
At the third mass in St. IVlary the greater, do.
l\londay in St. l\Iary Rotunda, do.
Tuesday in St. l\lary the greater, do.
The innocent's day in St. Paul, do.
The circumcision of Christ in St. l\1:arv transtiber,
The Epiphany in St. Peter, W do.
Dominica in Septuag. in St. Laurence, extra muros.
*This day everybody takes a soul out of purgatory.
Dominica in Sexag. in St. Paul, free and full indulgence.
Dominica in Quinquag. in S1. Peter, do.
And because, every day of the year, there is estations at
Rome, with great indulgences, therefore it is granted to all
those that take this bull, the same indulgences and pardons
every day which are granted at Rome.
DON FRANCIS ANTHONY RAl\URET, DE LA PISOINA.
Explanation of this bull, and remark upon it.
BULL OF CRUSADE.
A pope's brief, granting the sign of the cross to those that
tåke it. All that a foreigner can learn in the dictionaries, as
'0 this word, is the abo\.e account; therefore I ought to tell
you that are foreigners, that the word cru
ada was a grant of
the cross; i. e., that when the king of Spain makes war
against the Turks and infidels, his coat of arms
and the motto
of his colors, is the cross, by w'hich all the soldiers under-
stand such a war is an holy war, and that the army of the
king, having in its standard the sign of the cross, hath a great
advantage over the enemy; for, as they do believe, if they
die in such a war, their souls go straight to heaven; and tll
confirm thern in this opinion, the pope grants thenl this bull,
signed with the sign of the cross, so many indulgences as you
have read in it.
H
86
MASTER-KEY TO POPERY.
Again, crus, or cross, is the only distinguishing character
of those that follow the colors of Jesus Christ, frOln whence
crusada is derived, that is to say, a brief of indulgences and
privileges of the cross granted to all those that serve in the
war for the defence of the Christian faith against all its ene-
mies whatsoever.
This bull is granted by the pope every year to the IÛng
f
Spain) and all his subjects, by which the king increases hIS
treasure, and the pope takes no small share of it. The ex-
cessive sums of money, which the bull brings in to the king
and pope, everybody may easily know, by the account I am
going to give of it.
It is an inviolable custom in Spain, every year, after Christ-
Inas, to have this bull published in every city, town, and bor-
ough, which is always done in the. following manner:
The general commissary of the holy crusade most com-
monly resides at IVI.adrid, from whence he sends to his deputies,
in every kingdom or province, the printed bulls they want in
their respective jurisdictions. This bull being published at
l\ladrid by the general commissary or his deputy, which i
always done by a famous preacher, after the gospel is sung in
the high mass, and in a sermon which he preaches upon this
subject. After this is done at IVladrid, (I say,) all the deputies
of the holy crusada send fronl the capital city, where they
reside, friars with a 'petit commissary to every town and vil-
lage, to preach and publish the bull. Every preacher has his
own circuit, and a certain number of towns and villages, to
"'publish it in, and, making use of the privileges mentioned in
the bull, he in his sermon persuades the people that nobody
can be s
ved that year without it, which they do and say every
year agaIn.
The petit commissary, for his trouble, has half a real of
eIght, i. e., two and [ourpence a day; and the preacher, accord-
ing to the extent of the circuit, has twenty or thirty crowns
for the whole journey, and both are well entertained in every
place.
Every soul, from seven years of age and upwards, is obliged
to take a bull, and pay two reals of plate, i. e., thirteen pence
three farthings of this money; and one part out of three of the
living persons take two or three, according to their families
and abilities. The regular priests are obliged to take, three
times every year, the bu II, for which they pay two reals of
plate: In the beginning of Lent another, which they call bull
of lacticinous, i. e., bull to eat eggs, and things .f Inilk, with..
1\-IASTER-KEY TO POPERY.
87
9Ut which they cannot: And another in the holy week. For
the bull of lacticinous they pay four and ninepence, and the
same for the bull of the holy week; the friars and nuns do
the same. Now, if you consider the number of ecclesiastics
and nuns and all the living souls from seven years of age and
upwards, you may easily know ,,,hat vast sums of money the
king gets in his dominions by this yearly brief, of which the
third part or better goes to Ronle one way or other.
Add to this the bull of the dead. This is another sort of
bull; for the pope grants in it pardon of sins, and salvation to
them, who, before they die, or after their death their relations
for them, take this bull of defunctorum. The custom of tak-
ing this bull is become a law, and a vèry rigorous law, in
their church; for nobody can be buried, either in the church
or in the church-yard, without having this bull upon their
breasts, which (as they say) is a token and signal that they
were Christians in their lives, and after death they are in the
way of salvation.
So many poor people, either beggars or strangers, or those
that die in the hospitals, could not be buried without the help
of the well-disposed people, who bestow their charities for
the use of taking bulls of the dead, that the poor destitute peo-
ple might have the benefit of a consecrated burying-place.
The sum for this bull is two reals of plate, and whateyer
money is gathered together in the whole year goes to the pope,
or (as they say) to the treasure of the church. Now I leave
to everybody's consideration, how many persons die in a year,
in so vast dominions as those of the king of Spain, by which,
in this point, the pope's benefit, or the treasure of the church,
may be nearly l{nown.
o stupid, blind, ignorant people! Of what use or benefit
is this bull after death? Hear what St. John tells you: Happy
are they that die in the L01.d. It is certain that all those that
die in the grace of the Lord, heartily penitent, and sorry for
their sins, go immediately to enjoy the ravishing pleasures of
eternal life; and those that die in sin, go to suffer forever i
the dark place of torment. And this happens to our sOl1l
the very instant of their separation frorn their bodies. Lf't
everybody maIm use of thf'ir natural reason, and read impar':
tially the scripture, and he will find it to be so, or else he will
believe it to be so. Then if it is so, they ought to con
ider,
that wheñ they tal\:e this bull (which is commonly a little.be-
.fore they carry the corpse) into the church the judglnent of
God, as to the soul, is over, (for in the twinkling of an eye he
88
MASTER-KEY TO POPERY.
may lay the charges and pass the sentence)-at that time the
soul is either in heaven or hell. \Vhat, then, cloth the bull
signify to them 1 But of this I shall speak in another place.
And now I come to the explanation of the bull, and the re-
Inarks upon it.
This bull I am speaking of was granted five years ago to
the faithful people of Spain, by the late pope, and which a
gentleman of the army took accidentally from a master of a
ship out of Biscay, whose name is Peter de Zoloaga, as it is
signed by himself in the same bull, and may be seen at the
publisher's. I have said already that a bull is every year
granted to the king of Spain, by the pope in being, who, eithe.
for the sake of money, or for fear, cloth not scruple at all tQ
grant quite contrary bulls to two kings at the sanle timR
reigning in Spain. Now I crave leave to vindicate my pres
ent saying.
When the present king of Spain, Philip the Vth, went theyt'
and was crowned, both the arms spiritual and temporal, rep.
resentatives of the whole nation, (as in these kingdoms, thf'
house of lords and comrnons,) gave him the òath of fidelity
acknowledging him for their lawful sovereign: And when
this was done, pope Clement Xlth did confirm it, nay, his holi
ness gave him the investiture of Naples, which is the sealinf(
up a1] the titles and rights belonging to a lawful king
and
after this he granted hinl the bull crusade, by which he ac-
knowledged him king, and gave him help to defend himself
and his dominions against all the enemies of Christianity, and
all enemies whatsoever. Everybody knows that this pope
was for the interests of the house of Bourbon, rather than the
house of Austria,. and so no wonder, if he did not lose any
time in settling the crown and all the right upon Philip of
Bourbon, rather than upon Charles the I1Id, the present em-
peror of Germany.
This last, thinking that the right to the crown of Spain be-
longed to him, of which I shall not talk, begun the \Val
against Philip, supported by the Heretics, (as the Spaniards
call the English,) and being proclaimed at l\íadrid, and at
Saragossa, he applied to the pope to be confirmed king, and to
get both the investiture of Naples, and the bull of the holy
crusade. As to the investiture of Naples, I leave it to the his-
tory written upon the late war: But as to the bull, the pope
granted it to him, giving hirn all the titles he gave to Philip.
At the same time there were two kings, and two bulls, and one
pope, and one people. The divines met together to examine
:i\IASTER-KEY TO POPERY.
89
his point. viz. : 'Vhether the same people, having given their
oath of fidelity to Philip, and tal{en the bull granted to him,
\vere obliged to acknowledge Charles as a king, and take the
bull granted to him.
The divines for Philip were of opinion that the pope could
not annul the oath, nor dispense with the oath taken by the
wholE' nation, and that the people were obliged in conscience
not to take any other bull than that granted to Philip; and their
reason was, that the pope was forced by the imperial army to
do it; and that his holiness did it out of fear, and to prevent
the ruin of the church, which then was threatened.
The divines for Charles did allege the pope's infallibility.
and that every Christian is obliged in conscience to follow thE.
last declaration of the pope, and blindly to obey it, without
inquiring into the reasons that did move the pope to it. And
the same dispute was about the presentation of bishops, for
there. was at the same time a bishoprick vacant, and Charles
having appointed one, and Philip another, the pope confirmed
them both, and both of them were consecrated. From tbis it
appears that the pope makes no scruple at all in granting two
bulls to two kings at the same time, and to embroil with them
the whole nation; which he did, not out of fear, nor to prevent
the ruin of the church, but of self-interest, and to secure his
reven ue both \Va ys, and on both sides.
But, reader, be not surprised at this; for this pope I am
speaking of, was so ambitious, and of so haughty a temper,
that he did not care what means he made u::;e of, either to
please his temper, or to quench the thirst of his ambition. I
say, he was of so haughty a temper, that he never suffered
his decrees to be contradicted or disputed, though they \vere
against both human and divine laws. To clear this, I will
give an account of an instance in a case which happened in
his póntificate :
I was in Lisbon ten years ago, and a Spanish gentleman,
whose surname Wus Gonzalez, came to lodge in the sarne
house where I was for a while before; and as we, after supper,
were talking of the pope's supremacy and power, he told me
that he hirnseìf \Vas a living witness of the pope's authority
on oath: and, asking him how, he gave the following account
I was born in Granada, said he, of honest and ri
h, tbough
not noble parents, who gave me the best education they could
in that city. I was not twenty years of age when my father
and mother died, both within the space of six months. They
left me all they had in the world, recommending to me, in their
n2
gU
MASTER-KEY TO POPERY.
testament, to take care of my sister Dorothea, and to provide
for her. She was the only sister I had, and at that time in the
eightee
th year of her age. From our youth we had tenderly
Joved one ånother ; and upon her account, quitting Iny studies,
I gave myself up to her company. This tender brotherly love
prod uced in my heart at last another sort of love for her; and
though I never showed her my passion, I was a sufferer by it.
I was ashamed within myself to see that I could not master
nor overcome this irregular inclination; and perceiving that
the persisting in it would prove the ruin of my soul, and my
sister's too, I finally resolved to quit the country for a while,
to see whether I could dissipate this passion, and banish out
of my heart this burning and consuming fire; and after hav-
ing settled my affairs, and put my sister under the care of an
aunt, I took my leave of her, ,vho, being surprised at this un-
expected news, she upon her knees begged me to tell the rea-
son that moved me to quit the country; and, after telling. her
that I had no reason, but only a mind and desire to travel two
or three years, and that I begged of her not to marry any per-
son in the world, until my return home, I left her and went to
Rome. By letters of recommendation, by money, and my
careful comportment, 1 got my
elf, in a little time, into the
fa vor and house of cardinal A. I. Two years I spent in his
service at my own expense, aod his kindness to me was so
exceeding great, that 1 was not only his companion, but his
favorite and confidant. All this while, I was so raving and in
so deep a melancholy, that his eminence pressed upon me to
tell him the reason. I told him that Iny distemper had no
remedy: but he still insisted the more to know my distemper.
At last, I told him the love I had for my sister, and that it
being impossible she should be my wife, my distemper had no
remedy. To this he said nothing, but the day following went
to the sacred palace, and Ineeting in the pope's antechamber
cardinal P. I., he asked him whether the pope could dispense
with the natural and divine impediment between brother and
sister to be married; and, as cardinal P. I. said that the pope
could not, my protector began a loud and bitter dispute with
him, alleging reasons by which the pope could do it. The pope,
hearing the noise, came out of his chamber, and asked what'
was the matter? He was told it, and, flying into an uncommon
passion, said the pope may do everything, 1 do dispense with it,
and left them with these words. The protector took testimony
of the Pope's declaration, and went to the datary and drew a
public irstrument of the dispensation, and, coming home, gave
MASTER-KEY TO POPERY.
91
:t to me, and said, though 1 shall be deprived of your good
services and company, I am very glad that [ serve you in this
to your heart's desire and satisfaction. Take this dispensa-
tion, and go whenever you please to marry your sister. I left
Rome, and came home, and after 1 had rested from the fatigue
of so long a journey, 1 went to present the dispensation to the
bishop, and to get' his license; but he told me that he could not
receive the dispensation, nor give such a license; 1 acquaint-
ed my protector \vitb. this, and immediately an excommunica-
tion was despatched against the bishop, for having disobeyed
the pope, and commanding him to pay a thousand pistoles for
the treasure of the church, and to marry rnè himself; so, I was
marrjed by the bishop, and at this time 1 have five children by
my wife and sister.
From these accounts, Christian reader, you may judge of
that pope's temper and ambition, and you may likewise think
of the rest as you may see it in the following discourse.
The title, head, or direction of this bull is, to all the faithful
Christians, in the kingdoms and dominions of Spain, who
should help, or serve in the war, which the king makes against
Turks, infidels, and all the enemies of the holy catholic faith;
or to those that should contribute, and pray for the union
among the Christian princes, and for the victory over the ene-
nljes of Christianity.
The Roman Catholics, with the pope, say and firmly believe
(I speak of the generality) that no man can be saved out of
their communion; and so they reckon enemies of their faith
all those that are of a different opinion; and we Inay be sure
that the Protestants or heretics (as they call them) are their
irreconcilable enemies.
They pray publicly for the extirpation of the heretics,
Turks, and infidels in the mass; and they do really believe
they a re bound in conscience to make use of all sorts of means,
let them be ever so base, inhuman, and barbarous, for the
murdering of them.. This is the doctrine of the church of
Rome, which the priests and confessors do take care to so\v in
the Roman Catholics; and by their advice, the hatred, malice,
and aversion is raised to a great height against the heretics,
as you shall know by the following instances.
First, in the last war between Charles the 3d, and Philip
the 5th, the Protestants confederate with Charles did suftèr
very much by the country people. Those, encouraged by the
priests and confessors of Philip's part, thinking that if any
Christian could kill a heretic, he should do God service, did
92
:i\IASTER-KEY TO POPERY.
murder in private many soldiers, both English and Dutch. I
saw, and I do speak now before God and the world, in a town
alled Ficentes de Ebro, several arms and legs out of the
ground in the field, and inquiring the reason why those corpses
were buried in the field, (a thing indeed not ':lnusual there,)
I was answered, that those were the corpses of sotHe English
heretics, murdered by the patrons or landlords, who had killed
them to show their zeal for their religion, and an old maxim
among them: De los EnellLÏgos los meno.: let us have as
few enemies as we can. Fourteen English private men were
killed the night before in their beds, and buried in the field,
and I myself reckont-d all of them; and I suppose many others
were murdered, whom I did not see, though I heard of it.
The murderers make no scruple of it, but, out of bravery,
and zeal for their religion, tel1 it to the father confessor, not as
a sin, but as a famous action done by them in favor of their
faith. So great is the hatred and aversion the catholics have
against the protestants and all enemies of their religion. We
could confirm the truth of this proposition with the cruelty of
the late king of France against thë poor Huguenots, whom we
caB now refugees. THis is well known to everybody, there-
fore I leave Lewis and his counsellors where they are in the
other world, where it is to be feared they endure more torments
than the banished refugees in this present one. So, to con-
clude what I have to say upon the head or title of this bull, I
may positively affirm that the pope's design in granting it, is,
first, out of interest; secondly, to encourage the common peo-
ple to make war, and to root up all the people that are not of
his communion, or to increase, this way, if he can, his reve-
nues, or the treasure of the church.
I come now to the beginning of the bull, where the pope or
his sub-delegate, deputy" or general commissary, doth ground
the granting of it in that passage of the prophet Joel, chap.
iii. v. 18, expressed in these words: That he saw for the cO'Jn-
fort of all, a 'mystical fountain come out from God in his house,
or (as it is in Spanish in the original bull,) from God and from
the Lord's house, which did water and wash the sins of that
people.
The reflections, which may be .made upon this text, I leave
to our divines, whose learning I do equally covet and respect:
[ only say that in the Latin Bible I have found the text thus:
Et fons e domn Jehovæ prodibit, qui irrigabit vallem cedrorum
Lectissimarum. And in our English translation: And a foun-
tain shall come forth of the house of the Lord, and shall water
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MASTER-KEY TO POPERY.
93
he valley of Shittem. Now 1 leave the learned man to make
his reflections, and 1 proceed to the application.
Seeing then our most holy father (so goes on) Clement the
Xlth, for the zeal of the catholic king, for the defence of our
holy faith, to help him in this holy enterprise, doth grant him
this bull, by which his holiness ,openeth the springs of the blood
of Christ; and the treasure of his inestimable merits, and with
it encourageth all the Christians to the assistance of this un-
dertaking.
1 said before that the pope grants every year such a bun as
this for the same purpose: so every year he openeth the
springs of Christ's blood. 0 heaven! what is man that thou
shoutdst magnify him? Or, rather, what is this man that he
should magnify himself, taking upon him the title of most holy
father, and that bf his holiness? A man (really a man) for
it is certain that this man and many others of his predecessors
had had several b-s. This man (I say) to take upon him-
self the power of opening the springs of Christ, and this every
year!! Who will n.ot be surprised at his assurance, and at his
highest provocation of the Lord and his Christ?
For my part, 1 really believe that he openeth the springs of
the blood of Christ, and openeth afresh those \younds of our
Redeemer, not only every year, but evpry day without ceasing.
This I do believé, but not as they believe it; and if their
doctrine be true among themselves, by course they must agree
""yith me in this saying, that the pope doth crucify afresh our
Saviour C.hrist without ceasing. In the treatise of vices and
sins, the Romish divines propose a question: utrum, or whether
a man that takes upon himself one of God's attributes, be a
blasphemous man, and whether such a man by his sins can
kill God and Christ, or not? As to the first part of the ques-
tion, they all do agree that such a man is a blasphemous man.
As to the second part, some are of an opinion that such an ex-
pression, õf killing God, has no room in the question. But the
greater part of scholastic and moral authors do admit the ex-
pression, and say such a rnan cannot kill God effectively, but
that he doth it affectively; that is to say, that willingly taking
upon himself an attribute of God, and acting against his laws,
he doth affront and offend, in the highest degree, that supreme
lawgiver; and by taking on himself the office of a high priest,
the power of forgiving sins, which only belong to our Saviour
Jesus, he affectively offends, and openeth afresh his wounds
and the springs of his blood: and if it were possible for us to
see him face to facc) whOIn no man living hath secn yet; as
94 .
MASTER-KEY TO POPERY.
we see him through a glass now;we should find his high indig-
nation against such a man. But he must appear before the
dreadful tribunal of our God, and be judged by him according
to his deeds: he shall have the same judgment with the anti-
christ, for though we cannot prove by the scriptures that he is
the antichrist, notwithstanding we may defy antichrist himself,
whoever he be, and whenever he comes, to do worse and more
wicked things than the pope doth. 0, what a fearful thing is
it to fall into the hands of a living God! Now I COIne to the
articles of the bull; and first of all, ....
1. His holiness grant.
a free and full indulgence and par-
don of all their sins to those who, upon their own expenses, go
to, or serve, personally, in the war against the enemies -r>f the
Roman Catholic faith; but this must be understood if they con-
tinue in the army the whole year :- so the next year they are
obliged to take this bull, and to continue in the same service,
if they will obtain the same indulgence and pardon, and so on
all their life time; for if they quit the service, they cannot en-
joy this benefit, therefore, for sake of this imaginary pardon,
they continue in it till they die, for otherwise there is no par-
don of sins.
Let us observe another thing in this article. The same in-
dulgence and pardon is granted to those that die in the army,
or going to the army before the expedition, or before the end
of the year; but this must be understood also, if they die with
perfect contrition of their sins; or if they do confess them by
mouth, or, if they cannot, if they have a hearty desire to confess
them. As to the first condition, if they die with perfect contri-
tion, no Roman or Protestant divine will deny that God will
forgive such a man's sins, and receive him into his everlasting
fa vor; so to such a man, a free and ful] indulgence and pardon
is of no use; for, without it, he is sure to obtain God's niercy
and forgivenegs.
As to the second condition, or if they do confess them hy
mouth, or have a hearty desire to do it
. if a man want a hearty
repentance, or is not heartily penitent and contrite, what can
this condition of confessing by l11outh, or having a hearty desire
for it, profit such a man's soul? It being certain that a man
by his open confession nlay deceive the confessor and his own
soul, but he cannot deceive God Almighty, who is the only
searcher of our hearts. And if the Catholics will say to thi
,
that open confession is a sign of repentance, we may answer
them, that among the Protestants it is so, for being not obliged
to do it, nor by the laws of God! nor by those of the church.
MASTER..KEY TO POPERY.
95
when they do it, it is, in all human probability, a sure sign of
repentance; but among the Roman Catholics, this is no argu-
ment of repentance, for very often their lips are near the Lord,
but their hearts very far off.
How can we suppose that an habitual sinner, that, to fulfil
thp. precepts of their church, confes
es once a year, and after
it, the very same day, falls again into the same course of life;
how can we presume, I say, that the open confession of such a
man is a sign of repentance 1 And if the Roman Catholics
reply to this, that the case of this first article is quite different,
being only for those that die in the war with true contrition and
repentance, or open confession, or hearty desire of it; I say
that in this case it is the same as in others. For, whenever
and wherever a man dies truly penitent and heartily sorry for
his sins, such a man, without this bull and its indulgences and
pardons, is forgiven by God, who hath promised his Holy Spirit
to all those that ask it; and, on the other side, if a man dies
without repentance, though he confesseth his sins, he cannot
obtain pardon and forgiveness from God, and in such a case
the pope's indulgences and pardons cannot free that man frorn
the punishment his impenitellt heart hath deserved.
Observe, likewise, that to all those warriors against the ene-
mies of the Romish faith, the pope grants the same indulgen-
ces which he grants to those that go to the conquest of the
holy land, in the year of jubilee. The Roman Catholics ought
to consider, that the greatest favor we can expect from God
Almighty, is only the pardon uf our sins, for his grace and
everlasting glory do follow after it. Then, if the pope grants
them free, full, and general pardon of their sins in this bull,
what need have they of the pardons and indulgencEs, granted
to those that go to the conquest of the holy land, and in the
year of jubilee?
But because few are acquainted with the nature of such in-
dulgences and grares granted in the year of jubilee, I must
crave leave from the learned people to say what I know in this
Inatter. I will not trouble the public with the catalogue of the
pope's bulls, but I cannot pass by one article contained in one
of these bulls, which may be found in some libraries of curious
,
entleInen and learned divines of our church, and especially
In the Earl of Sunderland's library, ,vhich is directed to the
Roman Catholics of England in these words: Filii mei date
7Jzihi corda vestra, et hoc suificit vohis: J\tly children, give Jue
your hearts, and this is sufficient. So by this, they may
nvear
and curse, steal and nlurder, and commit most heinous crimes;
96
.
MASTER-KEY TO POPERY.
if they keep their hearts for the pope, that is enough to be
aved, Observe this doctrine, and I leaye it to you, reader,
whether such an opinion is according to God's will, nay, to
natural reason, or not 1
The article of the .bull, for the year of jubiìee, doth contain
these words: Ij,any Christian, and professor of our Catholic
faith, going to the holy land, to the war against the Turks and
Infidels, or in the year of jubilee to our city of Rome, should
happen to die in the way, we decla1'e that his soul goes straight-
way to heaven.
The preachers of the holy crusade, in their circuits, are
careful in specifying, in their sermons, all these graces and in-
dulgences, to encourage the people, either to go to the war. or
to malæ more bulls than one. '\Vith this crowd of litanies and
pardon
, the pope blinds the common people, and increases his
trLasure.
In this same first article of our present bull, it is said, that
the same graces and indulgences are granted to all those, who,
though they do not go personally, should send another upon
their own expenses; and that if he be a cardinal, primate,
patriarch, arehbishop, bishop, son of a king, prince, duke, mar-
quis, or earl, he must send ten, or at least four soldiers, and
the rest of the people one, or one between ten.
Observe no\",", that, according to the rules of their morality
no [nan can merit, by any involuvtary action; because, as they
say, he is compelled and forced to it. How can, then, this
noble people merit or obtain su
h graces and indulgences, when
they do not act voluntarily 1 for, if we mind the pope's expres-
sion, he compels and forces them to send ten soldiers, or at
least four. They have no liberty to the contrary, and conse-
quently they cannot merit by it.
The Second .Article of this Bull.
The pope compriseth in this command of sending one soldier,
chapters, parish churches, convents ()f friars, and monasteries
of nuns, without excepting the mendicant orders; but the pope
in this doth favor the ecclesiastical persons more than the laity;
for as to the laity, he says, that three or four may join together,
and send one soldier; and as to the ecclesiastical persons,
he enlarges this to ten persons, that, if between them, ten do
send one soldier, they all, and the person sent by them, obtain
the said graces. I do believe there is a great injustice done to
the laity; for thes
have families to maintain, and the ecclesi-
astics have not, and the greatest part of the riches are in their
.
l\L\STER-KEY TO POPERY.
..
97
hands. This J can a vel', that I read in the chronicles of the
Franciscan order, written by Fr. Anthony Perez, of the same
order, where, extolling and praising the providence of God up-
on the Franciscan friars, he says, that the general ofSt. Fran-
cis's order doth rule and govern continually 600,000 friars in
Christendom, who having nothing to live upon, God takes ('are
of them, and all are well clothed and maintained. There are
:n the Roman Catholic religion 70 different orders, governed
by 70 regular generals, who, after six years of command, are
mJ.de either bishops or cardinals. I say this by the by, to let
the public know the great number of priests and friars, idle
and needless people in that religion; for if in one order ouly
there are 600,000 friars, how n1an y shall be found in 70 differ-
ent orders; I am sure if the pope would command the 50th part
of them to go to this holy war, the laity would be relieved, the
king would have a great deal more powerfi.l1 army, and his do-
minions would not be so much embroiled with divisions, nor so
full of vice and debauchery, as they are now.
TIle TlLird Article.
It is lawful for the priests and friars to go to this war to
preach the word of God in it, or serve, or help in it, without in-
curring irregularity. They do preach and encourage the sol-
diers to kill the enemies of their religion, and to make use of
whatever means they can for it; fer in so doing there is ne
sin, but a great service done to God.
Out of this war, if a priest strike anot},er and there is muti-
lation, or if he encourage another to revenge or murder, he
incurs irregularity, and he cann8t pcrf
rm any ecclesiastical
or divine service, till he is alsol ved by the pope, or his depu-
ty: But in the war against the enemies of their religion, nay,
out of the war they advise them to murder them, as I have
said before, and this without incurring irregularity. 0 blind-
ness of heart! lIe endeth this artide by excusing the soldiers
from fasting when they are in the army, but not when they
are out of it; a strange thing that a man should command more
than God. Our Saviour Jesus Christ commands us to fast from
sin, not from mea.t; but more of this in another
rticle.
TILe Fourth Article.
In this article the pope compriseth all the people, and puts
them upon double charges and expensc
, for besides the con-
tribution for a soldier, every body must take \he bull if he wiU
obtain the said graces, and must give two rcals of plate, i. c.
I
98
..
?tIASTER- KEY TO POPERY.
thirteen pence half-penny. This is a bitter and hard thin
fOl
the people:
ut see how the pope sweetens it. I grant, besides
the said graces, to all those who should take this bull and give
the charity under n1entioned, that even in the tÍ1ne of suspen-
sion of divine and ecclesiastical s
rvicc, they may hear and
say mass, and other devotions, &e. Charity must be volunta-
ry to be acceptable to God: How then can he call it charity,
when the people must pay fur the bull, or some of their goods
shall ùe sold? And not only this, but that their corpse cannot
be buried in sacred ground without it, as is expressed in the
fifih article.
The Sixth, Article.
The pope doth excuse all that take this bull not only from
fasting, but he gi,"es then1 license to eat flesh in lent hy the
consent of both physicians spiritual and temporal. This i
,
if a nlan is sick, he Inust consult the physician, "hether he
may eat flesh or not; and if the physician gives his con
ent,
he must ask his father-confessor's consent too, to eat flesh in
lent and other days of ecclesiastical prohibition. Only a stu-
pid man wiH not find out the trick of this granting, f,.)1' in tlH'
first place, necessitas C!J1"ct lege; necessity knows no law: 1 t
a man is sick, he is excused by tbe law of God, nay, by the law
of nature from hurtful thing
, nay, he is oLliged in conscielh
t'
to preserve his health by uf'ing all serts of lawful means.
This is a Inaxim received among the Ronlans, as well as among
us. 'Vhat occasion is there then of the pope's and both physi-
cians' license to do such a thing? Or if there is such a pov;er
in the bull, why cloth not the pope grant them licence abso-
lutely, without askin6 consent of both physicians? \Ve nmy
conclude that such people must be blindly superstitious, or
deeply ignorant.
But this great privilege ll1USt be understood cnly for the
laity, not for the secular, n0r regular priests, except the car-
dinals, who are not mentioned here, the knights of the military
order, and those that are sixty years of age and above. But
the priests and friars (notwithstan::: 1 ing this expre
s prohibition)
if they have a nlinrl, evade it on pretence of many light dis-
tempers, of the a
Riduity of their studies, or exercise of preach-
ing the lent's sermvns; and hy these and other, as they think,
weighty reasons, they get a license to eat flesh in lent. So we
ee, that they will preach to the people obedience to all the
commanrlments ôf the pope, and they do disobey them; they
preacÞ. so, because they haye private ends and interests in so
M..:\STEU-KEY TO POPERY.
Ð9
doing; but they do not observe them thmnselves, because they
are against their inclinations, and without any profit, and s(
advising the people to mind them, they do not mind thmn them r
selves
Tlw Seventh and Eigltth A1.ticles.
To the same, the pope grants fifteen years, and fifteen
q uarantains of pardon, and all the penances not yet perfornled
by them, &c. Observe the ignorance of that people: the pope
grants them fifteen years and fifteen quarantains of pardon
by this bull, and they are so infatuated that they take it every
year; indeed they cannot desire more than the free and gen-
eral pardon of sins; and if they obtain it by one bull for fifteen
years, and fifteen quarantains, what need or occasion have
they for a yearly buH? Perhaps some are so stupid as to think
to heap up pardons during this lifè for the next world, or to
leave them to their children and relations sbut observe, like.
wise, that to obtain this, they nlust fitst for devotion's salie
some days not prohibited by the church. They really believe,
that keeping themselves within the rules of ecclesiastical fast-
in 6 , they Inerit a great de3-l; but God knows, for as they say,
the merit is grounded in the mortification of the body, and by
this rule, I will convince them that they cannot merit at alL
For let us know how they fast, and what, and how they
eat? Now I will give a true account of their fasting in gen-
eral; the rules which must be observed in a right fasting are
these-In the morning, it is allowed by all the casuistical au-
thors, to drink whatever a body has a mind for, and eat an
ounce of bread, which they call parva materia, a sm3-II matter.
And as for the drink, they follow the pope's declaration con-
cerning chocolate. Give me leave to acquaint you with the
case.
When the chocolate begun to be introduced, the jesuits'
opinion was, that being a. great nourishlPcnt, it could not be
drunk without breaking fast; but the lovers of it proposing the
case to the pope, he ordered to l
e brought to him all the in-
gredients of which the chocolate is made, which being accord-
ingly done, the pope drank a cup, and decided the dispute, sar-
in!!:, polus nonfrangitjejunium: Liquid doth not break fasting,
which declaration is a Inaxim put into all their moral sums; and
by it every body may lawfully drink as many cups as he
plcases and eat an ounce of bread, as a small matter in the
nwrning; and by the same rule any body may drink a bottle
100
1\IASTER-}iEY TO l
O})ERY.
of wine or two, without breakIng his fasting, for liquid doth
not break fasting.
At noon they may eat as much as they can of all sorts of
things, except flesh; and at night, it is allowed not to sup, but
to
ke something by way of collation: in this point of colla-
tion, th
asuists do not agree together; t)r some say that no-
body can lawfully eat but eight ounces of dry and cold things
as bread, walnuts, raisins, cold fried fishes, and the like.
Other authors say, that the quantity of this collation, must be
measured with the constitution of the person who fasts; for if
the person is of a strong constitution, tall, and of a good appe-
tite, eight ounces are not enough, and twelve must be allowed
to such a man, and so of the I"est. This is the form of their
fasting in general: though some few religious and devout per-
sons eat but one meal a day; nay, some used to fast twenty-four
hours without eating any thing; but this is once in a year,
which they call a fast 'lL'ith the bells, that is, in the holy week,
among other ceremonies, the Roman Catholics put the conse-
crated host or ,vafer in a rich vrna or box, on Thursday, at
twel ve of the clock in the morning; and they take it out on
Friday at the same time; these twenty-four hours every body
is in mourning, nay, the altars are veiled, and the monument
where they place the image of Jesus Christ upon the cross, is
all covered with black. The bells are not heard all this while;
and, as I said, many used to fast with the belIs; and they
make use of this expression to sif;nify that they fc1.st twenty...
four hours without eating any thing at all.
From these we may easily lil10W whether their bodies are
mortified with fasting or not? For how can a man of sense
say, that he mortifies his body with fasting, 'When he drinl{s
two or three cups of chocolate, with a sn1all toast in the morn...
ing, eats as much as he can at dinner, and eight ounces at
night: Add to this, that he nmy sit in company and eat a
crust of hread, ann think as many bottles of wine as he win:
this is not accounted collation, because liquid doth not break
fasting. This is the form of their fasting, and the rules they
must observe in it, and this is reckoned a n1eritorious work;
and therefore doing this, they obtain the said indulgences and
pardons of this bull.
Observe likewise, that the Ron1an Cathoìics of Spain are
allowed to eat, in some days, prohibited by the church, and
especially Saturdays, the following things: The head and
pluck of a sheep, a cheevelet of a fowl, and the like; nay,
they may boil a leg of mutton, anù drink the broth of it. This
MASTER-KEY TO FOPERY.
101
roleration of eating such things was granted by the pope to
king Ferdinand, who being in a warm war o.gainst the l\loor8,
the suldiers suffered very much in the days of fasting fDr
want of fish, and other things eatable for such clays; and for
this reason the pope gr<tntcd him and his army license to eat
the abovementioned things on Saturdays, and other days of
f:'lsting commanded by the church; and this was in the year
1-479. But this toleration only to the army was introduc
ò
among the country people, especially in both Old and New
Castilla, and this custom is become a law among them. Ellt
this is not so in other provinces of Spain, where the cornmon
people have not the liberty of eating such things; among th9
quality only those that have a particular dispensation from
the pope for them and their families.
There is an order of friars, called La orden de la victoria,
the order of the victory, whose first f!:'under was St. Francj
de Paula; and the Friars are prohibited by the rules,- statutes
and constitution of the order, to eat flesh; nay, this prúhibi-
tion stands in force during their lives, as it is among the C&r-
thusians, who, though in great sickness, cannot eat any thing
of flesh; but this must be understood within the convent'a
gate; for when they go abroad they may eat any thing with-
out trangressing the statute of the order.
But the pleasantness of their practices will show the tricks
of that religion. As to the victorian friars, I knew in Sar-
agossa, one father Conchillos, profcs
or of divinity in his con-
vent, learned in their way, but a pleasant companion. He
was, by his daily. exercise of the public lecture, confined to
his convent every dHY in the afternoon; but as soon as the
lecture was over, his thought and caTC was to divert himself
with ll1usic, gaming, &c. One evening, having given n1e
an invitation to his room, I went accordingly, and tI:er
was
nothing wanting of all sorts of recreation, musIC, cards,
comedy, and very good merry company. \Ve went to silpper,
which was composed of nice, delicate, eatable thingB, both of
fl('sh and fish, and for the dessert the best sweatmeats. But
observing, at supper, tha.t my good Conchill03 used to tn!.r.e a
leg of partridge and go to the window, and come again find
take a wing of a fowl, and do the same, I asl{ed hin\ '!t {lcther
he had some l'eggar in the
treet, to whom he thrc1I'" the leg
Ð.nd wing? No, said he to mc. What then do you do with
them out of the window? \Vhat, said he; I cannot eat fl(:sh
within the walls, but the statute of my order doth not forbid
me to eat it w'ithout the walls; and so, whenever we t!ave a
12
102
MASTER-KEY TO POPERY.
fancy for it, we Jnay eat flesh, putting our heads out of the
window. Thus they give a turn to the law, but a turn agree-
able to them: And so they do in all their fastings, and abEti-
nences ftOln flesh.
As to the Carthusmns, and their abstinence and fasting, I
could say a great deal, but am afj-aid I should swell this trea-
tise beyond its designed lenglh, if I should amuse you with an
account of all their l'idiculous ways. This I cannot pass by,
fQf it conduces very much to clearing this point of abstinence
and fasting. The order of this constitution is-
First: A continual abstinence from flesh; and this is observed
so severely and strictly, that I knew a friar, who, being dan-
gerously ill, the physicians ordereJ to apply, upon his head, a
young pigeon, opened alive at the breast; which being propo-
sed by the prior to the whole community, they were of opin-
ion that such a renledy ,vas against the constitution, and
therefore not fit to be used any way: That these poor friars
must die rather than touch any fleshly thing, though it be for
the preserving their health.
Secondly. Perpetual silence and confinement is the next
precept of St. Brune, their founder: That is, that the friars
cannot go abroad out of the convent, or garden walls, only the
prior and procurator m
y go upon business of the con1n1unity.
The rest of the friars' lives are thus: Each of them has an
apartment wilh a room, bed-chmnLer, kitchen, cellar, closet to
keep fruit in, a garden, with a well, and a place in it for firing.
Next to the door of the apartInent there is a wheel in the wall,
which serves to put the victuals in a t noon, and at night, and'
the friar turns the wheel, and takes his dinner and supper, and
in the morning he puts in the wheel the plates, by which the
ervant, that carries the victuals, knows they are in good
health; p.nd if he finds the victuals again, he acquaints the fa-
ther prior with it, who straight gdes to visit thenl. The prior
hath a master-key of all the rooms, for the friars are ohliged
to lock the door on the inside, and to keep the room always
shut, except when they go to say mass in the morning, and to
say the canonical hours in the day time; then if they n1cet vue
an
ther, they can say no other 'words but these: One says,
Brother, we must die; and the other answer
, \Ve kn3w it.
Only on Thursday, Letween three and four in the afternoon,
they meet together for an hour's time, and If it Le fair weath-
er, they go to walk in the garden of the convent, and if not, in
the common hall, where they cannot talk of other things, Lut
of the lives of such or such a saint; and when the hour is over,
1\lA.STER-KEY TO rOl'ERY.
103
everyone goes to his own chamber.
o they observe fasting
and silence continually, but except fleE:h, they cat the mosi ex-
quisite and delicate things in the world; for cOlllmonly in one
convent there are but twenty friars, and there is not one COll-
vent of Carthusians, which hath not five, six, and many, twen-
ty thousand pistoles of yearly rent. '
Such is their fasting frOlTI flesh and conversation; but let us
know their fasting ffOlll
im.;.
Dr. Peter Bernes, secular pries!, belonging to the parish
church of the blessed Th-lary l\1:1gdalcnc, (as they do call her,)
being 32 years of age, and dangerously ill, made a vow to the
. glorious saint, that if he should recover from that sickl1ess,
he would retire into a Carthuf-:ian convent. lIe recovered,
and accordingly, renouncing his benefice and the world, he
took the Carthusian habit, in the convent of the ConceptioJ1,
three miles from Saragossa. For the space of three years he
gave proofs of virtue and singular conformity ",-ith the statutes
of the order. lIis strict life ,vas so crowded with disciplines
and mortifications, th
t the prior gave out, in the city, that he
was a saint on earth. I went to see him with the father prior's
consent, and indeed I thought there was sonlething extraor-
dinary in his countenance. and in his ,...ords; and I had taken
him myself for a luan ready to work miracles. l\Iany people
went to see him, and among the crowd a young woman, ac-
quainted with him 1'ef01'e he took the habit, who unknown to
the strict friars got into his chaml:er, and there she was kept
Ly the pious father eighteen lTIonths. In that time the prior
used to visit the chan1ber, but the Senora was kept in the bed-
chamwer, till at last the prior went one night to consult hin1
upon sOlne business, and hearing a child cry, asked him what
was the matter; and though Iny friend Bernes endeavorerl to
conceal the case, the prior found it out; and she, owning the
thing, was turned out with the child, and the father was con-
fined fur ever: And this was his virtue, fasting and abstinence
from flesh, &c.
To those that ehher fitst in the abovcE:aid manner, or 1:\,('('0
t
(sting for devotion's sake, his holiness grants, (taking this htdl
\}f crusade) all the
aid graces, pardons anJ inùuI6ence
; and
really, if such graces were of some use or benefit, the people
thus duin
, want then1 very Illuch; or may be, the pope' know-
ing these practices, doth this out of pity nnd compassion fur
their souls, without thinking that this bull is a great encour..
agement anù incitcn1ent to sin.
104
MASTER-KEY TO POPER1..
The Ninth Article.
This article contains, first, that to pray with more purity,
every body taking this buH may choose a confessor to his own
fancy, who is empowered to absolve sins, except the crime of
heresy, reserved to the pope, or apostolical see. You must
know what they mean by the crime heresy. Salazar Irribar-
ren and Corella, treating of the reserved sins, say, that the
crime of heresy is, viz.: If I am all alone in my rOGm, and the
door being locked up, talking to myself; I say, I do not believe
in God, or in the pope of Ron1e, this is heresy. They distin-
guish two sorts of heresies; one interna, and another externa,
that is, public and secret. The public heresy, such as that I
have now told you of, nobody can absolve, Lut the pope him-
self. The second being only in thought, every body can ab-
solve, being licensed by the bishop, by the benefit of this bull.
So, whoever pronounces the pope is not infallible: the English
or protestants maybe saved: The Virgin l\1al"y is not to be
pra yed to: The priest hath not power to bring down from
heaven J. C. with five words: Such an one is a public heretic,
and he B1tlst go to ROlne, if he desireth to get atsolution.
Secondly. This article contains, that by the benefit of this
bull, every body nlay be free fi.om restituticn, during his own
life; and that he may make it by his heirs afler his death. 0
what an unnatural thing is this! \Vhat, if I take away from
my neighbor three hundred pounds, which is all he hath in the
world to maintain his family, must I be free from this restitu-
tion, and leave it to Iny heir's will to make it after my death 7
l\lust I see my neighbor"s family suffer by it; and can I be free
before God, of a thing that God, nature and humanity, require
of me to do? Indeed this is a diabolical doctrinE;}. Add to this
what I have said of the bull of composition, that'is, if you take
so many bulls to compound the nlatter with your confessor,
you will be free forever from making restitution: But really
you shall not be free from the eternal punislunent.
Likewis:3, by the power of this bull, any confessor may
commute any vow, except those of chastity, religion, and be-
yond seas: But this is upon condition that they should give
something for the crusade. 0 God, what an expression is
thi5! To commute any vow, except those of chastity, &c. So,
if I make a vow to kill a man, if I promise upon oath to rob
D1Y neighbor, the confessor may commute me these vows, fi')f
sixpence: But if I vow to keep chastity, I must go to Rome,
to the pope himself. What an expression is this! I say again.
how many millions have towed chastity? If I say two mil.
J\:lASTER-KEY TO POPERY.
105
lions, I shall not lie. And how m any of these two millions
observe it? If I say five huadred, I shall not lie. And for all
this, we see nobody go to ROlne for absolution.
The Roman Catholics will say, that by these words, vow of
chastity, Inust be only understood abstaining from marriage;
but I will leave it to any man of reason, whether the nature
of chastity compriseth only that? Or let me ask the Roman
Catholics, whether a priest, l\lho has made a vow of chastity,
that is, never to marry, if he cOlnmits the sins of the flesh, will
be accounted chaste or not? They will, and Inust say, not.
Then, if so many thousands of priests live lewdly, breakiTlg
the vow of chastity, why do they not go to the pope for abso-
lution? To this they never call answer mf'; therefore the
pope, in this buH, cloth blind them, allJ the priests do what
they please, and only the common people are imposed upon,
and suffer by it. God Ahnighty, by his infinite power, en-
lighten them all, that so the priests may be more sincere, and
the people less darkened.
The TentlL Article.
The pope grants the SaIne indulgences to those that should
die suddenly, if they die heartily sorry for their sins. Of this
I have spoken already, and saiù, that if a man dies truly peni-
tent he hath no occasion for the pope'8 pardon, for his true pen-
itence hath mOl
e interest (if I n1ay thus express myself) with
God Almighty, than the pope with all his infallibility. So I
proceed to the next, ,vhich is
Tlw Elcventl" Article.
In this article the pope grants besides the said indulgences,
to those that take this bull, that they may twice more in the
same year be absolved of all their sins, of what nature soever,
once more during their li\.cs, and once more at the point of
ùeath. This is a bold saying, and full of assurance, 0 poor
blind people! \Vhere have you your eyes or understanding?
1\lind, I pray, for the light of your consciences, this impudent
way of deceiving you, and go along with me. The pope has
granted you, in f1e aforesaid article
, all you can wish for, anù
now again, he grants you a nonsensical privilege, viz. that
YO:l may twice at the point of death, he absGlved of nIl your
f:ins. Observe, pa
ing by, that a simple priest, who hath not
hC(,
llicensed by ihe C'rdiw
ry to lH'il,r conf(
ssions, upon urgcnt
np(,p
f-:ity, Í. P. IIp'ln thc p,)!nt (Æ d('
1h, is aì!o\V('d by ail
lOb
IASTER-KEY TO POPERY.
the casuistical a uthors, nay, by the councilf!, to absolve all
sins whatsoever, if there be not present another licensed
priest. Again, nobody can get such an absolution, as is ex-
pressed in this bull, but at the point of his soul's departing
ii'om the body, i. e. when there is no hope of recovery; and
the confessors are so careful in this point, that sometimes, they
begin to pronounce the aèsolution, when a man is alive, and
he is dead before they finish the ,vorJs.
Now pray tell me how can a man he twice in such a point?
And if he got once as Illuch, as he cannot get the second time,
what occasion hath he tor the second fuB, free, and plenary
indulgence, and absolution of all his sins? I Inust stop here,
for if I was to tell freely my opinion upon this point, SOllle will
think I do it out of some private ends; which I neyer do upon
delivering matters of fact.
The Tu;clftlt Article.
I-Iere the most holy father gives his power
nd authority to
the general apostolical commissary of the crusade, and all oth-
er graces and faculties, to revoke and suspend all the graces
and indulgences granted in this bull, by his holiness, during
the year of publishing it; and not only to suspend them upon
any restriction or limitation, but absolutely, though this, or any
other buH, or brief of indulgences, granted by this or other
popes, did contain words contrary to it, viz: Suppose if Clem-
ent, or another pope, should say, I grant to such an one such
faculties, and I anathematize all those that should attempt to
suspend the said faculties. This last expression would be of
no force at all, because this bull specifies the contrary.
So it is a thing very re111arkable, that the pope dispossesseth
himself by this bull, of all his power and authority, and giveth
it to the general apostolical commissary, inson1uch that the
apostolical commissary hath more power than the pope him-
self, during the year: and this power and authority is renew-
ed and confirmed to hilll by his holiness. And not only he
has this power over the pope, but over all the popes, and their
briefs, in whatsoever time granted to any place, or person
whatsoever. For it is in the apostolical commissary's power
to suspend all graces and privileges whatsoever, granted since
the first pope began to grant indulgences, which things are all
inconsistent with the independency and supremacy of the ho-
ly father, nay, according to the principles and sentiments of
their own authors, but we see they are consistent with their
lJliQ.dness and ignorance.
"
)IASTER-KEY TO POPERY.
107
The Thirteenth Article.
This article showeth us plainly the reason, why the pope
acts thus in granting of his power to the general apostolical
conlmissaryof the crusade, for he grants him authority to re-
voke and suspend all the indulgences here granted by hln1self
and other popes, but he grants hirn the same authority to call
again the very same indulgences, and to make thetn good
again. And next to this power (observe this) he grants him
and his deputies power to fix and settle the price or charity,
the people ought to give for the bull. This is the whole mat-
ter, and we may use the English saying, No cure, no pay,
quite reverse, No pay, no cure, no indulgence nor pardon of
sins. The treasure of the church (being a spiritual gift) can-
not be sold for money, without Simony. And if the Romans
say that the pope has that power derived from . Christ, or giv-
en gratis to him, let them mind the words: Quod gratis acce-
pistis, gratis date. If the pope pa yeth nothing for having
such power, if he has it gratis, why does he sell it to the faith-
ful? Can a private man, or his deputy ppt a price on a spir-
itual thing? 0 blindness of heart!
TiLe Fourteenth Article.
In this article the general a postolical commissary makes
use of his power and authority, he says, In fav01. of tltis holy
bull, 'lce do suspend, during tILe ynlr, all the g
"aCe8, indulgen-
ces, and faculties of tItis, 01" allY other l:ind,
c. TllOugh
tlleY be in favor of tlte building of St. Peter's chm'ch at Rome.
Except only from this suspenÛoll the privileges granted to the
superiors of the mendicant orders. lIe excepts only from this
suspension the privileges of the Ct.mr mendicant orders, because
the friars of those orders, being mendicants or Léggars, they
can be no great hindrance of this project. I ask Iny coun-
.rymen this question: If Dn. Francis Anthony Ramirez has
such a power, to do and undo, in despite of the pope, whatev-
er he pleases for a whole year; and this power is renewed to
him every year, by a fresh Lull; of what use is the pope in
Spain? And if he has resigned his authority to Don Ramirez,
why do they scnJ every year to Rome tor privileges, dispen-
sations, fiu
l1ltie
, bulls, &c., and throw their Inoney awa)?
If Ramirez has power to sto.p, and make void any concession
by the pope, what need ha\'e they tor so gre3t trouhl(' a!ld ex..
pense? Is not this a great stupidity and infirtuity? ObservÐ
the next article.
108
]L\STER-KEY TO POPERY.
The Fifteentlt A'J"ticle.
All those prohibitions and suspensions aforementioned, are
only to oblige the people to take the bull; for the general a pos.
tolical commi
sary says: 'J:Ve declare that all tlLOse that take
this bull, do obtain and enjoy all t,',e graces, and faculties, q"c.
wlliclt have been granted by the popes Paul the 5th, and Ur-
banus the St.'t, q-c. So if a poor man takes no bull, though he
be hearjly penitent, there is no pardon for hin1. I say, thtJre
is no pardon for him from the pope and his commissary, but
there is surely pardon for him from God; and he is in a oetter
wa y than all the bigots that take the bull, thinking to Le free
bv it from all their sins.
., ObsenTc also the last words of this article: lVe command
tltat every body tltat takes this bull, be obliged to keep by him
tIte same, 'll'lticlt is lwre printed, signed and sealed 'lEiih our
name and
eal; and t!tat otherlCise t,
ey cannot obtain, nor en-
joy the benrflt of the said bull. This is a c hea t, robbery, and
roguery; for the design of the general apostolical cOlnmissary
is, to oblige them to take another bull. The custom is, that
when they take every year a new bull, they ought to show tho
old one, or else they must take two that year. Now let us
suppose that all the contents of the bull are as efficacious as
the bigots do believe them to be. A man takes the bull, pays
for it, and performs and fulfilleth the contents of it. Is not this
enough to enjoy all the graces, &c? '\Vhat is the meaning
then of commanding to keep the san1e bull by them, but a
cheat, robbery, and roguery? I do not desire better proof of
this than what the commissary affords me in his following
words, by which he contradicts himself. lIe says, and where-
as you (speaking with Peter Dczuloaga, who was the nmn
that took the bull which was left at the puLli
her's shop) hare
given two reals of plate, alll
ltave ta
'cn tlÛs bull, and your
name is 'Writtcn in it, u'e declare tlwt you have already obtain-
ed and arc granted the said indulgences, q
c. And t!tat you
may enjoy and make use of thcm, q-c.
If he has already obtained all, of what use may it be to keep
the bull by him? IIow can the commissary n1ake these ex-
pressions a6'ree together? 1st. If Ite doll, not kecp tlte bull by
ltim, ltC cannot enjoy tlte benrflt of tile bull. 2d. As soon as
Itr takcs it, lte !tas aZ,'cad.1J obtain cd all tTte graces, q'c., and
enjoys tlte bcnifìt of thc bull. The!':e are 1\\'0 quite contrary
things. Then the design in the. first is robhery and roguery,
and in the second, cheat, fraud, and deceit.
1\IASTER-KEY TO POPERY.
109
Reflect again: iVl"ereas you have taken tile bull and paid
for it, you have already obtaincd all tlw indulgences and par
don of sins. By this declaration, infallible to the Rorüans, let
a man come froIn committing murder, adultery, sacrilege, &c.
if he takes and pays for. the bull, his sins are already pardon-
ed. Is not this a scandalous presumption? If a man is in a
state of sin, and has no repentance in his hearî, how can such
a man te pardoned at so cheap a rate as two reals of plate 1
If this was sure and certain, the whole world would embrace
their religion, for they the.n would be sure of their salvatinno
Again, if they believe this bull to be true, how can they douLt
of their going to heaven immediately after death? For a man,
whose sins are pardoned, goes straightway to heaven; so if
the sins of all mBn and won1cn (tùr every Lody takes the bull)
are pardoned by it, and consequently go to heaven, why do
they set up a purgatory? or why are they afraid of hell?
Let us say, that we may suspect, that this bull sends mor
people into hell, than it can saye from it; for it is the greatest
encouragement to sin in the world. A man says, I may satif:(v
nlY lusts and passions, I n1ay commit all ,,'ickedness, and yet
I am sure to be pardoned of all, by the taking of this buli [n"
two reals of plate. By the same rule, their consciences can-
not be under any remorse nor trouble, for if a man commits a
great sin, he goes to confess, he gets absolution, he has by
hÍIn this bull, or permission to sin, and his conscience is at
perfect ease, insùlnuch that after he gets atsolution, he may
go and comn1Ït new sins, and go again for absolution.
If we press with these reflections and arguments the Ró.-
loan catholic priests, especially those of good sense, they will
answer that they do not believe any such thing; for if a man
(
ay they) doth not repent truly of his sins, he is not p
Hdon-
ed by God, though he be absolved by the confessor. \Vell, if
it be so, w h v does the pope, by his general a postolical commis-
sary, say, lVhcreas you 'tarc taken and paid for tlLÌ8 bull,
you have already oltl
;ncd Pinodon for yoW"
in8,
Co \Ve
loust COlTIe then to say, that the cheat, fraud, and deceit is in
the pope, and that Don Ramirez is the pope's instrument to im-
pGse so grossly upon the poor Spaniards. The confessor grants
free and full indulgence and pardon of all sins, and of all the
pains and punishments \, hich the penitent \Vas obliged to en-
dUl'e f3r them in purgatory. By virtue of this absolution th('n,
we may say, no soul goes to purgatory especially out of the
dominions of the king of Spain, for as I said, in the beginninci
f the explanation of the huH, every living SO!I1, frOln s(:veu
I{
1.10
)IASTER-KEY TO POPERY.
years of age anù upwards, is obliged to take the bull, and con
sequently, if every soul obtains the grant of being pardoned of
all the pains which they were to endure and suffer in purgato-
ry, all go to heaven. \Vhy do the priests ask masses, and say
them for the relief of the souls in pUFgatory.
Let us from these proceed to the sum of the estations and
indulgences granted to the city of Rome, which the pope
grants likewise to all those that take the bull, and fulfil the
contents of it.
Estations, in this place, signify the going from one church
to another, in remembrance of Christ's being, or remaining so
long on 1\lount Calvary, so long in the garden, so long on the
cross, so long in the sepulchre.
\Ve call also estat'ions, or to walk the estations, to go from
the first cross to the mount Calvary, &c. This is a new thing
to many of this kingdom, therefore, a plain account of that cus-
tOln among the Romans, will not be amiss in this place.
There i3 in every city, t.own and village, a n10unt Calvary
out of the gates, in remembrance of the Calvary where our
Saviour was crucified. There are fourteen crosses placed at
a distance one from another. The first cross is out of the
gates, and from the first to the second, the Romans recken so
many steps or pG-ces, more or less from the second to the third,
and so on from one to another of the remaining, till t.hey come
to the twelfth cross, which is in the n1Ïddle of two. crosses, which
represent two crosses which the two malefiwtors were crucified
on each side of Christ. They walk t.hese twelve estations in
l'emembrance of all t.he steps and paces our Saviour walked
fr;lm t.he gates of the city of Jerusalem to mount Calvary,
where he was crucified. In the first est&tion, you will see the
image of J (,sus, with the cross on his shoulders, in the second,
ttllling down, &c. In the last cross, our last estation of the
three crosses, Jesus is repreRented crucified between two mal-
efactors.
Every Friday in the year, the devout people walk the esta-
tions, and kneel down before every cross, and say so many
plIler nostcrs, &c., and a prayer for the meditation of what
diù happen to our Jesus at t.hat distance. \Vhen the weather
hinders the people from goin
to the great Calvary, they ha"e
ano
her in every church, and in the cloisters of the con,'ents,
and n10nasteries, anò they walk the èstations there, ann espe-
cially in lent, there is such a crowd of people every Friday in
the afternoon, that there is scarcc1y roon1 enough in the high
way for all to kneel down.
:r.IA.STEU-KEY TO POPERY.
III
On good Friday in the evening, is the great procesf ion, n,':
which almost all the people assist with lanterns in their hands
The people, both men and women, old and young, go to church
in the afternoon. The parish minister, dressed in a surplice,
and a sacerdotal cloak on, and a square black cap on his head,
and the rest of the clergy in their surpliceR, and the reverend
father preacher in his habit. This last begins a short e:\.hort-
ation to the people, recommending to them devotion, humility,
and meditation of our Saviour's sufferings; after he has donf',
the prior of the fraternity of the blood of Christ, ordereth the
procession in this nlanner: First of all, at the head of it, a In'lll
in a surplice, carrieth the cross of the parish, and two boys on
each side, with two high lanterns, in1mediately after begins the
first estation of our Saviour, painted in a standard, which one
of the fraternity carrieth, and the brethren of that estation
follow him in tWQ lines: and the twelve estations ordered in
the same manner, follow one another. After the estaticns,
there is a man representing Jesus Christ, dressed In a Tunica
or a Nazarine's gown, with a crown of thorns on his head, that
carrieth on his shoulders a long, heavy cross, and another man,
representing Simon, of Cirene, behind helps the NazarÎne tc
carry the Cross. After him the preacher, clergy, and parish
minister, ani after them all the people, without keeping any
form or order. Thus th
procession goes out of the church,
singing a proper song of the passion of Jesus; and when they
come to the first cross of the estations of Calvar
', the proces
sion stops there
and the preacher nlakes an exhortation, and
tells what our Saviour did suffer till that first step, and n1aking
the same exhortation
in each of the eleven crosses; when
they come at the twelfth, the preacher, en the foot of the cross
which is placed between the two crosses of the n1alefactors,
begins the sermon of the passion and sufferings of Christ, and
when he has done, the procession comes back again to the
church, and there the preacher dismisses the people with an
act of contrition, which the people repeat after him.
These are the e
tations of the holy Calvary; but besides
these the estations of the holy sepulchre; that i
, to visit seven
churches, or seven times one church, on holy Thursday, when
Jesus is in the monnment;-but of the
e things I shall treat in
another place.
Now, Ly the
e fm'egoing inòql
ences, and f
ill parden of
sin
, the pope docs not grant. to all those that take the buH, awl
fhlfil the contents of it (whi
h are ('Only to pay for it) any bolly
may easily know a list of the days in w
1Ïèh anyone that vif3i!i
112
l\IASTER-KEY TO rOPERY.
the churches mentioned in it enjoys at Ron1e all the aforesaid
faculties, pardon of sins, and indulgences, and as you may ob-
serve, at the end of the 8urnmario, that every day of the year,
there are, at Romè, nlany indulgences and pardons granted in
some church or o
her, to all these that go to visit them. SC)-l-y
the grant of the pope, in the bull of Crusade, the same indul-
gences and pardons are given, and in the same day) that is
every day of the year) to all those that take the bull. }
rcnl
this any body 111ay draw the same consequence as before, that
a man cannot be afraid in the Romish church, to go to hel!; he
Ll'
y conlmit every day all villanies in the world, and yet
every day, having the hull, is sure of getting fi-ee and full
paròon of his sins, and this wilhout the trouble of gOillg to con-
fess: for if they will take the pains to read the contents of the
hull, with a serious mind, they will find the truth of what I say,
That without the trouble of confessing sins, any body obtains
full pardon of all the crimes he has committed.
For tile general apostolical comn1issary, (\\ ho has the pope's
power and authority) says, t
lat he that takes the bull, payeth
hn' it, and writes his name in it, ipso fúcto, i. e. already ob-
tain
all the indulgences and pardon (,f sins, &c. mentioneò in
tlle bull; and he docs not say, If Ite confess, or, if he be a IIC{l'ri!}
IJcnitcnt; but alreaèy, without any limitaticn or reservation,
already Ite enjoys all, and may make 'l1ðe of all tIle graces,
c.
o, hy these expressions, it appears, that a man, taking the
bull, paying for it, anJ writing his name in it, nmy conauit
nlUrder and 1'0bLery, &c. and yet obtain every èay free and
full pardon of his sins, without the trouble ot confessing thent
to a priest, who, if covetou
, will ask money for absolution, 01"
nloney for masses, for the relief of the souls in purgatory.
This I must own of IllY country people, that they are liEpt
in so great ignorance by the priests, that I n1Íght dare to E'ay,
that not one of a thousand that takes the Lull, reads it, hut
blindly subn1its to what the minister of the parish tells hin',
v.ithout further inquiry. This is a surprising thing to all tÌ1e
protestants; and it is now to n1C, but I can give no other rea-
suns for their ignorance in point of religion, as fer the gcn-
erality, but their bigotry, and blind fu.ith in what the preachers
ana priests tell them; anel, next to this, that it is not al1o-., cd
to them to read the scripture, nor books of controversy aLout
religion.
I COllle n,:>w to t.he days in which every l:oèy t.
kcs a soul out
of purgatory. Observe these nmrked \\ i,h a star,
:nd LCf-'ide3
(hem, there i:; in (,vf'ry CCI1\'cnt Hnd rar1
h Chtl1"(:h, at Ica:::t,
!IASTER-KEY TO POPERY.
118
one privileged altar, i. e. any body that says five times Pater
lVostcr, &c., and five times, Ave 1Jlaria, with Gloria Patz'ia,
&c., takes a soul out of purgatory, and this at any tilne and in
any cluy of the year, and not only in Spain, by the virtue of the
bull, but in France, Germany, Italy, and in all the Reman
Catholic countries where they have no bull cf Crusade. Frmn
this, I say, that if there is a purgatory, it must be an enlpty
place, or that it is impossible to find there any soul at all, and
that the Roman Catholics take every year more souls out of it,
than can go into it; which I shall endeavor to prove by evi-
dent arguments, grounded on their principles and belief.
For, first of all, there is in the bull nine days in the year in
which every living person takes a soul out of purgatory, and
by this undeniable truth alnong themselves, it appears that
every living person, man, WOlnan, or cl1ild, from seven years
of age and upwards, takes every year nine souls out of pur-
gatory.
Secondly. Every body knows the Roman Catholic's opinion,
that nobody can be saved out of their communion; and by this
infallible (as they believe) principle, they do not allow any
place in purgatory to the souls of protestants, and other people
of other prcfesf:ion
; and so only Roman Catholic souls are
the proprietors of that place (if torment.
Thirdly. It is undeniable, by the Romans, that ever since
the place of purgatory was built up by the popes and councils,
the Roman catholics have enjoyed the granting of a privileged
altar in every church, that, by their prayerF, the souls of their
parents or friends may ùe relieved and delivered out of that
place.
}'ourthly. T3at to this granting, the popes have been so
generous, that they have granted, in such days, special priv-
i18ges to some churches, fùr all those that should visit them,
to take souls out of purgatory.
Fifthly. That all tho e prayers said before such altars for
such a soul in purgatory, if the soul is out of it when the person
says the prayers, those prayers go to the treasure of the
church; and by this opinion, undeniable by them, the treasury
of the church is well stocked with pray'ers, and when the pope
has a B1ind to grant, at once, a million of prayerF, he may
take a million of souls o
t of purgatory.
The
c five principles and otservations are incontestable by
any of the Roman catholics. Now let us compute the nUln-
her of Roman catholics that are alive, and the numher of the
ciead every year. I say, compute, that is, Buppose a certain
K2
114
:ßIASTER- K}
Y TO rOPERl".
number of the living and of the dead every year. And I begin
with the kingdom of Spain, and its dominion
, as the only par-
takers of the privileges granted in the bull of Crusade.
rirst. Let us suppûse, that in the whole dominions of Spain,
there are about six millions of living persons; I speak of the
Roman catholics: and that three millions of those catholics die
every year; and that all their sou]s go to purgatory; for though
the supposition is disadvantageous to my purpose, I will alh;)\v
them more than they can expect. In the first place, by rea-
sonable computation, half"Of the living persons do not die every
year: but I suppose this, to make my argnment so much the
stronger. Secondly. In their opinion, very many of the souls
of those that die, go to heaven, and some to hell, which is con-
trary to the bull. By this con1putation, the three millions of
people that remain alive, by the bull, take out of purgatory,
seven and twenty ll1illions of souls that very year. For there
are nine days, in the bull fixed, en which every living person
takes one soul out of purgatory; if then, only three millions of
people die annually, how can the three re.maining alive take
out twenty-seven IniUions, it being impossible that there should
be n10re than three millions of souls in purgatory that year.
And besiùes this plain dmnonstration, and tesides the nine
days appointed in the bull, according to their belief, and every
ùay in the year, and, totics quoties, they pray at a privileged
altar, they take out of purgatory that soul for which they pray,
or if that soul is not in purgatory, any other which they have
a mind for, or else the prayer goes to the treasure of the
church: and so, by this addition, we may say, that if, out of
three millions of living persons, only half a million of people
pray every day; this half million take out of purgatory, year-
ly, one hundred and eighty-two nlillions and a half of souls.
If they scruple this number, let then1 fix any other living per-
son
, and then multiply nine tin1cs D10re the number of souls
delivered out of purgatory every yeat, by virtue of the nine
days men
ioned in the bull; ür by the privileged altars, ll1ul-
tiply one to three hundred sixty-five souls delivered out of the
flames every year, by every living person, as I shall dcmcn-
Etrate n10re plainly hereafter.
As for France, Germany, Itnly, Portu
a], and other Roman
catholic countries, a!:' I f:aiJ t.cf
'rc, they haye theIr privileged
al
ars to take a soul out of pargatory, totics qvoties, a Roman
8a) s so l1lany IJatc'I" noster::, and a1"C 1]w'l'ia.
IJCfvre them.
And so use the same multiplication to convince them, that there
cannot be so many sbuls in purgatory as they deliver out of
MASTER-KEY TO rOPERY;
115
It every year, or that purgatory of course, must be an empty
place, &c.
If they answer to this strong reason, that ,ve must suppose
for certain, that the souls of many millions of people, for lllany
years past, are in purgatory, and that there is stock enough
taken out of it every year, if there were ten times more living
persons than there are now in the Roman Catholic countries; I
say, that the supposition has no roon1 at all, and that it is im-
possible; for let us begin at the time when purgatory was first
found out by the pope, and let us suppòse, g'9atis, that there is
such a place, ,vhich we deny.
The first year that that imaginary place ,vas settled among
the Romans, the very san1e year the privileged altars were in
fashion. The people that "Tere left alive that year took out
all the souls of the persons dead the same year, and more
too, for as the ne,v privilege ,vas granted thenl) every body was
more charitable in taking the souls of his relations and friends
out of sufferings at so cheap a rate as five pater rzostCl'S, &c.
The next year the same, and so on, year by year, till this
present time, so that it is i
possible to believe that there are a
greater number of souls than of persons dead.
I say again, that by these principles, sure among the .Ro-
mans" the catholics only of Spain, and all the dominions be-
longin6 to it, are enough to deliver out of purgatory all the
souls of all the catholics dead, from the begining of the world
in Christendom. If what they believe were certain, it should
be certain too, that since the bull is granted to the catholic
kings and their dominions, which is since the reign of kiÌ16
Ferdinan
l, the catholic, only the Spaniards have delivered out
of purgatory more souls than persons have died since the
universal flood: for every living person, fronl that time till this
present day, has taken out of purgatory, every year, 3û5
souls by the privileged altars, and nine more by virtue of the
bull. Now I leave to the curious reader to make use of the
rule of multiplication, and he will find clear demonstrations of
my saying. I do nottalk now of those innumerable soul
that
are freed from this place every day of the year by the nl
sses,
leavin 6 this for anotlH'r place.
Indeed I have searched among the sophistries of the Roman
catholic
, to
ec whether I could find some reason or answer
to this: and I protest, I coulJ not find any; fJr as I am sure
they will endeayor to cloud this work with groundless subter-
fuges anl sophistrie
, I was willing to prevent all sorts of
objections, which n1ay be nlade by then1. Only one answer,
116
:ðIASTER-KEY TO POl:>>ERY.
which I may believe they will give Ine, comes now into my
head, and it is thi
, that as the R'Jmans cannot answer any
thing contrary to my demonstration, it is to be feared that they
will say, that I reaS0n and argue as an ignorant, because I do
rlot know that the souls in purgatory are fruitful beings, that
one prúduces a great m:lny little ones every year, I say, it is
to be fe::tred, that being pressed, they must come at last to such
nonsensical, fantastical, dreaming reasons, to answer to this
urgent argument. So we m:ty safely conclude, and with a.
Chástian confiJence say, that if there is such a place as pur-
gatory, it must be an empty place, or that it is impossible to
find there any souls, or that the Roman catholics take every
year more souls out of it, than can go into it: all which, being
against the evidence of natural reason, and computation made,
it is a dream, fiction, or to say the truth, roguery, robbery, and
a cheat of the pope and priests. As for the pop.e, (if the re-
port in the public news be true,) I must beg leave to except
tor a while this present pope, who, in his behaviour, makes
himself the exception of the 'ì"ule. I say, for a l.cltile, for by
several instances, (as I shall speak of in the third part,) ma-
ny p'Jpes have had a good be 6 innin 6 , and a very bad end.
G.)J enliJhten him with his holy spirit, that he may brin 6 in all
papist countries to our rcfJrmation. And I pray God Al-
mighty, from the bottom of my heart, to give to all the Romans
such a light as his infinite goodness has been pleased to grant
me; and that all my country people, and all those that call
themselves Roman catholics, would make the same use of
that light which I have endeavored to make use of myself, to
kno,v the corruptions of their church, and to renounce them
with as firm and hearty resolution as I have done myself:
And I pray God, who is to be my judge, to continue in me
the .same light, and his grace, that I may live and die in the
religion I have embraced, and to give me the desired comfort
of my heart, which is to see many of my beloved country
people come and enjoy the quietness of mind and conscience
which I enjoy, as to this point of religion, and way of salva-
tion; and 1 wish I could prevail with them to read the bull,
which, they believe, is the sancio sancio1"um, the passport to
heaven; and I am sure they would find the contrary, and see
that it is only a dream, a dose of opium to lull them asleep,
and keep them always ignorant. That Almighty God may
grant them and me too all these things, is my constant prayer
to Him.
.
PAR T I I I.
A practical account of their :Masses, Privileged Altars, Transubstantiation,
and Purga.tory.
comprise all the four heads in one chapter, because there is a near relation
between them all, though I shall speak of them separately, and as distinct
articles.
ARTICLE I.
Of tlzeir lJ[asses.
Tr'E l\
ass for priests and friars is better, and has greater
power and virtue than the loadstone, for this only draws iron,
but that allures and gets to theln silver, gold, precious stones,
and all sorts of fruits of the earth; therefore it is proper to give
a description' of every thing the priests make use of to render
the mass the most magnificent and respectful thing in the
world, in the eyes of the people.
The priest every morning, after he has examined his con-
science, and confessed his sins, (which they call reconcilia-
tion,) goes to the vestry and washes his hands; af:.erward
,
he kneels down befùre an image of the crucifix, which is
placed on the draws, where the ornaments are kept, and says
several prayers and psalms, written in a book, caUed prcpara-
tcrium. 'Vhen the pr
est has done, he gets up, and goes to
dress himself, all the ornaments being ready upon the draw
,
which are like the table of an altar; then he takes the Ambito,
which is like an I-Iolland handkerchief, and kissing the mid-
rlle of it, puts it round about his neck, and says a short prayer.
After he takes the AIl
a, which is a long surplice with narrow
sleeves, laced round about wi1 h fine lace, and says another
prayer while he puts it on. The clerk is always behind-to
help him. Ther... he takes the Ciilgul
m, i. e. the gÙ-dZe, nnd
says a prayer; after he takes the StoIa, which is a long list
of silk, with a cross in the middle, and two Closses at the ends
of it, and says another prayer while he puts it on his
neck, and crosses it before his breast, and ties it wid the ends
of the girdle. After he takes the lJlanipulvm, i. e. a short
list of the same l:íilk,\vith as n1any crosses in it, and tics it on
117
118
IASTER-KEY TO POPERY.
the left arm, sa} ing a short prayer. Then he takes the
Casulla, i. e. a sort of a dress made of three yards of silk
stuff; a yard wide behind, and something narrower before,
"ith a hole in the middle, to put his head through it. After
he is thus dressed, he goes to the corner of the table, and
taking the cllal'ice, cleans it with a little Holland towel, with
which the chalice's mouth is covered; after he puts a large
host on the patena, i. e. a small silver plate gilt, which serves
to cover the chalice, and puts on the host a neat piece of fine
holland laced all over. Then he covers all with a piece of
Eilk, three quarters of a yard in square. After he examines
the corpo'J'oles, i. e. two pieces of finf', well-starched holland,
with lace round about; the first is three quarters of a yard
f-quare, and the second half a yard; and folding them both, puts
them in a flat cover, which he puts on the chalice, and taking a
sq uarcd cap, if he is a secular priest, puts it on his head, and
having the chalice in his hands, makes a great bow to tpe cru-
cifix, says a prayer, and goes out of the vestry to the altar,
where he designs to say mass. This is, as to the private mass.
Now l:::efore I proceed to the great mass, which is always sung,
it is fit to talk of the riches of their ornaments.
As in the Romish church are several festival
, viz. those of
our Saviour Christ, Christmas, Circumcision, Epiphany, Eas-
ter, Ascension, Pentecostes, and Transfiguration: Those of
the IIoly Cross; those of the blessed Virgin l\Im'y; those of
the angels, apostles, martyrs, confessors, virgins, &c. So there
are several sorts of ornament
, and of divers colors; white for
all the festivals of Jesus Christ, except pentccoste3, in which
the ornaments are red; white also for the festivals of the Yir-
gin l\Iary,confessors, and virgins; red for martyrs; violet color
for advent and lent; and black for'the masses of the dead.
The same rule is obsef\Ted in the front of the altar's table,
or ara altaris, which are always adorned with hangings the
color of the day's festivals. In every parit:h church and con-
vent, there are many ornaments of each of the saia colors, all
of the richest silkH, with silver, gold anù embroidery. There
are n1any long cloaks or pal.ia of all sorts of colors, several
dozens of alvas, or surplices of the finest holland, with the
finest laces round about them, cllalice of
i
,vcr, the im
ide of
the cup gilt, many of gold, and many of golù set "ith dia-
monds and precious c;;tones. There is one in the cath
dral
of St. Salvator, in the city of Saragossa, which weighs five
pounds of gold, set all oycr with dimnonds, and is valued
l'tIAST.ER-KEY TO POPERY.
119
nt 15,000 crowns, and this is not accòunted an cÀtraor-
dinary one.
A possenet of silver, gilt all over, to keep the holy water
and hysop, with a silver handle, to be used in holy days at
church, is an indispensable thing almost in every church; as
also two big candlesticks four feet high, for the two accolits or
assistants to the great mass. In several churches there are
two ciriales, i. e. big candlesticks five feet hi
h all of silver,
which weigh two hundred pounds in some churches, and ano-
ther bigger than these for the blessed candle on candlcm
s
day. Six other middle silver candlesticks, which serve on
the ara or altar's table, silver, and (in many churches) go]d
bottles and plate to keep the water and wine that is used ir.
the mass, a small silver bell for the same use, an incensary,
and stand for the mis
al or mass-book, anù a nother stand of
silver two feet high, for th3 deacon and sub-deacon to read OIl
it the epistle and gospel.
There is also in the great alt1-r, the custodia,ti. e. a figure
of the sun and beams made of gold, and many of them set
with precious stones to keep in the centre of it the great con-
secrated host, in the n1iddle of two crystals: The fùot of {he
custodia is made of the saIne n1Ctal; it is kept in a gilt taber-
nacle, and shown to the people on several occasions, as I will
Inention in another place.
Besides this rich custodia, there is a large silver or gold cup
kept in the same, or another tabernacle on another altar,
which is to keep the small consecrated wafers for the COmlTI',l-
nicants. Before those tabernacles a silver lamp is burning
night and òay. The altars are adorned on several festivals
with the silver Lodies of several saints, some as large as a
man, some half bodies with crowns or mitres set with precious
stones.
I could name several churches and convents, where I saw
many rarities and abundance of rich ornaments, but this being
a thing generally known by the private accounts of many
travellers, I
hall only give a description of the rarities and
riches of the church of the lady del Pilar, and that of St. Sal-
\"ator, in the city of Saragossa; because I never met \vith any
book which did mention them, aan the reaso
, as I bdieve, i
,
because foreigners do not travel nluch in Spain, for want úf
good conveniences on the roads, and for the dislnal journey in
which they (,<1nnot see a house, somctÏr 1 1cS in twenty lni!
,
.nd sometimes in thirty.
In the Cathedral church of St. SalvatoI', therc arc furty-five
.
120
)IASTER-KEY TO POPERY.
nreùcndaries, besides the dean, arch-deacon, cha.nter, and six-
ty-six beneficiates, six priests and a master, and
welve boys
for the Inusic, and sixty clerks and under clerks, and sextons.
The church contains thirty chapels, large and slnall, and the
great altar, thirty feet high and ten broad, all of marble stone,
with many bodies of saints of the same, and in the middle of
it.the transfiguration of our Saviour in the mount Tabor, with
the apostles all represented in Inarble figures. The front of
the altar's table is made of solid silver, the frame gilt, and
adorned with precious stones. In the treasure of. the church
they keep sixteen bodies of saints of pure silver, among which,
that of St. Peter Argues, (who was a prebendary in the same
church, and was murdered by the Saracens,) is adorned with
rich stones of a great value. Besides these they keep twelve
half silver bodies of other saints, and many relics set with gold
and diamonds. Forty-eight silver candlesticks fOl. the altar's
table, two large ones, and the third fur the blessed candle, 300
pound weight each: thirty-six small silver candlesticks; and
six made of solid gold for the great fcstivals. Four possenets
of silver, two of solid gold, with the handles of hysops of the
same. Two large crosses, one of silver, the other of gold, ten
feet high, to carry before the processions. Ten thousand oun-
ce.s of silver in plate, part ùf gilt, to adorn the two corners of
the altar on great festivals, and when the archbishop officiates,
and says the great mass. Thirty-three silver lamps, of which
the smallest is an hundred and fifty pounds weight, and the
Iargest, which is before the great altar, gilt all over, is six
hundred and thirty pounds weight. Abunrlance of rich orna-
ments for pricsts, of inexpre
sible value. Eighty-four chali-
ces, twenty of pure gold, and sixty-four of silver, gilt on the
inside of the cup; and the rich chalice, which only the arch-
bishop makes use of in his pontifical dress.
All these things are but trifles in comparison with the great
cllstodia they make use of to carry the great host through the
streets on the festival of Corpus Christi: This was a present
made to the cathedral by the Archbishop of Sevil, who had
been prebendary of that church before. The circumference
of the sun and beams is as hig as the wheel of a coach; at the
end of each beam there is a star. The centre of the sun,
where the great host is placed between two crystals, set with
large diamonds; the beams are all of solid gold set ,,,'ith seve-
ral precious stones, and in the middle of each star, a rich em-
erald set in gold. The crystal with the great host is fixed in
the mouth of the rich chalice, on a pedestal of silver, all gil:
l\IASTEll.-KEY TO POPERY.
12]
over which is three fec
high. The whole custoJia is five
hundred pounds ,veight; and this is placed on a gilt base,
which is carried by twelve priests, as I shall tell you in another
article. Several goldsmiths have endeavored to value this
piece, but nobody could set a certain sum upou it. One said
that a n1illion of pistoles was too little. And ho\v the arch-
bishop could gather together so many precious stones, every
body was surprised at, till we heard that a brother of his grace
died in Peru, a
d left him great sums of money, and a vast
quantity of diamonds and precious stones.
I come now to speak (If the treasure and rarities of the La-
dy del Pilar. In the church of this lady is the same number
of prebendaries and beneficiates, musicians, clerks, and sex-
tons, as in the catholic Church of St. Salvator, and as to the
ornaments and silver plate, they are very much the same, ex-
cept only that of the great custodia, which is not so rich.
But as to the chapel of the blessed Virgin, there is, without
comparison, more in it than in the cathedral. I shall treat of
the ÏInage in another chapter. Now as to her riches, I will
give you an account as far as I remember, for it is impossible
for every thing to be kept in the memory of man.
In the little chapel, where the image is on a pillar, are four
an 6 eIs, as large and tall as a man, with a big candlestick,
each of which is made wholly of silver gilt. The front of two
altars is solid silver, with gilt frames, set with rich stones. Be-
fore the image there is a lamp, (as they call it,) a spider of
crystal, in which twelve wax candles burn night and day: The
several parts of the spider are set with gold and diaInonds,
which was a present made to the Virgin by Don John, of Aus-
tria, who also left her in his last will, his own heart, which ac-
cordingly was brought to her, and is kept in a gold box set
with large diamonds, and which hangs before the image.
There is a thick grate round about the little ch yeI, of solid
silver: Next to this is rrnother chapel to say nmss in before
the image; and the altar-piece of it is all made of silver, from
the top to the altar's table, which is of jasper stone, and the
front of s:lver, with the fraIne gilt, set with precious stones.
The rich crown of the Virgin is twenty-five pounds weight, set
all over with large diamonds. Besides this rich one, she \..as
six pounds n10re of pure gold, set with rich dimnonds llnd em-
eralds, the smallest of which is worth half a Illillion.
The roses of diamonds and other precious stones she has
to adorn her mantlc, are innumerable; for though she is dres-
sed every day in the color of the church's festival, and never
L
122
blASTER-KEY TO POPERY.
uses twice the same mantle, which is of the best stuff; em.
broidered with gold; she has new roses of precious stones, ev.
ery day for three years together; she has three hundred and
sixty-five necklaces of pearls and diamonds, and six chains of
gold set with diamonds, which are put on her mantle on the
great festivals of Christ.
In the room of her treasure are innumerable heads, arm
,
legs, eyes, and hands, made of gold and silver, presented to
her by the people, which have been cured as they believe, by
miracle, through the Virgin's divine power and intercessions.
In this second chapel are one hundred and nInety-five silver
lamps, in three lines, one over. the other. The lamps of the
lowest rank are bigger than those of the second, and these are
bigger than those of the third. The five lamps facing the im-
age are about five hundred pounds weight each, the sixty of
the same line four hundred pounds weight, and those of the
third line, one hundred pounds ,,,eight. Those of the second
line are two hundred pounds weight. There is the image of
the Virgin in the treasure, nlade in the shape of a woman five
feet high, all of pure silver, set with precious stones, and a
crown of gold set with diamonds, and this image is to be car-
ried in a public procession the days appointed. I will speak
of the miraculous image in the following chapter.
I remember that when the Rt. Hon. Lord Stanhope, then
General of the English forces, was in Saragossa, after the bat-
tle, he went to see the treasure of the lady of Pilar, which was
shown to him, and I heard him say these words: If all t,lle
kings of Europe should gatIter together all their treaSU'l"es and
p1 o eciolls stones, tlleY could not buy ltalf of tl"e riches of this
treasury. And by this expression of f'0 wise and experienced
a man, every body may judge of the value.
After this short account of the ornaments to be used at nmss,
and the incomparable treasures of the Romish chuI"ch, I pro-
ceed to a description of the great or high Inasses, their ceremo-
nies, and of all the motions and gestures the priests make in
the celebration of a mass.
Besides the priest, there nlust be a deacon, subdeacon, two
acoliti, i. e. two to carry the large candlesticks before the
priest, and one to carry the incensary. The incen
er 1 elps
the priest when he dresses himself in the vestry, and the two
acoliti help the deacon and subdeacon. \Vhen all three are
dressed, the incenser and the two acoliti in their surplices, and
large collars round about tl
eir necks, made of the same stuff
as that of the priest's casull{l, and deacon and subdeacon's lll.
l'tIASTER-KEY TO POPERY.
123
matices, i. e. a sort of carulla, with open sleeves, I say, the
incenser puts fire in the incensary, and the acoliti takes the
candlesticks with the wax candles lighted, and the subdeacon
takes the chalice and corporals, and so making a bow to the
crucifix in the vestry, they go out into the church to the great
altar. There are commonly three steps to go up to the altar,
and the priest and five assistants kneel down at the first step,
then leaving thB incense and acoliti to stay there, the priest,
deacon and subdeacon go up to the altar's table, and all kneel
down there again. The subdeacon leaves the chalice on a lit-
tle table next to th(' altar's table at the right hand, and then
they turn back again to the highest step, and kneeling down
tlgain, the priest, deacon, and" subdeacon get up, leaving the
incenser and acoliti on their knees, and begin the mass by a
psahn, and after it the priest says the general confession of
sins, to which the deacon and subdeacon ans,ver, l1Ii:!le'reatur
tui,
c. Then they say the general confession themselves,
and after it the priest absolves them, and saying another psalm,
they go up again to the altar's table, which the p1'Ïest kisses,
and he and the two assistants kneel down, and rise again.
