m'^ .4i YALE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY IMPORTANT NEW WORKS IN THE PRESS. A BEATTTIFUI. DUODECIMO VOLUME, ENTITLBD THE MISSIONARY MEMORIAL. This book will be handsomely printed on the best paper, embellished with a snpetb Frontispiece, executed in the new process of oil colors, and bound in a rich and elegant style. List of Contributors. Mrs. Sigoumey, J. Russell Lowell, Esq., Rev. Eugenie Kincaid, Rev. Rufiis W. Griswold, Rev. Robert Baird, D.D., Mrs. EUis, Rev. Henry P. Tappan, Rev. Erskme Mason, D.D., Bernard Barton, Esq., J. G. Whittier, Esq., Charlotte Elizabeth, Rev. Levi Spalding, Henry T. Tuckerman, Esq., Epes Sargeant, Esq., Rev. S. H. Cone, D.D., Rev. W. B. Sprague, D.D., Rev. J. W. Alexander, D.D., Mrs. E. K. Steele, Rev. C. S. Stewart, Rev. W. R. Williams, D.D., Rev. Gardiner Spring, D.D., Rev. Charles J. Hoskin, Rev. J. B. Peck, Miss Anne C. Lynch, William B. Tappan, Esq., Rev. J. Dowling, Mrs. Lydia Baxter, Rev. John O. Choules, Rev. S. W. Fisher, J. Lawrence De Graw, Esq. SEQUEL TO " CURIOSITIES OF LITERATURE." One Volume duodecimo, extra muslin binding. LITERARY RECREATIONS; OR, LOOSE LEAVES ON AUTHORS AND BOOKS. BY F. SAUNDERS THE WREATH OF WILD FLOWERS, FROM THE LITERARY AND RELIGIOUS MISCELLANIES OF JOHN MILTON STEARNS. One Volume, duodecimo, beautifully printed on the best paper, with Engravings, bound in handsome style. E. WALKER, Publisher, 114 Fulton Street. AMERICAN LIBRARY OF USEFUL KNOWLEDGE FOR ALL THE PEOPLE A BOOK FOR EVERY PATRIOT AND POLITICIAN WALKER'S NEW AND ENLARGED EDITION OF PRESIDENTS' MESSAGES, AND POLITICIAN'S TEXT-BOOK. TWO VOLS., 8V0. OF ABOUT 550 PAGES EACH, Dt HANDSOME GILT BnTOING. CONTENTS. 1. The Messages, Addresses and Speeches of the Presidents of the United States, from Waal ington to Polk ; with a copious Index to the same,bf subjects,names and dates. 2. An account of the Inauguration of each President, and a brief notice of the principal politict events of his administration. 3. A Biographical Sketch of -each President. 4. Declaration of Independence. 5. Articles of Confederation, with a brief History of the events and circumstances which led to tb union of the States and the formation of the Constitution. 6. Constitution of the United States, with notes and references. 7. A Synopsis of the Constitutions of the several States. 8. Chronological Table of Historical Events in the United States. 9. Tables of Members of the Cabinets of the various administrations, Ministefa to ,'JPoieig Countries, and other principal public officers. 10. Statistical Tables of Commerce and Population ; 11. With Portraits of the Presidents. 12. The whole carefully collated from Congressioiml Documents and aceompamed withan Am lytical Index. Will be keadz in Septembee next. JUST PUBLISHED. EIGHTH EDITION OF SEARS' GUIDE TO KNOWLEDGE; A RICH, AMUSING, AND INSTRUCTIVE BOOK! " He who blends instruction with delight. Profit with pleasure, carries all the yotes." A splendidly-illustrated Work, comprising the finest series of embellishments ever presented « the American public, in one handsome small quarto volume, of 600 pages, elegantly bound. PricI wily $3,00. This splendid volume comprises within itself a COMPlJll'B EIBIIARY OP llseful and Entertainin^r Knowledge, X^t SSR'i™,"scteg an°te "'""'^°"' '"'"''''^ ^ ^'^"^'™ ""^ « MEAT AND ELEGANT BOOKBINDING. E. WikLHER, 112 and 114 Fulton Street, RESPECTFULLY INFORMS HIS PRENDS AND THE PUBLIC IN GENERAL. THAT HE HAS MADE EXTENSIVE PREPARATIONS FOR. BINDING THE MESSRS. HARPERS' EDITIONS OF THEIR AND SHAKSPEAEE m BIAUTI/UL, IMBLIMATIC AND UNIQUE STYLES. DEPOT FOR POPULAR PICTORIAL TOMS ! HE MOST SPLENDIDLY ILLUSTRATED VOLUMES FOR FAMILIES EVER ISSUED ON THE AMERICAN CONTINENT, CONTAINING MORE THAN 1200 BEAUTIFUL ENGRAVINGS. HEAP BOOKBIIDIIG-, BOOKSELLIIG-, AID No. 114 FULTON STREET, NEW YORK. !rtae Neir Tork Bookbindeiy. In compliance with the wishes of numerous friends, E. W. has opened the above Store as an auxiUary to lis well known Cheap and Substantial Bookbinding Establishment, 112 FULTON STREET, (Vnd returns his thanks to those friends for the fai-ors they have so liberally bestowed on him for several fears past and begs to assure ihem that no eifort shall be wanting on his part to merit a eontmuance of them, both in reference to workmanship, and cheapness of prices to suit the times. V It is highly advantageous to Gentlemen having Libraries, and for Literary Institutions, to ^ appla SDirccl t0 t\]e JSinber. Thev will effect at least a saving of twenty or thirty per cent., and sometimes more. |?^^ood books deserve ^ood binding. Dhi they contain power of speech as well as all manner of tongues ho^anv tales of wo would they relate to us of the neglect and destruction they have suffered, merely for thTi^nt of a deeerexterior, which might have been supplied for a few shillings, and would have secured to th^m the iutimacv and friendship of the scholar and the gentleman, preserving them to Ihture generaUons. MERCKAIirT'S BZiASTK BOOKS, &c. .^^ LEDGERS, DAY BOOKS, AID JOURIALS, AND ALL DESCRIPTIONS OF COMMERCIAL ACCOUNT BOOKS, Of Best Workmanship and Materials, constantly on hand, and made to order, at the LOWEST CASH PRICES. STANDARD AMERICAN AND ENGLISH WORKS. CHURCH AND FAMILY BIBLES, In Plain and Elegant Morocco Bindings, with or without Clasps, at low prices. CHEAP BIBLES FOR SCHOOLS, |Jotket Sibks, |)rttaer Books, onb iismn 38ooks» In Elegant Morocco Bindings, for Presents. ALSO, IN COSTLY VELVET BINDINGS, WITH GOLD AND SILVER EDGINGS AND CLASPS, Equal to any Imported, and at Half the Price. ALL DESCRIPTIONS OF CHILDREN'S GAMES, LADIES*^ SCRAP BOOKS, ALBUMS, &c. iDissecteb Maps, PLAII AID PAICY STATIOIERY, ALL AT THE LOWEST WHOLESALE CASH PRICES. m-K COMPLETE LIBRARY JlH OF USEFUL AND ENTERTAINmC KNOWLEDCE. A SPLENDIDLY ILLUSTRATED WORK, ENTITLED SEARS' GUIDE TO' KNOWLEDGE, Comprising as fine a series of Embellishments as ever was olTered to the American Public, in one handsome large octavo volume of 500 pages, beautifully bound. — Price $2.50. The work when seen will speak for itself; it is condensed in form, its style is familiar, (to suit all grades of people) and embraces an extensive range of subjects in literature, science, art, &c., &c. AGENT FOR SCOTT & CD'S EDITION OF THE REPRINTS OF THE BRITISH REVIEWS AND BLACKWOOD. TERMS — Payment in all cases in Advance. QUAKTEELIES. Per Annum. For the four Reviews, $8.00 For three ^' 7.00 QUARTERLIES. Per Annum. For two Reviews, o.OO For one Review, 3.00 For Blackwood's Magazine, (monthly) '. $3.00. r^ These publications are invaluable trfthe Scholar and the Gentleman, as they eontain the essence and cream of British Literature. 03^t— f^^C=t THE HISTORY OE ROMAIISM: FROM THE EARLIEST CORRUPTIONS OF CHRISTIANITY TO THE PRESENT TIME. WITH FULL CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE, ANALYTICAL AND ALPHA BETICAL INDEXES AND GLOSSARY. ILLUSTRATED B !f NUMEROUS ACCURATE AND HIGHLY FINISHED EN GRAVINGS OF ITS CEREMONIES, SUPERSTITIONS, PERSECUTIONS, AND HISTORICAL INCIDENTS. BY REV. JOHN DOWLING, A.M. PASTOE OF THE BEEEAN CHURCH, NEW YOKE. M.:'-egory;s Letter, "Encyclical Letter from our most Holy ^r^S:::^^S.^:i.T^^ °^ ^^^^ --' ^^^--d to an Patriarchs,pi chap. IV.] POPERY IN EMBRYO.— TO A. D. 606. 47 Augustine, Hilary, and Bede quoted. Other apostles more worthy ihun Peter. pretation of this passage, they violate their own rule, many cita tions from the fathers might be given. Let the following two suffice. The first is from Augustine, the celebrated bishop of Hippo (on Matt., 13. ser.) " De verbis Domini, tu es Petrus," &.c. " Thou art Peter, and upon this rock which thou hast confessed, upon this, which thou hast acknowledged, saying, ' Thou art Christ, the Son of the living God,' I will build my church ; that is, upon myself, the Son of the living God, I will build my church," &c. The other is from Hilary, another of the most celebrated fathers. (Can. 16, de fundam. Eccles.) " Unum igitur hoc est immobile fun- damentum" &c. " This one foundation is immovable, that is, that one blessed rock of faith, confessed by the mouth of Peter, ' Thou art the Son of the living God.' " — (De Trinit., 1. 6.) " Super hanc confessionis petram ecclesice cedificatio est." " The building of the church is upon this rock of confession." And again, " hcBc fides," &c. " This faith is the foundation of the church ; this faith hath the keys of the kingdom of heaven : what this faith shall loose or bind is botmd and loosed in heaven." So also the venerable Bede, who, though not reckoned among the fathers, was a writer of great renown in the eighth century, remarks on this passage as follows. " It is said unto him by a metaphor. Upon this rock, i. e., the Saviour, whom thou hast con fessed, the church is builded." Whatever may be the weight attached to the authority of these writers, it is evident that if the promise referred to Peter, it .failed of accomplishment ; for when Peter with oaths and curses denied his Lord, certainly the gates of hell did prevail against him, and if he, a fallible and peccable mortal, had been the foundation of the church ; when that fell, the church, the superstructure must have fallen with it. The fact is, that Christ alone is the supreme head as well as the foundation of the church, and he gave no special precedence or dignity to one of the apostles which he gave not to another. He established no earthly supreme head of the church, and his apostles ever acted toward each other in the spirit of the declara tion of their Lord, " One is your master, even Christ, and all ye are brethren." § 20. — If any one were worthy of the supremacy over the rest, and to be called " Prince of the apostles," there are at least three of their number who would be more worthy of the honor than Peter, viz, : either Paul, or James, or John, Paul was more worthy, for he publicly and deservedly rebuked Peter, and " withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed " (Gal, ii,, 11), and certainly Paul could not have been inferior to Peter, for Paul himself declares that IN nothing was he behind the very chiefest apostles," (2 Cor. xii,, II,) James was more worthy than Peter, for he appears to have been bishop or pastor of the first church ever established, viz, : that at Jerusalem, and presided and announced the final decision in the council held at Jerusalem, in relation to the alleged necessity of circumcision. (Acts, chap, xv,) John was certainly more 48 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [booki. Peter's imaginary successors. Various and conflicting lists of them worthy of the supremacy than Peter, if any one were entitled to such a pre-eminence ; for John never denied his Lord, but Peter did ; John, " the beloved disciple," asked Jesus a question at the Supperj which Peter did not dare to ask, (John xiii,, 23, 24,) John was standing near the cross, at the death of his Lord, and had the mother of Jesus confided to his care, while Peter was probably at a distance, weeping over his cowardly denial. (John xix,, 25, &c,) John lived longer than Peter, was the last survivor of all the apostles, and penned more of the volume of Inspiration than either Peter, or any other of the twelve. §21, — But in relation to the other supposition ; supposing that it could be proved, which we have shown it cannot, that Peter, during his life, was the supreme head of the church on earth, still it would be impossible to prove that this supremacy descended down from one generation to another, through the long line of popes, many of whom, as we shall show, in the progress of this work, were monsters of vice and impurity. There is no evidence that the apostles had the slightest expectation of any such regular line of descent. The New Testament does not say a single word about it, and even the Roman bishops themselves did not make the claim to have derived their power from Peter, till several centuries after the apostolic age. Before leaving this subject, there is one absurdity which springs from this claim of the Romanists, that deserves to be mentioned. Most Roman Catholic authors reckon Linus the second bishop of Rome, or supreme head of the church ;* pope Linus, according to * We are not to suppose, however, that there is any uniformity among writers, or certainty as to the three or four supposed &st successors of St, Peter. Says Mr. Walch, the author of a compendious but learned history of the Popes, originally published in German ; " If we may judge of the church of Rome, by the constitu tion of other apostolic churches, she could have had no particular bishop, before the end of the first century. The ancient lists," he adds, " are so contradictory that it would be impossiblp exactly to determine, either the succession of the bishops, or their chronology. Some say that Clemens, of Rome, had been ordained by the apostle Peter, and was his immediate successor. Others place Linus and Cletus betwixt them. A third set name Linus, but instead of Cletus, name Akaolettis, Anencletbs, Dacletius. Lastly a fourth party states the succession thus : Peter, Linus, Cletus, Clemens, Anacletus." — Watch's Lives of the Popes. Among the early fathers, TertuUian, Rufinus, and Epiphanius, say Clement succeeded Peter. Jerome declares that 'most of the Latin authors sup- 5osed the order to be Clement the successor qf Peter.' But Irenaeus, Eusebius, erome, and Augustine, contradict the above authorities, and say Linus succeeded Peter ; Chrysostom seems to go the same way. Bishop Pearson has proved that Linus died before Peter ; and therefore, on the supposition that Peter was first bishop of Rome, Linus could not succeed him. Cabassute, the learned Popish historian of the councils, says, ' it is a vert doubtful question concerning Linus, Cletus, and Clemens, as to which of them succeeded Peter.'' Dr. Comber, a very learned divine of the church of England, says, ' upon the whole matter there is ho certainty who was the bishop of Rome, next to the apostles, and therefore the Romanists build upon an ill bottom, when they lay so great weight on their personal succession.' " " The LIRE blunder," remarks the same learned Episcopalian, " there is about the next bishop of Rome. The fabulous Pontifical makes Cletus succeed Linus, chap. IV.] POPERY IN EMBRYO.— TO A. D. 606. 49 Singular absurdity. The apostle John subject to the second Pope. ^ J them, having succeeded upon the martyrdom of pope Peter. Now, it is not denied by any, that the apostle John outlived Peter about thirty years. If then Peter was the supreme head of the church, and Linus was his successor in the supremacy, then of course the inspired apostle John must have been inferior to Linus in rank and dignity, and subject to him in precisely the same way as Roman Catholic bishops are now subject to their pope. Now when it is remembered that Linus, of whom we know scarcely anything more than his name, was not one of the apostles, it will be seen that this supposition is directly at vai'iance with the inspired declaration of Paul, " God hath set some in the Church, first, apostles ; secondarily, prophets ; thirdly, teachers ; after that miracles ; then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues," (1 Cor, xii., 28.) To such strange absurdities does this doctrine of the papal supremacy lead. Of course the same conclusion will follow, which ever of the various theories is adopted, as to the supposed imme diate successor of Peter,* Notwithstanding, however, the weakness of these pretensions, after the city of Rome had fallen from its ancient dignity, into the power of the barbarians, and the superiority of its lordly bishop could no longer be quietly submitted to from the superiority of that city to every other, the pontiffs renewed and reiterated this arro- and gives us several Lives of Cletus, and Anacletus, making them of several nations, and to have been popes at different times, putting Clement between them. Yet the aforesaid bishop of Chester [PearsonJ proves these were only two names of the SAME PERSON. And every one may see the folly of the Romish church, which venerates two several saints on two several days, one of which never had a real being, for Cletus is but the abbreviation of Anacletus' s name." (Dr. Comber on " Roman Forgeries in Councils," part i., c. i.) Amidst all these varying and opposing lists, this contradiction and con fusion worse confounded, how utterly baseless must be those pretensions, whether made by the papists of Rome, or the semi-papists of Oxford, which are founded upon a supposed ascertained, and unbroken descent from the apostles ? The arguments to sustain them are lighter than air. Hence we are not surprised to hear that bright luminary of the British establishment, Archbishop Whately, declare his solemn conviction, that " there is not a minister in all Christen dom, WHO IS ABLE to TRACE UP, WITH ANY APPROACH TO CERTAINTY, HIS OWN SPIRITUAL PEDIGREE. The ultimate consequence must be," remarks the same excellent prelate, " that any one who sincerely believes that his claim to the bene fits of the gospel covenant depends on his own minister's claim to the supposed sacramental virtue of true ordination, and this again on apostolical succession, must be involved, in proportion as he reads, and inquires, and reflects, and reasons on the subject, in the most distressing doubt and perplexity. It is no wonder, therefore, that the advocates of this theory studiously disparage reasoning, depre cate all exercise of the mind in reflection, decry appeals to evidence, and lament that even the power of reading should be imparted to the people. It is not without cause that they dread and lament ' an age of too much light,' and wish to involve religion in a ' solemn and awful gloom.' It is not without cause that, having removed the Christian's confidence from a rock, to base it on sand, they forbid all prying curiosity to examine their foundation." ( Whately on the Kingdom of Christ, Essay ii., } 30.) * Those who wish to see the argument on this subject carried out in a masterly way, are referred to the treatise of the learned Barrow, on the Pope's supremacy. 50 HISTORY OF ROMANISM, [book i. Another fierce contest between rival bishoA of Rome. Symmachus and Laurenuus, gant claim to supremacy from divine right, with an earnestness proportioned to the danger that existed of sinking into a second rank, from the rising political importance and splendor of the rival city of Constantinople. CHAPTER V. r POPERY FULLY ESTABLISHED. THE MAN OF SIN REVEALED. § 22, — In the course of the sixth century, the city of Rome thrice witnessed the disgraceful spectacle of rivaU pontiffs, with fierce hatred, bloodshed, and massacre, contending with each other for the spiritual throne. The first of these struggles occurred about the commencement of the century, " between Symmachus and Lau- rentius, who were on the same day elected to the pontificate by different parties, and whose dispute was at length decided by The- odoric, king of the Goths. Each of these ecclesiastics maintained obstinately the validity of his election ; they reciprocally accused each other of the most detestable crimes ; and to their mutual dis honor, their accusations did not appear on either side entirely desti tute of foundation. Three different councils, assembled at Rome, endeavored to terminate this odious schism, but without success. A fourth was summoned by Theodoric, in 503, to examine the accusations brought against Symmachus, to whom this prince had, at the beginning of the schism, adjudged the papal chair. This council was held about the commencement of this century, and in it the Roman pontiff was acquitted of the crimes laid to his charge. But the adverse party refused to acquiesce in this decision, and this gave occasion to Ennodius, bishop of Ticinum, now Pavia, to draw up his adulatory apology for the council and Symmachus." It was on this occasion and in this apology, says Gieseler, that the asser tion was first hazarded, that " the bishop of Rome was subject to no earthly tribunal. Not long afterward an attempt was made to give this principle a historical basis, by bringing forward forged acts of former pontiffs."* In subsequent ages, it will be seen that the popes not only declared themselves free from all subjection to every earthly tribunal, but boldly maintained that all earthly powers and potentates were subject to them. In this apology for Symmachus, the servile flatterer, Ennodius, styles the object of his flattery, " Judge IN THE PLACE OP GoD, AND VICEGERENT OF THE MoST HiGH." This was the first time so far as is known, that this blasphemous title * Gieseler, vol. i., page 339. CHAP, v.] POPERY IN EMBRYO.— TO A. D. 606. 51 More quarrels at Rome. Dispute about the title of universal bishop was given to man, though some centuries afterward it was com monly applied to the popes, thus fulfilling the prophetic words of Paul : " So that he, as God, sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God." (2 Thess. ii., 4.) About the year 530, there was another disgraceful contest, and the city of Rome was again agitated by the rival claims of Boniface IL, and Dioscurus, though the premature death of the latter soon put a period to this clerical war. But the century did not close without a scene alike disgraceful. A prelate of the name of Vigilius, intrigued at court to procure the deposition of the reigning bishop Silverus. The latter was, in consequence, deprived of his dignities and banished. He appealed to the emperor Justinian, who inter fered in his behalf, and encouraged him to return to Rome, with the delusive expectation of regaining his rights ; but the artifices of Vigilius prevailed — his antagonist was resigned to his power, and immediately confined by him in the islands of Pontus and Pandatara, where, in penury and affliction, he terminated his wretched exist ence. § 23, — During the last few years of the sixth century, the contest for supremacy between the bishops of Rome and Constantinople raged vrith greater acrimony than at any preceding period. The bishop of Constantinople not only claimed an unrivalled sovereignty over the eastern churches, but also maintained that his church was, in point of dignity, no way inferior to that of Rome, The Roman pontiffs beheld with impatience these pretensions, and warmly asserted the pre-eminence of their church, and its undoubted superi ority over that of Constantinople, Gregory the Great distinguished himself in this violent contest ; and the fact that in a council held in 588, John, the faster, bishop of Constantinople, assumed the title of universal bishop, furnished Gregory with a favorable oppottunity of exerting his zeal. Supposing that the design of his rival was to obtain the supremacy over all Christian churches, Gregory opposed his pretensions with the utmost vehemence, and in order to establish, more firmly, his own authority, invented the fiction of the power of the keys, as committed to the successor of St. Peter, rather than to the body of the bishops, according to the previous opinion, and, says Wad dington, " He betrayed on many occasions a vejy ridiculous eager ness to secure their honor. Consequently he was profuse inhis distri bution of certain keys, endowed, as he was not ashamed to assert, with supernatural qualities ; he even ventured to insult Anastasius, the patriarch of Antioch, by such a gift, ' I have sent you (he says), keys of the blessed apostle Peter, your guardian, which, when placed upon the sick, are wont to be resplendent with numerous miracles,' 'Amatoris vestri, beati Petri apostoli, vobis claves transmisi, quse super segros positse niultis solent miraculis coruscare,' We may attribute this absurdity to the basest superstition, or to the most impudent hypocrisy ; and we would gladly have preferred the more excusable motive, if the supposed advancement of the See, 52 HISTORY OF ROMANISM, [book i. Letter of Saint Gregory, about the •' bl asphemous," " infernal," and " diabolical " title, which was clearly concerned in these presents, did not rather lead us to the latter." {Wad. Ch. Hist. 143.) § 24. — Besides these vain pretensions, Gregory wrote epistles to his own ambassador at Constantinople, to the patriarch John, and to the emperor Mauritius, in which in various passages he denounces the title of universal bishop as " vain," " execrable," " anti-Chris tian," " blasphemous," " infernal," and " diabolical." In his letter to the patriarch of Constantinople, he pleads with him thus : " Disci- pulis Dominus dicit, autem nolite vocari rabbi, unus enim Magister vester est, vos omnes fratres estis," &c, ' Our Lord says unto his disciples, be not ye called rabbi, for one is your Master, and all ye are brethren.' What, therefore, most dear brother, are you, in the terrible examination of the coming Judge, to say, who, generatis pater in mundo vocari appetis ? desire to be called, not father only, but the general father of the world ? " Beware of the sinful suggestions of the wicked. I beg, I entreat, and I beseech, with all possible suavity, that your brotherhood resist all these flatterers who offer you this name of error, and that you refuse to be designated by so foolish and so proud an appella tion. For I indeed say it with tears, and from the inward anguish of my bowels, that to my sins I attribute it, that my brother cannot to this day be brought to humility, who was made bishop for this end, that he might lead the minds of others to humility. It is written, ' God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble :' and again it is said, 'he is unclean before God, who exalteth his heart ;' hence, it is written against the proud man, ' Quid superbis, terra et cinis V ' Earth and ashes, why art thou proud V " Perpende, rogo, quia in hac presumptions pax totius turbatur ecclesicB," &c. " Consider, I entreat you, that by this rash pre sumption is the peace of the whole church disturbed, and the grace poured out in common upon all contradicted : in which you can increase only in proportion as you carefully decrease in self-esteem, and become the greater the more you restrain yourself from this name of proud and foolish usurpation ; love humihty, therefore, my dearest brother, with your whole heart, by which concord among all the brethren and the unity of the holy universal church may be preserved. Truly, when Paul, the apostle, heard some say, ' I am of Paul, I am of Apollos, I am of Cephas,' he, vehemently abhorring this tearing asunder of the Lord's body, by which they, in some sense, united his members to other heads, cries out, Was Paul crucified for you, or were you baptized in the name of Paul ? If, then, he would not suffer the members of the Lord's body to be, as it were, particularly subject to certain heads, beyond Christ, and they apostles too, what will you say to Christ the head of his universal holy church, in the trial of his last judgment, who endea vor to subject all his members under the title of universal? Whom, pray, do you propose to imitate by this perverse name, but him, who, despising the legions of angels, his companions, endeavored to break forth, and ascend to an elevation peculiar to himself, that he CHAP, v.] POPERY IN EMBRYO.— TO A. D. 606. 53 Gregory says that no true saint would accept it. Writes against it to the Emperor might seem to be subject to none, and to be above all of them ? Who also said, ' I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of heaven ; I will be like the Most High !' For what are all your brother bishops of the universal church, but the stars of heaven, whose lives and preaching give light among the sins and errors of men, as in the darkness of night ? Above, whom, when you thus desire to elevate yourself by this haughty title, and to tread down their name in comparison of yours, what do you say but I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of heaven ? " Atque ut cuncta brevi singulo locutionis astringam," &c. And that I may sum up all in one word : the saints before the law, the saints under the law, and the saints under grace, the gospel — all these, making up the perfect body of our Lord, are constituted but members of the church ; none of them would ever have himself called UNIVERSAL. Let your hohness then acknowledge how he must swell with pride, who covets to be called by this name, which no true saint would presume to accept. Were not, as your brother hood knows, my predecessors in the apostolical See, which I now serve by God's providence, called by the council of Ch,alcedon to this offered honor 1 but none of them would ever allow himself to be named by such a title — none snatched at this rash name, lest if he should seize on this singular , glory of the pontificate, he should seem .to deny it to all his brethren. " Sed omnia quce prcedicta sunt,fiunt: rex superbice prope est et quod did nefas est, sacerdotum est prceparaius excitus {vel exercitus) ei qui cercice militant elationis." But all things which are foretold are come to pass ; the king of pride approaches, and O, horrid to tell ! the going forth of (or the army of the priests), is ready for him, who fight with the neck of pride, though appointed to lead to humility,"* § 25, — In his letters to the emperor Mauritius, Gregory reite rates the same sentiments. On account of their importance, the following extracts from these letters are subjoined, " The care and principality of the whole church," says Gregory, " is committed to St, Peter; and yet he is not called 'universal apostle' — though this holy man, John, my fellow priest, .labors to be called ' univer sal bishop !' I am compelled to cry out, ' O the corruption of times and manners?' Behold the barbarians are become lords of all Europe: cities are destroyed, castles are beaten down, provinces depopulated, there are no husbandmen to till the ground. Idolaters rage and domineer over Christians ; and yet priests, who ought to lie weeping upon the pavement, in sackcloth and ashes, covet names of vanity, and glory in new and profane titles, " Do I, most religious sovereign, in this plead my own cause ? Do I vindicate a wrong done to myself, and not maintain the cause of Almighty God, and of the church universal ? Who is he wha * Epist, Greg., lib. iv., epist. 38. 5 54 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. Fbook i. Gregory places the brand of anti-Christ upon him who usurps the title of universal bishop. presumes to usurp this new name against both the law of the gospel and of the canons ? We know that many priests of the church of Constantinople have been not only heretics, but even the chief leaders of them. If, then, every one of that church assumes the naime by which he makes himself the head of all good men;. the Cathohc church, which God forbid should ever be the case, must needs be overthrown when he falls who is called Universal. But, far from Christians be this blasphemous name, by which all honor is taken from all other priests, while it is foolishly arrogated by one. This man (John), contemning obedience to the canons, should be humbled by the commands of our most pious sovereign. He should be chastised who does an injury to the holy Cathohc church! whose heart is puffed up, who seeks to please himself by a name of singularity, by which he would elevate himself above the Emperor ! We are all scandalized at this. Let the author of this scandal reform himself, and all differences in the church will cease, I am the servant of all priests, so long as they live like themselves— tut if any shall vainly set up his bristles, contrary to God Almighty, and to the canons of the fathers, I hope in God that he will never succeed in bringing my neck under his yoke — ^not even by force of arms," These urgent letters of Gregory appear to have been unavailing. The patriarch John, indeed, was soon afterward removed by death from his archiepiscopal dignity; but Cynacus,who succeeded him as bishop of Constantinople, adopted the same pompous title as his predecessor. Having had occasion to despatch some agents to Rome, in the letter which he wrote to the Roman pontiff Gregory, he so much displeased him by assuming the appellation of " univer sal bishop," that the latter withheld from the agents somewhat of the courtesy to which they considered themselves entitled, and, of course, complaint was made to the emperor Mauritius of the neglect which had been shown them. This circumstance extorted a letter from the Emperor at Constantinople to the bishop of Rome, in which he advises him to treat them, in future, in a more friendly manner and not to insist so far on punctilios of style, as to create a scandal about a title, and fall out about a few syllables,. To this Gregory replies, " that the innovation in the style did not consist much in the quantity and alphabet ; but the bulk of the iniquity was weighty enough to sink and destroy all. And, therefore, I am bold to say," says he, " tljat whoever adopts, or affects the title of universal bishop, has the pride and character of ariti-Christ, and is in some manner his forerunner in this haughty quality of elevating himself above the rest of his order. And, indeed, both the one and the other seem to split upon the same rock ; for as pride makes anti-Christ strain his pretensions up to Godhead, so whoever is ambitious to be called the only or universal prelate, arrogates to himself a distinguished superiority, and rises, as it were, upon the ruins of the rest."* Let ¦* Epist, Greg. 1. vi. Ep, 30. chap, v.] POPERY IN EMBRYO.— TO A. D. 606. 55 Pope Boniface soon after obtains this very title for himself and successors. the reader ponder well the sentence last quoted, in this epistle of Gregory, confessedly one of the most eminent of the Roman bishops, and who has, by them, been canonized as Sai\t Gregory ; in which he places the brand of anti-Christ on whoever assumes this title, and then judge whether we are not justified in pronouncing the era of the papal supremacy, when only two years after Gregory's death, pope Boniface III. sought for and obtained the title of universal bishop, as the date of the full revelation of anti-Christ. We do but repeat the opinion so emphatically expressed by Saint Gregory only a few years before the actual occurrence of this remarkable event in the history of Popery, Boniface, who succeeded to the Roman See in 605,was so far from having any scruples about adopting this " blasphemous title," that he actually applied to the emperor Phocas, a cruel and bloodthirsty tyrant, who had made his way to the throne by assassinating his predecessor ; and earnestly solicited the title, with the privilege of handing it down to his successors. The profligate emperor who had a secret grudge against the bishop of Constantinople, granted the request of Boniface, and after strictly forbidding the former prelate to use the title, conferred it upon the latter in the year 606, and declared the chUrch of Rome to be head over all other churches,* Thus was Paul's prediction accomplished, " the man op sin " revealed, and that system of corrupted Christi anity and spiritual tyranny which is properly called POPERY, fully developed and established in the world. The title of universal BISHOP, which was then obtained by Boniface, has-been worn by all succeeding popes, and the claim pf supremacy, which was then estabHshed, has ever since been maintained and defended by them, and still is, down to the present day. § 26. — Henceforward the religion of Rome is properly styled Popery, or the religion of the pope. Previous to the year 606, there was properly no pope. It is true that in earlier ages the title of pope, which is derived from the Greek word nannag, father, in its general and inoffensive sense, had been used as a frequent title of bishops, without distinction. Siricius, bishop of Rome, was probably the first who assumed the name as an official title, toward the close of the fourth century, and it was afterward claimed exclusively by the popes of Rome, as the appropriate designation of the sovereign pontiffs. f This arrogant claim has long since been quietly conceded by other Christians, and the title has been exclusively enjoyed, * These facts are related by Baronius and other Romish historians. " Quo tempore intercesserunt quzedam odiorum fomenta inter eundem Phocam imperato- rem atque Oyriacum Constantinopolitanum. Hinc igitur in Cyriacum Phocas exacerbatus in ejus odium imperiali edicto sancivit, nomen universalis decere Ro- manum tantum modo ecclesiam, tanquam qua caput esset omnium ecclesiarum, solique convenire Romano pontifici ; non autem episcopo Constantinopolitano, qui sibi illud usurpare praesumeret. Quod quidem hunc Bonifacium papam tertium ab imperatore Phooa obtinuisse, cum Anastasius Bibliothecarius, turn Paulus diaconua tradunt." Spondan, Epitom. Baron. Annal. in annum 606. f See Coleman's Christian Antiquities, page 76. 56 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [book i. Popery not Catholic. Calling things by their right names without dispute and without envy,* When we say, therefore, that previous to A, D, 606, there was no pope, we mean, of courscj in the present exclusive sense of the word, as the supreme sovereign pontiff, and boasted head of the universal church. Till this time notwithstanding the prior origin of many popish corruptions. Popery or the Roman Catholic religion in its present form, as a distinct and compacted system, had no existence. This is the epoch of its origin and birth. Papal supremacy then bound, and still bmds its discordant elements into one, and should this claim be given up, the whole anti-Christian system would fall to piece?, like the por tions of an arch, when the key-stone is removed. The historian is therefore fully justified in applying to this system, the distinctive and appropriate terms, popish, popery, and their cognates. In the words of that singular but forcible writer, John Rogers, when assigning his reasons for not employing the terms Catholic or Roman Catholic, by which papists prefer to be designated, ','We ate far, very far from intending or wishing to hurt the feeling, or pain tjie' mind of any member of the kirk of Rome ; but we intend to follow a plan scriptural and reasonable, and to write with grammatical and philosophical propriety. We desire not to be, and not to appear to be offensive or insulting ; but to be orderly, or to conform to method and rule. We desire not to give displeasure or pain, but to have definitude or precision. We aim to be accurate or correct, and to employ words in their right and true meaning. We avoid using Catholic and Roman Catholic, on five grounds ; in order- to - be analogical, in order to be logical, in order to oppose papal bigotry, in order to oppose papal pride, and in order to oppose papal persecution,"! The word Catholic means universal, and since- the Romish is not a universal church, it is evidently incorrect to call that communion the Holy Catholic church. To avoid this impropriety, some employ the terms Roman Catholic, but here again is a manifest impropriety, as that cannot be universal in any sense, which is not absolutely so, and to apply the term Catholic or universal, to that which must be limited by the adjective Roman, or any other word denoting speciality, is evidentlv a contradiction ni terms. For these reasons this system will be designated in the present work, by the names, Romanism, Popery, &c,, and the adjec- tives, Romish, Papal, &c,, not as terms of reproach, but simply because they are more consistent with historical accuracy and truth, than any others which could be selected. If we occasionally employ, therefore, the terms Catholic or Roman Catholic, we wish * Father Gahan in his History of the Church (page 335), mentions, apparently with approbation, the foUowmg whimsical derivation of the title Papa, or Pope : Some writers say that the word Papa comes from the initial letters of these four words, Petrus, Apostolus, Princeps, Apostolorum (i. e., Peter the apostle, prmce of the apostes), which being abbreviated with a punctum or colon after each of the four initial letters, coalesced in progress of time into the word Papa, with- out any intermediate punctuation." "¦ r > t See " Anti-popopriestian," by John Rogers, page 76, CHAP. VI.] POPERY IN EMBRYO.— TO A. D. 606. 57 Consequences of the establishment of the papal supremacy. it to be distinctly understood that we do so, simply as a matter of courtesy or convenience, and not because we for a moment admit the propriety of the application of either of these terms to the anti- Christian system of Rome. CHAPTER VL PAPAL supremacy THE ACTORS IN ITS ESTABLISHMENT THE TYRANT PHOCAS THE SAINT GREGORY, AND THE POPE BONIFACE. § 27. — The bestowment of the title of Universal Bishop by Pho cas, the tyrant, upon Boniface III., bishop of Rome, the first of the popes, and the consequent establishmeni of papal supremacy, was the memorable .event that embodied into a system and cemented into one the various false doctrines, corrupt practices, and vain and superstitious rites and ceremonies, which had arisen in earlier ages, to deface the beauty and mar the simplicity of Christian worship. Before this event, the bishop of Rome had no power to enforce his decisions upon other churches and bishops ; and, as we have al ready seen, in many instances they might reject his decrees, with out forfeiting their standing, as constituent portions of the so called Cathohc church ; now they were compelled to submit to his man dates, as the spiritual sovereign of the world, or be branded with the name of heretics. Before this, the false doctrines which arose, and the superstitious heathen ceremonies which were adopted into Christian worship, might be believed or practised in one church or province and rejected in another ; so that the corruptions which had long since towered to a greater height at Rome than any where else, were still but partially diffused over the Christian world. Immediately upon the establishment of papal supremacy, the gigantic errors and corruptions of Rome were rendered binding upon all. Before this time, while there was no supreme earthly head to enforce uniformity, a variety of liturgies and forms of worship were adopted in different places, some of them in a greater and others in a less degree conformable to the spirit of the New Testament ; now, by the sovereign decrees of his Holiness the Pope, all must be conformed to the standard of Rome, In the ages that preceded the establishment of papal supremacy, " we are not to think," observes Mosheim, " that the same method of wor ship was uniformly followed in every Christian society, for this was far from being the case. Every bishop, consulting his own private judgment, and taking into consideration the nature of the times, the genius of the country in which he lived, and the character and 58 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [book i. Biography of Phocas the tyrant, who bestowed upon the popes the title of Universal Bishop. temper of those whom he was appointed to rule and instruct, formed such a plan of divine worship as he thought the wisest and the best. Hence that variety of liturgies which were in use, be fore the bishop of Rome had usurped the supreme power in re ligious matters, and persuaded the credulous and unthinking, that the model, both of doctrine and worship, was to be given by the mother church, and to be followed imphcitly throughout the Chris tian world." {Mosheim, vol, i, p. 385,) § 28. — As it was owing to the decree of the emperor Phocas, constituting him supreme Universal Bishop and head of the universal church, that the proud prelate of Rome was thus enabled to tyrannize over the whole of Christendom, and mould and fashion the churches at his will, it may be necessary that we retrace our steps for four or five years, and relate with some minuteness the origin and charac ter of the man who conferred on him this power, that we may see whether this doctrine, so essential to the very existence of Popery, viz. : the papal supremacy, come from heaven or of men. If I mistake not, we shall find that its origin is from beneath, and that the principal agent in estabHshing it, was one of the most guilty of the human race, approaching very near, if he did not altogether reach the idea of consummate or universal depravity, embodied in his great master, the devil. This Phocas. was a native of Asia Minor, of obscure and unknown parentage, who entered the array of the emperor Mauritius as a common soldier. Having attained the rank of a centurion, a petty officer, with the command of a hundred men, he happened in the year 602 to be with his company on the banks of the Danube, when he headed a mutiny against the Emperor among his troops, caused, himself to be tumultuously proclaimed leader of the insur gents, and marched with them to Constantinople, " So obscure had been the former condition of Phocas," says Gibbon, "that the Emperor was quite ignorant of the name and character of his rival ; but as soon as he had learned that the centurion, though bold in sedition, was timid in the face of danger, ' Alas !' cried the prince, ' if he is a coward, he will surely be a murderer,' " § 29,— Upon the approach of Phocas to Constantinople, the unfor tunate Mauritius, with his wife and nine children, escaped in a small bark to the Asiatic shore ; but the violence of the wind compelled him to land at the church of St, Autonomus, near Chalcedon, from whence he despatched Theodosius, his eldest son, to implore the gratitude and friendship of the Persian monarch. For himself, he refused to fly; his body was tortured with sciatic pains, his mind was enfeebled by superstition ; he patiently awaited the event of the revolution^ and addressed a fervent and pubhc prayer to the Almighty, that the punishment of his sins might be inflicted in this world, rather than in a future life,. The patriarch of Constanti- nople " consecrated the successful usurper in the church of St; John the Baptist, On the third day, amidst the acclamations of a thought less people, Phocas made his public entry in a chariot drawn by OHAP, VI.] POPERY IN EMBRYO.— TO A. D, 606. 59 Cruel murder by the tyrant, of Mauritius, his wife and family. four white horses ; the revolt of the troops was rewarded by a lavish donative, and the new sovereign, after visiting the palace, beheld from his throne the games of the hippodrome. The ministers of death were despatched to Chalcedon : they dragged the Emperor from his sanctuary ; and the five sons of Mauritius were successively murdered before the eyes of their agonizing parent. At each stroke, which he felt in his heart, he found strength to rehearse a pious ejaculation, ' Thou art just, O Lord ! and thy judgments are right eous.' The tragic scene was finally closed by the execution of the Emperor himself, in the twentieth year of his reign, and the sixty- third year of his age. The bodies of the father and his five sons were cast into the sea, their heads were exposed at Constantinople to the insults or pity of the multitude, and it was not till some signs of putrefaction appeared, that Phocas connived at the private burial of these venerable remauis," The flight of Theodosius, the son of the unfortunate Emperor, to the Persian court, had been intercepted by a rapid pursuit, or a deceitful message : he was beheaded at Nice, and the last hours of the young prince were soothed by the comforts of religion, and the consciousness of innocence, § 30, — In the massacre of the imperial family, the usurper had spared the widow and three daughters of the late Emperor, but the suspicion or discovery of a conspiracy rekindled the fury of Phocas, These unfortunate females took refuge in one of the churches of the city, then regarded as an inviolable asylam. The patriarch, moved partl^ by compassion to the royal sufferers, partly by reverence for the place, would not permit them to be dragged by force from their asylum ; but defended them, whilst there, with great spirit and resolution. The tyrant, one of the most vindictive and inexorable of mankind, and who could therefore ill brook this spirited opposi tion from the priest, thought it prudent then to dissemble his resent ment, as it would have been exceedingly dangerous, in the begin ning of his reign, to alarm the church. And he well knew how important, and even venerable a point it was accounted, to preserve inviolate the sacredness of such sanctuaries. He desisted, therefore, from using force, and, by means of the most solemn oaths and pro mises of safety, prevailed at length upon the ladies to quit their asylum. In consequence of which, they soon after became the helpless victims of his fury. " A matron," says Gibbon, " who commanded the respect and pity of mankind, the daughter, wife, and mother of emperors, was tortured like the vilest malefactor, and the empress Constantina, with three innocent daughters, was beheaded at Chal cedon, on the same ground which had been stained with the blood of her husband and five sons ! The hippodrome, the sacred asylum of the pleasures and the liberty of the Romans, was polluted with heads and limbs and mangled bodies ; and the companions of Pho cas were the most sensible that neither his favor nor their services, could protect them from a tyrarit, the worthy rival of the Caligulas and Domitians of the first age of the empire."* The imperial family * Decline and Fall, chap, xlvi. 60 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [booki. Horrid barbarities of Phocas. Bishop Gregoiy the Great. being no^y entirely cut off, the bloodthirsty tyrant began to proceed with the same inexorable cruelty against all their friends, and all who had betrayed the least compassion for them, or had borne any civil or military employments in the late reign. _ Thus, throughout the empire were men of the first rank and distinction either daily executed or publicly or privately massacred. Some were first inhu manly tortured ; others had their hands and feet cut off; and some were set up as marks for the raw soldiery to shoot at, in learning the exercise and use of the bow. The populace met with no better treatment than the nobility, great numbers of them being daily seized for speaking disrespectfully of the tyrant, and either killed by his guards on the spot, or tied up in sacks and thrown into the sea, or dragged to prison, which by that means was so crowded that they soon died, suffocated with the stench and noisomeness of the place. Such, then, was the character of the monster in the shape of a man, as recorded by the pen of impartial history, by whose sover eign decree pope Boniface was constituted Universal Bishop, and supreme head of the church on earth ; and such is the foundation, and the only fouridation, upon which this lordly title rests, which has been claimed by all the successors of Boniface ; the Gregorys, the Innocents, and. the Leos, down to the imbecile old man, Gregory XVL, who, in the nineteenth century, issues his mandates from the Vatican at Rome, demanding the unlimited submission and obedi ence of the faithful in the United States, and all other nations »f the earth. So much for the source of this usurped spiritual sovereignty. Whether any human power possessed the right thus to elevate a mortal to the station of Universal Bishop, supreme head and abso lute monarch of Christ's church, and if so, whether so atrocious a villain, and so bloody a murderer, as this Phocas, possessed such a right, must be left to the common sense of the reader to decide. § 31, — I have named the famous Romish bishop, Gregory the Great, as he is called by papists, as one actor in estabhshing the papal supremacy. Notwithstanding his artful epistle to Mauritius, in which he condemns the title of Universal Bishop, because it had been assumed by a rival, he is worthy of the honor in this affair of being placed side by side with Phocas, partly because no man before him had done so much in defence of the proud prerogatives of the Roman See, but chiefly because by the base and servile flatteries he bestowed upon that weak-minded but bloodthirsty tyrant, he paved the way for the success of Boniface, a few years later, in his application to Phocas, for the title of Universal Bishop. At the accession of Phocas, Gregory was still bishop of Rome, and with the hope, doubtless, that he should be more successful with this bloody tyrant than he had been with Mauritius, in caus ing him to restrain the rising greatness and ambition of his rival patriarch at Constantinople, he immediately wrote to him a letter of congratulation, full of the vilest and most venal flatteries, so that it has been truly said, were we to learn the character of Phocas CHAP.VL] POPERY IN EltfBRYO.- TO A. D. 606. 61 The rapture of Saint Gregory at the accession of the murderous tyrant. from this pontiff's letters, we should certainly conclude him to have been " rather an angel than a man," § 32. — It is humihating in the extreme to record the deep de basement of such a man as Gregory, when he could so far descend from the dignity of his high and holy calling, as to address this usurper, while his hands were yet reeking with the blood of his slaughtered vibtims, in language like the following : " Glory to God in the highest ; who, according as it is written, changes times and transfers kingdoms. And because he would have that made known to all men, which he hath vouchsafed to speak by his own prophets, saying, that the Most High rules in the kingdoms of men, and to whom he will he gives it." He then goes on to observe that God, in his incomprehensible providence, sometimes sends kings to afflict his people and punish them for their sins. This, says he, we have known of late to our woful experience. Sometimes, on the other hand, God, in his mercy, raises good men to the throne, for the relief and exultation of his servants. Then applying this remark to existing circumstances, he adds : " In the abundance of our exulta tion, on which account, we think ourselves the more speedily con firmed, rejoicing to find the gentleness of your piety equal to your imperial dignity." Then, breaking out into rapture, no longer to be restrained, he exclaims, " Let the heavens rejoice and the earth be glad ; and, for your illustrious deeds, let the people of every realm hitherto so vehemently afflicted, now be filled with gladness. May the necks of your enemies be subjected to the yoke of your supreme rule, and the hearts of your subjects, hitherto broken and depressed, be relieved by your clemency." Proceeding to paint their former miseries, he concludes with wishing that the commonwealth may long enjoy its present happiness. Thus, in language evidently borrowed from the inspired writers, and in which they anticipate the joy and gladness that should pervade universal nature at the birth of the Messiah, does this pope celebrate the march of the tyrant and usurper through seas of blood to the imperial throne, " As a subject and a Christian," says Gibbon (chap, xlvi.), "it was the duty of Gregory to acquiesce in the established government ; but the joyful applause with which he salutes the fortune of the assassin, has sulhed, with indelible disgrace, the character of the saint. The successor of the apostles might have inculcated with decent firmness the guilt of blood, and the necessity of repentance : he is content to celebrate the deliverance of the people, and the fall of the oppressor ; to rejoice that the piety and benignity of Phocas have been raised by Providence to the imperial throne ; to pray tnat his hands may be strengthened against all his enemies ; and to express a wish, that after a long triumphant reign,- he may be trans ferred from a temporal to an everlasting kingdom," § 33, — The unmeasured abuse wi^h which this Saint Gregory loads the murdered Emperor, after his death, in his congratulatory letters to Phocas, naturally leads to an inquiry into the character of the unfortunate Mauritius. The fault with which he is princi- 62 HISTORY OF ROMANISM, [book i. Wicked duplicity and hypocrisy of Saint Gregory. pally accused by contemporary historians, and which, doubtless, proved the cause of his untimely fate, was too much parsimony ; than which no vice could render him more odious to the soldiery, who were, in those degenerate times of the empire, lazy, undisci plined, debauched, rapacious, and seditious. As the government was become military, the affection of the army was the principal bulwark of the throne. It was ever consequently the interest of the reigning family to secure the fidelity of the legions as much as possible. This, in times so corrupt, when miHtary discipline was extinct, was to be effected only by an unbounded indulgence, and by frequent largesses. These the prince was not in a condition to bestow, without laying exorbitant exactions on the people. For levying these, the army were, as long as they shared in the spoil, always ready to lend their assistance. Hence it happened, that, among the Emperors, the greatest oppressors of the people were commonly the greatest favorites of the army. The revolt of the legions, therefore, could be but a slender proof of mal-administrations. It was even, in many cases, an evidence of the contrary. But it is more to our present purpose to consider the character which this very Saint Gregory gave of Mauritius, when in posses sion of the imperial diadem. For if the former and latter accounts given by the pontiff cannot be rendered consistent, we must admit, that, first or last, his holiness made a sacrifice of truth to pohtics. Now it is certain that nothing can be more contradictory than those accounts. In some of his letters to that Emperor, we find the man whom he now treats as a perfect monster, extolled to the skies, as one of the most pious, most religious, most Christian princes that ever lived. In one of these letters, the Emperor's "pious zeal, solicitude, and vigilance for the preservation of the Christian faith," are represented as " the glory of his reign, as a subject of joy, not to the pontiff only, but to all the world," In another, after the warmest expressions of gratitude, on account of the pious liberality and munificence of his imperial majesty, and after telling how much the priests, the poor, the strangers, and all the faithful were indebted to his paternal care, he adds that for these reasons " all should pray for the preservation of his life, that Almighty God might grant to him a long and quiet reign, and that after his death, as the reward of his piety, a happy race of his descendants might long flourish as sovereigns of the Roman empire,"* Yet he no sooner hears (says Dr. Campbell) of the successful treason of Phocas in the barbarous murder of the sovereign family, an event, the mention of which, even at this distance, makes a humane person shudder with horror, than he exclaims with rapture, " Glory to God in the highest." He invites heaven and earth, men and angels, to join in the general triumph. How happy is he that the * " Unde actum est, ut simul orones pro vita dominorum concorditer orarent, quatenus omnipotens Deus longa vobis et quieta tempera tribuat, et pietatis vestra felicissimam sobolem diu in Romana republica florere concedat," (Epist. Greg., lib. viii., epist 2.) CHAP. VI.] POPERY IN EMBRYO.— TO A. D. 606. 63 Invites all the angels of heaven to rfejoice in the success of Phocas. royal race is totally exterminated, from whom, but a little before, he told us, that he poured out incessant and tearful prayers {lachry- mdbili prece is one of his expressions), that they might, to the latest ages, flourish on the throne, for the felicity of the Roman common wealth ! An honest heathen would, at least for some time, have avoided any intercourse or correspondence with such a ruffian as Phocas ; but this Christian bishop, before he had the regular and customary notice of his accession to the purple, is forward to con gratulate him on the success of his crimes. His very crimes he canonizes (an easy matter for false religion to effect), and transforms into shining virtues, and the criminal himself into a second Messiah, he that should come for the salvation and comfort of God's people. And all this was purely that he might pre-engage the favor of the new Emperor, who (he well knew), entertained a secret grudge against the Constantinopohtan bishop, for his attachment to the preceding emperor Mauritius ; a grudge which, when he saw with what spirit the patriarch protected the empress dowager and her daughters, soon settled into implacable hatred.* "Does it not hence appear but too plain," inquires the learned historian of the popes,f " that Gregory, however conscientious, just, and religious in his principles and conduct, when he did not apprehend the dignity or interest of his See to be concerned, acted upon very different notions and principles, when he apprehended they were concerned 1 For how can we reconcile with conscience, justice, or religion, his bestowing on the worst of tyrants the highest praises that can be bestowed on the best of princes ? His courting the favor of a cruel and wicked usurper, by painting and reviling, as an absolute tyrant, the excellent prince, whose crown he had usurped 1 His ascribing (which I leave Baronius to excuse from blasphemy), to a particular Providence the revolt of a rebellious subject, and seizing the crown ; though he opened himself a way to it by the murder of his lawful sovereign, and his six children, all the male issue of the imperial family? And finally, by his inviting all man kind, nay, and the angels of heaven, to rejoice with him, and return thanks to God, for the good success of so wicked an attempt, per haps the most wicked and criiel that is recorded in history ? Gre gory had often declared that he was ready to sacrifice his life to the honor of his See ; but whether he did not sacrifice, on this occa sion, what ought to have been dearer to him than his life, or even the honor of his See, I leave the world to judge ; and only observe here, that his reflecting in the manner he did on the memory of the unhappy Mauritius, was in him an instance of the utmost ingrati tude, if what he himself formerly wrote, and frequently repeated, be true, viz. : That his tongue could not express the good he had received of the Almighty, and his lord the Emperor ; that he thought himself bound in gratitude to pray incessantly for the life * See Dr. Campbell's Lectures on Ecclesiastical History, lect. xvi. t Bower, in vita Greg, i., vol. ii., page 326. 64 HISTORY OP ROMANISM. [book i. Pope Boniface assembles a council, in which he exercises his newly obtained power. of his most pious and most Christian lord ; and that, in return for the goodness of his most religious lord to him, he could do no less than love the very ground on which he trod." § 34. — Perhaps we may not be warranted in asserting (as Dr. Campbell seems to suppose), that Gregory, by these vile flatteries, intended to secure for himself the title which had been assumed by his rival at the East, It is possible he would have been content could he have lived to see him deprived of it ; still, if he indulged such a wish in secret, consistency itself must have forbidden its utterance, when he had just before pronounced the assumption of such a title — the badge and the brand of anti-Christ, Perhaps Gregory would have been more cautious in the expression of such an opinion, could he have foreseen that in so short a time it would be importunately sought and obtained by one of his own successors, and that upon the foreheads of these very successors in the boasted chair of St. Peter, would descend from generation to generation, the brand indelibly stamped by the hand of Saint Gregory — " WHOEVER adopts OR AFFECTS THE TITLE OF UNIVERSAL BISHOP, HATH THE PRIDE AND CHARACTER OF ANTI-ChRIST." No sooner had Boniface obtained this title, says Bower, than he took upon him to exercise an answerable jurisdiction and power, to an extent at that time unknown and unheard of in the Catholic church. No sooner was the imperial edict of Phocas, vesting him with the title of Universal Bishop, and declaring him head of the church, brought to Rome, than, assembling a council in the basilic of St, Peter, consisting of seventy-two bishops, thirty-four presbyters, and all the deacons and inferior clergy of that city, he acted there as if he had not been vested with the title alone, but with all the power of an Universal Bishop, with all the authority of a supreme head, or rather absolute monarch of the church. For by a decree, which he issued in that council, ft was pronounced, declared, and defined, that no election of a bishop should thenceforth be deemed lawful and good, unless made by the people and clergy, approved by the prince, or lord of the city, and confirmed. by the Pope, interposing his authority in the following terms : We will and command, ' volumus et jubemus,' The imperial edict, therefore, if we may so call the edict of an usurper and a tyrant, "was not, as popish writers pretend," says Bower, " a bare confirmation of the primacy of the See of Rome ; but the grant of a new tftle, which the pope immediately improved into a power answering that title. And thus was the power of the pope as Universal Bishop, as head ot the church, or, in other words, the papal supremacy, first intro duced. It owed fts original to the worst of men ; was procured by the basest means, by flattering a tyrant in his wickedness and tyranny, and was m itself, if we stand to the judgment of Gregory the Great, anti-Christian, heretical, blasphemous, diabolical."* "" Bower, in vita Bonifac iii. 65 BOOK II. POPERY AT ITS BIRTH, A.D. 606. ITS DOCTRDtAL AND RITUAL CHARACTER AT THIS EPOCH, CHAPTER L ROMISH ERRORS TRACED TO THEIR ORIGIN. THEIR EARLY GROWTH NO ARGUMENT IN THEIR FAVOR. § 1, — As we have now traced the gradual march of hierarchal assumption to the period of the full establishment of Popery, it is important to inquire what was its doctrinal and ritual character, at the time of its complete development and introduction to the world, under the sanction and authority of its newly created sovereign and Universal Bishop ; and also to trace to their first origin such of the unscriptural doctrines and rites of the Romish church as were at that time embodied in the system of Popery ; and which, though all in vented long after the death of the apostles, yet boast an earlier date than the establishment of the papal supremacy. There is scarcely anything which strikes the mind of the careful student of ancient ecclesiastical history with greater surprise, than the comparatively early period at which many of the corruptions of Christianity, which are embodied in the Romish system, took their rise ; yet it is not to be supposed that when the first originat ors of many of these unscriptural notions and practices, planted those germs of corruption, they anticipated or even imagined that they would ever grow into such a vast and hideous system of super stition and error, as is that of Popery, Thus remarks a learned and sagacious writer, " Each of the great corruptions of later ages took its rise in a manner which it would be harsh to say was deserving of strong reprehension. Thus the secular domination exercised by the bishops, and at length exclusively by the bishop of Rome, may be traced very distinctly to the proper respect paid by the people to the disinterested wisdom of their bishops in deciding their worldly differences. The worship of images, the invocation of saints, and the superstition of relics, were but expansions of the natural feelings of veneration and affection cherished toward the memory of those who had suffered and died for the truth. And thus, in like manner, the errors and abuses of monkery all sprang by imperceptible augmentations from sentiments perfectly natural 66 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [book n. Chillingworth's immortal sentiment, "The Bible only, is the religion of Protestants." to the sincere and devout Christian in times of persecution, disorder, and general corruption of morals. The very abuses which make the twelfth century abhorrent on the page of history, were, in the fourth, fragrant with the practice and suffrage of a blessed company of primitive confessors. The remembered saints, who had given their bodies to the flames, had also lent their voice and example to those unwise excesses which at length drove true religion from the earth. Untaught by experience, the ancient church surmised not of the occult tendencies of the course it pursued, nor should it be loaded with consequences which human sagacity could not well have foreseen,"* §2. — At the epoch of the papal supremacy a gigantic system of error and superstition had sprung up, formed of the union of many errors in doctrine and practice, the successive growth of preceding centuries, but which w^re then cemented into a regular system, and rendered obligatory upon all. To understand the character of Popery at its birth, it will be necessary to specify the principal of those errors, with the time and circumstances, so far as can be ascertained of their origin and growth. And if, in perusing the chapters devoted to this inquiry, the protestant reader shall some times be startled to find at how early a date the germs of some of these errors were planted, let him remember that the origin of all of them is subsequent to the times of the apostles, and let him call to mind the immortal words of Chillingworth : " The Bible, I say, the Bible only, is the religion of protestants ! Whatsoever else they believe beside ft, and the plain, irrefragable, indubitable conse quences of it, well may they hold it as a matter of opinion ; but as matter of faith and religion, neither can they, with coherence to their own grounds, believe ft themselves, nor require the belief of it of others, without most high and most schismatical presumption, I for my part, after a long and (as I verily believe and hope), impar tial search of the true way to eternal happiness, do profess plainly, that I cannot find any rest for the sole of my foot, but upon this rock only, " Traditive interpretations of Scripture are pretended ; but there are few or none to be found : no tradition, but only of Scripture, can derive itself from the fountain, but may be plainly proved either to have been brought in, in such an age after Christ, or that in such an age It was not in. In a word, there is no sufficient certainty but of Scripture only, for any considering man to build upon. This, therefore, and this only, I have reason to believe : this I will profess ; accordmg to this I will live, and for this, if there be occasion, I will not only willingly, but even gladly, lose my life, though I should be sorry that Christians should take it from me,"t § 3,— Protestantism, as opposed to Popery, has been defined by Isaac Taylor, m his Ancient Christianfty, as " a refusal to ac- * Natural History of Enthusiasm, page 181. t Works of Chillingworth, Philadelphia edition, page 481. BHAP. L] POPERY AT ITS BIRTH— A. D. 606. 67 Great question, is the Bible only the rule of faith, or the Bible and tradition together. _ jj _ KNOWLEDGE INNOVATIONS BEARING "AN ASCERTAINED DATE," and tO this definition we have no particular objection, inasmuch as the date of most, if not all of the popish innovations, both doctrinal and ritual, can be ascertained with considerable accuracy. Still we must be allowed to add, that should innovations be discovered, either in that or any other communion, the date of the admission of which is entirely unknown ; if they are contrary to the doctrine and spirit of the Bible, if they are not found in God's word ; that is to say, if they are innovations at all, then true Protestantism requires their unqualified rejection, just as much as if their date were as clearly ascertained as is the date of the papal supremacy, or the absurd dogma of transubstantiation. " The Bible, I say, the Bible ONLY, is the religion OF PROT-fisTANTS !" Nor is it of any account in the estimation of the genuine protestant, how early a doctrine originated, if it is not found in the Bible, He learns from the New Testament itself, that there were errors in the time of the apostles, and that their pens were frequently employed in combating those errors. Hence if a doctrine be propounded for his acceptance, he asks, is it to be found in the inspired word ? was it taught by the Lord Jesus Christ, and his apostles ? If they knew nothing of it, no matter to him, whether it be discovered in the musty folio of some ancient visionary of the third or fourth century, or whether it spring from the fertile brain of some modern visionary of the nineteenth, if it is not found in the sacred Scriptures, it presents no vaUd claim to be received as an article of his religious creed. More than this, we will add, that though Cyprian, or Jerome, or Augus tine, or even the fathers of an earlier age, TertuUian, Ignatius, oi Irenaeus, could be plainly shown to teach the unscriptural doctrines and dogmas of Popery, which, however, is by no means admitted, still the consistent protestant would simply ask, is the doctrine to be found in the Bible ? was it taught by Christ and his apostles ? and if truth compelled an answer in the negative, he would esteem it of no greater authority as an article of his faith, than the vagaries of John of Munster, the dreams of Joanna Southcote, or the pre tended revelations of Joe Smith, of Nauvoo, The Bible, and not as has recently been asserted, " the Bible and tradition," but " the Bible only, is the religion of protestants," § 4, — The great question at issue between Popery and Protestant ism, is this : Is the Bible only to be received as the rule of faith, or the Bible and tradition together ? Is no doctrine to be received as matter of faith, unless it is found in the Bible, or may a doc trine be received upon the mere authority of tradition, ' when it is confessedly not to be found in the sacred Scriptures? The whole Christian world, both nominal and real, are divided by this question into two great divisions > the consistent and true-hearted protestant, standing upon this rock — " The Bible, and the Bible ONLY," can admit no doctrine upon the authority of tradition ; the papist and the Puseyite place tradition side by side with the Bible, and listen to its dictates with a reverence equal to, or even greater than 68 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [book n. Protestantism rejectg tradition as a rule of faith. that which they pay to the saittKed Scriptures themselves ; and he who receives a single doctrine upon the mere authority of tradition, let him be called by what name he will, by so doing, steps down from the protestant rock, passes over the line which separates Pro testantism from Popery,* and can give no valid reason why he should not receive all the earlier doctrines and ceremonies of Ro manism, upon the same authority. Hence to the protestant who understands his principles, it will constitute no argument in favor of the errors of Popery that the germs of many of them were planted at a period not more distant from the first establishment of Christi anity, than is the age at which we live from the time when the pilgrim fathers landed on the shores of New England, We are not to suppose, however, that all the corrupt doctrines and practices of modern Popery had been invented at so early a period as the third or fourth, or even the seventh century. Thus, the absurd doctrine of transubstantiation was never dreamed of till two or three centu ries later than the age of Gregory I, or Boniface III, ; the practice of selling indulgences had not then arisen, and the services of public worship were everywhere performed, not exclusively in Latin, as in after times, but in the vernacular languages of the various nations of Christendom ; still it must be confessed, that a large portion of these errors, including the enforced celibacy of the clergy, the prac tice of monkery, the worship of saints and relics, &c,, had sprung up amidst the darkness of the fourth, fifth, and sixth centuries, and were extensively believed and practised, prior to their consolidation into a system, in consequence of the' establishment of the papal supremacy, * It is not to be wondered at, that the professed advocates of Popery should claim a place for tradition equalj if not superior, in authority to the vreitten word of God ; but it is truly lamentable to hear members and ministers of a Christian denomina tion, which has heretofore won many laurels as one of the most successful defenders of Protestantism (which has been adorned, in past ages, by such men as a Jewell, a Chillingworth, and a Leighton, and is now adorned by a Whately, a Macllvaine, and a Milnor), boldly advocating the popish doctrine, that not the Bible only, but, in the words of Dr. Newman, " these two things, the Bible and Catholic traditions, form together, a united rule of faith." " Catholic tradition," remarks this celebrated advocate of the Oxford theology, " is a divine informer in religious things, it is the unwritten word ;" and again, " Catholic tradition is a divine source of knowledge in all things relating to faith." The same sentiments are repeated in a still stronger form by Dr. Keble, another of the champions of this new theology : " Tradition," says he, " is infallible, it is the unwritten word of God, and of necessity demands cf us the same respect which his written word does, and precisely for the same reason, because it is his word," (See D'Aubigne on the Oxford Theology.) 69 CHAPTER IL origin of ROMISH ERRORS CONTINUED CELIBACY OF THE CLERGY. § 5, — One of the marks by which the great " Apostasy," pre dicted by St, Paul in the second epistle to Timothy, was to be known was " forbidding to marry," (1 Tim, iv. 3.) The same apostle, in describing the qualifications of a bishop, says, " This is a true saying, if a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work. A bishop then must be blameless, the husband op ONE wife ; given to hospitality ; one that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection, with all gravity ; for if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?" (1 Tim, iii, 1, &c,) In describing to Titus the qualifications of the elders to be ordained in every city, he says, " If any be blamdess, the husband of one wife, having faith ful children (w€o are) not accused of riot or unruly. For a bishop must be blameless as the steward of God : a lover of hospi tality," &c, (Titus i. 5, &c,) In these passages Paul is specially describing the qualifications of an elder or bishop. In the words of the judicious Scott, the commentator, he " showed, very particu larly, what manner of persons these bishops or elders ought to be." Among other quaUfications, it is said he " must be," or ought to be, (Greek, Sei) — " the husband of one wife." Some have inferred from this text," says Dr. Scott, " that stated pastors ought to be married as a prerequisite to their office, but this seems to be a mistake of a general permission, connected with a restriction — for an express command. It is, however, abundantly sufficient to prove that mar riage is entirely consistent with the most sacred functions, and the most exemplary holiness, and to subvert the very basis of the anti christian PROHIBITION of marriage to the clergy, with all its con current, and consequent, and incalculable mischiefs."* * See Scott on 1 Tim. iii. 2. Although, upon the whole, I am not disposed to find fault with the opinion of Dr. Scott, that this is a permission rather than a command ; yet, in order to show that others have thought dilFerently, I will ven ture (at the risk of hastening the diligence of some good bachelor " bishop or elder " to become " the husband of one wife") to cite the following from the re cent valuable work of the Rev. Dr. Elliott on Romanism, volume i., page 399. " The terms made use of in these passages mean more than a bare permission to marry, or a bare tolerance in office to those who are married. The words used denote duty or necessity. The impersonal verb hi, oportet, par est, necesse est, it is becoming, it is right, it is necessary. The expression of the apostle (1 Tim. iii. 2) is 6ci Qvv Tov eTTHTKOTTov /itof yvvatKos avSpa tivai, for a bishop MTrsT or OUGHT to be the husband of one wife. And, in the Epistle to Titus (ch. i., verse 7), the expression is similar, and means a bishop must, or ought to be blameless. The married state is here presented as that which is most becoming, proper, or indeed necessary for a man who presides over the flock of Christ. And it is considered as needful a qualification as temperance, blamelessness, aptitude to teach, and the like. And tiiough a minister may be a good one who is not married ; yet he is not so good, in general, as those who nave pious and intelligent wives and walk worthy their voca- 6 70 HISTORY OP ROMANISM. [book n. Early superstitious notions on the in^B^X^celibacy, and the discredit of marriage. § 6, — It is painful to refleSftFhow early a period, unscriptural notions, in relation to celibacy and marriage, began to prevail among the professed followers of Christ, Even in the time of TertuUian, who flourished about the commencement of the third century, the notion had gained some strength that celibacy was highly meritorious, and that matrimony was a dishonor and a dis credit. Hence, when dissuading from second marriages, this ear liest of the Latin ecclesiastical writers, uses the following language : " May it not suffice thee to have fallen from that high rank of im maculate virginity, by once marrying, and so descending to a se cond stage of honor ? Must thou yet fall farther ; even to a third, to a fourth, and, perhaps, yet lower ?"