■3sa- -^"^Wi 
 
 
 
 
 
 
. p.e^..-^-v Pt^<C€^^<l *' 
 
 THE CHURCH; Of ; RQ MB;. ;*■ 
 A VIEW 
 
 OF THE 'l^^'V''*^ 
 
 PECULIAR DOCTRINES, 
 
 RELIGIOUS WORSHIP, ECCLESIASTICAL POLITY, 
 
 CEREMONIAL OBSERVANCES, 
 
 OF 
 
 THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH, 
 
 BY THE REV. H. C. O'DONNOGHUE, A.M. 
 
 — li 
 
 "That Man of Sin * ♦ * * the Son of Perdition; who opposeth and exalteth himself above 
 aU that is caUed God, or that is worshipped ; so that he, as God, sitteth in the temple of God, 
 showing that he is God."— 2 Thes8. xi. 8, 4. 
 
 '• It is, perhaps, impossible in the very nature of things, that such another scheme as 
 Popery could be invented. It is, in truth, the 'mystery of iniquiiy, that it should be able to 
 work itself into the simple, grand, subUme, holy institution of Christianity, and so to inter- 
 weave its abominations with the truth, as to occupy the strongest passions, and strongest un- 
 derstandings. Popery was the master-piece of Satan. I believe him utterly incapable of 
 such another contrivance. It was a systematic and infallible plan for forming manacles and 
 mufflers for the human mind. It was a well laid design to render Christianity contemptible, 
 by the abuse of its principles and institutions. It was formed to overwhelm, to enchant, to 
 sit a* the great whore making th^^vrttTjifunk um^l^»^ftqiicalions.''— Cecil. 
 
 •' Come out of her, my y<^f?^^a be not parfcfteA«Ner sins, and that ye receive not 
 of her plagues.-— Jier, V^fTfr ' V _ 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 LONGKAN, REES, OHME, BROWN, AND OREEN. 
 
 1830, 
 

 
 LONDON : 
 
 PRINTBD BY JOSEPH BRADFORD, 30, PITFIKLD STREET, HOXTOlf. 
 
TO 
 
 THE AIGHT HONORABLE THE PRESIDENT 
 
 THE RIGHT HOXORABLK, RIGHT REVEREND, AND OTHERS, 
 
 THE vice-presidents; 
 
 THE TREASURER, AND SECRETARIES 
 
 OF THE 
 
 BRITISH REFORMATION SOCIETY, 
 
 THE FOLLOWING PAGES 
 
 ARE MOST RESPECTFULLY AND CORDIALLY DEDICATED, 
 
 BY THEIR MOST FAITHFUL 
 
 AND OBEDIENT SERVANT. 
 
 H. C. O'DONNOGHUE. 
 
 96, Devonshire Street, Bloomsbury, 
 Jan. 1, 1830. 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 
 in 2007 with funding from 
 
 IVIicrpsoft Corporation 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/churchofromeviewOOIdonrich 
 
Hi 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 What is Popery ? is a question which has, of late, 
 been more frequently asked than accurately answered. 
 The friends and opponents of this system have each, 
 in turn, offered their reply ; but with so little satisfac- 
 tion to the unprejudiced enquirer, that no apology, it 
 is presumed, is necessary for this further attempt to 
 place the merits of the Question fairly and impartially 
 before the Public ; especially at a period when the ex- 
 citement which the recent Parliamentary Discussion 
 of the Catholic Question first originated, is so ably, 
 nobly, and piously sustained by the labors of the 
 British Reformation Society ; a society which seeks 
 to recal to the Protestants of Britain those purer and 
 better periods of England's History, when the Abomi- 
 nations of the " Man of Sin," were not only accurately 
 known in all their atrocity ; but ably combated by the 
 most profound learning, the most splendid talents, and 
 the most fervent and solid piety. But on this subject, 
 however interesting, the author must forbear, whilst 
 
▼Ill PREFACE. 
 
 he offers to his Readers the following outline of the 
 origin and design of the work, which now solicits 
 their candid and favorable attention. 
 
 Having, for many years, directed his attention to 
 the points at issue between the Church of Rome, and 
 the Reformed Churches of Germany, and of Britain, 
 the author has often had occasion to lament the want 
 of an accurate^ authentic^ and authoritative statement 
 of the matter of Controversy. The " Confessions" of 
 the Continental Churches ; and the Articles, Liturgy, 
 and Homilies of our own, leave nothing to be desired 
 as to one side of the question ; but the Church of 
 Rome has no similar abstract to present. The " Apos- 
 tolical and Ecclesiastical Traditions, with the rest of the 
 Constitutions, and Observations of the said Church ; " 
 as embodied in the Decrees and Canons of her 
 Eighteen General Councils^ and in the multitude 
 of her Pontifical Bulls, — all and each of which, as 
 thus delivered, defined, and declared, are binding on the 
 faith and conscience of every individual member of that 
 Church, under the most solemn obligation, — occupy in 
 extent nearly Twenty Folio Volumes ; and these in 
 a language totally unintelligible to a vast majority of 
 her own people, as well as to the world generally. 
 
 It is true we have Catechisms and Explanations in 
 abundance ; but of these it is enough to say, that, 
 whilst they exhibit the opinions of their respective 
 writers, and are well calculated to modify, extenuate, 
 and explain away some of the more obnoxious tenets 
 
PREFACE. IX 
 
 of Popery, they are still wanting in authority. It has 
 often happened, that the statements of these indi- 
 viduals, however respectable and worthy, have been 
 mistaken for those of " the Church ; " than which 
 nothing can be more erroneous, or mischievous. It is 
 the asserted infallibility of the Roman Church 
 which renders her own exhibition of doctrine so 
 important and alone satisfactory. "All other opinions," 
 says Mr. Butler, " though they be the opinions of/;;':/ 
 the most respectable writers ; though they be the 
 opinions of the Fathers of the Church ; still they are 
 but matters of opinion, and not Articles of Faith." 
 
 Aware of the improved spirit of the age, and the 
 advance of knowledge among the great mass of man- 
 kind, by which the rights of conscience and of private 
 judgment have become better understood, and the 
 conformity of opinions to the only standard of Divine 
 truth better ascertained, modern Roman Divines, 
 especially those of France and England, have, in the 
 exercise of a wise policy, forborne altogether the state- 
 ment of the more obnoxious tenets of their Church, 
 whilst some are but feebly vindicated, and others most 
 cautiously explained. 
 
 To ascertain, beyond possibility of doubt or ques- 
 tion, the real, naked, undisguised Doctrines of the 
 Church of Rome, apart from the glosses and apolo- 
 getical explanations of her advocates, the Author, in 
 obedience to her own injunctions, has sought them in' 
 the Bulls of her Popes, and the Decrees of her Coun- 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 cils, especially the " Most Holy " one of Trent : and, 
 for assuring the Reader of the fidelity of his extracts, 
 I reference is perpetually made to the particular Canon, 
 / Council, and Bull, from whence they are taken. Such 
 ' a process seems wholly unobjectionable ; and cannot 
 fail to protect him from the suspicion of misrepre- 
 senting those opinions from which he could not but 
 conscientiously dissent. The result of this enquiry is 
 now offered to the Public, in the conviction that these 
 pages contain a fair, unprejudiced, and authoritative 
 statement of that " Faith out of which none can," in 
 the judgment of the Romanist, " be saved, and which 
 he promises, vows, and swears to retain, whole and 
 entire, to his life's end." These doctrines are not 
 merely speculative, or matters of doubtful disputation, 
 on which wise and good men may differ in the spirit 
 of charity ; nor questions which affect only the letter 
 of the word of God. On the contrary, they relate to 
 what is supremely important, — the justification of man 
 in the sight of God ; involving, in their acceptance or 
 rejection, the honour and glory of God in the salvation 
 of the world. Are these doctrines, we ought seriously 
 to enquire, according to godliness ? Are they sanc- 
 tioned by " the law and the testimony" of God ? 
 And, on what authority are they offered to our belief, 
 as necessary to salvation ? To assist in the prosecution 
 of such enquiries, the Author has subjoined to the 
 Doctrinal Statements of the Church of Rome, various 
 remarks and observations, in which he has fully shown 
 
P&EFACE. 
 
 £i 
 
 how lamentably they dift'er from the decisions of the 
 word of God ; and he has, moreover, strengthened his 
 own opinions by those of the Church of England, and 
 of many pious writers, whose sentiments and language 
 he has interwoven with his own. If right principles be 
 the foundation of a holy life, and if the affections of 
 the heart be influenced by the decisions of the judg- 
 ment ; the design of the Author cannot be unimpor- 
 tant or unnecessary at the present moment, when a 
 spurious liberality would induce us to believe that 
 bigots alone regard opinions and modes of faith, in 
 opposition to that infallible testimony which declares, 
 that "without faith it is impossible to please 
 
 GOD." 
 
 The Second Portion of this volume, which the N 
 Author commends, without comment, to the Reader's / 
 attention, will, with the History of the Church and ) 
 Court of Rome, now in the Press, complete what may { 
 be termed a full, as well as accurate, view of the Papal ) 
 System ; such as, the Author believes, cannot be else- ( 
 where found within the same limits. ) 
 
 Melancholy, indeed, is the reality of that religion, 
 ^vhich, even in description, excites our alternate regret 
 and abhorrence ; which kindles feelings of indignation 
 at its daring triumphs over reason and common sense, 
 whilst it awakens the deepest commiseration and sor- 
 row that so many immortal souls, the subjects of its 
 tyranny, should thus be led captive by Satan at his 
 ^vill. Surely of such a monstrous system of fraud. 
 
»i 
 
 PR K FACE. 
 
 ignorance, impiety, and imposition, no man, in the 
 exercise of unprejudiced reason, can doubt the origin ; 
 this is not a religion which ever came down from 
 heaven ; it emanates, manifestly and solely, from the 
 " Father of Lies." Its deluded votaries, in this 
 transcript of their faith and discipline, must surely 
 perceive that, amidst all their parade, pomp, and will- 
 worship, they are, at last, to be classed among those of 
 whom it is said, " Ye worship ye know not what." 
 
 In these pages, the apologists of Papists may learn 
 whether Popery is an evil ; whether it has undergone 
 any change in its spirit, since the days of Cranmer and 
 Luther ; whether it has yielded to the better know- 
 ledge of a more enlightened age ; whether, casting off 
 the mental shackles of ignorance and superstition, it 
 has gone forth in the freshness and beauty of an 
 emancipated mind ; whether, in fact, awakening from 
 its long night of darkness, it has, at length, addressed 
 itself to the great and mighty purpose of rousing a 
 slumbering world, long dead in trespasses and sins, to 
 the " LIFE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS ; " directing its hope and 
 faith from every refuge of lies, to repose themselves 
 entirely and exclusively, on the free grace of God, 
 as displayed and exercised towards a guilty, apostate? 
 and condemned race, in the person and atonement of 
 the Lord Jesus Christ. Alas ! however reluctantly 
 the confession be made, the interests of truth demand 
 the acknowledgement, that, in none of these things, 
 ha? the Pope, or his Church, manifested the spirit of 
 
PREFACE. XIU 
 
 Christ ; in nothing have they shown that " old things 
 have passed away/' The heart of the truly pious will 
 not only mourn over such details, but will ardently 
 desire, and cordially assist, in hastening forward that 
 glorious aera, when the darkness of ignorance shall be 
 superseded by the light of truth ; and the glorious 
 Gospel of the blessed God shall for ever chase 
 away the mists of error and superstition. 
 
 Some apology, the Author feels to be due to the 
 public for the imperfection of the present Volume, 
 whose progress through the press has been attended by 
 many unforseen and distressing circumstances ; inso- 
 much, that its publication would have been suspended, 
 or, even altogether abandoned, had not every necessary 
 arrangement been previously made, and the printing 
 been actually commenced, before their occurrence. 
 
 To the peculiar nature of these circumstances, it is 
 not necessary further to allude, than to state, in order 
 to bespeak the Reader's indulgence, that, whatever is 
 painful in bodily affliction, mental disquietude, domestic 
 calamity, and disappointed hopes, has frequently and 
 unitedly compelled him to lay down his pen, in the 
 almost utter hopelessness of ever resuming it. Some 
 of these sufferings have been mercifully alleviated, or 
 removed ; but there are sorrows which no time can 
 heal, — griefs, which nothing but Omnipotence can 
 solace, — and woes, which nothing but the grave can 
 terminate. Beyond the limits of this world, however, 
 the glorious Gos})el of the blessed (iod, points to un- 
 
XIV PREFACE. 
 
 fading joys, satisfying delights, and unalloyed pleasures, 
 — to regions of bliss, where neither sin nor sorrow 
 dwells, — where no tear flows,'^and no anxiety is felt, — 
 where the heart is never bowed down by care, nor the 
 affections wounded by disappointment, — where the 
 consciousness of guilt inflicts no pang, excites no 
 apprehension, and extorts no tear, — where the happy 
 family experiences no bereavement, and separated 
 friends are for ever united, — where the wearied spirit, 
 no longer burdened by sin, and oppressed by sorrow, 
 weeps no more. Supported, in some measure, by such 
 consoling prospects, the Author has persevered in his 
 undertaking, amidst many discouraging, and, appa- 
 rently, adverse circumstances. Such as it is, together 
 with its kindred publications,* the labor of many a 
 painful hour, and the subject of many an anxious 
 prayer, he now commends it to the candor of his 
 Readers, and to the blessing of that God, whose glory 
 it is principally designed to further. 
 
 * The History of the Church of Rome, in Two Volumes, 
 8vo., now far advanced at the press, but the publication of 
 which unavoidable and unforeseen circumstances will retard, for 
 a few weeks beyond the period at first announced; and the 
 History of the Reformation in England and Germany, in One 
 Vohimp. 8vo.. also in the Press. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 PART I. 
 
 Page 
 
 Summary of the Roman Catholic Faith, by Pope Pius IV 1 
 
 Of the Rule of Faith 10 
 
 Infallibility 27 
 
 The Power and Authority of the Pope 32 
 
 Free Will 46 
 
 Sin 49 
 
 Invocation of Saints and Angels 54 
 
 Indulgences 62 
 
 Purgatory 73 
 
 Merit of Good Works 79 
 
 The Sacraments 87 
 
 Baptism 91 
 
 Confirmation 93 
 
 Eucharist, or Mass 94 
 
 Adoration of the Host 105 
 
 Penance and Absolution 107 
 
 Orders ; 120 
 
 Extreme Unction 120 
 
 Matrimony 130 
 
 Oaths 140 
 
 Prayers in an Unknown Tongue 144 
 
 Miracles 151 
 
 Relics 153 
 
 Images 156 
 
^^1 COXTKKTS. 
 
 PART II. 
 
 Hag. 
 
 Preface : 171 
 
 Chaptsr I. Roman Liturgy, Mass, or Daily Service 175 
 
 II. High Mass, as performed by a Bi.shop 194 
 
 III. Of the Breviary 197 
 
 IV. Baptism, &c 212 
 
 V. the Government of the Church 217 
 
 VI. the Papal Palaces 232 
 
 VII. the Election of the Pope 240 
 
 VIII. High Mass, as performed by the Pope 252 
 
 IX. the Cardinals, &c 263 
 
 X. Clerical Vestments 273 
 
 XI. Passion Week at Rome 277 
 
 XII. Clerical Celibacy ; and the Monastic and Con- 
 
 ventual Orders 305 
 
 Miscellaneous Observations 329 
 
THE 
 
 PECULIAR DOCTRINES 
 
 THE CHURCH OF ROME, 
 
 " No Doctrine is to be received as an Article of Faith, unless delivered by 
 Divine Revelation, and propounded by the Roman Catholic Church as a revealed 
 Article of Faith. All other opinions, though they be the opinions of the most 
 respectable writers ; though they be the opinions of the Fathers of the Church ; 
 still they are but matters of opinion, and a Catholic may disbelieve them without 
 ceasing to be a Catholic." — 
 
 Butler. 
 
 SUMMARY OF THE ROMAN CATHOLIC FAITH; 
 BY PIUS IV. 
 
 The Bull of Pius IV. by Divine Providence, Pope, relative 
 to the form of oath of the profession of the faith. 
 
 " Pius, Bishop, the servant of the servants of God, for the 
 perpetual remembrance of the deed. The Office of our Apos- 
 tolical Ministry enjoins us, promptly to execute these decisions 
 of the Holy Fathers with which the Almighty God has, for the 
 good of his Church, inspired them. Sec. Whereas, therefore, 
 by the decree of the Council of Trent, all pastors who shall 
 henceforth be placed over cathedrals and principal churches 
 
and their dependencies, or who, entrusted with the care of souls, 
 are provided for, must be obliged to make public profession of 
 the orthodox faith, and to promise, and swear, that they will 
 continue obedient to the Church of Rome ; We, desirous that 
 all this should be diligently attended to, by all so entrusted, in 
 what department soever, whether in monasteries, convents, 
 houses, and such like places, whether called regular, military, 
 or by what name soever, and that the profession of the same 
 faith may be uniformly exhibited to all, and one only and 
 certain form of it might be made known to all men, and pub- 
 lished in every nation, by those, whom, under the prescribed 
 penalties it concerns, do strictly command, by our Apostolic 
 authority, that the following aforesaid profession of faith, be 
 solemnly made, according to this form only ; viz. 
 
 "Ego, I. N. firma fide credo, &c. I, I. N. firmly believe, 
 and profess, all, and every thing, contained in this Creed, which 
 the Holy Roman Church useth." Then follows the Nicene 
 Creed, after which are the Twelve new Articles of the Trent 
 Creed, as follow : — 
 
 "1. I most steadfastly admit and embrace the apostolical and 
 ecclesiastical traditions, with the rest of the constitutions and 
 observations of the said Church. 
 
 " 2. I also receive the Holy Scriptiu-es according to that 
 sense which the holy mother Church (to whom it belongs to 
 judge of the true s^nse and interpretation of the Holy Scripture) 
 did, and doth still hold, nor will I ever take and interpret it 
 otherwise than according to the unanimous consent of the 
 fathers. (1.) 
 
 "3. I do also profess that there are truly and properly seven 
 sacraments of the new law, instituted by our Lord Jesus Christ, 
 
3 
 
 and necessary to the salvation of mankind (although all the 
 sacraments are not necessary to every person,) viz. Baptism, 
 Confirmation, the Lord's supper, Penance, Extreme Unction, 
 Orders and Matrimony; all which do confer grace : and where- 
 of Baptism, Confirmation, and Orders, cannot be repeated with- 
 out sacrilege. I do also receive and admit, all the received 
 and approved rites of the Catholic Church, in the solemn 
 administration of the aforesaid sacraments. 
 
 " 4. All, and every thing, which was declared and defined 
 about original sin, and justification, by the most holy Council 
 of Trent, I embrace and receive. 
 
 " 5. I do profess, also, that in the Mass is offered to God a 
 true, proper, and propitiatory sacrifice for the quick and the 
 dead, and that in the most Holy Sacrament of the Eucharist, 
 there is, really, and substantially, the body and blood, together 
 with the soul and divinity, of our Lord Jesus Christ, and that 
 there is a conversion of the whole substance of the bread into 
 his body, and of the whole substance of the wine into his 
 blood, which conversion the Catholic Church calls Transub- 
 stantiation. 
 
 " 6. I do also confess, that under either kind or species only, 
 whole and entire Christ, and the true Sacrament is received. 
 
 " 7- I stedfastly believe there is a Purgatory, and that the 
 souls detained therein are helped by the prayers of the faithful. 
 
 " 8. I also believe that the saints who reign with Christ, are 
 to be worshipped and prayed to, and that they do pray to God 
 for us ; and that their relics are to be venerated. 
 
 " 9. I most firmly assert, that the images of Christ and the 
 Mother of God, who was always a virgin, are to be had, and 
 retained, and that due honor and worship is to be given to 
 them. 
 
 "10. I do also affirm, that the power of Indulgences was 
 
 b2 
 
4 
 
 left by Christ to his Church, and that the use of them is very 
 helpful to christian people. 
 
 "11. I acknowledge the Holy Catholic, and Apostolic Roman 
 Church to be the mother and mistress of all churches ; and I 
 promise and swear true obedience to the Pope of Rome, who is 
 the successor of Saint Peter, the Prince of the Apostles, and 
 Vicar of Jesus Christ. (2.) 
 
 "12. I also, without doubt, receive and profess all other 
 things delivered, defined, and declared by the sacred Canons, 
 and general Councils, and especially by the most holy Council 
 of Trent ; and all things contrary to them, with all heresies, 
 condemned, rejected, and cursed by the Church, I likewise 
 condemn, reject, and curse. (3.) 
 
 " This true Catholic faith, out of which none can be saved, 
 which I now freely profess, and truly hold, I, I. N. promise, 
 vow, and swear, to retain, with God's assistance, whole and 
 entire to my latest breath, and to procure to the extent of my 
 power, that all my subjects, or those who, by virtue of my 
 office, may be under my care, shall hold, teach, and preach 
 the same. 
 
 "Our pleasiu-e is that these our present letters be read, 
 according to custom, in our Apostolical Chancery; and that 
 they may the more effigctually be obeyed, that they be tran- 
 scribed and printed, nor let any man dare to contravene this 
 expression of our will and authority, under penalty of the 
 indignation of the Almighty God, and of His blessed Apostles 
 St. Peter and St. Paul. 
 
 " Given at Rome in the year 1564, and in the fifth year 
 of our Pontificate."" 
 
 1 
 
OBSERVATIONS. 
 
 (1.) By the 1st Article, Traditions, and Papal Decrees must be 
 " stedfastly admitted and embraced " too ; but by the second, the Holy 
 Scripture is coldly " to be received," and not embraced, and even that 
 under most severe and cautious restrictions. From the decree in Sess. IV. 
 Cone. Trident, it is obviovLs that their dread of the Sacred Volume cannot 
 be concealed. See under Article Rule of Faith. 
 
 Bellarmine De Verb. Dei. Lib. IV. c. 2. describes the lands of Tra- 
 dition recognised by the Roman Church. The first he calls divine 
 Traditio n ; which relates the doctrines delivered to the Apostles, by 
 Christ himself, but which, though taught also by the Apostles, were left 
 by them unrecorded. The second kind are Apostolical Traditions ; which 
 relate to Doctrines, likewise taught by the Apostles, and likewise left un- 
 recorded ; yet so far differing from the former kind, that the Apostles 
 received them not from the personal instructions of Christ, but from the 
 dictates of the Holy Spirit. Now, Doctrines taught by the Apostles, 
 whether originally received from Christ himself, or afterwards suggested 
 to them by the Holy Spirit, were, in either case, doctrines Apostolical; 
 and hence the term ' Apostolical,' though used as an epithet descriptive 
 of the second kind, is frequently applied also to Tradition of the Jirst 
 kind. On the other hand, the term 'divine,' though used as a term 
 descriptive of the first kind, is applied also to Tradition of the second 
 kind. For doctrines, suggested to the Apostles by the Holy Spirit, were 
 no less divine than the doctrines which they had received from Christ 
 himself. It appears, then, that both kinds may be referred to one and the 
 same class; and they jfrequently are so referred. Indeed they are always 
 comprehended in the term * Tradition,' when Tradition is used, as at 
 present, to denote the unwritten word of God : for they are nothing less 
 than the constituent parts of tliat unwritten Word. 
 
 But beside the two kinds of Tradition which are thus supposed to con- 
 stitute the unwritten word of God, there is a third kind of Tradition 
 which must be carefully distinguished from the two former, both in 
 origin, and in quality. The two former claim a div ine origin^ as being a 
 partjof G od's Word: but t he third p&rt of Tradition is confessedly of 
 human origin ; and it is described as such by the Romish Writers them- 
 
6 
 
 selves. Nor is it less different in qualHy than in ori^n ; relating merely 
 to Church Ceremonies^ and is called, therefore, the Tradition of the 
 Church, or Ecclesiastical Tradition : consisting of certain ancient 
 ^ustoms, which, having originated partly in the practice of the Bishops, 
 partly in the practice of the people, have, gradually and by tacit consent^ 
 acg^uired the force of a Law. 
 
 (2.) There is indeed among them a visible and external communion ; 
 and the authority of the See of Rome, like the key-stone of an arch, 
 binds the whole mass together. It is the " seat and centre of their unity " 
 — but what kind of unity ? A unity that is merely artificial and me- 
 chanical — a unity secured by the observance of the same ceremonies, and 
 the use of the same ritual — a unity resulting, in innumerable instances, 
 from accident, custom, and authority — the unity of a military corps who 
 perform the same evolutions, go through the same manoeuvres, and move 
 together with admirable order. But is this " the unity of the spirit ? " 
 Who does not perceive that in rehgious matters, that unity alone deserves 
 the name, which is the result of inquiry and conviction ? The unity of 
 which inspired writers speak is, essentially, an agreement in principle — 
 in dispostion — in sentiment — in character : — the fellowship of kindred 
 minds — the coincidence of thought and feeling on matters of infinite in- 
 terest and importance. It is an intellectual — a moral — a spiritual unity. 
 To secure its operation, an absolute uniformity is by no means essentially 
 requisite: and if our opponents avail themselves of this remark to 
 account for, and explain their own differences, we reply — that if the 
 divisions obtaining amongst Protestants, are no more effectual barriers 
 to true unity than the divisions obtaining in the Church of Rome, then 
 no superior advantage in point of unity is possessed by those in its com- 
 munion. That there are divisions amongst them is most notorious. 
 They are divided on the question of infallibility : and if any question 
 might be termed fundamental, one would think, it must be that, concern- 
 ing the authority which is to determine what is fundamental. But so far 
 from being united, they differ materially on this primary question ; and 
 many of the controversies which, under other names, have divided Pro- 
 testant Chmrches, have been for ages discussed in the Church of Rome, 
 and have formed the barriers of separation between opposite and contend- 
 ing parties. 
 
 
(3.) These Articles, ** are terms of communion, and none can be a 
 member of the Church, (meaning that of Rome) who does not posi- 
 tively assent to them, either by an explicit or implicit faith. The reason 
 is, because not only to doubt of, but even to suspend an assent as to, 
 any one point, which the church has declared to be of faith, is to ques- 
 tion the authority, the commission, and the truth of the church ; since 
 these are involved in every such declaration she makes, and every article, 
 in this sense, is equally fundamental, there being not any one, though 
 seemingly of an inferior concern, but upon its being questioned, the 
 authority and whole constitution of the Church is, upon this, as much 
 overthrown, as if the truth of its declarations were questioned in the 
 highest mysteries of the Christian faith ; since though the subject or 
 matter of the declarations may be very different, yet her authority and 
 truth are alike concerned in aU." 
 
 The Church of Rome further declares, that every baptized person is, 
 by virtue of such Baptism, obliged " to obey all the precepts of the Holy 
 Church, either written or delivered by Tradition; and that whoever 
 denies that such baptized persons should not be forced to obey those 
 precepts by any other punishment than that of excommunication, is to be 
 accursed." Such is the declaration of the Council of Trent, (Sess. VII. 
 Can. 4, and 14.) whose infallibility no Roman Catholic can disbelieve. 
 
 This most solemn declaration of the Roman Catholic Faith, ends thus : 
 " This true CathoHc Faith, out of which none can be saved, which I 
 now freely profess and truly hold, I promise, vow, and swear, to retain 
 (with God's assistance,) whole and entire, to ray latest breath, and to 
 procure to the extent of my power, that all my subjects, or those who, by 
 virtue of my office, may be under my care, shall hold, teach, and preach 
 the same." This oath was framed by the Council of Trent, with a 
 determination to tender it to all persons in power ; and is taken, even in 
 England, by all Romanist Bishops and Dignitaries. 
 
 There is indeed no mention here made of the means whereby the 
 Romanist Faith is to be promoted; but there is in the Roman Decretals, 
 all things delivered and declared in which, are received in this compre- 
 hensive Creed. In those Decretals it is declared "that Heretics, however 
 unwilling, are to be brought to salvation by force ; " that " the Church 
 justly may persecute them ; " and " that the enemies of the Church arc 
 to be coerced by arraf?" — 
 
8 
 
 The exclusive spirit of the Roman Catholic Church as contrasted with the 
 tolerant and christian temper of Protestantism, may be accepted as no un- 
 equivocal testimony to the value of their respective claims to be considered 
 as the pure religion of heaven. The Principles of Toleration, it has 
 been well observed, which allow various sentiments, and modes of faith, 
 are necessarily inherent in Protestantism, and every instance of coercion 
 or persecution in a Protestant, is a departure from his own legitimate 
 principles; while all toleration exercised by a Roman Catholic, is a depar- 
 ture from the principles of his own Church, which admits no other 
 interpretation of Scripture than her own ; denies the right of all other 
 ministers to officiate in religious offices ; and declares that there is no sal- 
 vation out of her own pale. 
 
 We know whence the persecutions of the Church of Rome proceed, 
 because we know that she does not, and, to be consistent with herself, 
 cannot, tolerate other modes of faith. She considers her mode of faith 
 to be perfect, her spiritual dominion to be universal, and her interpreta- 
 tion of the Oracles of God to be unquestionable. She cannot err, and, 
 therefore, will make the opinions of her sons bend to her authority, and 
 aU who dispute that authority she treats as enemies. If to day were the 
 first of giving birth to such principles, it would require no great offijrt of 
 sagacity to predict that coercion and persecution would as necessarily 
 flow from them as light from the sun. The practice of persecution would 
 naturally follow intolerance of principle. 
 
 On the other hand. Protestantism is the religion of the Bible. It allows 
 that Book to be the standard of faith and practice, and it imposes no 
 specific interpretation of that Divine and illuminating volume. Protest- 
 antism allows its votaries to bring human creeds to that great touchstone 
 of all truth ; but compels none to reduce their interpretation of it to the 
 imperfect and erring standard of human creeds. Whatever Creeds or 
 Articles may be adopted by Protestant Churches, it is quite clear that the 
 distinguishing spirit of Protestantism, and which aU Protestants admit, is 
 the right of private judgment in matters of religion; which is the natural 
 result of making the Scriptures, unmixed by human comments and 
 opinions, the only infallible rule of christian faith and practice. Where 
 this right is admitted to be the general and indefeasible property of man, 
 as it must be by every legitimate Protestant, the principle of coercion or 
 persecution cannot exist. Therefore, if persecution be maintained or 
 
exercised by a Protestant of any denomination, it is in contravention 
 of the principles of Protestantism. You may censure the man, but 
 you cannot blame the principle of Protestantism which he has thus 
 abandoned. 
 
 The very principle of the Church of Rome, as evidenced in the oath 
 taken by her Bishops, is persecution. The words are, " Heretics, schis- 
 matics, and rebels to our Lord the Pope, or his successors, I will, to my 
 power, persecute and oppose." Persecution, or coercion, being thus a 
 principle of the Church of Rome, to be exercised as occasion may 
 require, the circumstances were not accidental which have occasioned the 
 destruction of millions of lives, at her instigation, in different ages of the 
 world, for alleged offences which were merely of a religious nature. The 
 Church of Rome, admitting no right of toleration, or religious liberty, 
 must, of necessity, maintain coercion in matters of religion, as a principle. 
 This she has done, and will continue to do, till she recognises the right of 
 others to follow their own opinions and sentiments. The late Pope's 
 (Pius VII.) Circular Rescript, of the 5th February, 1808, sets this 
 matter in the clearest light, for he there states, that he has rejected the 
 Article proposed by Bonaparte, for granting the free and public exercise 
 of religious worship to those who should dissent from the Roman Catho- 
 lic Communion. Now it is only upon a principle of coercion, or, in 
 other words, of persecution, that the Pope would have rejected that 
 Article. But we need not rely upon a single act of the Pope, since it 
 is notorious that nothing is more repugnant to the Principles of the 
 Church of Rome than the toleration of other modes of faith. 
 
OF THE RULE OF FAITH. 
 
 ( 
 
 This is Twofold. 
 I. The written and unwritten word of God : that is Sceip- 
 TURE, and Tradition. 
 
 " The whole doctrine to be delivered to the faithful is con- 
 tained in the word of God. Which word of God is distributed 
 into Scripture and Tradition,'^ (^^^- to Romish Cat.) which 
 Tradition "is to be regarded and venerated with equal respect 
 and piety as the written word of God." {Cone. Trid. Sess. IV.) 
 Beside the books usually called Canonical, the Church of 
 
 j Rome admits those styled Apocryphal, " and if any man shall 
 not receive these whole books, with all parts of them, as they 
 
 "'\ are wont to be read in the Catholic Church, and as they are 
 had in the old Vulgate Edition, for holy and canonical, let him 
 be accursed ; '' (Cone. Trid. Sess. IV.) and, passing by the 
 claims of the Original Hebrew and Greek (1.) Scriptures, it is 
 said, " the Holy Synod (of Trent) decreeth, that the old Vul- 
 gate Latin Edition in all lectures, disputations, sermons, expo- 
 sitions, be held for authentical.''' {Sess. IV.) It is, moreover 
 added, that no one should dare ^* even to possess" these Scrip- 
 tures, without " license from the Ordinary." And " inasmuch 
 as it is manifest from experience, that if the Holy Bible, 
 translated into the vulgar tongue, be indiscriminately allowed 
 
11 
 
 to every one, the temerity of men will cause more evil than 
 good to arise from it, — it is on this point referred to the judg- 
 ment of the Bishops, or Inquisitors, who may, by the advice of 
 the Priest or Confessor, permit the reading of the Bible, 
 translated into the vulgar tongue by Catholic Authors, to 
 those persons whose faith and piety, they apprehend, will be 
 augmented, and not injured by it ; and this permission they 
 must have in writing. But if any one shall have the presump- 
 tion to read or possess it without such written permission, he 
 shall not receive absolution until he shall have first delivered 
 up such Bible to the Ordinary. Booksellers who shall sell, or 
 otherwise dispose of Bibles in the vulgar tongue to any person 
 not having such permission, shall forfeit the value of the books, 
 to be applied by the Bishop to some pious use, and shall be sub- 
 jected to such other penalties as the Bishop shall judge proper. 
 But regulars shall neither read nor purchase such Bibles, with- 
 out a special license from their superiors." (Reg. IV, Ind. Lib.) 
 Perfectly in unison with this decree is the Encyclical Letter 
 of the late Pontiff, Leo XII, in which the Clergy are in- 
 structed to teach the faithful entrusted to their care strictly 
 to adhere to the preceding canon, "persuaded that if the 
 Sacred Scriptures be every where indiscriminately published, 
 more evil than advantage will arise thence on account of the 
 rashness of men.*" 
 
 And the Holy Scriptures are only to be admitted, in 
 the same sense that Holy Mother Church doth, " whose 
 province alone it is to judge of the true sense and inter- 
 pretation of the Scriptures," {Id.) whilst "all Apostolical 
 and Ecclesiastical traditions, and all observations and constitu- 
 tions of the Church, are to be most firmly admitted and em- 
 braced." (2.) {Pope Pius's Creed.) " For all saving truth is 
 not contained in the Sacred Scriptures, but partly in Scrip- 
 
12 
 
 ture, and partly in unwritten Tradition, which whosoever doth 
 not receive in like piety and reverence as he doth the Scrip- 
 tures, is accursed." (Con. Trid. Sess. IV. De Can. Scrip.) 
 Tradition is defined as "embracing the doctrine which the 
 Catholic Church, instructed by our Lord himself, and by his 
 Apostles, and taught by the Holy Spirit, daily suggesting to 
 them all truth, has always preserved, and will preserve unto 
 the end of the world/' {Cone. Trid. Deer, de Sac. Euch.) 
 " For the Catholic Christian," observes the learned Bossuet, 
 Bishop of Meaux," forms not his faith by reading the Scrip- 
 tures ; his faith is already formed before he begins to read ; 
 reading serves only to confirm what he before believed ; that 
 is, to confirm the doctrine which the Church had delivered to 
 him."" {Confer, avec M. Claude, page 330.) (3.) 
 
 /. II. Decrees of Councils. 
 
 \ " All and singular things which in the Holy Council of 
 } Trent were defined and declared about original sin and jus- 
 
 / tification are to be embraced and received ; " as, also, " all 
 other things, delivered, defined, and declared by the Sacred 
 Canons and OEcumenical Councils, especially of the Holy Synod 
 of Trent, are without doubting to be received and professed." 
 {Pope Pius I Vs Creed.) But, "it is manifest from experience, 
 
 / that, if the Holy Bible be indiscriminately permitted every 
 
 \ where in the vulgar tongue, more injury than good will be pro- 
 duced, from the temerity of man." {Ind. Lib. Prohib.) "Where- 
 fore, the Bible, either in whole or part, whether printed, or in 
 manuscript, is prohibited to be used in the vulgar tongue." 
 > The transgression of this rule renders the transgressor " inca- 
 
 { pable of the benefit of absolution." In one of the regulations 
 of the Council of Trent, it is declared " that since the promis- 
 cuous allowance of the Bible in the vulgar tongue, has been 
 proved by experience to do more harm than good, it is deter- 
 
13 
 
 mined that a discretionary power should be invested in the 
 curate or confessor, to allow such versions to be read by those 
 only who would suffer no detriment from the reading, but 
 would receive increase of faith and piety." (4.) 
 
 OBSERVATIONS. 
 
 (1.) Bellarmine (De Verb. Lib. II. c. 11,) says, " that the fountain of 
 the originals in many places runs muddy and impure;" and he elsewhere 
 adds, (De Verb. Lib. III. c. 1,) "It must needs be confessed, that the 
 Scriptures are most obscure." The Church of England, however, thus 
 decides, "The word of God is bright, giving light unto all men's eyes, the 
 shining lamp directing all men's paths and steps. Here old men and 
 yarung, rich and poor, all men and women, all estates, sexes, and ages, are 
 taught their several duties in the word of God. Horn, against Rebellion. 
 
 (2.) " During the dark ages there was scarcely anything but Tra- 
 dition; its reign was that of ignorance, wickedness, and terror; audit 
 has ever been found that in proportion to the prevalence of tradition, has 
 been the prevalence^ of error, impiety, and misery. After all, what is 
 this boasted tradition } It is merely a collection of fantastic expositions, 
 specious inventions, and sinful expedients, casually contributed from 
 diflferent quarters, and at diflPerent times, by men who, on a variety of 
 accounts, happened to obtain reputation and ascendancy in the Church. 
 If by Tradition is sincerely meant, the handing down of unwritten truth 
 from one generation to another, from the days of the Apostles, it is idle 
 to talk either for or against its properties and claims : — there is no such 
 thing. The very term Tradition is a deception ; and as that which it 
 ought to represent has no existence, universal Tradition is universal im- 
 posture. The copfession of the Bishops assembled at Bononia, in their 
 Council, to Pope Juhus the third,'was honest and candid, ' we plainly con- 
 fess among ourselves, that we cannot prove that which we hold and teach 
 concerning traditions, but we have some conjecture only.' And again, 
 * In truth, whosoever shall diligently consider the Scripture, and then all 
 things that are done in our churches, will find there is a great diflference 
 between them, and that this doctrine of ours is very unlike, and, in many 
 things, quite repugnant to it.' " 
 
14 
 
 Protestants do well in rejecting Tradition, because it is an uncertain 
 guide ; if we ask why one Tradition, mentioned by the Fathers, is re- 
 ceived and another rejected, we are told it is done by the authority of 
 the Church ; and if we inquire upon what rests the power of the Church 
 to adopt or reject ? — Upon Tradition: and that must be an uncertain guide 
 that has no atithority but its own. Again, it is a deceitful guide, because 
 some of the authorities brought to support it, are contradictory to each 
 other, and some of the doctrines it teaches are inconsistent with each 
 other. If tradition be an uncertain guide, it may deceive us, and if it 
 deceive, it may destroy us, and therefore it is a dangerous guide, and 
 they are the wisest who reject it altogether. 
 
 But the chief reason which induced the Protestants at first, and still 
 influences them, to reject Tradition is this, that it totally alters the whole 
 nature of the Christian religion, and destroys its character. It dis- 
 honours God, by encouraging idolatry ; it degrades man, by patronizing 
 childish superstitions ; and it encourages every sin, by the sale of Indul- 
 gences. The Pope claims on the authority of Tradition, to be regarded 
 as the successor of St. Peter ; but in what does he resemble him } The 
 Apostle says to Christians, "Ye were not redeemed with corruptible 
 things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation, received by Tra- 
 dition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a 
 Lamb without blemish and without spot ; " but the Pope tells his people 
 quite the contrary ; and there is no one spiritual benefit bestowed on a 
 Romanist in any part of the world, unless he pays for it. St. Peter 
 would not suffer Cornelius to worship him : (Acts x, 25, 26 :) but the 
 Pope must be adored by his Cardinals, and has made Kings to kiss his 
 feet. 
 
 The Romanists say, that the Scripture speaks of Tradition, and there- 
 fore we do wrong to reject it. St. Paul does refer to Tradition ; (2 Thess. 
 ii. 15, and iii. 6 ;) but who will say that he referred to his having taught 
 doctrines no where mentioned in his writings ; or that he in this place, 
 or our Lord, when he said *^ I have many things to say unto you, but ye 
 cannot bear them now," referred to conferences with the disciples about 
 Reliques, works of Supererogation, Purgatory, worship of the Virgin, 
 Supremacy of the Pope, or Invocation of Saints.^ 
 
 They urge upon us further, that if we reject tradition, we reject what 
 is necessary to prove the authority of the New Testament ; for how can 
 
15 
 
 we know for certain that the New Testament was written by the persons 
 whose names are affixed to the several books, but from tradition ? that 
 is, from the mention made of them as authentic writings, from the 
 present age upward, until we come to the writings of persons who lived 
 so near to the time when the Apostles taught, that the Apostolic writing 
 could not have been falsely attributed to them, without its being detected. 
 We allow the full force of this argument ; but this is a tradition of 
 testimony, and we allow it as such, not a tradition of doctrine ; and, 
 moreover, it is a tradition which is applied to the written wordy whereas, 
 the tradition which the Romanists support, and which we reject, as a 
 rule of faith, applies exclusively to the unwritten word. 
 
 These statements show the fundamental diflference between the 
 Church of Rome and all the Reformed Churches; and, when the autho- 
 rity of tradition is brought forward to prove that we ought to worship 
 saints, to venerate relics, to believe in purgatory, or to comply with the 
 unscriptural and dangerous practices of Popery, we reply, in the lan- 
 guage of the prophet, " To the law, and to the testimony ; if they speak 
 not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them." 
 (Isai. viii. 20.) 
 
 The Holy Scriptures, and they alone, are the supreme and infallible 
 rule of faith ; because in them only do we find all the essential requisites of 
 such a rule. That which is to answer the purpose of a rule of faith 
 should be known, perfect, infallibly-certain, and immutable. It should 
 be known ; for how can that be a rule, that is unknown to him whom it 
 is to regulate ? It should be -perfect ; for it is the standard of duty, and 
 what is imperfect cannot be a standard, and would be unworthy of God 
 to give. It must be infallibly-certain, that is, its positive statements and 
 declarations, must be absolutely and entirely true, though from human 
 imperfection, some who profess to take it as their guide, may err. It must 
 be immutable, that is, fixed ; it must not rise and fall, according to the 
 fluctuations of human opinions. In the word of God, and in it only, do 
 we find all these requisites combined. The word of God, therefore, is 
 the alone standard of faith and practice. 
 
 For it is known ; and so openly is it published, that the Apostle applies 
 to it, what the Psalmist had apphed to the heavens, saying, '' their line 
 is gone out into all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world." 
 Nor are the sacred books given, that they may be kept by the teachers of 
 
16 
 
 religion, shut up and imprisoned, and dealt out in such portions, and to 
 such classes, as they think best. They were intended to be a universal 
 patrimony, and whether you regard them as a whole, or as various pieces 
 given at sundry times, and in divers manners, no where is there the 
 slightest indication, that any part was meant to be restricted to a few. 
 The Bible was given to all ; is addressed to all ; is intended for all. The 
 Pentateuch was addressed to all Israel. The Prophets addressed all the 
 people, and called upon all to listen. The Gospels were written for the 
 benefit of all. The Epistles were addressed to whole assemblies. And 
 the book of Revelation, so difficult, so dark, so mysterious, commences 
 with a benediction upon those who read and who hear the word it con- 
 tains. The wlwle Scripture, therefore, was given, and intended for the 
 benefit of the human family, and it comes to them in such a form as to 
 be easily known. But who will say the same of the Decrees of Councils, 
 and the Traditions of the Church ? The Roman Catholic Clergy tell us 
 of the difficulty of Scripture, and ask. How shall the poor and illiterate 
 understand it ? That it has difficulties we admit ; but we affirm that aU 
 that is necessary to man's present happiness and duty, and to his eternal 
 glory, is so plain, that " he may run who readeth it." 
 
 " If there be obscure and difficult parts in the Bible, it is not generally 
 the simple who abuse them, but the proud and learned, who make a bad 
 use of them. For, in fine, it is not the ignorant and simple who have 
 formed heresies in perverting the word of God. They who do so are 
 generally Bishops, Priests, learned and enlightened persons ; so that, so 
 far from knowing by experience that the reading of the Scriptures is 
 dangerous to the simple and ignorant, one may say, that we learn there- 
 from that it seldom causes any but the learned to fall into error, and that 
 the simple have generally found there nothing but what is edifying and 
 instructive." {Dupin. Diss, sur la Bible, B. I. c. 9.) 
 
 Even Cardinal Bellarmine writes as follows: — "Heresies originate 
 with men of the upper rank, rather than with persons belonging to the 
 inferior classes. Beyond a doubt, almost all authors of heresies have 
 been either Bishops or Priests. Heresies are, therefore, to be considered 
 as the factions of leading men, without whom there could be no popular 
 revolts in the world." {De Rom. Pont. Lib. I. c. 8.) 
 
 " And concerning the hardness of Scripture ; he that is so weak that 
 he is not able to brook strong meat, yet he may suck the sweet and 
 
17 
 
 tender milk, and defer the rest untQ he wax stronger, and come to more 
 knowledge. For God receiveth the learned and the unlearned, and 
 casteth away none, but is indifferent unto all. And the Scripture is full, 
 as well of low valleys, plain ways, and easy for every man to use and to 
 walk in, as also of high hills and mountains, which few men can climb 
 unto. And whosoever giveth his mind to Holy Scriptures with diligent 
 study and burning desire, it cannot be, saith St. John of Chrysostom, 
 that he should be left without help. For either God Ahnighty will send 
 him some godly Doctor to teach him ; or else, if we lack a learned man 
 to instruct and teach us, yet God himself from above will give light unto 
 our minds, and teach us those things which are necessary for us, and 
 wherein we be ignorant. And in another place Chrysostom saith, that 
 man's human or worldly wisdom, or science, is not needful to the un- 
 derstanding of Scripture ; but the revelation of the Holy Ghost, who 
 inspireth the true meaning unto them that with humility and diligence 
 do search therefore. He that asketh shall have, and he that seeketh 
 shall find, and he that knocketh shall have the door opened. If we read 
 once, twice, or thrice, and understand not, let us not cease so; but still 
 continue reading, praying, asking of others ; and so, by still knocking, at 
 the last, the door shall be opened, as St. Augustine saith. Although 
 many things in Scripture be spoken in obscure mysteries, yet there is 
 nothing spoken under dark mysteries in one place, but the selfsame thing 
 in other places is spoken more familiarly and plainly, to the capacity of 
 both learned and unlearned. And briefly to conclude : as St. Augustine 
 saith. By the Scripture all men be amended, weak men be strengthened, 
 and strong men be comforted. So that surely none be enemies to the 
 reading of God's word, but such as either be so ignorant, that they know 
 not how wholesome a thing it is ; or else be so sick, that they hate the 
 most comfortable medicine that should heal them ; or so ungodly, that 
 they would wish the people still to continue in blindness and ignorance 
 of God." — Horn, on Reading of Holy Scriptures. 
 
 The rule of faith should be perfect. "The excellence of a law," 
 said the most acute of ancient philosophers, " consists in this, that it so 
 regulates and defines all things, as to leave as little as possible to the 
 opinion of the judges." This requisite of human laws, is still more 
 necessary in regard to divine laws; and this requisite is found in the 
 Scriptures, and in them only. They leave nothing to be regulated by 
 
 c 
 
18 
 
 Imraan wisdom or human expedients ; for the Holy Scriptures " are able 
 to make men wise unto salvation, through faith which is in Christ Jesus." 
 " All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doc- 
 trine, for reproof, for instruction in righteousness, and to make the man 
 of God perfect, thoroughly furnished unto every good work." Now if the 
 Holy Scriptures can do all this, — if they can instruct, correct, reprove, 
 and guide, — if they can teach knowledge of the truth, confute errors, 
 correct the vicious, and form men to holiness and piety, — what is want- 
 ing ? What is left for the traditions of men to accomplish ? But the 
 Apostle does not stop even here ; he tells us that they are " able to make 
 the man of God," — the Christian minister who is set for the defence of the 
 Gospel, — who is appointed to hold out the lamp of truth to them who are 
 in darkness, — who is to instruct the ignorant, to confute the gainsay ers, 
 to comfort the afflicted, to reclaim the strayed, and to build up believers 
 in their most holy faith, — Him, the Holy Scripture is able to make 
 '^ perfect, and thoroughly furnished unto every good work," Is it not then 
 perfect? Is it not then sufficient for those who move in a humbler 
 sphere of life ? They tell us of decrees of councils, and fathers, and 
 traditions. Find out such an eulogium on any, or on all of them, — pro- 
 nounced by Him too who cannot err, who cannot deceive, — as the fol- 
 lowing which is pronounced on the word of God, — and we will begin to 
 think whether we ought not to abandon it for them : — " The law of the 
 Lord is perfect, converting the soul ; the testimony of the Lord is sure, 
 making wise the simple. The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing 
 the heart ; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes. 
 The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring for ever ; the judgments of the 
 Lord are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they 
 than gold, yea, than much fine gold, sweeter also than honey and the 
 honey comb. Moreover, by them is thy servant warned, and in keeping 
 of them there is great reward." (Psalm xix. 7 — 11.) 
 
 " All Christians," says the eloquent Chrysostom, Bishop of Constan- 
 tinople, towards the end of the fourth and beginning of the fifth century, 
 "ought to have recourse to the Scriptures. For at this time, since 
 heresy has infected the Churches, the divine Scriptures alone can afford a 
 proof of genuine Christianity, and a refuge to those who are desirous of 
 arriving at the true faith. Formerly it might have been ascertained by 
 various means, which was the true Church ; but at present there is no 
 
19 
 
 other method left to those who are willing to discover the true Church of 
 Christ, hut by the Scriptures alone. And why ? Because heresy has all 
 outward ohservances in common with her. If a man therefore be de- 
 sirous of knowing the true Church, how will he be able to do it, amidst 
 so great a resemblance, but by the Scriptures alone? Wherefore our 
 Lord, foreseeing that such a great confusion of things would take place 
 in the latter days, orders the Christians to have recourse to nothing but 
 the Scriptures." {Horn. 49. on Matt. c. 24.) Again (on 2nd Corinth. 
 Horn. 13.) he says, " Let us not attend to the opinions of the many ; but 
 let us inquire into the things themselves. For it is absurd, while we 
 will not trust other people in pecuniary affairs, but choose to reckon and 
 calculate for ourselves, that in matters of for greater consequence, we 
 should implicitly follow the opinions of others ; especially as we possess the 
 
 MOST EXACT AND PERFECT RULE AND STANDARD by which to regulate 
 
 our several inquiries — / m,ean the regulations q/" the divine laws. 
 Therefore I could wish that aU of you would neglect what this or that 
 man asserts for truth, and that you would investigate all these things in 
 the Scriptures." 
 
 The rule of faith should be infollibly 'certain. We are aware that 
 Roman Catholics claim infallibility for their Church; but the claim 
 carries absurdity on the very face of it. We ask, what is meant by the 
 Church which is infallible, and we are told it means the Clergy. Are 
 they individually infallible ? No ; for when we point out Priests, Popes, 
 Bishops, and Cardinals, who have held destructive error, and have been 
 guilty of horrid crimes, the reply is — these were but individual instances. 
 Well, are we then to understand that a company of men, of whom every 
 one considered separately, is fallible, becomes infallible when they are 
 taken collectively ? 
 
 Again, where is this infallibility seated .'* Is it in a Council, without a 
 Pope ? or in a Council, with a Fope ? or, in the Pope himself? Different 
 opinions are entertained by Roman Catholics ; and, as it has been said, 
 an infallibility which cannot be found when needed, is about as good as 
 no infallibility at all. And why is it that this boasted infallibility has 
 never put down diversity of opinion, and suppressed diversity of sects, in 
 the Church of Rome ? For with all her boasted unity, it would be easy 
 to shew, that scarcely less diversity of judgment, and that too on most 
 
 c 2 
 
20 
 
 important points^ prevails among those who all nominally belong to her 
 communion, than among the different sects that claim the common name, 
 Protestant. The truth is, this infallibility of the Church is a fiction, an 
 absurd, an irrational, an impious fiction ; but the infallibility of the 
 Scripture is a truth, a glorious truth, — a reality, a blessed, a consolatory 
 reality. The Scri])ture is perfect, it is sure, and the Apostle Peter 
 thought it more to be depended on than a voice from heaven, saying of 
 it, ** We have a more sure word of prophecy, whereunto ye do well to 
 take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place." The Scripture 
 has God for its author, and is called God's testimony ; and surely, attach 
 as much importance as you may to the testimony of men, the testimony 
 of God is greater. The Bible is the word of God : in it God speaks, and 
 it is his glorious character, that he cannot lie. And this is the secu- 
 rity, — the glory of those Churches that take the infallible word of God 
 for their guide, in preference to the erring and discordant opinions of fal- 
 lible men, that they are " built upon the foundation of the Apostles and 
 Prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief comer stone." May we 
 not say, " their rock is not as our rock, they themselves being judges." 
 Hear the accurate and unanswerable Chillingworth : *^ I, for my part, 
 after a long, and, as I verily believe and hope, impartial search after the 
 true way of eternal life and happiness, do profess plain, that I cannot 
 find any rest for the sole of my foot, but upon this rock only. The Bibky 
 The Bible alone, I see plainly, with my own eyes, that there are Popes 
 against Popes, Councils against Councils, some Fathers against others, 
 the same Fathers against themselves, a consent of Fathers of one age 
 against a consent of Fathers of another age, the Church of one age 
 against the Church of another age. Traditive interpretations of Scrip- 
 ture are pretended, but there are few or none to be found. No tradition, 
 but only of Scripture, can derive itself from the fountain ; but may be 
 proved to be brought in, in such an age after Christ, or that in such an 
 age it was not in. In a word, there is no sufficient certainty, but of 
 Scripture, for any considering man to build upon. This, therefore, and 
 this only, I have reason to believe. This I will profess. According to 
 this I will live, and for this, if there be occasion, I will not only wil- 
 lingly, but gladly, die. Propose to me any thing out of this book, and 
 require whether I believe or no, and seem it never so incomprehensible 
 
21 
 
 to human reason^ I will subscribe it with heart and hand, as knowing no 
 demonstration can be stronger than this, ' God hath said so, therefore it 
 is true.' " 
 
 The rule of faith also should be immutable. Absolute immutability 
 is an attribute of God, and to the exclusive possession of it he lays claim, 
 saying, * 1 am the Lord, I change not;' and so utterly and completely 
 free from change is he, that the Apostle James, speaking of him as the 
 Father of lights, says of him, that he is \vithout variableness, or shadow 
 of turning. The luminary of the heavens has his parallaxes and 
 his tropics ; his aspect, his position, and his appearance vary ; but 
 the Father of lights has neither parallax nor tropic, — neither vari- 
 ableness nor change, nor even the semblance of them. He has stamped 
 his word with the impress of his own immutability. Men may 
 vary their opinions, and Churches may change their creeds ' and their 
 codes of discipline ; individuals may make shipwreck of faith, and the 
 purest Churches may apostatize, or may disappear. But amid all these 
 changes and fluctuations, the word of God abideth for ever. It is not 
 dependant on circumstances ; it varies not with the ever varying tempers 
 and opinions of mankind; it changeth not with the modifications of 
 society and forms of government. It is, like its author, the same yes- 
 terday, to-day, and for ever, — the same to-day as on its first promulga- 
 tion, — the same in the thick gloom of the middle ages, (had men but 
 lent an ear to it,) as at the morning dawn of the Church when it was 
 first published, — or as it will be in the noon- tide radiance of the 
 Church's millennial glory. For though all flesh is grass, and the 
 glory of man is as the flower of the grass, which speedily withers and 
 vanishes, the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And should not 
 this word be the standard of thought, and feeling, and action, — this 
 word, that remains unimpaired, by the lapse of time, and unchanged 
 amid the revolutions of ages, ever holding out the same testimony 
 regarding God, and uttering the same voice to mankind ; this word 
 that comes robed, as it were, in celestial light, and clothed with divine 
 authority, pointing out the path of immortality, and unfolding the 
 principles by which its glorious Author will one day judge the human race? 
 
 Now, of the things that have been spoken this is the sum. The 
 Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments alone, and not the 
 writings called the Apocrypha, nor the oral Traditions of which the 
 
Church of Rome professes to be the sole depository, possess a valid 
 claim to be received as the word of God. These writings, therefore, 
 and these only, and not the Decrees of Councils, the authority of 
 Churches, or the writings of the Fathers, are to be regarded as the 
 supreme judge of controversy, the infallible rule of faith, and the ulti- 
 mate standard of practice. To this character they have a paramount 
 claim, from the consideration that they are the oracles of God. For 
 the authority of the word of God must be not only high, but the 
 highest ; and as be gave this word, for the very end of guiding the 
 faith and practice of men, and as he is infinitely wise, it must be not 
 only calculated, but best calculated, infinitely well calculated, to answer 
 it. The Holy Scriptures themselves lay claim to this authority; to 
 refuse that claim, or to give in to another, is absolutely to contradict 
 their own declarations, and practically to deny them to be inspired. 
 The practice of our Lord Jesus Christ and his Apostles, the practice of 
 the inspired writers of Scripture, and of their glorious Author, is a com- 
 ment upon these declarations, and furnishes inspired and infallible 
 authority, for considering the Holy Scriptures as the ultimate standard 
 of appeal, in all matters. of religion. And then, it is in the Holy 
 Scriptures, and in them only, that we find united all the essential requi- 
 sites of a rule of faith, which should be known, perfect, infallibly-certain, 
 and absolutely immutable. These requisites are possessed by the Holy 
 Scriptures, and by them only ; to them, therefore, and to them only, do 
 we bow, as being, not the word of man, but the word of the living God. 
 
 And as every man has an immortal soul to be saved or lost, and must 
 give account for it, to the Judge of the quick and dead, it is every man's 
 indispensable duty to read his Bible, and to judge of its sense for hint' 
 self'. God the Father created our souls, God the Son redeemed them, 
 and God the Holy Ghost sanctifieth them. They are the living temples 
 of this one God. He searcheth all their secrets, and to every thought he 
 will 'give just retribution. The Omniscient Spirit inspired the Scrip- 
 tures; Jesus ratified them with his blood, he commands them to be 
 read, he asserts their suflficiency for salvation, and denounces an awful 
 curse against adding to them, or taking any thing from them. He and 
 his Apostles gave the example of appealing to the Scriptures, for the 
 confinnation of their own doctrine. 
 
 According to the doctrines of this Church, it is not by the patience 
 
and study of the Scriptures that we are to arrive at truth or hope ; but 
 by taking our place at the feet of Pontiffs or Cardinals. In them, it is 
 contended, that infallible Spirit dwells, who dwelt in the first instructors 
 of the faithful; and wherever they and their adherents are properly 
 convened, to reject their statement is to reject the Holy Ghost, and to 
 rebel against the Majesty of Heaven, there assuredly present in the 
 person of his delegates. It wiU be seen, therefore, that the Catholic 
 Priesthood assumes the authority, and even more than the authority, 
 which pertained to the Apostles themselves. The substance of the 
 reasoning employed in support of this theory, is, that if each man be 
 allowed to form his own judgment respecting the communications of the 
 Scriptures, there will be no end to the diversities of religious opinions ; 
 and as we applaud the wisdom, which, in every civilized country, pro- 
 vides for an order of men to be authorized interpreters of its laws, so 
 should we be prepared to recognise in the Christian Priesthood, the 
 equally, and the only authorised interpreters of the Sacred "Writings. 
 Now there would be some plausibleness in this hypothesis, if, in the 
 New Testament, the word Church always, or even chiefly, meant the 
 Pastors of the Church alone, — ^if the Sacred Scriptures extended to a 
 series of ponderous volumes, like the codes of empires, — if they were 
 drawn up, too, in that dry, technical form by which the enactments of 
 human legislators are characterized; or if what they contain on the 
 subject of human responsibility was really favourable to this view of it. 
 But in the place of all this, we find that the word Church was never 
 designed to be applied to teachers, to the exclusion of the taught, — that 
 the whole of divine revelation is comprised in such a space, that the 
 wayfaring man may render himself familiar with it, — that, as to style, 
 nothing can be conceived less technical, or more evidently adapted to the 
 popular apprehension, than that which generally obtains in the Bible, 
 while the whole current of its instruction clearly suggests, that he who 
 reads and does not understand, fails, not on account of the obscurities of 
 the text, but on account of his own criminal inaptitude. Well might it 
 have been too if the advocates of this scheme, while describing them- 
 selves as the only dwelling-place* of wisdom, had been able to afford to 
 the world, whose aberrations they had so vainly striven to correct, some 
 tolerable proof that they have been themselves of one mind, and them- 
 selves somewhat suitably affected by the doctrines, of which they profess 
 
24 
 
 to be the special guardians. But the fact is, that no Church has ever 
 nourished such a motley host of heresies in her bosom, as the Church of 
 Rome ; nor has any Priesthood ever resorted to so much that is grossly 
 and flagrantly unchristian, in the avowed support of a Christian cause. 
 The whole scheme, therefore, is grounded on an impious presumption, 
 and the superstructure is worthy of its basement. It is man coming 
 out, and, unbidden, taking the place of God ; and that man, in the 
 name of God, so far enslaving the capacities of his fellows, as to become, 
 in no few instances, the most efficient instrument of Satan, while claim- 
 ing to be the special vicegerent of Jehovah. It is despotism in the place 
 of liberty, and a despotism descending to all the secret places of the 
 soul, affecting all that constitutes us men. Some taste of freedom may 
 be conceded, under special circumstances, even to the children of bond- 
 age ; but this limited good, wherever it exists, we number among the 
 benefits indirectly conferred by the genius of Protestantism. To see 
 Popery as it is, we must view it when unchecked by Protestant vigilance 
 and inspection. In every such region it stands forth as the man of sin, 
 who, sitting in the temple of God, exalteth himself above all that is 
 called God, uttering great words of blasphemy. 
 
 The liberty of exercising private judgment in reading the Scripture 
 may, like all other blessings, be perverted and abused ; but as revela- 
 tion and reason are most precious gifts of God, it is the duty of the wise 
 and good conscientiously to improve them, even though bad men should 
 turn both into a curse. As, to the careful perusal of the Scriptures, 
 there is the promise of all good, so there is nothing to be feared from the 
 exercise of reason, if it be used in the fear of the Lord, and in submission 
 to the authority of Revelation. If Protestants exalt their reason above 
 revelation, as Roman Catholics do their traditions, similar bad conse- 
 quences would follow : but God has, in various ways, secured the serious 
 reader of the Bible from dangerous error. The Bible teaches and in- 
 spires profound humility y and guards us against hasty and rash judgments, 
 especially in such momentous points as would endanger our salvation. 
 The Bible also encourages its readers to pray for the sanctifying illumi- 
 nations of the Holy Spirit, by which it was inspired with the promise, 
 that they shall be given ; and at the same time declares, that it cannot be 
 rightly understood without them. It is every man's bounden duty to 
 submit all he hears and reads, to the best of his judgment, to exami- 
 
25 
 
 nation by the pure word; for it is his soul that is at stake, and he 
 himself must bear the burden, and not another. The private judg- 
 ment for which we contend, is scriptural, pious, and the only impregnable 
 bulwark against the usurpations and persecutions of human authority ; 
 without it, the reading of the Bible can produce Httle effect. The 
 sun is seen by its own light, and none but the insane will talk of 
 seeing it by the eye of other men. Nevertheless the Church of Rome 
 insists on reading the Bible for the whole world ! The judgment we 
 claim is not the rash decision of the moment, but the result of much 
 reading, hearing, praying, and doing the will of God for years; a 
 judgment which is ever improving in extent and correctness of know- 
 ledge, as well as in confidence of believing ; a judgment confirmed, 
 and matured, by the sense of the Christian Church in all ages. Nor 
 do the controversies which arise from the exercise of private judgment 
 disturb peace, or destroy brotherly love, while they increase knowledge, 
 and slowly, yet surely, check error. The rigorous Constitution of 
 Protestantism brings all things to light, and its controversies are ever 
 accompanied by beneficial consequences and tendencies. The atmosphere 
 is, as it were, cleared ; we breathe a purer element, and the face of the 
 Church smiles with renovated beauty. 
 
 (3.) "All Protestant Divines, on the contrary, are agreed that the 
 Scripture is the first and only infallible rule of faith and morals ; and 
 that the next place is due to the Fathers, so far as they accord with, 
 and approve, and confirm, by their testimony, the truth contained in \ 
 Scripture. We revere the Fathers, not indeed as judges of the faith, but 
 as witnesses." { Cave. Ep. Apolog. Hist. Let. page 68.) v.^ 
 
 (4.) " We assert," says Bellannine, ** that the necessary instruction, 
 whether relating to faith or morals, is not all expressly contained in the 
 Scripture : Scripture is often so ambiguous and perplexed, that it is unin- 
 teUigibie, unless explained by an infallible authority. The Gospel, with- ) 
 out unwritten Tradition, is an empty name, or words without sense." 
 Pope Ganganelli, on the contrary, declares, {Letter 40, Vol. 1,) "The 
 Gospels contain the religion of Christ, and are so plain, that the meanest 
 capacity can comprehend them." 
 
 " The vain inventions, unfruitful ceremonies, and ungodly Laws, De- 
 
 ^ 
 
26 
 
 trees, and Councils of Rome, were in such wise advanced, that nothing was 
 thought comparable in authority, wisdom, learning, and godliness, unto 
 them, so that the laws of Rome, as they said, were to be received of all 
 men as the four Evangelists, to the which, all laws of Princes must give 
 place : and the laws of God also partly were left off, and less esteemed, 
 that the said Laws, Decrees, and Councils, with their Traditions and 
 Ceremonies, might be more duly kept, and had in greater reverence. 
 Thus was the people, through ignorance, so blinded with the goodly 
 show and appearance of those things, that they thought the keeping of 
 them to be a mere holiness, a more perfect service and honouring of God, 
 and more pleasing to God, than the keeping of God's commandments." 
 Horn, of Good Works. 
 
OF INFALLIBILITY. 
 
 
 ** The Church cannot err in delivering articles of faith, or - 
 precepts of morals, inasmuch as it is guided by the Holy / 
 Spirit," whence " it necessarily follows, that all other Churches \ 
 which falsely claim to themselves that name, and being also ( 
 ledrbyjhe^^iirit of the devil^ are most dangerously out of the 
 way, both in doctrine and practice." {Cat. Trid. Pars. I. Art 
 9. Sec. 18.) But the precise quarter in which this infalli- 
 bility resides is not so determinately settled. The Jesuits, 
 and the Transalpine Divines contend for the personal infalli- 
 bility of the Pope, when on any point of faith he undertakes 
 to issue a solemn decision. (1.) The Cisalpine Divines not 
 only denyjJiiaLin^pibility of the Pope, but even hold that he 
 may be deposed by the Church, or by a General Council, for 
 heresy or schism ; {See Butler's Book of the Rom. Cath. Ch. 
 p. 121, 124;) and that the infainbiUty^lheChurchjs,'' lodged 
 
 a sacred deposit, witli each General Coimcil, viewed as 
 the legitimate organ and representative of the Catholic 
 Church." (2.) 
 
OBSERVATIONS. 
 
 (1.) Pope Pius II. says, that even to speak the truth in opposition to 
 the Pope, would be contrary to the Episcopal Oath; while Cardinal 
 Bellarmine observes, " that if the Pope should err in commanding vices 
 and forbidding virtues, the Church would be bound to believe that vices 
 were virtues, and virtues vices, unless she wished to sin against con- 
 science." {De Pont if. Lib. IF. c. 5.) And again, the Cardinal observes, 
 that the Pontiff alone, or in conjunction with his own particular Council, 
 deciding any thing in a doubtful manner, whether he can err or not, 
 MUST be dutifully obeyed by all the faithful." {Ibid.) Cardinal Zaba- 
 relli informs us that " the Pope can do all things, whatsoever he pleases, 
 even unlawful things, and is more than God ! !" (Z)e Schism. Sul. Serm. 
 Script. p. 70.) And Massonus, in Vita Johanni IX. says, "that the 
 Roman Pontiffs cannot even sin without praise." When the venerable 
 Poly carp visited Rome, on occasion of the difference between the Eastern 
 and Western Churches about the celebration of Easter, Anicetus, the 
 then Bishop of Rome, gave him a kind reception. Though they could 
 not reconcile their opinions, yet no infallibility, nor a necessity of 
 agreeing in trivial matters was insisted on, nor was the bond of charity 
 broken. 
 
 (2.) We observe that this Infallibility cannot reside in the Popes, as 
 many of them have led the most enormously wicked and abandoned 
 lives ; some have been heretics, and on that account censured and de- 
 posed, and could not, therefore, be infallible. A few remarks will justify 
 this assertion. The unanimous consent of all historians shows, that the 
 ages of the Church, from the ninth century to the period of the Refor- 
 mation, were monstrously ignorant and superstitious. Of the tenth age, 
 Baronius, a warm advocate for Papal infallibility thus speaks : " What 
 was then the face of the Roman Church ? how deformed ? when whores, 
 no less powerful than vile, bore the chief sway at Rome, and at their 
 pleasure, changed Sees, appointed Bishops, and, which is horrible to 
 mention, thrust into St. Peter's See their own gallants, false Popes, who 
 would not have been mentioned in the catalogue of the Roman Popes, 
 but only, for the more distinct recording of so long a succession of times. 
 
&c." Pope Marcellinus, who lived in the third century, sacrificed to 
 idols; Pope Felix was a perjured Arian ; John XXII. denied the im- 
 mortality of the soul j Leo X., and that monster of mankind, Alexander 
 VI., and several other Popes, were mere atheists. But the private and 
 public conduct of many Popes have been not only extremely flagitious, 
 they have erred likewise as Popes, in their judicial decrees, speaking 
 ex cathedra, as their divines express it. IL is evident that Liberius 
 erred as Pope, in condemning Athanasius, and in holding communion 
 with the Eastern Arians : on which account St. Hilary said, " I anathe- 
 matize thee, and this the third time, O thou prevaricator Liberius." 
 Pope Vigilius erred as Pope, in first condemning, and then approving 
 the fifth General Council. Pope Honorius was a Monothelite, and as 
 such, condemned by Pope Agatho, and declared an heretic by the sixth, 
 seventh, and eighth General Councils, which no sophistry is artful 
 enough to clear him of, says Cardinal Camus. The Council of Con- 
 stance deposed John XXIII. for a great number of notorious crimes, 
 proved by witnesses, and owned by himself, as lewdness, simony, adul- 
 tery, poisoning his predecessor, and a thousand cheats, says Du Pin. 
 The Council of Basil also deposed Eugenius as perjured, incorrigible, 
 schismatical, heretical, &c. 
 
 On the supposition of the infallibility of the Pope, how are we to 
 reconcile the declaration of Pope Gregory with the elevated pretensions 
 of his successor? ''"Whoever claims the universal episcopate," said 
 Gregory, at the latter end of the sixth century, *' is the forerunner of 
 antichrist." Now this identical universal episcopate, as we all know, has 
 been subsequently claimed by a long succession of Roman Pontiffs. If 
 then infallibility rest with the Pope, who are we to believe, Gregory, or 
 his successors ? 
 
 Again, during the period of the great schism, there were at one time 
 no less than three contemporary Popes, all asserting papal infallibility, — 
 all mutually blaming each other as an undoubted antichrist, with bell 
 and candle. Now it is clear, that every one of these three persons cannot 
 have been in the right. Two out of the three must inevitably have been 
 mistaken : and yet the claims of the two antichrists were not a whit less 
 strenuous and emphatic than the claims of the genuine Vicar of Christ. 
 On the principles of the Romanists, one of the three must have been that 
 Vicar; or the Catholic Church was left during a long periotl, in the 
 
30 
 
 unsatisfactory condition of heedlessness. But all three claimed the 
 Vicariate ; and all the three mutually anathematized each other as anti- 
 christs, and wolves, and deceivers, and Judases, and sons of perdition. 
 If all the three were infallible, then were there three antichrists in the 
 Church ; for each pronounced his rivals to be respectively an antichrist. 
 If no one of the three was infallible, then the dream of papal infallibility 
 is at an end. If one of the three was infallible, while the other two 
 were antichrists, by what marks are we to distinguish the two antichrists 
 from the genuine Vicar ? To settle the claims of the three rival Pontiffs, 
 and at the same time to preserve the infallibility of the Papacy, would 
 puzzle a wiser man than Solomon himself. 
 
 Nor have Councils been less fallible. The second Council of Ephesus 
 is generally condemned iu the Church of Rome : and Bellarmine gives 
 a list of General Councils which are to be rejected ; some for heresy ; 
 some for want of the Pope's approbation ; and some as not received by 
 the Universal Church, that is, the Church of Rome. 
 
 Nor is this infallibility placed conjointly in Pope and Council ; for, on 
 the one hand, the Decrees of the Council of Constance and Basil declare 
 the supremacy and infallibility to be in General Councils, — that these 
 are above Popes ; and that those are heretics who deny this doctrine. 
 On the other hand. Pope Leo and the Lateran Council assert, that it is 
 necessary to salvation that all Christ's people should be subject to the 
 Bishop of Rome; and that the Pope has authority over all Councils. 
 Wherefore this contradiction of each other overthrows the common 
 foundation. 
 
 The state of human nature, likewise, renders such a claim, even under 
 its most favourable aspect, impossible. How much more apparent is the 
 impossibility, when this quality, more than human, is claimed for a long 
 succession of men, many of them confessedly the most profligate and 
 unprincipled, who used their power, which, whatever it was, ought to 
 have been wholly spiritual, to the worst purposes of worldly policy, to 
 the gratification of the most inordinate ambition ; who invariably pur- 
 sued this object by wars, by usurpations, by crimes of the blackest kind ; 
 who took on them to pronounce, ex cathedra, what the whole Christian 
 world should believe; determining magisterially on the most difficult 
 and abstruse questions, and adapting their determination to their politics. 
 The pretension, if it were not so insulting to common reason and com* 
 
51 
 
 moB sense, and had not been such an instrument of power ill employed, 
 would only be ridiculous. Neither is the case made better by ascribing 
 infallibility to Councils ; for they consist of fallible men, the aggregate 
 of whom can never compose infallibility ; of men with all their passions 
 and prejudices about them ; which are directed, as large assemblies are 
 apt to be, by the ability and address of a few leaders, and governed by 
 cabal and intrigue. That this was notoriously the case with the last 
 Council, that of Trent, which has completed the fabric of Popery, as it 
 exists in our days, we know from the most authentic accounts and most 
 convincing evidence. 
 
OF THE POWER AND AUTHORITY OF THE 
 POPE. (1.) 
 
 " Moreover, we define, that the holy Apostolic See, and the 
 Roman Pontiff have a primacy over the whole world, and that 
 the Roman Pontiff himself is successor of St. Peter, the chief 
 of the Apostles, and true Vicar, or, representative, of Christ, 
 and that he is the head of the whole Church, and the Father 
 and Teacher of all Christians ; and that to him, in St. Peter, 
 was delegated by our Lord Jesus Christ full power to feed, 
 rule, and govern the universal Church ; " as also is contained 
 in the acts of General Councils and in the holy Canons. (2.) 
 (Concil. Florent. Sess. X. apud Labbe. Vol. XIII. p. 316.) and 
 the Council of Constance, (Sess. VIII.) anathematises all who 
 deny the Popes being the immediate Vicai" of Christ, and his 
 apostles. In the fourth, or great Lateran Council, it is set 
 forth "that the secular powers shall be admonished, and, if 
 necessary, be compelled by ecclesiastical censures, to make 
 oath that they will, to the utmost of their power, strive to 
 extirpate from their territory all Heretics, declared to be such 
 by the Church ; and further, that if any temporal Lord, being 
 required and admonished by the Church, shall neglect to purge 
 his territory from all taint of heresy, he shall be excommuni- 
 cated by the Metropolitan and other Provincial Bishops ; and 
 
if he contemptuously omit to give satisfaction within a year, it 
 shall be signified to the Holy Pontiff, in order that he may 
 thenceforth proclaim his vassals absolved from all fealty to 
 him, (3.) and may expose to Catholics his territory to he 
 occupied by them, who having excommunicated the Heretics, 
 may possess the same without contradiction,'''' {Con. Labb. 
 Vol. XI, J 47.) Pope Boniface VIII. declares "that we are 
 instructed by the Gospel, that there are two swords, the spi- 
 ritual and the temporal — the one to be used for the Church, 
 the other by it — ^but at the nod and sufferance of the Priest. 
 But one sword ought to be under the other, and the temporal 
 authority to be subjected to the spiritual ; and finally, we de- 
 clare, say, define, and pronounce, that it is of necessity of 
 salvation to every creature to he subject to the Roman 
 Pontiff,''^ Innocent III., who presided over the great Council 
 of Lateran, says, " God instituted two dignities, which are the 
 authority of the Pope, and the power of Kings : the spiritual 
 is the greater ; and that which rules over camals, the lesser. 
 So that the difference between Pontiffs and Kings may be 
 understood to be as great as between the sun and moon ; *" 
 (Decret. De. Maj. et Obed. Lib. I.) On the primacy of the 
 Roman Bishop, the Council of Trent issued no Decree ; but 
 Pius's Creed requires every true Catholic to " promise and swear 
 true obedience to the Roman Bishop, the successor of St. Peter, 
 the Prince of the Apostles, and the Vicar of Jesus Christ." 
 In the General Council of Florence in 1439, the point was 
 fully decided : " Moreover we define that the Holy Apostolic 
 See, and the Roman Bishop, has the Primacy over all the 
 earth ; and that he is the successor of the Blessed Peter, the 
 Prince of the Apostles, the true Vicar of Christ, the Head of 
 the whole Church, and the Father and Teacher of all Christ- 
 ians ; and that to him, in the person of the blessed Peter, was 
 
 D 
 
34 
 
 committed by our Lord Jesus Christ, the full ix)wer of feeding, 
 directing, and governing the universal Church, in such manner 
 as is contained in the acts of General Councils, and in the holy 
 Canons," {Cone. Gen. XIII. 515.) Similar to this is the 
 Decree of the Lateran Council, "That the Roman high 
 Priest holds a primacy over the universal Church, as successor 
 of St. Peter, Prince of the Apostles ; the Father and Doctor 
 of all Christians, to whom all power is committed to feed, 
 direct, and govern the Catholic Church." (4.) And at the 
 coronation of a Pope the triple crown is put upon his head, 
 with these words ; " Receive this diadem adorned with three 
 crowns, and know yourself to be the father of Princes and 
 Kings, Governor of the world, and heir on earth of our Lord 
 and Saviour Jesus Christ." Dominus Noster, Deus Papa, 
 Our Lord God the Pope, is the frequent compliment of the 
 Canonists. The same title is given him by the Council of 
 Lateran. {Sess. IV.) 
 
