■■1 sift HBQnpQK KHn ■ JPO ■■J $dB ■■■J 3BS ■■1 ■■■ HMMM OH 390 MB 59 BMflKOft BBPQB tasdODgS JOB WwNa snKSn ffeUOKaaflGaanr hHhhhh llffll«Bllita EfflBflH MoHB iu BWii Bw >/ -V & \°^ X° °« %£ oV ^ N a i \ " , V »», %$ * tf - i -> ^ > . - ^ > SAMUJE1L C HA^iDIEE^D.D.ZM . S.A.. < f Publishedby John crajigJ.HuU.JtUi.i s . r i$i3 . THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION, from (lie PJTRIJRCIIIAL AGE, TO THE REIGA" OF GEORGE II. By S.°CHANDLER, D.D. F.R.S. S.A. M A New Edition. To which are added, The Rev. Dr. Buchanan's Notices of the present Slate of the Inquisition at Goa. ALSO, AN APPENDIX, containing HINTS OX THE RECENT PERSECUTIONS IN THE BRITISH EMPIRE. SOME CIRCUMSTANCES RELATING TO LORD FISCOUNT SIDJIOUTH's BILL; A CIRCUMSTANTIAL DETAIL OF THE STEPS TAKEN TO OBTAIN Clje Ji3eto Coleratum Set, WITH THE ACT ITSELF, AND OTHER IMPORTANT MATTER. By CHARLES ATMORE. ■ Uniformity of religious helief is not to he expected, so variously constituted are the minds of men, and consequently Religious Coercion is not only absurd and impolitic, but for all good pur- poses impracticable." Sutton, Archbishop or Canterbury. HULL : PRINTED FOR THE EDITOR, AND J. CRA C.C 8 ; AND SOLD BY LONG MA V, BURST, REES, ORME AND BROWN, PATER N O 9TE R- R O W ; BLANCIIARD, N°- 14, CIT Y ROAD, LONDON; AND WILSON AND SON, YORK. 1813. 3^ /763C PRINTED BY JOHN PBRKINS, BOWLAILEY-LANE, HULL. 5 The EDITOR'S PREFACE. J f IT ifl now upwards of seventy years since this excellent treatise \»a> first pretested to the public by the author, and, considering his celebrity as a writer, (especially among the Dissenters) it is presumed no apology is necessary for sending it again into the world : especially at the present inteiesting crisis, when the subject of Rei.igiols Toleration, is become the topic of general con- versation and discussion. This work comprises every thing of importance connected with the dreadful persecutions which have disgraced human nature, both in ancient and modern times, both at home and abroad \ and is designed to prove that the things for which christians have persecuted one another have generally been of small importance ; that pride, ambition, andcovetousness, have been the grand sourses of persecution; and that the religion of Jesus Christ absolutely condemns all persecution for conscience sake. In this Edition, I have wholly omitted Dr. Chandler's (t Pre- face," which contains u Remarks on Dr. Rogers' vindication of the civil establishment of religion," and have substituted Memoirs of Dr. Chandler in its room : which I thought would be more ge- nerally acceptable to the reader. I have also omitted all his mar- ginal notes of a controversial nature, being answers to Dr. Berri- man, who had written a pamphlet entitled, " Brief remarks on Mr. Chandler's Introduction to the History of the Inquisition." These I conceived would be at present of little use. And as the republication of this volume is intended chiefly for common readers, I have also left out all the Greek and Latin sentences interspersed in the work, judging that they would be of no real advantage to such persons. I have however retained Dr. Chandler's autho- rities, so that the learned reader may refer to them when he thinks proper. As to the body of the work, I have neither altered the sense nor the language. The additions I have made from that justly celebrated work, " Dr. Buchanan's Christian Researches in Asia," will, I hope, be deemed a valuable acquisition; and I beg leave here to express my grateful acknowledgments to the Rev. Author of that work, A 2 IV PREFACE. for the very polite manner in which he honoured my request, in permitting me to insert his 6i Notices of the Inquisition at Goa." While this work was in the press, one of the most important events to Religious Liberty occurred, which has taken place since the glorious area of the Revolution, in 1688 : viz. the repeal of the Persecuting laws, and the passing of the New Toleration Act. This event is so closely connected with the subject matter of this work, and reflects so much honour on the British government and nation, that I feel highly gratified in affording the reader, a detail of the various steps which were taken to obtain that Act : which now effectually secures to every subject of the British Em- pire all the Religious Liberty he can expect or desire. I willingly record this memorial, that we, and our children after us, may know how to appreciate our invaluable privileges ; and that the names of those nobleman and others who boldly stood forth in the defence and support of Religious Toleration, might be handed down to posterity, that " our children may tell their chil- dren, and their children another generation." May that infinitely important and wished-for period soon arrive, ii when every invidious distinction, and every hostile passion, shall be banished from religious society: and when all the blessings of christian liberty shall be diffused and enjoyed throughout the whole world !" Ci O catch its high import ye winds as ye blow, iC O bear it ye waves as ye roll, u From the regions that feel the sun's vertical glow, wn mind, of the nature of its proofs, and doctrines and prin- ciples, and to dissent from the public establishment, if he finds it erroneous in any, or every, article of its belief; since no man is to be saved »r damned hereafter, for the faith or practice of his superiors in church or state, and because neither lature nor revelation hath given them, nor can givi them, a right or power to judge or believe for otbrs. In 1728, he published, " A Vindicaton of the antiquity and authority of Daniel's proph cies, and their application to Jesus Christ ; in ansyer to the objections of the author of the Scheme of literal prophecy considered." " Among other prophecies, of the Old Testament, which the auttor of the LIFE OF DR. CHANDLER. i) * Literal Scheme' would not allow to have any literal reference to the Messiah, he reckoned those of Da- niel ; and to make out this the more clearly, he began with endeavouring to prove, that they are no prophecies at all ; that the book of Daniel was not written by the famous Daniel mentioned by Ezekiel ; and that it contains a manifest reference to, or rather, an history of, things done several hundred years after that Daniel's time. This attempt to depre- ciate the authority and antiquity of a book, which our author esteemed a noble testimony to the truth of Christianity, induced him to try whether the c Literal Schematisms' criticisms were just, and his arguments conclusive ; with which view he enters into a particular examination of the Eleven Objec- tions, wherein Mr. Collins had comprised what he had to urge against the book; and, upon the whole, he concludes, that these objections are of no weight, and therefore do not deserve any regard from the thinking and impartial part of mankind. He then produces some distinct arguments to prove the proper antiquity of Daniel's book ; and having so far established its authority, he proceeds to the con- sideration of the several prophecies contained in it, in order to obviate the exceptions of Mr. Collins against the Christian interpretation of them, and at the same time to shew, that the explications which this writer would substitute in their stead, are founded on palpable mistakes, and consequently false ; all which he has executed with great learning and acuteness." Mr. Chandler had a strong conviction of the pernicious nature, and dangerous tendency, of the c 10 LIFE OF DR. CHANDLER. Romish religion, and was desirous of exposing the persecuting spirit by which that church has been so much characterised : and it was with this view that he published, in 1731, in two volumes, 4to., a translation of " The history of the inquisition, by Philip a Limborch :" to which he prefixed, " A large introduction, concerning the rise and progress of persecution, and the real and pretended causes of it." In this introduction Mr. Chandler says, " I will not deny, but that the appointing persons, whose peculiar office it should be to minister in the exter- nal services of public and social worship, is, when under proper regulations, of advantage to the de- cency and order of divine service. But then I think it of the most pernicious consequence to the liberties of mankind, and absolutely inconsistent with the true prosperity of a nation, as well as with the interest and success of rational religion, to suffer such ministers to become the directors-general of the consciences and faith of others, or publicly to assume, and exercise such a power, as shall oblige others to submit to their determinations, without being convinced of their being wise and reasonable, and never to dispute their spiritual decrees. The very claim of such a power is the highest insolence, and an affront to the common sense and reason of mankind ; and wherever it is usurped and allowed, the most abject slavery both of soul and body is almost the unavoidable consequence. For by such a submission to spiritual power, the mind and con- science is actually enslaved; and by being thus rendered passive to the priest, men are naturally prepared for a servile subjection to the prince, and LIFE OF DR. CHANDLER. 11 for becoming slaves to the most arbitrary and tyran- nical governments And I believe it bath been generally found true by experience, that the same persons who have asserted their own power over others, in matters of religion and conscience, have also asserted the absolute power of the civil magis- trate, and been the avowed patrons of those admirable doctrines of passive obedience and non-resistance for the subject." At the close of this piece our author observes, that the use of the view which he had given of the rise and progress of persecution, was, " to teach men to adhere close to the doctrines and words of Christ and his apostles, to argue for the doctrines of the gospel with meekness and charity, to introduce no new terms of salvation and Christian communion, not to trouble the Christian church with metaphysical subtilties and abstruse questions, that minister to quarrelling and strife, not to pro- nounce censures, judgments, aud anathemas, upon such as may differ from us in speculative truths, not to exclude men from the rights of civil society, nor lay them under any negative or positive discourage- ments for conscience sake, or for their different usages and rites in the externals of Christian wor- ship ; but to remove those which are already laid, and which are as much a scandal to the authors and continuers of them, as they are a tmrden to those who labour under them." This piece was written with great learning and acuteness, but was attacked by Dr. Berriman, in a pamphlet, entitled, " Brief remarks on Mr. Chandler's introduction to the history of the inquisition." Our author published, in the form of a letter, an answer to these Remarks, C 2 12 LIFE OF DR. CHANDLER. in which he defended himself with great spirit. This engaged Dr. Berriman to write " A Review of his remarks ;" to which Mr. Chandler replied, in " A second letter to William Berriman, D. D. &c. in which his Review of his remarks on the intro- duction to the history of the inquisition is consi- dered, and the characters of St.' Athanasius, and Martyr Laud, are farther stated and supported." This publication was soon followed by another, en- titled, " A Vindication of a passage of the Right Reverend the Lord Bishop of London, in his second pastoral letter, against the misrepresentations of William Berriman, D. D, in a letter to his lord- ship ;" and here the controversy ended. As our author had the firmest persuasion, that there was nothing in the principles of protestant dissenters which rendered them unfit to hold offices in the state, or in corporations, and that it was a manifest injustice to deprive them of the common rights of citizens, he likewise published, in 1732, in 8vo., " The dispute better adjusted about the proper time of applying for a repeal of the Corporation and Test Acts, by shewing that some time is pro- per ; in a letter to the author of the Dispute adjusted, viz. the Right Reverend Dr. Edmund Gibson; Lord Bishop of London." Among other learned and useful designs which Mr. Chandler had formed, he began a Commentary on the Prophets ; and in 1735, he published, in 4to., " A Paraphrase and critical commentary on the prophecy of Joel ;" which he dedicated to the Right Honourable Arthur Onslow, Esq. Speaker of the House of Commons. He afterwards proceeded a LIFE OF DR. CHANDLER. i;i great way in the prophecy of Isaiah; but before lie had completed it, he met with the MS. lexicon and lectures of the famous Arabic professor Schultens, who much recommends explaining the difficult words and phrases of the Hebrew language, by comparing them with the Arabic. With this light before him, Mr. Chandler determined to study the Hebrew' anew, and to drop his commentary till he should thus have satisfied himself, that he had attained the genuine sense of the sacred writings. But this suspension of his design prevented the completion of it ; for engagements of a different kind intervened, and he never finished any other commentary on the pro- phets. He continued, however, to publish a variety of learned works, and displayed a very laudable zeal in support of religious liberty, and of the truth of divine revelation. In 1736, he published, in 8vo., " The History of Persecution, in four parts; viz. I. Amongst the hea- thens. II. Under the Christian emperors. III. Un- der the papacy and inquisition. IV. Amongst protestants. With a preface, containing remarks on Dr. Rogers's Vindication of the civil establish- ment of religion. " In 1741, appeared, in 8vo., " A Vindication of the history of the Old Testa- ment ; in answer to the misrepresentations and calumnies of Thomas Morgan, M. D. and Moral Philosopher." Dr. Leland observes, that in this work of our author he has clearly proved, that Morgan " hath been guilty of manifest falsehoods, and of the most gross perversions of the scripture history, even in those very instances in which he assures his reader he has kept close to the ac- 14 LIFE OF DR. CHANDLER. counts given by the Hebrew historians." He like- wise published, in opposition to the same writer, in 1742, "A Defence of the prime ministry and cha- racter of Joseph." In 1744, Mr. Chandler published, in 8vo., " The witnesses of the resurrection of Jesus Christ re- examined, and their testimony proved entirely con- sistent." This was a very important controversy, which was at that time much agitated ; and Dr. Le- land, who stiles our author's piece upon the subject " a valuable treatise," observes, that, fn his last chapter, " he hath summed up the evidence for the resurrection of Jesus with great clearness and judg- ment." In 1748, he published, in Svo., "The case of subscription to explanatory articles of faith, as a qualification for admission into the christian ministry, calmly and impartially reviewed; in answer to, 1. A late pamphlet, entitled, The Church of England vindicated, in requiring sub- scription from the clergy to the Thirty-nine Articles. 2. The Rev. Mr. John White's Appendix to his third letter to a dissenting gentleman. To which is added, The speech of the Rev. John Alphonso Turretine, previous to the abolition of all subscrip- tion at Geneva, translated from a manuscript in the Trench." His writings having procured him a high reputation for learning and abilities, he might easily have obtained a doctor's degree in divinity, and offers of that kind were made him ; but for some time he declined the acceptance of a diploma, and, as he once said, in. the pleasantness of conversation, because so many blockheads had been made doctors. However, upon making a visit to Scotland, in com- LIFE OF DR. CHANDLER. 15 pany with his friend, the Earl of Finlater and Seafieldj he, with great propriety, accepted of this honour, which was conferred upon him without soli- citation, and with every mark of respect, by the two universities of Edinburgh and Glasgow. He had, likewise, the honour of being afterwards elected a fellow of the Royal Society, and of the Society of Antiquaries. On the death of King George the Second, in 1760, Dr. Chandler published a sermon on that event, in which he compared that prince to King David. This gave rise to a pamphlet, which was printed in the year 1761, entitled, " The history of the man after God's own heart ;" w r herein the author ventured to exhibit King David as an exam- pie of perfidy, lust, and cruelty, fit only to be ranked with a Nero, or a Caligula ; and complained of the insult that had been offered to the memory of the late British monarch, by Dr. Chandler's parallel between him and the King of Israel. This attack occasioned Dr. Chandler to publish, in the following year, " A Review of the history of the man after God's own heart ; in which the falsehoods and misrepresentations of the historian are exposed and corrected." In this performance our author, though he could not defend the character of the Jewish prince from all the accusations that were brought against him, yet sufficiently cleared him from many of them. His learning and sagacity^ also appeared to great advantage in this piece; and his skill in the Hebrew language, and his extensive acquaintance with biblical learning, enabled him to correct a va- riety of mistakes into which his opponent had fallen^ 16 LIFE OF DR. CHANDLER. from his taking many things as he found them in our common English translation, without paying any regard to criticisms, various readings of particular passages, or the opinions of expositors and commen- tators. It must, however, be confessed, that in this controversy Dr. Chandler expressed himself with too much warmth and asperity, which was indeed not unusual with him in his polemical writings. But this being a subject on which he was determined to enter into a full investigation, he prepared for the press a more elaborate work, which was after- wards published in two volumes, 8vo., under the following title : " A Critical history of the life of David : in which the principal events are ranged in order of time : the chief objections of Mr. Bayle, and others, against the character of this prince, and the scripture account of him, and the occur- rences of his reign, are examined and refuted ; and the psalms which refer to him explained." As this was the last, it was, likewise, one of the best of Dr. Chandler's productions. We may safely assert, that, in point of judgment, it is far superior to Dr. Delany's Life of King David, and that it is every way equal to it with respect to literature. The ex- planations of the psalms, which relate to the Jewish monarch, are admirable ; and the commentary, in particular, on the sixty-eighth psalm, is a master- piece of criticism. The greatest part of this work was printed off at the time of our author's death, which happened on the 8th of May, 1766, in his seventy-third year. During the last year of his life* he was visited with frequent returns of a very painful disorder, which he endured with great resignation LIFE OF DR. CHANDLER. 17 and Christian fortitude. He repeatedly declared, " that to secure the divine felicity promised by Christ, was the principal and almost the only thing that made life desirable : that to attain this he would gladly die, submitting himself entirely to God, as to the time and manner of death, whose will was most righteous and good; and being persuaded, that all mas well, which ended well for eternity." He was interred in the burying-ground at Bunhill-fields, on the 16th of the month, and his funeral was very honourably attended by ministers, and other gentle- men. He expressly desired by his last will, that no delineation of his character might be given in his funeral sermon, which was preached by Dr. Amory. In this sermon, Dr. Amory, after observing that he was restrained from delineating Dr. Chandler's cha- racter, by his desire expressed in his last will, says, " He had indeed himself made this unnecessary ; as his masterly and animated defences of the great doctrines of natural and revealed religion, had abun- dantly manifested the uncommon greatness and strength of his genius, the large extent and rich variety of his learning, and the solid grounds on which his faith was founded: together with his hearty attachment to the cause of rational piety and Christian liberty, and his abilities for defending them. And after he had ministered for forty years in this place, with so great reputation, it might appear su- perfluous to inform any present, how full of exalted sentiments of the Deity, how judicious and how spirited his public prayers were, and how instructive and animating his discourses." He had several children ; two sons and a daughter who died before p 18 LIFE OF DR. CHANDLER. him, and three daughters who survived him, and both married; one of them to the Rev. Dr. Hanvood. Dr. Chandler was a man of very extensive learn- ing, and eminent abilities ; his apprehension was quick, and his judgment penetrating ; he had a warm and vigorous imagination ; he was a very in- structive and animated preacher ; and his talents in the pulpit, and as a writer, procured him very great and general esteem, not only among the dissenters, but among large numbers of the established church. He was well known, and much respected by many persons of the highest rank, and was offered consi- derable preferment in the church ; Dr. Amory says, that " the high reputation which he had gained, by his defences of the Christian religion, procured him from some of the governors of the established church, the offers of considerable pre- ferment, which he nobly declined. He valued more than these the liberty and integrity of his conscience ; and scorned for any worldly consi- derations to profess as divine truths, doctrines which he did not really believe, and to practise in religion what he did not inwardly approve." But he steadily rejected every proposition of that kind. He w r as principally instrumental in the establish- ment of the fund for relieving the widows and orphans of poor protestant dissenting ministers : the plan of it was first formed by him ; and it was by his interest and application to his friends, that many of the subscriptions for its support were pro- cured. In 1768, four volumes of our author's sermons were published by Dr. Amory, according to his i. in; OF OR, ( ii wi)i i.k. If) own directions in his last will ; to which was pre- fixed a neal engraving of him, from an excellent portrait bj Mr. Chamberlin. He also expressed a desire to lutve some of his principal pieces reprinted in four volumes, octavo : proposals were accord- ingly published for that purpose, hut did not meet with sufficient encouragement. But in 1777, another work of our author was published, in one volume, 4to, under the following title : " A Para- phrase and Notes on the Epistles of St. Paul to the Galatians and Ephe&ians, with doctrinal and prac- tical observations : together with a critical and practical commentary on the two Epistles of St. Paul to the Thessalonians." This work was pub- lished from the author's own manuscript, which was evidently intended for the press, by the Rev. Mr. Nathaniel White, who succeeded him as pastor of the congregation of protestant dissenters in the Old Jewry. That gentleman observes, in the preface to this work, that " there seems to have been some- thing in Dr. Chandler's genius and strength of mind, as well as in the unremitted course of his studies, which eminently fitted him to comment upon the writings of St. Paul, and to follow that deep and accurate reasoner, through his continued chain of argument, so as to preserve the whole dis- tinct and clear ; though, from the peculiar vigour of the apostle's imagination, the fervour of his affection, the compass of his thought, and the un- common fulness of his matter, his epistles are re- markable for sudden digressions, long parentheses, remote connections, and unexpected returns to subjects already discussed. These, added to many d 2 20 LIFE OF DR. CHANDLER. other circumstances common to ancient writings, must necessarily occasion a considerable degree of obscurity and difficulty, which it is the business of the sacred expositor as much as possible to remove. In this view, the distinguishing excellence of Dr. Chandler's paraphrase seems to be, that the author adheres most closely and constantly to the spirit of the original, keeps the full idea of the inspired writer, and only that, as far as he could apprehend it, before him, and never steps aside to pick up any hints, however ornamented, which are not directly conveyed, or strongly implied by the apostle : so that, not merely in the text, but in the paraphrase, we find ourselves reading St. Paul himself, though in a language more accommodated to our own conception, and with an illustration which true learning, deep attention to the subject, and un- common critical sagacity enabled him to afford us." " The notes will abundantly recommend the work to the studious and judicious enquirer, who will find no difficulties artfully evaded, or slightly and superficially touched ; no unnecessary parade of reading, though many striking proofs of the most extensive and liberal erudition." Dr. Chandler also left, in his interleaved Bible, a large number of critical notes, chiefly in Latin. ACCOUNT OF DR. CHANDLER** SISTER. 21 WE shall here add some particulars relative to Mrs. Mary Chandler, sister to Dr. Chandler. She was born at Malmsbury, in Wiltshire, in 1687, and was carefully trained up in the principles of religion and virtue. As her father's circumstances rendered it necessary that she should apply herself to some business, she was brought up to the trade of a milliner. But as she had a propensity to lite- rature, she employed her leisure hours in perusing the best modern writers, and as many as she could of the ancient ones, especially the poets, as far as the best translations could assist her. Among these Horace was her particular favourite, and she greatly regretted that she could not read him in the original. She was somewhat deformed in her person, in con- sequence of an accident in her childhood. This unfavourable circumstance she occasionally made a subject of her own pleasantry, and used to say, " that as her person would not recommend her, she must endeavour to cultivate her mind, to make herself agreeable." This she did with the greatest care, being an admirable oeconomist of her time : and it is said, that she had so many excellent qualities in her, that though her first appearance could create no prejudice in her favour, yet it was impossible to know her without valuing and esteeming her. She thought the disadvantage of her shape was such, as gave her no reasonable pros- pect of being happy in the married state, and there- oo fore chose to remain single. She had, however, an honourable offer from a worthy country gentleman, of considerable fortune, who, attracted merely by the goodness of her character, took a journey of an hundred miles to visit her at Bath, where she kept a milliner's shop, and where he paid her his addresses. But she declined his offers, and is said to have con- vinced him, that such a match could neither be for his happiness, nor her own. She published several poems, but that which she wrote upon Bath was the best received. It passed through several editions. She intended to have written a large poem upon the being and attributes of God, and did execute some parts of it, but did not live to finish it. It was irk- some to her to be so much confined to her business, and the bustle of Bath was sometimes disagreeable to her. She often languished for more leisure and soli- tude ; but the dictates of prudence, and a. desire to be useful to her relations, whom she regarded with the warmest affection, brought her to submit to the fatigues of her business for thirty-five years. She did, however, sometimes enjoy occasional retirements to the country seats of some of her most respectable acquaintance ; and was then extremely delighted with the pleasures of solitude, and the contemplation of the works of nature. She was honoured with the esteem and regard of the Countess of Hertford, after- wards Duchess of Somerset, who several times visited her. Mr. Pope also visited her at Bath, and complimented her for her poem on that place. The celebrated Mrs. Rowe was one of her particular friends. She had the misfortune of a very valetiu dinary constitution, which was supposed to be, in. ACCOUNT 01 o»:. CHANS \i. 23 some measure, owing to the irregularity of her form. l-\ the advice of Dr. Cheyne, she entered into the vegetable diet, and adhered to it even to an treme. She died on the nth September, 1745, in the fifty-eighth year of her age, after about two days illness. THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. THE INTRODUCTION. Religion is a matter of the highest importance to every man, and therefore there can be nothing which deserves a more impartial inquiry, or which should be examined into with a more disinterested freedom ; because as far as our acceptance with the Deity depends on the knowledge and practice of it, so far religion is, and must be, to us a purely personal thing ; in which therefore we ought to be deter- mined by nothing but the evidence of truth, and the rational convictions of our mind and conscience. Without such an examination and conviction, we shall be in danger of being imposed on by crafty and designing men, who will not fail to make their gain of the ignorance and credulity of those they can deceive, nor scruple to recommend to them the worst principles and superstitions, if they find them con- ducive or necessary to support their pride, ambition and avarice. The history of almost all ages and nations is an abundant proof of this assertion. God himself, who is the object of all religious worship, to whom we owe the most absolute subjection, and whose actions are all guided by the discerned reason and fitness of things, cannot, as I apprehend, consistent with his own most perfect wisdom, require of his reasonable creatures the explicit belief of, or actual assent to any proposition which they do not, or cannot either wholly or partly understand ; because it is requiring of them a real impossibility, no man being able to stretch his faith beyond his understanding, i. e. to see an object that was never present to his eyes, or to discern the agreement or disagreement of the different parts of a proposition, the terms of which he hath never E 2 28 THE INTRODUCTION. heard of, or cannot possibly understand. Neither can it be supposed that God can demand from us a method of wor- ship, of which we cannot discern some reason and fitness ; because it would be to demand from us worship without understanding and judgment, and without the concurrence of the heart and conscience, i. e. a kind of worship different from, and exclusive of that, which, in the nature of things, is the most excellent and best, viz. the exercise of those pure and rational affections, and that imitation of God by purity of heart, and the practice of the virtues of a good life, in which the power, substance, and efficacy of true religion doth consist. If therefore nothing can or ought to be believ- ed, but under the direction of the understanding, nor any scheme of religion and worship to be received but what appears reasonable in itself, and worthy of God ; the neces- sary consequence is, that every man is bound in interest and duty to make the best use he can of his reasonable powers, and to examine, without fear, all principles before he re- ceives them, and all rites and means of religion and worship before he submits to and complies with them. This is the common privilege of human nature, which no man ought ever to part with himself, and of which he cannot be deprived by others, without the greatest injustice and wickedness. It will, I doubt not, appear evident beyond contradiction, to all who impartially consider the history of past ages and nations, that where and whenever men have been abridged, or wholly deprived of this liberty, or have neglected to make the due and proper use of it, or sacrificed their own private judgments to the public conscience, or complimented the licensed spiritual guides with the direction of them, ignorance and superstition have proportionably prevailed ; and that to these causes have been owing those great corruptions of religion, which have done so much dishonour to God, and, wherever they have prevailed, been destructive to the in- terests of true piety and virtue. So that instead of serving God with their reason and understanding, men have served their-spiritual leaders without either, and have been so far THE INTRODUCTION. 29 from rendering themselves acceptable to their Maker, that they have the more deeply, it is to be (eared, incurred his displeasure; because God cannot but dislike the "sacrifice of fools," and therefore of such who either neglect to improve the reasonable powers he hath given them, or part with them in compliance to the proud, ambitious, and ungodly claims of others ; which is one of the highest instances of folly that can possibly be mentioned. I will not indeed deny, but that the appointing persons, whose peculiar office it should be to minister in the external services of public and social worship, is, when under proper regulations, of advantage to the decency and order of divine sen ice. But then I think it of the most pernicious conse- quence to the liberties of mankind, and absolutely incon- sistent with the true prosperity of a nation, as well as with the interest and success of rational religion, to suffer such ministers to become the directors general of the consciences and faith of others; or publicly to assume and exercise such a power, as shall oblige others to submit to their deter- minations, without being convinced of their being wise and reasonable, and never to dispute their spiritual decrees. The very claim of such a p.ower is the highest insolence, and an affront to the common sense and reason of mankind ; and wherever it is usurped and allowed, the most abject slavery, botli of soul and body, is almost the unavoidable conse- quence. For by such a submission to spiritual power, the mind and conscience is actually enslaved ; and, by being thus rendered passive to the priest, men are naturally pre- pared for a servile subjection to the prince, and for be- coming slaves to the most arbitrary and tyrannical govern- ment. And I believe it hath been generally found true by experience, that the same persons who have asserted their own power over others in matters of religion and conscience, have also asserted the absolute power of the civil magistrate, and been the avowed patrons of those admirable doctrines of passive obedience and non-resistance for the subject. Our own nation is sufficiently witness to the truth of this. It is therefore but too natural to suspect, that the secret 30 THE INTRODUCTION. intention of all ghostly and spiritual directors and guides in decrying reason, the noblest gift of God, and without which even the Being of a God, and the method of our redemption by Jesus Christ, would be of no more significancy to us, than to the brutes that perish, is in reality the advancement of their own power and authority over the faith and con- sciences of others, to which sound reason is, and ever will be an enemy : for though I readily allow the great expediency and need of divine revelation to assist us in our inquiries into the nature of religion, and to give us a full view of the principles and practices of it ; yet a very small share of reason will suffice, if attended to, to let me know that my soul is my own, and that I ought not to put my conscience out to keeping to any person whatsoever, because no man can be an- swerable for it to the great God but myself; and that there- fore the claim of dominion, whoever makes it, either over mine or any other's conscience, is mere imposture and cheat, that hath nothing but impudence or folly to support it ; and as truly visionary and romantic as the imaginary power of per- sons disordered in their senses, and which would be of no more significancy, and influence amongst mankind than theirs, did not either the views of ambitious men, or the superstition and folly of bigots encourage and support it. On these accounts, it is highly incumbent on all nations, who enjoy the blessings of a limited government, who .would preserve their constitution, and transmit it safe to posterity, to be jealous of every claim of spiritual power, and not to enlarge the authority and jurisdiction of spiritual men, beyond the bounds of reason and revelation. Let them have the freest indulgence to do good, and spread the knowledge and practice of true religion, and promote peace and goodwill amongst mankind. Let them be applauded and encouraged, and even rewarded, when they are patterns of virtue, and ex- amples of real piety to their flocks. Such powers as these, God and man would readily allow them ; and as to any other, I ap- prehend they have little right to them, and am sure they have seldom made a wise or rational use of them. On the contrary, numberless have been the confusions and mischiefs intro- THE INTRODUCTION. :J] duced into the world, and occasioned by the usurpers of spiritual authority. In the Christian church they have ever used it with insolence, and generally abused it to oppression, and the worst of cruelties. And though the history of such transactions can never be a very pleasing and grateful task, yet, I think, on many accounts, it may be useful and instruc- tive ; especially as it may tend to give men an abhorrence of all the methods of persecution, and put them upon their guard against all those ungodly pretensions, by which per- secution hath been introduced and supported. But how much soever the persecuting spirit hath pre- vailed amongst those who have called themselves Christians, yet certainly it is a great mistake to confine it wholly to them. We have instances of persons, who were left to the light of nature and reason, and never suspected of being perverted by any revelation, murdering and destroying each other on the account of religion ; and of some judicially con- demned to death for differing from the orthodox, i. e. the established idolatry of their country. And I doubt not, but that if we had as full and particular an account of the trans- actions of the different religious sects and parties amongst the Heathens, as we have of those amongst Christians, we should find a great many more instances of this kind, than it is easy or possible now to produce. However, there are some very remarkable ones, which I shall not wholly omit. THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION BOOK I. OF PERSECUTION AMONGST THE HEATHENS UPON ACCOUNT OF RELIGION. SECT. I. Abraham persecuted. There is a passage in the book of Judith 1 which intimates to us, that the ancestors of the Jews themselves were perse- cuted upon account of their religion. Achior, captain of the sons of Aramon, gives Holofernes this account of the origin of that nation. " This people are descended of the Chaldeans ; and they sojourned heretofore in Mesopotamia, because they would not follow the gods of their fathers, which were in the land of Chaldea ; for they left the way of their ancestors, and worshipped the God of heaven, the God whom they knew. So they cast them out from the face of their gods, and they fled into Mesopotamia, and sojourned there many days." St. Austin* and Marsham* (i) Cap. 5. v. 6, &c. (3) Marsh. Cron. $ 5. (2) De civit. Dei, 1. 16. c. 13. F 34 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. both take notice of this tradition; which is farther con- tinued by all the oriental historians, who, as the learned Dr. Hyde 1 tells us, unanimously affirm, that Abraham suf- fered many persecutions upon the account of his opposition to the idolatry of his country ; and that he was particularly- imprisoned for it by Nimrod in Ur. Some of the eastern writers also tell us, that he was thrown into the fire, but that he was miraculously preserved from being* consumed in it by God. This tradition also the Jews believed, and is particularly mentioned by Jonathan 2 in his Targum upon Gen. xi. 28. " Nimrod threw Abraham into a furnace of fire, because he would not worship his idol ; but the fire had no power to burn him." So early doth persecution seem to have begun against the worshippers of the true God. SECT. II. Socrates persecuted amo7igst the Greeks, and others, *Socrates,s who, in the judgment of an oracle, was the wisest man living, was persecuted by the Athenians on the account of his religion, and, when past seventy years of age, brought to a public trial, and condemned. His accusation was principally this : " That he did unrighteously and curiously search into the great mysteries of heaven and earth ; that he corrupted the youth, and did not esteem the gods worshipped by the city to be really gods, and that he introduced new deities." This last part of his accusation was undoubtedly owing to his inculcating upon them more * See note [A] at the end of the volume. (1) De Relig. Pers. c. 2. (2) Hotting. Smeg. Orient, p. 290, &c. (3) Plat, in Apolog. pro Socrate. Diog. Laert. in vit. Soc. THE HISTORY OF PERSBCUTION. 3't rational and excellent conceptions of the Deity, than were allowed by the established creeds of his country, and to his arguing against the corruptions and superstitions which he saw universally practised by the Greeks. This was called corrupting- the youth who were his scholars, and what, together with his superior wisdom, raised him many enemies amongst all sorts of people, who loaded him with reproaches, and spread reports concerning him greatly to his disadvan- tage, endeavouring thereby to prejudice the minds of his very judges against him. When he was brought to his trial, several of his accusers were never so much as named or discovered to him; so that, as he himself complained, he was, as it were, fighting with a shadow, when he was defending himself against his adversaries, because he knew not whom he opposed, and had no one to answer him. However, he maintained his own innocence with the noblest resolution and courage ; shewed he was far from corrupting the youth, and openly declared that he believed the Being; of a God. And, as the proof of this his belief, he bravely said to his judges ; " that though he was very sensible of his danger from the hatred and malice of the people, yet that, as he apprehended, God himself had appointed him to teach his philosophy, so he should grievously offend him should he forsake his station through fear of death, or any other evil; and that for such a disobedience to the Deity, they might more justly accuse him, as not believing there were any gods :" adding, as though he had somewhat of the same blessed spirit that afterwards rested on the apostles of Christ, " that if they would dismiss him upon the condition of not teaching his philosophy any more, ' I w ill obey God rather than you, and teach my philosophy as long as I live'." However, notwithstanding the goodness of his cause and defence, he was condemned for impiety and atheism, and ended his life with a draught of poison, dying a real martyr for God, and the purity of his worship. Thus we see that in the ages of natural reason and light, not to be orthodox, or to differ from the established religion, was the same thing 36 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. as to be impious and atheistical ; and that one of the wisest and best men that ever lived in the heathen world was put to death merely on account of his religion. The Athenians, indeed, afterwards, repented of what they had done, and condemned one of his accusers, Melitus, to death, and the others to banishment. I must add, in justice to the laity, that the judges and accusers of Socrates were not priests. Melitus was a poet, Anytus an artificer, and Lycon an orator ; so that the pro- secution was truly laic, and the priests do not appear to have had any share in his accusation, condemnation, and death. Nor, indeed, was there any need of the assistance of priestcraft in this affair, the prosecution of this excellent man being perfectly agreeable to the constitution and maxims of the Athenian government ; which had, to use the words of a late reverend author, 1 " incorporated or made religion a part of the laws of the civil community." One of the Attic laws was to this effect : " Let it be a perpetual law, and binding at all times, to worship our national gods and heroes publicly, according to the laws of our ancestors." So that no new gods, nor new doctrines about old gods, nor any new rites of worship, could be introduced by any person whatso- ever, without incurring the penalty of this law, which was death. Thus Josephus tells us, 2 that it was prohibited by law to teach new gods, and that the punishment ordained against those who should introduce any such, was death. Agreeably to this, the orator Isocrates, 3 pleading in the grand council of Athens, puts them in mind of the custom and practice of their ancestors : " This was their principal care to abolish nothing they had received from their fathers in matters of religion, nor to make any addition to what they had established." And therefore, in his advice to Nicocles, he exhorts him to be " of the same religion with his ancestors." (1) Dr. Rogers's Vindication of the Civil Establishment, &c, (2) Cont. Apion. 1. 2. c. 37. Edit. Haverc. (3) Isoc. Areop. » THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. X~ So thai the civil establishment of religion in Athens was entirely exclusive, and no toleration whatsoever allowed to those who differed from it. On this account, the philoso- phers 1 in general were, by a public decree, banished from Athens, as teaching heterodox opinions, and " corrupting the youth" in matters of religion; and, by a law, very much resembling the famous modern Schism Bill, prohibited from being masters and teachers of schools, without leave of the senate and people, even under pain of death. This law, indeed, like the other, was but very short-lived, and Sopho- cles, the author of it, punished in a fine of five talents. Lysimachus 1 also banished them from his kingdom. It is evident from these things, that, according to the Athenian constitution, Socrates was legally condemned for not believ- ing in the gods of his country, and presuming to have better notions of the Deity than his superiors. In like manner, a certain woman, 3 a priestess, was put to death, upon an accusation of her introducing new deities. Diogenes Laertius 4 tells us, that Anaxagoras, the philoso- pher, was accused of impiety, because he affirmed, that " the sun was a globe of red-hot iron ;" which was certainly great heresy, because his country worshipped him as a god. Stilpo 5 was also banished his country, as the same writer tells us, because he denied "Minerva to be a god, allowing her only to be a goddess." A very deep and curious controversy this, and worthy the cognizance of the civil magistrate. Diagoras 6 was also condemned to death, and a talent de- creed to him that should kill him upon his escape, being ac- cused of " deriding the mysteries of the gods." Protagoras also would have suffered death, had he not fled his country, because he had written something about the gods, that differed from the orthodox opinions of the Athenians. Upon (1) Athcn. p. 610. Edit. Casaub. (4) In vit. Anax. Diog. Laert. 1. 5. Segra. 38. (5) 1. 5. c. 38. (2) Athcn. p. 610. (6) Joseph, ibid. Athen. p. 611. (3) Jos. ibid 38 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. the same account, Theodorus, called Atheus, and Theoti- mus, 1 who wrote against Epicurus, being accused by Zeno, an Epicurean, were both put to death. The Lacedemonians* constantly expelled foreigners, and would not suffer their own citizens to dwell in foreign parts, because they imagined that both the one and the other tended to corrupt and weaken their own laws ; nor would they suffer the teaching of rhetoric or philosophy, because of the quarrels and disputes that attended it. The Scythians, who delighted in human blood, and were, as Josephus says,* little different from beasts, yet were zealously tenacious of their own rites, and put Anacharsis, a very wise person, to death, because he seemed to be very fond of the Grecian rites and ceremonies. *Herodotus 4 says, that he was shot through the heart with an arrow, by Saulius their king, for sacrificing to the mother of the gods after the manner of the Grecians ; and that Scyles, another of their kings, was deposed by them, for sacrificing to Bacchus, and using the Grecian ceremonies of religion, and his head afterwards cut off by Octamasades, who was chosen king in his room. " So rigid were they," says the historian, 5 " in maintaining their own customs, and so severe in punishing the introducers of foreign rites." Many also amongst the Persians 6 were put to death, on the same account. And, indeed, it was almost the practice of all nations to punish those who disbelieved or derided their national gods ; as appears from Timocles, who, speaking of the gods of the Egyptians, 7 says, " How shall the ibis, or the dog, preserve me r" And then adds, u Where is the place that doth not immediately punish those who behave impiously towards the gods, such as are con- fessed to be gods ?" * See note D§] at the end of the volume. (1) Athen. ibid. (5) Id. p. 248. (2) Joseph, ibid. § 36. Athen. ibid. (6) Joseph, ibid. (3) Joseph. § 37. (7) Athen. p. 300* (4) Herodot. Melpom. p. 246. Edit. Cronov. THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. 39 SECT. III. Egyptian persecutions. Juvenal 1 gives us a very tragical account of some dis- putes and quarrels about religion amongst the Egyptians, who entertained an eternal hatred and enmity against each other, and eat and devoured one another, because they did not all worship the same god. " a Ombos and Tentyr, neighbouring towns, of late, Broke into outrage of deep fester'd hate. Religious spite and pious spleen bred first This quarrel, which so long the bigots nurst. Each calls the other's god a senseless stock, His own, divine, tho* from the self-same block. At first both parties in reproaches jar, And make their tongues the trumpets of the war. Words serve but to inflame the warlike lists, Who wanting weapons clutch their horny fists. Yet thus make shift t' exchange such furious blows, Scarce one escapes with more than half a nose. Some stand their ground with half their visage gone, But with the remnant of a face fight on. Such transform^ spectacles of horror grow, That not a mother her own son would know, One eye remaining for the other spies, Which now on earth a trampled gelly lies." All this religious zeal hitherto is but mere sport and childish play, and therefore they piously proceed to farther violences ; to hurling of stones, and throwing of arrows, till (1) Satyr. 15. See also Joseph, cont. Ap, 1, 2. { 6. (2) Englished by Mr. Dryden, &c. 40 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION, one party routs the other, and the conquerors feast them- selves on the mangled bodies of their divided captives. «• Yet hitherto both parties think the fray But mockery of war, mere children's play. This whets their rage, to search for stones An Ombite wretch (by headlong strait betray'd, And falling down i'th' rout) is prisoner made. Whose flesh torn off by lumps the ravenous foe In morsels cut, to make it farther go. His bones clean pick'd, his very bones they gnaw ; No stomach's balk'd, because the corps is raw. T' had been lost time to dress him : keen desire Supplies the want of kettle, spit, and fire." Plutarch 1 also relates, that in his time some of the Egyp- tians who worshipped a dog, eat one of the fishes, which others of the Egyptians adored as their deity ; and that upon this, the fish eaters laid hold on the other's dogs, and sacrificed and eat them ; and that this gave occasion to a bloody battle, in which a great number were destroyed on both sides. SECT. IV. Persecutions by Antiochus Ephiphanes. Antiochus Epiphanes, though a very wicked prince, yet was a great zealot for his religion, and endeavoured to propagate it by all the methods of the most bloody persecu- tion. Josephus 1 tells us, that after he had taken Jerusalem, (l).De Isid. et Osir. p. 380. Edit. Franc, (2) Antiq. Jud. 1. 12. c. 5, THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. 41 and plundered the temple, he caused an altar to be built in it, upon which he sacrificed swine, which were an abomina- tion to the Jews, and forbidden by their laws. Not content A\ith this, he compelled them to forsake the worship of the true God, and to worship such as he accounted deities; building altars and temples to them in all the towns and streets, and offering swine upon them every day. He com- manded them to forbear circumcising their children, griev- ously threatening such as should disobey his orders. He also appointed overseers, or bishops, to compel the Jews to come in. and do as he had ordered them. Such as rejected it, were continually persecuted, and put to death, with the most jgrievous tortures. He ordered them to be cruelly scourged, and their bodies to be tore, and, before they expired under their tortures, to be crucified. The women, and the children which they circumcised, were, by his com- mand, hanged ; the children hanging from the necks of their crucified parents. Wherever he found any of the sacred books, or of the law, he destroyed them, undoubtedly to prevent the propagation of heretical opinions, and punished Avith death such as kept them. The same author tells us also, in his History of the Maccabees, that Antiochus put forth an edict, whereby he made it death for any to observe the Jewish religion, and compelled them, by tortures, to abjure it. The inhuman barbarities he exercised upon Eleazar and the Maccabees, because they would not re- nounce their religion, and sacrifice to his Grecian gods, are not, in some circumstances, to be paralleled by any histories of persecution extant ; and will ever render the name and memory of that illustrious tyrant execrable and infamous. It was on the same religious account that he banished the philosophers 1 from all parts of his kingdom ; the charge against them bei. g, "their corrupting the youth," i. e. teach- ing them notions of the gods, different from the common (l) Athen. 1. 12. c. 12. c 42 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. orthodox opinions which were established by law ; and com- manded Phanias, that such youths as conversed with them should be hanged. SECT. \\ Persecutions under the Romans. The very civil constitution of Rome was founded upon persecuting principles. ^Tertullian 1 tells us, " that it was an ancient decree that no emperor should consecrate a new god, unless he was approved by the senate;" and one of the standing laws of the republic was to this effect, as Cicero 4 gives it : ft that no one should have separately new gods, no nor worship privately foreign gods, unless admitted by the commonwealth." This law he endeavours to vindi- cate by reason and the light of nature, by adding, 3 "that for persons to worship their own, or new, or foreign gods, would be to introduce confusion and strange ceremonies in religion." So true a friend was this eminent Roman, and great master of reason, to uniformity of worship ; and so little did he see the equity, and indeed necessity of an uni- versal toleration in matters of religion. Upon this princi- ple, after he had reasoned well against the false notions of God that had obtained amongst his countrymen, and the public superstitions of religion, he concludes with what was enough to destroy the force of all his arguments : 4 " It is the part of a wise man to defend the customs of his ancestors, by retaining their sacred rites and ceremonies." Thus narrow was the foundation of the Roman religion, and thus incon- - * See note [$] at the end of the volume. (1) Apol. c. 2. (3) De Leg. 1. 2. c. 10. (2) De Leg. 1. 2. (4) De Divin. 1. 2. fin. THE HISTORY OF PKRSI-C UTION. 43 sistent the sentiments of the wisest heathens with all the principles of toleration and universal liberty. And agreeable to this settlement they constantly acted. A remarkable instance of which we have in Livy, the Roman historian ; he tells us, 1 "that such a foreign religion spread itself over the city, that either men or the gods seemed entirely changed ; that the Roman rites were not only for- saken in private, and within the houses, but that even pub- licly, in the forum and capitol, great numbers of women flocked together, who neither sacrificed nor prayed to the gods, according to the manner of their ancestors. This first excited the private indignation of good men, till at length it reached the fathers, and became a public com- plaint. The senate greatly blamed the iEdiles and capital Triumvirs, that they did not prohibit them ; and when they endeavoured to drive away the multitude from the forum, and to throw down the things they had provided for per- forming their sacred rites, they were like to be torn in pieces. And when the evil grew too great to be cured by inferior magistrates, the senate ordered M. Atilius, the praetor of the city, to prevent the people's using these reli- gions. " lie accordingly published this decree of the senate^ that " whoever had any fortune-telling books, or prayers, or ceremonies about sacrifices written down, they should bring all such books and writings to him, before the calends of April ; and that no one should use any new or foreign rite of sacrificing in any public or sacred place." Mecenas, 1 in his Advice to Augustus, says to him : " Per- form divine worship in all things exactly according to the custom of your ancestors, and compel others to do so also ; and as to those who make any innovations in religion, hate and punish them ; and that not only for the sake of the gods, but because those who introduce new deities, excite others to make changes in civil affairs. Hence conspiracies, sedi- (l) Lib. 25 c, l (2) Apud Dion. Cassium, 1. 52. 44 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. tions, and riots, things very dangerous to government." Accordingly Suetonius, in his life of this prince, 1 gives him this character : " that though he religiously observed the ancient prescribed ceremonies, yet he contemned all other foreign ones ; and commended Caius, for that passing by Judea, he would not pay his devotions at Jerusalem." He also, as the same author tells us, z made a law, very much resembling our test act, by which he commanded, "that before any of the senators should take their places in council, they should offer frankincense and wine upon the altar of that god in whose temple they met." It was no wonder therefore that Christianity, which was so perfectly contrary to the whole system of pagan theology, should be looked upon with an evil eye ; or that when the number of Christians increased, they should incur the displeasure of the civil magistrate, and the censure of the penal laws that were in force against them. The first public persecution of them by the Romans was begun by that monster of mankind, Nero ; who to clear him- self of the charge of burning Rome, endeavoured to fix the crime on the Christians ; and having thus falsely and tyran- nically made them guilty, he put them to death by various methods of exquisite cruelty. But though this was the pretence for this barbarity towards them, yet it evidently appears from undoubted testimonies, that they were before hated upon account of their religion, and were therefore fitter objects to fall a sacrifice to the resentment and fury of the tyrant. For *Tacitus tells us, 3 " that they were hated for their crimes." And what these were, he elsewhere suffi- ciently informs us, by calling their religion " an execrable superstition." In like manner Suetonius, in his life of Nero, speaking of the Christians, says, " they were a set of men who had embraced a new and accursed superstition." And * See note [&] at the end of the volume. (1) Vit. Aug. c. 93. (3) Annal. 1. 15. c. 44. Ibid. cap. 16. (2) Ibid. c. 35. THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. 45 therefore Tacitus farther informs us, 1 that those who confes- sed themselves Christians, " wrere condemned, not so much for the crime of burning the city, as for their being hated by all mankind." So that it is evident from these accounts, that it was through popular hatred of them for their religion, that they were thus sacrificed to the malice and fury of Nero. Many of them he dressed up in the skins of wild beasts, that they might be devoured by dogs. Others he crucified. Some he cloathed in garments of pitch and burnt them, that by their flames he might supply the absence of the day -light. The persecution begun by Nero was revived, and carried on by Domitian, who put some to death, and banished others upon account of their religion. Eusebius mentions Flavia Domitilla, z neice to Flavius Clemens, then consul, as banished for this reason to the island Pontia. Dion the historian's account of this affair is somewhat different. He tell us, 3 " that Fabius Clemens, the consul, Domitian's cousin, who had married Flavia Domitilla, a near relation of Domi- tian, was put to death by him, and Domitilla banished to Pandataria, being both accused of atheism ; and that on the same account many who had embraced the Jewish rites were likewise condemned, some of whom were put to death, and others had their estates confiscated." I think this account can belong to no other but the Christians, whom Dion seems to have confounded with the Jews ; a mistake into which he and others might naturally fall, because the first Christians were Jews, and came from the land of Judea. The crime with which these persons were charged, was atheism ; the crime commonly imputed to Christians, be- cause they refused to w orship the Roman deities. And as there are no proofs, that Domitian ever persecuted the Jews upon account of their religion, nor any intimation of this nature in Josephus, who finished his Antiquities towards the latter end of Domitian's rei^n ; I think the account of (1) Annal. 1. 15. c. 44. (3) 1. 67, in Domit, (2) E.H.I. 3. c. 17, IS. 46 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. Eusebius, which he declares he took from writers, who were far from being friends to Christianity, is preferable to that of Dion's ; and that therefore these persecutions by Domi- tian were upon account of Christianity. However, they did not last long ; for as Eusebius tells us, 1 he put a stop to them by an edict in their favour. Tertullian 2 also affirms the same ; and adds, that he recalled those whom he had banished. So that though this is reckoned bj ecclesiastical writers as the second persecution, it doth not appear to have been general, or very severe. Domitian 3 also ex- pelled all the philosophers from Rome and Italy. Under Trajan, otherwise a most excellent prince, began the third persecution, in the 14th year of his reign. In answer to a letter of Pliny, he ordered : " that the Chris- tians should not be sought after, but that if they were accused and convicted of being Christians they should be punished ; such only excepted as should deny themselves to be Christians, and give an evident proof of it by wor- shipping his gods." These were to receive pardon upon this their repentance, how much soever they might have been suspected before. From this imperial rescript it is abundantly evident, that this persecution of the Christians by Trajan was purely on the score of their religion, because he orders, that whosoever was accused and convicted of being a Christian should be punished with death, unless he renounced his profession, and sacrificed to the gods. All that was required, says Tertullian, 4 was " merely to confess the name, without any cognizance being taken of any crime." Pliny himself, in his letter to the emperor, ac- quits them of every thing of this nature, and tells him, "that all they acknowledged was, that their' whole crime or error consisted in this, that at stated times they were used to meet before day-light, and to sing an hymn to Christ as God ; and that they bound themselves by an (1) E. H. 1. 3. c. 20. (3) Suet, in vit. Domit. c. 10. (2) Apol. c. 5. (4) Apol. c. 2. THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. 47 oath not to commit any wickedness, such as thefts, rob- beries, adulteries, and the like." And to be assured of the truth of this, he put two maids to the torture, and after examining- them, found them guilty of nothing but "a wicked and unreasonable superstition." This is the noblest vindi- cation of the purity and innocency of the Christian assemblies, and abundantly justifies the account of Eusebius, 1 from Hegesippus : " that the church continued until these times as a virgin pure and uncorrupted ;" and proves beyond all contradiction, that the persecution raised against them was purely on a religious account, and not for any immoralities and crimes against the laws, that could be proved against the Christians ; though their enemies slandered them with the vilest, and hereby endeavoured to render them hateful to the whole world. " Why," says Tertullian, 2 " doth a Christian suffer, but for being of their number ? Hath any one proved incest, or cruelty upon us, during this long space of time ? No ; it is for our innocence, probity, justice, chastity, faith, veracity, and for the living God that we are burnt alive." Pliny was forced to acquit them from every thing but " an unreasonable superstition," L e. their resolute adherence to the faith of Christ. And yet, though innocent in all other respects, when they were brought before his tribunal, he treated them in this unrighteous manner : he only asked them, whether they were Christians ? If they con- fessed it, he asked them the same question again and again, adding threatenings to his questions. If they persevered in their confession, he condemned them to death, because what- ever their confession might be, he was very sure, u that their stubbornness and inflexible obstinacy deserved punish- ment." So that without being convicted of any crime, but that of constancy in their religion, this equitable heathen, this rational philosopher, this righteous judge, condemns them to a cruel death. And for this conduct the emperor, his master, commends him. For in answer to Pliny's ques- (1) E. H. 1. S. c. 32. (2) Ad Scapuh 48 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION tion, " Whether he should go on to punish the name itself, though chargeable with no crimes, or the crimes only which attended the name ?" Trajan in his rescript, after commend- ing- Pliny, orders, " that if they were accused and convicted of being Christians, they should be put to death, unless they renounced that name, and sacrificed to his gods." Tertullian and Athenagoras, in their Apologies, very justly inveigh with great warmth against this imperial rescript ; and indeed, a more shameful piece of iniquity was never practised in the darkest times of popery. I hope also my reader will observe, that this was lay-persecution, and owed its rise to the religious zeal of one of the best of the Roman emperors, and not only to the contrivances of cruel and designing priests ; that it was justified and carried on by a very famous and learned philosopher, whose reason taught him, that what he accounted superstition, if incurable, was to be punished with death ; and that it was managed with great fury and barbarity, multitudes of persons in the several provinces being destroyed merely on account of the Chris- tian name, by various and exquisite methods of cruelty. The rescript of Adrian, his successor, to Minutius Funda- nus, pro-consul of Asia, seems to have somewhat abated the fury of this persecution, though not wholly to have put an end to it. Tertullian tells us 1 that xlrrius Antoninus, after- wards emperor, then pro-consul of Asia, when the Christians came in a body before his tribunal, ordered some of them to be put to death ; and said to others : " You wretches ! If you will die, ye have precipices and halters." He also says, that several other governors of provinces punished some few Christians, and dismissed the rest ; so that the perse- cution was not so general, nor severe as under Trajan. Under Antoninus, Pius the Christians were very cruelly treated in some of the provinces of Asia, which occasioned Justin Martyr to write his first Apology. It doth not, how- ever, appear to have been done, either by the order or (l) Ad Scap. THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION 40 eonsenl of this emperor. On the contrary, he wrote letter- to the cities of Asia, and particularly to those of Loiitta, Thessalonica, Athens, and all the Greeks, that they should create no new troubles to them. It is probable, that the Asiatic cities persecuted them by virtue of some former imperial edicts, which do not appear ever to have been recalled ; and, perhaps, with the connivance of Antoninus Philosophic, the colleague and successor of Pius in the empire. Under him began, as it is generally accounted, the fourth persecution, upon which Justin Martyr wrote his second Apology, Meliton his, and Athenagoras his Legation or Embassy for the Christians. Meliton, as Eusebius relates it, 1 complains of it as " an almost unheard of thing, that pious men were now persecuted, and greatly distressed by new decrees throughout Asia; that most impudent in- formers, who were greedy of other persons' substance, took occasion from the imperial edicts, to plunder others who were entirely innocent." After this he humbly beseeches the emperor, that he would not suffer the Christians to be any longer used in so cruel and unrighteous a manner. ^Justin Martyr, 2 in the account he gives of the martyrdom of Ptolemams, assures us, that the only question asked him was, " whether he was a Christian ?" And upon his con- fession that he was, he was immediately ordered to the slaughter. Lucius was also put to death for making the same confession, and asking Urbicus the prefect, why he condemned Ptolemy, who was neither convicted of adultery, rape, murder, theft, robbery, nor of any other crime, but only for owning himself to be a Christian. From these accounts it is abundantly evident, that it was still the very name of a Christian that was made capital ; and that these cruelties were committed by an emperor who was a great master of reason and philosophy ; not as punishments upon * See note [E] at the end of the volume, (l) E. H. 1. 4. c. 26. (2) Apol. 2<^ c. 42. Edit. Thirlb. H 50 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. offenders against the laws and public peace, but purely for the sake of religion and conscience ; committed, to main- tain and propagate idolatry, which is contrary to all the principles of reason and philosophy, and upon persons of great integrity and virtue in heart and life, for their adhe- rence to the worship of one God, which is the foundation of all true religion, and one of the plainest and most im- portant articles of it. The tortures which the persecutors of the Christians applied, and the cruelties they exercised on them, enough, one would think, to have overcome the firmest human resolution and patience, could never extort from them a confession of that guilt their enemies would gladly have fixed on them. And yet innocent as they were in all respects, they were treated with the utmost indignity, and destroyed by such inventions of cruelty, as were abhor- rent to all the principles of humanity and goodness. They were, indeed, accused of atheism, i. e. for not believing in r and worshipping the fictitious gods of the heathens. This was the cry of the multitude against *Polycarp :' " This is the doctor of Asia, the father of the Christians, the sub- verter of our gods, who teaches many that they must not perform the sacred rites, nor worship our deities." This was the reason of the tumultuous cry against him, " away with these atheists." But would not one have imagined that reason and philosophy should have informed the em- peror, that this kind of atheism was a real virtue, and deserved to be encouraged and propagated amongst man- kind ? No : reason and philosophy here failed him, and his blind attachment to his country's gods caused him to shed much innocent blood, and to become the destroyer of " the saints of the living God." 2 At last, indeed, the emperor seems to have been sensible of the great injustice of this persecution, and by an edict ordered they should be no longer punished for being Christians. * See note [F] at the end of the volume, (l) Euseb. E. H. 1. 4. c. 15. (2) Id. 1. 4. c. 13. THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. 51 T shall not trouble my reader with an account of thii persecution as carried on by SeverilS, Decius, (i;illn^ : Valerianic. Dioclesian, and others of the Roman emperors but only observe in general, that the most excessive and outrageous barbarities were made use of upon all who would not blaspheme Christ, and offer incense to the im- perial gods: they were publicly whipped; drawn by the heels through the streets of cities ; racked till every bone of their bodies was disjointed: had their teeth beat out; their noses, hands and ears ctit off; sharp pointed spears ran under their nails ; were tortured with melted lead thrown on their naked bodies; had their eyes dug out; their limbs cut off; were condemned to the mines ; ground between stones ; stoned to death ; burnt alive ; thrown headlong from high buildings ; beheaded ; smothered in burning lime-kilns ; ran through the body with sharp spears ; destroyed with hunger, thirst, and cold ; thrown to the w ild beasts ; broiled on gridirons with slow r fires ; cast by heaps into the sea ; crucified ; scraped to death with sharp shells ; torn in pieces by the boughs of trees ; and, in a word, destroyed by all the various methods that the most diabolical subtlety and malice could devise. It must indeed be confessed, that under the latter em- perors who persecuted the Christians, the simplicity and purity of the Christian religion were greatly corrupted, and that ambition, pride and luxury, had too generally pre- vailed both amongst the pastors and people. *Cyprian, who lived under the Decian persecution, writing concerning it to the presbyters and deacons, 1 says : " It must be owned and confessed, that this outrageous and heavy calamity, which hath almost devoured our flock, and continues to devour it to this day, hath happened to us because of our sins, since we keep not the way of the Lord, nor observe his heavenly commands given to us for our salvation. Though * See note [G] at the end of the volume, (1) Episfc. xi. Ed. FeU. H 8 52 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. our Lord did the will of his Father, jet we do not the will of the Lord, Our principal study is to get money and estates ; we follow after pride ; we are at leisure for no- thing but emulation and quarrelling ; and have neglected the simplicity of the faith. We have renounced this world in words only, and not in deed. Every one studies to please himself, and to displease others." After Cyprian, Eusebius the historian gives a sad account of the de- generacy of Christians, about the time of the Dioclesian persecution : he tells us, 1 " That through too much liberty they grew negligent and slothful, envying and reproaching one another ; waging, as it were, civil wars between them- selves, bishops quarrelling with bishops, and the people divided into parties : that hypocrisy and deceit were grown to the highest pitch of wickedness ; that they were become so insensible, as not so much as to think of appeasing the divine anger, but that, like atheists, they thought the world destitute of any providential government and care, and thus added one crime to another ; that the bishops themselves had thrown off all care of religion, were perpetually con- tending with one another, and did nothing but quarrel with, and threaten, and envy, and hate one another ; were full of ambition, and tyrannically used their power." This was the deplorable state of the Christian church, which God, as Eusebius well observes, first punished with a gentle hand ; but when they grew hardened and incurable in their vices, he was pleased to let in the most grievous persecution upon them, under Dioclesian, which exceeded in severity and length all that had been before. From these accounts it evidently appears, that the Chris- tian world alone is not chargeable with the guilt of perse- cution on the score of religion. It was practised long before Christianity was in being, and first taught the Christians by the persecuting heathens. The most emi- nent philosophers espoused and vindicated persecuting (l) E. H. ]. 8. c. l. THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION 66 principles: and emperors, otherwise excellent ;uhI good, made no scruple of destroying multitudes on a religions account, such as Trajan, and Aurelius Verus. And I think I may farther add, that the method of propagating religion by cruelty and death, owes its invention to la\ polici and craft : and that how servilely soever the priesthood hath thought fit to imitate them, yet that they have never ex- ceeded them in rigour and severity. 1 can trace out the footsteps but of very few priests in the foregoing accounts ; nor have I ever heard of more excessive cruelties than those practised by Antiochus, the Egyptian heretic eaters, and the Roman emperors. 1 may farther add on this important article, that it is the laity who have put it in the power of the priests to persecute, and rendered it worth their while to do it ; they have done it by the authority of the civil laws, as well as employed lay hands to execute the drud- gery of it. The emoluments of honours and riches that have been annexed to the favourite religion and priesthood is the establishment of civil society, whereby religion hath been made extremely profitable, and the u gains of godli- ness" worth contending for. Had the laity been more sparing in their grants, and their civil constitutions formed upon the generous and equitable principle of an universal toleration, persecution had never been heard of amongst men. The priests would have wanted not only the power, but the inclination to persecute ; since few persons have such an attachment either to what they account religion or truth, as to torment and destroy others for the sake of it, unless tempted with the views of worldly ambition, power and grandeur. These views will have the same influence upon all bad minds, whether of the priesthood or laity, w ho, w hen they are determined at all hazards to pursue them, w ill use all methods, right or wrong, to accomplish and secure them. As, therefore, the truth of history obliges me to compli- ment the laity with the honour of this excellent invention, for the support and propagation of religion ; and as its con- 54 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. tinuance in the world to this day is owing to the protection and authority of their laws, and to certain political ends and purposes they have to serve thereby ; the loading the priest- hood only, or principally, with the infamy and guilt of it, is a mean and groundless scandal; and to be perpetually ob- jecting the cruelties that have been practised by some who have called themselves Christians, on others for conscience- sake, as an argument against the excellency of the Christian religion, or with a view to prejudice others against it, is an artifice unworthy a person of common understanding and honesty. Let all equally share the guilt, who are equally chargeable with it; and let principles be judged of by what they are in themselves, and not by the abuses which bad men may make of them. If any argument can be drawn from these, we may as well argue against the truth and excellency of philosophy, because Cicero espoused the principles of persecution, and Antoninus the philosopher authorized all the cruelties attending it. But the question in these cases is not, what one who calls himself a philosopher or a Christian doth, but what true philosophy and genuine Christianity lead to and teach ; and if persecution be the natural effect of either of them, it is neither in my inclination or intention'to defend them. SECT. VI. Persecutions bj/ the Mahometans. It may be thought needless to bring the Mahometans into this reckoning, it being well known that their avowed method of propagating religion is by the sword; and that it was a maxim of Mahomet, " not to suffer two religions to be in Arabia." But this is not all: as they are enemies to all other religions but their own, so they are against tolera- THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. •>•> (ion of heretics amongst themselves, and have oftentimes punished them mthdeath. •Hottinger 1 gives us an account of a famous dispute amongst them concerning the Coran, whether it was " the created" or a uncreated word of Clod?" Many of their califs were of opinion that it was created, and issued their orders that the Musselmen should be compelled to believe it. 1 And as for those who denied it, many were whipped; others put in chains; and others murdered. iMairy, also, were slain, for not praying- in a right posture towards the temple at Mecca. 3 The same author farther tells us, that there are some heretics, who, yvhenever they are found, are burnt to death. The enmity betyveen the Persians and Turks, 4 upon account of their religious difference, is irre- concileable and mortal; so that they yvould, each of them, rather tolerate a Christian than one another. But I pass from these things to the history of Christian persecution. * See note [H] at the end of the volume. (1) Histor. Orient, p. 252. (3) Pag. 366. (2) Pag. 362. (4) Ibid. 56 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. BOOK II. OF THE PERSECUTIONS UNDER THE CHRISTIAN EMPERORS. If any person was to judge of the nature and spirit of the Christian religion, by the spirit and conduct only of too many who have professed to believe it in all nations, and almost throughout all ages of the Christian church, he could scarce fail to censure it as an institution unworthy the God of order and peace, subversive of the welfare and happiness of societies, and designed to enrich and aggrandize a few only, at the expence of the liberty, reason, consciences, substance, and lives of others. For what confusions and calamities, what ruins and desolations, what rapines and murders, have been introduced into the world, under the " pretended authority" of Jesus Christ, and supporting and propagating Christianity ? What is the best part of our ecclesiastical history, better than an history of the pride and ambition, the avarice and tyranny, the treachery and cruelty of some, and of the persecutions and dreadful miseries of others ? And what could an unprejudiced per- son, acquainted with this melancholy truth, and who had never seen the sacred records, nor informed himself from thence of the genuine nature of Christianity, think, but that it was one of the worst religions in the world, as tending to destroy all natural sentiments of humanity and compassion, and inspiring its votaries with that " wisdom which is from beneath," and which is " earthly, sensual, and devilish!" If this charge could be justly fixed upon the religion of Christ, it would be unworthy the regard of every wise and good man, and render it both the interest and duty of every nation in the world to reject it. 1T4E HISTORY OF PERSECUTION ->/ SECT. I. Of the dispute concerning Easter. It must be allowed by all who know any thing of the progress of the Christian religion, that the first preachers and propagators of it, used none of the vile methods of per- secution and cruelty to support and spread it. Both their doctrines and lives destroy every suspicion of this nature; and vet in their times the beginnings of this spirit appeared: "Diotrephes loved the pre-eminence," and, therefore, would not own and receive the inspired apostle. We also read, that there were great divisions and schisms in the church of Corinth, and that many grievous disorders were caused therein, by their ranking themselves under different leaders and heads of parties, one being for Paul, another for Apol- los, and others for Cephas. These animosities were with difficulty healed by the apostolic authority; but do not, how- ever, appear to have broken out into mutual hatreds, to the open disgrace of the Christian name and profession. The primitive Christians seem for many years generally to have maintained the warmest affection for each other, and to have distinguished themselves by their mutual love, the great characteristic of the disciples of Christ. The gospels, and the epistles of the apostles, all breathe with this amiable spirit, and abound with exhortations to cultivate this Gop% like disposition. It is reported of St. John, 1 that in his ex- treme old age at Ephesus, being carried into the church by the disciples, upon account of his great weakness, he used to say nothing else, every time he was brought there, but this remarkable sentence, " Little children, love one another." And when some of the brethren were tired with hearing so often the same thing, and asked him, " Sir, why do you always repeat this sentence?" he answered, with a spirit (l) Hieron. in Gal, c. S, I 58 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. worthy an apostle, " It is the command of the Lord, and the fulfilling of the law." Precepts of this kind so frequently inculcated, could not but have a very good influence in keep- ing alive the spirit of charity and mutual love. And, indeed, the primitive Christians were so very remarkable for this temper, that they were taken notice of on this very account, and recommended even by their enemies as patterns of bene- ficence and kindness. But at length, in the second century, the spirit of pride and domination appeared publicly, and created great dis- orders and schisms amongst Christians. There had been a controversy of some standing, on what day Easter should be celebrated. The Asiatic churches thought that it ought to be kept on the same day on which the Jews held the pass- over, the fourteenth day of Nisan, their first month, on what- soever day of the week it should fall out. The custom of other churches was different, who kept the festival of Easter only on that Lord's day which was next after the fourteenth of the moon. This controversy appears at first view to be of no manner of importance, as there is no command in the sacred writings to keep this festival at all, much less speci- fying the particular day on which it should be celebrated. Eusebius tells us 1 from Irenaeus, that Polycarp, bishop of Smyrna, came to Anicetus, bishop of Rome, on account of this very controversy ; and that though they differed from one another in this and some other lesser things, yet they embraced one another with a kiss of peace ; Polycarp neither persuading Anicetus to conform to his custom, nor Anicetus breaking off communion with Polycarp, for not complying with his. This was a spirit and conduct worthy these Christian bishops : but Victor, the Roman prelate, acted a more haughty and violent part; for after he had received the letters of the Asiatic bishops, giving their reasons for their own practice, he immediately excommunicated all the churches of Asia, and those of the neighbouring provinces, for heterodoxy ; and by his letters declared all the brethren (l) Euseb. 1. 5. c. 24. THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. 59 unworthy of communion. This conduct was greatly dis- pleasing to some other of the bishops, who exhorted him to mind the things that made for peace, unity, and Christian love. *lrenetis especially, in the name of all his brethren, the bishops of France, blamed him for thus censuring whole churches of Christ, and puts him in mind of the peaceable spirit of several of his predecessors, who did not break off communion with their brethren upon account of such lesser differences as these. Indeed, this action of pope Victor was a very insolent abuse of excommunication: and is an abun- dant proof that the simplicity of the Christian faith was greatly departed from; in that, heterodoxy and orthodoxy were made to depend on conformity or non-conformity to the modes and circumstances of certain things, when there was no shadow of any order for the things themselves in the sacred writings; and that the lust of power, and the spirit of pride, had too much possessed some of the bishops of the Christian church. The same Victor also excommunicated one Theodosius, for being unsound in the doctrine of the Trinity. 1 However, it must be owned, in justice to some of the primitive fathers, that they were not of Victor's violent and persecuting spirit. Tertullian, who flourished under Se- verus, in his book to Scapula, tells us, " Every one hath a natural right to worship according to his own persuasion; for no man's religion can be hurtful or profitable to his neighbour; nor can it be a part of religion to compel men to religion, which ought to be voluntarily embraced, and not through constraint." Cyprian, also, agrees with Tertullian his master. In his letter to Maximus 2 the presbyter, he says, 44 It is the sole prerogative of the Lord, to whom the iron rod is committed, to break the earthen vessels. The servant cannot be greater than his lord : nor should any one arrogate to himself, what the Father hath committed to the Son only, * See note [I] at the end of the volume, (l) Euseb. 1. 5. c. 28. (2) Epist. 54. Ed. Fell. 60 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. viz. to winnow and purge the floor, and separate, by any human judgment, the chaff from the wheat. This is proud obstinacy and sacrilegious presumption, and proceeds from wicked madness. And, whilst some are always assuming to themselves more dominion than is consistent with justice, they perish from the church; and whilst they insolently ex- tol themselves, they lose the light of truth, being blinded by their own haughtiness." To these I shall add Lactantius* 1 though forty years later than Cyprian. " They are con- vinced," says he, " that there is nothing more excellent than religion, and therefore think that it ought to be defended with force. But they are mistaken, both in the nature of religion, and in the proper methods to support it : for re- ligion is to be defended, not by murder, but persuasion ; not by cruelty, but patience; not by wickedness, but faith. Those are the methods of bad men; these of good. If you attempt to defend religion by blood, and torments, and evil, this is not to defend, but to violate and pollute it : for there is nothing should be more free than the choice of our re- ligion : in which, if the consent of the worshipper be wanting, it becomes entirely void and ineffectual. The true way, therefore, of defending religion, is by faith, a patient suffer- ing and dying for it: this renders it acceptable to God, and strengthens its authority and influence." This was the persuasion of some of the primitive fathers: but of how dif- ferent a spirit were others ! As the primitive Christians had any intervals from per- secution, they became more profligate in their morals, and more quarrelsome in their tempers. As the revenues of the several bishops increased, they grew more ambitious, less capable of contradiction, more haughty and arrogant in their behaviour, more envious and revengeful in every part of their conduct, and more regardless of the simplicity and gravity of their profession and character. The accounts I have before given of them from Cyprian and Eusebius before (1) Lib. 5. c. 20. THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. 61 the Dioclesian persecution, to which I might add the lattei one of St. Jerom, 1 are very melancholy and affecting, and shew how vastly they were degenerated from the piety and peaceable spirit of many of their predecessors, and how ready they were to enter into the worst measures of persecu- tion, could they but have got the opportunity and power. SECT. II. Of the persecutions begun by Constantine. Under Constantine the emperor, when the Christians were restored to full liberty, their churches rebuilt, and the imperial edicts every where published in their favour, they immediately began to discover what spirit they were of; as soon as ever they had the temptations of honour and large revenues before them. Constantine's letters are full proof of the jealousies and animosities that reigned amongst them.* In his letters to Miltiades, bishop of Rome, he tells him, that he had been informed that Caecilian*s, bishop of Carthage, had been accused of many crimes by some of his colleagues, bishops of Africa; and that it was very grievous to him to see so great a number of people divided into parties, and the bishops disagreeing amongst themselves. 3 And though the emperor was willing to reconcile them by a friendly refer- ence of the controversy to Miltiades and others ; yet, in spite of all his endeavours, they maintained their quarrels and factious opposition to each other, and through secret grudges and hatred would not acquiesce in the sentence of those he had appointed to determine the affair. So that, as he complained to Chrestus bishop of Syracuse, those who ought to have maintained a brotherly affection and peace- (l) Epist. 13. (2) E. H. 1. 10. c. 5. (3) Ibid. 62 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION able disposition towards each other, did in a scandalous and detestable manner separate from one another, and gave oc- casion to the common enemies of Christianity to deride and scoff at them. For this reason, he summoned a council to meet at Aries in France, that after an impartial hearing of the several parties, this controversy, which had been carried on for a long while in a very intemperate manner, might be brought to a friendly and Christian compromise. *Eusebius I farther adds, that he not only called together councils in the several provinces upon account of the quarrels that arose amongst the bishops, but that he himself was present in them, and did all he could to promote peace amongst them. How- ever, all he could do had but little effect ; and it must be owned that he himself greatly contributed to prevent it, by his large endowment of churches, by the riches and honours which he conferred on the bishops, and especially by his au- thorizing them to sit as judges upon the consciences and faith of others ; by which he confirmed them in a worldly spirit, the spirit of domination, ambition, pride, and avarice, which hath in all ages proved fatal to the peace and true interest of the Christian church. In the first edict, given us at large by Eusebius,* pub- lished in favour of the Christians, he, acted the part of a wise, good, and impartial governor ; in which, without mention- ing any particular sects, he gave foil liberty to all Chris- tians, and to all other persons whatsoever, of following that religion which they thought best. But this liberty was of no long duration, and soon abridged in reference both to the Christians ana* heathens. Foi- although in this first mentioned edict he orders the churches and effects of the Christians in general to be restored to them, yet in one immediately following he confines this grant to the Catho- lic church. After this, in a letter to Miltiades bishop of Rome, complaining of the 'differences fomented by the * See note [K] at the end of the volume, (i) Be Vit. Con. 1. 2. e. 44. (2) E. H. 1. 10. c, *, Tin: HISTORY or PERSECUTION. 63 African bishops, lie lets him know, that he had bo great a reverence for the Catholic church, that he would not have lii in suffer in any place any schism or difference whatsoever, In another to Caecilianus bishop of Carthage, 1 niter giving him to understand, that he had ordered Ursue to pay his reverence three thousand pieces, and Heraclides to disburse to him whatever other sums his reverence should have < sion tor ; he orders him to complain of all persons who should go on to corrupt the people of the most holy Catho- lic church by any evil and talse doctrine, to Anulinus the pro-consul, and Patricius, to whom he had given instructions on this affair, that if they persevered in such madness they might be punished according to his orders. It is easy to guess what the Catholic faith and church meant, viz. that which was approved by the bishops, who had the greatest interest in his favour. As to the Heathens, 8 soon after the settlement of the whole empire under his government, he sent into all the provinces Christian presidents, forbidding them, and all other officers of superior dignity, to sacrifice, and confining to such of them as were Christians the honours due to their characters and stations ; hereby endeavouring to support the kingdom of Christ, which is not of this world, by motives purely worldly, viz. the prospects of temporal preferments and honours ; and notwithstanding the excellent law he had before published, that every one should have free exercise of his own religion, and worship such gods as they thought proper, he soon after prohibited the old religion, 3 viz. the worship of idols in cities and country ; commanding that no statues of the gods should be erected, nor any sacrifices offered upon their altars. And yet, notwithstanding this abridgment of the liberty of religion, he declares in his letters afterwards, written to all the several governors of his provinces, 4 that though he wished the ceremonies of the (1) E. H. 1. 10. c. 6. (3) Ibid. c. 45. (2) De vit. Const. 1. 2. (4) Ibid. c. 56. 64 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. temples, and the power of darkness were wholly removed, he would force none, but that every one should have the liberty of acting in religion as he pleased. It is not to be wondered at, that the persons who advised these edicts to suppress the ancient religion of the heathens, should be against tolerating any other amongst themselves, who should presume to differ from them in any articles of the Christian religion they had espoused ; because if erro- neous and false opinions in religion, as such, are to be pro- hibited or punished by the civil power, there is equal reason for persecuting a Christian, whose belief is wrong, and whose practice is erroneous, as for persecuting persons of any other false religion whatsoever ; and the same temper and principles that lead to the latter, will also lead to and justify the former. And as the civil magistrate, under the direction of his priests, must always judge for himself what is truth and error in religion, his laws for supporting the one, and punishing the other, must always be in conse- quence of this judgment. And therefore if Constantine and his bishops were right in prohibiting heathenism by civil laws, because they believed it erroneous and false, Diocle- sian and Licinius, and their priests, were equally right in prohibiting Christianity by civil laws, because they believed it not only erroneous and false, but the highest impiety and blasphemy against their gods^ and even a proof of atheism itself. And by the same rule every Christian, that hath power, is in the right to persecute his Christian brother, whenever he believes him to be in the wrong. And in truth, they seem generally to have acted upon this prin- ciple ; for which party soever of them could get uppermost, was against all toleration and liberty for those who differed from them, and endeavoured by all methods to oppress and destroy them. The sentiments of the primitive Christians, at least for near three centuries, in reference to the Deity of our Lord Jesus Christ, were, generally speaking, pretty uniform ; nor do there appear to have been any public quarrels about this THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. 65 article of the Christian faith. 