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ing a patronacy to reveries, and mankind shall always find their account, better in mediums, than in extremes. The doctrine of the Italian has fattened the German foil with dead bodies,

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and induced a pope to attempt placing his flesh and blood on the throne of the Cæfars. The doctrine of the Englishman has placed, dray-men and coblers in the feats of British peers; and by an extraordinary viciffitude in bringing a king to the block in England, raised a taylor to the throne in Germany.t

Such are the fruits of thofe two fyftems, equally pernicious to the fafety of kings, and the peace of fociety. Their refpective authors, in ftriking from the plain road of the Chriftian doctrine, "Let every foul be fubject to higher

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powers," into the airy paths of fpeculation, have bufied themselves in purfuit of a plan the moft alarming to mankind. Kings were beheaded, and others depofed, before fome of thofe authors had published their works, it is true but they are the more juftifiable in publifhing a doctrine which may tincture the fcaffold a fecond time? The difference between them is, that the Englishman, in terfe and popu-. lar language, engages the imagination; adorns his fubject by a long chain of deductions; makes

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* Alexander VI.

K

↑ John of Leyden, a taylor, made king of Munster.

makes truth bend to argument, reality to appearance; and is read by all. In this great arfenal, every common reader can find arms to reduce his king to reafon; the fhipwright and carpenter are enabled, by the rules of political logic, to trim the vessel of ftate, and fteer it through the unbounded ocean of conftitutional liberty. But the ultramontane divine, brifling with barbarous Latin, is not read by one in three millions. Powdered with duft, and stretched on the shelf of a college-library, he. fleeps as found as Endimion in his cave; and more is the pity: for his doctrine of the depofing power is founded on as folid proofs as the hiftory of that Spaniard who made a voyage to the moon; and difplayed in a ftyle not in-. ferior to that of Valentine and Orfon. Of his style and arguments I send you the following Sample:

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"Probatur per fimilitudinem ad artem franifactoriam et equeftrem. Ut enim duæ ille ar"tes funt inter fe diverfæ, quia diftin&ta habent

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objecta, et fubjecta, et actiones; et tamen "quia finis unius ordinatur ad finem alterius, ❝ideo una, alteri præeft, et leges ei præfcribit : ita videntur poteitas ecclefiaftica et politica, diftinctæ

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*New-coined Latin, much of the fame date with the depofing power.

"diftinctæ poteftates effe; et tamen una alteri "fubordinata, quoniam finis unius ad finem al"terius natura fua refertur." "That the pope "has an indirect power in temporals is proved

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by the example of the art of making bridles, “and the art of riding: for as these two arts are different, because they have different ob'jects, and fubjects, and actions and notwithstanding, because the end of one is appointed for the end of the other, therefore one

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prefides over the other, and prefcribes laws "to it in like manner, the ecclefiaftical and "political powers feem to be diftinct powers, "and the one nevertheless fubordinate to the other, because the end of the one is by its own nature referred to the end of the other."

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There, fir, is learned gibberish, faddling the pope on the backs of kings, by Ariftotle's metaphysics, the object, subject, action, relation, and end of bridle-making.

Another advocate for the depofing power difapproves the fimile: "Because," fays he, very gravely," if the art of riding were taken away, bridles would be useless: but the poli"tical power can fubfift without the ecclefiafti"Si enim non fit ars equeftris, fuper

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An attempt to rectify the lameness of the comparifon, by one quite as lame. If I had not the authority of a cardinal to apologize for an abfurdity, I fhould not mention it, for fear of being cenfured: but I expect, that, with his eminence's paffport, it will be well received by the public. He compares then the pope to a fhepherd, and the king to aries. "Paftori eft poteftas triplex: una circa lupos, altera circa 66 arietes, tertia circa oves: unde debet arietem "furiofum depellere."*

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You have in these two fimiles as folid arguments in favour of the depofing power, as Albertus Phigius and Bellarmin have ever advanced in fupport of their hypothefis: and to them and their authors, I grant the fame paffport the fatirist granted Annibal in croffing the Alps:

"I, demens, et fævas curre per Alpes,
"Ut pueris placeas, et declamatio fias."+

You are to expect fome fcripture, in like manner for there never has been an error, how monftrous foever, but fcripture was quoted to give it fome colour. Arians, Eutychians, Neftorians have wrefted the facred writings to a wrong fenfe. The advocates for the depofing power had done the fame. They quote St. Paul, who

Bellarmin, ibidem.

+ Juvenal, fat. x.

who blames the Corinthians for pleading before heathen magiftrates. This proves that you and I could depofe a king, because we would advise our neighbour to avoid troublefome and fcandalous law-fuits, and leave the decision to the arbitration of two honeft neighbours. "Jehoi"ada, the high priest, ordered queen Athalia to "be flain. Ergo, the pope has an indirect.

power over bad kings."

This proves a direct power, not only to depose, but to murder them: a power which neither Bellarmin nor any Catholic divine has ever vouched. Secondly: Athalia, who had murdered all the princes of the royal houfe of Judah, except Joafh, was no longer queen, when the fentence was paffed on her; for the young prince was crowned in the temple, and recognized by his fubjects. His minority could not have deprived him of the right of the fword: and Jehoiada acted as minifter of state, not in his pontifical character. This evinces Bellarmin's blunder in confounding together the queen and fubject, the pontiff and counsellor. Thirdly: during the fix years the fwayed the fceptre, none of her fubjects revolted against her, much - lefs did the pious pontiff abfolve them from their allegiance, though she re-established Baal's worhip, and maintained his priests in the temple

Fourth Book of Kings.

of

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