 Allied to the Supremacy of the Pope is that of the Roman 
 Church, which is declared to be " the Mother and Mistress 
 of all Churches;" (5.) {Pope Pius IV.'^s Creed,) and the power 
 which she claims and exercises in virtue of that Supremacy. 
 Her right to cut off from her communion all whom she regards 
 as Heretics, can neither be denied nor complained of. — But she 
 has ever claimed the right, in virtue of her supremacy, to 
 exercise a vindictive power of punishment over those so cut off, 
 " for it is not to be denied," says the Trent Catechism, " that 
 heretics and schismatics are in the power of the Church, as 
 those who may be judged by her, punished, and condemned 
 with an anathema." The great Lateran Council decrees, 
 " that those whom the Church condemns as Heretics, are to be 
 delivered over to the secular power, to be punished in the 
 manner that is due," viz. death in its most appalling form— 
 
35 
 
 death by burning. — And "those who receive, defend, ov 
 favour heretics, are to be excommunicated, and if they do not 
 give satisfaction within a year, they become, ipso jure, infa- 
 mous, inadmissible to any pubHc offices, or councils, not 
 allowed to vote at any elections, nor to give evidence, nor to 
 make a will, nor take an inheritance."'' 
 
 OBSERVATIONS. 
 
 (1.) To this doctrine maybe imputetl the jealousy of Princes, — the 
 divisions among the people, — the fury of civil war. To this we may 
 impute all that interference in the temporal poHty of states, on the part 
 of the Popes, and the subsequent resistance of Princes, which has often 
 made the Church of Rome the enemy of the civilized world ; and ren- 
 dered the history of so many ages a continued narrative of tumult, 
 crimes, and bloodshed. The decisions of our judgment, and the prin- 
 ciples of our religion, influence men's conduct ; and the doctrine that 
 allegiance of any kind is due to the Pope, however guarded and hmited, 
 explained and paUiated, it may be, has uniformly been productive of 
 misery, by dividing or alienating the attachment and obedience of the 
 people, from the sovereign and laws of their respective countries. Both 
 theory and experience unite to convince the world, that spiritual alle- 
 giance, without temporal power, is an utter impossibility; for it is a 
 motive of conduct, and aflPects, therefore, the happiness of every indi- 
 vidual in the whole community. 
 
 The Supremacy of the Pope was gradually established — of which the 
 following is a brief outhnc. As Rome was the principal city in the 
 world, which at first governed the Church, the Bishop of Rome, after 
 the fall of Jerusalem, exercised jurisdiction over greater, nobler, 
 wealthier converts than any Bishop of the empire. Appeals in civil 
 matters were usually brought to Rome, and many strangers consequently 
 resorted from all parts. As the Bishop of Rome was enabled to maintain 
 greater state, and possessed greater influence than others, the custom of 
 civil appeals was made a precedent for ecclesiastical appeals. When 
 the title of Universal Bishop, which Gregory I. had rejected, was 
 
 1)2 
 
36 
 
 assumed by his ambitious successors, these various precedents were made 
 the law over those churches, which had, hitherto, preserved their in- 
 dependence; until, at length, monarchs were laid prostrate by the 
 exercise of ecclesiastical power. Witness the Emperor, Henry III., 
 dispossessed of his empire, and of the allegiance of his subjects, by the 
 decree of a haughty Pope, who concluded the sentence of deposition in 
 these characteristic terms, "it is meet that he be deprived of dignity, 
 who endeavoureth to diminish the Majesty of the Church." Witness 
 the same Emperor, after he was deposed, waiting in the frost three days, 
 at the entrance of a city where the Pope, " clothed in purple and fine 
 linen, fared sumptuously every day," while the fallen monarch begged 
 with most abject entreaties, a pardon which he with difficulty, at length, 
 obtained. Even our own Henry II. performed penance at the shrine of 
 a haughty and domineering prelate ; and in order to obtain absolution 
 from the ecclesiastical functionaries, was obliged to endure scourging by 
 the whips of monks. Another of our kings was constrained to surrender 
 his regal dignity into the hands of the Pope's representative, and to.hold 
 the crown of England as a tributary of the See of Rome. " Is not the 
 King of England our vassal," said the haughty Pontiff, "and I say 
 more, our slave, who can with our nod imprison him, and enslave him 
 to reproach ? " Another of the Popes, inflamed with ambition, and 
 maddened by a military spirit, disdaining the employment of weapons 
 not carnal, flung the keys of St. Peter into the Tiber, and declared that 
 henceforward he would wield only the sword of St. Paul. 
 
 " What shall we say or think of the Pope's intolerable pride ? Can 
 any man then, which either hath or shall read the Popes' lives, justly 
 say that they had the Holy Ghost within them ? First, as touching that 
 they vnU be termed Universal Bishops and Heads of all Christian 
 Churches throughout the world : we have the judgment of Gregory 
 expressly against them ; who, writing to Mauritius the Emperor, con- 
 demneth John, Bishop of Constantinople, in that behalf, calling him the 
 prince of pride, Lucifer's successor, and the forerunner of Antichrist. 
 St. Bernard also, agreeing thereunto, saith, what greater pride can there 
 be, than that one man should prefer his own judgment before the whole 
 congregation, as though he only had the Spirit of God } And Chry- 
 sostom pronounccth a terrible sentence against them ; affirming plainly, 
 that whosoever seeketh to be chief on earth shall find confusion in 
 
37 
 
 heaven ; and that he which striveth for the supremacy, shall not be 
 reputed among the servants of Christ. Again he saith, to desire a good 
 work, it is good; but to covet the chief degree of honour, it is mere 
 vanity. Do not these places sufficiently evince their outrageous pride, 
 in usurping to themselves a superiority above all others, as well Ministers 
 and Bishops, as Kings also and Emperors ? 
 
 " But as the lion is known by his claws," so let us learn to know these 
 men by their deeds. What shall we say of him, that made the noble 
 King Dandalus to be tied by the neck with a chain, and to lie flat down 
 before his table, there to gnaw bones like a dog.'' Shall we think 
 that he had God's Holy Spirit within him, and not rather the spirit of 
 the Devil } Such a tyrant was Pope Clement VI. What shall we say 
 of him, that proudly and contemptuously trod Frederick the Emperor 
 under his feet, applying the verse of the Psalm unto him, " Thou shalt 
 go upon the lion, and the adder, the young lion, and the dragon thou 
 shalt tread under thy feet." Shall we say that he had God's Holy Spirit 
 within him, and not rather the spirit of the Devil ? Such a tyrant was 
 Pope Alexander III. What shall we say of him, that armed and 
 animated the son against the father, causing him to be taken and to be 
 cruelly famished to death, contrary to the law both of God, and also of 
 nature .^ Shall we say that he had God's Holy Spirit within him, and 
 not rather the spirit of the Devil ? Such a tyrant was Pope Pascal IIi 
 What shall we say of him, that came into his popedom like a fox, that 
 reigned like a lion, and died like a dog.^ Shall we say that he had 
 God's Holy Spirit within him, and not rather the spirit of the Devil? 
 Such a tyrant was Pope Boniface VIII. What shall we eay of him, 
 that made Henry the Emperor, with his wife and his young child, to 
 stand at the gates of the city in rough winter, bare-footed and bare- 
 legged, only clothed in linsey woolsey, eating nothing from morning to 
 night, and that for the space of three days ? Shall we say that he had 
 God's Holy Spirit within him, and not rather the spirit of the Devil } 
 Such a tyrant was Pope Hildebrand ; most worthy to be called a fire- 
 brand, if we shall term him as he hath best deserved. 
 
 " Many other examples might here be alleged ; as of Pope Joan the 
 Harlot, that was delivered of a child in the high street, going solemnly in 
 procession; of Pope Julius II., that wilfully cast St. Peter's keys into 
 the river Tiberius; of Pope Urban VI., that caused five Cardinals to be 
 
38 
 
 put in sacks, and cruelly drowned ; of Pope Sergius III., that persecuted 
 the dead body of Formosus, his predecessor, when it had been buried 
 eight years ; of Pope John XIV. of that name, who having his enemy 
 delivered into his hands, caused him first to be stripped stark naked, his 
 beard to be shaven, and to be hanged up a whole day by the hair, then 
 to be set upon an ass, with his face backward toward the tail, to be 
 carried round about the city in despite, to be miserably beaten with 
 rods, last of all, to be thrust out of his country, and to be banished for 
 ever, 
 
 " But to conclude, and make an end, ye shall briefly take this short 
 lesson : wheresoever ye find the spirit of arrogance and pride, the spirit 
 of envy, hatred, contention, cruelty, murder, extortion, witchcraft, 
 necromancy, &c., assure yourselves that there is the spirit of the devil, 
 and not of God, albeit they pretend outwardly to the world never so 
 much holiness. 
 
 *' Such were all the Popes and Prelates of Rome for the most part ; as 
 doth well appear in the story of their lives ; and, therefore, they are 
 worthily accounted among the number of false prophets, and false 
 Christs, which deceived the world a long while. The Lord of heaven 
 and earth defend us from their tyranny and pride, that they never enter 
 into his vineyard again, to the disturbance of his silly poor flock ; but 
 that they may be utterly confounded and put to flight, in all parts of the 
 world." — Horn, for Whitsunday. 
 
 (2.) Bellarmine's {De Rom. Pont. Lib. IV. c. 3.) elucidation of this 
 power is as follows: "That the Pope cannot err, when teaching the 
 whole Church in a matter of faith, or delivering precepts of morals, 
 which are prescribed to the whole Church, and which relate to matters 
 necessary to salvation, or good or evil in themselves. He is the judge of 
 controversies, and his judgment is certain and infallible." Hence, it is a 
 point universally admitted in the Catholic Church, that, as Bishops in 
 their own Dioceses, fo the Pope throughout the whole Church, can make 
 laws which bind the conscience. 
 
 (3.) That this is no unmeaning claim will appear evident to those 
 who recollect the case of Childeric III., whom Zachary, at the solicita- 
 tion of Pepin, deposed. The deposition of John, King of England, by 
 
39 
 
 Innocent III., was a practical comment on that extravagant maxim, 
 '' That no Princes or Bishops, Civil Governors, or Ecclesiastical Rulers, 
 have any lawful power, in Church or State, but what they derive from 
 the Pope." Bellannine's summary of the matter of the Pope's temporal 
 power is this, *' That when on the same point, the laws of the State and 
 those of the Pope are found to be contrary, if the matter of the law 
 concern the danger of souls, the law of the State is abrogated by that of 
 the Pope: but when the matter of the law is a temporal thing, not 
 concerning the danger of souls, the law of the Pope cannot abrogate the 
 law of the State, but both are to be kept, the one in foro ecclesiastico, 
 the other in foro civili." 
 
 (4.) That the supremacy of the Roman Pontiff was unknown in the 
 beginning of the fourth century, may be* inferred from the following 
 Extracts from St. Jerome in Ess. Evangel, tom. V. p. 802. " Where- 
 soever there is a Bishop, be it at Rome, at Eugubrium, at Constanti- 
 nople, or at Rhegium, at Alexandria or at Taxis, he is of the same worth, 
 and of the same priesthood ; the power of wealth, and the lowliness of 
 poverty render not a Bishop more high or low; for all of them are 
 successors of the Apostles." It is also undeniable that for 600 years 
 after Chriat, no Church of Christ in the world believed any Pope of 
 Rome to be universal Bishop, and no Pope claimed it. The Bishop of 
 Rome, from his station and influence, sometimes assumed a tone of 
 authority and power ; but no Bishop of Rome ever attempted to inter- 
 fere in the regulations of any other Churches, till the dispute arose 
 about the time of keeping Easter. Victor, then Bishop, took upon him 
 to censure the Churches of Asia on this subject ; but not only did they 
 despise and disregard this intrusion, but Ireneeus, in the name of the 
 Churches of France, as well as other Bishops, as Eusebius the historian 
 tells us, sharply reproved him. Stephen went farther in the year 250, 
 and attempted to restore two Bishops that had been deposed ; but the 
 Churches of Spain and Africa, with Cyprian at their head, opposed and 
 frustrated his attempt. Soon after, a controversy arose between Stephen 
 and Cyprian, about the rebaptizing of those who had been baptized by 
 heretics ; Stephen excommunicated Cyprian and the African Churches, — 
 that is to say, he withdrew from their communion ; but they despised 
 bis censures, and were joined by the whole of the Eastern Churches. So 
 
40 
 
 far was the Church of Rome from being the centre of unity to the whole 
 Church of Christ, that there was not even admitted a right of appeal to 
 her, as to a superior authority. The Epistles of St. Cyprian are most 
 copious on this subject. 
 
 When Christianity became the established religion of the empire, the 
 Bishops of Home, the Imperial city, and seat of government, increased 
 in influence, their judgment was courted, and the way was prepared for 
 the antichristian usurpations that followed : yet even in the sixth cen- 
 tury, after the seat of empire had been transferred from Rome to Con- 
 stantinople, and the Bishops of Constantinople in consequence rivalled 
 the Bishops of Rome, in the unholy contest for dominion, — even then, 
 when John, Bishop of Constantinople, under the auspices of the Em- 
 peror Maurice, assumed the title of Universal Bishop, — Pope Gregory, 
 surnamed the Great, vnrote to the Emperor, remonstrating against it as 
 an unchristian usurpation, and declaring that he who should assume 
 it, was " either antichrist or his forerunner." And writing to John, he 
 said, " What wilt thou answer unto Christ, who is the true head of the 
 universal church, in the day of judgment, seeing that by this name. 
 Universal, thou seekest to enthral all the members of his body to thy- 
 self.'' Whom dost thou imitate herein, save Lucifer, who, in contempt 
 of those legions of angels who were his fellows, sought to mount aloft to 
 the top of singularity, where he might be subject to none, and all might 
 be subject to him.''" (See Greg. Epist.) By and by, this Maurice was 
 dethroned and murdered by Phocas, one of his own centurions; and 
 Pope Boniface III., the second in succession after Gregory, obtained 
 from Phocas the murderer, in the year 6o6, the right that the Church of 
 Rome should thenceforth be the head of all other Churches, and the 
 Bishop of Rome be called Sovereign and Universal Bishop. Thus six 
 hundred years elapsed before the claims of the Church of Rome to 
 supremacy were admitted, and these claims were sanctioned — not by the 
 Lord Jesus Christ, but by the Emperor Phocas, who waded to the 
 throne through the blood of his master. For the establishment of 
 these claims, the gradual corruptions of six centuries were requisite. 
 Thus, in what way soever we contemplate the subject, we find the 
 claims of the Pope of Rome, as opposed to the authority of Jesus Christ 
 as they are contrary to the rights of conscience, and hostile to the inte- 
 rests of religion. It is ground of rejoicing that the diffusion of the 
 
41 
 
 Scriptures, and the progress of scriptural knowledge, are fast dissipating 
 that darkness in which, and in which only, the unscriptural claims of 
 the Popedom could have been admitted and sanctioned. Men are be- 
 ginning to disregard usage and custom, and to ask. What saith the 
 Scripture? — ^assured that Jesus Christ and his Apostles are better guides 
 than antiquity, with its Canons and its Councils. Let this spirit be 
 perpetuated, and that event is not far distant, of which the tidings break 
 upon the ear, " Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen : the kingdoms of 
 this world are become the kingdoms of our God and of his Christ." 
 
 We may pause here, (says Dr. Grier,) in order to take a brief retro- 
 spect of the regular, though slow advances of the Bishops of Rome to 
 sovereign power. "VVTiile the Church continued militant, her chief 
 Pastors were strangers to ambition, and only to be distinguished by the 
 holiness of their lives : but as soon as its first dignities were accompanied 
 with honour and reward, the Bishops of Rome, and of the other great 
 cities, Constantinople, Alexandria, Jerusalem, and Antioch, began to raise 
 themselves each above the other. In this race of ambition, many causes 
 concurred to give the Bishop of Rome the ascendancy over his brethren 
 of the East. 
 
 Thus, to begin with the reign of Justinian : 
 
 At the period in which Belisarius was engaged in the extirpation of 
 the Arians in the West, some of the northern Kings, who had penetrated 
 into Italy, entered into the Romish Communion, after they became 
 converts to Christianity. The royal Ethelbert, of England, followed 
 their example. In the commencement of the seventh century Mahomet 
 appeared, and threatened the Emperor of the East with destruction, 
 which his followers were afterwards able to eflfect. These two extrinsic 
 causes operated materially to the advantage of the Romish See. 
 
 For the internal causes, we must look to the conduct of the Pontiffs 
 themselves. Passing over the assumption of Universal Bishop, as of 
 itself it imparted no power ; we find Stephen III., in the eighth century, 
 raised to the rank of a temporal Prince, by Pepin, King of France. 
 This Monarch, having afforded him the assistance he sought for against 
 the Lombards, after his conquest over them, put him in possession of the 
 territory he had retaken. Charlemagne confirmed the donation of his 
 father. 
 
 The next step which led to a further aggrandizement of the Roman 
 
42 
 
 See, was on Pope Stephen's appointment as judge of the disputes which 
 arose between the grandsons of Charlemagne, on the right of inheritance. 
 The Bishop of Rome became then in reality a Sovereign, when recog- 
 nised as an arbiter between temporal Princes. It had, in fact, been his 
 uniform practice from the earliest age, to act in the capacity of judge, 
 when disputes ran high on controverted points. On those occasions 
 he decided, not according to the merits of the case, but in favour of 
 those who were most submissive to his authority; so that between 
 whomsoever the dissension arose, he took care to turn it to his own 
 advantage. Papal ambition was also at this time aided by the appear- 
 ance of false Decretals, which, being admitted as authentic, tended to 
 detach Bishops from the jurisdiction of their respective Metropolitans, 
 and make them dependent on the Roman See. 
 
 But what finally and firmly established the power of those spiritual 
 monarchs, arose from the abject servility of Charles the Bald, one 
 of Charlemagne's descendants, who loaded with splendid gifts John 
 VIII., no less a personage, according to some authors, than Pope Joan 
 herself; in order that he might receive at her hands the Imperial 
 Diadem ! From this time forward the Roman PontiflPs, elevated to the 
 rank, and possessing the power of temporal Princes, contemptuously 
 slighted the authority to which they had hitherto crouched. Hence 
 arose violent contests between Popes and Emperors: — the former dis- 
 charging their spiritual artillery in the form of excommunication, 
 anathema, and the dissolution of the ties of allegiance, which bound the 
 subject to his Sovereign; — and the latter, in retaliation, imprisoning 
 and deposing their opponents ; or, what was no less galling to them, 
 setting up rival claimants to the Pontifical Chair. Thus did they inflict 
 on each other the most deadly wounds. In the midst of this fermenta- 
 tion, was engendered the furious Hildebrand, who, while yet in a private 
 capacity, had the address to prevail on Nicholas II., whom he seated 
 on the Papal Throne, to ordain that the election of Pope should be 
 confined to the Bishops and Curates of the city of Rome ; (all of whom 
 assumed the title of Cardinals;) a step, by which the rights of both the 
 Emperor and his subjects were trampled on, and the civil, brought under 
 the control of ecclesiastical, authority. 
 
 Ignorance and superstition now became the order of the day with the 
 lords of the Vatican ; knowing, as they did, that they were the most 
 
43 
 
 effectual way of keeping from public view their crimes and usurpations. 
 The degenerate Monks contributed their share to this work of darkness. 
 While it lasted, no heresy appeared, no controversy took place ; because 
 none thought differently from the See of Rome : the people contented 
 themselves in yielding an implicit faith to what was delivered from the 
 pulpit, without enquiry as to the nature of it. Passive obedience to the 
 Roman Pontiff being the leading principle of the religion of the age ; 
 there was no necessity for any mental exercise whatever. In a word, at 
 that period, there was no such thing as thinking. As might be expected^ 
 the humility and piety, which constituted the chief ornaments of the 
 clerical character in the early ages of the Church, became gradually 
 fainter, according as the restraints on it were removed ; until the tenth 
 age witnessed their entire disappearance. 
 
 On the general character and conduct of the Roman Pontiffs, Mr. 
 Southey observes. The learned Jews, says South, still made this one of 
 the ingredients that went to constitute a Prophet, that he should be per- 
 fectus in moralibus, a person of exact morals, and unblamable in hig 
 life ; the gift of prophecy being a ray of such a light as never darts itself 
 upon a dunghill. 
 
 Can we suppose, if the Roman Pontiff were what his advocates repre- 
 sent him, that less would be required for a Pope than for a prophet ? 
 Might it not be expected that heaven would so far interfere in the choice 
 of its own accredited representative and plenipotentiary on earth, as 
 always to provide, that the election should fall upon one whose former 
 life had been at least blameless ; or, by an unequivocal manifestation of 
 its consent, that it should have made regeneration a necessary conse- 
 quence of the appointment ; so that the newly created Pope with the 
 title of Holiness should receive the grace, and put on sinless perfection 
 as well as Infallibility with his pontificals .'* If God delivered over the 
 power and dominion in heaven as well as earth to the Roman Pontiff; if 
 that Pontiff be indeed the living and oracular depositary of the faith, the 
 unerring expounder of what is written, and the sure preserver of those 
 unwritten interpretations and additions which in the Romish Church are 
 held of equal authority witli Scripture, — if upon the Pope, under God, 
 the salvation of all the faithful depends, — is it possible that these stut 
 I)endou8 prerogatives should co-exist with imbecility, with vice, with 
 flagitious profligacy, — with flagrant unbelief? Would the offence havp 
 
44 
 
 been less for Cossa or Borgin to take upon themselves such an office, 
 than for Uzzah to approach the ark ! The Holy Ghost, says Bishop 
 Taylor, never dwells in the house of passion. Will it dwell with ambi- 
 tion, with avarice, with impiety, with all the Cardinal sins? For in 
 their company the Holy Spirit must have dwelt — with all these sins in 
 monstrous hypostasis it must have been united, if the pretensions of the 
 Papal Church were true. 
 
 It is not through these broken conduits, through these sinks and 
 sewers that we can be content to receive the waters of life ! We drink 
 of them at the living well, at the fountain head, at the Rock of Scripture, 
 from whence they flow pure, and will for ever flow. In Scripture it was 
 that the truths of Christianity were preserved when the Popes were, 
 what Baronius confesses them to have been, monsters of wickedness; 
 when, in St. Bernard's words, " they had wolves instead of sheep for their 
 flock, and Rome was the Devil's own pasture." It is not there that we 
 must look for that Church to which the promise was made, nor for the 
 head of that Church who made it. That Church is neither to be found 
 under the Eastern Patriarch nor the Western Pope. It existed among 
 the Pyrenees and the Alps, where the Albigenses have been destroyed 
 with fire and sword, and where, at this day, the Vaudois, in patience and 
 in poverty, bear testimony to the Gospel. It existed in Bohemia and in 
 Britain; wherever two or three were gathered together in their 
 Saviour's name, wherever the covenant of grace was accepted in meek- 
 ness and in truth. It existed even among heretics and monks and friars, 
 — more erring than all heretics, — wherever the errors of belief were in- 
 voluntary and unavoidable, wherever the sacrifice was ofiered of a broken 
 spirit and of a contrite heart. There was the Church of Christ ; not in 
 the ship of St. Peter when that ship was manned by pirates, or floating 
 at the mercy of the winds upon the Dead Sea, while the crew were 
 carousing with harlots, or engaged in brawls and blood. If the gates of 
 hell could have prevailed against the Church, it would have been by the 
 agency of such a crew ; and if by means of crusades, inquisitions, 
 leagues, massacres, conspiracies, assassinations, and armadas, they had 
 prevailed, and the Reformation had been suppressed, England would 
 now have been what Spain and Italy are, divided between superstition 
 and atheism, in a state of moral leprosy and intellectual darkness. 
 
 (5.) But the Churches of Jerusalem and Antioch existed before 
 
45 
 
 that of Rome ; and it is only Jerusalem, which is above, which has, in 
 the word of God, the honourable epithet of " Mother of us all." The 
 Roman Church further claims to be the Mistress of all Churches ; but 
 the Saviour, who so often denounced the spirit of domination in in- 
 dividuals, and who said, "One is your Master even Christ," has given 
 no right to communities to domineer over other communities ; nor was 
 that right ever claimed till " the man of sin " had seated himself in the 
 temple of God. There is no evidence whatever that the Church of 
 Rome was founded by St. Peter, as the Romanists affirm, or by the joint 
 labours of Peter and Paul. In the first Christian Council at Nice, all 
 other Christian Churches were on an equality with that of Rome ; and 
 in the Fourth General Council (that convened at Chalcedon) it was 
 declared that the Church at Constantinople should have equal 
 honours with that of Rome, because the seat of Imperial Government 
 was there. 
 
OF FREE WILL. 
 
 " Whosoever shall say, that the Free Will of man, after 
 the sin of Adam, was lost and extinguished, let him be ac- 
 cursed." {Cone, Trid. Sess. VI. Can. V.) 
 
 OBSERVATIONS. 
 
 Man is, in certain cases, a free agent, possessed of free will. He 
 can do, or neglect, as he pleases, whatever nature suggests, for the pre- 
 servation of the body, or promoting his temporal welfare. He hath, 
 moreover, free will to perform the works of Satan, (John viii. 3i,) both 
 in thinking, willing, and doing, that which is evil. " For the imagina- 
 tions of the thoughts of man's heart are only evil continually." (Gen. 
 vi. 5.) But in spiritual matters, man is so depraved, his will so perverse, 
 bis understanding so stupid, and his passions so powerful, that " being of 
 his own nature fleshly and carnal, corrupt and naught, sinful and dis- 
 obedient to God, without any spark of goodness in him, without any vir- 
 tuous or godly motion, only given to evil thoughts and wicked deeds ;" 
 {Horn, for Whitsunday.') he *' cannot turn and prepare himself by his 
 own natural strength and good works, to faith and calling upon God." 
 (See Rom. viii. 7, 8 ; 1 Cor. ii. 14; xii. 3; 2 Cor. iii. 5 ; John xv. 5 ; 
 vi. 44.) If man is thus helpless, it is evident that " we have no power 
 to do good works, pleasant and acceptable to God, without the grace of 
 God by Christ preventing us, that we may have a good will, and working 
 with us, when we have that good will." {Art. X.) In what way this 
 grace of God in Christ is conveyed and communicated to man, we know 
 
47 
 
 not; the way ofcomniunicating it being invisible and incomprehensible. 
 Our Saviour compares it to the wind that bloweth where it listeth, no 
 man knows whence it cometh, and whither it goeth. When the air, 
 naturally the most elastic of all bodies, is agitated, and violently driven by 
 it, we feel its force, but we know nothing of its nature, and mode of 
 operation ; so are we ignorant of the manner in which the grace of 
 God operates on a sinner's heart, in disposing his will, and aiding 
 his endeavours, to work out his salvation with fear and trembling; 
 yet must we confess, that " it is God that worketh in us both to will 
 and to do of his good pleasure." (See particularly, Eph. ii. 1 — 12.) 
 
 " It is the Holy Ghost, and no other thing, that doth quicken the 
 minds of men, stirring up good and godly motions in their hearts, which 
 are agreeable to the will and commandment of God, such as otherwise of 
 their own crooked and perverse nature they should never have. As for 
 the works of the Spirit, the fruits of faith, charitable and godly motions, 
 if he have any at all in him, they proceed only of the Holy Ghost, who is 
 the only worker of our sanctification, and maketh us new men in Christ 
 Jesus. {Homily on Whitsunday.') From God, and from him " alone, all 
 holy desires, all good counsels, and all just works do proceed." {Collect 
 at Evening Prayer.^ It is he that must give us the spirit to think, and 
 do always " such things as be rightful ; that we, who cannot do any 
 thing that is good, without him, may by him be enabled to live accord- 
 ing to his will." {Colled, Ninth Sunday after Trinity.) "We are all 
 become unclean, but we all are not able to cleanse ourselves, nor to make 
 one another of us clean. We are by nature the children of God's wrath ; 
 but we are not able to make ourselves the children and inheritors of God's 
 glory. We are sheep that run astray ; but we cannot of our own power 
 come again to the sheepfold, so great is our imperfection and weakness.'' 
 {Homily on the Misery of Man.) 
 
 It is a contradiction to suppose, that a guilty, polluted, sinful creature^ 
 should have any pre-disposition to turn to God. The whole current and 
 bent of the will set in another, and an opposite direction. Whoever 
 becomes experimentally acquainted with the Gospel, is said to be born 
 not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, 
 but of the will of God. Men naturally love darkness rather than light ; 
 and had much rather live and die in their sins, than believe and be con- 
 terted. They must infallibly perish everlastingly, but for the sovereign 
 
48 
 
 grace and mercy of God. He is indeed " found of them who sought him 
 not, and heard of them who called not upon him ; " yet no man is saved 
 contrary to his own will, nor is any violence done to it. How both free 
 grace and free will co-operate, without destroying the proper character of 
 either, is one of the many mysteries of godliness. Nor is it of much 
 moment to argue it, provided all the glory of man's salvation be secured 
 to God. " From him all gifts and graces come. Faith, without which 
 no man shall see the Lord, St. Paul confesseth plainly, to be the gift of 
 God. It is verily God's work in us, the charity wherewith we love our 
 brethren. If, after our fall, we repent, it is by him that we repent, 
 which reacheth forth his merciful hand to raise us up. If any will we 
 have to rise, it is he that preventeth our will, and disposeth us thereto. 
 If after contrition we feel our consciences at peace with God through 
 the remission of our sin, and so be reconciled again to his favour, 
 and hope to be his children, and inheritors of everlasting life ; who 
 worketh those great miracles in us.'' Our worthiness, our deservings, 
 and endeavours, our wits, and virtue .'* Nay, verily, St. Paul will not 
 suffer flesh and clay to presume to such arrogancy ; and therefore saith, 
 all is of God, who hath reconciled us unto himself, by Jesus Christ." — 
 {^Third Horn, for Rogation Week.) 
 
OP SIN. 
 
 First. — Its nature. Sin is either original, or actual. 
 
 I. Of original sin. Of this taint the whole human race are 
 confessed to be partakers ; of which, however, " the guilt is 
 wholly washed away in baptism ; so that though in the bap- 
 tised there remains a disposition to sin, or concupiscence, this 
 is not really sin ; and when St. Paul calls it so, he does it only 
 because it is the effect of sin, and inclines men to sin."" The 
 Virgin Mary is not to be included in this decree, but that 
 concerning her is to be held, which Pope Sixtus IV. had 
 before defined ; and all are declared anathematized who dare 
 to condemn the notion of her being conceived without tie taint 
 of original sin. {Cone. Trid. Sess. V. Decret. de Orig. Pecc.) 
 
 II. Of actual sin, which is either mortal, or venial. 
 
 1. Mortal ; that is, gross in its nature, and committed know- 
 ingly, wilfully, and deliberately. As these render the doer 
 of them " children of wrath, and enemies of God, it is ne- 
 cessary that they be confessed; even the most secret, and 
 although only committed against the two last command- 
 ments: for if there be any thing knowingly concealed, then 
 the remission of the Priest avails nothing.'" {Con. Trid. Sess. 
 XIV. 5.) 
 
 2. Venial. These are sins of ignorance ; or such as, being 
 
 E 
 
50 
 
 small in their nature, cannot offend God, or hurt our neigh- 
 bour. "In this mortal life, even holy and justified persons 
 fall into daily venial sins, which, in no respect, affect or detract 
 from their holy character,'' (Con. Trid. Sess. VI. c. 2.) "and 
 do not exclude the transgressor from the grace of God;" 
 (Id. Sess. XIV. c. 5. ;) hence it is not necessary to confess 
 these, " as they may be concealed without incurring sin, and 
 may be atoned for in various ways/' (Id.) 
 
 Secondly. — Its Remission. 1. By the Invocation and In- 
 tercession of the Saints. 
 
 2. By the power of the Church : — 1. In Indulgences, 2. By 
 Absolution. — See Penance. 
 
 3. By Purgatory. 
 
 4. By the sacrifice of the Mass. — See Eucharist. 
 
 OBSERVATIONS. 
 
 ^' Original sin standeth not in the following of Adam, (as the Pelagians 
 do vainly talk,) but it is the fault or corruption of the nature of every 
 man, that naturally is engendered of the offspring of Adam, whereby 
 man is very far gone from original righteousness, and is of his own 
 nature inclined to evil, so that the flesh lusteth always contrary to the 
 Spirit, and therefore in every person born into the world, it deserveth 
 God's wrath and damnation : and this infection of nature doth remain, 
 yea, in them that are regenerated, whereby the lust of the flesh, called in 
 Greek, ippovrjfia aapKog, which some do expound, the wisdom ; some, sen- 
 suaUty ; some, the affection ; some, the desire of the flesh ; is not subject 
 to the law of God. And though there is no condemnation for them that 
 believe and are baptised, yet the Apostle doth confess, that concupiscence 
 and lust hath of itself the nature of sin." (Art. ix.) A little observation 
 will teach us, that a very awful change must have taken place in the 
 nature of man, since '' God created him in his own image," and saw that 
 every thing he had made was worthy of being pronounced ** good." (See 
 
Gen. vi. 5 to 12 j Psal. xiv. 9, 3 ; li. 5 ; liii. 1 to 3 ; Isai. i. 5, 6; Gal. i. 
 17.) Nor let it be for a moment supposetl, that this defection from this 
 original holiness is but trifling or partial. " Man/' says the article, " is 
 very far gone from original righteousness, — ab originali justitia quam 
 longissime distet" — as far as possible, to the utmost verge. " The divine 
 image is obscured and marred in a degree to be scarce discernible ; the 
 will depraved ; the imagination debauched ; the reason weak ; the pas- 
 sions rampant ! This deformity is not externally visible : but could the 
 eye be turned upon the internal man, we should see the hideous shape of 
 a will at enmity with God ; a heart disregarding his law, insensible of 
 his goodness, fearless of his wrath, swelling with the passions of ambition^ 
 avarice^ vain-glory, lust. Yet this is the picture of the unregenerated 
 man, by the depravity consequent upon the fall, born in iniquity, and 
 conceived in sin." (^Horsley's Sermons.) This doctrine is recognized by 
 the Church of England throughout her Liturgy offices. Her members 
 declare " that they have followed too much the devices and desires of 
 their own hearts, and that there is no health in them ; " they supplicate 
 mercy, as "miserable sinners;" she declares that "all men are conceived 
 and bom in sin," and that " we be of ourselves of such earth, as can 
 bring forth only weeds, nettles, brambles, and briars ; and that therefore 
 we should confess with mouth and heart, that we be full of imperfec- 
 tion ;" " for, by ourselves, we are not able either to think a good thought, 
 or work a good deed." {Homily on the Misery of Man.) The darkness 
 of man's understanding, the perverseness of his will, the alienation of his 
 affections, the wickedness of his heart, (Mark vii. 21, 22,) prove that 
 " the gold is become dim, and the fine gold changed." In fact, again to 
 tise the language of the Church of England, " Man, of his own nature, 
 is fleshly and carnal, corrupt and naught, sinful and disobedient to God, 
 Without any spark of goodness in him, without any virtuous or godly 
 notion, only given to evil thoughts and wicked deeds." {Homily on 
 Whitsunday.) 
 
 The Church of Rome maintains, that original sin is entirely taken 
 away by baptism, and that the corrupt dispositions remaining in man 
 after baptism, have not the nature of sin. But, as all opposition or re- 
 pugnance to the purity of the divine law, is sin ; so, if this opposition be 
 proved to exist, then the existence* of an evil principle will incontro- 
 
 e9 
 
vertibly be demonstrated to exist in the heart of man. The testimony of 
 the Apostle (Gal. v. 17,) decides, therefore, the question, and for ever 
 sets it at rest. " The flesh," says he, " lusteth against the Spirit, and 
 the Spirit against the flesh : and these are contrary the one to the other, 
 so that ye cannot do the things that ye would." (See also Rom. vii. 
 21 — 25 ; viii. 8.) Every believer, as long as he is in the flesh, will find, 
 in an evil heart of unbelief, and a continual proneness to sin, evidence 
 that he is still liable to " this infection of nature," contracted by the fall 
 of man. Even the Apostle, with all his grace and spiritual attainments, 
 had occasion to lament the plague of his heart, when he says, (Rom. vii. 
 18 — ^24,) " For I know, that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no 
 good thing : for to will is present with me ; but how to perform that 
 which is good, 1 find not. For the good that I would, I do not : but 
 the evil which I would not, that I do. Now if I do that I would not, it 
 is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. I find, then, a law, 
 that when I would do good, evil is present with me. For I delight in 
 the law of God after the inward man: but I see another law in 
 my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing 
 me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O 
 wretched man that I am ! Who shall deliver me from the body of this 
 death ? " 
 
 This distinction is groundless, and has no foundation in Scripture. 
 Every sin is a transgression of the divine law ; and the wrath of God is 
 revealed against all unrighteousness. There is not the least hint in 
 Scripture of some sins meriting only God's temporal wrath ; and others, 
 both his temporal and eternal. "Venial sins," say the Roman Catholics, 
 " are pardonable sins ; " which means, not sins that may be pardoned, for 
 this is true of all sin, except blasphemy against the Holy Ghost; but 
 sins that are entitled to pardon^ such as God is bound to pardon. Venial 
 sin does not dissolve friendship with the Almighty ; but mortal sin does, 
 and renders the offender liable to eternal death. This distinction of two 
 kinds of sin is unscriptural, and, like most of the Roman Catholic doc- 
 trines, dishonourable to God, and dangerous to man. Hear the Bible 
 account of sin : — *' The wages of sin is death." (Rom. vi. 23.) " Cursed 
 is every one that continueth not in all things written in the book of the 
 law to do them." (Gal. iii. 10.) "For every idle word that men shall 
 
speak, they shall give account in the day of judgment." (Matt. xii. 
 36, 37.) ** He that shall break the least of God's commands, and shall 
 teach men so to do, shall be called least in the kingdom." " All un- 
 righteousness is sin," and " sin is the transgression of the law." (1 John 
 iii. 4; v. 17.) 
 
 The truth is, aU sin, unrepented of, is mortal; that is, it shall be 
 visited with God's displeasure, " for the unrighteous shall not inherit the 
 kingdom of God." (1 Cor. vi. 9.) 
 
INVOCATION OF SAINTS AND ANGELS. (1.) 
 
 *' The Saints, reigning with Christ, offer up their prayers 
 to God, for man ; hence, it is good and useful supplicantly to 
 invoke them ; and to seek refuge, {confugere^ i. e. flee for suc- 
 cour or relief,) in their prayers, help, and assistance, to obtain 
 favour from God, through his Son Jesus Christ, our Lord, 
 who is alone our Redeemer and Saviour ;" {Con. Trid. Sess. 
 XXV. Decret. de Invocat.) and all who deny this doctrine are 
 declared to entertain impious ideas, (impie sentire ; id.) The 
 same doctrine is taught in the Creed of Pope Pius IV., wherein 
 it is said "that the saints reigning with Christ are (venerandos 
 atque invocandos,) to be worshipped and invoked.*" " We fly 
 to the Saints, who are in heaven, for assistance ; to whom also, 
 that prayers are to be made, is so certain in the Church of 
 God, that, to pious minds no doubt on the subject can occur." 
 (Cat. Trid. Pars. IV. c. 6. Sec. 2.) If doubt could remain, 
 " the miracles wrought at their sepulchres ; the lost eyes, hands, 
 and other members, which have been restored ; the dead re- 
 called to life ; the evil spirits ejected from the bodies of the 
 living ; would abundantly remove it." {Cat. Trid. Pars. III. 
 c. xoGx.) " With good reason, therefore, the holy Church of 
 God has added to this, giving of thanks, prayers also, and im- 
 ploration, addressed to the Most Holy Mother of God ; in 
 
55 
 
 order, that we thus might piously and supplicautly have rcr 
 course to her, to reconcile God by her intercession to us 
 sinners, and to obtain for us those good things which are neces- 
 sary, as well for this life, as for life eternal. Therefore, we, 
 exiled sons of Eve, who inhabit this vale of tears, ought con- 
 stantly to invoke the Mother of Mercy, and Advocate of the 
 faithful, that she may pray for us sinners ; and by this prayer, 
 we ought to implore help and assistance from her, of whom no 
 one, without impiety and nefarious wickedness, can doubt her 
 pre-eminent merits with God, and her very great willingness to 
 assist mankind." {Id. C. 5. S. 6.) In Offic. BeatcB Marice, 
 tempore paschali, it is asked, " What, in any past time, was 
 ever found, or what, in time to come, will it be possible to find, 
 greater or more illustrious than she ? She alone has surpassed 
 heaven and earth in her greatness. For what is more holy 
 than she ? Neither Prophets, nor Apostles, nor Martyrs, nor 
 Patriarchs, nor Angels, nor Thrones, nor Powers, nor Cheru- 
 bim, nor Seraphim, nor aught beside of created things, visible 
 or invisible, can be found, greater or more excellent. She is, 
 at once, the Handmaid and the Mother of God, a Virgin and 
 a Mother." The following Prayer, set forth, in the year 1822, 
 by Pope Pius VII., and, by his special command, appointed to 
 be distributed, for the use of the people of Rome, will best 
 exhibit the nature of the worship addressed to the Virgin. 
 
 " I adore thee. Most Holy Virgin, Queen of Heavens, Lady 
 and Patroness of the Universe, as Daughter of the Eternal 
 Father, Mother of his Most Beloved Son, and Most Gracious 
 Spouse of the Holy Ghost ; and, prostrate at the feet of thy 
 Great Majesty, with all possible humility, I supplicate thee, 
 by that divine love, with which thou wast filled on thy assump- 
 tion into heaven, to grant me so much grace and mercy, as to 
 receive me under thy protection, and to number me among thy 
 
56 
 
 most happy and joyful servants, whom thou hearcst engraven 
 in thy most virgin bosom. Vouchsafe, O Most Merciful 
 Mother and Lady, to receive this miserable and impure heart ; 
 take my memory, my will, and all my other faculties and 
 senses, both internal and external ; accept my eyes, my ears, 
 my mouth, my hands, my feet ; rule them, and make them 
 conformed to the good pleasure of thy sweet Son, intending, 
 at every movement of them, to give thee infinite glory." (2.) 
 
 In the Missale Romanum, appeal is frequently made to the 
 merits and intercession of the Saints, as the ground of our 
 hope of eternal salvation. In the Collect for St. Nicholas's 
 Day, December 6, we read, " O God, who by innumerable 
 miracles, hast honoured blessed Nicholas, the Bishop, grant, 
 we beseech thee, that by his merits and intercession, we may 
 be delivered from eternal flames." Various other examples 
 might be produced to the same effect. 
 
 " The Angels are to be worshipped, because they continually 
 behold God, and have most willingly undertaken the charge of 
 our salvation confided to them." (Cat. Trid. Pars. III. c. 2.) 
 (3.) 
 
 OBSERVATIONS. 
 
 ( 1.; The Invocation of Saints, and of the Virgin Mary, was first intro- 
 duced by Petrus Guapheus, a Presbyter of Bithynia, afterwards Bishop 
 of Antioch, about A. D. 470, and it was first received into the public 
 Litanies about 130 years after. The Romanists have Saints in abundance 
 for every place, and for every purpose ; as the heathens had deities. No 
 country, city, parish, or individual M^ithout his patron Saint. No 
 element, science, trade, or profession, without its presiding saint. "What, 
 if true, would be a peculiar blessing, most diseases have their proper 
 Saints, for their expulsion, and sanation. Still more extraordinary ! so 
 great a share are some saints supposed to take in the concerns of men as to 
 
57 
 
 e xtend their patronage and tuition, even to their heasts. The sailors have 
 recourse to St. Christopher, and St. Clement ; but most especially to the 
 Blessed Virgin,' vfhom they invoke by the name of Maria Stella, to guard 
 hem from the dangers of the sea. St. Agatha is invoked upon accidents 
 from fire. Students intreat the assistance of St. Nicolas, and St. Gre- 
 gory ; painters, that of St. Luke. St. Cornelia is applied to, for the cure 
 of the falling sickness; St. Roche for the venereal disease; and St. 
 Appollonia for the tooth-ache. St. Loy is said to preside over horses, 
 and St. Anthony over swine ; and on their particular festivals, the cattle 
 are presented for their blessing. These delusive expectations of assist- 
 ance and preservation from evils, by means of the saints, please and 
 delight the dupes of superstition. They flock to their churches, and 
 keep their festivals with increasing ardour, kneel and prostrate before 
 their relics and images, and kiss and embrace them with great affection 
 and confidence, "Now then, is there any Angel, any Virgin, any 
 Patriarch, or Prophet, among the dead, that can understand or know the 
 meaning of the heart .^ The Scripture saith, it is God that searcheth 
 the heart and the reins, and that he only knoweth the hearts of the 
 children of men. As for the Saints, they have so little knowledge of 
 the secrets of the heart, that many of the ancient Fathers greatly 
 doubt whether they know any thing at all, that is commonly done on 
 earth. 
 
 " Is not that man, think you, unwise, that will run for water to a little 
 brook, when he may as well go to the head spring ? Even so may his 
 wisdom be justly'suspected, that will flee unto Saints in time of necessity^ 
 when he may boldly, and without fear, declare his grief, and direct his 
 prayer, unto the Lord himself. 
 
 '* If God were strange or dangerous to be talked withal, then might we 
 justly draw back, and seek to some other. 
 
 " What if we be sinners, shall we not, therefore, pray unto God ? or 
 shall we despair to obtain any thing at his hands ! Why did Christ then 
 teach us to ask forgiveness of our sins, saying. And forgive us our tres- 
 passes, as we forgive them that trespass against us ? Shall we think that 
 the Saints arc more merciful in Hearing sinners than God ? 
 
 " O but I dare not, will some man say, trouble God at all times with 
 my prayers; we see that in kings' houses, and courts of princes, men 
 cannot be admitted, unless they first use the help and means of some 
 
58 
 
 special nobleman, to come to speech of the King, and to obtain the thing 
 that they would have. 
 
 " To this reason doth St. Ambrose answer very well, writing upon the 
 first chapter to the Romans. Therefore, saith he, we use to go unto the 
 King, by officers and noblemen, because the King is a mortal man, and 
 knoweth not to whom he may commit the government of the common- 
 wealth. But to have God our friend, from whom nothing is hid, we 
 need not any helper, that should further us with his good word, but only 
 a devout and godly mind. And if it be so, that we need one to in treat 
 for us, why may we not content ourselves with that one Mediator, which 
 is at the right hand of God the Father, and there liveth for ever to make 
 intercession for us ? 
 
 " Let us not, therefore, put our trust or confidence in the saints or 
 martyrs that be dead. Let us not call upon them, nor desire help at 
 their hands : but let us always lift up our hearts to God, in the name of 
 his dear Son, Christ, for whose sake, as God Jiath promised to hear our 
 prayer, so he will truly perform it. Invocation is a thing proper unto 
 God; which, if we attribute unto the saints, it soundeth to their re*- 
 proach, neither can they well bear it at our hands. 
 
 '* Let us not, therefore, in any thing mistrust his goodness j let us not 
 fear to come before the throne of his mercy ; let us not seek the aid and 
 help of saints ; but let us come boldly ourselves, nothing doubting but 
 God, for Christ's sake, in whom he is well pleased, will hear us, without a 
 spokesman, and accomplish our desire in all such things as shall be agrees 
 able to his most holy will." — {Horn, on Prayer.) 
 
 (2.) The excesses of devotion in the Church of Rome to the Virgin 
 Mary, are most extraordinary. Even a canonized person, St. Bonaven- 
 ture, has turned every one of the 150 Psalms to the honour of the Virgin 
 Mary, in what he calls her Psalter ; besides the Te Deum, and other most 
 solemn adorations of God. In the approved hymns and prayers of that 
 Church to her, grace, pardon of sin, and eternal life are acknowledged to 
 be granted immediately by her, as the giver of these invaluable blessings ; 
 »& in the hymns. Memento rerum conditor, and Ave Maria Stella ; and in 
 the prayers. Sub tuum proesidium, salve Regina, mater misericord ice, S^c. 
 Rosaries and books of devotion to her are numerous ; but there was one 
 translated into English, for the use of the Roman Catholics here, of a 
 
59 
 
 most shocking nature. This is entitled, " The Devotion of Bondage ; or, 
 the Practice of perfectly consecrating ourselves to the Service of the 
 Blessed Virgin, permissu superioruiriy 1632." The Bishop of St. Omer's 
 licensed and recommended it highly; both the Clergy and laity, granting 
 several indulgences to those who should make a devout use of it. In 
 this book, persons are urged to offer up their souls and bodies, as bond- 
 slaves to the Blessed Virgin. Horrid idolatry ! Among her high pre- 
 rogatives there recounted, this is the sixth, viz., "The sovereign do- 
 minion that was given her, not only over the world, but over the Creator 
 of the world." This blasphemy was probably grounded on that scan-* 
 dalous address to her, allowed in that Church, " By the right of a 
 Mother, command thy Son." To fill up the detestable measure of ab- 
 surdity and blasphemy in the devotions to her, the Priest gives the 
 blessing in the following words : " The Virgin Mary, with her pious Son, 
 bless us '" where she is placed at least upon a level with the Son of 
 God.. To what an enormous degree will superstition extend ! To evade 
 the charge of idolatry, some Divines of the Romish Church have recourse 
 to a superior worship of God, which they call Latria, and an inferior 
 worship, by them termed Duha, and which they pay to the Saints, to 
 images, and to the cross. But there is no foundation for this distinction : 
 for, all worship of images, and every thing else, God only excepted, is 
 most expressly forbidden in the Holy Scriptures : — Because 
 
 1. The nature of religious worship will not admit of such nice dis- 
 tinctions. It is plain, from our Lord's answer to the devil, that he did 
 not consider there were different degrees of religious worship, or that any 
 but God might be worshipped, in any way or manner. The devil re-» 
 quired from him no more than the Papists give to saints and images ; 
 *' Fall down and worship me;" and our Lord's refusal, saying, that God 
 alone is to be served, must be understood to determine, that no degree of 
 religious worship is to be given to any creature whatsoever. 
 
 2. The Scriptures mention no suoh distinction. Nothing is there 
 said of an inferior degree of worship, fit to be offered to saints or angels. 
 An angel refused any kind of worship from St. John. * I fell down 
 to worship before the feet of an angel, which showed me these things j 
 then saith he unto me. See thou do it not, for I am thy fellow servant ; 
 worship God.' (Rev. xix. 10, and xxii. 9.) Yet it is evident, that the 
 Church of Kpme commands its members to do the very thing that 8t, 
 
60 
 
 John was commanded not to do. When Cornelius, the centurion, fell 
 down at St. Peter's feet, and worshipped him, the Apostle forbade him, 
 saying, " Stand up, I also am a man/' 
 
 3. The common people, neither understand, nor observe this distinc- 
 tion. This is confessed by one of their own writers. " The manner in 
 which the Church invokes the Saints, cannot be called idolatry, although 
 the ignorant people have carried the abuse almost as far as idolatry, 
 either in considering the Saints as the authors of the favours they ask, or 
 in placing more confidence in their mediation, than even in that of Jesus 
 Christ ; or, finally, in persuading themselves, that, independently of a 
 good life, the merits and intercessions of the Saints might enable them to 
 obtain salvation." 
 
 By whatever modified appellation Romanists may designate the wor- 
 ship they pay to images, its practical tendency on the minds of the lower 
 orders must be collected from the effect it produces in those countries, 
 where the religion of the Church of Rome is the only one of which they 
 have any notion. In the " Christian Examiner, or Church of Ireland 
 Magazine," (an ably conducted Journal,) for Feb. 1827, pp. 149 — 151, 
 there is an account of the coronation of the Image of the Virgin Mary, 
 of the Immaculate Conception, in the church of Gesu Vecchio, in the 
 city of Naples, so lately as December 30, 1826. The account, with its 
 illustrative remarks, is too long to admit of insertion in this place. It 
 must, therefore, suffice to state, that " when the crown was placed on the 
 head of the infant Jesus, there was a general movement: but when she 
 (the image of the Virgin) was crowned, the lower orders could no longer 
 contain themselves, and the shouts of the men, the cries, the outstretched 
 imploring hands, the tears and convulsive shrieks of the women, showed 
 how vehemently and profoundly they adored the Virgin, and worshipped 
 her image." After the coronation, the Archbishop of Naples, and the 
 Priests, pronounced certain sentences and responses, in which the 
 unlimited power of the Virgin over all nature was unhesitatingly pro- 
 claimed, in phrases almost scriptural. 
 
 4. The Doctors of the Romish Church are not agreed concerning the 
 distinction between Latria, or supreme worship, and Dulia, or inferior 
 worship. 
 
 Many writers in that Church deny, that there is any difference be* 
 tween the two words, and admit, " that it is one and the same virtue of 
 
61 
 
 religion which containeth them both." If some say that it is idolatry 
 and mortal sin to give Latria to a Saint, or image, which ought only to 
 receive Dulia ; and if others tell you, that these words signify the same 
 thing, let a man do what he will, he incurs the guilt of idolatry, in the 
 opinion of either the one or the other of these parties. 
 
 If the Papists excuse themselves from the charge of idolatry, by 
 making a distinction between two different kinds of religious worship, 
 which the nature of the thing does not admit of, which the Bible no 
 where mentions, which the common people cannot understand, and con- 
 cerning which, their own doctors have disputed ; the Protestants have a 
 good excuse for not worshipping saints or images. 
 
 (3.) By the Scriptures, we are taught, that the ground of our hope 
 toward God, rests upon the death of Christ; the three great results 
 of which, are, 1. His Merits; 2. His Satisfaction; 3. His Intercession. 
 By these, we may come boldly to the throne of grace, and pray to God, 
 through Jesus Christ ; but, if we believe the Church of Rome, we must 
 pray to God, through the Saints, too, and rely also upon their merits, — 
 their satisfaction, — and their intercession. Is it not plain, then, that 
 this is to make the Saints equal to Christ in kind, though not in degree ? 
 So that nothing remains of the honour due to our Redeemer, and of the 
 confidence in him, which is not in every kind imparted also to Saints. 
 What then is all this, but to alter entirely the Christian faith, and 
 to destroy the very essence of religion. Rather let us say with St. 
 Austin, " I can address myself more cheerfully, and more safely, to my 
 Lord Jesus Christ, than to any of the holy spirits of God. For this we 
 have a commandment, for the other we have none. For this we have 
 examples in the Bible, for the other we have none. There are many 
 promises made to him who prays to Christ, that he shall be heard ; but 
 to him who prays to Saints, there is not one in the whole Bible." 
 
OF INDULGENCES. (1.) 
 
 The conferring of Indulgences, which are denominated 
 " the heavenly treasures of the Church," (Co7i. Tri. Decret. 
 Sess. XX.,) is said to be the '' gift of Christ to the Church." 
 {Sess. XXV.) To understand the nature of Indulgences, we 
 must observe, that " the temporal punishment due to sin, by 
 the decree of God, when its guilt and eternal punishment are 
 remitted, may consist either of evil in this life, or of temporal 
 suffering in the next, which temporal suffering in the next life, 
 is called Purgatory ; that the Church has received power from 
 God, to remit both of these inflictions, and this remission is 
 called an Indulgence." {Butler's Book of the Rom. Cat. Ch. 
 p. 110.) " It is the received doctrine of the Church, that an 
 Indulgence, when truly gained, is not barely a relaxation of 
 the canonical penance enjoined by the Church, but also, an 
 actual remission by God himself, of the whole, or part, of the 
 temporal punishment due to it in his sight." (Milner'^s End 
 of Controv. p. 305.) Pope Leo X., in his Bull, de Indulgen- 
 tiis, whose object he states to be " that no one in future may 
 allege ignorance of the doctrine of the Roman Church, re- 
 specting Indulgences, and their efficacy," declares, "that the 
 Roman Pontiff, Vicar of Christ on earth, can, for reasonable 
 causes, by the power of the keys, grant to the faithful, whether 
 in this life, or in Purgatory, Indulgences, out of the superabun- 
 
03 
 
 dance of the merits of Christ, and of the Saints ; (2.) (expressly 
 called a treasure ;) and that those who have truly obtained these 
 Indulgences, are released from so much of the temporal punish- 
 ment, due for their actual sins to the divine justice, as is equi- 
 valent to the Indulgence granted, and obtained. (3.) {Bulla 
 Leon. X. adv. Luther.) Clement VI., in the Bull Uni Genitus, 
 explains this matter more fully : — " As a single drop of Christ's 
 blood would have sufficed for the redemption of the whole 
 hmnan race,'' so the rest was not lost, but " was a treasure 
 which he acquired for the militant Church, to be used for the 
 benefit of his sons ; which treasure he would not suffi^r to be 
 hid in a napkin, or buried in the ground, but committed it to 
 be dispensed by St. Peter, and his successors, his own vicars upon 
 earth, for proper and reasonable causes, for the total, or partial 
 remission of the temporal punishment due to sin ; and for an 
 augmentation of this treasure, the merits of the blessed Mother 
 of God, and of all the elect, are known to come in aid." " We 
 have resolved," says Pope Leo XII., in his Bull of Indiction, 
 for the imiversal Jubilee, in 1824, " in virtue of the authority 
 given us by heaven, fully to unlock that sacred treasure, com- 
 posed of the merits, sufferings, and virtues of Christ our Lord, 
 and of his Virgin Mother, and of all the Saints, which the 
 author of human salvation has entrusted to our dispensation. 
 During this year of the Jubilee, we mercifully give, and grant, 
 in the Lord, a Plenary Indulgence, remission, and pardon of 
 all their sins, to all the faithful of Christ, truly penitent, and 
 confessing their sins, and receiving the holy communion, who 
 shall visit the Churches of blessed Peter and Paul," &c. &c. 
 " We offer you," says Ganganelli, in his Bull de Indiilg., 
 " a share of all the riches of divine mercy, which have been 
 entrusted to us, and chiefly those which have their origin in 
 the blood of Christ. We will then open to you all the gates 
 
64 
 
 of the rich reservoir of atonement, derived from the merits of 
 the Mother of God, the holy Apostles, the blood of the 
 Martyrs, and the good works of all the Saints. We invite you, 
 then, to drink of this overflowing stream of Indulgence, to en- 
 rich yourselves in the inexhaustible treasures of the Church, 
 according to the custom of our ancestors. Do not, then, let 
 slip the present occasion, this favourable time, these salutary 
 days, employing them to appease the justice of God, and 
 obtain your pardon." 
 
 The reasonable causes, on account of which. Indulgences 
 are given, are, where "the cause be Pious; that is, not a 
 work, which is merely temporal, or vain, or in no respect per- 
 taining to the divine glory, but for any work whatsoever, which 
 tends to the honour of God, or the service of the Church, an 
 Indulgence will be valid. We see, occasionally, the very 
 greatest Indulgences given, for the very lightest causes; as 
 when a Plenary Indulgence is granted to all who stand before 
 the gates of St. Peter, whilst the Pope gives the solemn bless- 
 ing to the people, on Easter day ; " for " Indulgences do not 
 depend, for their efficacy, on consideration of the work en- 
 joined, but on the infinite treasure of the merits of Christ, and 
 the Saints, which is a consideration surpassing and transcending 
 every thing that is granted by an Indulgence." In some cases 
 " the work enjoined, must not only be pious and useful, but 
 bear a certain proportion with the Indulgence; that is, the 
 work enjoined, must tend to an end more pleasing in the sight 
 of God, than the satisfaction remitted," "although it is not 
 necessary, that it be in itself very meritorious, or satisfactory, 
 or difficult, and laborious, (though these things ought to be 
 regarded too,) but that it be a mean apt and useful, towards 
 obtaining the end for which the Indulgence is granted." "As 
 the large resort of people," before the gates of St. Peter, when 
 
65 
 
 the Pope gives his solemn blessing, " is a mean, apt and useful, 
 to set forth feith, respecting the head of the Church, and to 
 the honour of the Apostolic See, which is the end of the 
 Indulgence." (Bellarmine de Indulgentiis, Lib. I. c. 12.) 
 The first General Lateran Council granted " remission of sins 
 to whoever shall go to Jerusalem, and effectually help to 
 oppose the infidels." (Can. XL) The third and fourth Late- 
 ran Councils granted the same indulgence to those who set 
 themselves to destroy heretics ; or who shall take up arms 
 against them, to subdue them, by fighting against them. (See 
 Labbe, Vol. X. p. 1523.) Boniface VIII. granted, not only 
 a full and larger, but the most full pardon of all sins, to all 
 that visit Rome the first year in every century. Clement V. 
 decreed, that they who should, at the Jubilee, visit such and 
 such Churches, should obtain "a most full remission of all 
 their sins ; " and he not only granted a " plenary absolution of 
 all sins, to all who died on the road to Rome," but "also com- 
 manded the angels of Paradise, to carry the soul direct to 
 heaven." (4.) 
 
 *< Sincere repentance," we are told, " is always enjoined, or 
 
 ^implied, in the grant of an Indulgence, and is indispensibly 
 necessary for every grace." (Milner*s End of Controversy, p. 
 304.) But as the dead are removed from the possibility, so are 
 
 " they from the necessity, of repentance ; "as the Pope," says 
 Bellarmine, " applies the satisfactions of Christ and the Saints 
 to the dead, by means of works enjoined on the living, they are 
 applied, not in the way of judicial absolution, but in the way 
 
 ' of payment, (per modum solutionis.) For as when a person 
 
 \ gives alms, or fasts, or makes a pilgrimage, on account of the 
 dead, the effect is, not that he obtains absolutions for them, 
 from their liability to punishment; but he presents to God, 
 
 'that particular satisfaction for them, in order that God, on 
 
 p 
 
66 
 
 receiving it, may liber<ate the dead from tlie debt of punish- 
 ment, which they had to pay. In like manner, the Pope does 
 not absolve the deceased, but offers to God, out of the measure 
 of satisfaction, as much as is necessary to free them." (Id.) 
 Their object is " to afford succour, to such as have departed real 
 penitents in the love of God, yet before they had duly satisfied, 
 by fruits worthy of penance, for sins of commission and omis- 
 sion, and are now purifying in the fire of Purgatory ; that an 
 entrance may be opened for them, into that country, where 
 nothing defiled is admitted."" (Bull. Leo. XII.) 
 
 " As the power of granting Indulgences was given l^ 
 Christ to the Church, and she has exercised it in the most 
 ancient times, this holy Synod teaches, and commands, that 
 the use of them, as being greatly salutary to the Christian 
 people, and approved by the authority of Councils, shall be re- 
 tained ; and she anathematizes those who say they are useless, 
 or deny to the Church, the power of granting them ; but in 
 this grant, the Synod wishes that moderation, agreeably to the 
 ancient and approved practice of the Church, be exercised ; 
 lest by too great facility, ecclesiastical discipline be weakened." 
 {Cone. Trid. Ses8. XXV. Be Indulg.) 
 
 *'The chief Pontiffs, by virtue of the supreme authority 
 given them in the Universal Church, have justly assumed the 
 power of reserving some graver criminal causes to their own 
 peculiar judgment." (Cone* Trid. Sess. XIV. cap.J.) "The 
 more weighty criminal charges against Bishops, which deserve 
 deposition and deprivation, may be judged and determined 
 only by the Supreme Roman Pontiff." (Cone. Trid. Sess. 
 XXIV. cap. 5.) 
 
67 
 
 The exact date of plenary Indulgences cannot be ascei^- 
 tained, but the Canons of the Council of Clermont, accelerated 
 the practice. In the early ages of the Church, it was thought 
 that sins against God ought to be followed by terrestrial, as 
 well as celestial, justice. Scales of offences and punishments 
 were, therefore, framed ; which should be consulted by all those 
 legislators, whose principle of penal law is retribution, and not 
 the good of society. Fasts and prayers were the usual 
 penalties. As the world grew older, vices multiplied, and 
 neither certainty nor severity of punishment seemed to be of 
 use. Offences were so numerous, that the longest life could 
 not expiate them; and, whenever death came, there was al- 
 ways a long unsettled arrear. The Church now said, that 
 retribution could be made by substitute, as well as in per- 
 son ; and a new scale of crimes and expiations was made. 
 The people commuted their offences for gold, and the Priests 
 acted as their deputies in saying the proper number of prayers. 
 Kings and princes, for the good of their souls, gave lands unto 
 the Church. Those unfortunate people, who could not pay, 
 were obliged to submit to flagellation; and it became the 
 option of a great man, whether he would give his money to 
 the Church for prayers, or get some callous mercenary to bear 
 his sins upon his back. From this statement of the practice 
 respecting ecclesiastical censures, the importance of plenary 
 indulgence is evident. The plenary Indulgence affected 
 various descriptions of men. The Barons of the eleventh 
 century, lived in the daily commission of crime, and the 
 Clergy often visited them severely for their plunder of the 
 churches, and of the poor. The punishment most deeply felt 
 by these ruffians of quality, was the not being allowed to bear 
 arms, or to appear on horseback. When, therefore, the Cru- 
 sade was preached, it was joyfully received by the nobles. 
 
 f2 
 
They might pursue their usual course of life ; and a repeti- 
 tion of crime would atone for former sins. 
 
 OBSERVATIONS. 
 
 (1.) "No testimony," says Clementius, "can be produced from any 
 Father, or any ancient Church, that either this doctrine, or the practice, 
 of such Indulgences, was known, or used, for one thousand two hundred 
 years." {Exam. Con. Trid. de Indulg. c. 4.) Many of these Indulgences 
 can only be obtained from the supreme Pontiff; for obtaining which, an 
 office is opened at Rome, and a table of fees, payable to the Chancery of 
 Rome, published by authority. The pardon of a heretic is fixed at 
 £36. 9^., whilst marrying one wife, after murdering another, may be 
 commuted by the payment of £8. 2s. 9d. A pardon for perjury is 
 charged at 9*. ; simony, 10*. 6d. ; robbery, 12s. ; seduction, 9s. ; incest, 
 7s. Qd. ; murder, 7*. 6d. Now, is not this taxation a virtual encourage- 
 ment to the commission of the most shocking crimes, when absolution 
 for them is granted and proffered on such easy terms } This seems to be, 
 in fact, the establishing a complete traffic for sins, and must be accounted 
 a great source of corruption and depravity. 
 
 " These pardons," says Silvester Prierias, ^' are not known to us by the 
 authority of the Scriptures, but by the authority of the Church of Rome, 
 and the Popes ; which is greater than the authority of the Scriptures." 
 (Con. Luth. pag. Indul.) They were first sanctioned by Urban II., as a 
 reward for those who engaged in a Crusade against the Mahometans, for 
 the recovery of Palestine. To these Urban promised the remission of 
 all their sing, and to open to them the gates of heaven. 
 
 i2.) These superfluous good works have no existence. Before a person 
 can furnish an overplus of merit, he must previously fulfil, in a perfect 
 manner, the precepts of obligation : which he cannot do ; since, as St. 
 James says, " In many things we offend all." As we cannot compensate 
 for our own transgressions, how much less then for those of others ? The 
 Scriptures direct us solely to trust in the divine mercy, and to depend on 
 the mediation of our Redeemer, Jesus Christ. They no where favor the 
 notion of our satisfying one for another : on the contrary, the Psalmist 
 tells us, ** No man can by any means give a ransom for his brother^s 
 
soul." (Ps. xlix. 7.) Aud Christ says plainly, (Luke xvii. 10,) " When 
 ye shall have done aU those things which are commanded you, say, we 
 are unprofitable servants." 
 
 (3.) Boniface VIII. granted " a most full Indulgence, Remission, and 
 Pardon of all sins ;" and Bishop Burnet {Articles, p. 282,) states that 
 he saw an Indulgence extending to ten hundred thousand years. 
 
 (4.) The Bull of the Crusades grants the same indulgences as were 
 usually dispensed by the Popes to those, who went to make a conquest of 
 the Holy Land, &c. The indulgences are seven. 
 
 The third is, that, visiting five altars, or five times one altar, and pray- 
 ing for a union among Christian Princes, with victory against the infidels, 
 they shall obtain plenary indulgence for themselves, or for any of their 
 departed friends, in whose favor they shall perform them. 
 
 The sixth is, that, visiting five altars, and praying as above, on the 
 days specified in the Calendar, of which there are eleven, they may, by 
 their prayers for each day, deliver a soul from purgatory. 
 
 The seventh is, that, paying for two copies of the Bull, a person may, 
 twice in one year, enjoy all the indulgences, favors, and privileges men- 
 tioned in all the preceding indulgences, and gain double the benefit he 
 might claim on having purchased one copy. 
 
 For this Bull the Nobles pay six shillings and twopence in Arragon, 
 but something less in the kingdom of Castile. Even the servants pur- 
 chased these; and such is the demand, that they were reckoned to 
 produce more than £200,000. per annum. No Confessor will grant 
 absolution to any one who has not this Bull. — ( Townsend's Trav. V. II. 
 p. 171—3.) 
 
 " Yea, and furthermore, the madness of all men professing the religion 
 of Christ, even in so great a light as the Gospel, very many running on 
 heaps by sea and land, to the great loss of their time, expense, and waste 
 of their goods, destitution of their wives, children, and families, and 
 danger of their own bodies and lives, to Compostella, Rome, Jerusalem, 
 and other far countries, to visit dumb and dead stocks and stones, dotli 
 sufficiently prove the proneness of man's corrupt nature to the seeking of 
 idols once set up, and the worshipping of them. And thus, as well by 
 he origin and nature of idols and images themselves, as by the proneness 
 and inclination of man's corrupt nature to idolatry, it is evident, that 
 
70 
 
 neither images, if they be publicly set up, can be separated, nor men, if 
 they see images in temples and churches, can be staid and kept, from 
 idolatry." {Horn, against Peril of Idolatry.') 
 
 The custom of granting letters, or certificates of Indulgence, to de- 
 liver persons from the consequences of transgressing the laws, either of 
 God, or of the Church, has prevailed in the Church of Rome for many 
 hundred years. It began first, by the Bishops granting in their own 
 diocese, a remission of the penances which the authority of the Church 
 enjoined upon offenders, in consideration of such offenders paying a sum 
 of money for the use of the poor. As large sums of money were soon 
 raised in this way, the Popes took the matter into their own hands, and 
 issued their plenary Indulgences, not only from Church censures, and 
 from penalties, but also from future punishment in the next world. 
 And to convince the people that they had a right to do this, they taught 
 them, that all the good works of the saints, over and above what was 
 necessary for their own justification, were deposited, along with the 
 merits of Christ, in one inexhaustible treasury ; the keys of this were 
 given, (they said,) to St. Peter, and to his successors, the Popes, who 
 could transfer as much of this merit as they pleased to any particular 
 person for a sum of money, so as to secure him, either the pardon of his 
 own sins, or the release of any one he pleased, from the pains of Pur- 
 gatory. This traffic of Indulgences and pardons has been carried on 
 in later times. 
 
 In the year 1800, a Spanish ship from Europe, was captured near the 
 coast of South America, by Admiral Harvey, then captain of the South- 
 ampton frigate. There were on board large bales of paper, valued in her 
 books at £7,500. It was a matter of surprise to him, to see thera rated 
 so high, and to hear the master of the captured vessel speak of them with 
 great admiration ; he examined them, and found all filled with large 
 sheets of paper, printed, some in Spanish, and some in Latin, but all 
 sealed with the seals of ecclesiastical Courts in Spain, or at Rome. These 
 were Indulgences, or Pardons, for various sins mentioned in the Catholic 
 Rubric, and the price, which varied from half a dollar to seven dollars, 
 was marked upon each. They had been bought in Spain, and were in- 
 tended for sale in South America. At Tortola some Dutch merchants 
 bought the whole for ^£200, with the hope of being able to smuggle thera 
 among the Spaniards in America. 
 
71 
 
 In 1809, Dr. Moylan, of Cork, procured from Rome the following 
 Bull, which he published in a pastoral letter, in 1813, previous to the 
 consecration of his cathedral Chapel : — 
 
 "Pius VII., by Divine Providence, Pope, grants unto each, and to 
 every one, of the faithful in Christ, who, after assisting, at least eight 
 times, at the holy exercise of the Mission, in the new cathedral of Cork, 
 shall confess his or her sins, with true contrition, and approach unto the 
 holy communion, shall devoutly visit the new cathedral chapel, and 
 there offer up to God for some space of time, pious and fervent prayers, 
 for the propagation of the holy Catholic faith, and to the intention of ouj 
 holy Father, a plenary Indulgence, applicable to the souls in Purgatory, 
 and this in form of a Jubilee." The pastoral explains what will render 
 this Indulgence effectual to the soul, and concludes with desiring all 
 persons to observe it. 
 
 From the extracts given above, we may learn, that the members of the 
 Church of Rome did formerly, and do now, teach and believe on the sub- 
 ject of Indulgences ; 1st. That these pardons are to be paid for; 2nd. 
 That they are granted through the merits of the Virgin, and of the Saints, 
 as well as through the death and sufferings of our blessed Saviour ; 3d. 
 That these pardons are more effectual at Rome than elsewhere, and that 
 they are better at the time of the Pope's Jubilee, than in other years. 
 
 Now in aU this, such doctrines do openly and plainly contradict the 
 word of God. For in the first place, the Prophet Isaiah, instead of call- 
 ing for money, says, " Ho every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, 
 and he that hath no money, come ye, buy, and eat ; yea, come, buy wine 
 and milk, without money and without price." (Iv. 1.) Instead of speak- 
 ing like Tetzel,' St. Paul says, "Being justified freely by his grace, 
 through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God hath set forth 
 to be a propitiation through faith in his blood." (Rom. iii. 24, 25.) And, 
 unlike the Pope, " The Spirit and the Bride say, Come. And let him 
 that heareth say. Come. And let him that is athirst comn. And whoso- 
 ever will, let him take the water of life freely." (Rev. xxii. 17.) 
 
 In the next place, the merits of saints are never said in Scripture to be 
 the cause of their own salvation, or of that of others ; for all that are 
 saved, are said to be saved through faith in Christ; which faith pro- 
 duceth in them good works, as naturally as a tree produceth fruit. St. 
 Peter declares, that "there is none other name under heaven given 
 
72 
 
 among men, whereby we must be saved, but only the name of our Lord 
 Jesus Christ." (Acts iv. 12.) 
 
 And in the last place, as to the idea, that it is better to worship God in 
 one city or country than in another, our Lord has plainly said. No, in 
 his conversation with the woman of Samaria. She said, " Our fathers 
 worshipped in this mountain, and ye say that in Jerusalem is the place 
 where men ought to worship. Jesus saith unto her. Woman, believe me, 
 the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at 
 
 Jerusalem, worship the Father But the hour cometh, and 
 
 now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit 
 and in truth, for the Father seeketh such to worship him." (John iv. 
 20—23.) 
 
 In saluting the Corinthian Church, St. Paul joins with them " all that 
 in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord, both theirs 
 and ours." (1 Cor. i. 2.) The Scripture does not tell us of any particular 
 times, in which prayer is more acceptable to God than at others ; but 
 they exhort us to " seek the Lord while he may be found, and to call 
 upon him while he is near. (Isai. i. 6.) *' To day, if you will hear his 
 voice, harden not your heart." (Psa. xcv. 7, 8.) " Boast not thyself of 
 to-morrow, for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth." (Prov. 
 xxvii. 1.) ''Now is the accepted time, now is the day of salvation." 
 (2 Cor. vi. 2.) So that while God thus offers in the Bible, forgiveness 
 through Christ, to all who shall repent and believe the Gospel; the 
 Church of Rome presumes to tell her people, that it will be better for 
 them, while they profess to repent and believe, to pay their money ; and 
 safer for them to come to Rome on jubilee years, or to Cork in a jubilee 
 month, to receive the benefits of their absolution. Surdy the people 
 who believe all this, rather than their Bible, are like the Jews whom 
 Jeremiah, in God's name, thus describes : — " My people have committed 
 two evils ; they have forsaken me, the Fountain of living waters, and 
 hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water." (Jer. 
 ii. 13.) Or rather, it is to be feared, that the whole body, teachers and 
 people, are like those of whom our Lord said, " They be blind leaders of 
 the blind ; and if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.** 
 (Matt. XV. 14.) 
 
OF PURGATORY. (1.) 
 
 " Since the Catholic Church, instructed by the Holy Ghost, 
 and by the Holy Scriptures, and the tradition of the Fathers, 
 hath taught in sacred Councils, and most recently in this 
 General Council, (of Trent,) that there is a Purgatory, and 
 that the souls detained there are helped by the suffrages of the 
 faithful, especially by the acceptable sacrifice of the altar ; the 
 holy Council enjoins the Bishops to take diligent care that the 
 sound doctrine on the subject of Purgatory, taught by the holy 
 Fathers, and sacred Councils, be believed by the faithful in 
 Christ, and be held, taught, and every where preached." 
 {Decret. Con. Tri. Sess. XXV.) And in the Decree relating 
 to the Sacrifice of the Mass, it is said of the Host : " That it 
 is duly offered, according to the tradition of the Apostles, not 
 only for the sins, punishments, and satisfactions, and other 
 necessities of the living, but also for those who are deceased in 
 Christ, and are not yet fully purged of their sins." {Con. Trid. 
 Sess. XXII. c. 2.) Of Purgatory itself,— a place of suffer- 
 ing ; the Trent Catechism^ Par. I. Act V. Sec. 5, speaks as 
 <« Purgatorius ignis ^ in contradiction to Gehenna, the place 
 of punishment of damned spirits. By a reference, in the De- 
 cree of this Council, to the Canon Law, we are taught that 
 " this fire, though not eternal, is yet painful in a wondrous 
 degree : it surpasses every punishment which any one ever 
 suffered in this life." Cardinal Bellarmine asserts the pains of 
 
 1 
 
74 
 
 Purgatory to be " atrocissima,"^ most horrible ; such as exceed, 
 beyond all comparison, any suffering upon earth. The belief 
 of Purgatory is so necessary, " that they who do not believe it, 
 shall never arrive there, but must be tormented in the eternal 
 fire of hell.'" And, " if any man shall say, that after the grace 
 of justification has been received, the offence is so remitted to 
 the penitent sinner, and the guilt of eternal punishment so 
 effaced, that there remains no guilt of temporal punishment to 
 be suffered, either in this world, or in the world to come, in 
 Purgatory, before admission can be obtained to the kingdom of 
 heaven; let him be accursed.'"* (Con. Trid. Sess. VI. Chap. 
 16. Can. 30.) In this place " the souls of pious men,*" (Cat. 
 Trid. P. 1, Act 5,) who have "received the grace of justifica- 
 tion,'' and are "penitent sinners," (Decret. Sess. VI. c. XXX,.) 
 and "who, having truly repented, die in the love of God, 
 before they have brought forth fruits worthy of the repentance 
 of their sins, are purified, after death, by the pains of Purga- 
 tory; and they are delivered from these pains by the suffrages 
 of the faithful that are alive : such as holy sacrifices, prayers, 
 alms, and other works of piety, which the faithful do for the 
 other faithful, according to the orders of the Church. And the 
 souls of those who have never sinned since baptism, or of those 
 who, having fallen into sins, have been purified from them in 
 their bodies, or after their departure out of them, enter imme- 
 diately into heaven, and purely behold the Trinity; some 
 more perfectly than others, according to the difference of the 
 merits. Lastly ; the souls of those who die in actual or mortal 
 sin, or in original sin only, descend immediately into hell, 
 there to be punished with torments, but not equally," (Condi. 
 Flor. apud Lab. Tom. XIII.,) in expiation of the temporal 
 punishment due to their sins. In this state they " are helped 
 by the suffrages of the faithful ; the sacrifices of the Mass, (2,) 
 
75 
 
 prayers, almsdeeds, and other works of piety, which are accus- 
 tomed to be performed by the faithfiil, on the behalf of the 
 faithful dead." {Decret Con. Tr. Sess. XXV.) And it is 
 stated, as one of the great benefits of good actions, that 
 they not only "merit the rewards of eternal gbry'' for the 
 doer, but enable him also "to satisfy for another;" {Cat. Par. 
 II. p. 244.) a faculty or power which God, ** in his most 
 exalted goodness and clemency, worthy of all praise and 
 thanksgiving, has mercifully granted to the infirmity of the 
 human race;" (Id.) " so that, though no one can be contrite 
 for another, or confess for another, yet those who are endowed 
 with divine grace are able, in the name of another, to dis- 
 charge fully what is due to God ; thus it happens, as by a 
 certain agreement, that- men bear one another's burdens." (Id.) 
 In the Council Trid. Sess. XXV. p. 216, it is expressly as- 
 serted that these suffrages, " according to the foundations of 
 testators, are to be performed by the Priests and Ministers of 
 the Church, with diligence and accuracy." (3.) 
 