1 Some few persons, indeed, differed from the commonly received opinion. One Theo- dotus a tanner, under the reign of Commodus, asserted Christ was a mere man, and on this account was excommu- nicated, with other of his followers, by pope Victor, who appears to have been very liberal in his censures against others. Artemon propagated the same erroneous opinion under Severus. Beryllus* also, an Arabian bishop under Gordian, taught, " that our Saviour had no proper personal subsistence before his becoming man, nor any proper god- head of his own, but only the Father's godhead residing in him ;" but afterwards altered his opinion, being convinced of his error by the arguments of Origen. *Sabellius 3 also propagated much the same doctrine, denying also the real personality of the Holy Ghost. After him Paulus Samo- satenus, 4 bishop of Antioch, and many of his clergy, pub- licly avowed the same principles concerning Christ, and were excommunicated by a large council of bishops. But though these excommunications, upon account of differences in opinion, prove that the bishops had set up forjudges of the faith, and assumed a power and dominion over the con- sciences of others, yet as they had no civil effects, and were not enforced by any penal laws, they were not attended with any public confusions, to the open reproach of the Chris- tian church. But when once Christianity was settled by the laws of the empire, and the bishops free to act as they pleased, without any fear of public enemies to disturb and oppress them, they fell into more shameful and violent quarrels, upon account of their differences concerning the nature and dignity of Christ. 5 The controversy first began between Alexander bishop of Alexandria, and tArius, 6 one of his * See note [L] at the end of the volume, f See note [M] at the end of the volume. (1) Euseb. E. H. 1. 5. c. 28. (4) Ibid. 1. 7. c. 28, 29. (2) Ibid. 1. 6. c. 33. (5) De vit. Const. 1. 2. c. 61 (3) Ibid. 1. 7. c. 27. (6) Soc. E. H. L 1. c. 6. 66 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. presbyters, and soon spread itself into other churches, enflaming bishops against bishops, who out of a pretence to support divine truth excited tumults, and entertained irreconcileable hatreds towards one another. These divisions of the prelates set the Christian people together by the ears, as they happened to favour their different leaders and heads of parties; and the dispute was managed with such violence, that it soon reached the whole Christian world, and gave occasion to the heathens in several places to ridicule the- Christian religion upon their public theatres. 1 How dif- ferent were the tempers of the bishops and clergy of these times from the excellent spirit of Dionysius bishop of Alex- andria, in the reign of Decius, who writing to No vat us upon account of the disturbance he had raised in the church of Rome, by the severity of his doctrine, in not admitting those who lapsed into idolatry in times of persecution ever more to communion, though they gave all the marks of a true repentance and conversion, tells him, " one ought to suffer any thing in the world rather than divide the church of God." The occasion of the Arian controversy 2 was this. 3 Alex- ander, bishop of Alexandria, speaking in a very warm manner , i : (l) Euseb. 1. 6. c. 45. (2) Soc. E. H. 1. 1. c. 15. (3) Theodoret* indeed gives another account of this matter, viz. That Alius was disappointed of the bishopric of Alexandria by the promotion of Alex- ander, and that this provoked him to oppose the doctrine of the bishop.f But it should be considered that Theodoret lived an hundred years after Arius, and appears to have had the highest hatred of his name and memory. He tells us, " he was employed by the devil ; that he was an impious wretch, and damned in the other world." The accusations of such a one deserve but little credit, especially as there are no concurrent testimonies to support them. Bishop Alexander never mentions it amongst those other charges which he throws upon him, in his letter to the bishop of Constantinople. Constantine expressly ascribes the rise of the controversy to Alexander's inquisitory temper, and to Arius's speaking of things he ought never to have thought of. Socrates assures us it was owing to this, that Arius apprehended the bishop taught the doctrine of Sabellius. Sozomenj: imputes their quarrel * Theod. 1. l. c. 2, f c. 7, 14- t Soz. p. 426. THE HISTORY Ol I'I-KMa I TION. m concerning the Trinity before the presbyters and < ftergy df his church, affirmed there was u an Unity in the Trinity," and particularly that "the Son was co-eternal and consub- stantial, and of the same dignity with the Father." Arius, one of his presbyters, thought that the bishop, by this doc- trine, was introducing the Sabellian heresy, and therefore opposed him, arguing* in this manner : " If the Father begot the Son, he who was begotten must have a beginning of his existence ; and from hence," says he, " it is manifest, that there was a time when he w r as not ; the necessary con- sequence of which" he affirmed was this,* " that he had his subsistence out of things not existing." Sozomen adds farther, that he asserted, " that by virtue of his free-will the Son was capable of vice as well as virtue ; and that he was the mere creature and work of God." The bishop being greatly disturbed by these expressions of Arius, upon account of the novelty of them, and not able to bear such an opposition from one of his presbyters to his own prin- ciples, commanded (" admonished, as president of the coun- cil, to whom it belonged to enjoin silence, and put an end to the dispute") Arius to forbear the use of them, and to embrace the doctrine of the consubstantiality and co- eternity of the Father and the Son. But Arius was not thus to be convinced, especially as a great number of the only to their diversity of sentiments. Bishop Alexander says he opposed Arius, because he taught impious doctrines concerning the Son ; and Arius affirms he opposed Alexander on the same account. Now whether Theo- doret's single unsupported testimony is to be preferred to these other accounts, I leave every one that is a judge of common sense to deter- mine. Nay, I think it is evident it must be a slander, because the bishop himself had an esteem for Arius, after his advancement to the bishopric of Alexandria, and, as Gelasius Cyzicenus tells us,* " made him the presbyter next in dignity to himself j" which it is not probable he would have done, if he had seen in him any tokens of enmity because of his pro- motion. (1) E.H.I. 1. c. 15. • I.2.C.I. K 2 68 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. bishops and clergy were of his opinion, and supported him ; and for this reason himself and the clergy of his party were excommunicated, and expelled the church, in a council of near an hundred of the Egyptian and Lybian bishops met together for that purpose, by the bishop, who in this case was both party and judge, the enemy and condemner of Arius. Upon this treatment Arius and his friends sent circular letters to the several bishops of the church, giving them an account of their faith, and desiring that if they found their sentiments orthodox, they would write to Alex- ander in their favour ; if they judged them wrong, they would give them instructions how to believe. Thus was the dispute carried into the Christian church, and the bishops being divided in their opinions, some of them wrote to Alexander not to admit Arius and his party into communion without renouncing their principles, whilst others of them persuaded him to act a different part. The bishop not only followed the advice of the former, but wrote letters to the several bishops not to communicate with any of them, nor to receive them if they should come to them, nor to credit Eusebius, 1 nor any other person that should write to them in their behalf, but to avoid them as the enemies of God, and the corrupters of the souls of men ; and not so much as to salute them, or to have any commu- nion with them in their crimes. Eusebius,* who was bishop of Nicomedia, sent several letters to Alexander, exhorting him to let the controversy peaceably drop, and to receive Arius into communion ; but finding him inflexible to all his repeated entreaties, he got a synod to meet in Bithynia, from -whence they wrote letters to the other bishops, to ' engage them to receive the Arians to their communion, and to persuade Alexander to do the same. But all their endea- vours proved ineffectual, and by these unfriendly dealings the parties grew more enraged against each other, and the quarrel became incurable. (i) Soc. E. H. 1. 1. c. 6. (2) Soz. 1. l. c. 15, THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. (){> It is, I confess, not a little surprising, that the whole Christian world should be put into such a flame upon ac- count of a dispute ot so \ abstruse and metaphysical a nature, as this really was in the course and management of it. Alexander's doctrine, as Alius represents it in his Letter to Eusebius of Nicomedia, 1 was this : " God is always, and the Son always. The same time the Father, the same time the Son. The Son co-exists with God unbegottenly, being ever begotten, being unbegottenly begotten. That God was not before the Son, no not in conception, or the least point of time, he being ever God, ever a Son : for the Son is out of God himself." Nothing could be more inexcus- able, than the tearing the churches in pieces upon account of such high and subtle points as these, except the conduct of Arius, who on the other hand asserted, as Alexander, his bishop, in his letter to the bishop of Constantinople, 3 tells us, " that there was a time when there was no Son of God, and that he who before was not, afterwards existed; being made, whensoever he was made, just as any man whatsoever ; and that therefore he was of a mutable nature, and equally receptive of vice and virtue," and other things of the like kind. If these were the things taught, and pub- licly avowed by Alexander and Arius, as each represents the other's principles, I persuade myself, that every sober man will think they both deserved censure, for thus leaving the plain account of scripture, introducing terms of their own invention into a doctrine of pure revelation, and at last censuring and writing one against another, and dividing the whole church of Christ upon account of them. But it is no uncommon thing for warm disputants to mistake and misrepresent each other ; and that this was partly the case in the present controversy, is, I think, evident beyond dispute ; Alexander describing the opinions of Arius, not as he held them himself, but according to the consequences he imagined to follow from them. Thus (l) Theod. E. H. 1. l. c. 5. (2) Id. 1. 1. c. 4. 70 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. Arius asserted, " the Son hath a beginning, and is from none of the things that do exist;" not meaning that he was not from everlasting, before ever the creation, time, and ages had a being, or that he was created like other beings, or that like the rest of the creation he was mutable in his nature. Arius expressly declares the contrary, before his condemnation by the council of Nice, in his letter to Euse- bius, his intimate friend, from whom he had no reason to conceal his most secret sentiments, and says, 1 " This is what , we have and do profess, that the Son is not unbegotten, nor in any manner a part of the unbegotten God, nor from any part of the material world, but that by the will and council of the Father he existed before all times and ages, perfect God, the only begotten and unchangeable, and that there- fore before he was begotten or formed he was not," i. e. as he explains himself, " there never was a time when he was . unbegotten." His affirming therefore that the Son had a beginning, was only saying, that he was in the whole of his existence from the Father, as the origin and fountain of his being and deity, and not any denial of his being from before all times and ages ; and his saying that he was no part of God, nor derived from things that do exist, was not denying his generation from God before all ages, or his being completely God himself, or his being produced after a more excellent manner than the creatures ; "but that as he was always from God, so he was different both from him, and all other beings, and a sort of middle nature between God and his creatures ; whose beginning, as Eusebius of Nicomedia writes to Paulinus, 2 bishop of Tyre, was " not only inexplicable by words, but unconceivable by the under- standing of men, and by all other beings superior to men, and who was formed after the most perfect likeness to the nature and power of God." This is the strongest evidence that neither Arius nor his first friends put the Son upon a level with the creatures, but that they were in many re- (l) Theod. E. H. 1. l. c. 5. (2) Id. Ibid. c. 6. THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION 71 spects of the same sentiments with those who condemned them. Thus Alexander declares the Son to be " before all AltOfl expressly says the same, that he was " before all times and ages." Alexander, that "he was begotten, not out of nothing, but from the Father who was." Arius, that " he was the begotten God, the Word from the Father." Alexander says, " the Father, only, is unbegotten." Arius, that " there never was a time when the Son was not beg;ot- ten." Alexander, that " the subsistence of the Son is in- explicable even by angels." Eusebius, that " his beginning is inconceivable and inexplicable by men and angels." Alex- ander, that " the Father was always a Father because of the Son." Arius, that " the Son was not before lie was begot- ten ;" and, that " he was, from before all ages, the begotten Son of God." Alexander, that " he was of an unchangeable nature." Arius, that " he was unchangeable." Alexander, that " he was the unchangeable image of his Father." Euse- bius, that " he was made after the perfect likeness of the disposition and power of him that made him." Alexander, that u all things have received their essence from the Father through the Son." Arius, that" God made by the Word all things in heaven and earth." Alexander, that " the Word, who made, all things, could not be of the same nature with the things he made." Arius, that " he was the perfect creature or production of God, but not as one of the crea- tures." 1 Arius, again, that " the Son was no part of God? nor from any thing that did exist." Alexander, that" the only begotten nature was a middle nature, between the un- begotten Father, and the things created by him out of nothing." And yet, notwithstanding all these things, when Alexander gives an account of the principles of Arius to the bishops, he represents them in all the consequences he thought fit to draw from them, and charges him with hold- ing, that the Son was made like every other creature, abso- lutely out of nothing, and that therefore his nature was 0) Theod. E. H. 1. 1. c. 4, 72 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. mutable, and susceptive equally of virtue and vice ; with many other invidious and unscriptural doctrines, which Arius plainly appears not to have maintained or taught. I do not, however, imagine that Alexander and Arras were of one mind in all the parts of this controversy. They seemed to differ in the following things. Particularly about the strict eternity of the generation of the Son. Alexander affirmed, that it was " absolutely without beginning;" and, that there was no imaginary point of time in which the Father was prior to the Son ; and, that the soul could not conceive or think of any distance between them. Arius, on the other hand, maintained, " The Son hath a beginning, there was a time when he was not;" by which he did not mean, that he w r as not before all times and ages, or the creation of the worlds visible and invisible ; but that the very notion of begetting and begotten doth necessarily, in the very nature of things, imply, that the begetter must be some point of time, at least in our conception, prior to what is begotten. And this is agreeable to the ancient doctrine of the primitive fathers. They held, indeed, many of them, x such as Justin Martyr, Tatian, Athenagoras, Tertullian, Novatian, Lactantius, &c. that Logos, i. e. power, wisdom, and reason, existed in God the Father strictly from eternity, but without any proper hypostasis or personality of its own. But that before the creation of the worlds, God the Father did emit, or produce, or generate this Logos, reason or wisdom; whereby, what was before the internal Logos, or wisdom of the Father, existing eternally in and inseparably from him, had now its proper hypostasis, subsistence, or personality. Not that the Father hereby became " desti- tute of reason," but that this production proceeded after an ineffable and inexplicable manner. And this production of the Word some of them never scrupled to affirm was posterior to the Father, and that the Father was prior to the Son as thus begotten. They considered the Son under a twofold (l) Dial. p. 112. 413. p. 20, &c. DeReg. fid. p, 240. £)e ver. Sap. p. 371, THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. 73 character, as the reason, and as the word of God. As " the reason of God," he was eternally in the Father, u unorigi- aated, unbegotten, underived." As " the word of God," he was Missus, Oeatus, Genitus, Prolatus, and received his distinct subsistence and personality then, when God said, " Let there be light ;" and on this account the Father was, as Novation speaks, " as a Father prior to the Son." And, as Tertullian says, " God is a Father and a Judge. But it doth not thence follow that he was always a Father and always a Judge, because always God : for he could not be a Father before the Son, nor a Judge before the offence. But there was a time when there was no offence, and when the Son was not, by which God became a Judge and Father." Another thing in which Alexander and Arius differed, was in the use of certain words, describing the production and generation of the Son of God. Alexander denied that he was made or created, and would not apply to him any word by which the production of the creatures was denoted. Whereas Arius, and Eusebius of Nicomedia, did not scruple to affirm that he was created, founded, and the like. And for tliis they quoted that passage, Prov. vii. 22, &c. as ren- dered by the LXX. " The Lord created me the beginning of his way, he founded me before the age, and begat me be- fore all the hills." They did not, however, hereby put him upon a level with the creatures. For though Arius says, he was the " perfect creature of God," yet he immediately sub- join-, "yet not as one of the creatures;" and affirms that he was " begotten not in time," or u before all time/' which could not be affirmed of the creatures. And his friend Eusebius says, that he was " created, founded, and begotten with an unchangeable and ineffable nature." Nor were the primitive fathers afraid to use such-like words. Justin Martyr says, he was " the first production of God," Apol. i. c. 6G. Tatian, that he was " the first born work of the Father." Tertullian, that Sophia was " formed the second person." And indeed most of the primitive fathers ex- pounded the before-mentioned passage of the Proverbs of 74 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION the eternal generation of the Son, and thereby allowed him to be " created and founded.'' Another thing in which Alexander and Arius seemed to differ, was about the voluntary generation of the Son of God. Alexander doth not, I think, expressly deny this, but seems to intimate, that the generation of the Son was necessary. Thus he says of the Son, " He is like to the Father, and in- ferior only in this, that he is not unbegotten," or " that the Father only is unbegotten ;" the consequence of which seems to be, that he apprehended his generation as necessary as the essence of the Father. Arius on the contrary, and his friends, affirmed, that " he was begotten by the will of the Father;" a doctrine not new nor strange in the primitive church. Justin Martyr, speaking of the Word, says, 1 " this virtue was begotten by the Father by his power and will." And again, explaining the scripture Gen. xix. 24. " The Lord rained down fire from the Lord from heaven," he says, '$ There was one Lord on earth, and another in heaven, who was the Lord of that Lord who appeared on earth ; z as his Father and God, and the author or cause to him of being- powerful, and Lord, and God," Cont. Tryph. Pars secund. And again, he expressly affirms him " to be begotten by the will of his Father." In like manner Tatian, " that he did come forth by the pure will of the Father." And Tertullian, Cont. Prax. " He then first produced the Word, when it first pleased him." I do not take upon me to defend any of these opinions, but only to represent them as I find them ; and I think the three particulars I have mentioned were the most material differences between the contending parties. I know the enemies of Arius charged him with many other principles ; but as it is the common fate of religious disputes to be managed with an intemperate heat, it is no wonder his opponents should either mistake or misrepresent him, and, in their warmth, charge him with consequences which either he did not see, or expressly denied. And as (l) Dialog, p. 413. Ed. Thirl. (2) Ibid. p. 413. nil, HISTORY OF PERSE* rimv /•> tln> appears to be the case, no wonder the controversy was never fairly managed, nor brought to a friendly and peace- able issue. Many methods were tried, but all in vain, to bring Alexander and Alius to a reconciliation, the emperor himself condescending to become a mediator between them. The first step he took to heal this breach Mas right and prudent : he sent his letters to Alexandria, 1 exhorting Alex- ander and Arius to lav aside their differences, and become reconciled to each other. He tells them, that " after lie had diligently examined the rise and foundation of this affair, he found the occasion of the difference to be very trifling, and not worthy such furious contentions ; and that therefore he promised himself that his mediation between them for peace, would have the desired effect." lie tells Alexander, '* that he required from his presbyter a declaration of their sentiments concerning a silly, empty question." And Arius, '• that he had imprudently uttered what he should not have even thought of, or what at least he ought to have kept secret in his own breast ; and that therefore questions about such things should not have been asked ; or if they had, should not have been answered ; that they proceeded from an idle itch of disputation, and were in themselves of so high and difficult a nature, as that they could not be exactly com- prehended, or suitably explained;" and that to insist on such points too much before the people, could produce no other effect, than to make some of them talk blasphemy, and others turn schismatics ; and that therefore, u as they did not contend about any essential doctrine of the gospel, nor introduce anv new heresy concerning the worship of God," they should again communicate with each other ; and finally, that notwithstanding their sentiments in these unnecessary and trifling matters were different from each other, they should acknowledge one another as brethren, and, laying aside their hatreds, return to a firmer friendship and affec- tion than before. (l) Euseb. Vit. Const. 1.1. c, 63, &c. l2 76 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. But religious hatreds are not so easily removed, and the ecclesiastical combatants were too warmly engaged to fol- low this kind and wholesome advice. The bishops of each side had already interested the people in their quarrel, 1 and heated them into such a rage that they attacked and fought with, wounded and destroyed each other, and acted with such madness as to commit the greatest impieties for the sake of orthodoxy ; and arrived to that pitch of insolence, as to offer great indignities to the imperial images. The old controversy about the time of celebrating Easter being now revived, added fuel to the flames, and rendered their animosities too furious to be appeased. SECT. III. The Nicene Council, *Constantine being greatly disturbed upon this ac- count, sent letters to the bishops of the several provinces of the empire to assemble together at Nice in Blthy nia, and accordingly great numbers of them came, A. C. 325, 3 some through hopes of profit, and others out of curiosity to see such a miracle of an emperor, and many of them upon much worse accounts. The number of them was 318, besides vast numbers of presbyters, deacons, Acolythists, and others. The ecclesiastical historians tell us, that in this vast col- lection of bishops some " were remarkable for their gra- vity, patience under sufferings, modesty, integrity, eloquence, courteous behaviour," and the like virtues ; that " some were venerable for their age, and others excelled in their * See note [N] at the end of the volume, (l) Euseb. Vit. Const. 1. 3. c. 4, 5. 325. Id. Ibid. c. 6. Soc. E. H. I. 1., (2) The first general council, A. C. c. 1 7. i in: HISTORY or PERSECUTION. it youthful vigour, both of body and mincK ' They arc called (Van army of God, mustered against the devil; b great crown or garland of priests, composed and adorned with the fairest ilowers : confessors ; a crowd of martyrs ; a divine and memorable assembly; a divine choir," &c. But yet they all agree that there were others of very different characters. Knsebins tells us, that alter the emperor had ended hi- Speech, exhorting them to peace, u some of them began to accuse their neighbours, others to vindicate themselves, and recriminate : that many tilings of this nature ivere urged on both sides, and many quarrels or debates arose in the be- ninning ;" and that some came to the council with worldly views of gain. Theodorit says, 1 that those of the Arian party u were subtle and crafty, and like shelves under water concealed their wickedness ;" that amongst the orthodox some of them " were of a quarrelling malicious temper, and accused several of the bishops, and that they presented their accusatory libels to the emperor. 1 ' Socrates says that " very many of them, the major part of them, accused one another: and that many of them the day before the emperor came to the council, had delivered in to him libels of accusations, or petitions against their enemies." Sozomen goes farther, and telis us, u that as it usually comes to pass, many of the priests came together, that they might contend earnestly about thejr own affairs, thinking they had now a lit opportunity to redress their grievances ; and, that every one presented a libel to the emperor, of the matters of which he accused others, enumerating his particular grievances. And that this happened almost eyery day." Gelasius Cyzicenus's account of them is, 2 " that when all the bishops were gathered together, according to custom, there happened many debates and contentions amongst the bishops, each one having matters of accusation against the other. Upon this they gave in libels of accusation to the emperor, who re- ceived them ; and when he saw the quarrels of such bishops (l) Theod. E. H. 1. l. c. 7, 11. («->) 1. 2. c. 8. 78 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. with one another, he said, &c. and endeavoured to conceal the wicked attempts of such bishops from the knowledge of those without doors." So that, notwithstanding the enco- miums of this council, the evil spirit had plainly got amongst them ; for after the emperor had exhorted them to lay aside all their differences, and to enter into measures of union and peace, instead of applying themselves to the work for which they were convened, they began shamefully to accuse each other, and raised great disturbances in the council by their mutual charges and reproaches. Sabinus also saith, x they were generally a set of very ignorant men, and destitute of knowledge and learning. But as Sabinus was an heretic of the Macedonian sect, probably his testimony may be thought exceptionable ; and even supposing his charge to be true, yet *Socrates brings them off by telling us, that they were en- lightened by God, and the grace of his holy spirit, and so could not possibly err from the truth. But as some men may pos- sibly question the truth of their inspiration, so I think it appears but too plain, that an assembly of men, who met together with such different views, were so greatly pre- judiced and inflamed against other, and are supposed, many of them, to be ignorant, till they received miraculous illuminations from God, did not seem very likely to heal the differences of the church, or to examine with that wisdom, care, and impartiality, or to enter into those mea- sures of condescension and forbearance that were necessary to lay a solid foundation tor peace and unity. However, the emperor brought them at last to some temper, so that they fell in good earnest to creed-making, and drew up, and subscribed that, which, from the place where they were assembled, was called the Nicene. By the accounts of the transactions in this assembly, given by tAthanasius himself, in his letter to the African bishops,* it * See note [0] at the end of the volume. f See note [P] at the end of the volume. (l) Soz. E. H. 1. l. c. 9. (2) Thcod. E, H. 1. 1. c. s. THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. 7[) uppears, that they wore determined to insert into the creed such words as were most obnoxious to the Arians, and thui to force them to a public separation from the church. For when they resolved to condemn some expressions which the Arians were charged with making use of, such as, " the Son was a creature : there was a time when he was not,"' and the like : and to establish the 1 use of others in their room, such as, " the Son was the only begotten of God by nature, the Word, the Power, the only Wisdom of the Father, and true God ;" the Arians immediately agreed to it : upon this the lathers made an alteration, and explained the words, " from God," by the Son's " being of the substance of God/' And when the Arians consented also to this, the bishops farther added, to render the creed more exceptionable, that " he was consubstantial, or of the same substance with the Father." And when the Arians objected, that this expres- sion was wholly unscriptural, the Orthodox urged, that though it was so, yet the bishops that lived an hundred and thirty years before them, made use of it. At last, however, all the council subscribed the creed thus altered and amended, except five bishops, who were displeased with the word " consubstantial," and made many objections against it : and of these five, three, viz. Eusebius, Theognis, and Maris, seem afterwards to have complied with the rest, excepting only, that they refused to subscribe to the condemnation of Arius. Eusebius, 1 bishop of Caesarea, was also in doubt for a considerable time, whether he should set his hand to it, and refused to do it, till the exceptionable words had been fully debated amongst them, and he had obtained an explication of them suitable to his own sentiments. Thus when it was asserted by the creed, that " the Son was of the Father's substance," the negative explication agreed to by the bishops was exactly the same thing that was asserted by Arius, viz. that " he was not a part of the Fathers sub- CD Theod. 1. 1. c. 12. 80 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. stance." Again, as the words " begotten, not made," were applied to the Son, they determined the meaning to be, that " the Son was produced after a different manner than the creatures which he made," and was therefore of a more excellent nature than any of the creatures, and that the man- ner of his generation could not be understood. This was the very doctrine of Arius, and Eusebius of Nicomedia, who declared, that " as the Son was no part of God, so neither was he from any thing created, and that the manner of his generation was not to be described." And as to the word " consubstantial" to the Father, it was agreed by the coun- cil to mean no more, than that " the Son had no likeness with any created Beings, but was in all things like to him that begot him, and that he was not from any other hypos- tasis, or substance, but the Father's." Of this sentiment also were Arius, and Eusebius his friend, who maintained not only his being of a more excellent original than the creatures, but that he was formed " of an immutable and ineffable substance and nature, and after the most perfect likeness of the nature and power of him that formed him." These were the explications of these terms agreed to by the council, upon which Eusebius, of Caesarea, subscribed them in the creed ; and though some few of the Arian bishops refused to do it, yet it' doth not appear to me, that it proceeded from their not agreeing in the sense of these explications, but be- cause they apprehended that the words were very improper, and implied a great deal more than was pretended to be meant by them ; and especially, because an anathema was added upon all who should presume not to believe in them and use them. Eusebius, of Caesarea, gives a very extra- ordinary reason for his subscribing this anathema, viz. because -" it forbids the use of unscriptural words, the intro- ducing which he assigns as the occasion of all the differ- ences and disturbances which had troubled the church." But had he been consistent with himself, he ought never to have subscribed this creed, for the very reason he alledges why he did it; because the anathema forbids only the un- 1 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. 81 scriptural words of Arius, such as, " He was made out of nothing; there was a time when he was not," and the like; but allowed and made sacred the unscriptural expressions of the orthodox, viz. " Of the Father's substance, and con- substantial," and cut otf from Christian communion those who would not agree to them, though they were highly exceptionable to the Arian parly, and afterwards proved the occasions of many cruel persecutions and evils. In this public manner did the bishops assert a dominion over the laith and consciences of others, and assume ft power, not only to dictate to them what they should believe, but even to anathematize, and expel from the Christian church, all who refused to submit to their decisions, and own their authority. 1 For after they had carried their creed, they proceeded to excommunicate Arius and his followers, and banished Arius from Alexandria. They also condemned his explication of his own doctrine, and a certain book, called Thalia, which he had written concerning it. After this they sent letters to Alexandria, and to the brethren in Egypt, Lybia, and Pentapolis, to acquaint them with their decrees, and to inform them, that the holy synod had condemned the opinions of Arius, and were so zealous in this affair, that they had not patience so much as to hear his ungodly doctrine and blasphemous words, and that they had fully determined the time for the celebration of Easter. Finally, they exhort them to rejoice, for the good deeds they had done, and for that they had cut off all manner of heresy, and to pray, that their right transactions might h% established by Almighty God and our Lord Jesus Christ. When these things were over, Constantine* splendidlj treated the bishops, filled their pockets, and sent them honourably home ; advising them at parting to maintaia peace amongst themselves, and that none of them should envy another who might excel the rest in wisdom and elo- quence, and that such should not carry themselves haugbtilj , ■ j U) Soc. 1.1, c. 9. (2) Euseb. dt Vit. Con«t I %. c 99. M 82 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. towards their inferiors, but condescend to, and bear with their weakness. A plain demonstration that he saw into "> that they had got the scent of his father's wealth, and thai this was the true cause of the child's imprisonment, and of all that calamity that followed after it. However, the ship with all its cargo was confiscated ; and the child, with the other prisoners, were carried to the jail of the inquisition at Seville, where he lay six or eight months. Being kept in so strait confinement for so long a while, the child, who had been brought up tenderly at home, fell into a very danger- ous illness, through the dampness of the prison, and the badness of his diet. When the lords inquisitors were in- formed of this, they ordered him to be taken out of the jail, and carried, for the recovery of his health, to the hospital, which they call the Cardinal. Here they generally bring all who happen to fall ill in the prison of the inquisition ; where, besides the medicines, of which, according to the pious institution of the hospital, there is plenty, and a little better care, upon account of the distemper, nothing is abated of the severity of the former jail; no person besides the phy- sician, and the servants of the hospital, being allowed to visit the sick person ; and as soon as ever he begins to grow better, before he is fully recovered, he is put again into his former jail. The child, who had contracted a very grievous illness from that long and barbarous confinement, was car- ried into the hospital, where he lost the use of both his legs : nor was it ever known what became of him afterwards. In the mean while it was wonderful, that the child, in so ten- der an age, gave noble proofs how firmly the doctrine of piety was rooted in his mind ; oftentimes, but especially morning and evening, lifting up his eyes to heaven, and praying to him, fi-ora whom he had been instructed by his parents, to desire and hope for certain help ; which the jail- keeper having often observed, said, he was already grown a great little heretic. About the same time 1 a certain person was taken up and thrown into the same jail, wl\o had voluntarily abjured (1) P. 121, 1G6 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. the Mahometan impiety, and came but a little before from Morocco, a famous city of Mauritania, and capital of the kingdom, into that part of Spain which lies directly over against it, wjith a design to turn Christian. When he had observed that the Christians were more vicious and corrupt than the Moors he had left, he happened to say, that the Mahometan law seemed to him better than the Christian. For this the good fathers of the faith laid hold of him, thrust him into jail, and used him so cruelly, that he said publicly, even when in confinement, that he never repented of his Christianity, from the day he was baptized, till after his having been in the inquisition, where he was forced against his will to- behold all manner of violences and injuries what- soever. The complaint of Constantine, the preacher of Seville, was not less grievous concerning the barbarities of this prison ;" who, although he had not as yet tasted of the tor- tures, yet often bewailed his misery in this jail, and cried out : u O my God, were there no Scythians in the world, no cannibals more fierce and cruel than Scythians, into whose hands thou couldst carry me, so that I might but escape the paws of these wretches ?" Oimedus also, another person famous for piety and learning, fell into the inquisitors hands at Seville ; and through the inhumanity of his treat- ment, which had also proved fatal to Constantine, contracted a grievous illness, and at last died in the midst of the nasti- ness and stench. He was used to say, " Throw me any where, O my God, so that I may but escape the hands of these wretches." The author of the History of Goa agrees in this account, 2 who frankly owns, that through the cruelty and length of his imprisonment he fell into despair, and thereby often at- tempted to destroy himself; first by starving himself; and because that did not succeed, he feigned himself sick ; and when the physician of the inquisition found his pulse un- (1) P. 104. (2) Cap. 19, 20, 21, THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. 167 equal, and that lie was feverish, he ordered him to be let blood, which was done again five days after. When the doctor was gone, he unbound his arm every day, that so by the large effusion of blood, he might continually grow weaker and weaker. In the mean while he eat very little, that by hunger, and loss of blood, he might put an end to his miserable life. Whilst he was in this sad condition, he had sent him a confessor of the Franciscan order, who, by various arguments of comfort, endeavoured to recover him from his despair. They also gave him a companion in his jail, which was some comfort to him in his confinement. But growing well again after about five months, they took his companion from him. The lonesomeness of his jail brought on again his melancholy and despair, which made him invent another method to destroy himself. He had a piece of gold money, which he had concealed in his clothes, which he broke into two parts ; and making it sharp, he opened with it a vein in each arm, and lost so much blood, that he fell into a swoon, the blood running about the jail. But some of the servants happening to come before the usual time to bring him something, found him in this con- dition. The inquisitor hereupon ordered him to be loaded with irons upon his arms and hands, and strictly watched. This cruelty provoked him to that degree, that he en- deavoured to beat his brains out against the pavement and the walls ; and undoubtedly the ligaments upon his arms would have been torn off, had he continued any longer in that state. Upon this they took off his chains, gave him good words, encouraged, him, and sent him a companion, by whose conversation he was refreshed, and bore his misery with a little more easiness of mind. But after two months they took him from him again, so that the solitude of his jail was more distressing to him than before. The prisoners, 1 as soon as ever they are thrown into jail, are commanded to give an account of their name and busi- (l) Inquis. Goan. cap. 13. IG8 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. ness. Then they inquire after their wealth; and to induce them to give in an exact account, the inquisition promises them, that if they are innocent, all that they discover to them shall be faithfully kept for, and restored to them ; but that if they conceal any thing, it shall be confiscated, though they should be found not guilty. And as in Spain and Portugal most persons are fully persuaded of the sanc- tity and sincerity of this tribunal, they willingly discover all their possessions, even the most concealed' things of their houses, being certainly persuaded, that when their innocence shall appear, they shall soon recover their liberty and effects together. But these miserable creatures are deceived ; for he that once falls into the hands of these judges, is stripped at once of all he was possessed of. For if any one denies his crime, and is convicted by a sufficient number of wit- nesses, he is condemned as a negative convict, and all his effects confiscated. If to escape the jail he confesses his crime, he is guilty by his own confession, and in the judg- ment of all justly stripped of his effects. When he is dis- missed from prison as a convert and penitent, he dares not defend his innocence, unless he desires to be thrown again into jail, and condemned ; and, as a feigned penitent, to be delivered over to the secular arm. When the prisoner is brought before his judge, 1 he ap- pears with his head and arms, and feet naked. In this con- dition he is brought out of jail by the warder. When he comes to the room of audience, the warder goes a little for- ward, and makes a profound reverence, then withdraws, and the prisoner enters by himself. At the farther end of the audience room there is placed a crucifix, that reaches almost to the ceiling. In the middle of the hall is a table about five feet long, and four broad, with seats all placed round it. At one end of the table, that which is next to the crucifix, sits the notary of the inquisition ; at the other end the in- quisitor, and at his left hand the prisoner sitting upon a (l) Inquis. Goan. cap. 18. THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. 169 bench. Upon the table is a missal, upon which the prisoner is commanded to lay his hand, and to swear that lie will speak the truth, and keep every thing- secret. After they have sufficiently interrogated him, the inquisitors ring a bell for the warder, who is commanded to carry back his prisoner to jail. No one in the prison must so much as mutter, or make any noise, but must keep profound silence. If any one bemoans himself, or bewails his misfortune, or prays to God with an audible voice, or sings a psalm or sacred hymn, the jail- keepers, who continually watch in the porches, and can hear even the least sound, immediately come to him, and ad- monish him that silence must be preserved in this house. If the prisoner doth not obey, the keepers admonish him again. If after this the prisoner persists, the keeper opens the door, and prevents his noise, by severely beating him with a stick ; not only to chastise him, but to deter others, who, because the cells are contiguous, and deep silence is kept, can very easily hear the outcries and sound of the blows. I will add here a short story that I had from several persons ; which, if true, shews us with what severity they keep this silence. A prisoner in the inquisition coughed. The jailors came to him, and admonished him to forbear coughing, because it was unlawful to make any noise in that house. He answered, it was not in his power. However, they admonished him a second time to forbear it ; and be- cause he did not, they stripped him naked, and cruelly beat him. This increased his cough ; for which they beat him so often, that at last he died through the pain and anguish of the stripes. They insist so severely on keeping this silence, that they may cut off every degree of comfort from the afflicted ; and especially for this reason, that the prisoners may not know one another, either by singing, or any loud voice. For it often- times happens, that after two or three years confinement in the jail of the inquisition, a man doth not know that his friend, nor a father that his children and wife are in the z 170 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. same prison, till they all see each other in the act of faith. And finally, that the prisoners in the several cells may not talk with one another ; which, if ever found out, their cells are immediately changed. If any one falls ill in the prison, they send to him a sur- geon and physician, who administer all proper remedies to him to recover him to health. If there be any danger of his dying, they send him a confessor, if he desires it. If the criminal doth not ask for a confessor, and the physician believes the distemper to be dangerous, he must be per- suaded by all means to confess ; and if he judicially satisfies the inquisitors, he is to be reconciled to the church before he dies ; and being absolved in judgment, the confessor must absolve him sacramentally. If he is well, and desires a confessor, some are of opinion he may not have one granted him, unless he hath confessed judicially. Others think he may ; and in this case the con- fessor's business is to exhort him to confess his errors, and to^declare the whole truth, as well of himself as of others, as he is bound de jure to do. However, he must add, that he must not accuse himself or others falsely, through weari- ness of his imprisonment, the hope of a more speedy deliver- ance, or fear of torments. Such a criminal the confessor cannot absolve, before his excommunication is first taken oif, and he is reconciled to the church. But in Italy the pri- soners are more easily allowed a confessor than in Spain. They are particularly careful not to put two or more in the same Cell, unless the inquisitor for any special reason shall so order, that they may not concert with one another to conceal the truth, to make their escape, or to evade their interrogatories. The principal reason, indeed, seems to be, that through the irksomeness of their imprisonment, they may confess whatsoever the inquisitors would have them. But if an husband and his wife are both imprisoned for the same offence, and there be no fear that one should prevent the other from making a free confession of the crime, they may be put in the same cell. 3 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. 171 The inquisitors 1 are obliged to visit the prisoners twice every month, and to enquire whether they have necessaries allowed them, and whether they are well or not. In this visit they usually ask him in these very words ; How lie is ? How he hath his health ? Whether he wants any thing- ? Whether his warder is civil to him? i. e. Whether he speaks to him in a reproachful and severe manner ? Whether he gives him his appointed provision, and clean linen ? and the like.* These are exactly the sentences and words they use in these visits, to which they neither add any thing, nor act agreeable ; for they use them only for form's sake, and when the inquisitor hath spoken them he immediately goes away, scarce staying for an answer. And although any one of the prisoners complains that he is not well used, it is of no ad- vantage to him, nor is he better treated for the future. If there be. occasion or necessity, it will be convenient for them to visit the prisoners three or four times every month, yea, as often as they think proper ; viz. when the criminal bears with impatience the misfortune and infamy of his imprison- ment, in such case the inquisitor must endeavour to comfort him very often, not only by himself, but by others ; and to tell him, that if he makes a free confession, his whole affair shall be quickly and kindly ended. The inquisitors must take care not to talk with the cri- minals, when they are examined or visited, upon any other afeirs but such as relate to their business. Nor must the inquisitor be alone when he visits, or otherwise gives them audience ; but must have with him his colleague, or at least a notary, or some other faithful servant of the holy office. This also they are particularly careful of, that the crimi- nals may not be removed from one cell to another, nor associate with any other. If any prisoners have been shut up together at once in the same cell, when they are removed they must be removed together, that hereby they may be (l) Gonsalv. p. 125. (2) Inquis. Goan. c. 12. z 2 172 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. prevented from communicating any thing that hath been transacted in the prison. This is more especially to be observed, in case any of them recall their confession, after they have been removed from one cell and company to another. But if a criminal confesses, and is truly converted, he may more easily be removed from one cell to another, because the inquisitor is in no pain for fear of his retracting', but may oftentimes make use of him to draw out the truth from other prisoners. If women are imprisoned, they must each of them have, according to their quality, one honest woman at least for a companion, who must never be absent from her, to prevent all suspicion of evil. This companion must be ancient, of a good life, pious and faithful. Sometimes when women are to be imprisoned, they do not carry them to the jail of the inquisitors, especially if they are regulars, if the jails be within the walls of the monasteries, but to the convents of the nuns. When this happens, they command the abbess or prioress to admit nobody to discourse with the prisoner without express leave of the inquisitor, but diligently to observe the order given her. But when the cause is of importance, and full of danger, and such they esteem all that relate to the faith, they think it safer that women should be imprisoned in the jails of the inquisitors. But the cardinals inquisitors general are to be consulted in this affair, who, after mature consideration, are to determine whether it be most expedient that such criminals should be kept in the jails of the bishops, or inquisitors regulars ; especially if they are young and handsome, as is often the case of those who are taken up for telling people's for- tunes about their sweethearts. It is farther the custom and received use of this holy tribunal, that such who are imprisoned for heresy are not admitted to hear mass, and other prayers which are said within the jail, till their cause is determined. Their prin- cipal pretence for this custom is, that it may possibly happen. When there is a great number of criminals, that the several THE HISTORY OF PEttSECUTK)* 173 accomplices, companions and partakers of the crime, may at lej'^t hv nods and signs discover to one another how they may escape judgment, or conceal the truth. But the true and genuine reason is, that the prisoner may have nothing- to contemplate besides his present misfortune ; that so being- broken with the miseries of his confinement, he may confess whatsoever the inquisitors would have him. For this reason they deny them books, and all other things that would be any relief to them in their tedious imprison- ment. If any one of the prisoners whatsoever prays the inquisitor when he visits him, that he may have some good book, or the holy Bible, he is answered, that the true book is to discover the truth, and to exonerate his conscience be- fore that holy tribunal ; and that this is the book which he must diligently study, viz. to recover the remembrance of every thing- faithfully, and declare it to their lordships, who will immediately prescribe a remedy to his languishing* soul. If the prisoner in the same or next visit is importunate about it, he will be commanded silence ; because if he asks to please himself, they may grant or deny him according- to their pleasure. The keeping the jail anciently belonged to the executor's office ; and as often as he was absent, he was obliged to provide another keeper at his own charge. But now the jail-keeper is created by the inquisitor-general, and is dif- ferent from the executor. Those who keep the jails for the crime of heresy, must swear before the bishop and inquisitor that they will faith- fully keep their prisoners, and observe all other things prescribed them. Formerly there were two keepers to every jail, but now there is only one jail-keeper appointed in every province, chosen by the inquisitor general, who is jiot allowed to give the prisoners their food. But the inquisitors choose some proper person to this office, who is commonly called the dispenser. The provisions they give the criminals are generally prepared and dressed in the house of the inqui- 174 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. sition : because if they were to be prepared in the houses of the criminals themselves, or any where else, something might easily be hid under them, that might furnish them with the means to conceal the truth, or to elude or escape judgment. This however is to be left to the prudence and pleasure of the inquisitors, whether and when the criminals may without danger prepare their provision in their owa houses. But upon account of the hazard attending it, the inquisitors but seldom, and not without exquisite care, gratify them in this particular. If any things are sent them by their friends or relations, or domestics, the jail-keeper and dispenser never suffer them to have them, without first consulting the inquisitors. As these keepers have it in their power greatly to injure or serve their prisoners, they must promise by an oath, before the bishop and inquisitors, that they will exercise a faithful care and concern in keeping them ; and that neither of them will speak to any of them but in presence of the other, and that they will not defraud them of their provision, nor of those things which are brought to them. Their ser- vants also are obliged to take this oath. But notwithstanding this law, a great part of the provi- sion appointed for the prisoners is withheld from them by their covetous keepers ; and if they are accused for this to the inquisitors, they are much more gently punished, than if they had used any mercy towards them. Reginald Gonsalve relates, 1 that in his time Gaspar Bennavidius was keeper of a jail. " He was a man of monstrous covetousness and cruelty, who defrauded his miserable prisoners of a great part of their provisions, which were ill dressed, and scarce the tenth part of what was allowed them, and sold it se- cretly, for no great price, at the Triana. . Besides, he wholly kept from them the little money allowed them to pay for the washing of their linen ; thus suffering them to abide many (l) P. ill, &c- THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. 1 75 days together in a nasty condition, deceiving- the inquisitor and treasurer, who put that money to the keepers account, as though it had been expended every week tor the use of the prisoners, for whom it was appointed. Neither was it very difficult to deceive them, because they took but little pains to inquire out the truth. If any one of the prisoners complained, muttered, or opened his mouth upon account of this intolerable usage, the cruel wretch, who had divested himself of all humanity, had a remedy at hand. He brought the prisoner immediately out of his apartment, and put him down into a place they call Mazmorra, a deep cistern that had no water in it. There he left him for several days together, without any thing to lie on, not so much as straw. His provision there was so very rotten, that it was more proper to destroy his health by sickness, than to preserve it, or support him in life. All this lie did without ever con- sulting the inquisitors, and yet fraudulently and villanously pretended their command to his prisoner. If any one be- sought him to complain to the inquisitors for so injurious a treatment, for they could not do it by any other person, and to desire an audience, the cunning wretch, knowing that the whole blame must lie upon himself, pretended that he had asked, but could not obtain it. By such forged answers he kept the miserable prisoner in that deep pit twelve or fif- teen days, more or less, till he had fully gratified his anger and cruelty. After this he brought him out, and threw him into his former jail : persuading him that this favour was owing to his humanity and care, having made intercession for him with their lordships. In short, his thefts and inju- ries with which lie plagued his prisoners, who were other- w ise miserable enough, were so numerous, that some persons of interest with the inquisitors at length accused him before them. Upon this he was imprisoned himself; and being found guilty of many false accusations, he received this sen- tence : that he should come out at a public act of the faith, carrying a wax candle in his hand, be banished five years from the city, and forfeit the whole sum of money, which by 176 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. virtue of his office he was to have received from the holy tribunal." "This very man, 1 whilst he was keeper, had in his family an ancient servant maid, who observing the distress of the prisoners, labouring- under intolerable hunger and nastiness, through the wickedness and barbarity of her master, was so moved with pity towards them, being herself well inclined to the evangelical piety, that she often spoke to them through the doors of their cells, comforted them, and as well as she could exhorted them to patience, many times putting them in meat under their doors, in proportion to the mean and low abilities of her condition. And when she had nothing of her own, by which to shew her liberality to the prisoners of Christ, she stole good part of that provision from the wicked thief her master, which he had stolen from the pri- soners, and restored it to them. And that we may the more wonder at the providence of God, who so orders it that the worst of parents shall not have always the worst of children, but sometimes even the best, a little daughter of the keeper himself was greatly assisting to the maid in these pious thefts. By means of this servant the prisoners had informa- tion of the state of the aftairs of their brethren and fellow prisoners, which much comforted them, and was oftentimes of great service to their cause. But at length the matter was discovered by the lords inquisitors, by whom she was thrown into prison for a year, and underwent the same fate with the other prisoners, and condemned to walk in the public procession with a yellow garment, and to receive two hundred stripes ; which was executed upon her the follow- ing day, through the streets of the city, with the usual pomp and cruelty. To all this was added banishment from the city and its territories, for ten years. Her title was, " The favouress and aidress of heretics." What excited the im- placable indignation of the lords, the fathers of the faith, (1) P. 114. THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. 177 •against her, was, that they discovered in her examination, that she had revealed the secrets of the most holy tribunal to some of the inhabitants of the city, particularly relating to the provision allotted to the prisoners. From both these examples, and from their different and unequal punishment, any one may see how much safer it is to add to the aflliction of the prisoners in their jail, than to comfort them by any act of humanity and mercy whatsoever." And in order that the jail of heretics may be kept secret, no one of the officials, no not the judge himself, can enter it alone, or speak with the prisoners but before another of the officials, nor without the previous order of the inquisitors. All are obliged to swear that they will observe this, that no one may see or speak to the prisoners besides the person who gives them their necessaries ; who must be a faithful, honest person, and is obliged to swear that he will not discover the secrets, and must be searched to prevent his carrying any orders or letters to the prisoners. This command they will have observed as most sacred, because, as they say, secrecy is the strength of the inquisi- tion, which might easily be violated, unless this order be punctually kept ; and therefore they always most severely punish those who transgress it. Gonsalvius Montanus 1 gives us a very remarkable instance of this. " One Peter ab Herera, a man not altogether vile, but of some humanity, and not very old, was appointed keeper of the tower of Triana, which is the prison of the inquisition. It happened, as it often doth in such numerous and promiscuous imprison- ments, that amongst other prisoners committed to his cus- tody, there was a certain good matron, with her two daughters, who were put in different cells, and earnestly de- sired the liberty of seeing one another, and comforting each other in so great a calamity. They therefore earnestly- entreated the keeper, that he would suffer them to be to- (l) P. 108. 2 A 178 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. gether for one quarter of an hour, that they might have the satisfaction of embracing each other. He being moved with humanity and compassion, allowed them to be together, and talk with one another for half an hour ; and after they had indulged their mutual affections, he put them, as they were before, in their separate prisons. A few days after this they were put with great cruelty to the torture ; and the keeper being afraid, that through the severity of their torments, they should discover to the lords, the fathers inquisitors, his small humanity in suffering them to converse together for half an hour without the inquisitors leave ; through terror- went himself to the holy tribunal, of his own accord con- fessed his sin, and prayed for pardon ; foolishly believing, that by such his confession he should prevent the punishment that threatened him for this action. But the lords inquisi- tors judged this to be so heinous a crime, that they ordered him immediately to be thrown into jail ; and such was the cruelty of his treatment, and the disorder of mind that fol- lowed on it, that he soon grew distracted. However, his disorder and madness did not save him from a more grievous punishment. For after he had lain a full year in that cursed prison, they brought him out in the public procession, cloathed with the yellow garment, and an halter round his neck, as though he had been a common thief; and con- demned him first to receive two hundred lashes through the streets of the city, and then to the gallies for six years. The day after the procession, as he was carried from the Triana to be whipped with the usual solemnity, his madness, which usually seized him every other hour, came on him ; and throwing himself from the ass, on which, for the greater shame, he was carried, he flew upon the inquisitory Algua- zile, 1 and snatching from him a sword, had certainly killed him, had he not been prevented by the mob who attended him, and set him again upon the ass, and guarded him till (l) An officer that executes the orders of the inquisition. THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. 179 he had received the two hundred lashes according to his sentence. After this the lords inquisitors ordered,, tha he had behaved himself indecently towards (he Alguazile, four years more should be added to the six for which he was at first condemned to the gallies." These keepers are answ erable for the smallest fault, for they are to use the same care in the custody of their pri- soners, as fathers ought to do in governing- their families : so that if they suffer any one to escape from jail, they are to be punished according to the nature of their offence. It is therefore their business frequently to visit and search the ceils of their prisoners, to prevent any thing from being clandestinely carried in, by which they may destroy them- selves, dig through the walls, and so escape. Their care of the women is to be peculiarly strict ; since the sex is na- turally frail, and more subject than men to yield to passion and despair, and so are more likely to seek an occasion of destroying themselves. They must, above all other things, take care that they do not behave themselves indecently to- wards their women prisoners. Thus the congregation of cardinals inquisitors general condemned a jail-keeper to the gallies for seven years, and to perpetual banishment from the place where he committed his offence, for having carnal knowledge of a woman that was prisoner in the holy office. If the inquisitor thinks it necessary to prevent the escape of any prisoners, he may lay them in irons. If the poverty of the inquisitors is so great, or their jails so defective, as that they are not fit to hold in safe custod}', either for the thin- ness of the walls, or for want of iron bars to. the windows, or sufficient bolts for the doors, if the magistrate be required by the inquisitor, he must take care of the safe custody of the prisoners. What the several duties of the messenger, door-keeper, and physician are, is plain enough from their very names. They must be honest men, and not suspected, and born of old christians. 2 a £ 2 180 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. The salaries of the inquisitors and officers are differently paid in different countries. In Spain there are fixed salaries for the inquisitors, and other ministers of the holy office, which are paid them at stated times out of the forfeited effects. " Every inquisitor hath annually allowed him 60,000, which is now increased to an hundred thousand pieces, every one of which is worth two of those brass pieces of money, which they commonly call Albi. The judges of the forfeited effects have each of them 30,000. The promoter fiscal as many. The scribe or notary the same. The executor 60,000. The receiver as many. The messenger 20,000. The door-keeper 10,000. The physician 5,000. These salaries may be increased at the pleasure of the inqui- sitor general, and are to be paid by the receiver at the fixed times ; which if he neglects to do, he may be deprived of his office by the inquisitors. " The assessors and counsellors have no stipend, but must give their advice gratis, when the inquisitors desire it, as some lawyers affirm ; and though they may receive a salary freely offered them, yet they cannot demand it, because all Christians are bound to support and defend the affair of the Catholic faith. However, these assessors, who are the eyes of the judges in every cause, even though it be spiritual, justly receive a salary for their service and labour: for many things are justly received, which it would be injus- tice to demand. " Those advocates who defend the causes of the poor, have a stipend out of the treasury, which is usually very- small, though honourable. But if the criminals are not poor, the advocates are paid out of their effects. " It is also provided in Spain, by many constitutions, that inquisitors, who receive gifts, incur the sentence of excom- munication, and are deprived of their office, and fined double the value of what they take. However, as the author of the History of the Inquisition at Goa informs us, the inqui- sitors know how to amass vast riches, by two methods. THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. 181 When the effects of the prisoners, after confiscation, are sold by the cryer, the inquisitors, notwithstanding' the interdict to the contrary, usually send one of their domestics, who bids a low price for such tilings as his master wants, being pretty secure that nobody else will out-bid them ; and by this means they buy very valuable things for half price, or less. Besides this, the inquisitors have a right to demand the payment of the expences, and other necessary charges they have been at, when, and in what sums they please, whenever the money arising from the confiscations is carried into the royal treasury ; without ever giving any reason, or any one's daring to ask theih for what purposes they em- ploy it. Gonsalvius Montanus also tells us, in his Arts of the Spanish Inquisition, cap. 10. that the inquisitors are some- times prevailed with to use their prisoners a little more kindly, by some pretty presents made by their friends and relations. But this matter must be dextrously managed, that so the inquisitor may not refuse the offer. The first thing, therefore, is, to bribe one of his servants ; in which there is no difficulty, provided it be done privately. When the inquisitors themselves are tampered with, they generally answer, that holy tribunal is incorrupt, and suffers no man- ner of gifts whatsoever to be received. But they have generally, amongst their attendance, some child of their brother or sister ; or, at least, a servant that they greatly esteem, and who is to be highly respected, and who only sees the inquisitor refuse the presents offered to him. This servant comes to the prisoner's friend, and privately points out to him the relation of the lord inquisitor. This is giving him to understand, unless the person be a stock, that though before he in vain attempted to corrupt the integrity of this holy tribunal, he may by this conveyance prevail upon the inquisitor, though he would refuse to accept the same present when more openly offered him. 18*2 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. SECT. III. Of the crimes cognizable bj/ the Inquisition, and the punish- ment annexed to them. The first and principal crime is heresy. Three things are required to make any one properly an heretic. I. That he hath been baptized. 2. That he err in his understanding in matters relating to the faith, i. e. differ in those points which are determined by a general council, or the pope, as necessary to be believed, or enjoined as an apostolic tradi- tion. 3. Obstinacy of will ; as when any one persists in his error, after being informed by a judge of the faith Vhat the opinion he holds is contrary to the determination of the church, and will not renounce it at the command of such a judge, by abjuring it, and giving suitable satisfaction. This crime is so widely extended by the doctors of the Romish church, that they esteem every thing as heresy, that is con- trary to any received opinion in the church, though it be merely philosophical, and hath no manner of foundation in the scripture. The punishments ordained against heretics are many, and most grievous. The first is excommunication ; by which heretics are driven from the church, and expelled the company of ail Christians. The ceremony of it is thus : when the bishop pronounces the anathema, twelve priests gland round him, and hold lighted torches in their hands, which they throw down on the ground, and tread under foot at the conclusion of the excommunication $ after which a letter is sent to the proper parishes, containing the names of the excommunicated persons, and the reason of their sentence. Persons thus excommunicated, are deprived of all ecclesiastical benefices and dignities, and are not to receive Christian burial. THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. 183 Being- excommunicated, all their effects are forfeited, al! donations by them are null and void, and even portions paid to children must be revoked, and all legacies to wives forfeited. The treasury of the inquisition devours all. The consequence of this is, that the children of heretics are abso- lutely disinherited ; excepting only when a child accuses his heretical parents. Heretics are also deprived of their natu- ral power over their children, and of that civil power they have over their servants ; so that slaves and servants are, ipso facto, freed from servitude the moment their masters fall into heresy. Subjects are also freed from obedience to heretical princes and magistrates, and absolved from their oaths of allegiance. In a word, heretics lose all right and property in every thing that they have. Hence proceeds the maxim, " that faith is not to be kept with heretics," because it ought never to be given them ; and because the keeping it is against the public good, the salvation of souls, and contrary, as they say, to the laws of God and man. Farther, all places oif refuge, which are open to malefactors, and the worst of villains, are denied to heretics. Another punishment is imprisonment ; or if they cannot be appre- hended, they are put under the ban ; so that any one, by his own private authority, may seize, plunder, and kill him as an enemy, or robber. The last penalty is death, the most terrible one that can be inflicted,,, viz. the being burnt to death. Such as are obstinate and impeni- tent, are to be burnt alive ; others are to be first strangled, and then burnt. Heretics are distinguished into open and secret. Open heretics are such who publicly avow somewhat contrary to the Catholic faith, or which is condemned as such by the sentence of the inquisitors. Secret heretics are such who err in their mind, but have not shewn it outwardly by word or deed; and these are excommunicated ipso jure ; or who by word or writing have discovered the heresy of their heart with secrecy and craft ; and such are liable to all the punish- ments of heretics. 184 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. Again, heretics are either affirmative or negative. Affir- mative heretics are such who err in their minds as to matters of faith ; and who by word or deed shew that they are obstinate in their wills, and openly confess it before the inquisitor. Negative heretics are such, who being accord- ing to the laws of the inquisition convicted of some heresy before an inquisitor, yet will not confess it ; constantly declaring that they profess the Catholic faith, and detest heretical pravity ; or who owning heretical words or actions, deny the heretical intention ; or who refuse to discover all their accomplices. Such are generally put to the torture. Again, heretics are either impenitent or penitent. An impenitent is one who, being convicted of heresy, or having confessed it before an inquisitor, will not obey his judge, when he commands him to forsake his heresy and abjure it, but obstinately perseveres in his error ; or who having con- fessed through fear of punishment, yet afterwards asserts his innocence, or doth not observe the penance enjoined him. Penitents are those who, being admonished by the inquisi- tor, abjure their error, and give suitable satisfaction, as the bishop or inquisitor enjoins them ; either of their own accord, or upon any particular inquisition made after them. Such who return of their own accord, are treated with greater mildsiess ; but the other enjoined a very severe penance. But they will by no means receive such who do not return till after frequent, admonition, or till fear of death ; or who endeavour any ways to persuade others to heresy, especially kings and queens, or the sons and daugh- ters of princes. Next to heretics are the believers of heretics, and such who receive, defend, and favour them ; who by word or deed declare their belief of an heretic's error, who know- ingly take them into their houses and other places, and thus conceal them from the hands of the church, or give them notice to make their escape, or vindicate them on their trial, or hinder the procedure of the office of the inquisition ; or THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. 185 who, being magistrates, refuse to extirpate them, or to ap- prehend and keep them in custody, or to punish them when given over to them by the inquisitors ; or who being prelates or inquisitors, neglect to have safe prisons, and faithful jail- keepers, or to apprehend, torture, or punish heretics. These, ipso facto, incur excommunication; and if they remain under it a year, are to be punished as heretics. And finally, such who visit them privately, whilst in custody, and whisper with them, and give them food ; or who lament their appre- hension or death, or who complain they are unjustly con- demned, or who look with a bitter countenance on their prosecutors, or who gather up the bones of heretics after they are burnt ; these are all favourers of heresy, and are ipso jure excommunicated. Such also who hinder the office of the inquisition are subject to this tribunal. This may be done by rescuing persons taken up for heresy from prison, or by wounding any of the witnesses against them ; or by using threatenings, and terrifying words ; or by hindering process, judgment, or sentence ; or if a temporal lord ordains that no one shall take cognizance of heresy but himself, and that no one shall be accused but before his tribunal, nor any bear arms but those of his own household. The punishment of this is excommunication ; which, if they continue under a year, they must either abj ure, or be delivered over as heretics to the secular arm. Sometimes their whole dominions are put under interdict, and given to him who can first con- quer them. Yea, they extend this affair sometimes so far, that all manner of offences committed against any one that belongs to the inquisitors, though they have no relation to the faith, are punished in the same manner as though the office of the inquisition had been hindered by them, or the inquisitor himself had received some grievous injury. Reginald Gonsalvius 1 gives us a remarkable instance of this, which (1) P. 191. 186 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. happened in the former age at Seville. The bishop of Ter- ragone, chief inquisitor at Seville, went one summer for his diversion to some pleasant gardens situate by the sea side, with all his inquisitory family, and walked out, according to his custom, with his episcopal attendance. A child of the gardener, two or three years old at most, accidentally sat playing upon the side of a pond in the garden, where my lord bishop was taking his pleasure. One of the boys that attended his lordship, snatched out of the hand of the gar- dener's child a reed, with which Me was playing, and made him cry. The gardener hearing his child, comes to the place ; and when he found out the occasion of his crying, was angry, and bad the inquisitor's servant restore the reed to him. And upon his refusal, and insolently contemning the coun- tryman, he snatched it away ; and as the boy held it fast, the gardener slightly hurt his hand by the sharp husk of the reed, in pulling it from him. The wound was far from being mortal, or from endangering the loss of any part, and so could not deserve a severe punishment. It was no more than a scratch of the skin, a mere childish wound, as one may imagine by the cause of it. However, the inquisitor's boy came to his master, who was walking near the place, to complain about his wound ; upon which the inquisitor orders the gardener to be taken up, and thrown into the inquisitory jail, and kept him there for nine months in very- heavy irons ; by which he received such damage in his cir- cumstances, which were at best but mean, as the poor man could not easily recover ; his children and wife, in the mean while, being ready to perish for hunger ; and all because he did not pay deference enough to the inquisitor's boy, as a member of the holy tribunal. At nine months end they dismissed him from jail, and would have persuaded him that they dealt much more mercifully with him than his crime deserved. Again, there are other persons who are only suspected of heresy. This suspicion is threefold ; light, vehement, or violent. A light suspicion arises from a person's frequent- THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. 187 iBg conventicles, and in his behaviour differing from the common conversation of the faithful. A vehement suspicion of heresy, is a person's not appearing when called to answer upon any article of the faith ; hindering the inquisition, giving council or assistance to heretics ; or advising them to conceal the truth, or who knowingly accompany, visit, or receive them ; or who are convicted of perjury or lying, in a cause of the faith ; or who give ecclesiastical burial to here- tics, or their favourers, or bury them in church yards with psalms and prayers : or who preserve the ashes, bones, gar- ments, and the like, of buried heretics ; or who think ill of some doctrine or order of the church, such as the power of the pope, the religion of the monks, the rites of the sacra- ment, and the like ; or who persist in their excommunication for two years ; such persons give such suspicions as are suf- ficient to put $hem to the torture. A violent suspicion arises from such external words and actions by which it may be effectually, and almost always concluded, that he who says or doth them is an heretic ; such as the receiving the communion from heretics, and the like. Of these different kinds of suspicions the punishment is different. A person lightly suspected is enjoined canonical purgation, or may be made to abjure. One vehemently suspected may be com- manded a general abjuration of all heresies ; after which, if he relapses into his former heresy, or associates with, and favours heretics, he is delivered over to the secular power a? a relapse. One violently suspected, is to be condemned as an heretic. If he confesses and abjures, he may be ad- mitted to penance ; but if he doth not confess, and will not abjure, he is to be delivered over to the secular court, and burnt. And as some persons are suspected, others are defamed for heresy : such who are spoken against by common report, or such against whom there is legal proof before a bishop that they are spoken against upon account of heresy. And to this two witnesses suffice, though they have had their information from different persons, and though they do not 2 b 2 188 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. agree as to time and place, and the causes of their knowledge ; and though the person accused as defamed, can prove him- self to be of good reputation. The punishment of one thus defamed is canonical purgation, and some other ordinary penalty. Again, other persons are relapsed ; such who after having been convicted, either by the evidence of the fact, or their own confession, or legal witnesses, have publicly abjured their heresy, and are convicted of falling into the same again, or into any different heresy, or into a violent sus- picion of heresy, and who accompany, visit, and favour heretics ; or who are found to be perjured after abjuration, or who after abjuration and purgation do not perform the penance enjoined them. But there is this difference between the last, and the former relapsed persons ; that the former are left without mercy to the secular arm ; whereas it is in the inquisitor's pleasure to deliver the latter to secular judgment, or not. Those also who read and keep prohibited books are sub- ject to the tribunal of the inquisition. Pope Pius V. by a bull excommunicated, amongst others, all who should know- ingly read, keep in their houses, print, or in any wise defend, for any cause, publicly or privately, under any pretence or colour, prohibited books, without the authority of the apos- tolic see. If any one brings heretical books into any Catho- lic countries, he is not only excommunicated, but his goods confiscated, and himself whipped, if he be of mean condition ; but if he is of the better sort, he is banished at the pleasure of the inquisitor. If there arises any vehement suspicion of heresy, from any one's reading, keeping, defending, or printing the books of heretics, he may be put to the torture to discover the truth. If any of the clergy read or keep prohibited books, they are vehemently suspected ; and may be deprived of the active and passive voice, suspended from divine services, deprived of the offices of reading, preaching, &c. and ( be enjoined fastings, pilgrimages, and the like. THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. 189 The inquisitors also take cognizance of those who marry several wives at once, because they are presumed to think wrong- of the sacrament of matrimony. If upon examination any one affirms it lawful for a christian man to have several wives at once, he is taken for a formal heretic, and is to be punished as such. If he denies any heretical intention, he must be put to the torture ; that the inquisitors may know what his mind is, and whether he married two wives out of any erroneous opinion concerning the sacrament of matri- mony, or through lust, or carnal concupiscence. All such persons are suspected of heresy, and must abjure as such, and may be condemned to the gallies. If any one celebrates mass, or hears confession, and gives absolution, not being in priest's orders, he is vehemently suspected of heresy ; and must abjure as such, and then be delivered over to the secular arm, to be punished with death. Raynald gives us an instance of one who said he was a bishop, though he had not the pope's bull, and as such consecrated priests. The story is this : " James the priest, a false Minorite, born in the dutchy of Juliers, forged the pope's bull, and declared in the Netherlands that he was a bishop ; and although he had not been ordained a bishop, lie consecrated priests by a false ceremony in several dio- ceses of Germany and the Low Countries. At length he was convicted of his wickedness, and the magistrates of Utrecht thought fit, not to condemn him to the flames, that he might be quickly consumed, but to be gradually burnt by boiling water, that so they might conquer his obstinacv, because he most impudently refused to acknowledge his crime. But being gradually let down into the boiling caul- dron, and overcome with the extremity of the pain, he detested his wickedness, and prayed that he might receive a milder punishment. His judges being moved with compas- sion, ordered him to be taken out of the boiling cauldron, and then to be beheaded." Those also who solicit women or boys to dishonourable actions in the sacramental confession, are subject to this feri- 390 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. banal. Pius IV. published a bull against them ; and when this bull was first brought into Spain, all persons were com- manded by a public edict, solemnly published throughout all the churches of the archbishopric of Seville, that whoso- ever knew or had heard of any monks or clergymen who had abused the sacrament of confession to these crimes, or had in any manner acted in this vile manner at confession with their wives or daughters, they should discover them within thirty days to the holy tribunal ; and very grievous censures were annexed to such as should neglect or contemn it. When the decree was published, so large a number of women went to the palace of the inquisitors in the citv of Seville only, to make their discoveries of these most wicked confessors, that twenty secretaries, with as many inquisitors, were not sufficient to take the depositions of the witnesses. The lords inquisitors being thus overwhelmed with the mul- titude of affairs, assigned another thirty days for the witnes- ses ; and when this was not sufficient, they were forced to appoint the same number a third and a fourth time. For as to women of reputation, and others of higher condition, every time w as not proper for them to apply to the inquisi- tors. On one hand, their conscience forced them to a discovery through a superstitious fear of the censures and excommunication ; and on the other hand, their regard to ir husbands, whom they were afraid, to offend, by giving tueni any ill suspicion of their chastity, kept them at home ; and therefore veiling their faces, after the Spanish custom, they went to the lords inquisitors, when, and as privately as could. Very few, however, with all their prudence and craft, could escape the diligent observation of their husbands at the time of discovery, and hereby possessed their minds with the deepest jealousy. However, after so many had been informed against before the inquisitors, that tribunal, contrary to ail men's expectations, put a stop to the affair, and commanded all those crimes which were proved by legal evidence, to be buried in eternal oblivion. THE HISTORY Dl PERSECUTION. 191 It is required that this solicitation be made in the act of sacramental confession ; and such confessors are vehemently suspected, and must abjure as such, and be enjoined fastings and prayers, and may be condemned to the gallics, or perpe- tual imprisonment ; must be suspended from hearing- con- fessions, and deprived of their benefices, dignities and the like. Yea, sometimes, according to the heinousness of the offence, a more grievous punishment is inflicted. " The Venetians ordered one of them to be burnt alive, by com- mand of the pope. He had been father confessor to some nuns in the dominions of Venice, and had got twelve of them with child ; amongst whom the abbess and two others had children in one year. As he was confessing them, he agreed with them about the place, manner, and time of lying" with them. All were filled with admiration and astonish- ment, taking the man for a perfect saint, he had so great a shew of sanctity in his very face." Epist. ad Belgas, Cent. 1. Ep. 66. p. 345. & Ep. 63. p. 316. In Portugal also the crime of sodomy belongs to the tribunal of the inquisition. By the laws of that kingdom sodomites are punished with death, and confiscation of all their effects ; and their children and grandchildren become infamous. After the natural death of a sodomite, if the crime hath not been proved, they cannot proceed against him, neither as to the crime, nor confiscation of effects, although the crime can be proved by legal witnesses ; because crimes, which are not particularly excepted, of which sodomy is one, are extinguished by the death of the delin- quent. Nor do they proceed against a dead sodomite, nor confiscate his effects, although he hath been convicted, or confessed when he was alive. If such a one takes sanctuary in a church, he cannot be taken out of it. If we compare these things with the punishments of heretics, it will appear that the crime of sodomy in the king- dom of Portugal is esteemed a much smaller one than that of heresy, because sodomites enjoy privileges which are 192 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. denied to heretics. And jet it may happen, that a truly pious man, who fears God, and is most careful of his eternal salvation, may be accounted an heretic by the Portu- guese inquisitors ; whereas, a sodomite cannot but be the vilest of men. But it is not at all strange, that by the laws of that tribunal Barabbas should be released, and Christ crucified. Blasphemers also, who deny God, or their belief in him, or the virginity of our Lady, are subject to the inquisitors, and punished in the following manner. If the blasphemy be very heinous, and the blasphemer a mean person, he is made to wear an infamous mitre, hath his tongue tied, and pinched with an iron or wooden gag, is carried forth as a public spectacle without his cloak, whipped with scourges, and banished. But if he be a person of better condition, or noble, he is brought forth without the mitre, thrust for a time into a monastery, and punished with a fine. In smaller blasphemies they are dealt with more gently, at the pleasure of the inquisitors, viz. the blasphemer is condemned to stand, during divine service, upon some holiday or other, with his head naked, without his cloak and shoes, his feet naked, a cord tied round him, and holding a burning wax- taper in his hands. Sometimes also they squeeze his tongue with a piece of wood. After divine service is over his sen- tence is readj by which he is enjoined fastings, and a fine. This punishment, however, doth not take place as to a clergyman. For if a clergyman was to appear without his shoes, and with an halter about his neck, and thus stand at the gates of the church before the people, the clerical order, and the ministry of the clergy would suffer disgrace ; and it would become a wonder, and evil example to the laity, if the blaspheming clergy were thus exposed. / In these cases the inquisitors mostly act according to their own pleasure, who have an ample power of judging according to the nature and heinousness of the crimes. A certain person who had a quarrel with a clergyman of Ecya, a city in Spain, accidentally said, in the hearing of others, THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. J 9-i that lie could not believe that God would come down into the hands of so profligate an adulterer. The vicar of the ordinary fined him for the speech. But the clergyman, not contented with this revenge, afterwards accused him of blas- phemy at the tribunal of the inquisitors at ^Seville. Nor did the fine to which he was before condemned by the ordinary, prevent his being taken up by command of the inquisitors, imprisoned for a whole year, brought out in triumph with- out cloak or hat, carrying a wax candle in his hand, his tongue gagged with a wooden gag, thus to punish his blas- phemy ; and being forced to abjure, as lightly suspected, he was fined a second time. Fortune-tellers, who look into the palms of the hands, such who exercise divination by lots, and use candles and holy water to discover stolen goods, if they deny any here- tical intention, may be tortured to discover it ; and if found guilty, are excommunicated, whipped, banished, and subject to other punishments. If any pretend to foretel the myste- ries of faith by the stars, or the life or death of the pope, or his kindred, they may be punished with death, and confisca- tion of goods. With these fortune-tellers are joined witches ; who are reported to deny the faith, and make a compactwith the devil. These poor wretches are miserably tortured to force them to confess, and then burnt. The inquisitors, within the space of 150 years,, burnt 30,000 of them. Finally, the Jews are also severely handled by this tribu- nal. The inquisition, indeed, is not designed to compel the .Tews to turn Christians, but is introduced against those who, being converted from Judaism to Christianity, return again to the principles they have forsaken ; or who deny matters of faith common to them and Christians ; or if they invoke devils, or sacrifice to them ; or if they speak heretical blas- phemies, or pervert a Christian from the faith, or hinder infidels from being converted ; or knowingly receive an heretic, or keep heretical books, or deride the host or the cross ; or keep Christian nurses, and the like. But the in- quisition is levelled principally against those, who having g c 194 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. professed Christianity, and been baptized, turn again io Judaism. When suspected they are liable to the torture, may be compelled to abjtire, fined, imprisoned, whipped, or burnt, according to the nature of their errors, or heretical actions. SECT. IV. Of the manner of proceeding before the tribunal of the Inquisition. It now remains that I give some account of what relates to the execution of the inquisitorial office. When the inquisitor is first constituted by the pope, he must present himself to the king, or other temporal lord of those territories in which he is to act, and deliver his apos- tolic commission, and demand full protection for himself and officers, in all matters belonging to their office. He must also shew his commission to the archbishops and bishops of the dioceses in which he is sent. Finally, he takes an oath from the civil officers, that they will defend the faith, and obey the inquisitor with all their might ; and this oath they may compel them to take, under pain of excommunication, and all the punishments which attend it. After this, the inquisitor appoints a sermon to be preached on a certain day, all other sermons being suspended ; at which, four of each rehgion must be present, and in which he commends the Catholic faith, and exhorts the people to extirpate heretical pravity. When the sermon is ended, he admonishes thefm to discover to himself all persons who are erroneous, and have said or done any thing against the faith ; and then orders monitory letters to be read from the pulpit, by which all persons, of whatsoever condition, clergy or laity, are commanded, under pain of excommunication, to THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION 195 discover to the inquisitors within six or twelve days follow- ny heretic, or person suspected of heresy, which they know. These monitory letters are called, " An edict of the faith/ 1 When these letters are read, he promises, in the pope's name, indulgences for three years to all who assist him in reducing heretics, or who discover to him anv such ; or person defamed, and suspected of heresy ; or who, in any other case, bear true witness before him in an act of faith. And finally, he assigns a time of grace to all heretics, &c. viz. the month following : promising them, that if within that space they come freely to him, before they are accused or apprehended, aud voluntarily discover their guilt, and ask pardon, they shall obtain pardon and mercy ; viz. freedom from death, imprisonment, banishment, and confiscation of e fleet-. From this obligation to accuse heretics, no persons, of whatsoever dignity or degree, are exempted ; brother must accuse brother, the wife her husband, the husband his wife, the son his father, when heretical, or suspected of heresv : the edict obliges all : and neither kings nor princes, nor nearest relations are exempted. Joan, the daughter of the emperor Charles V. was cited by the inquisitors to be interrogated before them, against a certain person, concerning some things relating to the faith. She consulted her father, who advised her to make her de- position without any delay (lest she should incur excommuni- cation) not only against others, but even against himself, if she knew him to be blameable in the least matter. Joan obeyed this command of her father, and immediately deposed re Ferdinand Valdez, archbishop of Seville, at that time bishop and inquisitor general. Lewi> de Carvajal, although governor and captain gene- ral of the province of Tampico and Pamico, was forced to walk out in public penance, because he did not denounce four women, who were secretly Jews, and to whom he was uncle ; and though a little before he had the honourable title of president, he wa- forced to hear his ignominious sen- 2 c 2 19G THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. tence publicly, was for ever deprived of all offices under the king, reduced to the lowest misery, and through grief and weariness of his life, soon went the way of all flesh. If any person conies in within the appointed time to accuse himself, he is asked, how long he hath continued in his errors, and from whom he learnt them ? whether he hath had, and read any heretical or suspected books ? what they were, from whom he had them, and what he hath done with them ? Other questions are added concerning his accom- plices in heresies, that he may tell the names of all those heretics, or persons suspected of heresy, whom he knows. He is farther asked, whether he hath ever been inquisited, processed, or accused or denounced in an} 7 tribunal, or before any judge, on account of the aforesaid errors, or other things relating to heresy ? He is also admonished simply to tell the whole truth which he knows, as well of himself as of others ; because, if he is afterwards found deceitfully to have con- cealed any thing, he is judged as one whose confession is imperfect, and as impenitent, and feignedly converted. Finally, he is interrogated, whether he repents of these errors and heresies into which he hath fallen ? and whether he is ready to abjure, curse, and detest them, and all other heresies whatsoever, that exalt themselves against the holy apostolic and Roman church, and to live for the future catho- licly, according to the faith of the church of Rome, and devoutly to fulfil the salutary penance enjoined him ? However, such as come thus voluntarily, are far from escaping all punishment, but are either treated kindly at the pleasure of the inquisitor, according to the quality of their persons and crimes, or else condemned to pay a fine, or give alms, or some such works of charity. But if they wait till they are accused, denounced, cited or apprehended, or suffer the time of grace to slip over, they are pronounced unworthy of such favours. And in this case many foolishly deceive themselves with a false opinion, believing, that because favour is promised to such who appear voluntarily, they shall be free from all THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION 197 punishment; because they are -only saved from the more terrible Okies, it being left to the pleasure of the inquisitors to inflict some penitential punishment on them, according to the nature of their crime, as will appear from the following instance. M There was at the city of Cadiz a certain foreigner, who yet had lived in Spain for twenty years ; who, according to a common superstition, dwelt in a desart in a certain chapel, upon the account of religion. Hearing in his chapel of the great number of those who were taken up every day at Seville by the inquisitors, for what they call the Luthe- ran heresies ; having heard also of the decree of the inqui- sitors, by which he was commanded, under the terrors of excommunication, immediately to discover to the inquisition whatsoever he knew of those things, either as to others or himself; the poor stupid hermit comes to Seville, goes to the inquisitors and accuses himself, because he thought the said inquisitors would use singular clemency towards those who thus betrayed themselves. His crime was, that whereas being about twenty years before this at Genoa, and hearing a certain brother of his disputing about a man's justification by faith in Christ, of purgatory, and other things of the like nature, he did not wholly condemn them, though he never thought of them afterwards. He therefore acknowledged his crime, and came to ask mercy. When the lords inqui- sitors had received his confession, they commanded the poor hermit to jail : where, after a long confinement, he was brought out in public procession, and was sentenced to wear the sanbenito, to three years imprisonment, and the forfeiture of his effects.'' Sometimes also they use a certain stratagem to draw persons to a voluntary appearance before the inquisitors. u When they have apprehended any remarkable person, who hath been the teacher of others, or who they know- hath been resorted to by many others, upon account of his doctrine and learning, as being a teacher and preacher of great repute ; it is usual with them to cause a report to be spread amongst the people, by their familiars, that being 198 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION; grievously tortured, he had discovered several of those that had adhered to him, suborning- some persons out of the neighbouring prisons to assert that they heard his cries amidst his tortures, in order to give the greater credit to the report. These reports are spread for this reason, that such who have attended on his instructions, or have been any ways familiar with him, may in time go to the holy tri- bunal, confess their fault, and implore mercy, before they are sent for, or apprehended. By this means they impose on many, who, if they had waited for their summons, had never been summoned at all. Or if it should have happened that they had been summoned, would not have been dealt with more severely than they generally are, who trust to the inquisitors promises." If any person is accused by another, the accuser is inter- rogated, " How long he hath known N. against whom he denounces ? likewise, how he came to know him ? Again, whether he observed that the aforesaid N. was suspected of matters relating to the faith from his words, or his actions ? Likewise, how often he had seen the said N. do or say those things for which he thought him an heretic, or suspected of heresy ? Likewise, at what time, and in the presence of whom the aforesaid N. did or said those things of which he is denounced ? Likewise, whether the aforesaid N. hath had any accomplices in the aforesaid crimes, or any writings be- longing to the offences denounced ? Likewise, to what end and purpose the aforesaid things were done or said by the aforesaid N. whether seriously, or in jest ? If it appears that there was a long interval of time between the commission of the crimes denounced, and the making the denunciation, the inquisitor interrogates the denouncer, why he deferred so long to come to the holy office, and did not depose before, especially if he knew that he incurred the penalty of excom- munication by such omission ?" He is moreover asked, iC Whether he knows any thing farther of N. which concerns the holy office, or of any other person ? Likewise, whether Ine hath at any time had any cause of hatred or enmity with THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. lfj[> the aforesaid N. and whence it proceeded ? With what zeui, and with what intention he comes to the holy office, and to make denunciation ? Whether he hath denounced through any passion of mind, ill will, hatred, or subornation ? And he is admonished ingenuously to tell the truth." He is especially interrogated how he came by his knowledge, because on that principally the truth and weight of the testi- mony depends. When the denunciation is received ; first, it must be read over to the denouncer, that he may add, take away, or alter as he pleases. Secondly, he must subscribe to his de- position ; or if he cannot write, he must at least put under it the sign of the cross. Thirdly, he must take an oath of secrecy. After this, the witnesses are called on. And in this affair all persons, even such as are not allowed in other tribunals, are admitted. Persons excommunicated, heretics, Jews, and infidels, wives, sons and daughters, and domestics, are allowed as witnesses against those accused of heresy, but never for them : those who are perjured and infamous, whores, bawds, those under the ban, usurers, bastards, common blas- phemers, gamesters, persons actually drunk, stage-players, prize-fighters, apostates, traitors, even all without exception, besides mortal enemies. When the witnesses are summoned, first they take an oatli upon the scriptures to speak the truth. After this he is asked by the inquisitor, whether he knows, or can guess the cause of his citation and present examination ? If he says yes, he is interrogated how he knew it ? If he says no, he is interrogated, whether he hath known, or doth know now anv one or more heretics, or persons suspected of heresy, or at least is able to name any such ? Whether he knows N. ? What was the occasion of his acquaintance with him ? How long he hath known him ? Whether he hath been used to converse with him ? Whether he hath heard at any time any thing from the said N. concerning the Catholic religion ; Whether ever he was in such a place with the said N. and 200 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. whether the said N. did or said there such and such hereti- cal thing.