*. . . . These unscriptural opinions were owing, in part, to the superstitious notions which began to prevail at a very early period, in relation to the influence of malignant demons. It was an almost general persuasion, says Mosheim, that they who took wives were, of all others, the most subject to their influence. And as it was of infinite importance to the interests of the church, that no impure or nMevolent spirit en tered into the bodies of such as were appointed to govern or to instruct others ; so the people were desirous that the clergy should use their utmost efforts to abstain from the pleasures of the conju gal life,f The natural consequence of the prevalence of opinions like these was, that unmarried men began to be regarded as far more suitable for the office' of the sacred ministry than such as had tion. We do not hear the apostle say, " Although bishops and deacons are not to be prohibited from man-ying, yet, whenever it can be done, it is well to prefer those who have professed virginity." No such language escapes the apostle. He represents a bishop to be one who has a wife and children, and who rules his house." I hope my unmarried brethren in the ministry will forgive me, if I cite yet another author to prove that Dr. Elliott, in this interpretation, stands not alone. It is Isaac Taylor in his Ancient Christianity, p. 526. " Not one word is tliere," says he, " in these clerical epistles, of ' the merit of virginity,' not a hint that ce libacy is at least a ' seemly thing ' in those who minister at the altar ! The very contrary is what we find there. A bishop's and a deacon's qualifications for office are directly connected with their behavior as married men, and as fathers. So pointed is this assumed connexion, that we might even consider the apostle's rule as amounting to a tacit exclusion of the unmarried from the sacerdotal office. If a man who does not " rule well " his family, is thereby proved to be unfit to assume the government of the church-; by implication then, those are to be judged unfit, or at least they are unproved as fit, who have no families to govern.— The meager, heartless, nerveless, frivolous, or abstracted and visionary ccelebs- make him a bishop ! the very last thing he is fit for :— let him rather trim the lamps and open the church doors, or brush cobwebs from the ceiling !— how should such a one be a father to the church !" Some may think that in this closing exclamation, Mr. Taylor writes a little too much con amove ; yet there is reason in his inquiry, and were it not for one or two brilliant exceptions, within the circle of my ministerial acquaintances, I should be almost disposed to yield an unqualified assent to his doctrine. * See Taylor's Ancient Christianity, Philadelphia edition, page 140. The au thor takes this opportunity of acknowledging his indebtedness to this learned and industrious writer for some of the quotations from " the fathers," of which he has availed himself in the following pages. f : t See Mosheim, vol. 1., page 262, CHAP, n.] POPERY AT ITS BIRTH.— A. D. 606. 71 Clement of Alexandria remonstrates ugainst tlies^^^^^lk Ft^iiiulo devotees in tho age of Cypriun nflVned i contracted the defilement of i]^^BKy. In a short time, ^econd marriages were, by many, coralWned in any case, and were re garded as wholly inconsistent with the purity of the sacred office, and therefore entirely inadmissible in the clergy.* § 7. — It is refreshing, amidst these dawnings of early corruption, to hear a cotemporary of TertuUian, Clement of Alexandria, raising his voice in a "protestant style of remonstrance" against this shocking fanaticism, pointing it out as a characteristic of Antichrist, and of the apostasy of the latter days, that there should be those who would " forbid to marry and cwnmand to abstain from meats," " What," says he, " may not self-OTmmand be preserved under the conditions of married life ? May not marriage be used, and yet continence be respected, without our attempting to sever that which the Lord hath joined? God allows every man, whether priest, deacon, or layman, to be the husband of one wife, and tO' use matri mony without being liable to censure,"f This instance of good sense and scriptur^reasoning, amidst the increasing corruption on this point, is the Wore remarkable as it stands alone — a single star amidst the surrounding darkness. " So far as I know," says Mr. Taylor, " Clement of Alexandria is the only extant writer, of the early ages, who adheres to common sense, and apostolical Christianity, through and through. Those who, at a later date, ventured to protest against the universal error, were instantly cursed and put down as heretics, by all the great divines of their times ; and were, in fact, deprived of the means of transmitting their opinions to be more equitably judged of by posterity," J § 8, — In the time of Cyprian, the celebrated bishop of Carthage, who suffered martyrdom. A, D, 258, the vow of perpetual celibacy was taken or enforced upon multitudes of young women, and his pen was frequently employed in reproving or correcting the numer ous scandals and irregularities which naturally sprung from this fruitful source of illicit indulgence. Addressing this description of female devotees, he says in one of his epistles, " Listen, then, to him who seeks your true welfare ; lest, cast off by the Lord, ye be widows before ye be married ; adulteresses, not to your husbands, but to Christ, and, after having been destined to the highest rewards, ye undergo the severest punishments. For, consider, while the hundred-fold produce is that of the martyrs, the sixty-fold is yours ; and as they (the martyrs) contemn the body and its delights, so should you. Great are the wages which await you (if faithfiil); the high reward of virtue, the great recompense to be conferred upon chastity. Not only shall your lot and portion (in the future life) be equal to that of the other sex, but ye shall be equal to the angels of God."§ * Gieseler, vol, i. page 106. t Tov Tijf/iiaj ywaiKOS avSfa nan aTroSe^^srai, Kav UpcajSvTCpos ,r} Kav AiMovos, Kav XaiKoj, avinlXriTrras fajta xP'^l'^'os. — Clem. Alexand. I, 552. { Ancient Christianity, p. 168. 5 For a fuller account of these disorders, see Cyprian in his reply to Pompaiiins, 72 HISTORY OF ROMANISM, [book n. Consecrating and crowning of Nuns. ^^^^ Prohibition of marriage after ordination. 3.v^|^^b:1, NofM^t These female devotees ha-^|^Hfcince been distinguished by the name of Nuns, in the Latin, NoW^^ word said to be of Egyptian origin, and to signify a virgin. ¦ In after ages a variety of ceremo nies were observed, and still continue to be observed, upon a female taking upon herself the vow of perpetual chastity, or ' taking the veil,' as it is now called. The first of the adjoining plates represents the crowning of professed nuns, with what is called 'the crown of virginity,' during which ceremony the anthem is sung, Veni Sponsi Christi, &c., " Come, O spouse of Christ, and receive the crown." In former times, it was customaE| to place a crown upon the heads of those who died virgins, and Tms custom is still observed in some popish countries. The other plate represents the reading, by the officiating priests, of the anathema ag^ainst false nuns, a most awful curse against such as should violate their vows of virginity, and against all who should endeavor to seduce them from their vow, or should seize upon any portion of their wealth. {See Engraving.) § 9. — But to return to our narrative. The n^t step in this' per nicious innovation, after the prohibition of sec^I marriages to the clergy, was to forbid them to marry at all, after ordination. A decree to this effect was passed at a council held at Ancyra, in Galatia, A, D, 314, By this decree, all ministers were forbidden to marry after ordination, except in the case of those who at the time of their ordination, made an explicit profession of their intention to marry, as being in their case unavoidable. In such a case a license was granted to the candidate to marry, and securing him from future censures for so doing. If, however, a candidate for ordina tion was already married, he was not obliged to put away his wife, unless in the following singular exceptions, viz, : if he had married "a widow, or a diyprced person, or a harlot, or a slave, or an actress,"* In eithen of these cases, the wife must be first put away as a condition of ordftiation. The fact that a widow, when married a second time, is here placed in the same category with a harlot or a slave, shows that at this time matrimony had grown so much into disrepute, that second marriages were considered a disgrace and a reproach. At the council of Nice, held A, D, 325, it is related by Soqfates, the ecclesiastical historian, that a rule was proposed, requiring all clergymen who had married before their ordination, to withdraw from their wives, or cease to cohabit with them ; and the color of the account leads us to suppose that this regulation, which, in respect to the church universal, was called " a new law," although not new to several of the churches, was near to have been carf« and probably would have been, had not the good sense and ripT feeling of one of the bishops present defeated the fanaticism of *the others. Paphnutius, a bishop of the Thebais, a confessor, having lost an eye in the late persecution, and himself an ascetic^ rose,, and * Can. Apost. 17 : 'O X'i/'«'' Xa/Jdv, S lK0tP\iiithriv, Ij iraipav, fi oixlnv, ii tiSjk sir! nmh »i ivvarai ell/at eiriVjtoiros ^ npcafliTcpos, !) iiaKovog, )) SXus, roi KaraM'ySv nv UpaTiKov, Crowning of IViiiis wpon taking their vow. Reading the aiiathfiu.i ij?iiin*it irh i- shouht in\ fd-.p CHAP, n.] POPERY AT ITS BIRTH.— A. D. 606. 75 Further proposal negatived at the Council of Nice. ChryBostom on the ten virglna with spirit asserted the honor and purity of matrimony, and insisted upon the inexpediency of any such law, likely as it was to bring many into a snare. For a moment reason triumphed ; the proposal was dropped, nor anything farther attempted by the insane party, beyond the giving a fresh sanction to the established rule or tradi tion, that none should marry after ordination,* § 10, — Notwithstanding this decision of the council, however, the most extravagant notions prevailed, relative to the suppposed sanc tity and merit of virginity, even among the most eminent of the Nicene fathers,f As a lamentable proof of this fact, as also the early corruptions of the doctrine of salvation by " grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus," and the consequent danger of trusting to the most eminent of the early fathers in points of Chris tian doctrine, the following extract is presented from an exposition of the parable of the ten virgins, from the pen of the celebrated and eloquent Chrysostom, bishop of Constantinople, Among Protestant writers, the " oil in the lamps " has generally been understood to signify the principle of divine grace in the heart, or that genuine piety which distinguishes true Christians from mere pretenders or professors. The explanation of Chrysostom is widely different : " What !" says he, " hast thou not understood from the instance of the ten viigins, in the gospel, how that those who, although they were proficients in virginity^ yet not possessing the [virtue of] alms giving, were excluded from the nuptial banquet. Truly, I am ashamed, and blush and weep when I hear of the foolish virgin. When I hear the very name, I blush to think of one who, after she had reached such a point of virtue, after she had gone through the training of virguiity, after she had Jhus winged the body aloft toward heaven, after she had contended for the prize with the powers on high (the angels), after she had undergone the toil, and had trod den under foot the fires of pleasure, to hear such a one named, and justly named, a fool, because that, after having achieved the greater labors (of virtue), she should be wantrng*^dn the less ! Now, the fire (of the lamps) is — ^Virginity, and the oil is — Aliwsgiving. And, in like manner as the flame, unless supplied with a stream of oil, disap pears, so virginity, unless it have almsgiving, is extinguished. But now, who are the vendors of this oil ? The poor who, for receiving alms, sit about the doors of the church. And for how much is it to be bought 1 — for what you will. I set no price upon it, lest, in doing so, I should exclude the indigent. For, so much as you have, make this purchase. Hast thou a penny ? — purchase heaven, ayo^aaov top ovqavov ; not, indeed, as if heaven were cheap ; but the Master is indulgent. Hast thou not even a penny? give a cup of cold water, for he hath said, &c. Heaven is on sale, and in the * Socrates Eccles, Hist., lib. i., c. 11. See Greek extract in Gieseler, vol. i., page 279, note 4. f Nicene fathers. This term is generally applied to Athanasius, Basil, Chrysostom, Gregory Nyssen, Gregory Nazianzen, Ambrose, and other eminent ecclesiastical writers who flourished about the time of the council of Nice. 76 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [bookii. A strange exposition. Virginity and almsgiving. market, and yet we mind it not ! Give a crust and take back para dise ; give the least, and receive the greatest ; give the perishable receive the imperishable ; give the corruptible, receive the incor ruptible. If there were a fair, and plenty of provisions to be had at the cheapest rate, — all to be bought for a song, — would ye not reahze your means, and postpone other business, and secure to your selves a share in such dealing ? Where, then, things corruptible are in view, do ye show such diligence, and where the incorruptible, such sluggishness, and such proneness to fall behind ? Give to the needy, so that, even if thou sayest nothing for thyself, a thousand tongues may speak in thy behalf; thy charities standing up and pleading for thee. Alms are the redemption of the soul, i'VTgov jpvxns soTip eXeij/ioovi'Ti. And, in like manner, as there are set vases of water at the church gates, for washing the hands ; so are beggars sitting there, that thou mayest (by their means), wash the hands of thy soul. Hast thou washed thy palpable hands in water ; wash the hands of thy soul in almsgiving ! § 11. — "But what is it which, after so many labors, these vir gins hear ? — I know you not ! which is nothing less than to say that virginity, vast treasure as it is, may be useless ! Think of them (the foolish virgins), as shut out, after undergomg such labors, after reining in incontinence, after running a course of rivalry with the celestial orders, after spurning the interests of the present life, after sustaining the scorching heat, after having leapt the bound (in the gymnasium), after having winged their way from earth to heaven, after they had not broken the seal of the body (a phrase of much significance), and having obtained possession of the form of vir ginity (the eternal idea of divine purity), after having wrestled with angels, after trampling upon the imperative impulses of the body, after forgetting nature, after reaching, in the bodv, the perfections of the disembodied state, after having won, and held, the vast and unconquerable possession of virginity, after all this, then they hear — Depart from me, I know you not ! " Think then what the labor is which this course of hfe exacts ! and yet, even those who have undergone all this, may hear the words— Depart from me, I never knew you ! And see how great a virtue virginity is, seeing that she hath for her sister,— almsgiving ! '^.^^^g ,^°th™g that can ever be more arduous, but will be above all. Wherefore it was that these (foolish virgins) entered not in, because they had not, along with their virginity— almsgiving ! Ihou hast then that efficacious mode of penance, almsgiving, which IS able to break the chains of thy sins ; but thou hast also a way of penitence, more ready, by which thou mayest rid thyself of thy sins. Pray every hour !"* This extract is long, but valuable, on account of the proof that it fiarnishes, that, m what is called the Nicene age, the corruptions afterward embodied in the system of Popery had made the most * Chrysostom, Homily iii., on Repentance, CHAP, u.] POPERY AT ITS BIRTH.— A. D. 606. 77 Siricius, bishop of Rome, decrees celibacy. The Rhemish Testament and its Popish annotators. alai'ming progress. Paul had said three centuries before, " the mystery of iniquity doth already work," and now the leaven of cor ruption was rapidly diffusing itself over the whole mass, § 12. — At length, toward the close of the fourth century, Siricius, who held the See of Rome from 385 to 398, issued his decrees, strictly enjoining celibacy on the clergy, and several Western synods echoed the mandates of Rome, As the bishop of Rome was not at this time regarded as the head of the church, these laws were of course not received as obligatory upon all, and in the East especi ally, notwithstanding the superstitious veneration attached to celi bacy, these decrees, according to Gieseler (vol, i,, p, 280), were rejected. Though the decrees of Siricius and his successors were gene rally obeyed in Rome, and throughout Italy, yet large numbers of the French, German, Spanish, and English clergy continued, for several centuries longer, to avail themselves of that portion of their scriptural right which had been left them by the council of Nice, notwithstanding the exertions of successive bishops and popes of Rome to induce them to yield up those rights and become their obedient vassals. How bhnd must be that prejudice which does not perceive, in this constant warfare of the proud prelates of Rome (both before and after the epoch of the papal supremacy) against God's own institution of matrimony, a plain mark of Anti- Christ ; an evident proof that Popery, when fully developed, is that Apostasy predicted by St, Paul, when he described it as " forbidding TO MARRY !" In future centuries, we shall see the horrible vices, and almost universal corruption of morals among the popish clergy, which arose from thus setting aside the plain direction of inspira tion — " A bishop must be the husband of one wife," § 13, — The doctrine of the Romish church, forbidding the clergy to marry, is so evidently contrary to Scripture, that it is scarcely necessary to say a word in its refutation. The only wonder with the bible Christian will be, where they can find even a shadow of an argument upon which to base so unnatural and antiscriptural a prohibition. The only appearance of argument offered by Romish writers is, that mentioned by the Jesuit annotators in the Rhemish Testament* in their note on Titus iii. 6, " If the studious reader peruse all antiquity he shall find all notable bishops and priests of God's church to have been single, or continent from their wives if any were married before they came to the clergy. So were all * Rhemish Testament. — As I shall have future occasion to refer to this popish version of the New Testament, I would here remark, that it appeared in 1582, and was printed at Rheims, accompanied by copious notes by Romish authors. The Old Testament was translated like the Rhemish Testament, not from the original Greek 'and Hebrew, but from the Latin version, called the Vulgate. It was printed at Douay, in France, in 1610, for which reason the Rhemish New and the Douay Old Testament, now generally bound together, are called the Douay Bible. The popish doctrines of the notes to the Rhemish Testament, were ably confuted in a work of Dr. William Fulke, which appeared in the year 1617, 78 HISTORY 01 ROMANISM, [EooEn. Rhemish Testament against married clergy. The early reformers, Vigilantius and Jovinian. the apostles after they followed Christ, as Jerome witnesseth, affirming that our Lord loved John specially for his virginity." In their note on 1 Tim. iii. 2, they sadly abuse those who, in the early ages, adopted the same opinion as that advocated by Taylor and Elliott in the extract quoted in the nate on page 69 of this chapter. I must apologize for the grossness of the extract from these popish authors. It deserves quoting as a literary curiosity, and if at all, must be quoted as it is. The following are their words : — " Certain bishops of Vigilantius' sect, whether upon false construction of this text, or through the filthiness of their fleshly lust, would take none to the clergy, except they would be married first, not believing, said Jerome {advers. Vigilant, cap. 1), that any single man liveth chastely ; showing how holily they live themselves, that suspect ill of every man, and will not give the Sacrament, of order, to the clergy, unless they see their wives have great belhes, and children wailing at their mothers' breasts. Our Protestants, though they be of Vigilantius'* sect, yet they are scarce to come so far, to command every priest to be married. Nevertheless they mislike them that will not marry, so much the worse, and they sus pect ill of every single person in the Church, thinking the gift of chastity to be very rare among them, and they do not only make the state of marriage equal to chaste single hfe, with the Heretic Jovinian,* but they are bold to say sometimes, that the bishop or * Vigilantius and Jovinian.— These two early reformers who are spoken of so contemptuously by these popish writers, though they lived as early as the fifth century, are, for their enlightened zeal in opposing the corruptions of Christianity, which were already rife in their age, worthy to be ranked with Wickliffe, or I^uther, or Calvin The principal heresy of Jovinian was, in the words of Jerome, this shocking doctrine, that a virgin is no better than a married woman." The emperor Honorius cruelly ordered him to be whipped with scourges armed with lead, and banished to a desolate island, where he died about A. D. 406. Vigilan tius flourished a, few years later than Jovinian. He was a learned and eminent presbyter of a Christian church, and took up his pen to oppose the growing super- Btition. His book, which unfortunately has not survived the wreck of time, was directed against the institutio» of monkery-the celibacy of the clergy-praying for the dead, and to the martyrs-paying adoration to their relics-^celebratini their vigils-and hghting up candles to them after the manner of the heathens tl W '"^' ? '"^ esteemed a luminary of the Catholic church, and who was a VitZt,-?, K T" ^V^'^ superstitious rites, undertook the t^sk of confuting JomlThJ^°\^ fl^^^ V"""? Wasphemous heretic," and then proceeds to compare him to the hydra, to Cerberus, &c. of the Pagan mytholog^, and con- Jertl «n«wp "^-n™ lH°''S^ff °^ *^ '^^^"- The following short g ract from hZn. Tt Tu^ satisfactorily explain the heresy of VigilLtius :-" That the honours paid to the rotten bones of the saints and martyrs by adoriuff kissing, SC'uo waxVrndf'' W ""f."^^ °' sold, lodging them' in leTZfch^il SLf^idnW ,1 fv?'^" r.*^™'/^'^' *•>« "^""er of the heathen, wer^ the ensigns of idolatry— ite the celibacy of the clergy was a heresy and their vows of chastUy the seminary of lewdness— 'hic\t * * * ^^Jr^^^V' "¦^,^'^^ y™^ '9 diVitiam l,K;,iir,;o JL i '"^r ' ,^ ¦L'lcit i< 1= * continentiam, haeresim: pu- dead or' t^JZ" iJfr^cmtra V^aart^iu^.)_that to pray to the souls' of dLr+Pd L nf ^ r^ f *^ ^^''^' ^'^ superstitious, inasmuch as the wWch thev ™^^H nof "If ^'¦' r'" ^' '"•«^«°* '° som^ Particular place from reSendin^ ta thlT"''' ^^T^^''^^ ^^ P'"^^"^«' ^° ^« t° ^^ everywW pre- Bent attending to the prayers of their votariea-that the sepulchres of the martyrs CHAP, n.] POPERY AT ITS BIRTH.— A. D. 606. 79 Early instances of married clergymen. Peter, Cyprian, Gregory, GaBCilius, Nunildicus, &c. priest may do his duty and charge better married than single," They add that; the exposition given by them is " only agreeable to the practice of the whole Church, the defuiition of ancient councils, the doctrine of all the Fathers without exception, and the Apostle's tradition," To this it is sufficient to reply that the apostle Peter was married, for the New Testament makes mention of his wife (Matt, viii, 14), and there is no scriptural proof that any one of the apostles lived and died single, or declined to cohabit with their wives. In relation to the assertion that the clergy in the early ages of the church lived in celibacy, it will be sufficient to demon strate its glaring falsity to cite the following few out of multitudes of instances that could easily be cited of married bishops and presby ters in the first three or four centuries, § 14, — Valens, presbyter of Philippi, mentioned by Polycarp, was a married man.* Chceremon, bishop of Nilus, an exceedingly old man, was mar ried. He fled with his wife to Arabia, in time of persecution, under Maximinus the tyrant, where they both perished together, as Euse bius informs us.f Cyprian himself was also a married man, as Pagi, the annotator and corrector of Baronius, confesses. J Csecilius, the presbyter, through whose instrumentality Cyprian was converted to Christianity, was a married man,§ So also was Numidicus, another presbyter of Carthage, of whom Cyprian tells us the following remarkable story in his thirty-fifth epistle, or, as some number it, the fortieth : " That in the Decian persecution he saw his own wife, with many other martyrs, burned by his side ; while he himself lying half-burned, and covered with ought not to be worshipped, nor their fasts and vigils to be observed — and, finally, that the signs and wonders said to be v\rrought by their relics, and at their sepul chres, served to no good end or purpose of religion," These were the sacrilegious tenets, as Jerome terms them, which he could not hear with patience, or without the utmost grief, and for which he declares Vigi lantius " a detestable heretic, venting his foul-mouthed blasphemies against uie relics of the martyrs, which were working daily signs and wonders." He tells him to " go into the churches of those martyrs, and he would be cleansed from the evil spirit which possessed him, and feel himself burnt, not by those wax candles which so much oflfended him, but by invisible flames, which would force that demon that talked within him to confess himself to be the same who had per sonated a Mercury, perhaps, or a Bacchus, or some other of the heathen deities." (See Introductory discourse to Dr. Conyers Middleton's free inquiry into the mira culous powers of the early ages, page 132.) This is a long note, but it is worthy of the room it occupies, as an evidence that in very early ages there were not wanting faithful men to protest against the growing corruptions, and as a speci men of the doctrine as well as the spirit of some of the boasted fathers of the church, and consequently the danger of trusting to them as guides in relation to spiritual matters. * Polycarp, Ep. ad Philip., n. 11, t Euseb, Ecel. Hist. b. vi. c. 42. j Pagi. Crit. in Baron, ad ann. p. 248, n. 4. { Pontius, Vit, Cypr, 80 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [book n. Gregory, bishop of Nazianzum, a husband and a father. Worship of the Virgin Mary. stones, and left for dead, was found expiring by his daughter, who drew him out of the rubbish, and brought him to life again."* Gregory of Nazianzum, a notable bishop, was father of the other Gregory who succeeded him, as appears from the oration which the latter made in his favor. He says, " That a good and dihgent bishop serves in the ministry nothing the Worse for being married, but rather the better, and with more ability to do good," Of his mother he says, " That she was given to his father of God, and be came not only his helper, but also his leader both by word and by deeds, training him to the best things ; and though in other things it was best for her to be subject to him, on account of the right of marriage, yet in religion and godliness she doubted not to become his leader and teacher,"f From the above well-authenticated instances of the marriage of the clergy in the earliest ages of the church, it is evident that Romanists are no more sustained by the example of primitive times than by the New Testament, in their antiscriptural and un natural prohibition of marriage to the clergy,J CHAPTER m. origin of ROMISH ERRORS CONTINUED, WORSHIP OP THE VIRGIN MAEY. § 16,— We have already seen the extravagant opinions that were entertained in the fourth century, as to the merit of virginity. Before exhibiting the natural result of such unscriptural notions in the almost deification of the Virgin Mary, we shall present yet another specimen of the manner in which the graces of rhetoric and the charms of eloquence were employed in that age to exalt to the very skies, those who had devoted themselves to a virgin life. It is trom a tract of the eloquent Chrysostom or golden mouth. " The virgm, when she goes abroad, should present herself as the bright specimen of all philosophy: and strike all with amazement, as if now an angel had descended from heaven ; or just as if one of the cherubim had appeared upon earth, and were turning the eyes of all Pii^l^^^Slf'"''''! P'"«^byter uxorem adhsrentem latere suo, co^icrematam simul cum cffitens, vel conservatam magis dixerim, tetns aspexit.-Cyi^r., epist. 35 or ..I/w" """ "''^'"'°' '"""'" 'T " "" ^°W ^posraKparlcra-iC ;a.r,s ayowa rw Patris. "'X'""'!^"'' '"P^X"" ^""r,. «at Si6a^,a)..,.-Greg. Nazianzifa, in Epitaph. <, l^! ^^'f- °'l^.°'"f"'™' «• 427. In addition to the above. Dr. EUiott cites a large number of similar instances. ^"-"fi. CHAP, m.] POPERY AT ITS BIRTH.— A. D. 606. 81 Chrysostom's description of the sanctity of a professed virgin. Singular notions about the Virgin Mary. men upon himself. So should all those who look upon the virgin be thrown into admiration, and stupor, at the sight of her sanctity. And when she advances, she moves as through a desert ; or when she sits at church, it is with the profoundest silence, her eye catches nothing of the objects ai'ound her ; she sees neither women nor men, but her spouse only ; and who shall not marvel at her ? who shall not be in ecstacy, in thus beholding the angelic life, embodied in a female form ? And who is it that shall dare approach her ? Where is the man who shall venture to touch this flaming spirit ? Nay rather, all stand aloof, willing or unwilling ; all are fixed in amaze ment, as if there were before their eyes a mass of incandescent and sparkling gold 1 Gold hath indeed by nature its splendor ; but when saturate with fire, how admirable, nay even fearful is it ! And thus, when a soul such as this occupies the body, not only shall the spectacle be wondered at by men, but even by angels." While such were the opinions entertained and expressed of the " angelic virtue " of virginity, we are not surprised to learn that it was regarded as the very height of presumption and impiety to doubt whether the Virgin Mary — asmagderog — ever parted with this pre cious jewel, § 16, — About the middle of the fourth century, as appears from cer tain expressions in Epiphanius, Gregory Nyssen, and Augustine, an opinion arose that there were in the temple at Jerusalem, virgins consecrated to God, among whom Mary grew up in vows of per petual virginity. Her marriage with Joseph, the first named of these writers speaks of as only formal, and Jerome describes him as an ascetic from his youth,* The opinion was strenuously main tained by them, and most of their cotemporaries, that Mary con tinued a virgin till her death. Others, however, adopting the more natural interpretation of Matt, i,, 25, and xiii,, 55, 56, contended that she had afterward hved in a state of honorable matrimony with her husband, and that she had borne other children. Those who held this opinion, were enumerated among the heretics, and were called anti-dico-marianites, or opposers of the purity of Mary, It would be amusing, if it were not painful, to notice the fanciful and puerile conceits of the writers of this age, when endeavoring to establish the notion of the perpetual virginity of Mary. They even employed arguments to prove that in some wonderful way she gave birth to the Saviour, without losing her virginity, and some of them under took to show in what way this was accomplished. Thus, says Ambrose, commenting on Isaiah vii,, 14, " Hasc est virgo quee in utero concepit," &c,, " This is the virgin who hath conceived, and the virgin who hath brought forth a son. For the prophet not only saith that a virgin shall conceive, but also that a virgin shall bring forth." Then in the fanciful manner of applying Scripture current in that age, he makes a reference to Ezekiel xhv., 1, 2, and asks " but * See Gieseler, vol. i., page 273, note 13, for references and original quota tions from the fathers named. 82 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [book n. The CoUyridians or early worshippers of the Virgin. Papists all such now. what is that gate of the sanctuary, that outward gate toward the East, through which no one shall enter, but the Lord God of Israel ? Is not Mary this gate, through whom the Redeemer hath entered into the world ? concerning whom it is written, quia Dominus per- transibit per, earn, et erit clausa post partum, because a virgin hath conceived and brought forth." A siinilar ifanciful allusion to this passage in Ezekiel, by Jerome;, may be found in the note which I must be spared the task of translating,* § 17.- — When we observe, on the one hand, the earnest manner m which these fathers contend for the perpetual virginity of Mary, and on the other the extravagant honors attached to the virgin state, we need not be surprised that the notion soon became prevalent among some that " the niother of God," as she was now frequently denominated, was herself worthy of the honors of divine worship. Accordingly, about this time, we find that a sect sprang up, whose peculiar tenet it was, that the Virgin Mary should be adored in worship, and that religious honors should be paid to her. They were called CoUyridians, from collyridce, the cakes which they offered to the Virgin. However naturally this error might spring from the notions maintained by those who were regarded as the orthodox fathers of the church in this age, yet it is a proof that the Popery of the present day would even in that corrupt age have been regarded as heresy, that the members of this sect were branded by Epiphanius and others of the Nicene fathers as heretics. If one of them were now to arise from his grave, and pass through any of the Catholic countries of Europe, he would soon discover a wide spread system of idolatrous worship of the Virgin, far more debas ing than that which they condemned, because accompanied with the idolatrous use of images, a flagrant impiety with which these ancient heretics were not charged. § 18, — In proof of this last assertion, I would refer to the fact, noticed by almost every modern traveller, that in Italy, Spain, Austria, and other, popish countries of Europe, it is common to see images of the Virgin and child, not only in the churches, but also affixed in conspicuous places by the road-side, to receive the hom age and adoration of the passer-by. Some of these Romish idols are regarded with greater reverence than others, and are conse quently visited by a greater number of votaries. Thus in England, the land of our fathers, previous to the glorious reformation from * Gieseler, vol. i., page 287, note ^5.—" Ambrosius Ep. 42, ad SirvAum P. Hffic est Virgo quae m utero concepit: virgo qus peperit . filium. Sic enim scriptum est: Ecce virgo m utero accipiet, et pariet filium ; non enjm concep- turam tantummodo virginem, sed et parituram virginem dixit. Quse autem est lUa porta sanctuarii, porta lUa exterior ad Orientem, quae manet ckusa ; et nemo, inqnit, pertramibu per eam, nisi solus Deus Israel (Ezech. xliv. 2)? Noime haec porta qm^ Dominus pertransibit per eam, et erit clausa post partiim ; quia virgo concepit et genmt. Hieronymusady. Pelagianos, lib. ii. (dpp. ed: Martian. T. IV. P. II. p. 512): Solus enim Christus clansas portas vulvs virginalis apernit, quae tamen clauss jugiter permanserunt. Haec est porta orienlllis clausa, per quam solus Pontifex ingreditur et egreditur et nihilominus semper clausa est." lie SUrinc or.t.he Virgin. Caliibriau Minstrels playing in her liono Woisliiji of ilii^ linage; of thft Virgin lii u Cinirch, CHAP, m.] POPERY AT ITS BIRTH.— A. D. 606. 85 Minstrels playing tunes to the Virgin and child as though tlie idols were conscious. Popery, there was a famous image of the Virgin at Walsingham, ui the county of Norfolk, which was visited by thousands of devo tees, from the most distant parts of the island, notwithstanding they had similar idols in their own neighborhoods, and perhaps in their own dwelhngs, occupying the same place as the penates, or house hold gods of the ancient pagans of Greece and Rome, In Italy, where Popery is seen without disguise, each of these images is, by the common people, regarded as a distinct object of worship, and it is a very common sight to see a company of the Calabrese minstrels performing their national devotional airs before them, especially about the time of Christmas, and pleasing themselves with the idea that the tunes are the same that were played by the shepherds at the incarnation of the Saviour, on the plains of Bethlehem, A recent traveller in Italy relates a fact which shows that images are looked upon as real objects of worship, and treated as though they were really conscious of the idolatrous honors paid to them, notwithstanding, in the expressive language of Scripture, " they have eyes but they see not, they have ears but they hear not. They that make them are like unto them ; so is every one that trusteth in them," (Psalm cxv,, 5, &c,) In Rome, according to this traveller,* " it is a popular opinion that the Virgin Mary is very fond and an excellent judge of music, I received this information," says he, " on a Christmas morning, when I was looking at two poor Calabrian pipers doing their utmost to please her and the infant in her arms. They played for a full hour to one of her images which stands at the comer of a street. All the other statues of the Virgin which are placed in the streets are serenaded in the same manner every Christmas morning. On my inquiring into the meaning of that ceremony, I was told the above-mentioned circum stance of her character. My informer was a pilgrim, who stood listening with great devotion to the pipers. He told me at the same time, that the Virgin's taste was too refined to have much satisfac tion in the performance of these poor Calabrians, which was chiefly intended for the infant ; and he desired me to remark, that the tunes were plain and simple, and such as might naturally be supposed agreeable to the ear of a child of his time of life." The accompa nying engraving is a beautiful representation of such a scene as is • described in the foregoing interesting extract from the work of Dr. Moore, {See Engraving.) § 19, — Though many centuries elapsed before an idolatry so gross as this was practised, even in apostate Rome, yet as early as the fifth century, many circumstances were tending toward this idola trous reverence of the Virgin Mary, In the fifth century, a contro versy arose relative to the title which it was proper to apply to her, which in its result tended, probably, more than anything else, to increase the superstitious veneration with which she had long been regarded. The occasion of this controversy was furnished by the * Dr. Moore, in his Vievir of Society and Manners in Italy. 86 HISTORY OF ROMANISM, [bookh. Nestorian controversy on the title " mother of God." Feasts in honor of the Virgin. presbyter Anastasius, a friend of Nestorius. This presbyter, in a public discourse, delivered, A. D. 428, declaimed warmly against the title of eeowxog, or mother of God, which was now frequently attributed to the Virgin Mary. "He at the same time gave it as his opinion that she should rather be called Xg^aroToxog, i. e,, mother of Christ, since the Deity can neither be born nor die, and of conse quence the son of man alone could derive his birth from an earthly parent, Nestorius applauded these sentiments, and explained and defended them in several discourses. The result of the Nestorian controversy, as it was called, was that at the third general council, which was held at Ephesus, in 431, and at which Cyril, the powerful and imperious antagonist of Nestorius, presided, the doctrine was condemned, and its defender branded as another Judas, deposed from his episcopal dignity, and sent into exile, where he finished his days in the deserts of Thebais in Egypt,* This dispute, as is truly remarked by Gieseler, first led men to set the Virgin Mary above all other saints as " the mother of God," To those who reflect upon the natural tendency of an exciting con troversy to drive men to extremes, it will not be matter of wonder that henceforward much more was said and done in honor of the " blessed Virgin," " mother of God," and " ever a Virgin," than at any previous period. Among the images with which the magnifi cent churches began now to be adorned, that of the Virgin Mary holding the child Jesus in her arms, in consequence of the Nesto rian controversy, obtained the first and principal place, § 20, — In the following century, two festivals were established in her honor, the festum purificationis, or festival of the " purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary," on the second of February (Candlemas day), and the festum annunciationis, the festival of the annunciation on the twenty-fifth day of March, which has been popularly called Lady Day,t Mosheim says, with appearance of reason, that the former festival was established with a design " to remedy the unea siness of heathen converts, on account of the loss of their lupercalia, or feasts of the god Pan, which had formerly been observed in the * An amusing anecdote is related concerning the Emperor Constantine Copro nymus, -who lived more than three hundred years after Nestorius, vsrhich well illus trates the unreasonable importance which was attached for ages to these vain dis putes about mere words. It must be remembered that in this dispute both sides were strictly orthodox in the modern sense of the word. Both sides admitted that Jesus Christ is God as well as man ; that his human nature was born of the Virgin, and that his divine nature existed from eternity ; both sides admitted the distinction between the two natures, and their union in the person of Christ. Where then lay the difference ? It could be nowhere but in phraseology. Yet this notable ques tion raised a conflagration in the church, and proved, in the East, the source of infinite mischief, hatred, violence, and persecution. The Emperor happened one day to ask the patriarch of Constantinople, « What harm would there be in calling the Virgin Mary the mother of Christ ?" "God preserve your majesty," answered the patriarch hastily, with great emotion, "from entertaining such a thought ! Do you not see how Nestorius is anathematized for this by the whole church J" " I only asked for my own information," replied the Emperor, evidently with some alarm, " but let it go no farther." t Bingham's Antiquities, vol, ix., page 170, CHAP. IV.] POPERY AT ITS BIRTH.— A. D. 606. 87 Egypt the birth-place of Monkery, whether heathen or Clirisiian. month of February."* The latter served equally well as a substi tute for the festival of the ancient heathen goddess, Cybele, to whom the 25th of February, or Lady Day, was formerly dedicated. There is indeed a strong resemblance, in many points, between the pagan worship of Cybele, and the popish worship of the Virgin, The same appellation of " queen of heaven," which is frequently applied by papists to Mary, was generally applied by the ancient Romans to Cybele. CHAPTER IV. ORIGIN OF ROMISH ERRORS CONTINUED MONKERY. § 21, — Monkery, like most of the characteristic marks of Anti christ, bears the most indubitable evidences of its heathen origin. Egypt, the rank soil in which it sprang up, had long been the fruit ful parent of a race of gloomy and misanthropic eremites. It was in that country that this morose discipline had its rise ; and it is observable, that Egypt has, in all times, as it were by an immu table law, or disposition of nature, abounded with persons of a melancholy complexion, and produced, in proportion to its extent, more gloomy spirits than any other part of the world. It was here that the Essenes and the Therapeutse, those dismal and gloomy sects, dwelt principally, long before the coming of Christ ; as also many others of the Ascetic tribe, who, led by a certain melancholy turn of mind, and a delusive notion of rendering themselves more acceptable to the Deity by their austerities, withdrew themselves from human society, and from all the innocent pleasures and com forts of life, Strabo, Arrian, Diodorus Siculus, Porphyry, as well as several of the fathers, especially Clement of Alexandria, and Augustine, have handed down incidental notices of the philosophy and manners of the Indian and Egyptian gymnosophists, such as are amply sufficient for the purpose of identifying the ancient, and the more recent^ — the Buddhist, and the Christian ascetic institute. These professors of a divine philosophy, like their Christian imita tors, went nearly naked ; they occupied caverns or chinks in the rocks ; they abstained entirely from animal food ; they professed inviolable virginity ; they practised penance ; they passed the greater part of their time in mute meditation ; they imposed silence and absolute submission upon their disciples; they professed the doctrine, that the perfection of human nature consists in an annihi- * See Mosheim, cent, vi., part 2, chapter iv. 88 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [book n. Resemblance between the pagan and Christian gymnosophists. Paul the hermit, Anthony, Hilarion lation of the passions, and every aflfection which nature has im planted, whether in the animal or the mental constitution : abnega tion was, with them, the one point of wisdom and virtue, and a re- absorption of the human soul into the abyss of the divine mind, was the happy end of the present system, to the pure and wise. § 22. — Now, one might reasonably have supposed and expected, that a system of doctrine and practice such as this, if it were to come at all under the powerful influence of Christianity, must have admitted some extensive modifications ; but it was not so in fact : — a few phrases 'and another dialect, or slang, adopted, make alniost all the difference which serves to distinguish the ancient gymno- sophist from the Christian anchoret. The more rigid and he roic of the Christian anchorets dispensed with all clothing except a rug, or a few palm-leaves round the loins. Most of them ab stained from the use of water for ablution ; nor did they usually wash or change the garments they had once put on ; thus St. An thony bequeathed to Athanasius a skin in which his sacred person had been wrapped for half a century. They also allowed their beards and nails to grow, and sometimes became so hirsute, as to be actually mistaken for hysenas or bears. It need not be said that celibacy was the first law of this institute, and that an abstinence the most rigid was its second law. At what time precisely, the wilderness exchanged its pagan for a Christian tenantry, it is not easy to ascertain. In some iiistances, no doubt, the very individuals who had begun their course as hea then gymnosophists, ended it as Christian anchorets. But oftener, probably, the deserted cell or cavern of the savage philosopher was taken possession of by one who, having, in the neighboring cities, received the knowledge of the gospel, betook himself to the angehc hfe in consequence of persecutions, or of disappointments in love or in business.* § 23, — The most remarkable early instances of this gloomy fanaticism on record are those of Paul the hermit, who, during the persecution under Decius, about A. D. 250, betook himself to the solitary deserts of Egypt, where, for a space of more than ninety years, he lived a life more worthy of a savage animal than a human being, Anthony, an Egyptian, regarded as the founder of the monastic institution (because he first formed monks into organized bodies), who fixed his abode in the deserts of Egypt twenty or thirty years later than Paul, and died in the year 356, at the age of 105 ; and Hilarion, a Syrian youth, who took up his abode on a sandy beach, between the sea and a morass, about eight miles from Gaza, in Palestine, where he persisted in a course of the most aus tere penance for about forty-eight years. Influenced by these eminent examples, immense multitudes be took themselves to the desert, and innumerable monasteries were * See Taylor's Ancient Christianity, page 426, &c,, with references to ancient authorities. CBAP. IV.] POPERY AT ITS BIRTH.— A. D. 606. 89 Vast number of the monks in Egypt, &c. St. Symeon, the celebrated pillar saint, fixed in Egypt, Ethiopia, Lybia, and Syria, Some of the Egyptian abbots are spoken of as having had five, seven, or even ten thousand monks under their personal direction ; and the Thebais, as well as certain spots in Arabia, are reported to have been literally crowded with solitaries. Nearly a hundred thousand of all classes, it is said, were at one time to be found in Egypt, The western church probably could boast of no such swarms. This however is certain, that, although the enthusiasm might be at a lower ebb in one coun try than in another, it actually affected the church universal, so far as the extant materials of ecclesiastical history enable us to trace its rise and progress. In the west, Martin of Tours founded a monastery at Poictiers, and thus introduced monastic institutions into France. His monks were mostly of noble families, and sub mitted to the greatest austerities both in food and raiment ; and such was the rapidity of their increase, that 2000 of them attended his funeral. In other countries, they appear to have increased in equal proportion, and the progress of monkery has been said to have equalled the rapidity and universality of Christianity itself. Every province, and, in process of time, every city of the empire, was filled with their increasing multitudes, § 24, — We may learn the character of this fanaticism from a eulogy on the monastic life, composed about the middle of the fourth century by Gregory Nazianzen, There were some of these men, he tells us, " who loaded themselves with iron chains in order to bear down their bodies — others who shut themselves up in cabins and appeared to nobody — some continued twenty days and twenty nights without eating, often practising the half of the fast of our Lord — one individual is said to have abstained entirely from speak ing, not praising God except in thought — and another passed whole year^ in a church, with extended hands, like an animated statue, yet never allowing himself to sleep,"* One of the most renowned instances of monkish penance that is^ upon record is that of St. Symeon, as the papists are pleased to call him. He was a native of Syria, and devoted himself to the monkish life, in the virtues of which he is thought to have outstrip ped all that preceded him. We are told that he lived six-and-thirty years on a pillar erected on the summit of a high mountain in Syria, from which he obtained the name of Symeon Stylites (from oivXog, a pillar). From this pillar, it is said, he never descended except to- take possession of another, which he did four times, having in the whole occupied five of them. On his last pillar, which was loftier than any of the former, being sixty feet high and three broad, he remained, according to report, fifteen years without intermission, summer and winter, day and night, exposed to all the inclemencies of the weather, in a climate subject to great and sudden changes, from the most sultry heat to piercing cold. It is said that he always stood ; the breadth of his pillar not permitting him to lie down. He * See Fleury's Eccles, Hist, book xvi, chap, 61. 7 90 HISTORY OF ROMANISM, [book m A strange method of serving God. 1244 bows. Spacious monasteries erected spent the day till three in the afternoon in meditation and prayer ; from that time till sunset he harangued the people who flocked to him from all countries, whom he then dismissed with his benedic tion. He would on no account suffer females to come within his precincts — not even his own mother, who is said, through mortifi cation and grief at being refused admittance, to have died on the third day after her arrival. To show how indefatigable he was in whatever conduced to the glory of God, and the good of mankind, he spent much time daily in the exemplary exercise of bowing so low as to make his forehead strike his toes, and so frequently, that one who went to see him, as Theodoret, the ancient ecclesiastical historian, relates, counted no fewer than 1244 times — when, being more wearied in numbering than the saint was in bowing, he gave over the task of counting,* For such senseless and disgusting practices as these has this poor victim of superstition been enrolled among the calendar of saints, and down to the present day, whenever Rorriish writers refer to this famous pillar saint, they speak of him with the great est reverence as Saint Symeon. § 25, — Up to nearly the close of the fifth century, the monks had generally lived only in solitary retreats, and, regarded as they were as laymen, they had entertained no thoughts of assuming any rank among the sacerdotal order. Now, however, they found them selves in a condition to claim an eminent station among the pillars of the Christian community. The mistaken piety of many led them to erect Spacious and commodious edifices for the accommo dation of the monks and holy virgins, more resembling the palaces of princes than the rude cells of the primitive monks, and at the epoch of the papal supremacy, these monasteries were numerous and powerful, especially in the neighborhood of large cities. The monks who dwelt in these convents were called Coenobites, from two Greek words, signifying to live in common. When these spacious edifices were supplied with a numerous fraternity, governed by an abbot of eminence and character, so called from a Syriac word signifying father, there ofl;en arose a jealousy between the abbot on the one hand, and the bishop on the other, in whose diocese the abbey was situated, and to whom, as things stood at first, the abbot and the friars owed spiritual subjection. Out of their mutual jealousies sprang umbrages ; and these some times terminated in quarrels and injuries. In such cases, the abbots had the humiliating disadvantage to be under the obligation of canonical obedience to him, as the ordinary of the place, with whom they were at variance. That they might deliver themselves from these inconveniences, real or pretended, and might be independent * Those who wish to peruse a fuller account of these miserable euthusiasts, and the absurd legends of their wonderful miracles, may consult Theodoret's Ec clesiastical History ; Jerom, Vita Pauli Erem, ; Middleton's Free Inquiry into the miraculous powers, &c., p, 164-168; and Taylor's Ancient Christianity, p. 461, CHAP, IV,] POPERY AT ITS BIRTH.— A. D. 606. 91 Monks and abbots become the tools of the pope. Gregory's inhuman severity to a poor monk. of their rivals, they applied to Rome, one after another, for a release from this slavery, as they called it, by being taken under the pro tection of St, Peter. The proposal was with avidity accepted at Rome. That politic court saw immediately that nothing could be better calculated for supporting papal power. Whoever obtains privileges is obliged, in order to secure his privileges, to maintain the authority of the grantor, § 26, — Very quickly all the monasteries, great and small, abbeys. priories, and nunneries, were exempted from the jurisdiction of the bishops. The two last were inferior sorts of monasteries, and often subordinate to some abbey. Even the chapters of cathedrals, con sisting mostly of regulars, on the like pretexts, obtained exemption. Finally, whole orders, such as the Benedictines, who were estab lished m the sixth century, and others, were exempted. This effec tually procured a prodigious augmentation to the pontifical author ity, which now came to have a sort of disciplined troops in every place, defended and protected by the papacy, who, in return, were its defenders and protectors, serving as spies on the bishops as well as on the secular powers,* They made the cause of the pope their own, and represented him as a sort of god, to the ignorant multi tude, over whom they had gained a prodigious ascendant by the notion that generally prevailed, of the sanctity of the monastic order. It is at the same time to be observed that this immunity of the monks was a fruitful source of licentiousness and disorder, and occasioned the greatest part of the vices with which they were afterward so justly charged. Previous to the elevation of Gregory I, to the See of Rome, he was himself abbot of a monastery, and exacted of the monks the strictest observance of the rules of poverty, chastity, and implicit obedience. An instance of superstitious, and, as it appears to us, inhuman severity toward one of them, is related by Gregory him- self,f and is worth recording as an illustration of the character of Gregory, and of the spirit of that superstitious age. The monk's name was Justus ; he had practised physic before entering the monastery, and had attended Gregory night and day during his long illness. Being himself taken iU, he discovered, at the point of death, to his brother, a layman, that he had three pieces of gold coin concealed in his cell. Some monks overheard him, and thereupon rummaging his cell, found, after a long search, which nothing could escape, the three pieces concealed in a medicament, and brought them to Gregory. As, by the laws of the monastery, no monk was to possess anything whatever in private, the abbot, to bring the dying monk to a due sense of his crime, and, at the same time, to deter the rest, by his "punishment, from following his example, strictly forbade the other monks to afford him any kind of comfort or relief in the agonies of death, or even to approach him. Not * See Campbell's Lectures on Ecclesiastical History, page 325. + Gregory's Dialogues, lib, iv,, c, 56. 92 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [bookh. Monasteries fertile in pretended saints. satisfied with that inhuman severity, he required the brother of the unhappy monk to let him know that he died avoided, detested, and abhorred, by all his brethren. He did not even stop here, but exceeding all bounds, ordered the body of the deceased, as soon as he expired, to be thrown on a dunghill, and with it the three pieces of gold, all the monks crying out, aloud, " Thy money perish with thee !" § 27. — In an age so dark as that which gave birth to Popery, it might be expected that the newly established monastic institutions would produce hundreds of gloomy religionists, whom the credulous devotion of an ignorant and superstitious multitude would enshrine as saints. Such we find was actually the fact. In the sixth century, according to Mosheim, such as wished to enforce the duties of Chris tianity, by . exhibiting examples of piety and virtue to those for whom their instructions were designed, wrote for this purpose the Lives of the saints; and there was a considerable number of biogra phers, both among the Greeks and Latins. Ennodius, Eugippius, Cyril of Scythopolis, Dionysius the Little, Cogitosus, and others,' are to be ranked in this class. But however pious the intentions of these biographers may have been, it must be acknowledged that they executed it in a most contemptible manner. No models of rational piety are to be found among those pretended worthies, whom they propose to Christians as objects of imitation. They amuse their readers with gigantic fables and trifling romances ; the examples they exhibit are those of certain delirious fanatics, whom they call saints, men of corrupt and perverted judgment, who offered violence to reason and nature, by the horrors of an extrava gant austerity in their own conduct, and by the severity of those singular and inhuman rules Avhich they prescribed to others. For by what means were these men sainted ? By starving themselves with a frantic obstinacy, and bearing the useless hardships of hunger, thirst, and inclement seasons, with steadfastness and perseverance ; by running about the country like madmen, in tattered garments, and sometimes half naked, or shutting themselves up in a narrow space, where they continued motionless ; by standing for a long time m certain postures, with their eyes closed, in the enthusiastic expectation of divme light. All this was saintlike and glorious ; and the more that any ambitious fanatic departed from the dictates ot reason and common sense, and counterfeited the wild gestures and the incoherent conduct of an idiot or a lunatic, the surer was his prospect of obtaimng an eminent rank among the heroes and demigods of a corrupt and degenerate church.* * See Mosheim, century vi., part 2, chap. iii. 93 CHAPTER V. origin of ROMISH ERRORS CONTINUED WORSHIP OP SAINTS AND RELICS, ETC. § 28, — The invocation of saints is another of the unscriptural practices of Popery, which boasts of an origin anterior to the papal supremacy. In modern times this idolatrous worship of created beings has grown to such a height in the Romish church, as well nigh to exclude altogether the worship of the Creator ; and who ever will take the trouble to examine a popish book of devotion will see that there are many petitions offered to the saints for every one that is offered to the Deity, In all probability this practice grew up, by degrees, from the honors which, in the early ages, were paid to the martyrs ; and those who, in the third or fourth century, thus laid the foundation of this system of idolatry, little imagined the huge fabric of super stition that would be erected thereon. Perhaps it would be too severe to pronounce an indiscriminate censure upon those early Christians, who, prompted by respect for the virtues of their mar tyred brethren, were accustomed to assemble around their graves, to mourn over their loss, and to send up their supplications to the common God and Father of the martyred dead and the suffering hving. In process of time, however, the due reverence with which these witnesses for Jesus had been regarded, increased to a kind of idolatrous veneration, and religious services performed over their sepulchres were regarded as possessing a peculiar sanctity and vir tue. The growth of this idea was so rapid, that in the age of Constantine we find that stately churches were, in some instances, erected over their graves, and where this was impracticable, some relic, real or imaginary, of one of these saints was enshrined, with all due solemnity, in the magnificent buildings erected to their honor,* § 29, — Fleury, the celebrated Roman Catholic ecclesiastical his torian, relatesj- that on one occasion, in the year 386, St, Ambrose, being about to consecrate a church at Milan, was prevented by the fact that he had no rehcs of martyrs to deposit in the altars, when " immediately his heart burned within him, in presage, as he felt, of what was to happen," The historian proceeds to tell us that God revealed to him, in a dream, the place where the bodies of St, Ger- vasius and St, Protasius were to be found. " Having discovered their sepulchres, two skeletons were discovered of more than or dinary size, all their bones entire, a quantity of blood about, and their heads separated from their bodies. They arranged the bodies, putting every bone into its proper place, and they covered them * Eusebius — de vita Constant., iii. 48. f Fleury's Eccles. Hist., book xviii., chap. 48. 94 HISTORY OF ROMANISM, [book n. Discovery of bodies of Saints. Ceremony of depositing relics in the altars of churches. with cloths and laid them on litters. In this manner were they carried towards evening to the Basilica of St, Fausta, where vigils were celebrated all night, and several that were possessed received imposition of hands. That day and the next, th^re was a great concourse of people, and then the old men recollected that they had formerly heard the names of these martyrs, and had read the inscription on their tomb. The next day the relics were transferred to the Basilica Ambrosiana," or church of St, Ambrose at Milan,* So general had the notion become that a church could not be con secrated without relics, that it was decreed by a council at Con stantinople, that those altars under which no relics were found should be demohshed. The same necessity of relics to be deposited in the altar of Romish churches, in order to their due consecration, is contended for down to the present day. No matter how mmute the particle of supposed holy dust of the saint to whom the church is to be dedi cated ;¦;— a tooth, a toe-nail, a hair, a drop of the blood, or a pre served tear from the eye ; anything will do, so that it has been christened or declared genuine by his infallible holiness, the Pope. Upon the arrival of the duly authenticated relic, it is borne in so lemn procession by priests in their robes to the altar in which it is to be deposited, and when arrived at its destination, it is placed by the hands of the bishop himself in the place prepared for its recep tion. The first of the adjoining plates represents the procession of rehcs to the church, and the other the bishop in the act of closing up the sacred deposit within the altar. Before he does this he marks the sepulchre on the four sides with the sign of the cross. This is the consecration of the sepulchre. He then deposits the relic box with all possible veneration, which must be done bare-headed, the better to testify to the congregation the reverence attached to the ceremony. After this an anthem is repeated, during which, the celebrant, still without his mitre on, incenses the rehcs, and after wards puts it on, takes the stone which is to be laid over the sepul chre with his right hand, dips the thumb of the other in chrism, and makes the sign of the cross in the middle of the stone on the side that is to be towards the relics, in order to consecrate it on that side. Anthems and the Oremus immediately follow according to custom. After this the celebrant fixes the stone upon the Sepul chre, the masons make an end of the work, and the celebrant sanc tifies It by the sign of the cross which is reverently to be made on the stone. {See Engraving.) § 30,— To return to the origin of these superstitions. In Egypt, about the fourth and fifth centuries, another method was adopted of showing the reverence of Christians for the mortal relics of de parted saints. In that country, according to Gieseler, the Christians began to embalm the bodies of reputed saints, and keep them in their houses. The communion with the martyrs being thus asso- * Fleury's Eccles, Hist,, book xviii,, chap, 46. Relies carried in procession to.a Cliureli, tobeconsecratetl- Tlie Bi!.hap ulosiog np the relics iii llic Altar. CHAP, V,] POPERY AT ITS BIRTH.— A. D. 606. 97 Invocation of Saints. Gregory Nazianzen's address to his departed father and to Cyprian. ciated with the presence of their material remains, these were dug up from the graves and placed in the churches, especially under the altars ; and. the popular feeling having now a visible object to ex cite it, became more extravagant and superstitious than ever. The opinion of the efficacy of the intercession of those who had died a martyr's death, was now united with the belief that it was possible to communicate with them directly ; a belief founded partly on the popular heathen notion that departed souls always lingered around the bodies they had once inhabited, and partly on the views enter tained of the glorified state of the martyrs, a sort of omnipresence being ascribed to them. These notions may be traced to Origen, and his followers were the first who apostrophized the martyrs in their sermons, and besought their intercession. But though the orators were somewhat extravagant in this respect, they were far outdone by the poets, who soon took up this theme, and could find no expressions strong enough to describe the power and the glory of the martyrs. Christians were now but seldom called upon to address their prayers to God ; the usual mode being to pray only to some saint for his intercession. With this worship of the saints were joined many of the customs of the heathen. Men chose their patron saints, and dedicated churches to their worship. The hea then, whom the Christians used to reproach with worshipping dead men, found now ample opportunity of retort,* In proportion as men felt the need of such intercession, they strove to increase the number of the intercessors. Martyrs, before unknown, according to the legends of those times, announced themselves in visions, others revealed the place of their burial, and the populace were disposed to regard every obscure grave as the burial-place of a martyT,f § 31, — As specimens of the kind of invocations addressed to the saints in the latter part of the fourth century, we may refer to the funeral orations of the eloquent Gregory Nazianzen upon the mar tyr Cyprian, bishop of Carthage, and upon his own father. At the close of the former, he addresses a prayer to St, Cyprian, in which he implores the assistance and protection of the glorified martyr " to aid him in the government of his flock," In the latter he says, I do not doubt that my departed father, " being now much nearer to God, does a great deal more for his flock by his intercession than he did on earth by his teaching," The celebrated Roman Catholic historian, Dupin, commenting upon this oration, which was de livered about A, D. 381, remarks that, " the church, in the time of St. Gregory Nazianzen, believed that the martyrs and saints en joyed already eternal happiness and the vision of God ; that they took care of men upon earth ; that they interceded for them, and that it was very profitable to pray to them for the obtaining of spiritual and temporal favors."J * See Gieseler, vol. i., p. 283, with citations of ancient authorities, t Sulpicius Severus, de vifa Martini., cap. xi. j Dupin's lives and writings of the primitive fathers, vol. ii,, p, 167. 98 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [book n. Epiphanius in the fourth century opposes images in the churches as contrarj' to Scripture. It should be observed, however, that in that age this idolatrous custom of the Romish church was but in its incipient state. There is a vast difference between the impassioned addresses of orators and poets to the spirits of the departed martyrs in the age of Gregory and Basil, and the regular liturgical prayers to the saints incorporated into the set forms of devotion in a later generation, and perpetuated in their worst forms of idolatry and creature wor ship, down to the present time, § 32, — It is to be remembered too, that as yet the anti-Christian abomination of the worship of images had not yet arisen, " In the fourth century," says Gieseler, " the worship of images was still abominated as a heathen practice," A proof of this is furnished by a singular letter of Epiphanius to John of Jerusalem, written near the close of the century in which he writes as follows : " Having entered into a church in a village of Palestine, named Anablatha, I found there a veil which was suspended at the door, and painted with a representation, whether of Jesus Christ or of some saint, for I do not recollect whose image it was, but seeing that in opposition to the authority of Scripture, there was a human image in the church of Jesus Christ, I tore it in pieces, and gave order to those who had care of that church, to bury the corpse with the veil. And as they grumbled out some answer, that ' since he has chosen to tear the veil, he might as well find another,' I promised them one, and I now discharge that promise." From this letter we learn, not only that the worship, but the use of images in the churches was altogether condemned at this time. As the account given by Mosheim, of the progress of this and kindred degrading superstitions, from the age of the Nicene fathers, to the establishment of the papal supremacy, is so graphic, and so true, I shall present the reader with a condensation of his remarks. An enormous train of different superstitions, says he, were gradually substituted in the place of true religion and genuine piety. This odious revolution was owing to a variety of causes, A ridiculous precipitation in receiving new opinions, a preposterous desire of imitating the pagan rites, and of blending them with the Christian worship, and that idle propensity which the generality of man kind have toward a gaudy and ostentatious religion, all contributed to establish the reign of superstition upon the ruins of Christianity. Accordingly, frequent pilgrimages were undertaken to Palestine, and to the tombs of the martyrs, as if there alone the sacred princi ples of virtue, and the certain hope of salvation, were to be acquired. The reins being once let loose to superstition, which knows no bounds, absurd notions and idle ceremonies multiplied every day. Quantities of dust and earth brought from Palestine, and other places remarkable for their supposed sanctity, were handed about as the most powerful remedies against the violence of wicked spirits, and were sold and bought at enormous prices. § 33,— The public processions and supplications, by which the pa gans endeavored to appease their gods, were no\\» adopted into the «HAP, V,] POPERY AT ITS BIRTH,— A, D. 606. 99 Shameful impositions and lying wonders. Forged relics and mirncles. Christian worship, and celebrated with great pomp and magnificence in several places. The virtues that had formerly been ascribed to the heathen temples, to their lustrations, to the statues of their gods and heroes, were now attributed to Christian churches, to holy water, consecrated by certain forms of prayer, and to the images of holy men. And the same privileges that the former enjoyed under the darkness of Paganism, were conferred upon the latter under the light of the gospel, or rather under that cloud of superstition that was obscuring its glory. It is true that as yet images were not very common ; nor were there any statues at all. But it is at the same time as undoubtedly certain, as it is extravagant and mon strous, that the worship of the martyrs was modelled, by degrees, according to the religious services that were paid to the gods before the coming of Chi-ist. § 34, — Among other unhappy effects, these superstitious notions opened a wide door to the endless frauds of those odious impostors, who were so far destitute of all principle, as to enrich themselves by the ignorance and errors of the people. Rumors were artfully spread abroad of prodigies and miracles to be seen in certain places, a trick often practised by the heathen priests, and the design of these reports was to draw the populace, in multitudes, to these places, and to impose upon their credulity. These stratagems were gene rally successful ; for the ignorance and slowness of apprehension of the people, to whom everything that is new and singular appears miraculous, rendered them easily the dupes of this abominable arti fice. Nor was this all ; certain tombs were falsely given out for the sepulchres of saints and confessors ; the list of these saints was augmented with fictitious names, and even robbers were converted into martyrs. Some buried the bones of dead men in certain retired places, and then affirmed that they were divinely admonished by a dream, that the body of some friend of God lay there. Many, especially of the monks, travelled through the different provinces ; and not only sold, with the most frontless impudence, their fictitious relics, but also deceived the eyes of the multitude with ludicrous combats with evil spirits or genii. These shameful impostures and frauds have indeed been char acteristic of Popery in all ages. One feature in the inspired descrip tion of the man of sin, is that his coming should be with " signs and lying wonders, and all deceivableness of unrighteousness " (2 Thess., ii,, 9, 10), and all history shows the fidehty of the picture. The popish writers themselves are forced to allow, that many both of their relics and their miracles have been forged by the craft of priests, for the sake of money and lucre. Durantus, a zealous defender of all their ceremonies, gives several instances of the former ; particularly of the bones of a common thief, which had for some time been honored with an altar, and worshipped under the title of a saint,* And for the latter, Lyra, in his comment on Bel * S. Martinus Altare, quod in honorem Martyrio exstructum fuerat cum ossa et reUquias cujusdam latronis esse deprehendisset, submoveri jussit. (Durant, de Riiib., 1. i., c, 25,) 100 HISTORY OF ROMANISM, [book n. Dr. Middleton's account of fictitious saints. Saint Mount-Oracte. and the Dragon, observes that sometimes also in the church, very great cheats are put upon the people, by false miracles, contrived, or countenanced at least, by their priests, for some gain and tempo ral advantage,* And what their own authors confess of some of their miracles, we may venture, without any breach of charity, to believe of them all ; nay, we cannot indeed believe anything else without impiety, and without supposing God to concur in an extra ordinary manner, to the establishment of fraud, error, and supersti tion in the world, § 35, — Several ludicrous, but well authenticated instances of these fictitious saints are mentioned by the learned Dr. Conyers Middleton, in his letters from Rome. In one of these cases a mountain has been converted into a saint, by the corruption of the name of mount SoEACTE, near Rome, into S. Oracte, then S. Oreste, or Saint Oreste. This is mentioned also by Addison,t who adds that a monastery has been founded in honor of this imaginary saint. This mistake is the less to be wondered at, because the Italians usually write the title of saint with the single letter S. (as S, Gregory), and thus in ages of darkness and ignorance, it was easy to transform mount Soracte, into Saint Orestes, Thus this holy mountain stands now under the protection of a patron, whose being and power is just as imaginary as that of the old guardian Apollo, Sancti custos Soractis ApoUo — Vir. jEn. 9, No suspicion of this kind will appear extravagant to those who are at all acquainted with the history of Popery, which abounds with instances of the grossest forgeries, both of saints and relics, which, to the scandal of many even among themselves, have been imposed for genuine on the poor ignorant people. Even the learned Mabillon, himself a Roman Catholic writer, speaks of some who promulgated the feigned histories of new found saints, and who even sometimes published the inscriptions of pagans for Christians,! In the eariier ages of Christianity, the Christians often made free with the sepulchral stones of heathen monuments, which being ready cut to their hands, they converted to their own use ; and turning down wards the side on which the old epitaph was engraved, used either to inscribe a new one on the other side, or leave it perhaps without any inscription at all, as they are often found in the catacombs of Rome. Now, this one custom has frequently been the occasion of ascribing martyrdom and saintship to persons and names of mere pagans. * Aliquando fit in Ecclesia maxima deceptio populi in miracuhs fictis a sacer- dotibus, vel eis adhaerentibus propter lucrum temporale, &c. (Nic. Lyr. in Dan. c. 14.) r > \ s t Travels from Pesaro, &c., to Rome. j * * qui sanctorum recens absque certis nominibus inventorum fictas historias commimscuntur ad confusionem verarum historiarum imo et qui paganorum inscriptiones aliquando pro Christianis vulgant, &c. (Mabili. Iter. ltd., CHAP, V,] POPERY AT ITS BIRTH,— A, D, 606, 101 More fictitious saints. Saint Julia Evodia, Saint Viar. Saint cloak-Amphibolua. § 36. — Mabillon gives a remarkable instance of it in an old stone, found on the grave of a Christian with this inscription : D. M. rVLIA EVODIA FILIA FECIT, MATRI, And because in the same grave there was found likewise a glass vial, or lacrymatory vessel, tinged with a reddish color, which they called blood, they regarded this circumstance as a certain proof of martyrdom, and Julia Evodia, though undoubtedly a heathen, was presently adopted both for saint and martyr, on the authority of an inscription that appears evidently to have been one of those above- mentioned, and borrowed from a heathen sepulchre. But whatever the party there buried might have been, whether heathen or Chris tian : it is certain that it could not be Evodia herself, but her mother only, as the meaning of the Latin inscription is, that the daughter Juha Evodia raised this stone to her mother. The same author mentions some original papers which he found in the Barbarine library, giving a pleasant account of a negotiation between the Spaniards and pope Urban VIII., in relation to a cer tain Saint Viar. The Spaniards, it seems, have a saint, held in great reverence in some parts of Spain, called Viar ; for the farther encouragement of whose worship they solicited the pope to grant some special indulgences to his altars ; and upon the Pope's desir ing to be better acquainted first with his character, and the proofs which they had of his saintship, they produced a stone with these antique letters, S, VIAR, which the antiquaries readily saw to be a fragment of some Roman inscription, in memory of one who had been PrcefectuS VIARmtw, or overseer over all the highways. But we have in England an instance still more ridiculous, of a fictitious saintship, in the case of a certain saint called Aimphibolus ; who, according to our monkish historians, was bishop of the Isle of Man, and fell martyr and disciple of Saint Alban, Yet the learned archbishop Usher* has given us good reasons to convince us that he owes the honor of his saintship to a mistaken passage in the old acts or legends of St, Alban, where the Amphibolus mentioned, and since reverenced as a saint and martyr, was nothing more than the cloak which Alban happened to have at the time of his execution ; being a word derived from the Greek, and signifying a rough, shag gy cloak, such as was worn by the monks in that age. Thus we see that Romanists can boast not only of a Saint Mount Oracte, but also of a Saint Cloak Amphibolus. But this is not the climax of Rome's worse than pagan idolatry. They -have not only a Saint Cloak, but also a Saint Handkerchief, to which they actually ad dress prayers. They pretend to show at Rome, says Dr. Middleton, two original * Usser. de Britan, Eccles, primord,, c. 14, p. 539, 102 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [book n. Saint true-image Veronica. Blasphemous prayer to the holy handkerchief impressions of our Saviour's face, on two different handkerchiefs ; the one, sent a present by himself to Agbarus, prince of Edessa, who by letter had desired a picture of him ; the other given by him at the time of his etecution to a saint or holy womaa, Veronica, upon a handkerchief, which she had lent him to wipe his face on that occasion ; both which handkerchiefs are preserved, as they affirm, and now kept with the utmost reverence ; the first in St. Sylves ter's church, the second in St. Peter's, where in honor of this sacred relic, there is a fine altar built by pope Urban VIII., with the statue of Veronica herself, with the following inscription : SALVATORIS IMAGINEM VERONICA SVDARIO EXCEPTAM O VT LOCI MAIESTAS DECENTER CVSTODIRET URBANVS VIII, PONT. MAX. MARMOREVM SIGNVM ET ALTARE ADDIDIT CONDITORIVM EXTRVXIT ET ORNAVIT. But notwithstanding the authority of pope Urban, and his inscrip tion, this veronica, (as Mabillon, one of their own best authors, has shown), like Amphibolus, before-mentioned, was not any real person, but the name given to the picture itself by old writers, who mention it ; being formed by blundering and confounding the words vera icon, Latin for true image, the title inscribed perhaps, or given originally to the handkerchief by the first contrivers of tlje imposture. It is related by Bower, upon the authority of Mabillon, that pope Innocent III, composed a prayer in honor of this image, and granted a ten days' indulgence to all who should visit it, and that pope John XXII., more generous than Innocent, vouchsafed no less than ten thousand days' indulgence to every repetition of the fol lowing blasphemous prayer : " Hail, holy face of our Redeembk, PRINTED upon A CLOTH AS WHITE AS SNOW ; PURGE US FROM ALL SPOT OF VICE, AND JOIN US TO THE COMPANY OF THE BLESSED, BeIIJg US TO OUR COUNTRY, 0 HAPPY FIGURE, there to see the pure FACE OF Christ,"* Is it possible for impious idolatry to go beyond this ? and yet this prayer to the holy handkerchief, says Middleton, is inserted in the popish book of offices, and ordered by the rubric to be addressed to it, and this absurd legend, and others like it, fabulous and childish as they appear to men of sense, are urgeS by grave authors in defence of their image worship, as certain proofs of its divine origmi and sufficient to confound all the impious opposers of it,t § 37. — To return to the origin of these lying wonders, Mosheim re marks (vol. i,, p, 371), that "the interests of virtue andlrue rdigion * Bower's Lives of the Popes, In vita Innoc. Ill, ^ f Aring. Rom. subt. Tom. ii., lib. v., c. iv. Conformity of Ancient and Modem Ceremonies, page 158, referred to by Middleton, ui supra. CHAP, v.] POPERY AT ITS BIRTH.