 OBSERVATIONS. 
 
 (1.) The Protestant Churches unanimously reject Purgatory. 1st. Be- 
 cause it is a new doctrine, established by Pope Eugenius IV., in the 
 Council of Florence, about the year 1430; it was rejected at all times by 
 the Greek Church; and, according to the confession of some Roman 
 Catholic writers, it was not unanimously received in the Church of Rome. 
 2nd. Because it is a doctrine evidently intended to bring money to 
 Priests, as may be seen from the establishment of various Purgatorian 
 Societies. But lastly, and chiefly, they reject it, because it opposes the 
 Scriptures ; by making light of sin, calling some transgressions of God'& 
 kw venial; by taking away from the infinite merit of the Saviour'^ 
 atonement, in saying, that he only made satisfaction for mortal sins, and 
 left the sinner to suffer for his venial ones; and by contradicting the 
 great truths of the New Testament, that ''the blood of Jesus Christ 
 
76 
 
 cleanseth from all sin," and, that " there is now no condemnation to them 
 that are in Christ Jesus." It is not, therefore, to a future purifying 
 from sin in the fire of Purgatory, that the Protestants are directed to 
 look ; but they are taught out of the canonical Scriptures, the true in- 
 spired word of God, that this present life is the time allotted for men to 
 be '' turned from darkness unto light, and from the power of Satan unto 
 God, that they may obtain forgiveness of sins, and an inheritance among 
 them that are sanctified, through faith that is in Jesus Christ ; " (Acts 
 xxvi. 18 ;) that ''after death comes judgment;" (Heb. ix. 27 ;) and that 
 " there is no device, nor knowledge in the grave, whither we are going." 
 (Eccles. ix. 19.) While, therefore, the Church of Rome supports this 
 doctrine, which is evidently borrowed from the heathen nations, by per- 
 verting the word of God ; by bringing passages from books never gene- 
 rally received as canonical ; and, by making an unscriptural distinction 
 between mortal and venial sin ; the Protestants, who take their religion 
 from the canonical Scriptures alone, believe ani teach, " that the Romish 
 doctrine of Purgatory is a foolish thing, vainly invented, and grounded 
 upon no warrant of Scripture, but rather repugnant to the word of 
 God." 
 
 (2.) The Bible teaches us, that " without shedding of blood there is 
 no remission of sin;" (Heb. ix. 22;) and that our Redeemer, Jesus 
 Christ, by the perfect sacrifice of himself, once offered upon the cross, 
 has obtained eternal redemption for the penitent believer ; so that there 
 remaineth now no more sacrifice for sin. " By one offering he hath per- 
 fected for ever them that are sanctified." (Heb. x. 14.) 
 
 The Roman Catholic Church dwells much on the authority of the 
 Fathers ; but the present Bishop of Strasburgh admits, that Jesus Christ 
 has communicated to us no revelation concerning Purgatory, and ob- 
 serves, " Had it been necessary for us to be instructed in such questions, 
 Jesus would, doubtless reveal, the knowledge of them. He has not done 
 so; we can, therefore, only form conjectures on the subject, more or less 
 probable." (Discuss. Amic. Vol. II. p. 242.) 
 
 The celebrated Roman Catholic Bishop Fisher informs us, ** In the 
 ancient Fathers, there is either none at all, or very rare mention of Pur- 
 gatory ; that by the Grecians it is not believed to this day ; that the 
 Latins, not all at once, but by little and little, received it, pedetentim. 
 
77 
 
 Step by step ; and that Purgatory being so lately known, it is not to be 
 marvelled, that, in the first times of the Church, there was no use of 
 Indulgences, seeing these had their beginning, after that men for a while 
 had been affrighted with the torments of Purgatory." 
 
 Cardinal Caietan observes, " If we could have any certainty concerning 
 the origin of Indulgences, it would help us much in the disquisition of 
 the truth of Purgatory; but we have not, by writing, any authority, 
 either of the Holy Scriptures, or ancient Doctors, Greek or Latin, which 
 affords us any knowledge thereof." (De Indulg. cap. 2.) 
 
 The doctrine of Purgatory is confessedly of heathen origin, intended to 
 cheat the simple out of their money, by giving them bills of exchange 
 upon another world for cash paid in this, without any danger of the bills 
 returning protested. 
 
 If there be a Purgatory, what is the condition of those who die in the 
 Lord ? Can they be called blessed who are enduring the intensity of 
 purgatorial fire ? Surely the Christian, instead of looking forward, in 
 any degree, to the period of his death as the commencement of eternal 
 blessedness, if he must first pass through the lake of purgatorial fire, 
 would, doubtless, stand shivering on the brink. But the people of the 
 Lord, whether they live or die, are the Lord's. Would the Apostle 
 assert that the Lord's people are blessed after death, if they had to suffer 
 in Purgatory, on their way to glory ? It is our belief, in which we glory, 
 founded upon the testimony of Holy Writ, that the blood of Jesus Christ 
 is perfectly competent for the salvation of sinners ; and that same Word 
 assures us that the soul of the real Christian, having been emancipated 
 from the body, passes immediately to a state of felicity. Besides, the 
 doctrine of Purgatory carries, on the very face of it, a contradiction to the 
 sacred Scriptures, in the distinction which it establishes between the rich 
 and the poor : but the Gospel is emphatically and principally preached to 
 the poor. It appeals to their condition, their feelings, their necessities, 
 and offers to them that consolation and that supply which must wipe 
 away all tears from all faces, and lead their redeemed souls to the 
 presence of him, who, though he were in himself rich, yet for our sakes 
 became poor, that we, through his poverty, might be rich. 
 
 (3.) Dr. Moore, in his Travels in Italy, mentions a Society of persons 
 who attend upon criminals when under sentence of death, and coUect 
 
78 
 
 money for masses to be said, for the purpose of praying them out of 
 Purgatory. He witnessed the execution of a criminal who was hung for 
 the^fifth murder he was known to have committed ; and during the time 
 the body was suspended from the gallows, the members of this society 
 went to a neighbouring church, and remained there while a Mass was 
 said for the repose of his soul. To induce persons to subscribe to the 
 boxes fixed in the churches, he says, " that over the boxes into which 
 you are directed to put your money, views of Purgatory are painted in 
 the most flaming colours, where people are seen in all the agonies of 
 burning, raising their eyes to those unmindful relations and acquaint- 
 ances, who, rather than part with a little money, allow them to remain 
 in those abodes of torments." Surely this is making merchandize of the 
 souls of men. If the prayers of the Priests, and the celebration of Mass, 
 will deliver souls from a state of torment, and introduce them to heaven, 
 what must be thought of the practice of the Church of Rome, which 
 refuses this boon, unless paid for ? 
 
OF THE MERIT OF GOOD WORKS. 
 
 " Good Works do truly deserve eternal life ; and whoever 
 holds the contrary, is accursed:'" (Trid. Cone. Sess. VI. 
 Can. 26.) " If any one shall assert that justifying faith is 
 nothing else than a trust in the divine mercy, remitting sin 
 for Christ's sake; or that it is faith alone by which we are 
 justified, let him be accursed."" (Sees. VI. c. 12.) And " if 
 any one say that the righteousness received is not preserved 
 and even increased before God by Good Works ; and that 
 these Works are only fruits and signs of justification, not the 
 cause of its being increased, let him be accursed." {Ih. c. 24.) 
 (1.) For " the Good Works of a justified person are not so the 
 gifts of God, that they are not also the merits of the justified 
 person ; and he, being justified by the Good Works performed 
 by him, through the grace of God and merit of Jesus Christ, 
 whose living member he is, does truly merit increase of grace 
 and eternal life.'' (Cone. Trid. Sess. VL Can. 32.) 
 
 Connected with this Doctrine is that of Works of Superero- 
 gation ; of which this is the notion : Many of the Saints, it 
 seems, having not only done enough to merit immediate 
 entrance into heaven, but more than was necessary for that 
 purpose ; this overplus of their goodness, usually called Works 
 of Supererogation, joined with the infinite merits of Christ, 
 makes a treasure of inestimable value, which the Pope, as 
 Head of the Church, applies towards the remission of the 
 
80 
 
 sine of those, who either fulfil in their lifetime certain condi- 
 tions, appointed by him, or whose friends will fulfil them, 
 after their deaths. Upon this pretended stock of merits is 
 founded the doctrine of Indulgences. (2.) 
 
 OBSERVATIONS. 
 
 (l.) " Whosoever denieth this doctrine, (that faith alone justifieth,) is 
 not to be accounted a Christian man, nor for a setter forth of God's 
 glory, but for an adversary to Christ and his Gospel, and for a setter 
 forth of man's vainglory. Man's righteousness cannot make himself 
 righteous by his own works, neither in part, nor in whole." — {Horn, of 
 Salvation.) 
 
 " We are counted righteous before God only for the merit of our Lord 
 and Saviour Jesus Christ by faith, and not for our own Good Works. 
 That we are justified by faith alone, is a most wholesome doctrine." 
 {Art. XI.) " Good Works, which are the fruits of faith, and follow 
 after justification, cannot put away sin." {Art. XII.) For " it were the 
 greatest arrogancy and presumption of man, that Antichrist could set up 
 against God, to affirm that a man might by his own works take away, 
 and purge his own sins, and so justify himself." {Horn, of Salvation.) 
 And " although we hear God's word, and believe it ; although we have 
 faith, hope, charity, repentance, and fear of God within us, and do add 
 never so much works thereunto, yet we must renounce the merit of all 
 our said virtues and good deeds, which we either have done, shall do, or 
 can do, as things that be far too weak, insufficient, and imperfect to 
 deserve remission of our sins, and our justification." {Id.) 
 
 (2.) Experience proves, that imperfection adheres, and always has 
 adhered, to the best of men, and to the best of their performances. A 
 perfect, unmingled character is no where to be found. " The Scripture 
 hath concluded all under sin ; " (Gal. iii. 22 ;) " There is no man that 
 sinneth not." (1 Kings viii. 46.) ** All our righteousnesses are as filthy 
 rags," (Isa. v. 6,) and need pardon rather than reward. Is it not, then, 
 absurd to suppose that any one should be a debtor and a supererogator at 
 the same time ; at once an. offender, a defaulter, a sinner, that has cause 
 
81 
 
 daily to pray, that his trespasses may be forgiven, and a performer of sO 
 much more than God requires, as to have to spare, wherewithal to merit 
 for another ? No man, let him be who he will, be his virtues, and his 
 attainments, and his powers what they may, can ever do too much, can 
 ever exceed the injunctions laid upon him in the Gospel, can perform more 
 perfect obedience than is required ; because his highest proficiency, his 
 most perfect obedience, is no more than his duty ; after all his doings, 
 he is an '' unprofitable servant, and has only done that which was his 
 duty to do." (Luke xvii. 10.) " By grace ye are saved through faith, 
 and that not of yourselves, lest any man should boast." (Eph. ii. 8, 9.) 
 Solely to the grace of God, to his free mercy, to his spontaneous kind- 
 ness and love, through the redemption that is in Jesus Christ, and not 
 to the merits of our works, or to the works ]of any creature whatsoever, 
 we owe our salvation. 
 
 We have read, I doubt not, the parable of the Pharisee and the 
 Publican. What lesson does it teach us ? What doctrine does it incid- 
 cate ? Does it give any room for works of supererogation ? Is it not, 
 on the contrary, strong against all boasting' of personal desert? docs it 
 not forcibly recommend humility and self-abasement? The Pharisee, 
 full of his good qualities, of superciliousness and comparison, and 
 vaunting himself on strictness of duty, that he was not, as other men 
 are, was condemned by our Lord. The Publican, disclaiming all pre- 
 tensions to any merit, all humility and penitence, '' God be merciful to 
 me a sinner," was commended, and went down to his house justified. 
 
 Every man, be his religious attainments what they may, needs a 
 Redeemer himself, and a Mediator, to render his imperfect and unprofit- 
 able service accepted : his own daily omissions and negligences, his daily 
 transgressions and relapses, stand in need of forgiveness from an infi- 
 nitely holy and pure God, in whose sight the " stars are not pure," the 
 most resplendent part of the firmament loses its lustre ; how much less 
 then man that is a worm, and the son of man, which is a worm ? 
 
 St. Paul, who was indefatigable in the service of his God, whose 
 labors merited eternal life, if ever the labors of man did, '* of themselves, 
 by a value of condignity, merit eternal life," as the Romanists mainUin 
 the works of just men do, so far from thinking he had an overplus of 
 merit, Rays of himself, *' Not as though I had already attained, cither 
 were already perfect. I count not myself to have apprehended' I press 
 
82 
 
 towards the mark of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." (PhiL 
 iii. 11—14. " If by any means I might attain to the resurrection of the 
 dead." " Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am 
 the chief." (1 Tim. i. 15.) And St. Stephen, at his martyrdom, was far, 
 very far, from exulting in his righteousness, or pretending to bequeath 
 to the Church, or the Head of the Church, a stock of merit, which he 
 stood in no need of himself ; but, as if conscious of the deficiency and 
 imperfection of his services, he prayed fervently to Heaven for accept- 
 ance. " Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. Lord, lay not this sin to their 
 charge," (Acts vii. 59, 60,) were his last words. In short, we read, in 
 the history of our faith, of many eminent characters, who were burning 
 and shining lights in their generation ; but we never read of a being, 
 since the day of creation, without blemish and imperfection, excepting 
 the Blessed Jesus, who was, though in his human nature, while on 
 earth, " in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin." (Heb. 
 iv. 15.) " He was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no 
 sin." (I Pet. ii. 22.) 
 
 " For all the Good Works that we can do, be imperfect ; and therefore 
 not able to deserve our justification: but our justification doth come 
 freely, by the mere mercy of God ; and of so great and free mercy, that, 
 whereas all the world was not able of themselves to pay any part towards 
 their ransom, it pleased our heavenly Father, of his infinite mercy, 
 without any our desert or deserving, to prepare for us the most precious 
 jewels of Christ's body and blood; whereby our ransom might be fully 
 paid, the Law fulfilled, and his justice fully satisfied. So that Clu-ist is 
 now the righteousness of all them that truly do believe in him. He for 
 them paid the ransom by his death. 
 
 *' Here you have heard the office of God in our justification, and how 
 we receive it of him freely — ^by his mercy — without our deserts — through 
 true and lively faith. Now you shall hear the office and duty of a 
 Christian man unto God ; what we ought on our part to render unto 
 God again, for his great mercy and goodness. Our office is, not to pass 
 the time of this present life unfruitfuUy and idly, after that we are bap- 
 tized or justified; not caring how few good works we do, to the glory of 
 God, and profit of our neighbours : much less is it our office, after that 
 we be once made Christ's members, to live contrary to the same; making 
 ourselves members of the devil, walking after his enticements, and after 
 
83 
 
 the suggestions of the world and the flesh ; whereby we know that we 
 do serve the world and the devil, and not God. For that faith, which 
 bringeth forth, without repentance, either evil works or no good works, 
 is not a right, pure, and lively faith ; hut a dead, devilish, counterfeit, 
 and feigned faith, as St. Paul and St. James call it." {Horn, of Salvation.) 
 
 '* These works the Apostle calleth Good Works, saying, ' We are God's 
 workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to good works, which God hath 
 ordained that we should walk in them/ 
 
 " And yet his meaning is not by these words to induce us to have any 
 affiance, or to put any confidence, in our works, as by the merit and 
 deserving of them to purchase to ourselves and others remission of sin, 
 and so consequently everlasting life J for that were mere blasphemy 
 against God's mercy, and great derogation to the blood-shedding of our 
 Saviour Jesus Christ. For it is of the free grace and mercy of God, 
 by the mediation of the blood of his Son Jesus Christ, without merit or 
 deserving on our part, that our sins are forgiven us, that we are recon- 
 ciled and brought again into his favor, and are made heirs of his heavenly 
 kingdom. Grace, saith St. Augustine, belongeth to God, who doth 
 call us ; and then hath he good works, whosoever receiveth grace. Good 
 Works then bring not forth grace, but are brought forth by grace." 
 {Horn, of Good Works.) 
 
 " They— the Roman Catholics — teach as we do, that although Christ, 
 as God, be the efficient, and as man, the meritorious, cause of our justice, 
 yet in us also there is something required. God is the cause of our 
 natural life, in him we move ; but he quickeneth not the body without 
 the soul in the body. Christ has merited to make us just ; but as a 
 medicine, which is made for health, doth not heal by being made, but 
 by being applied, so by the merits of Christ there can be no justification 
 without the application of his merit. Thus far we join hands with the 
 Church of Rome. 
 
 " Wherein then do we disagree ? We disagree about the nature and 
 essence of the medicine whereby Christ cureth our disease ; about the 
 manner of applying it ; about the number and the power of means which 
 God requireth in us, for the effectually applying thereof to our soul's 
 comfort. Can any man that hath read their books concerning this 
 matter, be ignorant how they draw all their answers unto these heads ; 
 * That the remission of all our sins, the pardon of all whatsoever 
 
 Q 2 
 
84 
 
 punishments thereby deserved, the rewards which God hath laid up in 
 heaven, are, by the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, purchased and 
 obtained sufficiently for all men, but for no man effectually for his benefit 
 in i)articular, except the blood of Christ be applied particularly to him, 
 by such means as God has appointed that to work by ; that those means, 
 of themselves, being but dead things, only the blood of Christ is that 
 which putteth life, force, and efficacy in them, to work and to be avail- 
 able, each in his kind, to our salvation. Finally, that Grace being 
 purchased for us by the blood of Christ, and freely without any merit 
 at the first bestowed upon us, the good things which we do after grace 
 received, be thereby made satisfactory and meritorious. — Their doctrine 
 is, that as pure water of itself hath no savor, but if it pass through a 
 sweet pipe, it taketh a pleasant smell of the pipe through which it 
 passeth ; so, although before grace received our works do neither satisfy 
 nor merit, yet, after, they do both the one and the other.' In meriting, 
 our actions do work with both hands : with one they get their morning 
 stipend, the increase of grace ; with the other, their evening hire, the 
 everlasting crown of glory. Indeed, they teach that our Good Works 
 do not these things, as they come from us, but as they come from grace 
 in us, which ' grace in us ' is another thing in their divinity than is the 
 
 MERE GOODNESS OF God's MERCY TOWARDS US IN ChRIST JeSUS. 
 
 If it were not a long deluded spirit which hath possession of their hearts, 
 were it possible but that they should see how plainly they do herein 
 gainsay the very ground of Apostolic faith, in this that ' salvation by 
 grace,' whereof so plentiful mention is made in the Scriptures of God ? 
 Was this their meaning which first taught the world to look for salvation 
 only by Christ ? By Grace, says the Apostle, and by grace in such sort 
 as a gift, a thing that cometh not of ourselves nor of our works, ' lest 
 any man should boast,' and say, " I have wrought out my salvation;" by 
 Grace they confess, but by Grace in such sort, that as many as wear the 
 diadem of bliss, they wear nothing but what they won. When thus the 
 Roman Catholics are required to show what the righteousness is whereby 
 a Christian man is justified, they answer, that it is 'a divine quality,' 
 which quality, received into the soul, doth first make it one of them who 
 are born of God ; and secondly, endue it with power to bring forth such 
 works as th*y do that are born of Him, even as the soul of man, being 
 joined to his body, doth first make him to be of the number of reason- 
 
able creatures, and, secondly, enable Mm to perform the natural functions 
 which are proper to his kind ; that it maketh the soul amiable and gra- 
 cious in the sight of God, in regard whereof it is called Grace ; that it 
 purgeth, purifieth, and washeth out the stains and pollutions of sins; 
 that by it through the merit of Christ, we are delivered from sin, so 
 from eternal death and condemnation, the reward of sin. This grace 
 they will have to be applied by infusion, to the end, that as the body is 
 warmed by the heat which is in the body, so the soul might be righteous 
 by inherent grace, which grace they make capable of increase, as the 
 body may be more and more warm, so the soul more and more justified, 
 according as grace should be augmented, the augmentation whereof is 
 merited by good works, as good works are made meritorious by it. 
 ^Vherefore the first receipt of grace in their divinity is the first justifica- 
 tion ; the increase thereof, the second justification. As grace may be 
 increased by the merit of good works, so it may be diminished by the 
 demerit of siris venial, and may be lost by mortal sin : inasmuch, there- 
 fore} as it is needfvd in the one case to repair, in the other to recover, the 
 loss that is made, the infusion of Grace has her sundry after-meals, for 
 the which cause they make many ways to apply the infusion of Grace. 
 It is applied to infants through baptism, without either faith or works, 
 and in them really it taketh away original sin, and the punishment due 
 unto it; it is applied to infidels and wicked men in the first justification, 
 through baptism, without works, yet not without faith ; and it taketh 
 away sins both actual and original, together with all whatsoever punish- 
 ment, eternal or temporal, thereby deserved. Unto such as have attained 
 the first justification, that is to say, the first receipt of Grace, it is 
 applied farther by good works to the increase of former grace, which is 
 the second justification. If they work more and more, Grace doth more 
 increase, and they are more and more justified. To such as diminish it 
 !)y venial sins, it is applied by holy water, Ave Marias, crossings, papal 
 lutations, and such like, which serve for reparations of Grace decayed. 
 1 such as have lost it through mortal sin, it is applied by the sacra- 
 ment (as they call it) of penance, which sacrament has force to confer 
 grace on men, yet in such sort as being so conferred, it has not altogether 
 so much power as at first : for it only cleanseth out the stain or guilt of 
 sin committed, and changeth the punishment eternal into temi>oral 
 satisfactory punishment here, if time do serve ; if not, hereafter to be 
 
86 
 
 endured, except it be lightened by masses, works of charity, pilgrimages, 
 fasts, and such like, or else shortened by pardon for term, or by plenary 
 pardon quite removed and taken away. This is the mystery of the man 
 of sin, this maze the Church of Rome doth cause her followers to tread, when 
 they ask her the way to justification. 
 
 But true Protestantism speaketh on this wise : Whether they speak of 
 the first or second justification, they make the essence of a divine quality 
 inherent, they make it righteousness which is in us. If it be in us, then 
 it is ours, as our souls are ours, though we have them of God, and can 
 hold them no longer than pleaseth him ; for if he withdraw the breath 
 of our nostrils, we fall to dust. But the righteousness wherein we must 
 be found, if we will be justified, is not our own ; therefore we cannot be 
 justified by an inherent quality. Christ has merited righteousness for as 
 many as are found in him. In him God findeth us if we be faithful, for by 
 faith we are incorporated into Christ ; then, although in ourselves we be 
 altogether sinful and unrighteous, yet even the man which is impious in 
 bimself, full of iniquity, full of sin, him being found in Christ through 
 faith, and having his sin remitted through repentance — him God behold- 
 eth with a gracious eye, putteth away his sin by not imputing it, taketh 
 quite away the punishment due thereunto by pardoning it, and accepteth 
 him in Jesus Christ as perfectly righteous as if he had fulfilled all that 
 was commanded him in the Law. Shall I say, more perfectly right- 
 eous than if himself had fulfilled the whole Law ? I must take heed 
 what I say, but the Apostle saith, '* God made him to be sin for us, who 
 knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." 
 Such we are in the sight of God the Father, as is the very Son of God 
 himself. "Man hath sinned, and God hath suffered;" "God hath 
 made himself the Son of Man, and men are made the righteousness of 
 God." {Hooker.) 
 
OF THE SACRAMENTS. 
 
 " I also confess, that there are truly and properly seven 
 (1.) Sacraments, of the Law, instituted by Jesus Christ our 
 Lord, and necessary for the salvation of mankind, though not 
 all for every one ; to wit. Baptism, Confirmation, Eucharist, 
 Penance, Extreme Unction, Orders, and Matrimony ; and 
 that they confer grace ; and that of these, Baptism, Confirma- 
 tion, and Orders, cannot be reiterated without sacrilege." 
 (Pope Pius's Creed.) And whosoever " shall say that grace 
 is not of necessity conferred, ex opere operato, by these Sacra- 
 ments, let him be accursed." (2.) (Cone. Trid. Sess. VII. 
 Can. 8.) But by Canon XI. it is declared, that the " having 
 intention on the part of the Priest is so essential to the exist- 
 ence and administration of the Sacraments," that he who 
 questions it, is accursed. (3.) 
 
 By the fourth Canon of Sess. VII. it is declared "that the 
 Sacraments are necessary to salvation." 
 
 OBSERVATIONS. 
 
 (1.) The Romanists respect the number seven as being mysterious; 
 the Trent Fathers insisted much in honor of that number, that there were 
 seven cardinal virtues, seven capital vices, seven planets, seven days of the 
 
88 
 
 creation, seven principal plagues of Egypt, seven defects which sprung from 
 original sin." [^Hist. Cone. Trid. Lib. II.) Cardinal Bellarraine brings 
 a similar proof for the number of seven Sacraments. " Seven days shalt 
 thou eat unleavened bread ; thou shalt shut up the leper for seven days ; 
 and they offered seven bulls, and seven rams, and seven goats; and 
 Naaman was commanded to wash seven times in Jordan ; and there are 
 seven candlesticks ; and seven seals ; and seven books ; and seven trum- 
 pets ; and seven angels, &c. : and from hence," says Bellarmine, 
 " appears the number of seven Sacraments." {Bell, de Sacram. Lib. II. 
 C.26.) The exact number of seven was first fixed on by Peter Lombard, 
 a writer of the twelfth century, and adopted by Pope Eugenius IV., at 
 the Council of Florence, 1442. 
 
 (2.) This doctrine is subversive of all morality and true religion. It 
 is an encouragement given to sin, and to indulgence in it. Who will be 
 careful to " deny all ungodliness and sinful lusts, and to live righteously, 
 soberly, and godly in this present world," when a life of iniquity may 
 be expiated and atoned for, by a mere outward reception of the Sacra- 
 ments ? " In such only," (says the Church of England, AH. XXV.) " as 
 worthily receive the same, they have a wholesome eflPect or operation ; 
 but they that receive them unworthily, purchase to themselves damna-» 
 tion, as St. Paul saith." 
 
 (3.) Thus the Priest, through malice, irreligion, or atheism, can mate 
 these Sacraments, which he visibly blesses and administers, to be out- 
 ward shows of Sacraments, but not real ones. With what endless 
 distractions and fears must this fill the minds of worshippers, if they 
 have right conceptions of the matter, especially since the Sacraments are 
 made necessary to salvation ? Without knowing the secret intention of 
 the Priest, which cannot be known without an express revelation from 
 heaven, they cannot be sure of their having received the Sacrament, and 
 consequently, of their being in a state of salvation. Thus universal 
 doubt is introduced, as no one, without a revelation from heaven, can be 
 sure that he is baptized, or that he is married ; nor can he know if ever 
 he received the Sacrament of Confirmation, of the Supper, or of Pdnahce. 
 Thus are men kept, if they have any concern for their salvation, in per- 
 petual fears, and in a state of the most slavish subjection to the Priest, 
 
for if tliey oiferict him 6e can easily excltidfe t1i*6in fern heavffen, and tfeu^l! 
 them down to hell. 
 
 To prevent all which evils, seeing their sal'^^atidn must hang solely upon 
 this intention in the priest, they must feel it necessary ever to be atten- 
 tive to him, and never, upon any account, to vex him, that he might 
 always have and exert this intention. 
 
 That the Priests do expect this trembling attention and abject submis- 
 sion from their flocks, is a fact, that meets the eye of daily observation ! 
 And so far from discouraging this baseness of mind, this degrading 
 superstition, they (the Priests,; promote it from tender years, up to grey 
 hairs, as much as possible. 
 
 While this Clergy contemplated the great benefits which thus accrued 
 to them, from this doctrine of intention, even the full subjugation of 
 the people; and through the blindness of their hearts, to which, it 
 seems, God gave them up in just judgment, for their daring conduct 
 and Babel-building, were delighted with the prospect before them, little 
 did they think or foresee, they were preparing a rod terribly to scourge 
 themselves, a complete instrument of their own undoing. For while 
 this doctrine exalts them thus to the summit of their desires, it is but 
 for a moment, it is but to precipitate them headlong into utter annihil- 
 ation. For if, by the want of intention in them, when they ministered, the 
 people were destroyed ; so, by the want of the like intention, in those 
 who baptized or ordained themselves, must themselves be destroyed. So 
 that now, if they have not been rightly baptized and ordained, by such as 
 were rightly qualified, and had right intention, and they again by other 
 such persons, and so on back to the very Apostles, (a thing impossible,) 
 they have no true baptism nor ordination at all ; and this operating on 
 the whole body of the Clergy, must necessarily exterminate them all. 
 
 For if by this doctrine the people are brought into such perplexities, 
 that it is impossible for them to know whether their Clergymen bo 
 lawful, or be Christians at all, or whether themselves be Christians, or 
 have received any true Sacrament, (as Bellarmine confesses,) or whether 
 what they do receive, being false Sacraments, are not hastening their 
 damnation ; so also are the Priests, from the highest to the lowest of 
 them, unavoidably plunged into the same abyss of uncertainty and 
 misery; because it is impossible for them to know whether they bo 
 Priests, as above noticed, and, as Gabriel Bid, (one of them,) is obliged 
 
90 
 
 to allow ; or whether all their services be not so many sacrileges hasten- 
 ing their own destruction, and that of their people ! 
 
 Thus, by this famous Canon of Intention, found in the Council of 
 Florence, and in that of Trent, — ^by this conspicuous child of the In- 
 fallibiUty, is the entire Papal Church, Clergy, People, with all the 
 high pretensions of the Papacy, precipitated into instant ruin, and 
 swallowed up as in a moment. Thus corruption terminates in its own 
 ruin ! ! 
 
OF BAPTISM. 
 
 As the necessity of Baptism is generally admitted by all 
 Christian Societies, one alone excepted, we need say but little 
 on the subject. It is considered as " absolutely necessary to 
 salvation," and provided the due matter and form be used, and 
 it be administered "with proper intention," it is held to be 
 valid, and in all cases of necessity, lawfiil, even " though ad- 
 ministered by heretics." {Cone. Trid. Sess. VII, Can, de 
 Baptismo.) 
 
 The opus operatum of Baptism, is deemed, by the Roman 
 Church, so essential to salvation, that " without Baptism the 
 atonement of the Cross cannot be applied to us ; that Christ 
 will not redeem us imless we are washed in the waters of 
 Baptism, and that no man can be justified by faith only, 
 without Baptism." (See Mdguire's Discussion with Pope, 
 p. 151.) 
 
 OBSERVATIONS. 
 
 " Christ ordained no other element to be used in baptism, but only 
 water ; whereunto when the word is joined, it is made, as St. Augustine 
 saitb, a full and perfect sacrament ; they being wiser in their own con- 
 
92 
 
 ceit than Christ, think it is not well, nor orderly done, unless they use 
 conjuration, unless they hallow the water, unless there be oil, salt, spittle, 
 tapers, and such other dumb ceremonies, serving no use ; contrary to the 
 plain rule of St. Paul, who willeth '' all things to be done in the Church 
 to edification." {Horn, for Whitsunday.) 
 
OF CONFIRMATION. 
 
 Of this sacrament the Council of Trent only asserts, that it is 
 truly such ; that the Bishops only are its ordinary Ministers ; 
 (Sess. VII. Can. de Confir.) Confirmation is administered by 
 imposition of hands, and anointing the forehead with chrism, 
 (a mixture of oil of olives and balm, solemnly blessed by a 
 Bishop,) in the form of a cross, whilst the administrator uses 
 these words: " I sign thee with the sign of the cross, I con- 
 firm thee with the chrism of salvation, in the name of the 
 Father,"^ &c. &c. Every ;One /who is cqpfirmed has a male or 
 female sponsor, who contracts the same spiritual affinity and 
 obligation as those of baptism. 
 
 OBSERyATIQNS. 
 
 Alexander Hales, an eminent writer of the thirteenth century, says, 
 " the sacrament of Confirmation, as it is a sacrament, was not ordained 
 either by Christ, or by the Apostles, but afterwards was ordained by the 
 Council of Melda." Confirmation is, at most, an apostolical ceremony, 
 retained and practised in the Church of England, as such ; and is pro- 
 perly an acknowledgment, ratification, and confirmation of the Christian 
 obhgation entered into at Baptism ; and not a new stipulation. 
 
OF THE EUCHARIST, OR MASS. 
 
 " I PROFESS likewise, that in the Mass there is offered to 
 Ood a true, proper, and propitiatory sacrifice for the living and 
 the dead : and that in the most holy sacrament of the Eucha- 
 rist there is truly, really, and substantially, the body and 
 blood, together with the soul and divinity, of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ ; and that there is made a conversion of the whole sub- 
 stance of the bread into the body, and of the whole substance 
 of the wine into the blood ; which conversion the Catholic 
 Church calls Transubstantiation. (1.) I also confess, that 
 under either kind alone Christ is received whole and entire, 
 and a true sacrament." (Pius's Creed.) "Whosoever shall 
 say, that in the holy sacrament of the Eucharist, the substance 
 of bread and wine remains together with the substance of the 
 body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, and shall deny that 
 wonderful and singular change of the whole substance of the 
 bread into the body, and of the whole substance of the wine 
 into the blood, the species of bread and wine still remaining, 
 which change the Catholic Church very fitly calls Transub- 
 stantiation, let him be accursed." (Con. Trid. Sess. XIII. 
 Can. 2.) 
 
 It is, moreover, decreed, " that after the consecration of the 
 bread and wine, the true God and man is truly, really, and 
 substantially contained under the appearance of the sensible 
 
elements." {Con. Trid. Sess. XI 11. c. 1.) So that «tlie 
 bread and wine which are placed on the altar, are, after conse- 
 cration, not only the sacrament, but also the true body and 
 blood of our Lord Jesus Christ ; and are, sensually, not only 
 in sacrament, but in truth, handled and broken by the hands 
 of the Priests, and bruised by the teeth of the faithful." {Con. 
 Rom. apud Pop. Nichol. 1.) And the Fathers of the Second 
 Nicene Council pronounced, " that the Eucharist is not the 
 mere image of Christ's body and blood, but that it is Christ's 
 body and blood, their own literal and proper physical selves." 
 {Labbe Con. Vol. VII. p. 448.) " Nor in this is there any re- 
 pugnance ; that Christ, according to his natural manner of ex- 
 istence, should always remain in heaven, at the right hand of his 
 Father ; and that, at the same time, he should be present with 
 us, in many places, really but sacramentally." {Con. Trid. 
 XIII. c. 1 .) And " if any one says, that a true and proper 
 sacrifice is not offered up to God at the Mass, or that to be 
 offered is any thing else than Jesus Christ given to be eaten, 
 let him be anathema." (2.) {Con. Trid. Sess. XXI I., Can. 1.) 
 *' And if any one says, that the sacrifice of the Mass is only a 
 sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving, or a bare memorial of the 
 sacrifice which was completed upon the Cross, and that it is not 
 propitiatory nor profitable to any but him that receives it, and 
 that it ought not to be offered for the living and for the dead, 
 for their sins, their punishments, their satisfactions, and their 
 other necessities, let him be accursed." " For the holy Synod 
 teaches that this sacrifice is truly propitiatory, and that by it 
 the sins we commit, however enormous they be, are remitted." 
 {Id. Can. 3.) And " although Christ instituted after supper, 
 and, under both species of bread and wine administered to his 
 disciples, this venerable sacrament ; yet, notwithstanding 
 this, it ought not to be consecrated after supper, nor received 
 
except fasting. And likewise, although in the primitive 
 Church, the sacrament was received under both species 
 by the faithful, yet this custom, that it shall be received 
 by the laity under the species of bread alone, is to be held 
 for a law, which it is not lawful to reject. And to say that 
 this is unlawful, is erroneous ; and those who pertinaciously 
 assert it, are to be driven out." (Con. Const. Sess. XIII.) 
 " For the body is there under the species of bread, and the 
 blood under that of wine, by virtue of the words of conse- 
 cration ; so also the body is there under the species of wine, 
 and the blood under that of bread, and the soul under both ; 
 
 so it is most true, that as much is contained 
 
 under either species, as under both; for Christ, whole and 
 entire, exists under the species of bread, and under each par- 
 ticle of that species ; and whole under the species of wine, and 
 imder its parts."" (Con. Trid. Sess. XIII. c. 3.) Hence it 
 was decreed by the Council of Constance, " that, whereas in 
 several parts of the world, some have presumed rashly to assert, 
 that all Christians ought to receive the holy sacrament of the 
 Eucharist under both species, of bread and wine, and that, 
 also, after supper, or not fasting, contrary to the laudable cus- 
 tom of the church, justly approved of, which they damnably 
 endeavour to reprobate as sacrilegious. Hence it is, that this 
 holy general Council of Constance, assembled by the Holy 
 Ghost, to provide for the salvation of the faithful against this 
 error, declares, decrees, and defines, that although Christ did 
 after supper institute this holy sacrament, and administered it 
 to his disciples in both kinds, of bread and wine; yet this, not- 
 withstanding, the laudable authority of the sacred Canons, and 
 the approved custom of the church, has fixed, and doth fix, that 
 this sacrament ought not to be consecrated after supper, nor 
 received by the faithful, except fasting. And as this custom, 
 
97 
 
 for the purpose of avoiding certain dangers and scandals, has 
 been rationally introduced, and that although this sacrament 
 was received by the faithful under both kinds, in the primitive 
 church, it was afterwards received under both kinds by the offici- 
 ating priests only, and by the people under the species of bread 
 only, it being believed most certainly, and nothing doubted, that 
 the entire body and blood of Christ are really contained, as well 
 under the species of bread, as of wine; this therefore being 
 approved, it is now made a law. Likewise this holy Synod 
 decrees and declares, as to this matter, to the reverend Fathers 
 in Christ, Patriarchs, Lords, &c., that they must effectually 
 punish all such as shall transgress this Decree, or shall exhort 
 the people to communicate in both kinds.'^ (3.) {Cone. Gen. 
 XII. 100.) 
 
 " The holy Synod " (of Trent) " following the judgment of 
 the Church, (as pronounced at Constance,) and its usage, de- 
 clares and teaches, that neither laity nor unofficiating clergy, 
 are bound, by any divine command, to receive the sacrament of 
 the Eucharist, under both species ; and that it cannot be 
 doubted, without a breach of faith, that communion in either 
 kind suffices for them. For though Christ, at his last supper, 
 instituted this venerable sacrament, under the forms of bread 
 and wine, and then delivered it to his Apostles, yet that insti- 
 tution, and that delivering, do not show that all the faithful, 
 by the command of Christ, are bound to receive both kinds."'' 
 (Ses8. XXI. c. 1.) " And though, in the early ages, the use 
 of both kinds was not unfrequent, yet the practice, in process 
 of time, being widely changed, the Church, for weighty and 
 just reasons, approved the change, and pronounced it to be a 
 law, which no one, without the authority of that Church, 
 is allowed to reject or alter." (Id. c. 2.) " It must be ac- 
 knowledged, that the whole and entire Christ, and the true 
 
 H 
 
98 
 
 sacrament, are taken under either kind ; and, therefore, as to 
 the fruit, that they who thus receive, are deprived of no neces- 
 sary grace." {Id. c. 3.) " And if any one shall say, that all 
 Christians ought, by God's command or for the sake of sal- 
 vation, to receive the most holy sacrament of the Eucharist 
 in both kinds, let him be accursed." (/c?.) 
 
 By the 5th Can. c. 8, Sess. XXII. of the Council of 
 Trent, it is expressly declared, that " we are to offer up to the 
 honor of saints and angels the sacrifice of the Mass, in order 
 to obtain their patronage and intercession with God." 
 
 " If any one shall deny that the body and blood of Christ 
 is really and substantially contained, together with his very 
 soul and divinity, in the sacrament of the Eucharist, let him 
 be accursed." {Cone. Trid. Sess. XIII. Can. 1.) Or, « if 
 he shall say, that there yet remains any substance of the bread 
 and wine in conjunction with the body and blood of our Lord 
 Jesus Christ, and that the conversion is not real and total, let 
 him be accursed. (4.) {Id. Can. 2.) " If any man shall deny, 
 that Christ is entirely contained under either species, and in 
 every individual portion of that species," {Id. Can. 3,) or 
 " that Christ is only spiritually eaten, and not really and sub- 
 stantially, let him be accursed." {Id. Can. 9.) 
 
 OBSERVATIONS. 
 
 (1.) This term was first used in the year 1215, by the fourth CounciZ 
 of Lateran, which decreed the truth of the doctrine of a physical change 
 in the Eucharistic bread and wine. " Before this Council," says Ton- 
 stal. Bishop of Durham, '*^men were at liberty as to the manner of 
 Christ's presence in the sacrament." {De Euch. Lib. I. p. 146.) Even 
 Cardinal Bellarraine owns that this doctrine is not founded on Scripture. 
 ''It is not altogether improbable," he says, 'Hhat there is no express 
 
99 
 
 place of Scripture to prove Transubstantiation, without the declaration of 
 the Church." {De Euch, Lib. III. c. 23.) Biel, in Can. Misscb, Led. 
 4,9, says, " How the body of Christ is in the sacraments, is not expressed 
 in the canon of the Bible." 
 
 We readily allow that, so far as the bare letter is concerned, the words 
 of our Lord express, that the bread is his body, and that the wine is his 
 blood; but we have yet to learn, that the language of Scripture must 
 inevitably be interpreted according to the bare letter. If Christ says. 
 This bread is my body, and this wine is my blood ; he also expressly says, 
 / am the door, and I am the vine. Hence, on the principle of a literal in- 
 terpretation, we see not how we are to avoid the extraordinary doctrine, 
 that Christ is a literal vine tree, and a literal door, through which we 
 must all pass in our journey heavenward. If no hint of a symbol is 
 given in the one case, neither is there any hint given of a symbol in the 
 other cases. It is therefore most difficult, why we should ])e compelled 
 in the one case to adopt a literal exposition, while, in the other cases, we 
 are left perfectly at liberty to prefer a figurative exposition. Analogy, 
 undoubtedly, requires that the same principle of interpretation ought to 
 be uniformly maintained. If we prefer the literal scheme, then, no 
 doubt, the bread and wine will be literally the body and blood of Christ ; 
 but then, by the same scheme, Christ will be literally a door, and a vine. 
 On the other hand, if we adopt the Jig^rative scheme, then, of course, a 
 door, and a vine, will only be symbols of Christ ; but then, by the same 
 scheme, the bread and the wine will be only symbols of Christ's body, 
 and Christ's blood. Let the Catholic freely choose which principle of 
 scriptural exposition he pleases ; but when he has chosen it, let him 
 abide by it. 
 
 {2.) This Mass is declared to be a true sacrifice of Christ. This Mass 
 may be offered a hundred times a day, or a thousand times a day, if any 
 one will purchase it. It may be purchased for sixpence ; it may be pur- 
 ( Iiaaed by the most contemptuous scoffer, by the ignorant, by the 
 criminal. The assassin, reeking in blood, purchases it with the price of 
 blood. The impure purchases it with the price of her crime; and 
 substitutes it for remorse and virtue. Any human creature may buy any 
 number of Masses, and keep the altars of an empire in full employ, until 
 his purse is drained ! And is it to be thought that the mighty God is 
 
 h2 
 
100 
 
 actually sacrificed day by day, and hour by hour, in every corner of the 
 Popish world ? 
 
 The entire letter and spirit of Scripture are in direct contradiction to 
 this fatal error. Of Christ it is declared in the Epistle to the Hebrews, 
 that he " needeth not daily, as those High Priests," (of the Jews,) " to 
 offer up sacrifice, first for liis own sins, and then for the people, for this 
 he did once, when he offered up himself." " Christ entered once into 
 the holy place, having made redemption for us by his blood." " Christ 
 was offered once, to bear the sins of many." " This man, after he had 
 offered up one sacrifice for sin, for ever sat down on the right hand of 
 God!" The Eucharist, — Transubstantiation, — the great characteristic 
 doctrine of Popery. 
 
 By this doctrine. Popery asserts, that out of a little flour and water, 
 the Priest makes — God ! that in every one of ten thousand or ten million 
 wafers, the body and blood, the soul and divinity of the Lord Christ, are 
 wholly comprehended ! — Then, what was but flour and water this 
 moment, will, at the next, by the simple effect of the Priest's prayer and 
 fingers, be the actual Omnipotent Lord, that reigneth in the Heaven of 
 Heavens ! That he can enclose in a box Him whom the Heaven of 
 Heavens cannot contain ! — that he can give him to be swallowed by any 
 and every body ! and that he is entitled to perform this act for money, as 
 is done habitually in the Mass. 
 
 Is not the mere statement of this doctrine enough.? Can human 
 credulity go farther than to suppose any one of these things possible .'' or 
 human rashness farther than to attempt them ? For this doctrine there 
 is the single text, " Take, eat ; this is my body." " This is my blood of 
 the New Testament." But our Lord's language of himself, is almost 
 constantly emblematic. He calls himself successively the " vine," of 
 which his disciples are the ** branches," the " door," the fountain of 
 '^ living waters," "the bread of life," "the temple." The terms of 
 eating and drinking, to express the affections of the mind, are the cus- 
 tomary language of Scripture. By taking the words in a literal sense, 
 we are oppressed with resistless difficulties. 
 
 We are compelled to believe the palpable contradictions, — that his 
 body was already broken, when it was not broken. — That declaring that 
 he had come not to violate the law, he commanded his disciples, Jews, 
 to violate the law, and eat blood ! (An act so obnoxious, that it was pro- 
 
101 
 
 hibited even to the Christian Gentile converts.) And that every man 
 who receives the Sacrament, must, be he good or evil, be received into 
 eternal happiness ! It involves the impossibilities, — that our Lord 
 should be holding the bread in his hands, while that bread should be our 
 Lord bodily. And, that every one of the ten thousand wafers that the 
 Priest may make, should each contain the whole omnipotence of God ! 
 What is wholly contained in one, cannot be wholly contained in another. 
 None of our Lord's miracles shook the human understanding. Allow 
 that he was the Messiah, and we take his restoring the dead to life, his 
 calming the tempest, or his feeding the five thousand, simply as con- 
 ceivable instances of pre-eminent and God-like power ; his miracles are 
 announced as miracles, and followed by acknowledged wonder. But 
 here, if the literal meaning be true, we have a miracle which shocks the 
 human understanding ; which, in the original narrative, is accompanied 
 by no wonder ; which has outUved the age of miracle ; which is per- 
 formed hourly by men, who have no gift of miracle ; and this miracle 
 the most overwhelming of all, the making of the Deity I 
 
 (3.) When this Council had thus determined that the cup should be 
 taken from the laity, the Bohemians were so much dissatisfied, that the 
 Council of Basil restored it to them. Which Council was infallible ? 
 
 When the Roman Catholics are pressed by the argument derived from 
 Christ's example, in giving the cup, as well as the bread, to his disciples, 
 they answer, that they who were with Christ were not laymen, but 
 Apostles, and that, therefore, his practice was similar to theirs. A ready 
 answer to this presents itself. I turn to the eleventh chapter of the First 
 Epistle to the Corinthians, and I there find the Apostle speaking in the 
 following language : — " As often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, 
 ye do show the Lord's death till he come;" and again, "Let a man 
 examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup." 
 Now I would ask this simple question: — "Was all the Corinthian 
 Church composed of Clergymen, or not .'' If it was, it was the most sin- 
 gular phenomenon that has ever appeared ; and if it was not, the argu- 
 ment against withholding the cup from the laity, is unanswerable. If it 
 be said, the Church has power to make such alterations ; I answer. If 
 the Church chooses to call white black, I shall continue to call it white 
 while the world lasts. The truth is plainly this, — the cup is kept from 
 
102 
 
 the laity, first, to add dignity to the Clergy ; for in the Roman Church 
 the people are nothing, — the Clergy every thing ; and, secondly, to prop 
 up the doctrine of the real presence. " We give you the bread alone," 
 say they to the people, " because, under one of the elements, you have 
 both flesh and blood." And the fact io, that while the people are going 
 on in their sins, it is of very little consequence whether they have one or 
 both, or neither one nor the other, of them. 
 
 (4.) As the Romish Church pleads miracles in proof of her doctrines, 
 Bellarmine cites the following, in testimony of the Romish doctrine of the 
 Mass: — "As St. Anthony was disputing concerning the truth of the 
 Lord's body in the Eucharist, with a heretic, the heretic required of 
 Anthony this sign : says the heretic, * I have a mule, to which I shall 
 give no meat these three days. After the three days' end, come there with 
 the sacrament, and I will come with my mule, and will pour out pro- 
 vender before it ; if the mule leave his provender, and come and venerate 
 the sacrament, I will believe.' These conditions were accepted, and after 
 three days St. Anthony approached, bringing the sacrament. The mule, 
 forgetting his provender and his hunger, went forthwith toward the hand 
 of sainted Anthony." {Bellarm. de Sac. Euch. Lib. III. c. 8.) 
 
 Whilst one anecdote confirms this notable doctrine, let another give its 
 weight in the opposite scale. " One day," says Gage, formerly a Roman 
 Catholic Priest, {Survey ofW. I. London, 1665, p. 197,) "saying Mass 
 in the chief church, after the consecration of the bread, being, with my 
 eyes shut, at that mental prayer, which the Church of Rome calleth the 
 memento for their dead, there came from behind the altar a mouse, 
 which running about, came to the very bread, or wafer-god of the 
 Papists, and, taking it in his mouth, ran away with it ; not being per- 
 ceived by any of the people who were at Mass, for that the altar was 
 high, by reason of the steps going up to it, and the people far beneath. 
 But as soon as I opened my eyes, to go on with my Mass, and perceived 
 my God stolen away, I looked about the altar, and saw the mouse running 
 away with it ; which on a sudden did so stupefy me, that I knew not 
 well what to do or say ; and calling my wits together, I thought that if 
 I should take no notice of the mischance, and any body else in the church 
 should, I might justly be questioned by the Inquisition ; but if I should 
 call on the people to look for the sacrament, then I might be but chid 
 
103 
 
 and rebuked for my carelessnees, which, of the two, 1 thought would be 
 more easily borne than the rigor of the Inquisition. 
 
 " Whereupon, not knowing what the people had seen, I turned myself 
 unto them, and called them unto the altar, and told them plainly, that 
 whilst I was in my Memento prayers and meditations, a mouse had carried 
 away the Sacrament j and that I knew not what to do, unless they would 
 help me to find it out again. The people called a Priest that was at hand, 
 who presently brought in more of his coat ; and, as if their God had by 
 this been eaten up, they presently prepared to find out the thief, as if 
 they would eat up the mouse that had so assaulted and abused their God. 
 They lighted candles and torches to find out the malefactor in his secret 
 and hidden places of the wall ; and after much searching and inquiry for 
 the sacrilegious beast, they found at last, in a hole of the wall, the Sacra- 
 ment, half-eaten up, which, with great joy, they took out ; and, as if 
 the ark bad been brought again from the Philistines to the Israelites, so 
 they rejoiced for their new-found God, whom, with many people now 
 resorted to the church, with many lights of candles and torches, with 
 joyful and solemn music, they carried about' the church in procession. 
 Myself was present upon my knees, shaking and quivering for what 
 might be done unto me, and expecting my doom and judgment, and as 
 the Sacrament passed by me, I observed in it the marks and signs of the 
 teeth of the mouse, as they are to be seen in a piece of cheese gnawn 
 and eaten by it. 
 
 " This struck me with horror, that I cared not at that present moment, 
 whether I had been torn in a thousand pieces, for denying publicly that 
 mouse-eaten God ; I called to my best memory all philosophy concerning 
 substance and accident, and resolved within myself that what I saw 
 gnawn, was not an accident, but some real substance, eaten and devoured 
 by that vermin, which certainly was fed and nourished by what it had 
 eaten ; and philosophy well teacheth, ' substantia cibi {mn accideniis) 
 convertitur in substantiam alili :' the substance (not the accident of food 
 or meat) is converted or turned into the substance of the thing fed by it 
 and alimented. Now, here I knew that this mouse had fed upon some 
 substance, or else how could the marks of the teeth so plainly appear } 
 But no Papist will be willing to answer that it fed upon the substance of 
 Christ's body, — ergo, by good consequence it follows, that it fed upon 
 the substance of bread ; and so Transubstantiation here, in my judgment. 
 
104 
 
 was confuted by a mouse; which mean and base creature God chose to con- 
 vince me of my former errors, and made me now resolve upon what many 
 years before I had doubted, that certainly the point of Transubstantia- 
 tion, taught by the Church of Rome, is most damnable and erroneous ; 
 for, besides what I before observed, it contradicteth that philosophical 
 axiom teaching that 'duo contradictoria non possunt simul et semel de 
 eodem veri/icari;' two contradictions cannot at once and at the selfsame 
 time be said and verified of the same thing ; but here it was so : for here, 
 in Rome's judgment and opinion, Christ's body was gnawn and eaten, 
 and at the same time, the same body, in another place, and upon another 
 altar, in the hands of another Priest, was not eaten and gnawn ; there- 
 fore here are two contradictions verified of the same body of Christ — to 
 wit, it was eaten and gnawn, not eaten and gnawn. These impressions, 
 at that time, were so great in me, that I resolved within myself that 
 bread, really and truly, was eaten upon that altar, and by no means 
 Christ's glorious body, which is in heaven, and cannot be upon earth 
 subject to the hunger or violence of a creature." 
 
ADORATION OF THE HOST. 
 
 " Theee can be no doubt but that all the faithful, as is 
 usual in the Catholic Church, have ever manifested a most 
 holy worship of the most blessed Sacrament of the Eucharist, 
 — for we believe, that the very same God is there present, 
 whom the eternal Father sent into the world, and said, " Let 
 all the Angels of God worship him."*" And this holy Synod also 
 declares, " that the appointment of a peculiar feast, on which 
 annually to commemorate this Sacrament, with peculiar vener- 
 ation and solemnity, and reverently and honorably to carry it 
 round in procession, through the streets and others public 
 places, is a most pious and religious institution of the Church." 
 {Cone. Trid. Sess. XIII. c. 5. Decret. de Cul. Ven. Sanct. 
 Sacr.) 
 
 *' If any one shall say that Christ, the only begotten Son of 
 God, is not to be adored, in the holy Sacrament of the 
 Eucharist, with the highest visible worship ; and that he is not 
 to be worshipped with a holy and peculiar Service, and to be 
 carried about in holy processions, according to the laudable 
 and universal custom of the Holy Church ; or, that he is 
 not to be publicly exhibited for the purpose of being adored : 
 or, if any one should say, that those who do so adore Christ, 
 are idolaters; let them be accursed."' (Cone. Trid. Sess. 
 XIIL Can. 6.) 
 
106 
 
 The priest, after consecration, adores the Host on his knees, 
 and then holds it up to the people, who worship it with the 
 greatest veneration. The Priest, before he partakes, worships 
 it again, and bowing towards it, he says, " Lamb of God, who 
 takest away the sin of the world, have mercy on us, and give 
 us peace.'' (Miss. Rom. in Can. Missce.) And before he 
 gives the Sacrament to the people, he turns towards them, and 
 elevates the Host, saying, *' Behold the Lamb of God, which 
 taketh away the sin of the world."" {Rit. Rom. de Sac. 
 Euch.) 
 
 OBSERVATION. 
 
 Durandus Mimatensis, who lived in the thirteenth century, is the first 
 who mentions the elevation of the Host, with a view to its adoration. 
 A train of Ceremonies and Institutions were devised in honor of that 
 deified bread, as it veas blasphemously called ; -which are still in use in 
 the Church of Rome. Rich and splendid receptacles were contrived 
 for its residence. Lamps and costly ornaments were provided to beautify 
 its habitation. With solemn pomp, it was carried through the public 
 streets, to be administered to dying persohs. "After Easter," says 
 Townsend, (Trav. B. \, p. 114,) ''there is a procession upon a smaller 
 scale, about seventy Priests, each with a Hghted flambeau in his hand, 
 preceded by a Herald with his banner, carrying the Host, under a canopy 
 of crimson velvet, to those, who had not been well enough to re- 
 ceive it in the Churches." — ''One evening," he elsewhere says, {pp, 
 335, 336.) "when the public walk at Aranjuez, was thronged with 
 ladies, many of whom were richly dressed, on the tinkling of a little 
 bell at a distance, scarcely to be heard, in one moment, all were upon 
 their knees. Upon asking a lady, what was the matter, she told me, that 
 * his Majesty' was passing. Had I inquired of a Frenchman, he would 
 have said, ' C'est le bon Dieu qui passe.' Her look pointed me to the spot, 
 where two ladies of fashion had quitted their carriage to adore the Host, 
 which the Priests were carrying to some dying Christians. Had it been 
 the rainy season they must have done the same ; and had the public 
 walk been even wet and dirty, none would have been excused from 
 kneeling." 
 
PENANCE AND ABSOLUTION. 
 
 Pexance consists of two parts : First, The Matter of the 
 Sacrament, which are the acts of the penitent himself, namely, 
 Contrition, Confession, and Satisfaction ; Secondly, The Form, 
 in which the efficacy of the Sacrament principally consists, the 
 words of the Priest, " I absolve you, &c. &c." (Con. Tfid. 
 Decret Sess. XIV. c. 3.) 
 
 I. Of the Matter of this Sacrament. 
 
 1. Contrition is "the inward grief and detestation on 
 account of sin committed, with a determination of not sinning 
 in future,^ (Id. c. 4,) accompanied by " a full and free remis- 
 sion and forgiveness of all injuries received ; " (Cat. Trident. 
 Pars. II. c. 41 ;) and this disposition " made perfect with love, 
 sometimes reconciles the sinner to God, before recourse be 
 actually had to the sacrament of Penance ; but then this recon- 
 ciliation cannot be ascribed to that contrition, which wants the 
 wish and purpose of the Sacrament, which wish and purpose 
 are always included in perfect contrition."^ (Con. Trid. Sess. 
 XIV. c. 4.) Destitute of the wish and the purpose of the 
 Sacrament, Contrition is imperfect, and is called, by way of 
 distinction, attrition; " and though by itself, without the sacra- 
 ment of Penance, it cannot lead to justification," yet it is bene- 
 ficial, as " disposing him to obtain the grace of God in the sa- 
 crament of Penance.*" (Id.) 
 
 2. Of Confession. (1.) Sins are either mortal, or venial. 
 
108 
 
 The mortal sins are seven in number; pride, covetousness, 
 lust, anger, gluttony, envy, sloth ; and these are the absolutely 
 necessary matter of confession ; " however secret, and though 
 committed only against the two last precepts of the decalogue." 
 " Venial sins, which do not deprive us of the grace of God, 
 and into which we frequently fall, are expiable by other means, 
 and are not, therefore, of necessity, matter of confession."* (Id.) 
 This confession must be full and complete ; for if any sin be 
 wilfully, or " intentionally concealed," the omission cuts off the 
 penitent " from all hope of mercy from the divine goodness." 
 
 {Id.) 
 
 " From the institution of the sacrament of Penance, the whole 
 church has always understood, that the entire confession of 
 sins was also instituted by our Lord ; and that this confession, 
 by divine right, is necessary for all who fall after baptism; 
 because our Lord Jesus Christ, about to ascend into heaven, 
 left the Priests, his Vicars, with the authority of Judges, to whom 
 all grievous crimes, into which men may fall, must be referred, 
 in order that they pronounce sentence on them, by the power 
 of the keys, that is, the power of binding and loosing. For it 
 is plain, that if the cause be unknown, such sentence cannot be 
 pronounced; nor equity in the enjoining of punishment, be 
 preserved, if sins generally, and not each one particularly, be 
 declared." (Cone. Trid. XIV. c. 5.) " If any one shall deny, 
 that sacramental confession was instituted, or is necessary, by 
 divine right, to salvation ; or shall say, that the practice of 
 private confession to a Priest is foreign from the institution and 
 command of Christ, and is only a human invention ; let him be 
 anathema." (Ibid. Can. VL) 
 
 * By the 8th Canon, Sess. XIV., of the Council of Trent, it would 
 appear as if venial sins were better to be confessed. 
 

 109 
 
 3. " Satisfaction generally, is the fiiU discharge 
 so complete, that nothing remains due to the creditor/"' {Cat. 
 Trid. Pars. II. c. 85.) " But here it is used to express the com- 
 pensation made, when a man pays to God something in full, on 
 account of sins committed."" {Id.) " Sacramental or Canonical 
 satisfaction, is the performing of such Penances as shall be 
 enjoined by the Priest at the time of absolution."" {Id. c. 87, 
 88.) These Penances, which they declare to be divine wor- 
 ship, are extraordinary fasting, frequent repetitions of prayers, 
 making suffering pilgrimages, unusual severities, (2.) contribu- 
 tions for pious and charitable uses, • all of which may be com- 
 muted for a pecuniary payment. 
 
 The fourth Council of Lateran, Can. 21, ordains " that every 
 one of the faithful of both sexes, after they come to the years 
 of discretion, shall, in private, faithfully confess all their sins, at 
 least once a year, to their own pastor ; and take care to fulfil, 
 to the best of their power, the Penance enjoined them."*' 
 " Penance being at all times necessary for all men, who had 
 defiled themselves with any grievous sin, in order to their 
 obtaining grace and justification."*"* {Cone. Trid. Sess. XIV. 
 c.l.) " For they who by sin have fallen from the grace of justi- 
 fication, are enabled again to be justified, when, God exciting 
 them through the sacrament of Penance, they recover that lost 
 grace by the merit of Christ."*"* {Id.) 
 
 In regard to Satisfaction, the holy Synod declares, that it is 
 false and wholly foreign from the word of God, that when the 
 guilt of sin is remitted by God, the whole punishment due to it 
 is also remitted. It is an error manifestly refiited (to say 
 nothing of tradition) by sundry illustrious examples in the 
 Holy Scriptures ; and, truly, the nature of the divine justice 
 seems to demand, that they who through ignorance have 
 sinned before baptism, should be taken into favour in a man- 
 
110 
 
 ner different from those, who, having been once freed from the 
 servitude of sin and the devil, and having received the Holy 
 Ghost, have not feared, knowingly, to violate the temple of 
 God, and grieve the Divine Spirit. Besides, it is becoming 
 the mercy of God, not to pardon our sins without any satisfac- 
 tory punishment ; lest taking occasion from thence to think 
 lightly of sinning, we fall into more grievous crimes. Doubt- 
 less these satisfactory chastisements greatly withdraw from sin, 
 and, checking the sinner, cause him to be more vigilant and 
 cautious. They likewise serve to cure the evil effects of sin, 
 and to extirpate, by the exercise of the contrary virtues, the 
 bad habits that have been contracted. To this must be added, 
 that while we thus, by making satisfaction, suffer for our sins, 
 we are made to conform to Him who satisfied for us, and from 
 whom all our sufficiency is derived ; we thence have a sure 
 pledge, that if we suffer with him we shall be glorified with 
 him. It is, therefore, the duty of the Ministers of the Church, 
 as far as prudence shall suggest, weighing the character of 
 sins, and the dispositions of the sinner, to enjoin salutary and 
 proper penitential satisfactions ; lest, by conniving at sins, and 
 by a criminal indulgence, imposing the performance of the 
 slightest penances for great crimes, they be made partakers of 
 others' sins. Let them ever consider, that what they enjoin 
 must tend, not only to the maintenance of better conduct, and 
 the cure of past infirmity, but also to the punishment of the 
 sins that have been confessed." (Cone. Trid. Sess. XIV, 
 C.8.) (3.) 
 
 II. Of Absolution. This can only be pronounced by the 
 Priest, whose words, " I absolve thee," &c., constitute the 
 Form of this sacrament ; {Cat. Trid. P. II. De Poenit.) and 
 confer, as is the property of a sacrament, the grace which they 
 signify. For it is expressly stated, that in this sacrament " the 
 
HI 
 
 penitents stand as criminals before a tribunal, that they may be 
 released by the sentence of the Priest." (Cone. Trid. Sess. 
 XIV. c. 2.) For, " although the Absolution of the Priest be 
 the dispensation of a benefit belonging to another, yet it is not 
 merely a naked ministerial act of either announcing the Gos- 
 pel, or declaring that sins are pardoned, but it is equivalent to 
 a judicial act, wherein sentence is pronounced by himself, as a 
 Judge." (Id. c. 6.) The Council of Trent (Sess. XIV. e. 8.) 
 declares, that, " though the absolution or pardon of the more 
 flagrant and notorious crimes be reserved for the Pope, and the 
 superior Clergy, yet, in the hour of death, any Priest is au- 
 thorized to remit any sins." 
 
 The Minister of this sacrament must be a Bishop, or a 
 Priest duly authorized ; i.e., who, besides the power of orders, 
 has a spiritual jurisdiction over the persons who apply to him 
 in this sacrament. Hence every Roman Catholic Priest is not 
 a Confessor: his orders only give him power to act in this 
 character when, by competent authority, he acquires jurisdic- 
 tion. The Priest who confers this sacrament is tied down, by 
 every law, divine and human, to an eternal secrecy as to what 
 he hears in it. (4.) 
 
 OBSERVATIONS. 
 
 (l.) By means of Auricular Confession, the Church probes the secrets 
 of every heart, and thrusts its hands into every purse. We may thus 
 judge what must be the power and influence in society, of a numerous and 
 vigilant Clergy, familiar with the workings of every bosom, prescribing 
 a penance at their own discretion, and retaining or remitting the sins of 
 their penitents, at their own pleasure. This Penance, which usually con- 
 sisted in gome bodily mortifications, such as fasts, vigils, and scourgings, 
 or in the repetition of certain prayers and external acts of worship, 
 might, with the consent of the Priest, be commuted for the payment of 
 
112 
 
 money, or might even be performed by proxy. This gave the Priesthood 
 unbounded power over the minds, bodies, and purses of a people, already 
 imbued to saturation with superstitious credulity. While this continued 
 in all its force, the sacerdotal influence was irresistible. It was inevitable 
 that the most dreadful abuses and enormities should attend this system. 
 Maldonat, in his Treatise on the Sacraments, {Pcenit. de Conf. c. 2.) 
 states seven different opinions concerning the establishment of Confession. 
 The first is. Of those who denied it to be if divine right, but held it to be 
 useful in the Church. 2. Of those who made it to be only of ecclesias- 
 tical institution. 3. Of those who thought it derived from Apostolical 
 tradition. 4. Of some divines who held it to be instituted only by St. 
 James. 5. Of those who believe it to be of divine right, instituted by 
 Christ. 6. Of some who thought it instituted in the Old Testament. 
 7. Of those who held it instituted by Christ, not as a precept, but by way 
 of counsel. 
 
 The most sincere repentance, according to the Catholics, is not suffi- 
 cient to save a sinner, without confession and absolution, where there is 
 a possibility of applying to a Priest. On the other hand, they assert that 
 even imperfect repentance, a sorrow arising from the fear of hell, which 
 they call attrition, will save a sinner who confesses and receives absolu- 
 tion. The evident object of doctrines so inconsistent with the letter and 
 spirit of the Scriptures, is, no doubt, that of making the Priesthood 
 absolute masters of the people's consciences. One of the greatest evils 
 of Confession is, that it has changed the genuine repentance preached in 
 the Gospel — that conversion and change of life, which is the only true 
 external sign of the remission of sins through Christ, — into a ceremony 
 which silences remorse at the slight expense of a doubtful, temporary 
 sorrow for past offences. As the day of confession approaches, which, 
 for the greatest part, is only once a year, the Romanist grows restless and 
 gloomy. He mistakes the shame of a disgusting disclosure for sincere 
 repentance of his sinful actions. He, at length, goes through the dis- 
 agreeable task, and feels relieved. The old score is now cancelled, and 
 he may run into spiritual debt with a lighter heart. 
 
 The practice of Confession is, moreover, exceedingly injurious to the 
 purity of mind enjoined in the Scriptures. " Filthy communication " is 
 inseparable from the confessional: the Priest, in the discharge of the 
 duty imposed on him by his church, is bound to listen to the most 
 
<>^ 
 
 
 113 
 
 abominable description of all manner of sins. He must inquire into 
 every circumstance of the most profligate course of life. Men and 
 women, the young and the old, the married and the single, are bound to 
 describe to the Confessor the most secret actions and thoughts which are 
 either sinful in themselves, or may be so from accidental circumstances. 
 Consider the danger to which the Priests themselves are exposed, — a 
 danger so imminent, that the Popes have, on two occasions, been obliged 
 to issue the most severe laws against Confessors who openly attempt the 
 seduction of their female penitents. "With all these glaring and disgrace- 
 ful concomitant evils, the Church of Rome, with that perpetual watch- 
 fulness by which she has never omitted an opportunity of increasing her 
 power, has foisted upon the Chrfstian world what she calls the Sacrament 
 of Penance, obliging her members, as they wish for pardon of their sing, 
 to reveal them to a Priest, 
 
 The abolition of Auricular Confession by the Reformation, was a 
 stroke which cut at once the infinite ramifications with which the 
 hierarchical despotism had every where entwined its roots, and deprived 
 the Clergy of their enormous influence on Princes, and the great, on the 
 women, and in the bosom of every family. Of all the contrivances to 
 enthral mankind, and to usurp the entire command of them, that of 
 Auricular Confession appears the most impudent, and the most effectual. 
 That one set of men could persuade all other men, that it was their duty 
 to come and reveal to them every thing which they had done, and every 
 thing which they meant to do, would not be credible if it were not 
 proved by the fact. This circumstance rendered the Clergy masters of 
 the secrets of every family; it rendered them too the universal advisers; 
 when any person's intentions were laid before a Clergyman, it was his 
 business to explain what was lawful, and what was not, and under this 
 pretext to give what counsel he pleased: in this manner the Clergy 
 became masters of the whole system of human life ; the two objects they 
 chiefly pursued were, to increase the riches of the order, and to gratify 
 their senses and pride ; by using all their arts to cajole the great and 
 wealthy, and attacking them in moments of weakness, of sickness, and at 
 the hour of death, they obtained great and numerous bequests to the 
 Church : by abusing the opportunities they enjoyed with women, they 
 indulged their lusts ; and by the direction they obtained in the manage- 
 
 \ 
 
114 
 
 ment of every family, and every event, they exercised their love of power, 
 when they could not draw an accession of wealth. 
 
 Many of the "Works written with a view to instruct the Confessors 
 how to dispose of cases of conscience, contain most subtle examinations 
 of all imaginable impurities. One of these, De Matrimonio, by the 
 Spanish Jesuit, Thomas Sanchez, published at Genoa, 1592, with the 
 express approbation of, Pope Clement VIII., is a common sewer of 
 iniquity. It may be justly called a shameful work, composed with an 
 enormous curiosity, horrible and odious for its diligent exactness, pene- 
 trating into most monstrous, filthy, infamous, and diabolical matters. 
 The Confessional too often aflTords an opportunity for wicked and obscene 
 minds to give utterance to the conceptions of a depraved heart j and is 
 the place of assignation where the Confessor and the Confessed can too 
 securely indulge in all the disgusting and filthy conversation of the 
 wicked. 
 
 " It is most evident and plain, that this Auricular Confession hath not 
 the warrant of God's word, else it had not been lawful for Nectarius, 
 Bishop of Constantinople, upon a just occasion, to have put it down. 
 For, when any thing ordained of God is by the lewdness of men abused, 
 the abuse ought to be taken away, and the thing itself suffered to 
 remain. Moreover, these are St. Augustine's words : — ' What have I to 
 do with men, that they should hear my confession, as though they were 
 able to heal my diseases } A curious sort of men to know another's life, 
 but slothful to correct and amend their own. Why do they seek to hear 
 of me what I am, which will not hear of thee what they are? And how 
 can they tell, when they hear by me of myself, whether I tell the truth 
 or not ? sith, that no mortal man knoweth what is in the heart of man, 
 but the spirit of man which is in him } ' Augustine would not have 
 written thus, if Auricular Confession had been used in his time." 
 {Horn, of Repentance.') 
 
 (2.) " In one of these Processions," says Middleton, " made to St. 
 Peter's, in the time of Lent, I saw that ridiculous Penance of the Flagel- 
 lantes, or Self-Whippers, who march with whips in their hands, and 
 lash themselves as they go along, on their bare backs, till it is all 
 covered with blood, in the same manner as the fanatical Priests of 
 
115 
 
 Bellona, or the Syrian goddess, as well as the votaries of Isis, used to 
 slash and cut themselves of old, in order to please the goddess, by the 
 sacrifice of their own blood ; which mad piece of discipline we find fre- 
 quently mentioned, and as often ridiculed, by the ancient writers. 
 
 But they have another exercise of the same kind, and in the same 
 season of Lent, which, under the notion of "Penance, is still a more 
 absurd mockery of all rehgion. When on a certain day, appointed 
 annually for this discipline, men of all conditions assemble themselves 
 towards the evening, in one of the Churches of the city, where whips 
 or lashes made of cords, are provided, and distributed to eVery person 
 present ; and after they are all served, and a short office of devotion per- 
 formed, the candles being put out, upon the warning of a little bell, the 
 whole company begin presently to strip, and try the force of these whips 
 on their own backs, for the space of near an hour; during all which 
 time, the church becomes, as it were, the proper image of heU, where 
 nothing is heard but the noise of lashes and chains, mixed with the 
 groans of these self-tormentors ; till, satiated with their exercise, they are 
 content to put on their clothes, and the candles being lighted again, upon 
 ihe tinkling of a second bell, they aU appear in their proper dress. 
 
 (3.) The doctrine of Compensation is valued beyond all manner of value 
 in the divinity of the Sacred College. The Romanists having gained from 
 their votaries vast accumulations of silver and gold, precious stones, and 
 eyery other article of value, having also required of them an implicit 
 submission to Creeds and Confessions, and having further subjected 
 them to external mortifications, amounting, in some instances, to self- 
 denial and even self-torture, the question arises, by what means does the 
 Church reconcile her adherents to the repulsive part of her discipline ? 
 How does she persuade men to endure actual anguish and pain ? In 
 more direct terms, how does she repay them ? for there must be some 
 compensation for their severe losses. 
 
 In attempting to think out a reply to these inquiries, we are obliged to 
 confess, that although it seems not very difficult to explain the principle 
 on which men yield to moderate degrees of volunUry distress, yet phi- 
 losophy has found its line too short to fathom the depth of the fact, 
 that immense numbers of persons among the Roman Catholics have 
 deserted all the endearments of life, suffered almost all things, and done 
 
 i2 
 
116 
 
 almost all things, for the sake of what they considered to be the truth ; 
 and this, with the prospect of no recompense, in the least adequate, in a 
 human sense, to afford a competent reward : We refer to the expatriation, 
 poverty, hunger, thirst, nakedness, and exposure to death in its most 
 appalling forms, endured, for example, by Jesuit Missionaries, and to 
 the severities practised by some individuals attached to certain modifi- 
 cations of Monachism. We understand the motive and the recompense 
 of a patient, who endures, for instance, the excision of a mortified 
 member ;\ the prize is life, the alternative death. We sympathize with 
 a parent, who, to save a child from ruin, consigns himself to indigence 
 and the world's oblivion. 
 
 But where is any approach to proportion, between the martyr-life of a 
 Josephus a doloribus, in Cloisters more gloomy than those of La Trappe, 
 and the advantage proposed as the final result ? Or, if this measure of 
 suffering, (as the difficulty appears to class among questions of degrees,) 
 be capable of analysis, what enabled Sister Rachel and Sister Felicite to 
 sustain the anguish of an actual crucifixion, nailed as they were through 
 the hands and feet to two crosses, for upwards of three hours, during 
 which they affirmed, *' that they felt the most exquisite delight," affect- 
 ing sometimes to slumber, as if in a beatific trance, and sometimes 
 addressing the spectators in the fondling and babyish language of the 
 Nursery. 
 
 Let those who can furnish the natural ^history of the fact, then 
 proceed to explain the counterpart system of torture and excruciation 
 among the Hindoos. I will abandon this department of the inquiry 
 with one remark : — that if Catholicity be, as is contended, the only true 
 religion, because it can inspire its disciples with a calm disdain of agony 
 and death, Hindooism has equal, if not superior, claims upon^human cre- 
 dence ; a circumstance, which must precipitate a papal apologist upon 
 very thorny perplexities. In the mean time, the doctrine of Compensa- 
 tion is perfectly intelligible when interpreted in connexion with the 
 minor sacrifices offered by the Papal populace at the shrines of" 
 their divinities. A sensualist will fast, if you will allow him a Carnival ; 
 he will abstain from meat on Fridays, if you will take no notice of a ' 
 voluptuous life., fte will wear a vest of sackcloth, and wallow in ashes ^ 
 during Passion Week, on condition of re-assuming the purple and fine 
 linen at Easter. He will even attend daily Mass, if he may regularly 
 
 i 
 
117 
 
 retire from the wafer to the pursuits of avarice, vanity, and ambition. 
 He will give the Church his public homage on Sunday, provided the 
 church, in exchange, grant to his pleasures the rest of the week. In 
 other terms, bad men may be persuaded to observe the outward services 
 of religion, so long as religion does not interfere with the routine of pri- 
 vate life, or, what is with them exactly the same things the pleasures and 
 gains of the world. 
 
 Catholicity, and, indeed, nominal Protestantism, in all its ramifications, 
 is satisfied with an adherence to forms^ and an indolent assent to creeds. 
 If this kind of allegiance be rendered, beneficiary dues of the altar not 
 left in arrear, and respect shown to ecclesiastical officers, all is right. 
 Priests and people sleep on, and take their fatal rest. But the Grospel 
 considers all the public ministrations of religion, only as a means subser- 
 vient to a practical effect in daily conduct. If such effect be not discern- 
 ible, all the externals of the system, are regarded as a cause barren of 
 consequences ; or, if productive at all, fertile only in delusion and guilt. 
 