-, or favouring of heresy ? Who were present when N. did or said the aforesaid things ? How often he saw them said or done, and on what occasion, and how ? Whether the said N. spoke the aforesaid things in jest, or without thinking, or through a slip of his tongue, or as relating the heresies of some other person or persons ? Whether he said any thing which ought not to have been said, through hatred or love, or omitted and concealed somewhat that oujrht to have been explained ? He is farther admonished to tell the single truth, because," if he is detected of speaking falsely, he will be made to suffer the penalties, not only of perjury, but of favouring heresy. After this, one of the proctors of the court demands that the criminal be taken up, and the inquisitor subscribes an order for this purpose. W^hen he is apprehended, he must be well guarded, put in irons, and delivered to the jail- keeper of the inquisition. When the criminal is put in jail, he is brought before the inquisitor. The place where he appears before the inquisi- tor, is called by the Portuguese the table of the holy office. At the farther end of it there is placed a crucifix, raised up almost as high as the ceiling. In the middle of the room there is a table. At that end which is nearest the- crucifix,. sits the secretary or notary of the inquisition. The criminal is brought in by the beadle, with his head, arms and feet naked, and is followed by one of the keepers*, When they come to the chamber of audience, the beadle enters first, makes a profound reverence before the inquisi- tor, and then withdraws. After this, the criminal enters alone, who is ordered to sit down en a bench at the other end of the table, over against the secretary. The inquisitor sits on his right hand. Oil the table near the criminal lies a missal, or book of the gospels ; and he is ordered to lay hi& hand on one of them, and to swear that he will declare the truth, and keep secrecy. After taking this oath, of declaring the truth both of THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION 201 himself and others, the inquisitor interrogates him of divers matters. As, whether he knows why he was taken up, or hath been informed of it by any one or more persons ? Wherej when, and how he was apprehended ? If he says that he knows nothing of it, he is asked, whether he cannot ;s at the reason ? whether he knows in what prisons he is detained? and upon what account men are imprisoned there? If he says he cannot guess at the cause of his im- prisonment, but knows that he is in the prisons of the holy office, where heretics and persons suspected of heresy are confined, he is told, that since he knows persons are confined there for their profanation of religion, he ought to conclude that he also is confined for the same reason; and must therefore declare what he believes to be the cause of his own apprehension and confinement in the prisons of the holy office. If he says he cannot imagine what it should be, before he is asked any other questions, he receives a gentle admonition, and is put in mind of the lenity of the holy office towards those who confess without forcing, and of the rigour of justice used tow aids those who are obstinate. They also compare other tribunals with the holy office, and remind him, that in others the confession of the crime draws after it immediate execution and punishment; but that yi the court of the inquisition, those who confess and are peni- tent, are treated with greater gentleness. After this, he is admonished in writing, and told, that the ministers of the holy office never take up any one, or are used to apprehend anv one without a just cause ; and that therefore they ear- nestly beseech him, and command and enjoin him, exactly to recollect and diligently to consider his actions, to examine his conscience, and purge it from all those offences and errors it labours under, and for which he is informed against. After this lie is asked, what race he comes of? Who were his parents and ancestors ? that hereby he may declare all his family. Whether any one of them was at any time taken up by the holy office, and enjoined penance ? This they are especially asked, who descend from Jews, Maho- 2 D 202 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. metans, and sectaries. Where lie was brought up? I>< what places he hath dwelt ? Whether he ever changed his country ? Why he did so, and went into another place : With whom he conversed in the aforesaid places ; who were his friends, and with whom he was intimate ? Whether he ever conversed with any of his acquaintance about matters of religion, or heard them speak about religion ? In what place, and when, and how often, and of what things or mat- ters they conversed ? He is moreover asked, of what profession he is, and what employment of life he follows ? Whether he be rich or poor ? What returns he hath, and what the eXpences of his living ? Then he is commanded to give an account of his life, and to declare what he hath done from his childhood, even to this time. And that he may declare all this, he is asked, in what places or cities he studied, and what studies he followed ? Who were his masters ? whose names he must tell. What arts he learnt? What books he hath had and read ? and whether he hath now any books treating of reli- gion, and what ? Whether ever he hath been examined and cited, or sued, or processed before any other tribunal, or the tribunal of the holy inquisition, and for what causes ; and whether he was absolved or condemned,' by what judge, and in what year ? Whether ever he was excommunicated, and for what cause? Whether he was afterwards absolved Qr condemned, and for what reason ? Whether he hath every year sacramentally confessed his sins, how often, and in what church ? Then he is commanded to give the names of his confessors, and of those from whom he hath received the eucharist; and especially for; the ten years last past, and more. What orations or holy* prayers he recites ? Whether he hath any enemies ? whose names he must tell, and the reasons of their enmity. If the criminal is persuaded by these, or by more or less such interrogatories, openly to confess the truth, his cause is finished, because it is immediately known what will be the issue of it, rHE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. 2(Kl But if after all these interrogatories the prisoner persists in the negative, and says he doth not know why he is cited or sent to prison, the inquisitor replies, that since it appears from his own words, that he will not discover the truth, and that there is no proof of his having such enmities with any person, or that there are no such causes of hatred as he alledges, by which others could, or ought to be induced slanderously, and falsely to inform against him, that there- fore there arises the stronger suspicion^ that the depositions against him in the holy office are true. And therefore he is beseeched and abjured, by the bowels of mercy of Christ Jesus, to consider better and better, and ingenuously to confess the truth, and to declare whether he hath erred in words or deeds, in the aforesaid matter relating to the faith, and the holy office, or rendered himself suspected to others. If by such general interrogatories the inquisitor cannot draw from the prisoner a confession of the crime of which he is accused, he comes to particular interrogatories, which re- late to the matter itself, or the crimes or heresies for which the criminal was denounced. For instance, if he was accused for denying purgatory, then one, two, or three days after his first examination, lie is again interrogated by the inquisitor, whether he hath any thing, and what to say, besides what lie said in his other examination ? Whether he -hath thought better of the matter, and can recollect the cause of his im- prisonment, and former examination, or hath at least any suspicion who could accuse him to the holy office, and of what matters ? Whether he hath heard any one discoursing of paradise, purgatory, and hell ? What he heard concerning that matter ? Who they were, that he heard speaking, or dis- puting of those things ? Whether he ever discoursed of them ? What he hath believed, and doth now believe about purgatory ? If he answers, that his faith concerning it hath been right, and denies any ill belief, but that he believes as holy mother church believes and teaches, he is ordered to say what the holy Roman mother church doth think and !>e- lieve concerning this article. 2 d 2 204 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. If the prisoner knows the reason of his being appre- hended, and openly confesses every thing of which he hath been accused to the inquisitor, he is commended, and encou- raged to hope for a speedy deliverance. If he confesses some things, but 'cannot guess at others, he is commended for taking up the purpose of accusing himself, and exhorted by the bowels of mercy of Jesus Christ to proceed, ana in* genuously to confess every thing else of which he is accused ; that so he may experience that kindness and mercy, which this tribunal uses towards those who manifest a real repen- tance of their crimes by a sincere and voluntary confession. In these examinations the inquisitors use the greatest artifice, to draw from the prisoners confessions of those crimes of which thej T are accused ; promising them favour, if they will confess the truth. And by these flattering assur- ances they sometimes overcome the minds of more unwary persons; and when they have obtained the designed end, immediately forget them all. Of this Gonsalvius* gives us a remarkable instance. u In the first fire that was blown up at Seville, anno 1558, or 1559, amongst many others who were taken up, there was a certain pious matron with her two virgin daughters, and her niece by her sister, who was married. As they endured those tortures of all kinds, with a truly manlike constancy, by which they endeavoured to make them perfidiously betray their brethren in Christ, and especially to accuse one another, the inquisitor at length commanded one of the daughters to be sent for to audience. There he discoursed with her alone for a considerable time, in order to comfort her, as indeed she needed it. When the discourse was ended, the girl was remanded to her prison. Some days after he acted the same part again, causing her to be brought before him several days towards the evening, detaining her for a considerable while ; sometimes telling her how much he was grieved for her afflictions, and then (l) P. 82, &C, THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION 205 intermixing familiarly enough other pleasant and agreeable things. All this, as the -event shewed, had onlj this ten- dency, that after he had persuaded the poor simple girl, that he was really, and with a fatherly affection concerned for her calamity, and would eonsult as a father what might he for her benefit and salvation, and that of her mother and sisters, she might wholly throw herself into his protection. After some days spent in such familiar discourses, during- which he pretended to mourn with her over her calamity, and to shew himself affected with her miseries, and to give her all the proofs of his good will, in order, as far as he could, to remove them ; when he knew he had deceived the girl, he begins to per- suade her to discover what she knew of herself, her mother, sisters, and aunts who were not yet apprehended, promising upon oath, that if she would faithfully discover to him all that she knew of that affair, he would find out a method to relieve her from all her misfortunes, and to send them all back again to their houses. The girl, who had no very great penetration, being- thus allured by the promises and persuasions of the father of the faith, begins to tell him some things relating to the holy doctrine she had been taught, and about which they used to confer with one another. When the inquisitor had now got hold of the thread, he dextrously endeavoured to find his way throughout the whole laby- rinth ; oftentimes calling the girl to audience, that what she had deposed might be taken down in a legal maimer ; always persuading her, this would be the only just means to put an end to all her evils. In the last audience he renews to her all his promises, by which he had before assured her of her liberty, and the like. But when the poor girl expected the performance of them, the said inquisitor, with his followers, finding the success of his craftiness, by which he had in part drawn outx>f the girl, what before they could not extort from her by torments, determined to put her to the torture again, to force out of her what they thought she had yet concealed. Accordingly she was made to Suffer the most cruel part of it, even the rack, and the torture by water ; till at last they had 206 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. squeezed out of her, as with a press, both the heresies and accusations of persons they had been hunting after. For, through the extremity of her torture, she accused her mother and sisters, and several others, who were afterwards taken up and tortured, and burnt alive in the same fire with the girl." But if they do not succeed neither with this way, the in- quisitor permits some person or other, who is not unaccept- able to the prisoner, to go to him, and converse with him ; and if it be needful to feign himself still one of his own sect, but that he abjured through fear, and discovered the truth to the inquisitor. When he finds that the prisoner confides in him, he comes to him again late in the evening, keeps on a discourse with him, at length pretending it is too late to go away, and that therefore he will stay with him all night in the prison, that they may converse together, and the pri- soner may be persuaded by the other's discourse to confess to one another what they have committed. In the mean while there are persons standing at a proper place without the jail, to hear and to take notice of their words ; who, when there is need, are attended by a notary. Or else the person who thus treacherously draws out any thing, according to his desire, from his fellow-prisoners, prays the jail-keeper, when according to custom he is visit- ing his prisoners, to desire that he may have an audience. And when he goes out of his jail to give an account of his office, he discovers not only what he heard from any of the prisoners, but also how they received the doctrine proposed to them ; whether with a chearful or angry countenance, and the like ; if they refused to give them an answer, and what they themselves think of them. And the accusations of such a wretch they look on as the best and most unexceptionable evidence, although the person be otherwise one of no man- ner of worth, credit, or regard. They who have been lately in the prison of the inquisi- tion in Spain and Portugal, tell us of another method they make use of to draw a confession from the prisoners, viz. THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. 207 The inquisitor suborns a certain person to go and speak to the prisoner, and to tell him he comes of himself, and of his own accord, and to exhort him to tell the inquisitor the truth, because he is a merciful man, and such fine tales. This is now particularly the custom in Spain and Portugal, as to those they call the new Christians. If the prisoner affirms himself to be a Catholic, and denies that he is a Jew, and is not convicted by a sufficient number of witnesses, they suborn one to persuade him to confess. If he protests him- self innocent, the other replies, that he also hath been in jail, and that his protesting- his innocence signified nothing. What, had you rather dwell for ever in jail, and render your life miserable, by being ever parted from your wife and children, than redeem your freedom, by confessing the crime ? Bv this, and other like things, the prisoners are oftentimes persuaded to confess not only real, but fictitious crimes. And when their constancy is thus almost overcome, the in- quisitor commands them to be brought before him, that they may make him a confession of their faults. After these examinations, if the, prisoner persists in the negative, he is admitted to his defence, and hath an advocate or proctor appointed him, but such only as the inquisitors allow him ; and who, as soon as ever they know the pri- soners are criminal, bind themselves by oath io throw up their defence. A copy of the accusation is usually given to the prisoner, to which he must answer article by article ; and likewise a copy of the proofs, but not of the names of the witnesses, nor any circumstances by which they may dis- cover who they are, for fear the witnesses should be in dan- ger if known. After the process is thus carried on, it is finished in this manner : Either by absolution, if the prisoner be found really innocent, or the accusation against him not fully proved. Not that they pronounce such person free from heresy, but only declare that nothing is legally proved against him, on account of which he ought to be pronounced an heretic, or suspected of heresy ; and that therefore he is 208 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. wholly released from his present trial and inquisition. But if, notwithstanding this, lie should afterwards be accused of the same crime, he may be again judged and condemned for it; and this absolution will stand him in no stead. If the party accused is found to be only defamed for heresy, and not convicted of heresy by any legal proofs, he is not absolved, but enjoined canonical purgation. The manner of the purgation is this : the party accused must produce several witnesses, good and Catholic men, who must swear by God, and the four holy gospels of God, that they firmly believe he hath not been an heretic, or believer of their errors ; and that he hath sworn the truth, in denying it upon oath. If he fails in his purgation, i. e. cannot pro- cure such a number of purgers as he is enjoined, he is esteemed as convict, and condemned as an heretic. If the person accused is not found guilty by his own con- fession, or proper witnesses \ yet if he cannot make his innocence appear plainly to the inquisitor, or if he is caught contradicting himself, or faultering, or trembling, or sweat- ing, or paie, or crying ; or if there be half proof of his crime, he is put to the question or torture. And this liberty the inquisitors sometimes shamefully abuse, by torturing the most innocent persons; as appears by the following in- stance. " *A noble lady, Joan Bohorquia, the wife of Francis Varquius, a very eminent man, and lord of Higuera, and daughter of Peter Garsia Xeresius, a wealthy citizen of Seville, was apprehended, and put into the inquisition at Seville. The occasion of her imprisonment was, that her sister, Mary Bohorquia, a young lady of eminent piety, who was afterwards burnt for her pious confession, had declared in her torture that she had several times conversed with her sister concerning her own doctrine. When she was first imprisoned, she was about six months gone with child; (i) Gonsalv. p. 181. THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION, 209 upon which account she was not so straitly confined, nor used with that cruelty which the other prisoners were treated with, out of regard to the infant she carried in her. Eight days after her delivery they took the child from her, and on the fifteenth shut her close up, and made her undergo the fate of the other prisoners, and began to manage her cause with their usual arts and rigour. In so dreadful a calamity she had only this comfort, that a certain pious young woman, who was afterwards burnt for her religion by the inquisitors, was allowed her for her companion. This young creature was, on a certain day, carried out to her torture, and being returned from it into her jail, she was so shaken, and had all her limbs so miserably disjointed, that when she laid upon her bed of rushes, it rather encreased her misery than gave her rest, so that she could not turn herself without the most excessive pain. In this condition, as Bohorquia had it not in her power to shew her any, or but very little outward kindness, she endeavoured to comfort her mind with great tenderness. The girl had scarce began to recover from her torture, when Bohorquia was carried out to the same exer- cise, and was tortnred with such diabolical cruelty upon the rack, that the rope pierced and cut into the very bones of her arms, thighs, and legs ; and in this manner she was brought back to prison, just ready to expire, the blood im- mediately running out of her mouth in great plenty. Un- doubtedly they had burst her bowels, insomuch that the eighth day after her torture she died. And when after all they could not procure sufficient evidence to condemn her, though sought after and procured by all their inquisitorial arts ; yet, as the accused person was born in that place, where they were obliged to give some account of the affair to the people, and indeed could not by any means dissemble it ; in the first act of triumph appointed after her death, they commanded her sentence to be pronounced in these words : because this lady died in prison (without doubt suppressing the causes of it) and was found to be innocent upon inspect- ing and diligently examining her cause, therefore the holy 2 E 210 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. tribunal pronounces her free from all charges brought against her by the fiscal, and absolving her from any farther process, doth restore her both as to her innocence and repu- tation ; and commands all her effects, which had been con- fiscated to be restored to those to whom they of right belonged, &c. And thus, after they had murdered her by torture, with savage cruelty, they pronounced her inno- cent." After the sentence of torture is pronounced, the officers prepare themselves to inflict it. " *The place of torture in the Spanish inquisition is generally an under-ground and very dark room, to which one enters through several doors. There is a tribunal erected in it, in which the inquisitor, inspector, and secretary sit. When the candles are lighted, and the person to be tortured brought in, the executioner, who was waiting for him, makes a very astonishing and dreadful appearance. He is covered all over with a black linen garment down to his feet, and tied close to his body. His head and face are all hid with a long black cowl, only two little holes being left in it for him to see through. All this is intended to strike the miserable wretch with greater terror in mind and body, when he sees himself going to be tortured by the hands of one who thus looks like the very devil." The degrees of torture formerly used, were principally three : first, by stripping and binding. Secondly, by being hoisted on the rack. Thirdly, squassation. This stripping is performed without any regard to hu- manity or honour, not only to men, but to women and virgins, though the most virtuous and chaste, of whom they have sometimes many in their prisons. For they cause them to be stripped, even to their very shifts ; which they after- wards take off, and then put on them straight linen drawers, and then make their arms naked quite up to their shoulders. (1) Goosalv. p. 65, 66. THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. 211 As to squassation, it is thus performed : the prisoner hath his hands bound behind his back, and weights tied to his kct, and (hen he is drawn up on high, till his head reaches the very pully. He is kept hanging in this manner for some time, that by the greatness of the weight hanging at his feet, all his joints and limbs may be dreadfully stretched ; and on a sudden he is let down with a jirk, by the slacking the rope, but kept from coming quite to the ground ; by which terrible shake his arms and legs are all disjointed, whereby he is put to the most exquisite pain; the shock which he receives by the sudden stop of his fall, and the weight at his feet, stretching his whole body more intensely and cruelly. The author of the History of the Inquisition at Goa tells us, ' that the torture now practised in the Portuguese inqui- sition is exceeding cruel. u In the months of November and December, I heard every day in the morning the cries and groans of those who were put to the question, which is so very cruel, that I have seen several of both sexes who have been ever after lame. In this tribunal they regard neither age nor sex, nor condition of persons, but all with- out distinction are tortured, when it is for the interest of this tribunal." The method of torturing, and the degree of tortures now used in the Spanish inquisition, will be well understood from the history of Isaac Orobio, a Jew, and doctor of phy- sic, who was accused to the inquisition as a Jew, by a certain Moor his servant, who had by his order before this been whipped for thieving ; and four years after this he was again accused by a certain enemy of his for another fact, which would have proved him a Jew. But Orobio obsti- nately denied that he was one. I will here give the account of his torture, as I had it from his own mouth. After three whole years which he had been in jail, and several examina- tions, and the discovery of the crimes to him of which he (l) C. 23. 2 e 2 212 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. was accused, in order to his confession, and his constant denial of them, he was at length carried out of his jail, and through several turnings brought to the place of torture. This was towards the evening. It was a large under-ground room, arched, and the walls covered with black hangings. The candlesticks were fastened to the wall, and the whole room enlightened with candles placed in them. At one end of it there was an inclosed place like a closet, where the inquisitor and notary sat at a table ; so that the place seemed to him as the very mansion of death, every thing appearing so terrible and awful. Here the inquisitor again admonished him to confess the truth, before his torments began. When he answered he had told the truth, the inquisitor gravely protested, that since he was so obstinate as to suffer the torture, the holy office would be innocent, if he should shed his blood, or even expire in his torments. When he had said this, they put a linen garment over his body, and drew it so very close on each side, as almost squeezed him to death. When he was almost dying, they slackened at once the sides of the garment ; and after he began to breathe again, the sudden alteration put him to the most grievous anguish and pain. When he had over- come this torture, the same admonition was repeated, that he would confess the truth, in order to prevent farther tor- ment. And as he persisted in his denial, they tied his thumbs so very tight with small cords, as made the extremi- ties of them greatly swell, and caused the blood to spurt out from under his nails. After this he was placed with, his back against a wall, and fixed upon a little bench. Into the wall were fastened little iron pullies, through which there were ropes drawn, and tied round his body in several places, and especially his arms and legs. The executioner drawing these ropes with great violence, fastened his body with them to the wall ; so that his hands and feet, and especially his fingers and toes being bound so straitly with them, put him to the most exquisite pain, and seemed to him just as though he had been dissolving in flames. In the midst of these tor- THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. 213 meats, the torturer, of a sudden, drew the bench from under him, so that the miserable wretch hung by the cords with- out any thing to support him, and by the weight of his body drew the knots yet much closer. After this a new kind of torture succeeded. There was an instrument like a small ladder, made of two upright pieces of wood, and five cross ones sharpened before. This the torturer placed over against him, and by a certain proper motion struck it with great violence against -both his shins; so that he received upon each of them at once five violent strokes, which put him to such intolerable anguish that he fainted away. After he came to himself, they inflicted on him the last torture. The torturer tied ropes about Orobio's wrists, and then put those ropes about his own back, which was covered with leather to prevent his hurting himself. Then falling back- wards, and putting his feet up against the wall, he drew them with all his might, till they cut through Orobio's flesh even to the very bones ; and this torture was repeated thrice, the ropes being tied about his arms about the distance of two fingers breadth from the former wound, and drawn with the same violence. But it happened, that as the ropes were drawing the second time, they slid into Ihe first wound; which caused so great an effusion of blood, that he seemed to be dying. Upon this the physician and surgeon, who are always ready, were sent for out of a neighbouring apart- ment, to ask their advice, whether the torture could be continued without danger of death, lest the ecclesiastical judges should be guilty of an irregularity , if the criminal should die in his torments. They, who were far from being enemies to Orobio, answered that he had strength enough to endure the rest of the torture, and hereby preserved him from having the tortures he had already endured repeated on him, because his sentence was, that he should suffer them all at one time, one after another. So that if at any time they are forced to leave off through fear of death, all the tortures, even those already suffered, must be successively inflicted to satisfy the sentence. Upon this the torture 214 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. was repeated the third time, and then it ended. After this he was bound up in his own clothes, and carried back to his prison, and was scarce healed of his wounds in seventy days. And inasmuch as he made no confession under his torture, he was condemned, not as one convicted, but suspected of Judaism, to wear for two whole years the infamous habit called Sambenito, and after that term to perpetual banish- ment from the kingdom of Seville. Ernestus Ercmundus Frisius, 1 in his History of the Low Country Disturbances, gives us an account from Gonsalvius, of another kind of torture. There is a wooden bench, which they call the wooden horse, made hollow like a trough, so as to contain a man lying on his back at full length ; about the middle of which there is a round bar laid across, upon which the back of the person is placed, so that he lies upon the bar instead of being let into the bottom of the trough, with his feet much higher than his head. As he is lying in this posture, his arms, thighs, and shins are tied round with small cords or strings, which being drawn with screws at pro- per distances from each, other, cut into the very bones, so as to be no longer discerned. 2 Besides this, 3 the torturer throws over his mouth and nostrils a thin cloth, so that he is scarce able to breathe through them ; and in the mean while a small stream of water like a thread, not drop by drop, falls from on high, upon the mouth of the person lying in this miserable condition, and so easily sinks down the thin cloth to the bottom of his throat ; so that there is no possi- bility of breathing, his mouth being stopped with water, and his nostrils with the cloth ; so that the poor wretch is in the same agony as persons ready to die, and breathing out their last. When this cloth is drawn out of his throat, as it often (l) P. 19. (2) These two methods of punishment seem to be taken from the two different forms of the antient Eculeus. (3) Gonsalv. p. 76, 77. THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. 215 is, that he may answer to the questions, it is all wet with water and blood, and is like pulling his bowels through his mouth. There is also another kind of torture peculiar to this tribunal, which they call the fire. They order a large iron cliafin-dish full of lighted charcoal to be brought in, and held close to the soles of the tortured person's fcet^ greased over with lard, so that the heat of the (ire may more quickly pierce through them. This is inquisition by torture, when there is only half full proof of their crime. However, at other times torments are sometimes inflicted upon persons condemned to death, as a punishment preceding that of death. Of this we have a remarkable instance in William Lithgow, an Englishman, who, as he- tells us in his travels, was taken up as a spy in Mallagom, a city of Spain, and was exposed to the most cruel torments upon the wooden horse. But when nothing could be extorted from him, he was delivered to the inquisi- tion as an heretic, because his journal abounded with blas- phemies against the pope and the Virgin Mary. When lie confessed himself a Protestant before the inquisitor, he was admonished to convert himself to the Roman church, and was allowed eight days to deliberate on it. In the mean while the inquisitor and Jesuits came to him often, some- times wheedling him, sometimes threatening and reproaching him, and sometimes arguing with him. At length they en- deavoured to overcome his constancy by kind assurances and promises ; but all in vain. And therefore as he was im- moveably fixed, he was condemned, in the beginning of Lent, to suffer the night following eleven most cruel tor- ments ; and after Easter to be carried privately to Granada, there to be burnt at midnight; and his ashes to be scattered into the air. When night came on his fetters were taken off, then he was stripped naked, put upon his knees, and his hands lifted up by force; after which opening his mouth with iron instruments, they filled his belly with water till it came out of his jaws. Then they tied a rope hard about his neck, and in this condition rolled him seven times the 216 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. whole length of the room, till he was almost quite strangled. After this they tied a small cord about both his great toes, and hung him up thereby with his head towards the ground, and then cut the rope about his neck, letting him remain in this condition till all the water discharged itself out of his mouth ; so that he was laid on the ground as just dead, and had his irons put on him again. But beyond all expecta- tion, and by a very singular accident, he was delivered out of jail, escaped death, and fortunately sailed home to Eng- land. But this method of torturing doth not belong to this place, where we are treating only of the inquisition of a crime not yet fully proved. If when the person is decently tortured he confesses nothing, he is allowed to go away free ; and if he demands of his judges that he be cleared by sentence, they cannot deny it him; and they pronounce, that having diligently examined the merits of the process, they find nothing of the crime of which he was accused legally proved against him. But if, when under the question, he confesses, it is writ- fen in the process; after which be is carried to another place, where he hath no view of the tortures, and there his confession made during his torments is read over to him, and he is interrogated several times, till the confession be made. But here Gonsalvius observes, 1 that when the pri- soner is carried to audience, they make him pass by the door of the room where the torture is inflicted, where the execu- tioner shews himself on the purpose to be seen in that shape of a devil I have described before ; that as he passes by, he may, by seeing him, be forced to feel, as it were over again, his past torments. If there be very strong evidence against the criminal, if new proofs arise, if the crime objected to him be very hei- nous, and the discoveries against him undoubted ; if he was (1) 1\ 73. THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. 217 not sufficiently tortured before, he may be tortured again, but then only " when his mind and body arc able to endure it." If he doth not persist in his first confession, and is not sufficiently tortured, he may be put to the torture again; not by way of repetition, but continuation of it. But if he persists in his confession, owns his fault, and asks pardon of the church, he is condemned as guilty of heresy by his own confession, but as penitent. But if he obstinately persists in heresy, he is condemned, and delivered over to the secular arm to be punished with death. If he confesses any thing by torture, he must be forced to abjure it. When a person accused of heresy is found to be only slightly suspected of it, he is considered either as suspected publicly or privately. If he is publicly suspected, this was formerly the manner of his abjuration. On the preceding Lord's day the inquisitor proclaims, that on such a day he will make a sermon concerning the faith, commanding all to be present at it. When the day comes, the person to abjure is brought to the church, in which the council hath deter- mined that he shall make his abjuration. There he is placed upon a scaffold, erected near the altar, in the midst of the people, and is not allowed to sit, but stands on it, that all may see him, bare-headed, and with the keepers standing round him. The sermon being made on the mass, to the people and clergy there present, the inquisitor says publicly, that the person there placed on the scaffold is suspected from such and such appearances and actions, of the heresy that hath been refuted in the public sermon ; and that therefore it is fit that he should purge himself from it, by abjuring it, as one slightly suspected. Having said this, a book of the gospels is placed before him, on which laying his hands, he abjures his heresy. In this oath he not only swears that he holds that faith which the Roman church believes, but also that he abjures every heresy that extols itself against the holy Roman and apostolic church : and particularly the he- resy of which he was slightly suspected, naming that heresy; 2 F 218 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION, and that if he shall do any of the aforesaid things for the future^ he willingly submits to the penalties appointed by law to one who thus abjures, and is ready to undergo every penance, as well for the things he hath said and done, as for those concerning which he is deservedly suspected of heresy, which they shall lay on him ; and that with all his power he will endeavour to fulfil it. If he hath not been publicly suspected, he abjures pri- vately after the same manner in the episcopal palace, or in- quisitor's hall. If he is vehemently suspected, he is placed in like manner upon a scaffold ; and after he hath taken his oath upon the gospels, his abjuration is delivered him in writing, to read before all the people, if he can. If he cannot read, the notary, or some religious, or clergyman reads it by sentences, pausing between each till the other hath repeated it after him ; and so on, till the whole abjuration is gone through. In this abjuration he submits himself to the punishments due to re- lapses, if he ever after falls into the heresy he hath abjured. After the abjuration is made, the bishop admonishes him, that if ever hereafter he doth, or says any thing by which it can be proved, that he hath fallen into the heresy he hath abjured, he will be delivered over to the secular court without mercy. Then he injoins him penance, and commands him to observe it ; adding this threatening, that otherwise he will become a relapse, and may, and ought to be judged as an impenitent. However, suspected persons, whether it be slightly or vehemently, are not condemned to wear crosses, nor to perpetual imprisonment, because these are the punish- ments of penitent heretics ; though sometimes they are ordered to wear for a while the Sambenito, according to the nature* of their offence. Ordinarily they are injoined to stand on certain holy days in the gates of such and such churches, holding a burning taper of such a weight in their hands, and to go a certain pilgrimage ; sometimes also they are imprisoned for a while, and afterwards disposed of as is thought proper. THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. 219 Gonsalvius gives us some instances of these punishments. ' <; There was at Seville a certain poor man, who daily main- tained himself and his family by the sweat of his brow. A certain parson detained his wife from him by violence, neither the inquisition nor any other tribunal punishing this heinous injury. As the poor man was one day talking about purga- tory, with some other persons of his own circumstances, he happened to say, rather out of rustic simplicity than any certain design, that he truly had enough of purgatory al- ready, by the rascally parson's violently detaining from him his wife. This speech was reported to the good parson, and gave him a handle to double (he poor man's injury, by ac- cusing him to the inquisitors, as having a false opinion con- cerning purgatory. And this the holy tribunal thought more worthy of punishment than the parson's wickedness. The poor wretch was taken up for this trifling speech, kept in the inquisitor's jail for two whole years, and at length being brought in procession, was condemned to wear the Sambenito for three years in a private jail ; and when they were expired, to be dismissed, or kept longer in prison, as the lords inquisi- tors should think fit. Neither did they spare the poor creature any thing of his little substance, though they did his wife to the parson, but adjudged all the remains of what he had after his long imprisonment to the exchequer of the inqui- sition. M 2 In the same procession there was also brought forth a reputable citizen of Seville, as b eing suspected of Lutheran- ism, with out his cloak and his hat, and carrying a wax taper in his hand, after having exhausted his purse of 100 ducats towards the expences of the holy tribunal, and a year's im- prisonment in the jail of the inquisition, and having abjured as one vehemently suspected ; only because he was found to have said, that those immoderate expences (and on these ac- counts the Spaniards are prodigiously extravagant) which (1) P. 192. (2) P. 195, 2 f 2 220 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION, were laid out in erecting those large paper or linen buildings, which the common people corruptly call monuments, to the honour of Christ now in heaven, upon Holy Thursday ; and also those which were expended on the festival of Corpus Christi, would be more acceptable to God, if they were laid out upon poor persons, or in placing out to good persons poor orphan girls. Two young students 1 added to the number in that procession. One because he had written in his pocket- book some verses made by a nameless author, so artificially, as that the same words might be interpreted so as to contain the highest commendation of, or reflection upon Luther. Upon this account only, after two year's imprisonment, he was brought forth in procession, without his hat and cloak, carrying a wax taper ; after which he was banished for three years from the whole country of Seville, made to abjure as lightly suspected, and punished with a fine. The other underwent the same censure, only for transcribing the verses for their artful composition, excepting only that he commuted his banishment for 100 ducats towards the expences of the holy tribunal." If any one informed against, confesses on oath his heresy, but declares that he will abjure and return to the church, he must publicly abjure in the church before all the people. There is placed before him the book of the gospels ; be puts off his hat, falls on his knees, and putting his hand on the book, reads his abjuration. And from this none, though otherwise privileged, are excepted. After this abjuration they are ab* solved from excommunication, and reconciled to the church; but are injoined various punishments, or wholesome penances by the inquisitors at pleasure. What the punishments of religious persons are, may be seen from the two following instances. Friar Marcellus de Pratis, a religious of the order of the Minors, was condemned in Sicily by the inquisition (because (!) P. 196. THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. 221 ho had rashly feigned himself a saint, impeccable, confirmed in grace, and had pronounced other scandalous and rash pro- positions) to the gallies for three years, to be banished for two more into such a convent of his own religion as should be assigned him, with this addition ; that lie should fast every Friday on bread and water, eat upon the ground in the refec- tory, walk without his hat, and sit in the lowest place in the choir and refectory, and be perpetually deprived of his active and passive vote, and of the faculty of hearing any persons confessions whatsoever. One Mary of the Annunciation, prioress of the monasteiy of the Annunciation at Lisbon, a maid of thirty-two years old, had pretended that the wounds of Christ, by the special grace and privilege of God were imprinted on her, and shewed thirty-two wounds made on her head, representing the marks of those which were made by our Saviour's crown of thorns, and blood sprinkled on her hands like a rose, the middle of which was like a triangle, and shewed the holes of the nails narrower on one side than the other. The same were to be seen in her feet. Her side appeared as though it had been laid open by the blow of a lance. When all these things were openly shewn, it was wonderful to see how they raised the admiration and devotion of serious and holy men, and withal surprized and deceived them ; for she did not suffer those pretended wounds to be seen otherwise than by com- mand of her confessor. And that absent persons might have a great veneration for her, she affirmed, that on Thursdays she put into the wounds a small cloth, which received the impression of five wounds in form df a cross, that in the middle being the largest. Upon which these cloths were sent, with the greatest veneration, through the infinite devotion of the faithful, to the pope, and to- almost all the most venerable and religious persons of the whole world. And as Paramus then had the administration of the causes of faith in the king- dom of Sicily, he saw several of those cloths, and the picture of that woman drawn to the life ; and a book written by a person of great authority concerning her life, sanctity, and 222 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. miracles. Yea, Pope Gregory XIII. himself determined to write letters to that wretched creature, to exhort her thereby to persist with constancy in her course, and to perfect what she had begun. At last the imposture was found out, that the marks of the wounds were not real, but made with red lead ; and that the woman's design was, when she had gained autho- rity and credit enough, by her pretended sanctity, to recover the kingdom of Portugal to its former state, which had legally fallen under the power of Philip II. Upon this the following sentence was pronounced against her by the inquisitors of Lis- bon, December 8, anno 1588. First, she was commanded to pass the rest of her life shut up in a convent of another order, that was assigned to her without the city of Lisbon. Like- wise, that from the day of pronouncing the sentence, she should not receive the sacrament of the eucharist for the space of five years, three Easters, and the hour of death excepted ; or unless it were necessary to obtain any jubilee, that should in the mean while be granted by the pope. Likewise, that on all Wednesdays and Fridays of the whole year, when the religious women of that convent held a chapter, she should be whipped, whilst the psalm, " Have mercy on me O God," was reciting. Likewise, that she should not sit down at table at the time, of refreshment, but should eat publicly on the pavement, all being forbidden to eat any thing she left. She was also obliged to throw herself down at the door of the re- fectory, that the nuns might tread on her as they came in and went out. Likewise, that she should perpetually observe the ecclesiastical fast, and never more be created an abbess, nor be chosen to any other office in the convent where she had dwelt, and that she should be always subject to the lowest of them all. Likewise, that she should never be allowed to con- verse with any nun without leave of the abbess. Likewise, that all the rags marked with drops of blood, which she had given out, her spurious relics, and her effigies describing her, should be every where delivered to the holy inquisition ; or if in any place there was no tribunal of the inquisition, to the prelate^ or any other person appointed. Likewise, that she „ THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION, 223 ihould never cover her head with the sacred veil ; and that every Wednesday and Friday of the whole year she should ab- stain from meat, and live only on bread and water ; and that as often as she came into the refectory, she should pronounce her crime with a loud voice in the presence of all the nuns. Michael Piedrola also took upon himself for many years the name of a prophet, boasted of dreams and revelations, and affirmed they were revealed to him by a divine voice. Being convicted of so great a crime, he abjured de levi, was for ever forbid the reading of the Bible, and other holy books, deprived of paper and ink, prohibited from writing or receiving letters, unless such only as related to his private affairs ; denied the liberty of disputing about the holy Scrip- ture, as well in writing as in discourse ; and finally, com- manded to be thrown into jail, and there pass the remainder of his life. Another punishment of heretics who abjure, is the con- fiscation of all their effects. And this confiscation is made with such rigour, that the inquisition orders the exchequer to seize on not only the effects of the persons condemned, but also all others administered by them, although it evidently appears that they belong to others. The inquisition at Seville gives a remarkable instance of this kind. " Nicholas Burton, an Englishman, a person remarkable for Ins piety, was apprehended by the inquisition of Seville, and afterwards burnt for his immoveable perseverance in the con- fession of his faith, and detestation of their impiety. When he was first seized, all his effects and merchandizes, upon ac- count of which he came to Spain, where, according to the custom of the inquisition, sequestered. Amongst these were many other merchandizes, which were consigned to him as factor, according to the custom of merchants, by another English merchant dwelling in London. This merchant, upon hearing that his factor was imprisoned, and his effects seized on, sent one John Frontom, as his attorney into Spain, with proper instruments to recover his goods. His attorney accord- ingly went to Seville ; and having laid before the holy tribunal 224 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. the instruments, and all other necessary writings, demanded, that the goods should be delivered to him . The lords answered that the affair must be managed in writing, and that he must choose himself an advocate (undoubtedly to prolong the suit) and out of their great goodness appointed him one, to draw up for him his petitions, and all other instruments which were to be offered to the holy tribunal; for every one of which they exorbitantly took from him eight reals, although he received no more advantage from them, than if they had never been drawn at all. Frontom waited for three or four whole months, twice every day, viz. in the morning, and after dinner, at the gates of the inquisitor's palace, praying and beseeching, on his bended knees, the lords inquisitors, that his affair might be expedited ; and especially the Lord Bishop of Tarraco, who was then chief inquisitor at Seville, that he, in virtue of his supreme authority, would command his effects to be restored to him. But the prey was too large and rich to be easily re- covered. After he had spent four whole months in fruitless prayers and intreaties, he was answered, that there was need of some other writings from England, more ample than those he had brought before, in order to the recovery of the effects. Upon this the Englishman immediately returns to London, and procures the instruments of fuller credit which they demanded, comes back with them to Seville, and laid them before the holy tribunal. The lords put off his answer, pretending they were hindered by more important affairs. They repeated this answer to him every day, and so put him off for four whole months longer. When his money was almost spent, and he still continued earnestly to press the dispatch of his affair, they referred him to the bishop. The bishop, when consulted, said he was but one, and that the expediting the matter belonged also to the other inquisitors ; and by thus shifting the fault from one to the other, there was no appearance of an end of the suit. But at length being overcome by his importunity, they fixed on a certain day to dispatch him. And th dis- patch was this: the licentiate Gascus, one of the inquisitors, a man well skilled in the frauds of the inquisition, con ds THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. 225 him to come to him after dinner. The Englishman was pleased with this message, and went to him about evening, be- lieving that they began to think in good earnest of restoring him his effects, and carrying him to Mr. Burton the prisoner, in order to make up the account ; having heard the inquisitors often say, though he did not know their real meaning, that it was necessary that he and the prisoner should confer together. When he came, they commanded the jail-keeper to clap him up in such a particular prison, which they named to him. The poor Englishman believed at first that he was to be brought to Burton to settle the account ; but soon found him- self a prisoner in a dark dungeon, contrary to his expectation, and that he had quite mistaken the matter. After three or four days they brought him to an audience ; and when the Englishman demanded that the inquisitors should restore his effects to him, they well knowing that it would agree perfectly with their usual arts, without any other preface, command him to recite his Ave Mary. He simply repeated it after this manner : ' Hail, Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee ; blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is Jesus the fruit of thy womb. Amen.' All was taken down in writing, and without mentioning a word about the restoring his effects (for there was no need of it) they commanded him back to his jail, and commenced an action against him for an heretic, be- cause he had not repeated the Ave Mary according to the manner of the church of Rome, and had left off in a sus- pected place, and ought to have added, c Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners ;' by omitting which conclusion, he plainly discovered that he did not approve the intercession of the saints. And thus at last, upon this righteous pretence, he was detained a prisoner many days. After this he was brought forth in procession, wearing an habit ; all his prin- cipal's goods for which he had been suing being confiscated, and he himself condemned to a year's imprisonment." Bes ; -1 «s this confiscation pf effects, they enjoin them whole- some penances ; such as fastings, prayers, alms, the frequent 2 G 226 THE HISTORY OP PERSECUTION. use of the sacraments of penance, and the eucharist ; and, finally, pilgrimages to certain places. Some penances are honarary, attended with infamy to those who do them. Such are, walking in procession without shoes, in their breeches and shirt, and to receive therein pub- lic discipline by the bishop or priest; to be expelled the church, and to stand before the gates of the great church upon solemn days, in the time of mass, with naked feet, and wear- ing upon their cloak an halter about their neck. At this time they only stand before the gates of the church, with a lighted candle in their hand, during the time of solemn mass on some holy day, as the bell is ringing to church. Besides these, they now use the punishment of banish- ment, of beating, and whipping with scourges or rods. Some- times they are condemned to fines, excluded as infamous from all public offices, prohibited from wearing silver or gold, precious garments and ornaments, and from riding on horses or mules with trappings, as nobles do. But the most usual punishment of all, is their wearing crosses upon their penitential garments, which is now fre- quently enjoined penitents in Spain and Portugal. And thib is far from being a small punishment ; because such persons are exposed to the scoffs and insults of all, which they are obliged to swallow, though the most cruel in themselves, and offered by the vilest of mankind ; for by these crosses they are marked to all persons for heresy, or, as it is now in Spain and Portugal, for Judaism : and being thus marked, the yare avoided by all, and are almost excluded from all human so- ciety. This garment was formerly of a black and bluish colour, like a monk's cloak, made without a cowl ; and the crosses put on them were strait, having one arm long, and the other across, after this manner f. Sometimes, according to the heinousness of the offence, there were two arms across, after this manner J. But now in Spain this garment is of a yellow colour, and the crosses put on it are oblique, after the THE HISTORY OP PERSECUTION. 227 manner of St. Andrew's cross, in this form X, and are of a red colour. This cloak the Italians call " Abitello," the Spaniards " Sant Benito," as though it was " Sacco Benito," i. e. the blessed sackcloth, because it is fit for penance, by which we are blessed and saved. But Simancas says it is the habit of St. Benedict. Finally, the most grievous punishment is the being con- demned to perpetual imprisonment, there to do wholesome pe- nance with the bread of grief and the water of affliction. This is usually enjoined on the believers of heretics, and such as are difficultly brought to repentance ; or who have a long while denied the truth during the trial, or have perjured themselves. Besides this condemnation to perpetual imprisonment, such persons are also enjoined other penances, viz. sometimes to stand in the habit marked with the cross at the door of such a church, such a time, and so long, viz. on the four principal festivals of the glorious Virgin Mary, of such a church ; or on such and such festivals, at the gates of such and such churches. Sometimes before they are shut up in prison they are publicly exposed, viz. being clothed with the habit of the crosses, they are placed upon an high ladder in the gate of some church, that they may be plainly seen by all ; where they must stand till dinner time ; after which they must be carried, clothed in the same habit, to the same place, at the first ringing to vespers, and there stand till sun-set ; and these spectacles are usually repeated on several Sundays and festi- vals in several churches, which are particularly specified in their sentence. But if they break prison, or do not otherwise fulfil the penances enjoined them, they are condemned as im- penitents, and as under the guilt of their former crimes; and and if they fall again into the hands of the inquisitors, they are delivered over as impenitents to the secular court, unless they humbly ask pardon, and profess that they will obey the commands of the inquisitors. However, if persons remain impenitent till after sentence is pronounced, there is no farther place for pardon. And yet there is one instance of Stephana de Proaudo, extant in the 2g2 228 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. book of the sentences of the Thoulouse inquisition, who, being judged an heretic the day before, and left as an heretic to the secular court (from whence it appears that it was not then usual for those who were left to the secular court to be burnt the same day on which the sentence is pronounced, as is now practised in Spain and Portugal) seeing on the following day, viz. Monday, that the fire in which she was to be burnt was made ready, said on that very day, that she was willing to be converted to the Catholic faith, and to return to the ecclesias- tical unity. And when it was doubted whether she spoke this feignedly or sincerely, or through fear of death, and was an- swered, that the time of mercy was elapsed, and that she should think of the salvation of her soul, and fully discover whatsoever she knew of herself or others concern insr the fact of heresy, which she promised to say and do, and that she would die in the faith of the holy church of Rome ; upon this the inquisitor and vicars of the bishop of Tholouse called a council on the following Tuesday, and at length it was con- cluded, that on the following Sunday she should confess the faith of the church of Rome, recant her errors, and be carried back to prison, where it would be proved whether her conversion was real or pretended ; and so strictly kept, that she might not be able to infect others with her errors. Emerick 1 also gives us an instance at Barcelona, in Catalonia, of three heretics, impenitent, but not relapsed, who were delivered over to the secular arm. And when one of them, who was a priest, was put in the fire, and one of his sides somewhat burnt, he cried to be taken out of it, because he would abjure and repent. And he was taken out accordingly. But he was afterwards found always to have continued in his heresy, and to have infected many, and would not be converted ; and was there, fore turned over again, as impenitent and relapsed, to the secu- lar arm, and burnt. The author of the History of the Inquisition at Goa, 2 gives us another instance of a very rich new Christian, whose (1) P. 204. (2) C. 38. THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. 229 name was Lewis Pezoa, who, with his whole family, ha J been accused of secret Judaism, by some of his enemies; and who, with his wife, two sons and one daughter, and some other relations that lived with him, were all thrown into the jail of the inquisition. He denied the crime of which he was accused, and well refuted it ; and demanded that the witnesses who had deposed against him might be discovered to him, that he might convict them of falsehood. But he could ob- tain nothing, and was condemned as a negative, to be deli- vered over to the arm of the secular court ; which sentence was made known to him fifteen days before it was pronounced. The Duke of Cadaval, an intimate friend of the Duke d\\ve- ira, inquisitor general, had made strict inquiry how his affair was like to turn. And understanding by the inquisitor general, that unless he confessed before his going out of prison he could not escape the fire, because he had been legally convicted, he continued to entreat the inquisitor gene- ral, till he had obtained a promise from him, that if he could persuade Pezoa to confess, even after sentence pronounced, and his procession in the act of faith, he should not die, though it was contrary to the laws and customs of an act of faith. Upon that solemn day therefore, on which the act of faith was to be held, he went with some of his own friends, and some that were Pezoa's, to the gate of the inquisition, to prevail with him, if possible, to confess. He came out in the proces- sion, wearing the infamous Samarre, and on his head the Caroch, or infamous mitre. His friends, with many tears, besought him in the name of the Duke de Cadoval, and by all that was dear to him, that he would preserve his life ; and intimated to him, that if he would confess and repent, the said duke had obtained his life from the inquisitor general, and would give him more than he had lost. But all in vain ; Pezoa continually protesting himself innocent, and that the crime itself was falsely invented by his enemies, who sought his destruction. When the procession was ended, and the act of faith almost finished, the sentences of those who were condemned to certain penances having been read, and on the 230 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. approach of evening the sentences of those who were to be delivered over to the secular court being begun to be read, bis friends repeated their intreaties, by which at last they over- came his constancy, so that desiring an audience, and rising up that he might be heard, he said, " Come then, let us go and confess the crimes I am falsely accused of, and thereby gratify the desires of my friends." And having confessed his crime, he was remanded to jail. Two years after he was sent to Evora, and in the act of faith walked in procession, wear- ing the Samarre, on which was painted the fire inverted, ac- cording to the usual custom of the Portuguese inquisition ; and after five years more that he was detained in the jail of the inquisition, he was condemned to the gallies for five years. If the person accused is found a relapse by his own con- fession, he cannot escape death, even though he is penitent. If he be in holy orders, he is first degraded. After sentence is pronounced against him, he is delivered to the secular arm, with this clause added to his sentence by the inquisitors: u Nevertheless, we earnestly beseech the said secular arm, that he will moderate his sentence against you, so as to prevent the effusion of blood, or danger of death :" Thus adding hypo- crisy and insult to their devilish barbarity. If the person accused be an impenitent heretick, but not relapsed, he is kept in chains in close imprisonment, that he may not escape, or infect others ; and in the mean while all methods must be used for his conversion. They send clergy- men to instruct him, and to put him in mind of the pains of hell-fire. If this will not do, they keep him in chains for a year or more, in a close, hard jail, that his constancy may be overcome by the misery of his imprisonment. If this doth not move him, they use him in a little kinder manner, and promise him mercy, if he will repent. If they cannot thus pre- vail with him, they suffer his wife and children, and little ones, and his other relations, to come to him, and break his con- stancy. But if after all he persists in his heresy, he is burnt alive. If the person accused be found guilty of heresy by the THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION, 231 evidence of (he fact, or legal witnesses, and yet doth not con- fess, but persists in the negative; after having been kept in jail for a year, he must be delivered over to the secular arm. So that if it should happen that he is accused by false witnes- ses, and is really innocent, the miserable wretch, though falsely condemned, is delivered to the power of the secular court, to be burnt alive; nor is it lawful for him, without the commis- sion of mortal sin, as the Roman doctors think, to save his life, by falsely confessing a crime he hath not committed ; and there- fore it is the duty of the divines and confessors, who comfort such a negative, and attend on him to his punishment, to per- suade him to discover the truth ; but to caution him by all means not to acknowledge a crime he hath not committed, to avoid temporal death ; and to put him in remembrance, that if he patiently endures this injury and punishment, he will be crowned as a martyr. It is however evident, if the practice of the Portugal inqui- sition be considered, that the inquisitors are not so very soli- citous about the eternal salvation of those they condemn, as they are to consult their own honour by the criminals confes- sions even of false crimes. Of this we have a remarkable in- stance, of a noble Portugueze, descended from the race of the new Christians, who was accused of Judaism. But as he did most firmly deny the crime objected to him, nothing was omitted that might persuade him to a confession of it ; for he was not only promised his life, but the restitution of all his effects, if he would confess, and threatened with a cruel death if he persisted in the negative. But when all this was to no purpose, the inquisitor general, who had some respect for him, endeavoured to overcome his constancy by wheedling, and other arguments ; but w hen he constantly refused to confess himself guilty of a crime he had not committed, the inquisitor general being at last provoked by his firmness, said, " What then do you mean? Do you think that we will suffer our- selves to be charged with a lie? And having said this, he went off. When the act of faith drew near, the sentence of death was pronounced against bun, and a confessor allowed 232 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. him to prepare him for death. But at last he sunk under the fear of his approaching dreadful punishment, and by confes- sing on the very day of the act of faith the crime falsely fastened on him, he escaped death ; but all his estate was confiscated, and he himself condemned for five years to the gallics. If the person accused is a fugitive, after waiting for his appearance a competent time, he is cited to appear on such a day in the cathedral of such a diocese, and the citation fixed on the gates of the church. If he doth not appear, he is com- plained of for contumacy, and accused in form. When this is done, and the crime appears, sentence is pronounced against the criminal ; and if the information against him be for heresy, he is declared an obstinate heretic, and left as such to the secular arm. This sentence is pronounced before all the peo- ple, and the statue or image of the absent person publicly produced, and carried in procession ; on which is a super- scription, containing his name and surname ; which statue is delivered to the secular power, and by him burnt. Thus Luther's statue was burnt, together with his books, at the command of Pope Leo X. by the Bishop of Ascoli. The inquisitors also proceed against the dead. If there be full proof against him of having been an heretic, his me- mory is declared infamous, and his heirs, and other possessors? deprived of his effects ; and finally, his bones dug out of their grave, and publicly burnt. Thus Wickliff 's body and bones were ordered to be dug up and burnt, by the council of Constance : Bucer and Fagius, by Cardinal Pool, at Cam- bridge ; and the wife of Peter Martyr, by Brookes, Bishop of Gloucester, at Oxford ; whose body they buried in a dung- hill. And thus Mark Antony de Dominis, Archbishop of Spalato, was condemned after his death for heresy ; and the inquisitors agreed that the same punishments should be ex- ecuted upon his dead body, as would have been on himself had he been alive. Having taken this resolution, the twenty-first day of De- cember, anno 1624, was appointed for the pronouncing sen- tence. Early in the morning of it, so vast a multitude had THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. 233 got together to St. Mary supra Minervam, where they gene- rally give these religious shews, that they were forced not only to shut up, but to guard the gates with armed men ; and the great area before the church was so prodigiously thronged, that there was scarce room for the cardinals themselves to pass. The middle aisle of the church, from the first to the fourth pil- lar, was boarded in, with boards above the height of a tall man. At the upper and lower end of it there were gates, guarded by Switzers. On each side there were scaffolds, run- ning the whole length of the inclosure ; in which were seats for the cardinals and other prelates, and other conveniences, to receive the courtiers and other noblemen standing or sitting. On the right hand, coming in, the sacred council presided ; on the left hand were placed the inferior officers of the holy inquisition, the governor of the city, and his officials. Before the pulpit was to be seen the picture of Mark Anthony, drawn in colours, covered with a black common garment, holding a clergyman's cap in his hand, with his name, sirname, and archiepiscopal dignity, which formerly he had borne, in- scribed upon it, together with a wooden chest bedaubed with pitch, in which the dead body was inclosed. The rest of the church was filled with citizens, and a great many foreigners ; the number of whom was at that time larger, because the ju- bilee that was at hand had brought them from all parts to the city, that they might be present at the opening of the sacred gates. Things being thus disposed, a certain parson mounted the pulpit, and with a shrill voice, which rung through all the parts of the spacious church, and in the vulgar language, that the common people might understand him, read over a summary of the process, and the sentence by which the car- dinals inquisitors general, specially deputed for the affair by the pope, pronounced Mark Anthony, as a relapse into heresy, to have incurred all the censures and penalties appointed to relapsed heretics by the sacred canons, and papal constitu- tions ; and declared him to be deprived of all honours, pre- rogatives, and ecclesiastical dignities, condemned his memory., 2 H 234 THE HISTORY OP PERSECUTION, and cast him out of the ecclesiastical court, delivered over his dead body and effigies into the power of the governor of the city, that he might inflict on it the punishment due, according to the rule and practice of the church. And finally, they commanded his impious and heretical writings to be publicly burnt, and declared all his effects to be forfeited to the ex- chequer of the holy inquisition. After this sentence was read, the governor of the city and his officers threw the corpse, effi- gies, and aforesaid writings into a cart, and carried them into the Campo Fiore, a great multitude of people following after. When they came there, the dead body, which as yet in all. its members was whole and entire, was raised out of the chest as far as the bottom of the breast/ and shewn from on high to tlie vast concourse of people that stood round about ; and was afterwards, with the effigies and bundle of his books, thrown into the pile prepared for the purpose, and there burnt- And finally, in order to beget in the common people a greater abhorrence of the crime of heresy, they usually pull down and level with the ground the houses or dwellings in which heretics hold their conventicles, the ground on which they stood being- sprinkled over with salt, and certain curses and imprecations uttered over it. And that there may be a perpetual monument of its infamy, a pillar or stone, four or five feet high, is erected in the said ground, with large characters on it, con- taining the name and owner of the house,, shewing the reason of its demolition, and the reign of what pope, emperor or king, the matter was transacted. The whole of this horrid affair is concluded by what they call " An Act of Faith ;" which is performed after this man- ner. When the inquisitor is determined to pronounce the sentences of certain criminals, he fixes on some LordVday or festival to perform this solemnity. But they take care that it be not Advent Sunday, or in Lent, or a very solemn day, such as the Nativity of our Lord, Easter, and the like ; be- cause it is not decent that the sermons on those days should be? suspended, but that every one should go to his own parish church. A certain Sunday or festival therefore being ap- THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. 235 pointed, the parsons of all the churches of that city or place, in which this solemnity is to be performed, do, by command of the bishop aiid inquisitor, when they have done preaching, publicly intimate to the clergy and people, that the inquisitor will, in such a church, hold a general sermon concerning the faith ; and they promise, in the name of the pope, the usual in- dulgence of forty days, to all who will come and see, and hear the things which are there to be transacted. They take care to give the same notice in the houses of those religious, who commonly preach the word of God ; and that their superiors should be told, that because the inquisitor will in such a church make a general sermon concerning the faith, therefore he sus- pends all other sermons, that every superior may send four or two friars, as he thinks fit, to be present at the sermon, and the pronouncing the sentences. This solemnity was formerly called " A general Sermon concerning the Faith," but it is now called, " An Act of Faith." And in this, great numbers of persons, sometimes one or two hundred, are brought forth in public procession to various kinds of penances and punish- ments, all wearing the most horrible babits. They choose fes- tivals for this solemnity, because then there is a greater conflu- ence of people gathered together to see the torments and punishments of the criminals, that from hence they may learn to fear, and be kept from the commission of evil. And indeed ? asthis act of faith is now celebrated in Spain and Portugal, the solemnity is truly an horrible and tremendous spectacle, in which every thing is designedly made use of that may strike terror ; for this reason, as they say, that they may hereby give some representation and image of the future judg- ment. If any one, whether an impenitent or relapsed heretic is to be delivered to the secular court, the bishop and inquisitor give notice to the principal magistrate of the secular court, that he must come such a day and hour with his attendants to such a street or place, to receive a certain heretic or relapsed person out of their court, whom they will deliver to him : and that he must give public notice the same day, or the day 2 h 2 236 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. before in the morning, by the crier, throughout the city, in all the usual places and streets, that on such a day and hour? and in such a place, the inquisitor will make a sermon for the faith ; and that the bishop and inquisitor will condemn a cer- tain heretic or relapse, by delivering him to the secular court. In most of the tribunals of the inquisition, especially in Spain, it is a remarkable custom they use, viz. on the day before the acts of faith, solemnly to carry a bush to the place of the fire, with the flames of which they are consumed, who deserve the punishment of being burnt. This is not without its mysteries ; for the burning, and not consuming bush, sig- nifies the indefectible splendour of the church, which burns, and is not consumed ; and besides this, it signifies mercy to- wards the penitent, and severity towards the froward and obstinate. And farther, it represents how the inquisitors defend the vineyard of the church, wounding with the thorns of the bush, and burning up with flames all who en- deavour to bring heresies into the harvest of the Lord's field. And finally, it points out the obstinacy and frowardness of heretics, which must rather be broken and bent, like a rug- ged and stubborn bush ; and that as the thorns and prickles of the bush tear the garments of those who pass by, so also do the heretics rend the seamless coat of Christ. Besides, the day before the criminals are brought out of jail to the public act of faith, they part with their hair and their beard ; by which the inquisitors represent, that heretics return to that condition in which they were born, viz. becom- ing the children of wrath. All things being thus prepared to celebrate this act of faith, all the prisoners, on that very day which is appointed for the celebration of it are clothed with that habit which they must wear in the public procession. But the custom in this matter is not altogether the same in all the inquisitions. In that of Goa, the jail-keepers, about midnight, go into the cells of the prisoners, bringing a burning lamp to each of them, and a black garment striped with white lines ; and also a pair of breeches, which reach down to their ankles ; both which they THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. 237 order them to put on. The black habit is given them in token of grief and repentance. About two o'clock the keepers re- turn, and carry the prisoners into a long gallery, where they arc all placed in a certain order against the wall, no one of them being permitted to speak a word, or mutter, or move ; so that they stand immoveable, like statues, nor is there the least motion of any one of their members to be seen, except, of their eyes. All these are such as have confessed their faulty and have declared themselves willing to return by penance to the bosom of the church of Rome. To every one of these is given a habit to put over their black garment. Penitent here- tics, or such as are vehemently suspected, receive the blessed sackcloth, commonly called the Sambenito ; which, as we have before related, is of a saffron colour, and on which there is put the cross of St. Andrew, of a red colour, on the back and on the breast. Yile and abject persons are made to wear the infamous mitre for more outrageous blasphemies, which, carries in it a representation of infamy, denoting that they are as it were bankrupts of heavenly riches. The same mitre also is put on Polygamists, who are hereby shewn to have joined themselves to two churches ; and finally, such as are convicted of magic ; but what is signified hereby as to them, I have not been able to discover. The others, whose offences are slighter, have no other garment besides the black one. Every one hath given him an extinguished taper, and a rope about their neck; which rope and extinguished taper have their signification, as we shall afterwards shew. The women are placed in a separate gallery from the men, and are there cloathed with the black habit, and kept till they are brought forth in public procession. As to those who are designed for the fire, viz. such as have confessed their heresy, and are impenitent, and negatives, viz. such who are convicted by a sufficient number of witnesses, and yet deny their crime, and finally such as are relapsed, they are all carried into a room separate from the others. Their dress is different from that of the others. They are however, clothed with the sackcloth, or kind of mantle, which 238 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. some call the Sambenito, others the Samarra or Samaretta. And though it be of the same make as the Sambenito is, yet it hath different marks, is of a black colour, hath flames painted on it, and sometimes the condemned heretic himself, painted to the life, in the midst of the flames. Sometimes also they paint on it devils thrusting the poor heretic into hell. Other things may also be put on it ; and all this is done, that per- sons may be deterred from heresy by this horrible spectacle. As to those, who after sentence pronounced, do at length confess their crime, and convert themselves, before they go out of jail, they arc, if not relapses, clothed with the Samarra, on which the fire is painted, sending the flames downward, which the Portugueze call Fogo rcvolto ; as though you should say, the fire inverted. Besides this, they have paper mitres put on them, made in the shape of a cone ; on which also devils and flames are painted, which the Spaniards and Portugueze call in their language Carocha. All of them being thus clothed, according to the nature of their crime, are allowed to sit down on the ground, waiting for fresh orders. Those of them who are to be burnt, are carried into a neighbouring apartment, where they have confessors always with them, to prepare them for death, and convert them to the faith of the church of Rome. About four o'clock the officers give bread and figs to ail of them, that they may somewhat satisfy their hunger during the celebration of the act of faith. About sun-risinor, the srreat bell of the cathedral church tolls ; by which, as the usual sig- nal of an act of faith, all persons are gathered together to this miserable spectacle. The more reputable and principal men of the city meet at the house of the inquisition, and are as it were the sureties of the criminals, one of them walking by the side of each criminal in the procession, which they think is no small honour to them. Matters being thus prepared, the inquisitor places himself near the gate of the house of the in- quisition, attended by the notary of the holy office. Here he reads over in order the names of all the criminals ; beginning with those whose offences are least, and ending with those THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION . 2*j9 whose crimes are greatest: Tke Criminals march out each in their order, avUIi naked feet, and wearing (Ae habit thai was put on the m in jai l, As eveiy one ggjftj out, the n- tary reads the name of his surety, who walks by his side in the proces- sion. The Dominican monks march first; who have this honour granted them, because Dominick, the founder of their order, was also the inventor of the inquisition. The banner of the holy office is carried before them ; in which the image of Dominick is curiously wrought in needle-work, holding a sword in one hand, and in the other a branch of olive, with these words u justice and mercy.' 3 Then follow the criminals with their sureties. When all those whose crimes are too slight to be punished with death, are gone out into procession, then comes the crucifix ; after which follow those who are led out to the punishment of death. The crucifix being in the midst of these, hath its face turned to those whp walk before, to denote the mercy of the holy office to those who are saved from the death they had deserved ; and the back part of it to those who come after, to denote that they have no grace or mercy to expect : for all things in this office are mysterious. Finally, they carry out the statues of those who have died in heresy, -habited in the Samarra ; and also the bones dug out of the graves, shut up in black chests, upon which devils and flames are painted all over, that they may be burnt to ashes. 1 When they have thus marched round the principal streets of the city, that all may behold them, they at length (1) Dr. Geddes gives us life following account of this procession in Portugal, p. 442. " In the morning of the day the prisoners are all brought into a great hall, where they have the hahits put on fhey are to wear in the procession, which begins to come out of the inquisition about nine o'clock in the morning, " The first in the procession are the Dominicans, who carry the standard of the inquisition, which on the one side hath their founder, Dominick's picture, and on the other side the cross, betwixt an olive- tree and a sword, with this motto, " Justitia & Miserecordia." Next after the Dominicans come the penitents; some with Benitocs, and some without, according to the nature of their crimes. They are al! in black 240 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. enter the church, where the sermon concerning the faith is tc be preached. At Goa this is usually the church of the Domi- coats without sleeves, and bare-tooted, with a wax-caudle in their hands. Next come the penitents who have narrowly escaped being burnt, who over their black coat have flames painted, with their points turned downwards, to signify their having been saved, but so as by fire. Next come the negative and relapsed, that are to be burnt, with flames upon their habit, pointing upward ; and next come those who profess doc- trines coutrary to the faith of the Roman church, and who, besides flames on their habit pointing upward, have their picture, which is drawn two or three days before upon their breasts, with dogs, serpents, and devils, all with open mouths painted about it. " Pegna, a famous Spanish inquisitor, calls this procession, ' Hor- rendum ac tremenduin Spectaculum,' and so it is in truth, there being something in the looks of all the prisoners, besides those that are to be burnt, that is ghastly and disconsolate, beyond what can be imagined; and in the eyes and countenances of those that are to be burnt, there is something that looks fierce and eager. " The prisoners that are to be burnt alive, besides a Familiar, which all the rest have, have a Jesuit on each hand of them, who are con- tinually preaching to them to abjure their heresies; but if they offer to speak any thing, in defence of the doctrines they are going to suffer death for professing, they are immediately gagged, and not suffered to speak a word more. " This I saw done to a prisoner, presently after he came out of the gates of the inquisition, upon his having looked up to the sun, which he had not seen before in several years, and cried out in a rapture, 1 How is it possible for people that behold that glorious body, to wor- ship any Being but him that created it ?' After the prisoners comes a troop of familiars on horseback, and after them the inquisitors and other officers of the court upon mules ; and last of all comes the inquisitor general upon a white horse, led by two men, with a black hat, and a green hatband, and attended by all .the nobles, that are not employed as familiars in the procession. " In the Terreiro de Paco, which may be as far from the inquisition as Whitehall is from Temple-bar, there is a scaffold erected, which may hold two or three thousand people ; at the one end sit the inquisitors, and at the other end the prisoners, and in the same order as they walked in the procession ; those that are to be burnt being seated on the high- est benches behind the rest, which may be ten feet above the floor of the scaffold." F . THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. 2-1-1 nicans, and sometimes that of the Franciscans. The great altar is covered over with cloth, upon which are placed six silver candlesticks, with burning tapers. On each side of it is erected something like a throne ; that on the right hand for the inquisitor and his counsellors ; that on the left for the vice- roy and his officers. Over against the great altar there is another lesser one, on which several missals are placed ; and from thence even to the gate of the church is made a long gal- lery, three feet wide, full of seats, in which the criminals are placed, with their sureties, in the order in which they enter the church ; so that those who enter first, and have offended least, are nearest the altar. After this comes in the inquisitor, surrounded with his col- leagues, and places himself on the right hand throne ; and then the viceroy, with his attendants, seats himself on the throne on (he left hand. The crucifix is put on the altar in the midst of the six candlesticks. Then the sermon is preached concern- ing the faith, and the office of the inquisition. This honour is generally given to the Dominicans. The author of the History of the Inquisition at Goa tells us, that in the act of faith, in which he walked in procession, cloathed with the Sambenito, the provincial of the Augustines preached the ser- mon, which lasted half an hour, and treated of the inquisi- tion, which he compared to Noah's ark ; but said it was preferable to Noah's ark in this, because that the animals which entered it came out of it after the flood with the same brutal nature they carried in ; whereas the inquisition so far changes the persons who are detained in it, that though they enter cruel as wolves, and fierce as lions, they come out of it meek as lambs. When the sermon is ended, two readers, one after another, mount the same pulpit, and with a loud voice publicly read over the sentences of all the criminals, and the punishment to which they are condemned. He whose sentence is to be read over, is brought by an officer into the middle of the gal- lery, holding an extinguished taper in his hand, and there stands till his sentence is read through ; and because all the 2 i 242 • THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. criminals are supposed to have incurred the greater excom- munication, when any one's sentence is read over, lie is brought to the foot of the altar, where, upon his knees, and his hands placed on the missale, he waits till so many are brought there, as there are missals upon the altar. Then the reader for some time defers the reading of the sentences ; and after he hath admonished those who are kneeling at the altar, that they should recite with him with their heart and mouth the confession of faith he is to read over to them, he reads it with a loud voice ; and when it is ended, they all take their former places. Then the reader reads over the sentences of the rest, and the same order is observed till all the sentences are gone through. When the sentences of all those, who are freed from the punishment of death by the mercy of the office, are read through, the inquisitor rises from his throne, puts on his sacred vestments, and being attended with about twenty priests, comes down into the middle of the church,' and there saying over some solemn prayers, 1 which may be seen 2 in the Book of the Sentences of the Thoulouse Inquisition, he absolves them all from the excommunication they were under, giving each of them a blow by the hands of those priests who attend him. Farther, when the inquisitors absolve and reconcile peni- tents at an act of faith, they make use of rods, to admonish (1) Verse. Lord save thy men servants, and thine handmaids. Resp. Those, O my God, who trust in thee. Verse. The Lord be with you. Resp, And with thy spirit. Let us pray. Grant, we beseech thee, Lord, to these thy men servants, and thine handmaids, the worthy fruit of penance; that they may be ren- dered innocent in the sight of thy holy church, from the integrity of which they have strayed through sin, by obtaining the pardon of their sins, through Christ our Lord. Amen. (2) Fat 149. THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. 