profcribed and attainted at once *. Whole cities, provinces, and kingdoms, have been doomed to perifht. Nay, many kingdoms, bore this remarkable title: Le Martyre de Frere Jacques Clement de l'ordre de St. Dominique, contenant au vrai toutes les particularitez plus remarquables de la fainte refolution et tres-heureuse enterprize, à l'encountre de Henry de Valois. A Paris, chez Robert le Fizelier à la Bible d'or, avec permission, 1589. In the laft leaf of which he is reprefented with fuch glory on his head, as the faints are ufually painted with, in the figure exhibiting him when flain. And last of all, to fanctify all this adoration, the unerring pontiff, in a pre meditated speech, pronounced his panegyric in open confiftory, and indelibly ftamped him, for all ages to come, the greatest hero and confeffor that had ever appeared among mortals, far fuperior to Judith or Eleazar; whofe deed he reckoned worthy to be compared with the incarnation of the Lord, and the myftery of his refurrection, foretold by the prophet Habakkuk, to keep to the words of a hiftorian who gives the account, Si quidem poftquam de regis morte Rome allatum eft, ille in confiftorio tertio die Sept. habito, præmeditatam orationem habuit, qua factum Clementis opera assumpte a Domino carnis, et refurrectionis ejusdem myfterio, ab Abaccuco vate pradicato, propter magnitudinem, et rei admirationem comparat, tum virtutem hominis, animi robur, et ferventem erga Deum amorem fupra Eleazarum, et Juditham, verbis extollit. This notable oration, in which he gave folemn thanks to God for the fhocking parricide, was after wards printed, and the edition of Paris was published with the approbation of three doctors, Boucher, De Creil, and Ancelin. Mezerayy Hift. dc. tome iii. p. 659. Mem. de Nevers, tome ii, p. 453. Faille, Annal, de la ville de Tholoufe, tome x-1. Du Moul. Buckl. of F. I. i. § 138. et l. ii. § 140. Dupleix, Hift. de la Fr. tome iv. p. 30. *To crown all the other hardships and miferies which the Proteftants in Ire land fuffered under the reign of the Popish James, and to give them a decifive blow at once, an act of attainder paffed in parliament against a multitude of Proteftants collected from all the feveral counties of Ireland, in which were contained 1 duke, 17 earls, 7 counteffes, 30 viscounts or viscounteffes, 2 archbishops, 7 bishops, 18 barons, 33 baronets, 51 knights, 33 clergymen, 2182 efquires and gentlemen. Thefe were all, unheard, declared traitors, and adjudged to fuffer the pains of death and forfeiture; and, to leave them no poffibility of efcaping, the act itself was concealed, and no copy of it allowed to any Proteftant till four months after it was paffed, and thereby the time elapfed for their compearance to ftand their trial. Such a multitude attainted at once was perhaps never heard of in any age or nation. King, State of Proteft, in Irel c. p. 208, 255. Popery always the fume, p.x0. A + When the duke of Alva entered on his government of the Low Countries, the king of Spain, upon a confultation with the inquifitors, put all the inhabi tants of thefe countries under an interdict, declared their bodies and goods confifcated, found them guilty of treafon, worthy of death, and fallen from all their privileges: fo that, in a moment, a great nation was feen condemned all at once kingdoms, with their myriads and millions of inhabitants, have been marked out for one devoted facrifice; and with infatlable cruelty, exceeding that of Caligula who wished that the Romans had all one neck that he might cut them off at one blow, the life of the whole race, at once, of thofe who have been in the style of Rome heretical, has been fought for, and aimed at, that no existence or memorial might be left them upon the face of the earth. And the once to gibbets and wheels. For executing that terrible fentence, unexampled in ages past, a council was established at Bruffels, july called the Council of blood: all the other coun ils of the state were aunibilated; the ordinary tribunals loft their authority; all the privileges of the country were abolished; the inquifition was established; and all the nobles who had petitioned for the prefervation of the public liberty were condemned to lose their goods and life. In all places nothing was feen but hangmen, scaffolds and gibbets erected, fires kindled, profcriptions and punishments. That monfter of cruelty, during fix years of his government, boafted, that he had put to death 18,000 perfons by the hands of the executioner alone, befides the multitudes which perished by massacres, and the hands of his barbarous foldiers. The confifcations amounted yearly to 9,000,000 of gold: the tenth-penny which was levied upon all moveable goods, without reckoning the various other exactions, to 12,000,000 per ang. For such noble exploits as thefe did the governor reckon himself entitled to an honorary fatue, which was erected for him at trampling the provinces under foot. Le Grande Dick. Hift. Juricu, Apologie pour la Reform, tome ii. p. 275, &c. • Coleman the Jefuit in his letters to Father de la Chaife, confeffor to the French king, writes, "We have here a mighty work upon cur hands, no less "than the converfion of three kingdoms, and by that perhaps the subduing of 66 a peftilent herefy, which has domineered over a great part of this northern "world a long time; there were never fuch hopes of fuccefs fince the death of "Queen Mary, as now in our days; when God has given us a prince (may "I fay a miracle) zealous of being the author and inftrument of fo glorious a work; but the oppofition we are fure to meet with, is also like to be great; "fo that it imports us to get all the aid and affiftance we can; for the harvest "is great, and the labourers but few."