Then the incenser brings the incensary and incense, and the
priest puts in three spoonsfulJ of it, and taking the incensary
from the deacon's hands, he incenses three tin1es the taberna-
cle of the Eucllaristia, and gees t,,'ice to each side of it, he
kJleels down then, and the deacon takes up the hem of the
priest's casulla, and so goes from the Iniddle of the altar to
the right corner, incensing the table, and returning from the
corner to the middle, then kneels down and gels up, and goes
to the left corner, and from the left goes again to the right cor-
ner, and giving the incensary to the deacon, he incenses three
times the priest, and gives the incensary to the incenser, and
this incenses twice the deacon. The assistants always follow
the priest, making the motions that he does.
The incenser has the missal or mass-book ready OD t
e altar's
table at the right corner, and so the priest begins tÌle psalm úf
the mass: all this while the musicians arc singing the begin-
ning of the mass till kY7"ie elrijon; and when they have fir
-
ished, the priest sings these three words: Gloria in excchis
deo. And the musicians sing the rest. While they are sing-
ing, the priest, deacon, and subdeacon, making a bow to the
tabernacle, go to sit on three rich chairs at the right hand of
the ara or altar's table; and as soon as the music has ended
the gloria, they go to the middle of the table, kneel down, and
get up, and the priest kissing he table turns to the people,
124
MASTER-KEY TO POPERY.
opening his arms, and says, in Latin, The Lord be with you,
to which, and all other expressions the music and the people
answer; then turns again his face to the altar, kneels down
gets up, and the assistants doing the same, the priest goes to
the right corner, and says the collect for the day, and two, or
sometimes five or six prayers in commemoration of the saints;
and last of all, a prayer for the pope, king and bish., of the
diocess, against heretics, infidels and enemies of their religion,
or the holy catholic faith.
Then the subdeacon, taking the book of the epistles and
gospels, goes down to the lowest step, and sings the epistJe,
which ended, he goes up to the priest, kisses his hand, leaves
the book of the gospels on the little table, takes the missal or
mass-book, and carries it to the left corner. Then the priest
goes to the middle, kneels down, kisses the altar, says a prayer,
and goes to say the gospel, while the music is singing a psalm,
which they call Tractus g'radualis. The gospel ended, the
priest goes again to the middle, kneels down, rises and kisses
the table, and turns half to the altar, and half to the people,
and the deacon, giving him the incense-box, he puts in three
spoonsfull of it, and blesses the incense: The incenser takes
it from the de
con, who taking the book of the gospel, kneels
down before the priest and asks his blessing. The priest gives
the blessing, and the deacon kisses his hand, and then he goes
to the left corner and sings the gospel, viz: the left corner, as
to the people of the church, but as to the altar, it is the right.
While the deacon sings the gospel, the priest goes to the oppo-
site corner and there stands till the go
pel is ended: Then the
deacon carrieth to hiIll the book open, and the priest kissing it,
goes to the middle of the table, and kneeling, rising, kissing
the table, the assistants doing the sanle, he turns his face to
the people,openeth his arms, and says again, The Lord be
'with you. Then he turns again tefore the altar, and says, Let
us pray. The music begins the oilertory, when there is no
creed to be sung, for there is no creed in all their festivals.
\Vhile the musicians sing the ofiertory, the deacon prepares
the chalice, that is, he puts the wine in it, and after him, the
subdeacon pours in three drops of ,vater, and cleaning nicely
the mouth of the cup, the deacon gives it to the priest, "ho
\akes it in his hands, and offering it to the Eternal, sets it on
the clean corporales, and covers it \\'ith a snlall piece of fine
holland: then he says a prayer, and putting incense in the
incensary as before, kneels, and then rising, incenses the ta-
ble, as is said, which done, the subdeacon pours water on the
1\L-\STER-KEY TO POPERY.
125
'uiest's fore-fingers, which he washes and wipes with a clean
towel, and after returns to the Iniddle of the table, and after
some prayers, he begins to sing the preface, which ended, he
says SOlne other prayers. Before the consecration, he joins
his two hands, and puts them before his face, shuts his eyes,
and examines his conscience for two or three nlinutes; then
opening his eyes and arms, says a prayer, and begins the
consecration. At this time every body is silent, to hear the
words, ana when the priest comes to pronounce them, he says
with a loud voice, in Latin, floc cst enim corpus meum. Then
he leaves the consecrated Host on the ara, kneels down, and
getting up, takes again the host with his two thumbs and two
f{>renlost fingers, and lifts it up as high as he can, that every
body may see it, and leaving it again on the same ara, kneels
down, and then rising up, takes the chalice, and after he has
consecrated the wine, leaves it on the ara, and making the
same motions and bows, he lifts it up as he did the host, and
placing it on the ara, covers it, and with the same gestures, he
says a prayer in remenlbrance of all the saints, all parents,
relations, friends, and of all the souls in purgatory, but espe-
cially of'that soul for whonl the sacrifice of that mass is offered
to God by Jesus Christ himself. I say, by Jesus Christ hinl-
self, for as Chrysostom and Anlb.*' say, the priest, not only
representing Christ, but in the act of celebrating and conse-
crating is the very same Christ himself. Thus it is in the
catechism published by decree of the council of Trent.t
Behveen this and the sumption, or the taking of the host,
and drinking- of the cup, the priest says some prayers, and
sings Our Father, in Latin, kneeling down several times.-
\Vhen he comes to the communion, he bl'eaks the host by the
middle, leaves one part on the table, and breaks off the other
half, a little piece, and puts it into the cup; this done, he eats
the two half hosts, and drinks the wille; and for fear any
small fragment
should remain in the cup, the deacon puts in
more wine, and the priest drinkô it up, and going io the corner
with the chalice, the subdeacon pours water upon the priest's
two thumbs and foremost fingers, and being ,veIl washed, goes
* lImn.
. in 2d Timoth. and Horn. de prod, Juclæ Amb. lib. 4, de sa-
cram, C. 4.
t SC'd unus etiam, atque idem Sacerdos est Chllstus Dominus :-N am Min-
istri flui Sacrificillm faciunt, non suam sed Christi personam accipiunt, CUlT
ejus Corpus et Sanguinem conficiuut, id quod ct ipsius COhsecrationis \ erhis
ostennitur, Sacerùos ilHluit: Hoc cst Corpus meum, persona.In videlicet Chris.
ti Domini gerens, pan is et \'ini Substantiam in vcram cjus COll)Qris et San-
uinis Substalltia1l1 converLÏt.
L2
126
1\IASTER-KEY TO POl)ERY.
to the middle of the table, and drinks up the water. Then
the deacon takes the cup and wipes it, and putting on every
thing, as when they carne to the altar, gives It to the subdea-
con, who leaves it on the little table near the altar. After
this is done, the priest, kneeling and getting up, and turnIng
to the people and opening his arms, says, The Lord be 7L"it/L
you, apò two or more prayers; and last of all, the gospel of St.
John, wIth which he ends the mass; so in the same order they
went out otthe vestry, they return into it again, saying a pray-
er for the souls in purgatory. After the priest is undrest, the
incensor and acoliti kneel down before him, and hiss his right
hand: Then they undress thmllselves, and the priest goes to
the humiliatory to give God thanks for all his benefits.
The same ceremonies, motions and gestures the priest
makes in a private mass, but not so many in a n1ass for the
dead. They have proper masses for the holy Trinity, for
Christ, the Virgin Mary, angels, apostles, martyrs, confessors,
virgins, and for the dead; the ornaments for this last are al-
ways black. This is a true description of the ceren10nies of
the mass: No,v let us give an account of the means th
priests
make use of for the promoting of this sacrifice, and increasing
their profit.
The custom, or rule for public masses, which are always
sung, is this: the person that goes to the clerk and asks a mass
to be sung, carries at least six wax candles, which burn upon
the altar's table, while the mass lasts, and a good offering for
the priest, and besides that, must give the charity, which is a
crown, and the same for a mass sung for the dead; but if a
person have a mind to have a mass sung, such or such a day
forever, he must give, or settle upon the chapter or C01nmu-
nity, a pistole every year, and these are called settled masses,
and there are of these masaes in every parish, church and
convent, more than the priests and friars can say in a year;
for ever sin
e the comedy of the mass began to be acted 011
the stage of the church, the bigots of it successively have
settled massps every year; the priests and fri3.rs then cannot
discharge their conscience, while they l{eep the people ignor-
ant of the tru
",f the matter.
Thus they blind the people: Suppose to he in a convent one
hunrlred friars and priests, and that in that convent dre two
hundred private and public masses settled every day, the
charity of one hundred is a manifest fraud and robbery, for
hey receive it, and cannot say the masses. And neverthe-
eSB, they accept every day new foundations and settlements
)IASTER- KEY TO POPERY.
127
:>f masses; for if the people ask the dean, or prior, whether
there is a vacancy for a mass, they will never answer no; and
this way they increase the yearly rents continually.
'fhis is to be understood of the chapter or cOlnmunity, and
I must say, that the chapters, and parish churches, are not so
hard upon the people as the convents of friars are, though
they are not so rich as the communities: The reason is, be-
cause a parish priest has, during his life, his tithes and book-
money. But a prior of a convent commands that community
only three years; therefore, while the office lasts, they en-
deavor to make money of every thing. I knew several priors
very rich after their priorship; and how did they get riches,
but by blinding and cheating the people, exacting money for
Inasses which never were said, nor sung, nor ever will be?
As to the private priests and friars, and their cheating ways,
there is so much to be said on them that I cannot, in so small a
book as this is, give a full account of all; so I shall only tell
the most usual methods they have to heap up riches by gath-
ering thousands of masses every year.
Observe first of all, that if a priest is a parish minister, or
vicar, he has every day of the year certain families, for whose
souls, or the souls of their ancestors, he is to celebrate and
offer the sacrifice of the mass. And if he is a friar, he has
but one mass every week left to him, for six days he is obliged
to say m:1SS for the community: So by this certain rule, a pa-
rish minister cannot in conscience receive any money for
masses, when he l{nows he cannot say more n1asses than those
settled for every day in the year; and by the same rule, a
friar cannot in conscience l'eceive more money than for fifly-
two masses every year, and consequently those that receive
more are deceivers of the poor ignorant people, robbers of
their money, and commit sacrilege in so doing.
And that they take more than they in justice can, shall ap"
pear in several instances.
First: I never sa w either secular or regular priests refuse
the charity for a mass, when a christian soul ask
d them to
say it; and I knew hundreds of priests mighty OffiClVUS in ask..
ing masses from all sorts of people.
Secondly: In all families whatsoever, if an) \me is dan..
gerously sick, there are continually friars and priests \vaitin
till the person dies, and troubling the chief of the family with
petitions for masses for the soul of the deceased; and if he is
rich, the custom is, to distribute among all the convents and
parishes one thousand, or n10re masses to be said the day of
128
MASTER-KEY TO POPERY.
burial. When the Marquis of St. Mal"tin died, his lady dis..
tributed a hundred thousand Inasses, for which she paid the
very same day five thousand pounds sterling, besides one thou..
sand masses, which she settled upon all the convents and pa-
rish churches, to be said every year forever, which amounts
to a thousand pistoles a year forever.
Thirdly: The frial"s, most commonly, are rich, and have
nothing of their own (as they say); some are assisted by their
parents, but these are very few. They give two thirds of
whatever they get to the community; and in some strict orders
the friars ought to give all to the convent; nevertheless, they
are never without money in their pockets, for all sorts of diver-
sions; and it is a general observation, that a friar at cards is a
resolute man; for as he does not work to get money, or is sure
of getting more if he lose, he does not care to put all on one
card; therefore gentlemen do not venture to play 'with them,
so they are obliged to play with one another.
I saw several friars who had nothing in the world but the
allowance of their comn1unity, and the charity of 52 masses a
year, venture on the card 50 pistoles; another luse 200 pistoles
in half an hour's time, and the next day have money enough
to play. And this is a thing so well known, that many of our
officers that have been in Spain, can certify the b'uth of it, as
eye-witnesses.
Now, as to the method they have to pick up money for so
many masses, they do not tell it; but as I never was bound not
to discover it, and the discovery of it, 1 hope, will be very use-
ful to the Roman Catholics, though disadvantageous to priests
and friars, I think myself obliged, in conscience, to reveal this
never-revealed secret, for it is for the public good, not only of
protestants, who by this shall know thoroughly the cheats of
the Romislt priests, but of the Roman Catholics too, who be-
stow their money for nothing to a people that umke use of it to
ruin their souls and bodies.
The thing is this, that the friars are said to have a privilege
from the pope (I never saw such a privilege myself, though I
did all my endeavors to search and find it out) of a center/aria I
mis8a, i. e. a brief, where the pope grants them the privilege
of saying one mass for a hundred; which privilege is divulged
among priests and friars, who l{eep it a secret arnong them-
selves: so that, as they say, one mass is equivalent to a hun
dred masses. I did not question when I was in the commu
nion, that the pope could do that and more, but I was suspi
cious of the truth of such a grant. Now observe that by this
MASTER .KEY TO POPERY.
129
brief, every friar, havii g for himself 52 masses free every
year, and one nlass being as good as a hundred, he may get
the charity of 5200 masses, and the least charity fOl' every
mass being two reals of plate, i. e. fourteen pence of our
money, he may get near 300 pounds a year.
The secular priests, by this brief of centenaria missa, have
more masses than the private friars; fOl' though they have 365
settled masses to say in a year, they have, and may get the
charity of 99 masses every day, which comes to 3,006,135
masses every year. In the convents that have 120 friars, and
some 400, the prior, having 6 masses
very week from each
of his friars, by the same rule, the prior may have nlilIions of
millions of masses.
Hear now, how they do amuse the credulous people: If a
gentleman, or gentle\voman, or any other person goes to
church, and de
ires one nmss to be said for such or such a
soul, and to be present at it, there is always a friar ready, from
six in the morning, till one, to say mass. lie takes the charity
for it, and he goes to say it, \vhich he says for that soul, as I
say now: For till such time, as he gets the charity of a hun-
dred masses, which is above five pounds sterling, he will not
sa y his own mass, or the mass for him. And so the rest of the
friars do, and many priests too. The person that has given
the charity, and has heard the mass, goes hOlne fully satisfied
that the mass has been said for him, or to his intention.
As to the comnlUnities: If sornebody dieth, and the execu..
tors of the testament go to a father prior, and beg of him to
say a thousand masses, he gives them a receipt, whereby the
nlasses are said already; for he nmkes them believe that he
has more masses said already by his friars to his own inten-
tion, and that out of the nunlber he applies 1000 for the soul
of the dead person; so the executors upon his word take the
receipt of the masses, which they want to show to the Vicar
General, who is to visit the testament, and see every spiritual
thing ordered in it, accomplished accordingly.
This custom of asking nlOney for masses is not only among
the friars, but among the beatas,' nuns, and ,vhores too, for a
beata, with an affected air of sanctity goes up and down to
visit the sick, and asks beforehand Hlany masses from the
heads of fanÜlies, alleging that by her prayers and so many
masses, the sick 111aY be recovered and restored to his forme!
health; but these, if they get money for masse
, they give it
to their spiritual confessors, who say theIll as the beata order-
eth. Anù according to their custam anù beli{'f
there ii no
130
:\1.ASTER-KEY TO POPl:.."'RY.
.
.
harm at all in so doing. The evil is in the nuns, who get
v-
ery where abundance of masses, on pretence they have priests
and friars of their relations, who want the charity of masses.
And what do they with the money? Every nun having a
Devoto, or gallant to serve her, desireth him to say so many
masses for her, and to give her a receipt; he promises to do
it, but he never doth say the masses, though he giveth a re-
ceipt: so the nun keeps the money, the friar is paid by her in
an unlawful way, the people are cheated, and the souls in
purgatory (if there was such a place) shall remain there for-
ever, for want of relief.
But the worst of all is, that a public, scanda10us woman
will gather together a number of masses, on pretence that she
has a cousin in such a convent, ,vho wants nmsses, i. e.. the
charity for them. And what use do they make of them?-
This is an abon1ination to the Lord. They have many friars
who visit them unlawfully, and pay for it in masses; so the
woman lie.eps the money in payment of her own and their sin
,
gets a receipt from the friars, and these never say the masses;
for how can we believe that such men can offer the holy sacri-
fice (as they call the mass) for such a use? And if thè y do it,
which is, in all human probability, impossible, who would not
be surprised at these proceedings? Every body indeed.
There is another custom in the church of Rome, which
brings a great deal of profit to the priests and friars, viz. the
great masses of brotherhoods, or fraternities. In every parish
church, and especially in every convent of friars and nuns,
there is a number of these fraternities, i. e. corporations of
tradesmen; and every corporation has a saint for their advo-
cate or patron, viz. the corporation of shoe-makers has for an
advocate 81. Chrispin and Chrispinia: the Butchers 81. Bar-
tholomew, &c. and so of the rest. There is a prior of the
corporation, who celebrates the day of their advocate with a
solemn mass, music, candles, and after all, an entertainrnent
for the members of the fraternity, and all the friars of the
community. To this the corporation gives eight dozen of
white wax candles to illuminate the altar of their patron,
when the solemn mass is sung, and whatever remains of the
candles goes to the convent. The prior payeth to the commu..
nity 20 crowns for the solemn mass, and 10 crowns to the
musicians. The day following the corporation gIves 3 dozen
yellow candles, and celebrates an anniversary, and have many
Jnasses sung for the relief of their brethren's souls in purga
.ory; for every mass they pay a crown. An,i besidc:Þ all
:MASTER-KEY TO POPERY.
131
1hese, the corporation has a mass settled every Friday, which
is to be sung for the relief of the brethren's souls, for which
and candles, the convent receiveth 6 crowns every Friday.
There is not one church nor convent without two or three of
these corporations every week: for there are saÍI Its enough
in the church for it, and by these advocates of the friars, ra-
ther than of the melnbers of the corporation, every body may
form a right judgment of the riches the priests and friars get
by these means.
One thing I cannot pass by, though it has no relation with
the main subject of the mass; and this is, that after the sol-
emn mass is finished, the prior of the corporation, with his
brethren, and the prior of the convent, with his friars, go all
together to the refectory or common hall, to dinner, there they
make I"are demonstrations of joy, in honor of the advocate of
that corporation. The prior of the convent makes a short
speech before dinner, recommending to them to eat and,drink
heartily, for after they have paid all the honor and reverence
to their advocate that is due, they ought to eat, and drink, and
be merry; so they drink till they aloe happy, though not
drunk.
I heard a pleasant story, reported in town, from a faithful
person, who assured me he sa w, himself, a friar come out of
the refectory, at 8 at night, and as he came out of the con-
vent's gate, the moon shining that night, and the shadow of the
house being in the middle of the street, the merry friar think
ing that the light of the . moon, in the other half part of the
street, was water, he took off his shoes and stockings, and so
walked till he reached the shadow; and being asked by my
friend the meaning of such extravagant folly, the ffiar cried
out, a miracle, a miracle! The gentleman thought that the fri-
ar was mad: but he cried the Inore, a miracle! a miracle!-
Where is tIte miracle? (the people that can1e to the windows
asked him;) I came tltis minute through this river, (said he) and
I did not u.ct the soles cif my feet; and then he desired the
neighbors to come and be witnesses of the miracle. In such
a condition the honor of the advocate of that day did put the
reverend friars; and this and the like effects such festivab
occasion, both in the memèers of the convents and corporatÌOIl.
Now I come to the means and persuasions the friars malic
use cf for the extolling and praising this inestimable sacrifice
of the mass, and the great janorance of the people in believing
them. First of all, as the people know the debaucheries and
lewd lives of 11l3.ny friars and priests, sometimes they are loth
132
IASTER-IiEY TO !)O!)ER.{.
to desire a sinful friar to say 111ass for therr, thinking that his
mass cannot be so acceptable to God Aln1ighty as that which i
said by a priest of good morals: So far the people are illumi-
nated by nature; but to this, prie
ts and friars make then1 be-
lieve, that though a priest be the greatest sinner in the world,
the sacrifice is of the same efficacy with God, since it is the
sacrifice made by Christ on the Cross for all sinners; and that
it was so declared by the pope, and the council of Trent.
Put it together with what the same council declares, that the
priest doth not only represent Christ when he oflèreth the sac-
rifice, but that he is the very person of Christ at that time, and
that therefore David calls them Christs by these words: irolite
tangere Cliristos 'lllcos. 0 execrable thing! If the priest is
the very Christ in the celebration of the mass, how can he at
the same time be a sinner? It being certain that Christ knew
no sin: and if that Christ Priest, offering the sacrifice, is in
any actual moral sin, how can the sacrifice of the mass, which
is (as to thmn) the SaIne sacrifice Christ did offer to his eter-
nal Father on the cross, be efficacious to the expiation of the
sins of all people? For, in the first place, that sacrifice offer-
ed by a Priest-Christ, in an actual mortal sin, cannot be an ex-
piation of the sin by which the priest is spiritually dead. Sec-
ondly, if the Christ-Priest is spiritually dead by that mortal
lJin, how can such a priest offer a lively spiritual sacrifice 7-
We must conclude then, that the priests, by such blasphemous
expressions, not only deceive the people, but rob them of
their money, and cOlnmit a higll crime, but that the sacrifice
he offers is really of no effect or efficacy, to the relief of the
souls in the pretended purgatory.
From what has been said, it appears that the priests and
friars make use of whatever means they can to cheat the peo-
o pIe, to gratify their passions, and increase their treasure.
For what cheat, fraud, and roguery, can be greater than this
of the centenaria missa with which they suck up the money
of poor and rich, without performing what they promise?
If the pope's privilege for that ltundred mass was really true,
natural reason shews, it was against the public good, and there-
fore ought not to be made use of: for by it, friars and priests
will never quench their thirst of money and ambition, till thûy
draw to them the riches of Christendom, and by these IneanF,
they will wrong the supposed souls in purgatory, and ruin their
own too. Decency in the sacerdotal ornaments is agreeable
to God our Lord, but vanity and profaneness is an abomula-
tion before him. Of what use can all the rich( s of their churches
?tIASTER-KEY TO rOPERY.
133
and ornamcnts be? To n1ake the sacrifice of the maE
nrore
efficacious, it cannot be for; the eflicacy of it proceeds fforn
Christ hÏInself, who Inade use of different ornarnents than those
the priests make use of. Nor is it to satisfy their own ambi-
tion, for they could get l110re by
aying them; it is only to
make l\Iistress l\Iass the more adn1ired, and gain the whole
people to be her followers and courtiers.
o that the Roman laity would consider the weight of these
Christian observations, and if they ,\;ill not believe them be-
cause they are mine, I heartily beg of thel11 all, to make pious
and serious reflections upon themselves, to examine the de-signs
of the priests and friars, to mind their lives and conversations;
to observe their works; to cast up accounts every year, and see .
how much of their substance goes to the clergy and church for
masses. Sure I am, they will find out the ill and al11Litious
designs of their spiritual guides. They will experience their
lives not at all (most commonly,) answerable to their charac-
ters, and sacerdotal functions; and more, their own substances
and estates diminished every year. l\-Iany of their fan)ilies
corrupted by the wantonness, their understandings blinded by
the craft, their souls in the ,vay to hell, by the wickerl doc-
trines, and their bodies under suffering by the needless impo-
sitions of priests and friars.
They will find also, that the pomp and brightness of a solemn
mass, is only vanity to arlluse the eyes, and a cheat to rob the
purse. That the centenaria missa never known to them be-
10re, is a trick anù invention of priests and friars, to delude
and deceive them, and IJY that means in1poverish and weaken
them, and n1ake themselves masters of all.
They ,viII come at last to consider and believe, that the Ro
man Catholic Congregations, ruled and governed by priests and
friars, do sin against the Lord, i. e. the spiritual heads do com-
mit abomination before the Lord, and that they cannot prosper
here, nor hereafter, if they do not leave off their wicked ways.
Pray read the fifth chapter, the seventeenth verse, and the
fi}llowing, of Judith, and you shall find the case and the trl!th
of my last proposition. lV/tile (says he) these pcople siTlned
not b(fore tllCir God, tllcy pro.spcred, bccau:se the God t!tat IUl-
tl'tlt illiquit!J1L'aS 1fitll tbclll. But 1d'l'n t!tcy FIC]111rtctl.f/'om tl;e
U'l1Y that !te appointed tlLCnz, tltcy u'n.e dcstroyed. This was
spoken of the Jew8, but we may understand it of all nation
,
anù especially of the RomanB, who are vcry much ûf a I Îe<:e
,\'ith the Je\vs of old, or no better. 'Ve see the priest3 d( par-
ecl ffOn) the way that he appointed thcIn, ,Vhat can they
1',1
134
MASTER-KEY TO POPERY.
expect but destruction, if they do not leave off their
-.ricked.
ness, and turn unto the Lord? And the worst is, tha the in.
nocent laity will suffer with them, for God punishes, as \ve see
in the old testament, a whole nation for the sins of their rulers.
And it is to be feared the SaIne will happen to the Roman
church, for the sins of their priests. May God enlighten theIne
-Amen.
ARTICLE II.
Of the pl-i'Dileged altar.
A privileged altar is the altar to which (or to some image on
it) the pope has granted a privilege of such a nature, that who-
soever says before it, or before the image, so many pater nos-
ters, &c.; and so Il1any ave maria's, with gloria patri, &c.
obtains remission of his sins, or relieveth a soul out of purga-
tory. Or whoever ordereth a lnass to be said on the ara 01
4Such an altar, and before the image, has the privilege (as they
helieve) to take out of purgatory that soul for which the sac-
rifice of the n1ass is offered.
The Cardinals, Patriarchs, Primates, Archbishops and Bish-
ops, can grant to any image forty days of full and free indul-
gence, and fifteen quarantains of pardon, for those that visit
the said image, and say such a prayer before it aR they have
appointed at the granting of such graces: So not only the
m-
ages of the altars in the church, but several images in the cor-
ners of the streets, and on the highway, have those graces
granted to them by the bishop of the diocess: nay, the beads,
or rosary of the Virgin l\Iary, of some considerable person
,
have the same grant
. And what is yet n10re surprising, ihe
picture of St. AnthonJr's pig, which is placed at the saint's feet,
has the granting of fifteen quarantains of pardon of sins f..n.
those that visit and pray before hiln. vVhat the people do on
St. l\lartin's day, I shall tell in another chapter.
I will not dispute now, whether the popes and bishops have
authority to grant such privileges; but I only say, that f do not
believe such a dream: for the pope has usurped the suprema-
cy and infallibility, and his amLitian being so gre
t, he never
will dispossess himself of a thing by which he makes himself
more supreme, infallible, and rich; by keeping all those gra-
ces in his o,vn hands, he would oblige all the bi 6 0ts 0 seek
after him and pay him for then1, and have him in more vener-
ation than otherwise he would be in.
, These privileges are a great furtherance to carryon the
ecclesiastical intercst
, ar.d to bring the PCO
)!è to <..ficr their
MASTER-KEY TO POPERY.
13å
prayers and money, and to be blinded and deceived by those
papal inventions But because I have already treated of theso
privileges, I pro.-'eed to the third article.
ARTICLE ill.
Of Transubstantiation, 01" the Eucltarist.
T shall say nothing touching the scholastic opinions of the
ltor11ish church, about the sacrament of the Eucharist, or the
real PI csence of Jesus Christ in it; for these are well known
by our learned and well instructed laity: so I will confine my-
self wholly to their practices in the administration of this sa-
crament, and the worship paid to it by the priests and laity;
and what strange notions the preachers put in the people's
heads about it.
First, as to the administration of this sacrament, actual or
habitual intention being necessary in a priest, to the validity
and efficacy of the sacrament, open confession and repentanr>e
of his sins. lIe goes to consecrate the bread and wine, and,
(as they
ay, believe, and make the people believe) with five
words they oblige J eSllS Christ to descend from heaven to the
host with his body, soul and divinity, and that so he reInains
there as high and almighty as he is in heaven; which they en-
deavor to confinn with pretended miracles, saying, that lllany
priests of pure lives have seen a little boy instead of a wafer,
in the consecrated host, &c.
In winter, twice every lnonth, and in summer, every week,
the priest is to consecrate one great host, and a quantity of
small ones, which they do in the following manner:-After
the priest has consecrated the great and small, besides the
host which he is to receive hÏInself, the priests of the parish,
or friars of the convent, come in two lines, with wax candles
lighted in their hand
, and kneel down before the altar, and
begin to sing an hYlnn and anthem to the sacrament of the al-
tar (so it is called by them); then the priest openeth the taber-
nacle where the old great host is kept between two crystals,
and takes out of the tabernacle the custodia, and a cup of
small consecrated wafers, and puts them on the table of the
altar; then he takes the great old host, eats it, and so he ducs
the small ones; then he puts the new great consecrated host
between the two crystals of the custodia, and the new
ma 11
ones into the comulunion cup, because the small ones serve
the common peJple. Then he incenses the great host on his
knees, and ha 'ing a white, neat towel round his neck, with
136
1'tIASTER-KEY TO POPERY.
he ends of it he takes the custodia, and turns to the people and
makes the figure of a cross before the people, and turning to
the altar, puts the custodia and the cup of the small wafers
in the tabenwcle, and locketh the door, and the priests go.
away.
The reason why the great host and the small ones are
renewed twice a month in winter, and every week In summer,
(as they say), is (lnind this reason, for the same is against
them) because in summer, by the excessive heat, the host may
ve cOl"rupted and putrified, and produce wornlS, which nlauy
times has happened to the great host, as I myself have seen.
So to prevent this, they consecrate every week in summer
time; but in winte.r, which is a more favorable time to pre-
serve the host from corruption, only once in a fortnight. If
Christ is then in the host with the body, soul and divinity,
and David says, that the lwlJl one (i. e. Christ who is God
blessed forevennore) never sltall see corruption, how comes it,
that that hast, that holy one, that Christ, is sometimes cor-
rupted and putrified? The substance of bread being only
f:ubject to corruption, being vanished, and the body of Jesus
Christ substituted in its place this body by a just inference is
corrupted; which is against the scripture, and against the
divinity of Jesus Christ.
Again: I ask, whether the worms engendered in that host,
come out of the real body of Christ, or out of the nlaterial
substance of the host? If out of the body of Christ, every body
111ay infer from this the consequences his own fancy suggests.
And if they say that the worms are engendered in the mate-
rial substance of the bread, then the substance of the bread
remains after the consecration, and not (as they say) the real
substance of the body of Christ.
Again: It is a rule given by all the casuists, that that host
must be eaten by the priest. I do ask the priest that eats
the host with the worms, whether he believeth that host and
worms to be the real body of Christ or not? If he says no,
why doth he eat it to the prejudice of his own health? And if
he believeth it to be the real body of Christ, I do ask again,
whether the \VOI"fiS are Christ, with body, soul, and divinity,
or not? If they are not, I give the said instance: And if they
answer in the affirmative; then I
ay, that a priest did not eat
the host and worms, (as I saw myself,) on pretence ûf the
loathing of his stomach, and after the rnass was ended, he
carried the host, (two priests accompanying him with two can-
dles.) and threw it into a place \v hich they call Piscina; a
I.ASTER-KEY TO POPERY.
]37
place where they throw the dirty water afler they wash their
hands, which runs out of the church into the street. What
can we say now? If the worms and corrupted host is the
-real body of Christ, see what a value they have for him, when
they throw it a way like dirty water; and if that host comes out
of the running piscina into the street, the first dog or pig pas-
sing by (which is very comnlon in Spain) may eat it. And if
they are not, besiùes the said instanèe of eating it to the pre-
judice of their health, we may add this, llaInely: '\Vhy do the
priests and two 11lOre carry the host in fOrIn of procession, and
with so great veneration, with lights and psahns, as if it was
the real body of Christ?
No,v, as to the way of administering the sacrament to the
people, they do it in the following manner, which is also
against the fantastical transuhstantiation. I said that the priest
or friar consecrates small hosts once a week, to give them to
the people when they go to receive. The priest in his sur-
plice, anù with the stoIa on, goes to the altar, says the prayer
of the sacranlent, opens the tabernacle, and taking out of it
the cup, opens it, and turning to the comnlunicants, takes one
of the wafers with his thmnu and the foremost finger of his
right hand, lifîs it up, and says, See tlte lamb of God. t!tat tak-
etlt away tlte sins of t!te world, which he repeats three times;
and after goes straightwa y to the communicants, and puts a
wafer into each of their lTIouths. '\Vhen all have received, he
puts the cup again into the tabernacle, and goes to the vestry.
This is when the people receive before or after mass; but
when they receive at mass, the priest consecrates fo-r himself
a great host, and after he has eaten it, he takes the cup outof
the tabernacle and gives the small wafers, consecrated before
by another priest, to the communicants, and putting again the
up into the tabernacle, or sac'l"æl"iurn, (as they call it,) drinks
the consecrated wine himself.
I will nut spend my time in proving, that the denying of
the chalice to the laity is a manifest error, and that it is only to
extol and raise the ecclesiastical dignity to the highest pitch:
But I come to their ridiculous, nonsensical practices in several
accidental cases, viz: }t'irst, I myself gave the sacrament to a
lady, who had on that clay a new suit of clothes; but she did
not open her lllouth wide c.nough to let the wafer on her tongue.
and by my carelef:sness It fell upon one of her slee\'es, and
fronl thence to the ground; I ordered her not to quit the place:
till I had done; so, after the communion was over, I went to hCI
again, and cutting a piece of the sleeve, ,,,,here the wafer had
1\12
138
IfIASTER-KEY TO POPERY.
touched, and scratching the ground, I took Loth the piece and
dust, and carried then1 to the piscina; but I was suspended
ab officio and beneficio for eight days, as a punishment for my.
distraction, and not minding well n1Y business. But this rule
and custom of throwing into the piscina, among the dirty wa-
tel', every thing that the host had touched, they ought to thro\v
the fingers of the priest,. or at least the tongues of men and
\vomen into the same place; and thus, their tricks and super-
stitious ceremonies never would be discovered nor spread
abroad. How inconsistent this custom is with right sense and
reasOlT, every body Inay see.
Secondly. In the DOlninican's convent it happened, that a
lady who had a lap-rlog, which she always used to carry a!ong
with her, went to receive the sacrement with the dog under
her arm, and the dog looking up and beginning to bark when
the friar went to put the wafer in the lady's mouth, he let the
wafer fall, which happened to drop into the dog's mouth. Both
the friar and the lady were in a deep amazement and confu-
sion, and knew not what to do; so they sent for the reverend
father prior, who resolved this nice point upon the spot, and
ordered to call two friars and the clerk, and to bring the cross,
and two candlesticks with two candles lighted, and to carry
the dog in from the pI:ocession into the vestry, and keep the
poor little creature there with illuminations, as if he was the
host itself, till the digestion of the wafer was over, and then
to kin the dog and throw it into the piscina. Another friar
said, it was better to open the dO b immediately, and take out
the fragments of the host; and a lhird was of opinion, that
the dog should be burnt on the spot. The lady, who loved
dearly her Cupid, (this was the dog's nan1e,) entreated the f:'l-
ther prior to save the dog's life, if possible, and that she would
give any thing to make amends for it. Then the prior and
friars retired to consult what to do in this case; and it was re-
solved, that the dog should be called for the future, El perillo
del sacramento, i. e. The sacrament's dog. 2. That if the
dog should happen to die, the lady was to give him a burying
in consecrated ground. 3. That the lady should take care
not to let the dog play with other dogs. 4. That she was tl)
give a silver dog, which was to be placed upon the taberna r It1
where the ho
ts are kept. And, 5. That she should g:vc
twenty pistoles to the convent. E\Tery article was performed
accordingly, and the dog was kept with a great deal of care
and veneration. The case was printed, and so came to tlH.'
ears of the inquisitors, and Dull Pedro Guerrero, first inqui::il'
II(
1\IASTER-KEY TO POPERY.
139
..or, thinking the thing very scandalous, sent for the poor dog,
and kept him in the inquisition to the great grief of the lady.
\Vhat became of the dog nobody can tell. This case is wor-
thy to be reflected on by Ferious, learned men, who may draw
onsequences to convince the Romans of the follies, covetous-
ness, and superstitions of the priests.
This I aver, that after this case was published, it was dl3pU-
ted on in all the moral academies; but as I cannot tell all the
sentiments and resolutions of them, I will confine myself to
those of the academy of the holy trinity, wherein I was pres-
ent when the case was proposed by the president, in the fol-
lowing terms:
1\lost reverend and learned brethren-the case of the dog
(blasphemously called the sacrament's dog)' deserves your
application and searching, which ought to be carried on ,vith a
wise, christian, and solid way of arguing, both in this case, or
any other like it. For my part, I am surprised when I think
of the irregular, unchristian method, the priors and friars took
in the case, and both the case and their r
solution call for our
mature consideration. Thanks be to God, that our people
give full obedience to our m01:her the church, and that they in-
quire no further into the matter, after some of our teachers
have ad<'ised them; othenvise the honor and reputation of our
brethren would be quite ruined. For n1Y part, (salva fide,) I
think, that upon the same case, the priest ought to let the thing
drop there, and take no further notice, rather than to give oc-
casion to some critics to scandalize, and to laugh at the ,,,hole
clergy. BesHes, that it is to abate the incomparable value of
the Eucltaristia, and to make it ridiculous before good, scnSI-
ble men.
Thus the president spoke; and fifteen members of the acad-
emy were of his opinion. One of the members said, that be-
ing certain that the dog had eaten the real body and blood of
Jesus Christ, the priest, after the comlTIunion was over, was
obliged to call the lady in private, and give a vomit to the dog,
and to cast into the piscina what he should thro,v up. Another
said, that the sacrament being a spiritual nourishment to the
soul, he was obliged to ask a question, and it was, whether the
f:ensitive soul of the dog was nourished by the
acrament or
i1ot? AlJ agr
ed in the affirmative, upon which the question-
ist fonned the followino- aro-ument: The soul nourished b y the
o ö
f3acrament of the body and blood of Christ, who is eternal life,
is immortal; but the sensitive soul of the dog "-as nourished by
Christ, according to your opinions: Ergo, the soul of the dog
-4
140
:\L\.STER-KEY TO POPERY.
IS immortal; then, if immortal, where is the soul to go after
death; to heaven, tu hell, or to purgator)? 'Ve n1ust answer,
to neither of these places: So we disown that the dog did eat
the body of Christ; and there is more in the Sa"rr.
1ent than
we can comprehend; and (salva fide, and in the ,vay in argu-
ment) I say, that the dog ate what we see in the host, and not
what we believe. Thus ,the member ended his discourse.
After all these disputes, the case was thus resolved: that
the priest should ask the inquisitors' advice, who being the
judges in matters of faith, may safely determine what is to he
done in such a case, and the like.
Thirdly. I have already said in another place, that the
reverend father friar James Garcia was reputed among the
learned, the only man for divinity in this present age; and that
he was my master, and by his repeated kindness to me, I may
say, that I was his well-beloved disciple. I was to defend a
public thesis of divinity in the university, and he was to be
president or n1oderator. The thesis contained the follow-
ing at treises: De Esscntia ct Att1'ibutis Dei: De Visione Be-
atifica: De G1'atia Justificante et Aua
iliante: De Providentia:
De Actu Libe1'o: De 'l'rinitatc: and De Sac1'amentis in gen-
erc. All which I had learned from him. The shortest
treatise, of all he taught publicly in the university, was the
Eucharistia. The proofs of his opinion were short, and the
o1.jections against them very succinct and dark. I must con-
fess, that I was full of confusion, and uneasy for fear that some
doctor of divinity would make an argument against our opin-
ion, touching the sacrament of EU<.:haristia. And I endeavored
to ask my master to instruct me, and furnish me with answers
suitable to the most difficult objections that could be proposed;
but though he desired me to be easy about it, and that, upon
necessity, he would answer for me; I replied with the follow-
ing objection: God will never punish any n1an for not believing
what is against the evidence of our senses, but the real pres-
ence in Eucharistia is so: Ergo, (salva .fide,) God will not
punish any man for not believing the real presence of Christ
there. To this he told me that none of the doctors would pro-
pose such an argument to me, and he advised me not to nmke
Buch an ohjection in public, but to keep it in my heart. But
father, (said I,) I ask your answer. My answer is (said he)
rtlilld Lingua docco, aliud Corde c1'edo; i. e. I teach one thing,
f"lnd I believe another. By these instances, I have given now,
every body may easily know the corruptions .of the Romish
church, and the nonsenå>ical opinions of their priests and fri-
l\1.\STER-KEY TO POPERY.
141
aI'S, as also, that the learned do not believe in their hearts,
that there is such a n10nster as transubstantiation, though for
Bome worldly ends, they do not discover their true sentI-
ments about it.
Now I proceed to the worship, and adoration, both the clergy
and laity pay to the holy host or sacrament.
I shaH not say any thing of what the people do, when the
priests in a procession under a canopy carried the sacrament
to the sid:, for this custom and the pomp of it, and the idola-
trous worship and adoration offered to it, is well known by our
travellers and officers of the army.
Philip the IVth, king of Spain, as he was a hunting, 111et in
the way a crowd of people following a priest, and asking the
reason, he was told that the priest carried the consecrated wa-
fer in his bosom to a sick person; the priest walked, and the
king, leaving his horse, desired the priest to mount anù ride
on it, and holding the stirrup, bareheaded, he followed the
priest all the way to the house, and gave him the horse for a
present. From the Idng to the shepherd, aU the people pay
the same adoration to the holy host, which shall be bettcr
known by the pomp and magnificence they carry the great
host with, in the solemn festival of corpus Christi, orof Christ's
body. I shall describe only the general procession made on
that day in 8aragossa, of which I was an eye-,vitness.
Though the festival of corpus Christi be a moveable feast,
it always falls on a Thursùay. That day is m
de the great
gcneral procession of corpus Christi, and the Sunday follow-
ing, every congregation through the strects of the parish, and
evel'Y convent of friars and nuns through the cloisters of the
convent go with great pon1p to the private procession of
Christ's body. As to the general great one, the festival is or-
dered in the following manner:
The Dean of the cathedral church of 81. Salvator sends an
officer to summon all the communities of friars, all the clerO'y
of the parish churches, the Viceroy, governor and Inagistrat
s,
the judges of the civil and criminal council, with the lord
chancellor of the kingdom, and all the fraternities, brother-
hoods, or corporations of the city, to meet together on the
Thursday following, in the metropolitan cathedral church of
St. Salvator, with all the standards, trumpets, giants,
both of
:I< Three big giant men, and three giant women, and six little ones,
drest in men and women's clothes, made of thin wood, and carried by
a man hid under the clothes. The big ones are fifteen feet high, which
l42
M..-\STER-KEY TO POPERY.
the greater or Jesser size in their respective habits of office or
dignity; and all the clergy of the pari
h churches, and friars
of convents, to bring along with them in a procession, with due
reverence, all the silver bodies of saints on a base or pedestal,
which are in their churches and convents. Item: Orders are
publi
hed in every street, that the inhabitants or house-keep-
ers are to clean the streets which the sacrament is to go
through, and cover the ground with greens, and flowers, and
to put the best hangings in the fronts of the balconies, and win-
dows: All which is done accordingly; or else he that does not
obey and perform such orders, is to pay 20 pistoles without
any excuse whatsoever.
At three in the afternoon, the viceroy goes in state with the
governor, judges, magistrates and officers, to Ineet the arch-
bishop in his palace, and to accompany his grace to church,
where all the communities of friars, clergy and corporations,
are waiting for them. The dean and chapter receive them at
the great porch, and after the archbishop has made a prayer
before the great altar, the music begins to sing, Pange lingua
gZoriosa, while the archbishop takes out of the tabernacle the
host upon the rich chalice, and placeth it on the great custodia,
on the altar's table. Then the quire begins the evening songs,
in which the archbishop in his pontifical habit officiateth, and
when all is over, his grace giveth the blessing to the people
with the sacrament in his hands. Then the archbishop, with
the help of the dean, archdeacon and chanter, placeth the cus-
todia on a gilt pedestal, which is adorned with flowers and the
jewels of several ladies of quality, and which is carried on the
shoulders of twelve priests, drest in the same ornaments they
say mass in. This being done, the procession begins to go out
of the church in the following order:
First of all the bagpipe, and the great and small giants,
dancing all along the streets. 2. The big silver cross of the
cathedra], carried by a clerk-priest, and two young assistants,
with silver candlesticks and lighted candles. 3. From the
cross to the piper, a luan with a high hook goes and comes back
again while the procession lasts. The hook is called St. Paul's
''look, because it belongs to St. Paul's church. That hook is
very sharp, and they n1ake use of it in that procession, to cut
down the signs of taverns and shops, for fear that the holy
custodia should be spoiled. 4. The standard and sign of the
youngest corporation, and all the members of it, with a wax
are kept in the hall of the city, for the magnificence and splendor of
that day.
:r.fASTER-KEY TO POPERY.
143
candle in their hands, fi)rming two lines, whom an the corpora-
tions follow one after another in the same order. There are
thirty corporations, and the smallest is cOlnposed of thirty
members. 5. The boys and girls of the hlue hospital with
their master, mistress, and chaplain in his alva stola, and long
sacerdotal cloak. 6. The youngest religion (the order of St.
Francis is calJed St. Francis' religion, and so are all orders,
which they reckon 70, and which we may really, in the phrase
of a satirical gentleman, call 70 religions l.cithollt religio.'1)
with their reverend and two friars more at the end of each or-
der, drest in the ornaments they use at the altar: and so all
the orders go one after another in the same manner. There
are 20 convents of friars, and on this solemn festival, every
one being obliged to go to the procession, we reckon there
may be about two thousand present on this occasion; and 16
convents of nups, the number of them by regular computation
is 1500. 7. The clergy of the youngest parish, with the pa-
rish cross before, and the minister of it behind them in sacred
ornaments. And so the clergy of o
her parishes follow one
another in the same order, every friar and priest having a
white wax candle lighted in his hand.
The number of secular priests, constantly residing in Sara-
gossa, is 1200 in that one town: So by the said account, we
find all the ecclesiastical persons to amount to 4700, when the
whole of the inhabitants come to 15000 families.
8. The clergy of the cathedrals of St. Salvator, and the lady
of Pilar, with all their sacerdotal ornaments, as also the musi-
cians of both cathedrals which go before the custodia or sacra-
ment, singing all the w
y. Then the 12 priests more, that
carry the canopy under which the sacrament goes, and under
the end of it the dean, and two prebends, as dea
on and sub-
deacon. The archbishop in his pontifical habit goes at the
subdeacon's right hand, the viceroy at the archbishop's, and
the deacon and subdeacon, one at the right and the other at the
left, all under the canopy. Six priests, with incense and in-
censaries on both sides of the custodia, go incensing the sacra-
ment without intermission; for while one kneels down before
the great host, and incenses it three times, the other puts in-
cense in his incensary, and goes to re]ieve the other, and thus
they do, from the coming out of the church, till they return
back again to it.
9. The great chancellor, presidents, and councils, follow
a.fter, and after all, the nobility, men and women, with li
hted
candles. This procession lasts four hours from the tin1e it goes
144
IIIASTER-Ii.EY TO POPERY.
out, till it comes into the church again. All the bells of the
convents and parishes ring all this time; and if there were not
so many idolatrous ceremonies in that procession, it would
be a great pleasure to see the streets so richly adorned
with th.e best hangings, and the variety of persons in the
processIOn.
The riches of that procession are incredible to a foreigner;
but matters of fact (the truth of which may be inquired into)
must be received by all serious people. I have spoken already
of the rich custodia which the archbishop of Sevil gave to the
cathedral, and of the rich chalice set in diamonds. Now be-
sides these two things, we reckon 33 silver crosses belonging
to convents, and parish churches, ten feet high, and about the
thickness of the pole of a coach; thirty-three small crosses
which the priests and friars, who officiate that day, carry in
their hands; these crosses, though small, are richer than the
ig one, because in the n1iddle of the cross there i
a relic,
which is a piece of wood (as they say) of the cross on which
our Saviour was crucified, and which they call holy 'Wood.
This relic is set in precious stones, and many. of them set in
diamonds. Thirty-three sacerdotal cloaks to officiate in, made
of Tusy d'or, edged with pearls, emeralds, rubies, and other
rich stones. Sixty-six silver candlesticks, four feet high. A
large gold possenet, and a gold handle for the hysop; six incen-
saries, four of them silver, and two of gold; four silver incense
boxes, and two gold ones. Three hundred and eighty silver
bodies of saints on their rich gilt pedestals, of which two hun-
dred are whole bodies, and the rest half, but many are gilt,
and several wear mitres on their heads, embroidered with pre-
cious stones.
The image of St. l\Iichael, with the devil under his feet, and
the image with wings, are of solid silver, gilt all over.
With this magnificence they carry the sacrament through
the principal streets of the city, and all the people tuat are in
the balconies and lattice windows throw roses and other flow-
ers upon the canopy of the sacrament as it goes by. When
the procession is over, and the sacrament placed in the taber-
nacle, there is a stage before the altar to act a sacramental or
divine comedy, which lasts about an honr, and this custom is
practised also on Christmas eve. By these, every body may
know their bigotries, superstitions and idolatries.
Now I come to say something of the strange notions the
priests and friars, confessors and preachers, put in the people's
heads, concerning the host. First, they preach and charge the
MASTER-KEY TO POPI RY.
145
people to adore the såcrament, but never to touch the conse-
crated host or wafer, this teing a crime against the catholic
faith, and that all such as dare to touch it, must be burned in
the inquisition. Secondly, to believe that the real flesh and
blood of J esuê Christ is in the Eucharist; and that, though
they cannot see it, they ought to submit their understanding
to the catholic faith. Thirdly, that if any body could lawful-
ly touch the host, or wafer, and prick it with a pin, blood
woulù come out immediately, which they pretend to prove
with rnany miracles, as that of the cm'pOl'ales of Daroca, '\vhich,
as it comes a propos, I cannot pass by without giving an ac-
count of it.
Daroca is an ancient city of the kingdom of Aragon, which
bordereth on Castilla. It is filmous aInong the Spaniards for
its situation and strength, and for the mine that is in the neigh-
boring mountain to it. For the floods coming with impetuos-
ity against the walls, and putting the city in great danger, the
inhabitants dug three hundred yards from one end of the mount
to the other, and made a subterranean passage, and the floods
going that way, the city is ever since free from danger. But
it is yet more famous for what they call corpo'J"ales. The sto-
ry is thir;:-'\Vhen the :l\loors invaded Spain, a curate near
Daroca took all imaginable care to save the consecrated wa-
fers that were in the tabei'nacle, and not to see them profaned
by the infidels, and open enemies of their faith. There were
but five small hosts in all, which he put with the fine holland
on which the priest puts the great host when he says mass;
and this piece of holland is called corporales. The IHoors
were at that time near, and nobody could nlake an escape;
and the priest, ready to lose his own life, rather than to see the
host profaned, tied the corporales \vith the five wafers in it, on
a blind mule, and whipped the bemst out of town, said, Speed
you well, for I am sure that the sacran1ent on your back will
f!uide you to some place free from the enemies of our religion.
The mule journeyed on, and the next day arrived at Daroca,
and sonIC people observed the corporales tied with the holy
stoIa to the mule's belly, were surprised at so rare Rnd unex-
pected a thing, and called a priest of the great parish church;
he canle to the mule, and examining the thing, found the five
wafers converted into blood, and stamped on the holland cloth;
which spots of blood (or painting) of the higne
R of a tenpenny
piece, are preserved till this present tinw. Then the priest
cried out, a miracle, the clergy in great deloticn and proces-
sion canle with cunùles and a canopy, and taking the mulo
N
146
l\IASTER-KEY TO POPERY.
under it, ,vent to the great church; and when the nlinister of
the parish had taken the stoIa and corporales frOln off the mule,
. he went to place the cm'porales on the ara altaris, or the al-
tar's table, but the mule not well pleased with it, left the com-
pany, and went up to the steeple or belfry: then the parish
minister (though not so wise as the mule) followed the Dlule
up stairs, and seeing the beast mark a place there with its
mouth, he soon understood that the mule being blind, could
neither go up, nor mark that place without being inspired
from above; and having persuaded the people of the same, all
agreed that there should be a little chapel built to keep the ho-
ly corporales. \Vhen this resolution was approved by the
clergy and laity, the mule died on the steeple. At the same
time the curate having made his escape, and by divine inspi-
ration followed the nlule'8 steps, caIne to Daroca, and telling
the whole cause of his putting the sacrament on the mule to
save it fronl profilnation, both clergy and laity began to cry
)Ut, a 'miracle from Heaven; and Ünmediately further agreed,
that the mule should be embalmed and kept before the
holy corporales in the steeple, ad perpctuam Rci lJlcmori-
ant: Item, to nlake a lllule of the best stone could be found,
in honor of the nlule, and that f(Jr the future his name
should be the lwly mule. All things being done according-
ly, and the city never having been mastered by the 1\loors,
(as the inhabitants say,) they instituted a solemn festival, to
which ever since the neighbors, even fourteen leagues dis-
tant, come every year. Those that go up to the steeple to
see the holy mi\'acle of the wafers converted into blood, and
the holy mule, must pay four reals of plate. The people
of Daroca call it sometimes, tlte hol!J mystcry, ,another tin
e
the holy miracle; tlte sacramcnt of thc 'l1wle by SOlne ignorants;
tlte ltal!J sacra7.rtcnt on a 'Illule by the wise, &c. I myself took a
journey to see this wonder of Daroca, aull paying the fees,
went up to have a full view of every thing: anù really, I
sa,va n1ule of stone, and a coffin wherein the emhalmed uUlle
was kept, (as the clerk told me,) but he did not open it, fur the
I<ey is kept always at the bishop's palace: I saw likewise the
linen with five red spots in a little box of gilt silver, two can-
dles always huruing before it; and a glass lamp before the
Innle's coffin. 11,t that time I believed every part of the story.
All sorts of people believe, as an infallible truth, \.hat every
body's sight is preserved during litè in the same degree (If
strength and clearness it is in at the time they see these bloody
Epots, "Thich is proved by many instances of old women, who
MASTER-K.EY TO rOPI
RY.
147
by that means have excellent eyes to the last. Ile1!t: They
give out that no blind person ever came tefol'e the corpoI'ales,
without his sight being restored to hitll; which I firmly believe-,
fc)r no blind person ever was up in the steeple. I cannot
swear this, but I have very good reason to affirm it; for in the
first place, there is a slnall book printed, called "Directions
for the faithful people," teaching them how to prepare then1-
selves before they go up to see the holy mystery of the corpo-
rales of I>aroca. One of the advices to the blinrl is, that they
must confess and receive the sacrament, and have the soul as
clean as crystal, and to endeavor to go up to the steeple. from
the altar's table without any guide; and that if some cannot go
as far as the chapel of the belfry, it is a sign that that man is
not well prepared. The distance between the altar and the
steeple's door is about forty yards, and there are nine strong
pillars in the body of the church; so the poor blind people, be-
fore they can reach the belfry's door, commonly break their
noses, some their heads, &c. And son1e, more cautious and
careful, and happy in finding out the door, when they are in
the middie of the stairs, find a snare or StOcli, and break their
legs; for I rmnember very weH, when I went up myself, I
aw
a sort of a window in the nliddle of one of the steps, and ask-
ing the use' of it, the clerk told me, it was to let down through
it the rope of the great bell. Then I inquired no farther; but
now, being sure that there was but that small window shut up
in the whole pair of winding stairs, I conclude, that it could
not be there for the said use, and in all probability that win-
do,v was the snare to catch the poor blind people in. There-
fore, the clerk being not sure of the miracle, by this prevents
the discovery of the want of virtue in the holy corporales, to
cure all diseases, and at the same time gives out a miracle, and
the n1irade is, that the blind man has broke his leg, and that
it is a just punishment for daring to go up either unprepared,
or ,vith little faith; so no blind llian has recovered sight by the
virtue of the corporales.
By means of this same direction, no sick person dareth 10
go up; but if they recover, it must be a nliracle of the holy
mystery. And if a mule happen to be sick, the master of it
goes and makes the beast give three turns around the steeple,
thinking that its brother mule hath power to cure it. l\lany
will be apt to suspect the truth of this story; nay, some will
think it a mere forgery; but I appeal to several otlicers of the
army that 'went through J)aroca, to be witnesses for nle. It
may be they were not told all the circunlstance
of it, because
148
)IAS'I ER-KEY TO POPERY.
the people there having strange notions of an heretic; but the
mule and corporales being the 1110st remarkable thing in the
city, I anl sure many did hear of it, though nobody of the her-
etics could see the holy mystery, being a thing fí.Jrbidden 1 y
their church.
"Vith this, and the like pretended miracles, priests and fri-
ars, confessors and preachers, make the people believe the
real presence of Christ's body in the host, and the ineffable vir-
tue of this sacrament to cure all bodily distClnpers: nay, what
is more than all these, they persuade, and n1ake the people
believe, that if a man or a woman has the consecrated wafer
by them, they cannot die suddenly; nay, nor be killed by
violent hands. So great is the power of the host (they say,)
that if you show it to the enraged sea, the storm Ïlnmediately
ceaseth; if you carry it with you, you cannot die, especially
a sudden death. And really, they nlay venture to give out
this doctrine as an inh1.11iLle point, for they are sure no body
will dare to touch the host, and n1uch less to carry it with them,
it being so high a crime, that if any body was found out
with the consecrated wafer on his body, the sentence is
already passed by the inquisitors, that such a person is to be
burnt alive.
A parish priest carrying thè consecrated host to a sick per-
son out of the town, was lâlIed by a flash of lightning, which
accident being clearly against this pretended infallible power
of the host, the people took the liberty to talk about it; but the
clergy ordered a funer.al sermon, to which the nobility and
comInon people were invited by the conunon cryer. Every
body expected a funeral sern10n: but the preacher, taking fo1'
his text Judicium sibi 7Ilouducat, proved, that the priest killed
by a flash of lightning, was certainly danlned, and that his
sudden death, while he had the consecrated host in hiR hand
,.
was the l"eward of his wiclieùness; and that his deati:.. was t6
be looked upon as a lniracle of the holy host, rather than an
instance against the infinite power of it; for, said he, we have
carefully searched and examined every thing, and have fmnJ
that he was not a priest, and therefore had no authority to
touch the host, nor administer the sacrament of the eucharist.
And with this the murmur of the people ceased, and every body
afterwards thought, that the sudden death of the priest was
a manifest n1Íracle wrought by the host, and a visible punish-
D1ent from heaven for his sacrilegious crimes.
The truth is, that the priest was ordained by the bishop of
Tarasona, in Aragon. The thing happened in the city 0'
MASTER-KEV TO POPERY.
149
Calatayed, in the same kingdom; his name was l\Iossen Pe-
dro Aquilar; he ,vas buried in the church called the SC]JullJlzrc
of our Lord. The reverend father Fombuena was the preach-
er, and I was one of the hearers, and one that belie\ ed the
thing as the preacher told us, till after a while, some Inembel'S
of the acadetny having exan1ined the case, and found that he
was really a priest, proposed it to the assembly, that every
{'\I'fly n1Ïght give his opinion about it. The president said that
such a case was not to be brought into question, but the doc-
trine of the church touching eucharistia to be believed with-
out any scruples.
Again, That the host has no virtue nor power to calm the
raging sea, I know myself by experience; and as the rela-
tion of the thing may prove effectual to convince .other R,oman
Cafholics of their erroneous belief, as well as the passage it-
self did me, it seems fit in this place to give an account of it,
and I pray God Almighty, that it may please hin1 to give all
the Roman Catholics the same conviction, some way or other,
his infinite goodness was pleased to give me, that they may
take as fifln a resolution as I have taken, to espouse the safest
way to salvation: for if we take our Ineasures concerning the
truths of religion from the rules of holy scriptures, and the
platform of the primitive churches; nay, if the religion cf Jesus
Christ as it is delivered in the New Testament, be the true
religion, (as I am certain it is) and the best and safest way to
salvation; then certainly the protestant religion is the purest,
that is, at this day, in the world; the most orthodox in fc1.ith,
and the freest on the one hand fronl idolatry and superstition,
anù on the other, from whim
ical novelties and enthusiasm8,
of any now extant; and not only a safe way to salvation,
but the safest of any I know of in the world. Now I come
to my story.
After I left my country, n1aldng use of several stratagems
and disguises, I went to France, dressed in officer's clothes,
and so I was known by some at Paris, under the name of the
Spanish officer. My design was to come to Englanù, but the
treaty of Utretcht not being concluded, I could not atten1pt to
come fron1 Calais to Dover without a pass. I was perfectly a
stranger in Pari
, and without any acquaintance, only one
French prie
t, who haJ studied in Spain, and could
peak
Spanish perfectly well, which was a great satisfhction to 111f',
for at that time I could not speak French. The priest (towhOHl
I made some presents,) was interpreter of the Spani
h lettel'
tu the king's confessor, fitther Ie Tclier, to whom he introduc-
N2
150
MASTER-KEY TO POPERY.
ed me; I spoke to him in Latin, and told him I had got a great
fortune by the death of an uncle in London, and that I should
be very much obliged to his reverence, if by his influence I
could o},tain a pass. The priest had told him that I Was a Cap-
tain, w..lich the father believed; and nlY brother having Leen
a captain, (though at that time he was dead,) it ,,,-as an easy
thing to pass for him. The first visit was favorable to nle, tor
the father confessor promised to get me a pass, and Lid lTIe call
for it two or three days after, \vhich I did; but I found the rev-
erend very inquisitive, asking me several questions in divin-
ity: I answered to all, that I had studied only a little Latin.-
lIe then told me there was no possibility of obtaining a pass
for England, and that if I had committed any irregular thing
in the army, he would give me a letter for the láng of Spain.
to obtain my pardon, anù make my peace with him again. I
confess this speech n1ade me very uneasy, and I began to sus-
pect some danger; so I thanked him for his kind offer to me,
and told him I had committed nothing against my king or
country, which I would convince him of
by refusing his filvor,
and by returning back into Spain that very week. So I took
my leave of him, and the day following I left Paris, and went
back to St. Sebastian, where I kept my lodgings till I got the
opportunity of a ship for Lisbon. The merchants of Saragos-
sa trade to St. Sebastian, where I was afraid of being known,
and discovered by some of them, and for this reason I kept
close in my room, giving out that I was not well. IIow to get
a ship ,vas the only difficulty; but I was freed frOln this by
sending for the fitther rector of the Jesuits, on pretence that I
wasvery ill, and was willing to confess my sins. Accordingly
he came to n1e that very day, and I began my confession, in
which I only told him, that as I was an officer in the army, and
had killed another officer, for which the king had ordered me
to be taken up, so that my life being in danger, and my con-
science in trouble on account of the murder, I put both life
and soul into hi
hands. lie asked IDe all the usual questions,
but I confessing no other sin, the father thought I was a good
christian, and something great in the world; so he bade nle te
easy and mind nothing but keep myself in readiness fur my
voyage, and thai he would send a ca ptain of a ship to me
that very night, who should take me along with him into the
ship, and sail out the next Il10rning. And so all was pet-fonn-
cd accordingly, and I went that night to embark. \Vhat di
rections the father rector gave the captain I know not; this I
know, that I was treated as if I were the son of a grandee,
1IIASTER-KEY TO rOPERY.
151
and served by the captain himself. This was the first time of
my life being at sea, and I was vcry sick the two first days;
the third day a grcat storm began, which put Ine in fear ('If
losing my life. But then calling to DIY 111Cmory that the di-
vine power was said to be in a consecrated host, to cahu the
raging sea, and knowing that a priest had power to consecrate
at any time, and every where, upon urgent necessity, I went
Into the captain's cabin, and took one of the white wafers he
lllade use of for sealing letters, and being alone, I made this
promise before God Almighty, from the bottom of my heart,
that if he would graciously condescend to remove DIY scruples
at once, by manifesting the real presence of his body in the
host, and its infinite power, by calming the raging ten1pest at
the sight of the one I was now going to consecrate, then I
would return back again into Iny church and country, and live
and die in the Romish cOlnnlunion; but if the effect did not
answer to the doctrine preached of the host, then I would live
and die in the church that knoweth no such error
, nor obey-
eth the pope. After this promise, I said n1Y prayers of pre-
paration to consecrate; and after I had consecrated one wafer
(which I was sure in my conscience was duly consecrated, ,'"
for the want of ornaments and a decent place, is no hindrance
to the validity of the priest's consecration,) I went up, and hi-
ding the wafer from the captain and the crew of the ship, I
shewed it to the sea, and trembling all o\-er, stood in that con-
dition for half an hour. But the storm at that time increased
so violently, that we lost the mast of the ship, and the captain
desired me to go down. I was willing to wait a little longer
for the efficacy of the host" but finding none at all, I went
down, and lineeling, I began to pray to God, and thinking I
was obliged to cat the consecrated host for reverence sake, I
did eat it, but without any f:'1Ïth of the efficacy and power of
it. Then I vowed before God, never to believe any doctrine
of the Romish church, but those that were taught by Jesus
Christ and his apostles, and to live and die in that only. After
this vow, though the storm did continue for a day and a night,
Iny heart was calmed, all my fears vanished, and though ,vith
manifest danger of our lives, we got into Vigo's harbor, and
safe from the storm.
I lcft the ship there, and by land I went to Portugal, having
an inward joy and easiness in my heart; but having stopped
at Porto-Porto, to take a li
tle rest, I feU sick of an intermitting
fever, which brought Ine to the very point of death three timc
,
in three months anJ nine day::;. The n1Înisterof the pari
h lc.
152
:r.L\.STER-KEY TO POPERY.
\,)
ing told by my landlord, the çonditiün I was in, past hopes of
l'ecovery, came to visit me, and de
hed me to confess and re-
ceive as a good christian ought to do; but I thanking hÜn fùr
his good advice, told him, that I was not so sick as he believ-
ed, and that I would
end for him if I had any occasion, and
really, I never believed that I was to die of that distemper,
and by this thought, I was frèed from priests and confessors.
vVhP'3 I was out of danger, and well recovered, I went to
Lisbon, where I had the opportunity of talking with some Eng-
lish merchants, who eXplained to me sonle points of the protes-
tant religion, and my heart was in such a disposition, that their
words affected me nlore than all the sermons and moral sums
of the ROlnish church had ever dene before.
I knew a captain in the Spanish army, Don Alonzo Corse-
ga by name, who was killed at the siege of Lerida, in vdlOse
bosom was found (in a little purse,) the consecrated wafer, for
which his body was burnt to ashes. It is very likely that the
poor man thinking to escape from death by that Bleans, he
touk it out of his lnouth when he went to receive, and kept it
as an an1ulet against the martial instruments, which paid no
respect to its fancied divinity.
Now by these instances I have given you already, it appears
that the practices of the Romi
h priests, in the administration
of the Eucharist, either to healthy or sick people, are onlyob-
served for interest's sake, as the worship and adoration given
to the consecrated wafer, tC'nds only to the increase of their
treasure. And lastly, the doctrine of transu bstan6ation and
real presence of Christ, which they endeavor to make the
people believe by supposed miracles, is only to cheat and blind
the poor laity, and raise in them a great reverence and admi-
ration of their persons and office.
o Lord God, who receivest into thy favor those that fear
thee, and do work righteou::ness, suffer not so many thousands
of innocent people to be led in the way of error, but enlighten
them with thy spirit, put the light of the Gospel upon the can-
dlestick, that all those who are in darkness n1ay by that menns
come to the safe way of salvation, and live and die in the
profession of thy truth, and the purity of that perfect religion
taught by thine only son, our Saviour Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
MASTER
1{EY TO POPERY.
153
ARTICLE IV.
Of Purgatory.
I Cbnnot give a real account of Purgatory, but I will tell alt
I know of the practices and doctrines of the Romish priests and
friars, in relation to that Ünaginary place, which indeed
must be of vast extent and almost infinite capacity, if, as
the priests give out, there are as many apartments in it as
conditions and ranks of people in the world among Roman-
Catholics. .
The intenseness of the fire in Purgatory is calculated by
them, which they say is eight degrees, and that of hell only
four degrees. But there is a great difference between these
two fire
, in this, viz. that of purgatory (though more intense,
active, consuming and devouring) is but for a time, of which
the souls maybe freed by the suffrages of masses; but that of
hell is forever. In both places, they say, the souls are tor-
mented, and deprived of the glorious sight of God, but the
souls in purgatory (though they endure a great deal more than
those in hell) have certain hopes of seeing God sometime or
other, and that hope is enough to make them to be called the
blessed souls.
Pope Adrian the Third, confeEsed, that there was no men-
tion of purgatory in scripture, or in the writings of the holy
filthers; but notwithstanding thi
, the council of Trent has set-
tled the doctrine of purgatory without alleging anyone pas-
sage of the holy scripture, and gave so much liberty to priests
and friars by it, that they build in that fiery palace, apartnlCnts
[.)1' kings, princes, grandees, noblemen, merchants and trades..
men, for ladies of quality, for gentlemen and tradesmen's wives,
and for poor common people. These are the eight apartments
which answer to the eight degrees of intensl1s ignis, i. e. in-
tense fire; and they make the people beliève, that the poor
people only enòure the least degree; the second being greater,
i
for gentlewomen and tradef:men's wives, and so on to the
cighth degree, which heing the greatest of all, is reserved for
kings. By this wicked doctrine they get gradually masses
frOl11 all sorts and conditions of people, in proportion to their
greatne
s. But as the poor cannot give so many n13SSCS as
the great, the lowest chnmber of purgatory is alway
crowded
with the reduced souls of those unfortunately fortunate people,
for they say to them, that the providence of God hns ordered
every thing to the ease of his crcatures, and that foreseeing
154
:I\L"--STER-KEY TO POPERY.
that the poor people could not aO:)rJ the same nUln
'er of mas
ses that the rich could, his infinite goodness had placed them
in a place of less sl1fferin
s in purgatory.
Bilt it is a renlarkable thing, that In:lny poor, silly trades-
men's wive
, desirous of honor in the next world, ask the fri-
ars whether the souls of their tilthers, nlother
, or sisters, can be
remJvèd frOlTI the second apartment (reckoning frOln the low-
est) to the third, thinking by it, that though the third degree of
fire is greater than the second, yet the soul would be better
pleased in the company of ladies of q nality; hut the. worst i
,
that the friar nlakcs such women believe, that he n1ay do it
very easily, if they give the same price fvr a lnass the ladies of
quality give. I knew a shoemaker"s wife, very ig:norant,proud,
and full of punclilios of honor, who went to a :Franciscan fri-
ar, anJ told hiln that she desired to know whether her own
father's soul was in pu rgatory or not, and in what apartment.
The friar asked her how Hlany masses she could spare for it;
she said two; and the friar answered, your father's soul is
among the beggars. Upon hearing this, t.he poor woman be-
gan to cry, and desired the friar to put hiIn, if possible, in the
fourth apartment
and she would pay him for it; and the qU(tn-
turn being settled, the friar promised to place him there the
next day; so the poor woman ever since gives out that her
father was a rich merchant, for it was revealed to her, that his
soul is among the merchants. in purgatory.
Now what can we say, but that the pope is the chief Gov-
ernor of that vast place, and priests and friars the quarter-mas
tel'S that billet the sonls according to their
own fc.'l.ncies, and
have the power, and give for l1l0ney the king's apartments to
the soul of a shoemaker, and that of a lady of quality to her
,vasher-WOffi3.n.
nut mind reader, how chaste the friars are in procuring a
separate place for ladies in purgatory; they suit this doctrine
to the temper of a people whon1 they believe to he e-xtremely
jea.lous, aDd really not without ground of them, and so no soul
of a woman can be placed among men. 1\Iany serious people
are well pleased with this christian caution; but those that are
given to pleasure do not like it at all; and I knew a pleasant
young collegian, who went to a friar and told hin1: father, I
own I love the f.:'l.ir sex; and I believe my soul will always 1'e-
fetin that inclination. I am told that no man's soul can be in
cOlnpany with ladies, and it is a dismal thing for me to think,
that I must go there, (but as for hen, I am in n( danger of it,
thanks to the pope,) wherc I shall nevcr see any fnore women,
l\IASTER-l{EY TO POPERY.
155
which will prove the greatest of torments to my soul: so I hayc
resolved to agree with your reverence beforehand,þ upon this
point. I have a bill of ten pistoles upon Peter la Vinna Ban
quer, and if you can assure nle, either to send me straight to
heaven when I die, or to the ladies apartment in purgatory,
you shall have the bill; and if you cannot, I must submit to the
will of God, like a good christian. The friar seeing the bill,
which he thought ready money, told him that he could do either
of the two, and that he himself might choose which of the two
places he pleased. But father (said the collegian,) the case is,
that I love Donna Teresa Spinola, but she does not love mE',
and I do not believe that I can expect any t.1.vor from her in
this world, so I would know whether she is to go before me
to purgatory or not. O! that is very certain (said the fri-
ar.) I choose then (said the collegian,) the ladies apart-
ment, and here is the bill, if you give me a certificate under
your hand, that the thing shall be so; but the friar refusing to
give him any authentic certificate, the collegian laughed at
him, and made satirical verses upon him, which were printed,
and which I read. I knew the friar too, who being mocked
publicly, ,vas obliged to remove from his convent to another
in the country.
Notwithstanding all these railleries, of which-the inquisitors
cannot take notice, being not against the catholic faith; priests
and friars qo daily endeavor to prove, that purgatory is a real
existent place, and that by masses, the souls detained in it
are daily delivered out of it.. And this they prove by many
revelations made to devout, pious" people; ,and by many
apparitions.
They not only preach them publicly, but books arc printed
of such revelations and apparitions. I rememher many of
them, but I shall not trouble the reader with them; only I
will tell some of the most ren1arkable ones of my time.
In the latter CIid of I{ing Charles the Second's reign, a nun
of Guadalarajara wrote a letter to his mnjesty, acquainting hin1,
that it was revealed to her by an angel, that the soul of his
father, Philip the IV. was still in purgatory, (all alone in the
royal apartment
) and likewi
e in the lowest chamber, the said
IÜng Philip's shoemaker, and that upon saying so many mass-
es, Loth should l'e delivered out of it, and should go to enjoy
the ravishing pleasures of an eternal life. The nun was repu-
ted a saint upon earth, and the simple king gave orders to hiR
confessor to say, or order so many masses to be said, for that
.:>urposc j after which, the said nun wrote again to his majesty,
1;)6
l\!ASTER-KEY TO POPERY.
congratulating and wishing him joy, for the arrival of his fa-
ther to heaven; but that the shoemaker, vdw was seven de-
grees lowel: than Philip in purgatory, was then EeVen degrees
higher than his nmjesty in heaven, because of his Letter life
on earth, who never had cOlnn1Ìtted any sin with women, as
Philip had done all his life time, tut that all was furgiven to
him on account of the nlasses.
Again, they give out in the pulpit, that the pope has an ab-
solute power to nmke the mass efI-icacious to deliver the soul,
for which it is said, out of that place;' and that his holiness can
take at once all the souls out of it; as Pious the Vth did, (as
they report) who, when he was cardinal, was mighty de\'out,
find a great procurer of the relief of souls, and who had prom-
ised them with a solemn oath, that if, by their prayers in pur-
gatory, he should be chosen Pope, then he would empty purga-
tory of all the souls at once. At last, by the intercm:sion of
the souls 'with God Almighty, he was elected pope, and imme-
diately he delivered all the souls out of that place; but that
Jesus Christ was so angry with the new pope, that he appeared
to him, and bade him not to do any such thing again, for it ,vas
prejudicial to the whole clergy and friarship. That pope de-
livered all the souls out of purgatory, by opening the treasure
of the church, in ,vhich were kept millions of masses, which
the popes make use of for the augmenting the riches of the
holy see. But he took care not to do it again; for though quod-
cunque solveritis in Terra, cr'Ït soluturn et in Cælis, there is
not specified the same power in purgatory, therefore, ever
since, the popes take no authority, nor lióerty to s\veep purga-
tory at once, for it would prove their ruin, and l.educe the
clergy to poverty.
When some ignorant people pay for a mass, and are willing
to lcnow whether the soul for which the mass is said, is, after
the nmss, delivered out of purgatory; the friar makes them èe-
Jieve, that the soul will appear in the figure of a mouse within
the tabernacle of the altar, if it is not out of it, and then it is a
sign that the SQul wants more masses; and if the mouse docs
not appear, the soul is in heaven. So when the mass is over,
he goes to the tabernacle backwardR, where is a little door with
a crystal, and lets the people look through It: But 0 pitiful
thing! They see a mouse which the friars keep, (perhaps for
this purpose) and so the ,poor sots give more nloney for more
masses, till they see- the mouse no more. They have a revp-
lation ready at hand, to say, that such a devout person was
told by an angel, that the soul for which the mass is said, was
1fIASTER-KEY TO POPERY.
157
to appear In tbe figure of a mouse in the salrar.io or taber-
nacle.
l\lany other priests and friars do positively affirm, and we
see many instances of it fo "ged by them in printed booh:s, that
when they consecrate the host, the little boy Jesus doth appear
to them in the host, and that is a sign that the soul is out of
purgatory. There is a fine picture of St. Anthony de Paula,
with the host in his hand, and the little Jesus is in the host
because that divine boy frequently appeared to him when he
said mass, as the history of his life gives an account. But at
the same tiIne, they say, that no layman can see the boy Je-
sus, because it is not permitted to any man but to priests to
see so heavenly a sight: and by that means they give out what
sort of stories they please, without any fear of ever being
found out in a lie.
As to the second day of November, which is the day of the
souls of purgatory, in which every priest and friar sayeth three
nmsses for the delivery of so many souls out of the pains of it,
they generally say, that from three of the clock, of the first
day of November (all-saints' day) till three in the afternoon,
the next day, all the souls are out of purgatory, and entÜ'ely
free frorD the pains of it; (those four and twenty hours being
granted by his holiness for a refreshment to them) and that all
that while they are in the air diverting themselves, and ex-
pecting the relief of so many masses, to get by them the desi-
red end, viz. The celestial habitations. On th
se twenty-
fimr hours, they ring the bells of all the churches and con-
vents, which (as they say) is a great suffrage and help to the
souls, and on that day only, priests and friars get more rnoney
than they get in two rnonths time beside; for every family, anù
.private persons too, give yellow wax candles to the church,
and money for masses and responsa, i. e. a prayer for the
dead, and all these twenty-four hours the churches are crowd-
ed with people, and the pr
ests and friars continually singing
prayers for the dead, and this they cail the priests and friars'
t
lÍr day; which they solemnize with the continual ringing of
bells, though they give out, that it is a suffrage fur the souls
of purgatory.
And on the same pretence, there is a man in every p
rish
that goes in the dark of the. evening through all the streets
with a beH, praying f(w the soulR, and a
king ch:uity for them
in every house, alwi-:'ys ringing the hen as a suffl'agc. The
(luke of O
suna made a witty repartee to pope Innoc('nt the
XIth, on this sul l ject. The dllke was aInba
sador for the king
)
158
MASTER-KEY TO POPERY.
of Spain at Rome, and he had a lal'ge bell on the top of his
house, to gather his domestics when he was going out. l\Iany
cardinals lived by his palace, ahd complained to the pope, that
the all1bassador's bell disturbed then1; (for the duke used to or-
der to ring the bell when he knew the cardinals were at home)
and the pope spoke immediately to the duke, and asl\:ed his
Excellency the reason of keeping so Lig a bell? To which
the duke answered, that he was a very good christian, and a
good friend to the souls of purgatory, to whOln the ringing of
the bell ,vas a suffrage. The pope took in good part this }'ail-
lery, and desired him to make use of some other signal to call
his servants; for that of the bell was very noisy, and a great
disturbance to the cardinals, his neighbors; and that if he was
so good a friend to the souls of purgatory, he would do theln
l110re service by selling the bell, and giving the nIoney fur
nmsscs. .
To tell the truth the duke did not care for the souls, but all
his design was to vex the cardinals: So the next day he or-
dered to bring down the lell, and to put in the same place a
cannon, or a great piece of ordnance, and to give twelve- shots
every Inorning and twelve at midnight, which was the time
the cardinals were at hOllle. So they made a second con1plaint
to the pope; upon this, he spoke to . the duke again, and he
answered to his holiness, that the bell was to be sold, and the
money to be delivered to the priests for masses; but that he
had ordered the cannon as a suffrage for the souls of the poor
soldiers that had died in the defence of the holy sec. The
pope was very nluch affronted 9Y this answer, and as he was
caressing a little hlp-dog he had in his arms, got up, and said,
-Duke, I take lllore care of the souls of the poor wldiers
than you of your own soul; at which, the duke taking out of
the pope's arms the lap-dog, and throwing him through the
window, said, And, I take care to shew the pope how he ought
to speak with the king of Spain, to whom more respect is due.
Then the pope, kno\\ iug the resoluteness of the dul\:e, and that
his holiness could get nothing by an angry method, chose to
let the thing drop there, rather than to nlake more noi
e; so
the duke kept his cannon piece, and the cardinals were 0Lligeù
to remove their families into a nlore quiet place.
A mendicant friar one day asked some ,'harity frem the
same duke, for the souls of purgatory, and said
l\Iy lord, if
you put a pistoìe in this plate, you shall take out of purgatory
that soul for which you design it. The duke gave thc pistole,
and asked whether the soul of his 'll'other was already out of
?tIASTER- KEY T( POPERY.
159
it? Anù when the friar said, Yea; the duke took again his
pistole, and told the friar, Now you cannot put his soul into
purgatory again. And it is to be wished that everyone was
like that duke, and had the same resolution to speak the truth
to the pope himself and all his quarter-masters.
I have told in the first article of this chapter, that every
Friday is appointed to say masses for the souls in purgatory,
which did belong to corporations of fraternitics
and what great
profit priests, and especially friar
, get by it. Now by this
infilllible custom and practice, we n1ay say, that purgatory
contains as many corporations of souls, as there are corpora-
tions of tradesmen here below, which tì'aternitÍes are InOl'e
profitable to all sorts of communities of friars, than the living
melnbers of them upon earth. But some of these people,
either out of pleasantry, or out of curiosity, ask sometimes in
what part of the world, or of the air, is that place ofpurgatory?
To which the friars answer, that it is between the centre of
the earth and HII:S
élxLìlly snperfices; which they pretend to
pro.ve, and make them believe by revelations, and especially
by a story from a jesuit father, who in his travels saw the
earth open by an earthquake, '"and in the deep a great many
people of a flaming red color, from which nonsensical account
they conclude, to blind the poor people, that tho
e were the
souls of purgatory, red as the very flan1e of fire. But observe,
that no priest or friar would dare to tell such frivolous stories
to people of good sense, but to the ignorant, of which there arc
great numbers in those parts of the world.
'Vhen they preach a sermon of the souls, they make use of
brimstone, and burn it in the pulpit, saying, that sneh flan1es
are like those of the fire in purgatory. They malie use cf
many pietures of the souls that are in the middle of devouring
fire, lifting up their hands to heaven, as if they were crying.
íi)r help and assistance. They prove their propositions with
revelations and apparitions, for they cannot find in the scrip-
ture any passage to ground their t'iudacious thoughts on, and
such se'rmons are to the people of sense better diversion than
a comedy; for besides the wretchednc!ss of style and nle
h()d,
they tell so many sottish stories, that they have enough tQ
laugh at afterwards for a long while_
I went to hear an old friar, who had the name of an excel.
lent preacher, upon the subject of the souls in pnrgatory, anù
he took his text out of the twenty-first ('hapter of the Apoc.
27th verse: And thcl-e sh.all in no u'isc cnter into it any thing
!lult drjilctll, nC'Ït!lCr whatsoever 1DOl'keth abomination; by
160
MASTER-REV TO POl)ERY.
which he settled the belief of å purgatory, proving by so:ne
rvmantic authority that such a passage ought to be under-
stood of purgatOl'y, and his chief authority was, lenluse
II famous interpreter, or expo
itor, renders the text thus:
There shall not enter into it (meaning heavcn) any thing
which is not proved b}T the fire, as sÏìver is purified by it.
\Vhen he had proved this tcxt, he came to divide it, which he
did in these three heads: Fira, that the souls suffer in purga-
tory three sorts of tOl'n1cnts, of which the first was fire, and
that greater than the fire of hell. Secondly, to be deprived of
the L'lce of God: And TliÏrdly, which was the greatest of all
tbrments, to see their relations and friends here on carth di-
verting lhemselves, and taking so little care to relieve them
out of those terrible pains. The preacher spoke very little of
the two first points, but he insisted upon the third a long hour,
taxing the people of ingratitude and inhun1anity; and that if
it was possible for any of the living to experience, only for a
Illon1cnt, that devouring flame of purgatory, certainly he would
come again, and sell whatever he had in the world, and give
it fJr masses: And what pity it is (said he) to know that there
are the souls of many of my hearers' relations there, and
none of them endeavor to relieve them out of that place. He
went on and said: I have a catalogue of the souls, "rhich, by-
revelation and apparition, we are sure are in purgatory; for
in the first place, the soul of such a one (naming the soul of a
l'!ch merchant's father), appeared the other night to a godly
person, in the figure of a pig, and h. '} devout person, h:nowing
that the door of his chamber was lo
ked up, hegan to sprinkle
the pig with holy water, and conjuring hirn, bade him speak,
and tell hÏIn what he .wanted? And the pig said, I am the
soul of such an one, and I have been in purgatory these ten
years fDr want of help. '\Vhcn I left the world, I forgot to tell
my confessor where I left 1000 pistoles, l\,-hich I had reserved
fvr masses. l\ly son found them out, and he is such an unnatu-
ral child, that he cloth not ren1Cluber my pitiful condition; and
now by the permissicn of heaven, I con1e to you, and com-
nmnù you to discover this case to the first preacher yon n1eet,
that he may publish it, and tell my son, that if he cloth not
give that nlOney for maFses for my relief, I shall be flir ever
]Il purgatory, and his soid
hall certainly go to hell.
