meant by their Catholic church, or when a doctrine of practice may be faid to be Catholic therein. By the aid of an ambiguous word, and the help of a few particular exceptions, or palpable contradictions to their general rule of faith, it may not be difficult for Romanists to evade or de

"to have ebbed and flowed, in that church, with knowledge and ignorance." "If I can prove," fays the author of the Trial of the Roman Catholics, from the authority of a general council held at Conftance in the year 1415; "from the declaration of all the academies of France in 1626; from the de"claration of the provincial congregation of the Jefuits held at Ghent in the year 1681; from the declaration of the French clergy in their general affem"bly held in 1682; from the avowed tenets published by their most eminent "doctors; and from the doctrines univerfally and daily inculcated by manuals "and books of devotion approved by their church :-if I can thus prove, I fay, "from the invariable doctrines of the church of Rome, whether taken univerfally, partially, or individually, that her principles are wholly the reverse of "thofe with which fhe is charged; I shall defire to know what footing or foun

dation the univerfe can afford, upon which faid charge may be permitted to "reft?" Anfw, On the like invariable doctrines of the fame church of Rome, whether taken univerfally, partially, or individually.- -" I do not fay,” (as a' writer who appears to be more than half a Roman Catholic expreffes himself), "that no Roman Catholics have taught, much less that no Roman Catholics "have practised very pernicious doctrines: the contrary is evident from incon"teftible monuments. There have been times of darkness and degeneracy "when the doctrine of depofing power, in particular, was generally taught and "practifed. A thoufand schoolmen, the fycophants of the court of Rome, "have afferted that the Pope, as vicar of Chrift, might abfolve subjects from "their oaths of allegiance, transfer crowns from one head to another, and dif** pofe of kingdoms and empires, as the lord paramount of the Chriftian world: and there have not been wanting fome afpiring pontiffs, who ventured to "realize those monftrous prerogatives: but this pretended temporal fupremacy "of the Pope was never, even in the most unenlightened periods, acknowledged an article of catholic faith; and, in proportion as the mists of ignorance were. dispelled, it was exploded in almoft every catholic country as a dangerous and even impious tenet. But what is exploded as an impious tenet, by the greatest part of Catholics, cannot poffibly be a catholic principle: therefore, the dot. trine of depofi g power is falfely and injuriously claffed among Roman"Catholic principles.The other accufations are equally, of rather still more "groundless." But this logical reafoner in mode and figure hath unluckily, by his previous conceßions, contradicted and destroyed his conclufion. It will require both logic and metaphyfics to frew the effential difference between a doctrine generally taught and praised and a catholic doctrine. An Address 15 the People of Scotland, &c. p. 34. Brooke's Trial, etc. Erafmus's Letters on Moderat. let, vi.

ny almost any odious charge against their church, and to reprefent her doctrines and practices very different from what they really are.. In one fenfe it is very true, that the articles referred to were never univerfally received by that church; but, in the fame fenfe, it may be affirmed, that fcarce any one article of the Popish fyftem was ever univerfally received. Even in times of greateft ignorance, when the Papacy was in its full ftrength, fome of the above claims were never entirely fubmitted to, nor these doctrines unanimously embraced. It was never fuppofed that the whole of that body, including the head, clergy, and all members, were always, or indeed at any one time, exactly of one mind, or faith, without variation or exception, about thefe or any other Catholic doctrine whatever. The truth is, notwithstanding her boast of unity, and an infallible judge of controverfies, there never was a church. upon the face of the earth more divided and more inconfiftent with herself than the Romish: and he that would try and fix her genuine principles by the teft of Catholicism, in the ftrict and fulleft fenfe of the word, attempts a vain and impoffible talk. He will meet with endless varieties, a medley of jarring opinions and contradictions: he will find the Catholic faith of one age, deftroyed by the Catholic faith and practice of another age; one nation generally believing what another generally rejects; one affembly decreeing what another damns; one approven author refuting another approven author; one irrefragable or angelic doctor reprobating the fyftem of his brother; one religious order fighting against another, with mutual accufations of herefy, and the fame order fometimes condemning itfelf. In fhort, he will find Popes against Popes, Councils against councils, canons against canons, regulars against feculars, and feculars against regulars; the political faith against the ecclefiaftical; the faithful people, against prelates, prelates against Popes, and the Pope against both; yet all of them ftill Catholic, and all of them equally infallible.

