THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES A MODEST APOLOGY FOR THE Antient and Honourable FAMILY O F T H E WRONG HEADS. I N A LETTER TO THE Right Honourable the E. of C~ $ . T II .E MISCELLANEOUS WORKS o F JOHN HI L DROP, D.D. Redtorof WATH, in YORKSHIRE. In TWO VOLUMES. CONTAINING 3 VOL. I. An Es s A Y for the better Re- gulation and Improvement of FREE-THINKING. An ESSAY on HONOUR. FREE THOUGHTS upon the BRUTE-CREATION: In two Letters to a LADY. VOL. II. AModeftApologyfortheAn- tient and Honourable Fa- milyoftheWRONCHBADs. A Propofal for Revifmg.&V. the Ten Commandments. Contempt of the CLERGY. Life of Simon Shallow, Efq; VOL. II. LONDON: Printed by Charles Rivington, For JOHN and JAMES RIVING TON, at the Bible and Crnyn in St. Paul's Church-yard. MDCCLIV. MODEST APOLOGY K. ,3 FOR THE Antient and Honourable FAMILY O F T H E WRONG HEADS. MY LORD, HOUGH I have not the Honour to be perfonally known to your Lordfliip, yet your univerfal Character, diftin- guifhed as much by your Affability and Politenefs, as by your Wit and Qua- lity, has encouraged me to apply myfelf to you, upon an Affair, in which my Honour and Intereft, as well as that of my Family, are too nearly concerned to be filent. I have the Honour, my Lord, to be very nearly related to the Honourable Family, whofe Apology I am writing ; my Mother being Sifter to the celebrated Sir Francis, of immortal Memory. VOL. II, 3 / s 2 A Modeft Apology for the Antient and As we are a very numerous Family, and well allied, no Wonder that many of us are employed in eminent Ports of Honour and Profit; and fometimes, perhaps, in the Management and Dire&ion of Affairs of the greateft Confequence, both in Church and State. Now, as all of us happen to be in a different Way of Thinking from your Lordfhip, all the World fees you have contracted an incurable Averfion to the whole Family. Whenever you take it in your Head to be difpleafed with the Management of public Af- fairs, upon every Sufpicion of political Mifcondudl, the Cry is immediately raifed upon us all ; the Guilt of every miniflcrial Blunder is charged upon fomc or other of our Kindred ; though I will take upon me, to anfwer for every individual Perfon concerned in fuch Counfels or Tranfo&ions, that they mall fe- parately and jointly depofe, upon their corporal Oath, that they have no more Relation to the Family than your Lordfhip. This is very hard ! but what is ftili. harder, your Lordfhip is faid to take this Liberty in the mofr. auguft Affembly in the World ; where, it is well known, we have not, at prefent, fb much as one Friend or Relation to undertake our Caufe, or (peak one Word in our Juftification. As this muft be thought a great Hard/hip upon fb many innocent Sufferers, I humbly intreat your Lordfhip's Indulgence, whilft I am endeavouring to do Juftice to the moft numerous Family in the Uni- verfe j and which is, by Blood or Marriage, related to the moft illuftrious Houfes in Europe. The Antiquity of our Family (an Article that has given Diftindtion and Precedency to many a worth- lefs Litter, who had no other fingle good Quality to 3 re- Honourable Family of the Wrongheads. 3 recommend them) may, I humbly prefume, with more than equal Juftice, be pleaded by us, who have been, in all Ages, diftinguifhed by the moft emi- nent and meritorious Services, and been rewarded accordingly. I know it has been fuggefted by our Enemies, that we are but of Yefterday ; that we were the Aborigines of a certain neighbouring King- dom, tranfplanted into this and other Countries, all over the Globe, by mere Neceffity, to pick up a comfortable Subfiftence abroad, which we could not find at home. This is fo grofs a Calumny as could only proceed from downright Ignorance, or Malice, or both j fmce every one that has the leaft Acquaint- ance with Hiftory, muft know the contrary. It ap- pears, by the concurrent Teitimonies of the moft antient and faithful Hiftorians, that we have made fliining and illuftrious Figures in every Age and Nation under Heaven 5 and even in our own, in which we are more immediately concerned, we have had Princes, Peers, Prelates, and Privy-CounfeJlors j not to mention Baronets, Simple Knights, 'Squires, and Juftices of the Peace, innumerable. We are informed by Hiftory, that one of our Family was a Conjurer, (an Honour that many an illuftrious Houfe cannot boaft of) with this particular Circumftance, that his Name was Siman, and he al- ways went by the Name of Simon the Conjurer. But s he feems to have been but a poor Performer, and came to an untimely End, by an unfuccefsful Expe- riment, even in his own Profeffion, we are not very- vain of our Relation ; and as he is fajd to have lived a great while ago, and there has not been one in the Family ever fmce, we have taken a great deal of B 2 Pains, 4 A Modeft Apology for the Ahtient and fains, both in Private and Public, to perfuade the World, that there never was any fuck Perfon. I mean any fab Ckaratter ; and that all the Pretend- ers to that Sort of Knowledge are Quacks and Impof- tors, and ought rather to be punifhed for Cheats, than Aflbciates with evil Spirits, who have fomething elfe to do, than to be at the Call of every beggarly Rafoal, or doating old Woman, that pleafes to em- ploy them : Whereas, if they had Leifure or Incli- nation to trouble themfelves with our dirty Affairs, they might be admitted into Cabinets and Drawing- rooms, might have a Seat in ******, or the Direction of ******, upon giving proper Secu- rity for their true and faithful Attachment, and due Attention to the Iriterefts of their Patrons. But to return. Though at prefent we lie under great and popular Difcouragements, by the unreafonable and ungrateful Oppofition of fome that fhall be namelefs, who af- fect to forget that they owe their prefent Portion of Wealth and Power to the fuperfine Policy of the WrangbeadS) their Predeceflbrs ; yet we are not with- out reafonable Hopes of retrieving, one Day, the Ho- nour and Figure of the Family, and contributing as much to the Glory and Profperity of the prefent or rifing Generation, as our Predecefibrs have done to the paft. To enter into a Detail of the many Ser- vices we have been doing to the Public, would be an endlefs and needlefs Tafk : I fhall rather choofe to lay before your Lordfhip, a ftiort View of feveral wonderful Improvements and Refinements we have made, in the three great Articles of Learning^ Reli- gion, and Politics, by which we ftand eminently dif- * ' * n i ^ tinguimed Honourable Family of the Wrongheads. 5 tinguifhed from the reft of Mankind ; and from which we may one Day promife ourfelves fuch a Su- periority of Rank and Character, as is due to fuck fuperior Merit, and the Services, we are every Day doing to our native Country. The Figure we made, and the Rank we fuftained, in the learned \Vorld, for above a thoufand Years, is too well known to admit of a Difpute ; our Ene- mies themfelves confefs it, and, by a prepofterous Kind of Vanity, upbraid us with it. It is well known, that during that long Space of Time, we had the intire Government and Direction of much the greater Part of the Univerfities, Churches, Schools, and learned Societies in Europe j and filled moft of the Profeflbrs Chairs in every Faculty. This is fo notorious, that we have ever fince, by umverlal Con- fent, obtained the diftinguifhing Title of the School- men. And the Divinity and Philofephy of thofe Schools of ours, were the Light and Glory of thofe happy Ages. We were the fole Authors of thofe immenfe Treafures of Learning, which, fince the Invention of Printing, have made fuch a pompous and volumi- nous Appearance in the Libraries of the Learned, under the illuftrious Titles of Sumtna, Sententi*c, Loci Communes, Diatribe, Commentaria, Thefanri* Collectanea, ^uejiiones, &c. which, by the barbarous Pride and Ignorance of the Moderns, are brought into fo great Contempt, that nothing but public Libra- ries, fecured by Locks, and Bolts, and Chains, can preferve them from the worfe than Gothic Fury of Paftry-cooks, Bandbox-makers, Grocers, and Chand- lers. This was in a great meafure owing to the malicious Oppofition we met \\ith, about two Centu- B 3 ries. 6 A Modeft Apology for the Antient and ries ago, from that bitter. Enemy to all profound Erudition, Erafmus ; who, with fome other evil- minded Perfons in that and our own Country, raifed fuch a Cry and Perfecution againft us, as had well nigh ended in the Deftru&ion of our whole Fa- mily; notwithftanding all which, though we were often obliged to fhift our Quarters, in order to efcape the Fury of our Perfecutors, we ftill continued to hold up our Heads, and make a tolerable Figure in fome Parts of the World or other j from whence we have been able, from time to time, to fend Au- thors and Profeflbrs to fome of the moft eminent Societies in Europe. And thefe are they that have enriched the learned World with many voluminous Inquiries, acute Conjectures, and profound Difco- verics, in every Branch of Science, and Article of Learning. Very few of us indeed have pretended to be Au- thors of particular Syftems, founded upon Principles, and regularly digefted into Conclufions ; yet have wjs not been wanting in our beft Endeavours, to im- prove and illuftrate feveral Articles of Knowledge, which others have, through Pride or Ignorance, over- looked or defpifed. How many curious and learned Differtations, for inftance, have we publifhed, DC NummultSi Vefiibm^ Vafibus^ Fibulis^ Cochlcaribus^ Sa~ linis, Urnis, Balneis, Sepukhris^ &c. Romanis, to the great Comfort and Edification of all true Lovers of Antiquity, and the clearer Elucidation of the moft valuable Writers of that Age and Nation ? and con- vinced the learned World, that the venerable Ruft of one of thole precious Relics was of more Value to a true Virtuofo, than the moft exac~t Knowledge of the Honourable Family of tie Wrongheads. 7 the Genius, Policy, and Actions of that mighty Na- tion. For how could we poflibly form an exacl: Notion (for inftance) of a Roman Feaft, and the lux- urious Entertainments, fo frequently defcribed by the Satirifts and Hiftorians of thofe Times, without knowing the exal Form of the Tables, Dimes, Spoons, Salts, Cookery, and Sauces, that were ufed on thofe Occafions ? What Idea could we have of the Beaux and Belles of antient Rome, when they made their grand Appearance at a Ball, in the Theatre, or at Court, unlefs we know exactly the Name, Shape, and Matter of every Piece and Article of their Drefs, without which, many a fine PafTage in Pe- tronius, Perjitts, Juvenal, and Horace, would be per- fectly unintelligible ? It was this Sort of Knowledge, that enabled a certain great Genius of our own to write fuch excellent Notes upon Athcnccus ; in order to which, he fpared no Coft nor Pains to procure the beft Light he could from the Writings of the Antients. In the Courfe of his Inquiries, he had the good For- tune to find an excellent Receipt for a Pudding, iu one of Anfhphanef* Plays. He alfo difcovered the true Way of making and frying the celebrated Al- phiton, or Barley-meal Pancake, of the Spartans, and the black Broth of the Lacedemonians ; as alfo the Matter and Form of the famous Tberidean Cups, which were ufed in their moft magnificent Entertain- ments j with many other important Diicoveries in the Greek and Roman Cookery. By his profound and exaft Knowledge of the Roman Coffi:'.re, he has given abundant Lights to many obfcure Paffages in the Ro- man Satirifts ; particularly that in Juvenal, which has fo much puzzled the antient SchoHaib Compagibm alth B 4 8 A Modeft Apology for the Antient and adificare caput, which in (hort was neither more nor lefs than dreffing a Commode. By thefe and other ule- ful Labours of this Sort, we have contributed not a little to the Improvement of the Belles Lettres in all Parts of Europe, efpecially in Germany and Italy ', as well as in our own Country. How many learned Editors, Tranflators, Commentators, Critics, and Gramma- rians have we produced ? How many various Readings even of various Readings, how many Notes upon Annotations, Criticums upon Critics, and Commen- taries upon Commentators, have we publimed ? How many elaborate Treatifes have we compofed upon fuch Subjects as never entered into any Heads, or em- ployed any Pens but our own ? How many ufeful and valuable Words, Letters, Commas, Colons, and Scmico- lonsy and other Cements and Ornaments of good Writing, which, by the barbarous Ignorance, or un- pardonable Negligence of Tranfcribers and Printers, have been mutilated, defaced, mifplaced, or loft, have we recovered and reftored to their proper Rank and Dignity in the Republic of Learning ? The Preference that has been given by a * Learn- ed Writer to the Germans and Italians, in thefe Im- provements and Refinements of Learning, is, in my Opinion, little lefs than a national Reflection upon our own Countrymen j and I verily believe was fo in- tended. The Germans (fays he, />. 199.) have wrote Genea- logies innumerable, and publifoed fo many Diplomata, Afts, Rules, and Ufages, not only of every State and Pro- vince, but of every petty Seigniory, Dlfirift, Pillage, School, * A Defcription of Holland. London 1743. Honourable Family of the Wtongheads. 9 Convent, Univerfity, &c. enough, collefted together y to compofe a Body of $ or 600 Folio' 's, have, with infinite Pains, Pajfion, and Prolixity, cleared up a remote Hint of an antient Poet, about an old Medal, or the Situation of a Lake, as Matters of infinitely more Importance than to know the Hi/lory of their Forefathers, and the Virtues of thofe Waters, Plants^ Food, Fruit, and Air, fo ne- cej/ary to their Country and themfelves. Which to he fure was quite right. For, as for the Virtues of their Soil, Waters, Plants, Food, Fruit, and Air, in which the moft illiterate Blockheads in the Country, and the Beafts themfelves, had as great an Intereft as the moft learned Philofopher, they were proper Subjects of Inquiry for Phyficians, Gardeners, Dairy-men, and Graziers ; but were unworthy the particular At- tention of Men of Science and profound Erudition : Whereas to a true Virtuofo, one Purfe of Brafs or Silver Medals would be of more Value than 100 of Portuguefe Gold ; and the recovering the Situation of an old Lake, would be of more Conlequence than recovering a good old Manlion-Houfe and 5000 Acres of dry Land to the Family. He proceeds (p. 200.) "The Learning and Inquiries of Italy have been very well employed during the three lajl Centuries. It is now found out, and demonstrated beyond the Pojjibilhy of Contradiction, that the Corona radialis had twelve Rays in it, and not fix or eight, at was fondly believed before: That Juno Sofpita'j Feet were always bare, though the Generality of Antiquaries and Sculptors have been fo ignorant as to wrap them up in Bufiins or StQckings. It is alfo fully made out, that the Tibia or Fiagelet had more Stops than it has hitherto If en defcribed to have ; and this, tie loft Pope but ;; of which I beg Leave to give your Lord- fhip a ihon Hiftory. The learned and worthy Dr. Trimeter was a Pro- feflbr, and Head of a learned Society ; from whom, as a Friend and Relation, I had often received dif- tinguifhing Marks of Affection and Efteem. In a dangerous Illnefs, that he fent for me, and told me, he had a Secret of great Importance to communicate to me ; that he was in PoiTeffion of a Piece of Learn- ing, the Labour of fourteen Years, which, he mo- deftly believed, no Man in Europe was Mafter of but himfelf ; and that he had long determined to put h into my Hands, that it might not die with him, and be irrecoverably loft to Pofterity. The Know- ledge I had of his great Abilities and ferious Turn of Mind, and the great Gravity with which he ex- prcfled himfelf, made me conceive, it was fome Roficrudan Myjlery^ in which Society he had been initiated many Years ago. Sometimes I fancied, he had difcovered the Grand Elixir^ or fome other Chymical Secret But he delivered me a little Roll of Paper, with this remarkable Speech. Coufin, (faid he) you are now in PoJJcffion of a great Secret^ whicb y uden I am dead^ you will pojfifs without a Rival. It is not eafy to conceive the Gratitude and Tranfport with Honourable Family of the Wrongheads. 1 3 with which I received this ineftimable Depofitum. I made all the Hafte I decently could, to my Study, in order to examine the Contents. I double-locked my Door, fhut up my Windows, lighted up two large Candles, warned my Hands, and compofed myfelf with all the Gravity required of a Philofopher, and a Student in the Occult Sciences, and then opened my Packet ; and, to my unfpeakable Sur- prize, found it to be nothing lefs than a Critic upon Wafes SenariuSy mewing, to a Demonftration, that that Great Man, who was in the higheft Reputation for his critical Knowledge in the Metre of Plautus and Terence, had fallen into the common Miftakes of vulgar Critics and Grammarians ; that he had fre- quently confounded the Anapafius with the Tribracbu$ t and in no lefs than five feveral Places, had miftaken the Bacckius for the Antlbacchius^ with feveral other unpardonable Miftakes in the Pvules of Scanfion: Shewing alfo, at the fame time, that the true Scan- fion is the only infallible Way of afcertaining the true Reading. A noble Difcovery ! But as my Head was not violently turned to this Sort of Erudition, and I was unwilling that the Labour of fo many Years fliould be loft to the learned World, by falling into vulgar Hands, I made a Prefent of it to my learned Kinfman, who will foon make a Prefent of it, and fome other Rarities, to the Public, with the fame Generofity, that I did to him. The fame great Genius has compofed feveral other Pieces of equal Ufe and Value, which I hope to re- cover, and convey to the Public by the fame Canal, The firft was a little Treatife De Tripode^ or, The Ufes and Antiquity of three-legged Stools ; (hewing them to 14 A Modeft Apology for tie Antlcnt and to be much more nfeful and antient than the four- legged or Joint-ftool, in which many curious Points both in Hiftory and Philofophy are ocCafionally dif- cufled. Another, De Mufcipulis ; or, A Differtation upon Moufe-Traps ; intended as a Kind of Critic upon Mr. Holdfworth\ celebrated Poem, mewing the an- tient Ufe of them among the Greeks and Romans ; and that he was intirely miftaken as to the Occafion and Manner of their Invention. I have alfo feen two Theological DiJJertations (as he calls them) : i. Upon Gfbazi's Leprofy. 2. Upon Judas 's Thirty Pieces of Siher. In order to make the firft quite a complete Work, he wrote to a Friend of his, who was tra- velling in the Levant, to make all the Inquiry he could, whether any Branch of Gebazfs leprous Fa- mily were living j and, if poflible, to procure a Twig or two to be fent over at his Expence, which he in-* tended to make a Prefent of to the College of Phy- fictans, to be fhewn among their exotic Curiofities whilll living, and afterwards to be prcferved in Spi- rits of Wine, as a perpetual Argument againft Infide- lity j and a Standing Admonition to Minifrers of all Sorts, how they foul their Fingers with Gratuities, Jobbs, and Perquifites, for doing nothing more than the common Offices of Juflice and Humanity. As he was one Day gravely reading his MS. to me, all of a fudden he flopped fliort, and threw himfclf back in his Chair ; and, after a long Paufe, he began as follows : Coufm, (fays he) / have been confidcrtng the Character of this fame Gehazi, and the Office he fuf- tained under his Majhr. He feems to have been bis prime, if not his fole, Minifter ; for it does not appear^ that he fuffered any body to Jhare ivlth him in that prrtly Honourable Family of the Wrongheads. 15 Perquifite he received from the generous Syrian. Why then^ may not this whole Story be an Allegory^ after the Ea/lern,Way of Writing ? Why may we not understand by his Seed or Pojlerity^ his SucceJ/ors, in that or any other Family. For^ from his conftant Attendance on his Majter^ he mujl needs have been a Jingle Man^ and therefore could have no Seed or natural Pojlerity, to in- herit either his Curfe or his Fortune ; and then by the Leprofy, we may under ftand an hereditary Itch in the Fingers^ or feme ferophulous Diforder (only to be cured by Touching). The Thought is pretty. What think you of it ? As I was ftudying for an Anfwer, after another long Paufe, he recollected himfelf in this Manner : But upon fccond Thought 's, this will not do, the Parallel will not hold j the Text tells us, that this Gehazi went out of his Office as white as Snow ; whereas moft of thofe that went out fince, are faid ta hove been of a quite different Complexion. The other was an occafional Meditation upon Good- Friday* Being hindered by a Cold from going to Church, I went to vifit him after the Service was over. I found him very bufy in Calculation ; he told me he had been employing his Thoughts upon the Subject of the Day, that he had computed the Stirling Value of the Thirty Pieces, and what it would have amounted to by this Time, Intereft upon Intereft, at 5 per Cent. Upon my Word, fays he, it would have been a noble Sum ; a fine Thing for his Family, believe me, Coufin ; many a Great Man, whom I could name, would have done the fame Thing for half the Money. I hope thefe invaluable Pieces may be re- covered for the Good of the Public. There 1 6 A Modeft Apology for the Antient and There will be alfo in the fame Colle&ion fome choice Anecdotes of a reverehd Member of our Fa- mily. As he is (Hll living in a good Degree of Splen- dor and Reputation, I fhall conceal his Name, and fave his Blufhes for the Honour I am doing him. He was early diftinguifhed in the Univerfity for his fingxdar Modefty, and invincible Affection for Solitude and Cuftard ; he walked much, faid little, and read lefs ; but, doubtlefs, paid it off with Think- ing. His Tutor, a Stranger to the Genius of our Family, imputed this Behaviour to Stupidity and Idlenefs j and therefore, meeting him one Day in his Walks, accofted him as follows : T. Sir, I am ferry to meet you fo often -walking abroad, I wijb you would keep at home, andftudy. P. Study ', Sir, why fo I do ; 1 read the Cla/us. T. Pray, which of them ? P. / read Terence. T. How much have you read ? P. / have read fourteen Plays. The good Man lifted up his Hands and Eyes with Admiration, and faid, Sir, I would have you read Virgil. Aye, indeed, Virgi! (faid he) / know him too well. Too well ! (faid the Tutor) Sir, what do you mean ? Ifhy, Sir, (faid he) I know that he Jlole the very firji Verfe of his Book out of the Grammar. This furprizing Difcovery threw the poor Gentleman into fuch immoderate Convul- fions, as had like to have deftroyed all his retentive Faculties at once ; but when he had a little reco- vered himfelf, he confidered, that, as my good Cou- fin certainly was- an Original an exalted Genius far above Ordinances, and the vulgar Methods of Education, he determined to leave him to his own Inventions, in which he profited beyond meafure. In fliort, he took his Degrees, entered into Orders, and Honourable Family of the Wrongheads. 1 7 and is now a great Pluralift and a Dignitary, The firft Account I had of this laft Promotion was at a CofFee-houfe, where it was the Subject of much Con- verfation and Merriment among a Set of Gentlemen, who feemed to have no great Efteem or AfFedtion for our Family. Upon which one of them, faid, For my part, I am not at all furprifed that a Man who has been for fo many Years amoft remarkable Blunderbufs^Jhould at laji become a Canon. At which they all burft into a moft incomprehenfible Laughter. This provoked me not a little; I looked fternly upon them, and, with a grave Tone, replied, Gentlemen^ you may be as merry as you pleafe, but remember , there is a good old Proverb^ which fays. Let him laugh that wins. I then looked at my Watch, paid down my Penny, and left them to finifh their Laugh by themfelves. How great foever my Coufin's Preferment may be, I think he has rea- fonable Expectations of greater, having been more than once employed by his Patrons to compofe fome fhining Pieces for the Gazetteer, in which he out-did his ufual Out- doings \ and for which, in my poor Judgment, he can never be fufficiently rewarded. As he fometimes does me the Honour to converfe with me upon SubjecTs of Learning, I have made ample Difcoveries of the Strength of his Genius, and the Profundity of his Un- derftanding, and may venture to promife the Public fomething very curious and entertaining, worthy fuch a Genius and fuch a Pen. I happened one Day to' mention my great Efteem for the late Bijhop Hooper'* Treatife of Weights and Meafures, he turned fhort upon me, and, with a contemptuous Smile, told me, That Thorndyke'j jujl Weights and Meafures were worth a thoujand of them. As I make it a Point of Duty, as VOL. II. C well j 8 A Modeft Apology for the Antient and well as good Manners, not to contradict a Dtgnitarr, I took care to be exceedingly aftonifhed at his judicious Remark, and cxcufcd my felf, by confefling my Want of Capacity to make the Companion. Another Time we were talking of the Reformation; and as I could not help mentioning the Part that Crom- well bore in that Tranfaclion, he began to upbraid me with my Ignorance in Hiftory and Chronology, and undertook to demonftrate, that that Ufurper could not poflibly have any Hand in that Affair, being not born till near an hundred Years after. Finding me quite thunderftruck at this Difcovery, and utterly unable to make any Reply, he dropped the Argument, ami I very refpe&fully took my Leave. But, meeting him by chance fmce, he told me, that he had taken the Pains to procure a Certificate of CronrweWs Age from the Parifh Regifter at Huntingdon y where he was born, from whence it appears that he was born in the Year 1599 ; whereas the Reformation was in the Beginning of that Century. He concluded with fome very judi- cious Remarks upon the Negligence and Temerity of our Englijh Hiftorians, in falling into fo palpable an Error, which he intended to confute upon a proper Occafion. Thefe two curious Subjects the gentle Reader may poflibly find largely and circumflantiaJly handled in the aforefaid Collection. The Improvements in natural Knowledge that have been made by feveral Virtuofo's of our Family, are too confiderable to be overlooked or defpifed by equi- table Judges and Lovers of Learning. How many natural Curiofities have been negle&ed, by the unphi- lofophical Herd, as Trifles not worth their Know- ledge, hadnotwe> by incredible Application and Sue- 3 eels, Honourable Family of the Wrongheads. 19 cefs, refcued them from the Contempt of the Illiterate and Ignorant, and thereby drawn the Attention and Admiration of the Learned both on them and our- felves ? Infers, Reptiles, Vermin, Animalcules of ail Sorts., Flowers, Plants, Minerals, MoJJes, Shells, Peb- bles, &c. which had long been defpifed and trampled on, by every illiterate Booby, as common Grafs of Stones in the Highway, have been, by our united La- bours, discovered, difTecled, improved, and polifhed, and recommended, in many ingenious Diflertations, to the Notice and Efteem of all true Lovers of curious Learning. Some very uncommon Difcoveries in the Anatomy of Snails and Spiders, made by our late learned Kinfman Sir Nicholas Gimcrack, Knt. and his learned and worthy Aflbciate Dr. Johannes Elfcrikius* will foon be published in fome Form or other, being of too much Confequence to be loft or negledted, I had like to have forgot one Article, in which we juftly glory, and defy the whole World to invalidate our Title ; and that is, the great Number of very pretty Poets we have produced in all Ages, more in Pro- portion (I dare fay) than an hundred to one of any other Family, whofe Names at leaft, if not their La- bours, will, by the peculiar Felicity of our Family, be rendered immortal by thofe very Means by which that Hypercritical Cenfor Pope endeavoured to fupprefs and deftroy them. We had once a Thought of pub- liming fome felect Pieces in the above-mentioned Col- lection ; but as we find, among our Friends, a much greater Number than was expected, and alfo equally valuable, that it is hard to know to which to give the Preference, we are come to a Refolution to publifh the Whole by Subfcription, in about thirty Pocket C 2 Volumes, 20 A Modeft Apology (or tie Antlent and ' Volumes, under the Title of Minafculorum Poetarum Opufcula, Latino & AngUca. By which many a won- derful Performance will be preferred, that elfe had never feen the Light ; and forafmuch as fome are fo exceeding modefr, as not to have the Author's Name prefixed, we fhall endeavour to aflign to every Pro- dulion the tiue Name of the Parent, and give them the Honour due to their Labours. And, for the bet- ter completing this Defign, we have employed feveral of our Friends to make Collections of all the Lillipu- tian Odes, Epigrams, Anagrams, and Pofeys for Snuff-boxes and Wedding-rings, and all the Wit that can be picked up at Bath, the Hot-wells, Tunbridgc^ and Scarborough^ and all the great Inns upon the Roads leading to the great Metropolis, from the brilliant Performances of fine Fingers, Diamond Rings, or Pencils npon Glafs, to the fmutty Labours of Char- coal and Black-leaU upon the Walls of Ale-houfes, Tap-houfes, and Bog-houfes, and other Places of public Refort, and ealy Converfation. And as we are under great and fpecial Obligations to that worthy and excellent Perfon Mr. Edmund Curl, Citizen and Bookfeller, for the many Years good and faithful Ser- vkes he has been doing to our Family, we have agreed to give him all the Profits arifing from the faid Subfcription, &V. for the Term of feven Years, the Property of the Copy being fecured in the Hands of fuch Truftees as fhall referve the future Profits in Bank, to be a perpetual Fund for the decayed Wits and fuperannuated Poets of our Family. And as we have Reafon to hope, from the Names and Interefts of fome of the Authors, who are Perfons of Duality and Di/tinftion, that it will be one of the largeft Sub- 3 fcriptions Honourable Family of the Wrongheads. 2 1 fcriptions that has been fet on foot for fome Years paft : We propofe, if the Funds will anfwer, to erea a commodious Building, either in Grub-JJreet or Moor- fields, for their Reception; where they may retire from the Sneers andCenfures of an ill-judging World, and fpend the Remainder of their Days in Peace and Plenty. So much for our Learning. Give me leave now, my Lord, to come to the Ar- ticle of Religion, in which we have fome Merit to plead, and fome Title to your Lordfhip's Encourage- ment and Proteaion. We all agree that that Learning which does not terminate in a Religion of fome Sort or other, is at beft \>\&*fpltndid Ignorance-, that no- thing can make us truly wifer, that does not make us really better; and that the Peace and Intereft of the Public, and the Quiet and Profperity of Civil So- ciety, is and ought to be the only End of all religious Inftitutions. Now, as all Mankind have took it into their Heads to have a Religion of one Sort or other fo it has been Matter of Grief and Complaint, that the Difputes and Controverfies about it have often produced very tragical Effeas, not only to the Detri- ment of private Perfons, but to the endangering the Peace and Safety of Civil Societies. No Man that s been ever fo little converfant in H.ftory, can pretend to be ignorant how many Perfections, Maf- facres, Plots, Battles, and Animations he has read F for the Sake (upon the Pretence at leaft) of Religion^ and an outragious Zeal for fome diftinguiming Doc- trines and Opinions, fome different Forms or Object >f Worfhip, which have produced tracical Effeas in al Ages and Nations, whether Gentile, Jewijh, or -brtjlian. Now what can be a greater Good to Man- ' C 3 kind; " 22 A Modeft Apology for the Antient and. kind ; what can contribute more to the prcferving the Peace of Civil Society, than to fet Men right in thefe Inquiries, to remove thefe Ulufions, dete6t thofe Im- poftures, and correcl: thofe Errors that have fo long been the Caufes of fo much Diflention and Confufion in the World. And this (I am bold to fay) is an Honour referred for our Times, and for our Family, which we claim to ourfelves againft all Competitors. Miftake me not, my Lord, we do not pretend to oppofe Religion in general ; that would be a fruitlefs Attempt, The World is fo invincibly prejudiced in Favour of an old Superftition, that much the Majority will ftill profefs and defend it in fome fhape or other. Our Bufincfs, therefore, is to (hew the good People of Britain, that provided they profefs fome Sort of Religion, the particular Sort or Kind is a Matter of very little or no Confequence, not worth contending about to the Difturbance of Civil Society, or the Pre- judice of our own Intereft. They that will have a May- pole, Jhall have a May-pole j and they that will not, may let it alone. A Religion (as I faid before) of fome Sort or other has fo long been the Fafhion, that I imagine it cannot eafily be rooted out, but will ftill continue to have a ftrange Influence, upon the Belief at leaft, if not the Practice, of the filly fuperftitious Vulgar, though People of Senfe and Figure mould all agree to difbe- lieve it; but then we have contrived to take off the Edge, to weaken the Influence, to abate the Terrors, and prevent the ill Effects of it, by reprefcnting it in its true Light as a. Matter of mere Indifference or Convenience, of which a Man may take juft as much as he pleafes, and leave the reft j and fo many pro- fci Honourable Family but, as they had not the Power of Life and Death, they could make nothing of it that way : They then came to a Refolution to murder him ; but were afraid of the People, who had a high Efteem and Reverence for him, on Account of his Doctrines, and the many good \Vorks he wrought among them ; at laft they prevailed upon the Roman Governor, partly by Threats, and partly by Infmuations of treafonable Practices againft the State, to condemn him to die, in fpite of his own Conviction, and repeated Profeflions of his Innocence. A little before his Execution he convened his Difciples and Followers, and, in a very fenfiblc and affecting Speech, confirmed the Doctrines that he had taught them, and left it, as his dying Requcft, that whenever they met together as a Society, -they would never fail to drink to the immortal Memory of their Majler. Now this is the Short and Long of the whole Matter ; this is all there is in it. But to make h a necefTary Duty, or Part of religious Worfhip ; to imagine that there is any Promife in Scripture, annexing ft Benefit to the Ufe of it, efpecially that of RemiJ/ion ffSins, has this peculiar Abfurdity in it, that it dejlroys the very Notion of Remembrance , which is the Ejjence of it j to make it, therefore, the aflual Partaking of any Benefits which we were only commanded to remember, is elter ing the Nat we of it, as much as actual partaking ef any Honourable Family of the Wrongheads. 27 any thing is different from remembering it. Now this I take to be a very PLAIN ACCOUNT of the Matter, which plainly deftroys at once all the puzzling Confequences arifing from the vulgar Superftition about it, which was certainly calculated for nothing elfe but to ferve certain political Purpofes, for the Support of Orthodoxy, Uniformity, and Prieftcraft. As it has long been ufed as a Teft for Admittance into civil as well as facred Offices, and a neceffary Qualifi- cation for obtaining the higheft Pofts of Honour and Profit both in Church and State, none could confiftent- ly be admitted into them but ftaunch Orthodox Be* lievers of the Myftery, or abfolute Atheifts. So long as a Man could be perfuaded to believe that an unbeliev- ing Impenitent was an unworthy Receiver, and, as fuch, was eating and drinking his own Damnation (or Condemnation) he mi;ht naturally be under fome Terrors in performing an Action abfolutely neceflary to his Advancement in the World : But when he is told by thofe who may reafonably be fuppofed to un- derftand it, that there is nothing more in it than a grateful Remembrance of a great and good Benefactor, who made it his dying Requeft to all his Friends and, Difciples, any Man of common Senfe, Gratitude, and Honour, may fafely and confiftently join in perform- jns; it, whatever his private Sentiments and Notions of Religion may be on other Accounts. Now this is dire&ly pulling down thofe unreafbnable Fences, En- clofures, and Partition-walls, which were intended to cngrofs the Blefiings of Wealth and Power in par- ticular Hands, to confine them to certain Opinions, Ways of Thinking, and Manner of Living, which are not in every body's Power, People muft and will believe a 8 A Modeft Apology for the Antient and believe and praclife as they pleafe, in fpite of all your Creeds and Commandments ; and, fo long as they are willing and able to ferve themfelves and the Public, they ought to meet with no Difficulties or Difcowage- ments to deter them from it. So much for this ufctul and important Difcovery, which is intirely our own. Thefc, we may venture to pronounce, were great and ufeful Improvements for the Peace and Benefit of Mankind, and the Comforts of civil Society ; but we had greater and more extenfive Defigns for the public Good, had the World been worthy of them, and given the Authors proper Encouragement. There was a great and excellent Perfon of our Family, one Mr. Afgill) well known to the World by his political Writings. O my Lord ' he was a fine Man, and an excellent Scholar; he had, it feems, by much La- bour and Study, found out an infallible Remedy againft Death. He himfelf was verily perfuaded and convinced that though, for fo many Ages, People had got a Trick of dying from Generation to Generation, yet they might help it if they would. That it was intirely owing to a vicious Imitation, a ridiculous Compliance with a prevailing Fafhion, a falfe Modefty, or a Want of Faith and Courage, that even People of Senfe would fuffer themfelves to be teazed and perfecuted by Phyficians, Apothecaries, Parfons, and old Women, and at lair, to be delivered to Undertakers, to be fhoved out of the World with their Heels foremoft. He at firft propofed to keep the Secret to himfelf, or at Jeaft preferve it as a Family Nojlrum^ dreading, no doubt, the Contempt and Jokes of the deluded Mul- titude, and the vigorous Oppofition of the Doctor and the Parfon, who would uot fail to oppofc a Project, by Honourable Family of tie Wrongheads. 29 by which they muft both expect to be Sufferers, as the one would no longer be paid for killing, nor the other for burying ; not to mention the Worjhipful Company of Upholders, Parifh-Clerks, Sextons, Grave-diggers, and all the other numerous Retainers to thofe whirn- fical Solemnities ; but as he had the Honour to be a Member of the Englijb Houfe of Commons (for Bram- ber in Suffex, I think) an Aflembly famous all the World over for unbiased Integrity, unblemiflied Ho^ nour, and public Spirit, he fcorned to be influenced by any Confiderations of perfonal Interefr. or Credit, but boldly determined to facrifice both to the Welfare of Mankind, and the Good of his Country, fa Purfuance of this laudable and generous Refolution, in the Year 1700, he publifhed his Scheme for the Satisfaction of the Curious with this Title of A N ARGUMENT, PROVING Tbaf, according to the Covenant of eternal Life revealed in the Scripture, Men may be tranf- lated from hence into that eternal Life, with- out faffing through Death % &c. He was fo fully convinced of the Truth and Utility of his Scheme, that he difdained the popular Arts of engaging the Attention, and captivating the Affections of his Readers, by an artful Addrefs to their Paffions, or 30 A Modeft Apology for the Antient and or to decoy them by a plaufible Train of Reafoninx into an unexpected Conclufion. No. He opened his Packet, and let them into the whole Secret at once, that his Readers might know what they had to truft to j that if a Man found in himfelf no Inclination to die, he might be furnifhed with fufficient Directions how to avoid it ; but if any were fo cowardly, or fo modeft, as to choofe rather to die, than break an old Cuftom, or be out of the Fafhion, they might take it for their Pains, and have no body to blaine but themielves. Thus he begins : Ante obitum fcelix nemo fuprcmaque fata, is a Fittien of the Poets, and that old Motto worn upon Tomljloncs, Death is the Gate of Life, is a Lye, /y which Men decoy one another into Death, taking it to be a Thoroughfare into eternal Life, whereas it is juji fo far cut of the Way. (p. 10.) I am not unaware that the Cuftom of the World to die has gained fuch a Prevalcncy ever cur Minds, by prepoffejjing us of the NeceJJity of Death, thai itjlands ready to Jwallow my Argument while without digejling it ; therefore (p. 1 1.) Til offer an An- fuuer to the Cuftom of the World againjl me : Cuflom it f elf, without a Reafon for it, is only an Argument to Fools, Nor can the Life or Death of one Man be ajffigncd as the Caufe of the Life and Death of another Man, unlefs the fame Thing happen to them both. Abraham is dead, and the Prophets are dead. Tffiat then ? IVhy Abraham died of Age (as the Folk call it) and the Prophets were many of them knocked on the Head. Muji it therefore follow that either ofthefe Deaths mnjl happen to me, or, becaufe they died of one Death, I mu/l die of another ? Suppofe my Mother died in Child-bed, mujt I therefore do fo too ? or becaufe my Father u n> Honourable Family of the Wrongheads. 