the Portuguese Princes who placed their Glory in their Obedience to the same See But Clement the 9th's Pontificate lasted not long enough to give him time to bestow all the Favors that were designed for Portugal the Confirmation of the Bishops being reserved for his Successor Clement the 10th for that was not done till 1670. In 1671. to oblige the new Princess before Queen of Portugal the Purple was bestowed upon the Bishop of Laon her Kinsman better known since by the Title of Cardinal d'Estrees He being advanced at the Nomination of the Crown of Portugal and to enhance the Favour by making it particular the Great Sobieski had the like denied him when he interceded for the Bishop of Marseilles though he pretended to the disposal of a Cap as a Right enjoyed by his Predecessors upon their coming to the Crown but he was denied upon pretence that the Person named was none of his Subject so that Cardinal d'Estrees owed his Promotion purely to his being a Kinsman to the Princess of Portugal Innocent the 11th Successor to Clement the 10th after having been baffled in the Business of the Inquisition at his grand Promotion could not forget the Merits of the Portuguese Court and a Cap was bestowed upon Dom Verissimo de Alemcastro the Person that had been set on by the Court to put his Holiness at Defiance and after that Cardinal's Death another was sent by Innocent the 12th to the Archbishop of Lisbon in consideration I suppose of the many Contrasts he hath had with the Nuncio's so that his Portuguese Majesty seems now to be in Possession of a Right to dispose of a Cap as well as his Catholick or his most Christian Majesty and the Ministers here having resented it that the Nunciature at this Court hath not been an immediate step to the Cardinalat as it is in those of France and Spain his present Holiness has equal'd the King of Portugal to them in this particular likewise by advancing the late Nuncio Cornaro to the Purple at the same time as he did the Archbishop at the Promotion which was made for them two only So that by this time the Court of Portugal seems to have discovered the secret of gaining Favours at Rome and indeed they appear to be somewhat sensible that it must be a quite different method from that formerly used that will procure the Holy Fathers Esteem and work him into a Compliance They begin to tast and relish much the French Maxims thinking belike that there can be no better Pattern for the most Obedient Son of the Church to follow than that of his Eldest Brother insomuch that I find it in a Memoir said to have been drawn up for the Instruction of a Nuncio laid down as not the least necessary if not one of the hardest parts of his Task to beat out of the Ministers heads their fond admiration of the French King and the opinion they have taken up of his infallible Maxims with respect to Rome But the Ministers at present do not content themselves with admiring that Great Monarch they have made several attempts to copy after him its true they follow him as yet at a very great Distance but they may mend their Pace in time I have not heard that they have formally annulled the grant of John the 2d by which the Pope's Bulls are free from a Revision in Portugal and which seems to be the very Basis of his absolute Power in the Kingdom yet by what the Marquess of Alegrete saith in his History of that King it appears that they are not wanting who call in Question the validity of the Grant though his Lordship speaking there in Quality of an Historian leaves the matter to be disputed by the Lawyers but as a Minister of State he does that which in effect amounts almost to as much for upon a Nuncio's arrival his Patent of Legat is call'd for in order to be Examined by the King's Council and it hath been detain'd for above six Weeks to gether and at the restoring of it the Nuncio hath been told with an Air of Authority That the King is not well pleased with the Ample Powers contained in that Patent and expects that the Nuncio do not exercise it to the full but keep himself within Bounds and the Nuncio's under this Reign have had the Discretion not to exert the utmost of their Authority but it mortifies them that the Court would have it thought that they oblige them to this Moderation whereas they would fain seem to use it of themselves But there is one thing in difference between the two Courts which his Holiness lays much to Heart and by his Good-will is never like to desist from his Pretentions it being an affair which as all the World agrees by this time is of the last Importance at Rome for in truth it is a Money Business His Majesty hath at several times thought fit to raise the value of the Coin so that the same Pieces are now reckon'd at a third more than they were at the beginning of his Reign Now his Holiness thinks it but reasonable that the summs payable to his Bankers at Lisbon should be augmented in the same Proportion but the Ministers of this Court are of another Opinion and seem resolved never to be convinced of their Error the Nuncio's for some