. The credulous merchant, terrified with this story, believing
every titt!e
f it, got 'up before all the pco?le,
nd went into
the vestry, and when the friar had finished, he begged of hilU
to go along with him to his house, ,....here he should receive
l\IASTER-KEY TO POPERY.
161
the money, which he did accordingly, for fear of a second
thought; and the merchant gave freely the 1000 pistoles, for
ftml that his f.tther'::; soul should be kept in purgatory, and he
him
e!f go to helL
And Lcsides these cheats and tricks, they Inake use of thmn-
selves to exact inoney, they have their solicitors and agents
th:lt go fronl one house to another, telling stories of apparitions
and revelations, anù these are they'" hich we call beatas and
devotas; tòr as their modesty in paparel, their hypocritical
air, and daily exercises of confessing and receiving is well
kn0wn in the world, the common people have so good an opin-
ion of them, that they believe, as an article of fuith, whatever
stories they tell, without further inquiry into the nmtter: So
those cunning, disguised devils (or worse) instructed by the
friar their confessor, go and spread abroad n1any of these ap-
pariti..ms, by which they get a great deal of money for masses,
which they gi\Te to the father confessor.
Nay, of late, the old nuns, those that, to their grie
the
world despises, have undertaken the trade of publishing reve-
lations and apparitions of souls in purgatory, and give out that
such a soul is, and shall be in it, until the Ülther, mother, or
sister, go to such a friar, and give hin1 so many masses, which
he is to say himself, and no other. And the case is, that by
agreement between the old
keleton, and the covetous L.'tther,
he is to give her one thil'd of all the n1asses that he receives by
her means and application. So you see the nature of this
place of purgatory, the apartments in it, the degrees of the
fire of it, the means the priests and the friars make use of to
keep in repair that profitable palace; and above all, the stu-
pidity, sottishness and blindness of the people, to believe such
dreams as matters of fact. What now can the Roman Cath-
olics say for thenlselves? I am aware that they will say that
I am a deceiver and impostor. The Je,vs said of our Saviour,
(John vii., v. 12.) some, that he was a good Inan; others said,
nay but he deceiveth the people, when he was telling the
truth. So I shall not be surprised at any calumny or iUJury
dispersed by thClU; for I anI sure in my conscience, before
God and the world, that I write the truth. And let nobody
n1ind the nlethod in this account, for now I look upon the prac-
tices and cheats of the priests and friars in this point of pur-
gatory, as the Inost ridiculous, nonsensical, and roguish of all
their tricks; so how can a m:.ln that has Leen among them,
and is now in the fight ,\ay, write Illoùerately, without ri&
culing th2nl?
02
162
l\IASTER-KEY TO POPERY.
I must dIsmiss this article with my address to the papist
pricsts of England and Ireland. Sonle of thcm (inuncdiately
after nlY book was published and read by thcln) did conlmand
their parishioners in their respective nlass houses (as I waS
told by a faithful fi'iend) not to read my book, sub pena excorn-
rnunicationis. Others made fávolous remarks on some of nlY
observations and matters of fact; nay, a zealous protestant
having lent one of n1Y books to a Ron1an catholic lady, she
gave it to her priest, and desired his opinion about it. The
priest read it over, and corrected only five passages with his
hand in the same book, of 'which I shall speak in my second ·
part. Above all, this article of purgatory IS the hardest thing
to them; but they ought to consider, that 1 speak only of my
country people, and if they complain I mllst crave leave to say
that by that, they make us believe that the Spanish contagion
has nmched to them, and ,vant of the same remedy with the
Spaniards, namely, a narrow searching into the m
ttcr, &c.
PART IV.
Of the Inquisitors and tll,eir Practices.
In the time of l{ing Ferdinand the fifth, and Qucen Isabel-
la, the mixture of Jews, 1\loors, and Christians was so great,
the relapses of the new converts so frequent, and the corrup-
tions in matters of religion so bare-fåccd in all sorts and con-
ditions of people, that the cardinal of Spain thought the intro-
ducing the inquisition could be the only way üf stopping the
course of wickedness and vice; so as the sole remedy to cure
the irreligious practices of those times, the inquisition was es-
tablished in the year 1471, in the court, and lTIany other do-
minions of Spain.
The cardinal's design in giving birth to this tribunal, was
,only to suppress heresies, and chastise many horrible crimes
committed against religion, viz; BlasphelTIY, sodomy, polyga-
DIY, sor.cery, sacrilege, and many others, which are also pun-
ished in these kingdoms by the prerogative court, but not by
making use of so barbarous means as the inquisition doth.
The design of the cardinal was not blamable, being in itself
good, and approved by all the serious and devout people of
that time, but the performance of it was not so, as wÎll appear
by and by.
I can only speak of the inquisition of Saragossa, for as I
am treating of matters of f.."lct, I may tell with confidence what
I knew of it, as an eye-witness of several things done there.
This tribunal is composed of three inquisitors, who arc abso-
lute judges; for, from their judgment there is no appeal, not
even to the pope himself, nor to a gcneral council; as doth
appear from what happened in the tirne of king Philip the
second, when the inquisitors having censured the cardinal of
Toleda, the pope sent for the process and sentence, but thc
inquisitors did not ohey him, and though the council of Trent
discharged the cardinal, notwithstanding, they insisted on the
,.. erformance and execution of their sentence.
The first inquisitor is a divine, the second, a ca
nist, and
the third, a civilian; the first and second arc ahvays priests
1G3
164
MASTER-KEV TO POPERY.
and promoted frorn prebends to the high dignity of being holy
mquisitors. The third sometimes is not a priest, though he is
dressed in a clerical habit. The three inquisitors of my time
were, first, Don Pedro Guerrero; second, Don Francisco
rrorrejon; third, Don Antonio Aliaga. This tribunal hath a
high sheriff, and God knows how nlany constables and under
oHi.cers, besides the officers that belong to the house, and that
live in it; they have likewise an exeüutioner; or we n1ay say,
there are as many executioners, as officers and judges, &c.;
besides these, there are many qualificators and familiares, of
which I will give an account by themselves.
The inquisitors have a despotic power to command every
living soul; and no excuse is to be given, nor contradiction
to be made, to their orders; nay, the people have not liberty
to speak nor complain in their misfortunes, and therefore
there is a proverb which says, Con la inquisition chiton.
Do not meddle with the inquisition; or, as to the inquisition
say nothing. This will be better understood by the fullowing
account of the method they make use of for the taking up and
arresting the people: which is thus:
'Vhen the inquisitors receive an information against any
body, which is always in private, and with such secrecy that.
none can know who the informer is (for all the informations
are given in at night) they send their officers to the house of
the accused, most commonly at midnight, and in a coach,-
they knock at the door, (and then an the family are in bed)
and when some body asks froln the windows who is there;
the officers say, tlte lwly inquisition. At this wmod, he that
answered, without any delay, or noise, or even the liberty of
giving timely notice to the master of the house, comes down
to open the door. I say, without the liberty of giving timely
notice, for when the inquisitors send the officers, they are
sure, by the spies, that the person is within, and if they do
not find the accused, they take up the whole family, and carry
them to the inquisition: so the answerer is. with good reason
afraid of making any delay in opening the street door. Then
they go up stairs and arrest the accused without telling a
word, or hparing a word from any of the family, and with
great silence putting him into the coach, they drive to the
holy prison. If the neighbors by chance hear the noise of the
coach, they dare not go to the window, for it is welllinown
lhat no other coa
h but that of the inquisition is abroad at
hat time of the night; nay, they are so n1uch afraid, that they
dare not even to ask the next morning their neibhbors any
l\IASTER-!{EY TO POPERY.
165
thing about it, for those that talk of any thing that the inqui-
sition does, are liable to undergo the same punishment, and
this, may be, the night following. So if the accused be the
daughter, SOIl... or father, &c., and some friends or rclationH
go in the morning to see tàe family, and ask the occasion of
their tears and griet
they answer that their daughter was
stolen away the night before, or the son, or ftither or n1other,
(whoever the prisoner be) did not come hOIne the night be-
fore, and that they suspect he "ras murdered, &c. This an-
swer they give, because they cannot tell the truth without ex-
posing themselves to the same misfortune; and not only this,
hut they cannot go to the inquisition to inquire for the pris-
oner, for they ,vould be confined for that alone. So all the
comfort the family can have in such a case, is to imagine
that the prisoner is in China, or in the remotest part of the
world, or in hell, where in nullus ordo sed sC7npitC'l oo nus /torror
inltabitat. This is the reason why nobody 0 knows the per-
sons that are in, the inquisition till the sentence is published
and executed, except those priests and friars sumlnoned to
hear the trial.
The qualificators and familiares which are in the city and
country, upon necessity, have full power to secure any per-
son suspected with the same secrecy, and commit him tc the
nearest comn1issary of the holy office of the inquisition, and
he is to take care to send them safely to prison; which is all
done by night, and without any fear that the people should
deliver the prisoner, nay, or even talk of it.
QualificatoTs,
Are those, who, by order from the inquisitors, examine the
crimes committed by the prisoners against the catholic faith,
and give their opinions or censures about it: they are obliged
to secrecy as well as othe1' people; but as the number of thern
is great, the inquisitors must commonly make use of ten or
twelve of the 11l0St learned that are in the city, in difficult
cases; but this is only a formality, for their opinions and cen-
sures are not regarded, the inquisitors themselves 1?eing the
?bsolut
decisive judges. The .distinguishing !nark of a qual-
Ificator IS the cross of the holy office, which is a medal of pure
gold as big as a thirteen, with a cross in the middle, half
white and half black, which they wear before their breait;
but in public functions or processions, the priests and friar
,vear another bigger cross of embroidery on their cloak 01
habits. To be qualificator is a great honor to his whole fan1Ï
166
1\-IASTER-KEY TO POPERY.
ly and relations, for thIS is a public testimony of the old chris-
tianIty and plue blood (as they call it) of the family.
No nobleman covets the honor of being qualificator, for they
are all mnbitious of the cross of St. Jmnes, of Alcantara,
of Calatravia, of l\laIta, and the golden fleece, which are the
five orders of the nobility; so the honor of a qualificator is for
those people, who, though their fmnilies being not ,veIl known,
are desirous to boast of their antiquity and christianism,
though to obtain such honor, they pay a great sum of money:
for, in the first place, he that desireth to be a qualificator, is
to appear before the holy tribunal, to make a public profession
of the catholic L:'lith, and to acknowledge the holy tribunal
for the supreme of all others, and the inquisitors for his own
judges. This is the first step. After, he is to lay down on
the table the certificate of his baptism, and the names of his
parents for four generations; the towns and places of their
former habitations; and two hundred pistolcs for the expenses
in taking infortnations.
This done, he goes home till the inquisitors send for him,
and if they do not send for him in six months time he loseth
the money and all hopes of getting the cross of qualificator;
and this happens very often for the reasons 1- shall give by
and by.
The inquisitors send their commissaries into all the places
of the new proponent's ancestors, where they may get some
account of their lives and conversations, and of the purity of
their blood, and that they never were mixed with Jewish fam-
ilies, nor heretics, and tha
they were old Christians. These
examinations are performed in the most rigorous
nd severe
manner that can be; for if some of the informers and witnesses
are in a falsity, the, are put into the inquisition; so every body
gives the report concerning the family in question, with great
caution, to the best of his kno,vledge and memory. 'Vhen
the commissaries have taken the necessary informations with
witnesses of a good name, they examine the parish book, and
take a copy of the ancestors' names, the year and day of their
marriages, and the year, day, and place of their burials. The
commissaries then return to the inquisitors with all the exam-
inations, witnesses, proofs, and convictions of the purity and
ancient christianity of the proponent's families, fOF four gener-
ations; and being, again examined by the three inquisitors,
if they find them real and faithful, then they send the same
commissaries to inquire into the character, life, and conversa-
tion of the postulant, or dcnmnding person, but in this point
l\rASTER-KEY TO POPERY.
167
thE: commissaries pass by many personal f.'-âlings, so when
the report is given to the holy inquisitors, they scnd for the
IJostulant and examine .him concerning matters oÎ faith, the
holy scriptures, the knowledge of the ancient fathers of the
church, 1110ral cases, all which is but mere formarity, for the
genera'lityof the holy fathers themselves do 110t take 111uch
pains in the study of tho:-e things, and therefore the postulant
is not afraid of their nice questions, nor very solicitous how to
resolve them.
\Vhen the examination is over, they order the secretary
to draw the patent of the grant of the holy cross to such an
one in regard to his L.'lmilies 1 old purity of blood and christi-
anity, and to his personal parts and religious conver
ation,
certifying in the patent, that for four generations past, none
of his father's or mother's relations were at all suspected in
points concerning the holy Roman catholic faith, or Inixed
with Jewish or heretical blood.
The day following, the postulant appears before the assem-
bly of qualificators in the hall of the inquisition, and the first
inquisitor celebrates the.n1ass, assisted by the two qualific'a-
tors, as deacon and subdeacon. One of the oldest brethren
preacheth a sermon on that occasion, and when the n1ass is
over, they make a sort of procession in the same hall, and
after it, the inquisitor gives the' book of the gospel to the pos-
tulant, and makes him swear the usual oaths; which done',
the postulant, on his knees, receiveth the cross or medal, from
the hands of the inquisitor, who, with a black'ribbon, puts it
on the postulant's neck, and begins to sing te dcum, and the
collect of thanks, which is the e'nd of the ceremonies. Then
all the assistant qualificators congratulate the new brother,
and all go up to the inquisitor's apartment to drink chocolate,
and after that, everyone to his ow.n dwelling place.
The new qualificator dineth with the inquisitors that day,
and after dinner the secretary brings in a bill (If all the fees
and expenses of the informations; which he must clear be-
fore he leaves the inquisition. Most comn10nly the whole
comes to four hundred pistoles, including the two hundred he
gave in the beginning; hut sometimes it comes to a thousand
pistoles, to those whose ancestors families were out of the
kingdom, for then the commissaries expend a great deal more:
and if it happen they find the least spot of J ewdaisln, or .Here-
fY, in some relation of the fmnily, the commissaries do not
proceed any further in the examinations, but cOlne back again
to the inquisition immediately, and then the postulant is never
168
!IASTER- KEY TO rOPERY.
ent for by the inquisitors, who keep the two hundred pistolcs
for pious uses.
Familiares,
Are always laymen, butof good sense and education. These
wear the same cross, and for the granting of it, the inquisitors
make the same informations and proofs as they make for qual-
ificators. The honor and privileges are the same; for they
are not subject but to the tribunal of the inquisition. Their
businesses are not the same; for they are only employed in
gathering together, and inquiring after all books against the
catholic faith, and to watch the fictions of suspected people.
They take a turn sometimes into the country, but then they do
not wear their cross openly till occasion requires it. They
ini;inuate themselves into all companies, and they will even
speak against the i
quisition, and against religion, to try whe-
ther the people are of that sentiment; in short they are spi
s
of the inquisitors. They do not pay so much as the qualifica-
tors, for the honor of the cross, but they are obliged to take a
turn now and then in the country at Ùleir own expense. They
are not so n1any in number as the qualificators, for in a trial
of the inquisition, where all ought to be present, I once reck-
oned 160, and twice as many qualificators. I saw the list 01
then1 both, i. e. of the whole kingdom of Aragon, wherein an
q ualificators, of the secular priests, 243; and of the regulaI:
'lOG; familiares, 208.
The royal castle, formerly the palace of the king of Ara
gon, called Aljafeira, was given ta the inquisitors to hold thei .
tribunal there, and prison too. It is a musket shot distant froDJ!
the city, on the river side. But after the battle of Aln1anza.
when the duke of Orleans came as gf'neralissin10 of the Span-
ish and French army, he thought that place necessary to put a
stronggarrÏson in; so he made the marquis de TorseygoveruOI
of the fort of Aljafeira, and turned out the inquisitors; who
being obliged, by force, to quit their apartments, took a large
nouse near the Carmelites' convent: but 1\vo months after,
finding that the place was not safe enough to keep the prison-
ers in, they removed to the palace of the earl of Tuents, in
the great street called Coso, out of which they were turned
by
fonsieur de Legal, as I shall tell by and by.
-
A form of their public trial.
If the trial is to be made publicly, in the hall of the holy
office, the inquisitors sumlllon two priests out of every parish
MASTER-KEY TO POltlm.Y.
169
church, and two regulDr priests out of every ccnvent, aU the
qualificators and filnliliares that are in the city; the sheriff,
Rnd all the under officers; the secretary, and three inqui
itors.
,A,ll the aforesaid meet at the conlmon hall on the day appoint...
ed fJr the trial at ten in the morning. The hall is hung in
hlack, without any windows, or light, but what comes in through
the door. At the front there is an image of our Saviour 011 the
cro
sí under a LIack velvet canopy, and six candlesticks with
six thick yellow wax candles on the altar's table: On one
ide
there is a pulpit, with another candle, where the secretary
reads the crimes; three chairs for the three inqui8itol's, and
round about the hall, seats and chairs ferUle sumlnoned pries
s,
friars, familiares, and other officers.
'Vhen the inquisitors are come in, an under officer crieth
out, Silence, silence, silence, the holy fathers are coming;-
and from that very time, till all is oyer, nobody speaks nor
spits; and the thought of the place puts every body under
respect, fear, and attention. The holy fathers, with their hats
on their heads, and serious co
ntenances, go, and l
neeling
down before the altar, th
first inquisitor begins to give out,
Vcni Creator Spiritus, J.llcntos t1l01"l.lrll visita, &c. And the
con 6 regation ::;ing the rest, and the collect being said by hinl
also, every body
its down. The secretary then goes up to
the pulpit, and the holy fatheJ' rings a small silver bell, which
;s the signal for bringing in the criminal. \Vhat is done after...
,. .....I..Js will te known by the following trial and instances, at
whi(
h I was present, being one of the youngest priests of the
cathedral, and therefore obliged to go to those dismal trageòies;
in which, the first thing, after the criminal comes in, and
kneels down befo
'e the inquisitors, who receives a severe,
Litter correction from the inqui.sitor, who nleasures it accord-
ing to the nature of the crimes conunitted by the criminal; of
all which, to the best of my melnory, I w,ill give an account
in the first trial.
Trial I.
Of the reycrend father Joseph Silvestre, Franciscan friar;
and the mother l\Iary of J esup, abhess of the monastery of
Epila, of Franciscan nuns. Father Jcseph was a tall, lusty
man,40 years of age, and had been 12 years prof('
sor of phi-
I080phy and divinity in the great. convent of St. Francis.
Sor
"Sor is a title giyen to the nuns, which 3.ns\";ers to Si
t('r, as coming from
tne La-till Sonor.
p'
170
!ASTER-KEY 'ro IJOPI::RY.
1\Iary Was 32 years old, mighty,vitty, and of an agreeable
countenance. These two criminals were drcst in brJwn
gowns, painted all over with flaI118S of fire, represcntiug
hell, a thick rope tied about their necks, and yellow WllX
candles in their h3;nds. Both, in this <.lull appear
nce, Céuue
and prostrated themselves at the inquisitor's feet, and the first
holy father began to correct then1 in the following words:
Unworthy creatures, how can our catholic ROlnan faith
e
preserved pure, if those who
by their omce and ministI.y,
ought to recOlllmend i
s obsen-ance in the most earnest TIlan..
ner, arc not only the first, but the greatest transgressors of
it? Thou that teachest another not to
teal, not to c.)mmi t
t:)fnication, 'clost thou steal and c01l11nit sacrilege, which is
worse than fùrnication? In these things we could show) ou
pity and compassion; but as to the transgressions of the ex-
press commandments of our church, and the respect due to
us the judges of the holy tribunal, we cannot; theref0re you A
sentence is pronounced by these h@ly fathers of rity and
compassion, lord inquisitors, as you shall hear now, and after-
wards undergo. ·
Sorl\iary was in a fbod of tears; hut father Joseph, who
"'as a learned man, with great boldness and assurance,
said, \Vhat, do you call yourselves holy L1.thers of pity anJ
con1passiùn? I say unto )OU, that you are three devils
on earth, fathers of all manner of Inischief. barharitv an<.l
le\\,-dness. I
No inquisitors were ever treatea ill sucn a rate before, and
we were thinking that friar Joseph was to suffer fire, for this
high affront to them. But Don Pedro Guerrero, first judge,
though a severe, haughty, pas
ionate man, ordered only a gag,
or bit of a bridle to be put into his mouth; but friar Joseph
flying into a fury, said, I despise all your torments, fur 111Y
crimes are not against you, but against God, who is the only
judge of my conscience, and you do yet wor
e things, &c
The inquisitors ordered to carry him to pri
on, while the
crimes and sentence were reading. So he was carried in,
and the nun with great hmnility heard the accusation and
25cntence.
The secretary, by order, began to read, 1st. That friar
Joseph was made father confessor, and SOl' l\Iary mo:her ab-
bess. That in the leginnin
they showed a great example
of humility and virtue to the nuns; hut afterwards all this
zeal of theirs appeared to be Inere hypocrisy, and a cover for
their wicked actions: fJr as she had a grate in the wall 0,'.
l\I-\.STER-KEY TO POPERY.
171
friar Joseph's room, they both did eat in orivate, and fast i&
public: That the saij friar Joseph was foan:! in bed wi:h sor
l\lary by such a nun; and that she was found with child, and
took a remedy to prevent the public proof of it: 'rhat both
friar Joseph and S8f I\Iary had robbed the trea
ùre of the con-
ycnt; and that one day they were contriving ho,v to g
a',:ay
Into another country, and that they had spoken in an Irreve"
rent 111anner of the pope and inquisitors.
T4is was the wh,)le accusation against them, which friar
oseph and
or lVlary had denied before, saying, it was
nly
.
atrej and malice of the infJrmers acrainst them, and desIred
the witnesses to be produced before o them; and this being
l.gainst the custom of the holy office, the holy fa
hers had
pron Junced the sentence, viz: That fáar Joseph should be
deprivej of all the honors of his order, and of active anð
passive voice, and be removed to a country convent, and be
whipped three times a week for the space of six weeks. That
sor IHary should be deprived of her abbacy, and remov
d into
another monastery: this punishment being only for theIr au-
dacio:J
and unres p ectful n1anner of talkin (T aITainst the pope
d .
0
an Inquisitors.
Indeed, by this sentencè we did believe, that the crimes they
were charged with were only an invention of the Inalicious
nuns; but paor friar Joseph suffered for his indiscretion; for
though the next day the inquisitors gave out that he escaped
out of prison, we really believe he haò been strangled in the
inq 1,lÏsition.
This was the first trial I was present at, and the second
was that of IHary Guerrero and friar lVlichael Navarro, of
which I have given an account in the chapter of auriéular
confessions. After these two trials the inquisitors were turn-
ed out by monsieur de LeryaJ, and for e1 IT ht months we had no
inq
isition. How this thing happcned
is worthy of obser-
vatIon; therefore I shall give a particular account of it, that
I may not deprive the public of so pleasant a story.
. In 1703, after the battle of Almanza, the Spanish army ne..
Ing divided into two bodies, one throuah the kinITdom of Va..
I .
ð
cncm, to the frontiers of Catalonia, commanded by the duke
of Bcrwicl{; the other composed of the French auxiliary
troops, 1-1,030 in number, went to the conquest of Arragon,
who
;e inhabitan
s had declared themselves for king Charles
III. The body of French troops was con1manded by his high-
ness the duke of Orleans, who was the (Teneralissimo of the
whole army. Before he came near the rity, the Inagistrates
172
:n-I.ASTER-KEY TO POPERY.
"
ent to n1eet him, and offered the keys of the city, Lut he re-
fused them, saying, he was to enler it through a hreach; and
so he did, treating the people as rebels to their lawful king.
And when he had ordered all the civil and lnilitarv affc.1.irs ûf
the city, he ,vent down to the fr
:mtiers of Catalonia, leaving
his lieutenant-general, monsieur de Jofreville, governor of the
town. BJt this governor being a mild tempered man, was
loth to fvllo,v the orders left him as to the contribution money:
So he was called to the army, and the lieutenant-general, mon-
sieur de Legal, came in his place. The city was to pay 1,000
crowns a month, for the duke's table, and every house a pis-
tole, which by computation made the sun1 of 18,000 pistoles a
month, which were paid eight months together; besides this,
the convents were to pay a donative, or gift, proportionable to
their rents. The college of Jesuits were charged 2,000 piE-
toles, the Dominicans 1,000, Augustins 1,000, C
rmelites
1,000, &c. l\lonsieur de Legal sent first to the Jesuits, who
}'efused to pay, saying, it was against the ecclesiastical ÌInnlU-
nity: But Legal, not acquainted with these sort of eXCUf:CS,
sent four companies of grenadiers to quarter in their college
at discretion: The father sent immediately an express to the
king's fitther confess3r, who was a jesuit, with complaints
abGut the case: But the grenadiers did make more expedition
in their plundering and mischiefs, than the courier did in his
jou
ney. So the L'lthers, seeing the damage all their goods
had already received, and fearing some violence upon their
treasure, went to pay monsieur Legal the 2,000 pistoles as a
douativc.
Next to this he sent to the Dominicnlls. The friars of this
order are all familiares of the holy ofi1ce, and depending upon
it, they did excuse themselves in a civil manner, f'aying, they
had no money, and if monsieur de Legal had a mind to insist
upon the demand of the 1000 pistoles, they could n<?t pay
them, ,vithout sending to him the silver bodies of the saints.
The friars thought by this to frighten monsieur de Legal, and
if he was so resolute as to accept the offer, to send the sain
s
in a procession, and raise the people, crying out Hcre,'''!}, llcr.
csy. De Legal answered to the friar
, that he was obliged to
ohey the duke.s orders, and so he would receive the silver
.
aints:, So the friars aU in a solemn proce!3sion, and with
lighted candles in their hand
, carried the snints to the gover-
nor Legal: Anù as soon as he heard of this public devoticn
of the friars, he ordered immediately fonr companies of grena-
diers to line the streets on both Ú
cs, Lcfon
his hou;:;c, and to
}fAS'l'ER-KEY TO POPERY.
173
keep their fuzees in one hand, and a lighted candle in the oth-
er, to l'3ceive the saints with the same devotion and venera.-
tion. And though the fáars endeavored to rlÏse the people,
n.)baLly was so bold as to expose themselves to the arnlY, there
heiuo- left eio'ht re'rirucnts to keep the n10b under fear and sub-
00"
jection. Legal received the sain
s, and sent them to the unnt,
promi5ing to the father prior to give hÍln what remained above
the 1,000 pistoles. The friars being disappointed in the pro-
ject of raising the people, went to the inquisitors to desire
them to release Ünmediatcly their saints out of the mint, by
cxcommunicatin 6 monsieur de Legal, which the inquisitors
did upon the spot; and the excommunication being drawn and
f:igned, they gave strict orders to their secretary to go and
read it pefore nlonsieur de Legal, which he did accordingly:
And nlonsieur the governor, far frùlTI flying into a passhm,
with a nlÎld countenance took the paper from the secretary,
and said, Pray, tell your nlasters, the inquisitors, that I will
answer them to-morrow morning. The secretary went away
fully satisfied with Leg
l's civil behaviour. The same min-
ute, as if he was inf'pired by the holy spirit, without reflecting
upon any consequen
e, he called his own secretary, he l'id
hirn draw a copy of the excommunication, putting out the
n3.me of Legal, and insel'ting in its place the holy InquÙ:.-iloTs.
The' next morning he gave orùers for fQur regiments to pe
ready, and sent them along with his secretary to the inqui
i-
tion, with command to read the excommunication to the inquis-
itors themselve
, and if they made the least noise, to turn them
out, open all the prisons, and quarter two regilnents there. He
was not afraid of the peop1c, f{Jr the duke took away all the
aflTIS from every individual person, and on pain ûf death COffi-
m:loded that nobody should keep but a short sword; and be-
sides, fuur regiments were under arms, to prevent all sorts of
tumnlt and disturbance: So his secretary ,vent and performed
the governor's orders. The inquisitors were neVér more sur-
pri
ed than to see themselves e
communicated by a man that
ha'l no authority for it, and res('nting it, they began to cry o.ut,
'Hr,lr again:-;t the heretic de Legal,. this is a puHic in
l1lt
.
ainst our catholic fitith. To whi
h the secretary answered,
IIoly Inquisitors, the king wants this house to quarter his
tr,)ops in, s.) walk out immediately: And as they continued in
theil' e,\.("lamati 'n
, he took the inquÎsitorp, with a strong guard,
and ca rried them to a private how
e destined fur thell1; but
when hey
aw the laws of nlilitary discip!ine, they begged
le
...e D take their goods along wi:h them, which w
s inli11Cdi-
I' 2
174
)LASTER-KEY TO POPERY.
.
ately granted; and tbe next day they set out for l\ladrid, to
complain to the king, who gave them thi
slight answer. I am
very sorry fùr it, but I cannot help it; my crown is in danger,
and my grandfather defends it, and this is done by his troops j
if it had been done by DIY troops, I shou1d apply a speedy rem-
edy: But you Inust have patience till things take another
turn. So the inquisitors were oLliged to have.patience tò:-
eight nlOnths. '.
The secretary of monsieur de Legal, according to his or
del's, opened the doors of all the prisons, and then the wicl{ed..
nesses of the inquisitors were detected, for four hundred pris-
oners got lit:c.rty that day, and among them
ixty young women
were ftmnd very well drest, who were, in aU human appear-
ance, the number of the three inquisitors' Seraglio, as 80n1C
of them did own aften\-'ards. But this discovery, so danger-
ous to the holy tribunal, was in son1e measure prevented by
the archLishop, who went to desire monsieur de Legal to send
those WOInen to his palace, and that his grace would take care
of them; and that in the mean time, he ordered an ecclesias-
tical censure to be published against those that should defàme,
by groundless reports, the holy office of the inquisition. The
governor answered to his grace, he would give him all the as-
sistance for it he could; but as to the young women, it was not
in his power, the officers having hurried them away: And in-
deed it was not; for it is not to be supposed that the inqui
i-
tors, having the absolute power to confine in their S(>rl1g1io
whom
oever they had a fancy for, would choose ordinary girl
,
but the best and handsomest of the city: So the French offi-
cers were all so glad of getting such fine n1istresses, that they
immediately took them away, lino,\- ing very well they would
(òllow them to the end of the world for fear of being confined
again. In Iny travels in France afterwards, I met with one
of those women at Rotchfort, in the same inT} I went to lodge
in that night, who had been brought there by the son of tIlc
master of the inn, formerly lieutenant in the French service
in Spain, who had Hmrried her for her extraordinary l
enl1ty
and good parts. She was the daughter of counsellor Ballal
ri-
ga, and I knew her tefore she was taken up by the inq uisi-
'ors' orders: but we thought she was stolen by some officer;
tor this was given out hy her father, who rlied of grief and
vexation, without the comfort of opening his trouble, nay,
even to his confessor
, so great is thc fear of the inquisitorE
there.
I was very glad to meet one of my country-women in my
.
)tASTER-KEY TO rOPERY.
175
travels; anù as she did not remember me, and especially in
Iny thcn di
guise, I was taken for nothing but an ofllcer. I
resolved to stay there the next day, to have the
ati
faction of
conversing with her, and ha\ e a plain account of what we
could not know in Saragossa, for fear of incurring the eccle-
siastical censure, published by the archbishop. Now Iny con-
versation with her being a Pl'OPOS, and neccEsary to discover
the roguery of the inquisitors, it seems proper to divert the rea-
der with it.
1\11'. Faulcaut, my country-woman's husband, was then at
Pans, upon some pretensions; and though .her father and
mother-in-law were continually at home, they did not 1nistrust
me, 1 being a countryman of their daughter-in-law, who freely
came to my i.'oom at any time; and as I was desiring her not
to expose herself to any uneasiness on nlY account, she an-
swered me, Captain, we are now in France, not in Saragossa,
and we enjoy hcre all rnanner of, freedom, without goinß be-
yond the linlÍts of sobriety; so you may be easy in that point,
tòr my father and nlother-in-law have ordered me to be obli-
ging to you, nay, and to beg the favor of you to take your re-
pose here this week, if your business permit it, and to be
pleased to accept this their small entertainment on free-cost,
ns a token of thcir esteern to file, and my country-gentleman.
If it had not been for my continual fear of being discovered, I
would have accepted the proposition; so I thanked her, and
begged her to return my hearty acknowledgment to the gen.
tleman and lady of the house, and that I was very sorry, that
my pressing business, at Paris, would prevent and hinder me
to enjoy so agrecable company: but if my business was soon
despatched at Pari
, then, at my return, I would make a halt
there, may-be fur a f.Jrtnight. l\Irs. Fal.lcaut was \tery much
concerncd at ll1Y haste to go av.-ay: but she did m
ke me prom-
i
e to come back again that way. So amidst these compli-
n1cnts frOln one to another, supper canle in, and we went to it,
the old man and woman, their daughter and I: none but 1\lrs.
Faulcaut could speak Spanish, so she was my interpl'eter, for
I could not
peak Iï'rench. Aftcr supper, the landlord and
landlady left us alone, and I began to beg of her the favor to
tell me the accident of her prison, of her suffcrings in thc in-
quisition, and of cvery thing relating to the holy oft-ice; and
fear not, (said I,) for wc arc in !I'rance, anù not in Saragossa;
here is no inqui
iti.Jß, so you may safely open your heart to a
countryman of ) ours. I wi\), with all my henrt, (said she,)
,
176
l\IASTER-KEY TO POPERY
and to satisfy your curiosity, I shall begin wIth the occasion
of my imprisonment, which was as follows.
I went one day wilh my mother to visit the counteEs of At-
tarass, and I met there Don Francisco Torrejon, her confessor,
and second inquisitor of the holy office. AÜer we had drunk
chocolate, he asked my age, and my confessor's name, and EO
many intricate questions about religion, that I could not an-
swer hitl1. IIis serious countenance did frighten me, and as
he perceiveJ nlY fcar, he desired the counteEs to te11111e, that
he was not so severe as I took him to be: after which he ca-
ressed me in the most obliging nmnner in the world; he gave
me his hand, which I kissed with great respect and n10desty;
and when he went away, he told me, 1\ly dear child, I shall re-
member you till the next time. I did not mind the sense of
the words; for I was une
perienced in matters of gallantry,
being only fifteen )Tears old at that time. Indeed he did re-
member me, for the very night following, while in bed, hear-
ing a hard knocking at the door, the nmid went to the window,
anJ asking, Who is there? I heard say, The holy inquisition.
I could not fortear cr) iug out, Father, father, I am ruined for
ever. 1\ly dear father got up, and inquiring what the matter
was, I answered him, with tear
, The inquisition; and he, for
fear that the Inaid should not open the door as quick as such a
case requireð;went himself, as another Abraham, to open the
door, and to offer his deJ.r daughter to the fire of the inquisi-
tors, and as I did llGt cease to cry out, as if I was a mad girl,
my dear father, all in tears, did put in nlY mouth a bit of a
bridle, to show his obedience to the holy office, and his zeal
for the catholic faith, for he thought I had committed some
crime against rel
gion; so the officers gave me hut tiu1e to rut
on my clothes, took me down into the coach, and without giv-
ing me the satisfaction of embracing my dear father anù
n10ther, they carried me into the inquisition. I did expect to
die that very night; but when they carried me into a nobJe
room, ,veIl furnif'hed, and an exce!lent Led in it, I was quite
surprised. The officers left rne there, and immediately a maid
came in with a salver of sweetmeats and çinnamon water, de-
siring me to take S8me refreshment before I went to bed: I
told her that I could nat; bùt that I should be oLligeJ to he
,
if she could teU me whether I was to die that night or not!
Die, (said she,) you do not come here to die, hut to live like a
princess, and you shall want nothing in the world but the lib-
erty of going out; and now pray mind nothing-, but to go to
bed, and sleep easy, for to-n10rrow you shall sèe wonders in
?rIASTER-KEY TO POPERY.
177
this house, and as I am chosen to be your waiting maid, I hope
)IúU will be very kind to me. I was going to ask her some
questions, but she told me, IHadam, I have not leave to tell
you any thing else till to-n10rro\V, cnly that nobody shaH come
to disturb yuu; and now I am going atout SOlne Lusiness, and
I will COllie Lack presently, fL;r nlY Led is in the closet near
your bed: 'So she left me there fur a quarter of an hour. The
great amazement I was in, took a wa y all my scnse
, 01" the
free exercise of them, for I had not liberty to think of nlY parents,
nor of grief, nor of the danger that was so near me: So in this
suspensicn of thought, the waiting-maid came and locked the
chamber door after her, and told nle, l\Iadam, let us go to led,
and cnly tell me at what time in the morning you will have
the chocolate ready? I asked her name, and she told me it
was l\Iary. l\Iary, for God's sake, (said I, ) t
ll me whether I
come to die or not? I have told you, madam, that you came
(she said) to live as one of the happiest creatures in the world.
And as I observed her reservedncfs, I did not ask her any
Inore questiuns: So recomrnending myself to God Ahnighty,
find to our lady of Pilar, and preparing 111yself to die, I went to
bed, but could not sleep one IDinute. I was up with the clay,
but l\lary slept till six of the clock: Then she got up, and won-
dering to see n1e up, she said to lne, Pray, nmdam, will you
drink chocolate now? Do what you please (
aid I): then she
lcft. me half an hour alone, and she came Lack ,vith a silver
plate váth two cups of chocolate, and sonIC biscuit on it. I
drañk one cup, and de
ired her to drink the. other, which
he
did. 'V ell) l\Iary, (said I,) caD you give me any account of the
reason uf my being here? Not yet, madam, (8aid Ehe,) but
only have patience for a little while. 'Vith this answer she
left IDe; and an hour after came again with two badiets, wÍì.h
a fine holland shift, a holland under petticoat, with fine lace
round it; two siìk petticoats and a little Spanish waistcoat,
with a gold fringe all over it; with comhs and rilbons, and
every thing suitable to a lady of higher quality thalf): But
my greatest surprise was to see a gold
ml1ff-box, with a pic-
ture of Don Francisco Torrejcn in it. Then I :300n under-
stood the Ineaning öf my confinement. So I ceDsidered with
Inyself, thvt to refuse the present ,,"ouId be the occasion of my
immediate de3.th; and to accept (;f it, was to give to him, even
en the first day, too great encoura.;ement against my hen or.
nut 1 fuund, as I tl10ught then, a medinm in the CVFC; so I said,
l\Iary, pray give my service to Den :FrunciFco Terrcjon, and
tell him, that as I could not bring my dotèes wit 11 me lust
178
lYIASTER-l:O:EY TO })OPF.RY.
night, honesty permits nle to
ccept of the
e clothes, which
are nece
sary to keep me deccn t; but since I take no
nn
I
be
his lorJship to excuse 111e, if I ùo not accept this box.
l\Luv went to him with this answer , and came ao'ain with a
., 0
picture nicely set in gold, with f:Jur diamonds at the four cor-
ners of it, and told lTIe, that his lordship was mistaken, and
that he desired me to accept that picture, which woull be a
g reat favoI' to him: and while I was thinkin oo with myself
ö
what to do, IUary said to me, Pray, madam, take my poor ad-
yice, accept the picture, anJ evel'Y thing that he sends to
-ou;
f)r consider, that if you do not consent and comp'y with every
thing he has a mind for, you will soon be put to death, and
no body wi!! defend you; but if you are obliging and kind to
him, he is a very complaisant and agreeable gentleman, and
will be a charming lover, and you will be here like a queen,
and he will give. you another ap:lrtmcnt, with a fine garden,
an1 many young ladies shall corne to visit you: So I advise
you to send a civil answer to him, and desire a visit from him,
or else you will soon begin to repent yourself. 0 dear God,
(said I,) mast I abandon my honor without any remedy! If I
oppose his desite, he by force will obtain it. S3, full of
on.
fusion, I bid
Iary tú give him what answer she thought fit
She was very glaù of my humble subrrlission, and went to
give D.1n Francisco my answer. She came back a few n1in-
utes after, all oVCljOyct1, to tell me, that his lordship wmIld
honor lTIe with his company at
upper, and that he could not
canle sooner on account of some business that called hÏ1TI
abroad; but in the mean time desired me to mind nothing, but
how to divert myself, and to give to 1\lary my measure for a
suit of clothes, and orJer her to bring Ine every thing I could
wish ft.)r. 1\Iary added to this, l\ladam, I may call you now
my mistress, and mast tell you, that I h:Jve been .in the holy
office these fourteen years, and I know the customs of it very
well; but because silence is imposed upon me ur,der pain of
death, I cannot tell you any thing but what concerns your
person: So, in the first place, do not oppose the holy fiüher's
will and p1easure: Secondly, if you see some young ladies
here, never ask them the occasion of their being here, nor any
thing of their business, neither wiI] they ask you any thing
of this nature, and take care not to ten them any thing of your
being here; yûu may come an1 divert yourself with thern at
such hours as are appointed; you shall have music, and all
scrts of recreations; three days hence you shall dine 'with
them; they are an ludi
s of quality. young and nlerry_ and
)L\STl:R-I\:EY TO POPI:RY.
179
this is the best of lives; you will not long for going abroad,
you will be so well diverted at hmne; and when your time is
expired, then the holy fathers wiH send you out of this coun-
try, and marry you to some noblerr13n. Kever nlCntion the
nan1e of D,)n Francisco, nor YOUl' name to any. If you see
here some young ladies of your acquaintance in the city, they
will never take notice of your fornlCrly knowing each other,
though they will talk with you of indifferent lnatters; so take
care not to speak any thing of your family.
All these things together lnade n1e astonished, or rather
stupificd, and the whole seemed to me a piece of enchant-
ment; so that I could not imagine what to think of it. '\Vith
this lesson she left me, and told me she was going toorder my
dinner; and every time she went out, she locked the door after
her. There were but two high windows in n1Y chamber, and
I could see nothing through them; but examining the room
all over, I found a closet with all sorts of historical and pro-
fane books, and every thing. necessary for writing. So I
spent my time till the dinner came in, reading some diverting
amorous stories, which was a great satisfaction to mc. '\Vhen
l\Iary can1C with the things for the table, I told her that I
was inclined to sleep, and that I would rather sleep than go
to dinner; so she asked me whether she should awaken me
or not, and at what time? Two hours hence (said I,) so I
lay down and fell asleep, which was a great refreshment to
me. At the time fixed she wakened Ole, and I wcnt to din-
ner, at which was evcry thing that could satisfy the n10st nice
appetite. After dinner she left me alonc, and told me,
if I wanted any thing, I might ring the bell and call: So
I went to the closet again, and spent three hours in reading.
I think rcally I was under some enchantment, for I was in a
perfect suspension of thought, so as to remember neither father
nor mother, for this run least in my mind, and what was at
that time most in it, I do not know. l\Iary came and told me,
that D.Jn Francisco was come home, and that she thought he
would come to see me very soon, and begged of me to prepare
myself to receive him with all manner of kindness. At seven
in the evening Don Francisco came, in his night-gown and
night-cap, not with the gravity of an inquisitor, but ,vith the
gaiety of an officer. He saluted me with great respect and
civility, and told me that he had designed to keep my company
at supper, but could not that night, having some bl1
iness of
consequence to finish in his closct; and that his coming to S
t!
nlC wag only out of the 4'cspect be had fur my fak-iily, and to
180
1\IASTER-KEY TO POPERY.
tell me at the same time, that S0me of IllY loyers had procured
Iny ruin forever, accusing me in Inatters of religion; that the
inforn1ations were taken, and the sentence pi'onounccJ against
Ille, to he burnt alive, in a dry pan, wií:Ì1 a gradual fire, L llt
tlMt he, O
lt of pity an:] love to my f
mi
y, haJ s
o.i)ped the e.x
(
c'Jtion of it. Each of these words was a mortal strvlie on mv
heart, and knowing not what I was doing, I threw n1) self
t
_his feet, and said, Scignor, have you stopped the execution
f0r ever? That only .Lelon
s to you to stop it, or not (
ajd he);
and with this he wished me a good night. As f300n as he went
a',,;ay, I feU a crying; but l\Iary came anJ a
ked tnc what
olJliged nle to cry so bitterly? Ah! good IUary, (said I,) pray
tell Ioe what is thû Ineaning of the dry pan an
graduai fire 1
}'or I am in expectation of nothing hut death, anJ that by it.
0, pray never fear, you will see another day the pan an:! graà-
ual fire; but they are made for those that oppo
e the holy fa-
thers' will, not for you, who are so ready to obey thenl. llut,
pray, was Don Francisco very civil and obliging? I do not
know, (said I,) for his discourse has put me out of my wits;
that I know that he saluted me wi
h respect and civility, but
he has left me abruptly. 'VeIl, (said l\Iary,) you do not know
him; he is the most obliging man in the world, if people are
civil with him, and if not, he is as unmerciful as Nero; and so
for your own preservation, take care to oblige hiln in all res-
peets; no,v, pray go to supper, and. be easy. I was so much
troubled in mind with the thoughts of the dry pan and gradual
1ìre, that I could neither eat nor sleep that night. Early in
the morning l\lary got up, and told me, that nobody was yet
up in the house, and that she would show me the dry pan and
gradual fire, on condition, that I should keep it a
ecret for her
sake, and my own too; which I having promised her, she took
me alOllO' with her and showed me a dark room with a thick
o
iron door, and within it an oven, and a large brass pan upon
it, with a cover of the same, and a lock to it; the oven was
burning at that time, and I asked l\Iary for what use the pan
was there? And she, without giving me any answer, took me
by the hand, out of that place, and carried me into a large roonl,
\Vhel'e she showed me a thick wheel, covered on both sides
with thic
boards, and opening a little window, in the centre
of it, desired me to look wi
h a candle on the inside of it, and
I saw aU the circumference of the wheel set with sharp razors.
After that she showçd me a pit full of serpents and toads. Then
she said to me, N O\Y, my good mistress, I'll tell you the use of
these three things. The dry pan and gradu
J fire are for her.
)L\.STER-KEY TO POPERY.
181
..
tics, and those that oppose the holy father's will and pleasure,
for they are put an naked and alive into the pan, and the ('over
of it being locked up, the executioner begins to put in the oyen
a small fire, and by degrees he augmenteth it till the body is
Lt}rnt to ashes. The second is de
igned fJr those that speak
against the pope, and the holy fathers; and they are put wilh.
in the wheel, and the door being locked, the e:\.ecu1Ïcner turns
the v.:heel till the person is dead. And the thinl is fvr those
that contemn the images, and refuse to give the due rc
pcct
and veneration to ecde
iastical persons, for they are thrown
Into the pit, and there they become the food of serpents únG
toads.
Then l\Iary said to me, that another day she would shew
me torments for puLlic
inners, and transgressors of the five
commandments of our holy 010ther the church; so I, in a deep
amazement, desired l\lary to shew me no n10re places, for the
very thoughts of those three, which I had seen, were enough
to terrify me to the heart. So we went to nlY roon1, and she
charged Ine again to be very obedient to all the commands Den
Francisco should give me, or to be assured, if I did not, I was
to undergo the torment of the dry pan. Indeed I conceived
such an horror for the gradual fire, that I was not n1Ïstress of
my senses, nay, nor of my thoughts: so I told 1\lary that I
would follow her advice. If you are in that disposition (said
she) leave off all fears and apprehen
ions, and expect nothing
hut pleasure and satisfaction, and all l11anner of recreation,
and you shall begin to experience sonle of these thiqgs this
very day. Now let me ùress you, for you must go to ".i:-:h a
good mOlTO'V to Don Francisco, and to breakfast with him. I
thought really this was a great honor to me, and some comfiJrt
to my troubled mind; so I made all the haste I could, and l\Ia.
ry conveyed me through a gallery into Don Francisco's apart-
lTICnt. lIe was Etill in bcd, and def-'ired me to sit do" n by
him, and ordered l\lary to bring the chocolate two hours afer,
and with this she left me alone "ith Don Francisco. l\Iary
came wi:h the chocolate, and kneeling down, paid me hOlnage
as if I was a queen; and served nle fil'st with a cup of choco.
late, still on her knees, and hade me give another cup to Don
Francisco myself, which he received mi2,hty graciously, anù
h:.lYÌIl6 dn:llk up tll(
('hdco1a
(',
he went out. So at ten l.f 1\lC
clock, l\Iary came a
aill, allJ drcsE!ng Ill(',
he dcsireù lUe to
go along with her, Hud leaving Duull'ran('iseo in bèd, f:he CL;.-
ried me into another chamber very delightful, and better
l.r
nished than the first; fùr tije winJows of it were hr.rcr, fi.}
l J
t1
182
l\-IASTER- KEY TO POPERY'.
.had the pleasure of seeing the river and the gardcn
en the
other side out of it. TÌlen l\Iary told Ine, l\Iadam, the young
ladies of this house will come before dinner to wekorne you,
anJ luake them
elves happy in the honor of your company,
and I will take you to dine with them. Pray remelnuer the ad-
vices I ha"'c given you already, and do n
t mal\{\ yourself un-
happy byaslÜng useless questions. She had not finished these
words, when I saw entering my apartment, (which consisted
of a large anti.chamber and a bed-chan1ber with two large
closets) a troop of young beautiful ladies, finely dre
sed, who
all, one after another, came to embrace n1e, and to wish mo
joy. 1\ly senses were in a perfect sllspension, and I could not
speak a word, nor answer their kind compliments. But ono
of them seeing lne so silent, said to lne, l\ladam, the solituGe
of this place will affect YOll in the beginning, but ,vhen you
Legin to be in our company, and feel the pleasure of our
amusements and recreations, you will quit yoar pensive
thoughts. Now we beg of you the honor to COlne and dine
with us to-day, and henceforth three days in a week. I thanked
them, and we went to dinner. That day we had all sorts of
exquisite meats, and were sen'ed with delicate fruits and
sweet-meats. The rOOln was very long, with two tables on
each side, another at the front of it, and I reckoned in it that
day, 52 young ladies, the oldest uf them not exceeding 2-1
years of age; six Inaids served the whole number of U
, but
lny l\Iary waited on rne alone at dinner. After dinner we
went up stairs into a long gallery, all round about with lattice
windows; where, S3me of us playing on instruments of n1usic,
9thers playing at cards, and others walking about, we spent
three honrs together. ' At last, l\lary came up, ringing a small
hell, which ,vas the signal to retire into our rOOlns, as they
told me; but l\'lary said to the whole company, Ladies, to-day
is a day of recreation, so you may go into what room you
please, until eight o
clock, and then you are to go into your
own chambers: so they all desired leave to go with me to Iny
apartnlent, to spend the time there, [lnd I was very glad that
they preferred my chamber to
nother; so all going down to-
gether, we founù in my anti-chatnber a table, with an sorts üf
Bweet-meatR upon it, iced cinnanlon ,\rater, and almonds Ini
k,
and the like, everyone ate and drank, Lut nobody Rpoke a
word, touching the sumptuousncrs of the table, nor men:ione:.l
:t.ny thing ("once:'ning the inquisition of the holy father
. So
iVe spent onr time in merry, imlifferent con,'cl'sation, ti
l eio'ht
t" clock. Then every one rc
jred in
o th( ir own room, :nJ
IASTER-KEY TO POPERY.
183
l\!<lry told me that D.:m Francisco did wait far me, so we went
to his apartment, and supper being ready, we both alone sat at
table, attended by my maid only. ACcr supper l\Iary went
away, and next morning she served us with chocolate, which
we drank, and then slept till ten o'clock. Then we got up,
and my waiting maid carried me into my chamber, ,....here I
found ready, t\vo suits of clothes, of a rich brocade, and every
thing el:-:o, suitable to a lady of the first rank. I put on ene,
and when I was quite dressed, the young ladies caIne to wish
Ine a goud nlorrow, all dressed in different clothes, and better
than the day before, and we spent the second and third days ill
the same recreation. But the third morning after drinking
chocolate, as the custom was, l\Iary told me, that a lady was
waiting for me in the other room, and desired me to get up,
with a haughty look. I thought that it was to give me some
new comfort and diversion; but I was very much mistaken, for
l\Iary conveyed nle into a young lady's room, not eight feet
lung, which was a perfect prison, and there, Lefore the lady,
told me, lViadam, this is your rOOln, and this young lady your
tedfellow aDd comrade, and left me there with this unkind
command. 0 heavens t thought I, what is this that has lu:p-
pened to me? I fancied myself out cf g;rief, and I perceived
now the \)cginning of my vexation. 'Vhat is this, dear laùy,
(said I) is this an enchanted palace, or a hell upon ear
h? I
have lost f:'lther and Inother, and what is worse, I have lost my
honor and my soul fcn'ever. l\ly new companion, seeing me
like a mad wonmn, took nle by the hand
, and said to mf',
Dear sister, (f0r this is the name I will give you henceforth)
tea ve off your crying, leave off your grief and vexation f(w
you ean do nothing Ly such extravagant complaints, but heap
cca!s of fire un) our head, or ].atllCr under yqur body. Y clIr
InÌsfòrtuncs and ours are exactly of a piece: you suiTer noth-
ing that we have not suffered before you; but we are not al-
lowed to show our grief, for fear of greater evils. Pray, hike
gooù courag<', and hope in Goù; fûr he will finù SOllIe way or
other to dcli\'el' us outuf this hel!i
h place; but above all thing
,
take care not to shew any uneasiness before 1\lary, who is the
only instrument of our torment:-:, or comfort, and ha\.e patience
.ill we go to bed, and then without any fear, I will tell you
lnore of the matter. 'Ve do nl)t dine with the other ladies to-
day, and may l(
, we shall have an opportunity of taiking Le-
fure night, whi<:h I hope win Lc <..f some con1fíH,t to you. I wus
in a most desperate condition, but my new sister I..eonora
(this wa.. her name) prfilnu!Qd IiO much uron Ole, that I ov
r-
i84
::\L\STER-KEY.TO POPERY.
came illY vexation before l\Iary came again, to bring our din-
ner, which wa.s very difièrent from that I had three days be-
fore. Af-er dinner, another n1aid came to take away the pla!-
tel' anJ knifc, fùr we had but one fvr us both, so locked the
door.
Now, my sister, said she, we need not fear èeing disturbed
ali thi;5 niJ;ht: so I n1ay safely instruct you, if you will prom-
ise n18, upon the hopes of salvation, not to reveal the secret,
while YJU are in this place, of the things I shall tell you. I
threw nlyse!f down at her feet, and promised
ecrecy. Then
she Le 6 un to say: l\Iy dear sis
er, you think it a hard C8
e
that has happened to you, T ass:Jre you all the ladies in this
hpuse have already gene through the same, and in time you
shall know all their stories, as they hope to know yours. I
suppose that 1\lary has been the chief instrument of your
ri6ht, as she has been of ours, and I,varrant you she has
f3hown to you some horrible places, though not all, and that at
the only thought of them, you were s.o much troubled in your
mind, that you have chosen the same way we did to get some
ease in our heart. By what has happened to us, we know
that DJn Francisco has been your Nero; for the three colors
of our clo
hcs are the distinguishing tokens of the three holy
f.lther5: The reà silk
elongs to Francisco, the blue to Guer-
rero, and the green to Aliaga. For they used to give, the
three 61'st days, these colors to those ladies that they bring for
their use. \Ve are strictly commanded to make all demonstra-
tions of joy, and to Le very merry three days, when a young
h.dy COlnes here, as we did with you, and you must do with
o
he:3. But after it we live like prisoners, without seeing any
living soul butïhe six maid
, and l\Iary, who is the house-keep-
er. ,V c dine all of us, in the hall, three days a week, anLI
three days in our rooms. '\Vllen any of the holy fathers have
a Inind for one of his slaves, l\Iary comes for her at nine of
the clod{, and conveyeth her to his apartment: but as they
have so many, the turn come
, may-be once in a month, ex-
cept [.,1' those who have the honor to l;ive them n10re satisfac-
tian than ordinary, those. are sent for often. Some nights l\Ia-
ry leaves the door of our rooms open, and that is a sign that
some of the fathers have a mind to COlne that night, but he
c:Jmes in S3 silent that we do not know whether he is our own '
pa:r0n or not. If one of us happen to be with child, she is re-
.m,)yed t3 a better chamber, and she
ees no person hut the
n13id till she is delivered. The child is s",nt away, and we do
not know where it is gone. 'l\Iary does not suffer quarrels
]IASTER-KEY TO POPI:RY.
185
hetwecn u
, for if one happens to be troulJesOIllc she is bit-
terly chastised for it:
u we are aJways under a continual
fear. I have Leen in this house these six yearf:, and I ,vas
not fourteen years of age, when the officers took me from my
fathcr\; hoase, and I have leen bruught to led but 0nce. 'V(
are at present fifty-two youl1 6 1adies, and we loose e\-ery yenr
fix or eight, ÌJut ,ve do not Ii-now, \;-here they are sent; Lut at
the same time we get new ones, and sometimes I have seen
here seventv-1hree ladies. All our continual tünnent is to
think, and ;vi:h great reason, that wn('n the holy fathers are
tirej of one, they put her to death; for they will never run
the hazard of being discovered in these misdemeanors: S,",
though we cannot oppose their commands, and theretère we
commit these enormities, yet we still fervently pray God and
blessed mother, to forgive us them, since it is against our wilis
we <10 them, and to preserve us from death in this house. So
my dear sister, arm yourself with patience, and put your trust
in God, who will he our only defender and deliverer.
This discourse of Leonora did ease me in sorne llleasure, and
I found every thing as she had told Tne. And so we lived to--
gether eighteen nlcmths, in which tinle we lost eleven ladies,
and we got nineteen new ones. I knew all their storief:, which
I cannot tell you to night, but if you will be so kind as to stay
here this week, you will not think your tin1e lust when you
come to know them all. I did prOInise her to stay that week,
with a great deal of pleasure and satisfaction; but though it
was very late, nnd the people of the house were retired, I beg-
geù her to make an end of the story concerning herself,
which she did in the following manner:
After the eighteen n10nths, one night, 1\Iary came and or-
dered us to follow her, and gOing down stairs, she bade us go
into a coach, and this we thought the last day of our lives.
\Ve went out of the house, but where, we did not know, and
,vere put into another house, ,'.-hieh was worse than the first
where we were confined several months, without seeing any of
the InquisitorF', or lUary
or any of our companions: And in the
same lnanner we were removed fi'om that houfo:e to another,
where we continueJ tiil vie were nlÏracuJol1s1y de
ivercd by
the French officers. 1\11'. Faulcaut, happily for me, did cpen
the door of my rOf'm, and as soon as he saw me, he l:egan to
show me much civilitv. and took l11e and Leonora alcn
wit.1
-
him to his lodgings, and after he heard mv whole story, and
fearing that things woulù turn to our di
ad
'antage, he ordered
the next daJ to send us to his f..1.ther. 'Ve were drest in 111en'S
Q.2
186
)lASTEU-KEY TO POPERY.
c1othe
, to go the more safely, and so we CaIne to this house,
where I was kept fur two years as the daugh:er of the old man,
tilll\Ir. Faulcaut's regiment being broke, he can1e home, and
two lllOnths af
er, married n1e. Leonora was rnarried to an-
other officer, and they live in Orleans, which Leing in your way
to Paris, I do not question but you will pay her a visit.. Now
my husband is at court, soliciting a new con1mission, and he
,,;ill be very glad of your acquaintance, if he has not left Pa-
ris before you go to it. Thus ended our first entertainment
the first nibht.
I stayed there afterwards twelve days, in which she told me
the stories of all the young ladies, which Leonora did repeat to
me without any alteration, as to the substantial points of them.
But these diverting accounts, containing rnore particular cir-
cumstances touching the horrible procedure of the tribunal,
tut rnore especially, being full of an10rous intrigues, I think fit
not to insert thelll here, but to give them in a separate book, to
the public if desired; for as I ha,-e Illany other things to say
touching
he corruptions of the Romish priests, these accounts
may be inserted there, to shew the ill practices and corrup-
tions of the inquisitors. So I proceed to speak of the new quar-
ters of the French troops in the inquisition, and of the restora-
tion of the holy fathers into it, and afterwards I will go on with
the instances of the public trials.
\Vhen the I\Iarquis de Taurcey was chosen Governor of the
fort of AJjaferia, where formerly the holy office was kept, he
put a strong garrison into it; the holy fathers ,vere obliged to
remove, and take away their prisoners; but they did wall all
the doors of their secret prisons, where they used to keep tho
hellish engines, so we could not then kne -N any thing of their
arbarity in the punishment of innocents, and I think, that as
they did consider themselves as unsettled, and being in hopes
to recover again the former place, they did not ren10ve their
inhuman instrun1ents of torment, so there were none found in
the last house when they were turned out: nay, among so
great a nun1ber of prisoners delivered out of it, we could con-
"erse with none of them, for as soon as they got out, for fear
úf a new order tì'on1 the king or pope, they made their escape
out of the country, and they were much in the right of it, fl)f
the inquisition is a place to be very much fcared, and not to
be tried a second time, if onè can ìwlp it.
At last, aftcr eight Inonths reprieve, the same inquisitors
came again \\ ith more power than before, for Don Pedro Gu('r-
rcro, first Inquisitor, was chosen by the Pope, at King Philip'.
}L\.STER-KEY TO !)OPERY.
187
request, ecclesiastical judge, for priests, friars, and nuns, to
exarnine and punish crimes of disaffection to his nmjesty: So,
for a ,
rhile, he was Pope, King) and Tyrant. The first thing
he did was to give the public an account of the crimes for
,vhich all the prisoners that had been delivered, were confined
in the inquisition, to vindicate this way the honor of the three
Inquisitors, comn1anding at the same time, all sorts of persons
to discover and secure any of the ,said prisoners
under pain of
death. This proclamation was a thing never before heard of,
and we m'lY say, that salisfactio non pelita, generat suepicion..:
em: for really, by this, they ditl declare thelUscl ves guilty of
what was charged on theIn, in relation to the Seraglio, in the
opinion of serious, sen
ible people. But every body was ter-
rified by the said proclama.tion, and none dared to say any
thing about it.
The unmel'ciful Guerrero, like a roaring lion, began to de-
vour all sorts of people, showing, by this, his great affection
to the king, and fervent zeal for the pope; for, under pretence
of their being disaffected to his 111njcsty, he confined, and that
publicly, near three hundred friars, and one hundred and fitly
priest
, and a great number of the laity. Next to this, he
m3.de himselfm
lster of their estates, which were sold publicly,
bein,
bought by the g03d loyal subjects. lIe did su
pend, ab
officio et beneficio, nmny secular priest
, and banished thern
out of the dominions of Spain; whipt others publicly, banished
and whipt friars, and took the liberty insoI('utly to go into
the monastery of the nuns of S1. Lneia, anJ whipt six of then1
fùr being affected to Charles the IUd, and he Ï1nprisoned Dùn-
na Catherina Cavero, only for being the head of the imperial
faction. B
t observe, that this whipping of the nuns is only
giving them a discipline, i. e. so many strokes with a rod on
the shoulders; but Guerrero was so impudent and barefaced
a Nero, that commanding the poor nuns to turn their habits
backwards, and discover their shoulders, he hin1self was the
executioner of this unparalleled punishn1ent.
.As to the laity that were put into the inquisition, and whose
estates were seized, we did not hear any thing of them, but I
am sure they did en.l their miserable lives in that horrid place.
1\1anyof them left a great fiunily behind them, who all were
reduceJ to beggary; for when the heads- of them were confi-
ned, all the f
lmilies must suffer with them: And this is the
reason, why more than two thousand families left the city',
and every thing they had, rather than undergo the miseries of
that time, and the cruel persecution of Guerrero. So we may
188
1tL\STER-}íEY TO POPERY.
believe, that having so great authority as he had, he soon
could recruit his Seraglio.
Though Guerrero was so busy in the affdirs of the king, he
did not f,Jrgei the other business concerning the cqtholic faith;
so, to luake the people sen
íble of his .indefatigable zeal, he
hegan abain to summons priests and friars to new trials, of
which I an1 goin6 to speak.
Tlte trial if a Friar of St. J crome, organist of tlie con'rl3llt
in Sarag08sa.
All the summoned persons being together in the haU, the
prisoner and a young boy were brought out; and after the first
inq ui
itor had finished his bitter correction, the secretary read
t.he examinations and sentence, as follows:
\Vhereas, informations were made, and by evidences prov-
ed, that Fr. Joseph Peralta has committed the crime of Sodomy,
with the present John Romeo, his disciple, which the said
Romeo hÏ1nselt
owned upon interrogatories of the holy in-
quisitors: they having an unfeigned regard fur the order of
81. JerOlTIe, do declare and condemn the said Fr. .Tvseph
Peralta, to a year's confinement in his own convent, hut
that he may assist at the divine service, and celebrate mass.
Item, for an example to other like sinner
, the holy fathers
declare that the said John is to be whipped through the pub-
lic streets of the town, and receive at every corner, as it is a
custom, five lashes; and that he shall wear a coroza, i. e. a
sort of a n1itre on his head, feathered all over, as a mark of
his crime. \Vhich sentence is to be executed on Fl'iùay
next, without any appeal. .
After the secretary had done, Don Pedro Guerrero did asI{
Fr. Joseph, whether he had any thing to say against the sen-
tence or not? And he answering, no, the prisoners were car-
ried back to their prisons, and the cmnpany were dismissed.
Observe the equity of the inquisitors in tl1Ís case: the boy was
but tourteen years of age, under the power of .Fr. Joseph, anù
he was charged with the penalty and punishment Fr. Joseph
did deserve. The poor boy was whipped according to the
sentence, and died the next day.
TILe Trial of Father Pucgo, Confessor of tlw lVuns at St.
.ill unica.
This criminal had been but six days in the inquisition, be-
fore he was brought to hear his sentence, and every thing be.
ing pcrfonned as befi)re, the secretary read.
l\L\.STER-.ii.EY TO POPERY.
189
'\Vhereas father Pueyo has committed fornication ,,'ith five
sniritual daughters, (;;0 the nans which confess to the same
confessor con
inually, are called) which is, besides fornication,
sacrilege and transgression of our commands, and he himself
h:t vin6 owned the filCt, we therefore declare that he shall keep
his cell [.)1' three weeks, and lose his employment, &c.
The inquisitor asked him whether he had any thin6 to say
against it: and father Pueyo said, holy tàther, I remember
that when I was chosen father conles8or of the nuns of oar
mother St. l\Ionica, you had a great value for five young ladies
of the monastery, and you sent for me, and begged of llle to
take care of them: so I have done, as a filÎthful servant, and
ma y say unto you, Domine quinque talenta tJ"arlidisti me, ccce
alia quinque super lucratus sum. The inquisitors could not
forbear laughing at this application of the scripture; and D3n
Pe:lro Guerrero was so well pleased with this answer, that
he told him, you said well: Therefi>re, Peccata tua remittun-
tur tibi, nunc vade in pace, et noli ampliu8 peccarc. This was
a pleasant tl'ial, and Pueyo was excused ii"om the perfùrmance
of his penance by this impious jest.
TIle trial and sentence of the Licentiate
-izondo.
The secretary read the exan1inatiol1s, evidence and convic-
tions, and the said Lizondo (who was a licentiate, or 1\Iaster of
Arts) himself did own the fact, which was as follows:
The said Lizondo, though an ingenious man, and fit for the
sacerdotal function, would not be ordained, giving out that he
thought himself unworthy of so high dignity, as to have every
alay the Saviour of the world in his hands, after the consecra-
tion. And by this fci
ned humility he began to insinuate
himself into the people'8 opinion, and pass for a religious, god-
ly man, among them. lIe studied physic, and practised it only
with the poor, in the beginning; but being called afterwards
by the rich and especially by the Nuns, at last he was found
oat in his wickedness; for he used to give something to make
the young ladies sleep, and this way he obtained his lascivious
desires. But one of the evidences swore that he had done
these things by the nelp of magic, and that he had used only
an incantati0n, with which he Inaùe every body fall asleep:-
Hat this he aLsolutely denied, as an imposition and falsity.-
\Ve did expect a severe sentence, but it was only that the li-
centiate was to discover to the inquisitors, on a day appointed
by them, the receipt for mal{ing the people sleep; and that the
puuishmcnt to be inflicted on him, was to Le referred to the
....
190
MASTER-KEY TO POI)ERY.
discretion of the holy fathers. \V e saw him a fterwards every
day, walking in the streets; and this was all his punishment.
\Ve must surely believe that such crinles are reckoned lLt a
". trifle among them, for very seldon1 they show any great dis-
pleasure or severity to those that are found guilty of thCIn.
Of the 01.der of the Inqpisitors to arrest an Iforse, and to bring
him to tlte Holy Ojjice.
The case well deserves 'my trouble in giving a full account
of it; so I will explain it from the beginning to the end. The
rector of the university of Saragossa has his o,'.n officers to ar-
rest the
cholars, and punish them if they cOlnmit any crime.
Among their officers there was one called Guadalaxara, who
was mighty officious and trouble
ome to the collegians or stu-
dents; fòr .upon the least thing in the world he arrested them.
The scholars did not love hirn at all, and contrived how they
should punish him, or to play some comical tricI\:s upon him.
At last, sonle of the strongest agreed to be at the bottom of the
steeple of the university in the evening, and six of then1 in the
belfry, ,vho were to let down a lusty young scholar, tied with
a strong rope", at the hearing of the word 'I.car. So the schol-
ars that were in the yard, and at the bottom of the steeple,
picked a quarrel purposely to bring Guadalaxara there, and
,vhen he was already alllong them, arresting one, they cried
out u'a7.. At which sign the six in the steeple let down the
tied scholar, '.vho taking iri his arms Guadalaxara, and being
pulled up by the six, he carried him alrnost 20 feet high, and
let him fall down. The poor man was crying out, 0 Jesus!
the Devil has taken me up. '-fhe students that were at the
bottom had instruments of music, and put off their cloaks to
receive him in, and as he cried out, tlte Devil, tlte Dev'il, the
musicians answered him with the instruments, repeating the
sanle words he pronounced himself, and- with this, gathering
together great numbers of scholars, they took him in the Idlid-
dIe, continuing always the n1usic and songs, to prevent, by this,
the people
s taking notice of it, and every body believed that it
was only a mere scholastic diversion: So, with this meloòy
and rejoicings, they carried the troublesome Guadalaxara out
uf the gates of the city into the field, called the Burnt Place,
because formerly the heretics were burnt in that field. There
was adead horse, and opening his belly, they tied the poor
officer by the hands and legs, and placed him within the horse's
helly, ,,,,.hich they sewed, leaving the head of Guadala
ara
out, under the tail of the hor
e, nnd
o the
wellt back into
l\IA.STER- KEY TO l
OPERY.
191
the city. IIow dismal that night was to the poor man, any
body may imagine; but yet it was very sweet to him, in c
m-
parison to what he suffered in the Inorning; for the dogs gOIng
to eat of the dead horse's flesh, he, fùr fear they
hould eat off
his head, continually cried out, hu! ho! perros, i. e. dogs, and
that day he found that not only the scholars, but even the ,'ery
dogs were afraid of him, ft)r dogs did not Jare approach the
dead horse. The laborers of the city, who were a most igno-
rant sort of people, but very pleasant in their rustic expres-
sions, going out to the field, by break of the day, saw the dogs
near the horse, and heard the voice, ho! ho! pCr'ros. They
looked up and down, and seeing nobody, drew near the horse,
and hearin 6 the sarne voice, frightened out of their sensef:,
went into the city again, and gave out that a dead horse was
speaking in the burnt field; and as they athrmed and s\,,"ore
the thing to be true, crowds of people went to see and hear
the wonder, or, as many others said, the miracle of a dead
.horse speaking. A public notal'y was among the mol', but no
one dared to go near the horse. The notary went to the in-
quisitors to make affidavit of this case, anù added that no une
h:lving courage enough to approach the horse, it was proper
to send some of the friar
, with holy water anù stoIa, to cxorci
e
the horse, and find out the cause of his speaking. But the
inquisitors who think to cOlnmand bea
t
, as ,veIl. as reasonable
creatures, sent six of their officers, with strict orders, to carr)'
the horse to the holy office. The officers having an opiniOl:
that the devil must submit to them, went, and approaching the
horse, they saw the head under the tail, and the poor man cry-
ing out, help, take me out of this putrified grave; for God's
sake, good people, make haste, for I am not the devil, nor ghost,
nor apparition, but the real Loùy and soul of Guadalaxara,
the constable of the university; and I do renounce, in this place,
the office of arrestiag scholars {()fever; and I do forgive thClU
this wrong done to me, and thanks be to God, and to the Vir.
gin. of Pilar, who has preserved Iny body fron1 being convert-
ed Into a dead horse, that I aln alive still.
These plain demonstrations of the nature of the thing did not
convInce, in the least, the officers of the inquisition, who arc
always very strict in the performance of the orders given
tl.)
m, so
hey took the dead horse and carried it to the inqui-
81 Ìl on. Never were more people seen in the streets and win-
Jows than ou that day, besides the great crowd that followed
,1 1e '9 corpse, which I saw myself; the inquisitors having notice
betorehand, wentto the hall to receive the informations from
lû2
]\JASTER-KEY TO POPERY.
the horse; and after they had asked him many questions, the
poor man pushed up the tail with his nose to speak, to see, and
to be seen, still answering them; the wise holy fathers trust-
ing not to his information, gave orders to the ofIcers to carry
the speakifi"\J horse to the torture, which being done according-
ly, as they began to turn the ropes through the horse's èelly,
at the third turning of them the skin of the belly brl ke, and
the real body of Guadalaxara appeared in all his dimensions,
and by the horse's torture, he saved his life. The poor nmn
died three weeks after, and he forgave the scholars ,,,ho con-
trived this n1ischief, and an elegy was made on his death.
Tl,esis defcnded by F. Jamcs Garcia, in tlte ltall of the
Inquisition.
The ca
e of the Rev. father F . James Garcia, made a great
noise in Spain, which was thus:
This same James Garcia is the learned man of whom I have
spoken sevcral times in my book. I-lis father, though a shoe-
maker by trade, was very honest and well beloved, and as
God had bestowed on him l'iches enough, and having but one
child, he gave him the best education he could, in the college
of Jesuits, wlkre, in the study of grammar, he signalized him-
self for his vivacity and uncommon wit. After going to the
university, he went throuf;h philosophy and divinit.y, to the
admiration of his masters; he entered St. Augustin's orèer,
and after his I!oviciate was ended, desired to obtain the degree
of master of arts; he defended public thesis of philosophy,
anù after, oiher thesis of divinity, \vithout any nlOderator to
2n
wer for him in case of necessity. The thesis
nd f:ome
propositions were quite new to the learned people; for among
other propositions, one was lnnoccntium esse 'rC'l"um 110ntijiccm,
non est de fidc, i. e. it is not an article of L.ïith that Innocent is t
l
true pope. And next to this proposition, this othel': Non cre-
de7.e quod non video, non cst contra fidem. It is not against
the Catholic filÍth not to believe what I (10 not
ee.
Upon account of these two propositions, he was summoned
by the inqui
itors, and ordered to defend the said propositions
Fcparately, in the hall of the inquisition, and answer for 8ix
days together, to all the arguments of the learned Quali..
ficatofs, which he did, and kept his ground, that in
tead of
being punished for it, he was honored with the cro
s of tho
Qualificator, after the examinations were made of the purit.y
of his blood.
)rA
TER-KEY TO POPERY.
193
Sentence given against Lawrence Castro, goldsmitll, of Sar-
agossa.
La wrence Castro was the n10st famous and wealthy gold-
smith in the city, and as he went one day to carry a piece (.f
plate to Don Peùro Guerrero, before he paid him, he bade hiln
go and see the house along with one of his domestic servants,
which he did, and seeing nothing but doors of iron, and hear-
ing nothing but lamentations of the people within; having rc-
turned to the inquIsitor's apartment, Don Pedro asked him,
Lawrence, how do you like this place? To which Lawrence
said, I do not lil
e it at all, for it seems to me the very hell up-
on earth. This innocent, but true answer, was the onlyocca-
sion of his misfortune; for he was immediately sent into one
of the hellish prisons, and at the same tin1e many officers went
to his house to seize upon every thing, and that day he appear-
ed at the bar, and his sentence was read: he was condemned
to be whipped through the public streets, to he marked on his
shoulders with a burning iron, and to be sent forever to the
gallies: but the good, honest, unfortunate man died that very
day; all his crime being only to say, that the holy
ffice did
seem to him hell on earth.
.Lit the same time, a lady of good fortune was whipped, be-
cause' she said in company, I do not know whether the pope is
a man or a \Vonmn, and 1 hear wonderful things of him every
day, and I imagine he must be an animal very rare. For
these words she lost honor, fortune and life, for she died six
days after the execution of her sentence: and thus the holy
fa
hers punish trifling things, and leave unpunished hOfl'ible
crunes.
The followin
instance will be a demonstration of this truth,
and show how the inquisitors favor the ecclesiastics ITIOre than
the laity, and the reason why they are n10re
evere upon one
than the other.
In the diocess of l\lurcia was a parish priest in a village in
the n1olmtains. The people of it were almost all of thCIn
shepherds, and were obliged to be always abroad with their
floclçs: so the priest being the commander of the shepherdess-
es, began to preach every Friday in the afternoon, all the con-
gregation being compo
ed of the women of the town. llis
constant subject was, the indispensable duty of paying the
tithes to him, and this not only of the fruits of thE: earth, but
of the seventh of their sacraments too, which is 11l.1trimony,
and he had sllt:h great eloquence to persuade then1 to secrecy,
n.
194
MASTER-KEY TO POPERY.
as to their husbands, and a ready subn1ission to him, that he
'began to ren p the fruit of his doctrine in a few days, and by
this wicked exmnple, he brought into the list of the tithes all
the nlarried women of the town, and he recei\-"ed from them
the tenth for '
ix years together; but his infernal doctrine and
practice was discovered hy a young woman who was to he
married, of whonl the- pI'iest asked the tithe before hand; but
she telling it to her sweet-heart, he went to òiscover the case
to the next cOlnmissary of the inquisition, who having examin-
ed the matter, and found it true, he took the priest and sent
hÏ111 to the inquisition; he was found guilty of so abominable a
sin, and he himself confessed it; and what was the punishment
inflicted on him? Only to confine him In a friar's cell for six
n1onths. The priest being confined, nlade a virtue of neces-
sity, and so composed a small book, entitled, ,TILe T1.11c Peni-
tent, whi{ h was universally approved by all sorts of people, for
solid doctrine and u1orality. lIe dedicated the work to the ho-
Jy inquisitors, who, for a rel\Tard of his pains, gave him anoth-
er parish a gr-eat deal better than the first. But hardened
wretch! There he feU again to the same trade of receiving
the tithes; upon which the people of the parish complained to
the govCl!Lor, who acquainted the king with the case, and his
majesty ordered the inquisitors to apply a speedy remedy to
it; so the holy fathers sent hiIn to the pope's gallies for fire
Veal'S time.
W I must own, it is quite against IllY inclination to give this
and the like accounts, for it will seem very mnch out of the
way of a clergyman; but if the reader will make reflections on
them, and consider that my design is only to shew how unjust-
ly the inquisitors act in this and other case
, he will certainly
excuse me; for they really deserve to be ridiculed more than
argued against, rea
oning being of 110 force with them, but a
discovery of their infamous actions and law
, Inay-be ,viII pro-
duce, if not in them, in some people at least, a good effect.
The Roman Catholics believe there is a purgatory, and that
the souls suffer Illore pains in it than in hell. But I thinl{ the
inquisition is the only purgatory on earth, and the holy fathers
are the judges and executioners in it. The reader may form
a dreadful idea of the barbarity of that tribunal, by what I
have already said, but I am su:re it will never come up to what
it is in reaiity, for it pa
seth all understanding, not as the
pcace of God, but as the war of the devil. .
So that we may emály know by this, and the aforesaid ac-
count, that they leaye ofT all observance of the first precepts
:!I.A.STER-J{EY TO POPERY.
lû5
of the holy office, and chastise only those that speak either
ncrainst the pope, clergy, or the holy inquisition.
o The only reason of settling that tribunal in Spain, was to
examine and chastise sinners, or those that publicly contenl-
ned the fJith. But now a man n1ay blaspheme and commit the
most heinous crimes, if he says nothing against the three men-
tioned articles, is free from the hellish tribunal.
Let us except from this rule the rich J e,vs, for the poor are
in no fear of being confined there; they are the rich alone
that suffer in that place, not for the crime of J ewdaism,
(though this is the color and pretence,) but the crime of hav-
ing riches. Francisco Alfaro, a Jew, and a very rich one,
was kept in tbe inquisition of Seville four year:::, and after he
had lost all he had in the world, was discharged out of it with
a small correction: this was to encourage him to trade again
and get more riches, which he did in four years time. Then
he was put again in the holy office, with the loss of his goods
and money. And after three years imprisonment he was dis-
charged, and ordered to wear for six months, the mark of
San-Benito, i. e. a picture of a man in the Iniddle of the fire
of hell, which he was to wear before his breast publicly.-
But Alfaro a few days after, left the city of SevilJe, ånd seeing
n pig without the gate, he hung the San-Benito on the pig's
neck, and made his escape. I saw this Jew in Lisbon, and
he told me the story himself, adding, Now I anl a poor Jew,
I tell every body so, and though the inquisition is more severe
here than in Spain, nobody takes notice of me. I am sure
they would confine me forever, if I had as much l'iches as I
had in Seville. Really, the holy office is more cruel and in-
human in Portugal than in Spain, for I neYer saw any publicly
burnt in Iny own country, and I saw in Lisbon seven at once,
four young women and three men; 1\vo young women were
burnt alive and an old man, and the others were strangled first.
But being obliged to dismi
s this chapter, and leavt. out ma-
ny curious historie
, I promise to relate them in the ;5econ
l
part of this work. Now let me entreat all true protestants to
join with me in hearty prayer to God almighty.
o eternal God, who dost rule the heal'ts of kings, and or-
òerest
v.ery thing to the glory of the true religion, pour thy
holy SpIrIt upon the heart of Louis the first, that he may '5eo
the barharous, unchristian practices of the inquisitors, and
with a firm resolution abolish aUla,,'s contrary to those given
us by thy only son, our Saviour, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
PART IV.
Of their Prayers, Adoration of Images, and Rcliu.
ARTICLE I.
Of t!wir Prayers.
TIlE prayers sung or said, in the church, are seven canon-
ical hours, or the seven services, viz: 'l'ertia, Sexta, Norw)
Vesperæ, JJlatutina, and Completæ.-Pi"imais composed of the
general confession, three psalms, and many other prayer
,
with the .11Iartyrologio Sllnctorum, i. e. with a commemoration
of all the saints of that day. Tertia is a prayer or sen'ice
of three psalms, anthem, and the colJect of the day, &c.
Se.Tla and lVona are the same. Ve.
peræ, or evening songs,
contain five anthems, five psalms, an hymn, lJ[agnificat, or nIY
soul doth magnify, &c., with an anthem, collect of the day,
and commemorations of S8me saints. lJlatutina, or matins,
is the longest f
rvice of the seven, f0r it contains, 1st. The
psahn. 0 come let us sing: 2d. An hymn: 3d. Three anthems,
three psalms, and three lessons of the Old Testament: 4th.
Three anthems, three psalms, LInd three lessons of the day,
i. e. of the,life of the saint of that day, or the mystery of it:
5th. Three antheIJ1s, three psahns, three lessons, of which the
first beginneth with the gospel of the day, and two or three
lines of it, and the rest is an homily, or exposition of the gos-
pel: 6th. Te Dcum: 7th. Five anthems, five psalms, an hymn,
:u
t!1enI of the day, the psalm, Blessed be the Lords of Israel,
,v.c., the collect of the day, and some commemorations.-
Complctæ, or complice
, is the last service, which contains the
general confession, an anthem, three or fi)t1r psalms, and Lord
now lcUest thou, &c., and some other adherent prayers for the
Virgin, the holy cross, saints, &c. All these seven services
are said, or sung, in Latin, every day in the cathedra] churches,
but not in all the parish churches.
In the cathedral churches on the festivals of the first class,
r the greatest fcsti vals, as those of Christ and the Virgin
lUû
)IASTER-KEY TO POPERY.
197
l\lm y, all the seven canonical hours are sung, Pr.ima at six
in the morning, and a mass after it. Tertia at ten, the great
nmss after, and after the mass, Sexta and Nona. At two, OJ'
three in t l "1e afternoon, the evcning song; at seven, complices;
and half all hour after midnio'ht, the matins. In the festivals
o .
of the second class, as those of the apostles, and some saInts
placed in that class by the popes, Tertia, evening songs and
nlatins are all that are sung, and likewise every day, though
not with organ, nor'music.
In the parish churches the priests sing only Tertia, and eve-
ning songs on Sundays and festivals of the first class; except
,vhere there are some foundations, or settlements for singing
evening songs on other private days. But the great mass is
always sung in every parish church, besides the Inasses for
the déad, which are settled to be sung.
In the convents of the fl"Îars, they observe the method of
the cathedral, exccpt some days of the week granted to them
by the prior, as recreation days, and then they say the service,
and go to divert themselves all the day after. As to the nuns,
I have given an account in the first chapter of their lives and
con vcrEation.
The priests and friars that do not say, or sing the service
with the community, are obliged in conscience to say those
seven canonical hours every day, and if they do not, they com
nlit a mortal sin, and ought to confess it among the sins of ornis-
8ion. Besides these seven services, they have, not by pre-
cept, but by devotion, the service, or small office of the Vir-
gin l\Iary, the seven penitential psalms, and other prayers of
saint
, which are by long custom become sel'vices of precept,
fur they never ,,,ill dare to omit them, either fJr devotion's
sake, or for fear that the laity would tax them with coldness
and negligence in matters of exemplary devotion.
