mmMmmmm^ 
 
m;ir^:i§^ 
 
 OF THE 
 
 REFORMATION, 
 
 ON 
 
 ®S^EI^ S)®©!©®!??, 
 
 BY WILLIAM MACKRAY, 
 
 MINISTBR OF THE GOSPEL STERLING, SCOTLANl^, 
 
 **The Cause of Man.*' — Cowper. 
 
 ^PRINTED AWD PUBL.ISHJSD BY ROBERT HESBIT, 
 
 No. 3 Frankfort Street. 
 
 1833; 
 
PREFACJK. 
 
 'While the Author of this essay was pursuing his 
 studies in the University of Aberdeen, the Trustees 
 of Mrs. Blackwall proposed for her Biennial 
 Prize, the Question — -^What has been the effect 
 of the Reformation in Religion, on the state of Ci- 
 vil Society in Europe ?" A few pages, chiefly with 
 a view to his own improvement, he wrote on this 
 subject, and unexpectedly, proved the successful 
 Candidate. After his Essay was publicly read in 
 Marischal College, several persons who heard it. 
 expressed their desire, that it should be published. 
 
 In various parts of Europe — not excepting our 
 own kingdom — the interests of Popery have lately 
 experienced a considerable revival. The number 
 of its avowed disciples, and of its secret friends, 
 has greatly increased ; ^vhile. in all its territories, 
 and in all the departments of its hierarchy, there is 
 a combined and vigorous movement against Pro- 
 testantism throughout the world. — In these circum- 
 stances, it is the imperative duty of every genuine 
 Protestant to rouse himself from slumber, and, b^ 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 every legitimate means and in the temper of triip 
 charity, to give his aid in the defence and estabUsh- 
 ment of that interest which involves at once the 
 glory of God, and the temporal and eternal welfare 
 of mankind. For Popery is the bane of society, 
 and in proportion as it obtains in the world, th(t 
 condition of men becomes degraded and nnhappy. 
 
 If, under the favor of Almighty Ggd, this Essay 
 shall be the means of inducing or cherishing a v.arni 
 regard to the cause of the Reformation, and a de- 
 sire to behold the blessings of that great Revolu- 
 tion valued and extended, the object of its publica- 
 tion will be abundantly realized." 
 
 The Author of the following admirable treatise, 
 having restricted his views of "the bright and bliss- 
 ful Reformation" exclusively to Europe — the Edi 
 tor of the Protestant has added a supplementar} 
 chapter to illustrate and confirm Mr. Mackray's 
 theories, by evidence deduced from the history xif 
 the American continent. 
 
 JVew Yorh, 19 Novcmhcr, 1830. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 Introduction. Page 6 — 23. 
 
 Chapter I. effect or the reformation on civil liberty. 
 
 importance of Liberty to Human Happineg?. Not really enjoyed in thr 
 States of Europe before the Sixteenth Century. They would have re- 
 mained strangers to it but for the Relbrmation. Papal Rome. Spiritu- 
 al Supremacy of the Popes. Their temporal dominion. Ignorance, 
 the source of Papal Domination. Means employed by the Pontiffs for 
 the establishment of their power. The Papal system protected by re- 
 ligious belief The Church the protectress of civil tyraimy. Luther. 
 Flis opposition to tiie Court of Rome. Tetzel. Sale of Indulgences. 
 Luther denounces them. Is anathematized. His magnanimous con- 
 duct. Th6 translation of the Holy Scriptures forwarded the Reforma- 
 tion. Plostility of the Church of Rome to the reading of the Scriptures. 
 Rapid spread of the Reformation. It partially overthrew the spiritual 
 supremacy of the Pontiffs. Destroyed their secular domination. The 
 Mvcrthrovv^ given to the power of Rome alTected civil government. 
 Writings ot" the Reformers. Advocates for the rights of the peoj)Ic. 
 Sentiments of Luther. Melanchton. Zuinglius. Knox. Calvin. 
 View of the cliange produced by the Reformation on the liberties ot 
 vlie states of Europe, England. Her condition posterior to it. Scotland. 
 The Reformation the dawn of genuine liberty. Knox. The Cove- 
 nanters. Consolidation of British liberty. Holland. Sweden. Denmark. 
 Germany. Switzerland. Geneva. Italy. France. Spain. Pp. 25—76. 
 
 C. K. effect of the reformation on national prosperity. 
 
 rhe Reformation has impressed the minds of the people with the duties 
 which they owe to their rulers. The Papal system entwined with the 
 afiairs of Government. The interest of the Church deemed of para- 
 mount importance. Vengeance of the Popes against the princes and 
 nations by whom they were oflended. Excommunication. Interdict. 
 Nations thrown into confusion by these instruments of Papal wrath. 
 Principle which lay at the foundation of all this preposterous. Abol- 
 ished by tlie Retbrmation. All interference of a foreign poAver with the 
 internal afiairs of States^ excluded. The Reformation has impressed 
 on tliG minds of Rulers the duties which they owe to their subjects. 
 Oatii, to be faithful to Rome, led to persecut'on. Happier system in- 
 troduced by the Reibrmation. Princes raised above the control of 
 Home. Harmony of feeling, and of interest produced between Pra 
 Testant princes and their people. Charles IX. Elizabeth. Bartholomew 
 massacre. Tlie Reformation abolished many customs and. institutions. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 wiiich corrnpted llie morals, and impoverished Tiie resources of iUr 
 Slates of Europe. Mona.chism. Dimimitioii of the mimber of testival.-^ 
 and hohdays. The Reformation imposed a powerful check on crime. 
 Doctrine oi"indulgence?. Doctrine of the right of sanctuary. Abohshed 
 in Protestant lands. Beneficial effect of the Reformation on the inter 
 course of states with each other. Pp. 77—116 
 
 C. III. EFFECT OF THE REFORMATION ON SOCIAL LIFE. 
 
 Social morality promoted by the Reformation. Morality essential to hap- 
 piness. Superstition its enemy. Popish superstition. Corruption ol 
 manners. The progress of literature would hav^e furnished no remed} 
 for the prevailing evils. The Reformation a recurrence to Christian 
 principles and Christian purity. A revolution in social morality forced 
 upon Papists. The Reformation gave security to the intercourse of so 
 cial lile. Principles of Popery opposed to it. The virtue and peace oi' 
 domestic life in the power of the Clergy. Auricular confession. Abom 
 inations practised under this doctrine. "Abolished in Protestant lands. 
 The Reformation effected an auspicious change in the people. Ten- 
 dency of the Romish system to destroy generous feelincr. Awfully in 
 tolerant. The temper of popery the reverse of that by which domestic' 
 society can be rendered happy. Charity the peculiar spirit of the Re- 
 formation. Pp. 117—126, 
 
 C. lY. EFFECT OF THE REFORMATION ON THE rROCRESS OF KNOA^'LEDGE. 
 
 Value of knowledge to man. Its importance to national dignity and vir- 
 tue. Melancholy state of knowledge before the 16th century. The pa 
 pal system hostile to learning. The Reformation naturally tended t(> 
 stimulate knowledge. Discussions originated by the Reformation pro- 
 moted knowledge. Noblest works of genius were produced by Pro- 
 testants. Study of literature forced upon the Papists. Knowledge can- 
 not be encouraged by Rome. Protestant States most eminent for liter 
 ature. Progress of knowledge since the Reformation. Great efforts in 
 the present age to promote improvement. Rome is opposing the pro 
 gress of knowledge. Her efforts will be finally unsuccessful. ^Tniversai 
 spread of knowledge anticipated. Pp. 127—132 
 
 C. V. EFFECT OF THE REFORMATION IN AMERICA. 
 
 European Settlements. Civil Liberty. National Prosperity. Social Lift^ 
 Progress of Knowledge. Recapitulation. Pp. 133—141. 
 
INTRODUCTORY 
 
 Few evenls in tlie liislory of mankind liavc been of greater 
 importance than the Reformation, and few have derived theij' 
 orio-in from more inconsiderable occurrences. Wonderful in- 
 deed would the intelligence have been regarded by the contem- 
 poraries of Tetzel, that the ebullitions of the zeal of that impru- 
 dent fanatic were to kindle a flame, which would burn till it had 
 utterly consumed the great fabric of spiritual despotism, that the 
 oppressors of Europe had been rearing for a thousand years, — 
 and that they were to give birth to a revolution whose influence 
 would be felt in the remotest regions of the world, and by the 
 latest generations of mankind. Great as is the importance which 
 we now attach to the Reformation, the circumstance by which it 
 was introduced would seem to t!ie men v/ho beheld it one of 
 those ephemeral transactions in human history, which, when a 
 few years have passed awa^y-, are forgotten — like a twinkling ta- 
 per cast upon the ocean, which, after the glimmer of a moment. 
 is swallowed up for ever. They were too near the scene of ac- 
 tion, — their attention was too much directed to insulated por- 
 tions of the plan which was in process of developement before 
 them, to obtain a comprehensive view of it as one great whole. 
 Their case with respect to the Reformation resembled that of a 
 traveller, in reference to some beautiful but extensive landscape. 
 He might, in passing over it, mark successively its varied aspect, 
 and the loveliness of its individual parts ; but its beauty as a 
 whole, arising from the splendid assemblage of charming ob- 
 jects which it exhibits, it would not be possible for him. duly to 
 
8 INTRODUCTORY. 
 
 estimate, unless, betaking himself to some commanding emi- 
 nence, his eye could cast its glance over the entire scene — the 
 landscape would burst on him in all its loveliness, and appear in 
 the richness of its combined beauty. It would have been ne- 
 cessary for the men who were contemporary with Luther and 
 Tetzel to look at the transactions which were passing under their 
 notice from an eminence in the moral and political, analogous^ 
 to that v/hich we have supposed in tlie material M-orld, ere lhe\ 
 could have estimated, according to its just magnitude, their pe- 
 culiar importance. Such an eminence do we occupy. At the 
 distance of three hundred years from that memorable revolution 
 which distinguished the 16th century, we can trace the causes-' 
 from which it originated ; — we can discern its commencemeni 
 amid a multiplicity of unnoticed, and apparently unimportant, 
 occurrences ; — we can follow it in the various stages of its 
 developement ; — we can mark the impulse whicli it has given 
 10 human affairs, and the features which it has impressed on 
 liuman society ; and thus are we precisely in that situation 
 whence it may be viewed in ail the variety of its bearings, 
 and estimated according to its unspeakable moment. 
 
 We should seek to gain acquaintance with the history of 
 this most interesting ©f all the revolutions that have taken place 
 In modern times, and we should investigate the benefits whicli 
 it has been the means of conferring on the world ; — that thus 
 our belief in the providence of that Almighty Disposer of events, 
 whose interposition it striking!}- displays, might be strengthen- 
 ed, and that a higher tone might be given to those feelings oi 
 gratitude which it is our duty to cherish, in the first place to- 
 wards the Supreme Agent, and then towards those illustrious in- 
 dividuals, to whom, under God, the world is indebted for thai 
 ffreat sum of intellectual, moral, and political good which it lia- 
 derived from the Reformation. 
 
 Regarding man as a moral and immortal being, the circum- 
 stance which, above all others, entitles the event of which we 
 are treating to our orrateful remembrance, is the change which it 
 lias accomplished in rcUg'ioii, — in rescuing mind from tlie chains 
 
INTRODUCTORY. , 9 
 
 which spiritual despotism liad been for ages'laboring with dread- 
 ful success to wreathe around it; in teaching it to scan its un- 
 alienable rights, and spurn subjection to any power save that of 
 its Creator; in fetching forth from the darkness where success- 
 ful villany had doomed it to dwell, and setting open to the in- 
 habitants of every land, that Book by which life and immortalit} 
 are brought to light ; in short, in exhibiting Christianity in her 
 native glory, disrobed of those dark and degrading superstitions 
 hy which, during many generations, her loveliness had been ob- 
 scured. But, even when viewed independently of its reference 
 to religion — when regarded altogether as to the influence which 
 it has exerted on civil and political affairs — it has been pro- 
 ductive of alterations of so much moment in man's social con- 
 dition, as to render it one of the most interesting and important 
 events which history relates. It has not merely thrown over 
 the face of society a few superficial and transitory embellish- 
 ments ; it has imparted to it, substantial and permanent improve- 
 ment. Man, in every character in which he can be viewed, and 
 iw every pursuit in which he can engage, has experienced its 
 power. To it we look back as the source of all the liberty 
 with which Europe is blessed. It has poured light on the 
 duties and the interests of rulers, and of their subjects. Na- 
 tions are indebted to it for the removal of numberless evils whicli 
 iiindered their prosperity, and for the confidence which charac- 
 terizes their mutual transactions ; whilst individuals and families 
 experience its influence in the security which it has imparted to 
 domestic enjoyment. And literature and the progress of know- 
 ledge have derived from it an impulse, greater than from any 
 other event recorded in the history of the world. The Refor- 
 mation is the era from whtch modern science has dated her 
 rapid and unparalleled triumphs. 
 
 But it was not to be expected that the Reformation, whicli 
 operated so extensively and so powerfully in changing the reli- 
 gious, the political, and the social condition of ihe states of Eu- 
 rope, would have been unattended by any consequences of an 
 Injurious description. This world is not the scene of unmingled 
 
10 INTRODUCTORY. 
 
 good. The character and circumstances of man in liis present 
 state of existence are such, that every event which takes place 
 in his history must, like the symbolical cloud in the desert of Si- 
 nai, have a dark, as well as a bright side, — must have a portion 
 of evil mixed up with all the good of which it is productive. In 
 the history, even of Christianity, we lind the most striking illus- 
 tration of the truth of this maxim that can possibly be conceived. 
 Its introduction is, unquestionr.bly, the most important and aus- 
 picious event that ever had been, or ever will be, recorded in the^ 
 annals of tlie human race. Its motto is the song of angels. 
 Glory to Gcd in the highest, peace on earth, good will to men.'' 
 In the history of Christianity are destined to be more than reali- 
 zed the brightest visions that ever prophet announced, or rap- 
 tured poet sung; scenes of peace, and felicity, and joy, "such as 
 earth sav/ never, such as heaven stoops down to see." Never- 
 theless, the introduction of Christianity Avas not unaccompanie([ 
 with disastrous effects. Its nature and its tendency are good, — 
 without any mixture of evil. Yet did its divine author, our 
 blessed Lord and Saviour, declare respecting it, " I come not to 
 send peace on earth, but a sword ; for I am come to set a man at 
 variance against his father, and the daugliter against her mother, 
 and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law ; and a man's 
 toes shall be those of his own household." Wars, and persecu- 
 tions, and outrage, and bloodshed to a most awful degree were, 
 accordingly, its consequences — consequences, hov/ever, of 
 which it is innocent, and which are attributable solely to the de- 
 pravity of those Vvho, when the light shone among them, were 
 unwilling to receive it. Now, if even the introduction of Chris- 
 tianity, the most memorable and blissful event that is recorded 
 in the whole history of man, v*as the innocent occasion of many 
 disastrous transactions, it is by no means wonderful, that th(^ 
 Reformation from Popery, which was just tlic restoration ol 
 genuine Christianity, should have been followed by some conse- 
 quences of a similar nature. The opponents of Christianity, in 
 the primitive ages of her history, eagerly laid hold of this facL 
 and talked of it as a demonstration that Christianity had been a 
 
INTRODUCTORY. 11 
 
 curse, and not a blessing, to mankind ; and their example has 
 been imitated by the enemies of the Reformation. They have 
 told us of a multitude of evils, of which that revolution has been 
 productive, and they have attempted to persuade us that these 
 are of such magnitude as never to be atoned for by the benefits 
 which it has conferred ; but nothing could be more illiberal, or 
 more unjust. Many of the alleged evils which are attributed 
 to the Reformation, are found, on inquiry, to be productive of 
 good. Not a few of the injurious occurrences with Avhich it is 
 blamed, are unjustly laid to its charge ; and those real evils 
 which it has occasioned, are infinitely counterbalanced by the 
 numberless substantial benefits with which it has been attended. 
 
 We are told, that the Reformation has operated with mischiev- 
 ous efiect on the tranquillity of civil and political society. It 
 has been productive of many fierce and disastrous wars in all the 
 countries of the western world. Germany, and France, and 
 Britain, we are assured, have all been the scenes of the desperate 
 and long continued struggles to which it gave birth. Now, we 
 answer, that the guilt of these unhappy conflicts, cannot be 
 charged on the Reformation ; and although it were true that 
 these hostile transactions were excited and encouraged by the 
 Reformation, they bore such a character, and have been produc- 
 tive of such beneficial consequences, that, notwithstanding all 
 the atrocities by which they were distinguished, and the obstruc- 
 tions which, for a time, they laid in the way of social improve- 
 ment, they are blessings to mankind. 
 
 Let it be supposed, that those contests by which, during the 
 sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, the nations of Europe were 
 convulsed, with all the evils which they occasioned, are to be 
 laid to the charge of the Reformation ; who, that thinks of the 
 character which they bore, and of the eftects which they produc- 
 ed, will hesitate to admit that they have been, on the whole, 
 auspicious events? The love of freedom, and a noble determina- 
 tion to recover the long-lost rights of men, originated them, and 
 stimulated their continuance. The foes of the Reformation in- 
 deed, have often stigmatized them as contests of rebellion, but 
 
\'Z INTRODUCTORY. 
 
 the stigma is slanderous and unjust. They were contests for re- 
 jigion, and liberty, and truth— all that is dear to man in this 
 world, and in the world to come. Even although they had been 
 unsuccessful, we should have honored them in our remembrance, 
 and the scenes in which they were waged should be venerated 
 as the fields of glorious, though fruitless fight. But these con- 
 tests were not, in general, unsuccessful : attended, doubtless, 
 they were, with awful, and extensive, and long-lasting devasta- 
 tion, whose details fill us with regret and horror ; but they ter- 
 minated in the overthrow of the oppressor, the breaking asund- 
 er of fetters, and the bringing forth of the enslaved to light and 
 liberty. Should protestant Germany consider even the century 
 of warfare which the Reformation cost her, too mighty a price 
 for the substantial advantages she has derived from it ? Would 
 the Belgian provinces be content again to submit to the imperial 
 yoke, if the blood and treasure which they expended in gaining 
 their freedom could be restored? Is there any patriot of our 
 own land, who, when he thinks of the years, and ages even, of 
 internal convulsion, by which she was rent in consequence of the 
 Reformation, imagines that she purchased, by too costly sacrifi- 
 ces, her freedom, her happiness, her glory? In short, is there 
 any man of sound intelligence, who will cast his eyes over the 
 nations of Europe, and mark the independence of mind, the 
 activity of thought, the elevation of character, the refinement of 
 manners, by which they are generally distinguished, and contrast 
 all this with the condition of Europe in the dark ages, and then 
 say that the sacrifices which were made in accomplishing this 
 mighty change have been beyond"its value? Impossible. Put- 
 ting the blessings of restored Christianity out of the question, 
 the Reformation has been attended with a multiplicity of other 
 benefits to the nations of Europe, and, indeed, to the world at 
 large, which amply compensate for all the toils, and perils, and 
 woes, which were experienced in conflicting for its establishment. 
 But the guilt connected with these scenes of warfare and out- 
 rage cannot be laid to the charge of the Reformation. Those 
 onlv, are to be blamed for these things, who resisted the improve- 
 
INTRODUCTORY. U 
 
 ruents, and the just rights, which the people had become en- 
 lightened enough to appreciate and to demand. Mildness an4 
 peace are the characters which the friends of the reformed faith 
 always desired to bear ; persuasion and argument the only arms 
 they were anxious to employ. Nor would any other ever have 
 been employed, if the despots of the age had listened to the 
 voice of reason and of truth. They, certainly, had no right to 
 prevent the degraded millions who were their subjects, from be- 
 coming enlightened, and free, and happy. Rather ought they 
 to have made common cause with their people ; and if they had 
 done this, which it w^as at once their duty and their interest to 
 do, the peace of the world would not have been interrupted. 
 But they set themselves to oppose the Reformation ; they at- 
 tempted its overthrow. The ruin of its friends — the wretched- 
 ness of mankind, would have been the consequence of their suc- 
 cess. Resistance was necessary — resistance was made ; not 
 those, however, who resisted, but those whose aggressions rous- 
 ed that resistance — the enemies of the Reformation, and they 
 alone, must bear the guilt of all the evils of which it was the 
 innocent occasion. 
 
 It is affirmed, farther, that the Reformation has operated with 
 injurious effect on literature, and on the fine arts. These com- 
 plaints are destitute of foundation. It is not true — that the 
 ebullition of popular indignation which burst forth against the 
 ancient system, was attended with the extensive destruction of 
 literary works. The monasteries, at the time of the Reforma- 
 tion, seem to have been any thing but the abodes of learning ; 
 and the Reformers were too much distinguished as literary men 
 themselves, and too anxious to see the streams of knowledge 
 pouring their fructifying waters along the desolate heritages of 
 the earth, to recommend measures by which injury would be 
 done to the interests of learning. 
 
 What though some monuments of Grecian and Roman genius 
 have perished, and some magnificent specimens of architecture 
 have been turned into ruins, and some opportunities thereby 
 been taken away from our men of science, of exercising literary 
 
14 INTRODUCTORY. 
 
 acumen, and gratifying literary taste ? What matters all tlii?, 
 when in the room, and by the means of these disadvantages, 
 there has been obtained the shining forth of Christianity, in her 
 unadulterated and glorious simplicity, and the breaking asunder 
 and casting away of the vilest and most grievous manacles that 
 ever enslaved the body and the soul of man ? 
 
 The general influence of the Reformation, has not been hostile 
 to learning. What literature had Europe, that was worthy of 
 the name, before the sixteenth century ? What literature has 
 Europe still, that is not either the immediate offspring of the 
 Reformation, or mainly indebted to it for its lusture and perfec- 
 tion ? Have not all the great literary works, which have made 
 their appearance in modern times, been the production of men 
 who were either Protestants, or had felt, though they refused to 
 acknowledge, their obligations to the potent, rousing, and en- 
 nobling influence of the Reformation. 
 
 The fine arts have been, to a certain extent, unfavourably 
 affected by the Reformation. Not merely in consequence of 
 those operations of positive destruction, which took place in va- 
 rious parts of Europe, but chiefly, in virtue of the change which 
 has been eflfected in religion ; in the expulsion of all that ex- 
 ternal pomp and magnificence by which the system of the dark 
 ages was distinguished ; and by means of which encouragement, 
 to an incredible extent, was given to the arts, especially those 
 of architecture, painting and sculpture. " When a pompous 
 worship requires magnificent temples, imposing ceremonies, and 
 splendid decorations ; when religion presents to men's eyes the 
 sensible images of the objects of public worship ; when it rests 
 on a sacred mythology; when the earth and heavens are peopled 
 with supernatural beings, to v/hom the imagination may lend a 
 form ; then it is that the arts, encouraged and ennobled, attain 
 the height of their glory and perfection. The architect, called 
 to honors and fortune, conceives the plan of those temples and 
 cathedrals, the sight of which imposes a religious awe, and of 
 which the walls are adorned with the finest productions of art. 
 This temple, those altars, are ornamented with morble and pre- 
 
INTRODUCTORY. 15 
 
 •lous metals, which sculpture has formed into angels, saints, and 
 the images of illustrious men. All the different apartments are 
 decorated and filled with pictures. In one place is Jesus expir- 
 ing upon a cross ; in another he is shining on Mount Tabor, in 
 all the divine Majesty. Art, so nearly allied to what is ideal, 
 and which delights in ascending to heaven, repairs thither to 
 seek for its most sublime creations ; John, a Cecilia, and par- 
 ticularly a Mary, that patroness of all tender and ardent souls — - 
 that virgin model of all mothers, — the intercessor of grace plac- 
 ed between man and his God — that Elysian — that august aud 
 interesting being — whom no other religion offers any thing that 
 resembles. During those solemnities, the finest stuffs, precious 
 stones, and embroideries, cover the altars, the vases, the priests, 
 and even the partitions of the sacred place. Music completes 
 the charm by the most exquisite strains, and the harmony of 
 various instruments. Those powerful encouragements are re- 
 peated in a thousand different places. Capitals, parishes, the 
 numerous convents, even the most humble congregations, strive 
 lo excel in splendor, and to captivate all the faculties of the de- 
 vout and religious mind. Thus a taste for the arts becomes gen- 
 eral, by means of so powerful an exciting cause. Artists multi- 
 ply, and vie with one another in their efforts. The celebrated 
 schools of Italy and Flanders flourished under that influence, 
 and their beautiful productions which have come down to us, 
 afford abundant testimony of the greatness of the encouragements 
 which they derived from the Popish worship." 
 
 A scene of a different kind has been introduced by the Refor- 
 mation. The union which existed between religion and the arts 
 lias been broken down. The magnificence of popish worship 
 has been abolished, as inconsistent with the institutions of Jesus 
 Christ, and a simple yet dignified ritual introduced into the 
 church, which forms a striking contrast to all the foolish pa- 
 geantry of what was called the Christian worship of former 
 times. This change has been, in a religious point of view, most 
 beneficial to the Christian world. It has trampled in. the dust 
 iha idolatry of Romanism ; has dissolved the enchantment of the 
 
L6 INTRODUCTORY. 
 
 imagination, by which men were deluded, and withdrawing the 
 attention of the worshippers from splendid, but unmeaning forms, 
 has directed it to that which is of infinitely greater importance, 
 — the religion of the heart. But, while this change has benefit- 
 ed the great cause of scriptural piety, it has, at the same time, 
 done disservice to the arts. It has annihilated one of their most 
 powerful stimulants ; has diminished their popularity, and ex- 
 cluded them from a scene, of all others the most eminently 
 adapted to call forth, and furnish scope for their noblest tri- 
 umphs. Superb temples are not now deemed indispensably 
 necessary for the worship of Deity ; the productions of the chisel 
 and the pencil are banished from the house of God as unseemly 
 decorations ; and the world, having lost its reverence for the 
 patronage of saints and angels, no longer expends its treasures 
 on their statues. 
 
 The influence of the Reformation has, undoubtedly, in respect 
 of these things, been unfavorable to the progress of the fine arts. 
 But religion is of infinitely greater importance to mankind than 
 the arts ; and, rather than behold it corrupted and debased, we 
 should be content that they should perish and be forgotten. Sup- 
 pose the Reformation not to have taken place, then art would 
 have continued to be encouraged, to flourish, to accumulate its 
 trophies, and to advance towards higher degrees of eminence 
 and glory. ' But at what expense would all this have been ob- 
 tained? At the expence of dishonored, degraded Rehgion, and 
 the perpetuated ignorance, deception, and misery of mankind ! 
 The fine arts were, to a certain extent, identified with that mon- 
 strous corruption of Christianity which had usurped her name, 
 and were not the least powerful of those means by which that 
 mystery of iniquity was cherished and upheld. But v»^ho would 
 wish to see the arts prosper, at the expense of all the dearest in- 
 terests of mankind ? Who would not rather that they should be 
 shorn of some of their splendor, than that their fascination 
 should go down to succeeding generations with its power unim- 
 paired, by which, in the most momentous of all concerns, men 
 were deluded and destroyed ? Who, in ihort, deem.s not the vin^ 
 
INTRODUCTORY. H 
 
 dication of religion, the restoration of luiadulteraied Christianity, 
 and the establishment of menial freedom, blessings of such in- 
 conceivable magnitude, as inlinitely to counterbalance the par- 
 tial and temporary restraint which, in contending for their en- 
 joyment, was imposed upon the arts ? 
 
 In thus depriving the arts of one important mean of their 
 prosperity, the Reformation has offended in company with 
 Christianity, and the very same defence which triumphantly vin- 
 dicates the latter, serves for the vindication of the former. Tu 
 a far greater extent than ever was the case under Popery, did the 
 religion of the Greeks exercise a fostering influence over the 
 arts. When we contemplate it as Christians, it is the object of 
 our utter contempt and abomination, exhibiting, in a m.ost me- 
 lancholy manner, how stupid and depraved the human mind is, 
 when unenlightened and unrenewed by Him who created it. But 
 when we look upon it with a scienlitic eye ; when we behold it 
 €allin<T forth those energies of mind whose achievements it is 
 our delight to contemplate, it attracts our admiration, and forces 
 us to regard it among the pleasing images of departed days. The 
 skill of the architect was tasked for magnificent temples to their 
 thirty thousand gods ; while the most refined taste of the pain- 
 ter and the statuary was employed in their decoration. Not one 
 town was there in Greece that did not abound with the produc- 
 tions of her celebrated artists. Athens alone could boast of more 
 than 3000 statues, sacred to the memory of illustrious names ; 
 and, in every one of her porticos and temples, were to be beheld 
 the paintings of Parrhasius, Zeuxis, or Polygnotus. Their of- 
 ferings, too, their sacrifices, their assemblies, their holy revels, 
 were scenes altogether favorable for sculpture and j^ainting. 
 *' Young priestesses, adorned with festoons of amaranths and 
 violets, and sacriflcers crowned with ivy, holding the Thyrsus 
 in one hand, and the cup in the other, were personages most 
 interesting to the artisan, and eminently adapted to enrich the 
 productions of the fine arts." The religion of the Greeks fur- 
 nished materials out of which, under the forming hand of art. 
 t^prung those pleasing and magnificent productions which have 
 
18 INTRODUCTORY. 
 
 charmed to extcay the human mind in many a siicceedinif gone- 
 ration, and of which the bare description has awakened the admi- 
 ration and dehght of those whose eyes were never privileged to 
 behold them. To all this scene of pageantry, Christianity put an 
 <iiid. It destroyed the temples and the altars of Pagan idola- 
 try ; terminated its pompous worship ; abolished all its rites ; and 
 extinguished its glory for ever, ^yhat a shock to the fine arts was 
 this I What a theme of lamentation to men of genius and taste ! And 
 how might it be expected that they would inveigh against Christi- 
 anity as a base and pernicious system, whose object was to exter- 
 minate every vestige of refinement, and every monument of taste, 
 and to plunge the world again into the rudeness and barbarism of 
 primitive days ! But, in reference to all this, how noble, how decis- 
 ive, how glorious, is the defence of our holy religion ! In its nature 
 it is not hostile either to literature or the arts. Nay, its tendency 
 is to unfetter the human mind, and to inspire it with noble sen- 
 timents, and thus to further, in the most important of all ways, 
 the improvement and happiness of man. In destroying the re- 
 ligion of the Greeks, indeed, it removed one pov/erful stimulant 
 which the arts had long enjoyed, and thereby, in the mean time, 
 tarnished their glory. But what then ? The triumphs of Gre- 
 cian art were gained at the expense of interests infinitely more 
 precious. They w-ere trophies reared in commemoration of 
 '' The Prince of this world," and one of the chief of whose de- 
 vices for supporting his kingdom has been the pressing into its 
 service, the genius, the learning, and the grandeur of the earth. 
 in proportion as mankind became more entirely given to idola- 
 try, the fine arts advanced towards perfection; they were invest- 
 ed v/ith brighter lustre, in proportion as the spiritual glory of 
 man departed farther away, and in proportion as he sunk deeper 
 in spiritual degradation and ruin ! Oh unhallowed achievements 
 of art! Ye temples, and domes, and porticos of the ancient 
 world; monuments of mighty genius and cultivated taste ! We 
 look upon your relics with admiration ; but we think of your 
 overthrow with delight. The abolition of the idolatry which 
 stimulated vour creation, and arraved vou with all vour charms. 
 
INTRODUCTORY. 19 
 
 has been the salvation of the world; and better lor mankind it 
 would surely have been, that the art of the painter and the sta- 
 tuary should have gone into everlasting oblivion, than that wc 
 should have forfeited the civilization, the refinement, and, above 
 all, the light and the hope of everlasting life, which the religion 
 of Jesus Christ has imparted to mankind ! 
 
 But the unfavorable influence which the Reformation exerted 
 on the fine arts, is far less considerable than has been affirmed. 
 A temporary eclipse they did ex'?erience ; but it was the prelude 
 of their shining forth with greater and more permanent bright- 
 ness. Their connection with religion has indeed been broken 
 up, but their achievements have been extended to those other 
 departm.ents of society from which they were excluded, but 
 which constitute their proper and legitimate province. Patron- 
 age, too, such as, save in the states of Greece, the arts never 
 received, in these later days, has been awarded to them ; while, 
 in the establishment of freedom, the Reformation has laid a foun- 
 dation for the advancement of literature and the arts, without 
 which it is impossible for them to obtain substantial and perma- 
 jient improvement. " Never did a slave become an orator," 
 and the rem.ark is applicable to all the fine arts, and to general 
 literature, — " his spirit being effectually broken, the habit of sub- 
 jection continually overawes and bears down his genius." — " Li- 
 berty, on the other hand, produces fine sentiments in men of 
 genius. It invigorates their liopes, excites an honorable emula- 
 tion, and inspires a noble ambition and desire to excel." From 
 the time when the Greeks began to struggle for freedom, till the 
 period when that precious gift of heaven was snatched away 
 from them, their great artists flourished, and all those great 
 works of genius were produced, which have reflected immortal 
 honor on their authors, and on the land that gave them birth. 
 And although, in some other nations, there have been periods in 
 which, even in the absence of liberty, various adventitious cir- 
 cumstances combined to raise some of the arts to considerable 
 improvement, their success in these instances was not permanent, 
 and was inferior to that which, in' other circumstances^ they 
 
20 INTRODUCTORY. 
 
 would have attained. Literature and art flourishing amid an ai 
 mosphere of despotism, remind us of those plants and flower- 
 which, translated to an ungeaial clime, are nevertheless reared 
 to some faint degree of maturity by artificial means. Their ap- 
 pearance, in these circnm.stances, affords a slight indication of 
 what they would have been under their native sky ; bnt exhibitSr 
 on the whole, a melancholy contrast to the perfection of stature 
 and of beauty which the genial hand of nature would have con- 
 ferred upon them. The Reformation was the dawn of genuine 
 freedom in modern Europe. Its influence has been already ma- 
 nifested in the potent impulse which literature and the arts have 
 experienced ; and will yet be still more eminently manifested in 
 carrying them on to achievements of more substantial excellence 
 than the modern world has ever beheld. 
 
 The charge has been brought against the Reformation, — of 
 having given birth to an immense number of hostile religious 
 sects, and of having awakened the strife of controversy in every 
 corner of Christendom. It is not true that the number of jar- 
 ring sects was multiplied in consequence of the Reformation ; 
 for, although it cannot be denied that Protestante have become 
 subdivided into a variety of denominations, — it is still as unde- 
 niable that, in Rome, ere yet the Reformation had taken place., 
 although her members professed to be gathered together under 
 the auspices of an infallible head, there v/as a greater multitude 
 of sects, each distinguished by its particular dogmas, and each 
 inveterate against another, than has appeared during the v/hole 
 evsntful history of Protestantism. 
 
 But although the number of sects had been greatly multiplied, 
 it is most easy, in reference to this matter, to vindicate the Re- 
 formation. For, who will esteem it wonderful that ihe sudden 
 and unexpected restoration of liberty of thought, and of inquiry 
 and profession, to the members of a church that, for ages, had 
 been fettered down to implicit belief and passive obedience, 
 should have produced an immense num/ber of discordant opinons ? 
 Or, who will say that it is not much more pleasing, to behold the 
 restored liberty of mind and conscience, tvttested even in th'^n 
 
INTRODUCTORY. 21 
 
 luanner, than to witness a tranquillity pervading the church and 
 the nations, which was manifestly nothing else than the deep 
 stillness of spiritual degradation and spiritual death ? Beside?^, 
 many of those unscriptural and absurd opinions, the adoption oi 
 which is not wonderful in minds, thrown suddenly into freedom, 
 have long since passed into oblivion. Protestantism has been 
 gradually uniting the energies of her friends, and will continue 
 to do so more and more, until rival sects shall live only in the 
 pages of the historian, and, the Roman apostasy, with every 
 other false system, having been destroyed, the disciples of 
 Christ shall be one over all the earth. 
 
 But, say the enemies of the Reformation, the revolution of 
 which you make your boast has interrupted peace, and awaken- 
 ed the din of controversy throughout every part of the Christian 
 world. If there is evil in this, of that evil the Reformation ' 
 must bear the blame. 
 
 However unhappily controversies have too often been con- 
 ducted, the assistance they have afforded to the discovery of 
 truth is not light or inconsiderable. Not to mention the Refor- 
 mation, which was principally effected by controversy, how 
 many truths have by this means been set in a clearer light, and' 
 whilst the unhappy passions it has awakened have subsided, the 
 light struck out in the collision has been retained and perpetuat- 
 ed. As the physical powers are scarcely ever exerted to their 
 utmost extent, but in the order of combat ; so intellectual acu- 
 men has been displayed to the best advantage, and with most ef- 
 fect, in the contest of argument. The mind of a controversial- 
 ist, warmed and agitated, is hurried to all quarters, and leaves 
 none of its resources unemployed in the invention of arguments : 
 tries every weapon, and explores the hidden recesses of a sub- 
 ject with intense vigilance, and with an ardor which it is next to 
 impossible, in a calmer state of mind, to command. Disingenous 
 arts are often resorted to ; personalities are mingled, and much 
 irritative matter is introduced ; but it is the business of the at- 
 tentive observer to separate these from the question at issue, and 
 lo form an impartial judgment of the whole. It may be truh 
 
22 INTRODUCTORY. 
 
 affirmed that the evils of controversy are transient, the good it 
 produces permanent." 
 
 The whole history of the church since the Reformation, is a 
 commentary on these sentiments. Freedom of discussion is the 
 glory of Protestants, and a thousand times rather would we en- 
 counter all its evils, than part with its enjoyment. It is the dis- 
 coverer and the guardian of truth ; and to that very excitement, 
 and that very indulgence of controversy for which the Reforma- 
 tion is blamed, are we indebted for the noblest defences of truth 
 of which the world can boast. And to those controversies, on 
 political and religious subjects, which, during the sixteenth and 
 seventeenth centuries, were carried on in Britain, and the Con- 
 tinent of Europe, — distinguished as not a few of them Avere, for 
 what we call unchristian invective, — are to be traced in no in- 
 considerable degree, the superior intelligence, and the ardent 
 and unquenchable love of civil and religious freedom, by- which 
 it is the glory of Protestants to be characterized. 
 
 Changes like these, by which society has been, in no ordi- 
 nary degree, improved, and by which innumerable blessings 
 have been diffused among its members, are eminently calculat- 
 ed to draw forth, to the revolution that produced them, the 
 grateful and venerating feelings of every heart in which there is 
 philanthropy enough to regard the augmentation of human hap- 
 piness as an object of delight. And, had the friends of the Re- 
 formation been assiduous, as they ought to have been, in bring- 
 ing these momentous bearings of that event prominently before 
 the world — had they roused themselves as they ought, to vindi- 
 cate the extent of its importance, there would not have existed 
 respecting it — the unfounded and illiberal opinions by which, iii 
 a multitude of minds, its glory is obscured, and its interest 
 greatly destroyed : — instead of being regarded simply as an 
 event which, occasioning the adoption over a great part ol 
 Christendom of a purer theological creed, merits, on that ground, 
 the attention and gratitude of the man of religion, it would have 
 been seen to have borne with so much energy on man's social 
 destiny — to have aflected so deeply his present felicity, as weU 
 
INTRODUCTORY. 23 
 
 as liis immortal hopes, that there would have been attracted 
 towards it the homage of all who wish to be deemed the friends- 
 of humanity, as well as the veneration of the disciples of geiiuinc 
 Christianity. 
 
 k\i\\o\\g\\ the present is a scene which will, ere long, fade 
 from our sight, and give place to the subhme and unchanging 
 realities of another; and although the operations of that Provi- 
 dence which superintends human affairs have an especial respect 
 to man as an immortal being, we are not warranted, on these 
 accounts, to deem unworthy of our notice whatsoever bears not 
 directly on our future destination. To do this, would be to fall 
 into one of those very delusions, which, in the ages that pre- 
 ceded the Reformation, exerted such a ruinous influence on 
 mankind, — cherishing and strengthening the most monstrous 
 power by which the Vv orld has ever been oppressed. Of small 
 moment as the present is, when compared with that scene of in- 
 conceivably deeper interest which is to succeed, it is, neverthe- 
 less, one about which the providence of the Great Supreme is 
 exercised, and in the government of whose affairs his glorious 
 attributes are displayed ; and if He deems it not too mean for 
 his regard, and moreover has enjoined his rational ofl^spring to 
 meditate upon his works, and to consider the operations of his 
 hand, the investigation of events in which His agency is emi- 
 nently conspicuous, in their effect on man's present as well as 
 on his future destiny, must be at once a laudable and a profitable 
 employment; — laudable, because it is an acquiescence in the 
 will of Him whose requirements ought to regulate our whole 
 conduct ; and profitable, because it habituates the mind to recog- 
 nize " a God employed in all the good and ill that chequer life," 
 and because it furnishes occasion for deeper and more lively gra- 
 titude to that wise and beneficent Being, whose plan of govern- 
 ment, has obviously in view the promotion of human happiness, 
 and the progressive melioration of human society. 
 
CHAPTER I. 
 
 THE EFFECT PRODUCED BY THE REFOR3IATI0> 
 ON CIVIL. lilBERTY. 
 
 Of the various modes in which the Reformation has operated 
 with powerful effect on the social condition of man, the promotion 
 of civil liberty is one, which, from its importance to human hap- 
 j)inesfc', is entitled to peculiar regard. Than liberty— all thar 
 freedom from constraint which is consistent with the existence 
 and welfare of the social union — there is no earthly blessing ol 
 more importance to the intellectual and social improvement ol 
 mankind. It is the nurse of genius — the guardian of domestir 
 comfort— the parent of all that is great in national character. 
 
 From this precious gift of heaven, the nations of modern 
 Europe had been long estranged. It had been their fate to be 
 the victims of unfeeling despotism, the prey of one or of man\ 
 tyrants. In this state, almost without exception, they were be- 
 held at the commencement of the sixteenth century— som^ 
 lorded over by one, others groaning beneath the yoke of mauv 
 oppressors. In not a few of the European states, the monarcii 
 Avas absolute, and the people Avere in reality his slaves ; nor, iji 
 those other states where, after many struggles withmonarchicai 
 power, the aristocracy had succeeded in gaining the ascendent} . 
 were the people in circumstances of less degradation. The no 
 bles opposed the power of the monarchs, but the object of theii 
 opposition was their own aggrandizement, not the liberation o- 
 iheir enslaved subjects ; and, remarkable only for th^ir pride 
 
 3 
 
26 EFFECT OF THE REFORMATION 
 
 and the contempt with which they regarded the inferior classes 
 of society, the transference of power into their hands effected 
 no melioration in the condition of the people. In fact, it was 
 to the latter an object of extreme indifference, as to any advan- 
 tage resulting from the change, whether they were in subjection 
 to one despot or a hundred. 
 
 Such, were the features of the political condition of Chris- 
 tian Europe at the commencement of the 16th century. And 
 who can tell how long — if the Reform.ation had not taken place 
 — this m.elancholy state of matters might have been perpetuat- 
 ed? The progress of knowledge — to which the discovery of the 
 art of printing had imparted an unparalleled impulse — would, 
 indeed, have overthrown in process of time this system of 
 things, if there had existed no other power by whose influence 
 that progress could have been counteracted. But there did exist 
 r^uch a power — a power to which almost the entire Christian 
 w'orld did homage — whose influence, if it had not been destroy- 
 ed, was potent enough to check, in its very commencement, the 
 emancipation of mind, and which tlserefore, whilst by perpet- 
 uating the reign of darkness, it maintai^ied the security of its 
 own throne, was the guardian of every other system of o]>- 
 })ression by which the world called Christian was enslaved. 
 
 That power is Papal Rome, — a power, whose nature, great- 
 ness, and duration, are among the most surprising phenomena 
 that human histor}- presents to our contemplation. This power, 
 having icS seat at Rome, and an Italian priest as the superin- 
 tendent of its administration, arrogated to itself the prerogatives 
 of Deity, — claiming unlimnted authority over the world in secu- 
 lar as well as in ecclesiastical affairs, — assuming to itself the 
 right of dethroning monarchs, and disposing of crowns, — and 
 visiting those who refused obedience to its will with the most 
 fatal and sanguinary vengeance. Spiritual supremacy was all 
 that was originally claimed by the pretended Vicars of Jesus 
 Christ ; and, abhorrent as the idea of temporal power is to the 
 character of the ministers of religion, and utterly repugnant 
 as it is to the genius of Christianity to be associated with 
 
ON CIVIL LIBERTY. 27 
 
 the pride and pomp of worldly grandeur, more than spiritual 
 supremacy it could not have been anticipated that th^.y would 
 demand. But, alas for the peace and happiness of mai.iiind ! as 
 if the imposition of an unhallowed spiritual yoke had been too 
 small a triumph for them to have gained over a degrac'ed world, 
 more than this they did demand, and more than this ihey came 
 to possess. In boundless violation of all propriety, and in out- 
 rage to that Saviour for whom they professed to act, ' ut whose 
 " kingdom is not of this world," they assumed to themselves 
 imperial as well as sacerdotal power, grasped the temporal 
 sword, as well as the keys of Peter, and ceased not to ply sieir 
 insidious devices, till, not only in religion, but also in all secu- 
 lar affairs, they wielded uncontrolled dominion over the Chris- 
 tian xvorld. 1. What a spectacle of humiliation was it, to behold 
 England acknowledging her subjection to a foreign priesthood, 
 by the yearly payment of a tribute levied on ail her families ; 
 — a tribute which, although the consideration of its amount is 
 insignificant in comparison with the consideration of its de- 
 grading import, was far from being trivial in point of value : 
 for, from the time of its imposition to that of its ab dition, the 
 sum which it put into the Papal treasury, could not be less than 
 a hundred millions of our present money. 2. 
 
 So completely, indeed, did clerical ambition gain the ascen- 
 dency over the secular powers, that the greatest of the princes 
 of the eartli humbled themselves to the very dust in the pre- 
 sence of him who was called " the Pope," and sacrificed before 
 him at once the majesty of kings and the dignity of men ; — or, 
 if there did sometimes appear a monarch, who, more spirited 
 than his fellows, dared to disobey " the Vicar of Christ," he 
 became the victim of a resentment, which, availing itself of the 
 superstition of his people, was felt to be terrible. 3. In the 
 history of Henry II. of England is found a memorable illustra- 
 tion of this remark. Perceiving that the insolence and profli- 
 gacy of the clerical orders in his dominions had become intoler- 
 able ; he determined to attempt their Reformation ; but his at- 
 tempt proved fatal. The Primate of England, indignant, fled 
 
:i8 EPTECT OF THE REFORMATION 
 
 lo Rome — the anathemas of the Holy See thundered — th(- 
 iViends of the King were excommunicated — he himself was de- 
 posed — and his subjects were absolved from their allegiance. 
 There needed no more. The haughty fugitive returned in tri- 
 umph through the streets of the English metropolis, and tht- 
 j.'riestly domination derived increased stability from the oppo- 
 sition which it had sustained. 4. 
 
 With propriety has the. period been termed 'The Dark Ages," 
 when such a usurpation could meet with endurance — a usurpa- 
 tion reared on the ruin of all that is virtuous and noble in the 
 j'iiaracter of man. How much must it excite our astonishment, 
 ihat mankind should ever have given themselves up, bound 
 hand and foot, into the power of such a despotism ! Into what 
 ignominious debasement had they fallen, — what blighted minds 
 nnd withered hearts were theirs, when such an abomination was 
 permitted to defile the earth ! 
 
 " Then Superstition held her reif]^n, 
 
 While — priests combined — a ready train- 
 
 Her throne on ip-norance to rear. 
 
 And rule her slaves by hope and fear. 
 
 Obsequiou?, mid the trembling crowd. 
 
 Slaves of their arts even monarchs bow'd. 
 Force join'd with fraud to aid the unhallow'd plan- 
 And tyrants leagued with priests, the foes of man." 
 
 lixnorance was the melancholy characteristic of those ages— 
 ni ignorance cherished in every possible way by the proud ec- 
 •lesiastics, whose darling pursuit was universal dominion; and 
 of the manifold miseries by the endurance of M'hich mankind 
 were afflicted and debased, ignorance may be regarded as the 
 j)rolific source. Superstition, had in those ages shed its destruc- 
 tive inlluence over the Christian world, and operated, with dread- 
 ful effect, in fostering the power by which the world was oppres- 
 sed. But superstition was the child of ignorance. Igno- 
 ■.mce orio-inated, igrnorance gave duration to, that whole hide^ 
 
ON CIVIL LIBERTY. 29 
 
 ous train of absurdities, v/hich, although shocking and insulting 
 to our common understanding, was with incredible art introduc- 
 ed to the faith and attachment of mankind ; and therefore, igno- 
 rance mu^t be regarded as the source of that gigantic system of 
 dominatijii which these absurdities cherished and upheld. 
 
 Ignorance has ever been the foundation of the tyrant's throne: 
 The experience of all ages has demonstrated, that tyranny will 
 never be borne with patience till light has been excluded from 
 the mind. Diffuse knowledge among a people, confer upon 
 ■them liberty of thought and of investigation, and you give them 
 resources that cannot be exhausted, energies that cannot be over- 
 come. Memorable is the illustration of this remark, in the his- 
 tory of ancient Greece. What was it that raised her little states 
 to the commanding eminence which they occupied among the 
 nations of the world? Liberty. Greece was the land of freedom, 
 while the people of other lands were slaves. And why was 
 Greece free ? Because she was intelligent. Amply did know- 
 ledge unfold to the Greeks her precious stores; over the fields 
 of literature and science they expatiated with an ardor worthy 
 of a people who had tasted their sweets ; and the effect of the 
 progressive march of information thus stimulated was striking. 
 \lthough few in number, possessing very limited resources, and 
 surrounded by hosts of enemies, the inhabitants of those dimi- 
 nutive states did, nevertheless, maintain their independence with 
 a loftiness of heroism, that has shed a lustre around their name, 
 which no length of ages will ever efface. And it was not till 
 the Grecian mind — corrupted by the gold, and enervated by the 
 luxuries of conquered nations — became disqualified for, and ne- 
 glected its former glory, the pursuit of knowledge : then, the 
 star of freedom, which had poured over Greece its splendid 
 rays, sunk beneath her horizon, and left her, forlorn, amid the 
 gloom of a thraldom, which, during every succeeding age, has 
 become more terrible, and from which, to the lasting dishonor 
 of other nations, v hom the spoils of her literature have en- 
 riched and ennobled, after the lapse of eighteen long, sad cen- 
 turies, she is not delivered. 
 
 3* 
 
IM) EFFECT OF THE REFORMATION 
 
 The Popes of Rome, therefore, could not possibly have adopt- 
 ed a plan more calculated to establish the domination to which 
 they aspired, than the imposition of restraints on freedom ot 
 thought, and on the progress of knowledge. Their favorite 
 maxim was, " to retain the minds of men in utter stupidityj and 
 10 keep them, as much as possible, empty, that superstition might 
 lind a ready reception." The process was slow, but its success 
 was not doubtful. Ages elapsed ere this great conspiracy against 
 the liberties of mankind was matured ; but its authors, steady 
 to their purpose, never, for one moment, lost sight of their 
 darling object, till the monstrous system was completed, and. 
 by the imposition on the world of the doctrine of infallibility, 
 was invested with a character that seemed superior to change: 
 It was the reception of this most preposterous doctrine that 
 scaled the fate of the nations of Europe. Thenceforth " be- 
 lieve and obey," was the established law of Christendom. Im- 
 ])licit faith and blind submission were the sovereign virtues. — 
 Rational inquiry and private judgment did lov/liest homage to 
 absolute, unquestionable, authority. Mind was doomed to stag- 
 nation. The very Book, without which men perish, was with- 
 drawn from the people ; and every opinion, deemed hostile to 
 the interests of the church, was denounced as heresy. Last ot 
 all, as if to fill up to the very uttermost the measure of theii 
 atrocious wickedness — that they might annihilate for ever the 
 last feeble remains, of intellectual freedom, they established 
 the Inquisition, — " that tribunal, which, in solemn mockerx 
 of all that is sacred, appropriates to itself the title of Holy Of- 
 ficc^ a.nd, in its outrage to the Saviour of the 'world, and all the 
 spirit and letter of his beneficent laws, lifts up its front to hea- 
 s en as the guardian of the Christian faith, and marches forth its 
 victims to dreadful agonies and burning flames." Claiming for 
 its in&titutor Pope Innocent III., one of the most arrogant and 
 profligate mortals that ever breathed, this detestable tribunal, 
 utterly opposed in its w^hole spirit to the genius of Christianity, 
 had a quick erection in many of the states of Europe, and, with 
 disrnal success^ promoted ihe unhallowed object for which 't 
 hnd been introduced 5 
 
ON CIVIL LIBERTY. Si 
 
 Such were ihe means by which was reared, and long protect- 
 ed, " that whole dark pile of human mockeries," called Popery, 
 which extended its dismal shade over the Christian world, claim- 
 ing to be the institution of the Savioiir of men, but preseniincTi 
 in its whole influence-, a scene infinitely opposed to that which 
 xnll be beheld under the reign of Him, who shall be to the na- 
 tions of the earth, " as the shadow of a great rock in a weary 
 and." 
 