3 1 banged, mujl I therefore be drowned? Abraham is dead, and the Prophets are dead-, Wat then? Why Abraham had a Son of his own begetting at one hundred Tears old upon a Woman of ninety p , had an Army of Men born in his Houfe, Flocks and Herds without Number, and a whole Country to feed them in. And the Prophets were Favourites of Heaven, could raife the Dead, and kill the Living. Muft, therefore, any of thefe Gifts happen to me ? Why then, if I mufl not -partake with Abraham and the Prophets in their Eleffmgs, why muft 1 partake with them in their Deaths ? Nor did Abraham die, becaufe the Prophets died', nor did the Prophets die, bccaufe Abraham died. Tl)en if their Deaths had no Effeft upon each other, why Jbotdd they have any Ejfeft upon me ? Therefore the Cit/lcm of the World to die, is no Argument one way or other. What a glorious Scheme is this ! how clearly dated ! how demonftratively proved ! What Reward could be too great for fuch an inquifitive Genius, fuch a generous Heart ! But fee the Event. No Iboner did this curious, elaborate, ufeful Work appear, but People of all Profeflions' took the Alarm ; the Clergy were angry, the Phyfi- cians were merry, and the reft of the World fided with them ; infomuch that, in a fhort Time, he and his Scheme became the Jeft and Abhorrence of all Converfation. The Honfe of Commons, of which (as I faid before) he had the Honour to be a Member, and who had, upon all proper Occafions, diftinguifhed themfelves by their Attention to every ufeful Project., and Indulgence to the Projector, quickly convinced him of their Diflike, and that he had no more Favour to expect within-doors than he had found without ; fo that, inftead of receiving the Thanks of the Ho- nourable 32 A Modeft Apology for the Ant lent and nourable Houfe, or an Addrcfs to the Throne for fome gainful Office, or a good Penfion for Life, or fo much as a Patent to fecure to himfelf and his Friends all the Honour and Profit that might reafon- ably be cxpecled from fuch a public Service, he met with no other Reward than Cenfure and Expulfion. The good old Man was fo thoroughly mortified by this unworthy Treatment, that he could not over" come it ; and though he had often declared to his Friends in private, as well as publicly to the World, that be never would die in Complaifance to any Cuftom, Perfuafion, or Party whatfoever, and that if ever he (hould be fo ftlly, that be died of no Religion, (p. 95.) yet at laft he gravely refolved to die, rather than live any longer in fuch an ungrateful Nation ; and fo he actually did, without leaving his invaluable Secret be- hind him, to the great Grief and Difappointment of all ferious and thinking Men, and irreparable Lois to Pofterity The barbarous Treatment of this ufeful public-fpirited Man has obliged us to keep our moft abJJrufe No/lrums to ourfelves, and deal only in fuch popular and obvious Notions as are level to the Ca- pacity of the Bulk of Readers. Such as Supetjlition, Enthuftafm, Creed-makers, Priejt-craft, Bigottry, Pious Frauds, Oracle! of Rcafon, Natural Religion, &c. by which we frill keep up the Cry, and fupport our Friends, who, in fpite of all Endeavours to conceal it, are by much the Majority in all Societies. The Difputes about the different Forms of Church Government, Sacerdotal Power i, Eccleftajiical Difcipline, and twenty other appendant Articles, have been, for above two hundred Years, the Subject of much Con- tention, and the Occaftons of much Confufion and Mifchief. Honourable Family of the Wrongheads. 33 Mifchief. How much Blood has been fpilt, how many Outrages committed even in this Nation upon this unconcerning Queftion ? Upon this Head there- fore we freely declare, that The Civil Magi/irate is the file Fountain of all Power j that there is no Kind or Branch of Power or Jurifdiction really diftincl: from it ; and though in Compliance with Cuftom and anti- cnt Ufage we have agreed to diftinguifh betwixt Spiri- tual and Temporal Power, and Eccle/lajiical and Civil Authority; yet they rather take thefe Names from the Perfons by whom they are exercifed, or the Subjects on which they are employed, than from the Fountain from whence they are derived : That the three Or- ders (as they are called) of Spiritual Magiftrates of Governors of the Church, are in reality as much the Creatures of the State, as the Officers of the Fleet and Army^ and as much determined by the Conditions and Limitations of their Charter, as Tlie Lord- May or ^ Court of Aldermen^ and Common Council. Now we reafbnably and confiftently conclude, that whoever commits a Truft, beftows a Commiffion, or communicates a Power, has an abfolute Right to determine the Ufes of that Truft, the Services of that Commiffion, and the Exercile of that Power, efpecially if thefe Ufes and Services were exprefsly fpecified as the abfolute Conditions of beftowing and receiving the faid Truft, Offices, or Powers This is the uni- verfal Voice of Reafon and Nature, from the fupreme Magiftrate to the loweft Operator in Wood or Iron, Stone or Clay, who, if they purchafe Tools of any Sort, raife Fabrics, eret Pofts or Pillars, cer- tainly intend them for Ufe or Ornament, or both ; and if from an unfkilful Choice of Materials, or the Ig- norance of Artificers, they cannot be brought to an- VOL, II. D fwer 34 A Modeft Apology for the Anlunt and fwer the feveral Ufes and Purpofcs for which they were intended, and cannot poffibly be fo mended to become either ufeful or ornamental, they are eithe nulled down, or left to ftand ufelefs and neglec Monuments of their own Perverfenefs, or th er's Folly. Thus, for inftance, fuppofc a Man wcr only to fet up a Weathercock, or build a Wmdmill, which faid Weathercock, or Windmill, fhould be fo injudiciouny fixed or put together as to grow fl or rufty, move heavily or not at all, or have an irre- gular Motion of its own, quite oppofite to the Defig of the Builder, there is no doubt to be made, that they mould undergo fuch Corredions and Amend- ments from more fkilful Operators, as fhould efFeclu ally quicken, direa, and regulate, their Motions f the future, or let them ftand ufelefs and immoveabl. f or ev er. The Application, in fhort, is no more than this, that whofoever accepts any Truft, Office, or Power, is bound by all the Laws of Juftice and Prudence to exercife that Truft, and employ that Power for the fole Ufe and Benefit, and by the fole Diredion of fuch Perfon or Perfons from whom he acknowledges and profeffes, he received them ; which muft neceflarily produce an Uniformity of Condua and abfolute Submiflion to their Patrons, Superiors, and Direaors, and prevent all that Oppofition and Confufion that muft arife from aaing without or againft fuch Direaion, upon the Preemption of private Judgment, Perfuafion, or any pretended Scruples or Principles whatfoevcr ; and that on uniform Submif- fioa and Obedience, and Unanimity of Condua, the Peace and Harmony of Societies depend, who can deny ? This is therefore the fhorteft Way of folving fcveral Difficulties, and reconciling feveral Contra- dictions, Honourable Family of tie Wrongheads. 35, dictions, which can on no other Principles be explain- ed or underftood. But our Abilities in Controverfy are never fo ef- fectually difplayed, as when the Debate lies intirely between ourfelves. We give and take, and choofe to allow any thing to fhorten the Difpute, and confent to cut the Knot, which cannot, without Difficulty, be untied. A remarkable Inftance of this I remem- ber, upon a Queftion of the laft Confequence, be- twixt an honeft North Briton, a Doctor of Phyfic and Profeflbr of Botany, and a Jew who taught Hebrew in the fame Univerfity. They were a Couple of merry Fellows, and dear Bottle-Companions. As they were rejoicing one Night over a Bottle of old Port, fays the Doctor, Dear Rabbi, thou art an honeft Hearty I love thee dearly ; but I Jhould love thee better, if thou wert of my Religion. Why (quoth the Rabbi) I fancy there is no great Difference betwixt thy Religion and mine, if we were to come to an Explana~ Hon. IVhy (fays the Doctor) thou art no Cbri/iian. No, (faid he) but if you could give me a good Reafon for my Converfion, you Jhall find me very ready to fubmit to it. Upon which the Doctor- calls for a Bible, and reads him feveral PafTages out of the New Te/tament. But (fays the Rabbi) this is no Argument to us Jews, who do not acknowledge your New Teftament. Upon which, the good Doctor, flatting with Horror and Surprize, cries, How ! What / dare you deny cur New Teftament ! Yes, (fays the Jew.) Why then, (fays he, with a vehement Oath) by I deny your Old. It is all Lies and Nonfenfe. I have lately read a Story there of Sampfon killing a thoufand Men with the Jaw-bone of an Afs. The Jaiv-bme of a T~ . To be fure, it is as great a Lie as ever was told. D 2 Their 3 6 A Modeft Apology for tie Anlient and, Their Arguments were now at an End, they looked gravely at each other for about a Minute, when the Doclor taking the Rabbi by the Hand, Come, (fays he) we are both honejl Men and good Friends, TWat fignifies difyuting ? Let us have the other Bottle and ts fay. So faid, fo done. They drank off their Bottle, parted good Friends, and never had the leaft Difpute or Queftion about Religion ever after. See here a Controverfy that had divided the World fo many hundred Years, and produced fo many thoufand Vo- lumes, compromifed at once with no other Confe- quence than t'other Bottle and to pay. Could every religious Difpute be fo eafily decided, we fhould quickly be all of a Mind, and all the World of one Religion. Another Time I remember we were at a Family Club, which was kept at the Bull-Head in the Bo-> rough, (which fome People of more Wit than Man- jiers, in Contempt of our Family, ufed to call the Cahes-Head-Club ;) one of the Company, who af- fected to be thought wifcr and better than the reft, begun to talk about Religion, upon which his next Neighbour interrupted him. Prithee, Peter, (fays he) dorft thee pretend to talk about Religion, I am fure thcu knowejl nothing of the Matter. I will lay tbec a Guinea thou canji not fay the Lord's Prayer. Done ! fays the other ; and up he gets, and with an audible Voice repeats the Creed from the Beginning to the End, without miffing a fingle Word. Upon which his Adverfary, lifting up his Hands in great Surprize, IPtl/, (faid he) 1 did not imagine he could Ixive dene ;/, but I fairly own I have lojl my IPager, to which the whole Company ajjentcd. Now, had this happened in any other Company, ten to one but it had produced another Honour able Family of the Wrongheads. 37 another Wager, or a Quarrel, or perhaps a Duel j but we put a Stop to any further Explanation, by de- claring one and all, that as we met together purely to be merry, Talking, efpecially about Religion^ did but fpoil Company. If, on tbefe Confiderations, we have any Merit to plead, we have greater yet behind. Politics are our Mafrer-piece : And I will venture to affirm, that our prefent Pofterity, Wealth, and Power, by which we are enabled to hold the Balance, and direct the Counfels of Europe, have been intirely owing to the exquifite Forefight, and dextrous Conduct of our Fa- mily. It is true, we have long been out of Play, and are univerfally decried by the late and prefent Polfe/Tors of Power. But let me tell them, that had we not conduced public Meafures when we were in Power, by a Set of Maxims, and Rules of Policy, intirely our own, Great-Britain had never feen fo many Glorious Treaties, Congreffes, Conventions, Nego- tiations^ Alliances, Secret Expeditions, Preventive Mea- fares, Temporary Expedients, Ways and Means,- &c. &c. &c. as are the Glory of the prefent Age, and will be the Wonder of the next ; the blefled Effects of which are too well feen, felt, heard, and underftood, to need any further Explanation. I (hall only add, what I am able to prove by au- thentic Evidence, that whatever Laurels have already been, or mall hereafter be, gathered by us or our Pofterity, on any Part of the Continent, were planted by the Hands of our Illujlrious PredeceJJors. And as it is an undeniable Truth, that he who planted the Tree has more Merit than they that gather the Fruit ; sad they who fow the Seed, than they who reap the D 3 Crop 5 3 8 y^Modeft Apology for tbe Antient and Crop ; To the certain Conclufion is this, that who- ever wins, or whoever lofes, the Merit and Glory will be intirely our own, and that too with fome ad- vantageous Circumftances, which could never have happened in any Hands but ours. It is univerfally agreed, that the Honour of any Action rifcs in Pro- portion to the Difficulty or Danger that attends it j and that a Contempt of Difficulties and Dangers is an Argument of fuperior Courage, Conduct, or both. He who, from a Contempt of his Enemy, and a juft Senfe of his own Strength and Courage, gives him iinneceflary Advantages, departs from a good Situa- tion, that the other may poflefs himfelf of it, fupplies him with Money, Ammunition, and Provifions, and makes him, in every Refpedl, as powerful and for- midable as he can, only to have the Pleafure and Ho- nour of beating him under all thcfe Difadvantages, fhews a Greatncfs of Soul, and Excefs of Courage, feldom found but in our Family. I remember when I was at School, there was nothing more common than for a brave Lad to fight a contemptible Enemy with one Hand tied behind him ; and I remember one who carried the Point of Heroifm fo far as to chal- lenge one of equal Strength with both his Hands tied behind him ; by which he got fo hearty a Drub- bing, as I dare fay he will never forget, if he fhould live to the Age of Mctbufelab. There is a Relation of ours, a very honeft Fellow, one John Bui/, Grand- fon to the famous Man of that Name, whofe Memoirs are written by one of the bcft Pens in Europe. He was bred a Clothier in the Weft of of England, was in top Bufmefs, and might, if he pleafed, have purcha- fcd the whole Country round him : i>ut he had re- ceived Honour able Family ^//^Wrongheads. 39 ceived fuch a Tincture of Heroifm from his Mother, who was a Weljh Heirefe, that, like Hercules, he dif- covered an Inclination for kicking and cuffing even in his Cradle. When he was at School, Cock-fighting and Bull-baiting were his chief Delight ; there was not a Wake or a Revel round the Country, where there was any Hope of getting a laced Hat or a broken Head, but he was fure to be at it. If any of his School-fellows had a Quarrel upon their Hands, he always put in to be a Second, or rather than fail, to be a Principal ; fo that for feven Years together he fcarce ever flept in a whole Skin, or ever made a pub- lic Appearance without a black Eye, or a Plaifter or two upon his P"ace j and yet in all other Refpe6ls he was as honeft, a generous, compaffionate, good-na- tured Fellow as ever trod on (hoe of Leather. What contributed a good deal to this military Turn, was the Accounts that he had heard and read, and the Monu- ments he had feen of the Heroes of .his Family. There were, it feems, no lefs than three or four Do- zen of laced Hats hung round the Hall which had been won at different Times at Back-Sword, Wreft- ling, or Boxing by fome of his Anceftorsj and he could not bear the Thoughts of difgracing his Kin- dred, efpecially his Weljh Relations, by being lefs brave and intrepid than they. I cannot omit one mer- ry Adventure that befel John in the Beginnings of his Knight-Erranty, which had like to have fpoiled him for a Hero ever after : He had been out one Evening a little Pot-valiant, and greatly wanted an Opportunity of mewing his Manhood, and exerting a little of his military Fury upon fomebody or other ; but as it was late, and the few People he met about the Streets feem- D 4 ed 40 A Modeft Apology (or the Antient and ed more inclined to go to Bed than to Loggerheads, he could find no room for Adventures ; at laft hap- pening to fpy a Butcher's Maftiff lying faft afleep at his Mailer's Door, he kneels down, and taking one of his Ears between his Teeth he gave him fuch a confoun- ded Gripe, that throughly awaked the Dog, who re- turned the Civility in his way fo heartily, that Poor 'John was obliged to cry out and alarm the Neighbour- hood, who quickly ran to his Afliftance. The rueful Figure he made, covered with Blood and Dirt, and the unfavory Scent that proceeded from a certain Part of his Perfon, produced as much Laughter in fome as Pity in others ; but the ftinking Hero, whofe Courage was by this Time pretty well cooled, begins a pitiful fnivdling Story of the Dog's falling upon him, as he was paffing quietly through the Streets, and how unjuftifiable a Thing it was that fuch a Dog mould be fuffered to run loofc about the Streets in the Night. The fame Thing (quoth John) might have happened to any of you as well as to me. To which they all alFented, and the poor Cur was immediately trufled up for a Breach of the Peace, whilft John fneaked Home to get Plaifters and clean Linen. When he firft came into Trade, he had the faircft Opportunity of making a great Fortune, and raifing a great Eftate, that any Man of his Circumfhnccs ever had : But his Neighbours, who envied his Pro- fperity, and knew his blind Side, were perpetually blowing up his natural Vanity, and flattering his mi- litary Pride, in order to make their own Advantage, by his neglecting the proper Bufmefs of his own Pro- feflion ; which they effectually did, and have been everj' Day improving, to the Ruin of his Fortune, and Honourable Family of the Wrongheads. 41 and the completing of their own. Within a few Years, there was public Notice given in fome of the News-Papers, of a great Trial at Back-fword for fomething about the Value of a Crown^ or fome fuch Matter ; but it was in a ftrange Country, a great Way off, where John had no more perfonal or fa- mily Concern, than at Bagdat^ or Jerusalem. But when Honour calls, even Love itfelf (much more the paultry Articles of Trade and Intereji) muft give way. He could not refift the Call j he mortgaged his Eftate, pulled down the greateft Part of his Looms, and difcharged the greateft Part of his Work- men, only leaving fome few to keep up the Face of Bufmefs, and prevent any Sufpicions of his being quite gone off, and away goes he. He entered the Ring among the reft j and after many a fore Bang, was fo lucky as to win the Prize ; which, with his wonted Generofity, he beftowed upon one of the Combatants, who pronounced him the braveft Lad that ever appeared upon the Field, and made him a Prefent of half a Dozen Silk Handkerchiefs j which, like the Standards in WeftminJter-Hatt^ are hung round his Bed-chamber, as the Monuments of his tranfcendent Courage, Generofity, and Wifdom. In his Abfence, you may imagine, all Things went to wreck at home ; fome of his Labourers were hanged, fome Jranfported, and a great many taken into the Service of his Neighbours, who had not neg- lected fo fair an Opportunity of worming him almofl out of every Branch of his Trade. Several of his Tenants broke, and the Poor Rates, and othej Taxes, and the Intereft upon his Mortgage, eat out the whole Income of his Eftate. In fpite of aU thefe Dif- 42 A Modcft Apology for the Antient and Difcouraeements, he fuffercd not his noble Courage to le eaji doivn^ but refolved to buftle through it as well as he could, and try to repair his Loflcs by ftriking into fome new Branch of Trade, or recovering the old. The Perfon, who thought himfelf injured in this Affair, bore John a fecret Grudge ever fmce, and did him many private ill Offices, which his ho- neft Heart could never believe to be intended, and therefore ought not to be returned, whilft all the Forms and Kxprdfions of Cordiality were punctually kept up between them. However, at laft he found out that he had in many Inftanccs been very iil ufcd by his well-bred ceremonious Neighbour, and fent him Word that he fhould take a proper Time and Manner of (hewing his Refcntment of fuch treacherous Conduct. Lu: being informed that the poor Devil was hali-ftarved with Hunger and Cold, and not able to make a manly Refinance, but muft tamely and cowardly be knocked o' the Head, if he were not in better Plight before they came to a Tryal of Skill ; Honcjl Jobn t who had the Heart of an Emperor, and was not more ftout than merciful, fcorned to take any ungenerous Advantages even of an Enemy ; he thought there was no Honour to be got by drawing upon a naked Man, demolifhinn; a Man of Clouts, or killing an Enemy that was already half-killed to his Hands ; he therefore generoufly fcnt him as much Wool as would cloath hiirifclf and his Family for a hundred Generations ; and for fear he fliould not know what to c'o with it when he had got it, he fcnt him fome of his heft Workmen to manage it for him to the heft Advantage ; and at the fame time fc-nt him great Quantities of Proviiions of all Sorts, fuch as Wheat, Honourable Family of the Wrongheads. 43 Wheat, Beef, Pork, Butter, fcff. to feed and fatten him for the Slaughter, that he might be worth kill- ing. At the fame time that this cunning artful Per- fon was fo generoufly treated by his Adverfary, he affected to be thought very fenfible of the Obligation, which he endeavoured to acknowledge by making fome Prefents in Return. But what were they ? Why, truly, fome choice Liquors which were to be taken by Way of Drams, which he knew would intoxicate and enervate him, in Proportion to his own Increafe of Strength and Vigour 3 and fome flimfy Pieces of Silk to make Cloaths and Pincufhions for his Wife and Daughters, which he was fure would turn their Heads by flattering their Vanity, and put them out of Love with their own home-fpun Manufactures, by which they employed their poor Neighbours, and inriched themfelves. He reckons that in a few Months Time, they mail be pretty equally matched ; and then he has given him to un- derftand, he muft expect to hear from him in a proper Manner. He propofes to give him at firft a handfome Breathing, and a fair Opportunity of fhew- ing his Dexterity and Courage to the beft Advan- tage ; then, to (hew his Contempt of his Enemy, and his own fuperior Strength and Cunning, he de- figns to throw away his Arms, and knock him down with his Fift, with as much Eafe, and in as fhort a Time, as a hungry Man could fwallow a poached Egg or an Oyfter. So done, he will have him em- bowelled and embalmed upon the Spot, and then bring him home in Triumph, to be fhewn as a Sight, whilft the Thing is a Novelty, and then to be fet up like an Egyptian Mummy in a Glafs-cafe at the upper 44- A Mode ft Apology for the Ant tent and upper End of his Dining-room, to be a perpetual Memorial of his Wifdom and Valour to all Gene- rations. His Friends, who know the honeft Fellow's ro- mantic Turn, advife him to flick to his Bufmefs and let htm alone. But he, like a true Hero, juftly and bravely replies, Shall it ever be find, that the Grandfon of the llhiftrious "John Bull prefers the ignominious Eafe and Indolence of Peace, before the glorious Toils of War, and Trophies of Victory ? Is it not the Voice of the whole Nation, that there is more real Glory in a laced Hat and Cockade, and a Regimental Drcfs, even with an Empty Pocket, than in the plain homely Drefs of the richeft Clothier in the Country ? Do not our wife and honourable Rcprefen- tatives in Parliament, do not all the Ladies in Great- Britain fay the fame ? What an infipid Creature is a plain honeft Country Gentleman r What an aukward Figure does he cut in a Drawing Room, at a Ball, at an AlTembly, when compared with the ereft Gait, the intrepid Front, the piercing Eye, the elevated Cheft, the firm Step, the enchanting Air, the irrefifti- ble Drcfs of a military Hero ? On him fo terrible, and yet fo amiable, every lovely Eye is fixed, for him every gentle Heart fighs, and fnowy Bofom heaves with Rapture j for him alone the unexperienced Vir- gins pine, and even amorous old Maids and Widows languifh. Happy ftie whom he dei?ns to diftinjui/h by a Side Glance ; happier fhe, whom he furveys with Attention, to whom he opens his bewitching Mouth or Gold SnufF-Box ; but thrice happy fhc, whom he approaches with Reverence, whofe tender trembling Hand he gently prefles, and leads her out tranfported with Honourable Faintly of the Wrongheads. 45 with Joy, and covered with Blufhes, to be the Miftrefs of his Charms for that Evening, and the Envy of the whole Circle for that Seafon. Is not this true ? (fays John.) 1 therefore declare , that if I bad ten thou- fand SonS) I would breed them all to the Army j and if I could not find Employment for them at home ', / would let them out to Hire a le mode de Suifie, &c. \Vell faid ! honeft John ; well fare thy Heart. Thou wert born a Hero, and art determined to die in thy Call- ing. I beg Pardon for dwelling fo long upon the Hi- ftory of this honeft Fellow, but he is the Miniature of the greateft Heroes of our Family ; for by the felf fame generous, honourable, difinterefted Maxims are we all directed from the higheft to the loweft. 1 had ma- ny curious and fecret hiftorical Remarks upon this Head of political Condufl, which I intended to publifh, but am happily prevented by the judicious Labour of the learned Dr. Humphrey Jobber^ who has compofed an ule- ful and excellent Treatife, which he calls An Anatomical Dijfifticn of the Body Politic, in a Method intirely new, illuftrated with a great Variety of Copper-Plates : To which will be added, An Appendix upon Political Ar- chitefiure, where the Public may expect feveral enter- taining and furprifing Difcoveries. I beg leave to mention only one, the Root and Foundation of an in- tire new Syftem. Your Lordihip cannot but know, that feveral con- ceited fyftematical Writers have aflerted, that there is a juft and proper Analogy betwixt the Body Natural and the Body Politic j that as the firm and regular Structure and Dilpofition of the Stamina, the Strength and Cleannefs of the Veflels, the Purity and Tenuity of the Fluids, their free and uninterrupted Circulation 46 A Modeft Apology for the Antient and a ftrong nervous Syftem, a due Concolion, Se- cretion, and Diftribution of the nutritious Juices into the Habit and Conftitution, are the Founda- tion and Support of natural Health and Vigour ; fo fomething analogous to it would be the Health, the Soundnefs, the Vigour, the Life of the Body Politic. Now this ingenious Author has difco- vered this to be all a Miftake, that there is no Kind of Analogy or Refemblance whatfoever betwixt the one and the other ; but, on the contrary, that that which would be the Life of the one, would be the Deftruftion of the other ; that the Body Politic could not poffibly fubfift without certain periodical Pa- foxyfms, or intermitting Fermentations, for which the State-Phyficians have an infallible Specific, which ope- rates in the Way of an Opiate or Anodyne Draught ; that uncorrupt Juices would be the Death of the Pa- tient ; that their cafy gentle Motion through clear and unobftru<5ted PafTages, would certainly produce a Le- thargy; and that therefore it is abfolutcly ncccflary to keep up a perpetual Ferment in the Blood, and Itch in the Skin, in order to keep the Patient awake, by giving him the perpetual Pleafurc of Scratching. For the fame Reafon, fcorbutic Eruptions, ulcerous, and efpecially fc ropbulotis Sores, Fradturcs, and Diflocations are in fome critical Conjunctures abfolutely nccctfary both for the Patient and the Phyfician, as they are Trials of the Goodnefs of his Temper, and the Strength of his Conftitution, and at the fame time give Employment and -Bread to numberlefs Retainers to the Faculty, who, in a State oi absolute Eafc and Tranquillity, muft be forced to take to the Highway, or fome fuch- like honourable Employment to keep thcmfclvcs from (tarving. But "Honourable Family of tie Wrongheads. 4.7 But there is another Advantage of political Corrup~ tion, which deferves a very particular Confideration, viz. That the Profperity and Increafe of the Body de- pends upon it. It is a well-known Maxim of Philo- fophy, That the Corruption of one natural Body is the Generation of 'another ; but, in the political World, the Corruption of one is often the Generation of Thousands. How many new Laws, new Powers, ngw Magijhates^ new Officers, new are psoduced by every new Corruption ? Now as all Officers and Magiftrates, all People of Authority, Rank, and Power in the po- litical Body, are of infinitely more Confequence to the Public than the common Herd^ the Beafts of the People, fo it may, at an Average, be computed, that every Officer, Commiffioner, or Magiftrate, efpe- cially if he rides in his Coach, and has a Seat in Par- liament, is more in Weight and Value than a thou- fzndjturdy Beggars , or Rabble of Mankind; and if any of thefe fhould, for their fpecial Services in after Times (for I mean not the prefent Generation) be called up to the other Houfe, and be created your Lordfliip's Peers, they would be in the fame mille- cuple Proportion greater, and wifer, and better than they were before, or could any other ways have been. To this therefore it is intirely owing, that many have been formerly, and will hereafter be, fhining in Courts, commanding in Armies, and haranguing or voting at leaft in Senates, who, in an uncorrupt Gene- ration, had lived and died in Obfcurity, ufelefs Mem- bers of the Commonwealth, neither regarded whilft living, nor lamented nor remembered when dead. But to proceed An equal Diftribution of the nutri- tious Juices, which is the Health and Life of the i natural 48 A Modefl Apology for the Antient ami natural Body, would, in the Body politic, produce an unnatural Equality among the Members, and deftroy that neceflary Subordination and Subje&ion, which, the ignoble owe to their noble and honourable Supe- riors. But, the Difference is no-where more obfene- able, than in the Cafe of a Plethora, or loaded Habit. This, in the Natural Body, is always attended by Wearinefs, Opprefllon of Spirits, Want of Appetite, and Inclination to vomit, and can only be cured by Evacuations and Abftinence : But in the Political, the Bafe is quite otherwife, the Symptoms are intirely dif- ferent. It is obfervable that the Appetite always in- creafes in Proportion ; that the Patient, inftead of be- ing heavy, languid, and unadYive, is ten times more active, vigilant, meddling, and inquifitivc, even to a Degree of faucy Impertinence ; and that to evacuate or refund would be next to immediate Death. Were a Phyfician, or even a Committee of the College, but to propofe fuch a Method of Cure, the very Mention would infallibly throw the Patient into Convulfions, if not a Deliquium or Diftradlion, cum mult is aim, &c. In die Appendix upon political Architecture, there are leveral very curious and ufeful Difcovcries, fome of which I (hall briefly touch upon by way of Specimen. In common Architecture, every body knows that deep and folid Foundations are abfolutely neceflary for erecting a fubftantial and durable Building ; that the Materials mould be the very beft in their Kind, and the Workmen the very bcft that could be procured for Love or Money. Particularly in our own Country we mould ufe good ENGLISH OAK, good FREE STONE, hewn, fquared, and put together by FREE and ACCEPTED MASONSj x "Honourable Family of tke Wrongheads. 49 MASONS; but, in political Architecture, this wor- thy Author has difcovered, that the beft and cheapeft way is to lay the Foundation upon the Surface, that in the Contignation (as the learned Doctor calls it) there is no manner of Occafion for Oak, or any fuch in- flexible fturdy Timber; that any ferry Stich of Wood^ that are fit for nothing elfe, may ferve quite as well, if they be but pliable, and admit of being bent to any Form or Purpofe the Undertaker fhall require; that in the Stone-work there is no manner of Occa- fion for the Expence of Free-Stone, of hewing, or fquaring, or drefling ; any fort of Stone will do quite as well ; nor will any Obliquity of Shape, or Inequa- lity of Surface, make them lefs ufeful; all will depend upon their Pofition, and the Cement that holds them together. He has, by long and repeated Experiments, found out, that common Dirt, duly pre- pared, makes the beft Cement in the World, which may be eafily tempered into a vifcous or glutinous Confiftence j that Stones of any Figure, globular or angular, laid deep in fuch a Bed, fall of courfe into their proper Places by a fort of magnetic Attraction or Gravitation ; and after lying a proper Time in a very- warm Sun-mine, without being moved or dilcom- pofed by any officious Pretenders to Symmetry, Pro- proportion, and Order, will form a Cruft or Stuke like the Walls of Babylon, with a Surface as impene- trable as a Crocodile's Skin, a Mifer's Heart, or a Whore's Forehead. As therefore the whole Affair lies in collecting and packing Sticks, and Stones, ajid Dirt together, and that FREE and ACCEPTED MASONS fcorn (forfooth) to be employed in fuch dirty Work, it has been found by Experience, that the VOL. II. E meaneft "i?o A Modefl Apology for the Anlient and mcaneft and moft ignorant Labours, not only doit quite as well, but a great deal better. Both thefe curious Pieces are intended to adorn the above-men- tioned Collection. I fear I have tired your Lordfhip's Patience by this tedious Letter ; but humbly beg leave, before I con- clude, to do juftice to the Memory of my ever- honoured Uncle Sir Francis^ who has been publicly cxpofed upon the Stage, as well as in print, to the Laughter and Contempt of People not half fo wife and honeft as himfelf ; and I can hardly forgive our ungrateful Kinfman for fuch an unnatural Abufe of his beft Friends, and nearcft Relations : But, how- ever, as he has, on fome other Accounts, behaved pro- perly, and done Honour to his Lineage, I fhall only advife him to offend no more, nor crack any of his unfeafonable Jokes upon thofe to whom he owes all the Intereft and Credit he has in the World. I fhall only endeavour to vindicate the illuftrious Character which he has abufcd, and fliew that many of thofe who pretend to make him and his Family the Subject of their Mirth and Laughter, have acted the very fame, and fome of them a more ridiculous Part than he -The plain Fact, in fhort, was this : As he was a very good-natured honeft Gentleman, of a chearful Difpofition, and fociable Temper, fo he affected above all things (as Mrs. Motherly tells him) to be populous in his Country j and as he took particular Care to have his Cellars well ftored, no Wonder that Bumper-Hall was the conftant Refort of all the honeft merry Fellows, efpecially of his own Kindred, who, whilft they were drinking his Liquor, had good Senfe and good Manners enough to applaud his fuperior I L T nder- - Honourable Family of the Wrongheads . 5 f Underftanding, laugh at his Jokes, and bow low to his Honour. And as People of his tranfcendent Ge- nius and Quality are generally above the low mercan-* tile Tafte for Figures and Calculations, and the un- popular Arts of Oeconomy and Frugality, no Winder that he hurt his Fortune, and (as himfelf confefles) run his Eftate a little awt at Elbows ; and in order to mend his Affairs, got himfelf elefted (returned I mould fay, but it is much the fame thing) to a Seat in Par- liament, in hopes of retrieving his Eftate by fome beneficial Place or Penfion, for which he was as well qualified as many whom your Lordftiip remembers to have played the fame Game with better Succefs. My Lady, good Woman, was in a different way of thinking; Sots and Drunkards were her Averfion, having always obferved that they were a muddy thick - fkulled Generation, without Tafte or Appetite for any earthly Thing bcfides. But happening to meet the accomplifhed Count Baffet at York Races, (he was ftruck with Admiration at the Sight of a Perfon fo dif- ferent from that Race of Animals (he had ufed to con verfewith; his graceful Perfon, his eafy Manner, his familiar Addrefs, his flowing Eloquence, his polite Expreflion infpired her with fomething more than common Efteem for an illujlrious Stranger, who had faid more fine Things to her in one Evening, than her dear Sir Francis had faid in feven Years before, or was like to fay in feven Years after. No Wonder, therefore, that me had a longing Defire to fee the Place where fuch fine Gentlemen were bred, and where fhe had Hopes, at the fame Time, of repairing the Fortune, as well as mending the Manners, of the .Family. Mifs Jenny, who inherited her Mother's E2 Tafte, 52 A Modeft Apology for tie Antient and Tafte, and was improving very faft upon her Plan, Example, and Inftruclion, was overjoyed to think of changing her Situation, and removing from the un- bred Converfation of Country 'Squires, who could talk for Hours together of the Beauties and Excel- lencies of a favourite Horfe or Dog, whilft they were utterly infenfible of thofe growing Charms which her faithful Glafs aflured her would, in a lefs barbarous Country, quickly make her the Admiration of our Sex, and the Envy of her own ; not to mention the lively Hope flic entertained, that fome of thofe ten- der Things, which the amorous Count was throw- ing away upon her Mamma, might, in a little time, fall to her Share, who better deferred them, and had a much better Reafon to expect them. Whilft the hopeful 'Squire Richard, the Heir Apparent to the Wifdom and Honours of the Family, came into the Scheme purely for Fun, in hopes of feeing the Lions, and the Monuments, and the fine Lafies, whom he had fo often heard the well-bred Count toaft with Rapture. Now pray, my Lord, what was there in this whole Conduit either criminal or ridiculous ? He had as much Zeal and as much Merit as fome, whom your Lordfhip remembers to have made no fmall Figure in the World j and if he could have been fo happy as to do the fame, who could blame him ? But if neither the Diftrefles of his Family, his cla- morous Debts, the Importunity of his affectionate Spoufe, nor the better Education of his two lovely hopeful Infants, could be thought a fufficient Jultifi- cation of his Conduct, what fhall be faid for thofe, who with Fortunes intirely eafy and fufficient to an- f\ver all the rational Purpofes of Life, have quitted 2 their Honourable Family of tie Wrongheads. 53 their paternal Seats and Eftates, where they might live with Dignity and Eafe, to dangle for Years together after a Court, doing the Drudgery, and licking the Spittle of every Man in Power, in hopes of procuring they knew not what they knew not when ? Now, if fuch Conduct as this muft be ridiculed by an impertinent Play-Writer, as the diftin- guifhing Folly of our Family, he will find, to his Confufion, that we are a more numerous Corps than he imagined ; and if we mould all agree to defert the Houfe every time his Nonfenfe is acted, I can aflure him he would have but a thin Audience, and fcarce receive enough to pay for his Candles. We are (as I faid before) not only a numerous Family, but well- allied, and well-fupported, and particularly remark- able for our inviolable Regard for the Family Intereft, and infeparable Attachment to each other ; and who- ever was fool-hardy enough to provoke us, was fel- dom known to get much by the Bargain. Whoever attempted to be arch and witty upon any one of the Family, might as well have thruft his Head into a Hornet's Neil j he was fure to have us all about his Ears, and to be worried out of his Fame and Patience, if not out of Life. The Cry we were fure to raife upon him, was as loud and extenflve as our united Intereft could make it; and our Oppofition to all his Schemes for Promotion and Advancement in the World was feldom known to be unfuccefsful. Where- ever we had any Degree of Intereft or Power, efpe- cially the Direction of any Society Ecclefiaftical or Civil, we are fure to improve it, by admitting none Jjut Friends and Re/afhns. Let a Man's Merit be ever 3 fc 54 & Modeft Apology for the Antlent and fo great, his Chara&er ever fo fliining in other Re- fpe<5b, his Sen-ices, his Labours, his Zeal, his Hardlhips, ever fo extraordinary, if he cannot produce proper Credentials from fome of our Friends, we are determined never to admit him, left he fhould take it in his Head to interrupt the Peace and Harmony of the Society, and create Schifms and DifTentions among us, under the fpe- cious Pretence of regulating Diforders, and re- forming Abufes ; by which Means, I think, we {hall effectually exclude Interlopers and Innovators of every Sort or Kind. However low our Intereft may feem at prefent, yet fome we have, and per- haps more than can eafily be imagined j which, by Unanimity and Patience, we hope to improve daily. There was a Time, when we had the Power intirely in our own Hands, if we could but have kept it ; But what has teen, may be, And as low as we feem to be, we may again have it in our Power to turn the Tables and the Laugh upon them, who at prefent raife it upon us j and if ever we ftiould fee that happy Day, we (hall be fure to take effectual Care to rcftrain the Infolence, by flopping the Mouths and Pens of all Oppofers. This alone will give us ample Satif- faclion for all the Indignities, we have fufFcred, as it wijl effectually prevent your Lordfhip from fpeak- ing and publifhing, and our Enemies from hearing or reading, what they call The fineft Speeches in the Englifh Tongue. I hope your Lordfhip will make a proper Ufe of the Hint I- have given you, and treat us for the future Honourable Family of tie Wrongheads. 