As to the public prayers of the laity, they all are contained
in the beads or r08ary of the Virgin l\'Iary, and to give theln
some small comfort, there is a fixed tinw in the evenino- in
o
every church for the rosary. The sexton rinus the bell, and
when the pari
hioners, Loth men and wome
, are gathered
together, the minister of the pari
h, or any other priest, comes
o
t
f the vestry, i
l hi
surplice, and goes to the altar of the
, lrgm l\lary, and hghtIng two or more candles on the altar's
taLlc, he knc?ls dJwn before the altar, makes the sign of the
cross, and begIns the rosary with a praycr to the Vir<rin: anò
after he has said half of the Ave 11I(lri
l, &e., the p:opie say
the other half, which he repeats ten tin1cs, the p
ple doing
R.'2
198
JIASTER-KEY TO POPERY.
the same. Then he says Gloria Patri, &c.; anò the people
answer, As it was in the bcginning, &c. Then, in the same
manner, the priest sayshalfof Our Fatller, and tcn times half
Ave ]}[aria, and so he and the people do, till they have said
thetn fifty times. This done, the priest says another pt:ayer
to the Virgin, and begins her litany, and af
er everyone of
her Jitles, or encomiums, the people answer Ora pro '!lob is,
pray fo
us. The litany ended, the priest and people yi
it
five altars, saying befl)re each of them one Patcr lYo
jfe1', nnd
one Ave JIar-ia, with Gloria Plltri; and lastly, the priest,.
kneeling down before the great altar, says an act of contrition,
and endeth with Lighten our darkness, 'll"e beseech thee, &c.
All the prayers of the rosary are in the vulgar tongue, except,
Gloria Patri and Ora pro nobis, i. e. Glory he to thee, &c.,
and Pray for us. .
After the rosary, in some churches, there is Oratio lJIcnta-
lis, i. e. a prayer of meditation, and for this purpose the priest
of the rosary, or some other of devout life and conversation,
readeth a chapter in some devout book, as Tlwmas à Kempis,
or Francis de Sales, or Father Eusebio, of the difference l1c-
tween temporal and eternal things; and when he has ended
the chapter, everyone on their knees, begin to meditate on the
contents of the chapter, with great devotion and silence.
They continue in that prayer half an hour or more, and after
it, the priests say a prayer of thanksgiving to God Almighty,
for the benefits received from him by all there present, &c.
I said public prayers cif the laity; for when they assist at
the divine service, or hear mass, they only hear what the
priest says in Latin, and answer Amen. Generally speaking,
they do not understand Latin, especially in towns of 300 huu-
, ses, and villages, there can scarcely be found one Latinist,
except the curate, and even he very often doth not understand
perfectly ".ell what he reads in Latin. By this universal ig-
norance we may say, that they do not know what they pray
for; nay, if a priest was so \vicked in heart, as to curse the .
people in church, and damn them all in Latin, the poor idiots
must answer Amen, knowing not '" hat the priest
ays. I do
not blan1c the common people in this point, but I blame the
pope and priests that forbid them to read the scripture, and
by this prohibition they cannot know what St. Paul says about
praying in the vulgar tongue: So the pope and priests, and
those timt plead ignorance, must answer for the people before
the dr
a.dful tribunal of God.
'lASTER-KEY TO POPERY.
199
Bcsides this public prayer of the rosary, they have private
prayers at home, as the crea, the Lord's Frayer, a prayc
to
the 'Virgin, t!te act of cont'l"ition, and other prayers to saInts,
angels, and for souls in purgatory. But this prayer of the
rosary is not only said in church, but i8 sung in the stI'eets;
and the custom was introduced bv the Dominican friar
, who,
In some parts of Spain, arc calÌed The Fathers if' tlie !toly
rosary. .Sundays and holy days, after evening song.c:, the
prior of the Dominicans, with all his friars and corporation,
or fraternity of the holy rosary, begins the Virgin's C't"C'lIing
songs, all the while ringing the bells, \vhich is to call for tIle
procession, and when the evening songs are over, the cle.:.'!{
of the convent, drest in his Alva or surplice, taking the stan-
dard where the picture of the Virgin l\Iary is drawn wiih a
fr
me of roses, and two novices in surplices, with candlesticks,
walking on each side of the standard, the procession beginneth.
First, all the brethren of the corporation go out of the church,
each with a wax candle in his hand; the standard followeth
after, and all the ftiar
, in two iines, follow the standarò. In
this order the procession goes through the streets, all singing
Ave 1llaria, and the laity answering as before. They stop in
some public street, where a friar, upon a table, preacheth a
sermon of the excellency and power of the rosary, and gath-
ering the people, they go back again into the church, where
the rosary being over, another frial' preacheth upon the same
subject another sermon, exhorting the people to practise thi5
devotion of the rosary; and they have carried so far this
extravagant folly, that if a man is found dead, and has not the
beads or rosary of the Virgin in his pocket, that man is not
reckoned a christian, and he is not to be buried in consecrated
ground till somebody knoweth him, and certifieth that such a
man was a christian, and passeth his word for him. So every
body tãkes care to have always the beads or rosary in his
pocket, as the characteristic of a christian. But this dcyotiGn
<Æ the rosary is made
o common among bigots, that they are
always with the beads in their ha;nds, and at night round ahout
their necks. There is nothin 6 more usual in Spain and Por-
tugal, than to see people in the nmrkets, anò in the shopF:, pray-
ing with their beads, and sellinr; and buyino- at the Eame time , .
1::1 ., I::)
nay, the procurcrs in the great Piazza are pra
ing with their
heads, and at the same time contrivin(r and agreeing with a man
for wicked intrigues. So all sorts C"of persons having it as a
Jaw to
ay the l'osary every day: some say it walking, othcrs
in company, (keepinci silent for a while) but the rest talking
200
)IASTER-KEY TO POPERY.
or laughing: so great is their attention and devotion in this
indispensable prayer of the holy rosary.
But this is not the worst of their p,'actices; for if a man or
priest neglects one day to say the rosary, he doth not commit
a ITIortal sin, though this is a great fhult anIong them; but the
divine service, or seven canonical hours, every priest, friar,
and nun, is obliged to say every day, or else they commit a
mortal sin, by the statutes of the church and popes. This ser-
vice, which is to be said in private, and with christian devotion,
is as much profaned among ecclesiastics and nuns, as the ro-
sary among the laity; for I have seen many ecclesiastics (and
I have done it myself several times) play at cards, and have
the breviary on the table, to say the diyine service at the
same time. Others walking in company, and others doing
still worse- things than these, have the breviary in their hands,
and reading the service, when they at the saine time are in
occasione proa.i11la pcccati; and, notwithstanding they believe
they have performed exactly that part of the ecclesiastical
duty.
I know that modesty ob1igeth me to be more cautious in this
account, and if it was not for this reason, I could detect the
most horrible things of friars and nuns that ever were seen
or heard in the world; but leaving this unpleasant sul
ect, I
conle to say something of the profit the priests and fi'iars get
by their irreli
ious prayers, and by what means they recom-
mend them to the laity.
The profits priest and friars get by their prayers, are not so
great as that they get by absolution and masses; for it is by an
accident, if sometimes they are desired to pray for money.-
There is a custom, that if one in a L:'lmily is sick, the head of
the family sends immediately to sonle devout, religious friar
or nun, to pray for the sick, so by this custom, not all priests
and friars are enlployed, but only those that are known to live
a regular life. But because the people are very much nIista-
ken in this, I crave leave to explain the naturp of those whom
the people believe religious friars, or in Spanish, GaZ1nonnos.
In every convent there are eight or ten of those Gaz1llonnos, or
devout lnen, who, at the examination for confessors and preach-
ers, were found quite incapaLle of the performance of the
great duties, and so were not approved by the examiners of the
convent. And though they scarcely understand Latin, they
are permitted to say mass, that hy that means the convent
might not be at any expense with them. These poor idiots,
being not able to get any thing by selling absolutions, nor by
)IASl'ER-KEY TO POI)ERY.
20
preaching; undertalie the life of a Gaz'lnonTlo
, and live a migh-
ty retired life, keeping themselves in their cells, or chalubers,
and not conversing with the rest of the community: so their
vret.hren Gllzmonnos viEit them, and among themsc1 ves, there
is nothing spared for their diversion, and the carrying on their
pri vate design
.
'\Vhen they go out of the convent it must be with one of the
same farandula, or trade. Their faces look pale j their eyes
are fixed on the ground, their discourse all of heavenly thing
,
their visits in public, and their meat and drink but very Jittle
before the world, though in great abundance between thcn1-
selves, or, as they say, Inter prirato8 parietes. By this lnor-
tifying appearance, the people believe thcm to be godly men,
and in such a case as sickness, they rather send to one of these
to pray for the sid\:, than to other friars of less public fame.-
But those hypocrites, after the apprenticeship of this trade is
over, are very expert in it, for if any body sends for one of
them, either without n10ney, or sO!lle substantial present, they
say they cannot go, for they have so many sick persons to visit
and pray for, that it is in1possible for them to spare any time.
But if money or a present is sent to him, he is ready to go and
pray every where.
So these ignorant, hypocritical friars, are always followed
by the ignorant people, who furnish them with money and
presents, for the sake of their prayers, and they live n10re
comfortable than many rich people, and have one hundred pis-
tnles in their pockets oftener than nlany of the laity who bave
good estates. . -
Some people will be a pt to blame me for gh-ing so bad a
character of those devout men in appearance, when I cannot
be a judge of their hearts. But I answer, that I do not judge
thus of aU of them, but only of those that I knew to te great
hypocrites and sinners; for I saw seven of
heln taken up by
the inquisitors, and I was at their public trial, as I have
given an account in the former chapter. So, by these seven
we may give a near guess of the others, and say, that their
outward morti(ying appearance is only a donk of their
private designs.
There are some nuns likewise, who follow the same tra(
e
a
I have gi.ven one instance in the chapter of the inquisition,
nnd Üough the ignorant people see every day some of thcEe
GazmOllTlOS taken up by the inquisitor
, they are so blinded,
that they always look for one of them to pray. TheRe hypo-
crites do pGrsuado the h
acl& of familie!', that they ar
o1..li&;(j
202'
MASTER-}{EV TO POPERY.
in conscience to mind their own business, rather than to pray
and that the pro\'idence of God has ordered every thing fer
the hest for his ereatureE=, and that he, (foreseeing that the heads
of f:unilies wonid have n:) tilne to
p"re f.r prayer
) has cho-
scn sijch religi,ms men to Iway [,1' them, so they are well re-
com?..:nse.J for îhcir prayers, and God only knoweth whether
they pray or not. 1\10st commùJlly, when they are wanted,
they are at the club, wi' h their Lrethren Gazl1lonnos, eating
anJ drinking, aflerwards painting their faces with 80n1e yel-
low drug, to make themselves look pale aud mortified. 0
gooù God! how great is thy patience in tolerating ::;uch wicked.
l11en. '
As to the n1eans the priests and friars make use of, and the
doctrine '
ey preach to recommend this e:xercise of praying to
the people, I can give one instance of them as matter of
fact. Being desired to preach upon the suhject of prayer, by
the mother abbess of the nuns of St. Clara, who told n1e in
private, that many of her nuns did neglect their prayers, and
were most commonly at the grate with their devotees, and the
good mother, out of pure zeal, to]d me that such nuns were
the devils of the monastery; so to oblige her, I went to preach,
and took my text out of the gospel of St. 1\iathew'- chap. xvii.
5. 21. Howbeit, this leind gocth /lot out but by p'rayer and fas-
ting, but in our vulgar, the text is thus, HOlL.beit this kind oj
del,ils,
c. And after I had eXplained the text, confining my-
self wholly to the learned Silveria's commentaries, I did en-
deavor to prove, that the p
rsons devoted to God by a public
profession of monastical lifc, were bound in conscience to
pray without ceasing, as St. Paul tells us, and that if they neg-
lectcd this inòispen::;able duty, they were worse than devils:
and after this proposition, I did point out the way and method
to tame such devils, whi..;;l was by prayer and fasting. And
lastly, the great obligation laid upon us by ;Tesus Christ and
his apostles, to make use of this exercise of prayer, which I
did recommend as a medium to attain the highest degree of
glory in heaven, and to exceed e"en angels, prophets,
patriarchs, apostles, and all the saints of the heavenly court.
I do not intend to give a copy of the sermon, but I cannot
pass by the proof I gave to confirm n1Y proposition, to show
by it, the trifling method of preaching most generally used
am0ng the Roman Catholic preachers.
The historiographers and chronolog('rs of S1. Augustine's
order, say, (said I) that the great father Augustine is actually
in heaven, before the throne of the holy Trinity, as a reward
.
1\L-\..STER-KEY TO POPERY.
203
fOl the unparalleled zeal and devotion he had upon earth, for
that holy mystery, and because he spent all his free time on
earth in prayin
, which makes him now in heaven greater
than all sorts of saints. They say more, viz. that in the heav-
en of the holy trinity, there are only the Father, the Son, the
Jloly Ghost, the Virgin l\lary, St. Joseph, and, the last of all,
St. Augustine. Thus father Garcia, in his Santoral, printed
in Saragossa, in 1707, vide sermon on St. Augustine.
To this, I knew would be objected the 11 th verse of the xi.
chap. of St. IHatthew, Among tltem t!tat ærc born of 'lComen,
tl,e1'e Italll not'risen a g'rcater than John tlte Baptist. To which
I did answer, that there was no rule without an exception, and
that St. Augustine was excepted fr0111 it: and this I proved by
a maxim received among divines, viz. Infimum s'l1p'remi excedit
sup'remum infimi, the least of a superior order exceeds the
greatest of an inferior. There are three heavens, as St. Paul
says, and, as other expositors, three orders. They place in
the first heaven, the three divine persons, the Virgin lVlary,
St. Joseph, and St. Augustine; in the second, the spiritual in-
telligences; and in the third, St. John Baptist, at the head of
all the celestial army of saints. Then, if St.. Augustine is the
last in the highest hea Ycn, though St. John is the first in the
lowest, we 11lUst conclude, by the aforen1entioned maxim, that
the great Father Augustine exceeds in glory all the saints
of the heavenly court, as a due reward for his fervent zeal in
praying, while he was here below an10ng Inen.
The n10re I remen1her this av.d the like nonsensical proofs
and methods of preaching, the n101'e I thank God for his good-
ness in bringing Ine out of that communion into another,
where, by application, I learn how to make use of the scrip-
ture, to the spiritual good of souls, anù not to anlusements
which are prejudicial to our salvation.
Thus I have given you an account of the puLlic and private
prayers of priests, fi'iars, nuns, and laity; of the profits they
have by it, and of the 111ethods they take to recomn1cnd this
exercise of praying, to all sorts and conditions of people. Sure
aID, that after a mature consideration of their way of pray-
Ing, and of that we make ur-;:e of in our reformed conrrrega-
tionr-;:, every body may '
asily know the great differen
e f e-
twecn them hoth, and that the f
)rrr
and practice of prayers
among Protestants, are more agreeaLle to God, than these of
the llomish priests and friars can le.
204
)IAt rER-ltEY TO J>OP
UY.
ARTICLE II.
Of the adoration of Im,ages.
The adoratiot. of ÏInages was comlnanded by se tera] genera,:
councils, and many popes, whose cornmands and decrees are
obeyed as articles of our christian faith, and everyone that
breaketh thelll, or, in his outward practice, cloth not confurm
to thein, is punished by the inquisitors as an heretic-there-
fvre, it is not to be wondered at, if people, edtlcated in such a
beliet
without any kno,vledge of the sin of such idolatrous
practices, do adore the images of the saints 'with the same, and
sometimes Inoro devotion of heart than they do God Almighty
in Spirit.
I begin, therefùre, this article with myself, and DIY own for-
getfulness of God. When I was in the coHege of Jesuits to
Iearn grammar, the teachers were so careful in reconlmend-
ing to their scholars devotion to the Virgin l\lary of Pilar, of
Sm.agossa, that this doctrine, by long custom, was so deeply
impressed in our heart
, that every body, after the school was
over, used to go to visit the blessed image, this being a rule
and a law for us all, which was observed with so great strict-
ness, that if any student by accident missed that exercise of
devotion, he was the next day severely whipped for it. For
nIY part, I can aver, that during the three years I went to the
college, I never was punished for want of devotion to the Vir-
gin-. In the beginning of our exercises, we were bidden to
write the foJlo,ving words, Dirige in calamum 'Virgo J.1Iaria,
11lcmn; Govern my pen, 0 Virgin l\Iary! And this was my
constant practice in the beginning of all my scholastical and
moral writings, for the space of ten years, in which, I do pro-
test., befùre IUY eternal Judge, I do not remember whether I
did invoke God, or call on his sacred name or not. This I re-
melnber, that in all my distempers and sudden afflictions, my
daily exclan1ation was, 0 'Virgin del Pila-r! IIelp me, 0 Vir-
gin! &c. so great ,vas my devotion to her, and so great my for-
getfulness of our God and Saviour Jesus Christ. And indeed
a mftTI that does not inquire into the matter, hath 1110re reason"
according to the doctrIne taught in those places, to trust in the
Virgin l\Iary, than in Jesus Christ: for these are common ex-
prcssions in thcir Ecrmons, That neithcr God nor Jest/oS Ckri.\t
can do any tIling in Elcavcn, but 1chat is approved by tlte blesscd
lJlary, that she is tlte door of glory, and that nobody can cntl'r
into it, but by lW1' influence, &c. And the preachers give out
MASTER-KEY TO POPERY.
205
these propositiolls as principles of our faith, insOll1uch, that if
any body dares to believe the contrary, he is reputed an here-
tic, and punished as such.
Bl1t because this article requireth a full explanation, anel
an aCLount to be given of the smallest circun1stances belong-
ing to it, I shall keep the class and order'of Saints, and of the
adoration they are worEhipped with, by most people of the
Roman Catholic countries. And first of all, the image of J e-
sus Christ is adored as if the very image of wood was the ve-
ry Christ of flesh and bones. To clear this, I will give an in-
stance or two of what I sa w myself.
In the cathedral church o( S1. SalvatoI', there was an old
in1age of Jesus Christ, crucified, behind the choir, in a small
unnÜnded chapel; nobody took notice of that crucifix, except a
devout prebend, or cannon of the church, who did use every
day to kneel down before that image, and pray heartily to it.
The prebend (though a religious Ulan in the outward appear-
ance) was ambitious in his heart of advancement in the
church; so, one day, as he was on his knees before the old
hnage, he was begging that, by its power and influence, he
might be made a bishop, and after a cardinal, and lastly, pope;
to which earnest request the image made hin1 this answer: Et
tu que me t'CS a qui, que ltazes ]Jor'l1li? i. e. And tltou SCC} t me
lwre, 1.c/tat dost tllOu do fo'r mc? These very words are writ-
ten, at this present day, in gilt letters upon the crown of thorns
of the crucifix: To which the pretend answered, Domine pee-
eav'i, et malum eoram tc feci; i. e. Lo'/'d Il1ave sinned, ånd
done eeil bifO'l'e thee. To this humble request, the image said,
Tlwu sltalt be a bis/lOp; and accordingly he was made a bishop
soon after. These words,
poken by the crucifix of the cath;
edral church, made sueh a noise, that crowds of well disposed,
credulous people used to eome every day to offer their gifts to
the miraculous image of our Saviour; and the image, which
was not minded at all before, after it spoke, was, and has Leen
c\-er since, so much reverenced, that the of1crings (If the fir
t
six veal'S \\ ere reckoned worth near a milliun of crown
. The
hist
ry of the miracle reports, that the thing did happen in the
year 15ü2, and that the chapter did intend to build a chapel in
one corner ofti.e chur
h, to put the crucifix in with nlOre ven-
eration and decency; but the image spoke again to the preb
nd.
and said, )jly plcasure is to continue u'/tere I am till tl1e t /I.a (
r
tlte lrorld: Bo the crucifix is kept in the san1e chapel, but richly
adorned, and nobody ever since dare touch any thinO' èelong-
ing to the image, for fear of disobliging the crucifi"í. ît has an
S
206
ÞfASTER-KEY TO POPERY.
old wig on its head, the very sight of which is enough to mnke
evcry one laugh; its L.'lce looks so Llack and dif-tigured, that
nobody can guef:s whether it is the face of a n.an or woman;
uut every l'üdy believes that it is a crucifix, Ly the other cir-
cumstances of the cr()
, and crown of thorn
.
The image is so much adm"cd, fond 1 elievcd to have f:uch u
power of working miracles, that if they ever carry it out in a
procc
ion, it must be on ron urgent nece
sity: For eÀample,
if there is a "ant of rain in such a degree that the han-est is
aln10st lost, then, Ly the COmnl()n ccn
ent of the archti
hop
and chapter, a day is fixed to take the crucifix out of its
chapel in a puLIic proccFsicn, at "hich all the priests and
fl.iars ure to as
ist without any eXCUEe, and the devout peo-
ple too, with marks of repentance, and public penances. Like-
wise the archbishop, viceroy, and magistrates, ought to assist
in rohes of mourning; so when the day comes, which is n1cst
commonly very cloudy, and cliFposed to rain, all the commu.
nities meet together in the cathedral church: And in the year
1706, I saw,
pon such an occasion as this, 600 disciplin
nts,
whose blood ran from their shoulders to the ground, many
others with long heavy crosses, others with a heavy tar of
iron, or chains of the same, hanging at their necks; with such
dismal ol-jects in the middle of the procession, 12 priests drest
in black OTl1aments, take the crucifix on their shoulders, and
with great veneration carry it through the streets, the eunuchs
singing the litany.
I said, that this image is never carried out but when there
is great want bf rain, and when there is sure appearance of
plenteous rain; EO they never are disappointed in having a
Iniracle published after such a procession: Nay, sometin1es it
hegins to rain before the crucifix is out of its place, and then
the people are alInost certain of the power of the image: So
that year the chapter is snre to recei\ e Gouble tithes: For ey-
ery body vows and prOlni
es two out of tcn to the church for
the recovery of the harvest.
But what
is more than this, i
, that in the last wars tetween
king Philip and king Charlcs, as the people were divided into .
two factions, they did give out by the J"evclation of an ignor-
ant, silly beata, that the crucifix wus a butißcro, i. e. affecticn..
ate to king Philip; and at the same time there was another
revelaticn, that his mother, the Virgin cf Pilar, was an im]'e-
riali
,t, i. e. f0r IÚng Charles; and the minds of the people" ere
so much prejudiced with their opiniün
, that the partizans ot
Philip did go to the crucifix, and those of king Charles to the
MASTER-KEY TO POPERY.
207
Virgin of Pilar. Songs were n1ade upon this subject: one
said, IVhen Cllarles the ThÙ.d mounts on /tis llO'rsc, the Vi'rg'ill
of Pilar holds the stirrup. The other said, 1VltenI J hilip comes
to our land, tlte Cruc'ifix of St Sllivator guide8 him by his hand.
Uy these twb factiGn:-:,1,oth the Virgin and her SOIl'
image Le-
gan to lose the presents uf one of the l-'artie8, and the chapter,
having made bitter complaint to the inqusiton:, these did put
a stop to their sacrilegious practices. So high is the people's
opinion of the image of the crucifix, and so blind their tàith,
that all the world would not Le ahle to per8nade them that that
im'1ße did nut speak to the canon or preLcndary, and that it
cannot work nlÌrac1es at any tin1e. Therefore our CU8t(,I11
wa
, afler school, to go first to visit the crucifix, touch its feet
with our hands, and kiss it, and from thence go to visit the Ìln-
age of the Virgin of Pilar, of which I am going to speak, as
the next inmge to that of Jesus Christ, though, in truth, the
first as to the people's devotion.
And because the story, or history of the image, is not well
known, (at least, Inever saw any foreign book treat of it,) it
seems proper to give a full account of it here, to satisfy the
curiosity of many that Jl)ve to read and hear; and this, I tlÚnk,
is worth every body'
observation.
The book, called The Histo'J"Y of Ollr Lady of Pilar, and
Iter l1Iiraclcs, contains, to the best of ITIY n1emory, the follow
ing account:
The apostle St. James came, with seven new converts, to
preach the gospel in Saragossa, (a city famous for its antiqui-
ty, 'and fiH" its f()unòer Cê.l.'
ar Augustus; but more farIlous for
the heavenly image of our lady,) and as they were sleeping on
the river Ehro'8 siùe, a celestial Inusic awakened them at
midnight, and they saw an army of angels, rneloòiously 8ing-
ing, come dùwn from hea\Ten, with ac image on a pillar, which
they pla('ed on the ground, forty yards distant ii'om the river,
Ðnd the cummanding angel spoke to 81. JÐmes and
aid, This
image of our queen shall be the defence of this city, where
you come to plant the Christian religion; tÐke therefore good
courage, fùr, by her help and a
sistance, you shaH not leave
this city without reducincr all the inhaLitants of it to your
'ö
l\fastcl'''s religion; and as she is to protect you, you also l11tlfo't
ignalize yourself in l'uilding a decent chapel for hcr. The
nnzcls leaving the im'lge on the earth, wi
h the f.awc llH'Ic..dy
an I songs, w(>nt up to heaven, and 81. Jmnes and hi
f.C\ en
eonvertr-;, on their knees began to pray, anl 1 thank God for thi3
208
MASTER-KEY TO POPERY.
inestimable tI
asure sent to them; arId the next day they be-
gan to build a chapel with their own hanjs.
I have already given an account of [he chapel, and the
riches of it; now I ought to say. som3thing of the idolatrous
adoration given to th:1t illn'J
, by all the Roman catholics ot
that kingdom, and of al
that go to vi:;it her.
The im:lge has her own chaplain, be:;iJes the chapter of the
prebenJs and other priests, as I have told before. The Virgin
chaplain h:1S nlare privilege and power than any king, arch- ..
bishop, or any ecclesiastical person, exce
ting the pope; for
his business is only to dress the im'J.ge every Inarning, which
he doth in p!"ivate, and without any help: I say in private,
th3.t is drawing the four curtains of the Virgin's canopy, that
nobody may see the ilnage naked. Nobody has liberty, but
this chaplain, to approach so near the image, lor as the author
of the book says, An archbislwp (who had so great assurance
as to attempt to say mass on tlte altar table of tlte ViJogin,) died
upon the spot, before he brgan mass. , I saw king Philip and
king Charles, when they went to visit the image, stand at a
distance froll) it. \Vith these cautions it is very easy to give
out,. that nobody can know of what m
tter the image is ma.de,
that being a 1hing referred to the angels only; so all the favor
the Christians can obtain frOln the Virgin, is only to kiss her
pillar, for it is contrived, that by having broke the wall back-
wards, a piece of pillar, as big as two crown pieces is shown,
which is set out in gold rounl about, and there kings, and
other people, kneel down to adore and kiss that part of the
stone. The stones and lime that were taken, when the wall
was broke, are kept f0r relics, and it is a singular favor,
if any can get some small stone, by paying a great sun1
of money.
There is always so great a crowd of people, that many times
they cannot kiss the pillar; but touch it with one of their .
fingers, anj kiss afterwards the part of the finger th:J.t touched
the pillar. The large chapel of the lam? is alwa)T.s, night anJ
day, crowded with people; for, as they say, that chapel was
never e:npty of ChriBtian
, sin
e s
. J::unes built it; so the
people of the city, that WOrli all day, go out at night to vi
it
the im'J.ge, anJ this blin1 devotion is not only among pÎ::>:!s
people, but amon;4 the proflig:J.te and debauched too, insom:'lch
th::tt a lewd wom.ln will n')t g'J to bel with )tIt vi:-:itinJ the
im'J.ge; for they c3rtainty be
ieve, th
lt n Ùo:ly caR be s3. v eJ,
if they do n3t pay this tábute of devotion 1::> the sacreJ im:l
e,
And' to provo this
rroaeous belief, th
ch3.
)!
in, who ùresses
)IASTER-KEY TO POPERY.
20ß'
thù image (as he is reckoned to he a heavenly man) may
casily give out what stories he plea
e
, and rnake the peoplc
believe any revelation froln the Virgin to him, as I1mny of them
are written in the l'oflI{ of the Yirgin of Pi!ar, viz: Dr. Au-
gustine Ramirez, chaplain to the image, in 1542, as he was
dres
ing it, it talked with him fJr half a quarter of an hour,
and saiJ,
i\Iy fai
hful and well beloyed Augustine, I am very angry
,vLh the inhabitants of this my CIty for their Ingratitude. l\ow,
I tell you as my own chaplain, that it is my will, and I com-
mand YOJ] to publish it, and say the follo\ving words, whi<.:h
is my speech to all the people of Saragossa :-Ullgrateful peo-
ple, remember that after my son died fùr the redemption of the
world, but more especially for you the inhabitants of this my
chosen city, I Was pleased, two years after I went up to hea-
ven, in body anli soul, to pitch upon this select city for my
dwelling place; therefore I con1manded the angels to make an
Ïrn3.ge perfèctIy like n1Y body, and another of my son Jesus,
on my arms, and to set them both on a pillar, whose matter
nODody can know, and when both were finished, I ordered
them to be carried in a procession, round about the heavens,
by the principal angels, the heavenly host following, and after
them the Trinity, who took me in the middle; and when this
procession was over in hea vcn, I sent them down with illumi-
nations and music to awake Iny belo,"ed James; who was
asleep on the river side, commanding him by my ambassador
Gabriel, to build with his own hands a chapel for my image,
which he did accordingly; and ever since I have been the
defence of this city against the Saracen army, when by my
mighty power, I killed in one night at the breach, 50,000 of
them, putting the rest to a precipitate flight. ADer this visible
miracle, (for many
aw IDe in the air fighting,) I have deliv-
ered then1 from the oppression of the 1\100r8, and preserved
t
e faith and reli 6 ion unpolluted for Illany year
, in this my
city. How nnny times have I succored them with rain in
time of need? Ilow Inany sick have I healed? IIow nluch
riches are they masters of, by my unshaken affection to them
all? AnJ what is the recompense they give me for all these
benefits? Nothing but ingratitude. I have been ashamed
these fitloen years, to speak before the eternal Father, wlw
n1ade me queen of this city: many and many tÍnlCS I anl at
conrt, with the three persons, to give nlY consent f()r pardoning
sev
ral sinners; and when the Father asketh me about my
city, I am so bashful tha.t I cannot lift up my eyes to Inn1. lIe
52
210
L\.sTER-KEY TO rOPER\;o
knoweth very well their ingratitude, and blamelh me for suf-
fering so long their covetousness: and this very rDorning, being
called to the council of the Trinity f0r paEsing the divine de-
cree, under onr hands and seal for the bishop rick of Sara-
gossa, the Holy Spirit has affronted me, saying I was not wor-
thy to be of the private council of heaven, because I did not
know how to govern and punish the crilninals of my chosen
CIty; and I have vowcd not to go again to the heavcnly court,
until I get sati
faction from my otienders. So I thunder out
this sentence, against the inhabitants of Saragossa, that I
have resolved to take away my image from them, and resign
D1Y government to Lucifer, if they do not come, for the space
of fifteen days, every day with gifts, tears and penances, to
make due submission to my image, for the L'lults committed
by them thcse fifteen years. And if they come with prodigal
hands, and true hearts, to appease my wrath, which I am
pleased with, they shall see the rainbow for a signal, that I
receive them again into my favor. But, jf Dot, they may be
sure that the Prince of DarlínE 5S shall come to rule and reign
over them; and further, I do declare, that they shall have no
appeal, from this my sentence, to the tribunal of the Father;
for this is my will and pleasure.
Afær this revelation was published, all the inhabitants of
the city were under such a concern, that the n1agistrates, by
the Art::hbishop's order, published an ordinance for all sorts of
people to fast three days every week, and not to let the cattle
go out those days, and to make the cattle fast as well as the
reasonable creatures; and as for the inf:'lnts, not to suckle them
but once a day. All sorts of work were forbidden for fifteen
days time, in which the people went to confess and make
public penances, and offer whatever money and rich jewels
they had, to the Virgin.
Observe now, that the publishing of the revelation was in
the month of l\lay, and it is a customary thing for that country
to see almost every day the rainbow at that time: so there was
by all probability, certain hopes that the rainbow would not
fail to shew its many colored faces to the inhabitants of Sar-
ago
sa, as did happen the eleventh day; but it was too late for
them, for they had bestowed ail their treasures on the image
of the Virgin. Then the rejoicings began, and the people
were almost mad fúr joy, reckoning themselves the nlOst hap..
py, blessed people in the universe.
By these and the like revelations, given out every day by
)fASTER-KEY TO POPERY.
211
the YirO'in's chaplain, the people are so much infatuated, that
they ee
tainly telieve there is no salvation for any soul with-
out the consent of the Virgin of Pilar; so they never fail to
visit her image every day, and to pay her due homage, for
fear that if she is angry again, Lucifer should come to reign
over thenl. And this is done by the Virgin's crafty cha plain,
to increase her treasure and his own too. As to him, I may
aver, that the late chaplain, Don Pedro V dlenzula was but five
years in thè Virgin's service; yearly rent is 1000 pistoles, and
when he died, he. left in his testament, 20,000 pistoJes to the
Virgin, and 10,000 to his relations; now how he got 30,ÛOO
pistoles clear in six years, every body may imagine.
As to the miracles wrought by this image, I could begin to
give an account, but never make an end; and this subject re-
quiring a whole book to itself, I will not trouble the reader
with it, hoping in God that if he is pleased to spare my life
some years, I shall print a book of their miracles and revela-
tions, that the world may, by it, know the inconsistent grounds
and reasons of the Romish communion.
Now, coming again to the adoration of jnlage
, I cannot pm
s
by one or-two instànces more of the image of Jeslls Christ,
=t.dDred by the Roman Catholics.
The first is that of the crucifix in the nlonument, both en
Thursday and Friday of the holy week. The Roman Catha-
tics have a custom on holy Thursday, to put the consecrated
host in the monument till Friday morning at eleven of the
clock, as I have already said, treating of the estatiûn of the
holy Calvary.
Now I will confine myself wholly to the aùoration paid to the
crucifix, and all the material instruments of our Saviour's pas-
sion, by priests, friars, and magistrates. In every parish
church and convent of friars and nuns, the priests form a mon-
ument, which is of the breadth of the great altar's front, con-
sisting of ten or twelve steps, that go gradualJy up to the Ara,
or altar's table, on ,\Thich,lies a box, gilt, and adorned with jew-
els, wherein they keep for twenty-four hours, the great host,
which the pricst that o111ciates, has consecrated on Thursday,
between eleven and twelve. In this monument, you may see
as many wax candles as parishi(ìners relongin fT to that church,
and which burn twenty-fimr hours cüntinualiv. o At the bettom
of the monument there is a crucifix laid do,,:n on a black ycI-
vet pillow, and two silver dishes on each side. At three ûf the
clock, in the afternoon, there is a sermon preached by the
Lent preachers, whose constant text is, Jllandatu11l nov'lIm do
12
M..
STER-KEY TO POP:ERY.
vobis, 'Ilt diligatis in'deem, sicut dilexi 'Cos. Expressin
in it,
the excessive love of our Saviour towards us. After it the pre-
late washes the feet of twelve poor people, and all this while
the people that go from one church to another, to visit the
m'Jnmnents, lineel down before the crucifix, kiss its feet, and
put a piece of money into one of the dishes. The next day, in
the nlornÍng, there is another sern10n of the passion of our
Savi0ur, wherein the preacher recommends the adoration of the
cross according to the solemn ceremün y of the church. That
day, i. e..Good Friday, there is no IHa
s in the Romish church,
fùr the host which was consecrated the day before, is received
by the minister, or prelate, that officiates, and when the pas-
sion is sung, then they begin the adoration of the crucifix,
which is at the bottom of the monument, which is performed
in the following manner: First of all, the priest that officiates,
or the bishop, when he is present, pulling off his shoes, goes
and kneels down three times before the crucifix, kisses its feet,
and in the same manner comes back again to his own place.
All the priests do the saIne, but without putting any thing inlo
the dish, this being only a tribute to be paid by the magistrates
and laity. This being done by all the magistrates, the priest
bids them to come at four in the afternoon, to the descent of
Jesus Christ, from the cross, and this is another idolatrous cer-
emony and adoration.
The same crucifix that ,vas at the bottom of the monument,
is put on the great altar's table, veiled or covered with two cur-
tains, and when the people are gathered together in the
church, the chapter or community con1es out of the vestry, and
J(neeling down before the altar, begins in a doleful manner to
sing the psalm, 11Iiscre'l"e, and when they come to the verse,
Tibi soli peccav'i,
c., they draw the curtains, and shew the
image of Christ crucified to the people. Then the preacher
goes up to the pulpit, to preach of the pains and affiiction
of
the Virgin l\Iary, (whose in1age shedding tears is placed be.
fore the image of her son.) I once preached upon this occ
..
sion in the convent of S1. Augustine, in the city of Huesca,
and my text was, An-imam mcam pcrtransirit gZad-ivs. After
the preacher has exaggerated.the unparaUeled pains of the
Virgin l\Iary, seeing her son suffer death in 80 ignominious a
m:1nner, he orders Satellites (so they call those "that stand
with the nails, han1mer and other instrun1ents used in their
crucifixion) to go up to the cros
, and taJ{e the crown of thorns
off the crucifix's head, and then he preaches on that action,
representing to the people his sufferings as movingly as pO:-5si-
:n1.ASTER-KEY TO POPERY.
213
ble. After the Satellites have taken the nails out of the hands
and feet, they bring down the body of Jesus, and lay hÎln in the
coffin, and when the sermon is over, the procession begin
,
all in black, w.hich is called the burying of Christ. In that
procession, which is always in the dark of the evening, there
are vast numbers of disciplinants that go along with it, whip-
ping themselves, aud shedding their blood, till the body of J e-
sus is put into the sepulchre. Then every body goes to adore
the sepulchre, and after the adoration of it, begins the proces-'
sion of the e3tations of the holy Calvary, of which I have spo-
ken already in the second chapter of this book.
I will not deprive the public of another superstitious cere-
mony of the Romish Priests, which is very divert!
g, and Ly
which their ignorance will be n10re exposed to the world; and
this is practised on the Sunday before Easter, which is called
Dominica Palmarum, in which the church commemorates the
triumphant entry of Jesus Christ in Jerusalem, sitting on an
ass, the people spreading their clothes and branches of oli\-e
trees on the gro
nd: so, in imitation of this triumph, they do
the same in some churches and convents.
The circumstance of one being ....representative of Jesus, on
an ass, I never saw praGtised in Saragossa, and I was quIte
unacquainted with it till I went to Alvalate, a town that Le-
longs to the archbishop in temporalibus and spiritualibus,
whither I was obliged to retire with his Grace, in his precJpi-
tate flight from }{ing Charles's army, f()r fear of being taken
prisoner of state. 'Ve were there at the Franciscan convent
on that Sunday, and tlie archbishop being invited to the cere-
mony of the religious triumph, I went with him to see it, which
was performed in the following manner.
All the fl'iars being in the body of the church, the guardian
placing his Grace at the right hand, the procession hegan, ev-
ery frIar having a branch of olive tJ'ees in his hand, which
was blessed by the Rev. Father Guardian; so the cross going
Lefore, the procession went out of the church to a large yard
before it: But, what did we see at the door of the church, but
a fat fl'iar, dressed like a Nazareen, on a clever ass, two friars
holding the stirrups, and anothçr pulling the ass by the Lriùle.
The repre::,entative of Jesus Christ took place before the
arehbishop. The ass was an he one, though not so fat as the
fl'iar, but the CerClTIOny of thro\ving branches and clothes be-
fore him, being quite strange to him, he began to start and ca-
per, awl at last threw down the heavy load of the friar.-Tlw
· u::;s ran away, leaviuci the reverend on the ground, with one
2]4
!IASTER-KEY TO POPERY.
ann broken. This unusual ceremony was so pleasing to us
ar, that his Grace, notwithstanding his deep melancholy,
bughed heartily at it. The ass was brought back, and an-
other friar, making the representative, put an e
d to this ass-
.ike ceremony.
But the ig
orance and superstition begins now; when the
ceremony \\
as
)Ver, a novice took the ass by the bridle, and
began to walk in the cloister, and every friar made a rever-
ence, passing by, and the people kneeling down before him,
said, 0 happy ass! But his Grace displeased at so great a
superstition, spoke to the guardian, and desired him not to suf
fer his friars to give such an example to the ignorant people,
as to adore the ass. The guardian was a pleasant man, and
seeing the archbishop so nlelancholy, only to make him laugh,
told, his Grace that it was impossible for him to obey his
Grace, without renloving all his friars to another convent,
and bring a new community. \Vhy so? said his Grace. Be-
cause (replied the guardian) all my friars are he asses. And
you the guardian of them (answered his Grace.) Thus priests
and friars excite the people, to adore images.
But because this article of images, and that of relics, con-
tribute very much to the discovery of the idolatries, and of the
bigotries and superstitions of all those of that communion, I
shall not leave this suhject, without giving an account of some
rcmarkable images which are worshipped and adored by
them all. "
They have innull1erable images of Christ, the" Virgin l\iary,
the angels and saints in the sh'eets, in small chapels built
wilhin the thickness of the waUs, and lTIOst commonly in the
corners of the streets, which the people adore, kneel down
before, and make prayers and supplications to. They say,
that many of those inlages have spoken to some devout per-
sons, as that of St. Philip Nery did to a certain ambitious
priest, who, walking through the street where the image was,
was talking within himself, and saying, Now I am a priest,
next year I hope to be a dean, after bishop, then cardinal, and
after alJ, summus pontifex. To which soliloquy the image of
St. Philip answered, And after all these honors comes death,
and after deåth, hen and damnation forever. The priest, be-
ing surprised at this answer, so rnuch apropos, and looking up
v.nd ùown, he saw the mouth of the image open, by which he
concluded that the in1age had given him the answer; and so,
taking a firm resolution to leave all the thoughts of this deceit
t
i.il world, with his own ll10ney he purchased the house where
JlI.A.STER-KEY TO POPERY.
215
the image ,vn
, and built a decellt chapel in honor of St. Philip,
which now, by the gif-s of pious people, is so much enlarged,
that we reckon St. Philip's church and pari
h to be the third
in the city for riches, the numÌJer of beneficiate priests being
46, besides the rector.
In St. Philip's church there is a miraculous crucifix, called
EI santo Christo de las peridas; The holy Christ of child-l:cd
women; which is much frequented by all people, but chiefly
by the ladie
, who go there to be churched, and leave the pu-
rification offering mentioned in the ceremonial law of l\Io.;
s.
And as there is this image which is an advocate of women
delivered of child, there are also two images, who are advo-
cates of barren women, one of the Virgin in the convent of
Recolet friars of St. Augustine, and another of St. Antonio
del Paula: The first is called the barren women, the second,
the intercessor of the barren ladies. This second image is
in the convent of Victorian friar
, and is kept in a gilt box in
a chapel within the cloister, and the door is always locked tip,
. and the key kept by the father corrector, i. e. the superior of
the convent.
Another practice, of paying worship and adoration to the
Virgin lVlother, and her child Jesus in a manger, is observed
on Christm3.s, and eight days after: But especially the nun
do signalize themselves on this festival, and that on which Jo-
sus was lost and found again in the temple; f0r they hide the
child in some secret place under the altar's table, and after-
evening songs they run up and down through the garden:
cloisters and church, to see whether they can find the inno
cent child, and the nun that finds him out, is excused, for that
year, from all the painful offices of the convent; but she is to
give, for three days together, a good dinner to all the .huns
and father confessDr; and that year she may go to the grate at
any time, without any leave or fear, for she doth not assist at
the public service of prayers: in short, she has liberty of con-
science that year, for finding the lost cbild, and :5he is often lost
too at the end of the year, by followin cr a liceutious sort of a
life. 0
These are, in some measure, voJuntary devotions and ado-
rations, but there are many others by precept of the church,
and,. ordinances of several popes, who have granted prope.:
serVIces to several image
, with which priests and friars do
serve and adore them, or else they commit a Inortal sin, as
well as if they neglected the divine and ecclesiastical service,
nnd the due observance of the tcn COIl1mandmcnts of th} law
.
216
MASTER-KEY TO POPERY.
of God. I will give a few instances of these adorations by
precept, and with them I shall conclude.
There are in the church of Rome, proper services granted
by the popes for the invention or finåing out of the cross, anù
f0r the exaltation of it, and every priest, friar, and nun, is
obliged in conscience, to say the
e services in honor of the
cross; and after the great mass they adore the cross, and this
is properly adoration, for they say in the pymn, Let us come
and adore the holy cross, &c., and the people do the same at:
1er them. They carry the cross on the 3d of l\fay, and on
the great Litany-days, in a solemn procession, to son1e high
place out of the town, and after the officiating priest has lifted
up the cross towards the south, north, west, and east, blessing
the four parts of the world, and singing the Litany, the pro-
cession comes back to the church. These festivals are cf;le-
brated with more devotion and veneration, as to the ouhvard
appearance, than pomp and nmgnificence, except in the
cluU'ches dedicated to the holy cross, where this being the tit-
ular festival, is constantly performed with all manner of cere
monies, as the days of the first class.
There are proper services granted to the Yirgin l\lary. un.
riel' the following names: The Virgin of the rose of St. DOlll.
inick, of the girdle of St. Augustine, or the rope of St. Fran.
ci'5, and of the scapulary of l\lount carmel. All these distin-
guishing signs of the Virgin l\lary, are celebrated by the
church and fraternities of devout people, and adored by all
christians, being all images and relics to be worshiped by the
conlmand of the pope. Now, by what has been said, where
can we find expressions fit to explain the 'wickedness of the
Romish priests, the ignorance of the people, committed to their
charge, and the idolatrous, nonsensical, ridiculous ceremonies
with which they serve, not God, but saints, giving them more
tribute of adoration than to the Almighty 1 I must own, that
the poor people who are easily persuaded of every thing, are
not S3 much to be blamed, but the covetous, barbarous clergy;
for these (though nlany of them are very blind) are not to be
supposed ignorant of what sins they do commit, and ad \.ise
the people to cOlnmit: so, acting against the dictates of th
ir
')wn conscience
, they, I believe, lllust an
wer for their ill-
guided flock, before the tribunal of the li\ ing God
.
TIlE
INQUISI1'ION OF GOA
[FROM DR. BUCHANAN'S RESEARCHES IN AS!.!..]
"Goa, Convent of tlte Augustinians, J art. 23, 1808.
"On my arrival at ßoa, I was received into the house of
Captain Schuyler, the British Ref?ident. The British force
here is commanded by Co!. Adams, of his Majesty's 78th rc-
giment, with whom I was formerly well acquainted in Bengal.<l'
Next day I was introduced by these gentlen1en to the ViceJoy
of Goa, the Count de Cabral. I intimated to his excellency
my wi
h to sail up the river to Old Goa,t (where the Inquisi-
. tion is,) to which he politely acceded. I\-lajor Pareira, of th
Portuguese establishment, who was present, and to whom I
had letters of introduction from Bengal, offered to accompany
me to the city, and to introduce me to the archbishop of Goa,
the Primate of the Orient.
"I had communicated to Col. Adams, and to the British Res-
ident, my purpose of inquiring into the stCite of the Inquisition.
These gentlemen informed me, that I should not be able to ac-
complish my design without difficulty; since every thing rela-
ting to the Inquisition was conducted in a very secret manner,
the most respectable of the lay Portuguese themselves being
i
norant of its proceedings; and that, if the priests were to dis
cover my ohject, their excessive jealousy and alarm would
prevent their communicating with me, or satisfying my in qui-
1Ïes on any subject.
.. The forts in the harbor of Go a were then orcl!pied by British troops, (two
King's rcgiment
, and two regiments of nati\'e infal1try,) to prevcnt its fallin rr
into the hallCls of the French. a
t There is Old and New Goa. The old city is about eight miles up the
ri.er. The Viceroy and th
chief Portuguese inhahitants re
i(h" at New Goa,
whkh is at the mouth of the ri','er, within the forts of the harbor. The 01e1
city, where the Inquisition and the Churches are, is now almost elltirely de-
le! ted by the
ecular Portuguese, and is inhabited by the pric
ts alone. The
..mhealthiness of the place, and the ascenrlt'llcy of the pl..ef.ts, are the cau':;t
1
.ssigned for ab;Ulù 111ing the ancient city.
T 217
.B
INQUISITIOX OI<' GO.\.. .
"On receiving this intelligence, I perceived that it would be
necessary to proceed wi
h caution. I ,vas, in filet, about to
visit a republic of priests; whose donlinion had existed for
nearly three centuries; whose province it was to prosecute
heretics, and particularly the teachers of heresy; and frum
whose authority and sentence there was no appeal in India.
I "It happened that Lieutenant Kempthorne, Commander of
IIis l\Iajesty's brig Diana, a distant connexion of my own, was
at this time in the harbor. On his learning that I meant to
visit Old Goa, he offered to accompany me, as did Captain
Stirling, of I-lis l\Injesty's 84th regiment, which is now sta
joned at the forts.
,. \Ve proceeded up the river in the British Resident's barge,
l1C'companied by l\lajor Pareira, who was well qualified by a
thirty years' residence, to give inG:
rmation concerning local
circumstances. From him I learned that there were upwards
of two hundred Churches and Chapels in the province of Goa,
and upwards of two thout:1and -priests.
"On our arrival at the city, it was past twelve o'clock; all
the churches were shut, and we 'were told that they wou]d not
be opened again till two o'clock. I mentioned to l\Iajor Parei-
ra, that I intended to stay'at Old Goa some days; and that I
should be obliged to him' to find me a place to sleep in. lIe
secmerl surprised at this intimation, and observed that it would
be difficult for me to obtain a reception in any of the Churches
or Convents, and that there were no private houses into which
I could be admitted. I said I could sleep any where; I had
two servants with Ine, and a travelling bed. 'Vhen he per-
ceived that I was serious in my purpose, he gave directions to
a civil officer in that place, to clear ont a room in a building
which had long been uninhabited, and which was then used as
a warehouse for goods. l\latters at this time presented a very
gloomy appearance: and I had thoughts of returning with my
companions from this inhospitable place. In the mean time
we sat down in the roon1 I have just mentioned, to take some
refre 1 hmenf, while l\lajor Pareira ".cnt to call on some of his
· frienas. During this interval, I communicated to Lieut. I{emp-
thorne the olject of my visit. I had in my pocket'Dellon's
Account of the Inquisition at Goa;' 'Jl. and I mentioned soma
* Monsieur Dcllon, a physician, was imprimned in a rlungeon of the Influi.
sition at Goa for two years, and witnes
ed an Auto da Fe, when some here-
tics were burned; at which time he walked barefoot. After his release he
wrote the history of his confinement. His descriptions are in general 'elj
accurate.
.
ISQ,UISITION OF GOA
21D
particulars. \Vhile we were conversing on the suhject, the
great bell of the Cathedral began to toll; the same which Del..
Ion observes, always tolls before day-light, on the morning of
the Auto da Fe. I did not myself ask any questions of the
people concerning tIe Inquisition; but Mr. Kempthorne made
inquiries for me. and he soon found out that the Santa Casa,
or Holy Office was close to the house where we were then
sitting. The gentlemen went to the window to view the hor-
rid mansion; and I could see the indignation of free and en-
lightened men arise in the countenances of the two British offi-
cers, while they contemplated a place where forn)er
y their
own countryn1en were condemned to the flmnes, a.nd into
which they themselves might now suddenly be thrùwn, with-
out the possibility of rescue.
. "At two o'clock we went out to view the churches, which
were now open for the afternoon service; for there are regular
daily masses; and the bells began to assail the ear in 'every
quarter.
"The magnificence of the churches of Goa, fur exceeded
any idea I had formed from the previous description. Goa is
properly a city of Churches; and the wealth of proyinces
seems to have been expended in their erection. The ancient
specimens of architecture at this place, far excel any thing
that has been attempted in modern times, in any other part of
the East, both in grandeur and in taste. The chapel of the
palace is built after the plan of St. Peter's at Rome, and is
"aid to be an accurate lnodel of that paragon of architecture.
1'he church of St. Dominic, the founder of the Inquisition, is
decorated with paintings of Italian masters. St. Francis Ya-
ver lies enshrined in a monument of exquisite art, and his
coffin is enchased with silver and precious stones. The cathe-
dral of Goa is wor
hy of one of the principal cities of Europe;
llnd the church and convent of the A
gustinians (in which I
now reside) is a noble pile of building, situated on an emi.
nence, and has a magnificent appearance from aL.'lr.
"But what a contrast to all this grandeur of the churches is
the worship offered in them! I have been present at the chap-
els every day since I arrived; and I seldonl see a single wor.
shipper, but the ecc1e
iastics. Two rows of. native pricst
,
kneeling in order before the altar, clothed in coarse black
garments, of sickly appearance and vacant countenances,
perform here, frOlll day to day, their laborious masses,
seemingly unconscious of any other duty or obligation of
life.
220
INQ,rISITloN OF GO.A.
"The day was now far Fpent, and my con1panions were
nbout to leave me. 'Yhile I was considering whether I should
return with them, Major Pareira said he would first introduce
Ine to a priest, high in office, and one of the most learned men
in the place. ""Ve accordingly walked to the convent of the
Augustinians, where I was presented to Josephus à Doloribu8,
a man well advanced in life, of pale visage, and penetrating
eye, rather of a reverend appearance, and possessing great
fluency of speech and urbanity of manners. At first sight he
presented the aspect of one of those acute and prudent Inen of
the world, the learned and respectable Italian Jesuits, some of
whom are yet found, since the demolitioIf of their order, repo-
sing in tranquil obscurity, in different parts of the East. After
half an hour's conversation in the Latin language, during
which he adverted rapidly to a variety of subjects, and inquired
concerning some learned men of his own church, whom I had
visited in my tour, he politely invited me tQ take up my resi-
dence with him during my stay at Old Goa. I was highly
gratified by this unexpected invitation; but Lieutenant I(ernp-
thorne did not approve of leaving me in the hands of the In''
quisit(.Jr: For judge our surprise, whe
we discovered that
my learned host was one of the Inquisitors of the holy office,
the second member of that august tribunal in rank, but the first
and most active agent in the business of the department.
Apartments were assigned to me in the college adjoining the
'convent, next to the rooms of the Inquisitor himself; and here
I have Leen four days at the very fountain-head of informa-
tion, in regard to those su!.jects which I wished to investigate.
I breakfitst and dine with the Inquisitor almost every day, and
he generally passes his evenings in my apartn1cnt. As he
considers my inquiries to be chiefly of a literary nature, he is
perfectly candid and communicative on all sul'jects.
"Next day after Iny arrival, I "ras introduced by my learned
conductor to the Archbishop of Goa. \Ve found him reading
the Latin Letters of St. J'rancis Xavier. On my advert-
ing to the long duration of the city of Goa, while other
cities of Europeans in India had sufièred from war or revolu-
tion, the Archbishop observed that the preservation of Goa
"ras 'owing to the prayers of S1. Francis Xavier.' The In.
quisitor looked at n1e to see what I thought of this 8entiment.
I acknowledged that Xavier was considered by the learned
among the English to have been a great man. 'Yhat he wrote
himself bespeaks him a ll1an of learning, of original geníu
,
and great fortitude of mind; but what others have written for
INQUISITION OF GOA.
221
him and of him, has tarnished his fame, by making him the
inventor of fables. The Archbishop signified his assent. lIe
afterwards conducted me into his private chapel, which is de.
corated witIl images of silver, and then into the Archiepis-
copal LiLrary, wh;ch possesses a valuable collection of 1.ooks.
As I passed through our convent, in returning fron1 the Arch-
bishop's, I ohserved among the paintings in the cloisters a
portrait of the famous Alexis de l\tIenezes, Archbi
hop of Goa;
who held the Synod of DiaInper near Cochin in 159Ü, and
burned the books of the Syrian Christians. From the in-
scription underneath, I learned that he was the founder
of the magnificent church and convent in which I anI now
residing."
"On the same day I received an invitation to dine with the
chief Inquisitor, at his house in the country. The second
Inquisitor accompanied me, and we found a respectable com-
pany of priests, and a sumptuous entertainment. In the libra-
ry of the chief Inquisitor, I saw a register containing the
present establishment of the Inquisition at Goa, and the
narnes of all the officers. On my asking the chief Inquisitor
whether the establishment was as extensive as form"erIy, he
said it was nearly the same. I had hitherto said little to any
person concerning the Inquisition, but I had indirectly gleaned
much information concerning it, not only from the Inquisitors
themselves, but from certain priests, whom I visited at their
respective convents; particularly from a Father in the Fran..
ciscan Convent, who had himself repeatedly witnessed an
Auto da Fe." .
" Goa, Augustinian Convent, 26tT" Jan. 1808.
" On Sunday, after Divine Service, which I attended, we
looked over together the prayers and portions of Scripture for
the day, which led to a di
cussion concerning some of the
doctrines of Christianity. '\Ve then read the third chapter of
St. John's Go
pc1, in the Latin Vulg}1te. I asked the Inquisi-
tor whether he believed ill the influence of the Spirit there
spoken of. lIe òistinctly adlnitted it; conjointly however he
thought in some obscure sense with watcr. I ol'ser\Ted that
water was n1crely an emblem of the purifying effects of the
Spirit, and coùld be but an emblem. '\Ve next advcrted to
the expression of St. John in his first epistle, .' This is he that
came by water and blood: even Jesus Chri
t; not by water
only, but by water and blood :'-blood to atone for sin, and
\vatm. to purify the heart; justification. and sanctification,
T2
222
INQ,UISITION OF GOA.
both of which were expressed at the same moment on the
cross. The inquisitor was pleased with the su!ject. I refer-
red to the evangelical doctrines of Augustin (we were now in
the Augustinian convent) plainly asserted by that father in a
thousand places, anJ he acknowledged their truth. I then
asked hÍIn in what important doctrine he differed from the
protestant church? He confessed that he never had had a theo-
logical discussion with a protestant before. By an easy tran
Eition we passed to the importance of the Bible it
lf, to
illuminate the priests and people. I noticed to him, that afrer
looking through the colleges and schools, 'there appeared to
me to be a total eclipse of Scriptural light. He acknowl-
edged that religion and learning were truly in a degraded
state. I had visited the theological schools, and at every
place I expressed my surprise to the tutors, in presence of
the pupils, at the absence of the Bible and almost total want
of reference to it. They pleaded the custom of the place,
and the scarcity of copies of the book itself. Some of the
younger priests came to me afterwards, desiring to know
by what nleans they might procure copies. This inquiry for
Bibles was like a ray of hope beaming on the ,valls of tht)
Inquisition.
"I pass an hour sometimes in the spacious library of the
Augustinian convent. There are lllany rare volumes, but
they are chiefly theological, and almost all of the sixteenth
century. There are few classics; and I have not yet seen
one copy of the origin
l Scriptures in IIebrew or Greek."
Goo, Augustinian Convent, 27th, Jan. 1808.
"On the second morning after my arrival" I was surprised
by my host, the Inquisitor, coming into my apartment clothed
in black robes from head to foot; for the usual dress of his
order is white. lIe said he was going to sit on the tribunal
of the Holy Office. 'I presume, Father, your august office
does not occupy much of your time.' 'Yes,' answered he)
'much. I sit on the tribunal three or four days every week.'
"I had thought, for some day
, of putting Dellon's book
lnto the Inquisit(lr's hands; for if I could get him to advert
to the facts stated in that book, I should be able to I
arn, by
compari
on, the exact state of the Inquisition at the preEent
time. In the evening he came in, as usual, to pass an hour
In my apartment. After some convcrsation, I took the p
n
in my hand to write a few notes in my journal; and, as if to
amu
e him, while I was writing, I took up DeUon's book,
IXQUISITIO
OF GO...\.
223
which was lying with some others on the table J and handing
it across to him, asked him whether he had ever seen it. It
was in the French language, which he understood wcll.-'-
'Relation de 1'lnquisi1:ion de Goa,' pronounced he, with a
slow articulate voice. lIe had never seen it before, and began
to read with eagerness. He had not proceeded far, beB)re he
betrayed evident symptoms of uneasin43ss. lIe turned hastily
to the nliddle of the book, and then to the end, and then ran
over the table of contents at the beginning, as if to ascertain
the full extent of the evil. lie then composed himself to read,
while I continued to write. lIe tun
ed over thc pages with ra-
pidity, and when he came to a c
rlajIl place, he exclaimed in
the broad Italian acccnt 'l\lendacium, l\Iendacium.' I re-
quested he ,vould nlark thú
B passages which wete untrue,
and we should discuss the:TI after',-ards, for that I had other
books on the subject. 'Other books,' said he, and he looked
with an enquÌ1'ing eye on those on the table. He continued
reading till it was time to retire to rest, and then begged to
take the book with him.
It was on this night that a circumstance happened which
caused my first alarm at Goa. My servants slept every night
at my chamber door, in the long gallery which is common to
aU the apartnlents, and not far distant fronl the servants of
the convent. About midnight I was awaked by loud shrieks
and expressions of terror, frOlll sonle person in the gallery.
In the fir
t momcnt of surprise, I concluded it must be the
Alguazils of the holy office, seizing my servants to carry them
to the Inquisition. But, on going out, I saw nlY own servants
standing at the door, and the person who had caused the
. alarm (a boy of about fourteen) at a little distance, surround-
ed by some of the priests, who had con1e out of their cells on
hearing the noise. The boy said he had seen a spectre,
and it was a considerable time before the agitation of his
body and voice subsided. Next morning at breakfast the In-
quisitor apologized for the disturbance, and said the boy's
alarm proceeded fronl a phantasma animi,' a phantasm of the
imagination.
" After breakfast wc. rcsumeò the
ut;ject of the Inqni:-:ition.
The lnqui:-:itor admitted that Dellon's descriptions of the dun-
geons, of the torture, of the mode of trial, and of the Auto
da Fe, were, in genera1, just; but he said the writer Judged
untruly of the motives of the Inquisiturs, and vcry unchari!a-
bly of the character of the IIoly Church; and I admitted that,
under the pressure of his peculiar suffering, this might posji.
2.l4
I
Q.UISITION OF GOA.
bly be the case. The Inquisitor was now anxious to IU10w te.
what extent Delion's book had been circulated ill Europe. I
told him that Picart had published to the world extracts from
it, in his celebrated work called' Religious Cerelncnie
;' to-
ge
her wi l h plates of the system of torture and burnings at
the Auto da Fe. I added that it was now generally believed
in Europe, that these enormities no longer existed, and that
the Inquisition itself had been totally suppressed; but that I
Was concerned to find that this was not the case. II e now
began a grave narration to
how that the inquisition had un-
dergone a cha:gge in some respects, and that its terrors were
mitigated.".v.
*The following were the passages in Mr. Denon's narratiye, to which I
wished particularly to draw the attention of the Inquisitor. l\Ir. D had been
thrown into the Inquisition at Goa, and confined in a dlUJgeon, ten feet square,
whcre he remained upwards of two years, without sf'eing any person, but the
gaoler who brought him his YÍctuals, cxcept when he was brought to his trial,
expecting daily to be brought to the stake. His allcged crime was, charging
thf' Inquisition with cruelty, in a conversation he had with a Priest at Dam.aa,
another part of. India.
,
During the months of NOYember and December, I heard every morning,
the shrieks of the unfortunate, ictims, who were undergoing the Question. I
rf'membered to ha,'ë heard, before I was cast into prison, that the Auto da Fe
was generaHy celebrated on the first Sunday in Ad\'eut, because on that day
is read in the Churches that p:ut of the Gospel in which mention is made of
the LAST JU OG11 E
T; and the Inquisitors pretend by this ceremony to exhibit
n. lÏ\.ing emblem of that awful e\ent. I was likewise conyinced that there
\-\'ere a great number of prisoners, besides myself; the profound silence, which
feigned within the walls of the building, having enabled me to count the num-
ber of doors which were opened at the hours of meals. However, the first
a.nd second Sundays of Advent passed by without my hearing of ai1Y thing,
and I prepared to undergo another year of melancholy capti\Ïty, ,,,hen I was
aroused from my despair on the 11th of January, by the noise of the guards
removing the bars from the doors of my prison. The .J1.lcaide presented me
with a habit, which he ordered me to put on, and make myself ready to at-
tend hi,n when he should come again. Thus saying, he left a lighted lamp
in my dungeon. The guards returned, about two o'clock in the morning, anù
led me out into a long gallpry, where I found a number of the companions of
my fatP, drawn up in a rank against a wan: I placed myself among the rest,
and se,-eral more soon joined the melanchoJy band. The profound silence
and stillnes
caused them to resemble statues more than the ammated bodies of
ouman creatures. The women, who were clothed in a similar manner, were
placed in a ncighboring gallery, \\here we could not see them; but I remarkeù
that a number of persons stood by thcmseh-es at mme distance, attended by
others who wore long black dresses, and who walked back\\arcls and forward,
occasianplly. I did not then know who these were: but I was aftcwards in
formed that the furmer "--ere the victims ,\ho were condemned to be bllm
and the others were their confessors.
"After we were all rang
d against the wall of thi3 gallery, we received eae .
large wax taper. They then brought us a number of dresses made of Yf't
IXQ.UISITION OF GOA.
225
,,] had a!r{'ady discovered, from written or printed docu-
ment
, that the Inquisition at Goa was suppresscd by Royal
Edict in the year 1775, and established again in 177U. The
Franciscan I."athcl' before mentioned, witne
sed the annual
Auto da Fe, from 1770 to 1775. ' It was the humanity
nd
tender mercy of a good l(ing," said the old Fa
.her, 'which
3.bolished the Inquisition.' But immediately on Ius death, the
:.ower of the priests acquired the ascendant, under the Queen
. Jowa(rer and the tribunal was re-es
alJli
hed, after a Lloodle
s
ð , . .
nterval of five years. It has continued in operatIOn ever Eln
e.
It was restored in 1779, subject to certain restriction::, the chIef
of which are the two following: 'That a greater number of
low cJoth, with the cr6ss of St. Andrew painted before and behin(1. This is
caned the San Benito. The relapserl heretics wear another
pecies of robe,
calJed the Sarnarra, the ground of which is grey. The portrait of the sufler-
cr is painted upon it, placed upon buming torches with flames and demons
lùl round. Caps were then produced, called Carrochas i made of pasteboard,
pointed like sugar-loaves, all covered"over with devils and flames of fire.
"The great bell 0' the Cathedral began to ring a little before sLlnri
p, \\ hich
sern>d as a signal to warn the people of God to come and behold the august
ceremony of the Auto da Fe; and then they made us procped from the gal-
lery one hyone. I rcmarked as we passed into the great hall, that th z In-
f]uisitor was sitting at the door with his secretary by hini, and that he deliver
ed every prisoner into the hands of a particular person, who is to be his guard
to the place of burning. These persons are called l'arrains, or Godfathers
1\ly Godfather was the commander of a i5hip. I went forth with him, and as
soon as we were in the street, I saw that the procession was commenced by
the Dominican Friars, who have this honor, because St. Dominic founded the
In'luisition. The!':e are followed by the prisoners, who walk one after the otÌl-
er, each having his Godfather by his side, and a lighted taper in his hand,
The least guilty go foremost; and as I did not pass for oue of them, there
were many who took precedence of me. The W01l1f'11 ,\-ere mixed promiscu-
ously with the men. \Ve aU walked barefoot, and the sharp stones of the
streets of Goa wounded my tGlldcr feet, and caused the blood to stream; for
tlH-'Y made \1S march through the chief streets of the city; and we were regar-
ded e\'ery where by an inllumerable crowd of people, who had assembled from
all parts of India to behold this spectacle; for the Inquisition takes pains tc
announce it long before, in the most remote pa1Ïshes. At length we arrivcd
'at the church of St. Francis, which was, for this time, destined for the cf'le-
hration of the Act of Faith. On one side of the Altar, was the Grand In.
qnisitor and his Counsellors, and on the other the 'icem)" of Goa alld hi
Còurt. All the prisoners are seated to hear a sermon. I oLsel\'ed that those
prisoners \\ho wore the horriúle Carrodws came ill last in the proc(':::tion.
One of the Au
ustal1 Monks as('ende<] the pulpit, and preached for a quartt r
of an hour. The sermon Ll'ing concluded, two Tt'aders went up to the pulpit
one after the ot!wr, and rpad the sentences of the vriso1\rrs. l\ly joy ", a
ex-
tl"l'me
\\ h(>n I heard that mv
elltence was lIot to be burnt, but to be a gaHcy
!la\'e for five years. After the sentences \\ ere rear!, th(')" Sllll1l1WIWd !: an
'Hose miserable victims who were de
til1ed to be immolated by the lld
111-
I{ui
i\j{'u Tl:c in,lages of tl'c heretics \\110 had died in pli
0u \\ ere IHOl:t;h\
.
2"26
IXQ.UISITIO
,F GO--\..
witnesses should be required to convict a crimina than were
before necessary;' and, 'That the Auto da Fe -:;hould not be
held publicly as before; but that the sentences of the Tribunal
should be executed pri\.ately, within the walls of the Inqui-
sition.'
"In this particular, the constitqtion of the new Inquisition
is more reprehensible than that of the old one; for, as the old
Father expressed it, 'N une sigillum non revelat Inq uisitio.'
Formerly the friends of those unfortunate persons who were
thrown into its prison, had the melancholy satisfaction of see-
ing them once a year walking in the procession of the Auto
da Fe; or, if they were condemned to die, they witnessed
their death, ani mourned for the dead. But now they have
no means of learning for years whether they be dead or alive.
The policy of this new code of concealment appears to be this,
to preserve the power of the Inquisition, and at the same time
to lessen the public odium of its proceedings, in the presence
of British dominion t1-nl civilization. I asked the Father
his opinion concerning the nature and frequency of the pun-
ishment within the walls. He said he possessed no certain
means of giving a satisfactory answer; that every thing tran-
sacted there was declared to be 'sacrum et secretum.' But
this he knew to be true, that there were constantly captives in
the dungeons; that some of them are liberated after long con-
finement, but that they never speak afterwards of what pass-
ed within the place. fie added that, of all the persons he had
known, who had been liberated, he never knew one who did
not carry about with him what might be called, 'the mark of
the Inquisition;' that is to say, who did not show, in the solem-
nity of his countenance, or in his peculiar demeanor, or his
terror of the priests, that he had been in that dreadful place.
up at the same time, their bones being contained in small chests, covered with
flames and demons. An otIìcer of the secular tribunal now came forward,
and seized these unhappy people, after they had each received a slight blowupo1l,
the breast, from the Alcaide, to intimate that they were abandoned. They
were then led away to the bank of the rÏ\-er, where the Viceroy and his Court
were assembled, and where the faggots had been prepared the preceding day.
As soon as they arrive at this place, the condemned persons are asked in what
religion they choose to die; and the momcnt they have replied to thisquestiol1,
the executioner seizes them, and binds them to a stake in the midst of the
f.lggotS. The day after the execution, the portraits of the dead are carried to
the Church of Dominicans. The heads only are represented (which are gen-
raHy very accurately drawn; for the Inquisition keeps 'excellent limners for
the purpose,) surrounded by flames and demons; and underneath is the name
and crime of the persoll who had been bumed."-Relation c.:! l'Inquisition
Goa
chap. xxiv.
IXQ.r I
or :O:\' Of' G-OA.
27
.'The chief argument of tl1e Inquisitor, to prove the melio-
lution I)f the Inquisition, was the superior humanity of the In-
quisitors. I remarked that I did not doubt the humanity of
the exiRting officers; but what availed humanity in an Inquis-
itor? he nlUst pronounce sentence according to thé laws of the
Tribunal, which are notorious enough; and a relapsed Hcretic
must be burned in the flames, or confined for life in a dunge(ìll,
whether the Inquisitor be humane or not. But if, said I, you
would satisfy my mind completely on this subject, 'show me
the Inquisition.' He said it was not permitted to any person
to see the Inquisition. I observed that mine n1Ìght be consid-
ered a peculiar case; that the character of the Inquisition, and
the expediency of its long continuance, had been called in
question; that I lnyselfhad written on the civilization of India,
and might possibly publish something more on the subject,
and that it could not be expected that I should pass over the
Inquisition without notice, knowing what I did of its proceed-
ings; at the same time I should not wish to state a single fact
without his authority, or at If?ast his admission of its truth. I
added, that he himself had been pleased to communicate ,vith
me very fully on the' suL
ect, and that in all our discussions
we had both been actuated, I hoped, by a good purpose. The
countenance of the Inquisitor evidently altered on receiving
this intimation, nor did it ever after wholly regaIn its wonted
frankness and placidity. After SOllie hesitation, however, he
said, he would take n10 with him to the Inquisition the nex-
day. I was a good deal surprised at this acquiescence of the
Inquisitor, but I did not know what was in his n1ind.
"N ext morning, after breakf:'lst, my host went to dress fur
the Holy Office, and soon returned in his inquisitorial robes.
He said he would go half an hour before the usual time, for
he purpose of showing me the Inquisition. The buildings are
about a quarter of a mile distant from the convent} and we
proceeded thither in our :ðlanjeels.1f. On our arrival at the
place, the inquisitor said to me, as we were ascending the
steps of the outer stair, that he hoped I should be satisfied
with a transient view of the inquisition, and that I would re
tire whenever he should desire it. I took this as a good omen,
and followed lny cunductor with tolerable confidence.
· The l\Tanjeel is a kind of Palankeen common at Goa. It is merely a St'a
cot suspended from a bamboo, which is borne on the heads of four men.
Sometimes a footman runs before, having a staff in his hand, to which are at-
tached little bells or ringo;;, which he jingles as he runs, keeping time with the
motion of the bearers.
228
IXQ.UISITIO:V OF GOA.
"He led Ine first to the great hall of the Inquisition. 'Ve
were met at the door by a number of well-dressed persons,
",'ho, I afterwards understood, were the fan1iliars, and attenò-
al...'s of the lloly Office: They bowed VE: ry low to the inlpisi-
tor, and looked with surprise at me. The great hall is the
place in whièh the prisoners are marshalled tòr the procession
of the Auto da Fe. At the procession descriLed by DeHon, in
which he himself walked barefoot, clothed with the palnied
'=>
.trment, there were upwards of one hundred and fifty pri
on
ers. I traversed this hall f01' sometime, \vi:h a slow step, re
fleeting on its former scenes; the inquisitor walkeù by Iny
Bide, in silence. I thought of the fate of the luultitude of my
fellow-creatures who had passed through this place
condemned
by a tribunal of their feHow-sinners, their bodies devoted to
the flames, and their souls to perdition. And I could not help
saying to him, '\V ould not the holy church wish, in her mer-
cy, to have those souls back again, that she might allow them
n little further probation f' The inquisitor answered nothing,
but beckioned me to go with him to a door at one end of the
hall. By this door he conducted me to some small rooms, at..1
thence to the spacious apartments of the ehiefinquisitor. Hav-
ing surveyed these, he brought nle back again to the great
hall; and I thought he seemed now desirous that I should de-
part. 'Now, Fàther,' said I, 'lead me to the dungeons below,
I want to see the captives.' 'No,' said he, 'that cannot be.'
I now began to suspect that it had been in the mind of the in-
quisitor, from the beginning, to show me only a certain part
of the inquisition, in the hope of satisfying IHY inquiries in a
general way. I urgelJ him with earnestnes
, but he steadily
resi
tcd, and seemed to be offended, or rather agitated, by my
importunity. I intimated to him plainly, that the only way to
do justice to his own assertions and arguments, regarding the
present state of the Inquisition, was to shew me the prisons
and captives. I should then describe only what I saw; but
now the subject was lcft in awful obscurity. 'Lead me down,'
said I, 'to the inner building, and let me pass through the 1\\'0
hundred dungeons, ten feet square, described by your fornler
captives. Let me count the num1}er of your present captives,
and converse with them. I want to see if there arc any sul-
jects of the British government, to whom \ve owe protecticn.
I want to ask how long they have been here, how long it i
since they beheld the light of the sun, and whether they ever
expect to see it again. Show me f he chmnber of Torture; and
4ecIare what modes of execution or of punishment, are now
IXQ.UISITIO
OF GOA.
229
practised within the walls of the Inquisition, in lieu of the
puhlic Auto da Fe. If, after all that has passed, Father, you
l.e
ist this reasonahle request, I shall be j 4
-:ilied in believing
that you are afraid of expû
ing the real state of the Inqui::;i-
tion in India.' To these observations the inqui
itor Inade no
reply; but seemed impatient that I
hould withdra"t. 'l\Iy
good 1 1 'athe]',' "aid I, 'I am about to take my leave of you, and
thank you for your hospitable attentions, (it had been before
understood that I should take my final leave at the door of the
Inquisition, after having seen tl;c interior,) and I wish always
to preserve on my mind a favorable sentiment of your kind-
ness and candor. You cannot, you say, show me the captives
and the dungeons; he pleased then merely to answer this
question, for I shall believe your word: IIow many prisoners
are there now below, in the cells of the Inquisition r' The
inquisitor replied, 'That is a question which I cannot answer.'
On his pronouncing thcse words, I retired hastily towards the
door, and wished him fhrewell.' 'Ve shook hands with as
much cordiality as we could at the moment assume; and both
of us, I believe, were sorry that our parting took place with a
clouded countenance.
"From the Inquisition I w
nt to the place of burning in the
Campo Santo Lazaro, on the river side, where the victims
were brought to the stake at the Auto ùa Fe. It is close to the
palace, that dOle Viceroy and his court Inay witness the execu-
tion; for it has evcr becn the policy of the inquisition to make
these spiritual e
ecutions appear to be thc exccutions of the
s
ate. . An old priest accompanied me, who pointed out the
place, and ùescribed the scenc. As I passed over this melan-
choly plain, I thought of the difference l'etwecn the pure and
hrmign doctrinc, which was first preached to India in the Apos-
toilc age, and that bloody code, which after a long night of
darkness, was announced to it unùer the same name! And I
pundcred on the n1ysterious dispensation, which permitted the
Ininisters of the inqui
ition, with thcir racks and flanws, to
yi
it the
c lands, bc10re the heralds of the Go
pcl of Peace.
B
lt the mo
t painful reflcction was, that this tribunal should
yet exist, una\ved by the vicinity of Briti
h humanity and do--
luinioll. I was not sati
ficd with what I had seen or said at
the IllqHi
iLion, and I determined to go l'ack again. The in-
q llÌ
it()rs wcre now
ittinn' on the tribunal. and 1 had some e\.-
o ,
tll
C for returning; for I was to rcccive fl'on1 the ("hier inqlli
i-
.or a lcttcr which he said he would give Ino, hcfurc lIen the
U
.
230
IXQ.UISITIOX 01.' l;OA.
place, for the British ltesident in Travancore, being an an8wer
to a letter from that otIicer.
"\Vhen I arrived at the Inquisition, and had ascended the
outer stair
. the door-keepers surveyed me doubtingly, but
suffered me to pas
, supposing that I had returned by permis-
sion and appointnlent of the inquisitor. I entered the great
hall, and went up directly towards the tribunal of the Inq ui
i-
tion, described by Dellon, in which is the lofty crucifix. I sat
down on a form and wrote some notes; and then desired one
of the attendants to carry in my name to the inquisitor. As I
,valked up the hall, I saw a poor WOlnan sitting by herself, on
a hench by the ,vall, apparently in a disconsolate state of
rnind. She clasped her hands as I passed, and gave me a look
expressive of her distress. This sight chilled my spirits. The
filmiliars told me she was waiting there to be called up before
the tribunal of the Inquisition. \Vhile I was asking questions
concerning her crime, the second inquisitor came out in evi-
dent trepidation, and was about to complain of the intrusion,
when I informed him that I had come back for the letter frOln
the chief inquisitor. lIe said it should be sent after me to
Goa; and he conducted me with a quick step towards the door.
As we passed the poorwon1an, I.pointed to her, and said, with
some emphasis, 'Behold, Father, another victim of the holy
Inquisition!' lIe answered nothing. 'Vhen we arrived at the
head of the great stC1ir, he bowed, and I took my last leave
of Josephus à Doloribus, without uttering a word.
NOTE.- The Inquisition of Goa was abolished in the month
of October, 1812.
THE
INQUISITION AT l\IACERATA,
IN ITALY.
Narrative of DIr. Botce,', u'lw gives an accou"lt of this Court oj
Inquisition, and of secrets ltitherto unknou n, relative to tl"eir
proceedings against heretics.
[lHeth. l\Iag. 3d Vol.]
"I never (says Mr. Bower,) pretended that it was för the
sake of religion alone, that I left Italy; but on the contrary,
have often dcclared, as all my friends can attest, that, had I
ncver belonged to the Inquisition, I should have gone on, as
most Roman Catholics do, without ever questioning the truth
of the religion I was brought up in, or thinking of any other.
But the unheard of cruelties of that hcllish tribunal shocked
me beyond all expression, and rendered me, as I was obliged,
by my office of Counsellor, to be accessary to them, one OJ
the most unhappy men upon earth. I therefore began to think .
of resigning my ofiice; but as I had on several occasions, be-
trayed some weakness, as they termed it, that is, some corll-
passion and humanity, and had upon that account been repri-
manded by the Inquisitor, I was well apprized, that my resig-
nation would be ascribed by hill1 to my disapproving the pro-
ceedings of the holy tribunal. And indeed, to nothing e!se
could hc have ascribed it, as a place at that board was a sure
way to prefcrment, and attended with grcat privileges, and a
considerable salary. Being, therefore, sensible how dangcr-
ous a thing it would be to give the least ground to any
uspi-
cion of that natuI"C, and no longer able to bear the sight of the
many barbarities practised almost daily wit.hin those walls,
nor the r(;proachcs of 111Y conscience in being accessary to
th8m, I det{'rmined, after many restless nights, and nluch de-
liberation with myself, to withdraw at the Saine tinlc from the
Inquisitor, and fronl Italy. In this mind, and in the most un-
happy and tormenting situation that can possibly be Ïlnagined,
I continued near a twelvemonth, not able to prcvai] upon my-
self to execute the resolution I had taken, un ace )unt of tho
'31
232
BOWER'S NARRA'l'I\"E OF THB
many dangers which I foresaw would inevitably attend it, and
the dreadful consequences of my failing in. the attelnpt. But,
being in the mean time, ordered by the Inquisitor to ap-
prehend a person, with whom I lived in the greatest intimacy
and friendship, the part I was obliged to act on that occasiun,
left so deep an impref:sion in my mind as soon prevailed 0 ÿer
all nlY fears, and made me determine to put ir.to executiun, at
all cvent
, and without fll rther delay, the design I had furmed.
Of that remarkable traIisaction, therefore, I shall give here
a particular account, the rather as it will shew III a very strong
light, the nature of the proceedings in that horrid court.
The person wh\)m the inquisitor appointed me to apprehend,
was Count Vicenz,) della TDrre, descended from an illustrious
family in Germany, and possessed of a very considerable es-
tate in the territory of l\lacerata. He was one of my very
particular friends, and had lately married the daughter of Sig..
niar Constantini, of Fermo, a lady no less famous for her
good sense than her beauty. 'Yith her t:'1mily too, I had con-
tracted an in.;mate acquaintance, while Professor of Rhetoric
in Fermo, and had often attended the Count during his court-
hip, from l\Iacerata to Fermo, but fifteen miles distant. I
th('refore lived with both in the greatest friendship and inti-
nlacy; and the count was the only person that lived with me,
after I was made Counsellor of the Inquisition, upon the same
free footing as he had done till that time: my other friends
being grown shy of me, and giving me plainly to understand,
that they no imAger cared for my company.
As this unhappy young- gentleman was one day walking
with another, he met two Capuchin friar
; and turning to his
companion, when they were passed, "Vhat fools,' said he,
, are these, to think they
hrJll gain heaven by wearing sack-
cloth Bnd going bare-foot! Fools indeed, if they think so, or
that there is any nlerit in tornlenting one's self: they might as
wen live as we do, and they ,vould get to heaven quite as
soon.' '\Vho informed against him, whether the friars, his
companion, or somebody else, I knew not; for. the Inquisitors
never ten the narnes of the informers to the Counsellors, nor
the names of the witnes
e
, lest they
hould except af..mnst
theIne It is to be oh
erved, that all \\ ho hear any propof'iti(.n,
that appears to them repugnant to, or inconflistent with the
doctrine of the holy mother church, is bound to reveal it to the
Inquisitor, and likewise to discover the person by whomit was
uttered; and, in this affair, no regard is to be had to any ties,
however sacred; the brother being bound to accuse t1 e broth-
IXQ,UISITIO:V AT )IACERATA.
233
er, the father to accnse the son, the son the father, the wife
her husband, and the hus1
and his wife; and all bound on pain
of eternal damnation, anJ of being deemed and treated as ac-
com:)lice
, if they do not denounee in a certain time; and no
confessor can absolve a person who has heard any thin,
said,
in jest or in e3.rne
t, against the lelief or practice of the church,
tiH that person has informed the Inquisitor oÎ it, and gi,'en
him all the intelligence he can concerning the person by whom
it was said.
'\Vhoever it was that informed against my unhappy friend,
whether the friars, his companion, or somebody else who
might have o"erhear
l him, the Inquisitor acquainted the board
one night (tòr to be less observed, they comlnonly meet, out of
Rome, in the night) that the abovementioned propositions had
been ad,'anced, and advanced gravely, at the sight of two poor
Capuchins: that the evidence was unexceptionable; and that
they were therefore met to determine the quality of the propo-
sition, and proceed against the delinquent agreeably to that
determination. There are in each lnq l1isitian twelye counsel...
lors, viz. four Divines, four Canonists
a.nd f0ur Civilians. It
is chiefly the province of the divines to determine the quality
of the proposition, viz. \Vhether it is lïeretical, or only savors
of heresy; whether it is blasphemous ßnd injurious to God
find his saints, or only erroneous, ras{a.1 ëC
lismatical, or offen...
sive to pious ears.
That part of the proposition,' Fools, it' tì,ey think that there
is any merit in tormenting one's self,' was J\Jcl 6 ed and declared
heretical, as openly contradicting the doctI:ne and practice of
holy mother church, recommending austeritl
SI
s highly mer-
itorious. The Inquisitor observed, on this OC
ii
OCJ that by tbe
proposition, 'Fools, indeed,' &c. were taxing w;tb. fù!ly not
only the holy fathers, who had all to a man J. ra.{'t
ed great
austerities, but 81. Paul himself, who' chastised h:s bwv,' tha:
is, whipped himself, as the Inquisitor understood
t, a
>-1ip.K
that the practice of whippin6' one's seìf, so much recorI
mènàR"
by all the founders of religious orders, was borrowed 01 iÍ1-4'
great apostle of the gentiles.