 As the mind cannot conceive a more iniquitous or more for- 
 midable system of oppression than that which was managed by 
 the Roman Pontiffs, it would be difficult to conceive one more 
 obviously destined to long duration. " Religion, acts on its 
 aibjects with a power peculiar to itself. The sense which 
 nan^ by the very constitutini of his nature, has of the exist- 
 ence of some superhuman power, is one of the strongest prin- 
 (iples of that nature ; and whatever takes effectual hold of this 
 g^Rse, will go far toward acquiring the regency of his moral 
 teing^" In this manner was strength imparted to the Papal 
 jDwe?. It had been carefully identified with that principle 
 \\\\\<fii in every point, comes in contact with the human cha- 
 iac-r> and which, when possessed of any energy at all, governs 
 x\y soul. Thus identified, its control over its subjects was su- 
 jeme. Established under the semblance of religion, and pro- 
 cted by all the authority of its inviolable sanctities, the huge 
 olossus sbemed invulnei-ablc, and, in the pride of its imagined 
 ,<>mnipotence, scorned hostility. 
 
 / Whilst, in the fulness of her ovvn security. Papal Rome sai 
 as a queen, and said, " I am no v»'idow, and shall see no sor- 
 row," she was the protectress of all the systems of political 
 oppression that prevailed throughout Europe — and until that 
 power was overthrow^n, and utterly demolished, there could 
 neither be the enjoyment of genuine liberty, nor any material 
 improvement in the condition of society. Before resistance to 
 secular tyranny could commence, it was necessary that the hu- 
 inan mind should be raised from prostration, and called fortli 
 into activitv, that intelliirence should be diffused, and that men 
 
oz EFFECT OF THE REFORMATION 
 
 should be brought to think and act like men. But all this the 
 church forbade — not because she cared for the stability of the 
 political governments of the world, but because she knew well 
 that every thing of this kind was utterly opposed to her OAvn 
 security. The rescue of intellect from its degradation, and the 
 extension of knowledge, would have inflicted, as they did af- 
 terwards inflict, a death-blow on the Papal power ; and, there- 
 fore, these, abox-e all other things, the Pontiffs labored to pre 
 vent. And so long as the power of the church was respected, 
 so, long as the authority of its head was deemed indisputable, 
 so long as " believe and obey" was the universally acknowledg- 
 ed maxim, the occurrence of any change which would havs 
 been favorable to liberty was impossible. It was absolutelt 
 necessary that the authority of the church should be spurnet^ 
 and her power overthrown, ere the existing systems of pol:ti' 
 cal thraldom could be even assailed. 
 
 If, indeed, the tyranny that existed during those ages ]:a! 
 been altogether of a secular nature — if it had wanted that cor- 
 nection v^^ith the prevaihng superstition, which imparted to it 
 such a peculiar complexion, the revival of letters, occasonef] 
 by the discovery of the art of printing, would have done n^ch 
 toward effecting an auspicious change in the circumstance of 
 Europe. But, intrenched as the prevailing systems were ^. 
 hind the formidable and universally respected power of t> 
 court of Rome, the influence of literature was too leeble ar 
 too limited to accomplish any great change in favor of free 
 dom. Raised by means of popular ignorance to the possession 
 of a power whose greatness fills us with astonishment, the Pon- 
 tiffs became, as might naturally have been expected, the patrons 
 and guardians of that to which they owed their aggrandizement. 
 Their influence was employed to perpetuate in the world the 
 reign of darkness ; and, regarded as they were by the mass of 
 the people with implicit deference, their admonitions — that 
 knowledge was incalculably pernicious — would have induced 
 the latter to put it away from them, and to choose the darkness 
 rather than the light : or, if, in any instance, they should have 
 
ON CIVIL LIBERTY. 33 
 
 I ailed to accomplish their ohject by admonition, it would 
 liave been accomplished by force : and thus it is extremely pro. 
 bable, that the gleam of light which sprung up in Europe on 
 the discovery of the art of printing would, by the potent ef- 
 forts of a priesthood which is the natural and inveterate ene- 
 my of knowledge, have been soon extinguished. At all events, 
 it would have been utterly incompetent for effecting the much 
 needed renovation of European society. " In the system ot 
 an infallible church, such a reformation as is requisite becomes 
 impossible. It is certain, that, at the period of the Reforma- 
 tion, the heads of the Papal religion, who, at first, had disco- 
 vered nothing in the revival of letters but glory and pleasure, 
 or some tendency toward the refinement of manners, and who 
 encouraged them under that idea, began to perceive their own 
 danger in too much knowledge, and manifested a very distinct 
 resistance. That opposition has not ceased in Austria, in Spain, 
 in Italy, in the Netherlands, where all the means of inquisition 
 and censure were employed to restrain the operations of mind, 
 and to turn improvement backwards. Let any one compare the 
 political, religious, and literary condition of the greater part 
 of those countries, during the succeeding ages, with the con- 
 dition of Saxon Germany, of Holland, and England, in the 
 same respects: and let him judge, without prejudice, what 
 could have been expected from the same policy extended in 
 all its rigor over Europe !" 
 
 It was the Reformation in religion that, by assailing the church 
 herself, and exposing to the view of mankind the monstrous in- 
 justice of her usurpation, struck at the root of the evil, and. 
 establishing freedom of investigation as the natural right of 
 man, laid open tyranny in all its forms to those invasions, from 
 which, by the abused sanctities of religion, it had too long been 
 shielded. " The contest, between Papal sovereignty and the 
 authority of General Councils, which was carried on du- 
 ring the fifteenth century, elicited some of the essential princi- 
 ples of liberty, which were afterwards applied to political go- 
 vernment. The revival of learning, by unfolding the principles 
 
at EFFECT OF THE REFORMATION 
 
 of legislation and modes of government in the republics of anci- 
 ent Greece and Rome, gradually led to more liberal notions on 
 this subject. But these were confined to a few, and had no great 
 influence on the general state of society. The spirit infused by 
 philosoi)hy and literature is too feeble and contracted to produce 
 radical reform of established abuses, and learned men, satisfied 
 with their own superior illumination, and the liberty of indulg- 
 ing their speculations, have generally been too indifferent, or 
 loo timid, to attempt the improvement of the multitude. It is to 
 tlie religious spirit excited during the sixteenth contury, which 
 spread rapidly through Europe, and diffused itself among all 
 classes of men, that we are chiefly indebted for the propagation 
 of the genuine principles of rational liberty, and the consequent 
 melioration of government." 
 
 For a considerable time previous to the Reformation, there 
 were not a few individuals, in various parts of Europe, who ut- 
 tered loud complaints againt the pontifical tyranny, and ear- 
 nestly desired a reformation of the prevailing abuses. But the 
 overthrow of the system they ventured not to contemplate. The 
 removal of some of the appendages of Popery v/as ,the utmost 
 extent of the wish which they entertained : to lay violent hands 
 on the structure itself, was a measure of the necessity of which 
 ihcy were by no means convinced. These were not the men 
 for the times. The accomplishment of their desire would have 
 done little permanent good to mankind. It would have been to 
 lop off from the great poison-tree, which was shedding its dead- 
 ly influence over the world, a few of its branches, leaving un- 
 touched, and vigorous and fruitful, its massy trunk and deep- 
 stricken root, to send forth other boughs, and to shed abroad 
 as deadly an influence, and to be still the bane of many an un- 
 born generation. Nor, indeed, although there had been those 
 before whom the futility of such a partial measure as this was 
 fully revealed, and in whose apprehension it was needful to stand 
 (orth in declared and decided opposition to the whole prevailing 
 -ystcm of p<ditico-ecclesiastical oppression, would it have been 
 Mirprising, if, contemplating the peril attendant on such a step. 
 
ON CIVIL LIBERTY, 35 
 
 ihey had shrunk from its adoption. The power to be opposed 
 was so completely overwhelming-, and the prospect of makino 
 tiny impression upon it, not to speak of its overthrow — lay so far 
 beyond the range even of probabilities, that he who would 
 have engaged in the enterprize must have brought to it a firm- 
 ness of resolution, and a boldness of daring, of which there 
 have been but few examples in the history of man. The place 
 of honor in this instance, was really the place of danger ; and, of 
 all the men in the world, the inhabitant of a monkish cell — that 
 other name for sloth and effeminacy — would be the last whom 
 any one would deem qualiiied or disposed for its occupation. 
 
 It is perhaps, beyond our power to determine with pre- 
 cision whether the opposition made by Luther to the tyranny 
 of Rome was or was not the result of design. There is, cer- 
 tainly, much in his conduct that seems to indicate the total ab- 
 sence of any preconcerted plan of operation. Seven years be- 
 fore he entered on the arduous career which has immortalized 
 his name, he was deputed to Rome about the affairs of his or- 
 der ; and, indignant as he must have felt at the thousand abomi- 
 nations of the Pontiiical Court w^hich met his eye, it does not 
 seem unlikely that there, the noble and disinterested wish, took 
 possession of his soul, to stem, if possible, the torrent of de- 
 pravity which was desolating the world, and to accomplish the 
 emancipation of his fellow men from what, he was convinced, 
 was the most dreadful and infatuated oppression in which they 
 could be held. In the celebrated letter which, ten years after 
 that period, he addressed to the Pontiff, Leo. X. he declares, in 
 strong language, the effect which an acquaintance with the man- 
 ners of the Pontifical Court had produced on his mind. He af- 
 firms that its corruption exceeds that of Babylon and Sodom— 
 that he regards it as desperately wicked — that it is a most licen- 
 tious den of thieves — that he deems its case beyond remedy — 
 that, being filthy, it must continue filthy still — and that, as long 
 as he preserves any thing of the Spirit of the gospel, he will 
 persevere in giving it his determined opposition. After having- 
 declared that to the Pontiff himself he entertained no eiimitv. 
 
:J0 EFFECT OF THE REFORMATION 
 
 anil alter having advised him to resign the pontificate to those 
 sons of perdition for whom alone it is now fit, " O Leo !" says 
 Luther, in a style of bold admonition that admirably became 
 the Reformer of Europe, " you sit on a most inauspicious and 
 dangerous throne. The more wicked and execrable your court 
 is, the more readily do they use your name and authority to ruin 
 the fortunes and the souls of the people, to multiply their vil- 
 lanies, and to oppress the whole church of God. I speak the 
 truth, because I wish you well. If Bernard, with an honest 
 freedom, deplored ihe situation of Pope Eugenius, at a time 
 when there was room for better hopes of the Roman Court, 
 though even then very corrupt, why may not we, after an accu- 
 mulation of most ruinous corruptions for upwards of three hun- 
 dred years, be allowed to speak freely ? Those who thus com- 
 plain, and execrate the Court of Rome, are yonr best friends, 
 and do you the best services. Nothing can be more opposite to 
 Christ and his religion, than the practices of the Roman See." 6. 
 
 The ve^y first step which Luther took in opposition to the 
 power of Rome was decisive. Burning with indignation at the 
 conduct of the pretended head of the church in claiming a right 
 to indulge mankind in the perpetration of crime, and to barter 
 for money, heaven and the pardon of sins, and shocked at the 
 outrages on all morality which were practised by the commis- 
 sioned venders of these indulgences, he denounced the traffic as 
 iniquitous, called in question the authority which had sanction- 
 ed it, and appealed for the truth of his doctrine to the word of 
 God. 7. 
 
 The court of Rome was amazed and enraged at the audacity 
 of this disturber of the world's repose ; and, feeling that the 
 impeachment of its boasted infallibility was a blow struck at the 
 very root of its system of usurpation, thundered its anathemas 
 against him. His opinions were denounced as heretical and 
 scandalous; his writings were forbidden to be read under pain 
 of excommunication ; those who had them in their possession 
 were commanded to burn ihem ; Luther himself— if he did not, 
 within sixty davs, brinjT or send his retractation to Rome — was 
 
ON CIVIL LIBERTY. 3: 
 
 declared to be an obstinate heretic, and excommunicated and de- 
 livered over to Satan, for the destruction of the flesh ; and all 
 the secular powers were required, under pain of incurring the 
 same censures, and of forfeiting all their dignities, to seize his 
 person, that he might be punished according to the demerit of 
 his crimes. A man of another temper would have been terrified 
 into instant submission by the announcement of the papal displea- 
 sure. But Luther was not thus to be intimidated. Fearing God, 
 he feared none beside. Determined that, having once reared in 
 a deluded and enslaved world the standard of truth, he would 
 rather die than desert it, he heard the thunders of the Vatican 
 as the passing wind. " The die is cast," be exclaimed, " papal 
 wrath and papal favor I alike despise. Let the Romanists con- 
 demn me, and burn my book, and if, in return, I do not pub- 
 licly condemn and burn the whole mass of pontifical law, it shall 
 be because I cannot find fire." He appealed from the sentence 
 of the Roman Pontifif", characterizing him as " a rash, iniqui- 
 tous, tyrannical judge," — " a hardened heretic and apostate" 
 •' an enemy and opposer of the sacred Scriptures" — and " a 
 proud, blasphemous despiser of the sacred church of God, and 
 of all legal councils." After which, an immense pile of wood 
 having been previouly prepared for the purpose without the 
 walls of Wittemberg, in the presence of the professors and stu- 
 dents of the University, and of- a vast multitude of spectators, 
 he committed to the flames the bull of his excommunication, 
 and the decretals of the pontifical jurisdiction. There is not in 
 all history the record of a bolder transaction. Its influence was 
 electric. Mind, roused from its long torpor, burst forth into life 
 and energy. The people having, by means of Luther's appeal, 
 had their attention directed to the Holy Scriptures, earnestly 
 wished to possess them. Alas, they were not to be found ! The 
 very church that ought to have exercised a vigilant guardianship 
 over the Holy Word, and urged its careful study on all her 
 members, had proved its bitterest foe, and had withdrawn it so 
 entirely from her degraded subjects, that the greater part of 
 them were ignorant of its very existence. Years elapsed beforr 
 
 4 
 
38 EFFECT OF THE REFORMATION 
 
 the wisli of the people to obtain, and of the Reformer to give 
 ihem, the Scriptures in their own language, could be gratified ; 
 and with unhallowed earnestness did the supporters of the papal 
 usurpation labor to render abortive the imploring wish of the one 
 and the benevolent design of the other. But, by the good pro- 
 vidence of Him whose time had arrived for the renovation of 
 a degenerate world, the German Reformer was at length ena- 
 bled to publish among his countrymen a translation of the New- 
 Testament ; and its appearance was of essential moment in for- 
 warding the Reformation. Eagerly did the people peruse it, 
 and with utter astonishment did they perceive its infinite re- 
 pugnance to the prevailing superstition. Thenceforth, the 
 mighty spell was broken by which they had been bound ; the 
 authority that sanctioned the evils under which they groaned 
 began to be called in question — men dared to think, to reason, to 
 examine ; and that glorious peculiarity of Protestantism, the 
 right of private judgment, was established on an immovable 
 basis. 
 
 The cause of the Reformation was embraced and advocated 
 by the most enlighteued and eloquent men of the age. Me- 
 lancthon in Germany, Zuinglius in Switzerland, Calvin in 
 France, and Knox in Scotland, with a host of other eminently 
 pious and talented men, devoted themselves to its interest, and 
 labored for its advancement ; nor had many years gone past 
 from the period of its commencement, till, in every part of 
 Christendom, multitudes had withdrawn from the communion, 
 and rejected the authority of the Roman church ; while in not 
 a few of the states of Europe, the papal supremacy was formally 
 and publicly disclaimed. 
 
 Now, it is true that the revolution, at whose initiatory historv 
 we have glanced, did, in the first place, operate on religion : 
 and the effect which it produced on the religious state of Europe 
 was of immense importance. To have rescued the one-half of 
 Europe entirely, and the other partially, from the spiritual ju- 
 risdiction of the Roman Pontiffs, was a great achievement — 
 an achievement to Avhich may be traced all the triumphs that 
 
ON CIVIL LIBERTY. 39 
 
 genuine religion lias since obtained throughout the world. But 
 the Reformation did more. It annihilated throughout Europe 
 the secular power of the Roman See ; and, when we mention 
 this, we record a triumph which the progress of literature ne- 
 ver could have gained, Only in one point was the system 
 vulnerable ; and upon that point literature was not calculated to 
 bear. The foundation of the great fabric was laid deep in those 
 religious opinions which, even from infancy, were assiduousl) 
 instilled into the popular mind ; and there any impression which 
 was intended to be effectual and permanent behoved to be 
 made. There, accordingly, the Reformation did make an im- 
 pression, and that impression was both effectual and permanent. 
 Long had mystical Babylon, proud as her predecessor of the 
 ancient world, sitten secure in her own greatness, and scorn- 
 fully smiled at all her foes. The winds and the tempests ol 
 many generations had assailed her in vain ; she seemed to gain 
 strength from opposition, and to outbrave even the vengeance 
 of heaven : but the time of retribution was come ; touched bv 
 that word which is " the breath" of the Most High, as if light- 
 ning from the skies had underminded her base, she fell: and 
 left to the view of posterity the melancholy wrecks of the 
 grandeur which, in preceding ages, astonished and awed the 
 kingdoms of the earth. 
 
 The endurance which the pontifical domination had experi- 
 enced, during so many hundreds of years, was owing to the 
 influence of religious belief on the credulous minds of the su- 
 perstitious multitude. The right of the Pontiffs to sovereign 
 power was acknowledged generally throughout Christendom, 
 and, as the gift of heaven, was held inviolable. But the light 
 of Reformation that burst forth upon the world, put to flight 
 the darkness and delusions of a thousand years. Utterly at va- 
 riance with the will of heaven as the existing ecclesiastical su- 
 premacy was found to be, still more monstrous, if possible, 
 seemed that secular dominion, wherewith it had been long as- 
 sociated. On the latter, therefore, descended the vengeance 
 that visited the former. England, Scotland, Holland, Denmark, 
 
40 EFFECT OF THE REFORMATION 
 
 Sweden, the half of Germany, and more than the half of Swit- 
 zerland, disclaiming the authority of the Pontifical Court, with- 
 drew the tribute which had been the badge of their slavery, and 
 spurned away from them those degrading laws, to which, duriug 
 (he ages of darkness, their homage had been paid. 
 
 Nor was it only in the nations which, from that period, were 
 called Protestant, that the Reformation affected the secular 
 power of the court of Rome. 9. This was the case even in Pa- 
 pal countries. In most of them the power of the Pope was 
 gradually circumscribed, and a very considerable abatement 
 look place in the veneration with w^hich his authority was 
 regarded. Many times since then has the head of the Church 
 been treated, even by Popish princes, as an object of extreme 
 insignificance ; and many times has he been employed as the 
 wretched tool of their ambition. The Popes have been aware 
 of this abatement of respect for their authority, and have yield- 
 ed, with sullen reluctance, to the dire necessity of the times. 
 The spirit of their system has not been less intolerant and 
 fierce, but it has been compelled to endure severe repression. 
 They have not relinquished their pretensions to universal 
 power ; but they have asserted them more sparingly, and with 
 diminished confidence. Times without number, since the Re- 
 formation, have they interfered in the affairs of kings and king- 
 doms, and, too often, they have not interfered in vain ; yet has 
 not their interference experienced, even from her own children, 
 the profound veneration which, in the ages before Luther, it 
 was accustomed to receive. " From that time, the appearance 
 of respect has been only vain ceremony. It was too well 
 known that the Vatican was only a volcano exhausted. What 
 issued spontaneously from Rome was impotent ad unavailing ; 
 whilst a single courier despatched from Paris, from Vienna, or 
 liisbon, toward that ancient capital of the world, extorted from 
 it — sometimes a bull for the extinction of a religious order, 
 sometimes a regulation — so many proofs of submission given 
 by the feeble successor of so many haughty pontiffs, who onl} 
 purchased his precarious existence at the price of all the com 
 Dliiinrcs exacted from him.'- 
 
ON CIVIL LIBERTY. 41 
 
 The surprising events which took place in the political world 
 about the commencement of the present century, seemed to in- 
 dicate that the period was at hand when the nations were to en- 
 joy an entire riddance from the oppressions of that unholy 
 power, which has trampled so long on their dearest interests : 
 and the prospect of such a deliverance was cheering to the 
 hearts of the friends of liberty and of mankind. In this san- 
 guine language, did one of these friends of humanity declare his 
 anticipations : " The French Revolution has been peculiarly in- 
 strumental in bringing the Pope to the last stage of degrada- 
 tion ; his territories overrun and pillaged again and again ; he 
 himself compelled to every species of submission ; and the holy 
 chair itself kept empty, till it suited the convenience of the re- 
 publican and atheistical chiefs to place in it a vicar of Jesus 
 Christ. The temporal power of the Pope is completely des- 
 troyed by the republic, and he is one of the meanest of the 
 vassals of Bonaparte. This is not only seen and felt by the 
 princes of Europe ; there is hardly a monk or a peasant in the 
 darkest papal corner of Europe who is not sensible of it. It 
 is now visible to every votary of the Holy See, that the Pope 
 has nothing to give. His vast patronage stimulated the zeal ot 
 those votaries in former times ; and we may now expect to see 
 speed)^ changes in the state of Romanism wherever it exists." 
 
 Unhappily, subsequent events have placed these desirable 
 changes at a greater distance than were anticipated. The set- 
 tlement which was made of the affairs of Europe, posterior to 
 the final overthrow of him whom Divine Providence raised up 
 to be her most dreadful scourge, is of a complexion altogether 
 hostile to the interests of freedom ; and, surely, the Protestant 
 princes, when they lent their assistance to the re-establishment 
 of that power which delights to trampk on the most sacred pri- 
 vileges of man, acted in another spirit than that of the Re- 
 formation. But we confidently hope, that its re-establishment 
 will be for a short period ; that efforts to repair the crumbling 
 walls of that fabric which the Reformation greatly demolished 
 will be all in vain ; that the tendency toward nn improved staff 
 
 4* 
 
vt EFFECT OF THE REFOTlMATlON 
 
 t society which, in the 16th century, was imparted to the cur- 
 ent of human affairs, will not now be successfully opposed; 
 and that, in short, the contest which the foes of their species 
 are waging, for the recovery of their lost ascendency, will 
 prove to be their expiring struggle, and will usher in the 
 final triumph of omnipotent truth. 
 
 There is ground for the indulgence of these cheering hopes. 
 There are events taking place in the religious world, by which 
 they are more than sanctioned. Protestantism is " the cause 
 of man," and its basis is the Bible. Aware of this, the friends 
 of the Reformation and of their species have roused their ener- 
 gies to the task of disseminating the Scriptures among their 
 fellow men; and, mr,re than all their predecessors, are Chris* 
 tians of this age distinguished for their exertions in this enter- 
 prise of beneficence. It has not been the only object of these 
 best friends of their race to send the book of God into the ne- 
 gro's hut, and abroad over the dreary wilds of heathenism ; the 
 millions of their unhappy brethren whom the genius of Popery 
 holds in bondage, have come within the range of their com- 
 passionate regard ; and we trust that the progress — we will not 
 say of reason and philosophy, the cant phrase of some specu- 
 lators about human improvement, but — of the Bible and Chris- 
 tianity, will ere long eradicate the last remains of that atrocious 
 'jystem, which, during so many ages, has triumphed over the 
 weakness of humanity, and will blot out its remembrance from 
 that world which it has too long polluted. 
 
 It was not long till the destructive blow which had been given 
 lo the power of Rome began to affect, most materially, the po- 
 litical governments of the nations of Europe. The posses- 
 ion, on the part of the Pontifical Court, of its spiritual and 
 temporal power, was accompanied with this aggravation, that 
 that power was the guardian of all the other modes of tyranm 
 which existed among the nations of western Europe. Their 
 princes and iheir subjects were alike devoted, in soul and body, 
 to the interests of the church ; and, for the support which the 
 tormer yielded to its arrogant claims, they were invested with 
 
ON CIVIL LIREBTY 43 
 
 absolute authority over the lives and fortunes of the latter ; 
 whilst these, believing — as they were taught by those to whose 
 teaching they listened with implicit deference — that the power 
 of their monarchs was divinely communicated, esteemed their 
 persons sacred, and were prepared tamely to acquiesce in all 
 their measures. It was thus that the preposterous maxim — thai 
 kings are possessed of a divine right to govern, independently 
 of the will of their subjects, derived its origin — a principle so 
 utterly hostile to rational liberty, that it could have been intro- 
 duced only in those ages in which men, ceasing to reason, had 
 given themselves up, bound hand and foot, to be the slaves of a 
 cruel and lying priesthood. Of this state of proud domination, 
 on the one hand, and deep humiliation on the other, the church 
 was the protectress ; and out of it, mankind could he delivered 
 only by the previous overthrow of her power. That overthrow, 
 the Reformation accomplished. Letting in on the minds of the 
 people the light of divine truth, and exhibiting, from the Holy 
 Scriptures, the baselessness of the existing system of religion, 
 it inspired them with contempt for the authority of the church 
 by which that religion was sanctioned, and effected in some na- 
 tions the total, in others the partial overthrow, of her domina- 
 tion. Nor, when once the fetters forged and imposed by the 
 church were broken and cast away, and men felt themselves 
 emancipated from her thraldom, was it long till the political go- 
 vernments of the world began, in a similar manner, to experi- 
 ence the meliorating influence of the Reformation. The con- 
 troversy which was carried on respecting religious freedom, 
 and the investigation which it originated, elicited not a iew of the 
 principles of civil liberty, and threw considerable light on the sub- 
 subject of political government. " The authority of the church be- 
 ings in some places, strictJy conjoined with the authority of the 
 state, and in others altogether confounded with it, it was impossi- 
 ble to examine and discuss the rights of the one, without extend- 
 ing the investigation also to the rights of the other. Men inquired 
 by what right the Popes pretended to raise up and east down 
 kings ; and this naturally conducted to the inquiry, by what autho- 
 
41 EFFECT OF THE REFORMATION 
 
 rity kings were originally set up ! When the respective rights of 
 the church and state were discussed, it was difficult, from this 
 important topic, not to turn sometimes to the rights of the people. 
 It was ascertained that the community, regarded as a religious 
 association, that is to say, as a church, had a right to ch»ose its 
 own pastorSf and to draw up its own creed. It was most natu- 
 ral from this to conclude, that the same community, as a po- 
 litical association, had a right to elect its own magistrates, and 
 to form its own constitution. The Emperor opposed the new 
 religious creed. Men then inquired, if, in matters of faith, 
 they ought to obey the Emperor. In 1531, the Faculties of 
 Law and Theology in the University of Wittemberg answered 
 unanimously in the negative. From that time, all discussion 
 turned only on the limits of that obedience which is due to so- 
 vereigns, and of that resistance which may be opposed to them." 
 
 The writings of the Reformers merit to be regarded as the 
 principal source of the brilliant light which, in modern times, 
 has been poured on this interesting subject- They were the 
 first persons in the modern world who wrote on it with freedom, 
 and in a strain of manly eloquence that forms a pleasing and 
 dignified contrast to all that prostration of sentiment and feeling 
 which impresses such disgusting features on the productions of 
 preceding times. Indeed, although it were true that, on the sub- 
 ject of political government, the writings of the Reformers con- 
 tained nothing worthy of being remembered, the very fact that 
 they did write on that subject, and that they wrote on it with 
 freedom — a phenomenon which, during many ages, the world 
 liad not beheld — would entitle them to be esteemed the libera- 
 tors of Europe. They held forth a glorious example to the 
 world — they opened up the way which many have since suc- 
 cessfully trod : and are entitled to the praise of having done an 
 immensely important service to the interests of freedom. 
 
 But the Reformers were not mere declaimers about liberty : 
 they were its firm, enlightened and consistent advocates. They 
 wished to see the people in possession of that freedom from 
 •mjust constraint, which the word of "God declares to be thr 
 
ON CIVIL LIBERTY. 45 
 
 inalienable privilege of man. But this privilege, they perceiv- 
 ed, could not be enjoyed, so long as the monstrous doctrine of 
 the divine right of kings, and of passive obedience on the part 
 of subjects, maintained its sway in the midst of the multitude. 
 This principle they regarded as lying at the foundation of all 
 the political tyranny that existed, and, therefore, against it they 
 placed themselves in the attitude of resolute and persevering 
 hostility. It is, indeed, true, that they did not take this en- 
 lightened view of the subject with equal rapidity. They had 
 been, with the multitude, the slaves of the common belief; and 
 out of the trammels of this belief some of them escaped at a 
 much later period than their brethren. There was a time, for 
 example, when the Saxon Reformer, even after he had enter- 
 ed on his interesting career, was the assertor of passive obedi- 
 ence — could not bring his mind to the adoption of the opinion, 
 urged upon him, as it was, at once by reason and revelation, 
 that the oppressive measures of rulers may be resisted by their 
 people. Nor, indeed, ought this to excite our surprise. It 
 cannot appear wonderful to any consid,erate mind, that senti- 
 ments on the subject of freedom, so entirely the reverse of those 
 which they had been long accustomed to deem orthodox, should 
 have obtained the acquiescence of the Reformers by slow de- 
 grees. The influence which old opinions and old attachments 
 exert on the mind, is always too powerful to be at once over- 
 come ; and, in many cases, the control which they acquire over 
 all its feelings is so complete, as to baflle every attempt at con- 
 viction, and to seal it up in impenetrable darkness. In the his- 
 tory of Christianity we find a mournfully striking illustration of 
 this remark. Its divine origin is demonstrated, beyonc .ne pos- 
 sibility of reasonable doubt, by the evidence of miracles and 
 prophecy, as well as by the sublimity and purity of its own 
 doctrines and precepts ; yet are we assured, that, in its primitive 
 age, there were many, not only among the Jews, but also 
 among the enlightened Greeks, who, professing to be fired with 
 the love of wisdom and of truth, did nevertheless, on account 
 of its opposition to their confirmed modes of thinking, put il 
 
46 EFFECT OF THE REFORMATION 
 
 away from them as a system of folly ; and even in this our own 
 age of vaunted illumination, there are many, who, mighty in 
 pretensions to candour and liberality of mind, and perfect free- 
 dom from every thing like prejudice, do, nevertheless, under the 
 influence of a system revolting to the best feelings of our na- 
 ture, and as destitute of ground to stand upon as " the baseless 
 fabric of a vision," talk of the evidence of the truth of our re- 
 liorion as a falsehood, and spurn the volume in which it is embo- 
 died away from them ! Unhappy men ! how much they deserve 
 our deep commiseration ! What a state of wretchedness is theirs ! 
 Gloriously as they suppose themselves to have broken loose from 
 all the trammels of system, and far exalted as they deem them- 
 selves to be above all the prejudices of the vulgar, they are, in 
 very deed, the dupes of prejudices more glaringly unreasonable 
 than any that ever were entertained, and the very slaves of the 
 coldest, and gloomiest, and most delusive system, that ever was 
 presented to the faith of mankind! 
 
 Of other tempers, and of a different character, were the Re- 
 formers of Europe. They had that thirst for knowledge which 
 led them to search after truth ; but, happily for themselves and 
 for mankind, they had also that candor, and that docihty of 
 mind, which, when truth was found, led them to embrace it. 
 The advances, indeed, which they made towards enlightened 
 views on the subjects of poUtics, as well as on the subject of 
 religion, were gradual ; and it could not be but that this circum- 
 stance should have imparted to their opinions, expressed at dif- 
 ferent times, a character of inconsistency. The Saxon Reformer, 
 was considerably later than his brethren in acquiring correct 
 ideas of the duty which subjects owe to their poHtical rulers. 
 The notions which he had imbibed, respecting the spiritual na- 
 ture of the kingdom of Christ, and the unlawfulness of defend- 
 ing it by secular power, rendered him, for a time, the advo- 
 cate of passive obedience. He could not bring his mind to ac- 
 knowledge the propriety of resisting encroachments on religi- 
 ous rights, and of preventing their destruction, by opposing 
 force to force. But an obstinate attachment to sentiments, on 
 
ON CIVIL LIBERTY. 47 
 
 this subject, so much at variance with both reason and Scrip- 
 ture, was not destined to form a blot in the character of Luther. 
 
 " If thou mayest be free, use it rather," says the Apostle : 
 " a maxim, which is applicable by just analogy to political, as 
 well as to domestic freedom. The Christian religion natively 
 tends to cherish and diffuse a spirit favorable to civil liberty ; 
 and this, in its turn, has the most happy influence on Christi- 
 anity, which never flourished extensively, and for a long pe- 
 riod, in any country where despotism prevailed. It must, 
 therefore, be the duty of e\£ery Christian, to exert himself for 
 the acquisition and the defence of this invaluable blessing. Al- 
 though Christianity ought not to be propagated by force of arms, 
 yet the external liberty of professing it may be vindicated in 
 that way, both against foreign invaders, and against domestic 
 tyrants : and, if the free exercise of their religion, or their 
 right to remove religions abuses, enter into the grounds of the 
 struggle which a nation maintains against oppressive rulers, the 
 cause becomes of vastly more importance ; its justice is more 
 unquestionable ; and it is still more worthy, not only of their 
 prayers and petitions, but of their blood and treasure, than if 
 it had been maintained solely for the purpose of securing their 
 fortunes, or of acquiring some mere worldly advantage. And 
 to those whose minds are not warped by prejudice, and who do 
 not labor under a confusion of ideas on the subject, it must sure- 
 ly appear paradoxical to assert, that, while God has granted to 
 subjects a right to take the sword of just defence for securing 
 objects of a temporary and inferior nature, he has prohibited 
 them from using this remedy, and left them at the mercy of 
 every lawless despot, with respect to a concern the most im- 
 portant of all, whether it be viewed as relating to his own hon- 
 or, or to the welfare of mankind." 
 
 In this light was the subject at last regarded by Luther ; nor 
 was he ashamed, in the face of the world, to acknowledge the 
 change which his sentiments had undergone. At the consulta- 
 tion in which the league of Smalcald — tkat first and honor- 
 ble stand which the Protestant princes made against their op- 
 
48 EFFECT OF THE REFORMATION 
 
 pressors — was formed, he made the candid confession, that, in 
 writing, as he had formerly done, against all resistance in de- 
 fence of religion, he had erred ; and that, understanding the 
 subject as he now did, it was his conviction, that, in full ac- 
 cordance with the spirit of the Gospel, and with the political 
 law, a defensive confederacy on behalf of the Reformed faith 
 might be entered into if the Emperor, or any in his name, 
 should attempt its overthrow. So great, indeed, was the change 
 which took place in the sentiments of the Reformer on this sub- 
 ject, that the advocates of the ancient system very gravely, 
 though very unjustly, charged him with the crime of sedition. 
 •' At present," are his own words, " they accuse me of being a 
 seditious person, because, forsooth, I have written on the secu- 
 lar power, wisely and usefully, and so as no doctor has done 
 since the days of the Apostles, except, perhaps, Augustin. 
 This is what I can declare with a good conscience, and of w hich 
 ihe world can bear me witness." 10. 
 
 But, while it is true that the political opinions of the Saxon 
 Reformer did experience the change to which we have adverted, 
 there is not the slightest ground for affirming — that that change 
 was any thing else than the result of thorough conviction. Con- 
 siderations of a selfish nature his magnanimous soul would have 
 spurned away from him ; and there was every thing in his cha- 
 racter to induce us to believe that he was too honest to he sway- 
 ed by the principle of expediency. It was the pious regard 
 which he entertained for the Bible, and the firm resolution which 
 fie had adopted, ever to resign himself to its guidance, that in- 
 duced him to act as he did ; and, it were well for the interests 
 of Christianity, if all the opinions of its professors were the 
 result of as much honest investigation, and of as profound res- 
 pect for the dictates of Scripture, and of right reason, as cha- 
 racterized the decisions of this great man. 
 
 Ilis amiable preceptor and coadjutor — whom Luther was w^ont 
 to call " the most learned and truly Grecian Philip Melancthon" 
 — entertained the same liberal and enlightened sentiments on 
 this interesting subject; and when we consider that tlie wide 
 
ON CIVIL LIBERTY. 49 
 
 range of topics embraced by his Lectures would afford him 
 many opportunities of discussing and adverting to it, and more- 
 over, that those lectures were listened to by an audience of fre- 
 quently more than two thousand individuals, we cannot enter- 
 tain a doubt, that, in a very extensive sphere, indeed, the in- 
 fluence of his opinions was experienced. Gentle and yielding 
 in his disposition as he is reported to have been, on that point, 
 which, as we have seen, was for a considerable time a subject 
 of perplexing doubt to his Reforming friend, he speaks with an 
 air of firmness and decision, that marks it to have been, in his 
 mind, by no means a matter of doubtful dispute. " The Gos- 
 pel, affords us ample warrant to act in political matters agree- 
 ably to the dictates of right reason. It sanctions the principle of 
 resistance to oppression. Indeed, were this not the case — were 
 this principle not recognized by it — the Gospel would be trans- 
 formed into a political code, beneath the shelter of which the 
 grossest tyranny might find protection." " We commend our- 
 selves and our cause to God," was his unhesitating reply, at 
 another time, to Cardinal Campegius and his party, who were 
 using the most strenuous efforts to induce him to relinquish his 
 adherence to the Protestant Confession — " we commend our- 
 selves and our cause to God. If He be for us, who can be 
 against us ? In our provinces we have upwards of forty thousand 
 persons, including poor ministers, their families and parishion- 
 ers, whose spiritual interest we cannot abandon, but will do 
 whatsoever we are able for them, supplicating the help of Je- 
 sus Christ, whose cause we espouse, and on behalf of whom 
 we are prepared to labor with patience, and to endure all dif- 
 ficulties. If it he necessary, we would — if such he the will of 
 God — rather fight and die, than hetray so many sowZs." 
 
 In other parts of Europe, did the Reformers proclaim them- 
 selves the friends of freedom, and, with all the weight of their 
 influence, with all that manly boldness which marked them out 
 as really the men for the times, did they establish the principle 
 of resistance to tyranny, in whatsoever shape it appeared. 
 
50 EFFECT OF THE REFORMATION 
 
 " Stand firm," said Zuinglius, the Swiss Reformer, to the mi- 
 nisters of Uhn and Meningen, who requested his advice con- 
 cerning the part which they ought to act, in consequence of the 
 Emperor's expressed determination to restore in som'e of the im- 
 perial cities the Roman superstitions — " Stand firm to the truth, 
 and promise the Emperor obedience, provided he does not touch 
 your religion. If he shall refuse these terms, then tell him how 
 much you lament that he should be so ill advised as to suppose 
 he possesses a power over your consciences — a power which no 
 pious Emperor did ever assume, and which no man could ever 
 give — and that, therefore, there is nothing which you will not 
 hazard rather than give way in this matter to any authority save 
 that of the Word of God. When the Papists, shall perceive 
 your resolute determination, they will not venture to employ 
 force against you. They know very well, that, if they go to war, 
 their possessions are liable to be plundered by the soldiery, and 
 that, after all, the issue is doubtful. Besides, if the Romish 
 hierarchy, nay, if any authority what-oever, should begin to 
 oppress the Gospel, and if we, through negligence, shall submit 
 to the encroachment, I maintain that we are as guilty of denying 
 the truth as the oppressors themselves. Already have ye broken 
 offmuchof the Roman yoke. What folly, then, now to submit, in 
 spiritual things, to the Emperor's authority, which is entirely de- 
 rived from these very Papal pretensions which you have rejected." 
 In the spirited language of this dauntless patriot, may the 
 people of Scotland perceive a striking resemblance to those po- 
 tent strains, by which, as if some supernatural impulse had 
 seized them, their ancestors of the sixteenth censury were rous- 
 ed to the task of their country's emancipation. Knox was no 
 less the advocate of freedom than his continental brethren ; 
 and, as the assertor of her freedom, it will not be easy to ex- 
 press the debt of gratitude which his country owes him. His 
 discourses, characterized by an eloquence that overpowered his 
 auditors, and carried them completely along with them — and in- 
 deed all his writings that have been transmiltod to us, display 
 
ON CIVIL LIBERTY. 51 
 
 his sentiments on the subject of which we are treating, to have 
 entirely coincided with those by which British Protestants have 
 been generally distinguished, and which are regarded as forming 
 the basis of British policy. " Now, no farther to trouble you 
 at present," is his language, at one time, written from the con- 
 tinent to the nobility of Scotland, " I will only advertise you 
 of such report as I hear in these parts uncertainly noised : 
 Avhich is this — that contradiction and rebellion is made to the 
 authority by some in your realm. In which point, my consci- 
 ence will not suffer me to keep back from you my counsel, yea 
 my judgment and commandment, that none of you who seek to 
 promote the glory of Christ, do suddenly disobey or displease 
 the established authority in any thing lawful ; nor that you as- 
 sist or fortify such as, for their own particular cause, and world- 
 ly promotion, would trouble the same. But in the bonds of Je- 
 sus Christ, I exhort you, that, with all simplicity and lawful obe- 
 dience, wtth boldness in God, and with open profession of your 
 faith, you seek the favor of the authority — that, by it, if possible, 
 the cause in which you labor may be promoted, or, at least, not 
 persecuted ; which thing, if, after all humble request, you can- 
 not obtain, then, with solemn and open protestation of your 
 obedience to be given to the authority in all things not plainly 
 displeasing to God, you may lawfully attempt the extremity 
 which is, to provide, whether the authority will consent or not, 
 that Christ's Gospel may be truly preached, arid his holy sacra- 
 ments rightly administered unto you, and to your brethren, the 
 subjects of that realm. And, farther, you lawfully may, yea, 
 thereto are bound, to defend your brethren from persecution and, 
 tyranny, be it against princes or emperors, to the uttermost of 
 your power ; providing, always, as I have said, that neither your- 
 selves deny lawful obedience, nor yet that you assist or promote 
 those that seek an authority or pre-eminence of worldly glory." 
 
 To none of the Reformers, however, were the nations of 
 Europe more signally indebted for the introduction of correct 
 and enlightened sentiments on the subject of government, than 
 
:,2 EFFECT OF THK REFORMATION 
 
 to the celebrated Calvin. His work, entitled, " Institutiones 
 Christianae Religionis," although it was published by him when 
 he was at the early age of tvrenty-five years, is one of the no- 
 blest monuments that genius, combined with piety, ever reared . 
 and, distinguished as it is by an elegance of style, that would 
 not have dishonored the best writers of the classic ages, and a 
 precision of statement which is altogether astonishing, consider- 
 ing the wide range of subject embraced by it, and that its author 
 had just escaped from darkness which might be felt, we need 
 not wonder, that, in a few years it should have obtained a very 
 extensive circulation. One part of his book he devoted ex- 
 pressly to the subject of government, and, notwithstanding all 
 the light which has been poured on that subject in succeeding 
 ages, it will not be easy to point out a work, in which there is 
 contained, in so small a compass, more judicious and masterly 
 statements respecting it. Numerous editions of this noble work 
 dispersed among the nations of Europe soon after its publica- 
 tion, produced a very powerful effect on the minds of their peo- 
 ple ; nor is there any reason to doubt, that, it exerted an influ- 
 ence in favor of both civil and religious liberty which was at 
 once potent and permanent. 
 
 " The Protestant Reformation, although principally concern- 
 ed to restore true Christianity, and rectify the many abuses 
 which the wicked policy of Rome had introduced inrto religion, 
 through several ages, tended also to promote the welfare of par- 
 ticular kingdoms, and the liberty of mankind, by settling the 
 authority of magistracy on just foundations. Among other 
 things in controversy with their adversaries, the Reformers 
 with unanimity declared against Papal encroachments on civil 
 power — the confounding of jurisdictions — the exemption of cer- 
 tain classes of men from the laws — the subjection of subjects to 
 a foreign head, claiming power to tax them, or to absolve them 
 at his pleasure from th' ir allegiance. They also, with one voice, 
 declared against the wild and enthusiastic opinions of some per- 
 sons pretending Reftrmation — the levelling schemes of the Ana 
 
ON CIVIL LIBERTY, 53 
 
 baptists — and the tumultuous insurrections of the German pea- 
 sants — which were also invidiously charged by their adversaries 
 upon the principles and cause of the Reformers, though they 
 could derive no countenance from these but by their perversion 
 and abuse. The opposition, also, made to the Protestants in 
 many places, by the civil powers under which they lived, af- 
 forded tiiem another occasion and call to assert and manifest 
 to the world their legal and peaceable subordination, in all 
 points wherein obedience to human authority and laws could 
 warrantably be claimed. They accordingly took care, in as- 
 serting and exercising their natural or religious rights, and in 
 explaining the due limits of authority and obedience, to avoid 
 any thing that might look like a refusal to give due allegiance 
 even to the rulers who were inimical to their religion, or as if 
 they were men delighting in anarchy and Belialism. Their pub- 
 lic apologies and confessions, as well as private writings, con- 
 tained assertions and language sufficiently explicit and strong 
 upon these points, as may be seen, among other monuments, 
 in the passages relating to them in the Augsburg, the Helve- 
 tian, the French and Scottish Confessions. Their personal 
 practice, and public proceedings accorded with their profes- 
 sions ; unless when open tyranny compelled them to use the 
 common right of self-defence and resistance." 
 
 The Reformers however, were not men of accommodating 
 spirits, whom royalty could seduce by its smiles, or intimidate 
 by its frowns. They were strangers to that false politeness, 
 which, in violation of conscience and of truth, can profess re- 
 spect for tyranny, and minister flattering compliments to profli- 
 gate greatness. But that they either entertained or countenanc- 
 ed opinions which derogate, in the remotest degree, from the 
 proper rights of political rulers, is a most iniquitous accusation ; 
 and poor must be the heart of that man, who can assign to his 
 industry the odious task of attempting to fix so manifest a calum- 
 ny on the deliverers of Europe — men, whose memory the 
 friends of piety and freedom will ever venerate, and whose 
 
 5* 
 
M EFFECT OF THE REFORMATION 
 
 names they will never cease to associate with all that is previous 
 and dear to them in the world. 
 
 The change which, under the influence of the Reformation, 
 was effected in the political condition of Europe, is amply de- 
 tailed in the histories of the period in which it took place ; al- 
 though it is certainly matter of regret, that the writers of these 
 works have not given sufficient prominence to the influence 
 which the Reformation had in producing it. The revolution of 
 which we are treating, not only had a tendency to aflfect, but did ac- 
 tually aflfect, the political governments of the age, and did,in many 
 striking instances, accomplish a change, the benefits resulting 
 from which are at this moment enjoyed, and will through all time 
 continue to be enjoyed, not by Europe only, but by the world- 
 
 In the auspicious influence of the Reformation, as it respects 
 • ivil liberty, no country has more largely participated than our 
 own. Britain has been eminently the scene where the good 
 done to mankind by that revolution has been displayed. In 
 her— while from some of the continental nations, in which the 
 light of truth began to spread, and to render visible the thick- 
 surrounding darkness, it was soon, by the formidable exertions 
 of its enemies, unhappily excluded — ^in her, the light, which, 
 after ten centuries of gloom, burst upon mankind, was cherish- 
 ed and perpetuated, and, under the good providence of Him 
 whose time had arrived to have mercy on the world, was made to 
 diflfuse over her moral scenery a charm, which, till then, she 
 knew not, and which, since that time, has constituted the es- 
 sence of all that moral loveliness by which her character has 
 been adorned. Look to Britain, behold in her one splendid ex- 
 ample of what the Reformation has done for liberty. Liberty 
 constitutes the foundation of all her greatness ; and the source 
 of her liberty was the Reformation. 
 
 History, it is true, assures us, that, at a period long anterior 
 to the sixteenth century, the constitution of England had worn 
 m aspect which was, on the whole, favorable to freedom. But 
 
 re know well, that the mere existence of good laws will form 
 
ON CIVIL LIBERTY. 55 
 
 a very slender barrier against the encroachments of tyrannical 
 rulers, if they are not shielded from perversion by the opinion, 
 openly and boldly expressed, of an intelligent population. Such 
 a safeguard for their liberties the people of England did not 
 possess. The fundamental laws of the kingdom, favorable as 
 they were to political freedom, had been, for the most part, ex- 
 torted from arbitrary monarchs, by whom, when it suited them, 
 they were disregarded ; and the people, debased by ignorance 
 and superstition, and held in bondage by a hundred petty sove- 
 reigns besides, were neither in a condition, nor had any desire 
 to cause them to be respected. Need we wonder that, in such 
 circumstances, the most flagrant violations of rights, on the 
 one hand — and the most humiliating acquiescences, on the 
 other, should often meet the eye of the reader, while he peru- 
 ses, indignant, these portions of her history ? 
 
 There was nothing in this wretched state of society which 
 could warrant the anticipation of a change for the better ; but 
 every thing, as we have already shown, to induce the melan- 
 choly expectation of its longer duration. The abolition oX the 
 feudal system had, indeed, some considerable time before the 
 Reformation, rescued the people from baronial slavery ; but it 
 did this only to deliver them up into the power of a royal des- 
 pot. Henry VIII. was a more absolute monarch than any other 
 that ever filled the British throne ; and, but for the religious re- 
 volution of the sixteenth century, which overthrew the power 
 of the church, and inspired the public mind with a noble feeling 
 of independence, the government of our country, no longer 
 checked by the baronial power, and supported by the immense 
 influence of the church, would have become, and would at this 
 moment have been, a despotism. 11. 
 
 With the commencement of the Reformation in England be- 
 gan the establishment of her liberty. By the overthrow which 
 Henry gave to the Roman power throughout his kingdom, there 
 was inflicted, on the despotism which he and his predecessors 
 had been attempting to rear, a wound of which he little dream- 
 
of) EFFECT OF THE REFORMATION 
 
 ed. Thenceforth the genius of tyranny found England to be an 
 unkindly soil ; and although, for many years, it struggled hard 
 to regain its lost ascendency, and oftener than once let loose 
 the tempest of war over the breadth and length of the land, 
 these were its expiring throbs, resembling 
 
 ^ " the working of a sea, 
 
 Before a calm, that rocks itself to rest."' 
 
 The motives which prompted Henry to come to a rupture 
 with the court of Rome are too well known to leave us in any 
 doubt, whether or not he designed to effect a favorable change 
 in the condition of his people. Titled the royal polemic had 
 been with the name of " Defender of the Faith," but he was 
 ambitious also to become its Lord. He wished to transfer 
 the ecclesiastical supremacy from Rome to his own metropolis, 
 and to concentrate, in his own person, both the pontilical au- 
 thority and the imperial power. But his wish was vain. When 
 he overthrew in his kingdom the Papal domination, he destroy- 
 ed unwittingly the magic spell by which, for many ages, the 
 energies of his people had been bound. A channel was opened, 
 by means of that destruction, for the extensive dissemination of 
 the Reformed doctrines. These were accordingly spread far and 
 wide throughout the land ; and the consequence was, the ac- 
 complishment of a revolution in the sentiments of his subjects, 
 which tlie haughty potentate had not anticipated. An invincible 
 hostility to the Popish superstition and a deeply rooted abhor- 
 rence of arbitrary power, constituted from that time the promi- 
 nent features in the popular mind ; nor, much as these features 
 were the object of his execration, could the oppressor, with all 
 his furious proscription at once of enemies and of friends, ac- 
 complish their extinction. Eflorts with that infamous design he 
 and his successors frequently made ; but they were made in vain, 
 and served to render more terrible the explosion which after- 
 wards took place, and which deluged England with native blood. 
 The reign of Henry's Protestant daughter Elizabeth tended, 
 ill some degree, to heal the wounds of her bleeding country, 
 
ON CIVIL LIBERTY. 57 
 
 and to repair the disasters which it had sustained under her in- 
 famous predecessor Mary. The tragic scenes which the history 
 of the latter princess discloses to our view, it is painful for hu- 
 manity to contemplate ; nor is it unlikely, that, but for the short- 
 ness of their duration, they would have succeeded in expelling 
 from the land of their fathers the most valuable of its inhabit- 
 ants, and bequeathing to the wretched remainder that inherit- 
 ance of slavery from which they were seeking, and were fondly 
 hoping to escape. Happily for England, however, the sanguine 
 anticipations of the enemies, and the gloomy forebodings of the 
 friends, of freedom and of their country, were disappointed by 
 the opportune death of the cruel queen, and the arrival of her 
 sister at the sovereign power. She banished, by public enact- 
 ment, from her dominions the system that had too long degrad- 
 ed them ; and, if she did not alter the form of the government, 
 greatly meliorated its spirit. 
 