— A. D. 606. 105 Pious frauds and persecution declared lawful. Praying at the sepulchres of saints. suffered grievously by two monstrous errors which were almost universally adopted in the fourth century, and became a source of innumerable calamities and mischiefs in the succeeding ages. The first of these maxims was, that it was an act of virtue to deceive and lie, when by that means the interests of the church might be promoted ; and the second equally horrible, though in another point of view, was that errors in religion, when maintained and adhered to, after proper admonition, were punishable with civil penalties and corporal tortures. The former of these erroneous maxims was now of a long standing ; it had been adopted for some ages past, and had produced an incredible number of ridiculous fables, fictitious prodi gies, and-^ious frauds, to the unspeakable detriment of that glorious cause in which they were employed. The other maxim, relating to the justice and expediency of punishing error, was introduced with those serene and peaceful times which the accession of Constantine to the imperial throne procured to the church. It was from that period approved by many, enforced by several examples during the contests that arose with the priscillianists and donatists, confirmed and established by the authority of Augustine, and thus transmitted to the following ages," § 38, — In relation to the fifth century, the same historian remarks : If before this time, the lustre of rehgion was clouded with super stition, and its divine precepts adulterated with a mixture of human inventions, this evil, instead of diminishing, increased daily. The happy souls of departed Christians were invoked by numbers, and their aid implored by assiduous and fervent prayers ; while none stood up to censure or oppose this preposterous worship. The question, how the prayers of mortals ascended to the celestial spirits, a question which afterward produced much wrangling and many idle fancies, did not as yet occasion any difficulty. For the Christians of this century did not imagine that the souls of the saints^vere so entirely confined to the celestial mansions, as to be deprived of the privilege of visiting mortals, and travelling, when they pleased, through various countries. They were further of opinion, that the places most frequented by departed spirits were those where the bodies they had formerly animated were interred ; and this opinion, which the Christians borrowed from the Greeks and Romans, rendered the sepulchres of the saints the general ren dezvous of suppliant multitudes. {See Engraving.) A singular and irresistible efficacy was also attributed to the hor-s of martyrs, and to the figure of the cross, in defeating the attempts of Satan, removing all sorts of calamities, and in healing not only the diseases of the body, but also those of the mind. We shall not enter here into a particular account of the public suppli cations, the holy pilgrimages, the superstitious services paid to de parted souls, the multiphcation of temples, altars, penitential gar ments, and a multitude of other circumstances, that showed the de cline of genuine piety, and the corrupt darkness that was eclipsing 106 HISTORY OP ROMANISM, * [book u. Increasing corruptions in the sixth century. Superstition of Gregory the Great the lustre of primitive Christianity, As there were none in these times to hinder the Christians from retaining the opinions of their pagan ancestors concerning departed souls, heroes, demons, tem ples, and such like matters, and even transferring them into their religious services ; and as, instead of entirely abolishing the rites and institutions of ancient times, these institutions were still ob served with only some slight alterations ; all this swelled of ne cessity the torrent of superstition, and deformed the beauty of the Christian religion and worship with those corrupt remains of Pa ganism, which still subsist in the Romish church. § 39, — In the sixth century, the public teachers seemed to aim at nothing else than to sink the multitude into the most opprobrious ignor ance and superstition, to efface in their minds all sense of the beauty and excellence of genuine piety, and to substitute, in the place of re ligious principles, a blind veneration for the clergy, and a stupid zeal for a senseless round of ridiculous rites and ceremonies. This, perhaps, will appear less surprising, when we consider that the blind led the blind; for the public ministers and teachers of religion were for the most part grossly ignorant ; nay, almost as much so as the multitude whom they were appointed to instruct. To be convinced of the truth of the dismal representation we have here given of the state of religion at this time, nothing more is necessary than to cast an eye upon the doctrines now taught concerning the worship of images and saints, the fire of purgatory, the efficacy of good works ; i, e,, the observance of human rites and institutions, toward the attainment of salvation, the power of relics to heal the diseases of body and mind; and such like sordid and miserable fancies, which are inculcated in many of the superstitious produc tions of this century, and particularly in the epistles and other writings of Gregory the Great, Nothing more ridiculous on the one hand, than the solemnity and liberality with which this super stitious pontiff distributed the wonderworking relics ; and nothing more lamentable on the other, than the stupid eagerness and devo tion with which the deluded multitude received them, and suffered themselves to be persuaded, that a portion of stinking oil, taken from the lamps which burned at the tombs of the martyrs, or the filings of a chain supposed to have been worn by a saint, had a supernatural efficacy to sanctify their possessors, and to defend them from all dangers both of a temporal and spiritual nature. There was an incredible number of temples erected in honor of the saints, during the sixth century, both in the eastern and western provinces. The places set apart for public worship were already very numerous ; but it was now that Christians first began to con sider these sacred edifices, as the means of purchasing the favor and protection of the saints, and to be persuaded that these de parted spirits defended and guarded, against evils and calamities of every kind, the provinces, lands, cities, and villages, in whiclfthey were honored with temples. The number of these temples was CHAP, v.] POPERY AT ITS BIRTH.— A.D. 606. 107 The Empress writes to Gregory for a portion of the body of St. Paul. His singular letter in reply. almost equalled by that of the festivals, which were now observed in the Christian church, and many of which seemed to have been instituted upon a pagan model,* § 40, — In order to show that the charge above referred to in re lation to Gregory's superstitious regard to relics is not made with out sufficient reason, I will present the reader with a translation of an epistle which he wrote to the empress Constantina, who was building a church at Constantinople in honor of St, Paul, and had written to Gregory to grant her either the head or some other part of the body of that Apostle, which was said to be at Rome, for the purpose of enshrining it in the church when completed. After a respectful allusion to the request of the empress, Gregory pro ceeds — " Major mcBstitia tenuit, <^c. Great sadness hath possessed me, because you have enjoined upon me those things which I neither can or dare do ; for the bodies of the holy Apostles, Peter and Paul, are so resplendent with miracles and terrific prodigies in their own churches, that no one can approach them without great awe, even for the purpose of adoring them. When my predecessor, of happy memory, wished to change some silver ornament which was placed over the most holy body of St, Peter, though at the distance of almost fifteen feet, a warning of no small terror appeared to him. Even I myself wished to make some alteration near the most holy body of St, Paul, and it was necessary to dig rather deeply near his tomb. The Superior of the place found some bones which were not at all connected with that tomb ; and, having presumed to disturb and remove them to some other place, he was visited by certain fearful apparitions, and died suddenly. My predecessor, of holy memory, also undertook to make some repairs near the tomb of St. Lawrence : as they were digging, without knowing pre cisely where the venerable body was placed, they happened to open his sepulchre. The monks and guardians who were at the work, only because they had seen the body of that martyr, though they did not presume so much as to touch it, all died within ten days ; to the end that no man might remain in life who had beheld the body of that just man, " Be it then known to you, that it is the custom of the Romans, when they give any relics, not to venture to touch any portion of the body ; only they put into a box a piece of linen (called bran- deum), which is placed near the holy bodies ; then it is withdrawn, and shut up with due veneration in the church which is to be dedi cated, and as many prodigies are then wrought by it as if the bodies themselves had been carried thither ; whence it happened, that in the time of St. Leo (as we learn from our ancestors), when some Greeks doubted the virtue of such relics, that Pope called for a pair of scissors, and cut the linen, and blood flowed from the incision. And not at Rome only, but throughout the whole of the West, it is held sacrilegious to touch the bodies of the saints, nor does such * See Mosheim, Centuries iv., v., vi., passim. 108 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [bookii. Gregory consents to send the Empress some holy filings. Promotes pilgrimages, purgatory, &c. temerity ever remain unpunished. For which reason we are much astonished at the custom of the Greeks to take away the bones of the saints, and we scarcely gave credit to it. But what shall I say respecting the bodies of the holy Apostles, when it is a known fact, that at the time of their martyrdom, a number of the faithful came from the East to claim them ? But when they had carried them out of the city, to the second milestone, to a place called the Cata combs, the whole multitude was unable to move them farther, such a tempest of thunder and lightning terrified and dispersed them. The napkin, too, which you wished to be sent at the same time, is with the body and cannot be touched more than the body can be approached. " But that your religious desire may not be wholly frustrated, I will hasten to send to you some part of those chains which St. Paul wore on his neck and hands, if indeed I shall succeed in getting off any filings from them. For since many continually sohcit as a bless ing that they may carry off from those chains some small portion of their filings, a priest stands by with a file ; and sometimes it hap pens that some portions fall off from the chains instantly, and with out delay ; while, at other times, the file is long drawn over the chains, and yet nothing is at last scraped off from them."* § 41. — Besides the superstitious and idolatrous reverence of Gre gory for relics, he labored hard in_ exalting the merit of pil grimages to holy places ; encouraged the use, though he condemned the worship, of images in the churches ; introduced a more impos ing method of administering the communion, with a magnificent assemblage of pompous ceremonies, which institution was called the Canon of the mass, and which, without doubt, tended a century or two later to the conception of the absurd doctrine of transub stantiation ; he also seriously inculcated a belief in the pagan doctrine concerning the purification of departed souls by a certain kind of fire, which he called Purgatory, and which doctrine, as Gieseler asserts, was first suggested by Augustine, the bishop of Hippo, towards the close of the fourth century.f A doctrine this which, conjoined with the opinion afterwards invented of the efficacy of masses in delivering tormented souls from these fires, and the power of the Pope to grant indulgences, exempting the purchasers from a portion or from the whole of their merited period of suffering in Ihem, was the origin of an almost inexhaustible source of wealth to the Pope * The original of this letter may be found in Gregory's epistles, Lib. iv., epist. 30. The larger part of it is quoted in Latin by Gieseler, vol. i., p. 350, note 5. It IS worthy of remark also, that Cardinal Baronius, the great Roman Catholic annalist, cites this reply of Gregory to the Empress with considerable admiration, as though he really believed the extravagant stories related by Gregory of the pretended wonders wrought by these holy bones. Baronius attributes the request of the Empress to ecclesiastical ambition, as though she wished to elevate the See of Constantinople to a level with that of Rome, by obtaining for her church the head of so great an apostle. t See Gieseler, vol. i.,page 352, note 14, with quotations from Augustine. CHAP. VI.] POPERY AT ITS BIRTH.— A. D. 606. 109 With few exceptions. Popery at its birth and Popery in its dotage, identical. and the clergy, extorted from the credulity and the fears alike of the rich and the poor through long ages of superstition and night. § 42. — From the review which we have thus taken of the origin and progress of these various corruptions of Christianity, it appears that, with the exceptions of the belief in transubstantiation, the general worship of images, the practice of auricular confession, the performance of worship in an unknown tongue, and a few minor particulars, there is but little difference between the cha racteristic features of Popery at its birth in the seventh century, and Popery in its dotage in the nineteenth. It is true that, as age after age rolled away, as old corruptions were strengthened and new ones added to the list, as " the man of sin," in the course of a few centuries, trampled upon the thrones of monarchs, unsheathed the sword of persecution against the suffer ing martyrs of Jesus, and reeled onward in the career of ages, " drunk with the blood of the saints," the title of anti-Cheist be came more deeply branded on his shameless fi-ont : — and yet it is equally true that Popery, at its birth in 606, was characterized by every one of the predicted marks of the great Apostasy, as truly as it bears those marks at the present day. Then, as now, the apostate church of Rome had departed from the faith, " giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils ; speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their conscience seared with a hot iron ; forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats," (1 Tim. iv,, 1, 2,) Then, as now, that "man of sin " was revealed, even " the son of perdition, who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped ; so that he, as God, sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God ;" and his " coming was after the working of Satan, with all power, and signs and lying wonders," (2 Thess, ii., 3, 4, 9, 10,) CHAPTER VL striking RESEMBLANCE BETWEEN PAGAN AND PAPAL CEREMONIES. THE LATTER DERIVED FROM THE FORMER, § 43, — In tracing the origin of the corrupt doctrines and practices of the Romish church, we have had frequent occasion, in the pre ceding chapters, to allude to the fact, that most of its anti-scriptural rites and ceremonies were adopted from the pagan worship of Greece, Rome, and other heathen nations. The scholar, familiar as he is with the classic descriptions of ancient mythology, when he directs his attention to the ceremonies of papal worship, cannot avoid 110 HISTORY OF ROMANISM, [book n. Popish and pagan ceremonies. Their close and striking resemblance. recognizing their close resemblance, if not their absolute identity. The temples of Jupiter, Diana, Venus,or Apollo, their " altars smoking with incense " (" thure calent Arae." Virgil.), their boys in sacred habits, holding the incense box, and attending upon the priests ("i)a mihi Thura, Puer." Ovid.), their holy water at the entrance of the temples (" Spar gens rore levi." Virgil.), with their aspergilla or sprinkhng brushes, their thuribula, or vessels of incense, their ever-burning lamps before the statues of their deities {"vigilemque sacraverat ignem." Virgil), are irresistibly brought before his mind, whenever he visits a Roman CathoHd place of worship, and witnesses pre cisely the same things. If a Roman scholar of the age of the Caesars, who, previous to his death, had formed some acquaintance with the religion of the despised Nazarenes, had in the seventh or eighth century arisen from his grave in the Campus Martins, and wandered into the spa cious church of Constantine at Rome, which then stood on the spot now^ occupied by Saint Peter's, if he had there witnessed these institutions of Paganism, which were then and ever since have been incorporated with the worship of Rome, would he not have come to the conclusion that he had found his way into some temple dedi cated to Diana, Venus, or Apollo, rather than into a Christian place of worship, where the successors of Peter the fisherman, or Paul the tentmaker, had met for the worship of Jesus of Nazareth ? It is impossible to conceive of a greater contrast than that which is pre sented between the plain and simple rites of primitive apostolic Christian worship in the first century, and the pompous and impos ing spectacle of papal worship, performed in some stately cathedral, adorned with its altars, pictures, images, and burning wax-lights, with all the array of holy water, smoking incense, tinkling bells, and priests and boys arrayed in gaudy colored vestments, as they were seen m the time of pope Boniface, of the seventh century, and as they are still seen, with but little change, after the lapse of twelve hundred years, § 44, — The practice of thus accommodating the forms of Chris tian worship to the prejudices of the heathen nations, was inti-oduced m various places long before the establishment of Popery in 606 ; though, of course, as there was then no acknowledged earthly sovereign and head of the church, the observance of these heathen rites was not regarded as obligatory upon all, till enjoined by the newly established papal authority, in the seventh century. It is not unlikely that this policy, in its incipient stage, commenced by a mis taken, but well-intended desire of some good men, like the apostie Paul, to " become all things to all men," that they might " by all means save some," Yet this apology can by no means be admitted as an excuse for the almost entire subversion of Christianity in the Komish communion, by the adoption of these heathen rites, ceremo nies, and superstitions. The ancient heathen nations had always been accustomed to a variety of imposing ceremonies in their reli gious services, hence they looked with contempt upon the simplicity CHAP, VI.] POPERY AT ITS BIRTH.— A. D. 606. Ill Reasons for the admission of pagan ceremonies dictated by worldly policy. of Christian worship, destitute as it was of these pompous and mag nificent rites, and it was a step pregnant with disaster to the cause of genuine Cliristianity, when, as early as the third centurj' some advocated the necessity of admitting a portion of the ancient cere monies to which the people had been accustomed, for the purpose of rendering Christian worship more striking and captivating to the outward senses. As a proof that Christianity began thus early to be corrupted, it is related in the life of Gregory, bishop of New Cesarea, surnamed Thaumaturgus, or wonder-worker, that when he perceived that the ignorant multitude persisted in their idolatry, on account of the pleasures and sensual gratifications which they enjoyed at the pagan festivals, he granted them a permission to indulge themselves in the like pleasures, in celebrating the memory of the holy martyrs, hoping, that, in process of time, they would return, of their own accord, to a more virtuous and regular course of life." " This addition of external rites," says Mosheim, " was also de signed to remove the opprobrious calumnies which the Jewish and pagan priests cast upon the Christians, on account of the simplicity of their worship, esteeming them little better than atheists, because they had no temples, altars, victims, priests, nor anything of that external pomp in which the vulgar are so prone to place the essence of religion. The rulers of the church adopted, therefore, certain external ceremonies, that thus they might captivate the senses of the vulgar, and be able to refute the reproaches of their adversaries, thus obscuring the native lustre of the gospel, in order to extend its influence, and making it lose, in point of real excellence, what it gained in point of popular esteem,"* § 45, — After the conversion of Constantine in the fourth century, when Christianity was taken under the protection of the state, this sinfiil conformity to the practices of Paganism increased to such a degree, that the beauty and simplicity of Christian worship were almost entirely obscured, and by the time these corruptions were ripe for the establishment of the Popedom, Christianity — the Chris tianity of the state — to judge from the institutions of its public worship — seemed but little else than a system of Christianized Paganism. Here we may apply that well known saying of Augustine, that the yoke under which the Jews formerly groaned, was more tolerable than that imposed upon many Christians in his time. The rites and institutions, by which the Greeks, Romans, and other na tions, had formerly testified their religious veneration for fictitious deities, were now adopted, with some slight alterations, by Chris tian bishops, and employed in the service of the true God. We have already mentioned the reasons alleged for this imitation, so proper to disgust all who have a just sense of the native beauty of genuine Christianity. These fervent heralds of the gospel, whose * Mosheim's Ecclesiastical History, vol. i., page 197, 1J2 HISTORY OF ROMANISM, [bookii. Waddington quoted. Christianity yaganzzeA Dr. Conyers Middleton's visit to Rome. zeal outran their candor and ingenuity, imagined that the nations would receive Christianity with more facility, when they saw the rites and ceremonies to which they were accustomed, adopted in the church, and the same worship paid to Christ and his martyrs, which they had formeriy offered to their idol deities. Hence it happened, that in these times, the religion of the Greeks and Romans differed very little, in its external appearance, from that of the Christians. They had both a most pompous and splendid ritual. Gorgeous robes, riiitres, tiaras, wax tapers, crosiers, processions, lustrations, images, gold and silver vases, and many such circum stances of pageantry, were equally to be seen in the heathen tem ples and the Christian churches.* In the words of a distinguished member of the establishment in Great Britain, Dean Waddington, " the copious transfusion of heathen ceremonies into Christian worship, which had taken place before the end of the fourth century, *had, to a certain extent, paganized (if we may so express it) the outward form and aspect^ of religion, and these ceremonies became more general and more numerous, and, so far as the calamities of the times would permit, more splendid in the age which followed. To console the convert for the loss of his favorite festival, others of a different name, but similar description, were introduced ; and the simple and serious occupation of spiritual devotion was beginning to degenerate into a worship of parade and demonstration, or a mere scene of riotous festivity."! When pope Boniface was invested, by the emperor Phocas, with supreme authority over all the churches of the empire, in the way we have seen, he not only adopted all the pagan ceremo nies that had previously, in various places, been incorporated into Christian worship, but speedily issued his sovereign decrees, enjoin ing uniformity of worship, and thus rendered these heathen rites binding upon all who were desirous of continuing in fellowship with the Romish church, or, as it now was called, the Holy Catholic church. Thus incorporated, they became a constituent element of the anti-Christian Apostasy, and have so continued to the present day. \ 46. — In the year 1729, a distinguished scholar and divine of the Episcopal church of England, the Rev. Conyers Middleton, D.D., visited the city of Rome, and has so skilfully traced " the exact conformity of Popery and Paganism " in his celebrated " let ter from Rome," to which I have already had occasion to refer, that I shall avail myself, in the present chapter, somewhat at length of that learned publication, in tracing the ceremonies of papal worship to their heathen originals. It is worthy of remark, that Dr. Middleton visited Rome not as a theologian, but as a classical scholar ; not so much for the * Mosheim's Ecclesiastical History, cent, iv., part 2, chap. 4. t Waddington's History of the Church, page 118. CHAP. VI.] POPERY AT ITS BIRTH.— A. D. 606. 113 Lying wonders of Rome The leaping head and the fountains of milk. purpose of studying the Roman Catholic religion and worship, as for the sake of studying the remains of ancient classic antiquity, and thus gratifying the taste which he had acquired at the English universities, for the study of the poets, historians, and orators of ancient Rome ; — ^but that when he reached Rome, so exact did he find the resemblance between the temples, the images, and ceremo nies of Popery, and those of Paganism, that he came to the just conclusion that he could in no way more effectually increase his familiarity with the latter than by directing his attention to the former. But let us hear the doctor himself. " As for my own journey to this place," says he, " it was not any motive of devotion, which draws so many others hither, that oc casioned it. My zeal was not bent on visiting the holy thresholds of the apostles, and kissing the feet of their successor. I knew that their ecclesiastical antiquities were mostly fabulous and legend ary ; supported by fictions and impostures, too gross to employ the attention of a man of sense. For should we allow that Peter had been at Rome, of which many learned men however have doubted, yet they had not any authentic monuments remaining of him ; any visible footsteps subsisting to demonstrate his residence among them : and should we ask them for any evidence of that kind, they would refer to the impression of his face on the wall of the dungeon in which he was confined, or to a fountain in the bottom of it, raised miraculously by him out of the rock, in order to baptize his fellow prisoners ; or to the mark of our Saviour' s feet in a stone, on which he appeared to him and stopped him as he was flying out of the city, from a persecution then raging. In memory of which, there was a church built on the spot called St, Mary delle Piante, or of the marks of the feet ; which falling into decay, was supplied by a chapel, at the expense of Cardinal Pole, But the stone itself, more valuable, as the writers say, than any of the precious ones, being a perpetual monument and proof of the Christian religion {!) is preserved with all due reverence in St, Sebastian's church ; where I purchased a print of it, with several others of the same kind. Or they would appeal perhaps to the evidence of some miracle wrought at his execution ; as they do in the case of St, Paul in a church called ' at the three Fountains ;' the place where he was beheaded : on which occasion, ' instead of blood there issued only milk from his veins ; and his head when separated from his body, having made three jumps upon the ground, raised at each place a spring of living water, which retains still, as they would persuade us, the plain taste of milk ;' of all of which facts we have an account in Baronius, Ma billon, and all their gravest authors ; and may see printed figures of them in the description of modern Rome ! ! " It was no part of my design to spend my time abroad in attending to ridiculous fictions of this kind; the chief pleasure which I proposed to myself, was to visit the genuine remains and venerable relics of Pagan Rome ; the authentic monuments of an- 8 114 HISTORY OF ROMANISM, [book n. Dr. Middleton's reason for visiting Rome. Pagan antiquities best studied through popish ceremonies. tiquity, that demonstrate the truth of those histories, which are the entertainment as well as the instruction of our younger years. "As therefore my general studies had furnished me with a com petent knowledge of Roman history, as well as an inclination to search more particularly into some branches of its antiquities, so I had resolved to employ myself in inquiries of this sort ; and to lose as little time as possible in taking notice of the fopperies and ridiculous ceremonies of the present religion of the place. But I soon found myself mistaken ; for the whole form and outward dress of their worship seem so grossly idolatrous and extravagant, beyond what I had imagined, and made so strong an impression on me, that I could not help considering it with a peculiar regard ; espe cially when the very reason, which I thought would have hindered me from any notice of it at all, was the chief cause that engaged me to pay so much attention to it ; for nothing, I found, concurred so much with my original intention of conversing with the ancients : or so much helped my imagination, to find myself wandering abcmt in old Heathen Rome, as to observe and attend to their religious worship ; all whose ceremonies appear plainly to have been copied from the rituals of primitive Paganism ; as if handed down by an uninterrupted succession from the priests of old, to the priests of new Rome ; whilst each of them readily explained, and called to mind some passages of a classic author, where the same ceremony was described, as transacted in the same form and manner, and in the same place where I now saw it executed before my eyes : so that as oft as I was present at any religious exercise in the churches, it was more natural to fancy myself looking on at some solemn act of idolatry in old Rome, than assisting at a worship instituted on the principles, and founded upon the plan of Christianity." § 47, — As a proof that these assertions are founded in truth, the following are presented as a few instances of the way in which heathen ceremonies and superstitions were transferred from Pagan to professedly Christian worship. The first is given upon the authority of Mosheim, the others upon that of Dr. Middleton, who refers to various classical authors among the ancients, and to Mont- faucon, Polydore, Virgil, Platina, Hospinian, Mabillon, &c,, among the modems, for his authorities ; but those who wish to consult the original authorities, I must refer to the work of Dr. Middleton,* (1,) Worshipping toward the East.— Qefore the coming of Christ, all the eastern nations performed divine worship with their faces turned to that part of the heavens where the sun displays his rising beams. This custom was founded upon a general opinion that God, whose essence they looked upon to be light, and whom they consid ered as circumscribed within certain limits, dwelt in that part of the firmament, from whence he sends forth the sun, the bright image of his * Dr, Conyers Middleton's Letter from Rome, on the exact conformity between fopery and Paganism, London, 1761— passim. CHAP, VI.] POPERY AT ITS BIRTH.— A. D. 606. 115 Burning of incense a heathen ceremony. benignity and glory. They who embraced the Christian religion, rejected, indeed, this gross error, but they retained the ancient and universal custom of worshipping toward the East, which sprung from it. Nor is that custom abolished even in our times, but still prevails in a great number of Christian churches.* (2.) The burning of incense. — Many of our divines, says Dr. Middleton, have with much learning and solid reasoning, charged and effectually proved the crime of idolatry on the church of Rome; but these controversies where the charge is denied, and with much sub tlety evaded, are not capable of giving that conviction which I imme diately received from my senses ; the surest witness of the fact in all cases, and which no man can fail to be furnished with, who sees Popery as it is exercised in Italy, in the full pomp and display of its pageantry ; and practising all its arts and powers without caution or reserve. This similitude of the popish and pagan religion, seemed so evident and clear, and struck my imagination so forcibly, that I soon resolved to give myself the trouble of searching it to the bottom : and to explain and demonstrate the certainty of it, by com paring together the principal and most obvious part of each worship, which, as it was my first employment after I came to Rome, shall be the subject of my letter ; showing the source and origin of the popish ceremonies, and the exact conformity of them with those of their pagan ancestors. The very first thing that a stranger must necessarily take notice of, as soon as he enters their churches, is the use of incense or per fumes in their religious offices ; the first step which he takes within the door, will be sure to make him sensible of it, by the offence that he will immediately receive from the smell as well as the smoke of this incense, with which the whole church continues filled for some time after every solemn service. A custom received directly from paganism ; and which presently called to my mind the old descrip tions of the heathen temples and altars, which are never mentioned by the ancients, without the epithet of perfumed or incensed. Thuricremis cum dona imponerit Aris. — ^Virg., JSJn. iv., 453, 486, Ssepe Jovem vidi cum jam sua mittere vellet Fulmina, thure dato sustinuisse manum. — Ovid. In some of their principal churches, where you have before you in one view, a great number of altars, and all of them smoking at once with streams of incense, how natural it is to imagine one's self trans ported into the temple of some heathen deity, or that of the Paphian Venus described by Virgil : Her hundred altars there with garlands crown'd. And richest incense smoking, breathe around Sweet odors, &c. — .^n. i., 420. Under the pagan emperors, the use of incense for any purpose of religion was thought so contrary to the obligations of Christianity, * Mosheim, cent, ii,, part 2, chap, iv. 116 HISTORY OF ROMANISM, [book n. Use of holy water derived from Paganism. The Jesuit La Cerda acknowledges it that in their persecutions, the very method of trying and convicting a Christian, was by requiring him only to throw the least grain of it into the censer, or on the altar. Under the Christian emperors, on the other hand, it was looked upon as a rite so peculiarly heathen ish, that the very places or houses where it could be proved to have been done, were, by a law of Theodosius, confiscated to the govern ment. In the old bas-reliefs, or pieces of sculpture, where any heathen sacrifice is represented, we never fail to see a boy in a sacred habit, which was always white, attending on the priest, with a little chest or box in his hands, in which this incense was kept for the use of the altar. And in the same manner still in the church of Rome, there is always a boy in surplice waiting on the priest at the altar, with the sacred utensils ; among the rest the Thuribulum or vessel of incense, which the priest, with many ridiculous motions and cross ings, waves several times, as it is smoking, around and over the altar, in different parts of the service. (3.) The use of holy water. — The next thing in the Roman worship, that will, of course, strike the imagination, is the use the papists make of the holy water, for nobody ever goes in or out of a church, but is either sprinkled by the priest, who attends for that purpose on solemn days, or else serves himself with it from a vessel, usually of marble, placed just at the door, not unlike to one of our baptismal fonts. Now this ceremony is so notoriously and directly transmitted to them from Paganism, that their own writers make not the least scruple to own it. The Jesuit La Cerda, in his notes on a passage of Virgil, where this practice is mentioned, says, " Hence was derived the custom of the holy church, to provide purifying of holy water at the entrance of their churches." Aquaminarium or Amula, says the learned Montfaucon, was a vase of holy water, placed by the heathens at the entrance of their temples, to sprinkle themselves with. The same vessel was by the Greeks called Perrirranterion ; two of which, the one of gold, the other of silver, were given by Croesus to the temple of Apollo at Delphi ; and the custom of sprinkling themselves was so necessary a part of their religious offices, that^Ae method of excommunication seems to have been by prohibiting to offenders the approach and use of the holy water pot. The very composition of this holy water was the same also among the heathens, as it is now among the papists, being nothing more than a mixture of salt with common water ; ' Porro singulis diebus Dominicis sacerdos missse sacrum facturus, aquam sale adspersam, benedicendo revocare debet eaque populum aJspergere' {Durant. de Rit., 1, 1, c, 21); and the form of the sprinkling-brush, called by the ancients aspersorium or aspergillum, which is much the same with what the priests now make use of, may be seen in the bas-reliefs, or ancient coins, wherever the insig nia, or emblems of the pagan priesthood, are described, of which it is generally one. Platina, in his lives of the popes, and other authors, ascribe the CHAP. VI.] POPERY AT ITS BIRTH.— A. D. 606. 117 Justin Martyr says that it was invented by demons. Festival of St. Anthony. institution of holy water to pope Alexander L, who is said to have lived about the year of Christ 113 : but it could not have been intro duced so early, since for some ages after, we find the primitive fathers speaking of it as a custom purely heathenish, condemning it as impious and detestable. Justin Martyr says, " That it was in vented by daemons in imitation of the true baptism signified by the prophets, that their votaries might also have their pretended purifi cations by water " {Apol. 1, p, 91); and the emperor Julian, out of spite to the Christians, used to order their victuals in the markets to be sprinkled with holy water, on purpose either to starve, or force them to eat, what by their own principles they esteemed polluted. Thus we see what contrary notions the primitive and Romish church have of this ceremony ; the first condemns it as superstition, abominable and irreconcilable with Christianity ; the latter adopts it as highly edifying and applicable to the improvement of Christian piety ; the one looks upon it as the contrivance of the devil to delude mankind ; the other as the security of mankind against the delusions of the devil ! ! One of the most senseless and extraordinary uses to which the papists apply this holy water, is the sprinkling and blessing of horses, mules, asses, SfC, on the festival of St, Anthony, observed annually on the 17th of January. On that day the inhabitants of the city of Rome and vicinity send their horses, &c., decked with ribands, to the convent of St. Anthony, which is situated near the church of St. Mary the Great. The priest, in his sacerdotal garments, stands at the church door, with a large sprinkling-brush in his hand, and as each animal is presented to him, he takes off his skull cap, mutters a few words, in Latin, intimating that through the merits of the blessed St, Anthony, they are to be preserved for the coming year from sick ness and death, famine and danger, then dips his brush in a huge bucket of holy water, that stands by him, and sprinkles them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost,* The priest * In the preface to his letter from Rome, Dr. Middleton gives the following story from St. Jerome, as the most probable origin of this absurd custom. " A citizen of Gaza, a Christian, who kept a stable of running horses for the Circensian games, was always beaten by his antagonist, an idolater, the master of the rival stable. For the idolater, by the help of certain charms, and diabolical imprecations, con stantly damped the spirits of the Christian's horses, and added courage to his own. The Christian, therefore, in despair, applied himself to St. Hilarion, and implored his assistance ; but the saint was unwilling to enter into an afiair so frivolous and profane, till the Christian urged it as a necessary defence against these adversaries of God, whose insults were levelled not so much at him, as the Church of Christ. And his entreaties being seconded by the monks who were present, the saint ordered his earthen jug, out of which he used to drink, to be filled with water and delivered to the man, who presently sprinkled his stable, his horses, his charioteers, his chariot, and the very boundaries of the course with it. Upon this the whole city was in wondrous expectation. The idolaters derided what the Christian was doing, whOe the Christians took courage, and assured themselves of victory ; till the signal being given for the race, the Christian's horses seemed to fly, whilst the idolater's were laboring behind and left quite out of sight ! so that the pagans themselves were obliged to cry out that their god Mamas was conquered at last by Christ."- Page 17, 118 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [bookil Ludicrous annual ceremony at Rome. Sprinkling of horses, asses, fee, with holy water receives a fee for sprinkling each animal, and Dr, Middleton re marks that amongst the rest he had his own horses blessed at the expense of about eighteen pence " as well to satisfy his own curi osity, as to humor the coachman ; who was persuaded, as the com mon people generally are, that some mischance would befall them within the year, if they wanted the benefit of this benediction," He adds, a revenue is thus provided, sufficient for the maintenance of forty or fifty of the lazy drones called monks. Sometimes the visitor at Rome will see a splendid equipage drive up, attended by outriders, in elegant livery, to have the horses thus sprinkled with holy water, all the people remaining uncov ered till the absurd and disgusting ceremony is over. On one occa sion a traveller observed a countryman, whose beast having le-r ceived the holy water, set off from the church door at a gallop, but had scarcely gone a hundred yards before the ungainly animal tumbled down with him, and over its head he rolled into the dust. He soon, however, arose, and so did the horse, without either seem ing to have sustained much injury. The priest looked on, and though his blessing had failed, he was not out of countenance; while some of the bystanders said that but for it, the horse and his rider might have broken their necks, {See Engraving.) A recent writer, formerly a Romish priest, and who, therefore, knows whereof he affirms, writes as follows, in relation to thiscercr mony, " If I could lead my readers on the 17th of January, to the church of St, Antoin in Rome, I am convinced they would not know whether they should laugh at the ridiculous religious performances, or weep over the heathenish practices of the church of Rome. He would see a priest in his sacerdotal garments, with a stole over his neck, a brush in his right hand, and sprinkling the mules, asses, and horses, with holy water, and praying for them and with them, and blessing them in order to be preserved the whole year from sick ness and death, famine and danger, for the sake and merits of the holy Antony. All this is a grotesque scene, so grotesque that no American can have any idea of it, and heathen priests would neve% have thought of it. Add to that, the great mass of people, the kickings of the mules, the meetings of the lovers, the neighings of the horses, the melodious voices of the asses, the shoutings of the multitude, and mockings of the protestants, who reside in Rome, and you have a spectacle, which would be new, entirely new, not only for American protestants, but for the heathen themselves, and must be abominable in the eye of God. But enough ; the subject is too serious ; it is a rehgious exercise, practised by the priests of Rome, in the so-called metropolis of the Christian world, sanctioned by the self-styled infallible head of the church of Rome. All we can say is : ' Ichabod, thy glory is departed.' The priests of heathen Rome would be ashamed of such a religious display in the nine teenth century,"* * See Papal Rome as it Is, by Rev. L. Gustiniani, D. D., formerly a Roman priest, now minister of the Evangelical Lutheran Church. Sprinkling and Blessing of Horses at Rome on St Anthony sDay CHAP. VI.] POPERY AT ITS BIRTH.— A. D. 606. 121 Lighting up candles in the day time a lieathen custom. (4.) Burning wax candles in the day time. — No sooner is a man advanced a little forward into their churches, and begins to look about him, but he will find his eyes and attention attracted by a number of lamps and wax candles, which are kept constantly burn ing before the shrines and images of their saints. In the great churches of Italy, says Mabillon, they hang up lamps at every altar ; a sight which not only surprises a stranger by the novelty of it, but will furnish him with another proof and example of the conformity of the Romish with the pagan worship ; by recalling to his memory many passages of the heathen writers, where their perpetual lamps and candles are described as continually burning before the altars and statues of their deities, ' Centum aras posuit vigilemque sacra verat ignem,' Virg., .Mn. iv,, 200, Herodotus tells us of the Egyptians who first introduced the use of lamps into their temples. That they had a famous yearly festival, called from the principal ceremony of it, the lighting up of candles, but there is scarcely a single festival at Rome, which might not for the same reason be called by the same name. The primitive writers frequently expose the folly and absurdity of this heathenish custom, " They light up candles to God" says Lactantius, " as if he lived in the dark ; and do they not deserve to pass for madmen, who offer lamps to the author and giver of light ?" In the collections of old inscriptions, we may find instances of presents and donations from private persons, of lamps and candle sticks to the temples and altars of their gods. A piece of zeal which continues still the same in modern Rome, where each church abounds with lamps of massive silver, and sometimes even of gold ; the gifts of princes, and other persons of distinction ; and it is sur prising to see how great a number of this kind are perpetually before the altars of their principal saints, or miraculous images ; as St. Anthony of Padua, or the lady of Loretto ; as well as the vast profusion of wax candles, with which their churches are illuminated on every great festival when the high altar covered with gold and silver plate, brought out of their treasuries, and stuck full of wax lights, disposed in beautiful figures, looks more like the rich side board of some great prince, dressed out for a feast, than an altsir to pay divine worship at, (5,) Votive gifts' and offerings. — But a stranger will not be more surprised at the number of lamps or wax-lights, burning before their altars, than at the number of offerings or votive gifts, which are hanging all around them, in consequence of vows made in the time of danger, and ingratitude for deliverance and cures wrought in sickness or distress ; a practice so common among the heathens, that no one custom of antiquity is so frequently mentioned by all their writers ; and many of their original donaria, or votive offer ings, are preserved to this day in the cabinets of the curious ; images of metal, stone, or clay, as well as legs, arms, and other parts of the body, which had formerly been hung up in their temples in tes timony of some divine favor or cure effected by their titular deity 122 HISTORY OF ROMANISM, [book n. Votive offermgs. Hands, feet, Ice, in wax. Copies of heathen originals. in that particular member. But the most common of all offerings were pictures representing the history of the miraculous cure or deliverance, vouchsafed upon the vow of the donor. Nunc dea, nunc succurre mihi ; nam posse Picta docet templis multa tabella tuis. — Tibul., El. i., 3. Now, goddess, help, for thou canst help bestow ; As all these pictures round thy alta'rs show. A friend of Diagoras, the philosopher, called the atheist, having found him once in a temple, as the story is told by Cicero, " You," says he, " who think the gods take no notice of human affairs, do you not see here by this number of pictures, how many people, for the sake of their vows, have been saved in storms at sea, and got safe into harbor ?" " Yes," says Diagoras, " I see how it is, for those are never painted who happen to be drowned." The'temples of Esculapius were more especially rich in those offerings, which Livy says were the price and pay for the cures he had wrought for the sick ; where they used always to hang up and expose to com mon view, in tables of brass or marble, a catalogue of all the miraculous cures which he had performed for his votaries. A re markable fragment of one of these tables is still remaining and pub lished in Gruter's Collections, having been found in the ruins of a temple of that god, in the island of the Tiber at Rome : upon which the learned Roman Catholic writer, Montfaucon, makes this reflec tion : that in it are either seen the wiles of the devil, to deceive the cre dulous ; or else the tricks of pagan priests suborning men to coun terfeit diseases and miraculous cures. 'Why is not this as true of Popery as Paganism 1 Now this piece of superstition had been found of old so beneficial to the priesthood, that it could not fail of being taken into the scheme of the Romish worship ; where it reigns at this day in its full height and vigor, as in the ages of pagan idolatry ; and in so gross a man ner, as to give scandal and offence even to some of their own com munion. Polydore Virgil, after having described this practice of the ancients, " in the same manner," says he, " do we now offer up in our churches little images of wax ; and as oft as any part of the body is hurt, as the hand or foot, &c., we presently make a vow to God, or one of his saints, to whom, upon our recovery, we make an offering of that hand or foot in wax ; which custom is now come to that extravagance, that we do the same for our cattle which we do for ourselves, and make offerings on account of our oxen, horses, sheep ; where a scrupulous man will question, in this we imitate the religion or the superstition of our ancestors." As oft as I have had the curiosity to look over those Donaria, or votive offerings, hanging round the shrines of their images, and consider the several stories of each, as they are either expressed in painting or related in writing, I have always found them to be mere copies, or verbal translations of the originals of heathenism ; for the vow is often said to have been divinely inspired, or expressly commanded ; and the CHAP. VI.] POPERY AT ITS BIRTH.— A. D. 606. 123 Revival of old Pagan impostures. Worship of idols or images. cure and deliverance to have been wrought either by the visible apparition, and immediate hand of the titular saint, or b^ the notice of a dream, or some other miraculous admonition from heaven. " There can be no doubt," say their writers, " but that images of our saints often work signal miracles, by procuring health to the infirm, and appearing to us often in dreams, to suggest something of great moment for our service." And what is all this but a revival of the old impostures, and a re petition of the same old stories of which the ancient inscriptions are full, with no difference than what the pagans ascribe to the imaginary help of their deities, the papists as foolishly impute to the favor of their saints ? Whether the reflection of Father Montfau con on the pagan priests, mentioned above, be not, in the very same case, as justly applicable to the Roman priests, I must leave to the judgment of my reader. (6.) Adoration of idols or images. — When a man is once en gaged in reflections of this kind, imagining himself in some heathen temple, and expecting, as it were, some sacrifice or other piece of Paganism to ensue, he will not be long in suspense, before he sees the finishing act and last scene of genuine idolatry, in crowds of bigot votaries, prostrating themselves before some image of wood or stone, and paying divine honors to an idol of their own erecting. Should they squabble with us here, about the meaning of the word idol, Jerome has determined it to the very case in question, telling us, that by idols are to be understood the images of the dead : ' Idola intelligimus Imagines mortuorum.' {Hier Com. in Isa., c. xxxvii.) And the worshippers of such images are used always in the style of the fathers, as terms synonymous and equivalent to heathens and pagans. As to the practice itself, it was condemned by many of the wisest heathens, and for several ages, even in pagan Rome, was thought impious and detestable : for Numa, we find, prohibited it to the old Romans, nor would suffer any images in their temples ; which constitution they observed religiously, says Plutarch, for the first hundred and seventy years of the city. But as image -wor ship was thought abominable even by some pagan princes, so by some of the Christian emperors it was forbidden on pain of death ; not because those images were the representations of demons or false gods, but because they were vain, senseless idols, the work of men's hands, and for that reason unworthy of any honor : and all the instances and overt acts of such worship, described and condemned by them, are exactly the same with what the papists practise at this day ; lighting up candles, burning incense, hanging up garlands, &c,, as may be seen in the law of Theodosius before mentioned, which confiscates that house or land where any such act of Gentile superstition had been committed. Those princes who were influenced, we may suppose, in their constitutions of this sort, by the advice of their bishops, did not think Paganism abolished, till the adoration of images was utterly extirpated; which was reckoned always the principal of those Gentile rites. 124 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [book n. Pagan heroes and demigods with Christian names. The Pantheon dedicated to Mary and all the saints that agreeably to the sense of the purest ages of Christianity, are never mentioned in the imperial laws without the epithets of pro fane, damnable, impious, &c. What opinion then can we have of the present practice of the church of Rome, but that by a change only of name, they have found means to retain the thing ; and by substituting their saints in the place of the old demigods, have but set up idols of their own, instead of those of their forefathers ? In which it is hard to say whether their assurance or their address is more to be admired, who have the face to make that the principal part of Christian worship, which the first Christians looked upon as the most criminal part even of Paganism, and have found means to extract gain and great revenues out of a practice which in primitive times would have cost a man both his life and estate. But our notion of the idolatry of modern Rome will be much heightened still and con firmed, as oft as we follow them into those temples, and to those very altars which were built originally by their heathen ancestors, the old Romans, to the honor of their pagan deities, where we shall hardly see any other alteration than the shrine of some old hero filled by the meaner statue of some modern saint. Nay, they have not always, as I am well informed, given themselves the trouble of making even this change, but have been content sometimes to take up with the old image, just as they found it; after baptizing it only, as it were, or consecrating it anew by the imposition of a Christian name. This their antiquaries do not scruple to put strangers in mind of in showing their churches ; and it was, I think, in that of St, Agnes where they showed me an antique of a young Bacchus, which, with a new name and a little change of drapery, stands now worshipped under the title of a female saint, (7,) The Gods of the Pantheon turned into popish saints. — The noblest heathen temple now remaining in the world, is the Pantheon, or Rotunda ; which, as the inscription over the portico informs us, having been impiously dedicated of old by Agrippa to Jove and all the gods, was impiously reconsecrated by Pope Boniface IV,, about A, D, 610, TO THE BLESSED ViRGIN AND ALL THE SaINTS. PANTHEON, &c. AB AGRIPPA AUGUSTI GENERO, IMPIE JOVI, CiETERISQ,; MENDACIBUS DlIS, A, BONIFACIO mi. PONTIFICE, DEIPAR^ & S. S. CHRISTI MARTYRIBUS PIO DICATUM, &c. With this single alteration, it ser-ves as exactlv for all the pur poses of the popish as it did for the pagan worship, for which it was built. For as in the old temple, every one might find the God of his country, and address himself to that deity, whose religion he was most devoted to ; so it is the same thing now ; every one chooses the patron whom he likes best ; and one may see here different services going on at the same time, at different altars, with CHAP. VI.] POPERY AT ITS BIRTH.— A.D. 606. 125 Heathen idols changed into Christian saints. Roml gods. distinct congregations round them, just as the inclinations of the people lead them to the worship of this or that particular Saint, And what better title can the new demigods show, to the adoration now paid them, than the old ones, whose shrines they have usurped ? Or how comes it to be less criminal to worship images, erected by the Pope, than those which Agrippa,'or that which Nebuchadnezzar set up ? If there be any real difference, most people will, I dare say, be apt to determine in favor of the old possessors. For those heroes of antiquity were raised up into gods, and received divine honors, for some signal benefits, of which they had been the authors to mankind ; as the invention of arts and sciences ; or of something highly useful and necessary to life Whereas of the Romish saints, it is certain that many of them were never heard of, but in their own legends or fabulous histories ; and many more, instead of services done to mankind, owe all the honors now paid to them, to their vices or their errors ; whose merit, like that of Demetrius, (Acts xix,, 23), was their skill of raising rebellions in defence of an idol, and throwing kingdoms into con vulsions, for the sake of some gainful imposture. And as it is in the Pantheon, it is just the same in all the other heathen temples, that still remain in Rome ; they have only pulled down one idol to set up another ; and changed rather the name than the object of their worship. Thus the little temple of Vesta, near the Tiber, mentioned by Horace, is now possessed by Madonna of the Sun ; that of Fortuna Virilis, by Mary the Egyptian ; that of Saturn, where the public treasure was anciently kept, by St. Adrian ; that of Romulus and Remus in the Via Sacra, by two other brothers, Cosmas and Damianus ; that of Antoninus Pius, by Laurence the saint ; but for my part, adds Dr. Middleton, I should sooner be tempted to prostrate myself before the statue of a Romu lus or an Antonine, than that of a Laurence or a Damian ; and give divine honors rather with pagan Rome, to the founders of empires, than with popish Rome, to the founders of monasteries. In reply to these observations of Dr. Middleton, some may inquire whether there is anything wrong in the change of a hea then temple to a Christian place of worship, any more than in the change of theatres into churches, which is frequently done in the present day. To this objection we answer, that it is not to the change of the Pantheon into a Christian temple we object, but to the adoption of the pagan ceremonies into Christian worship, and the adoring the same images of heathen deities, under the names of Christian saints, (8,) Road gods and saints. — But their temples are not the only places where we see the proofs and overt acts of their superstition : the whole face of the country has the visible characters of Paganism upon it ; and wherever we look about us, we cannot but find, as Paul did in Athens (Acts xvii. 17), clear evidence of its being pos sessed by a superstitious and idolatrous people. The old Romans, we know, had their gods, who presided pecu- 126 HISTORY OF ROMANISM, [book u. Reverence of the papists for these road gods Kissing the Pope's toe. liarly over the roads, streets, and highways, called Viales, Semitales, Compitales : whose little temples or altars are decked with flowers, or whose statues at least, coarsely carved of wood or stone,- were placed at convenient distances in the public ways, for the benefit of travellers, who used to step aside to pay their devotions to those rural shrines, and beg a prosperous journey and safety in their travels. Now this custom prevails still so generally in all popish coun tries, but especially in Italy, that one can see no other difference between the old and present superstition, than that of changing the name of the Deity, and christening as it were the old Hecate in triviis, by the new name of Maria in trivio ; by which title I have observed one of their churches dedicated in this city : and as the heathens used to paint over the ordinary statues of their gods with red or some such gay color, so I have oft observed the coarse images of those saints so daubed over with a gaudy red, as to resemble exactly the description of the god Pan in Virgil {Eclogue 10). In passing along the road, it is common to see travellers on their knees before these rustic altars ; which none ever presume to approach without some act of reverence ; and those who are most in haste, or at a distance, are sure to pull off their hats, at least, in token of respect : and I took notice that our postillion used to look back upon us to see how we behaved on such occasions, and seemed surprised at our passing so negligently before places esteemed so sacred, (9.) The Pope and the Pontifex Maximus and kissing the Pope's toe. — In their very priesthood, they have contrived to keep up as near a resemblance as they could to that of pagan Rome : and the sovereign pontiff, instead of deriving his succession from Peter, who, if ever he was at Rome, did not reside there at least in any worldly pomp or splendor, may with more reason and much better plea style himself the successor of the Pontifex Maximus, or chief priest of old Rome ; whose authority and dignity was the greatest in the republic ; and who was looked upon as the arbiter or judge of all things, civil as well as sacred, human as well as divine : whose power established almost with the foundation of the city, "was an omen,'^ says Polydore Virgil, " and sure presage of priestly majesty, by which Rome was once again to reign as universally, as it had done before by the force of its arms." But of all the sovereign pontiffs of pagan Rome, it is very re markable that Caligula was the first who ever offered his /oof to be kissed by any who approached him : which raised a general indig nation through the city, to see themselves reduced to suffer so great an indignity. Those who endeavored to excuse it, said that it was not done out of insolence, but vanity ; and for the sake of showing his golden slipper, set with jewels, Seneca declaims upon It as the last affront to liberty, and the introduction of a Persian slavery into the manners of Rome, Yet, this servile act, unworthy, either to be imposed or complied with by man, is now the standing OHAP. VI.] POPERY AT ITS BIRTH.— A. D. 606. 127 Pagan and popish processions. The Jtagellantcsj or self-whippers ceremonial of Christian Rome, and a necessary condition of access to the reigning Popes, though derived from no better origin than the frantic pride of a brutal pagan tyrant. (10.) Processions of worshippers and self-whippers. — The de scriptions of the religious pomps and processions of the heathens come so near to what we see on every festival of the Virgin or other Romish saint, that one can hardly help thinking those popish ones to be still regulated by the old ceremonial of pagan Rome. At these solemnities the chief magistrates used frequently to assist in robes of ceremony, attended by the priests in surplices, with wax candles in their hands, carrying upon a pageant or thensa the images of their gods, dressed out in their best clothes. These were usually followed by the principal youth of the place in white linen vestments or surplices, singing hymns in honor of the god whose festival they were celebrating, accompanied by crowds of all sorts, that were initiated in the same religion, all with flambeaux or wax candles in their hands. This is the account which Apuleius and other authors give us of a pagan procession ; and I may ap peal to all who have been abroad, whether it might not pass quite as well for the description of a popish one, Tournefort, in his travels through Greece, reflects upon the Greek church for having retained and taken into their present worship many of the old rites of heathenism, and particularly that of carrying and dancing about the images of the saints in their processions to singing and music. The reflection is full as applicable to his own, as it is to the Greek church, and the practice itself is so far from giving scandal in Italy, that the learned publishtr of the Florentine Inscriptions takes occa sion to show the conformity between them and the heathens, from this very instance of carrying about the pictures of their saints, as the pagans did those of their gods, in their sacred processions. {Inscrip. Antiq. Flor., 377,) In one of those processions made lately to St, Peter's in the time of Lent, I saw that ridiculous penance of the flagellantes or self-whippers, who march with whips in their hands, and lash them selves as they go along on the bare back till it is all covered with blood ; in the same manner as the fanatical priests of Bellona or the Syrian Goddess, as well as the votaries of Isis, used to slash and cut themselves of old, in order to please the goddess by the sacrifice of their own blood, which mad piece of discipline we find frequently mentioned and as oft ridiculed by the ancient writers. But they have another exercise of the same kind and in the same season of Lent, which, under the notion of penance, is still a more absurd mockery of all religion. When on a certain day appointed annually for this discipline, men of all conditions assemble them selves towards the evening in one of the churches of the city, where the whips or lashes made of cords are provided and dis tributed to every person present, and after they are all served, and a short oflice of devotion performed, the candles being put out, upon the warning of a little bell, the whole company begin to strip 9 128 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [book n. Seneca's opinion of the self-whippers. Pagnn and papal mendicant monks and try the force of these whips on their own backs, for the space of near an hour ; during all which time the church becomes, as it were, the proper image of hell ; where nothing is heard but the noise of lashes and chains, mixed with the groans of those self-tor mentors ; till satiated with their exercise they are content to put on their clothes, and the candles being lighted again, upon the tkik- ling of a second bell, they all appear in their proper dress. Seneca, alluding to the very same effects of fanaticism in pagan Rome, says, " So great is the force of it on disordered minds, that they try to appease the gods by such methods as an enraged man would hardly take to revenge himself. But, if there be any gods who desire to be worshipped after this manner, they do not deserve to be worshipped at all ; since the very worst of tyrants, though they have sometimes torn and tortured people's hmbs, yet have never commanded men to torture themselves." (11,) Religious orders of monks, nuns, <^c. — The great variety of their religious orders and societies of priests seems to have been formed upon the plan of the old colleges or fraternities of the Au gurs, Pontifices, Selli, Fratres Arvales, &c. The vestal virgins might furnish the hint for the foundation of nunneries ; and I have observed something very like to the rules and austerities of the monastic life, in the character and manner of several priests of the heathens, who used to live by themselves retired from the world, near to the temple or oracle of the deity to whose particular ser vice they were devoted ; as the Selli, the priests of Dodonaean Jove, or self-mortifying race. From the character of those Selli, or as others call them Elli, the monks of the pagan world, seated m the fruitful soil of Dodona, abounding, as Hesiod describes it, with everything that could make life easy and happy, and whither no man ever approached them without an offering in his hands, we may learn whence their successors of modern times have derived their peculiar skill or prescriptive right of choosing the richest part of every country for the place of their settlement. Whose groves the Selli, race austere, surround ; Their feet unwash'd, their slumbers on the ground,— Pope, II. xvii., 324. But above all, in the old descriptions of the lazy mendicant priests among the heathens, who used to travel from house to house, with sacks on their backs, and, from an opinion of their sanctity, raise large contributions of money, bread, wine, and all kinds of victuals for the support of their fraternity, we see the very picture of the begging friars, who are always about the streets in the same habit and on the same errand, and never fail to carry home with theni a good sack full of provisions for the use of their convent. Cicero, in his book of laws, restrains this practice of begging or gathering alms to one particular order of priests, and that only on certain days ; because, as he says, it propagates superstition and impoverishes families. Which may let us see the policy of the church of Rome, in the great care that they have taken to multiply CHAP, VI,] POPERY AT ITS BIRTH,— A. D. 606. 129 This conformity between Popery and Paganism acknowledged and defended by a Romanist author their begging orders. ' Stipem sustulimus, usi eam quam ad paucos dies propriam Idsese matris excepimus, Implet enim superstitione animos, exhaurit domos.' {Cic. de Legib., 1, 2, 9, 16,) § 48, — After carrying out the comparison between Paganism and Popery, in relation to their pretended miracles, lying signs and wonders, &c,, Dr. Middleton concludes his learned and most con clusive letter as follows: — I could easily carry on this parallel, through many more instances of the pagan and popish ceremonies, to show from what spring all that superstition flows, which we so justly charge them with, and how vain an attempt it must be to justify by the principles of Christianity, a worship formed upon the plan and after the very pattern of pure heathenism. I shall not trouble myself with inquiring at what time and in what manner those several corruptions were introduced into the church ; whether they were contrived by the intrigues and avarice of priests, who found their advantage in reviving and propagating impostures, which had been of old so profitable to their predecessors ; or whether the genius of Rome was so strongly turned to fanaticism and superstition that they were forced, in condescension to the humor of the people, to dress up their new religion to the modes and fopperies of the old. This, I know, is the principle by which their own writers defend themselves as oft as they are attacked on this head. Aringhus, a Roman Cathohc writer, in his account of subter raneous Rome, acknowledges this conformity between the pagan and popish rites, and defends the admission of the ceremonies of heathenism uito the service of the church by the authority of their wisest popes and governors ; " who found it necessary," he says, " in the conversion of the Gentiles, to dissemble and wink at many things and yield to the times, and not to use force against customs which the people are so obstinately fond of, nor to think of extir pating at once everything that had the appearance of profane." It is by the same principles that the Jesuits defend the concessions which they make at this day to their proselytes in China ; who, where pure Christianity will not go down, never scruple to com pound the matter between Jesus and Confucius, and prudently allow what the stiff old prophets so impoliticly condemned, a part nership between God and Baal ; of which, though they have often been accused at the court of Rome, yet I have never heard that their conduct has been censured. But this kind of reasoning, how plausible soever it may be, with regard to the first ages of Chris tianity, or to nations just converted from Paganism, is so far from excusing the present heathenism of the church of Rome, that it is a direct condemnation of it ; since the necessity alleged for the practice, if ever it had any real force, has not, at least for many ages past, at all subsisted ; and their toleration of such practices seems now to be the readiest way to drive Christians back again to heathenism. I have sufficiently made good what I first undertook to prove ; 130 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [book n This policy of conciliating the heathen adopted by Gregory the Great. an exact conformity, or rather uniformity, of worship between Popery and Paganism. For since we see the present people of Rome worshipping in the same temples, at the same altars, sometimes the same images, and always with the same cere monies as the old Romans, who can absolve them from the same superstition AMD IDOLATRY of which we condemn their pagan ancestors 1 Those who would wish to see this striking parallel between Popery and Paganism carried out yet farther, must consult the valu able and masterly work to which I am indebted for most of these interesting, particulars, with the full references and original quota tions from various authorities, ancient as well as modern, Roman Catholic as well as protestant. ^ 49. — That this policy of conciliating the heathen nations by adopting their pagan ceremonies into Christian worship, had been adopted previous to the epoch of the papal supremacy, A. D. 606, is abundantly evident from the instructions given by Gregory the Great, to Augustin, his missionary in Britain, and to Serenus, the bishop of Marseilles, in France, both of whom had written to the pontiff for advice. The account of Gregory's instructions to Augustin, as related by Bower, is as follows : " Not satisfied with directing Austin not to destroy, but to reserve for the worship of God, the profane places where the pagan Saxons had worshipped their idols, Gregory would have him treat the more profane usages, rites, and ceremo nies of the pagans in the same manner, that is, not to aboHsh, but to sanotify them, by changing the end for which they were instituted, and introduce them, thus sanctified, into the Christian worship. This he specifies in a particular ceremony. ' Whereas it is a custom,' says he, ' among the Saxons to slay abundance of oxen, and sacri fice them to the devil, you must not abolish that custom, but ap point a new festival to be kept either on the day of the consecration of the churches, or the birth-day of the saints, whose relics are deposited there, and on these days the Saxons may be allowed to make arbors round the temples changed into churches, to kill their oxen, and to feast, as they did while they were still pagans, only they shall offer their thanks and praises, not to the devil, but to God.' This advice, absolutely irreconcilable with the purity of the gospel- worship, the Pope founds on a pretended impossibility of wean ing men at once from rites and ceremonies to which they have been long accustomed, and on the hopes of bringing the converts, in due time, by such an indulgence, to a better sense of their duty to God. Thus was the religion of the Saxons, our ancestors, so disfigured and corrupted with all the superstitions of Paganism, at its first being planted among them, that it scarce deserved the name of Christianity, but was rather a mixture of Christianity and Pagan ism, or Christianity and Paganism moulded, as it were, into a third religion," The other instance was as follows : " The Franks, who had settled CHAP. VI.] POPERY AT ITS BIRTH.— A. D. 606. 131 He commands Serenus to restore the images to the churches, for the sake of gratifying the pagans. # in the south of Gaul, now France, had been indulged, at the time of their conversion, in the use of images, and that indulgence had insensibly brought them back to idolatry, for turning the images of Christ into idols, they paid them the same kind of worship or adoration, after their conversion, which they had paid to their idols before their conversion. This Serenus could not bear, and, there fore, to show his abhorrence of such abominations, and at the same time to prevent them in time to come, he caused all the images throughout his diocese to be pulled down, and to be cast out of the churches, and destroyed. That wise and zealous prelate was, it seems, even then, when the dangerous practice of setting up images was yet in its infancy, apprised of a truth, which all have now learned by the experience of many ages, — all, at least, who care to learn it, viz, : that images cannot be allowed, and idolatry pre vented. However, this instance of his zeal for the purity of the Christian worship, was very ill received at Rome. And, indeed, Gregory acted therein consistently with himself, for, having directed Austin, this very year, to introduce the pagan rites and usages into the church, he could not but blame Serenus for thus excluding them, and he wrote to him accordingly, commending indeed his zeal in not suffering to be worshipped that which was made with hands, but at the same time blaming him for breaking them, ' to prevent their being worshipped, since they served the ignorant in the room of books, and instructed, by being seen, those who could not read.' But the reason on which the pope seems to have laid his chief stress, in censuring the conduct of Serenus, was, that, by breaking the images, and banishing them from the churches, he would prejudice the bar barians (that is, the Franks), among whom he lived, against the Christian religion ; so that it was chiefly to gratify the pagans, who were converted, to facilitate the conversion of the others, and to adapt the Christian religion to their ideas and notions, that the use of images, and many other rites of the pagan worship, were allowed in the church. But how different was this method of converting the pagans from that which the apostles pursued, and their immedi ate successors, nay, and all apostolic men ¦ for the three first centu ries after Christ ? With them it was a principle not to sanctify, but utterly to abolish all pagan rites, all superstitious practices what ever, and introduce, in their room, a plainness and simplicity suited to the worship of God, in spirit and truth. Upon that principle images of no kind were suffered in the churches during the three first centuries, as is allowed by several Roman Catholic writers ; nay, it was not till the latter end of the fourth century, that the pagan temples began to be converted into Christian churches. They had all, till then, been either shut up, or pulled down, the bishops of those times thinking it a great profanation to worship God even in the places where worship had been paid to the devil."