55 future with fo much Indulgence at leaft, as may give you a Tide to our Favour, if you fhould live to want it : With this Hope I beg leave to fub- fcribe myfelf, MY L o R.D, Tour LORDSHIP** Mojl Obedient Servant. A LETTER T O A MEMBER of PARLIAMENT, CONTAINING A PROPOSAL POR Bringing in a BILL to Revife, Amepd, or Repeal certain OBSOLETE STATUTES, Commonly called Ten Commandments* [ 59 1 S^a^K^avt^Jive^*^^ LETTER T O A Member of Parliament, SIR, H E Friendmip with which you honour me, and the ardent Zeal you have al- ways exerted in the Caufe of Liberty, in Oppofition to Prieftcraft and Super- ftition, have determined me to lay be- fore you my impartial Thoughts upon a Subject, which has more than once 'been ftarted in the Courfe of our Converfation. How often have 1 heard you \v\fh that the abfurd Reflraints that are made ufe of by cunning and defigning Men, to limit the Freedom of our Actions, as well as our Faith and Judgment in Religious Matters, were intirely removed j that all our Creeds^ Articles of Faith ^ moral Precepts^ and religious Inftitutions, were fairly and impartially ex- amined by Men of free and unprejudiced Underftand- jngs, and we were reftored to that unbounded Liberty of ^acting as well as thinking, which Nature, Rea- fon, and common Senfe, allure us to be the un T doubted 60 A PROPOSAL for Revifing, &V. doubted Birthright and natural Privilege of all Free Agents ! This Liberty of thinking and judging, in Oppo- fition to all CREEDS and Creed-makers, has been fo fuccefsfully pradifed and defended of late Years, that I think it is now become almoft an univerfal Principle; that every Man's natural Reafon and good Senfe is, and ought to be, the fole Rule, Mea- furc, and Standard of his Faith, becaufc no Man can rcafonably be fuppofed to believe what he does not understand ; fo that, by neceflary Conference, he that has but liltle Knowledge can have but little Faith, and he that undcrftands nothing at all, can believe nothing at all. So far is right, but not fufficient ; this is leaving off in the middle, and doing a good Thing but by halves : If we are only at Liberty to think, and not to aft, our Liberty is incomplete, we are ftill in a Degree of Bondage. That our Will is abfolutely free C is agreed on all Hands, but to what Purpofe ? What are we the better for that Freedom j if, whilft we are allowed the Liberty of Thought and Will, we are ftill debarred the Liberty of Action ? If the fober Dictates of Nature, Reafon, and good Senfe, are fufficient to regulate our Thoughts, why not our Actions too ? This then is the Point I am endeavouring to clear ; and to fhew that the latter is quite as reafon- able, if not more fo, than the former. In order to fet this Matter in the trued Light, I fhall not meddle with thofe general Principles which have been fo ad- mirably dated and defended by the late Dr. Tmdal, pr. MdUe, and other ingenious Writers, a.s being the Ten Commandments. t being of fo abftracted and delicate a Nature, that they require more Genius and Application to appre- hend and purfue them through their natural Confe- quences, than can be expected from common Read- ers. My Bufinefs {hall be to enter into a more particular Examination of that fummary Rule of our moral and religious Conduct, commonly called The Ten Commandments ; which, in their moft extended Senfe, are generally fuppofed to be of moral, (nay /bme fay of natural) Obligation to all Chriftian Peo- ple, even in reformed Proteftant Countries; which is a Point that well deferves our attentive Confidera- tion. That thefe Commandments were originally given to the Jews, is beyond all Dispute ; and as their great Lawgiver himfelf declared, and their whole Hiftory confirms, that they were a Jliff-necked, per- verfe Generation : So it is more than probable that thefe Commandments were folely intended to correct the Mifunderftandings, reftrain the ExcefTes, and regulate the Conduct of \hz\.Jlubborn, wrong-beaded People, who had not Reafon, nor Learning, nor Po- litenefs enough to regulate their own moral Beha- viour ; but are no more binding to a fcnftbk, learned^ juft, righteous, polite, free-thinking People, than the Laws concerning Circumcifion and Sacrifices. And as the happy Inhabitants of thefe reformed Nations have long ago got rid of all the fuperftitious Impo- fitions of Chriftian Prieftcraft, it is a Shame and Re- proach to them to be ftill in Bondage to Jewijh Or- dinances ; efpecially if it can be made appear, that they are an intolerable Impofition upon a free People, without having the leaft moral or natural Aptitude to 62 y/ PROPOSAL for Reviling, GJV. to promote the Welfare of Civil Society, and th but if a Man of Rank and Figure happen to kill a Domeftic or Inferior, with or without Provocation, or even an Equal, in an ho- nourable way, it alters both the Name and Nature of the Crime, and becomes no more than Man- flaughter : And the Gentlemen of the Sword, who happen to kill their Man in a genteel Way, are no- more guilty of Murder, than an honed peaceable Citizen, that kills a Fly or a Spider, or fwallows an Oyfter alive. The Seventh Commandment is moft certainly to be underftood with the fame Reftri&ions and Limita- tions as the Sixth, and could only be meant to re- ftrain little People within fuch Bounds as are abfolute- ly ncceflary for their Rank and Station in Life. For if Tradefmen, Artificers, and Labourers mould take it in their Heads to turn fine Gentlemen, and pre tend to mimic their Betters, mould they neglect the Care of their Shops and Employments in queft of Gallantries, it muft end in an abfolute Decay of Trade, Negled of Bufmefs, and the Ruin of many poor Families, and bring an unfupportable Burden 3- upon tbe Ten Commandments. 69 upon the Public. Befides, as Affairs of this kind are not to be transacted without very great Expence, Ad- drefs, and Application, it cannot be fuppofed that People of mean Birth, low Education, and fmall Fortunes, can ever manage them in fo polite and genteel a way as to avoid Difcovery and Scandal, or carry it off with that intrepid AfTurance as is abfolutely necefTary for People in fuch delicate Circumftances. But then this cannot be fuppofed to affect People of fuperior Fortune and Quality, who have fo much Time and Money upon their Hands, that they fcarce know how to employ it otherwife. Now if a Man of Quality fhould condefcend fo low as to beftow the Exuberancy of his Blood and Fortune in relieving the Neceflities of fome pretty Neighbour ; fhould he be- ftow a Dafh of this noble Blood upon a defending plebean Family, and pay well into the Bargain, it ought to be confidered as an Honour, as well as an- Advantage, to the above-faid Family, and as a way of mending the Blood and Fortune, if not the Morals, of the next Generation. And as People of Rank and Condition are exempt from the Obligation of this Precept, fo, by an Argument a fortiori , are Legtflators and Governors of every fort and kind, who are pre- fumed of courfe to be the beft Judges of the Duty and Neceflity of their Subjects, and are accountable to nobody but themfelves. The Eighth Commandment is certainly to be under* flood with the fame Refrriitions and Limitation? which is directly employed in the very Letter of the Precept, Thou Jhalt notfteal. Stealing we all know is the molt pitiful fcoundrel Act of Injuftice ; it implies a mean, Iheaking, cowardly way of defrauding one's F 3 jo A PROPOSAL for Revifmg, &V. Neighbour. Every Seflions-paper fhews you with what Contempt and Deteftation thofe poor Dogs are treated for ftealtng three Silver Spoons, the Property ef G. IV. Inholder, Value one Pound ten Shillings - t a Pair of Breeches, and two Shirts, the Property of L. C. Labourer, Value fix Shillings ; four Sheep, the Property of M. C. Efq; Value three Pounds fixteen Shillings ; not to mention the Heroes of this Clufs, the Horfe-ftealers, who are tucked up every Aflizes without Mercy or Pity. But this can by no means bs thought to extend to the numberlefs Arts and Branches of Indulhy and Policy, by which People of Rank and Diftinction increafe their Fortunes, and fupport their State and Figure in the World -, this would be an effectual way of cutting all the Nerves of Induftry at one Stroke, a fatal Check to all the Myfteries of Trade and Commerce, and an abfolutq Difcouragement to all forts of Jobbers, Gamefters, Fortune-hunters, and Jockeys, who are the Directors and Managers of all our Parries of Bufmefs and Di- yerfion ; and would be an infufFerable Reflection upon the Memory of fome of the greateft Men in all Ages, whole Names are tranfmitted to Pofrerity under trig glorious Titles of illuftrious Conquerors, able Mini- fters, cunning Statefmen, and confummate Poli- ticians. The Ninth Commandment I think as little liable to Exception as any of them ; but yet I cannot think it amifs if it were a little qualified by two or three Exceptions in favour of public Minifters, Courts of Juftice, and Tea-tables. There are many weighty and political Reafons for indulging public Minifttrs in certain Deviations from Truth, which however cri- minal the Ten Commandments, 7! ittinal they may appear in private Perfons, are, in thofe public Stations, expedient and neceflary. Sir Harry Wctton^ who was himfelf a foreign AmbafTador, has long ago declared, that lying dextroufly and cun- ningly, and with a good Intention, is the chief Bufi- nefs of fuch Minifters : And therefore has given us the Definition of an Ambaffador' in thefe Terms, Legatus eft vtr bonus, peregrl rmj/us ad mentlmdum rei- publics cauftJj i. e. An Ambaffador is an honeft Man^ fent to lye abroad for the Good of his Country. And what- ever Reafons can be offered in Vindication of Ambaf- fadors for lying abroad, may, with equal Juftice, be pleaded for thofe Minifters who are lying at home for the fame good and laudable Purpofes. So alfo the tedious Delays of Juftice, efpecially in Chancery Suits, are fo notorious to the whole Nation, that it has often been found, that, by the long Con- tinuance of the Suit, he that gets a Decree in his Fa- vour, is often undone before he can obtain it. Now where would be the Hurt, if fbme good-natured Per- fon, in mere Compaflion to both the Suitor?, fhould, by an officious Falfhood, determine the IfTue of the Caufe, and fhorten the Suit, to the manifeft Advan- tage of them both \ Never tell me that the Action is in itfelf unjuft and finfuJ. I deny it. The Action is not malum infe; any more than giving a Coup de grace to a dying Criminal, which puts him out of his Pain. And though the giving fuch a mortal Stroke to an in- nocent uncondemned Perfon would be highly cruel, barbarous, and wicked ; yet it is an Acl: of Mercy and Charity to the expiring Malefactor. And as to our Tea-tables, it is well known that Scandal, which is one Species of fal;e Vrirnefs, is the F 4 Lite 72 A PROPOSAL for Revifing, &V. Life of thofe little polite Aflcmblics ; and if they were confined to utter nothing but ftrict Truth, there would be an End of all Converfation, and the prettied Orators in the Circle would grow as dull as a Watch- Light, and as infipid as an old Almanack ; and, after all, where is the Hurt of making an ingenious Story, or an embroidering and embelliming a real Fact, where the Defign is only to divert and inftrudt the Company ? Inventers of Fables have always been ranked among the wife Men and Philofophers of antient Times, nor has it ever been objected to any of the wife Antients or Moderns, that they have made Beafts and Birds, Trees and Flowers, talk like Men of Senfe, for the Correction and Inftruction of their Betters. The Tenth Commandment , after all that has been faid about the reft, feems perfectly needlefs and fuper- fluous, and commands direct Impofiibilities. For fhew me the Man that is tied for Life to an ill-natured, four, proud, difagreeable Rib, who would not wifh to make an Exchange for the chcarful, good-natured, agreeable Spoufe of his Neighbour ? Who would not wifh to change his own old, inconvenient, ruinous Houfe, for a new and convenient one of his Neigh- bour's ? So that a Prohibition of this kind is a direct Contradiction to the very Law and Light of Nature, which muft, in alj Cafes, be confulted and obeyed, as the infallible Rule of our moral and religious Condud. The Premifes tenderly confidercd, we cannot but hope that care will be taken fo to explain, amend, or repeal thefe obfolete Statutes, that they may no longer give QjfFence to People of Rank, Diilin&ion, and tie Ten Commandments. 73 and Figure, in Purfuit of their Intereft or Pleafurea. But if it fliall be thought fit, by theWifdom of our Superiors, to continue them ftill in Force, it may be with fuch Reftrictions and Limitations, as not to ex?- tend to any but the low uneducated Part of Man- kind, who have neither Senfe, nor Reafon, nor Po- litenefs enough to govern and conduct themfelves. And, if I may be allowed the further Liberty of giv- ing my Opinion and Advice in the prefent Cafe, J beg leave to propofe certain Heads of a Bill to be of- fered to the Houfe upon a proper Occaflon, as fol- lows : /TpHAT whereas a certain immemorial fuperftitious Practice has prevailed in thefe Nations, for cer- tain old Women of both Sexes, fuch as Grand- mothers, Nurfes, Maiden Aunts, School-dames, and Parfons, to teach and inftrudt the Children even of Proteftant Parents in certain antient Jeuuijh Laws, commqnly called Tlje Ten Commandments ; which faid fuperftitious Practice, notwithftanding the many At- tempts which, from time to time, have been made by certain judicious and well-meaning Perfons towards a thorough Reformation, ftill fubfifts among us, in De- fiance of all the natural and religious Rights and Pri- vileges of a free Proteftant People j it has been long thought, by all true Lovers of Liberty, to be almoft an infupportabje Burden, who therefore wifh and hope to be relieved from it by a proper Authority. But whereas the faid Jewifa Laws and Precepts have been, by the Ignorance and Superftition of our Fore- fathers, unhappily incorporated in the Laws of our Country, and made a Part of our legal Conftitution, and 74 d PROPOSAL for Reviling, &c. and cannot, without the Appearance of Difficulty and Danger, be intirely repealed ; it is therefore thought proper fo to limit and explain their Meaning and Obligation, as in a great meafure to prevent the fe- veral Hardfhips and Inconveniences arifing from the miftaken Notions and Prejudices about them. And whereas it is now univerfally agreed and confefTed, that the Good of Society, and the civil Interefts of Man- kind, are the fole Foundation, Rule, and Meafure of all religious Inftituttons, and that nothing ought to be deemed to be of religious Obligation, but fo far as it contributes to that important End. And whereas it appears from the concurrent Teftimony of all Ages, that there have been great Princes, mighty Con- querors, able Miniflers, cunning Politicians, gallant Commanders, eminent Lawyers, wife Magifrrates, fldlful Phyficians, and eloquent Preachers, who had either never received, or utterly renounced, thefe po- pular Superftitions, and acted with an apparent Con- tempt of all Obligations vulgarly fuppofcd to arifc from them ; we are thence induced to believe, that the following Explanation and Limitations of the faid Precepts will be of Angular L T fe and Benefit to the Subjects of this Realm, the Eafe of tender Confcienccs, and the natural and religious Liberties of all his Ma- jefty's loving Subjects. The Firft Cotnntzn-lment is a manifeft Iinpofition upon the natural Rights and Liberties of Mankind. It is confeficd on all hands, that every tnie free-born Proteftant has a Right to judge freely of all Articles of Religion that mall be propofed for his Relief or Practice, and to determine according to the Kind or Degree of Evidence that mail be offered him ; but tf a Man tbt Ten Commandments. 75 a Man mall fee no more Evidence for one than for five hundred, or none at all, it will be an extreme Hardfhip to require of him any Belief or Practice, which he, upon the beft Evidence, mall judge un- reafonable. The Second is quite an unneceflary Commandment ; for if a Man fees no Evidence of a Subftance, he will be little concerned about the Shadow: And for a Man of Senfe to be folicitous about the Picture, Image, or Statue of a Perfon in nubibus, which he has no Reafon to believe ever did or could exift in rerum na~ tura, is a Suppofition too grofs to be admitted. Be it therefore enacted, &c. That, fiom and after the Day of next enfuing, no Per- fcn or Perfons mail prefume to declare, affirm, or teach, by Word, or Writing, that thefe two Com- mandments are, in their own Nature, of univerfal Obligation to all Sorts of People ; but {hall freely own, teach, and declare, that they are Points of mere Speculation, of an indifferent Nature, of which every true Proteftant has Liberty to judge, pronounce, and praclife according to the beft Light and Evidence that he or me fhall have, and no otherwife. The Third Commandment? however intended for the Good and Benefit of Society, in which the Good and Benefit of every particular Member of the faid So- ciety is neceffarily included, has been perverted to certain fnpecftitious Ufes and Purpofes, as if there were an inherent fjolinefs in the Sound of that Namc^ and the very Letters that compofe it j fo as that it ought never to be mentioned but on certain folemn and fignificant Occafions, fuch as Prayers, Benedic- tions, tff. and with certain Marks and Tokens of Reverence 76 A PROPOSAL for Revifmg, &c. Reverence and Devotion, which are no ways ex-. prefled or implied in the Letter of the faid Command- ment, as interpreted by the beft Critics and Com- mentators. One of thefe, a celebrated Writer, a great Critic, and an excellent Cafuift, has laid dowti an infallible Rule of Interpretation in his matchlefs Book called, A plain Account of the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper *, That no other Meaning or Interpreta- tion is to be put upon the Words of Scripture^ but j'uch as is agreeable to the common Rules of Speaking upm the like Occafions. Now the E^preflion of faying or do- ing a thing in vain, is fo plain and obvious, that no Man, even of common Senfe, can miihike it. It always does, and can, fignify no more nor no lefs, than the doing or faying a thing to no Purpofe, to no Advantage, to ierve no Intercft, or procure no Good to the Perfon that does or fays it, or to his Family, Friends, and Dependents ; and can never include thofe who never ufe that Name, but with forqe direct Profpec"t of Interelt and Advantage to themfelves, which (according to the fundamental Rule before laid .down) is necefiarily included in the Intereft of the Public, and confequently infeparable from it. So then he cannot be faid to take that Name in vain, who makes ufe of it by way of Oath, Promife, Affirma- tion, Negation, Declaration, or Afi'irtiou of any fort or kind, as a Qualification or Means of obtaining any honourable or gainful Poft, Office, or Employment* Ecclefiaftical, Military, or Civil ; or who makes ufe of it to fupplant a Rival, amufe a fufpicious Friend, or ruin a profefled Enemy. Be it therefore enacted, that if there be any I\-i ion pr Pertbns fo weak and fuperftitiou -, .io to uhderflap^ a:i3 * Preface vi. ' the Ten Commandments. 77 artd praftife this Commandment according to the vulgar Prejudices, it mall be lawful for him or her to think and a<5t accordingly, without any Let, Hindrance, or Moleftation from any Perfon orPerfons whatsoever; but that the true and ^genuine Senfe and Meaning of the faid Commandment be declared to be as is above fully recited and explained. The Fourth Commandment, however particularly calculated and intended for the Eafe and Benefit of the lower Part of Mankind, has been notorioufly per- verted and abufed,to the great Detriment and Annoy- ance of feveral excellent and well-difpofed Perfons, who have, by certain weak and fuperftitious Prejudices, been diverted from attending to the necefiary Calls of Bufinefs and Pleafure, and fuftered themfelves to be crouded up for feveral flours together in the Heat of Summer in a greazy Congregation of milerable Sin- ners, which they could have fpent more agreeably with a Set of felecl Friends in a ihady Garden, or a cool Arbour - y and to fit ftarving and freezing in the inidft of Winter, when a good Fire, or a warm Bed, would have done them quite as much Good, and been much more agreeable. Whereas the Letter of die Commandment fhews it plainly to be intended only for the Eafe and Benefit of the laborious Part of Mankind, who are obliged to labour fix Days in the Week, and Jo all that they have to do ; which plainly fhews, that they who never labour, and have nothing at all to do, are no way concerned in this Command- ment. Be it therefore enacted, That from and after the Day of no Perfon or Perfons ihall prefurne to teach or declare, either by Word or Writing, 7 8 A PROPOSAL for Revifing, &V. Writing, that this fourth Commandment is equally and indifferently binding and obliging to all forts of Perfons, of what Rank or Quality foever. but to fuc^ 1 , and fuch only, as arc herein after fpecified, declared, and expreflfed ; that is to fay, all Day-labourers, Farmers and their Servants, Artificers and Tradefmen, who being neccfTarily obliged to attend the Bufinefs of their feveral Profeffions fix Days in the Week, ought to reft from their feveral Labours on the feventh Day ; but that the Obligation does not extend to People of the higheft Rank and Condition, nor to any Gentle- man who can fupport the Dignity of his Perfon and Family without any Labour or Buftnefs whatfoever, fo as to make it necefiary for him to come to Church, or fpend the Day in Prayer and Devotion with his Fa- mily at home ; except where the great Men of the Parifh happens to be the Impropriator of the Reflorr, and enjoys the Whole, or any Part of the great Tythes ; for it is hereby exprefsly provided, that every fuch Impropriator mall be bound to attend the Service of the Church, with as many of his Family as can be fpared, every firft Sunday in the Month, as an Ac- knowledgment that they hold and enjoy the faid Tythes, by a fort of religious Tenure, as a kind of Ecclefiaftical Fee ; and that upon Default by Non- attendance, the faid great Tythes fhall immediately revert to tfie Church, and be annexed to the Vicarage for ever. And whereas it may poflibly happen, that certain Ecclefiaftical Perfons may imagine themselves intitled to the Benefit of this Adt, as Perfons that are obliged to no fort of Labour, that have no manner or kind of thing to do for the above-faid fix Days of the Week j it is hereby exprefsly provided and declared", That the Ten Commandments. - 7^ That they lhall attend at leaft, if not perform, the ^Service of the Church, every Sunday Morning ; un- lefs prevented by any neceffary and allowable Impedi- ment, of which themfelves fhall be the fole Judges. And whereas a further Doubt may hereafter arife, how far the Domeftics of noble Families, and others ex- cepted out of this Act, may be affe&ed by it, it is hereby exprefsly declared and provided,That the Chap- lain (if there be any) and all the other Servants out of Livery, with my Lady's Woman, and her Gentle- women Fellow-Servants, are to be confidered in a diftinct Capacity, being a fort of Mixta Perfonee^ as People not quite idle, nor quite employed, as People that may be faid to have fome fort of Labour, though not to take much Pains j who may be faid to have fomething to do, though not a great deal, nor to any great Purpofe. The Chaplain, therefore, if it appears that he performs no EcclefiafKcal Office, fuch as read- ing; Prayers, or faying Grace in the Family, fhall be obliged to attend the Service of the Parifh-Church every Sunday Morning, with as many of the better Sort of Servants as can be fpared from the Service of the Family ; but that the Matters and Heads of thefe Families, and all other Perfbns above-mentioned and qualified as this Act directs, are, and (hall be, at full Liberty to fpend that Day in Traveling, Parties of Pleafure, Smoking, Drinking, Gaming, Walking, or Sleeping, as he or (he (hall think fit, without be- ing accountable to any Perfon or Perfons whatfoever for fo doing ; which we cannot help thinking to be a juft and reafbnable Indulgence to People of Rank and Figure, that they may be diftinguifhed from their In- feriors, who are defigned for nothing higher than the Service of God, and their Superiors. The So A PROPOSAL for Reviling, G?r. The Fifth Commandment feems to be a Precept of a very indifferent Nature ; for as, it is ceitain that no Children of tolerable Senfe or good Manners, would lefufe to pay due Honour and Refpecl to fuch Parents as (hall appear to defervc it ; fo it is as certain that they neither will nor can to thofe that do not. Which neceffarily implies a Duty in all Parents fo to behave towards their Children, as to deferve that Honour from them, which this Commandment obliges them to pay j and what are the Terms of this mutual Obli- gation, Nature itfelf Jeems to determine. The State and Condition of young People requires that they fhould drefs, converfe, and behave in fuch a manner, as to mine in all public Aflemblies, and diflinguifh themfelves by an apparent Superiority of Figure, Drefs, and Equipage, agreeable to the Superiority of their Birth, Fortune, or Expectation : On the other hand, the State and Condition of Parents, ?'. e. of, Old Men and eld Women^ require nothing but the mere wholfome and cleanly Neceflaries of Life ; that they, who are, or ought to be, of courfc excluded from the gay Meetings and polite Aflemblies of the Fair, the Witty, and the Young, where they only ferve to fpoil Sport, to damp the Mirth, and lay a Re- ftraint upon the Frolics of the good Company, have really no Occafion for any thing, but warm Cloathing and comfortable nouriming Food, Soups, Broths,- and Jellies, good Fires, warm Beds, and a few Reli- gious Books j Nature itfelf dictates that they fhould betimes refign to the Heirs of their Bodies thofe Super- fluities of Fortune, which they neither want, nor know how to enjoy with Relifh or Decency. Be tie Ten Commandments. gi Be it therefore enafted , That if any Father or Mother are blefled with any IfTue Male or Female, who are arrived at the proper Age of Defire and Dif- cretion, warm Inclinations and good Underftandings, who are too big to be corrected, and too wife to be taught, that is to fay, Sons that have attained to the full Age of feventeen or eighteen at the moft, and Daughters to the Age of Thirteen or Fourteen at the moftj That the faid Fathers and Mothers of fuch Children fhall forthwith refign to the faid Heirs of their Bodies, all that Superfluity of Fortune, which their faid Heirs fhall judge reafonable and convenient for themfelvcs, and annecefTary and burdenfome to their faid Parents. Which reafonable Condition, if their faid Parents fhall refufe to comply with, they fhall be taught by their faid Children, who are reafon- ably prefumed to be better Judges than themfelves, the Abfurdity and Injuftice of fuch their Conduct and Behaviour toward their own Offspring, by that negli- gent and contemptuous Treatment as fuch Parents may be reafonably prefumed to deferve from any fen- fible, polite, well-bred Children. But if any Parents fhall be found fo difcreet and indulgent as freely and chearfully to refign all fuch unnecefTary Superfluity of Effates, Jointures, Settlements, Penfions, or Pay- ments whatfoever, for the Behoof and Benefit of their faid hopeful Progeny, that they fhall from thenceforth be mtitled to all that Honour, Refpecl, and Efreem, which they may be juftly and reafonably prefumed to deferve, according to the full Intent and Meaning of this Commandment. The Sixth Commandment, though capable of a very fober and rational Meaning, has been, like the reft, L G &3 A PROPOSAL for Reviling, (f?r. iniferably perverted by a Set of cowardly low-fpirited fuperftitious Expofitors, who make it criminal even in Men of Spirit and Quality to do Juftice to them- felves and their Characters, by punifhing the ill Man- ners of any little dirty Poltron that mail prefume to affront them, by running him through the Body, beating out his Brains, or any other fuch Ways and Means as have in all Ages been thought rcafonable and reputable, to fccure the Regard due to their Rank and Fortune, and chaftife the Infolence of their Inferiors. Whereas it is generally prefumed, that this Commandment was only intended to teach the lower and uneducated Part of Mankind to be quiet and peaceable in their Behaviour, not to be quarrelfome in their Cups, not to offer any outragious Acts of Vio- lence to the Difturbance of their Betters in any polite Aflembly, where the Little Vulgar are too apt to min- gle with the Great; as at Horfe-Races, Bull-baitings, Country Fairs, Wakes, Feafls, and Revels, by kil- ling or murdering one another, in a rude, clumfy, paffionate, butcherly Way. Be it therefore enacted, That if any Perfon, be- low the Degree of a Gent, bearing Coat-Armour for three Defcents, of which undoubted Proof mull be produced out of the Heralds Office, under the Seal and Sign-Manual of King at Arms, (hall prefume to kill or demolifh any of his Fellow- Sub- jects, upon any Sort or Kind of Provocation whatfo- ever, it fhall be deemed a Violation of this Ccm- ihar.dnunt, and he (hull be efleemed guilty of Murder. But if any Nobleman or Gentleman, qualified as above directed, mall exercife the fame Act of Vio- lence upon any Equal or Inferior, upon any juft smd the Ten Commandments.' 8 Sind reafonable Provocation, of which he himfelf fhall be the proper Judge, it fhall be confidered only as Manjlaughter ; and that it be an Inftruction to all Coroners, to give it in Charge to their feveral Inquefts to bring in their Verdicts accordingly With a fav- ing Claufe, in Favour of all Officers of the Army, who, being by their Profeffion, Gentlemen of Blood, fhall not be obliged to produce fuch Certificates from the Heralds Office, as are above mentioned and re- quired i but that a Regimental Coat, and a laced Hat and Cockade, fhall be to all Intents and Pur- pofes, equivalent to fuch Certificates and Teftimo- nials required to be produced by others. Always provided, that this Claufe, in Favour of the military Gentlemen fhall, by no means, be extended to the Officers of the Militia, who being a Kind of Mixtce. Perfona^ half civil and half military, are not obliged to look fierce, or appear terrible, to their peaceable Neighbours, but upon the Field of Mufter, or on a Day of Engagement in TotUll- fields^ or any adjacent Plain or Field of Battle, or upon being interrupted in their March through the narrow Streets and Lanes of this City, by faucy Draymen, Hackney-Coach- men, or fuch like Impediments ; If, on the Over- flowings of their martial Fury, - on fuch Provocations, they fhall take it in their Heads to kill. either Man or Beaft, they fhall, fo foon as they are diverted of their regimental Terrors and Accoutrements, and fettled in their civil State of Trade and Tranquillity, be liable to the fame Sentence of Guilt and Punifhment, as any other of their civil and peaceable Fellow- Subjeds. G 2 The $4 d PROPOSAL for Reviling, &c^ The Seventh Commandment, like the reft, could be only intended to fecure and promote the Good of the Public, by preferring the Order of Society, and difcouraging Luxury and Idlenefs among the lower Part of the People, who alone need or require fuch Reftraints to be laid upon them, as not having Senfe, Tafte, or Politencfs enough, to direct and govern themfelves. Should fuch People as thefe, give them- felves up to Intrigues and Gallantries, the necef- fary Expence, Application, and Addrefs, that fuch Affairs require, would have as fatal an Influence upon the Welfare of the Nation, as fufFering unqualified Perfons to poach and deftroy the Game. And, in- deed, to fay the Truth, it is the Opinion of my wor- thy Friend, Mr. Serjeant Fribble, that this Cafe comes directly within the Game-Aft. He aflerts, that all thefe IVJwt d'ye call ' ems , arc certainly fera nature?, however tame and tractable they may, on proper Oc- caftons, appear to their Keepers. And mould the in-, duftrious and laborious Part of the People be per- mitted to interfere with their Betters in thefe Diver- verfions, it would tend to impoverilh the induftrious and laborious Part of their People, by diverting them from their proper Employments, would be greatly detrimental to our Trade and Manufacture, ruin many Families, and increafe the Number of our Poor, fo as to be an infupportable Burden to the Landed Intereft of this Nation. But this ought, by no Means, to be extended to People of Figure and Fortune, whofe Exuberancy of Blood and Riches may require fuch Expedients to reduce them to a fober Degree of Mediocrity and Coolnefs j much lefs can U be fuppofed to affect our Governors and Superiors the Ten Commandments. 85 in Church or State, who, by the Nature of their fe- veral Offices, are prefumed to be the proper Judges of their own or their People's Neceilities, and are obliged to provide for both. Be it therefore enacted, &V. That if, from and after the Day of next enfuing, any Labourer, Servant, Artificer, or Xradefinan, or any Perfon under the Degree of a Gentleman, qualified as above directed, fhall wantonly and unadvifedly fo far negleil the proper Bufmefs of his Profeffion, and the Care of his Family, as to enter into any In- trigues or Familiarities with any other Woman, than Law and Cuftom fhall allow ; that is to fay, any married Man with any Woman, except his own lawful Wife ; or any unmarried Man, with the lawful Wife of any other Man ; he fhall be deemed guilty of the Breach of this Commandment. But it is hereby declared, that this Commandment does, by no means, extend to People of Fortune, Rank, and Quality, who may condefcend fo low as to beftow the Redundancy of their Blood and Fortune to the ennobling the Breed, relieving the Neceflities, and raifing the Fortune, of a clever, deferving, plebean Family, or the giving and receiving mutual Marks of warm Benevolence and Affection to their Equals or Superiors j efpecially if, by fuch Engraftment or Inoculation, the Breed fhould happen to be mended, and a booby Family, that have been Blockheads ever fince the Conqueft, mould vifibly and apparently im- prove into a Race of Wits, Smarts, and clever Fel- lows ; but more efpecially, if Matters can be fq managed, that the Hufband can, upon a valuable Confideration, be brought to confent to this Method G 3 of $6 A PROPOSAL for Revifing, fc?r. of improving the Genius and Fortune of his Family, it being a Maxim of Law and common Senfe, that Volenti non fit injuria. The Eighth Commandment appears plainly, by the very Letter of it, to be intended purely to difcourage thofe mean, pitiful, fniveling Rogues, that, in a far cret cowardly Way, cheat and defraud their Neigh- bours j fuch as Robbers of Hen-roofts and Orchards, Sheep-ftealers, Horfe-ftealers, Shop-lifters, and Pick- pockets j but can, by no means, be fuppofed to affect the open, generous, undifguifed Methods, by which Men of Genius and Penetration increafe their Fortunes, and fupport their Rank and Figure in the World ; it could never be intended for Men of Parts and Induftry, who are the great Supports of Civil Society ; it could never be fuppofed to condemn the improving thofe Advantages, which Men of fu- perior Abilities in the feveral States and Profe/fions of Life, have always thought themfelves intitled to, from the lazy, indolent, undifcerning, booby Part of Mankind, who want Talents to preferve or enjoy thofe Superfluities of Fortune, which Men of fuperior Genius want and deferve. Much lefs can it be fup- pofed to affect thofe who have the good Fortune to be the Directors and Governors of great Families, Provinces, or Kingdoms, who have an undoubted Right to all fuch Emoluments, Profits, and Ad- vantages which they {hall think fit and reafonable, to reward the Labour, Attention, and Time, which they are forced to employ in the Difcharge of their feveral Offices and Employments, for the Good of the Public. Be the Ten Commandments* $J Be it therefore enabled, &c. That if from and after the Day of next enfuing, any little pitiful Rogue {hall be found filching, ftealing, or felonioufly purloining any Sum or Sums of Money, any Piece or Parcel of Goods, cither dead or alive, whether Apples, Pears, Eggs, Poultry, Meat, Drink, or Wearing Apparel, Linen or Woollen Cloth, Sheep, Horfes, or Oxen, Fans, Gloves, Ribbons, or Pins, or any Piece or Parcel of Goods whatfoever, not exceeding the Value of ten Pounds'": Every fuch little Rafcal fo detected fhall be deemed guilty of the Breach of this Commandment. But it is at the fame time exprefsly provided and declared, That this fhall not be conftrued to extend to People of higher Stations of Life, nor to thofe greater Arti- cles of Lofs or Gain which may chance to be in dif- pute between them, efpecially to the feveral Ranks and Degrees of illuftrious Perfons commonly called, and known in all polite AfTembles, by the honour- able Title of The Knights of the Induftry. Nor fhall it extend to thofe whofe fuperior Skill in the Myfteries of the Law, Trade, Commerce, or ^Change-Alley^ (hall enable them to raife Eftates out of the Follies and Superfluities of their Clients, Dealers, Friends, or Correfpondents, becaufe they are thereby ferving and promoting the Good of Society, by tranf- ferring a Property in Lands, Goods, or Chattels from the lazy, ftupid, worthlefs Part of Mankind, who know not how to ufe, preferve, and enjoy them, and making them circulate for fome time, till at laft they fettle in the Pofleffion of fome notable clever Fellow, whofe Pofterity may come to be the Orna- ments and Supports of their Country ! Mch lefs G 4 ought $8 A PROPOSAL for Revifing, t3c. ought it to extend to thofe, who having the fecret Management and Direction of any Great Family, Company, Society, Membly, Poft, Office or Offices within thefe Realms, {hall fecure to themfelves fuch Emoluments, Salaries, Grants, Penfions, Profits, and Advantages, as have been always deemed the juft and reafonable Perquifites of their fevcral Ports and Offices, and which the fenfible and judicious Part of Mankind, who have been in the Secret of their Affairs can fcarce think to be a proper and fufficient Reward for all the Labour, the Vigilance, the Attention, the Application, and Integrity they have exerted in the Courfe of a long Adminiftration. The Ninth Commandmcrt feems, upon a general View, to be a very juft and reafonable Injunction, for fecuring the Credit, Reputation, Peace, and Welfare of private Perfons, Families, and Societies, by difcouraging and forbidding all falfe Evidence, malicious Lyes, abufive Stories, and injurious Fic- tions, that may tend to the Obftruction of Juftice, the Prejudice of any Man's Fortune, the Rujn of his Credit, and the Lofs of his Character j but it is thought reafonable and advifable to qualify this gene- ral Prohibition by three Salvo's or Exceptions in Fa- vour of public Minifters, Courts of Juftice, and Tea- tables. Be it therefore enacted, That from and after the Day of next enfuing, no Per- fon or Perfons fliall prefume to bear falfe Witnefs, or give falfe Evidence, before any of his Majefty's Juftices of the Peace, either in their Petty, or Quar- ter-Seflions, in any Caufe or Matter whatsoever, to the Obftruclion or Delay of Juftice, to the Prejudice pf the Ten Commandments. 89 of any Party, to the feveral Suits that may, from time to time, be brought before them. Nor (hall it be lawful for any Perfon or Perfons to contrive, utter, or publifh malicious Lyes, officious Falfhoods, or unjuft Reflections, upon any Perfon or Perfons, to the Prejudice of their Credit, the Lofs of their Cha- racters, the Grief and Difquiet of their Minds, or any other Kind or Degree of Lofs or Suffering what- foever, faving and excepting fuch Perfons and Cafes as are herein after excepted. That is to fay, I. That this Command mall not be deemed to extend to Court-Favourites, Royal Minions, Firft Minifters, Secretaries of State, Privy-Counfellors, Decipherers, Spies, Pimps, and Informers j nor to their feveral Officers, Servants, and Domefrics, who, by their Places and Stations, may reafonably be pre- fumed to be in the Intereft and Secrets of their refpec- tive Mafters and Superiors ; who could not duly dif- charge the Duties of their feveral Stations, if they were to be confined to the ftricteft Rules of Trutn and Sincerity : On the other hand, it appears, that political Falfhoods have in all Ages been found to be of fmgular Ufe and Benefit to Kings and Princes, as well as to their Countries and Subjects ; fuch as the difgracing and removing corrupt Minifters, and get- ting the Adminiftration into cleaner Hands, keeping out of the Royal Prefence and Favour fuch Perfons as would certainly make a corrupt Ufe of it ; the fup- planting Rivals and Competitors for Pofts of Honour and Truft about their Royal Mafter j the attainting and demolifhing a dangerous over-grown Subject, in prder to prevent his doing Mifchief, and getting his great Eftates and Riches divided amongft a Number of 9<5 A PROPOSAL for Revifing, &c. of honeft Gentlemen, who fpend their whole Time, and exert all their Faculties, in the Sen-ice of their King and Country. Now, as all thcfe FicYions, Inventions, and Falftioods, were intirely calculated for the Benefit and Good of Society, they have not the Form and Eflence of Lying, but arc to be confi- dered under the Notions of Feints and Stratagems in War : Do/ut an virtus quis in hcfte requirit ? Laftly, it appears plainly from Hiftory, that they have more than once been of excellent Ufe in pro- moting and procuring the unfpeakable Blefling of glorious and happy Revolutions in many Kingdoms and Countries j befides many other excellent and ufeful Purpofes, too long and too many to be particu- larly enumerated. 