Modern Religion AND Ancient Loyalty: A DIALOGUE.  
LONDON, Printed in the Year 1699.   

Modern Religion AND Ancient Loyalty: A DIALOGUE.  Loyalty. 
WHAT black Decree of overruling Fate,  
Ordains me thus Unfortunate of Late,  
Who once made Nations Happy, and their Princes Great?  
The People's Safety, and the Throne's Delight,  
Religion's only Darling Favourite;  
Whose holy Priests assisted at my Birth,  
Nursed me as Virtue, and proclaimed my Worth  
Through all the Christian Kingdoms of the Earth.  
Where long, as Monarch of the Heart, I Reigned;  
By all Approved, and by the Church Maintained;  
To me their Love, I gratefully repaid;  
And Nations where I dwelled, I easy made:  
Preserved the Subject's Duty to the Crown,  
And made the People and the Prince but One.  
I all things in a happy Medium steered,  
Clad in Bright Innocence, unstained appeared,  
Beloyed by all Good M●●, by none but Rebel's feared.  
But now, alas! by some prevailing Chance,  
That sprang from Interest, Pride, or Ignorance,  
Or some Rebellious Seeds that Lurk unseen,  
Within the Hearts of blind mistaken Men,  
Am I Abandoned, Slighted, and Despised,  
And from my Milk-white Robes in Rags Disguised;  
Thrust out of Country, City, Church, and Court,  
And Foo● Ba●-like, become the Public Sport.  
Corrupted thus, they all conspire my Doom,  
And raise inglorious Interest in my room.  
Interest, that oft Contaminates the Saint;  
And makes the Knave in holy Language Cant.  
Interest, that first taught Innocence to sin;  
And bribe's the Heart to let Corruption in.  
Interest, that over All bears sovereign Sway,  
Makes the Friend faithful, and the Rogue betray,  
The Soldier hazard Life, and the Great Man Obey.  
Tell me Religion—  
Why do your Teachers suffer me to Fall,  
Once so Upheld, but now the Scorn of all;  
Excluded from your Pulpits, and betrayed;  
By your Revolving Priests am Odious made;  
What was your Doctrine once, why do you now Evade?  Religion. 
Faction Prevails, and does too Powerful grow;  
You see I'm brought by Toleration Low.  
How can You hope by Me to be Advanced,  
Since I myself am thus Discountenanced?  
My spurning Foes on every side Aspire:  
I Lose my Power, They Gain what they Desire.  
How then can I (Reduced by their Designs)  
Promote Your Interest, when my Own Declines?  
No more can I Redress thy Present State,  
Than Falling Princes make their Favourites Great.  
The Growing Factions thy Obedience blame,  
And call thee but an Empty Sound, a Name;  
They think thee Giddiness, a Church-Disease,  
And Tumble and Transfer thee as they please.  
Thou canst expect no Favour in an Age,  
Where Truth is hissed from off the Public Stage;  
And Virtue hides her Head, whilst Pride and Envy rage.  
Thy hateful Strictness would my Followers Fright,  
Who brand thee with the Name of Jacobite;  
Tho' known to all Opinions, few apply thee right.  
When Both Acknowledged One Supreme Command,  
Like Faithful Friends, we then walked Hand in Hand;  
But since the Power of Heaven has changed the Scene,  
By Notions False you have Misguided been;  
And through Erroneous Principles, Dissent  
From Me, and heavens Appointed Government.  
In Your Behalf how can my Clergy Plead,  
If you deny Submission to my Head;  
And think yourself Vnalterably Bound  
To the mere Name of King, wherein no Power is found?  
Whilst you Refuse your stubborn Neck to Bow  
TO Authority, both Church and Laws allow;  
And like a Treacherous G●ide betray the Blind,  
To Grope for Treasure, which they ne'er can find,  
To all my Priesthood Odious wilt thou be;  
And canst no Aid expect from Them or Me.  
We Yield Allegiance to the sovereign Sway;  
Who heaven Anoints, Religion must Obey.  
Till you Submit, you can no Longer Bind;  
The Freeborn Subject won't be so confined:  
And if they be, when once they've Broke the Chain,  
Like Bears, 'tis hard to Fetter them again.  