* The above remarkable instances of papal conformity to Pagan- * Bower's History of the Popes, in vita Gregory I. 132 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [book n, This time-serving conformity to Paganism, as early as the papal supremacy. ism, related upon the unquestionable authority of Gregory's own epistles,* are a proof that this wicked policy had been thus early adopted, and though it is not perhaps absolutely certain that all the pa gan ceremonies, above enumerated, were introduced into the Romish worship so early as 606, yet, without doubt, most of them were in use in the time of Boniface, and the others, not long after. The Pantheon as we have seen, was consecrated to " the virgin and all the saints " within four or five years of the establishment of the papal supre macy; and on that occasion pope Boniface IV. employed the newly acquired papal authority, in enjoining upon all the faithful the observance of a festival in commemoration of that event, which is still celebrated with great ceremony in all popish countries, on the first of November, called the Feast of All Saints. Image worship, as we shall see, was not finally and fully established till about the middle of the ninth century, after a long contest between different emperors, popes, and councils. The history and origin of these pagan innovations upon Christian worship, has been given at con siderable length, because it is believed that the most satisfactory mode is thereby suggested of answeruig the question which so fre quently presents itself to the candid and inquiring mind, when con templating the heathen mummeries of papal worship. Can it be possible that this is Christianity ? that this is the religion of the New Testament ? of Jesus Christ and his apostles ? and if it is called by the name, whence did it become so corrupted 1 so like the religion of pagan Greece and Rome 1 The answer is no, this is not Chris tianity, it is Paganism, under that venerated name, and the trans formation was effected by borrowing the temples, the idols, and the ceremonies of heathenism, to silence the scruples, and to win the suffrages of those who had no taste for a religion so pure, so spirit ual, AND SO HOLY AS THE RELIGION OF ChRIST. * See Epist, Greg., lib. ix., epist. 71, and lib. vii., epist 110. 133 BOOK III. POPERY ADVANCING-A.D. 606-800. FROM THE ESTABLISHMENT OP THE SPIRITUAL SUPREMACY, A. D, 606, TO THE popes' TEMPORAL SOVEREIGNTY, 756, AND TO THE CROWNING OF THE EMPEROR CHARLEMAGNE, 800. CHAPTER L GRADUAL INCREASE OF THE PAPAL POWER. DARKNESS, SUPERSTITION, AND IGNORANCE OF THIS PERIOD. § 1. — That part of the above-named period extending from the establishment of the papal supremacy in 606 to the epoch of the Popes' temporal sovereignty, 756, possesses peculiar interest to the student of history. These two dates are those upon which writers on the prophecies, relative to Popery, have been chiefly divided as to the proper commencement of its existence as the little horn of Daniel (ch, vii. 8). The most judicious writers, how ever, have generally preferred the latter date, or some other noting the increase or confirmation of the Popes' temporal power, as Popery could not properly be called a horn till it was, like the other boms, a temporal sovereignty. It is not to be supposed that the various churches of the West, much less of the East, gave up without a struggle their ancient liberty and independence as soon as the decree of a tyrant consti tuted the Roman prelate Universal Bishop and supreme head of the church. The Popes, it is true, used all sorts of means to maintain and enlarge the authority and pre-eminence which they had ac quired by a grant from the most odious tyrant that ever disgraced the annals of history. We find, however, in the most authentic ac counts of the transactions of this century, that not only several emperors and pruices, but also whole nations, opposed the ambitious views of the bishops of Rome. Besides all this, multitudes of pri vate persons expressed publicly, and without the least hesitation, their abhorrence of the vices, and particularly of the lordly am bition of the Roman pontiffs ; and it is highly probable, that the Waldenses or Vaudois had already, in this century, retired into the valleys of Piedmont, that they might be more at their liberty to oppose the tyranny of those imperious prelates.* * See Antoine Leger's Histoire des Eglises Vaudoises, livr. i,, p, 15, 134 HISTORY OF ROMANISM, [book m Election of popes confirmed by the Emperor. Popish morality. No faith with heretics § 2. — The popes were still the subjects of the Roman emperors, and their election to the Popedom gave them no official authority till confirmed either by the Emperor himself or his viceroy in Italy, the exarch of Ravenna. This, of course, was nothing more than natural and just, that since this spiritual sovereignty was created by the Emperor it should be confirmed by the same authority. Sometimes when the popes elect were suspected of being opposed to the views of the Emperor, considerable difficulty was ex perienced in obtaining the imperial confirmation of their election. Thus, upon the election of pope Severinus in 640, we learn from a letter of the monk Maximus, that the emperor Heraclius, at the instigation of the clergy of Constantinople, refused to confirm his election to the popedom till his legates had promised the Emperor to persuade the newly-elected pope to sign the Echthesis, a decree of which we shall hear more in a future chapter ; but, adds the monk, though they complied with the Emperor's demand, they never intended to perform so sinful a promise. So that, as Bower remarks, " they did not, it seems, think it sinful to make a promise which they thought it sinfiil to perform,"* A characteristic illus tration of genuine popish morality ! But why complain ? Hera clius, in the estimation of the Pope and his legates, was a heretic, and the votaries of Rome had already learned to act upon the prin ciple, so shamelessly avowed seven or eight centuries later, in the council of Constance, that no faith is to be kept with heretics. The consequence of this delay was, that pope Severinus was not ordained till about a year and a half after his election, § 3, — In 685, pope Benedict IL, according to the account of the Romish historian Anastasius, had sufficient influence with the emperor Constantine IV, to obtain from him a decree permitting the ordination of popes in future, immediately upon their election, without waiting for the confirmation of the Emperor or his deputy m Italy ; but in less than two years, Justinian, who had succeeded his father m the empire, conceiving this to be a dangerous conces sion, revoked the decree, and vested the power of confirming the election of future popes in the exarch of Italy, commonly called, from the place of his residence, the exarch of Ravenna, Two or three years later the Exarch made a profitable use of this privilege by unjustly extorting an enormous sum from pope Sergius, before consenting to confirm his election,! It had ever been the custom, at least since the decree of Phocas, to pay a certain sum into the im perial treasury when the election of a pope was confirmed, but in this case the Exarch demanded a much larger sum than usual. The circumstances were these : In the year 687, two candidates for the popedom, Theodore and Pascal, had been elected by rival * History of the Popes, vol. iii., p. 21. t Anastasius in vita Sergius. This historian, generallv called Anastasius' Bib- R^TZL^r^ in the ninth century. He waf the ZiiLr^fof t^ churcfof forvoh™.^,^foL°.^'; ^^'^ t^''?^ 'H '^'^'- He wrote Liber Pontificalis, in lour volumes, folio, containing the lives of some of the popes. CHAP, I,] POPERY ADVANCING— A,D, 606—800, 135 Price of a seat in the chair of St. Peter. The Pope appoints Theodore archbishop of Canterbury. parties. A violent and disgraceful tumult ensued between the re spective friends of each. The judges and magistrates of Rome in vain sought to bring the two ambitious priests to an agreement, and to induce one to yield to the other. Failing in this attempt, they formed a new party, and proceeded to elect a third candidate named Sergius, and carrying him in triumph to the Lateran, forced the gates and put him in possession of the place. Upon this Theo dore yielded his claim and joined the party of Sergius, The other competitor. Paschal, obstinately persisted in his claim. He had made a private agreement with the Exarch to reward him with a bribe of thirty pounds of gold, upon condition that he should be chosen and confirmed as pope. Instead, therefore, of yielding to Sergius, he despatched a messenger in all haste to Ravenna, for the Exarch immediately to repair to Rome and consummate his agree ment. Upon the arrival of the latter in the city, learning the dis couraging situation of Paschal's affairs, and concluding that he could make a better bargain with Sergius, he immediately acknow ledged him as pope, but demanded the enormous sum of one hun dred pounds of gold before he would consent to confirm his elec tion. In the end, though much against his will, Sergius was under the necessity of submitting to the exorbitant demand, though he had to pawn the very ornaments of the tomb of St, Peter before he could raise the sum necessary to secure the imperial signature to the decree confirming his election. The above is named, upon the authority of Anastasius, only as a specimen of the means fre quently resorted to in order to supply the links in this boasted un broken chain of holy apostolical succession ! It serves also as an illustration of the fact that the popes had not yet attained tem poral sovereignty, but were still dependent for the spiritual powei they wielded upon the emperors, • § 4, — The popes, however, were restless, under this odious re straint ; they had reached, by means of the emperors, the height of spiritual supremacy, and now they were anxious to knock away the ladder by which they had attained this eminence, render themselves independent of all earthly governments, and assume a rank among the temporal sovereigns of the earth, and they watched with eagle gaze for every opportunity of confirming and enlarging their power. One remarkable instance of this occurred in the appointment by the sole authority of the Pope, in 667, of Theodore, as archbishop of Canterbury, in consequence of the death of the prelate that had been appointed in England, while waiting at Rome for his ordination. To reconcile king Oswy to his assumption, he, the Pope, sent him a flattering letter, with a choice collection of his trumpery relics, and to his " spiritual daughter," the queen, he sent a cross and golden key, enriched with a portion of the filings of Peter's noted chain, Theodore, after having his head shaved according to the Roman law, was despatched to England, and forthwith acknowledged, in conse quence of his having been chosen and ordained by the successor of St, Peter, as the primate of all England. From that time to the 136 HISTORY OF ROMANISM, [BooKm. Important matters of dispute. Ecclesiastical tonsure. Different ways of shaving heads present, the archbishop of Canterbury has enjoyed a degree of power and authority in Great Britain, superior to that of any other eccle siastic in the realm. § 5. — As a specimen of the important matters of disputation which in this age were regarded as of sufficient importance to divide the ignorant priests and monks into opposite and contending parties, may be mentioned, the famous dispute in England, relative to what was called the ecclesiastical tonsure. In plain English, the manner in which the priests should shave their heads I When the missionaries who came over to Britain from Rome, about the mid dle of the seventh century, encountered the Scottish and Irish priests, they were horrified at the terrible discovery that the British clergy, instead of a circular tonsure on the occiput, were distinguished by a tonsure on the forehead, in the shape of a crescent I And this was the momentous cause of the fierce controversy that ensued between the two parties, " The grand question was," says Bower, " whether the hair of the priests and monks should be clipped or shaved on the fore part of the head, from ear to ear, in the form of a semicir cle, or on the top of the head, in form of a circle, to imitate the crown of thorns which our Saviour wore, and of which it was thought to be an emblem. The Scots shaved the fore part of then- heads, and the missionaries from Rome the top, calling that the ton sure of St, Peter, as if it had been derived from that apostle. When, by whom, or on what occasion, the ecclesiastical tonsure, that is, the clipping or shaving the hair of the ecclesiastics, was first intro duced, is not well known. But certain it is, that in the time of St. Jerome, who flourished in the end of the fourth, and beginning of the fifth century, a Romish priest, with his shaven crown, would have been taken for a priest of Isis or Serapis ; a shaven crown being then, as thS.t father informs us, the characteristic or badge of those priests. As for the Christian priests, they were neither to shave their heads, as we learn of the same father, lest they should look too like the priests and votaries of Isis and Serapis ; nor to suffer their hair to grow long, after the luxurious manner of the barbarians and soldigrs, but to observe a decent mean between the two extremes ; that is, aSne explains it, to let the hair grow long enough to cover their skin. It was therefore probably the custom to cut -their hair to a moderate degree, at their ordination, not by way of 'a religious mystery, but merely for the sake of decency, and that nothing else was Oj UC SUJ/ttZt ciiAP. n.] POPERY IN ITS GLORY— WORLD-MIDNIGHT— 800-1073. 201 Cannibalism. Reasons of papists why the host does not loolc like "raw and bloody flesh." moment, tlie body of Jesus Christ, which was suspended on the cross over the cauldron, turned into the host again, and jumped into a dish which the woman held in her hand. (!) The woman took it to the priest, told the story I have re peated to you, and the Jew was seized, sent to prison, and burnt alive. The penknife with which tlie host was pierced, the blood that flowed from the wounds, the cauldron and the dish, are all preserved, as an infallible pkoof of THIS miracle." § 21. — The evident object of these pretended miracles is to prove the real transmutation of the wafer into the real living body, blood, soul and divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ. Now, if this transmu tation were really effected, and this real living body and soul were chewed between the teeth and swallowed, is it not plain that those who partook of the horrible banquet would be guilty of cannibal ism ? The manducation of the sacramental elements, if transub stantiation be true, makes the communicant the rankest cannibal. The patron of the corporeal presence, according to his own sys tem, devours human flesh and blood : and, to show the refinement of his taste, indulges in all the luxury of cannibalism. He rivals the polite Indian, who eats the quivering limbs and drinks the flow ing gore of the enemy. The papist even exceeds the Indian in grossness. The cannibals of America or New Zealand swallow only the mangled remains of an enemy, and would shudder at the idea of devouring any other human flesh. But the partizans of Romanism glut themselves with the flesh and blood of a friend. The Indian only eats the dead, while the papist, with more shock ing ferocity, devours the living. The Indian eats man of mortal mould on earth. The papist devours God-man, as he exists exalted, immortal, and glorious in heaven. It is true that Romish writers have exercised a great deal of ingenuity in endeavoring to gild over the rank cannibalism of Popery. Admitting the horror that would be excited by feeding on raw human flesh and blood in their own proper forms, these writers endeavor to disguise, as well as they can, the grossness and inhumanity of eating that which, not withstanding its species or form, they admit to be a living human body. A few extracts illustrative of these attempts will be given. Thus Aimon represents " the taste and figure of bread and wine as remaining in the sacrament, to prevent the horror of the communi cant." Similar statements are found in Lanfranc. According to this author, " the species remain, lest the spectator should be horrified at the sight of raw and bloody flesh. {!) The nature of Jesus is concealed and received for salvation, without the horror which might be excited by blood."* Hugo acknowledges that " few would approach the communion, if blood should appear in the cup, and the * Propter sumentium horrorem, sapor panis et vini remanet et figura. (Aimon, in Dach. 1. 42.) Reservatis ipsarum rerum speciebus, et quibusdam aliis qualitatibus, ne percipi- entes cruda et cruenta horrerent. (Lanfranc, 244.) Christi natura contegitur, et sine cruoris horrore a digne sumentibus in salutem accipitur. (Lanfranc, 248.) 202 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [book iv. Shocking expressions of Romanists to gild over the cannibalism of transubstantiation. flesh should appear red as in the shambles."* Even hunger itself would be disgusted at such bloody food. Durand admits, that " human infirmity, unaccustomed to eat man's flesh, would, if the substance were seen, refuse participation,"t Aquinas avows "i^e horror of swallowing human flesh and blood."X " The smell, the species, and the taste of bread and wine remain," says the sainted Bernard, " to conceal flesh and blood, which, if offered without dis guise as meat and drink, might horrify human weakness."^ Ac cording to Aicuin in Pithou, " Almighty God causes the prior form to continue in condescension to the firailty of man, who is unused to swallow raw flesh and blood."\\ According to the Trentine Cate chism, " the Lord's body and blood are administered under the species of bread and wine, on account of man's horror of eating and drinking human flesh and blood."^ These descriptions are shocking, and calculated, in some measure, to awaken the horror which they portray.** § 22. — After the reader has examined these disgusting attempts of Romish writers to palliate the cannibalism of transubstantiation, let him cast his eye once more over the lying legends of pretended ' miracles in proof of it, selected above from hundreds of similar ones, gravely related by popish authors as facts, and then let him decide whether a religion can be from God, which utters such enormities, and requires such outrageous falsehoods to sustain it. O anti-Cheist ! anti-Christ ! truly and unerringly vsras thy picture drawn by the pen of inspiration, when it was declared thy coming should be "after the working of Satan, with all power, and signs, and lying wonders and vsdth all deceivableness of xmrighteousness in them that perish. Mother of hariots, and abominations of the earth 1" Yet, like Babylon of old,- " thme end shall come, and the measure of thy covetousness !" thy abomi nations are not always to last, nor thy lying wonders to deceive the nations for ever. For the same unerring Spirit that drew thy por trait hath also predicted thy fall ; when the mighty angel shall cry with a strong voice, " Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen. Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sms, * Si cruor in calice fieret manifestus et si in macello Christi ruberet sua caro, rarus in terris ille qui hoc non abhorreret. (Hugo, de corp. 70.) t Fragilitas humana, quas suis carnibus non consuevit vesci, ipso visu nihil hauriat, quod horreat. (Durand, in Lanfranc, 100.) I Non est consuetum hominibus, horribilem carnem hominis comedere et san guinem bibere. (Aquin III. 75, V. P. 357.) _ j Odor, species, sapor, pondus remanent, ut horror penitus toUatur, ne humana infirmitas escum carnis et potum sanguinis m sumptione horreret. (Bernard, Ii Consulens omnipotens Deus infirraitati nostrae, qui non habemus usum come dere carnem crudam et sanguinem bibere fecit ut in pristina remanens forma ilia duo munera. (Aicuin in Pithou, 467.) IT A communi hominum natura maxime abhorreat humanae carnis esca, aut sanguinis potione vesci, sapientissime fecit, ut sanctissimum corpus et sanguis sub earum rerum specie panis et vini nobis administraretur. (Cat. Trid 129.) ** See Edgar's Variations, 387. chap, n.] POPERY IN ITS GLORY— WORLD-MIDNIGHT— 800-1073. 203 Creators of the Creator. Horrible blasphemies of a pope and a cardinal. and that ye receive not of her plagues ! For her sins have reached unto heaven and God hath remembered her iniquities. Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets ; for God hath avenged you on her ! And in her was found the blood of pro phets, and of saints, aiid of all that were slain upon the earth."* § 23. — The doctrine which requires such pious frauds as above related, to gain it credence, is so gross an outrage upon common sense, that no arguments are necessary to disprove it.f Its very statement is its refutation. But it has been the source of incal<;u- lable worldly gain to the anti-Christian clergy, whom it elevates to the blasphemous dignity of Creators of their Creator, and hence the secret of its success. It is almost impossible to quote the horrible impiety of pope Urban and cardinal Biel, without shuddering. " The hands of the pontiff," said Urban in a great Roman Coun cil, " are raised to an eminence granted to none of the angels, of creating God the Creator of all things, and of offering him up for the salvation of the whole world," " This prerogative," adds the same authority, " as it elevates the Pope above angels, renders pontifical submission to kings an execration." To all this the Sacred Synod, with the utmost unanimity, responded. Amen, J Cardinal Biel extends this power to all priests. " He that created me," says the cardinal, " gave me, if it be lawful to tell, to create HIMSELF." This power, Biel shows, exalts the clergy, not only above emperors and angels, but which is a higher elevation, above Lady Mary herself. " Her ladyship," says the cardinal, " once * 2 Thess. ii. 9, 10 ; Jer. Ii. 13 ; Rev. xvii. 5— xviii. 4, 5, 6, 24. f On such a subject as this it is lawful to imitate the satirical and ironical mode of disputation adopted by the prophet Elijah, in his contest with the idolatrous priests of Baal. (1 Kings, xviii. 27.) The following is translated from a satirical poem of George Buchanan, and sets in vivid and striking light the folly and im piety of this idolatry. " A baker and a painter once contended, which of them could produce the best specimen of his art ; — whether the former would excel with his oven, or the latter with his colors. The painter boasted that he had made a god ; the baker replied. It is 1 who make the true body of God, thou only canst produce an image or representation of it. The painter said, thy god is always consumed by men's teeth ; thine, rejoined the baker, is corroded by worms. The painter affirmed, that one of his making would endure entire for many years, while an innumerable quantity of the baker's would be often devoured in an hour. But you, said the baker, can scarcely paint one god in a year, while I can produce ten thousand in a day. Stop, said a priest, and contend no more with words to no purpose ; neither of your gods can do anything without me ; and seeing it is I that make each of them a god, both shall be subservient to me : for the picture shall beg for me, and the bread be eaten by me." I Dicens, nimis execrabile videri, ut manus, quae in tantam eminentiam excre- verunt, quod nuUi angelorum concessum est, ut Deum cuncta creantem suo signa- culo creent, et eundem ipsum pro salute totius mundi, Dei Patris obtutibus offerant. Et ab omnibus acclamatum est " Fiat, fiat." (Hoveden, ad Ann. 1099, P. 268. Labb. 12, 960. Bruy 2, 635.) 204 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [book iv. Worship of the wafer God in the nineteenth century. conceived the Son of God and the Redeemer of the world ; while the priest daily calls into existence the same Deity."* If the fact were not beyond dispute, the assertion would be in credible that this impious and idolatrous doctrine of the dark ages is still held in the nineteenth century, and in enlightened America too If Yet such is the fact, and whoever wishes to see a Romish priest create his wafer God by pronouncing a few mystic Latin words,J and the silly multitude worship this bit of bread, as the priest holds it up before them, has only to visit a Roman Catholic church during the performance of mass. {See Frontispiece.) This worship of the wafer God is a stupid and grovelling idolatry, of which even an ancient worshipper of Jupiter or Venus, or a modern votary of Juggernaut or Vishnu, would be ashamed. While most of the rites and ceremonies of Popery can be traced to their heathen origin, this alone is too extravagant to find a parallel * Qui creavit me, si fas est dicere, dedit mihi creare se, Semel concepit Dei filium, eundem Dei filium advocant quotidie corporaliter, (Biel, Lect. 4. See Edgar, 383.) t As a proof that this monstrous doctrine of the dark ages is taught in all its grossness in the nineteenth century, the following few questions and answers are transcribed from Butler's Catechism, a popular Roman Catholic manual in almost universal use among papists wherever the English language is used. On the Blessed Eucharist. Q. What is the blessed Eucharist ? A. The body and blood, soul and divinity of Jesus Christ, under the appearance of bread and wine ? Q. What do you mean by the appearances of bread and wine ? A. The taste, color, and form of bread and wine, which still remain, after the bread and wine are changed into the body and blood of Christ. Q. Are both the body and blood of Christ under the appearance of bread, and under the appearance of wine ? A. Yes ; Christ is whole and entire, true God, and true Man, under the ippearance of each. Q,. Did Christ give power to the priests of his church to change bread and wine into his body and blood ? A. Yes ; when he said to his apostles at his last supper : Do this for a commemoration for me. Luke xxii. 19. *i- Why did Christ give to the priests of his church so great a power J A. 1 hat his children, throughout all ages and nations, might have a most acceptable sacrifice to ofier to their Heavenly Father— and the most precious food to nourish their souls. Q. What is the sacrifice of the New Law ? A. The Mass. Q. What is the Mass ? A. The sacrifice of the body and blood of Christ, which are really present under the appearances of bread and wine ; and are of fered to God by the priest for the living and the dead. Q. Is the Mass a difierent sacrifice from that of the Cross ? A. No ; because the same Christ, who once offered himself a bleeding victim to his Heavenly Father on the cross, continues to offer himself in an unbloody manner, bv the hands of his priests, on our altars. Q. At what part of the Mass are the bread and wine changed into the body and blood of Christ ? A. At the consecration. Q. How are we to be penetrated with a lively faith? A. By firmly believing that the blessed Eucharist is Jesus Christ himself, true God and true Mas, HIS VERT flesh ANO BLOOD, WITH HIS SOOL AND DIVIKITV. t Hoc est corpus meum (this is my body), from which is doubtless derived the cant phrase. Hocus pocus, used by pretended conjurors. chap, n.] POPERY IN ITS GLORY— WORLD-MIDNIGHT— 800-1073. 205 Papists worse tlian the heathen who never devoured the gods they \voryhii)prd even in the temples of paganism itself. " As to that celebrated act of popish idolatry," says Dr. Middleton, " the adoration of the host, I must confess that I cannot find the least resemblance of it in any part of the pagan worship : and as oft as I have been standing at mass, and seen the whole congregation prostrate on the ground, in the humblest posture of adoring, at the elevation of this consecrated piece of bread ; I could not help reflecting on a passage of Tully, where, speaking of the absurdity of the heathens in the choice of their gods, he says, * Was any man ever so mad as to take that which he feeds upon for a godf Ecquem tam amentem esse putas, qui illud, quo vescatur, Deum credat esse ? {Cic. de nat. Deor. 3.) This was an extravagance left for Popery alone ; and what an old Roman could not but think too gross, even for Egyptian idolatry to swallow, is now become the principal part of worship, and the distinguishing article of faith in the creed of modern Rome."* No wonder that the old Arabian philosopher, Averroes, when brought into contact with this worse than heathenish superstition, exclaimed, with surprise and disgust, " I have travelled over the world, and seen many people, but none so selfish and ridiculous as Christians, who devour the God they worship .'" After reading the particulars above narrated, and especially the horribly blasphemous language of pope Urban and cardinal Biel, let the reader remember that the besotted votaries of Rome not only receive this doctrine as an article of faith themselves, but pro nounce a most awful curse upon all the world beside, who refuse to beheve it ! The following are the very words of the canons of the celebrated council of Trent, passed in 1551, pronouncing the awful anathema, and thus consigning to eternal damnation {if they could) the whole protestant world, and all else who refuse to be lieve this monstrous doctrine. The following are extracts from the original Latin of the words of the council, with a faithful English translation. " Sancta hsec synodus declarat, per " This holy council declareth — That consecrationem panis et vini conversio- by the consecration of the bread and nem fieri totius substantice panis in sub- wine, there is effected a conversion of the siantiam corporis Christi Domini ncstri, whole substance of the bread into the sub- et totius substantia; vini, in subslantiam stance of the body qf Christ our Lord, sanguinis ejus : quas conversio con- and qf the wine into the substance of his venienter et proprie a sancta catholica blood ; which conversion is fitly and ecclesia transubstantiatio est appellata." properly termed by the holy Catholic church, Transubstantiation.'/ The council then proceed to enact the canons and curses, of which the following are the first, second, and third. " Canon I. Si quis negaverit in sane- 1. "If any one shall deny that in the tissimae eucharistiae sacramento confine- most holy sacrament of the eucharist, ri vere, realiter, et substantialiter, corpus there are contained, truly, really, and et sanguinem una cum anima et divihi- substantially, the body and blood, together * Dr. Middleton's letter from Rome, p, 179. 206 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [book iv. The curses of Trent upon all who refuse to believe the dogma of Transubstantiation. TATE Dpmini nostri Jesu Christi, ac with the soul and divinitt of our Lord proinde totum Christum ; sed dixerit Jesus Christ ; or say that he is in it only tantummodo esse in eo ut in signo, vel as in a sign, or figure, or by his infiw- figura, aut virtute; (O" ANATHEMA ence, ICT LET HIM BE ACCURSED ' SIT." " Canon II. Si quis dixerit in sacro- 2. " If any one shall say that in the sancto eucharistiae sacramento, remanere sacrament of the eucharist, the sub- substantiam panis et vini una cum cor- stance of the bread and wine remains pore et sanguine Domini nostri Jesu together with the body and blood of onr Christi, negaveritque mirabilem illam et Lord Jesus Christ, and shall deny the singularem conversionem totius substan- wonderful and singular conversion of titc panis in corpus, et totius substantia; ihe whoic substance of the bread into his vini in sanguinem, manentibus dumtaxat body, and the whole substance of the wine speciebtis panis et yini : quam quidem irUo his blood, the appearances only of conversionem catholica ecclesia aptissi- bread and wine remaining, which con- me Transubstantionem appellat ; 0° AN- version the catholic church most pro- ATHEMA SIT." perly terms Tra7iSM6ste7rfiotio?i,lD° LET HIM BE ACCURSED ! " Canon IIL Si quis negaverit in 3. "If any one shall deny, that in the venerabile sacramento eucharistiae, sub adorable sacrament of the eucharist, unaquaque specie, et sub singulis cujus- whole Christ is contained in each element que speciei partibus, separatione facta, or species, and in the separate pasts totum Christum contineri; 1D= AN- o/ eacA eZemenZ or species, a separation ATHEMA SIT."* being made, \W LET HIM BE AC- CURSED." § 24.— Let it be remembered that these awful curses were pro nounced by the last general council of the Romish church ever assembled ; that, of course, they have never been repealed ; but stand down to the year 1845 in flaming characters upon the statute book of Rome, an enduring monument of her bigoted intolerance and hatred of all who refuse to yield up their common sense and reason at the bidding of a corrupt priesthood, whose evident object It IS to exalt themselves not only above the common herd of the laity, but in their own language, '4to an eminence granted to none of the angels"— by proclaiming themselves as the " Creators of THE Creator." In these awful anathemas, of course, are included our Baxters, our Bunyans, our Flavels, our Paysons, and all the ho y and devoted men who have honored the protestant ranks, not only m the past, but m the present generation. There have been periods, as we have already seen, when the anathemas of Rome were something more than an idle breath of air, when they could kindle the fires of martyrdom, and fill the dungeons of the inquisi tion with the tortured and helpless victims of popish bigotry and ?Ti^;u Blessed be God ! those periods, we trust, are pfst. God forbid that they should ever return ! The spirit of Popery remains unchanged. God forbid that the power to make these curses effectual (at least by the aid of "the secular arm") should ever again return to deluge the world with blood ! * Concil Trident., sess. xiii., cap. 4. 207 CHAPTER III. proofs of the darkness of this period continued. — baptism of BELLS, and festival OF THE ASSES, § 25. — Another of the profane and senseless mummeries of Popery, which sprung up in this dark age, and which has been han ded down to the present time, was the consecration or baptism of Bells. Cardinal Baronius says this custom was first introduced by pope John XIII., who died in 972 ; who gave the name of John the Baptist, to the great bell of the Lateran church at Rome,* The reason why the name of some saint is given to the bell at its bap tism, says Cardinal Bona, is " in order that the people may think themselves called to divine service, by the voice of the saint whose name the bell bears."f The following was inscribed upon the con secrated bells : " Colo verum Deum ; plebem voco ; et congrego Clerum : i Divos adoro ; festa doceo ; defunctos ploro ; Pestem dsemones fugo." that is, " I adore the true God ; I call the people ; I collect the priests ; I worship the saints ; I teach the festivals ; I deplore the dead ; I drive away pestilence and devils," This senseless custom of the dark ages, of consecrating and bap tizing bells, has been ever since observed by papists, and still is, down to the present time. In a letter of an English traveller, inserted in the London Magazine for 1780, there is an interesting account of a performance of this ceremony at Naples, in Italy. On that occasion a nobleman was godfather to the bell, and a lady of quality was godmother. Most of the prayers said on the occasion, ended with the following words, ' that thou wouldst be pleased to rinse, purify, sanctify, and consecrate these bells with thy heavenly benediction.' ' Ut hoc tintinnabulum ccelesti benedictione perfundere, purificare, sanctificare, et consecrare dignareris.' The following were the words of consecration : ' Let the sign be consecrated and sanctified, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.' ' Consecretur et sanctificetur signum istud, in nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti. Amen.' The bishop, then turn ing to the people, said, the bell's name is Mary. He had previously demanded of the godfather and godmother what name they would have put upon the bell, and the lady gave it this name. § 26. — A more recent eye-witness of this ceremony in the city of Montreal, Canada, describes it as follows : " The two bells were sus pended from a temporary erection of wood in the centre of the church. In the vacant space round them, a table and chairs were placed for + Bona. Rer. Liturg., Lib. ii., cap. 22. * Baronius' Annals, ann. 968, 208 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [book iv. Baptism of Bells. Sponsors. An expensive dress for the hell. the principal performers. The candles on the altar at the upper end of the church, were lighted in readiness for the exhibition, and in a short time a door on the left of the altar opened, and forth came the procession. At the head of it were two boys dressed in white, carrying two immense candles, each of which, with the candlestick; might probably measure seven or eight feet. After them came the priests, some in gorgeous silken robes, some in white, others in black, and some flaring with bright colors and gold ; other boys also in white followed, one of whom bore a silver vase with water, and another a small vessel of oil. Some of the priests in black took their seats near the altar, the ' rest came forward to the bells ; the large candles were placed upon the table, and beside them the vase and the vessel of oil. One of the priests, an old man dressed in white, then got up into the pulpit at the side of the church, to address the people ; after which, descending from the pulpit, he put on a robe of various bright colors, and proceeded to the ceremonial. After chanting a hymn, he read Latin prayers over the water in the ¦ basin, and thus, I suppose, consecrated it ; another of the priests then carried the basin to the bells, and the first dipped a pretty large brush in the water, and with it made the form of a cross upon the bell, pronouncing the form of words used on such occasions, ' In noiriine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti ;' a third priest witlbi, another brush completed his work, making cross after cross, and. then carefully brushing the intermediate places till the bell was wetted all over ; the second bell was crossed and recrossed in the same manner, and immediately large clean towels were produced, and the bells were carefully wiped dry. Returning to the table, singing and reading of prayers succeeded, and the oil was next blessed and made holy ; the principal priest then dipped his finger in the oil, and made the sign of the cross on one place on each 'bell, ' carefully wiping the place with cotton wool ; he then repeated it on a great many places on the bells, both inside and outside, carefull^ wiping them as before with cotton. During the singing which fol lowed, one of the boys went out and brought in a silver censer with red coals in it ; a small box of incense stood on the table, out of which the priest took a spoonful and threw it on the coals, reading prayers over it as before ; the incense smoked up and perfumed the air ; then, after waving the censer with great solemnity three times, he carried it first to the one bell and then to the other, holding it under them till they were filled' with smoke."* (-See Engraving.)* § 27. — It is regarded as a very great honor to stand godfather or godmother to one of these baptized bells, and rich presents are made on these occasions. On another occasion of the kind, which took place in the same city only a year or two ago, according to the public journals of that city, the velvet and gold cloth in which the holy bell was dressed, cost no less a sum than two thousand dol lars. This is understood to be the gift of those who are honored * M'Gavin's Protestant, vol, i,, page 620. ^ Romish Ceremony of the Baptism of Bell.. CHAP. HI.] POPERY IN ITS GLORY— WORLD-MIDNIGHT— 800-1073. 211 Consecration of a bell at Dublin. Senseless and childish niurnmerics. with the office of sponsors. Within a few weeks this absurd and senseless mummery has been performed in Marlborough street Romish chapel, Dublin. An eye-witness describes the ceremony in the Dublin Warder, in the following lively style : " On our en trance," says he, " we beheld the bell occupying the outer railed-in place opposite the altar, and elevated on a raised platform covered with some red stuffi Its upper periphery was garlanded with festoons of fading flowers, while a boquet in an earthenware vase was perched in the wood-work of the bell, and seemed to look with vegetable vanity on the idol of copper and tin beneath. Some thirty or forty priests in vestments were exceedingly busy, bustling here and there, to urge on the pageant, and encircled that venerable prelate. Doctor Murray, the lord archbishop of Dublin, whom they placed on a supposed throne, raised four or five steps from the floor. After placing a gilded mitre on his head, and a gold embroidered robe on his shoulders, they saluted him with several fantastic genu flexions, and then brought him a silver censer, and stooping under the raised platform, whereon the bell reposed, disappeared, and, I presume, were employed for some minutes in worshipping and fumigating the interior of the bell ! ! After this, four or five priests preceded by young boys, robed in red gowns, bearing lighted can dles, perambulated around the bell, and then one of the priests, wielding a black-haired brush, dipped it in water, and wet the bell profusely ; then arose a lugubrious chant from all the priests, the organ occasionally drowning all accompaniment in its sonorous diapason. Doctor Murray was now conducted from his throne, and came near the bell, and after reciting certain prayers, a napkin was handed him, wherewith he wiped part of the bell. This was the signal for about a dozen of napkins, which, in the fists of as many priests, began to rub, and scrub, and curry, and wipe the bell on all parts of its surface. While this was going on, the organ choir were chanting instrumental and vocal exhortations to the bell, to bear all patiently. And when the brawny arms and lusty fists of those priests had well dried the bell. Doctor Murray was again conducted in pontificalibus near the bell, and a small phial of ointment being handed to him, he dipped his thumb into it, and rubbed it to various parts of the periphery of the bell, crossing it, the priests, organ, and choir, meanwhile chanting out triumphant vociferations at what they supposed to be its consecration." In reading the above accounts of the performance of these ' profane and idolatrous ceremonies hi churches called Christian, and in the nineteenth .century, one can hardly help imagining himself carried back some seven or eight centuries, to the gloom of the dark ages, when Popery was in its glory ; or living in a heathen land, and perusing the account of some imposing ceremony in the idol temples of Bramha, Gaudama, or Juggernaut. § 28. — We cannot better close these remarks on the baptism of the bells, than by the following antique and curious account of the same 14 212 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [bookiv. Carious and antique account of the mummery of bell-baptism, from old Philip Stubbes — 1598. ceremony, which is valuable, not only for the information it affords, and the piquancy of its style, but also as a choice historical relic. It is taken from an old work, written in 1585, by Philip Stubbes, entitled " The Theatre of the Pope's Monarchic.'' " The order and manner of christening of belles, with ridicu lous ceremonies used therein BY the papists. — When they are disposed to christen any bell, first of all there is wamying thereof giuen in the church a good while before the day appointed, which day being come the people flock thicke and three-fold to see the commedie played. The godfathers and godmothers also, being warned before the church wardens, are present in all the best ap- parrel that they haue. Besides whom you shall haue 2 or 3 others present, eury one striuing and contending who shall bee godfathers and godmothers to the bell, supposing it a wonderful preferment, a mirracilous promotion, and singular credit so to be. Thus all things made readie, the bishop in all his masking geare commeth forth like a coniuring iugler, and hauing made holy water with salt and other fibbersause he sprinkleth all things with the same as a thing of un speakable force. And although it is at noone days, yet must he haue his tapers burning round about on eury side ; and then kneel ing down bee very solemnly desireth the people to pray, that God would vouchsafe to grannt to this bell a blessed and happie Chris tendom, and with all a lustie sound to driue away diuels and to pre- uaile against all kinde of peril and tempests whatsoeuer. This prayer ended, the bishop anoynteth the bell in eury place with oyle, and chrisme, mumblying to himselfe certaine coniurations and exor- cismes, which no man heareth but he alone, and yet do all men understande it as well as bee. Then commandeth bee the godfathers and godmothers to giue the name to the bell, which bemg giuen, he poureth on water three or four seueral times, anoynting it with oyle, and chrisme, as before, for what cause I know not, except it bee either to make his bellie soluble, his ioynts nimble or his colour fare. This done, he putteth on the Bell a white linnen chrisome, command ing the godfathers and godmothers to pull it up from the grounde by ropes and engines made for that purpose. Thene fall they downe before this new christtened bell, all prostrate upon their knees, and offer uppe to this idol, gifts of gold, siluer, frankensence, myrh and mayne other things, eury one striuing who shall giue most. These sacrifices and offbrmgs to the Dieuell ended, the Bell is hanged uppe in the steeple with great applause of the people, euery one reioycing that the bell hath receiued such a happie christendorne. For ioy whereof they celebrate a feast to Bacchus, spending all that day and peraduenture 2 or 3 dayes after in danncing and ryotting,in feasting and banketting, m swilling and drinking, like filthie epicures, tyll they being as drunken as swyne, vomit and disgorge their stmking stoniaches, worse than any dogges. And thus-lndeth this satyre together with the plaies, enterludes. Pageants, office, and ceremonies of this suffragan Bishop. CHAP, m.] POPERY IN ITS GLORY— WORLD-MIDNIGHT— 800-1073. 213 The popish Festival of the Ass. Ode sung by the priests in honor of the ass. " Now whether there bee anything here, either prouable by the woorde of God, or by the example of the primitiue Apostolical churche, or any particular member of the same euer since the be ginning of the world, I referre it to the judgment of the wyse and learned." § 29. — Another proof of the grovelling and worse than senseless superstition of this dark period of the world, was a festival called the Feast of the Ass. This absurd festival was celebrated in several of the Roman Cathohc churches of this age, in commemoration of the Virgin Mary's flight into Egypt, which was supposed to have been made on an ass. Among other places, this Feast was regu larly celebrated at Beauvais, on every 14th of January. Were not the fact established upon the most indubitable authority, it could be scarcely credited that such disgusting ceremonies were performed in places of worship called Christian. The following account of this festival is given by the learned Townley, in his " Illustrations of Biblical Literature," upon the unquestionable authority of the writers cited at the foot of the page. A beautiful young woman was chosen, richly attired, and a young infant placed in her arms, to represent the Virgin Mary and the infant Jesus. She then mounted an ass richly caparisoned, and rode in procession, followed by the bishop and clergy, from the cathedral to the church of St. Stephen, where she was placed near the altar, and high mass com menced. Instead, however, of the usual responses by the people, they were taught to imitate the braying of the ass ; and at the con clusion of the service the priest, instead of the usual words with which he dismissed the people, brayed three times, and the people brayed or imitated the sounds hinham, hinham, hinham ! During the ceremony the following ludicrous composition, half Latin, half French, was sung by the priests and the people, with great vocife ration, in praise of the ass : TRANSLATION. " Orientis partibus " From the country of the East Adventavit asinus ; Came this strong and handsome beast ; Pulcher et fortissimus. This able ass beyond compare, Sarcinis aptissimus. Heavy loads and packs to bear. Hez, Sire Asnes, car chantez ; Now, Signior Ass, a noble bray ; Belle bouche rechignez ; That beauteous mouth at large display; Vous aurez du foin assez Abundant food our hay-lofts yield, Et de r avoine a plantez. And oats abundant load the field. Lentus erat pedibus. True it is, his pace is slow. Nisi foret baculus ; Till he feels the quick'ning blow ; Et eum in clunibus Till he feels the urging goad, Pungeret aculeus. On his buttock well bestow'd^ Hez, Sire Asnes, &c. Now, Signior Ass, &c. Hie in coUibus Sichem, He was born on Shechem's hill ; Jam nutritus sub Ruben ; In Reuben's vales he fed his fill ; Transiit per Jfordanem, He drank of Jordan's sacred stream, Saliit in Bethlehem. And gamboled in Bethlehem. Hez, Sire Asnes, &c. Now, Signior Ass, &c. 214 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [book rv. A braying match in honor of the ass, by his representatives, the priests, and the people. Ecce magnis auribus ! Subjugalis filius ; Asinus egregius, Asinorum dominus ! Hez, Sire Asnes, &c. Saltu vincit hinnulos, Damas et capreolos. Super dromedaries Veiox Madianeos. Hez, Sire Asnes, &c. Aurum de Arabia, Thus et myrrham de Saba, Tulit in ecclesia Virtus asinaria. Hez, Sire Asnes, &c. Dum trahit vehicula Multa cum sarcinula, Illius mandibula Dura terit pabula. Hez, Sire Asnes, &c. Cum aristis hordeum Comedit et carduum ; Triticum a palea Segregat in area Hez, Sire Asnes, &c Amen, dicas, asine,* Jam satur de gramine : Amen, amen, itera ; Aspernare Vetera. See that broad, majestic ear ! Bom he is the poke to wear ; All his fellows he surpasses ! He"s the very lord of asses ! Now, Signior Ass, &c. In leaping he excels the fawn. The deer, the colts upon the lawn ; Less swift the dromedaries ran. Boasted of in Midian. Now, Signior Ass, die. Gold, from Araby the blest, Seba myrrh, of myrrh the best. To the church this ass did bring; We his sturdy labors sing. Now, Signior Ass, &.c. While he draws his loaded wain. Or many a pack, he don't complain ; With his jaws, a noble pair. He doth craunch his homely fare. Now, Signior Ass, &c. The bearded barley and its stem. And thistles, yield his fill of them ; He assists to separate. When it's thresh'd, the chafi" from wheat Now, Signior Ass, &c. Amen ! bray, most honor'd ass. Sated now with grain and grass ; Amen repeat. Amen reply. And disregard antiquity."! Hez va! hez va ! hez va hez! BiALX Sire Asnes car allez ; Belle bottche car chantez. "J The learned Edgar closes the account which he gives of this ridiculous mummery, in the following caustic style : " The worship concluded with a braying-match between the clergy and laity, in honor of the ass. The officiating priest turned to the people, aiid m a fine treble voice, and with great devotion, brayed three times like an ass, whose representative he was ; while the people, imitating his example in thanking God, brayed three times in concert. Shades of Montanus, Southcott, and Swedenborg, hide your diminished heads ! Attempt not to vie with the extravagancy of Romanism. Your wildest ravings, your loudest nonsense, your most eccentric aberrations have been outrivalled by an infallible church !"§ The final chorus, as given by Du Cange, is certainly an imitation of asinine braying ; and when performed by the whole congrega tion must have produced a most inharmonious symphony. ' Here he is made to bend his knees. | Du Cange, Glossaiium, v., Festum. t Literary Panorama, vol. ii., pp. 585-588 ; and vol, vii., pp. 716-718 \ Edgar's Variations, page 19. chap, rv.] POPERY IN ITS GLORY— WORLD-MIDNIGHT— 800-1073. 215 Attempts to suppress the Feast of the Ass. Profligate popes and clergy. There is another translation of this sacred ode, sung by these dig nified priests to the ass, which exhibits the ludicrousness of the cere mony in a more striking light, than even the translation above given. At the risk of provoking a smile, which in such a case may be allowable, I will transcribe the first four stanzas. translation. " The Ass did come from Eastern climes ! The Ass was bom and bred with long ears) Heigh-ho ! my Assy ! Heigh-ho ! my Assy ! He's fair and fit for the pack at all times ! And now the Lord of Asses appears. Sing, father Ass, and you shall have grass, Grin, father Ass, and you shall get grass. And hay, and straw too, in plenty ! And straw, and hay too, in plenty. The Ass is slow, and lazy too ; The Ass excels the hind at leap. Heigh-ho, my Assy ! Heigh-ho ! my Assy ! But the whip and spur will make him go, And faster than hound or hare can trot. Sing, father Ass, and you shall get grass. Bray, father Ass, and you shall get grass, And hay, and straw too, in plenty. Andi straw, and hay too, in plenty." Attempts were made, at various times, to suppress or to regulate these sottish superstitions, by Mauritius, bishop of Paris, Odo of Sens, Grosseteste of Lincoln in England, and others. By the latter prelate, on account of its licentiousness, it was abolished in Lincoln cath edral, where it had been annually observed on the Feast of the Circumcision.* On the continent, however, it continued for centuries to be celebrated, and was officially permitted by the acts of the chapter of Sens, in France, so late as 1517. Still later permissions are found, as we leam from Tilliot and the other authorities already cited, till at length, unable to stand against the light of the glorious reformation, this senseless and disgusting popish festival ceased, toward the end of the sixteenth century, f CHAPTER IV. profligate popes and clergy of this period. § 30. — The present chapter will be devoted chiefly to a sketch of the profligate lives of several of the popes of this gloomy period, related not merely upon the testimony of protestant writers, but by the standard authors of that apostate church, of which each of these monsters of vice was, successively, the crowned and anointed head. It would hardly be desirable to stir the black pool of filth * Tilliot, Memoires pour servir a 1' histoire de la Fete des Foux, p. 26-32. Lau sanne et Geneve, 1751, 12mo. f Illustrations of Biblical Literature, by Rev. James Townley, D. D., vol. i., p. 349, 216 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [bookiv. Links in the holy apostolic succession. Horrible barbarities of pope John vni. composed of the lives of these " successors of the apostles," were it not to show the value of the lofty claims now so boldly put forth by the votaries of Rome, and all who trace their succession through the same polluted channel, to be exclusively the " Holy Apostolic Church ;" connected by an unbroken series of links with the apos tle Peter himself; by the uninterrupted chain of " apostolic succes sion," from pope Peter in the first century, through the Johns and the Benedicts and the Alexanders, down to the popes and prelates of the nineteenth. Let us proceed then to sketch the character of a few of these holy links in this chain as related by the pen of im partial history, § 31. — John VIII. — This pope was enriched with a great num ber of costly presents by the emperor Charles the Bald, in return for the services of the Pope in causing him to be elected Emperor. Upon the death of Louis II., a fierce and bloody contention for the empire ensued among the descendants of Charlemagne. Through the favor of the Pope, however, Charles, the grandson of Charle magne, was successful. Advancing to Rome, at the invitation of the PontiflF, he was crowned by him with great solemnity in the church of St. Peter on Christmas day, 875, the same day on which his celebrated ancestor had been crowned in the same place, sevenfy^five years before, by pope Leo III. It is worthy of re mark that the artful Pope spoke of this coronation as giving to Charies a right to the empire, thus insinuating that he had the power of conferring the empire, and from this time forward the popes claimed the right of confirming the election of an emperor.* In a sentence pronounced by pope John upon a certain bishop Formosus, is the following expression :— " He has conspired with his accomplices against the safety of the republic, and our beloved son Charles, whom we have chosen and consecrated Emperor.] This Pope was a monster of blood and cruelty. He commended the unnatural barbarity of Athanasius, bishop of Naples, who put out the eyes of his own brother, Sergius, duke of the same city, and sent him m. that state to the Pope, to answer to a charge of rebellion against the Holy See, He applied to Athanasius the words of the Saviour, "he that loveth father or mother" (the Pope adds " brother") "more than me, is not worthy of me," and pro mised to send him as a recompense for so meritorious an act, a handsome pecumary reward,J It soon appeared, however, that the bishop had more regard to himself than to the Pope in this unnatural act, for he soon seized upon the brother's vacant dukedom, and m his turn was excommunicated by the Pope. Subdued by the terror of the spiritual thunder, the refractory bishop and duke sen to implore absolution of the Pope, but the blood-thirsty pontiff sent him a reply, that the only terms upon which he would grant * Sigonius de reg, Italije, lib, vi. t Epist. Joann., 319. t Ibid., 66. CHAP. IV.] POPERY IN ITS GLORY— WORLD-MIDNIGHT— 800-1073. 217 Pope Sergius III. the father of pope John XL, the bastard son of the harlot Marozia. him absolution were, that he should deliver to his vengeance several men, of whose names he sent him a list, and that he should cut the throats of the rest, 'jugulatis aliis,' of the Pope's Saracen enemies in the presence of his Jegates.* Such was the cruel spirit of this professed disciple of the Prince of Peace, and link in the unbroken chain of apostohcal succession ! § 32, — Sergius III, — About the commencement of the tenth cen-' tury, the singular spectacle was presented in Rome of almost the whole power and influeVice being concentrated in the hands of three notorious and abandoned prostitutes, Theodora and her two daugh ters, Marozia and Theodora, This extraordinary state of things arose from the almost unbounded influence of the Tuscan party in Rome, and the adulterous commerce of these wicked women with the powerful heads of this party, Marozia cohabited with Albert or Adalbert, one of the powerful counts of Tuscany, and had a son by him named Alberic. Pope Sergius III., who was raised to the papacy in 904, also cohabited with this woman, and by his Holiness she had another son named John, who afterward ascended the papal throne, through the influence of his licentious mother. Even Baronius, the popish annalist, confesses that pope Sergius was " the slave of every vice, and the most wicked of men."t Among other horrid acts, Platina relates that pope Sergius rescinded the acts of pope Formosus, compelled those whom he had ordained to be reor- dained, dragged his dead body from the sepulchre, beheaded him as though he were alive, and then threw him into the Tiber !% § 33. — John X. — This infamous Pope was the paramour of the harlot Theodora, While a deacon of the church at Ravenna, he used frequently to visit Rome, and possessing a comely person, as we are informed by Luitprand, a contemporary historian, being seen by Theodora she fell passionately in love with him, and en gaged him in a criminal intrigue. He was afterwards chosen bishop of Ravenna, and upon the death of pope Lando, in 914, this shameless woman, for the purpose of facilitating her adulterous intercourse with her favorite paramour, " as she could not live at the distance of two hundred miles from her lover,"§ had influence sufficient to cause him to be raised to the papal throne. Mosheim says the paramour of pope John was the elder harlot Theodora, but his translator. Dr. Maclaine, agrees with the Romish historian Fleury (who admits these disgraceful facts), in the more probable opinion that it was the younger Theodora, the sister of Marozia.|| § 34. — John XI. — This Pope was the bastard son of his Holiness pope Sergius III., who, as we have seen, was one of the favored lovers of the notorious Marozia. The death of pope Stephen in 931, presented to the ambition of Marozia, says Mosheim (ii., 392), * Epist. Joann., 294. f Baronius, ad Ann. 908. j Platina's Lives of the Popes, vita Sergii HI. h Luitprand, Lib. ii., cap. 12. ll Mosheim ii., 391, and Fleury's Ecclesiastical History, bookliv. 218 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [bookiv. Horrible licentiousness of pope John XII. " an object worthy of its grasp, and accordingly she raised to the papal dignity John XL, who was the fruit of her lawless amours with one of the pretended successors of St. Peter, whose adulter ous commerce gave an infallible guide to the Roman church." § 35. — John XII. — This monster of wickedness was a nephew of John the bastard, the last named Pope, and through the influence of the dominant Tuscan party in Rome, was raised to the popedom at the age of eighteen years. His tyranny land debaucheries were so abominable, that upon the complaint of the people of Rome, the emperor Otho caused him to be solemnly tried and deposed. Upon the Emperor's ambassadors coming to that city they carried back to their master an account of the notorious scandals of which the Pope was guilty ; that " he carried on in the eyes of the whole city a criminal commerce with one Rainera, the widow of one of his soldiers, and had presented her with crosses and chalices of gold belonging to the church of St. Peter ; that another of his concubines named Stephania, had lately died in giving birth to one of the Pope's bastards ; that he had changed the Lateran palace, once the abode of saints, into a brothel, and there cohabited with his own father's concubine, who was a sister of Stephania, and that he had forced married women, widows, and virgins to comply with his impure desires, who had come from other countries to visit the tombs of the apostles at Rome." Upon the arrival of Otho, pope John fled from the city. Several bishops and others testified to the Lmperor the above enormities, besides several other offences The Emperor summoned him to appear, saying in the letter he addressed to him, " Yoii are charged with such obscenities as would make us blush were they said of a stage-player. I shall mention to you a few of the crimes that are laid to your charge ; for it would require a whole day to enumerate them all. Know, then, that you are accused, not by some few, but by all the clergy as well as the laity, of murder, perjury, sacrilege, and incest with your own two sisters, &c., &c. We therefore earnestly entreat you to come and clear yourself from these imputations," &c. To this letter his HoUness returned the following laconic answer :—« John, servant of the mairl' 1 ' ''' % ^l'*^°P^- W^ ^'^^^ '^^^ yo^ ^ant to ZuJ7.^h P°P'- f .'^^'.r^'* ^""'' ^«^^^'^' ^ excommunicate ^ou all in the name of the Almighty, that you may not have it nJZJr'f U-^'fr'' ^^y other, or even to celebrate mass!!!" Regardless of this threat, however, the Emperor and council de- Ss" as heT''" 7'^T T ^-SleVn-iu/to atone for hTmany vices, as he was called by the bishops in council, and nroceeded to elect a successor. Still, be it remeribered, this " moX " John Si^is'SKohn^hrir'^'' '"! '' '}'. P°P«^- The next of tSe sion! No sooner had the emperS Otho kft Romrth'" '''''''i of the Hcentious women of thrSy wfth wimble jXS^^^^ been accustomed to spend the greater portion of ffkne? in con- CHAP. IV.] POPERY IN ITS GLORY— WORLD-MIDNIGHT— 800-1073. 219 Cruelties of pope John Xll. Cardinal Baronius's admissinn of tiiese enormities. cert with several persons of rank, conspired to murder the new Pope, and to restore John to his See. The former was fortunate enough to make his escape to the Emperor then at Camerino, and the latter was brought back in triumph to the Lateran palace. Upon his return, pope John seized upon several of the clergy who were opposed to him, and inflicted on them the most horrible tor tures. Otger, bishop of Spire, was whipped by his command till he was almost dead ; another, cardinal John, was mutilated by having his right hand cut off, and Azo by the loss of his tongue, nose, and two fingers. But these horrible enormities were not permitted to continue long. Shortly after his return to the city, the Pope was caught in bed with a married woman, and killed on the spot, as some authors say, by the Devil, but probably by the husband in disguise.* § 36. — But decency demands that we should draw a veil over the further debaucheries and incests of these boasted successors of the prince of the apostles, and their shameless female associates in guilt and poUution, Historical fidelity demanded so much of the truth to be made known, and certainly the reader will conclude here is enough for a specimen. So conclusive is the evidence of the historical accuracy of these disgraceful facts, that popish writers are constrained to admit their truth. We have already referred to the celebrated Fleury, but shall cite the following re markable language of Cardinal Baronius, one of the most powerful champions of popeiy, in reference to these events. " QuEB tunc facies sanctae Ecclesiae " O ! what was then the face of the Romanae ! quam fasdissima cum Romas holy Roman church ! how filthy, when dominarentur potentissimee aequo et sor- the vilest and most powerful prostitutes didissimcc meretrices ! quarum arbitrio ruled in the court of Rome ! by whose mutarentur sedes, darentur Episcopi, et arbitrary sway dioceses were made and quod auditu horrendum et infandum est, unmade, bishops were consecrated, and intruderentur in Sedem Petri earum — which is inexpressibly horrible to be AMASsii PSEUDO-poNTiFicES, qui nou siut mentioned ! — ^false popes, their para- nisi ad consignanda tantum tempora in mours, were thrust into the chair of catalogo Romanorum Pontificum scripti. St. Peter, who, in being numbered as Quis enira a scortis hujusmodi intru- popes, serve no purpose except to fill up SOS sine lege legitimes dicere possit Ro- the catalogues of the popes of Rome. manos fuisse Pontifices? Sic vindica- For who can say that persons thrust into verat omnia sibi libido, sjeculari poten- the popedom without any law by harlots tia freta, insaniens, aestro percita domi- qf this sort, were legitimate popes of NANDi." Rome ? In this manner, lust, support ed by secular power, excited to frenzy, in the rage for domination, ruled in all things." In another passage, Cardinal Baronius, the celebrated annalist of the Romish church, expresses his feelings in reference to the horri- * Bower, vita John XH, The above particulars in the life of this vicious Pope are related by Bower, upon the incontestible authority of Luitprand, bishop of Cremona, an authentic contemporary historian. His work is frequently referred to by the cautious and learned Gieseler. Hist, rerum in Europa svn temp, gesta- rum. Lib. vi. in Muratori Rer. Ital. Script. 220 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [bookiv. The holy See, according to Baronius, " without spot," yet " blacltencd with perpetual infamy." bly flagitious lives of these popes, and the See which they dishon ored, in the following remarkable language : " Est plane, ut vix aliquis credat, im- " It is evident that one can scarcely mo, nee vix quidem sit crediturus, nisi believe, without ocular evidence, what suis inspiciat ipse oculis, manibusque unworthy, base, execrable, and abominable contrectat, quam indigna, quamque turpia things the holy, apostolical See, which is atque deformia execranda, insuper, ei the pivot upon wmcH the whole Ca- abominanda sit coacta pati sacrosancta tholic OHiniCH revolves, was forced to apostolica sedes in cujus cardine uni- endure, when the princes of this age, VERSA ECCLESLA Catholica veetitur, although Christian, yet arrogated to cum Principes seecuIee hujus quantumli- themselves the election of the Roman bet Christiani, hac tamen ex parte di- pontiffs. Alas, the shame ! Alas, the cendi tyranni saevissimi arrogaverunt sibi grief! what monsters horrible to be- tyrannice electionem Romanorum pon- hold, were then, by them, intruded on tificum. Quot tunc ab eis, proh pudor ! the holy See, which angels revere ! what proh dolor ! in eandem Sedem Angelis evils ensued ! what tragedies did fliey reverendam visu hoeeenda intrusa sunt perpetrate ! with what pollutions was ittOKSTRA ? quot ex eis oborta sunt mala, this See, though itself without spot or consummatae tragoediae ? quibus tunc wrinkle, then stained ! with what cor- ipsam sine macula et sine ruga contigit ruptions infected ! with what filthiness aspergi sordibus, putoribus infici, inqui- defiled ! and by these things blackened nati spurcitiis, ex bisque pekpetua in- with perpetual infamt."* FAMIA DENIGRARI !" How the above assertions can be reconciled, that " the holy See itself" can be "without spot or wrinkle," and yet "blackened WITH PERPETUAL INFAMY," must bo left for popish casuists to explain. " Who can say," asks Baronius, " that persons thrust into the popedom, by hariots of this sort, were legitimate popes of Rome V Certainly, we answer, they have evidently no more claim to the character of bishops or ministers of Christ, than their scarcely more wicked master, Beelzebub himself. But then, what becomes of the boasted uninterrupted apostolical succession 1 What, indeed ! After reading the above brief recitals of but a few instances of papal profligacy, presented in this age, the reader will be prepared to acknowledge the justice of the remark of Mosheim, in reference to the tenth century : " The history of the Roman pontiffs that hved in this century," says he, « is a history of so many monsters, and not op men, and exhibits a horrible series of the most flagi tious, TREMENDOUS, AND COMPLICATED CRIMES, as all writcrs, cven those of the Romish communion, unanimously confess." (Vol. ii., 390.) § 37.— It would be amusing, were it not painful to witness the lame attempts of Roman Catholic writers to reconcile the horrible profligacy of many of their popes, with their views in relation to apostolical succession, and papal infallibility. Father Gahan, in his • history of the church, already referred to. which is probably the niost accessible and popular work of its kind, among the multitude of Romanists, after faintly admitting (page 279), that " some unwor thy popes who had been "thrust into the apostolic chair," by the * Baronius Annal., ad Ann. 900, &c. The former of the above passages from don,l826 " ^ ^^ ^' ^'^ ^^"^'"'^ Anglicanae, pa|e 389. Lon- chap, n.] POPERY IN ITS GLORY— WORLD-MIDNIGHT— 800-1073. 221 Do what they say, and not what they do. Another monster, pope Benedict IX. intrigues of " three women of scandalous lives," had " disgraced their high station, by the immorality of their lives," proceeds to remark as follows : " Christ promised infallibility," says he, " to the great body of her pastors, in their public doctrine, but he has no where promised them impeccability in their conduct. ' Go,' said he to them, ' teach all nations : Baptize and teach them to observe all that I have ordained, and / irill be with you,' &c. In virtue of this promise, he is always with the pastors of his church, to guaran tee them ^roTW all error in the doctrine of faith, but not io exempt them from all vice ; for he did not say, as the great Bossuet observes, ' / will be with you practising all that I have commanded, but / will be with ye teaching.' Hence, to show that the mark of the true faith was attached to the profession of the public doctrine, and not to the innocence of their morals, he said to the faithful who are taught, ' DO ALL that they say, and not what, they do."(! !)* I suppose that most of my readers have heard the old anecdote of the drinking and fox-hunting English parson, who used to admonish his congregation that they must do as he said, and not as he did ; but probably few of them ever imagined, before reading the above pre cious specimen of papal reasoning that the parson was indebted for his maxim to the Saviour himselfi § 38. — Among the popes of the eleventh century, while there were some whose lives were decent, there were others, worthy rivals in profligacy to their predecessors of the tenth. I shall add, however, but one to this disgraceful fist, Benedict IX., on account of his pre eminence in vice. He was a son of Alberic, count of Tuscany, and was placed on the papal throne, through the money and the influ ence of his father, at the age of eighteen years, A. D. 1033. His vicious life can only find a parallel in that of the most debauched of the Roman emperors, Heliogabalus, Commodus, or Caligula. The Romans, shocked at his daily public debaucheries, more than once expelled him from the city, but by means of the emperors, or some other powerful friends, he was as often restored. Finding himself at length an object of public abhorrence, on account of his flagitious crimes, he finally sold the popedom to his successor, Gregory VI., and betook himself to a private life, rioting without control in all manner of uncleanliness. One of his successors in the papal chair, Desiderius, or Victor III., describes pope Benedict as " abandoned to all manner of vice. A successor of Simon the sor cerer, and NOT OF Simon the APOSTLE."f No doubt this opinion is correct, but again we ask, what becomes of the uninterrupted apos tolical SUCCESSION ? § 39. — It might, of course, be expected that the examples thus set by the occupants of the vaunted Holy See, the boasted suc cessors of St. Peter, would be imitated by the inferior orders of clergy, who i^ere taught to regard the popes as their spiritual * Gahan's History of the Church, page 280. f Desid, Dialog., Lib. iii. 222 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [book nr. Licentiousness of the inferior clergy. Concubines of the priests confessing to their paramours. sovereign and head, as the vicegerents of God upon earth. Ac cordingly, we find that a universal corruption of morals had in vaded the monks and the clergy. " The houses of the priests and monks," says the abbot Alredus, " were brothels for harlots, and filled with assemblies of buffoons ; where in, gambling, dancing, and music, amid every nameless crime, the donations of royalty, and the benevolence of princes, the price of precious blood, were most prodigally squandered."* " Atto's language on this topic," says Edgar, " is equally striking. He represents some of the clergy as sold in such a degree to their lusts, that they kept filthy harlots in their houses. These, in a pub lic manner, lived, bedded, and boarded with their consecrated para mours. Fascinated with their wanton allurements, the abandoned clergy conferred on the partners of their guilt, the superintendence of their family and all their domestic concerns. These courtezans, during the lives of their companions in iniquity, managed their households : and, at their death, inherited their property. The ecclesiastical alms and revenues, in this manner, descended to the accomplices of vile prostitution.f The hirelings of pollution were adorned, the church wasted, and the poor oppressed by men who professed to be the patrons of purity, the guardians of truth, and the protectors of the wretched and the needy. § 40. — " Damian represents the guilty mistress as confessing to the guilty priest. J This presented another absurdity and an aggravation of the crime. The formality of confessing what the father confessor knew, and receiving forgiveness from a partner in sin, was an insult on common sense, and presented one of the many ridiculous scenes which have been exhibited on the theatre of the world. Confession and absolution in this way were, after all, very convenient. The fair penitent had not far to go for pardon, nor for an opportunity of repeating the fault, which might qualify her for another course of confession and remission. Her spiritual father could spare her blushes ; and his memory could supply any deficiency of recollec tion in the enumeration of her sins. This mode of remission was attended with another advantage, which was a great improvement on the old plan. The confessor, in the penance which he pre scribed on these occasions, exemplified the virtues of compassion and charity. Christian comm' ,eration and sympathy took place of rigor and strictness. The '.oly father indeed could not be severe on so dear a friend ; and the lady could not refuse to be kind again to such an indulgent father. Damian, however, in his want of * " Fuisse clericomm domos prostibula meretricum conciliabulum histrionum, ubi aleae, saltus, cantus, patrimonia regum, eleemosynae principum profligarentur, imo pretiosi sanguinis pretium, et alia infanda." (Alredus, cap. ii.) t Quod dicere pudet. Quidem in tantii libidine mancipantur, ut obscoenas meretriculas sua simul in.domo secum habitare, uno cibum sumere, ac publico degere permittant. Unde meretrices ornantur, ecclesiae vestantur, pauperes tri- bulantur. (Alio, Ep. 9. Dachery, i. 439.) I Les coupables se confessent k leurs complices, qui ne leur imposent point de penitences convenables. (Damian in Bruy. 2, 356. Giannon, X. 6 2.) chap. IV.] POPERY IN ITS GLORY— WORLD-MIDNIGHT— 800-1073. 223 Concubinage openly practised. Regarded as a less crime in a priest than marriage. charity and liberality, saw the transaction in a different light ; and complained in bitterness of this laxity of discipline, and the insult on ecclesiastical jurisdiction and on rational piety. This adultery and fornication of the clergy degenerated, in many instances, into incest and other abominations of the grossest kind. Some priests, according to the council of Mentz in 888, ' had sons by their own sisters.'* Some of the eaidier councils, through fear of scandal, de prived the clergy of all female company, except a mother; a sister, or an aunt, who, it was reckoned, was beyond all suspicion. But the means intended for prevention were the occasion of more ac cumulated scandal and more heinous criminality. The interdiction was the introduction to incestuous and unnatural prostitution." {Edgar, 516, 17.) § 41. — In the tenth and eleventh centuries, concubinage was openly practised by the clergy, and it was regarded by popes and prelates as a far less crime to keep a concubine than to marry a wife. " Any person, clergyman or layman, according to the council of Toledo in its seventeenth canon, who has not a wife but a concu bine, is not to be repelled from the communion, if he be content with one.f And his holiness pope Leo, the vicar-general of God, confirmed, in the kindest manner and with the utmost courtesy, the council of Toledo and the act of the Spanish prelacy.J Such was the hopeful decision of a Spanish council and a Roman pontiff: but, ridiculous as it is, this is not all. The enactment of the coun cil and the Pope has been inserted in the Romish body of the Canon Law edited by Gratian and Pithou. Gratian's compilation indeed was a private production, unauthenticated by any pope. But Pithou published by the command of Gregory XIII., and his work contains the acknowledged Canon Law of the Romish church. His edition is accredited by pontifical authority, and recognized through popish Christendom. Fornication therefore is sanctioned by a Spanish council, a Roman pontiff, and the canon law. Forni cation, in this manner, was, in the clergy, not only tolerated but also preferred to matrimony. Many of the popish casuists raised whoredom above wedlock in the clergy. Costerus admits that a clergyman sins, if he commit fornication ; but more heinously if he marry. Concubinage, the Jesuit grants, is sinful ; but less aggra vated, he maintains, than marriage. Costerus was followed by Pighius and Hosius. Campeggio proceeded to still greater ex travagancy. He represented a priest who became a husband, as committing a more grievous transgression than if he should keep many domestic harlots.§ An ecclesiastic, rather than marry, * Quidam sacerdotum cum propriis sororibus concumbentes, filios ex eis gene- rassent. (Bin. 7, 137. Labb. 11, 586.) f Christiano habere licitum est unam tantum aut uxorem, aut certe loco uxoris concubinam. (Pithou, 47. Gianrwn, v. 5. Dachery, 1, 528. Canisius, 2, 111.) I Confirmatum videtur auctoritate Leonis Papae. (Bin. 1,737.) 