weak and infignificant, having no op. portunities of any Common Council, they can never joyn in any Common Defign. But let them once have but fo much as any one Phrase to know one another by, any fetled place for their constant Meetings,and a fet and known company for them to meet with, and any Bond whatever which doth unite them, and they prefently become a diftinct People, and begin to be dangerous, as having an Interest, Counfels and Body of their own, which the Government is not manager of, nor privy to, but shall quickly find it felf highly concerned by all means to provide against.

Let it once be permitted to crafty, active, talking, lying and defigning men, to instil into the minds of all forts of People, the neceffity, ufefulnefs, piety, or rare excellency of any one thing or Contrivance whatever, beyond that which the prefent Laws and establishment doth provide for ; and is not here a moft readily prepared matter for any bold Boutefeu to work upon, who will take upon him to

help

help the Nation immediately to fo fine a thing? Hath not any fuch Undertaker a vast and already formed Party in all Parts of the Kingdom? Let him but represent to them, that the prefent Government is the only rub in their way, between them and their fo fancied happiness; and is it not very likely that this will be the very next Confequent Refolution ; let us remove that Obftacle, fo pub. lick a good is much to be preferred before any particular Form or Family; the welfare of the Nation is the great End, and Governours themselves were created but in order to that,and confequently are to cease as often as that End can be better attained without them.

Though the pretence be nothing but Conscience, yet every discontent will joyn to make the Cry both loud and general. Schifms do of themfelves naturally grow into Parties, and, befides, are most plaufible Occafions for any elfe to joyn unto them; the gathered Churches are most excellent Materials to raise new Troops M 4

out

out of, and when they are thus far prepared, they are easily perfwaded to be at the Service of any one who will attempt to lead them on.

If all men were wife and honest, if every one understood well,and would act accordingly; upon that Suppofition Confcience might have a much greater truft reposed in it than can be now adviseable: And if we could flatter our felves fo far as to take that to be the Cafe, this would no more fuperfede the neceffity of the coercive power of Laws in Religious matters, than it would upon the fame grounds fuperfede it in Civil ones. For no Laws which ever were or can be in the World can poffibly provide in any Degree for thofe large measures of Justice, Equity, Mercy, and all kinds of fair dealing, which would infallibly every where be met with, if all men did take Care to keep a good Confcience; Truth, Juftice, Temperance, &c. are things which every man's Conscience doth and must needs tell him that he is obliged to,yet were it not for fear of the Law, we should

find that Confcience is not alone to be trufted in these which are her Natural and familiar Ojects: And this is a thing fo known and granted on all hands, that it is not usual with men in their dealings among one another to trust purely, in matters of any moment, to one anothers Confcience. And seeing we acknowledge that Conscience may fo often prevaricate in these plain and obvious things, where the is fo eafily found out; we have no great cause to truft to her fidelity, that she will not alfo diffemble in thofe things which are more remote and obfcure, and hidden from the very best of our discovery. Let those therefore, who plead for Liberty of Conscience, confider; that there are two forts of men, which ought to be provided againft, to keep this contrivance of theirs from being abfolutely the most fencelefs and dangerous in the whole World; and upon their Grounds it doth not appear to be fo much as poffible to provide against them: First, those who are not honeft, and these may pretend Consci

ence

ence if they will, and in that Cafe Religion and Government, Truth and Peace are like to be moft admirably fecured, when they are authoritatively permitted to the arbitrary Management of every defigning Atheist, who will but take upon him to be an Enthusiast: And in the fecond place, as all men are not honeft, fo all men are not wife, and as the former fort may pretend Confcience, fo the latter are perpetually liable to be imposed upon by the innumerable, however abfurd pretences unto it: Those Laws are not fitted for the Temper of this World, which are made upon this fuppofition, that every one who looks demurely is presently in good earneft,that men fay nothing but what they think; let us but confider that it is very poffible for men to perfonate, and then we fhall not be very eager to defire a general License for every one who hath a mind to become a publick Cheat.

And then from these diversities of Judgments,and many times when they are only different forms of fpeaking,

there