under the exprefs fanction of Papal authority and approbation.

fent among them, wha

lity; which the too credulous inhabitants, deceived by repeated folemn proteftations, agreeing to, they were no fooner admitted than they began to butcher men, women, and children with unheard-of barbarities. A treaty was afterwards made at Pignerol, but no fooner made than broken; even fome of the first preliminary articles of it were never fulfilled, fuch as the restoration of the children which had been carried away, although promifed by royal patent. The 'continued infractions of the peace occafioned various complaints, fupplications, and remonstrances, to be carried to court by the oppreffed inhabitants, and fome neighbouring ftates: but all that thefe produced, was a new band of murderers renewed the fame cruelty and perfidy, though not altogether with the fame fuccefs. The pacifications which followed the perfecution and maffacre in 1663 were no better obferved. In 1686 the duke of Savoy and the French king invaded that poor people on all fides: they made a noble refiftance which obliged thofe two powers to come to a treaty with them, and feign 2 peace; after which they furptized them before they could reaffemble, and killed and took about 12,000 of them; fo that a few only efcaped to the mountains, where they were hunted for half a year, and at last obtained the fignal favour to be allowed to banish them felves for ever; though, of 8 or 10,000, scarce a third part reached Swifferland, the 'reft perishing through want and hardships. These petty tyrants of Savoy kept their faith no better with other Proteftants, as appears all along from their conduct towards Geneva, which they fo often attempted to take by force, surprize, and efcalade, 'contrary to treaties. In 1567 the dake had fome territories about that city restored by the Proteftant cantons, on condition that the reformed fhould there enjoy their religion; which contract was not at all obferved.

In Flanders and Holland the duchefs of Parma granted an edit of pacification, by which all that was paffed was buried, and the exercife of the Protestant religion connived at for the future: this Philip II. ratified, and profeffed himfelf fully refolved to maintain; but foon after, without any regard to former promifes and edits, Alva is fent with his bloody commiffion, who yet artfully endeavoured by flattering promises to draw the chiefs of the patriotic party into his power; and fuch as relied upon thefe, had their heads cut off as a requital of their confidence.

tt

In Poland the Proteftants were multiplied under Sigifmund the laft king of the race of the Jagellons. They prefented their Confession of Faith to the king, who, having read it twice over, delared to their deputies, "That it was agree"able to the common faith of Chriftians, and that they and theirs fhould ea "joy protection and peace." After his death the states of the kingdom, before proceeding to the election of a new king, enacted an irrevocable law in 1573, that the crown fhould not be given to any perfon whatever that would not preferve liberty of confcience, and the free exercife of both religions: and when Henry de Valois, afterwards Henry III. of France, who was elected, fcrupled to take the oath, one of the noblemen took the crown, and went out of the church, faying, Either you shall fwear, or you shall not reign. This decree was

farther

1

approbation *.

To the force of the exterminating principle,

farther confirmed in 1586, 1587, 1632; the privileges of the Diffidents, and their capacity of civil offices, were fecured to them by the treaty of Oliva. Yet they have been robbed of their privileges, deprived of their churches, punished and driven out as blasphemers, and sometimes nearly extirpated from the kingdom. The number of their congregations fome time was reduced in Greater Poland to 21, the most confiderable of which was in the city of Lefna, which was totally destroyed by fire and fword, through the malice of their Popish enemies, instigated by the monks and clergy, who took occafion, from the irruption of the Swedes into Poland, to begin a most cruel perfecution and maffacre of the Proteftants in Lefna and other places; fo that fearce one church escaped the conflagration and havock. In 1724, upon the false accufations of Jefuits, the chief magiftrate of Thorn and nine of the citizens were executed; the Proteftants deprived of their church and school, and other privileges; and in 1736 the Diffidents were declared incapable of public offices in the kingdom. The hardships they have more recently fuffered are generally known.

The liberty and peace granted to the Proteftants in Germany by the emperor, and ratified in the diet of Ratisbone 1532, and by his brother Ferdinand about. the fame time, were not long continued to them. The Pope was extremely difpleafed with thefe conceffions, and ceafed not till they were revoked, and a religious war kindled. In the conclufion of it the landgrave of Heffe. having made terms of pacification with the emperor, was, contrary to the treaty and the imperial faith given him, made a clofe prifoner, to the great prejudice of the Proteftants. The duke of Saxony, refenting the treachery, had recourfe again to arms, and brought Charles to the peace of Paffau, confirmed at the next diet of Augfturg, in which it was provided, that neither party fhould be disturbed on account of religion. But this fettlement was overturned, as by the archduke of Grats-and more remarkably in the time of Matthias, when Ferdinand II. was imposed on the Bohemians, which threw both Bohémia and Hungary into a flame, and ftirred up thefe violent wars and perfecutions which ended in the utter extinction of the Proteftant intereft in Bohemia, accompanied with equal barbarities and infidelities, the Jefuits not being afhamed of deceiving them with falfe promifes, faying, "That heretics must be dealt "with as madmen and children, from whom, if you desire to get a knife, you,