 During the period in which the last four princes of the house 
 of Stuart filled the throne of England, royal tyranny met with 
 the firmest and most successful resistance. Long, and with mar- 
 vellous patience, did the people bear the encroachments of their 
 oppressors, and fondly did they hope that some auspicious re- 
 volution would take place in their measures ; — but their hopes 
 were vain : even the warning voice ef sore adversity failed to 
 give wisdom to their rulers ; one outrage on their rights after 
 another was brought to their endurance, till, roused to indigna- 
 tion by accumulated wrongs, they expelled the last James from 
 his throne, and determined that thenceforth it should never be 
 possessed by any of his line. 12 
 
 In Scotland, the Reformation was the dawn of genuine liber- 
 ty ; and in her, the struggle for liberty, to which the Refor- 
 mation gave birth, was carried on with ardor and perseverance. 
 In that struggle, the civil as well as the religious rights of the 
 Scottish people were involved, and the advocates of the one 
 were found in the resolute asserters of the other. This is a 
 
.-,8 EFFECT OF THE REFORMATION 
 
 fact of peculiar importance— worthy of general regard— but spe- 
 cially worthy of the consideration of those men who assume 
 to themselves the name of Philanthropists, whose calculations, 
 nevertheless, and whose exertions, all are confined within the 
 range of worldly concerns. " Ye men of earthly benevolence," 
 we would say to such persons, " who love to do good, but whose 
 love of doing good knows not to pass beyond the interests of 
 time, and to whom it is so congenial to turn away Avith disdain 
 from any project that would propose a wider excursion, or lay 
 claim to a loftier importance — ponder the fact to which we have 
 just adverted, that the civil equally with the religious liberties of 
 our land were struggled for, and that the very men whom the 
 Reformation had roused to plead boldly for the one, were the 
 men who, while all around them crouched willingly beneath 
 the yoke, contended stedfastly and successfully for the other. 
 Ponder this fact; and, accustomed as you may have been to re- 
 gard the Reformation as merely a religious revolution, affect- 
 ing only those interests of mankind, whose value — though it 
 reaches forth into eternity — ye have not learned to appreciate, 
 henceforth form a better estimate of its worth ; exclude it not, 
 as heretofore ye may have done, from your grateful regard ; nor 
 ca^t upon those who strove, and sacrificed their lives, for its 
 establishment, the cruelty of your scorn !" The Reformation, 
 by restoring to the world genuine religion, has done unspeak- 
 able good to man, viewed as an immortal being ; but by break- 
 ing the fetters of despotism which bound him, and introducing 
 him to light and liberty, it has also been a source of felicity to 
 man, viewed as the inhabitant of this world ; — and thus, al- 
 though it is the peculiar glury of the Reformation to have at- 
 tracted towards it the esteem, and gratitude, and prayers of the 
 pious, it has, at the same time, in the mighty sweep of its ener- 
 gy, proved the parent of benefits, which should commend it 
 even to worldly men, and should secure for it the respect and 
 gratitude of those whose feelings and vieAvs are associated only 
 with secular concerns. 
 
ON CIVIL LIBERTY. 59 
 
 The chief agent in Scotland's Reformation is endeared to us 
 as the restorer of our spiritual freedom; but he is also emin- 
 ently endeared to us as the firm, unbending patriot, to whom, 
 under God, we are mainly indebted for our political liberty. 
 Scotland, at the momentous crisis when he appeared, stood ia 
 need of some dauntless and intrepid spirit to sway the minds of 
 her people — some individual of sound intelligence and genuine 
 patriotism, who would at once proclaim the dangers of anarchy, 
 and rear a determined front against oppression in its every form ; 
 — she needed, in short, some bold asserter of her long lost 
 rights, in whom the spirit of Wallace might revisit the land 
 that he delivered, and to frown, indgnant, on those who dared 
 to pollute the scene of his deathless triumphs. Such a charac- 
 ter she found in the person of her Reformer , and, great as^w^ere 
 the exploits of her celebrated warrior, triumphs of a higher 
 order were achieved, and benefits of a more dignified character 
 conferred on his countrymen, and the applauses of remotest 
 ages still more justly merited, by her Reformer — by that man 
 who, under God, was the instrument at once of redeeming from 
 degradation the pohtical liberties of his native land, and of lift- 
 ing up the minds of her people to the love and the pursuit oi 
 a freedom — 
 
 "unsung 
 
 By poets, and by senators unpraised, 
 Which monarchs cannot grant, nor all the powers 
 Of earth and hell confederate, take away : 
 A hberty, which persecution, fraud, 
 Oppression, prisons, have no power to bind, — 
 A liberty of heart derived from heaven, 
 Which whoso tastes can be enslaved no more." 
 
 " We have read in our youth — exclaimed an eloquent preacher, 
 while the name to which we are alluding was yet unmonument- 
 ed— of patriot men, the avenger's of a country's wrongs ; and, 
 
GO EFFECTS OF THE RBFORMATION. 
 
 after witnessing, in severe experience, the meanness and the sel- 
 fishness of mankind, we turn again to the page of history with 
 eacrerness, increased a thousand fold ; and we trace with a thril- 
 ling emotion the sacred steps of Leonidas, of Wallace, or of the 
 archer Tell ; and a nation's gratitude bids the monument arise 
 to perpetuate the memory of their deeds — of fetters broken, and 
 for ever cast away — of tyranny overthrown — of justice recalled 
 from the heavens, and fixing her abode once more upon the 
 earth. And shall no eye turn with eagerness to the page which 
 tells of the mind emancipated ? Shall no heart throb with emo- 
 tion, shall no breath breathe irregular, as we read of those who 
 burst the bands of spiritual slavery, who restored reason to its 
 freedom, and taught the man, intellectual and at large, judging 
 for himself, and aware of his responsibility, to claim the place 
 which belongs to him among the works of his Creator ? I would 
 bind the laurel on the patriot's brow : I would join with you, 
 in adding a stone to the heap which covers his remains ; but, 
 while the name of Wallace is to be preserved by an additional 
 security, foul scorn do I hold it, to be under the necessity of re- 
 minding you, that no column has been raised to the memory of 
 Knox, and that no public edifice, throughout the land which he 
 delivered, has been inscribed with his name." 
 
 After all that has been said, however, respecting our Scottish 
 Reformer, and the stigma which his unrequitted exertions have 
 cast upon many generations of his countrymen, the name of 
 Knox, found its best memorial in the esteem and the veneration 
 of those by whom the blessings he conferred on his native land 
 have been valued and improved. What though no " wreath of 
 gratitude" had ever been hung upon his tomb ? What though 
 •* no pilgrim fraught with pious lore" had ever visited the 
 scene of his labors ? What though his deeds had never been re- 
 corded on the marbelled pillar, or his ashes gathered into " tlie 
 storied urn?" His name, bright with venerable associations, 
 and identified with his country's purest glories, would never 
 have been forgotten : — in the grateful and venerating hearts of 
 
ON CIVIL LIBERTY. 61 
 
 the patriotic and the pious among his countrymen, his services 
 would have found their best requital, and his virtues their no 
 blest shrine. " This is the reward of the patriot and the saint 
 The monuments of fame, like the beings whose names they per 
 petuate, will soon pass away, and the lonely heap of their ru 
 ins, in some future age, may awaken the regret of the pensive 
 traveller, as he silently acknowledges the might of time, in 
 mouldering the glories of the past, and darkening with the 
 clouds of forgetfulness the records of perishing greatness. But 
 those impressions of awe and love which are made on the heart 
 by the virtues of great and noble minds, are more enduring — they 
 nev«r perish ; and, in the decay and wreck of all human empire, 
 will shed a beauteous splendor on the spirits of the just, and 
 soothe and delight them through the silent lapse of innumerable 
 years." It will be thus with the patriot and saint of whom we 
 are speaking. The men of true patriotism in this land will ever 
 venerate his name, and will trace their national privileges, and 
 their national renown, to the great revolution which his life was 
 spent in seeking to establish, nor ever, in Scottish history, 
 will the period arrive, when the parent shall cease to tell his 
 children, or the children cease, with their infant tongues, to lisp 
 out the name of Knox ; and thus will there be found, in the 
 grateful remembrance of posterity, the noblest monument, the 
 most imperishable memorial, of him who brought us out of 
 barbarism, and made us free. 
 
 But it is not only in the history of the illustrious individual of 
 whom we have just spoken, of Knox, that it is eminently true, 
 while religion was the primary object of his benevolent and 
 persevering exertions, the secular welfare of his country was 
 an object which, in connection with the other, he zealously and 
 stedfastly pursued. But this also is true of those men who were 
 the coadjutors of Knox in his momentous labors and it is espe- 
 cially true of the actors in those struggles, which, down to the 
 time of the Revolution in 1688, were carried on for the advance- 
 ment of the Scottish Reformation. These are they,' who, from 
 the solemn and important deeds into which they entered on be- 
 
 6 
 
62 EFFECT OF THE REFORMATION 
 
 half of their country, were named Covenanters, and who, in the 
 style of modern ridicule, have been contemptuously termed 
 '♦ the brethren of the Covenant." Their projects and their do- 
 ino-s bear at once on the political and on the spiritual felicity of 
 their land ; and what they said, and did, and endured, for the 
 advancement of her noblest interests, merits to be had in grate- 
 ful remembrance to the latest age. " In the midst of the fiery 
 furnace of persecution, they appeared assuming the high charac- 
 ter of witnesses for God, and maintaining it in the face of dan- 
 ger and death. Though few in number, like the gleanings of 
 o-rapes after the vintage, and a few berries on the top of the out- 
 ermost bough, they lifted up the fallen standard of religious li- 
 berty, and generously devoted themselves. Against the revolt 
 and outbreakings of this generation, we are called to stand ii 
 the gap, and leave our bodies there, that the generation to come 
 who shall hear that the spouse of Christ once dwelt in Scotland 
 with all her beautiful ornaments, may, at least, behold her me 
 morial in the torn veil, and trace her footsteps in the land by 
 a track of blood. They would swear no oaths, subscribe no 
 bonds, take no test, nor yield to any imposition on conscience. 
 They would not pray for the king, because that might be con- 
 strued as owning a title which, in their judgment, he had for- 
 feited , and they resolved whatever it might cost, to be ingenu- 
 ous and open, decisive and unembarrassed, both in word and in 
 deed. They testified against all the arbitrary, persecuting a^ts 
 of Charles, and published acts of their own, disowning the King, 
 excluding the Duke of York, and declaring war in defence of 
 their religion and of their lives. The avowal of disaffection 
 was the signal of death, and, by means of mercenary spies and 
 traitors, many of them were seized and executed. They de- 
 nounced vengeance on the spies, admonishing both the bloody 
 Doegs and flattering Ziphites to remember, " All that is in peril 
 is not lost, and all that is delayed is not forgiven." The coward 
 race were appalled by a threatening that came from men without 
 falsehood and without fear. Their bold example attracted con- 
 genial spirits, and, like the Israelites in Egypt, the more they 
 
ON CIVIL LIBERTY. 63 
 
 were afflicted, the more they grew. They formed into societies, 
 and settled the ground and nature of their testimony. A love of 
 liberty they considered as the national character, which it was 
 their duty to maintain and transmit. A defensive war against 
 tyranny they justified by the laws of nature, and by the precepts 
 and doctrines of the Bible. It is God's command to his people, 
 " Deliver thyself, O Zion, that dwellest with the daughters of 
 Babylon." " If thou forbear to deliver them that are drawn 
 unto death, and them that are ready to be slain ; if thou sayest. 
 Behold, we know it not, shall not He that pondereth the heart 
 consider it ?" Our brethren are drawn unto death, and we are 
 ready to be slain ; in such circumstances, to forbear is to partake 
 of the sin of murderers. Sympathy and self-defence are the 
 armor of God, a shield and buckler which must not be vilely 
 thrown away. The powers that be are of God, but he ordains 
 them to be ministers to men for good. They rejected James at 
 his accession to the crown, because he had not taken the coro- 
 nation vow, and was in no condition to fulfil it. They disdain- 
 ed his toleration, and would not accept as a favor what belonged 
 to them as a right, nor acknowledge a power to give, which 
 implied a power to take away. Spurning his restriction of wor- 
 ship to houses, they vindicated their liberty in the fields, preach- 
 ing in mountains and in the wilderness, as Christ and his fore- 
 runner preached. To those who objected that their testimony 
 was unexampled, they answered, the tyranny of the times is 
 also without example : former examples arose from the state of 
 things which produced them; the present singular state of things 
 demands a new example to after ages. Tyrants formerly used 
 force, but ihey now demand an explicit owning of arbitrary 
 power ; — the limitation of kingly power is a question which 
 they compel us to decide , and our example may instruct and 
 animate posterity. Their standard on the mountains of Scotland 
 indicated to the vigilant eye of William, that the nation was 
 ripening for a change. They expressed what others thought, 
 uttering the indignation and the groans of a spirited and oppres- 
 sed people. They investigated and taught under the guidance 
 
&I EFFECT OF THE REFORMATION 
 
 of feeling, the reciprocal obligations of kings and subjects, the 
 duty of self-defence and of resisting tyrants, the generous prin- 
 ciple of assisting the oppressed, or, in their language, helping 
 the Lord against the mighty. These subjects, which have since 
 been investigated by philosophers in the closet, and adorned 
 with eloquence in the senate, were then illustrated by men ol 
 feeling in the field. While Russel and Sidney, and other en- 
 lightened patriots in England, were plotting against Charles, 
 -from a conviction that his right was forfeited, the Cameronians 
 in Scotland, under the same conviction, had the courage to de- 
 clare war against him. Both the plotters and the warriors fell : 
 but their blood watered the plant of renown, and succeeding 
 ages have eaten the pleasant fruit." 
 
 Such is the record of the character and doings of the Coven- 
 anters ; and we appeal to every heart that is not utterly estrang- 
 ed from proper feeling, whether they are not emiji»iitly entitled 
 lo our gratitude and esteem ? Religious Reformers they un- 
 doubtedly were; but they were at the same time the friends and 
 the advocates of civil liberty. They sought to break and to 
 cast away from their country, for ever, the fetters of spiritual 
 thraldom, with which her enemies strove to bind her ; but they 
 likewise sought her deliverance from political oppression. In- 
 deed, although it had been the case that their efforts were solely 
 directed to the vindication of their own religious principles, they 
 would have really been, and would have merited to be esteemed, 
 the advocates of their country's civil rights. For the ecclesias- 
 tical systems, against which their opposition was directed, were 
 unifor.'rJy combined, in the land, with arbitrary power ; and 
 therefore, in opposing and lifting up their testimony against 
 them, they appeared, not merely in support of certain princi- 
 ples of religious belief, and in adherence to a peculiar system 
 of ecclesiastical polity, but on behalf of the rights and liberties 
 of tlieir whole nation, in opposition to the tyrannical encroach- 
 ments of arbitrary power. 
 
 But they also stood forth directly, and avowedly on behalf of 
 the civil liberties of their native land : in fact, they were the 
 
ON CIVIL LIBERTY, 65 
 
 only persons of their times who made a firm and consistent 
 appearance in their defence. The Covenants, from which they 
 derived their name, and against which, in succeeding ages, so 
 much ignorant abuse has been poured forth, were deeds in 
 which they bound themselves to defend and promote the civil 
 liberties of their kingdom, as well as the purity of its religious 
 professions. The writings which they published, the learning and 
 profound judgment they displayed, were noble, and very influ- 
 ential testimonies for the genuine principles of political freedom. 
 And, as the preceding extract has made manifest, their whole 
 conduct, from the time when they stood forth in a public charac- 
 ter, down to the revolution in 1688, was a continued struggle 
 for the best privileges of their earthly kingdom, as well as for 
 the nobler immunities of the kingdom of heaven. Patriots, 
 therefore, the Scottish Covenanters surely were, in the best and 
 highest sense of the term, for religion, liberty, conscience, and 
 the public good — all that is precious to man as a rational and 
 immortal being, entered into the matter of their contendings. 
 Their love of country was of the sublimest cast. The spots on 
 which they contended, and on which many of them fell, were 
 scenes of purer and more substantial glory than that which was 
 gained of old on the plains of Marathon, or at the straits of 
 Thermopyle. The historian of our land, when he tells us of the 
 heroism with which these patriot men, in the times " when mo- 
 narchs owned no sceptre but the sword," " foiled a tyrant's and 
 a bigot's bloody rage," and of the firm perseverance with which, 
 in spite of all that was around them calculated to break their 
 resolution, they clung to the cause in which they had embarked, 
 displaying on their native mountains the banner of freedom, 
 and standing out to the view of mankind in the high character 
 of advocates at once for the prerogatives of their God, and for 
 the liberties of their country — is pointing our attention to trans- 
 actions of loftier character, and of far deeper interest : nor do 
 we hesitate to declare, that, we shonld blush to claim kindred 
 with the man who could survey the portion of our country's 
 history in which these transactions are recorded, without feel- 
 er 
 
G6 EFFECT OF THE REFORMATION 
 
 ing both gratitude and admiration. "The cool-blooded infidel" 
 casts a look of ineffable disdain on the cause and the doings of 
 the Covenanters, because he regards them as merely the paltry 
 conflictings of some insignificant religious sects. The servile 
 advocate of arbitrary power turns away from them with dis- 
 gust, because he is jealous of every thing that has the air of a 
 struggle for freedom. The bigoted adherent of Popery dislikes 
 them, because the Covenanters thought not altogether as he 
 thinks, but made their appeal from the dogmas of erring man, 
 to the unerring oracles of the living God. While, last of all, 
 and, unhappily, in the most numerous class of all, the worldly 
 man, immersed in secularity, and alive only to the things of 
 this present world, deems the Covenanters' contest beneath his 
 regard, because it was connected with religion. There were 
 religious matters involved in that contest, and it is this circum- 
 stance, we conceive, which constitutes its highest glory ; — ne- 
 vertheless, it is this very circumstance which, in the view of 
 worldly men, deprives it of all its interest, and entitles it to be 
 set down as the mere ebullition of fanaticism ! Alas, for such 
 men ! Their mode of thinking and of judging affords a melan- 
 choly display of the hostility which exists in the corrupted 
 human heart against God, and against the things of God ! So 
 long as the benevolent exertions of the friends of their race re- 
 main unconnected with spiritual and religious concerns, so 
 long as they maintain a character purely secular, they will 
 receive the tribute of high approbation ; — but let this boundary 
 be once touched — let benevolence extend the sphere of its ex- 
 ertion beyond its precincts of secularity, and, although it be- 
 comes thereby just the more worthy of esteem and of applause, 
 it has entered a scene whither the world will not follow it, and 
 in which contempt and scorn will be its sure reward. 
 
 " Patriots have toiled, and, in their country's cause, 
 Bled nobly, and their deeds, as they deserve, 
 
 Receive proud recompense 
 
 But fairer wreaths are due, though never paid, 
 
ON CIVIL LIBERTY. 67 
 
 To those who, posted at the shrine of Truth, 
 
 ^ Have fallen in her defence 
 
 with their names 
 
 No bard embalms and sanctifies his song ; 
 And history, so warm on meaner themes, 
 Is cold on this." 
 
 The patriot is an honorable character, but he who is both a 
 patriot and a martyr is much more honorable. Such were the 
 Scottish Covenanters. If ever there were interests worth con- 
 tending for, they are those for which they struggled. If ever 
 there was a contest that bore a character of genuine magnifi- 
 cence, it is the contest in which they were engaged. If ever 
 there were men who merited the esteem and the applause of 
 succeeding generations, they are the men of whose doings we 
 have been discoursing. For all that is estimable in our politi- 
 cal and moral condition, we are indebted to them. They com- 
 pleted the deliverance which Knox and his coadjutoi*s had com- 
 menced. They concluded the destruction, throughout this 
 realm, of ecclesiastical domination and arbitrary political power. 
 These are the Scottish Covenanters ! Long time has passed 
 since they were numbered among Scotland's living men ; and 
 the tempests of many a winter have swept over the places 
 where their ashes repose ; but they are not, they cannot be for- 
 gotten. The record of their lives may perish, and the rude let- 
 tered tablet that marks the hallowed spot of their glorious slum- 
 ber may moulder to dust ; but their fame is deathless in the 
 heart of every lover of Scotland's liberty and Scotland's Refor- 
 rmation. Their worth has a monument more imperishable thau 
 marble or brass— a monument which will survive the trophies of 
 conquerors and kings, and which the lapse of time will never be 
 able to destroy. 
 
 It was at the memorable Revolution in 1688, that the determi- 
 nation to be free, with which the Reformation had inspired the 
 minds of the British people, achieved its object. The arduous 
 but glorious struggle which, for more than a century, had been 
 
08 EFFECTS OF THE REFORMATION. 
 
 perseveringly maintained against arbitrary power, was then 
 brought to an auspicious termination. The storms by which 
 the land had been assailed, were hushed to repose, and the 
 firmness of our forefathers was crowned with success. Then, 
 the tree of British liberty, planted in a former age, and watered 
 with the biood of patriots and martyrs, attained its majestic 
 growth, and succeeding generations have prospered beneath its 
 shade, and abundantly partaken of its pleasant fruit. 
 
 Had the Reformation accomplished no other achievement on 
 behalf of the liberties of mankind — had it effected nothing more 
 than the emancipation of one country from darkness and despo- 
 tism, its memory would have been blessed. To have reared, 
 in the midst of the ocean, an asylum for freedom, whence, in 
 process of time, as from a centre, its genial emanations might 
 have gone forth, and, penetrating the surrounding gloom, shed 
 blessings over the still degraded portions of the earth, would 
 have been to do much for the happiness of our race. But it did 
 more : The sphere of its early influence was much more exten- 
 sive. We can point to other nations in which its introduction 
 proved the dawn of freedom ; and although it is true, that, in 
 some instances, the political importance which these nations 
 acquired, has been swept away by the impetuous tide of events, 
 which, during recent years, has poured itself over Europe, it is 
 at the same time true, that there remains in the character of 
 their people, an intelligence, a love of enterprise and of indus- 
 try, with a variety of similar features, the offspring of the Re- 
 formation, which confer on them a decided and acknowledged 
 superiority over the population of those states in which the an- 
 cient system retains its power. 
 
 In glancing rapidly at the history of some of these nations, 
 we may advert to the States of Holland. But for the spirit of 
 resistance to arbitrary power elicited by the Reformation, these 
 provinces which, with all their insignificance, acted, for a con- 
 siderable time, such an important part among the kingdoms of 
 Europe, would most probably have remained under the yoke of 
 their Spanish oppressors. With them, as was the case with 
 
ON CIViOLXIBERTY. 60 
 
 England, the vindication of tJieir religious rights proved the 
 means of regaining their political freedom. Soon after its com- 
 mencement in Germany, the Reformation had made rapid pro- 
 gress in these states, when Philip, the monarch who, at that 
 time, swayed the sceptre over the Spanish branch of the empire, 
 became alarmed, and determined to use vigorous efforts for its 
 extinction. Proscriptions and persecutions of its friends en- 
 sued ; and. the more certainly to crown his unholy enterprize 
 with success, he erected, among the Belgians, the tribunal of the 
 Inquisition. But his efforts were vain. Tyrants and persecu- 
 tors ! learn wisdom from the striking lesson. Means like those 
 to which we have adverted, may repress, for a time, the rising 
 spirit of a people, but cannot crush it ; and the violence with 
 which it will, at length, burst forth, will be awful in proportion 
 to the degree of repression which it has experienced. The 
 Belgian Revolution is one of the multitude of instances in 
 which the truth of this remark has been demonstrated. The 
 barrier which Philip was attempting to rear in his dominions 
 against the progress of mind, proved utterly ineffectual. His 
 system of increased oppression, instead of rendering the Hol- 
 landers submissive to hi<^ measures, imparted tenfold energy to 
 their resistance. With one heart and one mind, they rose 
 against the ravishers of their freedom; and, animated by the 
 consideration of the immense value of the prize for which they 
 were contending, determined to emancipate themselves, or pe* 
 rish with the rights for which they fought. Here we would say 
 again to the enemies of the Reformation, here is a scene result- 
 ing from that very revolution to which you ascribe such a blast- 
 ing influence on the affairs of Europe, which is one of the no- 
 blest that the sun can look upon, — a brave but oppressed people 
 awakening from the base slumber of mafiy generations, and 
 standing forth in the attitude of bold contention for their long 
 insulted and dishonored rights. Who feels not that this is a 
 hallowed scene ? Who venerates not the combatants ? What 
 mind follows not with lively interest the progress of their glo* 
 rious enterprise ? Arduous and long was the contest that ensu- 
 
TO EFFECT OF THE BEFORMATION 
 
 cd, ere the struggle was successful. But it could not be unsuc 
 cessful. What achievement is there which a people, "n th- cir- 
 cumstances, and with the feelings of the brave Belgians, could 
 fail to accomplish ? 
 
 The storm of popular indignation burst furio\isly over the 
 system by which the Hollandars had been oppressed; and, 
 along with their oppressors, swept it from their soil. Thus did 
 the Reformation call into vigorous activity the long slumbering 
 energies of this people ; stimulate them to attempt the recovery 
 of their lost freedom ; infuse into their minds that firm patriot- 
 ism, and that lofty spirit of independence, for which they were 
 iifterwards illustrious ; and, in short, lay the foundation of all 
 that grandeur, and power, and prosperity, which, in the lapse 
 of years, came to be possessed by their diminutive state ? 
 
 In the history of Sweden, will we find another testimony to 
 the truth of the affirmation which we have made, — that the Re- 
 formation proved the dawn of liberty to the nations of Europe. 
 The introduction of the Reformation into that country brought 
 along with it the recovery of her independence, and the rejec- 
 tion of the Danish yoke. Under the virtuous government of 
 Gustavus Vasa, than whom never was patriot more worthily 
 esteemed the saviour of his country^ the great and dangerous 
 power of the clergy was suppresed ; their overgrown revenues 
 were applied to the purposes of government ; a regular monar- 
 chy was estabhshed ; and such internal vigor was given to the 
 administration of affairs, that, rising above her natural weak- 
 ness, Sweden became the first kingdom in the north. So high- 
 ly indeed was she elevated by the abilities of her Protestant 
 princes, and the other advantages which she had derived from 
 the Reformation, that she became the protectress at onee of 
 Protestantism, and of the liberties of Germany. The commence- 
 ment of the century posterior to the Reformation, beheld her 
 enterprizing monarch at the head of that powerful confederacy 
 which was formed among the German princes against the bigo- 
 try and boundless ambition of the House of Austria. The 
 splendid successes which they obtained against that power are 
 recorded in the pages of the historian: nor is it improbable 
 
ON CIVIL LIBERTY. 7J 
 
 that, if Gustavus Adolphus had survived a few years longer, the 
 oreatncss of Austria would have been annihilated. The Refor- 
 mation conferred on that kingdom liberty and greatness. Nor 
 is it an objection against the argument which we are maintain- 
 ing to say, that all this liberty and all this greatness were soon 
 extinguished. The benefits of the Reformation were not pro- 
 perly improved: and, if the rulers of Sweden, or of any other 
 nation, pursued measures which were calculated to dissipate 
 these benefits, and to prevent them from shedding their kindly 
 influence over the whole population of their land, they alone cer- 
 tainly were to blame ; and to them must be attributed that retro- 
 gradation which their several countries made in the path of im- 
 provement. "A queen weak, and fond of gallantry; a king 
 despotic, and a conqueror, dissipated the advantages procured 
 to Sweden by the Reformation. Had Gustavus Adolphus, and 
 Oxenstiern, obtained always successors worthy of them, the 
 Czars would n )t probably have built their imperial city on the 
 Neva; they would not have reached the shores of the Baltic ; 
 and the face of the north, and consequently that of Europe, 
 would have been diflierent from what it is. But Sweden shone 
 only for an instant ; and, like those sudden meteors which shoot 
 a momentary light through the long darkness of the night, it 
 quickly disappeared from the political horizon " 13. 
 
 A similar decline did Protestant Denmark experience: but nei- 
 ther with this has the Reformation any concern. Sufficient for 
 it is the praise of having poured on the world the light of free- 
 dom, and of having opened up the true path to national dignity 
 and grandeur ; and if these bril|iant prospects have been, in any 
 case, shrouded, such a disastej" is to be traced to some other 
 cause than the Reformation. I 
 
 If we turn our eyes to Girmany, we find its Protestant 
 states indebted to the Reforniation for their deliverance from 
 the Austrian yoke. It was that auspicious Revolution which 
 introduced among the inhabitants of those states a firmness of 
 opposition to the foe of their jbommon religion, and established 
 among them a bond of harmoMous union that consolidated their 
 
72 KtTECT OF THE REFORMATION 
 
 energies and fnabled them to secure their liberty, and the pro- 
 fession of the Reformed faith over half the empire. 14. 
 
 The Cantons of Switzerland had recovered their political li- 
 berty before the Reformation. This circmnstance, to those who 
 do not sufficiently estimate the peculiar situation of that coun- 
 try, may seem to invalidate the remarks which we have made 
 respecting the hostility of the Papal system to civil liberty. 
 " This people," it may be said, " achieved the rescue of their 
 independence, and maintained it with the most heroic courage; 
 while, for a hundred and fifty ye^rs thereafter, they remained 
 subject to the authority of Rome^" But in all this, if the cir- 
 cumstances of the case be rightly considered, there is nothing 
 inconsistent with what we havej been asserting. At the time 
 when the Swiss Cantons threw olF the Austrian yoke, tlie poli- 
 tical servitude under which they were groaning had become in- 
 tolerable — it had reached that point beyond which human en- 
 durance will not extend. At the| same time, the domination of 
 the Roman Pontiffs had assufned among them an aspect 
 of greater mildness than had characterized it in any other 
 part of Europe. To the extraordinary stretches of usurped 
 power, which, in other lands, were felt so keenly, the inhabi- 
 tants of Switzerland were almost entire strangers. For this 
 exemption from the common miseries of the Christian world, 
 they were perhaps principally indebted to the mountainous 
 nature of their country, their consequent poverty, and the cha- 
 racter of insignificance thus ijnposed upon them. But to what 
 causes soever it may be attributed, the fact is certain, that the 
 influence of the Papal system was, by a great deal, less power- 
 ful among them than in other kingdoms which were subject to 
 its sway. This circumstance, whilst it rendered the Swiss con- 
 tented with their religious condition, made the severity of their 
 political servitude more irksome and intolerable. The barrier 
 which, in other countries, the pxevailing system of superstition 
 had reared against the assertion of popular rights, had, among this 
 people, almost no existence. Tl.iese rights, therefore, as might 
 have been expected, were successfully vindicated from a tyranny 
 
ON CIVIL LIBERTY. 73 
 
 that was become too great to meet with longer toleration ; 
 whilst their religion, full as it was of absurdities, having be- 
 come accommodated to their circumstances and manners, and 
 being productive of no evils of which they were sensible, had 
 taken strong hold of their affection, and given birth, in their 
 minds, to feelings altogether hostile to change. To this cir- 
 cumstance, too, it is probably owing that the Reformation was 
 not universally established among the Swiss. Hostile to im- 
 provement as the Popish superstition is, and always must be, 
 it had worn among them its most benignant aspect ; and, being 
 productive, in appearance, of no great or immediate evils, 
 they became attached to it as the inheritance of their fathers, 
 and regarded its defence as honorable and glorious. How much, 
 it is to be regretted that the efforts of a brave people should 
 have been so misdirected, as to fight for chains by which they 
 were enslaved, and to carry devastation into the peaceful terri- 
 tories of their countrymen, in order to perpetuate among them a 
 bondage which they had spurned ! For, mild as it appeared 
 when contrasted with the aspect which it wore in other parts 
 of Europe, still it was slavery ; and the superior character for 
 intelligence and active industry by which the Protestant Can- 
 tons have since that time been distinguished from their Popisli 
 neighbors, is a striking demonstration of the deleterious influ- 
 ence of the Romish system, even when it appears in its mildest 
 form. 15. 
 
 The independence of Geneva was the offlspring of the Re- 
 formation. Under the influence of that bold and enterpi-i- 
 sing spirit which accompanied the reception of the Reform- 
 ed doctrines, were the citizens of this state prompted to cast off' 
 the yoke of the Duke of Savoy, who, protected by the court 
 of Rome, held them in subjection. The former tyrants leagued 
 to crush their bold endeavors ; but not all the thunder of pon- 
 tifical wrath, nor the fierce assaults of their secular oppressors, 
 were effectual to reinslave them. 16. Their independence was 
 established ; and it continued to be their boast almost for three 
 
 7 
 
74 EFFECT OF THE REFORMATION 
 
 centuries. Immediately on the acquisition of its freedom, this 
 interesting state began to act a more important part in the con- 
 cerns of Europe. Thence, as from a centre, were those rays of 
 truth diffused over surrounding nations, by which the sacred 
 flame of liberty and religion were kept alive, and brightened, 
 and extensively spread. There the. celebrated Calvin employ- 
 ed his mighty genius for the promotion of the knowledge and 
 happiness of mankind. There the venerable Reformer of Scot- 
 land obtained an asylum trom persecution, and matured his 
 plans for the emancipation of his country. There, too, a sanc- 
 tuary was found by the proscribed and exiled English, driven 
 from their homes by an infuriated queen, who, abandoning at 
 once the tenderness of her sex, and the common feelings of hu- 
 manity, had lighted up the torch of persecution, and gained a 
 triumph to the cause of superstition amid the expiring cries of her 
 martyred people. Geneva became the metropolis of the Pro- 
 testant world ; and, by the extensive dissemination of the writ- 
 ings of those illustrious men to whom she either gave birth, or 
 afforded a refuge, exerted a most auspicious influence on the 
 moral and political condition of surrounding states. To Geneva 
 we may point as a striking example of that elevation of charac- 
 ter which knowledge and liberty can confer on states otherwise 
 contemptible : nor, although her glory is, in the mean time, 
 awfully departed — although men, undeserving of the name of 
 Protestants, have usurped those very seats of learning and of 
 public instruction which, in the days of her golden age, were 
 nobly and worthily filled by the successors of Calvin and Beza, 
 though, in short, the blasting influence of a proud and unhal- 
 lowed scepticism has laid desolate the metropolis of the Refor- 
 mation — is it improbable, that, rescued from the domination of 
 infidelity, and brought once again under the reviving influence 
 of Christian teachers and Christian principles, she may yet, in 
 the hand of that Providence which seems to have preserved her 
 for interesting purposes in the government of the world, be the 
 Instrument of performing services of signal importance to the 
 
ON CIVIL LIBERTY. 75 
 
 cause of illumination and freedom among the kingdoms of Con- 
 tinental Europe ? 17. 
 
 These cursory hints respecting the political efiiect of the Re- 
 formation, demonstrate, that its influence on the cause of Euro- 
 pean liberty was both powerful and beneficial. When we be- 
 hold that Revolution which effected such a mighty change in 
 religion, accomplishing one no less extraordinary in the charac- 
 ter and sentiments of the nations in which it was established ; 
 when we perceive it not only disturbing the reign of supersti- 
 tion, and rescuing the consciences of men from its degrading 
 dominion, but crumbling to dust, by its potent touch, the vari- 
 ed systems of political oppression, and infusing into the gene- 
 ral mass of the people a noble spirit of investigation and enter- 
 prize, extremely favorable to the progress of freedom, and of 
 the various arts that benefit and adorn society — can we hesitate 
 to pronounce it one of the most auspicious events that ever have 
 taken place in the history of mankind ? With what feelings 
 must an intelligent Protestant, cast his eyes over those regions 
 where the tyranny from which he has been emancipated, still 
 predominates ? In no way, indeed, are the benefits of the Refor- 
 mation so perceptible as by comparing the condition of the Pro- 
 testant with that of the Popish nations. Liberty is by no means 
 congenial to Papal climes, and in France, the must enlightened 
 ed of the Roman kingdoms, genuine liberty has never been en- 
 joyed. Over her has despotism ruled, assuming, at one time, 
 a milder, at another time, a more ferocious aspect. Of the 
 Popish nations in the south of Europe, this is still more empha- 
 tically true. Penetrated they once were by the rays of light ; but 
 scarcely had that light begun to spread, and to render visible the 
 surrounding darkness, when its progress was arrested by the 
 strong arm of power, and they were left amid the gloom of that 
 moral and political degradation which is the inseparable attend- 
 ant of priestly dominion. All this is pre-eminently true of Spain. 
 Her history is awfully instructive on the subject of which we arc 
 treating. In her the superstitions and idolatries of Papal Rome 
 
76 EFFECT OF THE REFORMATION. 
 
 have been displayed to all the world in their native deformity, 
 and in a|l the disastrous influence which they exert on the dear- 
 est interests of mankind. O Popery ! What revolting features 
 are thine ! How appalling is thine aspect, when stern necessity 
 compels thee not to appear in milder array ! Thou art the nurse 
 of ignorance I Thou tramplest on free inquiry, and on every li- 
 beral sentiment ! Thou triumphest in the overthrow of freedom, 
 and in the groans of suffering and degraded men ! Unhappy 
 Spain ! Holland, thy tributaiy in ancient days, is now free, whilst 
 thou art more a slave than she was ! Ill fated land ! 
 
 It is consoHng, however, to think that we may indulge 
 cheering anticipations. Long has been the night of the Popish 
 lands, and dismal has been its gloom. Humanity weeps at the 
 thought of the many centuries of degradation through which 
 they have passed. But the period of their debasement will have 
 an end. Their long and dreary night will be succeeded by the 
 joyful morn of a bright and lasting day. The impulse which was 
 communicated to society by the Reformation has not ceased to 
 operate. The progress of mind cannot now be interrupted. 
 Rational liberty, the birthright of every member of the family 
 oi man, will pervade the world; and the degraded nations of 
 the earth will participate in those blessings from which they have 
 been long estranged. "A mighty angel took up a stone, like a 
 great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying — Thus, with vi- 
 olence, shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall 
 be found no more at all."— Rev. xviii : ^1, 
 
CHAPTER ZI. 
 
 EFFECT OF THE REFORMATIOX OK XATIONAIi 
 PROSPERITY. 
 
 From contemplating the effect of the Reformation on civil 
 liberty, we pass to the consideration of its influence on the in- 
 ternal security and prosperity of the European states, and on 
 their conduct towards each other, and in both these points oi 
 view, it has been productive of important benefits. It has im- 
 pressed on the minds of rulers and subjects their reciprocal du- 
 ties, and has abolished many customs and institutions which 
 tended to corrupt national morals, and impoverish national re- 
 sources; and it has also destroyed those illiberal and unjust 
 principles which governed the councils of nations, and has in- 
 fused into their intercourse with each other, a spirit of candor 
 and good faith, which was formerly unknown. 
 
 During the long period in which Papal Rome possessed un- 
 controlled power, the nations of Europe held their security and 
 their peace by the most precarious tenure. In almost the whole 
 of them the Papal system had been so artfully entwined with 
 the affairs of government, and its doctrines had obtained so 
 powerful an ascendencey over the minds of their people, that 
 the pontiffs actually possessed more power in them than their 
 monarchs. That the interest of the church is of supreme im- 
 portance, and that it is the duty of every individual to seek the 
 good of the church in preference, and even, if it should be ne- 
 cessary, in opposition, to the good of his country, was the 
 
 monstrous maxim which they most assiduously, and, imfortuTi 
 
 7.. 
 
78 EFFECT OF THE REFORMATION 
 
 ately for the happiness of mankind! most successfully inculcated. 
 Awfully must the minds have been blighted, which could be pre- 
 vailed on to cast themselves down before such a doctrine as this— 
 a doctrine on which even enlightened reason impresses the brand 
 of infamy, and which was sufficient, without any other evidence, 
 to cast the stigma of utter abomination on that religion which 
 could lend it her sanction. Religion ! The name, in this case, 
 is misapplied. Religion is holy and heavenly ; but is that sys- 
 tem pure, can that system be descended from heaven, which 
 seeks the extension of its interests at the expense of all the 
 peace, and, consequently, all the happiness of human society ? — 
 which not only warrants, but in very deed, commands its vota- 
 ries to sacrifice at its shrine, the affection, and all the endearing 
 bonds of friendship, and amid whose pestilential atmosphere, 
 patriotism, the noblest of earthly passions, withers and dies ? It 
 is impossible. But such was the thing called religion in Europe, 
 before the Reformation ; and revolting to every generous and 
 noble feeling is the record of the blasting influence which it shed 
 on the internal condition of the European States. By this 
 means, the pontiffs possessed the entire ascendency over them ; 
 and, accordingly, whenever they thought fit to denounce the 
 policy pursued by any prince as hostile to the interest of the 
 church, how good soever in itself that policy might be, and 
 how much soever adapted to meliorate the condition of his sub- 
 jects, its abandonment became absolutely necessary; or, if per- 
 severed in, the daring transgressor was proscribed, and all the 
 influence which the pontifl!s possessed in his dominions was 
 called forth into formidable operation against them. 
 
 Of all the instruments of vengeance that were wielded by the 
 Papal church, against those by whom she conceived herself to 
 have been injured, the excommunication and the interdict were 
 the most tremendous. The former affected individuals, the lat- 
 ter whole nations. The sentence of excommunication was in- 
 flicted often times for the most frivolous offences ; and the per- 
 son against whom, in the anger of the church, it was denounced. 
 
ON NATIONAL PROSPERITY. 79 
 
 experienced it to be a dreadful infliction. " He was proscribed 
 as unworthy of the most common enjoyments of life. No one, 
 not even his nearest and dearest relation, was permitted to ap- 
 proach him ; he forfeited every natural right, and every legal 
 privilege ; he could act in no public capacity ; he could succeed 
 to no inheritance ; and, even when dead, if he died without 
 absolution, he was not allowed the privilege of burial ; but or- 
 dered to be flung into a pit, or covered over with stones." 
 Against the terrible thunders of this anathema, even kings and 
 emperors were not secure ; and the excommunication of a mon- 
 arch utterly degraded him in the estimation of his subjects. After 
 Robert, king of France, had been excommunicated by the court 
 of Rome, his own servants threw the victuals which came from 
 his table to the dogs, refusing to taste any thing that had been 
 polluted by his touch. And when Geoflrey, Archdeacon of Nor- 
 wich, who had been entrusted with an ofllice in the Court of Ex- 
 chequer, heard, while sitting on the bench, of the excommuni- 
 cation of King John, he mentioned to his colleagues the danger 
 of serving under an excommunicated prince, and immediately 
 left the court. 1. 
 
 But the excommunication, with all its terrors, was a trifle 
 when compared with the Interdict. It is impossible to conceive, 
 in its full extent, the overwhelming mischief with which the ope- 
 ration of this tremendous engine of Papal vengeance and policy 
 was attended. Confusion and dismay were spread over whole 
 kingdoms, when they were subjected to it ; and the imagined 
 guilt of one person was made to involve the ruin of millions. 
 *' Its execution, was calculated to strike the senses in the highest 
 degree, and to operate with irresistible force on the superstitious 
 minds of the people. The nation was, of a sudden, deprived 
 of all exterior exercise of its religion. The altars were spoiled 
 of their ornaments. The crosses, the relics, the images, the 
 statues of the saints, were laid on the ground ; and, as if the air 
 itself had been profaned, and might pollute them by its contact, 
 the priests carefully covered them up, even from their own ap- 
 
^1} EFFECT OF THE REFORMATION 
 
 proach and veneration. The use of the bells entirely ceased in 
 all the churches. The bells themselves were removed from their 
 steeples, and laid on the ground, with other sacred utensils. 
 Mass was celebrated with shut doors, and none but the priests 
 were admitted. The laity partook of no rite, except baptism 
 to new born infants, and the viaticum to the dying ; the dead 
 were thrown into ditches, or buried in common fields ; and 
 their obsequies were not attended with prayers, or any ceremony. 
 Marriage was celebrated in the church-yard ; and that every ac- 
 tion in life might bear the marks of this dreadful situation, the 
 people were prohibited the use of meat, as in Lent, or times of 
 the highest penance ; were debarred from all pleasures and en- 
 tertainments, or even to salute each other, or so much as to shave 
 their beards, and give any decent attention to their person and 
 apparel. 2. It is easy to conceive what effect such scenes as 
 these were calculated to produce on the minds of the ignorant 
 and superstitious. They became indignant at the conduct of their 
 rulers, whom they regarded as the authors of their misfortunes ; 
 and their indignation, cherished by the priesthood, who were 
 ever ready to espouse the cause of their spiritual masters, very 
 naturally and unavoidably gave birth to insurrections and civil 
 wars. Such, was the effect of these scenes, in all the states 
 and kingdoms which, in this extraordinary manner, were em- 
 broiled by the unjust interference of a foreign power. 
 
 Now, the principle which lay at the foundation of all this — 
 that principle which, by stating an opposition, in the minds of 
 the people, between the interests of the church and those of the 
 .state, sunk the latter into utter insignificance — was one of the 
 most preposterous which the human mind could possibly con- 
 ceive. It established a state within a state ; deprived the mon- 
 arch of the allegiance of his subjects ; or, at least, rendered his 
 dependence on their allegiance precarious in the extreme. It 
 was a principle inconsistent at once with the dignity and the 
 rights of princes, and with the duties of their subjects ; nor, so 
 long as it was dominant, could the condition of society be peace- 
 ful and secure. 
 
ON NATIONAL PROSPERITY. 81 
 
 The Reformation has dried up this prolific source of the mis- 
 chiefs which, during many ages, deluged the Christian world, 
 and has inspired the people of Protestant lands with sentiments 
 more consonant to reason, and more conducive to the welfare of 
 society. The Christian religion, restored to its purity, has pro- 
 claimed itself the friend of governmeut and of good order ; and, 
 identifying its interests with those of the community in which 
 it is professed, has disclaimed and prohibited every method for 
 its extension by which the tranquillity of that community might 
 be disturbed. Subordination to civil authority it has ranked 
 among the imperative duties of its professors, a subordination 
 which no power on earth may presume to invalidate ; and, 
 branding as antichristian the assumption of secular power, on 
 the part of its ministers, has limited all their interferences to a 
 sphere more congenial to the character by which they are dis- 
 tinguished. 
 
 In this manner has the Reformation in religion extended its 
 meliorating influence to the condition of political communities. 
 Whilst it has overthrown the secular supremacy exercised by the 
 Roman pontiffs, it has also demolished their spiritual jurisdic- 
 tion ; and thus, excluding for ever any foreign interference with 
 the internal affairs of the state, and rescuing its disciples from 
 the operation of that monstrous principle which established an 
 opposition between the dictates of religion and the love of coun- 
 try, it has contributed, in no ordinary degree, to the stability of 
 government and the happiness of civil society. 
 
 But the Reformation, while it has thus impressed on the minds 
 of the people the duties of obedience and love to their country, 
 while it has withdravvn from its ascendency in their hearts the 
 idea that their allegiance is subject to the control of a foreign 
 power, and has taught them that patriotism, far from being, in 
 any case, repugnant to religion, is enforced with all the weight 
 of her most sacred sanction — has, at the same time, pointed out 
 the duty and the interest of rulers, and has effected a change in 
 their sentiments and conduct not less auspicious, nor of less im- 
 
82 EFFECT OF THE REFORMATION 
 
 portance to national felicity. The maxim, that the good of the 
 church is of infinitely greater moment than the good of the state, 
 was one that influenced the minds and the conduct of rulers, as 
 well as of their people ; and, although there are instances on 
 record, in which, on the part of some spirited and judicious 
 princes, this hateful maxim was spurned, it had too often the me- 
 lancholy effect of concealing from the view of the ruling powers 
 the true interests of their kingdoms, and of stimulating measures 
 that were utterly hostile to their welfare. Moreover, the cor- 
 onation of princes was generally accompanied with the exaction 
 of an oath, in which they swore fealty to the head of the church, 
 and bound themselves to exterminate those whom he should pro- 
 nounce to be heretics from their dominions ! It is most manifest 
 that such an obligation was at utter vaaiance with all the duty 
 of the prince, and with all the peace and prosperity of his king- 
 dom ; yet was it, in most instances, faithfully regarded ; and it 
 is painful to read the details of all the devastation and the wretch- 
 edness that were brought on the people of many of the states of 
 Europe, by the absurd attachment of their monarchs to so cruel 
 and degrading an imposition. Naturally and directly did it lead 
 to persecution, than which there is not one thing more disastrous 
 to all that constitutes a nation's grandeur and felicity. 3. 
 
 Wheresoever it has obtained, the Reformation has introduced 
 a happier order of things. It has rescued men in power from 
 the dominion of a system which bound them at once to act con- 
 trary to their own interests, and to violate the duty which ' they 
 owed to their subjects. It has torn in pieces that veil of super- 
 stition which was before their eyes, and through which they ob- 
 tained only false and distorted views of even their most momen- 
 tous concerns, and has poured the light of a glorious day on 
 their duties and their interests. By the mere change which it has 
 effected in their circumstances ; by the deliverance which it has 
 brought them from the oppression of a principle that, at the nod 
 of a foreign power, bound them to persecute their subjects — the 
 Reformation has done much to promote both their happiness 
 
ON NATIONAL PROSPERITY, 83 
 
 and that of their people. But there has also been produced, a har- 
 mony of feeling, and a combination of interest, between the 
 princes and the people, from which Popish countries, how much 
 soever the progress of knowledge may have meliorated their 
 condition, are completely estranged. Raised from a state of in- 
 glorious vassalage, to reign over a free and enlightened people, it 
 was not to be expected that the Protestant princes would remain 
 insensible of the auspicious change. Exceptions there have been 
 among them; but, in general, they have displayed a liberality of 
 sentiment, and a humanity of action, that are not to be found in 
 the character or conduct of Popish monarchs. Contrast the cha- 
 racter of Charles IX. with that of his contemporary of England. 
 With what sentiments but those of detestation and horror can 
 we regard the monarch who, on the bloodiest day in the whole 
 history of France, when the sound of the great bell in her me- 
 tropolis proved the signal of death to thousands of her people, 
 and the demon of persecution sat smiling, in dismal triumph, 
 over the heaps of the wounded and the slain, took part in the 
 work of extermination ; and, from the windows of his palace, 
 shot at the terrified multitudes who were swimming across the 
 river, if happily they might escape from the scene of such mur- 
 derous deeds ? Surely there exists not a mind so callous to every 
 generous and humane sentiment, as not to rejoice in the over- 
 throw of a system that tended to bury so entirely all the tender 
 feelings of our nature, and to destroy all that liberality of thought 
 which is the ornament of man. 4. How different was the con- 
 duct of the Protestant queen ! *' These are my guards," said 
 Elizabeth, pointing to the surrounding crowds of her subjects, 
 when blamed for exposing herself with few attendants. 
 