2, That this fhall not extend to any of his Ma- jefty's Courts in WeJlminJler-Katt ; where an Evi- dence, literally and materially falfe, may yet be in- tentionally and formally good, and anfwer all the Ufes and Purpofes of Juftice, Truth, and Cha- rity, by determining and finifhing a tedious, ex- penfive Suit, that would otherwife infallibly termi- nate in the Ruin of both Parties ; and, notwithftand- ing all Appearance of Injuftice and Cruelty, may be in its Confequences as great an Act of Mercy, as giving a Coup dc Grace to a dying Malefactor, which ihor^ens his Agonies, and at once puts him out of his Pain. 3. This fhall not be extended in its extreme Rigour to thofe little polite Aflemblies, called Tea-tables ; be- ca-ife, if they were ftri&ly confined to the Words of Truth and Sobernefs, and forbid thofe little Flights, Kxcurfrons, -an'd Deviations from Truth, which ge- 1 ncrally tie Ten Commandments. 9 1 inerally enliven and brighten the Audience, the Con- verfation would quickly grow flat and infipid, and the prettieft Orators in the Circle would be infenfibly de- prived of the Benefit and Freedom of Speech. And as it is univerfally known and acknowledged, that the dear Angels have no Gall nor Malice at Heart, no Spleen, Jealoufies, Emulations, Competitions, or Envy againft the reft of their Sex j but only utter the Overflowings of their good Senfe, good Nature, and Zeal for Virtue ; therefore, if any very pretty Crea- ture fhould, whilft fhe is cooling her Difh, or doub- ling her Bread and Butter, let fall any Word or Ex- preflion that has the Appearance of Invective or Satire, any Fling, Flirt, Hint, or Inuendo, that may feem to expofe or ridicule the Shape, Air, Mien, Complexion, Drefs, good Senfe, or Conduit of any of her pretty Fellow-creatures j in all fuch Cafes, they muft, and ought, and fhall be indulged in fuch innocent Liber- ties, which are apparently intended only to divert and inftrur, the Company, and difplay their own good Tafte, Wit, and Eloquence, in Oppofition to the falfe Tafte, the ill Manners, the Follies and Vices of the reft of their Sex. The Tenth Commandment appears to be quite unrea- fonable, if not abfolutely im practicable, being a di- rect " Contradiction to the great and fundamental Ar- " tide of natural Religion, which is TO FOL- LOW NATURE, /. e. thofe Inclinations, Pro^ " penfions, and Defires, which the Author of our " Nature has implanted in us, in order to determine " our Conduct and Behaviour; for to be fure he " would never have planted thofe Inclinations in us, *' if he had not defigned we fhould gratify them ; it * being 92 A PROPOSAL for Revifing, (j?c. ." being utteily inconfiftent with his Wifdoni and " Goodnefs to give us. Appetites and Dcfires, for no " other End but that we Ihould check and retrain " them *." Now let us put the Cafe, that a Man has no Wife of his own, and can find no agreeable Female that he could like to make his Companion for Life, or fuppofe him to be already yoked to a-four, The CONTEMPT of Writers, are well known to exprefs a very different kind of Guilt than can with Juftice be charged upon our Clergy. They were rather intended to exprefs the undue and illegal Ufe great Men and overgrowri Subjects made of their Wealth and Power, to influence their Inferiors and Dependents in Prejudice to the Freedom of Elections, and the Liberties of the People* who (efpecially in the Times of the Roman Common- wealth) had the Power of beftowing the great Offices of the State, by a Majority of Votes, on their moft deferring Fellow-citizens, of whofe Merit they were fuppofcd to be the proper Judges, in the Difcharge of which Truft they were to regard nothing but the real MVrit of the feveral Competitors. Whofoever, there- fore, made ufe of his Intereft or Power to create De- pendencies, or corrupt Influences to prejudice the In- tegrity of die Electors, and the Freedom of Elections, was faid Ambire -, and the Nature of his Crime was exprcfled by the Word Ambitus, againft which many Laws were made, with the fame good Intention, and the fame good Succefs, as our Acts of Parliament to prevent Bribery and Corruption. But can the very Ap- pearance of fuch a Crime as this be charged upon our Clergy ? Are our Bifhops chofen by the Votes of the Majority ? Every body knows the contrary : If not, what ground, what room is there for fuch an Accu- fetion? Well ! but (fay their Enemies) if they are not guilty of the Crime in this particular limited Senfe here explained ; yet (which is quite the fame thing) they are always coveting and aiming at the great Pofts, and honourable Offices in the Church, wateh- ing every Opportunity, and employing all their In- tereft the CLERGY ConfiJered. 107 tereft and Abilities to obtain them. Be it fo. Muft this be imputed to them as a Crime ? Is not this as great an Objection to every other Order and Society of Men as againft the Clergy ? Let us look into the Army, the Fleet, the Courts of Juftice, the City, the corporate Companies, and every petty Country Corporation in Great-Britain, you will find juft the fame Emulation, the fame Competitions, the feme Thirft of Glory, the fame Defire of Pre-eminence, as among the Clergy ; only with this Difference, that to them it is never imputed as a Crime, and to the Clergy always. Let us now confider the Equity of this Cenfure, and fee why the fame equitable Allowances fhould not be made for all alike. It is plain, that there are, there muft be, in every regular Society, different Offices and Stations adapted to the different Talents and Capacities of their Members. A State of direct Parity and abfolute Equality cannot be a State of Na- ture and Order, and can never fubfift but in- weak Heads and ftrong Imaginations* A Society without ibme fort of Government is a mere Em raticnis. Government without Laws, and Laws without a legifla- feve and executive Power is direct Abfurdity and Con- tradiction. Some muft govern, and others be governed : Some muft command, and others obey : Some mu& direct, and others fubmit to Direction, This is the very Voice and Order of Nature. Now then, if in everjr regular Society there muft be Offices of Eminence* and Diftinction, to be filled by the moft deferring 1 Members, for the Benefit and Support of the Whole j can it be a Crime in any individual Member to endea- vour to qualify himfelif, by fuperior Merit, for thofe fuperior IO8 We CONTEMPt of fuperior Stations ? and thereby recommend himfelf to the Notice and Eftcem of thofe who are able to ad* vance him ? Surely no. This is a laudable Emu- tion, or Ambition if you pleafe, infeparable from great and ingenuous Minds. This is the great Spur to J:i- duftry, the great Incentive to generous and arduous Defigns. Without this, Arts and Sciences, Manufac- 1 tures and Trades, Navigation and Commerce, and every Branch of focial and public Virtue muft lan- guifh and decay. The raw Apprentice fupports, with Chearfulnefs, a feven Years Servitude and Sub- jection, with the Hopes of being at laft his own Mafter, and of receiving the fame Honour and Service from his Juniors as he has paid to his Seniors. He fometimes fancies himfelf Warden, and then Mafter of his Company ; and at laft Sheriff or Lord-Mayor of the City. The young Cadet who lifts himfelf in the Fleet or Army without Pay, and feems to have nothing at heart but Glory and Drubbing, has no inward Affection for Wounds, and Scars, and wood- en Legs ; has no violent Paflion for Hunger and Thirft, Heat and Cold, long Marches, inhoipita.ble Quarters, bloody Battles, and defperate Sieges j but per Ardua is the Path to Glory and Preferment, a Regiment and a Truncheon, if not a Star and Gar- ter, are the ultimate Objects he has in view, which fweetens every Labour and Danger of that difficult and defperate Service. The young Student at the Inns of Court, that has the leaft Grain of Spirit and Genius, cannot help fancying himfelf capable of ob- taining the higheft Pofts in the Law, and therefore hopes and endeavours to deferve and obtain them. His Spirits rife, and Heart glows with a generous Ardor at thofe the CL'ERGY Confidered. 109 thofe Enfigns of Dignity and Grandeur, which at- tend the Lord High Chancellor of Great-Britain ; and not one in a thoufand is humble enough to fancy him- fclf uncapahjc of deferving and obtaining them. In fhort, this innocent Vanity, this generous Emulation is the natural Root, the real Ground of all political Virtue and public Spirit. It is this, and this only, that diflinguifhes the Generous and the Brave, the Learned and the Worthy, from the ignorant, the Lazy, the Indolent, and Undcferving in all Ranks, Orders, and Profeflions of Men, And muft that ge- nerous Emulation, which is the Glory and Support of every other Order and Profeflion of Men, be thought criminal only in the Clergy ! Muft they only be afraid to excel ! Does either Law or Gofpcl oblige them to renounce the great and honourable Offices peculiar to their Order ! The Apoftle tell us, i Tim. iii. I. This is a true Saying that if any Man defire the Office of a Bijhcp, he dcfircth a good Work. And there- fore the Defire of fuch an Office muft be a good and laudable Dcfiic. He proceeds to fliew what are the proper Qualifications requifite for that high Office; and furely it can be no Offence againft Modefly and Decency, for worthy Men fo qualified to endeavour by worthy Means to obtain the honourable Rewards of diftinguiflicd Merit, fupcrior Learning, Greatnefs of Mind, Probity of Manners, and Sanctity of Life. It was long ago obferved by &?/////?*, That the Defire cf Honour, and Glorv, and Power was natural, and * ^ a S^ r ^ m > honorem, imperium bonus & igna- vus seque hbi exoptant ; fed Ilk vcra via nititur, huic quia bonrc defunt artes, djolis atque fallacia contcndit. faff. therefore no tte CONTEMPT of therefore innocent The Virtuous and the Vicious, the Coward and the Brave, aim at the fame Thing ; the Difference lies only in the different Ways and Means u/ed to procure them. The Virtuous and the Brave expect and defire them only as the Rewards of fupe- rior Merit ; whilft the Wicked and the Worthlefs attempt to obtain them by iniquitous Schemes, and villainous Practices. Now if the Enemies of the Clergy can charge them with any fuch corrupt Me- thods of obtaining Preferments, if it could be proved that any Man among them had forfaken the plain di- rect Path of Religion, Virtue, Decency, and Honour, in Purfuit of Preferment, if any could be thought wicked enough to obtain, or attempt to obtain, the Fa- vour of the Great, by unworthy Prostitutions, bafe Compliances, infamous Jobbs, and dirty Services, let the Infamy and the Shame be all their own. But let not the Innocent be condemned for the Faults of the Guilty ; fuch a Perfon (if fuch could be found) would, I dare fay, appear as dcfpicable and contemptible to the reft of his Order, as he juftly docs to the Enemies of Religion. Let us now confider the Charge of Covetoufnefs, which the Enemies of the Clergy generally fix upon them, which (according to the beft Obfervations I could ever make) has but two flender Topics to fup- port it. 1. Their ftricl: Demand and Exadion of their legal Dues. 2. Their Endeavours to improve the Revenue of the Church, by raifing their Fines upon Renewal of Ecclefiaftical Leafes. Thefe the C L E B. G y Confidered. I j j Thefe are fuch poor Pretences to fupport fuch 4 general Infamy, that they fcarce deferve an Anfwer. As to the firft Article ; the rigid Exaction of their Dues is fo far from being a juft Ground of Reproach, that it is the direct contrary. They are bound by the ftricteft Obligation of Confcienee and Duty, more than by Interefl, to fupport their Title to the fmalleft Dues ; they would be Traitors to the Com- munity, unjuft to their Families, but moft of all to their SuccefTors, if they di(i not. The Clergy are not Proprietors ; they are no more than Stewards^ Guar- dians, or Ufufruttuaries of their Revenue? ; and as they have no Right or Power to alienate or fell their Endowments, fo they are under the ftrongeft Obliga- tions to maintain and defend, and (by all juft and. honourable Means) to improve and increafe them. The Lay-Proprietors of Eftates are at liberty to make what Abatements they pleafe to their Tenants, and are accountable to no body : Yet fhew me the Man that does not rigidly exact their Dues. How rigoroufly do they demand of their pooreft Tenants, the fmalleft Quit-rents, which a generous compaf- fionate Man could hardly have the Heajt to receive ? How punctual and exact is your opulent Neighbour, in demanding his Groats and old Hens of his poor Tenants, who want almoft the Crumbs that fali from his Table ! How unmerciful, a Cuftom does it feem for a j^qrd of a Manor, upon the Peath of a poor Tenant, t$ take from the difconfqlate Widow and Orphans the beft live Qood.s by way of Herriot ; when, inftead of adding to their Affliction, they ftiould rather be contriving Ways and Means to comfort and fuppor^ them ? Ye$ Ihew me one Man 1 12 The CONTEMPT of in a thoufand that neglects to take the Advantage, and make a Seizure accordingly. To this it is an- fwered, and very juftly, it is an A& of Royalty, annexed to his Manor > and he fhould be unjuft to himfelf and Family, and his moft remote Pofterity, if he fhould lofe fo valuable a Right for want of demanding it. Very right ! And now, pray (hew me a Reafon, if you can, why the fame Plea mould not have the fame Force in Defence of the Clergy, as it has for the Laity. In my Opinion, it ought to have much more : The Lay-Proprietors leave their Inheritance to their Children > and though they fhould drop fome fmall Demands, it would fcarce be felt by the Heirs that inherit their Lands : But the Clergy have nothing but the Ufe, and in many Places the Revenue arifes chiefly from fmall Dues. And, as the Son of Sirach * fays, He that defplfes (thefe) Jmall Things, Jhall fall by little and little into great Po- verty and Contempt. And when they die, the Pof- feflion is intirely transferred from the Surviving Family, who, perhaps, have nothing to fubfift them but the careful Gleanings of thefe fmall Things made by the departed Hufband or Father. The fecond Pretence is, that the Clergy are feverc upon their Tenants, in raifing their Fines upon re- newing of Church -Leafes. Sir Harry flourifhed much upon this Topic : He cannot digefl his laft Fine ; the Spirit of Grumbling is ftrong upon him ; and will not fuffer him to think, or talk, or hearken to Reafon. This (he fays) was fuch a Piece of Op- * Ecclus. xix. i. prcfHon, tie CLERGY Confidered. it| preffion in the Bimop, as he can never forgive } though we all know it is no more than he does to all his own Tenants, whenever they want to renew. So abfurd and inconfiftent are Men, even Men of Senfe, when blinded by Prejudice and Vanity 3 they condemn thofe Things in others, which they think excufable and commendable in themillvco. / reman* ler the Time, (fays Sir Harry) when Bijhops and Chap- ter Leafes were almojl as good as Free- Land - t then the Tenants of the Church profpered, and had an AffeStion. and Ejleem for their Landlords : But now they rack us up to the loft Shilling. Hold, Sir Harry not fo faft. They muft, I believe, for very obvious Reafons, be ftill the beft Landlords ; and if they could live upon good Words and fair Speeches, and the Affeaions of their Tenants, without taking any Fines, they would be much better ; and if they would take nothing at all, they would be better ftill. Pray, gi ve me leave to afk a ferious Queftion : If a Clergyman were to come to you to take a Leafe for three Lives of his Children, and the Widowhood of his Wife; How would you behave ? in what manner would you treat with him ? Would you have any Regard for the per- fonal Merit of the Purchafer ? Would you make him any Abatement in his Fine, upon the Account of his fuperior Learning or exemplary Piety, or woidd you indulge him in two or three advantageous Articles in his Leafe, purely for being a Believer and Defender of all the Articles of the Chriftian Faith ? Would you re- gard any thing but the real Value of the Eftate ? And would you part with it without a valuable Confidera- tion ? Afk yourfelf, and anfwer yourfelf. And give me a Reafon, if you can, why the Clergy ought to VoL - " I deal ii4 The CONTEMPT of deal better by you than you would do by them j efpecially, when you confider, that all the Intereft to the Family of the Pofleifor muft arife from fuch Con- tingencies as thefe during his Life-time. And that Clergyman, who, in the Decline of his Life, and perhaps ftrait Circumftances, {hall refufe to accept of an unworthy Confideration to fill up a Leafe to the Prejudice of his Succeflbrs, deferves to have his Statue erected, and his Family maintained, at the Expence of the Corporation of the Sans of ifa Clergy. The next Accufation againft them, is their fervile Application and Attachment to Men in Power. A fervile Application, and corrupt Attachment to Men in Power, is a Reproach to any Man of an in- genuous Spirit and liberal Education j but efoecially to a Clergyman, whofe Profeflion ought to make him as incapable of exerting a corrupt Influence on any Perfbn, or any Occafion, as of fubmitting to it from others : But a decent Reverence and proper Regard for their Superiors, who are prefumed to be the beft Judges of Merit, and beft able to encourage and re- ward it, is not only an Act of Juftice, but of good Policy and found Prudence. Da not Men in all Profeflions of Life do the fame ? Every Man that is blefled with fuperior Talents, and is not de* prefled by Want or Modefry, cannot help exerting that Superiority upon proper Occafions : And where can he fo properly or fo prudently do it, as under the Jnfpection of thofe, who are moft likely to obferve, diftinguiih, and reward it ? If there be really any Patron fo wicked, as to iniift upoji dishonourable Terms, tbe CLERGY Conjidered. 115 Terms to engage his Favour, and obtain Prefer- ment : If there be any Clergyman fo abject and cor- rupt, as to comply- with fuch Terms, let their Names be produced, let their Guilt be plainly proved, and let them be branded with all the Marks of Infamy and Di/grace, which fuch Crimes deferve. But let not the whole Order fuffer for mere Sufpicions of Guilt charged only upon a few, and detefted by a great Majority of the beft and moft valuable Men of their Order. It muft be confefled, that Men of weak Heads, and corrupt Hearts, have too often miftaken the true Nature of Gratitude, and have ex- tended it far beyond the Bounds of Reafon, Juftice, and Truth, who think themfelves bound to facrifice every Principle of Virtue and Honour, and every Conviction of Confcience, to thofe who have been, or promifed to be, the Authors or Inftruments of their Promotion ; who think themfelves obliged to facrifice their Souls to them that gave them Bread ; to follow their Leaders ; to obey every Word of Command ; and who, upon Non-compliance, are under the fame Terrors with the Gentlemen of the Army for Mutiny and Defertion. If any fuch are now in Being, we give them up, we have nothing to plead in their Excufe. They are detefted (as I faid before) by a great Majority of their own Order ; defpifed as infamous Tools, by thofe who employ them j and condemned by the impartial Judgment of their own Confciences, to whofe terrible Difcipline and Correction we leave them. Let us turn our Eyes to a more agreeable Pro- fpeL To Numbers of honeft, generous Hearts, who fcorn fuch abject Compliances ; who would J 2 prefer 1 1 6 The CONTEMPT of prefer honeft Poverty to difhonourable Promotion, and would fooner fubmit to a Livery and Shoul- der-knot, than to an infamous iVoftitution of Cha- racter. It is reported of Dr. Kidder, wlio was made Bifhop of Bath and IVelh, upon the Deprivation of Bifhop Kenn^ that he had once the Honour to be cnti rtained in a Great Man's Clofet, who propofed a Piece of Service to him, which threw him into great Perplexity and Confufion ; but after fome Recollection he begged to be excufed ; being prcfled over and over, he at laft abfolutely refufed. How, my Lord ! (faid the Great Man, in a great Paffion) do you reftife me ? Don't you confider that you eat the K g's Bread ? No, my Lord, (replied the Bifhop) I cat no Man's Bread but good Bifhop Kenn's ; and if he will but confent to eat his Bread himfclf, I will freely give it up to him this Mo- ment. The third Article of the Charge againft them is, thtir mifapplying the Revenues of the Church, and filling up their beft Preferments with their own Children, Relations, and Sycophants, without any Regard to real Merit. This is a loofe, general Accufation, and requires more particular evident Proofs to fupport it, than (we humbly conceive) can ever be produced. But, fuppofing it m a great meafure true ; can a Chriftian Bilhop give a better Proof of his reverend Efteem and Affection for the Church, than by devoting his own Children to that Service ? Is it not more for their Honour and Chriftian Reputation, than to raife Eftatw tbs CLERGY Cotijidered. Eftates for them by Parfiniony and Oppreflion, in order to fupport them in Ignorance and Luxury ? And ought it to he objected to them as a Crime, that they bcflow their beft Preferments (fuppcfmg the. Fact could be proved) upon their own Children and nearcil Friends ? Do not Nature and common Prude-ace demand it ? And ought any Man to be called partial and unjufr, for preferring his own de- ferving Children and Friends before Strangers, though apparently of equal Merit ? But it is infimiated, That real Merit is no Part of the Confuleration j That though they might, and perhaps ought to be, preferred before Strangers, (ctetcris paribus^) yet they prefer People of no Merit at all, purely for the Sake of Relation ; whilft others of real Merit and Charac- ter are negle&ed and difcouraged. This Objection fecins to be the Language of Disappointment and Re- fentment. It is more than probable, that when a good Preferment was vacant, there were more than one or two who thought it very convenient for them ; that they had Merit enough to defcrve it, and therefore Confidence enough to expect it ; who, upon being difappointed, would naturally think them- felves injured, and exprellcd their Resentments by de- preciating other Mens Characters, and exalting their own. The Bimop has, however, in this Refpecr, one certain Advantage, that he cannot eafily be de- ceived in the Character of his Clerk ; whole Talents, Education, Principles, and Manner of Life, he mufl be better able to judge of than of Strangers, whofe Merit rnuft depend chiefly on the Teftimonies of others ; and how unfairly fuch Teftimonials are too often procured, need not to be mentioned in this Place. I 3 I ii 8 *Tke CONTEMPT of I come now to the fourth Article, of Pluralities, Non-Re/idence, and Commendams : And, indeed upon this Head I muft needs fay, with the fagc Sir Roger de Cover ley *, Much may be faid on both Sides. They cannot be intirely defended, nor muft they be abfolutely condemned. They are in fome Cafes, not only lawful and expedient, but neceflary j and in others fcandalous and abominable. Where the Revenues of one Benefice are not fufficient to fupport the Dignity of the Office to which it is an- nexed, there it is highly juft and reafonable that a proper Addition fhould be made to fupply the Defi- ciency. This is particularly the Cafe of our fmalleft Bifhoprics ; they are not fufficient to fupport that Hofpitality, expenfive Attendance on Parliament, and decent Figure in Life, which are neceflary for Men in fuch exalted Stations ; and have therefore ge- nerally the comfortable Addition of fome Dignity or Benefice, which are held in Comrnendam. So far is juft and right. But to fee Men without any laudable Diftin&ion of Character or Station, groaning under a Load of Preferments, which they neither deferve nor become, is fcandalous and ftiameful. We fhall leave this Article to the ferious Confideration of thofe who are chiefly concerned, who enjoy this invidious Accu- mulation of Honours and Preferments : We beg them ferioufly to examine their own Hearts, with what Views, and on what Pretenfions, they firft fought them j by what Methods they obtained them, and what Ufe they make of them. If, in this Inquiry, their Hearts condemn them not, neither do we con- * Spectator 122. demn ibe CLERGV Confident. 119 tlcmn them : If they employ their large Revenues to the Glory of God, the Encouragement of Piety and Learning, the Relief of the Needy, and the Affiftance of the Helplefs ; the Teftimony of their Confciences, and the Approbation and Applaufes of good Men, will be an Overbalance againft all the malicious Cen- fures of thofe that envy their Profperity, and hate their Order. But if their own Hearts condemn them j if they and the World about them know that they fpend their large Revenues (which are committed to them as a facred Truft) in Luxury and Vanity ; if they are intirely directed by fecular Views and worldly Interefts j if their Hearts are fet upon Equipage and Show, making a Figure, and inriching a Family ; let fuch know they are unworthy of fuch Diftinctions, and deferve all that Contempt which is juftiy poured upon them, by the beft Friends as well as Enemies of their Order. But the general Charge againft the whole Body of the Clergy, is fo far from being true, that it is the direct contrary. And we dare affirm, that of the great Number of religious and learned Foundations, Schools, Colleges, Churches, and Hof- pitals, which are the Glory of our Nation, much the greater Part are owing to the Generofity and Munifi- cence of the Clergy, which appears from the Records of their relpective Foundations. I proceed now to conflder the general Charge againft the inferior Clergy, viz. Pride^ Pedantry^ Ill-manners^ Idlenefs y and Negleft of their Cures, &c. &c. I, who have parted through many Scenes of Life as a filent and impartial Spectator, have made it a general Remark, that Prlde^ Pedan- 120 The CON-TEMPT of fry, &c. are moft commonly charged by their Ene- mies upon the moft deferring ; and that Idlenefs and Negledl of their Cures are always charged by their Friends on the moft worthlefc Part of their Order. There are, without doubf, too many among them that too well dcfcrve thefe Imputations ; but muft all fufFer for their Sakcs ? Becaufe Jo/lice, TVrcatkock, and Carr, were Villains, muft all the Lawyers be fcnt tb Tyburn^ or the Plantations ! Becaufe there have been Murderers and Ravifhers among the Gentlemen of the Army, muft we therefore difband them, and fend them all to the D 1 ! No ; let the Guilty only b Condemned, let the rotten offenfive Member be cut off", that the whole Body perifh not. But let us come to a more particular Examination of this accu- mulated Charge, which the Enemies of the Clergy frequently alledgc to juftify their contemptuous Beha- viour towards them. It muft be owned, that the Clergy in and about Town, have no Reafon to complain of Contempt, they have their frill Portion of Refpccl and Efteem ; and in other Cities and great Towns in proportion. Whether it be that the better Sort of Clergy are ufually fixed in thofe large confpicuous Cures ; or whether they are more careful to fupport their Characters, where they know themfelves to be under the Obfervation and Cenfures of Men of 7'afte and Figure, but fo it is and the further you remove from thofe Places, you gradually decline to Barbarifm and Obfcurity. There are, to my particular Know- ledge, in many Country Villages, Clergymen of di- ftinguiflied Learning and Piety, who are, as it were, buried alive among the Vicious and the Ignorant, and in a manner excluded from all the Comforts of fociaj t$e CLERGY Confdered. 121 focial Life. And how fhould it be otherwife, except where the 'Squire or Great Men of the Pariih or Neighbourhood he Judges and Lovers of real Merit, And how often that is the Cafe, I leave you to judge. If the 'Squire happen to be wrong-headed, illiterate, fottiih, or profane, what can the poor Parfon do? Can there he any Agreement between Senfe and Non- fenfe, any Concord betwixt Virtue and Vice, any Communion betwixt Light and Darknefs ? If they fhould ever defcend fo low, as to invite the poor Vicar from his Solitude, Soup Afaigre, and Watch- li and from that Moment every thing takes a wrong Turn : The nioft innocent Word: and Actions are mifrepre- fented ^ 122 & CONTEMPT cf^ . fcnted ; and the moft general Reflections upon any. one Vice, even in the Pulpit, are interpreted as a Sa- tire or Libel upon the 'Squire and his Friends, who return him the Compliment of an unmannerly^ ill-bred Coxcomb. If, at any time, he fhould have the Cou- rage to interrupt a profane lewd Converfation, and with a decent Afliirance rally and expofe their Igno- rance, which is the real Root of Infidelity, if he at- tempt to reduce them from Rattle and Tumult, from lewd Jokes and loud Laughter, to cool and im- .partial Reafoning, to which they are abfolute Stran- gers, they cover their Confufion as well as they can, with an afte&ed Superiority of Tafte or Quality, of Front or Fortune, and ever after condemn and avoid the impertinent Reformer, for an infolent infupportable Pedant. When I was at Bath laft Year, I was invited by a Gentleman who lodged in the fame Houfe, to go and fpend a month with him at his Seat in Sorturfetjhire. \ readily accepted his Invitation, and went with him. We came thither on a Friday Night, and on the Sun- day Morning I was preparing to go to Church, which I always look upon as a decent Compliment to my Su- periors, who have been pleafed to make the ChrifHan Religion a national Eftablimment ; but my Friend took me out to walk in his Park, and mew me the Beauties of his Situation. The next Sunday he con- trived fome other Amufement to hinder our going to Church. There was indeed a Clergyman in the Houfe, who had quite laid afide his facerdotal Cha- rater, but acted in feveral Lay-capacities, as Valet- de-Chambre, Butler, Game-keeper, Pot-companion, Butt, and Buffoon, who never read Prayers, or fo much the CLERGY Confidered. 123 much as faid Grace in the Family whilft I was in it. Nay don't laugh, whatever my own Sentiments or Practice may be, yet you muft own my Charrcter is confiftent j I an all of a piece ; my fentiments and Practice agree, and I have a much better Opinion of a Man that pretends to no Sort of religious Principles, than I can have of one whofe Practice is a direct Contradiction to his Profeffion. This by the way. Upon my afking the Character of the Vicar, whofe Face I had never feen, or fcarce heard his Name mentioned, he was reprefented as a proud, unman" nerly^ four Pedant -, who could never be an agreeable Companion to People of Tafte and PoJitenefs. The next Sunday my Curiofity led me to Church, whilft my Friend {laid at home to fettle an Account with his Bailiffj where I had the Pleafure of hearing a very plain, rational Difcourfe, delivered with a decent Warmth, and a manly Authority. After Service, feeing me to be a Stranger, he prefled me in a very obliging Manner to dine with him, which I excufed, but took half an Hour's Walk with him in his Gar- den before Dinner, and quickly found him to be a very learned, well-bred, religious Man ; but one that was refolved to fupport his facred Character, and not proftitute the Dignity of his Function, nor his fupe- rior Underftanding, to the Vanity and Contempt of Ignorance and Folly. This was fufficient to exclude him from all the focial Comforts of good Neighbour- hood ; whilft a dirty Wretch, who feemed to live in Defiance of Virtue, Decency, good Manners, and clean Linen, was in a good meafure the firft Minifter and Director of the Family j always mentioned with the i -2. I ?"/>e CLERGY Conjidcred. *xzg ought to do, and to give them Affurance of Pardon upon their Repentance. At one tira he a/fumes an Equality with the chiefeft of the Apoftles; at other times he exalts himfelf above them all, and took upon him to correcl: one of them that happened to differ with him, with very fharp Language, even to his Face. This Ill-manmrs appeared in his Behaviour to his Betters upon all Occafions, when he flood before Felix and Drufitta j though he knew his Life was in Danger, he could not forbear throwing out feveral. un- mannerly Reflections upon them both, for their Man- ner of Living ; which was no other than has been fre- quently pradtifed among People of Famion in thofe Days, as well as fmce. The Truth of the Cafe was this, as it is related by Jofephus * : Felix was much a fine Gentleman, addicted to Gallantry and expenfive Pleafures, and by Confequence a little covetous of Money, in order to fupport them ; and being a Man of Spirit and Genius, he was above thofe fuperftitious .Regards to Confcience, and I know not what, which are ufually met with among Men of low Birth and mean Education. DrufiUa was a Lady of great Beauty and Quality, Sifter to King dgrippa, and married to jfstiuas, King of the Emefenians, who had confented to be circumcifed in order to obtain her. But Felix happening to fee her, fell paffionately in love with her, and being a Man of irrefiftible Addrefs, he never left till he had put her quite out of Conceit with an infipid, formal Tool of a Hufband, and perfuaded her to furrender up all her Charms to himfelf -, to which the compafiionate Lady, in mere Pity to a lan- * Ant. Lib. 20. c. 5. guifhing 126 Vie CONTEMPT of guifhing Lover, unwillingly confented. Well ! and what of all this ! How was the Apoftle concerned in this Affair? Could not he have pleaded his own Caufe, and told his own Story, without reflecting upon his Betters ! Muft People of their Diftin&ion be accountable to any body for a few Gallantries among themfelves ? He did not indeed dire&Iy charge them with the Crimes mentioned. No ; he was too cunning for that. It was all by Inucndo's, which has always been thought a fafe way of abufing one's Bet- ters. What elfe had he to do, to talk about Rightewf- ntft, Temperance^ and a Judgment to come! but flily to reproach them with the Want of thofe Virtues he was recommending, with an Inuendo that they would, without Repentance and Amendment, be infallibly damned in the next World, for their Gallantries in this ; and that in fuch rough and uncourtly Language, that frighted the Governor into a Fit of Trembling; and, no doubt, threw the poor Lady into Vapours and Palpitations. Had he or any body elfe took fuch Liberties in any Congregation in this City, cfpecially at the polite End of the Town, I queftion whether he would not provoke fome of the beft Men in the Parifh, and deftroy all his Hopes of Preferment. He was, upon another Occafion, as fancy to the High-Prieft as he was to the Governor, calling him whited Wall, a proverbial Expreffion for an Hypocrite, and threatening him with God's Judgments for his notorious Partiality and Injuftice. Godjballfmite thef t tbou wbited JVall\ forftttejl tbcu to judge me accenting to the Law, and commandejl me to be fmitten^ contrary to the Law ? Now can any Man fay that this was a de- cent way of treating his Betters ? The well-bred Preachers tie CLERGY Confident. 127 Preachers among us are afhamed of thefe indecent Li- berties ; they confider the Quality and Tafte of the Audience, and make ufe of fuch Topics and fiich Language as are leaft apt to give Offence, and moft likely to gain their Attention. With this a judicious polite Preacher might infpire the beft Part of his Au- dience with an Averfion and Abhorrence of almoft every Vice, by mewing them how deftru&ive they are to their Health, their Reputation, or their For- tunes ; and recommend every Virtue as a gented Ac- complifhment, and an eflential Part of good Breed- ing. Would it not, think you, be a fufficient Re- commendation of the Virtues of Meeknefs, Tem- perance, and Chaftity to every fenfible Lady in Great- Britain^ to (hew them how much they contribute to preferve their Health, their Shapes, and Com- plexions ! But to talk of Hell, Damnation, the Devil, Fire and Brim/lone (Words only fit for the Mouth of an Incendiary or a Highwayman) is indecent and (hocking to a polite Audience, and enough to throw the moft brilliant Part of the Congregation into Fits. So much for his Ill-manners, and his Pedantry was equal to it. A Pedant, we all know, is a mere any- thing : A mere Scholar, a mere Soldier, a mere Tar, a mere Fox-hunter j one that knows nothing, and can talk of nothing but his own Profeffion and way of Life. This particular Abfurdity runs through all his Writings. His Education, his Converfion, his Com- miflion, his Authority, his Faith, his Hope, his Cha- rity, and I know not what, are the great Topics in all his Epiftles. Nor was this owing to mere Infirmity or Forgetfulnefs ; but it appears to have been his fixt Resolution to perfift in it ; / determined (fays he) ta know 128 fie CONTEMPT of . know nothing among you jaw Jefus Chrift, and him cru- cified. Poor Man ! if he were to fet out among us with this Refolution, and nothing elle to recommend him, I could venture to allure him, it would do him but very little Service^ If he undcrjhod ^uadnlle^ ^l;ere a keen Sportj'tnan^ a good Bottle-Companion^ a notable Manager of an Eleflion, or thoroughly acquainted with the Myfteries of Stocks and Funds y it would contribute much more to his Credit among the Polite, and his Fortune among the difcerning Part of Mankind. This brings to my Mind a Converfation to which I was a Witnefs fome Years ago, betwixt two learned Divines, upon the Merits of a Book then lately pub- lifhed, to juftify the Refi/lance of Subjefts, &c. When they had fufficiently puzzled the Caufe, and each other, with Arguments taken from the Nature of our Conftitution, Magna Charta, and the Laws of the Land i the Advocate for Pafiive Obedience refolved to make fliort \Vork with the Controvcrfy, by quoting the 1 3th Chapter to the Romans. Upon which, his .Adverfary burft into a loud Lau the People of the Land take a Man of * Ezek. xxxiii. 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. their 140 be CONTEMPT of their Coajl, andfet him for their Watchman : If, when he feeth the Sword come upon their Land, he blow the Trumpet, and warn the People ; then whoever heareth the Sound of the Trumpet, and taketh not Warning ; if the Sword come and take him away, his Blood Jhall be upon his own Head. He heard the Sound of the Trumpet, and took not Warning, his Blood Jhall be upon him ; but he that taketh Warning Jhall deliver his own Soul. But if the Watchman fee the Sword come, and blow not the Trum- pet, and the People be not warned, if the Sword come and take away any Perfon from among them, he is taken away in his Iniquity, but his Blood Jhall be required at the Watchman's Hand. And if I had the making of fuch a Watchman, I mould have great Reafon to fear, that both his Blood and theirs too would finally be re- quired at mine. They are, Sixthly, Spiritual Guides. Now the kaft that could be expected from a Guide would be, that he mould have Eyes to fee, and Experience to know and choofe his Way, and Honefty enough not to miflead thofe who were committed to his Direction. If he were abfolutely blind, he would be abfolutely uncapable of doing his Duty ; if he had his Eye-fight, but were utterly a Stranger to the Road, he would be almoft as uncapable of guiding them, as if he were quite blind ; but if he could be fuppofed fo ignorant and fo wicked as to perfuade himfelf that there was really no fuch City as that to which they were travel- ing, and to which he pretended to guide them, and yet would undertake the Office, purely for the fake of the Reward, he would either lead them at random he could fairly leave them to fhift for themfelves, or the CLERGY Confidered. 141 or betray them into the Hands of Banditti and Rob- bers, who would join with them in the Plunder and Murder of the unhappy Travelers. Could any Punifh- ment equal the Guilt of fuch a treacherous Guide ? If the Blind lead the Blind, the Confequence is obvi- ous and certain j if the Ignorant lead the Ignorant, the Cafe is much the fame j but if Robbers and Mur- derers undertake to guide the ignorant and credulous Traveler, nothing but Ruin and Deftru&ion can enfue : And the Guilt will certainly reft upon thofe who had Authority to compel the poor Travelers to accept of fuch a Guide as they fhould appoint, and would refufe to allow them a better. They are, Seventhly, AmbaJJadors \ an Office of great Dignity and Truft, that requires great Abilities to difcharge it worthily, to the Honour of his Prince, and the Importance of his Commifiion. Now if fucli an Honour were unhappily conferred upon an unwor- thy Creature, without common Abilities and com- mon Honefty, judge you what a contemptible, deteft- able Figure he muft make. See him adorned with all the Enfigns of Honour requifite to give him Cre- dit and fupport his Chara6ler among Foreigners, a Royal Appointment for his Attendance and his Table, and whatever may contribute to fupport and adorn his Title and Commiflion: Should you fee this poor Wretch, when he comes into the Country to which he is fent, intirely neglect the Bufinefs of his Em- ployment, flutter about with his Equipage and At- tendance, and fpend his Salary in unworthy Company and Diverfions, what would you think of him? Or (hould he have Honefty and Senfe enough to go to Court, 142 7"^ CONTEMPT of Court, deliver his Credentials, and take upon him the Exercife of his Office ; which he had not Ability, or Integrity enough, to execute : Should he, through Ignorance or Cowardice, fo far proftitute the Dig- nity of his Character, as to difhonour his Prince, and facrifice the real Intereft: of his Country ; what Contempt, what Punifhment would he not deferve ? But mould he be yet more wicked, and excufe his Negligence to his intimate Friends and Bottle- Companions, by afluring them, That all this So- lemnity of Title and Figure were nothing but grave Farce and Banter ; that he had really no fuch Mafter, nor had received any fuch Commiflion, but was only adding a gainful Part for the Intereft, and by the Direction of wifer Heads than his own, for certain political Purpofes, which were not proper for him to own. A Suppofition fo monilrous can only be exceeded by the Wickednefs and Folly of an impious, unbelieving Clergyman, who pretends a Commiflion from God, whom in his Heart he denies, and difbelieves that whole Revelation, which the Devils believe and tremble at. They are, laftly, Stewards of the Myjleries of God. And we know that it is required of all Stewards, that they be ikilful and faithful in the Difcharge of their Office. Let not the Word My/ieries move your Spleen. Whatever you and I may think of it, it is, however, a good Argument, ad hominem. For f urcly it ought, in common Juftice, to be prefumed, that every Chriftian Clergyman believes them j or if he does not, that he would have Honour enough fairly to own it, to quit his Preferment and difclaim his Charader, tie CLERGY Confidmd. 