243 them, that by heresy they have fallen from the favour of God into his anger and fury. Hence Paramus 1 advises such peni- tents to consider, with how great indulgence they are treated, because they are only whipped on the shoulders ; that they may go away, and being mindful of the divine fury, may take heed not to relapse for the future. The rod also points out the judiciary power which the inquisitors exercise over impious heretics, and those who are suspected of heresy ; be- cause a rod is the measure by which any one's deserts are mea- sured, and therefore penitents are whipped with rods according to the nature of their offence, whereby their faults are weighed and measured. Farther, the inquisitors use rods, because, as a rod at the beginning is in its nature flexible, tender and soft, but at last hard, blunt and stiff, so the inquisitors aro soft and tender, whilst penitents offending through frailty and ignorance, reconcile themselves ; but if heretics do afterwards suffer themfelves to be overcome by wickedness, and fall again into the crimes they have committed, then they whip them, and strike them severely, even to the burning of the fire. And, finally, they use rods to establish and support the weak in the faith ; because rods are a very apt instrument to sup- port and confirm the lame and weak. The penitents carry in their hands extinguished wax tapers, whilst the inquisitors reconcile them ; to intimate, that the light of the faith hath been altogether extinguished in their minds by the sin of heresy and infidelity. These tapers are made of wax, whereby heretics profess (Risum teneatis) that their hearts have been so melted, through the heat of Concupi- scence, as to receive various sects ; and that as wax grows hard by moisture, but melts by dryness and warmth, so they being hardened by the moisture of carnal delights, have re- mained in infidelity, but are melted as wax, and converted by the dryness and heat of tribulation and penance enjoined them. And finally, the cotton of the taper, and the wax of which (l) L. 2. t. 3. c. 11. 2 i 2 244 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION, it is made, and the fire with which it is lighted after absolu- tion, shadow forth that the heretics have denied faith, hope, and charity. But when the tapers are lighted after their re- conciliation, this signifies that they profess they will demon- strate, by the light of good works, the faith which they have recovered. Farther, those who are reconciled are sprinkled with holy water and hyssop, in token, that being brought out of the power of darkness, and having turned the eyes of their minds to the true light of the faith, they are to remain free from all the snares and calumnies of the devil, that they may serve God with greater freedom. Farther, he who hath offended against the Catholic faith which he had professed, hath a rope tied round his neck, to signify, that the inward parts of such a person being possessed by the craftiness of the devil, have been given to such sins, of which his outward parts being tied with ropes, give a very evident sign and proof. And though they are reconciled after abjuration of their heresy, yet they walk with a rope tied about their necks; that they may come out as witnesses against themselves, and may be examples to others, that they may turn their eyes to the inward spots of the mind. During this action, every one of the prisoners eats the bread and figs in the church, which were given them by the officers of the inquisitioif in jail. When this ceremony is performed, the inquisitor goes back to his place ; after which the sentences of those who are appointed to death are read over ; the conclusion of which is, that the inquisition can shefr them no favour, upon account of their being relapsed, or impenitent, and that therefore it de- livers them over to the arm of the secular court, which they earnestly intreat so to moderate their punishment, as to prevent the effusion of blood, and danger of death. When those last words are read, one of the officers of the holy office gives each of them a blow on the breast, by which he signifies that they are left by the inquisition ; upon which one of the officers of secular justice comes to them and claims them. If any of THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. 215 them are in holy orders, they are degraded, and deprived of all their orders, before they are delivered to (he secular arm. After this they read the sentences against the dead. At last these miserable wretches are brought to the secular judge, to hear the sentence of death ; and when they come before him, they are severally asked in what religion they desire to die ? Their crime is never inquired into ; because it is not the ofiice of the secular magistrate to ask, whether those, who are condemned by the inquisition, are criminal ? He is to pre- suppose them guilty, and his duty is to inflict the punishment appointed by law upon those who commit such crimes, of which they are pronounced guilty by the inquisition. When they have answered this one single question, they are soon after tied to a stake, round about which there is placed a pile of wood. Those who answer that they will die Catholics, are first strangled ; but those who say they will die Jews or here- tics, are burnt alive. i As these are leading out to punishment, the rest are carried back without any order, by their sureties, (1) I cannot here avoid giving my reader a more particular account of this execution from Dr. Geddes, who himself was once present at it. His words are these: " The prisoners are no sooner in the hands of the civil magistrate, than they are loaded with chains, before the eyes of the inquisitors; and being carried first to the secular jail, are, within an hour or two, brought from thence, before the lord chief justice, who without knowing any thing of their particular crimes, or of the evidence that was against them, asks them, one by one, in what religion they do in- tend to die? If they answer, that they will die in the communion of the Church of Rome, they are condemned by him, to be carried forth- with to the place of execution, and there to be first strangled, and afterwards burnt to ashes. But if they say, they will die in the Pro- testant, or in any other faith that is contrary to the Roman, they are then sentenced by him, to be carried forthwith to the place of execu- tion, and there to be burnt alive. " At the place of execution, which at Lisbon is the Ribera, there are so many stakes set up as there are prisoners to be burnt, with a good quantity of dry furze about them. The stakes of the professed, as the inquisitors call them, may be about four yards high, and have a small board, whereon the prisoner is to be seated, within half a yard of the 246 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. to the jail of the inquisition. This is the celebration of an act of faith in Portugal ; or rather in that part of India which is subject to the Portugueze, as a Frenchman hath described it in his History of the Inquisition at Goa, who himself walked in procession at an act of faith, wearing the infamous Sambe- top. The negative and relapsed being first strangled and burnt, the professed go up a ladder, betwixt the two Jesuits, which have attended them all day ; and when they are come even with the forementioned board, they turn about to the people, and the Jesuits spend near a quar- ter of an hour in evhorting the professed to be reconciled to the Church of Rome; which, if they refuse to be, the Jesuits come down, and the executioner ascends, and having turned the professed off' the ladder upon the seat, and chained their bodies close to the stake, he leaves them ; and the Jesuits go up to them a second time, to renew their exhortation to them, and at parting tell them, that they leave them to the devil, who is standing at their elbow to receive their souls, and carry them with him into the flames of hell-fire, so soon as they are out of their bodies. Upon this* a great shout is raised, and as soon as the Jesuits are off the ladders, the cry is, ' Let the dogs beards, let the dogs beards be made;' which is done by thrusting flaming furzes, fastened to a long pole, against their faces. And this inhumanity is commonly continued until their faces are burnt to a coal, and is always accompanied with such loud acclamations of joy, as are not to be heard upon any other oc- casion ; a bull feast, or a farce, being dull entertainments, to the using a professed heretic thus inhumanly. " The professed beards having been thus made, or trimmed, as they call it in jollity, fire is set to the furze, which are at the bottom of the stake, and above which the professed are chained so high, that the top of the flame seldom reaches higher than the seat they sit on; and if there happens to be a wind, to which that place is much exposed, it sel- dom reaches so high as their knees : so that though, if there be a calm, the professed are commonly dead in about half an hour after the furze is set on fire; yet, if the weather prove windy, they are not after that dead in an hour aud a half, or two hours, and so are really roasted, and not burnt to death. But though, out of hell, there cannot possibly be a more lamentable spectacle than this, being joined with the sufferers (so long as they are able to speak) crying out, ' Miserecordia por amor de Dios, Mercy for the Jove of God ;' yet it is beheld by people of both sexes, and all ages, with such transports of joy and satisfaction, as are not on any other occasion to be met with. 3 ' Dr. Gedde's Tracts, vol. L p. 447, &c. Thus far Dr. Gcddes. THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. 217 nito, and who accurately observed and described all the cir- cumstances of it. The method of celebrating an act of faith in Spain, is When Mr. Wilcox, afterwards the Right Reverend the lord Bishop of Rochester, was minister to the English factory at Lisbon, he sent the following letter to the then Bishop of Salisbury, Dr. Gilbert Burnet, dated at Lisbon, Jan. 15,1706, X. S. which I publish by his lordship's allowance and approbation, and which abundantly confirms the foregoing account. " My Lord, " In obedience to your lordship's commands, of the 10th ult. I have here sent all that was printed concerning the last Auto de Fe. I saw the whole process, which was agreeable to what is published by Lim- borch and others upon that subject. Of the five persons condemned, there were hut four burnt; Antonio Tavanes, by an unusual reprieve, being saved after the procession. Heytor Dias, aud Maria Pinteyra, were burnt alive, and the other two first strangled. The execution was very cruel. The woman was alive in the fiames half an hour, and the man above an hour. The present king and his brothers were seated at a window so near, as to be addressed to a considerable time, in very moving terms, by the man as he was burning. But though the favour he begged was only a few more faggots, yet he was not able to obtain it. Those which are burnt alive here, are seated on a bench twelve feet high, fastened to a pole, and above six feet higher than the faggots. The wind being a little fresh, the man's hinder parts were perfectly wasted; and as he turned himself, his ribs opened before he left speak- ing, the fire being recruited as it wasted, to keep him just in the same degree of heat. But all his entreaties could not procure him a larger allowance of wood to shorten his misery and dispatch him." Thus far the Letter. How diabolical a religion must that be, which thus divests men of all the sentiments of humanity and compassion, and hardens them against all the miseries and sufferings of their fellow creatures ! For as Dr. Geddes observes, ibid. p. 450, " That the reader may not think that this inhuman joy is the effect of a natural cruelty that is in these peoples disposition, and not of the spirit of their religion, he may rest assured, that all public malefactors besides heretics, have their violent deaths no where more tenderly lamented than amongst the same people; and even when there is nothing in the manner of their deaths that appears inhuman or cruel." 248 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. somewhat different. For whereas at Goa the banner, which they carry before the procession hath the picture of Dominick wrought in it, Paramus says, that in Spain the cross is the banner of the inquisition, which is carried before them ; and tediously tells us of several mysteries signified by the cross, of which I will here give a short summary. The cross is the beginning and end of all acts of the inqui- sition; and by it is represented, that the tribunal of the inqui- sition is a representation of that supreme and final tribunal, in Which the sign of the cross shall appear before the Lord Christ, coming to the judgement of the world with great majesty and glory. Farther, it denotes the war which the inquisition wages against heretics, and the victory which they gain over the enemies of the orthodox faith ; because the inquisitors are appointed the conquerors of heretical pravity, and captains for the defence of religion, who keep watch at the castle of the inquisition for the Christian faith, repair it when going to ruin, restore it when tumbled down, and preserve it when restored in its ancient, flourishing and vigorous state. The inquisition uses a green cross, that it may be more conveniently distinguished from those crosses of other colours, which are used by the Christian commonwealth ; and espe- cially that it maybe shadowed out, that all things usually signified by greenness, belong to the inquisition . For instance, greenness denotes stability and eternity ; it is a grateful, plea- sant, and attractive colour to the eyes, and finally is a sign of victory and triumph. Hereby is shadowed forth, that the inquisitors of heretical pravity vigilantly preserve the stability of the church; and that heretics are attracted by the green cross, so that they cannot escape the judgment of this tribunal, and by beholding it are brought to the tender bosom of mother church, and drawn to repentance, and the sincerity of the faith. The banner of the inquisition hath a green cross in a field sable, adorned on the right hand with a branch of green olive, and brandishing on the left a drawn sword, with this motto round about the scutcheon, " Exsurge, Domine, & judica THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION, 219 Causam tuam ; Psal. lxxiv. 22. Arise, O Lord, and plead thy own cause." The branch of green olive denotes the same as the green cross. But the branch of olive is on the right hand of the cross, and the sword on the left, to shew that in the inquisition mercy is mixed with justice ; and the meaning of this mixture they derive from the ark of the tabernacle, in Which, together with the tables, there was the rod and the manna, the rod of severity, and the manna of sweetness ; as though the rod of Aaron which blossomed, was the rod with which j udges command criminals to be whipped. The branch of olive at the right hand, signifies that nothing ought to be so strictly regarded by the inquisitors as mercy and clemency? which the olive most wonderfully shadows forth, which hath branches always green, and which endures storms much longer than any other trees, and if buried under water, is not so soon destroyed, nor doth so easily lose its verdure. The drawn sword brandishing on the left, points out that the inquisitors, after having tried in vain all methods of mercy, do then as it were unwillingly come to the use and drawing of the sword, which was given by God for the punishment of offenders. The field of sable, in the midst of which the green cross is placed, intimates the repentance of the criminals, and the sor* row they conceive on account of their sins ; which, however, the green mitigates with the hope of pardon. The motto round the scutcheon, " Exsurge Domiiie," &c. marks out that the inquisitors, in expectation of the comino- of the Lord, do in the mean while punish the wicked, that they may deter others, and defend the good. But besides these things, there are other differences be- tween the celebration of an act of faith in India and Spain. Gonsalvius tells us, 1 this solemn procession began in this man- ner at Seville. " In the first place went some school-boys, brought out of a certain college in which boys were tauo-br, which they commonly call the house of teaching, who strike (l) P. 135, 2 K 250 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. an awe upon others by their habit, singing, and order, in which they are kept by certain clergymen cloathed in surplices. They walk along singing the litanies of the saints, repeating them alternately, the chorus alternately answering, 1 " Ora pro nobis." After these follow the prisoners themselves, com- monly called penitentials, disposed as it were into several classes in this order. Next after the children walk those who are convicted of lesser faults. The tokens of their guilt are usually unlighted candles, halters about their necks, wooden bits, and paper mitres. They walk with their heads unco- vered, that the mitre may not be concealed ; and after the manner of slaves, without their cloak. Those who excel others in birth, or riches, follow after those who are meaner. Next to these march those who arc cloathed with the Sam- l>enhVs, or military mantles, marked across with the red cross ; the same order being observed as above, according to the distinction of the persons. Those who are defiled in holy or- ders, as they are superior in dignity, so also are they in their place or rank in the procession. After these comes the third and last class, viz. of those who are appointed for the fire. Every prisoner is attended by two armed familiars, for his safe custody, one on each side of him ; besides which, those who are to die have two monks or theatins, as they call them, walking by them. The whole council of the city, consisting of the alguazils, jurors, the judges of twenty-four degrees, the great officers of the court, the regent and viceroy himself, or Ms deputy, who are followed by a great number of nobility on horseback, immediately follow the classes of the prisoners, who, recording to the custom of a triumph, ought certainly to march first. After these comes the ecclesiastical order, the clergy, beneficed persons, and curates walking first. Next after them walk the whole chapter of the principal church, which they commonly call the cabild of the greater church. Then the abbots and priors of the monks orders, with their (1) Pra^- for us. THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION, 251 attendants. All these walk before the holy tribunal to do honour to it, because, on that day, it openly triumphs. Between these and the next after there is a space left empty, in which the fiscal of the inquisition, who hath had no small share in gaining that victory to the holy tribunal, walks as standard- bearer in truly military pomp, displaying and opening the standard made of red damask silk. This standard is most cu- riously embroidered, having on one side of it the arms of that pope who granted the inquisition, with his name written at large ; and on the other those of King Ferdinand, who first brought it into Spain. Every thing in it is wrought with silk, gold, and purple. Upon the very point of this banner is fastened a silver crucifix washed over with gold, of great va- lue^; to which the superstitious multitude pay a peculiar vene- ration, for this reason only, because it belongs to the inquisi- tion. At length come the fathers of the faith themselves, with a slow pace, and profound gravity, truly triumphing, as be- comes the principal generals of that victory. After them come all the familiars of the holy inquisition on horseback. Then an innumerable company of the common people xind mob, without any order or character. In this pomp they march from the jail of the inquisition to the high and magnificent scaffold, which is built of wood, in the noblest and most capa- cious street of the city, for shewing the penitents to public view, and for hearing their sentences. On this scaffold they make them sit in the same order as they marched. There is also another scaffold almost as large as the former, over against it, in which is erected the tribunal of the lords in- quisitors ; where they sit in their inquisitorial, and almost divine majesty, attended with all that grandeur in which they came." The king (if present) the queen and the whole court, and also the legates, and all the nobility of Spain, generally honour this solemnity with their presence. The seat of the inquisitor general is like a tribunal, raised above the king's. When all are seated in their places, they begin with clebrating mass ; but when the priest who officiates is come to about the 2k2 252 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. middle of the service, he leaves the altar, and goes back to his proper place. Then the supreme inquisitor comes down from the scaffold, robed in all his ornaments ; and making his reverences before the altar, ascends by several steps to the king, attended by some of the officers of the inquisition, who carry the crucifix and gospels, and the book in which is contained the oath, by which the king obliges himself- to protect the Catholic faith, to the extirpation of heresies, and the defence of the inquisition. The king standing bare- headed, having on one side of him the constable of Castile, or one of the grandees of Spain, who holds up the sword of state, swears that he will keep the oath, which is publicly read over to him, by one of the members of the royal coun- cil ; and remains in the same posture, till the supreme inqui- sitor goes back to his place. After this one of the secretaries of the inquisition goes into a desk, reads over the like oath, and takes it from the council, and the whole assembly. Then all the several sentences are read over, and the solemnity sometimes lasts till nine o'clock in the evening. Criminals penitent and reconciled, and brought out in public procession, are carried back to their former jails in the holy office the same day in which the sentences are pronounced against them, and the day following are brought to an audi- ence of the inquisitors, and are admonished of those things which are enjoined them by their sentences, and how griev- ously they will be punished, unless they humbly do the pe- nances assigned them. After this, they send every one to the place to which his sentence ordered him. Those who are condemned to the gallies, are sent to the jails of the secular judges. Some are whipped through the principal streets of the city, and sometimes receive two hundred lashes. Others wear the infamous Sambenito ; some every day, others must appear in them only Sundays and holy days. But in these things every one observes the custom of his own inquisition. In the inquisition at Goa this is the method. Before the pri- soners are dismissed, they are carried from jail to some other house, where they are every day instructed in the doctrines THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. 25.3 and rites of the Church of Rome ; and when they are dis- missed, every one hath a writing given him, containing the penances enjoined them ; to which is added a command, that .every one shall exactly keep secret every thing he hath seen, said or heard, and all the transactions relating to him, whether at the table, or in other places of the holy oflicc. And to tliis secrecy every prisoner binds himself by a solemn oath. The day after this solemnity also, the effigies of those condemned to death, painted to the life, are carried to the dominican\s church, and there hung up to be viewed by all. The custom in this matter is described by Ludovicus a Para- mo. 1 u There is another monument of infamy, which, though vulgarly called by the Spaniards Sambenito, yet is not a garment, but a cloth ailixed to the walls of the churches for perpetual infamy in the parishes where they lived. On this cloth is written the name and surname of the criminal, and the business he carried on is also expressed. If he dis- covers any farther, they add another little piece to the cloth to prevent doubt, describing his country, and oftentimes also the parents and grandfathers of the condemned person. " In some of these cloths may be read who were the pa- rents of the criminals, of what race they were ; whether they were married, or if married women, whose wives they were; whether lately recovered to the Christian religion, from the Jewish law and Mahometan sect. Finally, the cause of their penance is declared according to the nature of their crime, viz. that he was an arch-heretic, a dogmatist, a declared he- retic, an heretical apostate, a feigned penitent, negative and obstinate, an impenitent and relapsed heretic, a Lutheran, Anabaptist, Caivinist, Martianist heretic, even though they died before condemnation. Besides this inscription, there is also painted the mark which is usually put on living penitents, as is above explained. In the ancient cloths, which have not yet been repaired, one may see an upright cross. Besides (I) L. 2. t. 2. c. 5. n. 9, 10, 11. 251 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. these already mentioned, other things may be seen in them ; for in some the person and crime is omitted, and this one word only written without the picture, ' Combustus,' burnt. On the clothes of such as are reconciled, this word only, without any cross or mark, i Rcconciliatus,' reconciled. Sometimes the date of the year is wanting. Sometimes the flames are painted without any inscription, so that the criminal cannot possibly be known. However, these monuments of infamy and disgrace are not to be fixed up to render those infamous, who arc reconciled during the time of indulgence and grace . For as it was agreed with them, that they should not wear such infamous habits, nor be eloathed with them during the time of their reconciliation, it would be contrary to reason and justice to hang them up, because it would be wholly to destroy the favour granted them, This constitution is observed in all the kingdoms and dominions of the King of Spain, except in Sicily ; where, in the year 1543, when the licentiate Cervera was inquisitor there, there was a very great commotion at Pa- lermo, when the people rose against the holy inquisition, and tore off the infamous cloths from the walls of the church dedicated to St. Dominic, with so great a fury and rage, that they could never, to this day, fix them up again upon the walls either of that, or any other church." Thus far we have described the method of proceeding observed in the inquisition ; and if we attentively consider it, and compare it with the usual method of proceeding in all other courts, we shall find it to be a series and connection of injustice and cruelties, and subversive of all laws, both divine and human. The Papists usually recommend to their own people this tribunal as an holy one, and call the inquisition the holy office. But if we consider it thoroughly, we shall find it is all dis- guise, by which they endeavour to palliate and cover over the villany and injustice of this court. I will not now undertake to shew that the causes which are managed before this tribu- nal are not subject to human judgment, but belong to the tri- THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. bunal of God, and his son Christ : for God only, the supreme Lord of all, who can save, and can destroy, can prescribe the laws of salvation and damnation : lie only, as omniscient and searclier of hearts, can pronounce an infallible judg of every one's faith, which lies concealed in his mind, ami which he may dissemble by words or actions, and hath admit- ted no man as partner with himself in this power. From hence it evidently follows, that it is a sacrilegious violation of the divine majesty and laws, in that the pope of Rome arro- gates to himself the judgment of the faith, prescribes laws of believing to the faithful, erects the tribunal of an inquisition, sends every where inquisitors as judges delegated by him, who, in his name, and by a power grained by him, are to inquire into the faith of all, and punish those who are not in all things obedient to the pope. Nor will I here examine that villainous doctrine, by which they teach that heretics are to be deprived of all power, so that faitli is not to be kept with them; subjects are not bound by their oath of allegiance and fidelity; that the husband or wife, for the heresy of either, is freed from the laws of matrimony, and even children from obedi- ence to their parents : for it is fully evident, that this doctrine subverts all laws, divine and human. I will only, in a few words, represent the principal iniquities and instances of injustice of this tribunal : in which, as to the reason and method of proceeding in favour of the faith, it differs from the laws and customs of all other courts : whereby things evidently unjust in other tribunals, are in this accounted just. 1 shall not indeed mention all, but the chief only, and most remarkable instances, as specimens of the rest. I. The first is, that the inquisitors, by publishing an edict of the faith, oblige all, under the penalty of excommunica- tion, to inform before them of every one of whom they sus- pect of heresy, for the slightest cause ; so that not only a re- lation is bound to accuse his relation, a brother his brother, and by this information to bring him into danger of being burnt, the most horrible of all punishments ; but even a Wife 256 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION*. her husband : yea, what destroys all the laws of nature, a son, according to the opinion of many doctors, is bound to inform against his father, if a secret heretic. II. A second instance of injustice, is their condemning a person defamed only for heresy, to make canonical purgation, i. e. to purge himself with seven, more or less, compurgators; so that if he fails in one, two or three, he is accounted guilty, for thus the life and torture of any one depends on the will and pleasure of another. III. A third is, that in this office every one, though ex* eluded by other courts, is admitted for a witness, a mortal enemy only excepted. IV. To this may be added a fourth, that the names of the witnesses are not shewn to the prisoner, nor is any circum- stance discovered to him by which he can come to the know- ledge of the witnesses. V. A fifth instance of injustice is, that if two unexcep- tionable witnesses, who yet must ever be liable to exception, be- cause unknown to the criminal, testify of different facts, yea, sometimes if there be one only, yea, if but a mere report, they think it enough to order to the torture. VI. A sixth instance is, that they would have persons in- formed against become their own accusers : for as soon as ever any one is thrown into jail, he is bound by an oath to declare the truth. VII. A seventh instance is, that the inquisitors use vari- ous arts to draw out a confession from the prisoners, by mak- ing them deceitful promises, which, when they have got the confession, they do not believe themselves obliged to fulfil ; that so the prisoner being destitute of all human assistance and comfort, and seeing no end to his miseries, may, through the art and fraud of the inquisitor, have no possible way left to defend himself, and yet in the mean while these wretches affect the appearance of justice, and grant the criminals an advocate and proctor to manage their cause. But in this the prisoner is miserably deceived. VIII. And this is an eighth specimen of their injustice, THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION . 2^7 because the advocate granted to him is given him only to be- tray him. For he may not choose such an advocate as he himself approves of, nor is it lawful for the advocate to defend the prisoner, unless he would be accounted as a favourer of he- resy ; but the inquisition itself assigns him his advocate, bound to them by an oath, whose principal business is to persuade the criminal to ^confess the crime he is accused of, not to use any methods of defence not practised in the court of the inquisition, and immediately to quit his defence, if he cannot defend him accotding to the laws of the inquisition. IX. A ninth is, that when the crimes cannot be proved against the prisoner, he is not absolved from the crime of which lie is accused, but only from prosecution ; and all the decla- ration that is made, is that the crime against him is not proved by proper witnesses ; and this sentence is never taken for an ad- judged case. So that he who is once informed against to the inquisition, although he be innocent, and his crime cannot be proved according to the received manner of the inquisition, though indeed, according to that manner, all crimes of which there is but the least suspicion maybe easily proved; yet he is ne- ver blotted out of the inquisitors book or index, but his name is there preserved in perpetual remembrance of his being a sus- pected person, that if he should happen to be informed against for heresy at any other time, these latter informations added to the former may amount to a real proof; and that although he is dismissed from jail by the sentence of the judge, he may never be able to live in safety, but that being always suspected by the inquisitor, he may be arrested for the same crime which ought to have been forgotten, upon the fresh information of some vile and wicked fellow. X. A tenth, and that not the least instance of injustice, is their readiness to put persons to the torture, and that to discover a secret crime, lying concealed in the mind ; yea, that they will use the torture so much the sooner, because the crime is more concealed than other crimes. XI. The eleventh is, their putting persons to the torture upon half full proof of the crime. This half full proof is 2 L 238 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION* faultering, defamation, and one witness of his own knowledge* or when the tokens are vehement and violent. All these things are subject to the pleasure of the judge. So that if any one falls into the hands of a cruel inquisitor, and faulters in his answer, or is informed against by one witness, who declares he was present at the action or words he gives information of, he cannot possibly escape the torture, nor consequently the punishment of the crime he is accused of, considering the vio- lence of the torments. Nor is this all; but as there may be some facts occasioned not so much by heresy concealed in the mind, as by carnal concupiscence or rashness, they will have such to be tortured for their intention, and force them by tor- ments to confess they had an heretical intention in their mind. XII. A twelfth is, that when they prepare themselves for the torture, they gravely and seriously admonish the criminal to speak nothing but the truth, and to confess nothing that is not agreeable to truth to avoid the tortures. By this means they put on the appearance of sincerity, as though they sought nothing but the naked truth, that when the torture is finished they may be very secure that the tortured person hath confessed a real crime, because they have seriouly and gravely admo- nished him to say nothing contrary to truth. In the mean while they suppose, that the crime objected against him is real, and endeavour to force from him a confession by torture, and threaten to double his torments unless he confesses ; so that if he denies the crime, his torments are aggravated ; if he confesses it, his torments are soon ended. Hence it ap- pears, that their design is not honestly to find out the truth by torture, but that they suppose the crime is real, although ac- cording to the laws of the inquisition it be only half proved, and then extort a confession of it. XIII. A thirteenth is, that whereas in other courts the num- ber is certainly fixed how often the torture may be repeated, they have invented a method of torturing persons very often, without offending against the law, which provides that the tortures shall not be repeated above twice or thrice. If, for instance, they make use of the lesser tortures, and the prisoner THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION'. 259 confesses nothing, they afterwards make use of more grievous ones, then proceed to such as are more cruel, till at different intervals of time they have gone through all the several kinds of tortures. And this they do not call a repetition, but only a continuation of the torture ; so that if any one hath been se- veral times tortured, but with a different kind of torture each time, and hath thus at certain distances gone through all the kinds of torture, according to the opinion of these merciful casuists, he ought to be accounted as tortured only once. XI V r . A fourteenth is, that when they deliver condemned persons to the secular arm, they intercede for them, that their punishment may be so moderated as to prevent shedding of blood, or danger of death. And in the mean while, if the magistrate is not ready to burn the heretics, or delays the punishment, they oblige him, under penalty of excommuni- cation, to execute the sentence. The superstitious wretches are afraid they should beome irregular, by delivering a crimi- nal to the secular magistrate without intercession, and yet are not afraid of becoming irregular, by compelling the magis- trate under penalty of excommunication to murder those whom they have condemned. Can any thing be more evident, than that this is nothing more than acting a part, and an affectation to be thought by the people to have no hand in the murder of which they are really the authors ? XV r . The last instance 1 shall mention, appears in their ridiculous process against the dead, whose relations and heirs they cite, to appear on such a day to defend, if they can and will, the memory of the dead. Whereas they themselves have made it a law, that if any one appears in defence of an heretic, he shall be accounted as a favourer of heretics him- self, and condemned as such, and have no advocate or procu- rator to defend himself. So that they cite all persons to defend the memory of the dead, and yet deter all persons from such defence by a most grievous punishment, appointed against the favourers of heretics. So that all this is like their inter- cession for criminals, mere imposture and sham. Then they provide an advocate to manage the cause, bound to them un- 2 k 2 2G0 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. der an oath, and he publicly declares he cannot defend the memory of the deceased. So that as no one undertakes his defence, the accusations against him are reckoned just, the proofs legal, and the deceased is condemned for heresy. But what greater instance of injustice can there be, than to con- demn a person as convicted, whose defence no one dares un- dertake, without running the hazard of his fortune and life. If any one considers these things, which I have mentioned as specimens only, he will find no sanctity in the court of the inquisition ; but must acknowledge, that in the whole method of proceeding there is nothing but injustice, fraud, impostures, and the most accursed hypocrisy ; by which the inquisitors, under the feigned pretence of sanctity, endeavour to disguise the viliany of their proceedings, that so they may maintain their dominion over the miserable common people, and keep them all in subjection to themselves. And though they do every thing that is wicked and vile, yet they would have all adore them for the venerable character of sanctity. It is needless to mention here more instances of their cru- elty : I shall say all in a few words. The miseries of the jail, in which the prisoners are generally confined by themselves for several years, shut up in darkness, without being allowed any human converse, are so great, the cruelty of their tor- ments so severe, and their punishments so exquisite, that they greatly exceed the cruelty of all other courts : for persons are not only burnt alive, but their mouths gagged, so that they have not the liberty to groan or cry out in those most horrible tortures ; and by thus stopping up their mouths, they are in such an agony, as that they are almost strangled. But their cruelty towards the penitent and converted is most detestable : for whereas the church ought, with open arms, to embrace penitents, in imitation of the shepherd who carried the lost sheep on his shoulders, and brought it home to the sheepfold, these wretches enjoin the most grievous punishments on those whose lives they spare, which with them are only wholesome penances. For they condemn them either to wear the infa- THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. 261 mons Sambenito, or to imprisonment, or the gullies, whereby their very life is oftentimes a punishment to them ; whilst others are denied 1 he very hopes of life, especially the relapsed, who are condemned to death without mercy, though they convert themselves. A nd yet the sacraments are gi yen to those who are reconciled to the church when they desire it ; and thus before they are put to death they become members of the church, put in a state of salvation, and by the priests them- selves most certainly assured of an heavenly crown. Can there be any greater cruelty, and more abhorrent from the spirit of Christianity, than to punish with death an erroneous person who repents, detests his error, and is now reconciled to the church ? But the ecclesiastical sanctions must be satis- fied, and the authority of the church preserved entire, though the laws of Jesus Christ, and the commands of the gospel are trampled under foot. All these iniquities are committed according to the very laws of the inquisition. Many things are indeed, in the exe- cution of this office, left to the pleasure of the inquisitors, which power they often villainously abuse, as appears from their daily practice, and innumerable instances ; for it was the common complaint of all nations against the inquisition, what Thuanus tells us 1 was the complaint of the Neapolitans : u That the perverse and preposterous form of trials increased the horror, because it was contrary to natural equity, and to every legal method in carrying on that jurisdiction. Add to this the inhumanity of their tortures, by which they violently extorted from the miserable and innocent criminals, that they might deliver themselves from their torment, whatsoever the delegated judges would have them confess, though generally contrary to truth. And for this reason it was justly said, that it was invented not for the sake of defending religion, which the primitive church had provided for by a quite different method, but that by this means they might strip all men of (l) Hist. I. 3. 262 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. their fortunes, and bring innocent persons into danger of being destroyed." The papists indeed glory, that the inquisition is the most certain remedy to extirpate heresies. And because the inqui- sition is so effectual a method to extirpate heresies, Luclovi- cus a Paramo 1 gathers from thence that it was ordained for this purpose by the most wise providence of God. But. what is really unjust in itself, and carried on by unjust methods, cannot have God for its author; nor is success any argument that the inquisition is from God. The first inquiry is, whe- ther it be suitable to the nature of the Christian doctrine ? If it be not, it is then unjust and anti-christian. Many things are unrighteously undertaken, by men, and accomplished by violence and cruelty, by which innocence is Oppressed ; which, although God in his just and wise counsel permits, he is far from approving. Even in Japan, a cruel persecution hath extinguished the Christian religion, as preached by the Koman priests ; so that the Roman Catholic religion is equally extin- guished there by the violence of persecutions, as those doc- trines are in Spain, which are contrary to the church of Home, and which they render odious by the infamous name of heresy. And yet they will not allow that any just argument can be drawn from hence, to prove that that persecution was given by divine Providence, as a most effectual remedy for the ex- tirpation of their religion. If other parties of Christians would use the same diligence and cruelty of inquisition against them, I may venture to affirm, that they themselves could not withstand it ; but that within a few years the popish religion would be extinguished in all Protestant countries, and scarce a single person left who would dare to profess it. But God forbid that the Christian religion should ever be propagated this way, which doth not consist in a feigned and hypocritical profession, but in a sincere and undissembled faith. And therefore, as no one ought to assume to himself the power of (1) L, 2. t. 3. c. 4, 5. THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. 263 judging concerning it, but God the searcher of hearts, to him only let us leave it to pass the true judgment concerning every man's belief. Let us in the mean while detect the tyranny of the papists ; and strive to reduce those who, in our judgment, hold errors, into the way of truth, by the good offices of charity and benevolence, without arrogating to ourselves a judgment over the consciences of others. And out of a seri- ous regard to the last great day of judgment, let us approve our consciences to God : and every one of us, expecting from his mercy an equitable and righteous judgment, pray without ceasing: " Arise, O Lord, and plead thy own cause." OF THE present state of THE INQUISITION AT GOA, Taken from the Rev. Dr. Bucha nan's " Christian Researches in Asia. 1 ' THE ROMISH CHRISTIANS IN INDIA. In every age of the Church of Rome there have been indi- viduals, of an enlightened piety, who derived their religion not from u the commandments of men," but from the doc- trines of the Bible. There are at this day, in India and in England, members of that communion, who deserve the af- fection and respect of all good men ; and whose cultivated minds will arraign the corruptions of their own religion, which the author is about to describe, more severely than he will permit himself to do. He is indeed prepared to speak of Roman Catholics with as much liberality as perhaps any Pro- testant has ever attempted on Christian principles : for he is acquainted with individuals, whose unaffected piety he con- 264 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. riders a reproach to a great body of Protestants, even of the strictest sort. It is indeed painful to say any thing which may seem to feeling and noble minds ungenerous ; but those enlightened persons, whose good opinion it is desirable to pre- serve, will themselves be pleased to see that truth is not sacrificed to personal respect, or to a spurious candour. Their own church sets an example of " plainness of speech" in the as- sertion of those tenets which it professes, some of which must be extremely painful to the feeling of Protestants, in their social intercourse with Catholics ; such as, " That there is no salvation out of the pale of the Romish church." This exclusive character prevents concord and intimacy between Prosestant and Catholic families. On the principles of infidelity they can associate very easily ; but on the prin- ciples of religion, the Protestant must ever be on the defensive ; for the Romish church excommunicates him: and although he must hope that some iudividuals do not maintain the tenet, yet his uncertainty as to the fact prevents that cordiality which he desires. Many excellent Catholics suffer unjustly in their intercourse with Protestants, from the ancient and exclusive articles of their own church, which they themselves neither profess nor believe. If they will only intimate to their Pro- testant friends, that they renounce the exclusive principle, and that they profess the religion of the Bible, no more seems requisite to form with such persons the sincerest friendship on Christian principles. At the present time we see the Romish religion in Europe without dominion ; and hence it is viewed by the mere philo- sopher with indifference or contempt. He is pleased to see, that the " seven heads and the ten horns" are taken away ; and thinks nothing of the "names of blasphemy." But in the following pages, the author will have occasion to shew what Rome is, as having dominion ; and possessing it too within the boundaries of the British Empire, In passing through the Romish provinces in the East, though the author had before heard much of the Papal cor- ruptions, he certainly did not expect to see Christianity in the THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. 265 degraded state in which lie found it. Of the priests it may truly be said, that they are, in general, better acquainted with the Veda of Brahma than with the Gospel of Christ. In some places the doctrines of both are blended. At Aughoor, situated between Tritchinopoly and Madura, he witnessed (in October 1806) the Tower of Juggernaut employed to solemnize a Christian festival. The old priest Joseph us accompanied him, when he surveyed the idolatrous car and its painted figures', and gave him a particular account of the various ceremonies which are performed, seemingly unconscious himself of any im- propriety in them. The author went with him afterwards into the church, and seeing a book lying on the altar, opened it ; hut the reader may judge of his surprize, when he found it was a Syriac volume, and was informed that the priest him- self was a descendant of the Syrian Christians, and belonged to what is now called the Syro-Roman Church, the whole ser- vice of which is in Syriac. — Thus, by the intervention of the papal power, are the ceremonies of Moloch consecrated in a manner by the sacred Syriac language. What a heavy re- sponsibility lies on Rome, for having thus corrupted and de- graded that pure and ancient church ! While the author viewed these Christian corruptions in different places, and in different forms, he was always referred to the Inquisition at Goa, as the fountain-head. He had long cherished the hope, that he should be able to visit Goa before he left India. His chief objects were the following : 1. To ascertain whether the inquisition actually refused to recognise the Bible, among the Romish churches in British India. 2. To inquire into the state and jurisdiction of the inqui- sition, particularly as it affected British subjects. 3. To learn what was the system of education for the priesthood ; and 4. To examine the ancient church -libraries in Goa, which were said to contain all the books of the first printing. He will select from his journal in this place, chiefly what relates to the inquisition. He had learnt from every quarter, 2 M 266 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. that this tribunal, formerly so well known for its frequent burnings, was still in operation, though under some restric- tion as to the publicity of its proceedings ; and that its power extended to the extreme boundary of Hindoostan. That, in the present civilized state of Christian nations in Europe, an inquisition should exist at all under their authority, appeared strange ; but that a papal tribunal of this character should exist under the implied toleration and countenance of the British Government ; that Christians, being subjects of the British Empire, and inhabiting the British territories, should be amenable to its power and jurisdiction, was a statement which seemed to be scarcely credible ; but, if true, a fact which demanded the most public and solemn representation. Gba 9 Convent of the Augustinians , Jan. 23, 1808. 6 On my arrival at Goa, I was received into the house of Captain Schuyler, the British resident. The British force here is commanded by Colonel Adams, of His Majesty's 78th regiment, with whom I was formerly well acquainted in Bengal. * Next day I was introduced by these gentlemen to the vice-roy of Goa, the Count de Cabral. 1 intimated to his excellency my wish to sail up the river to Old Goa, 2 (1) The forts in the harbour of Goa were then occupied by British troops (two king's regiments, and two regiments of native infantry) to prevent its falling into the hands of the French. (2) There is Old and New Goa. The old city is about eight miles up the river. The vice-roy and the chief Portuguese inhabitants re- side at New Goa, which is at the mouth of the river, within the forts of the harbour. The old city, where the inquisition and the churches are, is now almost entirely deserted by the secular Portuguese, and is inhabited by the priests alone. The unhealthiness of the place, and the ascendency of the priests, are the causes assigned for abandoning the ancient city. XilE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. 267 (\\ here the inquisition is,) to which he politely acceded. Ma- jor Pareira, of the Portuguese establishment, who was present, and to whom I had letters of introduction from Bengal,, offered to accompany me to the city, and to introduce me to the archbishop of Goa, the primate of the Orient. 6 I had communicated to Colonel Adams, and to the British resident, my purpose of enquiring into the state of the inqui- sition. These gentlemen informed me, that I should not be able to accomplish my design without difficulty ; since every thing relating to the inquisition was conducted in a very secret manner, the most respectable of the lay Portuguese themselves being ignorant of its proceedings ; and that, if the priests were to discover my object, their excessive jealousy and alarm would prevent their communicating with me, or satisfying my inquiries on any subject. ' On receiving this intelligence, I perceived that it would be necessary to proceed with caution. I was, in fact, about to visit a republic of priests ; whose dominion had existed for nearly three centuries ; whose province it was to prosecute he- retics, and particularly the teachers of heresy ; and from whose authority and sentence there was no appeal in India. 1 c It happened that Lieutenant Kempthorne, commander of His Majesty's brig Diana, a distant connection of my own, was at this time in the harbour. On his learning* that I meant to visit Old Goa, he offered to accompany me ; as did Cap- tain Stirling, of His Majesty's 84th regiment, which is now stationed at the forts. * i We proceeded up the river in the British resident's barge, accompanied by Major Pareira, who was well qualified, by a (1)1 was informed that the vice-roy of Goa has no authority over the inquisition, and that he himself is liable to its censure. Were the British government, for instance, to prefer a complaint against the inquisition to the Portuguese government at Goa, it could oblain no redress. By the very constitution of the inquisition, there is no power in India which can iuvade its jurisdiction, or even put a question to it on any subject. 2 m 2 268 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. thirty years' residence, to give information concerning local circumstances. From him I learned that there were upwards of two hundred churches and chapels in the province of Goa, and upwards of two thousand priests.' 'On our arrival at the city, 1 it was past twelve o'clock : all the churches were shut, and we were told that they would not be opened again till two o'clock. I mentioned to Major Pareira, that I intended to stay at Old Goa some days ; and that I should be obliged to him to find me a place to sleep in. He seemed surprised at this intimation, and observed that it would be difficult for me to obtain reception in any of the churches or convents, and that there were no private houses into which I could be admitted. I said I could sleep any where ; I had two servants with me, and a travelling bed. When he perceived that 1 was serious in my purpose, he gave directions to a civil officer, in that place, to clear out a room in a building which had been long uninhabited, and which was then used as a warehouse for goods. Matters at this time pre- sented a very gloomy appearance ; and I had thoughts of re- turning with my companions from this inhospitable place. In the mean time we sat down in the room I have just mentioned, to take some refreshment, while Major Pareira went to call on some of his friends. During this interval I communicated to Lieutenant Kempthorne the object of my visit, I had in my pocket c Dellon's Account of the Inquisition at Goa \ 2 and I (1) We entered the city by the palace gate, over which is the statue of Vasco de Gama, who first opened India to the view of Europe. I had seen at Calicut, a few weeks before, the ruins of the Samorin's Palace, in which Vasco de Gama was first received. The Samorin was the first native prince againt whom the Europeans made war. The em- pire of the Samorin has passed away ; and the empire of his conquerors has passed away : and now imperial Britain exercises dominion. May imperial Britain be prepared to give a good account of her stewardship, when it shall be said unto her, " Thou mayest be no longer steward !" (2) Monsier Dellon, a physician, was imprisoned in the dungeon of the inquisition at Goa for two years, and witnessed an Aut© da Fe, THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. 269 mentioned some particulars. While we -were conversing on the subject, the great bell began to toll ; thp same which Del- Ion observes always tolls, before day-light, on the morning of the Auto da Fe. 1 did not myself ask any questions of the people concerning the inquisition ; but Mr. Kempthorne made inquiries for me :* and he soon found out that the Santa Casa, or llolv Oilice, was close to the house where we were then sitting. The gentlemen went to the window to view the hor- rid mansion ; and I could see the indignation of free and en- lightened men arise in the countenance of the two British offi- cers, while they contemplated a place where formerly their own countrymen w r ere condemned to the flames, and into which they themselves might now suddenly be thrown, with- out the possibility of rescue. c At two o'clock we went out to view the churches, which were now open for the afternoon service ; for there are regu- lar daily masses ; and the bells began to assail the ear in every quarter. c The magnificence of the churches of Goa, far exceeded any idea I had formed from the previous description. Goa is properly a city of churches ; and the wealth of provinces seems to have been expended in their erection. The ancient specimens of architecture at this place far excel any thing that has been attempted in modern times in any other part of the Fast, both in grandeur and in taste. The chapel of the palace is built after the plan of St. Peter's at Rome, and is said to be an accurate model of that paragon of architecture. The church of St. Dominic, the founder of the inquisition, is decorated with paintings of Italian masters. St. Francis Xavier lies enshrined in a monument of exquisite art, and his coffin is enchased with silver and precious stones. The cathedral of Goa is worthy of one of the principal cities of Europe ; and the church and convent of the Augustinians (in when some heretics were burned ; at which he walked barefoot, After his release he wrote the history of his confinement. His descriptions are in general yery accurate. 270 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. which I now reside) is a noble pile of building, situated on ah eminence, and has a magnificent appearance from afar. < But what a contrast to all this grandeur of the churches is the worship offered in them ! I have been present at the service in one or other of the chapels every day since I arrived ; and 1 seldom see a single worshipper, but the ecclesiastics. Two rows of native priests, kneeling in order before the altar, clothed in coarse black garments, of sickly appearance, and vacant countenance, perform here, from day to day, their laborious masses, seemingly unconscious of any other duty or obligation of life. 6 The day was now far spent, and my companions were about to leave me. While I was considering whether I should return with them, Major Pareira said he would first introduce me to a priest, high in office, and one of the most learned men in the place. We accordingly walked to the convent of the Augustinians, where I was presented to Joseph a Doloribus, a man well advanced in life, of pale visage and penetrating eye, rather of a reverend appearance, and possessing great flu- ency of speech and urbanity of mauners. At first sight he presented the aspect of one of those acute and prudent men of the world, the learned and respectable Italian Jesuits, some of whom are yet found, since the demolition of their order, reposing, in tranquil obscurity, in different parts of the East. After half an hour's conversation in the Latin lan- guage, during which he adverted rapidly to a variety of sub- jects, and enquired concerning some learned men of his own church, whom 1 had visited in my tour, he politely invited me to take up my residence with him, during my stay at Old Goa. I was highly gratified by this unexpected invitation ; but Lieu- tenant Kempthorne did not approve of leaving me in the hands of the Inquisitor. Foj judge of our surprise, when we disco- vered that my learned host was one of the inquisitors of the holy office, the second member of that august tribunal in rank, but the first and most active agent in the business of the department. Apartments were assigned to me in the college adjoining the convent, next to the rooms of the inquisitor THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. 271 himself; and here I have been now four days at the very fountain head of information, in regard to those subjects Which I wished to investigate. I breakfast and dine with the inqui- sitor almost every day, and he generally passes his eveni in my apartment. As he considers my enquiries lo be chiefly of a literary nature, he is perfectly candid and communicative on all subjects. 1 Next day after my arrival, I was introduced by my learned conductor to the Archbishop of Goa. We found him reading the Latin letters of St. Francis Xavier. On my ad- verting to the long duration of the city of Goa, while other cities of Europeans in India had suffered from war or revolu- tion, the archbishop observed, that the preservation of Goa, was owing to the prayers of St. Francis Xavier. The inqui- sitor looked at me to see what 1 thought of this sentiment. I acknowledged that Xavier was considered by the learned among the English to have been a great man : what he wrote himself, bespeaks him a man of learning, of original genius, and great fortitude of mind ; but what others have written for him, and of him, tarnished his fame, by making him the in- ventor of fables. The archbishop signified his assent. He afterwards conducted me into his private chapel, which is decorated with images of silver, and then into the Archiepis- copal library, which possesses a valuable collection of books. As I passed through our convent, in returning from the arch- bishop's, I observed among the paintings in the cloisters a portrait of the famous Alexis de Menezes, archbishop of Goa, who held the synod of Diamper near Cochin, in 1599, and burned the books of the Syrian Christians. From the inscrip- tion underneath I learned that he was the founder of the mag- nificent church and convent in which I am now residing. c On the same day I received an invitation to dine with the chief inquisitor, at his house in the country. The second inquisitor accompanied me, and w r e found a respectable com- pany of priests, and a sumptuous entertainment In the library of the chief inquisitor I saw a register, containing the present establishment of the inquisition at Goa, and the names 272 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. of all the officers. On my asking the chief inquisitor whether the establishment was as extensive as formerly, lie said it was nearly (he same. I had hitherto said little to any person con- cerning the inquisition, but I had indirectly gleaned much information concerning it, not only from the inquisitors them- selves, but from certain priests, whom I visited at their respec- tive convents ; particularly from a father in the Franciscan convent, who had himself repeatedly witnessed an Auto da Pe. < Goa, Augustinian Convent , 26th Jan. 1808. c On Sunday, after divine service, which I attended, we looked over together the prayers and portions of Scripture for the day, which led to a discussion concerning some of the doctrines of Christianity. We then read the third chapter of St. John's Gospel, in the Latin Vulgate. I asked the inqui- sitor whether he believed in the influence of the Spirit there ' spoken of. He distinctly admitted it ; conjointly however he thought, in some obscure sense, with water. I observed that water was merely an emblem of the purifying effects of the Spirit, and could be but an emblem. We next adverted to the expression of St. John in his first Epistle ; ' This is he that came by water and blood : even Jesus Christ ; not by water only, but by water and blood : — blood to atone for sin, and water to purify the heart ; justification and sanctification : both of which were expressed at the same moment on the cross. The inquisitor was pleased with the subject. By an easy transition we passed to the importance of the Bible itself, to illuminate the priests and people. I noticed to him that after looking through the colleges and schools, there appeared to me to be a total eclipse of Scriptural light. He acknowledged that religion and learning were truly in a degraded state. — I had visited the theological schools, and at every place I ex- pressed my surprise to the tutors, in presence of the pupils, at THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. 273 the absence of the Bible, and almost total want of reference to it. They pleaded the«custom of the place, and the scarcity of copies of the book itself. Some of the younger priests came to me afterwards, desiring to know by what means they might procure copies. This inquiry for Bibles was like a ray of hope beaming on the walls of the inquisition. ' I pass an hour sometimes in the spacious library of the Augustinian convent. There are many rare volumes, but they are chiefly theological, and almost all of the sixteenth century. There are few classics ; and I have not yet seen one copy of the original scriptures in Hebrew or Greek.' ' Gocty Augustinian Convent, %!7th Jan. 1808. * On the second morning after my arrival, I was surprised by my host, the Inquisitor, coming into my apartment clothed in black robes from head to foot : for the usual dress of his order is white. He said he was going to sit on the tribunal of the holy office. < I presume, father, your august office does not occupy much of your time V ' Yes' answered he c much. I sit on the tribunal three or four days every week.' c I had thought, for some days, of putting Dellon's book into the Inquisitor's hands ; for if I could get him to advert to the facts stated in that book, I should be able to learn, by com- parison, the exact state of the inquisition at the present time. In the evening he came in, as usual, to pass an hour in my apartment. After some conversation I took the pen in my hand to write a few notes in my journal ; and, as if to amuse him, while I was writing, I took up Dellon's book, which was lying with some others on the table, and handing it across to him, asked him whether he had ever seen it. It was in the French language, which he understood well. c Relation de l'Inquisition de Goa,' pronounced he, with a slow, articulate voice. He had never seen it before, and began to read with eagerness. He had not proceeded far, before he betrayed 2 n 274 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. evident symptoms of uneasiness. He turned hastily to the middle of the book, and then to the end, and then ran over the table of contents at the bestfnninff, as if to ascer- tain the full extent of the evil. Fie then composed himself to read, while I continued to write. He turned over the pages with -rapidity, and when he came to a certain place, he exclaimed in the broad Italian accent, c Mendacium, Mendacium.' I requested he would mark those passages which were untrue, and we should discuss them afterwards, for that I had other books on the subject. ' Other books,' said he, and he looked with an inquiring eye on those on the table. He continued reading till it was time to retire to rest and then bested to take the book with him. c It was on this night that a circumstance happened which caused my first alarm at Goa. My servants slept every night at my chamber door, in the long gallery which is common to all the apartments, and not far distant from the servants of the convent. About midnight I was waked by loud shrieks, and expressions of terror, from some person in the gallery. In the first moment of surprise I concluded it must be the Alguazils of the holy office, seizing my servants to carry them to the inquisition. But, on going out, I saw my own servants stand- ing at the door, and the person who had caused the alarm (a boy of about fourteen) at a little distance, surrounded by some of the priests, who had come out of their cells on hearing the noise. The boy said he had seen a spectre, and it was a considerable time before the agitations of his body and voice subsided. — Next morning at breakfast the Inquisitor apolo- gised for the disturbance, and said the boy's alarm proceeded from a c phantasma animi,' a phantasm of the imagination.' * After breakfast we resumed the subject of the inquisition. The inquisitor admitted that Dellon's descriptions of the dun- geons, of the torture, of the mode of trial, and of the Auto da Fe, were in general just ; but he said the writer judged un- ; truly of the motives of the inquisitors, and very uncharitably of the character of the Holy Church ; and I admitted that, under the pressure of his peculiar suffering, this might possi- THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION, 275 bly be the case. The inquisitor was now anxious to know to what extent Dellon's book had been circulated in Europe. I told him that Picart had published to the world extracts from it, in his celebrated work called < Religious Ceremonies/ together with plates of the system of torture and burnings at the Auto da Fe. I added that it was now generally believed in Europe that these enormities no longer existed, and that the inquisition itself had been totally suppressed ; but that I was concerned to find that this was not the case. He now began a grave narration to shew that the inquisition had undergone a change in some respects, and that its terrors were mitigated. 1 (1) The following were the passages in Mr. Dellon's narrative, to which I wished particularly to draw the attention of the inquisitor. — Mr. D. had been thrown into the inquisition at Goa and confined in a dungeon, ten feet square, where he remained upwards of two years, without seeing any person, but the gaoler who brought him his victuals, except when he was brought to his trial, expecting daily to be brought to the stake. His alleged crime was, charging the inquisition with cru- elty, in a conversation he had with a priest at Daman, a Portuguese town in another part of India. " During the months of November and December, I heard every morning the shrieks of the unfortnnate victims, who were undergoing the Question. I remembered to have heard, before I was cast into pri- son, that the Auto da 1 e was generally celebrated on the first Sunday in Advent, because on that day is read in the churches that part of the Gospel in which mention is made of the last judgment ; and the in- quisitors pretend by this ceremony to exhibit a lively emblem of that awful event. I was likewise convinced that there were a great number of prisoners, besides myself; the profound silence, which reigned within the walls of the building, having enabled me to count the number of doors whieh were opened at the hours of meals. — However, the first and second Sundays of Advent passed by, without my hearing of any thing, and I prepared to undergo another year of -melancholy captivity, when l\yas aroused from my despair on the 11th of January, by the noise of the guards removing the bars from the door of my prison'. The Alcaide presented me with a habit, which he ordered me to put on, and to make myself ready to attend him when he should come again. Thus saying, he left a lighted lamp in my dungeon. — The guards re- turned about two o'clock in the morning, and led me out intv< a long 2 n 2 276 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. I had already discovered, from written or printed docu- ments, that the Inquisition of Goa was suppressed by royal gallery, where 1 found a number of the companions ot my fate, drawn up in a rank against the wall : I placed myself among the rest, and several more soon joined the melancholy band. The profound silence and stillness caused them to resemble statues more than the animated bodies of human creatures. The women, vtho were clothed in a similar manner, were placed in a neighbouring - gallery, where we could not see them ; but I remarked that a number of persons stood by themselves at some distance, attended by others, who wore long black dresses, and who walked backwards and forwards occasionally. I did not then know who these were : but I was afterwards informed that the former were the victims w^ho were condemned to be burned, and the others were their confessors. " After we were all ranged against the wall of this gallery, we re- ceived each a large wax taper. They then brought us a number of dresses made of yellow cloth, with the cross of St. Andrew painted be- fore and behind. This is called the San Benito. The relapsed heretics wear another species of robe, called the Samarra, the ground of which is grey. The portrait of the sufferer is painted upon it, placed upon burning torches with flames and demons all round. — Caps were then produced called Carrochas ; made of pasteboard, pointed like sugar loaves, all covered over with devils, and flames of fire. " The great bell of the Cathedral began to ring a little before sun- rise, which served as a signal to warn the people of Goa to come and behold the august ceremony of the Auto da Fe ; and then they made us proceed from the gallery one by one. I remarked as we passed into the great hall, that the inquisitor was sitting at the door with his secretary by him, and that he delivered every prisoner into the bands of a parti- cular person, who is to be his guard to the place of burning. These persons are called Parraius, or Godfathers. My Godfather was the com. mander of a ship. I went forth with him, and as soon as we were in tbe street, I saw that the procession was commenced by the Dominican Friars ; who have this honour, because St. Dominic founded the inqui- sition. These are followed by the prisoners who walked one after the other, each having his Godfather by his side, and a lighted taper in his hand. The least guilty go foremost; and as I did not pass for one of them, there were many who took precedence of me. The women were mixed promiscuously with the men. We all walked barefoot, and the sharp stones of the streets of Goa wounded my tender feet, and caused the blood to stream : for they made us march through the chief streets THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. 277 edict in the year 1775, and established again in 1779. The Franciscan father before mentioned witnessed the annual Auto da Fe, from J 770, to 1773. " It was the humanity, and ten- der mercy of a good kino-," said the old hither, u which abolished the inquisition." But immediately on his death, the power of the priests acquired the ascendant, under the Queen Dowager, and the tribunal was re-established, after a bloodless city : and we were regarded every where by an innumerable crowd of people, who had assembled from all parts of India to behold this spectacle; for i\\v inquisition takes care to announce it long before, in the most remote parishes. At length we arrived' at the church of St. Francis, which was, for this time, destined for the celebration of the act of faith. On one side of the altar was the grand inquisitor and his counsellors; and on the other the vice-roy of Goa and his, court. All the prisoners were seated to hear a sermon. I observed that those pri- soners who wore the horrible Carrochas came in last in the procession. One of the Aogustin monks ascended the pulpit, aud preached for a quarter of an hour. The sermon being concluded, two readers went up to the pulpit, one after the other, and read the sentences of the prison- ers. My joy was extreme when I heard that my sentence was not to be burnt, but to be a £?J!ey-s!ave for tive years. — -After the sentences were read, they summoned forth those miserable victims who were destined to be immolated by the holy inquisition. The images of the heretics who had died in prison were brought up at the same time, their bones being contained in small chests, covered with flames and demons. — An officer of the secular tribunal now came forward, and seized these un- happy people, after they had each received a slight blow upon the breast from the Alcaide, to intimate that they were abandoned. They were then led away to ihe bank of the river, where the vice-roy and bis court were assembled, and where the faggots had been prepared the preceding day. — As soon as they arrive at this place, the condemned persons are asked in what religion they choose to die ; and the moment they ha^e replied to this question, the executioner seizes them, and binds them to a stake in the midst of the faggots. The day after the execution, the portraits of the dead are carried to the church of the Dominicans. The heads only are represented, (which are'generally very accurately drawn ; for the inquisition keeps excellent limners for the purpose,) surrounded by flames and demons ; and underneath is the name and crime of the person who has been burned." Relation de V Inquisition de Goa, chap. XXIV. 278 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION, interval of five years. It has continued in operation ever since. It was restored in 1779, subject to certain restrictions, the chief of which are the two following, " That a greater num- ber of witnesses should be required to convict a criminal than were before necessary ; and, ' That the Auto cla Fe should not be held publicly as before ; but that the sentences of the tribunal should be executed privately, within the walls of the inquisition, c In this particular, the constitution of the new inquisition is more reprehensible than that of the old one; for, as the old father expressed it, l Nunc sigillum non revelat Inquisition — Formerly the friends of those unfortunate persons who were thrown into its prison, had the melancholy satisfaction of see- ing them once a year walking in the procession of the Auto da Fe ; or if they were condemned to die, they witnessed their death, and mourned for the dead. But now they have no means of learning for years whether they be dead or alive. The policy of this new mode of concealment appears to be this, to preserve the power of the inquisition, and at the same time to lessen the public odium of its proceedings, in the pre- sence of British dominion and civilization. I asked the father his opinion concerning the nature and frequency of the punish- ments within the walls. He said he possessed no certain means of giving a satisfactory answer; that every thing transacted there was declared to be e sacrum et secretum.' But this he knew to be true, that there were constantly captives in the dungeons ; that some of them are liberated after long confine- ment, but that they never speak afterwards of what passed within the place. He added that, of all the persons he had known, who had been liberated, he never knew one who did not carry about with him what might be called, 6 the mark of the inquisition ;' that is to say, who did not shew in the solemnity of his countenance, or in his peculiar demeanor, or his terror of the priests, that he had been in that dreadful place. 1 The chief argument of the Inquisitor to prove the melio- ration of the Inquisition was the superior humanity of the inquisitors. I remarked that I did not doubt the humanity of THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. 279 the existing officers; but what availed humanity in an inqui- sitor ? he must pronounce sentence according to the laws of the tribunal, which are notorious enough ; and a relapsed heretic must be burned in the flames, or confined for life in a dungeon, whether the inquisitor be humane or not. i But, if,' said I, ' you would satisfy my mind completely on this sub- ject, shew me the inquisition.' He said it was not permitted to any pesson to seethe inquisition. I observed that mine might be considered as a peculiar case ; that the character of the inquisition, and the expediency of its longer continuance had been called in question; that I had myself written on the civilization of India, and might possibly publish something more upon that subject, and that it could not be expected that I should pass over the inquisition without notice, knowing what I did of its proceedings ; at the same time I should not wish to state a single fact without his authority, or at least his admission of its truth. I added that he himself had been pleased to communicate with me very fully on the subject, and that in all our discussions we had both been actuated, I hoped, by a good purpose. The countenance of the inquisitor evidently altered on receiving this intimation, nor did it ever after wholly regain its wonted frankness and placidity . After some hesitation, however, he said he would take me with him to the inquisition the next day. — I was a good deal surprised at this acquiescence of the inquisitor, but I did not know what was in his mind. ' Next morning after breakfast my host went to dress for the holy office, and soon returned in his inquisitorial robes. He said he would go half an hour before the usual time for the purpose of shewing me the inquisition. The buildings are about a quarter of a mile distant from the convent, and we proceeded thither in our manjeels. * On our arrival at the (1) The raanjeel is a kind of palankeen common at Goa. It is mere- ly a sea-cot suspended from a bamboo, which is borne on the heads of tour men. Sometimes a footman runs before, having a statt in his hand, to which are attached little bells or rings, which he jingles as he runs, keeping tirae with the motion of the bearers. 280 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. place, the inquisitor said to me, as we were ascending- the steps of the outer stair, that he hoped I should be satisfied with a transient view of the inquisition, and that I would retire whenever he should desire it. I took this as a good omen, and followed my conductor with tolerable confidence. c He led me first to the great hall of the inquisition. We were met at the door by a number of well-dressed persons, who, I afterwards understood, were the familiars, and attendants of the holy office. They bowed very low to the inquisitor, and looked with surprise at me. The great hall is the place in which the prisoners are marshalled for the procession of the Auto da Fe. At the procession described by Dellon, in which he himself walked barefoot, clothed with the painted garment, there were upwards of one hundred and fifty prisoners. I traversed this hall for some time, with a slow step, reflecting on its former scenes, the inquisitor walking by my side, in silence. I thought of the fate of the multitude of my fellow- creatures who had passed through this place, condemned by a tribunal of their fellow-sinners, their bodies devoted to the flames, and their souls to perdition. And I could not help saying to him, c Would not the holy church wish, in her mercy, to have those souls back again, that she might allow them a little further probation ?' The inquisitor answered nothing, but beckoned me to go with him to a door at one end of the hall. By this door he conducted me to some small rooms, and thence to the spacious apartments of the chief inquisitor. Having surveyed these he brought me back again to the great hall ; and I thought he seemed now desirous that I should depart. 6 Now, father,' said I, < lead me to the dungeons below ; I want to see the captives.' — c No,' said he, 1 that cannot be. '---I now began to suspect that it had been in the mind of the inquisitor, from the beginning, to shew me only a certain part of the inquisition, in the hope of satisfying my enquiries in a general way. I urged him with earnestness, but he steadily resisted, and seemed to be offended, or rather agitated by my importunity. I intimated to him plainly, that the only way to do justice to his own assertions and arguments, THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. 281 regarding the present state of the inquisition, was to shew me the prisons and the captives. I should then describe only what I saw ; but now the subject was left in awful obscurity. — i Lead me down,' said I, ' to the inner building and let me pass through the two hundred dungeons, ten feet square, de- scribed by your former captives. Let me count the number of your present captives, and converse with them. I want to see if there be any subjects of the British government, to whom we owe protection. I want to ask how long they have been here, how long it is since they beheld the light of the sun, and whether they ever expect to see it again. Shew me the cham- ber of torture ; and declare what modes of execution, or of punishment, are now practised within the walls of the inqui- sition, in lieu of the public Auto da Fe. If, after all that has passed, father, you resist this reasonable request, I shall be justified in believing, that you are afraid of exposing the real state of the inquisition in India.' To these observations the inquisitor made no reply ; but seemed impatient that I should withdraw. i My good father,' said I, ' I am about to take my leave of you, and to thank you for your hospitable atten- tions, (it had been before understood that I should take my final leave at the door of the inquisition, after having seen the interior,) and I wish always to preserve on my mind a favour- able sentiment of your kindness and candour. You cannot, you say, shew me the captives and the dungeons ; be pleased then merely to answer this question ; for I shall believe your word :— How many prisoners are there now below, in the cells of the inquisition ? The inquisitor replied, ' That is a ques- tion which I cannot answer.' On his pronouncing these words, I retired hastily towards the door, and wished him farewell. We shook hands with as much cordiality as we could at the moment assume ; and both of us, I believe, were sorry that our parting took place with a clouded countenance. 1 From the inquisition I went to the place of burning in the Camp Santo Lazaro, on the river side, where the victims were brought to the stake at the Auto da Fe. It is close to the palace, that the vice-roy and his court may witness the exe- 2 o 282 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. cut ion ; for it has ever been the policy of the inquisition to make these spiritual executions appear to be the executions of the state. An old priest accompanied me, who pointed out the place and described the scene. As I passed over this me- lancholy plain, I thought on the difference between the pure and benign doctrine, which was first preached to India in the apostolic age, and that bloody code, which, after a long night of darkness, was announced to it under the same name ! And I pondered on the mysterious dispensation, which permitted the ministers of the inquisition, with their racks and flames, to visit these lands, before the heralds of the Gospel of Peace. But the most painful reflection was, that this tribunal should yet exist, unawed by the vicinity of British humanity and dominion. I was not satisfied with what I had seen or said at the inquisition, and I determined to go back again. The in- quisitors were now sitting on the tribunal, and 1 had some excuse for returning ; for I was to receive from the chief in- quisitor a letter which he said he would give me, before I left the place, for the British resident in Travancore, being an answer to a letter from that officer. ( When I arrived at the inquisition, and had ascended the outer stairs, the door-keepers surveyed me doubtingly, but suffered me to pass, supposing that I had returned by permis- sion and appointment of the inquisitor. I entered the great hall, and went up directly towards the tribunal of the inquisi- tion, described by Dellon, in which is the lofty crucifix. I sat down on a form, and wrote some notes ; and then desired one of the attendants to carry in my name to the inquisitor. As I walked up the hall, I saw a poor woman sitting by her- self, on a bench by the wall, apparently in a disconsolate state of mind. She clasped her hands as I passed, and gave me a look expressive of her distress. This sight chilled my spirits. The familiars told me she was waiting there to be called up before the tribunal of the inquisition. While I was asking questions concerning her crime, the second inquisitor came out in evident trepidation, and was about to complain of the intrusion ; when I informed him I had come back for the letter THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. 283 from the chief inquisitor. He said it should be sent after me to Goa; and lie conducted me with a quick step towards flic door. As we passed the poor woman I pointed to her, and said to hiro with some emphasis, ' Behold, lather, another victim of the/holy inquisition!' lie answered nothing. When we arrived at the head of the great stair, he bowed, and I took my last leave of Josephus a Doloribus, without uttering a word.' The foregoing* particulars concerning the inquisition at Goa are detailed chiefly with this view ; that the English na- tion may consider, whether there be sufficient ground for pre- senting a remonstrance to the Portuguese government, on the longer continuance of that tribunal in India ; it being notori- ous, that a great part of the the Romish Christians are now under British protection. '* The Romans," says Montesquieu, " deserved well of human nature, for making it an article in their treaty with the Carthaginians, that thev should abstain from sacrificing their children to their gods." It has been lately observed by respectable writers, that the English nation ought to imitate this example, and endeavour to induce her allies " to abolish the human sacrifices of the inquisition ;'» anil a censure is passed on our government for their indiffer- ence to this subject. * The indifference to the inquisition is attributable, we believe, to the same cause which has produced an indifference to the religious principles which first organized the inquisition. The mighty despot, who suppressed the in- quisition in Spain, was not swayed probably by very power tul motives of humanity ; but viewed with jealousy a tribunal, which usurped an independent dominion ; and he put it down, on the same principle that he put down the popedom, that he might remain pontiff and grand inquisitor himself. And so lie will remain for a time, till the purposes of Providence shall have been accomplished by him. But are we to look on in silence, and to expect that further meliorations in human soci- (1) Ed'ui. Rev. No. XXX II. p. 449. 2 o 2 284 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. ety are to be effected by despotism, or by great revolutions ? u If," say the same authors, u while the inquisition is destroyed in Europe by the power of despotism, we could entertain the hope, and it is not too much to entertain such a hope, that the power of liberty is about to destroy it in America ; we might even, amid the gloom that surrounds us, congratulate our fellow-creatures on one of the most remarkable periods in the history of the progress of human society, the final era- sure of the inquisition from the face of the earth."* It will indeed be an important and happy day to the earth, when this final erasure shall take place ; but the period of such an event is nearer, I apprehend, in Europe and America, than it is in Asia ; and its termination in Asia depends as much on Great Britain as on Portugal. And shall not Great Britain do her part to hasten this desirable time ? Do we wait, as if to see whether the power of infidelity will abolish the other in- quisitions of the earth ? Shall not we, in the mean while, attempt to do something, on Christian principles, for the honour of God and of humanity ? Do we dread even to ex- press a sentiment on the subject in our legislative assemblies, or to notice it in our treaties ? It is surely our duty to declare our wishes, at least, for the abolition of these inhuman tribu- nals, (since we take an active part in promoting the welfare of other nations,) and to deliver our testimony against them in the presence of Europe. This case is not unlike that of the immolation of females in Bengal, with this aggravation in regard to the latter, that the rite is perpetrated in our own territories. Our humanity revolts at the occasional description of the enormity ; but the matter comes not to our own business and bosoms, and we fail even to insinuate our disapprobation of the deed. It may be con- cluded then, that while we remain silent and unmoved specta- tors of the flames of the widow's pile, there is no hope that we shall be justly affected by the reported horrors of the in- quisition. — (Thus far Dr. Buchannan.) (1) Edin. Rev. No. XXXII. p. 429. IHE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. 285 BOOK IV. OF PERSECUTIONS AMONGST PROTESTANTS. After die world had groaned for many ages under the insupportable bondage of Popish superstition and cruelty, it pleased God, in his own good Providence, to take the remedy of these evils into his own hands ; and after several ineffectual attempts by men, at last to bring about a reformation of religi- on by his own wisdom and power. The history of this great event hath been very particularly and faithfully given by many excellent writers, to which I must here refer ray readers ; and it must be owned, that the persons employed by Almighty God, to accomplish this great work, were, many of them, re- markable for their great learning and exemplary piety. I am sure I have no inclination to detract from their worth and merit. One would indeed have imagined, that the cruelties exercised by the papists upon all who opposed their supersti- tions in worship, and their corruptions in doctrine, should have given the first reformers an utter abhorrence of all methods of persecution for conscience-sake, and have kept them from ever entering into any such measures themselves. But it must be confessed, that however they differed from the church of Rome, as to doctrines and discipline, yet, that they too gene- rally agreed with her, in the methods to support what they themselves apprehended to be truth and orthodoxy ; and were angry with the papists, not for persecuting, but for persecut- ing themselves and their followers ; being really of opinion that heretics might be persecuted, and, in some cases, perse- cuted to death. And that this was their avowed principle, they gave abundant demonstration by their practice. 236 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. SECT. I. Luther's opinion concerning Persecution. Luther, that great instrument, under God, of the re- formation in Germany, was, as his followers allow, naturally of a warm arid violent temper, but was however in his judg- ment against punishing heretics with death. Thus, in his account of the state of the Popish church, as related by Seck- cndorf, lie says : 1 " the true church feaches the word of God, but forces no one to it. If any one will not believe it, she dismisses him, and separates herself from him, according to the command of Christ, and the example of Paul in the Acts, and leaves him to the judgment of God : whereas our execu- tioners and most cruel tyrants teach not the word of God, but their own articles, acting as they please, and then adjudge those who refuse to believe their articles, and obey their de- crees, to the fires." The same author gives us many other strong passages to the same purpose. Particularly, in one of his letters to Linens, who asked his opinion about the punish- ment of false teachers, Luther says : 2 " I am very averse to the shedding of blood, even in the case of such as deserve it : and I the more especially dread it in this case*, because, as the Papists and Jews, under this pretence, have destroyed holy prophets and innocent men ; so 1 am afraid the same would happen amongst ourselves, if in, one single instance it should be allowed lawful for seducers to be put to death. I can therefore, by no means, allow that false teachers should be destroyed." But as to all other punishments, Luther seems to have been of Austin's mm '-!, and thought that they might be law- fully used. For, after the before-mentioned passage, he adds, (I) L. 2. -Sect. 36. ^ 83. (2) Ibid. Sect. 13. S 43. THE 1! 01' PJ5fi£B< l"il M it is ai tbattfa v n< I in am place* he allows, that u hereti< at least to silence; if they publicly deny received by ;i!l christians, and particularly that GhrisJ affirming him to be a mere man or prophet." "This, lie. *• is not to force men to the faith, but to restrain public blasphemy/' In another place he iher and . : that •• heretics toe not indeed to be put to death, but may however be confined, and shut up . certain j and put under restraint an madmen.'" As to the Jews, he was for treating them more severely ; 3 and was of opinion, that mi their synagogues should be levelled with the ground, their houses destroyed, their books of prayer, and of the talmud, and even those of the old testament, be taken from them ; their rabbies be forbid to teach, and forced, by hard labour, to act their bread : and if they Mould not submit to this. tiu y should be banished, as was formerly practised in France and Spain." "This was the moderation of this oiherwise great and good man, who was indeed against putting heretics to death, but for almost all other punishments that the civil magistrates could inflict : and agreeably to this opinion, he persuaded the Electors of Saxony not to tolerate in their dominions, the followers of Zuinglius, in the opinion of the sacrament, because he esteemed the real pre-ence an essential or fundamental article of faith : nor to enter into any terms of union with them, for their common safety and defence, against the endeavours of the papists to destroy them. And accordingly, notwithstanding all the endeavours of the Landgrave of Hesse Cassel, to get them included in the common league against the papists, the Elector would never allow it. being vehemently dissuaded from it by Luther, Melancton, and odiers of their party, who alledged, " That they taught articles contrary to those receiv- (*) Ibid. Sect. 36. § 83. (3) L. 3. Sect. 27. $ 3. . L 3. Sect. 8. % i : 288 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. ed in Saxony ; and that therefore there could be no agreement of heart with them." In one of his conferences with Bucer, he declared, that there could be no union, unless Zuinglius and his party should think and teach otherwise ; cursing all phrases and interpre- tations that tended to assert the figurative presence only; affirming, that '" either those of his own opinion, or those of Zuinglius, must be the ministers of the devil." On this account, though Luther was for treating Zuinglius and his followers with as much christian friendship as he could afford them, yet he would never own them for brethren, but looked on them as heretics, and pressed the Electors of Saxony not to allow them in their dominions. 