years have been labouring with all their might to undeceive them Cardinal Cornaro when he was just upon his departure press'd the matter home to them but all to no purpose he left them as obstinate to Conviction as he found them and it seems they will not be brought to understand otherwise but that the same Piece that before went but for two Testons is now worth three in the Payments made to his Holiness Now since it is not imaginable that the Court of Rome can be easily brought to desist from a pretension of this kind this Business may its feared sometime or other disconcert the good Harmony that is between the two Courts But there are other instances to show that the Portuguese Ministers do not make it their Business to manage his Holiness they are grown so hardy of late years that they will not stick upon occasion to break in upon the Ecclesiastical Immunities insomuch that in this Reign a Convent is not near so safe a shelter for Villains as it was formerly the Civil Powers assuming to themselves a liberty to judge what Crimes have the benefit of Sanctuary and in case they think the Crimes to be very heinous indeed the King's Officers shall make nothing to break into a Monastery and fetch the Criminal out by force in order to the Execution of Justice I confess they are still somewhat tender in this Point and if it shall be made appear that they are mistaken in the nature of the offence the Offender shall be returned again Being once at a certain place that hath the Privilege of an Asylum one of my acquaintance there coming
Mistress she was and proves her to have been a most Endearing Wife and a Tender Mother Of the Queen Dowager of England HER Majesty being now to the great Regret of our Nation become a most considerable Part of the Portuguese Court this Account wou'd appear but lame and be more defective than it is should I forbear to mention her I have great Reason to believe that my Country-men wou'd think the Omission unpardonable finding them so very inquisitive as they are concerning her the first Question they put to such as come from Portugal and to which Satisfaction is most earnestly desired being commonly concerning their Queen-Dowager But her Majesty's Character is so well known to the World already that I shall not attempt it here To tell of her most exemplary Piety wou'd be no News in any part of Europe much less in England and it is needless to say that it is now the most distinguishing part of her Character For it was so while she Reign'd in one of the first Courts of Christendom and none will suppose her Majesty to be alter'd in this respect now in the time of her Retirement It did then as it does still give forth so bright a Lustre as to out-shine by far all the rest of her great Perfections which yet as those who are competent Judges and have the Honour to be near her Person affirm are such as would be highly admired in any other Person But tho' her Majesty be her self the same her outward Circumstances are somewhat alter'd since her leaving England her Court is lessen'd almost to a private Family those few Persons that waited on her from hence being for the most part either dismiss'd with their Salaries continued to them or excus'd their Attendance there is now no Noise nor Ostentation of Grandeur about her House but all things are quiet and still except it be on Days of Ceremony when Persons of Quality Will be coming to express the great Veneration they have for her then indeed her Court is as great and full as the Nobility of the Country can make it At all other times she convinces the World that the Formalities of Pomp and State are not inseparable from Majesty and that true Greatness instead of being set off by such Helps appears to the best Advantage without them But the Queen had doubtless a Nobler End still in getting Rid of those Incumbrances there being great cause to believe that it has been all along the chief Desire of her Heart to be at Ease and Liberty that nothing might divert her from enjoying her self as she now does at her Devotions Some speak of it as a considerable Alteration about her Majesty that the Jesuits are become her Directors whereas before she conferr'd that Trust on those of the Franciscan Order But her Majesty is not of a Character to be used by those Fathers as others may have been 'T is said indeed that they have tasted of her Liberality in a most plentiful manner but as great as their Profits are the Credit they have got by being favour'd by so discerning a Princess is certainly much greater since she cannot be suppos'd to have any Worldly Designs to employ them in For my part I take this Honour to be the greatest that ever was conferr'd on the Society and that by this mention of it I have more than made Amends for any thing I have said or may say to their Disadvantage Of the Late INFANTA DOna Isabel Luisa Infanta of Portugal was born the Sixth of January 1669 sworn Princess or Heiress to the Crown in 1680 died the Twenty-first of October 1690. This Princess was accounted one of the most Beautiful