Εικόνες σελίδας
PDF
Ηλεκτρ. έκδοση

against the young earl, and the fine cities of Tholouse and Avignon, and others, being, after a gallant defence, taken from him, and almost destroyed, he was obliged at laft to fubmit, and underwent, like his father, a most ignominious corporal punishment: upon which Bernard exultingly faid, "How holy a fight "it was to fee fo great a man, who for a "long while could refift so many and great "nations, led naked in his fhirt and troufes, and with naked feet, to the altari!"

BUT tho' thefe princes were fo bold and courageous as to refift the will, and disobey the orders of the pretended vicegerent of God, yet almost all other Roman Catholic fovereigns have with alacrity, and even greedinefs, put his pious commands of perfecuting their fubjects in execution.

AMONG thefe the kings of France and Spain, and one of our own queens, the two firft like true fons, and the laft like a true daughter of the church, have eminently diftinguished themselves.

OUR queen Mary, totally void of tendernefs and compaffion, qualities which are fo natural to her fex, and fo greatly adorn it, caused multitudes of her fubjects to be butchered in the most barbarous and inhuman

manner.

i Chandler's Translation of Lamborch's Hiftory of the Inquifition, p. 62, & feq.

manner. For a particular account of the religious cruelties practifed in her reign, the putting fuch numbers of harmless, innocent, religious, and many of them learned and excellent perfons to the moft tormenting death, that of burning, I refer to Fox and other writers, whofe accounts cannot be read without the utmost horror. By this princess's actions may be seen what poisonous fruits are brought forth, when bigotry is grafted on a cruel temper of mind.

THE kings of France have been fo dutiful to their holy father, and so active in religious cruelty, that in order to exterminate the protestants from that country, it appears by hiftory, that to the time of Henry IV, there were four pitched battles fought, three hundred smaller engagements, feveral hundred places befieged and defended; in all which it is computed near a million of men were deftroyed. And in the fingle reign of his MOST CHRISTIAN MAJESTY Lewis XIV, befides the vast numbers that were fent to the gallies, that perished by famine or in noifome dungeons, were murdered by the fword or the executioner, it is reckoned that eight hundred thousand perfons were driven out of the kingdom*,

BUT

Hiftory of Lewis XIV. Vol. II. p. 200 & 228.

BUT their catholic majesties of Spain seem to have gone a length in this most servile obedience to the pope, and in religious cruelty, beyond any other christian princes. In deed, as the Spaniards are generally, and perhaps justly esteemed the most religious nation, according to a too common fense of that expreffion, in Chriftendom; that is, in truth, the most bigotted and fuperftitious; fo they are certainly the most cruel.

[ocr errors]

THE kings of Spain having been long fince determined to root herefy, as they called every opinion not confonant to the doctrine of the Romish church, out of their dominions, they took a very Laconic and effectual method for this purpose Either the Roman Catholic religion or death. This method has been fo effectual, that there is not now, neither hath there been for many years, any other religion than the popish profeffed in the Spanish dominions, by those who are properly fubjects of Spain. But what has been the confequence of thus establishing a general profeffion of this religion in those countries? The apparent confequence has been the establishing ignorance, bigotry, fuperftition, and poverty.

WHEN Philip III refolved to force his fubjects in the Netherlands to conform univerfally to the religion of his Spanish subjects,

and

and to other ecclefiaftical establishments received in Spain, he fent orders for those pur pofes to his governors: but fome of these either feeing the ill policy of perfecution, or not being cruel enough to proceed fo far in it as was required of them, or both, they were difplaced, and the duke of Alva fent in their ftead.

PHILIP could not poffibly have found a fitter inftrument of his cruelty than this man. Alva was fo far from entertaining the leaft degree of compaffion for his fellow-creatures, or feeling any compunction for inflict ing the most extreme miferies upon them, that he was delighted with their fufferings, and gloried in his barbarities. The temper of this tyrant was fo well known, that when he was first appointed governor of the Netherlands, in a few days above an hundred thousand perfons left the country, and withdrew their effects, as the duchefs of Parma, his predeceffor, acquainted the king of Spain by letter. And during his administration above one hundred thousand families quitted that territory 1.

BEFORE the arrival of Alva in his go vernment, there had, upon extreme provoca tions, been fome exceffes committed in feve

ral

1 Ab of Brandt's Hiftory of the Reformation in the Low-Countries, p. 120.

ral places by those of the reformed religion. To punish the accufed, it was thought neceffary to obferve a form of justice, tho' the subftance was entirely neglected: for this purpofe a court of judicature was erected, which the governor called, le conceil des troubles, but the people, much more properly, le conceil fanguinaire. Jean Vargas, a Spanish civilian, who perfectly well reprefented his conftituent Alva, being appointed prefident of this court, and defirous, as is evident, to extend his cruelty as far as poffible, declared his opinion in this bad Latin: Heretici fraxerunt templa, boni nihil fecerunt contra, debent omnes patibulari." That is, "The heretics have "demolished the churches,, the good people "did nothing to prevent it, therefore they ought all to be hanged

m

UPON another occafion, an accufed perfon, who had neither been heard, or condemned by the judges, was nevertheless executed, among many others, as if he had been convicted. Some time after, when this poor man was ordered to be brought to his tryal, it was then found not only that he had been put to death, but that he was innocent of what he was accufed of As the other judges

[ocr errors]

Hift. des Provinces unies, par M. Le Clerc.T. I. p. 14, a In the year 1562 John Terande, a proteftant advocate, was beheaded at Tholoufe in France, by virtue of a fentence

« ΠροηγούμενηΣυνέχεια »