143 Character, and deal as honeftly with the World as you and I do. By this Defignation of their Office, they are obliged to ftudy, and be able and ready to defend thefe facred Myfteries (as they fuppofe them) againft all Oppofers. They are to convince the fober and rational Inquirer, of the Ground and Neceffity of this Belief, and the neceflary Connection there is betwixt orthodox Faith, unprejudiced Reafon, and found Morality, in promoting all the Purpofes of true Religion here, and everlafting Happinefs here- after. Now, if an unbelieving Patron were to dif- pofe of a good Benefice, he would undoubtedly beftow it upon one of his own Way of Thinking, who be- lieved as little of thefe myfterious Articles as himfelf. Well ! how (think you ?) would fuch a Man behave in the Care of his Flock ? To be fure, he would never take Pains to preach fuch Doctrines, or prefs the Neceffity of fuch Articles as he did not believe himfelf. He might be too politic, perhaps, directly to deny or oppofe them ; for Negatives are untracta- ble Things ; and till the Boundaries and Fences of Orthodoxy be abfolutely deftroyed, and Chriftianity ceafe to be the Religion of the State, there might be fome Appearance of Danger j becaufe the Creeds and Liturgy of the Church are made by Act of Par- liament, Part of the Law of the Land : His Bufmefs therefore would be either never to trouble himfelf or his Hearers about fuch intricate Points j or if he did, to mention them with a philofophical Indifference, as Matters of doubtful Difputation, and to lay all the Strefs of their Duty upon thofe plain and obvious Duties of Morality ; upon which, the Sober and the Learned, in all Ages and all Nations, have been 144 be CONTEMPT cf agreed, That an upright, fober, polite Morality is absolutely neceflary to make us acceptable to God and Man. But if, after all, it mould appear (perhaps too late) that the My/leries of Revealed Religion ftand upon an eternal, unfhakcn Foundation ; that without fuch a Faith it is impofliblc to pleafe God j that the reverent Ufe of the two Sacraments, which depend abfolutely upon that Faith, is neceflary to Salvation ; which has been ftrongly and rationally debated by Men of great Learning and fine Understanding ; to whom, I muft confefs, I have never yet feen a fatif- faclory Anfwer : If, I fay, this mould at laft prove to be the Cafe, how Tad will the Condition of thofe Men be, who have had fuch a Teacher ; and what a faithlefs Steward of the Myfteries of God will he be found, who has all along difowned his having any fuch Things committed to his Charge ? And how far the Patron will be involved in the fame Guilt, I leave them to judge. Let us now confider the prefent State of Patron- age j efpecially in this Part of our Ifland, which is under Epifcopal Government. The great Patrons of all Ecclefiaftical Dignities, are, 1. The King. 2. The Lord High Chancellor. 3. The Archbifhops and Bifhops. i . The King is the fole Fountain of Honour and Dignity, in all Cafes, and to all Perfons, as well Ecclefiaftical the CLERGY Confidered. 145 Ecclefiaftical as Civil. For the Lord Chancellor, and their Lordfhips the Bifliops, being made folely by the King, may be confidered only as the King's Agents, or Deputies in Ecclefiaftical Promotions ; they being as fo many Pipes and Channels to convey the Royal Favour to thofe, who are too far removed from the Royal Prefence, to receive any immediate Comfort or Bleffing from it ; and who will be fure never to beftow it, but on thofe whom they know to be worthy. In this Refpect, happy, thrice happy is the Church of England, under the Patronage and Protection of a mo/l Religious and Gracious King ; whofe moft illuftrious Title is that of fupreme Go- vernor of the Church, and Defender of the Faith ; and who, confidered under either of thefe Characters, neither will, nor can do, any thing to the Prejudice of the eftablifhed Church. He cannot be infenfible, that that would be not only acting in Contradiction to his Character, as Head of the Church and Defender of the Faith, and to all the Engagements of his Coronation-Oath ; but fapping his own Authority, and deftroying the beft and trueft Support of his Au- thority and Government. I mean Conference and a juft Senfe of Religion. Now that can only be fup- ported among the People, by the Influence and Ex- ample of their fpiritual Guides. When they fee them living and acting, as well as talking like Chriftians ; when they mall fee them zealous of good Works, jealous for the Glory of God, and Interefts of true Religion ; not influenced by fecular Views of worldly Intereft or Power ; but defpifing and oppofing every Temptation that may be thrown in their Way, to dcfert or betray the Truft committed to their Charge : VOL. II. L Such 14.6 The CONTEMPT of Such as thefe will fhine as Lights in the World; the People that fee them will reverence and efteem them, will gladly fubmit to thtir Directions, and follow their Examples, and acknowledge that God is in them of a Truth, when they fee them live agreeably to their Characters, and bfelieve and pradtife tbemfelves what they preach to other;. But if a Prince fhouk! ever be fo unhappy as to promote a Set of covetous, ambitious, time-ferving Seekers, only to be the Tools of Power ; the Influence of fuch Examples on the Minds of the People, muft be prodigioufly evil, and the Credit of Religion muft fink to the fame Level with the Credit of its Teachers. Experience, there- fore, has (hewn, that it has never been good Policy, efpecially in England, to reduce the Credit of the Clergy ; and by confequence of Religion, too low in the Opinion of the People. Certain it is, no Laws can be framed, no human Authority can be fufficient to re/train ambitious, turbulent, and feditious Spirits. There is no Security like Confcicnce. When Peo- ple are convinced that Rebellion and Refinance of the fupreme Power is a damnable Sin, they will then be fubjcft not only for Wrath, but alfo for Confcience fake ; which the Clergy cannot inculcate with any Hopes of Succefs, further than their Credit with the Laity can engage their Attention and Regard. But if ever they fhould fee the higheft Dignities of the Church, conferred as A Reward for the moil obfe- quious Compliances with the Court, it will naturally weaken and abate that Reverence that is due to their EcclefiafHcal Superiors, they will be tempted to ima- gine, that every thing they fay to them is the Lan- guage of the Court, rather than cither Law or Go- 3 ipcli ike CLERGY Confidered. 147 /pel ; and therefore pay no more Regard to it, than they do to the Charge of a Judge at the Aflizes, who has received his Inftrudtions beforehand from the Court; and is particularly directed what to tell the Country. This infenfibly draws the freethinking and unthinking Majority into a Difefteem and Sufpicion of the Truth of Religion in general j whofe Founda- tion they can never think to be divine, when they fee it intirely played as an Engine of State, and directed by the moft corrupt Maxims of State^Policy. Hence they are perfuaded by Atheifts and Deifts to refolve all into Prieftcraft, directed by a fuperior State-Craft. This gives the full Reins to all Lewdnefs, Immora- lity, and Rebellion, where there is the leaft ProfpecT: of Succefs or Impunity. But even here, the State will find themfelves much miftaken in their Pplitics ; and that all their Schemes of Security from fuch a State of Things will end in Difappointment and Con- Dillon. For, if Religion were a State-Craft, it Would anfwer no political Purpofes, unlefs the People were taught to believe the direct contrary, that the whole was a Divine Inftitution ; and that the Clergy acted by virtue of a Divine CommiJJion, which they never will, nor can believe, whilft they fee the Go- vernors of the Church exercifmg almoft no Ecclefl- aftical Power, but in Dependence and by Direction of the State. No fenfible Man will call any thing Religion, but what he thinks to be divine; that is, commanded immediately by God : And that whatfo- ever is fo, is wholly independent and unalterable by any human Power whatfoever. And, to fay the plain Truth, this is it which has made fo many Deifts among the Gentry, and fo many Diflenters L 2 among 148 Vbe CONTEMPT of among the common People of England. The Dif- fenters, one and all, pretend to divine Commiffion, independent of all the Powers upon Earth ; there- fore the common People flock to them, and look upon the Church of England as a State-Religion, or a parliamentary Eftablifhment. And the Deijls y vvhilft they obfervc the Conduct of their Superiors, and the political Direction and Reftraints of Eccle- fiaftical Power and Difcipline, if they mould ever find themfelves fitting in Committees of Religion^ they can never think there is any Thing more divine in a controverted Point of Religion, than in a controverted Election j fmce both are to be deter- mined by the Votes of the Majority. Upon thefe Confiderations we are morally certain,, that a wife and religious Prince will never do any thing to the Prejudice and Difcredit of Religion, and by conle- quence will never fill the higheft Offices of the Church with Men of fuch Inability or ill Principles, as may difgrace their Order s and make Religion it- fclf contemptible. But fhould we, or our Pofterity, be ever fo un- happy as to fee a Papift, a Prefbyterian, an Heretic^ or an Infidel, on the Throne of thefe Kingdoms ; which God forbid ! But it is, by no means, an im- poflible Suppofition, for what has been may be ; and no human Prudence can forefee or prevent fuch a dreadful Contingency : In fuch a Cafe there is no Doubt to be made, but each would prefer Men of their own Principles and Complexions; Men that would ferve their Lufts, and gratify their Ambition i or at leaft fuch as would comply with every thing, and not dare to reprove their Faults, or tell them 3 their the CLERGY Confidered. 149 their Duty. By this means it would be in the Power of the vileft Favourites and Inftruments in Iniquity, to fell the beft Preferments in the Church to the beft Bidder ; though he had no other Kind of Merit, but that of giving a valuable Confideration. This muft neceftarily tend to make Religion appear to the undif- cerning, the illiterate, and injudicious, which are much the greater Part of Mankind, to be not only an empty Name, but a Cheat and Imposition upon Mankind, when they fee it fo proftituted to the vileft Purpofes of Lewdnefs, Ambition, and Cove- toufnefs. There is one Difficulty yet behind : It may fo happen that a well-difpofed Prince, of a moft gra- cious "Difpofition, and upright Intention, may yet he betrayed through an exceffive Eafinefs and Credulity, into an improper and unhappy Choice of Minifters, both in Church and State. A Prince that is re- folved to fee with his own Eyes, and hear with his own Ears, cannot eafily be deceived in the Choice of proper Perfons to fill the highefl Stations in both. But if, through Diffidence or Indolence, he dele- gates his whole Authority to a favourite Minifter, and refigns himfelf abfolutely to his Direction, he thereby makes him not only his Premier in Temporals, but his Vicegerent in Spirituals, with Confequences no lefs dangerous to his own Royal Perfon and Au- thority, than to the Intereft and Security of Church and State. In a Nation divided into Factions and Parties, which is too often the Cafe of all Nations, more or lefs, there will be perpetual Struggles for Power and Eftabliftiment ; and out of whichever Party the Minifter is chofen, he will naturally con- L 3 fider rfo Me CONTEMPT of fider himfelf as the Head and Reprefentative of that Party, whom he muft fupport and ftrengthen, that they may be able to fupport him j which can only be done by Power, and keeping up a good Majority in both Houfes of Parliament. And as the Bilhops arc known to have great Weight in the Upper Houfe, it is natural for him to prefer none but fuch as give him full Security for their intire At- tachment to his Perfon and Interefr. If, in full Confidence of his Integrity, upright Intentions, and public Spirit, he fhould determine to prefer none but Men of diftinguifhed Learning, Piety, and Cou- rage, he need never be at a lofs to find out proper Perfons fo qualified : But if he want a Set of Tho- rougbers (as Sir Humphrey PoUfwortb^ of immortal Memory, ufed to call them), fuch are always to be found in the Purlieus of a Court, waiting for Vacancies, and ready to accept them upon the Terms of their Patron. The Confequence of this muft quickly be, a Contempt of public Spirit and political Virtue, of good Learning, found Morals, and true Religion, as Things of no Ufe or Confideration to- wards procuring Preferment., which they lee folely beftowed upon political Confiderations. The Prin- ciples of the Minifter and his Party are digefted into a Kind of political Creed ; which is as abfolutely necef- fary for obtaining Preferment, as the Articles of the Chriftian Faith are for obtaining Salvation. I re- member I once faw the Form of fuch a Creed, drawn up in a late Reign, by a very merry Writer, to this Effea : / believe my Lard * * * to be the left and ifiifejl Man in England, the King only fxcfpttd; that all be fays is true, and all he does is jujl and right ; t " and the CLERGY Confidered. 151 end whoever thinks otherwife, is either a Knave or a Fool, an Enemy to bis Country and his own Interejt^ and deferves never to be admitted to any Office or Truft y Ecdefiajlical) Military, or Civil, from this Time forth for evermore. Anvn. Very concife ; but very comprehenfive 3 including every thing that is necefTary to be believed by any Man that intends to rife by the Intereft of a Party. I would not be thought to mean any particular Minifter or Party. Parties confidered as Parties are all alike : They differ only as a Black Bull may do from a 11/lrit.e one in Size, and Strength, and Colour. The ftrongeft is always in the Right, and the weakeft always in the Wrong, The fir-ft refolrcd, at all Adventures, to fupport it- felf j the other watching all Advantages to perplex their Counfels, to diflxefs their Adminiftration, and fet their whole Conduct in the moft odious Lights, in Hopes of procuring a Change, and getting the Reins into their own Hands. Upon the whole, we may venture to pronounce, that a wife and good Prince will never knowingly prefer an un- worthy Man to any of thofe eminent Stations in the Church ; and that a weak or irreligious Prince, or cunning Minifter, will never but by Chance prefer a good one. A projecting Head, a voluble Tongue, and a fupple Confcience, will be a more fuccefsful Recommendation than the Knowledge of an An- gel, the Piety of a Saint, or the Courage ,of a Martyr. The next great Lay-Patron is the Lord High Chan- cellor, who has a Right of prefenting to every Bene- fice belonging to the Crown, under the Value of L4 20 /. 152 The CONTEMPT of 20 /. per ann, in the King's Books. The Rcafon of this is generally faid to be, that he had formerly fe~ veral Clergymen conftantly attending him in the Ex- ecution of his Office, who were a Sort of Afleflbrs or Afliftants upon fome particular Occafions, as parti- cularly in Caufes of a religious Nature ; where, as Keeper of the King's Confcience y he was to determine, rather by the Laws of God and Revealed Religion, or Canon Law, (which, at that time, was cfteemed a neceflary Branch of Learning for every Clergyman) rather than by uie Forms of Civil or Common Law. On which Account, it has been generally thought, the Kings of England formerly ufed to prefer fome Bifhop of eminent San&ity and Learn- ing to that high Office. Thefe Clergymen always attended the Lord Chancellor, as thofe now do, who are called Clerks in Chancery ^ and who* were not permitted to marry, till a Statute was made on Purpofe to enable them, in the Reign of Henry VIII. And that the Lord Chancellor might be enabled to gratify thefe Clerks, he had the Privilege of be- ftowing thofe Benefices given him by the Crown. And a very great Privilege it is, as he prefents not only to feveral very valuable parochial Cures, but to feveral Dignities in Cathedral Churches, as Rochejlcr, Gloucefler^ Bri/lol, &c. which Preferments, as they were intended to be the diftinguifhing Re- wards of difringuimed Merit, were certainly never lodged in better Hands than they arc at prefent. If univerfal Knowledge, confummate Prudence and Ex- perience, and unatfecled Piety and Zeal for Religion, can give us any Security, we are morally certain that his Lordlhip can never prefer an ill Man, nor dif- countcnanco the CLERGY Confidered. 153 countenance a good one. I have been credibly in- formed, that when the Lord Chancellor FINCH was firft promoted to the Seals, he ufed often to fay, That the Patronage of Ecclefiaftical Preferments was the greateft Burden annexed to his Office , and that after many ferious and pious Reflections upon it, he one Day addrefTed himfelf to his Chaplain, Dr. Sharp, afterwards Lord Archbifhop of York, (whom he loved and trufted as a Friend, and honoured as his Con- feflbr and fpiritual Guide) to this Effect : The greatejt Difficulty, I apprehend, in the Execution of my Office, is the Patronage of Ecclefiaftical Preferments. God is my Jfftncfs, that I would not knowingly prefer an unworthy Perfon ; but as my Courfe of Life and Studies has lain another way, I cannot think myfelffo good a Judge of the Merits of fuch Suitors as you are ; / therefore charge it upon your Confcience, as you will anfwer it to Almighty God, that upon every fuch Occajion, you make the beft Inquiry, and give me the bejl Advice you can, that 1 may never be/low any Favour upon an undeferving Man which if you negleft to do, the Guilt will be in- tirely yours, and I /hall deliver my own Soul. The next great Patrons are the mofl Reverend the Archbifhops and Bifhops. And methinks there is at firft Sight fuch an apparent Congruity betwixt Eccle- fiaftical Jurifdidtion and Patronage, that I am often tempted to wifh, they had more Intereft and Power in this refpect, than at prefent they feem to have; that they had as much Power in the Government of the Church, as the Lords Commiflioners of the Ad- miralty, and the Commiflioners of Trade and Planta- tions have in their refpedive Provinces : Or, which is yet 1 54 ?be CONTEMPT of yet more to the Purpofe and comes nearer to the Cafe, 3$ much as the feveral great Companies of this Crty enjoy by virtue of their refpeclive Charters : At leafr, that they had as much under Chriftian Kings, as they enjoyed under heathen Emperors. Every thing that is venerable and facred is implied in the Office and Character of a Bifhop : Their Education, Courfe of Studies and Employment, fhould make them better Judges of the Merit and Qualifications of Clergymen, than Lay-Patrons can generally be fuppofed to be. Which gives us the higheft Security, that the Power of electing proper Perfons to fupply the feveral Vacan- cies in their own Epifcopal Colleges, and providing for the NeceiTities of the Church upon all emergent Occafions, can never be depofited in fafer Hands than their own. You cannot but remember, when I juft mentioned this in the Company, Sir Harry loft all Patience, and affirmed that they made as many un- worthy Promotions as any Lay-man of them all. He his Apoftles had Authority to preach and baptize, and to pronounce Remiffion of Sins, which is the Piicft's Office now j yet could they not perform that Office, peculiarly Epifcopal, of giving others a Commiffion to act with Authority in the Government and Direction of the Church. But when Chrift was rifen from the Dead, and ready to afcend into Heaven, then he enlarged the apoftolical Power, and gave them Authority to collect and fettle -Churches ; and give Commiffion to others, as he himfelf had given to them. ^ As my Father hath fent mtj even fo fend. I you. J And when be had fold this, * i Pet. ii. 25. t John xx. 21. J Johnxx. 22. he tie CLERGY Confident. 161 be breathed on them^ andfnid. Receive ye the Holy Ghoft. Signifying to them, by this Emblem of breathing on them, that they fhould, in a fhort time, be * bap- tized with the Holy Ghajl^ and be endued with Power from above after that the Holy Ghoft was come upon them. And therefore when they had received the Holy Ghoft upon the Day of Pentlcoji^ they began to col- lect and fettle the Church, and govern it by thofe Rules which they had received from their Matters and Founder. The Apoftles had hereby an additional Power to th&ir firft Commifllon. Their Mafter had fent them out to preach and to baptize in his own Life-time ; but now he fends them, even as he him- felf had been fent by the Father. It is certain they eould not be fent as Mediators and Redeemers as he was. f For there is but one Mediator between God and Man^ the Man Chrift Jefus. This new Commiflion^ therefore, muft be underftood only of the Authority of Government, Jurifdition, and Difcipline in the Church, which Chrift himfelf had received of the Father ; and of ordaining others to the fame Office, by virtue of their firft Ordination. Whilft Chrift continued with them in the Flefh, they had a Com- miffion to preach the Gofpel ; but by this laft, when they were to fupply the Place of their abfent Mafter, they themfelves alfo communicated to others, that Epifcopal Authority which themfelves had received from the Chief Bijhop, that there might be a continual uninterrupted Succeffion of Ecclefiaftical Governors to the End of the World. At the granting of which Commiflion, their Mafter gave them a folenin Pro- * Als i. 5, 8. f i Tim. ii. 5. VoL.H. M mifc 1 62 7*^ CONTEMPT of mife of his fpecial Blefling, Protection, and Afiiftancs for the due Difcharge and Execution of it through all Ages of the World, * And lo I am with you always to the End of the World > which as it could not be meant f>f his bodily Prefcncc, who was then about to be taken up into Heaven, muft ncceflarily be understood of his fpiritual Prefence, Authority, and Protection over thofe, who mould from thenceforth duly receive and worthily execute this divine Commiffion to the End of the World. Pardon me, I fee you begin to yawn at this folemn Account of Spiritual Power and Ecclefiaftical Autho- rity ; but we cannot help it; it is neceflary to clear the Foundation of our Claim, which can no other- wife be done than by appealing to our Charter, which, however it has been difputed, bantered, and ridiculed by the Enemies of the Clergy, flill fubfifts without Corruption or Mutilation ; it is in every body's Hands, and- by good Fortune has from time to time been ac- knowledged as an authentic Record by the Laws of the Land. It may perhaps appear but a dry Story to an unconcerned By-ftander. But to us, who are Par- ties deeply interefted in the Ifiue of this Affair, it ap- pears in a very different Light ; and what may feem to be wanting in fine Thoughts and elegant Language, is abundantly made up to us by ftrong and unqueft ion- able Evidence on our SUle of the Queftion. The Ex- amination of Charters and old Records has nothing very entertaining to a Man of a lively Fancy and fine Imagination like your own; but it gives a noble and rational Pleafure to the Counfel, as well as to the * Matth, xxviii. 23. Client, .t%e CLERGY Confi^ere^ 163 Client, when they fiiid there any thing that may de- termine a Difpute, by fecurirjg a Right pr Property Jin Pofleflion, or recovering a loft one. A Man in found Health, high Spirits, and an eafy Fortune, would find but rlittle. Entertainment in reading one of Freintfs pr Ratdffi's. Prefcriptions, or perufing a long Bill in Chancery; but. a Man uader a decaying Con- jftitution, a difputed Title, and an empty Pocket, would find more Beauties in the Prefcription of an able Phyfician, the Opinion of a fldlful Lawyer, or a Bank-bull of ioooV. than in 10000 the fineft Lines that could be found in Homer or VirgiL -This by the bye Here then you fee the Plan of a Divine Charter, a fpiritual Commiffion conveying fuch Privileges, guarded by fuch Immunities and Sanctions, as all the Powers upon Earth can neither give, nor alter, nor .take away ; a Commiffion not confined to this World^ not limited to any particular Period of Time, but ex- tended even to the next World, and the Interefts of Eternity, intirely djftin& from every Branch of civil and temporal Authority, and independent of it.- Miftake me not, I neither fay nor .mean that .the Cler- gy, as Delegates and Deputies under Chrift, and Go- vernors of his Church, are exempt from the Power of temporal Princes, and the Jurifdition of fecular Authority. By no means !- As Subjects, they owe the fame Obedience to the civil Power that all other Subjects do, and under the fame Penalty of Damna- tion if they refift ; for the Power of the Church is ^merely fpiritual. Chrift himfelf would never exercife any temporal Authority, neither gave he any fuch to his Apoftles, or their Succefibrs - t but the Power M 2 which 164 ' We CONTEMPT of which he himfelf exercifed upon Earth, and at his Affenfion into Heaven, gave to his Apoftles, and their Succeflbrs, was fuch a Power as the civil Magiftrate never had, and which could make no Encroachment on the temporal Prerogative. The temporal Power extends only to the Bodies and Goods of the Subjects - a but the fpiritual affecls neither of thefe, but the Soul only. The Power then of the Church and the State are intirely different from each other upon all Ac- counts : The firft is purely fpiritual, and exercifed only in fpiritual Matters, which are no Part of the Civil Magiftrate's Office, fuch as preaching the Word of God, adminiftering the Sacraments to fuch as are worthy, and fufpending and depriving of Communion the obftinately impenitent, abfolving penitent Sinners, and ordaining proper Perfons for the Execution of thofe fpiritual A&s of Jurifdiction. But the civil Magiftrate afts in a quite different Sphere, and in a quite different Manner. He ufes the Sword, and punifhes the Breach of temporal Laws with temporal Penalties, fuch as Fines, Confifcations, Imprifonment, Banimment, and Death. He may juftly punifh even penitent Sinners, whom the Church, upon their true Repentance, has abfolved from fpiritual Cenfures; and he may remit the temporal Punifhments due to impenitent Offenders, whilft they lie under the juft Cenfure of their fpiritual Superiors. The civil as weli as fpiritual Superiors may punifh for the fame Offences, but not in the fame Way : The former inflift tem- poral Punifhments, the other fpiritual : The former have the Power of the Sword, the latter of the Keys. In a Word, thefe two Powers are co-ordinate, per- fe&ly diftinft, and may very well fubfift the one with- out tbe CLERGY Confident 165 out the other. There have been, in all Ages, States and Kingdoms wifely governed, where there was no fpiritual Power, nor Society at all; and it is well known that the Chriftian Church, for full three hun- dred Years together, flood and profpered in the full Exercife of her whole Ecclefiaftical Authority, under the moft violent Oppofition, and cruel Perfecutions from the civil Power. But you will fay, perhaps, this is an indirect Way of denying or queftioning the King's Supremacy, which both the Scriptures and the Laws of the Land have declared, and which all Ecclefiaftical Perfons are bound folemnly to recognize, and acknowledge him. to be in all Caufes, and over all Perfons, as well Eccle~ fia/licalas Civil, in all bis Dominions and Countries fu- preme. By no means. We confefs and acknowledge, that all Perfons, of what Rank or Condition, State or Quality foever, are fubjcdl to the temporal Go- vernment under which they live ; and that the Clergy owe the fame Allegiance to the fupreme Power under whofe Protection they Jive, as the Laity do. The Apoftle's Command is general and abfolute, * Let every Soul be fubjefi to the higher Powers, without any Exception or Limitation. Nor does this Power de- pend upon the Religion of the Prince j for this Pre- cept was given when the chief Magiftrate was a Hea- then and a Perfecutor. Nero and Diodefian were as much intkled to it as Conftantine or Tbeodofius. Jefus Chrift himfelf, whilft on Earth, acknowledged and fubmitted to the Roman Governor of Judea, and paid Tribute f when demanded of him, as well as the reft * Rom. xiii. i. f Matt. xvii. 27. M 3 of 1 66 fkt CONTEMPT ef of his Countrymen. When he flood before Ponfius Pi!ate,he did not demur to the Jurifdic"Hon of the Court, HOT the Authority of the Governor; but freely con- feifed it, and that he had received it from God*. His Apoftles, and all his faithful Servants followed his Example in this Particular. Paul^ when he flood before Feflv.s^ to anfwer the feveral Articles exhibited againft him by the Jew s, declares f he flood before Cefar'j Judgment-Seat^ where he ought to be judged; and therefore pleads, J that neither againft the Law of the Jews, neither againft the Temple , nor yet againft Ce- far, had he offended any thing at all. Nay, the Rorticm- Catholics themfelves, who are not bigotted to the Court of Rome, have acknowledged all Perfons with- out Exception to be fubjeft to the civil Magiftrate. Thus the Faculty of Paris, Anno 1663, declared, that all Subjects owed fuch Allegiance to their King, that no Power upon Earth could, upon any Pretence what- foever, abfolvc them from it. And feveral of the Mif- fionaries in this Kingdom have made the likeDeclara- tions ; and would not recant, though they have been cenfured and excommunicated by the Pope for fo do- ing, as is evident from the Caufa Valeriana (publifhed at London by Peter Walfh^ a Francifcan Friar, and printed by y. Brome, 1684.) Let me give you from thence the Words of Part of a Proteftation made by the -R0;raz-Catholic Clergy of Ireland, fignified by a Bifhop and above twenty other Regulars and Secu- lars of that Communion. The Words are thefe: ffe profefe that all abjblute Princes and fupreme Magi~ ftrates, of what Religion foever they be^ are God?s Vice- * John xix. 11. f Als xxv. i o. J Adh xxv. 8. 3 gerentt /&*' CLERGY Conjidered. 167 gerents upon Earth, and to them refpeftivefy) according t$ the Laws of every Convnonwealth^ Obedience is due in civil and temporal Matters ; and for this Caufe we protejl againft all DoElrine and Authority to the contrary. So far we all agree about the Power of the Prince over all Ecclefiaftical Perfons. The greateft Difficulty is about Ecclefiaftical Caufes, and Matters purely fpi- ritual. Here the common Diftinction has its true and proper Ufe. He has Authority circa facra, but not infacris. He cannot ordain a Prieft, or confecrate a Church ; he cannot adminifter the Sacraments ; he cannot excommunicate an impenitent Sinner, nor ab- folve a Penitent, nor execute any Part of the facerdo- tal Office : Yet in the Direction, Regulation, and Protection of the Church and its Minifters in the Exercife of their refpective Offices, in enforcing the Ecclefiaftical Difcipline by the temporal Authority, and reftraining and punifliing ftubborn and obftinate Offenders with the civil Sword ; he has a great and fufficient Power in all fpiritual Caufes. He has alfb Power to judge of all Doctrines, and declare whether this or that Faith, or this or that Article of Faith, fhall be preached in his Dominions. I do not fay that fuch a Law binds the Clergy in his Dominions to an aftive Obedience j but if it be eftablifhed by the intire legiflative Authority, it binds all Subjects to a pajjroe Obedience ; they are obliged to fubmit to the Penalties inflicted by the Law, and not to refift the Authority of the Magiftrate by human Force. The fupreme Magiftrate mayabufe his Authority, by enacting what is contrary to the Law and Will of God ; yet the Sub- jects have no Right to judge him for it; that belongs properly to God, to whom alone all fupremt legifla- M 4 tive 1 68 *fbe CONTEMPT of live Powers are fubject. For the fupreme Power, in what Hands foever it is lodged, under what Form of Government foever it exerts itfelf, whether in a fingle Perfon, or a Community, can have no Superior upon Earth. To aflert the contrary is a direct Con- traction in Terms, and fuppofes that the fupreme Power can have a Superior to limit or control it. Saving, therefore, all the Rights of temporal Princes, it plainly appears, that the Church, as a purely fplritual Society in the Exercife of her fpiritual Powers, is intirely independent upon the State as it fubfifled fome hundreds of Years, in direct Oppofition to the greateft temporal Powers then upon Earth. Now it is eflcntial to every Society to be invefted with fuch Powers and Privileges as are neceflary for their Support and Security, and to promote the feveral Purpofes and Intentions of their Charter: As particu- larly that of choofmg their own Governors and Di- rectors : And, fecondly, of enacting and executing fuch Laws as may from time to time be thought ne- ceflary for the Good of the whole, to meet and con- fult upon all Emergencies, to cenfure, punim, and expel unworthy Members, and unfaithful Officers, and enforce, by proper Penalties, the Obedience and Sub- miflion of all the Members of the Society. Thcfe have been, in all Ages, declared to be the inherent ori- ginal Rights of the Church, which cannot, without Treachery, be given up, nor, without Sacrilege, invaded ; and that this was the uniform Practice of the Church, appears from every Part of its Hiftory. As the Well-being of every Society depends chiefly upon its Directors and Governors, becaufe they have he greateft Power to do Good or Hurt ; therefore, where //&/ CLERGY Conftdered. 169 \vhere the Choice of the Governors of one'Soeiety is in the Hands of another Society (as if the Church mould make Laws, and choofe Minifters for the State in temporal Matters j or the State vice verfa for the Church in Matters purely fpiritual) then is that So- ciety intirely fubjecl: to the other. And whereas no Society can fubfift without meeting and confulting about their Affairs, and giving proper Orders as Occa- fion fhall require ; if one Society cannot meet to con- fider of their own proper Affairs, nor enat Laws, nor give Directions for the better Regulation and Im- provement of the Society, without the Leave and Authority of another Society ; then is the former in a manner diflblved, and its Charter deftroyed, becaufe it fubfifts precarioufly as to the Exercife of any Power upon the mere Will and Pleafure of another. This is a Degree of Subjection to which the Rsjnan Go- vernors did never reduce the Church of the Jeivs ; for their High-Priefts and Elders, their Sanhedrim, or great Council, met whenever they pleafed, as we frequently find in the Gofpels and A6ts of the Apoftles. And fo we find the Chriftian Church always did, even whilft me was under a State of Oppreffion and Per- fecution. They constantly met together as Occafion required, to elect Governors and make Laws for the better Government of the Society, without any le*al or regular Interpofition or Reftraint from the civil Powers. I fay legal and regular , becaufe tho' perhaps they might be interrupted and hindered fometimes by the Tyranny and Violence of their temporal Superiors, yet that was no more than the moft regular and legal Convention may fuffer from the Violence and Op~ preilion of a powerful Enemy, or tyrannical Prince. Let 176 ^bc CONTEMPT of Let us Jfi-fl confider the original State and Inftitu- tion of Epifcopacy, and the conftant Methods of fup- plyin? their vacant Sees. The firjl Bijbop^ as I ob- ferved before, was JESUS CHRIST himfelf; The chief Shepherd and BISHOP of Squls, whc* at his Afcenfion into Heaven, delegated to his Apoftles the whole Power that himfelf had received from his Father. When the Aportle;; had for fome time exer- crfed this pifcopal Authority by themfelves, becaufe the Number of the Faithful daily increafed, and they themfelves could not live always, that the Church might not want proper Governors, inverted with the fame Authority, to fupply their Places, they ordained others, by virtue of their divine Commiffion, and fet them over particular Churches, that they might or- dain Prcfhyters, and govern their refpe&ive Flocks committed to their Charge. For as the Apoftolical Commiflion extended to all Parts of the World, be- ing authorized * to teach (or make Difciples of ) all Na- tions ; f to go into all the World^ and preach the Gofptl to every Creature : So it was i'mpoflible it mould be long fixed or confined to any one particular Place, and therefore it was necefTary that Paftors and Teachers fhould be fettled in every Congregation of Believers, who might continue to inftru& and teach them, to offer up Prayers for them in the public Ailemblies, adminifter the holy Sacraments, and perform all other facerdotal Offices among them : Hereupon J they or- dained them Elders in every Church ; that is, a Bifhop, with a competent Number of Prefbyters and Deacons to afliit him. It has been a Difpute among the * Matt, xxviii. 19. | Mark xvi. 15. J A&s xiv. 23. Learned, the CLERGY Confidered. 171 Learned, whether the Apoftles themfelves conrrituted any Archbifhops or Metropolitans. Dr. Hammond * fuppofes Timothy and Titus to be fuch f. Peter de Marca, the late learned Archbimop of Paris, declares himfelf of the fame Opinion, as does our late learned Bimop Beverid%e J. Whether their Inftitution was Apoftolical or no, it is however certain that it is of very great Antiquity. And the Nature of their Of- fice, though under other Names, frequently mentioned in the Afts and Canons of the moir antient Councils: Such are the Names Prhnates, and prhneefedis Epifcepi. Thus it is declared, in the 34th Apoftolical Canon, That the Bifhops fhall do nothing without the Pri- mate, except in their own Diocefes, nor the Primat* without the Bifhops. This was directly the Archie- pifcopal or Metropolitical Authority, though the Names of Metropolitan and Archbifhop were not in- troduced into the Church till the fourth Century. For the better underftanding of this, it will be ne- ceffary to obferve,' that the Reman Empire, which contained almoft all the known Part of Chriftendom, was, by Augujlus Cefar, divided into Provinces, which was afterwards a little altered by Adrian I. and after- wards by Conftantim^ but without any Change in the Nature of Government, only the Seat of the Prefident was removed from one City to another, and the Ex- tent of the Province enlarged or diminifhed. In each of thefe Provinces was one City called the Metropolis, or Mother City, where was ufually the greateft Re- fort, and the ordinary Refidence of the Governor of * Annot. Afts 1 1 . -f De concordia Sacerd. & Imp. JLib. vi. r. i. J Annct. ad Can. Apoft. 34* the ij2 Tkt CONTEMPT of the Province. The Apofties, who, by their Com- miffion from their Mafter, were obliged to profelyte all Nations, could not flay long in any one Place j but having difperfed themfelves into the feveral Pro- vinces, and made fome Numbers of Converts, they fixed a Bifhop in each of the principal Cities where they faw it neceflary, and gave thefe Bimops Com- miflion, as other Cities of the Province mould be con- verted, to fix Bimops in them alfo. The Apofties being very careful to fix the moft: extraordinary Perfons in the Metropolitan Cities, where was the greateft Occafion for Men of the moft eminent Gifts and Abilities ; this caufed the other Bimops of the Provinces to make their Application to them for Advice upon the moft important Affairs, and to pay a particular Deference and Refpccl: to them upon all Occafions. So that though all the Bimops conftituted by the Apofties were of equal Authority as Bimops, and therefore, when a new Bifhop was to t>e chofcn, they all met together to confecrate him, yet they ftill yielded a Precedency to the Bifhop of the Metropolis ; and fo they did when they aflembled to confult about any Affairs of the Church. This was found to be the moft prudent and convenient Method to prcferve the Unity of the Church in feveral Pro- vinces. All provincial Councils (and in thofe Ages there could be no other) always met in the Metro- polis of that Province. And as they were then un- der the Jurifdiction of the Metropolitan, they con- fidered him as the Prefident or Moderator of the S'eflion, to whom they paid a due Deference and Sub- jeftion. And as it was neceflary for the Bifhops to meet frequently upon the Affairs of the Church in every Province, the CLERGY Con/tiered. 