The proposition bein.
declared heretical, it was unanimous
Iy agreed by the board, that the person who had uttered if
should be apprehended and proceeded against agreeably to the
laws of the Inquisition. And now the person was named; for,
till it is cleterlnined whether the accused person should or
should not be apprehended, his name is kept concealed from
the counsellors, lest they should be biased, says the Diroctory,
u2
34
DOWER'S NARRATIVE OF TIlE
in his favor, or against him. For, in many instances, they
keep up to an appearance üf justice and equity, at the same
tin1e that, in truth, they act in direct opposition to all the known
laws of justice and equity. No words can express the concern
and astonislunent it gave me to hear, on such an occasion, the
name of a friend for whom I had the greatest esteem and re-
gard. The Inquisitor was apprized of it; and, to give me an
opportunity of practising what he had so often recOlnmended
to me, viz. of conquering nature with the assistance of grace,
he appointed me to-apprehend the criminal, as he styled him,
and to lodge him safe, before day-light, in the prison of the ho
ly Inquisition. I offered to excuse myself, but with the great
est submission, from being any ways concerned in the execu-
tion of that order; an order, I said, which I entirely approved
of, and only wished it might be put in. execution by some
other person; for your lordship knows, I said, the connexion.
But the Inquisitor shocked at the word,' 'Vhat?' said he, with
a stern look and angry tone of voice, , talk of connexions where
the faith is concerned? there is your guard, (pointing to the
Sbirri or baliffs, in waiting,) let the criminal be secured in St.
Luke's cell (one of the worst) before three in the morning.'-
lIe then withdrew with the rest of the counsellors, and as he
passed me,' Thus,' he said, 'nature is conquered.' I had be-
trayed some weakness, or sense of humanity, not long before,
in fainting away while I attended the torture of one who \vas
racked with the utmost barbarity; and I had, on that occasion,
been reprimanded by the Inquisitor for suffering nature to get
the better of grace; it being an inexcusable weakness, as he
observed, to be any way affected with the suffering of the
body, however great, when afflicted, as they ever are in the I-Ioly
Inquisition, for the good of the soul. And it was, I presume,
to Iuake trial of the effect this reprimand had upon me, that
the execution of this cruel order was committed to me. As I
could by no possible means decline it, I summoned all my res-
olution, after passing an hour by myself, I may say in the ag-
onies of death, and set out a little after two in the morning, for
my unhappy friend'
house, attended by a notary of the Inqui-
sition, and six armed Sbirri.
\Ve arrived at the house by different ways, and knocking at
the door, a maid-servant looked out of the window, and inqui-
rin
who knocked, was answered the IIoly Inquisition, and at
the same time, ordered to awake nobody, but to come down
directly and open the door, on pain of excommunication. At
these words, the servant hastened down, half nal{ed as she
INQ.UISITIO:'i AT MACERATA.
235
was, and having with much ado, in her great fright, at last
i>ened the door, she conducted us, as she was ordered, pale
and trembling, to her master's Led-chamber. She often looked
,-ery earnestly at me, as she knew me, and shewed a great
rlesire of spealiÏng to DIe; but of her I durst take no kind of
notice. I entered the bed-chamber with the notary, followed
by the Shirri, when the lady awakening at the noise, and 8ee-
ing the bed surrounded by armed men, screamed out aloud,
and continued screaming, as out of her senses, till one of the
Sbirri, provoked at the noise, gave her a blow on the forehead,
that made the blood run do\vn her face, and she swooned away.
I rebuked the fellow very severely, and ordered him to be
whipped as soon as I returneù to the Inquisition.
In the meantime the husband a wakening, and seeing me
with my attendants, cried out in the utmost surprise, '1\11'.
Bower l' He said then no more; nor could I for some time,
utter a single word; and it was with much ado that, in the end,
I mastered my grief so far as to be able to let my unfortunate
friend know that he was a prisoner of the lloly Inquisition.
'Of the IIoly Inquisition!' he replied, 'alas 1 what have I done?
l\Iy dear friend, be my friend now.' lIe said many affecting
things; but as I knew it was not in my pqwer to befriend him,
I had not the courage to look him in the face, but turning my
back to him, withdrew, while he dressed, to a corner of the
room, to give vent to my grief there. The notary stood by
him while he ùressed, and as I observed, quite unaffected. In-
deed, to be void of all humanity, to be able to behold one"s fcl-
low-creatures groaning and ready to expire in the most exq uis-
ite torments cruelty can invent, without being in the least af-
fected with their sufferings, is one of the chief qualifications
of an inquisitor, and what all who belong to the Inquisition
must strive to attain to. It often happens, at that infernal trib
unal, that while an unhappy, and probably an innocent person
is crying out in their presence on the rack, and begging by all
that is sacred for one moment's relief, in a manner one \\'ould
think no human heart could withstand; it often happens, I say,
that the Inquisitor and the rest of that inhuman crew, quite
unaffected with his complaints, and deaf to his groan
, to his
tears and entreaties, are entertaining one another with the
news of the town; nay, sometimes they even insult, with un-
heard of barbarity, the unhappy wretches in the height of their
torment.
To return to my unhappy prisoner; he was no sooner dress-
ed, than I ordered the Bargello, or head of the Sbirri, to tie his
236
ÐO"'ER'S NARRATIVE OF TilE
hands with a cord behind his back, as is practised on such oc
casions, without distinction of persons; no more regard being
shewn by the Inquisition to men of the first rank, when char-
ged with heresy, th.lll to the meanest artificers. Heresy dis-
solves all friendship; so that I durst no longer look upon the
rnan with wtlOm I had lived in the greatest fi'iendship and in-
timacy as my friend, or shew hÍ1n, on that account, the least
I'cgard or indulgence.
As we left the chamber, the countess, who had been con-
veyed out of the room, Iuet us, and screaming out in a most
pitiful manner, upon seeing her husband ,,'ith his hands tied
behind his back, like a thief or robber, flew to embrace him,
and hanging on his neck, begged, with a flood of tears, we
would be so n1erciful as to put an end to her life, that she
might have the satisfaction, the only satisfaction she wished
for in this world, of dying in the boson1 of the man whom she
had vowed never to part with. The count, overwhelmed with
grief, did not utter a single word. I could not find in my heart,
nor was I in a condition to interpose; and indeed, a scene of
greater distress was never beheld by human eyes. However,
I gave signal to the notary to part them, which he did accord-
ingly, quite unconcerned; but the countess fell into a swoon,
and the count was, in the meantime, carried down stairs, and
out of the house, amidst the loud lamentations and sighs
of his servants, on all sides; for he was a man remarkable
for the sweetness of his temper, and his kindness to all about
him.
Being arrived at the Inquisition, I consigned my prisoner
into the hands of the goaler, a lay brother of St. Dominic, who
shut him up in the dungeon mentioned above, and delivered
the key to me. I lay that night in the palace of the Inquisi-
tion, where every counsellor has a rOOln, and retur.u.ed next
morning the key to the inquisitor, telling him that his order
had been punctually complied with. The inquisitor had been
already informed of my whole conduct by the notary; and
therefore, upon my delivering the }iey to him, 'You have acted
(said he,) like one who 'is desirous at least to overcome with
the assistance of grace, the inclinations of nature ;' that is, like
one who is de
irous, .vith the assistance of grace, to 111eta-
nlorphose himself from a human creature, into a brute or a
devil.
In the Inq uisition, every prisoner is kept the first week of hi
imprisonment, in a dark narrow dungeon, so low that he can-
not stand upright in it, without seeing any body but the gaoler,
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t of "Count dell a Torre by Inquisitors.
INQ.UISITION AT .l\IACERATA.
237
who brings him, every other day, his portion of bread and wa
tel', the only food that is allowed him. This is done, they
ay,
to tame him, and render him, thus weakened, more &cnsible
of the torture, and less able to bear it. At the end of the
week, he is brought in the night before the board to be exam-
ined; and on that occasion, my poor friend appeared so altered,
in a week's time that, had it not been for his dress, I should not
have known him; and indeed no wonder; a change of condi-
tion so sudden and unexpected; the unworthy and barbarous
treatment he had already"met with; the apprehension of what
he might, and probably should suffer; and perhaps, more than
any thing else, the distressed and forlorn condition of his once
happy wife, whom he tenderly loved, whose company he had
enjoyed only six months, could be attended with no other eflect
Being asked, according to custom, whether he had
ny ene-
mies, and desired to name them; he ans\vered, that he bore
enmity to no man, and hoped that no man bore enmity to him.
For as, in the Inquisition, the person accused is not told of the
charge brought' against him, nor of the person by whom it is
brought; the Inquisitor asks him whether he has any enemies,
and desires him to name them. If he names the informer, all
further proceedings are stopped till the informer is examined
anew; and if the information is found to proceed from ill-will,
and no collateral proof can be produced, the prisoner is dis-
charged. Of this piece of justice they frequently boast, at
the same till1e that they admit, both as informers and witness-
es, persons of the most infamous characters, and such as are
excluded by all other courts. In the next place, the prisoner
is ordered to swear that he \vill declare the truth, and conceal
nothing from the holy tribuna], concerning himself or others,
that he knows, and the holy tribunal is desirous to know. lIe
is then interrogated for what crime he has been apprehended
and imprisoned by the Iioly Court of the Inquisition, of all
courts the most equitable, the most cautious, the most merci-
ful. To that interrogatory the count answered, with a f:1.int
and trembling voice, that he was not conscious to hlm
elf of
any crime, cognizable by that Iloly Court, nor indeed by any
other; that he believed, and ever had believed whatever holy
mother church believed, or required him to believe. lIe had,
it seems, quite forgot ,vhat he had unthinkingly said at the
sight of the two friars. The Inquisitor, therefore, finding he
did not remember, or would not own his crime, after many de-
ceitful interrogatories, and promises which he never intended
to fulfil, ordered hin1 back to his dungeon, and allowing him
238
DOWER'S NARRATIVE OF THE
another week, as is customary in such cases, to recol ect him
self, told him, that if he could not in that time prevail upon
hÏ1nself to declare the truth, agreeable to his oath, means
would be f0und of forcing it f1.om him; and he must expect no
mercy.
At the end of the week he "'as brought again before the in
.èrnal tribunal, and being asked the same questions, returned
the same answers, adding, that if he had done or said any
thing amiss, unwittingly or ignorantly, he was ready to own
it, provided the least hint of it ,vere given him by any there
present, which he entreated them most earnestly to do. lIe
often looked at me, and seemed to expect, which gave me such
concern as no words can express, that I should say something
in his favor. But I was not allowed to speak on this occasion,
nor ,vas any of the counsellors; and had 1. been allowed to
speak, I durst not have said any thing in his favor; the advo-
cate appointed by the Inquisition, and commonly styled, 'The
Devil's Advocate,' being the only person that is suffered Jo
speak for the prisoner. This advocate belongs to the Inquisi-
tion, receives a salary of the Inquisition, and is bound by an
oath to abandon the defence of the prisoner if he undertakes
it, or not to undertake it, if he finds it cannot be defended
agreeably to the laws of the Holy Inquisition; so that the whole
is mere sham and imposition. I have heard this advocate, on
other occasions, allege something in favor of the person accu-
sed; but on this occasion he declared that he had nothing to
offer in defence of the criminal.
In the Inquisition, the person accused is always supposed
guilty, unless he has named the accuser among his enemies:
and he is put to the torture ifhe does not plead guilty, and o,vn
the crime that is laid to his charge, without being so much as
told what it is; whereas, in all other courts, where tortures are
used, the charge is declared to the party accused before he is
to"'
ured; nor are they ever inflicted without a credible evi-
df>nce brought of his guilt. But in the Inquisition, a man is
frequently tortured upon the deposition of a person whose ev-
ir!ence would be admitted in no other court, and in all cases
without hearing his charge. As my unfortunate friend contin-
ued to maintain his innocence, not recollecting what he had
said, he was, agreeably to the laws of the Inquisition, put to
the torture. lIe had scarce borne it twenty minutes, crying
out the whole time, , Jesus l\Iaria,' when his voice failed hin)
at once, and he fainted away. lIe was then supported, as he
hung by his arms, by two of the Sbin'i, whose province it is to
INQ.UISITro
AT l\lACEUA T A.
239
manage the torture, tin he returned to himself: lIe still con-
tinued to declare that he could not recollect his having said or
done any thing contrary to the Catholic fiÜth, and earnestly
!;cgged they would let hÍIn know with what he was charged,
being ready to own it, if it was true. The Inquisitor was then
so gracious as to put him in mind of what he had said on see-
ing the two Capuchins. The reason why they so long con-
ceal from the party accused, the crime he is charged with, i
,
that if he should be conscious to himself of his having ever
said or done any thing contrary to the faith, which he is not
charged with, he may discover that too, imagining it to Le the
very crime he is accused of. After a E:hort pause, the poor
gentleman owned that he had said something to that purpose;
but, as he had said it with no evil intention, he had never more
thought of it from that ti.me to the present. lIe added, 1mt
wilh so faint a voice as scarce could be heard, that for his
rashness, he was willing to undergo what punishment soe,yer
the holy tribunal should think fit to impose on him; and he
again fainted away. Being eased for a \\ hile of his torment,
and returned to himself, he was interrogated by the promoter
fiscal (wnose business it is to accuse and to prosecute, as nei-
ther the informer nor the witnesses are ever to appear) c<.,n-
cerning his intention. For, in the Inquisition, it is not enough
für the party accused to confess the fact, he Inust likewife de-
clare whether his intention was heretical or not; and man),
to redeem themselves from the torments they can no longer
endure, own their intention was heretical, though it really was
not. !VIy poor friend often told us he was ready to say ,vhat-
ever he pleased; but, as he never directly acknowledged his
intention to have been heretical, as is required by the rules of
that court, he was kept on the torture till, quite overcome with
the violence of the anguish, he was ready to expire; and being
then taken down, he was carried quite senseless, back to his
dungeon; and there, on the third day, death put an end to his
sufferings. The inquisitor wrote a note to his widow, to de-
sire her tú pray for the soul of her late husband, and 'warn her
not to complain of the holy Inquisition, as capable of any in-
justice or cruelty. The estate ,vas confiscated to the Inquisi-
tion, and a small jointure allowed out of it to the widow. As
they had only been married six months, and some part of the
fortune was not yet paid, the Inquisitor sent an order to the
Constantini family, at Fermo, to pay to the holy office, and
without delay, what they owed to the late count della Torre.
For the effects of heretics are all ipso facto confi8catcd to the
240
BOWJ
R'5 NARRATIVE O}' TIlE
Inquisition, and confiscated from the very day, not of their con-
. viction, but of their crime; so that all donations made after that
time are void; and whatever they have given, is claimed by
the Inquisition, into whatsoever hands it nlay have passed;
even the fortunes they have given to their daughters in mar-
riage, have been declared to belong to, and are claimed by
the Inquisition; nor can it be doubted, that the desire of those
confiscations is one great cause of the injustice and cruelty of
that court.
The death of the unhappy count dell a Torre was soon pub
licly known; but no man cared to speak of it, not even his
nearest relations, nor so much as to mention his name, lest
any thing should inadvertently escape thetn that might be con-
strued into a disapprobation of the proceedings of the most ho-
ly tribunal; so great is the awe all men live in of that jealous
and merciless court.
The other instance of the cruelty of the Inquisition, related
in the spurious account of my escape published by lVlr. Baron,
happened some years before I belonged to the Inquisition; and
I do not relate it as happening in my time, but only as happen-
ing in the Inquisition of lVlacerata. It is related at length in
the annals of that Inquisitiòn, and the substance of the rela-
tion is as fonows: An order was sent from the high tribunal at
R:)me, to all the inquisitors throughout Italy, enjoining then1
to apprehend a clergyman minutely described in that order.
One answering the des
ription in many particulars Leing dis-
covered in the diocese of Osimo, at a small distance from
l\I
cerata, and surject to that inquisition, he was there decoy-
ed into the Inqt1isition, and by an order from Rome, so racked
as to lo
e the use of his senses. In the mean time the true
person being apprehended, the unhappy wretch was dismissed
by a second order from Rome; but he never recovered the use
of his senses, nor was any care taken of him by the Inquisi-
tion. Father Piazza, who was then Vicar at Osimo to Father
l\Iontecuccoli, Inquisitor at l\1acerata, and died some years ago
a good Protestant, at Cambridge, published an account of this
affilir, that entirely agrees with the account I read of it in the
records of the Inqujsition.
The deep impression that the death of my unhappy frif'nrl,
the most barl
arous and inhuman treatment he had met with,
anrl the part I had be
n obJiged to act in so affecting a tragedy,
made on my mind, got at once the better of my fears; so that
forgetting in a manner the dangers I had till then so much ap-
prehendod, I resolved, without further delay, to put ill exccu-
I:NQ.UISITIO
AT 1tIACERAT_\..
241
tlOn the design I had formed of quitting the Inquisition, and
bidding forever adieu to Italy. To execute that design with
I;ome safety, I proposed to teg leave of the Inquisitor to visit
the Virgin of Loretto, but thirteen miles distant, and to pass a
week there; but in the mean time, to make the best of my way
to the country of the Grisons, the nearest country to IHacerata,
out of the reach of the Inquisition. Havíng therefore, after
many conflicts with myself, asked leave to visit the neighbor.
ing sanctuary, and obtained it,l set out on horseback the very
next morning, leaving, as I provosed to keep the horse, his full
value with the owner. I took the road to Loretto, but turned
out of it at a small distance from Recanati, after a most vio-
lent struggle with myself, the attempt appearing to me, at that
juncture, quite desperate and impracticable; and the dreadful
doom reserved fi>r me, should I miscarry, presented itself to
my mind in the stro:l
est light. But the retlection that I had
it in my power to a void being taken alive, and a persuasion
that a man in my situation might lawfully avoid it, when eve-
ry other means fililed him, at the expense of his life, revived
my staggered resolution; and all my fears cea8il1g at once, I
steered my course, leaving Loretto behind me, to Rocca Con-
trada, to Fossonbrone, to Calvi in the dukedom of Urbino, and
from thence through the Romagna into the Bolognese, keeping
the by-roads, and at a good distance from the cities of Fano,
Pcsaro, Rimini, Forli, Facnza, and lmola, through which the
high road passed. Thus I advanced very slowly, travelling,
generally speaking, in very tad roads, and often in places
where there was 110 road at an, to avoid, not only the cities
ünd town
, but even the villages. In the mean time, I seldOln
had any oth
r support bpt some coarse provision
, and a very
smaH quantity even of them, that the poor shepherds, the
countrymen, or wood cleavers, I met in those unfrequented hy-
places, could spare me. l\Iy horse fared not much Letter than
myself; but, in choosing m) sleeping place, I consulted his
convenience as much as my own, passing the night where I
found most shelter for myself, and most grass for him. In
Italy therc are a very few solitary finm houses or cottagc
,
the country people there all live together in villages; and 1
thought it f:lr safer to lie where I could be any way shelterf'd,
than to venture into any of them. Thus I spent seventeen
ùays l:efore I got out of d
e ecclesiastical state; and [ very
narrowly c8caped being taken or murdered, on the very bor-
ders of that state; it happened thus:
I bad passed two whole days without any kind of subsis-
X
.
242
BOWER'S NARRATIVE or THE
tence whatever, meeting with nobody in the by-roads that
would supply DIe with any, and fearing to cOlne near any
house, as I was not far from the borders of the dominions of
the Pope. I thought I should le aLte to hJld it till I got into
the l\iodanese, where I believed I should be in less danger
than while I rem
1Ïned in the papal dominions; but finding lny-
self, about noon of the third day, extremely weak and ready
to faint away, I came into the high road that leads from Bo..
logna to Florence, a few miles distant from the former city,
and alighted at a post house, that stood quite by itself. Hay..
ing asked the wonmn of the house whether she had any victuals
ready, and being told that she had, J went to open the door of
the only room in the house, (that being a place where gentle-
IHen only stop to change horses,) and saw to my great sur-
prise, a placard pasted on it, with a n10st minute description
of n1Y whole person, and the promise of a reward of 800
crowns (about .f:200 English Inoney) for delivering nle up
alive to the Inquisition, being a fugitive froIlI the holy tribunal,
and of 600 crowns for my head. By the same placard, all
persons were forbidden, on the pain of the greater excommuni '
cation, to receive, harbor, or entertain n1e, to conceal, or screen
Ine, or to be any way aiding and assisting to me in Inaliing
lilY escape. This greatly alarmed Ine, as the reader u1ay
well imagine; but I was stillinore affrighted, when entering
the room, I saw two fellows drinking there, who, fixing their
eyes upon me as soon as I came in, continued looking at me
very steadtàstly. I strove, by wiping IllY face, by blowing
IllY nose, by looking out of the window, to prevent their hav-
ing a full vie\v of me. But, one of them saying, 'The gen--
tlcman seems afraid to be seen,' 'I put up n1Y handkerchie
and t\1Tuing to the fellow, said boldly, , What do you mean,
YOU rascal? Look at me-am I afi'aid to be seen? He said
;lothin Q , hut looking again steadfàstly at me, and nodding his
head, went out, and his companion immediately fJllowed hiln.
I watched them, and seeing them, with two or three Inore, in
dose conference, and no doubt consulting whether they should
apprehend Ine or not, I walked that moment into the stable,
luounted my horse unobserved by them, and while they were
deliberating in an orchard, behind the house, roùe off full
8peed, and in a few hours got into the I\Iodanesc, where I 1''''-
freshed both with food and with rest, as I was there in no im-
nlediate danger, nlY horse and n1yeelf. I was indeed surprised
to find that those fellows did not pursue me: nOlO C'lll I any
other way account for'it, but by supposing, what is not im.
IXQ.UISITION AT MACERATA.
243
prob
ble, that, as they were strangers, as well as nlyself, and
had all the appearance of banditti or ruffians flying out ùf the
dominions of .the Pùpe, the womarr of the house did not care
to trust them with her horses. Franl the l\Iodanese I con..
tinued my journey, more leisurely through the Parme8an, the
lilanese, and part of the Venetian territory, to Chiavenna,
subject, with its district, to the Grisons, who abhor the very
name of the Inquisition, and are ev(r ready to receive and
protect aU who, flying from it, take refuge, as many Italians
do, in their donÜnions. However, as I proposed getting as
soon as I conld to the city of Bern, the metropolis of that great
Protestant canton, and was inforJned that my best way was
through the cantons of Ury and Underwald, and part of the
canton of Lucern, all three popish cantons, I carefully conceal..
ed who I was, and fronl whence I came. For, though no In..
quisition prevails among the Swiss, yet. the Pope's nUlJcio,
who resides at Lucern, might have persuaded the magistrates
of those popish cantons to stop nle, as an apostate and deserter
from the order.
Having rested a few days at Chiavenna, I resumed my
journey quite refreshed, continuing it through the country of
the Grisons, and the two snmll cantons of Ury and Under.
wald, to the canton of Lucern. There I missed my way, as I
was quite unacquainted with the country, and discovering a
city at a dis
ance, was advancing to it, but very slowly, as I
knew not where I was; when a countryman, whom I met,
informed me that the city before me was Lucern. Upon that
intelligence, I turned out of the road as soon as the country.
man was out of sight; and that night I passed with a good..
natured shepherd in his cottage, who supplied me with sheep'8
milk, and m horse with plenty of grass. I set out very early
next morning, making the vest of nlY way westward, as I knew
that Bern lay west of Lucern. But, aftet' a few miles, the
country proved very Inountainous, and, having travelled the
whole day over mountains, I was overtaken among them by
night. As I was looking out fi)r a place v.rhere I might shel..
tel' myself during the night, a
ainst the snow and the rain, (for
it both snowed and rained,) I perceived a light at a distance,
and making towards it, Rot into a kind of a foot-path, but so
narrow and rugged that I was obliged to lead my horse, and
feel my way with one foot, (having no light to direct me,) be-
fore I durst move the other. Thus, with much di1Iìculty, I
reached the place where the light was, a poor little cottage:
and knocking at the door, was asked by a nlan within, who 1
244
BO'VER'8 NARRATIVE OF THE
was, and what I wanted? I answered that I was a strange!
and had lost my way. ' Lost your way
' replied the man,
'there is no way here to lose.' 1 then a
ked him in what can-
ton I was, and upon his answering, that I was in the canton of
Bern, , I thank God,' I cried out, transported with joy, 'that I
aul.' -The good man answered, 'And so do I.' I then told
him who I was, and that I was going to Bern, but had quite
lost myself, by keeping out of all the high roads, to avoid fall-
ing into the hands of those who sought my destruction. He
thereupon opened the door; received and entertained me with
aU the hospitality his poverty would admit of; regaled me
with sour crout and some new laid eggs, the only provisions
he had, and clean straw with a kind of rug for my bed, he hav-
ing no other for himself and his wife. The good woman ex-
pressed as much satisfaction and good nature in her counte-
nance, as her husband, and said many kind things in the
Swiss language, which her huslJand interpreted to me in the
Italian; for that language he well understood, and spolic so as
to be understood, having learned it, as he told me, in his
youth, while servant in a public house on the borders of Italy,
where both languages are spoken. I never passed a more
comfortable night; anj no sooner did I begin to stir in the
morning, than the good man and his wife came beth to kno\v
how I had rested; and, wishing they had been able to accom-
modate me better, obliged me to breakfast on hvo eggs, which
providence, they said, had supplied then1 with for that purpose.
I then took leave of the wife, who, with her eyes lifted up to
heaven, seemed most sincerely to wish me a good journey.
As for the husband, he would by all means attend me to the
high road leading to Bern; which road, he said, was but two
miles distant frOlD that place. But he insisted on my first go-
ing back with him, to see the way I had come the night before;
the only way, he said, I could have possibly come from the
neighboring canton of Lucern. I saw it, and shuddered at tne
danger I had escaped; for I found that I had walked and led
my horse a good ,va y along a very narrow path on the brink
of a very dangerous precipice. l"he man made so n1any pious
and pertinent remarks on the occasion, us both charn1cd and
surprised me. I no less admired his disinterestedness than
his piety; for, upon our parting, after he had attended me till
I was out of all danger of losing n1Y way, I could by no means
prevail upon him to accept of any reward for his trouble. 1-Ie
bad the satisfaction, he said, of having relieved me in tho
IXQ.UISITIO
AT )IACERATA.
245
greatest distress, which was in itself a sufficient reward, and
he cared for no other.
I reached Bern that night, and proposed staying some time
there; Lut being infornwd by the principal minister of the
place, to whom I discovered myself; that boats were frequently
down the Rhine, at that time of the year, with goods and pas-
sengers from Basil to Holland, and advised by him to avail
myself of that opportunity, I set out accordingly the next day,
and crossing the popish canton of Soleurre in the night, but
very carefully avoiding the town of that name, I got early the
next morning to Basil. There I met with a most friendly re.
ception from one of the ministers of the place, having been
warmly recommended to him by a letter I brought with me
from his brother at Bern. As a boat was to sail in two days,
he ent.ertained nle very elegantly during that time at his house,
and I en1barked the third day, leaving my horse to my host,
in return for his kindness.
The company in the boat consisted of a few traders, of a
great many vagabonds, the very refuse of the neighboring na-
tions, and some criminals flying frOlll justice. But I was not
long with them; for the boat striking against a rock not far
fron1 Strasburgh, I resolved not to wait till it was refitted, (as
it was not my design to go to Holland) but to pursue my jour-
ney partly in the common diligence or stage-coach, and partly
on post horses, through France inti> Flanders.
IIa ving got safe into French Flanders, I there repaired to
the college of the Scotch Jesuits at Douay, and discovering
ruyself to the rector, I acquainted hiIll with the cause of my
sudden departure fron1 Italy, and begged hÜn to give immedi-
ate notice of IllY arrival, as well as of the nlotives of IllY flight,
to .l\'lichael Angelo Tambuvini, general of the order, and my
very particular friend.
The rector wrote, as I had desired him, to the general, and
the general, taking no notice of my flight, in his answer, (for
he could not d.isapprove it, and did not thihk it safe to approve
it,) ordered me to continue where I was tin further orders. I
arrived at Douay early in J\tlay; and continued there till the
]atter end of June, or the Leginning of July, vtOhen the rector
received a seccnd letter from the general, acquainting him,
that he had been commanded by the congregation of the Inqui-
sition, to order me wherever I was, back to Italy; to promise
DIe, in their name, full pardon and forglVeneE
, if I obeyed.
but if I did not obey, to treat me as an apostate. He added,
that the same order had been transmitted, soon atter my
x2
246
BO'VER"'S NARRATIVE OF THE
flight, to the nuncios at the different Roman Catholic cour
s;
and he, therefore, advised nle to consult my own safety ,vith-
out further delay.
. Upon the receipt of the general's kind letter, the rector W:IS
of opinion that I should repair by all means, and without loss
of time, to Engiand, not only as the safest asylum I could fly
t0 1 in my present situation, but as a place where I should soon
re\
over my native language, and be usefully eInployed, as
soon as I recovered it, either there or in Scotland. I readily
closed with the rector's opinion, being very uneasy in my mind,
as my old doubts, in point of religion, daily gained ground,
and new ones arose upon my reading (which was n1yonly
employment) the books of controversy I found in the library
of the college. The place being thus agreed on, and its being
at t
e same time settled between the rector and me, that I
should set out on the very next morning, I solemnly promised,
at his request and desire, to take no kind of notice, after my
arrival in England, of his having been any ways privy to DIY
flight, or of the general's letter to him. This promise I have
faithfully and honorably observed; and should have thought my-
self guilty of the blackest ingratitude if I had not observed it, be-
ing sensible that, had it been known atROIne, that either the rec-
tor or general had been accessary to my flight, the Inquisition
would have resented it severely in both. For, although a Je-
suit in France, in Flanders, or in Germany, is out of the reach
of the Inquisition, the general is not; and the high tribunal not
only have it in their power to punish the general himself,
who resides constantly at ROnlf:, but may oblige him to in-
flict what punishnlent they please on any of the order noxious
to them.
The rector went that very night out of town; and in his ab-
sence, but not without his privity, I took one of the horses of
the college, early next morning, as if I were going for change
of air, being somewhat indisposed, to pass a few days at Lisle;
hut steering a different course, I reached Aire that night, and
Calais the next day. I was there in no danger of being stop-
ped and seized at the prosecution of the Inquisition, a tribunal
no leF's abhorred in France than in England. But, being in-
formed by the general, that the nuncios at the different courts
had been ordered, soon after Iny flight, to cause me to be appre-
hended in R
man Catholic countries, through which I might
pass, as an apostate or deserter f('om the order, I was under no
small apprehension of being discovered and apprehended as
such, even at Calais. No sooner, therefore, did I alight at
INQUISITION AT l\IACERATA.
2.11
the inn, than I went down to the quay; and there, as I was very
little acquainted with the sea, and thought the passage much
shorter than it i
, I endeavored to engage some fi
hermen to
carry me that very night, in one of their small vessels, over
to England. This alarmed the guards of the harbor; 'and I
should have been certainly apprehended, as a person guilty,
or suspected of some great crime, fleeing frOln justice, had not
Lord Baltimore, whom I had the good luck to Ineet in the inn,
informed me of my danger, and pitying my condition, attended
me that moment, with all his company, to the port, and con-
veyed me immediately on board of his yacht. There I lay
that night, leaving every thing I had, but the clothes on n1Y
back, in the inn; and the next day his lordship set me ashore
at Dover, from whence I came in the common stage to Lonèon.
A SUMMARY
OF THE
ROMAN C
t\ THOLIC F AITII.
"-l1en Ronmnists are charged with worshipping Images,
saints, the Virgin Marv} &c. and be
ieving that their priests
can forgive sins; opposing the reading of the scriptures; and
with other errors, it is not uncommon fijr them to deny the
truth of the accusation, and treat it as an unfounded slander.
\Ve have thought, therefore, that a short but comprehensive
view of their fiLÌth, as epitomized by themselves, and support-
ed by extracts from their standard writings, while it comported
with the objects of this volume, would prove highly instructive
and interesting to)ts readers.
The fullowing summary, it will be perceived, is in the form
of an oath. It was set forth by Pope Pius IV, and comprises
the substance of the decrees of the council of Trent. Our
readers will here discover, that one grand difference between
Protestants and Catholics is, that while the former receive the
Bible as the only divine rule of faith, the latter acknowledge
the acts of Councils, the traditions of the Church, &c. as of
inspired authority. And as those acts and traditions are not
unfrequentlyopposed to the word of God,-yea, are mostn10n-
strously erroneous and ,vicked-son1e may account for the
fact, that the Romish priesthood, where they have the power
to prevent it, will never suffer the people to possess or read the
Bible. It requires nothing under the divine blessing, but a
universal knowledge of the Holy Scriptures, to overthrow
every fabric of superstition, idolatry, and tyranny.
SUl\-DIARY, &c
After reciting the Nicene creed, the oath proceeds-
"1 IllOSt firmly admit and embrace the apostolical and êccle..
siastical TRADITIOXS, and all other observances and constitu..
tions of the same church, (i. e. the Romish church.) Also, I
248
A SU)DIARY, ETC;.
2,19
admit sacred scripture, according to the sense which has been
held and is held by HOLY 1\'IOTHER CHURCH, to whOln it belongs
to j-udge of the true sense and interpretation of the sacred
scriptures: nor will I ever receive or interpret it ( scripture)
except a.ccording to the unanimous consent of the Fathers.
I also profess that there are truly and properly, seven sac-
raments of the new law, in
tituted by our Lord Jesus Christ,
and necessary, though not for each singly, yet for the whole
human race, viz. En ptism, Confirmation, the Eucharist, l>en-
ance, Extreme Unction, Orders and l\latrÏInony; and that they
confer grace; and that, of these, baptism, confirmation and or-
ders cannot be reiterated without sacrilege. I also receive
and admit the received and approved rites of the Catholic
Church, in the solenln administration of all the above men-
tioned sacraments.
I embrace and receive all and each of those things, which,
in the Holy Council cif Trent, have been defined and declared
concerning original sin and justification.
I, in like manner, profess, that in the Mass is offered to God
a true, proper, and propitiatory sacrifice 101. the liring and tile
dead; and that, in the most holy sacrament of the Eucharist,
there is truly, really and substantially, the BQDY AND BLOOD,
TOGETHER 'VITH TIlE SOUL AND DIVINITY OF OUR LORD JESUS
CHRIST; and that there is made the change of the whole sub-
stance of the bread into the body, and the whole substance of
the ,vine into the blood, which change the Catholic Church
calls Transubstantiation: I confess, also, that under each kind
alone, the whole and entire Christ and the true sacrament is
taken.
I firmly hold that there is a Purgatory, and that the souls
there detained, are helped by the suffrages of the faithful:-
Likewise, the Saints reigning together with Christ, are to be
venerated and invoked, and that they offer prayers to God for
us; and that their RELIQ.UES are to be venel ated. I most firm-
ly as
ert that the DIAGES of Christ, and of the l\Iother of God,
ever virgin; and also of the other saints, are to be held and re-
tained, and a due honor and veneration is to be granted then1.
I affirm also, that the power of indulgeuces was leit by
Christ in his church, and that the use of them is in the highest
degree
alutary to christian people.
I acknowleùg
the holy catholic Dnd apostolical Romi
h
church, to be m:Jther and 1\IJSTRESS O}' ALL CHl.TRCIU'S; anù I
prOlnise and swear true obe<.licncc to the H,oman Pontiff; sue-
250
A
U)D[ARY OF THE
cessor of the blessed Peter, Prince of the Apostles, and Yi('a
of Jesus Christ.
Also, all other things, handed down, defined, and declared
by the sacred canon3 and general councils, and chiefly by the
D1Jst holy of Trent, I undoubtingly receive and prufess: and,
at the same time, all things contl'al''y, and all hcre
ies whatev-
er condemned, rejected, and anathematized, I, in like manner,
condemn
reject, anJ anathematize, Anù this true ca.hoiic
f..lÌth, OUT O}<' wHiCH 1\"0 OXE CAN IIA VE S_\.LYATIOX, which at
present I voluntarily profess and truly hold, I, the said A. H.
pr0mise, vow, and swear, that I will halJ and confe
s the same
entire and inviolate, to the last breath of my life, most con-
stantly, God being my heIper: and that I will taI{e care as far
as lies in me, that the SaIne shall be held, taught, and preached
by my suhjec
s, or by those, the care of whom pertains to Inc
by my oflice. So God help n1e and these holy gospels of
God. "
\Ve would now c.all the attention of our readers to some re-
marks on the more important and distinguishing articles of the
preceding summary of Roman Catholic Faith, and to some il-
lustrations of these articles, drawn from standard writings of
that denomination.
TIlE BIBLE AND TRADITIOXS.
Traditions, it will be seen, are placed before the Bible in
this epitome
f faith. Indeed, the \V ord of God, as a rule of
helief and conduct is, in effect, done away; and the interpreta-
tions of the church are put in its place. So that in every case,
the inquiry of the faithful Romanist must be-not what saith
the scripture-but, 1V!"at sait/" .'1oJ.1Iotller Church?" Not to fol-
low the church, hQwever opposed she may be to the Bible,
would be a violation of his oath.
The celebrated Council of Trent, which was caned by a
B:lll of Pope Paul III. in the year 1542, decreed that the Ro-
man Catholic church received ar1tl venerated with equal affec.
tion of piety and reverence, the Bible and traòitions. "Om-
ncs libros tam veteÑs quam novi Testamenti,-nec non Tra.
ditiones-pari pietatis ajl"ectu ac reverentia suscipit, l't venera-
tur." 'Vhen, however, tradition .was not in accordance with
the 'V ord of God, it would be manifestly impossible to confi)rm
to this decree, unless a man could conscientiously rec.eive and
3.everence 8. truth and its opposite error at the same time. Anå
therefore, to relieve the conscience of the Romanist, it was
necessary that the right of interpre
'ng the njLI
ihould be
ROMA::'i CATHOLIC FAITH.
251
given exclusively to 1\lother Church, who is also the keeper
of Tradition. Hence the Papist hm
, in fhct and strictly speak-
Ing, only one standard of faith, and that is neither the Bille
nor Tradition, but the Church. lIe professes, indeed, to ac-
knowledge both the scriptures and tradition; but he is really
bound to receive and obey whatever lVlother Church declares
to be the truth as contained in the Bible and Tradition. She
must decide for him in every casC', and froIn her judgn1ent
there can be no appeal. What hf;r judgment is concerning
the reading of the scriptures by the people, let us now see. It
is to be found in the fourth of the "Ten Rulcs concerning pro-
ltibitcd Books," established by the Fathers of the Coun
il of
Trent, and Pope Pius Fourth.
"Since, by experiment, it is manifest that if the holy bible in
the common tongue be universally and indiscriminately per
mitted, more harm than utility will thence arise, on account of
the temerity of men-in this particular let it be determined b)'
the judgment of th.e Bishop or Inquisitor,-so that, with his
counsel, the parish ministers or confessors, can grant the read-
ing of the bible in the common tongue, translated by Catholic
authors, to those who they shall have understood, can, from
reading of this kind, receive not loss, but increase of faith and
piety,-which license let them have in writing. But he who
shall presume, without such license, to read or have the bible,
unless it first be given up to the ordinary, cannot receive ab-
solution of sins. IVloreover, let Booksellers, who shall sell, or
in any other way grant the' bible written in the common dia-
lect, to a person not having the aforesaid license, lose the
price of the book, to be converted by the Bishop to pious uses,
and let them be subjected to other punishments, according to
the quality of their offence, at the will of the same Bishop.
:Furthermore, Regulars, (that i
, those who are bound by the
rules of some religious order, as Dominicans, Franciscans, &c.)
except by license had from their prelates, cannot read or buy
the bible." .
It will be perceived that this law places the reading of the
. scriptures' among Romanists, entirely under the control of
Bishops and Inquisitors. Without their consent and approba .
tion, the bible cannot be sold, bought, read or }.ossessed. Is
it wonderful, therefore, tbat Po.pe Pius VII, in the ninetecn
h
century, (June 2ü, 1816,) should have u
ed the following lan-
guage concerning Bible Societies ?-"We have been truly
shocked at this most crafty device, (Bible Sùcicties) by which
,be very foundations of re!igion" (ROlnan Catholicism) "arG
52
A SUMMA.RY OF TIlE
undermined. 'Ve have deliberated upon the measures proper
to be adopted hy our pontifical authority, in order to remeùy
and abolish this pe
tilence, as far as possiLle,-This defilement
of the t:1.ith so imminently dangerous to souls. It becornes
episcopal duty, (i. e. the duty of the ROlnan Catholic Bishops,)
that you first of all, expo
e the wickeJness of t!tis nifa'/"ious
scheme. It is evident frmll experience, that the holy scrip-
tures, when circulated in the vulgar tongue, have, through the
temerity of lnen, produced ?nore har11t than lenefit. 'Yarn
the people entrusted to your care, that they fall not into the
8næ,.cs prepared for their et
erlastiJ1g ruin'
(that is, as you value
your souls, have nothing to do with Bible Societies, or the bi-
bles they circulate.) "The deep sorrow we feel on account
of this new species of tares, which an Adversm"y has so abun
ùantly sown.""il-
It requires only the pou'er in the hands of the Roman Cath-
olic church to make the 'V ord of God a prohibited book in
every land.
Opus OPEBATUl\I
OR THE EFFICACY OF THE SACRAMENTS.
Romanists hold that the Sacraments" confer grace," ex op-
ere operato, i. e. by the work wrought, or "by virtue of the
work and word done and said in the sacraments." According-
ly, to instance one ordinance, they hold that every person bap..
tized is thereby justified; and that none are ever justified with-
out baptisn1 :-'-instrun1entalis (causa) justificationis Sacran1en-
turn Baptismi; quod est Sacran1entum fidei, sine qua nulli
umquam contigit J ustificatio.-(ConciBii Trid. Sess. VI. Cap.
VII.) " Faith in the receiver giveth no efficacy to the sacra-
ment, but only taketh away the lets and in1pediments which
might hinder the efficacy of the sacraments; as the dryness
of the wood maketh it to burn the better, yet it is no efficient
cause of the burning, which is the fire oniy, but only a help."
-(\Villet. Synop. Papismi. Bellarn1. Lib. 2, De Sac. Cap. 1.)
Protestants deny that the ordinances have any power to confer
grace" ex opere operato:" they regard these simply as the
means under the influence of the lloly Spirit of strengthening
faith and other graces, wrought in the heart by the same spirit.
If there is no faith exercised, it is unscriptural and unreason-
able to suppose there can be any blessing in the participation
of an ordinance. . On the contrary, such participation is to
· The above Denunciatory Epistle,
Bull, was addressed to the Primate
n; !)o]anr}
ROMAN CATHOLIC FAPJ"H.
253
profane God's institution, and brings (")wn condemnation on
the head of the gUilt
T.
From the superstitious notion that the sacraments" ccnfer
grace," ex opere operato, have arisen manifold and most enor-
mous abuses. Such a principle ca.l'ried out into practice,
must necessarily destroy the spiritual character of Christ's
. church. All, according to this system, who come to th
sac-
rmncnts are Christians, and all ought to cOlIle, because gr().ce
is conferred ex opere operato. A church may in this way Le
built up entirely of worldly and unconverted men, who merely
conforn1 to the outwaro institutions of religion. Ilow far
such a state of things has been realized, facts but too plainly
show.
That the reader may have more fully before him the views
which the papal church maintains concerning the power of
the sacraments, we subjoin a few passages fl'om the procet,d-
ings of the Council of Trent. "Si quis dixerit, per ipsa
novæ legis Sacramer.,ta ex ope'J"e operato non conferri gratiam,
sed solum fidem divinæ promissionis ad gratiam consequendam
sufficere: A::VATHE)IA SIT." If anyone shall say, that grace
is not conferred by the sacraments of the new law (gospel) ex
opere operato (by the work wrought;) but that only fàith' in
the divine promise suffices to obtain grace: LET HDI BE ACCUR
SED! (Sess. vii., Can. viii.) "Si quis dixerit, in tribus Sacra-
InentiR, Baptismo scilicet, Confirmatione, et Ordine, non im-
primi characterem in anima, hoc est, signum quoddan1 spiritale
et indelebile, unde ea iterari non possllnt: ANATIIE2\IA SIT."
If anyone shall say, that in the three sacraments, viz: Bap-
tism, Confirmation, and Orders, there is not impressed on the
soul a character, that is, a certain spiritual and indelible
sign, on account of which these (sacraments) are not to be
repeated: LET lIDI DE ACCURSED! (Sess. vii., Can. ix.)
If any deny that by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, which
is conferred -in Baptism, the guilt of original sin is taken
away,-or even assert that all tlLat is not taken away (in rap-
tisn1) which has the true anll proper nature of sin, hut that it
is only erased (?) or not imputed: let him be accursed. }'Ol
in those born again (that is baptized) God hates nothin a .-
(Sess. v. Decret. de pee. orig.) 0
But. as it was perfectly n1anifest that baptized children, 3S
well as others, when they grew up, eÀhib:ted evil inclinati,ms
nnd dispositions; so in order to get over this difflculty, the .
council buldly denies that such incIir ations and di
position8,
are truly and properly sin, and pronounces those accur-
y
254
.A. !U1DIARY 01" THE
sed who think otherwise. If this, procedure was not making
void the law of God by n1an's tradition, it is hard to say what
constitutes such impiety. "IIanc concupisccl1tiam, quam
aliquando Apostolus peccatum appellat, sancta synodus decla..
rat Ecclesiam Catholican1 namquam inteìlexisse peccatum ap..
pellari, quod vere et proprie in renatis peccatum sit, sed quia
ex peccato est, et ad peccatum inclinat. Si quis autem con..
trarium senserit, AXA.THEJIA SIT." This concupi
cence, (or
lnsting to evil,) which the apostle ,8ometimes calls sin, the
holy Synod (of Trent) declares that the CathoÌIc du.trch has
never understooè it to be called sin in such a sense, that there
is truly and properly sin in those born again (baptized); but
(it is called sin) because it proceeded from sin, and inclines
to sin. If any man shall think otherwise, LET UDI BE ACCUR-
SED! (Sess. v. ut antea.)
ORIGI
AL SIN AND JUSTIFICATIO
.
The Council of Trent does not maintain the Joctrine of
total depravity in consequence of Adam's transgression; but
!Simply that he was changed thereby for the worse in body and
soul,-" secundum corpus et an imam in dcterius commutatum
fuisse." (Sess. v. Decret. de Pec. Orig.) Accordingly Car-
dinal Bellarmine thus defines original sin: "Privatio seu ca-
rentia doni justitiæ originalis, vel habitualis aversio a Deo."
A privation or want of the gift of original righteousness, or
an habitual turning away from God. He denies that this sin
is any evil disposition or quality inherent in us, but it arises
only "ex carentia justitiæ originalis, non ex insita aliqua
qllalitnte. " Of course he denies also, with the council of
Trent, that the. concupiscence, or lusting to evil which exists
in haptized persons is truly and properly sin.
The Council of Trent declares also, as \ve have before seen,
that original sin is altogether taken away in baptism-"totum
tolli;" that without this ordinance none can be justified-and
consequently that baptism is necessary to tbe salvation even of
infants. "Si quis-negat ipsum Christi Jesu merÎtum per bap-
tismi Sacramentum in forma Ecclesiæ rite collatum tam aduI..
tJS quam parv'lliis applicari, anathema sit. Quod (originale
peccatum) regenerationis lavacro necesse sit expiari ad vitam
æternam consequendam. And though Bellarm!ne affirms alsa
that infants dying without baptism are eternally punisheil,
· yet he maintains that it is only a punishment of loss (of hea-
ven 1), not of pain, or senr lble fire"-da;nni, non sensus, siva
Ignis sensibilis."
1l0)1AN CATHOLIC FAITH.
255
On the suhject of justification, Roman Catholics hold a
doctrine entirely opposed to that of Protestants, and as this
point is fundamental in Christianity, 80 the one or the other
has here altogether departed from the faith of the Gospel. The
latter assert that the obedience of the Saviour unto death, or
in one word, the merits or righteousness of all done or suffer-
d by the incarnate Redeemer, is the sole ground of a sinner's
acceptance in the sight of heaven; that he stands on that
ground simply by faith; and that Christian holiness or a gooò
life is the necessa1'y fruits and eyidences of justification.-
Good works, so far from being in any way the ground or cau
e
of justification, are never perfurmed until 'lee have bcenjusti-
fied through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. This scheme, it
will be perceived, takes away frOlI1 the sinner all room for
boasting, lays him in the dust, and gives the whole glory of
his salvation from beginning to end to 'God our Saviour."
Protestants are very careful to distingui
h between justifica-
tion and sanctification,-the latter being in each penitent
believer simply the consequence and proof of the former: Sp
that no man, according to their views; can entertain a good
hope that he has been justified, or pal'dcned, and regarded as
righteous before God, who doth not bring forth the fruits (f
sanctification-who is not holy in heart and life.
\Vhat the views of Romanists are on this most importan 1 _
subject, may be seen in the sul'joined extracts from the decis-
ions of the Council of Trent:
The alone formal cause (of justification) is the righteous-
ness of God-that righteousness with which he makes us right...
eous-with \vhich forsooth we are endowed bv him: we re-
ceivinp- this righteou
ness within ourselves, eve
y one accord-
ing to his measure, which the floly Spirit divides to each as he
wills, and according to each person's own disposition and co-
operation. (Ses
. vi., Cap. vii.)
Here we see that the "formal,"-Ji. that is, essential cause of
justification, is the man's own holiJ.1e
s, or in other word
, that
righteousness with which the spirit of God endues him. Sanc-
tification is the ground of justification. How large a space is
here given for glorying in the merit of works!
And as according to the faith of ROlnanists a man is justified
11Y his own holiness, so they assert, !hatjustification admits oJ
.
· " Fonnal, having the power of making a thing what it is--constituent,
ensentia1." lVebster.-When, e. g, the Saviour is said to be in the furm. 01
God-the meaning is, ha is tssentially God.
253
1. SUl\UfARY OF THE
increase. "Sic ergo j- lstificati, et amici Dei, ac Domestici fac-
ti euntes de virtu..e in virtu:-em, renovantur, ut apm:tolus in
quit, rle die in diem: hoc est, m.)rtifi
ando lnembra carnis suæ}
et exhibendo ea arma justitiæ in sanctificationem, per observa-
tionern Inandatorum Dei, et' Ecclesiæ, in ip
a justitia per
Christi gratiam accepta, cooperante fide bonis operibus, cre
-
cunt, atque magis justificantur." Thus, then, justified men,
m:lde the friends and servants of God, going on trom virtue to
virtue, are renewed, as the apostle says, frOln day to day; that
is, in mortif) ing the members of their flesh, and in using
these as instruments of righteousness .unto holiness by obser-
vance of the ia ws of God and of the CHURCH, they increase in
that righteousness received by the grace of Christ, faith co-
operating with good works, and are 1\fORE JUSTIFIED."-(Sess.
vi. Chrip. x.)
"Si quis dixerit hOlnines-per earn ipsam," (i. e. justitiam
Christi,) "formaliter justos esse; anathema sit." Bess. vi.
Canon x.) If anyone shall say that men are formally (es-
sentially) justified by the very righteousness of Çhrist, let
him be accursed.
" Sl quis dixerit, homines, justificari-sola imputatione jus-
titiæ Christi,-anathema sit." If anyone shall say that tnen
are justified solely by tlte imputation of C/l,rist's righteousness;
let him be accursed.-(Can. xi.)
"Si quis di'\:erit, fidem justificantern nihil aliud esse quam
fiduciarn divinæ misericordiæ, peccata remittentis propter
Clu.i;;tu1n; vel earn fiduciam solam .esse qua justificamur;
anathema sit." If anyone shall say that justifying faith is
no other than. a reliance on divine mercy REl\IITTIKG SIN FOR
CHRIST'S SAKE; or that it is this reliance (trust, or faith)
alone, by which we are justified; let him be accursed.-
(Can. xii.)
flow could the great scripture doctrine of justification
through faith alone on the sole ground of the merits or right-
eousness of the Lord Jesus Christ, be more plainly expressed
than it is in the three preceding extracts ftom the Canons of
he Council of Trent! And yet this precious, fundamental
truth of the gospel, and the only foundation of hope to the re-
ally awal{ened, penitent, believing soul, is here cO!ldemaed;
a.nd aU who hold it are cursed by the Church of Rome! And
how long such CURSED heretics would escape the flames of the
Inquisition, had "holy l\lother Church" the power of erecting
one in this land, deserves the serious consideration of all whG
value their religio\Is and civil liberty.
ROMAN CATlIOLIC FAITH.
257
Let the reader weigh well the tòllowing canori "Si quis
dixerit, j ustitiaul acceptam non conservari, atq ue etianl augeri
coram Deo per bona opera: sed opera ipsa fructus solum mo-
do et signa e3se justificationis a
leptæ, non autem ipsius au-
gcndæ causam; anaLherna sit." If anyone shall say that jus-
tification received is not preserved, and also increased before
God tll-rough good 'lCorks; but that such works are only the
ruits and signs of justification obtained, and not a cause of its
Increase; let him be accursed."-(Can. xxiv.)
How does the following canon agree with these scriptures?
"There is not a just man upon earth that doeth good, and sin-
neth not.-If we say that we have no sin, we deceive our-
selves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he
is faithful and just to forgive us our sins. Cursed is every
one that continueth not in all tlângs which are written in
the boo!i of the law to do them. The law of the Lord is
perfect. The law is holy; and the commandment holy, just,
and good."
If any shall say that a justified man sins venially, at lea
t, in
any good 'work, or, what is still more intolerable, that he :sins
rnortall y, and therefore deserves etern
1 punishnIents; and on
account cf that (the sin of his good work) he is .not condemned
only because God does not impute these works for condemna-
tiJn; let him be accursed."-(Can. xxv.)
We subjoin but two more canons on the subject of justifica
tion ;-these, the serious reader of the Bible will allow, need
no comment.
"If anyone shall say that after the grace of justification is
received, the sin of the penitent sinner so remitted, and his
desert (guilt) of eternal punishment so blotted out, there re-
mains no desert of temporal punishment to be paid in this
world, or hereafter in Purgatory, before an accp.ss to the king-
danl of heaven can be open to him ;-let hitn b
accursed."-
(Can. xxx.)
"If anyone shall say, thr..\. the good works of a justified man
are so the gifts of God, th3\ they are not the good merits of the
justified man himself; O. hat the justified Inan by th.e good
'works which are done b't llim throuO'h the !!race of God and
J 0
, the merit of Christ, doe
nJt truly deser've the incl'."a
e of
grace, etern3.1Iife, and, provided he die in a state of grace, the
attainment of eternal lite itsetf
anJ the increase of glory; let
hilll be accursed.-( Cml. xxxii.)
y2
258
A SUJUIARY OF THE
TRANSUBSTANTIATION.
Roman Catholics believe that after the consecration of tho
bread and wine by the priest in the Lord's Supper, tJlCSß
are cll,angf'd into God, and as such ought therefore to be wor.
sllipped. .
Those, however, who have always had the scripture light
and other religious advantages which are possessed in protes-
tant communities, can scarcely suppose it possible that so
monstrously superstitious and idolatrous a dogma as that of
Transubstantiation, could be received by any body of p.rofess-
iug christians. But such doubts will all be immediately re-
moved by a reference to any of the doctrinal standards of the
Church of Rome.
"In the first place, the Holy Synod teaches, and openly and
simply professes, that in the holy sacrament of the Eucharist,
after the consecration of the bread and wine, our Lord Jesus
Christ, true God and man, is truly, really, and substantially
contained under the form of these sensible things." That is,
what appears still the bread and wine, is really no more so,
but they are now "our Lord .Jesus Christ, true God and man!"
Such is the explanation given in the fourth chapter of the
saIne session. This holy Synod declares that by the conse-
cration of the bread and wine, a change is made of the
whole substance of the bread into the substance of the body
of our Lord Christ, and of the whole substance of the wine
into the substance of his blood. '\Vhich change is suitably
and properly called by the holy Catholic Church, Transub
stantiation.
And as the bread and \vine have thus become God, in the
estimation of Romanists J so the next chapter directs that the
Sacrament be wm'shipped as the true God. dNullus itaque
dulJitandi locus relinquitur, quin omnes Christi.fideles pro mo-
re in Catholica Ecclesia semper recepto latriæ cultum, qui
vero Deo debetur, huic sanctissimo Sacramento in venera tione
exhibeant." There is therefore no room for doubt but that all
Christ's faithful people, according to the custom always re-
ceived in the Catholic Church, should, in veneration, offer to
this most holy sacrament, the \,,"orship (latriæ cultum) which ,
is ùue to the true God, The council then goes on in the first
and sixth canons to CURSE those who deny the doctrine of
'rransubstantiation, and hold the views of the protestants on
the subject of the Lord's Supper, and those also "rho say that
tl-te worshippers of the Eucharist are idolaterf:.
ROJ1A:X CATHOLIC FAITH.
25g
As the church of Rome teaches that the elements of the
Ijord's Supper are really and substantially changed into the
Divine Saviour, so she also teaches that this Sacralnent is a
sacrifice,-"sacrosanctum Inissæ sacrificium,"-the }IOST 110-
LY SACRIFICE OF TIlE l\iAss,-and that it is "propitiatorum
pro vivis et defunctis,"-a propitiation for the living and the
dead; and that it is the same victim that was offer
d on the
cross, so those who, with due preparation come to it, (mas8,)
will obtain
race and the pårdon of their sins :-"non solunl
pro fideliun. vivorum peccatis, pænis, satisfactionibus, et aliis
necessitatibus, sed et pro defunctis in Christo nondum ad ple-
num purgatis, rite, juxta apostolorum tradition em, offertur,"-
that not only for the sins, punishments, satisfactions, and other
necessities of the faithful who are living, but also for those
who, having died in Christ, are not yet fully purified, (in pur-
gatory,) it (sacrifice of mass) is rightly, and according to the
Apostles' tradition, offered. (Sess. xxiii. cap. 1, 2.)
The doctrine of the mass is, therefore, that the elements,
cha.nged by consecration, are a real victim, the incarnate Sa-
viour; that the officiating Pri
:;t 0{;
rs the divine sacrifice;
and that on the gronnd of this sacrifice or atonmnent, the par
don of sin and o:her benefits are obtained by the living and
by the dead. That such a doctrine robs the SA. viour of his
glory and overturns the whole gospel system of salvation is
most manifest. "Without shedding of blood" declares the
Apostle, "is no remission" of sin. "By on.e offering he (the
Lord Jesus Christ) hath perfected forever thern that are sanc-
tified." <'The blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth us from all sin."
Every reader of the worù of God is aware that it abounds with
similar testimonies.
PURGATORY.
Purgatory, according to the Romish creed, is a certain place
tu which are sent the souls of those who die in venial sin, or
whose sins have been remitted, but the punishment of them not
satisfied. These souls are purified by the fire of Purgatory,
and thus made meet for heaven, to which at last they all safe-
Iyarrive.
"Purgatorium esse;" declares the Council of Trent, (Sess.
xxv.) "animasque ibi detenta
, fidelium l"Juíf..agiis, potissimum
vero acceptabili altaris sacrifi('io juvari." There is a purga-
tory; and the souls therc dctained are helped by the suffrage!!
(favors) of the faithful, but most of all by the acceptable sacri-
fice of the altar (mass.) \Vhat these suffrages are we are
260
A SUi\DIARY OF THE
.
taught in the latter part of the decree-"Missarnm sacrificia,
- orationes, eleemosynæ, aliaque pietatis opera, quæ a fidelibus
pro aliis fidelibus defunctis fieri consueverunt." Sacrifices
of masses, prayers, alms, and other works of piety which
are wont to be perfùrmed by the faithful, for other faithful
deceased.
The doctrine of Purgatory is most adroitly calculated tc
secure an irresistible influence over an ignorant and supersti-
tious people. Only let it be believed that the soul is exqui-
sitely tormented in a fire, from which the celebration of masses
can deliver it, and the priest has at once a strong rein upon the
necks of surviving relatives and friends, and a sure key to
their pockets. Accordingly, masses for souls in Purgatory
have always been a most gainful trade to the Church of Rome.
It is not surprising, therefore, that the council commands that
the existence of Purgatory be believed, held, taught, and eve-
ry where preached, and curses those who deny the efficacy of
mass in relieving souls there detained.
'VORSHIP OF TIlE VIRCI:';
IARY, SAINTS, RELIQ.UES,
bIAGES, &'c.
Romanists are taught by their Church that the Virgin Ma-
ry and other saints in heaven pray for the faithful on earth,
and that these ought to pray to Mary and other deceased saints
to intercede with God for them. "Sanctos, una cum Christo
rcgnantes, orationes suas pro hominibus Deo offetre, bonum
atque utile esse suppliciter eos invocare, et ob benefici
impe-
tranda a Deo per filium ejus, J esum Christum-ad eormn
orationes, opem auxiliumque confugere." The holy Synod
commands the Bishops and other instructors in the Church,-
to teach the people "that the saints reigning together with
Christ uffer their prayers for men to God; that it is good and
useful suppliantly to pray to them; and for obtaining benefits
from God through his son Jesus Christ, to fly to their prayers,
help, and assistan{'e."-(Scss. xxv.)
Having stated the doctrine of saint-worship, we will now
su'hjoin two or three specimens of it
fruits,-prayers addressed
to saints.
"Iloly Mother of God, who hast 1corth.ily merited to con..
ceive hin) whom the world could not comprehend; by thy
pim.1s intervention wash away our sins, that so, being 1.cdccmc(l
by tlter, 'we may be able to ascend to the seat of everlasting
glory, &c."
"0 Martyr Christopher,-Confer comfort
and remove hea,.
RO)IAN CATIIOLIC FAITII.
261
ine
s of mind: and cause, that the examination of the Judge
IDa y be mild toward all."
,
O \Viiliam, thou good S.ieplterd,-Cleanse us in our ago-
ny; g'rant us aid; remove tlte .filthiness of our life; and grant
the JOYS of a celestial crown."
"0 ye eleven thousand glorious Maids, lilies of virginity,
roses of mJ.rtyrdom, dp.fend me in life by affording to me your
assistance: and show yourselves to me in death by bringing
the last consolation."--(Collect. in Hür. ad usum sacrum, as
quoted in Faber's Difficulties of Romanism, p. 191,2.)
On the subject of relique-worship, the council decrees as
follows: "Sanctorum quoque l\Iartyrum, et aliorum cmu
Christo viventium sancta corpora, quæ viva membra fuerunt
Christi, et templum Spiritus Sancti, ab ipso ad æternam vitam
suscitanda et glorificanda a fidelibus veneranda. esse: per quæ
multa ben
ficia a Deo hominibus præstantur: &c.-(Sess.xxv.)
The holy bodies of saints, also of martyrs, and of others living
with Christ, which (bodies) have been living members of
Chl'ist, and the temple of the Holy Ghost, and which by him
( Christ) are to be raised to eternal life and glorified ;-( these
bodie
) are to be venerated.
\Vhat this religious veneration is, which the council here
decrees to relics, we may learn f1'0111 a late work on the doc-
trines of the Catholic church, by the Bishop of Aire. "From
God, as its source," says the Bishop, "the worship, with which
we honor relics, originates; and to God, as its end, it ultimate-
ly and terminatively reverts."-(Discuss. Amic. LeU. XV.
Faber's .Diff. of Rom. p. 194.) But the worship which origi-
nates from God, and reverts to him, must, if any species of re-
ligious service is entitled to the distinctiqn, be the most exalted
worship-it is true and proper worship, that which, according
to the scriptures, is due to God alone.
The JVoTsl,ip of Images is enjoined in the following terms,
"Imagincs porro Christi, Deiparæ Virginis, et aliorum sane to-
rum, in ten1plis præsertim habendas et retinendas, eisque de-
bitum honorezn et venerationenl impertiendam," &c. (Sess.
XXV.) 1\I0reover, the Images of Christ, thc Gocl-bcarin 6 Vir-
gin, anù of other saints, are, in churches especially, to be had
and retained, and due honor and ,,-'cneration are to be gi \Ten to
them. That by this veneration, religious worship is really in.
tended, is plain from what follows,-"honos, qui eis exhibetur
refertur ad protofypa, quæ illæ repræsentant," &c. The honor
which is shown to them (the images) is referred to the origin-
als which these represent. In the case, then, of the Îlnage ot
62
A SU1tIMAny OF THE
Christ, the k
enticaI honor which is given to him, is shewn to
the image; but this is true and proper worship. The council
apparently apprehensive, as well they might te, that they
would be thought idolaters, thus endeavor, in anticipation, to
escape the imputation, "non quod credatur inesse aliqua in iis
òivinitas vel virtus, propter quam sint colendæ," &c. Not that
it is believed there is any divinity in the images, or virtue, on
account of which they are to be worshipped, &c.; but the.
same reply was uniformly made by the ancient Pagan Ro-
mans, and when charged with idolatry, for worshipping before
the images of Jupiter, &c. and yet the apostle does not hesi-
tate to speak of them as heathens.
INDULGExcEs.
Bellarmine, the celebrated defender of the Romish Church,
tells us that indulgence is "remissionem pænarum, quæ rema-
nent luendæ post remissionem culpårum :"-(Bellar. De In-
du!g. Lib. 1, ch. 1.)
The remission of the punishments which remain to be satis-
fied for, after the remission of faults. He who purchases an
indulgence, procures ther
by a remission of those purgatorial
fires which otherwise he must suffer on account of his sins.-
The sale of indulgences is a very extensive and gainful trade
in Roman Catholic communities, and the effects of such a
trade on the minds and nlanners of the people, cannot but be
most deplorable. "That religion," says Dr. Johnson, a late
traveller in Italy, "cannot offer very formidable checks to im-
n1orality, or even crirne, wàich hùngs up 'Plenary Indulgence'
on every chapel-door. He who can easily clear the board of
his conscience on Sunday, has 8ureIy a strong temptation to
begin chalking up a fresh score on l\:1onåay or Tuesday." It
was the shocking consequences of an extrùo
-dinary sale of in-
dulgences, that opened the eyes of Luther to the abominations
of ROlnanism, and thus 'led to the Reforma
i0n. The very
bonds of socicty seemed to be loosening and d
s
ûìving, and
crimes of the most frightful character obtained lic
nse by the
flooù of indulgences that was pouring in upon the country.
'Such indulgences were first invented in the eleventh
l1tù
l'y, by Urban II. as a recompense for those who went in p
l
son upon the glorious enterprise of conquering the Holy Land.
They were afterwards granted to those who hired a soldier
fur that purpose; and in process of time were bestowed on
such as gave money tòr accomplishing any pious work enjoin-
ed by the pope. The power of granting indulgences has been
ROMAN CATHOLIC FAITH.
253
greatly abused in the Church of Rome. Pope Leo X., in or-
der to carryon the magnificent structure of St. Peier'8, at
Rome, published indulgences, and a plenary remiEsicn to aU
such as should contribute money towards it. Finding the pro-
ject take, he granted to Albert electOl' of J\'Ientz, and arch-
bishop of IHagdeburg, the benefit of the indulgences of Sax-
ony, and the neighboring parts, and fhrmed out those of other
countries to the highest bidders: who, to make the best of the
bargaIn, procured the ablest preachers to cry up the value of
the ware. The form of these indulgences was as follows:-
"l\'Iay our Lord Jesus Christ have mercy upon thee, and ab-
solve thee by the merits of his most holy pa8sion. And I, by
his authority, that of his blessed apostles, Peter and Paul, and
of the most holy pope, granted and committed to me in these
parts, do absolve thee, first frorll all ecclesiastical censures, in
whatever Inanner they have been incurred; then from all thy
sins, transgressions, and exce8ses, how énormous soever they
nlaY be: even from such as are reserved for the cognizance of
the holy see, and as fill' as the keys of the holy church extend.
I remit to you all punishment which you deserve in purgatory
on their account: and I restore you to the holy sacraments of
the church, to the unity of the faithful, and to that innocence
and purity which you possessed at baptism: so that when you
die, the gates of punishment shall be shut, and the gates of the
paradise of delight shall be opened; and if you shall not die at
present, this gra. e shall remain in full force when you are at
the point of death. In the name of the Father, the Son, and
the Holy Ghost." According to a book, called the Tax of the
sacred ROlflan Chancery,. in which are contained the exact
sums to be levied for the pardon of each particular sin, we find
sonle of the fees to be thus:
"RobLing a church, 2 dollars 25 cents. Simony, 2 dollars
25 cents. Peljury, forgery, and l)ing, 2 dollars. Robbery,
3 dollars. Burning a houf:e, 2 dollars 75 cents. Eating meat
in Lent, 2 dollars 7'5 cents. I{illing a layman, 1 dollar 75
cents. St.ç.king a Priest, 2 dollars 75 cents. Procuring abor-
tion, 1 dollar 50 cents. Dead man excomn1unicated, 3 dollars.
Priest to keep a concubine, 2 dollars 25 cents. 7(. 7(. 7(. 11
Ravishing or deflowering a virgin, 2 dollars. Murder offath-
er, mother, sister, brother or ,vife; 2 dollars 50 cents, Nun
fi)f frequent fornication, in or out of the nunnery, 5 dollars.
l\Iarryiug 011 a day fdrLidden, 10 dollars. All incest, rapes,
ttdultery and fornication committed by a Priest, with his rela-
tions, nun
, nldrricd wOrPcn virgins and his concubines, with
264
A SUl\IMARY OF TIlE
.
the joint pardon of all his whores, at the same time, 10 dollara
Absolution of all crimes together, 12 dollars."
"The terms in which the retailers of indulgences described
their benefits, and the necessity of purcha
ing them, were so
extravagant that they appear almost incredible. If any man,
said they, purchase letters of indulgence, his soul may rest
secure with respect to its salvation. The souls confirled in
purgatory, for whose redemption indulgences are purchased,
as soon as the money tinkles in the chest, instantly escape
from that place of torment, and ascend into heaven. That the
efficacy of indulgences was so great, that the most heinous
ins, even if one should violate (which was impossible) the
1\loth0r of God, would be remitted and expiated by them, and
the person be freed both ftom punishment and guilt. That this
was the unspeakable gift of God, in order to reconcile man to
himself. That the cross erected by the preachers of indul-
gences was equally efficacious with tl
e cross of Christ itself."
"Lo," said they, "the heavens are open: if you enter not now,
when will you enter? For twelve pence you may redeem the
soul of your father out of purgatory; and are you so ungrateful
that you will not rescue the soul of your parent from torment?
If you had but one coat, you ought to strip yourself instantly,
and sell it, in order to purchase such benefit," &c.
Since that time the popes have been more sparing in the
exercise of this power; although it is said, they still carryon a
great trade with them to the Indies, where they are purchased
at two rials a piece, and sometimes more. 'Ve are told also
that a gentleman not long since being at Naples, in order that
he might be fully ascertained respecting indulgences, went to
the office, and for two sequins purchased a plenary remission
of all sins for himself and any two other persons of his friends
or relations, whose names he was empowered to insert.-
[Haweis's Church Hist. vol. iii. p.147; Smith's Errors of the
CltUTC/" of Rome; Watson's Theol. Tracts, vol. v. p. 274. .1.110-
8/teim's Eccl. Hisl. vol. i. p. 594, quarto.]
INFALLIBILITY.
The church of Rome claims to be infalJible. In conse-
quence of this attribute, she decides what is, and what is not
scripture, and what the scriptures teach; she asserts the fight
also, to prescribe for faith and practice as necessary for salva-
tion, other things than those contained in the scriptures; and
al1 men are bound impIicitly, to submit to her decision. Ro-
manists, however, differ very much alnong themselves abou
.
nOJIAX CATllùLIC FAITII.
265
the seat of this tremendous power; some assert that it is
In the Pope, others, that it is in a general Council, and others
again, in the Pope and Coun:::il combined. This very doubt
concerning the place of i
s existence, shews that the preten-
sion itself is unfounded ånd ridiculous. For what is the use
of infallibility, if none can with certainty. discover where it
is, and by whom it is exercised?
B,lt this is not all, the claim of infallibility is most blasphe-
n10US presumption. God alone is infallible,-his word alone
cannot err,-in that are all things necessary to salvation, and
to him alone ought we implicitly to submit. The man, or
church, who claim to themselves infallibility, usurp the place
ofGoJ, and exhiLit the very character of ....t\..ntichrist, "who op-
poseth and exaltetll, him
elf" says the apostle, "above all that
is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he, as God, sitteth
in the temple of God, sltezeing himself t!tat he is God." It.
were easy to swell out this article, so as to fill large volumes,
wi:h the account of the gross errors, oppressions, and enormi-
ties whi
h have proceedeq from infallible Popes, and an infal-
lible church. It was by an almost universal acknowledgment
of this impious claim to infallibility, that the spiritual despot-
ism of the d3.rk ages was maintained. Individuals and nations
were stript of almost every civil and religious right, and tram-
pled in the dust, beneath the feet of the Romish IIierarchy.
The_ evils at last became intolerable, men almost every where
endeavored to burst the yoke: the glorious reformation follow-
ed, and m
ltitudes obtained the blessinzs of freedom. This
liberty, purchased by the labors, and tears, and blood of thou-
s3.nds, it is ours to maintain against the claims of infallible
")Iothßr Church."
As the church of Rome asserts her infalliLllity, she can
never change; what she has once declared to be truth, must
ever remain so-dse wlrlt becomes of her infallthi!ity? Such
a claim then, it is manifest, makes all attempt
to rifor11l the
R )mish sys.em of religion utterly hopeless. :peing infàJIibly
right in all its essential principles, it never can Le altered.-
There is no such thiuJ1,', theref)rc, as getting rid of the evils
of such a system, but by altogether abandonin 6 it. They who
would escape her plagues, must, in the language of God's
word, come out of her.
\Ve will presf'nt to our readers but one specimen of tho
fl"uits of infilllibilit)-but one, hecause that will be slltTicient
to shew the character of the tree. By the third CouHcil of
Lateran, the obligation .to de.
troy heretics was imposed upon
Z
266
A !U:\-I
1ARY OF TIlE
the faithful; and by the same council, it was declared that nIl
oaths, which are against ecclesiastical utility, become, ipso
facto, null and void. "Non eninI dicenda sunt juramenta, sea
potius pmjuriJ, quæ contra utililatelll ecclesiasticam et sancto-
rum patrurl1 veniunt instituta." Consequently, John HU8S was
burnt, though he had received a 8afe-conduct tì'om the Empc-
1'01' Sigismund. The church authorities decided that the oath
of the Emperor was "contra eccIesiasticam utilitatem,'" and
therefore, he was bound to break it, and burn to death the luan
whmn he had sworn to protect.-(Fabe:'s Difl: .of Romanisnl,
p3ge 4ß)
Here then, the point is settled,-Roman Catholics, notwith,..
ianding all oaths to the contrary, are bound to destroy all her-
etics, whenever their church requires it, and they have it in
their power. To deny the obligation to do this, would be a
denial of the infallibility of the Church.
Dr. JaInes Johnson, a late travel1er in Italy, gives a nlost
melancholy and disgusting view of i
s religion and morality.
After a short quotation upon these subject
, we will cIOEe the
present head with an extract fronl his book, giving an account
of one of the Inost imposing ceremonies, in hllnor of" [nfall-i-
II ility pCt.so nijìed."
,.. The fundamental objects of every religion, I imagine to be
these-first, to fo
ter the good and check the evil propensities
of man's nature in this world; and, secondly, to procure hinl
immortality and happiness in the next. Ilow far the Catho-
lic systenl of faith and worship, as protèssed and practised on
the Classic soil of Italy, is calculated to secure the salvation of
the soul, I will not venture to judge, for the reason above men-
tioned. But I deem it not out of my province to form some
estim
tc of ifs influence over virtue and \rice, and of its tend-
deney to good or evil actions in the common afThirs of life.
"I humbly conceive, that there are two radical defects in We
Catholic religion, as practised in Italy: first, the facility of ab-
solution, before alluded to; secondly, the perpetual interven-
tion of saints and angels between the human heart, whether in -
n state of contrition or adoration, and the throne of our Crea-
tor. I need not repeat that I have already said, as to the bale-
ful effects of cheap and easy renlission of sins, through the me-
diunl of heartless cerenlonies, if not virtual bribery. It is now
pretty well ascertained, that in proportion as the duty on con-
tra band articles is diminished, the consumption will in-
crease, so as that the revenue loses nothing by relaxaticn
of its demands. I believe the same ma",im will hold good af\
.
.,.
ItO:\IAN CATHOLIC FAITH.
267
to moral articles of contraband, especially where no worldly
dislwnor attaches to breach of law. It is impofo:sible to view
the facili
ies with which sins are washed away in Italy, (not to
speak of the permission to commit them,) without eomin
to the
conclusion that one of the most effectual checks to vice, which
.religion affords, is thus rendered not only inefficient, but abso..
. lutely conducive to the evil ,vhich it is intended to remedy.
Forsyth, while speaking of certain scenes which took place
at Naples, during a memorable epoch still fresh in the recol-
lections of the present race, has the following passage:
" They reeled ferociousiy from party to party, from saint to
saint, and were steady to nothing but mischiif and the church.
" Those Cannibals, feasting at their fires on hunmn carnage,
would kneel down and beat their breasts in the fervor of devo-
tion, whenever the sacring bell went past to the sick; and some
of Ruffo's cut-throats would never mount their horses without
crossing themselves and muttering a prayer."
The perpetual intercession of saints and angel
, not to speak
of priests and relics of the dead, in pardoning sins and saving
souls, mu
t inevitably diminish, if not destroy that awful ,:;olem-
nity which ou;;;ht to attend a direct appeal from man to his
l\iaker.
In respect to the pompous formalities, the georgeous image-
ry.. the superstitious rites, the solemn mockeries, and the sick-
ening delusions of Italian 'VORSHIP, whatever influence they
may have on people immersed in ignorance, and trammeled
by priestcraft-they can have but one of two effects upon
Englishmen-that of turning the Romish religion into ridicule,
in Rtrong minds; or that of overpowering and converting minds
that are weak!
The Chapel of the Quirinal on Sunday mornings, is at Iaf';t
filled to suff0cation. The tribunes on either side are occupied
by the clegantes of London and Pari.
, Petersburg and l'ienna,
Cracow or New rorle. In the central nave the thl"onO' is com-
o
posed of abbots, priors, and dignitaries in grand costumc,-the
1\lamelukes of the church! Roman generals, aJl armed for the
nlilitary service of the altar, the only service they have ever
seen-monks, guards, fi-iars, Swiss soldiers, and officers of
Btate! Outside a cordon drawn round the choir, arc placed the
foreign gentlemen. The choir, the scene of action, all brilliant
and beautiful, is still a void. \Vhen the signal is given, the
erowd divides! and the procession begins !-lVlutes and others
form the at'antgarde of the pageant, and lead the \V1.y. The);!
.
.
268
A SU.:\DIARY OF TIlE
comes, personified Infallibility! feeble as womanhood! help-
less as infancy! withered by infirmity; but borne aloft, Jike
some idol of pagån worship, on the necks of mcn, above all hu-
man contact. The concJafre follows, each of its princes ro1-cd
liJ\:e an Eastern Sultan! I-Iabits of silk and brocade, glittering
with goJd and silver, succeeded by robes of velvet, and ve
t-
ments of point lace, the envy of reigning empresses. The toi- .
lette of these Church exquisites is perfect: not a hair displa-
ced, not a point neglected, from the powdered toupee to the
diamond shoe-buckle. The Pope is at last deposited on his
golden throne: his ecclesiastical attendants fold round him his
ample caftain, white and brilliant as the nuptial dress of bridal
queens! they arrange his dazzling mitre; they blow his nose;
they wipe ltis mouth, and exhibit tltc rep1.cselltation oj Dixinity
in all the disgusting helplessness of dri-rclling caducity. IIis
Holiness being thus cradled on a throne, to '" hich Emperors
once knelt, the Conservators of Rome, the caryatides of the
Church, place themselves meekly at his steps, m1d the manikin,
who represents the Roman senate, precisely in his look and
dress resembling Bl"id'oison, in the "lJlarriage de FigrrTo,"
takes !lÏs humble station near the Imperial seat, more gorgeoes
than any the Gæsars ever mounted. IHeantinle, the demigods
of the conclave repose their erninences in their stalls, on velvet
cushions, and their caudatorj (or tail-bearers) place thelnselvcs
at thèiI' feet. I
the centre, stand or sit, on the steps of the
high altar, the bishops with their superb vestments. Then the
choir raises the high hosannus; the Pope pontificates; and the
ffemple of Jupiter never 'witnessed rites so imposing, or so
splendid. Golden censors fling their odors on the air! har-
mony the most perfect, and movelnents tl
e IllOSt gracious, de-
light the ear an:I e) e! At the e
eYation cf the host, a silence
more oppressive than even tins solerr..n 'concord of sweet
sounds' succeeds; all fall prostrate to the earth; and the mil-
itary falling still lower than all, lay their arms of Je
truction
at the feet of that mystery operated in memory If the salva-
tion of mankind. .
'The ceremony is at last concluded. The processicn reo
turns as it entered. The congregation rush after: and the next
moment, the anti-room of this religious temple resembles the '
saloon of t11.e opera. The abbots and priers mingle among the
lay crowd, and the cardinals chat with pretty women, sport
their red stockings, and ask their opinions of the Pope's Pon-
tification, as a
Iervillicux of the Opera at Paris, takes snuff;
and demands of his Cllere Bclle, 'Comment trouvc
'COllS ca
RO)!AN CATHOLIC FAITH.
2ß9
Comtessc?' Bows, and courtesies, and recognitions-' nods,
and becks, and wreathed smiles'-fill up the waiting time for
carriages; and then all depart from the Quirinal, to re-congre-
gate at St. Peter's to hear ,'espers, give rendezvous, and make
parties for the opera."
PO"TER ûF THE PRIEST TO FORGIVE SINS.
The doctrine of the Church of Rome on this point, is fully
and clearly expressed by the council of Trent, in its fourteenth
session, chap. 6. The Iioly Synod" teaches also, that even
priests, \
ho are held in mortal sin, do exercise, by virtue of
the Holy Ghost, conferred in ordination, as Christ's ministers,
the function of remitting sin.
; and that they think ill \\ ho con-
tend there is not this power in 'lL"Ïcked Pricsts. And though
the Priest's Ab
oIution is the dispensation of another's benefit;
nevertheles
, it is not a nal{ed ministry alone, either of an-
nouncing the gospel, or of declaring that sins are forgiven;
but after the likeness of a judicial act, in which by himself,
as by a judge, sentence is pronounced.'"
In the ninth and tenth canons of this Session, those persons
are, as usual, cursed, who deny the al
ove doctrine of priestly
absolution, and that even wicked priests have the power of re-
mitting sins.
I.MPOSSIBILITY OF SALVATION OUT OF THE ROJIISH CHURCH.
This point is a neces
ary consequence of infallibility, and
of those anathemas with which its decrees are guarded. If
the Church of Rome is infallible, and has decided that her doc-
trine and sacraments are necessary to salvation-it follows
that they who do not receive them must perish. Accordingly,
in the "Summary, &c." above given, the candidate swe
rs
that he will hold to the last breath of his life" this true Catho-
lic fitith," (i. c. the fiÜth declared by the council of Trent)-
" out of 'ldticlt no one can ltave salvation."
Our readers cannot but have perceived, in examining the
foregoing extracts from Itoman Catholic authorities, that. tlte
Churc", among professors of this Hlith, is the all in all ;-it is
the Church that is to 1-'0 believed, and to be implicitly submit-
ted to: whatever she ha
declared is inf<lllibly and imlnutaLly
true. \Ve mw;:t receive the scrÍptures on her authority, and
haJJ them on all points as she is pleased to interpret them.-
Now what is this but to put the church in the place of Gcd? and
to bow down in idolatrous homage to human authority? A mul-
titude of impcrtant reflections here crowd upc-n the n1Ïnd, only
. _0
Goy
270
A SU)UlARY OF TilE, &c
one, however, will our limits permit us to suggest. It is th6
utter hopelessness of all attempts to reform the church of Rome
in any essential manner. As well, in the view of a conscien-
tious Romanist, might we endea vòr to change the eternal
truth of God. That which is infalhbly right it would be impi-
ous to alter, or even to indulge the wish that it were other-
wise. "The principles of the Catholic Church," says the
Bishop of Aire, "are irrevocable. She herself is immutably
cltained hy bonds, which, at no future period, can she
ver rend
asu'nder."* To reform such a church, it is manifest, would be
to destroy it. To those In this church, therefore, who have
determined to make the T'Vord (if God, the holy scriptures, the
supreme rule of their faith and life, a good conscience must
compel to "come out of her."
.. Faber's Diff. of Romanism, p. 283.
LET'r E R S FRO 1\1 R 0 1\1 E .
TilE following Letters, dated at Rome, and written by a
Physician, travelling in Italy for his health, to a Lrother in
this country, contain many remarkable facts in reference to
Romish doctrine and practice.
"Rome, , 16-.
"Dear Cltarles,-I am at length ill Rome, and of al1 the pia
ces that I have yet seen, this is the mGst delightful. \Vhere we
have indulged in high anticipations, you know it is not often
we find theln more than realized, but luine were in this case
"Every thing which had particularly excited nlY admira,
tion in my travels in the various ci
ies through which I passed,
awaited me at Rome in still greater perfccti<.m. I had alwa) s
ardently desired to view the very place llnd scene of those inl-
portant events with which history had furnished me entertain
ment and instruction from my youngest years. I had promis-
ed myself great pleasure in beholding the genuine remains
of Pagan Rome-in visiting the sepulchres of her sages and
heroes, and in searching out the place where each had lived,
and walked, and held his disputations-in viewing the relics
of her noble, ancient architecture-her temples-her sculp
ture-her genius and taste; and though I expected to discover
little comparatively, of old Rome, yet the bare view of the
place where old Runle
tood and her few noble remains I fan-
cied would be suflicient to assist nlY imagination in portraying
the rest. As fi)r her religion, Popery, though I knew some of
its super8
ition
, I knew comparatively little, and intended to
lose no time in noticing its ridiculous ceremonies, but to devote
myself to searching out her antiquities. But my first impres-
sIOns ,vere such, that I soon found myself regarding the Ro-
mish worship with particular scrutiny.