muft fhew them fomething elfe, though you never intend to give it them." The war in the end spread through all Germany, and almost al: Europe, for 30 years, and terminated in the peace of Weftphalia, 1648. After the fuccefs of the emperors in Bohemia, the liberties of the whole Poteffant body in the empire were threatened, and fruck at, which obliged them to form a league for their defence, of which the great Guftavus Adolphus became the head. By the treaty of Weftphalia many privileges were fecured to the Protestants, and religion was fettled on the fame footing it had been in 1624 in every flate and city of Germany. But against this treaty the Pope folemnly protefted, in fo far as it was derogatory from the interefts of the church of Rome, declaring it, in these respects, null and void: and though the Popish

powers

principle, and the delufive influence of this fierce intempe

rate

powers were obliged from neceffity, and for political reafons, to accede to it, yet in the matter of religion hath not been fa. redly kept by them, though it be a fundamental law of the empire. Many writings have been published by the Popish doctors and divines, in order to invalidate the treaty. Alm ft every year complaints of grievances, and infractions of it, have been prefen ed before the evangelic body, and by them to the imperial chambers, but ufually without ef. fect. In 1719, &c. the complaints of the Proteftants in the Palatinare were fo great, and the violations of the public faith fo glaring, that all the principal powers of Europe prefented memorials and remonftrances in their behalf, and infifted on redrefs. In the courfe of one winter, 1731 and 1732, about 20,678 were, on account of religion, driven from the archbishopric of Saltzburg. Others in many places have been forced to comply with Popish cultoms, and restrained in many parts of their religious rights. By the treaty of Al Ranstadt 1707, 125 churches were given to the Lutherans in Silefia; yet within two years after, by a decree of the emperor joseph, they were again deprived of them, and all who had embraced Lutheranism were obliged to ren unce it, under pain of banishment, or confifcation of goods. From the time of the acceffion of the late emprefs-queen to the year 1749 the Protestants in Hungary were deprived of 105 churches.

If we turn our eyes to France, we will find yet more abundant proofs, that Popish engagements with heretics are nothing but deceitful lies. To recount particularly all the arts of treachery practifed upon the poor Huguenots in every fucceeding reign, from the time the public faith was first pledged to them, is impoffible. We are affured by all the honest and difinterested hiftorians of the one religion as well as the other, that, prior to the edict of Nantes, there was never one treaty made with them in good faith, but always with a design to furprize, difarm, opprefs, or maffacre them, in the hour when they were thinking least of it, while they, by the confeflion of their enemies, in their treaties always fought for peace, and executed them with the fame fincerity. No fooner was the fift edict granted by the queen mother, and the flates affembled at St. Germain's, in 1561, allowing them the exercife of their religion, than a triumvirate was formed against them to render it of no efect; and the Proteftants in many places were more cruelly used and flaughtered than ever, which obliged them to take arms, for the first time, in their own defence; and foon again obtained peace, which was no better obferved: fratagems were u'ed to deftroy the chiefs of the party; a league was formed at Thouloufe under Cardinal d'Armagnac, against the rebellious beretics and fetaries; the more dangerous plot was fecretly concerted at Bayonne for the extirpation of the Proteflants: gentlemen of distinction were affaffinated; and 3000, as Noue writes, were flain in a fhort time. To which we may add the teftimony of Mezeray: "They reftrained," fays he, " every day, their liberty which had been granted "them by the edicis, until it was reduced almost to nothing. The people felt upon them in the places where they were weakest. In those where they could defend themselves the governors made ufe of the authority of the king

rate zeal, every thing elfe has been obliged to give away.