 The sacrifices demanded by the Gospel " are in no way allied," says 
 Dr. Chalmers, " with the penances, and the self-inflictions of a monastic 
 ritual, but are the essentials of spiritual discipline in all ages, and must 
 be undergone by every man, who is transformed by the Holy Ghost, 
 from one of the children of this world, to one of the children of light. 
 The utter renunciation of self, the surrender of all vanity, the patient 
 endurance of evils and wrongs, the crucifixion of natural and worldly 
 desires, the absorption of aU our interests and passions in the enjoyment 
 of God, and the subordination of all we do, and of all we feel, to his glory ; 
 these form the leading virtues of our pilgrimage, and in the very pro- 
 portion of their rarity, and their painfulness, are they the more effectual 
 tests of our regeneration." 
 
 (4.) But, leaving what may be considered a very inferior point of 
 examination, let us advance to the grand machinery of Absolution. No 
 one needs long to hesitate in ascertaining the super-eminent importance of 
 ibis movement, in the compensatory apparatus of the Roman Catholic 
 communion. Christianity has probably received her most cruel wound 
 from this instrument of her enemy's power. The weapon thus formed 
 against her, has indeed prospered ; and will go on to prosper, so long as 
 the evangelical prophecy is not more fully accomplished. Consciousness 
 
118 
 
 of guilt produces in human bosoms various degrees of uneasiness and 
 alarm; and considerable sacrifices will always be willingly made, to 
 obtain composure. No fact in the history of mankind is more obvious 
 than this. It was accordingly seen, that a conscience disordered by a 
 sense of sin, demanded a cure ; and Popery administered an opiate. This 
 is a medicament which suspends irritation and pain, but leaves the dis- 
 temper as it was found ; or, rather, it increases its malignity, and in such 
 cases, superinduces new forms of disease. But what patient is there, 
 who is not eager to soothe the paroxysms of pain, and to obtain even a 
 short respite from its bitterness, by whatever means he finds to be suc- 
 cessful } He takes the tranquillizing draught, and has the prospect of a 
 few hours' repose. This is precisely analogous to the vulgar effect of 
 remission of gins, among the Papal populace. Their transgressions are 
 not forgiven, but the consciousness of their existence, and the punishment 
 due on their account, is from time to time suspended. The opiate is ad- 
 ministered, and they sleep. But who does not discern the incalculable 
 value of having his medicament at command ? The Church of Rome 
 may amply repay the fines she exacts in the shape of fees, fastings, cere- 
 monial observances, and restrictions, when she gives back in return, to 
 guilty minds, even an indistinct and unsatisfactory persuasion that their 
 iniquities are forgotten. Now, in the indiscriminate and gregarious ad- 
 ministration of Absolution, the sacerdotal boon is bestowed, not when 
 vice is forsaken, for this cannot be known, but barely when it is con- 
 fessed. The confession may be insincere, yet the remission is plenary- 
 It is, therefore, most grateful to the confessed, and therefore, also, the 
 progression of the powers of Absolution is numbered among the richest 
 sources of Pontifical influence. 
 
 Such is the machinery of compensation, as put into action by the reli- 
 gion of human nature, under the name of the Holy Roman Catholic 
 Church. How despotic is its form of government, and yet how depend- 
 ent, for its very existence, on the abjectness and degradation of its sub- 
 jects ! For the secret truth-part of the underwork of the whole system 
 is, that while the hierarchy of Rome professes to be entirely independent 
 of human opinion, it is, all the while, the veriest slave to those whom it 
 affects to despise, and to rule with irresponsible right. Covertly it 
 flatters men's vanity, confirms their universal self-righteousness, and as j 
 before suggested, upholds for their sake, a magnificent scheme of Anti- 
 
119 
 
 nomian delusion. Does any Christian Philosopher feel the possibility of 
 doubting that Antichristianity has deluged the world with its doctrines, 
 by a skilful adaptation of them to the prejudices of a sinful race ; by 
 encouraging, on the one hand, what it professes to disallow on the other ; 
 and by reaching the climax of its guilt, when it succeeds, ultimately, in 
 teaching its adherents the dreadful art of being satisfied with them- 
 selves, and with their deceivers ? So that the superstition of the Ro- 
 manists, when exposed in the nakedness of its character, is discovered 
 to be nothing more than one division of a wicked world, holding in 
 captivity the rest, and by means of fetters forged by the selfsame slaves 
 whom they bind. It is the few who have gained the ascendancy 
 domineering over the many ; — the many, as in the instance of absolution, 
 being more than willing to transfer to the few their own guilt and re- 
 sponsibility ; and the few having the terrific power of assuring the 
 majority of their ability to sustain the pressure, and to effect also the 
 removal of the burden. It is thus that, by the ministrations of Anti- 
 christ, bad men gain what they want, — a regular licence to live as they 
 please ; and a provision against the alarms of death, by periodical ac- 
 quittals at the bar of the assumed vicegerents of Heaven. Whatever 
 may be said of this statement, as being an unfair account of the matter, 
 and a detail, not of the doctrine of absolution, but of its abuses ; I answer 
 again, that, in all human concerns, we must argue on them, not as they 
 exist in the refinements of theory, but as settled down Into practice ; 
 when a recurrence to original principles only suffices to prove, that these 
 tenets lie buried in obsolete statutes, forgotten and inefficient, derided 
 and despised. Besides, we will venture to assert, almost without the fear 
 of contradiction from Papists themselves, that if Absolution were pro- 
 nounced exclusively on sincere penitents, (supposing such sincerity were 
 ascertainable,) the confessionals would be deserted both by Priests and 
 people; the popularity of the invention would be changed for undisguised 
 hatred ; the charm of the mighty* sorcery would be dissolved, and the 
 foundations of the eternal city shaken. 
 
OF ORDERS. 
 
 " If any one shall say, that Orders of Holy Ordination is 
 not truly and properly a Sacrament, instituted by our Lord 
 Jesus Christ, or that it is a human contrivance, invented by 
 men who were ignorant of ecclesiastical affairs, or that it is 
 only a particular rite of chusing Ministers of the word of God, 
 or of Sacraments, let him be anathema; or, that the Holy 
 Ghost is not given by holy Ordination, let him be anathema."" 
 {Cone. Trid, Sess, XXIII. Can. 3, 4.) " Since it is evident 
 that by sacred Ordination, which is performed by words and 
 external signs, grace is conferred ; hence let no man doubt, 
 that Order is truly and properly one of the seven Sacraments 
 oftheChurch;' (/6id) 
 
 OBSERVATIONS. 
 
 We affirm that Christ appointed a succession of Pastors in different 
 ranks, to be continued in his Church for the work of the Gospel, and the 
 care of Bouls, and that, as the Apostles settled the Churches, they ap- 
 pointed different orders of Bishops, Priests, and Deacons ; and we beUeve 
 that all who are dedicated to serve in these ministries, after they are ex- 
 amined, and judged worthy of them, ought to be separated to them by 
 the imposition of hands, and by prayer. These were the only rites 
 that we find practised by the Apostles. For many ages the church of 
 God used no other, therefore we acknowledge that Bishops, Priests, 
 and Deacons, ought to be blessed and dedicated to the holy ministry 
 
121 
 
 by imposition of hands and prayer; and that then they are received 
 according to the order and practice settled by the Apostles to serve in 
 their respective degrees. Men thus separated have thereby authority to 
 perfect the saints, or Christians ; that is, to perform the sacred functions 
 among them, to minister to them, and to build them up in their most 
 holy faith. And we think no other persons, without such a separation 
 and consecration, can lawfully touch the holy things. In all which, we 
 separate the qualifications of the functions from the inward qualities of 
 the person, the one not at all depending on the other ; the one relating 
 only to the order and the good government of the Society, and the other 
 relating indeed to the salvation of him that oflSciates, but not at all to 
 the validity of his oflBce or service. 
 
 But in all this we see nothing like a sacrament; here is neither 
 matter, form, nor institution; here is only prayer; the laying on of 
 hands is only a gesture in prayer, that imports the designation of the 
 person so prayed over. 
 
 Therefore, though we continue this institution of Christ, as he and his 
 Apostles settled it in the church, yet we deny it to be a Sacrament ; we 
 also deny all the inferior orders to be sacred below that of Deacon. The 
 other orders, we do not deny, might be well, and on good reasons 
 appointed by the church, as steps through which clerks might be 
 made to pass, in order to a stricter examination and trial of them, 
 like d^rees in Universities. But making them, at least, the subdiaco- 
 nate, sacred, as it is reckoned by Pope Eugenius, is, we think beyond 
 the power of the Church, for here a degree of orders is made a Sa- 
 crament, and yet that degree is not named in the Scripture, nor in the 
 first ages. It is true, it came to be soon used with the inferior orders, 
 but it cannot be pretended to be a Sacrament, since no divine institu- 
 tion can be brought for it. And we cannot but observe, that in the 
 definition that Eugenius has given of the Sacraments, which is an 
 authentical piece in the Roman Church, where he reckons Priests, 
 Deacons, and Sub-deacons, as belonging to the Sacrament of orders, he 
 does not name Bishops, though their being of divine institution is not 
 questioned in that church. Perhaps the spirit with which they acted at 
 that time in Basil, offended him so much, that he was more set on 
 depressing, than on raising them. In the Council of Trent, in which 
 BO much zeal appeared for recovering the dignity of the Episcopal Order, 
 
122 
 
 at that time so much eclipsed by the Papal usurpation, when the Sacra- 
 ment of Orders was treated of, they reckon seven degrees of them, the 
 highest of which is, that of Priest. So that though they decreed that a 
 Bishop was, by the divine institution, above a Priest, they did not decree 
 that the office was an Order, or a Sacrament; and the Schoolmen do 
 generally explain Episcopate, as being a higher degree, or extension of 
 priesthood, rather than a new Order, or a Sacrament ; the main thing in 
 their thoughts being that, which, if true, is the greatest of all miracles, 
 the wonderful conversion made in transubstantiation, they seem to think 
 that no order can be aboye that which qualifies a man for so great a 
 performance. 
 
OF EXTREME UNCTION. 
 
 This Sacrament, we are taught, " most fitly represents the 
 grace of the Holy Spirit, which invisibly anoints the soul of 
 the sick ;" {Cone, Trid. Sess. XIV. /) for the holy Synod 
 " declares and teaches, that our merciful Saviour, who was 
 willing that his servants should, at all times, be provided with 
 salutary remedies against all the attacks of their enemies ; as, 
 in the other Sacraments, he prepared means whereby, during 
 life, they might be preserved from every grievous evil ; so 
 would he guard the close of life by the Sacrament of Extreme 
 Unction, as by a strong barrier." {Id. Sess. XIV. c. 1.) 
 " This holy anointing of the sick is instituted, as it were, a 
 true and proper Sacrament of the New Testament ; hinted aty 
 indeed, by Christ our Lord, in St. Mark, but recommended 
 and preached to the faithful by the Apostle St. James; he 
 saith, ' Is any sick among you, let him send for the elders of 
 the Church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with 
 oil, in the name of the Lord, and the prayer of faith shall 
 save the sick, and the Lord shall ease him;' (original, raise 
 him up ;) * and if he be in sin, they shall be forgiven him:' 
 by which words the Church hath learned this, as it were from 
 Apostolic tradition, received by hand." {Id. Sess. XIV. c. 1.) 
 ** If any one, therefore, shall say Extreme Unction is not 
 
124 
 
 truly and properly a sacrament instituted by Christ our Sa- 
 viour, and preached by the Apostle St. James ; but that it is a 
 human invention,— let him be accursed. If any one shall say 
 that the holy anointing of the sick doth not confer grace, nor 
 remit sins, nor relieve the sick, but that it had long since 
 ceased, as if of old it hath only been the grace of healing, — ^let 
 him be accursed." (Id. Sess. XIV. Can. 1, 2.) 
 
 OBSERVATIONS. 
 
 This Sacrament, as it is called, is not used for the'recovery of the sick, 
 but only when they are in danger of death, and, therefore, they call it 
 the sacrament of the dying. As to the words of St. James (chap. v. ver. 
 14, IS,) on which the Church of Rome huilds this sacrament. Cardinal 
 Cajetan says, '* The sacrament of Extreme Unction cannot he hence col- 
 lected, either hy the words, or by the effects ; for the unction properly 
 concerns the healing of bodily diseases, but the unction of the Roman 
 Church is used only for the sick, past recovery, and tendeth to the re- 
 mission of sins." 
 
 By Pope Gregory's ritual, the oil is consecrated to cure all pains, in- 
 firmities, and sicknesses of the body ; and when the sick is anointed, the 
 prayer asks of God to cure him of his infirmities, and to remit his sins, 
 to restore him to health, that he may be recovered and healed. This is 
 the idea which runs through all the ancient service, and in the ancient 
 missals, the recovery of the sick persons is usually the object of the ser- 
 vice; while the remission of sins, and other spiritual blessings, were 
 considered as belonging to it, as they did to every other service which 
 was performed in faith. The Council of Trent, however, has now 
 completely changed the intention of the ceremony. 
 
 The reason why the Protestant Churches have rejected this practice is, 
 because they find proof in the Scripture, that it was confined to those 
 apostolic times when miraculous gifts were exercised in the Church, and 
 that it was of no avail, unless performed by one whose anointing would 
 cure the sick. They find also, that this practice was not continued in 
 those times when miraculous gifts first ceased ; and that those Pastors in 
 the Church, who were conscious that they did not possess such powers, 
 did not attempt to anoint the sick. All this clearly appears, from the 
 
135 
 
 silence of all the Christian writers for four centuries after Christ ; for 
 the Romanists can show no mention of this ceremony until the time of 
 Pope Innocent, in the fifth century. After this, when superstition in- 
 creased among the people, the Priests began to anoint the sick and infirm, 
 when they visited them, using, at the same time, prayers for their re- 
 covery. This practice was frequently objected to; and it was the 
 Council of Florence which first ordered, that " this sacrament should not 
 be given to a sick person, unless his death be feared." 
 
 The present custom is, to anoint the organs of the five senses, the 
 Priest repeating these words ; " By this holy unction, and through his 
 most bounteous mercy, may God forgive thee whatever thou hast sinned 
 by seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, and touching." He then gives the 
 final pardon, for spiritual comfort in the last agony. If this institution 
 be warranted by Scripture, it is a'great matter of comfort ; but if it be 
 not warranted, it is, indeed, very great presumption. When such high 
 pretensions are set forth by the Priests, it is no wonder that the ignorant 
 and superstitious should feel anxious about this ceremony. When a 
 Protestant is dying, the Clergyman visits him, and prays with him ; 
 there is, however, no mystery or secrecy in the business ; the family and 
 friends of the sick man are invited to be present, and the service is de- 
 signed for their instruction also. But when a Romanist is dying, the 
 P*riest comes with great ceremony, a candle is lighted ; much secrecy and 
 mystery is observed, and while Latin prayers are recited, and various 
 ceremonies are gone through, there is an impression made on the minds 
 of the ignorant, that something is doing for the dying person, which is, 
 they know not how, to benefit his soul, and to help him forward towards 
 heaven. Yet, so great is their ignorance, and so strange the inconsist- 
 encies of the Priests' doctrines, that though, in Extreme Unction, they 
 give a final pardon, and are paid for it, yet this final pardon will not free 
 the soul from purgatory : it must go thither notwithstanding, and remain 
 there, until more money is paid for prayers and masses, to bring it out. 
 
 The great evil of this, and, indeed, of all the Popish errors, is, that the 
 minds of the people are turned away from the true ground of hope 
 toward God, and they are led to think, that money paid for certain cere- 
 monies, will insure them whatever they can require. It is in vain to say, 
 that money has nothing to do with the efficacy of the rite : for it is well 
 known, that the poorest wretch would part with his last shilling to insure 
 
126 
 
 his anointing, and would be terrified and alarmed, were a charitable 
 Priest to refuse taking the money from him. The Bible gives no encou- 
 ragement to any man who lives in sin and ignorance, to hope that he will 
 be saved in that state ; " all men are called upon every where to repent ;" 
 God hath sent his Son to be the Saviour of sinners ; '^ he has finished 
 transgression, made an end of sin, made reconciliation for iniquity, and 
 brought in everlasting righteousness ;" (Dan. ix. 24;) and "whosoever 
 calleth on the name of the Lord shall be saved;" because " he that be- 
 lieveth on the Son of God hath everlasting life, and shall not come into 
 condemnation." The real Christian feels that sickness or death are sent 
 from his heavenly Father, and he is not only submissive, but resigned ; 
 for he knows that all things shall work together for good to them that love 
 the Lord. He can join humbly in the prayers which are offered to God 
 for his recovery, when he is sick ; he can unite in those supplications by 
 which his departing soul is commended to God, if his senses are left him, 
 because he knows in whom he has believed, and is persuaded that he is 
 able to keep that which is committed unto him to the last day. Let 
 common sense, therefore, judge between the two cases : — one man dies 
 happy, because he has been anointed, and has received the rites of his 
 Church ; another dies happy, because he knows and feels the grace of 
 the Lord Jesus, who, when " he was rich, for our sakes became poor, 
 that we, through his poverty, might be rich." (2 Cor. viii. 9.) Of the 
 one we must say, ''He feedeth upon ashes; a deceived heart hath turned 
 him aside, that he cannot deliver his soul, nor say, is there not a lie in 
 my right hand.>" (Isai. xliv. 20.) Of the other, the Scripture saith, 
 " Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord : even so saith the Spirit, 
 for they rest from their labours." (Rev. xiv. 13.) 
 
 A late writer, in reviewing the Sacraments of the Romish Church, thus 
 strongly, but honestly, expresses the feelings and sentiments of his mind: 
 *' Wherever Popery is dominant, no man's house is his castle : its Minis- 
 ters have the privilege of the entr^. Now the most important events in 
 private life, are the circumstances of birth, marriage, and death. They 
 are the three centres, circled by the most influential arrangements of 
 private families. 
 
 " In the first of these originated a sacrament, constituted such by Christ 
 himself. He appointed it as a visible means of grace. With the excep- 
 tion of one very limited sect, the members of which consider the injunc- 
 
127 
 
 tion as purely spiritual, it has been adopted, and in its plain, literal 
 meaning, by the whole Christian world. This initiatory sacrament be- 
 came highly useful in the machinery of the Vatican. For, besides the 
 advantage derived from an elaborate process at the baptigtery, it domes- 
 ticated, on the occasion, sacerdotal persons, in houses not their own. It 
 brought them into contact with families, under circumstances peculiarly 
 interesting to family feelings ; and taught parents and relations uncon- 
 sciously to connect the magic of priestly influence with the rising impor- 
 tance of the house. This point being gained, it became necessary to 
 make another grand domiciliary visit, at a moment when nuptial festivi- 
 ties and expectations opened human hearts, and when blessings from the 
 Priest might again be peculiarly welcome. To meet these emotions, 
 marriage was elevated to the dignity of a sacrament. It furnished a new 
 source of intercommunion between the ruler and the subject, and a 
 source, not scanty, in supplying the ecclesiastical government with aug- 
 mented influence, and the governed with a deeper feeling of dependence. 
 It increased the mysterious sensation, that the Priest was a kind of pre- 
 siding genius over the entire system of private life ; it was felt that his 
 sanction wa« essential to every movement of the house, and that only so 
 far as the schemes of a family were connected with the awful institutions 
 of the Church, could they be regarded as promising the least success. 
 But chiefly did the inventors of the sacramental unction, administered to 
 the dying, discover the potency of a rite, which should make an appeal, 
 inexpressibly tender and overpowering to human feelings, at a moment 
 when the parent, the husband, the child, the friend, is retiring within 
 the shades of the eternal world. It was a master-stroke of policy, to 
 ordain the presence and mystic ministrations of a Priest, (I speak not of 
 really pious and pastoral offices, so endeared to the good, and so impor- 
 tant to the wicked, at this juncture,) as part of the indispensable attend- 
 ance among the deepest solemnities of our nature : those which await us 
 in the chambers of sorrow, pain, and death. If, at such times, the heart 
 be most open to the impressions of true religion, it is also open to the 
 gloomy influences of superstition ; so that under such circumstances, even 
 irreligious indifference becomes alarmed at the sight of itself, and is glad, 
 ai it were, to find a sanctuary from its terrors in the presence of a Minis- 
 ter of religion, who enters the chamber, as it is supposed, possessed of an 
 ability to communicate pardon and security. 
 
128 
 
 " Bad men, in the hour of domestic calamity, are compelled to give 
 themselves pause amidst the hurry and thoughtlessness of life, and to 
 stand aside, for an interval, from the crowd with whom they are gene- 
 rally intermingled. Catholicity improves the opportunity. It cannot 
 make them true Christians; neither is this its aim; but it makes a 
 timely eflPbrt to draw them into more intimate union with the Church. 
 
 " Accordingly, when they gather round the bed of their dying relatives 
 and friends, and take, at least, a passive share in the ritual of the Eu- 
 charist, and of the Unction in extremities, they obtain from these cere- 
 monies a more mysterious reliance than ever on the pretensions of the 
 Priesthood. They witness a member of that order allowing the Viati- 
 cum, — a word, in ecclesiastical lexicography, of no trivial import, — and 
 accompanying the pilgrim in the last stage of his journey, even to the 
 very confines of the unseen state. The impression among the by-standers 
 is, that the administration of the unction has ensured to the departing 
 soul a favorable acceptance at the tribunal of God. Oh ! bring me not 
 volumes of controversy, to prove the precise date of the various modifica- 
 tions of Papal imposture ! The system is its own accuser, its own wit- 
 ness, its own judge. When a despot would enslave his subjects, he 
 selects what are judged to be efficient instruments, as the exigencies of 
 the moment rise ; and, if there be no counteraction, he succeeds. The 
 usages of the Latin Church, in a sick chamber, are nothing better than a 
 splendid form of Antinomianism : that general and cherished heresy of 
 mankind, which relieves our willing souls from the burden of responsi- 
 bility. It permits, indeed, the ordinary Romanist, (for I speak not of 
 the few enlightened individuals who rise above, and virtually reject, the 
 delusion of their own system,) to transfer, as it were, his guilt to a sinner 
 like himself; and that sinner is an offender, who desperately adds to his 
 other transgressions (not, however, I would hope, in all cases, con- 
 sciously ; for the Priest may believe as firmly in his own power, as the 
 ignorant laic who seeks its efficacy,) the crime of speaking peace, where 
 there is no peace. The Eucharist and the Unction, indiscriminately ad- 
 ministered as they are, have a palpable^tendency to hide the realities of 
 eternity. They delude the dying with a persuasion of their final safety ; 
 and not only soothe the survivors with an impression that all is well with 
 the dead, but that, when their own last hour draws on, they too shall be 
 indulged with the same means of security, and enter the grave of 9 
 
129 
 
 believer, after having lived the life of an infidel. They calculate on the 
 expectation, that their passport will, according to the invariable routine 
 of the spiritual office, be duly signed and sealed ; and though the bearer 
 may be detained in a separate state of purgatorial anguish for a season, 
 yet that the certificate may at length be confidently presented at the gates 
 of Paradise. 
 
 " Well may the theologians of the school of the Vatican compose their 
 dissertations on the power of the keys ! Let it be added. Well may those 
 who have been blessed with a scriptural knowledge of the Gospel, mourn 
 and weep over the spiritual darkness and death of mankind, and breathe 
 out, as the Spirit helps their infirmities, prayers and supplications, with 
 strong crying and tears, (and these are the true miseries of the Universal 
 Church,) that God would bring into the way of truth all them that err 
 and are deceived ! Every feeling of contempt, disgust, abhorrence, and 
 indignation, (for all these are naturally awakened in the bosoms of those 
 who wander among the machinations of Popery,) should be absorbed into 
 emotions of compassion, and into acts of intercession. ' Father, forgive 
 them, for they know not what they do !'" 
 
OF MATRIMONY. 
 
 " As Matrimony, in the Evangelical Law, excels, through 
 Christ, the primitive contracts, it is justly to be numbered 
 among the Sacraments of that law ; and so the Fathers, the 
 Councils, and universal tradition have always taught." '' If 
 any man says that it is not truly and properly one of the seven 
 Sacraments, instituted by Jesus Christ, but that it is an insti- 
 tution only of the Church, and does not confer grace, — let him 
 be anathema." (1.) {Cone. Trid. Sess. XXIV, Can. 1.) And 
 " if any man says, a Churchman in holy orders may marry or 
 contract marriage, and that when it is contracted it is good and 
 valid, notwithstanding any ecclesiastical law to the contrary, 
 or that any who have vowed continence, may contract marriage, 
 let him be anathema," {Id. Can. 9,) for, " it is an unworthy 
 deed, that those persons who ought to be the holy vessels of 
 the Lord, should debase themselves so far as to become the 
 vile slaves of chambering uncleanness." (Cone. Lat. Sec. Can. 
 VI. Jpud Labbe, Vol. X. p. 1003.) (2.) " Whosoever shall say, 
 that the state of Matrimony is to be preferred to the state of 
 virginity or single life, and that it is not better, or more blessed, 
 to continue in virginity or single life, — ^let him be accursed." 
 (Cone. Trid. Sess. XXIV. Can. 10.) 
 
131 
 
 OBSERVATIONS. 
 
 (l.) The tenth Canon of the Synod of Neo-Caesarea shows the sense 
 of the Fathers on this subject : " If Deacons declare, at the time of 
 their ordination, that they would marry ; they should not be deprived of 
 their functions if they did marry." 
 
 Siricius, who died A. D. 398, was the first Pope who forbad the mar- 
 riage of the Clergy ; but it is probable that this prohibition was b>\t little 
 attended to, as the Celibacy of the Clergy seems not to have been com- 
 pletely established till the Papacy of Gregory VII., at the end of the 
 eleventh century. 
 
 (2.) Pope Gregory VII. had already caused the marriage of the Clergy 
 to be prohibited in the 13th Canon of the first Roman Council, which 
 was held A. D. 1074. {See Labbe, Vol X. p. 326.) His view seems to 
 have been, to separate them as much as possible from all other interests 
 than that of the Church ; and to bring them into an almost total depen- 
 dence upon his authority, to the end that all temporal power might, in a 
 high degree, and with greater facility, be subjugated to the Papal juris- 
 diction. " It is a greater wickedness," says Bellarmine, *' for an eccle- 
 siastical person to marry than to commit fornication ; because he which 
 is so married is made unable to keep his vow, the which he that commit- 
 teth fornication is not." {De Mon. Lib. II. c. 34.) 
 
 Men with wives and families belonging to them, are connected in a 
 thousand ways, with the country in which they live ; they exist beyond 
 themselves, and the welfare of those nearest to them is inseparable from 
 their own. Our families also are pledges which we give of our fidelity to 
 our country ; we cannot be unfaithful to her, without involving in its 
 consequences those who are as dear to us as ourselves ; we rejoice in her 
 prosperity, or are afflicted at her misfortunes, not for ourselves only, but 
 because we anticipate the good or evil which may result from each to our 
 connexions, and to our posterity. By such ties has Providence been 
 pleased to bind mankind together, and to make them, not detached 
 individuals, but members of aggregate bodies, connected by common 
 affections and common interests. To the union thus formed by nature. 
 Religion, well understood, gives additional strength and consistency. 
 
 k2 
 
132 
 
 When, however, the Popes began to form plans of ambition and power, 
 it appeared how useful it would be to have bodies of men, in different 
 countries, detached as much as possible from local affections and interests, 
 ready to rank themselves under their orders, and to pay an implicit 
 obedience to their paramount commands. Nothing could be so effectual 
 for this purpose as the Celibacy of the Clergy ; they formed bodies of 
 the above description. 
 
 These motives cannot be better explained, than in the words of Cardinal 
 Rodolpho Pio di Carpi in a Consistory, where the application made to 
 the Council of Trent by the King of France and the French Bishops, 
 for the administration of the Sacrament in both kinds to the Laity, was 
 under the consideration of Pope Pius IV. and his Cardinals. After 
 stating that, if this were granted, they would proceed to * demand the 
 Marriage of Priests, and the use of the Vulgar Tongue in the adminis- 
 tration of the Sacraments,' he goes on to say, * That if Priests were 
 allowed to marry, the consequence would be, that having families, wives, 
 and children, they would no longer depend on the Pope, but on their own 
 Sovereigns; and their affection for their children would make them comply 
 with any thing to the prejudice of the Church. They would also endea- 
 vour to make their benefices hereditary ; and in a very short time the 
 Apostolic See would be confined within the limits of Rome itself. That 
 before Celibacy was established, this See derived no advantage from other 
 nations and countries ; but by means of it became possessed of so many 
 benefices, of which, by the Marriage of Priests, it would in a short time 
 be deprived.' 
 
 But perhaps it may be said, that whatever temporal interests the 
 Popes might have in the Celibacy of the Clergy, the nature of their office 
 makes marriage improper ; and therefore, that the rule which prohibits 
 it was good ; that their time and thoughts are to be entirely occupied in 
 sacred functions ; that love, even in its purest form, ought not to find 
 admission into their minds ; and that the consequent worldly cares attend- 
 ing a wife and family, were inconsistent with their situation, and incom- 
 patible with their duties. All this is very weU, if you could procure 
 Clergy made of materials different from those of which men are composed; 
 if you could have beings for that purpose without human affections, and 
 without human passions, such as we might suppose angelic natures to be. 
 
But having in fact no other materials than men to make use of, we must 
 take them with all their natural dispositions about them ; and endeavour, 
 not to extinguish these, (which is impossible,) but to regulate them in a 
 manner most likely to produce virtuous and exemplary conduct in the 
 persons, whose virtue and example is most important, from the influence 
 their religious character gives them on the morals of the community at 
 large. 
 
 Now nothing is more certain, than that the probability of men's acting 
 well increases just in proportion, as the temptations to act ill are dimi- 
 nished. If, therefore, there be a class of persons, whose situations in 
 society requires conduct peculiarly unexceptionable, from such persons 
 all circumstances of a contrary tendency should be studiously removed. 
 The application is very obvious. jTrhat impulse of nature, by which we | 
 are led to form connexions with the other sex, is one of the most powerful | 
 that belong to us, not, however, more powerful, than the important pur- 
 poses for which it was given us, require ; for our Creator adjusts our 
 feelings to the use we have for them. This impulse, when properly 
 directed, is productive of the greatest blessings ; it forms one of the 
 strongest ties by which human society is connected, and is therefore the 
 object of laws in their earliest state ; it is the true source of our domestic 
 comfort and happiness, and tends to promote, in general, benevolent and 
 virtuous dispositions. Such is ite effect, when properly directed. But 
 when, from dislike of reasonable restraint, indulgence is given to irr^ular 
 passions, or prohibitions and impediments are opposed to those wliich 
 cannot be suppressed, but might have been regulated, nothing occasions 
 more disorder in human society and in human conduct. The mischief it 
 does, is in proportion to the efficacy it might have had in doing good. 
 
 Laws, to be effectual, must be conformable to our nature, and founded 
 on good sense ; if they are not such, they, in a great measure, defeat 
 themselves. Power may, to a certain degree, compel obedience to them ; 
 but they will be continually eluded, and eluded with impunity. When 
 they shock our natural and general feelings, humane and reasonable men 
 would rather let the transgressor go unpunished, than be punished with 
 what appears to them disproportionate severity ; or for a fault, which 
 (considering natural infirmities) he could hardly help committing. They 
 are ready to lay the blame on the unreasonable law, rather than on the 
 unfortunate, though, perhaiMi, not quite innocent, transgressor. 
 
134 
 
 If ever such remarks as the foregoing were true, they are true with 
 respect to the Celibacy of the Roman Catholic Religious Orders and Clergy. 
 That Church has in this instance laid a prohibition on a vast number of 
 human beings, in a case, where all of mature age and understanding 
 ought to be exclusively (allowing a reasonable attention to the authority 
 and influence of parents and friends) judges for themselves. It may be 
 said, perhaps, ' they do judge for themselves, when they engage in a 
 religious profession, and make the vows required by it.' But ought 
 young men, at an early period of life, with little knowledge of the 
 world, and, perhaps, of themselves, destined often rather by their parents 
 for an Ecclesiastical profession, than led to it by their own judgment or 
 choice, to make vows, by their terms, irrevocable, concerning things not 
 ordained by God, (as it is acknowledged,) which afterwards, from a 
 thousand circumstances, from temperament, from experience, from more 
 extended views, they would give the world to recall ? Still less should 
 poor young women, yet more inexperienced, more helpless, more subject 
 to the tyranny of family arrangements made for narrow and pecuniary 
 purposes, immure themselves in convents for life, without considering, 
 or perhaps being suffered to consider, whether they were not better qua- 
 lified for making amiable and affectionate wives, tender and attentive 
 mothers ; whether, as such, they would not be more happy in themselves, 
 and contribute more to the happiness of others. The human mind 
 shrinks from what is irrevocable ; and the situation, which would only 
 excite moderate uneasiness, if it admitted of change, when unchangeable, 
 produces despair. 
 
 And what, in truth, has been the effect of Clerical Celibacy in the 
 Church of Rome ? Has it produced real chastity, any more than the 
 renunciation of riches by some Orders, has been accompanied with real 
 poverty ? What judgment are we to form of the concurrent testimony of 
 aU times with respect to this ? 
 
 It might be expected that the Popes, who imposed this law of Celibacy 
 on their Clergy, would themselves set an example of strict obedience to 
 it. Nothing less. They did not, indeed, marry ; but concubinage supplied 
 the place of Marriage. We hear their children spoken of as such by 
 all historians, with as httle reserve as the legitimate children of avowed 
 marriage. It was the ambition of most of them to aggrandize their Sons ; 
 and the policy of a Papal reign was often wholly employed to procure 
 
135 
 
 for them, by wars or intrigues, establishments and principalities. The 
 Daughters were disposed of to answer the same purposes of ambition. 
 This was the common case. But in the list of Popes some characters 
 occur, whose voluptuousness and infamy cannot be looked on without 
 abhorrence. It may be presumed, that the great and rich Ecclesiastics 
 of different countries did not, in this respect, observe a very strict system 
 of morals, when they had before them such examples of irregularity in the 
 Heads of their Church, the Vicars of Christ ; which examples must be 
 supposed also to have had their effect on Ecclesiastics of all degrees. 
 
 Nothing shows with clearer evidence the difficulty of enforcing obe- 
 dience to this law of Celibacy on the Clergy at large, than the multiphed 
 decrees of Councils and Popes, and injunctions of Legates, for this pur- 
 pose. Marriage was, indeed, prevented ; but concubinage, if it was not 
 tolerated, was, at least, for the most part, connived at ; and when it wa« 
 not, was treated as less crhninal than marriage. The first was confessedly 
 a breach of the Law of God ; but the last was contumacy against the 
 authority of the Church, and as such punished more severely. And our 
 Henry VIII., in the true spirit of Popery, by a statute of the Slst year 
 of his reign, made marriage the greater offence, and punishable as felony 
 in both parties ; while concubinage was only punished by forfeiture of 
 goods and spiritual promotions, and imprisonment, in the first instance. 
 By a statute, however, in the following year, they were put on an 
 equal footing. 
 
 The fact is, that no authority, no laws, no decrees, could counteract, "1 
 with effect, this strong propensity of our nature. The stream which, 
 when suffered to flow in iu proper channel, gives fertility and beauty to 
 the country through which it passes, if it be stopped or obstructed, 
 will find for itself some other way, and will then become unsightly and 
 destructive. Nature may be guided, but will not be compelled ; to regu- 
 late her impulses, is wise and proper; to suppress them altogether, is | 
 impossible ; and, therefore, it is absurd and immoral to attempt it. 
 
 The results of such a system are thus described by Mr. Pinkerton : 
 ** The Priests and Monks being very numerous, and human ])a8sion8 ever 
 the same, those ascetics atone for the want of marriage by the practice of 
 adultery ; and the husbands, from the dread of the Inquisition, are con- 
 strained to connive at this enormous abuse." Again : " It may perhaps 
 be asserted that the Roman Catholic system, in the South of Europe, is 
 the only superstition in the universe which has, at any period, necessiutctl 
 
136 
 
 the practice of vice ; thus confirming the maxim, that the corruption of 
 the purest and best system is always the worst. Were an Apostle again 
 to visit Spain, he would certainly begin v^rith preaching the Christian 
 practice, as if the very idea of Christianity had perished, and his first 
 duty would be, to convert the Ecclesiastics." 
 
 The cares of a married life, it is said, interfere with the duties of the 
 Clergy ; do not the cares of a vicious life, the anxieties of stolen love, the 
 contrivances of adulterous intercourse, the pains, the jealousies, the remorse 
 attached to a conduct in perfect contradiction with a public and solemn 
 profession of superior virtue — do not these cares, these bitter feelings, in- 
 terfere with the duties of the Priesthood? "I have seen/' says Mr. White, 
 ''the most promising men of my University obtain country vicarages, with 
 characters unimpeached, and hearts overflowing with hopes of usefulness. 
 A virtuous wife would have confirmed and strengthened their purposes, but 
 they were to live a life of angels in celibacy. They were, however, men, 
 and their duties connected them with beings of no higher description. 
 Young women knelt before them in all the intimacy and openness of 
 confession : a solitary home made them go abroad in search of social 
 converse. Love, long resisted, seized them, at length, like madness ; two 
 I knew, who died insane: hundreds might be found, who avoid that fate 
 by a life of settled, systematic vice. 
 
 '' The picture of female Convents requires a more delicate pencil ; yet 
 I cannot find tints sufficiently dark and gloomy to pourtray the miseries 
 which I have witnessed in their inmates. Crime, indeed, makes its way 
 into those recesses, in spite of the spiked walls and prison grates which 
 protect the inhabitants : this I know with all the certainty which the self- 
 accusation of the guilty can give. The greater part of the Nuns whom 
 I have known, were beings of a much higher description, females, whose 
 purity owed nothing to the strong gates and high walls of the cloister ; 
 but who still had a human heart, and felt, in many instances, and during 
 a great portion of their lives, the weight of the vows which had deprived 
 them of their liberty. Some there are, I confess, among the Nuns, who, 
 like birds hatched in a cage, never seem to long for freedom; but the 
 happiness boasted of in Convents is, generally, the efiect of an honorable 
 pride of purpose, supported by a sense of utter hopelessness. The gates 
 of the holy prison have been for ever closed upon the professed inhabi- 
 tants; force and shame await them wherever they might fly; the short 
 words of their profession have, like a potent charm, bound them to one 
 
137 
 
 spot of earth, and fixed their dwelling upon their grave. The great 
 Poet who boasted 'that slaves cannot live in England/ forgot that 
 superstition may baffle the most sacred laws of freedom : slaves do live in 
 England, and, I fear, multiply daily, by the same arts which fill the 
 Convents abroad. In vain does the law of the land stretch a friendly 
 hand to the repentant victim ; the unhappy slave may be dying to break 
 her fetters, yet death would be preferable to the shame and reproach 
 that await her among relatives and friends. It will not avail her to keep 
 the vow which dooms her to live single ; she has renounced her will, and 
 made herself a passive lump of clay in the hands of a superior. Perhaps 
 she has promised to practise austerities which cannot be performed out of 
 the Convent — never to taste meat, if her life were to depend on the use 
 of substantial food — to wear no linen— to go unclothed and unshod for 
 life ; — all these, and many other hardships, make part of the various 
 rules which Rome has confirmed with her sanction. Bitter and harassing 
 remorse seizes the wavering mind of the recluse, and even a yielding 
 thought towards liberty assumes the character of sacrilege. Nothing 
 short of rebellion against the Church that has burnt the mark of slavery 
 into her soul, can liberate an English Nun. Whereto could she turn her 
 eyes? Her own parents would disown her; her friends would shrink 
 from her, as if her breath wafted leprosy ; she would be haunted by 
 Priests and their zealous emissaries ; and, like her sister- victims of super- 
 stition in India, be made to die of a broken heart, if she refused to 
 return to the burning pile from which she had fled in frantic fear. 
 
 " Suppose that the case I have described were of the rarest occurrence ; 
 suppose that but one Nun in ten thousand wished vehemently for that 
 liberty which she had forfeited, by a few words in one moment : what 
 law of God (I will ask) has entitled the Roman Church thus to expose 
 even one human creature to dark despair in this life, and a darker pros- 
 pect in the next? Has the Gospel recommended perpetual vows? 
 Could any thing but a clear and positive injunction of Christ or his 
 Apostles, justify a practice beset with dangers of this magnitude ? Is 
 not the mere possibility of repenting such vows, a reason why they should 
 be strictly forbidden ? And yet they are laid on almost infants of both 
 sexes ! ! Innocent girls of sixteen are lured by the image of heroic virtue, 
 and a pretendeil call of their Saviour, to promise they know not what, 
 and make engagements for a whole life, of which they have eccn but the 
 dawn. 
 
138 
 
 ** To what paltry shifts and quibbles will not Roman Catholic writers 
 resort, to disguise the cruelty of this practice ! Nuns are described as 
 superhuman beings, angels on earth, without a thought or wish beyond 
 the walls of their Convents. The effects of habit, of religious fear, of 
 decorum, which prevented many of the French Nuns from casting off 
 the veil, at a period when the revolutionary storm had struck awe into 
 every breast, are construed into a proof of the unvariableness of purpose 
 which follows the religious profession. Are Nuns, indeed, so invariably 
 happy? Why, then, are they insulted by their spiritual rulers, by 
 keeping them under the very guards and precautions which magistrates 
 employ to secure external good behaviour, among the female inmates of 
 prisons and penitentiaries ? Would the Nuns continue during their lives 
 under the same privations, were they at liberty to resume the laical state ? 
 Why, then, are they bound fast with awful vows ? Why are they not 
 allowed to offer up, day by day, the freewill offering of their souls and 
 bodies .'* 
 
 " The reluctant Nuns, it is said, are few ; vain, unfeeling sophistry ! first 
 prove that vows are recommended on divine authority, that Christ has 
 authorised the use of force and compulsion to ratify them when they are 
 made, and then you may stop your ears against the complaints of a 
 few sufferers. But can millions of submissive, or even willing, recluses 
 atone for the despair of those few ? You reckon, in indefinite numbers, 
 those that in France did not avail themselves of the revolutionary laws : 
 you should rather inquire how many, who, before the revolution, appeared 
 perfectly contented in their cloistral slavery, overcame every religious fear, 
 and flew to the arras of a husband as soon as they could do it with impu- 
 nity. Two hundred and ten Nuns were secularized in Spain during the 
 short-lived reign of the Cortes : were these helpless beings happy in their 
 former durance.^ What an appalling"number of less fortunate victims might 
 not be made out by averaging, in the same proportion, the millions of 
 females who, since the establishment of Convents, have surrendered their 
 liberty into the hands of Rome. 
 
 " Cruel and barbarous indeed must be the bigotry or the policy which, 
 rather than yield on a point of discipline, sees with indifference even the 
 chance, not to say the existence, of such evils ; to place the most sensitive, 
 innocent, and ardent minds under the most horrible apprehensions of 
 spiritual and temporal punishment without the clearest necessity, is a 
 refinement of cruelty which has few examples among civilized nations ; 
 
139 
 
 yet the scandal of defection is guarded against by fears that would crush 
 stouter hearts, and distract less vivid imaginations, than those of timid 
 and sensitive females. Even a temporary leave to quit the Convent for 
 the restoration of decaying health, is seldom given, and never applied 
 for, but by such Nuns as unhappiness drives into a disregard of public 
 opinion. I saw my eldest sister, at the age of twenty-two, slowly sink 
 into the grave within the walls of a Convent ; whereas, had she not been 
 a slave to that Church, which has been a curse to me, air, amusement, 
 and exercise might have saved her. I saw her on her deathbed: I 
 obtained that melancholy sight at the risk of bursting my heart, when, 
 in my capacity of Priest, and at her own request, I heard her last con- 
 fession. Ah ! when shall I forget the mortal agony with which, not to 
 disturb the dying moments of that truly angelic being, I suppressed my 
 gushing tears in her presence — the choking sensation with which I forced 
 the words of absolution through my convulsed lips — the faltering steps 
 with which I left the Convent alone, making the solitary street where it 
 stood, re-echo the sobs I could no longer restrain. 
 
 " I saw my dear sister no more ; but another was left me, if not equal 
 in talents to the eldest, (for I have known few that could be considered 
 her equals,) amiable and good in no inferior degree. To her I looked up 
 as a companion for life, but she had a heart open to every noble impression, 
 and such, among Catholics, are apt to be misled from the path of practical 
 usefulness into the wilderness of visionary perfection. At the age of 
 twenty she left an infirm mother to the care of servants and strangers, 
 and shut herself up in a Convent, where she was not allowed to see even 
 her nearest relations. With a delicate frame, requiring every indulgence 
 to support it in health, she embraced a rule which denied her the com- 
 forts of the lowest class of society : — a coarse woollen frock fretted her 
 skin ; her feet had no covering but that of shoes, open at the toes, that 
 they might expose them to the cold of a brick floor ; a couch of bare 
 planks was her bed, and an unfurnished cell her dwelling. Disease soon 
 filled her conscience with fears, and I had often to endure the torture of 
 witnessing her agonies at the Confessional. I left her, when I quitted 
 Spain, dying much too slowly for her only chance of relief. I wept 
 bitterly for her loss two years after, yet I could not be so cruel as to 
 wish her to live." 
 
OF OATHS. 
 
 The third Council of Lateran, which is acknowledged as 
 the eleventh iEcumenical Council, has decreed " that all Oaths 
 which are adverse to the utility of the Church, and the insti- 
 tution of the Holy Fathers, are to be unscrupulously violated, 
 inasmuch as they are to be deemed perjuries, rather than 
 oaths;' (Can. XVL apud Labbe, Vol. X. p. 1517.) And 
 "that all those who are any ways bound to heretics, should consi- 
 der themselves absolved from all fidelity and obedience to them 
 as long as they persist in their iniquity." {Id. c. 27.) The 
 Council of Constance decreed, in reference to the case of John 
 Huss, that " neither by natural, human, or divine law, need 
 any faith or promise, which is prejudicial to the Catholic faith, 
 be kept." And, according to the exposition of the doctrine of 
 the Catholic Church, by the Professors of Maynooth, "it is 
 lawful to break an Oath, if, by not fulfilling it, you think you 
 shall be able to do greater good than by keeping it ; or, if the 
 person swearing limits his obligation, (tacita et subintellecta,) 
 or if, being previously bound to a superior, such as a superior 
 of Regulars, and, a fortiori^ the Pope ; he (the superior,) 
 should object to the oath ; or, if the person, to whom cither 
 the individual who has taken the oath, or the matter concern- 
 ing which the oath is taken, is subject, (persona jurans, vel 
 
141 
 
 materia juramenti,) should think fit to make void the obliga- 
 tion, even without a reason." Urban II. ordained that it was 
 lawful for subjects to break their oaths of allegiance to all 
 such as were excommunicated by the Pope. Of this dispensing 
 power of the Pope, we find in the Bull of Pope Pius V., that 
 he thus asserts and exercises it ; "We, who have been consti- 
 tuted Prince over all nations, and all kingdoms, that might 
 pluck up, and destroy, dissipate and ruin, plant and build," by 
 virtue of such power " deprive the Queen of all her pretended 
 right to the Kingdom, and of all dominion, dignity, and privi- 
 lege whatsoever, and absolve all the nobles, subjects, and 
 people of the kingdom, and whoever else have sworn to her, 
 from their Oath of allegiance, and all duty whatsoever, in re- 
 gard of dominion, fidelity, and obedience." 
 
 In the year 1555, Paul IV., being about to make a promotion 
 of Cardinals, directly contrary to his solemn Oath, when some 
 of the then present Cardinals put him in mind of his Oath, 
 he, in open Consistory, declared, that it was an article of faith, 
 that the Pope's power is absolute, that he cannot be bound, 
 much less can he bind himself. 
 
 OBSERVATIONS. 
 
 Men who, like the members of the Council of ConsUnce, had been 
 trained in the morality of the Casuists, the law of the Canonists, and 
 the religion of the Romish Church, would desire no better autliority for 
 requiring this breach of faith than the Decretals afforded them. For 
 example, we read, " that oath is not to be regarded from which iiyury 
 may unadvisedly arise." " All promises are not to be kept." *« Oaths 
 contrary to the divine laws are not to be kept." " It is sometimes expe- 
 dient not to observe a solemn oath." All this is proved in the Decretols 
 by the example of Herod's oath, to the daughter of Herodias. But the 
 conduct of the Romish Church is the best exposition of its opinions ; 
 and on the subject before us, it has spoken out in such intelligible Ian- 
 
142 
 
 guage that we cannot mistake its feelings or sentiments. Reference, the 
 reader will immediately perceive, is here intended to the Council of Con- 
 stance, and its flagrant breach of faith towards Jerome and Huss. This 
 affair, branded with the detestation and odium of every honorable 
 mind, has been of late rendered interesting, inasmuch as it has elicited a 
 species of defence for Sigismund, of an opposite description to that set up 
 by former writers. Spondanus, who had been raised to a Bishopric, for 
 his apostacy from Protestantism, observes, " the Emperor could not com- 
 pel the ecclesiastical power to respect the faith he had pledged, as it was 
 beyond his jurisdiction." Cochloeus, says, " the protection of a heretic 
 should be conditional;" 'Hhat the King was not greater than God, 
 than Justice, or than a Council." But in the Parliamentary Report of 
 1825, Doctor Murray stated before the House of Commons, " that the 
 safe conduct granted Huss, was a mere travelling passport, which pro- 
 mised hun no other protection, than that he should not be interrupted in 
 his journey to Constance ; that Constance was a free town ; and there- 
 fore, that Sigismund could have had no control over its laws ; and that 
 as he had done all that was in his power to do, he had been guilty of no 
 violation of promise ! " Now, that this gloss is at variance with the very 
 Act of the Council, with written evidence on the subject, and with the 
 fact itself ; is evident on the following grounds : — 
 
 1. Because the Decree of the Council, which was passed in conse- 
 quence of the public outcry against Sigismund, for a breach of faith, is to 
 be regarded as a Justification of his conduct. " The Holy Synod declares, 
 that no obstruction ought to be offered to ecclesiastical jurisdiction, so as 
 that it may not be lawful, notwithstanding the said safe conduct, to ex- 
 amine and judge persons, who hold errors, and to punish them as justice 
 shall require, if they refuse to renounce their errors : although they may 
 have come to the place of judgment, relying on a safe-conduct ; and would 
 not have come, &c." Here is the flagitious principle recognized in its 
 solemn Decree, and acted on by this celebrated Assembly ; in which it 
 declares that Huss was unworthy, through his obstinate adherence to 
 heresy, of any indulgence, and that neither the divine, nor the human 
 law, warranted their observance of any promise made to him, to the pre- 
 judice of the Catholic religion. 
 
 2. The testimony of no less a personage than ^neas Silvius himself* 
 afterwards Pius II., contradicts Doctor Murray, and proves, that what 
 
148 
 
 he calls, " handing Huss over to the civil power," was a mere form, such 
 as is observed in our law courts, when, after the criminal has been tried 
 and condemned, he is handed over to the executioner. The very words 
 of this writer are : " Lata est in consessu patrum adversus contumaces 
 (Huss, and Jerome of Prague,) sententia, creniandos esse, qui doctrinam 
 Ecclesice respierint. Prior igitur Johannes combustus est. Hieronymus 
 diu po$tea in vinculis habitus, quum resipiscere nollet, pari supplicio 
 affectus." 
 
 Simanca, a learned Spaniard, defends part of the proceedings at Con- 
 stance against Huss, and stoutly maintains, '' that faith given to heretics 
 is not to be kept; for if faith is not to be kept with tyrants, pirates, and 
 other public robbers, who slay the body, much less is it to be kept with 
 obstinate heretics, who slay the soul." Rightly, therefore, were certain 
 heretics consigned to lawful flames by the judgment of the grave Council 
 of Constance, although their safety had been promised to them; and 
 blessed Thomas (the angelic Doctor !) likewise holds, that an intractable 
 heretic is to be delivered up to the judges, notwithstanding^ the faith and 
 oath, by which he may have bound a Catholic." 
 
 3. The very fact disproves the apologies and excuses of the Catholics, 
 as the wording of the safe-conduct fully shows. Sigismund takes this 
 honorable master, as he calls Huss, under his special protection, and 
 directs, that he shall be safely escorted — and shall every where be per- 
 mitted freely and securely to pass, sojourn, remain, and return without 
 violence or injury : — transire, stare, morari, et redire. Here is no limit- 
 ation, such as : — if he should be acquitted. The permission granted is 
 unqualified in its nature and object ; and besides, it would appear as if 
 the Council had pledged itself to a safe-conduct of some description or 
 other ; since Dubravius, another writer of the Bohemian History of that 
 period, says, that Huss repaired to ConsUnce, relying on the public 
 asstu^nce given him by the Council ;— fide puhlica a Concilio accepta. 
 From all which it is evident, that the Council deceived Huss, and that 
 Sigismund was the unconscious instrument of the deception ; and that, 
 therefore, the attempt to explain away the perfidy of the Council, or the 
 persecuting principles by which it was governed, is perfectly futile. In 
 short, the Council takes no pains to disguise its sentiments. It decrees 
 that Sigismund had no power to grant protection to Huss, as heresy was 
 not cognizable by the temporal authorities ; it pronounces the spiritual 
 
144 
 
 sentence^ and then hands the victim over to the secular power for immo- 
 lation. 
 
 As a corollary flowing from the aforesaid premises, it is proved beyond 
 contradiction, that the Church of Rome holds it as a maxim, that faith is 
 not to be kept with heretics, to the prejudice of the Church, (for the 
 observance of faith in private transactions is not at all concerned,) a 
 maxim which is perfectly compatible with another deduction : namely, 
 the superiority of the ecclesiastical over the temporal authority, and that it 
 is, and must be, in principle and in practice, when it has the power, what 
 it was when the Council of Constance held its Sessions ; its eternal same- 
 ness, so appositely expressed by Dr. Troy's semper eadem, proclaims its 
 unaltered, because unalterable, state. The germ of intolerance exists 
 within its bosom, ready to shoot forth and to expand, whenever circum- 
 stances will admit of its display. Were this not the case, surely the 
 silence of the Vatican on the subject would not have been inviolably 
 preserved for more than four centuries. If the offensive decree be obso- 
 lete, as has been affirmed, why is it not abrogated by a power co-ordinate 
 with that which enacted it ? Finally, if it be obsolete, why is it received 
 by the Romish Clergy, as among the ordinances declaredy defined, and 
 laid down in the General Councils, without exception or limitation, and 
 that too under the solemn sanction of their oaths ? No ; that decree can 
 never become obsolete, so long as it remains unrepealed. But, more par- 
 ticularly, it is not obsolete, because it bears the impress of infallibility, 
 which high and holy sanction must make it of everlasting obligation. 
 
OF PRAYERS IN AN UNKNOWN TONGUE. 
 
 " Although the Mass contains great instruction for the 
 faithful, it nevertheless does not appear expedient to the 
 Fathers that it should be celebrated in the vulgar tongue.*^ 
 {Con. Trid. Sess. XXII. cap. 8.) And " whosoever asserts 
 that the Mass should be celebrated in the vulgar tongue only, — 
 let him be accursed." {Id. Can. 9) This weighty reason is 
 given for the service being performed in an unknown language, 
 that otherwise "this inconvenience would follow, all would 
 think themselves divines, the authority of Prelates would 
 be disesteemed, and all would become heretics.'" {Hist, of 
 Council of Trent, Lib. 5, p. 460.) 
 
 OBSERVATIONS. 
 
 Public worship, conducted in an unknown tongue, can neither 
 impart light, nor afford edification. The congregation may look and 
 wonder, while the Priest performs his genuflexions, disperses the incense, 
 eats the wafer, and drinks the wine ; but no acceptable worship can thus 
 be presented to him who is a Spirit, and who requires those that worship 
 him, " to worship in spirit and in truth." Latin formularies may have 
 aided in preserving the classic productions of that language, but this was 
 more the result of accident, than of design. Certain it is, that the 
 motives for retaining the language of ancient Rome in the Liturgy of the 
 church, were, in general, quite distinct from the love of its peculiar litera- 
 
146 
 
 ture. Were it not so, the Christian must perceive, as the consequence of 
 this adherence to an unknown tongue, a loss of religious instruction, of 
 devotional feeling, and of future good, too great to be fully ascertained 
 before the arrival of a day, when the smallest of such privations will be 
 more feelingly deplored, than the total vnceck of whatever Roman genius 
 has produced. This practice is decidedly at variance with 1 Cor. xiv. 
 14—19. 
 
 The Church of Rome has reasons for continuing this antiscriptural and 
 absurd practice, which perhaps she dare not confess. Reading prayers 
 in Latin was a great convenience to those foreigners, who were sent 
 by the Pope, before the Reformation, into England, and other countries, 
 to get Bishoprics, and Parishes : not knowing the language of the country 
 into which they came, they could never have read prayers, or said Mass, 
 if the custom of reading in Latin had not been kept up ; and therefore it 
 was the interest of the Pope to maintain and continue it. 
 
 In the next place, reading Latin prayers makes the ignorant people 
 think more highly of their Priests, and leads them to continue in that 
 state of subjection to them, in which they have always labored to retain 
 them. The service in the chapels seems like something done by the 
 Priest for the people, not a service in which the people are to unite with 
 him from beginning to end. 
 
 Again, if the prayers were not in Latin, the people would soon come to 
 see that some of them were foolish, and some of them were wicked. 
 What would any man think of such prayers as the following, if they were 
 asked to say them in plain English : — " O, St. Mary, who dost enlighten 
 the whole world, who dost illuminate hearts, who art the fountain of 
 mercy. From all evil, good Lady, deliver us." " O, holy Dorothy, a 
 clean heart create in me." " O, St. George, save us from our sins, that 
 we may rest in heaven with the faithful for ever." Most of these prayers 
 to Saints ask from them what God alone can bestow ; and we need not 
 wonder at their wishing to hide such blasphemies under cover of an 
 unknown tongue. 
 
 The evils which arise from forcing Latin prayers upon men, are very 
 many. In the first place, God's name is taken in vain by every congre- 
 gation that joins in Latin prayers ; they do not understand what is 
 saying, and how can they unite in supplication ? or how can their hearts 
 be aflPected with contrition by a confession they do not know, or with 
 
147 
 
 gratitude, by a Latin thanksgiving? They repeat the name of God 
 without hallowing it ; they transgress the third commandment ; and they 
 fall under the rebuke which the Jews received from our Lord : " This 
 people draweth nigh to me with their lips, and honoreth me with then: 
 mouth, but their heart is far from me." In the next place, how can 
 they pray in faith, when they pray in an unknown tongue ? Yet faith is 
 required in prayer : " Let a man ask in faith, nothing wavering ; for he 
 that wavers is like a wave of the sea, driven with the wind, and tossed ; 
 for let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord." 
 James i. 7. Further, such congregations cannot tell what is asked 
 for ; because, while they are reading one prayer in English, the Priest 
 may be reading another one in Latin. Now, since all these things are 
 plainly contrary to the nature of true prayer ; since God has taught u?, 
 he must be worshipped in spirit and in truth ; since St. Paul has said, 
 " I will pray with the spirit, aud I will pray with the understanding ; " 
 and since no poor man can understand the Latin prayers at Mass, he 
 neither prays with the understanding, nor worships God in spirit or in 
 truth. 
 
 Praying in an unknown tongue, is the avowed custom of the Church of 
 Rome, which is defended on its own authority and infallibility. We can, 
 however, easily account for the continuance, if not the introduction, of 
 the custom. In old times, before the Reformation, the Pope of Rome 
 claimed the right of giving away the best church preferments in all 
 countries, and they were usually bestowed on Italians. Now when these 
 persons came to officiate as Priests, or Bishops, in these new preferments, 
 it was very convenient for them, as foreigners, not to be obliged to say 
 Mass in the language of the country ; and by using the same language 
 there, in which they had celebrated Mass at home, they did not appear 
 such strangers to the people as otherwise they must have done ; and the 
 people found it no matter to them, whether the Latin language in 
 the service was pronounced in a foreign accent or not. 
 
 " And in this ignorance have the Bishops of Rome kept the people of 
 God, speciaUy the common sort, by no means so much, as by withdrawing 
 the word of God from them, and by keeping it under the veil of an un- 
 known strange tongue. For as it served the ambitious humour of the 
 Biehope of Rome, to compel all nations to use the natural language of the 
 City of Borne, where they were Bishops, which ihowe*! a cerUin 
 
 l2 
 
148 
 
 acknowledging of subjection unto them ; bo deserved it much more their 
 crafty purpose, thereby to keep all people so blind, that they, not knowing 
 what they prayed, what they believed, what they were commanded by 
 God, might take all their commandments for God's. For, as they would 
 not suffer the holy Scriptures, or Church service, to be used, or had, in 
 any other language than the Latin ; so were very few, even of the most 
 simple people, taught the Lord's Prayer, the Articles of Faith, and the 
 Ten Commandments, otherwise than in Latin, which they understood 
 not ; by which universal ignorance, all men were ready to believe what- 
 soever they said, and to do whatsoever they commanded." — {Horn, of 
 Wilful Rebellion.) 
 
 " With all the respect due," says a learned Roman divine, " to the pre- 
 scriptive pre-eminence of the two sacred dialects, hallowed by the writings 
 of the Apostles, Fathers, and primitive Martyrs, I may venture to recom- 
 mend the use of modern languages at certain parts of the service, and the 
 introduction of lectures and hymns, adapted to the particular objects of 
 the Liturgy, when the officiating Priest is occupied in silent adoration, 
 and the ordinary chant of the choir is suspended. Such is the practice 
 all over Catholic Germany, and throughout the vast extent of the 
 Austrian dominions, where, if the traveller enters into any parochial 
 church, during service, he finds it filled with a numerous congregation, 
 all joining in chorus, with a zeal and ardor, truly edifying. I was 
 peculiarly struck with the good effects of this custom in the churches of 
 Bohemia, where the people were remarkable for a just and musical ear, 
 and sing with admirable precision ; but still more so in the cathedral of 
 Vienna, where the voices of some thousands chanting in full unison the 
 celebrated hymn, * Holy, holy, holy,* cannot fail to elevate the mind, 
 and inflame the coldest heart with devotion. This practice, sanctioned 
 by the authority of so considerable a portion of the Catholic churcli, has 
 many good effects, as it contributes to the comfort and edification of the 
 people, who always delight in hymns and spiritual songs, as it amuses the 
 ear with melody, and attaches the hearers to the holy sentiments and doc- 
 trines which it conveys, and as it may thus act as a preservative from the 
 infidelity of the times, not only by securing the assent, but by engaging 
 the affections, on the side of religion. In fine, it tends to consecrate all 
 lanj^ages to the praise of the Father Almighty, and to the propagation of 
 the Gospel of his adorable Son. ' Nothing,' says Leo the Great, in an 
 
149 
 
 ancient preface for Whitsunday, * nothing is more sublime, when con- 
 sidered in reference to the principles of thy Church, than that all the 
 faithful should express with their tongues, the promulgation of thy 
 Gospel, — and the variety of voices, so far from being an impediment to 
 ecclesiastical edification, would rather tend to the advancement of 
 unity.' " 
 
OF MIRACLES. 
 
 To prevent abuse, the Council of Trent (Sess. XXV^) ha» 
 decreed, that " no new relics are to be received, and no new 
 miracles admitted as authentic, without the privity and approba- 
 tion of the Bishop," assisted by the advice of theologians and 
 other pious men. 
 
 OBSERVATIONS. 
 
 The evidences of Christianity rest upon a firmer foundation than the 
 legends of the dark ages. Neither can we compare the long Hst of un- 
 authenticated, absurd stories, respecting the Virgin Mary and the Mag- 
 dalene ; St. Dominic and St. Francis ; St. Denis and St. Winifred ; and 
 the innumerable others, which provoke the smiles and the contempt of 
 Protestants, and largely try even the faith of a Romanist, — with that 
 sublime collection of well-authenticated miracles, which demonstrate the 
 divine origin of our common faith. The Protestant may reject the 
 opinions which reason or Scripture convince him are absurd. The Ro- 
 manist is permitted to reject nothing which his Church has once sanc- 
 tioned. " The ecclesiastical miracles," says Justin, '' that were wrought 
 after the Church was supported by the State, were usually such as would 
 make fools stare, and wise men suspect. As they began, so they ended, 
 in vain ; establishing nothing, or what was worse than nothing. If false, 
 the tricks of deceitful men ; if true, the frolics of fantastic demons." 
 This spirit of delusion, this determination of allowing the people to be 
 deceived in every possible way that can attach them to the Romish 
 communion, is most glaringly evinced in the annual jugglery performed 
 
151 
 
 at Naples, under the eyes of the Pope. The patron-saint of thai towft ii 
 a saint Januarius, part of whose blood, though shed in martyrdom, as 
 they say, (for there is no dependence on these reports, even as to the 
 existence of some of the Roman Catholic Saints,) more than fifteen hun- 
 dred years ago, is still preserved in a phial. On the day of the Saint's 
 festival, the Bishop, surrounded by a crowd of Priests, and a multitude 
 of lighted tapers, and clouds of the smoke of frankincense, takes the 
 phial in his hands, where a red lamp appears in an upper division. The 
 people, in crowds, are kneeling in the Church, expecting the yearly 
 miracle, with the greatest anxiety, while the Bishop handles the phial 
 every way, till the lump begins to melt, and falls, in drops, into the 
 lower part of the glass. Upon this, the beUs are rung, the guns are fired, 
 and the whole town is in a state of rapture. The trick is so gross, that 
 there is not a Priest, or a man of common sense at Naples, that is not 
 convinced that the red clot is a certain composition, that melts with very 
 little heat, — the heat that the hands of a Priest* and a crowded Church 
 will produce. 
 
 Among the numerous instances of miraculous events, which, to the 
 mind of a Roman Catholic, attest the truth of his religion, the following 
 are selected as by no means an invidious specimen : — 
 
 In one of the Roman Churches, they show a picture of the Virgin, 
 which, as their writers affirm, was brought down from heaven with great 
 pomp, and after having hung awhile, with surprising lustre, in the air, 
 in the sight of all the Clergy and people of Rome, waa delivered by 
 angels into the hands of Pope John the First, who marched out in solemn 
 procession, in order to receive this celestial present. 
 
 Nothing is more common among the miracles of Popery, than to hear 
 of images that, on certain occasions, had spoken, or shed tears, or sweat, or 
 bled : and do we not find the very same stories in all the heathen writers ? 
 
 They show at Rome an unage of the Virgin, which reprimanded Gre- 
 gory the Great, for passing Wy her too carelessly : and in St. Paul's 
 Church, a crucifix, which spoke to St. Bridgith. Durantus mentions 
 another Madonna, which spoke to the sexton, in commendation of the 
 piety of one of her votaries. 
 
 There is also a church here, dedicated to St. Mary the Weeper, or to a 
 Madonna, famous for shedding tears. They show an image, too, of our 
 Saviour, which, for some time before the sacking of Rome, wept w 
 
152 
 
 heartily, that the good Fathers of the monastery vrerc kll employed in 
 wiping its face with cotton. 
 
 They hare another church, built in honor of an image which bled very 
 plentifully, from a blow given it by a blasphemer. 
 
 In the Pantheon, at Rome, is an image of the Virgin Mary, which is 
 the principal object of adoration, on account of a miracle which, it is 
 pretended, was wrought there. A woman, in great apparent distress, knelt 
 before the statue of the Madonna, tears flowing from her eyes, as she 
 offered up her supplications. Two young Englishmen advanced towards 
 her at the moment, and, with all their characteristic liberality, gave her 
 some money, and hastened out of the church, to avoid her exclamations 
 of gratitude. She declared that her prayer was heard, and that, in the 
 hour of her calamity, the Virgin had sent two angels from heaven to 
 relieve her. The miracle resounded from mouth to mouth, and attracted 
 round the image the adoring multitude, who decked it with splendid 
 robes, and put a crown of gold on its head ; and, to pay farther homage, 
 the Pope and Cardinals attended, going through the usual form of conse- 
 cration. At present it is hung round with the votive offerings of many 
 who ascribe to the Madonna the miraculous cure of various maladies. 
 
 ''We shall find them," says Middleton, "always the most numerous, 
 and the most confidently attested, in proportion to the absurdity of the 
 doctrine or practice, in whose favour they are alleged ; as in the case of 
 Transubstantiation, Purgatory, the Worship of Images, ReKcs, Cruci- 
 fixes, Indulgences, and all the tricks of Monkery, as if miracles were of 
 no other use but to subvert the reason and senses of mankind, and con- 
 found all the distinctions between right and wrong. But if there be any 
 rule of judging of their reality, or any power in man to discern truth 
 from falsehood, we must necessarily conclude, from the nature and end 
 of the Popish miracles, that whatever testimonies may be brought to 
 support them, they were all, without exception, either wrought by wicked 
 spirits, or forged by wicked men." 
 
OF RELICS. 
 
 The Trent Council {Decret. de Purgat Sess. XXV.) 
 declares " that the Holy Bodies of Martyrs and other Saints, 
 (which bodies, when living, were members of Christ, and the 
 Temple of the Holy Ghost, and will hereafter be raised by 
 him to eternal life, and glorified,) are to be venerated by the 
 faithful ; by which Bodies many benefits are conferred by God 
 on men:" and it consigns to utter condemnation "all who 
 affirm, either that veneration and honour are not due to the 
 relica of Saints ; or, that the honour paid to them, and to the 
 other sacred memorials, (1.) is useless ; and who say that it is 
 in vain, for the sake of obtaining their aid, (the aid of Relics 
 and other sacred memorials,) to frequent the sepulchres of the 
 Saints." " I adore, and honor, and salute, the Relics of the 
 Saints, as of those who have wrestled on behalf of Christ, and 
 who have received grace from him, to accomplish healing, and 
 to cure disorders, and to eject demons.'* (Condi. Nicen. Sec. 
 Labbe, Vol, VII. p. 60.) By the 25th Sess. Cone. Trid., it 
 is decreed " that no Relics are to be received as genuine, till 
 so declared by the Pope, and by him appointed to be venerated 
 and adored, or by the Bishop, with the assistance of Divine 
 and other holy men.*" (2.) 
 
154 
 
 OBSERVATIONS. 
 
 (1.) —" being full of their holy relics, images, shrines, and works 
 of overflowing abundance, ready to be sold. And all things which they 
 had, were called holy ; holy cowls, holy girdles, holy pardons, holy beads, 
 holy shoes, holy rules, and all full of holiness. And what thing can be 
 more foolish, more superstitious, or ungodly, than that men, women, 
 and children, should wear a Friar's coat, to deliver them from agues, or 
 pestilence ? or, when they die, or when they be buried, cause it to be 
 cast upon them, in hope thereby to be saved.? Which superstition, 
 although, thanks be to God, it hath been little used in this realm, yet in 
 divers other realms, it hath been, and yet is, used among many, both 
 learned and unlearned." — {^Hom. of Good Works.) 
 
 (2.) The following is a Catalogue of the Relics forming the most 
 valuable possessions of the Clergy in the Cathedral church of Seville. 
 " A tooth of St. Christopher ; an agate cup used at Mass by Pope Cle- 
 ment, the immediate successor of St. Peter ; an arm of St. Bartholomew ; 
 a head of one of the 11,000 Virgins; part of St. Peter's body; ditto of 
 St. Laurence, and St. Blaise; the bones of St. Servandus, andGermanus; 
 ditto of St. Florentius ; the Alphonsine Tables, left to the Cathedral by 
 King Alphonso, the Urse, containing three hundred relics ; a silver bust of 
 St. Leander, with his bones ; a thorn from our Saviour's crown ; a frag- 
 ment of the true Cross." On Festival Days these are all borne in splendid 
 procession, by great numbers of the Clergy ; and before a gazing popu- 
 lace this farce from the dark ages, is, at this day, but too successfully 
 repeated. 
 
 In the church of St. Mary the Great, the homely cradle of our Saviour 
 is, every Christmas-day, exposed on the high altar to the adoration of 
 the people. " Rome," says Baronius, *' is now in possession of that 
 noble monument of Christ's nativity, made only of wood, without any 
 ornament of silver or gold, and is made more happily illustrious by it, 
 than it was of old by the cottage of Romulus, which, though built only 
 with mud and straw, our ancestors preserved with great care for many 
 ages." 
 
 " And because Relics were so gainful, few places there were but they 
 
155 
 
 had Relics prorided for them. And for more plenty of Relics, some one 
 Saint had many heads, one in one place, and another in another place. 
 Some had six arms and twenty- six fingers. And, where our Lord bare 
 his Cross alone, if all the pieces of the Relics thereof were gathered 
 together, the greatest ship in England would scarcely bear them ; and 
 yet the greatest part of it, they say, doth yet remain in the hands of the 
 Infidels ; for which they pray in their beads -bidding, that they may get 
 it also into their hands, for such godly use and purpose. And not only 
 the bones of the Saints, but every thing appertaining to them, was a holy 
 Relic. In some places they offer a sword, in some the scabbard, in some 
 a shoe, in some a saddle that had been set upon some holy horse, in some 
 the coals wherewith St. Laurence was roasted ; in some places the tail of 
 the ass, which our Lord Jesus Christ sate upon, to be kissed and offered 
 unto for a Relic. For, rather than they would lack a Relic, they would 
 offer you a horse-bone instead of a virgin's arm, or the tail of an ass, to 
 be kissed and offered unto for Relics. O wicked, impudent, and most 
 shameless men, the devisers of these things ! O silly, foolish, and das- 
 tardly daws, and more beastly than the ass whose tail they kissed, that 
 believe such things." — {Horn, on Idolatry.) * 
 
OF IMAGES, &c. 
 
 " That the Images of Christ, of the Virgin Mother of 
 God, and of the Saints, (1.) are to be had and retained, espe- 
 cially in churches, and due honor and veneration to be paid 
 to them ; not because there is believed to be any divinity or 
 virtue in them, on account of which they are to be worshipped; 
 or, because from them any thing is to be asked ; or because 
 trust is to be reposed on Images, as the heathens of old put 
 their trust in idols ; but because the honor which is exhibited 
 to them, is referred to the prototypes which they represent ; so 
 that through the Images which we kiss, and before which we 
 uncover our heads, and lie prostrate, we adore Christ ; and 
 pay veneration to the Saints, whose likeness the Images bear ; 
 as is ordained by the Decrees of Councils, particularly the 
 second Nicene."' (Con. Trid, Sess. XXV,) Of the Nicene 
 Council, A. D. ^^>^, the following is the judgment: — "As 
 for them who say it is sufficient to have Images for the sake of 
 exciting their livelier remembrance of the prototypes, and not 
 for worship; as they reject one part of the truth, and admit the 
 other, they are half bad, speakers of truth and falsehood in a 
 breath. Alas ! their madness ! "*' " The instructions of the 
 Fathers, speaking with the mouth of God, have set us right. 
 From them we have drawn and drunk the words of truth. 
 
157 
 
 Following them we have expelled falsehood. Taught by them, 
 we embrace the venerable Images. Let those who do not do 
 so, be anathema, be cut ofF from God." {Labbe. Con. Tom. 
 VII. p. 317.) The Images of Christ, and of the Virgin 
 Mother of God, and other Saints, are to be kept and retained, 
 especially in Churches ; and due honor and veneration to be 
 given to them ; (Cone. Trid. Sess. XXV.) and " to those, 
 who diligently teach not the whole Christ-loving people to 
 adore and salute the venerable, and holy, and precious Images 
 of all the Saints, — let them be anathema.*" {Cone. Nic. Sec. 
 Labbe. Vol. VII p. 541.) 
 
 Of the nature of the worship or adoration paid to these 
 Images, we have the following examples. In the Roman 
 Breviary, in Die Invent. Sanctae Crucis, we have a Hymn in 
 honor of the Cross, one stanza of which runs thus : 
 
 " O Crux avc, spcs lenica. 
 In hoc paschali gaudio, 
 Auge piis justitiam, 
 Reisque dona veniam." 
 
 To this hymn succeeds an address to the Cross in prose, 
 " O Cross, more resplendent than the stars, save this pre- 
 sent congregation assembled in thy praises. Hallelujah ! hal- 
 lelujah ! " 
 
 Of the ceremonies used on this occasion, that of the adora- 
 tion of the Cross by the Priest, is the most remarkable. 
 Having uncovered the whole of the Cross, and laid it in its 
 place before the altar, " he takes off his shoes, and draws near 
 to adore, thrice bowing his knees, before kissing the Cross." 
 
 (2.) 
 
 The following prayer, used at the consecration of Images, is 
 taken from the Roman Ritual, authorized by Pope Urban 
 
158 
 
 VIII. "Grant, O God, that whosoever before this Image, 
 shall diligently and humbly, upon his knees, worship and 
 honor thy only begotten Son, or the blessed Virgin, or this 
 glorious Apostle, Martyr, Confessor, or Virgin, (as the case 
 may be,) that he may obtain, by his (or her) merits and inter- 
 cession, grace in this present life, and eternal glory hereafter.' 
 At the consecration of a Crucifix ; — " We beseech thee, O 
 Lord, Holy Father, Almighty, Everlasting God, that thou 
 wouldest vouchsafe to bless this wood of thy Cross ; that it 
 may be a healthy remedy to mankind, a strengthener of faith, 
 and increaser of good works, a redemption of souls, a comfort, 
 protection, and defence, against the cruelties of our enemies." 
 (3.) 
 
 OBSERVATIONS. 
 
 (1.) One of the most celebrated Images in Italy is that of St. Dominic, 
 which was, as their histories testify, brought down from heaven, about two 
 centuries ago, by the Virgin Mary in person, accompanied by Mary 
 Magdalene, and St. Catherine. Before this glorious picture, as they 
 affirm, " great numbers of the dead have been restored to life, and hun- 
 dreds from the agonies of death ; the dumb, the blind, the deaf, the 
 lame, have been cured, and all sorts of diseases and mortal wounds mira- 
 culously healed." All which facts are attested by public notaries, and 
 confirmed by the relation of Cardinals, Prelates, Generals, and Priors of 
 that order : and the certainty of them so generally believed, that, from 
 the 9th of July to the 9th of August, the anniversary festival of the 
 Saint^ they have always counted above a hundred thousand pilgrims, and 
 many of them of the highest quality, who come from different parts of 
 Europe, to pay their devotions, and make their offerings to this picture. 
 