They'll hazard All to set their Minds but Free,  
So highly do they prise their Liberty;  
That darling Object of the People's Love,  
The only Spring that does the Public move;  
The Peasant's Comfort, and the Richman's Care,  
The Crown of Peace, and common Cause of War;  
A Kingdom's Pride, Strength, Safety and Delight,  
The Monarch's Duty, and the Subject's Right;  
A Pleasing Bliss the dullest Lump desires,  
The only Native Good that all Mankind Admires.  
But You an Adamantine Yoke designed,  
Attempting, by a Lawless Force, to Bind;  
And make Allegiance such a Fatal Chain,  
That cannot, must not be dissolved by Man.  
How can such Highflown Loyalty agree  
With Bounded Power, and Native Liberty?  
For if Obedience be the Subjects part,  
When Kings an Arbitrary Power exert,  
What Lawful Fence or Bulwark can there be  
The People to secure from Slavery?  
What Rights or Freedoms can a Nation boast,  
But what may be by sovereign Power engrossed?  
What Law can Hinder, or what Curb Restrain,  
The wild Ambition of a Vicious Man?  
All at a Tyrant's Mercy then must be,  
Religion, Life, Estate, and Liberty;  
The People all are Slaves, none but the Monarch Free.  
Besides—  
Submission of the Whole implies Consent;  
And Absolute Confirms the Government.  
If you Bear Wrongs, and may Prevent the same,  
Who but the Sufferers shall Deserve the Blame?  
Such Passive Tameness, when you've Power to Nile,  
Concludes you as a Partner in the iii.  
The Patient Bigot who Resigns his Rights,  
In Duty to a Tyrant's Will Submits;  
Against the Public Good and Safety, Errs;  
And basely Does more Injury than he Bears.  
Thus by degrees Intails a Slavery;  
And Gains the Curses of Posterity;  
These are the sad Effects of too strict Loyalty:  
From hence you're termed a musty Roman Cheat,  
Almost Exploded, and grown Obsolete.  
As far as You the Nations Rights Secure,  
And Bind Allegiance to the King in Power,  
Such Loyalty I Hold, and such Maintain,  
Whose Chain's no longer than a Prince's Reign.  
But such Deny as cannot be Removed,  
When Just the Cause, and by the States Approved.  
If such Exploded Tenets you Defend,  
I'm no more Yours, than You the Kingdom's Friend.  Loyalty. 
Too Well, alas! Grave Guide, you know the Cause,  
Made me Aspire and Tower Above the Laws:  
Your Frenzy Raised me to a Height too Great,  
From whence I Sunk to this Dejected State:  
Unlawful Greatness in Contempt oft Ends,  
A sudden Fall too quick a Rise Attends.  
And when Beneath the Public Scorn I lay,  
Thus left, You Steered your Course another way:  
So the Rich Churl, from all Misfortunes free,  
Proudly Shuns Others in Adversity.  
First by your Priesthood was I made too Great,  
Preached up as the Main Prop of Church and Sat;  
Enjoined on all, as Monarchies best Friend,  
On whom the Throne and Nation's Peace depend;  
As spotless Virtue in the Church received;  
Taught as sound Doctrine, and as such Believed.  
Thus did your Clergy blaze my Fame—  
'Twas I first Tamed the Brutal Rage of Man;  
In me alone Obedience first began.  
I was the Reins to which the Curb is tied,  
By which Great Men their Lesser Agents guide.  
The Soldier I with Noble Warmth Inspire,  
(True Loyalty the Chillest Thoughts could Fire)  
And turn by force of Duty, Fear into Desire.  
I taught the Subject, by an Inward Voice,  
T' Obey his King, not by Constraint, but Choice;  
And wade through Dangers to Protect the Throne,  
Bend on his Prince's Safety, heedless of his Own.  
If you to Kings are such a Faithful Friend,  
As your Learned Clergy to their Flocks pretend,  
Why do they not my Excellent Use Proclaim,  
And to the World define me what I am?  
To some known Rules why am I not Confined,  
Or why thus tossed with every change of wind?  
Tutored by you from Virtue's School I came;  
So place me, I may always be the same;  
For if I'm no where fixed, I next to nothing am.  Religion. 
In Times of Old, when Man forsook his God,  
And Pride and Envy scattered were abroad;  
When those Just Morals that preserved our Peace,  
(Ere Kings were chose) began at first to cease,  
Ambition did the Heart of Man possess,  
Taught him t' Insult, to Conquer, and Oppress;  
And magnify Himself, by making Others Lesle.  
