Counts Lords Free Knighthoods and Imperial Cities besides a great many in Protestant Countries which all together according to my Estimate will amount to two thirds of Germany In Holland we find a great many Papists and there were a great many of the same leaven in England though God be thanked since the Happy Coming of Their Present Majesties to the Crown the Land is pretty well scowr'd of them On the other side we reckon among the Protestants the Kingdoms of England Scotland and Ireland with all their dependences Suedeland Denmark Holland the most of the Temporal Electors and Princes together with the Imperial Cities of Germany The Protestants of France are at present disarm'd those of Poland are not in a condition to undertake any thing the Cities of Prussia and Curland have enough to do to maintain the free exercise of their Religion Transylvania can do but little And the Papists have besides this advantage above the Protestants That they all of 'em own the Pope for Supreme Head of their Church and do at least with their Mouth and externally profess one and the same Faith But on the contrary the Protestants have no visible Spiritual Head but are miserably divided amongst themselves for not to mention those little Sects of Arminians Socinians Anabaptists and the rest their Body is divided into almost two equal parts of Lutherans and Calvinists amongst which a great many are as much imbitter'd against one another as they are against the Common Enemy the Papists Besides there is no general Policy or Government in the Religion amongst them but in every state the particular Soveraign regulates the Affairs thereof according to his own will and pleasure Nor can it be denied that commonly speaking the Papists do with more Zeal Labour and Industry promote the advancement and propagation of their Religion than do the Protestants who have mostly in view how they may conveniently subsist by their Benefices as the chiefest prospect of Handicrafts-men is how to get their Living by the Trade to which they apply themselves So that the search of the Kingdom of God is as the reserve and the last thing they take care for Whereas the Monks and Jesuites on the contrary have brought themselves into great repute by their Missions both into the East and West Indies and though in the relations they give us thereof they intermit a thousand fabulous reports yet the thing in it self is extreamly laudable In fine there is such an irreconcileable Jealousie among the chiefest of the Protestant States that it is morally impossible ever to perswade them to submit to one Head As for example Betwixt England and Holland Suedeland and Denmark not to mention the rest Though again it must be owned too that there are no less Jealousies between France and Spain which will scarcely permit them to act unanimously against the Protestants So that notwithstanding the great inequality in strength that there is between the Protestants and Papists the former need never apprehend the Oppression of the latter In the mean while there is a great difference between the Protestants that form an Independent State and those that are under the Yoke of Popish Lords for these are not half so well assur'd of the maintenance of their Religion as are the others Thus the Security of the French Protestants depends on the bare word of the King and the Edict of Nantes so that they would be in a sad condition if the French King should at any time be possest with a Spanish or Austrian Zeal Yet I don't believe he will ever undertake to force them in the matter of Religion as long as they live peaceably and contented with that Liberty he allows them especially if he considers the good Service they rendered to his Grandfather Henry the Fourth and that he himself without their assistance had never arrived to the Crown of France Nor can Poland easily suppress the exercise of the Protestant Religion in Curland and Prussia as long as Dantzick enjoys its Liberty In Germany the Protestants are strong enough So that if they were united under one Head they would make a formidable Kingdom but the great number of their Chiefs the diversity of their Interests and their distance from one another diminishes their Strength very considerably so that the Emperor in the space of an hundred years had twice reduc'd them to such a condition that their Religion and Liberty which are so inseparably annex'd that the loss of one would have been a necessary consequence of the other's loss had both been ruin'd without the assistance of France and Suedeland 'T is true of late years some have pretended to hold forth this new Maxim That the Protestants in Germany are able to subsist and maintain their Liberties without the help of those two Crowns and that Brandenburg is very fit to have the management and direction in Chief of all their Affairs And 't is indeed the real Interest of the House of Austria that such an Opinion should prevail among the Protestants 'T is with this Pretext that the Brandenburger and the House of Lunenburg cover the desire they have of putting themselves in possession of those Lands which the King of Suedeland has in Germany whilst they give out They are as well able to maintain them in the enjoyment of their Liberty and Religion as the other Protestant States Yet it is most certain that if these two Houses should attain their ends their additional Grandeur would render them less formidable to the Emperor than they are at present whilst back'd and supported by the King of Suedeland And they are no less deceived if they think to find as sure a Support from Denmark or Holland as they have received from France and Suedeland And thirdly Should the Emperor once attain to his desire and dispossessing those two Crowns of what they have at present in Germany introduce again the Spanish Faction and mortifie the States by the maintenance of a standing Army and other Inconveniences of War who at such a time could oblige the Emperor to disband his Victorious Troops And if for example the Emperor could find no Pretext to keep his Army together and to oblige the Protestants to maintain it at their cost will Brandenburg and Lunenburg make head against him And fourthly If in case the Protestant States should not find themselves equal to so vast a Work Whether those two Crowns would at their Call come and help them And whether their own Affairs would permit them to undertake so important a design Or lastly Whether there would fall down from Heaven another Gustavus Adolphus to redeem them from the very brink of Destruction and make as great a progress as that mighty Conqueror once did And as for such as believe that the Security of the Protestant Religion can consist alone in Parchment and Seals or that the Emperor will not attempt the Soveraignty of Germany if ever a fair occasion presents it self whilst he
the effects thereof Luther appeals to a Council Par 27. Why Luther's Doctrine did not make greater advances a Schism among the Protestants the Protestants abuse the liberty of the Gospel of the Academy of Paris of Zwinglius and Calvin that Luther took a great many of the Romish Ceremonies that the riches of the Church have been one cause of the progress of Protestant Religion Par. 28. The Pope recovers from the fright which Luther had put him into that he now acts more cautiously than heretofore that Priests and Monks live more regularly at present of the reestablishing of Learning in the Church of Rome the ways of enticing Protestants to that Church that the House of Austria has mightily contributed to the Papal Grandeur Par. 29. Of the Temporal Dominions of the Pope of the Countries that are under his Jurisdiction of the Popes Militia of the Popes Interest in relation to Germany France and Spain that the Pope need not fear the Power of the other States in Italy Par. 30. Of the Popes Spiritual Dominions that the Pope has different Interests from those of other Princes the Foundation of the Papal Monarchy that the absolute Power of Popes can't be prov'd from Scripture nor from the example of the Apostles in General nor from that of St. Peter in particular how the Papists Answer these Objections Par. 31. Why the Sovereignty of the Roman Church could not well admit of any other Form than a Monarchical that there could not be invented a more regular Monarchy