 All their apologists, indeed, declare, " that they do not ascribe these 
 miracles to any power in the image itself, but to the power of God, who 
 is moved to work them by the prayers and intercessions of his Saints, for 
 the benefit of those who have sought that intercession before their pic- 
 tures or images ; and in order to bear testiinony to the faith and practice 
 
of the Church in this particular article." But how can we think it pos- 
 sible that the Deity can be moved to exert his power so wonderfully, for 
 the confirmation of such ridiculous stories, of pictures and statues sent 
 down from heaven, which, while they blasphemously impute to the 
 workmanship of saints, or angels, or of God himself, are yet always so 
 rudely and contemptibly performed, that a moderate artist, on earth, 
 would be ashamed to call them his own ? Or, is it at all credible, that 
 the Saints in heaven should be as busy and ambitious as their votaries 
 are on earth, to advance the peculiar honors of their several altars, by 
 their continual intercessions at a throne of grace ?— or that their whole 
 care above, if they really have any which reaches to things below, should 
 be employed, not for the general advancement of religion and piety 
 among men, but of their own private glory and worship, in preference to 
 all their competitors ? No ; the absurdity of such notions and practices 
 makes it necessary to believe, that they were all occasionally forged, for 
 the support of some lucrative scheme ; or to revive the expiring credit of 
 some favorite superstition, which had been found highly beneficial to 
 the contrivers of such forgeries. For the very effect of which they boast, 
 as a proof of the miracle, betrays the fraud ; and the multitude of pil- 
 grims and offerings, to which they appeal, instead of demonstrating the 
 truth of the fact, docs but expose the real ground of the imposture. 
 
 " >Vhat meaneth it, that Christian men, after the use of the Gentiles' 
 idolaters, cap and kneel before Images ? which, if they had any sense 
 and gratitude, would kneel before men— carpenters, masons, plasterers, 
 founders, and goldsmiths, their makers and framers; by whose means 
 they have attained this honor, which, else, should have been evil -favored 
 and rude lumps of clay, or plaster, pieces of timber, stone, or metal, 
 without shape or fashion, and so without all estimation and honor ; as 
 that idol in the Pagan poet confetseth, saying, ' I was once a vile block, 
 but now I am become a God,' &c. What a fond thing is it for a man, 
 who hath life and reason, to bow himself to a dead and insensible image, 
 the work of his own hands ! Is not this stoo])ing and kneeling before 
 them, adoration of them, which is forbidden so earnestly by God's word ? 
 Let such as so fall down before Images and Saints, know and confess that 
 they exhibit that honor to dead stocks and stones, which the Saints 
 themselves, Peter, Paul, and Barnabas, would not to be given them, 
 being alive ; which the angel of God forbiddeth to be given to him. 
 
160 
 
 And if they say they exhibit such honor, not to Images, but to the Saint 
 whom it representeth, they are convicted of folly, to believe that they 
 please Saints with that honor, which they abhor, as a spoil of God's 
 honor : for they be no changelings ; but now both having greater under- 
 standing, and more fervent love of God, do more abhor to deprive him of 
 his due honor ; and being now like unto the angels of God, do, with 
 angels, flee to take unto them, by sacrilege, the honor due to God : and 
 herewithal is confuted their lewd distinction of Latria and Dulia ; where 
 it is evident, that the Saints of God cannot abide, that as much as any 
 outward worshipping be done, or exhibited to them. But Satan, God's 
 enemy, desiring to rob God of his honor, desireth exceedingly that such 
 honor might be given to him. Wherefore those which give the honor 
 due to the Creator, to any creature, do service acceptable to no Saints, — 
 who be the friends of God, — but unto Satan, God's and man's mortal 
 and sworn enemy. And to attribute such desire of divine honor to 
 Saints, is to blot them with a most odious and devilish ignominy and 
 villany, and, indeed, of Saints to make them Satans, and very devils, 
 whose property is to challenge to themselves the honor which is due to 
 God only. 
 
 " What meaneth it that they, after the example of the Gentiles* idol- 
 ators, burn incense, offer up gold to Images, hang up crutches, chains, 
 and ships, legs, arms, and whole men and women of wax, before Images, 
 as though by them, or Saints, as they say, they were delivered from 
 lameness, sickness, captivity, or shipwreck .f* Is not this colere imaginesy 
 to worship Images, so earnestly forbidden in God's word } 
 
 " And what excuses soever they make, yet that aU this running on pil- 
 grimage, burning of incense and candles, hanging up of crutches, chains, 
 ships, arms, legs, and whole men and women of wax, kneeling, and hold- 
 ing up of hands, is done to the Images, appeareth by this, that where no 
 Images be, or where they have been, and be taken away, they do no such 
 things at all. But all the places frequented by the Images were there, 
 now they be taken away, be forsaken and left desert; nay, now they 
 hate and abhor the place deadly ; which is an evident proof, that that 
 which they did before was done in respect of the Images. Wherefore, 
 when we see men and women, on heaps, go on pilgrimage to Images, 
 kneel before them, hold up their hands before them, set up candles, 
 burn incense before them, offer up gold and silver unto them, hang up 
 
161 
 
 ships, crutches, chains, men and women of wax before them, attributing 
 health and safeguard, the gifts of God, to them, or the Samts whom they 
 represent, as they rather would have it ; who, I say, who can doubt, but 
 that our Image-maintainers, agreeing in all idolatrous opinions, outward 
 rites and ceremonies, with the Gentiles' idolaters, agree also with them in 
 committing most abominable idolatry ? And to increase this madness, 
 wicked men, which have the keeping of such Images, for their greater 
 lucre and advantage, after the example of the Gentiles' idolaters, have 
 reported and spread abroad, as well by lying tales as written fables, 
 divers miracles of Images : as, that such an Image miraculously was sent 
 from heaven, even like the Palladium, or Magna Diana fiphesiorum. 
 Such another was as miraculously found in the earth, as the man's head 
 was in the Capitol, or the horse's head in Capua. Such an image was 
 brought by angels. Such an one came itself, far from the East to the 
 West, as Dame Fortune fled to Rome. Such an Image of our Lady was 
 painted by St. Luke, whom, of a physician, they have made a painter for 
 such purpose. Such an one an hundred yoke of oxen could not move ; 
 like Bona Dea, whom the ship could not carry ; or Jupiter Olympius, 
 which laughed the artificers to scorn, that went about to remove him to 
 Rome. Some Images, though they were hard and stony, yet, for tender 
 heart and pity, wept. Some, like Castor and Pollux, helping their friends 
 in battle, sweat, as marble pillars do in dampish weather. Some spake 
 more monstrously than ever did Balaam's ass, who had life and breath in 
 him. Such a cripple came and saluted this Saint of oak, and by and by 
 he was made whole ; and lo, here hangeth his crutch. Such an one in a 
 tempest vowed to St. Christopher, and scaped ; and behold, here is a ship 
 of wax. Such an one by St. Leonard's help, brake out of prison ; and 
 see where his fetters hang. And infinite thousands more miracles, by 
 like or more shameless lies, were reported. Thus do our Image-main- 
 tainers in earnest, apply to their Images all such miracles, as the Gentiles 
 have feigned of their idols." — {Horn, of Idolatry.) 
 
 («.) On Good Friday, the Cross, being veiled, is, by degrees, uncovered 
 to the people, first one arm, then the other. At the unveiling of each 
 part, the Priest says, as directed by the rubrics of the day, " Eeee 
 lignum Crucit" behold! the wood of the Cross : to which the congregation 
 answers, "adoremus," let us worship. Then the Clergy first, and aftcr- 
 
 M 
 
162 
 
 wards the laity, on their knees, adore the Cross laid on a cushion for 
 that purpose on the altar. And the Roman Pontifical declares, " that 
 the adoration to he given to the Cross, is that which they call Latria, or 
 the highest adoration given to God himself." 
 
 (3.) It is no recommendation of Image Worship, that it is authorized 
 hy a Church which mutilates the Word of God, in order to get rid of the 
 commandment against Image Worship altogether. This is done by 
 adding the former part of the second Commandment to the first, and 
 omitting the latter part entirely. Every traveller, who sees what passes 
 at the shrine of any celebrated Saint, or miraculous Image in Italy, will 
 be convinced by ocular demonstration, that their people are trained, in- 
 structed, and encouraged, to believe that there is a divinity or power, 
 residing in those Images, and that they actually offer up prayers and put 
 their trust in them. For if there is no such belief amongst them, for 
 what purpose do they expose those Images so solemnly, and carry them 
 about processionally, on all occasions of public distress ? Is there any 
 charm in a block of wood or stone, to produce rain, or avert a pestilence ? 
 Or, can senseless Images have any influence towards moving the will of 
 God ? No, the sole end of producing, is not to move God, but the popu- 
 lace; to persuade the deluded multitude, that there is power in the 
 Image, that can draw down blessings upon them from heaven; a doctrine 
 that repays all their pains of inculcating it, by a perpetual supply of 
 wealth to the treasury of the Church. This, therefore, as it appears 
 from undeniable facts, is the universal belief of all Popish countries ; 
 grounded, as they all assert, on the evidence of perpetual miracles, 
 wrought by the particular agency of these sacred Images. In the 
 Church of St. Mary, of Impruneta, near Florence, is a miraculous pic- 
 ture of the Virgin Mary, painted by St. Luke, and held in the greatest 
 veneration through all Tuscany ; which as often as that State happens to 
 be visited by any calamity, or involved in any peculiar danger, is sure to 
 be brought out, and carried in procession through the streets of Florence, 
 attended by the Prince himself, with all the nobility, magistrates, and 
 Clergy ; where it has never failed to afford them present relief, in their 
 greatest difficulties. In testimony of which they produce authentic acts 
 and records, confirmed by public inscriptions, setting forth all the parti- 
 cular bcnefiti miraculously obtained from each procession: and the 
 
163 
 
 several offerings made on that account to the sacred Images, for many 
 centuries past, down to these very times : from the notoriety of which 
 facts, it became a proverb over Italy, " That the Florentines had got a 
 Madonna, which did for them, whatever they pleased." 
 
 During the time of these processions, they always inscribe certain 
 hymns, or prayers, or eulogiums of the Virgin, over the doors and other 
 conspicuous places of each Church, where the Image reposes itself for 
 any time ; in order to raise the devotion of the people towards the sacred 
 object before them. In a procession made some years since, the follow- 
 ing inscription was placed over the principal gate of one of their great 
 churches. " The gate of celestial benefit. The gate of salvation. Look 
 up to the Virgin herself. Pass into me, all ye who desire me. AVhoso- 
 ever shall find me, will find life; and draw salvation from the Lord. 
 For there is no one who can be saved, O most Holy Virgin, but through 
 thee. There is no one who can be dehveretl from evils, but through thee. 
 There is no one from whom we can obtain mercy, but through thee." In 
 the conclusion are these expressions : — " Mary, indeed, opens the bosom 
 of her mercy to all; so that the whole universe receives out of her 
 fulness. The captive, redemption ; the sick, a cure ; the sad, comfort ; 
 the sinner, pardon ; the just, grace ; the angel, joy ; the whole Trinity, 
 glory." 
 
 That these are not antiquated or obsolete customs, the following ex- 
 tract proves. " 1 was prevailed upon by the children and a party of 
 friends to go to the Agostino, to see the miraculous Madonna ; and there 
 the statue stood loaded with finery, and sparkling with jewels, sur- 
 rounded by a dazzling blaze of light ; the spacious temple crowded with 
 prostrate worshippers, screaming with agonizing groans and cries before 
 the senseless stone ! Never did 1 see or hear any thing which so thrilled 
 through me. We could not bear to remain a moment longer, though 
 an Italian servant told us that a miracle was just going to be performed. 
 
 '* The Image is already covered with votive offerings, such as eyes of 
 silver, from those whose sight was said to be restored, &c. On each of 
 the offerings is inscribed, P. G. 3f., per grazia Maria. These practices, 
 we have been told, are for reasons of policy, connived at by government, 
 whenever the minds of the people are disaffected, to give their thoughts a 
 different current. 
 
 "We hear the worship of the ridiculous Madonna still continues, but 
 
 m2 
 
1C4 
 
 in a quieter way : a continued succession of her votaries crowd her altar. 
 Each singly ascends the steps, where, kneeling for a time in silent prayer, 
 after having kissed the foot, he descends to give place to another. The 
 lame hold up their crutches, rubbing them to the statue, as if, by that 
 means, the use of the limbs could be restored, or the crutches become 
 more efficacious in performing their office ; others strike their rosaries 
 against it. We were informed that some curious scenes took place 
 between the Priests of this church and those of the Pantheon, each 
 asserting their own Image to be the truly miraculous one ; and the dis- 
 pute was to be decided by the Pope and Cardinals. The present Pope is 
 more cautious than most of his predecessors, in giving his sanction to 
 these things, though, in all probability, he will hereafter, in the appointed 
 time, be sainted ; as representations of miracles, said to have been per- 
 formed by him, have been printed and sold in the Corso, — such as 
 raising the dead, curing the lame, and restoring sight to the blind. 
 Three capital miracles must be ascertained, to make a Saint. He forbade 
 the sale of these prints, and positively denied the facts, but they are 
 believed here." — ( Three Years in Italy, by a Lady.) 
 
 The variations of opinion by the Church, on the subject of Image 
 Worship, are so extraordinary, that the following abstract cannot but be 
 curious and important. 
 
 I. The ancient Council of Elvira, which sat during the reign of Con- 
 stantino, and therefore, in the early part of the fourth century, strictly 
 enjoined, that neither Paintings nor Images representing the person whom 
 we adore, should be introduced into churches. Matters, however, did 
 not long continue in this state. Images and Pictures, in direct opposition 
 to the Council of Elvira, having at length been unadvisedly admitted, on 
 the plea that they were a sort of books for the unlearned, the idolatrous 
 worship of them soon followed. About the end of the sixth century, a 
 transaction of this nature took place at Marseilles ; and in consequence of 
 it, Serenus the Bishop, wisely removed and destroyed the Images. Here- 
 upon Pope Gregory the Great praised him for the stand which he made 
 against Idolatry ; but under the fond pretext of their utility to the un- 
 learned, blamed him for destroying the Images. Wretchedly injudicious 
 
165 
 
 as was the latter part of this decision, Gregory, at least, speaks fully and 
 expressly against any adoration either of Pictures or of Images. 
 
 " And yet they were no where at the first worshipped ; but shortly 
 after, they began to be worshipped of the ignorant sort of men, as 
 appeareth by the epistle that Gregory, the first of that name. Bishop of 
 Rome, did write to Serenus, Bishop of Marseilles. Of which two Bishops, 
 Sercnus, for Idolatry committed to Images, brake them, and burned them* 
 Gregory, although he thought it tolerable to let them stand, yet he judged 
 it abominable that they should be worshipped ; and thought, as is now 
 Alleged, that the worshipping of them might be stayed, by teaching of 
 God's words ; according as he exhorteth Serenus to teach the people, as in 
 the same epistle appeareth. But whether Gr^ory's opinion, or Serenus' 
 judgment were better herein, consider ye, I pray you ; for experience, by 
 and by, confuteth Gr^ory's opinion. For, notwithstanding Gregory's 
 writing, and the preaching of others. Images being once pubUdy set up 
 in the temples and churches, simple men and women shortly after fell (m 
 heaps to worshipping of them, and at the last, the learned were also 
 carried away with the public error, as with a violent stream or flood; and 
 at the Second Council of Nioene, the Bishops and Clergy decreed that 
 Images should be worshipped : and so, by occasion of these stumbUng- 
 blocks, not only the unlearned and simple, but the learned and wise ; not 
 the people only, but the Bishops ; not the sheep, but also the shepherds 
 themselves— who should have been guides in the right way, and lights to 
 shine in darkness — being bUnded by the bewitching of Images, as blind 
 guides of the blind, fell both into the pit of damnable Idolatry. So that 
 laity and Clergy, learned and unlearned, all ages, secU, and degrees of 
 men, women, and children, of whole Christendom— an horrible and most 
 dreadful thing to think— have been at once drowned in abominable Idol- 
 atry ; of all other vices moat detested of God, and most damnable to 
 roan ; and that by the apace of eight hundred years or more. 
 
 " Let us, therefore, of these latter days, learn this lesson of the experi- 
 ence of ancient antiquity, that idolatry cannot possibly be separated from 
 images any long time ; but that as an unseparable accident, or as a shadow 
 folbweth the body, when the sun shineth, so idohitry foUoweth and 
 cleaveth to the public having of images in temples and churches. And, 
 finally, as idolatry is to be abhorred and avoided, so are hnagcs,— which 
 cannot be long without idolatry,— to be put away and destroyetl. 
 
166 
 
 " Yea, and furthermore the madness of all men, professing the religion 
 of Christ, now by the space of a sort of hundred years, and yet even in 
 our time, in so great light of the Gospel, very many running on heaps 
 by sea and land, to the great loss of their time, expense, and waste of 
 their goods, destitution of their wives, children, and families, and danger 
 of their own bodies and lives, to Compostella, Rome, Jerusalem, and 
 other far countries, to visit dumb and dead stocks and stones, doth suffi- 
 ciently prove the proneness of man's corrupt nature to the seeking of 
 idols once set up, and the worshipping of them. And thus, as well by 
 the origin and nature of idols and images themselves, as by the proneness 
 and inclination of man's corrupt nature to idolatry, it is evident that 
 neither images, if they be publicly set up, can be separated, nor man, if 
 they see images in temples and churches, can be staid and kept, from 
 idolatry." — {Horn, against Peril of Idolatry.) 
 
 Thus stood the question at the close of the sixth century, but, as might 
 easily have been anticipated from the idolatry of the Massilians, the in- 
 troduction of Images soon led to their adoration. This gross abuse 
 was strenuously opposed by the Emperor Leo, the Isaurian ; but as it 
 still continued to increase, his son, Constantine, assembled a Council at 
 Constantinople, in the year 754, which formally condemned and forbade 
 it. The Council of Constantinople, though it agreed in its condemna- 
 tion of Image Worship, both with the decision of Pope Gregory the 
 Great, and with the yet more ancient decision of the Council of Elvira, 
 was yet, on that very account, disowned as a legitimate Council, by the 
 innovating successors of Gregory; and the cause of idolatry rapidly 
 acquired such a degree of strength, that the second Council of Nice, 
 which sat in the year 787, reversed the Decree of the Council of Con- 
 stantinople, pronounced it to be an illegitimate Council, and ordained 
 the adoration of images, in language which strikingly contrasts with the 
 express prohibition of Pope Gregory. " I confess, and agree, and re- 
 ceive, and salute, and adore the unpolluted Image of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ, our true God, and the holy Image of the Holy Mother of God, 
 who bore him without conception of seed." Having thus wholly departed 
 from her former self, the Church, speaking through the mouth of a 
 General Council, had now decreed the orthodoxy and legality of Image 
 Worship : but this Decree was not long suffered to remain undisputed, 
 either in the West or in the East. In the year 794, Charlemagne as- 
 
167 
 
 seinbled, at Frankfort, a Council of three hundred Bishops, who reversed 
 the decision of the second Nicene Council, and who, with one voice, con- 
 demned the worship of Images. 
 
 Such was the solemn judgment of the West, and that of the East 
 speedily followed it; for in the year 8U, the Emperor Leo, imitating the 
 conduct of Charlemagne, assembled another Council at Constantinople, 
 which, like that of Frankfort, rescinded and abolished the Decrees of the 
 second Nicene Council, relative to the worship of Images. Thus, as 
 both the East and the West had concurred in establishing Image Wor- 
 ship, through the medium of the second Council of Nice ; so did both 
 the East and the West concur in condemning Image Worship, through 
 the medium of the Councils of Frankfort and Constantinople. But we 
 have not yet reached the end of this strange, eventful history of multi- 
 plied variations : we must prepare ourselves for yet additional changes of 
 opinion, on the part of a professedly unchangeable and infalHble Church. 
 In the year 842, the Empress Theodora, during the minority of her son, 
 convened yet another Council at Constantinople: and this assembly, 
 differing entirely from its immediate predecessor, reinstated the Decrees 
 of the second Nicene Council, and thus re-established Image Worship. 
 
 Meanwhile, the Church of the Western Patriarchate continued to 
 maintain, that the second Nicene Council had erred in its decision ; for 
 in the year 824, Louis the Meek assembled a Council at Paris, which 
 confirmed the Decrees of the Council of Frankfort, and which strictly 
 prohibited the payment of any, even the smallest, religious worship to 
 Images. The Church of the Eastern Patriarchate, however, subsequent 
 to the year 842, persevered in declaring, that the decision of the second 
 Nicene Coimcil was an orthodox decision, and that Images ought to be 
 devoutly worshipped by all good Christians. To ettablish this point, 
 therefore, an additional Council was assembled in the year 879 ; and the 
 Fathers of that Synod decreed the undoubted obligation of Image Wor- 
 ship, and confirmed and renewed the Decrees of the Second Council of 
 Nice. 
 
 Such has been the multiplied variations of the Church, in regard to 
 the single point of Image Worship ; and yet, says the learned Bishop 
 of Meaux, the Church which professes to deckre and to teach nothing, 
 save what she has received, never varies ; but heresy, on the contrary, 
 which began by innovation, never changes its nature. 
 
PART 11. 
 VIEW OF THE RELIGIOUS WORSHIP, 
 
 ECCLESIASTICAL POLITY, 
 
 AND 
 
 CEREMONIAL OBSERVANCES, 
 
 or 
 
 THE CHURCH OF ROME. 
 
 ** The worldly pomp and tplendor of their worship, the multiplicity of their 
 rites, their processions, their numerous lights, the tonsure of their Clergy, their 
 Instral water, and sacerdotal vestments, with other institutions of human invention, 
 to be merely childish, and scarcely to deserve serious regard; but they 
 of vast importance, when wc consider that they are the oftpring of prin- 
 ciples and sentiments, which tend to frustrate the grace of God, and the salvation 
 of souls." 
 
 ''The Church of Rome knowing herself to b« a foul, filthy, old, withered, 
 harlot ; undersUnding her lack of natural and true beauty, and great loathsome- 
 ness, which of herself, she hath ; doth, aAer the custom of such harlots, paint 
 herself, and deck, and attire herself, with gold, pearl, stone, and all kind of pre- 
 cious Jewels, that the shining with the outward beauty and glory of them, may 
 please the foolish phantasy of some lovers, and so entice them to spiritual fornica- 
 tion with her, who, if they saw her but in simple apparel, would abhor her, as the 
 foulest and filthiest harlot that ever was seen."— (ffam. of Idolatry, part 3.) 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 It is easy to understand upon what principle the 
 Idolatry and Superstitions of Paganism were at first 
 adopted, and are still continued, by the Church of 
 Rome ; they present something tangible and visible 
 for the external senses to rest upon, in the place of 
 that spiritual Religion, which the Bible, in all its 
 parts, supposes as essential to salvation. Christianity, 
 in its pure and primitive structure, had no charms 
 for those Pagans who had been accustomed to 
 those imposing exteriors of forms and ceremonies, 
 which, while they amused their minds, and pacified 
 their consciences, required no particular sacrifices, and 
 left them in undisturbed possession of their former 
 pleasures. The Church of Rome, aware of this fact, 
 entered accordingly into a compromise with the old 
 Idolatry. Her object was secular dominion, and while 
 tl\is might be attained, she regarded the illumination 
 and conversion of the world but as secondary objects, 
 or rather, as things more likely to obstruct her schemes 
 of worldly policy, than to advance them. No writer 
 
172 
 
 has better established this fact than the celebrated 
 Gale, who, after proving, with extensive erudition, 
 how Paganism and Popery symbolized in a variety of 
 particulars, observes, '^ The carnal professors of Chris- 
 tianity, who were most numerous, were not content 
 to part with their Pagan rites ; wherefore, to compro- 
 mise the matter, they turned their Pagan rites into 
 Christian solemnities, and so christened their daemon 
 festivals under the name of some Christian Martyr 
 and Saint; and that which made this design more 
 plausible was this : — some groundless hopes, by such 
 symbolizing with the Pagans, to gain them over to 
 embrace the Christian Religion, which vain attempt 
 was so far blasted by God, as that it proved but a door 
 to let in Antichrist and all his Idol worship into the 
 Church of Rome r Human nature being the same in 
 every age, there is no doubt that the Idolatries and 
 Superstitions of the Romish Church have, from the 
 earliest period of her history, had the force of retain- 
 ing within her visible pale a vast majority in succession, 
 who, if they had not been nominal Christians, would 
 have been professed Infidels, but who found in the 
 round of external and pharisaical observances which 
 Popery prescribes, a sedative for their fears, and a 
 substitute for their piety. 
 
 In reading the following pages, the true Christian 
 will in vain look for that which constitutes true and 
 acceptable service — here is nothing of that spiritual 
 worship which is alone acceptable in the sight of God 
 
— that humility which a broken heart inspires— otot 
 that holy fervor which a sense of the divine goodness 
 kindles. The whole of the Roman Ceremonial may 
 be scrupulously gone through, and the soul remain 
 unaffected by the sense of its guilt — the evil of sin — 
 or the greatness of the love of God. The Priesthood, 
 indeed, are elevated to the level of Deity, but Jesus 
 and His love are but little regarded. Forgetting God, 
 the poor blind devotees of this degrading superstition 
 worship they know not what : disregarding the divine 
 assurance, that there is but one Mediator between God 
 and men, they bow with stupid adoration before dumb 
 idols, invoking their intercession; and trust to an 
 arm of flesh for that protection which the Mighty 
 God alone can give. Surely, as we read of such 
 heartless, cold, formal service, every pious mind will 
 ejaculate a fervent prayer to the God of all grace, 
 that His Blessed Spirit may revive these dead, and 
 breathe into them the breath of that spiritual life 
 which can alone enable them to offer unto Him true 
 and acceptable service. 
 
PART II. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 ROMAN liturgy; MASS, OR DAILY SERVICE. 
 
 The Worship of this Church is Liturgical, and, throughout 
 the greatest part of its extent, the Latin language is used in 
 all public and authorized religious worship, although that lan- 
 guage has, for many ages, ceased to be a vulgar tongue. Her 
 object in this practice is, we are told, " to preserve uniformity ; 
 to avoid the changes to which living languages are exposed, 
 and thereby to avoid the novelties which might be thus intro- 
 duced ; to facilitate the commerce of different Churches on 
 religious matters ; and to promote a spirit of study and learning 
 among her ministers ;^ nor docs she admit that by this practice 
 her members sustain any injury or loss. That the Apostles 
 and first founders of the Christian faith preached the Gospel, 
 and celebrated the holy mysteries, in the language of the 
 several people whom they converted, seems, says Mr. Bering- 
 ton, to be a point generally admitted. But when, in process 
 of time, from various causes, changes took place, and new 
 tongues were spoken, the old still retained the place of honor; 
 and the Church, ever tenacious of antiquity, judged it proper 
 not to depart from the form which she had received. Every 
 
176 
 
 day's experience, says our author, proves, that modern lan- 
 guages are Hable to change; while those that have ceased 
 to be spoken — ^from this very circumstance, and because, from 
 the valuable works written in them, they were cultivated by 
 the learned — were become permanently stable. Beside, the 
 majesty and decorum of religious worship are best maintained, 
 while no vulgar phraseology debased its expression ; whilst the 
 mere fact of the identity of language, is a convincing proof of 
 the antiquity of the Catholic faith. As this faith is every 
 where one, so, as far as might be, it seems right that there 
 should be one common language, whereby the members pro- 
 fessing it might communicate with one another, and with their 
 ecclesiastical superiors, whether in council, or in any other 
 form of intercourse. It is thus gratifying and highly profit- 
 able that, from this uniformity of language, when a Catholic 
 travels into distant countries, he every where finds a service 
 celebrated, to the language and ceremonies of which his eyes 
 and ears had always been habituated. He can join in it ; and 
 though removed, perhaps, a thousand miles from home, the 
 moment he enters a church, in the principal offices of religion 
 he ceases to be a stranger." 
 
 The Liturgy, or order of the Mass almost universally 
 adopted, is that contained in the Roman Missal, which, in 
 the opinion of most members of this Church, owes its origin 
 to St. Peter, although various additions have been made to it 
 at different times. Unless in very particular circumstances, 
 such as times of persecution, &c.. Mass is not said any where 
 but in a church, or place set aside for public worship. It can 
 be said only from morning dawn till mid-day, at least in ordi- 
 nary cases. The priest who says it, must be fasting from the 
 midnight before, " out of respect for the victim of which he 
 is to partake ; "" and, in general, no priest can say more than 
 
177 
 
 one Mass on one day. When the Priest officiates, he is 
 attired in sacred vestments, which are understood " to represent 
 those with which Christ was clothed in the course of his bitter 
 passion ;**' and also to be the emblems of those virtues with 
 which the soul of a Priest ought to be adorned. These gar- 
 ments are intended to hide the littleness of man ; to make him 
 forget himself while clothed in the robes of a superior character ; 
 to gain the respect of the people, who no longer consider on 
 that occasion what he is, as a man, but lose sight of the indi- 
 vidual, which is lost in the character of Jesus Christ, which 
 he represents. Mass is never said except on an altar, fixed or 
 portable, set aside for that particular purpose by the solemn 
 prayer and benediction of a Bishop. The altar is always 
 covered with linen cloths, and generally contains relics of 
 Saints.* As the Mass is commemorative of our Saviour''s 
 passion and death upon the Cross ; to put the Priest and people 
 in mind of these, there is always an image of Christ crucified 
 upon the altar. There are also two or more lighted candlcs,-f- 
 
 * A stranger will not be more surprised at the number of lamps or 
 wax lights^ burning before their altars, than at the number of offer- 
 ings, or votive gifts, which are hanging all round them, in consequence 
 of vows made in the time of danger, and in gratitude for deUveranccs 
 and cures, wrought in sickness or distress. 
 
 t No sooner is a man advanced a little forward into their churches, and 
 begins to look about him, but he will find his eyes and attention attracted 
 by a number of lamps and wax candles, which are constantly burning 
 f before the shrines and images of their saints. " In all the great churches of 
 Italy," says Mabillon, " they hang up lamps at every altar ; and it is sur- 
 prising to see, how great a number of this kind are perpetually burning 
 before the altars of their principal saints, or miraculous images, as St. 
 Anthony of Padua, or the Lady of Loretto ; as well as the vast profusion 
 of wax candles, with which their churches are illuminated on every great 
 festival : when the high altar, covered with gold and silver plate, brought 
 
178 
 
 as tokens of joy, " and to denote the light of faith." In 
 solemn Masses incense is used,* as an emblem of prayer as- 
 cending to God, as the smoke ascends from the censer. 
 
 out of their treasuries, and stuck full of wax lights, disposed in beautiful 
 figures, looks more like the sideboard of some great prince, dressed out for 
 a feast, than an altar to pay divine worship at." — {Middleton, pp. 325, 6.) 
 
 " ^Vliat should it mean, that they, according as did the Gentiles' Idola- 
 ters, light candles at noon-time or at midnight, before them, hut therewith 
 to honor them ? For other use is there none in so doing. For in the day it 
 needeth not ; but was ever a proverb of foolishness, to light a candle at 
 noon-time. And in the night it availeth not to light a candle before the 
 blind ; and God hath neither use nor honor thereof. And concerning this 
 candle-lighting, it is notable that Lactantius, above a thousand years ago, 
 hath written after this manner : If they would behold the heavenly light of 
 the sun, then should they perceive that God hath no need of their candles, 
 who for the use of man hath made so goodly a light. And by and by he 
 saith, Seemeth he, therefore, to be in his right mind, who ofFereth up to 
 God, the Giver of all light, the light of a wax candle for a gift ? He 
 requireth another light of us, which is not smoky, but bright and clear, 
 even the light of the mind and understanding. And shortly after he 
 saith. But their Gods, because they be earthly, have need of light, lest 
 they remain in darkness : whose worshippers, because they understand 
 no heavenly thing, do draw religion, which they use, down to the earth, 
 in the which, being dark of nature, is need of light. Wherefore they 
 give to their Gods no heavenly, but the earthly, understanding of mortal 
 men. And therefore they believe those things to be necessary and plea- 
 sant unto them, which are so to us ; who have need either of meat when * 
 we be hungry, or drink when we be thirsty, or clothing when we be 
 cold, or, when the sun is set, candle-light, that we may see." — {Ho?n. 
 on Idolatry.) 
 
 • The very first thing that a stranger must necessarily take notice of, 
 as soon as he enters their churches, is the use of incense or perfumes in 
 their religious offices; the first step which he takes within the door, will 
 be sure to make him sensible of it, by the offence that he will immediately 
 receive from the smell, as well as smoke of this incense ; with which the 
 whole church continues filled for some time after every solemn service. • 
 
179 
 
 Incense is also used as a token of honor to the thing incensed. 
 Masses are divided into solemn or high Mass, and plain or 
 low Mass ; Mass sung, or said ; public Mass, or private Mass. 
 A solemn Mass, is Mass offered up with all the due solem- 
 nities, by the Bishop or Priest, attended by a Deacon, Sub- 
 deacon, and other Ministers, each officiating in his part Such 
 a Mass is always sung ; and hence, a choir of singers accom- 
 panics it, with an organ, if possible; and at times, other 
 instrumental music. Mass, when divested of all these solem- 
 nities, and in which only the Priest officiates, is a plain, or 
 low Mass. The Priest, however, may either sing the Mass, 
 attended by the choir, or say it. Hence, the difference between 
 Mass sung and said. Mass may be attended by a crowd of 
 people, or it may be said with few or none present, except the 
 Clerk, to attend the officiating Priest. When the Mass is 
 numerously attended, all, or many, of those present, may par- 
 take of the sacrifice, by communion, or none may communicate 
 with the Priest. These differences make the Mass public or 
 private, and it is admitted, that private Masses have become 
 
 A custom received directly from paganittn, and which presently called to 
 my mind the old descriptions of the heathen temples and aJiars, which are 
 seldom or never mentioned by the ancients without the epithet o( perfumed 
 or incensed. — {Middle/on s Letters.) 
 
 " The use of torches and incense is supposed," says Eustace, " to have 
 been introduced into the church in the third century ; it originated in 
 the East, but soon became general ; it was founded on figurative reasons. 
 The former were borne before the Book of the Gospels, and reminded the 
 faithful of the light diffused over the universe, by the promulgation of 
 the sacred volume, and of ' that true light that enligbtencth every man 
 that Cometh into the world.' The latter had been expressly commanded 
 in the Old Law, and was considered in the New, as a fit accompaniment 
 to ' be offered with the prayers of the SainU upon the golden alur, before 
 the throne.'" 
 
 V 2 
 
180 
 
 more common in latter ages. The Priest who is to celebrate, 
 after some time previously spent in prayer and meditation, by 
 way of preparation for the solemn mystery, as well to recollect 
 his thoughts, as to specify the intention with which he offers 
 up the Mass, whether it be for any individual, living or dead, 
 for the whole Church, for himself, or for the necessities of the 
 congregation present, proceeds, with the Deacon, Sub-deacon, 
 and other Ministers, to put on the sacred vestment. He then 
 goes in procession with them from the vestry to the altar, 
 the Acolytes carrying incense, and lights, while the choir sing 
 the anthem and psalm, which, for this reason, is called the 
 mtroit.* The Priest, being come before the altar, stops at the 
 foot of it, bows, confesses generally to the Almighty God, and 
 to all the Saints, that he has sinned most grievously, and that 
 in every way, both by thoughts, words, and deeds ; and through 
 his own most grievous fault. This being the case, he begs all 
 the Saints of heaven, whom he has called as the witnesses of 
 his sins, to be also intercessors for his pardon, and to pray to 
 
 * The diflferent parts of the Mass were gradually formed into one ser- 
 vice, in the following order. The Introit, or Psalm, at the commence- 
 ment, was first used by Pope Celestine, about the year 430 ; and con- 
 firmed by Pope Gregory, about 594. The other parts were also introduced 
 by different Popes. The Psalms, by Celestine, about 424. The Song of 
 the Angels, by Pope Symmachus, about 510. The Gradual, by Pope 
 Gregory. The Sequences, by Nicholas I., 858. The Creed, by Marcus, 
 340. Orate pro me, by Leo, 440. The Preface of the Canon, by 
 Gelasius, about 482. The elevation and adoration of the Wafer was 
 ordained by Honorius, so late as A. D. 1222. The Paternoster was ordered 
 to be recited by Gregory, about 600. The Agnus, by Sergius 700. The 
 Pax was introduced by Innocent I., about 400. The first Latin Masses were 
 sung in the Council of Constantinople, about 674. The present form of 
 distribution to the people, by only giving the bread, or wafer, was di- 
 rected by the Council of Constance, A.D. 1414, although from the old books 
 of the Mass, it is clear that the cup had previously been given to the laity. 
 
181 
 
 the Lord our God for him. The Minister and assistants, then, 
 in like manner, on behalf of the people, repeat the same con- 
 fession after the priest, acknowledging that they arc altogether 
 an assembly of sinners, who have come to implore the divine 
 mercy, because they stand in need of it. This confession is to 
 beg of God pardon for daily and unknown faults, that the 
 awful mystery may be celebrated with all imaginable purity. 
 For the same reason Kyrie eleeson, Christe eleeson^ are several 
 times repeated; being addressed three times to God the 
 Father, as our Creator, as our Protector, as our Parent ; thrice 
 to God the Son, as our High Priest, as our Victim of Atone- 
 ment, and as our Brother ; and lastly, to the Holy Ghost, as 
 the Author of Grace, the Inspirer of Prayer, and the Sanc- 
 tifier of our Souls. This being finished, the Priest, without 
 moving from his place, begins the Gloria in excelsis, which 
 is called the Hymn of the Angels, because the first words of it 
 were sung by the Angels, at our Saviour's birth. As this is a 
 canticle of joy and gladness, the Church, when in mourning, 
 in Lent, in Advent, and in Masses for the dead, forbids the 
 use of this hymn, even in the time of Mass, because the 
 minds of the congregation should then be wholly occupied with 
 affections of grief, melancholy, or sorrow, for our Saviour's 
 passion, for our own sins, or the sufferings of the souls for 
 whom she is praying. The Gloria being ended, the Priest, 
 kissing the altar, and tiuning towards the people with extended 
 arms, salutes them in these words : ** Dominua volnscum,'" the 
 Lord be with you. The people answer, by applying the same 
 earnest wish to him, saying, " and with thy spirit.*' The arms 
 are extended, and then closed, to express, by that gesture, the 
 affection with which he embraces his flock. The Priest then 
 goes up to the altar, bows down in the posture of humiliation ; 
 kisses it with respect ; makes mention of the Saint whose relics 
 
182 
 
 are there ; incenses it ; and having saluted the people, imme- 
 diately turns to the book, and reads the prayer of the day. 
 On great festivals there is only one prayer, which has always 
 reference to the solemnity then celebrating. Thus, at Easter, 
 allusion is made to the resurrection of our Saviour ; at Christ- 
 mas, to his nativity ; in Masses for the dead, mention is made 
 of the souls prayed for ; and on the feasts of Saints, we com- 
 memorate the particular virtues, for which they were each 
 distinguished. In Lent, and penitentiary times, there are 
 other prayers beside that of the day, still bearing some allusion 
 to the circumstances of the times. The Sub-deacon then sings, 
 (or, in low Masses, the Priest himself reads,) a lesson of the 
 Old or New Testament, called the Epistle, because commonly 
 taken from the Epistles of St. Paul, or of the other Apostles. 
 This is followed by the singing of Alleluias, and some verses 
 of the Psalms, called the Gradual and Tract. 
 
 In Lent, and penitential times, instead of these expressions 
 of joy, strains of the deepest compunction and regret only are 
 used. These being concluded, the book is removed to the 
 other side of the altar, when all the people rise up, to show, by 
 their postures of standing, their eagerness to hear the Gospel; 
 the Priest also, as he passes from one side of the altar to the 
 other, bows down in the middle, and the Deacon prays on his 
 knees that God would make him worthy to announce the Gos- 
 pel ; and, after having received the Priest's blessing, proceeds 
 to the place appointed for the solemn recitation of it, accompa- 
 nied by the Acolytes, with lights and incense. As soon as the 
 book of the Gospel appears, all rise up, and continue standing 
 while it is read, to show their readiness to perform what is there 
 taught. In naming the Evangelist from which the Gospel is 
 taken, the reader signs the cross upon his forehead, his mouth, 
 and his breast. On his forehead, to show that he is not 
 
183 
 
 ashamed of Christ's doctrine ; on his mouth, to show his readi- 
 ness to proclaim it to others ; and on his breast, to show that 
 he entertains a sincere affection for it in his heart. When the 
 Gospel is finished, the Book is conveyed to the Priest, who 
 kisses it as a token of respect. After the Gospel, follows the 
 Nicene Creed, which is immediately recited at the altar, while 
 it is sung by the choir ; it is omitted on some days, particularly 
 in Masses for the dead. In low Masses, the Priest himself 
 reads the Gospel. At this part of the Mass, in Parish 
 churches, and sometimes in other places, a discourse, or exhor- 
 tation, drawn from the Gospel, is delivered to the people. 
 Here ends the first part of the Mass. 
 
 The Second, which rises greatly in importance above all 
 that has been explained, now follows. The Priest, from the 
 altar, again salutes the people, and then makes an oblation to 
 God, of bread and wine, which are the matters of the sacrifice. 
 The wine is first mixed with a little water, to represent the 
 water which flowed, with blood, from the side of Christ, — to 
 signify the union of the divine and human nature in him, and 
 of the faithful with Jesus Christ. Being now about to bless 
 these offerings, the Priest bows down his head, in a spirit of 
 humility, then lifts up his hands to heaven, whence every 
 blessing must come, and makes the sign of the Cross upon 
 them, and says, " Come, thou Sanctifier, and bless this sacri- 
 fice, which is prepared for thy holy name.*" The Priest, in 
 High Masses, then incenses the oblation. After this he pro- 
 ceeds to receive the offerings of the people, where the custom 
 of receiving offerings from them prevails; the Priest then 
 proceeds to wash his hands, begging of God the necessary 
 purity. In this ceremony, the Priest only washes the tips of 
 his fingers, not his whole hands, to signify, that the purity 
 with which he ought to approach the altar, should be not only 
 
184 
 
 from larger and mortal sins, but even from the most trivial 
 offences or affections to sin, which are properly enough repre- 
 sented by the extremities of the fingers ; then, turning about, 
 the Priest recommends himself to the prayers of the people. 
 This is the last time that the Priest turns to the people, till 
 the sacrifice is accomplished, and the communion received. 
 The reason of this is, that he is now entering upon the most 
 solemn part of the Mass, which requires his utmost attention, 
 which must not, henceforward, be distracted, by turning away 
 from the object ; nor does the Priest turn his back towards the 
 altar, during the presence of the sacrament upon it, lest he 
 might appear to act irreverently. After this follows the Secret, 
 being one or more prayers, always said in silence, correspond- 
 ing to the collect of the day, and which immediately precedes 
 the preface by which the second part of the Mass ends, and 
 the THiED begins. At this time is also rung a little bell, to 
 give notice to all the people, that the Priest is now reciting the 
 Holy Canticle. It is usual also for the people, at this part of 
 the Mass, to bow down their heads and their breasts. With 
 hearts thus prepared, and minds raised above earthly things, 
 the Priest, the Ministers, and people, proceed to attend to the 
 most awful part of the Mass, in the canon or rule for conse- 
 crating the Eucharist, which is never materially changed, 
 whatever be the office. It is said by the Priest, in a low 
 voice,* to express the silence of Christ in his passion, and that 
 
 * The most solemn part of the service is recited in a low tone, audible 
 only to those who surround the altar ; a circumstance which surprises 
 Protestants, and has frequently been censured with severity. However, 
 this custom is almost coeval with the Liturgy itself, and seems to have 
 commenced almost immediately after the apostolic age. It was, in all 
 probability, a measure of precaution. One of the most sacred rites of 
 Christianity, that of Baptism, had been exposed to public ridicule on the 
 
185 
 
 all may be impressed with reverence and awe for the sacred 
 mysteries. It consists oijive prayers. In the Jlrst, the Priest 
 prays for all the Church ; and by name, for the Pope, and the 
 Bishop of the tliocese ; for those whom he desires particularly 
 to recommend, for all the Assistants, their families, &c. He 
 makes mention of the Blessed Virgin, the Apostles, and some 
 Mart}Ts, in order to express the union between the Church 
 militant and triumphant, and to obtain the assistance of their 
 prayers. Then he stretches his hands over the oblation, beg- 
 ging that it may become acceptable to God, by becoming the 
 body and blood of Jesus Christ. The thied prayer con- 
 tains the history of the institution and the consecration of the 
 elements, by the Priest'*8 pronouncing the words of Jesus 
 Christ himself. We have already seen that the essence of the 
 sacrifice is contained in the consecration.* As soon as the 
 
 stage ; and, to prevent the recurrence of a similar profanation, in a more 
 awful institution, it was thought prudent to confine the knowledge of 
 the Eucharistic Prayer to the Clerical order. When a custom is once 
 established, reasons are never wanting to justify its continuance ; and 
 the secresy, which the fear of profanation rendered necessary in times of 
 persecution, was continued, from motives of respect, in the days of Chris- 
 tian prosperity. Every person acquainted with ecclesiastical antiquity, 
 knows with what extreme delicacy the Fathers of the fourth century 
 speak of the mysteries, and, of course, will not wonder that the Roman 
 Church, which glories in its adherence to antiquity, should continue the 
 same practice. Besides, it is considered as more conformable to the na- 
 ture of the mysterious institution, and more favorable to the indulgence 
 of devotion, both in the Priest, and in the congregation, than the most 
 emphatic and solemn recitation. Impressed with this idea, the Greeks 
 have, from time immemorial, drawn curtains, and in latter ages, raised a 
 screen, before the altar, that conceals the Priest from public view, and 
 environs him as the High Priest of old, when he entered the Holy of 
 Holies, with the awful solitude of the sanctuary .—(fita/ac?.) 
 • The Rubric of the Missal says, " If any Priest should have before 
 
186 
 
 words of the consecration are pronounced, the Priest kneels 
 down to adore Jesus Christ present ; and immediately elevates 
 first the Host, and then the Chalice, in memory of Christ^^s 
 being raised upon the Cross, and that the people also may 
 adore him. Having laid these down on the altar, the Priest 
 
 him eleven Hosts, and should intend to consecrate only ten, not deter- 
 mining which ten he intends, in these cases he does not consecrate, be- 
 cause INTENTION IS REQUIRED. It is othcrwisc, if thinking indeed 
 that there are ten, he should wish, however, to consecrate all the Hosts 
 before him ; for then all will he consecrated, and therefore the Priest 
 ought always to have such intention, namely, of consecrating all those 
 which are placed before him for consecration." — {Homan Missal, Dublin, 
 Richard Coyne, 1822, Rubric de Defect, p. 53.) 
 
 And here we may inquire, as Transubstantiation depends on the in- 
 tention of the Priest, how is an individual to know whether the Priest 
 has the intention } Can he enter into his heart .'' In cases where there 
 is no Transubstantiation, is there not direct idolatry in worshipping that 
 which, by the acknowledgment of the Church of Rome, is not God ? 
 And how can any individual, according to such a principle, be sure that 
 he is not guilty of idolatry, the intention of the Priest being necessary to 
 Transubstantiation? The people, therefore, cannot know, even accord- 
 ing to their own principles, whether they worship God, or not. We 
 shall be told, that it is not the fault of the people, for they do not mean 
 to worship that which is not consecrated, but to worship God. So say 
 idolaters — we only worship God through the image. Hence, this mode 
 of arguing would justify idolatry generally. Again, bear in mind, that 
 this doctrine of intention is not confined to the Eucharist; it runs 
 through the whole system. How does the Priest know, whether he is a 
 Priest or not ? He is not certain that the Bishop who ordained him, 
 intended to ordain him. Neither does he know whether he is baptized 
 or not ; for unless the officiating Priest had intention, the outward cere- 
 mony failed. Marriage also, according to the Church of Rome, is null 
 and void, unless intention accompanies the performance of the ceremony, 
 on the part of the Priest. See, then, the awful results of this pernicious 
 doctrine ! 
 
187 
 
 kneels again, and bows his head in a second act of adoration. 
 During this ceremony, the server tinkles a little bell, to awaken 
 the attention of the congregation. In the mean time, the 
 people also bow down their heads, being already upon their 
 knees, and strike their breasts. He then continues the third 
 prayer, making a commemoration of the passion, resurrection, 
 and ascension of Jesus Christ, and beseeching God that he 
 would vouchsafe to receive the sacrifice favorably, as he did 
 those of Abel, Abraham, and Melchisedeck, which were figures 
 of it ; and that those who partake of it, may be replenished 
 with every heavenly blessing. The attitude of the Priest is 
 changed when he comes to this part. Hitherto he has recited 
 the prayers of the Canon in an erect posture, with his hands 
 mostly lifted up to heaven ; but now he joins his hands before 
 his breast, and bows down his head to the lowest degree that 
 the altar will admit. In this posture of prostrate humility he 
 recites the prayer, till, towards the conclusion, he kisses the 
 altar, and resumes his former upright posture. In the fourth 
 prayer, the Priest recommends to God the faithful departed in 
 general, and those in particular for whom he intends to pray. 
 " Be mindful, O Lord, of thy servants, men and women, who 
 are gone before us in the sign of faith, and have rested in the 
 sleep of peace."" Having said these words, the Priest, joining 
 his hands before his breast, prays a few moments for them, and 
 mentions any names of persons for whom he particularly wishes 
 to pray, or offer up the Mass. Then, extending his hands 
 again, he concludes his prayer in these words: "To these, 
 O Lord, and to all that rest in Christ, grant, wc beseech thee, 
 a place of refreshment, light, and peace.*" In the ffth, he 
 mentions several Saints, and, beating his breast, begs that wc 
 sinners may have some part of their glory, through the mercy 
 of God. In fine, he lifts the Host over the Chalice, honoring 
 
188 
 
 the blessed Trinity, acknowledging its goodness to us through 
 Jesus Christ, and, through him, offering it all honor and 
 glory. During the elevation, all the Ministers kneel in pro- 
 found adoration, and either themselves hold tapers, or others 
 are introduced, bearing lighted torches. Thus finishes the 
 THiED part of the Mass. 
 
 The Fourth part begins by the Priest's breaking the long 
 silence he has observed since the Preface, by chaunting, or 
 reciting aloud the Lord's Prayer, which is followed up by a 
 prayer for deliverance from evil, and for peace in our days. 
 At the conclusion of this prayer, the Priest kneels down to 
 adore the Blessed Sacrament ; he then breaks the Host into 
 three pieces, to imitate that done by Jesus Christ himself, at 
 the last supper, and in remembrance of his body being broken 
 on the Cross ; one of the parts he drops into the chalice, to 
 signify that the body and blood of Christ are but one sacra- 
 ment ; he then once more begs for peace, concord, and charity, 
 in order to approach the spotless Lamb. For a token of this 
 peace, in solemn Masses, the Clergy embrace each other. 
 After this follow three prayers, by way of preparation for re- 
 ceiving Jesus Christ. The Priest, after striking his breast, 
 and declaring himself unworthy, proceeds to communicate him- 
 self, in both kinds,* in order to consume the sacrifice, and then 
 
 * The directions of the Roman Missal, in reference to the celebration 
 of Mass, are minute, and even disgusting ; as the following extract will 
 prove : — *'If, through negligence, any part of the blood of Christ should 
 fell upon the ground, or upon the table, let it be licked up, and let it be 
 sufficiently scraped, and the scrapings burned, but let the ashes be buried 
 in holy ground. But if it should fall upon the stone of the altar, let the 
 Priest drink up the drop, and let the place be well washed, and the 
 washing thrown into holy ground. If the drop should reach the first, 
 second, and third linen cloth, let the cloths be three times washed where 
 the drop fell, the chalice having been placed under, and let the water of 
 
189 
 
 administers the communion, in the species of bread, to such of 
 the Assistants as may be disposed to partake of the sacrifice. 
 The prayer used by the Priest is repeated three times, and at 
 each repetition the little bell tinkles, to excite the attention of 
 the congregation ; and as a signal to the laity, who intend to 
 communicate, to approach the sacred table. Having made 
 the sign of the Cross, the Priest immediately receives the com- 
 munion, and, with his hands joined before him, stands for a 
 little while, in deep but silent meditation upon what he has 
 done. The Priest then proceeds, by an ablution, first of wine, 
 and then of water, to remove from the chalice and hh own 
 
 ablution be thrown into holy ground. But if it should fall only on the 
 sacerdotal vestments themselves, they ought in the same manner to be 
 washed, and the washing be thrown into holy ground. If it should fall 
 upon the cloth, or the carpet, placed underneath the feet, let it be well 
 washed, as before. If it should happen that all the blood should be 
 poured forth after consecration, if indeed any, even a little shall remain, 
 let that be taken, and let that which has been mentioned be done with 
 the remainder of the blood. But if none shall remain, let the Priest 
 take wine in the Chalice again, and let him consecrate it from that place, 
 ' likewise after supper,' the oblation, however, of the chalice, having been 
 made as before. If the Priest should disgorge the Eucharist, if the 
 species should appear entire, let them be reverently taken, if nausea does 
 not prevent ; in that case, let the consecrated species be cautiously sepa< 
 rated, and laid up in some secret place, until they become corrupted ; and 
 afterwards let them be thrown into holy ground. But if the spedes do 
 not appear, let that be burned which has been disgorged, and the ashes 
 thrown into holy ground. If the consecrated Host, or any part of it, faU 
 upon the ground, let it be reverently taken up, and the place where it 
 fell, cleansed, and a little scraped, and let the dust, or scrapings of that 
 nature, be thrown into holy ground. If it should fall without the cor- 
 poral, upon the napkin, or in any manner upon any cloth, let the napkin, 
 or cloth, be carefuUy washed, and let the washing itself be poured out 
 upon holy ground." — De defect, eirc. Miss. oee. Mia. Rom. 18«2. Thihf. 
 
190 
 
 fingers, all remains of the consecrated elements. The Mass 
 concludes with a versical thanksgiving out of the Scriptures, 
 and some prayers for the same purpose, some of them bearing 
 a reference to the office of the day, and analogous to the col- 
 lect ; after which the Priest, or Deacon in High Masses, gives 
 the people leave to depart. The Priest gives them his blessing 
 previous to their departure, and reads the first part of St. 
 John's Gospel, which bears such ample testimony to the di- 
 vinity and incarnation of the Son of God, as well as his good- 
 ness in regard to man. This constitutes the chief part, if not 
 the whole, of the morning service of the Church : and in all 
 this, the congregation in general appear to be little interested 
 or concerned ; for though they are " taught to assist at Mass, 
 with the same disposition that a good Christian would have 
 cherished at the foot of the Cross," they are left at liberty to 
 accompany the Priest through the different parts, according to 
 the directions contained in their manuals, or " to exercise their 
 souls in other corresponding prayers," and the consequence is, 
 that many, it is too apparent, do neither the one nor the other. 
 And though the Mass is thus celebrated, at least every Lord's 
 Day, the present discipline of the Church requires her mem- 
 bers to communicate only once a year; and while compara- 
 tively few receive much oftener, many, it is feared, are not 
 even annual communicants.* They are, indeed, instructed, 
 
 * A modern defender of the Roman Catholic faith, after quoting the 
 Decree of the Council of Trent, respecting the communion of each kind, 
 gives the following explanation of the unauthorized prohibition of the 
 cup to the laity ; which is cited as a specimen of special pleading, and 
 an illustration of the way in which the authority of the Scriptures is set 
 aside by the self-constituted authority of the Church of Rome. *' It is 
 admitted," says the author of ' The Faith of the Catholics/ " that from 
 the earliest time, down to the 12th century, the faithful of both sexes, 
 laity as well as Clergy, when they assisted at the public and solemn 
 
191 
 
 " when they do not communicate in reality, to do so in spirit, 
 by fervent desires of being made worthy to partake of the sacred 
 
 celebration of the Christian service, were admitted to communion, gene- 
 rally received under both kinds; but, during the same period, there 
 seems never to have been any positive ecclesiastical precept so to do, for 
 to infants, we often read, the communion was given, sometimes under 
 one kind, sometimes under another. In times of persecution, or under 
 difficulties, or when long journeys were undertaken, the consecrated bread 
 was permitted to be carried away ; the same was taken to the sick, where 
 there was a repugnance to the taste of wine ; the bread also was alone 
 given. It may, then, it seems, be said, that, unless on public and solemn 
 occasions, the faithful, in the times of which we are speaking, communi- 
 cated under one kind alone ; while the Priesthood, to whom the com- 
 mand of Christ, * Do this in remembrance of me,' (Luke xxii.) we be- 
 lieve, solely applies, and when employed in the duty of their sacred 
 function, received under both. The completion of the mysterious insti- 
 tution demanded this. 
 
 '* But many abuses and accidents, through carelessness or incaution, 
 happening in distribution of the consecrated wine ; and the use of the 
 bread alone, on so many occasions, being permitted, and the belief that 
 Christ was wholly present under each species, authorizing the practice ; 
 the primitive rite gradually subsided, and communion on one kind very 
 generally prevailed. The rulers of the Church, meanwhile, promoted 
 rather than obstructed the change, and so things continued, (no ecclesi- 
 astical law intervening,) till the followers of John Huss, in Bohemia, 
 tumultuously contending that the use of the cup was absolutely neces- 
 sary, the Council of ConsUnce, which opened in 14U, finally decreed, 
 that ' as the body and blood of Christ were wholly contained under each 
 species, the custom, introduced on rational grounds, and long observed in 
 the Church, of communicating in one kind, should be received as a law, 
 which no one, without the authority of the Church, might rqect, or 
 alter.' {Sess. XIII. Cone. Gen. T. XII. p. 100.) So just is the obser- 
 vation, that as circumstances and the manners of men change, where 
 change, under due authority, as in discipline, may be permitted, prac- 
 tices, once good and laudable, should change with them,"— {Faith of 
 Catholics, JK 246—248.) 
 
192 
 
 mysteries, acknowledging their own unworthiness, and begging 
 of God a share of those graces, which the sacrifice and sacra- 
 ment so plentifully contain." 
 
 In Picart's Religious Ceremonies, we have the following ex- 
 planation of the Mass, and its attendant mystical ceremonies, 
 — which is offered to the reader as an example of the awful 
 departiu-e of this apostate Church, from the spirituality and 
 simplicity of the Christian faith and worship. 
 
 1. The Priest goes to the altar, in reference to our Lord's 
 retreat with his Apostles to the Garden of Olives. 2. Before 
 he begins Mass, he says a preparatory prayer, he is there to 
 look upon himself as one abandoned of God, and driven out of 
 paradise for the sin of Adam ! 3. The Priest makes confes- 
 sion for himself and for the people, in which it is required, 
 that he be free from mortal and venial sin. 4. The Priest 
 kisses the altar, as a token of our reconciliation with God, and 
 our Lord's being betrayed with a kiss. 5. The Priest goes to 
 the opposite side of the altar, and thurifies or perfumes it with 
 incense. Jesus Christ is now supposed to be taken and bound ! 
 6. The Introite is said or sung, applicable to the circumstances 
 of our Lord's being taken before Caiaphas. 7- The Priest, 
 says the ' Kyrie Eleeson ' (Lord have mercy upon us,) in allu- 
 sion to Peter's denying our Lord thrice. 8. The Priest 
 turning towards the altar, says, 'Dominus vobiscum,' the people 
 returning the salutation by ' Et cum spiritu tuo,' and this 
 means Christ looking at Peter. 9. The Priest reads the epistle 
 relative to Jesus being accused before Pilate. 10. The Priest, 
 bowing before the altar, says, ' Munda cor,' and the devotion is 
 directed to our Saviour's being brought before Pilate, and 
 making no reply. 11. The Priest reads the gospel in which 
 Jesus Christ is sent from Herod to Pilate; the gospel is carried 
 from the right of the altar to the left, to denote the tender of the 
 
193 
 
 gospel to the Gentiles, after the refusal of the Jews. 12. The 
 Priest uncovers the chalice, and this means the stripping of our 
 Lord in order to be scourged. 13. The oblation of the Host, the 
 Priest then kisses the altar and offers up the Host, to represent 
 the scourging of Christ. 14. The Priest elevates the chalice 
 and then covers, this means the crowning with thorns. 15. 
 The Priest washes his fingers, as Pilate washed his hands ; 
 declares Jesus innocent, blesses the bread and wine, blesses the 
 frankincense, perfumes the bread and wine. 
 
 Can it be necessary to go further into this singular detail, to 
 say " that the Priest, spreading out his arms on the altar, is the 
 representation of the Cross ; that he lifts the Host, to express 
 the lifting of our Lord ; that he adores (for such is the word, 
 and the inconceivable fact,) the Wafer tliat he holds in his 
 fingers as the very God ; that he then mingles another adora- 
 tion with this, and prays to the Virgin Mary and the Saints 
 for their mediation; that he breaks the wafer, to represent 
 Christ's giving up the Ghost ; that a fragment of this wafer put 
 into the chalice, figures our Lord's descent into hell,'" — till the 
 series of these representations, amounting in the whole to thirty- 
 five, is closed by a benediction representing the blessings of the 
 descent of the Holy Ghost. 
 
 Who can discover in this complicated and dubious display, 
 the simplicity of the Gospel .^ Or who will not regret to trace 
 in it the same unfortunate passion for show and symbol, that 
 produced the "Mysteries'" of the dark ages, those sacred 
 dramas, in which the majesty of divine things, and the common 
 sense of man were equally forgotten. 
 
194 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 When High Mass is performed episcopally, or by a Bishop, 
 it is attended with more ceremony and magnificence. As soon 
 as the Bishop is observed to come in sight, the bells are rung ; 
 on his setting his foot within the church doors, the organs 
 begin to play. A person is appointed to give the sprinkler to 
 the Head Canon, who presents it, after he has kissed both that 
 and his sacred hand. His Lordship sprinkles himself and then 
 the Canons with it, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, 
 and of the Holy Ghost ; and then goes and says a prayer 
 before the altar, on which stands the holy sacrament, at a desk 
 prepared for that particular purpose, and does the same at the 
 high altar ; from whence he withdraws into the vestry, and 
 there puts on his peculiar ornaments, in the following order : 
 the Sub-deacon goes to a little closet contiguous to the altar, 
 and takes from thence the episcopal sandals and stockings, 
 which he elevates and presents to the Bishop. Then the 
 Deacon kneels down, and pulls off his Lordship's shoes and 
 stockings, who is in the midst of seven or eight Acolytes or 
 readers, all upon their knees, in their respective habits, as 
 well as the Deacon, who spreads the Prelate's robes. Two 
 Acolytes, after they have washed their hands, take the sacred 
 habiliments, hold them up, and give them to the two deacon- 
 assistants, to put upon the Bishop as soon as he has washed his 
 hands. The Deacon salutes the Bishop, takes off his upper 
 garment, and puts on his amiot, the cross whereof he kisses ; 
 then they give him the abbe, the girdle, the cross for his 
 breast, the stole, and the pluvial. He kisses the cross upon 
 receiving each of them, thereby to testify his veneration of the 
 cross; the Deacon and assistants likewise kiss these sacred 
 
195 
 
 vestments. As soon as the Bishop is seated, they put his 
 mitre on, and a Priest presents him with the pastoral ring. 
 The Deacon gives him his right glove, and the Sub-deacon his 
 left, which each of them kiss, as also the hand they have the 
 honor to serve in all these circumstances. There are some 
 ceremonies to be observed, which those who are fond of mys- 
 teries may endeavour to account for, but we cannot. It is 
 more material to acquaint the reader, that ejaculatory prayers 
 have been adapted to each individual piece of the episcopal 
 robes, and that the devotion of this ceremony is supported and 
 confirmed by the singing the office of tierce. 
 
 The Bishop being thus drest in all his habiliments, his 
 Clergy range themselves round about him. Two Deacons, who 
 are Canons, place themselves on each side of him, both in dal- 
 maticas ; and after them, a Deacon and a Sub-deacon. Then 
 the Incense-bearer, with the censer, and a Priest, with the 
 navet, out of which the Bishop takes incense, puts it in the 
 censer, and gives it his benediction. After this he kisses the 
 cross which is upon tlie vestry altar, and then goes in proces- 
 sion to the other altar, where he is to celebrate the Mass. The 
 Incense- bearer walks at the head of the procession ; two wax- 
 candle-bearers, with lighted tapers in their hands, march next 
 on each side of him who bears the cross ; all the Clergy follow 
 them ; the Sub-deacon, who is to sing the epistle, carries before 
 him the New Testament shut, with the Bishop's manipule in 
 it ; a Deacon and Priest march just before the Bishop ; the 
 Bishop carrying his shepherd's crook in his left hand, to dis- 
 pense his blessings to those good Christians he passes in his 
 V way. The Bishop being advanced to the altar, bows himself 
 once to the Clergy, and when he enters on the first step of the 
 altar, delivers his crook to the Sub-deacon, and the Deacon 
 takes off the mitre ; then the Prelate and Clergy bow to the 
 
 o2 
 
196 
 
 altar, or rather to the cross on the altar ; after which the Clergy 
 withdraw, except two priest's assistants, one on his right, and 
 the other on his left hand, with the Incense-bearer, the Sub- 
 deacon, and two Deacon's assistants, and then the ceremony of 
 the Mass service begins with the Conjiteor, &c. ; and the choir 
 sings the Introite. 
 
 By whom, and at what period, this specious delusive cere- 
 mony was imposed upon human credulity, is a question of 
 comparatively trifling importance. As to the ceremony itself, 
 it is long, elaborate, diversified, and splendid ; yet it is a veil 
 hung over the true mystery of the Cross. It is made of costly 
 materials, and of a texture impenetrable by the vulgar eye ; it 
 is ample in its drapery and folds ; richly embroidered with re- 
 presentations of the crucifixion, ciphered and inscribed with the 
 titles and attributes of the Crucified, exhibited in the solemn 
 gloom of temples, echoing at the same time music, such as might 
 seem to emulate the strains of the Cherubim, displayed and ex- 
 plained by attendants, in vestments and attitudes correspondent 
 to its magnificence : — and the success of the illusion is trium- 
 phant ! It is this veil which hides the Gospel from a 
 miserable world, from the miserable millions, before whom 
 Jesus Christ is thus literally, but oh ! how unscripturally ! 
 set forth crucified among them. The actors in this scene 
 never directly inform the spectator, that all true penitents have 
 boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus ! Alas ! 
 the veil is suspended before the holy of the holies, and conceals 
 the interior blessing. 
 
 Yet such is the exquisite artifice employed in this mysterious 
 ceremonial, that the whole exhibition appears, all the while, to 
 honor the very Saviour, whom it degrades and would force 
 from his throne. The missal is not deficient in the language 
 of penitence, and in ascriptions of glory to the Agnus Dei, qui 
 
197 
 
 toUit peccata mundi. In many places it rests the hope of 
 man's salvation on his death and sacrifice. It recognizes his 
 love, his grace, his truth; and this in terms sometimes of 
 exalted devotion, and then in language approaching to fondness 
 and impassioned affection. But all is neutralized by something 
 which throughout contradicts the first principles of redemption 
 by Jesus Christ. Its practical effect tends therefore to per- 
 suade men, that they are saved, not by the one oblation, once 
 offered ; but by the succession of sacrifices repeated daily, within 
 the consecrated enclosure of a Catholic altar. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 After the prayers of the Liturgy, or Missal, those held 
 ^ in the greatest veneration by Roman Catholics are the prayers 
 contained in the Church Office, or Canonical Hours. This 
 Office is a form of prayer and instruction combined, con- 
 sisting of psalms, lessons, hymns, prayers, anthems, versicles, 
 &c., combined in an established order, separated into different 
 hours of the day. The Church expressly obliges every Clergy- 
 man in higher orders, and every one who possesses an ecclesi- 
 astical benefice, as well as the Religious of both sexes, to recite 
 it every day, in private at least, if they cannot attend the 
 choir, or are not obliged to do so. It is divided into seven, or 
 ' rather eight, parts ; and, like the Liturgy, it has a reference 
 to the mystery or festival celebrated. The Festival, and 
 therefore the Office, begins with Vespers, i. e. with the evening 
 
198 
 
 prayer, about six o'clock, or sunset. Next follows Compline, 
 to beg God's protection during sleep. At midnight come the 
 three Nocturns, as they are called, or Matins, the longest 
 part of the Office. Lauds, or the morning praises of God, 
 are appointed for the cock- crowing, or before the break of day. 
 At six o'clock, or sunrise, Prime should be recited ; and Terce, 
 Sext, and None, every third hour afterwards. These canoni- 
 cal hours of prayer are still regularly observed by many religious 
 orders, but less regularly by the Secular Clergy, even in the 
 choir. When the Office is recited in private, though the 
 observance of regular hours may be commendable, it is thought 
 sufficient if the whole be gone through any time in the twenty- 
 four hours. The Church Office is contained in what is called 
 the Breviary. In consequence of a decree of the Council of 
 Trent, Pope Pius V. ordered a number of learned and able 
 men to compile the Breviary ; and by his Bull, Quod a nobis, 
 July, 1566, sanctioned it, and commanded the use thereof to 
 the Clergy of the Roman Catholic Chm-ch all over the world. '] 
 Clement VIII., in 1602, finding that the Breviary of Pius V, 
 had been altered and depraved, restored it to its pristine state ; I 
 and ordered, under pain of excommunication, that all future 
 editions should strictly follow that which he then printed at 
 the Vatican. Lastly, Urban VIII., in 1631, had the Ian 
 guage of the whole work, and the metres of the hymns, revised. 
 The value which the Church of Rome sets upon the Breviary, 
 may be known from the strictness with which she demands the 
 perusal of it. W^hoever enjoys any ecclesiastical revenue ; , 
 all persons of both sexes, who have professed in any of the 
 regular Orders ; all Subdeacons, Deacons, and Priests, are 
 bound to repeat, either in public or in private, the whole ser- 
 vice of the day, out of the Breviary. The omission of any on,c , 
 of the eight portions of which that service consists, is declared 
 
199 
 
 to be a mortal sin, i. e. a sin that, unrepented, would be suf- 
 ficient to exclude from salvation. The person guilty of such 
 an omission, loses all legal right to whatever portion of his 
 clerical emoluments is due for the day or days wherein he 
 neglected that duty, and cannot be absolved till he has given 
 the forfeited sums to the poor, or, in Spain, redeemed the 
 greatest part by a certain donation to the Crusade. Such are 
 the sanctions and penalties by which the reading of the Breviary 
 is enforced. The scrupulous exactness with which this duty is 
 performed by all who have not secretly cast off their spiritual 
 allegiance, is quite surprising. The Office of the Roman 
 Catholic Church was originally so contrived, as to divide the 
 Psaltery between the seven days of the week. Portions of the 
 Old Scriptiu-es were also read alternately with extracts from 
 the legends of the Saints, and the works of the Fathers. But 
 as the Calendar became crowded with Saints, whose festivals 
 take precedence of the regular Church Service, little room is 
 left for any thing but a few psalms, which are constantly re- 
 peated, a very small part of the Old Testament, and mere 
 fragments of the Gospels and Epistles. The great and never- 
 ending variety consists in the compendious lives of the Saints, 
 of which some specimens shall now be given. 
 
 In the first place, I shall speak of the early Martyrs, the 
 spurious record of whose sufferings have been made to contri- 
 bute most copiously to the composition of the Breviary. The 
 variety and ingenuity of the tortures described, are only equalled 
 by the innumerable miracles which baffled the tyrants, when- 
 ever they attempted to injure the Christians by any method 
 but cutting their throats. Houses were set on fire, to bum the 
 Martyrs within ; but the Breviary informs us, that the flames 
 raged for a whole day and a night without molesting them. 
 Often do we hear of idols tumbling from their pedestals at the 
 
200 
 
 approach of the persecuted Christians ; and even the judges 
 themselves dropped dead when they attempted to pass sentence. 
 The wild beasts seldom devour a Martyr without prostrating 
 themselves before him ; and lions follow young virgins to 
 protect them from insult. The sea refuses to drown those who 
 are committed to its waters ; and when compelled to do that 
 odious service, the waves generally convey the dead bodies 
 where the Christians may preserve them as relics. On one 
 occasion, a Pope is thrown into the Lake Mceotis, with an 
 anchor, which the cautious infidels had tied round his neck, 
 for fear of the miraculous floating ; the plan succeeded, and 
 the Pope was drowned. But the sea was soon after observed 
 to recede three miles from the shore, where a temple appeared, 
 in which the body of the Martyr had been provided with a 
 marble sarcophagus. 
 
 There is a good deal of romantic interest in the history 
 of Cyprian and Justina. The former, being a heathen magi- 
 cian, who to that detestable art joined a still more infamous 
 occupation, engaged to put a young man in possession of Jus- 
 tina, a Christian virgin. For this purpose he employed the 
 most potent incantations, till the devil was forced to confess 
 that he had no power over Christians. Upon this Cyprian 
 very sensibly concluded, that it was better to be a Christian 
 than a sorcerer. The readers of romance may, after this, 
 expect every sort of incident except a marriage, which none 
 but inferior saints ever contract; and from which all must 
 extricate themselves before they can be in a fair way of obtain- 
 ing a place in the calendar. Cyprian and Justina, being 
 accused before the Roman judge, are, however, fried together 
 in a caldron of melted " pitch, fat, and wax," from which 
 they come out quite able to be carried to Nicomedia, where 
 they are put to death by the almost infallible means of the 
 
201 
 
 sword or the axe. I say almost, because I find an instance 
 where even this method had nearly disappointed the persecutors. 
 That happened in the case of St. Cecilia. This Saint, of 
 musical celebrity, having been forced to marry a certain Vale- 
 rius, cautioned most earnestly her bridegroom to avert from 
 himself the vengeance of an angel, who had the charge of her 
 purity. The good-natured Valerius agreed to forego his rights, 
 and promised to believe in Christ, provided he saw his heavenly 
 rival. Cecilia, however, declared that such a sight could not 
 be obtained without previous baptism ; upon which, the curio- 
 sity of the bridegroom supplying the place of faith, he declared 
 his readiness to be baptized. After the ceremony, the angel 
 showed himself to Valerius, and subsequently to a brother of 
 his, who had been let into the secret. This Cecilia is the 
 Martyr on whom, as I mentioned before, a whole house 
 flaming about her for a natural day, had not the smallest effect. 
 Even when the axe was employed, the lictor exerted his 
 strength in vain on the delicate neck of his victim, which 
 being but half divided, yet allowed her miraculously to live 
 for three days more, at the end of which she fairly died. 
 
 After the romantic miracles of the early Martyrs, I have to 
 mention the stories by which the Breviary endeavours to sup- 
 port the extravagant veneration for the Popes and their Sees, 
 which at all times has been the leading aim of the Roman 
 Court. The most notorious forgeries are, for this purpose, 
 , sanctioned and consecrated in her prayer-book. That these 
 legends are oflen given in the words of those whom the Church 
 of Rome calls Fathers, shows the weakness both of the Popish 
 structure, and of the props that support it. We thus find the 
 fable about the contest between St. Peter and Simon Magus, 
 before Nero, gravely repeated in the words of St. Maximus. 
 " The holy Apostles (Peter and Paul) lost their lives,'' he 
 
202 
 
 says, " because, among other miracles, they also, by their 
 prayers, precipitated Simon from the vacuity of the air. For 
 Simon, calHng himself Christ, and engaging to ascend to the 
 Father, was suddenly raised in flight by means of his magic 
 art. At this moment, Peter, bending his knees, prayed to 
 the Lord, and by his holy prayer defeated the magician's 
 lightness ; for the prayer reached the Lord sooner than the 
 flight ; the right petition outstripped the unjust presumption. 
 Peter, on earth, obtained what he asked, much before Simon - 
 could reach the heavens to which he was making his way. 
 Peter, therefore, brought down his rival from the air, as if he 
 had held him by a rope, and dashing him against a stone, in 
 a precipice broke his legs ; doing this in scorn of the fact 
 itself, so that he who but a moment before had attempted to 
 fly, should not now be able to walk ; and having affected wings, 
 should want the use of his heels." , !* 
 
 The use which the Breviary makes of the forged epistles of • 
 the early Popes, known by the name of the Decretals, is fre- . 
 quently obvious to those who are acquainted with both. As 
 these Decretals were forged about the eighth century, with a 
 view to magnify the power of the Roman See, nothing in their 
 contents is more prominent than that object. The Breviary, 
 therefore, never omits an opportunity of establishing the Papal 
 supremacy by tacit reference to these spurious documents. Yet 
 as this would have but a slight effect upon the mass of the i 
 faithful, a more picturesque story is related in the life of Pope ^ 
 St. John. I 
 
 His Holiness being on a journey to Corinth, and in want of 
 a quiet and comfortable horse, borrowed one, which the lady ■ 
 of a certain nobleman used to ride. The animal carried the 
 Pope with the greatest gentleness and docility ; and when the 
 journey was over, was returned to his mistress : but in vain did 
 
203 
 
 «he attempt to enjoy the accustomed services of her favorite. 
 The horse had become fierce, and gave the lady many an 
 unseemly fall ; as if (says the authorized record) feeling indig- 
 nant at having to carry a woman, since the Vicar of Christ 
 had been on his back. The horse was accordingly presented 
 to the Pope, as imfit to be ridden by a less dignified per- 
 sonage. 
 
 The standing miracles of the city of Rome — those miracu- 
 lous relics which, even at this moment, are drawing crowds of 
 pilgrims within its walls, and which, in former times, made 
 the whole of Europe support the idleness of the Romans, at 
 the expense of their devout curiosity — are not overlooked in 
 the prayer-book of her Church. Let me mention the account 
 it gives of St. Peter's chains, such as they are now venerated 
 at Rome. Eudoxia, the wife of Theodius the Younger, being 
 on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, received as a present one of the 
 chains with which St. Peter was bound in prison, when he was 
 liberated by an angel. This chain, set with jewels, was for- 
 warded by the pious Empress to her daughter, then at Rome. 
 The young Princess, rejoiced with the gift, showed the chain 
 to the Pope, who repaid the compliment by exhibiting another 
 chain, which the holy Apostle had borne under Nero. As, to 
 compare their structure, the two chains were brought into 
 contact, the links at the extremities of each joined together, 
 and the two pieces became one uniform chain. 
 
 After these samples, no one will be surprised to find in the 
 same authorized record, all the other supposed miracles, which, 
 in different parts of Italy, move daily the enlightened traveller 
 to laughter or disgust. The translation of the House of Loretto 
 from Palestine to the Papal States, is asserted in the collect for 
 that festival ; which, being addressed to the Deity, cannot be 
 supposed to have been carelessly compiled. The two removals 
 
204 
 
 of that House by the hands of angels, first to tlie coast of Dal- 
 matia, and thence over the Adriatic, to the opposite shore, 
 are gravely related in the lessons ; where the members of the 
 Roman Catholic Church are reminded that the identity of the 
 House is warranted by Papal Bulls ; and a proper Mass and 
 service published by the same authority, for the annual com- 
 memoration of that event. 
 