" I find Popery, as it is exercised in Italy, so nf'arIy resenl-
bling the Paganism of old Rome, that, while wÏ!nes
ing her
religious ceremonies, I am continually rerni:1ded of some pas-
sage in a classic author where a similar cf'remcny was per-
furmed in the same form and manner, and in the same place.
I can scarcely refrain from f:1ncying nlyself a spectator ,-,f
271
272
LETTERS FROJI ROl\lE.
orne solemn act of ancient idolatry, rather than witnessing- aL
act of reli6'ious worship un
er the title of Christianity. The
first titne 1 en'ered a church here, the smoke and smell of in-
cense streaming frJm its numerO
lS altars, tran
ported me at
once to the descripti(.n of Paphian V cnus, in the first Æneid-
" Her hundred altars there with garlands crown'd,
And richest incense smoking, breathed around;
Sweet odors" &c.
And when I saw the little boy in surplice in the church of
Rome, waiting upon the Priest at the altar with the vessel of
incense and o
her sacred utensilR, how could I but be reminded
of a heathen sacrifice?
" NJbody ever g,)es in or out of a church here without being
sprinlded with holy water, by the prieRt who attends for that
purpose, or else he serves himself with it, from a vessel plac-
ed inside the door resembling our baptis1I1al fonts. Now this
cusbm is strIctly derived from a heathen practice."
"I was present at one solemnity which was entirely novel
to me. I never saw any notice of any thing similar to it in
heathen worship, an] conclude it to be an extravagance re-
served for Popery alone. It is a yearly festival, celebrated
in January, to which I allude, called the 'benediction of
horses -.' "
"It was commemorated with great solemnity. All t4e in-
haLitants of the city and neighl'orhood sent up their horses,
asses, anJ other cattle to the convent of St. Anthony, where a
priest in surplice sp:'inkles all the animals separately, with his
brush as they were presented to him; saying in Latin-
'Through the intercession of the Blessed Ant.hony Abate,
these animals are freed frOln all evils, in the name of .the Fa-
ther, of the Son, and of the I-Ialy Ghost-Amen.' He receiv-
ed in return, a fee proportioned to the ability of the owner."
" I was mnazed at such a display of lamps and wax-candles
as I finJ constantly burning l:efvrc the shrines and images of
their saints. l\lany of these lamps are of massy silver; some,
even of gold, the gifts of princes and other distinguished per-
sDnages. The nUln
;er of offerin 6 s, too, presented in conse-
quen
e of vows made in time of danger, and in gratitude for
deliverance, and cures, hanging up in the churches, is so great
as really to be quite offensive, anJ o\:;struct the sight (,f some-
thing more valuable and ornamental. These offerings consist
in a great lueasure of arm::; and legs, and little figures of wood
or wax, and sometimes fine pictures describing the manner
of the ùeliverance, obtained by the miraculous intr:rposition
LE-TTEn! FRO.U RO::\IE.
273
of the saint invokerl, &c. As I was examining these various
offerings, 1 could not I'ut recollect an anecdote told by Cicero,
of one, who, having f0und an atheistical friend in a temple,
said, , You, who think the gods take no notice of human aff tirs,
ùo you not sec here by this nmnber of pictures, how many
people for the sake of thcir vows have been f:aved in stOrIns
at. sea, and got safe into harbor?' , Yes,' says the atheIst,' I
see how it is; for those are never painted, who happ
n to be
drowned.'
"They pretend to show here at Rome, two original impres-
sions of Olfr Saviour's face on two different pocket handker..-
chiefs-one, it is said, was presented by himself to Agharus,
Prince of EJessa, and fhe other to a holy woman, named Ver-
0nica, at the time of his execution, (the handkerchief she lent
him to wipe his facc on that occasion.) One of these is pre-
served in St. Sylvester"s church; the second in S1. Peter's.
"I could tell you many more of the absurdities and supersti-
tions of the Romish church, but time preven
8 now. I shall
write you again soon; will then mention more f3.cts, which I
know to he true, and give you a faithful description of 'v hat I
have seen with my o,vn eyes in this Babylon, this city ofabom-
inati,:ms.
"You will be surprised at receiving so minute a statement
of things relative to religious matters, and so few on other
suhjects, but I know Rome's state, in a moral vie,v, will possess
more interest for you, than aught else of her I could name.
"1 must close-
"Yours, my brother in Christian love and affection,
"IIEXRY STURTEVAXT."
" Rome, - -.
".Jly dear brotlter,-I received your welcome letter last
evenin6' anJ most cheerfully devote these, my first leisure
moments since, to gr
ify the wish you expressed to be mote
particularly informed of some of the religious ceremonies ot"
the Romish church. 1\1 y curiosity has led me oftentimes to
be a witness of various solClnnities, and I will strive to detail
the observations I made, and the infùrmation J have gained,
with as much particularity as my time ,...ill allow.
"Suon a[er I despatched my last Ic
ter tn you, I spent two
or three days in visiting the several churches and no
icing
particuZarlg ,",very thing. connected with nomish worship
274
LETT}'WI }'RO)! RO:\t.l!:.
which caught my e ,.C. Some of the numerous }JaIntings which
adorn the a ltars I examined-! hey were ,-ery 1 eautiful; indeed
I never saw any, that could compare with then1 for beauty of
e
ecution. I became less surpriEed, as I gazed at them with
admiration n1yself, at the reverence, solfnulity and enthusias-
tic admiration with which they inspired those who had receiv-
ed from nature an eye to observe, and a heart to feel keenly
the beauties of this art-espeC'ially when I considered the ig-
n.->rance and superstition of Papal worship which had shrouded
theln from infancy, and led them to mistake these natural
sensibilities of a discriminating taste for true devotion and
hGly love to the Leing "horn they represented.
"The pomp and glory of the worship of this church is won-
(leìfully calculated to áwe and amuse the minds of a superstl
tious people. The costly paintings-the images of saints, en-
riched with gold and pearl-the costly habits of the officiating
priests-the choice vocal and instrumental music-the public
processions and parades-in short, evelY thing combines, by
its magnificence, to win the attention and confidence of an un-
thinking people.
"But I am more and more astonished at the gross frauds,
practised in connection with supposed relics, and the credulity
of people in regard to them. Among other relics which they
pretend to show here, are tl,-c heads of St. Petc1' and St. Paul,
encased in silver busts, fo'et with jewels--a lock uf the Yirgin
:Alary's I,air-a phial of It(,1' tears-a piece of her green Pl't-
ticoat-a robe of Jesus Christ, sp1'inkled 7l.itl, llis blood-some
drops of lâ;.; blood in (I bottle-and some of the 'll'afl'r'ldtich
jlowed out of tlte 7l'ound in !tis side-tIle nails used in tILe cru-
cifixion-a nd a piece of tlte very same porphyry pillar on
'ie/tich the cock perclted 'lohen he n'oll'ed nfter Pet
r's denial of
Christ-tlte rods of .L1Ioses and Aaron-and two pieces oJ'the
lrood of the real ark of the covenant, l\Iany of the churches
are mrJst abundantly supplied with relics of a similar charac
tcr-there is one in Spain, I understand, which possesses ele'ren
thousand, among which are several of our Sa\-iour; a sacred
!tair of his most holy !lead is preserved in a vase-several
pieces of his cross-thirteen tlwrns of ltis cr07cn-and a riece
cf the 1fI,cwger in 'll.lticl" he ?l'as born. There are many relics
also of the Viq;in l\Iary-three or four pieces of one oj her
garments-and a relic of tlte handkerchief 'll.itl" 'll'lticlt
he
tciped her eyes at tIte foot of tlte cross, t.ÿc. But enough of this.
"It would be a vain attempt, were I to undertake to tell you
the number of saints and angels 1vho ihare in the devotions
LETT .ERS rRO
RO)l.l.:.
21&
of this superstitious people; indeed they are countless. And
as every Pope takes the liberty of introducing one or several
into the calendar of saints during his Pontiticate, we need not
wonder at the mm'& who said on visitinJ one of these Papal
cities, 'it was easier to find a god, than a m
n in it.'
"But I mll perfectly amazed at the extravagant honors and
blasphemous adorati::m paid the Virgin l\'lary. They have in
fact highly exalted her, and given her a name above eyerr
name-I doubt whether their worship (even nominal) of the
blessed Saviour exceeds that of the Virgin.
"Churches and chapels are consecrated to her service-five
so'emn festivals are annually paid to her honor, besides one
day in every week set apart as especially for her worship as
Saturday is for the Son. There are also seven hours in each
day, called the seven canonical hours, which her most indus-
trious worshippers devote to her service.
"From childhood, the Roman Catholic is taught to cherish
far her the most profound reverence and the strongest affec-
tion. He addresses his prayers to her as being the 'queen of
heaven' and 'the mother of God'-as 'being all-powerful to ob-
'lin from God by her intercessions all she shall ask of him,'
A Catholic school-book inculcates this sentiment: 'Being mo-
ther of God, he cannot refuse her request; being our mother,
she cannot deny our intercession when we have recourse to
hcr--üur necessities urge her-the prayers we offer her fi)r
our salvation bring us all that we desire-never any person
invoked the mother of mercies in his necessities, who has not
been sensible of the effects of her assistance. Among the
reasons given why we should apply to the Virgin for salvation
rather than to Christ, I have heard these two named-that
'she being a u'oman is more tendcr-hearted'-and 'being a real
mother is therefore indulgent.' Such petitions as these follow-
ing are addressed to her in the rlevotions of her worshippers:
'Succor the miserable,' 'help the faint-hearted,' 'comfort the
nffiicted,' 'loosen the sinner's band8,' 'bring light unto the
blind,' 'our lusts and passions quéll,' 'preserve our lives un-
stained,' 'guard us,' 'de!iver us from all dangers,' 'lead us to
life everlasting,' and innumerable others of similar import.
"Now, to whom, mv dear brother, but a Power possessing
all the attributes claimed by Divinity itself, should we think
mortal man wo
ld address such service? and yet after ail this
and in the midst of aU this, they affirm that they worship .the
one only and true God,' and that 'IIirn alone they serve.'
_ "I find in tbQ concluiion of the Biblia :\'lariæ. thp BllIe Qf
276
LETTERS FRO}! RO:'+lE.
the Virgin l\lary, (for you must know she has one compcsed
and provided f.Jr her especial service,) a prayer of this sort:-
'Oh Qneen of mercy, grace and glor)! Empre
s of all the
creafure
. blot out all IllY transbressions, and lead ll1e to life
e\"erJasnng !'
"J h:1.\;e teen told, that-, in a procession made here a few
years ago, the following inscription was placed over the gate
of one Gf the principal churches:
" 'The Gate of celestial \:enefit. The Gate of salvation.
Look up to the Virgin hersc1f. 'Vhosceve1'
hall find me will
find life, and d1'a,v salvation from the Lord. }'cr there is no
<:.ne who can èe delivered from evils Dut through thee-there
is no one from whom we can obtain n1ercy hut through thee.'
"I will just add a part of the litany of , Lady of Loretto,' to
show you the extent of their extravagant and Llasphemous
adoration:
'''Holy l\Iary. Spiritual vessel.
Holy l\Iüther of God. Vessel of honor.
Holy Virgin of Virgins. Vessel of singular devotion
1\lother of Christ. 1\lvstical rose.
1\lother of divine grace. T
wer of David.
j\lother most pure. Tower of Ivery.
l\1other most chaste. House of Gold.
1\1othe1' undefiled. Arl{ of the covenant.
1\Iothor untouched. "':I Gate of Heaven.
1\1oiner most amiab]e.
l\Iornin2" Star.
1\lother most admirable.
Health
f the weak.
"'::
1\'lother of our Creator.
Refuge of sinners.
lVlother of our Redeemer. c:: Comfort of 1he afHicted.
Virgin most prudent.
Help of Christians.
Virgin most venerable. Queen of angels.
Virgin most renowned. Queen of Patriarchs.
Virgin most powerful. Queen of prophets.
Virgin most merciful. Queen of. apostles.
Virgin most faithful. Queen of martyrs.
1\lirror of justice. Queen of confessors.
Seat of \Yisdom. (!ueen of virgins.
Cause of our joy. Quoen of all saints.'
"She wears a golden crown, set with precious stones'of in-
estimable value--her pngers glisten with rings, and her neck
i
tdstefully adorned with several chains of gold, to which
medals and hearts of gold are app(
nded, presents ii'om devout
Catholic princes. She has changes -.if clothes for all work-dJJJs,
LETTER! FROJl ROMB.
27'7
"
holidays and S
ndays, of all colors: and even a suit of mourn-
ing for pasSiOn-1I'Cck! !
"1 ha\ e not time to say more of the ido
atrous worship paid
the Virgin j\[;.ll')- yet 1 have given you scarce an idea of its
extent; were I to tell you half the extravagancies I have seen
anJ heard, you wO.1ld telieve I had made shipwreck of the
credit for truth which I used to have, anJ would be incredulous
of all I have yet to say on other points-but this much 1 nlust
affirm: the half has not been told.
"I must describe to you, my dear brother, some of the fa-
mous miracles performed by the saints, images, relics, &c.
They are really wondcrful. No saint, it seems, can be admit-
teJ into the calendar, whatever may have been the sanctity of
his life, unless it can be testified that he has 'lcrought miracles.
"The tales of vi
ions, apparitions, and miracles which are
kept in circulation, and which are, in fact, necessary to uphold
such a system of spiritual tyranny as the Popish religion i
,
among a superstitious and ignorant people ate so absurd and
monstrous, it .would seem scarcely possible they should gain
any credence at alL
"In several parts of Italy are shown the marks of hands and
feet on rocks and stones, miraculously effected by the appari-
tions of some of their saints. Several images have been point-
ed O:1t to me since I have been in Rome, which on certain oc-
casions ha \-e spolæu-zL'cpt-sU'cat and bled. One of the ima-
ges of our Saviour, it was seriously averred, wept so profusely
hefore the sacking of Rome, as to cmploy all tTLe good fathc1's
iit t!tC monastn'y in wiping its face.
'
\Vhat is IllOSt wonderful of this picture is, that the Virgin
1\1ary herself, attended by IHary J\;lagdalen and St. Catherine,
condescended to come down from heaven three or four centu-
ries ago, to bring and introduce it to the special notice of pa-
pists. \Ve IllUSt infer, as the picture. itself came dOlcn from
lleavcll, that it is imposed on the people as the workmanship
either of the Virgin l\lary, some of the angels or saints, or of
God himself!! IIow shocking-outrageous!
"Of Thomas à Becket, perhaps as n1any miracles are re-
corded as of any saint. It is said, 'he outdid Christ himself in
this p'1rticular.' Two volumes of them were preserved in
C'lnterbur.-, wher
his
hrinc flourished, nnd a l;oûk h
s l'cf'n
published in Fran 'f', crn
aining an account of two hunr!red anJ
se\"cntv. It is remarl{a
Jc that he works no lliracies in En""-
0
land where his bones are deposited, but works abun
antly ÜJ
o
hcr countries.
..
A2
278
LETTERS FRO'I ROJIE.
"St. Francis Xavier turned a sufficient quantity of salt watel
into fresh to save the lives of five hundred tra ,'ellers, who
were dying of thirst, enough being left to allow a large expor-
tation to diffe} ent parts of the world, where it performed aston-
ishing t:-ures. St. Raymond de Pennafort laid his cloak on tho
sea, and sailed thereon from IHajorca to Barcelona, a distance
of a hundred and sixty miles, in six hours.
"At l\'Iantua, I am told, there may be seen a bottle of the
real blood of Christ. It was dug up a numLer of years since
in a box containing a paper with an account of the circum-
stances of its deposit. It seems one Longinus, a Roman cen-
turion, who was present at the crucifixion of Christ, becamo
converted and afterwards left J udea for l\lantua, carrying with
him this phial of blood; he buried the sacred relic, and was so
thoughtful as to enclose it in an en ,"elope, stating all these
tàcts. It is very remarkable that the writing, the box, the bot-
tle, the blood and all should be perfectly fresh as it was when
found, after lying in the ground sixteen centuries!!!
"A certain friar had preached a sermon during lent, upon
the state of the man mentioned in Scripture possessed with
seven devils, with so much eloquence and unction, that a sim-
ple countryman who heard him, went home, and became con-
vinced that these seven devils had got possession of him. The
idea haunted his mind, and subjected him to the most dreadful
terror
, till, unable to bear his suffering, he unbosomed him-
self to his ghostly father and asked his counsel. The father,
who had some snmttering of science, bethought himself at last
of a way to rid the honest man of his devils. He told him it
would be necessary to combat with the devils singly; and on
the day appointed, when the poor man came with a sum of
money to serve as a bait for the devil-without which, the good
father had forewarned hÎ1n no devil could be dislodged-he
bound a chain, connected with an c1ectrical machine in an
arljoining chamber, round his body, lest, as he sairl, the devil
should flyaway ",ith him-and having warned him that the
shock would be terrible when the devil went out of him, he
left him praying devoutly before an im
, ge of the l\ladonna i
and ufter SOlne time gave him a pretty smart shock, at "hich
the poor wretch fell insensible en the floor from terror. As
soon, however, as he recovered, he protested that he had
een
the de,"il flyaway out of his mouth, breathing Llue flames and
sulphur, and that he felt himself greatly relic\ cd. Seven elec
trical shocks, at due intcrYal
, haying cxtr
cted stJycn sums
LETTERS }'ROJI RO
IE.
27U
cf money from him, together with the sevcn (} ,...\-.ils, the man
was cured, and a grcat luiracle performed!"
Rome, l1IondllY eve, - --.
"You will see from the above date, my dear brother, that
this letter has lain untouched several cla) s. I have been so
completely engaged in the continued round of ceremonies,
which engross the hearts and time of this people during the
'holy week' as to leave me no leisure to finish the accoun:s I
had already begun. ROlne is filled with pilgrÍ111s, and all the
churches with worshippers-devout ones-save here and there
a heretic, whose curiusity, like mine, has led him to mingle
with the crowd, and follow the footsteps of the multitude
throul{h the endless absurdities, which tread hard on the heels
of each other.
"Processions of penitents are seen silently wending their
way along the streets, clothed in long dark robes, preceded by
a black cross, and bearing irr their hands skulls, and bOIlCS, and
contribution-boxes Ít>r souls in purgatory.
"A most superb procession took place on the morning of the
festa of the annunciation, which I, with thousands of others,
ran to see.
"The Pope, riding on a white mule, (I suppose to imitate
our Saviour's entry at Jerusalem,) came attended by his horse-
guards who rode before to clear the way, mounted on prancing
black horses and accompanied by such a flourish of trumpets
and kettle-drums as to wear far more of the appearance of a
martial parade than of a religious proceeding. All were
dre
sed in splendid full uniform, and in every cap waved a
myrtle sprig, the sign of rejoicing. The cardinals followed;
and the rear was brought up by a bare-headed priest on a mule,
with the host in a golden cup, the sight of which operated liJ<e
a talism
n on every soul around me, (for every knee bent,)
save here and there one, who like myself stood heretically
amid the kneeling ma
s, looking about panic-struck at this ma-
gic-like movement.
"The Pope himself was clothed in robes of white and Si1VCI,
anj as he pa
sed along the crowds of gazing people that lined
1hn streets and fillcd the windows, he furgot not ince
santly to
repeat his benediction-a twirl of three fingers, typical of the
l<'ather, Son, and II(']y Ghost,-the little finger representin
the latter.
280
LETTERS FRO}! RO
lE.
"
Iany tirêsome ceremonies fjl10wed his entry into thb
r hurch. He was sea
ed on his throne; ail the cardinals suc-
c
ssi\-.ely approached-kis
ed his hand-retiíed a Ftep or two ·
--
ave three low nods-one to h;m in frLn t , as pers
llifying
GJd, the Father, one to the right, intendeJ for the Son; and
oue to the left tor the It)ly Ghost.
"1 an1 sure,.my dear brother, as this ceremony passed, the
Llood curdled in my veills-I was tran
fixed to the Epot. I saw
not what passed wÍIhout nle, but this text of holy writ stood
lIke letwrs of fire, glaring upon me from within:-
" '\Vho, as God, sitteth in the telnple of God, showing him-
self that he is God.'
"\Vhen the first shock of this b]a
phemy had passed away,
the inferior priests were bowin6', each in their turn, and in
a
oring attitude kissing tÍle toe, as it is called, which is in fact,
the embroidered cross on the Ehoe of this lord of lords. IIigh
mass then began; during the elevation of the host, the Pope
knelt before the high altar and in silence prayed-then ft)llow-
ed an infinitude of gettings up and sittings down-of sayings
and dead pauses, which I aln sure those around me did not
half comprehend; and of which I could-nothing.
"A lighted taper was then brought, (though it was broad
daylight,) and held for the Pope, while he read something, I
now not what, from a great volume before him, and after sev-
c;ral other ceremonies, as comprehensible and edifying as those
1. have named, he rose and retired, twirling his benediction all
the way out, as he twirled it all the way in. After this I had
ii ttle running to do, till palm Sunday came. You know I
am far-famed as a punctual man-and a full hour I had been
seated in the gaze of expectation, waiting the Pope's .appear-
ance in the chapel, when he came. lIe was clothed this timo
in scarlet and gold, and a most sunlptuous figure he made.
The Cardinals were dressed in their mourning rubes, of a vio-
let color, richly trimmed with antique lace, with mantles of .
ermine and scarlet trains-b....(, these were soon changed for
garrnents of gold. The same round of ceremonies toward the
Pope was perfünned as I related on the festa of the annuncia-
tion. Two palm branches received the Pope's benediction,
after haying passed thrpugh a cloud of incense. Smaller ones,
artificial, composed of plaited straw or dried reed leaves, to
which crosses were appended, were presented to ench carJi-
llaJ, archbishop, anJ to alllhe inferior orders of the cler::sy, to
deacons,
anons, choristers, cardinals' trainbearcr
, &c. as
'hey individually desc.ended the steps of the throne after per-
LETTERS FROM ROME.
281
"orming th
ccrelllonious routine I have mention
d before.
The procession then te;an to move off; two and two, L<'gin-
ning wi+h the 10" est cl
rical rank, and at last the Pupe
himself in his chair of s:ate, under a crimson canopy and Lorne
on the shoulders of four men. Great pomp and splendor marI{-
ed this parade. The crowns and mitres of the Lishops and
patriarch
, white and crimson, glittering with jewels, and set
with preciùus stones-their long, rich dresses-the slow and
uniform march of the procession, and the gay crowds surround-
ing, presented quite an imposing appearance. The procession
issued forth into the hall in the rear of the chapel, and march-
ing round it, entered again and seated then1selves as before.
A multitude of tedious services then f011owed-with frequent
kneeling8-:he tinkling of bells, dressings, undressings, &c.;
then the cardinals all embraced each other, gave the kiss of
peace, and the scene closeù.
"The next service I attended was three days after on 'V ed-
llesday, in the same chapel at half past four, P.I\!. The house
was filled to overflowing. I had a conspicuous place, and
could distinctly see all that passed, and amused myself through
a long and tedious chant with my own reflections 011 the vari.
ed scenes before me. l\ly attention was then arrested by a
ro,v of mourning candles, fifwen in number, all lighted, though
still broad day; the central one overtopped the others, they
retreating in size each way. I learned the tull mourning
candle ,vas the Virgin l\Iary; the pearest each side, like maids
of honor, were the two :J\'Iarys, and all the rest apostles. As
the services proceeded, the candles, one by one, were extin-
guished, a typical representation of the falling off of the apos-
tles in the hour of trial. The Virgin was at lhst left alone in
the midst, and she at length was set under the altar. As it
gre,v dark, only light enough was allowed to make the dark-
ness visibltJ-to give a sombre, chilling melancholy to the whole
aspect of things. Strains of music then commenced of such
unearthly pathos as never before fell on my ear. I wi11 not
atten1pt to describe it; for a time I seemed to forget where or
what I \Va
, S0 deeply was every faculty of Iny soul absorbed
in the plaintive, heart-stirring swellings that rose, and then
melted away am('ng the suppressed breathings of awe-stricken
listeners. The lady who sat next me heard till nature fain
ed
-and many on my right and left listened till too deeply agita-
ted to suppress the keenness of t.heir elnation.
"Holy Thursday, the succeeding day, was the intermf'nt of
Christ; nearly the same ceren10nies were perfofllled as I have
2.A2
282
LETTERS FRO'! ROJIE.
already related, with the addition of the deposit of the host by
the PoP.c in the sepulchre beneath the altar at the close of the
processiOn.
"Then came the washing of feet, in imitation of our Saviour's
washing the disciples' feet. This was performed by the Pope
himsclf, officiating in a long white linen robe, and wearing a
bishop's mitre.
",.:\, silver bucket of ,vater was presented to him by an at-
tending Cardinal. The Pope knelt before the first of the pil-
grim-priests, imnlersed one foot in water, then touched it with
a ftinged towel-kissed the leg, and gave the cloth and a sort
of white flower or feather to the man-then went on to the
next. The whole ceremony occupied but a few moments;
the Pope then returned to toe throne, changed his dress for the
robes of white and silver, and proceeded to the next service.
The twelve priests seated themselves at a table, loaded with
various dishes and flowers; and the Pope, after pronouncing a
blessing-, handed to each from a side-table, bread, plates, and
cups of wine, which each rose to receive frOln his highness'
hand; a few forms having passed, he gave a parting benedic-
tion and withdrew."
"The next day was Good Friday; went early in the lllorning
to the chapel to witness the 'adoration of the cross '-a long,
tedious service of mass, chantings, kneclings, and prayings to
the cross, from which the Inourning-cloth had been removp.d.
Then came the service of the 'three hours' agony' of Christ
upon the cross, which I viewed with feelings so indescribably
horror-struck, that I shall attempt no minute description of the
ceremonies. I still shudder, as a confused remembrance of
the representation of 1\lount Calvary, with its trees, rocks,
and thickets, passes before Ine in review-the dying, agonized
contortions of the muscles in the face of Him, who redeemed
us, so strikingly and horribly depicted, that the cold chills
came .over me-the nails, with the spear and the crosses-the
two dying thieves-the centurions, the horses, and the glitter-
ing swords-but my head swims at the recollection of the un-
hallowed sight of scenes, too sacred ever to attempt portray-
ing. The whole scene, \\ hich is a complete drama, is divid-
ed into seven acts, composed each one of the seven sa} ings
:II< The seven sayings are these-
1. "Father, forgive them, for they know n()t what they do."
2. "To-day lÍlou shalt be with me in Paradise."
3. "Woman, behold thy Son. SoP, behold thy mother."
4. "
Iy God, H1Y God, why hast Ù hI abandoned me."
LETTERS FRO)l RO:UE.
283
Ðf Christ on the cross; a tirade of the prie
t, consistIng of
apostrophes, ejaculations, and exhortations, calculated to excite
the natural feelings of the auditors, by the he1p of surround-
in
scenes even to nature's highest pitch; and when the scene
was perfect-when the whole multitude sanl<, exhausted with
feeling and drowned wirh tears-when the whole church
seemed to breathe in one loud burst of agony, as the melting
sounds of infinite love faintly uttered, 'It is jinished,'-a band
of ti-iars, clothed in black, Came noiselessly issuing from le-
hind; they toiled up the steep, vánding, and bushy ascent of
the mountain, emerging now from the thicket, and then froITl
the shade of a rock, to remove the body of IIim, whose last-
life-drop was spilt for us. The nails were loosened, and the
body removed and laid on a bier, amid the shrieks and agoniz-
ing groans of the people, who hastened, one by one, to pay it
the last tribute of a kiss, before it was borne away. I staid till
I could stay no longer, and retired amid the prayers, and sighs,
and tears that found vent from ahl10st every soul but mine,
with a grieved and melted heart, and a conscience deeply
reproaching me for witnessing a mock-scene like this.
"But I have spun this letter to quite an immoderate length.
I must close, but you shall hear from me again in a few days.
"Your affectionate brother,
"HENRY S---."
"Rome, --.
"JIg Dear Brother,-I am still busied in attendance on Ro-
man Catholic ceremonies. Curiosity led me, a short time
since, to witness the holy rite of Baptism, performed on a
young lady in the family of IVlr. R. with WhOll1 I am on terms
of considerahle intimacy. The ordinance of baptism, as ad-
ministered in a Romish Church, is so encumbered with cere-
monies, that it can be scarcely recognized as the simple seal
f the gospel-covenant. There are the furms observed before
coming- to the funt-those at the font-and those which f01low
. the admip..istratiJn of the ordinance. A lonO" series of cate:
o
chetical instruction precedes the rite itself, succeeded by ex.
5. "I thirst."
6. "It is finished."
7. Father, iut) thy hands I commend my spirit."
284
LETTERS FRO)l RO}lE.
m"cism-which is using' words of sacred and religious import,
anJ of prayers, to eÀpel the devi1, and to weaken and crush
his power." Salt is put into the mOLlth-:he sign of the cross is
n:mde with the holy oil upon the forehead, eye
, ear
, breast and
shoulders-the ncstrils and ears are touched ,\ ith spittle-the
crown of the head is anointed with chrism, af"er the perforn1ance
of the baptismal ceremony-a white garment is given, and a
wax taper, burning, is put into the hand. All these various rites
are typical of the several effects which the,
mcI'ed ordinance
is said to confer; viz: 'To remit original sin and actual guilt,
hvwever enormous-to remit all the punishment due to sin-to
bestow invaluable privileges, such as justification and adoption
-to produce a
undance of virtues-to unite the soul to Christ
-and to open the portals uf heaven.'
"Such are the un warranted, e1Ìicacious virtues which the
Romish church have ventured to ascribe to this simple ordi-
ance, which the Bible recognizes only as the vif'iLle E-ign of
an inward union, and which of itsflj and in itself confers no
_ grace.
'.Now, see the young lady, of whom I have been speaking,
pass through the ceremony of taking the veil!! 1\Iiss Celia R.
is a beautiful girl of 17-only daughter of the brother of 1\11'.
R., who deceased about a year since, consigning this, his dear-
est earthly treasure, to his brother's care. 1\11'. R. is a native
Italian, and stanch in his Roman belief-though his lady, I
8uspëct, submits with great repugnance to an observance of
the indispensable mummeries of her husband's faith. l\Iis
R.
came to Italy, overwhelmed with the sense of melancholy and
loneliness, which her father's death and her present state of
rphanage, (though independent iq point of fortune,) has occa-
sioned; her sadness was not at all lessened by the change of
customs, of scenes and companion
, which her removal from
the land of her nativity antI the associations of early youth
has produced. She has yielded a listening ear to the counsels
and persuasions of the friends she has acquired since her arri-
yal, and with a firm faith in the represented advantages and
pleasures of the life of a 'llun, she has this morning taken upon
herself all the Sólemn, unwarranted, and irrevocable vows
ôf monastic life!
"Poor girl! in the depth of her present sorrow, the world
seems dark and cheerless: she knows not that youth, in its
p.lasticity, bends only beneath the weight of sorrow, to rise again
when the fury of the storm is past, and look out upon the charms
of socia] life, with all its wonted freshness and delight. Her vi.
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Pope washing the feet of Pilgrim Prj
"it
.
LETTERS FROM ROJiE
285
.
!lions of futurity are now clothed in the sombre sh::t.do",.s which
her spirit wears; she dreams not that tha bright sun of youtÞ
and hJpe, though enveloped now, will soon emerge cloudlesSL.
and fi"ee, and brilliant as it was before. She thinks her sao-
ness is religion; her voluntary renunciation of all earth offer
,
an offering acceptable in the eyes of Him, who disdains every
sacrifice but that of a broken and contrite heart for sin; and
she sedes the comfort which is found only in repentance and
fai
h in the merits of her Saviour, in the cold, dull, mcnotonous
round of duties she herself imposes, and the costly sacrifice of
what her heavenly father never required her to forego.
"But enough of this-though I am in quite a moralizing
mood, and heartily sick of cold externals, warmed by no life-
throb-of a religion all body and no soul.
"It was a n10st delightful n10rning:-one of Italy's brightest
days-and one who has never roamed abroad amid all tho
be
uties of Italic scenery, and the soothing mildness and fra-
grance of her atmosphere, can s
arcely conceive how delight-
ful her bright days are; and I thought, as I bent my steps at
an early hour to the chapel in the convent of St. Sylvestro,
that when the young lady came to lock for the last time upon
the beauties and pleasures she was about to renounce, for the
cold, cheerless imprisonment of this liying tomb, . her heart
must misgive her, ançl her soul recoil from the rash, fatal vow
and I ltOped it would be so; for I knew she had volun-
tarily, unadvised by her uncle or aunt, and strongly opposed hy
the .latter, formed this inconsiderate resolution, and chosen this
livin
death. But she came at last, and two footmen, in splen-
did liveries, nlade way tòr her entran
e. She was in full
dress, sparkling in brilliants, her dark hair blazing in dia-
m
mds, her chaeks unblanched-rather deepened by the ex-
citement of the moment, and I think I never saw her more
beautiful. She pressed forward amid the gazing crowd wÜh a
firm, though gentle step, while the fixed purpose of her sonl
beamed full in her eye; the path-way and altar were strewed
with flowers-the l )ublic a pp laudina-stranrrers admirinq-
. 0 0 0
cardinals blessing-priests flattering-friends weeping-nuns
chantin
-and I, inwardly execrating a practice unauihorized
by the llible, uncommanded by Jehovah, yet encouraged and
insi3ted upon by those, who unworthily call themselves the
messengers of the will of the IIighes1.
"The ceremonies commenced. You can scarcely imagin
the indign:ÜioIf that by this time boiled within me, as I listen-
ed to the discourse pronounced from the pulpit by an old, fat
286
LETTERS FROM RO
1E.
Dominican monk, who poured forth such a volume of rhapsody
-with not a particle of sober reason or religion in it; or any
thing, except what was calculated to inflame an inexperi. ilced
imagination; calling her 'the affianced spouse of Ch ist,' a
'saint on earth," one who had renounced the vanitie
of the
world for a foretaste of the joys of heaven,' &c.-such as you,
nlY brother, with all your .fire, would not have staid to hear.
"The sermon closed, and at the altar the beautiful victim
knelt-and on it laid her youth and beauty, wealth-the plea-
sures and refinements of life, the delights of friendship, the
charms of nature and of freedom-every thing-all that na-
ture ILas to give, she gave; she sacrificed thmn all on the
shrine before her, and pronounced those vows which severeù
her from them forever.
"As the chant of her fatal vow died away in melting recita..
tive, every eye was moistened, as far as my vision reached,
save hers for whmn they wept.
"Her diamonds were then removed; and her long dark
tresses, in all thcir native polish' and beauty, fell clustering
about her shoulders-one lock of it was monopolized by the
cardinal-
hcn the grate opened, the choral voices of the black
sisterhood chanted a strain of welcome, as she retired from
the benediction of the cardinal and the embraces of her friends,
within her future tonlb. She renounced her Ilame and adopt-
ed a new one-her beautiful gannents were removed, and the
plain, coarse dress of the Franciscan order was assumed; her
ornaments were laid away forever, and nature's beautiful cov-
ering, that richly polished hair, was severed by the sisters'
fatal shears.
"The white veil was thrown on:; (which is a very differ-
ent thing from what I had supposed, being
imply 'a piece
ûf white linen, fixed on the top or back part of the head, and
fil.lling down bchind or on each f'ide, as on a veiled statue.')
Attired in the sober dress of a noviciate nun, the beautiful
Celia R. appcared to view agaIn behind the open grate-not
otherwise, for she and the world, (save seen through the bars
of her life-prison) were now parted forever. We all agreeä
the simple dress of the new nun had not at an abated from her
beauty, for her bright eyes, and the lovely expression of her
filiI' countenance had not departed with her brilliant attire. 1
thought her, indeed, even prettier than before.
"She appeared calm and firm until the last, when nature
frould have its gush, and \vhile receiving the praises, congrat-
ula.tions and sympathy of friends and acquintance, in spite
LETTERS FRO:\I ROME.
287
of her, her tears fell f1st and free. 'Ve left her-the heroine
I of an hoar.-But oh! how of en in the long, dark flight of thl)
tedious haul's to which she has doomed herself, will
he sigh
over that fatal moment with Litter repentance, but it will COlne
too late 1"
"In my next letter, I intend to tell you about the immense
stock of' n1erits,' which have heen, and are still accumulating
-an inexhaustible fund from which they presume on their in-
dulo-ences, but have not time now; indeed I must postpone
wh
I had intended to say on other points, for urgent duties
demand my attention.
" But believe me, my dear brother, as ever, your affectionate,
" HEl'\RY "
" Rome
"..:'J,ly dear b rotlw 1.,- This is my last letter frOln Rome; my
health has '\vonderfully improved, and I intend soon to set my
face homeward.
"Before this reaches you, I shall probably be on my way.
I shall have bid adieu to all thp. beauty and splendor of this
classic city, once Inistress of the world, aUG be quite beyond
the charms of her scenery, the balmy breath ùf her delight-
ful hills, and all her romantic associations; and indeed the
latter have long since floated from my memory, so absorbed
have I become in the interests of her future spiritual welfare
-but I shall carry with me many new thoughts and new feel-
in
s, which, by the blessing of God, will prompt to many ne,v
efforts and to many new plans.
"Henceforth, my brother, I will be the Lord's! I will live
for IIim, act for Jlim, think for Him, and direct every effort
of my soul t
co-operate in bringing back this darkened, delu-
ded world of unmortals, to the standard of the holy and peaceful
alJegiance of Jesus; to hastcn that latter-day glory, which my
f:oul never longed with such intensity to see, as since I have
contrasted its brightness and purity with the depressing g]oOln
and abominations of the superstitious ages behind us, yet lin-
gering in their retreat. l\ly hcart has almost 111elted within
me, as I have watched the thick, dark clouds, which ha,.c set-
tled over this people, and the horrible blackness of darknes
which has shrouded, and still envelopes so many millions of
perishing immortals, as they make their final plun
e into the
fathomless gulf of eternity, blindly unprepared, deceived by
288
LETTERS FROl\I RO:
IE.
blind guides, and eternally lost. Oh! the wo reserved in the
dregs of the cup of an
ichrisf, the indescriballe torments that
await hin1 at the decisions of the last great day!
" Every delusion I find in the' cup of abominaticns,' pre-
pared for the nations by the 'mother of harlot
,' and greedily
drank by easily-deceived souls, thirsting for a blessed immor-
tality, a wakens ne"p and deeper pangs of indignation and
grief, till my heart, at times, is ready to burst in the depths of
its distress for souls.
"I thought when I last wrote to you, that I had some fain..
glimpse of the deceits and delusions practised on the follow-
ers of Popery. I could see depths, frightful and immense, of
treasures of gold and silver, which Papal imposition had ex-
torted from the ignorant and superstitious, to pamper and up-
hold the dominion of the prince of darkness; but I had not
fathomed, with n1Y imperfect vision, the greatest reservoir of
all, with its endless channels and its untold l
oUl
ds-I mean
that of 'indulgences.' I was not, to be sure, ignorant of the
exiðtence of such a fraud to obtain the mammom of unright-
eousness, for I had found scarcely a church in Rome, where
'plenary indulgence' did not blaze in tempting letters-but of
the extent to which this fraud ,vas carried, and the immense
source of revenue it ha
become, I was uninformed. I had
becn rather startled, I confess, at the full pardon of sin which
a few prayers before certain shrines, and a few pence, slipped
into the hand of a priest, would procure; Lut Iny hair stood
almost upright, when I learned, that by the performance of a
few trifling, heartless ceremonies, and the payment of certain
Silms of 111oney, 30 or 40,000 and e\,en 500,000 years of in-
dulgence might be purchased. J find indulgences are of dif-
ferent degrees-' full,' 'more than fuB,' 'fullest.' A fûll in.
dulgence will' clear you of all that can be laid to your charger
nnd bring you to a baptismal innocency till. the time and date
of the indulgence; hut in case you live longer, though but a
fortnight, your total indulgence is spent, and therefore to help
you out here, you may have a fuller indulgence, which wiU
carry you to the end of your journey.'
'.You l11ay buy as 111any masses as win free your souls
from purgato:y for 29,000 years, at the church of St. John's
Lateïan, on the festa of that saint.
" Those that have in
erest with the Pope, Inay obtain an ab-
solution in full, from his lloliness, for all the sins they ever
I]=lve committed, or may choose to commit.
"Certain prices, it seems, are affixed to certain sins, and
· LETTERS FRO)[ RO)[.E.
289
entire absolution may be obtained for any SIll you can name,
by paying the stipulated smn.
"For sins which in the Holy Scriptures we find called down
the terrific judgments of heaven, a man may obtain absolution
fr.)m the Pope fûr two shillings, two and sixpence, and per-
haps less. It is almost incredible what a source of revenue
the sale of bulls of indulgences has been to the Romish church
-what uncounted treasures have been amassed in the Pûpe's
coffers by this means." .
" No measures are untried, that crafty policy suggests, to
extort -masses f07 the dead-to solicit contributions for the re-
lief of suffering souls in purgatory. Strange tales of frightful
visions and apparitions are circulated, , of souls standing in burn-
ing brimestone, some up to their knees, and some to the chin-
of others swimming in cauldrons of melted lead, and devi
s
pouring metal down their throats,' with many such stories,
greedily swallowed by superstition and ignorance. Solicitors,
or agents, bearing lanterns with a painted glass, representing
naked persons enveloped in flames, parade the streets and en-
ter houses with tales that alarm, and appeals that excite the
compassion for these 'holy souls.'
"So great is the dread of the horrors of purgatory, that be..:
sides the satisfactions they make in their life time, many de-
luded souls leave large legacies to the church to procure mas-
ses daily, weekly, monthly and yearly, as far as their money
will go. Thus also are nlultitudes of the living induced,
through conlpassion for the supposed sufferings of their de-
ceased relatives, to spend large and freq uent sums; sometimes
even to forego many comforts and necessaries, to reJeem by
masses the souls of those they love from the horrors of thê
n1iddle state. M
ny would l'ather starve their surviving fam-
ilies, than neglect the souls of the departed. This doctrine is
a mine, as profitable to the church, as the Indies to Spain."
"You cannot conceive, my dear brother, of the depravation
of morals here. If nothing enters heaven 'that defileth,' it
luust be a comfortable thought to the priests as well as the
people, that a place is mercifully provided to cleanse them
from the impurities of the debauchery they indulge on earth.
The celibacy of the priests is hut a cloak for the nl
st
h(}me-
Jess wickedness, so frequent and i
pudent as scarce to seek
concealment-the day of judgment will reveal f-:uch enormi-
tics as will make every ear to tingle."
"I wonder not, my brother, at the indignation which boiled
In the breast of the bold and fearless Luther, at the shameful
2ß
290
LETTER! FROM RO:\IE.
-
and infamous . raffie of indulgences. 'Behold how great a
mat.ter a little fire kindleth l' Little did he imagine the flame
that burned within his own breast was the torch to kindle
Christendom-a light to turn the eyes of ages towards the
ri
ing of that better day, so dear to the hearts of all Christ's
followers. IIow great should be our gratitude, that we were
not nurtured in the long reign of darkne5s, which shrouded
this and other countries before the deep, loud blast of Luther's
trumpet sounded the alarm 31nong sleeping Christians. lIe
began a noble work; may all our energies be enlisted in its
advancement, till He, whose right it i
, shall rule and reign
from sea to sea-from the river to the ends of the earth.
Great is .the work, even of a private Christian, I believe, if
he stands in his lot, doing with his might what his hands find
to do.
" 1\la y you and I, my dear brother, be watchful and diligent
in our l\Iaster's work, that when he cometh, he may say, "'\V elJ
done,
ood and fhithf:.II servants, enter thou into the joy of thy
Lord. "
-, Yours, in the bonds of the s
rongest affection,
HE:VRY S
,
..
APPENDIX,.
CONTAINING THE PRESERVATIVE AGAINST
POPER Y;
BY THE REV. JOSEPH BLANCO WHITE.
Formerly (!7'nplain to tlte King of Spain, in the Royal Chapel
of 'n"ille,-now a Clergyman of tIle Cllurch of
Englund.
DIALOGUE I.
Cont.lining an account of the Author; how the Errors of the Roman Catho-
lic Church made him an Infidel; and how, to avoid her Tyranny, he' am,.
to England, where the knowledge of the Protestant ReligIon. mad
hin
again embrace Christianity.
Reader. Well, Sir, since you are pleased to wish for a con-
versation with nle, may I make bold to ask who you are?
Author. By all means, my good friend. The truth is, that
unle
s you know \vho I am, and by w
at strange and unfore-
seen events I happen to be here, our conversation would be
tf' little purpm:e. You must, then, know, in the first place,
that I am a Spaniard, and have heen regularly bred and or-
dained a Catholic priest.
R. Indeed, Sil'
Perhaps you are one of those poor crea-
tures who, I hear, have been driven out of S
aIn fur having
tried to gi\"e it a l
etter government.
A. No, my friend: I have teen now (1825) more than fif-
teen year
in England, and came hither cf my own accurd,
th
)Ugh I left Lehind every thing that was most dear to DIe, ee-
Eides very good preferment in the church, nnd the prospect of
ri
ing to higher places of honor and emolument. " '_
R. \Yhy. Sir! that appears strange.
2
1
292 PRESERVATIVE
A. So it must to those who are not a-cquaintEd with the evil
from which I resolved to escape, at the expense of every thing
I possessed in the world. You, IUY dear fi'iend, have had your
lot cast in a country which is perfectly free frmll religious iy-
'i.anny. '\Vere it possible for you to have been born in Spain,
nnd yet to possess the free spirit of a Briton, you would not
wonder at the determination which made me quit parents, kin-
dred, friends, wealth and country, and cast myself upon the
world at large, at the age of five and thirty, trusting to Iny 0" n
exertions for a maintenance. All this I did merely to escape
from religious tyranny.
R. You quite surprise me, Sir! But I wish you would tell
me what it is you mean by that religious tyranny, which you
seem to have feared and hated so strongly.
A. y ('
will easily understand it as I proceed with the story
of my own life. I was Lorn of gentle parents, and brought
up with great care and tenderness. l\ly father's family were
Irish, and the English language being spoken by him and n1a-
ny of his dependants, I learned it when a boy; and thanks to
that circumstance, which I consider as a means employed by
Providence for my future good, I can now thus freely converse
with you. Both my father and mother were Roman Catholics,
extremely pious from their youth, and devoted to works of char-
ity a nd piety during the ,vhole course of their lives. It was
natural that such good parents should educate their children in
the most religious manner; and they spared themselves no
pains to make me a good Roman Catholic. My disposition was
not wayward; and I grew up strongly attached to the sort oî
religion which was instilled into my IuÍnd. I had scarcely ar-
rived at my fourteenth year, when, believing that the life in
which I could most please God was that of a clergyn1an, I ask-
ed my parents to prepare me fur the church; which they agreed
to with great joy. I passed many years at the university, took
my degrees, and at the age of five and twenty, was made a
Priest. It is the custom in Spain, when certain places become
vacant in cathedrals, and other great churches, to invite as ma-
ny clergyman as will alIow themselves to be examined, befon
the public, to stand candidates for the vacancy. After the tri-
al of their learning, the judges appointed by law, give the place
to him whom they beIie,'e to be the most competent.--I should
be ashamed to boast, but so it happened, that soon after my
ecoming a Priest, I was made one of the Chaplains of the
I{ing of Spain, in the way I have just t.old you. All had been,
l1itherto, well enough with me; and I thanI\: God that the case
AGAIXS1l POPERY.
293
and good fortune which had ahvays attended me, did not
make me fùrget my duties as a Clergyman.-Doubts, however,
had ocoorred to me now and then, as to whether the Roman
Catholic religion was true. My fear of doing wrong by lis.
tening to them, made me hush them for a long time: but all
my peace of mind was gone. In vain did I kneel and pray:
the doubts would multiply upon me, disturbing all my devo-
tions. Thus I st:-uggled month after month, till unable to an-
swer the objections that continually occurred to me, I renoun-
ced the Roman Catholic religion in my heart.
R. In your heart, Sir! I hope you do not mean that when
you had settled with yourself that the Popish religion was
false, you pretended stiB to be a Roman Catholic.
A. "Vhat would you think of a po,ver, or authority, that
would force you to act like a hypocrite?
R. I should think that it was no better than the government
of t.he Turks, which, as I hear, treats men like beasts.
A. Wen; now you will be able to understand what I mean
by religious tyranny. The Popes of Rome believe that they
have a right to oblige all men who have been baptized, but
more especially those who have been baptized by their Priests,
to continue Roman Catholics to their lives' end. "Vhenever
anyone living under their authority, has ventured to deny
any of the doctrines which the Church of Rome believes, they
have shut them up in prisons, tormented then1 upon the rack,
and, if they would not recant, and unsay what they had given
out as their real persuasion, the poor wretches have been
burnt as heretics. The kings of Spain, being Catholics, acted
upon these matters according to the will of the Pope; and, in
order to prevent every Spainard from being any thing, at least
in appearance, but a Papist, had established a court called the
lnquis'ition, where a certain number of Priests tried, in secret,
such people as were accused of having denied any of the arti-
cles of the Roman Catholic faith. \Vhenever, nloved by fear
of t.he consequences, the prisoner chose to eat his own words,
and declare that he was wrong; the Priests sent him to do
penance for a certain time, or laid a heavy fine upon him: but
if the accused had courage to persist in his own opinion, then
the Priests declared that he was a heretic, and gave him up to
the public executioner, to be burnt alive.
R. You astonish me. Have you ever seen such things, Sir!
A. I well remember the last that was burnt for being a here-
tic, in my own town, which is called Seville. It was a poor
blind woman. I was then about cight years old, and S3 w the
2n2
.294
PRESERVATIVE
pile of wood, upon barrels of pitch and tar, where she WaN
reduced to ashe5;.
R. But are there n1any who venture their lives for the
mkc
of what they believe to be the true Gospel f
A. Alas! there was a time when many hundreds of men
and women sacrificed themselves for the love of the Protesta
t
religi n which is professed in England. But the horrible
cruelties which were practised upon them, disheartened aU
those who were disposed to throw off the yoke of the Pope.
and now people disguise their religious opinions, in order to
avoid the most horrible persecution.
R. And you, Sir, of course, were obliged to disguise your
own persuasion, in order not to lose your liberty and your life.
A. J lIst so. I lived ten years in the most wretched nnd
dis
ressed state of mind. No:hing was wanting tOD1Y being
happy but the liberty of dp.claring my opinions; but that is
in1possible for a Roman Catholic, who lives under the Jaws
which the Popes have induced most of the Roman Catholic
princes to estaþlish in their J{ingdoms. I could not say, as a
R'Jman Catholic may, under the government of Great Brit.
ain and Ireland," I will no longer be a spiritual sut ject cf
the Pope: I will worship God as my conscience tells me I
should, and according to what I find in the Bible." No: had
I said so, or even much less; had any words escaped me, in
con versation, from which it might be suspected that I did not
believe exactly what the Pope commands, I should have been
taken out of my bed in the middle of the night, and carried
to one of the prisons of the Inquisition. Often, indeed, very
often have I passed a restless night under the apprehension
that, in consequence of some unguarded words, my house
would be assailed by the ministers of the Inquisiticn
1I1d I
should be hurried away in the black carriage, which they
used for ct)nveying dissenters to their dungeons. IIappy in,
òeed a:e the people of these kingdon1s, where every man's
house is his castle; and where, provided he has not committed
some real crime, he may sleep under the protection of a mere
latch to his door, as ifhe dwelt in a walJed and moated fòr-
tress! No such feeling of safety can be enjoyed where the
tyranny of Popery prevails. A Roman Catholic, u.ho is not
protected by Protestant lalL's, is all over the world a slave, who
cannot utter a word against the opinion
of his church, tut at
his peril. " The very walls have ear
," is a common saying
in my country. A man is indeed beset with spies; for the
Church of Rome has contrived to en1ploy everyone as sucb,
AGAIXST POPER YO.
295
against his nearest and dearest relations. Every year there ie
.publicly read at church, a proclamation, or (as they call it)
a bull frOnl the Pope, commanding parents to acCuse their
children, children their parents, husbands their wives, and
wives their husbands, of any words or actions against the R'J-
man Cath3lie Rp.ligion. They are told, that wh(;ever diso-
beys this command, not only incurs damnation for his own
soul, but is the cause of the same to those whOln he wishes to
spare. So that many have had for their accusers their fathers
and n10thers, without knowing to whom they owed their suffer-
ings under the Inquisitors; for the name of the informer is
kept a most profound secret, and the accused is tried without
ever seeing the witnesses ag:lÎnst him.
R. I am perfectly astonished at the things you say, Sir; and
diJ r not perceive by your manners th:1t you are a gentleman,
I should certainly suspect that you \vcre trying to trepan us
p:)or unlearned people. ·
A. I nei
her wonder, nor am offended at your suspicicu.
All that I can say to r
move it is, that 1 am
ell known in
London; that f0r the truth of every thing you have already
heard, anù will hear from me, I am ready to te examined upon
oat:
; and that there are many hundreds of Spaniards at this
moment in England, who will attest every word of mine about
the Inquisition of the Pope in Spain. I say the Inquisition of
the Pope, because that horrible court of justice was estabJish-
cd, kept up, and managed by and under the Pope's authority.
And now I Hlust add one word as to the effects of d e Pope'8
contrivance to make spies of the nearest relations, against
those who might not believe every tittle of the Roman Catho.
lie Religion. I have told you that my parents were g(-od and
kinJ. l\Iy m1ther was a lady whom all the poor of the neigh-
borhood loved for her goodness and charity; and indeed I
often saw her denying herEelf even the common cornLr
s of
life, that she n1i 6 ht have the more to give away. I was her
filvorite child, being the eldest; and it is im
o8sible for a
mJther to love with more ardent affection than she sh0wed
tuwards me. 'Vel.', as I could not entirely conceal my own
mind in redard to Popery, she began to suspect that I was not
a true Roman Catholic in my heart. Now, she knew that the
Pope had made it her duty to turn informer eveQ against her
own child, in such cases; and dreadin
that the day Ini
:ht
cume, when some words shuuld drop ti.OlU me against the
Roman Catholic religion, which it would be her duty to carry
to the judges, she uSQd to avoid my company, and shut herself
%9ð
.rRE
ERT A TIV}!:
up, to weep for n1e. I could not, at first, make out why Iny
dear mother shunned my company; and was cut to the heart
by her apparent unkindne
s. I might to this day have belie,'.
ed that I had lost her affection, but that an intimate friend of
her
put me in possession cf the state of her mind.
R. Upon my word, Sir, you give me such horror of Roman
CathJlics, that I shall in future look with suspicion on some
neighbors of Inine of that persuasion.
A. God forbid that such should te the consequence of my
communicati{ n with you. The Roman Catholic religion in
itself, and such as the Pope would make it all over the world,
if there "ere no protestant laws to resist it, is the most horri-
ble system of tyranny that ever oppcsed the welf:'ue of man.
But most of the ROlnan Catholics in these kingdoms are not
aware of the evils which their religion is likely to produce.
They have grown up under the intluence of a constitution,
which owes its full freedom to Protestantisn1; and many of
them are Protestants in feelings, whom their priests, I am
8ure, must lea.d with a very light rein-hand, for fear of their
running away. There is, indeed, no reason for either fear cr
suspicions, wÜh regard to the Roman Catholics üf these king-
doms, so long as both the Government and Parliament remain
purely Protestant; but I would not answer for the conse-
quences if the Pupe, through his priests, could obtain an un-
derhand influence in either.
R. But, Sir, I want to know the rest of your own story, and
how, the- 1 1gh obliged to appear outwardly a Roman Catholic,
you sett!
d within yourself what you were to believe.
A. I will not delay to satisfy your cunosity, though that.
part of Iny story is the most painful to me. At all eventF,
you will be sure, when you hear it, that I am telling the truth,
the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, since I do not spare
mysel.f.-You must lino,,', then, that from the moment I te-
lieved that the Roman Catholic relibion was false, I had no
religion at all, and lived without God in the world.
R. I am sorry to hear that, Sir. But surely you n1Íght
have tried some other church before you becan1C an Infidel.
A. Ah, IHY honest and worthy friend, your expressions de-
serve my prai
e, though I feel humbled and rebul{ed by their
truth. Yet you forget that I was in a country where the
Roman Catholic reli
ion played its accustomed game cf
Christ tcith the Pope, or no ClLri
t. The first thing that a
true Roman Catholic teaches those who grow under his care
is, that either all that the Church of Rome believes is true, or
AOAI:\'ST POPER
.
297
all that IS r.ontained in the Scriptures is false. To believe that
the Church of Ronle can be, or i
wrong !n one single article
of her creed, is., accordin ó to that Ch'uch, the same as to dis.
believe the whole Gospel. That is the reaS()fi why in Coun.
tries where the Roman Catholic reli:;ion is strictly observed,
everyone who rejects Popery in his heart, looks imnleùiately
upon ChriE-tianity as a fable.
R. Pardon me, Sir, I do not mean to offend you; but I
should wish to know if you still con
inue õf the same opinion,
and believe with Hone and Carlile, and all that kind of peo.
pIe, whose books are sometimes secretly sold among country-
folks, that there is no truth in the Bible.
A. I am so far from being of that mind, that I do humbly
and earnestly pray to God he will rather deprive me of every
temporal comfort, and mal{e my sufferings in this world equal
to those of the most unhappy wretch that ever breathed,
than withdraw from me his grace, whereby I believe in his
Son, Jesus Christ, and hope, through his merits, for eternal
salvation.
R. I have not the heart to say Amen io the first part of your
prayer, though I cordially join in the last. But will you have
the goodne!:'s to inform me how it was that you came to believe
again in the Bible, in Epite of your fornler opinions? For I
have oHen heard a neighbor of mine, who frequently boasts
that he is an infidel, say, that the man whose eyes are once
(as he calls it) open about the Bible, can never be made again
to believe in it.
A. I,vish I could relate my own hIstory to that neighbor
of yours. Perhaps, by God's mercy, he might himself use
some of the means which Providence has employed in my
own conversion. Of one thing I feel quite assured on this
point, that if by God's grace, which always assists the honest
inquirer after religious truth, your infidel neighbor would
ab
tain from open sin, and pray daily to his l\laker, (for I hope
he has not gone so far as to deny the being of a God,) to lead
him into the truth, he would S0011 become a sincere Christian.
But I will proceed with the arcùunt of myself. \Vhen I had
in my own mind thrown off all allegiance to the Christian re-
Iigion, though I tried to enjoy mysel
and indulge my desires,
I could find neither happiness nor comfurt. My mind was
naturally averse to deceit, and I could not brook the npcessity
of acting publicly as the minister of a religion which I believed
to be false. But what could I do? As for wealth and hon
,"s,
htðavQn know& they did Dot Wii
h a itraw againit my Jovs of
,
298
rRESERV ATIVE
manly openness and liberty. I once, indeed, went so far as to
write to a friend who liyed .at Cadiz, and whùrn, after many
years' a::- !'ence, 1 have lately
een in London, to procure me a
P,u:=sL_ge tJ 1\'ordl America, whi her 1 wished to e
cape; trllst-
ins tv my (.Jwn la: or f ,1' S<.lb!,Ísten 'e. But when I koked
ruun.} and saw my dear fi
tiler and mf"ther en the àecline (jf
lif
; when 1 cons1dered that my fli
ht would tring their grey
hairs with sorrow to the grave, tears would gush into my
eyes, and the courage which lowed to anger, melted at once
into love for the authors of my being. Ten years of my life
did I pass in this hot and cold fever, this ague of the heart,
without a hope, without a drop of that cordial which cheers
the very soul of those who sacrifice their desires to their duty,
under the blessed influence of religion. At last it pleased
God to affùrd "111e a means of escaping from the tyranny of
the Pope, and n1ake Ole willingly and joyfully subnlÌt to the
easy yoke of his blessed Son, Jesus Christ. The ways of Provi-
de
ce for my change appear so \vonderful to me, that I feel al-
most overcome when I earnestly think upon them. In the
first place, it was certain that J could not leave Spain for a
Protestant country, without giving a death-blow to my parents.
Could any human being have foreseen, in the year 1807, that
in 1810, my own father and nlother would urge me to leave
my country for England î And yet, so it came to pass. You
have heard how Bonaparte entered Spain with the design of
placing his brother Joseph upon the throne of that country:
how for a time he seemed to have obtained his wishes ,,,hen
his armies advanced till they came within view of Cadiz, and
threatened to extinguish the last hope of the Spaniards. I
was at that time at Seville, my native town. As the French
troops approached it, all those who would not subolit to their
governolent, and had the means of removing to an-other place,
tried to be beforehand with them, by taking their flight to
Cadiz. My parents could not abandon their home; but as
they abhorred the French troops, and hated the injustice of
their invasion, they were anxious that I should quit the town.
I-Iere I sa,v the most favorable opening for executing my
long delayed plan for escaping the religious tyranny under
which I groaned; and pretending that I did not feel secure at
Cadiz, prepared in ffYUr days to leave my country for England.
I knew it was forp-ver, and my heart bleeds at the recollec-
tion of the last vicw I took of my father and mother. A few
weeks after I found myself on these shores.
ll. Indee.d, Sir, I think you did right. Poor as I am, had J
AGAINST POPERY.
299
known your case when you arrived, I would have shook you
by the hand, and welcomed you to my cottage.
A. If I should tell you all the gratitude I feel for this coun-
try, and my sense of the kindness and friendship with which
I have met from the moment I landed, you might suspect me
of flattery.-But how different appeared England to me from
what I had imagined it to be!
R. What, sir, did you fear that we should behave rudely to
a foreigner, who came for shelter among us?
A. No, indeed; that was not my mistake. I found England
as hospitable and generous as it had always been described to
rne. But one thing I found in it which I never expected; that
,vas, true and sincere religion. I have told you that in Popish
countries people are made to believe that whoever is not a
Roman Catholic is only a Christian ip name. I therefore
supposed that in this Protestant country, though men appeared
externally to have a religion, few or none would care any
thing about it. Now observe the merciful dispensations of
Providence with regard to me. Had I upon my first arrival
filllen in with some of your infidels, I should have been con-
firmed in all my errors. But it pleased God so to direct
events as to make me very soon acquainted with one of the
most excellent and religious families in London. I had in my
fo-mer blindness and ignorance, believed that since in Spain,
'\\ hich is the most thoroughly Roman Catholic country in the
world, the morals in general are very loose; a nation of Chris-
tians only in name, (for such was my mistaken opinion of you)
would be infinitely more addicted to vicious courses. But,
when I began to look about me, and observed the modesty of
the ladies, the quiet and orderly lives of the greatest part of
the gentry, and compared their decent conversation with the
profane. talk which is tolerated in my country, I perceived, at
once, that my head was full of absurd notions, and prepared
myself to root out from it whatever I should find to be wrong.
In this state of mind I went one Sunday to Church, out of mere
curiosity; for my thoughts were at that time very far fr0111
God and his worship. The unmeaning ceremonies of the
Roman Catholics had made me sick of churches and church-
service. But when in the course of the prayers, I perceived
the beautiful simplicity
nd the warm-heartednes
, if I may
say so, of your prayer-booJr, my heart, which, for tcn year
,
had appeared quite dead to all religiûils feelings, could n0t
but show a di
position to revive, like the leafless trees when
breathed upon by the first soft brecz
s of spring. God had
:wo
PRESERV A'rIV.B
prevented its becoming a dead trunk: it gave indeed no sIgns
of life; but the sap was stirring up irOln the root. This was
easily perceived in the effect whieh the sinðing of a hYlllIl had
upon me that mJrning. It begins-
'''hen all thy mercies, 0 my God,
My rising soul
un eys,
Trausport
d with the \'iew, I'm lost
In wonder, love, and pr:lÍse.
The sentimenLs expressed in this beautiful hymn penp.tratc
my SJul like the fil'st rain that falls upon a thirsty land. 1\] y
l.mg, Lnpiûus disregard of God, the father and supporter of
nlY life and being, made me blush, and feel ashamed ufmy
elf;
anJ a strong sen
e of the irrational ungratefulness in which I
had so long ,Ii reJ, forced a profusion of tears from my eyes.
I left the church a very different man from what I was when
I en
ered it; but still very far frOln being a true believer in
Christ. Yet, from that day I began to put up a very short
prayer every morning, asking for light anä protection from my
Creator, and thanking him for his goodness. It happened
about tÌ1at time that SJme books concerning the truth of re-
ligion-a kind of works in which this country excels all
others-fell in my way. I thought it fair to examine the mat-
ter again, though I imagined that no man could ever answer
the argmnents against it, which had become quite filmiliar to
my mind. As I grew less and less prejudiced against the
truth of Divine Revelation, I prayed mure earnestly for assis-
tance in the important examination in which I was engaged.
I then be 6 an a careful perusal of the Scriptures, and it pleased
God, at the end of two years, to remove IllY blindness, so far
as to enable me with humble sincerity to receive the sacra-
nlent according to the manner of the Church of England;
which appeared to Ine, in the course of my inqúirics, to be of
all human establishments, the most suited, in her discipline, to
prOlnate the ends of the Gospel, and in her doctrines as pure
and orthodox as those which were (oundcd by the Apostles
themselves. It is to me a matter of great comfort that I have
now lived a much longer period in the acknowledgment of the
truth of Christianity, than I spent in my former unbelief.
R. You have indeed great reason to thank God. But have
you never had any doubts about our church, since you became
a n1emher of it.
A. Never, my friend, as compared with the Roman Catho-
lic. I am so fully persuaded that the doctrines properly called
Popish, and which make the real difference bctween Protei
AGAINST rOPERY.
301
tants and Romanists, are false, that they would shake my faith
in the Gospel, if one could prove to me that they are part of
it. That 1 am sure can never be done; and since I learnt to
separate the chaff of Rome from the true grain of Christ, I
have never turned my back on my l\'laster and Redeemer. I
will, however, confess to you, that several years afwr I eIl1-
braced the Protestant religion, I was strongly tempted in my
faith; n,)t, however, as I said before, from any leaning to pope:-
ry, but from a doubt whether the doctrine of the people called
Unitw'ian::,-I mean those who say that Christ was nothing
hut a m:ln, the son of Joseph and l\IarY-Inight not be true.
This was a very severe trial to nle; for as I had so long re-
nounced the Christian faith, my mind required an uncommon
assistance of Divine grace, to prevent it from relapsing, like a
person recovered out of a long illness, into myoId habits of
un
elief. In this state of douLt, but without any rash positive-
ness on either side (for, thank God, my past errors had made
me well acquainted with my weakness,) I carefully examined
the Scriptures, never Olnitting to pray to the Almighty that he
would make Ine acquainted wiI:h the truth. Clouds of douLt
hovered, a long time, over my soul, and darkness increased
now and then in such a degree that I feared my Christian faith
had been extinguished. llad I, in consequence of this dispo-
sition to unbelief, returned, as is often the case, to a course of
immorality, nothing coald have saved me from a relapse into
infiJelity. But the grace of God was secretly at work in me,
and whatever doubts I had about the doctrines of the Gospel,
I never deemed myself at liberty, openly and wilfully to offend
against its commandmen
s. I sincerely wished to find the
truth; and though in my distress I felt often inclined to doubt
again the truth of Revelation, my knowledge of the vanity and
flimsiness of infiJelity, nlade me turn to Christ, and say (I can
assure you I often uttered the words aloud in tears,) "To whom
shall I go? thou hast the words of eternallife."* Partly from
these doubts, and partly from a long and lingering ilJness
which the change of climate had brought upon me, I passed
the greatest part of a year without receiving the sacrament.
Had I, as far 8;s it was my own fault, abstained much longer .
from that appOinted means of grace, I fear I should have fallen
a second time from the faith; but, by God's mercy, I examined
myself upon that point, and finding that my conscience did not
charge me with any true impediment to the rec(:ption of the
· Jc:m \Ii. 68.
2C
302
PRE!ERV ATIVB
Holy Sacrament; and that, as to the deubts on my mind, they
were involuntary, and accompanied with a sincere desire of
finding the truth, I presented myself at the sacramenf'al tablc,
with feelings, similar to those which I conpeived I should have,
if, as it was then probable, death had sent me with my doubts,
befure the judgment seat of Christ. I thre"r myself, in fact,
wholly upon his mercy. l\Iy trust was not in vain: for calm
was soon restored to my soul; and I found myself stronger than
ever in the faith and profession which I made when I became
a member of the Church of England. You see, nIY friend, that
I disguise not my weakness from the world. You may suppose,
that, for a man who has spent his whole life in the pursuit of
learning, it must be very mortifying to publish so many errors,
so many doubts, in a word, to shew the utter feebleness of his
mind and soul, when unsupported by Divine grace. But I
conceive this to be a duty which I owe to the truth of the Gos-
pel, and to the spiritual welfare of my feHow-creatures. H0W
happy should I be if the humblest individual, when tempted J
should take courage from the knowledge of my case, and clin
to prayer whilst he examined, like the noble Rereans, "whethet
these things were so."*
R. Sir, I pity what you have suffered; but I mllst say it com
forts me to find that doubts and errors upon religious subjects
are not confined to the unlearned.
A. They are not, indeed; on the contrary, the pride of hu-
man knowledge is often the rock on which the faith of the high-
er classes of society is wrecked. It is the true ch
racter of
the Gospel to be "hid from the wise and prudent, and to be
revealed unto babes ;"t not that true learning or knowledge is
in opposition to spiritual truth, but because the best dispositions
for filÎth are humility and singleness of heart. The appointed
ministers of the Church of Christ are indeed commanded to
"be able by sound doctrine bot.h to exhort and to convince the
gainsayers,"t but, though this direction of the Apostle Paul
does not exclude the laity from religious learning, and every
man, according to his ability, should make hÌInself acqllainted
with the unanswerable reasons on which the truth of the Gos-
pel is founded, the savin
fc:lÍth of Christianity requires no
book-learning to have its full effect on the heart. I-Iappy in-
deed are those million
of humble Christians, who, from the
publicaiion of the Gospel to our own times, have received the
ductr. nes of the BiLle by the simple means of their Catechi
p.l.
"Acts xvii. 11.
t Luh
x. 21.
t Tit. i. 9.
AGAI:'i!T FOPERY.
303
and the instructions imparted by their Christian Pastors, and
80 ordered thcir lives as not to wish those doctrines to be fc1.lse!
flow Ltlfinitely more happy is the lot of these humble Chris-
tians, than mine! AfLer spending my whole litè in reading;
after trying, by ten years' incessant study, to ohtain a com-
plete assurance that Christianity was a faLle, and finding out,
at last, by great attention and labor, that such books. as enga-
ged to prove it, had deceived nle; I have to thank God that by
his grace, I find myself, as to Christian faith, upon a level with
the humblest and most illiterate disciple of Christ, who trusts
in his redeeming blood for salvation.-Yet the ways of God are
wonderful; and it is not presumptuous to hope that the bitter
struggles of my mind may be made the means of confirming
the faith of many.
R. I feel assured they will. Without flattering you, sir, or
supposing that your talents or knowledge are above the com-
mon run of gentlemen of your class, it stands to reason, . bat
the religion, which, after being sõ many years an unbeliever,
you have embraced so earnestly, must have a very strong evi-
dence in support of its truth.
A. So strong-, my friend, that whoever takes proper pains to
examine it, if he really acknowledge that there is a living
God, a Being 'who concerns himself in the moral conduct of
mankind, will never be at rest, till he has either believed in .
Christ, or succeeded in making himself completely blind and
careless on spiritual suhjects, allowing himself to be drifted by
the rapid stream of life, without ever giving a thought to the
unknown shores on which he is sure soon, very soon, to be
cast. The greatest part of those who pretend to believe in a
G'od, and yet reject the Gospel where it is publicly taught
without the errors of Popery, do not mean by the name of the
Deity, any thing like the Supreme Being, the living God, the
intelligent Creator of mankind revealed in the Scriptures; but
some unknown cause of what we call Nature, to which the
good or bad conduct of men is equally indifferent. If it were
not so, they could never suppose that a religion like the Chris..
tian, supported by proofs so superior to those of 'all the other
religions of the world, so infinitely above them all in the puri-
ty of its law8, and so effectual in allaying the storms of evil
passil>lls, and bestowing peace and happiness on the breast that
fiârly gives it room to act; it is impossible, I say, that a luau
who really believes in an all-seeing, and r
it-wise Goð, could at
the same time believe th.at religion equally a cheat with all
the other superstitions of the world; and that it is inòiffercnt to
304
J"RESERV A TIVE
Him, whether men, ,,'ho can make the comparison, receive 01
reject it. This consideration was, my dear friend, my sheet.
anchor, in the fierce tempest of my doubt, which, for a time,
threatened to sink n1Y faith aaer lIlY conversion to Protestnnt
Christianity. \Vhen nearly overcome Ly a multitude (jf little
infidel arguments (for they are all like a swarm of puny in-
sects, and can never form a well-connected band, as the proofs
of Christianity do,) I turned, in the anguish of my soul, to seek
for a resting place, out of the "Rock of nges," Christ the Sa-
viour. The view around me was dismal inJeed; a dark gulph,
",ith small spots, everyone of which I had tried, and found un-
able to support me, and from which the fall, I well knew,
would inevitably plunge me into the bottomless abyss of Athe-
ism. It was in this distress of mind that I exclaimed with the
Apostle Peter, To whom shall I go? and clung to the cross of
Christ.
1
. Your reasons appear to me very strong, and such, that
no man who feels a real concern for his söul, can shut his eyes
to them. I clearly understand that a living God-a God to .
whom the man who nlurders, and he who feeds the hungry;
the man who oppresses, and he that protects the orphan and
the widow; the man who promotes virtue in his house and
neighborhood, and he who spreads vice and misery for the
gratification of his brutal passions, are not eq uaUy acceptable
01' indifferent; cannot be supposed to have allowed a religious
cheat, to appear so beautiful and desirable as true Christianity
shews itself to every honest and upright heart. But what haye
you, sir, to say to the existence of so many false religions as
there are in the world ? Would God permit them to e
ist, to the
spiritual ruin of millions of men, if these matters were of real
consequence in his eyes?
A. Suppose yourself obliged to penetrate through a dark
forest, full of wild beasts and precipices, and crossed by innu-
merable paths. On the side by which your entrance lies,
there stands the son of the king of the country, who with the
greatest kindness offers to a great multitude of the new comers
a little map, with a clear view of the paths, which he tells
them, rrmst lead to certain ruin; while others are distinctly
Inarked, which if they carefully follow, he promises to meet
them at the other side of the perilous wood, and make them
rich and happy in his kingdom. You inform yourself, by every
pos
ible means, of the character of this man, and find no reason
to doubt that he is able and willing to fulfil his engagcmen!s.
Yet, upon obse-'ving
reat crowdi of men anù women, who arlit
AGAIXST POrERY.
305
allowed to en
er with little or no advice respectin 6 their way, -
you rather pertly begin to questicn the prince about then1.
lIe wiiI nct, however, condescend to answer these questicn:::,
but uI'ges you to avail yourself of his advice, and to consider
how unjust and unfeeling it is, when he takes such pains for
'!Jour safety, to question his justice and benevolence in his
conduct towards his apparently less favored subjects. Sup-
pose, lastly, that your pride and conceit get the better of your
reason, and that you address the prince in such words as these:
'
Sir, though I have no reasun to suspect your veracity, yet
your conduct towards those people whon1 I see wandering
without maps, about the {{)I'est, is not at all to my fancy. You
n1ust, therefore, either explain to me every plan and reason
of your government, or I will throw this map in your face, and
trust my own endeavors to find my way through the fore81."-
'\V ould you deserve compassion, if this your proud rashneEs
carried you to inevitable perdition?
R. Certainly not: God forbid.I should ever act in such an
ungrateful mnnner.
A. Yet this is exactly what men do, who olject to thcir
reception of the Gospel, that God has not made Ï't equally
1
llown to all nations of the world. They, in fact, cast away
the 'pearl of great price,' because they have been chc
en
amongst millions to possess it. They see the real and substan-
tial value of the gift; they cannot but believe that he ,,,ho puts
it into their hands, must be infinitely kind and merciful; but
still their pride will prevail, and they had rather 1:e left to their
own ignorance and weakness, than give glory to God fùr what
they themselves receive, and trust that his goodness wiI!, in
SOlne way, provide for his other creatures, and finally judge
the world in righteousness.
R. I only put the question, because I have heard it from
others. But, as to myself, I feel satisfied that every man's
duty is to receive God's gifts with thankfulness, and without
questioning the wisdom and justice of his government. I wil],
however, before we part, take the liberty to ask you why,
when you becan1e convinced of the truth of the Gospel, you
did not return to your parents and friends in Spain? Surely
there cannot be such difference between ROlnanism and Pro-
tes
antism, as to force a man to become a stranger and an out-
cast to his own flesh and blood, and (as I believe you have
done) turn his back upon all the hopes and prospects of life,
and trust to chance for his subsistence. But perhaps, Sir,
you have availed yourself of the liberty to Illarr}, which
2c2
306
PRESER V ATIVE
Priests have in this country, and cannot leave your wife and
children.
A. You are mistaken, my friend, in your conjecture. I
Jost my health soon afær my arrival in this coun'ry, and have
nDt had the me:1ns of supporting a wife, in such comf.Ji't as
mi
ht m1.ke her amends [:)r devoting her life to the care cf a
siddy husband. Ellt I do not like to speak upon these !"'ub-
jects, more than is absolutely nec
esEary to remove all suspicion
as to the motives of my change My voluntary exile has been
attended to me with every thir" 6 that can make me thanl{ful,
yet wi thout any circumstance that could brite Iny will against
my sincerity..-As to the principal part of ypur question, I can
assure you that the difference which I find between the Roman
Catho
ic and the Pl'otestant religion, is so great and important,
that had there been no Protestantism in the world, I cannot
conceive how I should be a Christian at this moment.
R. D3 you believe then, Sir, that the Roman Catholics are
not Christians?
A. I have known Inost sincere t)llowers of Christ amongst
them; but am perfectly convinced that Catholicism, by laying
another foundation than th.at 11,lticlt ið laid, that is JCé'US CltrÙt;'JI.
by makins- the Pope, with his church, if not the llut,'wr, cer-
tainly the finisher of their L1.ith; exposes the members of that
commqnion to the Inost imminent danger from the arguments
of infidelity. 'Vhat happened to me in my youth is the lot of
a great part of the clergy, and the higher classes of Spain.
The lower classe
, and those who among the higher read little,
and fùr that little confine themselves to the books approved by
their church, are fierce bigots, who would, if they had it in
their power, spread desolation and havoc among the nations
who do not bend the knee before the saints and relics of Rome.
But, am
mgst such as read and think fi;r themselves, I
eldOIn
found a sincere christian. By the intolerance which Catho-
Iiclsm exercises, wherever it is the religion of the coun
ry,
those men are forced to be hypocrites; but they are generally
so uneasy an:.l restless under the restraint imposed on them by
the threats of the law; that a very slight acquaintance with
another unbeliever will be sufficient to open their hearts to
earh other, and mal{e them attack, in private, with great vio
lcn
e or levity, the most sacred mYl;:teries of re]i;;ion. There
are few practical observations of my own, which I look upon
with mare confi:lence than the direct tendency of the Roman
Catholic religion to produce infidelity. I suppose you either
4'1 Cor. iii. 11.
AGAINST rOPERY.
307
=-ecollect, or have heard, the almost universal contempt in
which the christian religion was held in France during the
Reyolution. Now, had tho French people teen sincere chris-
tian
, as they appeared just bef0re their revolution brol{e out,
they could not pos
ibly have been changed in a few months
into such horrible infidels, as that there Ehould have teen a
doubt in their sort of parliament, whether they were or not to
pass a law against the belief in a God. Here, therefore, you
nlay observe the common effects of Catholicism, where it has
the upper hanet It first disfigures and distorts the ,gospel, so
as to make it appear absurd and ridiculous in the eyes of men
that are told enough to use their judgments. Then it stops
their mouths, and makes their thoughts rankle in their hearts,
till when, at last, some great commotion releases them frOln
the fears of religious tyranny, they at',hor the very name of
religion, under which they have b
en forced to Low to the
most barefaced impostures and vexations; and shake eff, in
desperate impiety, their allegiance to God; taking it to re one
nnd the same thing with the yoke so long and heavily laid on
their necks by the Pope and his emissaries.
R. You think, then, Sir, that a Protc
tant is safer from the
attacks of infidelity than a Roman Catho1ic.
A. Incomparably safer. I do not, in matter8 of religion,
much like ill ustrations or con1parisons taken from su I jects.
which may lead the mind to levity. But I cannot help com-
paring the question between a Romanist and an Infidel to one
of the bets which you call neck or nothing. As a Roman Cn tl1-
olic is bound to believe that the Scriptures would be uselcss
wiihout the infallibility of the Pope and his church, he must
be ready to cast off the whole BiLle, as soon as he Ehall l'e
obliged to confess that there is the least error in their creed.
The Romanist grounds his belief of the Bible on his belicf in
the Church of Rome; the Protestant, on the contrary, grounds
his respect for the church to which he belongs, on his l:elief
of the Bible. The whole building of religion has
een placed
upside down by the Romanist, and the original foundations leen
made to stand upon the spires and pinnacles of the superstruc-
ture. Knock one of these do\vn, and the whole tun1Lle
to the
ground. It is not so with the Protestant. He al
o has a church;
hut it is a (hurch that leaves hirrl free to try her authority ty
her contormity with the Scriptures. She does. not, like Renic,
teach her children that nothing can be true christianity 1 ut
what is professed under her control; and that Christ will not
acknowledge as his disciples such as learn his doctrines thro'
305
PRESERVATIVE
any other channel. A true Protestant Church, rather thar,
endanger the saving faith of her members, by riveting upon
their minds the notion of no alternative between the absolute
rejection of Christ., and perfect submission to her own declara-
tions; will sacrifice every view of advantage to herself, and
even afford matter of exultation to her implacable enemies, the
Rümanists, by leaving her members in perfect freedom to de-
sert her, and choose their own christian guides. But God has
rewarded this generous forLearance, by appropriating it to
Protestant churches, and especially to our own, and making
them wear it, as the badge by which men can know the true
flock of Christ. " By this," says our Saviour, " shall all n1en
know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one towards an-
other."-" Thanks be to God! (exclaims a pious and amiable
Bishop
of our church, in one of the most eloquent passages to
be read in any language,) thanks be to God, this nmrk of our
Saviour is in us, which you (the Raman Catholics,) with our
schismatics and other enemies want. As Solomon found the
true n10ther by her natural affection, that chose rather to yield
to her adversary's plea, claiming her child,t than endure that
it should be cut in pieces; so may it soon be found, at this day,
whether is the true mother, our's, that saith, give her the liy-
ing child, and kill hin1 not; or your's, that if she may not have
it, is content it may be killed, rather than want of her will.-
, Alas! (saith our's, even of those that leave her) these be my
children! I have borne them to Christ in Baptism; I have
nourished them as I could with my own breasts, his Testa-
ments. I would have brought them up to man's estate, as
their free birth and parentage deserves. '\Vhelher it be their
Bi
hop Bedell. He was promoted in 1624, to the see of Kilmore, in
Ireland. The spirit of retaliation, which the previous persecutions of Rume
still k{'pt dlive, found the greatest opponent in Bishop Bedell. His meekness
and universal charity had so gained him the hearts of the Irish Roman Catho-
lics, that in the rebellion of 16-H, the Bishop's palace was the only dwelling
in the county of Cavan, wlúch the fury of the rebels respected. As that palace
was, h')wever, the shelter of several Protestants whom the Papists had doomed
to dirt the Bishop, who firmly resisted the dernañds for their surrender, was
seize 1 and calLGd away with his whole family. The horrors which surround-
ed hun broke his heart, and he soon died. The very rebels, in a large body,
accf1lOpanied his remains to the grave, over which they fired, in honor to his
me,lJory.-The passage above quoted is from a letter to a person who had
turned Papist. I have copied it from THE FRIEND, a work of Mr. S. T.
Coleridge, which is much less known than its eloquence, piety, and learn-
ing deser\'e.
tRead the thO d chaptp.r of the first book of Kings.
AGAIXST POPERY.
309
lightness, or discon
enf, or her enticing words, and gay show
,
they leave llle; they have founJ a better Inuther. Let theln
live yet: though in bondage. I shall have patience; I permit
the care of thern to their Father. I be
eechhim to keep them,
that they do no e\'il. If they make their peace with him I am
satisfied: they have not hurt me at all.' Nay, but saith your's
(tite Church of Rome) 'I sit alene as Queen and lUistress of
Christ's family; he that hath not me for his mother, cannot
have God for his father. l\line therefore are these, either born
or adopted; and if they will not be mine, they shall be none.'
So, witìlOUt expecting Christ's sentence, she cuts with the tem-
p3ral sword, hangs, burns, draws those that she perceives in-
clined to leave her, or have left her already. So she kills with
the spiritual sword those that subnlit not to her; yea thou.
fìands of souls, that not only have no nleans so to do, hut man}
which never so much as have heard whether there, he a Pope
of Rome, or not. Let our SolOlllon be judge between them,-
yea, judge you-lllore seriously and Inaturely, not by guesses
but by the very mark of Christ, which, wanting yourselves,
you have. unawares discovered in us: judge, I say, without
passion and partiality, according to Christ's word, which is his
. flock, which is his church. '-Oh, nlY friend, if the deluded
Protestants, who allow themselves to be entrapped by the cun-
ning arts of Popery, knew, as I do, by a long and sad experi-
ence, the proud, fierce, and tyrannous spirit of the Church to
'Yhich they submit, by their recognition of the Pope and his
laws; they would weep with more bitter te
rs than Esau, the
loss of that Christian liberty, which is the birth-right of every
one who is born a Protestant. A true Roman Catholic is the
slave of the slaves of the Pope, the priesthood, all over the
world. If you hear them talk loud and boldly in these king-
doms; if they appear to you as free and independent as other
men, they owe it to the Protestant laws, which protect them
against the church tyranny to which their religion binds them.
