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taught kings to cherish the cross in their hearts, before it was displayed in their banners, and to prefer a heavenly before an earthly throne. Had they thought (and who could know better?) that the power to depofe them, and to abfolve their fubjects from their allegiance, were conducive to the glory of God and the honour of religion, they never would have concealed it, much less would they have commanded to obey them.

Every where and by all. The depofing power though grounded as I remarked before, on temporal claims, has been oppofed by the Catholics from its birth. In Germany by open force and bloody wars : in Ireland, whofe kings and prelates paid no attention to the famous bull of pope Adrain: In England by a folemn declaration, 16 Rich. II. Even under Elizabeth, a Proteftant queen, the English Catholics joined their fovereign, and paid a greater regard to the command of St. Paul, cbey the prince, than to the difpenfation of Sixtus Quintus, or the expectation of being relieved by a Catholic king, which made the Spanish admiral fay," that if he had landed, he would

have made no diftinction between a Catholic and a Proteftant, fave what diftinétion the * point of his fword would have made between their flefh." I believe it; for a conqueror's fword

fword is an undiftinguishing weapon, were even a crucifix tied to the hilt of it. In invading England, it is the enemy of Spain, not the enemy of the mass, the Spaniards would attack; were they here this inftant, they would not deprive a Proteftant of his eftate, because it belonged three hundred years ago to fome old Milefian, whofe pofterity is now at the plough; it would not be their intereft, the the laws of confcience and conqueft forbid it, and the rivals of England will always find their intereft in the poverty and defencelefs fituation of her fubjects.

In fine, the pope's temporal power has been baffled by the Venetians in their contests with Paul V. And in France, whoever would argue in its favour would be confuted with a halter, or galley chain.

According to the canon law, a hundred years prescription in temporals can be pleaded against the Church of Rome. "Contra eccle"fiam Romanam valet præfcriptio centum an"norum." A hundred years and more have elapsed, fince no pope has attempted to dif pofe of kingdoms, or abfolve fubjects. from their allegiance, though armies have been poured into the pope's territories, and his cities taken by Catholic princes. Out of his own

states,

ftates, his temporal prerogative is confined to a palfrey he receives from the king of Naples every year, as a cuftomary homage. The two late popes have abfolutely difclaimed any temporal power over kings. Thus, things have returned back into the former channel of primitive fimplicity: God has his own, and Cæfar his due; and the two powers which men had confounded, and blended into one Delphian sword, equally adapted to the miniftry of the altar and profane uses, are again divided.

In tracing thus the temporal power, we have chofen a medium between the enthufiafm of fome Italians, and the prejudices of their antagonists. The picture drawn by those different painters, is all light or fhadow. In refolving it into the grants of kings and civil contracts, prescription and a colourable title, as its firft principles, we prefer the middle tints and in measuring the portrait by this rule, it its due dimenfions.

we give

But in binding the pontiff's hands, and denying him any power directly or indirectly in temporals, I folemnly declare that I do not mean to derogate in the leaft from his fpiritual fupremacy. A vindication of my character calls for this declaration : as two divines of my communion have cenfured the following paffages of the seventh letter to Michael Servetus.

In

In mentioning the belief of Rome and Geneva, concerning the immortality of the foul, &c. I have made ufe of the expreffions, "their rule of faith is different but these fun"damentals of religion are entirely expunged "from your ritual." Here I was charged with admitting the famous diftinction between fundamentals and non-fundamentals: but the truth of this charge,I abfolutely deny.

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"Let the word, church, be understood of "the collective body of Chriftians," &c. Here again I was represented as a Latitudinarian. But with fubmiffion to my cenfors, they mistook my meaning. To allege the authority of the church of Rome, againft a writer who denies it, is to commit a gross fault against the rules of logic. It is a petitio principii, or begging the queftion. If ever they argue in this manner, when the dispute turns on articles believed by Chriftians of all denominations, I believe they would glorify God more by prayer and filence: for a bad argument is an injury to truth.

To fome this apology may feem unneceffary, but not fo to me, whofe character has been injured by the imputation of a double doctrine : I who am bound not to fcandalize a weak brother, and who, were I even the firft paftor of the church, fhould be as docile to her voice, as the laft of her children.

ART.

ART. VI.

“ AND I do folemnly, in the presence of God, "and of his only Son Jefus Chrift my Re"deemer, profefs, teftify, and declare, that I "do make this declaration, and every part "thereof, in the plain and ordinary sense of "the words of this oath, without any evasion, "equivocation, or mental refervation, what"ever; and without any difpenfation already granted by the pope, or any authority of "the fee of Rome, or any person whatever ; "and without thinking I am or can be ac

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quitted before God or man, or abfolved of "this declaration, or any part thereof, al

though the pope, or any other person or "perfons, or any authority whatsoever, shall "difpenfe with, or annul the same, or de"clare that it was null and void from the "beginning."

This laft paragraph excludes amphibologies, evafions, equivocations, and mental refervations everfive of natural candour and Chriftian fincerity,-branded by the pastors of the church with the odious qualifications of "rafh, fcan(6 dalous,

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