 It is rather curious to observe the difference in the assertion 
 of Italian and of French miracles ; the unhesitating confidence 
 with which the former are stated ; the hypercritical jealousy 
 which appears in the narrative of the latter. The walk of St. 
 Dionysius, with his own head in his hands, from Paris to the 
 site of the present Abbey of St. Denis, is given only as a cre- 
 dible report. De quo illud memoricB pi'oditum est, abscissum 
 suum caput sustulisse, et progressum ad duo millia passuum 
 in manibus gessisse. The French, indeed, with their liber- 
 ties of the Gallican Church, have never been favorites at 
 Rome, but all is certainty in the accounts of Italian worthies. 
 Witness the renowned St. Januarius, whose extraordinary 
 miracles, both during his life under Diocletian, and in our own 
 days, are stated with equal confidence and precision. That 
 Saint, we are told, being thrown into a burning furnace, came 
 out so perfectly unhurt, that not even his clothes or hair was 
 singed. The next day, all the wild beasts in the amphitheatre 
 came crouching to his feet. I pass over the other ancient 
 performances of Januarius, to show the style in which his 
 wonderful works, after death, are given. His body, for 
 instance, on one occasion, extinguished the flames of Vesuvius. 
 This is no miracle upon vague report, but one which, according 
 to the Breviary, deserves a peculiar remembrance. Next comes 
 that " noble miracle," — preclarum illud, — the liquefaction of 
 Januarius's blood, which takes place every year in Naples. The 
 
205 
 
 usual state of the blood, as a coagulated mass, and its change^ 
 into a bubbling fluid, are circumstantially described, as might 
 be expected from historians, who convey the most minute infor- 
 mation, even about the clothes and hair of a Martyr, that died 
 fifteen hundred years ago. The liquefaction, indeed, with all 
 its circumstances, they must have witnessed themselves, or 
 derived their information concerning it from thousands of 
 Neapolitan witnesses. 
 
 Hardly any narrative will be found more curious than that 
 which the Breviary copies from St. Jerome, as a record of the 
 life of Paul, the first hermit. Paul, we are told, retired to a 
 cave in the desert parts of the Thebais, where he lived from 
 early youth, to the age of one hundred and ten. Being near 
 his death, Anthony, another Egjrptian anchorite, paid him a 
 visit, by a supernatural command from heaven. Their names 
 being in the same manner revealed to each other, they met, for 
 the first time, with the familiarity of old acquaintances. While 
 they were talking about spiritual matters, a raven dropped a 
 loaf of bread at the feet of Paul. " Thanks be to heaven," 
 exclaimed the Father of the hermits, " it is now sixty years 
 that I received half a loaf daily in this manner ; to-day my 
 allowance has been doubled."" On the morrow, Paul requested 
 Anthony, his friend, to return for a cloak, which, having be- 
 longed to Saint Athanasius, he wished to have as his winding 
 sheet. Anthony was coming back with the cloak, when he 
 saw the soul of Paul going up into heaven, surrounded by 
 the holy company of the Prophets and Apostles. In the cave 
 he found the corpse with cross legs, erected head, and the 
 arms raised above it. He was, however, at a loss how to dig a 
 grave, being also an old man of ninety, and having no spade, 
 nor any instrument of that kind. In this distress he saw two 
 lions hurrying towards him from the interior of the desert. 
 
The lions, in the best manner they could, gave him to under- 
 stand that they meant him no harm, but, on the contrary, were 
 much affected by the death of Paul. They then set to work 
 with their claws, and having made a hole of sufficient size to 
 contain the dead body, quietly and decently retired to their 
 fastnesses. Anthony took possession of PauFs coat, which was 
 made of palm-leaves like a basket, and wore it regularly as a 
 holiday dress on Easter and Whitsunday. 
 
 The life of St. Benedict, the great propagator of Monachism 
 in the sixth century, has furnished the Breviary with several 
 curious miracles. One of the first among the wonders he 
 wrought, does not give a favorable idea of the character of 
 religious associations at that period. St. Benedict, having 
 undertaken the government of a certain monastry, where he 
 wished to introduce a more severe discipline than the inmates 
 were disposed to follow, had a poisoned cup presented by the 
 Monks. He would have fallen a victim to their wickedness, 
 but for the habit of making the sign of the cross over every 
 thing he ate or drank. The sign was no sooner made, than 
 the cup burst into pieces, and spilt the deadly contents on the 
 table. 
 
 There is scarcely a Saint who has not been honored by 
 miracles, which I would call ornamental. Celestial meteors 
 have generally shone over the houses where a future Saint was 
 born, and the bells have rung of their own accord on the 
 infant's coming to light; swarms of bees settled on their 
 mouths, and even built a honeycomb in their hands, while 
 lying in the cradle. A baby saint had her face changed into a 
 rose, that she might be called after that flower. An angel in a 
 Bishop's robes appeared upon the baptismal font where a future 
 Prelate was to be baptized. The mothers of these extraordinary 
 beings seldom were without prophetic dreams, during the time 
 
207 
 
 of gestation. Some Saints performed miracles while yet in tlie 
 womb ; and it is asserted of St. Bridget, that, in that invisible 
 state, she saved her mother from shipwreck. These holy 
 children have not unfrequently spoken when scarcely five 
 months old ; though the object of their speeches was seldom so 
 important as that of St. Philip Beniti, when, at that age, he 
 chid his mother for sending some begging Monks empty from 
 her door. Nor was this wonder exhibited only in the embryo 
 saints ; common, every-day babes have often spoken, to dis- 
 cover the hiding places of that nearly extinct generation of 
 men, whom an impending mitre drove with affright into the 
 fastnesses of deserts. St. Andrew Avellini, for instance, 
 could not have been consecrated Bishop of Fiesole, unless he 
 had been actually betrayed by the voice of an infant. 
 
 The Apostles, who had received the power of working 
 miracles from Christ himself, for the great object of establishing 
 his religion, appear to have been greatly limited in the use of 
 their supernatural gifts; and never to have controlled the 
 order of nature, except under the influence of that supernatural 
 impulse, that unhesitating faith, which being in itself a 
 miracle, was, in the strong and figurative language of their 
 Divine Master, said to be able to move mountains. It is 
 far otherwise with the wonder workers of the Breviary. While 
 these modem saints lived on the earth, nature suffered a daily 
 interruption of her laws, and that often ^ for their own personal 
 convenience. With the exception of St. Paul's preservation 
 from the bite of the viper, we do not find miraculous interposi- 
 tions in his favor. Indeed, the account he gives of the hard- 
 ships, dangers, and narrow escapes during his ministry, shows 
 that miracles were not wrought for his comfort. Modem Saints 
 are now more fortunate. Frances, a Roman widow, who 
 enjoyed the familiar view and conversation of her guardian 
 
^8 
 
 angel, once multiplied a few crusts of bread, so as to afford a 
 substantial meal to fifteen Nuns, and fill up a basket with the 
 fragments. On another occasion she allayed their thirst with a 
 bunch of miraculous grapes ; and more than once was preserved 
 by supernatural influence from the inconvenience of getting 
 wet in the rain, or even from the stream of a river. St. Andrew 
 AvelUni, retiring home in a storm, w-as equally preserved from 
 the effect of rain. The benefit of this miracle was not only 
 extended to his companions, but the whole company had the 
 advantage of seeing their way in a pitch-dark night, by the 
 radiancy of the Saint's person. 
 
 The repetition of miracles is a matter of some curiosity, as it 
 might be expected that powers which baffle the laws of nature, 
 would display an inexhaustible variety. Yet we find the ear- 
 liest miracles repeated, and many occur regularly in the life of 
 every Saint. Of the latter kind are the luminous appearance of 
 their faces ; the multiplication, or creation of food ; living with- 
 out sustenance; conversing with angels; emitting sweet 
 effluvia from their dead bodies. More peculiar displays of 
 supernatural interference appear sometimes at distant periods. 
 St. Gregory, the wonder-worker of the fourth century, fixed 
 his staff in the ground, and it instantly grew up into a tree, 
 which stopped the floods of the river Lyons. The lately men- 
 tioned Peter, of Alcantara, made also his staff grow into a fig- 
 tree, which the Friars of his order have propagated by cuts, in 
 every part of Spain. This happened only in the sixteenth 
 century. A raven provided Paul, the hermit, with bread. A 
 wild doe presented herself daily, to be milked by St. iEgidius. 
 St. Eustachius, a martyr, said to have been a general under 
 Fragan, was converted, by seeing, in the chase, a stag bearing 
 a crucifix between his antlers. St. John, of Matha, founded 
 the order of the Trinity, in consequence of seeing a similar 
 
20$ 
 
 animal with a tri-colored cross in the same position. There are 
 also certain miraculous feats, for which, Saints have shown a 
 peculiar fondness. Three navigations on a mantle, are recorded 
 in the Breviary. St. Francis de Paula crossed the Strait of 
 Sicily, on his own cloak, taking another Monk as a passenger. 
 St. Raymund de Pennafort sailed in the same manner from 
 Majorca to Barcelona. St. Hyacinth, a Pole, deserves no less 
 credit for the management of his cloth vessel across the flooded 
 Vistula, notwithstanding the weight of his companions. 
 
 St. Peter Armengaud, of the family of the Counts of Urgel, 
 had entered the orders of Mercy, and made some visits to 
 Barbary, for the liberation of Christian captives. The money 
 collected for that purpose being exhausted before he could 
 ransom some boys, whose faith appeared to be wavering, he 
 sent them away with his companion, and remained as a hostage 
 for the full amount of the debt. Charity like this, exerted by 
 a free choice, and without the dangerous and oppressive system 
 of religious vows, would be worth all the miracles of the Bre- 
 viary. But the marvellous is a necessary element in every 
 Saint^s life ; and the good Friars of the Mercy have mixed it 
 here in a rather undue proportion. Peter waited for his com- 
 panion with a very natural anxiety ; but the expected money 
 did not come on the appointed day, and the barbarians settled 
 the account by hanging their hostage. Great, indeed, was the 
 distress of Father William, on learning the sad consequences of 
 his delay ; yet the body of a Martyr was worth having, and he 
 insisted upon carrying it back to Spain. The Moors had no 
 objection to part with it, and willingly led the Monk to the 
 place where Peter was still hanging by the neck. Three days 
 in that posture would have closed a windpipe of brass ; but 
 Peter's was sufficiently free to address his religious brother, as 
 soon as he saw him within hearing. The Virgin Mary, he in- 
 
210 
 
 formed him, had, since his execution, supported the weight of 
 his body, and was still holding him up at that moment. Not 
 to prolong the necessity of supernatural assistance, Peter was 
 cut down without delay. Of the pleasures he had experienced 
 while hanging, he used always to speak in raptures ; notwith- 
 standing a wry neck, and an habitual paleness for life, which 
 the Virgin allowed him to keep, in remembrance of her assist- 
 ance. It seems that, omitting the rope and the beam, the 
 scene of suspension was often repeated between Peter and his 
 glorious prop ; for the Breviary informs us that he frequently 
 was seen raised in the air, uttering " the sweetest words,'' in 
 answer to questions which the bystanders heard not, but con- 
 jectured, most rationally, to proceed from the Virgin. 
 
 " May I not ask," says the author of the Book of the Ra- 
 man Catholic Church, " if it be either just or generous to 
 harass the present Catholics with the weaknesses of the ancient 
 writers of their communion; and to attempt to render their 
 religion and themselves odious, by their unceasing and offen- 
 sive repetitions .P" This complaint should be addressed to the 
 Pope, and the Roman Catholic Bishops, by whose authority, 
 consent, and practice, these weaknesses are unceasingly re- 
 peated, for the instruction of the members of their communion. 
 We can sympathize with the feelings of the author ; we can 
 easily conceive how galling it must be for a modernized Roman 
 Catholic, in this country, to be constantly suspected of being a 
 Roman Catholic indeed, and according to the Pope's heart. 
 
 The truth is, that the Protestants have nearly forgotten the 
 monstrous heap of falsehood and imposture from which Rome 
 daily feeds her flock. But the offensive repetitions resound on 
 the ears of their harassed apologists, from the tongue of every 
 Bishop, Priest, Deacon, and Subdeacon of their communion ; 
 they are chaunted incessantly in every Roman Catholic Ca- 
 
211 
 
 thedral, in every convent of males or females ; they are trans- 
 lated into popular tracts ; they are heard and read with avidity 
 by the mass of straightforward, uncompromising Catholics, and 
 cannot be scouted by the more fastidious, without a direct 
 reproach on the most constant, solemn, and authorized practice 
 of their Church. In vain would the suffering scholar, the 
 harassed man of refinement, attempt a distinction between the 
 miracles of dark ages, and those of more modem times. In 
 vain would he venture a smile on the Golden Legend, and the 
 Patrician Metaphrastes. His Mother Church has thrown her 
 mantle over them, by borrowing from them all for her own 
 pecuHar book, her own corrected work, the task-book of all her 
 Clergy. He must remember that the weaknesses, for which he 
 implores the benefit of oblivion, are no longer imputable to 
 their original and ancient sources, but to the Tope, who re- 
 published them at the Vatican, in 1631 ; to the Church which, 
 with one accordant voice, repeats them to the faithful of all 
 climes and languages. 
 
 The lessons are taken partly out of the Old and New Tes- 
 taments, and partly out of the Acts of the Saints, and writings 
 of the holy Fathers. The Lord's Prayer, the Hail Mary, or 
 Angelical Salutation, the Apostles'* Creed, and the Confiteor, 
 are frequently said. This last is a prayer, by which they 
 acknowledge themselves sinners ; beg pardon of God, and the 
 intercession, on their behalf, of the angels, of the saints, and 
 of their brethren upon earth. No prayers are more frequently 
 in the mouth of Roman Catholics than these four ; to which 
 we may add the Doxology, repeated in the office at the end of 
 every psalm, and in other places. In every canonical hour a 
 hymn is also said, often composed by Prudentius, or some other 
 ancient Father. The Roman Breviary contains also a small 
 office, in honour of the blessed Virgin, and likewise what is 
 
 p2 
 
: 212 
 
 called the office of the Dead. We there find, besides, the 
 Penitential and the Gradual Psalms, as they are called, together 
 with the Litanies of the Saints, and of the Virgin Mary of 
 Loretto, which are the only two that have the sanction of the 
 Church. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 BAPTISM, &C. 
 
 Kegulaely Speaking, Baptism should be administered in 
 churches, and in churches which have fonts, the waters of 
 which are, according to Apostolical tradition, solemnly blessed, 
 every year, on the vigils of Easter and Pentecost. From the 
 history of the earliest ages of this Church, we are informed, 
 that it was the practice to bless all inanimate things destined 
 for the use of man, and particularly such as were used for the 
 service of religion. Thus a blessing was pronounced over the 
 water and oil, used in the administration of the sacraments. 
 Besides this, water used with salt, that had been blessed, was 
 placed at the porch of the churches, with which the faithful 
 washed their hands, and signed their foreheads, as they en- 
 tered, and with the same water they, and other things, were 
 often sprinkled by the Minister. " Of this ancient practice, 
 much," says Mr. Berington, "still remains in the Catholic 
 Church, laudably tenacious as she is of antiquity, influenced 
 as she is by religious motives, which, in this and other con- 
 cerns, actuated the founders of her discipline. Salt, mingled 
 
213 
 
 with the water, is deemed the emblem of prudence and incor- 
 ruption ; and the water denotes purity and innocence of heart ; 
 while he that enters the place of worship, and applies it, with 
 the sign of the Cross, to his forehead, is admonished by the 
 action, with what cleanliness of heart and hand he should ap- 
 pear in the presence of his Maker." 
 
 " One thing," says Middleton, " that will, of course, strike 
 one's imagination, is their use of holy water: for nobody 
 ever goes in or out of a church, but is either sprinkled by the 
 Priest, who attends for that purpose on solemn days, or else 
 serves himself with it from a vessel, usually of marble, placed 
 just at the door, not unlike to one of our baptismal fonts. 
 Now this ceremony is so notoriously and directly transmitted 
 to them from Paganism, that their own writers make not the 
 least scruple to own it." 
 
 When an adult person is to be baptized, he must first stop 
 at the door of the church, where the Priest meets him, and 
 asks his name, (which, among Roman Catholics, is generally 
 the name of a saint, whose virtues they may imitate.) He 
 then inquires what he wants of the Church of God ; and on 
 being answered, Faith, — i.e., Christianity, that he may obtain 
 life everlasting, the Priest puts him in mind that he must keep 
 the commandments, and love the Lord God. He then breathes 
 three times upon him, commanding the unclean spirit to de- 
 part, and give place to the living God. This ceremony is 
 followed by signing the Catechumen with the sign of the Cross, 
 and some prayers in his behalf The Priest then blesses some 
 salt, and puts a little of it into the mouth of the catechumen, 
 to signify the salt of wisdom, discretion, and grace. The 
 Priest then proceeds to several exorcisms, which were formerly 
 made on different days. This done, the Priest introduces the 
 catechumen into the church, and, jointly with him, repeats the 
 
214 
 
 Apostles' Creed, and Lord's Prayer ; after which, in imitation 
 of what Christ did to the man born blind, and to the deaf and 
 dumb man possessed by a devil, he touches the nostrils and 
 ears of the catechumen with a little spittle. Then follows the 
 solemn denunciation of Satan, his works, and pomps ; which 
 includes a promise, a vow, and a covenant of serving God. In 
 the next place he is anointed on the breast, and between the 
 shoulders, with oil, previously blessed by a Bishop, — an unction 
 intended to represent the anointing of the soul with grace, 
 whereby we are enabled to act manfully in the cause of God, 
 and to bear adversities patiently. The catechumen then pro- 
 fesses his belief of the principal doctrines of Christianity, in 
 answer to questions on this head. This implies another part of 
 the covenant of baptism, viz., the covenant of faith, in an obli- 
 gation of believing and practising Christianity. After all these 
 preparatory ceremonies, follows the sacred action of baptism 
 itself; after which, the Priest anoints the person baptized, on 
 the crown of the head, with holy chrism, to signify that he 
 partakes in the spiritual unction of Jesus Christ, from whence 
 comes the name of Christianity. Then he puts upon him a 
 white robe, and exhorts him to carry it without stain to the 
 tribunal of Jesus Christ, — that is to say, to preserve to his 
 death the grace he has received. In fine, he puts into his 
 hand a lighted candle, with a recommendation to the same 
 effect. 
 
 In the place of the simple application of water to the body, 
 in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, there 
 are, in the first place, certain persons, called sponsors, or god- 
 fathers and godmothers, who are to be interrogated. These 
 having promised to live and die Catholics, presently demand 
 for the infant the gift of " faith." The Priest then breathes 
 three times on the face of the child, uttering these words: 
 
215 
 
 ** Come out of this child, thou evil spirit, and make room for 
 the Holy Ghost." The sign of the Cross is then made on the 
 forehead and the breast ; the salt of wisdom is then placed in 
 the mouth, and afterwards spittle is rubbed around it by the 
 thumb of the Priest. While the holy oil is preparing, the 
 upper part of the child is made bare by the sponsors, who hold 
 it over the font, with the head eastward. Certain questions 
 being put and answered, the Priest pours the water thrice on 
 the head of the infant, in the form of a Cross, mentioning at 
 each time one of the Persons of the Trinity. To conclude the 
 ceremony, the top of the head is crossed with sacred oil, and, 
 to denote the freedom of the baptized from all impurities, a 
 white linen cloth is placed entirely over it 
 
 Can any man of common sense and Christian feeling read 
 of such a complete system of ceremonial, mystical observances, 
 and not immediately perceive how entirely they subvert the 
 simplicity and spirituality of that religion, which its Divine 
 Author has pronounced to be "a reasonable service P**' Where, 
 in the Sacred Volume, can we find any thing to justify and 
 sanction such rites and superstitions ? Surely this worse than 
 farce is making the ordinances of God of none effect, — is 
 bringing religion into contempt,- — and deluding and destroying 
 immortal souls, by causing men to consider rites or ceremonies 
 as the substance of religion, and the ministry and juggling 
 of Priests as the one thing needful. 
 
 Of the many benedictions used in this Church, some, be- 
 sides those accompanying the administration of their sacra- 
 ments of Confirmation and Holy Orders, are reserved to 
 Bishops exclusively, as the consecration of oil, chrism, &c. 
 Some are performed by Priests, in their own right, and others 
 by delegated authority from the Bishop. When the Clergy 
 and people, for some religious purpose, — as, to implore the 
 
216 
 
 mercy of God during any public calamity, return thanks to 
 him for his benefits, or to commemorate any mystery of re- 
 ligion, — "proceed in an orderly and devout manner round the 
 church, or places adjacent, or from one church to another, 
 singing or saying such prayers as are adapted to the occasion, 
 they are said to go in procession.*" And of the different pro- 
 cessions now in use, those performed with the greatest pomp 
 and splendor, are " the processions of the blessed sacrament, 
 during the octave of the festival celebrated by Roman Catholics 
 in its honor." The prescribed forms for all these benedic- 
 tions, exorcisms, and processions,* will be found in the Roman 
 Pontifical and Ritual. 
 
 For above three centuries a practice has prevailed in this 
 
 * '*'In one of these processions, made lately to Si. Peter's in the time of 
 Lentj 1 saw that ridiculous penance of the Jiagellantes, or self-whippers, 
 who march, with whips in their hands, and lash themselves as they go 
 along, on the bare back, till it is all covered with blood, in the same 
 manner as the fanatical Priests ofBellona, or the Syrian goddess , as well 
 as the votaries of Isis, used to cut and slash themselves of old, in order 
 to please the goddess, by the sacrifice of their oivn blood; which mad 
 piece of discipline we find frequently mentioned, and as oft ridiculed, by 
 the ancient writers. 
 
 ''But they have another exercise of the same kind, and in the same 
 season of Lent, which, under the notion of penance, is still a more ab- 
 surd mockery of all religion ; when, on a certain day, appointed annually 
 for this discipline, men of all conditions assemble themselves, towards 
 the evening, in one of the churches of the city, where whips, or lashes, 
 made of cords, are provided, and distributed to every person present ; 
 and after they are all served, and a short ofiice of devotion performed, 
 the candles being put out upon the warning of a little bell, the whole 
 company begin presently to strip, and try the force of these whips on 
 their own backs, for the space of near an hour ; during all which time, 
 the church becomes, as it were, the proper image of hell, where nothing 
 is heard but the noise of lashes and chains, mixed with the groans of 
 
217 
 
 Church of commemorating, at morning, noon, and night, the 
 incarnation of Christ, by a short form of prayer, which, from 
 the words with which it begins in Latin, is called the " Angelus 
 Domini^ In conformity with the Roman Catholic practice of 
 praying for the dead, it is also very customary to offer up 
 for their repose, at the first hour of the night, the Penitential 
 Psalms, with a prayer suited to that end. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 OF THE GOVERNMENT OF THE CHURCH. 
 
 The govenmient of the Church of Rome is Episcopal. 
 This form of Church government her members have always 
 strictly held to be the one established by Jesus Christ ; inso- 
 much that the Council of Trent pronounces an anathema 
 against any who shall deny either the existence of the hier- 
 archy in the Church of Christ, or its being of divine institution. 
 From this belief, Roman Catholics consides every Bishop in 
 his own diocese as the Pastor appointed by Almighty God, to 
 instruct, direct, and govern, that portion of the faithful, 
 whether Clergy or laity, which has been committed to his care. 
 Besides those having jiu:isdiction, there are Bishops, in par- 
 tibus Irifidelium, as they are called, or more briefly, in 
 
 these self- tormentors, till, satiated with their exercise, they are content 
 to put on their clothes, and the candles being lighted again, upon the 
 tinkling of a second bell, they all appear in their proper dress." — (Mid, 
 p. 358—9.) 
 
; 218 
 
 partibvs—i. e. persons who, that they may enjoy the dignity 
 and honors of Episcopacy, and thereby be qualified to render 
 some particular services to the Church in general, are named 
 to Sees, " in infidel countries," of which they cannot possibly 
 take possession. Such are many dignitaries of the Court of 
 Rome. Such also, in as far as the titles of their Sees are con- 
 cerned, are the Apostolic Vicars in England, and Scotland, &c. ; 
 and such, finally, are those persons, who are often appointed 
 coadjutors to other Bishops, unable from age or any other infir- 
 mity, to discharge the duties of their office. These coadjutors 
 are appointed Hke other Bishops, and have sometimes the right 
 of succeeding to the See, after the demise of their principal, 
 and sometimes not. A Metropolitan, or an Archbishop, besides 
 the jurisdiction common to him with other Bishops in his own 
 diocese, has also a jurisdiction defined by the Canon law and cus- 
 toms, over all the Bishops of his province, who are his suffra- 
 gans; summons them every third year to a provincial Synod, for 
 the purposes above hinted at; and the constitutions framed in it, 
 affect all the churches in the province. Above all these is the 
 Pope, who has the power (in the opinion of all Roman Catholics, 
 jure divino,)o£ feeding, ruling, and governing the whole Church, 
 and exercises his jurisdiction over all. Clergy as well as laity. 
 
 According to the principle of the Papal Hierarchy, as set 
 forth by one of its defenders, " it was Christ's intention and 
 appointment, that his followers should be collected into one 
 sacred empire, subjected to the government of St. Peter and 
 his successors, and divided, like the kingdoms of this world, 
 into several provinces ; that in consequence thereof, St. Peter 
 fixed his seat of ecclesiastical government at Rome, but after- 
 wards, to alleviate the burden of his office, divided the Church 
 into three greater provinces, according to the division of the 
 world at that time, and appointed a person to preside in each, 
 
219 
 
 who was dignified with the title of Patriarch ; that the Euro- 
 pean Patriarch resided at Rome, the Asiatic at Antioch, and 
 the African at Alexandria ; that the Bishops of each province, 
 among whom also there were various ranks, were to reverence 
 the authority of their respective Patriarchs, and that both 
 Patriarchs and Bishops were to be passively subject to the 
 supreme dominion of the Roman Pontifi*/' 
 
 The following is the Oath taken by every Popish Bishop. — 
 "I, from this time forward, will be faithful and obedient to my 
 Lord the Pope, and to his successors. The counsel, with 
 which they trust me, I will not disclose to any man, to the hurt 
 of the Pope, or his successors. I will assist to retain the Pope- 
 dom and the Royalties of St. Peter against all men. I will care- 
 fully preserve, defend, and promote, the rights, honors, privi- 
 leges, and authority of the Pope. I will not be in any Council, 
 deed, or treaty, in which any thing prejudicial to the person, 
 right, or power of the Pope is concerned; and if I shall 
 know any such thing treated of, by any whomsoever, I will, to 
 the utmost of my power, hinder them, and with all possible 
 speed, signify them to the Pope. I will, to the utmost of 
 my power, observe the Pope's commands, and make others 
 observe them." 
 
 Here is the plain language of a paramount obedience. 
 What would be thought of the subjects of any State, who 
 would take such an oath to any foreign potentate ? or what 
 would be the result, should circumstances compel the Govern- 
 ment of any independent country to make war upon the Pope, 
 as a secular Prince, or upon any power in whose fortunes the 
 Popedom took a decided interest ? Here is established a secret 
 correspondence ; a bond of secrecy as to matters communicated, 
 every one of which might be treasonable ; and a solemn pledge 
 to preserve and defend, not simply the Popish ceremonial and 
 
220 
 
 authority in matters of doctrine, but the Popedom and royalties 
 of St. Peter against all men, including of course, the King of 
 the realm. 
 
 The Pope's care and solicitude extend over all Catholic 
 Churches throughout the world. He enacts rules of discipline 
 for the Universal Church, dispenses with some of them when he 
 sees proper, punishes those who do not obey them, passes sen- 
 tence upon ecclesiastical causes referred to him, (which ought to 
 be the case with all those of great importance,) and receives 
 appeals from all Roman Catholic Bishops dispersed throughout 
 the globe ; presides in all Councils personally, or by his Legates ; 
 and confirms their decrees. He constitutes new Bishopricks, and 
 confirms the nomination of Bishops ; deprives Bishops of their 
 Sees, for their crimes ; and those unjustly deprived of them he 
 restores. 
 
 In the first ages of the Church, the people and the Priests, 
 and sometimes only the Priests, elected the Pope, according to 
 the plurality of voices. The Emperors afterwards claimed the 
 right of confirming the election. In the eighth century. Pope 
 Adrian I., in a Council of Bishops assembled at Rome, con- 
 ferred upon Charlemagne and his successors, the right of elec- 
 tion; and they reserved to themselves the privilege of approving 
 the person that was elected by the Priests and people ; nor was 
 the consecration of the elected Pontiff valid, unless performed in 
 the presence of the Emperor's Ambassadors. The election, 
 however, after undergoing many revolutions as to the form of 
 it, is now referred to the Cardinals in Conclave. 
 
 The person of the Pope may be considered in two very dif- 
 ferent capacities, as temporal Sovereign of the Roman territory, 
 and as chief Pastor of the Catholic Church. To give the reader 
 a clear and precise idea of the rights which every Catholic 
 considers as inherent in the successor of St. Peter, as a spiritual 
 
221 
 
 character, it will be necessary to observe that the Pope, as 
 Bishop of Rome, Metropolitan and Primate of Italy, and 
 Patriarch of the West, enjoys the same privileges and authority 
 as are enjoyed by other Bishops, Metropolitans, Primates, and 
 Patriarchs within their respective dioceses and districts ; that 
 his authority, like theirs, is confined within certain limits 
 marked out by ancient custom, and by the Canons ; and that, 
 like theirs also, it may be modified or suspended by the Church 
 at large. As Patriarch of the West, the Pope enjoys a pre- 
 eminence elevated enough to satisfy the wishes of the most 
 ambitious Prelate, as by it he ranks before all Western Eccles- 
 iastics, and takes place and precedency on all public occasions. 
 But the Roman Pontiff claims honors still more distinguished, 
 and as successor of St. Peter is acknowledged by the Catholic 
 Church, to sit as its first Pastor by divine institution. It is 
 maintained, that the Pope enjoys, by the institution of Christ, 
 the primacy of honor and jurisdiction over the whole Christian 
 Church, and to refuse it to him, would be deemed an act of 
 rebellion. But no authority has yet determined, and it seems 
 indeed very difficult to fix the precise rights and prerogatives 
 which are conferred by this Primacy, and which are so insepa- 
 rably annexed to it, that to oppose their exercise, or deny their 
 existence, would be either schism or heresy. The Jesuits 
 have, however, ever maintained that the Pope is infallible; 
 that he is the only visible source of that universal and un- 
 limited power which Christ has granted to his Church; that he 
 is not bound by any laws of the Church, nor by any Decrees 
 of the Councils that compose it ; and that he alone is the 
 supreme lawgiver of that sacred community — a lawgiver whose 
 edicts and commands it is in the highest degree criminal to 
 oppose or disobey. According to the Canons, the Pope was 
 as far above all kings, as the sun is greater than the moon. 
 
222 
 
 He was King of kings, and Lord of lords, though he sub- 
 scribed himself the servant of servants.* The immediate and 
 sole rule of the whole world belonged to him by natural, moral, 
 and divine right; all authority depending upon him. All 
 nations and kingdoms were under the Pope's jurisdiction, for 
 to him God hath delivered over the power and dominion in 
 heaven and earth. 
 
 On the anniversary of finding St. Peter''s Chair, or as is more 
 generally said, that on which our Lord delivered to him the 
 keys of heaven, a grand festival is held at the church, only to 
 be surpassed in show and ceremony, by those of St. Peter^s day 
 and Easter Sunday. 
 
 The bronze statue of Jupiter Capitolinus, now called St. 
 Peter, having undergone no other change than that of the keys 
 instead of the thunderbolt, in the right hand, is dressed in 
 
 • That this claim has been practically enforced every reader of His- 
 tory knows full well; it was especially manifested at the interview 
 between the Emperor Charles V. and Clement VIII. at Bologna, in 1529. 
 The Pope, who had been recently the Emperor's prisoner, received 
 Charles on an high raised throne, with his triple crown on his head ; and 
 Charles, alighting from his horse, ascended the steps, and kissed the 
 Papal foot, which the Pontiff returned by a salute on the Imperial cheek. 
 In the Bishop of Durham's Sermon, in 1538, this arrogant ceremony, on 
 another occasion, is thus remarked on ; " The Bishop of Rome offereth 
 his feet to be kissed, shod with the shoes on. I saw myself, being then 
 present, thirty-three years ago, when Julius stood on his feet, and one of 
 his Chamberlains held up his skirt, because it stood not with his dignity^ 
 as he thought, that he should do it himself, that his shoe might appear, 
 while a nobleman of great age did prostrate himself upon the ground, 
 and kiss his shoe ; which he stately suffered to be done as of duty. 
 Methought I saw Cornelius the Centurion submitting himself to Peter ; 
 but I saw not Peter there to take him up and say, ' I am a man, as thou 
 art." {Strype, V. I. p. 519.) 
 
223 
 
 the richest Papal robes. The tiara is studded with precious 
 stones, or rather, we should say, with paste, in imitation of 
 them, for the French have dexterously substituted the one for 
 the other. The quantity of finery with which this black figure 
 is loaded, makes its ugliness more conspicuous. It is seated 
 on a chair, the right foot extending forwards, which is worn 
 bright with kissing, for that homage is paid by every Roman 
 Catholic, man, woman, or child, who approaches it ; children, 
 when not tall enough to reach it, being held up for the purpose 
 by some one present. The chair, suspended over the high 
 altar, is cased in brass, and is this day illuminated with 
 greater splendor than usual, as well as the shrine in the inside 
 of the Baldechino. It is left open, to discover the sarco- 
 phagus, of superb workmanship, which is said to enclose the 
 remains of St. Peter. Large golden lilies hold the lights, 
 which are kept always burning round it. The Baldechino 
 stands under the dome ; it is one hundred and twenty-two feet 
 high, supported by four spiral bronze columns. 
 
 The Pope is carried on his chair in grand procession : two 
 great fans of white peacock's feathers being held waving above 
 his head. He is thus conveyed to the foot of the statue, (or 
 idol, may I not call it ?) until he too should offer adoration. 
 The mind is shocked on seeing, on the back of the Pope's 
 chair, a dove painted, surrounded by rays, to represent the 
 Holy Spirit. 
 
 But though no temporal advantages were originally, or by 
 its institution, annexed to the Papal office, yet we find that 
 even in the very commencement of Christianity the Bishop of 
 Rome had become a conspicuous personage, so far as to attract 
 the attention of the Emperors, and sometimes to awaken their 
 jealousy. When the Emperors embraced Christianity, it may 
 easily be imagined that the successor of St. Peter (if such he 
 
224 
 
 were) acquired an increase of temporal weight and dignity ; 
 and it has been observed, that the Pagan historians speak with 
 some asperity of the splendor of his revenues, and the delicacy 
 of his table. But, besides the consideration, inseparable from 
 the office itself, another source of temporal greatness may be 
 found in the extensive possessions of land, and in the great 
 riches, in plate, of the Roman Church itself These riches, 
 considerable, even under the Pagan Emperors, and during the 
 persecutions, were not a little increased by the liberal donations 
 of the Christian Princes, and particularly of Constantino the 
 Great. As early as the fifth century, the Popes aimed at a 
 supremacy of ecclesiastical jurisdiction, which was confirmed 
 to them by the tyrant Phocas, in the seventh. By the dona- 
 tion of the exarchate of Ravenna, and of Pentapolis, to the 
 Roman Pontiff, Pepin raised the Bishop of Rome to the rank 
 of a temporal Prince : but it was not until the time of Leo IX. 
 that they carried their pretensions so far, as to assume the high 
 titles of Lords of the Universe, Arbiters of the fate of king- 
 doms and empires, and Supreme Rulers over the Kings and 
 Princes of the world ; arrogating the power of transferring 
 territories and provinces from their lawful possessors to liew 
 masters. 
 
 Though the Pope is both Bishop and Prince, yet his titles, 
 dress, equipage, and the whole ceremonial of his Court, are 
 adapted to the first of these characters. He is styled Iloliness, 
 the Holy Father, and sometimes, in history, the Sovereign 
 Pontiff; but the former appellations, as more appropriate to 
 his duties and functions, are exclusively used in his own Court. 
 His robes are the same as those of a Bishop in pontificals, 
 excepting the stole, and the color, which is white, not purple. 
 His vestments, when he officiates in church, as well as his 
 mitre, do not differ from those of other Prelates. The tiara 
 
225 
 
 seems originally to have been an ordinary mitre, such as is 
 still worn by the Greek Patriarchs. The three circlets, which 
 have raised it into a triple crown, were added at different 
 periods, and, it is said, for different mystic reasons. The 
 first, or lowest, seems to have been originally a mere border, 
 gradually enriched with gold or diamonds. The second was 
 the invention of Boniface VIII., about the year 1300 ; and 
 to complete the mysterious decoration, the third was super- 
 added about the middle of the fourteenth century. The use 
 of the tiara is confined to certain extraordinary occasions, as 
 in most great ceremonies the Pope uses the common episcopal 
 mitre. Whenever he appears in public, or is approached, 
 even in private, he is treated with great reverence. In public, 
 a large silver cross, raised on high, is carried before him, as a 
 sacred banner, the church-bells ring as he passes, and all kneel 
 in his sight. When he officiates at the patriarchal basilicae, 
 he is carried from his apartments in the adjoining palace, to the 
 church, in a chair of state. 
 
 On occasion of the Pope''s officiating at the church of St. 
 Giovanni Laterano, a grand ceremony, similar to that on 
 Ea'ster Sunday, at St. Peter's, took place. The Church was 
 magnificently decorated. The Pope was carried in his orna- 
 mented chair. A sermon was preached in Latin by one of the 
 Prelates. His discourse, to those at a distance, might appear 
 extempore, but we were close enough both to see and hear the 
 suggeritore or prompter, who stood at his shoulder reading from 
 a book, all which he repeated in a louder tone. This, I have 
 since been told, is a common practice. The Pope sat on a 
 throne near the high altar, raised several steps, on which many 
 Priests seated themselves, having first kissed his foot. At the 
 conclusion of the sermon, the Pope was again borne along, 
 followed by the Cardinals, to the centre of the church, where, 
 
 Q 
 
226 
 
 a cushion being placed, he knelt, we suppose, to pray ; the 
 Cardinals, whose flowing garments spread the ground, also 
 kneeling. In a few moments all arose, without uttering a 
 sound to lead the thoughts to prayer. The Pope was then 
 borne aloft on his glittering chair, to that part of the church 
 from whence he pronounced the blessing to a very great multi- 
 tude, who were spread over a widely extensive piece of ground ; 
 a scene, in the opinion of many people, more striking than 
 the scene at St. Peter's. 
 
 Though in the chancel, his throne is merely an ancient 
 episcopal chair, raised only a few steps above the seats of the 
 Cardinals or Clergy. In private, as the pontifical palaces are 
 vast and magnificent, there are perhaps more apartments to be 
 traversed, and greater appearances of splendor, in the approach 
 to his person^ than in an introduction to any other Sovereign. 
 In his antichamber, a Prelate, in full robes, is always in 
 waiting ; and when the bell rings, the door of the pontifical 
 apartment opens, and the Pope is seen in a chair of state, with 
 a little table before him. The person presented kneels once 
 at the threshold, again in the middle of the room, and, lastly, 
 at the feet of the Pontiff, who, according to circumstances, 
 allows him to kiss the cross embroidered on his shoes, or pre- 
 sents his hands to raise him. The Pontiff then converses 
 with him a short time, and dismisses him with some slight 
 present of beads, or medals, as a memorial. The ceremony 
 of genuflection is again repeated, and the doors close. 
 
 The Pope has no hours of relaxation, is always encumbered 
 with the same robes, surrounded by the same attendants, and 
 confined within the magic circle of etiquette. A morning of 
 business and application closes with a solitary meal : a walk in 
 the gardens of the Quirinal or Vatican, a visit to a church or 
 an hospital, are his only exercises. The Pope never dines in 
 
2^ 
 
 company, so that to him a repast is no recreation ; it is conse- 
 quently short and frugal. Sextus Quintus is said to have con- 
 fined the expenses of his table to about sixpence : Innocent II. 
 did not exceed half a crown ; and the late Pontiff, considering 
 the different valuation of money, equalled them both in fru- 
 gality, as the expenses of his table never exceeded five shillings 
 a day. On the whole, the person and conduct of the Pope, 
 whether in public or in private, are under perpetual restraint 
 and inspection. The least deviation from strict propriety, or 
 even from customary forms, would be immediately noticed, 
 published, and censured in pasquinades. Leo X. loved 
 shooting, and by the change of dress necessary for that amuse- 
 ment, gave scandal. Clement XIV. (Ganganelli) was advised 
 by his physicians to ride ; he rode in the neighbourhood of 
 his Alban villa, and offended, it is said, the people of the 
 country not a little by that supposed levity. Benedict XIV. 
 wished to see the interior arrangement of a new theatre, and 
 visited it before it was opened to the public ; the next morning 
 an inscription appeared over the door by which he had entered : 
 * Porta santa ; plenary indulgence to all who enter !"• These 
 anecdotes suffice to show the joyless uniformity of the Papal 
 Court, as well as the strict decorum that pervades every depart- 
 ment immediately connected with the person of the Pontiff. 
 
 Some centuries ago, the Popes considered themselves autho- 
 rized, by their temporal sovereignty, to give the same exhibi- 
 tions and tournaments, and to display the same scenes of 
 festivity and magniticence in the Vatican, as were beheld at 
 the courts and in the palaces of other Princes; nor did 
 such ill placed pageants seem, at that period, to have excited 
 surprise or censure. But the influence of the Council of 
 Trent, though its direct interference was indignantly repelled, 
 reached the recesses of the Pontifical palace ; and the general 
 
 q2 
 
228 
 
 rigor of discipline established by it, ascended from the mem- 
 bers to the head, and, at length, pervaded the whole body. 
 Hence the austere features of the Papal Court, and the 
 monastic silence that reigns through the vast apartments of the 
 Vatican and of the Quirinal palaces : and hence, also, the 
 solitary repasts, and the perpetual abstemiousness of the Pon- 
 tiff's table. 
 
 To speak of the prerogative of the Pontiff as a Sovereign, 
 is scarcely necessary, as it is known to be uncontrolled by legal, 
 or constitutional authority : if ever any Monarch had either an 
 opportunity or an inducement to realize the generous plan 
 formed by Servius Tullus, of giving liberty and a constitution 
 to his people, the Popes, we should imagine, could have 
 wanted neither. 
 
 But the doctrine of the infallibility of the Pope must not 
 pass unnoticed. On this subject we will give our readers the 
 testimony of Mr. Eustace, at the same time apprising them, 
 that though the statements are essentially true, they are colored 
 by the partiality of Roman prejudice. " The truth is," says 
 our author, " that there is no article as to the infallibility of the 
 Pope, in the Catholic creed ; for, according to it, infallibility is 
 ascribed, not to any individual, or even to any national Church, 
 but to the whole body of the Church extended over the uni- 
 verse. That several theologians, particularly Italian and 
 Spanish, have exaggerated the power and the privilege of the 
 Pope, is admitted ; and it is well known, that among these, 
 some, or rather, several, carried their own opinion of Pontifical 
 prerogative so high, as to maintain, that the Pontiff, when 
 deciding ex cathedra^ or officially, and in capacity of first pastor 
 and teacher of the Church, with all the forms and circum- 
 stances that ought to accompany legal decisions, such as 
 freedom, deliberation, consultation, &c., was, by the special 
 
229 
 
 protection of providence, secured from error. The Roman 
 Court favored a doctrine so conformable to its general feeling, 
 and of course encouraged its propagation ; hence, were we only 
 to judge of the power of the Pope by his own pretensions, we 
 should find it unlimited and supreme ; for there are no prero- 
 gatives that can flatter ambition, which he does not claim for 
 himself and his Court. He not only pretends that the whole 
 power and majesty of the Chiu-ch reside in his person, and, are 
 transmitted in certain portions, from him to the inferior Bishops, 
 but, moreover, has frequently and distinctly asserted the abso- 
 lute infalUbility and decision of all decrees and decisions that 
 proceed from his tribunal ; though he never pretended to en- 
 force it as an article of Catholic faith, or ventured to attach 
 any marks of censure to the contrary opinion. This latter 
 opinion, the ancient and unadulterated doctrine of the Catholic 
 Church, prevailed over Germany, the Austrian Empire, Poland, 
 the Low Countries, and England ; and in France, was sup- 
 ported by the authority of the whole Gallican Church, and by 
 the unanimous declaration of all the Universities. So rigor- 
 ously, indeed, was their hostility to Papal infallibility enforced, 
 that no theologian was admitted to degrees, unless he main- 
 tained in a public act, the four famous resolutions of the Gal- 
 lican Church, against the exaggerated doctrines of some Italian 
 divines, relative to the power of the Italian Sec. These reso- 
 lutions declare, that the Pope, though superior to each Bishop, 
 individually, is yet inferior to the body of Bishops, assembled in 
 Council ; that his decisions are liable to error, and can only 
 command our assent when confirmed by the authority of the 
 Church at large ; that his power is purely spiritual, and 
 extends neither directly or indirectly to the temporalities or 
 prerogatives of Kings and Princes ; and, in fine, that his autho- 
 rity is not absolute or despotic, but confined within the bounds 
 
230 
 
 prescribed by the Canons and customs of the Church. This 
 doctrine was taught in all the theological schools, that is, in all 
 the Universities and Seminaries of France, as well as in all the 
 Abbeys ; and was publicly maintained by the English Bene- 
 dictine College, at Douay. The conclusion to be drawn from 
 these observations, is, that no Catholic divine, however attached 
 to Papal prerogative, ever conceived an idea so absurd, as that 
 of ascribing infallibility to the person of the Pontiff; and, 
 secondly, that those theologians who ascribed infallibility to 
 Papal decisions, when clothed with certain forms, gave it as 
 their opinion only, but never presumed to enforce it as the 
 doctrine of the Catholic Church." 
 
 But to all this special pleading, and attempts at concealing 
 the truth, we must oppose the fact that the Popes have claimed, 
 assumed, and acted upon, this infallibility ; that some of the 
 ablest Roman divines, writers, and scholars, have asserted and 
 vindicated this infallibility ; and that it was this belief, this 
 claim, that armed the power of the Vatican with its greatest 
 force, and gave to its anathemas their deadliest curse. But 
 for this, its Bulls would have been " telum imbelle sine ictuJ* 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 OF THE PAPAL PALACES. 
 
 Of the palaces appropriated to the residence of the Pope, 
 and his official and domestic attendants, the Lateran stands 
 close to the patriarchal church of that name, and was appointed 
 
231 
 
 for the residence of the Bishops of Rome, at the same time as 
 the adjoining Basilica was converted into a church by Con- 
 stantine. It had fallen into min, and was rebuilt by Sixtus 
 Quintus. A part only is now reserved for the accommodation 
 of the Pontiff, when he comes to perform service at St. John's. 
 The main body of the building was turned into an Hospital . 
 for the reception of two hundred and fifty orphans, by Inno- 
 cent XI. It presents three fronts, of great extent and simpli- 
 city, and strikes the eye by its magnitude and elevation. 
 
 The Quirinal palace (Monte Cavallo) is become, from the 
 loftiness and salubrity of its situation, the ordinary, or, at 
 least, the summer residence of the Roman Pontiff. Its exte- 
 rior presents two long fronts, plain and unadorned : the court 
 within is about three hundred and fifty feet long, and near two 
 hundred wide ; a broad and lofty portico runs along it on every 
 side, and terminates in a grand staircase, conducting to the 
 Papal apartments, to the gallery and the chapel, all on a grand 
 scale, and adorned with fine paintings. In the furniture and 
 other decorations, the style is simple and uniform, and such 
 as seems to become the grave, unostentatious character of a 
 Christian Prelate. The adjoining gardens are spacious, re- 
 freshed by several fountains, and shaded by groves of laurel, 
 pine, ilex, and poplar. In the recesses, arbors, and alleys, 
 are statues, urns, and other antique ornaments, placed with 
 much judgment, and producing a very picturesque effect. In 
 other respects, the gardens are in the same style as the edifice, 
 and exhibit magnificence only in their extent. 
 
 " I have seen,''' says a late traveller, " the Vatican ! But 
 how shall I express the delight, the admiration, the over- 
 powering astonishment which filled my mind ! How describe 
 the extent and the splendor of that almost interminable succes- 
 sion of lengthening galleries and marble halls, whose pictured 
 
roofs, mosaic pavements, majestic columns, and murmuring 
 fountains, far surpass even the gorgeous dreams of Eastern 
 magnificence, and are peopled with such breathing forms of 
 beauty and of grace, as sometimes deign to visit the rapt fancy of 
 the poet, and seem to have descended here from happier worlds! 
 
 " Rome has become the heir of time. Her rich inheritance 
 is the accumulated creations of gifted genius, — the best legacy 
 that departed ages have bequeathed to the world, — and here 
 they are concentered in the treasury of fine arts, the temple of 
 taste, the consecrated seats of the Muses ! You think I rave : 
 but it is not the ordinary grandeur or costly magnificence that 
 has transported me thus. The splendor of palaces may be 
 rivalled, and the magnitude of temples imitated ; but the 
 labor and wealth of the united world would fail to produce 
 another Vatican ; for its beauty is inimitable, and its treasures 
 unpurchaseable. 
 
 "Its cielings, richly painted in fresco — its pictured pavements 
 of ancient mosaic — its magnificent gates of bronze — its polished 
 columns of ancient porphyry, the splendid spoils of the ruins of 
 Imperial Rome — its endless accumulation of Grecian marbles, 
 Egyptian granites, and Oriental alabasters, the very names of 
 which are unknown in transalpine lands — its bewildering extent, 
 and prodigality of magnificence, — ^but above all, its amazing 
 treasures of sculpture, — have so confused my senses, that I 
 can scarcely believe in its reality, and am almost ready to ask 
 myself if it is not all a dream ?^ 
 
 The exterior of the Vatican is not prepossessing. It is a 
 huge collection of odd buildings, curiously jumbled together, 
 full of sharp angles and strange excrescences ; and, as some- 
 body once observed, it is not like a palace, but a company of 
 palaces, which seem to be jostling each other in a contest for 
 place or precedency. 
 
^^^ 0^ ''HF. 
 
 The Vatican is now the peaceful theatre of some of theittieBt 
 majestic ceremonies of the Pontifical Court ; it is the reposi- 
 tory of the records of ancient science, and the temple of the 
 arts of Greece and Rome. Under these three heads it com- 
 mands the attention of every traveller of curiosity, taste, and 
 information. The exterior does not present any grand display 
 of architectural magnificence, nor even of uniformity and sym- 
 metrical arrangement ; a circumstance easily accounted for, 
 when we consider that the Vatican was erected by different 
 architects, at different aeras, and for very different purposes ; 
 and that it is rather an assemblage of palaces, than one regular 
 palace. It was begun about the end of the fifth, or the begin- 
 ning of the sixth century, and rebuilt, increased, repaired, 
 and altered by various Pontiffs, from that period down to the 
 latter years of the reign of the late Pope, when the French in- 
 vasion put an end, for some time at least, to all improvements. 
 
 Its extent is immense, and covers a space of twelve hundred 
 feet in length, and one thousand in breadth ; its elevation is 
 proportionate, and the number of apartments it contains, almost 
 incredible. Galleries and porticos sweep around and through 
 it, in all directions, and open an easy access to every quarter. 
 Its halls and saloons are all on a great scale, and by their 
 multitude and loftiness alone, give an idea of magnificence 
 truly Roman. The walls are neither wainscotted nor hung 
 with tapestry ; they are adorned, or rather, animated, by the 
 genius of Raffaello and Michael Angelo. The furniture is 
 plain, and ought to be so ; finery would be misplaced in the 
 Vatican, and would sink into insignificance in the midst of the 
 great, the vast, the sublime, which are the predominating 
 features, or rather, the very genii of the place. The grand 
 entrance is from the portico of St. Peter's, by the Scala Regia, 
 (the Royal staircase,) the most superb staircase, perhaps, in 
 
234 
 
 the world, consisting of four flights of marble steps, adorned 
 with a double row of marble Ionic pillars. This staircase 
 springs from the equestrian statue of Constantine, which ter- 
 minates the portico on one side ; and whether seen thence, or 
 viewed from the gallery leading on the same side to the colon- 
 nade, forms a perspective of singular beauty, and grandeur. 
 
 The Scala Regia conducts to the Sala Regia, or Regal hall, 
 a room of great length and elevation, which communicates, by 
 six large folding doors, with as many other apartments : the 
 space over, and the intervals between, the doors, are occupied 
 by pictures in fresco, representing various events considered 
 as honorable or advantageous to the Roman See. Though all 
 these pieces are the works of great masters, yet one only is 
 peculiarly beautiful ; and that is, the triumphal entry of Gre- 
 gory XI. into Rome, after the long absence of the Pontiffs 
 from the capital, during their residence at Avignon. 
 
 The massacre of St. Bartholomew, if the memory of such 
 an atrocious and horrible event must be preserved, would be 
 better placed at Paris, where it was perpetrated, than at Rome ; 
 and in the palace of the Louvre, where it was planned, than 
 in the Vatican. 
 
 " Occidat ilia dies aevo, nee postera credant 
 Ssecula ; nos certe taceamus, et obruta multa 
 Nocte tegi nostrse patiamur crimina gentis." 
 
 Sfatius. 
 
 This was the patriotic and benevolent wish of a worthy 
 French magistrate, (the Chancellor VHopital,) and in this 
 wish every humane heart will readily join. The humiliation 
 of the Emperors Henry IV. and Frederick Barbarossa, ought 
 not to be ranked among the trophies of the Holy See. It 
 reflects more disgrace on the insolent and domineering Pontiffs, 
 
235 
 
 who exacted such marks of submission, than on the degraded 
 Sovereigns who found themselves obliged to give them. At 
 all events, it does not become the common father of Christians 
 to rejoice in the humiliation of his sons, or to blazon the walls 
 of his palace with the monuments of their weakness or con- 
 descension. 
 
 After having traversed the court of St. Damasus and its 
 adjoining halls and chapels, which may be considered as the 
 state apartments of the Vatican, the traveller passes to that 
 part of the palace which is called the Belvidere, from its ele- 
 vation and prospect, and proceeding along an immeasurable 
 gallery, comes to an iron door on the left, that opens into the 
 library of the Vatican. A large apartment for the two keepers, 
 the secretaries, or rather, the interpreters, seven in number, 
 who can speak the principal languages of Europe, and who 
 attend for the convenience of learned foreigners; a double 
 gallery of two himdred and twenty feet long, opening into 
 another of eight hundred, with various rooms, cabinets, and 
 apartments annexed, form the receptacle of this noble collec- 
 tion. These galleries and apartments are all vaulted, and all 
 painted with different effect, by painters of different eras and 
 talents. The paintings have all some reference to literature, 
 sacred or profane, and take in a vast scope of history and of 
 mythology. The books are kept in cases ; and in the Vatican 
 the traveller seeks in vain for that pompous display of volumes, 
 which he may have seen and admired in other libraries. Their 
 number has never been accurately stated ; some confine it to 
 two hundred thousand, others raise it to four hundred thousand, 
 and many swell it to a million. The mean is probably the 
 most accurate. 
 
 But the superiority of this library arises not from the quan- 
 tity of printed books, but the multitude of its manuscripts. 
 
which are said to amount to more than fifty thousand. Some 
 of these manuscripts of the highest antiquity, such as that of 
 Virgil of the fifth century, a Greek Bible of the sixth, a 
 Terence of the same date, &c., &c., were taken by the French, 
 and sent to Paris. The origin of this library is attributed by 
 some to Pope Hilarius, in the fifth century ; but although it 
 is probable that, long before that period, the Roman Church 
 must have possessed a considerable stock of books for the use 
 of its Clergy, yet the Popes may be supposed to have been 
 too much occupied with the dangers and difficulties of the 
 times, to have had leisure or means necessary for the formation 
 of the libraries. However, that several volumes had been 
 collected at an early period, seems certain ; as it is equally so 
 that Pope Zacharias augmented their number very consider- 
 ably about the middle of the eighth century. Nicholas V. 
 established the library in the Vatican, and enlarged the col- 
 lection ; while Calixtus III. is said to have enriched it with 
 many volumes saved from the libraries of Constantinople, at 
 the taking of that city. From this period it continued in a 
 regular progression, receiving almost every year vast additions, 
 sometimes even of whole libraries, (as those of the Elector 
 Palatine, of the Dukes of Urhino, of Queen Christina,) 
 owing not only to the favor of the Pontiff and various Princes, 
 but to the well directed zeal of its librarians, many of whom 
 have been men both of eminent talents, and of high rank and 
 extensive influence. The French invasion, which brought 
 with it so many evils, and like a blast from hell checked the 
 prosperity of Italy in every branch and in every province, not 
 only put a stop to the increase of the Vatican library, but by 
 plundering it of some of its most valuable manuscripts, 
 lowered its reputation, and undid at once the labor and exer- 
 tions of ages. 
 
237 
 
 The grand gallery which leads to the library, terminates in 
 the Museum Pio-Clementinum. Clement XVI. has the merit 
 of having first conceived the idea of this Museum, and began 
 to put it in execution. The late Pope Pius VI. continued it 
 on a much larger scale, and gave it its present extent and 
 magnificence. It consists of several apartments, galleries, 
 halls, and temples, some lined with marble, others paved with 
 ancient mosaics, and all filled with statues, vases, candelabra, 
 tombs, and altars. The size and proportion of these apart- 
 ments, their rich materials and furniture, the well-managed 
 light poured in upon them, and the multiplicity of admirable 
 articles collected in them, and disposed in the most judicious 
 and striking arrangement, fill the mind of the spectator with 
 astonishment and delight, and form the most magnificent and 
 grand combination that, perhaps, has ever been beheld, or can 
 almost be imagined. Never were the divinities of Greece and 
 Rome honored with nobler temples ; never did they stand on 
 richer pedestals ; never were more glorious domes spread over 
 their heads; or brighter pavements extended at their feet. 
 Seated each in a shrine of bronze, or marble, they seemed to 
 look down on a crowd of votaries, and once more to challenge 
 the homage of mankind ; while Kings and Emperors, Heroes 
 and Philosophers, drawn up in ranks, before or around them, 
 increased their state, and formed a majestic and becoming 
 retinue. To augment their number, excavations were daily 
 made, and generally attended with success : and many a statue, 
 buried for ages under heaps of ruins, or lost in the obscurity of 
 some unfrequented desert, was rescued from the gloom of 
 oblivion, and restored to the curiosity and admiration of the 
 public. 
 
 Of the works of art contained in the Vatican, it is not ours 
 to speak : but of the Apollo Belvidere, and the Laocoon, it 
 
: 238 
 
 would be unpardonable to omit the notice, however brief. The 
 former stands in solitary majesty. 
 
 " Never, never," says a late writer, " was there revealed to 
 the dreams of gifted genius a vision of such celestial, such 
 soul-beaming beauty ! The God of light, and poesy, and 
 imagination, stands confessed to our dazzled senses ; and well 
 does he stand here, where every thing seems to breathe and 
 burn with his essence, where all around is his creation, and 
 every tributary form bows to him. He is no inhabitant of the 
 earth, though he deigns to tread it. His home is in the 
 heavens, — he looks, he moves, he breathes a God. Divinity is 
 stamped on his brow. Godlike majesty beams from his front. 
 Those ' hyperian curls ' cluster round a brow formed to com- 
 mand. Milton seems to have had in view his divine form in 
 his description of our first parent: — 
 
 ' His fgkir large front, and eye sublime, declared 
 Absolute rule ; and hyacinthine locks 
 Round from his parted forelock manly hung 
 Clustering, but not beneath his shoulders broad.' 
 
 His is not merely the rude power of physical strength, that 
 nerves the muscles, and swells the limb of a Hercules ; it is the 
 might of mind which raises him above brute force, and makes 
 us feel that a God, a visible God, is before us, and that his 
 triumph is secure ; for vainly would a mortal presume to con- 
 tend with him. 
 
 " He does not bend on us that serene eye. Some object more 
 distant, but beneath him, for a moment attracts his regard. 
 Some feeling of a transient indignation and disdain swells his 
 nostrils, and slightly curls his full upper lip. Yet dignified, 
 and unperturbed, conscious of his power and undoubting his 
 success, he gives one proud glance to see the reptile he scorns 
 
239 
 
 perish by his dart, and scarcely pauses in his majestic course. 
 That the Deity has just deigned to slay the Pythian serpent, 
 is, I think so evident in the whole air, action, and expression of 
 the heavenly archer, that I am astonished there can be any 
 doubt of it. 
 
 "How often, while I gazed upon it in silent and unutterable 
 admiration, did it seem to be instinct with spirit and with life. 
 How often did I feel this form was indeed the habitation of a 
 deity. And is it the creation of man ? Did he call it forth in 
 its beauty, and endow it with eternal youth, to dwell in the 
 light of immortality on earth.? Was a being, so infinitely 
 superior, formed and fashioned by his hand ? It is ideal beauty 
 revealed to our senses ; and it is perhaps the sole instance that 
 man is indeed capable of personifying the image of that sublime 
 perfection, which is formed within his soul. Can the mind 
 revert to the period when this shapeless block of marble was 
 hewn from the quarry, without amazement, without being 
 tempted to think, that the being that formed it, and impressed 
 upon it those attributes, must have been endowed with more 
 than mortal powers. 
 
 " An unfortunate damsel, a native of France, it is related, 
 at the sight of this matchless statue, lost at once her heart and 
 her reason. Day after day, and hour after hour, the fair 
 enthusiast gazed and wept, and sighed her soul away, till she 
 became like the marble, pale, but not like the marble, cold. 
 Nor like the lost Eloisa, nor the idol of her love, could she 
 forget herself to stone, till death at last closed the ill-fated 
 passion, and the life of the maid of France. 
 
 * Yes, on that form in wild delirious trance. 
 With more than rev'rence gaz'd the Maid of France. 
 Day after day the love- sick dreamer stood 
 With him alone, nor thought it solitude ; 
 
240 
 
 To cherish grief, her last, her dearest care. 
 
 Her one fond hope — to perish of despair. 
 
 Oft as the shifting light her sight heguil'd. 
 
 Blushing she shrunk, and thought the raarhle smil'd : 
 
 Oft breathless list'ning, heard, or seem'd to hear, 
 
 A voice of music melt upon her ear. 
 
 Slowly she wan'd, and cold and senseless grown, 
 
 Clos'd her dim eyes, herself benumb'd to stone. 
 
 Yet love in death a sickly strength supplied : 
 
 Once more she gaz'd, then feebly smil'd, and died.' 
 
 " If in the Apollo we see the fulness of manly grace, and more 
 than mortal beauty, if the serenity of the godhead shines on 
 his commanding brow ; in the Laocoon, we behold a being of 
 our own nature struggling before us in the heart-rending 
 anguish of parental affection, and the convulsive agonies of an 
 instantaneously impending unnatural death. 
 
 " The blood curdles at that dreadful tragedy. On that 
 hoary head sits horror, in her deepest, darkest, deadliest sub- 
 limity. We behold the father in that last, bitterest moment 
 of high wrought agony, when he hears the faint cry of his 
 helpless offspring, who vainly cling to him for protection, sees 
 them entwined with himself in the inextricable rings of these 
 horrid reptiles, from whose touch nature recoils, and shrinks in 
 agony of spirit, from their opening fangs ; terror and corporeal 
 anguish mingling with the pangs of parental love, and the tor- 
 tures of despair ! The distorted face, the rolling eye, the 
 ghastly countenance, the bristling hair, the racked and working 
 muscles, the starting sinews, and distended limbs of Laocoon, 
 give us the picture of human nature in its last stage of 
 horror and of suffering ; and that it is human nature, our deep 
 shuddering sympathy makes us feel too well. Can it be marble 
 that thus expresses the deep and complicated passions of the 
 soul, and harrows up all the feelings of our nature ? 
 
244 
 
 " To the unspeakable sublimity of the figure of the Laocooll 
 himself, every tongue does homage. In its perfection, keen- 
 eyed criticism has never spied out a fault. But it is generallyj 
 and truly said, that the children are not formed like nature. 
 They are diminutive men. This is true ; but they ought not 
 to be considered apart from the main figure ; they are subordi- 
 nate objects in the group. Look on them, not separately, or 
 individually, but as a whole. Your eye, your soul, your 
 sympathy, is with the Laocoon himself. And see how they 
 group with his ? Would the chubby-faced, undefined forms, 
 and inexpressive features of childhood, have harmonized with 
 that agonized form ? No; the great artist here wisely sacrificed 
 truth of detail to general effect. 
 
 " It adds, if possible, to the inexpressible interest with which 
 we regard this wonderful masterpiece, which sculpture has 
 never equalled, to know, that during all the ages that have 
 passed since it was formed, the poets, the philosophers, and the 
 princes, whose genius and virtues have blessed and enlightened 
 the world, have gazed upon it with the same admiration we 
 now feel, — that Titus and Trajan have admired it, — that Pliny 
 has praised it, — and Virgil himself must have beheld it ; for so 
 close is the resemblance between the description in the ^Eneid 
 and the Statue, that it is certain, the poet must either have 
 copied the sculptor, or the sculptor realized the conception of 
 the poet. And as the great artists who sculptured the Laocoon 
 lived about the age of Alexander the Great, we must conclude 
 that Virgil, and consequently, that Augustus, Horace, and 
 Mecaenas, must have beheld and admired its matchless sub- 
 limity. Three thousand years have passed away since it was 
 formed, and still it stands in unchanged, undiminished gran- 
 deur. It has been the admiration of every successive genera- 
 
 B 
 
242 
 
 tion, that time has swept into the tomb : and, while the world 
 remains, it will be the wonder and the praise of the generations 
 yet to come." 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 OF THE ELECTION OF THE POPES, &C. 
 
 The Pope is elected by the College of Cardinals, being 
 seventy-two in niunber, including the six suburban Bishoprics, 
 whose principal and most honorable privilege is that of electing 
 the Pope ; and it is easy to conceive that their dignity and 
 importance increased with that of the Roman See itself, and 
 that they shared alike its temporal and its spiritual pre-emi- 
 nence. As the Cardinals are the counsellors, so they are the 
 officers of the Pontiff, and are thus entrusted with the manage- 
 ment of the Church at large, and of the Roman State in par- 
 ticular. The grand assembly of the Cardinals is called the 
 Consistory, where the Pontiff presides in person. Here they 
 appear in all the splendor of the purple, and form a most ma- 
 jestic senate. Here, therefore, public communications are 
 announced, foreign ambassadors received. Cardinals created, 
 formal compliments made and answered ; and, in short, all the 
 exterior splendor of sovereignty displayed. But the princi- 
 pal prerogative of a Cardinal is exercised in the Conclave, so 
 called, because the members of the sacred College are then 
 confined within the precincts of the great halls of the Vatican 
 
243 
 
 Palace, where they remain immured till they agree in the elec- 
 tion of a Pontiff. As soon as the Holy Father has expired, 
 the Cardinal Chamberlain, in a purple dress, presents himself 
 at the door of his chamber, and knocks three times with a gold 
 hammer, calling each time the Pope by his christian, family, 
 and Papal names. After a short time, he says, in presence of 
 the Clerks of the chamber, and his apostolical notaries, who 
 take act of that ceremony, " He is then dead." The fisher- 
 man's ring is then brought to the Cardinal, who breaks it 
 with the same hammer ; he then takes possession of the Vati- 
 can, in the name of the Apostolical Chamber. After having 
 established his authority in that palace, he sends guards to 
 take possession of the gates of the city, and of the Castle of St. 
 Angelo ; and when he has provided for the safety of Rome, he 
 quits the Vatican in a carriage, preceded by a Captain of the 
 Pope's guard, and having by his side the Swiss, who generally 
 accompany his Holiness. When this march begins, the great 
 bell of the capitol is tolled, and, as it only tolls on this occa- 
 sion, announces to the whole city the death of the Sovereign 
 Pontiff. The body having been embalmed, is clad in its Pon- 
 tifical dress, and, with the mitre on its head, lies in state 
 during three days, on a bed of parade. It is next carried, 
 with great pomp, to the church of St. Peter, where it remains, 
 nine days, exposed to public view, after which the burial takes 
 place. The next day the Cardinals assemble in the same 
 Cathedral, where the oldest of them celebrates the Mass of the 
 Holy Ghost, for the election of a new Pope. Another Pre- 
 late, in a I^atin oration, exhorts the Cardinals to choose an 
 individual worthy of so eminent a station ; after which, they 
 all march in procession behind the Papal Cross, the musicians 
 singing the hymn, Veni Creator! to the hall of Conclave, 
 which occupies a large portion of the Vatican ; the large rooms 
 
 b2 
 
244 
 
 are divided, by temporary partitions, into what are called cells, 
 which are subdivided again into little rooms and closets. 
 Every Cardinal has his own, for him and his assistants, and it 
 is only large enough to hold a bed, five or six chairs, and a 
 table. The hour of holding a new Conclave being come, a bell 
 is rung, to cause the Ambassadors, Princes, Prelates, and 
 other persons of distinction, who may be present, to retire. 
 When they are all gone out, the doors and windows are walled 
 up, with the exception of one, which throws but a dim light 
 upon the Conclave. The only communication with the exte- 
 rior is by the means of towers, in the same shape as those 
 used in the convents of Nuns. One door is also kept for the 
 removal of any Cardinal who may be ill, but who loses the 
 right of giving an active vote if he retires. The mode of 
 election now in use, is by a secret ballot. Two chalices stand 
 on a long table, in the chapel of Sixtus, into which the Cardi- 
 nals deposit their bulletins, containing the name of the indi- 
 vidual for whom they vote. One of the scrutators reads it 
 aloud, while two others mark the number of votes for each 
 individual, by the side of his name, on the large tablet where 
 all those of the Cardinals are inscribed. Whoever obtains two 
 thirds of the votes present, is canonically elected. His name 
 is immediately proclaimed aloud, and the Cardinals, sitting on 
 his right and left, rise, and quit their places. His consent is 
 asked ; and, when it is given, the Cardinals, beginning by the 
 oldest, perform the first adoration ; that is to say, kiss his foot, 
 and then his hand. The first Cardinal Deacon now announces 
 the election to the people, and the artillery of the Castle of 
 St. Angelo, and the bells of the city, spread the news afar. 
 The people are then allowed to break into the Conclave, and 
 carry off all they can. 
 
 The following extract from the English Ambassador's dis- 
 
245 
 
 patch to Henry VIII., is descriptive of the general mode of 
 election, as well as of that which prevailed in the case of 
 Adrian VI., which is more especially referred to in it : — 
 
 '' On St. Thomas's Day the Cardinals met altogether, and 
 sang the Mass of the Holy Spirit, and after a sermon in Latin, 
 they went, singing, towards the place of their Conclave. Each 
 took possession of a cell in it. After much dissensions, the 
 Conclave was made in the Pope's palace, in the place accus- 
 tomed. 
 
 " The cells were each of them sixteen feet in lengtli, and 
 ten in breadth ; they have as much room within the said Con- 
 clave, as in the King's and the Queen's great chambers, for 
 their dining chambers ; the chapel and the gallery thereunto 
 is green, whereby their cells be all together in a chapel which 
 is there within. 
 
 "After the possession taken of their cells, they depart to 
 dinner, into such sundry places as each of them, after their 
 own appetites, had caused to be prepared for them. After 
 dinner, two hours before night, they meet altogether in a 
 chapel, in the Conclave, at which time were called in the 
 Princes, Orators, Lords, Prelates, and other Noblemen, to 
 whom the custody of the Conclave was to be committed. Be- 
 fore them was read a solemn Bull, made by Pope July, wherein 
 were many special provisions to exclude all simoniacal prac- 
 tices. The Cardinals then swore to observe this Bull, and 
 oaths were then given to all the others, to see faithfully to the 
 custody of the Conclave. 
 
 " Three wards were then appointed : the uttermost was that 
 of the Barons and Lords of Rome ; the second, the Princes, 
 and Orators ; and the third, certain Prelates who were elected, 
 who also kept the keys of the Conclave. After our departure, 
 the Cardinals still remained in the said chapel awhile ; it was 
 
two hours of the night ere it was shut up ; each had three 
 servants, and the sick his physician. The Ambassadors then 
 present were those of England, Portugal, Hungary, Poland, 
 Venice, Milan, the Emperor, and other Italian cities. The 
 French Ambassador comes little abroad since Milan was lost, 
 and hath been sick ever since the prize of Tournay, except in 
 the night, when he went about his practices concerning this 
 election. 
 
 *' The charge that the ward has to see, is, that there be no 
 
 violent invasion made to the Cardinals, and they have — 
 
 footmen, Swiss, and two thousand others. The chief charge of 
 the Orators and Prelates, is, to see that there be no letters 
 sent out, nor into the Conclave : so that we search their meat, 
 their pots, and their platters. If they agree not after three 
 days, we may diminish their fare, and at last keep them at 
 bread and wine. Their meat and drink be delivered to them 
 at a round turning, which is made in the wall ; as I am sure 
 your Grace hath seen in religious places that be inclosed. 
 The first night every thing was quiet ; the next, it was noised, 
 that for all our custody, there were catch- words and tokens 
 given by them that were within, that it went not well for the 
 Cardinal de Medici. The second day the same opinion con- 
 tinued, and that there was a great likelihood for the Cardinal 
 St. Clements, a Roman of seventy-two, meet to be Pope some 
 other time, when the Church shall have need to care for 
 nothing, but only for the spiritualities. The third day, three 
 Cardinals desired the doors of the Conclave to be opened, that 
 they might avoid such filth as they had there within, of the 
 fragments of meat and drink, the savour whereof was so great, 
 that they could not abide it. This request was reasoned upon 
 by the wards, who concluded that as they might avoid their 
 meat, &c., by the draft, there was no occasion to open the 
 
247 
 
 Conclave. The doors were therefore not opened. On the 
 fourth day the first diminishing of their meat was made, and 
 that was, that each should choose whether they have all roast, 
 
 or all sodden. The same day, at night, the Cardinal G , 
 
 a man of sixty, who came from Venice by post, to the election, 
 went into the Conclave sick, and was had out almost dead. 
 
 " This Thursday, the second day of the new year, and the 
 sixth since the Cardinals have been in the Conclave, they were 
 suffered to have but one manner of meat, but each may choose 
 what. Upon such watch-word as cometh from them, they 
 make every day a new Pope. There appeareth great debate 
 and dissension among them. It will be hard for them to 
 agree." 
 
 Eustace informs us, " The halls are divided into temporary 
 apartments ; each Cardinal has four small rooms, and two at- 
 tendants, called Conclavists. The Senators of Rome, the Con- 
 servators, and the Patriarchs, Archbishops, and Bishops then 
 in the city, guard the different entrances into the Conclave, 
 and prevent all communication. These precautions to exclude 
 all undue influence and intrigue from such an assembly, on 
 such an occasion, though not always effectual, deserve applause. 
 However, the clashing interests of the different courts are so 
 well poised, that even intrigue can do but little mischief; for 
 if the Cardinals attached to any Sovereign make particular 
 efforts in favour of any individual of the same interest, they 
 only awaken the jealousies, and rouse the opposition, of all the 
 other courts and parties. The choice generally falls upon a Car- 
 dinal totally unconnected with party, and, therefore, exception- 
 able to none, exempt from glaring defects, and ordinarily re- 
 markable for some virtue, or useful accomplishment, such as 
 learning, dignity, moderation, firmness." 
 
 No person is eligible to the Papacy under fifty-five years of 
 
248 
 
 age, or that is not an Italian by birth, having already obtained 
 a place in the College of Cardinals ; or who is a Prince by 
 birth, or allied to a reigning house ; lest such a Pope should 
 dismember the patrimony of St. Peter, or " abandon that neu- 
 trality which a common father should observe towards all 
 Christian Princes ;'' or, finally, should treat the Cardinals with 
 too much hauteur. Thirdly, no one promoted to the degree 
 of Cardinal at the nomination of some Crown, especially that 
 of France and Spain ; or being a natural-born subject of either 
 of these powers, lest gratitude, or national attachment should 
 render him too devoted to the interests of one or the other, is 
 eligible. Even youth, and a good complexion and figure, are 
 considered obstacles. But all these maxims and rules vary 
 and change, according to the inconstant and precarious impulse 
 of policy and faction. Hence it often happens that, in the 
 numerous College of Cardinals, a very small number only are 
 permitted, upon a vacancy, to aspire at the Papacy, the great- 
 est part being generally prevented by their birth, their cha- 
 racter, their circumstances, and by the force of political 
 intrigues, from flattering themselves with the pleasing hope of 
 ascending that towering summit of ecclesiastical power and 
 dominion. " It is not my intention,'' says Mr. Eustace, " to 
 specify all the forms of etiquette observed, or the ceremonies 
 practised during the process, or at the conclusion of the elec- 
 tion ; two or three things, however, I must notice, for reasons 
 which will appear sufficiently obvious. One is, the custom of 
 putting the tickets, containing the votes of the Cardinals, on 
 the patina, or communion plate, and then into the chalice. 
 Now, however important these votes may be, and however 
 intimate their connexion with the welfare of the Church, yet, 
 to apply to them the vases devoted, in a peculiar manner, to 
 the most awful institutions of religion, seems to pass beyond 
 
249 
 
 disrespect, and almost to border on profanation. The next 
 ceremony to which I have alluded is that called the adoration 
 of the Pope ; it takes place almost immediately after his elec- 
 tion, when he is placed in a chair, on the altar of the Sixtine 
 Chapel, and there receives the homage of the Cardinals. This 
 ceremony is again repeated on the high altar of St. Peter's. 
 Now, in this piece of pageantry, I object not to the word, 
 adoration;* no one who knows Latin, or reflects upon the 
 sense which it bears on this, and on a thousand other occasions, 
 will cavil at it, though he may wish it otherwise applied. Nor 
 do I find fault with the throne : he who is at the same time 
 both Pontifi* and Prince, has, from time and custom, perhaps, 
 a double title to such a distinction : but why should the altar 
 be made his footstool ? — the altar, the beauty of holiness, the 
 throne of the victim-lamb, the mercy-seat of the temple of 
 Christianity : why should the altar be converted into the foot- 
 stool of a mortal.^*" 
 
 The last ceremony which we shall notice is the following: — 
 As the new Pontiff advances towards the high altar of St. 
 Peter''s, the Master of the ceremonies, kneeling before him, sets 
 fire to a small quantity of tow, placed on the top of a gilt staff, 
 and, as it blazes, and vanishes in smoke, thus addresses the 
 Pope : — " Sancte Pater ! Sic transit gloria mundi .'*" This 
 ceremony is repeated thrice. Such allusions to the nothing- 
 ness of sublunary grandeur have, we all know, been introduced 
 into the ceremonials of royal pageantry, both in ancient and 
 modem times : nor is it mentioned here as a novelty, but as a 
 proof of the transcendant glory, which once encompassed the 
 Papal Throne. ^' Nemo est in mundo sine aliqua trihulor- 
 
 • In this reasoning, no Protestant can possibly agree. The strongest 
 objections may be urged, both against the word and the thing. Adoration 
 is an act of humility, to be exclusively offered to the Supreme Being. 
 
• 250 
 
 Hone vel angustia, quamvis Rex sit vel Papa. (De Imit. 
 Christi, I. 22.) The Pontifical dignity was then, it seems, 
 supposed to be the complement and perfection of regal, and 
 even imperial power." 
 