and Accomplish'd Persons of her Sex and Rank in Christendom and that not only by the Portugueses who admired her almost to Adoration but by more impartial Strangers such especially as bore a Publick Character who had frequent Opportunities to satisfie themselves that the favourable Esteem the World had for her was not without ground For which Reason and for the Prospect there was of her succeeding to the Crown 'till after the King's Second Marriage she was sought for in Marriage by most of the Princes and among the rest by some of the most considerable Monarchs in Europe as indeed there is none so great but might have accounted it a very advantageous Match The first that pretended to this Princess at least with any success was Victor Amedee the present Duke of Savoy Cousin-German to the Infanta Madame Royale his Mother Marie Jeane Baptist de Savoie Princess of Nemours being Sister to the Queen of Portugal His Pretensions succeeded so well that in the Year 1680 a Marriage was treated and soon agreed upon and nothing seem'd wanting to the final Conclusion but the coming of the Duke to Lisbon according to Agreement It will not be amiss to give what Account I can of this Match as how it came on and was unexpectedly broke off it being no inconsiderable Part of the History of this Age. It may easily be supposed that it was at first contrived between the two Mothers for howsoever it might have proved to others it afforded a very advantageous Prospect to each of them Madame Royale had been left sole Regent of Savoy during her Son's Minority by her Husband Charles Emanuel at his Death in 1675 But the young Duke entring at this time upon his 15th Year had a little before been declared Major and therefore should he have taken upon himself the Government her Authority was like to suffer no small diminution nor was there any so likely an Expedient to continue the Power in her Hands as the Duke's being sent away into Portugal the Desire of Rule together with the Ambition of becoming Mother of a King might make this Princess give a listning Ear to her Sister's Proposals The Queen of Portugal for her part as she had a great hand in the setting up of his present Majesty so she had a great share with him in the Government but her Power was not like to continue so great should a strange Prince be admitted into Court especially in case any thing should befal the King but by this Marriage between her Nephew and her Daughter she secured her Authority and took the best Measures to establish it both for the present and against the time to come These may be supposed to have been sufficient Inducements on both sides for the two Princesses to desire a Match between their Children and considering the great Power that each of them were possess'd of in their respective Dominions one would think there was no need of the Intervention of any others to bring the same about But some will needs bring the French in upon the Stage for in this latter Age there must nothing of moment be done in any Court of Christendom but what they have a hand in The Match indeed was for the Interest of France and that seems to be a great Argument why
Nature and Grace being a Consequence of the Author's Principles contained in the Search together with F. Malbranch's Defence against Mr. de la Ville and several other Adversaries All English'd by J. Taylor M. A. of Magdalen-College Oxon and Printed there The Second Edition with some Additions communicated by the Author QVARTO A Critical History of the Texts and Versions of the New Testament In two Parts By Father Simon of the Oratory A Discourse sent to the late King James to perswade him to embrace the Protestant Religion By Sam. Parker late Bishop of Oxon. To which are prefixed two Letters the first from Sir Lionel Jenkins on the same Subject the second from the Bishop sent with the Discourse All Printed from the Original Manuscripts A short Defence of the Orders of the Church of England By Mr. Milbourn Sermons and Discourses upon several Occasions In Three Vol. By Robert South D. D. Sermons and Discourses upon several Occasions By G. Strading D. D. and late Dean of Chichester Sermons and Discourses upon several Occasions By R. Meggot D. D. Of the Reverence due to God in his Publick Worship In a Sermon before the King and Queen at White-Hall By the Right Reverend Father in God Nicholas Lord Bishop of Chester Three Sermons upon several Occasions By the Right Reverend Father in God William Lord Bishop of Oxford Two Sermons one before the House of Commons the other before the Queen By W. Jane D. D. and Dean of Gloucester Three Sermons before the Queen By Nath. Resbury D. D. Five Sermons upon several Occasions By Mr. Francis Atterbury Two Visitation-Sermons and one before the Societies for the Reformation of Manners By Mr. William Whitfield The Certainty and Necessity of Religion in General or the first Grounds and Principles of Humane Duty Established In Eight Sermons Preached at St. Martins in the Field At the Lecture for the Year 1697. Founded by the Honourable