-" Our prevailing will give the greatest "blow to the Proteftant religion here, that ever it received fince its birth.' In another to the Pope's nuncio he fays, "that their defign advanced apace, " and that they would foon fee the entire ruin of the Proteftant party.” Often, fince the commencement of the Reformation, plans have been laid by Rome and her adherents for extirpating the reformed in every nation of Europe, and destroying that intereft at once from the face of the earth. At the time of the council of Trent, refolutions were taken, and measures concerted for that purpose, the much defired end had long fince been accomplished, if Catholic bloody leagues, oaths*, edicts, croifades, armies, purpose, by the court of Rome, the council, and Catholic princes; of which the difmal and fhocking feenes, which followed in France, were a confequence, and but one act of the complete intended tragedy. That fuch resolutions were at leaft fecretly agreed to by the clergy of the council, appears from a writing published to the world by one of the fecretaries of Cardinal Bouromeo, containing the heads of that infernal plan; which the reader may find in the appendix. That this was actually intended and attempted by the principal Popish powers about that time, when Proteftants were nearly as numerous as they are at this day, is too evident from history, to admit of any doubt: and the design has often been revived fince, particularly in the end of last century. Soon after the end of the first civil war in France, while the Huguenots were deceived by a falfe appearance of peace, the court was indefatigably pursuing the scheme of their tuin. For this end Queen Katherine had an interview with Ifubella queen of Spain, who came to Bayonne on the frontiers of the two kingdom's, accompanied with the duke of Alva. "The event afterwards fhewed," fays Mezeray, "that all their conferences together tended to establish a secret alliance between "the two kings for extirpating entirely the Proteftants." La Nouë fays, “ thať "the refolution taken at Bayonne, with the duke of Alva, to exterminate the "Huguenots of France, and the beggars of Flanders, &c. was brought to light by intercepted letters, coming from Rome and Spain, in which the designs propofed to be executed were very plainly discovered. Mezer. Hift. an. 1565. Noue, Difcours polit. et milit. p. 65. Furieu, Apol. etc. tome ii. p. 381, etc. * Princes at their coronation have taken oaths not only to defend the Romish church, but also to extirpate all heretics out of their dominions: bishops and priests have done the fame at their confecration; and knights at their inftalment. A new order of knights errant or militant was instituted by Paul V. and another established at Vienna, under the patronage of the Virgin, St. Michael, and St. Francis, for the purpofe of ridding the world of heretical monfters. Another for the fame purpose was instituted in Hungary, in 1745, under the protection of St. Jofeph and St. Charles, to whom the Pope granted a privileged altar in the church of Domolk. At the time of the revolt of the Netherlands an oath was impofed on all the nobility, judges, and others in the provinces, obliging them to fupport the Romish religion, to punish facrilege, and extirpa:e heresy. Before the beginning of the civil wars in France, a defign was formed of cutting off all the principal perfons of the Proteftan party in a meeting of the estates called at Orleans, in 1560, for that purpose, in the time of Francis II. Rolls and lifts of those who were to be facrificed in all the provinces were prepared. The old prifons were made ready, and new ones built, for the reception of the victims. But this having mifcarried, the Guifean faction pusted on the king to another no lefs horrid, which was, to invite by letters all the grandees of the kingdom to court, and, when affembled, to oblige them to fign, after his own example, a confeflion of faith, with a proteftation and oath annexed, "That 2 armies, armadast, infidious stratagems, treacherous mur "That they should run up and down every where, and neither spare father, "mother, wife, children, brethren, fifters, or friends, of those who were "fufpected of herefy, or who should refuse to pursue heretics." The cardinal of Lorraine was to make all the clergy fubfcribe this declaration, and the chancellor de l' Hopital all the magiftrates and people of the law; and at last it was to be fent through all the provinces to be fubfcribed by every one without excep tion; and the refufers were to be burnt and destroyed without any other form of process. Moreri. Jurieu. Apal. etc. tome ii. p. 368, 369. †The formidable armada sent against England in 1588 will remain to all future time, a Ariking inftance of Spanish bigotry, and Romish cruelty; as it was a fort of religious expedition, undertaken at the instigation and under the aufpices of the Pope, and owed its origin to the fame spirit and counfels which wafted the Low Countries with perfecutions, and promoted the fury of the holy league in France, For this expedition the most extraordinary preparations were made, and the wealth and strength of Spain almoft exhaufted upon it. The fleet confifted of 134 fhips, in which were about 20,000 foldiers, 8000 mariners, near 3000 galley flaves, 2630 cannon, with every thing else