173 Province, it was therefore neceflary that a Primacy ihould be granted to one of them, to fummon and convene the reft. I have been the longer upon this Article, becaufe it tends to explain the primitive Manner of ele&ing Bifhops into vacant Sees. Upon the Death of a Bifhop, the comprovincial Bifhops met together with their Metropolitan to ele& a new one. This we learn from the Council of Nice, which had veiy carefully examined into the Practice of the moft primitive Times, where it is decreed, Can. 4. That a Bifhop ought chiefly to be conftituted by all the Bifhops of the Province j but if this be too difficult, either through urgent Occafions, or the Length of the Way, yet three muft be prefent for that Purpofe, and have the Confent of the Abfent under their Hands, and fo to make the Confecration, But the Con- firmation of all Things to be done in the Province muft be referred to the Metropolitan. The Council of Laodlcea about the fame time decrees, Can. 12, 13, That Bifhops, approved both in Faith and Doctrine, fhould be conftituted for the Government of the Church by the Metropolitans and neighbouring Bi- fhops. Now though the Bifhops had the undoubted Right to conftitute other Bifhops upon every Vacancy, yet the People were not intirely excluded ; their Con- fent was generally afked, and they had the Privilege of making Exceptions to any Perfons nominated for Election : The Refemblance of which is ftill kept up in the Ordinations and Confecrations ufed in the Church of England - y though both here and there they are no otherwife cronfidered than as WitnefTes, and I not 174 ^ e CONTEMPT of not Judges, as the late learned Bifhop .obferves * Sometimes the Bifhops permitted them to nominate and recommend a proper Perfon, and if they found him defcrving, and duly qualified accord- ing to the antient Canons, they elected him ; if not, if they judged him unfit, they refufed him. It feems indeed, in fome Parts of Hiftory, as if the People commonly recommended fume Perfons to the Clergy, who chofe one, and prefcnted him to the Metropolitan and Bifhops, who they either confecrated or rejected, as they thought fit: But this was not a Matter of Right ; the People could by no means pretend tp claim it : It was a mere prudential In- dulgence, that they might be the .better pleafed and . fatisfied with their new Bifhop, as having given their own Confent and Approbation to the Election. But it is beyond all Difpute certain, that the Power of Election, as well as Confecration,. was intirely in the Bifhops, as it was originally in the Apoftles. As the Apoftlcs received and evercifed fuch a Power inde- pendent of the People, fo they conveyed the fame to the individual Persons of their SucceiTors. There are two remarkable Inftances of this in the Cafe of 77- mrtby and 77/z/j, to whom the Apoftle gives particular Directions and Inftructions with regard to their Or- dination of Bifhops in their feveral Provinces. The Commiflion to Timot/y is directly referred to in thefe Words, f T7)e Tfjingf which thqu haft heard of me among mqny IJ^ltruJJe^ the fame commit thou to faithful Men^ who flail be able to teach others. The Subftance of Antiq. Brit. Churches,/. 97. f zTim.ii. 2. Titus's tbe CLERGY Confidered. 175 's CommuTion is, * For this Caufe left I thee in Crete, that thou Jhouldjl fet in order the Things that are wanting^ and ordain Elders in every City, as I had ap- . pointed thee. In both thefe Cafes we find the intire Right and Power of electing and confecrating the Go- vernors of the Church, that each of them, in their fingle Perfbns, are exprefsly fpecified and directed in the Charge and Execution of it. In the firft it is plainly exprefled, Commit THOU, &c. In the fe- cond, and that THOU jhoitldji ordain Elders, toe.-- as I had appointed THEE. And as, in the Nature of Things, it was apparently jieceflary that the Church, as a Society drftincl: from the State, fhould have a Power of electing its ow Governors, which was inconteftably the original Practice of the primitive Church; fo.it -was equally neceflary that fhe fhould have a Power of convening thefe Governors upon any Emergency, for the more regular and convenient Exercife of her fpiritual Au- thority, fuch as the Ele&ion of Bifliops, the determin- ing Controverfies, cenfuring Heretics and Schifmatics, enacting Laws for the better Prefervation of Decency and Uniformity, and the punifhing obftinate and in- corrigible Sinners. And this, as appears from Hi- ftory, was the conftant Practice of the Catholic Church from the Beginning. It cannot be imagined that they would apply to the heathen Governors for Leave to aflemble upon proper Occafions to confult and provide for the Neceffities of the Church, and the Maintenance of a Religion which they hated and per- fecutetf, and would for that R^afon certainly have * Titus i, 5. refiifed if 6 The CONTEMPT of refufed to comply with any Requeft or Petition of that Kind. But when the Emperors became Chri- ftian, it cannot be doubted but that they promoted and encouraged, upon all Occafions, the Bifhops meeting together in Councils, and protected and af- fifted them with the civil PoWer^ in the Difcharge of every Branch of their Epifcopal Duty ; nor do I be- lieve it can ever be made appear, that they at any time attempted to forbid or prevent their Meeting, whenever they thought fit to aflemble themfelves. For as they were always ready to convene them MI general Councils, upon any notable Emergency, fo they neither did nor could prevent the calling pro- vincial Synods, which, by the 3> MCU TZ^y'ri'X.M TC1 P^l^UffVV^ '^lilj[/.EK)>' X^ U^ */jr/] "fayA l-MII^'f (3(4; TS? Afaflpini,; gyS^i^ew, x^ tsiyr^ UPS\/^ Ixvlof N 2 iSo ?^. 97, 98. a later Inftance is given, in the xivth Century, of John Catacuzenus the Emperor j and Part of the Speech is fet down, which he made to the Bifhops who were met for the Election of a Patriarch. He told them they ought to follow the roirov ) x nit A^M^atTHTOK w.ap/ca tcfonrciit'ui >yx) !j *Vieo OTrac - w Theod. Lib. IV. c.6. Steps the CLERGY Confidered. iffi Steps of the Apoftles and Fathers, who, being met together, invocated the Holy Ghoft, and implored the Grace of God to direct them in the Choice of one that fhould govern the Church according to his Will. He acknowledged that in Elections, great Errors had been committed, which Men were apt to excufe, as they did all their other Sins that were dear to them ; for it was certainly a mocking God, firft to refolve who fhall be Patriarch, and then to meet and hypocritically pray for the divine Direction and Af- fiftance. This he confefled he had done himfelf, and he did not doubt but his Predeceflbrs had done the fame ; wherefore he ingenuoufly confefled his Sin, and declared that he would never be guilty of it more. Then in France, he tells us, p. 190, 191. That when Pope Lucius the Second, to court the Favour of Lewis the Seventh about the Year 1148, fent him a Bull with a Privilege, that in all his Ca- thedrals he fljould difpofe of the firjl Vacancy^ and enjoy the mean Profits j he burnt the Bull, and faid he would rather burn io,OOO fuch Grants^ than have his Soul tormented in Hell-fire. And, />. 209, he tells us, That Alpbonfus^ Count de Tculoufe, did, about the Year 1 1 38, not only renounce, but condemn, the Exer- cife of temporal Power in Ecclefiaftical Cafes, which his Predeceflbrs had enjoined in his Dominions, and calls it that mojl wicked CuJJom of his Anceftors j by which they feized violently on the Goods of the deceafed Bifhops. One Branch of the Royal Power was the Prefentation to Bimoprics and other Church- Dignities. The other was the feizing the Revenues during the Vacancy -, and this was a Temptation to keep them long vacant. And both thefe Branches N 3 of 1 82 **tt>e CONTEMPT cf of Power were condemned and given up by thefe and feveral other religious Princes, as an Usurpation upon the Kingdom of Chrifr, though feme of their SuccefTors took it up afterwards, as they were other- wife inclined. I hope it pretty plainly appears what Sort and De- gree of Power the Church was originally inverted with, confidered as a fpiritual Society diftincl from the civil : And what the uniform Practice of the antient Church was in thefe two great Branches of Power in every Society, that of electing their own Governors, and enacting and executing their own Laws, for the better Direction and Security of the Whole, and aivfwering the feveral important Ends of their Inftitution. And that the Britij") Church was formed by the fame Model as a Member of the fame Catholic Church j that fhe enjoyed the fame Privi- leges, and exercifed the fan^e Authority, cannot (we prefume) be denied or difputed. That fhe was firft founded by St. Paul himfelf, the learned Bifhop StiUingJltet * thinks highly probable. And {he was acknowledged and recognized by TcrtuUian f and $0rig(ti. And, at the Council of Arles^ anno 314, we find three Brlti/b Bifliops fubfci ibing it ; Eborius Bifhop of York) Reftitutus Bifhop of London^ and Adelphius de Civitate Colonies Londinenfium ; but what Place that was, the Learned are not agreed. But it feems as if there were at that Time three Provinces in Britain, every one of which fent a Bifhop to this Council i fo that upon the Whole, one would ima- * Antiq. Brit. cb. i. f Contra Judaeos, c. vii. + In Ezek. Horn. 4. gine tie CLERGY Confidered. 183 g'me that there had been an uninterrupted Succeflion of Bimops in the Britijh Church from the apoftolical Times. As it was certain they fat in the Council of Aries, fo it is more than probable they fat alfo in the Council of Nice, upon many Considerations collected by the above-mentioned learned Writer * j from whence we may be fufficiently enabled to judge what was the Senfe and Practice of the Britijb Church at ihat Time concerning their fpiritual Privileges and Immunities. The Bimops there aflembled made twenty Canons for the Government and Difcipline of the Church, in which they partly reinforced the Ca- nons of the Council of Aries, and added fome new ones in which were particularly fettled the two grand Points of Ecclefiaftical Polity, i . The Election and Confecration of Bimops. And 2. The calling Pro- vincial Synods. The former is exprefsly declared in -the fourth Canon, which I have already quoted, That a Bijbop ought to be conftltuted by all the Bijhops of the Province, &c. By this Canon, the Govern- ment of the Church was now fettled under the Pro- tection, and with the Approbation, of the Emperor Conjlantlne.. The only Difficulty lies in this firft Claufe, What is meant by the Bijhops of the Province con/lituting a new Bijbop j whether the Right of Election is hereby devolved upon them, or only the Right of Confecration upon the Election of .the Prince or People, or both. Which is therefore fit .to be in- quired into, becaufe the antient Practice of the Britijb Church may be fully known, which we juftly prefume was agreeable to the Nicene Canon, which themfelves *. Antiq. Brit. c. iii. N 4 had 1 84 7be CONTEMPT of bad figned as binding to themfelves and their Princi- pals. And becaufe the Signification of the Greek Word is ambiguous, we muft fee what Senfe the Greek ^Vriters put upon it. Balfamon interprets x*6iro-S by 4*Jr*^a, which fignifies to choofe by Suffrage or Ballot j and he plainly affirms, that by this Canon the Right of Kle&ion is taken from the People, and given to the Bifhops of the Province. Zonaras and Bio/lares arc of the fame Opinion. It cannot be de- nied that the People had the Privilege of propofing and recommending Pcrfons to be chofcn, and of of- fering their Exceptions againft any Perfons whom on canonical Grounds they judged to be undeferving ; but all this was ultimately referred to the Bifhops and Metropolitan, who were to judge of the Merits of the PeriTons, and to elecl or refufc accordingly. If their Ex- ceptions were juft and well proved, the Bifhops, as Judges, were to proceed canonically againft them, and then they went to a new Nomination j but ftill the Judgment refted in the Provincial Synod. So in the l6th Canon of the Council of Antloch^ it is provided, that though all the People choofe one actually a Bifhop, yet if he takes pofleffion of his Sec, without a perfedl Provincial Synod, the Metropolitan being prcfent, he is to be caft out. But in no Synodical Act or Canon does it appear, that the Prince had any Right to ele& . or conftitute a Bifhop by virtue of his own Royal Authority. The fecond Branch of Ecclefiaftical Power, the calling Provincial Synods y was alfo fully fettled in this Council, and the Apoftolical Canon fully con- firmed, viz. that Provincial Synods be held twice a Year, in Lent and Autumn. Which we may therefore fairly conclude was the conftant Practice of the Britijh as well as other Chriftian Churches. 2 And the CLERGY Confident^. 1^5 And now I expect to be alked, if this were the origi- nal Inm'tution confirmed by innumerable Canons, and the uniform Practice of the whole Chriftian Church, how came it to be violated ? Who firft dared_ to in- vade thefe inherent Privileges of this fpiritual Society ? By what Artifice or Violence were they wrefted from them ? and by what Steps were thofe Encroachments made, of which (you know I fpeak for my Clients) they too iuftly complain ? Fair and foftly ! good Sir, we are got among the Briars, which muft be handled very gently, for fear of pricking our Fingers -The firjl Step towards it feems to have been an exceflive Complaifarice in fhe Governors of the Church to the firft Chriftian Emperors. The juft Senfe they had of their happy Deliverance from a State of Perfecu- tion ? under which they had groaned for three hundred Years, naturally threw them into Tranfpprts of Gra- titude and Joy ; and as they found their great Deli- verer and Protector moft zealoufly attached to the In- terefts of Religion, and the Security and Honour of the Church, they thought they could never mew too much Regard for him, who had fhewn fo much for them, which is certainly right. Yet through the Weeknefs of human Nature, the exceffive Venera- tion which the Biihops paid to their heroic Patron and religious Defender, whom they ought rather to have confidered only as an Inftrument in the Hands of God for their Deliverance, feems to have made fome Im- preflions of Vanity upon his Mind, infomuch that be- fore he himfelf was a Catechumen, he took upon him to write to the Bifliops with an Air of Authority, and the Language of Inftru&ion. Which Eufebius in his Life takes notice of: Even to myfelf(fy$ he) the Wri- ter 7^ and all other Churches. With many other Things to the fame Purpofe j and many excellent Reafons given for it, agreeable to the Sentiments of the Church in all Ages. Agreeable to which is the Declaration of St. Cyprian : f There- fore the Epifcopal College js large y and there are many * Lib. IV. Ep. 32, 33, 34, 36, 38. Lib. VI. Ep. 24, 28, 30, 39, &c. t Iccirco, (Frater chariflime) copiofum corpus eft fa- cerdotum, concordine rautuae glutine copu^atum, ut fiquis ex Collcgio noftro Haerefin facere, & gregem Chrifti la- cerare & vaftare tentaverit, fubveniant csteri, & qaafi paftores utiles & mifericordes oves dominicas in gregem colligant. (& infra) Nam etfi paftores -multi fumus, unum tamen gregem pafcimws. . Ep. 68. /. 178. 190 tt f CONTEMPT of Bi/hops joined together in the Bond of Unity, that if anf Bijhop of tht College Jhould propagate Herefy, and fa feek to tear and wajlf the Flock of Chrift, the rejl might mercifully interpofe for the faving of the Flock, and gather again the Sheep of the Lord into the Fold : For though we are many Pajlors, yet we all feed the fame Flock. And again, (fays he) * jfs there is but one Church through the whole World, divided into many Members ; fo there is but one Epifcopate diffused through the numerous Agreement of many Bijhips. Among thefe, in the vveftern Church, the Bifhop of Rome, as the Metropolis of the Empire, held the firft Place ; and therefore Applications were made principally to him in the Affairs of the Church. But for any fuch univerfal Supremacy as is now pretended, as if he were the ultimate and infallible Judge of Contro- verfy, it was totally unknown to thofe early Ages j in which, though there were many and great Contro- verfies, yet no fuch Appeal to the Bifhop of Rome is to be found in the Hiftory of thofe Times : And as it would (if believed) be the moft fummary Way of deciding Controverfies, there is no doubt but we fhould have met with it upon many Occalions, where fuch Decifions would have been thought ncccllary. However it came to pafs, the Bifhops of Rome did at laft, by the moft refined Policy, get themfclvcs to be acknowledged as univerfal Bifhops of the weftcrn Church i but, finding they could not main- tain their Ufurpations over all the Bifhops in the * Cum fit a Chrillo una Ecclefia per totum mundum in multa membr i divifa ; item Epiicopatus unus Epifco- pon m mulurum concordi numerofitate diffufus. />. 55. p. 112. Ed. Own. World, t&e CLERGY Confidered. 191 World, which they alfo claimed, without the Af- fiftance of the temporal Powers ; they were there- fore content to divide the Spoil betwixt them : They gracioufly vouchfafed to give them the Nomi- nation of fome Bifhops, and the Difpofal of the Revenue of fome Churches during the Vacancies, and fome Peculiars exempt from the Jurifdidion of the Bifhops, that they might defend and maintain the Papal Ufurpations over the reft ; both Sides erect- ing and enlarging their pretended Claims upon the Ruins of primitive Epifcopacy. To fecure this Point more effe&ually, Grothts tells us, * that Pope Adrian I. gave Charles the Great a Power to choofe and inveft with the Ring and paftoral Staff, (the Enfigns and Tokens of Epifcopal Dignity) the Archbifhops and Bifhops in all the Provinces of his Empire ; and that no Bifhop mould be confecrated that was not firft invefted by him. Though this Decree or Grant of Pope Adrian be generally efteemed by learned Men to be a Forgery, as being not men- tioned by any Ecclefiaftical Hiftorian, (as it certainly would have been) till about the twelfth Century, near four hundred Years after it was faid to be made ; yet it is undeniable that this Cuftom did prevail through France, Germany, and Italy, Spain % Hungary, and Britain, and the whole Latin World ; fo that for three hundred Years together, the Roman Emperors chofe all the Bifhops, Abbots, Deans, aad Prebends, in their Dominions, but upon a quite dif- ferent Account than this pretended Papal Decree. For all the great Dignities were poflefred of Lay-Fees, * De Imp. & fum, Poteft. dr. Sacra, <-. x. 24. or I9 2 Me CONTEMPT of or Temporalities granted by the Piety of forr.'.or Princes, for the better Support of their Dignity and Character. But fuch was the Nature of thefe Fiefs, that except they were made hereditary, which Eccle- fiaftical Fiefs never could be, upon the Death of any Feudatory, the Sovereign entered upon, and took pof- feflion of, the Fief, till he thought convenient to be- flow it upon fome other Perfon ; and this was what the feveral Princes, in their Difputes with the Popes about that Matter, always infifted upon, without ac- knowledging any Right or Grant from the Papal See for fo doing. So then, upon the Death of any Bimop, the Lay- fees or Temporalities fell of courfe into the Hands of the chief Lord, who had a Power to make a new Grant to whatever Perfon he pleafed ; and to en- joy all the mean Profits arifing from them till fuch Grant was made. Wherefore though, by the Cuftom and Ca- nons of the Church, the Election of a Bimop be- longed to the Clergy and People, together with the Metropolitan and Comprovincial Bifhops ; yet it ws at the Pleafure of the Prince whether the new Elect fhould enjoy the Temporalities of the Bifhopric or not, becaufe they reverted to his full Pofleflion upon the Death of the former Bimop. Upon which Ac- count, no doubt, the Electors were willing to quit their Right of Election to the Prince, on vvhofe Fa- vour alone the decent Maintenance and Support of his Dignity depended j or at leaft to elect the Perfon whom he mould nominate and invefl; well knowing that few Perfons would be willing to undertake the Epifcopal Burden, if there were no Revenues to fup- port it. By which means, it came to pafs, after the introduction of the feudal Tenure by the Goths and the CLERGY Confidertd. 193 Vandal^ it became a general Cuftom for all Sovereign Princes in the weftern Churches to inveft whom they pleafed with the Temporalities of vacant Bimoprics j and the Perfon fo inverted was confecrated by the Me- tropolitan and provincial Bifhops. This continued in the Church of Rome above three hundred Years, till Pope Hlldebrand fet himfelf to oppofe it, and others after him, and have brought it to the State in which we now fee it. The Confequences of this Method of Invefliture were very fatal to Religion. For Princes, efpecially the Politic and Irreligious (and fome fuch no doubt there were) little regarded the Virtues and real Merits of thofe whom they preferred to the higheft Stations. If a Clergyman had any Depend- ence on the Prince, or fome great Minifter of State, fo that he could do them Service in their political Schemes and temporal Affairs, this certainly advanced him to a good Bilhopric, without considering whether he were in any degree qualified for fo facred and im- portant an Office. So that Learning, Piety, Virtue, and Diligence in performing the Duties of their holy Function feldom recommended any one to Prefer- ment : But whoever had any Hope of obtaining a Bifhopric, applied himfelf rather to make his Court to the Prince, by Attendance and Dependence upon great Men, rather than by his Learning, Piety, or faithful Difcharge of his paftoral Duty j from whence fprung, in a great meafure, that Ignorance, Barbarifm, and other ftrange Corruptions, under which the Church fo long groaned before the Reformation. This occafioned many fharp Contefts between Popes and Princes, with various Succefs and different Confe- quences in different Countries, and they were forced VOL. II. O to L94- -?'bc CONTEMPT of - to make different Agreements, Compromifes, Con- cordats, about the dividing the Ecclefiaftical Spoil ; fo that there was hardly, in any one of the weftern Churches, an uniform Method of fupplying the va- cant Churches. But the Pope had generally the Cun- ning to referve the beft Share to himfelf, which ended in an intolerable Tyranny and Ufurpation, which, af- ter many Struggles and Contentions in the feveral na- tional Churches, too well known, and too tedious to be mentioned, gave a Handle to King Henry VIIL to give the rimming Stroke to the Papal Authority heie in England^ in which we are chiefly concerned. Upon throwing off the Papal Authority, inftead of rdtoring to the Epifcopal College their'original in- herent Privileges, of which they had been unjuftly deprived by the Bifliop of Rome y the Kins feized to- himfelf all that Supremacy in Ecclcfiaftical Matters, that the Pope had unjuftly claimed as a fupreme Bi- fhop or Vicar under Chriit himfelf: To which they were compelled to content by an Aft of Submijjion ; which has reduced them to a lower Degree of Sub- jedtion and Dependence than the moft inconfiderable Corporation in this City. The vuorjhlpful Companies of Pinmakers and Watermen have the Privilege of choofing their own Mafters and Wardens, of meeting in their common Hall, of making and enacting fuch By-laws (not contrary to the Laws of the Realm) as (hall be thought proper for the better Government of their re- fpeclive Societies, and of punifhing, by Mulcts, or Fines, or civil Incapacities, fuch of their Members as fhall act in Oppofition to the Authority of their proper Governors, and the Laws of die Community: lergy, confidered as a Body Corporate, 2 hu\ 9 the CLERGY Confidered. 195 have not the leaft Shadow of Power in the Choice of their Bifhops, unlefs you pleafe to except the Power of confecrating the Man whom the King fhall choofe ; /. e. Hobfen's Choice, which they dare as well eat Fire as refufe : Nor dare they meet in Convocation without the Royal Mandate, under the Pain of a Pre- munire. A Stranger to the Hiftory of England would think it incredible, that a Point of fuch Confequence could be carried without any Difficulty ; that the Body of the Englijb Clergy, which were at that time very con- fiderable,. on account of their Intereft and Riches, and by no means inconfiderable for Learning, as the State of Learning was at that time, ftiould fo eafily agree to ftrip themfelves of all Ecclefiaftical Power, and fubmit themfelves and their Succeflbrs to the Au- thority of temporal Powers j but we, who know the Temper of that Prince, can eafily account for his fuc- cefsful Management of that Affair. He had a parti- cular kind of Logic to convince, as of Rhetoric to perluade, tho/e who had not good Senfe enough to believe their Sovereign always in the right, f which Sir Harry Spelman gives us a notable Inftance in the Act for fupprefling Monasteries and religious Houfes under fuch a Value. * " It is true, faid he, " the Parliament did give them to him ; but fo un- " willingly (as I have heard) that when the Bill had " ftuck long in the lower Houfe, and could get no " PafTage, he commanded the Commons to attepd "-him in the Forenoon in his Gallery, where he let " them wait till late in the Afternoon, and then * Hiftory of Sacrilege, f. 183, O 2 " coming 6 tte CONTEMPT of coining out of his Chamber, and taking a turn or two among them, and looking angrily on them, firft on one Side, and then on the other ; at laft, I bear (faid he) that my Bill wit! notpafs ; but I will have it pafs y or I will Ltrue fome of your Heads. And, without any other Rhetoric or Perfuafion, returned to his Chamber." Any other Rhetoric I- What other Rhetoric could be expected ? This was Rhetoric and Logic too with a Vengeance! Their Eyes were immediately opened, and their Under- ftandings convinced, that his Majefty's Commands were highly reafonablc; and therefore they imme- diately pafled the Bill, and gave him all that his Soul defired. And there is no doubt to be made but that the Act of Submiflion was obtained by the fame en- gaging Methods of Conviction and Perfuafion. The Province of Canterbury complied immediately ; they were under the immediate Inlpc&ion and Rod of the Court : But the Province of York flood out for fome time, and drew up their Reafons for fo doing (a Copy of which I have fcen). Their Situation was at fa great a Diftance from the Court, that they thought they might have time to parley, and debate with their Governors, without any immediate Apprehenfions of Royal Vengeance ; but they found themfelves mif- taken, and were quickly made to understand, that it would be their wifcft Way to be as complaifant as their Brethren of Canterbury had been ; and accord- ingly, without any more ado (as Bi/hop Burnet tells- us *) they acknowledged the King as Supreme Head of tbf Church, andfolc Fountain of all Ecclcfiajlical Pnvtr, Hift. Reform. Book II. /. 113. The thg CLERGY Conftdered. 197 The King, in order to terrify the Clergy iuto this Adi of Submiflion, had revived fome obfolete Statutes, by which the whole Body of the Clergy were fued in a Premunire, for having acknowledged a foreign Jurifdiction, and taken out Bulls, and had Suits in the Legatine Courts, contrary to the Laws of Eng- land. The Kings of England did claim in their turn, as well as the Popes, more Power in Ecclefiaftical Matters than, by the original Conftitution and uniform Practice and Confent of the primitive Church, did properly belong to them ; and thefe Claims and De- mands on both Sides rofe and fell in Proportion to the Power and Ability that each had to fupport and de- fend them j fo that by Confequence many extraordi- nary Steps were taken on both Sides, which, on Chri- ftian and Catholic Principles, can never be defended, and therefore ought never to be drawn into Precedents upon other Occalions. Our Kings had formerly^ as Bifhop Burnet fays *, by their oivn Authority granted Inveftitures (which is certainly true) and made Laws relating to Ecclefiajlical Matters, Caufes, and Perfens. But this he (ays without Proof or Probability ; and I believe it would be hard to produce any fuch Law in Matters purely fpiritual, I mean relating to the Doctrine or Difcipline of the Church, made by the King's fole Authority, otherwife than by confirming and enacting into a Law by the civil Authority, the Judgment and Decifions of the Bilhops pafled in their Diocefan or Provincial Synods : For however binding the Decifions of the Church might be to Confcience, yet had they not the Force and Nature of Laws, till Ibid. O 3 con- j)8 tte CONTEMPT of confirmed by the Royal Authority, and enforced by temporal Sanctions. However, when the Popes be- gan to extend their Authority beyond the Limits af- figned by the Canons, they met with great Oppofition in England^ both in the Matter of Inveftitures, Ap- peals, Legates, and other Branches of their Ufurpa- pation. Upon which many Laws were parted to con- demn thefe Abufes, and reftrain the feveral Invafions of the Royal Prerogative. In the 25th Edui. III. a fevcre Law was made, that all that tranfgrelled were to be imprifoned, to be fined at Pleafure, and to for- feit all their Benefices. By a ffibfequent Ac~l, they were put out of the King's Protection. Several other Confirmations of this were made in this Reign, and under Rich. II. And the former Puniftiments were extended not only to the Provifors, but to all that were employed by them, or took Farms of them. And in the fixteenth Year of this Rich. II. a Law was made, that if any purchafed Tranflations, Excom- munications, or Bulls from Rome, that were con- trary to the King or his Crown, they, and all that brought them over, or that received and executed them, were declared to be out of the King's Pro- tection; and that their Goods and Chattels fliould be forfeited to the King, and their Pcrfons impri- foned ; and becaufe the Proceedings upon this were by a Writ called, from the moft material Words in it, Premunire facias^ this Statute carried the Name of the Statute of Premunire. Several Laws to the fame Effect were made in the Reigns of Hen. IV. and V. Thefe Statutes, which, in fpite of all the Oppofition made by the Court of Rome, and all their Endeavours to get them repealed, ftood in full Force, were now tie CLERGY Confidered. 19$ called forth to execute the King's great Defign of de- ftroying every Power that ftood in Oppofition to his dearly-beloved Supremacy. Under thefe Terrors the Clergy of the Province of Canterbury made their Sub- miflion j and, in their Addrefs to the King, he was called tke ProteElor and fupr erne Head of the. Church of England ; but ibme excepting to that, it was added, in fo far as it is agreeable to the Le CONTEMPT of contrary to this A&, he fhall incur the Dangers, Pains, and Penalties of the Statute of Provijion and Premumrf, made in the 25th Year of King Ed- ward III. In the Reign of Edward VI. fome Perfons, who, inftead of paring the Nails of the Clergy, were for cutting off their Arms, to prevent their doing Mif- chief, procured a new A, intitlcd, An Aft for Ele<- litn, and -what Seals and Stiles Jball be nfed by fpiritual Perfons ; which patted Nem. Con. to this Effect, That the Conge d'elire^ and the Election purfuant to it, being but a Shadow, fince the Perfon was named by the King, fhould ceafe for the future; and that Bi- fhops fhould be named by the King's Letters Patent, and thereupon fhould be confecrated, and fhould hold their Courts in the King's Name, and not in their own, excepting only the Archbifhop of Canterbury* Court, and they were to ufe the King's Seal in all their Writings, except Prefentations, Collations, and Letters of Orders, in which they might ufe their own Seals. The Contrivers of this A&, it is plain, de- figned nothing lefs than the intire Deftru&ion of "the Epifcopal Authority, by making them nothing more than the King's Minifters, a fort of Ecck-fidftical She- riffs, to execute the King's Will, and cliiperfe his Mandates, infomuch that they had % not the Power of conferring Orders, but as they were thereunto em- powered by fpcchJ Licence. I have been fhcwn a Copy of fuch a Licence, but of what Authority I can-r not tell. The King to greeting. Iffitrcas fill and tU manner of Jurifa'iciion, Eccleftajiica! as well as Cr'/7, flows from the King y as from the fnpr erne Head ef all the f y &c. We tbcrffirt give end grant t# i' Fowr tie CLERGY Confidered. 203 Power and Licence to continue during our good Pleafure, for holding Ordination within the Diocffe of N , and for promoting fit Perfens unto Holy Orders^ even to that of the Priejlhood. Whether this be genuine, I know not. Bimop Burnet, who mentions the preceding A61, takes no notice of this new Regulation, only fays in general, that the Office of Ordination was al- tered, without entering into the particular Altera- tions. Thefe Changes being thought, by Queen Mary, not only a dangerous Diminution of the Epif- copal Power, but an odious Innovation in the Church of Chrift, were repealed in the firft Year of her Reign, leaving the Bifhops to depend upon their former Claim ; and to aft in all things that belonged to their Jurifdi&ion in their own Names, and undet their own Seals as in former Times \ in which State they have continued from that time to this, without any legal Interruption. Many Attempts have been made, and Propofals and Reafons offered, for reducing the preient Power of the Epifcopate, as being yet too high j but furely they need no greater Reftri&ions than they are under already by the above-mentioned Ait of Henry VIII. with regard to Elections. For the Dean and Chap- ter are allowed to make no manner of Exceptions te the Perfon nominated by the King, but muft necef- farily elect him within the Time limited : Neither may the Archbifhop or Bifhops make any manner of Objection againft him ; but are obliged to proceed to Confecration. Nay, they are not permitted to delay this a few Days, that they may with all humble Sub- miffion reprefent the Unfitncfs of the Perfon recom- mended 204 ?&* CONTEMPT of mended to the highcfl Office of the Church, under the Penalty of a Premunire. Having thus far conftdered the fevcral Steps by which this Act of Submiflion was obtained, let us confider a little who they were that figned it, and how far their Succeflbrs, the reformed Clergy of the Church of England^ ought, in Equity and Con- Science, to be obliged or affected by it. The Con- vocation who figned it were Popifh Clergy, who had really incurred the Lafh of a Premunire, as the Letter of the Law then ftood ; and well knowing the Temper of their Monarch, and having no Inclination to Martyrdom, thought it their wifeft Way to make the beft Compofition they could for their Lives and Li- berties : And the Act of Supremacy was grounded upon it; for they had, in both Convocations of the twenty-fecond and twenty-fifth of Henry VIII. ac- knowledged him to be the fuprcme Head of the Church within his own Dominions j and, in confc- quence of thefe extraordinary Steps, Bifhop Banner took out a Commiffion for his Bifhopric ; as Arch- bifhop Cranmerdid afterwards in Edward IVth's Time ; a Copy of which is inferted in Bifhop .Bwrwrf'sHiflory of the Reformation* ; whereby they held their Bifhoprics during the Pleafure of the King, and owned to derive all their Power, even Ecclcfiaftical, from the Crown, Velui afupremo capite, & omnium infra regnum no/1 rum magljlratum fonte & fcaturiglne. And fever al others did the fame. But how could any Acts of this Na- ture be binding to their Succeflbrs ! The Clergy of the * Burnt?* Hift. Reform. /. 2. Collect. Record, to JJook I. H. 2. p. 90. 3 Church, fie CLERGY Confldered. 205 Church of'England, a fmgle Member of the Catho- lic Church, could, neither for themfelves nor their Succeflbrs, give up thofe inherent Rights, which were derived to them from their Head, as eflentiai to the whole Body ; and could no more make a new Head than they could make a new Body. Whatever ambitious Views the King might have in getting thefe Acts pafled (for his Vanity was equal to his Cruelty) yet when thofe about him came to reflect in cool Blood upon the Inconfiftencies and Abfurdities of thefe Proceedings, they were afhamed of them, and, by After-Explanations and Conceffions endeavoured to foften the apparent Hardfhip which was thereby laid upon the Clergy ; which I believe our firft Reformers, in the Height of their Zeal againft Popery, never in- tended. Thus, in the Commiflion which Cranmer took for his Archbifhopric, there is an Exception, Prater ff ultra eaquts tibi ex facris lit ens divinitus com- miffa e/Ja dignofcuntur^ i.e. Over and above thofe Powers and Authorities ivbicb the Holy Scriptures teftify are given to thee by God. Thefe the King did not pretend to grant, but only that which was over and above thefe ; that is, the Protection and civil Privileges annexed to their Office by the State. The Ecclefiaftical Jurif- didtion is confidered as a Court eftablifhed by the fe- cular Power, and Part of the Laws of the Land : And in this Senfe only can the King's Supremacy in all Cai4fes y and over all Perfons be reafonably and con- fidently underftood. And accordingly we find, in the fame Hiftory of the Reformation *, a Declaration made of the Function and divine Inftitution of Bifhops * Ibid. Addend. . 5. /. 321. and 206 'The CONTEMPT of and Priefts fubfcribed by the Lord Cromwell^ the Vice- gerent in ffirituatibusy the two Archbifhops, eleven other Bifhops, and twenty Divines and Canonifts, declaring, that the Power of the Keys, and other Church Funftionsy is formally diftinttfrom the Civil Power, &c. And * we have there alfo the Judgment of eight Bi- fhops concerning the King's Supremacy^ whereof Cran- mer was firft, affirming, that the Commijjion which Grrijl gave to his Church had no refyefl to Kings or Princes Powei- ; but that the Church had it by the Word ofGod y to which Chrijlian Princes acknowledge themfehes fnbjeft, They deny that the Commijjion which Chriji gave tJ his Cljurcb did extend to civil Power over Kings and Princes .' They own alfa that the civil Power was ever Bijkops and Pric/lsj as well as other Subjefls^ in civil Matters^ which the Church of Rome did detty. But they afTert, that Bijhops and Priefts have the Charge of Souls^ are the Me/engers of Chrijl to preach the Truth of the Gofpe/, and to loofe mid bind Sin, &c. as Chrijl was the MeJJen- ger of his Father ; which furcly was independent of all Kings and Powers upon Earth. So then, as our Laws now ftand, the Church is wholly independent of the State as to her fpiritual Powers and Authorities ; becaufe our Kings claim no other Ecdefiaflica! Authority than was granted by God to Kings in Holy Scripture ; and that was or- dinarily no more than a mere civil Power, though cxercifed over Ecclefiaftical Pcrfons who are fubject (as Chrift himfelf was) to the civil Power in all civil Things, and in Ecclefiaftical Caufes too, to pun if h with temporal Pains, as well Blafphemers, Idola- * Ibid. Coll. R^corJ. n. 10. /-. 1 77. the CLERGY Confidered. 07 ters, and Heretics, as Robbers and Murderers ; as well the Tranfgreflbrs againft the firft as the fecond Table. This was all that was ordinarily done by godly Kings in Scripture ; this was the Supremacy given them by God, and no more than this is attri- buted to our Kings, as is fully exprefled in the 37th Article, viz. That only Prerogative which we fee it have been given always to all godly Princes in Holy Scripture by God him/elf; that is, to rule all EJlates and Degrees committed to their Charge by God^ whether they be Ecdefiajlical or Temporal^ and to rejlrain with the civil Sword tbeftubborn and evil Doers. Thefe are the Words of the Article. To draw Precedents therefore from any extraordi- nary Acts of Mofes^ David, or Solomon, is a fallacious Way of Arguing; becaufe it is faldfucb Prerogative and fuch only as was ALWAYS given, and to ALL godly Princes, viz. to reftrain with the civil Sword. As to the Objection that David ordered the Courfes of the Priefts and Levites t and Solomon thru/1 out Abiathar from being a Priejl of the Lardy. I Kings ii. 27. they were extraordinary Acts of extraordinary Perfons. David and Solomon were hoth infpired Perfons. The; one a Prophet the other &, Preacher j and whatsoever they did by an extraordinary Commiilion from God, is no Precedent for the ordinary Power of Kings, Otherwife Kings may take upon them to preach, and. to confecrate Churches ; becaufe Solomon confecrated the Temple, and called himfelf a Preacher, they may eonfecrate Bimops, becaufe Mofes confecrated Aaron j. ua}', they may write Scripture for us becaufe they did fo. Thefe extraordinary Cafes, therefore, prove nothing as to the ordinary Exercife of Jurifdiction, and 208 T.2i, JP.54- P 7, from 2i2 The CONTEMPT of from the Beginning, Things were not as they arc now, and hopes that in due time they who have it in their Power will be difpofed to reftore what they unwarrantably detain, and fettle every Branch of Ecclefiaflical Authority upoa the Foot of Primitive Chriftianity. You will fay, perhaps, you fee no manner of Oc- cafion to expect or hope for fuch a Change ; that Things are in very good Hands already. I yitirely .agree with you that they are, and hope we (hall never fee them in worfc. You will tell me, as you .have often done, that we have had as excellent a. Set of Bifliops fmce the Reformation as ever we had before it. I confefs it and impute it to the particular Bleiling of Heaven, which has given us a Succefiion of gracious and religious Princes, who have made it their chief Concern to act agreeably to their glorious Character of Defenders of the Faith. But as it has been ever thought good Policy to guard againft the mofr. remote Dangers ; fo we mould think it an unfpeakable Addition to our prefent Happinefs to have thefe Points fo effectually fecured, that it mould .never be in the Power of a weak or a bad Prince to employ to the Ruin of Religion thofe Powers that have fo long been wifely and happily exerted for its Prefervation. Had the late King James fat long enough upon the Throne, it is not to be doubted but he would have filled all the vacant Sees with Men of his own Principles, whom, it is much to be feared, the federal Chapters would have elected without Opposition. There is a ftrange Fafcina- tion in Royal Favour, and tie Wrath of the King is. as the Roaring cf a Lion,. Anj no wonder, if Men, the CLERGY Considered. 