than that of the Popes why this Monarchy ought to be Elective why the Popes don't Marry of the Conclave why the Popes are generally Italians why they usually chuse an old Man for Pope why they don't chuse one of kin to the last Pope nor one that is too much devoted to the French or Spanish Interest of the Colledg of Cardinals of the Dignity of Cardinals of their Number of their Election that the Popes always endeavour to enrich their Kindred with the spoils of the Church of the Cardinal Patroon why the chief Ministers of the Pope are his Nephews Par. 32. Of the Celibacy of the Ecclesiastics of their great number the several sorts of Ecclesiastics Par. 33. That the Doctrine of the Church of Rome does very well square with the Popes Interests that it prohibits the reading the Holy Scriptures of Traditions of Venial and Mortal Sins of the Remission of Sins of Works of satisfaction of the merit of good Works of Works of Superrogation of Ceremonies and Feasts of forbidding the Cup of the Sacrament of Marriage of the forbidden Degrees of extreme Vnction of Purgatory of the Adoration of Relicks of the Invocations of Saints and of Canonisation other means that the Clergy uses to drain the Purses of ignorant People Par. 34. That Vniversities have been no small means of supporting the Papal Authority that the Professors were the Popes Creatures that the Philosophers were his Slaves of the Scholastic Divinity and Philosophy that the same Pedantry is yet in vogue Par. 35. Why Jesuits intrude themselves into the Government of Schools and Colleges the service they render thereby to the See of Rome that they have insinuated themselves into the Courts of Princes of the Censuring Books that the Romish Priests inspire their auditors with an ill opinion against Protestants of the false rumors they spread to their own advantage Par. 36. That the Excommunication of the Popes is not so terrible as it used to be Par. 37. The Reasons that oblige these People to stick to the Romish Religion that a great many of them do it for Interest others through ignorance why some of them are guilty of Atheism that there is Preferment in the Roman Church for all sort of People why the Princes of the Roman Religion do not abandon it Par. 38. Of those States whose Interest it is to maintain the Authority of the See of Rome of Italy of Poland of Portugal of Germany that Charles the Fifth neglected the occasion of making a Reformation in Germany what had probably happened if Charles had turned Protestant of Spain of France of the Formalities that the Nuncioes are oblig'd to observe in France a project of making a Patriarch in France that the Pope has an aversion for the French Monarchy of the principal support of the Popes of their conduct heretofore in respect of the Spaniards and also in respect of the French Par. 39. How the Popes stand dispos'd towards Protestants why they have favour'd them upon certain occasions Par. 40. If there are any hopes of an accommodation between the Pope and Protestants the Reasons of the Impossibility that such propositions are chimerical and dangerous of the strength of Protestants and Catholicks of the Protestant States Divisions between the Protestants other inconvenients of the Jealousie that reigns between the Protestant States of the Huguenots of France of Poland how strong the Protestants are in Germany if they are able alone to defend themselves without the aid of France and Swedeland that the security of the Protestant States does not depend on Treaties of the Sovereign States of the Protestant Religion of the means of maintaining the Protestant Religion whether the Lutherans and Reformed may be brought to any accommodation of the Socinians and Anabaptists THE HISTORY OF Popedom THE POPEDOM may be consider'd Two ways First As it's Doctrine which is singular and different from that of other Christians does fall in with the Holy Scripture and does either impede or promote the means of our Salvation the consideration thereof as 't is taken in this Sence we leave to the Divines And Secondly As the Pope does not only make a very considerable Figure amongst the rest of the Italian Princes but does also pretend to the Soveraignty of Christendom at least in all Spiritual Affairs and does in effect Exercise such a Supreme Authority over all the States of Europe that have the same Sentiments in Religion with him 'T is this second Consideration which particularly and immediately belongs to the Politicians since such a spiritual Soveraignty does not only bridle the Supreme Power of every State but is altogether absurd and inconsistent with the nature of such a Power Hence is it That Religion is so confounded and intangled with the politick Interests of Rome that he who will understand the latter must be perfectly inform'd of the Rise of that spiritual Monarchy and by what means it is Arriv'd to so prodigious a Growth and what Intrigues are used to preserve its usurped Greatness For thereby will likewise appear what relation it has with the Controversies so rife at present among the Western Christians and how far one may attribute those disagreeing Sentiments of Religion either to different Interpretations of the Scriptures or to the prospect of Temporal Interests After a strict Examination of which we will leave it to the Judgment of Wise and Impartial Men to determine whether there can be any hopes of a
THE HISTORY OF Popedom Containing the RISE PROGRESS AND DECAY Thereof c. Written in High Dutch BY SAMUEL PUFFENDORFF Translated into English by J. C. LONDON Printed for Joseph Hindmarsh at the Golden Ball over against the Royal Exchange 1691. Imprimatur C. Alston October 2 d. 1690. To the Right Reverend Father in God HENRY Lord Bishop of LONDON Dean of the Chappel Royal and one of the Lords of His Majesties most Honorable Privy Council This TREATISE is most humbly Dedicated By John Chamberlayne CONTENTS Paragraph 1. POlitic Reflections on the Spiritual Monarchy of the Pope Par. 2. Of the Blindness of the Heathens in Matters of Divinity what they proposed to themselves by choosing the Paths of Virtue wherein their Religion consisted Par. 3. Of the Jewish Religion why other Nations did not embrace the Religion of the Jews Par. 4. That the Christian Religion is adapted to the humours of all People that it admits no Respect of Persons that it is not contrary to Civil Government that there is no other sort of Religion or Philosophy that can equal it why many of our Christians live like Heathens Par. 5. Of the External Government of Religion what is here to be understood by the External Government of the Christian Religion of the Ministry of the Church of the calling of the Apostles Par. 6. The Division of this Question that this necessity does not proceed from the nature of every Religion in general how the External Government of Religion was transmitted from the Fathers of the Family to the Sovereigns of each State Par. 7. That it is not inconsistent with the Christian Religion for the Sovereign to have the direction of it as to its External Government Par. 8. The First Progress of the Christian Religion the Divine Conduct in the Establishment of this Religion how the Jesuits Preach the Gospel to the Chineses why God called the Ignorant rather than the Wise and Learned Men. Par. 9. The Persecution of the Primitive Church the New Christians Slandered and Calumniated the Romans upon Reasons of State oppose their Religion the Roman Persecution condemn'd Par. 10. Of the Ancient Government of the Christian Religion Differences arising about Religion Terminated by Assemblies why the Authority of these Assemblies ought to be permitted under Heathen Emperours Par. 11. That the External Government of the Church by being lodged in the hands of the Primitive Christians has produced strange disorders that from hence some have supposed two Powers in the State that Ecclesiastics ought to receive their Call from the Sovereign of each State Par. 12. That it was not in Constantin's Power wholly to change the State of the Church how the Bishops and other the Ecclesiastics came to Vsurp the Sovereign Power that the Sovereign may preside in the Assemblies where Controversies are treated of the abuse of Councils Par. 13. The Jurisdiction of Bishops abused other Abuses concerning Marriages Ecclesiastical Discipline