5 Gravius peccat, si contrahat matrimouium. (Cost., c. 15.) Quod sacerdotes nant mariti, multo esse gravius peccatum quam se plurimas 224 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [book iv. Amidst all this profligacy, the power and influence of the popes increased. Causes of this. should, according to this precious divine, keep a seraglio. The clergyman, he affirms, who perpetrates whoredom, acts from a per suasion of its rectitude or legality ; while the other knows and acknowledges his criminality. The priesthood, therefore, in Cam- peggio's statement, are convinced of the propriety of fornication."* § 43. — The most astonishing circumstance of all is, that amidst all this abandoned profligacy of popes and priests, their power, and wealth, and influence, should have gone on steadily increasing till it reached its culminating point during the pontificate of the im perious Hildebrand, who ascended the papal throne under the title of Gregory VII., A. D. 1073. This strange fact is accounted for in the general ignorance of the bible, the supposed authority of the forged decretals, and the awful terror of excommunication and interdict. During these dark ages, the Scriptures were almost entirely unknown, not only among the laity, but even among the great majority of the clergy. Those of the priests who had some acquaintance with the sacred books labored hard to conceal from the eyes of the people a volume which so plainly condemned their vicious lives and their anti-scrip tural doctrines and ceremonies. This, it is well known, has ever been the policy of popish priests, and down to the present day in countries where Popery generally prevails, multitudes of otherwise well educated people are ignorant even of the existence of the bible.f § 43.— During these dark ages, it is to be remembered, ihe forged decretals, and the spurious donation of the emperor Constantine, were universally received as genuine, and constantly appealed to in proof of the assumptions of the popes. On this point, in addition to what has already been said in a former chapter (see above, page 182, (fee), I shall quote a paragraph from the celebrated work of the learned John Daille on " the right use of the fathers." Speak ing of various eariy forgeries, says he, " I shall place in this rank the so much vaunted deed of the donation of Constantine, which doni meretrices alunt. Nam illos habere persuasum quasi recte faciant, hos autem scire et peccatum agnoscere. (Campeggio, in Sleidan, 96.) * See Edgar, 520. ' rPptn^w^Tf^'n^ and unexceptionable proof of this assertion is found in the he sav^"' T f ^teorge Borrow, entitled " the Bible in Spain." On one occasion, Scrintur'p Lft ^ ^'P'T'^f^^ ^' °'" '''^ P^-^^"'^ ^^'^ acquainted with the heTorer^fthr hrb ;UaS -• ' ™f seauenUv observed Kn7''.'r" }'l "^T" f"^ ^ ^^^« "° doubt, from what I sub sequently observed that at least two-thirds of his countrvmen are on that im- Ke"Ss TnThT^drwh^^f • n *^ """^^ °f vilt/eTnns^at lltlZ where tLfwk er ftefr rttTp T^^ ^^^°'' ^'l'^" ''™^ f"™*^'" bVthe way-side, Zi?lJin^XouiX'^^^u. .r'i?-M'"°u°'l*^ 1°^^^ c'a^^es of the children l^Snr\teX?no^ thatT^as^S fo^" ^^^'T"'' ^°' '"™ national answer, thoug/on all other mlJteTthSitp-LVr; ::nller«gT"^ CHAP. IV.] POPERY IN ITS GLORY— WORLD-MIDNIGHT— 800-1073. 225 Forged decretals. Daill6 on the fathers. Mysterious terrors of excommunication and Interdict. has for .so long a time been accounted as a most valid and authentic evidence, and has also been inserted in the decrees, and so pertina ciously maintained by the bishop of Agobio, against the objections of Laurentius Valla. Certainly those very men, who at this day maintain the donation, do notwithstanding disclaim this evidence as a piece of forgery."* In reference to the decretal epistles, Daille remarks, " Of the same nature are the epistles attributed to the first popes, as Clemens, Anacletus, Euaristus, Alexander, Sixtus, Telesphorus, Hyginus, Pius, Anicetus, and others, down to the times of Siricius (that is to say, to the year of our Saviour 385), which the world read, under these venerable titles, at the least for eight hundred years together ; and by which have been decided, to the advantage of the church of Rome, very many controversies, and especiaUy the most im portant of all the rest, that of the Pope's monarchy. This shows plain enough the motive (shall I call it such?), or rather the purposed design of the trafficker that first circulated them. The greatest part of these are accounted forged by men of learning ; for indeed their forgery appears clear enough from their barbarous style, the errors met with at every step in the computation of times and his tory, the pieces they are patched up of, stolen here and there out of different authors, whose books we have at this day to show ; and also by the general silence of all the writers of the first eight cen turies, among whom there is not one word mentioned of them." § 44. — When, in addition to these facts, we call to mind the im mense power wielded by the popes and clergy, in consequence of the mysterious terror attached to the thunders of excommunication and interdict, we shall no longer be at a loss to account for the growth of papal power and assumption during this midnight of the world. During the dark ages, excommunication received that infernal power which dissolved all connexions, and the unfortunate or guilty victim of this horrid sentence was regarded as on a level with the beasts. The king, the ruler, the husband, the father, nay, even the man, forfeited all their rights, all their advantages, the claims of nature and the privileges of society, and was to be shun ned like a man infected with the leprosy, by his servants, his friends or his family. Two attendants only were wilting to remain with Robert, king of France, who was excommunicated by pope Gre gory v., and these threw all the meats that passed his table into the fire. Indeed, the mere intercourse with a proscribed person incur red what was called the lesser excommunication, or privation of the sacraments, and required penitence and absolution. Every where the excommunicated were debarred of a regular sepulture, which has, through the superstition of consecrating burial-grounds, * Daille on the right use of the fathers, Philad., pages 46, 47. " At the time when Daille wrote this valuable work, A. D. 1631, we see from the above sentence there were some who still contended for the genuineness of this spurious grant. The arguments of Laurentius Valla have since been universally admitted as conclusive, and the point is conceded by Romanists themselves. 226 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [book iv. The iron age of the world was the golden age of Popery. been treated as btlonging to ecclesiastical control. But as excom munication, which attacked only one and perhaps a hardened sin ner, was not always efficacious, the church had recourse to a more comprehensive punishment. For the offence of a nobleman, she put a county, for that of a prince, his entire kingdom, under an in terdict, or suspension of religious offices. No stretch of her tyran ny was perhaps so outrageous as this. During an interdict, the churches were closed, the bells silent, the dead unburied, no rite but those of baptism and extreme unction performed. The penalty fell upon those who had neither partaken nor could have prevented the offence ; and the offence was often but a private dispute, in which the pride of a pope or bishop had been wounded. This was the mainspring of the machinery that the clergy set in motion, the lever by which they moved the world. From the moment that these interdicts and excommunications had been tried, the powers of the earth might be said to have existed only by sufferance.* During the pontificates of Gregory VIL, Innocent III., and their successors, while Popery sat on the throne of the earth and wielded the sceptre of the world, we shall see that these spiritual weapons were employed with tremendous effect. § 45. — It is a fact worthy of attentive observation, that the iron age of the world was the golden age of Popery. Its anti- Christian doctrines were never more extensively and implicitly re ceived than daring these dark ages ; its superstitious rites never more reverently performed ; its contemptible festivals never more generally observed ; its corrupt and licentious clergy never more devoutly honored and munificently enriched ; and its haughty and imperious popes never attained a loftier elevation of worldly dig nity than during this intellectual and moral midnight of the world. Hence it is not to be wondered at that the Roman Cathohc his torian, Dapin, and others, should refer in terms of the highest com placency to this age. Speaking of the tenth century, which was the darkest part of this moral midnight, Dupin remarks, " In this century there was no controversy relating to the doctrine of faith, or points of divinity, because there were no heretics, or persons who refined upon matters of religion, and dived into our mysteries. However, there were some clergymen in England who would needs maintain that the bread and wine upon the altar continued in the same nature after the consecration, and that they were only the figure of the body and blood of Jesus Christ, This error was re futed by a miracle wrought by Odo, archbishop of Canterbury, who made the body of Jesus Christ appear visibly in the celebra tion of ths holy mysteries, and made some drops of blood flow out of the consecrated bread when it was broken. St, Dunstan like wise refuted that error very strenuously in his discourses. In fine, there was no council held in this century that disputed any point. * For a fuller account of these spiritual weapons, see Hallam's Middle Ages (chap. Vll.) ; Mosheim, u., 210, note ; and Hume's Hist, of England, chap. xi. CHAP, v.] POPERY IN ITS GLORY— WORLD-MIDNIGHT— 800-1073. 227 important lesson derived from the history of Popery in the darit ages. Popery in England. of doctrine or discipline, which shows us that there was no error of faith that was of any consequence, or made any noise in the church."* Father Gahan re-echoes the same sentiments. " This age," says he, " was indeed happy in this respect, that no consider able heresy arose, or was broached in it, for which reason there was no occasion for general councils, nor for so many ecclesiastical writers, as in the foregoing ages."f Before dismissing the subject of the present chapter, I would embrace the opportunity of recording a truth which it behoves every protestant, and especially every American protestant, well to remember — a truth, written in burning characters upon the dark back-ground of the world's midnight, evident as the lines of forked lightning upon a dark and cloudy sky — it is this : Ignorance anu nARKNESS ARE THE NATIVE ELEMENT OP PoPERY. ItS IMOST FLOURISH ING DAYS WERE IN THE MIDNIGHT OF THE WORLD. The GREATEST BLOW THAT ANTI-ChRISTIAN SYSTEM EVER RECEIVED WAS THE RE VIVAL OF LETTERS AND THE INVENTION OP PRINTING. ThE GOLDEN AGE OF POPERY WAS THE IRON AGE OF THE WORLD, AND ITS UNIVERSAL REIGN WOULD BE THE IRON AGE RESTORED I CHAPTER V. POPERY IN ENGLAND, PRIOR TO THE CONaUEST, AUGUSTIN THE MIS SIONARY, AND DUNSTAN THE MONK. § 46. — Before proceeding to give a biographical sketch of the celebrated Hildebrand or Gregory VIL, under whom the assump tions of the papacy reached their climax, we shall present a concise account of the most remarkable events connected with the estab lishment of Popery in Great Britain, and its subsequent history, to the Norman conquest. It was under the auspices of the first Gregory, bishop of Rome, that the monk Augustin, with his associ ates, arrived in England, near the close of the sixth century, to pro pagate among the rude and hardy Saxons, not the simple and un- corrupted gospel of Christ, but the religion of Rome, already cor rupted, as the reader of the foregoing pages is aware, by the intro duction of a variety of pagan ceremonies, and false and unscriptural dogmas. A much purer form of the Christian religion and worship was already observed in the mountains of Wales and other parts of the island, received, as is supposed by some, from the apostle Paul * Dupin's Ecclesiastical History, cent. x. f Gahan's History of the Church, p. 279. 15 228 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [book iv. Primitive Welsh Christians. Reception of the monk Augustin, by king Ethelbert. himself, and by others, from Joseph of Arimathea, who were said to have visited Britain ; or as is supposed by others, with more proba bility, from some primitive British-born disciples, who probably heard and received the true gospel from the lips of St. Paul, while a prisoner at Rome, and returning to their native island, dissemi nated its saving truths among their countrymen. These primitive disciples had been driven by the fierce and barbarous invaders of the island, chiefly to the mountainous districts of Wales, and not withstanding the zeal of Augustin and other emissaries of Rome, steadily refused to admit the authority, or to receive the doctrines or the rites of that corrupt and apostate church, § 47. — It was in the year 596, that Augustin, and the other Ro- man missionaries, landed in the county of Kent, and despatched one of their interpreters to acquaint king Ethelbert with the news and design of their coming. After a few days' deliberation, Ethelbert went into the island, and appointed a conference to be held in the open air. The missionaries advanced in orderly procession, carry ing before them a silver cross, and singing a hymn. The king com manded them to sit down, and to him and his earls they disclosed their mission. Ethelbert answered with a steady and not unfriendly judgment ; " Your words and promises are fair, but they are new and uncertain. I cannot, therefore, abandon the rites which, in common with all the nations of the Angles, I have hitherto observed. But as you come so far to communicate to us what you believe to be most excellent, we will not molest you. We will receive you hospitably, and supply you with what you need ; nor do we forbid any one to join your society whom you can persuade to prefer it." He gave them a mansion at Canterbury, his metropolis, for their residence, and allowed them to preach as they pleased. The labors of these zealous emissaries of Rome were so successful, that the King himself, and vast multitudes of his subjects, were persuaded to be baptized, and ten thousand are said to have submitted to that rite on the following Christmas day, thus exchanging with the same ease as they would exchange one garment for another, the ancient Paganism of their Saxon ancestors, for the Christianized Paganism of Rome. § 48. — Lest the attachments of the islanders to their pagan cere monies might prove an obstacle to their nominal profession of Christianity, Gregory, as before mentioned (see above, page 130), wrote to Augustin, now raised to the dignity of archbishop, direct ing him, as we are informed by the venerable Bede, not to destroy the heathen temples of the Anglo-Saxons, but only to remove the images of their gods, to wash the walls with holy-water, to erect altars, and deposit relics in them, and so convert them into Christian churches : and this, not only to save the expense of building new ones, but that the people might be more easily prevailed upon to frequent those places of worship to which they had been accustomed. He directs him further to accommodate the Christian worship, as much as possible, to those of the heathen, that the people might not be so CHAP, v.] POPERY IN ITS GLORY— WORLD-MIDNIGHT— 800-1073. 229 Growth of popish superstition in Britain. Monkery, relics, pious (Vauds. much startled at the change ; and, in particular, he advises him to allow the Christian converts, on certain festivals, to kill and eat a great number of oxen to the glory of God, as they had formerly done to the honor of the devil. In the course of the seventh century, monasteries, in great abimdance, were founded in all parts of Eng land, and rich endowments bequeathed them. To encourage per sons to adopt the monastic life, the impious doctrine now began to be broached, that " as soon as any person put on the habit of a monk, all the sins of his former life were forgiven him," This engaged many princes and great men, who have as many sins as their inferiors, to put on the cowl, and end their days in monasteries. In fact, superstition, in various forms, made rapid strides in England in the seventh century ; among which may be mentioned a ridicu lous veneration for relics, in which the clergy of the church of Rome had for some time been drivuig a gainful trade — a traffic which never can be carried on, except between knaves and fools. Few persons, in those days, thought themselves safe from the machina tions of the devil, unless they carried the relics of some saint about them ; and no church could be dedicated without a decent quantity of this sacred trumpery. Stories of dreams, visions, and miracles, were propagated by the clergy, without a blush, and believed with out a doubt by the laity. Extraordinary watchings, fastings, and other arts of tormenting the body, in order to save the soul, became frequent and fashionable ; and it began to be believed that a pil grimage to Rome was the most direct road to heaven.* § 49. — During the eighth century in England, no less than in Italy, ignorance and superstition advanced with rapid strides. The clergy became more Imavish and rapacious, and the laity more abject and stupid than at any former period. Of this, the trade in relics alone affords abundant proof. The monks were daily making discoveries, as they pretended, of the precious remains of some departed saint, which they soon converted into gold and silver. In this traff-C they had all the opportunities they could desire of impos ing counterfeit wares upon their customers, seeing it was no easy matter for the laity to distinguish the tooth or the toe-nail of a saint, from that of a sinner, after it had been some centuries in the grave. The place where the body of Albanus, the protomartyr of Britain, lay, is said to have been revealed to Offa, king of Mercia, in vision, A. D. 794 I The body was accordingly taken up, with all imagi nable pomp and ceremony, in the presence of three bishops, and a vast number of people of all ranks, and lodged in a rich shrine, adorned with gold and precious stones. To do the greater honor to the memory of the holy martyr, king Offa built a stately monas tery at the place where his body was found, which he called by his * Bede, Epist. ad Egbert. Spelman, Concil, Tom. i., p. 99, as cited by William Jones, the venerable continuator of Russell's Modern Europe, to whose lectures on Ecclesiastical History I am indebted for many of the facts relative to the pro gress of Popery in Britain. See Lect. xxx.-xxxiv. London, 1834. 230 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. bookiv. Cunning of the Pope to raise a tribute in England. An archbishop of the school of Hildebrand name, St. Alban's, and in which he deposited his remains, enriching it with many lands and privileges. As to the character of Offa, the monarch to whom the clergy were indebted for this ridiculous piece of pious fraud, it may suffice to say, that his life was disgraced by the commission of not a few very horrible crimes ; to atone for which he made a pilgrimage to Rome, where he lavished his money upon the Pope and the clergy, to procure the pardon of his sins. In particular, he made a grant of three hundred and sixty-five mancus- ses (pieces of money of the value of 13s. 4d. each), being one for each day in the year, to be disposed of by the Pope to certain chari table and pious uses. The Roman pontiff consented to become his almoner ; but cunningly contrived to convert it into an annual tax upon the English nation, and in the most imperious manner, demand ed it as a lawful tribute, and mark of subjection of the kingdom of England to the church of Rome. So early and so rapidly did the proud pontiffs of Rome strive to extend their dommion over the nations of the earth. § 50. — We have already seen in the case of Theodore (see above, page 135), how artfully the Pope contrived to extend and strengthen his power m England, by appointing a creature of his own to the dignity of archbishop of Canterbury, and we shall soon see that these lordly prelates were ready enough to imitate the pride and presumption of those to whom they were originally indebted for their dignity. In 934, the See of Canterbury was filled by a pre late of the name of Odo, who acted the primate with a very high hand, of which the following is a fair specimen. He issued a pas toral letter to the clergy and people of his province (commonly caUed the Constitutions of Odo), in which he addresses them in this magisterial style : " I strictly command and charge that no man presume to lay any tax on the possessions of the clergy, who are the sons of God, and the sons of God ought to be free from all taxes in every kingdom. If any man dares to disobey the discipl ne of the church in this particular, he is more wicked and impudent than the soldiers who crucified Christ. I command the Kins; the princes, and all m authority, to obey, with great humdity, the" archbishops, and bishops, for they have the keys of the kingdom of heaven," &c. It this Odo had lived a century or two later, we might have well supposed that he had stolen an arrow from the quiver of tiie impe rious Hddebrand. § 51.— Of all the primates of England, none has obtained ffreater notoriety than the celebrated Saint Dunstan, so famous, or rather so infamous for his zeal in the cause of priestly celibacv,and for his pretended wonderful miracles. Dunstan, we are informed, was born m the year of our Lord, 925, near Glastonbury, and was de scended from a respectable family who resided there. He was put to school, and hs parents encouraged his appKcation to learning, in which he IS said to have made wonderliil proficiency, such as evmced superior abilities. Having run with rapidity through the coui-se of his studies, he obtamed an introduction into the ecclesias- CHAP, v.] POPERY IN ITS GLORY— WORLD-MIDNIGHT— 800-1073. 231 St. Dunstan's pretended miracles. Pi^jling the devil's nose with red hot tongs. Glastonbury abbey. • — tical establishment at the celebrated abbey of Glastonbury, where he continued his application to learning with commendable diligence, so that he seems to have attained all the knowledge that was within his reach. Having, by the persuasions of an uncle, embraced the monkish life, he made with his own hands a subterraneous cave, or cell, adjoining the church waU of Glastonbury. It was five feet long, and two and a half wide, and nearly of a sufficient height for a man to stand upright in the excavation. Its only wall was its door, which covered the whole, and in this a small aperture to admit light and air. One of the legendary tales which have been used to exalt his fame, shows the arts by which he gained it. In this cave Dun stan slept, studied, prayed, and meditated, and sometimes exercised himself in working on metals. One night all the neighborhood was alarmed by the most terrific bowlings, which seemed to issue from his abode. In the morning, the people flocked to inquire the cause ; he told them the devil had intruded his head into his window to tempt him while he was heating his work — that he had seized him by the nose, with his red hot tongs, and that the noise was Satan's roaring at the pain ; and such was the credulity of the age, that the simple people believed him, and venerated the recluse for this amazing exploit ! § 52. — In 941, the fame of Dunstan's sanctity and miracles was such that the King bestowed upon him the rich abbey of Glaston bury, the most ancient, and down to the time of king Henry VIII., the most celebrated monastic institution of the kingdom ; and per mitted him to make free use of the royal treasury to rebuild and to adorn it. While Dunstan was abbot of this monastery, he filled it with Benedictine monks, to which order he belonged, and of which he was a most active and zealous patron. On an adjoining page is a correct and beautiful view of the remains of Glastonbury abbey, the scene of many of his legendary miracles, which is situated in Somersetshire, England, and which continues to be an object of deep interest to travellers and antiquaries. We learn from an accu rate writer,* that the foundation plot upon which this vast fabric and its immense range of offices were erected, included a space of not less than sixty acres, and was surrounded on all sides by a lofty wall of wrought freestone. The principal building, the great abbey church, consisted of a nave of two hundred and twenty feet in length, aud forty-five in breadth ; a choir of one hundred and fifty-five feet ; and a transept of nearly one hundred and sixty feet ; and with the chapel of St. Joseph of Arimathea, which stood at the West end, one hundred and ten feet in length, by twenty-four in breadth, its extreme length measured the vast extent of five hun dred and thirty feet. Adjoining the church on the south side, was a noble cloister, forming a square of two hundred and twenty feet. The church contained five chapels, St. Edgar's, St. Mary's, St. An drew's, the chapel of our Lady of Loretto, and the chapel of the * Collinson, in his history of Somersetshire. 232 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [sooxn. Dunstan's persecution of the married clergy. Miraculous images speal^ing to reprove the guilt of matrimony holy Sepulchre. St. Joseph's chapel, which is the prominent object in the engraving, is still pretty entire, excepting the roof and floor, and must be admired for the richness of the finishing, as well as for the great elegance of the design. The communication with the church was by a spacious portal. There are doors also to the North and South ; one is ornamented with flower-work, the other with very elaborate flourishes and flgures. The arches of the windows are semi-circular, and adorned with the lozenge, zigzag, and embattled mouldings ; underneath appears a series of compart ments of interlaced semi-circular arches, springing from slender shafts, and also ornamented with zigzag mouldings, and in their spandrils are roses, crescents, and stars. Altogether this is one of the most remarkable remains of antiquity in the world. {See En graving.) § 53. — In 960, the former abbot of Glastonbury was made arch bishop of Canterbury, and assured of the favor of king Edgar, pre pared to execute the grand design which he had long meditated— of compelling the secular canons to put away their wives, and become monks ; or of driving them out, and introducing Benedictine monks in their room. With this view he procured the promotion of his intunate friend, Oswald, to the See of Worcester, and of Ethelwald to that of Winchester ; two prelates who were them selves monks, and animated with the most ardent zeal for the advancement of their order. This trio of bishops, the three great champions of the monks, and enemies of the married clergy, now proceeded by every possible method of fraud or force, to drive the married clergy out of all the monasteries, or compel them to put away their wives and children. Rather than consent to the latter, by far the greatest number chose to become beggars and vagabonds, for which the monkish historians give them the most opprobrious names. To countenance these cruel, tyrannical proceedings, Dun stan and his associates held up the married clergy as monsters of wickedness for cohabiting with their wives, magnified celibacy as the only state becoming the sanctity of the sacerdotal office, and propagated a thousand lies of miracles and visions to its honor. Among other popish contrivances, hollow crosses or images were constructed sufficientiy large to conceal a monk, which, when appealed to by Dunstan, miraculously spoke in a human voice, and declared m the hearing of the gaping and astonished multitudes, the horrible guilt of those who claimed to be priests, and yet chose also to be husbands and fathers. § 64.— In the year 969, a commission was granted by king Edgar, who appears to have been an obedient tool of Dunstan, to the three prelates, to expel the married canons out of all the cathedrals and larger monasteries, promising to assist them in the execution of it with all his power. On this occasion he made a flaming speech, in which he pamted the manners of the married clergy in the most odious colors, calling upon them to exert all their power in conjunc tion with him, to exterminate those abominable wretches who kept s oi CHAP. V.J POPERY IN ITS GLORY— WORLD-MIDNIGHT— 800-1073. 235 Strange penance for a libertine king. Death of St. Dunstan. wives. In the conclusion of his speech he thus addressed Dunstan : " I know, O holy father Dunstan 1 that you have not encouraged those criminal practices of the clergy. You have reasoned, entreated, threatened. From words it is now time to come to blows. All the power of the crown is at yom* command. Your brethren, the ven erable Ethelwald, and the most reverend Oswald, will assist you. To you three I commit the execution of this important work. Strike boldly ; drive those irregular livers out of the church of Christ, and introduce others who will live according to rule." And yet this furious champion for chastity had, some time before the delivery of this harangue, ravished a nun, a young lady of noble birth, and great beauty, at which his holy father confessor was so much offend ed, that he enjoined him, by way of penance, not to wear his crown for seven years ; to build a nunnery, and to persecute the married clergy with all his might — a strange way of making atonement for his own libertinism, by depriving others of their natural rights and liberties. § 55. — At length this famous Saint Dunstan died in the year 988, and England was relieved of one of the most cunning and success ful impostors, and obedient tools of Rome, the world ever saw. When it is mentioned that Dionstan pretended to many other mira cles, about equal in probability and absurdity to that already men tioned, of pulling the devil's nose with his red hot tongs, this judg ment will not be regarded as unduly severe. As, however, Dunstan was mainly instrumental in restoring and promoting the monastic institutions, the grateful monks, who were almost the only historians of those dark ages, have loaded him with the most extravagant praises, and represented him as the greatest miracle-monger and highest favorite of heaven, that ever lived. To say nothing of his many conflicts with the devil, in which we are told he often bela bored that enemy of mankind most severely, the following short story, which is related with great exultation by his biographer, will give some idea of the astonishing impiety and impudence of those monks, and of the no less astonishing blindness and credulity of those unhappy times. " The most admirable, the most inestimable father Dunstan," says his biographer, " whose perfections exceeded all human imagination, was admitted to behold the mother of God, and his own mother, in eternal glory ; for before his death he was carried up into heaven, to be present at the nuptials of his own mother with the Eternal King, which were celebrated by the angels with the most sweet and joyous songs. When the angels reproached him for his silence on this great occasion, so honorable to his mo ther, he excused himself on account of his being unacquainted with those sweet and heavenly strains ; but being a little instructed by the angels, he broke out into this melodious song ; ' O King and Ruler of nations, &c.' " The original author of this impious fiction was Dunstan himself, who, upon his pretended return from this celestial visit, summoned a monk to commit the heavenly song to writing from Dunstan's lips, and the morning after, all the monks 236 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [book iv. Conquest of England, by William of Normandy — A. D. 1066. were commanded to learn and to sing it, while Dunstan loudly de clared the truth of the vision. In the year 1066, an event occurred, which constitutes an impor tant epoch, both in the civil and ecclesiastical history of England. That event was the conquest by William of Normandy. The con sequences upon Popery in England, of this memorable revolution, as they belong chiefly to the succeeding period, must be reserved for a future chapter. 237 BOOK V. POPERY THE WORLD'S DESPOT. FKOM THE ACCESSION OF POPE GEEGOEY VH., A. D. 1073, TO THE DEATH OF BONIFACE vm., A. D. 1303. CHAPTER I. THE LIFE AND EEIGN OF POPE HILDEBRAND OR GREGORY VII. § 1. — One of the most extraordinary characters on the page of history, and probably the most conspicuous person in the history of the eleventh century, was the famous monk Hildebrand, now reverenced by papists as Saint Gregory VIL, who ascended the papal throne in 1073, and who carried the assumptions of the papacy to a height never before known, claimed supreme dominion over all the governments of the world, and attempted to bring all emperors, kings, and other earthly rulers, under his authority as his vassals and dependents. This artful and ambitious monk had suc ceeded in obtaining an almost unlimited influence at Rome long be fore his election to the pontificate, and the attempts of the three or four popes who preceded him, to exercise their haughty sway over the sovereigns of the earth, is to be attributed chiefly to his influence and counsels. So early as previous to the accession of pope Victor II. in 1055, the authority of Hildebrand was such that he was em powered by the people and clergy of Rome to go to Germany, and to select by his own unaided judgment, in their name, a successor to the preceding Pope, Leo IX., by performing which trust to the satisfaction of all, he greatly increased his own popularity and power. During the reign of Victor, a complaint was received frorii the emperor Henry III., that Ferdinand of Spain had assumed the title of Emperor, and begging that unless he would immediately re linquish the title, Ferdinand might be excommunicated, and his kingdom put under an interdict. Hildebrand saw at once that this would be a favorable opportunity of advancing the scheme he had doubtless already formed of reducing all earthly sovereigns to subjection to the papal power, and accordingly persuaded the Pope to dispatch legates into Spain, threatening Ferdinand with the thun ders of excommunication and interdict unless he immediately obeyed 238 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [book v. Hildebrand and the Pope persuade Robert of Normandy to acknowledge himself a vassal of Rome. the papal mandates and renounced a title which had been conferred by the Holy See only on Henry. The terrified prince was glad to maintain his peace with the spiritual tyrants of Rome, by submis sive obedience to his commands. § 2. — A few years later, Hildebrand and pope Nicholas IL, who was elected in 1059, had the address to prevail upon Robert Guiscard, the famous Norman conqueror, in consideration of the Pope's con firming to him certain territories he had conquered, and to which neither Nicholas nor Robert had a particle of right, to own himself a vassal of the Holy See, and to take an oath of allegiance to the Pope, which is transci'ibed by Cardinal Baronius, from a volume in the Vatican library, in the following terms : — " I, Robert, by the grace of God and St. Peter, duke of Apulia and Calabria, and future duke of Sicily, promise to pay to St. Peter, to you, pope Nicholas, my lord, to your successors, or to your and their nuncios, twelve deniers, money of Pavia, for each yoke of oxen, as an acknowledg ment for all the lands that I myself hold and possess, or have given to be held and possessed by any of the Ultramontanes ; and this sum shall be yearly paid on Easter Sunday by me, my heirs and successors, to you, pope Nicholas, my lord, and to your suc cessors. So help me God, and these his holy Gospels." When Robert had taken this oath, the Pope acknowledged him for law ful duke of Apulia and Calabria, confirmed to him and his suc cessors for ever the possession of those provinces, promised to con firm to him in like manner the possession of Sicily, as soon as he should reduce that island, and putting a standard in his right hand, declared him vassal of the apostolical See, and standard-bearer of the holy church. From this time Robert styled himself ' dux Apulise and Calabrise and futurus Siciliae.'* § 3. — -Soon after the election of pope Nicholas, and probably by the advice of Hildebrand, an important decree was issued rela tive to the manner of the election of future popes. Before his time, there had been no settied rules accurately defining the electors of the popes, but they had been chosen by the whole Roman clergy, nobility, burgesses, and assembly of the people. The consequence of such a confused and jarring multitude uniting in the election was, that animosities and tumults, sometimes accompanied with bloodshed, frequently occurred in consequence of the collisions of the different contending factions ; each parly striving to secure the election of its own favorite candidate to the honor of being the suc cessor of St. Peter and the vicar of God upon earth. To prevent these disorders in future, as well as to enhance the power of the higher clergy at Rome, Nicholas issued his decree that the power of electing a pope should be henceforth vested in the cardinal bishops {cardinales episcopi), and the cardinal clerks or presbyters {cardmales clerici). By the cardinal bishops we are to understand the seven bishops, who belonged to the city and territory of Rome, * Leo Ostiens., 1. ii., c. 16. CHAP. I.] POPERY THE WORLD'S DESPOT— A. D. 1073-1303. 239 Decree confining the election of Pope to the cardinals. Hildebrand becomes Pope whom Nicholas calls, in the same edict, comprovinciales episcopi ; and by the cardinal clerks, the ministers of twenty-eight Roman parishes or provincial churches. These were to constitute in future the college of electors, and were henceforward called the college of Cardinals, in a new and unusual sense of the term, which is pro perly the origin of that dignity in its modern sense. It was customary for bishops in these ages, to be consecrated by the metropohtan, but (in the swelling and bombastic language of the papal edict), " Since the apostolic See cannot be under the jm-isdiction of any superior or metropolitan, the cardinal bishops must necessarOy supply the place of a metropolitan, and fix the elected pontiff on the summit of apostolic exaltation and em pire."* All the rest of the clergy, of whatever order or rank they might be, were, together with the people, expressly excluded from the right of voting in the election of the pontiff, though they were allowed what is called a negative suffrage, and their consent was required to what the others had done. In consequence of this new regulation, the cardinals acted the principal part in the creation of the new pontiff; though they suffered for a long time much oppo sition both from the sacerdotal orders and the Roman citizens, who were constantly either reclaiming their ancient rights, or abusing the privilege they yet retained of confirming the election of every new pope by their approbation and consent. In the following cen tury there was an end put to all these disputes by Alexander IIL, who was so fortunate as to finish and complete what Nicholas had only begun, and who, just one hundred years after the decree of Nicholas, transferred and confined to the college of cardinals the sole right of electing the popes, and deprived the body of the peo ple and the rest of the clergy of the right of vetoing the choice of the cardinals left them by the decree of pope Nicholas. To ap pease the tumults occasioned by these acts, the popes, at various times, added other individuals to the college of Cardinals, and in subsequent ages, an admission to this high order of purpled pre lates, the obtaining of a cardinal's hat, was regarded, next to the papal chair, as the highest object of Romish sacerdotal ambition, and moreover a necessary step to all aspirants to the dignity of sovereign pontiff, as no one but a cardinal can be elected pope.f § 4. — At length in the year 1073, Hildebrand was himself chosen Pope, and assumed the title of Gregory VIL, and his election was confirmed by the emperor Henry IV., to whom ambassadors had been sent for that purpose. This prince indeed had soon reason to repent of the consent he had given to an election which became so prejudicial to his own authority, so fatal to the interests and liber ties of the church, and so detrimental, in general, to the sovereignty * " Quia sedes apostolica super se metropoUtanum habere non potest ; cardi nales episcopi metropolitani vice procul dubio fungantur, qui electum antistatem ad apostolici culminis apicem provebant." (Edict of Nicholas, in Baluzius iv., 62.) f See a learned dissertation on Cardinals in Mosheim, cent, xi., part ii. 240 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [bookt, Inordinate ambition of Gregory VII. His plans for universal empire and independence of kingdoms and empires. Hildebrand was a man of uncommon genius, whose ambition in forming the most arduous projects was equalled by his dexterity in bringing them into execution ; sagacious, crafty, and intrepid, nothing could escape his penetration, defeat his stratagems, or daunt his courage ; haughty and arrogant beyond all measure ; obstinate, impetuous, and intractable ; he looked up to the summit of universal empire with a wishful eye, and labored up the steep ascent with uninter rupted ardor, and invincible perseverance ; void of all principle, and destitute of every pious and virtuous feeling, he suffered little restraint in his audacious pursuits, from the dictates of religion or the remonstrances of conscience. Such was the character of Hildebrand, and his conduct was every way suitable to it ; for no sooner did he find himself in the papal chair, than he displayed to the world the most odious marks of his tyrannic ambition. Not contented to enlarge the jurisdiction, and to augment the opulence of the See of Rome, he labored indefatigably to render the univer sal church subject to the despotic government and the arbitrary power of the pontiff alone, to dissolve the jurisdiction which kings and emperors ha-d hitherto exercised over the various orders of the clergy, and to exclude them from all part in the management or distribution of the revenues of the church. Nay, this outrageous pontiff w-ent still farther, and impiously attempted to submit to his jurisdiction the emperors, kings, and princes of the earth, and to render their dominions tributary to the See of Rome. § 5.— The vievi^s of Hildebrand, or Hellbrand, as from his insane ambition he has been appropriately styled, were not confined to the erection of an absolute and universal monarchy in the church ; they aimed also at the establishment of a civil monarchy equally ex tensive and despotic ; and this aspiring pontiff;' after having drawn up a system of ecclesiastical canons for the government of the church, would have introduced also a new code of political laws, had he been permitted to execute the plan he had formed. His purpose was, says Mosheim, to engage in the bonds of fidelity and allegiance to St. Peter, i. e., to the Roman pontiffs, all the kings and princes of the earth, and to establish at Rome an annual assem bly of bishops, by whom the contests that might arise between kingdoms or sovereign states were to be decided, the rights and pretensions of princes to be examined, and the fate of nations and empires to be determined. The imperious pontiff did not wholly succeed m his ambitious views, forbad his success been equal to his plan, all the kingdoms of Europe would have been this day i cf^B^/" ?°"'^'' ^^^' ^""^ it^ P"^ces, the soldiers or vassals ot bt. Feter, m the person of his pretended vicar upon earth. But tliough his most important projects were ineffectual, yet many of his attempts were crowned with a favorable issue ; for from the time of his pontificate the face of Europe underwent a considerable change, and the prerogatives of the emperors and other sovereign princes were much diminished. It was particulariy under the ad- chap, I.] POPERY THE WORLD'S DESPOT— A. D. 1073-1303. 241 Pope Gregory's contest with Henry IV. Dispute about invcbtitures. ministration of Gregory, that the emperors were deprived of the privilege of ratifying, by their consent, the election of the Roman pontiff; a privilege of no small importance, and which they never recovered. {Mosh., h., 484.) § 6. — The contest which Gregory carried on for several years with the unfortunate emperor Henry IV. affords an instructive com ment upon the deep-laid plans of this most imperious and am bitious pope. Soon after his election, Gregory was inlbrmed that Solomon, king of Hungary, dethroned by his brother Geysa, had fled to Henry for protection, and renewed the homage of Hungary to the empire, Gregory, who favored Geysa, exclaimed against this act of submission ; and said in a letter to Solomon, " You ought to know, that the kingdom of Hungary belongs to the Roman church ; and learn that you will incur the indignation of the Holy See, if you do not acknowledge that you hold your dominions of the Pope, and not of the Emperor .'" This presumptuous declaration, and the neglect it met with, brought the quarrel between the em pire and the church to a crisis. It was directed to Solomon, but intended for Henry. And if Gregory could not succeed in one way, he was resolved that he would in another : he therefore re sumed the claim of investitures, for which he had a more plausible pretence ; and as that dispute and its consequences merit particular attention we shall relate briefly the origin and history of this protracted quarrel between the Pope and the emperors. § 7. — The investiture of bishops and abbots commenced, un doubtedly, at that period of time when the European emperors, kings, and princes, made grants to the clergy of certain territories, lands, forests, castles, &c. According to the laws of those times, laws which still remain in force, none were considered as lawful possessors of the lands or tenements which they derived from the emperors or other princes, before they repaired to court, took the oath of allegiance to their respective sovereigns as the supreme proprietors, and received from their hands a solemn mark by which the property of their respective grants was transferred to them. Such was the manner in which the nobility, and those who had dis tinguished themselves by military exploits, were confirmed in the possessions which they owed to the liberality of their sovereigns. But the custom of investing the bishops and abbots with the ring and the crosier, which are the ensigns of the sacred function, is of a much more recent date, and was then first introduced, when the European emperors and princes assumed to themselves the power of conferring on whom they pleased the bishoprics and abbeys that became vacant in their dominions ; nay, even of selling them to the highest bidder. This power, then, being once usurped by the kings and princes of Europe, they at first confirmed the bishops and abbots in their dignities and possessions, with the same forms and ceremonies that were used in investing the counts, knights, and others, in their feudal tenures, even by written contracts, and the ceremony of 242 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [book v. Ceremony of investing bishops with the ring arid crosier. presenting them with a wand or bough. And this custom of in vesting the clergy and the laity with the same ceremonies would have undoubtedly continued, had not the clergy, to whom the right of electing bishops and abbots originally belonged, eluded artfully the usurpation of the emperors and other princes by the following stratagem. When a bishop or abbot died, they who looked upon themselves as authorized to fill up the vacancy, elected immediately some one of their order in the place of the deceased, and were careful to have him consecrated without delay. The consecration being thus performed, the prince, who had proposed. to himself the profit of selling the vacant benefice, or the pleasure of conferring it upon some of his favorites, was obliged to desist from his pur pose, and to consent to the election, which the ceremony of conse cration rendered irrevocable. No sooner did the emperors and princes perceive this artfid management, than they turned their at tention to the most suitable means of rendering it ineffectual, and of preserving the valuable privilege they had usurped. For this purpose they ordered, that as soon as a bishop expired, his ring and crosier should be transmitted to the prince to whose jurisdiction his diocese was subject. For it was by the solenrn delivery of the ring and crosier of the deceased to the new bishop that his election was irrevocably confirmed, and this ceremony was an essential part of his consecration : so that when these two badges of the episco pal dignity were in the hands of the sovereign, the clergy could not consecrate the person whom their suffrages had appointed to fill the vacancy. Thus their stratagem was defeated, as every election that was not confirmed by the ceremony of consecration might be lawfully annulled and rejected ; nor was the bishop qualified to exercise any of the episcopal functions before the performance of that im portant ceremony. As soon therefore as a bishop drew his last breath, the magistrate of the city in which he had resided, or the government of the province, seized upon his ring and crosier, and sent them to court.* The emperor or prince conferred the vacant See upon the person whom he had chosen by dehvering to him these two badges of the episcopal office, after which the new bishop, thus invested by his sovereign, repaired to his metropolitan, to whom it belonged to perform the ceremony of consecration, and delivered to him the ring and crosier which he had received from his prmce, that he might receive it agaui from his hands, and be *"Nec multo post annulus cum virga pastorali Bremensis episcopi ad aulam regiam translata. Eo siquidem tempore ecclesia liberam electionem non habe- bant ... sed cum qmlibet antistes viam universe carnis ingressus fuisset, mox capitanei civitatis lUius annulum et virgam pastoralem ad Palatium transraittebant, sicque regia auctoritate, communicate cum aulicis consilio, orbats plebi idoneum constituebat prasulem . . . Post paucos vero dies rursum annulus et virga pas- toralis Bambenbergensis episcopi Domino imperatori transmissa est. Quo audito, multi nobiles ad aulam regiam confluebant, qui alteram harum prece vel pretio sibi comparare tentabant.-' (Ebbo's Liie of Otho, bishop of Bamberg, Lib. i., 5 8, 9, m Actis Sanctor. mensis Julii, tom. i., p. 426.) CHAP, I.J POPERY THE WORLD'S DESPOT— A, D, 1073-1303. 243 Gregory VII. anathematizo^lay investitures. E.\communicates and deposes the emperor Henry IV. thus doubly confirmed in his sacred function. It appears therefore from this account, that each new bishop and abbot received twice the ring and the crosier; once from the hands of the sovereign, and once from those of the metropolitan bishop, by whom they were consecrated.* § 8. — Considering the character of Gregory VIL, it is no won der that he could ill brook this conduct of the emperors in thus se curing to themselves the right of confirming the election of bishops by the ceremony of investing them with the ring and the crosier. Accordingly, we find that in 1075, Gregory assembled a council at Rome, in which he excommunicated certain favorites of Henry, and pronounced a formal " anathema, or curse, against whoever received the investiture of a bishopric or abbacy from the hands of a layman, as also against those by whom the investiture should be performed." This decree was doubtless aimed chiefly at the Em peror, who strenuously insisted on his asserted right of investiture, which his predecessors had enjoyed. As Henry continued to dis- regai-d the Pope's decree, Gregory sent two legates to summon him to appear before him as a delinquent, because he still con- tuiued to bestow investitures, notwithstanding the apostolic decree to the contrary ; adding, that if he should fail to yield obedience to the church, he must expect to be excommunicated and dethroned. Incensed at that arrogant message from one whom he considered as his vassal, Henry dismissed the legates with very littie ceremony, and convoked an assembly of all the German princes and dignified ecclesiastics at Worms ; where, after mature deliberation, they concluded, that Gregory havuig usurped the chair of St. Peter by indirect means,, infected the church of God with many novelties and abuses, and deviated from his duty to his sovereign in several scandalous attempts, the Emperor, by that supreme authority de rived firom his predecessors, ought to divest him of his dignity, and appoint another in his place. § 9. — Henry immediately dispatched an ambassador to Rome with a formal deprivation of Gregory ; who, in his turn, convoked a council, at which were present a hundred and ten bishops, who unanimously agreed, that the Pope had just cause to depose Henry, to dissolve the oath of allegiance which the princes and states had taken in his favor, and to prohibit them from holding any cor respondence with him on pain of excommunication. And that sen tence was immediately fulminated against the Emperor and his adherents. " In the name of Almighty God, and by your author ity," said Gregory, alluding to the members of the council, " I pro hibit Henry, the son of our emperor Henry, from governing the Teutonic kingdom and Italy ; / release all Christians from their oath of allegiance to him ; and / strictly forbid all persons from serving or attending him as king." Thus, says Hallam, Gregory VII. ob- * For a full and learned dissertation on the subject of investitures, see Mosheim, ,vol. ii., pp. 494-503, vyith references to, and quotations from, original authorities. 244 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [bookv. The Emperor stands three days at the gate of the Pope's palace, before he is admitted to his presence. tained the glory of leaving all his predecessors behind, and as tonishing mankind by an act of audacity and ambition which the most emulous of his successors could hardly surpass. The first impulses of Henry's mind on hearing this denunciation were indignation and resentment. But, like other inexperienced and misguided sovereigns, he had formed an erroneous calculation of. his own resources. A conspiracy long prepared, of which the dukes of Swabia and Carinthia were the chiefs, began to manifest itself; §omo were alienated by his vices, and others jealous of his family ; the rebellious Saxons took courage ; the bishops, intimidated by excommunications, withdrew from his side ; and he suddenly found himself almost insulated in the midst of his dominions. In this desertion he had recourse, through panic, to a miserable ex pedient. He crossed the Alps with the avowed determination of submitting, and seeking absolution from the Pope. Gregory was at Canossa, a fortress near Reggio, belonging to his faithful ad herent, the countess Matilda. (A. D. 1077.) It was in a winter of unusual severity. The Emperor was admitted, without hjs guards, into an outer court of the castle, and three successive days re mained, from morning till evening, in a woollen shirt and with naked feet, while Gregory, shut up with the tender and loVing countess, refused to admit him to his presence. {See Engraving.) At length, after continuing for three days in the cold month of January, barefoot and fasting, the humbled Emperor was- ad mitted into the palace, and allowed the superlative honor of kissing the Pope's toe ! The haughty pontiff condescended to grant him absolution, but only upon condition of appearing on a certain day to learn the Pope's decision, whether or no he should be restored to his kingdom, until which time the Pope forbad him to wear theorna- naents or to exercise the functions of royalty. Intoxicated with his triumph, Gregory now regarded himself as lord and master of all the crowned heads of Christendom, and boasted in his letters that it was his duty " to pull down the pride of kings !" : § 10. — The pusillanimous conduct of the Emperor excited the hidignation of a large portion of the nobility and other subjects of, the empire, and they would probably have deposed him in reality, if he had not softened their resentment by violating his promise to the imperious pontiff, and immediately resuming the titie and the ensigns of royalty. The princes of Lombardy especially could never forgive either the abject humility of Henry, or the haughty insolence of Gregory. A bloody war ensued between the domestic German enemies of Henry, headed by Rodolph, duke of Swabia, whom, m consequence of the Pope's sentence of deposition, they had crowned as Emperor at Mentz, on the one side ; and the Lom bard princes who, impelled by compassion for the humbled monarch, and indignation against the lordly Pope, had rallied round the Em peror, on the other. As the result of this war appeared extremely doubtful for a time, Gregory assumed an appearance of neutrafity, affected to be displeased that Rodolph had been consecrated as Em- The Emp**ror Henry IV, df>ing Penance at th« Gnto of rhe Pope's Palace. CHAP. I.] POPERY THE WORLD'S DESPOT— A. D. 1073-1303. 247 Heury retracts his submission to the Pope. Gregory excommunicates him a second time. peror without his order, and avowed his intention of acknowledging that one of the competitors who should be most submissive to the Holy See. Henry had already learned too much of the character of pope Gregory to place much dependence on his generosity, and therefore, with renewed courage and energy, he marched against his enemies, and defeated them in several engagements, till Gregory, seeing no hopes of submission, thundered out a second sentence of excommunication against him, confirming at the same time the election of Rodolph, to whom he sent a golden crown, on which the following well known verse, equally haughty and puerile, was written : Petra dedi Petro, petrus diadema Rodolpho. This donation was also accompanied with a prophetic anathema against Henry, so wild and extravagant, as to make one doubt whether it was dictated by enthusiasm or priestcraft. After de priving him of strength in combat, and condemning him never to be victorious, it concludes with the following remarkable apostrophe to St. Peter and St. Paul : " Make all men sensible that, as YOU CAN bind and LOOSE EVERYTHING IN HEAVEN, YOU CAN ALSO UPON EARTH TAKE FROM, OR GIVE TO, EVERY ONE ACCORDING TO HIS DESERTS, EMPIRES, KINGDOMS, PRINCIPALITIES LET THE KINGS AND PRINCES OF THE AGE THEN INSTANTLY FEEL YOUR POWER, THAT THEY MAY NOT DARE TO DESPISE THE ORDERS OF YOUR CHURCH ; LET YOUR JUSTICE BE SO SPEEDILY EXECUTED UPON HeNRY, THAT NOBODY MAY DOUBT BUT THAT HE FALLS BY YOUR MEANS, AND NOT BY CHANCE." ThuS had Popery now assumed the character of Despot of the world. § 11. — Before proceeding to relate a few other proofs of pope Gregory's determination to reduce all the kingdoms of the world and their sovereigns under his absolute sway, we will dismiss the case of Henry, by briefly relating the sequel of his remarkable life. With the hopes of shielding himself from the effects of this second excommunication, the Emperor assembled a council at Brixen, in the Tyrol, which resolved that Hildebrand, by his misconduct and rebellion, had rendered himself unworthy of the pontifical throne, and elected in his stead, Guibert, archbishop of Ravenna, who assumed the name of Clement III., and was at length consecrated at Rome, but is not reckoned by Romanists in the line of popes. Notwithstanding the temporary triumph of Henry over the papal tyranny, he at last became its victim. After the death of Gregory, the succeeding pope. Urban IL, and Paschal II., unable to forgive or forget his rebellion against the holy See, seduced two sons of the unfortunate emperor, first Conrad, and afterward Henry, to take up arms against their father. Paschal, who was a worthy successor of Hildebrand, after the death of Conrad, excited the young Henry to rebel against his father, under pretence of defending the cause of the orthodox ; alleging that he was bound to take upon himself the reins of government, as he could neither acknowledge a king nor a 16 248 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [book v. Papal cruelty to Henry IV. Unnatural conduct of his eon. father that was excommunicated.* In vain did the Emperor use every paternal remonstrance to dissuade his son from proceeding to extremities : the breach became wider and wider, and both pre pared for the decision of the sword. But the son, dreading his father's military superiority, and confiding in his tenderness, made use of a stratagem equally base and effectual. He threw himself unexpectedly at the Emperor's feet, and begged pardon for his i^n- dutiful behavior, which he imputed to the advice of evil counsellors. In consequence of this submission, he was immediately taken into favor, and the Emperor dismissed his army. The ungrateful youth now bared his perfidious heart: he ordered his father to be confined; while he assembled a diet of his own confederates, at which the Pope's legate presided, and repeated the sentence of excommuni cation against the emperor Henry IV., who was instantly deposed, and the parricidous usurper, Henry V., proclaimed Emperor in his stead. § 12. — Upon the perpetration of this unnatural act, two worthy servants of the church, the archbishops of Mentz and Cologne, very readily undertook the grateful office of waiting upon the old Em peror, and demanding his crown and other regalia. The unfortu nate monarch besought them not to become abettors of those who had ungratefully conspired his ruin., but finding them inexorable, he retired and put on his royal ornaments ; then returnmg to the apartment he had left, and seating himself on a chair' of state, he renewed his remonstrance in these words : " Here are the marks of that royalty, with which we were invested by God and the prmces of the empire : if you disregard the wrath of heaven, and the eter nal reproach of mankind, so much as to lay violent hands on your sovereign, you may strip us of them. We are not in a condition to defend ourselves." This speech had no more effect than the former upon the unfeeling prelates, who instantiy snatched the crown from his head ; and, dragging him from his chair, pulled ofl' his royal robes by force. While they were thus employed, Henry exclaimed, " Great God !"— the tears trickling down his venerable cheeks- "thou art the God of vengeance, and wilt repay this outrage, I have sinned, I own, and merited such shame by the follies of my youth; but thou wilt not fail to punish those traitors, for their per jury, insolence, and ingratitude," To such a degree of wretched ness was this unhappy prince reduced by the barbarity of his son, that, destitute of the common necessaries of life, he entreated the bishop of Spire, who owed his office to him, to grant him a canoni- cate for his subsistence, representing that he was capable of per forming the office of" chanter or reader !" Being denied that hum ble request, he shed a flood of tears, and turning to those who were present, said with a deep sigh, " My dear friends, at least have pity on my condition, for I am touched by the hand of the Lord !" The * Dithmar, Hist, Bell, inter Imp, et Sacerdot, 3HAP, n.] POPERY THE WORLD'S DESPOT— A. D. 1073-1303. 249 Pope Gregory claims Spain as belonging to St. Peter. hand of man, at least, was heavy upon him, for he was not only in want, but under confinement. After the death of the imfortunate and deeply afflicted old man, which occurred soon after, his unnatural son, Henry Y., was de praved enough to gratify the papal vengeance still further, by the barbarous and hypocritical act of digging up the dead body of his poor old father, from consecrated ground in the cathedral of Spire, and causing it to be cast with indignity into a cave at Spire. Such is popish morality, and such is the terrible vengeance which anti- Chi-istian Rome, in those days of her glory, exhibited toward such as resisted her authority, or disobeyed her mandates !* CHAPTER II. life of GREGORY Vll. CONTINUED. OTHER INSTANCES OP HIS TY RANNY AND USURPATION. § 13. — The life of Hildebrand abounds with instances of his haughty insolence and tyranny, over earthly sovereigns and nations, almost equalling in atrocity the above related history of his conduct toward Henry IV. We shall proceed to mention a few of these as related by Bower, upon the authorities cited at the foot of the page. Not satisfied with pulling down and setting up princes, kings, and emperors, at his pleasure, Gregory, as King of Kings, mo narch of the world, and sole lord, both spiritual and temporal, over the whole earth, claimed the sovereignty of all the kingdoms of Europe, as having once belonged to St. Peter, whose right was mialienable. Thus, being informed in the very beginning of his pontificate that count Evulus, a man of wealth and power, had formed a design of recovering the countries, which the Moors had seized in Spain, and was levying forces with that view, he sent car dinal Hugh, surnamed the White, to let him know that Spain be longed to St. Peter before it was conquered by the Moors ; that though the infidels had subdued that country, and held it for a long course of years, the right of St. Peter still subsisted, there being no prescription against that apostle or his church, and that he, as supreme lord of the whole kingdom, not only approved of the count's design, but granted him all the places he should recover from the barbarians, upon condition that he held them of St. Peter and his See. In the letter which he wrote at this time, addressed to all who were disposed to join in driving the Saracens out of Spain, he "= See Russell's Modem Europe, Part i.. Letter 23. 250 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [book v Claims Peter-pence in France. Claims Hungary also, as belonging to the holy See. forbids any to enter that country, who is not resolved to hold of St. Peter what acquisitions he may make, as he had rather it should remain in the hands of the infidels, than that the holy Roman and universal church should be robbed of her undoubted right by her own children ;* that is, that he had rather Christians in Spain should continue under the oppressive yoke of those infidels, than be rescued from it by a prince, who did not pay homage, as a vassal, to the apostolic See. This letter, dated the last of April, 1073, and con sequently written a few days after his election, shows what senti ments Gregory brought with him to the pontifical chair. Four years after he wrote again to the kings and princes of Spain, re newing his claim to their respective kingdoms and principalities, as having belonged to his See when the Saracens seized them, and requiring those, who held them, to pay the tribute they owed to St. Peter as their sovereign lofd.f § 14, — With reference to the kingdom of France, Gregory pre tended that formerly each house in that kingdom paid at least a pennv a year to St. Peter, as their father and pastor, and that this sum was, by order of Charlemagne, collected yearly at Puy in Velai, at Aix la Chapelle, and at St. Giles. For this custom the Pope quotes a statute of that Emperor, lodged, as he says, in the archives of St, Peter's church. But as that statute is to be found nowhere else, it is universally looked upon as a forgery, and by some even thought to have been forged by Gregory himself. However, he ordered his legates in France to exact that sum, and insist upon its being paid by all, as a token of their subjection to St. Peter and his See.J The legitimate sovereign of Hungary, Solomon, bemg driven from his throne by Geisa, his cousin, had recourse to the Emperor, whose sister he had married, and was by him restored to his king dom, upon condition that he should hold it of him as his feudatory This Gregory no sooner understood than he wrote to Solomon, claiming the kingdom of Hmigary as belonging to St. Peter, to whom he pretended it had been given by Stephen, the first Christian king of the country. The elders of your country, said he, in his letter to the king, will inform you that the kingdom of Hungary is the property of the holy Roman church, ' sanctas Romanse ecclesiae proprium est ;' that king Stephen, upon his conversion, offered it to St, Peter, and that the emperor Henry, of holy memory, having conquered the country, sent the lance and the crown, the ensigns of royalty, to the body of St, Peter. If it be true therefore that you have agreed to hold your kingdom of the king of the Germans, and not of St. Peter, you will soon feel the effects of the apostie's just indignation, for we, who are his servants and ministers, cannot tamely suffer the honor that is due to him, to be taken from him and given to others.§ Solomon was agam driven out by Geisa, * Gregorii, lib. i., epist. 7. f Gregorii, lib. iv., epist. 28. X Gregorii, lib. viii., epist. 25. 5 Gregorii, lib. ii., epist. 13. OHAP. H.] POPERY THE WORLD'S DESPOT— A. D. 1073-1303. 251 The Pope claims Corsica and Sardinia as the p,itrimony of St. Peter. Dalmatia and Russia. which Gregory construed mto a judgment for the injustice he had done to St. Peter, telling the usurper that the prince of the apostles had given the kingdom to him, as Solomon had forfeited all right to it by rebelling against the holy Roman church, and paying that homage to the king of Germany, which was due to none but her and her founder.* Geisa, thus countenanced by the Pope in his usurpa tion, held the kingdom of Germany until the hour of his death, which happened in 1077. He was succeeded by Ladislaus, who, to avoid the disturbances which he was sensible the Pope would raise and foment among his subjects, if he held not his kingdom of him, imme diately acknowledged himself for his vassal, declaring that he owed his power to God, and under him to none but St. Peter, whose com mands he should ever readily obey, when signified to him by his successors in the apostolic See. § 15. — The two islands of Corsica and Sardinia he claimed as the patrimony of St. Peter, pretending that they had been formerly given, nobody knows when nor by whom, to the apostolic See. Hence he no sooner heard that the Christians had gained consider able advantages in Corsica over the Saracens, and recovered great part of that island, than he sent a legate to govern the coun tries, which they had recovered, as the demesnes of his See, to en courage them in so laudable an undertaking, and assure them that he would assist them, to the utmost of his power, with men as well as with money, till they had reduced the whole island, provided they engaged to restore it to its lawful owner, St. Peter.'f In order to subject Dalmatia to the Roman See, Gregory confer red the title of king upon Demetrius, duke of that country, obliging him, on that occasion, to swear allegiance to him and his successors in the See of St. Peter. That oath the Pope's legate required upon delivering to the duke, in the Pope's name, a standard, a sword, a sceptre, and a royal diadem. The new king at the same time promised to pay yearly on Easter-day two hundred pieces of silver to the holy pope Gregory, and his successors lawfully elected as supreme lords of the kingdom of Dalmatia ; to assist them, when required, to the utmost of his power ; to receive, entertain, and obey their legates ; to reveal no secrets that they should trust him with, but to behave on all occasions, as became a true son of the holy Roman church, and a faithful vassal of the apostolic See.J Demetrius was at that time king of Russia, and his son coming to Rome to visit the tombs of the apostles, Gregory made him partner with his father in the kingdom, requiring him on that occa sion, to take an oath of fealty to St. Peter, and his successors. This step the Pope pretended to have taken at the request of the son, who, he said, had apphed to him, being desirous to receive the king dom from St. Peter, and to hold it as a gift of that apostle. The * Gregorii, lib. ii., epist. 2. t Gregorii, lib. v., epist. 24. i Baron, ad An. 1076 252 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [book v. Gregory less successfal with king William of England. Pope added in his letter to the King, that he had complied with the request of his son, not doubting but it would be approved of by him and all the lords of his kingdom, since the prince of the apostles would thenceforth look upon their country and defend it as his own.* The despotic views of this lordly pontiff were attended with less success in England, than in any other country. William the Conqueror was a prince of great spirit and resolution, extremely jealous of his rights, and tenacious of the prerogatives he enjoyed as a sovereign and independent monarch, and accordingly, when Gregory wrote him a letter demanding the arrears of the Peter- pence, and at the same time summoning him to do homage for the kingdom of England,asafiefofthe apostohc See, Wilham granted the former, but refused the latter, with a bold obstuiacy, declaring that he held his kingdom of his God oiily, and his own sword.f § 16. — Mr. Bower relates similar instances of Gregory's haughty assumption toward the sovereigns of Denmark, Poland, Saxony, as well as various principalities of Italy, who were compelled by the spiritual tyrant to acknowledge themselves as his vassals, but the above are certainly sufficient to demonstrate the all-grasping ambi tion of this pontiff, and his settled plan of reducing all kingdoms mto one vast naonarchy, of which the prince of the aposties should be the sovereign and head. "Gregory was," remarks the same historian, "to do him jus tice, a man of most extraordinary parts, of most uncommon abili ties, both natural and acquired, and would have had at least as good a claim to the surname of Great, as either Gregory or Leo, had he not, led by an ambition the worid never heard of before, grossly misapplied those great talents to the most wicked purposes, to the establishing of an uncontrolled tyranny over mankind, of making himself the sole lord, spiritual and temporal, over the whole earth, becoming by that means sole disposer, not only of all ecclesi astical dignities and preferments, but of Empires, States, and King doms. That he had nothing less in his view, sufficiently appears from his whole conduct, from his letters, and from a famous piece entitle Dictatus Papse, containing his maxims."J This piece, which is found in the 55th letter of the second book of Gregory's epistles, contains his twenty-seven celebrated propositions, among which are the following : r r . s The Roman pontiff alone should of right be styled Universal Bishop. '' * Gregorii, lib. ii., epist. 74. fint Z%1^^ i""^. i ^"iT'u"'^ ^"'"^¦¦'^ Ecclesiastical History, in the CoUec tion of Records, at the end of the first volume, p. 713, No. 12. « Hubertns legatas Tl'..!n^l t^ • «i'^i>'!° *.' ^^'*^<^'°"^ P°"tiff, " admonnit me, quatenns fbiet ^Xi»r^ -ti fidehtatem facerem, et ie pecunia, quam antecessores mei ad SlJ:r SetiKctb!'.''^!^^^"'- u°- ^^--' ^'t-- -" ^0-' t Bower, in vita Greg. VH. CHAP.n.] POPERY THE WORLD'S DESPOT— A.D. 1073-1303. 253 Dictates of Hildebrand. Advocated and defended by Romanist authors. No man ought to live In the same house with persons excommu nicated by the Pope. The Pope alone can wear the imperial ornaments. All princes are to kiss his foot, and pay that mark of distinction to him alone. It is lawful for him to depose emperors. No general council is to be assembled without his order. His judgment no man can reverse, but he can reverse all other judgments. He is to be judged by no man. No man shall presume to condemn the person that appeals to the apostolic See. The Roman church has never erred, nor will she ever err, ac cording to Scripture. He can depose and restore bishops without assembling a synod. The Pope can absolve subjects from the oath of allegiance which they have taken to a bad prince. § 17. — The genuineness of these dictates of Hildebrand, as they are called, is testified by several of the most famous of the Roman Catholic writers, Harduin, Baronius, Lupus and others. Cardinal Baronius (An. 1076) not only admits the genuineness of these sen tences, but says that the same doctrine was received in the Romish church down to his day (about 1609). His words are, " Istas hactenus in ecclesiae catholicae usu receptas fuisse." Lupus, another Romish writer, has given an ample commentary on them, and regards them as both authentic and sacred.* Whether, how ever, they were written in this present form by Gregory, or were extracted by some other author from his epistles, as Mosheim seems to suppose, is a matter of but small importance. The whole life of that haughty and imperious spiritual and temporal despot, is a proof that he believed and acted upon these principles. In the epistles of Gregory, he more than once undertakes a labored de fence of the doctrine that all earthly governments, nations, sove reigns and rulers are subject to the Pope, and after referring to several instances in which he asserts this subjection had been pre viously recognized and acted upon, he proceeds to prove it by the following reasons : (1.) The apostolic See has received of our Saviour the power of judging spiritual matters, and consequently that of judging tem poral concerns, which is a power of an inferior degree. (2.) When our Saviour said to St. Peter, Feed my sheep, when he granted him the power of loosing and binding, he did not except khigs. (3.) The episcopal dignity is of divine institution ; the royal is the invention of men, and owes its origin to pride and ambition. As bishops therefore are above kings as well as above all other men, they may judge them as well as other men.f * Lupus — Notse et Dissertationes in Concilia, tom, iv., p. 164. f Greg, epist.. Lib. ii., epist. 10, 11, 12. 254 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [boos 7, The tyrannical doctrines of Hildebrand advocated in the nineteenth century. Many popish writers of eminence have advocated these doc trines. Thus Bellarmine asserts that though Christ exercised no temporal power himself, yet he vested St. Peter, the prince of the apostles and his successors, with all temporal as well as spiritual power, leaving him and them at full liberty to exert it, when thought expedient and necessary for the good of his church. Probably amidst the fight and intelligence of the nineteenth century it is not thought expedient for the good of the church to advocate or prac tise these doctrines of the infallible pope Gregory, at least in the United States. Yet it ought to be known, that so late as the year 1819, a volume appeared, from the pen of an Italian Catholic, Be Maistre, which has since often been reprinted, advocating to the fullest extent the doctrines of pope Gregory, maintaining that kings are but delegates of the Holy See ; that the Roman pontiffs have power to depose them at will, and even prescribing a form of peti tion which nations should address to his holiness, when they wish their sovereign to be dethroned. It is worthy to be known also by Americans, that this spiritual despot who maintained the right of the Roman See to trample at will upon the governments of the earth is enrolled in the Roman Catholic calendar as a Saint, and as such reverenced and honored, even in the land of Washington, with all due worship on a day annually set apart for that purpose. In an edition of that standard popish book of devotion, called " the Garden of the Soul," now lying before me, published in New York, 1844, " with the approbation of the Right Reverend Dr. Hughes, bishop of New York," in the calendar of the saints' days, I find the twenty-fifth of May designated as the day set apart in honor of Saint Gregory VII !* § 18. — We have now traced the march of priestiy and popish usurpation from the earliest attempts of ambitious ecclesiastics to domineer over their brethren, and to usurp the prerogatives of HIM who has said, " one is your master, even Christ, and all ye are brethren." We have seen the gradual steps by which the power of ambitious prelates in general, and of the bishop of Rome in particular, was increased, till the spiritual supremacy of the Pope was established in the early part of the seventh century. We have followed these haughty tyrants in their career of ambition, till a century and a half later they united the crown to the mitre, the sceptre to the crosier, and took their place among the temporal sovereigns of the world, till at last in the eleventh century fhey reached the climax of their power and usurpation, under the reign of Saint Gregory VII. We cannot better close the present chap ter than by quoting from the learned Deylingius the following eleven propositions in relation to the rise of this power ; which he has sustained, beyond contradiction, by a vast amount of erudition and research in a disquisition occupying 117 pages. The reader will perceive, that though quoted in the language of another, these * See also the Acta Sanctorum, Antwerp, ad d. xxv. Mail. chap, n.] POPERY THE WORLD'S DESPOT— A. D. 1073-1303. 