greater honour upon his priests, than to make them judges of an inquifition; that is, the inventors and decreers of torments for men more righteous and innocent than themselves.

Thus to mifreprefent God and religion, is to diveft them of all their majefty and glory. For if that of Se neca be true, that fine bonitate nulla majeftas, "without goodness there can be no fuch thing as majefty;" then to feparate goodness and mercy from God, compaffion and charity from religion, is to make the two beft things in the world, God and religion, good for nothing.

How much righter apprehenfions had the Heathen of the divine nature, which they looked upon as fo benign and beneficial to mankind, that, as Tully admirably fays, Dii immortales ad ufum hominum fabrefacti penè videantur: "The nature of the immortal gods may al"most seem to be exactly framed for the benefit and ad"vantage of men ?" And as for religion, they always fpake of it as the great band of human fociety, and the foundation of truth, and fidelity, and juftice, among men. But when religion once comes to fupplant moral righteoufnefs, and to teach men the abfurdeft things in the world, to lie for the truth, and to kill men for God's fake; when it ferves to no other purpose, but to be a bond of confpiracy, to inflame the tempers of men to a greater fiercenefs, and to fet a keener edge upon their fpirits, and to make them ten times more the children of wrath and cruelty than they were by nature; then furely it lofes it nature, and ceafes to be religion. For let any man fay worfe of Atheism and infidelity, if he can. And, for God's fake, what is religion good for, but to reform the manners and difpofitions of men, to restrain human nature from violence and cruelty, from falsehood and treachery, from fedition and rebellion? Better it were there were no revealed religion, and that human nature were left to the conduct of its own principles and inclinations, which are much more mild and merciful, much more for the peace and happiness of human fociety, than to be acted by a religion that inspires men with fo wild a fury, and prompts them to commit fuch outrages; and is continually fupplanting government, and undermining the welfare of mankind; in fhort, fuch a

religion

religion as teaches men to propagate and advance itself by means fo evidently contrary to the very nature and end of all religion.

And this, if it be well confidered, will appear to be a very convincing way of reafoning, by fhewing the laft refult and confequence of fuch principles, and of fuch a train of propofitions, to be a most grofs and palpable ab. furdity. For example: We will at prefent admit Pope, ry to be the true religion, and their doctrines of extirpating heretics, of the lawfulnefs of depofing kings, and fubverting government by all the cruel and wicked ways that can be thought of, to be, as in truth they are, the doctrines of this religion in this cafe, I would not trou ble myself to debate particulars: but if in the grols, and upon the whole matter, it be evident, that fuch a reli gion as this is as bad or worse than infidelity, and no re ligion; this is conviction enough to a wife man, and as. good as a demonftration, that this is not the true religion, and that it cannot be from God,

How much better teachers of religion were the old Heathen philofophers? in all whofe books and writings there is not one principle to be found of treachery or rebellion; nothing that gives the leaft countenance to an affaffination or a maffacre, to the betraying of one's native: country, or the cutting of his neighbour's throat for dif ference in opinion. I peak it with grief and fhame, be cause the credit of our common Christianity is fomewhat. concerned in it, that Panatius, and Antipater, and Diogenes the Stoic, Tully, and Plutarch, and Seneca, were: much honester and more Chriftian cafuifts, than the Jefaits are, or the generality of the cafuifts of any other or der, that I know of, in the church of Rome. I come: now, in the

III. Third and last place, to make fome application. of this difcourfe.

1. Let not religion fuffer for thofe faults and mifcar riages which really proceed from the ignorance of reli gion, and from the want of it. That, under colour and

pretence of religion, very bad things are done, is no argument that religion itfelf is not good; becaufe the best things are liable to be perverted and abufed to very ill purposes: nay, the corruption of them is commonly

the worft; as they say the richest and nobleft wines make the fharpeft vinegar. If the light that is in you, faith our Saviour, be darkness, how great is that darkness?

2. Let us beware of that church which countenances this unchriftian spirit here condemned by our Saviour; and which teaches us fuch doctrines, and warrants fuch practices, as are confonant thereto. You all know, without my faying fo, that I mean the church of Rome; in which are taught fuch doctrines as thefe, That heretics, that is, all who differ from them in matters of faith, are to be extirpated by fire and fword; which was decreed in the third and fourth Lateran councils, where all Chriftians are strictly charged to endeavour this to the utter moft of their power, ficut reputari cupiunt et haberi fideles; as they defire to be esteemed and accounted Chriftians." Next, their doctrines of depofing kings, and of abfolving their fubjects from obedience to them which were not only univerfally believed, but practised by the Popes and Roman church for feveral ages. Indeed this doctrine hath not been at all times alike frankly and openly avowed; but it is undoubtedly theirs; and hath frequently been put in execution, though they have not thought it fo convenient at all turns to make profeftion of it. It is a certain kind of engine, which is to be fcrewed up or let down as occafion ferves; and is commonly kept, like Goliah's fword, in the fanctuary behind the ephod, but yet fo that the High Prieft can lend it out upon an extraordinary occafion.