abused the Popes misuse the Power of Excommunication Par. 14. The Rise of the Popes Authority that Ignorance and the Barbarity of the Age contributed much thereto the causes of this Ignorance that ignorance help'd much to the Establishing of the Popedom the Introduction of Pedantry into the Schools that the Politiques of the Greeks and Romans were contrary to Monarchy two dangerous effects of the ignorance of Politiques Par. 15. Why the Monarch of the Romish Church has chosen Rome for the place of his Residence how the Pope Establish'd his Hierarchy of the Metropolitan Bishops how the Bishops of RomeVsurp'd the Preheminence Reflections on the Popes Power Par. 16. How the Pope came to Domineer o'er all the Western Part of the World of the Confirmation of Bishops by the Pope Decisions of the Pope Dispensations of the Popes Vicar in France of the Monk Winifred the Pope makes him his Vicar he advances the Grandeur of the Popes of the Annates the Popes annul the Decisions of Provincial Synods they force the Bishops to swear Fidelity to them Par. 17. The Riches of the Church and how first gotten the Avarice of the Church-men and divers effects thereof the Institution of the Crusado a stratagem of Popes Par. 18. Of the great number of Ecclesiastics the Original of Monks and other Religious Orders of the Multitude of Monasteries of the Order of Begging Friars why they chose that sort of Life the Reasons that induce men now adays to choose a Monastic Life that Monks have been very prejudicial to other Church-men that they alone hinder the Bishops from opposing the Pope 's Authority that a great many Bishops would be glad to shake off the Yoke of Rome that it is the Interest of Bishops to submit to the Pope Par. 19. How the Church has shaken off all Temporal Jurisdiction how the Bishops of Rome slipt their Neck out of the Emperours Collar Par. 20. The Pope implores the French Kings Protection against the Lumbards the French enter Italy they bestow the Exarchat on the Pope that the Popes did heretofore hold those Countries under them of the Emperour Par. 21. The Popes Establish an Ecclesiastical Sovereignty Pope Gregory Excommunicates the Emperour Henry the Fourth the Pope endeavours to Domineer o'er the Emperour a quarrel between the King of England and his Bishops that succeeding Emperours have in vain endeavoured to regain their lost Authority Par 22. The Pope exalts himself above all Temporal Powers the use he made of his Excommunicating Power how the Pope colour'd his usurpations the Pope takes upon him the cognisance of Matrimonial Affairs that the Pope allur'd the most knowing Men into his service the unbounded Ambition of Pope Boniface the Eighth Par. 23. The Popes find their Authority oppos'd that the great Schisms in the Church have much weakened their Authority the first Schism the second Schism the third Schism the fourth and last Schism that the Pope has not been able to Lord it over Councils the Confession of several Popes concerning the Authority of Councils that Popes have been Depos'd by Councils Par. 24. The removal of the Popes Seat from Rome to Avignon that it was prejudicial to the Pope 's Authority the Pope reduces to his Obedience the City of Rome the History of Caesar Borgia natural Son of Alexander the Sixth the Ecclesiastical State reunited to the Popedom Par. 25. That the Papal Authority receiv'd a terrible blow by the Doctrine of Luther the Virtues and Vices of Leon the Tenth of Indulgences Luther Preaches against them and against the Power of the Pope Par. 26. That Luther's opposition met with a seasonable juncture of the times the miserable State of Christendom at that time the ignorance of Luther's adversaries Erasmus favours Luther that his silence alone was very prejudicial to Luther's adversaries that the Princes of Germany were unsatisfied with the Pope why Charles the Fifth was willing that Luther's Doctrine should make some progress the Popes ill conduct in the Business of Luther the imprudence of Cardinal Cajetan
no man by submitting himself to any Civil Government does renounce the Care of his Body and Soul For otherwise if it had pleas'd God to have begun the propagation of his Religion from the Conversion of Kings and Emperors without doubt they would have seconded by their Edicts the Preaching of the Apostles abolish'd the Temples of their Heathenish Gods prohibited the Exercise of Paganism and by the Apostles Advice they would have assum'd and manag'd the external Direction of Religious Affairs and forever afterward have reserv'd it in their own hands as we find it put in practice in some Countries where the Christian Religion was first embraced by the Princes thereof Sect. 11. In the mean while the external Government and Disposition of Holy Things by the negligence of the Civil Magistrate being devolv'd upon the Primitive Christians was found too late to be of a very dangerous Consequence for from hence some have pretended to infer that the Election of fit Ministers and the Management of Church-Affairs does naturally and originally belong to the common People as they are understood in opposition to their Soveraign or Rulers 'T is true one ought not to force upon the vulgar a Minister whom they extreamly dislike especially if they have any probable reason of their aversion against him for such a man with all the Preaching in the World can never Edify his unwilling Auditors yet it does not follow from hence that the Mob have any original right thereto because they once enjoy'd it by provision whilest the Soveraign omitted the performance of his Duty and Function herein For otherwise it would have been as little in their Power to call and appoint Ministers in their Churches as it ever was to dispose of Civil Offices and Employs in the State Therefore if it happens that in this Country or another the common People have any Right or Privilege therein 't is to be understood that they enjoy it by the permission and connivence of their Soveraign whom we presuppose to be an Orthodox Christian There are some also who would from hence conclude That the external Government of the Church must necessarily be consider'd as something separate and distinct from the Supreme Civil Government and therefore ought to be Soveraignly Administred by the united Body of the Clergy or by some one chose from amongst them and that so in every Christian State there must needs be two Different and Independent Bodies of which one was be named the Body Politick and t'other the Body Ecclesiastick and both Soveraign and Independent of each other But this is absolutely false and it is most certain that that Power and Authority which was provisionally usurp'd by the People when that negligence of the Prince by which it was forfeited ceases does justly devolve again upon the lawful Soveraign nor does it follow that the Power which the Apostles had in the establishing the Church can be challeng'd by the Ministers of the Church now established for the Apostolary Function was something particular and different from the ordinary Church-Ministery as this is from the external Direction of the Church and therefore as one that is chosen for a Minister is not strait an Apostle so neither does a King in assuming the Government and Protection of the Church immediately become a Priest thereof Now tho' the Christian Religion is originally Divine and therefore not to be comprehended by weak Humane Intellects yet that does not hinder the King or whosoever is Supreme from the Direction and Administration thereof provided that he make use of the Counsel and Assistance of those men who are best vers'd in such Affairs From what has been now said we may likewise draw this conclusion that we are not oblig'd precisely to follow the Praxis of the Primitive Churches in relation to the external Direction of the Church or to observe it as a general Rule for Church-Government in those States where the Soveraign is an Orthodox Christian For that Praxis is wholly founded on the Circumstances of those times which can have no place in those States where both the Supreme Magistrates and the Common People are united in one Faith Why therefore should we make a Schism in the State when there is none in the Religion Sect. 12. Now tho' by the conversion of Constantine the Great to the Christian Religion the