255 The learned Deylingius's account of the gradual rise of the popes' tyrannical power. propositions constitute a comprehensive summary of the historical account, which we have given in the preceding pages, of the gra dual and successive steps by which the despotic power of the popes was eventually established. " Proposition 1. Christ did not institute in his church any sacred dominion, and much less a monarchical government, such as the Roman prelates during a long period have claimed and usurped. " 2. In the beginning, all the ministers of the church were equal ; and bishops before the second century, after the birth of Christ, were not exalted above presbyters ; nor did they arrogate to them selves any peculiar duties or privileges of the sacred office. " 3. Although the government and the jurisdiction 'of the church at that period were not in bishops alone, but the presbyters and deacons, with the whole assembly, participated in the rule and de termination of affairs ; yet the authority of the prelates gradually and rapidly obtained a large increase. " 4. All bishops then were equal, nor had the Roman bishop or any other the least right or precedence over his brethren. " 5. In the third century after the Saviour, metropolitans arose ; who were placed in the principal city of the province, so that the other prelates in the same province by degrees became subject to their jurisdiction. "6. Whatever prerogatives of bishops, and distinction of au thority and power, then were admitted, were derived solely from the dignity of the city where they presided. " 7. Although the metropolitan dignity was supreme after the council of Nice (in 325), yet there were three chiefs, the Roman, Alexandrian, and the Antiochian, each of whom ruled his own dio cese unrestricted, and neither of them possessed any right or power more than the others. " 8. In the fourth century of the Christian church, the Roman Eontiff was not patriarch of all Western Europe, much less was he ead and monarch of the whole church ; but only a particular pre late, not superior to other metropolitans, exarchs, or primates. " 9. After the peace granted to the churches by Constantine, the luxury and pomp of the bishops greatly increased ; and especially the ambition, authority, and power of the Roman prelate were ex tended, so that they could not be restrained within the limits of the suburban cities ; but by various artifices, they continually became more amplified. " 10. At length the Roman prelates, not content with having ob tained the primacy of order among the other hierarchs, endeavored to estabhsh their authority in both divisions of the empire. After long and severe strife with the Constantinopohtan patriarch, by the parricide of Phocas, they obtained the title of Universal Bishop ; and extended their jurisdiction, but could not grasp domination over all the church, because they were opposed by the authority of em perors and councils. "11. Finally, in the eleventh century after Christ, the power of 256 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [bookv. Sprinltling with ashes on Ash- Wednesday. the Roman pontiff, by the ferocity of pope Gregory VIL, was car ried to its utmost extent ; and the nominal Christian church, through the debasement of the imperial and royal prerogatives, were forced to submit their necks to the yoke of the despotic court of Rome,"* CHAPTER IIL pope urban and THE CRUSADES. § 19. — Upon the death of pope Gregory, which took place at Sa- lernum, in 1085, the faction which supported his measures proceeded to the election of a successor, who assumed the title of Victor III., while Clement III., who, as we have already remarked, had been elected by the Emperor's party at the council of Brixen, was ac knowledged as pope by a great part of Italy, and continued to main tain his pretensions to the papal throne till his death, in 1100, that is, during the whole of the pontificates of Victor III. and Urban II. Thus, as in many other instances, both in earlier and later times, were there rival competitors for the popedom, hurling defiance and anathemas at each other, and each at the same time claiming to be the vicegerent of God upon earth, and the infallible and authoritative interpreter of the will of God to man. During the pontificate of Urban, in the year 1091, it was enacted in a council held at Benevento, among other superstitious ceremo nies, that on the Wednesday which was the first day of the fast of Lent, the faithful laymen as well as clerks, women as well as men, should have their heads sprinkled with ashes, " a ceremony," says Bower, " that is observed to this day."t Ash- Wednesday, so called from the ceremony of giving the ashes, is the fortieth day be fore Easter Sunday, and the Romish fast of Lent continues during the whole of this interval. The ashes used at this ceremony must be made from the branches of the olive or palm that was " blessed " (to use the unmeaning language of Popery), on the Palm Sunday of the preceding year. The priest blesses the ashes by making on them the sign of the cross, and. perfuming them with incense. The ashes are first laid on the head of the officiating priest in the form of a cross, by another priest. After he has re ceived the ashes himself, he then gives them to his assistants and the other clergy present, after which the congregation, women as well as men, one after another, approach the altar, kneel before the priest, and receive this " mark of the beast " on their foreheads. {See Engraving.) * Deylingii Observationum Sacrarum, pars i,, exercit. 6. t Bowef, in vita Urban II. Marking the foreheade of the people with ashes ou Ash-Wedneeday. The ceremoDj- of JnceDaing a Crosa. CHAP, m.] POPERY THE WORLD'S DESPOT— A. D. 1073-1303. 259 Ceremony of incensing a cross. Councils of Placentia and Clermont, in 10U5, The other engraving represents the popish custom of incensing a new cross. All crosses designed for pubhc places, for high roads and cross ways, as they are seen in popish countries, and for the tops of Romish chapels, where one is always placed, are conse crated with much ceremony. Candles are first lighted at the foot of the cross, after which the celebrant, having on his pontifical orna ments, sits down before the cross, and makes a discourse to the people upon its excellence ; after which prayers and anthems fol low. Then he spruikles and afterward incenses the cross, as repre sented in the engraving ; which being performed, candles are set upon the top of each arm of the cross. In the engraving, two of the attendants are seen with the candles lighted and prepared, when the childish and unmeaning ceremony is over, to affix them on the two arms of the cross. How long the candles remain there, before the piece of wood is regarded as sufficiently holy for its contem plated destination, I am miable to say. § 20. — Pope Urban, though inferior in ability and courage to the imperious Hildebrand, was yet fully equal to him in pride and arro gance. At a council held at Placentia, in 1095, he confirmed all the laws and anathemas enacted by Gregory, to terrify and to crush the rebels to the holy See, and at the council of Clermont, held in November of the same year, Urban proceeded a step further than even Gregory had done, by enacting a decree forbidding the bish ops and the rest of the clergy to take the oath of allegiance to their respective kings or governments. ' Ne episcopus vel sacerdos regi vel alicui laico in manibus ligiam fidelitatem faciunt.' The council of Clermont, just mentioned, has become celebrated in history from the fact that through the persuasions of Peter the hermit, pope Urban resolved, on this occasion, upon the commencement of those expe ditions to the holy land called the Crusades. The object of these holy wars, which occupy so conspicuous a figure in the history of the period of which we are now treating, was the recovery of the city of Jerusalem, and the holy sepulchre, from the hands of the Turkish infidels, by whom it had been taken in the year 1065. For centm-ies past, the practice had prevailed of mak- mg pilgrimages to Jerusalem. In the tenth century, this custom had much increased, and had become almost universal, from a gen eral belief which prevailed of the near approach of the end of the world, arising from a misinterpretation of Rev., chap, xx., 2-5. Toward the conclusion of the century, crowds of men and v^omen flocked from all parts of Europe, to Jerusalem, in the frantic hope of expiating their sms by the long and painful journey to the Holy land. When the dreaded epoch assigned by these misguided indi viduals, for the end of the worid, had passed by, the current of pdgrimages still continued to flow on in the direction it had taken, and that too in spite of the heavy tax of a piece of gold per head laid upon the pilgrims, and the brutal cruelties and mdignities to which they were often exposed, from the barbarians and infidel conquerors of the holy city. Thus it appears that among the causes which eventually gave birth to the Crusades, was the wide-spread 260 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [book v. Popular and wide spread panic of the end of the world, in the year 1000. delusion of the immediate conflagration of the world, in the year one thousand of the Christian era.* * The language in which Mosheim relates the effects of this wide-spread delusion, is so Btriking,'and the lesson it teaches so important, viz. : the folly of attempting to be wise above what is written, or to fathom what God has wisely concealed, viz. : the time of the end of the world, that I shall embrace the opportunity of quoting it in the present note. Speaking of the darkness of the tenth century, when this opinion was propagated, he says, " That the whole Christian world was covered at this time, with a thick and gloomy veil of superstition, is evident from a prodigious number of testimonies and examples which it is needless to mention. This horrible cloud, which hid almost every ray of truth from the eyes of the mul titude, furnished a favorable opportunity to the priests and monks of propagating many absurd and ridiculous opinions, which dishonored so frequently the Latin church, and produced from time to time such violent agitations. None occasioned such a universal panic, nor such dreadful impressions of terror and dismay, as the notion that now prevailed, of the immediate approach of the day of judgment. Hence prodigious numbers of people abandoned all their civil connexions, and their parental relations, and giving over to the churches or monasteries all their lands, treasures, and worldly effects, repaired with the utmost precipitation to Palestine, where they imagined that Christ would descend from heaven to judge the world. Others devoted themselves by a solemn and voluntary oath to the service of the churches, convents, and priesthood, whose slaves they became, in the most rigor ous sense of that word, performing daily their heavy tasks ; and all this from a notion that the Supreme Judge would diminish the severity of their sentence, and look upon them with a more favorable and propitious eye, on account of their hav ing made themselves the slaves of his ministers. When an eclipse of the sun or moon happened to be visible, the cities were deserted, and their miserable inhabit ants fled for refuge to hollow caverns, and hid themselves among the craggy rocks, and under the bending summits of steep mountains. The opulent attempted to bribe the Deity, and the saintly tribe, by rich donations conferred upon the sacerdotal and monastic orders, who were looked upon as the immediate vicege rents of heaven. In many places, temples, palaces, and noble edifices, both public and private, were suffered to decay, nay, were deliberately pulled down, from a notion that they were no longer of any use, since the final dissolution of all things was at hand. In a word, no language is sufiicient to express the confusion and despair that tormented the minds of miserable mortals upon this occasion. This general delusion was indeed opposed and combated by the discerning few, who endeavored to dispel these groundless terrors, and to efface the notion from which they arose, in the minds of the people. But their attempts were ineffectual ; nor could the dreadful apprehensions of the superstitious multitude be entirely removed before the conclusion of this century." As an undeniable evidence, both of the existence of this panic, and of its profitable results to its artful propagators and fomenters, may be mentioned the fact that almost all the donations that were made to the church about this time, assign as the cause of the donation, and the motive of the donor, the fact that the end of the world was just now at hand, and that therefore, of course, the property would be no longer of value. They generally commenced with these words: " Appropinquante mundi termino, d-c." i. e., the end of the world being now at hand, cf-c. (Mosheim, ii., page 410.) Similar panics to the above, originating from the presumption of ignorant and visionary men, who have predicted the day and the hour, or at least the year of the world's conflagra tion, are not peculiar to the dark ages. They have been produced to a more limited extent in different countries and in various ages of the world, but in no one in stance on record has the delusion been so universal as amid the gloom of this mid night of the world. The extent to which such infatuations have prevailed, has in variably been proportioned to the degree of the darkness and ignorance existing in the field of their propagation. Amid the enlightenment of the nineteenth century, there is but little danger of delusions of this kind shaking the universal foundations of society as they did in the tenth, or, if they exist at all, extending beyond the very narrow circle of the credulous and unenlightened portion of the community. CHAP.m.] POPERY THE WORLD'S DESPOT— A. D. 1073-1303. 261 Peter the hermit returns flx)m Palestiue, and engages pope Uiban to sanction a Crusade. Of many thousands who passed into Asia, says a recent histo rian of the Crusades,* a few isolated individuals only returned ; but these every day, as they passed through the different countries of Europe, on their journey back, spread indignation and horror by their account of the dreadful sufferings of the Christians in Judca. Various letters are reported as having been sent by the emperors of the East, to the different princes of Europe, soliciting aid to repel the encroachments of the infidel ; and if but a very small portion of the crimes and cruelty attributed to the Turks by these episties, were believed by the Christians, it is not at all astonishing that wrath and horror took possession of every chivalrous bosom. The lightning of the crusade was in the people's hearts, and it wanted but one electric touch to make it flash forth upon the world. §21. — At this time a man, of whose early days we have no authentic knowledge, but that he was born at Amiens, and from a soldier had become a priest, after living for some time a hermit, became seized with the desire of visiting Jerusalem. Peter the hermit was, according to all accounts, small in stature and mean in person ; but his eyes possessed a peculiar fire and intelligence, and his eloquence was powerful and fiowing. Peter accomplished in safety his pilgrimage to Jerusalem, paid the piece of gold demanded at the gates, and took up his lodging in the house of one of the pious Christians of the holy city. Here his first emotion seems to have been indignant horror at the barbarous and sacrilegious bru tality of the Turks. The venerable prelate of Tyre represents him as conferring eagerly with his host upon the enormous cru elties of the infidels, even before visiting the general objects of devotion. Doubtless the ardent, passionate, enthusiastic mind of Peter had been wrought upon at every step he took in the holy land, by the miserable state of his brethren, till his feeUngs and imagination became excited to almost frantic vehemence. Upon the return of Peter to Italy, he immediately sought the pon tiff Urban, and laid before him such a touching recital of the suffer ing pilgrims in the holy land, as brought tears from his eyes ; the general scheme of the crusade was sanctioned instantly, by his authority ; and, promising his quick and active concurrence, he sent the pilgrim to preach the deliverance of the holy land, through all the countries of Europe. Peter wanted neither zeal nor activity from town to town, from province to province, from country to country, he spread the cry of vengeance on the Turks, and deliver ance to Jerusalem ! The warlike spirit of the people was at its height ; the genius of chivalry was in the vigor of its early youth ; the enthusiasm of religion had now a great and terrible object be fore it, and all the gates of the human heart were open to the elo quence of the preacher. That eloquence was- not exerted in vain ; nations arose at his word, and grasped the spear, and it only want ed some one to direct and point the great enterprise that was * James, in liis History of Chivalry and the Crusades, 262 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [bookv. Pope Urban'B eloquent speech, urging the people to engage in the Crusades. already determined, and this was accomplished by the eloquence and zeal of pope Urban, at the council of Clermont. § 22. — The following account of the address which the Pope delivered on this occasion, is derived from the relation given by Robert the monk, who was preseiit. After having completed the other business of the council, and which occupied the delibera tions of seven days, pope Urban came forth from the church into one of the public squares, as no public building was large enough to hold the immense concourse of people, and addressing the multitude as the peculiarly favored of God, in the gifts of courage, strength, and the true faith, he began to depict hi glowing terms the miseries of the Christian pilgrims in the holy land. He told them that their brethren there were trampled under the feet of the infidels, to whom God had not granted the light of his Holy Spirit — that fire, plunder, and the sword, had desolated the fair plains of Palestine — that her children were led away captive, or enslaved, or died under tortures too horrible to recount — that the Christian females were subjected to the impure passions of the pagans, and that God's own altar, the symbols of salvation, and the precious relics of the saints, were all desecrated by the gross and filthy abomination of a race of heathens. To whom, then, he asked — to whom did it belong to punish such crimes, to wipe away such impurities, to destroy the oppressors and to raise up the oppressed ? Tb whom, if not to those who heard him, who had received from God strength, and power, and great ness of soul ; whose ancestors had been the prop of Christendom, and whose kings had put a barrier to the progress of infidels ? " Think !" he cried, " of the sepulchre of Christ, our Saviour, pos sessed by the foul heathen 1 — think of all the sacred places dishon ored by their sacrilegious impurities ! That land, too, the Redeemer of the human race rendered illustrious by his advent, honored by his residence, consecrated by his passion, re-purchased by his death, signalized by his sepulture. That royal city, Jerusalem — situated in the centre of the world — held captive by infidels, who deny the God that honored her — now calls on you and prays for her deliver ance. From you — from you, above all people, she looks for comfort, and she hopes for aid ; since God has granted to you, beyond other nations, glory and might in arms. Take, then, the road before you in expiation of your sins, and go, assured that, after the honor of this world shall have passed away, imperishable glory shall await you even in the kingdom of heaven !" § 23. — At this point in the oration of the Pope, loud shouts are said to have burst simultaneously from the assembled multitude, as if impelled by inspiration, " It is the will of God ! It is the will of God .'" — words regarded as so remarkable, that they were employed as the signal of rendezvous, and the watchword of battle in their future adventures. Skilfully seizing upon this simultaneous burst of enthusiasm, and turning it to good account, the pontiff proceeded, as soon as silence was obtained, " Brethren, if the Lord God had not been in your souls, you would not all have pronounced the same CHAP, m.] POPERY THE WORLD'S DESPOT— A. D. 1073-1303. 208 The Crusades resolved on. General enthusiasm of tlte people, and desire to eng;igo in them. words ; or, rather, God himself pronounced them by your lips, for he it was that put them in your hearts. Be they, then, your war- cry in the combat, for those words came forth from God. Let the army of the Lord, when it rushes upon his enemies, shout but that one cry, ' God wills it ! God wills it !' " Then exhorting them to engage in this holy crusade, he exclaimed, " Let the rich assist the poor, and bring with them, at their own charge, those who can bear arms to the field. Still, let not priests nor clerks, to whatever place they may belong, set out on this journey, without the permis sion of their bishop ; nor the layman undertake it without the bless ing of his pastor, for to such as do, their journey shall be fruitless. Let whoever is inclined to devote himself to the cause of God, make it a solemn engagement and bear the cross of the Lord either on his breast or on his brow till he set out ; and let him who is ready to begin his march place the holy emblem on his shoulders, in mem ory of that precept of the Saviour — ' He who does not take up his cross and follow me, is not worthy of me.' "* When Urban had concluded his oration, the vast multitude pros trated themselves before him, and repeated, after one of the cardi nals, the general confession of sins ; upon which the Pope pronounc ed absolution of their sins, and bestowed on them his benediction. The people then returned to their homes, to prepare immediately for the expedition to the holy land, to which they had thus solemnly devoted themselves. § 24. — " As soon as the council of Clermont was concluded," says Guibert of Nogent, another cotemporary writer and eye-witness of these scenes, " a great rumor spread thurough the whole of France, and as fame brought the news of the orders of the pontiff to any one, he went uistantly to solicit his neighbors and his relations to engage with him in the way of God, for so they designated the pur posed expedition. The counts Palestine were already full of the desire to undertake this journey, and all the knights of an inferior order felt the same zeal. The poor themselves soon caught the flame so ardentiy, that no one paused to think of the smallness of his wealth, or to consider whether he ought to yield his house, and his fields, and his vines ; but each one set about selling his property, at as low a price as if he had been held in some horrible captivity, and sought to pay his ransom without loss of time. At this period, too, there existed a general dearth. The rich even felt the want of corn; and many, with everything to buy, had nothing, or next to nothing, wherewithal to purchase what they needed. The poor tried to nourish themselves with the wild herbs of the earth ; and, as bread was very dear, sought on all sides food heretofore un known, to supply the place of corn. The wealthy and powerful were not exempt ; but finding themselves menaced with the famine which spread around them, and beholding every day the terrible wants of the poor, they contracted their expenses, and lived with * Robertus Monachus, lib. i., as cited in James' History of Chivalry and the Crusades, chap. iii. See also Mill's History of the Crusades. 264 inSTORY OF ROMANISM. [book t. Guibert's account of the multitudes that engaged in the Crusades. the most narrow parsimony, lest they should squander the riches that now became so necessary. " The ever insatiable misers rejoiced in days so favorable to their covetousness ; and casting their eyes upon the bushels of grain which they had hoarded long before, calculated each day the profits of their avarice. Thus some struggled with every misery and want, while others revelled in the hopes of fresh acquisitions. No sooner, how^ever, had Christ inspired, as I have said, innumerable bodies to seek a voluntary exile, than the money which had been hoarded so long, was spread forth in a moment ; and that which was horribly dear while all the world was in repose, was on a sud den sold for nothing, as soon as every one began to hasten toward their destined journey. Each man hurried to conclude his affairs, and, astonishing to relate, we then saw — so sudden was the diminu tion in the value of everything — we then saw seven sheep sold for five deniers. The dearth of grain, also, was instantly changed into abundance, and every one, occupied solely in amassing money for his journey, sold everything that he could, not according to its real worth, but according to the value set upon it by the buyer. " In the mean while, the greater part of those who had not deter mined upon the journey, joked and laughed at those who were thus selling their goods for whatever they could get ; and prophesied that their voyage would be miserable, and their return worse. Such was ever the language of one day ; but the next — suddenly seized with the same desire as the rest — those who had been most forward to mock, abandoned everything for a few crowns, and set out with those whom they had laughed at, but a day before. Who shall tell the children and the infirm, that, animated with the same spirit, hastened to the war"? Who shall count the old men and the young maids who hurried forward to the fight ? — ^not with the hope of aiding, but for the crown of martyrdom to be won amid the swords of the infidels, ' You, warriors,' they cried, ' you shall vanquish by the spear and brand ; but let us, at least, conquer Christ by our sufferings.' At the same time, one might see a thousand things springing from the same spirit, which were both laughable and astonishing : the poor shoeing their oxen, as we shoe horses, a.nd harnessing them to two-wheeled carts, in which they placed their scanty provisions and their young children ; and proceeding on ward, while the babes, at each town or castle they saw, demanded eagerly whether that was Jerusalem."* § 25. — The history and exploits of the vast multitudes who ad vanced tike clouds of locusts, over Hungary, Thrace, and Asia, under the fanatical Peter the hermit, or the more disciplined troops that were led to the scene of conflict, by Godfrey of Bouillon, Bald win, Raimond, and other leaders in successive expeditions, of the taking of Jerusalem in 1099, and the establishment of a Christian kingdom in that city, are too well known, and besides, are too re- * Guibert of Nogent, see James, chap. iv. CHAP, m.] POPERY THE WORLD'S DESPOT— A. D. 1073-1303. 265 Effects of the Crusades. Enriched the clergy. Introduced vast quantities of pretended relics. motely connected with the history of Romanism, to demand a place in the present work. Whatever were the motives which prompted Urban II. and other pontiffs to engage in these holy wars, whether of superstition, of policy, of avarice, or ambition, there can be no doubt that they tended vastly to increase the influence and authority of the Roman pontiffs ; they also contributed, in various ways, to enrich the churches and monasteries with daily accessions of wealth, and to open new som-ces of opulence to all the sacerdotal orders. For they who assumed the cross disposed of their possessions, as if they were at the point of death, on account of the imminent and innumerable dangers they were to be exposed to in their passage to the holy land, and the opposition they were to encounter there upon their arrival. They, therefore, for the most part made their wills before their departure, and left a considerable part of their possessions to the priests and monks, in order to obtain, by these pious legacies, the favor and protection of the Deity. Nor were these the only pernicious effects of these holy expeditions. For while whole legions of bishops and abbots girded the sword to their thigh, and went as generals, volunteers, or chaplains into Palestine, the priests and monks who had lived under their jurisdiction, and were more or less awed by their authority, threw off all restraint, lived the most lawless and profligate lives, and abandoning them selves to all sorts of licentiousness, committed the most flagitious and extravagant excesses without reluctance or remorse. § 26. — Another effect of the expeditions to the holy land, was the introduction of vast quantities of old bones of saints and other reputed relics. The inhabitants of the country were aware of the passion of the crusaders for these articles, and strove to make the guUibility of Christians as large a source of profit as possible to themselves. Upon their return from Palestine, after the taking of Jerusalem, they brought with them a vast number of pretended relics, which they bought at a high price from the cunning Greeks and Syrians, and which they considered as the noblest spoils that could crown their return from the holy land. These they com mitted to the custody of the clergy in the churches and monas teries, or ordered them to be most carefully preserved in their fami lies from generation to generation. Among others of these pretended relics, Matthew Paris relates that the Dominican friars brought a white stone in which they asserted Jesus Christ had left the impression of his feet. A hand kerchief said to have been Christ's is worshipped at Bezancon, which was brought by the crusaders from the holy land ; and the Genoese pretend to have received from Baldwin, second king of Jerusalem, the very dish in which the paschal lamb was served up to Christ and his disciples, at the last supper, though this famous dish excites the laughter of even father Labat in his travels in Spain and Italy.* The Greeks and Syrians, whose avarice and fraud * Labat, Voyages en Espagne et en Italie. Tom ii., p. 63. 17 266 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [bookv. Popery in England. William of Normandy. were excessive, imposed upon the credulity of the simple and ignorant Latins, and often sold them fictitious relics at enormous prices. The sacred treasures of musty bones and rags which the French, German, and other European nations preserved for merly with so much care, and show " even in our times with such pious ostentation," says Mosheim (ii., 441), " are certainly not more ancient than these holy wars, but were then purchased at a high rate from these cunning traders in superstition." There are other incidents in the life of pope Urban, which are worthy of relation, as exhibiting the pomp and pride of the popes in this age of the world, but as they are chiefly connected with the history of Popery in England, the relation of them will be deferred to the next chapter, which is to be devoted to that department of our subject. CHAPTER IV. POPERY IN ENGLAND APTEE THE COAfaUEST. ARCHBISHOPS ANSELM AND THOMAB A BECKET. § 27. — The successors of Hildebrand, as we have seen, were by no means slow to copy the example left by him of tyrannizing over the sovereigns and governments of the earth. As several of the most remarkable instances of papal assumption, during the eleventh and two following centuries, occurred in Great Britain, we shall again invite the attention of the reader for a chapter or two to the history of affairs in that island. About the middle of the eleventh century, a most important revolution occurred in the government of England. William, duke of Normandy, afterwards surnamed the Conqueror, had long looked with a greedy eye upon England. Before undertaking its conquest, however, William thought it pru dent to secure the powerful alliance of the Pope, who, says Hume, in his History of England, " had a mighty influence over the an cient barons, no less devout in their religious principles than valor ous in their military enterprises. It was a sufficient motive to Alexander II., the reigning Pope, for embracing William's quarrel, that he alone had made an appeal to his tribunal, but there were other advantages which that pontiff foresaw must result from the conquest of England by the Normans. That kingdom maintained still a considerable independence in its ecclesiastical administration, and forming a world within itself, entirely separated from the rest of Europe, it had hitherto proved inaccessible to those exorbitant claims which supported the grandeur of the papacy. Alexander therefore hoped that the French and Norman barons, if successful CHAP. IV.] POPERY THE WORLD'S DESPOT— A. D. 1073-1303. 267 A ring with one of St. Peter's hairs. King William's resistance to priestly usurpation. in their enterprise, might import into that country a more devoted reverence for the Holy See. He, therefore, declared immediately in favor of William's claim, pronounced the legitimate king Harold a perjured usurper, denounced excommunication against him and his adherents, and the more to encourage the duke of Normandy in his enterprise, sent him a consecrated banner, and a ring with one of St. Peter's hairs {!) in it."* § 28. — Upon the accession of Gregory VIL, that imperious pon tiff vrrote to king William, requiring him to fulfil his promise of doing homage for the kingdom of England to the See of Rome, and to send him over that tribute which his predecessors had been accustomed to pay to the vicar of Christ (meaning Peter's Pence, a charitable donation of the Saxon princes, which the court of Rome construed into a badge of subjection acknowledged by the kingdom). William coolly replied, that the money should be remitted as formerly, but that he neither had promised to do homage to Rome, nor entertained any thoughts of imposing that servitude on his kingdom. Nay, he went so far as to refuse the English bishops liberty to attend a general council, which Gregory had summoned against his enemies. The following anecdote shows, in a still stronger light, the contempt of this prince for ecclesiastical . do minion. Odo, bishop of Bayeux, the king's maternal brother, whom he had created earl of Kent, and intrusted with a great share of power, had amassed immense riches ; and, agreeable to the usual progress of human wishes, he began to regard his present eminence as only a step to future grandeur. He aspired at nothing less than the papacy, and had resolved to transmit all his wealth to Italy, and go thither in person, accompanied by several noblemen, whoin he had persuaded to follow his example, in hopes of establishments under the future pope. William, from whom this object had been carefully concealed, was no sooner mformed of it than he accused Odo of treason, and ordered him to be arrested ; but nobody would lay hands on the bishop. The king himself was therefore obliged to seize him ; and when Odo insisted, that, as a prelate, he was ex empted from all temporal jurisdiction, William boldly replied, "/ arrest not the bishop, I arrest the earl .'" and accordingly sent him prisoner into Normandy, where he was detained in custody, during this whole reign, notwithstanding the remonstrances and menaces of Gregory. The fact is, that the haughty Pope found it a more diflicult matter to break down the proud spirit of' these sturdy Normans, than of any of the monarchs whom he aimed to reduce to his sway. In the following reign, William Rufus, the son and successor of the Conqueror, upon the death of Lanfranc, archbichop of Canterbury, in 1089, refused for five years to appoint a successor, and kept the temporalities of the archbishopric in his own hands. During this interval the bishops and clergy tried various methods to prevail * Hume's History of England, p. 42 ; one vol. edition, London, 268 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [book t. Anselm elected archbishop of Canterbury. His quarrel with the King. upon the king to appoint a primate, in vain. At one time, when they presented a petition, that he would give them leave to issue a form of prayer, to be used in all the churches of England — that God would move the heart of the king to choose an archbishop, he returned this careless answer: — "You may pray as you please; I will do as I please." § 29. — At length, in a fit of sickness, the king consented to the election of Anselm, who soon after requested permission to go to Rome to receive his pall, or robe of office, from the Pope. Angry at this request, William summoned a council to consider of it, which, after due deliberation, returned for an answer, that " unless he yielded obedience to the king, and retracted his submission to pope Urban, they would not acknowledge or obey him as their pri mate." On hearing this sentence, the archbishop lifted up his eyes and hands to heaven, and with great solemnity, appealed to St. Peter, whose vicar he declared he was determined to obey, rather than the king ; and upon the bishops declining to report his words, he rushed into the council, and pronounced them before the king and his nobility. This was the time of schism mentioned in a previous chapter, between the two rival popes, Urban and Clement, and king Wil liam hoping to conquer the obstinacy of Anselm by violence, had recourse to stratagem, and privately dispatched two of his chap lains to Rome, with an offer to Urban, of acknowledging him as Pope, if he would consent to the deposition of Anselm, and send a pall to the King, to be bestowed on whom he pleased. Urban, transported with joy at the accession of so powerful a prince, promised everything, and sent Walter, bishop of Alba, his legate, into England with a pall. The legate passed through Canterbury, without seeing the archbishop ; and arriving at court, prevailed upon the King to issue a proclamation, commanding all his subjects to acknowledge Urban II. as lawful Pope. But no sooner had the King performed his engagements, and began to speak of proceedmg to the deposition of the archbishop, and demanded the pall, that he might give it to the prelate who should be chosen in Ins room, than the legate changed his tone, and with a perfidiousness characteristic of Popery, declared plainly, that the Pope would not consent to the deposition of so great a saint, and so dutiful a son of the church of Rome : and moreover, that he had received orders to deliver the pall to Anselm ; which he accordingly performed, with great pomp, in the cathedral church of Canterbury. § 30. — During the absence of Anselm on a visit to Rome, the King seized all his estates and revenues, but the most extraordinary honors were paid to the Archbishop on his arrival in that city. The Pope addressed him in a long speech before the whole court, in which he lavished the highest encomiums upon him, called him the pope of another world, and commanded all the Enghsh who should come to Rome to kiss his toe. He fiirther promised to sup port him with all his power, in his disputes with the king of Eng- CHAP. IV.] POPERY THE WORLD'S DESPOT— A.D. 1073-1303. 269 Honors paid to Anselm at Rome by the Pope. Henry I. succeeds William Rufua. land, to whom he wrote a letter, commanding him to restore all that he had taken from Anselm. While at Rome, the Archbishop was present at a papal council, held in 1098, in which it was de clared by pope Urban, that the king of England deserved to be ex communicated for his conduct towards Anselm ; but, at the request of that prelate, the execution of the sentence was postponed. At this council, the famous canon against lay-investitures was con firmed, denouncing excommunication against all laymen who pre sumed to grant investitures of any ecclesiastical benefices, and against all clergymen who accepted of such investitures, or did homage to temporal princes. The reason assigned for this canon by the Pope, as related by one who was present in the council, and heard his speech, is horrid and impious in the highest degree. " It is execrable," said his holiness, " to see those hands wmch create God, the Creator of all things — a power never granted to angels — and offer Him in sacrifice to the Father, for the redemption of the whole world — put between the hands of a prince, stained with blood, and polluted day and night with obscene contacts !" To which all the fathers of the council responded, "Amen I — Amen !" " At these transactions," said Eadmer, " I was present, and all these things I saw and heard." § 31. — William Rufiis was succeeded on the throne of England in 1100 by Henry I., whose reign extended to the long period of five-and-thirty years. He was the youngest son of William the Conqueror, and got the reins of government into his hands by sup planting his elder brother Robert ; but, having succeeded, he set himself with all his might to conciliate all those who were likely either to support or disturb him in the possession of the prize he had obtained, and especially the Pope and court of Rome. With a view to this, he recalled the archbishop of Canterbury from his exile ; and accordmgly Anselm landed at Dover on the 23d Sep tember, A.D. 1100. A few days after, he was introduced to the King, at Salisbury, who received him with every possible mark of affection and respect. But the cordiality was of short continuance. The King was far from being of an amiable character : Anselm, too, was the same unbending prelate still ; and the instant he was called upon to do homage to the King for the temporalities of his See, he met it with aflat refusal, and produced the canon of the late council of Rome in vindication of his conduct, at the same time declaring, that, if the King msisted on his pretensions to the homage of the clergy, he could hold no communion with him, and would immediately leave the kingdom. This threw the King into great perplexity ; for, on the one hand, he was very reluctant to resign the right of bestowing ecclesiastical benefices, and of receiving the homage of the prelates, and, on the other, he dreaded the departure of the Archbishop, who might take part with his brother Robert, then in Normandy, and preparmg to assert his right to the throne of England. In this critical conjuncture, the King proposed, or rather begged, a truce, till both parties could send ambassadors to 270 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [book v. Pope Pascal's lofty pretensions. Anselm's opposition to the will of the King. the Pope, to know his final determination ; to which Anselm, at the solicitations of the nobility, consented. § 32. — In due time the messengers who had been despatched to Rome returned with letters from pope Pascal II., who had suc ceeded Urban, in which his holiness asserted in the strongest terms, that the church and all its revenues belonged to St. Peter and his successors ; and that emperors, kings, and princes had no right to confer the investiture of benefices on the clergy, or to demand homage from them. This he endeavored to prove by several texts of Scripture, most grossly misapplied, and by other arguments, which are eilher blasphemous or nonsensical, of which take this specimen : — " How abominable is it for a son to beget his father, and a man to create his God? and are not priests your fathers and your Gods 1* The effect of this curious piece of papal reasoning was not precisely such as his holiness anticipated. The King was rather irritated than convinced by it. For, the first time Anselm appeared at court, Henry, in a somewhat peremptory tone, required him to do homage to him for the revenues of his See, and to con secrate certain bishops and abbots, accordmg to ancient custom, or to quit the kingdom ; adding, " I will suffer no subject to live in my dominions who refuses to do me homage." The Archbishop boldly replied, " I am prohibited by the canons of the council of Rome to do what you require, I will not leave the kingdom, but stay in my province, and perform my duty ; and let me see who dares to do me an injury ;" on saying which, he abruptly quitted the court, and returned to Canterbury. The King had suffered so much from the opposition and ob stinacy of Anselm, that upon the death of that prelate, which took place in 1109, he was in no haste to appoint a successor, but kept the See of Canterbury vacant no less than five years. At length, after a warm contest between the monks of the cathedral and the prelates of the province, Radulphus, bishop of Rochester, was elected primate, 26th April, 1114. As all this had been done without consulting the Pope, the latter was not a little enraged, and wrote a long letter to the King and bishops, in which many texts of Scripture are quoted to prove that no business of any importance ought to be transacted in any nation of Europe without the know ledge and direction of the Pope ; it also contained the strongest ex pressions of resentment against the King and prelates of England for their late neglect of the Holy See, with threats of excommuni cation if they did not behave in a more dutiful manner in time to come. The King was not a little offended with the insolent strain of this epistle, and sent the bishop of Exeter to Rome to expostu late with the Pope on that and some other subjects. One of the most specious and successfiil arts employed by the court of Rome to subject the several churches of Europe to her dominion, was that of sending legates into all countries, with com- * Eadmer, p. 61. CH4P. IV.] POPERY THE WORLD'S DESPOT— A. D. 1073-1303. 271 National councils. Cardinal Crema, the Pope's legate to England, detected in gross licentiousness missions to hold national councils, in the name and by the authority of the Pope. Hitherto the kuigs of England had successfully re sisted this ; but the policy of Rome was still upon the watch to seize the first favorable opportunity for renewing these attempts. Such an opportunity presented itself at this time, when the king of England was engaged in a dangerous war upon the continent, and stood in need of the favor of the court of Rome ; and it was not neglected. § 33. — Honorius II., who then filled the papal chair, granted a commission, April 13th, 1126, to John de Crema, a cardinal priest, to be his legate in England and Scotland.* The Legate, in passing thi'ough France, waited on king Henry, then in Normandy, and at length, with much difficulty, obtained his permission to pass over into England, where he gratified his pride and avarice, with little regard to decency. Among other things, he presided in a national council at Westminster, on the 9th of September, in wtiich both the archbishops, twenty bishops, forty abbots, and an innumerable multitude both of the clergy and people were present. In this council no fewer than seventeen canons were made, in the name and by the authority of the Pope alone ! In these canons there was little new, except the edicts enjoining the strictest celibacy to the clergy of every order. At the conclusion of the council, the legate-summoned the archbishops of Canterbury and York to re pair immediately to Rome to plead the cause about the preroga tives of their respective Sees, which was depending before the Pope. To such a height had the usurpations of Rome, and the in solence of the papal legates, then arrived ! In the night which succeeded the conclusion of this council, an incident occurred which made a prodigious noise throughout England, and brought no little scandal on the Roman clergy. John de Crema, the Pope's legate, who had declaimed with great warmth in the council, the day before, in honor of immaculate chastity, and inveighed, with no less vehemence, against the horrid impurity of the married clergy, was actually detected in bed with a common prostitute ! The detection was so undeniable, and soon became so public, that the Legate was both ashamed and afraid to show his face ; but sneaked out of England with all possible secrecy and precipitation.f This incident gave a temporary triumph to the married clergy, who had probably been the detectors, and thus rendered the canon of the late council against them abortive and contemptible. § 34. — Yet so intent was the court of ROme on making good its * Spelman, Concil., t. ii., pp. 32, 33. t R. Hoveden, p. 274 ; H. Knyghton, col. 2382 ; Chron. Homingford, 1. i., c. 48. J. Brompt., col. 1016 ; Hen. Hunt., 1. vii., p. 219. It is remarkable, says Mr. Hume, referring to this disgraceful occurrence, that the last cited author, H. ' Huntingdon, who was a clergyman, makes an apology for using such freedom with the fathers of the church, but says that the fact was notorious, and ought not to be concealed. (Hist, of Eng., p. 68.) 272 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [bookt Cruel measures against the married clergy. The Pope gives Ireland to king Henry right to the character of anti-Christ by prohibiting marriage, that, in the following year (1127), a national synod was convened at Westminster, on the 17th May, in the canons of which the marriage of the clergy is styled " the plague of the church," and aU digni taries are commanded to exert their most zealous efforts to root it out. The wives of priests and canons were not only to be sepa rated from them, but to be banished out of the parish; and if they ever after conversed with their husbands, they were to be seized by the ministers of the church, and subjected to ecclesiastical disci pline, or reduced to servitude, at the discretion of the bishop ; and if any persons, great or small, attempted to deliver these unhappy victims out of the hands of the ministers of the church, they were to be excommunicated. Such were the violent and cruel measures necessary to be employed in order to compel the clergy to do vio lence to the laws of nature, and by breaking up all the domestic relations, to render them the more willing, subservient, and devoted tools of Rome. In the year 1156, which was the year after the accession of Henry II. to the throne of England, that monarch inadvertently contributed to exalt the power and pretensions of the Pope, under which he and his successors so severely smarted, by accepting a grant of the kingdom of Ireland, from pope Adrian IV. Little was Henry aware of what he was doing in this instance ; for the solicit ing, or even accepting this grant, was a plain and virtual acknow ledgment, that the Pope Ijad a right to deprive the Irish princes of their dominions, and bestow them upon whom he pleased ; and in the body of the grant, his holiness takes care to mention this ac knowledgment. " For it is undeniable," says he, " and your majesty acknowledges it, that all islands on which Christ, the sun of righte ousness, hath shined, and which have received the Christian faith, belong of right to St. Peter, and the most holy Roman church."* § 35. — Shortly after this, at the instigation of the popish priests, king Henry was prevailed upon to disgrace his reign by the first instances of death for heresy that ever occurred in England from the landing of the emissaries of Rome on her shores. There ex isted, at that dark period, when " all the world wondered after the beast," a numerous body of the disciples of Christ, who took the New Testament for their guidance and direction in all the affairs of religion, rejecting doctrines and commandments of men. Their appeal was from the decisions of councils, and the authority of popes, cardinals, and prelates, to the law and the testimony — the words of Christ and his holy apostles. Egbert, a monkish writer of that age, speaking of them, says, that he had often disputed with these heretics, whom he terms cathari, or puritans ; "a sort of peo- f)le," he adds, " who are very pernicious to the catholic faith, which, ike moths, they corrupt and destroy. They are armed," says he, 'with the words of Scripture which in any way seem to favor their * M. Paris, Hist. p. 67. CHAP. IV.] POPERY THE WORLD'S DESPOT— A. D. 1073-1303. 273 First instances of death for heresy in England. sentiments, and with these they know how to defend their errors, and to oppose the catholic truth. They are increased to great mul titudes throughout all countries, to the great danger of the church (of Rome) ; for their words eat like a canker, and, like a flying leprosy, run every way, infecting the precious members of Christ."* These people went under different names in different countries ; but their faith was substantially one and the same. They invaria bly protested against the corruptions of the church of Rome ; such as the doctrine of purgatory, offering alms for the dead, and cele brating masses, the ringing of beUs, and praying for the dead, &c., &c. Throughout the whole of the twelfth century, they were ex posed to severe persecution; and in the year 1159, a company of them, amounting to thirty in number, partly men and partly women, all of whom spoke the German language, made their appearance in England, hoping, no doubt, to find an asylum here from the rage of bigotry and intolerance to which they were exposed in their own country. They appear to have constituted a small Christian church, in their native place ; and their pastor, whose name was Gerard, was a person of some learning and talent. They are said to have been the disciples of Arnold, of Brescia. Talung up their resi dence in the neighborhood of Oxford, they were not long in attract ing notice, by the strangeness of their language, and the singularity of their religious practices. They were, consequently, taken up, and brought before a council of the clergy at Oxford. When in terrogated as to who and what they were, their leader answered in their name, that they were Christians, and believed the doctrines of the apostles. On a more particular inquiry, it was found that they denied several of the received doctrines of the Catholic church ; such as purgatory, prayers for the dead, and the invoca tion of saints : and refusing to abandon these " damnable heresies," as the clergy were pleased to call them, they were condemned as incorrigible heretics, and delivered to the civil magistrates to be pun ished. The King, at the instigation of the clergy, commanded them to be branded with a red-hot iron on the forehead ; to be whipped through the streets of Oxford ; and, having their clothes cut short by the girdles, to be turned into the open fields ; all per sons being forbidden to afford them either shelter or relief, under the severest penalties. This cruel sentence was executed in its ut most rigor ; and taking place in the depth of winter, they all per ished through cold and famine ! Would that, as these instances of popish persecution were the first that had ever been witnessed in England, they had also been the last ! then we might be spared the task, painful though necessary, of tracing the blood-red footsteps of the Babylonish " mother of harlots " (Rev. xvii., 5), as she has reeled on in the career of ages over the fair fields of Britain, " drunk with the blood of the saints." § 36. — A disagreement occurred A. D. 1161, between king Henry * Senn. I. in Bib. Patnim, p. 898, Cologne edit. 274 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [book v. Two liings lead the Pope's horse. duarrel between king Henry and Thomas a Becket. II. of England, and Louis VII. of France, which would proba/. bly have resulted in a war, had it not be^i for the mediation and authority of pope Alexander III., at that time residing in France, having been driven from Rome by the successful rival- pope, Victor IV. " That we may form an idea," says Hume, "of the authority possessed by the Roman pontiffs during those ages, it may be proper to observe, that the two kings had, the year before, met the Pope at the castle of Toici, on the Loire ; and they gave him such marks of respect, that they both dismounted to receive him, and holding, each of them, one of the rems of his bridle, walked on foot by his side, and conducted him in that submissive manner into the castle."* In relating this circumstance, Cardinal Baronius is in ecstasies of delight ; " a spectacle this," says he, " to God, to angels, and to men ; and such as had never before been ex hibited in the world !"t {See Engraving.) § 37. — The submissive homage of king Henry on this occasion did not prevent pope Alexander from engaging in a warm dispute with him soon after, which was occasioned by the arrogance of Thomas a Becket, archbishop of Canterbury. In the year 1163, the hostilities commenced between the Sovereign and the Primate.' Various instances of the most scandalous impunity of atrocious crimes, perpetrated by the clergy, had recently occurred. Some of these had reached the King's ears, before he returned to Eng* land, and he was greatly incensed at them. One abominable in-'' stance brought the King and Becket into direct collision on this point. A clergyman in Worcester had debauched the daughter of a respectable man, and, for her sake, had murdered the father. The King demanded that he should be brought before his tribunaVio answer for the horrible act. Becket resisted this, and gave him into the cus,tody of his Bishop, that he might not be delivered t^ the King's justice. The King, who had seen repeated instances ( the clergy permitting their offending brethren to escape with ' punity, and as their crimes, instead of being repressed, beca daily more flagrant, was the more intent upon accomphshing his important object. He justly imputed these atrocities to the ex emption of the clergy from trial before the secular courts, while the ecclesiastical tribunals, to whom they were subject, had no power to inflict capital, or, indeed, any adequate punishment. With a view to redress this crying evil, king Henry summoned a great council at Westminster, which he opened with an excellent speech, in which he complained of the mischiefs occasioned by the thefts, robberies, and even murders committed by the clergy, who were suffered to go unpunished ; and he concluded with requiring, that the Archbishop and the other bishops would consent that when a clergyman was degraded for any crime, he should be immediately delivered up to the civil power, that he might be punished for the * History of England, reign of Henry H., An. 1161. f Baronius's Annals, Ann, 1160. Two Kings leading tlie Pope's Horse, at the Caslleof Toici, in France. -CHAP. IV.] POPERY THE WORLD'S DESPOT— A.D. 1073-1303. 277 Becket swears to obey the Constitutions of Clarendon. The Pope absolves him f^om his oath. crime, according to the laws of the land. Becket, at first, refused to comply with this reasonable demand, but in the following year he solemnly swore to obey the " Constitutions of Clarendon," by which all clergymen g'oilty of criminal offences were rendered amenable to the civil law. As it was with manifest reluctance that Becket had sworn to obey those hated Constitutions, so he soon began to give indications of his repentance, by extraordinary acts of mortification, and by refraining from performing the sacred offices of his function. He dispatched a special messenger to the Pope, apprising him of what had been done. The latter sent him a bidl, releasing him from the obligation of his oath, and enjoining him to resume the duties of his sacred oflfice. But though this bull reconciled his conscience to the violation of his oath, it did not dispel his fears of the King's in dignation — to avoid which, he determined to retire privately out of the kingdom. With this intention he went down to Romney, accompanied by two of his friends, and there embarked for France ; but being twice put back by contrary winds, he landed, and re turned to Canterbury. About the same time the King's officers came to that city with orders to seize his possessions and revenues ; but on his showing himself, they retired, without executing their orders. Conscious that he had transgressed those laws which he had sworn to observe, by attempting to leave the kingdom without permission, he waited upon the King at Woodstock, who received him without any other expression of displeasure than merely ask ing him if he had left England because he thought it too little to contain them both. § 38. — Soon after this interview, fresh misunderstandings arose between the King and the Primate, who publicly protected the clergy from those punishments which their crimes deserved, and flatly re fused to obey a summons to attend the King's court. Henry was so much enraged at these daring insults on the laws and the royal authority, that he determined to call him to account before his peers, in a parliament which he summoned to meet at Northampton, on the 17th October, 1164. This parliament was unusually full, the whole nation being now deeply interested in the issue of this con test between the crown and the mitre. On the first day, the King in person accused the Archbishop of contumacy, in refusing to at tend his court when he was summoned ; against which accusation, having made only a very weak defence, he was unanimously found guilty by the bishops, as well as by the temporal barons, and all his goods and chattels were declared to be forfeited. Many of the bishops waited upon Becket, and earnestly entreated him to resign his office, assuring him that if he did not he would be tried for per jury and high treason. Becket, however, was made of sterner stuff — he reproached them bitterly for deserting him in his contest — charged them not to presume to sit in judgment upon their Pri mate — and declared, that though he should be burnt alive, he would not abandon his station, nor forsake his flock I Having celebrated 278 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [bookt. Boldness, obstinacy, and rebellion of Becket. mass, he set out from his residence, dressed in his pontifical robes, with a consecrated host in one hand ; and when he approached the hall where the King and parliament sat, he took the cross from the bearer, and carried it in the other hand. When the King was in formed of the posture in which Becket was advancing, he retired hastily into an inner room, commanding all the bishops and barons to follow him. Here he complained of the insufferable annoyance of Becket ; and was answered by the barons, " That he had always been a vain and obstinate man, and ought never to have been raised to so high a station ; that he had been guilty of high treason, both against the King and the kingdom ; and they demanded that he should be immediately punished as a traitor." The clamors of the barons against Becket became so loud and vehement, that the archbishop of York, fearing they would proceed to acts of violence, hastily retired, that he might not be a spectator of the tragical scene. The bishop of Exeter went into the great hall, where the Primate sat almost alone, and, falling at his feet, conjured him to take pity on himself and on his brethren, and preserve them all from destruction, by complying with the king's will. But, with a stern countenance, he commanded them to begone. § 39. — The bishops, apprehensive of incurring the indignation of the Pope if they .proceeded to sit in judgment on their Primate, and of the King and barons if they refused, begged that they might he allowed to hold a private consultation, which was granted. After deliberating some time, they agreed to renounce all subjection to Becket as their Primate ; to prosecute him for perjury before the Pope ; and, if possible, to procure his deposition. This resolution they reported to the King and barons, who, not knowing that Becket had already obtained a bull from the Pope, absolving him from his oath, too rashly gave their consent ; and the bishops went into the hall in a body, and intimated their resolutions to the Arch bishop. The latter not deignmg to give them any answer, except " I hear," a profound silence ensued. In the mean time the King and barons came to a resolution, that if the Primate did not give in his accounts without delay, they would declare him guilty of perjury and treason, and deputed certain barons to communicate this reso lution. The earl of Leicester, who was at the head of these barons, addressing himself to Becket, said, " The King commands you to come immediately, and give in your accounts, or else hear your sentence." « My sentence !" exclaimed Becket, starting on his feet, " No ! my son, hear me first. I was given to the church free, and discharged from all claims when I was elected arch bishop of Canterbury, and therefore I never will render any ac count. Besides, my son, neither law nor reason permits sons to judge their father. I decline the jurisdiction of the King and barons, and appeal to God, and my lord the Pope, by whom alone I am to be judged. For you, my brethren and fellow bishops, I summon you to appear before the Pope, to be judged by him for having obeyed man rather than God. I put myself, the church of CHAP, v.] POPERY THE WORLD'S DESPOT— A. D. 1073-1303. 279 Becket's violent death. Pretended miracles at his shrine. Canterbury, and all that belongs to it, under the protection of God and the Pope ; and under their protection I depart hence." Having said this, he walked out of the hall in great state, leaving the spectators so much disconcerted by his boldness, that not an indi vidual had the courage to stop him. § 40. — The tragical result of this controversy is well known. The haughty but courageous Primate was assassinated December 29th, 1171, by four gentlemen of king Henry's court, in consequence of a passionate exclamation they had heard drop from the lips of their royal master, and was soon after his death canonized as a saint of the very highest rank. Endless were the panegyrics pro nounced on his virtues ; and the miracles wrought by his relics, according to the popish historians, were more numerous, more non sensical, and more impudently attested, than those which ever filled the legend of any saint or martyr. His shrine not only restored dead men to life ; it also restored cows, dogs, and horses. Presents were sent, and pilgrimages performed, from all parts of Christen dom, in order to obtain his intercession with Heaven : and it was computed that, in one year, above a hundred thousand pilgrims ar rived at Canterbury, and paid their devotions at his tomb.* The following quaint verse in relation to the throngs of pilgrims that came to pay their devotions at the shrine of St. Thomas a Becket, in Canterbury Cathedral, is from Chaucer, one of the most ancient of our English poets, who was born about a century and a half after the death and canonization of the saint. " And specially from every shire's end Of Engle-land to Canterbury they wend, The holy blissful martyr for to seek. That them hath holpen when that they were sick." CHAPTER V. POPERY IN ENGLAND CONTINUED POPE INNOCENT AND KING JOHN. § 41. — The most remarkable exhibition of priestly tyranny and successfiil papal arrogance that has ever occurred in Great Britain, and perhaps in the world, was that which signalized the pontificate of Innocent IIL, a pope that carried out the policy of Hildebrand to an unprecedented extent in his treatment of the kingdom of England, and its weak and contemptible king John, in the early part of the thirteenth century. It is justly remarked by the his- * Rassell's Modem Europe, 1,, 168, 280 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [bookv. The Pope and the King compared to the Sun and the Moon. Impertinent interference of lanocest III torian of the middle ages, that " the pontificate of Innocent III, may De regarded as the meridian or noonday of papal usurpation." In each of the three leading objects which Rome had pursued — name ly, independent sovereignty, supremacy over the Christian church, and control over the princes of the earth — it was the fortune of this pontiff to conquer. The maxims of Gregory VII. were now matured by more than a hundred years, and the right of tramplmg upon the necks of kings had been received, at least among church men, as an inherent attribute of the papacy. " As the sun and the moon are placed in the firmament," says the pontiff, " the greater as the light of the day, and the lesser of the night ; thus are there two powers in the church — the pontifical, which, as having the charge of souls, is the greater ; and the royal, which is the less, and to which the bodies of men only are intrusted."* Intoxicated with these conceptions, the result of successful ambition, he thought no quarrel of princes beyond the sphere of his jurisdiction. On every side the thunders of Rome broke over the heads of princes, ^t his pleasure, he would place a kingdom imder an interdict, and instantly pubhc worship is suspended, and the dead lie unburied. If the clergy complain to him that the people, cut off from the offices of religion, refuse to pay tithes, and go to hear the sectaries, he consents that divine service shall be performed with closed doors, but denies them the rites of sepulture.f § 42. — Pope Innocent commenced his course of lordly arrogance towards England almost as soon as he ascended the papal throne, and during the reign of Richard Coeur de Lion, the predecessor of John. In order to counteract the influence of the monks of Can terbury in the election of the primates, and to place future elections more under the royal influence, king Richard authorized the erec tion of an episcopal palace at Lambeth, intending to remove the place of election in future from Canterbury to that place. The suspicious monks, jealous of the exclusive right which they had claimed of electing the archbishops of Canterbury, secretiy dis patched a messenger to pope Innocent at Rome, from whom they obtained a bull, addressed to the archbishop Hubert, who was him self in favor of the change, commanding him, within thirty days, to demolish the works at Lambeth, and threatening him with suspen sion from his office in case of disobedience ; for, says the insolent Pope, " it is not fit that any man should have any authority who does not revere and obey the apostolic See."J The King was enraged at the conduct of the monks in apply ing to Rome without his permission, and the Archbishop dispatched his agents to Rome, who were admitted to an audience of the Pope on one day, and the monks of Canterbury were permitted to reply on the next. The result of these proceedings was, that * Vita Innocentii HI., St. Marc, tom. v., p. 325. This life of pope Innocent was written by a contemporary. f Hallam's Middle Ages, chap. vii. j Gervas. Chron., col. 1602, &c. CHAP, v.] POPERY THE WORLD'S DESPOT— A. D. 1073-1303. 281 The Pope orders the works of Lambeth Palace to be demolished. The King obliged to obey the Pope confirmed his former sentence against the Archbishop, which he intimated to him by a bull, dated November 20th, threat ening him with the highest censure of the church, if he did not im mediately demolish the works at Lambeth. His Holiness, at the same time, directed another bull to the King, commanding him, in a magisterial tone, to see the sentence of the apostolic See exe cuted ; and telliag him further, that if he presumed to oppose its execution, he would soon convince him, by the severity of his pun ishment, how hard it was " to kick against the pricks !" In another bull, which he addressed to the King, dictated, if possible, in a still higher strain, he commands him immediately to restore to the monks of Canterbury all their possessions ; for " he would not en dure the least contempt of himself, or of God, whose place he held upon earth ; but would punish, without delay, and without respect of persons, every one who presumed to disobey his commands, in order to convince the whole world that he was determined to act in a royal manner."* These, bulls had the desired effect ; the King and the Archbishop, terrified at the thunders of Rome, submitted to the commands of the Pope, and the pertinacious monks had the satis faction of seeing the obnoxious buildings razed to the foundation in the months of January and February, 1199, a short time before the death of king Richard, which took place on the 6th of April, of the same year. § 43. — In the course of the following century, however, consider able progress was made in the erection of the venerable and remark able pile of buildings, so well known to visitors in London as Lambeth Palace, and -which possesses such painful interest to the protestant descendants of British martyrs, on account of that single melan choly room called Lollard's Tower, where many of the noblest of their protestant forefathers, victims of popish oppression and cruelty, breathed their sighs to the cold stone walls and iron-barred doors ; sent up their prayers to the God of the oppressed ; held sweet com munion with that Saviour for whose cause they were languishing in chains, and in many instances left behind them the now time- worn memorials of their suffering, in rude inscriptions upon its walls. Lambeth Palace exhibits specimens of the architecture of differ ent ages. The venerable apartment called the Chapel, and the crypt beneath, were probably built by archbishop Boniface, as early as 1262. It is seventy- five feet in length, twenty-five in breadth, and thirty feet in height, and is divided in the middle by a richly ornamented screen. There is another magnificent and more spa cious apartment built at a later period, called the Great Hall. It stands on the right of the principal court-yard, and is built of fine red brick, the walls being supported by stone buttresses, and also coped with stone, and surmounted by large balls or orbs. The length of this noble room is ninety-three feet, its breadth thirty-eight, and its height fifty. The roof, which is of oak and elaborately * Gervas. Chron,, col. 1616-1624. 282 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [bookv,, Lambeth Palace and Lollard's tower. Commencement of king John's quarrel with pope Iimocent, carved, is particularly splendid and imposing. The Gate-house, which forms the principal entry to the Palace, and is the prominent object in the engraving, was erected by Cardinal Morton, about the year 1490, and is a very beautiful and magnificent structure. It consists of two lofty towers, from the summits of which is one of, the finest views in the neighborhood of the metropolis. But of all the parts of this venerable and imposing pile, there is a single contracted room, cold, dark and dreary, twelve feet by, nine, with two holes called windows, fourteen inches by seven, measured on the outside, but enlarging, by a funnel-shaped cavity through thick, stone walls, to about double the size on the inside, which possesses a deeper and more tender interest than any, or than all the rest. I need not add, it is Lollard's Tower. This gloomy, apartment was erected by Archbishop Chichely, in the early part of the fifteenth century, as a pla,ce of confinement for the unhappy he retics from whom it derives its name. Under the tower is an apart ment of somewhat singular appearance, called the post room, from a large post in the middle of it, by which its flat roof is partly sup ported. The prison in which the poor Lollards were confined is at the top of the tower, and is reached by a very narrow winding.. staircase. Its single doorway, which is so narrow as only to admit one person at a time, is strongly barricaded by both an outer and an inner door of oak, each three inches and a half thick, and thickly studded with iron. Both the walls and roof of the chamber are lined with oaken planks an inch and a half thick ; and eight large iron rings still rernain fastened to the wood, the melancholy memo rials of the barbarous popish tyranny whose victims formerly pined in this dismal prison-house. Many names, and fragments of sen tences, are rudely cut out on various parts of the walls. (See En graving.) § 44. — To return to the thread of our history. A few years after the accession of king John the brother of Richard, the violent dispute be tween him and pope Innocent commenced, which has rendered so memorable the history of the reign of that weak and contemptible sovereign. The occasion of it was as follows. After the death of Hubert, archbishop of Canterbury in 1205, a contest arose between two individuals who each claimed to have been elected to that dig nity by the monks. The bishops who had not been consulted in either, formed a third party, and dispatched their agents to Rome to protest against both elections. Pope Innocent, to whom nothing could be more grateful than these clashmg claims and appeals, de cided against both elections, declared the See of Canterbury vacant, and resolved, like one of his predecessors, six centuries before (see above, page 135), to raise a creature of his own to the dignity of primate of England. To give this assumption at least a semblance of regularity, « ^^ however slight, the Pope sent for some monks of Canterbury, four- teen in number, who happened at that time to be in Rome as agents for the bishop of Norwich, one of the rejected competitors, and ^'iliili!;! iii y CHAP, v.] POPERY THE WORLD'S DESPOT— A. D. 1073-1303. 285 Langton, by the Pope's orders, appointed archbishop of Canterbury. King John's useless anger. commanded them, under penalty of excommunication, immediately to choose for their archbishop, cardinal Stephen Langton. The monks in vain protested that they were incompetent to elect an arch bishop without the consent of the whole convent, and that they had been entrusted with no such authority ; but the Pope hastily and sternly replied that his authority was sufficient to supply all defects. They urged, too, that before leaving England, they had solemnly sworn to the King that they would acknowledge no person for pri mate except the bishop of Norwich, who was a personal favorite of the sovereign. This obstacle, however, was soon removed by the plenitude of papal authority, which had long since assumed the blasphemous power of annulling the laws of God, and sanction ing the most deliberate perjury by absolving from the obligation of oaths. Having, therefore, removed this obstacle by absolving them from their solemn oath to king John, the monlis at length overcome by the menaces and authority of the Pope, proceeded, with the single exception of Elias de Brantefield, to comply with his de mands and elected Langton archbishop, who was consecrated by the Pope himself on the 37th of June, 1207. § 45. — Pope Innocent, well aware that this flagrant usurpation would be highly resented by the court of England, wrote to John a mollifying letter, accompanied by four golden rings set with precious stones, and endeavored to enhance the value of the present by in forming him of the mysteries implied in it. Their round form, he said, shadowed forth eternity without beginning or end, and should teach him to aspire from temporal to eternal things ; their number, four, being a square, denoted steadiness of mind ; their matter, gold, the most precious of metals signified wisdom. The blue- color of the sapphire, represented Faith ; the green of the emerald, Hope ; the redness of the ruby, Charity ; and the splendor of the topaz, good -works.* King John, who, like most weak minds, was fond both of trinkets and flattery, was much gratified by this papal pre sent, but his satisfaction only continued during his ignorance of the means by which the artful Pope had sought to deprive him of what he regarded as one of the most valuable prerogatives of his crown. A few days after the reception of the present, the Pope's bull ar rived announcing the election and consecration of cardinal Langton, which threw the King into a violent rage against both the Pope and the monks of Canterbury. As these last were most within his reach, they felt the first effects of his indignation. He dispatched two officers, with a company of armed men, to Canterbury, who took possession of the convent of the Holy Trinity, banished the monks out of the kingdom, and seized all their estate. John next wrote a spirited and angry letter to the Pope, in which he accused him of injustice and presumption, in raising a stranger to the highest dignity in the kingdom, without his know ledge. He reproached the Pope and court of Rome with ingrati- * Rymer, vol. i., p. 139. Matth. Paris, p. 155. 18 286 inSTORY OF ROMANISM. [book v. Pope Innocent lays England under an interdict. Terrific consequences of that sentence. tude, in behaving as they had done towards a country from which they derived more money than from all the other kingdoms on this side the Alps. He declared that he was determined to sacrifice his life in defence of the rights of his crown ; and that, if his Holiness did not immediately repair the injury he had done him, he would break off all communication with Rome. This letter, though written in a strain very becoming a king of England, was quite intolerable to the pride of the haughty pontiff, who had been long accustomed to trample on the majesty of kings. Innocent was not tardy in returning an answer, in which, after many expressions of displeasure and resentment, he plainly tells the King, that if he per sisted in this dispute, he would plunge himself into inextricable difficulties, and at length be crushed by him, before whom every knee must bow, of tihangs in heaven, and things on earth, and things under the earth.* § 46. — These letters might be regarded in the light of a formal de claration of war between the Pope and the king of England ; but the contest was very unequal. The former had now attained that extravagant height of power which made the greatest monarchs tremble upon their thrones ; and the latter had sunk very low in both his reputation and authority, havmg before this time lost his foreign domuiions by his indolence, and the esteem and affection of his subjects at home by his follies and his crimes. Indeed, the Pope was not ignorant of the advantage he possessed in the contest ; and consequently, without delay, he laid all the dominions of king John ¦ under an interdict ; and this sentence was published in England, at the Pope's command, March 23d, a. d. 1208, by the bishops of Lon don, Ely, and Worcester, though the King endeavored to deter them from it by the most dreadful threats. The consequences of this terrific sentence are thus described by Mr. Hume : " The execution," says he, " was calculated to strike the senses in the highest degree, and to operate with irresisti ble force on the superstitious minds of the people. The nation was, of a sudden, deprived of all exterior exercise of its religion ; the altars were despoiled of their ornaments ; the crosses, the relics, the images, the statues of the saints, were laid on the ground ; and as if the air itself were profaned, and might pollute them by its contact, the priests carefully covered them up, even from their own approach and veneration. The use of bells entirely ceased in all the churches ; the bells themselves were removed from the steeples, and laid on the ground with the other sacred utensils. Mass was celebrated with closed doors, and none but the priests were admit ted to that holy institution. The laity partook of no religious rite, except the communion to the dying ; the dead were not interred in consecrated ground ; they were thrown into ditches, or buried in common fields, and their obsequies were not attended with prayers or any hallowed ceremony. Marriage was celebrated in the * Matt. Paris, pp. 156, 157. CHAP, v.] POPERY THE WORLD'S DESPOT— A. D. 1073-1303. 