2 He also wrote to Albert Duke of Prussia, to persuade him to banish them his territo- ries. Seckendorf also tells us, that the Lutheran lawyers of Wirtemburg condemned to death one Peter Pestelius, for being a Zuinglian ; though this was disapproved by the Elector of Saxony. Several also of the anabaptists were put to death by the Lutherans, for their obstinacy in propagating their errors, contrary to the judgment of the Landgrave of Hesse Cassel, who declared himself for more moderate mea- sures, and for uniting all sorts of protestants amongst them- selves. SECT. II. Calvin's Doctrine and Practice concerning Persecution, John Calvin, another of the reformers, and to whom the christian world is, on many accounts, under very great obligations, was however well known to be in principle and practice a persecutor. So entirely was he in the persecuting (1) L. 2. Sect. 6. § 11. (3) L. 3. Sect. 6. ^ 15. Sect. IS. (2) Sect. 17. % 47. $ 41. Ibid. THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION, 289 measures, that lie wrote a treatise in defence of them, maintain- ing the lawfulness of putting heretics to death. And that by heretics he meant such who differed from himself, is evident from his treatment of Castellio and Servetus. The former, not inferior to Calvin himself in learning and piety, had the misfortune to differ from him in judgment, in the points of predestination, election, free-will and faith. This Calvin could not bear, and therefore treated Castellio in so rude and cruel a manner, as I believe his warmest friends will be ashamed to justify. In some of his writings he calls him " Blasphemer, reviier, malicious barking dog, full of ignorance, bestiality and impudence; impostor, a base cor- rupter of the sacred writings, a mocker of God, a contemner of all religion, an impudent fellow, a filthy dog, a knave, an impious, lewd, crooked-minded vagabond, beggarly rogue." At other times he calls him " a disciple and brother of Serve- tus, and an heretic." Castellio's reply to all these flowers, is worthy the patience and moderation of a Christian, and from his slanderer he appeals to the righteous judgment of God. But not content with these invectives, Calvin farther ac- cused him of three crimes ; which Castellio particularly an- swers. The first was of theft, in taking away some wood, that belonged to another person, to make a fire to warm him- self withal : this Calvin calls " Cursed gain, at another's ex- pence and damage ;" whereas, in truth, the fact was this. Castellio was thrown into such circumstances of poverty by the persecutions of Calvin and his friends, that he was scarce able to maintain himself. And as he dwelt near the banks of the Rhine, he used at leisure hours to draw out of the river with an hook, the wood that was brought down by the waters of it. This wood was no private property, but every man's that could catch it. Castellio took it in the middle of the day, and amongst a great number of fishermen, and several of his own acquaintance ; and was sometimes paid money for it by the decree of the senate. This the charitable Calvin magnifies into a theft, and publishes to the world to paint out the charac- ter of his Christian brother. 2 p 290 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION, But his accusations ran farther yet ; and he calls God to wit- that whilst he maintained Castellio in his house, u He never any one more proud or perfidious, or void of humanity: and it was well known lie was an impostor, of a peculiar impudence, and one that took pleasure in scoffing at piety, and that lie delighted himself in laughing at the principles of religion." These charges Castellio answers in such a manner, as was enough to put even malice itself to silence. For, notwith- standing Calvin's appeal to God for the truth of these things, yet he himself and two of bis principal friends, who were eminent preachers in Savoy, pressed Castellio, even contrary to his inclination, to take the charge of a school at Strats- burg ; and therefore, as he says to Calvin, u With what con- science could you make me master, if you knew me to be such a person when I dwelt in your house ? What sort of men must they be, who would commit the education of chil- dren to such a wicked wretch, as you appeal to God you knew me to be." But what is yet more to the purpose, is, that after he had been master of that school three years', Calvin gave him a testimonial, written and signed with his own hand, as to the integrity of his past behaviour ; affirming, amongst other things, u That he had behaved himself in such a manner, that he was, by the consent of all of them, appointed to the pastoral office." And in the conclusion he adds, " Lest any one should suspect anv other reason why Sebastian went from us, we testify to all wheresoever he may come, that he him- self voluntarily left the school, and so behaved himself in it, as that we adjudged him worthy this sacred ministry." And that he was not actually received into it, was " non aliqua vita? macula," not owing to any blemish of his life, nor to any impious tenets that he held in matters of faith, but to this only cause, the difference of our opinions about Solomon's Songs, and the article of Christ's descent into hell. But how- ls this testimonial, that Castellio had no " macula vita?," was unblameable as to his life, reeoncileable with the appeal to God, that he was proud and perfidious, and void of humanity, THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. 291 and a professed scoffer at religion, whilst he dwelt at Cah house? If this charge was true, how came; Calvin and his friends to appoint hiril master of a school, and judge him worthy the sacred ministry? Or if he was of so bad a i racter once, and afterwards gave the evidence of a sincere re- pentance by an irreproachable behaviour, what equity or jus- tice, what humanity or honour was there in 'publishing to the world faults that had been repented of and forsaken ? Castellio solemnly protests that he had never injured Calvin, and that the sole reason of his displeasure against him was because he dif- fered from him in opinion. On this account he endeavoured to render him every where impious, prohibited the reading of his books ; and, what is the last effort of enmity, endea- voured to excite the civil magistrate against him to put him to death. But God was pleased to protect this good man from the rage of his enemies. He died at Basil, in peace ; and re- ceived an honourable burial, the just reward of his piety, learning, and merit. I may add to this account, Calvin's treatment of one Jerom Bolsec, 1 who from a Carmelite monk had embraced the re- formed religion, but held the doctrine of free-will and predes- tination upon the foresight of good works. Calvin was present at a sermon preached by him at Geneva, upon these articles : and the sermon being ended, publicly opposed him in the con- gregation. When the assembly was dismissed, poor Bolsec was immediately apprehended, and sent to prison ; and soon after, by Calvin's counsel, banished for sedition and Pelagi- an ism from the city, and forbid ever to come into it, or the territories of it, under pain of being whipped, A. C. 1551. But Calvin's treatment of the unfortunate Servetus was yet more severe. His book, entitled, " Restitutio Christianismi," which he sent in MS. to Calvin, enraged him to that degree, that he afterwards kept no temper or measures with him ; so that as Bolsec and Uytenbogaert relate, in a letter written by (1) Sez. in vit. Calvin. 2 P 2 292 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. him to his friends Viret and Farrel, he tells them, 1 that " If this heretic (Servetus) should ever fall into his hands, he would take care that he should lose his life." Servetus's imprison- ment at Vienne, soon gave him an opportunity to shew his zeal, against him : for, in order to strengthen the evidence against him, Calvin sent to the magistrates of that city the let- ters and writings which Servetus had sent to him at Geneva. This is evident from the sentence itself against him ; in which those writings, as well as his printed book, are expressly men- tioned, as containing the proofs of his heresy. Whether Cal- vin sent them of his own accord, or at the desire of the ma- gistrates of Vienne, I shall not presume to determine. If of his own accord, it was a base officiousness ; and if at the re- quest of those magistrates, it was a most unaccountable con- duct in a Protestant to send evidence to a Popish court to put a Protestant to death ; especially considering that Servetus could not difler more from Calvin than Calvin did from the Papists, their common adversaries, and who certainly deserved as much to be burnt, in their judgment, as Servetus did in Calvin's. Besides this, Servetus farther charges him with writing to one William Trie, at Lyons, to furnish the magistrates of that city with matter of accusation against him. The author of the Bibliotheque before-mentioned, says this is a mere romance, dressed up by Servetus. I confess it doth not appear to me in so very romantic a light ; at least £alvin's vindication of him- self, from this charge, doth not seem to be altogether sufficient. He says, " It is commonly reported that I occasioned Servetus to be apprehended at Vienne ; on which account it is said, by many, that I have acted dishonourably, in thus exposing him to the mortal enemies of the faith, as though I had thrown him into the mouth of the wolves. But, I beseech you, how came I so suddenly into such an intimacy with the pope's offi- cers ? It is very likely, truly, that we should correspond (1) Biblioth. Raison. Ponr d' Octobre, &c. 1*72S. Art. Till, THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. 293 together by letters ; and that those who agree with me, just a* Belial doth with Jesus Christ, should enter into a plot with their mort;il enemy, as with their companion : This silly ca- lumny will fall to the ground, when I shall say, in one word, that there is nothing in it." But how doth all this confute Scrvetus's charge? For whatever differences soever there might be between Calvin and the Papists in some things, yet 9 why might he not write to the Papists at Vienne to put Serve- rus to death for what was equally counted heresy by them both, and when they agreed as the most intimate friends and companions in the lawfulness of putting heretics to death ? What Calvin says of the absurdity of their intimacy and con- spiracy with him their mortal enemy, is no absurdity at all. Herod and Pontius Pilate, though enemies, agreed in the con- demnation of the Son of God. Besides, it is certain, that the magistrates at Yienne had Servetus's Manuscripts sent to them from Geneva, either by Calvin, or the magistrates of that city ; and when Servetus was afterwards apprehended at Geneva, the magistrates there sent a messenger to Vienne, for a copy of the process that had been there carried on against him ; which that messenger re- ceived, and actually brought back to Geneva. So that nothing is more evident, than that there was an intimacy and conspiracy between the Protestants of Geneva and the Papists at Yienne, to take away the life of poor Servetus ; and that, though they were mortal enemies in other things, and as far different from one another as Christ and Belial, yet that they agreed harmoniously in the doctrine and practice of persecu- tion, and were one in the design and endeavour of murdering this unhappy physician. And though Calvin is pleased ma- gisterially to deny his having any communication by letters with the Papists at Yienne, yet I think his denial far from suf- ficient to remove the suspicion. He himself expressly says that many persons blamed him for not acting honourably in that affair ; and the accusation was suported by Servetus's complaint, and by what is a much stronger evidence, the original papers and letters which Servetus had sent to Caivin, 294 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. which were actually produced by the judges at Vienne, and recited in the sentence as part of the foundation of his con- demnation. And as Calvin himself never, as I can find, hath attempted to clear up these strong circumstances, though he owed it to himself and his friends, I think he cannot well be excused from practising the death of Servetus at Vienne, and lending his assistance to the bloody Papists of that place, the more effectually to procure his condemnation. But he had the good fortune to make his escape from im- prisonment, and was, June 17, 1553, condemned for contuma- cy, and burnt in effigy by the order of his judges ; having himself got safe to Geneva, where he was re-condemned, and actually burnt id person, October 27, of the same year 1553. He had not been long in this city before Calvin spirited up one Nicholas de la Fountain, probably one of his pupils, to make information against him ; wisely avoiding it himself, because, according to the laws of Geneva, the accuser must submit to imprisonment with the party he accuses, till the crime appears to have a solid foundation and proof. Upon this information Servetus was apprehended and imprisoned. Calvin ingenuously owns, that this whole affair was carried on at his instance and advice ; and that, in order to bring Ser- vetus to reason, he himself found out the party to accuse him, and begin the process against him. And therefore, though, as the fore -mentioned author of the Bibliotheque, for January, &c. 1729, observes, the action, after its commencement, was carried on according to the course of law ; yet, as Calvin accused him for heresy, got him imprisoned, and began the criminal process against him, he is answerable for all the con- sequences of his trial, and was in reality the first and principal author of his" death ; especially as the penal laws against here- tics seem at that time to have been in force at Geneva, so that Servetus could not escape the fire upon his conviction of heresy. When he was in jail, he was treated with the same rigour as if he had been detained in one of the prisons of the inquisi- tion. He was stripped of all means of procuring himself the conveniences and supplies he needed in his confinement. THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. 295 They took from him ninety-seven pieces of gold, a gold chain worth twenty crowns, six gold rings, and at last put him into a deep dungeon, where lie was almost eaten up with vermin. All this cruelty was practised upon a protestant in the pro- test ant city of Geneva. Besides this, he could never get a proctor or advocate to assist him, or help him in pleading his cause, though he requested it, as being a stranger, and igno- rant of the laws and customs of the country. Calvin, at the request of the judges, drew up certain propositions out of Servetus's books, representing them as blasphemous, full of errors and profane reveries, all repugnant to the word of God, and to the common consent of the whole church ; and, indeed, appears to have been acquainted with, and consulted in the whole process, and to have used all his arts and endeavours to prevent his coming off with impunity. It is but a poor and mean excuse that Calvin makes for himself in this respect, when he says; *" As to the fact, I will not deny, but that it was at my prosecution he was im- prisoned : — But that after he was convicted of his heresies, I made no instances for his being put to death." But what need of instances ? He had already accused him, got him im- prisoned, prosecuted in a criminal court for the capital Crime of heresy, and actually drew up forty articles against him for heresy, blasphemy, and false doctrine. When he was convicted of these crimes, the law could not but take its course ; and his being burnt to death was the necessary con- sequence of his conviction. What occasion was there then for Calvin to press his execution, when the laws themselves had adjudged him to the flames ? But even this excuse, poor as it is, is not sincerely and honestly made : for Calvin was resolved to use all his interest to destroy him. In his letter to Farrel, he expressly says, " I hope, at least, they will condemn him to death, but not to the terrible one of being burnt." And in another to Sultzer, a Since the papists, in order to vindi- (1) Epist ad Farrel. 296 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. cate their own superstitions, cruelly shed innocent blood, it is a shame that Christian magistrates should have no courage at all in the defence of certain truth. — However, I will certify you of one thing, that the city treasurer is rightly determined, that he shall not escape that end which we wish him." And in another to the church at Franckfort, t " The author (Serve- tus) is put in jail by our magistrates, and I hope he will shortly sutler the punishment he deserves. There was but one way possible for him to escape ; and that was by bringing his cause from the criminal court, where he was prosecuted, before the council of the two hundred. And this Calvin vigorously oppos- ed and reflected on the syndic himself for endeavouring it. He says, " that he pretended illness for three days, and then came into court to save that wretch (Servetus) from punishment ; and was not ashamed to demand, that the cognizance of the affair should be referred to the two hundred. However he was unanimously condemned. " Now, what great difference is there between a prosecutor's endeavouring to prevent the only method by which a criminal can be saved, and his actually pressing for his being put to death ? Calvin actually did the former, and yet would fain persuade us he had no hand in the latter. It is much of a piece with this, his desiring that the rigour of Servetus's death might be mitigated ; for as the laws against heretics were in force at Geneva, the tribunal that judged Servetus could not, after his conviction of heresy, absolve him from death, nor change the manner of it, as Calvin says he would have had it ; and therefore his desiring that the rigour of it might be abated, looks too much like the practice of the inquisitors, who when they deliver over an heretic to the se- cular arm, beseech it so to moderate the rigour of the sentence, as not to endanger life or limb. This was the part that Calvin acted in the affair of Servetus, which I have represented in the most impartial manner, as it (1) Epist. ad Farrel. THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. 297 appears to me ; and am sorry I am not able to wipe off so foul a stain from the memory of this otherwise excellent and learn- ed reformer. But whew his enemies charge him with acting merely from principles of malice and revenge in this matter, I think it an evident abuse and calumny. He was, in his own judo merit, for persecuting and destroying heretics, as appears from the treatise he published in vindication of this practice, entitled, " A declaration for maintaining the true faith, held by all Christians concerning the Trinity of persons in one only God, by John Calvin, against the detestable errors of Michael Servetus, a Spaniard. In which it is also proved, that it is lawful to punish heretics ; and that this wretch was justly executed in the city of Geneva." Geneva, 1554. This principle was maintained by almost all the fathers and bishops of the church since the three first centuries, who esteemed heresy as one of the worst of impieties, and thought 'it the duty of the civil magistrates to employ their power Yor the suppression of it, and for the support and establishment of the orthodox faith. And though the first reformers ab- horred the cruelty of the papists towards the protestants, they had nevertheless the same abhorrence of what they counted heresy that the papists had, and agreed with them in the law- fulness of suppressing it by the civil power. So that Calvin acted in this affair from a principle, though a mistaken prin- ciple of conscience, and had the encouragement and appro- bation of the most learned and pious reformers of the tunes he lived in. Melancton, in a letter to Bullinger, says 1 " I have read also what you have written concerning the blasphemies of Ser- vetus, and I approve your piety and judgment. I think also, that the senate of Geneva have done right, that they have put to death that obstinate person, who would not cease to blas- pheme ; and I wonder that there are any who disapprove that severity." He affirms the same also in another letter to Cal- vin himself. Bucer also said publicly in his sermon, that (1) Calv. Op. Vol. lilt 2 Q 298 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. ic lie ought to have his bowels pulled out, and be torn in pieces," as Calvin relates in his letter to Sultzer. Farrel in a letter to Calvin, says, that " He deserved to die ten thousand deaths ; that it would be a piece of cruelty, and an injustice to Christ, and the doctrine of piety, for magistrates not to take notice of the horrible blasphemies of that wicked heretic. And he hoped God would so order it that as the magistrates of Geneva were very praise-worthy for punishing thieves and sacrilegious persons, so they would behave themselves well in the affair of Servetus, by putting him to death, who had so long obstinately persisted in his heresies, and destroyed so many persons by them .." 1 The pastors of the church at Basil, in their letter to the syndics and senate of Geneva, express their joy for the appre- hension of Servetus, and advise them first to " JJse all endea- vours to recover him ; but that if he persisted in his perverse- ncss, they should punish him according to their office, and the power they had received from God, to prevent his giving any disturbance to the church, and lest the latter end should be worse than the first." 2 The ministers of the church of Bern were of the same opinion ; and in their letter to the magistrates of Geneva say, M We pray the Lord that he would give you the spirit of prudence, counsel and strength, to remove this plague from the churches, both your own and others," and advise them " to neglect nothing that may be judged unwor- thy a Christian magistrate to omit." 3 The ministers of Zu- rich give much the same advice, and thought that there was need of a great deal of diligence in the affair ; " especially as the reformed churches were evil thought of, amongst other reasons for this, as being themselves heretical, and favourers of heretics. But that, as the Providence of God had given them an opportunity of wiping off so evil a suspicion, and preventing- the farther spreading of so contagious a poison, they did not doubt but their excellencies would be careful to improve it." 4 Those of Scaffhusen subscribed to thejudg- (L) Ibid. (2) Ibid. (3) Ibid. (4) Ibid. THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION, 299 merit of those of Zurich, and declare, that they did not doubt, but (hat their prudence would put a stop to the Attempts of Servetus, lest his blasphemies, as a canker, should eat up the members of Christ ; adding these remarkable Words, 11 That to endeavour to oppose his dreams by a train of rea- soning, what would it be, but to grow mad with a madman :" These extracts, which are taken out of the letters printed at the end of Calvin's Institutions, clearly demonstrate that he acted seriously and deliberately in the affair of Servetus ; and that he consulted the neighbouring churches, and had their opinion of the lawfulness and expediency of putting him to death for his heresies. And though it doth not wholly excuse his fault, yd it ought in justice to be allowed as an abatement and extenuation of it ; and, I think, evidently proves, what his enemies are very unwilling to allow, that he was not transported by rage and fury, and did not act merely from the dictates of eiiyy and malice, but from a mistaken zeal against what he accounted blasphemy and heresy, and with the concurrent advice of his brethren in the ministry, and fellow-labourers in the great work of the reformation. And I think his eminent services to the church of God, both by his preaching and writings, ought, notwithstanding all his failings, to secure to his memory the honour and respect that is due to it : for he deserved well of all the reformed churches, and was an eminent instrument in the hand of Providence, in promoting the great and glorious work of saving men from the gross errors, superstitions and idolatries of the Romish church. And as I thought myself obliged impartially to represent these things -as they appeared to me, 1 hope all who love to distinguish themselves by Calvin's name, will be careful not to imitate him in this great blemish of his life, which, in reality, hath tarnished a character, that would otherwise have appeared amongst the first and brightest of the age he lived in. In the year 1632, after Calvin's death, one Nicholas An- thoine was condemned also by the council of Geneva, to be first hanged, and afterwards burnt ; because, that having for* 300 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION, gotten the fear of God, he had committed the crime of apos- tacy and high treason against God, by having opposed the Holy Trinity, denied our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, blasphemed his holy name, renounced his baptism, and the like. SECT. III. Persecutions at Bern, Basil^ and Zurich. Valentinus Gentilts, 1 a native of Cosentia in Italy, had the misfortune also to fall into some heterodox opinions concerning the Trinity, and held that the Father alone was uvloQe&, God of himself, ayEw*^, unbegotten, Essentiator, the giver of essence to all other beings ; but that the Son was Essentiatus, of a derived essence from the Father, and there- fore not avloQs&y or God of himself, though at the same time he allowed him to be truly God. He held much the same as to the Holy Ghost, making them three eternal Spirits, distin- guished by a gradual and due subordination, reserving the monarchy to the Father, whom he stiled the one only God. Being forced to fly his native country, on account of his re- ligion, he came to Geneva, where there was a church of Italian refugees, several of whom, such as G. Blandrata, a physician, Gribaldus, a lawyer, and Paulus Alciatus, differed from the commonly received notions of the Trinity. When their he- terodoxes came to be known at Geneva, they were cited before the senators, ministers, and presbyters, and being heard in their own defence, were refuted by Calvin, and all subscribed to the orthodox faith. But V. Gentilis having after this endeavoured to propagate his own opinions, he was again apprehended, and forced by (1) Bez. in vit. Calv. B. Aret. Hist. Val. Gent. THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. 301 Calvin and others to a public abjuration, and condemned anno 155S, to an exemplary penance, viz. " That he should be stripped close to his shirt, then barefoot and bare-headed should carry in his hand a lighted torch, and beg God and the court's pardon on his knees, by confessing himself maliciously and wickedly to have spread abroad a ialse and heretical doc- trine ; but that he did now from his heart detest and abhor those abominable, lying, and blasphemous books, he had com- posed in its defence ; in testimony of which he was to cast them, with his own hands, into the flames, there to be burnt, to ashes. And for more ample satisfaction, he was injoined to be led through all the streets of Geneva, at the sound of trumpet, in his penetential habit, and strictly commanded not to depart the city without permission." And this penance he actually underwent. But having found means to make his escape, he came at last toGaium, a prefecture, subject to the canton of Bern, where he was seized and imprisoned by the governor, who immediately sent an account of his apprehension to the senate of Bern, who ordered him to be brought prisoner to that city, where they put him in jail. After they had seized all his books and papers, they collected several articles, with the heads of an indictment out of them to be preferred against him. Amongst others these were two, 1. "That he dissented from us, and all the orthodox, in the doctrine of the Trinity." And 2. " That his writings contained many impious blasphemies concerning the Trinity." And because he continued obstinate in his opinions, notwithstanding the endeavours of the divines to convert him, he was condemned by the senate, for his blas- phemies against the Son of God, and the glorious mystery of the Trinity, to be beheaded ; which sentence was executed on him in September, anno 1566. *At Basil, also, heresy was a crime punishable with denth, since the reformation, as appears from the treatment of the (1) Brand Hist. Boot 3. p. 17, 302 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION, dead body of David George, an enthusiastical anabaptist. Having left Holland he went to Basil, and settled there as one that was banished out of his country for the sake of his reli- gion, propagating his own doctrines by letters, books, and messengers in Holland. But his errors being discovered after his death, he was taken out of his grave, and together with his books and pictures burnt to ashes, by order of the magis- trates, at the place of execution, without the walls of Basil, May 13, 1559. His opinions were first extracted from the printed books and manuscript papers found in his house, and himself declared an arch heretic. 1 Zurich also furnishes us with an instance of great cruelty towards an anabaptist. A severe edict was published against them, in which there was a penalty of a silver mark, about four shillings English money, set upon all such as should suf- fer themselves to be-rebaptized, or should withhold baptism from their children. And it was farther declared, that those who openly opposed this order, should be yet more severely treated. Accordingly one Felix was drowned at Zurich, upon the sentence pronounced by Zuinglius, in these four Words, u Qui interum mergit, mergatur :" He that re-dips, lei him be drowned. This happened in the year 1526. About the same time also, and since, there were some more of them put to death. 2 From the same place, also, Ochinus was banished, in his old age, in the depth of winter, together with his children, because he was an Arian, and defended polygamy, if Beza's account of him be true. Lubieniecius, 3 a Polish Unitarian, was, through the prac- tices of the Calvinists, banished with his brethren from Po- land, his native country ; and forced to leave several protes- tant cities of Germany, to which he had fled for refuge, particularly, Stetin, Frederickstadt, and Hamburg, through the practices of the Lutheran divines, who were against all (i; Book 2. p. 57. (3) Vit. Lub. Praef. Hist. Re- (2) Beza, Epist. 1. format. Polon. THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. 303 toleration. At Hamburg he received the orders of the mngis- trates of the city to depart the place on his death-bed; and when his dead body was carried to Altenau to be interred, though the preachers could not, as they endeavoured, pre- vent his being buried in the church, yet they did actually prevent the usual funeral honours being paid him. John Syl- vanus, 1 superintendant of the church of Heidelberg, was put to death by order of Frederick Elector Palatine, unrio 157 J, being accused of Arianism. SECT. IF, Persecutions in Holland, and by the Synod of Dort. If we pass over into Holland, we shall also find that the reformers there were most of them in the principles and mea- sures of persecution, and managed their differences with that heat and fury, as gave great advantages to the Papists, their common enemies. In the very infancy of the reformat ion the Lutherans and Calvinists condemned each other for their sup- posed heterodoxy in the affair of the sacrament, and looked upon compliance and mutual toleration to be things intolerable. These differences were kept up principally by the clergy of each party. The Prince of Orange, and States of Holland, who were heartily inclined to the reformation, were not for confining their protection to any particular set of principles or opinions, but for granting an universal indulgence in all mat- ters of religion, aiming at peace and mutual forbearance, and to open the church as wide as possible for all Christians of un- blameable lives ; whereas the clergy being biassed by their passions and inclinations for those masters, in whose writings they had been instructed, endeavoured with all their might to (l) Lub. Hist. I. 2. c. 5. 304 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. establish and conciliate authority to their respective opinions ; aiming only at decisions and definitions, and shutting up the church by limitations in many doubtful and disputable articles; so that the disturbances which were raised, and the severities which were used upon the account of religion, proceeded from the bigotry of the clergy, contrary to the desire and intention of the civil magistrate. Before the ministers of the reformed party were engaged in the controversy with Arminius, * their zeal was continually exerting itself against the anabaptists, whom they declared to be excommunicated and cut off from the church, and en- deavoured to convert by violence and force, prohibiting them from preaching under fines, and banishing them their country, upon account of their opinions. And the better to colour these proceedings, some of them wrote in defence of persecution ; or, which is the same thing, against the toleration of any reli- gion or opinions different from their own ; and for the better support of orthodoxy, they would have had the synods ordain, that all church officers should renew their subscriptions to the confession and catechism every year, that hereby they might the better know who had changed their sentiments, and differed from the received faith. This practice was perfectly agreeable to the Geneva discipline ; Calvin himself, as hath been shewn, being in judgment for persecuting heretics ; and Beza having wrote a treatise, anno 1600, to prove the lawfulness of punish- ing them. This book was translated from the Latin into the Low Dutch language by Bogerman, afterwards president of the synod of Dort, and published with a dedication, and re- commendation of it to the magistrates. The consequence of this was, that very severe placarts were published against the anabaptists in Friesland and Grpningen, whereby they were forbidden to preach ; and all persons prohibited from letting their houses and grounds to them, under the penalty of a large fine, or confinement to bread and water for fourteen days. If (1) Brandt. Hist. V. 2. I. 17. THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. 305 they o (Tended the third time, they were to be banished the city, and the jurisdiction thereof. Whosoever was discovered to re-baptize any person, should forfeit twenty dollars ; and upon a second conviction to be put to bread and wafer, and then be banished. Unbaplized children were made incapable of inheriting ; and if any one married out of the reformed church , he was declared incapable of inheriting any estate, and the children made illegitimate. But the controversy that made the greatest noise, and pro- duced the most remarkable effects, was that carried on between the Calvinists and Arminians. Jacobus Arminius, one of the professors of divinity at Leydcn, disputing in his turn about the doctrine of predestination, advanced several things differ- ing from the opinions of Calvin on this article, and was in a few months after warmly opposed by Gomarus his colleague, who held, that u It was appointed by an eternal decree of God, who amongst mankind shall be saved, and who shall be damned." This was indeed the sentiment of most of the clergy of the United Provinces, who therefore endeavoured to run down Arminius and his doctrine with the greatest zeal, in their private conversations, public disputes, and in their very sermons to their congregations, charging him with inno- vations, and of being a follower of the ancient heretical monk Pelagius ; whereas the government was more inclinable to Arminius's scheme, as being less rigid in its nature, and more intelligible by the people, and endeavoured all they could to prevent these differences of the clergy from breaking out into an open quarrel, to the disturbance-of the public peace. But the ministers of the predestinarian party would enter into no treaty for peace : the remonstrants were the objects of their furious zeal, whom they called mamelukes, devils, and plagues^ animating the magistrates to extirpate and destroy them, and crying out from the pulpits, " We must go through thick and thin, without fearing to stick in the mire : we know what Elijah did to Baal's priests." And when the time drew near for the election of new magistrates, they pi ay- 2 i? .306 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. a\ to God for such men, cc as would be zealons even to blood, though it were to cost the whole trade of their cities." They also accused them of keeping up a correspondence with the Jesuits and Spaniards, and of a design to betray their country to them. These proceedings gave great disturbance to the magistrates, especially as many of the clergy took great liberties with them, furiously inveighing against them in their sermons, as enemies to the church, and persecutors ; as libertines and free-thinkers, who hated the sincere ministers of God, and endeavoured to turn them out of their office. This conduct, together with their obstinate refusal of ail measures of accommodation, and peace with the remonstrants, so incensed the magistrates, that' in several cities they suspended some of the warmest and most seditious of them, and prohibited them from the public exer- cises of their ministerial function ; particularly Gezeiius of Rotterdam, and afterwards Rossus, minister at the Hague, for endeavouring to make a schism in the church, and exhort- ing the people to break off communion with their brethren. Being thus discarded, they assumed to themselves the name of the persecuted church, and met together in private houses, absolutely refusing all communion with the remonstrant mini- sters and party, in spite of all the attempts made use of to reconcile and unite them. What the ministers of the contra-remonstrant party aimed at, was the holding a national council ; which at length, after a long opposition, was agreed to in the assembly of the States- General, who appointed Dort for the place of the meeting. Prince Maurice of Orange, the Stadtholder, effectually pre- pared matters for holding the said assembly ; and as he declared himself openly for the contra-remonstrant party, not for that he was of their opinions in religion, being rather in- clined to those of Arminius, but because he thought them the best friends to his family, he took care that the council should consist of such persons as were well affected to them* In order to this his excellency changed the government of THE HISTORY OF PEUSECCJTION. 307 most of the towns of Holland, deposed those magistrates who were of the remonstrant persuasion, or that favoured them in the business of the toleration, and filled up their places with contra-remonstrants, or such as promoted their inter making use of the troops of the states, to obviate all op- position. The consequence of this was the imprisonment of several great men of the remonstrant persuasion, such as the advocate Oldenbarnevelt, Grotius, and others ; and the suspension, or total deprivation of a considerable number of the remonstrant clergy, such as Vitenbogart, of the Hague, Grovinckhovius, of Rotterdam, Grevius, and others, by particular >ynods met together for that purpose, and to prepare things, and appoint persons for the ensuing national one at Dort. The persons fixed on were generally the most violent of the contra-remon- strant party, and who had publicly declared, that they would not enter into communion with those who differed from them, nor agree to any terms of moderation and peace. There were also several foreign Divines summoned to this council, who were most of them in the Calvinistic scheme, and pro- fessed enemies to the Arminians. The lay commissioners also, who were chosen by the States, were most of them very partial contra-remonstrants : and two or three of them, who seemed more impartial than the others, were hardly suffered to speak : and if they did, were presently suspected, and represented by letters sent to the states, and Prince Maurice, at the Hague, as persons that favoured the remonstrants ; which was then considered as a crime against the government, insomuch, that by these insinuations, they were in danger of being stripped of all their employments. The session and first opening of this venerable assembly, ■ was Nov. 13, 1618. John Bogerman was chosen president of it ; the same worthy and moderate Divine, who had before trail - (1) The Council of Dort, A. C. 1618. 2 B 2 308 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. slated into Low Dutch Beza's Treatise, to prove the lawful- ness of punishing heretics, with a preface recommendatory to the civil magistrate ; chosen not by the whole synod, but by the Low Country divines only, the foreigners not being allow- ed any share in the election. At the fifth session the remonstrants petitioned the synod, that a competent number of their friends might have leave to appear before them, and that the citation might be sent to the whole body, and not to any single person, to the end that they might be at liberty to send such as they should judge best qualified to defend their cause ; and particularly insisted, that Grovinckhovius and Goulart might be of the number. One would have thought that so equitable a request should have been readily granted. r But they were told, that it could not be allowed that the remonstrants should pass for a distinct body, or make any deputation of persons in their common name to treat of their affairs ; and agreeably to this declara- tion, the summons that were given out Were not sent to the remonstrants as a body or part of the synod, but to such par- ticular persons as the synod thought fit to choose out of them ; which was little less than citing them as criminals before a body of men, which chiefly consisted of their professed ad- versaries. 1 When they first appeared in the synod, and Episcopius in the name of the rest of them talked of entering into a regular conference about the points in difference, they were immediately given to understand, that no conference was intended ; but that their only business was to deliver their sen- timents, and humbly to wait for the judgment of the council concerning them. Episcopius, in the name of his brethren, declared, that they did not own the synod for their lawful judges', because most of that body were their avowed enemies, and fomenters and pro- moters of the unhappy schism amongst them; upon which they were immediately reprimanded by the president, for im- (1) Act Syn. Dord. Sess. 22. THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION, 309 peaching and arraigning their authority, and presuming to prescribe laws to those whom the States-General had appoint- ed for their judges. The Divines of Geneva added upon this head, " That if people obstinately refused to mi bruit, to the lawful determinations of the church, there then remained two methods to be used against them ; the one, that the civil magi - trate miglit stretch out his arm of compulsion ; the other that the church might exert her power, in order to separate and cut off, by a public sentence, those who violated the laws of God. After many debates on this head, between the synod and the remonstrants, who adhered to their resolution of not owning the synod for their judges, they were turned out of it, by JBogerman the president, with great insolence and fury ; to the high dissatisfaction of many of the foreign Divines. After the holy synod had thus rid themselves of the remon- strants, whose learning and good sense would have rendered them exceeding troublesome to this assembly, they proceed ;d to fix the faith ; and as they had no opposition to fear, 1 were almost all of one side, at least in the main points, th f agreed in their articles and canons, and in their sentence against the remonstrant clergy, who had been cited to appear before them ; which was to this effect: " They beseeched and charged in the name of Christ, all and singula'* the ministers of the churches throughout the United Netherlands, &c. that they forsake and abandon the well-known five articles of the remonstrants, as being false, and no other than secret magazines of errors. — And whereas some, who are gone out from amongst us, calling themselves remonstrants, have, ouj of private views and ends, unlawfully violated the discipline and government of the church — have not only trumped lip old errors, but hammered out new ones too — have blackened | ren ed odious the established dot trine of the church with impudent slanders and calumnies, without end or measure; have filled all places with scandal, discord, scruples, trc science — all which heinous offences ought to I fled and punished in clergymen with the sevei re- fore this national synod — being assured of its o\\ i rity — 310 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. cloth hereby declare and determine, that those ministers, who have acted in the churches as heads of factions, and teachers of errors, are guilty, and convicted of having violated our holy religion, having made a rent in the unity of the church, and given very great scandal : and as for those who were cited bofore this synod, that they are besides guilty of intolerable disobedience — to the commands of the venerable synod : for all which reasons the synod doth, in the first place, discharge the aforesaid cited persons from all ecclesiastical administra- tions, and deprive them of their offices ; judging them like- wise unworthy of any academical employment. — And as for the rest of the remonstrant clergy, they are hereby recom- mended to the provincial synods, classes, and consistories — who are to take the utmost care — that the patrons of errors be prudently discovered ; that all obstinate, clamorous, and fac- tious disturbers of the church under their jurisdiction, be forthwith deprived of their ecclesiastical and academical offi- ces. — And they the said provincial synods are therefore ex- horted — to take a particular care, that they admit none into the ministry who shall refuse to subscribe, or promise to preach the doctrine, asserted in these synodical decrees ; and that they suffer none to continue in the ministry, by whose public dis- sent the doctrine which hath been so unanimously approved by all the members of this synod, the harmony of the clergy, and the peace of the church may be again disturbed — And they most earnestly and humbly beseech their gracious God, that their High Mightinesses may suffer and ordain this whole- some doctrine, which the synod hath faithfully expressed — to be maintained alone, and in its purity within their provinces — and restrain turbulent and unruly spirits — and may likewise put in execution the sentence pronounced against the above mentioned persons — and ratify and confirm the decrees of the synod by their authority." The states readily obliged them in this christian and cha- ritable request ; for as soon as the synod was concluded, the old advocate Barnevelt was beheaded, who had been a zea- lous and hearty friend to the remonstrants and their princi- THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. 311 pies, and Grotius condemned to perpetual imprisonment ; and because the eiteil ministers would not promise wholly, and always to abstain from the exercise of their minister] J func- tions, the slates passed a resolution for the banishing of them on pain, if they did not submit to it, of being treated as dis- turbers of the public peace. And though they only begged a respite of the sentence for a few days, to put their affairs in order, and to provide themselves with a little money to sup- port themselves and families in their banishment, even this was unmercifully denied them, and they were hurried away next morning by four o'clock, as if they had been enemies to the religion and liberties of their country. Such was the effect of this famous presbyterian synod, who behaved themselves as tyrannically towards their bre- thren, as any prelatical council whatsoever could do; and to the honour of the church of England it must be said, that they owned their synodical power, and concurred by their deputies, Carleton Bishop of Landaff, Hall, Davenant, and Ward, in condemning the remonstrants, in excommunicating and depriving them, and turning them out of their churches, and in establishing both the discipline and doctrines of Gene- va in the Netherlands. For after the council was ended, the remonstrants were every where driven out of their churches, and prohibited from holding any private meetings, and many of them banished on this very account. The reader will find a very particular relation of these transactions, in the learned Gerard Brandt's History of the Reformation of the Low Countries, to which I must refer him. SECT. V= Persecutions in Great- Britain. If we look into our own country, we shall find numerous proofs of the same antichristian spirit and practice. Even our first reformers, who had seen the flames which the papist? 312 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. had kindled against their brethren, yet lighted fires themselves to consume those who differed from them. Cranmer's hands were stained with the blood of several. 1 He had a share in the prosecution and condemnation of that pious and excellent martyr John Lambert, and consented to the death of Ann Askew, who were burnt for denying the corporal presence ; which, though Cranmer then believed, he saw afterwards reason to deny. In the year 1549, Joan Bocher was condemned for some enthiisiastical opinions about Christ, and delivered over to the secular power. The sentence being returned to the council, King Edward VI. was moved to sign a warrant for her being burnt, but could not be prevailed with to do it. Cranmer endeavoured to persuade him by such arguments, as rather silenced than satisfied the young king : so he set his hand to the warrant with tears in his eyes, saying to the archbishop, that if he did wrong, since it was in submission to his autho- rity, he should answer for it to God. Though this struck Cranmer with horror, yet he at last put the sentence in execu- tion against her. About two years after one George Van Pare, a Dutchman, was accused, for saying, u That God the Father was only God, and that Christ was not very God." And though he was a person of a very holy life, yet because he would not abjure, he was condemned for heresy, and burnt in Smithfield. The Archbishop himself was afterwards burnt for heresy ; which, as Fox observed, many looked on as a just retaliation from the providence of God, for the cruel severeties he had used towards others. The controversy about the Popish habits was one of the first that arose amongst the English reformers. Cranmer and Ridley were zealous for the use of them, whilst other very pious and learned Divines were for laying them aside, as the badges of idolatry and antichrist. Amongst these was Dr. (1) Burnett's Hist. Ref. Vol. II. p. J 06, JOT. THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. 313 Hooper, nominated to the bishoprick of Gloucester ; but be- cause lie refused to be consecrated in the old vestments, he was by order of council first silenced, and then confined to his own house ; and afterwards, by Craumcr's means, committed to the Fleet prison, where he continued several months. *Jn the beginning of Queen Elizabeth's reign, A. C. 1559, an act passed for the uniformity of common prayer, and ser- vice in the church, and administration of the sacraments ; by which the queen and bishops were empowered to ordain such ceremonies in worship, as they should think for the honour of God, and the edification of his church. This act was rigour- ously pressed, and great severities used to such as could not comply with it. Parker, Archbishop of Canterbury, made ( he clergy subscribe to use the prescribed rites and habits ; and cited before him many of the most famous Divines who scrupled them, and would allow none to be presented to livings, or preferred in the church, without an intire conformity. He summoned the whole body of the London pastors and curates to appear before him at Lambeth, and immediately suspended 37, who refused to subscribe to the unity of apparel ; and signified to them, that within three months they should be totally de- prived, if they would not conform. So that many churches were shut up ; and though the people were ready to mutiny for want of ministers, yet the archbishop was deaf to all their complaints, and in his great goodness and piety was resolved they should have no sacraments or sermons without the sur- plice and the cap. And in order to prevent all opposition to church tyranny, the Star Chamber published a decree for sealing up the press, and prohibiting any person to print or publish any book against the queen's injunctions, or against the meaning of them. This decree was signed by the bishops of Canterbury and London. This rigid and fanatical zeal for habits and coremonies, caused the Puritans to separate from the established church, (1) Queen Elizabeth. 2s 314 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. and to hold private assemblies for worship. But the queen and her prelates soon made them feel their vengeance. Their meetings were disturbed, and those who attended them appre- hended, and sent in large numbers, men and women, to Bride- well, for conviction. Others were cited into the spiritual courts, and not discharged till after long attendance and great charges. Subscriptions to articles of faith were violently- pressed upon the clergy, and about one hundred of them were deprived, anno 1572, for refusing to submit to them. Some were closely imprisoned, and died in jail, through poverty and want. And that serious piety and christian knowledge might gain ground, as well as -uniformity, the bishops, by order of the queen, put down the prophesyings of the clergy, anno 1574, who were forbid to assemble as they had done for some years, to discourse with one another upon religious subjects and ser- mons ; and as some serious persons of the laity were used to meet on holidays, or after they had done work, to read the scriptures, and to improve themselves in christian knowledge, the parsons of the parishes were sent for, and ordered to sup- press them. Eleven Dutchmen, who were anabaptists, were condemned in the consistory of St. Paul to the fire, for heresy ; nine of whom were banished, and two of them burnt alive in Smith- field. In the year 1583, Copping and Thacker, two Puritan ministers, were hanged for non-conformity. It would be end- less to go through all the severities that were used in this reign upon the account of religion. As the queen was of a very high and arbitrary temper, she pressed uniformity with great violence, and found bishops enough, Parker, Aylmer, Whit- gift, and others, to justify and promote her measures; who either entered their sees with persecuting principles, or em- braced them soon after their entrance^ as best befitting the ends of their promotion. Silencings, deprivations, imprisonments, gibbets, and stakes, upon the account of religion, were some of the powerful reasonings of those times. The bishops rioted in power 3 and many of them abused it to the most cruel THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. 315 oppressions. The cries of innocent prisoners, widowed wives, and starving children, made no impression on their hearts. Piety and learning with them were void of merit. Refusal of subscriptions, and non-conformity, were crimes never to be forgiven. A particular account of these things may be seen in Mr. Neal's history of the Puritans, who hath done some justice to that subject. I shall only add, that the court of high commission estab- lished in this reign, by tlie instigation of Whitgift, Archbishop of Canterbury, by which the commissioners were impowered to inquire into all misdemeanors, by all such ways and means as they could devise, and thought necessary ; to examine per- sons upon oath, and to punish those who refused the oatli by fine or imprisonment, according to their discretion, was an high stretch of the prerogative, and had a very near resem- blance to the courts of inquisition ; and the cruelties that were practised in it, and the exorbitant fines that were levied by it in the two following reigns, made it the universal abhorrence of the nation, so that it was dissolved by parliament, with a clause that no such court should be erected for the future. *King James I. was bred up in the kirk of Scotland, which professed the faith and discipline of those called Puritans in England ; and though he blessed God, u For honouring him to be king over such a kirk, the sincerest kirk in the world," yet, upon his accession to the English throne, he soon shewed his aversion to the constitution of that kirk ; and to their brethren, the puritans in England. These were solicitous for a farther reformation in the church, which the bishops opposed, instilling this maxim into the king, 2U No Bishop, no King ;" which, as stale and false a maxim as it is, hath been lately trumped up, and publicly recommended, in a sermon on the 30th of January. In the conference at Hamp- ton Court, his Majesty not only sided with the bishops, but assured the puritan ministers, who were sent for to it, that (1) James I. (2) Wilsou. 2s2 316 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION, " lie had not called the assembly together for any innovations, for that he acknowledged the government ecclesiastical, as it then was, to have been approved by God himself ;" giving them to understand, that u if they did not conform, he would either hurry them out of the kingdom, or else do worse." 1 And these reasonings of the king were so strong, that Whitgift, Archbishop of Canterbury, with an impious and sordid flat- tery said, " He was verily persuaded that the king spoke by the spirit of God." It was no wonder that the bishops, thus supported by an inspired king, should get an easy victory over the puritans ; which possibly they would not have done, had his majesty been absent, and the aids of his inspiration withdrawn ; since the archbishop did not pretend that himself or his brethren had any share of it. But having thus gotten the victory, they strove by many methods of violence to maintain it ; and used such severities towards the non-conformists, that they were forced to seek refuge in foreign countries. - The truth is, this conference at Hampton Court was never intended to satisfy the puritans, but as a blind to introduce episcopacy into Scotland, and to subvert the constitution and establishment of that church. His majesty, in one of his speeches to his Parliament, tells them, that " he was never violent and unreasonable in his profession of religion." I believe all mankind will now acquit him of any violent and unreasonable attachment to the protestant religion and liberties. He added in the same speech , it may be questioned whether by inspiration of the spirit, " I acknowledge the Roman church to be our mother church, although defiled with some infirmities and corruptions." And he did behave as a very dutiful son of that mother church, by the many favours he shewed to the papists during his reign, by his proclamations for uniformity in religion, and encouraging and supporting his bishops in their persecutions of such as differed from, or could not submit to them. Bancroft, promoted to the Archbishoprick of Canterbury, (I) Heylin's Life of Laud, p, 58. THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. 317 was, as the historian 1 calls him, " A sturdy piece," a cruel and inflexible persecutor, treating the non-conformists with the greatest rigour and severity ; and who, as Heylin tells us, '*" was resolved to break them, if they would not bow." He put the canons and constitutions agreed on A. C. 1G03, furi- ously into execution, and such as stood out against them, he either deprived or silenced. And indeed, as the aforemen- tioned author says, 3U Who could stand against a man of such a spirit, armed with authority, having the law on his side, and the king to his friend ? During his being archbishop he deprived, silenced, suspended, and admonished, above three hundred ministers. The violencies he and his brethren used in the high-commission courts, rendered it a public grievance. AU Every man must conform to the episcopal way, and quit his hold in opinion or safety. That court was the touchstone, to try whether men were metal for their stamp ; and if they were not soft enough to take such impressions as were put upon them, they were made malleable there, or else they could not pass current. This was the beginning of that mis- chief, which, when it came to a full ripeness, made such a bloody tincture in both kingdoms, as never will be got out of the bishop's lawn sleeves." But nothing displeased the sober part of tlie nation more, than the publication of the Book of Sports, which the bishops procured from the king, and which came out with a command, enjoining all ministers to read it to their parishi- oners, and to approve of it ; and those who did not, were brought into the high commission, imprisoned, and suspended ; this book being only a trap to catch some conscientious men, that they could not otherwise, with all their cunning, ensnare. " These, and such like machinations of the bishops," says my author, u to maintain their temporal greatness, ease, and plenty, made the stones in the walls of their palaces, and the beam in the timber, afterwards cry out, moulder away, and (1) Wilson. (2) Life of Laud, p. 58. (3) Wilson. (4) Wilson. (5) Ibid. 318 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. come to nothing-; and caused their light to go out offensive to the nostrils of the rubbish of the people. Indeed many of the king's bishops, such as Bancroft, Neal, and Laud, who was a reputed papist in Oxford, and a man of a dangerous turbulent spirit, were fit for any work ; and as they do not appear to have had any principles of real piety themselves, they were the fittest tools that could be made use of to persecute those who had. Neal, when he was Bishop of Litchfield and Coventry, prosecuted one Edward Wight- man, for broaching erroneous doctrine, and having canonically condemned him, got the king's warrant for his execution ; and he was accordingly burnt in Litchfield. One Legat also was prosecuted and condemned for heresy, by King Bishop of London, and expired in the flames of Smithfield. Ke denied the divinity of our Saviour, according to the Athanasian mode of explaining it ; but as Fuller tells us, he was excellently skil- led in scripture, and his conversation very unblamcable. But as these sacrifices were unacceptable to the people, the king preferred, that heretics hereafter, though condemned, should silently and privately waste themselves away in prison, rather than to amuse others with the solemnity of a public execution. In the reign of. the Royal Martyr, 1 the church grew to the height of her glory and power ; though such is the fate of all human things, that she soon sickened, languished, and died. Laud, carried all before him, and ruled both church and kingdom with a rod of iron. His beginning and rise is thus described by Archbishop Abbot, his pious and worthy predecessor. " His life in Oxford was to pick quarrels in the lectures ef the public readers, and to advertise them to the then Bishop of Durham, that he might fill the ears of King James with discontents against the honest men that took pains in their places, and settled the truth, which he called puritanism, in their auditors. (1) Charles I. (2) Rapin, vol. II. p. 278. 2d edit. THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION, 319 cc He made it his work to sec what books were in the press, and to look over epistles dedicatory, and prefaces to the rea- der, to sec what faults might be found. " It was an observation what a sweet man this was like to be, that the first observable act he did, was the marrying the Earl of Devonshire to the Lady Rich, when it was notorious to the world that she had another husband, and the same a nobleman, who had divers children then living by her. King James did for many years take this so ill, that he would never hear of any great preferment of him : insomuch that the Bishop of Lincoln, Dr. Williams, who taketh upon him to be the first promoter of him, hath many times said, that when he made mention of Laud to the King, his Majesty was so averse from it, that he was constrained oftentimes to say, that he would never desire to serve that master, who could not remfe one fault to his servant. Well, in the end he did conquer it 9 to get him to the Bishoprick of St. David's; which he had not long enjoyed, but lie began to undermine his benefactor, as at this day it appeareth. The Countess of Buckingham told Lincoln, that St. David's was the man that undermined him with her son. And verily, such is his aspiring nature? that he will underwork any man in the world, so that he may gain by it-" *He had a peculiar enmity to Archbishop Abbot, a man of an holy and unblameable life, because he had informed King James that Laud was a reputed papist in Oxford, and of a dangerous, turbulent spirit ; and as James I. was wrought up into an incurable animosity against the puritans, " this was thought to be fomented by the papists, whose agent Bishop Laud was suspected to be ; and though the king was pleased with asservations to protest his incentive spirit should be kept under, that the flame should not break out by any preferment from him ; yet getting into Buckingham's favour, he grew into such credit, that he was thought to be the bellows whicli (1) Wilson. 320 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. blew those flames that were every where rising in the nation. " For the papists used all the artifices they could to make a breach between the king and his people ; and to accomplish this, amongst other methods, they sowed the seeds of division betwixt puritan and protestant ; for all those were puritans, with this higli grown Armenian popish party, that held in judgment the doctrine of the reformed churches, or in practice live according to the doctrine publicly taught in the church of England. And they attributed the name of protestant, u 1. To such papists, as either out of policy, or by popish indulgence, held outward communion with the church of England. " 2. To such protestants, as were either tainted with, or inclinable to their opinions. " 3. To indifferent men, who embrace always that religion, that shall be commanded by authority. Or, " 4. To such neutrals as care for no religion, but such as stands with their own liking ; so that they allow the church of England the refuse both of their religion and ours." Thus far Wilson : and though Laud might be, as the same historian relates, of "a motley form of religion" by himself, yet the whole course of his tyrannical administration gave but too just reason for suspicion, that his strongest incli- nations were towards Rome and Popery. * The first parlia- ment of Charles I. re-assembled at Oxford in 1625, complain- ed that Popery and Arminianism were countenanced by a strong party in the kingdom; and Neal Bishop of Win- chester, and Laud, then of St. David's, were chiefly looked upon as the heads and protectors of the Arminians, nay, as favourers of Popery. The reasons of this suspicion were many. He was drove on by a rigid, furious, and fanatical zeal for all the ceremonies of the church of England, even for such as seemed the least (1) Rapin, vol. II. p. 240. Com. Hist. vol. III. p. 35. THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. 321 necessary. And not content with these, he promoted and procured the introduction of many others, which never had been enjoined by lawful authority. January 16, 1630, he consecrated, as Bishop of London, St. Catharine Creed Church, with all the fopperies of a popish superstition. '"atthe bishop's approach to the west door, tome that were prepared for it, cried with a loud voice, " Open, open, ye everlasting doors, that the king of glory may enter in." Immediately enters Laud. Then falling down upon his knees, with his eyes lifted up, and his arms- spread abroad, he cried out " This place is holy : the ground is holy : in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, I pronounce it holy." Then he took up some of the dust, and threw it up into the air several times, in his going up towards the chancel. When they approached near to the rail, and communion table, the bishop bowed towards it several times ; and returning, they went round the church in procession, singing the 100th psalm ; after that the 19th psalm ; and then said a form of prayer, " Lord Jesus Christ, &c." con- cluding, " We consecrate this church, and separate it unto thee as holy ground, not to be profaned any more to com- mon use." " After this the bishop being near the communion table, and taking a written book in his hand, pronounced curses upon those that should afterwards profane that holy place, by musters of soldiers, or keeping profane law courts, or carrying burdens through it ; and at the end of every curse he bowed towards the east, and said, " Let all the people say," Amen. After this he pronounced a number of blessings upon all those who had any hand in framing and building of that sacred and beautiful church, and those that had given, or should hereafter give any chalices, plate, ornaments, or utensils ; and at tin- end of every blessing he bowed towards the 'East, saying, " Let all the people say," Amen. (n Rapin, vol. II. p. 286. 2 T 322 THE HISTORY OP PERSECUTION. a After this followed the sermon ; which being ended, the bishop consecrated and administered the sacrament in manner following. " As he approached the communion table, he made many lowly bowings, and coming up to the side of the table, where the bread and wine were covered, he bowed seven times; and then, after the reading of many prayers, he came near the* bread, and gently lifted up the corner of the napkin wherein the bread was laid; and when he beheld the bread, he laid it down again, flew back a step or two, bowed three several times towards it; then he drew near again, and opened the napkin, and bowed as before. Then he laid his hand on the cup, which was full of -wine, with a cover upon it ; which he let go, then went back, and bowed thrice towards it. Then he came near again ; and lifting up the cover of the cup, looked into it, and seeing the wine, he let fall the cover again, retired back, and bowed as before. Then he received the sacrament, and gave it to some principal men ; after which many prayers being said, the solemnity of the consecration ended." In this manner have I seen high mass celebrated ponti- flcally. And from whence did the pious Laud learn all these kneelings, bowings, throwingsof dust, cursings, blessings, and adorations of the sacramental elements ; from the sacred scrip- tures, or the writings of the primitive fathers ? No : it was an exact copy of the Roman Pontifical, which was found in his study ; and though he alledged in his defence that it was a form communicated by Bishop Andrews to him, it was ridi- culous, since Andrews himself had it from the same pontifical. 'The next year, 1632, Henry Sherfield, Esq. recorder of Sarum, was fined in the Star Chamber .=£500. on the follow- ing occasion. There was in the city of Salisbury a church called St. Edmund's, whose windows were painted with the history of the creation ; where God the Father was represent- ()) Rushw. Torn. II. p. 153, 156. THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. 323 W in the form of an old man, creating the world during the first six days, but painted kitting on the seventh, to denote the day of rest. Tn expressing the creation of the sun and moon, the painter had put in God's hand a pair of Compasses, as it he was going to measure them. The recorder was offended with this profauenrss ; and, by an order of vestry, took down those painted "lasses, and broke some of the panes with his stick, and ordered others to be put up in their room. Upon this an information was exhibited against him in the Star Chamber, by the attorney-general ; where Sheffield was for this reason charged with being ill-affected to the discipline of the Church of England, and the government thereof by bishops, because he had broken excellent pictures of the creation, and iined for his crime in the sum above mentioned, committed to the Fleet, removed from his recordership, and bound to his good behaviour. Nor was Laud ashamed, in justification of such pictures, to urge, as the papists continually do, that place in Dan. vii. 9, in which God is described as 44 the ancient of days ;" shewing himself a worse divine, or a more popishly affected one, than the Earl of Dorset, who then sat with him in the court, and said, that by that text was meant " the eternity of God, and not God to be pictured as an old man, creating the world with a pair of compasses. But I wish" added the Earl, " there were no image of the Father, neither in the church, nor out of the church ; for, at the best, they are but vanities and teachers of lies." In 1633, * Laud was made Archbishop of Canterbury ; and having observed that the placing the communion table in the body of the church, or at the entrance of the chancel, was not only a prostitution of the table to ordinary and sordid uses, but the chancel looked like an useless building, fit only for a schooling and parish-meeting, though originally design- ed for the most solemn office of religion ; to redeem these places, as he termed it, from profaneness, and restore them to (1) Com. Hist. vol. HI. p. 73. 2t2 324 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. the primitive use of the holy sacrament, the archbishop used his utmost diligence to remove Ibe communion table from the body of the church, and fix it at the upper end of the chan- cel, and secure it from the approach of dogs, and all servile uses, by railing it in, and obliging the people to come up to those rails to receive the sacrament with more decency and order. This affair, says Lord Clarendon, he prosecuted more passionately than was fit for the season, and created disputes in numberless places ; ' so that the high commission had fre- quent occasions to punish the ministers, who were suspected of too little zeal for the Church of England. And as since the reformation the altars were changed into communion tables, and placed in the middle of the chancel, to avoid supersti- tion ; many imagined, and that with too much reason, the tables were again turned into altars with intent to revive a superstitious worship. In the year 1634, 2 he set up and repaired Popish images in the glass windows of his chapel at Lambeth ; particularly one of God the Father, in the form of a little old man. This Laud himself owned, that he repaired the windows at no small cost, by the help of the fragments that remained, and vindicated the thing. He introduced also copes, candlesticks, tapers, and such like trumperies. So that L'Estrange, whom no man will charge with partiality against the archbishop, says of him : 3 " The Archbishop of Canterbury stands aspers- ed, in common fame, as a great friend at least, and patron of the Romish Catholics, if he were not of the same belief. To which I answer by concession : true it is, he had too much and long favoured the Romish faction — though not the Romish faith. He tampered indeed to introduce some ceremonies, bordering upon superstition, disused by us, and abused by them. From whence the Romanists collected such a good disposition in him to their tenets, as they began not only to hope, but in good earnest to cry hiin up for their proselyte. (I) Rap'm, vol. II. p. 291. (2) Rush, ad An. 1634. p. 270, 280. (3) Id. v. III. p. 1326. THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. 325 Under the year 1635, * the author of the notes to the Com- plete History tells us, that one of (lie great offences taken by Wise and good men against the archbishop, was the new attempt of reconciling the Church of England to (he Church of Rome. The design was to accommodate the articles of the Church of England to the sense of the Church of Home, for the reconciliation of the two churches. Davenport, an English Franciscan Friar, published a book to this purpose, under the name of Franciscus de Sancta Clara, which was dedicated to the king, and said to have been directed to Archbishop Laud. And it was an article objected * against him, that for the advancement of popery and superstition in this realm, he had wittingly and willingly harboured and relieved divers popish priests aad Jesuits, and particularly Sancta Clara, who hath written a popish and seditious book, wherein the thirty-nine articles of the Church of England are much traduced and scandalized, the said archbishop .having divers conferences with him, while he was writing the said book. The arch- bishop did not seem to deny his acquaintance with the man, nor with the design of the book ; but was rather afraid the book would not answer the design. The same author farther adds, that the best observations on this matter were made by Mr. Rous, in a speech against Dr. Cosin, March 16, 1640, " A second way by which this army of priests advanceth this popish design, is the v ay of treaty. This hath been acted both by writings and confer- ence. Sancta Clara himself says, " Doctissimi rn, qui- buscunque egi." So it seems they have had conference toge- ther. And Sancta Clara, on his part, labours to brino- the articles of our church to popery, and some of our side labour to meet him in the way. We have a testimony that the great arch-priest himself hath said : " It were no hard matter to make a reconciliation, if a wise man had the handling of It " Such was the good opinion which the papists had of Laud, (l) Vol, III. p. 82. 326 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. and of his inclinations to popery, that it is certain they offered him a cardinal's cap. Eachard and others say he refused it. 'But the Lord Wiquefort, as cited by Mr. Oldmixon, informs us, in his Treatise of the Ambassador and his Function, that Laud treated with Count Rosctti, the popish agent in Eng- land, for a pension of 48,000 livres a year; which if the Pope would have settled upon him, he would not only have accepted the cardinal's cap, but have gone to Rome, and have dwelt with the Pope and his cardinals as long as he lived. The bitter and relentless fury with which lie treated the puritans, and others, who were friends to the Churdi of Eng- land, and some of the best protestants in the kingdom, is a demonstration that he was more papist than protestant. Of the puritan's he used to say, as Heylin tells us, that u they were as bad as the papists;" and indeed he used them in a much worse manner. In the Considerations he presented to the King, " Anno 1629, for the better securing the Church Government," he prayed his Majesty, amongst other things, that Emanuel and Sydney Colleges in Cambridge, which are the nurseries of puritanism, may from time to time be provided of grave and orthodox men lor their governors. In the several accounts of his province, which he sent to the King, we read almost of nothing but conformity^ and non- conformity to the church, refractory people to the church, peevish and disorderly men, for preaching up the observation of the sabbath, breach of church canons, wild, turbulent preachers, for preaching against bowing at the name of Jesus, and in disgrace of the common prayer book ; anj in consequence of these things, present- ments, citations in i::e high commission court, censures, sus- pensions from preaching and other like pious methods, to reduce and reform them. 2 And so grievous and numerous were the violencies he exercised on these and the like occa- sions, in the star chamber, high commission, and spiritual (1) Hist, oi Stuarts, p. 118. (2) Coon. Hist. vol. III. p. 90 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. 327 courts, that many excellent and learned men were forced to leave the kingdom, and retire to the West-Indies* And yet even this was unmercifully forbidden them. For in the year 1637, a proclamation was issued to stop eight ships going to New England ; and another warrant from the council, of which Laud was one, to the I>ord Admiral, to stop all ministers unconformable to the discipline and ceremonies of the church, who frequently transport themselves to the summer islands, and other plantations; and that no clergyman should be suf- fered to go over, without approbation of the Lord Archbishop of Canterbury, and Bishop of London. These prohibitions, as the Complete Historian observes, increased the murmurs and complaints of the people thus restrained, and raised the cries of a double persecution, to be vexed at home, and not suffered to seek peace or refuge abroad. But how were the papists treated all this while ? why with brotherly mildness and moderation. For whilst these severi- ties were exercising against protestants, there were many par- dons and indulgencies granted to popish offenders. The papists were in reality his favourites and friends. On July 7, 1626, * Montague's books, intitled, " An Appeal to Caesar," and " A Treatise of the Invocation of Saints," were called in question by the House of Commons, and reported to contain false, erroneous, papistical opinions. For instance : " That the Church of Rome hath ever re- mained firm, upon the same foundation of sacraments and doctrines instituted by God. That the controverted points (between the Church of England and that of Rome) are of a lesser and inferior nature, of which a man may be ignorant, without any danger of his soul at all. That images may be used for the instruction of the ignorant, and excitation of devo- tion. 2 That there are tutelar saints as well as angels." The House of Commons voted his books to be contrary to the established articles ; to fend to the King's dishonour, and to (1) Rapk, vol. H, p. 844. Cora. Hist. vol. III. p. 30* 328 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. the disturbance of church and state. And jet this zealous protestant Bishop Laud was, as the Complete Historian assures us, " a zealous friend to the person and opinions of Mr. Montague ;* and made this entry in his diary on (his affair. u Jan. 29. Sunday. 1 understand what D. B. had collected concerning the Cause, Book, and Opinions of Richard Mon- tague, and what R. C. had determined with himself therein. Methinks I see a cloud arising, and threatening the Church of England ;" viz. because the popish opinions of this turbulent priest were censured as contrary to the established articles of the church of England. He was fit to be made one of Laud's brethren ; and accordingly was preferred to the Bishoprick of Chichester, anno 1629. 2 The author of the Remarks on the Complete Historian farther tells us, under the year 1632, that great prejudice was taken against some of Bishop Laud's churchmen, by one of them protesting to die in the communion of the Church of Rome ; Dr. Theodore Price, prebendary of Winchester, and sub-dean of Westminster. Mr. Prynne affirmed, that this man, very intimate with the archbishop, and recommended by him spe- cially to the King to be a Welch Bishop, in opposition to the Earl of Pembroke, and his chaplain Griffith Williams, soon after died a reconciled papist, and received extreme unction from a priest. The remarker adds, " It is strange partiality in the Oxford Historian, to question this matter, when Laud himself, in his MS notes upon that relation given by Mr. Prynne, doth by no means deny the fact, but excuses the using his interest for him ; and says, Q he was more inward with another bishop, and who laboured his preferment more than I.' In the same year, 1632, 3 Mr. Francis Windbank was made secretary of state by the interest of Bishop Laud, who hath entered it in his Diary. " 1632. June 15. Mr. Fran- cis Windbank, my old friend, was sworn Secretary of State; (1) P. 32. (2) Vol. III. p. G7. (3; Com. Hist. p. 6' THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. 329 which place I obtained for him of iny gracious master King Charles." lie proved so much a creature of (lie queen's, and sue!) an advocate and patron of all suffering papists and Jesuit, , that he had the character of a papist, and brought a very great odium upon Laud who preferred him. That which created him the more envy^ was the turning out the old secre- tary, Sir John Coke, who was displaced by Laud " for his honest firmness against popery," as the author of the remarks on the complete historian assures us, and for his hatred and opposition to the Jesuits. This job was labouring for three years' space and at last obtained by Laud's influence on the :*; r King. These instances, and many others which might be men- tioned, are sufficient to discover what sort of a protestant Laud was, and how he stood affected to the church of Rome. 1 shall now consider his character for piety 5 'which was exactly of a piece with his protestantism. He was a creature of the Duke of Buckingham, who wias one of the lewdest men in the kingdom, This man, as Arch- bishop Abbot said of him, was the only inward counsellor with Buckingham; " sitting with him sometimes privately whole hours, and feeding his humour with malice and spite." His marrying the Earl of Devonshire to the Lady Rich, though she had another husband, is a glorious argument of his regard to the laws of God, and particularly of his leverence for the seventh commandment. He gave, also, notable proofs of his zeal to maintain the honour of the fourth. The liberties taken at Wakes, or an- nual feasts of the dedication of churches, on Sundays, were grown to a very high excess, and occasioned great and numer- ous debaucheries. The lord chief justice Richardson, 1 in his circuit, made an order to suppress them, Laud com- plained of this to the king, as an intrusion upon the ecclesi- astical power ; upon which Richardson was severely repri- (l) Bushw. vol. I. p. 196. 2u ♦3*30 THE HISTORY OF persecution. manded, and forced to revoke the order. The justices of the peace upon this drew up a petition to the king, shewing the great inconveniences which would befal the country, if those revels, church-ales and clerk-ales, upon the Lord's-day, were permitted. But before the petition could be delivered, Laud published by the king's order, the declaration concerning re- creations on the lord's-day, " out of a pious care for the ser- vice of God," as that declaration expresses it towards the con- clusion of it. However, this " pious care" of Laud and the king was resented )by the soberest persons in the nation, as irre- ligious and profane^ as those revels had been the occasion of an " infinite number of inconveniences ;" and the declaration for publishing the lawfulness of them through all parish-churches, *" proved a snare to many ministers, very conformable to the church of England, because they refused to read the same publicly in the church, as was required : For upon this many were suspended, and others silenced from preaching." An instance of great piety, unquestionably this ; first to establish the profanation of the Lord's.- day by a public order, and then to persecute and punish those ministers who could not, in con- science, promote the ends of u so godly a zeal," by reading the king's order for wakes and revels on the Lord's-day out of that very place, where perhaps they had been just before pub- lishing the command of the most high God, not to profane but to keep it holy. His treatment of Mr. Prynne may also be added, as another instance of this prelate's exemplary love of virtue, and pious zeal for the service of God. 2 That gentleman published in the year 1632 his Histrio'-Mastix, or book against stage-plays ; in which, with very large collections, he exposed the liberties of the stage, and condemned the lawfulness of acting. Now, because the court became greatly addicted to these entertain- ments, and the queen was so fond of them, as meanly to sub- mit to act a part herself in a pastoral ; therefore this treatise (1) Rushw. vol. I. p. 196. (2) Com. Hist. p. 67. THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. 331 against plays u was suspected" to be Levelled against the court and the queen ; and it u was supposed an innuendo," that in the (able of tlu 4 hook this reference was put, " women actors notorious whores." Now mark the christian spirit, the burn- ing zeal of the pious Laud. Pryiinc was prosecuted in the star chamber by Laud's procurement, who shewed the book to the kino*, and pointed at the offensive parts of it ; and em- ployed lleylin to pick out all the virulent passages, and " N. B. to give the severest turn to them ;" and carried these notes to the attorney general for matter of information, and urged him earnestly to proceed against the author. Prynne was accordingly prosecuted; and being sufficiently convicted by suspicions, suppositions, and innuendoes, lie was sentenced, Laud sitting as one of his judges, to have his book burnt in the most public manner ; to be himself put from the bar, and made for ever incapable of his profession; to be ex- cluded from the society of Lincoln's Inn, and degraded in Oxford; to stand in the pillory in Westminster and Cheap- side, and lose both his cars, one in each place ; with a paper on his head, declaring his offence to be " an infamous libel" against both their majesties, the state and the government ; to pay a fine of five thousand pounds, and to sutler perpetual im- prisonment. Good God! what cruelty and barbarity is here? what insolent sporting with men's fortunes, liberties, and bodies ? What was the occasion of this bloody severity? A gentleman's writing against the abuses of plays. Who ordered the prosecution against him for writing against plays ? Arch- bishop Laud. Who sat at the head of his judges, who pronounced this infamous sentence ? Archbishop Laud. Ex- cellent archbishop! how christian, how commendable Ids zeal ! How gloriously must religion flourish under his archie- piscopal inspection, and by his becoming a the most rever- end" abettor, encourager, and great patron of plays on week days, and revels on Sundays ? 1 'Tis true, he was for building colleges, repairing churches^ (I) Com. Hist. p. 2u2 332 THE HISTORY OF TEIISECUTIOX. settling statutes for cathedrals, annexing commendams to small bishopries, settling of tithes, building hospitals, aggran- dizing the power, and encreasing the riches of the clergy; and these tilings may be esteemed arguments of his piety, and of "the greatness of his soul above the ordinary extent of mankind :" This I do not take on me to deny ; but it puts me in mind of the Carthusian monk, mentioned by Philip dc Comines, in his " Commentaries of the Neapolitan war:" " Comines was -looking on the sepulchre of John Galeacius, first duke of Milan of that name, in the Carthusian church of Pavia, who had governed with great cruelty and pride, but had been very liberal in his donations to the church and clergy. As he was viewing it, one of the monks of the order commended the virtue, and extolled the piety of Galeacius. Why, says Comines, do you thus praise him as a saint ? You see drawn on his sepulchre the ensigns of many people, whom he conquered without right. " Oh," says the monk, ci it is our custom to call them saints, that have been our bene- factors." But let us pass on from his piety to his christian tenderness and compassion, of which there are many very remarkable instances on record. 1 The case of Mr. Prynne, I have already mentioned. Another instance is that of the Rev. Mr. Peter Smart, who, July 27, 1628, preached on the Lord's Day against the innovations brought by Dr. Cosins into the cathedral church of Durham ; such as fonts, candles, pictures, images, copes, singings, vestments, gestures, prayers, doctrines, and the like. Cosins demeaned himself during the sermon very turbulently, and immediately afterwards summoned him before the high commission ; by whom he was censured by two acts of seques- tration, and one of suspension. After this they unlawfully transmitted him to London, to answer there in the high com- mission, for the same cause, before the inquisitors general for the kingdom ; who sent him back again with proper instruc- (1) Cora. Hist. p. 53. Notes. tii l: history of persecution. 333 lions to the high commission at York, where they fined him «a£500. committed him to jail, detained him under great bonds, excommunicated him, sequestred all his ecclesiastical livings, degraded him, " ab omni gradu et dignitate clerical! ;" by virtue of which degradation, his prebendship and parsonage were both taken from him, and himself kept in jail. By these oppressions his life was several times endangered, and himself and children lost and spent above fourteen thousand pounds of real estate, whereby they were utterly undone. The hand of Laud was in all this evil, as appears by the book published by Mr. Smart himself, with the title of " Canterbury's Cruelty." The truth is, many of the most worthy and learned pro- testant gentlemen and divines were treated by him with the utmost indignity and barbarity ; some of them dying in jail, and others being made to undergo the most cruel bodily punishments, for daring to oppose his arbitrary and supersti- tious proceedings. No man of compassion can read his treat- ment of Dr. Leighton, without being shocked and moved in the same tender manner as the House of Commons were, who several times interrupted, by their tears, the reading of the Doctor's petition, which I shall here present my reader with entire, and leave him to form what character he pleases of the man that could contrive and carry on such a scene of bar- barous and execrable cruelty. To the Honourable and High Court of Parliament. The fumble Petition of Alexander Leighton , Priso?ier in the Fleet ; " HUMBLY 8HEWETH, " How your much and long distressed petitioner, on the 17th of February gone ten years, was apprehended in Black- Fryers, coming from the sermon, by a high commission warrant (to which no subject's body is liable), and thence, with a multitude*of staves and bills, was dragged along (and 334 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. all the way reproached by the name of Jesuit and traitor) till they brought him to London-House, where lie was shut up, and, by a strong guard, kept (without food) till seven of (lie clock, till Dr. Laud, then Prelate of London, and Dr. Cor- bet, then of Oxford, returned from Fulham-House, with a troop attending. The jailer of Newgate was sent for, who came with irons, and with a strong power of haiberts and staves 5 they carried your petitioner through a blind, hollow way, without pretence or examination ; and opening up a, gate into the street (which some say had not been opened since Queen Mary's days) they thrust him into a loathsome and ruinous dog-hole, full of rats 7 and mice, which had no light but a little grate ; and the roof being uncovered, the snow and rain beat in upon him, having no bedding, nor place to make a fire, but the ruins of an old smoky chimney ; where he had neither meat nor drink, from the Tuesday at night, till the Thursday at noon. In this woeful place and doleful plight, they kept him close, with two doors shut upon him, for the space of fifteen weeks ; suffering none to come at him, till at length his wife was only admitted. ' " The fourth day after his commitment, the high commis- sion pursuivants came (under the conduct of the sheriffs of London) to your petitioner's house, and «a mighty multitude with them, giving out that they came to search for Jesuit's books. There these violent fellows of prey laid violent hands upon your petitioner's distressed wife, with such barbarous inhumanity, as he is ashamed to express ; and so rifled every soul in the house, holding a bent pistol to a child's breast of five years old, threatening to kill him, if he would not tell where the books were; through which the child was so affrighted,* that he never cast it. They broke open presses, chests, boxes, the boards of the house, and every thing they found in the way, though they were willing to open all. They, and some of the sheriffs' men, spoiled, robbed, and carried away all the books and manuscripts they found, with household stuff, your petitioner's apparel, arms, and other things ; so that they left nothing that liked them ; notwithstanding your THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. 335 petitioner's wife told the sheriff;, they might come to reckon ibr it. They carried also a great number of divers of your petitioner's books, and other tilings, from one Mr. Archer's boose, as he will testify . " Farther, your petitioner being denied the copy of his commitment, by the jailor of Newgate, his wife, with some friends, repaired to the sheriff, offering him bail, according to the statute in that behalf; which being shewed by an attorney at law, tiie sheriff replied, that lie wished the laws of the land, and privileges of the subject, had never been named in the pari iament, &c. Your petitioner (having thus suffered in body, liberty, family, estate, and house) at the end of fifteen weeks was served with a subpoena, on information laid against him by Sir Robert Heath, then his Majesty's attorney general; whose dealing with your prisoner was full of cruelty and de- ceit. In the mean time it did more than appear, to four phy- sicians, that poison had been given him in Newgate ; for his hair and skin came off in a sickness (deadly to the eye) in the height whereof, as he did lie, censure was passed against him in the star chamber, without hearing (which had not been heard of) notwithstanding of a certificate from four physicians, and affidavit made by an attorney, of the desperateness of the disease. But nothing would serve Dr. Laud, but the high- est censure that ever was passed in that court to be put upon him; and so it was to be inflicted with knife, fire, and whip, at and upon the pillory, with ten thousand pounds fine; which some of the lords conceived should never be inflicted, only it was imposed fas on a dying man) to terrify others. But the said doctor and his combinants, caused the said censure to be exe- cuted the 26th day of November following (with a witness) for the hang-man was armed with strong drink all the night before in prison, and, with threatning words, to do it cruelly. Your petitioner's hands being tied to a stake (besides all other torments) he received thirty-six stripes with a treble cord; after which, he stood almost two hours on the pillory, in cold frost and snow, and suffered the rest: as cutting off the ear, firing the face, and slitting of the nose ; so that he was made 336 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. a theatre of misery to men and angels." [Here the corapas* sion of the house of commons was so great, that they were generally in tears, and ordered the clerk to stop reading twice, till they had recovered themselves.] u And being so broken with his sufferings, that he was not able to go, the warden of the Fleet would not suffer him to be carried in a coach : but he was forced to go by water, to the farther endangering of Iiis life; returning to the jail after much harsh and cruel usage, for the space of eight years, paying more for a chamber than the worth of it (having not a bit of bread, nor a drop of water allowed). The clerk of the Fleet, to top up your peti- tioner's sufferings, sent for him to his office, and without warrant, or cause given by your petitioner, set eight strong fellows upon him, who tore his clothes, bruised his body, so that he was never well, and carried him by head and heels to that loathsome and common gaol ; where, besides the fillhi- ness of the place, and vileness of the company, divers contriv- ances were laid for taking away the life of your petitioner, as shall manifestly appear, if your honours will be pleased to receive and peruse a schedule of that subject. " Now the cause of ail this harsh, cruel, and continued ill usage, unparalleled yet upon any one since Britain was blessed with Christianity, was nothing but a book written by your peti- tioner, called " Sion's Plea against the Prelacy ; and that, by the call of divers and many good Christians in the parliament time, after divers refusals given by your petitioner ; who would not publish it being done, till it had the view and approba- tion of the best in the city, country, and university, and some of the parliament itself: In witness whereof he had about 5Q0 hands 3 for revealing of whose names he was'promised more favors by Sir Robert Heath than he will speak of : But deny- ing to turn accuser of his brethren, he was threatened with a storm, which he felt to the full ; wherein (through God's mercy) he hath lived, though but lived ; choosing rather to lay his neck to the yoke for others, than to release himself by others' sufferings. " Farther, the petitioner was robbed of divers goods, by THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. 