 The income of the Roman Court is not only reduced in its 
 amount, but is very irregular and uncertain. Several years 
 ago, when in full possession of its territory, both in Italy and in 
 France, it was not calculated at more than six hundred thou- 
 sand pounds. " Contrary to a very general opinion, I must 
 here observe,*" says Mr. Eustace, " that this income arose 
 principally from internal taxation, and that a very small part 
 of it was derived from Catholic countries. The sums remitted 
 by Catholic countries may be comprised under the two heads 
 of annats and of dispensations : now, these two heads, when 
 imited, did not produce in France, the richest and most exten- 
 sive of Catholic countries, previous to the Revolution, more 
 than fifteen thousand pounds per annum. In Spain, the annats 
 had been abolished, or rather bought off'; and in Germany, if 
 I mistake not, abolished. Dispensations, that is, licences to 
 take orders, to hold livings, to contract marriages, and do 
 various acts, in cases and circumstances contrary to the pre- 
 scriptions of the common canon law, produced merely sufficient 
 to pay the expenses of the courts through which they neces- 
 sarily passed, and added little to the Papal revenue. As for 
 the concourse of pilgrims, which was supposed to be so very 
 productive a source of income, it brought nothing to Rome but 
 the filth and beggary of Catholic Europe. The far greater 
 part of these pilgrims were not only too poor to bring an acces- 
 sion of wealth to the city, but even to support themselves, and 
 were generally fed in hospitals, expressly endowed for their re- 
 ception. Into these hospitals, seven hundred or more have 
 frequently been admitted at a time, and supplied, not only with 
 
251 
 
 the necessaries, but even with the comforts of life." The 
 revolutionary invasion of Italy, and the coonsequent dismem- 
 berment of part of the Roman territory, lessened the Papal 
 income, not only by diminishing the number of pierSons who 
 contributed to it, but by impoverishing all thie inhabitants of 
 the Roman State. 
 
 The propagation of Christianity being their first and most 
 indispensable duty, the Popes have applied themselves to it 
 with zeal and success, not only in the early ages, when their 
 spiritual functions were their chief occupations, but even at a 
 later period, when politics and ambition had engrossed no small 
 portion of their attention. To support this grand and exten- 
 sive plan of Christian conquest, there are several establishments 
 at Rome, and one in particular, which from its object is called 
 the Collegium de Propaganda Fide. This seminary is vast 
 and noble, supplied with a magnificent library, and with a 
 press, in which books are printed in every known language. 
 The same treasury has to keep all the public edifices in repair, 
 especially those immense palaces, which, though of little use as 
 residences, are the receptacles of all the wonders of ancient and 
 modem art; to protect the remains of Roman magnificence from 
 further dilapidation ; and, in fine, to continue the embellish- 
 ment and amelioration of the Capital, and of its territory 
 generally. When, to these burdens, we add the pensions which 
 the Pope is accustomed to settle on Bishops, when unusually 
 poor and distressed, and the numberless claims upon his charity 
 from every part of the world, we shall not be surprised, either 
 at the expenditure of an income not very considerable, or at 
 the difficulties under which the Papal treasury has frequently 
 labored. 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 The daily service of St. Peter's is performed in a large and 
 noble chapel, that might, without impropriety, be dignified 
 with the appellation of a church, by a choir consisting of an 
 Arch-Priest, thirty-eight Prebendaries, fifty minor Canons or 
 Chaplains, besides Clerks, Choristers, and Beadles. The 
 grand altar under the dome is reserved for the use of the 
 Pontiff, who, on such occasions, is always attended by the 
 College of Cardinals, with their Chaplains, the Prelates at- 
 tached to the Court, and the Papal choir, or musicians, who 
 form what is called the Pontiff's Chapel, or capella papale. 
 As there is no regular chancel in St. Peter's, a temporary one 
 is fitted up for such occasions, behind the altar, of a semicir- 
 cular form, covered with purple, and adorned with rich drapery. 
 In the middle, raised on several steps, stands the Pontifical 
 Chair. The seats of the Cardinals and Prelates form a curve 
 on each side. 
 
 When the Pope celebrates divine service, as on Easter 
 Sunday, Christmas Day, Whit Sunday, St. Peter, and St. 
 Paul, &c., the great, or middle doors of the church, are thrown 
 open at ten, and the procession, formed of all the persons men- 
 tioned above, preceded by a beadle, carrying the Papal Cross, 
 and two others, bearing lighted torches, enters, and advances 
 slowly, in two long lines, between two ranks of soldiers, up the 
 nave. This majestic procession is closed by the Pontiff him- 
 self, seated in a chair of state, supported by twenty valets, half 
 concealed in the drapery that falls, in loose folds, from the 
 throne ; he is crowned with his tiara, and bestows his benedic- 
 tion on the crowds that kneel on all sides, as he is borne along. 
 Whien arrived at the foot of the altar, he descends, resigns his 
 
253 
 
 tiara, kneels, and, assuming the common mitre, seats himself in 
 the Episcopal Chair, on the right side of the altar, and joins 
 in the psalms and prayers that precede the solemn service. 
 Towards the conclusion of these preparatory devotions, his 
 immediate attendants form a circle around him, clothe him in 
 his Pontifical robes, and place the tiara on his head: after 
 which, accompanied by two Deacons and two Subdeacons, he 
 advances to the foot of the altar, and bowing reverently, makes 
 the usual confession. He then proceeds in great pomp through 
 the chancel, and ascends the Pontifical throne, while the choir 
 sing the Introitus, or psalm of entrance, the Kyi'ie Eleeson, 
 (Lord, have mercy upon us,) and Gloria in ewcelsis, (Glory 
 in the highest ;) when the Pontiff* lays aside his tiara, and 
 after having saluted the congregation in the usual form, the 
 fjyrd be with you, reads the collect in an elevated tone of 
 voice, with a degree of inflection just sufficient to distinguish 
 it from an ordinary lectiure. The epistle is then read, first in 
 Latin, then in Greek ; and after it some select verses from the 
 psalms, intermingled with Alleluias, are sung to elevate the 
 mind and prepare it for the gospel. 
 
 The Pontiff* then rises, gives his benediction to the two 
 Deacons that kneel at his feet with the book of the gospels, 
 and resigning his tiara, stands while the gospel is sung in 
 Latin and in Greek ; after which he commences the Nicene 
 creed, which is continued in music by the choir. When the 
 creed and the psalm that follows it are over, he descends from 
 his throne, and approaching the altar, with the same attendants 
 and the same pomp as in the commencement of the service, he 
 receives and off'ers up the usual oblations, fumes the altar with 
 frankincense from a golden censer, and then washes his hands ; 
 a ceremony implying purity of mind and body. He then 
 turns to the people, and in an humble and aff*ectionate address^ 
 
^ 254 
 
 begs their prayers ; and shortly after commences that sublime 
 form of adoration and praise, called " the preface," because it 
 is an introduction to the most solemn part of the liturgy, and 
 he chaunts it in a tone supposed to be borrowed from the 
 ancient tragic declamation, and very noble and impressive. 
 The last words, " Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of armies,"" 
 are uttered in a posture of profound adoration, and sung by 
 the choir in notes of deep and solemn intonation. All music 
 then ceases, all sounds are hushed, and an awful silence reigns 
 around, while, in a low tone, the Pontiff recites that most 
 ancient and venerable invocation which precedes, accompanies, 
 and follows the consecration, and concludes with great pro- 
 priety with the Lord's prayer, chaunted with a few emphatical 
 inflections. 
 
 Shortly after the conclusion of this prayer, the Pontiff 
 salutes the people in the ancient form, " May the peace of the 
 Lord be always with you," and returns to his throne, while the 
 choir sing thrice the devout address to the Saviour, taken from 
 the gospel, " Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the 
 world, have mercy upon us." When he is seated, the two 
 Deacons bring the holy Sacrament, which he first reveres 
 humbly on his knees, and then receives in a sitting posture : 
 the Deacons and Sub-deacons then receive the communion 
 under both kinds, the anthem after communion is sung, a col- 
 lect follows, and the Deacon dismisses the assembly. 
 
 The Pope then offers up his devotions on his knees at the 
 foot of the altar, and borne along in the same state as when he 
 entered, passes down the nave of the church, and ascends by 
 the Scala Regia, to the grand gallery in the middle of the 
 front of St. Peter's. His immediate attendants surround his 
 person, the rest of the procession draws up on each side. The 
 immense area and collonnade before the church, are lined with 
 
troops and crowded with thousands of spectators. All eyes are 
 fixed on the gallery ; the chaunt of the choir is heard at a dis- 
 tance, the blaze of numberless torches plays round the columns ; 
 and the Pontiff appears elevated on his chair of state, under the 
 middle arch. Instantly the whole multitude below fall on their 
 knees ; the cannons of St. Angelo give a general discharge, 
 while rising slowly from his throne, he lifts his hands to heaven, 
 stretches forth his arm, and thrice gives his benediction to the 
 crowd, to the city, and to all mankind ; a solemn pause follows, 
 another discharge is heard, the crowd rises, and the pomp 
 gradually disappears. 
 
 This ceremony is without doubt very grand, and considered 
 by most travellers as a noble and becoming conclusion to the 
 majestic service that precedes it. Every thing concurs to ren- 
 der it interesting : the venerable character of the Pontiff him- 
 self, the first Bishop of the Christian Church, issuing from the 
 sanctuary of the noblest temple in the world, offering up his 
 supplication in behalf of his flock, his subjects, his brethren, 
 his fellow creatures, to the Father of all, through the Saviour 
 and Mediator of all, would render it edifying and impressive, 
 if experience did not prove that it is nothing but a ceremony, 
 in which the heart and the affections do not participate. 
 
 Of all the Roman ceremonies, the Pontifical service at St. 
 Peter's is, without doubt, the most majestic ; and if we add to 
 it, the procession on Corpus Christie in which the Pope bears 
 the holy sacrament in solemn pomp along the colonnade, then 
 hung according to the ancient fashion with tapestry, and graced 
 with garlands ; we shall have mentioned the two most splendid 
 exhibitions perhaps to be seen in the universe. But besides 
 these there are others, particularly during the last week of 
 Lent, which cannot fail to excite attention and interest. The 
 procession with palms, and the affecting chaunt of the Passion 
 
256 
 
 on Sunday ; the evening service called Tenebrce, (Darkness,) 
 in the Sixtine Chapel on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday ; 
 the morning service on the two latter days, particularly the 
 Mundatum, so called from the first word of the anthem, sung 
 while the Pope washes the feet of thirteen pilgrims, and all 
 rites which it is difficult to behold without interest, and per- 
 haps emotion. 
 
 The solemn Mass, celebrated by the Pope, has much of 
 magnificence and ceremony : a Pontifical solemn Mass princi- 
 pally differs in two respects, always observed when his Holiness 
 himself officiates. The first is this, the two gospels are sung, 
 one in Greek, and the other in Latin ; the second, that the 
 communion is different in the Papal Mass, and performed after 
 the following manner : after the Agnus Dei is sung, his Holi- 
 ness goes to his throne; the Cardinal Deacon of the gospel 
 stands in such a manner on the epistle side, with his hands 
 closed together, that he can not only see the sacrament on the 
 altar, but the Pope likewise going to his throne. When his 
 Holiness is seated, the Deacon goes and takes the consecrated 
 host upon the paten, covered with a veil, and turning to the 
 people, elevates it three times successively, that is to say, in 
 the middle and at each end of the altar. ^ After that, he gives 
 it to the Subdeacon, who carries it to his Holiness; in the mean 
 time, the same Deacon takes the chalice, in which is the con- 
 secrated wine, and having elevated it three times, as he did the 
 wafer before, carries it to the Pope, who adores Jesus Christ 
 under both kinds, as soon as they are brought to him, which 
 he performs with a moderately low bow of half his body, in a 
 standing posture ; and when the Deacon and Subdeacon are 
 come close to him, they place themselves, one on his right 
 hand, and the other on his left hand ; his Holiness takes the 
 large host which is on the patin, and communicates, putting it 
 
267 
 
 into his mouth : he then gives two small ones to the Deacon, 
 and Subdeacon, who are kneeling, and kisses his hand before 
 they receive them. The Deacon, however, still holds the 
 chalice, till the assistant Cardinal Bishop, dressed in his cope, 
 comes up to the Pontifical throne, when the Pope's vestry- 
 keeper presents him with a small gold pipe, one end whereof 
 he dips into the chalice, and his HoUness at the same time 
 takes hold of the other, and inclining his head a little, sucks 
 up a part of the consecrated wine, leaving the rest to the 
 Deacon, who carries the chalice to the altar, and there sucks 
 up a part of it, and leaves a little for the Subdeacon, who 
 drinks it without the pipe, as also that which is poured out for 
 the ablution of the chalice, which he wipes with the purifica- 
 tory, or white linen cloth ; in the mean time his Holiness gives 
 the kiss of peace only to the Deacon, and the communion only 
 under one kind to other Cardinals, Ambassadors, Princes, Pre- 
 lates, and sometimes to private persons, who have desired to 
 receive that mark of honor from him ; afler which he returns to 
 the altar, and goes through the Mass with the usual ceremonies 
 and solemnity.* 
 
 We may here describe the peculiar ceremonies attending 
 High Mass at Christmass, when his Holiness officiates, who, 
 being dressed in all his Pontifical ornaments, (the most re- 
 markable whereof, on this occasion, are the white pluvial and 
 precious mitre,) by the Cardinal Deacons, already in their 
 
 ♦ After Mass, the Pope wao placed in a chair highly gilt and orna- 
 mented, and a white satin canopy, deeply fringed with gold, was held 
 over him, while he was borne from one chapel to the other, attended by 
 a number of Cardinals and Bishops In gorgeous robes. The illumination 
 was very splendid ; but, altogether, this pomp and show appeared very 
 inconsistent with the religion of the meek and lowly Saviour. {Three 
 Yean in Italy , ;#. 126.) 
 
 8 
 
258 
 
 robes, blesses the incense presented to the thurifier ; after that, 
 the Pontiff is preceded by the Roman and other Prelates, who 
 all wear white mitres. On this occasion the Incense-bearer, 
 and seven Acolytes, each with a wax taper in his hands, walk 
 before the Cross-bearer, and a clerk of the chamber before the 
 Incense-bearer, who holds a sword lifted up, with a cap upon it, 
 which is a representation perhaps of the irresistible power and 
 efficacy of the Pontifical sword, which Christ's Vicar has 
 inherited from St. Peter, with that of freeing Christians from 
 the bondage of the devil, by a right acquired by the Son of 
 God, whose nativity is then celebrated. It is considered like- 
 wise as an emblem of the Church's dignity and freedom, under 
 the government of the Pope. Many of the superior Clergy 
 make up this holy procession ; and should any Catholic Prince 
 happen to be at Rome at that time, he must carry the train of 
 the Pope's mantle : the two Cardinals likewise hold up the two 
 ends of it. His Holiness walks in a very stately and majestic 
 manner, under a canopy supported by eight gentlemen of the 
 first rank. 
 
 As soon as the Pope is got into the church, he passes on to 
 a chapel, and then sits down. The Cardinals come and bow 
 to him, and kiss the hem of the Holy Father's pluvial, on the 
 right side ; then come the other Prelates in order, and kiss his 
 right knee. The Latin and Greek Deacons, who assist his 
 Holiness, stand in readiness at the altar. After some anthems 
 are sung, a vestry-keeper puts on the arms of a Latin Sub- 
 deacon a small napkin, whereon are laid his Holiness's sandals 
 and stockings ; these the Subdeacon carries altogether to the 
 Pope, with his hands held up to his eyes. The Acolytes fol- 
 low him, and whilst the Subdeacon and a gentleman of the 
 Privy-chamber get under the holy Father's pluvial, to put on 
 his stockings and his sandals, the Acolytes take care to spread 
 
259 
 
 the borders of the pluvial whilst the Subdeacon is putting them 
 on. The assistant Bishops who are present at this religious 
 ceremony, hold before his Holiness a book and a wax taper, 
 who, with his assistant Deacons, sing an anthem and a psalm. 
 The choir sing tierce, during which the Pope rises, and an 
 assistant Bishop goes up to him with the Pontifical; two 
 taper-bearers attend with lights in their hands. The Pontiff 
 takes off his mitre, which is done frequently in this ceremony, 
 and puts it on again. Then an assistant Bishop lays the Pon- 
 tifical on his own head, that his Holiness may read the office of 
 the day, another assistant supports the book in one hand, and 
 holds a taper in the other ; when the Pontiff is seated again, 
 and his mitre put on, he is presented with some water to wash 
 him. His Holiness having washed, the Gospel-deacon, assisted 
 with two others, takes off his mitre, pluvial, and stole, in order 
 to put on several other robes, which the Acolytes bring him 
 from the altar, viz., the girdle, the breast-cross, the dalmatica, 
 the tierce, the albe, the gloves, &c., all which must be devoutly 
 kissed, and the pallium, the cross whereof his holiness kisses. 
 Lastly, they put the ring on his finger, called the Pontifical 
 ring. His Holiness, thus equipped, and followed by two 
 auditors, holding up the corners of the pluvial, humbly pro- 
 ceeds to the Confiteor, before the steps of the altar, and the 
 three youngest Cardinal Priests advance to kiss the Holy 
 Father's mouth, and his breast. Then the Gospel-deacon 
 censes his Holiness, and his Holiness the altar, and then the 
 ceremony of the service begins; during which, there is the 
 ceremony of delivering to the Pope a purse with twenty-five 
 julios in it of ancient money ; and the Subdeacons and the 
 Master of the Ceremonies kiss the Pope's feet, with some other 
 insignificant ceremonies. 
 
 Of the service at Christmas, Galiffe thus writes:— "The 
 
 s2 
 
: 260 
 
 Church, Santa Maria Maggiore, was full of country people, in 
 all sorts of dresses and attitudes, some kneeling, some standing, 
 some sitting, some walking, others lying stretched on the pave- 
 ment, many sleeping, and even snoring aloud, several talking 
 and laughing ; in short, it was much more like a market scene, 
 than a religious assembly solemnity. The only moments when 
 the deportment of the whole congregation accorded with the 
 sanctity of the place, were those when our Saviour's cradle 
 was carried about in a magnificent casket of crystal, silver, and 
 gold, on which is a small golden statue of the newborn infant. 
 The chapel of Sixtus V. was, however, an exception to the rest ; 
 several of the Cardinals who had been officiating were there at 
 their prayers the whole night ; and seven or eight of them, at 
 least, were in the chapel when I left it." 
 
 During the latter part of December, there is a Presepio, or 
 representation of the manger in which our Saviour was laid, to 
 be seen in many of the churches. That of the Ara Coeli is 
 best worth seeing. The church occupies the site of the 
 Temple of Jupiter, and is adorned with some of its beautiful 
 pillars. On entering, we found daylight completely excluded 
 from the church ; and, until we advanced, we did not perceive 
 the artificial light, which was so well managed, as to stream in 
 fluctuating rays from intervening silvery clouds, and shed a 
 radiance over the lovely babe, and bending mother, who, in the 
 most graceful attitude, lightly holds up the drapery, which 
 half conceals her sleeping infant from the bystanders. He lies 
 in richly embroidered swaddling clothes, and his person, as 
 well as that of his Virgin Mother, is ornamented with 
 diamonds and other precious stones ; for which purpose, we 
 were informed, the Princesses, and Ladies of the highest rank 
 lend their jewels. Groups of cattle grazing, peasantry engaged 
 in different occupations, and other objects, enliven the pic- 
 
261 
 
 turesque scenery ; every living creature in the group, with eyes 
 directed towards the Presepio, falls prostrate in adoration. 
 In the front of this theatrical representation, a little girl, 
 about six or eight years old, stood on a bench, preaching 
 extempore, as it appeared, to the persons who filled the church, 
 with all the gesticulations of a little actress, probably, in com- 
 memoration of those words of the Psalmist, quoted by our 
 blessed Lord, " Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings, thou 
 hast perfected praise."" In this manner the Scriptures are 
 acted, not " read, marked, and inwardly digested." The whole 
 scene, however, had a striking effect, well calculated to work 
 upon the minds of a people, whose religion consists too largely 
 of outward show. 
 
 All these ceremonies of the Roman Church are set off by 
 every concomitant circiunstance that can contribute to their 
 splendor or magnificence. As, indeed, no people are better 
 acquainted with the mode of conducting and managing public 
 exhibitions than the Romans, they are performed with the 
 utmost precision and dignity, with every attention to the effects 
 of perspective, and to all the graces of drapery. Every person 
 knows his place, and the part he has to act in the solemnity ; 
 the dresses are adapted to the situation as well as to the rank 
 of the wearers, who, whether they be sitting, standing, or 
 moving, contrive that they should fall into easy and majestic 
 folds. The persons themselves are, the Pope, the Cardinals, 
 the chief Magistrates of the city, the principal Officers of 
 State, and various Prelates, Presidents, and Judges of the 
 principal tribunals; all men cither of high birth or great 
 talents, and venerable for their age, their virtues, or their 
 great dignity. The theatres, moreover, (if such an expression 
 may be applied to such an object,) in which these sacred pomps 
 arc exhibited, are either the vast and lofty halls of the Vatican 
 
262 
 
 palace, adorned with all the wonders of painting ; or else the 
 church of St. Peter, whose immense area, while it affords 
 ample room for the ceremony itself, can contain countless mul- 
 titudes without press or disorder. If, therefore, as Warburton 
 observes, " it be difficult to attend at a High Mass performed 
 by a good choir in any great church, without sentiments of 
 awe, if not of devotion," it is not surprising that the same 
 sacred service, performed by such persons, with such accom- 
 paniments, and amid such scenes of grandeur and splendor, 
 should impress the same sentiments with double force and 
 effect. 
 
 These pompous offices at the Vatican only take place on the 
 great festivals of Easter, Whitsuntide, and Christmas, to which 
 we may add St. Peter's Day, and perhaps one or two more occa- 
 sional solemnities. On the other Sundays, and during the far 
 greater part of the year, the altar stands a grand but neglected 
 object, and the dome rises in silent majesty, unaccustomed to 
 re-echo with the voice of exultation, and with the notes of 
 praise. The service of the cathedral is performed in a distant 
 chapel, and private Masses, it is true, are said at the different 
 altars around ; but the great body of the church seems deserted 
 by its ministers, and, like Sion of old, to complain that none 
 Cometh to the solemnity* 
 
 t 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 OF THE CARDINALS, &C. 
 
 As all Roman Catholic churches had always their Senate 
 composed of Priests and Deacons, whose counsel and assistance 
 the Bishop used in the government of his diocese ; so the Pope 
 had always his, composed of Cardinals, who assisted him in the 
 government of the Universal Church. The Cardinals are 
 ecclesiastical Princes in this Church, or the principal Ecclesi- 
 astics next to the Pope, by whom they are created, and whose 
 Council and Senate they compose. They are divided into 
 three classes, or orders, consisting of six Bishops, fifty Priests, 
 and fourteen Deacons, making in all seventy persons, which 
 constitute what they call the Sacred College, of whom, three 
 make a Consistory. In 1417, the Pope enacted that they should 
 not exceed twenty-four, unless one or two should, with consent 
 of the others, be once made for the honor of the nations which 
 had no Cardinals. This order was soon disregarded, and we may 
 infer the reason, when we find that Leo X. made thirty Cardinals, 
 from whom he obtained for their promotion fifty thousand gold 
 ducats. They had become fifty-one in the time of Matthew 
 Paris ; or fifty two, as Mart. Polenus mentions them. From 
 that period they were greatly multiplied, and in 1562, the 
 Emperor Ferdinand desired them to be reduced to twenty-six, 
 or, if possible, to twelve, in the capita delivered by his ambas- 
 sador to the Council of Trent. The number of Cardinal 
 Bishops is always complete, those of Cardinal Priests and 
 Deacons, seldom. The six Cardinal Bishops are those of 
 Ostia, Porto, Sabina, Prceneste, or Palestine, Tusculum, or 
 Frascati, and Albano. 
 
 *' The Cardinals,'" says an old author, "before Innocent IV., 
 
264 
 
 went in the ordinary habit of a Priest, like to that of the 
 Monks. Innocent IV. first of all added to it the red hat ; 
 afterwards, in the time of Boniface IX., they had the red and 
 violet habit, in the same manner and form as it is used at this 
 day. Pope Paul II. gave the mitre of silk, the red cap, the 
 red cloth for the mule, and guilt stirrups. Gregory XIV. 
 gave the red cap to the regular Cardinalls, going otherwaies 
 apparelled in that color, which those of the order whereof they 
 were, then used, but of the same fashion and stuffe as the other 
 Cardinalls went in. Howbeit, they wore no rochets, nor cassock 
 of cloth ; and when they adorne themselves, instead of a rochet, 
 they put on a coate with wide sleeves, and adorne themselves over 
 that ; the other Cardinalls, which are not regulars, put on the 
 ammius over the rochet, which they weare ordinarily, and then 
 their ornaments ; in like manner, the regular Cardinall ought 
 to put on the ammit over the coat. The shaven crown is the 
 common badge of all the Clergymen; the manipule is the 
 badge of the Subdeacon ; the cross-stole of the Deacon ; the 
 planeta of the Priest ; the my ter of the Bishop ; the pall of the 
 Archbishop, of the Primate, and of the Patriarch ; and the 
 diadem of the Pope, which, for sixe hundred yeares together, 
 was adorned with onely one crown, but at the return of the 
 Apostolick See from Avignon to Rome, the Popes began to 
 weare the triple crowne. 
 
 " Of the creation of the Cardinalls. The Pope doth use to 
 make Cardinalls two severall waies ; the first is this : those 
 persons which are abiding in Rome, whom his Holiness pur- 
 poseth to promote, have notice given them thereof over night, 
 by the Cardinall Nephewes, whereupon, the next morning, they 
 repaire to the palace at the usual houre. 
 
 " The Pope, when as the secret consistory is shut up, pro- 
 nounceth the Cardinalls whom he intends to make ; and in the 
 
2()5 
 
 same consistory, causes them to bee called in, where, kneeling 
 downe at his Holiness's feet, the Pope putts the red hatt on 
 his head, and making the sign of the cross upon it, hee sayes to 
 him, Esto Cardinalis, and weare this red hatt, as a signe, that 
 thow wilt, without feare, expose thyself even to death, and the 
 effusion of thy dearest bloud, for the exaltation of the holy 
 faith, for the peace and quiet of Christian people, and aug- 
 menting the state of the whole Roman Church ; in the name 
 of the Father, of the Sonne, and of the Holy Ghost, Amen. 
 Then the new Cardinall takes off the hatt from his head, and 
 kisseth Holinesse feet. 
 
 '' The second way is this. In the secret consistory, the Pope 
 pronounceth, in order of dignitie, the Cardinalls which he 
 hath made, and then gives a list of them to the Cardinall 
 Nephewe, who sends his master of the chamber with his owne 
 coach, to fetch those persons which are promoted, from out of 
 such parts of the city as they live in, and bring them to his 
 Eminencies lodgings. There they have their crownes shaven, 
 and are attyred in purple like Cardinalls ; the garments where- 
 with they were apparelled before, are the vailes of the Car- 
 dinall Nephewe''s adjutant of the chamber ; and the Cardinall 
 Nephewes Barber that shaved their crownes, receives from 
 them five and twenty duckets for his fee. After dinner, the 
 same Cardinall having feasted the new Cardinalls, conducts 
 them to his Holiness, before whose feet, kneeling on their 
 knees, they have the red hatt put upon their heads, in the 
 manner before declared ; and after many words of humility, and 
 thanks, they depart away ; and so goe all in the habit of a 
 Cardinall together, to visit his Holinesse kinsfolks, as well men 
 as women, continuing afterwards in their houses, untill the 
 publique consistory, alwaies cloathed in purple till the day 
 of the said consistory, though it bee ewtra tempora, and 
 
; 266 
 
 giving audience to every one that comes to visit them. Now 
 all the time before the public consistory, the new Cardinall 
 ought not to accompany any one, and if he does so, he does ill ; 
 for albeit Cardinalls come to visit him, he cannot, nor aught 
 not, to accompany them farther than the chamber doore, where 
 hee received the visit : but the ancient good rule was, that the 
 Cardinalls did not visit the new Cardinalls before the public 
 consistory ; and if they chanced to doe it, by occasion of 
 kindred, as otherwaies, they went to them by night, and were 
 not scene. 
 
 " Of those that are made Cardinalls^ being absent from 
 Rome. He, who in his Holinesse name, is advertised, that he 
 is created a Cardinall, must presently cause a shaven crowne to 
 be made him, and attyre himself as a Cardinall, but in purple ; 
 for he may not use red, until he have received the hatt sent 
 unto him by the Pope ; and from that time he is to be called 
 Cardinall, and so he may subscribe himselfe. 
 
 " The red hatt is alwaies carried by one of the Pope's Cham- 
 berlaines, accompanied with his Holinesse brieve, for which, the 
 new Cardinall pays an hundred duckets to the Chamber. 
 Now, the ceremonies of conferring the hatt upon him, is per- 
 formed, where there is no Nuntio, by the Emperor, the King, 
 the Archbishop, or Bishop of the place. 
 
 " The newes of the Cardinallship, before the hatt is brought, 
 together with the Pope's or one of his Nephewe's letters, is 
 carried by a courrier, unto whom a great reward is given ; as 
 also to the Chamberlayne that brings the hatt, there is a great 
 reward also given, which usually, from them who are present in 
 Rome, at their promotion, is at least five hundred duckets, and 
 from them which receive the hatt out of Rome, a thousand 
 duckets, with three hundred more at the publick consistory, 
 when they are confirmed in their dignity; which reward is 
 
267 
 
 divided amongst the secret participant Chamberlaines ; and to 
 the Chamberlain that carried the hatt, belongs an equall share, 
 although he be none of the participants. Of the rewards given 
 to the Courrier, are three parts made, one to the Cardinall 
 Nephewes Secretary, one to the Master General Posts, and 
 the thirde to the Courrier himselfe, the expence of the voyage 
 being first deducted out of it. 
 
 " The Cardinall which goes to Rome to take the hatt, is to 
 goe in the travelling habit of a Cardinall, but of purple colour, 
 and on his head an ordinary hatt, with a gold band, and faced 
 with red silk ; being arrived at Rome, he will be met with the 
 caroches, which the Cardinalls send, and in particular with 
 the Cardinall Nephewes, wherein he shall be conducted to the 
 Apostolical palace ; and being come to the said Cardinall 
 Nephewes lodgings, he must compliment with his Eminencie, 
 and then by his barber, he must have the Cardinalls shaven 
 crowne made on his head, and putting off his travelling habit, 
 he must put on a long robe with a rochet, and so he must be 
 conducted by his Eminencie to the Pope, upon the sight of 
 whom, the new Cardinall must kneel down before him, and 
 then, after other bowings of himselfe, he must goe and kiss 
 his Holinesse feet and hand ; that done, having been admitted 
 ad osculum, used many words of thankfiilnesse for the dignity 
 of a Cardinall conferred on him, and taken leave of his Holi- 
 nesse, he must accompany the Cardinall Nephew to his lodg- 
 ings, where he must compliment him anew, and from thence 
 he must goe and visit the Pope''s kinsfolks, who most commonly 
 dwell in places remote from his palace. 
 
 " Having performed all this, he must repair to his owne 
 house, out of which he may not stir untill his Holinesse give 
 him a public consistory ; howbeit, he may in the mean time 
 receive visits, but privately, without going forth of his cham- 
 
268 
 
 ber, and without accompanying tlie visiters, let them be what 
 they will, as is delivered before. 
 
 " On the day of the public consistory, the accustomed pomp 
 of the solemn riding is used, and the new Cardinall, if he be 
 an Archbishop or Bishop, wears on his head a black Pontifical 
 hatt, faced with green ; but if he were before only a Priest, a 
 Prelate, or of the short robe, he must wear a hatt in the same 
 manner, but faced with black, and must goe attired in red, if 
 the day doe permit it ; and his cloake must be of ratend gro- 
 guram, being accompanied with all the Cardinalls ; and so he 
 goes to receive the red hatt from the hands of his Holinesse : 
 in which solemnities many ceremonies occurre, but one cannot 
 erre therein, because all is guided by the Masters of the 
 Ceremonies. 
 
 " The same day, the Pope''s Cardinall Nephew feasts the 
 new Cardinall; he is afterwards to visit the whole Sacred 
 College with all his traine, and in his habits, beginning at the 
 Deacon-Cardinall, and then the rest one after the other, with- 
 out order : and in the same habit he is to receive and render 
 the visits of and to the Ambassadors of Kings, and Princes, 
 and other great personages. 
 
 " In the first secret consistory after the public consistory, 
 the Pope performs the ceremony of shutting up the new Car- 
 dinalls mouth, his Holinesse speaking and praying, and the 
 new Cardinall not saying a word. This shutting up of the 
 mouth deprives the new Cardinall of his active and passive 
 voice. 
 
 " In the second consistory, his Holinesse opens his mouth, 
 declares his title unto him, and espouses him with a gold ring 
 that hath a sapphire set in it, for which, in times past, the 
 Cardinalls heir (in case he dyed) paid five hundred duckats in 
 the chamber. Pope Gregory XIII. gave this fee of the ring 
 
269 
 
 to the German Colledge of Rome; but afterwards, Pope 
 Sixtus Quintus took it from thence, and by Gregory XV. it 
 was assigned to the Sacred Colledge de propaganda Jide, and 
 it was by a Pontifical Bull ordained, that it should be alwaies 
 done by every Cardinall from the very day of his promotion. 
 
 " Any one that shall be made a Cardinall, and before his 
 coming to Rome shall be declared a legat ; he may exercise his 
 legatship, if his Holinesse pleasure be not otherwise, until he 
 hath first the hatt : and in that case the Pope useth to send it 
 unto him with a brieve: afterwards when that legation is 
 finished, and that the same Cardinall comes to Rome, he is at 
 any hand to have a public consistory granted to him, together 
 with the wonted solemn riding. Every Cardinall hath the 
 hatt, which his Holinesse puts on his head, brought home to 
 him to his house by a secret chamberlain, in a silver and gilt 
 bason, that is carried by the Pope's cupboard-keeper, unto 
 whom is used to be given a reward of five and twenty crowns 
 of gold." 
 
 The whole government of the Papal States, both in its 
 legislative and executive departments, is entirely confided to 
 the Cardinals, who, for its more easy and better administra- 
 tion, are subdivided into numerous committees, or, as they 
 are called, congregations of Cardinals.* In every one of 
 these congregations many Cardinals assist ; every congregation 
 
 • The Assembly of the Cardinals in the Sixtine Chapel, is another 
 very noble sight ; but it is to be viewed rather as a meeting of Princes 
 than a congregation of Churchmen. Cardinal Fesch, Buonaparte's uncle, 
 always attended these assemblies. The decent and solemn manner 
 in which each Member of that Assembly successively comes in and takes 
 his place, is very imposing ; and forms an extremely agreeable contrast to 
 that unceremonious assemblage of people in boots and spurs, and every 
 variety of dress, in the Lower House of the British Parliament. 
 
270 
 
 has its particular secretary, who draws up the letters, according 
 to the Decrees which are established in full congregation, and 
 every Cardinal-head subscribes the letters of his own congre- 
 gation, which are afterwards sealed by each Secretary with 
 the seal of that Cardinal who hath subscribed them ; and 
 the register of them remains in the hands of each several 
 Secretary. It is to be noted, that whilst there is a Consistory, 
 no Congregation is ever held ; and if any one be intimated, and 
 the Pope holds a Consistory, they leave the Congregation and 
 go to the Consistory ; which is always held every week, either 
 on Monday, Wednesday, or Friday; and that Congregation 
 which was intituled before, is usually held after dinner the 
 same day, for the Consistory is ever held betimes in the 
 morning. 
 
 Thus all Roman Catholics obey their Bishops — the Bishops 
 the Metropolitans — the Metropolitans the Primates and Pa- 
 triarchs — and all of them their head, the Pope ;* and of all 
 
 * Before their consecration the Irish Bishops take what is literally and 
 veritably an oath of fealty and allegiance to the Pope. They swear that 
 they will be faithful ancl obedient to St. Peter the Apostle, and to the 
 Holy Roman Church, and to their Lord the Pope, and to his Successors ; 
 that they will not knowingly reveal to any to their prejudice the counsels 
 with which they may be entrusted by themselves, their messenger, or their 
 letters. They swear that they will help to defend and keep the Roman 
 Papacy, and the Royalties of St. Peter, against all men. They 
 swear that they will endeavour to preserve, defend, increase, and advance 
 the rights, honours, privileges, and authority of the Holy Roman Church, 
 of their Lord the Pope, and of his foresaid Successors; that they will 
 not be in any action, counsel, or treaty, in which shall be plotted, against 
 their said Lord, and the said Roman Church, any thing to the hurt or 
 prejudice of their persons, right, honor, state, or power ; and that if 
 they know any such thing to be treated or agitated by any whatsoever, 
 they will hinder it to their power, and signify it as soon as they can to 
 their said Lord. They swear that they will observe with all their might. 
 
275 
 
 these is composed one Church, having one faith under one 
 Head. 
 
 Clerical celibacy, as to the higher orders, is a point of very 
 ancient discipline, and had been received and practised always, 
 both in the Eastern and Western Churches, until, by a council, 
 held in the year 692, at Constantinople, which was never 
 sanctioned by a General Council, or the Chief Pastor, some 
 alteration in this discipline took place in the Greek Church. 
 By this Council, Priests, Deacons, and Subdeacons were 
 allowed, under certain restrictions, to cohabit with the women 
 they had been married to before their ordination ; but no 
 Priest, Deacon, or Subdeacon, once ordained, can marry in 
 the Greek any more than they can in the Latin Church. As 
 to their Bishops and Monks, celibacy is no less rigorously ob- 
 
 and cause to be observed by others, the rules of the Holy Fathers, the 
 Apostolic Decrees, Ordinances or Disposals, Reservations, Provisions, or 
 Mandates. They engage to visit Rome in person every ten years, there 
 to give an account of their pastoral office to their Lord the Pope, and 
 humhly to receive his Apostolic commands ; or, if detained themselves 
 by any lawful impediment, they engage to send a messenger fully in- 
 structed in their stead. The concluding clause is noticeable — hcec omnia 
 etsinguUiy eo inviolahilius observabo, S^c. — " all and every of these things I 
 will observe the more inviolably, as being certain that nothing is con- 
 tained in them which can interfere with the fidelity I owe to the Govern- 
 ment of the Country." 
 
 This oath was drawn up by Pope Hildebrand, and few persons can be 
 so little versed in history, as not to know what he intended by these 
 Royalties of St. Peter, and those rights, honors, privileges, and autho- 
 rity of the Roman Church, and of their Lord the Pope, which the 
 Bishops are thereby sworn to preserve, defend, increase, and advance. 
 
 This oath is the same with that taken by all other Bishops, except that 
 the clause, " Haereiicos, sckismaticos, et rebelles eidem Domino Nostra, 
 pro posse perseqnar et expugnabo" is herein omitted by special permission 
 of the Pope. 
 
272 
 
 served by them, than by the Bishops, Priests, Deacons, and 
 Subdeacons in the Latin Church. 
 
 To the same principle we may ascribe the prohibition of mar- 
 riage to the Clergy, by which artful measure they are rendered 
 a compact and efficient corporation, less liable to be affected by 
 the opinions and influence of the laity — a more distinct and 
 independent community, and, of course, more subservient to the 
 ambitious designs of the Roman See. By matrimonial alliances 
 the Ministers of religion are intermingled and connected with 
 the mass of the people ; but by the practice of Celibacy, they 
 become so insulated and remote in their feelings and interests, 
 that the impulse communicated at the centre of the system, is 
 instantly transmitted to all its extremities, and the circles of 
 vibration are unbroken and complete. The constitution of 
 Religious Orders, and the high eulogium pronounced on the 
 duties of a useless and selfish retirement from the world, in 
 consequence of which thousands were formed into Monks and 
 Nuns, who ought to have been the " lights of the world," 
 " and the salt of the earth ; " but who imagined that it was far 
 more pleasing to the Deity, to be drones in society, chaunting 
 their matins and vespers, and spending their time in drowsy 
 meditations, than occupying their various talents for the good 
 of their fellow-creatures, may be traced to the same refined and 
 Machiavellian policy. Out of the same principle arose the 
 veneration of hermits, and the senseless adoration of those 
 who inflicted on themselves corporeal austerities— all tended to 
 exalt the prerogatives of the Priesthood, to separate men from 
 the interests and relations of social life, to increase the depen- 
 dencies of the Church, and to establish the empire of ecclesi- 
 astical despotism over the consciences and understandings of 
 mankind. 
 
87S 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 OF CLERICAL VESTMENTS. 
 
 The use of sacred vestments, as well as various ceremonies, 
 have been universally adopted by the Roman Catholic Church, 
 for the display of pomp in her public worship. To pass these 
 by, entirely unnoticed^ would be disappointing ; we can, how- 
 ever, only notice the principal, and even these only cur'iorily. 
 
 It is usual for the Priest, before Mass, to go round the 
 church, and sprinkle the congregation with holy water, repeat- 
 ing at the same time these words of the fiftieth Psalm, in 
 composing which David evidently had in his mind the waters 
 of lustration, mentioned in Numb. xix. 18, 19: " Thou shalt 
 sprinkle me, O Lord, with hyssop, and I shall be cleansed; 
 thou shalt wash me, and I shall be made whiter than snow.*" 
 This is done, it is said, to remind the people of that purity with 
 which they ought to enter into the temple of God, and to engage 
 them to pray more earnestly for that disposition, which, if it 
 were not for such a ceremony, they might perhaps forget to do. 
 In smaller chapels where this ceremony is not observed, there 
 is, nevertheless, always a vessel containing holy water, placed 
 near the door, that the faithful, on entering the house of God, 
 may sprinkle themselves therewith, and repeat the words above 
 named. It is also usual for the people to take home with them 
 some of this holy water, either to use in the same spirit at 
 their private prayers, or to sprinkle in their rooms, on their 
 furniture, &c., as the Jews also did on their tents and furni- 
 ture. The water is first blessed, as every thing else is which 
 is used in the service of God ; then with this water is mixed a 
 little salt, over which a prayer has also been read, and the 
 
274 
 
 blessing is completed. In all the public functions of his office, 
 the Priest has also certain appointed robes or vestments to wear, 
 and most of all when he offers sacrifice. The common garment 
 of a Priest, which he ought at all times to wear, should be 
 his cassock, and over this he has others to put on during his 
 public duties. The Priest first puts on the Amice, which is a 
 small piece of white linen, which, being put over the head, is 
 suffered to rest on the shoulders. The meaning of this is easily 
 collected from the words he repeats at the time, which are 
 these : " Put, O Lord, on my head, a helmet of salvation, 
 to repel all the assaults of the devil."" The Alb, which is a 
 white garment that covers him all over, is next put on, and 
 represents the purity and innocence with which he ought to be 
 present at the altar, as is also expressed by the prayer, 
 " Cleanse my heart, O Lord, that being made white by the 
 blood of the Lamb, I may possess eternal joys." This Alb is 
 tied up by a cord, as well for convenience, that it may not 
 hinder the motions of the Priest, as to remind us of the neces- 
 sity of girding our loins with the virtue of purity. The Maniple 
 is next put on the left arm ; it formerly had its use, perhaps, 
 in some way as a handkerchief, but now is only an ornament, 
 or an emblem of virtue, and the prayer used on the occasion 
 is, '' May I deserve to bear the maniple of weeping and grief, 
 that I may receive the reward of labor in exultation." The 
 Priest then puts the Stole on his neck, and crossing it on his 
 breast, fastens it by the girdle. The Stole is the emblem of 
 authority, and is worn by the Bishop hanging strait down in 
 front — ^by the Priest, crossed on the breast — and by the Deacon, 
 upon one shoulder only, like a soldier's belt. The Subdeacon 
 does not wear it at all. These are all arbitrary signs of the 
 different degrees of authority possessed by the different degrees 
 of Holy Orders. Th€ prayer, on putting it on, expresses a 
 
275 
 
 desire that we may be clothed with the Stole of immortality, 
 which had been lost by our first parents^ transgression. The 
 Chausible is the outer vestment worn by the Priest, and is 
 generally much ornamented, and always embroidered with a 
 large cross on the back, to signify that the Priest should also 
 bear his cross, in imitation of Christ ; and he prays, on putting 
 it on, that he may so wear the sweet yoke of Christ, as to 
 merit his grace. The Priest, now completely adorned, repre- 
 sents the person of Christ, and proceeds to the altar, to begin 
 the sacrifice. And to make this representation still more 
 complete, every particular vestment reminds us of something 
 which our blessed Saviour bore at his passion. The Amice 
 reminds us of his being blindfolded and buffeted for us. The 
 Alb is literally the white garment with which Herod clothed 
 him in derision. In the Girdle we see the cord by which our 
 Saviour was bound to the pillar, when he was scourged. The 
 Maniple, by its weight on the arm, represents the weight of our 
 sins which our Saviour bore ; and the Stole, being but like a 
 yoke on the shoulders, must call to our remembrance the hu- 
 mility and obedience to which he submitted, for the expiation 
 of those sins. The Chausible, with the cross on the back, very 
 aptly expresses the purple garment, and the carriage of his 
 cross. The color of these vestmcnta vary, according to the 
 festivals they celebrate. White, on all feasts of our Lord, of 
 Confessors, and virgins, to signify their spotless innocence ;«— 
 red, on festivals of Apostles and Martyrs, because tliey shed 
 their blood for religion ; — purple, or violet, in times of mourn- 
 ing, viz., Lent, Advent, &c. ; — green, for aU Sundays on which 
 the poper office is said ; — and black, in masses for the dead, 
 and on Good Friday, when we commemorate the death of our 
 Saviour. Gold has the privilege of every color, and may 
 ■crve for any except black, for which it does not seem appro- 
 
 T 2 
 
276 
 
 priate. Thus the faithful, from the very colour of the vest- 
 ments, may at once see the nature of the festival which is 
 celebrated. The vestments of a Bishop have, likewise, a mys- 
 terious significance : the stole represents the yoke of the Gos- 
 pel ; the shoes being taken off, alludes to Moses putting off his 
 shoes ; the dalmatica is to represent to the Deacon, that he 
 must be crucified to the world ; the alb denotes the purity of 
 the Priest's soul; the pastoral ring implies the Priest's spi- 
 ritual marriage with the Church ; his gloves are to denote that 
 he is insensible of his good works ; the girdle^ that he will be 
 girded with justice and virtue ; the sandals^ that he is to walk 
 in the paths of the Lord ; the horns of the mitre^ the Old and 
 New Testament; the shepherd's crook, his correction and 
 paternal authority ; the pluvial, which was formerly used by 
 travellers, to represent the miseries of this life ; and thus the 
 Bishop is to become a living image of the true Christian. 
 This account is given by Casalius ; but to show us the pro- 
 priety and reality of these characters, requires some farther 
 explanation and proof 
 
 Many of their ceremonies are considered as of apostolical 
 tradition : such as, the sign of the cross ; the renunciation of 
 Satan, with all his works, used in baptism ; and many others. 
 Besides the Lord's Day, Roman Catholics universally have 
 been accustomed, since the first ages of Christianity, to keep 
 several holy-days annually. Among these, the feasts of our 
 Saviour hold the first rank ; and on them the principal mys- 
 teries of our redemption are publicly commemorated and ex- 
 plained to the faithful. St. Augustin says, that the feasts of 
 Easter, Pentecost, and the Ascension, were kept by the > 
 Apostles. On the feasts of the blessed Virgin, of the Apostles, .. 
 and other Saints and Martyrs, their heroic virtues and triumphs 
 are pointed out, by the Roman Catholic Church, to her child- * 
 
377 
 
 ren, for their imitation. The feast of Lent, however, is not 
 of this description. It consists of forty days, in imitation of 
 our Saviour's forty days' fast in the wilderness ; and it is kept 
 once a year, to do penance for sin, and as a preparation for 
 celebrating the great feast of Easter. The Wednesdays, Fri- 
 days, and Saturdays, in one week of each of the four seasons of 
 the year, are annually fast days, called quatiwr tempora, or 
 ember days. The intention of the Church, in the institution 
 of these days, was, that her children, besides doing penance for 
 their sins, might thank God for the benefits they receive from 
 him, and beg of him to grant them worthy ministers of the 
 altar; for it is at these times that the Clergy are solemnly 
 ordained. It is, moreover, an universal practice, to fast the 
 vigils before festivals. Besides abstaining, at least from flesh 
 meats, it is essential to a fast day, that only one full meal, and 
 that not before noon, be taken in the twenty-four hours of the 
 day. Every Friday in the year is kept universally as a day of 
 abstinence from flesh; and, in the Latin Church, Saturday, 
 with a few exceptions; unless Christmas Day falls upon them. 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 PA8810V WEEK AT SOME. 
 
 Frequent procesrions of penitcnU, covered with long, dmrk 
 robes, which pass over the head, and have holes cut for the 
 eyc«, girded round the waist with ropes, preceded by a large 
 Wack Cross, and bearing skulls and bones, and begging boxes. 
 
278 
 
 
 for the souls in purgatory, are to be seen passing, in silence, 
 along the streets, or gliding through the solitude of the Col- 
 lisseum, or beneath the triumphal arches and ruins, of ancient 
 Rome. A party of these mysterious-looking figures, that I 
 saw yesterday emerging from the arch of Titus, and entering 
 the CoUisseum, where they knelt, in silence and in deep prayer, 
 upon its once blood-stained area, before the altars of the Via 
 Crusis, had a very striking effect. All these are forerunners 
 of the Holy Week, to which immense multitudes still flock 
 from all parts, though now, I believe, more from curiosity than 
 piety, and for amusement, than penitence. A real penance, 
 however, it has proved to me ; and if I were to live in Rome \ 
 for fifty years, I would never go through it again, though I am 
 glad I have seen it once, now that is over. Before the Holy 
 Week, our sufferings began; we were disturbed the very 
 morning after our return from Naples, with the information 
 that it was a grand festa, — the festa of the Annunciation, and 
 that a grand /ww^iowe was to take place at the church of Santa 
 Maria Sopra Minerva, preceded by a still more superb pro- 
 cession, and that we must get up to see it, which we accord- 
 ingly did; and drove through streets, lined with expecting 
 crowds, and windows, hung with crimson and yellow silk dra- 
 peries, and occupied by females, in their most gorgeous attire, 
 till we made a stop near the church, before which the Pope''s 
 horse guards, in their splendid full-dress uniforms, were sta- 
 tioned to keep the ground ; all of whom, both officers and men, 
 wore in their caps a sprig of myrtle, as a sign of rejoicing. 
 After waiting a short time, the procession appeared, headed by 
 another detachment of the guards, mounted on prancing black " 
 chargers, who rode forward to clear the way, accompanied by 
 such a flourish of trumpets and kettk drums, that it looked 
 like any thing but a peaceable or religious proceeding. This 
 
279 
 
 martial array was followed by a bareheaded Priest, on a white 
 mule, bearing the Host in a gold cup, at the sight of which, 
 every body (not excepting our coachman, who dropped down 
 on the box,) fell upon their knees, and we were left alone, 
 heretically sitting in the open barouche. 
 
 The Pope, I understand, used formerly to ride upon the 
 white mule himself; whether in memory of our Saviour^s 
 entrance into Jerusalem on an ass, or no, I cannot say ; and 
 all the Cardinals used to follow him, in their magnificent robes 
 of state, mounted either on mules, or horses ; and as the Emi- 
 nentissimi are, for the most part, not very eminent horsemen, 
 they were generally tied on, lest they should tumble off. This 
 cavalcade must have been a very entertaining sight. I under- 
 stand that Pius VI., who was a very handsome man, kept up 
 this custom, but the present Pope is far too infirm for such an 
 enterprise ; so he followed the man on the white mule, in his 
 state coach ; at the very sight of which, we seemed to have 
 made a jump back of two hundred years at least. It was a 
 huge machine, composed almost entirely of plate-glass, fixed 
 in a ponderous carved and gilded frame, through which was 
 distinctly visible the person of the venerable old Pope, dressed 
 in robes of white and silver, and incessantly giving his bene- 
 diction to the people, by a twirl of three fingers ; which are 
 typical of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost ; the last 
 being represented by the little finger. 
 
 On the gilded back of this vehicle, the only part, I think, 
 that was not made of glass, was a picture of the Pope, in his 
 chair of state, and the Virgin Mary at his feet. This extra- 
 ordinary machine was drawn by six black horses, with superb 
 harness of crimson velvet and gold ; the coachmen, or rather 
 postillions, were dressed in co&tn of silver tissue, with crimson 
 
: 280 
 
 velvet breeches, and full-bottomed wigs, well powdered, with- 
 out hats. 
 
 Three coaches, scarcely less antiquely superb, followed with 
 the assistant Cardinals, and the rest of the train. In the 
 inside of the church, the usual tiresome ceremonies went on, 
 that take place when the Pope is present. He is seated on a 
 throne, or chair of state; the Cardinals, in succession, ap- 
 proach and kiss his hand, retire one step, and make three bows, 
 or nods, one to him in &ont, and one on the right hand, and 
 another on the left ; which, I am told, are intended for him, 
 (as the personification of the Father,) and for the Son, and 
 for the Holy Ghost, on either side of him ; and all the Car- 
 dinals having gone through these motions, and the inferior 
 Priests having kissed his toe, (that is, the Cross broidered 
 on his shoe,) High Mass begins. The Pope kneels during 
 the elevation of the Host, prays in silence before the high 
 altar, gets up and sits down, reads something out of a great 
 book which they bring to him, with a lighted taper held beside 
 it, (which must be eminently useful in broad day-light ;) and 
 having gone through many more such ceremonies, finally ends 
 as he began, with giving his benediction with three fingers, all 
 the way as he goes out. 
 
 During all the time of this High Mass, the Pope's military 
 band, stationed on the platform in front of the church, played 
 so many clamorous martial airs, that it would have effectually 
 put to flight any ideas of religious solemnity, if any there had 
 been. 
 
 The Pope, on this day, gives to a certain number of young 
 women a marriage portion of fifty crowns, or sometimes more. 
 Such of them as choose to become the spouse of heaven, carry 
 it to a convent, in whicli case it is always a larger sum We 
 
201 
 
 expected to have seen them walk in the procession, but it 
 seems the practice has fallen into disuse, and they did not 
 appear ; probably because the Pope used formerly to portion 
 from one to two himdred young girls; but now that his 
 finances are reduced, the number is necessarily more limited. 
 
 Palm Sunday. — At half past nine ©""clock, the Pope enters 
 the Sixtine Chapel, attired in a garb of scarlet and gold, which 
 he wore over his ordinary dress, and took his throne. The 
 Cardinals, who were at first dressed in under-robes of a violet- 
 color, (the mourning for Cardinals,) with their rich antique 
 lace, scarlet trains, and mantles of ermine, suddenly got quit of 
 these accoutrements, and arrayed themselves in most splendid 
 vestments, which had the appearance of being made of carved 
 gold. The tedious ceremony of each separately kissing the 
 Pope'^s hand, and making their three little bows, being gone 
 through, and some little chanting and fidgeting about the altar 
 being got over, two palm branches, of seven or eight feet in 
 length, were brought to the Pope, who, after raising over them 
 a cloud of incense, bestowed his benediction upon them. Then 
 a great number of smaller palms were brought, and a Cardinal, 
 who acted as the Pope's aid-de-camp on this occasion, presented 
 one of these to every Cardinal, as he ascended the steps of the 
 throne, who again kissed the Pope's hand, and the palm, and 
 retired. Then came the Archbishops, who kissed both the 
 Pope's hand and toe, followed by the inferior orders of Clergy, 
 in regular gradations, who only kissed the toe, as they carried 
 off their palms. 
 
 The higher dignitaries being at last provided with palms, 
 the Deacons, Canons, Choristers, Cardinals' Train-bcarera, &c., 
 had each to receive branches of olive, to which, as well as to 
 the palms, a small cross was suspended. At last, all were 
 
282 
 
 ready to act their parts, and the procession was drawn up in 
 readiness to move. It began with the lowest in clerical rank, 
 who moved off two by two, rising gradually, till they came to 
 Prelates, Bishops, Archbishops, and Cardinals, and terminated 
 by the Pope, borne in his chair of state, (sedia gestataria,) on 
 men"'s shoulders, with a crimson canopy over his head. By 
 far the most striking figures in the procession, were the Bishops 
 and Patriarchs of the Armenian Church. One of them wore a 
 white crown, and another a crimson crown, glittering with 
 jewels. The mitres of the Bishops were also set with precious 
 stones ; and their splendid dresses, and long wavy beards, of 
 silver whiteness, gave them a most venerable and imposing 
 appearance. 
 
 The procession issued forth into the Sala Borgia, (the hall 
 behind the Sixtine Chapel,) and marched round it, forming 
 nearly a circle ; for by the time the Pope had got out, the 
 leaders of the procession had nearly got back again ; but they 
 found the gates of the chapel closed against them, and on ad- 
 mittance being demanded, a voice was heard from within, in 
 deep recitative, seemingly inquiring into their business, or 
 claims for entrance there. This was answered by the choristers 
 from the procession in the hall ; and after a chaunted parley for 
 a few minutes, the gates were again opened, and the Pope, 
 Cardinals, and Priests, returned to their seats. Then the 
 Passion was chaunted ; and then a most tiresome long service 
 commenced, in which the usual genuflections, and tinkling of 
 little bells, and dressings, and undressings, and walking up 
 and down the steps of the altar, and bustling about, went on ; 
 and which at last terminated in the Cardinals all embracing 
 and kissing each other, which is, I am told, the kiss of peace. 
 
 The palms are artificial, plaited of straw, or the leaves of 
 dried reeds, so as to resemble the real branches of the palm- 
 
283 
 
 tree, when their leaves are plaited, which are used in this 
 manner for this ceremony, in Catholic colonies in tropical 
 climates. These artificial palms, however, are topped with 
 some of the real leaves of the palm-tree, brought from the 
 shores of the Gulf of Genoa. 
 
 Wednesday. — The first Miserere in the Sixtine Chapel com- 
 mences this day. The Cardinals having just risen from 
 dinner, seemed to have the greatest difficulty in refraining 
 from taking their customary siesta. Though broad day-light, 
 there was a row of candles of mourning wax, (of a dark brown 
 or purple color,) ranged upon the top of our grate, the utility 
 of which was not very apparent, as they were extinguished 
 before it grew dark. There was also fifteen similar mourning 
 candles, erected on high beside the altar, which, I was given to 
 understand, represented the Apostles and the three Marys, 
 rising gradually in height to the central one, which was the 
 Virgin. As the service proceeded, they were put out one by 
 one, to typify the falling off* of the Apostles in the hour of 
 trial; so that at last they were all extinquishcd, except the 
 Virgin Mary, who was set under the altar. 
 
 The shadows of the evening had now closed in, and we 
 should have been left almost in total darkness, but for the dull 
 red glare which proceeded from the hidden lights of the unseen 
 choristers, and which, mingling with the deepening twilight, 
 produced a most melancholy gloom. 
 
 After a deep and most impressive pause of silence, the 
 solemn Miserere commenced ; and never by mortal car was 
 heard a strain of such powerftil, such heart-moving pathos. 
 The accordant tones of a hundred human voices — and one 
 which 8eeme<l more than human — a«ccndcd altogether to hca- 
 ▼en, far mercy to mankind — for pardon to a guilty and sinning 
 
284 
 
 world. It had nothing in it of this earth — nothing that 
 breathed the ordinary feelings of our nature. It seemed as if 
 every sense and power had been concentred into that plaintive 
 expression of lamentation, of deep suffering and supplication, 
 which passed the soul. It was the strain that disembodied 
 spirits might have used, who had just passed the boundaries of 
 death, and sought release from the mysterious weight of woe 
 and the tremblings of mortal agony that they had suffered in 
 the passage of the grave. It was the music of another state of 
 being. 
 
 It lasted till the shadows of evening fell deeper, and the red 
 dusky glare, as it issued stronger from the concealed recess 
 whence the singing proceeded, shed a partial, but strong light 
 upon the figures near it. 
 
 It ceased — a Priest with a light moved across the chapel, and 
 carried a book to the officiating Cardinal, who read a few words 
 in an awful and impressive tone. 
 
 Then, again, the light disappeared, and the last, the most 
 entrancing harmony arose, in a strain that might have moved 
 heaven itself — a deeper, more pathetic sound of lamentation, 
 than mortal voices ever breathed. 
 
 Its effect upon the minds of those who heard it, was almost 
 too powerful to be borne, and never — ^never can be forgotten. 
 One gentleman fainted, and was carried out ; and many of the 
 ladies near me were in agitation, even more distressing, which 
 they vainly struggled to suppress. 
 
 It was the music of Allegri ; but the composition, however 
 fine, is nothing without the voices who perform it here. It is 
 only the singers of a Papal chapel, who can execute the Mise- 
 rere. It has been tried by the best singers in Germany, and 
 totally failed of effect. 
 
 There is never any accompaniment, though at times the 
 
285 
 
 solemn swell of the softened organ seemed to blend with the 
 voices. 
 
 The music is more wonderful, and its effects more powerful, 
 than any thing I could have conceived. 
 
 At its termination, some loud strokes, that reverberated 
 through the chapel, and are intended, I was told, to represent 
 the veil of the temple being rent in twain, closed the service. 
 
 In the evening, we saw a curious ceremony at the Church of 
 the Pilgrims; princesses and ladies of the first consequence, 
 washing the feet of female pilgrims, and afterwards attending 
 them at supper. For the first, the warm water was brought in 
 large tubs or buckets ; the ladies, dressed in black, tucked up 
 their gowns, and girded themselves with napkins ; after which, 
 they pulled off the stockings of the poor women ; and having 
 placed their feet in the tubs, washed and rubbed them care- 
 fully, and then wiped them with the towels. When this was 
 over, we were ushered into a great sala, where long tables were 
 laid out for supper. In a few minutes, a number of women 
 entered, dressed as pilgrims, with staves in their hands, and 
 bundles girt to their backs, and arranged themselves, standing 
 round the table. The same ladies, who had been employed in 
 washing the feet, served the pilgrims at table, handing round 
 macoroni, vegetables, and such other provisions, as Lent per- 
 mitted. We were next conducted into a long gallery, from 
 whence we saw several Cardinals going through the same cere- 
 mony with male pilgrims. 
 
 Thursday. — On this day, the Pope attended at the Sixtine 
 Chapel, when the Cardinals kiss hands, and the PriesU, toes, 
 as usual. The procession was led by the inferior orders of the 
 Clergy, followed up by the Cardinals in superb dresses, bearing 
 long wax Upers in their hands, and ending with the Pope him- 
 
* 986 
 
 self, who walked beneath a crimson canopy, with his head 
 uncovered, bearing the Host in a box ; and this being as you 
 know, the real flesh and blood of Christ, was carried from the 
 Sixtine Chapel, through the intermediate hall, to the Paulina 
 Chapel, where it was deposited in the sepulchre prepared to re- 
 ceive it, beneath the altar. The ceremony of the deposition 
 we did not witness ; for the moment the Pope entered, the 
 doors of the chapel were closed. 
 
 I never yet could learn, why Christ was to be buried before 
 he was dead; for, as the crucifixion did not take place till 
 Good Friday, it seems odd to inter him on Thursday. His 
 body, however, is laid in the sepulchre, in all the churches of 
 Rome, in which this rite is practised, on Thursday forenoon ; 
 and it remains there till Saturday at mid-day, when, for some 
 reason best known to themselves, he is supposed to rise from 
 the grave, amidst the firing of cannon, and blowing of trum- 
 pets, and jingling of bells, — which have been carefully tied up 
 ever since the dawn of Holy Thursday, lest the devil should 
 get into them. During this and the preceding day, in the 
 intervals when the music ceased, there was a noise like the 
 clashing of swords, to represent the Jews coming with swords 
 and staves, to take our blessed Lord. 
 
 The moment the Pope left the Paulina Chapel, the gates 
 were thrown open. Nothing could exceed the brilliancy of its 
 illumination, which lasted as long as the body lay in the 
 tomb. During these two days and nights, hundreds clad 
 in deep mourning, were continually kneeling, in silence the 
 most profound, and in devotion the most fervent, around the 
 illuminated sepulchre of their crucified Redeemer, over which 
 they wept in anguish of spirit. I have entered it on tiptoe 
 again and again, amidst the most awful silence, and heard no 
 sound but the sigh of penitence. 
 
287 
 
 The ceremony is instituted in commemoration of our Saviour's 
 washing the feet of the Apostles, but here there were thirteen 
 instead of twelve. The odd one is the representative of the 
 angel that once came to the table of twelve, that St. Gregory 
 was serving ; and though it is not asserted that the said angel 
 had his feet washed, or indeed, did any thing but eat, yet, as 
 the Pope can hardly do less for him than the rest, he shares in 
 the ablution as well as the repast. 
 
 The twelve were old Priests, but the one who performed the 
 part of the angel was very young. They were all dressed in 
 loose white gowns, with white caps on their heads, and clean 
 woollen stockings, and were seated in a row, along the wall, 
 under a canopy. When the Pope entered, and took his seat at 
 the top of the room, the whole company of them knelt in their 
 places, turning towards him ; and on his hand being extended 
 in benediction, they all rose again, and re-seated themselves. 
 
 The splendid garments of the Pope were then taken off; 
 and, clad in a white linen robe, which he had on under the 
 others, and wearing the Bishop's mitre, instead of the tiara, he 
 Approached the pilgrims, took from an attendant Cardinal, a 
 silver bucket of water, knelt before the first of them, immersed 
 one foot in the water, put water over it with his hand, and 
 touched it with a square fringed cloth; kissed the leg, and 
 gave the cloth, and a sort of white flower, or feather, to the 
 man ; then went on to the next. The whole ceremony wa« 
 over, I think, in less than two minutes, so rapidly was this act 
 of humility gone through. From thence the Pope returned to 
 his throne, put on his robes of white and silver again, and pro- 
 ceeded to the Sala delta Tavola, whither we followed, not 
 without extreme difficulty, so immense was the crowd. The 
 thirteen Priests were now seated in a row at the Ublc, which 
 was spread with a variety of dishes, and adorned with a pro- 
 
: 288 
 
 fusion of flowers. The Pope gave the blessing, and, walking 
 along the side of the table opposite to them, handed each of 
 them bread, then plates, and, lastly, cups of wine. They 
 regularly all rose up to receive what he presented, and the 
 Pope having gone through the forms of service, and given them 
 his parting benedictions, left them to finish their dinner in 
 peace. They carry away what they cannot eat, and receive 
 a small present in money besides. 
 
 The effect of the blazing cross of fire suspended from the 
 dome above the confession, or tomb of St. Peter's, was 
 strikingly brilliant at night, when, at the conclusion of the 
 Miserere, we descended into the church, whose immense 
 expanse was thoroughly illuminated with its resplendent bright- 
 ness.* It is covered with innumerable lamps, which have the 
 effect of one blaze of fire. Though eighteen feet in length, its 
 proportion to the immensity of St. Peter's is so small, that it 
 
 • I must not pass over the well known exhibition that takes place in 
 St. Peter's on the night of Good Friday, when the hundred lamps that 
 burn over the tomb of the Apostle, are extinguished, and a stupendous 
 cross of light appears suspended from the dome, between the altar and 
 the nave, shedding over the whole edifice, a soft lustre delightful to the 
 eye, and highly favourable to picturesque representations. This exhibi- 
 tion is supposed to have originated in the sublime imagination of Michael 
 Angelo ; and he who beholds it will acknowledge that it is not unworthy 
 of the inventor. The magnitude of the cross hanging as if self-sup- 
 ported, and like a meteor streaming in the air ; the blaze that it pours 
 forth; the mixture of light and shade cast on the pillars, arches, 
 statues, and altars ; the crowd of spectators placed in all the different 
 attitudes of curiosity, and devotion ; the processions with their banners 
 and crosses^ gliding successively in silence along the nave, and kneeling 
 around the altar; the penitents of all nations, and dresses, collected 
 in groupes near the confessionals of their respective language ; a Car- 
 dinal occasionally advancing through the crowd, and as he kneels, 
 humbly bending his head to the pavement ; in fine, the Pontiff himself, 
 
2»9 
 
 looked like a minute ornamental cross, such as a lady might 
 wear round her neck. 
 
 In a few minutes, the Pope and all the Cardinals descended 
 into St. Peter's ; and room being kept for them by the Swiss 
 Guards, the aged Pontiff, whose silver hairs shaded his pale 
 and resigned head, prostrated himself in silent adoration ])efore 
 the cross of fire. A long train of Cardinals knelt behind him, 
 whose splendid robes and attendant train-bearers formed a 
 striking contrast to the humility of their attitude. 
 
 Silence, the most profound, reigned, while those whom all 
 were bound to worship on earth knelt before the throne of 
 heaven. This striking scene has been so beautifully described 
 by Madame de Stael, that I will not attempt to give you any 
 account of it. She justly observes, that as soon as the act of 
 adoration is finished, St. Peter's resembles an immense caffe, 
 which the people perambulate, apparently thinking of any thing 
 but religion. The effect of the fiery cross is much diminished 
 by the distracting lights in a little, raised gallery on one side of 
 the dome, in which the exposition of the relics is made. 
 
 Good Friday, — On the rooming of Good Friday we re* 
 sumed our wearisome labours, by going to the Sistinc Chapel. 
 About ten o'clock the Pope appeared, and, after a long service^ 
 the crucifix over the altar, which had been covered up all the 
 week with a violet or purple colored cloth, (the mourning of 
 crosses and Cardinals here,) was uncovered. This is called 
 the Discovery of the Cross. Afler a great deal of fuss and 
 mummery, it is laid on a napkin on a stand, before the altar ; 
 
 without pomp or pagcmntry, prottrstc before the altar, offering up hii 
 adorations in silence, form a scene singularly striking, by a happy mix- 
 ture of tranquillity and animation, of darkness and lighti of simpUdty 
 and majesty. 
 
 u 
 
290 
 
 and after some chanting, and much loss of time, the Pope 
 comes to it, prays, or seems to pray, over it, and goes away, 
 and all the Cardinals come one by one, and do the same. And 
 this is called the Adoration of the Cross. I went to the 
 service of the Tre Ore, " the three hours of agony,"" of Christ 
 upon the cross, which lasts from twelve to three. 
 
 It is a complete drama, and is performed in several churches. 
 I attended it in S. Andrea delle Fratte, which, before I arrived, 
 was crowded almost to suffocation ; but a chair, in a commo- 
 dious situation, and a soldier to guard it, had been kept for me 
 by the attention of the Priests, who had been apprized of my 
 coming. 
 
 The upper part of the church was arranged like a theatre, 
 with painted trees, and pasteboard rocks and thickets, repre- 
 senting Mount Calvary. A little way down, two Roman 
 Centurions, large as life, dressed in military uniforms, and 
 mounted on pasteboard horses, were flourishing their paste- 
 board swords. Higher up on the Mount, on three crucifixes, 
 were nailed the figures of Christ and the two thieves; so 
 correctly imitating life, or rather, death, that I took it for wax- 
 work. 
 
 Catholics say, Christ spoke seven times upon the cross, and 
 at every saying, a dagger entered the heart of the Virgin, who 
 is therefore painted with seven daggers sticking in her breast, 
 and adored as " Nostra Signora de sette dolor i. Our Lady 
 of the seven sorrows." 
 
 The service of the Tre Ore is therefore divided into seven 
 acts, between each of which there is a hymn. In every act, 
 one of the seven set desertations upon the " Sette Parole^'' of 
 Christ, is read, or begun to be read, by a Priest, who goes on 
 until his lecture is interrupted by the preacher, who breaks in 
 upon it at whatever part he pleases, with a sermon, (as they call 
 
291 
 
 it,) or rather a tirade, of his own, which seems to be extempore, 
 but which, I am told, is previously learned by rote. 
 
 At length, the preacher cried, " Here they come, the holy 
 men, to bear the body of our Redeemer to the sepulchre ; " and 
 from the side of the scene issued forth a band of Friars, clad in 
 black, with white scarfs tied across them ; and, gradually climb- 
 ing Mount Calvary, by a winding path amongst the rocks and 
 bushes, they reached the foot of the cross, unmolested by the 
 paper centurions. But when they began to unnail the body, it is 
 utterly impossible to describe the shrieks, and cries, and clamor 
 of grief, that burst from the people. At the loosening of each 
 nail, the lamentations were renewed with fresh vehemence, and 
 the sobs and tears of the men were almost as copious as those of 
 the women. 
 
 Five prayers, separately addressed to the five wounds of 
 Christ, — ^first, to the wound in the left foot, then to that in the 
 right foot, and then to the wound in each hand, and, lastly, to 
 that in the side, — were next repeated. They were nearly the 
 same, and all began, " Vi adoro, piaga aantissima. I adore 
 you, most holy wound."" 
 
 The body of Christ being laid on a bier, decked with arti- 
 ficial flowers, and covered with a transparent veil, was brought 
 down Mount Calvary by the "holy men,*" as the preacher 
 called them, who deposited it on the front of the stage, wlicrc 
 all the people thronged to kiss the toe through the veil, and 
 weep over it. Upon close inspection, I found that the body 
 was made of pasteboard, extremely well pointed for effect ; it 
 had red hair on the head, and it was so well executed, that even 
 when closely viewed, it was marked with the agony of nature, 
 and seemed to have recently expired. 
 
 We drove to the hosjntal of the Trinita de Pellegrini, where 
 poor pilgrims of all nations arc gratuitouaiy lodged, and fed, 
 
 i: 2 
 
202 
 
 fol" three days, during the Holy AVeek. This immense build- 
 ing has sufficient accommodation for five thousand pilgrims, 
 and is frequently full. On the evening of the Holy Thursday, 
 and Good Friday, many of the Cardinals, and Roman Nobility 
 of both sexes, may be seen here, washing the pilgrims'* feet, and 
 afterwards waiting upon them at supper, like servants. In the 
 female apartments, above stairs, we saw some of the loveliest of 
 the Roman Principesse on their knees, washing, with their 
 own fair hands, the dirty feet of the female pilgrims ; while the 
 old Cardinals below were performing the same menial offices 
 upon the men. They do not, like the Pope, merely go through 
 the form of it, but really and truly wash their dirty feet, as we 
 can testify ; for, although females are not allowed to enter the 
 ward^ of the male pilgrims, yet, being curious to see how the old 
 Cardinals looked, we obtained permission to peep in, and found 
 them scrubbing away in good earnest, cleansing, I suppose, at 
 once, the pilgrims'* feet, and their own souls. It was easy to see 
 how proud they were of this act of humility. 
 
 At twelve ©""clock at night a rattling sound is heard ; being 
 intended to represent the shock of nature, when our Redeemer 
 yielded up the ghost. At this hour the resurrection service 
 begins at the Quirinal Chapel, when a curtain is drawn back, 
 which concealed a picture of our risen Lord. 
 
 Then begins a universal peal from all the bells, accom- 
 panied with the beating of drums and firing of guns : and joy 
 succeeds to mourning. During the week, until this moment, 
 a universal stillness prevailed in the streets : not a bell was 
 heard to ring in any of the churches; the drums, with all 
 instruments of music, were silenced ; and scarcely a loud word 
 was to be heard from the mourners as they traversed the 
 streets : the churches were all hung in black, and nobody, not 
 even the English, appeared, except in that sable garb. 
 
 J 
 
293 
 
 Saturday. — On this day are annually celebrated the Bap- 
 tism of converted heretics, Jews and Turks more especially, 
 and the Ordination of the Romish Clergy. The Baptism 
 takes place at the Church of St. John Lateran. A couple of 
 these unfortunate Israelites, and sometimes more, are always 
 procured on this day, every year, for this purpose. Turks arc 
 preferred, when they are to be had ; but they are rare. The 
 Jews, I understand, are at present very dear : no less weighty 
 arguments than eighty Roman crowns each, I heard, were 
 necessary to convince these new proselytes of the truth of 
 Christianity. Besides these golden reasons, I am assured that 
 no sooner does a Jew see the error of his ways, than his debts 
 towards his brother Jews are cancelled ; so that as soon as he 
 becomes a Christian, he is at liberty to be a rogue : and if the 
 wife of a converted Jew refuses to embrace Christianity, he is 
 held to be divorced from her, and may marry again. Con- 
 sidering this, it really says a great deal for them, that there 
 are so few converts. It is even hinted, that there are fewer 
 converts than baptisms, and that the baptismal rite is frequently 
 performed upon the same neophites. 
 
 The two devoted Israelites prepared for this occasion, attired 
 in dirty yellow silk gowns, were seated on a bench within the 
 marble front of the Baptistry, which resembles a large bath, 
 both in form and shape, and, in fact, was used as such in 
 primitive times, when baptism was performed by complete sub- 
 mersion. The font itself was empty ; but the ancient vase at 
 the bottom of it, in which, according to an absurd legend, 
 Constantino was healed of his leprosy by St. Sylvester, stood 
 before them, filled with water, and its margin adorned with 
 flowers. The unhappy Israelites, with most rueful counte- 
 nances, were conning their prayers out of a book, while, close 
 to their sides, stood their destined godfathers, (two black-robed 
 
294 
 
 Doctors of Divinity,) as if to guard and secure their spiritual 
 captives. 
 
 The Cardinal Bishop, who had been employed ever since 
 six o'clock in the benediction of fire, water, oil, wax, and 
 flowers, now appeared, followed by a long procession of Priests 
 and crucifixes. He descended into the font, repeated a great 
 many prayers in Latin over the water, occasionally dipping his 
 hand into it ; then a huge, flaming wax taper, about six feet 
 high, and of proportionate thickness, painted with images of 
 the Virgin and Christ, which had been previously blessed, was 
 set upright in the vase ; more Latin prayers were mumbled ; 
 one of the Jews was brought ; the Bishop cut the sign of the 
 Cross in the hair, on the crown of his head; then, with a silver 
 ladle, poured some of the water upon the part, baptizing him 
 in the usual forms, both the godfathers and he having agreed 
 to all that was required of them. They were then conveyed to 
 the altar of the neighbouring chapel, where they were con- 
 firmed, and repeated the Creed; the Bishop then made the 
 sign of the Cross upon their foreheads, with holy oil, over 
 which white fillets were immediately tied, to secure it. Then 
 the Bishop addressed a long exhortation to them; in the course 
 of which he told them, that, having now abjured their ^^ridi- 
 cola super stizione,'''' and embraced the true faith, unless they 
 continued in their hearts good Christians, without wavering, 
 they would bring upon themselves greater damnation, and be 
 thrown into the lowest pit of hell-fire ; nay, if they ever enter- 
 tained a single Jewish thought, or felt the least hankering after 
 their abominable idolatries^ (there, I think, the Jews might 
 have retorted the charge,) nothing could save them from this 
 doom. This being over, the Jews were conducted, with great 
 ceremony, from the Baptistry to the door of the church, where 
 they stopped ; and it was not till after much chaunting by the 
 
295 
 
 Bishop, that it seemed settled they should pass the threshold. 
 Accordingly this was effected, and they were seated within the 
 very pale of the altar, where they had to witness such a tedious 
 succession of foolish ceremonies, that I marvel much they 
 did not repent of their conversion. It was an ordination of 
 Priests, of all kinds and degrees, which lasted nearly five 
 hours ; and, though we had nothing to do with it, deluded by 
 the fallacious promise of some fine music, which never came, 
 we were foolish enough to stay till the end. The Bishop, 
 disrobed, and in his linen tunic, his golden mitre exchanged 
 for one set with precious stones, threw himself prostrate on the 
 steps of the altar, with his face and arms extended on the 
 ground ; and all the Priests who were to be ordained fell flat 
 on the floor, behind him, in the same posture. In about a 
 minute the Bishop got up, said a few unintelligible words, and 
 threw himself down again. Then up they all got, and after 
 much fidgetting up and down, and moving about, and chaunt- 
 ing, in their usual drawl, the Bishop took a pair of scissors, in- 
 vested several little boys with the tonsure, by cutting a round 
 piece of hair from the crowns of their heads, and then, after 
 much ado, he put the little white shirts over their heads, and 
 made Priestlings of them. Poor little things ! some of them 
 did not seem more than ten years old. I was glad to hear they 
 might, after this, leave the Priesthood, if they chose. Then 
 a batch of Deacons (irrevocable Priests) were ordained; but 
 these cannot yet perform High Mass, nor give Extreme Unc- 
 tion, or Absolution, nor perform any of those higher functions 
 of the Church. It was a terrible time before their dressing 
 was completed. Then a number of Deacons were created 
 Priests, and their fore-finger and thumb were anointed with 
 holy oil, that they might elevate the Host ; and between every 
 time of using this holy oil, the Bishop always rubbed his 
 
296 
 
 hands with lemon. But mortal patience would fail under the 
 recital of the endless little wearisome ceremonies that were 
 gone through : the dressings and undressings, the pulling off 
 and the putting on of mitres and robes, the gettings up and 
 sittings down, the bowings and scrapings, the hair-cuttings, the 
 anointings, the chauntings, and the mummery of all kinds, that 
 filled up these five mis-spent hours. 
 