They owe it also to the cunning system pursued by the Pope
himself, who, by allowing to them, in silence, this apparent
freedom, acts like the huntsmen in India, who let their tame
elephants roam at large in the forests, that they may entice
the yet untamed and free into the pitfhJls. No; trust them
not! Had I a voice that could be heard from north to E:outh,
and from east to west, in these islanJs, I would use it to warn
"'The arts employed by the Church of Rome to
ain proselytes, and h..,
gaudy and showy Church !ervice.
.
310
PRESERV A. TIVE AGAINST POPERY.
e,.cry Prote3tant against the wiles of Ronle; wiles and arts in-
deed, of so subtle and disguised a nature, that I feel assured,
many of the free-born Britons, who are made the instruments
and promoters of them, do not so Illuch as dream of the 8nare
mto which they are trying to decoy their countrymen. Such
as telieve that Popery, if aHowed to interfere with the laws of
En6"lanf!, would not most steadily aim at the ruin of Protestant-
ISJn, even at the plain ri
k of spreading the most rank infidel
ity, should be sent to learn the character of that religion where
it prevails uncontrolled; where I have learnt it during five and
twenty years, in sincere subnlission, and for ten in secret re-
belliun. '\V ould you form a correct idea of the character and
spirit of that church which the Roman Catholics bind them
selves to obey, as they hope for salvation; of that church, to
be free from whose grasp, I deem my 108
es clear gain, and
Iny exile a glorious new birth to the full privileges of a man
and a christian-grant me another patient hearing, at your
own convenience, and you shall see the Pope's church, such
as she is, and without the disguises in which she begs for
power.
R. I will hp.ar you again, whenever YOll are disposed to
speak on so important a subject
..
DIA.LOGUE II.
lJri 6 in anrl true principles of Protestantism; Calumnies of the ROIJ1
nists
against Luther; Origin and Progress of the Spiritual Tyranny of the Pope,
Existence of true Protestants long before Luther; Persecution of the
Vaudois and Albigenses; Right Notion about the Church of which we
speak in the cl'eed.
Reader. I cannot tell you, Sir, how anxious I have been
for your return.
4.utJwr. It cannot be more, my good friend, than I myself
have been to come to you. But as I know that I must be eith-
er a welcome or an unpleasant visitor, according as people
dwell upon or reject the w'ords of my first conversation; I feel
f'ome misgivings within rne when I
pproach them the second
time.
ow, I can tell you with a certainty, which I do not de-
rive from any confidence in myself, but from my experience
of the nature of truth, that since you have given some thought
to the sulject of our first conversation, you will with God's
blessing, bear with me to the end of our conferences.
R. that I will, Sir, for I love the truth in all matters; and
much IrlOre so, of course, in those which concern my salvation.
Now, I must tell you, my head has teen at work upon things
that I had never thought of before. When I formerly met my
Roman Catholic neighbors, or saw their chapel, these things
appeared to me as natural as the large yew-tree in our church-
jTard, or the holly-hedge before the Rector's house. There
they are; and I never troubled myself to know how they canle
there. But I now say to myself, I am a Protestant; and farm-
er such a one is a Roman Catholic. The reason of this I
know to be, that nlY father, and my L'lther's father, and
o on,
were Protestants, and his were Catholics. But was this al-
ways so'! I-Iow did this great division Legin umcng christinnsY
I have, of course, heard of the Riformatioll, and of Luther,
who, according to a little penny bouk, which is frequently
hawked among the country folks, seems not to have l-een a
good man; for, it is said, he himself declares that the Devi!
ta
ght hin1 what he was to write against the Roman Catholics.
I can hardly believe this to be true: I wish, Sir, you woult]
311
312
PRESERV _
TIV:&
set nw righ
, about the Protestant religion, and who it if:, that
we Protestants fùllow: Is it Luther?
A. The Roman C3.tholics would fain persuade the world
that Luther is the author of our religion; but it is to be hoped
that their partiality deceives them, and that they do not use a
deliberate untruth out of pure spite. Such a
are really learn-
ed among them, cannot but know that Protestants acknowl-
edge no nnster, on religious points, but Christ, whose instruc-
tions they seek in the inspired writings of his Apostles and
Evangelists, contained in the New Testament. It is, howev-
er, a great shame that some learned men among the Ron1an
Catholics, should employ themselves in writing and sending
about such trash as TIle confessed Intimacy of Luther 'With Ba-
tlIn, when they must know, in the first place, that the story is
a downright misrepresentation; and that, if Luther had really
been the worst of n1en, (which is the very reverse of the truth)
it would be the same, with regard to us Protestants, as if a thief
had, by some strange chance, put an honest individual in the
way of recovering a great fortune, which a cunning set of men
had converted to their own profit. I wish you, my friend, to
remember the comparison I have just given you, whenever
the Roman Catholics, or those writel's of no religion, whom
they employ to seduce the unlearned, come to you with sto-
nes about the wickedness of the Reformers, and the vices of
I-Ienry the Eighth. Surely, it is nothing to us by what instru-
ments and what means God was pleased to deliver us from
the impostures and tyranny of the Church of Ron1e,-of that
Church, which, having seized our rightful inheritance, the
Bible, doled it out in bits and scraps to the people, mixed up
and adulterated with human inventions. It is for them to be
ashamed of the men they reckon among their Popes; poison-
ers, adulterers, and much worse 'still; a fact which they will
not venture to deny. It is for them, I say, to be ashamed,
that they believe and declare that such men held the place and
authority of Christ upon earth; and that all Roman Catholics
are bound still to believe their declarations, as if they had
been given by Christ himself and his Apostles. '\Ve Protest-
ants do not receive revealed truth through such channc1f:.-
'Ve feel grateful, indeed, to the Protestant Reformers, all of
whom, at the risk, anti many at the expense of their lives,
roused the attention of the Christian world, to. the monstrous
abuses \vhich the Popes had introduced into the Church. Our
Reformers encouraged the world to shake off the yoke of iron,
which, in the n3me of Christ, the Popes had laid upon it; but
AGAINST POIJERY.
313
did not claim any authority over the Protestant Churches, sim-
ilar to that which Rome had usurped. The great and es
ential
diflerence b
h\Teen the Romanists and ourselves is this :-the
R,)mish Church says to all christians, "Follow not the Scrip-
t,ues, but me ;
'-the Protestant Church, on the contrary, says,
"Fullow me as long as I follow the Scriptures." Now, if Sa-
tan himself had directed us to the pure fountain of Revelation,
to the genuine word of God, would it not be our duty still to
follow the Scriptures in preference to all hum
n authority?
R. But is there any founùation for the story which the Ro-
man Catholics are so busy to spread. among the poor people,
that Luther used to converse with the Devil?
A. No other foundation, n1Y friend, than the spite which has
rankled in the hearts of the Rornan Catholic clergy, since
l\Iartin Luther opened the eyes of men to their spiritual tyran-
ny. Luther was called by the Romanists, an' instrument of
the devil, and all his words were said to be put into his mouth
hy the Prince of Darkness. In this manner they tried to
f.:ighten the simple and ignorant, that they might stop their
ears to the p
)\verful arguments of the great Reft.:rmer. 'Yell,
then, s3.id L:lther, addressing himself to his calumniators, the
Dt)ctors of the Roman Catholic Church, see if you can answer
the reasons by which the devil proved to me that the l\Iass is
an idolatrous and unscriptural manner of worf,hip; and he
overwhelms the said Doctors with unanswerable reasons drawn
from the holy scriptures. What better method could he em-
ploy to refilte their abominable and silly calumny, than by
811. )wing that what the Romanists attributed to the devil, was
the true and genuine declaration of the word of God? I have
carefully eX3.mined the works of Luther, und can a
sure yûu
that what the Roman Catholics circulate in their penny tracts,
is a most ungrounded calumny. Were we mean enough to
retaliate, we might give a history of their Popes-a history
which they cannot gainsay, which \VoulJ prove many of them
to In. ve been, not in cOlnmunication with Satan, but possesseJ
by him, body and soul. I will, however, ß1Cntjon to you one
uf them, a Sp3ui3.rd by birth, whom the Roman Catholics
acknowledge as the head of their Church, and whom they de-
clare to have been the representative of Christ upon earth.
'I-'he Pope I speak of, whose name is Alexander the VIth, had
four sons by a conpubine, with whom he lived many }' ears.
The crimes he commit ted in order to enrich his children, ex-
ceed those of the most wicked heathen Emperors. After a.
Jife of the Inost diabolical profligacy, he died of pviSOll, which
2D
314
PRESERVATIVE
he took by mistake, having prepared it for some person who
stood in the way of his son. This happened only twelve
years before Luther's appeal to the Scriptures, against a
church which recognized the supreme authority of men like
Pope Alexander, and blasphenlously called thmn the Vicars
of Christ upon earth. From this fact alone, you may judge
on which side the devil was most likely to be.
R. Good heaven, sir! have the Roman Catholics had such
monsters for their Popes?
A. 'rhey have, indeed, and not a few.
R. And do they bind themselves to obey anyone who may
happen to be Pope, whether he be good or wicked?
A. They certainly do, in all spiritual lllatters. I will ex-
plain to you the whole Church-system of the Romanists in a
few words. The Pope is their spiritual king; and what they
call their Church, that is, their Bishops all over the world, is,
one may say, their Spiritual Parlianlent. Now, a
this Par-
lianlent of Bishops fronl all parts of the world cannot meet
without great difficulty, and as no one but the Pope can call it
together, it is the Pope alone, who in reality, holds supreme
authority over his spiritual subjects, the Roman Catholics. The
way in which the Pope governs his churches all over the \vorld
is this: lIe publishes a kind of Proclamation, which. they call
a Bull, and sends it round to all places where there are Roman
Catholics. As every Bishop by himself, is a subject of the
Pope, who calls himself the Bislwp of Bishops, the bull nm
t
be obeyed by them. Every Bishop commands all his Priests
to see that the orders of the Pope be obeyed by all those who
are under their charge. The priests preach the necessit
T üf
complying ,,'ith the orders of the Pope; and when people come
to get abso 1 1Ition of their sins, by privately confesf:ing them,
they are told that they cannot be forgiven, unless they obey
the Bull f1'onl Rome. So, you see, that if all the world were
true Roman Catholics, the Pope would do "That he pleased eve-
ry where. Such, in fact, was the case for many centuries te-
fore the Reformation. The Popes, in those tilDes, boldly de-
clared that they had authority fronl God to depose kings frOlu
their thrones, and nlanya fierce war has been made in conse-
quence of the ambition of the Popes, who wi
hed all christian
kings to recognize their authority. ICing John of En
land
was obliged by the Pope to lay his crown at the feet of a Priest
who was sent to represent hinl. That king was, moreover,
made to sign a public deed, by which he surrendered the
!{ingdoms of England and Ireland to the Pope, reserving to
AGAINST POPERY.
315
himself the govern!nent of these realms under the control of
the Bishops of Rome; and fin
i, as a nlark of suhjection,
bound himself to pay an annuatl tribute. The Priest who rep-
resented the Pope, took away the crown, and kept it five days
from the King, to show that it was in the Pope's power to give
it back or not, as he pleased.
R. But did not you say, sir, that the Pope only clailns au-
thority in spiritual matters, that is, in things that concern the
soul? .
A. Yes; but as the soul is in the body, the Pope has always
begun his spiritual goyernment by things which are corporal
and temporal. The Pope used to argue in this manner: "I am
the Vicar and Representative of Christ upon earth, and the
souls of all men are in nlY charge. There is a King in such
a kingdOln, (say England) who will not believe the doctrines
whit:h I teach. lIe naturally will spread his own religious
views in that country; and consequently it is my spiritual duty
to take the crown off his head. His subject.s (supposing then1
true and stanch Roman Catholics) are obliged, as they wish
to save their souls, to obey my spiritual cO(llmands. I will,
therefore, send a Bull, or Proclamation, desiring them not to
acknowledge for their l{ing a man, who, how well soever he
rua y govern his temporal interests, is sure to ruin their spiritual
concerns, and lead them all to eternal perdition."
R. But is it a doctrine of the Pope, that all men who are
not of his opinion, must be lost to eternity?
A. It is, indeed. It is an express article of their creed,
which it is not in their power to deny, without being accursed
by their own church, and ceasing to be Roman Catholics.
R. I cannot comprehend how the Christians, all over the
world, came to believe that men could not be saved unless they
pinned their faith on the Pope and his Church. I belie ve, sir,
no one doubted that point bl
fore the Reformation.
A. So the Roman Cotholics give it out; but the true filct is
not so. You must l
now that thcre exists a very ancient and
numerous Church, which is cailed the Grcek, which has never
acknowledged the Pope. 'There are also the Churches of the
Armenians and Ethiopian
, which were established by the
Apostles, or their early successors, "ind have no idea of the
necessity of submission to the Pope, 111 order to be true chris-
tians. Christianity, indeed, had been long established before
the Popes bethought themselves of claiming spintual dominion
over all christendom. But I will tell you how they accom-
plished thcir usurpation, and vou will see that the progress of
316
PRESERVATIVE
their tyranny was perfectly nattll'al. If you read the Acts
of the Apostles, where we have the inspired history of the
first Christian Churches, ) ou will find no mention of any au-
thority like that which ROIne claims fvr her
elf and her head,
the Pope. Rome, however, ,vas at that time the mistre
s of
the world, which was governed without control by the Roman
Emperors. At first, those Roman Emperors made the fiercest
opposition to Christianity; and the Christian Bishops of Rome,
being persecuted, and in danger of their lives, had neither spirit
nor leisure to iInagine themselves superior to all o
her Bi
h-
ops. But the persecutions ceased; and the Emperors thcln-
selves becoming Christian
, the Bishops 0& Rome l'egan to
think themselves entitled to Le that in the Church of Chri
t,
all over the world, which the Emperors were in the whole
Roman state. It was then that the idle and ungrounded re-
port that St. Peter had been Bishop of Rome, grew up into a
common belief: then it wns said, that the Popes were St. Pe
ter's successors: that as St. Peter was the Head of the A pos
tIes, so the Pope was tn
hpad of all Bishops: and that as Christ
had said to S1. Peter, tna. he was a rock, on which he would
build his Church, every Pope, gooel, bad, or indifferent, must al-
so be a rock, on which the whule of Christianity depends. The
temporal power of Rome gave a certain color to these atsurd
fancies; for Rome was at that time, to the greatest and best
part of the world, what London is now to England and all her
possessions. People, you know, attach ideas of superiority to
every thing thatconlCs frorl1 the cai,i:'al town of a great empire.
It happened, however, that not long after the Pores had Legun
to hold up their heads in this \
a
, the whole Roman Empire
was invaded by immense armies of barharous people, who
broke in ftom the Nvr
h, wh('re they had till then lived in the
f'-'re
t
, unconquered and untamed by any human power. In
the course of a few centuries these larl
arians became ma8-
tel'S of the Roman empire. They were all ignorant idolaters;
but by mixing with christians, they were converted to Chrif.-
tianity. The Christian Religicn, indeed, though eyer so di
-
figured with the crrors of those who profess it, is so holy, and
has such power over the soul, that the barLarian ccnqUf'rors
of Europe could not but respect it. The Priests who worlied
in their conversion, were in the Pope's interest, and tod... curc
to instruct tho
e ignorant men in all the false pretenccs ()n
which the Bii:?hops of Rome had built their aS8umed superior-
ity. Every thing that the Roman Priests said wa s received
as Gospel: for our furefatl.lers (you should know that wc aro
.
AGAINST rOI
ERY.
31"'/
all chieflv descended from those northern warriors) could nei.
ther write nor read, and were n10l'e illiterate than the Jnerest
clown Ïl. our own times. Thus things proceeded for ages;
whilst error grew more and more rooted as it descended fron1
fiüher to son. There were now and then a few men, who,
notwithstanding the general ignorance, applied themselves to
the study of the Scriptures, and some were bold enough to de-
clare that the Popes were usurpers over Christian literty. But
the pretended succes
ors of 81. Peter were not so mild as that
holy Apostle, who submitted to rebukes
; but had grown into
proud tyrants, who conunanded all Christian princes to put to
death everyone that dared to contradict Papal authority. l\lany
massacres were comn1Ïtted by order of the Popes, and even
good men were ready to dip their hands in the blood of those
whom Rome had declared heretics. The spiritual usurpers
had a great advantage in those times, when the art of printing
wa
unKnown. .Perhaps you are not aware, my friend, that
for ages
ages, the only ,yay that people had to publish hooks
was to get them copied out by hand; so that one hundred Bi-
bles could not be procured under the expense of seven thou-
sand days, or nearly twenty years' labor, which it was
necessary to pay to the Jnen who lived by writing out books.
Consider th('n, the ignorance of the Scriptures in which the
mass of the people must have lived, when none but very
wealthy men could affJrd to purchase a Bible.
The Romanists boast, to the ignorant and unlettered, that
the religion of Rome had been acknowledged as the only true
one over aU the world; and that it was uncontradicted till the
time of Luther. In this they tell you what is not a fact; but
observe beside
, that the silence of the Christian people, till
that pel'i8d, is a poor sort of npprol-ation, for it is the approba-
tion of gross i
norance. In proportiGn as knowledge increased,
so complaints and protes(ati(,ns against Rome became n10re
frequent. But in every case they were answered by fire and
sword. The Popish Clergy u
ed, besidc
, another
hameful
trick. \Vhenever there aro
c a set of nlen who opposed their
usurpati,)J)
, they puUishcd the most infamous calulnnies
against thpir vppJnent
, anJ ch
ll'ged then1 with the gro
scst
cnmes of the most filthy nnd di
<)'l1stinO' lust. This thev did
. 0 0 .J
in the s'lme manner, nnd (ll the
me ground, that the old
:P<<l.!nIlS had done (1o;ainst the pl'. itive Christinnfl. For as
both the early Chrls.ians, nnd 1lw 0ppo
ers of the tyrnnny of
Itan1e, were oblized to avoid death Lv holdina thcir rcli.riùus
'-'
0 0
<<<See St. Paul's Epistle to the GaIlatialls, c. ii.
2J)
318
PRESERVATIVE
assemblies in secret, their enemies nlade the world believe
that they òid shut themselves up for vicious and infamcus pur"
poses. This trick was the nlore hateful, as the clergy of the
Church of Rome, at that very time, were the nlcst dissolute
and profligate set that ever lived; and this I can prove by the
confession of their own writers. But Providence could not
allow this state of things to continue much longer; and, as
learning increased, so the opposition to Rcme grew stronger.
}'rom the beginning of the twelfth centu'ry, the num
eTS \\ hich
in various and distant parts of Christendom, stood up against
the errors and tyranny of the Popes, \\'ere every day upon
the increase, and that in spite of the Illost fierce persecution
on the part of the Romanists. The ery means which were
employed against them, however, contributed, under Gcd's
providence, to prepare the great defeat of the Papal See}
which took place four hundred years afterwards by the preach-
ing of Luther. As those who opposed the corruptions of Po-
pery, were put to death, or spoiled of their property, and
turned adrift UpOll the world, many of them took refuge in
distant countries, such as Bulgaria, Hungary, and Bohemia,
from whence their descendants, who had learned tu hate the
oppression of the Popes, returned in after times, and swelled
the number of their opponents. There were also some clans
or families of simple shepherds, who, like the highlanders of
Scotland, had lived all along confined to the valleys of the
mountains which separate France frOlll Italy. They were so
poor, and unknown, that the Popes had either been ignorant of
their existence, or thought it not worth the trouble to teach
them their adulterated Christian,ity; so that these happy rus-
tics preserved, by means of their poverty and simplicity, the
doctrines of Christ, such as they had received them from the
early Christian l\lissionaries, who spread the Gospel before
the Popes had disfigured it with their inventions. Their òe-
scendants live to this very day in the same spot, and are
Protestants, notwithstanding the murders and burnings by
which their sovereigns, the kings of Sardinia, strove, till very
lately, to make them Romanists. An F..nglish Clergyman,
whom I have the' pleasure of kno\ving, visited those good peo-
ple not long ago, and found then1 most excellent Protestants.
They have their Li
hops, priests, and deacons, and agree
with us of the Church of England, in every essential point of
religious belief and practice. These simple, and truly primi-
tive Christians, are known by the name of Vaudois.-'\Vell,
to return to IllY narrative: the persecuted opponents of the
AGAINST POPERY.
319
Pope who returned from the lands of their exile, having joined
with those who retnained concealed in Europe, re-appeared in
growing nmubers, and were called Albigenses. Pope Inno.
cent III. in tho year 1198, despatched several priests with or-
ders to destroy tbem ,,,herever they luight be found. One of
those who made most havoc among them, is known and wor-
shipped by the Roman Catholics, by the nan1e of St. Domi-
nic. He was the founder of the Inquisition, a court of judges
whose only employrnent is to discover and punish those who
reject the authority of the Church of Rome. A large prov-
ince of France had becOlne, almost to a man, stanch oppo-
sers of Popery. But the Pope promised l'emission of all their
.. sins to the I{ing of F
nce and his Lords, if they would join
to destroy his enemies. The horrors which the friends of the
Pope committed in that war, exceeds all imagination. You
may judge by what happened on the taking of a town called
Bezieres. The Albigenses had shut up themselves in it,
though there were also many Roman Catholics within its
walls. The Pope's troops were on the point of storming it,
when the doubt occurred to the soldiers, how they were to dis-
tinguish the 'Papists frOlu the Albigenses, in order to spare the
first, without letting the Pope's enemies escape. A Priest,
whom they consulted, answered them in these words: Kill
tltem all! God 7.vill know his own. Upon hearing this the sol-
diers entered the city, and put to the sword fifteen thousand
persons. The same persecution, though not so fierce, was
extended to Spain, and even to England, where thirty Albi-
genses were starved to death at Oxford.
R. I beg your pardon, Sir, for interrupting you; but I anI
10nO"inO" to know whether Y OU believe that those unfortunate
00.
cre
tures were real Protestants hke ourselves.
A. They were certainly Protestants as far as opposition to
the Pope's tyranny and usurpation over the Church of Christ
is concerned, though I cannot answer for every point of doc-
trine which they held. But consider, my friend, the circum-
stances of those unhappy Christians. Their fathers had
grown up under thf' dominion of the Popes, in an age of uni-
versal ignorance. The Bible had been carefully kept from
them, and it was with great difliculty and danger that they
could rneet to read SOlne portions of it which had been transla-
ted into their language. Ilow then, could these poor people
tind out at once the truth, and avoid all sorts of errors, without
competent and well-educated te3.chers, and left, as they were,
to gro
e f0r the true Gospel, not onl y in the dark, hut unùer all
.
320
PRESERVATIVE
the irritation and fear of a violent persecution ? You E:ee that
it was impossible. This was only the breaking out, through
the thi<:kclouds of Popery, of a t'eam of light which gradually
increased till the appointed time when Luther and the grea
Reformer of England, were enabled to make a perfect sepa-
ration of the truths contained in the Bible, from the errors in
which the Church of Rome had involved them. l\Iy oLject in
mentioning these facts is to show you, that in pr0portion as
learning anJ an acquaintance with the Bible increa
ed, the
opposition to the Pope's encroachments grew; and that the Pa-
pal Church was not without public opponent
, but when igno-
rance had overrun the world, amI the Bible was unknown.-
The present Pope is sowell aware of this, that he has publish-
ed a Bull against the English and For ign Bible Society; l
e-
cause wherever the Bible makes its appearance without his
own notes and interpretations, it never fails to raif':e him ene-
n1ies. Can that be the only true Church of God, whose great-
est enemy is the pure word of God himself?
R. Surely not, Sir. But was there no true Church of God
fl'om the time that Popery began, till the Reformation? I re-
collect to have seen a Roman Catholic tract, where it was very
strongly urged, that since Christ has promised that the gates
of hell should not prevail against his Church, the Roman C
th-
olic Church must all along have been in the right.
A. That is a very common argument of the Romanists;
but it has no foundation except their own fancies about the
infallibility of the church. Our Saviour did not promise that
any particular church should never err; but that the light of
his Gospel should never be completely put out by the contriv-
ances and attacks of hell. Such is the nleanil1g, you well know,
()f the words to prevail, or gain a victory. The light of l'eve-
lation was very much dimmeù and otscured, before Luther
and the Reformers who established our Church. Others had,
long before theIn, cornplráned of the obscurity, and tried, as
well as they could, to rekindle it; but the nleans of Providence
were not yet ready. Learning was very scarce till the inven..
ti3n of printing luultip'lied aU sorts of books, and put the Bible
inLo the hands of many. The printin 6 -press had been f'prcad-
ing knowledge far anù wide for about f'eventy yearp, when Lu-
ther r;ìi
ed his voice, and the light of the Gospel Ehone again
in iis full splendor. The candle was the san1e that Christ
had set on the candlestick; the Pope had hid it under a bushel;
hut Luther, despising the threats of the spiritual t) rant, took it
tiut of his keeping, and made it shine again as free as when Ü"ß
AGAINST POPERY.
321
Apostles held it up to the eyes of the world. Whoevel atten-
threly considers the state of the Gospel before the Reformation,
must be convinced that Luther was the instrument by which
Christ prevented the victory of Satan over his Church.
R. I am always at a loss when I would clearly understand
what is meant by the Church. Where is that Church against
which Christ tells us that Satan shall not prevail f
A. Let me answer you by a question, though I fear it will
appear to you rather out of the way. Where is the plough
that we pray God to speed?
R. Oh, Sir! we do not mean any particular plough. '\Ve
only pray God to prosper and bless the labors of man to pro-
duce the staff of life.
A. Very well. Now, suppose that God had in the Scrip-
tures promised, that evil should never prevail against the
plough. 'Vhat would you understand by such words?
R. I believe that they would mean that there should never
be a famine over all the world, or that all the crops should
never fai
at once, so that it would be impossible to grow any
more graIn.
A. And what would you think if a club of farmers, with a
rich man at their head, had established themselves in London,
and wished to have a monopoly of all the corn on earth, say-
ing to the government, "you n1ust go to war to defend onr
rights: for God has said, that evil shall not prevail against
the plough ;--and who can be the plough, but the head and
company of farmers of the county of l\Iiddlesex, wherein
stands the great city of London, which is the first city of the
world 1"
R. I should certainly sa y that they were a set either of
madmen or rogues, who wished to levy a tax upon all farmers)
wherever they,vere.
A. I will now leave you to apply what we have said, to the
use ,vhich the Pope and his Cardinals have made of Christ's
promise, that Satan should not prevail against ltis Clturch.
Church, in this passage, must be understood in the sense in
which we understand l'Jl ollg l-t, speaking of agriculture in gen-
eral. It must nlean Christiallit.'1 in general; not Christianity
confined to the walls of any town: the meaning, therefore, of
Christ's promise must be, that the Devil shall nevür succeed
in aboljshing the filÍth in Go,-l through Christ, which has
been publishcù in the Gm:;pel; not that the Pope must always
be in the right ,-and much less that he is to be the Spiritual
Lord of all the Christians on earth.
322
PRESERVATIVE
R. I can understand very well, that the promise of Christ
cannot be confined to the Church of Rome. But yet, Sir, is
not the Church of Rome the Catholic Church; and do we not
say in the Creed, that we believe in the hóly Catholic Church"
One might suppose that, by these words, we bind ourselves tc
believe in the Church of R3me.
A. The Romanists, my friend, have on that point, as en
many others, taken an unfair advantage, which they employ
to seduce the f'iu)ple. Cat/wIie, you Il)Ust understand, is a
word which means universal. Just at the times when the
Apostle!', and their immediate followers, had preached the Gos-
pel to aU the world, their doctrine was Catlwlie, that is univer-
sal. '\Vherever there were Christians, their belief was the
same; and as that belief exactly agreed with the doctrines of
the Apostles. Catholic, or universal belief, was the same as
true helief Errors, however, began very soon to multiply in
the Christian Churches, and these errors were called ltCrc
âe8,
which means, scparations; because those who set up their
own conceits as the doctrine of the Gospel, separatelÌ them-
selves from the universal belief, which at that time was the
true one. These heresies or separations became, in course of
time, so numerous, that the true Christian belief could no
longer be called Cat/wlie or universal, with respect to the num-
ber of Christians who hp.ld it; so that to say I believe in the
Holy Catlwlie Cllurelt. was not the same as if one said, I be-
lieve in the true Chllrch. You will, therefore, observe a
change on this point, in the creed which is used in the Com..
mUllIOn Service-a creed which the Roman Catholics receive,
and which is about fifteen hundred years old. In that creed it
was found necessary to add the word Apostolic to the word
Catholic; and consequently, we find there, "1 believe in one
Catlwlie and ApOSTOLIC Church:" which is as much as to say,
I believe that there is f'pread over the world a true church
of Christ, which was known in the beginning of Christiani-
ty, by its being Catlwlie or Universal; but which, since ern.r
became more general than the true faith, must be known by i
s
being Apostolic. By this you will perceive the artful contri-
vance of the Rûnmnist
, who I<nowing that what in the times
of the Apostles was Cat/wlie, was therefore true Christianity,
wish us to call them Cat/wlics in the same meanin
, e,-en aft('r
Rome had nlade her errors so common in the world, that they
appeared at one time to be Catholic, that is, universal. Protes-
tants, therefore
hould be aware of this trick, and neyer call
thenl Catlwlics, but Roman Catlwlics, Romanists, or I'lljJÙ-,'ls.
AGAINST POPERY.
323
though as this last nanle seems to hurt their feelings, I seldonl
n1ake use of it myself, and never with an intention to offend
them. E\Teryone, Iny friend, all over the world, who holds
the pure doctrine of the ,Apostles,-every Apostolic Christian
is a true Cat1zolic,-a member of that one true Church ,,,hich
the Apostles made Catlwlic or univcrsal; but which continued
being univcl'sal a very short time. The members of that hc-
retical, that is, particular Church of the Pope,-that Church
of the individual city of Rome" cannot be Catholic or univer-
sal, except as far as they are Apostolic.
R. And how, Sir, are men to judge what Christian churches
are Apostolic?
A. By the words of the Apostles and their Divine l\Iaster,
which we have in the New Testament.
R. But does not the Church of Rome receive the Scrip-
tures?
A. She does; and so fiH as she regulates her doctrine and
practice by that standard, we believe her to be a part of the
true universal Church of Christ. Bu.t in regard of her in ven-
ti
n
, whereby she has nearly n1ade void .the Fpirit 3nd power
of the Gospel, we are bound to declare her a corrupt and he-
retical Church; a church which has degenerated fronl the
Apostolic rule of faith, and, in proportion to the additions
which out of her own fancy she has made the Gospel, has
separated herself from the one CatlLolic, or universal church
of Christ; which is that nlultitude of persons, of all times
and countries, who being called by the grace of God to be-
lieve in his Son Jesus Christ, have conformed and do now
conform, their faith and lives to the rule of the Scriptures, and
ground their hopes of eternal salvation on the prmnises made
therein.
R. I befteve you said, Sir, that the Church of Rome has
m
de additions to the Gospel out of her own fancy: has she
also made any omis
ions in the articles of her faith?
A. N G. It I'leasel1 Providence to preserve the whole of the
Christian fitith in he!" keepin,'
, without diminution or curtail-
lnent. TIle true Go
pel was
hus kept entire during the ages
of general i
noran"'f', Uil ler the heap of her super
!ition
,
like live seeds, which want nothing to
pring up, Lut the re-
Jl1')val of some layer of stones and rllbl:Ü:h. IIad f'he been
permitted to ('a
t off SOlUe of the eSf'ential articles of the
Apostolic d\.
ctriI}(" ns 0 her sects (
n, the work of the Refor-
m:ltion would have bpcn ùifiicult. But when Luther and the
3thcr Reformers had removed thp superstitious additions (f
324
PRESERVATIVE.
the llomanists, the whole truth, as it IS In Christ, appear-
ed in its original purity; and as both Rome and the Pro-
testant Churches agree in every thing which is really &.
part of the Apostolic doctrine, we cannot be charged with
innovation.
R. Yet they say that ours is a new religion.
A. Any Protestant may rebut that charge with the Bible in
his hand. The New Testament is the original charter of
Christians; any thing under the name of Christianity which
we do not find there, must be an abuse of n10re n10dern date
than the Charter. The additions made by the Church of
Rome are it is true very old; but the foundations over which
she has built her fantastic structure must be older still. That
foundation, the Testament, is our religion, and we do not wish
to prove our religion older than Christ.
R. I wish you would have the goodness to mention the ad-
ditions and innovations which thê Church of Rome has made
to the true and Scriptural religion of Christ.
A. I will, with great pleasure, in our next conversation
DIALOGUE ITI.
....
Coocluct of tbe Cll4lrch of England and of the Roman Catholic Church com-
parea; some Account of the InnO\'ations made by Rome: TradiLion:
Transubstantiation: Confession: Relics and Images.
Author. I PRO)IISED, at our last meeting, to give you an
account of the innovations which the Clu:rch of llome has
nlade, and the human additions by which she has adulterated
the pure doctrines of the Gospel. But before I begin, I must
ask your opinion upon a case which I heard some time ago.
Readcl.. I will give it you, Sir, to the best of my knowledge.
A. The people of two neighboring islands, which acknnwl-
edged the authority of the same Sovereign, received each a
governor from the metropolis. One of the Governors present-
ed himself with his commission in one hand, and with the book
of the Colonial Laws in the other. "Gentiemen," he said,
" here is the I{ing's commission, which authorizes me to go\"ern
you according to these laws. I will direct my olficers to get
them printed, and everyone of you shall have a copy in his .
possession. If ever anyone of you should think that I am
stepping heyond nlY powers, or governing against the laws, he
may exanline the point and consult his friends about it; and
if, after all, he feels inc.lined not to be under Ine any longer,
I will not at alllnoiest hiln in his removal to the neighboring
island, carrying away every thing that belongs to him." The
other Governor f)Ursued quite a different course. l1e appeared
in the capital with all the pomp and show bf a King. lIe gave
out, that he had authority from the Sovereign, not only to
govern a
cording to the standing laws, but to make new sta-
tutes at his will and pleasure. At the same time, he employed
his officers to deprive the people of all the copies of the Colo-
nial L
lws that were to be found, and published heavy penal-
ties against anyone who should possess or read them without
leave, or in a copy ,vhich had not his own interpretation üf
the statutes. 80lne high-spirited individuals presented a peti-
tion to the new Governor, stating, "that they were perfectly
willing and ready to obey anyone comn1issioned by their
I{ing; but, still they conceived themselves entitled to possess a
:
E 3:25
326
PRESERVATIVE
copy
f the laws of the country; that if the l\Ionarch him
eJf
had empowered him to nnke adJitionallaws, they would m...]\:e
11,) oljection to tha" provided he showed an authentic cepy (,f
his cJmmi
sicn." The Governor grew quite fLirious upon
reading this remonstrance, anJ answered that he would not
show any document rela
ing to his power of making new laws
that the king hud conferred upon him this privilege, not in
writing, but by a mes
age; and, finally, that if the petitioners
did not obey him in silence, he would employ f(TCe against
them.-" Do, Sir, Lut prove to us your comlnission fi.om the
I(ing, and we are ready to obey without a murmur."-" Take
those fcllows," said the Governor, " and let theln die by fire."
The order being executed, a number of citizens tried to escape
from the island, but troops were stationed at every port and
creek, and such as were found in the act of getting a way were,
without mercy, put to the sword or confined to dungeons, till
'
.hey swore that they 'would receive whatever the Governor
I ;ommanded, as if it had been a part of the book of the la w::-;.
To c0mplete the picture of this Governor, I will tell you that
there was not one among the laws which he added to the writ-
ten stati1
es of the colonies, hut evidently procured Loth to him
and to his officers, an increase of wealth and power.-The
fllJestion I wish you to answer is, under which of these two
Governors would you advise a man to place himself?
R. I answer ,,;ilhout a dOl1bt,-under the first.
A. '\Vhat! without any further inquiry; without eÀaminmg
the took of colonial laws; without hearing the reason of the
other governor?
R. If I understood you rightly, the tyrant Governor (for he
deserves no better name) does not wish to settle the matter by
reasoning: he wishes to be believed on his word, and puts to
death even those who would avoid his power by flight. lIe
must be an imposter,-an usurper, who grounds his authority
on his own word, and his word on his tyranny. '
A. Oh, my friend, how justly you have given your verdict!
TILe Pope is the man. I\Iy parable applies literally to the
ca
e between the Roman Church and the Protestants. '\Ye,
the Prote
tant Clergy, declare to the world, that our Bi
]H'p
,
PrJests, and Deaccn
, have no authority but what the Scrip-
tures conf.'3r up0n us, f)r the instruction and edification of the
people. '\Ve show them onr commissicn in the book of God's
word_ and leave them to judge whether they are bound or not
to listen to our instructions. If anyone wishes to leave us,
he is at liberty to do so: we use 110 arts, no compulsion to keC])
AGAINST POPERY.
327
anyone within the pale of our church. To those who ren1aill
under our guidance we give no other rule or law but the Scrip-
ture; our articles declare that nothing contained in them is to
be believed on any other consideration, but the clear warrant
of the Holy Scriptures. But hear the conditions which the
Pope presents to mankind: "Come to lne," he say
, "as you
wish to be saved; f()r none can escape the punishment of hell
who reject IllY authority.-' I ask him for the proof that GoJ
has limited Salvation, by making it pass exclusively through
his hands. He answers me, that he has received the power
of interpreting the Scriptures, and adding to them several
articles of faith: and that
by virtue of that power, I must be-
lieve what he affirms. I rejoin, that if the Scriptures saijJ
tha t the Bishop of Rome and his Church were to be the infal-
lible interpreters of the written word of God, and that they
had power to add to the laws therein contained, I should be
ready to obey; but since the Scriptures
re silent upon a point
of such importance, I will not believe the Pope, who is the
party that would gain by the forced interpretation of tho
e
passages on which he wishes to build his power over the whole
church. He now grows angry, and calls me a heretic, pro-
testing that the Scripture is clear as to his being the head of
the church and Vicar of Christ. Are the Scriptures so clear
in favor of your authority, my Lord the Pope? \Vhy, then,
are you and yours so alarrped when you see the Scriptures in
the hands of the people? If your commi
sion from God is
clear, why do you not allow every man, woman, and child to
read it? Because (says the Pope) they are ignorant.-Igno-
rant, indeed! is the meanest child too ignorant to know lhe
person whom his father appoints to teach him? Is a stranger
to drag a child a way and keep hin1 under his control without
the father saying, "this is to be your teacher; I wish you to
obey him like myself?" The only thing, in 6ct, which the
child can perfectly understand, is the appointment of the per-
son who is to be his tutor: and are we to be told that becauf:c
the mass of Christians are children in knowled::;c, they m:1st
Llindly Lclieve the man who presents .himself, rod in h
nd,
ay-
ing to them, "follow me, for I have a Ictter of your father's in
which he desires YOU to te under my command?" '
Shew me
the letter," says tIle Christian. "Yeu are a siHy tal e," sa) s
the Pope, "and must let DIe explain the letter to YO
1." "Yef:,"
says the Christian, "but all 1 want is to eee that my tither
mcntions yOUI' name, and desires me to obey you.
' " N:. :"
is the Popc's ans\ver; "DIY name is not in the leacr, but
t
328
PRESERV A TIVE
Peter's name is there: S1. Peter was at Rome, and I am at
Rome, and therefore it is clear that you must obey rne."--
"But tell me, I pray you, n1Y Lord the Pope, does the letter
say even that S1. Peter was ever at Rome!" "No; Lut I tell
you he was," says the Holy Father. "Still another question:
is it in the letter that Peter was to govern all Christians more
than any other of the Apostles as long as he liyed?" "The
letter does not say it, but I do." "So it seems that aU your
authority must depend, not upon any comn1and of my heavenly
Father, but upon your own word. If so, I will not follow you;
but put myself under instructors who will read my Father's
words to rue, without requiring from me n10re than I find there-
in enjoined.'" Happy, my friend, is that Christian who can
speak thus out of the Pope's grasp; for he is a fierce school-
n1aster, and would tear the skin off anyone's back who should
not take his word on points relating to his authority. You
linow that I should be made to endure a lingering death, for
what I say to you at this moment, if the Pope or his spiritual
suhjects, could lay hold on me in any part of the world, Lut
,vhere Protèstants are in a sufficient number to protect me.
ll. I see, Sir, that the Pope is just like the proud, usurping
Governor you described. He grounds his claÍllls en his own
authority, and supports his authority by the sword. But" hat
strikes n1e above all, is his fear of the Scriptures. If the
Scriptures were favorable to him, he would not object to thcir
free circulation. I believe you said that the Pope had intro
duced Inany things in the Church which are not to be found in
the Scriptures.
A. Very many, indeed; and what is stiH more remarkaHc,
not one of which but is decidedly to his own profit. Ilere again
\ I e (
omparison between the Pope and the PrC'testant clergy is
enough to decide any rational man in doubt what Church to
fùllow. Anyone who is capable of malâng the comparison,
will clearly perceive, that on whate\-er points the Churêh of
Rome and the ProtesÌc'lnt Churches (especially ours of England)
agrce, the Scriptures are their common foundation. But as
soon as they begin to disagree, the Church of Rome is seen
striving after wealth and power in the articles whith she adds
to the Scriptures; while the Protestant clergy evidentJy re!in-
QI]ish both emolument and influence, by their refusal to follow
the Romanists be)ond the authority of the word of God. I
wiH give you instanccs of this, as I proceed in the enumerat
cn
of the principal points of difference.
Tradition is one of the most essential sul:jccts of dispute be
AGAINST POPERY.
329
tween Protestants and Romanists. The Romanists declare
th:1t the Scriptures alone, are not sufficient for Salvation; Lut
that there is the word cf God, by Iteal'say, which is superior to
the word of God in writing. lly this Item"say, fur tradition is
nothinJ else, they assure the world that the
cripture must be
eXplained; so that if the Scripture says u'lâte, and tradition
says bZ,ICk, a Roman Catholic is bound to say, that white lneans
black in God's written word.
R. But, Sir, how can they be sure of that hearsay or tra-
dition? Everyone knows how little we can depend upon
I"eports.
A. They pretend a kind of perpetual inspiration, a miracu-
lous linowledge which can distinguish the true fCOIn the hlIse
traditions. The existence, however, of that miracle, people
must take upon their assertion.
R. And who do they say has that miraculous knowledge?
A. Their divines are not wel] agreed about it. Some say
the miracle is constantly worked in the Pope; others believe
that it does not take place but when the Pope and, his Bishops
111Cet in council.
R. Then, after all, the Rom3nists cannot be certain at any
time that the miracle has take'l place. \Yould it not be better
to abide by t
le Scriptures, and j
dge of those hearsays or tra-
ditions by what we certainly know to be God's word î
A. That is exactly what we Protestants do.
R. Yet one difficulty occurs to nle. Is it not by a kind of
hearsay or tradition that we know the New Testament to have
been really written by the Apostles and Evangelists?
A. \Vhat then f
R. You see, sir, that tradition seems to be a good ground of
Faith.
A. Now tell me: if you had the title-deeds of an estate,
which }!ad descended from father to son, till they came into
your po:o:session, what would you say to an attorney who Ehould
come to you with a ltearsay, that the original founder of the
estate had desired his descendants to suhmit their lands and
chattels to the filmily of the said attorney, that they might keep
it and m:ln:lge it for ever, eXplaining every' part of the tiJe-
deeds according to the tradition:!l knowledge of their fitmily f
R. I
hould be sure to show hinl the way out of IllY house,
with()ut hearin
another word about his erranl1.
A. Yet he might
uy,your title-deeds are only known to b
Jenuine by tradition.
ll. Yes, sir; but the title-deeds are somEthing substantial,
2:.2
330
PRESERVATIVE
which may be known to be the sarrie which my father receiv.
ed from my grandfather, and again my granùflther from his
father, and so on; but there is no putting seals or marlis on
flying words.
A. \Vell, you have answered most clevlly one of the strong-
est arguments by which the Romanists Ðndeavor to foist their
traditions on the world. As long as the Christians who haa
received instructions from the mouth of the Apostles were
alive, St. Paul, for instance, might say to the Thessalonians
,{ lIold tlte traditions which, ye lu,-ve been ta'llgllt, u"/tetlwr by
word or our epistle ;"-J(. because they could be sure that the
'words they had heard were St. Paul's; but what mark could
have been put on these unwritten words, to distinguish them
as the true words of the Apostle, after they had passed through
the hands of three or four generations?
R. \Vhat is, after all, the advantage \\ hich the Pope derives
fi'om thcf':e traditions?
A. They are to him of the most essential service. \Vith-
out tradition, his hands would be tied up by Scripture; but, by
placing the Scripture under the control of these hearsays, the
Pope and his Church have been able to build up the monstrous
system of their po\ver and ascendancy. You know that one
of the principal articles of the Roman Catholics is transub-
sta ntiation. This article would be searched for in vain in the
Scriptures; for though our Saviour said of the bread, "this is
my body;" and of the wine, "this is my blood," the Apostles
could not understand these words in a corporal sense, as if
Christ had said to them that he was holding himself in his own
hands. Consequently, St. Paul did not believe that the bread
and wine were converted into the material Christ, by the
words of consecration; but though he calls these signs the com-
Inunion of the body and blood of Christ, he also calls them
Bread and cup.t The Romanists, however, found out that by
luaking the people believe, that any Priest could make Chrif:t
come .to his hands, by repeating a few words, they should enjoy
a veneration hordering upon worship, from the laity. But
how could this te done without the help of tradition? The
peaple were therefore told that the Pope knew by t1"aditio7l J
1h:1t after the words of consecration, every particle of bread
antI wine was converted iGto the body and soul of our Saviour:
that if you divide a consecrated wafert into atoms, everyone
to 2 Thess. ii. 15. t 1 Cor. x. 16.
ì The Roman Catholics use not common bread for the Sacrament, but a
Nhite wafer with the figure of a Cf(,5S made UPOll it, by the mould in \\ hich
AGAINST POPERY.
331
oft11ose atoms contains a whole God and man; and that the
presence is so material, that (I really shudder when I repeat
their most irreverent language) if, as it has happened some-
times, a mouse eats up part of the consecrated bread, it cer-
tainlyeats the body of Christ; and that, if a person should be
seized with sickness, so as to throw up the contents of his sto-
mach Immediately after receiving the sacrament, the filth
should be gathered up carefully and kept upon the altar :-this
I have seen done. [could relate many more absurdities,
which would shock any but a Roman Catholic, to whom habit
has made them familiar. I must not, however, give up this
subject without pointing to the advantages wh
the doctrine
of Transubstantiation brings to the Roman Catholic Clergy,
that you may see the use they make of tradition.
I have already told to you the superstitious veneration which
the Roman Catholics pay to their Priests. A Priest, even
when raised to that office from the lowcst of the people, is en-
titled to have his hands kissed with the greatest reverence by
everyone, even a Prince of his communion. Children are
taught devoutly to press their innocent lips upon those hands
to which, as -they are told, the very Saviour of mankind, who
is in heaven, comes do,vn daily. The laws of the Catholic
Countries are, with regard to Priests, Inade according to the
spirit of these religious notions :-a Priest cannot be tried by
the judges of the land for even the most horrible crimes. l\Iur-
del's of the lnost shocking nature have often been perpetrated
by priests in my country; but I do not recollect an instance of
their being put to death, except when the murdered person
was also a Priest. I kne,v the sister of a young lady who was
stabbed to the heart at the door of the church, where the mur-
derer, who was her confessor, had, a few minutes before, giv-
en her absolution! He stabbed her in the presence of her
mother, to prevent the young lady's marriage, which was to
take place that day. This monster was allowed to live, because
he was a Priest.-What but the belief in transubstantiation
could secure to the clergy impunity of this kind? Even in
Ireland, where the law makes no difference between man and
man, a Priest can take liberties with the multitude, and exert
a despotic command over them, which the natural spirit of the
Irish would not submit to from the first nobleman in the king-
dom. For all this, the Catholic clergy have to thank tradition;
tile wafpr is baked. By this means they remove the appearance of bread,
,yhich would be too striking and vi5ible an argument against their docnine.
332
PRESERV ATITE
for without that pretended source ofRevelation
it \Voud have
teen inlPossible to mJ.ke whole nations believe that a Priest
(as they declare) can turn a wafer into God.
R. 'Vas it not in the power of the Reformers to have pre
Ferveù the same veneration to themselves, by encouraging the
Lelief in transubstantiation?
A. It was so Dluch in their power, that even after England
had shaken off the authority of the Pope, many were burnt
alive fJr den) ing the cm'pOl'al presence of Christ in the Sac-
rament. The mass of the people were so blind and ûl;stinate
upon that point, that not one of the Protestant l\Iartyrs of the
rei 6 n of Queen Mary, but could have saved his life by declar-
ing in favor of transubstantiation. Nothing, indeed, but an al-
Inost supernatural courage, and an apostolic love of revealed
truth, could have enabled the Protestant clergy to oppose and
subdue the Romanist doctrine of the Sacrament.
R. I believe, sir, that the doctrine you speak of, was valu-
able to the clergy in other respects.
A. It was, and is still to the Romanist Priesthood, a never-
fhiling source of profit. The notion that they have the pcwer
of off0ring up the whole living person of Christ, whenever they
perfurm mass, paved the way to the doctrine which makes the
mass itself a repetition of the great sacrifice of Christ upon the
cross. Under the idea that the Priest who performs the blood-
less sacrifice, as they call it, can appropriate the whole benefit
of it to the individual whOln he mentions in his secret prayer
befH'e or after consecration, the Roman Catholics are eager
all over the world, to purchase the benefit of masses for them-
selves; to obtain the favor of Saints, by having the masses dene
in their praise; and finally, to save the souls of their friends
out of Purgatory, by the same means.
R. I have heard a great deal about Purgatory; but I do not
exactly understand what the doctrine is which the Romanists
hold about it.
A. They believe that there is a place very like heU,
where such souls as die, havi
g received absolution of their
sin
, are made to undergo a certain degree of puniEhment;
like criminals who, being saved froll1 the gallow
, are kept to
hard work as a means of correction. There is a strong mix-
ture of a very ancient heresy in the religious system of the
Catholics, which leads tnelll to attribute to pain and sufferin.z,
the power of pleasing God. It was that notion that first pro-
duced the idea of purgatory; and it is the same notion that in-
(Iuccs the devout and sincere among them almost to kill them-
AGAIXST POPERY.
333
selves with stripes, and floggmg, with fasts, and many other
seU:inflicted penances.
R. I have hearJ that the heathen in India do the same.
A. The religious practIces of those heathen, and many
amJng the Roman Catholics, are remarliably sin1i!a!. But
we must not lose sight of the off-.;pring of Roman Catholic tra-
dition, and the profitable account to which the Church of RGme
has turned it. Trad'ition alone must have been brought to thé
aiù of Purgatory. But the doctrine once being received by
the people, became a true gold mine to the Pope and his prief't-
hood. This was obtained by teaching the Ronmn Catholics,
that the Pope, as Vicar of ChrIst, had the power to relieve cr
relense the souls in Purgatory, by means of what they call in-
dulgences. These indulgen( es were made such an open mar-
ket of, throughout Europe, before the Reformation, that 'ings
and governments, even such as were stanch Catholics, Litter-
ly cOlnplained that the Popes drained their kingdoms of money.
Incalculable treasures have flowed into the lap of the Roman
Catholic clergy, f
H' which they ha '"e to thank the doctrine of
Purgatory. The reason id clear, the Pope knew too well his
interest. n,.)t to tack the doctrine of Transubstantiation and the
l\lass o
that of the souls in Purgatory fire. If a nIaE
, they
8aiò, is a repetition of the great sacrifice on the cross, and it is
in the power of the Priest to apply the benefit of it to anyone,
then, by sf>nòing such a relief to a soul in Purgatory, that soul
has the greatest chance of being set free from those burning
flames, and of entering at once into heaven. Who that Lelieves
this doctJ'Ìne will spare his pocket when he thinks that his
dearest relations are asking the aid of a mass .to escape out of
the burning furnace ! You will find, accordingly, that no Ro-
man Catholic who can affurd it,omits to pay as n1:.lny priests as
pos8ible to say masses for his deceased relations anll ti-iends;
and that the poor of that persuasion, both in England and Ire-
land, esta blish clubs fur the purpose of collecting a fund, out of
which a certain number of masses are to be purchased tor each
member that dies. Their accounts are regularJy kept, and if
any lnemoel' dies without having paid his subscription, he is
alloweù to be tormented to the full anlOunt of his debt in the
- other world, where the difference between rich and poor, ac-
ording- to these doctrines, is greater than in this lifè. ,A rich
nan limy sin away, and settle his debt with masses; the pOOl
illnst be a beggar even at the very gates of heaven, and trust
,0 hi
savings properly kept and improved by a club, or to the
334
PRESERVATIVE
charity of the rich, to escape out of that Purgatory which you
may properly call the Debtor's side of heU.
R. Perhaps the Romanists will say that God will not allow
the rich people to get off by the great number of masses, but
,viII give the benefit of them to the poor.
A. So they say, when the abusurdity of their doctrine stares
them in the tàce. But even this contrivance to evade the dif-
ficulty objected to their doctrine, has been turned into an in-
crease of profit to the clergy. "Since," it is said, "no nmn
can be certain that one or more masses, indulgences, or any
of the various Purgatory bank-bills, will be allowed to avail
the person for whom they are purchased, it behoves those who
have .worldly means to repeat the remittance as often as pos-
sible, that your friend or yourself may at last have his turn."
You see, therefore, that even the doubts which might have en-
dangered the sale of the Popish wares, are made by an effort
of ingenuity to increase demand in the market. vVithout the
fresh discovery, that God appropriates to the more deserving
poor the masses and indulgences sent to the wealthy dead, a
mass or plenary indulgence a head, would be more than suffi-
cient to keep purgatory empty. The case is very different
when you are acquainted with the doubt in which you must
be left as to the effect of your purchases; so that, if possible,
you IIlUst continue them forever.
R. \Vhat do you mean by indulgences?
A. That wonderful storehouse of knowledge, Tradition,
has informed the Popes that there is somewhere an infinite
treasure of spiritual merits, of which they have the liey; so
that they may give to anyone a property in them, to supply
the want of their own. A map, for instance, has been guilty
of murder, adultery, and all the most horrid crimes, during a
long life; but he repents on his death-bed; the Priest gives him
absolution, and his soul goes to Purgatory. There he might
be for millions of years; but if you can procure hÍln a full
or plenary indulgence from the Pope, or if he obtained it before
death, all the merits which he wanted are given him, and he
flips direct to heaven.
R. Sir, are you really in earnest.
A. You have only to look into the London Roman CatlLOlic
Dirccto'/"y, and will"' find the appointed days, when every indi-
vidual of that persuasion is empowered by the Pope to liber-
ate one soul out of Purgatory, by means of a plenary indul-
gence. These indulgences are sold in Spain bý the J{ing,
who buys them from the Pope, and retails them with great pro..
.
AGAINST POPERY.
335
fit. I have told you, my friend, and will continue to prove it,
that there is not a doctrine for ,vhich the Church of Rome con-
h
nds against the protestants, but is a source of profit or pow-
er (w hich comes to the same) in the hands of the clergy. In-
deed, I could fill volumes upon this subject; but time presses,
and I must not omit saying a few words about confession. Do
you not perceive, 'in an instant, that whoever has a ulan's
conscience in his keeping, must have the w hole m
n in his
power?
R. It appears to me impossible to doubt it; and, in fact, the
better the n1an, the more he must be in the power of his priest,
for the Priest is his conscience, and the good man is most anx-
ious to follow that which conscience suggests.
A. Never, my good friend, was a plan of usurpation and
tyranny set up that can equal that of the Church of Rome in
boldness. Her object is to deprive men hoth of their under-
standing and their
vill, and make them blind tools of her own.
She proclaims that the perfection of faith consists in reducing
one's n1ind to an implicit helief in whatever doctrines she holds,
without any examination, or with a previolls resolution to abide
by her decision whether, after examination, they appear to
JOU true or false. She then declares a renunciation of one'!s
conscience into the hands of her Priests, the very height üf
human perfection. Let those who in England are trying eyc-
ry method of disguising the l{oman Catholic doctrine, shew a
single pious book of common reputation in the Reman Catho-
lic Church, which does not make unlimited obedience to a
confessor the safest and most perfect wa.y to salvation. No,
I should not hesitate to assert it in the hearing of all the wor:d :
in the same proportion as a Roman Catholic has an undcr-
ðtanding and a ,viII of his own upon religious matters, or Inat-
tel's connected in any way with religion, in that same degree
he acts against the duties to which he is bound by his religious
profession.
R. I do not well understand the Romanist belief on the ne
t'essity of confession.
A. .The Romanist Church n1akes the confession of every
én hy t!tought, u'ord, and dced, necessary to receive c 1;-
solution fron1 a Priest, and teaches that, without ah:olu-
tion, when there is a possibility of obtaining it, God \"in not
grant remission of sins. The most sincere repentance, He.
cording to the Catholics, is not sufficient to save a sinner, with-
out confe
sion and absolution, where there is a possibility or
npplying to a Priest. On the other hand, they assert that evcn
3:16
PRESERVATIVE
imperfect re;->en!ance, a sorrow arising ii'om the fear of he!i,
whIch they call attrition, will save a sinner ".'hr "2onfe
es
an::] receives absolution. The evident olject of doctrines so in.
consistent \\ ith the letter and spirit of the Scripture
, is ne
doubt, that of making the priesthood absolute nmsters of the
people's consciencef-:. They must some time or other (every
R,Huan Catholic is, indeed, bound to confess at least once a
year, under pain of excommunication) entrust a Priest with th
inmost secrets of their hearts; and this, under the impression
that if anyone sin is suppressed frOlTI a sense of shame, abso.
lution makes them guilty of sacrilege. The effects of this
Londage, the reluctance which young people, especially,
ha ve to overcome, and the frequency of their making up their
nlÏnds to garble confession, in spite of their belief that they in.
(TeaSe the numrer and guilt of their sins by silence, are evils
which none but a Ron1an Catholic Priest can be perfectly ac-
quainted with.
R. I thought, Sir, that confession acted as a check upon
men's consciences, and that it of
en caused restitution of ill.
gotten money.
A. I never hear that paltry plea, so frequently u
eð by
Roman Catholic writers in this country, without indignation.
It seems as if they wished to bribe Inen's love of money to the
\lpport of their doctrines. In a case where the main interests
of religion and morality are so deeply concerned, it is a sort of
insult to hold up the chance of recovering money through the
hands of a Priest, as if to draw the attention from the mon-
s
r,)us evils which are inseparable from the Romanist confes.
rïion. The truth is, that restitution is not a whit more probable
among Roman Catholics, than among any other denomination
of Christians. There is not a Protestant who does not firmlv
believe the necessity of restitution in orJer to ottain pardo
l
from God. Though I have lived only fifteen years in a Pro.
testant country, the voluntary restitution of a sum of money by
a poor person, whom the grace of God had called to a truly
christian course of life, has happened within my notice. I
acted as a COllfef-:sor in Spain fùr many years, and from my
own experience can assure you, that confession does not add
one single chance of restitution. I believe on the contrary,
that the generality of Roman Catholics depend so much cn the
Ju;'sterions power which they attribute to the absolution cf the
Priest, that they greatly neglect the conditions on which that
ab
olution is often given. The Protestant l\'ho earnestly and
sincerely wIshes for pardon frOl11 God, knows that he cannot
AGAINST POPERY.
337
obtain it unless he is equally earnest in his endeavors to make
restitution; but when the Romanist has assured to the Confes-
sor, that he will try hi
best to indemnify those he has injured,
the words of absolution are to him a sort of charm, that re-
nlOves the guilt at once, and consequeptly relieves his uneasi-
ness about restitution. One of the greatest evils of confession
is, that it has changed the genuine repentance preached in
the Gospel-that conversion and change of life, ,vhich is the
only true external sign of the remission of sins through Chri
t
-into a ceremony which sill'nces remorse at the slight expense
of a doubtful, temporary sorrow for past offences. As the day
of confe::.-sion approaches (which, for the greatest part, is hardly
once a year) the Romanist grows restless and gloomy. He
mistakes the shame of a disgusting disdosure for sincere re-
pentance of his sinful actions. He, at length, goes through
the disagreeable task, and feels relieved. The old score is
now cancelled, and he may run into spiritual debt with a
lighter heart. This I know from my own experience, both as
Confessor and as Penitent. In the san1e characters, and from
the same experience, I can assure you tha t the practice of con-
fession is exceedingly injurious to the purity of mind enjoined
in the Scriptures. "Filthy communication" is inseparable
from the confessional: the Priest, in discharge of the duty im-
posed on him by his Church, is bound to listen to the most abom-
inable description of all..manner of sins. He Inust inquire into
every circumstance of the most profligate course of life. Men
and women, the young and the oM, the married and the sin-
gle, are bound to describe to the Confessor the most secret ac-
tions and thoughts, which are either sinful in themselves, or
may be so from accidental circumstances. Consider the dan-
ger to which the Priests themselves are exposed-a danger so
imminent, that the Popes have, on two occasions, been obliged
to issue the most severe laws against Confessors who openly
attempt the seduction of their female penitents. I will not,
however, press this subject, because it cannot be done with
sufficient ùelicacy. Let me conclude by ob
erving, that no
invention of the Homan Church equals this, as regards the
power it gives to the Priesthood. One of the greatest difficul-
ties to estab]ish a free and rational government in Popish
countries, arises from the opposition which free and equal
]a ws meet with from the Priests in the confessional. A Con-
fessor can promote even treason with safety, in the secrecy
which protects his office. But without aHuding to political
reforms, the influence of the King's Confessors, when the
2F
338
PRESERVATIVE
lDonarch is a pio\: s man, is known to be so great in Catholir:
countries, that when there was a kind of Parliament in Arra-
gon, a la\v was made to prevent the King from choosing his
own Priest, and the election was reserved to the Parliament
called Cortes.
R. I cannot help wondering how the Church of Rome
could persuade men to submit to such a revolting and dangerous
practice as that of confession.
A. This enormous abuse grew up gradually and impercep-
tibly, together with the \vhole of the Romanist system. It
,vas the practice, in the beginning of the Christian Church, to
exclude the scandalous sinners from public worship, till they
had shown their repentance by confessing their misconduet
before the congregation. This discipline was found, in ihe
course of some time, to be impracticable; and the act of humil-
iation, which at first was required to be public, was changed
into a private acknowledgment to the Bishop, of such sins only
as had occasioned the exclusion of the sinner frOlll Church at
the time of worship. The Bishops, a little after, began to refer
such acts of public reconciliation with the Church to some of
their Priests. The growing ignorance of after times made
people believe that this act of external reconciliation was a real
absolution of the moral guilt of sin; and the Church of Rome,
'with that perpetual watchfulness by which she has never omit-
ted an opportunity of increasing her pDwer, foisted upon tbe
Christian \vorld what she calls the Sacrament of Penance,
obliging her members, as they wish for pardon of their sins, to
reveal them to a Priest.
R. Is there nothing in Scripture to support that practice?
A. Nothing but the \vord confessing, which, as you will
observe, lneans only, whenever it occurs, the acknowledgment
of our sins before God; or that of our mutual faults to our fel-
low Christians. "Confess yallr faults to one another," says
St. James.* The Romanist will make us believe, that by one
to another the holy Apostle means confessing to the Priest.-
By thus distorting the sense of the Scripture, and caUing in
the convenient help of their own invented tradition, they have
set no limits to their encroachments upon the spiritual liberty
of the Christian world. Their love of power had, indeed, car-
ried them so far, that in enlarging the foundations of their in-
fluence, they established some of their doctrines without even
a w>rd in the Scriptures on which to build their fanciful sys-
· Chap. ill. ver. 16
AGAINST POPERY.
339
tems. Did you ever find any mention of relics In the Bible;
or do you recollect that it ever mentions images, but to forbid
the worshipping of them?
R Certainly not. But do you believe, Sir, that relics
and In1ages are also instruments of power to the Church of
Rome?
A. The city of Rome has carried on, for ages, a trade in
bones, which, besides the donations in money, made by those
who. from all parts of the world, came or sent thither to procure
them, has been the cause of building churches, with large en-
dowments for the clergy, in alrnost every province in Chris-
tendom.
R. But were those bones reaIly from the bodies of the
Saints, whose names they gave to theln ?
A. Nothing can equal the irnpudence with which the bones
really taken out of the public burial grounds, where the ancient
Romans buried their slaves, have been sent about under the
names of all the IHartyrs, Confessors
and Virgins, rrlentioned
in the Roman Catholic legends. The Pope clairrls the power
of what is called christening relics, and the devout Romanists
believe, that when their Holy Father has thus given a name
to a skull or a thigh-bone, it is equally valuable, as if it had
been taken from the body of their favorite Saint. They are
not generally aware that what is thus christened is proba-
bly part of the skeleton of some ancient heathen. But to gi\Te
you an idea of the credulity which the Popes have encouraged
on this point, I have seen the treasury of relics which belongs
to the kings of Spain; where the l\lonk who keeps it, shows to
all who visit the Church of the Escurial, near l\ladrid, the
whole body, as it is pretended, of one of the children who were
put to death by Herod. But there is still a nlOre monstrous
piece of impudence in the same exhibition. A glass vial, set in
gold, is shown, with some milk of the Virgin l\Iary. These and
a hundred other such relics are presented to be worshipped hy
the people; all duly certified by the Pope or his ministers.
At the Cathedral at Seville, the town where I was born, there
is, among other relics, one of the teeth of Christopher. a Saint
who is said to have been a giant. The tooth was procu.red
from Rome, and is to be seen in a silver ,and glass casket,
through which the holy relic may be admired by the worship-
pers. It is clear, however, that the tooth before which the
Pope allows his spiritual children to kneel, belonged to a huge
animal of the elephant kind. These impositions have been at
all times carried on so carelessly by the ROlnish Priesthood.
340
PRESERVATIVE
that it was necessary, in some cases, to declare that the bodie
of some Saints had been miraculously multiplied; else peo-
ple would have discovered the fraud by finding the same
Saint at different places. The Priests themselves are often
aware of these absurdities; but they must bow their heads
in silence. I will, however, tell you a good joke of a French
Priest of high rank, who, having no religion himself, as it
often happens to those of his profession in Roman Catholic
countries, submitted quietly to the established superstition)
th-ough he would now and then give vent to a humorous sneer.
He hdd been travelling in Italy, and in the Catholic parts of
Germany, where the collection of relics, kept in every great
Church, had been boastingly displayed to him. The Priests
of a famous abbey in France were doing the same., when,
among other wonders, "here," they said to the traveller, "is
the head of John the Baptist."-" Praised be Heaven!" an-
swered the waggish Priest, "this is the third head of the holy
Baptist which I have been happy enough to hold in my hands."
R. I hope the jolly Priest did not pay dear for his wit.
A. It would have been a serious matter in Spain; but there
has always existed a very strong party of distinguished infidels
in France, where the Pope never succeeded in his attempts
to establish the Inquisition. The consequence was, that the
Priests were greatly checked by the general laugh which
was often raised against them. He that would know genu-
ine Popery must go to Spain-the country where it has been
allowed to grow and unfold itself into full size. There you
would see all the engines of Rome at work, and perfectly un--
derstand the true and original object of her inventions. To
show you at one glance the benefit deri\Ted by the Priests from
image worship, I will tell you what happened at lVladrid, dur-
ing a residence of three years, which I made in that most
Catholic capital. In one of the nleanest parts of the town
the ragged children, who are always running about the streets,
found an old picture, which had been thrown, with other
rubbish, upon a dunghill. Not knowing ,,-hat the picture
was, they tied it to a piece of rope, and were dragging it
about, when an old woman in the neighborhood, looked at
the canvass, and found upon it the head of a Virgin l\lary.
Her screams of horror at the profanation which she beheld
scared away the children, and the old woman was left in pos-
session of the treasure. The gossips of the neighborhood
,vere anxious to make some amends to the picture for the past
neglect and ill-treatment, and they aU contributed towards the
AGAINST POPERY.
341
expense of burning a lamp, day and night, before it, in the old
woman's house. A priest, getting scent of what was going
on, took the scratched Virgin under his patronage, framed the
canvass, and added another light. All the rich folks who
heard of this new-found image, came to pray before it, and
gave
omething to the Priest and the old woman, who were now
in close partnership. In a very short time the amount of the
daily donations enabled the joint proprietors of the picture to
build a fine chapel, with a comfortable house adjoining it for
themselves. The chapel was crowded from rnorning till
night; not a female, high or low, but firmly believed that her
life and safety depended upou the favor of that particular
picture: the rich endeavored to obtain it by large sums of
money for masses to be performed, and candles to be burnt be-
fore it, and the poor stinted their necessary food to throw a
mite into the box which hung at the door of the chapel. I do
not relate to you old stories; I state what I myself ha ve seen.
Yet, what happened at l\Iadrid, under my own eyes, had con-
stantly thken place in the Popish kingdoms of Europe, till the
Reformation gave a check to the Romanist Priesthood
There
is scarcely a town or a village of some note in Europe but had a
rich sanctuary, where Monks lived, mostly in vice and idle-
ness, at the expense of the neighborhood. The origin of
these places was perfectly similar everywhere; a shepherd
found an image of the Virgin in the hollow of a tree, (most
assuredly placed there on purpose to be thus found;) an old
woman drew another from the bottom of a well; a stranger
had asked for lodgings for a night at a cottage-he was not to
be found in the morning; but, on searching the roonl where
he slept, a small Virgin IVlary was discovered. The nearest
Bishop was sure to come with his Priests, holding lighted
taper
, and carry such images in procession to his church; and
declare that ,they had been miraculously sent to the faithful!
Those found in the tree and well had fallen from heaven: the
vanished stranger was an angel, who had carved the image
during the night.
R. Such images put me in mind of what is said, in the Acts
of tile Apostles, about the great Diana of the Ephesians,
which had fallen from heaven, and for the sake of which the
people made a riot, in which they would have murdered Saint
Paul.*
A. The Church of Rome has so closely copied the idola-
trous superstitions of the Pagans, that all persons not bl inded
· Acts xix. 35.
2F2
342
PRESERVATIVE
by the fanatic zeal of that Church, are struck with the great
similarity. Their lighted candles, their franláncense, images
from heaven, many ceremonies of their mass, many forms of
their private worship, are just the sanle as formed a part of the
service done formerly to the idols of the heathens. Even the
manner of acknowledging the pretended miracles by hanging
up in the temples little figures of wax, or pictures representing
the part of the body which is supposed to have been supernat-
urally healed, or the accident from which the person escaped,
is constantly practised, wherever the Pope alone "directs his
flock, without fearing a laugh frorn Protestant neighbors. If
the figures acknowledging miracles performed by images
throughout the realms of Popery, were to be reckoned, the
miracles would amount to some hundreds a day.
R. But how can people believe in such a number of mir
acles ?
A. The Church of Rome, my friend, is like a large and
showy quack-medicine shop. There is not a disease, not an
evil, for which the Pope has not a labelled Saint. People,
when in'fear or actual suffering, are apt to receive a certain
relief from hope. You have only to say, try this or that med-
icine, and you ,viII see the patient's eyes lighted up, like the
poor man who has a kind of foretaste of riches from the mo-
ment he purchases a lottery ticket. The Pope's spiritual
quack-medicines are to be applied without doubt or hesita-
tion, and not to be given up in despair; all you are allowed
is to add some new Saint to your former patron. Well, a poor
creature is writhing with the tooth-ache; he goes to the Pope's
shop, and finds that Saint Apollonia had aU her teeth puIled
out, and therefore takes pity on those who suffer in a sin1ilar
way. He prays, buys a print of the Saint, and lights up a
candle before it. If the pain goes off, Saint Apollonia cured
hirn; if at last the tooth is drawn, Saint Apollonia blunted the
pain of the operation. So it is with every disease, with every
undertaking,-a journey, a speculation; even the most sinful
and wicked actions are often commended by the lower classes
of Roman Catholics to the care of their patron Saint. Of
this I have the most positive certainty. IVliracles being thus
expected at all times, and means supposed to possess a super-
natural virtue, being constantly used, under the idea that the
most effectual way of réceiving the looked-for benefit is a
strong persuasion of their efficacy, and a rejection of all doubt,
which, they believe, offends the implored Saint; every acci-
dent is construed into a wonder; the failures are attributed to
AGAI:'\lST POPERY.
343
a want of faith, and the success, either complete or partial,
which would have infallibly taken place in the natura] course
of things, is confidently proclaimed as a display of supernat-
ural power. Add to this, that there is a very common feel-
ing among the Roman Catholics, of the san1e kind as that
which anticipates thanks for the Eake of securing favor.-
They, in fact, give credit to their Saints beyond what they
really believe, and flatter them by public acknowledgments,
which they mean as a beforehand payment, which, in common
honesty, must bind the receiver to complete the work. All
this is done, not with an intent to deceive, but fronl that utter
'weakness of mind which a man cannot fail to contract, when
brought up under a complete system of quackery, either spir-
itualor temporal; a systern which encourages all sorts of fears,
to ensure the sale of imaginary remedies against them.
R. Do you think, Sir, that all Roman Catholics are in such
a state of mind?
A. Bv no means. There are various circumstances which
make i
dividual minds resist, more or Jess, the influence of
their Church. But this I can assure you before the whole
world, that whoever submits entirely to the guidance of Rome,
must become a weak, superstitious being, unless his natural
temper should dispose him to join with superstition the violence
and persecuting spirit of the bitterest bigotry.
R. If you can prove what you so broadly assert, I shall in-
fer, that while the Roman Catholics uphold their Church for
the sake of possessing an unerring guide, and thus having a
decided advantage over the Protestant Churches, who allow
their members to exercise their judgment upon religious
matters; it is only individual judgment and natural good
sense that make Romanism assume a decent appearance
among us.
A. Keep to your inference till we can renew this conversa-
tion, when I trust I shall satisfy you that it is supported by the
most undeniable t'lcts. Remember that I undertake to prove,
that the Church of Rome leads her Inembers into the most
abject and lamentable superstition, cruelty, and bigotry; that
she keeps her subjects in bondãge by the 1I1Ost tyrannical
means; and that s11e is always ready to force men into sub-
jection to her authority, in the same measure as they are off
their guard to resist her encroachments.
DIALOGUE IV.
Superstitious t"haracter of the Church of Rome j her Doctrine on Penance ;
A postolic Doctrine of Justification j Effects of Celibacy and Religious
Vows j persecuting Spirit of Romanism.
Author. I COME prepared to describe to you the character
of the Church of Rome: and in the first place I am to prove
that she exerts her whole power in making her members
superstitious. I must, however, ask you, before I proceed,
whether you have a clear idea of what is meant by the word
supe1.stitious.
Reader. I believe I have a tolerably good notion of it; but
to say the truth, I should be at a loss to state clearly what I
understand by that word. .
A. IVly notion of it may be expressed thus: superstition
consists in credulity, hopes, and fears, about invisible and
supernatural things, upon fanciful and slight grounds. We
call that rnan superstitious who is ready to believe any idle
story of ghosts and witches; who nails a horse-shoe upon the
ship or barn, which he hopes, by tbat means, to preserve in
safety; and dreads evil consequences from going out of doors
the first time in the morning, with his left foot foremost.
R. Does the Church of Rome encourage superstitions of
this kind ?
A. She certainly encourages the same state of mind,
though not exactly upon the same things. Every church may
be compared to a great school or establishment for religious
education. I will represent to you a pupil of that schoo], that
you may infer what is taught in it, and I will draw the picture
from various Roman Catholics whom I have intimately known.
Imagine my Romanist friend retiring to his bed in the night.-
The walls of the room are covered with pictures of all sizes.
Upon a table there is a wooden or brass figure of our Saviour
nailed to the cross, with two wax candles, ready to be lighted
at each side. Our Romanist carefully locks the door; lights
up the candles, kneels before the cross, and beats
is breast
with his clenched right hand, till it rings again in a hollo\v
sound. It is probably a Friday, a day of penance; the good
344
AGAINST POPERY.
345
man looks pale and weak. I know the reason - he has made
but one meal on that day, and that on fish; had he tasted
meat, he feels assured he should have subjected his soul ,to the
pains of hell. But the mortifications of the day are not over.
He unlocks a small cup
oard, and takes out a skull, which he
kisses and places upon the table at the foot of the crucifix. He
then strips off part of his clothes, and with a scourge, composed
of small twisted ropes hardened with wax, lays stoutly to the
right and left, till his bare skin is ready to burst with.accumu-
lated blood. The discipline, as it is called, being over, he
mutters several prayers, turning to every picture in the room.
He then rises to go to bed; but before he ventures into it, he
puts his finger into a little cup which hangs at a 3hort distance
over his pillow, and sprinkles, with the fluid it contains, the bed
and the room in various directions, and finally moistens his
forehpad in the form of a cross. The cup, you must know,
contains holy water-water in which a priest has put some
alt, making over it the sign of the cross several times, and
saying some prayers, which the Church of Rome has inserted
for this purpose in the mass-book. The use of that water, as
our Roman Catholic has been taught to believe, is to prevent
the devil from appro3.ching the places and things which have
been recently sprinkled with it; and he does not feel himself
afe in his bed without the precaution which I have descrihed.
The holy water has, besides, an internal and
piritual power
of washing away venial sins-those slight sins, I mean, which,
according to the Romauist, if unrepented, or unwashed away
by holy water, or the sign of the cross made by. the hand of a
bishop, or some other five or six methods, which I will not
trouble you with, will l\:eep the venial sinner in Purgatory for
a certain titne. The operations of the devout Roman Catholic
are probably not yet done. On the other side of the holy-
water cup, there hangs a frame hohling a large cake of wax,
\vith figures raised by a mould, not unlike a large butter-pat.
It is an Agn1ls Dei, blest by the Pope, which is not to be had
except it can be imported from Rome. I believe the wax is
kneaded with some earth from the place where the bones of
the Sl1 pposed l\Ia rtyrs are dug up. Whoever possesses one
of these spiritual treasures, enjoys the benefit of a great num-
ber of inJ ulgenres; for each kiss impressed on the wax
gi\Tes him the whole value of fifty or one hundred days em-
ployed in doing penance and good works; the amount of which
is to be struck o1f the debt which he has to pay in Purgatory.
I should not wonder if our gooù man, before layillg himself to
346
PRESERVATIVE
sleep, were to feel about his neck for his rosary of bead
.
Perhaps he has one of a particular value, and like that whicn
I was made to wear next my skin, when a boy. A priest had
brought it from Rome, where it had been made, if we believe
the certificates, of bits of the very stones with which the first
martyr, Stephen, was put to death. Being satisfied that the
rosary hangs still on his neck, he arranges its companion, the
scapulary, formed of two square pieces of the staff which is
exclusively worn by some religious order. By means of the
scapulary, he is assured either that the Virgin Mary will not
allow him to remain in Purgatory beyond the Saturday next
to the day of his death; or he is lnade partaker of all the pen-
ances and good works performed by the religious of the order
to which the scapulary belongs. At last, having said a prayer
to the angel who, he believes, keeps a constant guard over
him, the devout Romanist composes himself to sleep, touching
his forehead, his breast, and the two shoulders, to form the
figure of a cross. The prayer and ceremonies of the morning
are not unlike those of the night. Armed with the sprinkling
of holy water, he proceeds to Inass: if it happens to be one of
the privileged days in which souls may be delivered out of Pur-
gatory, you will see him saying a certain number of prayers
nt different altars. 1-Ie will repeat his rosary in honor of the
Virgin l\Iary, dropping through his fingers either fifty-five or
seventy-seven beads, which are strung in the form of a neck-
lace. There may be a blessing with the Sacrament, which the
good Catholic will not lose, for the sake of the plenary indul-
gence which the Pope grants to such as are present. On that
occasion you \vould see hinl kneeling and beating his breast,
while the priest, in a splendid cloak of silk and gold, in the
nlidst of lighted candles and the smoke of frankincense, makes
the sign of the cross with a consecrated wafer, inclosed be-
tween two pieces of glass set in gold. It would, indeed, be an
endless task were 1 to enumerate all the rnethods and contriv-
ances of this kind recommended by the Church of Rome to
all her mem bers, and practised by all who are not careless of
their spiritual concerns.-These are facts which no honest
Homan Catholic will venture to deny. I therefore ask wheth-
er, since revelation is the only means we have of distinguish-
ing between religion and superstition,- between things and
acts which really can influence our manner of being when we
shall be removed to the invisible world, and fanciful contriv-
ances which there is no reason to suppose connected with
our spirit'lal welfare,-I ask whether the whole system of the
AGAI
ST POPERY.
347
Church of Rome, for the attainment of Christian virtue, is not
a chain of superstitious practices, calculated to accustOln the
nlind to imaginary fear, and fly to the Church for fanciful
remedies? Saint Paul had a prophetic eye on this adulterated
Christianity when he cautioned the Colossians,* saying: Let
no man therefore judge you in meat or in drink, or in respect
of a lwlyday: Let no man beguile you of your reward in a
voluntaTY humility and worshipping of angels, intruding intc
those things which, he hath not seen, vainly puffed up by' his
fleshly mind, and not lwlding the head, from which all the body,
by jOlnt.ç and ;;ands, having nourishment, ministered and knit to-
gether, increaseth with the increase of God. Wherefore, if ye
he dead with Christ fT01n the 1"udiments of the world, why, as
though living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances (touch
not, taste not,llandle not, 'which aU are to perish with the using)
after the commandments alzd doctrines of men? Which things
have, indeed, a shew of wisdom in will-worship, and humility,
and neglecting of the body. I cannot conceive a more perfect
resemblance than that which exists between the picture of a .
devout Romanist, and the will-w01"ship described in this pas-
sage. . Obsen
e the distinction of days, the prohibition of cer-
tain meats, the worshipping of angels, the numerous ordinances,
the mortification and neglect of the body; and, most of all,
the losing hold of the head, Christ, and substituting a constant
endeavor to ÙZCTease spiritually by fleshly, that is, external
means, instead of fortifying, by a simple and spiritual worship,
the bands and joints, through which alone the Christian can
have nourishment, and increase with, the increase of God. .
R. I confess that the likeness is very striking. But I wish
to know if all the will-worship of the Romanists is fully recorn-
Inended by their Church.
A. It is in the most solemn and powerful manner. You
ha ve on1y to look into the devotional books which are used
among the Romanists, and you will find their bishops encour-
. aging this kind of religious discipline in the most unqualified
terms. I could read to you innumerable passages confirming
and recommending more fleshly ordinances than ever the
Jews observed; and this, too, in English Roman Catholic
books, which, for fear of censure on the part of the Protest-
ants, are generally more shy of disclosing the whole system
of their Church, than those published abroad. But what set-
tles the point at once, and shows that it is the Church of ROlne,
'* Chap. ü.
348
PRESERVATIVE
.'
and not any private individual, that adulterates the character
and temper of Christian virtue, I have only to refer you to
their Common Prayer-book, which they call the BreviaTY.-
Now, that is a book not only published and confirmed by three
Popes, but 'which they oblige their whole clergy to read daily:
for at least an hour and a half. Such, indeed, is the impor-
tance which the Church of Ronle attaches to that book, that
she declares any Clergyman or ].\Ionk who omits, even less
than an eighth part of the appointed daily reading, guilty of
sin, worthy of hell,- a mortal sin, which deprives man of the
grace of God. The Breviary contains Psalms and Collects,
and lives of Saints, for every day of the year. These lives
are given as examples of what the Church of Rome declares
to be Christian perfection, and her members are, of course,
urged to imitate them as far as it may possibly be in every
one's power. Now, I can assure you, having been for many
years forced to read the Breviary daily, that there is not one
instance of a Saint, whose worship is not grounded, by the
Church of Rome, Inainly upon the most extravagant practice
of external ceremonies, and the most shocking use of their
inmginary virtue of penance.
R. 'Vha t do they mean by penance?
A. The voluntary infliction of pain on themselves to expiate
their sins.
R. Do they not believe in the atonement of Christ?
A. They believe that the atonement is enough to save
thenl from hell, but not from a temporal punishment of sin.
R. But have they not plenary indulgences to satisfy for that
temporal punishment?
A. So they believe; but the truth is, that they cannot un-
derstand themselves upon the subject of penance and indul-
gences. Penance, however, the Romanist Church recom-
nlends, even at the expense of depraving the sense of the Gos-
pel in their translations. A.s there is nothing in the New Tes-
tament which can make self-inflicted pain a Christian virtue,
the Romanists, wanting a text to support their plactices, have
rendered the third verse of the 13th chapter of Luke, " U nles::,
ye be penitent, ye shall all alike perish." Yet, this was not
enough for their purpose, and as the same sentence is repeat-
ed in the fifth verse, there they slipt in the word penance.-
Their translation of that verse is, " Unless ye shall do penance,
you shall all alike perish." By the u
e of this word they
Dlake their laity believe, that both confession, which they call
AGAINST POPERY.
349
penance, and all the bodily lnortifications which go alflong
them by the SaIne name, are commanded by Christ.
R. That, Sir, I look upon as very unfair.
A. And the more so, my friend, as, in the original Gospel,
the word used by the inspired writer i
the same in both
verses, and cannot by any possibility mean any thin
but a
change of the mind, which we properJy express by the word
repe Ill.
R. "\Vhat, Sir, is the origin of their attachment to bodily
mortification?
A. A mean estimate of the atonement of Christ; and the
exalnple of some fanatics, whOln, at an early period of the
corruptions of Christianity, Rome declared to be saints and
patterns of Evangelical virtue. The l\lonks, who took them
for their models, gained an unbounded influence in the
Church; and both by the practice of some enthusiasts among
them, and by the stories of miracles, wh ich they reported as
being the reward of their bodily mortification, confirmed the
opinion of the great merit of penance alnong the laity. Here,
also, the mutual aid of the doctrines invented by Rome con-
tributed to increase the error; for, as the Popes teach that the
indulgrnces which they grant are taken from the treasure of
merits collected by the Saints, it is the interes.t of those who
expect to eSC3pe from Purgatory by the aid
f indulgences,
that the treasure of p2nances be well-
tocked ; and they greatly
enjoy the accounts of wonderful mortifications which their
Church gives them in her Prayer-book.