Church assum'd a New Form for as much as the Soveraign was then capable of Administring the Function of external Governour of the Church yet this could not be done so easily or commodiously as if the Soveraign had always from the beginning been Head of the Christian Church but there remain'd so many Relicks of the preceeding Provisional-Government that they afterwards occasion'd innumerable errours and abuses in the Western or Latin Churches Besides the People could not be brought to consent that the Emperours whom they as then look'd upon to be meer Novices in Matters of Religion should immediately acquire the Supreme Direction of Ecclesiastick Affairs in prejudice of the Bishops and Clergy who could not see themselves without a great deal of unwillingness and regret dispoil'd of so considerable an Authority Whereas the Emperours on the contrary their Subjects being mostly Christians were forced to depend on their Priests and caress them continually if they desir'd to have their Throne settled and themselves secure from falling To which Reason we may add That the first Christian Emperours having as yet in their Service a great many Heathenish Officers it was not reasonable that the Government of the Church and the Affairs thereof should be taken into consideration or deliberated of in the Imperial Councils where Pagans were always present From thence it came that in the Institution of Bishops and other Ecclesiasticks the customs and manners introduced in the times of the Heathen Emperours were generally observ'd and that not only the decision of Controversies in Matters of Faith but also all Laws serving to the external Direction and Government of the Church as also all other Differences arising amongst the Chiefest of the Clergy were deliberated of in Synods and General Assemblies where the Prelates pretended that they alone had right to Preside and give their Suffrages Whereas the right of calling Synods or other Assemblies together was the Prerogative of Soveraigns alone and in all other times did indisputably belong to them besides that that it was but reasonable that they should preside and have the Direction of such Assemblies let the matter be what it would that was there Treated of where their Consent was absolutely necessary to the ratification and passing into a Law of what was there determined 'T is true in those Conventions neither the Soveraign nor the whole Body of the Clergy have any Power or Right to form new Articles of our Belief or to interpret the Scriptures after their own Fancy but since the whole Duty of a Christian what he ought to do and what he ought to believe is contain'd in the Holy
Followers would not conform themselves in every point to his Sentiments but pretended that they had likewise something to say for themselves Hence did arise several Differences and Disputes among them which whilst there was no body whose Authority was sufficient to decide 'em and each one obstinately persisted in his Opinion quickly occasion'd Schisms amongst them and made them forgetting their Common Enemy to fall foul upon one another This gave the Papists a very fair occasion to say The Hereticks were confounded amongst themselves not knowing what they should believe and were wandring in an inextricable Labyrinth since their falling away from the Romish Church Hereto did not a little contribute those who abusing the Name of the Holy Gospel led an impious and scandalous life as if the Gospel-Freedom consisted in the abandoning themselves to all sorts of Debauchery This their ill Conduct gave occasion to the Pope's Followers to blacken the Doctrine of Luther because he had so severely reprehended the scandalous Lives of their Clergy and thereby had gain'd himself a strong Party And it was likewise a great misfortune that a very little after the preaching of Luther there sprung up great swarms of Phanaticks as the Anabaptists and such-like and that the Bores in Germany made a dangerous Insurrection all which Disturbances were by the Pope's Creatures attributed to Luther's Doctrine so that a great many Princes began to suspect it as if it were the Introducer of all sorts of Licence and Irregular Liberties amongst the Mobile which they esteem'd a greater Evil than the Oppression of the Clergy So that they oppos'd themselves with all their might against this new and seemingly seditious Doctrine of Luther Some are of opinion That the Academy of Paris had a great share herein for Luther imagining that the French Clergy were discontented with Leon the Tenth upon the account of the Pragmatick Sanction concerning the Election of their Bishops and therefore would not let slip so fair an occasion of revenging themselves on him 'T was in these Thoughts that Luther was so willing to submit to their decision his Disputes with Eckius but unfortunately for him for they condemn'd his Opinions in very rude and jocquant terms Spain too found it to be her Interest to take into her protection the Chair of Rome and therefore violently oppos'd the Protestant Religion and so vigorously supported the solemn League in France that Henry the Fourth to gain the Crown was absolutely forced to abjure his Religion Some have likewise observ'd that the advancement of the Protestant Religion was not a little retarded first by Zuinglius and afterwards by Calvin who introducing a too great and hasty Reformation as well in things relating to the external form of the Church as in the essential points of Faith fell from one extream into the other Now Luther had chang'd very few of those things to which the People had been accustomed for he left in the Church the Ornaments Bells Organs and Candlesticks and retain'd likewise the greatest part of the Mass excepting that he added thereto several Prayers in the Vulgar Tongue so that he was look'd upon by the greatest part as a Reformer only of some Abuses that had slipt into their Religion But just as it appeared that this Revolution was like to be universal Zuinglius interven'd in Switzerland and Calvin in France who instead of observing Luther's method began immediately to preach against the Presence of Christ's Body in the Eucharist abolisht entirely all sort of Ornaments and Ceremonies broke in pieces the Altars and Images extirpated all sort of Order in the Hierarchy or Government of the Church and despoil'd the Religion of all that which might serve to attract the Eyes and the external Senses Whereupon the common People conceiv'd a great aversion against them and cleav'd with much more zeal and attachment to the Religion which they received from their Ancestors The Riches of the Church did also not a little contribute to the progress of Luther's Doctrine whilst several laid hold on the opportunity of appropriating them to themselves and perhaps did no less hinder it whilest most of the great Prelates stuck fast to the Church of Rome who perhaps would have ventur'd to have shaken off the yoke if the fear of losing their fat Benefices had not kept them faithful to their Masters Interests as we see that it happen'd in France where the Prelates themselves as well as the common People before the Reformation did mightily despise the Pope's Authority but afterwards were great sticklers for the Chair of Rome and stirr'd up the peoples hatred against the new Doctrine as soon as they perceiv'd that if that prevail'd they must out Sect. 28. But after that the Pope and his Creatures were a little recover'd out of the terrible consternation so puissant an opposition had put them in and that his Adversaries began to fall out among themselves he establish'd his Affairs in a much better condition than at first and stood so vigilantly upon his Guard that the Protestants are not only incapable of doing him any more mischief but he does proceed every day to get signal advantages over them for that which Luther took an occasion to hurt him most by is now quite taken away or at least is more prudently and modestly practis'd by him si non castè saltem cautè And the Weapons which Luther us'd against the Pope are now by the same advantageously turn'd against their Master for the Popes do no longer so impudently insult over Soveraign Princes as they were wont to do but use them with much more civility and moderation 't is true in the last Century Paul the fourth did handle the