for use, oftentation, or terror: with this grand armament the duke of Parma, with his army in the Netherlands, was alfo to co-operate; so that the armada was ftyled invincible;, and nothing less than a total conquest, and the entire extinction of herefy was propofed and expected. There were 120 noblemen of diftinction volunteers in the expedition, and 100 monks and Jefuits under the fuperintendency of Cardinal Allen, who took care to translate the Pope's bull, in behalf of the enter prize, into English. To denote the fanctity of the defign, twelve of the ships were called by the names of the twelve apofties: the Pope bleed the banners, and folemnly confecrated the expedition as a croisade against Turks and infidels; and it was recommended to the prayers of all good Catholics; and the piety of the cause was set forth in a book which was printed, wherein all the preparations were recited. The duke of Savoy and fome other Catholic princes voluntarily engaged in fuch a sanctified and meritorious attempt. The cunning Pontiff promised 1,000,coo of crowns to defray the expence; but, after hearing the news of the miscarriage, contented himself with writing a letter of condolence to Philip upon the occafion to which the king coldly replied, "That he had "sent out his armada to fight against the enemies of Chrift, but net to combat "against the decrees of heaven, or to conquer the tempefts of the fea;" repra ving, at the fame time, the small zeal the Pope fhewed towards the Catholic > princes who with so much ardour had defended the Roman religion, concluding," that as his Holiness had exhorted to that undertaking, in confequence. "whereof he had engaged in it, the loss ought to be common: but as the ho nour remained to him, of having loft a fleet in the fervice of the church of "Chrift, and as the church had as much caufe to lament that lofs as he had, "he fhould henceforth leave the care and defence of her to his Holiness, proming, that he should follow him, but not lead any more." Hiftories of Big Gregor. Leti, Fit, di Sifto. V. tome ii, p. 328, 329. 1 X ders, ders, the moft horrid and barbarous maffacres *, the gloomy As all means are by the Romish church accounted lawful for the deftruction of heretics, the most treacherous and barbarous maffacres of all for s of person's indiscriminately, even in times of the moft profound peace, have been employed among the rest. This has often been recommended and adopted as the most proper and xpeditious method, and more adviseable than to run the hazard of a direct and open war. The inftances of these are too many both in the more early andi ater ages of Popery, to be here particularly noticed. Some of thefe have either been performed, or propofed and concerted, in almost every Catho lic country where Proteftants have been living. The fhocking massacres, perpetrated in Ireland last century, began on St. Ignatius's day, which were so secretly contrived, fo religiously conducted, and with fuch favage unrelenting cruelty perfifted in, to the destruction of 150,000 perfons, (if we credit the accounts of thefe who had best access to know), although the success in the execution was not equal to the whole extent of the wishes and defigns of the perpetrators, are familiarly known to every British and Irish Proteftant. Yet, fhocking and odious as thefe will appear to every one who is not a disgrace to human nature, they were the genuine dictates of Romish priests authorized by Papal bulls, and the natural refult of the fyftem we are confidering. In Savoy, and the vallies of Piedmont, we have dreadful examples of the fame nature, particularly in the maffacre of 1655, of which we have the most affecting descriptions in Mureland's and Leger's Hiftories of the perfecutions of these churches. But France alone has been the theatre of fo many of these base inhuman butcheries, as may fill the world with horror and deteftation for ever at the caufe. Witness the maffacre of Merindol and Cabrieres in 1545. The inhabitants of these places were of the race of the Vaudois, who had taken refuge in these mountains from the perfecutions of the Papacy in other places, and had rendered the deferts fertile by their industry, living in the most peaceable manner: but their adherence to their ancient religion, and the friendship which they contracted with their brethren the Proteftants, was reckoned sufficient cause, after many of them had been destroyed by various kinds of perfecution, to devote them all to death and extermination at once. Which fentence was executed by the prefident of Oppede, with fuch circumftances of cruelty as the Jefuit Maimbourg himself is forced to own nothing could exceed; and which afterwards excited remorfe in the callous hearts of Francis I, and his fucceffor Henry II. According to the author juft named, 3000 men, women, and chil dren, were killed, 600 fent to the gallies, befides great numbers who were driven to perish in the woods by famine. Twenty-four villages, and 900 houses, after being pillaged, were burnt and razed to the ground. When the troops took poffeffion of Cabrieres, all the men who could be found were collected together in a field, and cut to pieces, amounting to 900. The women were shut up in a barn with much firaw, which the prefident caused to be fet on fire, and when any of them attempted to escape by a window in the wall, they were infiantly pushed back again into the fire with pikes and halberts. Many pregnant women were burnt in the flames, and others ripped up, and the infants tram pled |