Robert Boyl Esq The Certainty of the Christian Revelation and the Necessity of Believing it establish'd in opposition to all the Cavils and Insinuations of such as pretend to allow Natural Religion and reject the Gospel Both by Francis Gastril B. D. Preacher to the Honourable Society of Lincolns-Inn A Conference with a Theist In Four Parts compleat By W. Nichols D. D. Mr. Luzancy against the Socinians In Two Parts A Discourse of Religious Assemblies for the Use of the Members of the Church of England By G. Burghorpe Rector of Little Gaddesden in Hertford-shire A Discourse of Schism address'd to those Dissenters who conform'd before the Toleration and have since withdrawn themselves from the Communion of the Church of England By R. Burscough M. A. The Inspiration of the New Testament Asserted and Explained in Answer to Mr. Le Clerc and other Modern Writers By G. Lamothe The Lives of all the Princes of Orange from William the Great Founder of the Commonwealth of the United Provinces Translated from the French by Mr. Tho. Brown Monsieur Bossu's Treatise of the Epick Poem containing many curious Reflections very useful and necessary for the right understanding of the Excellency of Homer and Virgil. The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius Antoninus the Roman Emperor concerning himself treating of a Natural Man's Happiness wherein it consisteth and of the Means to attain it Translated out of the Original Greek with Notes by M. Casabon D. D. To which is added The Life of Antoninus with some select Reflections upon the Whole By Monsieur and Madam Daceir Never before in English The Art of Glass Shewing how to make all sorts of Glass Crystal and Enamel likewise the making of Pearls Precious Stones China and Looking Glasses To which is added The Method of Painting on Glass and Enameling also how to extract the Colours from Minerals Metals Herbs and Flowers A Work containing many Secrets and Curiosities never before discovered Illustrated with Sculptures Written originally in French by Mr. H. Blancourt and now translated into English With an Appendix contaning Exact Instructions for making Glass Eyes of all Colours Jacobi Patriarchae de Shiloh Vaticinium a depravatione Johannis Clerici in Pentateuchum Commentatoris Assertum Opera Studio Sebastini Edzardi Accedit Ejudem Dissertatio de nomine Elohim Aurocti Judicii de R. Simonii Historia V. Test Critica opposita An Essay concerning Self Murther Wherein is endeavour'd to prove That it is unlawful according to Natural Principles With some Considerations upon what is pretended from the said Principles by the Author of a Treatise intituled Biathaenatos and others By J. Adams Rector of St. Alban's Wood street and Chaplain in Ordinary to his Majesty The Pretensions of the several Candidates for the Crown of Spain discuss'd and the Necessity of the King of Portugal's being declared Successor to his Catholick Majesty prov'd In a Letter from a Spanish Nobleman to a Counsellor of State at Madrid OF THE INTERESTS OF PORTUGAL With Relation to other SOVEREIGNS CONTAINING An Account of the most Considerable Transactions that have pass'd of late between that Court and those of Rome Spain France Vienna England c. PART II. Of the Interests of Portugal with Relation to Rome OF all the Courts with which this of Portugal hath any Intercourse that of Rome challenges the Pre-eminence and not without Reason considering what great Interest and Power the Pope has within the Kingdom for however He may be slighted in other Countries accounted Catholick he hath hitherto made shift to maintain his Authority in this by virtue of the extraordinary Devotion of the Portuguese Kings towards the Holy See which his present Majesty has inherited from his Ancestors together with the Title of The most Obedient Son of the Church It is well known what Power Popes have had in former Ages in other parts of Christendom and by what means they procured and maintained it notwithstanding the Opposition they almost every where met with from Princes who were perpetually strugling to preserve or recover their Liberty But the Case of Portugal seems peculiar in this respect That as it hath brought its self into a greater subjection to the See of Rome than any other Kingdom so it can plead the Merit of a voluntary Obedience Other Nations have shown that they were in a State of Violence while the Soveraign Pontiffs were exercising the Plenitude of their Power over them since all of them have in some measure more or less eased themselves of the Oppression while the Portugueses who doubtless might have gone as far as any towards the recovery of their Liberty do to this day bear the Yoke It is indeed with some Impatience for they are not insensible of its weight and smart and see plainly that its like to lie heavier upon them still Alfonso Henriquez their first King refused to accept of the Crown till it was made Tributary to his Holiness John the 2d who in other Cases knew as well as ever any Prince did how to assert the Royal Authority exceeded his first