Spaniards something roughly as Paul the fifth in the Age wherein we live did deal with the Venetians much after the same rate but their differences were quickly termined by a prudent mediation before the business came to be too high and the Popes have been since convinced that such heats are very prejudicial to their States as in effect Paul the fifth was immediately brought to reason when the French Ambassador made him believe that the Venetians had sent for Ministers from Geneva and that he should shortly hear they were all turn'd Protestants Besides the Papal Chair has no more been fill'd by such notorious Debauchees as Alexander the sixth or by any of so Martial and fighting an humor as Julius the second but on the contrary they endeavour to put their plots in execution with less noise and more cunning and by appearing outwardly very zealous for the peace and quiet of Christendom The scandalous Merchandizing of Indulgences and a too gross Simony is by them suspended whilest they endeavour to drain the Peoples purses by more honourable and plausible means the Bishops likewise in general are much mended and comport themselves with more modesty and gravity than they did before Luther's time and there is now to be found amongst their Clergy very Wise and
Learned Men. They have likewise in the Romish Church made a great Reformation amongst the ordinary Priests and Friars and that brutality and ignorance which heretofore was so common amongst them is now no more to be seen The brave and learned Sermons of Luther was that which at first procur'd him and his Disciples so great a concourse of people they edified a great many by the excellent Books which they put out in their Mother tongue to excite them to Meditation Piety Prayer and Spiritual Exercises both which the Papists have since imitated and there are found amongst them a great many good Preachers and wholesome Books of Prayer and Meditation so that at present the Protestant Clergy have no longer reason to reproach the Romish with their want of that modesty and excellent conduct which they observe in the external Service of God They are also well versed in all Controversies and are ready with whole dozens of distinctions for every objection made against them for example whereas there is nothing can be more ridiculously invented than the Pope's distributing out Indulgences for twenty or thirty Thousand Years they give it a colour with the distinction of intensivè and extensivè potentialiter and actualiter wherein the young Students take a great deal of pleasure and the ignorant imagine some great Mysteries to be invelopt therein whereas also in Luther's time the ignorance of the Clergy and their hatred to Learned Men was so prejudicial to the Popedom those of that Communion and especially the Jesuits have since found remedies for that inconvenience for the Jesuits have not only taken upon them the Information and Instruction of the youth but in the Countries where they are establish'd they have as 't were made a Monopoly thereof so that learning is now so far from being any longer prejudicial to 'em that it procures them great advantages Lastly They desisted from the propagation of their Religion with Fire and Sword and endeavour'd to allure the chiefest of the Protestants with good Words great Promises and effectual Preferments Those that will go over to 'em if they have any parts and capacities are sure to make their Fortunes to which upon the account of their Church's Riches they have the best opportunity in the World Whereas on the contrary if any one of them would turn Protestant and does not bring means along with him or is not of a more than ordinary understanding he has nothing but contemptible poverty to expect Lastly The House of Austria has much contributed to the raising up and restoring of the Popedom by driving out the Protestants not only out of its hereditary Lands but likewise from Bohemia and the depending Provinces and lately out of all Hungary or else by obliging them to embrace the Romish Religion Sect. 29. From what has been said before may easily be understood how and by what means this Spiritual Monarchy has insinuated it self in the Western part of Christendom but that you may the better conceive the structure and all the resorts of this Machine 't would not be amiss if we consider'd the Pope two ways first as he is one of the Princes of Italy and secondly as the Ghostly Soveraign of the Occidental Churches As to the first we say That the Pope may very well pass for one of the greatest Lords in Italy but under this consideration must he yield to most of the Potentates of Europe his Territories are the City of Rome with its Dependances on both the sides the Tyber the Dutchy of Benevento in the Kingdom of Naples of Spoletto Urbin and Ferrara the Marquisate of Ancona several places in Hetruria as also the Romaniola or Flaminia containing the Cities of Bolonia and Ravenna in France he has the County of Avignon Parma is a Fee of the Church which Paul the third invested his Son Peter Lewis Farnesse with tho' since that time it has been resolv'd that for the future it shall not be in the Pope's power to alienate the vacant Fees nor invest any one with the Church-Lands for fear of weakning the Papal State and to the end that the Pope might have wherewithal to maintain his Court if it should happen that any part of his Foreign Revenues should fail or come short The Kingdom of Naples is likewise a Fee or Copy-Hold of the Church in acknowledgment of which the King of Spain does yearly present the Pope with a white Hackney and five Thousand Ducats As for the Pope's Pretensions upon other Lands they are now no longer passable All these Countries are peopled and fertile enough and do comprehend a great many considerable Towns and Cities from whence the Pope does yearly draw about two millions of Gold and his Officers are very careful that the People may not grow too rich Though there are good Souldiers enough to be found in the Pope's Dominions yet his Militia is not very considerable whilst the means he uses to maintain his Countries are quite contrary to those of other Princes He keeps ready equipp'd about Twenty Gallies which usually lie at Civita Vecchia The politick Maxims of the Pope which he as temporal Prince puts in practice do mostly consist in the maintaining of the Peace in Italy and retaining it in the same posture and condition as it is at present and especially in suppressing any upstart Power that may give Laws to all the rest Besides 't is his peculiar Interest to hinder the Turk from getting footing in Italy and in case of any Invasion to unite not only all the Italian Princes but likewise all Christendom against him who likewise ought not to suffer that this noble Country fall into the hands of those Barbarians The Pope has now no reason to be alarm'd by Germany as long as it does continue in its present form of Government But if it should happen to fall under an Absolute Monarchy it might easily revive its old pretensions Spain and France are those which can only give the Pope his hand full of business and therefore in respect of those it is the Pope's Interest to foment a continual Division betwixt them or to balance them so equally that neither may be able to trample upon the other I don't doubt but the Pope wishes with all his Heart that the Spaniard were not so near a Neighbour to him in Italy and would not be sorry to see him driven out of Naples but there 's no probability that he could effect that himself and to call in the French to drive out the Spanish were to leap out of the Frying-pan into the Fire Therefore the Pope must be contented to hinder the Spanish from making any greater Progress in Italy and if at any time Spain should attempt it France and the rest of the Italian Princes would soon be upon their backs Nor is it less the Pope's Interest to hinder France from getting so sure footing there as to be able to sway the Affairs of that Country according to its own will