287 King John excommunicated. Deposed, and his subjects absolved fVom their allegiance, churchyard, and that every action in life might bear the marks of this dreadful situation, the people were prohibited the use of meat, as in Lent, or times of the highest penance ; were debarred from all pleasures and entertahiments, and were forbidden even to salute each other, or so much as to shave their beards, and give any de cent attention to their apparel. Every circumstance carried symp toms of the deepest distress, and of the most immediate apprehen sion of divine vengeance and indignation."* When this uiterdict had continued about two years, the Pope proceeded a step further, and pronounced the awful sentence of ex communication against king John, which he commanded the bishops of London, Ely, and Worcester, his most obsequious tools, to pub lish in England. These prelates, who then resided on the continent, sent copies of the sentence, and of the Pope's commands to publish it in their churches, to the bishops and clergy who remained in England. But such was their dread of the royal indignation, that none of them had the courage to execute these commands. Geof- fi"ey, archdeacon of Norwich, one of the King's judges, when sit ting on the bench in the Exchequer, at Westminster, declared to the other judges, that the King was excommunicated, and that he did not think it lawful for him to act any longer in his name ; for which declaration he was thrown into prison, where he soon died.f § 47. — In the year 1211, the Pope sent two legates into England, whose names were Pandulph and Durand. These legates were admitted to an audience, at a parliament which was held at North ampton, when a most violent altercation took place between them and the King. Pandulph plainly told the King, even in the face of his parliament, that he was bound to obey the Pope in temporals as well as in spirituals ! and when John refused to submit to the will of his Holiness without reserve, the Legate, with shameless effrontery, published the sentence of excommunication against him, with a loud voice, absolving all his subjects from their oaths of allegiance, degraded him from his royal dignity, and declared that neither he nor any of his posterity should ever reign in England.^ This was certainly carrying clerical insolence to the height of extravagance. But in those unhappy times the meanest agents of the Pope insulted the greatest pruices with impunity. On the return of the legates to Rome, in the following year, pope Innocent solemnly ratified all their proceedings against the king of England ; and finding that all the success which he ex pected from them had not ensued, he proceeded to more violent measures ; he pronounced with great solemnity a sentence of deposi tion against king John, and of excommunication against all who should obey him, or have any connection with him.^ When these sentences were known in England, they began to excite the super- * Hume's Hist, of England, p. 110. t Matt. Paris, pp. 158, 159, j Annal. Monast. Burton, apud Rerum Anglican. Script., t. i., pp, 165, 166, } Matt. Paris, p, 161. 288 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [bookv. The Pope offers England to king Philip of France. King John's degrading submission. stitious fears of some of the barons, who were at the same time much dissatisfied with the prince, for his imprudent, illegal, and oppressive government. John, having received intimations of this from various quarters, became not a little alarmed, and began to stagger in his resolution. §. 48. — To render the sentence of deposition against king John effectual, the Pope appointed Philip, king of France, to put it in execution, and promised him the pardon of all his sins, and the kingdom of England for his reward — a temptation which that prince had neither the wisdom nor virtue to resist. Blinded by his ambition, he commanded a large army to assemble at Rouen, and prepared a fleet of seventeen hundred vessels, to convey them to England. All these preparations, however, only served to promote the purposes of the court of Rome ; for as soon as John was suffi ciently intimidated by his dread of the French army, and his sus picions of his own subjects, to induce him to make an ignominious surrender of his crown and kingdom to the Pope, the French king was obliged to abandon his enterprise against England, to avoid the thunders of the church, the dreadful effects of which he had before his eyes. The trembling John now implored the protection of Rome, whatever submission it might cost. The Legate assured him that the supreme pontiff would require nothing which was not abso lutely necessary either to the honor of the church or the safety of the King himself He proposed, therefore, to withdraw the excom munication immediately, on condition of John's promising to receive Langton as archbishop, whose promotion to the primacy had been the occasion of all this furious contest, with all the bishops and cler gy who acknowledged him, and to indemnify them for all the damage they had sustained. To all this the king of England consented ; but the consummation of ignominy was yet to come. Under the spe cious pretext of securing England from attacks by Philip, it was suggested to John to surrender his kingdoms to the Pope, as to a lord-paramount— to swear fealty to him — to receive the British islands back as fiefs of the holy See ; and to pay an annual tribute tor them of 700 marks of silver for England, and 300 for Ireland. On the 12th of May, 1213, John performed all the degrading cere monials of resignation, homage and fealty. On his knees he hum bly offered his kingdoms to the Pope, and put them into the hands of the Legate, Pandulph, who retained them for five days. He of fered his tribute, which the Legate threw down and trampled on, but afterwards condescended to gather up again ! In the engraving, which is a representation of this scene, the humbled monarch is seen on his knees before the Pope's legate, who has just received the crown from the hands of the King, and IS trampling upon the gold, with the gift of which John accom panied his submissijpn. Some of the barons of England are look ing on, grieved and indignant alike at the degradation of their weak-minded sovereign, and the haughty and contemptuous inso lence ot the triumphant priest. {See Engraving.) CHAP, v.] POPERY THE WORLD'S DESPOT— A. D. 1073-1303. 291 Deed of surrender of England to the Pope. Haughty insolence of the papal legate. The nuncio immediately went to France, to announce to Philip, that he must no longer molest a prince who was a penitent son and a faithful vassal of the Holy See, nor presume to molest a^ kingdom which was now part of the patrimony of St. Peter. § 49. — The language of the deed of surrender which king John delivered to Pandulph, and which had doubtless been dictated to him by the haughty legate, is so remarkable, that I shall subjoin a copy of it, as a monument of the unbounded arrogance and tyranny of the apostate church of Rome, and of the heads of that false church, the pretended successors of St. Peter, and disciples of him who said, " my kingdom is not of this world." The follow ing are the words of this document : — " I, John, by the grace of God, king of England, &c., freely grant unto God, and the HOLY APOSTLES, PeTER AND PaUL, AND TO THE HOLY RoMAN CHURCH, OUR MOTHER, AND UNTO THE LORD, POPE InNOCENT, AND TO HIS CATHO LIC SUCCESSORS, THE WHOLE KINGDOM OF ENGLAND, AND THE WHOLE KINGDOM OF Ireland, with all the rights and all the appurtenances of the same, for tlie remission of our sins, and of all our genera tion, both for the living and the dead, that from tiiis time forward we may receive and hold them of him, and of the Roman church, as second after him, &c. We have sworn, and do swear, unto the said lord, pope Innocent, and to his catholic successors, and tathe Roman church, a liege homage, in the presence of Pandulphus. If we can be in the presence of the lord pope, we will do the same ; and to this we oblige our heirs and successors for ever, &;c. And for the sign of this our perpetual obligation and concession, we will and ordain, that out of our proper and especial revenues from the said kingdoms, for all our service and custom which we ought to render, the Roman church receive a thousand marks sterling yearly, without diminution of St. Peter' s-pence ; that is, five hundred marks at the feast of St. Michael, and five hundred at Easter, &c. And IF WE, OR any of OUE SUCCESSORS, PRESUME TO ATTEMPT AGAINST THESE THINGS, LET HIM FORFEIT HIS RIGHT TO THE KINGDOM, &C." Matthew Paris tells us, that, on delivering this letter, the King placed a sum of money at the feet of Pandulph, the Pope's legate, which the former trode upon with his foot, in token of the subjection of the country to the Roman See. " Pandulphus pecuniam, quam in arcem subjectionis rex contulerat, sub pede suo conculcavit archie- piscope dolente et reclamante." § 50 — King John having made this ignoble submission to the will of pope Innocent, he was soon after absolved from the sentence of excommunication by the new primate, Langton, who imme diately came to England, and took possession of his See of Can terbury, and after a short interval, upon the King's sending to In nocent a large sum of money, and renewing his promise of obedi ence, his Holiness gave a commission to his legate in England to remove the interdict, which was accordingly done in St. Paul's ca thedral, on the 29th of June, 1214. Henceforward king John conducted himself as an obedient vas- 292 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [bookv. Innocent excommunicates the barons of England. Popery at present feeble, contrasted with the past sal of HIS SOVEREIGN LORD THE PoPE, who, in rotum, condescended, in all the future quarrels of John with his barons, to spread over the humbled monarch the shield of his apostolic protection. The violent disputes that arose, after John's submission to the Pope, be tween him and the barons of England, are familiar to every reader of English history. In the council of Lateran, in 1215, pope Inno cent hurled the thunders of excommunication at these sturdy barons, and in a letter written to certain ecclesiastics soon after, he alludes to this event in the following pompous language : — " We will have you to know that in the general council we have excommunicated and anathematized, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, in the name of the holy apostles Peter and Paul, and in our own name, the barons of England, with their partizans and abettors, for persecuting John, the illustrious king of England, who has taken the cross, and is a vassal of the Roman church, and for striving to deprive him of a kingdom that is known to BELONG TO THE RoMAN CHURCH."* Thcsc barous, howcver, were less terrified by the spiritual thunders of Innocent than their weak- minded King had been, and, as is well known, pursued their object with a steady aim, till they finally extorted from the Kuig that char ter of English liberty, Magna Charta. Before dismissing the subject of the present chapter, I will re mind the reader that one of the proudest boasts of Popery is, that it is unchangeable. Hence, there can be no possible doubt that the principles of Rome are the same now as they were in the days of Innocent and John, those days of darkness, when she reigned Despot of the World ; and the only reason why her sovereign pontiffs do not now renew their claim to reign as universal monarchs with all the nations at their feet, is that they are destitute of the power to enforce such claims. Should the present imbecile and contemptible occupantf of the throne of Hildebrand only breathe the thought of ever renewing such pretensions, he would be pointed at with scorn, as the laughing-stock of the world. Thanks to God, the dark ages are passed ! Popery has still the same mind and heart, but it is quaking with the decrepitude of age. The strong men have bowed themselves, the keepers of the house are trem bling. Its power to tyrannize is gone 1 — gone, if the protestant world is faithful, never, never to return 1 * Matthew Paris, p. 192. t Pope Gregory XVI.— A. D. 1845. 293 CHAPTER VI. MORE INSTANCES OF PAPAL DESPOTISM. POPES ADRIAN IV., ALEXAN DER III., AND INNOCENT III. § 51. — The extravagant pretensions of the pontiffs of this age to the supreme dominion of the world, and to an authority over all emperors, kuigs, and governments, were maintained without inter ruption by the whole line of popes, from Hildebrand to Boniface VIII,, who died in 1303, that is, from the latter part of the eleventh through all the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. They inculcated and acted upon that pernicious and extravagant maxim, " That THE BISHOP OP Rome is the supreme lord of the universe, and that neither princes nor bishops, civil GOVERNORS NOR ECCLE SIASTICAL RULERS, HAVE ANY LAWFUL POWER IN CHURCH AND STATE BUT WHAT THEY DERIVE FRO.M HIM." We have already shown in the history of Popery in England, as given in the last two chapters, a specimen of the manner in which two of the most famous of the successors of Hildebrand claimed and exercised this monstrous power in the afiairs of our father land. We shall now proceed to relate the acts of the most cele brated of these spiritual tyrants, during this noontide of their power in other parts of the world. After the death of pope Urban, the originator of the crusades, which took place in 1098, there was no pontiff of much importance in history, till the accession of pope Adrian IV., by birth an Eng lishman, which occurred in 1 1 54. During his pontificate the an cient contest between the Pope and the empire was renewed. Frederic I., surnamed Barbarossa, was no sooner seated on the im perial throne, than he publicly declared his resolution to maintain the dignity and privileges of the Roman empire in general, and more particularly to render it respectable in Italy ; nor was he at all studious to conceal the design he had formed of reducing the overgrown power and opulence of the pontiffs and clergy within narrower limits. Adrian perceived the danger that threatened the majesty of the church, and the authority of the clergy, and pre pared himself for defending both with vigor and constancy. The first occasion of trying their strength was offered at the coronation of the Emperor at Rome, in the year 1155, when the pontiff in sisted upon Frederic's performing the office of equerry, and hold ing the stirrup to his Holiness. After some objection, Frederic sub mitted to lead the Pope's white mule, though with an ill grace, for, mistaking the stirrup, he apologised by remarking that he had never learned the trade of a groom. For many years this act of constrained humifiation galled the proud spirit of the Emperor, and led him to seize every opportunity in his power to humble the overgrown power of the popes. 294 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [book v. Submission of the emperor Frederick Barbarossa to pope Alexander III. § 52. — Adrian died in 1159, and the next pope acknowledged by the Romish annalists, was Alexander IIL, though he had two or three rivals, who successively disputed with him the papal throne, and were sustained by the emperor Frederic and others, and suc ceeded for a time in chasing him from Rome. In 1167, Alexander held a council at Rome, in which he solemnly deposed the Em peror (whom he had, upon several occasions before this period, loaded publicly with anathemas and execrations), dissolved the oath of allegiance which his subjects had taken to him as their lawful sovereign, and encouraged and exhorted them to rebel against his authority, and to shake off his yoke. But soon after this audacious proceeding, the Emperor made himself master of Roine, upon which the insolent pontiff fled to Benevento. Ten years later, the Emperor, dejected at the difficulties which encompassed him, was glad most humbly to conclude a treaty of peace with pope Alex ander at Venice, and a truce with the rest of his enemies. The account given by Voltaire, and confirmed by other historians, of this reconciliation, is as follows: — " Every point being settled, the Emperor goes to Venice. The doge of Venice carries him in his gondola to St. Mark's. The Pope waits for him at the gate with the Tiara upon his head. The Emperor, Barbarossa, having laid aside his mantle, leads him to the chair with a beadle's staff in his hand. The Pope preaches in Latin, which Frederic does not un derstand. After sermon, the Emperor goes and kisses the Pop^s feet, receives the communion from him, and coming from church leads the Pope's white mule through St. Mark's Square."* The accompanying engraving is an accurate representation of this oc currence, and of St. Mark's Square, Venice, where it transpifed. {See Engraving.) i. Besides thus humbling the pride of monarchs, not sufficiently obsequious to the Holy See, Alexander taught that the popes have power to set up kings, as well as to pull them dovra, and gave a prac tical illustration of the same shortly after the submission of the em peror Frederic, by conferring, in the year 1 1 79, the title of King, upon Adolphus I., duke of Portugal, who had rendered his province tributary to the Roman See under pope Lucius Il.f § 53. — But the Pope that carried out the doctrines of Hildebrand most faWf in his treatment of earthly sovereigns and worldly go vernments, was Iniiocent III., whom we have already seen tyran nizing over the kingdom of England, and by his haughty legate * Voltaire's Annals of the Empire, An. 1177. I do not find sufficient authority for what is related by some historical writers, that on this occasion, while the Em peror kissed the foot of the haughty pontiff, the latter trod upon the neck of the supphant monarch, at the same time repeating the words of the Psalmist, " Thou shalt tread upon the lion and the adder ; the young lion and the dragdii shalt thou trample under feet." The humiliation of the Emperor was certainly sufficiently abject without this (probably) apocryphal addition. I do not assert that such an event never occurred, bui as I have adopted in the present work the principle of omitting a probable fact rather than inserting a doubtful relation, I have chosen to omit this incident in the text. t Baronius, Annal., An. 1179, Epist. Innocentii m., Epist. xlix. The Emperor Frederick Barbarossa leading the Pope's Mule through St. Mark's Square, Venice. CHAP. VI.] POPERY THE WORLD'S DESPOT— A. D. 1073-1303. 297 Instances of the despotism of pope Innocent HI. towards various sovereigns. literally trampling under foot the crown of its contemptible sove reign John. Innocent ascended the papal throne in the year 1198, and continued to claim and to exercise universal sovereignty for the first sixteen years of the thirteenth century. The very day after his consecration, he compelled the prefect of the city of Rome and other magistrates to take that oath of allegiance to him as their lawful sovereign, which they had formerly taken to the Emperor. He soon after compelled several cities of Tuscany who threw them selves upon his protection, to swear that they would receive no one as emperor unless he was acknowledged as such by the Pope. This was in consequence of the different claims that were at that time set up to the empire by Otho, duke of Brunswick, and Philip, duke of Swabia. He compelled Philip, by threatening him with excommunication and interdict if he refused, to liberate the arch bishop of Salerno, confined in prison, on a charge of treason. In the same year he excommunicated Alphonsus, king of Galicia and Leon, for refusing to dismiss his wife Tarsia, daughter of Sanctius, king of Portugal, whom Innocent pronounced to be within the de grees of affinity forbidden by the church ; and threatened her father, Sanctius himself, with the same spiritual thunders, unless he should promptly pay up the yearly tribute which his father, Alphonso, had promised to the successors of St. Peter, upon receiving the title of king fi-onx pope Alexander.* § 54. — Innocent soon after conferred the title of King upon Prem- islaus, duke of Bohemia, in consequence of his forsaking the party of Philip, who aspired to the empire, and joining that of Otho, who at this time was supported by the Pope. The next year, 1201, the lordly pontiff issued his anathemas against Philip IL, king of France, and laid his kingdom under an interdict, till he compelled him to receive back Ingelburga, his wife, whom he had put away, and taken in her stead Mary, daughter of the duke of Bohemia. In this instance, doubtless, king Philip was compelled by the terrors of excommuni cation and interdict, to perform an act of justice ; but our object in relating these instances of papal authority over the kings of the earth, is not so much to examine the guilt or innocence of those who were the subjects of them, as to illustrate the enormous and over grown power of the popes during this period. The following year, Calo-Johannes, a descendant of the ancient kings of Bulgaria, having expelled the Greeks from that country, wrote a submissive letter to pope Innocent, beseeching his Holiness to send him a crown. With this the Pope complied, and sent Leo, his legate, with a crown and other ensigns of royalty, into Bulgaria. After the king had taken an oath of "perpetual obedience to Inno cent and his successors, lawfully elected," he was solemnly crowned by the Legate, who on this occasion, to show the entire vassalage of the kingdom of Bulgaria to the apostolic See, pretended to grant, in the Pope's name, the privilege of coining money, a right which * Epist. Innoc. HI., L. i. ep. 91, 92. Bower, vi., 187. 298 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [book v Peter, iting of Arragon, and the emperor Otho take an oath of allegiance to pope Innocent. had always been regarded as inherent in the crown of all kings and emperors. § 55, — In the year 1204, Peter IL, king of Arragon, travelled ex pressly to Rome, to enjoy the honor of being crowned by the Pope himself He was received with honors suitable to his rank, and, on the 11th November, solemnly crowned by the Pope, who, with his own hand, placed the crown upon his head, after extracting from him the following extraordinary oath: " I, Peter, king of Arragoni- ans, profess and promise to be ever faithful and obedient to my LORD, pope Innocent, to his Catholic successors, and the Roman church, and faithfully to preserve my kingdom in his obedience, defending the Catholic faith, and persecuting heretical pravity. I shall maintain the liberty and immunity of the churches, and defend their rights. I shall strive to promote peace and justice throughout my dominions. So help me God, and these his holj gospels." The Kuig, thus crowned, returned with the Pope to the church of St. Peter, and there laying his crown and his sceptre upon the altar of that saint, he received a sword from his Holiness, and in return made his kuigdom tributary to the apostolic See, binding himself, his heirs, and successors for ever, to pay yearly to Innocent and his successors, two hundred and fifty pieces of gold. This grant was signed by the King, and is dated as we read it in the Acts of Innocent, at St. Peter's, the 1 1th of November, the eighth year of king Peter's reign, and of our Lord, 1204.* § 56. — A few years later, upon the death of Philip, the competitor of Otho in the empire, the latter was solemnly crowned anew at Rome, upon the invitation of pope Innocent. The legates whom Innocent sent to Germany to tender this invitation to Otho, were charged by their master with the form of an oath, to be taken by the Emperor, before setting out for Rome. This oath was accordingly taken at Spire, on the 22d of March, 1208. The form of the oath was as follows : " I promise to honor and obey pope Innocent as my pre decessors have honored and obeyed him. The elections of bishops shall be free, and the vacant Sees shall be filled by such as have been elected by the whole chapter, or by a majority. Appeals to Rome shall be made freely, and freely pursued. I promise to sup press and abolish the abuse that has obtained of seizing the effects of deceased bishops, and the revenue of vacant Sees. I promise to extirpate all heresies, to restore to the Roman church all her possessions, whether granted to her by my predecessors, or by others, particularly the march of Ancona, the dukedom of Spoleti, and the territories of the countess Matilda, and inviolately maintain all the rights and privileges enjoyed by the apostolic See in the kingdom of Sicily ."f Upon Innocent receivmg intelligence that Otho had taken the prescribed oath, he caused a copy of it to be lodged in the archives * Acta Innocentii.— Bower, vi., 192, 193. t Acta Innocentii et Epist., 189. CKAP.vn.] POPERY THE WORLD'S DESPOT— A. D. 1073-1303. 299 The Waldenses. Testimony of Evervinus, a zealous papist, to their character. of the Roman church, as a pattern of the oath to be taken by all future emperors. He then wrote a letter to Otho, inviting him to receive the crown from his hands, and commending him for his filial submission and obedience to the holy See. Otho, after some delay, accepted the invitation, and was solemnly crowned by the Pope, in the church of St. Petei-'s, on the 17th of September, 1209. Thus we perceive that Popery maintained in the thirteenth century, as it had in the twelfth, its character of despot of the world. CHAPTER vn. the waldenses and albigenses. § 57. — The spiritual tyrants who thus domineered over the sove reigns and governments of the earth, could not brook the idea that any should be found so daring as to refuse obedience to their man dates, or to question the right by which they claimed thus not only to " lord it over God's heritage, but also to reduce the whole world to their sovereign sway. Hence it is not difficult to account for the bitter and unrelenting hostility with which the popes of this period pursued and persecuted the harmless and interesting people, who, under the name of Cathari (i. e. puritans), Gazari, Paulicians or Publicans, Petrobrussians, poor men of Lyons, Lombards, Albi genses, Waldenses, Vaudois, &c., offered a noble resistance to the usurped tyranny of the self-styled successors of St. Peter, and pretend ed vicars of Christ upon earth. The testimony given by Evervinus, a zealous papist, in a letter he wrote to the celebrated Bernard, abbot of Clairvaux, at the beginning of the twelfth century, relative to the doctrine and manners of these heretics is exceedingly valuable. The following is the substance of this letter : " There have lately been," says he, " some heretics discovered among us, near Cologne, of whom some have, with satisfaction, returned again to the church. One that was a bishop among them, and his companions, openly opposed us, in the assembly of the clergy and laity, the lord arch bishop himself beuig present, with many of the nobility, maintaining their heresy from the words of Christ and his apostles. But, finding that they made no impression, they desired that a day might be fixed, upon which they might bring along with them men skilful in their faith, promising to return to the church, provided their teach ers were imable to answer their opponents; but that otherwise, they would rather die than depart from their judgment. Upon this declaration, having been admonished to repent, and three days allowed them for that purpose, they were seized by the people, in 300 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [book v. The morality and holiness of the Waldenses testified by their persecutors. their excess of zeal, and committed to the flames ! And, what is most astonishing, they came to the stake and endured the torment not only with patience, but even with joy. In this case, 0 holy father, were I present with you, I should be glad to ask you, how these members of Satan could persist in their heresy with such con stancy and courage as is rarely to be found among the most reli gious in the faith of Christ 1" He then proceeds, " Their heresy is this : they say that the church (of Christ) is only among themselves, because they alone follow the ways of Christ, and imitate the apostles, — not seeking secular gains, possessing no property, follow ing the example of Christ, who was himself poor, nor permitted his disciples to possess anything. Whereas, say they to us, ' ye join house to house, and field to field, seeking the things of this world, yea, even your monks and regular canons possess all these thmgs.' They represent themselves as the poor of Christ's flock, who have no certain abode, fleeing from one city to another, like sheep in the midst of vFolves, enduring persecution with the aposties and martyrs: though strict in their manner of life — abstemious, laborious, devout, and holy, and seeking only what is needful for bodily subsistence, living as men who are not of the world. But you, they say, lovers of the world, have peace with the world, because ye are in it. False apostles, who adulterate the word of God, seeking their own things, have misled you and your ancestors. Whereas, we and our fathers, having been born and brought up in the apostolic doctrine, have continued in the grace of Christ, and shall continue so to the end. ' By their fruits ye shall know them,' saith Christ ; ' and our fruits are, walking in the footsteps of Christ.' They affirm that the apostolic dignity is corrupted by engaging itself in secular affairs, while it sits in St. Peter's chair. They do not hold with the baptism of infants, alleging that passage of the gospel— ' He that believeth, and is baptized, shall be saved.' They place no confidence in the intercession of saints ; and all things observed in the church, which have not been established by Christ himself, or his aposties, they pronounce to be superstitious. They do not admit of any purgatory fire after death, contendmg, that the souls of men, as soon as they depart out of the bodies, do enter into rest or punishment ; proving it from the words of Solomon, ' Which way soever the tree falls, whether to the South or to the North, there it lies ;' by which means they make void all the prayers and oblations of the faithful for the deceased. " We, therefore, beseech you, holy father, to employ your care and watchfulness against these manifold mischiefs ; and that you would be pleased to direct your pen against those wild beasts of the roads ; not thinking it sufficient to answer us, that the tower of David, to v?hich we may betake ourselves for refuge, is sufficientiy fortified with bulwarks— that a thousand bucklers hang on the walls of it, all shields of mighty men. For we desire, father, for the sake of us simple ones, and who are slow of understanding, that you would be pleased, by your study, to gather all these arms into one CHAP, vu.] POPERY THE WORLD'S DESPOT— A. D. 1073-1303. 301 Testimony of Bernard, Claudius, and Thuanus, relative to the doctrines of the Waldenses. place, that they might be the more readily found, and more powerful to resist these monsters. I must inform you also, that those of them who have returned to our church, tell us that they had great num bers of their persuasion, scattered almost everywhere ; and that amongst them were many of our clergy and monks. And, as for those who were burnt, they, in the defence they made of themselves told us that this heresy had been concealed from the time of the martyrs ; and that it had existed in Greece and other countries." {Quoted by Jones, lect, xl.) § 58. — Bernard, though he immediately commenced a strenuous op position to theserebels against the Pope, is yet compelled by truth to give the following testimony to their irreproachable life and man ners. " If," says he, " you ask them of their faith, nothing can be more Christian-lLke ; if you observe their conversation, nothing can be more blameless, and what they speak they make good by their actions. You may see a man for the testimony of his faith frequent the church, honor the elders, offer his gift, make his confession, receive the sacrament. What more like a Christian ? As to life and manners, he circumvents no man, over-reaches no man, does violence to no man. He fasts much and eats not the bread of idle ness ; but works with his hands for his support."* Other Roman Catholic writers give the same testimony to the irreproachable lives and morals of the Waldenses. Thus Claudius, archbishop of Turin, writes, " their heresy excepted, they generally live a purer life than other Christians." And again, " in their lives they are perfect, irreproachable, and without reproach among men, addicting them selves, with all their might, to the service of God." This testimony is the more valuable from the fact that the prelate who wrote it, notwithstanding the acknowledged excellent characters of these heretics, joined in hunting and persecuting them to death, because they would neither submit to the absurdities and impieties of Rome, nor acknowledge the usurped authority of the popes. The sum and substance of their offence is mentioned by Cassini, a Franciscan friar, where he says " that all the errors of these Waldenses con sisted in this, that they denied the church of Rome to be the holy mother church, and would not obey her traditions." § 59. — Thuanus, a celebrated Roman Catholic historian, enume rates their heresy more at length ; he says they were charged with these tenets, viz. : " that the church of Rome, because it renounced the true faith of Christ, was the whore op Babylon, and the barren tree which Christ himself cursed, and commanded to be plucked up ; that consequently no obedience was to be paid to the Pope, or to the bishops who maintain her errors ; that a monastic life was the sink and dungeon of the church, the vows of which [relating to celibacy] were vain, and served only to promote the vile love of boys [or uncleanness] ; that the orders of the priest hood were marks of the great beast mentioned in the Apocalypse ; * Bernard on the Canticles, Sermo Ixv. " Si fidem interroges," &c. Perrin, vi. 302 HISTORY OF ROMAMSM. [book v. Bloody decree of pope Alexander III., against the heretical Waldenses. that the fire of purgatory, the solemn mass, the consecration days of churches, the worship of saints, and propitiations for the dead, were the devices of Satan. Beside these principal and authentic heads of their doctrine, others were pretended, relating to marriage, the resurrection, the state of the soul after death, and meats."* The chief offence of these heretics, in the eyes of the spiritual tyrants of Rome, doubtless was, that they regarded the Pope as anti-Christ, and the apostate church of Rome, as " the Babylonish harlot," and this in the eyes of the popes was an unpardonable sin. Hence they spared no efforts to blacken their characters, and to exterminate from the earth, those who were infinitely purer in doctrine, and holier in life, than their tyrannical and powerful persecutors. While, therefore, Evervinus and Thuanus, and even Bernard, are compelled to confess the purity of their life and manners, the popes, in their persecuting edicts, not only strove to excite all to unite in extermi nating them from the earth, but also to blacken their memory with charges of the most enormous crimes. § 60. — Hence in the decree issued by pope Alexander III., in the third council of Lateran, in 1179, he labors not only to excite all in exterminating these heretics, but also loads them with the most false and infamous charges. The following is an extract from this edict, as quoted by bishop Hughes, in his controversy with Mr. Brecken- ridge (page 189). The emphasising is my own. "As the blessed Leo says, although ecclesiastical discipline, content with the sacer dotal judgment, does not exact bloody vengeance ; yet, it is assisted by the constitution of Catholic princes, in order that men, while they fear that corporal punishment may be inflicted on them, may often seek a salutary remedy. On this account because in Gascony, Albi, in the parts of Thoulouse, and in other regions, the accursed perverse- ness of the heretics variously denominated Cathari, or Patarenas, or Publicans, or distinguished by sundry names, has so prevailed, that they now no longer exercise their wickedness m private, but pub licly manifest their errors, and seduce into their communion the sim ple and infirm. We therefore subject to a curse, both themselves and their defenders and harborers, and, under a curse, we prohibit all persons from admitting them into their houses, or receiving them upon their lands, or cherishing them, or exercising any trade with them. But if they die in their sin, let them not receive Christian burial, under pretence of any privilege granted by us, or any other . pretext whatever ; and let no offering be made for them." § 61. — It is observable that the persons alluded to in the above portion of this ferocious edict, are not accused of any other crime than that of heresy. In the next paragraph, various other subjects of papal fury are enumerated, who are charged with various crimes. " As to the Brabantians, Navarii, Basculi, Coterelli, and Triaverdinii, who exercise such cruelty toward the Christians, that they pay no respect to churches or monasteries, spare neither widows nor vir- * Thuani Historia, lib. vi., sect. 16, and lib. xxvii. chap, vn.] POPERY THE WORLD'S DESPOT— A. D. 1073-1303. 303 Papal promises of indulgence, to all who shall engage in butchering the Waldenses. gins, neither old nor young, neither sex nor age, but after the manner of the pagans, destroy and desolate everything, we in like manner, decree that such persons as shall protect, or retain, or en courage them in districts in which they commit these excesses, be publicly denounced in the churches on Sundays and festival days, and that they be considered as bound by the same censure and pen alty as the aforesaid heretics, and be excluded from the communion of the churcn, until they shall have abjured that pestiferous consocia tion and heresy. But let all persons who are implicated with them in any crime (alluding to their vassals), know that they are released from the obligation of fealty, homage, and subjection to them, so long as they continue in so great iniquity." Probably the result of accurate inquiry would show that these accusations against the classes of people named in this extract, were false ; but whether they were or not, is little to our present purpose, as they are made against other people than those first mentioned. It is plain that in this decree the Cathari, or Puritans (another name for the Wal denses), mentioned in the extract first quoted, are accused of no other offence than heresy, and yet the same promises of indulgence are given to those who take up arms against the one class as the other.* The promises are in the following words : " We likewise, firom the mercy of God, and relying upon the authority of the blessed apostle, Peter and Paul, relax two years of enjoined penance to those faithful Christians, who, by the council of the bishops or other pre lates, shall take up arms to subdue them by fighting against them : or, if such Christians shall spend a longer time in the business, we leave it to the discretion of the bishops to grant them a longer indulgence. As for those who shall fail to obey the admonition of the bishop to this effect, we inhibit them from a participation of the body and blood of the Lord. Meanwhile, those, who in the ardor of faith shall undertake the just labor of subduing them, we receive into the protection of the church ; granting to them the same privileges of security in property and in person, as are grant ed to those who visit the holy sepulchre." {Labb. Concil. Sacrosan., vol. X., pages 1522, 1523.) • * See Hughes and Breckenridge Controversy, pages 176, 179. Mr. Hughes quotes both of the above extracts for the purpose of convicting Mr. Breckenridge of duplicity, because he did not quote the second, when the object of Mr. Brecken ridge was to show the persecutions carried on, not against the persons named in the second extract, hut against those named in the first. Mr. Hughes then, with out drawing any distinction between the two classes, coolly inquires, " I wonder whether men of such a stamp would not be eeduced to the penitentiary, if they committed such crimes in our day and in our own country." Thus endeavoring to brand with infamy those simple and holy people, whose characters even Romish historians are forced to confess were pure and irreproachable. The coolness with which this popish bishop, in the free United States, and in the nineteenth century, speaks about consigning such to the penitentiary, betrays the malignance of a Saint Dominic, or Montfort, against all who, like the poor, persecuted Waldenses, or Cathari, are guilty of the crime of heresy, and shows that he wants nothing but the power to consign to the " penitentiary," or to the cells of the Inquisition, the here tics of the United States. 304 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [book v. Waldenses burnt. Bloody edict of pope Lucius III., against the heretics. There can be little doubt that the crying offence of all these classes of heretics, notwithstanding the popes endeavored to blacken their memory, by " speaking all manner of evil against them falsely," was that which is named by Thuanus, the Romish historian, already cited, " because they inveighed too vehemently against the wealth, pride, and vices of the popes, and alienated the people from their obedience to them."* Pope Alexander III., the author of the above persecuting edict, was succeeded in 1181, by pope Lucius III. -Two years before this, Peter Waldo, who, with his followers, had been anathematized by pope Alexander, died in Bohemia. Some suppose these dissenters from the corruptions of Rome, though they had existed centuries before, derived from Waldo, the name of Walden ses, which in after ages almost superseded the various other names by which they had long been known. Through the preaching of Waldo, many had renounced the corruptions of Popery, and were in consequence exposed to the vengeance of Rome. Thirty-five were burned together in one fire at the city of Bingen, and eighteen in the city of Mentz. The bishops of both Mentz and Strasburg breathed nothing but vengeance and slaughter against them ; and in the latter city, where Waldo himself is said to have narrowly escaped apprehension, eighty persons were committed to the flames. § 63. — To show that the apostate church of Rome is responsible for these horrid butcheries, we will quote a few passages from a decree of the supreme head of that church, pope Lucius III., issued in 1184. This bloody edict commences as follows: "To abolish the malignity of diverse heresies, which are lately sprung up in most parts of the world, it is but fitting that the power committed to the church should be awakened, that by concurring assistance of the imperial strength, both the insolence and mal-pertness of the here tics, in their false designs, may be crushed, and the truth of the Catholic simplicity shining forth in the holy church, may demon strate her pure and free from the execrableness of their false doc trines. Wherefore we, being supported by the presence and power of OUR MOST DEAR SON, FREDERICK, the most illustrious emperor of the Romans, always increaser of the empire, with the common ad vice and counsel of our brethren, and other patriarchs, archbishops, and many princes, who, from several parts of the world, are met together, do set themselves against these heretics, who have got different names from the several false doctrines which they profess, by the sanction of this present decree, and by our apostolical author ity, according to the tenor of these presents, we condemn all man ner of heresy, by what name soever it may be denominated. More particularly, we declare all Catharists, Paterines, and those who call themselves the Poor of Lyons; the Passagines, Josephites, Arnoldists, to be under a perpetual anathema. And because some, under a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof, as the apostie saith, assume to themselves the authority of preaching ; * Thuani Historia sui Temp., lib. vi. chap, vn.] POPERY THE WORLD'S DESPOT— A. D. 1073-1303. 305 Leaving heretics to the secular judge. Cruel edicts of the emperor Frederick II., to oblige the Popo whereas the same apostle saith, ' How shall they preach, except they be sent V — ^we therefore conclude, under the same sentence of a perpetual anathema, all those who either being forbid, or not sent, do notwithstanding ^resMOTe to preach publicly or privately, without any authority received from the apostolic See, or from the bishops of their respective dioceses. As for any layman, who shall be found guilty, either publicly or privately, of any of the aforesaid crimes (that is, preaching or speaking improperly of the sacraments), unless by abjuring his heresy, and making satisfaction, he immediately return to the orthodox faith, we decree him to be left to the sentence of the secular judge, to receive condign punishment, according to the quality of the offence." The meaning of leaving these poor victims of popish cruelty "to the sentence of the secular judge," was well understood to be equiva lent to a sentence of death, often in the most horrid form of torture and lingering agony ; as it was well understood by secular princes, that they would themselves suffer from the vengeance of the church, if they should fail to execute, to the very letter, the oath imposed upon them by the Pope, " to extirpate heresies out of the lands of their jurisdiction." We shall soon see a notable instance of papal vengeance against one of these secular judges. Count Raimond of Thoulouse, for neglecting to comply with the mandates of the Pope, to slaughter and exterminate thousands of his peaceful subjects, who were accused of the crime of heresy. § 64. — Before relating this account, however, it may be well to record a specimen of the manner in which these secular judges and princes understood their duty to their holy mother, the church. It consists of extracts from the decrees of the emperor Frederick II. against heretics, issued on the occasion of his coronation at Rome, to oblige the Pope, who officiated in that ceremony. " The care of the imperial government," says his majesty, " committed to us from heaven, and over which we preside, demands the material sword, which is given to us separately from the priesthood, against the enemies of the faith, and for the extirpation of heretical pravity, that we should pursue with judgment and justice those vipers and perfidious children, who insult the Lord and his church, as if they would tear out the very bowels of their mother. We shall not SUFFER THESE WRETCHES TO LIVE, who iufcct the world by their seducing doctrines, and who, being themselves corrupted, more , grievously taint the flock of the faithful." In a second edict, after comparing them to " ravenous wolves, adders, serpents," &c., the Emperor proceeds to accuse the heretics of the most savage cruelty to themselves ; " since," in the words of the edict, " besides the loss of their immortal souls, they expose their bodies to a cruel death, being prodigal of their lives, and fear less of destruction, which, by acknowledging the true faith they might escape, and, which is horrible to express, their survivors are not terrified by their example. Against such enemies to God and man, we cannot contain om- indignation, nor refuse to punish them 19 306 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [bookv Burning alive. The priest the judge, and the king the hangman with the sword of just vengeance, but shall pursue them with so much the greater vigor, as they appear to spread wider the crimes of their superstition, to the most evident injury of the Christian faith and the church of Rome, which is adjudged to be the head of all churches." By the same edict, it is enjoined that strict inquiry be made after these heretics, and that after examination by the prelates, if any be found to err in a single point firom the Catholic faith, they are. in case of persevering in their error, condemned to suffer death by the flames, and to be burned alive in public view, while all are for bidden, under pain of the imperial indignation, to intercede in their behalf The Emperor also by these decrees, so pleasing to the popes, declares infamous, and puts under the ban of the empire all who shall in any way receive, defend, or favor these heretics.* From this specimen of the spirit of the secular powers in that age of popish triumph, it will be easily understood what was likely to be the fate of those who were delivered up by the priests for pun ishment to " the sentence of the secular judges." The arrange ment by which the priests dehvered up their victims to the ven geance of the secular powers, under the hypocritical pretence that the church abhorred the shfedding of blood, * ecclesia abhorret a sanguine,' was an arrangement by which, in the words of Dr. Jor tin, " the priest was the judge, and the king was the hangman,"! But we shall proceed in the following chapter to a narrative which well illustrates the manner in which those princes were treated who hesitated to perform the office of hangman for the Pope and t^is minions. * See Limborch's History of the Inquisition, vol. i., chap, xii., where the de crees from which I have quoted above are recorded at length. t Jortin's Remarks on Eccles. History, vol, iii., p. 303. 307 CHAPTER VIII. POPE innocent's bloody crusade against the albigenses, UNDER HIS LEGATE, THE FEROCIOUS ABBOT OF CITEAUX, AND SIMON, EARL OF MONTFORT. § 65. — About the close of the thirteenth century, in consequence of the increase of the heretical Waldenses or Albigenses, particu larly in the south of France, the Pope's legates, Guy and Reinier, were dispatched from Rome for the purpose of extirpating these heresies, and armed with papal authority, committed to the flames a large number of them at Nevers, in 1198 and following years.* These efforts, however, were attended with so little success, that pope Innocent IIL, whom we have already had more than one oc casion to name, found it necessary to resort to more vigorous mea sures. He proclaimed a Crusade against these unoffending and defenceless people, and dispatched an army of priests throughout all Europe, to exhort all to engage in this holy war against the enemies of his Holiness, the Pope, and of the Holy Catholic church. As these papal emissaries traversed the kingdoms of Europe, we are informed by the learned Archbishop Usher, that they had one favorite text. This was Psalm xciv., 16, " Who will rise up for me against the evil doers ? or who will stand up for me against the workers of iniquity ?" and the application of their sermons was generally as uniform as their texts. " You see, most dear brethren, how great the wickedness of the heretics is, and how much mis chief they do in the world. You see, also, how tenderly, and by how many pious methods the church labors to reclaim them. But with them they all prove ineffectual, and they fly to the secular power for their defence. Therefore, our holy mother, the church, though with great reluctance and grief, calls together against them the Christian army. If then you have any zeal for the faith ; if you are touched with any concern for the glory of God ; if you would reap the benefit of this great indulgence, come and receive the sign of the cross, and join yourselves to the army of the cruci fied Saviour." § 66. — The reigning count of Thoulouse, the province of France where these rebels against the papal authority chiefly abounded, was Raimond VI. , a man who had either too much policy or too much humanity willingly to engage in this war of extermination against his unoffending subjects. In the year 1207, Raimond was required by Peter of Castlenau, a legate of the Pope, to sign a treaty with other neighboring princes to engage in the extermina tion of these heretics. But the Count was by no means inclined te purchase, by the renunciation of his rights, the entrance into his * History of Languedoc, book xxi. 308 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [bookv Count Raimond excommunicated for refusing to butcher his subjects. Fierce letter of the Pope to him. States of a hostile army, who were to pillage or put to death all those of his vassals whom the Romish clergy should fix upon as the victims of their cruelty. He therefore refused his consent ; and Castlenau, in his wrath, excommunicated him, laid his country under an interdict, and wrote to the Pope to ratify what he had done.* § 67. — Few things could be more grateful to pope Innocent, than what had now taken place. He appears to have sought for an oppor tunity to commence hostilities, being well aware that his agents were insufficient to destroy such a formidable phalanx of heresy by ordinary means. To confirm the sentence of excommunication pronounced by his legate, he wrote to Count Raimond with his own hand, on the 29th of May, 1207, and thus his letter com menced : — " If we could open your heart we should find, and would point out to you, the detestable abominations that you have commit ted ; but as it is harder than the rock, it is in vain to strike it with the sword of salvation ; we cannot penetrate it. Pestilential man I what pride has seized your heart, and what is your folly, to refuse peace with your neighbors, and to brave the divine laws by protect ing the enemies of the faith ? If you do not fear eternal flames, ought you not to dread the temporal chastisements which you have merited by so many crimes ?"f Terrified by the fulminations of the Vatican, Count Raimond saw no alternative but to sign the peace with his enemies, which he accordingly did, engaging to exterminate the heretics from his territories. Peter of Castlenau, however, very soon judged that he did not proceed in the work with adequate zeal ; he therefore went to seek him, reproached him to his face with his negligence, which he termed baseness, treated him as a perjured person, as a favorer of heretics and a tyrant, and again excommunicated him. This violent scene appears to have taken place at St. Gilles, where the Count had given a meeting to the two legates. Raimond was excessively provoked, and threatened to make Castienau pay for his insolence with his life. They parted without a reconciliation, and came to sleep, on the night of the 14th January, 1208, at a lit tie inn on the bank of the Rhone, which river they intended to pass on the next day. One of Count Raimond's friends either followed them or accidentally met them there ; and on the morning of the 15th, after mass, this gentieman entered into a dispute with Peter of Castienau respecting heresy and its punishment. The Legate had never spared the most insulting epithets to the advocates of toleration, and the gentleman, irritated by his language not less than by the quarrel with his lord, drew his poniard, struck the Le gate in his side, and killed him. J * '^^^¦9^ '^^^?.'°^^^oe, hook xxi., chap. 28; Innocentii Epist., lib. x, ep. 69. Cited by a^smondi in his valuable history of Prance, to whom, and to Jones in his Lect. on Eccles. Hist., I am chiefly indebted for the facts in relation to the cm- sades against the Albigenses. t Innocentii HI., lib. x., ep. 69. X Petri Vallis Cem., cap. viii., p. 663. CHAP. VUI.] POPERY THE WORLD'S DESPOT— A. D. 1073-1303. 309 No faith with heretics. Joy with which the deluded papists engage tn the crusades § 68. — The intelligence of this murder roused the Pope to the high est pitch of fury. He instantly published a bull, addressed to all the counts, barons, and knights of the four provinces of the southern part of France, in which he declared that it was the devil who had instigated the Count of Thoulouse iigainst the Holy See. He laid under an interdict all places which should afford a refuge to the murderers of Castlenau ; he demanded that Raimond of Thoulouse should be publicly anathematized in all churches, adding, that " as following the canonical sanctions of the holy fathers, we must not observe faith towards those who keep not faith towards God, or who are separated from the communion of the faithful : we discharge, by apostolical authority, all those who believe themselves bound towards this Count by any oath either of allegiance or fidelity ; we - permit every catholic man, saving the right of his principal lord, to pursue his person, to occupy and retain his territories, especially for the purpose of exterminating heresy."* This first bull was speedily followed by other letters equally fulminating, addressed to all who were capable of assisting in the destruction of the Count of Thoulouse. In particular, the Pope wrote to the king of France, Philip Augustus, exhorting him to carry on in person this sacred war of extermination against here tics. " We exhort you," said his Holiness, " that you would endea vor to destroy that wicked heresy of the Albigenses, and to do this with more vigor than you would towards the Saracens themselves : persecute them with a strong hand ; deprive them of their lands and possessions : banish them and put Roman Catholics in their room." The legates and the monks at the same time received powers from Rome to publish a crusade among the people, offer ing to those who should engage in this holy war of plunder and extermination against the Albigenses, the utmost extent of indul gence which his predecessors had ever granted to those who la bored for the deliverance of the Holy Land. The people from all parts of Europe hastened to enrol themselves in this new army, actuated by superstition and their passion for wars and adventures. They were immediately placed under the protection of the Holy See, freed from the payment of the interest of their debts, and ex empted from the jurisdiction of all tribunals ; whilst the war which they were to carry on, almost at their own doors, and that without danger or expense, was to expiate all the vices and crimes of a whole life. Transported with joy, these infatuated and deluded mortals received the pardons and indulgences offered them, and so much the more readily that, far from regarding the task in which they were to be engaged as painful or dangerous, they would willingly have undertaken it for the pleasure alone of doing it. War was their passion, and pity for the vanquished had never disturbed their repose. In this holy war they could, without remorse, as well as * Petri Vallis, p. 664. 310 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [book v. Plenary absolution for all who should engage in butchering heretics. Terror and alarm of Raimond. without restraint from their officers, pillage all the property, mas sacre all the men, and abuse the women and children. Never be fore had there been so popular a crusade ! Arnold Amalric, the abbot of Citeaux, distinguished himself, with his whole congrega tion, by his zeal in preaching up this war of extermination ; and the convents of his order, which was that of the Bernardins, of which there were seven or eight hundred in France, Italy, and Ger many, appropriated the crusade against the Albigenses as their special province. In the name of the Pope and of the apostles St, Peter and St. Paul, they promised, to all who should lose their lives in this holy expedition, plenary absolution of all sins committed from the day of their birth to that of their death. § 69. — Raimond was overwhelmed with terror and alarm at these vast preparations, and with his nephew Roger, count of Beziers, waited on the legate Arnold, the leader of the crusades, to avert, if possible, the storm that was impending over them. "The haughty abbot received them with extreme insolence, declared that he could do nothing for them, and that if they wished to obtain any mitigation of the measures adopted against them, they must ad dress themselves to the Pope. The count of Beziers instantly per ceived that nothing was to be expected from negotiation, and' that there remained no alternative but to fortify all their principal towns, and prepare valiantly for their defence. His uncle, count Raimond, overwhelmed with terror, declared himself ready to submit to anything ; to be himself the executor of the violence of the papal party against his own subjects ; and to make war against his family rather than draw the crusades into his states. Ambas sadors from Raimond to the Pope were received with apparent in dulgence. It was required of them that their master should make common cause with the crusaders ; that he should assist them in exterminating the heretics ; and that he should surrender to them seven of his principal castie's, as a pledge of his sincerity. On these conditions the Pope not only gave count Raimond the hope of absolution, but promised him his entire favor. All this, how ever, was hollow and deceitful ; pope Innocent was far from par doning Raimond in his heart, for, at the moment of promismg this, he wrote to the ecclesiastics who were conducting the crusade, thus : " We counsel you, with the apostie Paul, to employ guile with regard to this Count, for in this case it ought to be called pru dence. We must attack separately those who are separated from unity : leave for a time the count of Thoulouse, employmg toward hini a wise dissimulation, that the other heretics may be the more easily defeated, and that afterwards we may crush him when he shall be left alone."* Such were the means that this crafty and ty rannical Pope thought fit to employ hi order to crush those who hesitated to imbrue their hands in the blood of such as he chose to brand with the name of heretics. * Innocentii III., Epist., Ub. xi., ep. 232. Count Raimond's degrading Peiiauue — whipped around the Tombi>r the YkuiAi f'^.-ticii CHAP, vm.] POPERY THE WORLD'S DESPOT— A.D, 1073-1303. 313 Count Raimond's degrading penance. Whipped on his nalced shoulders by the Pope's legato. § 70. — In the spring of the year 1209, the crusading army began to be put in motion ; the campaign was limited to forty days. Some authors have computed it at three, and others at five hun dred thousand men; and this immense body precipitated them selves upon Languedoc. When count Raimond learned that these terrible bands of fanatics were about to move, and that they were all directed towards his states, he was struck with terror, for he had placed himself in their power, and consented to purchase his absolution from the hands of the Pope's legate, by the most humili ating concessions. He was ordered to repair to the church that he might receive absolution from the Pope's legate. But before this was granted, he was compelled to take a solemn oath upon the Corpus Domini, that is the consecrated host, and upon the relics of the saints, that he would obey the Pope and the holy Roman church so long as he lived, that he would pursue the Albigenses with fire and sword, till they were totally extirpated, and subjected to obe dience to the Pope. Having taken this oath at the door of the church, he was ordered by the Legate to strip himself naked, and humbly submit to the penance imposed on him for the death of the monk Peter Castlenau. Count Raimond protested against this hu miliating penance, solemnly asserting that he had not been privy to the murder of the monk. But his protestations were in vain ; the vast army of the crusaders was at his gates, and he had no re source but unqualified submission to the popish tyrants who now held him in their grasp. On the 18th of Jime, therefore, the Count " having stripped himself naked from head to foot," says Bower, " with only a linen cloth around his waist for decency's sake, the Legate threw a priest's stole around his neck, and leading him by it into the church nine times around the pretended martyr's grave," he inflicted the discipline of the church upon the naked shoulders of the humbled prince with the bundle of rods that he held in his hand. The Legate, at length, granted him the dear-bought absolu- lion, after obliging him to renew all the oaths he had taken relative to the extirpation of heretics, obedience to the Pope, &c., with the addition of another, in which he promised inviolably to maintain all the rights, privileges, immunities, and liberties of the church and clergy.* {See Engraving.) After perusing the above account of the punishment of Count Raimond, for refusing to join with these popish bloodhounds, in the extermination of the heretics, the f eader will be prepared to appre ciate the assertion sometimes made by papists, even in our own day, viz. : that the Catholic church has never persecuted {! !) but that the heretics who have suffered death for their opinions, have suffered according to the laws of the countries where they resided. After the submission of his uncle Roger, the viscount of Beziers, according to the old chronicle of Thoulouse, applied to the Pope's * History of the Popes, in vita Innocentii HI. Petri Vallis, History of Langue^ doc, book xxi., p. 162. 314 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [bookv. inhuman treatment of the inhabitants of Beziers, by the papal Legate. legate, and offered to make some humiliating concessions, but being angrily repelled, he prepared to defend himself to the best of his ability. He had chiefly calculated on the defence of his two great cities, Bezieps and Carcassone, and he had divided between them his principal forces. After visiting Beziers, to assure himself that the place was well supplied with everything necessary for the defence of their lives, he retired to Carcassone, a city built upon a rock, and partly surrounded by the river Aude, and whose two suburbs were themselves surrounded by walls and ditches, and there shut himself up. About the middle of July, 1209, the crusad ing army arrived under the walls of Beziers, in three bodies. They had been preceded by the bishop of the place, who, after having visited the Legate, and delivered to him a list of those amongst his flock whom he suspected of heresy, and whom he wished to see consigned to the flames, returned into the city to represent to his flock the dangers to which they were exposed, exhorting them to surrender their heretical fellow-citizens to the avengers of their faith, rather than draw upon themselves and their children, the wrath of heaven and the church. " Tell the Legate," replied the citizens, w-hom he had assembled in the cathedral of St. Nicaise, " that our city is good and strong — that our Lord will not fail to succor us in our great necessities, and that rather than commit the baseness de manded of us, we would eat our own children." Nevertheless, there was no heart so bold as not to tremble, when the crusaders were encamped under their walls ; " and so great was the assem blage of tents and pavilions," says one of their historians, " that it appeared as if all the worid was collected there ; at which those of the city began to be greatiy astonished, for they thought they were only fables which their bishop had come to tell them and advise them."* § 71.— The citizens of Beziers, though astonished, were not dis couraged. Whilst their enemies were still occupied in tracing their camp, they made a sally and attacked them unawares. But the crusa ders were still more terrible for their fanaticism and boldness, than for their numbers ; they repulsed the citizens with great loss. After this, they entered the city, and found themselves masters of it, before they had even formed their plan of attack. The knights learning that they had triumphed without fighting, apphed to the pope s legate, Arnold Amalric, to know how they should distinguish the Catholics from the heretics ; to which he made this reply- ^ KILL THExM ALL ; THE LORD WILL KNOW WELL THOSE THAT ARE HIS !" 1 UEZ LES TOUS, DIEU CONNOIT CEUX WI SONT A LUI I' Though the stated population of Beziers was not over fifteen thousand persons yet the influx of the people from the surrounding districts especially women and children, was so large, that no less than sixty thoiasand persons were in the city when it was taken, and m this vast number, not one person was spared alive. The ter- * Petri Vallensis, Cem. Hist. Albig., cap. xv., p. 570. CHAP, vm.] POPERY THE WORLD'S DESPOT— A. D. 1073-1303. 315 Sixty thousand Icilled. Vile treachery of the Legate toward the count of Beziers. rifled and defenceless women with their babes, as well as many of the men, took refuge in the churches, but they afforded no protec tion from these blood-thirsty popish zealots. Thousands were slain in the churches, and the blood of the murdered victims, slain by the HOLY WARRIORS, dreuchcd the very altars, and flowed in crimson torrents through the streets. When the crusaders had massacred the last living creature in Beziers, and had pillaged the houses of all they thought worth carrying off, they set fire to the city, in every part at once, and reduced it to a vast funeral pile. Not a house remained standing, not one human being was left alive. The Pope's legate, perhaps, feehng some shame for the butchery which he had ordered, in his letter to Innocent III., reduces it to fifteen thousand, though Velly, Mezeray, and other historians make it amount to sixty thousand.* § 72. — Roger, the young count of Beziers, shut himself up in the other chief city of his dominions, Carcassone, which was much better fortified than Beziers, and defended it to the utmost, against the attacks of the ferocious abbot of Citeaux, the papal legate. The crusaders had many times endeavored to storm the city, but with out success, and not seeing, as they had been taught to expect, a miracle wrought in their favor, the perfidious abbot, seeing some tokens of discouragement, resorted to a mean and dishonorable trick to get his adversary in his power. The Legate insinuated himself into the graces of one of the officers of his army, telling him that it lay in his power to render the church a signal instance of kindness, and that if he would undertake it, beside the rewards he should receive in heaven, he should be amply recompensed on earth. The object was to get access to the earl of Beziers, professing himself to be his kinsman and friend, assuring him that he had something to communicate of the last importance to his interests ; and having thus far succeeded, he was to prevail upon him to accompany him to the Legate, for the purpose of negotiating a peace, under a pledge that he should be safely conducted back again to the city. The officer played his part so dexterously, that the Eaid imprudently consented to accompany him. At their interview, the latter sub mitted to the Legate the propriety of exercising a little more lenity and moderation toward his subjects, as a procedure that might have the happiest tendency in reclaiming the Albigenses into the pale of the church of Rome. The Legate repHed that the inhabitants of Carcassone might exercise their own pleasure ; but that it was now unnecessary for the Earl to trouble himself any further about them, as he was himself a prisoner until Carcassone was taken, and his subjects had better learned their duty ! The Earl was not a little astonished at this information ; he protested that he was betrayed, and that faith was violated : for that the gentieman, by whose en treaties he had been prevailed upon to meet the Legate, had pledged * " Sokante mille habitans passerent par le fil de I'epee. Velly, iii., 441 H y fut tues plus de soixante milles personnes." Mezeray, if., 609. Edgar, 226 316 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [book t. Escape of the people of Carcassone from the popish butchers. himself by oaths and execrations to conduct him back in safety to Carcassone. But appeals, remonstrances, or entreaties, were of no avail ; Roger was looked upon as a heretic, and it was already the doctrine of 'Rome that no faith should be kept with heretics ; m sphe of his appeals, therefore, he was committed to the custody of the duke of Burgundy, " and, having been thrown into prison, died soon after, not without exciting strong suspicions of being poisoned." Pope Innocent III., indeed, admits in one of his epistles, that this young and brave earl or count of Beziers died a violent death.* § 73. — No sooner had the inhabitants of Carcassone received the intelligence of the Earl's confinement, than they burst into tears, and were seized with such terror, that they thought of nothing but how to escape the danger they were placed in; but,, blockaded as they were on all sides, and the trenches filled with men, all human probability of escape vanished from their eyes. A report, however, was circulated, that there was a vault or subterraneous passage somewhere in the city, which led to the castle of Cabaret, a distance of about three leagues from Carcassone, and that if the mouth or entry thereof could be found. Providence had provided for them a way of escape. All the inhabitants of the city, except those who kept watch upon the ramparts, immediately commenced the search, and success rewarded their labor. The entrance of the cavern was found, and at the beginning of the night they all began their journey through it, carrying with them only as much food as was deemed necessary to serve them for a few days. " It was a. dismal and sorrowful sight," says our historian, " to witness their removal and departure, accompanied with sighs, tears, and lamentations, at the thoughts of quitting their habitations and all their worldly posses sions, and betaking themselves to the uncertain event of saving them selves by flight : parents leading their children, and the more robust supporting decrepit old persons ; and especially to hear the affect ing lamentations of the women." They, however, arrived the fol lowing day at the castle, from whence they dispersed themselves through different parts of the country, some proceeding to Arragon, some to Catalonia, others to Thoulouse, and the cities belonging to their party, wherever God in his providence opened a door for their admission. The awful silence which reigned in the solitary city, excited no little surprise on the following day, among the pilgrims. At first they suspected a stratagem to draw them into an ambuscade ; but on mounting the walls and entering the town, they cried out, " the Albigenses have fled !" The Legate issued a proclamation, that no person should seize or carry off any of the plunder — that, it should all be carried to the great church of Carcassone, whence it was disposed of for the benefit of the pilgrims, and the proceeds distrih- uted among them in rewards according to their deserts. The Umits of this work will not allow of the detail of the sangui- * Innocentii IH. Epist., lib. x., 5 epist., 212. CHAP, vm.] POPERY THE WORLD'S DESPOT— A. D. 1073-1303. 317 Horrible cruelty of Montfort. The monkish historian of the Albigenses. nary slaughter of the helpless Albigenses, and the perfidious strata- fems* by which they were entrapped to their ruin, by the bloody imon de Montfort and the monks, who conducted two or three equally destructive expeditions against the Albigenses, in the few succeeding years, till they were almost entirely exterminated. Two or three more instances of their ferocious crueUy and zeal on behalf of Popery, can only be mentioned. In the year 1210, Monffgrt caused Count Raymond VI., to be again excommunicated, when the unfortunate prince, overcome by this unrelenting persecution, and from his superstition, attaching a greater importance to the papal thunders than they deserved, burst into tears. The monks of Citeaux were meanwhile busily engaged in raising a fresh army of crusaders in the North of France, and no sooner was Montfort join ed by them than he gave full scope to his cruelty. Attacking the castles in the Lauraguais and Menerbois, he caused all such of their inhabitants as fell into his hands, to be hanged on gibbets. Having invested that of Brom, and taken it by assault on the third day, he selected more than a hundred wretched inhabitants, and, having torn out their eyes and cut off their noses, sent them, under the guidance of a one-eyed man, to the castle of Cabaret, to intimate to the garrison of that fortress the fate which awaited them. Some of these fortresses he found deserted, and then sent out his soldiers to destroy the vines and the olive-trees in the surrounding country. § 74. — The castle of Menerbe, seated on a steep rock, surrounded by precipices, not far from Narbonne, was reputed to be the strong est place in the South of France. Guiard, its possessor, was vassal to the viscounts of Carcassone, and one of the bravest knights of the provuice. In the month of June, 1210, the crusaders appeared before this fortress. The inhabitants, many of whom had adopted the doctrines of the Albigenses, defended themselves with great valor for seven weeks : but when, owing to the heat of the season, water began to fail, they desired to capitulate ; and Guiard himself went to the camp of the crusaders, and settled with Montfort the conditions for the surrender of the place. They were proceeding * The cotemporary historian of the Albigenses, to whom Sismondi so frequently refers in that portion of his history relating to the Albigenses, Petrus Vallensis Cemensis, or as he was called by the French, Pierre de Vaux Cemay, was a i popish monk, who accompanied the crusaders, and was an eye-witness of the cruelties he describes, and which he relates with so much delight. Referring to the papal legate and the inhuman butcheries of Montfort, after relating some of their cruel statagems, this monkish historian expresses his rapture in the following language. " How great was the mercy of God, for every one must see that the pilgrims could have done nothing without the Legate, nor the Legate without the pilgrims. In reality the pilgrims would have had but small success against such numerous enemies, if the Legate had not treated with them beforehand. It was, then, by a dispensation of the Divine mercy, that whilst the Legate, by a pious fraud, cajoled and enclosed in his nets, the enemies of the faith, who were assembled at Narbonne, Count Montfort and the pilgrims who had arrived from France, could pass into Agenois, there to crush their enemies, or rather those of Christ. O pious FRAUD OF THE LEGATE ! O FiETX PULL OF DECEIT !" (Petri Vail. Cem. Albigen., cap. Ixxviii., p. 648.) 318 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [booku Horrible cruelty of the papists to the inhabitants of Menerbe. 140 burnt in one fire to execute them when the Pope's legate, who had been absent, returned to the camp, and Montfort declared that the terms agreed upon could not be considered as binding, till they had received his assent. " At these words," says Peter de Vaux-Cernay, " the abbot was sorely grieved. He desired in fact that all the enemies of Christ should be put to death, but he would not take it upon him self to condemn them, on account of his quaHty of monk and priest." He thought, however, that he might stir up some quarrel during the negotiation, avail himself of it to break the capitulation, and cause all the inhabitants to be put to the sword. To this end he required of Montfort, on one part, and Guiard on the other, the terms on which they had agreed. Finding, as he expected, some difference in the statements, Montfort declared, in the name of the Legate, that the negotiation was broken off. The lord of Menerbe offered to accept the capitulation as drawn up by Montfort, one of the articles of which provided that heretics themselves, if they became converts, should have their lives spared, and be allowed to quit the castle. When the capitulation was read in the council of war, " Robert de Mauvoisin," says the monk of Vaux-Cernay, "a nobleman, and entirely devoted to the Catholic faith, cried that the pilgrims would never consent to that ; that it was not to show mercy to the heretics, but to put them to death, that they had taken the cross ; but abbot Arnold replied : ' Be easy, for I beheve there will be but very few converted.' " In this sanguuiary hope the Legate was not disap pointed. The crusaders took possession of the castie on the 22d of July : they entered, singing Te Deum, and preceded by the crucifix and the standards of Montfort. The heretics were meanwhile assembled, the men in one house, the women in another, and there, on their knees resigned to their fate, they prepared themselves by prayer for the worst that could befal them. The abbot of Vaux-Cernay, in fulfilment of the capitulation, began to preach to them the Catho lic faith ; but they interrupted him with the unanimous cry : " We will have none of your faith ; we have renounced the church of Rome ; your labor is in vain ; for neither death nor life shall make us renounce the opinions we have embraced." The abbot then went to the assembly of women, but he found them equally resolute, and still more enthusiastic in their declarations. Montfort also went to them both. He had previously caused a prodigious pile of dry ' wood to be made. « Be converted to the Catholic faith," said he to the assembled Albigenses, " or mount this pile." None of them wavered. Fire was set to the wood, and the pile was soon wrapt in one tremendous blaze. The heretics were then taken to the spot where, after commending their souls to that God in whose cause they suffered martyrdom, they voluntarily threw themselves into the flames, to the number of more than one hundred and forty.