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fallible. It were eafy to fill far more volumes with Les variations de l'eglife Catholique Romaine, than the learned and infidious bishop of Meaux hath done with the History of the variations of the Proteftant churches; whereby his Achillean arguments may, with redoubled force and greater justice, be turned against hiinself, and his infallible, impregnable church convicted of divifion, fchifm and herefy; as indeed many Proteftant writers have often fuccefsfully and unanswerably done.

But if the differences and inconfiftencies among Catholics themselves be a fufficient reason for exculpating the Romish church entirely from the charge of having embraced thefe dangerous principles, why may fhe not, for the fame reason, be exculpated alfo from others. By this method of reafoning, the remaining articles of charge against her may, one after another, be disclaimed, and expunged as lies and diabolical calumnies, until not one of them perhaps fhall be left behind; and we may next hear it confidently maintained, that there was never fuch a thing as Popery in the world; but that the church of Rome hath, from the beginning, preferved the purity of the faith inviolate, notwithstanding all the errors which have been taught and patronised, all the wicked decrees which have been paffed, and the manifold flagrant abuses fo commonly and dreadfully prevalent in her. By this convenient method, a Papist can hardly ever be at a loss to form her apology: whatever is disliked, and may not be for his purpose to avow, he may pronounce to be no Catholic principle, though innumerable times taught by Popes, cafuifts, and a thousand fchoolmen, and perhaps by general councils too: the errors of his mother, he may plead, are rather partial than univerfal, and her corruptions rather popular and local abuses, than received doctrines and established practices. Accordingly, fome of her most skilful advocates, ffice the Reformation, have in fact had recourfe to this

weak

weak and unfair plea, the better to decoy Proteftants back again to their communion; fome of them, as the learned prelate juft now mentioned, have fo white-washed the church of Rome, that one of her true-born fons would fcarcely know or acknowledge her in the new drefs in which she has been made to appear; and even a Huguenot's cenforious eyes could hardly find a fpot in her; though the mischief of it is, he has no fooner turned off his eyes from the fallacious picture, than he perceives the original as ugly and deformed as ever *.

It

* Buffuet, when bishop of Condome, wrote his Explication of the Catholic doctrine, in which he endeavoured to render it as unexceptionable as poffible to the Huguenots, whofe convertion, by one method or other, was abfolutely refolved on by the court. In it he complained greatly of the Proteftants for misreprefenting and calumniating the doctrine and worship of the church of Rome; and labours to perfuade them, that the chief corruptions which they imputed to her, were nothing more than practical and popular abuses, which never were univerfally received, nor fupported by the fanction or authority of the church. According to the bishop, it was calumny to say, that the church of Rome acknowledges any mediator but one; or trufts in any other merits than thofe of Chrift; or teaches any doctrine of juftification but by free grace alone :- The Roman Catholic church,' he fays, 'allows no adoration but of God alone, and directs religious worship to none other: and, while the teaches it to be useful. to pray to faints, nothing more is meant than praying together in a way of brotherly fellowship, as we are bound to demand the help of our brethren living on earth; and, with respect to reliques, that she requires men to regard the bodies of the faints offered as victims to God by martyrdom and peni ence, and honour 'them with an affection like that which we entertain for any thing which is a 'memorial of our friends:-and fo of other things. The defign falling in with the reigning taste of that time, and the rage for profelytim, was applauded: and it furnished those who were weary or afraid of fuffering for their religion, or who thirfted for court preferment, with a fpecious pretext for their change; of which number was the Marshal Turenne. But the judicious and impartial could readily perceive the fallacy, which was at that time fufficiently laid open by the author's antagonists. The able and eritical Bayle, who was no devotee, nor bigot to party, has, en paffunt, briefly expofed the difingenuity and weakness of this method of defence, in a paffage of his thoughts on the comet, which, as it is not foreign to our prefent argument, we fhall here give the reader in his own elegant original: Mr. de Condom lui-même, qui pretend que l'on ne doit imputer à la religion catholique, que les pures deci "fions des conciles, n'a pas laissé d'imputer à la religion paienne les abus qui s'y commettoient publiquement. Il la decrie fur ce que fos myfleres, fes fêtes,