337 one Lightborn, Graves, and others, officers and servants of the Fleet, amounting towards the value of thirty pounds, for which Lightborn offered composition (by a second hand) upon the hearing of the approach of parliament ; but your petitioner (notwithstanding his necessity) refused to hearken to any such illegal and dangerous way. To innumerate the resj of your petitioner's heavy pressures, would take up a volume; with which lie will not burden your honours, till further oppor- tunity. " And therefore, he humbly and heartily entreateth, that you would be graciously pleased to take this his petition into your serious thoughts, and to command deliverance, that he may plead his own cause, or rather Christ's, and the state's. As also to afford such cost and damages as he has suffered in body, estate, and family ; having been prisoner (and that many times) in the most nasty prisons, eleven years, not suffer- ed to breathe in the open air : to which, give him leave to add his great sufferings in all those particulars, some sixteen years ago, for publishing a book, called, * The Looking- Glassof Holy War.' " Farther, as the cause is Christ's and the states, so your petitioner conceiveth (under correction) that the subject of the book will be the prime and main matter of your agitation, to whose wisdom he hopeth the book shall approve itself. " Also your petitioner's wearing age, going now in seventy-two years, together with the sicknesses and weak- ness of his long distressed wife, require a speedy deliverance. u Lastly, the sons of death, the Jesuits and jesuited, have so long insulted in their own licentious liberty, and over the miseries of your servant, and others ; who, forbearing more motives, craves pardon for his prolixity, being necessitated thereto from the depth and length of his miseries. In all which he ceaseth not to pray, &c. and, " Kisseth your hands.' * Pnov. xxiv. 11. " Wilt thou not deliver them that are drawn unto death, a*id those that are ready to be slain ?" 2x 338 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION'. When this merciless sentence on Lcighton was pronounc- ing, Laud stood up in public court, and " pulled off his cap, and gave God thanks for it;" and in his diary he makes this remark on the execution, without one word to discover that his bowels yearned, or his heart relented. " Friday, Nov. 16. He (Lcighton) was severely whipped ; and being set in the pillory, he had one of his ears cut off, one side of his nose slit, and branded on one cheek with a red-hot iron. And on that day sevennight Ids sores upon his back, ear, nose and face, not being cured, he was whipped again at the pillory in Cheaps ide, and there had the remainder of his sentence executed upon him, by cutting off the other ear, slitting the other side of his nose, and branding the other check. These, and the like instances are specimens of this most reverend prelate's humanity, compassion, and christian mode- ration. I shall only consider him in one view more, viz. his constant regard to the laws and liberties of his country. He justified, and did all he could to support Charles I. in all the illegal and arbitrary mea ures of his govern ment. In 1626, after he had dissolved his Parliainaent, because they were too intent upon the redress of grievances, though they had voted four subsidies, and three fifteenths, he resolved to raise money by the illegal method of a loan. And to promote this, who so fit as Laud : who, with others of his brethren, were, as the complete historian expresses it, unhappily u engaged in the interest of Buckingham, and very forward in those measures which the king unfortunately took." Ac- cordingly Laud received a command from the king to draw up instructions to shew the urgency of the king's affairs, and his occasions of supply. These instructions Laud soon got ready ; and the king sent them as letters of precept to the two archbishops, to be communicated to their suffragans, to be published in all the parishes of the kingdom. This was jusfly looked upon as a stratagem of state to promote the raising of money without a parliament, and Laud was employed as the fittest tool to promote these arbitrary measures of the king. The papists joined with the bishops, and were very forward THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. 339 5n tlic loan: whilst the puritans were backward in it; and some of the best gentlemen in the kingdom, upon their refusal to lend money, were immediately committed to several jails. Besides this, the court had their parsons to preach up absolute obedience to the king's commands. Sibthorp, in Ids sermon at Northampton, laid it down as gospel, that " It is the king's duty to direct and make laws; that lie doth what- ever pleaseth him; and that it is the subject's duty to yield a passive obedience." Manwaring, in a sermon, spoke more plainly, and affirmed, that " the king was not bound to ob- serve the laws of the realm concerning the subject's rights and liberties ; but that his royal will and command, in imposing loans and taxes, without common consent of Parliament, doth oblige the subject's conscience, upon pain of eternal damna- tion ; and that those who refused the loan, became guilty of impiety, disloyalty, and rebellion. And yet infamous as this doctrine was, and subversive of all the laws of the kingdom, J vaud was their patron and advocate ; and in contempt of the censure of the House of Lords on Manwaring, gave him first as his reward a good benefice, and afterwards advanced him to the Bishoprick of St. David. And because this parliament, which Jiad censured Manwaring, had also complained of Laud himself, and passed a vote against innovations in reli- gion, and against sucli as should counsel and advise the levy- ing of tonnage and poundage without grant of parliament ; Laud, out of his great love for the liberties of the kingdom, advised the king to dissolve it ; which he accordingly did, to the great discontent of the nation in general. Another illegal project for raising money, was by a tax to provide and maintain a certain number of ships to guard the seas ; and writs were sent all over the kingdom, An. 1636, for this purpose. Laud was peculiarly active in this affair ; and as several persons refused to pay the sums they were rated at, they were summoned before the council table, where they were brow-beaten, and sentenced to jail by Laud, and others of the council. 1 Laud acknowledges he gave his vote" with (I) Wharton, vol. II. p. 233. 2x2 340 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION the rest, and lie had an hand in these and almost all other ille- gal pressures for ship-money ; and in his diary he tells us, that u Dec. 5, 1639. A resolution was voted at the council board," when he was present, " to assist the king in extraor- dinary ways, if the parliament should prove peevish, and refuse, &c." 1 The endeavouring arbitrarily to reduce the kirk of Scot- land to the discipline of the church of England, was also by Laud's ^persuasion and advice ; who was ordered by the king to hold continual correspondence with the bishops and council of Scotland, and to take with them the necessary measures to accomplish the design. 2 The Scots bishops were so lifted up, says Burnet, with the king's zeal, and so encou- raged by Archbishop Laud, that they lost all temper. And when the violent measures that were used to impose the liturgy, &c. drove the Scots to an open rupture, he forwardly pro- cured an order of council, directed to the two archbishops, to write their several letters to the bishops, that they might incite their clergy to assist the king to reduce the Scots. Laud ac- cordingly wrote to his several suffragans, and raised by the clergy a very great sum on this occasion. The queen also wrote letters to promote contributions amongst the Roman catholics, to farther the same good cause. So that Laud and liis clergy, the queen and her papists, joined hand in hand to destroy or enslave the protestants of Scotland ; who rose in their own defence, and to preserve themselves from the arbi- trary measures of this tyrannical archpriest. But it would be endless to reckon up all the instances of his illegal proceedings. He was a confederate with all the enemies of the liberties of these kingdoms, and pushed on the unhappy king to such fatal measures, as at last produced the civil wars and the subversion of the constitution. He was chief counsellor and minister after Buckingham's death ; so that as Sir Edward Deering said of him, to the parliament, (1) Rapin, vol. II. p, 300. (2) Vol. I. p. 26. THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. 341 c< Our manifold griefs do fill a mighty and vast circumference, yet so that from every part our lines of sorrow do lead unto hinij and point at him the centre, from whence our miseries in this church, and many of them in the commonwealth, do flow." Sir IJarbottle Grimstone was more severe, who called him, " The sty of all pestilential tilth — The great and common enemy of all goodness, and good men — A viper near his ma- jesty's person, to distill poison into his sacred cars." These and the like violences of Laud and his creatures, drew down the just vengeance of the parliament on his head, and involved the church of England itself in his ruin. Bishops and common prayer were now no more. The church was formed after a quite different model, and the presbyterian dis- cipline received and established, both the lords and commons taking the solemn league and covenant, which was intended for the utter abolishing prelatical government. The writers of the church party think this an everlasting brand of infamy upon the prcsbyterians. But how doth this throw greater infamy upon them, than the subversion of presbytery in Scotland, and the imposing canons and common prayer on that nation, doth on Laud and his creatures ? If the alteration of the esta- blished religion, in any nation, be a crime in itself, it is so in every nation ; and I doubt not but the Scotch presbyterians, think that that archbishop, and the prelatical party, acted as unjustly, illegally, and tyrannically, in introducing the English form of church government and worship into Scotland, con- tary to their former settlement, and the inclination of almost the whole nation, as the high-church party can do with re- spect to the presbyterians, for altering the form of the establish- ment in England ; And, indeed, the same arguments that will vindicate the alterations made in Scotland by the king and the bishops, will vindicate those made in England by the parlia* ment and the presbyterians. \ 1 It would have been highly honourable to the presbyterian party, had they used their power, when in possession of it, (1) Presbyterians. 342 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION, with moderation, and avoided all those methods of persecutions and suspensions they had themselves felt the*cnects of in for- mer times. But to do them justice, they had no great inclina- tion for moderate measures, or allowing any form of religion but their own ; as appears from the larger catechism of the West- minster divines, approved by the general assembly of the kirk of Scotland; in which the " tolerating a false religion" is ranked amongst the sins forbidden in the second command- ment. And accordingly as soon as they came into the church, all others must out who would not comply, and submit to sequestrations and imprisonments. u The solemn league and covenant" was imposed, and rigorously exacted of all people, as they would escape their brand and penalty of malignants. Many of the episcopal clergy, both in the city and country, were expelled then- livings; though by a generosity, not afterwards imitated by them, provision was made for the support of their wives and children. The lord-mayor, aldermen, and common-council- men of London, presented a remonstrance to the parliament, desiring a strict course for suppressing all private and separate congregations; that all anabaptists, heretics, &c. as conformed not to the public discipline, may be declared and proceeded against : that all be required to obey the government settled,, or to be settled; and that none disaffected to i\\c prcsbylerian government, be employed in any place of public trust. An ordinance of parliament was also made ; by which every minister that should use the common prayer, in church or family, was to forfeit five pounds for the first time, ten pounds for the second, and to suffer a year's imprisonment for the third. Also every minister, for every neglect of the directory, was to pay forty shillings ; and for every contempt of it, by writing or preaching, to forfeit, at the discretion of those be- fore whom he was convicted, any sum not under five pounds, nor above fifty pounds. The parliament also .appointed elder- ships to suspend, at their discretion, such whom they should judge to be scandalous, from the sacrament, with a liberty of appeal to the classical eldership, #c. They set up, also, arbU THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION'. 313 trary rules about the examination and ordination of ministers by Triers, who were to be sound in faith, and such as usually received the sacrament. And in these things they were quick- ened by the Scots, who complained that reformation moved so slowly, and that sects and errors encreased, and endeavours were used for their toleration. Great restraints also were put upon the liberty of the press, by several ordinances made for that purpose. And, to say the truth, when they once got pres- bytery established, they used the same methods of suspensions, sequestrations and fines, that the prelatical party had done be- fore, though not with equal severity ; and were as zealous for uniformity in their own covenant and discipline, as the bishops were for hierarchy, liturgy, and ceremonies. 1 But the triumphs of the presbytery and covenant were but short. Upon the restoration of the " royal wanderer, Charles II. prelacy immediately revived, and exerted itself in its pri- mitive vigor and severity. In his majesty's first declaration to his loving subjects, he w r as pleased to promise u a liberty to tender consciences, and that no man should be disquieted or called in question for differences of opinion in matters of reli- gion : and that he would consent to an act of parliament for the full granting that indulgence." But other measures soon prevailed. In the second year after his restoration, the act of uniformity was passed ; by which all ministers were to read, and " publicly declare unfeigned assent and consent to all and every thing contained in, and prescribed by the book of common prayer," before the feast of St. Bar- tholomew then ensuing, under the penalty of immediate and absolute deprivation. The consequence of this act was, that between two and three thousand excellent divines were turned out of their churches; many of them, to say the least, as emi- nent for learning and piety as the bishops, who were the great promoters of this barbarous act ; and themselves and families, many of them, exposed to the greatest distress and poverty. (1) Charles H. 344 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. This cruel injustice obliged the ejected ministers, and their friends, to set up separate congregations ; and occasioned such a division from the established church, as will, I hope, ever remain, to witness against the tyranny of these times, and the reverend authors and promoters of that act, to maintain the spirit and practice of serious religion, and as a public protes- tation for the civil and religious liberties of mankind, till time shall be no more; or till the church shall do herself the justice and honour to open wide her gates, for the reception of all into her communion and ministry, who are not rendered incapable of either, by Jesus Christ the great shepherd and bishop of souls. But however, measures were then soon taken to disturb their meetings. In 1664, the bill against frequenting conven- ticles passed, the first offence made punishable with five pounds, or three months imprisonment; the second offence with ten pounds, or six months imprisonment ; and the third with banishment to some of the foreign plantations ; sham plots being fathered on the dissenters, to prepare the way for these severities. But some of the bishops, such as Sheldon, Ward, Wrenn, &c. did not think these hardships enough ; and therefore, not- withstanding the devastations of the plague, and though se- veral of the ejected ministers shewed their piety and courage, in staying and preaching in the city during the fury of it, the five mile act was passed against them the next year at Oxford ; by which all the silenced ministers were obliged to take an oath, that it was not lawful, on any pretence whatsoever, to take arms against the king, or any commissioned by him ; and that they would not, at any time, endeavour an alteration in the government of church and state. Such who scrupled the oath were forbid to come within five miles of any city or par- liament borough, or of the church where they had been minis- ters, under penalty of forty pounds, or six months imprison- ment, for every offence. After these things, several attempts were set on foot for a comprehension, but rendered ineffectual by the practices of the bishops ; and particularly by Ward, bishop of Salisbury* THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. .'Mj who had himself taken the solemn league and covenant : But having forsaken his first principles, it is no wonder he became a bitter persecutor. In the year 1070, another severe act was passed against them: by which it was provided, that if any person, upwards of sixteen, should be present at any conven- ticle, under colour of exercising religion in any other manner than according to the practice of the church of England, where there were five persons or more, besides those of the said household, the offenders were to pay five shillings Tor the first offence, and ten shillings for the second : and the preacher to forfeit twenty pounds for the first, and forty pounds for the second offence, and those who knowingly suffered -any such conventicles in their houses, barns, yards, &c. were to forfeit twenty pounds. The effect of these acts was, that great num- bers of ministers and their people were laid in jails amongst thieves and common malefactors, where they suffered the greatest hardships and indignities ; their effects were seized on, and themselves and families reduced to almost beggary and famine. But at length this very parliament, which had passed tLuese severe bills against protestaut dissenters, began themselves to be awakened, and justly grew jealous of their religion and liberties, from the increase of popery : and therefore, to pre- vent all dangers which might happen from popish recusants, they passed, in 1673, the test act ; which hath since been 5 contrary to the original design of the law, turned against the protestant dissenters, and made use cf to exclude them from the enjoyment of those rights and privileges which they have a natural claim to. In the year 16S0, a bill passed both, houses of parliament, for exempting his majesty's protestant dissenting subjects from certain penalties ; but when the king came to the house to pass the bills, this bill was taken from the table, and never heard of more ; And though this parlia- ment voted, that the prosecution of protestant dissenters, upon the penal laws, was grievous to the subject, a weakening the protestant interest, an encouragement to popery, and danger- ous to the peace of the kingdom ; yet they underwent a fresh 2y 346 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. prosecution, their meetings were broken up, many ministers imprisoned, and most exliorbitant fines levied on them and their hearers. In the beginning of King James's (II.) reign, these rigor- ous proceedings were continued, but as the design of that unhappy bigotted prince was to subvert the religion and laws of these kingdoms, he published in the year 1687, a declara- tion for a general liberty of conscience to all persons, of what persuasion soever ; not out of any regard or affection to the protestant dissenters, but for the promoting the popish religion and interest. He also caused an order of council to be passed, that his declaration of indulgence should be read, in all churches and chapels, in the time of divine service, all over England and Wales. But though the dissenters used the liberty which was thus granted them, and had several oppor- tunities to have been revenged on their former persecutors ; yet they had too much honour, and regard to the protestant religion and liberties, ever to fall in with the measures of the court, or lend their assistance to introduce arbitrary power and popery. And as the divines of the church of England, whea they saw King James's furious measures to subvert the whole constitution, threw off their stiff and haughty carriage towards the dissenters, owned them for brethren, put on the appearance of the spirit of peace and charity, and assured them that no such rigorous methods should be used towards them for the future : things that never entered into their hearts whilst they were triumphant in power, and which nothing but a sense of their own extreme danger seems then to have extorted from them; the dissenters, far from following their resentments, readily entered into all measures with them for the common safety, and were amongst the first and heartiest friends of the revolution, under King William III. of glorious and immortal memory. Soon after the settlement of this prince upon the throne, an act was passed for exempting their majesty's protestant sub- jects, dissenting from the church of England, from the penal laws; and tfcough the king, in a speech to the two houses of THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. 3A7 parliament, told them, " That he hoped they would leare room for the admission of all protestants that were willing and able to serve him ;" agreeable to which, a clause was ordered to be brought into the house of lords, to take away the necessity of receiving the sacrament to make persons capa- ble of offices ; yet his majesty's gracious intentions were frus- trated, and the -clause rejected by a great majority. Another clause also that was afterwards added, that the receiving the sacrament in the church of England, or in any other protestant congregation, should be a sufficient qualification, met with the same fate as the former : so that though the dissenters were freed from the penal laws, they were left under a brand of infamy, and rendered incapable of serving their king and country. And the Lord's* Supper laid open to be prostituted by law to the most abandoned and profligate sinners : and an institution designed for the union of i\\\ christians, made the test of a party, and the means of their separation from each other ; a scandal that remains upon the church of England to this day. It is indeed but too plain, that when the established church saw itself out of danger, she forgot her promises of moderation and condescension towards the dissenters, who readily and openly declared their willingness to yield to a coalition. But as the clergy had formed a resolution of con- senting to no alterations, in order to such an union ; all the attempts made to this purpose became wholly ineffectual. Indeed, their very exemption from the penal laws was envied thern by many : and several attempts were made to disturb and prosecute them in this reign 5 but were prevented from taking effect by royal injunctions. Upon the death of King William, and the succession of Queen Anne, the^ hatred of the clergy towards the dissenters, that had lurked in their breasts, during the former reign, im- mediately broke out. Several sermons were preached to ren- der them odious, and expose them to the fury of the mob. A bill was brought in and passed by the house of commons, for prevenftng occasional conformity, imposing an hundred pounds penalty upon every person resorting to a conventicle 2y 2 348 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. or meeting, after his admission into offices, and five pounds for every day's continuance in such offices, after having been present at such conventicle : but upon some disagreement between the Lords and Commons, the bill dropped for that time. The same bill, with some few alterations, passed the house of commons the two next sessions, but was rejected by the lords. During this reign several pamphlets were publish- ed, containing bitter invectives against the dissenters, and exciting the government to extirpate and destroy them. Seve- ral prosecutions were also carried on against them for teaching schools, &c. with great eagerness and malice. In 1709, an open rebellion broke cut, when the mob pulled down the meet- ing-houses, and publicly burnt the pews and pulpits. Sache- vereil was trumpet to the rebellion, by preaching treason and persecution ; and the parliament that censured him, was hastily dissolved. The parliament that succeeded, 1711, was of a true tcry spirit and complexion ; and, in its second ses- sion, passed the bill against occasional conformity. The next parliament, which met in 1714, was of th# same disposition, and passed a bill to prevent the growth of schism ; by which the dissenters were restrained from teaching schools, or from being tutors to instruct pupils in any family, without the license of the archbishop or bishop of the diocese where they resided ; and the justices of the peace had power given them finally to determine in all cases relating thereto. Another bill was also intended to be brought in against them, to incapacitate them from voting in elections for parliament men, or being chosen members of parliament themselves. But before these unjust proceedings had their intended effect, the protestant succession, in his late majesty king George I. took place ; Queen Anne dying on the first of August, the very day on which the schism bill was to have commenced ; which, together with that to prevent occasional conformity, were both repealed by the first parliament called together by that excellent prince. And I cannot help thinking that if the church of England had then consented to have set the dis- senters intirely free, by repealing the test and corporation acts .; THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. 349 it would have been much io its own honour and reputation, as well as a great strength and security ,to the national interest. But the time was not then come. We still labour under the oppression of those two acts ; and notwithstanding our zeal for his majesty's person and family, must sit down as easy as we can, with the inclination to serve him, whilst by law we are denied fhc opportunity and power. The sentiments of his late majesty, of glorious memory, with respect to moderation, and the tolerating of dsssentcrs, were so fully understood by the whole nation, as kept the clergy in tolerable good, order, and from breaking out info many outrages against them. Cut a controversy that began amongst themselves, soon discovered what spirit many of them were of. The then bishop of Bangor, the now* worthy and reverend bishop of Winchester, happened in a sermon before his majesty, to assert the supreme authority of Christ as king in his own kingdom ; and that he had not delegated his power, like temporal lawgivers, during their absence from their king- doms, to any persons, as his deputies and vicegerents. Anno 1717. He also published his preservative; in which he ad- vanced some positions contrary to temporal and spiritual tyran- ny, and in behalf of the civil and religious liberties of mankind. The goodness of his lordship's intentions to serve the family of his present majesty, the interest of his country, and the honour of the church of God, might methinks have screened him from all scurrilous abuses. But how numerous were his adversa- ries, and how hard the weapons with which they attacked him ! Not only the dregs of the people and clergy opened against him ; but mighty men, and men of great renown, from whom better things might have been expected, entered the lists with him, and became the avowed champions for spiritual power, and the division of the kingdom between Christ Jesus and themselves. His lordship of Bangor had this manifest advan- tage upon the face of the argument. He pleaded for Christ's * In 1736. 350 THE HISTORY OP PERSECUTION. being king in his own kingdom : his adversaries pleaded for the translation of his kingdom to certain spiritual viceroys. He for liberty of private judgment, in matters of religion and conscience : they for dominion over the faith and consciences of others. He against all the methods of persecution : they for penal laws ; for corporation and test acts, and the power- ful motives of positive and negative discouragements. He with the spirit of meekness and of a friend to truth : they with bitterness and rancour, and an evident regard to interest and party. However, the lower houseof convocation accused and pro- secuted him, for attempting the subversion of all government and discipline in the church of Christ, with a view undoubted- ly of bringing him under a spiritual censure, and with im- peaching the regal supremacy in causes ecclesiastical, to sub- ject him to the weight of a civil one. Of the bishop it must be said, to his everlasting honour, that the temper he discover- ed, under the opposition he met with, and the slanders that were thrown on him, was as much more amiable than that of his adversaries, as his cause was better, his writings and prin- ciples more consistent, and his arguments more conclusive and convincing. But notwithstanding these advantages, his lord- ship had great reason to be thankful to God that the civil power supported and protected him; otherwise his enemies would not, in all probability, have been content with throwing scandal upon his character, but forced him to have parted with something, and then delivered him unto Satan for the punishment of his jSesh, and made him have felt the weight of that authority, which God made him the happy and honour- able instrument of opposing ; especially if they were all of them of a certain good archdeacon's mind, who thought he deserved to have his tongue cut out. The dissenters also have had their quarrels and controver- sies amongst themselves, and managed them with great warmth and eagerness of temper. During their persecution under King Charles II. and the common danger of the nation under his brother James 5 they kept tolerably quiet ; the designs of THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. 351 the common enemy to ruin them all, uniting them the more firmly amongst themselves. But after the revolution, when they were secure from oppression by the civil power, they soon fell into eager disputes about justification, and other points of like nature. The high-flown orthodox party would scarce own for their brethren those who were for moderation in these principles, or who differed in the least from their doctrine concerning them. *And when they could no longer produce reason and scripture in their defence, they, some of them, made use of infamous methods of scandal, and endea- voured to blast the character of a reverend and worthy divine, Dr. Williams, in the most desperate manner ; because they could no otherwise answer and refute his arguments. But his virtue stood the shock of all their attempts to defame it ; for after about eight weeks spent in an enquiry into his life, by a committee of the united ministers, which received all manner of complaints and accusations against him ; it was declared at a general meeting, as their unanimous opinion, and repeated and agreed to in three several meetings successively, that he was intirely clear and innocent of all that was laid to his charge. Thus was he vindicated in the amplest form, after the strictest examination that could be made ; and his adversaries, who dealt in defamation and scandal, if not brought to repen- tance, were yet put to silence. It was almost incredible how much he was a fufferer for his opposition to Antinomianismj by a strong party, who left nothing unattempted to crush him, if it had been possible. But as his innocence appeared the brighter, after his character had been thoroughly sifted, he was, under God, greatly instrumental in putting a stop to those pernicious opinions which his opposers propagated; which struck at the very essentials of all natural and revealed re! igion . II is Gospel Truth remains a monument of his honour; a monument his enemies were never able to destroy. How- ever, nothing would serve, but his exclusion from the mer- (1) Nelson's Life of Bp. Bull, p. 275, 276. 352 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. chant's Lecture at Pinners-Hall. Three other worthy divines> who had been his partners in that service, bore him company; and their places were supplied with four others, of unquestion- able rigidness and sterling orthodoxy. Many papers were drawn up on each side, in order to an accommodation ; so that it looked as Dr. Calamy tells us, as if the creed -making age was again revived. It was insisted, that Arminianism should be renounced on one side, and Antinomianism on the other. But all was in vain ; and the papers that were drawn up to compose matters, created new heats, instead of extinguishing the old ones. These contentions were kept up for several years, till at last the disputants grew^ weary, and the contro- versy thread-bare, when it dropped of itself. The next thing that divided them was the Trinitarian contto- versy , and the affair of subscription to human creeds and arti- cles of faith, as a test of orthodoxy. In the year 1693, a great contest arose about the trinity, amongst the divines of the church of England, who charged each other with Trithe- ism and Sabeliianism : and according to the ecclesiastical man- ner of managing disputes, bestowed invectives and scurrilous language very plentifully upon each other. The dissenters, in the reign of his late majesty, not only unfortunately fell into the same debate, but carried it on, some of them at least, with equal want of prudence and temper. In the west of England, where the fire first broke out, mo- deration, christian forbearance, and charity, seemed to have been wholly extinguished. The reverend and learned Mr. James Peirce, minister in the city of Exeter, was dismissed from his congregation, upon a charge of heresy ; and treated by his opposers, with shameful rudeness and insolence. Other congregations were also practised with, to discard tbeir pastors upon the same suspicion, who were accused of impiously u de- nying the Lord that bought them;" to render them odious to their congregations,, merely because they could not come up to the unscriptural tests of human orthodoxy. And when several of the ministers of London thought proper to interpose, and try, if by advices for peace, they could not compose tho THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. .353 differences of their brethren in the west; this christian design was as furiously opposed as ii it had been a combination to ex- tirpate Christianity itself; and a proposal made in the room of it, that the article of the church of England, and the answer in the assembly's catechism, relating- to the trinity, i Iiould be subscribed by all the ministers, as 1 a declaration of their faith, and a test of their orthodoxy. This proposal was considered by many of the ministers, not only as a thing- unreasonable in itself, thus to make inqui- sition into the faith of others, but highly inconsistent with the character of protestants, dissenting from the national establish- ment ; and dissenting from it for this reason amongst others, because the established church expressly claims " an authority in controversies of faith." And, therefore, after the affair had been debated for a considerable while, the question was so- lemnly put, and the proposal rejected by a majority of voices. This the zealots were highly displeased with, and accordingly publicly proclaimed their resentments from the pulpits. Fasts were appointed solemnly to deplore, confess, and pray against the aboundings of heresy ; and their sermons directly levelled against the two great evils of the church, Nonsubscription and Arianism. Through the goodness of God they had no power to proceed farther ; and when praying and preaching in this manner began to grow tedious, and were, by experience, found to prove ineffectual, to put a stop to the progress of the cause of liberty, their zeal immediately abated, the cry of heresy was seldomer heard, and the alarm of the church's being endan- gered by pernicious errors, gradually ceased ; it being very observable, that though heresy be ever in its nature the same thing, yet that the cry against it is either more or less, accord- ing as the political managers of it, can find more or fewer passions to work on, or a greater or lesser interest to subserve by it. 351 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. SECT. VI. Of Persecutions in New England. It hath been already remarked, in the foregoing section, that the rigours with which Laud, and his persecuting brethren treated the puritans, occasioned many of them to transport themselves to New England, for the sake of enjoying that liberty of conscience, which they were cruelly denied in their native country. And who could have imagined, but that their own sufferings for conscience sake must have excited in them an utter abhorrence of these antichristian principles, by which they themselves had so deeply smarted? But though they carried over with them incurable prejudices against persecuting prelates, yet they seem many of them to have thought that they had the right of persecution in themselves ; and accord- ingly practised many grievous cruelties towards those who did not fall in with their doctrine and discipline, and church order. I shall not here mention the severities practised on great number:- of persons for supposed witchcraft, to the great blem- ish and dishonour of the government there, those prosecutions being carried on not properly upon a religious account ; but I am obliged, injustice, not to pasc by the cruel laws they made against the persons called Quakers, who felt the weight of their " independent discipline," and were treated with the utmost rigour by their magistrates and ministers. 1 In the year 1656, a law was made at Boston, prohibiting all masters of ships to bring any quakers into that jurisdiction, and themselves from coming in, u on penalty of the house of correction. When this law Was published, one Nicholas Up- shal, who was himself an independent, argued against the un- reasonableness of such a law; and warned them to take heed " not to fight against God," and so draw down a judgment upon the land For this they fined him twenty-three pounds, 1) Sewel's Hist. p. 161. THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. 355 imprisoned him for not coming to church, and banished him out of their jurisdiction. 1 But though this law was executed upon many persons with unrelenting and extreme rigour; yet, as it did not entirely prevent the quakers from coming into New England, a more cruel law was made against them in the year Io'jS. " That whosoever of the inhabitants should, directly or indirectly, cause any of the quakers to come into that jurisdiction, he c should forfeit one hundred pounds to the country, and be committed to prison,' there to remain till the penally should be satisfied : and whosoever should entertain them, knowing them to be so, c should forfeit forty shillings to the country for every hour's entertainment' or concealment, and be committed to prison till the forfeiture should be fully paid and satisfied. And farther, that all and every of those people, that should arise amongst them there, should be dealt withal, and suffer the like punishment as the laws provided for those that came in : viz. That for the first offence, if a male, i one of his ears should be cut off, and he kept at work in the house of correc- tion,' till he should be sent away at his own charge. For the second, c the other ear, and be kept in the house of correction,' as aforesaid. Tf a woman, then ' to be severely whipped,' and kept as aforesaid, as the male for the first; and for the second offence, to be dealt withal as the first. And for the third, J he or she should have their tongues bored through with an hot iron,' and be kept in the house of correction close at work, till they be sent away at their own charge." Could it be imagined that the authors of these bloody laws had bren forced from their own native country by the terrors of persecution? or that after all their complaints, about the violences and oppressions of the prelates against themselves, they should yet think persecution for conscience-sake a lawful thiiur; and that they had a "ight, as soon as ever they could get power, to persecute others ; The making such laws, and (l) Id. p. 194. 2z2 358 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. the execution of them, was certainly more detestable in them than others ; who should have learnt forbearance and com- passion towards others, by the tilings which they themselves had suffered. And yet they seem to have been as devoid of these virtues, as Laud or any of his brethren, against whom they had so bitterly and justly exclaimed. * In -pursuance of the before-mentioned law, one William Brend, and William Lcddra, were committed to the house of correction at Boston ; where they were kept five days without food, and after that received twenty blows each with a three- corded fyhip. The next day Brend, who was an elderly man, was put in irons, and tied neck and heels close together for sixteen hours. The next morning the jailer took a pitched rope, about an inch thick, and gave him twenty blows over the back and arms with as much force as he could, so that the rope untwisted. But he fetched another thicker and stronger, and gave him fourscore and seventeen more blows, and threat- ened to give him as many more the next morning. Brend had nothing on but a serge cassock upon his shirt, so that his back and arms were grievously bruised, and the blood hung as in bags under his arms; and so cruelly was his body mangled, that it was reduced almost to a perfect jelly. The same year J. Copeland, Christ. Helder, and J. Rous, were apprehended and imprisoned, and condemned to have each of them their right ear cut off by the hangman; which was accordingly executed ; after which they were whipped. But things did not stop here. Norton and others of his brethren the ministers, petitioned the magistrates to cause the court to make some law to banish the quakers, upon pain of death. The court consisted of twenty- five persons; and the law being proposed, it was carried in the affirmative, thirteen to twelve. As the law is very peculiar, and contains the rea- sons given by these " Independent Persecutors," and shews the severity of their discipline, I shall give the substance of it ; which is as follows : (l)Id. p. 195. THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. 357 1 u Whereas (here is a pernicious sect, commonly called quakers, lately risen, who by word and writing have published an;i maintained many dangerous and horrid tenets, and do on them to change and alter the received laudable cus- toms of our nation, in giving civil respect to equals, or reve- rence to superiors, whose actions tend to undermine the civil government, and also to dc:Ucy the order of the churches, by denying all established forms of worship, and by withdrawing from orderly church fellowship, allowed and approved by all orthodox professors of ihe truth — whereby divers of our inha- bitants have been infected ; — for prevention thereof, this court doth order and enact, that every person or persons of " the cursed sect" of the 6 Quakers,' who is not an inhabitant of, but is found within this jurisdiction, shall be apprehended without warrant, where no magistrate is at hand, by any con- stable, commissioner, or select man — who shall commit the said person to close prison, there to remain without bail until the next court of assistance, where they shall have a legal trial : and ' being convicted to be of the sect of the quakers, shall be sentenced to be banished, upon pain of death. 5 And that every inhabitant of this jurisdiction, being convicted to be of the aforesaid sect, either by taking up, publishing, or defend- ing the horrid opinions of the quakers, or the stirring up muti- ny, sedition, and rebellion against the government, or by tak- ing up their absurd and destructive practices, viz. denying civil respect to equals and superiors, and withdrawing from our church assemblies, and instead thereof frequent meetings of their own, in opposition to our church order, or by adhering to, or approving of any known quaker, and the tenets and prac- tices of the quakers, that are opposite to " the orthodox received opinions of the godly, and endeavouring to disafFe t others to civil government, and church orders, or condemning th e £ -act ice and proceedings of this court against the quakers, manifesting hereby their complying with those, whose design is to over- (1) Id. p. 199. 358 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION, throw the order established in church and state ; every such person, upon conviction before the said court of assistants, in manner as aforesaid, < shall be committed to close prison for one month ;' and then, unless they choose voluntarily to de- part this jurisdiction, shall give bond for their good behaviour, and appear at the next court ; where continuing obstinate, and 6 refusing to retract or reform the aforesaid opinions,' they shall ' be sentenced to banishment, upon pain of death :' And any one magistrate, upon information given him of any such person, shall cause him to be apprehended ; and shall commit any such person to prison, according to his discretion, until he come to trial, as aforesaid. " " Here endeth," says my author, " this sanguinary act, being more like to the decrees of the Spanish inquisition, than the laws of a reformed christian magistracy ; consisting of such who themselves, to shun persecution (which was but a small fine for not frequenting the public worship) had left Old En- gland." And what was it occasioned this bloody law ? Why, because the poor quakers refused to pull off their hats, and with- drew from the church assemblies of these independent perse- cutors, and frequented their own meetings, in opposition to their church order ; and because the quakers held tenets oppo 4 - site to the orthodox received opinions of the godly, i. e. oppo- site to their own opinions, who by flying from England seem to have imagined that they carried away with them all the orthodoxy and godliness out of the kingdom. And to shew the rigidness of their discipline, and that they did npt intend this law merely " in terrorem," they wickedly murdered several innocent persons under the cover of it, seve- ral of their priests standing with pleasure to see them executed. Thus William Robinson, merchant, Marmaduke Stephenson, Mary Dyer, and William Leddra, were hanged at Boston for being quakers ; and they would have proceeded to more exe- cutions, had it not been for the Mandamus of Charles II. who, though a papist, yet was of a more merciful disposition than these New England disciplinarians, and ordered all proceed- ings against the quakers immediately to stop. THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. 359 Ii would be endless to recount all the cruelties they used to these poor people, whom (hey imprisoned, unmercifully whip- ped, oppressed with fines, and then condemned them to be sold to the plantations, toanswerthe fines they had laid upon them. But enough hath been said to shew the inhumanity of tl*eir spirit and practice, and to raise in the reader an abhorrence and detestation of such a conduct in men, who, though they had been persecuted themselves, carried the principles of per- secution with them into the place of their banishment, and used worse severities towards others for conscience-sake, than what they themselves hail experienced from the bitterness of their enemies ; and thereby made it appear, that they com- plained against the persecutions of the prelatical party, not because they were for moderation and christian charity in their own conduct, but because they thought the right of per- secution only in themselves, and that violence ought not to be made use of to support any but the orthodox opinions of such as they themselves esteemed to be godly, and to maintain what they called the order and fellowship of their own churches. *I have only to add, that I find also from the same author, that the quakers were much persecuted in Scotland ; b is he hath given no particular account of that affair, I have nothing farther to enlarge upon that subject. And thus have I brought the History of Persecution down to our own times, and nation ; and shewn how all parties have, in their turns of power, been sharers in this guilt. If church history would have afforded me a better account, I assure my reader he should have had it told with pleasure. The story, as it is, I have told with grief. But it is time to dismiss him from so ungrateful an entertainment, and see what useful re- flections we can make on the whole. (1) p. 561 360 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION CONCLUSION. SECT. I. The Clergy the great promoters of persecution. It is a truth too evident to be denied, that the clergy in general, throughout almost all the several ages of the christian church ; have been deep and warm in the measures of perse- cution; as though it had been a doctrine expressly inculcated in the sacred writings, and recommended by the practice of our Saviour and his apostles. Indeed, could such a charge as this have been justly fixed on the great author of our religion, or the messengers he sent into the world to propagate i( ; I think it would have been such an evidence of its having been dictated by weak or wicked, or worldly-minded men, as no- thing could possibly have disproved. But that Christianity might be free from every imputation of this kind, God was pleased to send his son into the world, without any of the advantages of worldly riches and grandeur, and absolutely to disclaim all the prerogatives of an earthly kingdom. His distinguishing character was that of " meek and lowly;" and the methods by which he conquered and triumphed over his enemies, and drew all men to him, was " patience and constancy, even to the death," And when he sent out his own apostles, he sent them out but poorly furnish- ed, to all human appearance, for their journey; 1 u without staves, or scrip, or bread, or money," to let them know that he had but little of this world to give them ; and that their whole dependence was on Providence . (1) Luke ix- 3. THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. 361 One thin^ however lie assured them of, that they should be " * delivered up to the councils, and scourged in the syna- gogues, and be hated of all men for his sake." So far was hq from giving them a power to persecute, that lie foretold them they must sulier persecution for his name. This the event abundantly justified: And how amiable was their behaviour under it? How greatly did they recommend the religion they taught, by the methods they took to propagate it? " The arms of their warfare were not carnal, but spiritual." The argument they used to convince those they preached to, was the " demonstration of the spirit, and of power." They " approved themselves as the ministers of God, by much pa- tience, by afflictions, necessities, distresses, stripes, imprison- ments, tumults, labours, watchings, fastings, pureness, know- ledge, long-suffering, kindness; by the Holy Ghost, by love unfeigned, by the word of truth, by the power of God, and by the armour of righteousness on the right hand and on the left." Oh how vunlike were their pretended successors to them in tljese respects ! How different their methods to convince gain- sayers! Excommunications, suspensions, fines, banishments, imprisonments, bonds, scourges, tortures and death, were the powerful arguments introduced into the church ; and recom- mended, practised, and sanctified by many of the pretended fathers of it. Even those whom superstition hath dignified by the name of saints, Athanasius, Chrysostom, Gregory, Cyril, and others, grew r wanton with power, cruelly oppressed those who differed from them, and stained most of their characters with the guilt of rapine and murder. Their religious quarrels were managed with such an unrelenting, furious zeal, as disturbed the imperial government, threw kingdoms and nations into con- fusion, and turned the church itself into an aceldama, or field of blood. Some few there have been who were of a dif- ferent spirit ; who not only abstained from persecuting coun- (1) Matt. x. 17. 9 A 362 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. sels and measures themselves, but \vitli great justice and free- dom censured them in others. But as to jour saints and fathers, your patriarchs and bishops, jour councils and synods, together with the rabble of monks, they were most of them the advisers, abettors, and practisers of persecution. They knew not how to brook opposition to their own opinions and power, branded all doctrines different from their own with the odious name of heresy, and used all their aris and influence to oppress and destroy those who presumed to maintain them. And this they did with such unanimity and constancy, through a long succession of many a'ges, as would fempt a 4»tander-by to think that a bishop or clergyman, and a perse- cutor, were the same thing, or meant the self-same individual character and office in the christian church. I am far from writing these things with any design to depreciate and blacken the episcopal order in general. It is an office of great dignity and use, according to the original design of its institution. But when that design is forgotten, or wholly perverted ; when, instead of becombig " Overseers" of the flock of Christ, the bishops " tear and devour" it, and proudly usurp tc Dominion over the Consciences of" Chris- tians, when they ought to be content with being " helpers of their joy." I know no reason why the name should be compli- mented, or the character held sacred, when it is abused to insolence, oppression and tyranny ; or why the venerable names of fathers and saints should screen the vices of the bishops of former ages, who, notwithstanding their writing in behalf of Christianity and orthodoxy, brought some of them the greatest disgrace on the christian religion, by their wicked practices, and exposed it to the severest satire of its professed enemies: and for tlie truth of this, 1 appeal to the foregoing history. If any observations on their conduct should affect the tem- per and principles of any now living, they themselves only are answerable for it, and welcome to make what use and applica- tion of them they please. Sure I am that the representing them in their true light, reflects an honour upon those reverend THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. 363 and worthy prelates, who maintain that moderation and humi- lity which is essential to the true dignity of the episcopal cha- racter, anfl who use no other methods of conviction and per- suasion but those truly apostolical ones, of sound reasoning and exemplary piety. May God grant a great increase, and a continual succession of them in the christian church ! SECT. II. The Things for which Christians have persecuted one another generally of small importance. But as the truth of history is not to be concealed ; and as it can do no service to the christian cause to palliate the faults of any set of christians whatsoever, especially when all parties have been more or less involved in the same guilt ; I must observe farther, as an aggravation of this guilt, that the things for which christians have persecuted eacli other, have been generally u matters of no importance in religion," and often- times such as have "been " directly contrary" to the nature of it. If my reader would know upon what accounts the church hath been filled with divisions and schisms ; why excommuni- cations and anathemas have been so dreadfully tossed about ; what hath given occasion to such a multitude of suspensions, depositions arid expulsions : what hath excited the clergy to such numberless violencies, rapines, cruelties, and murders, be will probably be surprised to be informed that it is nothing of any consequence or real importance, nothing relating to the substance and life of pure and undefiled religion ; little besides hard words, technical terms, and inexplicable phrases, points of mere speculation, abstruse questions, and metaphysical notions ; rites and ceremonies, forms of human invention, and S a 2 364 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. certain institutions, that have had their rise and foundation only in superstition : these have been the great engines of division ; these the sad occasions of persecution. Would it not excite sometimes laughter, and sometimes indignation, to read of a proud and imperious prelate excom- municating the whole christian church, and sending, by whole- sale, to the devil, all who did not agree with him in the pre- cise day of observing Easter ? Especially when there is so far from being any direction given by Christ or liis apostles about the dvy, that there is not a single word about the festi- val itself. And is it not an amazing instance of stupidity and superstition, that such a paltry and whimsical controversy should actually engage, for many years, the whole christian world, and be debated with as much warmth and eagerness, as if all the interests of the present and future state had been at stake ; as if Christ himself had been to be crucified afresh, and his whole gospel to be subverted and destroyed. The Arian controversy, that made such havoc in the christian church, was, if I may be allowed to speak it without offence, in the beginning only about words ; though probably some of Arius' party went farther afterwards than Arius himself did at first. Arius, as hath been shewn, ex- pressly allowed the son to be " before ail times and ages, perfect God, unchangeable," and begotten after the most per- fect likeness of the unbegotten father. This, to me, appears to bid very fair for orthodoxy ; and was, I think, enough to have reconciled the bishop and his presbyter, if there had not been some other reasons of the animosity between them. . But when other terms were invent- ed, that were hard to be understood, and difficult to be ex- plained, the original controversy ceased; and the dispute then was about the meaning of those terms, and the fitness of their use in explaining the divinity of the Son of God. . Arius knew not how to reconcile the bishop's words, " ever begotten," with the assertion, that the Son, co-exists " unbegottenly with God;" and thought it little less than a contradiction to affirm, that he was " unbegottenly begotten.'' THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. .365 And as to the word " consuhstanlial," Alius scorns to have thought that it destroyed the personal subsistence of the Son, and brought in the doctrine of Sabellius ; or else that it im- plied that the Son was u a part of the Father;" and for this reason declined the use of it. And, indeed, it doth not ap- pear to me that the council of Nice had themselves any de- terminate and fixed meaning to the word, as I think may be fairly inferred from the debates of that council with Eusebius, bishop of Caesarea, about that term ; which, though put into their creed, in opposition to the Arians, was yet explained by them in such a sense, as almost any Arian could have, bona fide, subscribed. On the other hand, the bishop of Alexandria seems to have thought, that when Arius asserted that the son existed " by the will and counsel of the Father;" it implied the mutability of his nature ; and that, when he taught concern- ing the Son, " that there was a time when he was not," it inferred his being a temporary, and not an eternal being; though Arius expressly denied both these consequences. In short, it was a controversy upon this metaphysical ques- tion, " 'whether or no God could generate or produce a being, in strictness of speech, as eternal as himself? Or, whether God's generating the Son doth not necessarily imply the pre-existencc of the Father, either in conception, or some small imaginable point of time ;" as Arius imagined, and the bishop denied. This was, in fact, the state of this controversy. And did not the emperor Constant ine give a just character of this debate, when he declared the occasion of the difference to be very trifling ; and that their quarrels arose from an idle itch of dis- putation, since they did not contend about any essential doc- trine of the gospel ? could these hard words and inexplicable points justify the clergy in their intemperate zeal, and in their treating each •other with the rancour and bitterness of the most (l)Theod. E. H.I. 18. c. 5 566 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. implacable enemies? What hath the doctrine of real godli- ness, what hath the chinch of God to do with these debates ? Hath the salvation of men's souls, and the practice of virtue, any dependance upon men's receiving unscriptural words, in which they cannot believe, because they cannot understand them; and which, those who first introduced them, were not able to explain ? If I know my own heart, I would be far from giving up any plain and important doctrine of the gospel. But will any man coolly and soberly affirm, that nice and intricate questions, that depend upon metaphysical distinctions, and run so high as the most minute supposeable atom or point of time, can be either plain or important doctrines of the gospel ? Oh Jesus ! if thou be " the Son of the everlasting God, the brightness of thy Father's glory, and the express image of his person:." if thou art the most perfect resemblance of his all-perfect £ood- ness, that kind benefactor, that God-like friend to the human race, which the faithful records of thy life declare thee to be ; how can I believe the essential doctrines of thy gospel to be thus wrapped up in darkness ? or, that the salvation of that church, "which thou hast purchased with thy blood," de- pends on such mysterious and inexplicable conditions ? If thy gospel represents thee right, surely thou must be better pleased with the humble, peaceable christian, who when honestly searching into the glories of thy nature, and willing to give thee all the adoration thy great Father hath ordered him to pay thee, falls into some errors, as the consequence of human weak- ness ; than with that imperious and tyrannical disciple, who divides thy members, tears the bowels of thy church, and spreads confusion and skife throughout thy followers and friends, even for the sake of truths that lie remote from men's understanding, and in which thou hast not thought proper to make the full, the plain decision. If truth is not to be given up for the sake of peace, I am sure peace is not to be facriiiced for the sake of such truths; and if the gospel is a rule worthy our regard, the clergy of those times can never be excused for the contentions they raised, and the miseries they occasioned in the christian world, upon account of then*. THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. 367 The third and fourth general councils seem to have met upon an occasion of much the like importance. The first council of Nice determined the Son to be a distinct hypostasis, or person from, but of the same nature with the Father. The second at Constantinople, added the Holy Ghost to the same substance of the Father, and made the same individual na- ture to belong equally and wholly to the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost; thus making them three distinct persons in one undivided essence. But as they determined the Son to be truly man, as well as truly God, the bishops brought a new controversy into the church, and fell into furious debates and quarrels about his personality. Nestorius, Bishop of Constantinople, with his followers, maintained two distinct persons in Christ, agreeable to his two distinct natures. But St. Cyril, the implacable enemy of Nestorius, got a council to decree, that the two natures of God and man being united together in our Lord, made one person or Christ ; and to curse all who should affirm that there were two distinct persons or subsistences in him. It is evident, that either Cyril and his council must have been in the wrong in this decree, or the two former councils of Nice and Constantinople wrong in theirs ; because it is cer- tain, that they decreed the word person to be used in two infinitely different senses. According to those of Nice and Constantinople, one individual nature or essence contained three distinct persons ; according to Cyril's council, two natures or essences infinitely different, and as distinct as those of God and man, constituted but one person. Now how w one nature should be three persons, and yet two natures one person," will require the skill even of infallibility itself to explain ; and as these decrees are evidently contradictory to one another, I am afraid we must allow that the Holy Ghost had no hand in one or other of them. This some of the clergy very easily observed ; and therefore, to maintain the unity of the person of Christ, Eutyches and Dioscorus maintained, that though Christ consisted of two natures before his incarnation, yet after that he had but one 368 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. nature only. But this was condemned by the council of Chal- cedon, and the contradictions of the former councils declared all to be true, and rendered sacred with the stamp of ortho- doxy. This was also ratified by the fifth council under Jus- tinian,, who also piously and charitably raked into the dust of poor Origen, and damned him for an heretic. But still there was a difficuly yet remaining, about the person of Christ : for as Christ's being one person did not destroy the distinction of his two natures, it became a very important and warm controversy, whether Christ had any more than one will, as he was but one person in two natures? or, whether he had not two wills, agreeable to his two distinct natures, united in one person? This occasioned the calling the sixth general council, who determined it for the two wills ; in which, according to my poor judgment, they were very wrong. And had I had the honour to have been of this vene- rable assembly, I would have completed the mystery, by decreeing, that as Christ had but one person, he "could have but one personal will; but however, that as he had two natures, he must also have two natural wills. I beg my reader's pardon for thus presuming to offer my own judgment, in opposition to the decree of the holy fathers ; but at the same time 1 cannot help smiling at the thought of two or three hundred venerable bishops and fathers thus trifling in council, and solemnly playing at questions and com- mands, to puzzle others, and divert themselves. Were it not for the fatal consequences that attended their decisions, I should look on them as " Bishops in masquerade," met to- gether only to ridicule the order, or to set the people a laugh- ing at so awkward a mixture of gravity and folly. Surely the reverend clergy of those days had but little to do amongst their flocks, or but little regard to the nature and end of their office. Had they been faithful to their character instead of " doting about questions and strifes of words, whereof came envy, strife, railings, evil surmisings, perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness, " they would have" consented to, and THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. 369 taught wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the doctrine which is according to godliness. But this was not the temper of the times. It would have been indeed more tolerable, had the clergy confined their quarrels to themselves, and quarrelled only about speculative doctrines and harmless contradictions. But to interest the whole christian world in these contentions, and to excite furious persecutions for the support of doctrines and practices, even opposite to the nature, and destructive of the very end of Christianity, is equally monstrous and astonishing. And yet this is the case of the seventh general council, who decreed the adoration of the Virgin Mary, of angels and of saints, of relicts, of images and pictures, and who thereby obscured the dignity, and corrupted the simplicity of the christian worship and doctrine. This the venerable fathers of that council did, and pronounced anathemas against all who would not come into their idolatrous practices, and excited the civil power to oppress and destroy them. SECT. III. Pride, ambition, and covetousness, the grand sources of persecution. Surely it could not be zeal for God and Christ, and the truth and honour of Christianity ; no real love to piety and virtue, that prompted and led the bishops and their clergy on to these acts of injustice and cruelty. Without any breach of charity, it may be asserted of most, if not all of them, that it was their pride, and their immoderate love of dominion, grandeur and riches, that influenced them to these unworthy and wicked measures. The interest of religion and truth, the honour of God and the church, is I know the stale pretence ; but a pretence, I am afraid, that hath but little probability or truth to support it. 3b 370 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. For what hath religion to do with the observation of clays? or, what could excite Victor to excommunicate so many churches about Easter, but the pride of his heart, and to let the world see how large a power he had to send souls to the devil ? How is the honour of God promoted, by speculations that have no tendency to godliness ? Will any man seriously affirm, that the ancient disputes about " Hypos- tasis, Consubstantial, &c." and the rest of the hard words that were invented, did any honour to the name of Christ, or were of any advantage to the religion of his gospel ? Or, can he believe that Alexander, Arius, Athanasius, Macedonius, and others, were influenced in all their contentions and quar- rels, in all the confusions they were the authors of, and the murders they occasioned, purely by religious motives? Surely the honour of religion must be promoted by other means ; and genuine Christianity may flourish, and, indeed, would have flourished much better, had these disputes never been introduced into the church ; or had they been ma- naged with moderation and forbearance. But such was the haughtiness of the clergy, such their thirst of dominion over the consciences of others, such their impatience of contradic- tion, that nothing would content them bnt implicit faith to their creeds, absolute subjection to their decrees, and subscription to their articles without examination or conviction of their truth ; or for want of ?hese, anathemas, depositions, banish- ments, aud death. The history of all the councils, and of almost all the bishops, that is left us, is a demonstration of this sad truth. What council can be named, that did not assume a power to explain, amend, settle, and determine the faith ? That did not anathematize and depose those who could not agree to their decisions, and that did not excite the emperors to oppress and destroy them ? Was this the humility and condescension of ser- vants and ministers? Was not this lording it over the heritage of God, seating themselves in the throne of the Son of God, and making themselves owned as " fathers and masters," in opposition to the express command of Christ to the contrary ; THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. 371 •Clemens Romanus, in his first epistle to the Corinthians, cap. 4 4. tells us, That " the apostles knew, by the Lord Jesus Christ, that the episcopal name and office would be the occasion of contention in the christian church ; a noble in- stance," says the learned Fell, in his remarks on the place, u of the prophetic spirit of the apostolic age. Formerly," he adds, that, u men's ambition and evil practices to obtain this dignity, produced schisms and heresies." And it was indeed no won- der that such disorders and confusions should be occasioned, when the bishoprics were certain steps, not only to power and dominion, but to the emoluments and advantages of riches and honours. Even long before the time of Constantine, the clergy had got a very great ascendant over the laity, and grew, many of them, rich, by the voluntary oblations of the people: But the grants of that emperor confirmed them in a worldly spirit, and the dignities and vast revenues that were annexed to many of the sees, gave rise to infinite evils and disturbances. So they could but get possession of them, they cared not by what means ; whether by clandestine ordinations, scandalous sy- mony, the expulsion of the possessors, or through the blood of their enemies. How many lives were lost at Rome, Con- stantinople, Alexandria, and Antioch, by the furious conten- tions of the bishops of those sees; deposing one another, and forcibly entering upon possession ? Would Athanasius, and Macedonius, Damasus, and others, have given occasion to such tumults and murders, merely for words and creeds, had there not been somewhat more substantial to have been got by their bishoprics ? Would Cyril have persecuted the Novatians, had it not been for the sake of their riches, of which he plun- dered them, soon after his advancement to the see of Alex- andria? No. The character given by the historian of Theodo- cius, bishop of Synada, may be too truly applied to ahrixost all the rest of them ; who persecuted the followers of Macedonius, 1) Apud Cotel. p. 173. Edit. Amstel. 3b2 372 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. not from a principle of zeal for the faith, but through a cove- tons temper, and the love of money. This St. Jerome observed With grief, in the passage cited page 86, of this history ; Am- mianus Marcellinus, an heat!) en writer, reproached them with, in the passage cited page 102. SECT. IV. The decrees of councils and synods of no authority in matters of faith, I think it will evidently follow from this account, that the determinations of councils, and the decrees of synods, as to matters of faith, are of no manner of authority, and can earry no obligation upon any christian whatsoever. I will not mention here one reason, which would be itself sufficient, if all others were wanting, viz. That they have no power given them, in any part of the gospel revelation, to make these de- cisions in controverted points, and to oblige others to subscribe them ; and that therefore the pretence to it is an usurpation of what belongs to the great God, who only hath, and can have a right to prescribe to the consciences of men. But to let this pass ; what one council can be fixed upon, that will appear to be composed of such persons, as, upon an impartial examination, can be allowed to be fit for the work of settling the faith, and determining all controversies relating to it? I mean, in which the majority of the members may, in charity, be supposed to be disinterested, wise, learned, peace- able and pious men ? Will any man undertake to afiiirm this of the council of Nice? Can any thing be more evident, than that the members of that venerable assembly came, many of them, full of passion and resentment; that others of them were crafty and wicked, and others ignorant and weak ? Did their meeting together in a synod immediately cure them of their de- sire of revenge, make the wicked virtuous, or the ignorant THE HISTORY OP PERSECUTION. 373 wise? If not, their joint decree, as a synod, could really be of no more weight than their private opinions ; nor perhaps of so much; because, it is well known, that the great transactions of such assemblies are generally managed and conducted by a few; and that authority, persuasion, prospect of interest, and other temporal motives, are commonly made use of to secure a majority. The orthodox have taken care to destroy ail the accounts given of this council by those of the opposite party; and Eusebius, bishop of Crcsarca, hath passed it over in silence; and only dropped two or three hints, that are very far from being favourable to those reverend fathers. In a word, no- thing can be collected from friends or enemies, to induce one to believe that they had any of those qualifications which were necessary to fit them for the province they had undertaken, of settling the peace of the church by a fair, candid and impar- tial determination of the controversy that divided it : So that the emperor Constantine, and Socrates the historian, took the most effectual method to vindicate their honour, by pronouncing them inspired by the Holy Ghost; which they had great need of, to make up the want of all other qualifications. The second general council were plainly the creatures of the emperor Theoclosius, all of his own party, and convened to do as he bid them ; which they did, by confirming the Nicene faith, and condemning all heresies : * A council of " geese and cranes, and chattering jackdaws ;" noisy and tumultuous, endlessly contending for episcopal sees and thrones. The third general council were the creatures of Cyril, who was their president, and the inveterate enemy of Nestorius, whom he condemned for heresy, and was himself condemned for his rashness in this affair, and excommunicated by the bishop of Antioch. The fourth met under the awes of the emperor Marcian,* managed their debates with noise and tumult, were formed into a majority by the intrigues of the legates of Rome, and settled the faith by the opinions of Athanasius, Cyril, and (1) Greg. Naz. Vol.11, p. 81. 374 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION, and others. I need not mention more; the farther we go, the worse they will appear. Now may it not be asked, how came the few bishops, who met by command of Theodosius, this council of wasps, to be stiled an oecumenical or general council? As they came to decree, as he decreed they should, what authority, with any wise man, can their decisions have ? As they were all of one side, except thirty-six of the Macedonian party who were afterwards added, what less could be expected, but that they would de- cree themselves orthodox, establish their own creed, and ana- thematize all others for heretics ? And as to the next council, I confess I can pay no respect or reverence t(^a set of clergy met under the direction and influence of a man of Cyril's prin- ciples and morals ; especially as the main transaction of that council was hurried on by a desire of revenge, and done before the arrival of the bishop of Antioch, with his suffragan bre- thren, and condemned by him as soon as lie was informed of it; till at length the power and influence of the emperor re- conciled the two haughty prelates, made them reverse their mutual excommunications, decree the same doctrine, and join in pronouncing the same Anathemas. Cannot any one discern more of resentment and pride in their first quarrel, than of a regard to truth and peace; and more of complaisance to the emperor, than of concern for the honour of Christ, in their after reconciliation ? And as to the next council, let any one but read over the account given of it by Evagrius ; what hor- rible confusions there were amongst them; how they threw about anathemas and curses ; how they fathered their violences on Christ; how they settled the faith by the doctrines of Athanasius, Cyril, and other fathers ; and if he can bring him- self to pay any reverence to their decrees, I envy him not the submission he pays them, nor the rule by whieh he guides and determines his belief. I confess I cannot read the account of these transactions, their ascribing their anathemas and curses to Christ and the Holy Trinity, and their decisions as to the faith, to the Holy Ghost, without indignation at the horrid abuse of those sacred THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. 375 names. Their very meeting to pronounce damnation on their adversaries, and to form creeds for the consciences of others, is no less than a demonstration that they had no concurrence of the Son of God, no influence of the Holy Spirit of God. The faith was already settled for them, and for all other christians, in the sacred writings, and needed no decision of councils to explain and amend it. The very attempt was insolence and usurpation. Infallibility is a necessary qualification for an office of such importance. But what promise is there made to councils of this divine gift? or, if (here should be any such promise made to them : yet the method of their debates, their scandalous arts to defame their adversaries, and the contradic- tions they decreed for truth and gospel, prove, to the fullest conviction, that they forfeited the grace of it. And indeed, if the fruits ofthe spirit are love, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness and meekness, there appeared few or no signs of them in any ofthe councils. The soil was too rank and hot to pro- duce them. I wish, for the honour of the former times, I could give a better account of these assemblies of the clergy, and see reason to believe myself that they were, generally speakings men of integrity, wisdom, candour, moderation and virtue. The debates of such men would have deserved regard, and their opinions would have challenged a proper reverence. But even had this been the case, their opinions, could have been no rule to others ; and how great a veneration soever we might have had for their characters, we ought, as men and christians, to have examined their principles. There is one rule superior to them and us, by which christians are to try all doctrines and spirits ; the decision of which is more sacred than that of all human wisdom and authority, and every where, and in all ages, obligatory. But as the ancient coun- cils consisted of men of quite other dispositions ; and as iheir decisions in matters of faith were arbitrary and unwarranted; and as those decisions themselves were generally owing to court practices, intriguing statesmen, the thirst of revenge tlte management of a fesv crafty interested bishops to noise and 376 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. tumult, the prospects aud hopes of promotions and transla- tions, and other the like causes, the reverence paid them by many christians is truly surprising ; and I cannot account for it any way but one, viz. that those who thus cry up their authority, are in hopes of succeeding them in their power ; and therefore would fain persuade others that their decrees are sacred and bindings to make way for the imposing of their own. It would be well worth the while of some of these council- mongers to lay down some proper rules and distinctions, by which we may judge what councils are to be received, and which to be rejected ; and particularly why the four first general councils should be submitted to, in preference to ail others. Councils have often decreed contrary to councils, and the same bishops have decreed different things in dif- ferent councils ; and even the third and fourth general councils determined the use of the word person in an infinitely dif- ferent sense from what the two first did. Heretical councils, as they are called, have been more in number than some ortho- dox general ones, called by the same imperial authority, have claimed the same powers, pretended to the same influence of the Holy Ghost, and pronounced the same anathemas against principles and persons. By what criteria or certain marks then must we judge, which of these councils are thieving, general, particular, orthodox, heretical, and which not? The councils themselves must not be judges in their own cause ; for then we must receive, or reject them all. The characters of the bishops that composed them will not do, for their charac- ters seem equally amiable and christiamon each side. The na- ture of the doctrine, " as decreed by them," is far from being a safe rule; because, if human authority, or church power makes truth in any case, it makes it in every case ; and there- fore, upon this foot, the decrees at Tyre and Ephesus are as truly binding, as those at Nice and Chalcedon. Or, if we must judge of the councils by the nature of the doctrine, ab- stracted from all human authority, those councils can have no authority at all. Every man must sit in judgment over them, and try them by reason and scripture, and reject and receive THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. 377 them, just as he would do the opinions of any other persons whatsover. And, I humbly conceive, they should have no better treatment, because they deserve none. SECT. V. The imposing Subscriptions to Human Creeds unreasonable and pernicious. If then the decrees of fathers and councils, if the decisions of human authority in matters of religion are of no avail, and carry with them no obligation ; it follows, that the imposing subscriptions to creeds and articles of faith, as tests of ortho- doxy, is a thing unreasonable in itself, as it hath proved of infinite ill consequence in the church of God. I call it an " unreasonable custom," not only because where there is no power to make creeds for others, there can be no right to impose them ; but because no one good reason can be assigned for the use and continuance of this practice. For, as my Lord Bishop of London admirably well explains this mat- ter 1 , "As long as men are men, and have different degrees of understanding, and every one a partiality to his own concep- tions, it is not to be expected that they should agree m any one entire scheme, and every part of it, in the circumstances as well as the substance, in the manner of things, as well as in the things themselves. The question therefore is not in general . about a difference in opinion, which, in our present state, is unavoidable ; but about the weight and importance of the » things wherein christians differ, and the things wherein they agree. And it will appear, that the several denominations of (1) Bishop of LondoD's 2d Pastoral Lettej\p. 24, 25. 3c 378 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. christians agree both in the substance of religion, and in the necessary inforcements of the practice of it. That the world and all things in it, were created by God, and are under the direction and government of his all-powerful hand, and all- seeing eye ; that there is an essential difference between good and evil, virtue and vice ; that there will be a state of future rewards and punishments, according to our behaviour in this life; that Christ was a teacher sent from God, and that his apostles were divinely inspired ; that all christians are bound to declare and profess themselves to be his disciples ; that not only the exercise of the several virtues, but also a belief in Christ is necessary, in order to their obtaining the pardon of sin, the favour of God, and eternal life ; that the worship of God is to be performed chiefly by the heart, in prayers, praises, and thanksgivings : and, as to all other points, that they are bound to live by the rules which Christ and his apostles have left them in the holy scriptures." Here then, adds the learned bishop, " is a fixed, certain, and uniform rule of faith and practice, containing all the most necessary points of religion, established by a divine sanction, embraced as such by all de- nominations of christians^ and in itself abundantly sufficient to preserve the knowledge and practice of religion in the world. As to points of greater intricacy, and which require uncommon degrees of penetration and knowledge ; such indeed have been subjects of dispute, amongst persons of study and learning, in the several ages of the christian church ; but the people are not obliged to enter into them, so long as they do not touch the foundations of Christianity, nor have an influence upon practice. In other points it is sufficient that they believe the doctrines, so far as they find, upon due enquiry and examination, ac- cording to their several abilities and opportunities, that God hath revealed them." This incomparable passage of this reverend and truly cha- ritable prelate, I have transcribed intire ; because it will un- doubtedly give a sanction to my own principles of universal benevolence and charity. His lordship affirms, that " all de- nominations of christians agree in the substance of religion, and THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. 379 in the necessary enforcement of the practice of it ;" inasmuch as they do all believe firmly and sincerely those principles which liis lordship calls, with great reason and truth, " a fixed, certain; and uniform rule of faith and practice, as containing all the most necessary points of religion, and in itself abund- antly sufficient to preserve the knowledge and practice of reli- gion in the world." My inference from this noble concession, for which all the friends to liberty, in church and state, throughout Great Bri- tain, will thank his lordship, is this; that since all denomina- tions of christians do, in his lordship's judgment, receive his fixed, certain, and uniform rule of faith, and embrace all the most necessary points of religion ; to impose subscriptions to articles of faith and human creeds, must be a very unreasonable and needless thing: for either such articles and creeds contain nothing more than this same rule of faith and practice, and then all subscription to them is impertinent, because this is already received by all denominations of christians, and is abundantly sufficient, by the bishop's own allowance, to pre- serve the knowledge and practice of religion in the world ; or such articles and creeds contain something more than his lordship's fixed rule of faith and practice, something more than all the most necessary points of religion, something more than is sufficient to preserve the knowledge and practice of religion in the world, 1i. e. some very unnecessary points of religion, something on which the preservation of religion doth not de- pend ; and of consequence, subscriptions to unnecessary ar- ticles of faith, on which religion d.oth not depend, can never be necessary to qualify any person for a minister of the church of Christ, and therefore not for the church of England, if that be part of the church of Christ. And this is the more uneces- sary, because, as his lordship farther well observes, "the people are not obliged to enter into them, so long as they do not touch the foundations of Christianity," i. e. so far as his lordship's certain, fixed and uniform rule, which contains all necessary points of religion, is not affected by them. And if the people are not obliged to enter into points of great intricacy and dis- 3 c 2 380 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. pute, I humbly conceive the clergy cannot be obliged to preach them ; and that of consequence it is as absurd to impose upon them subscriptions to such things, as to oblige them to subscribe what they need uot preach, nor any of their people believe. Upon his lordship's principles^ the imposing subscriptions to the hard, unscriptural expressions of the Athanasians and Arians, by each party in their turns, and to the thirty-nine ar- ticles of the church of England, must be a very unreasonable and unchristian thing ; because, the peculiarities to be sub- scribed, do not one of them enter into his specified points of religion, and of consequence are not necessary to preserve re- ligion in the world ; and after so public a declaration of charity towards all denominations of christians, and the safety of reli- gion and the church, upon the general principles he hath laid down, there is no reason to doubt but his lordship will use that power and influence which God Bath entrusted him with, to remove the wall of separation in the established church, in order to the uniting all differing sects, all denominations of christians, in one visible communion ; and that he will join in that most christian and catholic prayer and benediction of one of his own brethren; though disapproved of by another of nar- rower principles, " * blessed be they who have contributed to so good a work." Subscriptions have ever been a grievance in the church of God; and the first introduction of them was owing to pride, and the claim of an unrighteous and ungodly power. Neither the warrant of scripture, nor the interest of truth, made them necessary. It is, I think, but by few, if any, pretended that the sacred writings countenance this practice. They do in- deed abound with directions and exhortations to " adhere sted- fastly to the faith, not to be moved from the faith, nor tossed about with every wind of doctrine." But what is the faith (I) Bishop of Bangor's answer to the Dean of Worcester, postscript, p. 20*. THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. 381 which we are to adhere to? What the faitli established and stamped for orthodox by the bishops and councils ? Ridicu- lous ! If this was the case, our faith must be as various as their creeds, and as absurd and contradictory as their decisions. No : The Faith we are to be grounded and settled in, is that " which was at once delivered to the saints," that which was preached by the apostles to Gentiles as well as Jews ; u the wholesome words we are to consent to are the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the doctrine which is according to godliness." This all genuine christians receive, out of regard to a much higher authority than belongs to any set of men in the world ; and therefore ibe sanction of fathers and councils in this case, is as impertinent as a man's pretending to give a sanction to the constitutions of the great God. And as to all other ar- ticles of faith, neither they, nor any others, have any commis- sion to impose them on the consciences of men ; and the mo- ment they attempt to do it, they cease to be servants in the house of God, and act as the true and proper lords of the heritage. But it may be said, that " the church hath power to deter- mine in controversies of faith; so as not to decree any thing against scripture, nor to enforce any thing to be believed as necessary to salvation besides it;" i.e. I suppose the church hath power to guard the truths of scripture ; and in any con- troversies about doctrines, to determine what is oris not agree- able to scripture, and to enforce the reception of what they thus decree, by obliging others to subscribe to their decisions. If this be the case, then it necessarily follows, that their deter- minations mast be ever right, and constantly agreeable to the doctrine of holy writ ; and that they ought never to determine but when they are in the right ; and are sure they are in the right ; because, if the matter be difficult in its nature, or the clergy have any doubts and scruples con- cerning it, or are liable to make false decisions, they can. not, with any reason, make a final decision ; because it is pos- sible they may decide on the wrong side of the question, and thus decree falsehood instead of truth. I presume there are but few who will <*Iaim, in words so 382 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. extraordinary a power as that of establishing falsehood in the room of truth and scripture. But even supposing their deci- sions to be right, how will it follow that they have a power to oblige others to submit to and subscribe them ? If by sound reason and argument they can convince the consciences of others, they are sure of the agreement of all such with them in princi- ple ; and, upon this foot, subscriptions are wholly useless : If they cannot convince them, it is a very unrighteous thing to impose subscriptions on them ; and a shameful prevarication with God and man for any to submit to them without it. Decisions made in controversies of faith, by the clergy, carry in them no force nor evidence of truth. Let their office be ever so sacred, it doth not exempt them from human frailties and imperfections. They are as liable to er- ror and mistake, to prejudice and passion, as any of the laity whatsoever can be. How then can the clergy have any autho- rity in controversies of faith, which the laity have not ? That they have erred in their decisions, and decreed light to be darkness, and darkness light ; that they have perplexed the consciences of men, and corrupted the simplicity of the faith in Christ, all their councils and synods are a notorious proof. With what justice or modesty then can they pretend to a power of obliging others to believe their articles, or subscribe them? If I was to speak the real truth, it will be found that those numerous opinions which have been anathematized as heretical, and which have broken the christian world into par- ties, have been generally invented, and broached, and propa- gated by the clergy. Witness Arius, Macedonius, Nestorius, Eutyches, Dioscorus, and others ; and therefore if we may judge, by any observations made on the rise of heresy, what is a proper method to put a stop to the progress of it, it cannot be the clergy's forming articles of faith, and forcing others to subscribe them ; because this is the very method by which they have established and propagated it. The truth is, this method of preventing error will suit all religions, and all sorts of principles whatsoever ; and is that by which error maintains its ground, and is indeed rendered THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. 