The World increased, worse Quarrels still began;  
No Beasts such Enemies as Man to Man:  
Small were their Comforts, great was their Di●●ress,  
Like Fish the Mighter prayed upon the Less.  
These Cruel Ills and sad Disorders brought  
Desire of Kings into the People's Thought,  
That by his prudent Rule might be Appeased  
Those dire Confusions, which Themselves had Raised.  
To Laws most fit they both Subscribed Consent,  
To preserve justice, and Abuse prevent;  
And on this Basis built their Regal Government,  
Thus did the Sufferings of Unpolished Man,  
Make the Wild Herd for Kingly-Pow'r complain,  
From their own Ills they might prote●ted be,  
And dread no more each others Enmity;  
Thus changed for Humane Safety Savage Liberty.  
With glad Submission, they the Laws Obeyed,  
The Laws their Ruler and Themselves had made;  
Then Prince and Priest in Friendly Union joined;  
The Crowd with joy some Native Rights resigned.  
By crafty Dreams, and Inspiration led,  
What's first their Choice, was then their Duty made;  
The Lord Commands you now to bow your Stubborn Head.  
Then was that Bond called Loyalty contrived;  
From hence your Ancient Pedigree's derived.  
At first the People did on Terms agree,  
Protect Us, we'll Your Faithful Subjects be;  
But if you, like the Crane, exert your Power,  
Make us your Slaves, and us poor Frogs Devour;  
The King's Dissolved, when you our Lives Betray,  
And we are bound no longer to Obey.  
If he Destroys those Rights he should preserve,  
Subjects may justly from their Duty swerve.  
If he's a Tyrant, Faithless, and unjust,  
He Forfeits, when he Falsifies his Trust.  
All Obligations, on the People's side,  
Are, by his breach of Covenant, made void.  
When led by Vice, he ceases to maintain  
justice, the Law of Heaven has made it plain,  
He has no longer any Right to Reign.  
Then what is Loyalty, that hidebound thing,  
That does to Misery all such Bigots bring;  
Who, when the Power is lost, pursue the Name of King.  
So the fond Cur, when his kind Master Dies,  
Pines o'er the Grave, where his dead sovereign Lies,  
Expecting every Moment he again will Rise.  
Into like Errors you your Friends betray,  
And lead them as a Will i'th' Wisp astray,  
To wander in great Danger, from the beaten Way.  
You ought to bind the Subject to the Throne,  
With due respect to Him, who justly Rules thereon.  
If you direct towards Persons, wrong's your Aim,  
For they may Change, But still the Powers the same,  
Which is from Heaven derived; and Power alone,  
Confirms the Right of him that Guides the Throne:  
And when that Power, by want of conducts lost,  
The King's Dissolved that can't Maintain his Post.  
Thus if the the Prince beyond the Laws has Erred,  
Subjects Allegiance may be then Transferred,  
To that Great Mind whose Wise Capacious Soul,  
Hath raised him to be next most fit to Rule.  
Or if through Weakness, or Imprudence grown  
Too Tame, to do the justice of the Throne,  
How can the People rest on his Protection?  
Then who so e'er intrudes with Greater Might,  
And shall divest him of his sovereign Right,  
If to his Government the Land agree,  
By greater Power has greater Right than he:  
If so than you are False, and should Comply,  
With him that bears the Sovereignty.  
And Teach your Misled Followers to bring,  
Obedient Hearts, as the best Offering;  
Not to the Person only, but the Power of king.  Loyalty. 
From my old Friend, what Doctrine do I hear;  
In what strange Monstrous Shapes do you appear?  
In a few Years how you have changed your Text;  
And showed yourself too Fickle to be Fixed:  
The Ancient Purity you once might Boast,  
In Interest, Pride, and Flattery now is Lost.  
And all your Glories, which appeared so bright  
And Dazzling, Shone by Faith and Reason's Light,  
Look Dim, as if Eclipsed by Sinful Pleasure's Night.  
When Priests were nearer much to Heaven Allied,  
And Grace and Truth their Doctrines Beautified;  
Teaching in gross, with Pains, the People's Good;  
And they the same with Innocence pursued:  
Then was I Great, in each Goods Man's Esteem;  
And only then Shined Bright the Diadem.  