is not allowed their people to read either their Writings or Refutations Besides some have observ'd that the scandalous Lives of the Popes having been extreamly prejudicial to the Romish Religion because they were expos'd to all the World by the Writings of the Protestants they do now endeavour to retort the same Reproaches on the Protestants not only by declaring the Faults and Oversights of some few particulars but by charging them with the most scandalous Vices and desiring them afterwards to prove the contrary whereby they prepossess their Followers with notions extreamly disadvantageous to the Protestant Religion They have likewise Impudence enough to cry up the Miracles and Exploits of their Martyrs done in very remote Countries by which they acquire a great credit at least with the more simple sort of people Which Trick of theirs amongst many others is exactly remarked by Edwin Sands an English Gentleman in his View of the Religions of Europe Sect. 36. But there are yet more violent ways which the Pope uses to support the Majesty of his Character amongst which the chiefest was that terrible Ban or Excommunication whereby whole Countries have been forbidden the exercise of their Religion and Kings and Emperors have been forced to truckle to the Mitre but now a-days these Arms are no longer so dreadful as they were heretofore unless it be to some of the petty Princes in Italy But in Spain and Italy they have erected a singular Tribunal which they christen Officium Sanctae Inquisitionis wherein they enquire and proceed against such as are any ways suspected of Heresie the worst of which is that which destroys the Credit Doctrine and Decrees of the Pope By which means the people are kept in an intolerable Slavery And the Pest is not so dreadful to the Inhabitants of those Countries as is this sort of Justice which is so rigorously put in execution that he who falls into the Inquisitor's hands shall not escape without the loss of a great many Feathers Sect. 37. Now though the Direction and Administration of the Popish Religion together with other means which we have already shown are sufficient to keep the People in the Bounds of their Duty especially since the Romish Clergy do so well manage the business that they can content every one and that most of those that live under the Pope's Jurisdiction credulously swallow for great Truths all that their Priests tell them nor have they any opportunity of knowing the contrary Yet I really believe that the most politick and learned among them plainly see how matters go and would never continue under so ridiculous and intolerable a Yoke without a great many worldly Prospects and if I may pronounce my Judgment in the case I fansie that most of 'em are kept back from declaring against it because they are unable to oppose it alone nor are they willing to ruine a good Fortune which they enjoy amongst the Papists and to go over to the Protestants where they are to expect nothing but Poverty and Contempt which is too sharp a trial of their Faith and therefore they think it is enough if they believe in Jesus Christ and his Merits and that thereby alone they shall be saved And as for the other Opinions which are the additamenta religionis they yield an external compliance to them but think they may believe as much of them as they please Whether the common people and Women who are usually delighted with strange and incredible things believe them in good earnest or not is of no great importance Besides there are without doubt a great many that are not able to distinguish what there is of Divine in their Religion and what the Clergy for their own Interests have added therefore if they happen to discover the Impostures of the last they look upon all the rest as a meer Fable but are forced to conceal their Atheism from the World for fear of bringing themselves into trouble And let any wise man judge how easily an Italian or Spaniard that has never read the Bible nor any good Protestant Book may fall into such impious Thoughts so soon as he begins to discover the Cheats of his Clergy 'T is likewise certain that since Luther's time the Popedom has put on another face and does proceed much more cautiously than heretofore Besides there are a great number of People of all Conditions that find their Advantage in the Romish Communion either by entring into several Orders of Knights or but putting themselves into Convents which is oftentimes a great ease and sometimes the aggrandizing of a whole Family and at the least the superstitious Parents are very well contented therewith and think they merit not a little by an early dedication of their Children to God In fine such as can't make their Fortune in the World have no more to do than to cast themselves into a Cloister and there they are provided for all their life which Advantage they could not enjoy if the Papacy should be exterminated and the Ecclesiastical Goods confiscated to the State The Popish Doctrin is also so deeply rooted in those Countries where it does at present reign that if any should undertake to abolish it he could never attain his ends whilst the Priests would not fail to move Heaven and Earth against him or find a Clement or Ravaillac to shorten his days but most of the Princes find it their Interest to maintain the establish'd Religion or at least they find no profit but rather a great deal of danger in beginning a change Sect. 38. But Italy especially has no small Advantage in maintaining the Papal Dignity because that Land is become very considerable by the continual Residence of the Pope and by that Prerogative it has that the Pope must always be an Italian and because there is no Noble Family in all Italy that does not receive some profit from the Pope As in Poland the Bishopricks and richest Prebendaries are possessed by the Nobility of that Country who there enjoy likewise the Soveraign Power they have great Interest in the Popedom since the Bishops as Senators of the Kingdom are there in great Credit In Portugal the Clergy is also very Powerful and would easily embrace the Spanish Faction if their Prince should go about to make any Innovation in the Religion and therefore we have seen in this last Age that the Portugueze have not dar'd to mutter against the Pope tho' he in favour of Spain has us'd 'em very scurvily about the Collation of New Bishopricks and given them reason enough to slip their Necks out of so uneasy a collar In Germany several of the States of the Empire stick close to the exercise of the Popish Religion and amongst the Imperial Cities Collen as well as some other of less Importance swarms with idle Priests and Monks and amongst the Counts and Orders of Knighthood all such as have any prospect of attaining to Ecclesiastical Charges and Benefices among the temporal
Princes the Elector of Bavaria has always persisted obstinately in his Religion in hopes of aspiring one day to the Imperial Dignity of which he would be totally frustrated if he should abandon the Pope's Interest and why some Protestant Princes have return'd unto the Romish Yoke is I think very well known That the Bishops and Prelates of Germany are so good Catholicks is no wonder because 't is a much sweeter and agreeable Life to be a rich Prince than a poor Preacher Besides they are deterred from any thoughts of change by the example of two Electors of Collen whose designs were very unhappy and fatal to them In Charles the fifth's time Spain by its Intrigues impeded the progress of the Reformation and since the loss of so fair an opportunity the Emperor par raison d'etat cannot abandon the Pope's Interests tho' he should desire to do it and the Ecclesiastical Princes are forced to hold with him that they may have a support against the temporal ones but if the Emperor should really design to leave the Pope 't is most certain that he would first have all the Clergy upon his back nor could he be assur'd that the Temporal Princes would stand by him especially whilst the Princes of the most Ancient and Noble Families whose Religion is the only Bar of their Pretences to the Empire might then with as much right aspire to it as any and openly rival the House of Austria the Pope too would move Heaven and Earth against the accomplishment of a design so terrible and pernicious to his Dignity nor would the French King let slip so good an occasion of advancing himself to the Imperial Dignity to which in such a juncture the Clergy would not fail to invite him The Spaniards would pass for the most zealous Defenders of the Holy Chair but the true reason is because the Pope's Favour and Protection is absolutely