 The Reformation has promoted the internal security and pros- 
 perity of the states of Europe, by effecting the abolition of va- 
 rious customs and institutions which were calculated to corrupt 
 their morals, and to impoverish their resources. The cruelty of 
 some of the Heathen emperors, and the terrible persecutions 
 Avith which they visited the primitive Christians, induced multi- 
 
84 EFFECT OF THE REFORMATION 
 
 tudes of the latter to escape into the solitary and uninhabited 
 places, where the enthusiasm that distinguished many of them 
 was inflamed to an extraordinary degree by the gloom of the 
 surrounding desert. Fanaticism having continued the unnatural 
 practice of leaving society, even after the cause which had .given 
 birth to it had ceased, the monastic life began to assume a re- 
 gular form. Edifices were reared and appn priated to the pur- 
 pose ; rules were prescribed lor the observance of their inhab- 
 itants ; and eminent for piety was the individual esteemed, who, 
 forsaking the vain pleasures and pursuits of a fleeting world, 
 took up his final retreat in one of these solitary mansions. This 
 was the origin of monastic institutions ; and one of the most 
 surprising subjects that can engage our contemplation, is the ex- 
 tent to which they increased. To think of a society that deriv- 
 ed its existence from an obscure individual, who possessed no 
 influence save what his fervid superstition conferred upon him, 
 extending its ramifications over one kingdom after another, and 
 over one region after another, till it could boast of an establish- 
 ment over half the globe — numbering, too, among its members, 
 statesmen, kings, and emperors, and actually grasping a great 
 part of the wealth of the nations in which it prevailed — is one 
 of the most astonishing scenes that history unfolds. 
 
 The monastic life, is unnatural, — for it is in direct opposition 
 to an original principle of the human mind, by which our species 
 are connected among themselves — the desire of society ; nor is 
 there a more striking phenomenon in the history of mankind 
 than this — that a wild enthusiasm should acquire entire superi- 
 ority over an affection to which men in every region in the world 
 do homage. The professed and primary object of monastic in- 
 stitutions is preposterous. Little can be said for the rationality 
 of minds which could suppose that the duties we owe to the God 
 who made us, may be better performed amid the gloom of the 
 desert, and the dreariness of the cell, than in the scenes of so- 
 cial life ! 
 
 But, although it were granted that the object of monastic in- 
 
ON NATIONAL PROSPERITY. 85 
 
 stitutions is not irrational, their existence, from the very hour of 
 their commencement was one continued crime against God, and 
 against human society, increasing every hour in magnitude and 
 atrocity. Man is not a being formed for himself alone. De- 
 pendent on his fellows, his very circumstances point out his des- 
 tination. He is a member of society, and there are duties which 
 lie owes to society of as much importance in their own place, as 
 those that are more immediately required of him by his Creator. 
 What estimate, then, must we form of the conduct of him who 
 turns away with utter contempt from all those offices of social 
 duty, and bursting through all the strong and endearing ties by 
 which he is connected with the members of the same great fa- 
 mily, resolves to live *' a solitary man ?" Be it that his solitude 
 is devoted to the most rigid observances of superstitious devo- 
 tion, that it even exhibits the reality of the poet's picture — 
 
 " His dwelling a recess in some rude rock, 
 Book, beads, and maple dish, his meagre stock; 
 In shirt of hair, and weeds of canvas dress'd, 
 Girt with a bell-rope that the Pope has bless'd ; 
 Adust with stripes told out for every crime, 
 And sore tormented long before his time : — 
 See the sage hermit by mankind admired, 
 With all that bigotry adopts inspired, 
 Wearing oat life in his religious whim, 
 Till his religious whimsy wears out him." 
 
 Can his conduct be approved? It cannot. Reason whispers-- 
 
 " He who a hermit is resolved to dwell, 
 And bid to social life a long farewell, 
 Is impious." 
 
 His own experience, too — the entire absence from his miiid 
 of every thing like solid contentment — suggests that he acts not 
 as he ought. — 
 
 " God never made a solitary man ; 
 'Twould mar the concord of his general plan.— 
 8 
 
88 EFFECT OF THE REFORMATION 
 
 Should man through nature solitary roam, 
 
 His will his sovereign, every where liis home, 
 
 What force woulJ guard him from the lioi.'s jaw^? 
 
 What swiftness .save him from the panther's paw ? . 
 
 Or should fate lead him to some safer shore, 
 
 Where panthers never prowl, nor lions roar, 
 
 Where liberal Nature all her charms bestows, 
 
 Suns shine, birds sing, flowers bloom, and water flows. 
 
 Still discontented, though s\ich glories shone, 
 
 He'd sigh and n)urmur to be there alone." 
 
 If, from the suggestions of reason and experience, we turn to 
 the dictates of inspiration, to which every appeal respecting mo- 
 ral duty must ultimately be made, they recognise the social du- 
 ties of man no less explicitly than those of religion, and declare 
 that the one must never usurp the place of the other. 
 
 " Go, teach the drone of saintly haunts, 
 That wastes in indolence his time. 
 Though many a holy hymn he chaunts. 
 His life is one continued crime." 
 
 Look, then, to the aggregate of injury which, in the with- 
 drawment of its members, was inflicted on society by these in- 
 stitutions, during the long period of twelve centuries, and, ne- 
 gative though the crime be, it will not be easil)* counterbal- 
 anced. If the beings devoted to monachism during all that time be 
 estimated at the permanent average of three hundred thousand, — 
 a number, there is reason to believe, greatly below the truth, — 
 forty generations passed away in that period, and a total is pre- 
 sented to us equal to the population of England — perhaps 
 double or triple that number — of our fellow-creatures, to whose 
 exertions in her service, society had a right of which she couhl 
 not be deprived, snatched away from her, and with all those 
 powers and faculties, which, under a kindiier influence, might 
 have been her ornament and her delight, buried in the lone de- 
 sert! 5. Who can tell, amid all this prodigious overthro\V of mind, 
 how many mighty spirits were crushed in tlieir opening ener- 
 
ON NATIOxNAL PROSPERITY. 87 
 
 gies? How many individuaJs were condemned to live in vain, 
 through whose enterprising efforts light might have heen shed 
 on the paths of literature, or on the truths of religion ! Who 
 can tell whether the c mbined exertions of many of these lost 
 myriads might not have prevented the disastn us reigr, of dark- 
 ness that ensued, and rendered the Reformation unnecessary? 
 At all events, who can daubt, that, in all this inc -nceivable mul- 
 titude, there were many who wouM have occupied important 
 stations in society ; — many wlio would have proved the centre 
 of domestic charities, the lovers of freedcm, the friends and be- 
 nefactors of their species ? What can redeem, from the charge 
 of atrocious guilt, the system which occasioned such gigantic 
 ruin of intellectual and moral, as well as of physical powers ! 
 
 This, however, is not the precise view of the injury done to 
 society by monastic institutions, nor is it that in which their cri- 
 minality appears invested with its highest aggravation. It is, in- 
 deed, much to deprive society of the benevolent exertions of 
 millions of her members ; but it is a painful addition to set all 
 these millions in hostility against her. From the principles on 
 which these institutions were established, and the conduct which 
 characterized their members, they were arrayed against her 
 prosperity and her peace. The principles on which they were 
 instituted were those of entire devotedness to the court of 
 Rome, and absolute independence on the civil power. Now, 
 the exemption of such vast numbers of ecclesiastical persons 
 from all subjection to the secular authorities, was utterly at vari- 
 ance with national security ; yet this exemption v. as claimed for 
 them, and during many ages afforded ground of contention and 
 warfare in alnost every nation of Europe. It was too late, after 
 the Reformation had taken place, to thmk of continuing such a 
 state of matters ; but its continuation v/as attempted, and, in the 
 articles decreed by the Council of Trent, for the reformation of 
 princes and civil magistrates — which were, in fact, but a col- 
 lection and confirmation of the decrees of former councils — we 
 may read at once a description of the state of Christendom for 
 ages previous to the Reformation, and of the state in which, if 
 
88 EFFECT OF THE REFORMATION 
 
 Papal influence had been sufficiently powerful, it would still have 
 remained. The principal decrees of this Council, on this sub- 
 ject, are the following: — "That persons ecclesiastical, even 
 though their clerical title should be doubtful, and though they^- 
 themselves should consent, cannot, under any pretext, even that 
 of public utility, be judged in a secular judicatory. Even in 
 cases of notorious assassination, or other excepted cases, their 
 prosecution must be preceded by a declaration of the bishop of 
 jhe diocese. That in causes spiritual, matrimonial, those of he- 
 resy, tythes, (kc. civil, criminal, mixed, belonging to the eccle- 
 siastical court, as well over persons as over goods, pertaining to 
 the church, the temporal judge cannot intermeddle, notwith- 
 standing any appeal, &c. ; and those who, in such causes, shall 
 recur to the civil power, shall be excommunicated, and deprived 
 of the rights contended for. Secular men cannot constitute 
 judges in causes ecclesiastical; a clergyman, who shall accept 
 such offices from a layman, shall be suspended from orders, de- 
 prived of benefices, and incapacitated. No king or emperor can* 
 make edicts, relating to causes trr-^ersons ecclesiastical, or in- 
 termeddle with their jurisdiction, or even with the Inquisition, 
 but are obliged to lend their arm to the ecclesiastical judges, when 
 called on. Ecclesiastics shall not be constrained to pay taxes, 
 excise, &c. not even under the name of free gifts, or loans, 
 either for patrimonial goods, or the goods of the church. — 
 Princes and magistrates shall not quarter their officers, &c. on 
 the houses or monasteries of ecclesiastics, nor draw thence 
 aught for victuals, or passage-money, &.c. And there was an 
 admonition to all princes to have in veneration the things which 
 ure of ecclesiastical right, as pertaining to God, and not to allow 
 others herein to offend, renewing all the constitutions of sove- 
 reign pontiffs, and sacred canons, in favor of ecclesiastical im- 
 munities, commanding, under pain of anathema, that, neither di- 
 rectly, nor indirectly, under any pretence, aught be enacted or 
 executed against ecclesiastical persons, or goods, or againsi 
 their liberty; any privilege or immemorial exception to the 
 ■ contrarv notwithstandinir." 
 
ON NATIONAL PROSPERITY. 89 
 
 Such are the privileges which, not the monks only, but all the 
 orders of the clergy, insulted the powers of Europe by arrogat- 
 ing to themselves, and in asserting which, they frequently threw 
 whole kingdoms into confusion. " It is evident, that these arti- 
 cles imply a total independence of the ecclesiastic on the secular 
 powers, inasmuch as the latter could, on this plan, use no coer- 
 cive measures, either for preventing the commission of crimes 
 by the former, or for punishing them when committed — could 
 not, even for the eviction of civil debts, or discharge of lawful 
 obHgations, affect the clergy, either in person or property, mov- 
 able or immovable; and could exact no aid from them for the 
 exigencies of the stale, however urgent. Besides, the indepen- 
 dence was solely on the side of the clergy. The laity could 
 not, by their civil sanctions, affect the clergy without their own 
 concurrence ; but the clergy, both by their civil and by their re- 
 ligious sanctions, could affect the laity, and, in spite of their op- 
 position, whilst the people had any religion, bring the most ob- 
 stinate to their terms. The civil judge could not compel a cler- 
 gyman to appear before his tribunal ; the ecclesiastical judge 
 could compel a layman, and did daily compel such, to appear be- 
 fore him. And in all the interferings and disputes between in- 
 dividuals of the different orders, the clerical only could decide. 
 Moreover, though the kinds of power, in the different orders, 
 were commonly distinguished into temporal and spiritual, the 
 much greater part of the power of the ecclesiastics was strictly 
 temporal. Matters spiritual are those only of faith and man- 
 ners ; and the latter only as manners ; that is, as influencing 
 opinion, wounding charity, or raising scandal. Whereas, under 
 the general term spiritual, they had got included the more im- 
 portant part of civil matters also, affairs matrimonial and testa- 
 mentary, questions* of legitimacy and succession, covenants, and 
 conventions, and wherever the interposition of an oath was 
 customary. Add to these, that they were the sole arbiters of 
 the rights avowedly civil of the church and churchmen, and in 
 every thing wherein these had, in common with laymen, any 
 share or concern." The Popish clergy generally, and cspe- 
 
 8* 
 
90 EFFECT OF THE REFORMATION 
 
 cially the monastic orders, were " a sort of spiritual ariny, dis- 
 persed in differeiit quarters, indeed, throughout Europe, but of 
 which all the movements and operations could be directed by 
 one hand, and conducted upon one uniform plan." The monks 
 of each particular country " were a particular detachment of 
 that army, of which the operations could easily be supported 
 and seconded by all the other detachments, quartered in the dif- 
 ferent countries round about. Each detachment was not only 
 independent of the sovereign of the country in which it was 
 quartered, and by which it was maintained, but dependent on a 
 foreign sovereign, who could at any time turn its arms against the 
 sovereign of that particular country, and support them by the 
 arms of all the other detachments." 
 
 The monastic institutions were injurious to the states of 
 Europe, inasmuch as they absorbed a vast portion of national 
 wealth. It is not merely true of them that they were supported 
 in affluence and splendor— at the expence of the very commu- 
 nity whose claims on their services they had spurned; but aid- 
 ed by the delusions which Popery had spread over the world, 
 they drew into their possession immense riches, the greater 
 part of which, as to any advantage resulting from it to the state, 
 became from that moment utterly dead. " In England the pro- 
 digious increase of the riches of the church had long been the 
 subject of complaint, as a matter of the utmost prejudice to the 
 state, The barons, indeed, had taken care to insert a clause in 
 the great charter, which expressly prohibited any one to alien- 
 ate his lands to the church ; but this prohibition had no effect. 
 The church still continued to acquire estates, Avhich were never 
 afterwards alienated; and yet, all these estates were in a dead 
 hand, as to any return to the state. They afforded neither 
 wards, reliefs, nor marriages, like other lands ; and, in propor- 
 tion, therefore, as their revenues increased, the public exche- 
 quer was impoverished ; nor would England, in some ages, if 
 this custom had been continued, have been any thing more than 
 a nation of monasteries and churches. Edward I. therefore, 
 proposed to make a law, which should effectually prevent the 
 
ON NATIONAL PROSPERITY. 91 
 
 continuance of this evil, by prohibiting any one to dispose of 
 his estates, without the king's consent, to societies which never 
 die; and, accordingly, was passed the famous statute of Mort- 
 main." In spite of all these precautions, the cajise of raonach- 
 ism prevailed so much, that no fewer than six hundred and for- 
 ty-Jive religious houses were suppressed by Henry at the Refor- 
 mation, the annual revenues of which, were equivalent to six 
 millions of our present money. 
 
 In Sweden, the property which belonged to the church was 
 of more value than all the other estates of the kingdom toge- 
 ther. In Cambresis, a province of the Netherlands, the pos- 
 sessions of the ecclesiastics were, to those of the whole laity, as 
 fourteen to three ! " At every step of our progress in France, wr 
 find monasteries and magnificent abbeys, more rich still than 
 they appear. When travelling, I have often asked, to whom 
 these farms, these woods, these lands, belong? and have al- 
 most alv/ays been answered, to such an abbey, to such a com- 
 munity, to such a chapter ! If to these immovable possessions 
 be added the annuities, the tithes, and other contributions, we 
 must conclude, that at least the half of the property of the king- 
 dom is in the hands of the priests and the monks." — " What I 
 say of Fraiice, is still more sensibly true of Spain, Italy, Flan- 
 ders, and Germany. If the Pope were master of all these estates, 
 and could appropriate the use of them to himself, he would be 
 the richest sovereign in the world. To find any to equal him, 
 it would be absolutely necessary to raise again the ancient 
 kings of Mexico and Peru, the Montezumas and the Atabilpas." 
 Scotland, too, poor though she was, sacrificed largely at the 
 shrine of monastic folly. One of her princes, David, in the 
 12th century, founded and endowed no fewer than tu-elve mag- 
 nificent fabrics, consecrated to the purposes of monachism, for 
 which the church honored him with the insertion of bis name 
 in her saintly calendar. 
 
 But the revenues which tliey derived from their endowments 
 in land, and from their church livings, although quite enormous, 
 were not the only sources of wealth to the monasteries. Sums 
 
93 EFFECT OF THE REFORMATION 
 
 exceeding conception came into their possession from the sale of 
 relics, and the voluntary offerings of superstitious devotees. 
 Perpetually were the religious of the monasteries exhibiting a 
 vast variety of relics^ whose virtues were marvellously adapted 
 to all the exigencies of human life ; there were, for example, 
 three or four arms of Andrew, some dozens of Jeremiah's 
 teeth, the parings of Edmund's toes, some of the coals that roast- 
 ed Laurence, the girdle of the Virgin Mary, shown in eleven 
 several places, two or three heads of Ursula, some of Peter's 
 buttons, and many rags, of the muslin and the lace of Margaret 
 and Clara, and other illustrious female saints ! A thousand mar- 
 vellous properties were attributed to these precious relics. They 
 had power to fortify against temptation, to infuse and strengthen 
 grace, ta drive away the devil and all evil spirits, to allay 
 winds and tempests, to purify the air, to secure from thunder 
 and lightning, to arrest the progress of contagion, and to heal 
 all diseases ! Indeed, it was much more difficult to tell what they 
 could not, than what they could do ! To be permitted to touch, 
 or even to see these hallowed things, was a privilege for which 
 the people had to pay; but the possession of them was to be ob- 
 tained only with a very great price ; and the virtue by which 
 they were distinguished, was also proportioned to the rate at 
 which they had been procured. 6. In addition to the immense 
 sums received for their relics, the monasteries were ever attest- 
 ing some new miracle, for the purpose of attracting the un- 
 healthy, the penitent, and the pilgrim; all of whom were ex- 
 pected to leave an offering behind them to the wonder-working 
 saint. The wealth of which, by these means, the monks became 
 possessed, was enormous. An English historian informs us, that 
 the offerings at the shrine of Thomas Becket amounted, in one 
 year, to nine hundred and fifty-four pounds, — a sum equivalent 
 lo ten thousand pounds of our present money ; and that the 
 gold taken from the shrine, at the time of the demolition of the 
 religious houses, " filled two chests, which eight strong men 
 could hardly carry." " The jewels, the plate, the furniture, 
 and other goods, which belonged to all these houses, must 
 
ON NATIONAL PROSPERITY. 93 
 
 have amounted to a prodigious sum, of which no computation 
 can now be made. In many of the rich monasteries, their vest- 
 ments were of cloth of gold, silk, and relvet, richly embroider- 
 ed ; and their cruci^xes, images, candlesticks, and other uten- 
 sils and ornaments of their churches, were of silver, silver- 
 gilt, and gold." 
 
 And what was the mighty benefit which, in return for all th( 
 splendid gifts they received, the monastics conferred on their 
 devotees? invariably the grand return made to the donors, was 
 a promise that all the influence which the fathers possessed in 
 heaven should be exerted in behalf of their souls, and the souls 
 of their relations ! What imposition can be too gross, for de- 
 ceiving an ignorant and superstitious people? The sanctity of 
 he recluses consisted wholly, or chiefly in some ridiculous sin- 
 gularity of garb; yet was the world so much infatuated by their 
 appearance, that liberality to them — even to the beggaring of 
 their own children — was regarded as the most direct path to hea- 
 ven; nor, it was imagined, could immortal happiness be more 
 effectually secured, than by giving the luxuries of life to those 
 w^ho had bound themselves to live in abstinence, and by enrich- 
 ing those who had sworn to live for ever poor ! Thus were the 
 people deluded, and thus the pretensions of the monastic fathers 
 to poverty and austere piety were mere cant ; for, amid all the 
 gloom, and all the affected rigidity of their character and their 
 devotions, they never manifested much reluctance to encumber 
 themselves with the riches that perish, and to barter for the 
 carnal things of this world, the precious commodities of the 
 world to come. 
 
 It would have been well, however, if the mere absorption of 
 jnoperty and of wealth had been all the positive evil with which 
 the monastic institutions were chargeable. It is manifest that 
 this, in process of time, would have effected the ruin of society : 
 and, but for the Reformation, Europe would, ere long, have 
 become a region of monasteries and of monks. Nevertheless, 
 it is the moral influence which they exerted, that renders them 
 ]ire-eminently infamous, and throws over their guilt its deepest 
 
94 EFFECT OF THE REFORMATION 
 
 and darkest shade of atrocity. The morality of a nation con- 
 fciitutes its highest glory ; when that is gone, its worth is de- 
 parted, and though it may continue to boast of trade, and 
 riches, and power, it is become an abomination in the earth. 
 Now, it is a fact which cannot be disputed, that these institu- 
 tions naturally tended, and did greatly contribute, to spread the 
 ruin of moral character, over every country in ^vhich they pre- 
 vailed. There is not one individual of our species, on whose 
 mind seclusion from society would not produce the most bane- 
 ful effects. It would either give to his character the complexion 
 of a rigid, unsocial misanthrope, or inspire him with all the 
 fervor of fanatical frenzy. Men of strong mental powers, im- 
 proved by education, have been unable to withstand its influ- 
 ence. *' Indeed, it seems to be the unavoidable eflfect of a mon- 
 astic education, to contract and fetter the human mind. The 
 partial attachment of a monk to the interest of his order, which 
 is often incompatible with that of other citizens — the habit of im- 
 plicit obedience to the will of a superior, together with the fre- 
 quent return of the wearisome and frivolous duties of the clois- 
 ter — debase his faculties, and extinguish that generosity of sen- 
 timent and spirit, which qualifies men for* thinking or feeling 
 justly, with respect to what is proper in life and conduct." The 
 effect of monastic seclusion on the female mind, has been some- 
 limes of a singular cast. In a convent of nuns in France, a 
 strange impulse seized one of the fair sisterhood to meAv like a 
 cat, Avhich soon communicated itself to the rest, and became 
 general throughout the convent, till, at last, they all joined, at 
 stated periods, in the practice of mewing, and continued it for 
 several hours ! 
 
 In the fifteenth century, one of the nuns in a German convent 
 was seized with a strange propensity to hite all her companions ; 
 and, surprising as it may seem, this disposition spread among 
 them, till the whole sisterhood was infected with the same fury. 
 This exhibits the ludicrous of monachism ; but it is the effect 
 which it has produced on the passions., that mankind have had 
 most reason to deplore. Men may think to escape the power of 
 
ON NATIONAL PROSPERITY. 05 
 
 passion, by escaping from the view of those objects by which 
 it was excited ; but experience teJls us that the thought is vain. 
 " The cahn which seems to accompany the mind in its retreat is 
 deceitful : the passions are secretly at work within the heart; 
 the imagination is continually heaping fuel on the latent fire, and 
 at length the labouring desire bursts forth, and glows with vol- 
 canic heat and fury. The man may change his habitation, but 
 the same passions and inclinations lodge within him ; and, though 
 they appear to be undisturbed and inactive, are silently influ- 
 encing all the propensities of his heart. Even. minds under the 
 influence of virtuous principle, could with difliculty stem the im- 
 petuous t jrrent; and as for those of an opposite description, it 
 i^ not wonderful that they should be overcome." The celibacy, 
 the poverty, and the self-tormenting punishments to whicli the 
 advocates of monachism pretended to dedicate themselves, were 
 the means of fostering their pride, their ambition, and their sen- 
 sual inclinations ; and so quickly was the semblance of sanctitv 
 banished from their habitations, that, in the ninth century, the 
 most strenuous eflforts of Charlemagne were inadequate to the 
 task of repressing the disorders with which they were pervaded- 
 Ignorance, arrogance, and luxury, were the prominent features 
 in the character, not, indeed, of the monks only, but of all the 
 orders of clergy. '* Worldly ambition, gross voluptuousness, 
 and grosser ignorance, characterized their various ranks ; and 
 the open sale of benefices placed them often in the hands of the 
 basest of men." 
 
 The history of monastics exhibits, that their hearts were 
 corrupted with the worst passions that disgrace humanity, and 
 the discipline of the convent was seldom productive of a single 
 virtue. The prelates exceeded the inferior clergy in every kind 
 of profligacy, as much as in opulence and power ; and, of course, 
 their superintending and visitorial authority was not exerted to 
 lessen or restrain the prevalence of those vices, which their evil 
 example contributed so largely to increase. 
 
 "The celebrated Boccace has, by his witty and ingenious 
 tales, very severely satirized the licentiousness and immorality 
 
96 EFFECT OF TilE REFORMATION 
 
 which prevailed during his time, in the Italian monasteries ; but 
 by exposing the scandalous lives, and lashing the vices of the 
 monks, nuns, and other orders of the Papal clergy, he has been 
 decried as a contemner of religion, and as an enemy to true 
 piety. Contemporary historians have also delivered the most 
 disgusting accounts of their intemperance and debauchery. 
 The frailty, indeed, of the female monastics, was even an arti- 
 cle of regular taxation ; and the Holy Father did not disdain to 
 lill his cofiers with the price of their impurities. The frail nun, 
 whether she had become immured within a convent, or still re- 
 sided without its walls, might redeem her lost honor, and be re- 
 instated in hei former dignity and virtue, for a few ducats. This 
 scandalous traffic was carried to an extent that soon destroyed 
 all sense of morality, and l^eightened the hue of vice. Ambro- 
 sius of Canadoli, a prelate of extraordinary virtue, visited vari- 
 ous convents in his diocese ; but on inspecting their proceedings, 
 he found no traces even of decency, remaining in any one of 
 them, nor was he able, with all the sagacity he exercised on the 
 subject, to re-infuse the smallest particle of these qualities into 
 the degenerated minds of the sisterhood. The reform of the 
 nunneries was the first step that distinguished the government of 
 Sixtus IV. after he ascended the Papal throne, at the close of 
 the fifteenth century. Bossus, a celebrated canon, of the strict- 
 est principles, and a most inflexible disposition, was the agent 
 selected by his hohness for this arduous achievement. The 
 Genoese convents, where the nuns lived in open defiance of all 
 the rules of decency, and the precepts of religion, were the first 
 objects of his attention. The orations which he pubUcly uttered 
 from the pulpit, as well as the private lectures and exhortations 
 which he delivered to the nuns from the confessional chair, were 
 fine models, not only of his zeal and probity, but of his litera- 
 ture and eloquence, They breathed, in the most impressive 
 manner, the true spirit of Christian purity ; but his glowing re- 
 presentations of the bright beauties of virtue, and the dark de- 
 formities of vice, made little impression upon their corrupted 
 hearts. Despising the open calumnies of the envious, and the 
 
ON NATIONAL PROSPERITY. 97 
 
 secret hostilities of the guilty, he proceeded, in spite of all dis- 
 couragement and opposition, in his highly honorable pursuit ; and 
 at length, by his wisdom and assiduity, beheld the fairest pros- 
 pe€is of success daily opening to his view. The rays of hope, 
 however, had scarcely beamed upon his endeavors, when they 
 were immediately oyerclouded by disappointment. The arm of 
 magistracy, which he had wisely called upon to aid the accom- 
 plishment of his design, was enervated by the venality of its 
 }iand; and the incorrigible objects of his solicitude having freed 
 themselves, by bribery, from the terror of the civil power, con- 
 temned the reformer's denunciations of eternal vengeance here- 
 after, and relapsed into their former licentiousness and depravity. 
 A few, indeed, among the great number of nuns who inhabited 
 those guilty convents, were converted by the force of his elo- 
 quent remonstrances, and became afterwards highly exemplary 
 by the virtue of their lives, but the rest abandoned themselves to 
 their impious courses ; and, though more vigorous methods 
 were, in a short time, adopted against the refractory monastics, 
 they set all attempts to reform them at defiance. The modes, 
 perhaps, in which their vices were indulged, changed with the 
 character of the age ; and, as manners grew more refined, the 
 gross and shameful indulgences of the monks and nuns were 
 changed into a more elegant and decent style of enjoyment. 
 Fashion might render them more prudent and reserved in their 
 intrigues, but their passions were not less vicious, nor their dis- 
 positions less corrupt." 
 
 Such is the record of monastic profligacy and corruption ; and 
 when we t-nnk how the monks were regarded by the people 
 with profou<<dest reverence, and, moreover with what swarms of 
 them Europe was filled — " friars, white, black, and grey ; can- 
 ons regular, and of Anthony ; CarmeUtes, Carthusians, Corde- 
 liers, Dominicans, Franciscans Conventual and Observantines, 
 Jacobines, Reinonstratensians, Monks of Tyronne and of Vallis 
 Caulium, Hospitallers, or Knights of John of Jerusalem; Nuns 
 of Austin, Clare, Scholastica, Catherine of Sienna ; with Can- 
 onesses of various clans,"-— we cannot entertain a doubt, that the 
 
 9 
 
98 EFFECT OF THE REFORMATION 
 
 contagion of their example operated with most debasing and 
 corrupting effect upon the character of mankind. What must 
 have been the condition of morality, when its professed teachers 
 were so immoral? What, in the view of the God of truth and 
 purity, must be the turpitude of that system, or of that widely 
 extended institution, which, for more than a thousand years, 
 spread its unhallowed influence over so great a portion of the 
 world, and triumphed in the overthrow of all that is virtuous 
 and' noble in the character of man ? The Reformation, in effect- 
 ing the overthrow of the monastic system, has promoted, in no 
 ordinary degree, the prosperity of every state in which it has 
 obtained. We do not deny, that at one period, all the little 
 learning of which Europe could boast, was included within clois- 
 tered walls, and that, to them, we are indebted for the preser- 
 vation of many of the works of the classic writers of ancient 
 times. Those great monuments of taste and genius, which 
 have called forth the applause of many generations, v.e do not 
 undervalue. But, while the monastic institutions preserved to 
 us much of the learning of ancient days, this will not counter- 
 balance the mischiefs which they occasioned. 
 
 At the period of the Reforma^tion, learning had ceased to 
 dwell in the solitudes of monachism. The age of darkness had 
 passed away, never more to return ; the art of printing had un- 
 locked the storehouses of ancient literature, and sent abroad 
 their treasures for the good of mankind; and thus there was not 
 left the shadow of reason for longer endurance of these incum- 
 brances on the states of Europe; — and pregnant as they palpa- 
 bly were with many very serious evils, there was the most urgent 
 necessity for their removal. This the progress of knowledge 
 effected. These institutions, the birth of an ignorant and super- 
 stitious age, fell before the brightness of the light of truth ; and, 
 at their dismemberment, was unfolded more strikingly than ever 
 had been done before their incorrigible depravity. 
 
 Great have been the lamentations respecting the alleged out- 
 rages of the Reformation ; that literature will never recover from 
 the disaster vrhich it sustained, by the loss of the thousands of 
 
ON NATIONAL PROSPERITY 99 
 
 precious volumes, which, with the monasteries that contained 
 them, were, by the barbarous fury of the Reformers, consigned 
 to destruction, and that the demolition — occasioned by the Re- 
 formation — of the splendid edifices appropriated to monachism, 
 inliicted a misfortune on the fine arts which is absolutely irre- 
 trievable. These stately fabrics, it is said, the illustrious pro- 
 duct of immense labour and expence — on which all the taste and 
 genius of the world were lavished, and which seemed destined 
 to perpetuate through all time the triumphs of art, are now in 
 ruins ; and the superb arches, the lofty columns, the mouldering 
 walls, of these once glorious structures — the melancholy remains 
 of such a magnificent creation of art and genius — present to the 
 eye of the scientific observer a scene of devastation, for which 
 all the benefits of the Reformation will never atone! 
 
 Now, much of this regret, is groundless ; and with it we can- 
 not sympathise. That the monastic libraries, at the time of the 
 Reformation, w^ere furnished v/ith many — or, indeed, with any 
 very valuable works, is a mere unwarranted assumption. For 
 more than half a century had the press been in vigorous opera- 
 tion, and, during that period, all in literature that was really 
 valuable had been drawn from obscurity ; nor, distinguished as 
 the Reformers were for their regard to learning, and, in several 
 very splendid instances, for their literary acquirements above all 
 their contemporaries, is there the smallest ground to doubt, that, 
 if any of these literary monuments remained, they would have 
 been the objects of their search and careful preservation. We 
 have positive information respecting the state of some of the 
 monastic libraries, and this may, in the absence of contrary 
 evidence, be regarded as a specimen of the condition of the rest. 
 In the recently pubhshed life of Knox, the Scottish Reformer, 
 we have an enumeration of the contents of several of these pre- 
 tended receptacles of learning, despicable in the extreme. Le- 
 gends of saints, pastorales, graduales, missals, breviaries, and 
 other writings of a similar description, were the precious stores^ 
 for destroying which, the Reformation has been branded wirli 
 f^pithcts of the most odious kind. 7. 
 
100 EFFECT OF THE REFORMATION 
 
 Popery is a religion of pageantry and pomp. It aims,'by llie 
 splendor of its ceremonies, to dazzle the intellectual eye of it- 
 votaries, and thus to shroud from their observation its intrinsic 
 deformity : and in the days of its glory, when princes, and kings, 
 and emperors, were numbered among its servants, and all the 
 wealth of the world was ready to be offered at its shrine, it was 
 wont to call in the assistance of art and genius, and to rear for 
 celebration sumptuous edifices, embellished with all the orna- 
 ments of the chisel and the pencil, establishing.thereby the more 
 firmly its usurped dominion. This the Reformation, wheresoever 
 it has obtained, has put an end to, and it was attended with the 
 demolition, in several countries, of the fabrics appropriated to 
 monachism, — many of which, architecture, painting, and sculp- 
 ture, had combined to render monuments of grandeur and of 
 taste. The promotion of the fine arts is our most ardent wish, 
 but never do we desire to see them promoted at the expense of 
 what is infinitely more valuable — the interests of liberty and 
 morality. What were the monastic edifices, but so many tro- 
 phies reared proudly to celebrate the triumphs of spiritual des- 
 potism over mankind? And, although it is true that the system 
 might have been abolished, while its fabrics were spared, who 
 will say that, emancipated as the people were, most suddenly 
 and unexpectedly, from a tyranny which, for many ages, had 
 trampled on all that was most dear to them in the world, it was 
 to be expected that they would exercise much discrimination in 
 manifesting their resentment against the authors of their wrongs ; 
 or that they would extend a protecting arm to edifices which 
 ihey could not but regard as the strongholds of the power by 
 which they had been oppressed? It is not in human nature to 
 act in this manner: and, therefore, far from censuring the demo- 
 lition of these edifices — it was the effervescence of a noble spi- 
 dt, indignant at having been so long deluded and oppressed, 
 rude — in the manner of its operation, but indicating the return 
 of health and vigour to the public mind. 
 
 Besides, " the destruction of these monuments was a piece of 
 good policy, which contributed materially to the overthrow of 
 
ON NATIONAL PROSPERITY. 101 
 
 tlie Roman religion, and the prevention of its re-cstablishment. 
 It Avas chiefly by the magnificence of its temples, and the splen- 
 did apparatus of its worship, that the Popish Church fascinated 
 the senses and imaginations of the people. A more successful 
 method of attacking it, therefore, could not be adopted than the 
 demolition of what thus contributed so much to uphold and ex- 
 tend its influence. There is more wisdom than many seem to 
 perceive in the maxim which Knox is said to have inculcated, 
 " that the best way to keep the roohs from returning, was to pull 
 down their nests'^ In demolishing, or rendering uninhabitable 
 all those buildings which had served for the maintenance of the 
 ancient superstition, except what were requisite for the Protes- 
 tant w^orship, the reformers only acted upon the principles of a 
 prudent general, who dismantles or razes the fortifications which 
 lie is unable to keep, and which might afterwards be seized, and 
 employed against him by the enemy. Had they been allowed 
 to remain in their former splendor, the Popish clergy would not 
 have ceased to indulge hopes, and to make efforts, to be restored 
 to them : occasions would have been taken to tamper with the 
 credulous, and to inflame the minds of the superstitious ; and 
 the reformers might soon have found reason to repent their iH- 
 judged forbearance." 
 
 " The fraternity of Glastonbury Abbey consited of 500 estab- 
 lished monks, besides nearly as many retainers on the Abbey. 
 Above 400 children were not only educated in it, but entirely 
 maintained. Strangers from all parts of Europe were liberally 
 received, classed according to their sex and nation, and might 
 consider the hospitable roof under which they lodged as their 
 ©wn. Five hundred travellers, with their horses, might have 
 lodged at once within its walls; while the poor, from every 
 side of the country, waited the ringing of the alms-bell, when 
 they flocked in crowds, young and old, to the gate of the mo- 
 nastery, where they received, every morning, a plentiful provis- 
 ion for themselves and their famihes. All this appears great and 
 noble. On the other hand, when we consider 500 persons bred 
 
 up in indolence, and lost to the commonwealth ; when wc cpn^ 
 
 9* 
 
103 EFFECT OF THE REFORMATION 
 
 sider that these houses were the great nnrseries of superstition, 
 bigotry, and ignorance : the stews of sloth, stupidity, and intem- 
 perance ; when we consider that the education received in them 
 had not the least tincture of useful learning, good manners, or 
 true religion, but tended to vilify and disgrace the human mind ; 
 w^hen we consider that the pilgrims and strangers who resorted 
 thither were idle vagabonds, who got nothing abroad which was 
 equivalent to the occupations they left at home ; and when we 
 consider, lastly, that indiscriminate almsgiving is not real cha- 
 rity, but an avocation from labor and industry, checking every 
 idea of exertion, and filling the mind with abject notions, we ac- 
 quiesce in the fate of these foundations, and view their ruins, 
 with moral and religious satisfaction." 
 
 But the monastic were not the only institutions, by abolishing 
 which the Refomation has done important and lasting service to 
 the resources and the morals of the states of Europe ; — the di- 
 minution and, the abolition which it effected of the vast number of 
 ■festivals and holidays that were formerly observed, were not the 
 least of the advantages with which it has been attended. " The 
 Sabbath, considering it only under a political point of view, is 
 an admirable institution. It was proper . to give a stated day of 
 rest to mankind, that they might have time to recover them- 
 selves, and to lift up their eyes to heaven ; to enjoy life with re- 
 flection ; to meditate upon past events ; to reason upon present 
 transactions ; and, in some measure, to form plans for the fu- 
 ture. But by multiplying those days of inactivity, hath not that 
 which was established for the advantage of individuals and soci- 
 eties, been converted into a calamity for them? Would not a soil 
 which should be ploughed three hundred days in the year, by 
 strong and vigorous animals, yield double the produce of that 
 which should only be worked one hundred and fifty days in the 
 year ? What strange infatuation ? Torrents of blood have been 
 shed, an infinite number of times, to prevent the dismembering 
 of a territory, or to increase its extent; and yet the powers en- 
 trusted with the maintenance and happiness of empires, have pa-> 
 tiently suffered that a priest, sometimes even a foreign priest 
 
ON NATIONAL PROSPERITY. 103 
 
 sliould invade successively one third of this territory, by the 
 proportional diminution of labor, which alone could fertilize it ? 
 This inconceivable disorder has ceased in several states ; but it 
 continues in the south of Europe, and is one of the greatest ob- 
 stacles to the increase of all subsistence, and of its population. 
 
 Much as the number of these festivals has been abridged, even 
 in Popish countries, in consequence of the Reformation, it is still 
 very considerable, and while, by the suspension of labor that 
 takes place on those days among all persons engaged in trade, 
 and manufactures, and agriculture, there is injury done to the 
 national wealth of no small magnitude ; the voluptuousness and 
 riot that characterize their observance, do incredible injury to 
 the national morality. 8. Now, if this is the case even in our own 
 age, — if the influence of these holidays is so pernicious in the 
 nineteenth century, when their number has been so much dimin- 
 ished, and their power so much repressed, what must have been 
 the state of matters anterior to the Reformation, when their num- 
 ber was vastly greater, and when their baleful effects were ex- 
 perienced in every sphere of life, and in every department of hu- 
 man society ? The saints, to whose memories certain days had 
 been appropriated, had multiplied so exceedingly that their com- 
 memoration occupied a great portion of the year. " The Chris- 
 tian Martyrology became as voluminous as the Pagan mytholo- 
 gy. In the time of Eusebius, the saintly names to be commemo- 
 rated, already amounted to more than live thousand for ever}^ 
 day of the year ! No wonder that those who attempted to com- 
 pile the lives and acts of the saints, in later times, should have 
 found it such a long and laborious task as would require the 
 space of several years to accomplish it. The collection begun 
 last century amounted to fourteen volumes folio ; only the saints 
 of the first four months of the year! To shorten a little the la- 
 bor, and to abridge the ceremonial of commemoration, they hit 
 upon the device of associating a number of them into fellowship, 
 and making one day serve for several of them, so that, on some 
 busy days, Papists could pay their compliments to thousands at 
 once, whereby they were canonically exempted from the drudge- 
 
104 EFFECT OF THE REFORMATION 
 
 ly of dancing daily attendance upon them, being quit of them 
 till that day twelvemonths. Thus, on Innocents' day, they com- 
 memorated the Babes of Bethlehem, an indefinite number ; on 
 the 9th of March, the Forty Martyrs of Sebastes ; another was 
 consecrated to Ursula, and her eleven thousand virgins ; on ano- 
 ther they discharged their homage to myriads of the heavenly 
 host, whose number, at least, amounts to thousands of thou- 
 sands, and ten thousand times ten thousand, which is the work 
 of September 29th, — the festival of Michael, and all the angels, 
 whose names, virtues, and services, taken one by one, it would 
 have been rather difficult to record particularly. A similar uni- 
 versal commemoration they were obliged to appoint for the hu- 
 man saints. Lest any of them should have been forgotten and 
 overlooked in the crowd, the 1st of November was consecrated 
 to perpetuity, in honor of all the saints. But notwithstanding 
 this commodious and expeditious way they had learned of paying 
 the immense accumulating debts which they acknowledged to be 
 due, there still remained abundance of particular accounts to 
 clear, on particular marked days, to give sufficient employment 
 both to priests and laity, if they proposed to solemnize the 
 whole round of feasts, whether double, semi-double, or simple, 
 general, national, provincial, or local, with that degree of strict- 
 ness which they pretended was necessary. So mad did they 
 become on their superstition, as not onlv to dedicate holidays to 
 God, to Christ, to angels, to the virgin, to the apostles and saints, 
 real or supposed, but also to inanimate objects, or particular acts, 
 events or circumstances ; to the dedication of churches, anniver- 
 saries of consecration of bishops, celebration of councils, and 
 even to crosses, spears and nails, chains, clothes, and beads." 9. 
 The whole multitude of these holidays, indeed, was not at- 
 tended with the entire suspension of labor and business, else the 
 frame of government and of society must have been dissolved. 
 Nevertheless, the number on which this was actually the case, 
 was far from being small. During ninety-eight days in the year, 
 the number of those festivals which are called double, and which 
 arcappointed to be celebrated with the greatest solemnity, secu- 
 
ON NATIONAL PROSPERITY. 105 
 
 lar employments were prohibited, and an interdict was laid on 
 the whole worldly business of society, Abandoning not merely 
 the high-toned purity of Christian morals, but even the ordinary 
 decorum which reason dictates as the becoming characteristic of 
 human conduct, the people marked the celebration of these sacred 
 days with every feature of profligate dissipation. It seemed, in- 
 deed, as if mankind had retrogaded to the times and scenes of 
 antiquity ; or, as if the festivals of the heathen gods, with all 
 the circumstances of debauchery that attended them, had been 
 transferred to Christian hands, and had now obtained among 
 those who were called Christian people! "Alas, for grief! says 
 Cyril of Alexandria, very many Christians imitate this madness 
 and intemperance of the Jews, who, upon holidays and solemn 
 festivals, giving themselves over to scandalous plays, to drunk- 
 enness, to dancing, or other vanities of the world, when they 
 ought to serve God more diligently, to frequent the churches 
 more earnestly, to be instant in prayers, and engaged in eccle- 
 siastical duties, do then most of all provoke God with their 
 most dissolute manners. Is this, O Christians ! to celebrate a 
 holiday, — to pamper the belly, and to let loose the reins to un- 
 lawful pleasures? If work be prohibited on holidays, which must 
 be used for the necessary sustenance of life, are not those things 
 then much more forbidden, which cannot be committed without 
 sin, and great offence to God ? On days that are allowed for servile 
 work, every one is intent upon his own business, and he abstains 
 from drunkenness, pastimes, and vanities ; but, on holidays, men 
 every where run to the ale-house, to plays, to interludes, and 
 dances, to the derision of God's name, and the perversion of 
 his day." 
 
 The evils of wdiich, even at this early period, the festivals 
 were productive, induced the African Council, at which Augus- 
 tine was present, to enact the two following canons. 1. That 
 those feasts which were used in many places contrary to divine 
 precepts, and which are drawn from the errors of the Gentiles, 
 should be prohibited, and excluded from cities and villages, espe- 
 ciallv, since in some cities, men fear not to keep them, even on 
 
m EFFECT OF THE REFORMATION 
 
 the birth-days of the martyrs, and that in the very churches : on 
 which days, also shameful to speak, they use most wicked dances 
 through the villages and streets, so that the matronal honor and 
 the modesty of innumerable women is assaulted by petulant and 
 lascivious injuries, so ihat even access to the holy exercises of 
 religion is almost interrupted and discontinued. 2. That the spec- 
 tacles of the theatres, and other plays, should be wholly remov 
 ed on the Lord's day, and other celebrated Christian festivals, 
 especially beqause, on the Easter holidays, people went more to 
 the circus, or theatre, than to the church, laying aside all their 
 holiday devotion, when these spectacles come in their way : Nei- 
 ther ought any Christian to attend them." 
 
 In succeeding ages, the abuses which were connected with the 
 observance of holidays became still more flagrant. In the mid- 
 dle of the eighth century, a synod in France enacted, that every 
 bishop in his parish shall take care that the people of God make 
 no Pagan feasts or interludes, but that they reject all the filthy 
 al)ominations of the Gentiles, such as the profane offerings for 
 the dead, fortune-tellings, divinations, and immolated sacrifices, 
 which foolish men make near to the churches, after the Pagan 
 manner, in the name of holy martyrs and confessors, provoking 
 God and his saints to wrath and vengeance : as also, that they 
 diligently inhibit those sacrilegious fires, which they call nedfri, 
 bonfires, and all other observances of the Pagans whatever. 
 In the days of Henry I. " it was the custom of the people of 
 England to spend their Christmas in plays, masquerades, and 
 magnificent and costly spectacles, and to addict themselves to 
 pleasures, dancing, dicing, and various other games." At the 
 time of the meeting of the Council of Constance, the abuses 
 resulting from the festivals were particularly complained of by 
 some of the leading Romans, and the reformation of them was 
 loudly demanded. To such a height of impiety, indeed, had 
 many even of the clergy proceeded, that they used to spend the 
 whole night of the Nativity of our Lord, and great part of the 
 day, in gaming ; " and they played, in the name of Jesu«i 
 Christ, and in the name of the Virgin." 
 
ON NATIONAL PROSPERITY. lot 
 
 A most melancholy representation of the wretched state ol 
 Christendom in those times, 'has been left on record by Nicho- 
 las Clemangis. " Every one, may perceive with how little de- 
 votion the Christian people now celebrate these holidays. Some 
 satisfy themselves with entering into the church, and taking 
 there a little consecrated water, or falling down on their knees 
 for a moment, saluting the image of the Virgin Mary, or of any 
 saint, or adoring the body of Jesus Christ during the elevation. 
 Some go to their houses in the country, others go about their 
 secular business : great numbers resort to fairs, which now arc 
 never kept in a public and solemn manner, but on tlie most emi- 
 nent festivals. Some are delighted with stage-actors, and fre- 
 quent the theatres ; tennis-ball employs some, and dice very 
 many. Festivals are celebrated by the richer sort with great 
 pomp of appard, and magnificent banquets ; but the conscience 
 lies neglected and unpurged. As to the exterior, ail is fair and 
 garnished — the houses and floors are cleaned, green boughs arc 
 placed at the door, the ground is strewed v/ith lierbs and flow- 
 ers ; but the inward man partakes not in the exultation, but 
 miserably pines away in its filthiness. With respect to the pro- 
 fane vulgar, as they may fitly be called, holidays are not cele- 
 brated by them in the temples, nor in their dwellings, but in 
 taverns and alehouses. They resort hither almost at sun-rising, 
 and oftentimes they abide there until midnight. They swear, 
 forswear, blaspheme God, and curse ail his saints : they roar, 
 they wrestle, they wrangle, they sing, they rage, they shfiek, 
 they make a tumult, and seem to be as mad as bedlamites. They 
 strive who shall overcome one another in drinking : they drink 
 merrily to one another, and eagerly excite one another to drink ; 
 and wlien they have glutted themselves sufhciently, then they 
 rise up to play. How shall I relate the vanities of public plays 
 and spectacles on these days ? The cross-ways resound with 
 dances, and the villages and streets, and indeed the whole city, 
 wdth the voices of singers, the shouts and clamors of dancers?, 
 the confused sound of the harp, tabret, and all other musical 
 harmonics. Their minds being; moved bv the blandishments of 
 
108 EFFECT OF THE REFORMATION 
 
 laughter, the glances of the eye, and the engaging sweetness of 
 song and music, become effeminate, wax vain, and warm into 
 luxury and incontinence. There youth hath first discarded its 
 chastity. The young men and children are corrupted, and in- 
 fected with an impure contagion. They continually provoke 
 one another to lewdness, and he that will not fellow the rest to 
 destruction, is accounted a wretch, a sluggard, a good-for-noth- 
 ing. What heathen acquainted with these sacrilegious festivals, 
 would not believe that the floralia of Venus, or the feasts of 
 Bacchus, were observed, rather than any religious solemni- 
 ties, when he should there behold such uncleanness as w^as 
 wont to be committed on the festivals of these idols? Neither 
 doth the filthy obscenity only of Bacchus and Venus seem to be 
 exercised there, but likewise of Mars and Bellona too. For it is 
 now a common opinion, that it is an unseemly holiday, which is 
 not distinguished with fighting and eliusion of blood." 
 
 The Popish festivals were injurious, in an extreme degree to 
 the best interests of society ; they diminished national resources ; 
 and, which was the deadliest injury of all, opened wide the flood- 
 gates of wickedness, to the sweeping away, in numberless in- 
 stances, of the very semblance of morality from among its peo- 
 ple. Who sees not, that, in respect of this matter, the Refor- 
 mation has been an unspeakable blessing to mankind ? For, 
 wheresoever it has obtained, it has abolished these pernicious 
 institutions, and has rid the states of the many abominations 
 with which they were attended ; and even in Popish lands, where 
 it has scarcely obtained toleration, much less an establishment, 
 its auspicious influence has been so far experienced, that the 
 princes have ventured to prescribe limits to those holiday obser- 
 vances, which, fostering idleness, and every form of dissipation, 
 they perceived to be utterly hostile to the prosperity of their do- 
 minions. 
 
 Throughout the Protestant, and, to a considerable extent, also 
 in the Papal world, the Reformation has imposed a powerful re- 
 straint on the perpetration of crime. W^e do not refer so much 
 to the potent influence which it has exerted in terminating the. 
 
ON NATIONAL PROSPERITY. 100 
 
 reign of ignorance, and diffusing among mankind useful know- 
 ledge ; although to a reflecting mind, aware that ignorance is the 
 parent of crime, and that previoua to the Reformation, not only 
 did knowledge not exist, but the very persons who were the pro- 
 fessed instructors of others, were themselves sunk into a state oj' 
 deplorable ignorance, of which, in this intellectual day, we can 
 form no adequate conception — it will appear most manifest, that; 
 in promoting knowledge among mankind, the Reformation oper- 
 ated powerfully in the prevention of crime. But we particularly 
 refer to the removal, effected by the Reformation, of some pow- 
 erful incentives to crime, to which pontifical avarice had given 
 existence, and which it labored to perpetuate. It forms a grave 
 and awful charge against the Papal system, that, by inducing 
 and cherishing ignorance, it promoted vice ; b\it the grievousness 
 of its offending in this matter receives intense aggravation from 
 the appalling fact, that it gave to wickedness and vice positive 
 encouragement, by indulgences and the right of sanctuary. 
 
 Were it not authenticated it could not be credited, that men, 
 assuming to themselves the name of Head of tlie Holy Church 
 of Jesus Christ, and professing, as his Vicegerents, to be the 
 guardians of every thing that is sacred and pure, should have 
 so far forgotten the character to which they pretended, and 
 should have acted in such utter contradiction to the faith which 
 ihey professed to venerate and defend, as to teach the world that 
 heaven had empowered them to pardon sin, and that the remis- 
 sion of all iniquity might be bought with money. 
 