When Kings, as God's Vicegerents, were Allowed,  
Not Chosen, by the Blind and Partial Crowd;  
But held too Sacred to be Bound in Bands,  
Or be Defiled by th' Multitudes Rude Hands.  
But by a Right Divine the Sceptre Swayed,  
And all thus Taught, the Godlike Man Obeyed.  
Then Led by Grace, your Sable Tribe were bend,  
To lengthen out the Reins of Government.  
Passive Obedience was the Prophet's Dream;  
And Non Resistance was the Preachers Theme.  
Into these Yokes the People you Betrayed,  
Till Galled them with the rigorous Chains you made.  
Who but yourselves Advanced this Airy Thought,  
Called Duty Then, tho' Now as Slavery Taught.  
Thus what you once Upheld, you now Crush down,  
To Faith's Contempt, and Scandal to the Gown:  
If they are Useful Truths, which once you Teach,  
Why not continue still the same to Preach?  
And if false Principles, why then Maintain,  
What now you hold so Dangerously Vain?  
T' Assert what's False, or Truth Condemns a Crime,  
For Each are still the same at every Time:  
Be't Right, or Wrong, you still incur a Blame;  
Yours was the Error, and to You the Shame.  
No Various Constitutions can excuse,  
Such Shists and Turns your Unfixed Clergy use,  
To heavens Dishonour, and the Worlds Abuse.  
If they, like Shuttlecocks, Fly too and fro,  
How shall Mankind their Faith or Duty Know?  
If the True Light must Kindle and Expire,  
As th' Interest of the Prince, or Priest require,  
Who then would Rashly with the Church Believe,  
Or Pin his Faith upon the Prophet's Sleeve?  
Religion sure the Wise would lay aside,  
And choose Dim Reason as the Surer Guide.  
Since fatal Turns and Changes now Divide  
Those happy Links, in which we once were tied;  
And we in sovereign Power thus disagree,  
Through our old Christial Law I'll let you see,  
What you once Taught, and I now hold a King to be.  
In Cheerful Strains these Joyful Truths I Sing,  
Sacred's the Royal Person of the King,  
By th' Laws allowed to be alone Supreme;  
And holds of his Own Right the Diadem.  
A Monarch, and Subordinate to none,  
Accountable on Earth, to God alone,  
Immovably United to the Throne.  
As Heaven itself, whose only Law is Will,  
Head of all Power can therefore do no Ill  
So King's, in their own Kingdoms, are the same,  
Can do no Wrong, and so Incur no Blame.  
Judges and Counsellors being chosen free,  
T' Advise, Determine, and if Faults their be,  
They screen the Prince from all Rebellious Calumny.  
The Laws, by the Three States in Union made,  
(Joined, or apart, the sovereign's still the Head)  
Have rendered Plainly, and beyond Dispute,  
The Throne from all Coercion Absolute.  
The Laws Divine, with Humane Laws accord,  
For, Touch not my Anointed, says the Lord,  
Which proves that whatsoever Princes do,  
It's still the Subjects Duty to be True;  
And Render unto Caesar what's his Due.  
These Pious Doctrines Long did you Maintain;  
These Truth's first bred me in the Heart of Man:  
Then was I Doted on by every Priest,  
Tho'now become each Coxcomb common Jest:  
Over Smooth Tongues, from Pulpit did I Glide,  
And in each Subjects Mind Triumphant Ride,  
Became the Christians Duty, and the Statesman's Pride.  
The Soldiers Honour, and the Clergies Fame,  
The Kingdom's Safety, and the Rebel's Shame,  
The Lawyer's Argument, the Poet's Theme,  
The Young Man's Glory, and the Old Man's Dream,  
The Prince's Pleasure, and the People's Joy,  
God Save the King, the Prayer of every Boy.  
These Epithets your Clergy once could give;  
And Preached, and Prayed I might for ever Live.  
Approved me as a Virtue fit to Reign,  
And bear Dominion in the Hearts of Men.  
But that Church Wind that Aided in my flight,  
And raised me up to such a Tottering height,  
By Saints strong Bellows, from the Pulpit-blown,  
Being turned against me, brought me tumbling down:  
Where Buried in Contempt, my Fate I Mourn,  
Till Raised again, to serve some Holy Turn.  
So the Lame Patient, when he's eased of Pain,  
Slights his old Wounds, and does the Salve disdain,  
But when it Smarts, is glad to use the like again.  
FINIS.