other Person then the Gentleman that then executed it just cause to despair of doing any good upon them However the English Envoy was not Idle to bring two Nations to a Peace and make them Happy though against their Wills after they had been destroying one another for seven and twenty Years together was an Enterprize so glorious for a young Minister to effect that one of Sir Robert Southwell's Character was not to be deter'd from the Attempt by any Difficulties but in order to accomplish his Design he was forc'd to go a great way about it was in vain to think of succeeding by any direct Application to either Court he was therefore fain to choose other Instruments to work with and his choice was so good and he manag'd them so well that he wrought out his ends by them by disposing both Courts for that Peace which was concluded in the beginning of the Year 1668. to the unspeakable satisfaction of the two Nations At the Battles of Amexial and Montescloros several great Persons of the most Illustrious Houses in Spain were taken Prisoners in the former Don Gaspar de Haro Marquess de Eliche five times Grande of Spain and Heir to the two great Favourites the Conde Duque de Olivares and Don Luis de Haro he being Son to the Latter Don Anielo de Gusman eldest Son of the Duke de Medina de las Torres and Don Juan Henriques Conde de Escalante at Montescleros Don Diego Correa General of the Cavallery and several other Persons of the first Quality These Noblemen had ever since their Misfortune been confined to the Castle of Lisbon where they were frequently visited by the English Envoy They had all along express'd a great Esteem for our Nation and would sometimes Treat our Officers amongst them acknowledging them for their Conquerors for they would by no means allow that Title to the Portugueses The Envoy having contracted a more particular Acquaintance and Familiarity with them thought they might be of great use to him in prevailing upon the Court of Madrid to renew the Treaty he saw that their Prison was very uneasie to them and that they were impatient to be at Liberty of which they could have little hopes till the Peace was made and the knew their nearest Relations to be Men of the greatest Power in Spain who might by their Solicitation be prevail'd upon to think of a Peace Coming once amongst them he began to upbraid them in a familiar way for their Remisness in not endeavouring to free themselves from their wretched Confinement telling them that they seem'd to have a worse Opinion of their own Condition then some of the Fathers had concerning the state of those in Hell from whence as they thought there was some Redemption But he found them desparing of being ever able to regain their Liberty so far were they from entertaining any hopes of it that they told him if Origen had been a Spaniard he had never been so favourable in his Opinion however the Envoy to show that he did not advise them to Impossibilities undertook to overcome the greatest Difficulty and make way for a free intercourse between them and their Friends This offer incourag'd them to write their Minds to their Relations in Spain in order to set them at Work to bring on the Treaty of Peace again They delivered their Letters to the Envoy who so manag'd the matter that the Governour of Elvas one of his particular Acquaintance though wholly ignorant of the Design conveyed the Pacquet to a Servant of one of these Noblemen who was employed on the Frontiers to provide him with Necessaries But to get Answers to their Letters which they could not well expect by the same way the Envoy took another Course He had at that time an English Frigat watching for him in the River but he finding his Negotiations to be now in a fair way towards a happy Conclusion instead of imbarking for England order'd the Captain to make a Voyage to Cadiz sending on board him a Servant of his who had been frequently employed in Messages of a like Nature with another Pacquet from the Spanish Noblemen who arriving at Cadiz rode Post to Madrid where the Letters he brought with him soon produc'd their desired Effect Whilst the English Envoy was thus contriving ways to bring the Court of Spain to sue for a Peace he had a harder Game to play still which was to dispose that of Portugal to a Compliance it was to no purpose for him to motion the matter to that Court at a time when it was become wholly French As for the Nobility that were then uppermost they were either ingaged in the Queen's Party or had Commands in the Army which made it to be for their Interest to have the War continue But then there was at the same time in Portugal a Power superior to both these and he thought fit in this case of necessity to serve himself of that for the common Good of all The People ever since the Revolt from Spain had been in Possession of an absolute kind of Sovereignty and had on several occasions exercised the same over those in Authority without Exception as all the late Turns and Changes in the State had been brought about by their means they pulling