213 who have not the Spirit of Martyrdom, are either wheedled or terrified into a Compliance with the moft extraordinary Meafures of an arbitrary Prince. But you will fay, fufficient Care has been taken by the Legiflature to prevent the Return of fuch a Danger, by unqualifying any Popifli Prince from inheriting the Imperial Crown of thefe Realms. True ! but this is not the only Danger to which we are expofed. The bed of Men, the greatcft of Princes are mortal ; and as the beft and wifeft of Men cannot forefee whether his Heir fhall be a wife Man or a Fool ; fo neither can he know whether he (hall be a Chriftian or an Infidel, a Catholic or an Heretic. And this we may depend upon, that what- ever Prince has the Power of filling the great Vacan- cies of the Church, will always take care to prefer People of his own Way of Thinking, and they of courfe will do the fame with thofe below them,, to the Dimonour of God, the Scandal of Religion, and the unavoidable Detriment of Church aud State. And if, in the Beginning of fuch an Attempt, the orthodox .and faithful Clersy, who fee the Approach of Infi- delity or Herefy, and would gladly do their belt to flop the Infe6tion, and prevent the Ruin of the Flock, {hall be forbid under the Penalty of a Pre~ miinlre to meet and concert proper Meafures for the Defence and Security of true Religion, the un- avoidable Ccmfequence mufl be an abfolute Apoflacy from Truth, and Eftablifhrnent of Iniquity and Error, and the Guilt of all that dreadful Train of Confe- quences that muft cnfue, will be defervedly fixed upon them, who did not exert the beft of their Power to prevent it. P 3 I 2H Vfa CONTEMPT of I expcR to have it replied, that moft Men, Princes efpecially, are too fond of Power to give up any the fmalleft Branch, or grant any thing that may feem to dip their Prerogative, and eclipfe their Gran- deur. But this, methinks, is an aukward Compli- ment to a Religious and Gracious Prince. How can you tell, till you have tried ? It will be Time enough to fit down contented, when, after a decent and proper Application, they mall refufe to reftore it. It is too fevere a Refle&ion upon any Man of Ho- nour, nay, of common Honefty, to fuppofe he would not readily give up any Kind of Pofleflion, if he can be convinced that he has no Right to keep it. Now, if the Guides and Keepers of any Prince's Confcience could convince him upon Catholic Principles, that he is poflefled of any Branch of Power, originally belonging to a diftin& Authority, we cannot doubt but it would have the fame Effect, as it had upon the late Queen Anne. She, after the Example of her Royal Predeceflbrs, had received the firft Fruits and Tenths of all Ecclefiaflical Livings, which, hav- ing been unjuftly ufurped by the Pope, as fupremc Bifhop, were, at the Reformation, with other Branches of Papal Ufurpation, vcfted in the Crown. But fo foon as that pious Princefs was, by proper Ap- plication, convinced that they were purely an Eccle- fiaftical Due, fhe at once remitted them to be applied to the Augmentation of poor Livings ; many of which, in the prefent low State of Ecckfiaftical Re-r venues, are hardly fufficicnt by the mqft frugal Ma- nagement, to /upport themfelves and Families from Poverty and Contempt. And why fhould we dcfpair of the fame Succcfs, if the prefent Cafe were juftly / f the. En* the. CLERGY Confidered. 221 Ends of the Earth ; give ear ye that rule the People* and glory in the Multitude of Nations : For Power is given you of the Lord, and Sovereignty from the mojl Highcft, who foall try your J forks, andfearch out your Coufifels, becaufe being Minifters of his Kingdom, you have not judged aright, nor kept the Law, nor walked after the Counfel of God, horribly and fpeedlly Jhall he come upon you ; for a /harp Judgment fhall be to them that are in high Places, for Mercy foall foon pardon the meaneji ; but mighty Men Jhall be mightily puniJJied. For he which is Lord over all JJjall fear no Man's Per- fon, neither Jhall he Jland in awe of any Man's Great- nefs : For he hath made the Small and the Great, and careth for all alike, but a fore Trial Jhall come upon the Mighty. Unto you, therefore, O Kings, do Ifpeak, that ye may learn Wifdom, and not fall away, \Vifd. vi. i Now If fo fevere an Account fhall be given for the Exercife of temporal Power and civil Authority, which is the Prince's peculiar Province, methinks it Ihould neither be confiftent with Policy or Prudence to add to his Burden, by taking to himfelf a Branch of Jurifdiction, to which he has no direct or imme- diate Call, and making himfelf thereby refponfible for all the Abufes of Ecclefiaftical as well as Civil Authority. All Princes find themfelves conftrained by the NeceiTities of Government, to divide the Ex- ercife of their Royal Power, by calling in the Affift- ance of proper Minifters to. act under them in the feveral diftinct Branches of the Adminiftration ; as the Army, the Fleet, the Finances, the Courts of Juftice. So, we humbly conceive, it would be no finall Eafe to temporal Princes to devolve the Care of EcclefiafUcal Aftuirs upon the Epifcopal College, whole 222 T&t CONTEMPT of whofe peculiar Province it was thought to be in the firft and pureft Ages, to provide for the Neceflities of the Church, or at leaf! (after the Example of the late King IVilllam) upon a felecl: Commiflion of Bifliops appointed for that Purpofe ; cfpecially con- fidering (as I fhall hereafter endeavour to fhew) that no real Advantage either to Church or State, lio real Purpofes of Government are ferved by the prefent Method. And now if it does appear that the Glory of God, the Interefts of true Religion, and the Honour and Security of the Crown, would be moft efteclually fe- cured by fuch a Difpofition of Things, it mufr, ^dfyy follow, That it will greatly contribute to the Peace and Welfare of the Public; for thefe three Articles are inseparably united in the natural Courfe and Order of Things. Where the Principles of true Religion are duly taught, believed, and praclifed, and all due Submiflion and Obedience to temporal Princes and Governors are paid upon Principles of Confciencc ; there feems to be little room left for Difcorcl and Con- fufion ; all is Harmony, Order, and Peace. But you will fay, perhaps, that I am arguing upon a chimeri- cal Suppofition of a State of Things not to be found in any Nation of the World : For that, in all Chri- ftian Countries, the Ecclefiaftical Supremacy and Ju- rifdi&ion is vcfted cither in the Pope or the civil Ma- giftrate, or divided betwixt both, as it is particularly in France. It may be foj nor can I, upon my own Knowledge, difprove it ; but I am informed, that the Kingdom of Sweden is an Exception. That the Re- formation there, after all the violent Struggles and ir- regular Steps taken on both Sides, before the grand 3 Defign the CLERGY Confidered. 223 Defign mould be efte&ed, was at laft fettled upon the foot of primitive Epifcopacy. That the King is perfectly abfolute in all civil Affairs, yet leaves the Church intirely free in the Exercife of her Spiritual Powers, particularly the Election of Bifliops, in which he intermeddles not at all. And I have fomewhere read or heard a remarkable Story of the late heroic King Charles XII. His Father, upon his Death-bed, had defired him, that, upon the Death of the Archbifhop of Upfal, the only Archbifhopric in that Kingdom, he would ufe his Endeavour to have one particular Bifhop, whom he named, and whom he much ad- mired for his Learning and Piety, to be chofen in his room. Accordingly the young King exerted all his Intereft for him; but the Bifliops, well aware of the Corifequence of accepting fuch Recommendations, rejected him, and chofe another. This the religious Hero was fo far from taking ill, that he excufed him- felf, on account of his Father's dying Requeft, for medding at all in a Matter did not concern him. All wife Societies know the Danger of admitting the Re- commendation of Superiors in the Choice of their Members, but efpecially their Governors, and pru- dently guard againft the certain ill Confequences that muft unavoidably follow. And the good Effects of that Agreement are very remarkable in that Kingdom; for they have there no DifTenters from the eftabjifhed Church of any kind, which is no fmall Advantage to the civil Government : In the next place, there al- ways fubfifts an intire good Harmony betwixt the Church and State. The facred and civil Powers are kept, as they are in their own Nature, intirely diftincl: and- independent, and fo can never interfere; and where 224 The CONTEMPT cf where there is no Ciafhing, there muft needs be an un- interrupted Harmony and Peace : And both Sides find their Account in it, from the mutual Exchange of fpiritual and temporal Benefits. The Church makes it her utmoft Care to inculcate Principles of Loyalty and Obedience to the civil Government, with a pe- culiar Authority over the Confciences and Affections of the People ; and the King takes care to protect and defend the Church, which he knows to be the beft Support of his regal Authority. Thefe are, and ever will be, the natural Confequences of this natural Courfe and Order of Things. Whereas the Era/linn Scheme, wherever it prevails, is a perpetual Source of Jealoufy and Contention, is big with Abfurdities too grofs to be juftified, and with Confequences too terrible to be thought of, and too dangerous to be neglected. Betwixt interfering Powers and claming Intcrefts, there muft of ncccflity be perpetual Jealoufies and Competitions. A King, who is fond of Power, and happens to have a very moderate Concern for Reli- gion, and the Intercft of the Church, (which is neither an impofliblc nor an invidious Suppofition ; for what has been may be) will be apt to look with a jealous Eye upon the moft juftifiable and legal Method of de- fending the one, and fecuring the other, as an Affront to his Crown r.nd Dignity, and an Encroachment upon his Prerogatives : He will be apt to interpret the, moft dutiful Rcmonftrance into Difaffection and Trea- fon, as the late King James did to the Fellows of MagHalen College. On the other hand, the Friends of the Church cannot help think injr, that the full Ex- tent of Royal Power in the Government of the* Church tU CLERGY Cofifidertd. 225 Church is an Incroachment upon her original and in- herent Rights, and are- therefore urrder perpetual Fears and Jealoufies, that one extraordinary Step may produce another j and that thofe who have already exceeded the due Bounds of civil Authority, may de- termine to fecure their Acquifitions, by fupprefling every thing that may ftand in their Way, and, inftead of being Defenders of the Faith, and nurfing Fathers to. the Church, may encourage or connive at thofe who are contriving the Subveriion of both. Now let any impartial Man confider what an unhappy Influence fuch a Train of Jealoufies muft have upon the Peace and Welfare of a Nation j it naturally tends to weaken and deftroy that mutual Confidence which ought to fubfift betwixt the Prince and People, and which is one of the ftrongeft Securities of any Govern- ment j and when that once comes to be diflblved, all tends to Ruin and Confufion : The beft and moft laudable Defigns are fufpected, and the moft innocent Actions mifmterpreted on both Sides. Neither Pro^ mifes nor Oaths are believed or trufted, and neither Side can think themfelves fafe but in the intire Sup- preffion and Subjection of the other. The leaft Know- ledge in Hiftory will inform us, that this has been the Ground of many terrible Contefts betwixt the Church and the Prince, efpecially where he happens to be of a different Communion from the eftablifhed Church, and yet muft have the Difpofal of Bifhoprics, and other Affairs of the Church, under his abfolute Direction ; can fet up Ecclefiaftical Commiffions in what Hands he pleafes, hinder Convocations from fitting and adt> ing, and what notr Of which we have feen too many Inftances at home, as well as abroad, efpecially in VOL, II. Q^ France^ 226 ?$ and the Popifh Church of France, if they had the Poflefiion as well as the Title of it. They may indeed be the Heads of an hundred different Churches or Com- munions, if there were fo many in their Dominions, as to the civil or temporal Supremacy, and Exercife, of the civil Sword in all Caufts, and over all Perfons, as well EidefiaJKcal as Civil. But to be the Eccleft- aftical Heads and Governors, or to have any Ecclefi- aftical Power or Authority, is utterly inconfiftent, and as great a Contradiction, as that all thefe Churches, Communions, or fpiritual Corporations {hould be one, They are all one Body in the temporal Senfe ; they are all Subjects, and fo have all one temporal Head, or Governor; but they cannot all have one Ecclefiaftical Head, or Governor, any more than they can be all one Ecclefiaftical Body, or more than the fame Perfon can Q.2 be 228 We CONTEMPT of be at the fame time the fpiritual Head of feveral di- flinct Churches or Communions. And as the Notion b in itfelf abfurd and contra- dictory, fo nothing but a Miracle can prevent the un- happy Confequenccs that will one time or other na- turally flow from the Practice j of which I mall men- tion three. The^fry?, is the utter Discouragement of found Learning, fincere Piety, Contempt of the World, unfeigned Zeal for the Honour of God and true Religion, which are the neceflary Qualifications for the Apoftolical Office. So long as it fhall be in the Power of a Court to difpofe of all the great and honourable Employments in the Church, it will be a conftant Temptation to worldly and defigning Men to recommend themfelves, by all the little Arts of Flattery and Addrefs, to the Notice and Efteem of thofe who have the fole Power to prefer them. And as it is morally impoflible for any Prince to enter into the real Characters of the feveral Expectants upon every Vacancy, fo he will be compelled to accept the Characters and Recommendations of thofe about him, who, in a Nation divided into Parties, will moft cer- tainly recommend to the Royal Favour none but thofe who have moll eminenthy diftinguifhed themfelves by their zealous Attachment to the Intereft of the pre- vailing Party ; which a Prince of courfe is taught to believe is the Security of his own Royal Perfon and Family, and the Support of his Crown and Dignity. This naturally tends to debauch the Minds, and cor- rupt the Principles of the Croud of Seekers -: They are tempted to defpife and difregard all thofe intel- klua! and moral Excellencies, which are the true and tfa CLERGY Confidercd. 229 and only Foundation of real Merit, which they fee difregarded by their Superiors, and have recourfe to all the mean unworthy Arts of Venality and Proftitu- tion, which they obferve to be the moft fuccefsful Methods of obtaining Preferment ; whilft the Learned, the Religious, the Generous, and the Uncorrupt, who cannot come aukwardly to cringe at a Levee, who cannot adjuft their Mufcles to the Direction of their Patron, nor facrifice their Under&andings and Conferences to every Turn of a Minuter, will be fore to fly from thofe Places, where they are fore to make a difagreeable Appearance, and fhut themfelves up from the Obfervation of thofe, from whom, at beft, they can expect nothing but Averfion and Dif- honour. And this cannot fail to produce a fecond Confe- quence, ftill more fatal and terrible. I mean the grofleft Ignorance and Immorality among the Clergy, and an intire Contempt of Religion among the Laity, which will quickly end in the Confufion and Diffraction of Church and State. Bifhop Eurnet^ in the fore- mentioned Hi/icry of the Regale^ gives us feveral In- ftances of the difmal Effects of this unhappy Con- duct. To this * he afcribes the intire Overthrow of the Greek Church, where it prevailed : The Em- perors^ fays he, took the Nomination of Bijhups into their own Hands, and then gave them either to fuch illiterate Monks^ as were much ejleemed for the Strittnefs of their Live*) but ivere Tools for any Dejigns on which they fet them^ or to fuch of their Courtiers or Soldiers that had merited bejl at their Hands. And by thefe Means were P. 75- 0.3 Ot 230 We CONTEMPT of the Greek Churches brought to that pafs for Ignorance and Corruption, that it is no Wonder they were given up bj God to fueh terrible Calamities as were brought upon them, frjl by the Saracens, and then by the Ottoman Family. And again he goes on, * In AndronicusV hng Reign, many Bijhops were put in and cut, to the great Scandal of the Church: Of which the Hijlorlan\ makes this Remark, Princes chofe fitch Men to their Charge, who may be their Slaves, and in all things ob- feqicious to what they Jhali prefer ibe, who may lie at their Feet, and not Jo much as have a Thought contrary to their Command. Na Wonder (continues the Bifliop) h brake out into fa fevert a Cenfure, when many were raifed t9 that Dignity who could neither write nor read. Now (hould we, or our Poftcrity, be ever fo unhappy as to fee the Clergy, by thefe, or any other Means, reduced fo low as to be contemptible in the Eyes of the People, A third Conference will follow.- All the Enemies of Religion, Peace, and Order, who have long looked with a malignant Eye upon the poor Remain- der of the Revenues of the Church, and long to de- vour the poor Pittance that has hitherto efcaped the Plunder of the Sacrilegious, will quickly unite to finifh the evil Work, which their unbelieving Fore- fathers began. They will not only aggravate every fufpicious Appearance, but even their own malicious Surmifes, into a Charge of the higheft Infamy and Guilt ; and then the Bulk of the People, who can only judge by Appearances and Impreilions made by thofe whom, they are taught to believe better Judges P. 97, I Nkephor, Greg. L. 7, than the CLERGY Confidtred. 231 than themfelves j they will hearken to every Calumny, and fwallow every idle Tale that may tend to ruin their Credit, and haften their Deftruction. This was the Cafe with regard to religious Houfes at the Time of their Diflblution ; the real Abufes in fome, which ought to have been reformed, and the imaginary Abufes in others, which ought to have been impar- tially examined j the Ignorance, the Luxury, and Immoralities charged in the grofs upon all thole reli- gious Societies, raifed fuch an outragious Spirit of Re- formation in the Bulk of the People, that they readi- ly lent a helping Hand to thofe who made the Cry of Reformation a Pretence and Cloak for the moft out- ragious Sacrilege, to the Difhonour of God, the Re- proach of Religion, and irreparable Lofs to good Learning. So at the Beginning of the great Rebellion t the real Faults and Indifcretions perhaps of a few Churchmen were aggravated, by the malicious Arti- fices of the Factious and Difcontented, into an abfolute Charge of infupportable Ufurpation, Tyranny, Ido- latry, Persecution, s<: . -not only againft the Perfons, but even the whole Epifcopal Order; whilft the Leaders of the Faction had nothing at Heart but Power and Plunder, which they purfued without Shame or Remorfe, to the Ruin of great Numbers of moft excellent and primitive Perfons, and the utter Subverfion of the eftablifhed Church. And mould it ever happen, for the Sins of this Nation, that the Ignorance, the loofe Principles, the irregular Con- duct, the immoral Lives, of a few Clergymen (who perhaps owe their Promotion purely to their Unworthi- nefs) fhould be improved by the Enemies of Religion into a popular Charge and Clamour againft the whole Order, 232 The CONTEMPT of Order, you will quickly fee the Harpies flying to the Spoil, and the Learned and Religious fuffering with- out Diftinc~rion from the lawlefs Rage of Infidelity and Sacrilege, for the Faults of their unworthy Bre- thren. Add to all this, that if there be a God in Heaven, which ruleth over the Kingdoms of the Earth, which you, and I, and every fober Deift, muft,upon our own Principles, believe and confefs, and which none but a Fool can deny or difpute ; it will then follow, that not only private Peifons, but Nations and Commu- nities, {hall b rewarded or punifhcd, according to their political Merit or Demerit : But in their politi- cal Capacity, they can only be rewarded or punifhed in this World, in which only they can fubfiil. It is therefore the ufual Method of Providence to puni/h the Wickednefs of Princes, the Iniquity of Courts, the Apoftacy of the Clergy, and Irreligion of the Peo- ple, by withdrawing his Protection from them, and delivering them up into the Hands of thofe whom he has appointed to be the Executioners of his Juftice. * For the Sins of her Prophet^ and the Iniquities of for Priefls, was JerufaUm^ the beloved City, delivered into the Hands of her Enemies, who flied the Blood of the Juft in the midft of her, and led her Children into Captivity in an idolatrous Nation. And the pre- fent deplorable State of the Eaftern Churches, groan- ing under the Mahometan Tyranny, mould be a fufficient Warning to others not to tread in theij Steps, for fear of their Punilhment. * Lam. iv. ip. Thefe tin CLERGY Conftdered. 233 Thefe terrible Confequences (we humbly prefume) cafily may, and only can, be prevented by reftoring the Order and Difcipline of the Church upon the foot of primitive Antiquity, and the univerfal Practice of the firft and pureft Ages, as we find them attefted by their public Acts and Monuments, which make the Election of their own Governors, and the Power of holding Synods upon proper Occaflons, to be con- fidered as her inherent and eflential Privileges, with- out which flic can neither execute nor preferve the Spiritual Authority, with which (he is intrufted, nor anfwer the great Ends of her Inftitution. Againft the firft, many Objections have been, and ftill will be, made by thofe who are engaged by In- tereft or Prejudice to oppofe the moft reafonable Al- teration. The firft is, That the Kings are Founders of all our Englifh Bijhoprics and have therefore the un- doubted Right of Patronage, to be/low them as they pleafe. This Objection has been urged by Men of Learning and Character ; but without a due Proof of the Fact, or Defence of the Confequence - } neither of which I take to be feaftble. That there were Chri- Jlian Bijhops in Britain before there were Chriftian Kings ^ we prefume, can hardly be difputed; and whatever Alterations Chriftian Kings might afterwards make as to the Places of their Refidence or temporal Endowments, it makes but little Alteration j becaufe we humbly conceive it does not appear by any En- dowment now extant upon Record, that any Prince ever ftipulated in Confideration of fuch Endowment, .or claimed for himfelf, or his Succeflbrs, the Privi- lege of electing either Bifhop or Abbot, in Exchange for the Temporalities with which he had endowed any 2 34 The CONTEMPT of any Bishopric or religious Houfe in his Dominions. If any fuch Claim could have been found, it might have been reafonably expected in Magna Charta-> where, after due Care had been taken for afcertaining the Privileges and Immunities of the Church, it is fcarce to be doubted but that the Prince who granted it would at leaft have inferted a Salvo ^ for the Privileges of himfelf and his Succeflbrs, in fo important an Af- fair as this, in which their Silence may be juftly con- fidcred as a Proof that no fuch Claim was ever made ; and that we fhould, at this time of Day, trump up a Tide for them, to which they never made any Pre- tence, (hews how much we improve in Civility and good Manners to the Court, to which we owe our Preferments, and how little Regard we have for the Church, whofe Miniftcrs we pretend to be, and whole Privileges and Immunities we are bound to vindicate. A fecond Objeaion is, That as they are Lords of Parliament and Privy-Counfellors, and enjoy many temporal Privileges annexed to their Sees, it is but reasonable that the King fhould have the fole Nomi- nation of them, for the better Security of their Alle- giance. To which it may be anfwered, It is highly reasonable that live Prince fliould have all poflible Se- curity for the Loyalty of all his Subjects, of whatever Rank or Condition (bever, fpiritual as well as tem- poral ; ajid that the Bifhops, as well as others, ihould have fuch reafonable Tefts upon them, as may be thought necdTary for that Purpofe. For their Temporalities they do Homage and Fealty to the King, to whofe Royal Bounty they confefs them to cc intirely owing. Suppofe, at the fame time, they were tbe CLERGY Conftderld. 235 were In a folemn Manner to renounce all Pretenfions to civil Power in the Church ; to limit or oppofe, by fecular Force, the Authority of the civil Magiftrate, though in facred Things, or over facred Perfons; yea, though they fhould think it unjuftly exercifed : What more than this could any Prince reafonably expect ? If he fhould, for his further Security, infift upon the abfolute Nomination of fuch Perfons, as had, by a long Train of obfequious Services, given him fufficient Proofs of an intire Submiffion to his Royal Will and Pleafure, he would find at laft, by fad Experience, this would in a gieat meafure defeat the only real Benefit he could propofe by fuch a Pro- motion. Their facred Characters, as fpiritual Guides and Confeflbrs, as well as Privy-Counfellors, would oblige them rather to advife in Matters of Duty and Confcience, than blindly to follow the Dire&ion of their Sovereign, and, like the falfe Prophet of old *, with one Mouth declare Good to the King, when they fee him going into wrong Meafures, to the Ruin of himfelf and his People. A Prince can have little Reafon to expect, that they, who have facrificed their Underftanduigs and Confciences to obtain Pre- ferment, will ever have Courage enough to hazard the Lofs of his Favour by a religious Adherence to the Caufe of Truth and Juftice. A very moderate Degree of Knowledge in the Hiftory of our own Na- tion may convince any Man, that thofe who have been Tools and Sycophants to obtain Preferment, will run any Lengths, and comply with any Changes, j# order to keep what they have got, or obtain what * 2 Kings xxii. 13. they 236 Tie CONTEMPT of they want, and would prove but miferable Comforters m a Day of Tryal and Adverfity. Whereas a Perfon chofen to that exalted Station by the una- nimous Vote of his Fellow-Bifhops and Clergy, with the Prince's Royal Approbation, for his fu- perior Knowledge, Greatnefs of Soul, and Sanctity of Life, would thereby give him the greateft Se- curity, that he would fcorn to miflead him by his Advice, Approbation, or Silence into all Meafures, or betray or forfuke him in the Profecution of good ones, A third Obje&ion, which never fails to be made on this Occalion, is fetting up Imperium in Imperio ; which is a mere Jingle of Words, without any Mean- ing. A Church abfolutely independent of the State, in Things civil as well as facred, would indeed be fetting up one Power and Government within another, perpetually claming and interfering, which, without doubt, would produce nothing but Confufion. But whilft the facred and civil Powers run each in their proper Channels, they will be like two parallel Lines, that never can meet or interfere, but are perfectly confident and affiftant to each other. Every Crime is a Violation of the Laws of God, as well as the Laws of the Community. Ami every Criminal, con- fidered as a Member of the Church as well as of the State, is in a different Manner, and on a different Account, refponfible to two diflincl Tribunals, the one to punilh the Body, and the other the Soul. Thus for TreafoKy Thrft, or Murder^ which are for- bitklen both by the Laws of God and Man ; neither their Sentence nor Absolutions are at all interfering or inconfiftent with one another. The Criminal may he the CLERGY Confidered. 237 be pardoned by the State, and yet cenfured and ex- communicated by the Church ; or he may, upon his Repentance, be abfolved by the Church, and yet be punifhed by the civil Magi&rate ; fo that both may act independently, yet without Confufion: The Con- fufion arifes purely from their exceeding the Bounds of their diftincl CommuTions ; when the Church pre-j tends to control or limit the Exercife of the civil Power, or the State to oppofe and hinder the fpiritual Authority of the Church. The Papal Ufurpations, therefore were intolerable; for the Bifhops afierted the Pope's Power over Princes, even in temporal Things, and, by his Command, refufed to pay Taxes, or contribute towards the Support of the Government, which was directly withdrawing their Allegiance from the civil Magiftrate, and letting up a foreign Power fuperior to him in temporal Things, even in his own Dominions. JESUS CHRIST therefore is the Founda- tion of the Church , though in fpiritual Things wholly independent on the civil Power, yet gave her no Au- thority to clafh or interfere with it. He declared that his Kingdom (and by confequence theirs) was not of this World. He gave, and commanded to give, to Cefar all that was Cefar's ; but the Things of God, and the Ad m in ift ration of his fpiritual Kingdom upon Earth, he left in the Hands of his Church, for which he is juftly accountable to none but himfelf; and from the unnatural Blending of thefe diftincT: Powers arifes all that pretended Confufion that is objected to the Exercife of an independent fpiritual Authority, And after all, we humbly prefume, with the Confent of our Governors, that a Method might be found out ?te CONTEMPT of out to prevent or anfwer all thefe Objections, and to reftore the Epifcopal Rights, without any Prejudice or Diminution to the Royal Authority ; fo that both the Prince, the Clergy, and the People may have their due Share of Power in the Election, and the Prince may have all the Security he can reasonably de- fire for the dutiful Allegiance of the Perfon to be elected. Different Schemes have, in different Ages and Nations, according to the different Circum- ftances of Things, been propofcd and pra&ifed for this End. The Council of Aries, A, D. 450. Can. 55. made a Rule, which for many Ages was followed by all the weftern Churches, among whom the Britiftj were always reckoned, That, to avoid Ambition and Simony, the Bifiops Jhould name three Perfont, out of whom the Clergy and People Jhould choofe one. In the next Century, the Emperor "Juftlntan made a Decree * for the eaflcrn Churches, and as much of the Weftern as was under his JurifdicYion. 'That when a Bijhop was to be ordained, the Clergy and chief Men of the City Jhould affsmble, and having taken an Oath upsn the Gofpeli to make an impartial Choice of three Perfotis well qualified, (who/e Qualifications are particularly expreffed in--the Oath) be of thofe three Perfons Jhould be conficratt>d wlnrn the Bifl>tyi that were to ordain him jhoull judgt the my/? worthy. Another Expedient has be-cn thought of in later Days, as better fuited to the State and Ncceflities of our Times, That when any Bijhcpric is vacant, the Diocefan Clergy Jhould prefent mne Ptrfons to the Chapter ; and that out of them they jhudd prffent three to the King, of ivhim he Jhould ni- * Nov. 123. C. i, Se 137. C, 2, inmate tie CLERGY Confidertd. 239 mlnate one. One great Objection againft this Scheme is, That hereby the People are intirely excluded, and the Bifhops have not that Authority in the Elec- tion, which in the moft primitive Times they always bad : But there is another which I have lieard pro- pofed, which I think feems lefs liable to Objection than any other ; That upon every Vacancy ef a Bijhopric, the Convocation Jhould meet and choofe eight Perfons : The Upper Houfe four, and the Lower Houfe four. Thefe Jhould be prefented to the Parliament : Th< Upper Houfe fixuld prefent their four to the Lords ; the Lower theirs to the Commons : Out of thefe the Lords Jhould prefent two, and the Commons two, to the King ; out of which four his Majejly Jhould nominate one* By this Method both the Clergy, the People, and the King too, fliould have a Share in all Elections of Bifhops : There would be no Danger of having un- deferving Perfons preferred to fo high a Station; and Bifhops, or thofe who hope to be fuch, will be encouraged to obtain the Favour of their Country, by feeking the true Welfare both of Church and State ; fince there would be no other Way of arriving at that Honour. The only Difficulty in this Scheme is to obtain the Confent of our Superiors to put it itt Pradice, The Objections againft the fecond Branch, viz, That of meeting in Synods to confult and determine about Mattws purely fpiritual, to cenfure notorious Heretics, Schifmatics, and Unbelievers, to con- demn profane and irreligious Books and Opinions, determine Controverfies, defend and explain Articles of Faith, &c. are I profefs, I know .not what, REASONS there certainly are s and fuch as our Su- periors 240 tte CONTEMPT of periors think of fufficient Weight to juftify the long Intermiffion of Convocations ; and it would be Prefumption in us to offer at any Conje&ures about an Affair in which we are (and we prefume ought to be) intirely ignorant. We do not pretend to claim the Power of convening by virtue of any fpiritual Authority independent of the State. The Wifdom and Piety of former Kings have made a fufficient and legal Provifion for the Peace and Intereft of the Church and true Religion by many folemn Charters and repeated Ats of Parliament. Give me leave to tranfcribe a notable Paflage very appofite to our pre- fent Purpofe, from the late Pious, Learned, and Ho- nourable Lwd Nottingham'* Poflfcript to his Letter to Mr. Whifton, The Convocation (fays he) is a Part if the Parliament, and as of right it mu/t be fummoned with the Parliament ; fo that Summons will be rendered inftgni- fcant and nugatory, if they are not permitted toftt and a/J in taking care of the Flock of Ghrift, of which the Holy Gbofl has made them Overfecn, and whic/j the Laws of the Land have committed to them ; efpecially at a Time when the Dof hints of onr mojl Holy Faith, and the Apofloliatl Injlitutions of our Church, are fo virulently attacked, end in Jo optn and infolent a Manner. It was the Advice $/"Maecenas to Auguftus is fuffer no Innovations in Reli- gicn ; becaufe the Peate of the State depended upon it : that Print had Petite in all the World : but what Di- jiurbanccs, what Alyenes, Innt'jations in Religion have cauftd in thJs Nation, the Hijtjry of the lajl Age informs us fitfficientfy : and ho\u fatal the Feuds and Anirnofitia accafamd by the P/etcnJ t ;-f to Religisn in this may be y ny Man can foretel. Every good Man fears . AW ill life fas been made oftbc Ttxt for fu/erin; tfv . /&> CLERGV Confidertd. 24 r Tares which were fawn by the Enemy to grow tip with the Wheat j yet furely we are not to lay ourf elves to JJeep on purpofe to give the Enemy an Opportunity of fowing them. The Jews reckon they iv ere forbid even by the Law of Mofes to revile the Gods of other Nations, which are no Gods : But that the Son of God, whom we and all Chriftendom adore as the God of our Salvation, Jhould be reviled, trampled upon, and put to open Shame by thofe of cur own Nation, in Contempt of the Laws of the Land, as well as of God, uncontrolled, without any Animadver- Jion, without giving the proper Champions of our Faith an Opportunity to refute and reclaim them from their Errors^ is fo unaccountable a Proceeding both in Prudence and Reli- gion, that I well hope a fpeedy Remedy will be applied to it ; and that thofe who are in Authority will free them- felves not only from the Sufpicion, but from the real Guilt of being Partakers in other Mens Sins. For Qui non prohibet, cum poteft, jubet ; and therefore that they will advife his Majejly to give the Fathers and Paftors of the Church leave to fpeak for themfelves, and indeed for the King. For Defender of the Faith is not an empty Title. The Defence of the Church of England, and the holy Religion profejjed in it, is the Foundation of the Re- voluiion, and of his MajeJIy's Succejfion to the Throne. And after all our Experiments, this Church will be found to be, as wasfaid of the Sancluary, The Excellency of our Strength, and indeed of all the Proteftants in Europe ; who as much as they want our Support, will have littk Reafon to think we Jhall be much concerned for them with -whom in fame Points we differ, ifwejhew but little Zeal for our common Christianity in which we agree. I fee you flare at this long Quotation. But as this Noble Author was not only a good Chriftian and a goodj VOL. II. R Scholar, 242 Tfa CONTEMPT of Scholar, but alfo a good Lawyer ; his Authority in Point of Law may give the greater Weight to his Rea- foning upon the Principles of common Chrifrianity. The prefent deplorable State of Religion among us- is not to be denied or defended. The univer&l, and indeed, unavoidable Relaxation of Chureh-Difcipline, and the fcandalous Abufe even of that Shadow of it that remains, gives us but a melancholy Pro/pecl for the growing Generation. There are, it true, yet to be feen in our Rubric and Canons, fuch \Vords as Difcipline t Cenfure, Admonitions^ Penance^ Excommunication ; fufficient Indications of a Power once claimed and exercifed by the Governors of the Church. But alas ! they ftand there now as the melancholy Ruins of an old Fortrefs long ago de- moli/hed, uncapabJe uf the leaft Defence againft the Enemies of Religion. The Rubric to the Com- munion-Service direcls every Clergyman to admonifh and repel from the Communion Men of vicious and fcandalous Lives ; and the Churchwardens are bound ky their Oaths to prefent fuch Offenders, that they may be puni/hed. But, confulcring the prefent State of Things, a Man rmiit have the Courage of a Martyr, that dares put thefe Laws in Execution. Sirppofe, for infrance, that the greatcft Reprobate in this City were for fome peculiar Kind of Merit pre- ferred to any good Office, Ecclefiaftical, Military, or Civil ; and ihould offer hinafelf to receive the Com- munion as a Qualification ; what in fuch a Cafe fhall a Minifter do ? If he admit him, he is falfe to his Canonical Oath ; if he refufe him, he is liable to be fued in an Action of 500 /. which may perhaps be the immediate Ruin of his Family. If not that- it tie CLE&.GY Centered. It expofes him however to the keencft Refentment of the Perfon fo refufed, and by confeqiience to the Vengeance of thofe great Men, who had been the Authors of his Promotion. I remember in the latter End of Queen Anne's Reign fuch a Cafe as this : The Clergyman, apprehenfive of the Snare, applied hmv- felf to the Bifliop of his Diocefe (with whom I was then in Company) how to behave on fuch a trying Occafion. O (faid the Bifhop) you muft, without Doubt, follow the Direction of the Canon and Ru- bric. But, my Lord (faid he) I know the Temper of this Man fo well, that I am fure he will fue me j and if he does, he will ruin me. I cannot help that (faid the Bifhop) the Rubric and Canons are your Rule. But, my Lord ! (faid he) will you ufe your Intereft above to indemnify me, in cafe I fhould be condemned to pay the Penalty ? I cannot (faid he) promife myfelf or you any Success, -if I fhould attempt it. Why then (faid he) I muft com- ply even againft my Oath and Confcience-*- Let me rather fall into the Hands of a merciful God, than into the Hand's of an unbelieving, unforgiving Re- probate. Was not this a hard Cafe ! And may not this be the Cafe of every Clergyman in England! And is there no Remedy ! Can there be no Medium betwixt Damning and Starving ? How muft the Infidels laugh in their Sleeves to hear the learned Writers and Preachers of our Church talk of fpiritual Authority, the Power of the Keys, which every little dirty Fellow in an Office fhall defy you to execute ? * For Shame, let us be confiftent ; either repeal your Canons or your Acts- of Parliament. If you pretend" to communicate a fpiritual Commif- R 2 fion 244 be CONTEMPT of fion to the Clergy, and oblige them by a folema Oath to execute it, and the whole Office is directed and confirmed by repeated A&s of Parliament ; let the Legiflature, that injoins this Canonkal Oatli, re- move every Obftacle that may lie againft it, and find out legal Methods of Protection and Security for thofe who have Honour and Courage enough to do their Duty, and inforce by the civil Authority all the Obli- gations of Morality and Religion. I have often wifhed that fbme Man of Learning and Leifure would give us a Compendium of the fe- veral Laws that have been made in all Ages and Na- tions of the World, fo far as Hiftory can inform us, in Behalf of Virtue, Morality, Juflice* and Reli- gicn. We fliould certainly find, that not only among the politer and more learned Nations, fuch as Egypt, Chaldea, Greece, and Rome ; but even among the barbarous Scythians and Americans, it was thought an eflential Point of good Government to fecure by wholcfomc Laws and fcvere Penalties every Branch of religious Duty to their falfe Gods, and every Arti- cle of focial Virtue and Juftice betwixt Man and Man. And that Death or Banifhment, corporal Pains or civil Incapacity, were the certain Punifhment of thofe Crimes in heathen Nations, which, in Chri- ftian Countries, are regarded as Instances of a fupc- rior Genius, politer Taftc^ more impartial Inquiry and Freedom of Thought, innocent Gallantries, comical Ad- ventures, dextrous Management, or fuperior Cunning. Upon the whole, we cannot conceive it inconfutent with good Policy, and all the Purpofcs of good Go- vernment, to fecure by wholefome Laws and fevere Penalties, the Pradice at leaft, if not the Belief, of every the CLERGY Confidered. 