 Among the bishops, and other inferior clergy of Rome, the 
 scandalous trafiic in indulgences was first begun. Feeling the 
 want of money for their own private pleasures, or for the exigen- 
 cies of their ecclesiastical government, they granted the power 
 of purchasing the remission of the penalties imposed upon trans- 
 gressors, by the payment of a sum of money. They published 
 indulgences which became an inexhaustible source of opulence, 
 and enabled them to form and execute the most difiicult schemes 
 for the enlargement of their authority, and to erect a miUtitud*^ 
 
 10 
 
110 EFFECT OF THE REFORMATION 
 
 of sacred edifices, which greatly augmented the external pomp 
 and splendor of the church. It was not long, however, that the 
 inferior clergy were permitted to monopolize this profitable traf- 
 fic. The Pontiffs soon cast towards it a wishful eye, as Ahab 
 desired the vineyard of Naboth, and the power of the prelates 
 to remit penalties to transgressors, was accordingly taken away 
 and assumed entirely by the Court of Rome. Audaciously usurp- 
 ing the authority of the Most High, the Pontiffs were*not satis- 
 fied with selling the relaxation of the rigors of canonical peni- 
 tence, but, in the hope of still more largely increasing their 
 wealth, impiously pretended to abolish even the punishments 
 which are reserved for sinners in a future state. In the eleventh 
 century, and to encourage the princes and people of Europe to 
 engage in the enterprize of recovering Jerusalem, this blasphe- 
 mous prerogative was first exercised. It was afterwards extended 
 to the crusades which were undertaken for the destruction of here- 
 tics in various parts of Europe ; and, in process of time, the bene- 
 fit of indulgences was given to all persons who devoted their 
 substance to accomplish any pious work recommended by the 
 Pope. It was not deemed enough to assume the power of granting 
 the remission of all the sins of which the individual concerned" 
 had been or might be guilty, but a third part of sins besides was 
 remitted; and the Pope has given eighteen thousand years of 
 pardon, which, after providing for his own necessities, might 
 he disposed of by the pardoned person for the advantage of others. 
 At the period of the Reformation, the e ffrontry displayed by 
 the agents of the Papal Court, in imposing on the credulity of 
 mankind by the sale of indulgences, had arrived at a most extra- 
 ordinary height. The Christian world swarmed with these ene- 
 mies to its purity and peace, unfolding their nefarious wares in 
 every town and village, and actually exposing them for sale to 
 the highest bidder. About the time when Tetzel was prosecuting 
 the traflic of indulgences in Germany, another dealer in this spi- 
 ritual merchandise, Bernardino Sampson, an Italian Monk, was 
 carrying it on with vigour in Switzerland. This man openly car- 
 ried on his trade in the inns, churche;?, and public squares. Some 
 
ON NATIONAL PROSPERITY. Hi 
 
 of his bulls, written on common paper he sold for threepence • 
 others, on parchment^ for a crown; while others were much 
 more expensive. Some of them authorised the purchaser to choose 
 his own confessor, who acquired, ipso facto, tlie power to relieve 
 him from any vow, or even to absolve him from perjury. " If 
 any man purchase letters of indulgence, his soul may rest secure 
 with respect to salvation. The souls confined in purgatory, for 
 whose redemption indulgences are purchased, as soon as the 
 money tinkles in the chest, instantly escape from that place ol 
 torment, and ascend to heaven. The efficacy of indulgences, in- 
 deed, is so great, that the most heinous sins are expiated and re- 
 mitted by them, and the person so freed both from punishment 
 and guilt. For twelve pence you may redeem the soul of your 
 father out of purgatory." This audacious monastic carried from 
 Switzerland, as his own share of the profits, a sum equal to nine 
 millions of dollars, besides a quantity of gold and silver plate. 
 
 All this gave most direct and positive encouragement to the 
 perpetration of crime. The fear of future punishment — the 
 dread of that unknown hereafter, in which men will be reward- 
 ed according to their works — a dread with which man in his 
 rudest state is conversant, and which no sophistry can ever en- 
 tirely banish away from him — is one of those powerful restraint.- 
 by which, in the management of his righteous government, God 
 lias chosen to repress the wickedness of mankind. WithdraAv 
 this fear from the minds of men — set them loose from all appre- 
 liension of Heaven's righteous and awful judgment in the world 
 to come, and you cast the reins on the neck of passion and oi 
 lust, and open the way to the most atrocious impiety. This was 
 done — as far as it was possible, by the Papal institution. The 
 future judgment was not absolutely denied — the state of ap- 
 proaching retribution still remained a doctrine in the creed — 
 but, by the assurance, that a paltry sum of money would savf 
 from the woe, and introduce into the felicity of the coming Avorld, 
 that doctrine was rendered a mere non-entity. Men might live 
 according to all the inclinations of their depraved hearts, undis- 
 mayed by the thought of futurity, and certain that, provided they 
 
113 EFFECT OP THE REFORMATION 
 
 were liberal to the church, the most dissipated life would not ex- 
 clude them from celestial bliss. 
 
 In combination with this impious doctrine the right of sane- 
 tuary operated as a very powerful incentive to the perpetration 
 of crime. The superstition of the Pagans made the temples and 
 altars of the gods, and the tombs and statues of heroes, asylums 
 for criminals ; and, in imJtation of their example. Popery de- 
 voted to the same purpose, churches, altars, crosses, and conse- 
 crated ground. 
 
 This institution was not originally designed to patronize 
 wickedness, or to shield the guilty, but to be a refuge for the in- 
 nocent, the injured, the oppressed ;and, -in doubtful cases, to give 
 men protection till they might obtain a fair and equitable hearing. 
 and till their guilt or innocence might be clearly ascertained. 
 But the privilege of sanctuary was soon perverted from its origi- 
 nal design. Those places became asylums for the positive protec- 
 tion of villany. Ifany criminal, how atrocious soever, betook him- 
 self to consecrated ground his life was safe. Justice was set at de- 
 fiance, the laws were trampled on, the civil power was despised^ 
 and clerical insolence screened from punishment the most aggra- 
 vated crimes. " Unthrifts, riot and run in debt upon the bold- 
 nsse of these places: yea, and rich men run thither with poor 
 men's goods ; there they build, there they spend, and bid their 
 creditors go whistle them! Men's wives run thither with their 
 husbands' plate, and say they dare not abide with their husbands 
 for beating. Thieves bring their stolen goods and live thereon. 
 There they devise new robberies nightly; they steal out and rob, 
 and reave, and kill, and come in agam, as though these places 
 gave them not only a safeguard for the harm they had done, but 
 a licence to do more." 
 
 Although this institution v/as the source of a multitude ot 
 evils — although it was utterly hostile to every thing like nation- 
 al order and morality, it was guarded by the church — her power 
 was exerted on its behalf — and it was extremely perilous for the 
 secular authorities, even in the most glaring case, to interfere* 
 
ON NATIONAL PRO>SPERITY. 118 
 
 These baleful institutions, which operated so fearfully in the 
 i^ncouragement of immorality, in the Protestant world, have been 
 abolished by the Reformation. Indulgences, and sanctuaries for 
 crime have been swept away, with a thousand other abomination^ 
 of Popery. The knowledge of right and wrong does not now 
 depend on the pleasure of a weak and worthless mortal; the 
 disgrace and the danger of crime have been set in their proper 
 light — and the laws of God and of the State have been vindicat- 
 <d from violation, and guaj ded and supported by every dictate 
 of reason and religion. Nor are these benefits of the Reformation 
 altogether confined to Protestant lands ; they have been experi- 
 •niced, to a certain extent, also in Popish countries. It is true, 
 the doctrine of indulgences has never been relinquished by the 
 Papal See ; nay, has been declared perpetual by the authority of 
 the last general Council, and is even now acknowledged by tin- 
 Roman Church, as one of her unchanging laws, and the sister 
 tloctrine of the right of sanctuary is still recognized by that 
 church ; and so little are its revolting abominations at variance 
 with the spirit even of modern Popery, which some would have 
 us believe to be a very different thing from the ancient system—^ 
 that only a few years have elapsed, since the Pope appointed 
 four towns in Italy, to be asylums for assassins ! But Popish 
 countries have shared in no small degree, in the good which the 
 Reformation has conferred on mankind, by the abolition of these 
 institutions. The flagrant abuses with which they polluted soci- 
 ety, by the light of the recovered Word of God, have been ex- 
 Jiibited in all their deformity, and since that time have been more 
 rarely witnessed. Another Tetzel has not disgraced an age since 
 that of Luther ; nor would even Popish princes — with, perhaps 
 an exception or two — permit such violent encroachments on the 
 laws of their states, as they were accustomed to witness with 
 degrading tameness, in the days of darkness and superstition. 
 
 Whilst the Reformation has improved the morals, and promot- 
 ed the prosperity of the states of Europe, its effect has been emi- 
 nently beneficial in reference to their intercourse mtli eadi 
 
 W 
 
il4 EFFECT OF THE REFORMATIOx^^ 
 
 other, and, Vv'itli the distant nations of the earth. So complete!}' 
 had a dark and intolerant superstition subjected them to its power 
 •hat, in numberless instances, their dignity, their interest, th^ir 
 honor, all were abandoned in compliance with its injunctions, 
 and basely sacrificed at its shrine. The mere remonstrance of the 
 iiigh-priest at Rome cancelled the most awful bonds, and induc- 
 ed his subjects to trample on their most solemm obligations. It 
 the Pope at any time declared respecting treaties that had been 
 concluded between belligerent kingdoms, or that had been enter- 
 ed into by friendly nations for their mutual good, that they were 
 inconsistent with the interests of the church, his declaration was 
 sufficient — in spite of all the solemnity of the oaths under which 
 the parties had come — to induce their gross and immediate vio- 
 lation. Charlemagne, at the particular request of the Pope violat- 
 ed most grossly his league withDesiderius, king of the Lombards, 
 and, although allied to him by marriage, dispossessed him of all 
 his dominions, — terminatingby perfidy the Lombard government 
 in Italy. Henry II. of England obtained a Papal dispensation to 
 violate his father's will, which he had solemnly sworn to observe. 
 Many times, were the solemn treaties that took place between the 
 Papists and the Protestants of France sacrificed to that infamous 
 principle. In the course of the Albigensian wars — more than ten 
 treaties, which had been entered into, with that brave and mag- 
 nanimous, but devoted and martyred people, were pertiuiously 
 violated. One of the most memorable instances, of the breach 
 of solemn engagements, for the sake of the church, is the infringe- 
 ment of the ten years' truce, between Ladislaus IV. king of Hun- 
 gary, and the Turkish sultan Amurath. The peace displeased 
 the Pope. He sent his legate Julian, to induce the King to vio- 
 late it, and to absolve him from the oath by which it had been 
 confirmed. It was accordingly violated ; the war Avas renewedr 
 and a sanguinary battle at Varna terminated most fatally and dis- 
 gracefully for Ladislaus. Amurath, amid the fury of the battle, 
 perceiving the dreadful slaughter of his men, and that his affairs 
 were in extreme peril, plucked from his bosom the writing that 
 i:ontained the league, and holding it up in his hand, with hi^ 
 
ON NATIONAL PROSPEKi i i. I13 
 
 eyes at the same time lifted to heaven, exclaimed—-' Behold, 
 thou cinicified Christ ! this is the league which Uiy Christians, 
 in thy name, made \!ith me» and which they have, without an> 
 cause, violated ; if thou art a God, as thei/ say, and as we dream, 
 avenge the wrong now done to thy name and me, and show th} 
 power upon thy perjured people, who by their deeds, deny thee.- 
 iheir God!" Whether this anecdote be true or false, the army 
 of the Hungarians was totally destroyed, aud their king slain ; 
 the ruin of Hungary, and the rapid progress of the Ottoman 
 arms in Europe, were the disastrous consequences of this per- 
 fidious transaction. 
 
 By the Reformation, this melancholy state of matters in the 
 Protestant world, has been terminated. The same power has 
 been often claimed on the part of the Pontiffs ; and on the part 
 of the Popish princes, the same degrading submission has been 
 often displayed. But wheresoever the Reformation has been in- 
 troduced and imbibed, the pretended right of the heads of the 
 Papal Church to dispense with solemn engagements has been 
 indignantly rejected, and the principle has been scorned. The 
 solemnity of an oath has been generally held sacred by the 
 princes of Protestant lands, and they regard their own dignit\ 
 and the honor of their people as concerned in its fulfilment. 
 
 Nor has this auspicious change in their public conduct been 
 altogether confined to the nations of Europe; the most distant 
 regions have been included within the sphere of its influence. 
 During the melancholy period that preceded the sixteenth cen- 
 tury, one half of the world lived in a state of proscription from 
 intercourse and friendship with each other. So thoroughly was 
 the spirit of the prevailing superstition imbibed in those days 
 by the people of Western Europe, that every other part of the 
 world was supposed to be under the malediction of heaven, and 
 its inhabitants regarded as an order of inferior beings. Friend- 
 ship with such persons woidd have been considered as degrad- 
 ing in the extreme, nor did any intercourse take place with them- 
 except for the purpose of enslaving, and, by inquisitions and 
 torture, and fire, and sword, reducing them under the domimt- 
 
116 EFFECT OF THE REFORMATION. 
 
 tion of the Roman See. Long did these sentiments prevail-— 
 insulting as they were to the dignity of our common nature : 
 but, after the light of truth had visited and gladdened the world, 
 they fled, and gave place to notions more consonant to reason, 
 and to the religion of Christ. The genuine spirit of that reli- 
 gion was shown to be utterly opposed to a system of proscrip- 
 tion which sought to entail forever, the curse of ignorance and 
 degradation. When the Bible — the grand repository of divine 
 truth — was laid open to the investigation of mankind, it was ea- 
 sily perceived that Christianity is any thing but exclusive in its 
 nature ; that it is not confined to one sect or nation, or included 
 within the precincts of any country : that it extends its regards 
 to the entire species, teaches its disciples to cherish sentiments 
 of kindness and benevolence towards all mankind, and seeks to 
 bring to the enjoyment of its inestimable blessings, the people of 
 ever}' language and of every clime. The narrow limits within 
 which bigotry would have confined the favorites of heaven were 
 overleaped ; Christians began to regard men as brethren — the 
 children of the same Father, and equally the objects of his pa- 
 rental care ; separating oceans, which before made enemies of 
 nations, began to be traversed for their natural good; and 
 mighty schemes were projected for the general welfare. To 
 that interesting era may be traced the origin of those plans for 
 the extension of knowledge, and the blessings of civilized and 
 christisn life, among distant and degraded regions, which con- 
 stitute the brightest features in the aspect of our times. 
 
CHAPTER m. 
 
 EFFECT OF THE REFORMATION OX THE HAPPINESiS' 
 OF SOCIAL. LIFE. 
 
 True Christian virtue is not the only dignity and liappiness o5' 
 individual man ; hut also of man in his social state. Destitute ol 
 this celestial gift, man is a weed, and a community of such men 
 is a garden of weeds. If society is not virtuous, it cannot be 
 liappy ; and the comfort and happiness of social life bear an ex- 
 act proportion to the degree of virtuous feeing by which it is 
 pervaded. It constitutes the glory of the celestial world, and 
 is one great source of its felicity, that it is characterized by the 
 entire and everlasting absence of moral evil ; and therefore, ac- 
 cording to the approaches which are made by human society on 
 earth to the purity of heaven, it will advance towards its dig- 
 nity, and participate its happiness. 
 
 Numerous institutions existed, and were cherished, under the 
 Papacy, which shed a most baleful influence over the morals oi 
 both public and private life ; and in effecting their overthrow the 
 Reformation has done incalculable good to mankind. But even 
 although those institutions had not existed, the Popish system 
 of most debasing superstition, did naturally tend to incapacitate 
 and inspire men with distaste for the practice of social virtue. Su- 
 perstition is hostile to morality, and exactly in proportion to its 
 progress, does it become, in a moral view, the bane of society. 
 But the superstition which, in the ages before Luther, was pre- 
 valent in Europe, was distinguished by every feature of darkness 
 and debasement. Awfully was the glory of our divine religion 
 obscured and trampled in the dust, when its sublime doctrines 
 were transformed into idle and contemptible theories ; its simple 
 but majestic ritual was exchanged for an immense and burden- 
 some train of puerile and ridiculous observances ; and its pure 
 and virtuous injuctions to rescue man from the bondage of vice, 
 and to fit him for the employments of the celestial state, were- 
 
il8 EFFECT OF THE REFORMATION 
 
 supplanted by human commandments, whose whole tendency 
 was to enfeeble the mind, and to deprave the heart! In what a 
 fearful state of degradation and delusion must the human soul 
 liaA^e been, when loading the body with iron chains, continuing 
 days and nights M'ithout eating, refraining from the use of speech, 
 remaining motionless like statues, and standing on lofty pillars 
 for years together, were adopted as methods of pleasing God ! 
 The mind, by devoting its whole regard to such senseless and 
 degrading superstitions must have become enfeebled and con- 
 tracted in all its energies, and utterly disqualified for the mo- 
 mentous duties of social life. 
 
 In addition to the baneful tendency of this, superstition, con- 
 sider the extreme corruption of domestic manners that prevailed 
 among the various orders of the pontifical clergy, and the influ- 
 ence which their example could not but exert on the ignorant 
 multitude, and we shall not be surprissd at the absence, in those 
 ages, of all that is ennobling to thehuman character, and of all 
 that is excellent and charming in human society. " For some 
 years, says Bellarmine, before the Lutheran and Calvinistic 
 docttines were published, there was not, as contemporary au- 
 thors testify, any severity in ecclesiastical judicatories, any dis- 
 cipline with regard to morals, any knowledge of sacred litera- 
 ture, any reverence for divine things ; there was not almost any 
 religion remaining. The modern and unhappy clergy, addict 
 themselves to temporal things ; being destitute of divine light, 
 they love themselves, neglect the love of God and their neigh- 
 bor : they are worse than worldly men, whom they destroy to- 
 gether with themselves. They are addicted to pleasures and in- 
 famous practices, and neglect the salvation of the souls of 
 Christ's faithful people. By the lives of such wicked clergymen, 
 the seculars come to be disobedient and irreverent tov.-^ards the 
 church; they are seduced by blind guides, who, O shame! are 
 ignorant, proud, covetous, hypocrites, simoniacal, luxurious, en- 
 vious, slow to good works, and prone to evil. Where at this 
 day can be found that continence in gestures, diet, apparel, and 
 ••oiiduct, that becomes the clergy? At banquets, taverns, play?. 
 
ON SOCIAL LIFE. 110 
 
 and theatres, they arc more frequently found than in places de- 
 dicated to God. How infinitely pernicious, the scurrility, theigno- 
 rance, the fornication, the simony, and other crimes are, witli 
 which a'most the whole clergy are infected, there is no man wli(» 
 can entertain a doubt.' 
 
 It is not wonderful, that all this contempt of morality in it^ 
 guardians, and teachers, should hav e induced utter disregard for 
 h in the minds of the people, and Nicholas Clemangis, himself 
 an archdeacon of Rome, declares, " That wicked persons did so 
 much abound in all professions of men, that scarcely one among 
 a thousand was to be found, who sincerely lived answerable to 
 his profession ; or, if there was any one that was honest, chaste 
 temperate, and did not follow this licentious kind of life, he v/as, 
 made a laughing stock to others, and was forthwith called cither 
 an insolent and singular madman, or a hypocrite." 
 
 These are evils for which the progress of literature and science, 
 if itwete possible, that, in such a state of things, literature and 
 science could have made progress, would have furnished no reme- 
 dy. The whole past experience of man compels us to believe and 
 to affirm, that Christianity alone, is adequate to the accomplish- 
 ment of that great work. In vain had sages taught, and human 
 wisdom illumined the world. Christianity, at her first entrance 
 among the children of men, beheld gross and universal depravity 
 pervading the manners of mankind. They were, according to the 
 testimony of him whose words are eternal truth, " filled with all 
 unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, malici- 
 ousness ; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whis- 
 perers; backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, in- 
 ventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, without understand- 
 ing, covenant breakers, without natural affection, implacable, un- 
 merciful." Wheresoever her influence extended, Christianity ac- 
 complished a blissful and glorious change — a change which was 
 the boast and the joy of her apologists, and the confusion of her 
 enemies. "Give me, exclaimed Lactantius, a man passionate, 
 slanderous, ungovernable ; by the power of the word of God I will 
 render hdm placid as a lamb. Give me a man greedy and avarici- 
 
120 EFFECT OF THE RFEORMATION 
 
 uus, I will give him back to you liberal, lavishing his gold with 
 unsparing hand. Give me a man who shrinks from pain and death, 
 and presently he shall contemn the gibbet, the stake, and the wild 
 beast. Give me one who is libidinous and a debauchee, and you 
 rihall sec him sober and temperate. Give me one cruel and blood- 
 thirsty, and his fury shall be converted into clemency itself. 
 Give me, in short, one addicted to folly, injustice, and crime, and 
 he shall become prudent, and harmless, and just." Now, the Re- 
 formation, being a recurrence to the form and the spirit of genuine 
 Christianity, produced that purity of conduct, and that elevation 
 of moral character, which are its inseparable attendants. The 
 {housand abuses and immoralities which were tolerated, and ex^en 
 encouraged, under the preceding reign of darkness, fled as low- 
 ering clouds are scattered by the sunbeams of the morning ; a 
 return was extensively made to that purity of external conduct 
 which had been universally relinquished; and the foundation was 
 laid of all that refinement of manners, and all that dignity o£ 
 character, by which, since the Reformation, the people of the 
 Protestant have been exalted above the people of Popish lands. 
 In some Protestant countries, this auspicious change has ta- 
 ken place to a greater extent than in others. In Scotland, and in 
 Protestant Switzerland, the lower orders of society are much su- 
 perior, in point of intelligence and morals, to people of the same 
 class in other lands. This superiority must be attributed to the 
 more extensive diffusion of knowledge, especially religious know- 
 ledge — in these countries, and their consequent more enlarged 
 enjoyment of the blessings of the Reformation. But the influence 
 of this happy revolution, in elevating the tone of social morality, 
 has not been confined to Protestant lands. In those Papal states, 
 in which Protestantism has obtained toleration, a very considera- 
 ble improvement has taken place in morals, and although this re- 
 formation of conduct was forced upon the members of that church 
 by the surprising increase of light and knowledge that had taken 
 place around them; nevertheless the elevation of the standard of 
 morality, and the consequent melioration of man's social condition 
 are pleasing events— in what way soever they may have been ac- 
 
ON SOCIAL LIFE. 121 
 
 complished, — and we venerate the momentous revolution by 
 which they were produced. 
 
 The reformation has imparted a degree of security and confi- 
 dence to the transactions of commerce, and to the intercourse of 
 social life, which, under the reign of Popery, could not possibly 
 exist. The detestable principle, that every other interest must be 
 abandoned when it comes into competition with the interests of 
 the church, is utterly at variance with every thing like generous 
 friendship, and unsuspecting intercourse, among mankind. What 
 confidence could there be in social intercourse, what happiness 
 in friendship, when men lived in continual jealousy of each other, 
 afraid to speak the genuine sentiments of their hearts, lest some 
 unguarded expression should annihilate their correspondence, 
 and occasion the sacrifice of their frienJship — peradventure also 
 of their lives — at the shrine of unholy zeal ? In consequence 
 of the unbounded influence which the clerical orders possessed 
 over the minds of the people, they had the virtue, the peace, the 
 happiness of domestic society entirely in their power. The doc- 
 trine in which the people were carefully instructed, was that they 
 ought to acquaint their spiritual guides with all their affairs — 
 their faults and their good deeds — every thing, which they either 
 had done or intended to do. Itwouldnotbe believed, ifit were not 
 proved by the fact, that ever the human mind could be so dismall}'- 
 blighted as tamely to acquiesce is such a dci^rading imposition. 
 A.las ! if the mental eye be once closed in darkr.ess, there is no 
 usurpation too dreadful or too debasing to obtain the implicit 
 reverence of mankind. Auricular confession was received as a 
 divine doctrine ; and the wrath of the Almighty was supposed to 
 rest upon the sinner who dared to neglect it. And thus the 
 priesthood became acquainted with the transactions of every 
 family, enjoyed many opportunities of indul (ring their abmitiou* 
 and licentious passions — had the virtue and peace of domestic 
 society completely in their power — and obtained controul over 
 the whole system of human life ! When we think of such a 
 band of aspiring and profligate men, domestic life must be thti 
 scene of jealousy, and suffering and misery. 
 
 11 
 
122 EFFECT OF THE REFORMATION 
 
 The Reformation has put an end to those grevious inroads up^ 
 on the comfort of society, by which its members were so long 
 afflicted ; has denounced intrusion on the sanctuary of domestic 
 life, as an atrocious offence ; and has put it in the power of 
 every man to enjoy the sweets of unsuspecting friendship, and all 
 the charities of private life. To that auspicious revolution, un- 
 der God, we are indebted for all that charms us in the circle of 
 our acquaintance, and all that we hold dear in our domestic 
 enjoyments. 
 
 The Reformation has effected an important and auspicious 
 change in the religious temper, and in the whole character of 
 those among whom it has prevailed. The system which obtain- 
 ed universal regard before the Reformation, banished generosity, 
 gentleness, and even humanity of feeling, out of the world. In- 
 tolerance — forbidding, unrelenting, vindictive intolerance — be- 
 came predominent, and awfully infiuential in the human mind. 
 A departure, however unimportant soever, from the opinion, or 
 the practice of the church, was regarded and denounced as heresy; 
 and, to this crime, forbearance — not to speak of charity and 
 kindness — was forbidden. Nurtured amid intolerance of so dark 
 a complexion, and accustomed to behold and to enforce the 
 merciless execution of every decree which Popery had sent forth 
 to guard its unjust usurpation, the character of mankind became 
 gloomy, unsocial, and vindictive. Even females, with feelings 
 more delicate, and hearts more susceptible of tender impressions, 
 Ihan those of the other sex, relinquished the most amiable fea- 
 tures of their character, and on some occasions, were divested 
 even of humanity itself. In those countries in which the Inqui- 
 sition had obtained an establishment, this debasing influence of 
 the spirit of Popery was pre-eminently displayed. Kindness of 
 temper seemed utterly to have forsaken their people. The bar- 
 barities of the most infamous of all tribunals were talked of, and 
 witnessed, without the slightest manifestation of horror ; nay^ 
 the committing to the flames of a number of fellow creatures, 
 whose only crime was that of thinking for themselves, and re- 
 fusing to worship God otherwise than according to his blessed 
 -.vord, was contemplated with pleasure ; and multitudes assembled 
 
ON SOCIAL LIFE. 123 
 
 to the celebration of an Auto-da-fe, as a better and more joyous 
 entertainment than a bull-feast, or a theatrical exhibition ! 
 
 Some modern advocates for Popery affirm, that all this ought 
 not to be charged on the prevailing superstition of those days ; 
 that the intolerance and the cruelties to which we have been al- 
 luding are not attributable to the system of the pontifical church, 
 any more than the atrocities which have been sometimes perpe- 
 trated by Protestants, are chargeable on the religious system 
 which they profess. This affirmation, if rcaly made in sincerity, 
 must emanate from minds profoundly ignorant of the subject ot" 
 which they speak, and whereof they affirm. The religious system 
 of Protestants is a system of charity. There is not among thoni 
 all, one exception to this principle. The dictate of every creed 
 that exists among them is the dictate of their common Lord — 
 " Love your enemies ; bless them that curse you, do good to 
 them that hate you ; and pray for them who despitefully use 
 you and persecute you." If, in some of their Confessions, 
 and other public documents, there are found expressions that 
 savor of intolerance — that seem to engage their disciples to ex- 
 terminate by violence whatsoever opinion or practice they con- 
 ceive to be contrary to Holy Scripture, these expressions are 
 most satisfactorily explained, in other parts of those documents, 
 to imply the removal of such opinions and practices by those 
 methods alone which are lawful, and which have the sanction of 
 the word of God. And if it must be acknowledged, that Pro- 
 testants have been guilty of persecution, their deeds of atrocity 
 are to be attributed to the profligate authors of them, who were 
 Protestants merely in name, and not to the religious system 
 which they profess ; for it is impossible for their bitterest ene- 
 mies to point out one article in their respective systems which 
 legitimately leads to persecution. But, the atrocities which 
 were perpetrated by the disciples of the Papacy, were 
 perpetrated from principle, in obedience to the dictates of 
 their unholy system, and not merely in consequence of their 
 own partial and erring views of duty, all combining to demon- 
 strate that intolerance and persecution, even to suffering and 
 death, are the principles which the Roman system solemnly 
 
124 EFFECT OF THE REFORMATION 
 
 enjoin on the belief and the practice of her members ; for they 
 have never been retracted. The last General Council of the Pa- 
 pal Church has stamped its confirmation, and the character of 
 immutability on them all; and, in the atrocities which, during 
 the last, and the beginning of the present century, were perpe- 
 trated on the Protestants in various continental states, and espe- 
 cially in France, the world has beheld these principles brought 
 into dreadful practical operation. Such principles impress 
 on the Papal system the brand of foulest infamy, and render it 
 deservedly the execration — as it has been the dreadful scourge — 
 of the Christian world. Its whole effect is to^debase and bru- 
 talize the human mind ; and especially, by its laws against he- 
 retics, and its crusades for their extermination, and its inquisi- 
 tions, and acts of faith, and interdicts, and excommunications, 
 and all the host of other deeds of bigotry which accord with its 
 spirit, and are mentioned in its annals, does it tend to banish 
 every thing like generous and kind feeling from the human cha- 
 racter, and from human society, and to induce tampers the very 
 opposite of those which the Book of God enjoins, and which 
 were exemplified in him, who " loved us even when we were 
 enemies," and who hath left us an example that we should fol- 
 low his steps. 
 
 Hence Popery is a system utterly at war with the social hap- 
 piness of mankind. The induration of the human character 
 w^hich it effected, had, it is true, a primary reference to religion, 
 but could not be restricted to it — for the whole range of human 
 affairs was in a greater or less degree subjected to its influence. 
 Bigotry and unfeeling zeal, once established in the soul, display- 
 ed its unhallowed influence, even in matters in whicli religion 
 was not immediately concerned, and especially operated with 
 baleful effect on the condition of domestic society. There 
 temper is every thing; " bowels of mercies, kindness, humble- 
 ness of mind, meekness, long-suffering, forbearance, forgive- 
 ness, charity," — are the amiable dispositions, which genuine 
 Christianity recommends, and the prevalence of which would 
 render the social state of man truly blessed. But these are not 
 
ON SOCIAL LIFE. 125 
 
 the tempers with which Popery inspires her disciples. They 
 are opposed to her whole spirit — as entirely opposed to it, as 
 light is to darkness. In proportion, therefore, as the spirit of 
 Popery is imbibed and manifested by its votaries, domestic soci- 
 ety, and the intercourse of private life, are marked by an utter 
 destitution of substantial felicity. Unfelt for and unfeeling, 
 hateful and hating one another, is the wretched picture which 
 was exhibited for many ages by human society in the Papal 
 world. 
 
 How blissful is the change, which, in respect of these thing?;. 
 has been accomplished by the Reformation ! The merciful and 
 benign religion of the Saviour of men, has dethroned from its 
 ascendency the fierce and forbidding superstition which had 
 usurped its place. Far from intending to eradicate the humane 
 and benevolent feelings of our nature, its design and its ten- 
 dency are to elevate and ennoble them. Inculcating by its su- 
 preme authority the sacred principle of good will to men of 
 every description, it aims not to aggrandise any privileged class 
 or community of persons, but to promote the general happines.> 
 of universal mankind. This is the religion which, by the Pro- 
 testant Reformation, has been freed from corruption, and has 
 obtained scope for the diffusion of its heavenly influence over 
 the world ; and, in proportion to the degree in which men have 
 imbibed its spirit, have the mildness and the charily, which are 
 its distinguishing features, been manifested in their intercourse 
 with each other, and with distant lands. Poor, indeed, must be 
 the heart of that man who can cast his eyes over the population 
 of Protestant states, and behold, instead of the fierce, and cruel, 
 and unrelenting zeal, that distinguished in other days the people 
 of the christian world, and the dark and disdainful scowl which 
 they were wont to cast upon the professors of another faith, and 
 the natives of other lands, the displays of charity and philanthro- 
 py by which they are now beautified and ennobled — poor must 
 be that man's heart, who r^n look abroad, and behold all this^ 
 and feel no emotions of satisfaction from the momentous change ' 
 
 11* 
 
126 EFFECT OF THE REFORMATION. 
 
 The spirit of the immortal Howard was the genuine spirit ol' 
 Christianity, and of the Reformation ; and, although compara- 
 tively (ew persons hare it in their power to leave their homes, 
 and to traverse oceans, and mountains, and empires, in search 
 of want and wretchedness, which they might pity and relieve, 
 the same noble and benevolent temper may be traced in that 
 amiable eagerness which pervades the Protestant world to feel 
 for the miseries of their fellow men, and which, passing im- 
 measurably beyond every consideration of kindred, and nation, 
 and creed, is anxious to bless the whole of mankind with every 
 temporal and spiritual privilege which it is in their power td 
 bestow. 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 EFFECT OF THE REFORMATION^ OX KXOWIiEDGE. 
 
 Knowledge is of infinite importance to man, both in his indi- 
 vidual and social state. It constitutes the dignity of his nature, 
 and allies him to superior beings. Without it he is degraded, de- 
 stroyed, lost. 
 
 *' Knowledge to the soul 
 
 Is power, and liberty and peace. 
 
 Very considerable is the influence which the progressive, ad- 
 vancement of knowledge sends forth on a nation's character, man- 
 ners, and felicity. Its tendency is to polish the rudeness of na- 
 ture, and to soothe its ferocity; to restain the passion, and hu- 
 manize the heart. By it the social principle is strengthened, so- 
 ciety is established, its laws are settled and explained, its want- 
 provided for, its labours abridged, its whole system softened, dig 
 nified, improved. The progress of religous knowledge, among 
 the inhabitants, has given to the national character of our own 
 land a tone of high saperiority over that of other states, and the 
 pressure of the darkness of that deep and sullen night which has 
 been induced and cherished by those petty spiritual tyrants, who 
 have been the scourge and the curse of ill-fated Ireland, has sunk 
 the people so immediately below the rank, in European society 
 which they are fitted, and under a happier influence, would have 
 been entitled to claim ? The melancholy state of that island* 
 speaks volumes as to the vast importance of knowledge to mankind, 
 and proclaims, that outrage, and anarchy, and crime arc the 
 mournful consequences of its absence. 
 
128 EFFECT OF THE REFORMATION 
 
 In reviewing the influence of the Reformation on the interests 
 of liberty, we have already adverted to the melancholy condition 
 of the world, during the dark ages, in respect to knowledge and 
 learning ; and to the means which were employed by the ambi- 
 tious priesthood of Rome, for puting out the intellectual light of 
 mankind. Useful knowledge was utterly banished from among 
 the great mass of the people of the western world ; and the con- 
 dition, even of the clerical orders, was not much superior to that 
 of those whom they professed to guide. The Bible was unknown 
 to most, and despised by all ; and the study of its original lan- 
 guages was stigmatized as in the highest degree criminal and 
 dangerous. Even the Faculty of Theology at Paris declared, 
 before the assembled parliment, that, if the study of Greek and 
 Hebrew was permitted, religion was undone. Nor was it only 
 religious knowledge that was interdicted, the complete extinction 
 of intellectual freedom and investigation was attempted, and ac- 
 complished. In short, the maxim, that " ignorance is the parent 
 of devotion and of civil subordination " — a maxim the most mon- 
 strous that ever blighted minds could adbpt, by a trisin of deep 
 laid policy, was rendered dominant over all Europe, and from 
 that time, dreariness and barrenness were the melancholy char- 
 acteristics of many ages in the history of man. Mind, with all 
 its energies was dormant ; the sublime faculties of the human 
 soul, by which it is allied to superior natures, were subjected to 
 stagnation ; and human society resembled the wide wastes of an 
 Arabian desert, or the gloom of the moonless and starless mid- 
 night sky. 2. 
 
 Literature, in the south of Europe, was not the immediate off 
 spring of the Reformation. It had began to experience an im- 
 portant revival in the preceding century, and operated, with no 
 inconsiderable effect, in forwarding the interests of the great 
 cause of religious information, which, shortly thereafter, began to 
 attract the notice of mankind. Nevertheless, the reviving litera- 
 ture of the south acquired stability, and received a farther very 
 important impulse from the Reformation ; and it is pleasing to 
 observe the wisdom and goodness of the Supreme Governoi- 
 
ON KNOWLEDGE. 129 
 
 among the nations making restored learning and vindicated Chris- 
 tianity thus mutually to befriend aud promote each other. " The 
 great improvements and discoveries which have given to the sci- 
 ence and literature of modern Europe, a new form and direction 
 belong, properly speaking, to the eighteenth century. But that 
 intellectual cultivation which attained its mighty developemeni 
 in the eighteenth, received its shape and form in the sixteenth 
 century, through the Reformation. The moving spirit of that 
 event, in both these periods, determined the way in which tlie 
 intellectual cultivation should run, the end ii should strive to reacli, 
 and the limits within which it should be confined. The apparent 
 subjects of dispute and tumult were matters at first sight little 
 connected either with refinement or with literature — for tliese 
 were either politics, and the ecclesiastical constitution, the being, 
 the limits, and the exertions of spiritual powers, or those mys- 
 teries of religion which lie too deep even for the investigalicn of 
 philosophers themselves. The Reformation, nevertheless, al- 
 though these were apparently its objects, had the effect of shak- 
 ing and altering the whole of Europe, and thus exerted a very 
 great and multifarious, although certainly an indirect, influence 
 over literature, and over all the exertions of intellect, in what- 
 ever way applied. 
 
 More indirectly, bat not less powerfully, did the Reformation 
 promote literature, in another way. It necessarily originated a 
 variety of keen theological discussions : — these occasioned a dili- 
 gent application to the original languages of the sacred writings. 
 and the customs, the manners, and the transactions af antiquity. 
 To this, and other literary studies of a similer kind, did the lear- 
 ned men of the age devote themselves with all the enthusiasm ot 
 minds just emancipated from degrading restraint — and the result 
 of their investigations — communicated to their fellow men 
 through the medium of the press — which was a more importam 
 achievement still — awakened a desire for general knoM'ledge ex- 
 tensively among mankind. Had the system which obtained the 
 homage of the world in the dark ages been perpetuated, the 
 ^vhole of those valuable works in every department of literature 
 
130 EFFECT OF THE REFORMATION 
 
 and science, to which the last three centimes have given birth, 
 would never have appeared, and all the splendid results of their 
 influence on society, would have been unknown. For the most 
 illustrious of those works by which the latter ages of the world 
 have been benefited and adorned, received their birth on Pro- 
 testant ground. The Papal world, it is true, during the same 
 period, has not been without its great men. Indeed, in conse- 
 quence of the Reformation, the study of science and literature 
 was forced upon them. The learned attacks of their adversaries 
 compelled the adherents of the old system of things to adopt 
 this measure in their own defence. But the study of science 
 and literature, either sacred or profane, never did, never could, 
 receive encouragement in the Church of Rome. The progress 
 of knowledge among her members proves fatal to her interests : 
 she is a kinofdom of darkness. In Protestant states, and in them 
 alone, ample encouragement has been given to the interests of 
 knov/ledge, and to them we are indebted for almost all those 
 productions in theology, and in the various departments of lite, 
 rature, which have cast a halo of glory around our modern 
 times that will never fade aAvay. 3. 
 
 However, the progress of knowledge has not been so rapid 
 since the Reformation as it might have been. The number of 
 individuals has been comparatively small, to whom intellectual 
 improvement has been, in any great degree, extended. A few 
 privileged classes of society, have had the means of enjoying 
 it, but with respect to the great mass of the people, every thing 
 beyond the mere rudiments of knowledge, has been kept from 
 them, wrapt up in profoundest mystery, insomuch, that how* 
 great soever the illumination of the v/orld may have been — and 
 it has been great, immeasurably beyond any thing that was 
 known previous to the sixteenth century — the enlightened part 
 of the mass has borne no more proportion to that which remain- 
 ed unenlightened, " than the surface of the ocean, which is stir- 
 red by the breeze, and radiant with the sunshine, does to the 
 depth of waters which remain dark and unmoved beneath it.'* 
 Now, the permitting this state of matters to continue so long. 
 
ON KNOWLEDGE. 131 
 
 ill the administration of all the Protestant states, has been a great 
 practical error ;— not merely exerting a ruinous influence on the 
 degraded multitudes who have been its immediate victims ; but 
 hostile to the welfare of the state— for an ignorant people arc 
 the ready prey of every profligate demagogue who aspires to 
 power ; and dangerous to science,— for it is the improvement 
 not of individuals but of a nation, that is most secure against 
 decay. Knowledge ought not to have been withheld from the 
 people, but the most vigorous measures should have been em- 
 ployed for putting them universally -n possession of it; and at 
 an infinite distance should men have stood away from the mon- 
 strous maxim, to which the world had too long done homage — 
 that knowledge is degraded, when it is applied to enlighten the 
 minds, and to increase the comforts, of the people. This maxim 
 the Reformation has exploded ; and if the governments of Eu- 
 rope had steadily pursued the path which that great revolution 
 marked out to them, the character of their people would have 
 stood far higher than it does at this day, in intellectual and 
 moral worth. 4. 
 
 The age in which it has pleased Divine Providence to cast our 
 lot is, happily, more distinguished for efibrts to promote the great 
 cause of human improvement than any of its predecessors. Men 
 of religion have set themselves, by the establishment of schools, 
 and other benevolent institutions, to spread the knowledge of the 
 Scriptures in ignorant and long neglected lands ; while men of 
 science are laboring, by the organization of literary and scientific 
 institutions, to send the streams of useful learning torth among 
 the ordinary classes of mankind. We hail with unfeigned plea- 
 sure all these enterprises of benevolence. They are all promot- 
 ing '* the cause of man." We rejoice in the operation of those 
 many institutions whose object is to extend the boundaries of 
 science ; above all, we rejoice in the progressively enlarging 
 operations of those educational and other associations, which 
 have a special bearing on religion. The knowledge of the Scrip- 
 tures is, above all other things, of importance to men. By them 
 his soul lives, and he is fitted for being the inhabitant of eternity, 
 
132 EFFECT OF THE RFEORMATION 
 
 when the transactions of this fleeting scene shall be forgotten— 
 by them also his temporal comfort is advanced, — and m propor- 
 tion to the degree in which their blissful influence is shed over 
 mankind, are men rendered virtuous and happy ; and when the 
 knowledge of the word of God has been universally diffused ; 
 and, m consequence of that diffusion, the spirit of Christianity 
 shall have been imbibed by mankind — the determined improve- 
 ment of human society shall be reached, and we shall behold 
 " a world in principle as chaste as this is gross and selfish ;'* and 
 the falsehood, and wrong and outrage, wherewith earth is filled, 
 shall be swept away ; and '' men shall beat their swords into 
 plough shares, and their spears into pruning hooks ; and nation 
 shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn the 
 art of war any more." As the foe of this most blessed consum- 
 mation, stands the Church of Rome. She deprecates a period 
 of light ; and, at this moment, is she putting forth her efl?brts, 
 with more determined energy in opposition to the progress of re- 
 ligious and other useful knowledge, than ever she has done since 
 the days of Luther. Bible Societies are denounced by her head 
 as " pestilential abominations ;" schools, in which the scriptures 
 are taught, are anathematized ; and the imploring voice of the 
 poor degraded victims of her delusions — pleading to be permit- 
 ted to give their children scriptural education — is disregarded and 
 condemned. How long, and how fiercely, Divine Providence 
 may permit this foe of the world's illumination to rage, wo can- 
 not determine ; but we know, that in the latter days, " many 
 «hall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased ;" that 
 '' the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the 
 waters cover the sea ;" and, confident that these cheering an- 
 nouncements shall be realized, we anticipate with delightful cer- 
 tainty the approach of that period when, instead of beholding the 
 stream of knowledge rolled back to its source, and the dreariness 
 of intellectual and moral desolation covering the earth, men shall 
 see the waters of truth pouring themselves in resistless tide 
 among all lands spreading health, and verdure, and beauty, over 
 the moral scenery of our world, and causing " the wilderness 
 and the solitary place" to rejoice and blossom as the rose ! 
 
EFFECT OF THE REFORMATION IN AMERICA. 
 
 The beneficial results of that momentous revolution in civil 
 Society which the European Reformers achieved, are yet more 
 powerfully exemplified, both in actual operation and striking 
 contrast in the Western Hemisphere. After the discoveries of 
 Columbui, with the exception of the more numerous population 
 of partial districts, the whole continent was almost in a state of 
 nature, and of course would receive those features and charac- 
 ters, which the conquerors and trans-atlantic migrants would 
 stamp upon it. All those portions of this immense section of 
 the earth, which are now inhabited or territorially claimed by 
 the different governments were originally organized in their so- 
 cial relations either by Protestants or Papists; and as in Europe, 
 all their grand distinctions are too obvious to be concealed. 
 
 The Papal countries were occupied by Spaniards, Portuguese 
 and French, at different periods of priority, but the former ob- 
 tained permanent possession at least a century anterior to the 
 settlements by the Britons and Dutch. Those province^ which 
 were thus inhabited by the European Protestants, in the enjoy- 
 ment of "civil liberty, national prosperity, the happiness of 
 social life, and the progress of knowledge," indubitably rank 
 upon an elevation with that of any community on the face of 
 the earth; while the people who have been subject to the Papal 
 jurisdiction are wretched, uncivilized, debased; ignorant, corrupt 
 and servile, almost at the antipodes. 
 
 12 
 
134 EFFECT OF THE REFORMATION 
 
 In the previous introductory chapter, a reference has been 
 made to the evil consequences which have been alleged against 
 the Reformation. Although these complaints are equally ab^ 
 surd and nugatory ; yet the charge cannot be brought at all with 
 respect to Protestantism in America. Here, no musty legends 
 and forgeries of fabulous miracle-mongers have been burnt, to 
 constitute a pretext, that men who could neither read nor write, 
 might mourn over literary treasures which never existed. Here 
 no Goths and Vandals erected their gloomy castles, where in bar- 
 baric magnificence, they indulged in all beastly vitiosity within, 
 and without cursed their vassals with the iron yoke of their feu- 
 dal despotism — consequently none of these castellated ruins re- 
 main, to eke out a fictitious narrative, or a " poetic lament." 
 Here no splendid Mass-houses and convents, consecrated by 
 antiquity, and abdicated by their former possessors, in utter de- 
 cay recal to the memory of the beholders, the period when they 
 were the abodes of all possible corruption ; and asylums where 
 sloth, hypocrisy and crime found a secure and certain refuge. 
 Consequently, the principles of the Reformation and the influ- 
 ence of Popery have been permitted to exercise their capabili- 
 ties unrestricted, in a great measure, by the counteractions which 
 exist in Europe — with this essential difference however, that all 
 the support that the Parent government could possibly contribute 
 to the Popish provinces was invariably granted — while all the 
 obstructions which ingenuity could invent, were ever in opera- 
 tion to quell the spirit, and to plunder the advantages which the 
 Protestants, by their enterprize obtained. One fact in the early 
 history of Canada demonstrates the blind infatuation of Popish 
 rulers in the strongest possible manner. After the revocation 
 of the edict of Nantz by Louis XIV. and when it had been re- 
 solved, that the Huguenots should either " turn, burn, or be 
 banished" — myriads of those wretched persecuted Christians, 
 most fervently implored, that they might be permitted peaceably 
 to retire to the North American provinces then subject to the 
 French sway. Le Chaise, the Jesuit paramour of the King's 
 harlot, and the confessor who directed that execrable monarch, 
 instigated the denial of that cheerless boon. Had the Lord di- 
 
IN AMERICA. 135 
 
 rected the contrary — what might nov/ have been the situation ol 
 those colonies, inhabited during a hundred and forty years, by 
 two millions of Protestants and their descendants, and who at 
 that era included the principal manufacturers, mechanics and ar- 
 tists upon the habitable globe ? The human mind is absolutel} 
 overpowered in endeavoring k) comprehend at the same time, 
 the erudition of Claude, and the eloquence of Saurin, with hun- 
 dreds more little inferior, and the gross ignorance, and almost 
 incredible stultiloquence of nearly all the Canadian priests, who 
 fiave successively mumbled over their idolatry during this inter- 
 val. Those Huguenots who escaped the sword of the dragoons, 
 the fires of the Jesuits and their death by starvation, transported 
 their ingenuity and diligence to Elngland, Holland and Protestant 
 Germany, and imparted to those nations that impetus, which 
 has rendered them the depots of manufactures and commerce 
 for the Eastern continent. ' . 
 
 The general topic however, shall be briefly elucidated in the 
 order of the preceding essay. 
 
 I. Civil Liberty. The United States contain even from 
 iheir original settlements, tv/o distinct classes of persons. Ad- 
 venturers of all characters, with nothing in common to combine 
 them, but the essential elements of human society, obtained the 
 Southern region. From the primary residents at James Town, 
 to the permanent occupation of Georgia, with the exception of 
 Pennsylvania, the varied inhabitants were remarkably dissonant, 
 in their moral aspect dissimilar, and in religious character, it is 
 to be feared, bearing much of Belshazzar's mournful inscription, 
 Tekel. On the contrary, the New England colonies were con- 
 stituted by men, of very exalted endowments, mental, moral and 
 Christian. Persecuted for their undaunted adhesion to religious 
 truth, the rights of conscience, and its necessary concomitant, 
 civil freedom ; the Pilgrims established in the wilderness, a state 
 of society, until then a perfect novelty among mankind, except 
 its partial similitude to the Jewish theocracy. Th^ir's was "the 
 cause of man," and the experiment was stamped with " the finger 
 of God." Amid all the fluctuations of two centuries, its charac- 
 
i36 EFFECT OF THE REFORMATION 
 
 (eristics are evident, and its fruits palpable. Its essential attri- 
 butes even now retain much of their pristine ascendency, and 
 are so commingled with a!l the social organization, that it requires 
 not the spirit of prophecy to assure us, that the system then com- 
 menced is imperishable ; and will continue to flourish in manly 
 vigor, until the labors of the Puritans shall be exchanged for the 
 raillenial glories of the Pilgrims' Guide and Saviour God. 
 
 Civil and religious Liberty seems to be the very perfume oi" 
 the Puritan atmosphere, which every descendant of the Pilgrim 
 must inalienably enjoy. Despots whether ecclesiastical or civil, 
 like the Pope of Rome, or petty domestic tyrants, find no resting 
 place on that soil which the first American Christians consecrat- 
 ed with their prayers, and fertilized by their energies. If in this 
 aspect we compare the past condition of the Northern States of 
 this Union with Lower Canada — or the present unbounded free- 
 dom of this Republic with the agitated and insecure situation of 
 the former colonies of Spain and Brazil, we are naturally urged 
 to inquire — what is theca ise of the indescribable difference which 
 exists between these sections of the American continent? From 
 the North Eastern Cape of Gaspe to the Mexican frontier, we 
 behold the various people in the enjoyment of all that civil liber- 
 ty which secures to every man his rights, his possessions, and 
 his safety. In Canada, however, this was in a great measure 
 unknown prior to the expulsion of the Papal government — and 
 in all the other districts — either they are in the degradation of 
 servitude : or anarchy, and commotion, and danger are the melan- 
 choly experience of the people, struggling to reject the morbid 
 diseases which the long predominance of Popery has incorpo- 
 rated with their political condition. The history of the Western 
 hemisphere incontestably demonstrates, that the Papal system is 
 an incurable enemy of all the noble eflforts of genius, art and 
 science, and of all the divinely bestowed immunities upon man- 
 kind. 1.1 truth no pencil can fully depict, and no pen can per- 
 fectly delineate the wondrous contrast between a village in New 
 England and a village in Canada— and between North American 
 citizens, enlightened, active, skilful, enterprizing, and the igno* 
 
IN AMERICA. 137 
 
 rant, slothful, stupid and almost useless creatures Avho groan un- 
 der the yoke of Popish exactions ; and especially as the terrors 
 of the civil bondage are aggravated by the ruthless iron handed 
 oppression of those priestly despots, who retain their slaves in 
 their deadly ecclesiastical fangs. 
 