down and setting up as they pleased so they kept those they placed in the Government in subjection to their Wills Their Power was never more uncontroulable then whilst they were deposing King Alfonso and placing Prince Pedero in his room but had not yet fixt him in the Government They were at that time in a great Ferment and according as their Motions were directed by such as had the Art to manage them they were like to bear down all before them Now while the greatest Men in the Kingdom were tampering with them that by their means they might destroy one another the Envoy did not think it beneath him to be dealing with them too in order to preserve the whole Nation to this end he thought the fittest Instrment he could make use of was the Juis do Povo and therefore he took Acquaintance with him and to keep him well affected gave Orders that the Juis should have such Work as there was occasion for in the House that was proper for one of his Calling and he would sometimes condescend himself to Discourse the Man incouraging him to contribute on his part by that great Authority which belong'd to his Office towards settling the Nation by an Advantagious and Honourable Peace The Juis do Povo is accounted the chief Magistrate of Lisbon his Office somewhat resembling that of a Mayor he is not indeed of equal Dignity with my Lord Mayor of London which perhaps may be the reason why he hath a much greater Power for he must be of one of the meanest Hardicraft Trades whereby he is more fitly qualified to become the Peoples Head and he does not think himself too good to become the Ring-leader in Popular
necessity but in that which is called Gravissima That it could not be denied but the Necessity of the Churches of Portugal for Bishops at that time was Gravissima and that of the Dominions thereof in other parts of the World Extreme This grand Arcanum of the Papal Empire that Bishops may be made out of Rome and without the Pope's concurrence being thus happily discovered the Portugueses were now put in a fair way to restore the Ancient Discipline to their Church and with it prosperity to their Nation it being evident that the Miseries they labour under as well as the horrible Corruptions in their Religion are no other than the necessary Effects of the Papal Usurpation and Tyranny and it appears that King John did for some time approve of the good Advice that had been given him at least that he would have it thought so at Rome for he ordered his Agent there to get a Remonstrance to be put into the Pope's hands wherein among other things he declares That he had been assured by very learned Men that when access and recourse to the Holy See could not be had it belonged to the Chapters to choose their Bishops upon his Nomination according as it had formerly been practised in Spain and was still observed in some places that his Holiness had no reason to be dissatisfi'd if he took up with this Resolution after he had suffered himself to be so much slighted while he had the Remedy in his own hands that if his Holiness were finally resolved to prefer the Interests of Castille to his just Rights he for his part would justifie himself before all Christian Princes so that the blame of what followed should never be laid on him Had the King proceeded so far as to convince the Pope that he was in earnest he had brought him no doubt to his own terms or else might have done that for which his Posterity and Country would have the greatest cause to bless his Memory that is have shaken off that intolerable Yoke under which they are now sinking The very mention of having Bishops chosen by the Chapters upon the King's Nomination put Innocent into a terrible Fright he had nothing to say against the practice or the necessity of it in the present case But here the Inquisition of Portugal interpos'd its Authority and delivered the Pope from the Agony he was in by condemning the two last Opinions and that for a reason which comprehends the rest they declaring the Pope as Universal Head of the Roman Church to have all Monarchical Power and to be the Fountain of all Spiritual Jurisdiction which cannot be derived to Ecclesiastical Ministers without his express Concession and Will This peremptory sentence of the Inquisition put a stop to all further Proceedings in this Affair The Pope reassumed new Courage and continued as Insolent as ever after the King's Declaration had brought him to his Wits-end for as the Conde da Ericeyra in his Portugal Restaurado tells the World his Holiness did not stick to declare That the Holy Office had delivered him out of the greatest Perplexity by cutting a knot which of himself he durst not meddle with The same noble Author tell us That the King desisted from his Resolution for no other reason but because the Inquisition did not approve of it while there were as he saith a great number of learned Men both within and without the Kingdom ready to justifie and maintain it so that according to the Conde it is to the Inquisitors that the Portugueses owe the continuance of their