It

to opprefs them. Their cities and forts were difmantled; there was no "justice for them, in the parliaments, or king's council: they were maffacred "with impunity; they were not reinftated in their goods, and charges. "In fine, they had confpired their ruin with the Pope, the house of Austria, "and the duke of Alva." No wonder though a second war broke out, in which the Proteftants prevailing, procured a 3d edict, and feveral cautionary towns for the performance of it. But this the court alfo broke, renewed the former violences, and laughed at them for thinking they would obferve edicts. 66 The intention of thofe," fays the author last named," who made the peace of Chartres was not to keep it, but that they might gain advantages to their affairs thereby." Accordingly a new war commences, and was followed by another peace in 1570, more advantageous to the Proteftants, and more fincere in appearance, than any of the preceeding: but the pit was only digged more deep, and the fnare more artfully spread, in which they were to be taken. From that time forward, for the space of two years, the Parisian maflacre was a brewing, while every thing wore the afpect of favour, courtesy, and lafting happiness to the devoted Huguenots. They were admitted promifcuously to all ho nourable offices; received into the univerfities, fchools, hofpitals: were allow, ed to except against any whom they thought their enemies in the courts: the admiral had 100,000 crowns paid him out of the treafury, for the loffes had fuftained the king called him Father, careffed him and avowed he never faw a more happy day than that, adding, "now we have you with us, you "fhall never depart from our fide hereafter."-But the long train of perfidious wiles which introduced that doleful tragedy is endless: the devil himself ne. ver produced any more bafe and hellish, Rome at first thought the matter overdone, and began to fufpect the king's moft Chriftian intentions: the good Catholics murmured, and the ecclefiaftics were filled with indignation, until the plot was unravelled in the final catastrophe -The unexpected stroke of Bartholomew, ftunned all the Proteftants of Europe, and put them upon their guard, no wonder thofe in France, who escaped flew to arms, refolving rather to fuffer the extremities of war, and famine than ly at the mercy of fuch bloody and treacherous men. This 4th war terminated in another peace, fworn in the moft folemn manner as the former, and kept in the fame manner too: fo that the 5th war began before a year elapfed; the Catholic league being now formed, and strengthened against the Proteftants, to which the king fubfcribed, and became the head: the confequence of which was the revocation of the last edict of pacification, in which he spake in a style truly becom ing the eldest fon of a faithlefs church, declaring," that his intention was "not to fuffer another religion than the Catholic in his kingdom; that he

had promifed this upon the holy facrament of the altar and he wanted “ that all his subjects should be advertised not to give credit to all that he might Say or do to the contrary, and that if he was reduced to a necessity of that kind he would keep bis oath no longer than he had the power and a fit opportunity of breaking it." Thus matters went on to the conclufion of a 6th war and the fubfequent

I

It has exterminated or overborně every principle of religion

fabfequent peace, until the interefts of the king and the Proteftants came to be united together against the league.

of

But the famous edict of Nantes, it will be faid, is a clear proof that Romanists can both tolerate heretics, and keep faith with them. Indeed that they can fometimes do both when they cannot do otherwife, no body doubts: but never was there an edict which afforded a clearer proof of Catholic intolerance and perfidy. Never was an edict, law, or treaty, more deliberately made, more folemnly ratified, more irrevocably established, more repeatedly confirmed; nor one whereof policy, duty, or gratitude could have more infured the execution; yet never was one more fcandaloudly and abfolutely violated. It was the refult 3 years negociation between the commiffioners of the king and the deputies of the Proteftants, was the termination of 40 years wars and troubles, was mėrited by the highest fervices, fealed by the highest authority, registered in all the parliaments, and courts of Henry the Great, was declared in the preamble, to be perpetual and irrevocable; confirmed by the queen-mother in 1610, by Lewis XIII. in 1614, twice in 1615, again in 1616;-by the edict of Nifmes in 1629; and by repeated promifes and edits in the reign of Lewis XIV, as in 1643, 1652, etc. Yet all the while the defign of overturning it, when it might conveniently be done, was kept in view, and gradually advancing. When the edict was first projected, fome zealots were read to fet on foot a new league, and begin a new war to prevent its taking effect. Henry, indeed, seems to have had fo much of the remaining taint of heretical pravity as really to defire, intend, and, in fome measure, enforce its obfervation. But for this he was hated, libelled, inceffently perfecuted and at laft murdered by the Jefuits: and, even În bis time, it was, in many inftances, infringed, of which complaints were made in two national fynods of the Proteftants. But after his death there was nothing but breach upon breach, and a series of encroachments on the rights and liberties of that people. During both the fubfequent reigns efpecially, the latter, a thousand devices were fallen upon to defeat the intent of that falutary law, and to render it ufelefs;-a thousand acts of oppreffion and rob. bery in oppofition to it, were connived at, or authorized: their privileges were taken away piece by piere; until all were fnatched away at once by the edict of Revocation in 1685. All which may be found at length in the Hiftoire de l'Edit du Nantes; in the introduction to Quick's Synodicon; in the account of the perfecutions and oppressions of Proteftants in France, publifhed in 1686, and many others. In the whole of thefe fcandalous proceedings, the clergy took ftill a leading part, and were reflefs till the work was accomplifhed. The fevere mandates, which were ever iffuing from the court, were procured, or fabricated by them. The Richelieus, the Mazarins, the Talliers thought it a work worthy to engage their political heads; and the Boffuets, the Pelifons, &c. travailed heartily in it. The old Chancelor Tellier, the Jefuit, in figning the edict, which annulled the faith of treaties, and put an end to all fecurity among men, cried out, full of joy, Nunc dimittis fervun tuum, Domine, quia viderunt oculi mei falutare tuum, "He knew not,' fays Z

Voltaire,