 11. National Prosperity. Nearly three hundred years have 
 elapsed since the earher colonies were formed by the Popish 
 powers— and what is their present situation? They areulcbased, 
 poverty struck and wretched. Their miserable descendants are 
 ignorant of the most useful knowledge, without any of tlie su- 
 perior advantages of civilized life, and totally destitute of Chris- 
 tian morals and piety. The instructions derived from a review 
 of European history are fully corroborated, by the survey of this 
 Western hemisphere. Between the United States, and all the 
 other parts of the continent, with the exception, perhaps of Up- 
 per Canada, there is an indescribable difference. It pervades all 
 that is seen, felt, known, and experienced. Witli a century of 
 additional age and opportunities, they are, at least, live genera- 
 tions behind in progressive advancement. Numerous causes arc 
 frequently alleged for the obvious distinctions which thus exist; 
 but the grand source of all the evils has been artfully excluded 
 from consideration. Popery, and Popery alone, is the prime 
 source of all the wretchedness and debasement of the Spanish 
 and Portuguese domains — and the spirit of the Reformation has 
 been the author of the unparallelled progress in national civil- 
 ization and enjoyment which the citizens of this Republic so 
 generally realize. Popery is essentially a subtle scheme to ag- 
 grandize a few at the expence and sacrifice of the whole com- 
 munity — on the contrary ;' Protestantism is a philanthropic sys- 
 tem, which amplifies, without restriction, the means of useful- 
 ness and comfort, for the advantage and improvement of all. 
 This fact is most impressively illustrated in the history of Lou- 
 isiana. In reference to that state, we have no necessity to recur 
 to history, but to actual observation. The transformation for 
 the better, which has occurred within the last twenty-five ycars^ 
 '« almost incredible as a romance. New Orleans within our own 
 
 12* 
 
138 EFFECT OF THE REFORMATION 
 
 generation, was little more than an assemblage of outlaws, pi- 
 rates, and every other enemy of mankind — all whose sins were 
 expiated and pardoned by the Jesuit priest, if they transferred 
 their plunder to furnish the means of gratifying his inordinate 
 licentiousness. Now although alas ! there is a wide field for 
 evangelical operations, yet the grosser and more offensive filth is 
 cleansed away, there is some salt to preserve, and some light to 
 illuminate society, and both are rapidly extending their influ- 
 ence, while the port has become one of the largest commercial 
 marts in the civilized world. Here is the paralyzing control of 
 Popery in direct and visible opposition to the vivifying power of 
 Protestantism. 
 
 The history of Canada affords a not less edifying testimony in 
 favor of the Reformation. During the first thirty years of the 
 government of that province by Great Britain, it attracted little 
 regard, and although no adequate measures even now have been 
 adopted, duly to raise the character of the people : yet within 
 a short period, a sensible advance has been made in the condition 
 of the inhabitantfe. Intelligence is extending, the comforts of life 
 have been augmented, the impoverishing and dissolute festivals 
 have been diminished, and the galling priestly yoke has been 
 partially lightened. To what may this melioration be attributed ? 
 Not to any change or reform in Popery — but solely to the in- 
 crease of European Protestants, and the palpable conviction, 
 that unless the descendants of the original French settlers re- 
 ceive a superior education and cultivate their faculties with more 
 diligence and in wider amplitude, ere long like the ancient Gibe- 
 onites, the Papists will unavoidably be nothing better than 
 '• hewers of wood and drawers of water" to the more active and 
 •Illuminated Protestants. 
 
 The illustrations which could be adduced from the South 
 \merican province^ in contrast, are not less impressively con- 
 vincing — and it is incontrovertible, that the numerous festivals 
 alone which the Papists celebrate, including not only the loss of 
 actual labor, but also the profuse expenditures, and priestly ex- 
 actions which aTc essentially connected with those holidays, are 
 
IN AMERICA. 139 
 
 an insurmountable obstacle equally to individual wealth, and na- 
 tional prosperity. General poverty, ignorance, wretchedness 
 and degradation are inseparable from the predominance of Po- 
 pery — and the proposition is veritied if possible, more clearly by 
 comparing the past and present condition of this hemisphere, 
 than in reviewing the trans-atlantic nations. Although many oi 
 the most ostensible peculiarities which are intwincd with Popery 
 in European history have not exhibited all their offensiveness on 
 this continent— yet it is indubitable, that the combinaiitn of Po- 
 pery with the various governments, the priestly oaths to be A\ith- 
 ful to the Pope of Rome, the celibacy and monachismin some 
 countries, the doctrine of indulgences, and the Papal system as 
 operating upon ail the social or/anization, have been attended 
 with the same pernicious and destructive consequences, which 
 have so long filled Europe with misery and crime. And it is 
 not less certain, that the amendment of the Popish countries has 
 been in exact proportion to their distance from Popery, or the 
 progress which they have made in excluding from among them 
 that baneful curse. 
 
 III. Social Life. The awful system invented at Rome, and 
 propagated by the Papal emissaries, probably developes its most 
 discordant and agonizing properties, in its temporal reference, 
 when contemplated as to its influence on domestic happiness, 
 and the amicable relations. All history, both Protestant and 
 Popish, attests the melancholy truth; that the idolatrous su- 
 perstitions of the Roman " mystery of iniquity," like the Bac- 
 chanalian rites of the ancient Paganisms, have been invariably 
 accompanied by the utmost inordinate depravation of morals. 
 In this respect, the true deiinition of Popery, is pollution. 
 Existing facts verify, that the Roman priests on this continent 
 are no less licentious than they were in the tenth century — 
 that American convents and nunneries are merely " cages of 
 every unclean and hateful bird" — that auricidar confession is 
 now, as it always w^as, and ever must be, the source of every 
 outrage, the destroyer of female purity, and the extinguisher 
 of family concord — and that Popery is one unmixed compound 
 
140 EFFECT OF THE REFORMATION 
 
 of practical iniquity in all its possible reactions. It is utterlv' 
 impossible to conceive, that a family of Papists can enjoy do- 
 mestic comfort, upon the basis that they are sincere, and con- 
 form to the claims of the confessor, unless they are invincibly 
 ignorant — for exclusive of their mutual suspicions, the Romish 
 system is so execrably intolerant, that every delicate, refined, 
 tender and kind sensibility is totally eradicated. 
 
 In these and all their other consociated topics, the dis- 
 tinctions between the residents upon this continent are self evi- 
 dent — and what greater contradiction can be classified, than a 
 Puritan's habitation in New England, and a Canadian's cottage 
 on the Jacques Cartier — or a Pennsylvania farmer's home, and 
 a Mexican's, or a Brazilian's residence ; or an educated Protes- 
 tant woman of the United States and Canada, propounded in 
 competition with the servile creatures who confess their sins 
 to a Roman priest, and who obsequiously bow down to his 
 mandate — especially, when we add, that Christian philanthropy, 
 public spirit, social affection, patriotism, domestic endearments, 
 and inflexible uprightness cannot possibly consist with the sway 
 of Popery over the human mind and heart. Such is the direful 
 system as it operates in Europe, and not less fearful are its 
 effects in America. 
 
 IV. Progress of Knowledge. It is one of the most terrify- 
 ing and disgraceful characters of Popery, that its abode is dark- 
 ness. Romanism, owl-like, abhors the resplendency of scien- 
 tific knowledge, and literary erudition, not less than the sun- 
 shine *of Gospel day. Language cannot convey the distinctions 
 which exist on this continent in this department — but as in the 
 European kingdoms at present, there exists a resolute war. On 
 the Protestant side are arrayed, intelligence, learning, enter- 
 prize, and Christian philanthropy ; with the Papists are ignor- 
 ance, illiteracy, sloth and pertinacious ambition. The present 
 moral and intellectual character of tlie Popish districts in the 
 Western hemisphere, if there were no other facts, would con- 
 sign the Roman system to utter execration. Ignorance among 
 the priest ridden people is almost universal: so that they are in 
 
IN AMERICA.. HI 
 
 general, little more than animals pi^opellcd by m.^tinct. Unable to 
 read, they are strangers to reflection— of the past and the pre- 
 sent they are equally unconscious, and of the future reckless- 
 the priest is their God! — His declarations tiicy believe; his man- 
 dates they obey; his displeasure they dreL»d; and his approbation 
 is their richest enjoyment. Contrast the districts where every 
 child is taught the elementary principles of useful knowledge — 
 and the country where no school house is fonnd — compare a 
 town where there is a literary institution for youth, and a nation 
 where a linguist must starve for want of pupils — and place in 
 opposition a republic which disperses one thousand copies of the 
 Holy Scriptures daily, and a country where there is not one 
 thousand persons who can even read; or who are permitted to 
 peruse the sacred volume. 
 
 Such are the appalling proofs of the superiority of Protestant- 
 ism to Popery in America. The distinctions are so plain, that "he 
 who runs may read" — and in whatever aspect, we contemplate 
 the grander, or the more minute developements of the two op- 
 posite systems in the countries discovered by Columbus, we must 
 affirm of the Reformation, that a " Revolution more blissful 
 and more worthy of the grateful remembrance of mankind, has 
 ]iot taken place in the world since the age of primitive Chris- 
 tianity." 
 
 '* Wherever the "bright and blissful" Reformation has been 
 rationally established, or generally embraced, it has meliorated 
 and given stability to the government ; elevated the popular 
 character, diffused information, and imparted an impulse to im- 
 provement in all that gives comfort to life, and glory to a nation. 
 A variety of circumstances in some of the European states have 
 prevented the meliorating influence of the Reformation from 
 being so largely experienced in them as in others. But wherever 
 the principles of the Protestant Reformation have prevailed — 
 wherever its spirit has been generally imbibed, these effects 
 have invariably followed, and there have appeared in the bod\ 
 of the people, a love of civil liberty genuine and regulated — o 
 manly tone of independence — a virtuous feeling — an intelU- 
 
112 EFFECT OF THE REFORMATION 
 
 geuce — a habit of industry — and a steadiness of conduct, not to 
 be found in other countries, Most manifest, therefore, it is, 
 that the interests of the Protestant Reformation are of incalcu- 
 lable importance. They are emphatically "the cause of man.'* 
 They are identified with the liberty, the improvement, the hap- 
 piness of the human race. In proportion as they obtain exten- 
 sion and permanence over the world, will men be rescued from 
 error and degredation, and become enlightened, and dignified- 
 andfree. But if they were to be overthrown — if the system 
 before which, in days of old, the world bowed down in lowliest 
 submission, were again to obtain the ascendency — a system, 
 whose essence is slavery, and whose tendency and effect have 
 always been to cherish arbitary power, to crush every thing 
 that bore the semblance of freedom, to check the progress of 
 information, to put away generosity and charity from man, and 
 to render him degraded and miserable — if this system were to 
 recover its power and triumph over mankind, "the boasted free- 
 dom which the Reformation has fostered, would perish forever ; 
 the sentiment of liberty and the fire of Heaven, which our fathers 
 transmitted to their posterity, would expire and be extinguished ; 
 men would know the debasement of servility, and forget the 
 honors of their kind ; they would renounce their natural, their 
 religious, and their political rights, and be contented to creep 
 upon the earth, to lick its dust, and to adore the caprices, and 
 the power of a tyrant!" This, indeed, will never be. Popery 
 will never again acquire universal ascendency, nor will Protes- 
 tantism ever be universally overthrown. Of this we are confi- 
 dent — because the Divine Word hath assured us, that the Anti- 
 Christian power shall be visited with calamity upon calamity, 
 till it be finally destroyed. At the same time, in particular 
 countries, the zeal, and the policy, and the power of Rome, 
 combining with the deep apathy and deep slumber of Protestants, 
 may obtain a triumph over the cause of freedom, and turn the 
 current of improvement in those regions backwards. It may 
 be, that, by some signal and unanticipated successes of Popery, 
 •tyhich shall endanger — if not, for a time, overthrow— their 
 
IN AMERICA. 14& 
 
 IVeedom, and deprive them of their dearest privileges, He, wliose 
 benignant interposition is so strikingly beheld in the introduc- 
 tion and establishment of the Reformation, may warn the peo- 
 ple of the Protestant world, more than they ever have been 
 warned, of the dangerous spirit and character of Popery, and 
 teach them, more effectually than ever they have been taught, 
 the unspeakakle importance to mankind of that great cause, 
 whose prosperity they have regarded with too much indifference. 
 Most imperative is the duty that devolves on all who profess to 
 be the friends of the Reformation, to wake from their slumber, 
 and to set themselves, by every legitimate and scriptural mean, 
 TO counteract the bold, and strenuous, and persevering efforts, 
 which, with a zeal that would do honor to a worthier cause, the 
 enemies of their religion and liberties are putting forth for their 
 overthrow. And most incumbent it is on Protestant govern- 
 ments, to remember their immense obligations to the Reforma- 
 tion, and their duty in consequence of these obligations, and, 
 banishing away from them the absurd opinion, that religious con- 
 siderations should never be allowed to mingle in political affairs ; 
 to cultivate with each other the closest connection, and to deem 
 themselves bound, in respect both of interest and of duty, to seek 
 the prosperity of that great and glorious cause, in which are 
 most deeply involved their own welfare and the happiness 6f 
 mankind." 
 
NOTES 
 
 1. The spiritual supremacy of tlie Roman poutifTs was fully established 
 about the commencement of the seventh century ; their temporal power 
 seems not to have been consolidated till a hundred and filty years after 
 that period. The immediate instrument of its consolidation was Pepin, 
 the betrayer and successor of Childerick, King of France. Tliis crafty 
 usurper, having been materially indebted to Pope Zachary, for the suc- 
 cess of his enterprise against his master's throne, conferred upon tliat 
 Pope's successor, Stephen II., the Exarchate of Ravenna, which had 
 been recovered from the King of the Lombards, by whom it had been 
 taken from the emperor. About tliirty years aflerwards, important addi- 
 lions were made to the gift of Pepin, by his son and successor Charle- 
 magne. This monarch was the first emperor who was crowned by the 
 Pope ; and, Irom his time, the pontiffs assumed tiie right of conferring 
 the empire, and laid claim to sovereignty over all kings. This supre- 
 macy of the head of the Papal church is asserted in strong and most 
 blasphemous terms in the decrees of her councils, and in the writings ot' 
 her clergy and her Popes. " The Pope," says one council, with Gregory 
 VII. at its head, ought to be called the Universal Bishop : he alone ought 
 to wear the tokens of imperial dignity ; all princes ought to kiss his feet; 
 he has power to depose emperors and kings, and is to be judged by none." 
 — " The church, my spouse," exclaims Innocent III., " is not married to 
 me without bringing me something. She hath given me a dowry of a 
 price beyond all price — the plenitude of spiritual things, and the extent 
 of things temporal — the mitre for the priesthood, and the crown for the 
 kingdom — making me the lieutenant of Him who hath written on hi.s 
 vesture ^nd on his thigh, 'King of kings and Lord of lords.' — to enjoy 
 alone the plenitude of power, that others may say of me, next to God, 
 Out of his fulness have we received." To deny this supremacy is, in the 
 estimation of the cliurch, heresy of the gi'ossest kind. Accordingly, 
 one of the pontifis, writing to Philip of France, uses tiiese words: '"W'e 
 would have you know, that you are subject to us, both in things spiritual 
 and temporal; and we declare all those who believe the contrary to be 
 heretics !" At another time, addressing the same monarch, he says, 
 '■' Do not allow yourself to imagine that you liave no superior, or tliat 
 vou are not in subjection to the head of the ecclesiastical hierarchy. He 
 that* thinks this is a tool, and he that obstinately maintains this is an 
 infidel, separated from t.iie flock of the good Shepherd." The proud and 
 
 1 
 
3 NOTES- 
 
 blasphemous claims of the pontiffs of Rome were never forgotten by 
 them, but, on the contrary, were prosecuted with so much success, that, 
 partly by subtlety, and partly by terror, they gained the sovereignty of 
 Europe, and rendered the greater part of its states the tributary fiefs of 
 the Papal See. 
 
 2. In England, this tribute, which was known by the name of Peter- 
 pence, was exacted annually from every family in the kingdom. The 
 payment of it is dated from the reign of Ina the Saxon. It was pro- 
 hibited by Edward III., but was soon after revived, and continued till 
 the Reformation. Something of the same kind existed in other coun- 
 tries. In Ireland, it was established under Henry II. ; in Spain, Portu- 
 gal, and France, it was claimed by Gregory VII. ; and was introduced 
 by other pontiffs into Sicily, Poland, Denmark, Sweden, &c. 
 
 3. History tells ua of two princes — the one a king of England, the other 
 of France, whom one of the pontiffs compelled to hold his stiiTup, while 
 he mounted on horseback ; of another prince — an emperor indeed — upon 
 whose neck, while he was lymg prostrate before him, the Pope placed 
 his foot, exclaiming, with blasphemous application of the words of Holy 
 Writ, " Thou shalt tread upon the serpent, and trample on the dragon 
 and the lion ;" — of another, that he was compelled to lie in chains under 
 the pontiff's table ; and of another, the king of England who ventured 
 to punish the insolence of Thomas of Canterbury, that he was obliged to 
 walk barefooted to the tomb of Becket, and there to receive a whipping 
 on the bare back from the monks and priests. 
 
 4. Henry IV. Emperor of Germany, was a still more melancholy 
 example of the tremendous infliction of Papal vengeance. This mo- 
 narch, accused by Pope Gregory VII., of exalting himself against the 
 church, was excommunicated, and deposed, and declared unworthy of 
 the allegiance of his subjects. Amid the rigours of a severe winter, he 
 passed the Alps, with his queen and infant son, and, after excessive 
 fatigue, arrived at the fortress of Canusium, which was at that time 
 the residence of the Pope. There, in the outer court of the fortress, 
 did the suppliant prince stand for three days in the open air, barefooted, 
 having his head uncovered, and wrapt around with a wretched garment 
 of woollen cloth. On the fourth day, the haughty priest deigned to ad- 
 mit him into his presence, and agreed to absolve him, upon the condition 
 of his attending a general council, to answer for the ciiarges brought 
 against him, and promising to acquiesce in the decision of that council, 
 ot what nature soever it might be. The council met, and, at the in- 
 stance of the Pope, chose another emperor, to whom Gregory sent a 
 crown bearing this inscription — 
 
 " Petra dedit Petro, Petrus diadema Rodolpho." 
 Bloody were the wars to which this transaction gave birth, and dreadful 
 were the treachery and cruelty to which the ejected monarch was ex- 
 posed. Twenty years did he manfully contend for his rights, durmg 
 which time no fewer than four excommunications were thundered against 
 him. At last, in utter violation, not merely of the precepts of that holy 
 religion of which they professed to be the guardians, but of the common 
 
NOTES. 3 
 
 dictates of humanity, the pontiffs— of whom there were four in the 
 short space of twenty years— excited his son to rebel against him, to 
 seize his person, and cast him into prison. Thence was he brought to 
 the Diet at Mentz, where again he was excommunicated, divested of 
 the imperial dignity, stript of his royal robes, and left a melancholy mo- 
 nument of fallen greatness, and of the perfidy and cruelty of the Pupal 
 court. After reigning upwards of forty years, Henry died at Liege, a 
 poor broken-hearted exile. 
 
 5. mauisiTioN. 
 
 This tribunal, the most infamous by which the history of the world 
 has been disgraced, was instituted in the beginning of the thirteenth 
 century, for the purpose of completing the extermination of heretical 
 pravity from among mankind. Its introduction and establishment con- 
 stitute the most awful demonstration that could possibly have been given 
 of the apostacy of the Papal church, and a most unequivocal and dread- 
 ful proof of her anti-Christian character. Any thing more abhorrent to 
 justice than the procedure of this tribunal — any thing more revo ting to 
 humanity than the punishments which it imposed — any thing more at 
 war with religion than the spirit which it displayed — any thing, in 
 f3hort, more entirely destructive to the peace and the happiness of man- 
 kind, than its existence and operation, it is impossible to conc< ive. It did 
 not seem enough to the profligate ecclesiastics who sought to become 
 masters of the world, that they had imposed restraints upon liberty of 
 thought, and induced an almost universal midnight darkness, and gained 
 the implicit reverence of almost all the princes and the nations of Eu- 
 rope; there seemed to be some fbrmidableinstitutionstill wanting in their 
 system of de^adation, by which their unhallowed triumph, wheresoever 
 it was not fully achieved, might be completed, and which might seem 
 hke some mighty giant standing at the gate of the gloomy edifice which 
 they had reared, and frowning destruction on all by whom it should be 
 assailed. This institution they found in the court of the Inquisition. Or- 
 ganized for the avowed purpose of punishing and exterminating heresy, 
 it came, in the course of a tew years, in consequence of the extensive in- 
 terpretation which that term received, to take cognizanceof every thing 
 which the Inquisitors thought proper to regard as a crime. It was heresy. 
 to reject even one tenet which had been sanctioned by the councils or the 
 court of Rome; to read an interdicted book; to be kind to an excommu- 
 nicated person ; to utter an unguarded expression respecting the Papal 
 authority ; or even to manifest natural afiection to the dearest earthly 
 friend, who had incurred the censure of the church. In consequence of 
 such an extensive interpretation of the crime of heresy, the lile of almost 
 every man was put under the power of this most extraordinary tribunal. 
 Soonafterthe establishment of the Inquisition, positive crime was not neces- 
 sary in order to bring persons under the cognizanceof that ruthless court : 
 it was sufficient to be suspected of heresy, and the slightest degree of sus- 
 picion, however destitute of foundation, was enough to involve those to 
 whom it attached, in proceedings which might terminate in their tempo- 
 ral ruin, and their death. Even wiicn no ground for suspicion existed, 
 
NOTES. 
 
 accusations were basely fabricated, and the innocent and unsuspecting- 
 were imprisoned, that their property might be forfeited, and their all sa- 
 crificed to the avarice and villainy of the church. 
 
 The mode of proceeding which this court adopted in the prosecution of 
 its victims, was not less extraordinary and unjust, than that by which 
 they were brought under its power. Secrecy, dishonest and tyrannical 
 secrecy, under cover of w^hich the most flagrant crimes might be perpe 
 trateJ, was its pecuhar characteristic. The apprehension of the unhap- 
 py victims of inquisitorial villainy was not permitted to transpire. Gen- 
 erally, in the dead hour of night this deed of darkness was done ; and 
 with so much dexterity was it conducted by the familiars of the holy of- 
 fice, that not only those who lived in the same neighborhood, but even 
 those who were members of the same family, in mai.y instances, knew 
 nothing of it. One striking example of this is mentioned by the historian 
 of the Spanish Inquisition, in the case of a father, three sons, and three 
 daughters, who, although they lived together in the same house, were 
 all carried prisoners to the Inquisition, without knowing any thing of one 
 another's being there, till seven years afterwards, when those who were 
 alive were brought forth to an Auto-da-fe ! 
 
 Lestany of its infernal secrets might be disclosed, no sounds were per- 
 mitted to be heard throughout the dismal apartments of the Inquisition. 
 The poor prisoner was not allowed to bewail his fate, or, in an audible 
 voice, to offer up his prayers to Him who is the refuge of the oppressed ; 
 nay, even to cough was to be guilty of a crime, which was immediately 
 punished. A poor prisoner, we are told by Limborch, was on one occa- 
 sion heard to cough ; the jailors of the Inquisition instantly repaired to 
 him, and warned him to forbear, as the slightest noise was not tolerated 
 in that house. The man replied that it was not in his power to forbear ; 
 a second time they admonished him to desist; and when, again, the poor 
 man, unable to do otherwise, had repeated the offence, they stripped him 
 naked, and cruelly beat him. This increased his cough, for which they 
 heat him so often, that at last he died through the pain and anguish of 
 the stripes which he had received ! 
 
 From the moment that the hapless victims of tliis dreadful tribunal 
 were arraigned before it, an utter violation of justice characterized every 
 step of the proceedings that were instituted against them. No informa- 
 tion was given to the wretched prisoner respecting the crime of which he 
 had been accused. The grand object of the Inquisitors was to make him 
 inform against himself; with his accusers, or the witnesses against him, 
 he ^vas never confronted ; nay, he knew not even their names. He was 
 told that the holy fathers never proceeded save on the most unquestiona- 
 ble information ; was exhorted to reflect on his past life, and to tell inge ■ 
 nuously the sins which he had committed; and was assured that inge- 
 nuous confession would procure for him a mitigation of the punishment 
 which his crime might deserve. Rarely were their efforts unsuc^cessful. 
 By operating successively on their victim's hopes and fears — now fawn 
 ing and then frowning — one while affecting to pity, another while utter- 
 ing dreadful menaces"; atone time deluding him with promises of speedy 
 deUverance, at another threatening racks, and dungeons, and burning 
 tlames; or, if these methods availed, not, by a train of excruciating tor 
 
NOTES 5 
 
 inents, in the invention of which more than human ingenuity seemed to 
 have been employed, and in the application of which more than human 
 cruelty seemed to have been displayed ; and, by tedious confinement in 
 some solitary, noisome dungeon, where his eye never beheld the lio-ht ot 
 heaven, and no sounds ever fell upon his ear, save the clanking of his 
 fetters, and the stern voice of the man who daily brought him his misera- 
 ble pittance of bread and water;— in this way did the Inquisition o-ene- 
 rally bring their unhappy prisoner to accuse himself, to confess crimes of 
 which he was innocent, and thus to become the instrument of his own de- 
 struction. 
 
 The annals of the human race contain nothing more revolthig to the 
 feelings of our common nature, than the details that are jrivcn of the 
 cruelties, which, under the name of punishments for crime, were inflicted 
 on the unfortunate victims of the Inquisition. Unlike all other tribunals, 
 its punishments commenced even before conviction ; tortures, at the re- 
 membrance of which humanity shudders, were not unfrequently em- 
 ployed to extort an acknowledgment of guilt, and tens of thousand.^ 
 expired amid their agonies, who were as innocent of the crimes laid to 
 their charge as the unborn child. On those persons who were declared 
 to be guilty, and denounced as obstinate heretics, the full vengeance of 
 this dreadful tribunal was made to descend. They were given up to 
 experience a doom, which, if the lawful fact were not before us, we 
 could not believe it possible that man would ever have brought down 
 upon his fellow-man. Death, amid the excruciating agonies of the fire, 
 was the fate to which they were devoted :— the revolting spectacle of a 
 multitude of human beings expiring in the flames, was the most glorious 
 triumph of the Inquisition, and it was enjoyed with rapture, at the same 
 time that, with unparalleled hypocrisy, the inquisstors affected to pit}'- 
 the sufferers, and to shed tears of compassion over their melancholy doom:. 
 It was againt the poor, but memorable people, known by the name of 
 Waldenses, that the operations ofthis infernal tribunal were first directed." 
 Dwelling in the deep sequestered valleys of the Alps, and greatly ui'- 
 known and unheeded by the rest of the world, this interesting people 
 preserved, for many ages, the purity of Christian worship and Christian 
 manners : and their little region was he scene of light and verdure, 
 while all around it was darkness and desolation. But persecution en 
 tered their peaceful retreats. It was not to be brooked by the haughty- 
 priest at Rome, that this simple people should remain strangers to tin • 
 Papal yoke, and be permitted, without interruption, to worship God ac 
 cording to his word, apart from the Roman abominations. In tJie eai-. 
 of surrounding princes their atrocious heresy was proclaimed ; and it 
 was declared to be more meritorious and pleasing to Heaven, to under- 
 take a crusade against them, than even against the infidel possessors v.. 
 the Holy Land. Armies were accordingly assembled at the nodof th. 
 pontiff ; 'against a people of whom the world was not worthy, was the 
 tempest of their ungodly fury let loose ; and the lone valiies of tlu; 
 Waldenses, where the sound of War had never been heard, became the 
 scene of outrage and ruthless devastation. In this truly anti-christian Avork 
 of extirpating heretics and heresy together, was the Inquisition devised 
 l^nd established to yield its aid— as if the ordinary operations of pontificul 
 
 1* , 
 
XOTEir. 
 
 vengeance would have too tardily accomplished the annihilation of thi^ 
 weak, unresisting, harmless people. The detail of its atrocious proceed 
 ings in their ill-iated land — of the havoc which it made among the 
 humble disciples of Jesus Christ — of the tortures which it inflicted — and 
 of the martyring flames which it lighted up, will remain in the histo- 
 rian's page an indelible memorial of its character, and of the monstrous 
 wickedness of the system that gave it birth. Over this devoted and 
 truly christian people, among whom the truth of God was preserved, 
 when all the surrounding world had forsaken it, did persecuting Rome, 
 nfter ages of bloodshed and martyrdom, gain a melancholy triumph ; — 
 ihe crossed banners of Popery floated over deserted villages, and the 
 wrecks of conflagrated towns, and the poor remains of the Waldensian 
 church, driven to strange lands, or retired in the mountains and lurking- 
 places of their own beloved land, v/ept in secret over its sad desolations, 
 ;md cried to Him who is the refuge of the oppressed, that he would 
 arise and plead his own cause. 
 
 In other parts of Europe was this bloody court soon erected; and, that 
 ^he poor heathen who had never heard of the name of Jesus might have 
 a specimen of the tender mercies of christian men, and might be gained 
 over as converts to the christian taith, its establishment was extended to 
 Pagan lands. Nowhere, however, has its operation been more power- 
 ful and terrific than in the kingdom of Spain. Eight hundred persons 
 have been condemned at once by one of its tribunals ; and, in the year 
 1481, the Inquisition of Seville condemned to the flames no fewer than 
 two thousand persons, and nearly twenty thousand more to various inferi- 
 or degrees of punishment. During hundreds of years, the inquisition 
 has been the terror of the Spanish people, and has contributed more than 
 any other institution to reduce to the lowest pitch of degradation their 
 national character. " Its form of proceeding, is an infalhble way to destroy 
 Vv'homxSoever the inquisitors wish. , The prisoners are not confronted with 
 the accuser or informer. Nor is there any informer or witness who is not 
 listened to. A public convict, a notorious malefactor, an infamous per- 
 son, a common prostitute, a child, are, in the holy office, though 
 no where else, credible accusers and witnesses. Even the son may de- 
 pone against his father, and the wife against her husband. 
 
 This procedure, unheard of till the institution of this court, makes the 
 whole kingdom tremble. Suspicion reigns in every breast. Friendshi}) 
 and quietness are at an end. The brother dreads his brother, the father 
 his son." 
 
 Thi.? is the tribunal of the Inquisition ! — a tribunal more 
 blasphemous, and dishonouring to the God of Mercy, and our Saviour 
 Jesus Christ, and more awfully degrading to mankind, than any other 
 institution that ever has existed upon earth. Everlasting infamy will 
 rest upon its name ; and the execrations of the wise and the good,-in all 
 ages, will light upon the unhallowed system that gave it birth. 
 
 0. What a contrast does the open manly conduct of this Reformer pre- 
 sent to the timid, time-serving policy of the literati of his age — not ex- 
 t^epting even the most eminent of them all — the great Erasmus. Distin- 
 guished as the latter was for the extent of his learning, the elegance of 
 his taste, and the acuteness ot his mind ; deemed, peiiiaps deservedly. 
 
NOTES. 7 
 
 the iirst literary character of his age, he yet '' loved the praise of men" 
 more than the approbation of his conscience or of God. He knew full 
 well the extreme corruption of the political and religious establishment-; 
 of the times in which he lived ; he was aware, especially, of tlie intole 
 rable oppressions exercised over her poor deluded subjects, by the protli 
 gate hierarchy of Rome ; yet, neither had he the courage to stand Ibrtli 
 iri the high character of Reformer, nor was he honest enough to avow 
 himself the friend of those wlio came, with their lives in their hands, t(. 
 plead in that character the cause of their God and of their I'ellow-men. 
 Admired and respected as a man of literature, by princes, and Popes, 
 and dignified ecclesiastics, their favor he could not forfeit— an exposure 
 of the abuses of the system with which they were identified— save in 
 as far as such an exposure consisted with the retention of their esteem — 
 he dared not to attempt j and thus did he at once degrade the eminence 
 of his literary character, and cast away his reputation as an honest 
 man, by sacrificing, at his shrine of self and of the world, the solemn 
 convictions of conscience, and momentous interests of mankind. What 
 could be a more striking proof of the temporizing spirit of this great 
 man, than the language in which, on one occasion, he addressed one of 
 the Reformers — cautioning him not to injure his reputation, by represent- 
 ing him as connected with ;/ie?7« ? "I pretend not to pass sentence on 
 you," writes he to Ecolampadius, who, in the preface to one of his 
 books, had used the phrase — " Magnus Erasmus noster^^—our great 
 Erasmus—" I leave that to the Lord, to whom ye must stand or fall. But 
 this I reflect on, namelj^. What do several great men think of you? — the 
 Emperor, the Pope, Ferdinand, the Kirg of England, the Bishop of 
 Rochester, Cardinal Wolsey, and many others, whose authority it is not. 
 safe for me to condemn, and whose favor I must not despise. You 
 know very well that there are some who look upon you as heresiarchs 
 and schismatics. Now, Wliat will such persons say, when they read in 
 your preface the words. ' Our great Erasmus V Will not the consequence 
 be, that the dangerous suspicions of powerful princes or of implacable ene- 
 mies, who had begun to think a little better of me since the publication 
 of my ' Diatribe,^ will be all revived ?" 
 
 Who feels not shocked at the utterance of such language by this great 
 man, especially when it is recollected, that he had acknowledged, that 
 the Reformers were the benefactors of mankind ? Who is not grieved to 
 behold this most accomplished scholar of his day, meanly tomporising, 
 in order to secure the favor of men whom, in his heart, he most thorough- 
 ly despised ? But he had his reward. The fading honors of literary emi- 
 nence Erasmus gained, but of the imperishable, everbrightenmg glories, 
 that constitute the inheritance of the Reformer and the patriot, his crook- 
 ed policy bereaved him for ever. 
 
 The '" Diatribe,''^ was a treatise " On the Freedom of the Will," in 
 which he attacked the doctrine of the Reformers, and of which he sent 
 copies to the Royal polemic, Henry VIII. and Cardinal Wolsey, telling 
 the latter that, if it had been his choice to dedicate the book to any one, 
 he would have inscribed it either to him or to the Pope! 
 
 7. Under the pretence of completing the erection of Peter's Church, 
 hich had been begun by his predecessor Julius II., but in reality to 
 
8 NOTES. 
 
 defray the expenses of his gaudy court, Leo, in the fifth year of hie pon- 
 tificate, published an indulgence throughout the christian world, pro- 
 claiming to all who would give money for the specified purpose, the 
 pardon of their sins, and the privdege of eating eggs and cheese in the 
 time of Lent. One of the retailers of these indulgences, John Tetzel, a 
 Dominican monk, and a man of matchless impudence, came with his 
 unholy merchandize into the neighborhood of Wittemberg, where Luther 
 was, at that time, laboring in the double character of professor of philo- 
 sophy, and preacher of the gospel. The audacity and impiety of Tetzel 
 in the discharge of his iniquitous commission were extreme. He made 
 his boast that he had saved more souls from hell by his indulgences, than 
 Peter had converted to Christianity by his preaching. He assured the 
 purchasers of them, " That their crimes, how enormous soever, would be 
 Ibrgiven; whence it became almost needless for him to bid them dismiss 
 all their fears about their salvation. For, remission of sins being full}* 
 obtained, what doubt could there be of salvation ?" In the usual form 
 of absolution, written by his own hand, he said, " I, by the authority of 
 Jesus Christ, through the merits of his most holy passion, and by the au- 
 thority of his blessed apostles, Peter and Paul, and of our most holy Pope, 
 delegated to me as commissioner, do absolve thee,^r5^, from all eccle- 
 siastical censures however incurred, secondly^ from all sins committed by 
 thee, however enormous — for so far do the keys of the church extend — 
 and I do this, by remitting all the punishments due to thee in purgatory, 
 on account of thy crimes, and I restore thee to the innocence and puritj' 
 in which thou wast baptized, so that the gates of punishment may be 
 shut to thee when dying, and the gates of paradise be opened." 
 
 No language can express the indignation which a christian must feel, 
 when he thinks of the impiety of those men, who, claiming to be the re- 
 presentatives of Jesus Christ, dared to lend their sanction to such transac- 
 tions as these. But their time was come. The cup of their iniquity was 
 full. Another impost of this kind they were never again to obtrude up- 
 on the world. The opposition which Luther gave to the blasphemies of 
 Tetzel commenced the Reformation; and the bold step which he took, 
 when he called in question the authority of the Pope, was the signal of 
 that revolt which rescued the half of Europe from the Papal yoke. 
 
 8. " I know not, whether any man that ever lived had a greater reve- 
 rence than Luther for the Holy Sctiptures. It was the sight of them, 
 through God's blessing, Avhich illuminated the mind of the Reformer : 
 it was the want of them which, through the iniquity of Papal artifice 
 and tyranny, held the people in the darkness of ignorance and supersti- 
 tion. Luther, therefore, easily foresaw the important consequences which 
 must flow from a fair translation of the Bible in the German language. 
 Nothing would so effectually shake the pillars of ecclesiastical despo- 
 tism ; nothing was so likely to spread the knowledge of pure Christi- 
 anity. Accordingly, he rejoiced in the design of expediting the work, 
 while his adversaries deprecated the execution of it, more than any he 
 resy of which the greatest enemy of the church could be guilty." In 
 the year 1522, he published his version of the New Testament, and his 
 translation of the vvhole Scriptures was completed and given to his coun- 
 try in the year 1530. " The whole performance, was a monument of 
 
NOTES. 9 
 
 that astonishing industry which marked tho character of the Reformer." 
 The effects of this labor were soon felt in Germany ; immense numbers 
 now read in their own language the precious word of God, and saw with 
 their own eyes the just foundation of the Lutlieran doctrine. A more 
 acceptable present could scarcely have been conferred on men who were 
 emerging out of darkness ; and the example being followed soon after by 
 Reformers of other nations, the real knowledge of Scripture was facili- 
 tated to a surprising degree." Than all this, nothing could have been 
 more fatal, and therelbre more an object of depi ecation, to the court of 
 Rome. " The Papacy saw all this, and sighed indignant. Emser, a 
 doctor of Leipsic, was employed to deprecate the credit of Luther's ver- 
 sion ; and the Popish princes, within the bounds of their respective do- 
 minions, ordered the work to be burnt. Nor was their resentment ap- 
 peased by the advice which Luther openly gave to their subjects, pati- 
 ently to bear their sufferings without resisting their governors, but not to 
 come tbrward and deliver up their German Bibles, or to do any act 
 which might testify an approbation of the requisitions of their superiors 
 on the occasion. Ferdinand, Archduke of Austria, issued a sev^ere edict 
 to prevent the publication of Luther's translation of the Bible, which had 
 gone through several editions; and he forbade all the subjects of his im- 
 perial majesty to have any copies either of that or any other of Luther's 
 books. In Flanders, the persecution appears to have been extreme. 
 Many, on account of their adherence to Lutheranism were put to death, 
 or deprived of their property, by the most summary and tyrannical pro- 
 ceedings." 
 
 In manifesting such keen opposition to this benevolent undertaking ol' 
 tlie German Reformer, the Papal court acted in precisely the same spirit 
 with that which it had displayed in reference to the translation of the 
 Bible, which, two hundred years before, the Primitive Reformer of En- 
 gland, WicklifTe, had accomplished into his native tongue. It was one 
 of the first great works in which that illustrious man engaged, to enable 
 his poor ignorant countrymen to read in their own tongue the wonderful 
 works of God. The Bible, he affirmed, is the will of God; and it long 
 gave him great offence, and was deemed by him one of the capital errors 
 of Popery, that it should be locked up from the people. But his publi- 
 cation in the English language of the records of divine truth, brought 
 down upon him a storm of dreadful persecution. " Christ entrusted his 
 gospel," said the ecclesiastics of his time, " to the clergy ami doctors of 
 The church, to minister it to the laity, and weaker sort, accorcHng to their 
 exigencies and several occasions. But this Master /oAn WickUffe, hy 
 translating it, has made it vulgar , and has laid it more open to the laity, 
 and even to women, who can read, than it was wont to be to the most 
 learned of the clergy, and those of tiie best understanding; and thus, the 
 o-ospel jewel, the evangelical pearl, is thrown about and trodden under leet 
 of swine." In order to stay the progress of this growing evil, attempts 
 were made to suppress, by public authority, the reading of the English 
 Scriptures ; and the instances were not few, in which the poor people, for 
 whose souls no man cared, had to expiate the crime of reading t*^*^'"^ at 
 the stake— in which case, it was a common practice to lasten round the 
 ucck of the condemned heretic the parts of the scriptures which were 
 
10 NOTES. 
 
 found in his possession, that they with him might be consigned to the 
 same fate. 
 
 Not only in the ages of darkness was hostility to the pubhcation of the 
 Holy Scriptures in the languages of Europe manifested by the pontiffs 
 and the court of Rome. In succeeding ages, and in our own time, has 
 this dismal feature in the character of the Papal church been strikingly 
 displayed. In vain have her insidious friends affirmed, and her too cre- 
 dulous opponents believed the affirmation — that her illiberal spirit is de- 
 parted, and that the superstition and bigotry which distinguished her in 
 days of old have given place to better, more enlightened, and more rati- 
 onal sentiments. Only a few years have elapsed since two solemn bulls 
 were issued from the pontifical court in relation to this very subject, dis- 
 tinguished by all the bigotry and intolerance of the dark ages. 
 
 BULL AGAINST BIBLE SOCIETIES. 
 Pope Pms vn. 
 
 We promised to return an answer to your appeal to this Holy See,^ 
 respecting what are called Bible Societies. We long since, wished to 
 comply with your request ; but an incredible variety of accumulating 
 concerns have so pressed upon us on every side, that, we could not at- 
 tend to your solicitation. We have been truly shocked at this most craf- 
 ty device, by which the very foundations of religion are undermined ; 
 and having, because of the great importance ot the subject, convened 
 for consultation, the Cardinals of the Roman Church, we have delibe- 
 rated with the utmost care and solicitude upon what measures, within 
 the compass of our pontifical authority, are proper to be adopted, and in 
 order to remedy and abolish this pestilence as far as possible. In the 
 mean time, we heartily commend you upon the singular zeal you have 
 displayed, in having denounced to the Apostolic See, this defilement of 
 the faith, most imminently dangerous to souls ; and, although it is not 
 at all necessary to excite him to activity who is making haste, since of 
 your own accord you have already shewn an ardent desire to detect and 
 oppose the impious machinations of these innovators, yet, we again ex- 
 hort you, that whatever you can achieve by power, provide for by coun- 
 sel, or effect by authority, you will duly execute with the utmost ear- 
 nestness. 
 
 For this end, we convey to you a signal testimony of our approbation 
 of these your laudable exertions, and also endeavor therein still more 
 and more to excite your pastoral solicitude and vigilance. For the ge- 
 neral good imperiously requires us to combine all our means and ener- 
 gies to frustrate the plans which are prepared by its enemies for the des- 
 truction of our rehgion : whence it becomes an especial duty, that you 
 first of all expose the wickedness of this nefarious scheme, as you are 
 already doing so admirably, to the view of the faithful, and openly pub- 
 lish the same, according to the rules prescribed by the church, with all 
 that erudition and wisdom in which you excel ; namely, that Bibles 
 printed among heretics are numbered among prohibited books ; for it is 
 evident from experience, that the Holy Scriptures, when published in 
 
NOTES. 11 
 
 the vulgar tongue, have, through the temerity of men, produced more 
 harm than benefit. And this is rather to be dreaded in times so de- 
 praved, when our rehgion is assailed from every quarter with great cun- 
 ning and effort, and the most grievous wounds are inflicted on the church. 
 It is, therefore, necessary to adhere to the salutary decree of the congre- 
 gation of the index, that no versions of the Bible in the vulgar tongue 
 be permitted, except such as are approved by the Apostolic See, or pub- 
 hshed with annotations. 
 
 We confidently hope, that, even in these turbulent circumstances, the 
 Poles \vill afford the clearest proofs of their attachment to the religion 
 of their ancestors, and this especially by your care, as well as that of 
 the other prelates of this kingdom, whom, on account of the stand tiiey 
 are so wonderfully making for the faith committed to them, we congra- 
 tulate, trusting that they all will very abundantly justify the opinion 
 entertained of them. It is moreover necessary that you should transmit 
 to us, as soon as possible, the Bible which Jacob Wuick published in 
 the Polish language with a commentary, as well as a copy of the edition 
 of it lately put forth without those annotations taken from the writings 
 of Papists, with your opinion upon it ; that thus, from collecting them 
 together, it may be ascertained, after mature investigation^ what errors 
 lie insidiously concealed therein, and that we may pronounce our judg- 
 ment on this affair for the preservation of the true faith 
 
 Proceed, therefore, to pursue the truly course upon which you have 
 entered. 
 
 Given at Rome, at Mary the Greater, June 29, 1816, the seventh 
 
 year of our Pontificate. 
 
 Bigotry, and a hostility to the general reading of the Holy Scriptures, 
 not less dark and unrelenting than that which was displayed in the six- 
 teenth century, constitute the prominent features of this document 
 Since the time when it was issued, their mitred author has gone into 
 that state where the authority of Popes is not regarded, and where to 
 the highest, as well as the lowest of mankind, the knowledge of the 
 Word of God is the only conductor to everlasting felicity. Another car- 
 dmal, since then, has been transformed into a Pope, and has taken pos- 
 session of the pontifical throne. But it would seem as if the heads and 
 ministers of the Papal church were given up to judicial infatuation. 
 Each determines to tread in the footseps of his predecessors, and, if 
 possible, to exceed them in obstinate attachment to all the doctrines of 
 the ancient faith. Far from realizing even the remotest approach to the 
 hypothesis of a celebrated writer, who regards it as a possible case that 
 the Popish hierarchy might be converted to genuine Christianity, and be- 
 come, even under its present constitution, the organ of the extensive pro- 
 pagation of true religion, the heads of the Papal church seem bent on 
 more and more glaring aberrations from the purity of Christian faith, 
 and increased devotedness to the bigoted and exclusive system which, 
 in days of old, was dominant over the nominal Christian world. Exact- 
 ly in proportion, indeed, as the devotees of Popery are loud in affirming 
 that a change has taken place lathe sentiments ot the Papacy, and that 
 
12 NOTES. 
 
 her spirit is now infinitely less illiberal than it was in the days of Wick- 
 JifTe and Luther, are her sovereign and infallible heads, from time to time, 
 by their decisions, and bulls, and encyclical letters, contradicting these 
 statements, and giving ample demonstration that the character of their 
 system is still the same, and that they are, in all points, the zealous 
 children of their apostatical predecessors. In proof of this, the successor 
 of Pius VIL, sent forth a document which he entitles " The EncycHcal 
 Letter of Pope Leo XII," in which, with the same tone of lofty bigotry 
 that characterized the bulls of his predecessors, he condemns, in the most 
 anqualitied manner, and anathematises, the general circulation, and ge- 
 neral leading, of the Word of God. 
 
 " You are aware," says the pontiff, " that a certain society, com- 
 monly called the Bible Society, strolls with effrontry throughout the 
 world ; which society, contemning traditions, and contrary to the well 
 known decree ot" the Council of Trent, labors with all its might, and 
 by every means, to translate, or rather to pervert, the Holy Bible into 
 the vulgar languages of every nation ; from which proceeding, it is 
 greatly to be feared, that what is ascertained to have happened"^ as to 
 some passages, may also occur with regard to others — namely, that, by 
 a perverse interpretation, ' the gospel ot" Christ be turned into a human 
 gospel, or, what is still worse, into the gospel of the devil.' To avert 
 this plague, our predecessors published many ordinances; and, in his lat- 
 ter days, Pius VII. sent two briefs, one to Ignatius, Arhcbishop of Gne- 
 sen, the other to Stanislaus, Archbishop of Mohilow, in which are many 
 proofs, accurately and wisely cohected from the Sacred Scriptures, and 
 from traditior-, to shew how noxious this most wicked novelty is to both 
 faith and morals." 
 
 " We also, exhort you to turn away your flocks, by all means, from 
 these poisonous pastures. Beseech in all patience and doctrine, that 
 the faithful entrusted to you be persuaded, that if the Scriptures be 
 every where indiscriminately pubhshed, more evil than advantage will 
 arise thence, on account of the rashness of men." 
 
 " Behold then, the tendency of this society, which, moreover, to at- 
 tain its ends, leaves nothing untried ; for not only does it print its trans- 
 lations, but also, wandering through the towns and cities, it delights 
 in distributing them amongst the crowd ; nay, to allure the minds of 
 the simple, at one time it sells them, at another, with an insidious hbe- 
 rality, it bestows them." 
 
 After a variety of exhortations, in which the Massmen are called upon 
 to oppose the deluge of these evils, which is spreading over the world, 
 there occurs the following singular sentence, in which indication is af- 
 tbrded of what would be done, in the way of putting down the Bible So- 
 ciety, and propagating the true faith in the world, if, as in days of old, 
 the civil powers were mider the control of the church : — "Again, there- 
 fore, we exhort you, that your courage fail not. The power of tempo- 
 red princes will, we trust, come to your assistance, whose interest, a.^ 
 reason and experience show, is concerned when the authority of the 
 church is questioned^ 
 
 Thus the character of the Papal church is really unchanged — all the 
 disastrous visitations of Divine Providence which its head and members 
 
NOTES. 13 
 
 have recently experienccil, have had no elFect in meliorating its relent- 
 less spirit— the same inveterate hostility to the reading of the Bible, and 
 the same shrinking from the light of sacred truth, which were its cha- 
 racteristics in the days of darkness, distinguish it still— in short, the poor 
 abused disciples of the Roman church, are as really and entirely exclud- 
 ed as ever they were from tasting those blessed waters, which, flovvin; 
 from beneath the throne of ^(jJod and of the Lamb, have been made t 
 pour their healing and gladdening streams among the desolate heritagf $ 
 of this fallen world ! 
 
 9. The name Protestant, took its rise from the following circumstance. 
 At a diet of the princes of the empire, held at Spires, in Germany, in th« 
 year 1529, it was decreed by the majority there present, " That in thos( 
 places where the edict of Worms had been received, it would not be law 
 ful for any one to change his religion ; that in those places where th« 
 new Lutheran, or Reformed religion was exercised, it should be main 
 tained till the meeting of a council, if the ancient Popish religion coult 
 not be restored without danger of disturbing the public peace ; but tha 
 the mass should not be abolished, nor the Papists hindered from the frc! 
 exercise of their religion, nor any one of them allowed to embrace the 
 Reformed faith ; that the sacramentarians should be banished the em 
 pire j that the anabaptists should be punished with death, and that nc 
 preacher should explain the gospel in any other sense than what was 
 approved by the church." Against this decree six princes of the empire 
 entered their protest, namely, John, Elector of Saxony ; George, Mar- 
 grave of Brandenburg; Ernest and Francis, Dukes of Brunswick and 
 Lunenburgh; Philip, Landgrave of Hesse ; and Woolfgang, Prince of 
 Anhalt. Fourteen free cities of Germany joined in this protest ; and 
 from it the professors of the Reformed faith first obtained the name of 
 Protestants, a name which was afterwards given in common to all who 
 separated themselves from the tyrannical and idolatrous practices of Rome. 
 