 At twelve o'clock we left the church, along with the Car- 
 dinal Bishop, who ended the Ordination by carrying out the 
 cup, followed by all the new-made Priests and Priestlings. At 
 the same moment the Resurrection was announced, by much 
 " tintinabular uproar,'"* as a witty friend of ours called it ; and 
 certainly the larum was astounding. The bells of every church 
 in Rome (and there are upwards of three himdred) began to 
 jingle at once ; the cannons from the Castle of St. Angelo to 
 fire ; and at the Church of Santa Maria Egyziaca, the blowing 
 of horns and trumpets, the clang of kettle-drums, and every 
 species of tumult, proclaimed this sacred event to the world. 
 
 Every Italian must at this time confess, and receive the 
 communion. A friend of ours, who has lived a great deal in 
 foreign countries, and there imbibed very heterodox notions, 
 and who has never, to us, made any secret of his confirmed 
 unbelief of Catholicism, went to-day to confession with the 
 strongest repugnance. 
 
 '* What can I do .f*** he said. " If I neglect it, I am repri- 
 manded by the parish Priest ; if I delay it, my name is posted 
 up in the parish church ; if I persist in my contumacy, the 
 arm of the Church will overtake me, and my rank and fortune 
 only serve to make me more obnoxious to its power. If I 
 choose to make myself a martyr to infidelity, as the saints of old 
 did to religion, and to suffer the extremity of punishment, of 
 the loss of property and personal rights, what is to become ia 
 
297 
 
 my wife and family ? The same ruin would overtake them, 
 though they are Catholics : for I am not only obliged to con- 
 ceal my true belief, and profess what I despise; but I must 
 bring up my children in their abominable idolatries and super- 
 stition, or, if I teach them the truth, make them hypocrites 
 or beggars.*" 
 
 Easter Sunday. — The grandest Catholic festival of the year 
 is Easter Sunday, which was doubly welcome to us, because 
 the last of the holy shows of this exhausting season. On this 
 day the Church puts forth all her pomp and splendor. The 
 Pope assists at High Mass, or, as the Priests have it, — il 
 somrno Pontefice cania Messa solennemente in S. Pietro, — 
 and there is a procession, which, as it is seen to the highest 
 advantage in that noble church, is as grand as any such prou 
 cession can be. The sable robes of the past week were univer- 
 sally thrown aside ; the scene was gay and animated ; and the 
 gayer — the more cathohcally orthodox — were we. 
 
 The Church was lined with the Guarda Nobili, in their 
 splendid uniforms of gold and scarlet, and nodding plumes of 
 white ostrich feathers, and the Swiss guards, with their polished 
 cuirasses and steel helmets. The great centre aisle was kept 
 clear by a double wall of armed men, for the grand procession ; 
 the approach of which, after much expectation, was proclaimed 
 by the soimd of a trumpet from the farther end of the church. 
 A long train of Priests advanced, loaded with still augmenting 
 magnificence, as they ascended to the higher orders. Cloth-of- 
 gold, and embroidery of gold and silver, and crimson velvet, 
 and mantles of spotted ermine, and flowing trains, and atten- 
 dant train-bearers, and mitres and crucifixes glittering with 
 jewels, and Priests and Patriarchs, and Bishops and Cardinals, 
 dazzled our astonished eyes, and filled the long length of St. 
 
298 
 
 Peter's. Lastly, came the Pope, in his chair of state, (sedia 
 gestatoria,) borne on the shoulders of twenty Palfrenieri, 
 arrayed in robes of white, and wearing the tiara, or triple 
 crown of the conjoined Trinity, with a canopy of cloth-of- 
 silver floating over his head, and preceded by two men carrying 
 enormous fans, composed of large plumes of ostrich feathers, 
 mounted on long gilded wands. He stopped to pay his adora- 
 tions to the miraculous Madonna in her chapel, about half-way 
 up ; and this duty, which he never omits, being performed, 
 he was slowly borne past the high altar, liberally giving his 
 benediction with the twirl of the three fingers, as he passed. 
 
 They set him down upon a magnificent stool, in front of the 
 altar, on which he knelt ; and, his crown being taken off, and 
 the Cardinals taking off their little red skull-caps, and all 
 kneeling in a row, he was supposed to pray. Having remained 
 a few minutes in this attitude, they took him to the chair pre- 
 pared for him on the right of the throne. There he read some- 
 thing out of a book; or rather seemed to read, for it was impos- 
 sible that without his spectacles he could really make it out ; 
 and then he was again taken to the altar, on which his tiara 
 was placed; and, bare-headed, he repeated — or, as by cour- 
 tesy they call it, sang — a small part of the service, threw up 
 clouds of incense, and was removed to the crimson-canopied 
 throne ; and High Mass was celebrated by a Cardinal and two 
 Bishops, at which he assisted, that is, he got up and sat down 
 in particular parts. 
 
 During the whole service I could not help observing, that 
 the only part of the congregation who were in the least atten- 
 tive, were the small body of English, whom curiosity, and 
 perhaps sense of decorum, rendered so. All the Italians 
 seemed to consider it quite as much of a pageant as we did, 
 but neither a new nor an interesting one ; and they were walk- 
 
299 
 
 ing about, and talking, and interchanging pinches of snuff 
 with each other, exactly as if it had been a place of amuse- 
 ment, — till the tinkling of a little bell, which announced the 
 elevation of the Host, changed the scene. Every knee was 
 now bent to the earth, every voice was hushed ; the reversed 
 arms of the military rung with an instantaneous clang on the 
 marble pavement, as they sunk on the ground, and all was 
 still as death. This did not last above two minutes. The 
 Host was swallowed ; and so began and ended the only thing 
 that bore even the smallest outward aspect of religion. 
 
 They brought the Pope, however, again to the footstool to 
 pray. Two Cardinals always support him, some priestly atten- 
 dants bear up his train, and others busy themselves about his 
 drapery, while two or three others put on and off his tiara and 
 mitre ; and so conduct him to and fro, between the altar and 
 throne, where he sits at the top of this magnificent temple, 
 exactly like an idol dressed up to be worshipped. The long 
 silver robes, the pale, dead, inanimate countenance, and help- 
 less appearance of the good old man, tend still more to give 
 him the air of a thing without any will of its own, but which 
 is carried about, and set in motion, and managed by the Priests, 
 and taught by them to make certain movements. 
 
 At last, they put him again into the chair of state, set the 
 crown upon his head, and, preceded by the great ostrich-feather 
 fans, he was borne out of the church. 
 
 The tops of the colonnades all round were, however, thronged 
 with spectators ; and it was a curious sight to see such a mix- 
 ture of all ranks and nations, — ^from the coronated heads of 
 Kings, to the poor cripple who crawled along the pavement, — 
 •tsembled together to await the blessing of an old man, their 
 fellow-mortal, now tottering on the brink of the grave. 
 
 At length, the two white ostrich-feather fans, the forerunners 
 
300 
 
 of his approach, were seen ; and he was borne forward on his 
 throne, above the shoulders of the Cardinals and Bishops, 
 who filled the balcony. After an audible prayer, he arose, 
 and, elevating his hands to heaven, invoked a solemn benedic- 
 tion upon the assembled multitude, and the people committed 
 to his charge. Every head was uncovered ; the soldiers, and 
 many of the spectators, sunk on their knees on the pavement, to 
 receive the blessing. That blessing was given with impressive 
 solemnity, but with little of gesture or parade. Immediately 
 the thundering of cannon from the Castle of St. Angelo, and 
 the peal of bells from St. Peter'*s, proclaimed the joyful tidings 
 to the skies. The Pope was borne out, and the people rose 
 from their knees. But at least one half of them had never 
 knelt at all, which greatly diminished the impressive effect of 
 the whole. There is something in the simultaneous expression 
 of one universal feeling among a multitude, especially if that 
 feeling partake of rejoicing, enthusiasm, devotion, or any gene- 
 rous passion, that is affecting and sublime in the highest 
 degree ; but if it be only partially diffused, its effect is utterly 
 lost. I forgot to say, that, after the benediction, several 
 tapers were thrown down by one of the Cardinals, which con- 
 tained, I understand, the Indulgences granted to the different 
 churches; and a most pious scuffle ensued among the people to 
 catch them. 
 
 The Pope'*s benediction this day, the Italians say, extends 
 all over the world ; but on Thursday it only goes to the gates 
 of Rome. 
 
 Our progress was slow, being much impeded by the long line 
 of carriages before us ; but at length we arrived at the Piazza 
 of St. Peter^s, and took our station on the right of its farther 
 extremity, so as to lose the deformity of the dark dingy Vatican 
 palace. The gathering shades of night rendered the illumi- 
 
301 
 
 nation every moment more brilliant. The whole of this 
 immense church, — ^its columns, capitals, cornices, and pedi- 
 ments, — the beautifiil swell of the lofty dome, towering into 
 heaven, — the ribs converging into one point at top, surmounted 
 by the lantern of the church, and crowned by the cross, — all 
 were designed in lines of fire ; and the vast sweep of the 
 circling colonnades, in every rib, line, mould, cornice, and 
 column, was resplendent with the same beautiful light. 
 
 While we were gazing upon it, suddenly a bell chimed. On 
 the cross of fire at the top waved a brilliant light, as if wielded 
 by some celestial hand, and instantly ten thousand globes and 
 stars of vivid fire seemed to roll spontaneously along the build- 
 ing, as if by magic ; and, self-kindled, it blazed in a moment 
 into one dazzling flood of glory. Fancy herself, in her most 
 sportive mood, could scarcely have conceived so wonderful a 
 spectacle as the instantaneous illumination of the magnificent 
 fabric. The agents by whom it was effected were unseen, and 
 it seemed the work of enchantment. 
 
 In the first instance, the illumination had appeared to be 
 complete, and one could not dream that thousands and tens of 
 thousands of lamps were still in reserve. Their vivid blaze 
 harmonized beautifully with the softer, milder light of the lan- 
 temoni. The brilliant glow of the whole illumination shed a 
 rosy light upon the fountains, whose silver fall, and ever-play- 
 ing showers, accorded well with the magic of the scene. 
 
 Viewed from the Trinita de** Monti, its effect was unspeak- 
 ably beautiful. It seemed to be an enchanted palace, hung in 
 air, and called up by the wand of some invisible spirit. We 
 did not, however, drive to the Trinita de' Monti till after the 
 exhibition of the girandola, or great fire-works, from the Castle 
 of St. Angelo, which commenced by a tremendous explosion, 
 that represented the raging eruption of a volcano. Red sheets 
 
302 
 
 of fire seemed to blaze upwards into the glowing heavens, and 
 then to pour down their liquid streams upon the earth. This 
 was followed by an incessant and complicated display of every 
 varied device that imagination could figure, one changing into 
 another, and the beauty of each effaced in turns by that of its 
 successor. Hundreds of immense wheels turned round with 
 such velocity that it almost seemed as if demons were whirling 
 them, letting fall thousands of hissing dragons and scorpions, 
 and fiery snakes, whose long convolutions, darting forward as 
 far as the eye could reach in every direction, at length vanished 
 into air. Fountains and jets of fire threw up their blazing 
 cascades into the skies. The whole vault of heaven shone 
 with the vivid fires, and seemed to receive into itself innu- 
 merable stars and suns, which, shooting up into it in brightness 
 almost insufferable, vanished — like earth-born hopes. 
 
 The reflection in the depth of the calm, clear waters of the 
 Tiber, was scarcely less beautiful than the spectacle itself; and 
 the whole ended in a tremendous burst of fire, that, while it 
 lasted, almost seemed to threaten conflagration to the world.* 
 
 On the preceding narrative, abridged from the work {Three 
 Years in Italy,) of an elegant modem writer, we feel but few 
 
 * "On St, Peter's Eve," says Galiffe, " if my expectations were disap- 
 pointed in the illumination, the fire -works far surpassed every thing that 
 I had ever seen or imagined. The signal for their commencement is given 
 by a cannon shot, a little after ten, which is instantly followed by the 
 simultaneous explosion of 3000 sky-rockets, expanding in their flight in 
 the form of a sheaf of corn. I had seen an explosion of 15000 at once 
 in the Gardens of Peterhoff ; but they did not produce the twentieth part 
 of the effect of this one-fifth of their number, thus skilfully managed, 
 and shooting upwards from the summit of the grand Castle of St. Angelo. 
 It is as much like an explosion of Mount Vesuvius as any thing artificial 
 can be ; for even upon us, who had so lately seen the volcano in all its 
 fierceness, it really produced, for an instant, a strong illusion. A beau- 
 
.303 
 
 remarks to be necessary. No one who has learned, if but the 
 first rudiments of Christianity, can, we imagine, be in danger 
 of mistaking all this pomp and parade for the simplicity of the 
 Gospel: nor the tumult and noise of cannon and military 
 music, for the voice of thanksgiving and Christian joy. All 
 we here read might be seasonable at the feast of Bacchus, but 
 is surely most inconsistent and inappropriate in a Christian 
 assembly, celebrating the anniversary of His sufferings who was 
 meek and lowly in heart. The revelry and tumult of the Holy 
 City fitly becomes a Roman triumph, but cannot be acceptable 
 to Him who came, in great humility, to seek and to save that 
 which was lost. There can be no doubt, even in the exercise 
 of the most unlimited charity, that a spirit of worldly pride, 
 and a love of temporal dominion, have completely obscured 
 the nature of true religion, and left to the contemplation and to 
 the love of this unholy Church, nothing but gorgeous robes, 
 idle pomp, worldly grandeur. Pagan rites, and solemn mockery. 
 Where, amidst this service, can we discover the language of 
 true penitence, of a broken spirit, and of a contrite heart.'* 
 Where, amidst all tliis worse than idle pageantry and cere- 
 mony, is any thing of that self-knowledge which brings the 
 sinner to the Saviour, in all the abasement of a wounded spirit ? 
 Where that deep conviction of sin, and that bitter sorrow for 
 the same, which dictate the prayer of faith, and lead the soul 
 to repose only for peace on the mercy of God, through the 
 mediation of Jesus Christ ? Every thing which this Church 
 offers to our notice, is calculated only to impress the outward 
 senses, whilst the heart remains unaffected and uninfluenced ; 
 
 tifiil cross-fire of all sorts of fire- works ensues, and the scene terminates 
 with another flight of 3000 sky-rockets, similar to that with which it 
 commenced. This certainly is the grandest exhibition of the kind that 
 I have ever seen." 
 
304 
 
 and to withdraw the affections from the realities of eternal 
 truth, by offering to their attention the splendid vanities of 
 worldly pomp and unmeaning ceremony. 
 
 The grandeur of some of the churches and altars, with their 
 ornaments, in Catholic countries, is great ; and in the time of 
 divine service, church-music is occasionally used, incense 
 burned, and, since the first ages of the Church, candles 
 lighted in token of joy ;* and it is the practice of the congre- 
 gation to kneel almost all the time. It has been the custom in 
 ancient times, as well as now, to keep the blessed sacrament in 
 churches, lest any of the faithful, struck suddenly by a violent 
 distemper, should be deprived of the happiness of receiving 
 it at their death. In the beginning, the faithful who assisted 
 at Mass, communicated daily. In process of time, charity 
 waxing cold, this practice was given up, and they were obliged 
 by a precept of the Church to communicate thrice a year, — 
 that is, on the feasts of Christmas, Easter, and Pentecost; 
 but by the fourth Council of Lateran, A. D. 1215, the obliga- 
 
 * Vigilaniiusy who lived towards the end of the fourth century , not 
 long after the conversion of Rome, publicly charged the ruling Clergy 
 with idolatry and pagani'zing, on the account of several heathenish cus- 
 toms, introduced at that time into the Church ; particularly, the vows of 
 chastity imposed upon the Clergy ; the veneration of Relics ; and the 
 lighting up of candles to them in broad daylight. " We see," says he, 
 " in effect, a Pagan rite introduced into our churches, under the pretext 
 of religion ; when heaps of wax candles are lighted up in clear sunshine, 
 and people every where kissing and adoring, I know not what, contemp- 
 tible dust, preserved in a little vessel, and wrapped up in precious linen. 
 These men do great honour truly to the blessed Martyrs, by lighting up 
 paltry candles to those whom the Lamb, in the midst of the throne, 
 illuminates with all the lustre of his majesty." — (Mid. p. 39 1.-5.) 
 
30S 
 
 tion was restricted to once a year at least, and that about 
 Easter ; at the same time all the faithful were commanded to 
 apply in like manner, yearly, with due dispositions, to the 
 sacrament of Penance. 
 
 CHAPTER XII.' 
 
 OF CLERICAL CELIBACY; AND THE MONASTIC AND CONVEN- 
 TUAL ORDERS. 
 
 As it was the policy of the Court of Rome to detach their 
 Clergy from civil connexions with the coimtry to which they 
 belonged, so was it also to detach them from their social con- 
 nexions. The more these ties were weakened or diminished) 
 their obedience to a foreign power was likely to be more com- 
 plete. Hence Monastic institutions were always encouraged 
 by the Popes, and celibacy recommended, and at length im- 
 posed on all their Clergy. 
 
 The folly, also, and the passions of mankind, have ever 
 disposed many of them not to rest satisfied with the perform- 
 ance of duty, as prescribed by their religion, and regulated by 
 reason and common sense, but to aim at some extraordinary 
 degree of perfection, according to their extravagant ideas, 
 which might give them the reputation of peculiar sanctity with 
 men, and a superior title to the favor of God. Hence the 
 origin of Hermits, Monks, and the whole train of ascetics ; 
 of that unsocial solitude, o£ that pernicious retirement from 
 the world, and those useless austerities imposed on the diifer- 
 
 X 
 
30G 
 
 ent religious orders of the Roman Church ; vows of poverty ; 
 prescribed abstinences and distinctions of food ; and notions of 
 pmdty and merit attached to celibacy in preference to marriage. 
 
 In the third century, Antony, an Egyptian youth, replete 
 with monastic fanaticism, retired from his family and friends 
 into the neighbouring desert, there to impose on himself all 
 the rigors of an ascetic life. In a country, and amidst a people 
 ripe for the contagion, the rapidity with which it was propa- 
 gated was astonishing : multitudes, after his example, flocked 
 to the Egyptian deserts, which, during the long life of their 
 leader, became peopled with some thousands of new inhabit- 
 ants, both male and female hermits. 
 
 This rage for monastic life was quickly communicated to 
 Europe, where it also spread with the same rapidity. Multi- 
 tudes of all descriptions renounced the world, and every 
 Christian country was covered with buildings erected for their 
 reception. Fastings, penances, celibacy, poverty, in short, the 
 privation of every social comfort, joined with much ceremonial 
 and external devotion, passed in those times for the quint- 
 essence of real piety. It seemed as if God delighted in the 
 misery of his creatures, and that the most certain, or only way 
 of securing his favor, was by making themselves miserable. 
 Different communities adopted different regulations ; from 
 hence branched out all the various Religious Orders of the 
 Roman Church, which acquired influence, and the reputation 
 of sanctity with the people, in proportion to the rigor and 
 severity of their rules. To erect and endow convents, there- 
 fore, was thought the highest degree of religious merit ; this 
 was the way for the great and rich to make, most certainly, 
 atonement for their sins. They not only founded religious 
 houses in great numbers, but many entered themselves into 
 these communities. Kings descended from their thrones, wives 
 
MITT"- 
 
 separated themselves from their husbands; their piety^irJMi — 
 extolled beyond all bounds ; and many of them became Saints 
 of the Roman Calendar, both male and female. 
 
 In the Roman Catholic Church, we are told, since the days 
 of the Apostles, there have ever been Christians, who thus 
 living in the world, but despising its goods,* and thirsting 
 
 ♦ Vows of poverty make a material part of these Institutions. 
 Poverty is not good in itself; but may be meritorious, like other priva- 
 tions, if it be made to produce benefits which more than counterbalance 
 its evils. Monastic poverty has, however, been always more nominal 
 than real. For when tliese institutions became the prevailing fashion of 
 the times, when persons in the higher ranks of life, most of them profli- 
 gate and lawless, as well as others of more worthy characters, thought 
 they could atone for their sins and secure their salvation, by establishing 
 and endowing such foundations, and when the people at large supposed 
 religion to consist in the sort of devotion there practised, riches flowed in 
 upon them on all sides. The members of these communities might 
 indeed be individually poor, but they were collectively rich ; and possessed, 
 in perpetuity and unalicnably, a vast proportion of the landed property 
 belonging to each country. Even the mendicant orders, where poverty, 
 (it might be supposed,) if any where, was to be found, where it was the 
 distinguishing character of their institution, became possessed of immense 
 wealth. 
 
 " And as for their wilful poverty, it was such, that when in posses- 
 sions, jewels, plate, and riches, they were equal or above merchants, gen- 
 tlemen. Barons, Earls, and Dukes ; yet by this subtile sophistical term , 
 Proprium in communi, that is to say, proper in common, they mocked 
 the world ; persuading, that notwithstanding all their riches and posses- 
 sions, yet they kept their vow, and were in wilful poverty. But for all 
 their riches, they might neither help father nor mother, nor other that 
 were indeed very needy and poor, without the license of their Father* 
 Abbot, Prior, or Warden : and yet they might take of every man ; but 
 they might not give ought to any man, no not to them whom the laws of 
 God bound them to help." (Horn, of Good Works.) 
 
 X 2 
 
308 
 
 after those of the next, gave themselves up to fasting,* prayer, 
 and heavenly meditation ; and these, from their exercises, were 
 called (a3-x»}Ta») ascetics. In the third century, and afterwards, 
 some flying ftom persecution, and many fearing the dangers 
 and corruption of a wicked world, after the example of St. 
 John the Baptist, retired into the wilderness, in order that, by 
 being disengaged from the concerns of this life, as much as 
 possible they might give themselves up wholly to spiritual ex- 
 ercises, and prepare themselves for the next. 
 
 The following account of a monastic day, is, as a matter of 
 information, both curious and interesting. " The time of the 
 Monks rising was different, according to the different seasons of 
 the year, and the festivals that were solemnized, but the more 
 common time appears to have been about the half hour after 
 one in the morning, so as to be ready in the choir, to begin the 
 night office called NocturncB Vigilice, by two. When these 
 consisted of three noctums, or were otherwise longer, the 
 
 * Fasting and abstinence from particular kinds of food, all of which 
 we think, " God has directed to be received with thanksgiving," form an 
 important title in the rules of different Religious Orders, either of greater 
 or less severity. If fasting at particular times should ansvirer any moral 
 purpose, we would allow its value. ''When enjoined by authority (to use 
 the words of a very sensible and temperate author,) it is, at least, but an 
 equivocal sign of inferior repentance. Since the practice has been re- 
 duced to a system, and casuists have defined how far it was lawful to 
 proceed without breaking the precept, and what specific meats were allow- 
 able, it has become the business of the housekeeper and the cook, to make 
 a proper selection, and to take care that the natural man, in his appetite 
 as in his constitution, suffer as little injury as possible ! The distinc- 
 tions, indeed, of different kinds of food, prescribed and observed by 
 the Church of Rome, either with respect to Religious Orders, or the 
 people at large, are to the last degree unmeaning and childish." {Siurges, 
 pp. 91, 92.) 
 
309 
 
 Monks of course rose much earlier. In later ages, the whole 
 of this office, and that of the Matutince Laudes^ were per- 
 formed together, and took up, in the singing of them, about 
 two hours. There was now an interval of an hour, during 
 which the Monks were at liberty in some convents, for this 
 was far from being the case in all, again to repose for a short 
 time on their couches, but great numbers every where spent 
 this time in private prayer. At five began the service called 
 prime, at the conclusion of which the community went in pro- 
 cession to the chapter-house, to attend to the instructions and 
 exhortations, which we have spoken of above. The chapter 
 being finished, they proceeded again to the church to assist at 
 the early, or what was called the Capitular Mass, This being 
 finished, there was the space of an hour, or an hour and a half, 
 which was employed in manual labour, or in study. At eight 
 they again met in the choir to perform the office called tierce, 
 or the third hour, which was followed by the High Mass, and 
 that again by Sext, or, the office of the sixth hour. These 
 services lasted until near ten o'clock, at which time, in later 
 ages, when it was not a fasting day, the community proceeded 
 to the refectory, to dine. They returned, after dinner was 
 over, processionally, to the church, in order, there to finish their 
 solemn grace. There was now a vacant space of an hour, or an 
 hour and a half, during part of which those who were fatigued 
 were at liberty to take their repose, according to the custom in 
 hot coimtries, which was called from the time of the day when 
 it was taken, the Meridian. Others employed this time in 
 walking and conversing, except on those days when a general 
 silence was enjoined. At one o^clock, None, or, the ninth 
 hour, was sung in the choir, as were vespers, at three. At five 
 they met in the refectory to partake of a slender supper, con- 
 
310 
 
 sisting chiefly, both as to victuals and drink, of what was saved 
 out of the meal at noon, except on fasting days, when nothing, 
 or next to nothing, was allowed to be taken. The intermediate 
 spaces were occupied with spiritual reading, or studying, or 
 with manual labour, which frequently consisted in transcribing 
 books. After the evening reflection, a spiritual conference, or 
 collation, was held, until the oflice called Complin began, 
 which, with certain other exercises of devotion, lasted until 
 seven o'clock, when all retired to their respective dormitories, 
 which were long galleries, containing as many beds as could be 
 ranged in them, separated from each other by thin boards or 
 curtains. On these the Monks took their rest, without taking 
 ofl* any part of their clothes." 
 
 The Breviary tells the Irish Roman Catholics, that when their 
 patron saint was a slave, having his master's cattle under his 
 carcj he used to rise before day-light, under the snows and rains 
 of winter, to begin his usual task of praying one hundred times 
 m the day, and again one hundred tim,es in the night. When 
 he was made a Bishop, we are told that he repeated every day 
 the one hundred and fifty psalms of the psaltry, with a collection 
 of canticles and hymns, and two hundred collects besides. He 
 made it also a daily duty to kneel three hundred times, and to 
 make the sign of the cross with his hand, eight hundred 
 times a day. In the night he recited one hundred psalms, 
 and knelt two hundred times, passed one third of it up to 
 the chin in cold water, repeating fifty psalms more, and then 
 rested for two or three hours on a stone pavement. 
 
 The ardent love of God and their neighbour, which made 
 them sometimes leave their beloved solitude to succour the 
 church, and the angelical purity and perfection with which they 
 continually served their Creator, made them be greatly es- 
 
311 
 
 teemed by the people living in the world. All these different 
 orders took the solemn vows of poverty, chastity,* and obedi- 
 ence ; and all firmly hold the Roman Catholic faith, and only 
 differ in their rules of discipline, in their dress, in the particular 
 privileges granted by the Pope to each order, in their names, 
 which they generally take from that of their Founder, and such 
 like distinctions, pertaining merely to discipline. In general, 
 they are exempt from the jurisdiction of the Bishop, and are 
 immediately under that of the Pope. 
 
 We now come to the Regular Clergy, so called, because they 
 live under certain rules or statutes, and take upon themselves 
 obligations not connected with the Clerical profession. This 
 body is very numerous, exhibits a great variety of dresses, and 
 strongly attracts the attention of Protestant travellers. 
 
 The Regular Clergy may be divided into two great classes, 
 Monks, and Friars, who, though they are bound in common by 
 the three vows, of poverty, of chastity, and of obedience, yet 
 live under very different regulations. The former, under 
 various denominations, follow, almost universally, the rule of 
 
 • How little these vows have been acted up to may be inferred from 
 the testimony of Mr. Pinkerton, who, in reference to the immorality of 
 the Romish Clergy, observes, " that the Monks being very numerous, 
 and human passions ever the same, those Ascetics atone for the want of 
 marriage, by the practice of adultery, and the husbands, from the dread 
 of the Inquisition, are constrained to connive at this enormous abuse." 
 Again, ** It may perhaps be asserted, that the Roman Catholic system in 
 the South of Europe, is the only superstition in the universe, which has 
 at any period necessitated the practice of vice; thus confirming the 
 maxim, that the corruption of the purest and best system, is always the 
 worst. Were an Apostle again to visit Spain, he would certainly begin 
 with preaching the Christian practice, as if the very idea of Christianity 
 had perished, and his first duty would be, to convert thi Eccle- 
 siastics." 
 
312 
 
 St. Benedict, who, in the sixth century, attempted to regulate 
 the monastic life, which had been introduced into Italy and the 
 Western Church, in the age preceding. His rule is rather a 
 treatise of morality than a book of statutes, as it recommends 
 many virtues, and prescribes few regulations : these regulations 
 regard principally the disposal of time, and the order of the 
 psalms, the duties of the two principal officers of the Abbey, 
 and the practice of hospitality- It enjoins manual labor, and 
 pre-supposes the existence of a library in each monastry. 
 Much is left to the discretion of the superior, particularly the 
 dress, in which the prudent founder recommends plainness, and 
 cautions against singularity ; the truth is, that in their hours, 
 *heir habits, their diet, and their employment, the first Monks, 
 nearly resembled the better sort of peasants : the cowl, a long 
 black toga, intended to cover their working dress, and to give 
 them a decent appearance in church, was at first the only ex- 
 ternal distinction. In process of time, the general promotion of 
 he Monks to Holy Orders, their application to literature, and, 
 above all, their adherence to the forms, the hours, and the 
 manners of the age, of their institution, made the distinction 
 more striking, and at length marked them out as a peculiar 
 and separate cast. 
 
 The first monasteries established by St. Benedict, and by his 
 immediate disciples, were generally built among ruins, in un- 
 wholesome marshes, or uncultivated plains, in the midst of 
 dreary forests, or on the summits of mountains, almost inac- 
 cessible. In process of time, these rugged scenes began to 
 smile upon the industry of their inhabitants, and yielding to the 
 unremitting labor of centuries, many a swamp resigned its 
 infectious pools, many a pathless forest opened into pastiu*es, 
 and many a rock put on verdure and waved with foliage. As 
 barrenness yielded to cultivation, the resources of the monas- 
 
313 
 
 teries multiplied, and their increasing riches, sometimes over- 
 flowed and fertilized whole provinces. Their solitudes were 
 gradually peopled by well fed and happy peasants, and the 
 Abbey itself not unfrequently became the centre and the orna- 
 ment of a flourishing city. 
 
 These establishments were not only the abode of piety, but 
 the asylums of learning, and collected and preserved the 
 scattered remains of Greek and Roman literature and refine- 
 ment. They were, indeed, the only retreats that were some- 
 times neglected, and sometimes spared by the hordes of Barba- 
 rians, that successively invaded the provinces of the Roman 
 Empire, and swept away with undistinguished ruin their 
 edifices, their sciences, and their arts. In process of time, the 
 Benedictines, not content with hording up books, endeavoured 
 to diffuse science, and opened their retreats to the studious, 
 thus the monasteries soon became the seminaries of youth, and 
 even nurseries of boyhood. 
 
 The rule of St. Benedict obliges his disciples to hospitality, 
 and their luxury consisted in entertaining every guest according 
 to his rank, and to their means. The Abbot, on such occasions, 
 represented the body ; and being exclusively charged with the 
 care and the entertainment of visitors, he had a table, and 
 separate apartments, allotted for the purpose, and generally 
 lived in the style and the splendor of a Bishop. In the interim, 
 the Monks, with the superior at their head, lived in their usual 
 retirement, and fed upon their very moderate allowance in their 
 hall, while, to season their repast, a lecture was read from the 
 Bible, the Fathers, or Ecclesiastical History. 
 
 In the same manner, the magnificence of their edifices was 
 confined to the public parts, to the church, to the library, to 
 the cloisters, and to the hall or refectory, but never pervaded 
 
314 
 
 the cell of the Monk, or emblazoned the bare walls of his hum- 
 ble dwelling. In fact^ whether the income were one, or ten 
 thousand, the furniture, diet, dress, and condition, of the pri- 
 vate Monk, were always the same, always above penury, but 
 far below luxury. In short. Monks are generally by birth and 
 education, gentlemen ; and their mode of living nearly resembles 
 that of Fellows of Colleges in the English Universities, with 
 this difference, that their engagements are for life, and that 
 nothing but sickness can exempt them from constant residence, 
 and from regular attendance in hall and in chapel. 
 
 This body, once so extensive, so rich, so powerful, is now 
 fallen, and its history, like that of many potent Empires, will 
 shortly be a tale of days that are no more. 
 
 From the Benedictines sprung many minor congregations of 
 more or less repute, according to the talents and the influence 
 of their Founders, such as the Bernardins, Celestines, Camal- 
 dolese, &c. The first derived great credit from the eloquence, 
 the sanctity, and the authority, of the great St. Bernard, and 
 grew up into a rich and numerous order. The second, humble 
 and unambitious, as their Founder, who, from the Papal chair, 
 then confessedly the first Throne in Europe, had slunk into the 
 silence of a convent, soon subsided in obscurity and insignifi- 
 cance. The last was too austere to become numerous, and if 
 we except a few thinly inhabited houses at Rome, Venice, and 
 Naples, was seen only in deserts, and flourished principally 
 in the most remote and the most dreary solitudes of the 
 Apennines. 
 
 To the Monks we may add the Canons Regular, who, with 
 the dress and ordinary duties of other prebendaries, took upon 
 themselves monastic engagements, and led a conventual life ; 
 as also the Theatins, Hieronymites, Oratorians, and other con- 
 
315 
 
 gregations of Clergy, who devoted themselves to the education 
 of youth, and to the instruction of the poor, and lived in com- 
 munities, without making vows, or contracting any permanent 
 and irrevocable obligations. This class has rendered many 
 essential services to the public, has produced many distinguished 
 literary characters, and was, perhaps, the most useful, and the 
 least objectionable. All these Orders, Congregations, and 
 Institutions, have one advantage in common, which is, that 
 they are supported by a regular settled income, derived from 
 landed property, or from public grants, an advantage which con- 
 tributes much to their independence and to their respectability, 
 and distinguishes them from the second class of regular 
 Clergy, who subsist upon alms and donations, and are, there- 
 fore, called Mendicants. 
 
 All these, and others of less note, were originally intended 
 to act as Assistants to the Clergy, in the discharge of their 
 parochial duties ; but in process of time the auxiliaries became 
 more numerous than the main body, and not unfrequently 
 excited its jealousy and hatred, by trenching upon its preroga- 
 tives ; and by usurping part of its credit and of its functions, 
 they contrived, indeed, first, by Pontifical exemptions, to shake 
 off* the legal authority of their respective Bishops ; next, by 
 similar concessions, to acquire some share of their apostolical 
 powers ; and lastly, by certain privileges annexed to their 
 oratories, to gather congregations, and to draw the people away 
 from the regular parochial service. These were great abuses, 
 and in towns, where the Friars had numerous convents, tended 
 not a little to divert the attention of the public from the spirit 
 and the simplicity of the ancient Liturgy, to shows, images, 
 and exhibitions. However, to compensate, if any compen- 
 sation can be made for such evils, the Mendicant Orders 
 produced several great men; each, in its time, roused the 
 
316 
 
 age from a lethargy of ignorance, and awakened, partially at 
 least, a spirit of inquiry and of improvement. Besides, in 
 small towns, in numerous villages, and in lonely or distant 
 provinces, they still continue to fulfil their original object, and, 
 as I have hinted above, to afford a necessary assistance to the 
 ordinary pastors. They are in general considered as too nu- 
 merous, and from the frequency with which they meet the 
 eye in certain capitals, most men are inclined to admit this 
 conclusion. 
 
 About the time that Monks began to live together, females, 
 retiring from the dangers of the world, dedicated themselves 
 entirely to God, and, binding themselves to observe certain 
 rules, intended for their advancement towards perfection, began 
 to live in convents. These deluded creatures read the lives of 
 Saints set forth by their Church, and there they find many 
 females, who are said to have arrived at great perfection by 
 living, like St. Elizabeth of Portugal, one half of the year on 
 bread and water ; besides the constant use of scourging their 
 bodies, sleeping on the naked ground, wearing bandages, with 
 points that run into the flesh, plunging into freezing water, 
 and ten thousand other methods of gradually destroying life. 
 The Roman Catholic Priests would make us believe that they 
 always recommend penance in moderation ; but when a young, 
 tender, and ardent mind is taught that God is pleased by 
 voluntary suffering, and reads, that the Church of Rome has 
 made Saints of those who killed themselves by penances, every 
 thing which falls short of actual self-murder, will assume the 
 appearance of moderation. The Church of Rome, in her 
 Prayer-Book, or Breviary, commends St. Theresa, because 
 "her ardour in punishing the body was so vehement, as to 
 make her use hair shirts, chains, nettles, scourges, and even to 
 roll herself among thorns, regardless of a diseased constitution." 
 
317 
 
 These are the words of the Breviary : from which the enthu- 
 siastic Roman Catholic properly infers, that to disregard a dis- 
 eased constitution, and hasten death, is a virtue. That such 
 is the effect of the Pope's Lives of the Saints, is clear, from 
 what the Breviary relates of another female Saint, called. Rose 
 of Lima. She, it is said in the Roman Catholic Prayer-Book, 
 " from a desire to imitate St. Catherine," wore, day and night, 
 three folds of an iron chain round her waist, a belt, set with 
 small needles, and an iron crown, armed inside with points, all 
 next the skin. She made to herself a bed of the unpolished 
 trunks of trees, and filled up the chinks with pieces of broken 
 pottery. The Breviary adds, that she did all this in spite of 
 her " tortures from sickness," and was, therefore, frequently 
 visited by saints, angels, and even our Saviour from heaven. 
 Of these, as of the Monks, there are different orders, each fol- 
 lowing their own rules, and wearing a peculiar habit. The 
 solemn vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience, are taken by 
 them also ; and they are commonly under the government of 
 the Bishops, but sometimes are under the jurisdiction of regu- 
 lar Clergymen of their own order. After their profession, they 
 are never allowed to go without the enclosure of the convent 
 during life, without the leave of a Bishop, or some cogent 
 reason, — such as a nunnery taking fire, &c. Enthusiasts (for 
 the authors of such opinions and institutions were of this cha- 
 racter) consulted, on these occasions, their passions, rather than 
 their reason. They did not consider that the laws of nature 
 are the laws of God, the Author of our nature ; that the true 
 way of recommending ourselves to him, is not to reject those 
 laws, and act in direct opposition to them, but to comply with 
 them, under the regulations he has prescribed to us ; that of 
 this nature, next to reason, social affections are the most dis- 
 tinguishing character, — social duties the most important occu- 
 
318 
 
 pation. Whatever, therefore, tends to weaken these affections, 
 and to disqualify us from these duties, contradicts the order of 
 human nature established by God, and counteracts his pur- 
 poses. This is the case whenever human beings place them- 
 selves, or are placed by others, in situations, where they are 
 precluded (and that, perhaps, irrevocably) from contributing to 
 society their proportion of the common duties of life; and 
 where violence is often done to the nature which God has given 
 them. 
 
 This, however, is in order to attain higher degrees of reli- 
 gious perfection than is consistent with society ; to be divested 
 of human passions ; to be unconcerned with the affairs of the 
 world, and to renounce them. We are commanded, it is true, 
 to keep these passions within due bounds, and to regard our 
 temporal interest in subordination to that of a more permanent 
 and exalted kind; but we are not commanded either to be 
 without the one, or to be wholly indifferent to the other. Per- 
 fection is relative ; and that being approaches nearest to the 
 perfection which belongs to his nature, (and no other is within 
 his reach, or would be really such,) who withdraws himself 
 from none of the duties that nature imposes on him, but per- 
 forms them well, according to the laws given him by his 
 Creator. 
 
 The books of Catholic devotion are full of the praises of 
 virginity. She carries her absurd, not to say wicked, extrava- 
 gance, to the point of asserting of one of her female Saints, 
 (Saint Rose of Lima, whom I have already mentioned,) that 
 she made a vow of perpetual chastity at the age of five years. 
 There was, indeed, a time when children were bound by their 
 parents, to become Monks and Nuns for life ; an engagement 
 which they were forced to keep when they grew up. But now 
 the Church of Rome allows boys and girls of sixteen to take 
 
319 
 
 the religions vows, and having done so, she puts them under 
 the guard of the Roman Catholic governments, who, frightened 
 with the spiritual threats of the Popes, employ their force to 
 make them prisoners of the Church for life. It would make 
 the very heart sick to see the nunneries abroad. They are 
 large houses, with high walls, like prisons, having small win- 
 dows at a great distance from the ground, and guarded by 
 strong and close iron bars, bristled over with long spikes. As 
 it is the custom among Roman Catholics to send most of their 
 little girls to be educated by the Nuns, the poor innocents 
 become attached to their teachers, who are, besides, exceed- 
 ingly anxious to gain recruits to their order. The girls are 
 petted, till they come of age to take the vows. The Priests, 
 who, being not allowed to marry, feel a strong jealousy of those 
 who take a young and amiable wife, are always ready to advise 
 their young penitents to take the veil. In this manner, a great 
 number of unsuspecting girls are yearly entrapped in the Ro- 
 man Catholic Church. Even in England, nunneries have 
 been on the increase of late years. Some of these poor pri- 
 soners continue in their slavery, without reluctance : many feel 
 unhappy, but submit, from the shame of changing their minds, 
 and because even in this country, where the Protestant law 
 would protect their leaving the convent, their relations would 
 look upon them ae reprobates, and their Priests would harass 
 them to death. In Roman Catholic countries, the hopelessness 
 of their case obliges many to bear their unhappy lot patiently ; 
 but some are driven to desperation, and instances have been 
 known which prove that the Pope is a more unfeeling tyrant 
 than any slave-master in Algiers. 
 
 The following melancholy story aptly illustrates the conse- 
 quences of this forced devotion to the celibacy of the Roman 
 Church: — "The eldest daughter of a family, intimately ac- 
 
320 
 
 quainted with mine, was brought up in the convent of St. 
 Agnes, at Seville, under the care of her mother's sister, the 
 Abbess of that female community. Maria Francisca Barreiro, 
 the unfortunate subject of this account, grew up, a lively and 
 interesting girl, in the convent ; while the younger sister en- 
 joyed the advantages of an education at home. The mother 
 formed an early design of devoting her eldest daughter to 
 religion, in order to give her less attractive favourite a better 
 chance of getting a husband. The distant and harsh manner 
 with which she constantly treated Maria Francisca, attached 
 the unhappy girl to her aunt, by ties of the most ardent affec- 
 tion. The time came, however, when it was necessary that she 
 should either leave her, and endure the consequences of her 
 mother's aversion at home, or take the vows, and thus close 
 the gates of the convent upon herself for ever. She preferred 
 the latter course, and came out to pay the last visit to her 
 friends. I met her, almost daily, at the house of one of her 
 relations, where her words and manner soon convinced me that 
 she was a victim of her mother's designing and unfeeling dis- 
 position. The father was an excellent man, though timid and 
 undecided : he feared his wife, and was in awe of the Monks, 
 who, as usual, were extremely anxious to increase the number 
 of their female prisoners. The day for Maria Franciscans 
 taking the veil was at length fixed ; and though I had a most 
 pressing invitation to be present at the ceremony, I determined 
 not to see the wretched victim at the altar. On the preceding 
 day, I was called from my stall at the Royal Chapel to the 
 confessional : a lady, quite covered by her black veil, was 
 kneeling at the grate through which females speak to their 
 Confessors. As soon as I took my seat, the well known voice 
 of Maria Francisca made me start with surprise. Bathed in 
 tears, and scarely able to speak without betraying her state to 
 
321 
 
 the people who knelt near the confessional box, by the sobs 
 which interrupted her words ; she told me she wished only to 
 unburden her heart to me, before she shut herself up for life : 
 assistance, she assured me, she would not receive ; for, rather 
 than live with her mother, and endure the obloquy to which 
 her swerving from her announced determination would expose 
 her, she would risk the salvation of her soul ! All my remon- 
 strances were in vain : I oiFered to obtain the protection of the 
 Archbishop, and thereby to extricate her from the difficulties 
 in which she was involved. She declined my offer, and ap- 
 peared as resolute as she was wretched. The next morning 
 she took the veil, and professed the year after ; and the Nuns, 
 who had allured her into the convent by their caresses, when 
 they perceived that she was not able to disguise her misery, 
 and feared that the existence of a reluctant Nun might, by her 
 means, transpire, became her daily tormentors. 
 
 " After an absence of three years from Seville, I found that 
 Maria Francisca had openly declared her aversion to a state, 
 from which nothing but death could save her. She often 
 changed her confessors, expecting comfort from their advice. 
 At last she found a friend in one of the companions of my 
 youth ; a man whose benevolence surpasses even the bright 
 genius with which nature has gifred him : though neither has 
 been able to exempt him from the evils to which Spaniards 
 seem to be fated in proportion to their worth. He became her 
 confessor, and in that capacity spoke to her daily. But what 
 could he do against the inflexible tyranny in whose grasp she 
 languished ! 
 
 " About this time the approach of Napoleon's army threw 
 the town into a general consternation, and the convents were 
 opened to such of the Nuns as wished to fly. Maria Francisca, 
 whose parents were absent, put herself under the protection of 
 
322 
 
 a young Prebendary of the cathedral, and by his means 
 reached Cadiz, where I saw her, on my way to England. I 
 shall never forget the anguish with which, after a long con- 
 versation wherein she disclosed to me the whole extent of her 
 wretchedness, she exclaimed. There is no hope for me ! and 
 fell into convulsions. 
 
 " The liberty of Spain from the French invaders was the 
 signal for the fresh confinement of this helpless young woman 
 to her former prison. Here she attempted to put an end to 
 her sufferings by throwing herself into a deep well ; but was 
 taken out alive. Her mother was now dead, and her friends 
 instituted a suit of nullity of profession before the Ecclesias- 
 tical Court. But the laws of the Council of Trent were 
 positive ; and she was cast in the trial. Her despair, however, 
 exhausted the little strength which her protracted sufferings 
 had left her; and the unhappy Maria Francisca died soon 
 after, having scarcely reached her twenty-fifth year.*" 
 
 The following extracts convey some interesting information 
 relative to the Ceremony of taking the Veil : " We have been 
 present at the ceremony of a Nun taking the black veil ; but 
 did not see her, or understand a word of what was going on, 
 though we were pleased with the sounds of the Nuns'' voices, 
 proceeding from the place where she now professed to be dead 
 to the world, and lay covered with that funeral cloth, which, 
 as we were told, is to be her covering when laid on her last 
 bed. 
 
 " The Epistle for this day is taken from the fifth of Gala- 
 tians, * The world is crucified to me, and I unto the world,' 
 which is applicable to this ceremony, if it be performed in 
 sincerity ; but many a poor Nun, it is to be feared, is immured 
 within the walls of a convent, who with her lips makes an 
 hypocritical profession of renouncing the world, whilst her 
 
323 
 
 heart is auU chained to its vanities. The Bisliop officiated in 
 gold brocaded robes; an unfortunate young Priest kneeling 
 before him, supported a large heavy book ; the sermon was 
 addressed to the Miscredenti ; we suppose for our sakes. After 
 the ceremony, the usual signal of firing of guns was given ; 
 and we went to the convent door, to see the newly professed 
 Nun. She advanced to us dressed in black, with a silver crown 
 on her head, attended by two little girls with chaplets of flowers, 
 and with expanded wings made of pasteboard, fixed to their 
 shoulders, to represent those ministering spirits who watch 
 around the children of God. 
 
 " We have also seen a Nim take the white veil ; her fathet 
 having invited us to do so, both in her name and his own. 
 The Nuns came to the gate to pay their compliments ; while 
 ices and refreshments were handed. They afterwards invited 
 us to the great gate of the convent, where the Sposa and the 
 Lady Abbess, and all the sisterhood, came to receive us ; they 
 kissed the children with great pleasure, and chairs being placed 
 in semicircles, they sat down, and chatted cheerfully and very 
 pleasantly with us. The ceremony was performed as soon as 
 the Bishop arrived ; and we were then invited to return to the 
 same place, to congratulate with the bride. Nuns, during 
 their noviciate, are called the Sposa, or betrothed. This one, 
 in appearance about seventeen, had a very melancholy, inte- 
 resting cast of countenance, which did not altogether betoken 
 a willing sacrifice.'" 
 
 A Novice, after taking the white veil, may leave the con- 
 vent, and instances of it have occurred, but they are rare. 
 Extreme ill health, an incurable disease, or the , death of 
 brothers and sisters, which makes it necessary for the victim to 
 be recalled, to support the name or fortune of the family, arc 
 almost without exception, the reason of such events, when 
 
 t2 
 
324 
 
 hey do occur. Repentance— disinclination, however often 
 they may happen, are concealed, or avowed in vain. A woman 
 who should persist in returning to the world, would be wel- 
 comed not only with its dread laugh, but its severest repre- 
 hension. 
 
 Her family would consider themselves dishonored, and in all 
 probability, would refuse to receive her. Her friends and 
 acquaintance would scarcely associate with her. No man 
 would ever look upon her for his wife : she would be an object 
 for the finger of scorn to point at. Under such circumstances, 
 she must take the vows or die. 
 
 " I saw," says a modem writer, " a young lady of noble 
 family — the Contessa M. — within ^these very walls, take those 
 vows, which must therefore be considered irrevocable. She 
 was young and handsome, and it was said that she entered 
 the cloister by her own choice, uninfluenced by her parents : 
 still, it was a sufficiently melancholy sight, and I could not 
 help thinking how often, in the long tedium of the living 
 death to which she had doomed herself, she might look back 
 to this moment with vain repentance — not the less bitter, be- 
 cause she could only blame herself; nor, when I saw the 
 crowds that filled the church — the pathway and altar strewed 
 with flowers — the public applause — the gaze of strangers — the 
 chorus of Nuns — the blessings of Cardinals — the flattery of 
 Priests — and the tears of friends — could I help asking myself, 
 if the secret vanity of being the heroine of such a scene 
 might not have had its influence in her determination. 
 
 "By particular favor we had been furnished with billets for 
 the best seats, and after waiting about half an hour, two foot- 
 men in rich liveries made way for the young Countess, who 
 entered the crowded church in full dress, her dark hair flowing, 
 blazing with diamonds. Supported by her mother, she ad- 
 
325 
 
 vanced to the altar. The officiating Priest was the Cardinal 
 Vicario, a fine looking old man : the discourse from the pulpit 
 was pronounced by a Dominican Monk, who addressed her as 
 the affianced spouse of Christ — a saint on earth ; — one who 
 had renounced the vanities of the world, for a foretaste of the 
 joys of heaven. There was much eulogium, and little of 
 admonition ; much rhapsody, and little sober reason or religion 
 in it ; very much that was calculated to inflame the inexpe- 
 rienced imagination, but little that could direct the erring 
 judgment. 
 
 " The sermon ended, the lovely victim herself, kneeling be- 
 fore the altar at the feet of the Cardinal, solemnly abjured that 
 world whose pleasures and affi^ctions she seemed so well calcu- 
 lated to enjoy, and pronounced those irrevocable vows which 
 severed her from them for ever. 
 
 ''As her voice, in soft recitative, chaunted these fatal words, 
 I believe there was scarcely an eye in the whole of that vast 
 church, unmoistened by tears. 
 
 **■ The diamonds that sparkled in her dark hair were taken off, 
 and her long and beautiful tresses fell luxuriantly down her 
 shoulders. One lock of it was cut off by the Cardinal. 
 
 "The grate that was to entomb her was opened ; the Abbess 
 and her black train of Nuns appeared : their choral voices 
 chaunted a strain of welcome. It said, or seemed to say, 
 
 " Sister Spirit, come away ! " 
 
 She renounced her name and title— ^optcd a new appellation, 
 received the solemn benediction of the Cardinal, and the last 
 embraces o£ her weeping friends, and passed that bourne 
 through which she was never to return. 
 
 " A panncl behind the high altar now opened, and she ap- 
 peared at the grate again. Here she was despoiled of her 
 
326 
 
 splendid ornaments : her beautiful hair was mercilessly severed 
 from her head by the fatal shears of the Sisters ; and holding up 
 a temporary curtain, they hastened behind it, to take off her 
 own rich dress, and invest her with the sober robes of the 
 Nun — the white coif, and the noviciate veil. This veil, it 
 may be necessary to explain, is a piece of cloth fixed on the 
 top or back of the bead, and falling down behind, or on each 
 side, in the same manner as on a veiled statue. It is not 
 intended to conceal the face, nor can it answer that purpose ; 
 so that all you read in romances about blushing Niuis or No- 
 vices pulling down their veils to save them from the gaze of I 
 some admiring youth, is sheer nonsense. Indeed, they are in 
 no danger of being incommoded with it, as they can never 
 more be seen by man. Their ordinary devotions are practised 
 in a private chapel within the convent ; and when they attend 
 Mass, they sit at the top of a lofly church, completely screened 
 from view by a gilded grating, so close, that it is impervious 
 to the external gaze, though the Nuns can see through it. i 
 
 The dress of the Franciscan Order, and, indeed, of every 
 other I have ever seen, is plain and coarse, and far from beau-] 
 tiful. The gown is a black stuff, but with a waist so long, am 
 a petticoat so full, that it is a complete disguise to the figure, 
 The graces of the Venus de Medicis herself, if she wei 
 attired in such habiliments, would be lost. But the quantity^ 
 of white linen that surrounded the head and face, was rather 
 becoming to the bright eyes and lovely countenance of the 
 young Novice; and when the curtain was removed, we all 
 agreed she looked prettier than before. 
 
 " Throughout the whole ceremony she showed great calmness 
 and fairness, and it was not till all was over, that her eyes 
 were moistened with the tears of natural emotions. She after- 
 wards appeared at the little postern gate of the convent, to 
 
327 
 
 receive the sympathy, and praise, and congratulations of all 
 her friends and acquaintance ; nay, even of strangers ; all of 
 whom are expected to pay their compliments to the new spouse 
 of heaven." 
 
 The following portrait of a devout Roman Catholic, de- 
 scribes with faithful minuteness, the will worship of this 
 religion of Ceremonial Observances, — " Imagine him retiring 
 to his bed in the night. The walls of his room are covered 
 with pictiu-es of all sizes. Upon a table there is a wooden or 
 brass figure of our Saviour nailed to the cross, with two wax 
 candles, ready to be lighted, at each side. Our Romanist 
 carefully locks the door ; lights up the candles, kneels before 
 the cross, and beats his breast with his clenched right hand, 
 till it rings again in a hollow sound. It is probably a Friday, 
 a day of penance ; the good man looks pale and weak. I 
 know the reason — he has made but one meal on that day, and 
 that on fish ; had he tasted meat, he feels assured he should 
 have subjected his soul to the pangs of hell. But the mortifi- 
 cations of the day are not over. He unlocks a small cupboard, 
 and takes out a scull, which he kisses, and places upon the 
 table at the foot of the crucifix. He then strips off part of his 
 clothes, and with a scourge, composed of small twisted ropes 
 hardened with wax, lays stoutly to the right and left, till his 
 bare skin is ready to burst with accumulated blood. The dis- 
 cipline, a« it is called, being over, he mutters several prayers, 
 turning to every picture in the room. He then rises to go to 
 bed ; but before he ventures into it, he puts his finger into a 
 little cup which hangs at a short distance over his pillow, and 
 sprinkles, with the fluid it contains, the bed and the room in 
 various directions, and finally moistens his forehead in the form 
 of a CT0»8. The cup you must know, contains holy-water, 
 water in which « Priest has put some salt, making over it the 
 
; 328 
 
 sign of the cross several times, and saying some prayers, which 
 the Church of Rome has inserted for this purpose, in the mass 
 book. The use of that water, as our Roman Catholic has 
 been taught to believe, is to prevent the devil from approaching 
 the places which have been recently sprinkled with it ; and he 
 does not feel himself safe in his bed, without the precaution 
 which I have described. The holy-water has besides, an in- 
 ternal and spiritual power of washing away venial sins — those 
 slight sins I mean, which according to the Romanists, if unre^ 
 pented or unwashed away by holy-water, or the sign of the 
 cross made by the hand of a Bishop, or some other five or six 
 methods, which I will not trouble you with, will keep the 
 venial sinner in purgatory for a certain time. The operations 
 of the devout Roman Catholic are probably not yet done. On 
 the other side of the holy-water cup, there hangs a frame 
 holding a large cake of wax, with figures raised by a mould, 
 not unlike a large butter-pat. It is an Agnus Dei, blest by 
 the Pope, which is not to be had except it can be imported 
 from Rome. I believe the wax is kneaded with some earth 
 from the place where the bones of the supposed martyrs are 
 dug up. Whoever possesses one of these spiritual treasures, 
 enjoys the benefit of a great number of indulgences ; for, each 
 kiss impressed on the wax, gives him the whole value of fifty 
 or one hundred days employed in doing penance and good 
 works ; the amount of which is to be struck off the debt which 
 he has to pay in purgatory. I should not wonder if our good 
 man, before laying himself to sleep, were to feel about his 
 neck, for his rosary or beads. Perhaps he has one of a parti- 
 cular value, and like that which I was made to wear next my 
 skin, when a boy. A Priest had brought it from Rome, where 
 it had been made, if we believe the certificates, of bits of the 
 very stones with which the first Martyr, Stephen, was put to 
 
^^ OP THR 
 
 death. Being satisfied that the rosary hangs stBl on his 
 neck, he arranges its companion, the scapulary, formed of two 
 square pieces of the stuff which is exclusively worn by some 
 religious order. By means of the scapulary, he is assured 
 either that the Virgin Mary will not allow him to remain in 
 Purgatory beyond the Saturday next after the day of his death; 
 or he is made partaker of all the penances and good works 
 performed by the religious of the order to which the scapulary 
 belongs. A t last, having said a prayer to the angel, who, he 
 believes, keeps a constant guard over him, the devout Roman- 
 ist composes himself to sleep, touching his forehead, his breast, 
 and the two shoulders, to form the figxure of a cross." Whiter 
 pp. 72—74. 
 
 MISCELLANEOUS OBSERVANCES. 
 
 Blessing of Cattle. — On St. Antonio's Day, January 16, all 
 the animals are taken to be blessed, at the church dedicated 
 to his service. The church itself is neither grand nor hand- 
 some. Amongst the miracles attributed to the Saint, and 
 painted on the walls, with written explanations of each of them, 
 is the following : — " When the holy man had retired into a 
 solitude, he sowed com, which the beasts of the neighbourhood 
 ate up. He caught one of these plunderers, but instead of 
 killing it, he gave it its liberty again, with these words : * Be- 
 gone, in the name of God, but do not return f Jidcr which, 
 none of them ever touched his crops.*" This is probably the 
 origin of the singular ceremony which we came to witneef. 
 
All the horses and asses in Rome are brought to the door of 
 this church, with their manes and tails adorned with ribbons ; 
 the leaders of the ceremony, amongst whom are many coach- 
 men who drive eight, and even ten in hand, make offerings to 
 the Priest, who, in return, sprinkles the animal with holy 
 water, and presents the owners with small prints, representing 
 St. Anthony, with his companion — a hog, and a small Cross. 
 The usual offerings are either a few baiocclii, or a wax taper, 
 ornamented with ribbons, according to the means of the giver. 
 This blessing is to secure them from accidents during the 
 ensuing year. We are told, that by paying for it, men might 
 have even their cats and dogs blessed. Thus do those Priests 
 exact contributions from their poor deluded followers. Two 
 lambs are, at this time of the year, blessed at the church of 
 St. Agnes, and afterwards committed to the charge of Nuns, 
 who tend and feed them with the greatest care until Easter, 
 when one of them serves to commemorate the Paschal Lamb, 
 and is served up whole at the Pope's table. Two lambs are 
 kept for this purpose, in case an accident should befal either of 
 them. 
 
 Sanctuary for Criminals. — The extent of some of the 
 former sanctuaries for murderers, has lately been circum- 
 scribed within narrower limits, but their inviolability still 
 remains untouched, nor can it ever be done away with, at least 
 in the interior of churches, because it is closely (though inci- 
 dentally) connected with an essential principle of the Roman 
 Catholic Church. A single drop of blood, violently spilt on 
 any part of a temple, is sufficient to prevent the efficacy of all 
 the Masses that may be sung there, until the polluted stone 
 has been taken away, another put in its place, the walls white- 
 washed, and the church purified by the Pope, or by a person 
 
331 
 
 appointed gpecially by him, for this particular purpose. A 
 murderer, therefore, cannot be arrested in a church, except 
 upon a specific mandate from the Pope ; which, however, the 
 latter always grants, though sometimes not until several days 
 after the event. During that time the criminal remains under 
 the care of the Priests, who provide him with the necessaries 
 of life, and the church is surrounded with police officers, to 
 prevent the criminal's escape. 
 
 Year of Jubilee. — The first Jubilee was instituted by Pope 
 Boniface VIII., A. D. 1300. At first the Jubilee was to be 
 every hundredth year. Clement VI. decided that there should 
 be a Jubilee every fifty years. The second, accordingly, was 
 A. D. 1350. Sixtus V. once more retrenched the half; and 
 since his time there has been a Jubilee every twenty-fifth 
 year. 
 
 The year of Jubilee is commenced by the opening of a door 
 into the church of St. Peter's, called the Holy Door, which is 
 walled up, except during this distinguished year, and can only 
 be entered by crawling upon the knees, in which posture the 
 pilgrims and many others pass through it. This door was 
 opened with great ceremony, at the commencement of the last 
 Jubilee. Dr. Moore witnessed its being closed in the year 
 1775, and describes the Pope as laying the first brick with his 
 own hands, and the rest as built up by common workmen. 
 But all these bricks acquire an equal degree of sanctity, and 
 the pieces of brick and mortar, when thrown down at the com- 
 mencement of the Jubilee, are scrambled for by the mob, with 
 the greatest eagerness. Dr. Moore says, <* I have oflcn been 
 assured that those pieces of bricks, besides their sanctity, have 
 also the virtue of curing many of the most obstinate diseases.*" 
 
 The same writer was abo prtaent at the solemn benediction 
 
332 
 
 with which the Pope concluded the Jubilee. He describes the 
 scene in a striking manner. An immense multitude filled the 
 spacious place before St. Peter's Church. The Pope, in mag- 
 nificent robes, was seated in a chair, borne on the shoulders of 
 men, who were concealed by the silken drapery with which the 
 chair was adorned, and was thus carried out of a window into a 
 large balcony. Dr. Moore says, " To those who viewed him 
 from the area beneath, his Holiness appeared to sail forward 
 from the window, self-balanced in the air, like a celestial 
 being." After relating some other particulars, he adds, " At 
 length his Holiness rose from his seat, and an awful silence 
 ensued. The multitude fell upon their knees, with their hands 
 and eyes raised towards his Holiness, as to a benign Deity. 
 No ceremony," he concludes, "can be better calculated for 
 striking the senses, and imposing on the understandmg, than 
 the Supreme Pontiff, giving the blessing from the balcony of 
 St. Peter's.'' 
 
 Blessing the Candles. — I have been at a very fine show, 
 which I thought very ridiculous, and worse than ridiculous in- 
 deed, for part of it was impious. It was the blessing of the 
 candles in the Pope's chapel, at the Quirinal; and a repre- 
 sentation of our Lord's triumphant entrance into Jerusalem. 
 The Pope in his Pontifical, was seated on a throne, beside the 
 high altar. Cardinals, Bishops, and the Senators, being all 
 present, in vestments splendidly embroidered. A long pro- 
 cession, formed of the orders of Monks, from all the different 
 convents and monasteries, entered the chapel singing, each 
 holding in his hand a large wax candle, which was laid aside, 
 until after the celebration of Mass, when each Monk resumed 
 his candle, and presented it kneeling at the foot of the throne, 
 while the Pope blessed it. The number of candles being very 
 
greats and each separately blessed, much time was wasted, 
 which, I could not help thinking, might as well have been 
 spared, by blessing the whole at once. The poor feeble old 
 Pope was nearly exhausted with the frequent repetition of the 
 same words, when he was placed in his fine chair, and carried 
 out of the chapel, followed by the Cardinals, Bishops, and 
 Senators, attended by his Pages, and a long train of Priests, 
 Monks, and Friars, walking in grand procession round the 
 Sala Regia, and returning, through the chapel again, to the 
 throne, singing as they went. The Pope, on this occasion, as 
 on all others, when he appears in public, is surrounded by the 
 Guardia Nobile, which always immediately attends his person, 
 and is composed entirely of persons chosen from amongst the 
 most ancient nobility of Rome. When he drives out, they ride 
 close to his carriage, on horses richly caparisoned at their own 
 expense ; and when carried in state, they are nearest his chair. 
 Most of them have the rank of Princes. Their dress on state 
 occasions, is magnificent. 
 
 Absolution of the Dead. — The following provision for grant- 
 ing absolution to the dead is a most flagrant instance of the 
 abuses introduced into the Church of Rome. It is translated 
 from an edition of the Rituale Romanum, or Romish Service 
 Book, authorized by Pope Paul V., printed at Lyons, 18 17. 
 ^ The method of absolving persons who die excommunicated, 
 haring shown any sign of contrition. — If the body is not yet 
 buried, it shall be flogged^ and then absolved, and buried in 
 holy ground. If it has been buried in unconsecrated ground, 
 if possible, let it be dug up, and flogged ; but if it cannot 
 conveniently be dug up, the grave shall be flogged, and after- 
 wards absolution shall be given.^ 
 
 The following extract describes a funeral procession at 
 
334 
 
 Rome. " At the head of it, were a number of Priests in long 
 black cloaks and hoods, their faces covered with a cowl, after 
 them came a great company of barefooted Carmelites, their 
 garments of coarse brown cloth, descending to the feet, and 
 tied with a rope round the waist; the cowl of the same 
 material, covering the head and face, with holes cut for the 
 eyes and mouth, and sandals on the feet ; they were followed 
 by another company like the first ; and after them, a larger 
 company of Priests; then the bier on which the body lay, 
 dressed as when living, the face and feet uncovered ; Priests 
 surrounding it, bearing lighted torches, and all the while sing- 
 ing a solemn requiem, in which the whole procession joined, as 
 they passed slowly on to the Church; where the body will remain 
 on a catafalque, until a sufficient number of masses shall be 
 said for the soul ; and then the last rites will be performed. 
 Processions of this description pass daily along the Corso, and 
 only vary in the dress, that of the Monks and Priests according 
 to their order, and that of the deceased according to rank and 
 circumstances. Sometimes the poor inanimate form is deco- 
 rated with jewels, and richly embroidered satin. We have 
 been told that the first Nobility, as a penance, frequently walk 
 in these processions, in the dress of the barefooted Carmelites, 
 and, by that slight punishment, unknown to any but them- 
 selves and their Confessors, make expiation for manifold and 
 aggravated offences. O what a religion of gross errors ! When 
 will the light of truth dawn upon these benighted minds, to 
 teach them that vain ceremonies will never appease the wrath 
 of an omniscient Judge, who is of purer eyes than to behold 
 iniquity, and will not pass by the transgressor. 
 
 Baptism of Bells. — A particular account of the perform- 
 ance of this ceremony in Canada, in 1818, will be found in 
 
The Protestant, vol. 2. Two Bells, about to undergo this 
 ceremony, being hung in the middle of the church, a proces- 
 sion of Priests, in their robes of state, was made as usual. A 
 Priest addressed the people, upon the pious feeling which 
 ought to be produced in their minds, by seeing Bells baptized. 
 Water was then consecrated ; another Priest dipped a brush 
 into the water, and made the form of a Cross upon the Bells, 
 pronouncing the solemn words used in baptism. A third 
 Priest then crossed the Bells all over, and they were afterwards 
 wiped dry. Several prayers were read, the Bells were anointed 
 with oil, and perfumed with incense; the names were then 
 given ; a godfather and godmother appeared for each bell ; the 
 principal Priest asked some questions, which they answered; 
 the Bell was then named, the Priest and the sponsors each 
 striking it three times with the clapper. A similar form was 
 gone through with the other Bell. The sponsors then pro- 
 duced their offering, namely, large pieces of linen, rich silk, 
 and ribbons, with which the Bells were clothed. The cere- 
 mony concluded by another procession. In a few days the 
 Bells were hoisted into their places, in the steeple, fully quali- 
 fied for all the numerous duties which Bells have to perform in 
 a Roman Catholic country, one of which is, to assist in de- 
 livering souls from purgatory. 
 
 Other travellers have described similar exhibitions on the 
 Continent The particulars of a similar ceremony, performed 
 at Chalons, during the summer of 1825, by the Bishop of the 
 diocese, are minutely related. On this occasion six Bells were 
 baptized, by the names of Mary, Anne, Deodata, Stephania, 
 Seraphinia, and Prudentia. Their sponsors were chosen from 
 the nobility of the neighbourhood, and the ceremony concluded 
 by the Romish Prelate calling upon all the faithful to join him 
 
336 
 
 in beseeching the Deity to preserve this happy and holy family 
 from evil and danger ! ! 
 
 CDNCLDDING OBSERVATIONS. 
 
 The following remarks from the pen of an able writer, the 
 Rev. J. Ryland, are so excellent in themselves, and so perti- 
 nent to the matter of the preceding pages, that, in offering 
 them to the notice of our readers, we feel relieved from the 
 necessity of further comment of our own. 
 
 "It is no feeble impression that should be produced on us by 
 his genius, who rears the stately column, and spreads abroad 
 the arch; aiid who, from broken and rude materials, can create 
 structures where so much vastness and beauty meet, where so 
 many generations have been known to worship, and where the 
 men of so many still are sleeping. I envy not the mind that 
 is untouched with the admiration of his science, who calls the 
 marble forth in all the symmetry of man — who can diffuse over 
 its surface the warmth of life — can make it give an almost 
 vocal utterance to our many passions ; fixing in the view of 
 passing generations all states of human feeling, from the 
 loftiest modes of heroic manhood, to the loveliest forms of 
 female tenderness, or infant innocence ! I envy not the man 
 who can be unmoved by that great art which converts the dull 
 canvas to a living mirror; holding, as in steady reflection, 
 whatever illumines or adorns the heavens above or the earth 
 beneath — ^which can call, as from the tomb, the mighty dead, 
 
3^ 
 
 mighty for good or evil, and fix upon their brow and attitude 
 the language of their long-passed hopes and fears, and joys and 
 griefs ! As little do I envy him, whose heart yields no vibra- 
 tion to the music of sweet sounds, whose soul is the seat of no 
 wonder, no deep emotion, amid those magic swells that might 
 make cowards brave ; those softened strains that seem fitted to 
 make angels weep ; and those bolder, those majestic flights, so 
 full of unutterable thought and grandeur, as to remind us of 
 the coming of that voice which the dead shall hear. Oh ! no, 
 I would not be thought to undervalue these noble exhibitions 
 of what the human faculties can do. Yet, while we admire 
 the thing, we may deplore the uses to which it is applied. To 
 the use which is made of these things in the papal ritual we 
 object on several grounds. 
 
 Great and wonderful as they may be, they are common- 
 place — tameness itself, when compared with the disclosures of 
 that religion which they are thought to aid and adorn. At 
 best, they are only shadows of what is real ; and the realities 
 themselves are far from being the noblest of the works of God. 
 It is not upon these heavens that the All-powerful has shed 
 the brightness of his glory, nor upon this earth that he has 
 lavished all that is beautiful. Man too, in his present state, is 
 like an edifice which has long since fallen to decay. Christi- 
 anity leads to more resplendent heavens, to a better earth, and 
 to a nobler condition of humanity. It brings the Great In- 
 visible near to us, in whose presence, whatever is, is as nothing. 
 Before all things, he was — greater than all things, — infinitely 
 greater, he is, and must ever be. His works proclaim him 
 beautiful ; his povidcncc gives a yet louder utterance to the 
 pleasing truth ; and out of Zion he hath shone the perfection 
 of beauty. Thence he appears as the Being in whom all live, 
 «■ whom all depend ; before whose goodnem none are %oo^y 
 
 s 
 
338 
 
 before whose mercy none are merciful ; to whom all strength is 
 weakness, and all wisdom folly; the Being from whom all 
 natural faculties proceed, and in comparison with whom, they 
 are as though they were not ; from whom flows all moral ex- 
 cellence, and in whom all is ever and infinitely surpassed. Yet 
 the perfections which thus place infinity between the un- 
 created and the most exalted of created beings, are all before 
 us in the Christian salvation, and before us in the light of 
 noon. All are there, each having, like the parts of the bow 
 in the heavens, its proper radiance, and the whole joining 
 to announce their common message of peacefulness to man. 
 While each attribute is brought nearer to us than by any other 
 act of the Lord; the whole break upon us with a lovelier 
 effulgence, because manifested together. In what is thus dis- 
 closed concerning the character of man, and the character of 
 God — concerning what the Most High has done to befriend 
 us, and what his beneficence will be yet found to do, we have 
 all great, all unutterable things — whatever is beautiful in holi- 
 ness, whatever is deformed in its opposite, all the severity of 
 justice, and all the tenderness of mercy. It reveals the world 
 of the blessed, and the abodes of the lost ; and while all that 
 is present is announced as sinking into oblivion, and all that 
 is fiiture as enduring for ever, it is to the sacrifice of the 
 Incarnate Saviour, and to the grace of the Eternal Spirit, 
 that we are to look for the means which have conferred on the 
 blessed their felicity, and for that loving-kindness which, being 
 wickedly slighted, has filled the lost with despair. On every 
 aspect of the movements which bring salvation to us, there is 
 the impress of infinitude ; while the salvation itself includes 
 all good, and that for ever; and the guilt incurred by rejecting 
 it, is followed by all evil, and that for ever ! And this, men 
 «nd brethren, is the theme, so vast, so varied, so adjusted to 
 
reach every spring of hope and fear, of sorrow and of joy. 
 This is the theme from which no great, no victorious result 
 must be anticipated, unless aided by images, and pictures, and 
 music, and ornamental apparel, and mystic rites, and the 
 trickery of processions. Paganism might well endeavour to 
 eke out her pretensions thus, and to hide her many deformities 
 beneath a guise like this ; but Christianity, Oh ! she needs it 
 not, she is but encumbered by it, — robbed of her attractions 
 by it. 
 
 But while we object to this sort of ritual, as connected with 
 Christianity, because it thus betrays a very imperfect and mis- 
 taken apprehension of our holy religion, we object to it farther, 
 as serving rather to beguile, than to aid the perceptions of the 
 worshipper, in relation to piety. We must contend that the 
 weakness which it is said to assist, is a weakness which it tends 
 directly to abuse. Men are ever in danger of substituting an 
 observance of the forms connected with religion, in the place of 
 an exhibition of its temper and its practical influence. And 
 the danger which is thus inseparable from the most simple 
 modes of worship, is increased by every degree in which that 
 simplicity is departed from. It is not pretended that there is 
 nothing in architecture, and paintings, and music, and pro- 
 cessions, to produce impression. On the contrary, it is their 
 peculiar fitness to do this, and to render impression pleasing, 
 which constitutes the danger; for in such cases, nothing it 
 more easy, and nothing more common, than to mistake effects 
 •rising from such causes for effects produced by the spirit of 
 God. The awe which is awakened by the external scenery 
 and ceremony, passes for the fear of the Most High ; and the 
 subdued feeling produced, by means of pictures and music, 
 passes, as readily for the emotions of penitence and the love of 
 the Redeemer. The prominence given in the Topinh ritual to 
 
340 
 
 the things which thus connect themselves with the senses, the 
 imagination, and the passions, must lead to innumerable evils, 
 even though the zeal of the priesthood for the edification of the 
 people were strictly Apostolic. But when it is remembered 
 how little is done by that priesthood, to teach their votaries to 
 think, while so much is done to render them the creatures of 
 feeling, consequences the most fatal must be ever ensuing. 
 What instruction was in the primitive church ; that impres- 
 sion is in the scheme of the Romanist. It is a scheme, 
 however, which has its uses. Not, indeed, as leading men to 
 those right perceptions of God, and of his Son, Jesus Christ, 
 in which is life eternal, but as inducing that attachment to the 
 altars of Rome, which the same policy had long since induced 
 to the altars of Paganism ; and, in brief, as substituting ex- 
 citement for principle, and the fear of the Priest for the fear of 
 God. 
 
 Nor should it be forgotten, that the class of worshippers, 
 whose weakness is said to be particularly consulted in these 
 inventions, are the very persons who are the most likely to be 
 injured by them. We are told, that the iminstructed, who ever 
 constitute the mass of the people, are always prone to rest in 
 the visible, to the exclusion of the invisible ; and, strange to 
 say, while men are described as thus strongly possessed with an 
 inclination to idolatry, the method chosen to elevate their reli- 
 gious character, is to conform the worship of the Gospel, in 
 nearly all respects, to that of Paganism, not excluding images 
 themselves. Men were in danger of preferring a sensual to a 
 spiritual worship, and to correct this state of things, the Chris- 
 tian worship has been rendered just as sensual as they would 
 have it be. 
 
 But to this negative kind of evidence there is that which is 
 more decisive to be annexed. It was to discountenance the 
 
341 
 
 doctrine which attached an injurious sanctity to localities, and 
 to ritual forms, that Jesus said to the woman of Samaria, 
 " Ye know not what ye worship : God is a Spirit, and must be 
 worshipped in spirit and in truth."'* Correct views of the 
 Divine Being, and suitable affections towards him, were thus 
 to constitute the beginning and the end of the worship that 
 should characterize the dispensation which the Messiah was 
 appointed to introduce. Accordingly, we find that the Apostles 
 discharged the functions of their ministry in a manner which 
 abundantly disclosed their indifference to times, and places, 
 apparel, and to all those little circumstances which were so 
 minutely provided for in the rubric of every existing Priest- 
 hood. They revered the Lord's Day ; but with that exception, 
 they knew not of one day as more holy than another ; of one 
 spot as more sacred than another ; or of any one circimistance 
 beyond the simple instructions of their Lord, as required to 
 aid the Gospel in accomplishing its most glorious results. ^ 
 
 THE END. 
 
 LONDON: 
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