necessary to the peaceable maintenance of their Kingdom of Naples and Dutchy of Milan and thus we see them usually cloak their enterprizes with the pretext of defending and propagating the Catholick Religion but unsuccessfully for the most part I will not speak here of the intolerable Greatness of the Spanish Clergy nor of the strange things which they make the people believe are contain'd in the Doctrine of the Protestants France does not outwardly appear so passionately to espouse the Interests of Rome nor have the Popes been able to perswade the French Church to so absolute and slavish a submission as most other Churches have yielded them so that when they endeavour'd to infringe or encroach upon their privileges the Parliament of Paris did presently take Cognizance of the Affair and the Sorbon has likewise often rejected several unreasonable Propositions advanced by the Flatterers and Sycophants of the Pope they likewise spy the Nuncio's Conduct and will not allow him too great a liberty who when he comes out of Rome bears his Crosier erected but so soon as he Arrives on the French Frontiers he carries it Reversed till he obtains leave from the King to exercise his Function and then too they are forced to promise him that they will use it no longer nor no otherwise than he shall think fit Besides they are obliged to make use of French Secretaries and when they go away to leave a Roll of their Negotiations and their Seal behind them and to use several other such Formalities without which all their Proceedings would be null and void of effect so that the French say the Pope's Nuncio receives his Commission as well from the King as the Pope and that it is Precaria ad Nutum Regis revocabilis hence it is that the Nuncio lays aside his Crosier if he happens to come where the King is as if his Jurisdiction were dissolv'd by the Presence of the King Nay in Richlieu's time 't was debated of whether or no they should make a Patriarch in France which design tho' in my opinion could not have been very advantageous for France for the Clergy would never have been brought to consent thereto having reason enough to fear lest the King upon such an occasion should considerably retrench their fat Revenues Besides if the French King should ever have any thoughts of aspiring to the Empire his separation from Rome would be very disserviceable to him for should so powerful a Prince as the French King is become Master of the Empire he would not only revive the pretences of the ancient Emperors which are now as 't were buried in oblivion of which most depend on Rome but also the Defence of the Romish Church would be a very specious pretext of claiming several rights and privileges which the Popes have suffer'd to be lost On the contrary the Pope has a terrible aversion and fear of the French Monarchy since it is not to be doubted but upon such an occasion France would make a great Reformation in the Court of Rome and bridle the Pope's Authority so much that he would signify no more than a simple Patriarch and he must attend the same fate if Spain should aspire to the Universal Monarchy in the mean while it would go very ill with the Protestants and from hence we may conclude that the greatest Support of the Papal Chair is the Jealousy and Aequilibrium which Rome wisely maintains between the two Crowns of France and Spain and therefore 't is the nearest and dearest of the Pope's Interest to hinder any one of those Kingdoms from trampling on the other or aspiring to the universal Monarchy of Europe which also is easy to be observed from the Pope's Conduct for several Ages for when France was extreamly low and weakned after the Death of Henry the second the Pope was forc'd to declare himself for the Spanish Interests to which the Spaniards were resolv'd to oblige him both by fair means and by foul They gain'd the Pope's Nephews who were glad to enrich themselves during the short Life of their Uncle and willingly devoted themselves to Spain whilst they could receive large Pensions Benefices and considerable Charges and in case they did not render themselves very serviceable to those from whom they receiv'd pay they were sure to be cruelly persecuted after their Unckle's Death they also us'd all their efforts to exclude from the Succession any Cardinal that they suspected to be enclining to their Adversaries Interests but so soon as France began to lift up its head again the Popes resumed their former Indifference and Liberty and would shew themselves no more favourable to either party than as they were serviceable and addicted to the Papal Interest and therefore Guichard declar'd publickly in a Sermon at Paris in the Month of July 1637. that the War which France made then against Spain was a Holy War and in Defence of the Religion for had not the French King made use of that means to bring Spain to reason the King of Spain would certainly have placed his Almoner in
the Holy Chair Sect. 39. As for those that have revolted from the Pope tho' he would not be sorry to find them reduc'd again under his Jurisdiction yet he does not desire that by their ruins any Prince should become so great as to render himself formidable to all Europe for 't is better to give my Enemy his Life than to seek to deprive him of it at the cost of my own thus we see how great fears and jealousies the Victorious Progress of Charles the fifth's Arms against the Protestants occasion'd at Rome since it oblig'd Pope Paul the third to recall those Troups which he had destin'd to the Emperor's Service and had Philip the second subdu'd England Sixtus the fifth would too late have repented his rash promoting that Catholick Design So Gregory the fifteenth in the War of the Valteline sided with the Grisons against the Spaniards tho' the first were of the Reform'd Religion nor was Urban the eighth displeas'd to see the House of Austria mortifi'd by Gustavus Adolphus King of Suedeland because the Emperor in the business of Mantua had shown as little mercy to the Catholicks as before to the Protestants and 't is said that when Ferdinand the second desir'd a sum of Money which the same Pope had promised him instead thereof he sent him and his Army a plenary Indulgence at the hour of Death that they might with greater confidence expose themselves to all dangers Nor was the Court of Rome less apprehensive some years ago when the French King made so great Progresses in the United Provinces that the ruin of the Republick seem'd inevitable But tho' the Pope does not desire the weakning of the Protestant party by which rough means yet it cannot be denied that he uses all sort of slights and devices to allure them from their Religion amongst which the principal are to maintain a discord amongst the Protestants to flatter the Princes of that perswasion and by giving them Popish Wives to place a Serpent in their bosom to entice the cadets or younger Brothers of great Families by Spiritual Dignities and fat Benefices by making all those extreamly welcome that go over to 'em and instead of amusing themselves unsuccessfully to write Books against the Protestant Divines to cherish those disputes and quarrels that are amongst them and it is visibly certain that the Romish Clergy have made very great progresses in this last Age and are in a condition of making greater comforting themselves with a malicious joy to see that their Adversaries by internal Schisms weaken and destroy each other Sect. 40. From what has been here said may easily be judged Whether ever any Accommodation can be expected between the Protestants and Papists whilst each Party abandoning some of their Tenents shall make such Advances as at last to agree in one common Confession of their Faith and leave the rest as obscure and useless to be disputed of in the Schools or else that both might keep their Opinions and that notwithstanding the difference of Religions they might live with one another as Brethren in Christ and Members of one and the same Communion Yet if we rightly examine the state of affairs and the Principles of the Popish Religion we must own that all such Accommodations are morally impossible for we do not only discover an extream jarring and contradiction of Doctrines but the Interests of each are quite opposite and contrary one to another For first the Pope would willingly