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It is nothing of our business to account for the incon fiftencies, or to reconcile the palpable differences in the

" fes facrifices, les hymnes qu'elle chantoit à fes dieux, les peintures qu'elle "confacroit dans les temples;-il la 'decrie fur les proftitutions qu'elle avoit inftituées pour adorer la Déeffe Venus; fur ce que dans les affaires preffantes « les particuliers et les republiques voüoient des courtifanes à Venus, et attrí"buoient le falut de la patrie aux prieres qu'elles faifoient à leur Déeffe, comme

il paroît par le tableau que les Grecs mirent dans leur temples après la defaite "de Xerxés et de fes formidables armées.-Le même Mr. de Condom decrie le paganisme fur ce qu'il confacròit a fes dieux les impuritez du theatre, et les "fanglans fpectacles des gladiateurs et il fe moque des explications, et des "adouciffements que les philofophes aporterent à tout cela, quand ils eurent

à foutenir les objections des Chretiens. Il ne fait point grace à la religion des Juifs, quoi qu'il avoue que les erieurs qui fe coloient infenfiblement “parmi le peuple, n'euffent point passé par decret public en dogme de la fynagogue.

"Il a raifon : mais cela mê ne fait voir, que la methode qu'il a fuivie pour "rendre belle et agreable la religion catholique aux Proteftans,

tout-a-fait infoutenable. Car que nous importe, diront-ils, que l'on ne trouve pas dans les decifion's des conciles tous les abus et toutes les fuperftitions qui nous "choquent dans l'eglife Romaine. Pourveu que nous voïons qu'elles font au<torisées publiquement et folennellement, et qu'elles compofent fon culte, nous en avons affez pour nous tenir eloignez de fa communion. Les paiens. n'euffent-ils pas pu fe défendre par la même voie? Ne pouvoient-ils pas dire, que ce qu'on leur reprochoit étoit des abus où le peuple étoit tombé infenfi "blement par la connivence des magiftrats, et par l'ignorance, ou par l'avarice des prêtres mais qu'on ne prouveroit jamais, que tous les colleges des "pontifes et des gens d'eglife duement affemblez, euffent decidé telle chofe? "Il n'y a point de doute que les paiens n'euffent allegué ces excuses, s'ils euffent eu un efprit auffi fin que Mr. l'eveque de Condom. Mais que leur eût on repondu? Que c'est le moquer que de fe defendre de la forte; qu'un homme que l'on pretendrait engager à s'établir dans un ville, ou le vol, le "meurtre, et toutes les voies de fait feroient tolerées publiquement, en lui "faifant voir qu'on ne trouve pas dans les actes de la maifon de ville aucun ftatut qui ordonne de tuer, ou de voler, auroit grand raifon de fe moquer de "cela. Que m'importe, diroit il, qu'il y ait une loi du magiftrat qui ordonne "le meurtre et le brigandage ou qu'il n'y en ait point. Il me fuffit que l'on' vole at que l'on tuë impunement dans une ville, pour ne vouloir point y "fejourner. Demeurons d'accord que les heretiques peuvent faire la même

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refponfe a Mr. l'éveque de Condom; et qu'ainfi le feul et le veritable moien "de difculper nôtre religion, c'est de montier qu'elle ne tolere rien qui ne foit "bon, et que non feulement les decifions des conciles font orthodoxes, mais auffi que les cultes, les ufages, et les dogmes autorifez publiquement font juftes et faints." Bouet, Expofit. de la Dor. Cathol. fur les Controverf. et Difco. fur l'Hift. Univerf. part. ii. ch. 5, Bayle, Pensées diverf. etc. § 128.

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