 10. At the Diet of the German Empire, held at Augsburg, on the^ 
 25tli of June 1530, Bayer the Chancellor of Saxony, read, on behalf of 
 tJie Protestants, and in the presence of the emperor and assembled princes, 
 the celebrated declaration of Lutheran principles, since distinguished by 
 the name of " The Augsburg Confession." This declaration — of which 
 the matter is said to have been supplied by Luther, while the style and 
 arrangement were the vvofk of the elegant Melancthon — was heard by 
 the assembly with deep attention, and had the effect of confirming the 
 wavering among the Protestants, and gainmg over many to their cause 
 who had hitherto been its foes. The enemies of the Reformation pretend- 
 ed to refute the doctrines of the confession, in a tract which was, shortly 
 aflerwards, published by two of the most learned of their doctors: bu' 
 this tract was answered, in a most eloquent and masterly manner, b^ 
 another from the pen of Melancthon. At last after reason and argumen 
 had been found ineffectual tor gaining to the Reformed that liberty of re- 
 ligious profession which they desired, and to the enjoyment of which 
 they had a most rightful claim— when, instead of granting them thath- 
 
 2 
 
14 MOTES- 
 
 berty, the emperor sought to crush them by the authority of imperial 
 edicts, and the force of the secular power — the Elector of Saxony, and 
 the confederate princes of the Retbrmaiion met at Smalcald, 1530 — 31, 
 and entered into a solemn league, in which they bound themselves vigor- 
 ously to defend, even to the shedding of their blood, that religion and 
 those liberties which the power and bigotry of Rome were menacing witli 
 destruction. This confederation, in itself most wise and reasonable, prov- 
 ed an eminent mean, in the hand of that Providence which watched over 
 the interests of the Reformation, in consolidating the energies of the Re- 
 formed, in augmenting their zeal, and furthering in a very great degree 
 the momentous cause in which they had embarked. To its influence, 
 especially, may be traced the peace, so favorable to the Protestants that 
 in 1532 was concluded at Nurembesg — in which, v.'hile they promised to 
 aid the emperor in his war against the Turks, and to acknowledge Fer- 
 dinand as lawful king of the Romans, the emperor engaged to abrogate 
 the edicts formerly made against the Reformed, and to grant them the 
 free and unmolested enjoyment of their rehgious rights. 
 
 11. "In proving that the Reformation prevented this country from fall- 
 ino" under a despotic government, I might gather abundant evidence 
 iTom the histories of France and Spain. The causes which abolished the 
 feudal system in England, abolished the same system in those countries. 
 What was the result ? In both co\intries the government became despo- 
 tic. Both countries had their pai-liaments ; but in Spain, this parliament, 
 or cortes, was never permitted to assemble, and in France, the parlia- 
 ments were allowed merely a judicial authority. While the Huguenots, 
 or Protestants, abounded hi France, there was, indeed a virtual, though 
 not a constitutional, check to the royal power; but after they v;ere ban- 
 ished by the revocation of the edict of Nantz, civil liberty was unknown 
 in that country. Both France and Spain, till the recent revolution, groaned 
 beneath the double oppression of civil and ecclesiastical tyranny, and 
 such would have been the case with England, had it not been for the glo- 
 rious Reformation." 
 
 12. The period of English history above alluded to, is beyond all doubt 
 the most momentous through wliich England has passed. Never were 
 the civil and religious rigliTs of a people in a more awful peril, and never 
 was there a more honorable contest than that which was carried on in 
 their defence. The patriots of those days — particularly the parliaments 
 — merit to be esteemed the saviours of their country, and to be had in 
 grateful remembrance to the latest age. '' In the history of the world, 
 we shall perhaps discover few instances of pure and genuine patriotism, 
 equal to that which, during the reigns of James and Charles, was dis- 
 played by those leading nieihbersoi" parliament, who persevered with no 
 less temper than steadiness, in opposing the violent measures of the court. 
 The higher exertions of public spirit are often so contrary to common 
 feehngs, and to the ordinary measures of conduct in private life, that we 
 are in many cases at a loss whether to condemn or to admire them. It 
 may also be remarked, that, in the most brilliant examples of heroism, 
 
NOTES. 
 
 f he splendor of the achievement, at the same time lliat it dazzles the 
 beholder, elevates and supports the mind of the actor, and enables him 
 to despise the difficuh.ies and the dangers with which he is surrounded. 
 When Brutus tookawaj^ the life of Caesar, he ran counter to those ordi- 
 nary rules which bind society together ; but, to perform a great service* 
 to our country by means that are altogether unexceptionable, merits a 
 purer approbation, and, if the action, while it is equally pregnant with 
 dangers, procures less admiration and renown, it afibrds a more unequi- 
 vocal and convincing proof of true magnanimity and virtue. Wlien Hamp- 
 den, by an appeal to the law^s of his country, exposed himself to the fury 
 of Charles and his ministry, he violated no friendship, he transgressed no 
 duty, public or private: and, while he stood Ibrth to defend tlie cause of 
 liberty, he must have been sensible that his elforts, if ineffectual, would 
 soon be neglected and Ibrgotten : and that, > ven if successfid, they were 
 less calculated to procure the applause of his contemporaries, than to ex- 
 cite the admiration and esteem of a grateful posterity. To the illustrious 
 patriots who remained unshaken during this period, we are in«lebted in a 
 good measure, for the preservation of that freedom which was banished 
 from most of the other countries of Europe. They set the example of a 
 constitutional resistance to the encroachments of prerogative ; accommo- 
 dated their mode of defence to the variations in the stateof society which 
 the times had produced ; and taught the House of Commons, by a judi- 
 cious use of their exclusive right of taxation, to maintain and secure the 
 riffhts of their constituents." 
 
 13. The history of the introduction of the Reformation into this coun- 
 try, is peculiarly interesting, and cannot be read by a Christian without 
 intense feehng. Formidable was the opposition which it had to encoun- 
 ter, and marvellous was the train of events by which, under Divine Pro- 
 vidence, that opposition was overcome. Her monarch, Gustavus Vass, 
 was the Reformer of Sweden ; nor, perhaps, was there ever a prince in 
 whose history the beautiful prediction of Old Testament Scripture — so 
 full of joy to the church of Christ — more eminently received its fulfil- 
 ment: "Thou shalt suck the milk of the Gentiles, and shalt suck the 
 breast of kings — Kings shall be thy n'arsing-futhers, and their queens thy 
 nursing-mothers." 
 
 14. Beneficial as has been the efiect of the Reformation on Protestant 
 Germany, it was the occasion of the consolidation of the power and ty- 
 ranny of Austria. "Whether, the establishment of Austrian despotism 
 would or would ngt have been effected by, other means, certain it is, that 
 immediate occasion was given to it by the Reformation. And tliis is a 
 remarkable instance of that mixture of evil with good which commonly 
 attends the noblest of human transactions. We are not masters of conse- 
 quences and events. And if we were to attenipt to impose it on ourselves 
 as a law to abstain from accomplishing a ^reat good, because it might be 
 attended with some evil, we must cease altogetiier to think of benefiting 
 mankind. The general timidity of men preserves them steadily enough 
 from risking too much. Tliis is a very powerful agent. They seldom at- 
 
16 NOTES. 
 
 tempt the accomplishment of a great good, where evils of any magni- 
 tude are apparent, except the motiv'^e be very urgent, and they teel them- 
 selves stimulated by the presence of worse evils than any they have to 
 apprehend. The oppression of the church, and the impending ruin of 
 their liberties by the emperor, were greater evils to the German princes 
 and people, than the conflict they had to sustain in opposing the two des- 
 pots. The inhabitants, however, of the emperor's own dominions, suffer- 
 ed by this effort towards Uberty. Occasion was taken of it, as always is 
 of every effort tOAvards hberty which is not successful, to fasten the claims 
 of a double slavery more strongly upon them. At the time of the Re- 
 formation, his dominions were probably the freestin Europe. The peo- 
 ple retained in their own hands exclusively the rioht of taxation — ai)d 
 Charles obtained no supplies but by consent of the Cortes or States of his 
 dominions ; which always supplied him very scantily. But great powers 
 were entrusted into his hands tor the suppression of the Reformation. He 
 claimed and solicited them for this object, which he represented as most 
 sacred and important. The people foolishly consented to them, not re- 
 flecting on the consequences. And by these powers were their liberties 
 destroyed. The efforts of the emperor against the great revolution were 
 in vain; but they were too successful against his own people ; and, at this 
 moment, the states over which he ruled, groan under the heaviest and 
 most destructive despotism." With all this, however, the Reformation 
 cannot be blamed. These were consequences repugnant to its genuine 
 spirit, the very reverse of those which it was calculated to produce. How 
 different might have been the condition of Germany, how different, espe- 
 cially, might have been the condition of the Austrian people, if the Re- 
 formation had been permitted to extend to them its meliorating influence '? 
 The histories of England, Scotland, the Lower Countries, and other con- 
 tinental nations, are lasting proofs, that exactly in proportion as the Re- 
 f )rmation has been successfully estabUshedj civil liberty has blessed the 
 world. 
 
 15. " I was much struck, with the solitary appearance of Constance, a 
 town once so flourishing in commerce, and so celebrated in the annals of 
 history. There was a dead silence throughout — grass growing in the 
 principal streets. Formerly, by the assistance of Zurich and Berne, it 
 had embraced the Reformation. But being obliged to submit to the em- 
 peror, and to re-admit the Roman religion, trom this period it lost inde- 
 pendence, fell by degrees into its present alm.ost annihilated state, and 
 exhibits to some of the neighboring Swiss Cantons, an instructive con- 
 trast, which cannot but the more sensibly endear to them the commerce 
 and the liberties which they enjoy. The town of Gall is generally Pi^o- 
 testant, and its government is aristocratical. Every thing in this town 
 was alive ; and all wore the appearance of industry and activity, exhib- 
 iting' a striking opposition to Constance. During the present and pre 
 ceding century, the Protestants in the Canton of Glarus have increased 
 <*.onsiderably in number, and their industry in every branch of commerce 
 is greatly superior." " Zurich Protestant is looked up to as one of the 
 most independent of the Cantons. 'J'he inhabitants are industrious, and 
 
NOTES- 
 
 IT 
 
 rarry on with success several different branches of manufacture • and 
 there is no town in Switzerland where letters are more encourao-ed or 
 cultivated with greater success."—" Lucerne is the first in rank and 
 power among the Papal Cantons. The Pope's Nuncio resides here. 'I'hn 
 town scarcely contains 3000 inhabitants, has no mannfactures of any 
 consequence, and little cummerre. As to learning, it no where meets 
 with less encouragement, and consequently is no where less cultivated 
 What a contrast to Zurich!"—" The Canton of Solcure contains between 
 40,000, and 50,000, all Papists. The trade is of little value, although 
 they are commodiously situated for carrying on an extensive com- 
 
 merce.' 
 
 16. On the morning after the night in which the cruel and bigoted 
 Duke of Savoy made his last assauh upon Geneva — in which he^was 
 signally defeated— the celebrated Theodore Beza— then very old, and 
 very deaf— being apprised of the victory they had gained— lor he knew 
 nothing ot the transaction till it was past — was carried to his pulpit, and 
 gave out, to be sung by the citizens assembled to offer thanksgiving to 
 Almighty God for their protection, the hundred and twenty fourth Psalm. 
 This was the last public service performed by this great and good man. 
 
 17. '•' Geneva, has been often called the capital of Protestantism, and 
 she deserves the name. The whole of Protestant France held a constant 
 communication with this small city, formerly so rich in illustrious men : 
 it was the centre of all religious education, theseminary of all the clergy, 
 and the general library of all Protestantism. The persecuted ProtestaiJts 
 in the Cevennes, Poiton, and Brittany, when they fled to this city — the 
 only asylum in the countries of their language which remained open to 
 their faith — fell down on their knees, when they discovered its spires from 
 the tops of the mountains, and gave thanks to Go that he had preserv- 
 ed, upon the frontiers of their country, a place where they could freely 
 adore and serve him. Geneva was the city lor all the French Calvinists, 
 and she strove to render hersell" worthy of this nobie title. Situated on 
 the confines of three countries, and three languages, always ready to 
 receive the lights of Germany and of England, and to transmit them to 
 France, and to Italy, Geneva was, with respect to this last country, the 
 only state which thought of carrying there the lights of the Reforma- 
 tion. In the valleys of Piedmont, under the King ol Sardinia, there have 
 always been a small people, poor, sober, and laborious, who profiiss Pro- 
 testantism. The Vaudois of the valleys of Lucerne, of Peyrouso, and 
 of Pragelet, owe to the benevolent influence of the Reformation, a libe- 
 ral education, a universal acquaintance with the Sacred Scriptures, a 
 probity and loyalty, which will not be found in the rest of Italy. The 
 descendants of the first preachers, and the first victims of the Reforma- 
 tion, having come to the knowledge of the truth even before the time of 
 Wicklifie or John Huss, have not degenerated from tlieir forefathers; yet 
 they are nothing more than mountaineers ; there is no city among them 
 as a centre of illumination ; regular instruction is unattainable among 
 them ; and they have no printing-press to multiply books of religion, 
 
 <4 
 
18 NOTES. 
 
 Geneva is the capital of the Vaudois, as she is that of the Protestants in 
 France. It is there they come for instruction ; it is there that their minis- 
 ters come to learn theology; it is through it that they stand connected 
 with the world ; it is of great importance to the Protestant interest in 
 Europe, that there be in the centre of the Continent a free and an inde- 
 pendent city speaking the French language — a city enlightened, and 
 which enjoys a high reputation in literature and in rehgion, where the 
 pure doctrine of the Reformation is freely taught, freely discussed, and 
 purely reunited to that constant progress of knowledge and philosophy, 
 which distinguished the countries in which the Enghsh and German lan- 
 guages are spoken, but which, without Geneva, would be excluded from 
 the countries where French is spoken. It is by Geneva that harmony 
 can be maintained between those free countries where the Protestant 
 church is dominant, and those countries where liberty is insecure, or 
 where the Protestant church, forming only a feeble minority, may be 
 led astray, corrupted, or enslaved. By means of Geneva, French books, 
 calculated to maintain the noble spirit of Protestantism, may be written 
 and printed ; from Geneva will proceed preachers, who unite French elo- 
 quence to the surer and more powerful authority of philosophy and 
 reason." 
 
 18, The ruling powers of France were opposed to the Reformation : 
 but, notwithstanding their formidable opposition, the reformed doctrines . 
 made early and rapid progress in that country. By persecutions, and 
 wars, and massacres, did their enemies seek to extirpate them : but in . 
 vain. The opposition which they experienced served to further the 
 cause, and to consolidate the energies of the Protestants. They fought 
 for their liberties and they obtained them, and the Edict of Nantz seem- 
 ed to indicate the commencement of a milder government, and a wiser 
 policy in the French monarchs. Alas ! The Protestants were persecuted 
 both 'secretly and openly, till, at length, the perfidious revocation of their 
 guardian Edict, completed the destruction of their once flourishing and 
 their glorious church, of more than two thousand congregations, and 
 sealed the doom of unhappy France. How difterent might have been 
 her condition, and consequently the condition of Europe, if her monarchs, 
 yielding to the voice of truth and of their people, had embraced the Re- 
 formation ! 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 1. It was not merely in times of darkness that these anathemas—so 
 infinitely unlike the ordinances of the God of mercy— were issued forth 
 by the arrogant and wicked mortals who assumed to themselves the cha- 
 racter of the vicegerents of Jesus Christ. Times of comparative light 
 and of recent date, have been disgraced by them ;— demonstrating, that 
 the lapse of ages has not meliorated,' even in the smallest degree, the 
 ruthless system that gave them birth. 
 
 DAMNATION AND EXCOMMUNICATION OF ELIZABETH, 
 QUEEN OF ENGLAND, AND HER ADHERENTS. 
 
 Pius, for a perpetual memorial of the matter. 
 
 I. He that reigneth on high, to whom is given all power in Heaven 
 and on Earth, committed one Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church out 
 of which there is no salvation to one alone upon earth, to Peter the Prince 
 of the Apostles, and to Peter's successor the Bishop of Rome, to be go- 
 verned in fullness of power. Him alone he made prince over all people, 
 and all kingdoms, to pluck up, destroy, scatter, consume, plant, and 
 build, that he may retain the faithful, that are knit together with the 
 band of charity, in the unity of the Spirit, and present them spotless 
 and unblamable to their Saviour, In discharge of which function, we 
 who are, by God's goodness, called to the government of the aforesaid 
 church, spare no pains, laboring with all earnestness, that unity and the 
 religion, which the author thereof hath for the trial of his children's 
 faith, and for our amendment, suffered to be exercised with so great af- 
 flictions, might be preserved uncorrupted. 
 
 II. But the number of the ungodly hath gotten such power, that there 
 is now no place left in the whole world, which they have not essayed to 
 corrupt with their most wicked doctrines. Amongst others, Elizabeth, 
 the pretended Queen of England, a slave of wickedness, lending there- 
 unto her helping-hand, with whom, as in a sanctuary, the most perni- 
 cious of all men have found a refuge, this very woman having seized on 
 the kingdom, and monstrously usurping the place of the Supreme Head 
 of the church in all England, and the chief authority and jurisdiction 
 thereof, hath again brought back the same kingdom into miserable des- 
 truction, which was then newly reduced to the faith, and to good order. 
 I'or having by strong hand, inhibited the exercise of the true religion, 
 
20 NOTES. 
 
 which Mary the lawful Queen, of famous memory, had, by the help of 
 this See, restored, after it had been formerly overthrown by King Henry 
 VIII., a revolter therefrom, and following and embracing the errors of 
 heretics, she hath removed the royal council, consisting of the English 
 nobility, and filled it with obscure men, being heretics ; hath oppressed 
 the embracers of the Roman faith, hath placed impious preachers, mi- 
 nisters of iniquity, and abolished the sacrifice of the mass, prayers, fast- 
 ings, distinction of meats, a single life, and the rites and ceremonies ; 
 hath commanded books to be read in the whole realm, containing mani- 
 fest heresy, and impious mysteries and institutions, by herself entertained 
 and observed, according to the precept of Calvin, to be likewise observ- 
 ed by her subjects ; hath presumed to throw bishops, parsons of churches, 
 and other priests, out of their churches and benefices, and to bestow 
 them and other church-livings upon heretics, and to determine of church 
 causes ; hath prohibited the prelates, clergy, and people, to acknowledge 
 the church of Rome, or obey the precepts and canonical sanctions thereof: 
 hath compelled most of them to condescend to htT wicked laws ; and to 
 abjure the authority and obedience of the bishop of Rome, and to ac- 
 knowledge her to he sole lady, in temporal and spiritual matters, and 
 this by oath ; hath imposed penalties and punishments on those who 
 obeyed not, and exacted them of those who persevered in the unity of 
 the taith, and their obedience aforesaid ; and hath cast the Roman pre- 
 lates and rectors of churches into prison, where many of them, being 
 spent with long languishing and sorrow, have miserably ended their lives. 
 III. All which things, seeing they are manifest and notorious to all 
 nations, and by the greatest testimony of very many so substantially 
 proved, that there is no place at all left for excuse, defence or evasion i 
 we, seeing that imparities and wicked actions are multiplied one upon " 
 another ; and, moreover, that the persecution of the fahhful, and afflic- 
 tion for religion, groweth every day heavier and heavier, through the 
 indignation and means of the said Elizabeth : because we understand 
 her mind to be so hardened and indurate, that she hath not only con- 
 temned the godly requests and admonitions of princes, concerning her 
 healing, and conversion, but also hath not so much as permitted the 
 Nuncios of this See to cross the seas into England, are ibrced of neces- 
 sity to betake to the weapons of justice against her, and not being 
 able to mitigate our sorrow, that we are constrained to take punishment 
 upon one, to whose ancestors the whole state of Christendom hath been 
 so much bounden. 
 
 IV. Being therefore supported with his authority, whose pleasure it 
 was to place us, though unequal to so great a burden in this supreme 
 throne of justice, we do, oul of the fulness of our Apostolic power, de- 
 clare the aforesaid Elizabeth, being a heretic, and a favorer of heretics, 
 and her adherence in the matter aforesaid, to have incurred the sentence 
 of anathema, and to be cut off from the unity of the body of Christ. 
 And, moreover, we do declare her to be deprived of her pretended title 
 to the kingdom albresaid, and of all dominion, dignity, and privilege 
 whatsoever : and also the nobility, subjects, and people of the said king- 
 dom, and all others which have in any sort sworn unto her, to be forever 
 
NOTES. v.] 
 
 absolved Irom any such oath, and all manner of duty, of doniinion, alle 
 giance, and obedience ; as we also do, by the authority of these presents, 
 absolve them, and do deprive the same Elizabeth of her pretended title 
 to the kingdom, and all other things aforesaid. And we do command 
 and interdict all and every one ol the noblemen, subjects, people, and 
 others aforesaid, that they presume not to obey her, or her admonitions, 
 mandates, and laws; and those who shall do the contrary, we do inno- 
 date with the like sentence of anathema. 
 Given at Rome, in the year 1570. 
 
 i:XCOMMUNtCATION PRONOUNCED BY PHILIP DUNN, AGAINST FRANCIS FREE- 
 MAN, WHO EMBRACED THE PROTESTANT FAITH IN 1765, FOUND AMONG 
 THAT prelate's PAPERS IN HIS HOUSE, WICKLOW. 
 
 By the authority of God the Father Almighty, and the blessed Virgin 
 Mary, and of Peter, and Paul, and all the Holy Saints, we ex- 
 ("ommunicate Francis Freeman, late of the county ot Dublin, but now of 
 Juckmill, in the county of Wicklow, that, in spite of God, and Peter, 
 and in spite of all the Holy Saints, and in spite of our most Holy Father 
 the Pope, God's vicar on earth, and in spite of Philip Dunn, our dioce- 
 san and worshipful Canons, who serve God daily, hath apostatised to a 
 most damnable religion, full of heresy, and blasphemy; excommunicated 
 let him be, and dehvered over to the devil, as a perpetual malefactor and 
 schismatic ; accursed let him be in all cities, and all towns, in fields, in 
 ways, in yards, in houses, and in all other places, whether lying or ris 
 ing, walking or running, leaning or standmg, waking or sleeping, eat- 
 ing or drinking, or whatsoever thing he does besides : we separate him 
 from the threshold and all good prayers of the Church ; from the parti- 
 cipation of the Holy Jesus ; from all sacraments, chapels and altars ; 
 from the Holy bread and holy water; from all the merit of God's holy 
 priests and religious men ; and from their cloisters, and all pardons, pri- 
 vileges, grants, and immunities which all the Holy Popes have granted 
 them ; and we give him over utterly to the fiend ; and let him quench 
 his soul when dead in the pains of Hell fire, as this candle is quenched 
 and put out ; and let us pray to God, our Lady, Peter and Paul, that all 
 the senses of his body may fail, as now the light of this candle is gone, 
 except he come, on sight hereof, and openly confess his damnable heresy 
 and blasphemy, and by repentance make amends, as much as in him 
 lies, to God, our Lady, eter, and the worshipful company of this 
 Church ; and a> the staff of this holy cross now falls down, so may he, 
 except he recants and repents. Philip Dunn. 
 
 DREADFUL FORM OF EXCOMMUNICATON DENOUNCED AGAINST THE POPE's 
 alum-maker, who, HAVING ABANDONED HIS HOLINESS, INTRODUCED THE 
 SECRETS OF HIS TRADE INTO ENGLAND. 
 
 " By the authority of God Almighty, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, 
 and of the holy Canons, and of the Immaculate Virgin Mary, the Mo- 
 ther and Patroness of our Savionr ; and all the celestial virtues, angels, 
 archangels, thrones, dominions, powers, cherubims, and seraphims; and 
 
22 NOTES. 
 
 of all the holy patriarchs and prophets; and of all the apostle?, and 
 evangelists; and of all the holy innocents, who, in the sight of the Lamb, 
 axe found worthy to sing the new song ; of the holy martyrs and holy 
 confessoi's ; and of the holy virgins, and of all the saint.?, and together 
 with all the holy and elect of God, we excommunicate and anathema- 
 tize tliis thief or this malefactor N : And from the thresholds of the holy 
 Church of God Almighty, we sequester him, that he may be tormented, 
 disposed, and delivered over with Dathan and Abiram,'and with those 
 who say unto the Lord God, Depart from us, for we desire not the know- 
 ledge of thy ways. And as lire is quenched with water, so let the light 
 fjf him be put out for evermore, unless it shall repent him. and he make 
 satisfaction. Amen. 
 
 May God the Father, who created man, curse him. May the Son, 
 who suffered for us, curse him. May the Holy Ghost, who was given 
 for us in baptism, curse him. May the Holy Cross, which Christ, for 
 our Salvation, triumphing ascended, curse him. May the holy and 
 Eternal Virgin Mary curse him. May Michael, the advocate of holy 
 souls, curse him. May John, the chief forerunner and baptist of Christ, 
 curse him. May the holy and wonderful company of Martyrs curse him. 
 May Peter, Paul, Andrew, and all other Christ's Apostles, together 
 with the rest of his disciples, and four evangelists, curse him. May the 
 holy choir of the holy Virgms, who, for the honor of Christ, have des- 
 pised the things of the world, curse him. May all the Saints, who from 
 the beginning of the world, to everlasting ages, are found to be the be- 
 loved of God, curse him. May the heaven and earth, and all the holy 
 things therein remaining, curse him. May he be cursed wherever he 
 be, whether in the house or in the field, or in the high way, or in the 
 path, or in the wood, or in the water, or in the church. May he be curs- 
 ed in living, in dying, in eating, in drinkmg, in being hungry, in being 
 thirsty, in tasting, in sleeping, in slumbering, in lying, in working, in 
 
 resting, and in blood-letting. May he be cursed in all the 
 
 powers of his body. May he be cursed within and without. May he be 
 cursed in the hair of his head. May he be cursed in his brain. May 
 he be cursed in the crown of his head ; in his temples ; in his forehead ; 
 in his ears; in his eye-brows; in his cheeks; in his jaw-bones; in his 
 nostrils ; in his fore-teeth and grinders ; in his lips, in his throat ; in hi> 
 shoulders ; in his ^vrists ; in his arms ; in his hands ; in his fingers ; in 
 Ills breast ; in his heart ; and in all the interior parts to the very stom- 
 ach ; in his veins ; in his reins ; in his groins ; in his thighs : 
 
 in his lips; in his knees; in his legs; in his feet; in his joints; and in 
 his nails. May he be cursed in the whole structure of his members. 
 From the crown of his head to the sole of the foot. IMay there be no 
 ^soundness in him. May the Son of the living God, with all the glory ol' 
 his majesty, curse him ; and may heaven and all the powers that move 
 therein rise against him, to damn him ; unless he shall repent and make 
 lull satisfaction. Amen, amen, — so be it." 
 
 2. The influence of the interdict was at its introduction limited ; but 
 its progress kept pace with Papal power, and in a short time it made 
 
NOTEa 
 
 kings and nations tremble. Smaller societies were at first the objects of 
 Its censure ; and, even in this shape, its effects, as might have been ex 
 pected, were of a grievous nature. But Papal tyranny stopped not here. 
 Whole parishes, provinces, and the most powerful nations, were in thi- 
 manner made to experience pontifical wrath Interdicts were at dillci 
 ent times hurled against France, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Nur 
 mandy, Venice, Flanders, Rome itself; and England, during tlie reign 
 of John, was for six years subjected to this terrible maniie^tatiun of the 
 Pope's displeasure. 
 
 3. Persecution is, undoubtedly, the most dreadful scourge with Avhich 
 a nation can be visited. It strikes at the root of every public and do- 
 mestic blessing; it destroys, at once, prosperity and peace. When 
 princes care not for the welfare of their subjects, but barter their inter- 
 ests and their lives to gratify a bigoted and aspiring priesthood, happi- 
 ness flies from their dominion — confidence, the important band which 
 unites society, is broken — commerce is stagnant — and the nation's sta- 
 bihty sustains a disastrous shock. The siiedding of the blood of more 
 than fifty thousand of the best of his subjects, and the expellin<r from his 
 dominions of many thousands more, was the melancholy price which 
 Charles V. paid for his furious attempts to retard the progress of the 
 Reformation in the Netherlands. A hundred thousand perilous, of the 
 trading part of the community, left the small ill-fated land, under the 
 sanguinary government of the Duke of Alva — multitudes of" Avhom ob- 
 tained refuge and a settlement in England, and contributed much to the 
 propriety of her manufactures, and the increase of her wealth. It was 
 the mournful confession of Philip II. — one of the most bigoted persecu- 
 tors that ever existed — that the wars he had waged for the extirpation of" 
 heretics, cost him almost six hundred millions of ducats ; and that, with 
 the exception of the ac(iuisition ot' Portugal — a poor requital indeed — lie 
 had spent his wealth and labor for no permanent advantage. Incalcula- 
 ble was the mischief inflicted on France by the many cruel persecutions 
 of which she had been the scene'; but all her preceding fosses were noth- 
 ing hi comparison of those which she sustained in consequence of that 
 faial act of treachery — the revocation of the Edict of Nantz. " In vain 
 were orders given to guard the frontiers, and all the coasts, against those 
 who thought it their duty to flee. Nearly 50.000 families, in three jears' 
 time, left the kingdom, and were afterwards followed by others. They 
 carried with them among strangers, arts, manufactures, riches. Almot^t 
 all the north of Germany, acountiy, before, wild and void of industry, 
 assumed a new appearance tlom the numbers transplanted thither. One 
 quarter of the suburbs of London was entirely peopled with Frenchmen, 
 workers hi silk ; others carried there the art of finishing crystals, wliich 
 was then lost in France. The gold is yet to be found very common in 
 Germany, which the refugees dispersed there. Thus France lost above 
 five hundred thousand inhabitants, a prodigious quantity of wealth, and, 
 above all, the arts, with wliich her enemies were enriched.-' 
 
4 NOTES. 
 
 4. There is not, in ail liistory, a more appalling narrative than that 
 which relates to the Bartholomew Massacre. The memorial of this hor- 
 rible catastrophe will go down and testify to distant generations, that 
 the promises of Papists are perfidious, that their tender mercies are cmeL 
 Peace, and friendship, and union, seemed to be firmly established between 
 them and the Protestants ; — the court of France seemed to have laid aside 
 its hostility ; — and, more than ever had been the case, were those of the 
 Reformed faith honored and caressed. Alas ! it was a calm dreadfully 
 ominous — a moment of sunshine, tlie melancholy presage of an awful 
 storm. Assured of safety, by the pledged oath of their monarch, the 
 chief of the Protestant nobility repaired to Paris to celebrate the nuptials 
 of the King of Navarre with the sister of Charles — nuptials which were 
 joyfully hailed by the Protestants as the bond of mutual amity between 
 those of the two religions. O, Popery ! what bloody nuptials didst thou 
 render them Not yet was the ceremony solemnized, when the Protestant 
 Q,ueen Dowager of Navarre was destroyed with a pair of poisoned gloves. 
 Then, at the dead hour of night, tolled the great bell of Paris — the pre- 
 determined signal of desti-uction — and the French capital became a scene 
 of carnage. The commission given to the murderers had been, " Not to 
 ,^pnre .'" and they fulfilled -it with dreadful precision. Bands of hired 
 ruffians marched from street to street, and entered the dwelliiigs of those 
 who were doomed to die. No reverence was shown to the Ijoary head, 
 no respect was paid to talent or to rank ; the helplessness of childhood was 
 not pitied, the beauty of woman was not spared. Seven days, with una- 
 bated fury, did the carnage last, — during which time the streets of the 
 French metropolis are said to have literally run with blood. Nor was 
 Paris alone the scene of this detestable barbarity. Letters had been sent 
 by the perfidious court to the chief cities of the kingdom, comniandmg 
 the Papists in these places to begin a massacre of the Protestants on the 
 .^•ame night, and at the same hour. Most faithfully were these mandates 
 obeyed. In Orleans, Angers, Troyes, Meaux, Bourges, Toulouse, Ly- 
 ons, La Charite, and Rouen, were the Protestants, who, at that time, 
 dreamed of any thing but persecution, suddenly and furiously assailed, 
 and, for several months, made the victims of most shocking and unpa- 
 ralleled atrocities. Seventy thousand persons — according to the lowest 
 computation — among whom were the brave and pious Admiral Coligni, 
 and more than five hundred noblemen and gentlemen of rank, were mas- 
 sacred on this melancholy occasion; and the Duke of Sully declares in 
 his " Memoirs" that he had documents in his possession, which made it 
 evident that the court of France had sent letters to tiie neighbouring 
 courts, earnestly requesting them to follow its infernal example ! 
 
 Oh how it aggravates the pain with which the details of this hor- 
 rid transaction are remembered, to think of the manner in which 
 the tidings of its accomplishment were received at Rome ! " When the 
 letters of the Pope's legate were read in the assembly of the cardinals, 
 declaring that all was transacted by the will and express command of the 
 king, it was immediately decreed that the Pope and cardinals should 
 march in solemn procession to the church of Mark, and give thanks to 
 (rod for so great a blessing conferred on the See of Rome and on the 
 
NOTES. 35 
 
 Christian ^vorld : that, on {.lie Monday thcrcafier, solemn mas? sliould be 
 celebrated, at which the Pope, Gregory XIII., and cardinals, should be 
 present ; and that a jubilee should be published throucrhout Christendom, 
 as a thanksgiving to God for tlie happy extirpation ol' their enemies in 
 France ! In the evening, the cannon oi" Angelo v/ere fired to testify "the 
 ])ublic joy, the whole city was illuminated with bonfires, nor wag any 
 token of rejoicing omitted that was usually employed lor the greatcvf. 
 victories obtained in favor of the Roman church !" 
 
 The bigoted and perfidious monarch who had been the prime agent in 
 these horrid transactions, was not permitted to escape even in this^vorld 
 the righteous judgment of God. "His singular death, was regarded 
 by his contemporaries as a remarkable instance of divine justice. He. 
 who had been the means of spilling the blood of seventy thousand of his 
 fellow creatures, found liis blood, in an unheard-of manner, bursting from 
 his veins." He died amid the agonies of dreadful remorse, an awlul mo- 
 nument of the vengeance which, sometimes even on earth, attends the 
 ])ersecutors of the church of God. 
 
 5. The number of monks and nuns throughout Christendom, was 
 doubtless far greater than that which we have supposed. One of her ec ■ 
 clesiastical historians computes the number in France, at the end of th(^ 
 seventeenth century — a period, 'posterior to the Reformation, and in 
 which, of course, the ranks of monastics were greatly thinned — at up- 
 wards of two hundred tiiousand ! England, at the timeot the suppression 
 of the monasteries by Henry VIII., contained fifty thousand : and one 
 of the pontiffs was accustomed to boast, that he ImA forty-four thousand 
 monasteries at his command ! 
 
 6. The idolatry of relics seems to have talcen its rise from the honor \\\ 
 which the martyrs of the primitive ages were held, and to have been de- 
 signed to perpetuate the remembrance of their names and actions. The 
 bodies of the earliest martyrs left behind them on the earth — not the 
 splendid monument, or the marble tablet — but the grateful hearts of 
 weeping multitudes. It was not till the middle of the fourth century 
 that they vcere regarded as holy relics. We find on record the censure 
 of Athanasius against this practice; but, notwithstanding his reraon- 
 .'^trances, the tombs of departed saints were impiously violated, and their 
 bones triumphantly carried in proce-ssion. The l^mb of a martyr soon 
 became the adopted child of the growing superstition, and miracles of 
 every description were alleged to have been performed by tlic legs and 
 xirms of the dead. The bones of beasts, or of any creature, v>diich an 
 impostor could lay hold of, were purchased with avidity, as being the re- 
 mains of the virtuous dead. In this manner, the objects of religious 
 liomage were multiplied to a prodigious extent, and happy did he pro- 
 nounce himself who was able to procure a ))article of holy dust. When 
 this could not be obtained, and it is difficult to conjecture how bones 
 enough could not be found to supply every person, since those of a mouse 
 required no more than the touch of a priest to be metamorphosed into 
 the parings of Peter's, any thing which had come in contact with, or 
 ev^n approached the body of a saint, was eagerly enrolled among the 
 
26 NOTES. 
 
 • 
 objects of veneration. '■ The parings of a martyr's nails, served- the pur- 
 pose, or the polling of his hair ; and when these were too difficult an ac- 
 quisition, some handkerchief would haply be found, or cowl, or slipper, or 
 firdle, or comb, or cord, or hatchet ; some rag of wool, or sackcloth ; or 
 .some lucky stone, or chain, or spear, or nail, or gridiron, v^'hereby he had 
 sufter«:d, or some filings of these at least ; all of them, like artificial mag- 
 nets, fit substitues for the original, having acquired the same sanctity 
 and miraculous virtue at second-hand." In different places, and at the 
 same time, the tombs of holy men were worshipped. The face of John 
 Baptist, for example, is to be seen at Jean Angeli, the rest of his head 
 at Malta, his skull at Nemours, his jaw-bone at Vesulium, his forehead 
 at Salvador, — and yet his whole head is exhibited in Rome, and at 
 Amiens in France, and at Ghent in Flanders I The finger wherewith 
 he pointed to the Saviour, is produced at Besancon, at Thoalouse, at 
 Bourgesj and at Florence I 
 
 7. If the monastic institutions were the means of preserving from 
 destruction any of the ancient manuscripts, this took place rather from 
 accident than "design ; for, the monks were the chief promoters of that 
 io-norance by which the neglect of classical learning was occasioned — 
 :ind the greatest destroyers of ancient manuscripts, who did a thousand 
 times more injury to the interests of literature, than any other class of 
 men in the w^orld. The writings of the bards, and other sages of Greece 
 and Rome, were, in many instances, carefully obliterated, that the ma- 
 terials on which they were written might serve the lying purpose of re- 
 cording the penances of some devotee, or the miracles of some samt ! In- 
 deed, Tf the art of printing had- not been discovered, and if, in combina- 
 tion v/ith it, the reformation in religion had not exerted its auspicious in- 
 fluence, the monastaries would haveproved the tomb of classic lore ; and 
 the means of inflicting upon literature a calamity, compared with which, 
 even the alleo-ed excesses of the Reformation would have been as noth- 
 
 8. The effect of holidays on Spain may serve as a specimen of the 
 other Popish nations. The sura lost to Spain, every feast day, by the 
 suspension of labor in trade, manufactures, and agriculture, amounts to 
 four millions of livres. At this rate,— and supposing the number of fes- 
 tivals on which labor is entirely suspended, to be no more than forty — a 
 number, much below the truth — the annual deficiency to Spain, in point 
 of wealth, Avill amount to thirty millions of dollars ! ! 
 
 9. The festivals of the saints were said to be guarded from secular bu- 
 siness, not only by the authority of the ecclesiastical and civil powers on 
 earth, but also by the vindictive jealousy of the saints in heaven. The 
 fierce deities of the Pagan world were not more dreadful in their resent- 
 ment against the profaners of their consecrated days, than were ihe mild 
 saints of the Christian world against those by whom theirs were profaned. 
 A Roman poet assures us thai certain royal ladies, having ventured to 
 spin on the feast of Bacchus, were, for tliat crime, transformed into bats ! 
 In classic times, we find many instances of similar revenge. Sternness 
 
NOTES. 27 
 
 * 
 was the prominent featua-c in the character of (he Heathen Gods ; and 
 this feature we are prepared to find embodied in their actions\ But,' from 
 the saints of a religion whose prominent feature is love, we naturally ex - 
 ])ect conduct of a milder cast. Alas ! our expectations are vain. In the 
 legends of Rome, we find the saintly character learfuUy vindictive and 
 unrelenting. A man who got a shirt made on the day of the Assump- 
 tion of our Lady, Ibund it, when about to put it on, oversprinkled with 
 blood! He had reason to congratulate himself that it happened to be the 
 day of Our Lady, for the other saints would not have allrjwed him to 
 escape so easily. A poor wood-feller, having gone out one day to cur 
 wood, as he was raisinir u]) his axe to give the stroke, heard a voice cry- 
 ing, three times, " It is my feast, it is not permitted to work," j>ut con- 
 tinuing his work notVv^ithstanding, both his hands stuck fast to the han- 
 dle of the axe ! But the fate of poor Peter an ox-driver, was still more 
 awful : it happened that, inadvertently, he greased his waggon on the 
 day of Mary Magdalene, and, inmiediately, he beheld his waggon and 
 oxen consumed by fire from heaven, and was himself scorched In a most 
 miserable manner 1! 
 
 10. The pretended efficacy of indulgences was not confined to liviiif^ 
 men, it extended also to the dead. An indulgence might be procured o7i 
 behalf of departed souls, in virtue of which they would obtain reliel 
 from the excruciating torments of the purgatorial state, and be admitted 
 into the felicity of heaven. One cannot help admiring the artful polic}' 
 with Avhich evei-y part of the Pontifical system is contrived, and how al- 
 most all its doctrines are made subservient to the rapacity of its impious 
 chiefs. Of thii>, the invention of the doctrine of p)urgaiory, in connex- 
 ion with that of indulgences, is a striking illustration. Experiment could 
 he made as to the value and the efficacy of ghostly brills, in reference to 
 temporal calamities ; but this could not be so easily done in reference to 
 their success in the unseen state. Artfullj^, therefore, did they contrive 
 the fable of an intermediate state of punishment, and it was owing to the 
 belief of this absurdity, that the doctrine of indulgences proved to be so 
 lucrative. The fiery lake was first of all created, and souls were plunged 
 into it, that the priests might have the pleasure, or rather the projit] ol" 
 fishing them out again. Some are indulged so far as not to go there at 
 all ; while other poor soids are left to welter there for thousands of years, 
 without any pity from the merciless priests, for no other sin of them or 
 their surviving friends than the damnable one of poverty ! 
 
 A celebrated preacher of the fifteenth century, in discoursing of the 
 ]iains of purgatory, and exhorting his audience to contribute liberally for 
 the redemption of such as sulfered them, assured the people that the tor 
 mented souls heard the sound of the moijey, when it fell into the basin, 
 and no sooner did it play tin, tin, tin, than they burst into laughter, hci. 
 lia, ha! hi, hi, hi! 
 
 11. A man convicted of a multitude of crimes, souglit impunity for all 
 ] lis enormities at the foot of the altar. The viceroy Gelves caused him to 
 
 he dragged from thence- This act of necessary justice was construed I 
 into airoutrao"e against the divinitv. The thunder of excommunication 
 
28 NOTES. 
 
 was immediately sent forth, and the people rose. The regular and sec- 
 ular clergy took up arms ; the palace of the commander was burnt ; hi^- 
 guards, triends, and partizans were put to the sword ; he himself was 
 put in irons, and sent to Europe, with seventy gentlemen, who had not 
 been afraid to espouse his cause. The archbishop, who was the cause 
 of all these calamities, and whose vengeance was not yet satisfied, pur- 
 sued his victim with the wish and desire of sacrificing him. The court- 
 after having hesitated for some time, decided at length in favor of fanati- 
 cism. The defender of the rights of the throne and of order, was con- 
 demned to total oblivion, and his successor was authorized solemnly io 
 consecrate all the notions of superstition, and particularly the superstition 
 of asylums. 
 
 At Turin, in 1732, a soldier on the parade shot the captain of hi.^ 
 company dead in the ranks, and walked deliberately into a church. 
 Here he was safe, as long as the monks were pleased to protect him, atxl 
 tlie king dared not to proceed against him. After many intreatics, the 
 monks did indeed turn him ont, and he was broken alive on the wheel ; 
 but in all this there was implied a degrading acknowledgement of their 
 power to screen even the most atrocious ofienders. " The practice of 
 assassination, so frequent in Italy, was at first occasioned by the number 
 of asylums. If a ruffian were to assassinate my neareivt relative, and ruj t 
 to one of these asylums, he is safe ; should he afterwaj'ds obtain absolu- 
 tion, he may then walk the streets in perfect safety. What, then, must 
 I patiently bear this ? No, 1 w^ill kill him in return, and run to an asylum 
 myself In this way, assassination probably commenced, till it became 
 so .o-eneral that it was no longer disgraceful.-' 
 
 12. On the subject of Indulgences, Gandolphy, a Roman Priest pub- 
 lished a work, approved by the highest ecclesiastical authorities at Rome. 
 Sanctioned as it is by the head of the Papal church, it demonstrates that 
 Poi>eTyTs unchanged by the lapse of ages, — that its features are, at this 
 mom.ent, not one whit less revolting than they appeared in the twelfth, 
 or in the sixteenth century, and that her opinion, in reference to the 
 doctrine of indulgences, has undergone no alteration. Having quoted, 
 as the warrant foT- that doctrine, the declarations and the examples oi' 
 many pontilTs, the decrees of many councils, and particularly these words 
 of the Council of Trent — " The power to grant indulgences has been 
 given to tlie church by Jesus Christ, and the use of them is beneficial to 
 salvation ; and the power ought to be retained, yet, nevertheless, used 
 with moderation, lest ecclesiastical discipline should be weakened by an 
 over great facility :" — he then states the grand principle on which the 
 doctrme is founded : " All the good works of the just have a double value, 
 in the sight of God, — one of merit, the other of satisfaction ; that is, one 
 giving a title to recompense hereafter, the other constituting an equiv^a- 
 lent lor the temporal punishment of sin. Thus every good work has a 
 double claim on the bounty of God, one in quality of merit, the other in 
 quahty of satisfaction, and as the satisfaction arising out of the good 
 works of the saints far exceeds their temporal debt to the justice of God, 
 it becomes a balance in lavor of the church,, which, through the infinite 
 mercies of Jesus Christ, she is authorised to apply to the exigencies ol" 
 
» NOTES. 20 
 
 Iier other children. -' Whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shsU be loorsed 
 hi heaven." Which treasure, derived from tlie virtues of the sainfp, 
 through the superabundant merhs of Jesus Christ, forms an inexliuusti- 
 ble stock of satisfaction, which the church, and the chief pastor, are em- 
 powered to apply to the general advantage of the faithful. •' Peter feed 
 my lambs, feed my sheep." Moylan, of Cork, issued on a late occasion, 
 a Declaration of Plenary Indulgence and Jubilee, for the building of ci 
 Popish Cathedral in Cork. In the Letter which lie issued in this case, 
 he proclaimed, in imitation of the example of Leo X, and of his present 
 master, the reigning Pope, not only the remission of temporal censures, 
 but of the future punishments of sin in the world to come ! This letter 
 he ordered to be publicly read, in every chapel of his diocese, on fbui- 
 successive Sundays. His Jubilee continued about a whole month, on 
 account of the multitudes who came from all parts to take advantage 
 of the Plenary Indulgence, or full remission of sins ; and it is stateTl, 
 that " the pecuniary payments required of those who came to receive 
 the indulgence, though reduced so low as twopence to each person of tho 
 lower order in the vast crowd, amounted to a large sum !" In his Letter 
 are found the following words of expostulation with his flock, in refer- 
 ence to the indulgence : " It is written, that God will hear us in the. 
 acceptable time ! Ah ! profit of them. Be reconciled to your offended 
 God. If you neglect this grace, if" you suffer this holy time of indulgence 
 to pass without profiting by it, there is every reason to fear that thi-. 
 time of God's mercy shall pass from you never more to return ! Were 
 your sins as red as scarlet, by the grace of the absolution, and tlie appli- 
 cation of this plenary indulgence, your souls shall become white as 
 snow r' 
 
 13. Peace was given to Germany, and the liberty of professing their 
 religion to the Protestants, by the arrangements wliich were agreed on 
 betAveen the Emperor Charles and the princes of the Reformed faith, 
 and which, in 1532, were ratified in the Diet at Ratisbon. But the 
 Pope was offended beyond measure on account of the concessions which 
 had been made to the Protestants, and ceased not his remonstrances till 
 they were revoked, and till a war for religion was rekindled. In the 
 conclusion of that war, the Landgrave of Hesse having made terms of 
 pacification with the emperor, was in violation of the treaty, and of the 
 imperial faith which had been pledged to him, made a prisoner. The 
 Duke of Saxony, resenting the perfidy, had again recourse to arms, ami 
 brought Charles to the peace of Passau, in which it was provided, that 
 nehher party should be injured on account of their religion. This 
 treaty was confirmed at the next Diet of Augsburg. Soon, however, it 
 was overturned. War was rekindled, and the Protestant interest was 
 extinguished in Bohemia. The flame spread over all Germany, and, 
 indeed, almost throughout Europe. Furiously did it rage lor thirty 
 years, filling Germany with devastation and blood, but at length was 
 terminated by the peace of Westphalia. It was, on the whole, emi- 
 nently favorable for the Protestants, securing them in the enjoyment 
 of many a privilege which they had long contended for in vain. Agahist 
 
 •J '" 
 
;J0 NOTES. 
 
 It, however^ the Pope solemnly protested, declaring it to be derogatoiy 
 to the interests of the church, and therefore null and void. Alas I mat- 
 ters had undergone a mighty alteration in the states of Europe, else hi:^ 
 protestation had been found to be something else than a telum imbelle. 
 Dire necessity compelled the popish princess to regard the treaty. With a 
 multitude of indirect infractions of it, they were chargeable, but political 
 reasons weighed with them to prevent its open and positive violation. 
 
 The same arrogant claims are still made by the pontiffs on behalf 
 of the church ; and the same infamous principle, by whose operation the 
 states of Europe were formerly afflicted and degraded ; that the pleas- 
 ure of the Pope can make void even the most solemn obligations, would 
 be still, if it were possible, most rigorously enforced. In the treaty Avhich 
 was concluded in 1707, between the Emperor and Charles XII. several 
 concefsions of importance were made to the Protestants. At this the 
 Pope Clement XI., was full of indignation, and immediately writing to 
 the emperor, condemned it in the following terms : ' We do, by these 
 presents, denounce, and, by the authority given to us by Almighty God, 
 we declare, that the foresaid articles of the Treaty of Alt Ranstadt, and 
 the other things contained in it, which hurt the ecclesiastical authority, 
 jurisdiction, and rights whatsoever, and in what manner soever, v,'ith all 
 and every present and every future consequence of them, have been from 
 the very beginning, are now, and forever shall be, null and void, and 
 that no one is bound to observ^e them, or any of them, even although they 
 have been often ratified and confirmed by oath !' Still more presumptu- 
 ous is the following language of another Pope: "Urban V. &c. Truly it 
 has come to our ears, that not only Winceslaus, King of the Romans, 
 but also his father, Charles, Emperor of the Romans, did, either con- 
 junctly or severally, enter into certain confederacies, leagues, &c. v.'itli 
 divers kings and princes, and that some of those kings and princes, either 
 at that time or afterwards, became open schismatics or heretics, ami 
 were separated from the unity of the Roman Church, — Therefore we, 
 considering that such confederacies, engagements, leagues, &c. made 
 with those who had become schismatics and heretics, are rash, unlawful, 
 and, of very deed, null, though perhaps they were made before the lapse 
 of tliose persons into schism and heresy, notwithstanding they may have 
 been confirmed by oath or promise, or the apostolic sanction, or streno;th- 
 ened by any other authority whatever : — we, being desirous to obviate 
 the danger of souls, as well to the said king, as to all others whom it 
 does or may concern, do therefore, by these presents, strictly prohibit 
 them from keeping those confederacies, leagues, or conventions, in any 
 part, themselves, and from allowing them in any manner to be observed 
 by others ! !" The same pontiff wrote to the Abbot of Gall, in Switzer- 
 land, respecting a treaty which, in 1718, he had entered into with the 
 Protestant canton of Berne, telling him, among other things, '■ that he 
 and his successors were not bound to observe the articles of that treaty, 
 any more than if they had never been agreed to." Who will affirm, in 
 the face of these melancholy facts, that the atrocious principle of not 
 keeping faith with heretics, when the interest of the church requires, and 
 opportunity permits it to be violated, is ziot recognised and avowed by 
 the Papal See? 
 
CHAPTER HI. 
 