383 impregnable. All the different sorts of christians, papists, and protestants, Greeks, Lutherans, Calvinists, and Armini- ans, cannot certainly be right in their discriminating princi- ples. And yet where shall we find any clergy that do not pretend a right to impose subscriptions, and who do not main- tain the truth of the articles to which they make such subscrip- tion necessary ? Upon this foot the doctrines of the council of Trent, the thirty-nine articles of the church of England, and the assemblies confession of faith, are all of thenl equally true, christian and sacred ; for they are in different places embraced as standards of orthodoxy, and their sacredness and authority secured and maintained by the subscriptions of the clergy to them : and therefore I think it as little agreeable to prudence, as it is to justice, for christians to keep up a practice that may be so easily, and hath been so often turned into a security for heresy, superstition and idolatry ; and especially for protestants to wear any longer these marks of slavery, which their enemies, whenever they have power, will not fail to make use of, either to fetter their consciences, or distinguish them for the burning. But it may be said, tUat the abuse of subscriptions is no argument against the use of them ; and that as they are pro- per to discover what men's sentiments are, they may be so far sometimes a guard and security to the truth . But as all parties, who use them, will urge this reason for them, that they are in possession of the truth, and therefore willing to do all they can to secure and promote it ; of consequence, subscriptions to articles of faith can never be looked on properly as guards to real truth, but as guards to certain prevailing principles, whether true or false. And even in this case they are wholly ineffectual. The clergy of the church of England are bound to sub- scribe the thirty-nine articles, i. e. to the truth of Athanasian and Calvinistic principles. But hath this subscription an- swered its end ? Do not the clergy, who are all subscribers, and who often repeat their subscriptions, differ about these heads as much as if they had never subscribed at all I Men that have no principles o^ religion and virtue, bufNnter 384 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. the chnrch only with a view to the benefices and preferments of it, will subscribe ten thousand times over, and to any articles that can be given them, whether true or false. Thus the Asiatic bishops subscribed to the condemnation of the de- crees of the council of Chalcedon, and inform Basiliscus the emperor that their subscriptions were voluntary. And yet when Basiliscus was deposed, they immediaiely subscribed to the truth of those decrees, and swore their first subscription was involuntary. So that subscriptions cannot keep out any atheists, infidels, or profligate persons. And as tb others, daily experience teaches us, that they either disbelieve the articles they subscribe, subscribing them only as articles of peace : or else, that after they have subscribed them, they see reason, upon a more mature deliberation, to alter their minds, and change their original opinions. So that till men can be brought always to act upon conscience, never to subscribe what they do not believe, nor ever to alter their judgment, as to the articles they have subscribed ; subscriptions are as impertinent and useless as they are unreasonable, and can never answer the purposes of those who impose them. But I apprehend farther, that this imposing of subscrip- tions is " not only an unreasonable custom," but attended with many very pernicious consequences. It is a great hin- drance to that freedom and impartiality of inquiry which is the unalterable duty of every man, and necessary to render his religion reasonable and acceptable. For why should any person make any inquiries for his own information, when his betters have drawn up a religion for him, and thus kindly saved him the labour and pains ? And as his" worldly interest may greatly depend on his doing as he is bid, and subscrib- ing as he is ordered ; is it not reasonable to think that the generality will contentedly take every thing upon trust, and prudently refrain from creating to themselves scruples^ and doubts, by nicely examining what they are to set their hands to, lest they should miss of promotion for not being able to comply with the condition of it, or enjoy their promotions with a dissatisfied and uneasy conscience ? THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. 385 Subscriptions will, I own, sometimes prove marks of distinc- tion, and as walls of separation : For though men of integrity and conscience may, anil oftentimes undoubtedly do submit to them ; yet men of no principles, or very loose ones, worldly and ambitious men, the thoughtless and ignorant, will most certainly do it, when they find it for their interest. The church that encloses herself with these fences, leaves abundant room for the entrance of ail persons of such characters. To whom then doth she refuse admittance ? Why, if to any, it must be to men who cannot bend their consciences to their interest ; who cannot believe without examination, nor subscribe any ar- ticles of faith as true, without understanding and believing them. It is in the very nature of subscriptions to exclude none but these, and to distinguish such only for shame and pu- nishment. Now how is this consistent with any thing that is called reason or religion ? If there could be found out any wise and reasonable me- thods to throw out of the christian church and ministry, men who are in their hearts unbelievers, who abide in the church only for the revenues she yields to them, who shift their religi- ous and political principles according to their interest, who propagate doctrines inconsistent with the liberties of mankind, and are scandalous and immoral in their lives ; if subscriptions could be made to answer these ends, and these only, and to throw infamy upon such men, and upon such men only, no one would have any thing to alledge against the use of them. Whereas, in truth, subscriptions are the great securities of such profligate wretches, who by complying with them, enter into the church, and thereby share in all the temporal advantages of it ; whilst the scrupulous, conscientious christian, is the only one she excludes ; who thinks the word of God a more sure rule of faith than the dictates of men; and that subscriptions are things much too sacred to be trifled with, or lightly submit- ted to. They are indeed very great snares to many persons, and temptations to them too often to trespass upon the rules of strict honesty and virtue. For when men's subsistence and advan- 3 D 386 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. tages in the world depend on their subscribing to certain ar- ticles of faith^ it is one of the most powerful arguments that can be, to engage them to comply with it. It is possible indeed they may have their objections against the reasonableness and truth of what they are to subscribe : But will not interest often lead them to overlook their difficulties, to explain away the natural meaning of words, to put a different sense upon the ar- ticles than what they will fairly bear, to take them in any sense, and to snbscribe them in no sense, only as articles of peace ? It must be by some such evasions that Arians subscribe to Athanasian creeds, and Arminians to principles of rigid Cal- vinism. This the clergy have been again and again reproached with, even by the enemies of Christianity : and I am sorry to say it, they have not been able to wipe off the scandal from themselves. I am far from saying or believing that all the clergy make these evasive subscriptions : those only that do so give this offence ; and if they are, in other cases, men of in- tegrity and conscience, they are objects of great compassion. As far as my own judgment is concerned, I think this man- ner of subscribing to creeds and articles of faith, is infamous in its nature, and vindicable upon no principles of conscience and honour It tends to render the clenry contemptible in the eyes of the people, who will be apt to think that they have but little reason to regard the sermons of men, who have prevarica- ted in their subscriptions, and that they preach for the same reason only that they subscribed, vis', their worldly interest. It is of very pernicious influence and example, and in its con- sequences leads to the breach of all faith amongst mankind, and tends to the subversion of civil society. For if the clergy are known to prevaricate in subscribing to religions tests of ortho- doxy, is it not to be feared that others may learn from them to prevaricate in their subscriptions to civil trsts of loyalty ? and, indeed, there isa ^reat deal of reason to imagine, that if men can tutor and twist their consciences so as to subscribe articles of faith, contrary to their own persuasion, and only as articles of peace, or a qualification for a living, they would subscrbe for the same reason to Popery or Mahometanism : For if this be THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. 387 a. good reason for subscribing any articles which I do not be- lieve, it is a reason for subscribing all; and therefore 1 humbly apprehend that a practice, which gives so much occasion to such scandalous prevarications with God and man, should be cast off as an insufferable grievance, and as a yoke upon the necks of the clergy, too heavy for them to bear. Let me add farther, that this practice of imposing sub- scriptions, hath been the occasion of innumerable mischiefs in the church of God. It was the common cry of the orthodox and Arians, and all other heretics, in their turns of power, " eithei subscribe, or depart from your churches." This en- flamed the clergy against each other, and filled them with hatred, malice and revenge. For as by imposing these sub- scriptions, inquisition was made into the consciences of others; the refusal to submit to them was a certain mark of heresy and reprobation ; and the consequence of this was the infliction of all spiritual and temporal punishments It was impossible but that such procedures should perpetuate the schisms and divi- sions of the church, since the wrath of man cannot work the righteousness of God ; and since civil punishments have no tendency to convince the conscience, but only to enflame the passions against the advisers aud iuflicters of them. And as ecclesiastical history gives us so dreadful an account of the me- hncholy and tragical effects of this practice, one would think that no nation who knew the worth of liberty, no christian, pro- testant, church, that hath any regard for the peace of the flock of Christ, should ever be found to authorize and continue it. SECT. VI. Adherence to the Sacred Scriptures the best Security of Truth aud Orthodoxy. What security then shall we have left us for truth and or- thodox, when our subscriptions are gone? Why, the sacred scriptures, those oracles of the great God, and freedom and li- 3d2 388 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. berty to interpret and understand them as we can ; the conse- quence of this would be great integrity and peace of conscience, in the enjoyment of our religious principles, union and friend- ship amongst christians, notwithstanding all their differences in judgment, and great respect and honour to those faithful pastors, that carefully feed the flock of God, and lead them in- to pastures of righteousness and peace. We shall lose only the incumbrances of religion, our bones of contention, the shackles of our consciences, and the snares to honesty and vir- tue ; whilst all that is substantially good and valuable, all that is truly divine and heavenly, would remain to enrich and bless us. The cleigy would indeed lose their power to do mischief; but would they not be happy in that loss, especially as they would be infinitely more likely to do good ? They would be no longer looked on as fathers a 'id dictators in the faith ; but still they might remain u ambassadors for Christ, beseeching men in Christ's stead, to become reconciled to God." And was all human authority, in matters of faith, thus wholly laid aside, would not the word of God have a freer course, and be much more abundantly glorified? All christians would look upon scripture as the only rule of their faith and practice, and there- fore search it with greater diligence and care, and be much more likely to understand the mind of God therein. The main things of Christianity would, unquestionably, be generally agreed to by all ; and as to other things, points of speculation and difficult questions, if christians differed about them, their differences would be of no great importance, and might be maintained consistent with charity and peace. Indeed, a strict and constant adherence to scripture, as the only judge in controversies of the christian faith, would be the most likely method to introduce into the church a real unifor- mity of opinion, as well as practice. For if this was the case, many disputes would be wholly at an end, as having nothing to give occasion to them in the sacred writings ; and all others would be greatly shortened, as hereby all foreign terms, and human phrases of speech, by which the questions that have THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION, 389 been controverted amongst christians have been darkened and perplexed, would l>e immediately laid aside, and the only in- quiry would be, what is the sense of scripture? What the doc- trine of Christ and his apostles? This is a much more short and effectual way of determining controversies, than sending men to Nice and Chalcedon, to councils and synods, to Atha- nasius, or Arius, to. Calvin or Arminius, or any other persons whatsoever that can be mentioned, who at best deliver but their own sense of scripture, and are not to be regarded any far- ther than they agree with it. It was the departure from this, as the great standard of faith, and corrupting the simplicity of the gospel-doctrine by hard, unscriptur :il words, that gave occasion to the innumerable con- troversies that formerly troubled the christian church. Human creeds were substituted in the room of scripture ; and according as circumstances differed, or new opinions were broncbed, so were the creeds corrected, amended and enlarged, till they be- came so full of subtleties, contradictions, and nonsense, as must make every thoughtful man read many of them with contempt. The controversy was not about scripture expressions, but about the words of men ; not about the sense of scripture, but the decrees of councils, and the opinions of Athanasius, Leo, Cyril, and the veneraole fathers. And upon this foot it was no wonder their disputes should be endless ; since the writings of all fallible men must certainly be more obscure and intricate than the writings of the infallible spirit of truth, who could be at no loss about the doctrines he dictated, nor for proper words suitably to express them. It is infinite, it is endless labour, to consult all that the fa- thers have written ; and when we have consulted them, what one controversy have they rationally decided ? What one chris- tian doctrine have they clearly and solidly explained? How few texts'of scripture have they critically settled the sense and meaning of? How often do they differ from o?»e another, and in how many instances from themselves ? Those who read them, greatly differ in their interpretation of them ; and men of the most contrary sentiments, all claim them for their own. Atha- 390 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. nasnns and Avians appeal to the fathers, and support their prin- ciples by quotations from them. And are these the venerable gentlemen, whose writings are to be set up in opposition to the scripture, or set up as authoritative judges of the sense of scrip- ture ? \ic creed* of their dictating to be submitted to as the only criterion of orthodoxy, or esteemed as standards to distinguish between truth and error? Away with th is folly and super- superstition! The creeds of the fathers and councils are but hu- man creeds, that have all the marks in them of human frailty and ignorance, The creeds which are to be found in the gos- pel are the infallible dictates of the spirit of the God of truth, and as such claim our reverence and submission; and as the forming our principles according to them, as far as we are able to understand them, makes us christians in the sight of God, it should be sufficient to every one's being owned as a christian by others, without their using any inquisitory forms of trial, till they can produce their commission from heaven for the use of them. This, as it is highly reasonable in itself, would do the highest honour to the christian clergy ; who, instead of being reproached for haughtiness and pride, as the incendiaries and plagues of mankind, as the sowers of contention and strife, and disturbers of the peace of the church of God, would be honoured for their work's sake, esteemed for their characters, loved as blessings to the world, heard with pleasure, and become succes- ful in their endeavours to recommend the knowledge and prac- tice of Christianity. SECT. VII. The Christian Religion absolutely condemns Persecution for conscience sake. Were the doctrines of the gospel regarded as they should be, and the precepts of the christian religion submitted to by all who profess to believe it ? universal benevolence would be THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. 391 the certain effect, and eternal peace and union would reign amongst the members of the christian church. For if there are any commands of certain clearness, any precepts of evident obligation in the gospel, they are such as refer to the exercise of love, and the maintaining universal charity. In our Savi- our's admirable discourse on the mount, this was the excellent doctrine he taught : xU Blessed are the meek, for they shall in- herit the earth. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the peace-makers, for they shall be called the children of God." And in another place, describing the nature of religion in genera!, he tells us, that 2 " the love of God is the first commandment ; and that the second is like unto it — thou shalt love thy neighbonr as thyself." This he enjoins upon his disciples as his peculiar command : 3a This is ray commandment, that ye love one another, as I have loved you ;" and recommends it to them as that whereby they were to be distinguished from all other persons. 4 " A new com- mandment 1 give unto you, that ye love one another ; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. 5 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another." This was the more needful for them, considering that our Lord foreknew the grievous persecutions that would befal them for his sake ; to encourage them under which, he pronounces them blessed : 6 " Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness-sake, f >r theirs is the kingdom of heaven ;" whilst, at the same time, he leaves a brand of infamy on per- secutors, and marks them out for the vengeance of God: 7 " Rejoice and be exceeding glad, for great is your reward in heaven ; for so persecuted they the prophets that were before you. 8 Woe unto you, for ye build the sepulchres of the prophets, and your fathers killed them ; therefore, saith the wisdom of God, i will send you prophets and apostles, (1) Matt. v. 5. 7. 9. (2) Matt. xxii. 35. (3) John xv. I?. (4) alii. 34. (5) 35. (6) Matt. v. 10. (7) 12. (S) Luke x\. 41, &c 392 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. and they will slay and persecute them, that the blood of all the prophets — may be required of this generation. " And indeed, so far was our Lord from encouraging any persecuting methods, that he rebuked and put a stop to all the appearances of them. Thus when his disciples would have called down fire from heaven to consume the Samaritans, who refused to receive him, he rebuked them, and said, * " Ye know not what maimer of spirit ye are of; the Son of Man is not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them ;" and when one of those who were with Christ cut off the ear of one of the high priest's servants, upon his laying hands on him, he severely reproved him: 2 " Put up again thy sword into its place ; for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword." And, in order to cure his apostles of their ambition and pride, and to prevent their claiming an undue power, he g*ave them an example of great humility and condescension, in washing and wiping their feet, and forbid them imitating the 3 M gentiles, by exercising dominion and authority ; but who- ever will be great amongst you, let him be your minister ; and whosoever will be chief amongst you, let him be your servant; even as the Son of Man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many." And as the Jewish teachers took on them the name of Rabbi, to denote their power over the consciences of those they instructed, he commanded his disciples, 4 " Be ye not called Rabbi, for one is your master, even Christ, and all ye are brethren ; and call no man father upon earth, for one is your father, which is in heaven. But he that is greatest amongst you, shall be your servant." From these, and other passages of like nature, it is very evident, that there is nothing in the life of Jesus Christ that gives any countenance to these wicked methods of propagating and supporting religion, that some of his pretend- ed followers have made use of, but the strongest directions to the contrary. (1) Luke ix. 55, 56. (2) Matt. xxvi. 52. (3) xx. 25, &c, (4) Matt xvxiii. 8, &c. THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION, 393 1 It is indeed objected, that Christ says, " compel them to come in, that my house may be full :" but that this compulsion means nothing more than invitation and persuasion, is evident from the parallel place of scripture, where what St. Luke calls, 2U com- pel them to come in," is expressed by, " bid them to the mar- riage," i. e. endeavour, not by force of arms, but by argument and reason, by importunity and earnestness, and by setting before men the promises and threatnings of the gospel, and thus ad- dressing yourselves to their hopes and fears, to persuade and compel them to embrace my religion, and become the subjects of my kingdom; and in this moral sense of compulsion, the original word is often used. 3 But farther, it is, by a late writer, reckoned very surpri- sing, that Christ should say, 4U Think not I am come to send peace, I came not to send peace, but a sword ; for I am come to set a man at variance with his father, and the daughter against her mother, &c." But how is this so very surprising ? or what man of common sense can mistake the meaning of the words, who reads the whole discourse ? In the former part of it, it is expressly declared, that the most grievous persecutions should befal his disciples for his sake; that " brother should deliver up brother to death, and the father the child ; and the children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death." Can any man understand this of an inten- tion in Christ to set people at variance? when it is a prediction only of what should be the consequence of publishing his gos- pel, through the malice and cruelty of its opposers ; a predic- tion of what his disciples were to suffer, and not of what they were to make others suffer. And as to that passage in Luke, 5 " I am come to send fire on the earth : and what will I, if it be already kindled ? Sup- pose ye that I am come to give peace on earth ? I tell you nay, but rather division." How is it explained by Christ himself? Why, in the very next words : " For from henceforth," L c. (1) Luke xiv. 23. (2) Matt. xxii. 9. (3) Christianity as old, &c. p, 305. (4) Matt. x. 34. 35. (5) Luke xii. 49, 51. 3E 394 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. upon the publication of ray religion and gospel, " there shall be five in one house divided, three against two, and two against three, &c." Can any man need paraphrase and criticism to explain these passages of any thing, but of that persecution which should befal the preachers and believers of the gospel ? or imagine it to be a prophetic description of a fire to be blown up by Christ to consume others, when the whole connection evidently refers it to a fire, that the opposers of his religion should blow up, to consume himself and followers ? Jesus knew it was such a fire as would first consume himself. " I am come to send fire on the earth ; and what will I, if it be already kindled?" or, as the words should be translated, " How do I wish it was already kindled ? How do I wish it to break out on my own person, that I might glorify God by my sufferings and death ? For as it follows, " I have a baptism to be bap- tised with," a baptism with my own blood: " and how r am I straitened till it be accomplished!" After this account of his own sufferings, he foretels the same should befal his followers : " Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth ? I tell you nay, but rather division ;" i. e. as I myself must suffer to bear witness to the truth, so after my decease, such shall be the unreasonable and furious opposition to my gospel, as shall oc- casion divisions amongst the nearest relations, some of whom shall hate and persecute the other for their embracing ray reli- gion. And of consequence * " Christ did not declare, in the most express terms," as the fore-mentioned writer asserts, " that he came to do that which we must suppose he came to hinder." He did only declare, that he came to do what he was resolved not to hinder, i. e. to publish such a religion as his enemies would put him to death for, and as would occasion divisions amongst the nearest relations, through the unreasonable hatred and opposition that some would shew to others upon account of it. This matter is elsewhere clearly expressed by Christ : 2 " These things have I spoken to you, that ye should not be (1) Ibid. (2) John .xvi. 1, 2, 3. THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. 395 'offended. They shall put you out of the synagogues; yea, tlietime cometb, that whosoever killeth you, will think that he doth God service. And these tilings will they do unto you, because they have not known the father nor ine," t. e. have not understood either natural religion, or the religion of my gospel. There is therefore nothing in the conduct or doctrines of Jesus Christ to countenance or encourage persecution. His temper was benevolent, his conduct merciful ; and one govern- ing design of all he said, was to promote ^meekness and conde- scension, universal charity and love. And in this all his apostles were careful imitators of his example : * u Let love," saith St. Paul, " be without dissimulation ; be kindly affection- ed one to another with brotherly love, in honour preferring one another. 2 If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peace- ably with all men." And the love he recommended was such, 3 " as worketh no ill to his neighbour ;" and which therefore he declares " to be the fulfilling of the law." And, lest different sentiments in lesser matters should cause divisions amongst christians, he commands, 4 " to receive him that is weak in the faith, not to doubtful disputations," not to debates, or contentions about disputations, or disputable things. Upon account of such matters, he orders that none should 5 "de- spise or judge others, because God had received them;" 6 and because every man ought to be " fully persuaded in his own mind," and because 6 " the kingdom of God was not meat and drink, but righteousness and peace, and joy in the holy ghost; " and because every one was to 7 " give an account of himself to God," to whom alone, as his only master, he was to stand or fall. From these substantial reasons he infers, 8 " We then that are strong," who have the most perfect understanding of the nature of Christianity, and our christian liberty, 9 " ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselyes ;" and having prayed for them, that the God of patience and con- (1) Rom. xii. 9, 10. (2) IS. (3) xiii. 10. (4) Rom. xiv. 1. (5) Ibid. 3, 5. (6)17- (7)4. (8) xv. 1. (9)5. 3 e2 396 \ THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION, solation would grant them to u be like-minded one towards another," according to, or after the example of Christ, that, notwithstanding the strength of some, and the weakness of others, they might, * u with one mind, and with one mouth, glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ;" he adds, as the conclusion of his argument, 2 Wherefore receive ye one another, as Christ also received us to the glory of God. " In his letters to the 3 Corinthians, he discovers the same di- vine and amiable spirit. In his first epistle he beseeches them, " by the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, that they would all speak the same thing, and that there should be no schism amongst them, but that they should be perfectly joined toge- ther in the same mind, and in the same judgment;" i, e. that they should all own and submit to Christ, as their only lord and head, and not rank themselves under different leaders, as he had been informed they had done ; for that they were 4 " the body of Christ," and all of them his members, and ought there- fore to maintain that charity to one another, " which suffereth long, and is kind; which envieth not, vauntethnot itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil, rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth ; beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth ail things ; which is greater and more excellent than faith and hope, which fails not in heaven itself," where faith and hope shall be at an end; and without which, though we could "speak with the tongue of men and angels, should have the gift of prophesy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge, and could remove mountains ; yea, though we should bestow all our goods to feed the poor, and give our bodies to be burned, we should be only as sounding brass, and as a tinkling cymbal ;" nothing in the account of God, nothing as to any real profit and advantage that will accrue to us. And , in his second epistle, he takes his leave of them, with this di- vine exhortation, and glorious encouragement : 6 " Finally bre- (1) 6. (2) Rom. xv 7. (3) 1 Cor. 1. 10, &c. (4) xii. 27. (5) xiii. l,&c. (6) 2 Cor. xiii. 11. THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. 397 thren, farewell; be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind," be affectionate, and kindly disposed to one another, as though you were influenced by one common mind : " Live in peace, and the God of love and peace shall be with you." In his epistle to the Galatians, 1 he gives us a catalogue of those works of the flesh which exclude men from the kingdom of God; such as " adultery, fornication, — hatred, variance, emulation, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings," and the like ; and then assures us, that " the fruits of the spirit are love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance, against which there is no law ; and, after having laid down this as an essential principle of Christianity, that 2 " neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature ;" or, as it is expressed in another place, 'i Faith which workcth by love;" he pro- nounces this truly apostolic benediction, 3 " As many as walk according to this rule, peace be on them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God." The same divine and excellent strain runs through his letter to the Ephesians : 4 u I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation where- with ye are called, with all lowliness and meekness, with long- suffering, forbearing one another in love, endeavouring to keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace;" and the term of this union, which he lays down, is the acknowledg- ment of one catholic church, one spirit, one Lord and Media- tor, and " One God, even the Father of all, who is above all, through all, and in all." The contrary vices, of 5U bitterness and wrath, and anger and clamour, and evil-speaking and malice, are to be put away," as things that u grieve the Holy Spirit of God?" 6 and we must " be kind one to another, forgiving one another even as God, for Christ's sake^ hath forgiven us ; 7 and be followers of God, by walking in love, even, as Christ hath also loved us, and hath given himself for us." (1) Gal. v. 19, &c. (2) Chap. vi. 15. (3) 16. (I) Eph. iv. I, &c. (5) 31. (6) Eph. iv. 32. (7) Chap, v, 1, 398 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. His exhortation to the Philippians, 1 is in the most moving terms : " If there be any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the spirit, if any bowels and mer- cies, fulfil ye my joy ; that ye be like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through strife or vain glory, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves." In his exhortation to the Colossians, he warmly presses our cultivating the same disposition, and abounding in the same practice : 2 Put off all these, anger, wrath, malice : — put on as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, long-suffering, forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, even as Christ forgave us. And above all these things, put on charity, which is the bond of perfect ness : and let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also ye are called in one body." In his directions to Timothy, he gives him this summary of all practical religion : 3 " The end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and a good conscience, and faith unfeigned :" and he ascribes men's turning aside to vain jang- ling^ to their having swerved from this great principle. And, to mention no more passages on this head, I shall conclude this whole account with that amiable description of the wisdom that is from above, given by St. James : 4 The wisdom that is from above is pure, and peaceable, and gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. But if we have bitter envying and strife in our hearts, we have nothing to glory in, but we lye against the truth," i. e. belie our christian profession : for whatever false judgment we may pass upon ourselves, this " wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish ; for where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work." I have thrown all these excellent passages of the sacred (I) Phil. ii. 1, &c. (2) Col. iii. 8, &c. (3) 1 Tim. i. 5, &c. (4) James iii, 14, &c. THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. 399 writings together, that it may appear, in the most convincing light, that the scriptures have nothing in them to countenance the spirit, or any of the methods of persecution ; and to con- front* the melancholy account I have given before of the pro- gress and ravages caused by this accursed evil. Good God, how have the practices of christians differed from the precepts of Christianity ! Would one imagine that the authors of those dreadful mischiefs and confusions were the bishops and ministers of the christian church ? That they had ever read the records of the christian religion ? Or if they had, that they ever believed them ? But it may be objected, that whatever may be the precepts of the christian religion, yet the conduct even of the apostles themselves gives some countenance to the spirit and practice of persechtion, and particularly the conduct of St. Paul ; and that such powers are given to the guides and bishops of the christian church, as do either expressly or virtually include in them a right to persecute. Let us briefly examine each of these pretensions. As to the practice of the apostles, 1 Beza mentions two in- stances to vindicate the punishment of heretics. The first is that of Ananias and Sapphira, struck dead by Peter; and the other that of Elymas the sorcerer, struck blind by Paul. But how impertinently are both these instances alledged ? Heresy was not the thing punished in either of them. Ananias and Sapphira were struck dead for hypocrisy and lying ; and for conspiring, if it were possible, to deceive God. Elymas was a Jewish, sorcerer, and false prophet; a subtle, mischievous fellow, an enemy to righteousness and virtue, who withstood the apostolic authority, and endeavoured, by his frauds, to prevent the conversion of the deputy to the christian faith. The two first of these persons were punished with d • li. By whom ? What, by Peter ? No : by the immediate Land of God. Peter gave them a reproof suitable to thi*ir wick< ilness ; (!) De Hseret. a Magist. pun. p. 161, &c. 400 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. but as to the punishment, he was only the mouth of God in declaring it, even of that God who knew the hypocrisy of their hearts, and gave this signal instance of his abhorrence of it in the infancy of the christian- church, greatly to discourage, and, if possible, for the future to prevent men thus dealing fraudulently and insincerely with him. And, I presume, if God hath aright to punish frauds and cheats in another world, he hath a right to do so' in this ; especially in the instance before us, which seems to have something very peculiar in it. Peter expressly says to Sapphira, * " How is it that ye have agreed together to tempt the spirit of the Lord ? What can this tempting of the spirit of the Lord be, but an agreement between Ananias and his wife, to put this fraud on the apostle, to see whether or no he could discover it by the spirit he pre- tended to ? This was a proper challenge to the spirit of God, which the apostles were endued with, and a combination to put the apostolic character to the trial. Had not the cheat been discovered, the apostle's inspiration and mission would have been deservedly questioned ; and as the state of Christi- anity required that this divine mission should be abundantly established, Peter lets them know that their hypocrisy was discovered ; and, to create the' greater regard and attention to their persons and message, God saw fit to punish that hypo- crisy w^th death. As to Elymas the sorcerer, 2 this instance is as foreign and impertinent as the other. Sergius Paulus, proconsul of Cy- prus, had entertained at Paphos one Barjesus, a jew, a sor- cerer ; and hearing also that Paid and Barnabas were in the city, he sent for* them to hear the doctrine they preached. Accordingly they endeavoured to instruct the deputy in the christian faith, but were withstood by Elymas, who by his subtleties and tricks, endeavoured to hinder his conversion. St. Paul therefore, in order to confirm his own divine mission, and to prevent the deputy's being deceived by the frauds and (1) Ads v. 9. (2) Acts xiii. 6, &c. THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION, 401 sorceries of Elymas, after severely rebuking him for his sin, and opposition to Christianity, tells him, not that the Procon- sul ought to put him in jail, and punish him with the civil sword, but that God himself would decide the controversy, by striking the sorcerer himself immediately blind ; which ac- cordingly came to pass, to the full conviction of the Pro- consul. Now what is there in all this to vindicate persecution? God punishes wicked mefi for fraud and sorcery, who knew their hearts, and had a right to punish the iniquity of them. Therefore men may punish others for opinions they think to be true, and are conscientious in embracing, without knowing the heart, or being capable of discovering any insincerity in it. Or God may vindicate the character and mission of his own messengers, when wickedly opposed and denied, by immediate judgments inflicted by himself on their opposers. Therefore the magistrate may punish and put to death, without any warrant from God, such who believe their mission, and are ready to submit to it, as far as they understand the nature and design of it. Are these consequences just and rational? or would any man have brought these instances as precedents for persecution, that was not resolved, at all hazards, to defend and practise it ? But doth not St. Paul command to 1 " deliver persons to satan for the destruction of the flesh?" Doth he not 2 " wish that they were even cut off who trouble christians, and enjoin us to mark them which cause divisions and offences, contrary to his doctrine, and to avoid them, and not to eat with them?" Undoubtedly he doth. But what can be reasonably inferred from hence in favour of persecution, merely for the sake of opi- nions and principles ? In all these instances, the things censured are immoralities and vices. The person who was delivered by St. Paul to satan, was guilty of a crime not so much as named by the gentiles themselves, the incestuous marriage of his (1) 1 Cor. v. 5. (2) Gal. i. 9. v. 12. Rom. xvi. 17. 1 Cor. v. 9. 3 F 402 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION father's wife; and the persons we are, as christians, com- manded not to keep company and eat with, are men of scan- dalous lives ; such as fornicators, or covetous, or idolaters, or railers, or drunkards, or extortioners, making a profession of the christian religion, or, in St. Paul's phrase, " called bre- thren;" a wise and prudent exhortation in those days especi- ally, to prevent others from being corrupted by such exam- ples, and any infamy thrown on the christian name and cha- racter. As to those whom the apostle " wishes cutoff," they were the persecuting Jews, who spread contention amongst* christians, and taught them to bite and devour one another, upon account of circumcision, and. such like trifles ; men that were the plagues and corrupters of the society tliey belonged to. Men who caused such divisions, and who caused them out of a love to their own belly, deserved to have a mark set upon them, and to be avoided by all who regarded their own inte- rest, or the peace of others. What the apostle means by delivering to satan, I am not able certainly to determine. It was not, I am sure, the put- ting the person in jail, or torturing his body by an executioner, nor sending him to the devil by the sword or the faggot. One thing included in it, undoubtedly was his separation from the christian church ; t " put away from amongst yourselves that wicked person :" which probably was attended with some bodily distemper, which, as it came from God, had a tendency to bring the person to consideration and reflection. The im- mediate design of it was the destruction of the flesh, to cure him ,qf his incest, that, by repentance and reformation, his ^ spirit might be saved in the day of Christ ;" and the power by which the apostle inflicted this punishment, was peculiar to himself, which God gave him 2 u for -edification, and not for destruction :" So that whatever is precisely meant by deliver- ing to satan, it was the punishment of a notorious sin . i pu- nishment that carried the marks of God's hand, and was de- (}) I Cor, v. 13. m % Cor. x. 8. THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION* 403 signed for the person's good, and was actually instrumental to recover and save liim. 2 Ccr. ii. But what resemblance is there in all this to persecution, in which there is no appearance of the hand of God, nor any marks but those of the cruelty and vengeance of men ; no im- morality punished, and generally speaking, nothing that in its nature deserves punishment, or but what deserves encourage- ment and applause. And it is very probable that this is what St. Paul means by his " wishing those cut off" who disturbed the peace of the Galatian christians, by spreading divisions amongst them, and exciting persecutions against them ; though I confess, if St. Paul meant more, and prayed to God that those obstinate and incorrigible enemies to Christianity, who, for private views of worldly interest, raised perpetual disturbances and persecutions wherever they came, might receive the just punishment of their sins, and be hereby prevented from doing farther mischief, I do not see how this would have been incon- sistent with charity, or his own character as an inspired apostle. It may possibly be urged, that though the things censured in these places are immoralities, yet that there are other pas- sages which refer only to principles ; and that the apostle Paul speaks against them with great severity : as particularly, * " If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed." And again, 2 "A man that is an heretic, after the first and second admonition, reject." As to the first of these, nothing can be more evident, than that the^apostle pronounces an anathema only against those who sub- verted the christian religion ; such who taught that it was in- sufficient to salvation, without circumcision, and submission to the Jewish law. As the gospel he taught was what he had re- ceived from Christ, he had, as an apostle, a right to warn the churches he wrote to against corrupting the simplicity of it : and to pronounce an anathema, t. e. to declare in the name of his great Master, that all such false teachers should be con- (1) Gal. i. 9. (2) Tit. iii. 10. 3 f 2 404 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. demned who continued to do so: And this is the utmost that can be made of the expression ; and therefore this place is as impertinently alledged in favour of persecution, as it would be to alleclge those words of Christ, u He that believeth not shall be condemned." The anathema pronounced was the divine vengeance ; it was Anathema Maranatha, to take place only when the Lord should come to judgment, and not to be exe- cuted by human vengeance. As to heresy, against which such dreadful outcries have been raised, it is taken indifferently in a good or a bad sense in the scripture. In the bad sense, it signifies, not an involuntary error, or mistake of judgment, into which serious and honest minds may fall, after a careful inquiry into the will of God; but a wilful, criminal, corruption of the truth for worldly ends and purposes. Thus it is reckoned by * St. Paul himself amongst the works of the flesh, such as adultery, fornication, variance, strifes, and the like ; because heresy is embraced for the sake of fleshly lusts, and always ministers to the serving them. Thus St. Peter: 2 u There were false prophets also amongst the people, even as there shall be false teachers amongst you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction ; and many shall follow their per- , nicious ways, by reasonof whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of; and through covetousness shall they, with feigned words, make merchandize of you ; whom he farther describes as walking after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness," and as given to almost all manner of vices. This is heresy, and *f denying the Lord that bought us." and the only meaning of the expression, as used by the apostle ; though it hath been applied by weak or designing men to denote all such as do not believe their metaphysical notion of the Trinity, or the Atha- nasian creed. Hence it is that St. Paul gives it, as the gene- ral character of an heretic, that 3 " he is subverted," viz. 0) Gal v. 20 (2) 2 Pet. ii. l,,&c, v. 10. (8) Tit. iii. II, THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. 405 from the christian faitli ; u sinneth," viz. by voluntarily em- bracing errors, subversive of the gospel, in favour of his lusts, on which account lie is " self-condemned," viz. by his own conscience, both in the principles he teaches, and the vile uses to which he makes thorn serve. So that though sincere and honest inquirers after truth, persons who fear God, and prac- tise righteousness, may be heretics in the esteem of men, for not understanding and believing their peculiarities in religion; yet they are not and cannot be heretics, according to the scripture description of heresy, in the notion of which there is always supposed a wicked heart, causing men wilfully to em- brace and propagate such principles as are subversive of the gospel, in order to serve the purposes of their avarice, ambi- tion, and lust. Such heresy as this is unquestionably one of the worst of crimes, and heretics of this kind are worthy to be rejected. It must be confessed, that heresy hath been generally taken in another sense, and to mean opinions that differ from the esta- blished orthodoxy, or from the creeds of the clergy, that are uppermost in power ; who have not only taken on them to reject such- as have differed from them, from their communion and church, but to deprive them of fortune, liberty, and life. But as St. Paul's notion of heresy entirely differs from what the clergy have generally taught about it, theirs may be al- lowed to be a very irrational and absurd doctrine, and the apostle's remain a very wise and good one ; and though they have gone into all the lengths of wickedness to punish what they have stigmatized with the name of heresy, they have had no apostolic example or precept to countenance them ; scrip- ture heretics being only to be rejected from the church, ac- cording to St. Paul ; and, as to any farther punishment, it is deferred till the Lord shall come. As to the powers given to the guides, or overseers, or bishops of the church, I allow their claims have been exceeding great. They have assumed to themselves the name of the church and clergy, hereby to distinguish themselves from the flock of Christ. They have taken on them, as we have seen, 406 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION, to determine, mend, and alter the faith ; to make creeds for others, and oblige them to subscribe them ; and to act as though our Saviour had divested himself of his own rights, and given unto them u all power in heaven and earth," But these claims have as little foundation in the gospel as in reason. The words clergy and church, arc never once used in scripture to denote the bishops, or other officers, but the chris- tian people. St. Peter advises the presbyterers 1 u to feed the flock of God, and to exercise the episcopal office willingly, not as lording it over the heritages," or clergy of God. And St. Paid, writing to his Ephesians, and speaking of their pri- vileges as christians, says, that u by Christ they were made God's peculiar lot," or heritage, or clergy. ]n like manner the body of christians in general, and particular congregations in particular places, are called the church, but the ministers of the gospel never in contra-distinct ion to them. It is of all be- lievers that St. Peter gives that noble description, that they are a a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sa- crifices : a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy na- tion, and a peculiar people," or a people for his peculiar her- itage, or " purchased possession," as the word is rendered. Eph. i. 14. So that to be the church, the clergy, and the sacred priests of God, is an honour common to all christians in general by the gospel charter. These are not the titles of a few only, who love to exalt themselves above others. Undoubtedly, the order of the christian worship requires that there should be proper persons to guide and regulate the affairs of it. And accordingly St. Paul tells us, 2 " that Christ gave some apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers;" different officers, according to the different state and . condition of his church. To the apostles extraordinary powers were given, to fit them for the service to which they were called; and, to enable them to manage these powers in a right manner, they were under the (1)1 Pet- v. 3, (2) Eph. iv, H, THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. 407 peculiar conduct-of the spirit of God, Tims our Saviour, after his resurrection, breathed on his disciples the Holy Ghost, and said, t " Whose soever sins ye remit, they arc re- mitted to them ; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are re- tained;" a commission of the same import with that which he gave them before, Matt, xviii. 18. " Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth, shall be bound in heaven ; and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth, shall be loosed in heaven." To " bind, is to retain men's sins ; and to loose, is to remit their sins." And this power the apostles had ; and it was absolutely necessary should have it, or they could never have spread his religion in the world. But win rein did this binding and loosing, this retaining and' remitting sins, consist ? What, in their saying to this man, I absolve you from your sins ; and, to the other, I put you under the sentence of damnation ? would any considerate man in the world have ever credited their pretensions to such an ex- travagant power? or can one single instance be produced of the apostles pretending to exercise it? No: their power of binding and loosing, of retaining and remitting sins, consisted in this, and in this principally, viz. their fixing the great con- ns of men's future salvation, and denouncing the wrath of Ah nighty God against all, who, through wilful obstinacy, would not believe and obey the gospel. And the commission v given them in the most general: terms, u whose soever sins y« retain, &c." not because they were to go to particular per- , and peremtorily say, " you shall be saved, and you shall imned ;" bnt because they were to preach the gospel to 'les as well as jews, and to fix those conditions of future happiness and misery that should include all the nations of the eai fch, to whom the gospel should be preached. This was their pi oper office and work, as apostles; and, in order to this, they had the spirit given them, to bring all it Christ had said to their remembrance, and to in- (1) John xx. 23. 408 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. struct them fully in the nature and doctrines of the gospel. And as they have declared the whole counsel of God to the world, they have loosed and bound all mankind, " even the very bishops and pastors of the church, as well as others," as they have fixed those conditions of pardon and mercy, of fu- ture happiness and misery for all men, from which God will not recede, to the end of time. This was a power fit to be en- trusted with men under the conduct of an unerring spirit, and with them only; whereas the common notion of sacerdotal or priestly absolution, as it hath no foundation in this commission to the apostles, nor in any passage of the sacred writings, is irrational and absurd, and which the priests have no more power to give, than any other common christian whatsoever ; no, nor than they have to make a new gospel. I would add, that as the apostles received this commission from Christ, they were bound to confine themselves wholly to it and not to exceed the limits of it. They were his servants who sent them ; and the message they received from him, that, and that only, were they to deliver to the world. Thus St. Paul says of himself, that * " God had committed to him the world of reconciliation," and that he was " an ambassador for Christ ;" that he 2 " preached not himself, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and himself the servant of others for Jesus' sake ;" that he had 3 " no dominion over others faith," no power to impose upon them arbitrary things, or articles of faith, which he had not received from Christ; and that accordingly he 4 " determined to know nothing but Christ, and him crucified, i. e. to preach nothing but the pure and uncorrupted doctrines of his gospel ; and that this was his great comfort, that he had " not shunned to declare the counsel of God." If then the inspired apostles were to confine themselves to what they received from God, and had no power to make ar- ticles of faith, and fix terms of communion and salvation, other than what they were immediately ordered to do by Christ, it (1) 2 Cor. v. 20. (2) iv. 5. (3) i. 24. (4) 1 Cor. ii. 2. THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. 409 is absolutely impossible that the clergy can have Hint power now; who have, as I apprehend, no immediate co mksion from Christ, nor any direct inspiration from his Holy Spirit. Nor is there any thing in the circumstances of the vv-rld to render such a power desirable ; because the apostles have shewn us all things that we need believe or practise as christi- ans, and commanded the preachers of the gospel to teach no other doctrines but what they received from them. Hence St. Peter's advice to the elders, that they, 1 " should feed the flock of God, not as lording it over the heritage." And St. Paul, in his epistles to Timothy, instructing him in the nature of the gospel doctrines and duties, tells him, that 2 u by put- ting the brethren in remembrance of these things, he would approve himself a good minister of Jesus Christ ;" and com- mands him to 3 " take heed to himself, and to the doctrines" he had taught him, " and to continue in them ;" charging him, 4 " in the sight of God, and before Christ Jesus, to keep the commandment given him, that which was committed to his trust, without spot, unrebukeable, till the appearance of Christ Jesus." These were the things to which Timothy was to confine himself, and to commit to others, that they might be continually preached in the christian church ; and, of con- sequence, it is the same apostolic doctrine that the bishops, or elders, or ministers of the church, are to instruct their hearers in now, as far as they understand it, without mixing any thing of their own with it, or of any other persons whatsoever. The great end and design of the ministerial office, is for the 5 " perfecting of the saints, and the edifying of the body of Christ." Hence the elders are commanded " to take heed to themselves, and to the flock, over which the Holy Ghost had made them bishops, to feed the church of God." They are likewise exhorted to " hold fast the faithful word, as they had been taught, that by sound doctrine they may be able to exhort (1) 1 Pet. v. 3. (2) 1 Tim. iv. 6. (3) vi. 13, 14, 20. (4) 2 Tint. ii. 2: (5.) Acts xx. 28, 410 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. and convince others." They are to u give attendance to reading, exhortation, and doctrine," and to pat others in re- membrance of the great truths of the gospel; charging them, before the Lord, not to strive about unprofitable words, but to ** be gentle to all men," and " in meekness to instruct even those who oppose." They are to " contend earnestly for the faith," as well as other christians, but then it is for " that faith which was once delivered to the saints ," and, even for this, t " the servant of the Lord is not to fight." He is not to use carnal but spiritual weapons ; nor to put on any armour but that of righteousness on the right hand, and on the left. They are to 2 " speak the truth," but it must be 3ii in love." They should be " zealously affected," but it should be always " in a good thing." They must " stop the mouths of unruly and vain talkers," but it must be by " uncorruptness of doc- trine, gravity, sincerity, and sound speech, that cannot be con- demned." Upon these, and the like accounts, they are said to be " over us in the Lord, u to rule us," and to be " our guides ;" words that do not imply any dominion that they have over the con- sciences of others, nor any right in them to prescribe articles of faith and terms of communion for others. This they are ex- pressly forbidden, and commanded to preach the word of God only, and pronounced accursed if they preach any other gospel than that which they have received from the apostles. And, of consequence, when we are bid " to obey" and " submit ourselves" to them, it is meant then, and then only, when they u rule us in the Lord ;" when they speak to us the word of God, and " labour in the word and doctrine." In all other cases, they have no power, nor is there any obedience due to (hem. They are to be respected, and to u he had in double honour for their work sake, i. e. when they " preach not them- selves, but Christ Jesus the Lord ," and when their faith and conversation is such, as to become worthy our imitation. But (1) 2 Tin*, ii. 24. (2) Eph. iv. 15. (3) Tit. i. 11. ii. 8. THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. 411 i[ u they teach otherwise, and consent not to the words of our Lord Jesus ; if they doat about words whereof come envy, strife, and railing, supposing that gain is godliness, from such we are commanded to withdraw ourselves." The episcopal cha- racter, however otherwise greatly venerable, then forfeits the reverence due to it, and becomes contemptible. So that there are no powers or privileges annexed to the episcopal or ministerial character, in the sacred writings, that are in the least favourable to the cause of persecution, or that countenance so vile and detestable a practice. As to the affair of excommunication, by which the clergy have set the world so often in aflame, there is nothing in the sacred records that confines the right of exercising it to them, nor anv com- mand ever to exercise it, but towards notorious and scandalous offenders. The incestuous Corinthian was delivered over to satan by the church in full assembly, on which account his punishmeut or censure is said to be * " by many." And though St. Paul bids Titus to " reject an heretic," he also bids the Corinthians to 2 " put away that wicked person from amongst them," which had brought such a scandal upon their church; and the " Thessalonians, to withdraw themselves from every brother that should walk disorderly." So that as the clergy have no right, from the new testament, to determine in controversies of faith, nor to create any new species of heresy, so neither have they any exclusive right to cut off any persons from the body of the church, much less to cut them off from it for not submitting to their creeds and canons ; and, of con- sequence, no power to mark them out by this act to the civil magistrate, as objects of his indignation and vengeance. I have been the longer on this head, that I might fully vin- dicate the christian revelation from every suspicion of being favourable to persecution. Notwithstanding some late insinu- ations of this kind that have been thrown out against it, by its professed adversaries, let but the expressions of scripture be in- (1) 1 Cor, v. 4. (2) 2 Cor. ii. 6. 3g 2 412 THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION. terpreted with the same candour as any other -writings arc, and there will not be found a single sentence to countenance this doc- trine and practice. And therefore though men of corrupt minds, or weak judgments, have, for the sake of worldly advantages, or through strong prejudices, entered into the measures of per- secution under pretence of vindicating the christian religion ; yet, as they have no support and foundation in the gospel of Christ, the gospel ought not to be reproached for this, or any other-faults of those who profess to believe it. Let persecution be represented as a most detestable and impious practice, and let persecutors of every denomination and degree bear all the reproaches they deserve, and be esteemed, as they ought to be, the disturbers, plagues, and curses of mankind, and the church of God ; but let not the religion of Jesus Christ suffer for their crimes, nor share ary part of that scandal, which is due only to those who have dishonoured their character and profession, and abused the most beneficent and kind institution that ever appeared in the w r orld. It is in order to expose this shameful practice, and render it the abhorrence of all mankind, that I have drawn up the foregoing sheets ; and, I presume, that no one who hath not put off humanity itself, can read them without becoming senti- ments of indignation. The true use to be made of that history, is, not to think dishonourably of Christ and his religion ; not to contemn and despise his faithful ministers, who, by preach- ing and practice, by reason and argument, endeavour to pro- pagate knowledge, piety, righteousness, charity, and all the virtues of private and social life. The blessing of the Almighty God be with them. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ suc- ceed and prosper them. I say therefore, the use of the fore- going history is to teach men to adhere closely to the doctrines and words of Christ and his apostles, to argue for the doctrines of the gospel with meekness and charity, to introduce no new terms of salvation and christian communion ; not to trouble the christian church with metaphysical subtleties and abstruse questions, that minister to quarrelling and strife ; not to pro- nounce censures, judgments, and anathemas, upon such as may THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTION, 413 differ from us in speculative truths; not to exclude men from the rights of civil society, nor lay them under any negative or positive discouragements Tor conscience-sake, or for their dif- ferent usages and rites in (he external of christian worship; but to remove those which are already laid, and which are as much a scandal to the authors and continuers of them, as they are a burden to those who labour under them. These were the sole views that influenced me to lay before my reader the fore- going melancholy account ; not any design to reflect on the clergy in general, whose office and character I greatly rever- ence ; and who, by acting according to the original design of their institution, would prove the most useful set of men in every nation and kingdom, and thereby secure to themselves all the esteem they could reasonably desire in the present world ; and, what is infinitely more valuable, the approbation of their great Lord and Master in another. JFmt& The following Appendix by the Editor^ contains hints on the recent persecutions in this country; a brief statement of the circumstances relating to Lord Sidmouth's Bill; a circumstantial detail of the steps taken to obtain the new Toleration Act^ with the Act itself and other important matter. #St^ APPENDIX, by the EDITOR. Since the accession of King William and Queen Mary, to the throne of Great Britain, and the Act of Toleration, made in the first year of their reign, a degree of religious liberty, un- known to former ages, has been enjoyed by the inhabitants of this highly-favoured country. In the latter part of the reign of Queen Anne, the religious privileges of Protestant Dissenters were threatened, but by the happy accession of the illustrious house of Brunswick to the throne, their fears were soon dissipated, and their privileges secured. In the commencement of the late revival of pure and un- dented religion, in this land, about the year 1739, lawless mobs arose, in different parts of the kingdom, ami grievously mal- treated and persecuted the Rev. John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, the Rev. George Whitefield, and others. But as my limits will not permit me to enlarge on the persecu- tions which these illustrious men endured for a season, I must beg leave lo refer the reader, who wishes for further inform^- 416 APPENDIX. tion on the subject, to " Mr. Wesley's Journals," the " Case or Journal, of John Nelson," one of the first Methodist preach- ers, and to a pamphlet entitled, " Modern Christianity exem- plified, at Wednesbury, and other adjacent places in Staf- fordshire."* I might here also record the persecutions endured by Robert CarrBrackenbury, Esq. and Mr. (now Dr.) Adam Clarke, in the Norman Isles, about the year 1786; ' of Mr. Matthew Lumb, in the island of St. Vincent ; 2 Mr. John BrownelJ, in the island of Nevis, and of Mr. Daniel Campbell, and others, in the island of Jamaica, in the West Indies ; 3 also, the recent persecutions at Wye, in Kent ; 4 at Pershore, in Worcestershire; 5 at Childrey, near Wantage, in Berkshire; 6 at Wickham Market, 7 in Suf- folk, and at Drayton, in Shropshire. 8 These, with others that might be adduced, were they particularized, would fill a vo- lume ; but I forbear : I wish for the honour of my country, and of the nineteenth century, to cast a veil over them, and to bury them in everlasting oblivion. His late Majesty King George the Second, was a firm friend to religious toleration, and was often heard to say, " no man should be persecuted for conscience sake in his dominions." His present Majesty King George the Third, has walked in the steps of his royal grandfather. He declared in his first speech from the throne, " that it was his invariable resolution to pre- serve the Toleration inviolate;" a declaration, I am happy to say, which he has religiously fulfilled, through a long and be- neficent reign. When any Disturbances, or persecutions, have arisen in any of the British colonies, or extreme parts of the empire, his Majesty has invariably asserted his royal prerogative in redres- * These publications may be had at Xo. 14, City Road, London. (1) Wesley's Life by CoKe, &c. page 429. (2) Meth. Mag. vol. 16, page 441. (3) Ibid vol, 2? 8 page 95. (4) Evan. Mag. for May, 1811. (5) Meth. Mag. vol. 35, 396. (6) Evan. Mag. for March, 1811. (7.) Ibid Ibid. (8) ibid... Nov. 1811. A1TENDJX. 417 sing the grievances of his subjects ; and has always peremto- rily refused to recognise any colonial law, which infringed on religions liberty. This will appear from the following au- thentic documents. In the island of St. Vincent, in the year 1792, the Legislature passed an act " that no person, (the regu- lar clergy excepted) should preach without a licence from them, and that this licence should not be granted to any who had not previously resided for twelve months on the island." For the first offence the punishment was to pay a fine of ten Iohannes, or im- prisonment, for at least, thirty days. For the second, such corporal punishment as the court should think proper to inflict, and banishment ; and lastly, on return from banishment, death !! were the edicts of the Heathen Emperors more cruel or severe than this ! But in the month of October, 1793, his Majesty, in council, was graciously pleased to disannul the act of the Assem- bly, of St. Vincent, and thus restored liberty of conscience to his persecuted subjects. An act having passed the House of Assembly, in the island of Jamaica, in December 1802, " prohibiting preaching by per- sons not duly qualified by law ;" after the passing of which act, one minister, though duly qualified at home, by the Act of Toleration, was, for preaching at MorantBay, cast into pri- son ! This occurred in May 1803, but his Majesty in council, disallowed of that act also, and on the 12th of December, 1804, the following messuage appeared in the Royal Gazette, Kings- town, Jamaica : — House of Assembly, December 12, 1804. A Messuage from his Honour, the Lieut. -Governor, by his Secretary, as follows : " Mr. Speaker, — I am directed by the Lieut. -Governor, to lay before the House, an extract of a letter fr om Earl Cam- den, dated Downing-Street, 7th of June, 1804, together with the draught of a bill, which his Honor has been instructed to be proposed to the house to be passed into a law." Extract of a letter from the Rt. Hon. Earl Camden, to Lieut. General Nugent, dated Downing-Street, June 7, 1804.— 3u 418 , APPENWX. "Sir, — I herewith transmit to you an order of his Ma- jesty in council, dated April 23d last, disallowing an act passed by the Legislature of the Island of Jamaica, in December 1802," entitled, " An act to prvent preaching by persons not duly qualified by Law;" and a further order of his Majesty in council of the same date, to which is annexed, the draught of a bill upon the same subject, which, in compliance with the direction contained in the said order, I am desired you will take an early opportunity of proposing to the Assembly to be passed into a law." " Ordered, that the above message and the papers sent down therewith, do lie on the table, for the perusal of the members." In December 1807, the Legislative Assembly of the island of Jamaica, passed another law, of a similar nature to the above ; but his Majesty in council, on the 26th of April, 1809, was graciously pleased to disallow that law also ; thereby fully evincing to the world, his fixed determination to prevent per- secution in every part of his dominions, and to shew himself a " nursing father" to the church and people of God. Notwith- standing, however, his Majesty's most gracious interference in the above instances, such is the persecuting spirit of the go- vernment of Jamaica, (hat they have recently passed an Act plainly intended to prevent, if possible, the instruction of the Negroes, by those who alone will take the pains to be- stow it. This Act was passed November 14th, 1810, entitled, "An act to prevent preaching and teaching by persons not duly qualified, and to restrain meetings of a dangerous nature, on pretence of attending such preaching and teaching." But as his Royal Highness the Prince Regent, is treading in the steps of his Royal Father, and manifesting the same regard for the religious liber- ties of the people in this vast empire, we feel confident this persecuting law will meet with the same fate as the former, and will never receive the royal sanction. We are emboldened to expect this from the recent conduct of his Royal Highness, in the case of Demerary, where a Pro- clamation had been issued subversive of religious liberty, under APPHED1X. 419 the administration of Governor Bentinck, but which his Royal Highness was graciously pleased to discountenance. The following Proclamation was issued by Major-General Carmichael, who succeeded Governor iJentinck in the govern- ment of Demarary, and is copied from the Essequibo and Dc- marary Royal Gazette, of Tuesday March 7, 1812. * Whereas, I have received instructions from his Royal Highness the Prince Regent, to recall the Proclamation issued on the 25th of May, 1811, and to give every aid to Mission- aries in the instruction of religion, the Proclamation of the above date is hereby recalled ; and the following regulations will take place from this date : — c First, — It is to be understood, that no limitation or restraint can be enforced upon the right of instruction, on particular estates, provided the meetings for this purpose take place upon the estate, and with the consent and approbation of the proprie- tor and overseer of the estate. 6 Secondly. — As it has been represented, that on Sundays inconvenience might arise from confining the hours of meeting in chapels, or places of general resort, between sun-rise and sun-set, the hours of assembling on that day shall be between five in the morning and nine at night. And on the other days the slaves shall be allowed to assemble for the purpose of in- struction, or divine worship, between the hours of seven and nine at night, on any neighbouring estate to that to which, they belong ; provided that such assembly takes place with the permission of the overseer, attorney, or manager of the slaves, and of the overseer, attorney, or manager of the estate on which such assembly takes place. 4 Thirdly, — All chapels and places destined for divine wor- ship, or public resort, shall be registered in the colonial Secre- tary's office ; and the names of persons officiating in them shall be made known to the Governor ; and the doors of the places shall remam open during the time of public worship or instruction. * Given under my Hand and Seal-at-Arms, at the Camp- House, this 7th Day of April, 1812, and in the 52d Year of His Majesty's Reign. H. L. Carmichael. 3 ii 2 420 APPENDIX, In the year 1789, some of the preachers and people con- nected with the Rev. John Wesley, were harrasscd by some Justices of the peace on a pretence entirely new. They were told, " You profess yourselves members of the Church of England, therefore your licences are good for nothing ; nor can you, as members of the church, receive any benefit from the Act of Toleration." Mr. Wesley saw, that if the pro- ceedings on this subtle distinction were extended over the na- tion, the Methodists must either profess themselves dissenters, or suffer infinite trouble. He certainly did not wish his so- cieties to alter their relative situation to the national church without absolute necessity; and jet he wished them to be re- lieved from this embarrasment. He therefore stated the case to a member of parliament, (1 believe to Mr. Wilberforce,) a real friend to liberty of conscience ; hoping that the Legisla- ture might be prevailed upon to interpose, and free the Metho- dists from the penalties of the Conventicle Act. The following is an extract from Mr. Wesley's letter : — ^ Dear Sir, — Last month a few poor people met toge- ther in Somersetshire, to pray, and to praise God, in a friend's house : there was no preaching at all. Two neighbouring Justices fined the man of the house twenty pounds. I suppose he was not worth twenty shillings. — Upon this, his household goods were distrained and sold to pay the fine. He appealed to the Quarter Sessions : but all the Justices averred, i The Methodists could have no relief from the Act of Toleration, because they went to Church ; and that, so long as they did so, the Conventicle Act should be executed upon them. " Last Sunday, when one of our Preachers was beginning to speak to a quiet congregation, a neighbouring Justice sent a Constable to seize him, though he was licenced ; and would not release him till he had paid twenty pounds — telling him, his licence was good for nothing, ' because he was a Church- man.' " Now Sir, what can the Methodists do ? They are liable to be ruined by the Conventicle Act, and they have no relief from the Act of Toleration ! If this is not oppression, what is ? APPENDIX, 421 Where ilien is English liberty ? The liberty of christians, yea of every rational creature ? who as such, has a right to worship God according to his own conscience. But waving the question of right and wrong, what prudence is there in oppressing such a body of loyal subjects ? If these good Magistrates could drive them, not only out of Somersetshire, but out of England, who would be gainers thereby ? Not his Majesty, whom we honour and love : not his Ministers, whom we love and serve for his sake. Do they wish to throw away so many thousand friends ? who are now bound to them by stronger ties than that of in- terest. — If you will speak a word to Mr. Pitt on that head, you will oblige, &cv" Mr. Wesley also addressed the following letter to the Bishop of , on the same subject : — u My Lord, — I am a dying man, having already one foot in the grave. Humanly speaking, I cannot long creep upon the earth, being now nearer ninety than eighty years of age. But I cannot die in peace, before I have discharged this office of christian love to your Lordship. I write without ceremony, as neither hoping nor fearing any thing from your Lordship, or any man living. And I ask, in the name and in the presence of him, to whom both you and I are shortly to give an account, why do you trouble those that are quiet in the land ? Those that fear God and work righteousness ? Does your Lordship know what the Methodists are ? That many thousands of them are zealous members of the church of England ? and strongly attached, not only to his Majesty, but to his present Ministry ? Why should your Lordship, setting religion out of the ques- tion, throw away such a body of respectable friends ? Is it for their religious sentiments ? Alas my Lord, is this a time to per- secute any man for conscience-sake ? I beseech you$-my Lord, do as you would be done to. You are a man of sense : you are a man of learning: nay, I verily believe (what is* of infi- nitely more value) you are a man of piety. Then think, and let think — I pray God to bless you with the choicest of his blessings. I am, my Lord, &c." ' 422 APPENDIX. To another Bishop, who, I suppose, had forbidden his Clergy to let Mr. Wesley preach in their Churches, he wrote in his own laconic way as follows : " My Lord, — Several years ago, the church- wardens of St. Bartholomew's informed Dr. Gibson, then Lord Bishop of London, ' My Lord, Mr. JBatemen, our rector, invites Mr. Wesley very frequently to preach in his Church. ' The Bishop replied, s And what would you have me do ? I have no right to hinder him. Mr. Wesley is a clergyman regularly ordain- ed, and under no ecclesiastical censure.' I am, my Lord, Your Lordship's obedient Servant, John Wesley." Though the horrible and persecuting laws, known by the names of the Conventicle and Five Mile Acts, had never been repeated, yet, for upwards of a century, they lay nearly dor- mant, and were generally considered as virtually dead. But, I am sorry to have it to record, that those Acts have been re- cently roused from their long slumber, to life and action. In the spring of the year 1811, a bill was introduced into the House of Lords, (which had long been in contemplation) by the Rt. Hon. Lord Viscount Sidmouth, the object of which was said to be the *< amending and explaining the Toleration Acts, as far as they applied to Protestant Dissenting Ministers ;" but which in fact, had it passed into a law, would have been a violation of the laws of religious liberty, and subversive of the most valuable rights and privileges of the Methodists and Dis- senters. I give the Right Hon. mover of this bill full credit for the purity of its motives, nor do I think he was at all aware that it would eventually operate against the people whom he pro- fessed to serve ; however, much real good to the cause of reli- gious toleration, whether intended or not, has ultimately en- sued from the introduction of this bill into the House of Lords. It excited considerable interest in the nation at large, especially among the dissenters of all denominations. Committees were APPENDIX. 423 formed, and various meetings were held by them, and also by the u Committee of Privileges" belonging to the societies founded by the late Rev. John Wesley ; a detail of which I shall here beg leave to lay before the reader, by inserting an extract from a narrative of their proceedings respecting Lord Sidmouth's bill, and the speeches delivered by several noble Lords when the second reading of that bill was moved. *" Lord Viscount Sid mouth, it is well known, had long had the present measure in contemplation, and as a foundation for the proceeding, he had made several motions in the House of Lords within the last two or three years, which had for their object the procuring of information relative to the number of licenced teachers, and places of worship, and the state of the Established Church. Returns of the Archbishops and Bishops on these subjects having been laid before the House of Lords ; on the 9th of May, 1811, his Lordship rose to call the atten- tion of the House to certain abuses of the act of William and Mary, and that of the 19th of the present reign, and to move for leave to bring in a bill for amending and explaining the same, as far as they applied to Protestant Dissenting Ministers. ' 6 After what he had to say, their Lordships would see whether the correction of these abuses should not be a matter of anxious solicitude to all persons of all persuasions, and to every one who felt what was due to the dignity, the honour, and the sanctity of religion itself. It was to be regretted, that, up to the period of the Revolution, the history of religion was, in this country, a history of intolerance and persecution. Whatever party was uppermost, whether Catholic, Protectant, or Puritan, the same want of Toleration for diversity of opinion was dis- played. The Revolution was the aora of religious liberty in this country, and William HI. accomplished that which would ever remain a monument of his wisdom : he meant the Toler- ation Act. That act, while it removed the penalties to which Dissenters we re suHect, declared that ail the Ministers in holy orders, or pretended holy orders, upon subscribing twenty-six of the thirty-nine articles, upon taking the oaths, and signing a declaration, may officiate in any chapel or meeting-house. 424 APPENDIX. By an act of the nineteenth of the King, their signing any of the thirty-nine articles was dispensed with, and they were only to express their belief in the Holy Scriptures. Within the last thirty or forty years, these acts had received a novel interpretation. At most of the Quarter-Sessions, where the oaths were taken and the declaration made, it was now un- derstood, that any person whatever, however ignorant or pro- fligate, whether he descended from the chimney or the pillory, was at liberty to put in his claim to take the oaths before the Justices, to make the declaration, and also at liberty to demand a certificate which authorised him to preach any doctrine he pleased ; which exempted him besides from serving in- the mi- litia, and from many civil burdens to which his fellow-subjects were liable. " Now, if religion be the best foundation of all the vir- tues, was it not a matter of the last importance that it should not be tainted at its very source, and that men who did not choose to follow the regular pursuits of honest industry, should not have it in their power to poison the minds of the people by their fanaticism and folly? He would appeal to any man who had officiated at the Quarter Sessions, whether he had not seen men totally illiterate, without education, without one qualification of fitness, demanding to take the oaths, and obtaining a li- cence to preach ? He did not wish to state particular instances of gross deficiency as to intellectual qualification, and of gross abuses in other respects, which it was in his power to do. He did not mean to lay much stress on illiteracy ; but it was the self-assumption of the office, without bringing any testimony of fitness, to which he particularly meant to object, as inconsistent with the Act of Toleration. " He had seen the returns of Dissenting Preachers from two Archdeaconries; and many of them, he must say, ought not to have been allowed to constitute themselves the ministers of reli- gion. Amongst the list there were men who had been black- smiths, coblers, tailors, pedlars, chimney-sweepers, and what not. These men were totally out of their place : they were not, in fact, at liberty, by law, to take upon themselves the func- APPENDIX. 425 lions of teachers. There were counties in this kingdom where a different interpretation was put on the Toleration Act. In the county of Devon, and in Buckinghamshire, the Magistrates ad- mitted no person to qualify, unless he shewed that he was in holy orders, or pretended holy orders, and the preacher and teacher of a congregation. This he conceived to be according to the real meaning of the Toleration Act ; and it was in this way that the Bill he proposed to introduce would explain that Act. He should propose, that, in order to entitle any man to obtain a qualification as a Preacher, he should have the recom- mendation of at least six reputable householders of the congre- gation to which he belonged, and that he should actually have a congregation that was willing to listen to his instructions. With regard to preachers who were not stationary, but itinerant, he proposed that they should be required to bring a testimonial from six householders, stating them to be of sober life and cha- racter, together with their belief, that they were qualified to perform the functions of preachers. " The noble Lord then noticed the great increase of dissent- ing preachers of late years. Those who would be affected by his Bill did not belong to any sect of dissenters ; they were of the worst class of the Independants, and distinguished by their fanaticism and a certain mischievous volubility of tongue. In the first fourteen years of the present reign, the average annual increase of dissenting teachers was limited to eight, but now it amounted to twenty-four. The causes of this increase, he con- sidered to be partly the increase of population, and the greater prevalence of religious feelings among the people ; but there were other and powerful causes, in the numerous pluralities and non-residence of the clergy. Another great cause was the want of churches to accommodate a numerous population, and, therefore, his Lordship seriously called the attention of the House to consider how this deficiency could be remedied, and recommended the example of parliament in the reign of Queen Anne, who had ordered the erection of fifty -two new churches in London. He regarded the Church of England as the great preservative of the principles and the morals of the people. 3i 426 APPENDIX, Unfortunately, at present, we were in danger of having aa established church, and a sectarian people. u On the question being put, Lord Holland said, that even what had fallen from his noble friend, impressed more strongly on his mind, that no necessity existed for the desired interference. The whole seemed to go upon a fundamental error, that it was only by the permission of government that individuals were to instruct others in their religious duties. He, on the contrary, held to be the right of every man who thinks he can instruct his fellow- creatures, so to instruct them. He was sorry that some- thing slipped from his noble friend, as if he held it improper that persons of low origin, or particular trades, should attempt to teach the doctrines of Christianity. On this point he held a different opinion. Might not even they be inspired with the same conscientious feelings of duty which were required to be felt by those of the higher orders of clergy, to whom the state had giveii such large emoluments ? It was his strong feeling, that it was neither wise nor prudent to meddle with the Act of Toleration. For the measure itself, he did not think a suffi- cient case was made out, as to the existence of any reakpractical evils or inconveniences, to require such an interposition on the part of the Legislature. His Lordship then referred to some calculations as to the increase of dissenting teachers of late years, which he did not seem to regard as a misfortune, or an alarming consideration. With respect to what was said of the established church, he agreed in the opinion, that a want of sufficient number of places of religious worship was injurious. This was a point in which the established religion was essen- tially concerned ; it should take care that no insufficiency in this respect should exist. He had no objection that the public purse should, to a certain extent, contribute to the expences of the necessary erections ; but he thought the immediate funds of the Church should also contribute. Such was the uniform custom of the Church of Rome, and the established Church in this country should shew itself no less mindful of its duty in so essential a point. With respect to his noble friend's Bill, he repeated his opinion, there was not a sufficient ground laid for its adoption. \ APPENDIX. 427 " Earl Stanhope acquiesced in every thing that had fallen from his noble Friend (Lord Holland.) That noble Lord, on whatever question he spoke, whether wright or wrong, wise or unwise, always spoke from principle. But on the present oc- casion, he did not think that his noble friend, or the noble vis- count had gone far enough. They did not, or would rot, touch the real state of the question. They must know, or if they did . not, he would tell them, that in most parts of England, where the parishes did not consist of more than a thousand souls, the places of worship, exclusive of private houses, barns, &c. were as three to four of those of the established church ; and that if Scotland and Ireland were to be included, the proportion be- tween the Dissenters and the established Church would be found as two to one. Lord Sidmouth had told the House, that hardly more than one half of the clergy were resident on their livings. It would be much better for his noble friend to bring in a Bill to correct this evil, than be dabbling with the Dissenters. The noble Lord had expressed his fears, lest there should be an established Church and a sectarian people — the truth was, that this was the case already, and he would advise his noble friend not to be meddling with that class of men, who had, according to him, the mischievous gift of the tongue, and who might be canvassing among the farmers at elections, and hinting to them that they had tithes to pay. It was better to let these people alone, and for the noble. Lord to exert his magnificent abilities in correcting the abuses which existed in the Church. It was well known, that the tide of opinion was running strong a certain way, and it was as vain to think of stopping the cur- rent of opinion, as to stop the stars in their course." The Bill was then presented, and read a first time, a Copy of which I here insert. A BILL, Intituled, an Act to explain and render more effectual certain Acts of the first Year of the Reign of King William and Queen Mary, and of the \9th Year of the Reign of His present Majesty, so far as the same relate to Protestant Dissenting Ministers. Whereas, by an Act made in the first year of the reign of King William and Queen Mary, intituled. An Act for exempt- 3i 2 428 APPENDIX. ing their Majesties' protestant subjects dissenting from the church of England from the penalties of certain laws, persons dissenting from the church of England in holy orders, or pre- tended holy orders, and preachers or teachers of any congre- gation of dissenting Protestants, in order to their being entitled to certain exemptions, benefits, privileges, and advantages, by the said Act granted, are required to declare their approbation of and to subscribe to certain articles of religion : and whereas, by another Act, made in the nineteenth year of the reign of his present Majesty, intituled, An Act for the further relief of Pro- testant Dissenting ministers and schoolmasters, it is enacted, that every person dissenting from the church of England in holy orders, or pretended holy orders, or pretending to holy orders, being a preacher or teacher of any congregation of dissenting Protestants, if he shall scruple to declare and subscribe, as re- quired by the said first recited Act, may make and subscribe the declaration in the said last recited Act set forth, in order to his being entitled to the exemptions, benefits, privileges, and advantages, granted by the said first recited Act, and to certain other exemptions, benefits, privileges, and advantages, granted by the said last recited Act : and whereas doubts have arisen as to the description of persons, to whom the said recited provisions were intended to apply, and it is expedient to remove the said doubts ; may it therefore please your Majesty that it may be declared and enacted, and be it declared and enacted by the King's most excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords spiritual and temporal, and Commons, in this present parliament assembled, and by the au- thority of the same, that every person being a Protestant, dis- senting from the church of England in holy orders, or pretend- ed holy orders, or pretending to holy orders, who shall be ap- pointed or admitted to be the minister of any separate congre- gation of dissenting Protestants, duly certified and recorded or registered according to law, shall be, and is hereby declared to be, a person entitled to qualify himself to be a dissenting minister, within the intent and meaning of the said recited pro- visions of the said Acts ; and that no other than such person, is so entitled, within the intent and meaning of the same. AprENDix. 429 And be it further enacted, that from and after the passing of this Act, upon the appointment of any person, being a Pro- testaut, dissenting from the church of England, and being in holy orders, or pretended holy v orders, or pretending to holy orders, to be the minister of any separate congregation of dis- senting Protestants, duly certified and recorded or registered according to law, and upon his admission to the peaceable pos- session and enjoyment of the place of minister of the said con- gregation, it shall be lawful for any or more substan- tial and reputable householders belonging to the said congrega- tion, in order that the said minister may duly qualify himself according to this Act, to certify the said appointment and his admission to the peaceable possession and enjoyment of the said place, by writing under their hands and proper names, in a certain form to be directed to the Justices of the Peace at the General Session of the Peace, to be holden for the county, riding, or place where such congregation shall be established ; and every such minister, who shall cause the certificate to Jiim granted as aforesaid, to be recorded at any General Session of the Peace to be holden as aforesaid, within after the date of the said certificate, in the manner directed by this Act, (proof being first made on the oath of or more .credible witness or witnesses of the hand-writing of the several persons of the said congregation whose names are subscribed to the said certificate,) shall be and is hereby allowed, without further proof, to take the oaths, and to make and subscribe the declaration against Popery, required to be taken and made by the said Act passed in the first year of the reign of King William and Queen Mary, and also the declaration set forth in the said Act, passed in the nineteenth year of the reign of his present Majesty; and, after taking the said oaths, and making and subscribing the said de- clarations, in manner and upon proof aforesaid, every such minister, shall be, and is hereby declared to be entitled to all the exemptions, benefits, privileges, and advantages granted to Protestant dissenting ministers by the said recited Acts or either of them, or by any Act in the said recited Acts or either of them mentioned or referred to. 430 APPENDIX, Prqvided always, and be it further enacted, that nothing hereinbefore contained shall affect or impeach, or be construed to affect or impeach, any provision or exemption, or any qua- lification or modification thereof, contained in any statute made since the said recited Acts, and now in force, relating to the militia, or the local militia, of this kingdom. Provided also, and be it further enacted, that nothing here- inbefore contained, shall affect or impeach, or be construed to affect or impeach, the title or claim of any dissenting minister, who before the passing of this Act, shall have taken the oaths, and subscribed the declarations mentioned or set forth in the said recited Acts, or either of them, to have and enjoy the ex- emptions, benefits, privileges, and advantages, granted by the said Acts, or either of them. And whereas it is expedient to exempt from certain penal- ties, other persons hereinafter described, who shall make and subscribe the declaration set forth in the said act of the nine- teenth year of the reign of his present Majesty ; be it further enacted, that in case any person being a Protestant, dissenting from the Church of England, and in holy orders, or pretended holy orders, or pretending to holy orders, but who shall not have been appointed or admitted the minister of any separate congregation of dissenting Protestants, shall be desirous of qualifying himself according to this act, to preach and officiate as a dissenting minister, it shall be lawful for any or more substantial and reputable householders being respectively dissenting Protestants of one and the same sect of persuasion with the person applying, to certify, on their consciences and belief, by writing under their hands and proper names in a eertain form, to be directed to the justices of the peace at the general sessions of the peace to be holden for the county, riding, or place, where the said householders or the major part of them shall reside, that such person is a Protestant dissenting minister of their sect or persuasion, and has been known to them and every of them for the space of. - at the least before the date of the said certificate, and that such person is of sober life and conversation, and of sufficient ability and fitness to preach APPENDIX, 431 or teacli and officiate as such dissenting minister ; and every person to whom such last mentioned certificate shall be granted, who shall cause the same to be recorded at any general session of the peace to be holden as aforesaid, within ,. after the date of the said certificate, in the manner directed by this act, proof being first made on the oath of or - more credible witness or witnesses of the handwriting of the several persons whose names are subscribed to the said certi- ficate, shall be, and is hereby allowed without further proof to take the said oaths, and make and subscribe the said declara- tions in the said recited Acts mentioned or set forth ; and every such person, after taking the said oaths and making and sub- scribing the said declarations in manner and upon the proof aforesaid, may from thenceforth preach and officiate as a dis- senting minister in any congregation of dissenting Protestants duly certified and registered or recorded according to law ; and every person so qualifying himself as last aforesaid, shall be wholly exempted from all and every the pains, penalties, punishments, or disabilities inflicted by any statute mentioned in the said recited Acts or either of them, for preaching or officiating in any congregation of Protestant dissenters for the exercise of religion permitted and allowed by law. And be it further enacted, that upon the appointment or ad- mission of any person of sober life and conversation to be ^pro- bationer for the exercise during a time to be limited of the func- tions of a protestant dissenting minister, it shall be lawful for any or more dissenting ministers who shall have taken the said oaths, and made and subscribed the said declarations pursuant to the said recited Acts or either of them, or this Act, to certify the said appointment or admission by writing under their hands, in a certain form, tobedirected to the justices ofthe peace, at the general session ot the peace to be holden for the county, ri- ding, or place where the said ministers, or the major part of them, shall reside, and that the person so appointed or admitted is of sober life and conversation, and lias been known to them for the space of before the date of the said certificate ; and every person to whom such last-mentioned 432 APPENDIX. certificate shall be granted, who shall cause the same to be re- corded at any general session of the peace to be holden as afore- said, wherein after the date of the said last- mentioned certificate in the manner directed by this Act, (proof being first made on the oath of or more credible witness or witnesses of the hand writing of the said ministers whose names are subscribed to the said certificate,) shall be and is hereby allowed without further proofs to take the said oaths, and to make and subscribe the said several de- clarations, in the said recited Acts mentioned or set forth ; and every such person after taking the said oaths, and making and subscribing the said declarations, may from thenceforth during the period specified in such certificate, and not ex- ceeding next ensuing, preach and officiate as such probationer in any congregation of dissenting Protestants duly certified and registered or recorded according to law ; and every person so qualifying himself as last aforesaid shall be and is here- by declared to be during the space of. exempted from all and every the penalties, punishments, and disabilities inflicted by any statute mentioned in the said recited Acts, or either of them, for preaching or officiating in any con- gregation of dissenting Protestants, for the exercise of religion permitted and allowed by law. Provided always, and be it enacted, that nothing herein contained shall be construed to authorize or enable any person to quality more than as such probationer. And be it further enacted, that the Justices of the Peace, to whom any such certificate as aforesaid shall within the time herein limited, be tendered at their general session, shall, and they are hereby required, after such proof in verification thereof as is herein directed, to administer the said oaths and declara- tions to the person producing such certificate, upon his offering to take and make and subscribe the same respectively, and thereupon to record the said certificate at the said session, and therefore to keep a register : provided always, that any decla- ratioii required to be subscribed by the said recited Acts, or either of them, shall be subscribed in open court, with the pro- APPENDIX. 