Bondage and there is no question but they did their utmost to obstruct the King's Design supposing that he had a real intention to shake off the Roman Yoke for should the Church of Portugal recover her Liberty and have her Bishops restored to their just Authority the Holy Office must fall of course were the design of that Office no other than is pretended it is at best but an encroachment upon the Episcopal Jurisdiction for to the Bishops it belongs of right to give Judgment in matters of Religion and superintend the Discipline of the Church and they all along exercised this Jurisdiction which they derive through the Apostles from Christ with that Gentleness Tenderness and Charity as became the true Fathers of the Church till the Popes began to usurp the whole Power to themselves or impart it to Creatures of their own and among the rest to these Wolves of Inquisitors whom in the heighth of their Tyranny they let loose upon the Church to dispossess the Shepherds and ravage the Flock but should an end be put to the Papal Usurpations there would be no further occasion for Inquisitors and therefore it had been no wonder if of their own heads they made this desperate Effort to preserve their Master and themselves But in Truth had King John been fully bent to break with Rome it is much to be question'd whether all the Power of the Inquisition as great as it is suppos'd to be could have frustrated his design for in reality this Tribunal since its last establishment in Portugal hath had its chief support from the Kings who on several occasions have maintain'd it in spight of the Court of Rome it self Had the King withdrawn his Protection it is not unlikely but the Bishops of themselves might have made their Party good For the People doubtless would prefer their Government to that of the Inquisitors as chusing rather to be under the Discipline of a Father than in the hands of those barbarous Executioners Besides it was an easie matter for the King to hinder the Inquisitors from giving him any trouble some of the chief of them ow'd their lives to his Mercy the Inquisitor General for one who stood convicted as a Principal of the most horrible Treason that ever Traitor was charg'd with it was for no less a Crime than a design to murther the King fire the City and betray his Country to the Spaniards It is said that in order to the Execution of this Treason the Holy House had been fill'd with Arms and that which made the Plot the more remarkable the undermanagers of it were some of the leading Men among the New Christians against whom the Inquisition was erected and upon whom the Inquisitors for the most part exercise their Barbarities and thereby gain what favour they have with the People for the rest of the Portuguses bear a mortal hatred against those among them that go by the Name of New Christians whom these Impostors represent as Jews in their hearts pretending that their Jewish blood makes them such whether they will or no. But on this occasion it was observed That the Inquisition and the Synagogue were of accord together to destroy their Country and it is very likely that the King had he pleased might have rendered the one as odious to the people as the other was But he took other measures and though several Noble Men of the first
Quality were Executed for this Plot yet the Inquisitor General was spared for fear of violating the Ecclesiastical Immunities yet it was as much as His Majesty could do to preserve him and some others of the Conspirators from being torn to pieces by the Rabble For these reasons I am perswaded that some other considerations might concur with the authority of the Inquisition to with hold the King from with drawing his Obedience from the Pope what they were I shall not pretend to guess at It is certain that this Prince was so ill advised that neglecting the Counsels of Wise and Learned Men he would never make use of any other remedy but Supplications and most humble submissions to his Holiness and he was ever after despised and slighted at Rome accordingly For this great Deference of his to the Holy See made those he had to deal with there presume the more upon his Patience and reject with the greater contempt all the Petitions that were offered up in his behalf The Portugueses do not use to grow tame under Indignities one would think therefore that Nation should begin to resent this barbarous Usage of their King and themselves And its true they shew'd themselves to be not altogether insensible on this occasion for in the Year 1653. six years after the King's Remonstrance had been given to the Pope the three Estates of the Realm publish a kind of Manifest Entituled The Bleatings Balidos of the Churches of Portugal after the Sovereign Pastor the Pope wherein they give a most lamentable account of their Grievances and how rigorously the Holy Father had dealt with them and to make their Patience appear the more meritorious they let his Holiness understand that they might have remedied themselves if they had a mind to it setting forth at