245 efery Article of Natural Religion, and of Revealed too, fo long as it mall be continued as the Religion of the State ; and that Irreligion and Profanenefs mould be deemed quite as criminal, as Mifdemeanors againft the civil Government. Where would be the Abfur- dhy or the Danger of making Blafphemy againft God as criminal, as denying or difputing the King's Title ? Why mould not the denying the Divinity of the Son of God (which is an Article of the State- Religion, and confirmed by repeated A6b of Par- liament) be as heinous as denying .the Legitimacy of any of the Royal Iffue ? Why not the profaning a Church, as ftriking within the Verge of the Court ? Why not the Profanation of the Lord's Day, (ano- ther Article of State-Religion) as a contemptuous Affront to a State-Holiday ? Why fhould not bur- lefquing the Bible (which is alfo an Article of the Religion of the State) be deemed as great an Affront to the Government, as the late Powder-Plot againft the four A&s of Parliament? Why mould not Atheifm and Infidelity be quite as bad as Popery ? Why mould it be more meritorious to write in De- fence of the Miniftry, than in Vindication of Re- vealed Religion ? Why is it a Crime to be cool and indifferent in Politics, and to be warm and active in Defence of Religion ? Are we under fewer or weaker Obligations to fear God, than we are to honour the King ? Is it not as much the Duty of Princes (whom we acknowledge to be God's Vicegerents) to pro- mote the Honour and Service of their fupreme Lord, and the Intereft of Religion, as to fecure the Allegi- ance of their own Subjects, and fupport the Dignity of their Crowns-, R 3 Now 246 V&* CONTEMPT of Now with all due SubmiiEon to our Superiors, we humbly conceive, that if a Convocation were fuiferecj to meet, and were confined to the Confideration of proper Remedies for the numberlefs Instances of Irreligion and Profanenefs, which are daily and openly pra&ifed without Check or Restraint, which being approved by the Wifdflm of Parliament, ibould be enacted into Laws by the Royal Authority j we can- not but think they would contribute as much to the Honour and Jiitox-ft of the Prince, and the Peace and Welfare of the Public, us fome other Ad* which J could mention, which yet were fcllicited with as much Zeal and Application a* if the in- tire Welfare of the Nation . had depended upon them. But you vrill fay I am run from my Subject ; how will this prevent the Abufes and Immoralities fo loudly charged upon the Ckrgjr ? Patience, dear Sir, your own fobcr Reflations will convince you that this is the proper and only Remedy. A Court in- fluenced by thefc Counfels, and directed by thefe Principles, could not fail to effie& an intire Reforma- tion of all thofc Abufcs which the Enemies of the Clergy now fo loudly complain of. What can be fo likely to encourage among them an Emulation to excel, as to find that Superior Merit is the only Recommendation to Royal Favour ? and that In- tereft will prevail even where a Senfc of Duty can- not, even their worft Enemies will acknowledge. This would compel them to have Recourfe to all the legal Methods which the Favour of Princes, and the Laws of the Land afford for them, for the better Difcharge of their great Trull, and the rea| ike CLERGY Cvnfidered. 247 Teal Purpofes of Edification and Order. A Convo- cation thus fitting under the Royal Protection, and the Favour and Good-wHl of both Houfes of Parlia- ment, might eafily extract from the apoftolical and moft primitive Canons, fuch a Compendium of Duty as mould be a ftanding Rule for the moral and iacerdotal Conduct of all the Clergy, like the Statutes of the two Univerfities, or the Articles of War j the Violations of which mould be cognisable and punim- able by their proper Superiors. Their proper Superiors^ you will tell me, have fomething elfe to do than to infpect the particular Conduit of every Clergyman under their Care. We own it j and therefore the Wifdom of our Fore- fathers have eftablimed two very neceflary Offices in the Church for the more regular Exercife of Dif- cipline, and Prefervation of Order ; which, though incorporated into our Laws, have for many Years, and for I know not what Reafons, been intirely laid afide, to the great Prejudice of Religion in general, the Decay of Difcipline, and the Increafe of Deifm, Herefy, and Schifm - 3 I mean Suffragan Bijhop$ and Rural Deans, which wife and good Men wifli to fee reftored. Suffragan Bijhops were the fame as the Chortpifcopt among the Antients. Bifhops placed in Villages of the larger Diocefes, fubjec"l to the Bi/hop of the Diocefe in which the Village was, and could acl: no- thing but by his Licence and Commiffion. Du Pin * tells us, that Rabanus^ Archbifhop of Mentz, one of the moft learned Writers of that Age, which was Vol. VII. p. 164, R4 the 'The CONTEMPT of the eighth Century, in oppofition to the Council of Ratijbon y who had degraded them to the Rank of Prefbyters, undertook to prove that their Office was Apoftolical ; and believes that St. Linius and St. Cle- mens were Suffragans to St. Peter and St. Paul. Our learned Bifhop Eeveridge * gives us a large and particular Account of the Nature and Anti- quity of this Office, in which we are not fo much concerned as in the legal Authority by which this Office was fettled and regulated in England. Mr. Wharton f fays, that the Office was brought into England^ about the middle of the feventh Century, not much above fixty Years after Chriftianity was eftablifhed among our Saxon Anceftors, and conti- nued to the Reformation. In the 26th of Hen. VIII. a Statute was made, that in twenty fix Places there named, and in no others, Suffragan Bifhops mould be appointed, that they mould be confecratcd by the Archbifhop and two Bifhops, but that none of them fhould exercife any Part of the Epifcopal Office, but fuch as mould be committed to them by the Bifhop of the refpe&ive Diocefe. And let any impartial Man judge, whether the reviving this Office would not be of excellent Ufe, efpecially in the larger Diocefes, and thofe immediately fubjecl to the Archbifliops. Some of our Bifhoprics are fo large, that it is abfolutely impoffible for one Man to take that Epifcopal Care of them that is neceflary. The Diocefe of Lincoln has above twelve hundred Parifhes, that of Norwich near as many. The Bifhops of * Annot. ad Can. 13. Concil. Ancyran. f Ang. Sax. Parti. /. 15?. tie CLERGY Conftdered. 249 'Chefter and Exeter have very large Diocefes j Ib has the Archbifhop of Tork, befides the Care of a Province. But be the Diocefe ever fb fmall, the necefTary Attendance upon Parliament obliges the Bifhops to be at leaft one half Year abfent from their Diocefes ; during which Time, they may not improperly be faid to be left as Sheep without a Shep- herd, which is no fmall Misfortune and Difcourage- ment to the Parochial Clergy, who are fo far from the Infpe&ion, the Advice, and Countenance of their Superiors, upon very many trying Occafions, And if this be the Cafe of the Clergy here at home, how much worfe muft it be with the Epifcopal Clergy abroad in our foreign Plantations ? who, let the Occafion be ever fo extraordinary, can have no Communication with their Bifhop without a tedious, dangerous, and expenfive Voyage. I remember a Time, when this Confederation was fb warmly and affectionately reprefented to a great Minifter, by a great and excellent Perfon, to whom I had the Honour to be well known, that a (feeming) Refolu- tion, at leaft, was taken to conftitute four Suffra- gans for the Wtft-Indiei\ two for the Continent, and two for the Iflands, and two for the Eajl-Indies j and for this he had (as he thought) fo folemn Af- furances, that, meeting me one Day in the Court of Requefts, he told me with great Joy, that now be thought he had effectually fecured his darling Point. How this, hopeful Project came afterwards, to be totally laid afide, well deferves the ferious Confidera- tion of thofe (if living) by whofe Neglect or Oppo- fition it happened to mifcarry. The Revival, there- fore ? of this Office, would effectually remove one Scandal ST$* CONTEMPT of Scandal at lea ft of the Reformation, which is the Negfel or Abufc of Confirmation, which the Friends of Religion lament, and its Enemies make a Jcit of. I cowki mention fome amazing Particulars to my own Knowledge But in general it may be faid, that if this Office be acknowledged to be of Apo- itolical Inftitution, and one of the Fundamentals of Chrijliantty * ; and which, if rightly and duly admi- niftered, would be of great Ufe for promoting all the real Purpofes of Holinefs in adult Perfons who had been baptized in their Infancy, I cannot help think- ing that k ought regularly to be adminiftered every Year, beginning at iyintfunday y as that of public Bxptifai was in the antient Church only at Rafter. And it has often puzzled me to think why our 6cth Canon, which fuppofes Suffragan Bifhops mould rder it to be adm'uiiftered only once in three Years. The Ccnfequence of which is this, that when a Bifhop keeps his triennial Vifitation, and a great Number of Pari/hes are obliged to attend at each Place appointed for rt y the Noife, the Tumult, the Indecency, with which the young People croud to the Chancel, looks more like the Diverfions of the Bear- garden, than the folemn Performance of an Apofto- JicaJ Office. The great Numbers that attend, the Shortnefs of the Time allotted, and the manifold Avocations to other Parts of his Duty, muft prevent that Decency and Regularity which fuch holy Offices require. Now if Confirmation be fo holy, fo necef- fiiry an Office as we are taught to believe ; and as Matters now Hand, it cannot be fo duly and regularly Hcb. vi. i, 3. adminiftered. ibt CLERGY Confidered, 251 adfliiniflered in all Parts of the Realm, as our Laws and Canons require ; Suffragan Bifhops conflantly refiding in the Diocefe, fupported by the comfortable Addition of the Office of Chancellor, or fome other good Dignity, might vifit and confirm through the whole Diocefe by Commiflion from the Bifhop every Year, referving Ordinations and Inftitutions wholly to the Diocefan, except when he is hindered by fome lawful Impediment, a Licence may be granted to the Suffragan to perform both thefe Offices pro ijldc vice. Many other Advantages would arife from this Infti- tution too tedious to mention : And this the Bifhops themfelves have Power to put in Execution. For the Laws now in Force give them Power to appoint Suffragans, and make Clergymen their Chancellors. Though I have heard Bifhops themfelves complain of the Hardfhip of having Lay-Chancellors, when all the World knows they may prevent it if they will. For though the Parliament allows Laymen to exercifc fpiritual Authority, yet it does not compel Bifhops to give them Commiffions fo to do. The Defign of that Act was only to authorize the Commiffion which Henry VIII. gave Cromwell^ when he made him Vicar-General of all England ; but I dare fay ithe Parliament little thought the Bifhops would fo unanimoufly follow a Precedent, which was fet up mtirely for the Deftruction of Church-Government. Before the Reformation there were Suffragans in moft Parts of this Kingdom ; and it is plain, that by the Ac~l of 26 of Hen. VIII. they were defigned to be continued after the Reformation : For by virtue of it, as Mr. Wharton * tells us, Thomas Mannyng was * Anglia Sacra, Vol. I. /. 419, made 252' & CONTEMPT of made Biftiop of Ipfwich, and John Salijbury Bifhop of Thetford, March ig, 1536. both confecrated by Arch- bifhop Crantner, and appointed Suffragans to the Bifhop of Norwich. The fame Year tPilliam Moor was confecrated Suffragan of Cslcheftfr : The next Year John Hodgeftim of Bedford; and the Year after jyilliam Finch of Tatuitcn. And in Queen Elizabeth's Reign, when the Reformation was fully fettled, we find Richard Barry confecrated Suffragan of Notting- ham, Anno Dem. 1567 ; and Richard Rogers, Suf- fragan of Dover, confecrated by Archbilhop Parker, * 1569. How they came to be laid afide, we know not ; but furely oiir Anceftors thought them ufeful, rife we fhould not have had an Ac"l of Parliament ftill m Force for continuing them ; and our lateft Canons plainly fuppofe our Bifhops to have Suffragans, when they appoint, Can. 68. That every Bi/hop, or his Sttf- fragun^ in his accujiomed Vifitation, do, in his own Per- fn, sarefitlly perform the Office of Confirmation. So that rcftoi ing this Office would be no Innovation or Alter- ation in our Conftitution, but would rather be healing a Breach in it already made, for aught that appears upon insufficient Grounds, and by an incompetent Authority, againft the plain Senfe of an A& of Par- liament. Nor would the Office of Rural Deans be lefs ad- vantageous to the Difcipline, the Order, and Peace of the Church > but perhaps more fo, as it would be an immediate Check upon the Ignorant, the Licentious, and the Immoral (if fuch there be) among the Pa- rochial Clergy. In the extreme northern and wcilcrn * Wood's Athenre Oxon. Vol. I. f, 606. Diocefes, tie CLERGY Conjideftd. Dbcefes, and throughout all Wales, where they are feldom blefled with the Sight of their Diocefans, the Vifitations muft be intirely left to the Archdeacons^ or fome Official, Commiffary, or Surrogate, where, ex- cepting the eiTential Articles of Procurations, Synodals, Probats, &c. . and a good Dinner, all the "reft is Matter of Form, without fo much as a Poffibility of knowing or reforming the Abufes cognizable in their Courts. A negligent immoral Clergyman will always find honeft Fellows for Churchwardens, who will never tell Tales of the honeft Parfon ; and if any confcientious Clergyman of the Neighbourhood mould think himfelf bound in Confcience to inform the Bifhop or Archdeacon of the immoral Lives and fcandalous Characters of any Neighbour, the accufed Perfon could not long be a Stranger to the Name of his Ac- cufer, who mould from that Moment be marked out for a little fneaking Informer, and be treated ever after with Averfion and Contempt. But this would be in a great meafure prevented by the Office of Rural Deans. Their Office is not fo antient as that of Suffragan Bifhops, though founded on the fame Reafons and Neceffities of Government, in order to divide and lellen the Burden of the Epifcopal and Archideaconal Office. They accordingly appointed one of the fixed Parifh-Priefts of the County to vifit and infpecT: a certain Number of Parimes, which was originally limited to ten *, (in Imitation perhaps of Mofes, whofe inferior Order of Governors were Rulers of Tens, Exod. xviii. 24, 25.) as the Romans had their Decuriones in the loweft Rank of military * Lindwood. Prov, Tit. de Conftitut. c. i. verb: De- can. rural. Officers. Me CONTEMPT of Officers. The Diftrids over which they prefidet*, were called Dtanerus^ into which all our Diocefcs are divided, and the Perfons prefiding were called Anh- Priefts or Rural Deans. Their Authority was not great ; however fome Authority they had, and were fubje& to the Archdeacon, as well as to the Brfhop. When the Bifhops fent any Orders to the Arch- deacons relating to the Clergy, the Archdeacon fent them to the Rural Deans to be by them communicated to the Parochial Clergy. If a Clergyman were ac- cufed, it belonged to the Rural Deans to cite him to anfwer to the Accufation, or any other Perfon ob- noxious to the fpiritual Jurisdiction. This veiy ufcful Office is now almoft every where laid afide ; in fome few Dioccfcs they are chofen by the Clergy at their Vifttations to be only annual Officers ; and their whole Bufmefs is to make an Entertainment for their Brethren. But furely, if this Office were regularly kept up and duly exercifed, it would contribute as much as any thing to reftore the Difcipline of the Church, and reform the Abufrs complained of among the Parochial Clergy. Suppofe fome Clergyman or eminent Learning, Piety, and Prudence, were con- ftitutvd by the Bifhop **i>amffat ff bene geflerit ; he m'r-j'ht vifit all the Parfonage antt Vicarage Houfes in his Deanery once a Year, and ohfer.e in what Repair the}' are kept ; and when he finds any thing amifs, might give Orders to have it rectified, and have Power to impofe fome light Cenfure on thofc that neglect the Admonition ; and if that provcr infafficient, to ac- quaint the fuperior Ordinary with it. He might alfo be impowered to admonifh any oihu* Clergy who live duorderly, faff, by himfclf alone, and then in the Prcfencc tbe CLERGY C&nftdered. Prefence of two or three of his Brethren, and upon Non-amendment to fufpend him ab officio for a Moath ; and if that prove inefre&ual, to acquaint the Arch- deacon or Bifhop, that fome further Courfe might 'be taken. He might alfo convene his Clergy at leaft twice every Year, where, after a Sermon preached, they might confer together about the Concerns of their Miniftry, and the Affairs of their Parifhes, and many other Advantages might accrue to the Public, and many Diforders prevented or reformed, which fome People are willing to have it thought are incu- rable. I can recoiled!: but one Article more that is too often thought to render the Clergy contemptible, that is, their Poverty ; an Article which, like the relr, they have it not in their Power to prevent or reform* and which it concerns the Pofleflbrs of impropriate and appropriate Tythes feriouily to confider. If they think not themfelves bound to reftore them intirely so. the Ufes for which the Laws of God and the Practice of all Cbrijiian, yea, and Heathen Nations * have al- lotted them ; yet let them make fitch a decent and competent Allowance for their poor Vicars, that they who ferve at the Altar may live by the Altar far above Poverty and Contempt. This is a tender Point, which I (hall leave to the Confideration -of thofo whom it may concern, recommending to their Perufa! Sir Harry Spelman's Hi/lory of Sacrilege, and Bifliop Kennefs. Hiftory of Impropriations ; from whom I fltaH "tranfcribe two very excellent Speeches relating to this * Vide Archbi&op Potter's Difcourfe of Church-Go- vernment, /. 428, 429, 2 $6 The CONTEMPT of Subject ; which I am fure you, who are as good a Judge of Rhetoric as of Logic, will think to be ad- mirable in their Kind ; the one fpoken by Sir Benja- min Rudyard in the Houfe of Commons, 1628 ; the other by Archbifhop Whitgift to Queen Elizabeth ; which, though firft in Order of Time, (hall come laft, as in all Proceflions the little Folks go firft to make Way for their Betters. The firft Speech was fpoken upon Occafion of a Bill in the Houfe of Commons for Augmentation of Minifters Livings, and is as follows : Mr. PYM, * T Did not think to have fpoken again to this Bill, * A bccaufe I was willing to believe that the For- * wardnefs of this Committee would have prevented * me i but now I do hold myfelf bound to fpeak, and ' to fpeak in earneft. ' In the firft Year of the King, and the fecond * Convention, I firft moved for the Increafe and * Enlarging of poor Minifters Livings. I (hewed how * neceflary it was to be done ; how fhameful it was ' that it had been fo long neglected : This was alfo ' commended to the Houfe by his Majefty. ' There were then (as now) many Accufations on Foot againft fcandalous Minifters : I was bold to ' tell the Houfe that there were fcandalous Livings ' too, which were much the Caufe of the other : ' Livings of five Marks, and five Pounds per annum ; * that Men of Worth and good Parts would not be * muzzled up to fuch Pittances ; that there were * fome Places in England^ which were fcarce in Cbri- * Jiendom 3 where God was little, better known than * among; tit CLERGY Confidtfed. 257 * among the Indians* I exampled it in the uttermoft * Parts of the North, where the Prayers of the com- * mon People are more like Spells and Charms than 4 Devotions ; the fame Blindnefs and Ignorance is * in divers Parts of Wales^ which many of that Coun- * try do both know and lament. * I declared alfo, That to plant good Miniflers in ' good Livings, was the ftrongeft and fureft Means to * eftablifh true Religion j that it would prevail more 4 againft Papiftry, than the making new Laws, or * executing of old ; that it would counterwork Court- 4 Connivance, and lukewarm Accommodation : That 4 though the calling of Minifters be never fo glorious 4 within, yet outward Poverty will bring Contempt * upon them, efpecially among thofe who meafure * Men by the Acre, and weigh them by the Pound, * which is, indeed, the greateft Part of Men. * Mr. Pym ; I cannot but teftify how, being iri ' Germany^ I was exceedingly fcandalized to fee ' the poor ftipendiary Minifters of the reformed * Churches there, defpifed and neglected by reafon of 4 their Poverty, being otherwife very grave and learn- * ed Men. I am afraid that this is a Part of the Bur- ' den of Germany^ which ought to be a Warning to ' us. I have heard many Objections and Difficulties, * even to Impossibilities, againft this Bill. To him 4 that is unwilling to go, there is ever a Bear or a * Lion in the Way. Firft, Let us make ourfelves * willing, then will the Way be eafy and fafe enough.' 4 I have obferved, we are always very eager and * fierce againft Papiftry, againft fcandalous Mini- * fters, and againft Things that are not in our power. 4 I (hall be glad to fee, that we did delight as well iri VOL. II. S 4 re- 258 The CONTEMPT of * rewarding as punching, and in undertaking Mat* ' ters within our Reach, as this is abfolutely within * our Power ; our own Duty is next, and other Mens * is farther off. ' I do not fpeak this that I diflike the deftroying ' and pulling down of that which is ill j but then let * us be as earned to plant and build up that which is ' good in the room of it : For why fliould we be defo- 4 late ? The bcft and neareft Way to difpel Darknefs is to let in Light. We fay that Day breaks, but ' no Man ever heard the Voice of it. God comes in ' they?/// Voice : Let us quickly mend our Candle/tids, ' and we cannot want Light. ' I am afraid this Backwardnefs of ours will give ou* c Adverfaries occafion to fay, that we choofe our Re- * ligion becaufc it is the cheaper of the two ; and ( that we would willingly ferve God of that which * (hall coil us nought. Believe me Mr. Pym, he that * thinks to fave any thing by his Religion, but his Soul, will be a terrible Lofer in the End. We fow * fparingly, and that is the Reafon that we reap fo * fparingly, and have no more Fruit. * MethLnks whoever hates Papiftry, fhould, by 4 the fame Rule, hate Covetoufnefs, for that is Ido- * latry too. I never liked hot Profeflions and cold * Actions. Such a Heat is rather the Heat of Diftem- ' per and Difeafe, than of Life and faving Health. * For fcandalous Minifters^ there is no Man mall be ' more fmcerely forward to have them puni/hed, than I will be : When Salt has tyl its Savour let /'/ le cajl ' out upon the unfavory Place the Dnnghil. But, Sir, * let us deal with them as God hath dealt with us. * God before he made Man, he made the World < a handfome Place fot him to dwell in. So let us * provide tbe CLERGY Confidered. 259 1 provide them competent living, and then punifh * them in God's Name : But till then fcandalous ' Livings cannot but have fcandalous Minijlers. It mall * ever be a Rule to me, that where the Church ' and Commonwealth are both of one Religion, it is ' comely and decent that the outward Splendor of the ' Church mould hold a Proportion, and participate * with the Profperity of the temporal State ; for ' why mould we dwell in Houfes of Cedar, and fuffer * God to dwell in Skins. ' It was a glorious and religious Work of King * James ; I fpeak it to his unfpeakable Honour, and ' to the Praife of that Nation, who though their ' Country be not fo rich as ours, yet are they richer * in their Affections to Religion : Within the Space ' of one Year he caufed to be planted Churches * throughout all Scotland and the borders, worth go/. * a Year a-piece, with a Houfe and fome Glebe be- 4 longing to them; which go/, a Year, confidering ' the Cheapnefs of the Country, and the modeft * Fafhion of Mens living there, is worth double as * much as any where within one hundred Miles of c London. The printed Adi: and Commiffion, where- c by it was executed, I have here in my Hand, * delivered to me by a noble Gentleman of that Na- * tion, and a worthy Member of this Houfe, Sir * Francis Steward. * To conclude, though Chriftian Religion be efta- * bliflied generally throughout this Kingdom ; yet * till it be planted more particularly, I mall fcarce * think this a Chriftian Commonwealth ; and feeing * it hath been moved and ftirred in Parliament, it * will be heavy upon Parliaments, till it be effected. S 2 Let 260 The CONTEMPT of Let us do fomcthins; for God here of our own ; and no doubt God will blefs our Proceedings in this Place for ever after. And for my own part, I will never give over folliciting this Caufe, as long as Parlia- ments and I fhall live together.' The following Speech of Archbishop Wntgift was fpoken on this Occaflon, as Mr. Walton tells us in the Life of Mr. Hooker. Not many Years before Dr. JPbitgift was made Archbifhop of Canterbury, there pafled an Aft of Parliament, intending the better Prefervation of the Church Lands j by recalling a Power that was vefted jn others to fell or leafe them by lodging and trufting the future Care and Protection of them only in the Crown : And among many that made abadUfe of this Power and Truft of the Queen's, the Earl of Leicejler was one ; and the Bifhop having by his Intereft with her Majefty, put a flop to the Earl's facrilegious Defigns, they two fell to an open Oppofition before her ; after which they both quitted the Room, not Friends in Appearance. But the Bi- fliop made a fudden and fcafonable Return to her Ma- jefty ; (for he found her alone) and fpake to her with great Humility and Reverence, to this Purpofc : ' I befeech your Majefty to hear me with Patience and believe that yours and the Church's Safety are dearer to me than my Life, but my Confcience than both ; and therefore give me leave to do my Duty, and tell you, That Princes are deputed nurfmg Fathers of the Church^ and owe it a Prolefiion ; and therefore God forbid you (hould be fo much as paf- five in her Ruins, when you may prevent it; or that J fhould behold it without Horror and Deteftatlon, or tie CLERGY Confidered. 261 * or fhould forbear to tell your Majefty of the Sin * and Danger of Sacrilege. And though you and my- ' felf were born in an Age of Frailties, when the ' primitive Piety and Care of the Church Lands and ' Immunities are much decayed; 1 yet (Madam) let ' me beg that you would firft confider, that there are * fuch Sins as Profanenefs and Sacrilege ; and that if ' there were not, they could not have Names in holy * Writ, and particularly in the New Teftament. * And I befeech you to confider, that though our Sa- ' viour faid, He judged no Man ; and to teftify it, would 1 not judge nor divide the Inheritance betwixt the two * Brethren, nor would judge the Woman taken in * Adultery : Yet in this Point of the Church's 4 Rights he was fo zealous, that he made himfelf both * the Accufer and the Judge, and the Executioner * too, to punifh thefe Sins ; witnefled in that he him- * felf made the Whip to drive the Profaners out of ' the Temple, overthrew the Tables of the Money * Changers, and drove them out of it. And I befeech * you to confider that it was. St. Paul that faid to thofe * Chriftians of his Time that were offended with Ido- * latry, Thou that abhor -reft Idols , do eft thou commit Sa- * crilege? And to incline you to prevent the Curfe * that will follow it, I befeech you alfo to confider ' that Confiantine the firft Emperor, and Helena his * Mother ; that King Edgar and Edward the Confef- * for, and indeed many other of your Predeceffors and ' many private Chriftians have alfo given to God and * his Church much Land and many Immunities, * which they might have given to thofe of their Fami- * lies, and did not : but gave them for ever as an ah- * foiute Right and Sacrifice to God-, and with thefe Im- S ? ' munities 262 The CONTEMPT of 1 munities and Lands, they have entailed a Curfe upon ' the Alienators of them. God prevent your Majefly * and your Succeflbrs from being liable to that Curfe, * which will cleave unto Church Lands as the Lc- ' profy to the Jews. ' And to make you that are trufted with their Pre- fervation the better underftand the Danger of it, I ' befeech you forget not, that to prevent thofe Cur- ' fes, the Church's Land and Power have been alfo * endeavoured to be preferved (as far as human Rea- * fon, and the Law of this Nation have been able * to preferve them) by an immediate and moft facred c Obligation on the Confciences of the Princes of this 1 Realm : For they that confult Magna Charta fliall ' find, that as all your PredecefTors were at their Co- ' ronation, fo you alfo were fworn before all the No- c bility and Bifhops then prefent, and in the Prefence * of God, and in his (lead to him that anointed you, ' to maintain the Church Lands and the Rights belonging * to it ; and this you yourfelf have teftified openly to * God at the holy Altar, by laying your Hands on * the Bible then lying upon it : And not only Magna ' Charta, but many other modern Statutes have * denounced a Curfe upon thofe that break Magna * Charta. A Curfe like the Leprofy that was entail- ' ed on the Jews; for as that, fo thefe Curfes, have ' and will cleave to the very Stones of thofe Buildings that have been confecrated to God ; and the Fa- * ther's Sin of Sacrilege, hath and will prove to bo c entailed on his Son and Family. And now, Ma- * dam, what Account can be given for the Breach of t this Oath at the laft great Day, either by your ' Majefty, or by me, if it be wilfully, or but ne- * gligently violated, I know not. And the CLERGY Confidered. 263 ' And therefore (Good Madam) let not the late 8 Lord's Exceptions againft the Failings of fome few * Clergymen, prevail with you to punifh Pofterity for ' the Errors of this prefent Age ; let particular Men * fuffer for their particular Errors ; but let God and * his Church have their Inheritance : And though I * pretend not to prophefy, yet I beg Pofterity to take ' notice of what is already become vifible in many ' Families ; That Church Land added to an antient and 6 juji Inheritance, hath proved like a Moth fretting a ' Garment^ and fecretly confirmed both : Or like the Eagle ' that Jtole a Coal from the Altar ^ and thereby fet her ' Nejl on Fire, which confumed both the young Eagles, ' and herfelf that Jlole it. And though I mall forbear * to fpeak reproachfully of your Father, yet I beg you * to take notice, that a Part of the Church-Rights, ' added to the vaft Treafure that was left him by his ' Father, has been conceived to bring an unavoidable * Confumption upon both, notwithftanding all his * Diligence to preferve them. * And confider, that after the Violation of thofe 4 Laws, to which he had fworn in Magna Charta, e God did fo far deny him his retraining Grace, ' that as King Saul, after he was forfaken of God, * fell from one Sin to another ; fo he, till at laft he ' fell into greater Sins than I am willing to mention. * Madam, RELIGION is THE FECUNDATION AND f CEMENT OF HUMAN SOCIETIES. And when they ' that ferve at God's Altar, mail be expofed to Po- ' verty, then Religion itfelf will be expofed to Scorn, * and become contemptible, as you may already ob- ' ferve it to be in too many poor Vicarages in this * Nation. And therefore as you are by a late Acl: 84 'or 264 Vbe CONTEMPT o/, &c. or Acts of Parliament entrufted with a great Power to preferve or wafte the Church's Lands, yet difpofe of them for Jefus's Sake, as you have promifed to Men, and vowed to God ; that is, as the Donors in- tended. Let neither Falfhood nor Flattery beguile you to do otherwife ; but put a Stop to God's and the Levltes Portion (I befeech you) and to the ap- proaching Ruins of his Church, as you expect Comfort at the laft great Day; for KINGS MUST BE JUDGED. Pardon this affectionate Plainnefs, my mojl dear Sovereign j and let me beg to be conti- nued in your Favour, and the Lord ftill continue you in his.' But I find I begin to grow ferious, and you are be- ginning to nod over this tedious Epiftle, which gives me great Hope, that if it prove nothing elfe, it will prove a good Opiate to you j and fo I heartUy wifh you a good Night, and am, Dear SIR, Yours. SOME SOME MEMOIRS O F T H E LIFE O F SIMON SHALLOW, Efq; Written in the Year 1737. [ 267 SOME MEMOIRS O F T H E LIFE of SIMON SHALLOW, Efq; E was born in the Year 1695 j de- fcended from the antient Family of the Shallows in Berkflnre. His Mother was a Sifter of Sir Thotnas Softly y of the County of Devon. His father and Mother, dying young, left him to the Care of his Grandmother Shallow ; who took fo much Care of his Education, that, before he was twelve Years old, he could fpell and read almoft as well as his Grand- mother. As great Care was taken to preferve his Complexion, he was feldom fufFered to ftir out of the Nurfery or Still-room, where he became fo great a Proficient in Female Knowledge, that, before he was Fifteen, he was deeply (killed in the Doctrine and Ufes of Pickles, Conferves, and Jellies j underftood the Value of Cambrics, Muflins, &c. could knit a Pair of Garters ; could fancy a Suit of Cloaths, or a Set of Knots, for any Complexion. At Fifteen, he was fent to a neighbouring School, with a particular Charge 268 Some Memoirs of the Life of Charge to the Mafter to confider his Quality, and ufe him Tike a Gentleman. But as he quickly made it appear that he had no Tafte for Letters, and a Con- ftitution too delicate to fubinit to Difcipline, he made frequent Elopements to his Grandmother, and hav- ing finimed his Studies in about two Years, he was taken from School, and put under the Tuition of the Groom and the Huntfman, and quickly came to have a tolerable Notion of Sport and Horfemanfhip, could fpeak the Language of the Kennel and the Stable very fluently, and knew the Value of a Dog or a Horfc as well as moft young Gentlemen of his Age and Quality ; and in (hort (as the good old Lady has often told me with Tears) was, till the Age of twenty-one, as pretty a hopeful young Gentleman as one would wifh to fee. Thefe mining Qualities drew upon him the Eyes of all the young 'Squires, and the Envy of his evil Genius, who plotted every way to eclipfe his fhining Character, and ruin his growing Reputation. Numbers'of honed Fellows, and jolly Companions, crouded about him, to enjoy the Comforts of his Table, and the Pleafure of his Converfation. They quickly convinced him how mameful and unrcafonable it was for fo fine a Gentleman to be any longer under the Direftion of two old Women, meaning the Par- fon and his Grandmother ; that it was time for him to be his own Mafter, and to be as wife and inde- pendent as other Gentlemen of his Rank and For- tune. Whatever Impreflions thefe artful Infinuations might make upon him, yet they could not directly prevail upon him to be difobedient to his Grand- mother, or difrefpedlful to the Parfonj fo that he continued to go to Church fomctimes, and carry his Company SIMON SHALLOW, Efq\ 269 Company with him, and to keep up an Appearance at leaft of Decency and Religion : But alas ! his Vir- tue was too weak to refift the repeated Attempts of fo many clever Fellows. By degrees they brought him to his two Bottles in an Evening, led him into low Gallantries and genteel Diftempers. The poor Vicar foon after happening to preach about Righteouf- ne/Sy Temperance^ and a "Judgment to corne^ Acts xxiv. 25. and purfuing his Subject fo far as to make fome of his Audience very uneafy, the 'Squire and his Friends confldered it as a Satire upon themfelves, and therefore perfuaded him to declare War againfl the Parfon immediately, and go to Church no more. This Advice {hocked him a good deal ; filiy as he was, he thought Atheifm a very ungenteel Thing, and an Atheift a fort of a monftrous Creature, and therefore determined to have a Religion of fome fort or other, but of what fort was the great Queftion. Whilft he continued in this Sufpence, he received a Viflt from an old Friend of his Father's, who had been for fe- veral Years a trading Juftice in the City of- . To him he opened his Heart, told him all his Difficulties, and begged his Advice and Direction. To that fmoky old Parfon he vowed eternal Enmity, for pre- f inning to tell him of his Faults in the Pulpit, whilft others of his Brethren, who thought themfelves wifer and better than him, were fo far from taking fuch Liberties, that they were always ready to enter into any Party of Pleafure that could be propofed, and enjoy it with as much Relifh as any 'Squire of them all ; but then how to do this confiftently with any Profeffion of Religion was the great Difficulty. He thought there muft be fome Truth at the Bottom of this 2/o Some Memoirs of the Life of this Affair of Religion ; but what it was, or how to come at it, he could not tell. Oh ! Sir (faid his Friend) leave that to me ; I will foon put you in a Way that fhall make you quite eafy on that Account. The great Support of thefe Parfons at prefent is Ortho- doxy. Pray Sir (fays the 'Squire) ivhat hard It'srd is that? What is the Meaning of it? JVhy Sir (faid he) Orthodoxy is believing as the Church believes, all the Ar- ticles of your Creed, yottr unfeigned AJJent and Confent to all the Points that require your Oaths and Subfcriptions ; and if ive can once unfettle this Point ', we Jhall go a great way tnvards demtlijhin* their Tyranny and Prieflcraft. On this Account it is, that Arianifm is at prefent the fa- /hionable and favourite Religion among many Pcrfons tf eminent Dijlinclion both in Church and State, who yet, for the prefent, keep up the Appearance of Religion and Santli- ty till an Opportunity Jhall offer to give a finijhing Stroke. I will take care to fend you, in a few Days, a full Ac- count of their Principles and Tenets, fupported by fitch Arguments as never a Doff or of them all Jhall be able to anjwer. And he was as good as his Word, and there- by put the 'Squire into fuch Confufion in fpelling and putting together fo many hard Words as he had never heard before in his Life, that he was once tempted to be ftill a Chriftian, to be civil to the Parfon, and fay his Prayers at Church as he ufcd to do ; but Vanity, Refentment, and a Defire of Diftin&ion, foon got the better of this pious Irrefolution : He refolved, if poflible, to make himfelf Mafter of the Scheme, and endeavour to make fome fort of Figure among thefe new Friends and Acquaintance. Some little Time after, as I had had a long Ac- quaintance with the Family, I went to make him a Vif.t, SIMON SHALLOW, Efq; 271 Vifit, without the leaft Sufpicion that fuch a 'Squire fhould ever turn Heretic. After a few Ceremonies, and a fhort Converfation, I began to inquire after the Health of his Neighbour, and particularly the Vicar ; he anfwered coldly, That he believed he was well ; he had heard nothing to the contrary. IVhy Sir (faid I) do you never fee him? No (faid he). What not at Church ? No, (faid he) to tell you the Truth, I feldom go there. Have you not heard that I am turned Arian ? Arian ! (faid I) Heaven forbid! IPhat do you mean ? JVhat is an Arian ! Nay, faith (fays he) I cannot very well tell you what it is, but I am told, it is fomething which is not a Chrijlian : But I have a Paper here that will let you into the whole Affair. Upon which he ftept to his Bureau, and took out a Sheet of Paper, con* taining a Train of incoherent Pofitions, and incon- clufive Arguments, as nearly refembling Syllogifms as an Ape does a Man. He attempted to read j but fo many hard Words, fo aukwardly put together, fo puzzled his Head, and fpoiled his Elocution, that he could make nothing of it. Upon which, (baking my Head, and fmiling, Sir (faid I) let me give you a Piece of Advice ; you have quite mi/laken your Talents : Nature no more intended you for a Heretic, than for a Jefuit. E'en change once more, and be a Free-thinker ; in that Char after you may pojjibfy Jhirie ; for you need be at no Trouble in reading or writing, or even thinking, though that is the pretended Badge and Diftinftion of the Party. You have nothing to do but to live merrily, and al with- out Rejiraint; to banter and talk again/1 Religion, if you can, if not, to laugh at every thing in it that you ei- ther do not like, or under/land, without being obliged to give any one a Reafon for fo doing. This Propofal hit 3 him; 272 Some Memoirs of the Life of, &c. him ; it was quite level to his Capacity ; he bit at once, and has ever fince, in all Companies, and on all Occafions, exerted his whole Mifunderftandings in the glorious Caufe of Free-thinking, and is now arrived at fuch a Degree of Sufficiency, as to fancy himfelf the invincible Champion of the Party, for this (Ingle Reafon, that let him be ever fo lewd, or ever fo impertinent, no Man of Senfe thinks it worth while to contradict him. 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