 1. TRIUMPH OF POPERY OVER HUMAN RELATIONSHIP. 
 
 John Diaz, a Spaniard, having studied theology for some time ai: 
 l^aris, became acquainted with the Scripture?, and the writings of the 
 reformers, and embraced their doctrine. He went first to Gene\Ti, where 
 he cukivated friendship with Calvin; and afterwards to Stnisburo-, 
 where he became t3ie intimate Iriend and coheagne of Bucer, who made 
 him accompany him to the diet of Katisbon. He had there an inter 
 view with Malvenda, whom he had formerly known at Paris, who de- 
 plored his change; and professed the utmost surprise at finding him en- 
 gaged in the interests and society of Protestants, who would triumph 
 •more, he said, in having proselyted one Spaniard, than some thousands 
 of Germans ; intreating him to regard his reputation, and not bring 
 such a foul stain on himself, his family and nation. When this made 
 T10 impression, Malvenda endeavored to Avork on his fears, representing 
 the great power of the Pope, the dreadful nature of his excommimica- 
 tion, the wrath of Cesar, &c. But Diaz, unmoved by all tliese arts, 
 boldly avowed and vindicated his faith, professing his resolution to abide 
 by the true religion, to whatever dangers he might be exposed. Where 
 upon Malvenda immediately gave information and complaint against 
 liim to the Emperor's priest. Alphonso, the brother of Diaz, who was 
 a lav»yer in the court of Rome, having heard of his heresy, went in 
 haste to Ratisbon. Not finding him there, he posted to Newburg, and 
 renewed all the entreaties of Malvenda ; earnestly invitino- him to Rome, 
 and promising a yearly salary, provided he would comply. BalHed in 
 every attempt, the subtle advocate confessed that he was overcome, and 
 pretended the highest love for the evangelic doctrine, but expressed a 
 v/ish that his brother should remove with Jiim to Italy, where he mighl 
 have a better opportunity of spreading the doctrine of the Reformation 
 in Naples, and of extending it thence into his native country. John 
 overjoyed at the change, consulted his Protestant friends, v/ho dissuad- 
 ed him from complying with the flattering proposals. Alphonso then 
 requested that his brother would only accompany him as far as Augs- 
 burg, but this he also declined. Alphonso at length took his leave, alter 
 professions of the most cordial affection, exhorting his brother to con- 
 4aiicy, and declaring himself happy in having, by his conversation, in 
 
32 NOTES. 
 
 a few days', made such proficiency in the true knowledge of God. Ht 
 intreated liim, moreover, to write to him 5 and obhged him to accept of 
 some money, as a token of his fraternal kindness. With mutual en 
 dearments, a.id a profession of tears on both sides, he w^ent into his 
 chariot and departed. The ialse brother had not proceeded far, when 
 he stopped short, hired an assassin, procured a hatchet, prepared a let- 
 ter, and drove directly back to Newburg, where he arrived early in 
 the morning. Leaving his horses at the gates, he led the murderer to 
 the house of his brother, and sent him witli the letter, while he watch- 
 ed at the door, that nothing might prevent the execution of the enter- 
 prise. The minister, hearing of a message from his brother, hastily 
 rose out of bed, walked to the next chamber in his cap and night-gown, 
 received the letter from the hand of the messenger, who expressed great 
 solicitude for his safety, cautioning him against Malvenda, and all such 
 enemies of the gospel. But scarcely had he begun to read, when the 
 ruffian from behind struck him with the hatchet, and cleft his head in 
 two, even to his shoulders, so that he instantly fell down dead, without 
 attering a word. The assassin left the bloody weapon sticking in the 
 body, and fled with the unnatural monster who employed him. The 
 murderers w^ere arrested, but the Emperor pretending to take the case 
 •under his own cognizance, set justice at defiance, and screened the sa- 
 vage brother, and the foul perpetrator of the horrid crime from the pu- 
 nishment which they deserved. Such, Avhen Popish principles take 
 full and firm hold of the mind, is the dreadful length to which they 
 will carry their abused disciples. 
 
 A Roman girl lived with a pious baker ; the piety of the family so 
 wrought upon lier, that she began to read the Bible, attending family 
 worship, and at length the church. This coming to the knowledge ol" 
 her parents, they sent for her, under pretence that her mother was very 
 ill, and not expected to live. After she had been absent some days, the 
 baker, apprehensive that she had been inveigled aAvay, went in com- 
 pany with a friend to her parent's house. On asking for her, they were 
 told that she had left home for some days, and they did not know where 
 she was ; but while they were speaking, the master heard the girl's 
 voice expressive of distress, and it turned out, that she was locked up 
 without food, and threatened with starvation, if she did not abjure her 
 heresy, and return to the Papal church. Finding remonstrances in vain, 
 he determined to go to a magistrate, and give notice of the girl's capti- 
 vity ; but on the way he and' his friend were assailed by a mob of 20C» 
 persons, who cast stone3 at them, beat them unmercifully, and at 
 length dragged them, bleeding and nearly senseless, into a chapel be- 
 fore an image of the Virgin Mary, vowing that the heretics should 
 worship it, if they meant to escape with their lives." 
 
 2. Under the pontificate of Paul II. a bull was emitted from Rome 
 respecting the conduct of the clergy, particularly those of Spain, in re- 
 ference to the sacrament of confession. — " Whereas certain ecclesiastics 
 in the kingdom of Spain, and in the cities and dioceses thereof, having 
 the cure of souls, or exercising such cure for others, or otherwise deput- 
 ed to hear the confessions of penitents, have broken out into such hein- 
 ous acts of iniquity, a;^ to abuse the sacrament of penance in the very 
 
NOTES. s'i 
 
 act ol' hearing the confessions, not fearing to entice and provoke female.- 
 to lewd actiong, at the very time vvlien they were making their confer 
 sions."— The introduction of this document into Spain, brought to jjo-li; 
 in a most appalling manner, the wretched condition into which doMiesiic 
 society had been reduced by the influence of the Papal institutions.- 
 When this bull was first introduced i.nto Spain, the in(|uir~itor.s publi.sJied 
 a solemn edict in all the churches belonging to Seville; tliat any person 
 knowing or having heard of any Iriar or cleroyman's having connnitted 
 the crime oi' abusing the sacrament of confession, or in any manner hav 
 ing improperly conducted himself daring the confessioji of a female peni 
 tent, should make a discovery of what he knew, within thirty days, to 
 the holy tribunal ; and very heavy censures were attached to those who 
 should neglect or despise this injunction. When this edict was first pub- 
 lished, such a considerable number of lemales went to the palace ol'tho 
 inquisitor, only in the city of Seville, to reveal the conduct of their infa- 
 mous contiissors, that twenty notaries, and as many inquisitors, were ap 
 pointed to minntedown their several informations against them : but these, 
 being found insufficient to receive the depositions of so many witnesses : 
 and the inquisitors being thus overwhelmed, as it were, with the pressun ■ 
 of such ahairs, thirty days more w^ere allowed for taking the accusa- 
 tions; and this lapse of time also proving inadequate to the intended 
 purpose, a similar period was gt anted, not only lor a third but a fourth 
 time. The ladies of rank, character, and noble families, had adifRcull 
 part to act on this occasion, as their discoveries could not be made at any 
 particular time and place. On one side, a religious fear of incurring the 
 threatened censures, goaded their consciences so much as to compel them 
 to make the required accusations ; on the other side, a regard to their 
 husbands, to whom they justly feared to give offence, by aflbrding them 
 any motives for suspecting th^nr private conduct, induced them to kee)) 
 at home. To obviate these difficulties, they had recourse to the measure 
 of covering their faces with a veil, according to the fashion of Spain, and 
 thus went to the inquisitors in the most secret manner they could adopt. 
 Very few, however, escaped the vigilance of their husbands, who. on 
 being informed of the discoveries and accusations made by their wives, 
 were filled with suspicions • and yet, notwithstanding this accumulation 
 of proofs against the confessors, produced to the in(iuisitors, this tri 
 . bunal, contrary to the expectations of every one, put an end to the 
 business, by ordering that all crimes of this nature, should be consigned 
 to perpetual silence and oblivion ! 
 
 3. An Auto da fe, or act of Faith, was an execution by the authorit\- 
 of the inquisition. The siglit of such a spectacle was horrible in the ex^ 
 treme: and the very meiiti/^n of its atrocities, with the callousness and 
 triumph which ihe cruel spectators manifested, would make a mind no' 
 altogether void of human sensibility, shudder. The unhappy victims- 
 alter having breathed, lor years togellier, tlie pestilential vapours o» ;■ 
 solitary dungeon, and after enduring the most excruciating tor.mv.- 
 which malig'nity could suggest, or baibarity inflict, were dragged n-om 
 their scenes of misery, given over to the civil power, as hopeless and ita 
 penitent, and, amid circumstances of awful solemnily, comnntied-to tho 
 
34 NOTES. 
 
 flames. On tlie preceding festival, or Sunday, intimation of the ap 
 preaching execution was made in the churches, and the people were 
 invited and encouraged to be present. In consequence, the ecclesiastic?? 
 issued from the convents and churches, and crowded to the spot ; the 
 standard of the Inquisition Avas unfurled, the heretics in sackcloth mov- 
 ed mournfully along, and silence was not interrupted, save by the toiling 
 of the cathedral -bell, Avhose hollow sound, at intervals, falling on the ear. 
 announced the sad business of the day. From all quarters of the nation 
 in which it took place, and even from other lands, did the princes and 
 the grandees resort to the tragedy, as to a magnificent entertainment. 
 Phiir]3 II. was accustomed to enjoy an Auto-da-fe as much as a theatri- 
 cal exhibition, and one Avas actually prescribed to Charles II. as a medi- 
 cine and cordial. Ladies also, casting off tlie sensibility of their sex, and 
 trampling on the common feelings of humanity, rejoiced when they 
 should have Avept, and gloried in their shame. The convulsions of ex- 
 piring felloAV creatures, made the smile of triumph to play upon their 
 countenance, and the shrieks and groans of a martyr in the flames, in- 
 stead of draAving forth the sigh of female commiseration, only served to 
 add fuel to their dismal joy. in truth, they dared not Aveep, Sympathy 
 in such a case AA-as no A-enial sin. Philip III. for giving vent to his 
 natural feelings, and permitting on one occasion a tear to tall from his 
 eye, forfeited, in expiation of his crime, a drop of blood, Avhich Avas taken 
 from him by the Inquisitor-general, and burnt by the common execu- 
 tioner. Grief, therefore, Avas banished from the spectators of these atroci- 
 ties. Joy, tlie joy of minds degraded and brutalized, beamed in every 
 countenance, and every heart experienced additional delight by the re- 
 peated symptoms of agony that Avere beheld in the poor sufferer. The 
 preacher who officiated, A\'hen the grand Auto-da-fe, prescribed to 
 Charles II., Avas executed, and Avho, if tenderness was to be met Avith, 
 ought to ha\-e possessed it, on seeing a hundred and tAventy persons ready 
 to be cast into the fire, exultingly exclaimed, " Oh ! thou tribunal, for 
 boundless ages mayest thou keep us firm in the faith, and promote the 
 punishment of the enemies of God. Of thee I may say A\diat the Holy 
 Spirit said of the church, ' Thou art fair my love, thou art fair as the 
 tents of Kedar, as the sightly curtains of Solomon !'' 
 
 4. INTOLERANCE OF THE PAPACY. 
 
 It Avas not merely in the ages of darkness that preceded or oven in 
 the times of contention Avhich folloAA-ed the Reformation, that intolerance 
 ■^vas the prominent feature iu the principle and practice of the Paptd 
 Ci^urch. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries has it been mani- 
 f'csted, that her character in this respect is unchanged. Intolerance ha.- 
 been aA-owcd as her principle, and has been on many occasions reduced 
 lr- practice. A fcAV years only haA^e elapsed, since the predecessor of the 
 
NOTES. -^5 
 
 ialc Poiitifi' dcckircd, '• That tlie toleration of oilier religions U incon- 
 sistent with the doctrines of Rome." It is a fact, that, every year on 
 the Thursday preccdin^^ Easter, one of the most solemn excoinmun'ica- 
 tions of Rome is denounced, in which, amid circumstances of n-roat ex- 
 ternal pomp, all heretics, and schismatics, and all persons contumacion-- 
 and disobedient to the Papal See, arc anathematized. In this siiKTular 
 document, which is a stand in or memorial of the unabated intoleraiice of 
 the Papal church, are the foUowiiio; sentences. 
 
 III.—" We excommunicate ancf anathematize, in the name of God 
 Almighty, Father, Son. and Holy Ghos!, and by the authority of the 
 blessed Apostles, Peter and Paul, and by our own ; all Hussites, Wick- 
 liffites, Lutherans, Zuinglians, Calvinists, Hugonots, Anabaptists, Tri- 
 nitarians, and apostates Irom the Christian faith ; and all other heretics, 
 by whatsover name they arc called, and of whatsoever sect they be ; as 
 also, their adherents, receivers, favorers, and generally, any defenders 
 ;f them; together with all who, without our authority, or that of the 
 Vpostolic See, knowingly read, keep, print, or, anyways, lor any cause 
 ^vhatsoever, pubhcly or privately, on any pretext or cc'lor, deleiid their 
 books containing heresy, or treating ol" religion ; as also schismatics, and 
 those who withdraw themselves, or recede obstinately from the obedi- 
 ence of us, or the' Bishop of Rome lor the time being." 
 
 IX. — " Farther, we excommunicate and anathematize all who, by 
 themselves or others, give intelligence of matters relating to the state 
 of Christendom, to tlie Turks and enemies of the Christian religion, to 
 the hurt and prejudice of Christians, or to heretics, to the prejudice of 
 Ihe Popish relig'ion^ or who anyways aflbrd to them counsel, assistance, 
 m: favor, notwithstanding any privileges hitherto granted by us, and the 
 iilbresaid See, to any persons, princes, or commonwealths, wherein ex- 
 press mention is not made of this express prohibition." 
 
 XVII. — " Also all those who, under pretence of their office, or, at the 
 instance of any party, or of any otliers, draw, or cause and procure to be 
 drawn, directly or indirectly, upon any pretext whatsoever, ecclesiastical 
 persons, chapters, convents, colleges of any churches, before them to their 
 tribunal, audience, chancery, council of parliament, against the rules 
 of the canon law ; as also those, who, lor any cause, or under any pre- 
 text, or by pretence of any custom or privilege, or any other way, shall 
 make, enact, and publish any statutes, orders, constitutions, ])ragmatics, 
 or any other decrees in general or in particular ; or shall use them when 
 made and enacted, whereby the ecclesiastical liberty is violated, or any 
 ways injured or depressed, or by any other means restrained ; or whereby 
 the rights of us, and of the said See, and of any other churches, are any 
 way, directly, or indirectly, tacitly or expressly, prejudged." 
 
 The claim is still put forth by the Papal See on behalf of its clergy. 
 that they should be totally independent of the civil power ! 
 
 XIX. — " Also those who usurp any jurisdictions, fruits, revenues, and 
 emoluments belonging tons and the Apostolic Sec, and any ecclesiastical 
 persons, upon account of any churches, monasteries, or other ecclesiasti- 
 cal benefices ; or who, upon any occasion or cause, se^iuester the said 
 revenues, without the express leave of the Bishop of Rome, or others haw- 
 ing lawful power to doit." 
 
^6 ' . x\OTES. 
 
 All Protestpju govemirients are annually placed under the solcniii 
 (■urse of the Pa])al Church. 
 
 XXIX. — '• Moreover, that the processes themselves, and these pre- 
 sent letters, and all and every thinn^ contained in them, may become 
 njore manifest by beino; published in many cities and places ; we, by 
 these writings, intrust, and, in virtue of holy obedience, strictly charg'e 
 and command all and singular patriarchs, primates, archbishops, bishops, 
 ordinaries of places, and prelates, wheresoever constituted, that, by 
 tliemseives or some other, or others, after they shall have received tliese 
 present letters, or have knowledge of them, they solemnly publish thera 
 in their churches once a year, or oftener, if they sec convenient, when 
 the greater part of the people should be met for celebration of divine 
 service ; and that they put faithlul christians in mind of them, relate 
 'them, and declare them."' 
 
 Practical demonstrations have been given, even in recent times, of 
 Roman intolerance. " By an edict of Louis XV. 1724, all marriages 
 not celebrated by priests ol Rome, are declared concubinage, and the 
 children of such marriages bastards. The laws of France also ordain 
 that, before marriage, the parties shall confess, and receive the Lord's 
 Supper. As Protestants could not do this without renouncing their re- 
 ligion; and as, since the revocation of the Edict of Nantz,^they had 
 been deprived of their churches ; their marriages were solemnized in 
 the open fields, and hence called marriages of the desert. Many are the 
 oppressions they have on this account endured. The tender connection 
 of husband and wiie, by the laws of tlie state, and decisions of Parlia- 
 ment, was considered as infamous ; and for no other crime, the married 
 persons were imprisoned, sent to the galleys, or by exorbitant fines re- 
 duced to poverty. Innocent infants Avere condemned to the shame and 
 UTetchedness ol being accounted children of uncleanness. The Papal clergy, 
 attended by bailiffs, broke into houses in the night, destroyed every thing, 
 tore children vdio had reached four years of age from the bosoms of pa- 
 rents, and placed them under the direction and government of monks, 
 parents being obliged to defray the charge of educating them in a reli- 
 gion which they detested. If children escaped, the father was forced to 
 pa}' an enormous fine, or to piue away in a gloom.y dungeon. From 
 1751 to 1753, many such hellish scenes were transacted in a nation, 
 which prides itself as the patron of humanity and politeness. The in- 
 lendant of Languedoc enjoined, 1751. that all children baptized by Pro- 
 testants, should be rebaptized in the Romish church ; and that the mar- 
 riages of Protestants should be rendered legitimate only by the priest's 
 subsequent blessing. Men present at religious assemblies were punish- 
 ed with the galleys ; \yomen with perpetual imprisonm.ent ; preachers 
 with the halter. Ii-istructions, consolations, and sacraments, were pro- 
 hibited to Protestants. Even on their death-beds they were tormented 
 by the unwelcome visits of monks and priests ; and when they heroically 
 retained to the last breath the Protestant faith, their dead bodies were 
 dragged through tlie streets, and thrown upon dunghills. The severe 
 laws from which these evils arose, remained unrepealed ; and the exe- 
 cution of tliem depended on the humor of bisho])?, an.d their attendants • 
 
NOTES. 3: 
 
 complaints of these cruelties were considered as seditious ; and escaping 
 ihem, by leaving the kingdom, was not allowed. So deeply did an in- 
 tolerant spirit debase human nature, and produce barbarities which 
 would shock a Huron." 
 
 " In the memorial, which Pauli Rabaut, the eldest ot tlie Protestant 
 ministers at Nismes, presented to de Paulmy, lie gave a hvely picture 
 of what his brethren in Languedoc had suffered for ten years past. At- 
 tending religious assemblies was punished with banishment, imprison 
 inents, scourging, the galleys, death. Parties ot soldiers attack their 
 defenceless meetings, and wound, maim, or kill men, women and chil- 
 dren. Bibles found in the possession of any were burnt, and the pos- 
 sessors put to death. Husbands, Avives, and children were torn from one 
 another's arms, that the children might be rebaptized and educated in 
 Popery, and the parents compelled to renounce their religion. By the 
 violence of the soldiers, massacres were committed in pnvate houses ; 
 and many, whom they seized, were hanged, and their carcasses cast on 
 the dunghills. All this happened, says he, in our enlightened country 
 and in the most polite and civilized nation. It is no wonder that despair 
 drove some to violent measures in self-defence, and that many souo-ht 
 safety by flight. Their bowels were rent, by taking from them AvTiat 
 in the world was dearest to them. In the most Christian kingdom, a 
 dark dungeon, or the galleys, or death, was his reward, who would not 
 live as an atheist, without Avorshipping God; and complaints of thi? 
 l^arbarous treatment were accounted crimes."' 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 1. " In Antrim; Armagh, and Londonderry, the number of educated 
 children is, to the whole population, in the proportion of one to twelve : 
 and these are peaceable, quiet counties. But, in the county of Limerick 
 — Limerick, well known by its atrocities and murders — What is the 
 number of children educated there? one to nme hundred and seventy- 
 seven ! In the province of Ulster, one to seventeen ; and in Munster, 
 one to five hundred !" 
 
 2. " We might have lived for ever in peace and harmony," observed 
 the vicar of Constance, " though there had been never such a thino; as a 
 Bible ;" — and Cardinal Hosius observed, in the same spirit, " that the 
 affairs of the church would have been on a much better footing, if the 
 Gospels had never been written." Learning fell into as much disrepute 
 as the Bible among the clero;y of the old establislim.ent. " To understand 
 Greek rendered a man liable to be suspected of heresy, and Hebrew ol" 
 more." In 1523, the magistrates of Lucerne having ordered the house 
 of Colinus, a learned professor, to be searched for heretical books, one 
 of the monks who performed the office, meeting with a Homer, called 
 out, " This is Lutheran, all that is Greek is Lutheran !" — " There is a 
 new language called Greek, invented by the heretics," said a preacher 
 to his congregation, " and a book printed in that language called the 
 New Testament, which contains many dangerous things. Hebrew is 
 another new language ; whoever learns it becomes a Jew 1 1" 
 
 3. Through the stillness and sullenness of that awful night, indeed, a 
 solitary star did sometimes appear, attempting to scatter, in some faint 
 degree, the surrounding darkness ; and, amid the great intellectual and 
 moral waste which the world in those ages presented to view, there 
 does- here and there meet t-lie eye a green spot, on which we love to 
 linger— just as the wearied traveller, after toiling for days together 
 among the horrors of an African desert, lights him, at last, on some ver- 
 dant spot, enjoys it with rapture, and leaves it with reluctance, casting 
 back T.0 it many a longing, lingering look ! 
 
 One, of the few celebrated names tliat can be found in the history of 
 the dark ages is that of Bacon. This great man, borne up by the vigor 
 of his own unaided genius, rose superior to that formidable despotism 
 which had withered and prostrated the minds of mankind around him, 
 and penetrated into the regions of science with an ardor whicli, under 
 
NOTES. 39 
 
 more auspicious circumslancef^, wou.ci liave been proJuclive of splenditl 
 results. But the time was not yet come, v/licn scientific studies could 
 be prosecuted with impunity. Bacon's career was checked. The Pricst- 
 liood was alarmed lest light shoidd enter, and disturb the peace of their 
 dark dominion. The pursuit of science in which this man of jrcnius 
 ventured to engage, was viewed with suspicion and jealousy : lie was 
 accused of having correspondence with the devil, was tried for magic, 
 and, through the influence of Jerome Esculo, the Pope's Parisian legate, 
 who afterwards ascendeti the papal throne, Avas condenmed to imprison- 
 ment for ten years ! Who feels not his indignation roused when lie pe- 
 ruses the details of this transaotion? What execration do not distant 
 ages owe to those men, who, under the semblance of religion, could treat 
 so ingloriously a man whose only crime was the love of science, and who 
 nobly sought to rise above the pro.;trate world by whom he was sur- 
 rounded. 
 
 Hostility to science is the crime of the papal system. Its aim has been, 
 in all ages, to exclude light, to extinguish ireedom of thought ; and, ac- 
 cordingly, one hundred and fifteen years after the Reformation, we be- 
 hold, in the history of a great philosopher, its hateful and still ]X)tenL 
 arm stretched forth to crush, if it had been possible, the liud of science, 
 which was gradually disclosing its beauties, and diflusingits fragranci- 
 over the world. Galileo had become a convert to the Copernican astro- 
 nomy ; and, by a succession of noble discoveries — the most splendid, per- 
 haps, which it ever fell to the lot of an individual to make— had demon- 
 strated the motion of the earth round the sun. A mind untrammelled 
 by prejudice, would readily judge, that the region of his speculations 
 was a territory which the church had no right, and should have had no 
 desire to invade ; and would imagine, that the slightest attempt to inter- 
 rupt his glorious career would never have been made. As a demonstra- 
 tion, of the inveterate and perpetual warfare that is waged by the pon- 
 tifical church, not against true religion only, but against philosophy and 
 science— let the fact be recorded, that the greatest philosopher of his age 
 Avas accused as a heretic, Avas cast into a dungeon of the iiiquisition. 
 heard the doctrines of his philosophy condemned by tliose priestly bigots 
 Avho had no minds, aPxd Avere not AA-orthy, 1o comprehend them, and had 
 the choice given him of either recanting his opinions, or being burnt to 
 death 1 He did recant. At the age of sev^enty years, on his bended knees, 
 and Avith his hand on the holy Gospels, he condemned the book Aviiich he- 
 liad Avritten, abjured and cursed opinions Avhich he could not cease to hoKl 
 Avithout ceasing to think, and SAVore before God and the Holy Inquisitors, 
 that he Avoukr never more, cither in AA-ord or in Avriting, assert the doc- 
 trines which he had demonstrated and avowed. What a scene of humil- 
 iation Avas this! Who pities not the aged timorous victim of persecution? 
 Who execrates not the hostility of his foes ? The mind of Galileo Avas 
 crushed ; he never afterwards talked or Avrote on the subject of astronomy, 
 i' Such, was the triumph of his enemies, on Avhom ample vengeance 
 Avould long ago haA'e been executed,^ if the indignation and contempt ol 
 posterity could reach the mansions ot" the dead." 
 
 Abjuration of Galileo.—" I Galileus, son of the late Vincentius 
 Galiieus; a Florentine, aged 70, being here personally upon my trial. 
 
40 NOTE&^ 
 
 and on my knees before yon, the most eminent the Lord^, Cardinals, In 
 quistor-General of the universal Christian commonweahh, against here- 
 tical wickedness ; and having before my eyes the most Holy Gospels, 
 which I touch with my proper hands, do swear that I have always be- 
 lieved, and do nov/ believe, every thing which the Roman Church dotli 
 hold, preach, and teach. But whereas, notwithstanding, afier I had 
 been legally enjoined and commanded by this holy office, to abandon 
 wholly that false opinion, which maintains that the sun is the centre o\' 
 the universe, and immoveable, and that I should not hold, defend, or in 
 any way, either by word or writing, teach the aforesaid false doctrine : 
 and whereas, also, after it had been notified to me tliat the aforesaid doc- 
 trine was contrary to the Holy Scriptures, I wrote and published a book, 
 in which I treated of the doctrine which had been condemned, and pro- 
 duced reasons of great force in lavor of it, without giving any answers 
 to them, for which I have been judged by the holy office to have incur- 
 red a strong suspicion of heresy, for believing that the sun is the centre of 
 the world, and that the earth is not the centre, but moves. Being there- 
 fore willing to remove from the minds of your eminences, and of every 
 Christian, the strong suspicion which has been legally conceived against 
 me, I doj with a sincere heart, and a true laith, abjure, curse, and de- 
 test not only the aibresaid errors and heresies, but, generally, every other 
 error and opinion which may be contrary to the aforesaid holy church ; 
 and I swear that, for the future, I will never say or assert, either by 
 word or writing, any thing that shall give occasion for a like suspicion : 
 but that, if I should know any heretic, or person suspected of heresy, 3 
 will inform against him to this holy office, or to the inquisitor, or ordinary 
 of the place in which I shall then be. Moreover, I swear and promise, 
 that I will fulfil and fully observe all the penances which have been, oi- 
 shall be hereafter, enjoined me by this holy office. But if, which God 
 forbid it should happen, that I should act contrary to my word, promises, 
 protestations, and oaths, I do hereby subject myself to all the penalties 
 and punishments which have been ordained and published against such 
 ofiisnders by the sacred canons, and other acts both general and particu- 
 lar. So help me God, and these holy gospels which I now touch with mj^ 
 proper hand. I, the abovementioned Galileus, the son of Galileus, have 
 abjured, sworn, promised, and bound ni3*self as above ; and, in testi- 
 mony of these things, I have subscribed, with my own proper hand, the 
 present instruments of my abjuration, and have repeated it, word by 
 word, at Rome, in the Convent of Minerva, this 22d day of July anno 
 1633. I, Galileus, son of Galileus, have abjured, as above, with my own 
 proper hand." 
 
 But that Providence which superintends the affairs of the world, had 
 happier days in store for mankind : days in which this horrible system of 
 restraints and punishments was to be overthrown, the human intellect 
 was to be rescued from its long prostration — Religion, restored to her na- 
 tive purit)^, was to gain illustrious triumphs — and science was to reach 
 her splendid trophies — and the light of a glorious improvement, waxing 
 brighter and brighter, was to be shed over and to beautify the aspect of 
 human society. This happier age in the historyof man was introduced and 
 effected by the combined influence of three of those extraordinary events 
 which Divine Providence sometimes brings to pass for the illuminatiaii 
 
NOTES. 41 
 
 and regeneration of a dark and corrupted world— tlic (aking ofConslan 
 tinople by the Turk?, in the middle of the firteentli century, and the con 
 sequent migration of the Greeks of Constantinople to the west ; the dis 
 covery of the art of printing, which took place about the same time ;— 
 and the Reformation by Luther, which signalized the commencement 
 of the ibllowing age. By the first of the.se events, the Greek literati, 
 who had been sheltered in the capital of the east, were dispersed ovei 
 Europe, and the intellectual riches of antiquity were, through their in- 
 strumentality, placed before the Avestern world. By the second, facilities 
 were afforded for tiie extensive dissemination of ancient literature, and 
 for gratifying that ardent desire after literary and religious knowledge, 
 which, shortly after, was universally expressed. But the Reformation 
 was necessary to overthrow that power whicli was tlie sworn, and deter- 
 mined, and ibrmidablc protrectress of the reign of darknes.^, and to give 
 scope for the operation, and stability to tlie influence, ot the other 
 auspicious occurrences. Through the combined influence of these im- 
 portant events, intelleet was roused from its stagnation, the long lost, 
 rights of mind began to be appreciated, and that contest commenced, 
 which triumphantly terminated in the mind's emancipation. The ac- 
 quisition of religious liberty was, indeed, the primary object ol that me 
 morable struggle which took place throughout Europe in consequence 
 of the Reibrmation ; but the transition was an easy and a rapid one, to 
 liberty of thought and investigation on general subjects. The Avorks oi" 
 the poets, the orators, and the philosophers of antiquity, pregnant "vvith 
 Jibcral sentiment and patriotic enthusiasm, sent forth their spirit with the 
 rapidity and the force of lightning over the awakening world, and co- 
 operated with tlie writings of the reformers, and the reviveil literature 
 of modern times, in crumbling to ruin the systems of intellectual and 
 spiritual oppression, by which Europe had been blighted andclegraded 
 ibr a thousand years. Thus was the reign of mind, when banished from 
 the east, established in the west, and, from that era, commenced the pe- 
 riod of intellectual activity, which has crowned the modern nations— 
 with 'substantial and permanent glory. 
 
 The principle to which the w^orld, previous to that time, had done 
 homage,, not only in religious but in philosophical and scientific 
 pursuits, was " Believe." the principle which, tVom that time, has 
 been adopted as the basis of intellectual and moral culture, is " Exa- 
 mine ;" and it is only necessary to reflect for a moment on the im- 
 mense difference between these' tv/o principles, in order to perceive, 
 that under the government of the one, society must assume an aspect 
 entirely different from that which it assumes under the other. The 
 principle of examination calls forth light, of which it is the friend : 
 that of Wind submission is the promoter of darkness. He who is a 
 slave in his mind, in the very centre of being, without knowing that 
 he is so, is a slave in his whole conduct. He is a slave by birth, 
 from the stupefaction and apathy which unnerve his faculties. But 
 the man who is free in the inmost sanctuary of his soul, is really 
 free. Nobly and boldly does he look around liim : he becomes active, 
 enterprising, and fitted Ibr every thing that is great and useful. The 
 progress of kuov/ledge from this period \vp<s rapid ; and the exertmn^ 
 
 4* 
 
42 NOTES. 
 
 and the discoveries of the bright constellation of .scientific men, who 
 have since arisen, and who have shed a glorious lustre over the lasi 
 three hundred years, form a striking and delightful contrast to all that 
 prostration of intellect, and all that poverty of invention and of enterprise, 
 ivhich were the melancholy characteristics of preceding times. 
 
 The leading agents in the Protesstant Reformation were themselves 
 distinguished for the love, the cultivation, and the promotion of learning 
 — men who, in point of vigorous minds, and literary accomplish ments^ 
 occupied the first rank in their age ; and, although the great cause of 
 pure religion was that to the vindicatien and advancement of which 
 they chiefly devoted themselves, they were not forgetful ol the interest?; 
 of literature. They felt and lamented that useful knowledge asd learn- 
 ing had been almost extinguished by the system that had been long do- 
 minant in the world ; and, regarding the revival and progress of learn- 
 ing as eminently subservient to their cause, and believing that only error 
 and delusion could thereby be injured, they cultivated science themselves, 
 and exerted all their influence to rouse others to investigation. 
 
 4. In the Index Expurgatorius, published by authority of Rome, not 
 only the writings of the Reformers, and other Protestants, on religion, 
 but also some of the noblest scientific works that have ever issued from 
 {he press, are placed under the barm of the church, and forbidden to be 
 j-ead. 
 
 INDEX EXPURGATORIUS. — In the early ages of the Christian church, 
 there existed no restrictions respecting the reading of books, save tliose 
 which good men thought proper to fmpose on them.selves. The first 
 ecclesiastical prohibition on this subject, is the canon of a council which 
 was held at Carthage, about the beginning of the fifth century; in 
 wdiich, as being pernicious to good morals, the writings of the Pagans 
 were forbidden to be read. Frequently, for political reasons, did the em- 
 perors prohibit the books of heretics ; but from the time when the Papal 
 power was established, and its influence extended over the world, the 
 most vigorous and successful measures were adopted for perpetuating- 
 the darkness of the human mind. 
 
 About the period of tlie Reformation, the Indices Expurgatorii^ or 
 Catalogues of Interdicted Books, were published ; and during the pon- 
 tificate of Paul IV. in 1559, the prohibitory document was settled down 
 into the form which it bears in modern times. Heretofore, those works 
 only had been interdicted whose authors had been condemned as heretics. 
 But now they adv^anced many steps farther, and laid the foundations 
 of a marvellous system of policy for the support and aggrandizement of 
 Papal power, by depriving men of the knowledge which is necessary to 
 defend them from usurpation. The Index now compiled was divided 
 into three parts. The first, contained the names of those authors whose 
 works, of what subject soever they might treat,, were prohibited ; and" 
 in this manner were placed, not only those who diflered in doctrine from 
 the Church of Rome, but many also w^ho lived and died in her conmiu - 
 nion. The second eontained the names of some books of particular au- 
 thoi-Sjthe rest of whose works were not condemned. In the third, by a 
 
NOTES. 4:j 
 
 o'eneral rule, all anonymous book?, publi^llcd al'icr tJic yrar ITjIO, wcir- 
 Ibrbidden. Many authors and books were condemned, which, for 3()(t. 
 200, and 100 years had been read, with the concurrence of tlic pontilfs. 
 and of all the learned men of Rome ; and, stran^Tc as it may >-ecm, then- 
 were included in this class, modern books, some of them printed in Italy, 
 and even in Rome, approved, too, not only by the Iniiuisition, but also 
 by the Pope,— a strikincr example of which is the fact, that the Annota- 
 tions of Erasmus on the New Testament, altlioufrh read, and, in his 
 brief of September 1518, approved, by Leo X. were condemned. Bui 
 the most remarkable circumstance of all, is, that, under colour of faith 
 and religion, all those books are condemned and prohibited, in which ihc 
 authority and the rights of secular princes are defended against ecclesi- 
 astical usurpation; and in which tlie pow'er and privileges of bishops and 
 councils are vindicated from the encroachments of the Roman court : 
 and, in short, all those works in which the mask is stripped away from 
 the system of hypocrisy and tyranny, by which under pretence of reli- 
 gion, the people are deceived. To such an extent, indeed did this horri- 
 ble Inquisition carry its hostility against the liberty of the press, that a 
 catalogue was made out of no fewer than sixty-two printers; and all 
 the works were prohibited which either had been, or might be published 
 by them ; to which proceeding was added this consummation of' inquisi- 
 torial iniquity, that all the books of such other printers as had printed 
 any of the works of heretics were placed under the same prohibition. 
 In consequence of these proceedings, there scarcely remained a book to 
 be read ! And, with such an excess of rigor were tiiese infamous decisions 
 accompanied, that the prohibition of every book in the Index, was on 
 pain of excommunication to the reader, the power being reserved to the 
 Pope of inflicting on the offender, deprivation of office and benefice, in- 
 capacitation, perpetual infamy, and such other arbiti-ary punishments as 
 he might judge to be called tor by the nature of the crime ! Thus did 
 the Court of Rome w^age determined war against the interests of know- 
 ledge and learning ; proving itself the decided toe, not only of pun; 
 Christianity, but of all literature and science, and of every thing that 
 constitutes the ornament, and glory, and delight of human society. Never 
 was an expedient devised more admirably adapted to m.ake men stupid, 
 to degrade them down to the level of irrational beings, and to render 
 them the contented slaves of the most ruthless despotism, than thus to 
 employ religion in opposition to reading and inquiry, and every noble 
 exertion of the human mind. In what a horrible condition of mental 
 slavery might the world have now been, if that colossal power which 
 a long time wielded its sceptre, and crushed the energies of its people, 
 had not been overthrown! How, but for that Reformation, on which 
 multitudes who enjoy its blessings set no value, might we have been at 
 this day, — Christians indeed in name, but as really barbarians in mind 
 and in character, as the rude savage who has never stepped bevond the 
 boundary of his woods, and on whose benighted soul the light of science 
 and of rehgionhas never shined. 
 
 The comparative merits of the two systems, in reference to the en 
 couragement of learning, are strikingly illustrated in the condition oftl)e 
 contiiiental universities : " That men may be qualified for the learned 
 
44 NOTES. 
 
 ])rofes3ion?, and new inventions in the science? promoled, ilie Protestant 
 (German universities supply vacant chairs by men of hterary merit, and 
 who have distinguished tiiemselves by their v^Titings. With the popish 
 universities, a few instances excepted, it is the reverse. Papists upbraid 
 our universities as lairs, where science is exposed to sale, lor attracting 
 foreign purchasers ; while theirs are designed to instruct natiT'es in what 
 is profitable, not to collect strangers from the ends of the earth. Now, 
 Popish universities serve for httle, save the support of the hierarchy. A 
 subtle scholastic philosophy, a casuistry unsuitable to human nature, a 
 study of the fathers, Avithout taste or true criticism, and other dreams of 
 the brain, which have no tendency to make men wiser or better, art- 
 their chief study. A few years only have elapsed, since sound philosoph}',. 
 llie classic authors, history, the law cf nature, chemistry, and even med- 
 icine, and a rational explication of scripture, have been studied ; and, a.-- 
 yet, they flourish m i&w of their universities. Among Protestants, pro- 
 fessors contend who shall excel in science : among papists, what mo- 
 nastic order shall have the greatest influence. Many boasted changes 
 and reformations are little more than one order getting into professor- 
 ships, and excluding another. This determines what system shall be 
 introduced ; whether the Doctor Subtilis, the Doctor Angelicus, or the 
 Doctor Seraphicus, shall darken the understandings of youth ; and whe- 
 ther traditions shall be taught according to Thomas, to Scotus, or to 
 Busenhaum '?"' 
 
 5. To the honor of the reformers ol Scotland, they manifested a noble 
 superiority to that crooked policy. In the genuine spirit ol Christianit}- 
 ihey sought the universal extension of knowledge among their country- 
 men ; and if the liberal and patriotic measures which they proposed had 
 obtained the countenance and co-operation of the Scottish Aristocracy, 
 the people of oar land vrould have been, at this day, much more cn- 
 hghtened than they are, and she could have claimed the glory of being, 
 •in a higher degree than is now the case, the seat of science. One noble 
 achievement they did accomplish — an achievement v/hich, although there 
 vrere not another in their history worthy of being remembered, would 
 surround tlieir memory with imperishable renown. They eflected the 
 establishment ol parochial schools — an institution to whicji, more than to 
 any other, this land is indebted for the diffusion of much useful know- 
 ledge among her people, and for that peculiar complexion of thoughtful 
 intelligencelDy which tliey are generally distinguished, and by which 
 they are elevated, in point of intellectual and moral worth, above all the 
 people of surrounding nations. 
 
 They laid the basis oi that general system of education,|which has proved 
 the greatest blessing that our country has ever enjoyed. The benefits aris- 
 ing from this noble and benevolent institution, have not been confined to 
 the people of our lov/land districts ; they have penetrated even into those 
 momitainous parts of our land which, by their pecular habits, and man- 
 ners, and customs, seemed unhappil}^ separated from its influence; inso- 
 much, that, at this moment, " it is lio uncommon thing for the traveller 
 to meet, even in the highlands of Scotland, a youth attired in the sim- 
 T'lest form ol the garb of his native hills, going to, or returning from 
 
NOTES. 45 
 
 school, with some of the classics of Greece or Home under his nrm, while 
 the flush of a pardonable emulation crimsons the countenance of the live- 
 ly highlander, as the intelligent stranger condescends to incjuire aboni 
 the progress of his studies." Deep is the debt of gratitude, whicli 
 Scotland owes to the plans and the exertions of her Reformers. But 
 for these, the mountain scenery of our land would have still been tbc 
 abode of ignorant, and rugged, and ruthless men. The spirit of darV 
 and desperate hostility would still have been breathed against us by il> 
 people ; and our peaceful plains, would have still, as in the days of old. 
 lain open to the fury of lawless and merciless invaders. It is tbe opern 
 tion of these bequests of reforming times, that has lulled to sleep the fier\ 
 .passions of the Scottish mountaineer, — that has soothed the elements ol 
 revenge, which long time rankled in his breast, — that has sol\ened down 
 the fierceness of the lion to the gentleness of the lamb, — that, in short, 
 has changed ths impetuosity of minds, which were once as rugged as the 
 craggy clilf, and impelled by torrents of passion as boisterous as the moun- 
 tain stream,-^into the stillness of the lake that sleeps softly in the valley. 
 Fcir from being of the opinion which is entertained by .some narrow 
 minds — that there is danger to be apprehended fi-om enlightening the 
 people, and that popular turbulence is connected with popular illumina 
 tion, we are convinced, that in proportion as the people are made to rise 
 in the scale of information, they will rise in moral dignity, and, instead of 
 becoming factious and rebellious, and the ready prey of every political 
 impostor, will be distinguished by those habits of peace and intelligent 
 obedience, which, while they do honor to the subject, are the best and 
 noblest safeguard of the government and the laws. 
 
 6. BULL OF POPE INNOCENT XIU. FOR THE EXTIRPATION OF THE 
 VAUDOIS. 
 
 Innocent, bishop, &c. to Albertusde Capitaneis, ournuntio, and com- 
 missary of the apostolical see, in the dominions of Charles, Duke of Sa- 
 voy, both on this side and that side of the mountains, inthecity of Vi- 
 enne in Dauphiny, and in the city and diocese of Sedun, and the places 
 adjacent. 
 
 \Ve have heard, with great displeasure of certain sons of iniquity, in- 
 habitants of the province of Ambrun, &c. followers of that most perniri 
 ous and abommable sect of wicked men called poor men of Lyons, or 
 Waldenses, which long ago hath most unhappily, damnabiliter, risen up 
 in Piedmont, and the other places adjacent. 
 
 And whereas, Blasius de Mont Royal, ijiquisitor-gcneral in these parts, 
 transported himself into that province, in order to induce them to abjure, 
 but, so far from forsaking their wicked and j^erverse errors, like the deaf 
 adder that shuts its ears, they proceeded to commit yet greater evils than 
 before, not being afraid to preach publicly, and by their preachings, ti' 
 draw others to contemn the excommunications, interdicts, and other con 
 sures of the said inquisitor. 
 
46 NOTES. 
 
 We llicrc.fore. being desirous to pluck up and wholly root out 
 that execrable sect, grant to you a full and entire licence and au- 
 thority to call, and instantly to require, by yourself, or by any other 
 person or persons, all the archbishops and bishops in the Duchy, in 
 Dauphiny, and in the parts adjacent, and to command them, in virtue 
 of holy obedience, together with our ordinaries, or tlieir vicars, or thie 
 officials-general in the cities and dioceses wherein you may see meet, to 
 proceed to the premises, and to execute the office which we have enjoin- 
 ed you ; and, with the aforesaid inquisitor, that they be assisting to you 
 in the things mentJ-^.ued, and with one consent proceed, along with you 
 'to the execution of them,; that the}' take arms against the said Walden- 
 >esand other heretics, and, with common counsels and measures, crush 
 and tread them as venomous serpents; and that, in the extermination 
 and dissipation of these heretics, they apply all their endeavors, and wil- ' 
 lingly bestow all tlieir pains, as in duty bound; and, in fine, that they 
 neglect nothmg which may any way contribute to that design. 
 
 And if you should think it expedient, that all the faithful in those 
 places should carry the salutary cross on their hearts and on their gar- 
 ments, to animate them to fight resolutely against these heretics, — to 
 cause preach and publish the croisade by the Priests, and to grant unto 
 those who take the cross, and fight against these heretics, or who con- 
 tribute thereunto, the privilege of gaining a plenary indulgence, and the 
 remission of all their sins once in their life, and likewise at the point of 
 death, by virtue of the commission given you above ; likewise to com- 
 mand, upon their obedience, and under the pain of the greater excommu- 
 nication, all secular and regular Priests, of w^hatever order they be, 
 mendicants not excepted, exempt and non-exempt, that they excite and 
 inflame these faithful to exteruiinate them utterly by force and fey arms, 
 so that they may assemble with all their strength and powders for re- 
 pelling the common danger ; further, to absolve those who take the cross, 
 fight, or contribute to the w^ar, from all ecclesiastical sentences and pains, 
 whether general or particular, by wdiich tliey may in any manner be 
 bound, excepting those wdiich shall be specially inflicted hereafter, from 
 which the offenders are only to he loosed by previous satisfaction, or the 
 consent of the party; as likewise to dispense with them as to any irreg- 
 ularity they may be chargeable with in divine things, or by any aposta- 
 cy, and to agree and compound with them as to goods which they may 
 have clandestinely or by stealth acquired, or which they dishonestly or 
 doubtfully possess, applying them only for the support of the expedition 
 for extirpating the heretics ; in like manner to commute all vows wdiat- 
 cver, though made with an oath, of pilgrimage, abstinence, and others, 
 excepting only those of chastity, of entering into a religious life, visiting 
 the Holy Land, the sepulchres of the apostles, and the Church of James 
 in Compostella, to those w^ho come forth to this warfare, or who contribute 
 thereto, or who only give as much as the performance of their vows of 
 pdgrimage might probably have cost them, having a respect to the dis- 
 tance of the places, and the condition of the persons, according as shall 
 appear proper to you, or to the confessors deputed by you lor that pur- 
 pose; ill tlic m.ean time to chuse, appoint, and confirm, in our name, and 
 
NOTES. 47 
 
 m the name of the Romish church, one or more captains or leaders (jfthc 
 Avar over tbe crossed soldiers, and the army to be convened, a, id to enjoin 
 and command that they undertake that cliar^re, and i'aifl. fully acciuir 
 themselves in it for the honor and defence of the faith, aiid tiuit all the 
 rest be obedient to him or them ; to grant, lurther, to every olic of them 
 a pennis'jion lo seize and freely possess their goods whether moveable or 
 immoveable, and to give them, for a prey, whatever the heretics have 
 brought to the lands of the Papists, or on tiie contrary, have taken or 
 caused to be taken from them; to command likev/ise all those who are in 
 their service, wherever they be, to depart from them within a limited 
 time which you shall prescribe to them, under whatever pains you shall 
 judge proper; to admonish and require them, and all persons ecclesiasti- 
 cal or secular, of v/hatever dignity, age, sex, or order thc> be, under the 
 pains of excommunication, suspension, and interdict, reverently to oI)ey 
 and observe the apostolical nrandat.es, and to abstain Irom all commerce 
 ■with the foresaid heretics ; and, by the same authority, to declare, that 
 they and all others, whoever they be, who may be bound and obliged by 
 contract, or in any other manner whatever, to assign or pay any thing 
 to them, shall not henceforth be obliged to do so, nor can they be compels 
 ed in any manner of way to it ;— moreover, to deprive all those who do 
 not obey your admonitions and mandates of whatever dignity, state, de- 
 gree, order or preminence they be, ecclesiastics of their dignities, offices, 
 and benefices, and secular persons of their honors, titles, fiefs, and privi- 
 leges, if they persist in their disobedience and rebellion ; and to confer 
 their benefices on others whom you shall account worthy of them, and 
 even on those who may be already possessed of, or CKpecting any other 
 ecclesiastical benefices, in whatever number, or of whatever quality 
 soever they may be ; and to declare these deprived as aforesaid, for ever 
 infamous, and incapable, for the time to come, of obtaining the like or 
 any others; and to fulminate ail sorts of censures, according as justice, 
 rebellion, or disobedience, shall appear to you to require ; to inflict an 
 interdict, and when inflicted, either to remove it finally, or only to suspend 
 it for a time, according as it may be found expedient, on good reasons 
 and consideration, as you may know to be useful and necessary ; but 
 chiefly on those days on which indulgences are to be published, or the 
 croisade to be preached ; — and to proceed directly and simpliciter, with- 
 out the noise and form of justice, having only regard to truth, against 
 those who carry to these heretics, or their accomplices, provisions, arms, 
 or other things prohibited, and other aiders, abettois, advisers, or enter- 
 tainers of them, whether open or secret, or who by any means hinder or 
 disturb the execution of such a salutary enterprize ; and to declare all 
 and every one of the transgressors to have incurred the censures and 
 pains, both spiritual and temporal, which are inflicted, of right, upon 
 those who do such things ; as also to restore and absolve those who are 
 penitent, and willing to return again to the bosom of the church as f<jr- 
 merly, even though they should have taken an oath to favor the heretics, 
 or had received their pay to fight for them, or had supplied them with 
 arms, succours, victuals, and other things forbidden ; providing they pro- 
 mise by taking an oath of a different kind, or otherwise give sufficient 
 security, that for the time to come they will obey our mandates, those 
 of the church, and yours, whether they be commnnities. universities, or 
 
48 NOTES. 
 
 particular reasons, of Avhatever state, order, or pre-eminence they be, or 
 in whatever dignity, ecclesiastical or civil, they may be elevated ; and to 
 re-establish and put them in possession ot their honors, dignities, offices, 
 benefices, fiefs, goods, and other rights, ol which they were formerly 
 ))ossessed ; — and in fine, to concede, dispose, establish, ordain, command, 
 !md execute, all and every other matters necessary or in any respect con- 
 ducive to this salutary business, even though they sliould be such as 
 require a particular order, and are not comprehended in your general 
 commission ; and to check and restrain all opposers thereof, by ecclesiasti- 
 cal censures, and other suitable and lawful remedies, without regard to 
 an}^ appeal whatever ; and, if need be, to call in to your assistance the 
 aid of the secular arm. And our will is, that all privileges, exemptions, 
 apostolical letters, and indulgences of any kind, granted by us, in gener- 
 al or particular, or in manner aforesaid, under any form of words or ex- 
 pressions, shall be held void, and as letters not granted, so far as they are 
 inconsistent with and tend to hinder or retard these presents, — we hereby 
 deprive them of all force, together with all other things whatever that 
 are contrary, if in the apostolical letters there be not full and express 
 mention made, word for word, of such an indulgence. 
 
 Thou, therefore, my son, show yourself diligent^ solicitous and care- 
 ful, so that ii-om your labors, the expected succes-s and fruits may follow : 
 and that, by your solicitude, you may not only merit, but also that you 
 jnay obtain the more abundant commendations from us, on account of 
 your most exact diligence and faithful integrity. 
 Given at Rome, at Peter's, in the year 1477. 
 
 This monument of Papal bigotry achieved its object — a crusade com- 
 menced against the Waldenses, by which they were annihilated. When 
 we think of the melancholy fate of this martyred Christian people, we 
 are led to exclaim in the pathetic language of Milton — 
 
 " Aventje, O Lord, thy slaughtered saints ! whose bones 
 
 Lie scattered on the Alpine mountains cold; 
 
 Even them who kept thy truth so pure of old, 
 When all our fathers worshipped stocks and stones, 
 Forget not ! in thy book record their groans — 
 
 Slain by the bloody Piedmontese, who roU'd 
 Mother with infant down the rocks ; their moans 
 The vales redoubled to the hills, and they 
 To heaven.'' 
 
 The prayer will be heard : — the time is at hand when the millions of 
 the "excellent ones of the earth" whom- Popery hath martyred, shall be 
 avenged. — Rev. xviii. 4 — 8. 
 
 >9%%,'m 
 
Date Due 
 
 ^^^mm-m-jwm 
 
 ^ ! 
 
 - 
 
 
 _^^^ 
 
 m 
 
 
 
 . r- — -^ 
 
 ?«■■ 
 
 
 
 J£L44:^6 
 
 
 
 ': 
 
 *J*WT^PI|^_^_^^ 
 
 
 
 HflV O'^^J^I*^ 
 
 ^ 
 
 
 
 Tflif 1»n>T^ 
 
 ,L 
 
 
 
 
 '^ 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ft 
 
 PRINTED 1 
 
 N U. S. A. 
 
 
BW1842.M15C.2 
 
 Effect of the Reformation on civil 
 
 Princeton Theological Semmary-Speer Library