433 per christian and surname, and names of the person making such declaration in his own hand writing, and in the usual manner of his writing, the same in words at length, and not otherwise : provided always, that in the body of every certifi- cate granted by the said officer or officers of the said court to any person as such probationer and not as minister, there shall be expressed the limitation of time for which such certificate shall be in force by virtue of this Act. And be it further enacted, that every certificate of appoint- ment or admission of any such minister, or of any person to officiate as such minister, or of any such probationer pursuant to this Act, shall be subscribed with the respective proper names of the several persons granting the same in their own hand writing, and in the usual manner of their writing and sub- scribing the same, and in the presence of the person or persons who is or are to be the witness or witnesses to verify the same before the Court of General Session of the Peace in the manner herein directed. And be it further enacted, that this Act shall be deemed and taken to be a public Act, and shall be judicially taken notice of as such by all Judges, Justices, and others, without being specially pleaded." m ===== The reader will immediately see, that this Bill would have had a strong operation upon the economy of the Methodists, but the extent of that operation it was impossible to foresee. However, no sooner was the Bill read, than its effects were suf- ficiently understood to fill them with great alarm and appre- hension for their societies, upon which it would have had the most destructive influence. The members of their 7 " Committee of Privileges" were immediately summoned to meet, which they did, May 14, 1811, when they formed, and afterwards published the following resolutions : AT A MEETING OF THE GENERAL COMMITTEE OF THE SOCIETIES OF THE LATE Rev. JOHN WESLEY. Convened for the purpose of taking into consideration a Bill, brought into the House of Lords by the Right Honourable Lord Viscount Sidmouth, intituled, " An Act to explain and 3 K 434 APPENDIX, render more effectual certain Acts of the first year of tbe Reign of King William and Queen Mary, and of the nine- teenth year of the Reign of his present Majesty, so far as the same relate to Protestant dissenting ministers," Held at the New-Chapel, City-Road, London, The Uth of May, 1811; IT WAS RESOLVED, I. That the said Bill, if carried into a law, will be a great infringement of the laws of religious toleration, and will be sub- versive of the most valuable rights and privileges which we as a religious society enjoy. II. That the said Act will, in future, curtail the privileges and exemptions of our regular preachers, who are wholly de- voted to the functions of their office, and to which they are le- gally entitled under the letter and spirit of the Act of Toleration. III. That the said Act will render it very difficult, if not impracticable, to obtain certificates for the great body of local preachers and exhorters, and who are not only an useful part of our society, but whose aid is essentially necessary in the very numerous chapels and meeting-houses, in which our con- gregations assemble. IV. That with great grief of heart we have observed of late a growing disposition, in different parts of the country, to dis- turb our meetings, even those which are held only for prayer to Almighty God, and to enforce the penalties of the Conventicle Act upon those who officiate in them : the great inconvenience and heavy expences of which we have already felt. If this system of persecution should be persevered in, the subordinate teachers of our body, to the amount of many thousands of per- sons in the united kingdom, will be driven to apply for certi- ficates to protect them from the penalties of the Conventicle Act, which indeed they can obtain under the existing laws with- out obstruction ; but if the present Bill should be passed into a law, if will be utterly impossible to consider such persons as dis- senting ministers, and to certify them under the said Act : there- fore, either an end will be put to the functions of a most valuable and useful part of our community, or they will be exposed to APPENDIX, 435 all the penalties of the Conventicle Act; the consequence of which wiH be, that as the people cannot, and ought not, to re- train from Acts of social worship, and meetings for religious in- struction, the penalties cannot be paid, and the prisons will be peopled with some of the most peaceable and pious characters in the country. V. That a great number of the persons mentioned in the last resolution (as well as a large proportion of our societies) considering themselves as members of the established Church, to which they are conscientiously attached, will feel it quite incompatible with their sentiments to apply for certificates un- der the terms of the said Act, which requires them to be certi- fied and to declare themselves as dissenting ministers. VI. That the offices alluded to in the fourth resolution, arc an essential part of the economy of our societies, which has for its object the instruction of the ignorant, and the relief of the miserable, rather than the creation or extention of a distinct sect of religion ; and without whose aid, the various chapels of our societies in the united kingdom, which have cost an im- mense sum of money in their erection, cannot be supported. VII. That our chapels have been built, and large sums of money, due upon the same, for which the respective trustees are now responsible, have been lent and advanced under the most perfect confidence that our system so necessary for their support, would remain undisturbed ; and that those rights of conscience, which our most gracious Sovereign on his accesion to the throne declared should be maintained inviolable, would, in this happy and enlightened country, ever be held sacred, and preserved uninfringed. VIII. That it does not appear to us, that the present tole- ration laws are either so ineffectual, or the interpretation of them so uncertain, as to render any Bill necessary to explain them, much less to curtail the benefits intended to be conveyed by them ; but on the other hand we are satisfied, that if the pre- sent Bill should pass, the whole law of religious toleration will become more obscure, and its meaning more uncertain ; and thus a fruitful source of litigation and oppression will be opened . 3k 2 436 APPENDIX. IX. That the returns of the archbishops and bishops, of the number of places for divine worship, &c. in their respective dioceses, upon which the present measure appears to be found- ed, are far from furnishing evidence of the necessity of restrict- ing the operations of religious societies ; but on the contrary, they contain the most decisive proofs (from the inadequacy of the parish churches to contain the inhabitants of the kingdom) that the increasing population calls for all the means of religious instruction, which well-disposed persons of all denominations of christians, have in their power to afford. X. That from the manifest effect which the diffusion of re- ligion has had for the last fifty years, in raising the standard of public morals, and in promoting loyalty in the middle ranks, as well as subordination and industry in the lower orders of so- ciety, which so powerfully operate upon the national prospe- rity and public spirit, we dread the adoption, of any measure which can in the least weaken these great sinews- of the nation, or restrain the patriotic efforts of any of the religious commu- nities of the country. XI. That as we deprecate the consequences of the Bill as it now stands, so we cannot see that any modification of it can meet the views of its Right Honourable and noble proposer, (w r hose character we highly respect) without essentially deteri- orating, the indefeasible rights and privileges of those who are the objects of the toleration laws. XII. That inasmuch as this Act will most deeply affect our societies, whose moral character and loyalty are unimpeach- able, we feel it our duty to declare, that we do not believe there exists among them any practice or disposition, to warrant a legislative measure, which would abridge our rights and pri- vileges. XIII. That the introduction of the present measure is as unseasonable, as it is needless and oppressive. At any time, religious rights form a most delicate subject for legislative in- terference, but at such a time as this, when not only unanimity, but affection for the government and laws of our country are more than ever essential, for the patient endurance of the pres- APPENDIX. 437 sure of the times, and the repulsion of the bitterest enemy with which this country had to contend, the discussion of these rights is most feelingly to be deprecated. Much irritation, — even worse than political irritation, would be produced, and the ar- dent affection of many a conscientious and loyal subject would be involuntarily diminished. We are impressed with these sentiments the more deeply, as not a shadow of a charge is brought against our very numerous body, and we can challenge the most rigid enquiry into the moral and political character of our preachers and our people. XIV. That, abstaining from all observations on the abstract rights of conscience, but with the views and feelings thus ex- pressed, we are most decidedly of opinion that the present mea- sure is radically objectionable, and does not admit of any modi- fication ; and we cannot but feel it our duty to oppose the Dill in all its stages by every constitutional means. XV. That we reflect with high satisfaction on the liberal, enlightened, and religious declaration of our most gracious So- vereign, on the commencement of his Reign. " Born," said his Majesty, in his first speech from the throne, " and educa- u ted in this country, I glory in the name of Briton, and the " peculiar happiness of my life will ever consist in promoting "-the welfare of a people, whose loyalty and warm affection to " me I consider as the greatest and most permanent security of " my throne; and I doubt not, but their steadiness in those " principles will equal the firmness of my invariable resolution " to adhere to, and strengthen this excellent constitution in " church and state; and to maintain the toleration " inviolable. The civil and religious rights v of Mr " LOVING SUBJECTS ARE EQUALLY DEAR TO ME WITH THE " MOST VALUABLE PREROGATIVES OF MY CROWN ; and as " the surest foundation of the whole, and the best means to iC draw down the divine favour on my reign, it is my fixed " PURPOSE TO COUNTENANCE AND ENCOURAGE THE PRAC- li TICE OF TRUE RELIGION AND VIRTUE." This declaration of our beloved Sovereign has been religiously fulfilled during a long and benificent reign, and has been humbly met by our 438 APPENDIX. societies with the affection it was calculated to inspire. We have built with confidence upon this gracious declaration, and our confidence has not been misplaced. His Majesty has been a shield to the religious of all persuasions, and he has respected the rights of conscience in all. And we cannot doubt that His Royal Highness the Prince Regent, with those just sentiments of truth and sincerity, which he has graciously declared shall be the guide of his character and every action of his life, will feel it is happiness to recognize the high natural rights of con- science ; and should it please the wise disposer of all events to restore his afflicted Father to the personal exercise of his royal functions, His Royal Highness will feel it amongst the many blessings of his benevolent and liberal administration, that he has, agreeably to the ardent wishes of a great portion of His Majesty's loyal subjects, preserved those sacred rights entire, and returned to his beloved Father the Toleration inviolate. We have too much confidence in the wisdom and justice of Parliament, to imagine that a measure will be adopted so ob- noxious to such a large proportion of the nation, as our societies and congregations constitute : but if unhappily we should be disappointed, and in the dernier resort, we should be driven to submit our case to His Royal Highness, we have already the gratification of his royal assurance, that he will " be ready to " listen to the complaints of those who may think themselves " aggrieved, and regulate his conduct upon the established " principles of that ancient and excellent constitution, under " which the people of this country have hitherto enjoyed a " state of unrivalled prosperity and happiness." The following were some of the reasons which induced the committee to adopt the foregoing resolutions : — I. At present every man may choose his own mode of reli- gious instruction, aud every man who is impressed with the belief that it is his duty to preach or teach, has the liberty to do so, on making oath and subscribing certain declarations. These are points fully recognized by the Toleration Laws, and if they were not, religious toleration would, indeed, be confined APPENDIX. 439 within narrow bounds. But the proposed Bill is quite a mea- sure of condition and restraint, and would so operate to a very extensive degree. II. The magistrate now acts ministerially ; be will then, we contend, act judicially. This is a point of the very highest consequence to all ranks of christians. At present, the ma- gistrate has no discretion as to the administering the oaths &c. : he is required to administer them to those that offer, &c. But, if the present Bill should pass, he will, of course become the judge of the qualities of the householder who certifies, t. e. how far he is substantial and reputable. It appears to us also, that he might probably be the judge of the truth of the certifi- cate : and, therefore, how far the persons certifying were dis- senting Protestants, and were of the same sect or persuasion. This would be a most fruitful source of difference of opinion, and, consequently, the hardship would fall upon the applicant for a qualification, who would be exposed to infinate vexation. The very terms are open to difference of opinion in magistrates, as must every other subject upon which they are to decide judicially. This would be the subversion of a principle which has been acknowledged since the first statute on the subject of toleration. Would the power thus given to the magistrate, be any thing less than that which he has in licensing public houses ? and can we suppose this to be fitting in religious matters ? III. At present, the Court of King's Bench will grant a mandamus to admit a dissenting teacher where the chapel is endowed, as in the case of Rex, r. Barker, 3 Burr. 1264 But if this Bill passes, it will, it is presumed, deprive the first class of persons, named in the Bill, of the benefit of this writ. At present, a person must shew that he is legally qualified, ac- cording to law, to act as a dissenting teacher, before he can have the benefit of the mandamus : but under the present Bill, a person must first be admitted to the peaceable possession and enjoyment of the place of minister of a congregation before he can qualify. Now, if there be a contest between two per- sons, as was the case above-mentioned, and one of them, who, according to the terms of the deed of endowment, is entitled to 440 APPENDIX. the possession of the chapel, has occasion to apply to (he court for a mandamus to be admitted, how is it possible that the court can grant it, unless he can shew that he is a legal mi- nister, qualified according to the existing laws ? This he could not do for want of a qualification under the Act, and this qua- lification he could not get, for want of the peaceable possession of the very situation which formed the subject of contest. It is obvious, then, what a situation the congregations of endow- ed chapels would be placed in. The trustees being in posses- sion of the property, might, in most cases, appoint whom they might think proper, and the congregation, and their chosen minister, would have no redress. IV. There is a phraseology used in the second section, which we have never yet seen adopted, and the mode of word- ing adds another trait of character before unknown in the law of toleration. It speaks of the appointment of a person, not only being a Protestant, dissenting from the Church of England, and being in holy orders, or pretended holy orders, or pre- tending to holy orders ; but the applicant must have an addi- tional character to be entitled to the immunities of William and Mary, and of 19th Geo. Ill, that is, he must be the mi- nister of a separate congregation. This word separate, what- ever be its meaning, as applied to this subject, was never used till the 43d of Geo. III. V. With respect to the exemptions, the first class are enti- tled to all the existing immunities contained in the exemption from militia services and offices. The second class, who are intended, it is presumed, to compromise the itinerant preachers of the Methodist societies, are only exempted by the proposed Bill from pains and penalties, whereas, at present, they are, we contend, entitled to all the privileges of the most regular dis- senting minister, presiding oyer one congregation only. The third class are intended, we presume, to comprise the young student, Avho is preparing for his office, and preaching to a congregation on trial. These are also only exempted from pains and penalties, whereas, at present, they also are entitled to the privileges of the most regular minister. APPENDIX, 441 VI. At present, the cost of the certificate is but sixpence, besides the journey to the sessions to take the oaths ; but by the proposed law, the applicant must be at the expence of taking a witness with him to verify the certificate. This, when the sessions are at a distance, will sometimes be of importance to a poor candidate for the ministry ; but when it is coupled with the circumstance, that this Bill proposes to give the magistrate a judicial power, which will leave him at liberty, more or less, to reject the certificate, on account of the want, as he may sup- pose, of substance or reputation in the certifier, the disappoint- ment, vexation, and expence may be endless. If the Magi- strate have power thus to determine and to reject on the first application, so he may on the second, and ultimately, the ap- plicant may never be considered as properly qualified ; and he at length may be obliged to make an application to the superior courts, the determination of which, as it would be a question of fact, might be very expensive. The consequence of this clause, we apprehend, will be very serious. These being their conclusions, they looked at the proposed Bill with dread and dismay, as being calculated to make the most alarming inroads upon the rights and privileges they had enjoyed since the foundation of their societies in the year 1739. I shall here also record some of the very judicious and lauda- ble proceedings of the committees of Protestant dissenters on this business. The Ministers of the three denominations of Protestant dis- senters (Presbyterians, Independents, and Baptists,) resident in and about London, have, for nearly a century, regularly as- sociated, and have assembled, at least, annually, for the man- agement of their affairs. A committee was appointed by them, about two years ago, to attend to the progress of the Bill which the noble lord had signified his intention to introduce. As soon as the provisions of this Bill were made known, the committee called a general meeting of the whole body, on Thursday, May 16. The meeting was uncommonly numerous ; and the discussions which took place were conducted with candour and harmony. 3 l 442 APPENDIX. Library ', Red-Cross-Street^ May 16, 1811. — At a numer- ous meeting of the general body of Protestant dissenting mini- sters, of the three denominations, residing in and about the cities of London and Westminster, regularly summoned to de- liberate on the means of opposing the Bill introduced into the House of Lords by Viscount Sidmouth, which has a tendency to narrow the provisions of the Toleration Act, the following re- solutions were unanimously adopted : — 1. That the right of peaceably assembling, for the pur- poses of religious worship and public instruction, according to the dictates of our own consciences, belongs to us as men, as christians, and as members of civil society; that this right ought not to be abridged or controled, by any secular authority ; and that we cannot consent to the alienation or surrender of it, without criminality on our own parts, disrespect to the memory of those from whom we have, under providence, received it, and injury to the best interests of our descendants and succes- sors ; to whom it is our duty, as far as we are able, to transmit it inviolable. 2. That this right has been recognized and maintained, from the Revolution to the present day, partly by a liberal con- struction of the Toleration Act, and partly by the protection of the illustrious Princes of the House of Brunswick; and that it would betray a want of confidence in the favour of our Sove- reign, in the justice of the legislature, /and in the spirit of the times, to submit to any proposed restrictions of this right, in passive silence. 3. That as faithful and loyal subjects, attached to the civil constitution of our country, and desirous of contributing to that tranquility and union on which its permanence and pros- perity very much depend, we cannot forbear expressing our re- gret that any measures should be proposed which have a ten- dency, by abridging our liberty as Protestant dissenters, and restraining' the exercise of social worship among those with whom we have connected, to excite dissatisfaction and discon- tent at the present interesting crisis ; and more especially at a time when we had reason to hope that our liberty would have APPENDIX. 443 been enlarged instead of being restrained ; though we are peace- ably waiting for that period in which rthh happy event shall take place, and penal laws no longer have any operation in the province of religion. 4. That the Bill now introduced into the House of Lords appears to us inconsistent with the unmolested liberty which we have long thankfully enjoyed ; repugnant to our principles and profession as Protestant dissenters, who disavow the autho- rity of the civil magistrate in the province of religion, and im- posing restrictions which will be in various respects, injurious and oppressive. 5. That it is our duty, on our own behalf, and on behalf of our brethren, as well as with a view to the cause of religious liberty in general, to make every constitutional effort in our power for preventing this Bill from passing into a law ; and that for this purpose a petition be presented by this body to the House of Peers. Dan. Taylor, Chairman. At a Meeting of the Deputies appointed for supporting the Civil Rights of Protestant dissenters, held at the King's Head Tavern, in the Poultry, London, May 15, 1811, William Smith, Esq. M. P. in the Chair; Resolved, That liberty of conscience, comprehending the freedom of public assemblies for religious worship and instruc- tion, in such forms and under such teachers as men shall for themselves approve, is the unalienable right of all; in the peaceable exercise of which they are not justly controlable by the civil magistrate. Resolved, That this liberty has been generally recognized in the practice of the British Government since the acra of the Revolution, under the construction of the statute commonly called the Toleration Act ; whatever may have been the letter of the law, the spirit of toleration has been extended, and a large portion of religious liberty actually enjoyed. Resolved, That we have beheld, with great concern, a Bill lately brought into Parliament, designed, as appears to us> to 3l 2 444 APPENDIX, abridge such religious liberty, and having a tendency to de- prive the lower classes of the community of those opportunities which they have so long enjoyed, to attend public worship and religious instruction Under teachers of their own choice. Resolved, That, as deputies appointed by large and respect- able bodies of Protestant dissenters to attend to their civil rights, it becomes our bounden duty immediately to protest against the principle of such measure, and to point out tbe unjust and vexatious operation of the aforesaid Bill, as now brought into Parliament. Resolved, That a Petition against the said Bill, grounded on the principles of the foregoing resolutions, be signed by the members of this meeting, and presented to the legislature. Resolved, That the foregoing resolutions be signed by the chairman, and inserted in all the public papers. W. Smith, Chairman. At a Numerous and Respectable Meeting of Protestant Dis- senters of various Denominations, and other Friends to Re- ligious Liberty, residing in different parts of the United Empire, held at the London Tavern, Bishopsgate Street, May the 15th, 1811, Samuel Mills, Esq. in the Chair. It was unanimously agreed, I. That this meeting believe that there are at least two millions of Protestant dissenters in the kingdom of England and Wales, including persons of opulent fortunes, high lite- rary attainments, and active benevolence : that their exertions have contributed to promote industry, knowledge, good morals, social order, and public prosperity. That they are not inferior to any of their fellow-subjects in fervent love to their country, nor in ardent loyalty to their venerable sovereign, whose early promise, c to preserve the toleration inviolate,' has made an indelible impression on their hearts ; — and that any measures which might excite their discontent and enfeeble their attachment, would, therefore, at any time, and especially at this period, be inconsistent with the national interest, and with wise and liberal policy. APPENDIX. 445 II. That although this meeting consider the right to worship God according to individual judgment as an inalienable right superior to all social regulations ; and, although they have long anticipated a period when all penal laws for worshipping God according to their consciences would be abolished, they have been unwilling to agitate the public mind for the attain- ment of their hopes ; and presuming that no persons would, in tills age, venture to assail the Act of Toleration, after the ever- memorable declaration of the King, they have been content to regard it with grateful emotions, and to esteem it as an effectual protection against the recurrence of former persecutions. III. That the persons assembled at this meeting have re- ceived, with great anxiety, the communications frequently made by the Right Hon. Viscount Sid mouth, of his intention to propose legislative enactments, interfering with the laws relating to Protestant dissenters ; that they did hope the applications he has received, and the information communicated, would have prevented his perseverance. But they have learned the dis- appointment of their hopes, and have ascertained the provisions of the Bill which he has at length introduced into parliament with extreme regret, and with painful apprehension. IV. That this Bill declares that all the provisions relating to dissenting ministers, contained in the Toleration Act, and in the subsequent Act for their further relief, were intended to be limited only to ministers of separate congregations ; and enacts, 1. That such ministers upon being admitted to the peaceable possession and enjoyment of the place of minister of a separate congregation, may, on a certificate in writing, under the hands of substantial and reputable householders belonging to such congregation, signed in the presence of some credible witness, who is to make proof of their signatures upon oath at a general Sessions of the Peace, be permitted to take the oaths, and to sign the declaration previously required ; and shall then, and then only, during their continuance to be ministers of such se- parate congregation, be intitled to all the privileges and exemp- tions which the former acts had conferred. 2-. That any other person who may desire to qualify himself to preach as a dissent* 446 APPENDIX. ing minister, must procure several substantial and reputable householders, being dissenters of the same sect, and of the same congregation, to certify on their consciences, in writing, to his being a Protestant dissenting minister of their sect, and of the same congregation, and to their individual and long knowledge of his sobriety of conversation, and of his ability and fitness to preach; and that such certificate must be proved, as before stated, before he be exempt from the pains, penalties, and pu- nishments to which he would otherwise be liable as a dissenting minister. And, 3. That any person of a sober life and con- versation, admitted to preach on probation to any separate con- gregation, must produce a certificate from several dissenting ministers (who have taken the oaths, to be also proved on oath at a general Session) of his life and conversation, and to their long previous knowledge, before lie can be permitted- to take the oaths and subscribe the declaration ; and that he may then, during a limited period, to be specified in the certificate, offi- ciate as a probationer to any dissenting congregation, and be during a limited period, exempt from prosecution and punish- ment. But neither of the two last mentioned classes of persons, will be entitled to any privileges, or to the exemptions from offices conferred on dissenting ministers by the Toleration Act. Y. That the principle assumed as the foundation of the Bill is incorrect :— - That the Toleration Act authorised any persons to become dissenting ministers who conceived themselves to be called and qualified to preach, upon giving security tothe State for their loyalty and christian principles, by taking certain oaths and subscribing certain declarations; and not only pre- vented their persecution under laws made in times less favour- able to civil and religious liberty, but conceiving their labours to be of public utility, granted to them exemptions from all parochial offices and other duties which might interfere with their more important exertions :— That such construction of the Act of Toleration has been sanctioned by the^general practice of a century, and has never been impunged by any decision in a superior court of law ; and that even if such construction be in- correct, and legislative exposition be required, such declaratory APPENDIX. 447 Bill ought to follow the intention of the Act which lias subse- quently passed ; and should extend and not contract, — protect and not impair, the relief afforded by the former ancient and venerable statute. VI. That the Bill intnxluced into parliament is not justi- fied by any necessity, and will be highly injurious; that it is unnecessary, because the evils presumed to result from the abuses of the existing laws, by a few persons who may have improperly taken the oaths required from dissenting preachers and teachers, do not exist but to a most inconsiderable extent ; and because the extension of all such abuses has been anxi- ously, and would be effectually discountenanced by every class of Protestant dissenters — and that it must be injurious, because it will introduce forms unprecedented, inconvenient, or impracticable ; will render itinerant preachers, students of divinity, ministers on probation, and many persons to whose ardent piety and disinterested labours multitudes are indebted for religious instruction, liable to serve all civil offices,.. and will expose all ministers, or the witnesses to their certificates, to be harrassed by repeated attendances at different sessions, and to capricious examinations, and unlimited expence, — because, by limiting the right of persons to become dissenting ministers, it will impose new restrictions on toleration ; and because it will create a precedent for future attempts at even more dangerous or fatal experiments against religious liberty. VII. That, although most reluctant to interference with po- litical affairs, they cannot but regard the present attempt with peculiar sensations of alarm ; and that veneration for their an- cestors, regard to their posterity, respect for rights which they can never abandon, and the sacred obligations which they feel, will therefore compel them to disregard all doctrinal and ritual distinctions, and to unite by every legitimate effort to prevent the pending Bill from passing into a law, and to oppose the smallest diminution of the privileges secured by the Act of Toleration. VIII. That from the noble declaration ofthe liberal-minded and illustrious Prince Regent of the Empire, that he will deli- 448 APPENDIX. ver up the constitution unaltered to bis Royal Father, this meet- ing are encouraged to indulge confident hope that a measure so innovating and injurious can never obtain the sanction of his high authority ; and they also rejoice that it lias not been introduced by his Majesty's government ; that respectful appli- cation be therefore made to them for their wise and continued protection; that a petition to the House of Lords against the Bill be signed by all the persons present at this meeting, and that all congregations of Protestant dissenters, and other friends of religious liberty throughout the empire, be recommended to present similar petitions, and that a committee consisting of persons resident in London, be appointed to effectuate these proceedings, and to adopt any measures they may deem ex- pedient to prevent the successful prosecution of this Bill ; and that dissenting ministers of every denomination resident in the country, be also members of this committee : and that such committee may increase their number, and that any three members be competent to act." S. MILLS, Chairman. I now return to the proceedings of the general committee of the societies of the late Rev. John Wesley. On Thursday they were closely engaged all day in carrying the aforesaid measure into effect, and sending a copy of the re- solutions into every circuit throughout the kingdom, that their friends might know the opinion of the committee on the sub- ject, and be prepared to co-operate with it, in every future measure which might be deemed necessary to the preservation of our religious rights. As Lord Sidmouth had fixed on Friday the 17th for the second reading of the Bill, there was but little time for obtain- ing signatures to a petition ; however, this little time was im- proved, and on Friday morning, before eleven o'clock, upwards of two thonsand signatures were obtained to petitions from their different societies and congregations in the two London circuits. APPENDIX, 449 Application was made to Lord Erskine, who paid the ut- most attention to their case ; at the same time lie most readily engaged to present their petitions to the House, and to oppose the Bill ; as did also Lords Grey and Holland. In the evening, Lord Stanhope moved, that the second read- ing of the Bill should be deferred till some future day, which motion was seconded by Earl Grey, and acceded to by Lord Sidmouth ; who in a short speech informed the House, that on Tuesday the 21st he should bring the subject forwards for dscussion. This delay was considered a favourable interposition of Providence, as it afforded the Committee opportunity for pro- curing parchments, and preparing a copy of a petition, to be sent into those circuits from whence they could be returned before Tuesday noon. Special messengers were sent to Bris- tol, Birmingham, and into some parts of Kent and Sussex ; and these were provided with directions and parcels, to be left in every circuit through which they passed, that the urgency of the business might be understood, and every energy exerted to accomplish their purpose. To evince the zeal and activity which prevailed on this occasion, I here give an extract from a letter written by a gentleman of high respectability, who was actively engaged in this business. " May 23, 1811. c f Since last Thursday I have been fully occupied, by the " Committee of Privileges," on the business of Lord Sidmouth 's Bill. On Saturday night at eight o'Clock two post chaises and four, set off on this important business, one to Birmingham, and the other to Bristol. At half past eleven the same night, I was sent to seek another, but after going all over the city, was obli- ged to return to the committee room without one. At half past twelve o'clock, I procured a coach in Aldersgate-street, and, with a friend, drove all over the town in search of a convey- ance. A little before three o'Clock in the morning while we were knocking up the people at the fifteenth Inn, a respect- 3 M 450 appendix. able looking man came up with a Ianthoru and enquired, " what was the matter?" we answered * we wanted a post chaise and four, and must have it, it being on parliament- ary business.' He replied " he could have supplied us had we come at a more seasonable hour, but now he had only one post boy in the house, and he was gone to bed." We beg- ged of him to do what he could for us, and at length per- suaded him to drive us himself. The horses were put to in a trice, and we set off full speed for Bromley, which we readied in an hour and a quarter. Here we again knocked up the people at the Inn, but lost half an hour before they were rea- dy. Having left our petitions, with solemn orders to deliver them as soon as it was light, we set off for Sevenoaks, which we reached before seven o'clock. Here, while we were ex- plaining the nature of the business we came on, to Mr we partook of a hasty breakfast. We then jumped into the chaise and started for Tunbridge ; having delivered our parcels and given suitable directions, we drove on to the Wells : after delivering our message there, with steady course we pursued our Way to Rye, and drove up to the chapel. The morning service was concluded and the people were just coming out ; we instantly desired them to stop, telling them, we had come express from London on very important business. Having ascended the pulpit stairs, with every eye fixed upon us, we laid before them the purport of our mission, by informing them of the Bill, and explaining its nature. We then inform- ed them of the Committee appointed for guarding their pri- vileges, and read their resolutions : we told them also of whom the Committee consisted, and that we had travelled the whole night to reach them at that time. We then requested those to stay who wished to sign the petition ; not a dozen went away till they had signed. One man indeed, when he heard none was permitted to sign who was under sixteen, whispered to another, and said, w he should not sign, for he thought it was a scheme to take them by surprise to get them drawn for the Militia." ** We dispatched messengers to the places adjacent, to be APPENDIX. 451 ready for the evening service : one went out thirteen miles, and did not return until midnight. I left my friend Mr , at Rye, while I went to W inchelsea, about three miles off. The minister bad just concluded his* sermon when I arrived ; having informed him of my design, he requested the whole congregation to slop when the service was ended. I then stated the case, and most of the people signed the petition : one man came and said, " pray Sir, let somebody sign for me." " My good man," said 1, " it will not be allowed, you must assist us by your prayers.'* " Really Sir," said another, " I could wisli to sign, but I never wrote my name in my life, but do give me the pen and I will try !" " At twelve o'clock on Monday we bent our course home- ward, and on Tuesday about the same hour, we reached town. We sat close till live o'clock inihe afternoon, sending off peti- tions, in alphabetical order, by coaches, till a message came down express from the House of Lords to inform us, that the business was about to begin. Every one therefore took his arms full and conveyed them to the coach, which instantly drove off with all speed to the House. I and two other friends had three good loads of those remaining ones which were taken from us at the door of the anti-chamber of the House. i6 We had at that time above a thousand petitions on the road. The operations of the Bill were not known beyond the environs of the Metropolis, and yet a mighty flood of petitions poured in. Lord Erskine undertook the catise of our societies. u After bringing into the House many bags full, the petitions were still so numerous, that his Lordship was obliged to fetch the rest from the anti-chamber in his arms, and he came down to the House several times in this manner loaded like a porter." I was myself at Leeds at the time when this Bill was pend- ing in the House : the petitions for that Town and neighbour- hood arrived on Wednesday morning May 22nd. The Com- mittee which had been previously formed was sitting at the time, and they immediately dispatched messengers into dif- ferent parts of the town, and the adjacent villages, to obtain 3m2 452 APPENDIX, signatures. In tie course of that afternoon and the forenoon of the following day some thousands had signed the petitions, and had not the business been stopped on the Thursday after- noon by the arrival of the pleasing tidings that the Bill was lost, many thousands more signatures would have been obtained in a few days. The different denominations of Dissenters in that large and populous Town, formed a Committee of respectable gentle- men, who also manifested great zeal and activity in this noble cause 3 they deputed several persons to go to their respec- tive congregations in the country, to obtain signatures to their petitions, which they likewise obtained in abundance. Indeed, such unity of sentiment I never witnessed on any subject be- fore: the pious and candid members of the established Church, cordially united with the Methodists and Dissenters to shew their decided disapprobation of the obnoxious Bill, and all, as with one heart and voice, avowed their determination to oppose, to the uttermost, all restrictions on Religious Liberty. The same activity was manifested, and similar exertions made, in every part of the kingdom were the nature of the Bill was thoroughly understood, its effects were deeply de- plored and deprecated by all classes of people in the land. u In every place the Messengers met with the most zealous co-operation of the people, who dreading the loss of their re- ligious privileges, came forwards to sign the petitions with an eagerness which was highly honourable to their feelings. At Bristol, the Mayor granted the use of the Town-Hall, and al- though the notice was so short,yet between twelve and five o'clock on Monday, the petition received upwards of 1900 signatures, and this was in addition to separate petitions from all the dis- senting congregations in the city, which were numerously signed. By these means the committee had procured before Tuesday noon upwards of 250 petitions, bearing 30,000 Sig- natures. The Committee was incessantly employed in examin- ing and taking an account of them. And that every thing might be conducted with the utmost regularity, almost every petition was separately rolled up, tied with red tape, and the. APPENDIX. 453 place from whence it came, together with the number of sig- natures it contained, legibly written on one end of the roll, so that when it was presented, the noble Lord had no difficulty in announcing these particulars to the House. It required tl e utmost exertions of the committee to prepare all things in rea- diness before the House met ; however, this was accomplished, and the petitions were delivered to Lord Erskine in one o [he anti-chambers. His Lordship was pleased to express his a- tisfaction with what had been done, and whilst he was ing his burthens into the House, appeared to feel a noble pride in the office he had undertaken to perform." Earl Stanhope said, he held in his hand a petition against the Bill, signed by upwards of 2000 persons ; and he had no doubt that if the Bill was persisted m, the petitioners against it, instead of thousands, must be counted by millions. The petition having been received, and ordered to lie on the table, The Earl of Liverpool rose, and after bearing his testi- mony to the good intentions of his noble friend who had intro- duced the* Bill, and who, he was confident, had nothing in view dangerous to the wholesome and wise system of toleration in tiiis country, expressed his doubts respecting the prudence of his farther pressing the measure. If it were pressed, the £ood that would result, would be comparatively much less than was expected in any view of the subject. But if it were p d under the present misconceptions of its object, and the alarm and apprehension thereby created, the evils produced by it might far preponderate. The Toleration Laws, he was ready to say, were matters on which he thought the Legislature should not touch, unless it were from causes of great paramount neces- sity. Under all these circumstances, he trusted that his noble friend would see the propriety of not farther pressing his Bill. Lord Viscount Si dm outh said he was placed in a situation of considerable difficulty, as he must consider the sentiments expressed by the noble Earl as the sentiments of the Govern- ment of which he was a principal part. Yet, if his noble friend confessed that misconceptions had gone abroad on the 454 APPENDIX. object of his measure, that could not be a reason sufficient for him to withdraw his Bill in the present stage of it. The great- est misconceptions, misapprehensions, and he might add, mis- representations of the Bill had been made without doors ; so that although it was not regular in that stage to enter into par- ticulars, he should for convenience, if not regular, take that op- portunity of stating what the Bill was and what it was not. Earl Grby spoke to order. He would be the last person to interrupt the noble Viscount, but it was certainly quite out of order to enter into the details of the question on the presen- tation of the petitions, when the opportunity of addressing the House would so soon occur on the second reading. He was convinced of the purity of intention by which his noble friend was actuated, and that he entertained no design of infringing on the just and liberal toleration of every man's opinion and wor- ship ; but lie thought that the present was not the time for dis- cussing the question when they were receiving petitions, unless the reception of them was to be objected to. Lord Viscount Siomouth said he should not farther trou- ble the House at that time. It had not been his intention to take up their time long ; but he should reserve himself till the second reading, then more fully to explain himself. Earl Stanhope presented fifteen other petitions from dif- ferent dissenting congregations in various parts of England, (Castlecary, Market Harborough, &c.) which were severally ordered to lie on the table. _ Lord Holland rose, and said he had numerous petitions to present to the House against the present Bill, the first of which he should move to be read. It was the joint petition of the three denominations of the dissenters in, and in the vicinity of, the metropolis, namely, the Presbyterian, the Baptist, and the Independent. He should say little by way of preface, ex- cept that he believed that that, as well other petitions, would shew that the people of this country were not so ignorant of the nature and character of a Bill brought into Parliament as not to see and appreciate its consequences on their civil or their re- ligious liberty. He was happy to hear from the noble Secre- APPENDIX, 455 tary of State what lie bad heard from him that night on the im- policy of such a measure. But, he must say, that the noble Vis- count had very fairly shaped his course in the proceedings both last session and this. He (Lord Holland) had last June stated his intention to look with much care and great jealousy at any attempt to meddle with or impair the provisions of the Tolera- tion Act, and he thanked the noble Viscount for having so fully explained his views this session. He could not, however, avoid expressing his surprise and regret that the noble Secretary of State had not taken an opportunity, either last session or this, of stating his prudential objection to the adoption of this mea- sure, instead of leaving that to the present occasion, when the petitions against it were crowding in from all parts of England, He then presented the petition, which was received, and order- ed to lie on the table. Lord Holland then stated that he had a great number of other petitions. The Earl of Morton said it was desirable to know whether any of those petitions contained matter which reflected upon, or was irregular to be presented to that House. Lord Holland said he had been unable to read them all. Several he had read, which contained no such matter. But he should feel pleasure iu having them all read to the House, if it would not be too inconvenient in respect of time. The Earl of Lauderdale said that he also had many petitions to present. Such was, however, the opinion he en- tertained of the respectability of character of the persons who had framed them, that, if there was any intention shown of casting doubt or reflections on them, he certainly should move that every one of those which he should present should be read. The Earl of Morton was satisfied with ibe explanation of the noble Baron (Lord Holland.) The petitions presented by Lord Holh-nd, 65 in number, were then received, the preambles read, v. A ordered to lie on the table. They were from congregations in a number of pla- ces in Wiltshire, Essex, Dorset, Berks, Middlesex. &o,; one petition we believe, was signed by above 4000 persons. 456 APPENDIX, The Earl of Moira rose, and after some observations on the respectability of the petitioners, declared his readiness to stake his responsibility for the propriety of the sentiments they contained. His Lordship then presented a great number of petitions from different places in Loudon, Westminster, Surrey, Middlesex, Kent, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Berks, Sussex, Bucks, Wilts, Leicestershire, Norfolk, Hants, Herts, Der- byshire, Warwickshire, Northamptonshire, Oxfordshire, &c. amounting to about' seventy, all which were ordered to lie on the tabK The Earl of Lauderdale then rose, and presented twenty petitions from Bath, the Isle of Wight, Kent, and va- rious other places, with signatures to the amount of -more than 10,000 names, all which were taken as read, and ordered to lie on the table. Earl Grey presented a petition from a Meeting at Bris- tol, which his Lordship iaid was intended to have been pre- sented by the High Steward of that city (Lord Grenville.) His noble friend could not attend in the House that night, but he was confident, from what he knew of his opinions respect- ing the important subject of Toleration, that he was favour- able to the prayer of the petition. Ordered to lie on the table. The Duke of Norfolk observed, that persons not dissenters, but friends to the principle of Toleration, had signed the petition. Earl Grey then presented seventy-seven other petitions from Lewes, Portsmouth, Daventry, Colnbrook, Gloucester, and other places, which were also ordered to lie on the table. The Earl of Rosslyn presented twenty-five similar petitions from different places. Ordered to lie on the table. Lord Erskine stated, that he had two hundred and fifty- five petitions to present on the same important subject. He should make no other prefatory remark, but to say, that they contained the same opinions on that question which he himself maintained on the subject of the Toleration Act. After having read one of the petitions, his Lordship proceeded to present them to the House, when it was a little amusing to see him en- APPENDIX. 457 gaged for more than half an hour, in lifting up his bags full of rolls one after another, and laying them on the table, then draw- ing them out and announcing the place from whence each came, and the number of signatures affixed. They were from many parts of the south of England, and some of them had an im- mense number of signatures. The Marquis of Lansdowne then stated, that he had above J00 different petitions to present to their Lordships on the same subject, and of the same tenor. The first petition he presented, his Lordship stated, was signed by many persons not Protestant dissenters; several of them beneficed clergymen of the established church, who, equally with the Protestant dis- senters, deprecated any interference with the Toleration Laws ; and was signed by 896 persons. All these petitions were also received, and ordered to lie on the table. The number of all the petitions received was about 629. The order of the day was then called for by several Lords, when Lord Viscount Sidmouth rose, and said, that in moving the second reading of this Bill, he should make no remarks on the number of the petitions which had been presented against it f as he readily supposed that the petitioners sincerely believed what they had expressed with respect to the operation of it. His noble friend (Lord Liverpool) had truly stated, that great misconception and misapprehension had gone forth respecting the Bill, and he must add, great misrepresentation. The va- rious public resolutions were, for the greater part, inapplicable to the real objects of his Bill. When the intelligent mind of his noble friend was not quite free from misconception, he could not wonder at seeing the misapprehensions of others. It seemed to be thought that some change was intended in our Toleration Laws. What was it? The object of the Bill, the clauses of which might be amended in the Committee, was merely to give uniformity to the two Acts on which our system of toleration was founded ; its object was not to exclude any class of dissenters, but to comprehend all, according to the spi- rit and meaning of those Acts. This was the sole purpose of the Bill. lie was led to propose it, from information, he had 3n 458 APPENDIX. a considerable time since received, of what was and is the pre- valent mode of executing those Acts. He lamented to think that the effect of those Bills was, that any persons of depraved morals should be able by taking the oath of allegiance, by ma- king the declaration against popery, and subscribing to certain articles of the church, or declaring himself, under the 19th of the present King, a christian and protestant, and a believer that the Old and New' Testaments contained the revealed will of God, to claim his licence, and that his certificate should enable him to preach any where any doctrines he pleased ; and that this did, in fact, till 1802, exempt him from many civil and from all military services. At first he could hardly credit that inter- pretation of the laws. He could state, but that he feared fati- guing their Lordships, informations from many magistrates, of numerous applications at Quarter Sessions, evidently to obtain these exemptions. He had heard of what lie confessed was creditable to a sect of Dissenters, wherein they acknowledged these abuses, and expressed their desire to correct them by the expulsion from among them of such unworthy persons ; (the Wesleyan connexion was here alluded to.) He had learned with satisfaction, that though the prevalent interpretation of the law was as he had stated, yet with many well-informed and respectable persons it was not so. In Devon, Norfolk, Bucks, and in Suffolk too, he learned that that interpretation was not admitted. Feeling the abuses that were committed, learning the opinions of enlightened men, and the practice of many res- pectable magistrates on this subject, he had felt it necessary to bring the consideration of it before parliament. He had been encouraged to do so by the opinions of respectable persons, of magistrates, and judges ; and he had stated, in June, 1809, that he intended to do nothing but what was with a view to se- cure the toleration of Protestant dissenters, as well as the sup- port of the church of England, of which he gloried in being a member. By this fair standard he had proceeded, and in his Bill there was nothing to be found inconsistent with it. — He had not contented himself with the authorities he had mentioned, but had sought further information, and even communications with various I i s ssnters. Fr<;m some of them he had received vo- APPENDIX. 459 luntary communications, and with others he had had conversa- tion ; aiul though many wished he should take no steps in the business, few objected to the measure he proposed. They thought merely, though the measure was innocent, yet that it might excite in other quarters a disposition to introduce into it objectionable clauses. They did not seem, on the whole, to think there was any thing in it materially objectionable. Every class of dissenting* preachers, in fact, who had separate congre- gations, were left by tbi: Bill in the same state as before, with the removal of all sorts of impediments, and the magistrate would know better what was bis duty on such subjects. What better mode of attestation could there be than that of several persons of the congregation for those who sought for licences ? As to the question of substantial and reputable householders, or householders merely, that was a consideration for the Commit- tee. There was no other regulation but to relieve them from different practices at different Quarter Sessions. The second point applied to such as had not separate con- gregations. He did not expect to meet with any difficulty on this subject from the quarter whence it rose. It would be a farce to talk of toleration, he confessed, and at the same time to exclude this class of persons from the rights allowed to other Protestant dissenters, though he must say, that he knew they had often given great pain and vexation to many most excellent and meritorious beneficial clergymen. Yet he must in candour admit, that hundreds and thousands of people would, through our own unpardonable and abominable neglect, be de- prived of all moral and religious instructions, were it not for the services of these persons. Millions in this country were in- debted to them for their religious instruction. (Hear I) We are not at liberty to withold the only means of moral and religious knowledge. He had not, therefore, excluded such persons, which would have been contrary to indispensible and eternal justice. The third point of his Bill related to probationers. He had on that point, proposed that six persons should sign their belief of the sober and exemplary life, of the capacity, 3n2 460 APPENDIX, &c; of the individual. What test could be more moderate ? His object was to follow up the principles of the toleration laws, which never meant that any person should assume to himself the privilege of a preacher and teacher) and exercise such important functions, without some attestations. — (Hear!) Any person under the Bill might then be chosen, nay, he might be said even to choose himself, if he procured such at- testations. He confessed he did, confidently, but, as he had found, vainly, expect, that he should have had the consent of all the sects and descriptions, who felt what was due to the pu- rity, sanctity, and dignity of religion. All he was apprehen- sive of was, that some friends to the established church might think the Bill would be inefficient for what was requisite ; but he never thought that any Protestant dissenter would consider it inconsistent with the wise and just enactments of the toler- ation laws. He learned that in the customs of dissenters, probation was requisite for the proof of the gifts necessary for the ministerial office ; therefore, he had merely proposed that three dissenting preachers should sign a testimony in the pro- bationer's favour. In our own church, by our ecclesiastical laws, there were certain probations and attestations to be made. A Deacon must have the testimonials of three clergymen to his life, gifts, &c. His name must also be read three times in church. He did not mean to say that this always prevented improper introductions, but that such were the precautions that were observed by law. Though he had received much information on the subject, no man should be placed by him in an unpleasant situation by his stating his name, though there were noble Lords present who knew what information lie had received. From the itinerant Methodists, of whom he did not wish to speak disrespectfully, he had grounds on which he ex- pected their approbation. He had formed his opinions from those of magistrates and respectable gentlemen of various des- criptions. Objections had been started at first by his noble friend, for whom he had much respecty (Lord Holland) who seemed to think that any man had a right to take on himself the office of teacher, on making the declarations, &c. and that APPENDIX. 461 it was not a question for the Legislature to take up. lie would say, that this opinion was utterly inconsistent with the meaning of the Toleration Act. That Act, right or wrong, was a measure of condition. (I/car, kear! from the opposition side.) He never could agree to those broad principles. But in some respects, lie thought these laws intolerant ; where, for instance, they limited religious doctrines. ( II tar, hear ! ) His noble friend had called the Toleration Act the palladium of religious liberty. What did he admire in it ? Its beneficent effects, he had said, in its providing freedom of worship. Could he dany, that it was differently acted upon in different counties ? In proportion to his admiration of it, his wish should be to render its operation universal. It was not so at present. There was no case, wherein when the licence had been refused, the party had, at least for many years, resorted to the Court of King's Bench. He went to another county. Thus, there was a dif- ferent interpretation in counties bordering upon each other. Let the benefit, therefore, be made universal. If this measure w ere improper, come at once to the assertion of the broad prin- ciple, and try to alter the laws in that way. That broad prin- ciple had never existed in any age or in any country. History, both sacred and profane, shewed the importance that had been always attached to the priesthood, which had never been assumed, but conferred. Fie was not so read in the sacred writings as he ought to be, and he could touch on them only with great deference. But he had read, " Lay hands suddenly on no man ; " and also that persons chosen for such situations should be " of good report." He could not think of the argument taken from the low condition of those who, in earlier days, received their divine missions, as applicable to present times, and as giving authority to the persons lie had alluded to, to lay their claims to divine influence, without any attestation to their character and qualifications. The early ages of the church shewed that purity of character Was held indispensible to him who attempted to enter into the solemn offices of the priesthood. His noble friend had said, that no case had been made out. lie appealed to their Lordships on 462 appendix. that point. He then stated a circumstance that recently hap- pened at Stafford, when the magistrate, certainly not regularly, required the applicant to write his name, but who answered, that he came there n.ot to write, but to make the declaration. He was convinced he had now made out sufficient grounds for the second reading, and forgoing into a committee. The noble Lord proceeded to state, from a paper he held in his hand, in which the writer mentioned as an instance of the laxity with which licenses to preach were granted, that he had heard a person in the neighbourhood of London, who seemed well versed in all the atheistical and deisticai are 496 APPENDIX, committed to prison, there to remain till the next General or Quarter Sessions ; and upon conviction of the said offence at the said General or Quarter Sessions, shall suffer the pain and penalty of forty pounds. * XIII. Provided always, and be it further enacted, that no- thing in this act contained shall affect, or be construed to affect, the celebration of divine service, according to the rites and ce- remonies of the united Church of England and Ireland, by ministers of the said Church, in any place hitherto used for such purpose, or being now or hereafter duly consecrated or licensed by any Archbishop or Bishop, or other person law- fully authorized to consecrate or license the same, or to af- fect the Jurisdiction of the Archbishops or Bishops, or other persons exercising lawful authority in the Church, of the Uni- ted Kingdom, over the said Church, according to the Rule's and discipline of the same, and to the Laws and Statutes of the Realm ; but such jurisdiction shall remain and continue as if this Act had not passed* XIV. Provided also, and be it further enacted, that no- thing in this Act contained shall extend or be construed to ex- tend to the people usually called Quakers, nor to any Meet- ings or Assemblies for Religious Worship, held or convened by such persons ; or in any manner to alter or repeal or affect any Act other than and except the Acts passed in the reign of King Charles the second herein-before repealed, relating to the people called Quakers, or relating to any Assemblies or Meet- ings for Religious Worship held by them. XV. And be it further enacted, that every person guilty of any offence, for which any pecuniary penalty or forfeiture is imposed by this Act, in respect of which no special provision is made, shall and may be convicted thereof by information upon the oath of any one or more credible witness or witnesses before any two or more Justices of the Peace acting in and for the county, riding, city or place wherein such offence shall be committed ; and that all and every the pecuniary penalties or forfeitures which shall be incurred or become payable for any offence or offences against this Act^ shall and may be le- APrENDix. 497 vied by distress under the hand and seal or hands and seals of two .Justices of the Peace for the county, riding, city, or place, h\ which any such offence or otfeners was or were committed, or where the forfeiture or forfeitures was or wen 1 incurred, and shall when levied be paid one moiety to the informer, and the other moiety to the poor of the parish in which the offence was committed ; and in case of no sufficient distress whereby to levy the penalties, or any or either of them imposed by this Act, it shall and may be lawful for any such Justices respec- tively before whom the offender or offenders shall be convicted, to commit such offender to prison, for such time not exceeding three months, as the said Justices in their discretion shall think fit. XVI. And be it further enacted, that in case any person or persons who shall hereafter be convicted of any of the of- fences punishable by this Act, shall conceive him her or them- selves to be aggrieved by such conviction, then and in every such case it shall and may be lawful for such person or persons respectively, and he she or they shall or may appeal to the Ge- neral or Quarter Sessions of the Peace holden nextaftersuch con- viction in and for the county, riding, city, or place, giving un- to the Justices before whom such conviction shall be made, notice in writing within eight days after any such conviction, of his her or their intention to prefer such Appeal ; and the said Justices in their said General or Quarter Sessions shall and may, and they are hereby authorised and empowered to proceed to the hearing and determination of the matter of such Appeal, and to make such order therein, and to award such costs to be paid by and to either party, not exceeding forty shillings, as they in their discretion shall think fit. XVII. And be it further enacted, that no penalty or for- feiture shall be recoverable under this Act, unless the same shall be used for, or the offence in respect of which the same is imposed, is prosecuted before the Justices of the Peace or Quar- ter Sessions within six months after the offence shall have been committed ; and no person who shall suffer any Imprisonment for non-payment of any penalty, slnll thereafter be liable to the payment of such penalty or forfeiture. 3 s 498 APPENDIX. XVIII. And be it further enacted, That if any Action or Suit shall be brought or commenced against any person or per- sons for any thing done in pursuance of this Act, that every such Action or Suit shall be commenced within three months next after the fact committed, and not afterwards, and shall be laid and brought in the county wherein the cause or alledged cause of Action shall have occurred, and not elsewhere , and the defendant or defendants in such Action or Suit may plead the general Issue, and give this Act and the special matter in evidence on any Trial to be had thereupon, and that the same was done in pursuance and by authority of this Act; and if it shall appear so to be done, or if any such Action or Suit shall be brought after the time so limited for bringing the same, or shall be brought in any other county, city or place, that then and in such case, the Jury shall find for such defendant or de- fendants ; and upon such verdict, or if the plaintiff or plaintiffs, shall become nonsuited, or discontinue his, her, or their Action or Actions, or if a verdict shall pass against the plaintiff or plaintiffs, or if upon demurrer, judgment shall be given against the plaintiff or plaintiffs, the defendant or defendants shall have and may recover treble costs, and have the like remedy for the same, as any defendant or defendants hath or have for costs of Suit in other Cases by Law. XIX. And be it further enacted, That this Act shall be deemed and taken to be a Public Act, and shall be judicially taken notice of as such by all Judges, Justices and others, without specially pleading the same. Observations upon the Act of Parliament, (52d Geo. III. cap. 155.) passed 29th July, 1812, relating to Religious Worship, with some practical Directions. SECTION II. 1. All religious Assemblies of Protestants, not exceeding Twenty Persons, besides the family of the person in whose premises such Assembly shall be held, are lawful without re- AITKNDIX. 499 gistering Hie place of Meeting, so that tlicrc will be no absolute necessity to register the houses where Prayer, and other Social Meetings are held. However, as it is attended with scarcely any inconvenience, it is recommended that all Places where, in probability, more than Twenty Persons may assemble for Religious Instruction, including Sunday Schools, be certified and registered. N 2. It is not necessary to register any place, which has been registered previous to the passing of this Act. 3. It is not necessary to wait till the place is actually re- gistered, but a Religious Assembly may lawfully be held after a certificate that the place is intended to be used for Religious Worship is lodged with the person or any one of the persons mentioned in the Section. 4. The following form of Certificate to be sent to the Bishop, or Archdeacon, or Justices of the General or Quarter Sessions, is recommended, to sign which only one person is necessary, that is to say, " To the Right Reverend the Lord Bishop of " (as the case may be) or the Reverend (A. B.) Arch- " deacon of (as the case may be) and to his Re- " gistrar, or to the Justices of the Peace (of the County, " Riding, Division, City, Town, or Place, as the case " may be) and to the Clerk of the Peace thereof." a I, A. B. of (describing the christian and surname, and " place of abode, and trade or profession of the party " certifying) do hereby certify, that a certain Building, " (Messuage, or Tenement, Barn, School, Meeting House, " or part of a Messuage, Tenement, or other Building, as " the case may be) situated in the Parish of and " County of (as the case may be, and specify- " ing also the number of the Messuage, &c. if numbered, " and the Street, Lane, &c. wherein it is situate, and the " name of the present or last Occupier or Owner) is in- " tended forthwith to be used as a place of Religious 3 s 2 500 APPENDIX, " Worship by an Assembly or Congregation of Protestants, " and I do hereby require you to register and record the " sauie^ccorinngto the provisions of an Act passed in " the 52d year of the Reign of His Majesty King George " the Third, intituled An Act to repeal certain Acts, and ii amend other Acts, relating to Religious Worship, and " Assemblies, and Persons teaching or preaching therein, " and I hereby request a Certificate thereof. Witness my 9 "hand this day of 181 Z / , "a.b:> i The address to be used must depend upon the person or persons with whom the Certificate is to be deposited. Between the different Sessions, the Bishop and Archdeacon's Registry is generally open. It is not necessary that this Certificate should express that the place is to be registered for protestant Dissenters, the Act mentions only Protestants, and it is recommended that no ,' Certificate be accepted from the Registrar of the Bishop, or Archdeacon, or from the Clerk of the Peace, which narrows \ the term, or which states the place to be for any specific^deno- mination of Protestants. The Certificate should mention Pro- testants only. Two copies of the above Certificate should be prepared, tand^ignedjn the presence of a respectable witness. One_to be delivered to the Bishop, Archdeacon, or Clerk of the Peace, and the other to be kept by the party, signing the same, who is to require from the Registrar or Clerk of the Peace, to sign a Certificate qn_the part to be kept^ that such Certificate as above has been delivered to him. Such Certificate to be writ- ten beneath the name of the party or parties signing the original Certificate, in the following form : " T, C. D. (Registrar of the Court of the Bishop of " or Archdeacon of or Clerk of the Peace " for the County of as the case may be) do " hereby certify that a Certificate, of which the above is APPENDIX. 501 " a true copy, was this day delivered to me, to be regis- " tered and recorded pursuant to the Act of Parliament " therein mentioned. Dated this day of « 181 " C. D. Registrar, or Clerk of the Peace." Thus in case any accidental delay in the Registration should take place, and it be needful to use the place, as a place of re- ligious Assembly, proof will exist that the Certificate was duly delivered and consequently the parties be free from penalty, if they use the place for Religious Worship after it is certified, but before it is registered. 5. At the time the Certificate of the parties is presented to the Bishop, or Archdeacon, or to the Sessions, the Fee of 2s. Gd. should be paid to the Registrar, or Clerk of the Peace, for registering and certifying the same, and his Certificate should be required accordingly. SECTION III. Before, it was made penal by this Section to preach in a house, without the consent of the Occupier, a person doing so was liable to an Action by the Common Law. SECTION IV. The first Section having repealed altogether the Five Mile and Conventicle Acts, and an Act relating to the Quakers, by this Section all Protestants, whether Teachers or Hearers, whe- ther Dissenters or Churchmen, attending a Place of Worship, certified under this Act, are exempted, even before actual and formal registration, from the penalties of all the Acts recited in the Toleration Act, or in any Act amending the same. SECTION V. A Preacher may be required (if he has not already qualified) to take the Oaths, &c. after he has actually preached, but it is 502 APPENDIX. not necessary that any person should take the Oaths and sub- scribe the Declarations required, as an antecedent qualification to preach. The requisition must be made by a Justice of the Peace in writing. The following arc copies of the Oaths, &c. referred to in the Section. '&' OATH OF ALLEGIANCE. " I, A. B. do sincerely promise and swear, that I will be u faithful and bear true allegiance to his Majesty King f< George. " So help me God, " A. B." OF SUPREMACY. Ci I, A. B* do swear, that I do from my heart, abhor, detest, " and abjure, as impious and heretical, that damnable which ren- dered him more famous than those who had obtained the prizes. None were ignorant of his name, nor was there a single person in Greece who had not either seen him at the Olympic games, or heard those speak of him who had seen him there. There have been se- Ycral editions of his works ; two by Henry Stephens in 1 570 and 1592; one by Gale at London, in 1679, and one by Gronovius at Ley den, in 1715. (.E.)— Justin Martyr, one of the earliest and most learned writers of the eastern church, was born at Neapolis, the ancient Sychem of Palestine. His father, Priscus, a Gentile Greek, brought him up in his own religion, and had him educated in all the Gre- cian learning. To complete his studies he travelled into Egypt, and followed the sect of Plato, with whose intellectual notions he was much pleased. But one day walking by the sea side, wrapt in contemplation, he was met by a grave old man of venerable aspect: who falling into discourse with him, turned the conversation by de- crees from the excellence of Platonism to the superior perfection of Christianity; and reasoned so well, as to raise in him an ardent curiosity to enquire into the merits of that religion ; in consequence •f which enquiry, he was couverted about A. D. 133. On his em- 512 NOTES, bracing Chritianity, he quitted neither the profession nor habit of a philosopher; but a persecution breaking out under Antoninus, he composed an Apology for the Christians; and afterwards presented another to Marcus Aurelius, in which he vindicated the innocence and holiness of the Christian religion against Crescens a Cynic philosopher, and other calumniators. He. did honour to Christianity by his learning and the purity of his maimers ; and suffered martyrdom in 167. (F.) — Polycarp, one of the most ancient fathers of the Chris- tian church, was born towards the end of the reign of Nero, pro- bably at Smyrna, where he was educated at the expence of Calista, a noble matron distinguished by her piety and charity. He was a disciple of St. John the Evangelist, and conversed with some of the other Apostles. Bucolus ordained him a deacon and catechist of his church, and upon his death he succeeded him in his bishopric, to which he is said to have been consecrated by St. John. Poly- carp governed the church of Smyrna with apostolical purity till he suffered martyrdom in the 7th year of Marcus Aurelius. He was burnt at a stake on the 23d of April, A. D. 167, and many miraculous circumstances are said to have happened at his martyr- dom, which Dr. Jortin gives full credit to, though some other great men treat them as fabulous, such as, that the flames divided and for some time formed an arch over his head without hurting him &c. He wrote some homilies and epistles, which are now lost, ex- cept that to the Phillippians, which contains short precepts and rules of life. St. Jerome informs us that in his time it was read in the public assemblies of the Asiatic churches. (£?.) — Cyprian, a principal father of the Christian church, born at Carthage, about the end of the second or beginning of the third century. His parents were Heathens, and he himself conti- nued such till the last twelve years of his life. He applied him- self early to the study of oratory, and some of the ancients, particu- larly Lactantius, inform us that he. taught rhetoric at Carthage with considerable applause. Cyprian's conversion is fixed by Pearson to the year 246. He was at Carthage, where he had often employ- ed his rhetoric in the defence of Paganism. It was brought about fey one Cecilius, a priest of the church of Carthage, whose name NOTES. 513 Cyprian afterwards took ; and between whom there ever after sub- sisted so close a friendship, that Cecilius at his death committed to Cyprian the care of his family. Cyprian was himself also a mar- ried man. As a proof of the sincerity of his conversion, he wrote in defence of Christianity, and composed his piece De Gratia Dei, which he addressed to Donatus. He next composed a piece De Idolorum Vanitate y upon the vanity of idols. Cyprian's behavi- our, both before and after his baptism, was so highly pleasing to the bishop of Carthage, that he ordained him a priest a few months after, though it was rather irregular to ordain a man thus in his very noviciate. But Cyprian was so extraordinary a person, and thought capable of doing such singular service to the church, that the usual period of probation was dispensed with. He consigned over all his goods to the poor, and gave himself up intirely to divine things. When, therefore, the bishop of Carthage died the year after, viz. A. D. 248, none was judged so proper to succeed him as Cyprian. The repose which the Christians had enjoyed during the last 40 years had greatly corrupted their manners ; and therefore Cyprian's first care, after his advancement to the bishopric, was to remove abuses. Luxury was prevalent among them ; and many of their women were not strict in the article of dress. This led him to draw up his piece De Habitu Virginum^ concerning the dress of young women, in which, besides what he says on that particular, he inculcates many lessons of modesty and sobriety. In 249, Decius issued very severe edicts against the Christians; and in 250, the Heathens in the circus and amphitheatre of Carthage, insisted upon Cyprian being thrown to the lions. Cyprian upon this withdrew from Carthage to avoid the fury of his persecutors. He wrote in the place of his retreat, pious and instructive letters to those Mho had been his hearers ; and also to those pusillanimous Christians who procured certificates of the heathen magistrates, to shew that they had complied with the emperor's orders in sacrificing to idols. At his return to Carthage he held several councils, on the repentance of those who had fallen off during the persecution, and other points of discipline ; he opposed the schemes of Novatus and Novatianus ; and contended for the re-baptizing of those who had been baptized by heretics. At last he died a Martyr in the persecution under Valerian and Gallienus, in 268. His works have been translated into English by Dr. Marshall. 3 u 514 NOTES* (H.) — Hottinger, John Henry, a nature of Turich, in Switz- erland. He was born in 1620, professed the oriental languages and was greatly esteemed. He was drowned, with part of his family, in the river Lemit, iu 1667. (/.) — Ireneus, bishop of Lyons, was born in Greece about A. D. 120. He was a disciple of Polycarp, by whom, it is said, he was sent into Gaul in 157. He stopped at Lyons, where he per- formed the office of a priest ; and in 178 was sent to Rome, where he disputed with Valentinus, and his two disciples Florinus and Blastus. At his return to Lyons, he succeeded Photinus, bishop of that city ; and suffered martyrdom in 202 under Severus. He wrote many works in Greek, of which there remains only a barbarous Latin version of his five books against heretics, some Greek fragments in different authors, and Pope Victor's letter men- tioned by Eusebius. The best editions of his works are those of Erasmus in 1526 ; of Grabe in 1702, and of Massuet, in 1710. (K.) — Eusebius, one of the most learned men in his time, born in Palestine about the end of the reign of Gallienus. He was the intimate friend of Pamphilus the martyr^ and after his death took his name. He was ordained bishop of Cesarea in 613. He had a considerable share in the contest relating to Arius, whose cause he and several other bishops defended, being persuaded that Arius had been unjustly persecuted by Alexander bishop of Alex- andria. He assisted at the council of Nice in 325 ; when he made a speech to the Emperor Constantine on his coming to the council, and was placed next him on his right hand. He was preseut at the Council of Antioch, in which Eustathius bishop of that city was de- posed ; but though he was chosen by the bishop and the people of Antioch to succeed him, he refused it. In 335, he assisted in the council of Tyre held against Athana- sius : and at the assembly of bishops at Jerusalem, at the dedication of th« church there. By these bishops- he was sent to the Emperor Constantine to defend what they had done against Athanasius ; when he pronounced the panegyric on that Emperor, during the public rejoicings in the 30th year of his reign. Eusebius died in the year 338. NOTES. 515 (L.) — Sabellitjs, who gave rise to the sect of the Sabcllians. lie was a native of Lybia, and a philosopher of Egypt. He taught that the word and the Holy Spirit are only virtues, emanations, or functions of the Deity ; and maintained that he who is in heaven is the father of all things ; that he descended into the virgin, became a child, and was born of her as a son : and that having accomplished the mystery of our salvation, he diffused himself on the Apostles in .tongues of fire, and was then denominated the Holy Ghost. Ho lived and died in the third century, (M.) — Arius, who lived in the fourth century, the head ami founder of the Arians, a sect who denied the eternal divinity and substantiality of the word. At the council of Nice, in 325, the doctrines of Arius were condemned, and he was banished by the Emperor, all his books were ordered to be burnt, and capital punishment denounced against all who dared to keep them.—- After five years banishment he was recalled to Constantinople, where he presented the Emperor with a confession of his faith, drawn up so artfully that it fully satisfied him. Notwithstanding this, Athanasius now bishop of Alexandria, refused to admit him and his followers to communion. This so enraged them, that, by their interest at court, they procured that prelate to be deposed and banished. But the church of Alexandria still refusing to admit Arius into their communion, the Emperor sent for him to Constan- tinople ; where upon delivering in a fresh confession of his faith, \n terms less offensive, the Emperor commanded Alexander the bishop of that church to receive him the next day into his communion, but that very evening Arius died. The manner of his death was rather extraordinary : as his friends were conducting him in triumph to the great church of Constantinople, Arius stepped aside and imme- diately expired ; his bowel's gushing out, owing, as was suspected^ to poison. (N.) — Const antine the great, the first Emperor of the Romans who embraced Christianity. Dr. Anderson in his Uoyal Genea* fogies^ makes him not only a native of Britain, but the son of a Bri- tish princess. It is certain that his father Constantius was at York, when, upon the abdication of Dioclesian, he shared the Roman em. pi re with Galcrius Maximinus in 305, and that he died in York in 3 v 2 516 NOTES. 306, having first caused his son Constantine to be proclaimed Emperor by his army and by the Britons. Galerius at first refused to admit Constantine to his father's share in the imperial dignity ; but after having several battles, he consented in 308. Maxentius who succeeded Galerius, opposed him ; but was defeated and drown- ed himself in the Tiber. The Senate then declared Constantine first Augustus, and Licinius his associate in the empire in 313. These Princes published an edict, in their joint names in favour of the Christians ; but soon after Licinius, jealous of Constantino's re- nown, conceived an implacable hatred against him, and renewed the persecutions against the Christians. This brought on a rupture between the Emperors ; and a battle, in which Constantine was victorious. A short peace ensued; but Licinius having shamefully- violated the treaty, the war was renewed ; when Constantine totally defeating him, he fled to Nicomedia, where he was taken prisoner and strangled in 323. Constantine now become sole master of the whole empire, immediately formed the plan of establishing Chris- tianity as the religion of the state; for which purpose, he convoked several ecclesiastical councils ; but finding he was likely to meet with great opposition from the Pagan interest at Rome, he con- ceived the design of founding a new city, to be the capital of his Christian empire. He died in the year 337, in the 66th year of his age, and 31st of his reign. (0.) — Socrates, an ecclesiastical historian, born at Constan- tinople, in the beginning of the reign of Theodosius ; he professed the law, and pleaded at the bar ; whence he obtained the name of Scholasticus. He wrote an ecclesiastical history from the year 309, where Eusebius ended, down to 440, and wrote with great exactness and judgment. An edition of Eusebius and Socrates, in Greek and Latin, with notes by Reading, was published in Lon- don, in 1720. (P.) — Athanasius, a bishop of Alexandria, and the great op- poser of the Arians, was born in Egypt. He followed Alexander in the council of Nice, in 325, where he disputed against Arius, and the following year was made bishop of Alexandria ; but in 335 was deposed by the council of Tyre : and by the Emperor Constantine was banished to Treves. The Emperor, two years after^ ordered NOTES. 517 faim to be restored to his bishopric : but on his return to Alexan- dria, his enemies brought fresh accusations against him, and chose Gregory of Cappadociato his see; which obliged Atlianasius to go to Rome to reclaim it of Pope Julius. He was there declared in- nocent in a council held in 342, and in that of Sardica in 347, and two years after was restored to his see by order of the Emperor Con- stance ; but after the death of that prince, he was again banished by Constantius, on which he retired into the desarts. The Arians then elected one George in his room ; who being killed in a popular faction under Julian, in 360, Athanasius returned to Alexandria, but was banished under Julian, and restored to his see under Jovi- on. He was a:-o banished by Valens in 3G7 and afterwards recal- led. He ended this troublesome life on the 2d of May, 373. (Q.) — Tiieoboret, bishop of St. Cyricus, in Syria, in the fourth century, and one of the most learned fathers in the church. He was born A. D. 336, and was the disciple of Theodorus of Mop- suestes, and Chrysostora. Having received holy orders, he was with difficulty persuaded to accept of the bishopric of Cyricus, about A.D. 420. He displayed great frugality in the expences of his table, dress, and furniture, but spent considerable sums in improv- ing and adorning the city of Cyricus. Yet his zeal was not confi- ned to his own church : he went to preach at Antioch, and the neighbouring towns ; where he became admired for his eloquence and learning, and had the happiness to convert multitudes of peo- ple. It is supposed he died about the year 457. There are still extant Theodoret's excellent Commentary on St. PauVs Epistles^ and on several other "books of the Holy Scriptures. (R.) — Gregory Nazianzen, from Nazianzum, a town of Cappadocia, of which his father was bishop. He was born in 324, at Azianzum, a village near it, and was one of the brightest orna- ments of the Greek church, in the fourth century. He was made bishop of Constantinople, in 379, but finding his election contested by Timothcus, bishop of Alexandria, he voluntarily relinquished his dignity about 382, in the general council of Constantinople. His wcrks are extant, in two volumes, printed at Paris in 1609. His style is said to be equal to that of the most celebrated orators of an- cient Greece. 518 NOTES. (5.) — PoitniYRius, a famous platonic philosopher, born at Tyre in 233, in the reign of Alexander Severus. He was the dis- ciple of Longinus, and became the ornament of his school at Athens ; from whence he went to Rome, and attended Plotinus, with whom he lived six years. After Plotinus' death he taught philosophy at Rome with great applause ; and became well skilled in polite liter- ature, geography, astronomy, and music. He lived till the end of the third century, and died in the reign of Dioclesian. He was an enemy to Christianity, and wrote a large treatise against it, which is lost. The Emperor Theodosius the Great caused it to be burnt* N (T.) — Saint Jerome, a famous doctor of the church, and the most learned of all the Latin fathers, Mas the son of Eusebius : and wasjborn at Stridon, a city of ancient Pannonia, about A. D. 340. He studied at Rome under Donatus the learned grammarian. After embracing the Christian religion, and being baptized, he went into Gaul. In 372, he retired into a desart in Syria, where he was per- secuted for being a Sabellian, because he made use of the word Hypostasis, as used by the council of Rome in 369. This obliged him to go to Jerusalem, where he studied the Hebrew language, to acquire a more perfect knowledge of the Holy Scriptures ; and con- sented to be ordained, provided he should not be confined to any particular church. In 381, he went to Constantinople to hear Gregory of Nazianzen; and in 382 returned to Rome, where he was made secretary to Pope Damasus. He then instructed many Roman ladies in piety and the sciences, which exposed him to the calumnies of those whom he zealously reproved for their irregulari- ties 5 and Pope Siricius, not having all the esteem for him, which his learning and virtue justly entitled him to, he returned to Bethlehem, where he wrote against heretics. He had a contest with John of Jerusalem and Rufmius about the Origenists ; and was the first who wrote against Pelagius. He died on the 30th of September, 420, about SO years of age. His works are voluminous, in eleven volumes folio. His style is lively and animated, and sometimes sublime. (V.) — Julian, a famous Roman Emperor, styled Hie Apos- tate, because he professed the Christian religion before he ascended the throne, but afterwards openly embraced Paganism, and endea» NOTES. 519 Toured to abolish Christianity. He made no use of violence, how- ever, for this purpose ; but behaved with a politic mildness to the Christians ; recalled all who had been banished on account of reli- gion under Constantius ; and endeavoured to pervert them by ca- resses, and by temporal advantages, covered over by artful pretences: but he prohibited Christians to plead before courts of justice, or to enjoy any public employments. He even prohibited their teaching polite literature, well knowing the great advantages they drew from profane authors, in their attacks upon Paganism and irrcligion. Though he on all occasions shewed a sovereign contempt for the Christians whom he stiled Galileans, yet he was sensible of the ad- vantage they obtained bv their virtue and the purity of their man- ners ; and therefore incessantly proposed their example to the Pa- gan priests. At last, however, when he found that all other me- thods failed, he gave public employments to the most cruel enemies of the Christians, when the cities in most of the provinces were fil- led with tumults and seditions, and many of them were put to death. Historians mention that Julian attempted to prove the falsehood of our Lord's prediction with respect to the temple at Jerusalem, by- rebuilding it ; but that all his endeavours served only the more per- fectly to verify it. Julian being mortally wounded in a battle with the Persians, is said, to have catched in his hand some of the blood which flowed from his wound, and throwing it towards heaven, cried, Oh Galilean thou hast conquered. Theodoret relates, that Julian discovered a different disposition, and employed his last moments in conversing with Maximus the philosopher, on the dignity of the soul. He died, however, the following night in the 32d year of his age. (V.) — Sozomex, an ecclesiastical historian of the 5th century. He was born in Bcthulia, a town of Palestine : he was educated for the law, and became a pleader at Constantinople. He wrote an abridgement of ecclesiastical history, in two books, from the ascen- sion of our Saviour to the year 323. This compendium is lost, but a continuation yi nine books is still extant. He seems to have copied Socrates, who wrote a history of the same period. The style of Sozomen is more elegant ; but in other respects he falls short of that writer, displaying through the whole book an amazing credulity, and a superstitious attachment to monks and a monastic^ 520 NOTES. life. The best edition of Sozomen is that of Robert Stephens in 1544. He has been translated and published by Valesius, and republished with additional notes by Reading, at London, 1720, in 3 volumes folio. (JV.J — Chrysostom St. John, a celebrated partriarch of Con- stantinople, and one of the most admired fathers of the Christian Church, was born of a noble family at Antioch about A. D. 347. He studied rhetoric under Libavius, and philosophy under Andra- gathus : after which he spent some time in solitude in the mountains near Antioch, but the austerities he endnredhaving impaired hishealth he returned to Antioch where he was ordained deacon by Meletius* Flavian Meletius' successor, raised him to the office of presbyter five years after; when he distinguished himself so greatly by his eloquence, that he obtained the surname of Chrysostom or Golden mouth, Nectarius, patriarch of Constantinople, dying in 397, St. Chryso- stom, whose fame was spread throughout the whole empire, was unanimously elected by both clergy and laity. The Emperor Ar- cadius confirmed his election, and caused him to leave Antioch pri- vately, where the psople were very unwilling to part with him. He was ordained bishop on the 26th of February, 398. He differed with Theophilus of A iexan d ria 5 who got him deposed and banished ; but he w r as soon recalled. After this, declaiming against the dedica- tion of a statue erected to the empress, she banished him to Cucusus in Armenia, a most barren and inhospitable place; afterwards as they were removing him from Petyus, the Soldiers treated him so roughly that he died by the way, A. D. 407. The best edition of ljis works, is that published at Paris in 1718, by Montfaucon. ( Jf.) — Dominic de Guzman, the fouuder of the religious order called Dominicans. He was born at Calaroga in old Castile, in 1170. He preached with great fury against the Albigenses, when Pope Innocent 3d made a croisade against that unhappy people, and was inqusitor at Languedoc, where he founded his order in 121 5. He died in 1221, at Bologna and was canonized. 3. Pekkixs, Printer. Bowlalley-Lane, Hull. ' - A- p z ■ \ ^ A V I 8 > ,o v r /a Deacidified using the Bookkeeper process. 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