R. Do you think those accounts extravagant?
A. I will
ive two or three, and you shall judge. You
know that Saint Patrick is one of the most favorite Saints
among the Iri
h Roman Catholics, as having been the first
who introduced Christianity into their island. The Church
of Rome gives the following account of his daily religious
practices, holding him up, of course, as a pattern, which, if
few can fully copy, everyone will be the more perfect as he
endeavors to imitate. The Brel;iaTY tells the Roman Catho-
lics, that when their patron Saint was a slave, having his mas-
ter's cattle under his care, he used to rise before daylight,
under the snows and rains of winter, to beryin his usual tasll
of praying olle hundred times in the day, a
d again one Ill/Fl-
dred times in the night.' 'Vhen he was I:Jade a Bi
hop, we are
told that he repeated every day the oue hundred and fifty
Psalms of the I\;altery, with a collection of canticles and
hymns, and two hundred collects besidcis. J-Ie nmde it also a
2G
350
PRESERVATIVE
daily duty to kneel three hundred times, and to nlake the sign
of the cross with his hand eight huudred times a day. In the
night he recited one hundred Psalms, and knelt two hundred
times-passed one third of it up to the chin in cold water, re-
peating fifty Psalms more, and then rested for two or three
hours on a stone pavement.
R. I cannot believe it possible for a man to perform what
you have said, unless he had the strength and velocity of a
steam engine.
A. I will not enter into the question of its probability.
External cetemonies, and a course of self-murdering practices,
are proposed by the Church of Rome, in nine ou t of ten lives
of their Saints, as objects of imitation. In the same spirit, St.
Catherine of Siena is represented as so addicted to the prac-
tice of fasting, that Heaven, to indulge her in the performance
of that pretended virtue, kept her, by miracle, without food
from Ash-'Vednesday till Whit-Sunday. So the BTeviary
proclaims before the face of the world.
R. But does not our Church recommend fasting as a reli-
gious practice?
A. The practice of checking our appetites, even those which
we may indulge without sin, is a nlOst useful exercise of the
powers of the will oyer the inclinations of our passions. The
man who cannot abstau1 from some savory food, and is a
8lave to the cravings of his stomach, is little apt to control his
inclinations when tempted to open sin. Upon this principle,
and justly fearing that if the memory of fast was abolished,
men might be inclined to believe that Protestantism encour-
aged gluttony and excess; the Church of England reCOln-
lnends a rational abstinence on certain days, which, especially
,vhen it is made to produce some savings to bestow upon the
poor, must be acceptable in the sight of God. But neither
are these fusts enjoined under the threat of damnation, as "'e
find them in the Church of Rome, nor do they consist in a su-
perstitious distinction, or quantity of food. The Roman Cath-
olic fast is intenùed to produce pain and suffering, which is the
object of their penances; ours is a mere check laid upon in-
dulgence, and even that is left to the discretion and free will
of every individual.
R. How far does the Church of Rome recommend the in-
fliction of pain, as penance?
A. To an exce,ss that destroys every year many well-mea.n-
ing and
rdent persons, especially young women of that com-
nUlnion. These d
luded creatures lead the li\'es of Saints set
AGAINST POPERY.
35':
forth by their Church, and there they find many females who
'ire said to have arrived at great perfection by living, like St.
Elizabeth of Portugal, one half of the year on bread and wa-
tel'; besides the constal).t use of scourging their bodies, sleep-
ing on the naked ground, wearing bandages with points that
run into the flesh, plunging into freezing water, and ten thou..
sand other methods of gradually destroying life.
R. I cannot help thinking, that though the Church of Rome
is not the best school for Christian instruction, it must afford a
kind of spiritual amusement (spiritual, I say, because I cannot
find another \Vord) to her followers. Her ceremonies, her n1ir-
ades, her relics, ITlust afford an agreeable variety to those who
ha ve never doubted her creed.
A. Ah, my friend, nothing can be more deceitful than the
appearance of that Church. There is more misery produced
by her laws and institutions than I can possibly describe,
though I have drunk her cup of bitterness to the dregs. In the
first place, a sincere n1Ïnd which is made to depend for the
hope of salvation on any thing but faith and unbounded tru
t in
the Saviour, can never enjoy that Christian peace" which
passeth all understanding." I have known some of the best
and most conscientious Roman Catholics which that Church
can ever boast of; my own mother and sisters were among
them; I ha \"e been Confessor not a few years, and heard the
true state of mind of the rnost religious nuns, and such as were
looked upon as living saints by all the inhabitants of my town.
From this intimate knowledge of their state, I do assure you,
that they are, for the greatest part, so full of doubts about their
salvation, as not unfrequently to be driven to ITmdness. In their
anxiety to accumulate merits (for their Church teaches thenl
that their penances and religious practices are deserving of
reward in heaven) they involve themselves in a maze of ex..
ternal practices. Then come the fears of sin in the very things
\vhich they undert'ake under the notion of pleasing God; and
as they believe that their works are to be weighed and valued
in strict justice, the sincerity of their hearts cannot help dis-
covering Hot only that they are nothing worth, but that sin is
often mixed with their performance. In this state they are
never impressed with the true scriptural doctrine, that the
blood of Christ cleanseth from all sin, whenever the sinner,
with a lively faith: receives him as his only Sa \-iour. They are
not taught that good works are the fruit of true faith; but that
they bear a true share with Christ in the \vork of our salva-
tion. They are thus forced, by their doctrines, t'.> look to them-
352
PRESERVATIYE
selves for the hope of heaven; and what can be the conse-
quence but the most agonizing fear? With the view of hea ven
and hell perpetually before their eyes, and a strong belief that
the obtaining the one and avoiding the other depend on the
performance of a multitude of self-imposed duties, as compli..
cated and more difficult than those of the ceremonial law of the
Jews; what can be the result but distracting anxiety? When
a Protestant is conscious that he does not make the doctrine
of sahration by faith in Christ a means to deceive himself and
indulge his passions; his trust in the "full, perfect, and suf-
ficif'nt sacrifice, oblation, and satisfaction for the sins of the
whole world," which was made on the cross, removes all fear
fTOtTI his soul. In his progress through the stormy sea of life,
he does not, as the Romanist, cling with one hand to Christ,
and depend on the strength of the other to break the waves.-
The poor, deluded pupil of the Popish school, looks (as man al-
ways does in cases of great danger) not to the stronger, but
the weaker ground, for his dependence for safety. Fear, con-
sequently, predominates in his heart. "lVlind your swim-
Ining hand," say his Priests; "ply it stoutly, or Christ will
allow you to sink." "Hold fast on Him who is powerful to
save," says the Protestant Church, in the language of the Bi-
ble; "all that you have to do, is to throw the weight of your
sins and infirmities upon Christ." This is the only faith that
can produce the fulness of "joy and hope in believing."
R. But are not good works necessary to salvation?
A. '1'he truly Apostolic doctrine- on that point will be best
understood by looking to the direct consequence of sin. Be-
sides that, the whole scripture is full of loud warni.ngs against
wi
kedness; the Apostle expressly says: I(now ye not that the
unrighteou.ft shall not inherit tile kingdom of God? Be not de-
ceived,. neitlt[r jòrnicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor
cJ1e17linate, nor ahuse1.S of tlzemselres with mankind, nor thieL'es,
nor covetous, nor drunkards, nOT revilers, nor exto'rtioners, shall
inllerit tlle kingdom of God.* So that there can be no douLt.,
that if we wish to be saved, we must renounce sin, or, as we
are told by ol1r Saviour j we must. repent; that is, as the origi-
nal word expresses it, we must change our 'mind, from the
pursuit of unrighteousne
s. By turning away from sin, and
placing our full trust or faith in Christ, we are pardoned anà
Decome justified ill the sight of God. 'Ve then are made living
oranches of the true vine, and the spiritual life, which we re-
.. 1 Cur. vi. 9, 10
AGAINST POPERY.
353
r.
ive from tbe trunk, cannot fail to produce fruit unto life eter-
nal. Here, then, is the essential difference between the Prot-
estant and the Roman Catholic doctrine of justification. The
Roman Catholic believes that his good works are, in part at
least, the means of his justification, and is anxious to secure
and increase it by numerous external practices, especially by
self-inflicted misery; the true Protestant t'eel
assured, on the
strength of revelation, that, as he turns with his whole heart,
and accepts pardon through Christ's blood, his sius are par-
doned without reserve. The work of justification, or acquittal,
is thereby perfpct; and the spirit of Christ proceeds without
delay subsequent to the work of sanctification. The Protest-
ant has but one ground of salutary fear, lest he should wilful-
ly and deliberately turn again from Christ to sin; but this fear
is alia yed by the certainty given him by the same Scripture,
that God is faithful, and that it is God "who worketh in us
both t
will and to do, of his good pleasure."*-The system of
Popish justification is, I repeat to you, in the words of that
truly great and calumniated man, Luther, "a plain tyran..
ny, a racking and crucifying of consciences." He Inie\v
this from his own experience, for, like myself, he had in his
youth, tried it in the full sincerity of his heart. In order to se-
cure his salvation, and following the advice of the Church of
Rome, he made himself a l\:lonk, and most conscientiously kept
the rule of his order; but he found, what I have frequently
seen in those who bind themseh'cs with Popish vows, that he
was on the way to distraction and downright madness. "\Yhen
I was a l\10nk," he says, "I endeavored, as much as possible,
to live after the strait rule of my own order; I was wont to
shrive (confess) myself with great devotion, and to reckon up
all my sins, being always very contrite before, and I returned
to confession very often, and thoroughly performed the penance
that was enjoinpd unto me; yet for all this my conscience
could never be fully certified, but was always in doubt, and
said this or that thou hast not done rightly; thou wast not con-
trite and sorrowful enough; this sin thou didst omit in thy con-
fession, and so forth. Therefore, the more I went about to
help Iny weak! wavering and afflicteJ conscience by men's tra-
ditions, the more weak, and doubtful, and the more afflicted, I
\yas. And thus, the more I observed men's traditions, the
more I transgressed them; and in seeking after righteou:--ness
by mine order, I never could. attain unto it."-Tn the truth of
· Phil. ii. 13.
2G2
.
354
PRESERVATIVE
this statement I myself can bear most ample testimony. In
fact, with the exception of the persecuting spirit of the Church
of Rome, I know nothing more odious and mischievous than
her contrivances after the righteousness or sançtity 'which she
recommends; they are indeed a plain tyranny, a racking and
crucifying of the conscience.
R. \Vha t contri vances do you mean?
A. I mean the Popish laws, by which, in order, as they
say, to make their clergy more perfect, men are led into the
most fatal snares, even to the loss of their souls, or at least to
the ruin of their happiness. It is, indeed, a consequence of
the Romanist doctrine of good works, or works through which
men acquire a title to salvation, that they should lay intolerable
burthens on the necks of well-disposed Christians. Hence the
Pope has made it necessary for his Clergy never to marry;
and for both men and WOlllen who, striving after the imaginary
perfection of works, make themselves Monks, or Friars, or
Nuns, to make vows of never marrying, of obeying the supe-
rior of their Convents, and possessing no 11l0ney. They also
oblige themselves to keep the rule of their order, which gives
forty or fifty commandments, besides those of God; and which,
by their vows, they consider as binding, as if they were all in
the Bible. As far as this goes such a system would be a dan-
gerous absurdity; for what can be more unreasonable than to
endanger salvation by self-imposed duties, when we know ho,v
difficult it is for man to keep the plain laws of God? But, as
the object of all these human ordinances is, that the Church of
Rome may be able to make an external show of the sanctity of
her unmarried Priests, and the self-denial of her professed
l\lonks and Nuns; the Popes, fearing lest those who undertake
these duties, should soon find them impracticable, and shame
the Church by resuming their Christian liberty-the Popes,
I say, most unfeelingly, and with the greatest. disregard of
men's salvation, have induced all Roman Catholic governments
to force Clergymen, Friars and Nuns, to abide by their profes-
sion; so that whoever finds himself unable to live in celibacy,
or within the wall::; of a convent, must fly his country, under the
dreaùful certainty, that, if taken in the attempt, he shall be
punished with a cruel imprison.ment during the rest of his
life.
R. That is certainly a piece of tyranny which I have not
sufficient words to describe.
A. You would, indeed, want words to express your feelings,
if you had seen the effects of that proud and insolent despot-
AGAINST POPERY.
355
rsm of the Romish Church, as I have. Indeed, I am touching
upon a subject of which I cannot speak without the most live-
ly pain and indignation. vVhen Saint Paul enumerates the
aùvantages which the unmarried Christians had in the early
days of the Gospel, he uses the greatest caution. "This (says
the Apostle) I speak for your own profit, not that I may cast a
snare upon you." The Church of Rome, on the contrary, car-
ried away by her pride, uses every art to induce young per-
sons of either sex to bind themselves with religious vows of
chastity for life. All her books of devotion, and especially her
established Prayer-book, are full of the praises of virginity.
She carries her absurd, not to say wicked, extravagance to
the point of asserting of one of her female Saints, (Saint Rose
of LiIna, whom I have alread V mentioned,) that she made a
vow of perpetual chastity at th
age of five years. There was
indeed a time when children were bound by their parents to
become l\Tonks and N:uns for Jife; an engagement which they
were forced to keep when they grew up. But now the Church
of Rome allows boys and girls of sixteen to take the religious
vows. and, having done so, she puts them under the guard of
the Roman Catholic Governments, who, frightened with the
spiritual threats of the Popes, employ their force to make them
prisoners of the Church for life. It would make your very
heart sick to see the nunneries abroad. They are large
houses, with high walJs like prisons; having small windows at
a great distance from the ground, and guarded by strong and
close iron bars, bristled over with long spikes. As it is the cus-
tom among Roman Catholics to send most of their little !rids to
be educated by the Nuns, the poor innocents become attached
to their teachers, \vho are besides exceedingly anxious to gain
recruits to their order. The girls are petted till they come of
age to take the vows. The priests, who, being not allowed to
marry, feel a strong jealousy of those who take a young and
amiable wife, are always ready to advise their youn a penitents
to take the veil. In this manner a great number ofounsuspect-
ing girls are yearly entrapped in the Roman Catholic Church.
Even in England, nunneries have been on the increase of late
y
ars. Some of these poor pri
oners continue in their slavery
wIthout reluctance; many feel unhappy, but submit from the
8hame of changing their mil1d
, and because, even in this coun-
try, where the Protestant law would protect their leavina the
convent, their relations would look upon thern as reprobates,
i\nd their Priests would harass them to death. In Roman
Catholic countries, the hopelessness of their case oLliges In<lny
356
PRESERVATIVE
to bear their unhappy lot patiently. But some are driven to
desperation, and I have known instances which prove that the
Pope is a more unfeeling tyrant than any slave-master in
Algiers.
R. Ha\re you reaìly seen a poor female dying for liberty,
and yet kept like a criminal in bondage?
A. I have known lnany; but there was one amooD" those
unhappy victims whose sufferings harrow my mind and heart
whenever they come to my recoUection. You lnust, however,
be made acquainted with her melancholy story; but, to save
myself the pain of telling it anew, let me read it out of my
EL'idence against Catholicism:
"The eldest daughter of a family intimately acquainted
with mine, was brought up in the convent of Saint Agnes at
Seville, under the care of her mother's sister, the abbess of
that female community. The circumstances of the whole
transaction were so public at Seville, and the subsequent ju-
dicial proceedings have given them such notoriety, that I do
not feel bound to conceal names. 1I1aria Prancisca Barreiro,
the unfortunate subject of this account, grew up, a lively and
interesting girl, in the convent, while a younger sister en-
joyed the ad vantages of an education at home. The mother
formed an early design of devoting her eldest daughter to re-
ligion, in order to give her less attractive favorite a better
chance of getting a husband. The distant and harsh man-
ner with wh ich she constantly treated l\Iaria Francisca, at-
tached the unhappy girl to her aunt by the ties of the most
ardent affection. The time, however, arrived when it was
necessary that she should either leave her, and endure the
conseq uences of her mother's a version a t home, or take the
vows, and thus close the gates of the convent upon herself for-
ever. She preferred the latter course; and came out to pay
the last visit to her friends. 1 'met her, almost daily, at the
house of one of her relations; where her words and manner
soon convinced me that she \Vas a victim of her mother's de-
siO'nina and unfeelino- disposition. The father was an excel.
le
t
an, though .ti
id and undecided. He feared his wife,
and was in awe of the l\tIonks, who, as usual, were extremely
anxious to increase the nmnber of their female prisoners.-
Thouah I was aware of the danger which a man incurs in
Spain: who tries to dissuade a young woman from being a
Nun, humanity impelled me to speak seriously to the fo.th
i,
entreatina him not to expose a beloved child to spend her hfe
n hopel
ss regret for lost liberty. He was greatly moved by
AGAINST POPERY.
357
my reasons; but the impression I made was soon obliterated.
The day for l\laria Francisca's taking the veil was at length
fixed, and, though I had a most pressing invitation to be pres-
ent at the ceremony, I determined not to see the wretched
victim at the altar. On the preceding day, I was called from
my stall at the Royal Chapel to the confessional. A lady,
quite covered by her black veil, was kneeling at the grate
through which females speak to the confessor. As soon as I
took my seat, the well-known voice of l\iaria Francisca made
me start with surprise. Bathed in tears, and scarcely able to
speak without betraying her state to the people who knelt near
the confessional box, by the sobs which interrupted her words,
she told me she wished only to unburden her heart to me, be-
fore she shut herself up for life. Assistance, she assured Ine,
she would not receive; for, rather than live with her mother,
and endure the obloquy to which her swerving [rmn her an-
nounced determination would expose her, , she \vould risk the
salvation of her soul.' All n1Y remonstrances were in vain.
I offered to obtain the protection of the Archbishop, and there-
by to extricate her frOln the difficulties in which she was in-
volved. She declined my offer, and appeared as resolute as
she was wretched. The next morning she took the veil; and
professed at the end of the following year. Her good aunt
died soon after; and the Nuns, who had allured her into the
convent by their caresse
, when they perceived that she was
not able to disguise her misery, and feared that the existence
of a reluctant Nun might by her means transpire, became her
daily tormentors.
" After an absence of three years from Seville, I found that
IVlaria Francisca had openly declared her aversion to a state
from which nothing but death could save her. She often
changed her confessors, expecting comfort from their ad vice.
At last she found a friend in one of the companions of my
youth; a man \vhose benevolence surpasses even the bright
genius with which nature has gifted him; though neither has
been ahle to exempt him from the evils to which Spaniards
feem to be fated in proportion to their worth. He became her
confessor, and in that capacity spoke to her. daily. But what
could he do against the inflexible tyranny in whose grasp she
languished!
"About this time the approach of Napoleon's army threw
the town into a general cOllsternation, and the convents were
opened to such of the Nuns as wished to fly. l\Iaria Francis-
ca whose parents were absent, put herself under the protec-
358
P:CESERV A TIVE
tion of a young p!ebendary of thE.' Cathedral, and by his
nleans reached Cadiz, where I saw her on TI1Y way to England.
I shall oever forget the anguish with which, after a long con-
versatioL1, wherein she disclosed to me the whole extent of her
,vretchedness, she exclaimed, There is no !lope for me! and
fell in to convulsions.
"The liberty of Spain from the French invaders was the
signal for the fresh confinement of this helpless young woman
to her former prison. Here she attempted to put an end to her
sufferings by throwing herself into a deep v{ell; but was taken
out alive. Her mother was now dead, and her friends insti-
tuted a suit of nullity of profession, before the ecclesiastical
court. But the laws of the Council of Trent were positive;
and she was cast in the trial. Her despair, however, exhaust-
ed the little strength which her protracted sufferings had left
her, and the unhappy l\laria Francisca died soon after, having
scarcely reached her twenty-fifth year."
R. Sir, the history of your unfortunate friend is so horrible,
that I wonder how whole nations can conspire to support a
tyranny wicked enough to sacrifice not only the body but the
soul of the helpless creatures who fall into its snares. I l{now
that God is infinitely merciful; but does it not strike you that
the Pope and his Church, provided they keep their slaves, do
not care if they are driven to suicide, and all the sins which
follow and attend despair?
A. I know that the Pope and his Counsellors are perfectly
indifferent about moral evils which arise from the laws which
keep up the appearance of infallibility in their Church.-
Rather than alter her law of celibacy, Rome has allowed her
Clergy to be for many ages exposed to the most fatal tempta
tions; and for the most part to be involved in the guilt of many
a secret, and nlany an open sin, which might be a voided by
the repeal of that law.
R. Does not the Pope ever dispense with the law of celib-
!lCV ?
A. Rome, my friend, never draws back but when fear com-
pels her. The only dispensation I ever heard of, was obtained
by Bonaparte for Talleyrand, a French Bishop. The whole
history of Papal Rome proves that nothing but absolutè com-
pulsion will ever make her change her conduct. Even when
the Popes have been forced to yield to necessity, they have al-
ways done it in sullen silence, and never by publicly disclaim-
ing even their most unjustifiable and tyrannical Jaws. At this
moment, when the Pope knows that by a short declaration he
AGAINST POPERY.
359
should instantly remove all the difficulties which oppClse the
termination of \vhat is called the Catholic Question, and dis-
pel the well-grounded fears which most Protestants have of
the admission of Roman Catholics to seats in Parliament,-
the Pope lets theln struggle on towards the object of their anl-
bitlOn; with the view, no doubt, of reminding them, in case they
should gain the point, that it is the duty of every spiritual son
of Rome to exert himself in the destruction of Protestantism,
anù consequently so to behave themselves in Parliament, as to
undermine the foundations of every Christian denOlnination
which does not acknowledge the Pope as the Vicar of Christ
on earth.
R. I know, Sir, many Roman Catholics who are most ex-
cellent people, and who appear to bear no malice against the
religion of their neighbors.
A. I have no doubt that there are many such persons among
them; but arn equally certain that every spiritual subject of
the Pope is bound to oppose Protestantism, by the same con-
scientious principle \vhich nlakes him a Roman Catholic.-
'Vhy is he a Romanist? Because he thinks the Pope's reli-
gion the safest ,yay to save his soul. 'V ould he then endan-
ger that soul by acting against the principles of that religion,
merely for the sake of the Protestants? .
R. I wish you would teU me the real belief of the Church
of Rome with regard to Protestants?
A. The Church of Rome declares, as positively as she does
the doctrine of the TrinIty, and the Death and Resurrection
of our Saviour, that there is no salvation out of her pale; that
is to say, that the promises of the Gospel are exclusi\Tely
made to those who acknowledge the Pope as the representa-
tive of Christ. This doctrine has been repeatedly established
by the highest authority of the Church of Rome, which is the
Pope and his Bi
hops met in council. The same authority
has declared and bound all Roman Catholics to believe, that
every person who has received baptism, either in their church,
or out of it, is obliged to ohey all the precepts of tIle holy
Church, either u'ritten or delivered hy tradition; and that wILo-
ever denies that such haptized persons should not he forced to
obey those precepts by any otlter pllnisll'l/lent than that of ex-
corn:munication, is to be accursed. Such is the declaration of
the Council of Trent,* whose infallibility no Roman Catho-
lic can disbelieve. He is therefore accursed by the Chureh
of Rome who supports r
ligious toleration. Nothing, conse..
· Ses/3ion VII. Canon IV. and XIV.
360
PRESERVATIVE
quently, can be more evident, than that sincere Roman Catho
lies are bound to be intolerant; for the Roman Catholic reli-
gion does not consist only in believing certain doctrines, but
in believing them in obedience to that Church of which the
Pope is the head. The sincere Roman Catholic cannot, thpre-
f')re, explain away the practical consequences of his creed.-
.:Ie believes \vhat his Church believes: his Church believes
that whoever denies that baptized persons should bp !'or
ed to
obey the traditions of Rome, is accursed; he must therefore
deem himself accursed if he omits any opportwnity of forcing
people into the Romish communion. Besides,:f you see the
Roman Catholics incessantly at work to make converts by
persuasion, because their Church declares h to be their duty
to snatch the souls of Protestants from eternal damnation; ho,v
can you suppose that, if they had power, they ,,,"ould not use
it for the same purpose and under the
ame authority? But
we are not left to inferences and conjectures upon this sub-
ject. The Church of Rome is so fully determined to impress
upon her children their duty of forcing Romanisn1 upon all
who may be under their influence, that. she enjoins that intol-
erant principle under an oath. The lnost solemn derlaration
of the Romanist faith ends in words which, translated into
English, are as follow: "This t?"lle Catholic Faith, out of which
none can be saved, which I now fi.eely profess and truly hold,
I promise, 1)010, and swear, to 1"etain (with God's assistance)
whole and entire to my life's end, and to procure to the extent of
my power, that all my subjects, or those who, by virtue of my of..
flee, may be under my care, shall hold, teach, and preach the
same." This oath was framed by the Council of Trent, with
a determination to tender it to all persons in power; and is
taken, even in this Protestant kingdom, by all Romans, Bish-
ops and dignitaries. If this be not a proef, that chec1{ing and
opposing every religion but that of the Pope, is consider
d a
strict duty by the Church of Rome, all sound reasoning is at
an end.
R. Do you suppose that any free-born Briton could approve
of anything like the Inq ui
ition ?
A. I have a very high opinion of the British character; but,
on the other hanù, I am too well acquainted with the baneful
effects of the Roman Catholic religion upon the mind. I hope
that few among the subjects of Great Britain are, in their
hearts, abetters of that darling of the Romish Church-the
Inquisition. But I know that a dignified Spanish Clergy-
nlan, who was in London a few years ago, filCt with English
AGAI
ST POPERY.
361
Roman Catholics who declared their approbation of the Inqui-
sition. In the preface to a history of that infrnnous tribunal,
which he published in the year 1818, he has the words which
1. aill going to give you translated frm11 the French: "During
1ny residence in London, I lLea-rd some Roman Catlwlics soy,
that tlLe Inquisition 'was usiful in Spain for tIle pl.eservation oj
tlte Catholic Faitl
; and tllat it would have been well for France
if it lLad lLad a similar establishment." * This he asserts, not
to attack the Roman Catholics, for he died in the communion
of their Church, but as
simple fact.
R. I am quite surprl
ed!
A. I am not surprised at all. It is when I hear of Roman
Catholics who engage not to persecute ProtestantE, even if
they had the power, that I anI seized with a5;tonishment.-
How can the spiritual children of Rome be so unlike their
mother? \Vas it not the church of Rome that in Spain, urged
the burning of tllirty-one thousand nine llundred and twelve dis-
senters from her doctrines, and that punished with imprison-
ment, fine, confiscation, and public infamy, two lLundred and
ninety-one thousand four hundred and fifty, who saved their
lives by recantation? \Vas it not by the same authority that
in this kingdom of England, and during the four years of the
reign of Queen Mary, ilCO lLundred and eighty persons were
burnt alive; the number of those who perished in prison, for
not turning Papists, being unknown? If this sanguinary
church acknowledged her error, if she confessed that she was
.misled by the ignorance and bigotry of old times, (though she
herself had undoubtedly caused that ignorance and bigotry,)
we might belicve that her children had also put off their per-
secuting character. But when has Illortal man heard that
the Church of Rome ever whispered a regret for the torrents
of blood with which she has drenched the earth? Het. Span.
ish Inquisition existed till within the last fire yeárs. The
Pope restored it in 1814, and his Bishops are at this nlOment
doing every thing to revive it. But wl,..
t is the existence or
abolition of the Inquisition, but a mere external symptom of
power or want of it, to put the invariable principle of Roman-
iEt intolerance into practice? The cruel deeds of the Rmnish
Church are nothing but a republication, in blood, of the ar-
ticles of her Faith stamped in every copy of the decrees of
Trent. Ilow then can I believe that sincere Roman Catho-
lics have renounced persecution? When a man's hopes uf
"Llorente's History of the Spanish Inqui
ition. Paris edition, 1818, vol. 1.
p. xxii.
2H
362
PRESERV ATIVE AGAINST POPERY.
eternal happiness are bound up in a persecuting creed, he may
indulO"e in toleration as he does in sin, under a sense of spirit
ual d
nO'er, and a hope of future amendment: in the hey-day
of life he will be for letting every man have his way; but I
would not trust my liberty and my life into his hands, differ
ing, as I do, from his creed, when he turns his thoughts to
r
igion, and begins his course of Romish rcpentance
R. I had never till now believed that intolerance aod per-
secution could be taught by Christians as necessary for sal-
vation.
A. One benefit, I trust in God's grace, you will at least
derive from the clear proofs I have given you, that such is the
doctrine of the church of Rome. Convinced as you must be,
that she Inakes persecution an essential part of her creed,
you will bear that fa
mind, if ever her emissaries should
try their arts to sednce you ffOlD your Protestant profession.-
Whenever you shall hear the often told story of St. Petcr and
his PriIDacy,,you have only to remember the tyrannous doc-
trine and conduct of the Popes which have grown out of that
threadbare fiction. Compare the governlnent of the pretenrl-
cd successors of Peter, with the nlOdel of a Christian Pastor,
which Peter himself has left in his first Epistle. " Feed,"
he says, "the flock of God which is among you, taking the
oversight thereof, NOT BY CONSTRAINT, but willingly; not fvr
FILTHY LUCRE, but of a ready Inind; NEITHER AS BEIXG LORDS
over GOD'S HERITAGE, but by being ensanlples to the flock.":1f
There needs not nluch learning to rebut all the pretensions of
the Romish Church, when you compare her Popish government
with this passage. You have only to remember the constraint
and bloodshed by which the }'opes obtained at one time the
oversigltt of the flock of God: the .filthy lucre which at this
very day is the effect of their indulgences and dispensations;
and lastly, to observe the lordly manner in which they still
claim the spiritual dominion of this and all other countries
w!1Ích have shaken otftheir tyrannical and usurped authority.
R
member all this, and beware, my friend, of the guiles and
arts of a Church, which, even at this moment, loolis UpOn
you and your brother Protestants as runaway slaves, whom
she does not punish, from mere want of power; and rest as-
sured, that where there is so much spirit of pride anò ambi.
tion, the Christian spirit must have been nearly quenched.
· 1 Peter v. 2. 3.
DEFECTS OCCURRING IN THE l\IASS.
NO. I.
A curious extract from the Roman Missal, p. 53, &c. "re-
pecting Defects occurring in the lVlass." Thayer's Con-
tro. p. 71. 79.
'l\tlass n1ay be defective in the l\1atter to be consecrated, in
(he form to be used, and in the officiating l\linister. For if in
any of these there be any defect, viz. due l\latter, Form, with
Intention, and Priestly Orders in the celebrator, there is no
5acrament consecrated.'
The defects in tlw bread.
1st. "If the bread be not of wheat, ör if of wheat, if it be
mixed with such quantity of other grain, that it doth not re-
main wheaten bread; or if it be in any way corrupted, it doth
not make a sacrament."
2d. 'If it be made with rose or other distilled water, 'tis
doubtful if it make a sacrament.
3d. 'If it begin to corrupt, but is not corrupted: also, if it
be not unleavened according to the custom of the Latin
Church, it makes a sacrament; but the Priest sins grievously.
Of the defects of tlle Wine.
'If the win'e be quite sour, or putrid, or be made of bitter
or unripe grapes: or. if so much water be nÜxed with it, as
spoils the wine, no sacrament is made.
'If after the consecration of the body, or even of the wine,
the defect of either kind be discovered, one being consecrated;
then, if the matter which should be placed cannot be had, to
avoid scandal, he must proceed.
Tlle defects in the form.
"If anyone shall leave out, or change any part of the form
of the con
ecration of the body and blood, and in the change
of the words, such words do not signify the sam
thb.g, there
is no consecration.
Tlw defects of tlw lJlini8tc
..
"The defects on the part of the Minister, may Occur in
tbcse things required in hÍIn. These are first and especially
363
364
DEFECTS OCCURRING
Intention, after that disposition of soul, of body, of vestments,
and disposition in the service itself, as to those matters which
can occur in it.
"If anyone intend not to consecrate, but to counterfeit
also, if any wafers remain forgotten on the altar, or if any part
of the wine, or any wafer lie hidden, when he did not intend
to consecrate but what he saw; also, if he shall have before
hin1 eleven wafers and intended to consecrate but ten only,
not determining \vhat ten he meant, in all these cases the
consecration fails, because Intention is required."
Reader, Art thou not astonished? It is admitted 1st, That
to offer up a false Mass to God, or take a false sacrament, or
worship a false host, is sacrilegious, and is damnable idolatry;
2d, that one case is doubtful, but twelve are certain, in any
one of which, the consecration t:'lils, and there is no true sa-
crament, and then the l\lass service is sacrilege and idolatry!'
And should the priest, as he serves, discover any of these de-
fects, but can't mend it, he must proceed, rather than let the
people understand it, and therefore plunge them and himself
into these miseries! lias Christ, I ask, ever taught such
principles? And, if to guard against these dangers, is plainly
impossible; then, for any man to be safe in that church ll1uSt
be clearly impossible. But let us see the rest of it.
, Should the consecrated host disappear, either by accident,
or by wind, or miracle, or be swallowed by some animal, and
cannot be found; thcn let another be consecrated.'
'If after consecration, a gnat, a spider, or any such thing,
fall into the chalice, let the Priest swallow it with the blood,
if he can; but if he fear danger and have a lo
thing, let him
take it out, and wash it with wine, and when l\lass is ended,
burn it, and cast it and the washing into holy ground.'
, If poison fall into the chalice, or what might cause vomit-
ing, let the consecrated wine be put into another cup, and
other wine with water be again placed to be consecrated, and
· when l\Iass is finished, let the blood be poured on linen
clotfi, or tow, remain till it be dry, and then be burned, and the
ashes be thrown into holy ground.'
, If the host be poisoned, let another be consecrated and
used, and that be kept in a tabérnacle, or a separate place
until it be corrupted, and after that be thrown into holy ground.
'If in winter the blood be frozen in the cup, put warn1
cloths aboüt the cup; if t
1at will not do, let it be put int.. boil-
ing water near the altar, till it be n1elted, taking care it does
not get into the cup.'
I:V THE MASS.
365
, If any of the blood of Christ fall on the gl'ound by negli-
t?;ence, it must be licked up with the tongue, the place be suffi-
iently scraped, and the scrapings burned; but the ashes, must
e buried in holy ground.'
, If the Priest vomit tlte Eucharist, and the species appear
entire ..1e must piously swallow it again, but if a nausea pre-
vent him, then let the consecrated species be cautiously sepa-
rated, and put by in some holy place till they be corrupted,
and after, let them be cast into holy ground; but if the species
do not appear, the vomit must be burned and the ashes thrown
into holy ground. '-l\IarveIlous !
The oath of the Papal Clergy is, "that the Host is Christ-
body and blood, soul and divinity," (see their creed;) yet
they confeEs, as abo\'e, this cannot be known, how desperate
then is such oath! By this document they inform us, that
their Host (i. e.) Christ, can be lost by accident or by wind, or
be eaten by animals, as mites, or mice, or dogs, &c. or by
the spider or fly which may fall into the cup, and which the
priest Inust swallow if he can; or that he may be bound up in
frost, and be released by hot water, &c. or be poisoned, and
poured on tow, and dried, and then must be burned; or may
faIJ, or be spilled and licked off the ground by the priest's
tongue, and be swallowed, and maybe eaten by him and vom-
ited up again, and then must be taken out of the vomit, and be
worshipped, and devoutly swallowed again! Shocking infat-
uation. Now will not comInon sense itself, ask, Do any of
these things ever happen to the true Christ, the son of Mary?
Has he been ever swallowed by spiders, or flies, nlites, mice,
or by priests, or lain in their vomit? Has he been ever frozen
up in a cup, or poured out on tow, and burned? if not, then,
Christ was not thus eaten by flies, rats, nlice, priests, &c. &c.
and, nevertheless, he was eaten by them, which involves many
contradictions or fàJsehoods. But if the true Christ be not
thus eaten by these things-tb.e host, which, it is confessed,
may meet all these accidents, is not the true, but a fictitious
papal Christ. Had not these hideous doctrines and monstrous
and degrading absurdities, been thus written, and openly
avowed and defended in their own books, so that \vith our OWIl
eye
we can behold them, who could be persuaded to believe,
that any church '- J society of rational beings, could for a Ino-
nlent entertain them? Strong indeed Inl1st be that èelusion
by which the Papal Doctors are thus so deeply infatuat
d and
corrupted, as to adhere to such a religion'
2u2
.
....
366
DEFECTS OCCURRING
.
NO. II.
The Trent Creed under Pope Pius IV. to which the Papal
Clergy are bound by oath.
The Bull of Pius IV. by divine providence, Pope, relative
to the FOR)! OF OATH or the profession of the faith.
Pius, Bishop, the servant of the servants of God, for the
perpetual remembrance of this deed.
"Injullclum nobis Apostolicæ sC1.vitutis officium;
c." "The
office of our apostolicalll1inistry enjoins us to hasten and exe-
cute these decisions of the holy fathers, with which the Al-
mighty God has, for the good of his church, inspired them, &c.
Whereas, therefore, by the decree of the Council of Trent, all
pn
tors who shall henceforth be placed over cathedrals and su-
perior churches and their dependencies, or who, entrusted with
the care of souls, are provided for, must te obliged to make
public profession of the orthodox faith, and to promise and
swear, that they will continue obedient to the church of Rome:
\Ve, desirous, that all this should be diligently attended to by
all so entrusted, and in whatsoever department, whether in
monasteries, convents, houses, and such like places, whether
called regular, military, or by what name soever, and that the
profession of the same faith might be uniformly exhibited to
all, and that one only and certain form of it, might be made
known to all men, and published in every nation, by those
whom, under the p-rescribed penalties, it concernR, strictly com-
rnand, by our apostolical authority, that the following afore-
said profession of faith be solernnly made, according to this
form only, &c.
"EGo, N.firmafide credo,
c.-I, N. firmly believe and pro-
fess all and every thing contained in this Creed, which the ho-
ly Roman Church useth, viz.
"I believe in one God, Father Almighty, maker of heaven
and earth, and of all things visible and invisible, and in one
Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten son of God-by whom all
things were made; who for us men, and for our salvation, came
down f
{)m heaven, and was incarnated by the Holy Ghost of
the Vir
m lVlary, and was made man; was crucified also for us
under Pon
ius Pilate, he suffered and was
uried; and rose
again the third day, accordin
to the Scripture
; and ascended
in
o I-Ieavcn, and sitteth at the right hand of God the Father;
and shall come again with glory to judge the living and the
dead, of whose kingdom there shall be no end; and in the
IIoly Ghost, the Lord and giver of life, &c.-and one holy
Catholic, and apostolic church," &c.
.
I:V THE
fASS.
367
The oath on Schoolmasters and Doctors-
..Ad hoc OlllTles ii ad quos 'Ilniversitatum,"
c. "
roreover,
an those to whom the CdI'e, visitation or reform of universities
and general studies belong, must take diligent care, that the ca-
nons and decrees of this holy synod, Le received entire by
these universities, and that according to these rules, the mas-
ter, doctors, and other teachers in such universities, may teach
and interpret those things which belong to the Catholic faith,
and that they bind themselves by a solemn oath, in the begin-
ning of each year, to this observance." C. Trent, Sess. xxv.
cap. 2.
Thus, by these authentic documents, it is evident, that the
Papal Clergy are obliged to be Sl1'orn on the Gospels, tltree
times; 1st. to the Church of Rome, 2d. to the Pope, and 3d.
to believe and propagate her doctrines, and, by the same oailtS,
to oppose every thing contrary thereto,-(and so were school-
masters sworn.) This accounts for that constant watch they
keep lest the people should hear or read any doctrine but their
own, lest they should get enlightened. How ignorant of
all this craft are the people kept, and ho,v astonishing, if not
miraculous, that the Gospel of truth has broken forth from
all those dire and ingenious tramn1els.
Observations on the above Papal Creed and its notorious con-
tradictions.
Obser. I-The Council of Nice, which in 325 framed the
Nicene Creed, pI'onounces in one of its canons, any man, that
shall thenceforth add any more articles of faith than those then
specified, accursed. And Pope Celestine, an. 423, in his Epis-
tle to Nestorious in defence of that creed, has these words"," 'Vho
is not adj udged worthy of an ana thelna, that either adds or takes
away from it? For, that faith which 'was declared by the apos-
tles requires neither addition or diminution." But the Coun-
cil of Trent and Pope Pius, in 1564, fear not, in the face of
all this, to add 12 new articles at a stroke, nor once blush to
pronounce those who shall presume to refuse them, accursed.
And although these Councils thus contradict and curse each
other, yet the Papal Doctors are sworn to believe and teach
both are infallible!! And that although both creeds plainly
contradict one another, as shall presently appear, yet they are
neverthelcss one and the sanle true faith! risum tencatis7
Obser. 2.- The old part of this creed declares, "Christ was
incarnated by the Holy Ghost of the Virgin l\Iary, and was
maòe nl(111." Bat in the 5th article of the new part of the
368
DEFECTS OCCURRING
II
same, it is defined and declared, "that Christ's body and blood
are really, substantially, and truly made, by consecration, of
the whole substance of the bread, and of the \vho]e substance
of the wine." Here then are two sorts of Christs, from entire-
ly different sources, exhibited in one compound creed. By
one part thereof, Christ was born, crucified and suffered, was
buried, rose again, ascended into heaven, siUeth at the right
hand of God, and shall come to judge all men, &c. But, by the
other, he was not born, but made of bread, &c. nor did any of
these things! and yet the Papal Clergy a-re S'Worn, to believe
and teach they are the same! As all these contradictions are,
to be sure, divine truths! so, their people, rational1
eings, must
believe it, because their clergy direct them to do so! I!
Observe 3.-By the 1st article, traditions, and Papal Decre6s
&c. (mere inventions of men) must be admitted and embraced
too; but by the 2d, the holy scripture is, coldly, to be adn1it.
ted only, not emb'raced, and that under most severe and cau-
tious restric
ions.-'Vho can forbear noticing this? And when
we turn to, Sess. iv. Decretum de Edit. &c. An. 1546, and to
the rules, de libris prohibitis, framed by the Council in l\iarch,
1564, their dread of the scriptures, it is manifest, cannot be
concealed. From Iter index, take the fonowing extracts-
Rule 4. Cum experimento mallifestum sit, q-c.-" 'Vhereas,
it is plain by experience, were the holy scriptures read every
where in the vulgar tongue, more injury than good would fol-
low, yet if permission to read translations of the Bible made
by Catholics only, may be safely granted to some, who by
such reading may reap godly benefit, must rest with the judg-
ment of the bishop or inquisitor, together with the counsel of
their parish priest. In such cases it may be given, but they
Inust have a license from the bishop in writing. Qui autem
absque tali facultate ea legere seu habere presumserit, nisi p1"i-
us bibliis ordinario redditis, peccatorum absolutionem preci-
IJere non posset, q-c. "But he that without such license, shall
presume to read or have such books, unless he instantly de-
liver them up to the ordinary, cannot be capaLle of the forgive-
ness of his sins. And the bookselIer, who without such li-
cense, shall seH or otherwise grant the bible in the vulgar
tongue, &c. shall forfeit the price of the books, and be other-
wise punished at the bishop's discretion, according to the na-
ture of his offence-nor may the monks, without such licen
e
from their Prelates, read or buy them.
Rule X.-" Liberum tamen Episcopis, &c."-"But, yet,
the Bishops or Inquisitors general, are by their license, which
I
TIlE l\L
S\
369
\.hey have :1Jthorized to prohibit in their lungdoms, province
,
or dioceses,. those very books that appear to be permitted Ly
those rules, if they shall j adge fit."
o, after all the pains of
pJ.'ocuring this said license, it can be rendered null in an in-
stant, and then the Bible must not be read.
Ad ext1.emU11l VC1"O omnibus fidclibus,
"c.-"Lastly, the
faithful are commanded, that none n1ust dare read or have any
books contrary to the prescribed rules of this Index; but if any
one shall read or have books of heretics, or of any author on
heresy, or condemned and prohibited on suspicion of false
dogmas] he instantly incurs the sentence of excommunication.
And hE. that shall read or have bool{s of any nan1e that are so
forbidden him, besides the guilt of mortal sin into which he
falls, he must be severely punished, according to the judg-
ment of the Bishops."
Behold how difficult it has been to obtain leave to read the
word of God, even when translated by Roman Catholics them-
selves! See 'what dread this church ever had of the Bible.-
:
ank G?d! the darkness is greatly passed, and the true light
IS IncreasIng.
OÌJser. 4.- This 3d new article of faith is unqualified jar-
gon; for, seven christian sacraments, (as per. Sess. VII. Can.
I.) are insisted on, as instituted by our Lord Jesus Christ,
whieh is proved false.
IIoly Orders and Ext. Unction clearly destroy each other;
and if no sacrament can be without Christ's own institution,
such as Baptism and the Eucharist alone have, then, none of
the other five are christian sacran1cnts, because, for them no
institution from Christ can be found-"The matter or visible
sign of Holy Orders," says Challenor, (p. 131, C. Chris. Inst.)
Clis imposition of hands by a Bishop and prayer, and the insti-
tution is from Luke xxii. 19. Da this in remembrance of llW,"
but Christ nevcr laid his hands on the Apostles to nmke thenl
Priests, nor commanded it; (nor ever made them Priests, as is
proved, p. 156.) Hence Holy Orders, being without sign,
Inatter, or institution from Christ, is no christian sacrmnent,
but a papal fiction.
"As to Penance,'" says Challenor, p. 94. "it consists of con-
trition, confession and satisfaction, and the Priest's absolution.
Confession, is a full and sincere accus; tion made to a Priest,
of all morlal sins, a pcrson can remenlber: añd batisfaction is
a faithful performance of the penance enjoined by the Priests,
p.1ß3--'\vhich penance is enjoined, 3S an exchange which God
n1ake
of the eternal punishments which we have deserved by
370
DEFECTS OI;CURRING
!lin, into these small penitential works, p. 104.- Yet it is to 1 e
feared that the penance enjoined is seldon1 sufficient to take
off all the punishment due to God's justice on account of our
sins." p. 105. The penitent afLer confession, must say, 'I beg
pardon of God, and penance and ahsolution from you, my
ghostly father,' and the Priest then gives the absolution, and
adds, "l\1ay the passion of our Lord Jesus Christ, the merits
of the blessed Virgin l\lary, and of the Saints, and whatsoever
good thou shalt do, or whatsoever evil thou shalt suffer, te t-:
thee unto the remission of thy sin
, the
ncrease of grace, &c.'J'
.1\10st shocking and anti-scriptural doctrine!
If Christ's death on the cross be a full, and the only satis-
faction for all sin, and that his precious merits and Interces-
sion alone, be the sinner's only hope, as is testified by all the
sacred writers; and if a wretched sinner, the moment he le-
Ii eves this, and subn1itting himself to Christ, calls upon his
name, "hath everlasting life, passes frOlD death unto life, and
shall not come into condemnation," John v. 24. Rom. viii. 1.;
If "the blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth from all sin," 1 John, i.
7. If "God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself,
not imputing their trespasses unto them," 2 Cor. v. 19.; And
if "all that believe in Christ with a heart unto righteousness,
are justified from all things." Acts xiii. 39; the above doctrine
must be false. Besides, if Christ never appointed any such
private confession of mortal sin, nor any such penance or ab-
solution, nor any visible sign of any such sacrament, nor was
any such thing ever practised by the apostles, and hence, that
it is therefore only a papal fiction, what can be imaginJd more
blasphemous against Christ, and subversive of his gospel,
more delusive to a sinner, and destructive of his true hope and
salvation, and at the same time, more pharisaic and better cal-
culated to enhance the Priest's power over the people, than.
the above n1ischievous and anti-christian doctrine of papal
penance. Yet, after all the parade about it, the hopes excited
of its many and great benefits, p. 102, they grant, "If the
Priest, to whon1 this confession is made, has not the necessary
faculties and approbation, and al
o true intention, the penance
is null." But these things are impossible to le known or
guarded against by Priests or pef pIe; hence, such penance is
extrem? folly. But repentance towards God, and faith in
Christ, is the only safe and gOS} iel way; this can deceive no
Inan.
With regard to Invocation of Saints, in additi{n to what has
IN THE MA8!.
371
Deen already said, its novelty and impiety are set f()rth by the
fùllowing striking testimonies.
"Saith St. Augustine, de civ. Dei I. 8. Si rex constituerit in.
tercessorcm, q-c.-"When a ki!Jg has constituted one certain
intercessor, he is not pleased that any causes should be brought
him by others. So, as Christ is appointed our High Priest and
Intercessor, why do we seek others?
'''Solent tamen pudorem," &c. saith St. Ambrose, "The
Ilea then Idolaters, to cover the shame of neglecting God, used
this miserable excuse, that by tkese mediators they might go
to God, as by his officers we may approach a king."
"Go to, is any man so mad, or unmindful of his own safèty
as to give the king's honor to his officers? whereas, if any be
found even to treat of such a Inatter, they are justly condemn-
ed as guilty of insulting the king's Juajesty. It is for this rea.
son that men go to a king by tribunes or officers, because the
king is but a man, and knoweth not to whom he should entrust
the commonwealth. But to procure the favor of God, fronl
whom nothing is hid, and who knows the qualities of all men,
we need no spokesman but a devout mind."-Ambros ad Cap
1. ad Rom.
SJ.ys St. Chrysostom, "when thou hast need to sue unto
nlan, thou art forced first to deal with door-keepers, and en.
treat parasites and such like persons to go with thee a long
way about; cpi de tou theùu ouden toiouton estin, but with Gol
there is no such thing; without money, without cost, he yield-
eth to thy prayer." Serm. 7. de pænit. And again, Ora gu-
nuikos plÛlosophia, &c. "lHark," says he, "the wisdom of the
woman of Canaan, she entreateth not James, nor bescecheth
John, nor cometh to Peter, but brake through the whole COIn
pany of them, saying, 'I have no need of such mediators, but
taking repentance with Ine for a spokesman, I come to the
fountain itself; for this cause did he take flesh that I might
have boldness to speak to him. I have no nced of a mediator,
have thou mercy on me.' "-Dimissum Cltanaan. Tom. 5.
Thus, these Fathers, who lived so ncar the Apostlc's days,
jUt]ged it idolatry, m ..dness, and the hcight of iInpiety against
Ood, when he has appointed Chri"t, his son, our hi
h pricst
anJ only mediator, (who is ever ready anù present to receive
all sinners wIn humbly call upon him, an
to hear their pray.
er
,) to have recourse, nevertheless, to the intercession of an-
gels or dcparteJ sain
s, "which manner," sait,h Chrysostom,
"came in thrdugh the envy of the devil."
I must notice thc Papal doctrine of Baptism by Bossuet and
312
DEFECTS OCCURRIXG
the 'rrent Council, "As infants cannot supply the want of
Baptism, by acts of faith, hope and charity, nor by the earnest
desire of rcceivin6' this sacrament, tce believe if t!Ley do not
really rrceÜ'e it, tltey have no slLare in the grace of tlw 'J'edemp-
tion, and tlLllS dying in Adam, tlLey have no inlleritance'lCitlt
Jesus CILrist." Con. Trid. Sess. vi. cap. 4. Bossuet. E
pos. p.
42. J)ublin. Edit. 1821.
Thus has the Papacy and its Doctors, to sub serve their own
purposes, poisoned almost every part òf the christian religion.
As this astonishing "Exposition" is as contrary to scripture, as
it is insulting to common sense, and fraught with such incon-
ceivable impicty, I shall now proceed briefly, by reason and
scripture, to destroy it.
Arg. 1.- The just and nlerciful God does not require impos-
sibilities. To say he does, is to say he is unjust and cruel,
which is blasphemy. But to most infants, Baptism is totally,
and to all, personally impossible. Hence, can no blame attaeh
to them, and they can suffer nothing for dying unbaptized; and
hence to affirm, "that such unbaptised infants have no share
in the grace of redemption, nor with Christ," as the Papacy
anJ its doctors do, is to teach, God is unjust and cruel, which,
as it insults reason, so is it monstrous biasphen1Y against God's
mercy and justice!
....1\.rg. 2.-That God instituted Baptism in the Christian
Church, as he did circumcision in the Jewish, cannot be fairly
denied; yet neither of them was absolutely essential to salva-
tion; f0r, if it appear, the latter was not so: particularly that
of infante, so neither can the former be. Circumcision was
rather a sign of that of the heart, and a seal of the covenant,
as St. Paul argues, Rom. ii. 2H, and also as a distinction from
the heathen world; fur these u
es, and because God command-
ed it, it was necessary, yet not essential to salvation; other-
wise, all the infants that died before they were eight days old,
were, by God's own will and fault, and contrary to his win anù
word, excluded from Christ's redemption, and heaven! which
to affirm, involves unequivocal blasphemy. For, by his com-
mand, no child was circumcised before eight days old; and He
declares "lie willeth not tliat any sllould perisllt 2 Peter iii. 9.
And Christ says, "that all infants are of the kingdom of heav-
en." Luke xviii. 16.-No\\, if d.ll the Jewish infc'1nts who died
before eight days old, were fully saved wIthout the sacrament
üf circumcision, so, (if "God be no respecter of person.
,
' as
S1. Peter says,) must all the infants of christians who may
happen to die without Baptism, be sa'
ed likewise. If to con
I
THE MASS.
37
tradid this, is blasphemy against God, so therefore is Bossuet's,
and the Trent doctrine, "that unbaptised infants can llave no
part in Christ's redemption, nor in heaven," a fiat contradiction
to truth, and palpable blasphemy.
Arg. 3.-St. Paul tells us, "that although condemnation
came by one man, even Adam's offence, Christ brought justi-
fi
ation to life to all men; and that no sin is imputed where
there is no law," R')m. v. 18.-2 Cor. v. HL But infitnts
knJw not any law, and, therefore, according to St. Paul, no
8in can be imputed to them; again, "tlte son sltall not bear the
sin of the father," except the son himself do evil.-Ezek. xviii.
20. Hence can no infilnt suffer fvr any sin. Once more, the
holy Virgin and the Apostles tell us, "that God's mercy is 01
t. 1 ,em that fear him-that glory, lLOnor, and peace shall be on
even the Gentile tltat wor/ætll good, for God is no respecter of
persons." Luke i. 50.-Rom. ii. 10-15, 2G.-Acts x. 34, 35
If then such God .fearing Gentiles are saved without circumci-
sion or baptisn1, as these affirm, so must theil" infants also.-
Hen
e, to teach, "that the infants of Christians dying without
Baptism, have no part in l"edcmpti
m, nor in heaven, is to con-
tradict the Apostles and the holy Virgin, and aU reason and
scripture, and to be guiLy of hideous impiety. And hence,
wh1.t Christ says in John iii. 5, as he cannot require impossi-
hilities, so it cannot apply to mfants, but to those who hear of,
and refuse baptism and regeneration.
'Vith regard to confirmation and matrimony, however these'
mJ.Y be proper, the latter espccially as rites, either religious
or ci,'il, yet, as Christ appointed no visible signs ofthcm, as he
did of Baptism and Eucharist, how can they be christian Sa-
craments? Impossible; h
ncc, there are no true christian sa-
cramen
s but Baptism and Eucharist; and the other
, being
proved Papal fictions, the oath of the clergy "that there are
se\-en sacraments appointed by Christ," is most contradictory
and desperate.
As pure christianity,-that rational and holy religion whicr.
Christ the LorJ came to establish on earth, not by force or
fraud, but by gentleness, prayers, and persuasion, requires
fJr its propagation and support, no other weapons but those
emi}loyed an3 enjoined by him; and, inviting invcstiga
ion,
calls fJr nf) other aiJ, but a fair e
hibition of its own incompa-
rable loveIiness, and inestimable excellencies, to recommcllli
it to man, to lead him into the paths of peace and everlasting-
felicity, and thus 1t once displays its divine origin: fi)v, that
system of religion that, taI
ing a directly cuntrary course, and
2 I
374
DEFECTS OCJURRING
because of its deformity manifestly dreading examinaticn,
lntes the light, dreads the bible, insults reason, and lhe rights
of conscience, and has recourse to various wilt;s, machinations
anù ,"iolences for ils support and propagation, unequivocally
proclaims to all m,en, it has emanated from a totally diflèrcnt
source. Viewing, then, by the following additional documents,
the Jine of conduct the Papacy has for ages pursued, to sup-
port itself and propagate its doctrines, the conclusion is most
obvious, that its fountain is not pure,-is not the God of peace,
of light, and love.
KO. III.
Tlte Oaths to be taken to difcnd the Papacy.
THE POPE'S OATH.-By the general Councils of Constance
and Basil, it is stated, "Tltat all Popcs must be o'Qliged to
SWEAR t!tat tltey 1dll uplwld and enforce (generalium concilio-
'J'umfidcm, q-c.) the faitlt maintained in tlte general councils, to
the least tittle, even to tlte shedding of their blood." Concil.
Const. Sess. 39, Basil, Sess. 37.
By the following Councils also, Constance, Sess. 12. 17.37;
Lyons, Tom. 11. Binii, p. 645. Pisa, Sess. 14. Basil, Sess.
2--1. 34. 40. 46, it is expressly decreed, "that the Pope Ehall
depose and deprive Sovereign Princes of their dominions,
the;r dignity, and honor, for certain misdemeanors," &c.
Ileal' the iofty language of Pope Gregùry VIII. "On the
part of the Omnipote!lt God, I forbid Henry IV. to govern the
kingdoms of Italy and Germany; I absolve his subjects fronl
all oaths which they have taken, or may take to him; and! ex-
communicate every person who shall serve him as I\ing."-
Greg. lib. 5, Epist. 24.
NO. IV.
The Pope's Bull, in Cæna Domini,
'c. u'ldch per art. 28,
thereof must be diligently studied by the Clergy, and (pc'/" 27th
Art.) solcmnly publislted in tlte Clturcltes once a year or often-
er; and carefully taught tlte people, Iß38-T01n. 8, p. 183,
Con.,,:tlt. it:3, Pauli V.- T Ite Excommunication, ""'c.
First Article-"'\Ve excommunicate and anathematize. in
the name of God, Father, Son, and IIoly Ghost, and by 'the
authority of the blesspd Apostles, Pe
er and Paul, and by our
own, all '\Vickliffite
, I-Iussites, Lutherans, Calvinists, lIngo-
Hots, Anabaptists, and all other heretics, by \\ hatsocver name
they are called, and of 'whatsoever sect they be; and also, aU
Scàis:ì_atics, and those who withdraw themselves, or recede
. IN THE MASS.
375
obstinately from the obedience of the Bishüp of Rome; as
also their Adherents, Receivers, Favorers, and generally any
defenders of them :-together with all who, without the
authority of the Apostolic See, shall knowingly, read, keep, or
print, any of their nooks which treat on Religion, or by or
for any cause whatever, publicly or privately, on any pre-
tence or color defend then1." ..
Tlte Pope'sjoy at tlte murder of Protestants.
Pope Gregory XIII. in 1572, upon the massacre in Paris on
St. Bal'tholomew's day, caused medals to be struck with this
inscription about his image, "Gregorius XIII. Pont. l\lax. An.
I." and on the reverse side, a destroying angel holding a
cross in one hand, and in the other, a sword thrusting, with
these words, "Hugonotorum strages, 1572." "The slaughter
of the Hugonots." Voyage to Italy, p. 15. An. 1ö8B. See
Rev. xvii. 6.
NO. V.
BISHOP'S OATH.-In addition to the oatlls,
tated in the
Creed, on the priests; when they become Bishops, they must
be again sworn. Richm'ius, an eminent papal divine of the
15th century, and Doctor of the Sorbonne, observed, "That
Pope Gregory VII. contrary to the custom used in the chul'c:h
f0r more than a thousand years, introduced that order, '"that
all bishops must swear unlimited fideJity and obedience to the
pope," whence, says he, "tlte liberty of all succeeding councils
v'as tak('n away." Hist. Concil. lib. c.38. Rich. Apol. Ax. 22.
"I, N. N, Bishop elect, of the See of N. do swear, that, ffOlll
this time henceforth, I will be faithful and obedient to the
blessed Apostle Peter.. to the holy Church of Rome, and to
our Lord the Pope, and his successors canonically appointed.
I will to my utmo
t defend, increase, and advance, the rights,
honors, privileges, an.:l authority of the hoJy Roman Chl1rch
ûf our Lord the Pope, and his successors aforesaid.-I wi
l not
join in any consultation, act or treaty, in which any thing'
shall be plotted to :he injury of the rights, honor, state and
power of our Lord the Pope, or of the said Church. I wiJl
keep with all my might the rules of the holy Fathers, (i. e. of
the Council) the Apùstolical (Papal) decrees, ürdin:ìn("e
, dis-
posals, reservations, provisions and mandates; and cause them
to be observed by others. IIeretics, SdÚsmatic:s, and rel
cls to
our said Lord the Pope and his successors afûrcsn ÜI, I will tu
the utmost of my power persecute and destroy." Sub. Jul. Úi.
An. 1551.
376
EXTIRP.ATIO
OF IIERETICS.
Bislwp's obligation, (Cone. Benii. Tom. 11. p. 152.) cqf
any Bishop be negligent in purging his diocese of heretical
pravity, he, by the 3J canon of the 4th Lateran Council, must
be deprived of his episcopal" dignity; and by the Council of
Constance (Sess. 45. Tom. 7. p. 1122.) and by the Canon
Law, (Decret.Û lib. 5. tit. 7. cap. 13.) Bishops, by their above
o3.th of consecration, are bound to do so. And the punish-
luent to be inflicted on the heretics, lTIUSt be excommunication,
confiscation of goods, imprisonment, exile, or death," as the
case may be. COllcil. Benii. Tom. 8.
Concil. Tom. II. p. 619, "All Inquisitors of heretical prav-
ity appointed by the Pope, all Archbishops and Bishops, in
their rßspective provinces and dioceses, with their officials,
luust search for and apprehend heretics.-The Civill\Llgis-
trate must assist them under severe penalties in enquiring
after, taking, and spoiling them, by sending soldiers with
them, p. 608.- They can compel the ,vhole neighborhood to
swear they will infonn the Bishops and Inquisitors of any here-
tics they shall know of, or of any who may f..'lvor them.-
Constit. Innoc. iv. c. 30.
By L:lter. TV. Clm. Tom. 11. part. 1. p. 152. and CJn. Con-
stance, SCR
. 45, Tom. 7. p. 1120. Benii. "'\Vhoe,'er appre-
hends here
jcs, which all are at liberty to do, has power to
take ffOlll them all their goods and freely enjoy them." Anù
Pùpe Innocent III. declares, "This punishment we command to
be e.-cecuted on t"em by all Princes and secular powers, wlw sltall
be compelled to do so by ecclesiastical censures. Decret. 7.
lib. 5. tit. cap. 10.
NO. VI.
On Extirpation of Heretics.
OATHS o:v KINGS-to extirpate heretics. The 4th Council
of Lateran, can. 3, has these words-"IJ ro def
nsione fiJei
præstat juramentum, quod de terris sure jttrisdictionis suljec-
tos universos hæreticos ab E
clesia denotatos, bona fide pro
viribus exterminare studcbunt." For the defence of the faÎlh,
all Princes must SWEAR, that they will, bona fide, most dili-
gen
ly study to r03t out of their territories, an their sui jects,
Ly the Church pronounced h
retics, which, slnuld they ncg-
ect to do, they must themselves be exc0mnllmicated, tinò de-
posed. The Council of Constance confinns this Scss. 45.
In the 5th Council of Toledo, the IIoly Fathers
ay: "\Ve
prOluulge this decree pleasing to God. That whosoever here..
EXTIRP A. TION OF HERETICS
377
after shall ascend to the kingdom, shall not rrscend the throne
till he has sworn, among other oaths, to permit no man to Ii 'e
in his kingdom, wlw is not a Catholic; and if, after he has tal{en
the reins of government, he shall violate this promise, let him
}Je anathema maranatha in the sight of God, and fuel of the
eternal fire." Caranza, Sum. Concil. p. 404.
An Edict of Louis Xrtlt of F'rancc, published in 1724, con-
sisting of 18 A'rticlcs; the 1st and 2d are as follows: "That
the Catholic Religion be alone professed in our kingdom; fùr-
bidding all
)Ur subjects, of what estate, quality, or condition
soever, to profess any other Religion, or assemble for that pur-
pose in any place, under any pretence whatever, on pain, of
1\len for the gallies for ever, anù 'Vomen to be shorn, or shut
up fur ever in such places as our Judges shall think proper,
with confiscation of goods.
"\Ve order, that all such Preachers as have convened as-
semblies, not according to the said C. Religion, or shall have
;>reached, or discharged any other function therein, shall be
punished with death!- \V e forbid all our subjects to receive
such l\Iinistcrs or Preachers, or to give them any retreat, suc-
cor, or assistance, or to have any manner of communication
with them. And we order all who shall have any notice
thereof, to discover it to the officers of these places; the
whole on the aforesaid penalties."
That the Clergy did press this dire law, is notorious, frOln
the address of the assembly of Bi
hops to the J{ing, in 1765.
"Give, Sire," say they, "Give to the laws all their force,
nd to Religion all its splendor, that the full revival of the
Edict of 1724, may be the result of our hunlLIe remonstran-
ces.-The plague we complain of, will continue to ravage
your kingdom, till the press also shall be restraineò by laws
faithfulJy executed."
'Vhat man, of any name or nation, and in whose breast is
any of
he n1Ìlk of human kíndess, but Inust shudder at these
fearful plans and exdaim, Ilow' could a church, so desperate
against Bible Christians, be the Inild, h'Jly spouse of Christ?
A recent Conversation with a lYun
'Do you l::elieve the sacred writers of the S,
ripture were
infallibly inspired? N. 'I do.' 'If not, you could have ne
true foundation for a divine religion; v/ouid you, after they
had finisho
their work, c('!lsent to their making any changes
in it? 'No, for that would be d
nying they were rendered
2I-J
378
EXTIRP A TIO
OF HERETICS.
in.&ïllihle.' 'In this, you agree with S1. Paul, Gal. i. 8.-'that
n\... apostle, angel, or man, must make any alterations in the
gospel. Now, were not the Apostles the true teaching church 7'
'y e
, certainly.' 'But if you would not aUow that church,
even the very 2-postles, to deviate from the scriptures, on what
ground can you permit any other church or teachers to deviDtc
ffom them? IIence, the infallible scripture, not any church
,vhatever, must be your only safe guide. I shall now prove
your clergy are on cath to teach you, what yourself know is
an untruth! Has there ever been a true, proper, and real sac-
rifice for sin on earth, but the death of Christ on the cross?"
'No.' "Vhat were all the sacrifices from Abel's, till then?'
'They were typical only.' 'But Christ's last supper or sacra-
ment, which ye call his mass, being before his death or even
apprehension, could not, therefore, you own, be more than typi.
calor figurative; yet, your priests are on oath to believe and
teach "that in the mass, there is a true, proper and propitia-
tory sacrifice for the Ii ving and the dead," which, you see, is a
plain falsehood!' Said her grand-father, who was present,
'There, indeed, you have them by the neck.' 'Yes, Sir, and
they can never get loose.'
NOT E S.
Notices of the Papal Clturch in the United States.
From the Quarterly Register of the American Education Society,
Vol. 2d, 1830.
The subject announced at the head of this article is one of
great and increasing importance. Contemplated either in a
civil or religious view, this is unquestionably the case; but it
is more especially under the latter that it commends itself to
the readers of this publication. 'Ve shaH endeavor, in pur..
.suing it, to bear in mind not only the imperious duty of the
historian, to exhibit truth, but also that of the patriot and
christian, to ascertain and feel its connexion and relations.
But in this paper it is not intended to enter at large into the
long, protracted, and voluminous controversy with the Church
of Rome. Such we style her, and are backward to admit her
title to the uS'Jrped but ordinary appellation of 'Catholic.'-
This controversy has occasionally occupied, for more than
three hundred years, some of the most serious minds and
able pens of Christendom; anù indeed from an earlier age
there have not been wanting individuals who have succeR-
sively borne testimony against the assl.nlptions, spiritual and
temporal, of the Roman Court, or Church-ter:ns, in this casc,
comlnutable-her growing superstitions, preposterous claims,
and absurd pretensions.
Yet, while' we waive, for the present, a professed entrance
on this controversy, it is not because we are under no appre-
hension of evil, nor because we do not fe{!l that it is matter
of surprise that the evil should be extending iLs influence so
widely in our country. For we cannot forget the apprehcn-
sions of our puritan ancestors, and thcir conscientious op'
position; nor the 'sufferings of many who preceded them.
And it is equally impossible to forget the invaluable priyilege
of possessing God's word, translated and acce
siLle in our
own language with the liberty of reading, expounding and
practising its requirements, without fear of molestation.-
That, in such circumstances, Rome should increase her vota-
ries from among our freeborn citizen
, in numbers almost
equal to those who came as papists to this country ti-ünl the
shores of Europe, is indeed matter of surprise.
371)
380
NOTES.
Our main design is to give a statistical view of Romanists
in the United S
ates, as has been done in reference to other
denominations. But, with our opinions and feelings, it will
be impracticable, and would also, we think, be improper, to
exhibit such a view without remarks.
At the outset, however, it is to be distinctly and gratefully
acknowledged, that, as in our own state government 'every
denomination of Christians, demeaning themselves peacea-
bly, and as good subjects of the Commonwealth, shall be
equally under the protection of the law; and no subordination
of anyone sect or denomination to another shall ever be es-
tablished by la w :'
o likewise in the Constitution of tþe
United States it is provided, that 'Congress shall make no law
respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the
free exercise thereof.'t Whatever remarks, therefore, be
made in reference to that branch of the Church of Rome
which exists in these States, it is to be considered that they
have an equal right with ourselves to their own views, and
opinions, and fornls of worship, while they infringe not on the
rights of others. And, as a consequence, they have an
equal right with ourselves to publish their own opinions, and
send out their missionaries to promulgate them through the
Union, and multiply their converts-it being only the force
of truth and sound argument, and the influence of a holy and
useful life, \vhich can justly be allowed to sway the public
sentiment, and establish the prosperity of' any denomination:
every tendency to the union of the Church and State, in es-
tablishments professedly religious, militating as much with
our feelings, as with the spirit of our free constitutions of
government.
Nor are the Romanists to be regarded as interlopers in the
United States. One of the mernbers of this Confederacy was
indeed originally constituted, in great degree, by individuals
of that faith. Maryland, settled by Lord Baltimore, was in-
tended by him as a place of refuge for such, and for their en-
joyment of religious liberty. However strange, therefore, it
may seem to us, that our ears are saluted with reports of the
extension of the Romish Church in this Protestant country--
we must be prepared to contemplate the fact.
, And why, some are ready to say, is this increase to Le de-
precated? Are we to charge on the modern professors of that
faith the derelictions of their' ancestors? Shall we hold the
f.cConstitution of Mass. Art. III. t Amend. to Constit. of U. S. Art. III.
N'OTES.
present Church of ROlne responsible for the cruelties exer-
ciseà against the Albigenses, six hundred years ago-and for
the fires of Smithfield, the dragonnades of the Cevennois, the
massacres of St. Bartholomew, and of 1641? Do we not find
in that communion men of humanity, of elegant literature, en-
gaging manners, sound science, and fervent piety? These
questions would have weight, did we recognize in the acts of
the Court of Ron1e any compunction for her past violences; did
she express her abhorrence of the principle, , that no faith is
to be kept with heretics,' and abjure the dogmas of Jesuitic
morality. But until this is clone, she must be held responsible
to the world-as indeed she will pe to God, u'lwn he maket],
inquisition for blood.
The refinement of modern lnanners, the withholding of ob-
jectionable articles of faith, in soothing conversations main-
tained with inquiries, the specious glosses put on expressions
startling to the lover of Scriptural simplicity-all these might
seem to say, Rome has changed, and is far different from that
p()wer which Luther and Zuingle, Melancthon, Calvin and
Bucer, and the host of Reformers combatted. But the high
tone of her present publications claims
an unchanged and
unchangable character for her fhith and her practice.
It is not therefore to be wondered at, that this whole subject
IS awakening investigation. Indeed, the wonder is, rather,
that curiosity has slept so long-and that watchmen themselves
have slumbered. Specially is it to be regretted, that that
important part of our territory, concerning which we are ac-
customed to hear that it will speedily, by its abundant popula-
tiön, give law to our Union, has been left open so long to the
enterprises of Rome; and has obtained from the elder portions
of our population so scanty means of resistance to a persevt.r-
ing and specious hierarchy. How important it is in the sight
of Romanists, this paper will soon evince. Ilad it been in
our eyes as important at the commencement of this century,
and had those means been in operation, which our tardy zeal
is now employing, how different the result from tbat we have
reason to appn
hend?
Vie have before us the numbers of a French periodical pub-
lication for the year just closed, containing several deeply in-
teresting statements. It is entitled 'Annals of the ,....\.ssocia-
tion for the propagation of the Faith.' At what precise period
the Association was formed, or what station it hulds in the Ro-
""See The Jesuit, a periodical published in Boston, passim.
381
...
382
NOTES.
Inish Church, whether it has succeeded the 'College de propa-
ganda Fide,' or is a new body alto
ether, we are not inform
ed. These numbers are from xv to XYIII inclusively, ùnd we
propose to gather from them a few of the facts and represen-
tations which bear on the subject of this paper.
But, as the subject, in all probability, is comparatively new
to very many of our readers, it will be necessary to take pre-
viously a cursory view of what had been done antecedently to
this period, in reference to the Romish Church in the United
States. For this we are indebted to a publication in 1822 in
New York, exhibiting its condition at that time.*" From this
we learn that a Jesuit priest accompanied the emigrants to
l\rl.uyland, in 1632, and from that date till the period of the
revolution, the American Catholics in Maryland and Virginia
were constantly served by Jesuit missionaries, successively
sent from England.t ,
The Rev. Dr. John Carroll having been elected the first
Bishop, by the clergy, through a special indulgence granted
then} by the Pope, Pius VI. a See was constituted, and the
Bishop elect consecrated in England, Aug. 15, 1790. He had
1 een chosen by twenty-four out of twenty-six priests, assem
bled for the purpose.
At length, in 1810, the increase of the Romish Communion
had become so great in the United States, it was judged best at
Rome to erect the Episcopate of Baltimore 'into a l\'Ietropolitan
or Archiepiscopal See, and to establish fonr new suffragan
diocesses ; namely, Boston, New-York, Philadelphia, and Bards-
town in Kentucky.' This was accordingly carried into effect
'with great pomp and solemnity.' .
Previous to this period, New Orleans had been erected into
a bishopric, and in 1820, those of Richmond and Charleston
were added. All these are entitled from .the places where they
arc constituted, as in countries connected with the RDmi
h
government, or as is done in Episcopal England-there being
no occasion, such is American liberality or indifference, for
the ecclesiastical figment, in partibus injidclium. Singular,
therefore, as is the sound, Boston, the capital of the puritan:3,
is designated as an episcopate subject to Rome. At her court,
doubtless, this has been regarded as no small triumph, and on
this side the water, appears no trifling anomaly.
*'The Laity's Directory to the Church Service,' revised and corrected by
Rev. 1\11'. Power, a distinguished Romanist.
t Id. p.73.
No'rES.
383
To the above episcopal sees, that of Ohio has been subse..
quently aJded, and is denominated from Cincinnati, the prin..
cipal town, where the Bishop's cathedral was consecrated, Dec.
17, 182ü. l\:1ùbile has likewise been created an episcopate by
Pius VIII, the present Pope.
It remains that something be remarked in reference to the
resuscitation of the order of Jesuits, especially as this relates
to their labors in the United States.
To no body of men whatever has the See of Rome been
more deeply indebted than to this, for active, persevering, and
devoted service. Of their former history, thcir flexible prin-
ciples, the abilities and accomplishments of their mest distin..
guished members-the extent of their missions, their estima..
tion in courts, and influence in the cabinets of princes-little
need be said. It is subject of general notoriety, and familiar
to all who read. Equally known is the hatred this celebrated
society excited even in kingdoms like France, Spain and Por-
tugal, devoted, and the latter too almost blindly, to the inter..
ests of the See of R')lne. This odium demanded at length the
nppression of the order, which it was the glory of Ganganelli
(in the eyes of the Protestants at least, as well as of the peti-
tioners) ultimately to effect in 1776.' Rumor said it cost his
life. .
From the time of Clement XIV. the society, which had been
so powerful and so richly endowed, lay dormant for near furty
years-at least so far as regarded its public appearance with'
its own name. It may, however, be useful to notice its pre..
vious extent. This we are able to do from a document, 'found
among the papers of the society at the time of their expulsion
from Sp
in,' in 1767, and entitled, 'A
eneral enumeratiGn of
the houses, colleges, residences, seminaries and missions of the
Jesuits in all parts of the world.' It states
that there were in
the society .
39 Provinces,
24 I-Iouses (professed),
66D Colleges,
61 Houses of probation, or Noviciates,
17G Seminaries, or Boarding houses,
335 Residences,
273 l\lissions,
22,81D Jesuits; among: whom were
11,413 Priests.
See'Recl1eil des pieces conceman
Ie bannissement des Jesuites,' etC'. ).
&uite, p. 4G.
..
384
NOTES.
A subsequent note adds, 'We thus see that the world is as
It were, environed by an extended net, composed, it is true,
of wide meshes, if it were formed but of 22,000 Jesuits; but
these meshes are compressed when we inspect a copy found
in the Imperial College, enumerating such as were connected
with the Congregations throughout the Spanish l\Ionarchy. In
the Imperial College of l\Iadrid alone the number amounted to
near 2000 men or youths, and a thousand females; so that
their "Congregations" among the subjects of his Catholic l\Ia-
jesty surpass 60,000.$
It is not in our power to trace the members of this Society
during its suppression. The name of Jesuit was, suffice it to
say, but synonymous with all of ambition, craft, and treachery,
duplicity, and talent, to be conceived by the human mind. A
history of the order was printed in France, and its delinquen-
cies detailed in an elaborate manner. Of this work we have
seen five, closely printed, thick quarto volumes, and it was
then incomplete. The caustic pen of Pascal had long before
withered its laurels, and it seenled doomed to irremediable
death. But Pius VII. ventured to resuscitate it; and by his
bull of Aug. 7, 1814, brought it again into existence in all the
States aclrnowledging spiritual sul:jection to Rome. Let then
the Court of Rome bear the responsibility of its daring! N e-
cessary indeed to its service may be the devotion of such a
band-but how perilous the determination to employ it! t
A word or two must also be said in regard to the College
de propaganda Fide. We confess we are not informed of its
present state. But it is not long since its funds appeared to
be wholly exhausted. However, Spain contributed, as the
public püpers announced, an amount of 60,000 crowns, in the
depth of her national poverty, not long ago; and Austria, at
least, is able to furnish abundantly the cost of ne'v and exten-
ded nlissions: and not only able, but, it is stated on
ocd au-
:I(c See 'Recueil des pieces concernant Ie hannissement des J eSllite
,' etc.
page 48.
t See a Dissertation published in Paris, 1825, entitled, Les J esuites et leur
doctrine, p. 287. In the introduction the author observes, 'There have ap-
peared lately many histories of the Jesuits: but tiley have treatl'd only of
tbeir political intrigues, and very little respecting their rloctrine-of which
many have heard a great deal, out do not comprehend it. This has caused
the production of the present work. '-' We presume to hope, that the puhlic
wilt be gratified ta koow thoroughly a Society, which fOlmerly rendered itself
Sf)
plf'hratcd by Its disorders, and which still, at the prf'sent day, threatens us
,nm we evils it has neyer ceased to bring upon our kings and upon our COUIl-
\ry;' pp. xi,'. xv.
NOTES.
385
thority, actually engaged in doing it for the 'Missi'tll tc. the
United States.' Pri, ate intelligence also from Italy assures
U
, that, in the upper circles, the enterprise of reducing our
\Vestern States to spiritual subserviency and subjection un-
der the See of Rome, or, in other words, to convert them to
the Faith, is the subject of most frequent and interestinO'
. 0
conversatIon.
In circumstances like these, we advert to the artides uf in-
fùnuation contained in those number;:; of the' Annals' before
alluded to, occupying about 240 pages. They are introduced
by the following editorial remarks.
'In the first and second number of these Annals we inserted
two articles respecting I{entucky. \Ve then stated the condi-
tion of the catholic religion in this vast n1ission. Since that
time, the good which had been cOlnmenced, has been confirm
ed, and truth has obtained new triumphs over error. Daily
conversions, although not of a splendid character, are crown-
ing the labors and animating the zeal of the venerable bishop
of Bardstown, and his indefatigable helpers. The Jubilee
was preached in succession and with effect throughout all the
paáshes of the diocese. Infidels and the protestants of all
denominations, who inhabit this country, were neither alanned
nor stirred up to opposition, as has often been the case else-
where, at the sight of a tèw poor priests announcing to sinners
the mercies of the Most High, or dazzling the eyes of heretics
with the torch of the true faith.
'Beside the bishop amI his coadjutor, 1VIonseigneur$ David,
there are in all the diocese of Barostown but twenty-one mis-
sionaries. This diocese is formed of the states of Kentucky,
Tennessee, Indiana, an] Illinois, the population of which
amounts tG 1,391,450 souls, com
risin6 201,930 slaves. This
population, in which are flmnd nDt n10re than 30,000 Catholics,
is spread over a surface a 11t
ndrcd leagues wide, and two hun-
dreJ and forty in length. The diocese possesses a Dominican
convent, two nUlllleries, and thirty churche
, of which eleven
are built of brick and nineteen of wood. The convent of the
D,)minicans iR at St. Rosp, near Springfield in l{entucliy. It
was 6unded in 180(), by
I. Edw. Fenwick, the present bishop
:11= The title of '.My Lord' is the qualification of bishops abroad; b!,t, very
properly, we think, the editor of the 'U. S. Catholic l\liscellauj,' pubJishefl
at Charleston, commenting on a notic
copied from a Canada paper, objects
to the use of it in this country. However, let it appea.r. It is only one exem-
;>lification of Romallist aberrations from the simplicity of Scripture, which al-
lows not bishops to be 'lords orcr God's heritagr .....but cnsamples to the
flock.' 1 Peter v. 3.
2 I(
386
NOTES.
of Cincinnati, and has thus far furnished twelve priesl
. Smne
years since l\Igr. Flaget instituted a community of lJlissionary
Friars. They are intended for the office of catechists, school-
masters, sacristars, etc. Their vow is for three years, and
they engage in manual labor, gardening, and agriculture.
'The nuns devote themselves to the education of young pel-
sons of their own sex. The Sisters of Charity, seventy in
number, were established by l\-lgr. David. Their chief town
is at Nazareth, one league frOln Bardstown. By the increase
of pupils, they have been necessitated to build a boarding-
house, that will contain a hundred and fifty. Nunf-:, of the
Don1Ínican order, ,vere establi
hed six or seven years ago, to
the nmuber of fifteen, in the neighborhood of Springfield.-
They have but about thirty pupils, not being able to accommo-
date more. The Sisters of the C'ross, or of Loretto, founded
by the venerable 1\1. N erinckx, amounting already to one hun-
dred and thirty-five. Their principal establishnlent is at Lo-
retto, near Bardstown, and they have 8ix other secondary
houses, for country schools.
'Most of the churches of the diocese of Bardsto\vn are very
destitute of linen and ornaments; many, in fact, are in want
of the objects most necessary for the celebration of sacred
rites. The Abbe l\Iartial, whom l\Igr. Flaget had sent to Eu-
rope in 1826, having shown the king of France the poverty of
the mission of I(entucky, His l\lajesty and l\lonseiE?;neur, the
Dauphin, condescended to present him the altar furniture for
the cathedral of Bardstown: the tabernacle, cross, and six
chandeliers are of bronze, gilt, and of excellent workmanship.
l\I.l\Iartial had previously received of the king of Naples six
paintings, of the Sovereign Pontiff four paintings and the sa-
cred vessels, of the queen of Sardinia an ostensoir, inlaid with
vermillion, and of I-lis Ilighness the Duke of lVlodena, an epis
copal ring for l\lgr. Flaget. And when,' adds the editor, 'the
letters are read which are now published, it will appear that
these testimonials of esteem, given by the abovementioned
sovereigns to the venerable prelate and his missionaries, are
well merited.'
Of the three letters from the bishop of Bardstown, which
are then given, the first, directed to a friend who had been in
America, is dated in February, 1825, and states:
'The second wing of Bardstown college is nearly finished.
It has cost more than 7,000 dollars, and the whole is, unhap-
pily, not yet paid. Our Legislature has just incorp0l"ated the
college. The Bishops of Bardstown are constituted perpetu
NOTES.
387
ally its nloderators or rectors. I might have dictated condi-
tions, which I could not have nlade more advantageous or
honorable; and what is still more flattering is, that these priv-
ileges were granted almost without any discussion, and with
unanimity in both houses.'
After some further detail of plans, and prospects, and la-
bors, and urging his friend to 'knock at every door, and try
to obtain the aid necessary to meet his accumulated expen-
ses,' the bishop says:
'There are fourteeh or fifteen scholars in the little semina-
ry, and new ones present themselves almost eV"":lj week.-
The spiritual call spreads, and offers a consoling prospect for
time to come. Strangers who hear of our success wonùer at
it; but we who behold it, and who know the immense dispro-
portion between OUI local resources and what is actually
wanting, speak of it like men in a delirium, who follow the
inspiration that conducts them, much more than the diIn light
of their own reason. This serves to gnard us against the
temptations of vanity, and inspires us with courage to struggle
against the innmnerable difficulties which surround our steps
Pra y much, my dear friend,' he continues, 'and urge others
to pray, that we may be humble and grateful; then all will
go well.'
Happy, we may add, happy would it have been for the
Church of Rome and the world, had the excellent spirit of
this last expression breathed ever in her councils and in the
menlbers of her communion!
In justice to the bishop, it must also be mentioned that, in
the same letter, he says:
'You will recollect that I wrote you about fourteen years
ago, that Iny great ambition was to make but one family with
my
enerable priests, and that ,ve should have a common
purse; that each of our members, whether in health or si
k-
ness, should have a right to a decent support, and that the re-
nlainder, if any, should be consecrated to good works. The
incorporation of our college occurred most happily to brin3'
into op 
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