re-enter into the possession of the Church-Goods but he will find it hard to get so sweet a Morsel out of the Protestants Clutches Then again the Pope would fain be acknowledged the Head of Christendom but the Protestants will never part with the jus circa sacra the choicest Jewel of their Soveraignty and it is a contradictio in adjecto to live in good intelligence and friendship with the Pope and not own him at the same time the supreme Monarch of the Church Just as if any Stranger should desire to be naturaliz'd and made a free Denison of England and yet refuse to acknowledge the King his Soveraign Lord. The Infallibility of the Pope is likewise the Corner-stone of the Popedom which if once taken away the whole Structure will fall to the Ground and therefore the Pope par raison d'etat cannot yield the least of those points which occasion the Division betwixt the Protestants and Papists for if the Pope should own that any the least part of that Doctrine which he has hitherto maintain'd is false he must grant at the same time that he is not infallible Can he therefore err in one point He may easily err in another But if the Protestants grant that one Article of the Pope's Infallibility they must also give him all the other controverted points Now 't is non-sence to imagine that the Protestants will ever retract all that they have written against the Pope and should the Laity be brought to do it what will the Clergy do Where will they dispose of their Wives and Children c. Therefore how good and how pious soever their Intention may have been who have propos'd any means of an Accommodation between the Protestants and Papists which they call by the name of Syncretism yet they are in reality nothing but pure Whimsies and serve only to furnish matter of Raillery and Diversion to the Papists who are also very well contented that the Protestant Divines should amuse themselves with such Chimaera's since they are sure to get by it but never lose any thing forasmuch as the Protestants do not only fall foul upon one another on the account of this pretended Syncretism but the common and united zeal which they heretofore bare against the Papists is thereby extreamly weakened for any one that does not understand the matter to the botom when he hears them talk of an Accommodation will easily be perswaded that the Difference betwixt us is not so great or capital as has been represented Now he that admits such thoughts will at the same time be apt to revolve in his mind the benefits and advantages he may find in the Roman Communion and then he 'll make no great scruple to bid adieu to the Protestant Religion for 't is with their Religion as with a Maiden-head or Town besieg'd which run a great risque of being lost when once they begin to parley Sect. 41. 'T is a quaere whether the Pope with the united help of all of his Perswasion can bring the Protestants by force under his Jurisdiction We answer That the Papists do considerably excel the Protestants in number for on the Pope's side is all Italy Spain Portugal France and the greatest part of Poland as well as the weakest Cantons of Switzerland In Germany are all the Austrian Provinces the Kingdom of Bohemia almost all Upper Hungary the Bishops and Prelates the House of Bavaria and Newburg the Marquesate of Baden and some other Princes of less consideration a great number of
can pretext so specious Causes as is the restauration of the Catholick Religion and Goods of the Ecclesiasticks they must have quite lost all knowledge of preceding times besides the Treaty of Nimmigen has shewn how vain and fruitless all such Projects are The Independent Protestant States need not fear being oblig'd to abandon their Religion by any violent means for as the uniformity of Religion cannot remove the Jealousies of State which is notoriously evident from France and Spain England and Holland so neither can the difference of Religion produce this effect that in case any potent State of the Romish Perswasion should undertake to oppress a neighbouring Protestant all the Papists should forsake the one and immediately join with the other especially if they had any Interest in the preservation of the State that should be in danger of ruine The lastingness and conservation of the Protestant Religion in those States where it is profess'd does chiefly consist in the care that is taken to maintain it within the Country whereto they have no need of such subtile and artificial Devices as are us'd in the support of the Popedom but the most simple and ordinary means are sufficient for it mostly consists herein That the Schools and Churches be provided of learned and pious Teachers That the Clergy by a sound Doctrine and virtuous Life give a good Example to their Flocks That every one be easily grounded in the true Fundamentals of their Religion and especially such as are to be employed in Affairs of State that they may be able to defend themselves against the Artifices of the Papists chiefly when they happen to travel in Popish Countries And lastly That the Clergy qualifie themselves so as to be able to baffle their Adversaries and refute all their Quirks and Sophistical Arguments Some are of opinion that it would be no small advantage to us if the two head Parties of the Protestants which only differ in some particular opinions whilst the Interests of their Religions is one and the same could be brought to an accommodation and union under one head the which they imagine to be very feasible if we would lay aside all Hate Animosities Self-Love Pride Opiniatrety and unreasonable Preventions But if we examine well the Genius and Humor of most of the World we shall find this postulatum to be extravagant for if a man should consider the Controversies written on the subject of Religion impartially and unprevented he would stand amaz'd to see how the writers turn and wind themselves on all sides to maintain the opinion they have once laid down without having the least regard to its Agreement or Repugnance to the Scriptures And how often they renew Disputes and Questions which have been refuted a thousand times Besides It can never happen that one opinion should be thought as good as the other for such an indifference in any one point would shew that they did not much matter all the rest Furthermore 't would be very dangerous to make those Articles wherein we cannot agree problematick nor can I tell by what Authority we presume of our own Heads to make any Article Fundamental or Problematick Some are likewise of the mind that we should draw up a Scheme of all the points in which both parties agree and try if from thence may be form'd a perfect System of Divinity which from the beginning to the end should be compos'd ad formam justae Artis So that if this project could succeed altho' there should remain some different opinions yet if they did not dissolve the union and continuity of the whole body we should in the main agree concerning the means of attaining Eternal Happiness and all the rest would not be sufficient to hinder us from uniting in one Church But to judge rightly of this opinion one ought first to see a model of such a projected System For my part I know no better means than to commit the matter wholly to Divine Providence which in its own time will perhaps furnish expedients that the Wit of Man could not have imagin'd For 't is certain that unseasonable means will only serve to create new Schisms and Divisions In the mean while both parties notwithstanding the diversity of their Sentiments ought to unite against the common Enemies and to be really perswaded that the Pope is no better a Friend to the Lutheran than to the Calvinist As for what belongs to those little Sects of Socinians Anabaptist and such like 't is impossible to hope for any reconciliation with them whilst those believe that the Christian Religion is nothing but a Philosophy purely Moral and these know not what to believe themselves to which we may add That these last have filled their Heads with a sort of a new Polity which would render them very dangerous to a State where they had the upper hand but whether the Socinians have the same Sentiments I cannot well determine since they are not as yet become so powerful in any Republick as to be able to occasion any Troubles or Revolutions THE END Laus Deo