And for practices confonant to thefe doctrines, I fhall go no farther than the horrid and bloody defign of this day fuch a myftery of iniquity, as had been hid from ages and generations; fuch a malter-piece of villany, as. had not seen, nor ear heard, nor ever before entered into the heart of man; fo prodigioufly barbarous, both in the substance and circumstances of it, as is not to be parallelled in all the voluminous records of time, from. the foundation of the world.

eye

Of late years our adverfaries (for fo they have made themselves without any provocation of ours) have almost had the impudence to deny fo plain a matter of fact; but. I wish they have not taken an effectual course, by fresh.

confpiracies,

confpiracies, of equal or greater horror, to confirm the belief of it with a witnefs. But I fhall not anticipate what will be more proper for another day, but confine myself to the prefent occafion.

I will not trouble you with a particular narrative of this dark confpiracy, nor the obfcure manner of its difcovery, which Bellarmine himself acknowledges not to have been without a miracle. Let us thank God that it was fo happily discovered and disappointed, as I hope their prefent defign will be by the fame wonderful and merciful providence of God towards a most unworthy people. And may the lameness and halting of Ignatius Loyola, the founder of the Jefuits, never depart from. that order, but be a fate continually attending all their villanous plots and contrivances.

I fhall only obferve to you, that, after the discovery of this plot, the authors of it were not convinced of the evil, but forry for the mifcarriage of it. Sir Everard: Digby, whofe very original papers and letters are now in my hands, after he was in prison, and knew he must fuffer, calls it, the best caufe; and was extremely trou. bled to hear it "cenfured by Catholics and priests, contrary to his expectation, for a great fin. Let me tell

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you (fays he) what a grief it is, to hear THAT fo "much condemned, which I did believe would have "been otherwise thought of by Catholics." And yet he concludes that letter with thefe words: "In how full. joy fhould I die, if I could do any thing for the cause "which I love more than my life!" And in another letter he fays, he could have faid fomething to have mi tigated the odium of this business, as to that point of involving thofe of his own religion in the common ruin : "I dare not (fays he) take that courfe that I could, to "make it appear lefs odious; for divers were to have "been brought out of danger, who now would rather "hurt them than otherwife. I do not think there would "have been three worth the faving, that fhould have "been loft." And as to the reft that were to have been fwallowed up in that destruction, he feems not to have the leaft relenting in his mind about them. All doubts he feems to have looked upon as temptations, and intreats his friends "to pray for the pardoning of his not

fufficient

"fufficient ftrivings against temptations, fince this bufi"nefs was undertook."

Good God! that any thing that is called religion, fhould fo perfectly trip men of all humanity, and tranfform the mild and gentle race of mankind into fuch wolves and tygers; that ever a pretended zeal for thy glory fhould inftigate men to dishonour thee at fuch a rate! It is believed by many, and not without cause, that the Pope and his faction are the Antichrift. I will fay no more than I know in this matter. I am not fo fure that it is he that is particularly defigned in fcripture by that name, as I am of the main articles of the Chriftian faith; but however that be, I challenge Antichrift himself, whoever he be, and whenever he comes, to do worfe and wickeder things than thefe.

But I must remember my text, and take heed of imitating that spirit which is there condemned, whilst I am inveighing against it. And in truth it almost looks un. charitably to speak the truth in thefe matters, and barely to relate what thefe men have not blushed to do. I need not, nay I cannot aggravate these things; they are too horrible in themfelves, even when they are expreffed in. the fofteft and gentleft words..

I would not be understood to charge every particular perfon, who is or hath been in the Roman.communion; with the guilt of thefe or the like, practices; but I must charge their doctrines and principles with them: I muit charge the heads of their church, and the prevalent teaching and governing part of it, who are ufually the contrivers and abetters, the executioners and applauders of thefe curfed defigns.

I do willingly acknowledge the great piety and charity of feveral perfons who have lived and died in that communion, as Erafmus, Father Paul, Thuanus, and many others; who had in truth more goodness than the principles of that religion do either incline men to, or allow of. And yet he that confiders how universally almoft the Papifts in Ireland were engaged in that maffacre, which is ftill fresh in our memories, will find it very hard to determine, how many degrees of innocency and good nature, or of coldness and indifferency in religion, are neceffary