large the opinions of the Learned on their Case and the reasons they were grounded on which yet instead of making a right use of them they set themselves after their manner to confute and afterwards enter'd a solemn Protest which since it contains the substance of their answers to the advice their Friends had given them I shall here set down that the World may see upon what solid grounds the three Estates of a Kingdom thought fit to intail the most intolerable Yoke of Bondage upon themselves and their Posterity They declare That they hold it for an infallible Truth that the Pope as he is Christ's Vicar on Earth Universal Pastor of the Church and the lawful Successor of St. Peter is the Sovereign Monarch of the Church all the Authority and Power of other Ministers being derived wholly from him which he may suspend and limit in what form and manner he thinks convenient it being unlawful for any other Potentate to intermeddle with his Government secular Princes having nothing to do in the Affairs belonging to the Church any further than contributing to her Defence and Prosperity That though various methods have been used for the Election and Confirmation of Bishops yet it is an undoubted Truth that it hath always been with the express or at least the Tacit Approbation of the Pope who has appointed and consented to those several ways according to the different circumstances of the Times nor hath it been ever proved say they that there were Bishops at any time without this confirmation Particularly they confess and hold for certain that in the Primitive Church after the Apostles times this Power returned to and remained in the Pope That if Bishops were afterwards chosen by the Clergy and People it was by the Pope's Permission if secular Princes in those times intermeddled in these Elections either by concession from the Pope or by their own Authority with an Usurpative Right yet they had never any true Right of their own to do it and for this reason the Apostles in the very beginning of the Church forbad them to concern themselves in these matters and if any Princes pretended to it the Popes severely censured and checked them for it and they coming to understand from whence they had this Right were brought at last to lay it aside and by this means it came to pass that no Respect was had to Princes or the consent of the People but the Power of Elections remained by the Pope's Authority in the Clergy and Fryars of the Diocess and at last in the Chapters alone And thus it continued to the Pontificate of Boniface the 8th and Clement the 5th who began to reserve the Power of instituting Bishops to themselves in some Cases and after that Innocent the 4th by a Rule in Chancery reserved it wholly to the Apostolical See So that say they This Prerogative and Right to create Bishops was always in the Pope as 't is at present they acknowledge indeed that even after the Rule in Chancery came to be in force many Princes continued to nominate Bishops for their own Kingdoms and Dominions but this was by Concession from the Pope or upon Presumption of a Privilege arising by Custom approv'd of by the Apostolical See But that it was in the Pope's breast to receive or reject their Nomination which did no more than capacitate the Person named to procure the Pope's Confirmation and sue out the Apostolical Bulls It is likewise say they An undoubted Truth that the Power of Election which hath formerly been in the Chapter is now wholly extinguished by means of the Reservation made by the Rule in Chancery so that at this time the Pope's Creation or Institution of Bishops cannot properly be called a Confirmation because Confirmation supposeth a preceding Election but Elections are now wholly abolished by reason and virtue of the aforesaid Rule in Chancery and lastly they hold for certain that notwithstanding there was a time when Patriarchs Metropolitans and National Councils had power to confirm Bishops they have now no such Power nor can they exercise it in any case since they enjoy'd it only by the Pope's permission and while there was place for Confirmation before Elections were abolished when the Power to appoint Bishops had not been yet reserved by the Pope to himself viz. by the aforesaid Rule in Chancery Had an Agent from Rome or an Inquisitor argued after this manner it had been no wonder since daily experience shows how far Interest and Passion will blind a Man's Reason and what silly Arguments shall serve the turn for want of better when one is prepossest with hopes of some vast Advantage by gaining the cause but for the three Estates of a Nation after what had been demonstrated to them from Scripture and Fathers from the constant Tradition and uniform practice of the Catholick Church thus to renounce their Sense and Reason in order only to enslave themselves when Liberty was offer'd them is such a Prodigy that I believe no History can furnish us with a like Instance Here we have People exposing their Church and Nation to ruin because a Negative was never proved it having never