* * Petri Vallensis Cem. Hist. Albigens., chap, xxxvii., page 583. Hist, of Lan guedoc, book XXI., page 193. "^ ^ CHAP. VIII.] POPERY THE WORLD'S DESPOT— A. D. 1073-1303. 319 The taking of Lavaur. The heretics burnt, in the words of the popish historian, ' with the utmost joy. § 75. — In May, 1211, Montfort succeeded, after a hard siege, in taking Lavaur. When the breach in the wall was effected, and the crusaders were about to enter and begin the massacre, according to their usual custom, the bishops, the abbot of Cordieu, and all the priests, clothed in their pontifical habits, giving themselves up to the joy of seeing the carnage begin, sang Veni Creator. The knights mounted the breach ; resistance was impossible ; and the only care of Simon de Montfort was to prevent the crusaders from instantly falling upon the inhabitants, and to beseech them rather to make pris oners, that the priests of the living God might not be deprived of their promised joys. " Very soon," says their own monkish histo rian, " they dragged out of the castle Aimery, lord of Montreal, and other knights, to the number of eighty. The noble count [Montfort] immediately ordered them to be hanged upon the gallows ; but as soon as Aimery, the stoutest among them, was hanged, the gallows fell, for, in their great haste, they had not fixed it well in the earth. The count, seeing that this would produce great delay, ordered the rest to be massacred ; and the pilgrims, receiving the order with the greatest avidity, very soon massacred them all on the spot. The lady of the castle, who was sister of Aimery, and an execrable heretic, was, by the count's order, thrown into a pit, which was then filled up with stones. Afterward our pilgrims collected the innumerable heretics which the castle contained, and burned them with the utmost joy." § 76. — Immediately on the taking of Lavaur, open hostilities com menced between Simon de Montfort and the Count of Thoulouse. The first place belonging to this count, before which the crusaders presented themselves, was the castle of Montjoyre, which being aban doned, was set fire to, and then rased from top to bottom by the soldiers of the church. The castle of Cassoro afforded them more satisfaction, as it furnished human victims for their sacrifices. It was surrendered on capitulation, and " the pilgrims, seizing near sixty heretics, burned them with infinite joy." This is the language invariably employed by Petrus Vallensis, the monkish historian, who was the witness and panegyrist of the crusade.* It was natural that Count Raimond should feel reluctant to coun tenance or aid these cruel persecutors of his subjects and friends. He continued, therefore, as long as he lived, to be an object of popish persecution. He was, nevertheless, most scrupulous in the observance of all the practices of the Catholic religion ; so that, when under excommunication, he would continue for a long tifne on his knees in prayer at the doors of the churches, which he durst not enter. Hence it is evident that his offence was not heresy on his own part, but simply his refusal to engage in the cruel massa cres and extermination of his subjects, at the command of the spiritual tyrants of the Romish church. * " Cum ingenti gaudio," are the historian's words. Petri Vail. Cem. Albigens., cap. lii., p. 598. Bemardi Guidonis, vita Innocentii EI., p. 482. This last infonns us that four hundred heretics were bumed at Lavaur. 320 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [book v. The crusades against the Albigenses, a proof that Romanism claims the right to extirpate heresy. ^ 77. — " The crusades against the Albigenses present one of those occasions by which the rights claimed by the Romish church toward heretics may be most fully and accurately ascertained. They were her exclusive and deliberate act. The church of Rome had been then, according to its own principles, established nearly twelve hundred years. It professed to have been endowed with miraculous powers, and to be guided by the teachings of the infalli ble spirit of God. All the temporal authorities had submitted to its domination, and were ready to execute its orders. If, therefore, there is any period in which we should seek for its genuine and authentic principles, it must be under the unclouded dominion of Innocent III. Nor can the opponents of all reformation possibly desire anything more than to restore that golden age of the church. Should they say that civilisation and philosophy having then made but little progress, we are to charge the cruelties which were com mitted against the heretics to the ignorance and barbarism of the times, we would reply that all these cruelties were prorr^ted, encour aged, and sanctioned by Rome itself, and that an infallible church cannot require the lights of philosophy to instruct her in her duties toward heretics. To an impartial inquirer, it would seem rather strange that, under the spiritual illumination afforded by the church to the nations, heresies should have arisen, and that with all the powers of heaven and earth on its side, the church could not trust itself in the field of reason and argument against them. But certain it is that heresies did arise, and that the church of Rome felt itself called upon to show to that age, and to all succeeding ones, the full extent of the power with which it was invested by heaven for their suppression and extirpation. The dogma on which all these trans actions were founded is — that the church possesses the right to extir pate heresy, and to use all the means which she may judge neces sary for that purpose. It was on this dogma that Innocent III. and his legates preached the crusade against the heretics, and promised to those engaged in it, the full remission of all sins ; it was on this dogma that they excommunicated the civil powers by whom they were, or were supposed to be protected, and disposed of their do minions to those who assisted in this spiritual warfare. "This dogma was repeatedly avowed by provincial councils, and finally ratified by a general council, the fourth of Lateran. It was received by the tacit, nay, by the cordial and triumphant assent of the universal church, and had also the sanction of the civil authorities, who received from the church the spoils of the deposed and persecuted princes. We can, therefore, conceive of nothing which should be still necessary to constitute this dogma an article of faith, and hold ourselves justified in considering the church of Rome to claim, as of divine authority, the right to extirpate heresy, and for this purpose, if she judge it necessary, to extirpate the heretics. Nor has this principle, which was evidentiy avowed and acted upon at the period of these crusades, been ever re nounced by any authentic or official act of that church ; on the con' CHAP.vm.] POPERY THE WORLD'S DESPOT— A. D. 1073-1303. 321 Right of dissolving oaths also claimed. Disavowed by individual Romanists, but without authority. trary, the church has, during the six hundred years which followed these events, invariably, as far as occasions have served, avowed the same principles, and perpetrated or stimulated the same deeds. As soon as the wars against the Albigenses were terminated, the Inquisition was brought into full and constant action, and has always been encouraged and supported by the Romish church to the utmost of its power, in every place where it could obtain an establishment. The civil authorities, finding by experience that some of the claims of the church were more prejudicial than useful to themselves, have denied to it the right of deposing sovereigns, and of freeing subjects from their allegiance ; but the church itself has never generally and explicitly renounced this claim, and long after the Reformation in Germany, continued to exercise it. And, notwithstanding the pro fessions made by modern Catholics, history does not furnish an in stance of any body of the profession interposing its protest against the persecution of heretics by the church of Rome. § 78. — " Another right most certainly claimed and exercised by the Roman See throughout its whole history, is that of dissolving oaths. History {Sismondi's Hist, of the Italian Republics) furnishes in stances of this as a recognized, undisputed, and every-day practice in almost every pontificate. One instance may serve for an illus tration among a multitude of others. There were certain reforms in the pontifical government, which were required by the leading persons in the church, but which they never could obtain from the popes themselves. The cardinals, therefore, when they were going to elect a new pope, were accustomed to bind themselves by the most solemn oaths, that whoever of them should be elected, would grant those reforms. And, invariably, as soon as the Pope was chosen, he released himself from this oath, on the ground of its being contrary to the interests of the church. The power of releasing from the obligation of oaths was also extended during these cru sades, especially to freeing the subjects of heretical princes from their oaths of allegiance, and it was especially sanctioned by the council of Lateran. This practice has, however, become so ob noxious in modem times, that the right has been indignantly dis owned by most of the advocates of the Roman Catholic church. Whatever may be the opinions of many private individuals or bodies in the church of Rome, we doubt their authority to make such declarations, as members of a church which prohibits the right of private judgment where the church has determined."* The fol lowing remarks and citations from the elegant and apcurate histo rian of the middle ages, are sufficient to set this matter for ever at rest. " But the most important and mischievous species of dispen sations," says Mr. Hallam (page 293), " was from the observance of promissory oaths. Two principles are laid down in the decretals ; that an oath disadvantageous to the church is not binding ; and that one extorted by force was of slight obligation, and might be annull- * See the able introductory essay to that portion of Sismondi's History of France, relating to the persecution of the Waldenses, published in 1826. 322 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [bookv. Unjust slanders of the Albigenses. If true, the Pope had no right to invade their country and butcher them. ed by ecclesiastical authority.* As the first of these maxims gave the most unlimited privilege to the popes of breaking all faith of treaties which thwarted their interest or passion, a privilege which they continually exercised, so the second was equally convenient to princes, weary of observing engagements toward their subjects or neighbors. They declaimed with a bad grace against the abso lution of their people from allegiance, by an authority to which they did not scruple to repair in order to bolster up their own perjuries. § 79. — Some of the Romishwriters have not scrupled to utter the most unfounded calumnies against the character of the Albigenses ; but as has been well remarked, " No tale of falsehood can be so artfully framed as not to contain within itself its own confutation. This is manifestly the case with the stories fabricated respecting the Albi genses. Supposing, however, that the Albigenses had been all that the Catholic writers represent, upon what ground could the Roman church make a war of extermination against them ? The sovereigns of those countries did not seek her aid to suppress the seditions of their subjects, nor even to regulate their faith. The interference was not only without the authority, but absolutely against their con sent, and was resisted by them in a war of twenty years' continu ance. If they refer to the authority of the king of France, as liege lord, he had not in that capacity the right of interference with the internal affairs of his feudatories ; and he had, in fact, no share in these transactions, any further than to come in at the close of the contest, and reap the fruits of the victory. We are, therefore, from every point brought to the same conclusion : that the church CLAIMS A DIVINE RIGHT TO EXTIRPATE HERESY AND EXTERMINATE HEEE- TICS, WITH OR WITHOUT THE CONSENT OF THE SOVEREIGNS IN WHOSE DOMINIONS THEY MAY BE FOUND."f * Juramentum contra utilita,tem ecclesiasticam prEestitum non tenet. Decretal,, 1. ii., 24, c. 27, et Sext., 1. i., tit. 11, c. 1. A juramento per metum extorto eccle sia solet absolvere, et ejus transgressores ut peccantes mortaliter non punientur. Eodem lib. et tit., c. 15. Take one instance out of many. Piccinino, the famous condottiere of the fifteenth century, had promised not to attack Francis Sforza, at that time engaged against the Pope. Eugenius IV. (the same excellent person who had annulled the compactata with the Hussites, releasing those who had sworn to them, and who afterward made the king of Hungary break his treaty with Amurath II.), absolves him from this promise, on the express ground that a treaty disadvantageous to the church ought not to be kept. (Sismondi, t. ix., p. 196.) The church, in that age, was synonymous with the papal territories in Italy. --^* ^^^\ ill conformity to this sweeping principle of ecclesiastical utility, that f -.r'" -li^'J" . ™ following solemn and general declaration against keeping taith with heretics. _' Attendentes quod hujasmodi confcEderationes, coUieationeB, et ligae seu conyentiones facts cum hujusmodi hsreticis sen sohismaticis post- quam tales effect! erant, sunt temerariae ; illicit^, et ipso jure nulte (etsi forte ante ipsorum lapsum in schisma, seu hseresin initis, seu facts fuissent), etiam si forent juramento vel fide data firmats, aut confirmatione apostolica vel quEtcunqne firmitate aha. roborata, postquam tales, ut pramittitur, SMt effecti.' (Rymer,t. vu., p. 302.) . \ J ' t See Introduction to Sismondi, ut supra. 323 CHAPTER IX. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE MENDICANT ORDERS. SAINT DOMINIC AND SAINT FRANCIS. § 80. — We have already endeavored to trace the origin and pro gress of monkery up to the epoch of the establishment of papal su premacy.* We have also seen how, in subsequent ages,,the vari ous monastic orders had degenerated from their primitive severity of discipline, and simplicity of character, till the convents exhibited to the world the most shocking spectacles of licentiousness, avarice, imposture, and almost every description of vice. It is admitted, by Roman Catholic writers, that even in the best monasteries, scarce a vestige of religion was apparent, and the inordinate desire of wealth, the root of evils, the wicked step-mother of monks, ' malam monachorum never cam,' reigned with undisputed sway.f Were we disposed to soil our page with the disgusting details of monkish proffigacy and licentiousness, it would be easy to gather testimonies from Romish authors themselves, to prove that in spite of their vows of poverty and chastity, the main object of the vast body of the monks of the middle ages, was not only the accumulation of un bounded wealth, but the gratification of their lawless passions either with equally vicious nuns, or with other victims of their seductive arts. § 81. — In contrast with the vicious lives of these monks, shone with the more lustre, the primitive characters, the chaste, and pa tient, and modest deportment of the teachers of the Waldensian heretics, who were so cruelly persecuted and abused. Some of these dissenters from Popery in this age maintained that volun tary poverty was the leading and essential quality in a servant of Christ, obliged their doctors to imitate the simplicity of the apos tles, reproached the church with its overgrown opulence, and the vices and corruptions of the clergy, that flowed from thence as from their natural source, and by this commendation of poverty and contempt of riches, acquired a high degree of respect, and gained a prodigious ascendant over the minds of the multitude. Probably the extreme views in relation to voluntary poverty held by some of the Waldenses originated in their disgust and abhor rence at the contrast between the professions and the practices of the monks. However this may be, some of the shrewdest of the popes, fearful of the effect of the contrast between the vicious lives of the sleek, and lazy, and well-fed monks, and the holy lives of the poor, and humble, and persecuted heretics, soon perceived * See above, book ii., chap iv., page 87-92. t " Vix institutEE religionis apparuisse vestigia, in praestantioribus monasteriis, radicem raalorum, malam monachorum novercam, proprietatum concupiscentlam." (Baronius, Annal., ad Ann. 942.) 20 324 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [book v. Innocent III. establishes the Mendicant orders. Dominicans and Franciscans. the necessity of establishing an order of men, who, by the austerity of their manners, their contempt of riches, and the external gravity and sanctity of their conduct and maxims, might resemble the doc tors, who had gained such reputation to the heretical sects, and who might be so far above the allurements of worldly profit and pleasure, as not to be seduced by the promises or threats of kings and princes, from the performance of the duties they owed to the church, or from persevering in their subordination to the Roman pontiffs. § 82. — Innocent IIL, about the commencement of the thirteenth century, was the first of the popes who perceived the necessity of instituting such an order ; and accordingly, he gave such monastic societies as made a profession of poverty, the most distinguishing marks of his protection and favor. They were also encouraged and patronized by the succeeding pontiffs, when experience had demonstrated their public and extensive usefulness. But when it became generally known, that they had such a peculiar place in the esteem and protection of the rulers of the church, their number grew to such an enormous and unwieldy multitude, and swarmed so prodigiously in all the European provinces, that they became a burden, not only to the people but to the church itself. This m- convenience, however, was remedied by pope Gregory X. in a general council which he assembled at Lyons, in the year 1272. For here all the religious orders that had sprung up after the coun cil held at Rome, in the year 1215, under the pontificate of Inno cent IIL, were suppressed, and the " extravagant multitude of men dicants," as Gregory called them, were reduced to a smaller num ber, and confined to the four following societies, or denominatioDS, viz., the Dominicans, the Franciscans, the Carmelites, and the her mits of St, Augustin.* § 83. — Of these mendicant orders, the Dominicans and the Fran ciscans, commenced about the year 1207, were by far the most con siderable and numerous, so called from their founders, Dommic and Francis, of whose lives, as related by their disciples and admirers, we shall proceed to give a brief sketch. The former of these saints has become famous (or infamous) in history, from the fact that he was the inventor, or at least, the first inquisitor-general of the horrible tribunal called the holy Inquisition. Being employed, says Dr. Southey, against the Albigenses, Saint Dominic (as he stands in the Romish Calendar) invented the Inquisition to acceler ate the effect of his sermons. His invention was readily approved at Rome, and he himself nomuiated inquisitor-general. The pain ful detail of his crimes may well be spared ; suffice it to say, that *"Importuna potentium inhiatio Relrgionum multiplicationem extorsit, venim etiam aliquorum prssumptuosa temeritas diversorum ordinum, praecipue Mendi- cantium .... efirsnatam multitudinem adinvenit .... Hinc ordines Mendicantes post dictum concilium adinventos .... perpetua; prohibitioni subjicimus." (Cm- cU. Lugd. n., Ann. 1274. Can. xxiii., in Jo. Harduini Conciliis, tom. vii., J' 716, Mosheim, iii., 188.) CHAP, rx.] POPERY THE WORLD'S DESPOT— A. D. 1073-1303. 325 Wonderful miracles of Saint Dominic, the founder of the Inquisition. in one day four-score persons were beheaded, and four hundred burnt alive, by this man's order and in his sight. St. Dominic is the only saint in whom no solitary speck of goodness can be dis covered. To impose privations and pain was the pleasure of his unnatural heart, and cruelty was in him an appetite and a passion. No other human being has ever been the occasion of so much misery. The few traits of character which can be gleaned from the lying volumes of his biographers are all of the darkest colors. If his disciples have preserved few personal facts concerning their master, they have made ample amends in the catalogue of his miracles. Let the reader have patience to peruse a few of these tales, not copied from protestant, and therefore suspected authors, but from the Dominican historians themselves, and every one of them authorized by the Inquisition.* § 84. — Among the vast multitude of their ridiculous and fabu lous stories, these disciples of Dominic relate that the mother of their master dreamed that she brought forth a dog, holding a burning torch in his mouth, wherewith he fired the world. Earth quakes and meteors announced his nativity to the earth and the air, and two or three suns and moons extraordinary were hung out for an illumination in heaven. The Virgin Mary received him in her arms as he sprung to birth. When a sucking babe he regularly ob served fast days, and would get out of bed and lie upon the ground as a penance. {!) His manhood was as portentous as his infancy. He fed multitudes miraculously, and performed the miracle of Cana with great success. Once, when he fell in with a troop of pilgrims, of different countries, the curse which had been inflicted at Babel was suspended for him, and all were enabled to speak one lan guage. (!) Travelling with a single companion, he entered a monastery in a lonely place, to pass the night ; he awoke at matins, and hearing yells and lamentations instead of prayers, went out and discovered that he was among a brotherhood of devils. Domi nic punished them upon the spot with a cruel sermon, and then re turned to rest. At morning the convent had disappeared, and he and his comrade found themselves in a wilderness. (! !) He had one day. an obstinate battle with the flesh : the quarrel took place in a wood ; and, finding it necessary to call in help, he stripped him self, and commanded the ants and the wasps to come to his assist ance : even against these auxiliaries the contest was continued for three hours before the soul could win the victory. He used to be red-hot with divine love ; sometimes blazing like a sun ; some times glowing like a furnace ; at times it blanched his garments, and imbued them with a glory resembling that of Christ in the Transfiguration. Once it sprouted out six wings, like a seraph ; and once the fervor of his piety made him sweat blood, (! ! !) * See an able article on the Inquisition, from the pen of the late poet-laureate of England, Robert Southey, LL.D., in the Quarterly Review for December, 1811. 326 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [book t. Marvellous Dominican miracles of the Virgin and the Eosary. § 85.— The Dominicans were the great champions of the Virgin, and according to their writers. Saint Dominic was her pecuUar favor ite. In reference to the Rosary, which among them was especially a favorite instrument of devotion to their great patroness, they relate many wonderful miracles, among which the following are speci mens. {For Rosary, arms of Inquisition, SfC, see Engraving.) (1.) The bead palace in Paradise. — A knight to whom Dominic presented a rosary, arrived at such a perfection of piety, that his eyes were opened, and he saw an angel take every bead as he dropped it, and carry it to the Queen of Hea ven, who immediately magnified it, and built with the whole string a palace upon a mountain in Paradise ! (2.) The preaching head. — A damsel, by name Alexandra, induced by Dominic's preaching, used the rosary; but her heart followed too much after the thinpof this world. Two young men, who were rivals for her, fought, and both fell in the combat ; and their relations, in revenge, cut off her head, and threw it into a well. The devil immediately seized her soul, to which it seems he had a clear title — but, for the sake of the rosary, the Virgin interfered, rescued the soul out of his hands, and gave it permission to remain in the head at the bottom of the well, till it should have an opportunity of confessing and being absolved. After some days this was revealed to Dominic, who went to the well, and told Alexan dra, in God's name, to come up : the bloody bead obeyed, perched on the well-side, confessed its sins, received absolution, took the wafer, and continued to edify the people for two days, when the soul departed to pass a fortnight in purgatory on its way to heaven. (3.) The Virgin's raised arm. — ^When Dominic entered Thoulouse, after one of his interviews with the Virgin, all the bells of the city rang to welcome him, un touched by human hands ! But the heretics [Albigenses] neither heeded this, nor regarded his earnest exhortations to them, to abjure their errors, and make use of the rosary. To punish their obstinacy a dreadful tempest of thunder and lightning set the whole firmament in a blaze ; the earth shook, and the howling of afirighted animals was mingled with the shrieks and groans of the terrified multi tude. They crowded to the church, where Dominic was preaching, as to an asylum. " Citizens of Thoulouse," said he, " I see before me a hundred and filiy angels, sent by Christ and his mother to punish you ! This tempest is the voice of the right hand of God." There was an image of the Virgin in the church, who raised her arm in a threatening attitude as he spoke. " Hear me !" he con tinued, " that arm shall not be withdrawn till you appease her by reciting the rosary." New outcries now arose : the devils yelled because of the torment this inflicted on them. The terrified Thoulousians prayed and scourged themselves, and told their beads with such good effect, that the storm at length ceased. Domi nic, satisfied with their repentance, gave the word, and down fell the arm of the image ! (4.) Dominican friars and nuns nestling under the Virgin's wing. — In one of his visits to heaven, Dominic was carried before the throne of Christ, where he beheld many religionists of both sexes, but none of his own order. This so afflicted him, that he began to lament aloud, and inquired why they did not appear in bliss. Christ, upon this, laying his hand upon the Virgin's shoulder, said, "I have committed your order [the Dominicans] to my mother's care;" and she, lift ing up her robe, discovered an innumerable multitude of Dominicans, friars and nuns, nestled under it ! (5.) The love of the Virgin for Saint Dominic.— The next of these foolish legends is almost too impious to be repeated. The Dominicans— the inquisitors- tell us that " the Virgin appeared to Dominic in a cave near Thoulouse ; that she called him her son and her husband ; that she took him in her arms, and bared her breasts to him, that he might drink their nectar ! She told him that, were she a mortal, she could not live without him, so excessive was her love ; even now, im mortal as she was, she should die for him, did not the Almighty support her, as he THE SCAPULAK, ROSARY, AND CHAPLET. The Scapular is a habit worn over the shoulders, which the Virgin Mary is said to have given to Simon Stock, a hermit, to whom she appeared, assuring hint that it was assign of salvation, a safeguard in dan ger, aud a covenant of peace ;" and that she would " never permit those who should wear her habit to be damned." It forms a part of the habit of several Religious Orders, and ia worn over the gown. In a Roman Catholic work, published no longer ago than 1838, a saying of Father Alphonso is mentioned, that the Devil " had lost more souls by that holy vest than by any other means." This work is entitled " A brief account of the confraternity of our Blesiiicd Lady of Mount Carinel, commonly called the Scapular." The .Rosary and Chaplet are used to count prayers. Ten to the Virgin, represented by small beads, for every 07ie to God, represented by a large bead. FAC-SliMlLE OF THE CONSECRATKIt WAFER, This is a representation ol the ^ayer, stamped as above, which the Romish priests profess to turn into a God, and elevate above their heads, for the worship of the deluded multitude. STANDARDS UF THE l.NqulSiTlON. Standard of the Inquisition aj Spain.— Tliis was a wooden croas, full of knots, with a&ivord and uii ulive branch, as represented in the engraving. Standard of the Inquisition of Goa. — ^This represents St- Dominic, with a dog carrying a torch near a globe, because a little previous to his birth his mother dreamt she saw a dog lighting the world with a torch. In his right hand is a branch of olive, as a token o^ the peace he will make with such us sliall de- dare themselves good Catholics; and in his left a sword, to denote the war he makes with heretics— with this motto, Misericordiaet Justitia, (Mptpv and .Tn.niicA.i CHAP. IX.] POPERY THE WORLD'S DESPOT— A. D. 1073-1303. 329 Saint Francis the founder of the Franciscans, the Seraphic Order. had done at the Crucifixion ! At another visit, she espoused him ; and the saints, and the Redeemer himself, came down to witness the marriage ceremony ! It is impossible to transcribe these atrocious blasphemies without shuddering at the guilt of those who invented them ; and when it is remembered that these are the men who have persecuted and martyred so many thousands for conscience' sake, it seems as if human wickedness could not be carried farther. " Blessed," exclaims Dr. Southey, " be the day of Martin Luther's birth ! — it should be a festival only second to that of the Nativity."* § 86. — The founder of the other of these celebrated mendicant orders was the son of a rich merchant of Assissi, in Italy. Accord ing to a valuable and more recent work of the able and learned author just referred to, he derived his name of Francesco from his familiar knowledge of the French tongue, which was at that time a rare accomplishment for an Italian ; and Hercules is not better known in .classical fable, than he became in Romish mythology, by the name of Saint Francis. In his youth, it is certain, that he was actuated by delirious piety ; but the web of his history is in terwoven with such inextricable falsehoods, that it is not possible to decide whether, in riper years, he became madman or impostor ; nor whether at last he was the accomplice of his associates, or the victim. Having infected a few kindred spirits with his first enthu siasm, he obtained the Pope's consent to institute an order of Friars Minorite ; so, in his humility, he called them ; they are better known by the name of Franciscans, after their founder, in honor of whom they have likewise given themselves the modest appella tion of the Seraphic Order — having in their blasphemous fables installed him above the Seraphim, upon the throne from which Lucifer fell ! § 87. — Previous attempts had been made to enlist, in the service of the papal church, some of those fervent spirits, whose united hostility all its strength would have been insufficient to withstand ; but these had been attended with little eflFect, and projects of this kind were discouraged, as rather injurious than hopeful, till Francis presented himself His entire devotion to the Pope, his ardent adoration of the Virgin Mary, as the great Goddess of the Romish faith, the strangeness, and perhaps the very extravagance of the institute which he proposed, obtained a favorable acceptance for his proposals. Seclusion for the purpose of religious meditation, was the object of the earlier religious orders ; his followers were to go into the streets and highways to exhort the people. The monks were justly reproached for luxury, and had become invidious for their wealth ; the friars were bound to the severest rule of life ; they went barefoot, and renounced, not only for themselves individually, but collectively also, all possessions whatever, trusting to daily charity for their daily bread. It was objected to him that * Let not the reader suppose (as Romanists assert in relation to everythingthey would rather keep secret) that these are protestant forgeries. These miracles stand as above related (with the exception of the titles) in the prayer-book 'of the Dominican order of Roman Catholics. 330 HISTORY OP ROMANISM. [bookt. Immense increase of FranciscaD friars. The holy stigmas or wounds of Saint Francis no community, established upon such a principle, could subsist without a miracle : he referred to the lilies in the text, for scrip tural authority ; to the birds, for an example ; and the marvellous increase of the order was soon admitted as full proof of the inspir ation of its founder. In less than ten years, the delegates alone to its General Chapter exceeded five thousand in number ; and by an enumeration in the early part of the eighteenth century, when the Reformation must have diminished their amount at least one-third it was found that even then there were 28,000 Franciscan nuns in 900 nunneries, and 115,000 Franciscan friars in 7000 convents; besides very many nunneries, which, being under the immediate jurisdiction of the ordinary, and not of the order, were not included in the returns. § 88. — The miracles ascribed to Saint Francis were no less ex travagant than those related of the head of the rival order. " The wildest romance," says Dr. Southey, " contains nothing more ex travagant than the legends of St. Dominic : yet even these were outdone by the more atrocious effrontery of the Franciscans. They held up their founder, even during his life, as the perfect pattern of our Lord and Saviour ; and, to authenticate the parallel, i% ea;- hibited him with a wound in his side, and four nails in his hands and feet, fixed there, they affirmed, by Christ himself, who had visibly appeared for the purpose of thus rendering the conformity between them complete ! Whether he «onsented to the villainy, or was in such a state of moral and physical imbecility, as to have been the dupe or the victim of those about him ; and whether it was committed with the connivance of the papal court, or only in certain knowledge that that court would sanction it when done, though it might not deem it prudent to be consenting before the feet,— are questions which it is now impossible to resolve. Sanctioned, however, the horrible imposture was by that church which calls itself infallible ; a day for its perpetual commemoration was appointed m the Romish Calendar ;* and a large volume was com posed, entitled the Book of the Conformities between the lives of the blessed and seraphic Father Francis and our Lord ! Jealous of these conformities, the Dominicans followed their rivals m the path of blasphemy They declared that the five wounds had been impressed also upon St. Dominic ; but that, in his consummate humility, he had prayed and obtained that this sig- livedT ^^^'^^ "^'^^^^ ^^^^^ "^^ ^^^^ P"'^'^^ ^'^''^ ^^ ¦ \l^-—'^'^^ two orders of Dominic and Francis, though engaged m the same work of hunting and persecuting the enemies of the ¦JJJ^L^T.^r.T^ ^It^ Romish church to commemorate this abominable ^trZ;nh=.f1nr n^ b' V'K ^ If ^^^'"'^^'^ '" " ^^'^''^ "^ t^e Soul," published Romi,?&rr S ^^°P Hughes New York, 1844. It is the same in any Romish Calendar See True Piety, St. Joseph's Manual, &c. The worfs oppo- + i? Wb. ' Vt V.^ ^[^ ''¥™^ (Latin for wounds) qf StFrancST t See Southey s Book of the Church, chap, xi., fifth edition, London, 1841. CHAP. X.] POPERY THE WORLD'S DESPOT— A. D. 1073-1303. 331 Prodigious influence acquired by the Mendicant Orders. Fourtli cojncil of Lateran. papal church, and both professing an equal zeal in the service of the Pope, soon began most cordially to hate each other, and to assume an attitude of fierce hostility and rivalry. Yet they ob tained, for a time, a prodigious influence among the people, pro duced partly by their enthusiasm, partly by their appearance of sanctity and devotion, but chiefly by the implicit faith with which their enormous fables were received. Multitudes of the people were unwilling to receive the sacraments from any other hands than those of the mendicants, to whose churches they crowded to perform their devotions, while living, and were extremely desirous to deposit there also their remains after death ; all which occasion ed grievous complaints among the ordinary priests, to whom the cure of souls was committed, and who considered themselves as the spiritual guides of the multitude. Nor did the influence and credit of the mendicants end here ; for we find, in the history of succeeding ages, that they were employed not only in spiritual matters, but also in temporal and political affairs of the greatest consequence ; in composing the diflferences of princes, concluding treaties of peace, concerting alliances, presiding in cabinet coun cils, governing courts, levying taxes, and other occupations, not only remote from, but absolutely inconsistent with the monastic character and profession. During three centuries, these two fra ternities governed, with an almost universal and absolute sway, both state and church, filled the most eminent posts, ecclesiastical and civil, taught in the universities and churches with an authority, before which all opposition was silent, and maintained the pretended majesty and prerogatives of the Roman pontiffs against kings, princes, bishops, and heretics, with incredible ardor and equal success. {Mosheim, cent, xiii., part 2. Waddington, chap, xix.) CHAPTER X. THE FOURTH COUNCIL OP LATERAN DECREES THE EXTERMINATION OF HERETICS, TRANSUBSTANTIATION, AND AURICULAR CONFESSION. § 90. — In the year 1215 was held at Rome, under the pontificate of Innocent III., the twelfth general council, and fourth of Lateran. On many accounts — the character of the Pope who presided, the number of ecclesiastics who were present, the doctrines that were then first made articles of faith, the tyrannical and sanguinary cha racter of its decrees in relation to the extermination of heretics, &c., — this council may be regarded as one of the most memorable in the history of Romanism. The number of church dignitaries 332 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [book v Innocent and the council give the dominions of Raimond to the popish butcher of heretics, Montfort. present on this occasion, in addition to the Pope, was seventy me tropolitans, four hundred bishops, and eight hundred and twelve abbots, priors, &c., besides several princes, imperial ambassa dors, &c. One of the most remarkable acts of this council, or rather of Pope Innocent, who was the sovereign dictator of all that was done in it, and which we mention first, because of its connection with matters already related, was the bestowment of the dominions of Raimond VL, the unfortunate count of Thoulouse, upon that obe dient son of the Pope, the earl of Montfort, the bloodthirsty butcher of the Albigenses, as a reward for the service that he had ren dered the church of Rome, in slaughtering such countless mul titudes of the heretics and rebels against the Holy See. The per secuted Raimond travelled to Rome for the purpose of averting, if possible, this additional misfortune, and promised to give whatever satisfaction the Pope and the council might require. But his ex ertions were all in vain. " His dominions," says Bower, " were ad judged to count Montfort as a reward for his zeal in the destruction of the innocent Albigenses, and Montfort henceforth assumed the title of count of Thoulouse, and continued to persecute the poor Albigenses with fire and sword, though he could never entirely suppress them. Thus did the Pope and council, not only with the consent, but with the concurrence of princes, usurp an absolute power in temporals as well as in spirituals."* The excommunication of the barons of England in this council, . and the haughty letter of pope Innocent in relation to them, have already been related in a preceding chapter. (See above, page 292.) § 91. — But the fourth council of Lateran is most noted for its famous (or infamous) decree relative to the extirpation of heretics, and the thunders that were to be hurled at princes, and the punish ment to be inflicted on them in case they should refuse to join in t\as pious, but bloody work. The following is a literal translation of the most important portion of this decree, translated from the Latin original as found in the summa conciliorum of Caranza, a celebrated Romanist author. The third chapter begins thus : " We EXCOMMUNICATE AND ANATHEMATIZE EVERY HERESY EXTOLLING IT SELF AGAINST THIS HOLY, ORTHODOX, CaTHOLIC FAITH WHICH WE BEFORE EXPOUNDED, Condemning all heretics by what names soever called. And being condemned, let them be left to the seculae POWER, or to their bailifis, to be punished by due animadversion. And let the secular powers be warned and induced, and if need be condemned by ecclesiastical censure, what offices soever they are in, that as they desire to be reputed and taken for believers, so they pubhcly take an oath for the defence of the faith, that they WILL study in good EARNEST TO EXTERMINATE, TO THEIR UTMOST POWER, FEOM THE LANDS SUBJECT TO THEIR JURISDICTION, ALL HERE TICS DENOTED BY THE CHURCH; 'Pro dcfensione fidei prsstat jura- * Lives of 'he Popes, in vita Innoc. HI. CHAP. X.] POPERY THE WORLD'S DESPOT— A. D. 1073-1303. 333 Decrees of the Pope and council commanding princes, under heavy penalties, to extccminute heretics. mentum, quod de terris suse jurisdictionis subiectos universes hsere- ticos ab Ecclesia denotatos, bona fide pro viribus exterminare stude- bunt ;' so that every one, that is henceforth taken into any power, either spiritual or temporal, shall be bound to confirm this chapter by his oath." ..." But if the temporal lord, required and warned by the church, shall neglect to purge his territory of this heretical filth, let him by the Metropolitan and Comprovincial Bishops be tied by the bond of excommunication ; and if he scorn to satisfy within a year, let that be signified to the Pope, that he may denounce his vassals thenceforth absolved from his fidelity (or allegiance), and may expose his country to be seized on by Catholics, who, the heretics being excommunicated, may possess it without any contra diction, and may keep it in the purity of faith, saving the right of the principal lord, so "be it he himself put no obstacle hereto, nor oppose any impediment ; the same law notwithstanding being kept about them that have no principal lord."* ..." And the Catho lics that taking the badge of the cross shall gird themselves for the ex terminating cf heretics, shall enjoy that indulgence, and be fortified with that holy privilege which is granted to them that go to the help of the holy land." ..." And we decree to subject to excommu nication the believers and receivers, defenders and favorers of here tics, firmly ordaining, that when any such person is noted by ex communication, if he disdain to satisfy within a year, let him be, ipso jure, made infamous." I make no comment on the above outrageous decree of pope Innocent and the twelfth general council united {the highest legis lative authority in the Romish church), nor is it needed. The history of the persecuted Raimond, hunted, excommunicated, ana thematized, and finally deposed, for no other reason except that he did not ifte sufficient diligence in executing the Pope's commands " to exterminate, to the utmost of his power, all heretics from the lands subject to his jurisdiction," together with that of the slaugh tered Albigenses, is an eloquent sermon on the above text. § 92.— In this general council also, by the twenty-first canon, the practice of auricular confession was for the first time authorita tively enjoined upon the faithful of both sexes at least once a year. They were also commanded, under severe penalties in case of neg lect, to receive the eucharist at Easter, unless a particular dispensa tion excusing from this duty should be granted to them. The sacra ment was generally taken immediately after confession. Fleury, the * As this is the most important part of the decree, and it is a common device of Romanists to deny the accuracy of translations, we subjoin the original of the above remarkable paragraph. " Si dominus temporalis requisitus et monitus ab Ecclesia, terram suam purgare neglexerit ab haeretica foeditate, per Metropolitanos et caeteros Episcopos vinculo excommunicationis innodetur ; et si satisfacere con- tempserit infra annum, significetur hoc Summo Pontifici, et extunc ipse vassalos ab ejus fidelitate denunciet absolutes, et terram exponet Catholicis occupandam qui eam, haereticis exterminatis, sine ulla contradictione possideant, salvo jure Domini principalis, dnmmodo super hoc ipse nullum prsstet obstaculum, eadem nihilominus lege servata, circa eos qui non habent Dominos principales." 334 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [book v. Priestly solicitation of females at confession. Romish historian, says, " this is the first canon, so far as I know, which imposes the general obligation of sacramental confession ;" and from this admission, it is easy for any one to calculate the date of this modem popish innovation.* The horrible disorders, seductions, adulteries, and abominations of every kind that have sprung from this practice of auricular confession, especially in Spain and other popish countries, are familiar to all acquainted with the history of Popery for the six centuries that have transpired since the fourth council of Lateran. The details of individual facts on this subject are hardly fit to meet the public eye, though multitudes of them might easily be cited, de rived not merely from the testimony of protestants, but from the admissions of papists themselves, and from the numerous, though inefiectual laws that have been passed to restrain the practice of priestly solicitation of females at confession. Nor can this be mat ter of surprise. The evil is inherent in the system. Let any per son of common sense examine the list of subjects, and the ques tions for examination of conscience in any popish book of devotion, but more especially (if he understands Latin) the directions to young priests in Dens and other standard works for the study of popish theology ;f then let him remember that the subjects of these * From the following extract from Butler's Roman Catholic catechism, it will be seen that this law, passed so late as 1215, is made one of the " six command ments of the church," and is placed upon a level with the " ten commandments of God." Lesson xx. — On the Precepts qfthe Church. — Q. Are there any other command ments besides the ten commandments of God ? Ans. There are the command ments or precepts of the Church, which are chiefly six. Q. Say the six commandments of the church? Ans. 1. To hear Mass on Sundays, and all holy days of obligation. 2. To fast and abstain on the days commanded. 3. To confess our sins at least once a year. 4. To receive WORTHILT THE BLESSED EuOHABlST AT EasTEK, OR WITHIN THE TfflE AP POINTED. 5. To contribute to the support of our pastors. 6. Not to solemnize marriage at the forbidden times, nor to marry persons within the forbidden de grees of kindred, or otherwise prohibited by the church, nor clandestinely. t The following extracts from the '• Moral Theology of Peter Dens, as prepared for the use of Romish Seminaries and Students of Theology," are transcribed from the Mechlin edition, printed no longer ago than 1838. I dare not stir the scum of this pool of filth by translating a single paragraph from the Latin. Let the learned reader remember that in confession it is the duty of the priest to question and to cross-question, in every variety of form, the female penitents in relation to the sins described in the following extracts : De modo contra naturam.-" Quinta species luxuriae contra naturifn com- mittitur quando quidam copula masculi Jit in vase femirue naturali, sed indebito modo, V. g. stando, aut dum vir succurabit, vel a retro feminam cognoscit, sicnt equi congrediuntur, quamvis in vase femineo. " Possunt autem hi modi inducere peccatum mortale juxta periculum perdendi semen, eo quod scilicet semen viri communiter non possit apte effundi usque in matricem feminsE. " Et quamvis forte conjuges dicant quod periculum diligenter prscaveant, illi interim lascm modi a gravi veniali excusari non debent, nisi forte propter impo- tentiam, v. g. ob curvitatem uxoris, nequeat servari naturalis situs et modus, qui est ut mulier succumbat viro." (Vol. iv., No. 296.) Modus sive situs' invertitur, ut servetur debitum vas ad copulam a natura ordi- chap.x.] POPERY THE WORLD'S DESPOT— a. D. 1073-1303. 335 The confessional, a school of licentiousness, seduction, and adultery beastly inquiries are often young, beautiful, and interesting fe males ; and that the questioners are men, often young and vigorous, burning with the fires of passion, in some instances almost wrought up to phrenzy by a vow of celibacy which they would be glad to shake off, and then he will cease to wonder that the confessional has so often been turned into a school of licentiousness, seduction and adultery. § 93. — A single fact will be sufficient to show the awful extent in popish countries of this crime of illicit intercourse with females at natum, v. g. si fiat accedendo a praepostere, a latere, stando, sedendo, vel si vir sit succumbus. Modus is mortalis est, si inde suboriatur periculum poUutionis respectu alterius, sive quando periculum est, ne semen perdatur, prout sjepe accidit, dum actus exercetnr stando, sedendo, aut viro succumbente : si absit et sufiicienter praecaveatur istud periculum, ex communi sententia id non est mortale : est autem veniale ex gravioribus, cum sit inversio ordinis naturjE ; estque generatim modus ille sine causa taliter coeundi graviter a Confessariis reprehendendus : si tamen ob justam rationem situra naturauem conjuges immutent, secludaturque dictum peri culum, nullum est peccatum. Quoad tactus libidinosos, quos conjugati exercent erga corpus alterutrius, ii sunt mortaliter mali, si fiant cum poUutione alterius, vel ejus periculo. Si absit periculum poUutionis, et ordinentur ad copulam, tunc vel ad eam ne- cessarii stint, et sic non sunt peccaminosi, vel non sunt ad eam necessarii et erunt venialiter mali, quia solius causa voluptatis haberi supponuntur. Si tactus illi, secluso poUutionis periculo, non referantnr ad copulam, non ita conveniunt Auctores ; decent plerique, quod si sint adeo infames, ut nequideiri ex copulEE intuitu excusentur a gravi peccato, eos esse mortaliter malos, si vero sint tactus ordinarii, nee diu in eis sistatur, docent plurimi contra eosdem esse tantum venialiter malos ; quia voluptas ilia non quaeritur extra limites Matrimonii. Quest. An uxor possit se tactibus excitare ad seminationem, si a copula conjugal! retraxerit, maritus, postquam ipse seminaverit, sed antequam seminaverit uxor ? Resp. Plurimi negant ; eo quod, cum vir se retraxerit, actus sit completus, adeoque ilia seminatio mulieris foret peccatum poUutionis : alii vero aSirmant : quia ista excitatio spectat ad actus conjugalis complementum et perfeclionem : excipiunt tamen casum, ubi periculum est ne semen ad extra profundatur. De Bestialitate. — Ad hoc crimen reducitur congressus carnalis cum daemone in corpore assumpto : quod scelus aggravatur per circumstantiam contra religio- nem, quatenus includit societatem cum dsemone ; ideoque gravis est et gravissi- mum peccatum contra naturam : consideranda est etiam forma corporis vel homi nis, vel bestijB, in qua apparet djemon ; item repraesentatio personje virginisj mo- nialis, &c. Veriim plerumque praesumendum est, talia solum fieri per fortera imaginationem, qua decipiuntur homines. The following instruction is given (vol. iv.. No. 287) to the priest when examin ing a young girl (pueUa) : — " Confessarius prudens omnehi evadet invidiam hac methodo : dum puella confitetur se esse fornicatam, confessarius petat, an prima vice, qua simUe peccatum commisit, exposuerit circumstantiam amissEe virginitatis. Si respondeat categorice, ita, vel non, cessat difficultas ; et quidem si jam sint primae vices statim reponet, jam fuisse primas vices, adeoque soliim ei dici debet, ut conteratur de ilia circumstantia, et eam confiteatur : si taceat, instruatur, illam circumstantiam tutius semel exprimendam, adeoque si id nunquam fecerit, jam desuper doleat et se accuset." See the first and last of these citations in a Sy nopsis of this popish Theology, edited by Rev. Dr. Berg, of PhUadelphia. The remainder, with enough similar ones to fUl a volume, may be found in the fourth and sixth volumes of Dens' Latin work. I regard the work of Dr. Berg, which is a translation of enough of Dens' Theology to show the true character of Popery, as a work of immense value. The filthy extracts of this popish divine, on the subject of this note, the Doctor has wisely left in the original Latin. 336 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [book v. Priestly solicitation in Spain. Inquiry hushed up on account of the immense number of criminali confession. About 1560, a bull was issued by pope Pius IV., direct ing the Inquisition to inquire into the prevalence of this crime which begins as follows : — " Whqreas certain ecclesiastics, in the kingdoms of Spain, and in the cities and diocesses thereof, having the cure of souls, or exercising such cure for others, or otherwise deputed to hear the confessions of penitents, have broken out into such heinous acts of iniquity, as to abuse the sacrament of penance in the very act of hearing the confessions, nor fearing to injure the same sacrament, and him who instituted it, our Lord God and Saviour Jesus Christ, by enticing and provoking, or trying to entice and provoke, females to lewd actions, at the very time when they were making their confessions," ^c, 6fC. Upon the publication of this bull in Spain, the Inquisition issued an edict requiring all females who had been thus abused by the priests at the confessional, and all who were privy to such acts, to give information, within thirty days, to the holy tribunal ; and very heavy censures were attached to those who should neglect or de spise this injunction. When this edict was first published, such a considerable number of females went to the palace of the inquia- tor, in the single city of Seville, to reveal the conduct of their in famous confessors, that twenty notaries, and as many inquisitors, were appointed to minute down their several informations against them ; but these being found insufficient to receive the depositions of so many witnesses, and the inquisitors being thus overwhelmed, as it were, with the pressure of such affiiirs, thirty days more were allowed for taking the accusations, and this lapse of time also proving inadequate to the intended purpose, a similar period was granted not only for a third but a fourth time. Maids and/matrons of every rank and station crowded to the Inquisition. Modesty, shame, and a desire of concealing the facts fi-om their husbands, induced many to go veiled. But the multitude of depositions, and the odium which the discovery threw on auricular confession, and the popish priesthood, caused the Inquisition to quash the prosecu tions, and to consign the depositions to oblivion.* And thus for fear of the disgrace that would be brought upon an apostate church and Its vicious and corrupt priesthood, these abominable crimes were hushed up, and their vile perpetrators permitted, with their hands all defiled as they were with the filth of unhallowed lust, to minister at the altar, and to enjoy still, in the words of pope Urban, the eminence granted to none of the angels, of creating God, the Creator of all thmgs." Well was it for these priests that they did nothing worse than to pollute the confessional with their filthy lusts ; had they been guilty of the crime, so much more horrible, in the estimation of papists, of denying that the bit of bread consecrated by hands like theirs was the eternal God, the Lord Christ, with " his body, soul and divinity," they would not have slipped through the hands of these holy inquisitors so easily. For this latter crime, hundreds of heretics had, within a few years, been bumed alive by * Gonsalv, 186; Llorente, 355; Limborch, 111 ; Edgar, 529; Da Costa, i., 117. CHAP. X.] POPERY THE WORLD'S DESPOT— A. D. 1073-1303. 337 Council of Lateran decrees Transubstantiation. Feast of Corpus Christi. popish butchers at Smithfield, and the fires kindled by the bloody Mary, were scarcely extinguished in England, when the events I have just related occurred in Spain. Such is popish morality, and such is popish justice. § 94. — It was in this council also, that the absurd dogma of tran substantiation* was first enjoined as an article of faith by pope Innocent, who himself stamped upon that doctrine the name by which it has ever since been designated. Since the days of Inno cent, what multitudes of holy men and women have expired amidst the flames of martyrdom, because they refused assent to this out rage upon common sense, first established as an article of faith in the year 1215. The reader, familiar with the days of bloody queen Mary of England, need not be told that a belief in this dogma was then generally made the test question by popish persecutors, upon the denial of which the martyrs of that age were consigned to the flames. In the words of the learned Archbishop Tillotson, this doctrine of Transubstantiation " has been, in the church of Rome, the great burning article ; and as absurd and unreasonable as it is, more Christians have been murdered for the denial of it, than perhaps for all the other articles of their religion." What protestant will not join in the pious exclamation of this excellent prelate and powerful opponent of Popery. " 0 blessed Saviour ! thou best friend and greatest lover of mankind, who can imagine that thou didst ever intend that men should kill one another, for not being able to believe contrary to their senses ? for being unwilling to think that thou shouldst make one of the most horrid and barbarous things that can be imagined, a main duty and principal mystery of thy religion 1 for not flattering the pride and presumption of the priest who says he can make God, and for not complying with the folly and stupidity of the people who are made to believe that they can eat him ?"¦[ § 95. — The worship of the Host or wafer was a natural result of the monstrous doctrine of Transubstantiation as established at this council of Lateran. Accordingly, we find that this idolatry was soon grafted upon that popish innovation. From the Roman canon law we leam that pope Honorius, who succeeded Innocent III., shortly after the council, oidered that the priests, at a certain part of the mass service, should elevate the consecrated wafer, and at the same instant the people should prostrate themselves before it in worship. {See Frontispiece.) About fifty years after the council — that is, in the year 1264 — that celebrated festival, still observed with so much pomp and parade in popish countries, called the Feast of Corpus Christi, or Body of Christ, was established by pope Urban IV. In this feast, the wafer idol is carried through the streets in procession, amidst * For the historical account of the origin of this doctrine, see above, Book iv.. Chap. 2, pp. 192—206. \ Tillotson on Transubstantiation, p. 277. 338 inSTORY OF ROMANISM. [book v. Procession of Corpus Christi in Roman Catholic countries. scenes of merriment, rejoicing and illumination, and upon its approach all fall down on their knees and worship it till it has passed by. The cause of the establishment of this festival of the holy sacrament, as it was also called, was as follows. A certain fanatical woman named Juliana declared that as often as she ad dressed herself to God, or to the saints in prayer, she saw the full moon with a small defect or breach in it ; and that, having long studied to find out the signification of this strange appearance, she was inwardly informed by the spirit, that the moon signified the church, and that the defect or breach was the want of an annual festival in honor of the holy sacrament. Few gave attention or credit to this pretended vision, whose circumstances were extremely equivocal and absurd, and which would have come to nothing, had it not been supported by Robert, bishop of Liege, who, in the year 1246, published an order for the celebration of this festival through out the whole province, notwithstanding the opposition he knew would be made to a proposal founded only on an idle dream. After the death of Juliana, one of her friends and companions; whose name was Eve, took up her name with uncommon zeal, and had credit enough with Urban IV. to engage him to publish, in the year 1264, a solemn edict, by which the festival in question was imposed upon all the Christian churches, without exception. Diestemus, a prior of the Benedictine monks, relates a miracle, as one cause of the establishment of this senseless, idolatrous festival. He tells us that a certain priest having some doubts of the real presence of Christ in the sacrament, blood flowed from the consecrated wafer into the cup or chalice, and also upon the corporate or linen cloth upon which the host and the chalice are placed. The corporale, having been brought, all bloody as it was, to Urban, the prior tells us that the Pope was convinced of the miracle, and thereupon, ap pointed the solemnity of Corpus Christi to be annually celebrated.* § 96.1 — In all Roman Catholic countries, special honors are paid to the wafer idol, as it is home through the streets either on the festival of Corpus Christi, or on any other occasion. In Spain, when a priest carries the consecrated wafer to a dying man, a person with a small bell accompanies him. At the sound of the bell, all who hear it are obliged to fall on their knees, and to remain in; that pos ture till they hear it no longer. " Its sound operates like magic on the Spaniards. In the midstof a gay, noisy party, the word, ' Sa Majestad' {his Majesty, the term they apply to the host) will bring every one upon his knees until the tinkling dies in the distance. Are you at dinner 1 you must leave the table ; in bed? you must, at least, sit up. But the most prepos terous effect of this custom is to be seen at the theatres. On the approach of the host to any miUtary guard, the drum beats, the men are drawn out, and, as soon as the priest can be seen, they bend the right knee and invert the firelocks, placing the point of the * Diestemus, Common, ad annum 1496— quoted by Bower vi., 296. J^Bffcession of Corpus Chnsti at Rome— Colosseum, in ihe foregjouud. CHAP. X.] POPERY THE WORLD'S DESPOT— A. D. 1073-1303. 341 Violence to a stranger in Aome for not bowing the Itnee to the idol. bayonet on the ground. As an oflicer's guard is always stationed at the door of a Spanish theatre, I have often laughed in my sleeve at the eflect of the chamade both upon the actors and the company. Dios, Dios, {A God, A God,) resounds from all parts of the house, and every one falls that moment upon his knees. The actors' rant ing, or the rattling of the castanets in the fandango, is hushed for a few minutes, till the sound of the bell growing fainter and fainter, the amusement is resumed, and the devout performers are once more upon their legs, anxious to make amends for the inter ruption."* At such a time as this, wo be to the man, in any Popish country, who refuses to bend the knee, or at least to take off his hat in honor of the idol. Says Professor S. F. B. Morse, in a work published some few years ago, and who witnessed the celebration of the fes tival of Corpus Christi at Rome, " I was a stranger in Rome, and recovering from the debility of a slight fever ; I was walking for air and gentle exercise in the Corso, on the day of the celebration of the Corpus Domini. From the houses on each side of the street were hung rich tapestries and gold embroidered damasks, and toward me slowly advanced a long procession, decked out with all the heathenish paraphernalia of this self-styled church. In a part of the procession a lofty baldichino, or canopy, borne by men, was held above the idol, the host, before which, as it passed, all heads were uncovered, and every knee bent but mine. Ignorant of the customs of heathenism, I turned my back to the procession, and close to the side of the houses in the crowd (as I supposed unob served), I was noting in my tablets the order of the assemblage. I was suddenly aroused from my occupation, and staggered by a blow upon the head from the gun and bayonet of a soldier, which struck off" my hat far into the crowd. Upon recovering from the shock, the soldier, with the expression of a demon, and his mouth pouring forth a torrent of Italian oaths, in which il diavolo had a prominent place, stood with his bayonet against my breast. I could make no resistance ; I could only ask him why he struck me, and receive in answer his fresh volley of unintelligible imprecations, which having delivered, he resumed his place in the guard of honor, by the side of the officiating Cardinal."| Such is the manner in which those who refuse to bow the knee to idols are treated in popish countries, and such is the way, should Popery become gen erally prevalent and powerful in the United States, that such would be treated here. J {See Engraving.) * Doblada's Letters from Spain, p. 13. t Foreign Conspiracy against the Liberties of the United States— by Saml. F. B. Morse, Prof, in the University of New York ; p. 172. J In Cincinnati, papists have already become sufficiently daring to insult Amer ican citizens, and knock off their hats unless they render proper homage to the popish processions, which are already beginning to make the " Queen City of the West" resemble some of the pcmish cities of Europe. I have before me a letter of the Honorable Alexander DunSan, at that time a Senator of the State of Ohio, dated January 10th, 1835, giving an account of such an insult offered to him jn 342 CHAPTER XI. CONTESTS BETWEEN THE POPES AND THE EMPEROR FREDERICK II, — GUELPHS AND GHIBELINES. § 97. — Pope Innocent III. lived but a few months after the coun cil of Lateran. He died on the 16th of July, 1216, and was suc ceeded by Honorius III. During his pontificate, the Isle of Man, a small island lying between England and Ireland, now a possession of Great Britain, but then an independent kingdom, was ceded by its king, Reginald, to pope Honorius, as a fief of the Roman church, and the instrument of donation was delivered into the hand of Pan dulph, the same Legate of the Pope as received the submission of king John. The Legate immediately restored the island to Regi nald, as a gift of the apostolic See, upon his binding himself and heirs to pay a yearly tribute to the Pope, as an acknowledgment of his vassalage. Probably this was done in accordance with the claim of the popes, that all islands belonged to St. Peter, though one mo tive of this petty sovereign, in thus making himself a vassal of the Pope, might be the powerful protector which he should thereby secure against the innovations of the king of England, or other neighboring sovereigns. § 98. — In the year 1220, the emperor Frederick IL, after making several concessions to the demands of the pope Honorius, was solemnly crowned by him in Rome, upon which occasion, to gratify his Holiness, he published the sanguinary laws against heretics that have been quoted in a previous chapter. While at Rome, the Em peror also, at the request of the Pope, made a solemn vow to go in person on another crusade to the Holy land, and received the cross at the hands of Cardinal Hugotin, though for his tardiness for fulfil ling this vow, he excited the anger of Honorius, and still more of pope Gregory IX., who succeeded Honorius in the year 1227. Indeed almost immediately after his consecration, Gregory wrote a menacing letter to the Emperor, threatening him with the thunders of the church, if he did not immediately set out on his expedition to the Holy land. the public streets of that city, because he did not take off his hat in reverence of a popish foreign bishop, in a procession to coiisecrate a Romish chapel. On the arrival of the procession opposite to where he stood, he was requested to uncover his head immediately. The Senator replied that he was in a public street, and however much he might respect the forms of the Roman Catholic religion, it ill comported with his dignity as an American citizen to offer such homage to any man. On saying this, he was instantly surrounded by several papists, his hat forcibly torn from his head, his clothes torn, and his person abused and beaten. Several other Americans on the same occasion, who had the hardihood to stand with their hats in the presence of this popish bishop and his idolatrous procession, were treated with the same insult and barbarity as Dr. Duncan. — (See the Letter of Senator Duncan in the Cincinnati Journal, January 23d, 1835.) CHAP. XI.] POPERY THE WORLD'S DESPOT— A. D. 1073-1303. 343 Frederick's success in Palestine. Pope Gregory IX. maltes war on the empire In his absence. Notwithstanding these threats, however, the Emperor put oflT his voyage from time to time, under various pretexts, and did not set out until the year 1228, when, after having been excommunicated on account of his delay, by the incensed pontiff, Gregory IX., he followed with a small train of attendants, the troops who expected with most anxious impatience, his arrival in Palestine. No sooner did he land in that disputed kingdom, than instead of carrying on the war with vigor, he turned all his thoughts toward peace, and with out consulting the other princes and chiefs of the crusade, concluded in the year 1229, a treaty of peace, or rather a truce of ten years, with Melic Camel, sultan of Egypt. The principal thing stipulated in this treaty was, that Frederick should be put in possession of the city and kingdom of Jerusalem ; this condition was immediately executed ; and the Emperor, entering into the city with great pomp, and accompanied by a numerous train, placed the crown upon his head with his own hands, and having thus settled matters in Pales tine, he returned without delay into Italy, to appease the discords and commotions which the vindictive and ambitious pontiff had ex cited there in his absence. So that in reality, notwithstanding all the reproaches that were cast upon the Emperor by the Pope and his creatures, this expedition was by far the most successful of any that had been yet undertaken against the infidels in the Holy land. § 99. — The pretended vicar of Christ, forgetting, or rather unwil ling to persuade himself, that his master's kingdom was not of this world, made war upon the Emperor in Apulia during his absence, and used his utmost efforts to arm against him all the European powers. Frederick, having received information of these perfidious and violent proceedings, returned into Europe in the year 1229, defeated the papal army, retook the places he had lost in Sicily and in Italy, and in the year following made his peace with the pontiff, from whom he received a public and solemn absolution. This peace, however, was of but short duration, nor was it possible for the Emperor to bear the insolent proceedings, and the imperious temper of Gregory. He, therefore, broke all measures with that headstrong pontiff, distressed the states of Lombardy that were in alliance with the See of Rome, seized upon the island of Sardinia, which Gregory looked upon as part of his spiritual patrimony, and erected it into a kingdom for his son Entius. These, with other steps that were equally provoking to the avarice and ambition of Gregory, drew the thunder of the Vatican anew upon the Emperor's head, in the year 1239. Frederick was excommunicated publicly, with all the circumstances of severity that vindictive rage could invent, and was charged with the most flagitious crimes, and the most impious blasphemies, by the exasperated pontiff, who sent a copy of this terrible accusation to all the courts of Europe. The Emperor, on the other hand, defended his injured reputation by solemn declarations in writing, while, by his victorious arms, he avenged himself of his adversaries, maintained his ground, and re duced the pontiff" to the greatest straits. To get rid of these diffi- 21 344 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [bookv. Death of pope Gregory IX. Innocent IV. excommunicates and deposes the Emperor at the coimcil of Lyons. culties, the latter convened, in the year 1240, a general council at Rome, with a view to depose Frederick, by the unanimous suffrages of the cardinals and prelates, that were to compose that assembly. But the Emperor disconcerted that audacious project, by defeating, in the year I24I, a Genoese fleet, on board of which the greatest part of these prelates were embarked, and by seizing, with all their treasures, these reverend fathers, who were all committed to close confinement. Thus were the designs of Gregory frustrated, and shortly afterward this restless and imperious pontiff died, and was succeeded by Celestine IV., who, however, only occupied the papal throne eighteen days, before he was removed by death, and made way for Innocent IV., who was chosen to the vacant See in 1243. § 100. — Upon the accession of Innocent, who had always professed great friendship for Frederick, the friends of the Emperor congratu lated him upon the election of one who would be likely to prove so favorable to his interests ; but having more penetration than those about him, he sagely replied, " I see little reason to rejoice. The Cardinal was my friend, but the Pope will be my enemy." Innocent soon proved the justice of this conjecture. He ambitiously attempt ed to negotiate a peace for Italy, but not being able to obtain from Frederick his exorbitant demands, and in fear for the safety of his own person, he fled into France, assembled a general council, and deposed the Emperor. " I declare," said he, " Frederick II. attainted and convicted of sacrilege and heresy, excommunicated and dethron ed ; and I order the electors to choose another emperor, reserving to myself the disposal of the kingdom of Sicily." Frederick was at Turin when he received the news of his deposition, and behaved in a manner that seemed to border upon weakness. He called for the casket in which the imperial omaments were kept ; and opening it, and taking the crown in his hand, " Innocent," cried he, " has not yet deprived me of thee : thou art still mine ! and before I part with thee, much blood shall be spilt."* § 101.-— The council at which the Emperor was deposed, was held at Lyons in France, in 1245, and is reckoned the thirteenth general council. The sentence of pope Innocent, says Bower, " deprived him of the empire, of all his other kingdoms, dignities, and dominions, and absolved his subjects from their allegiance, forbidding ihem, on pain of excommunication, to lend him any assistance whatever. "\ It is related also, that in this council the cardinals were distinguished by pope Innocent with the red hat, a distinction which has ever smce been regarded as the peculiar badge of that ecclesiastical dig nity, second in rank only to that of the sovereign pontiff". Frederick not only refused to submit to the Pope's decree of de position, but also punished as rebels those who should regard the interdict laid upon his kingdom, and should, in consequence thereof refuse to perform funeral or other services of religion. In this con- * M. Paris, Hist. Major.— Russell i., page 196. t See Lives of the Popes, in vitjt Innocent IV. CHAP. XI.] POPERY THE WORLD'S DESPOT— A. D. 1073-1303. 345 Guelphs and Ghibelines. Death of the Emperor. Quarrel of the Pope with Fredericlc's son Manft'ed test, the party of the Emperor was called the Ghibelines, and those who sided with the Pope, the Guelphs. Frederick did not live to carry on this contest long ; he died in the year 1250, as is generally thought, of a fever, though some supposed him to have suffered from the effects of a dose of poison secretly administered. Iimocent IV. was in France, when he heard of his death, and returning thence in the beginning of the spring of 1251, he wrote to all the towns to celebrate the deliverance of the church ; gave bound less expression to his joy, and made his entry into Milan, and the principal cities of Lombardy, with all the pomp of a triumph. He supposed that the republicans of Italy had fought only for him, and that he alone would henceforth be obeyed by them ; of this he soon made them too sensible. He treated the Milanese with arro gance, and threatened to excommunicate them for not having re spected some ecclesiastical immunity. It was the moment in which the republic, like a warrior reposing himself after battle, began to feel its wounds. It had made immense sacrifices for the Guelph party ; it had emptied the treasury, obtained patriotic gifts from every citizen who had anything to spare ; pledged its revenues, and loaded itself with debt to the extent of its credit. The ingratitude of the Pope, at a moment of universal suffering, deeply offended the Milanese ; and the influence of the Ghibelines in a city, where, till then, they had been treated as enemies, might be dated from that period.* Innocent soon found that though his most formidable antagonist was dead, there were many surviving of the party which had acknow ledged him as its chief, and after some further contests with the Ghibelines, who continued to offer a steady resistance to the over bearing tyranny of the Pope, he died about four years after Fred erick, in the year 1254. § 102. — The immediate successors of Innocent IV. were Alexander, Urban and Clement, each fourth of the name. Alexander suc ceeded in 1254, Urban in 1261, and Clement in 1265. The pontifi cates of the two latter were distinguished chiefly by the fierce con tests between the Guelphs, the party of the Pope, and the Ghibe lines, the adherents of the family of the deceased emperor Frederick, especially in the kingdom of the two Sicilies. At the accession of Urban IV. in 1261, Manfred the son of the emperor Frederick, and (since his father's death), the chief of the Ghibeline party, was firmly estabhshed upon the throne of the Two Sicilies. The Pope saw with great uneasiness his growing power, and the consequent increasing influence of his faction. Feared even in Rome and the neighboring provinces, master in Tuscany, and making daily pro gress in Lombardy, Manfred seemed on the point of making the whole peninsula a single monarchy ; and it was no longer with the arms of his German or Italian friends that the Pope could hope to subdue him. The thunders of excommunication, and even the severe sentence * Sismondi's Italian Republics, chapter iv. 346 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [bookt. The Pope invites Charles of Anjou to make war upon Manfred. The Pope's care for number one. of deposition, had already been tried against the refractory Man fred, but since the successful resistance of his father Frederic the terror produced by these spiritual weapons had evidently beo-un to diminish. It was deemed necessary, therefore, by the Pope to call in the aid of more substantial weapons than those forged bv spiritual despotism, and before which the superstitious multitude had so often trembled. Accordingly, Urban addressed himself to the brave and powerful Charles, Count of Anjou, brother to the king of France and sovereign in right of his wife of the county of Provence ; and off'ered to his ambition the splendid prize of the crown of the two Sici lies, upon condition of his subduing the rebellious Ghibeline, Manfred. § 103. — Charles had already signalized himself in war; he was, like his brother, a bigoted papist, and still more fanatical and bitter toward the enemies of the church, against whom he abandoned himself without restraint to his harsh and pitiless character. His religious zeal, however, did not interfere with his policy ; his interest set limits to his subjection to the church ; he knew how to manage those whom he wished to gain ; and he could flatter, at his need, the public passions, restrain his anger, and preserve in his language a nioderation which was not in his heart. Avarice appeared his ruling passion ; but it was only the means of serving his ambition, which was unbounded. He accepted the offer of the Pope. His wife Beatrice, ambitious of the title of Queen, borne by her three sisters, pawned all her jewels to aid in levying an army of 30,000 men, which she led herself through Lombardy. The Count had preceded her. Having gone by sea to Rome, with 1000 knights, he made his entry into that city on the 24th of May, 1265. A new pope, like his predecessor a Frenchman, named Clement IV., had succeeded Urban, and was not less favorable to Charles of Anjou. He caused him to be elected senator of Rome, and at the hands of four of his most distinguished cardinals, conferred on him the investiture of the kingdom of Sicily. The crafty and ambitious Pope, however, took care to clog this gift with conditions, which in effect rendered the count of Anjou, in the event of his success, a tributary and a vassal of the Holy See. Among other articles, there was one in which Charies engaged to take an oath of fealty to the Pope, and to do homage to Clement and his successors on the papal throne ; by another article, the clergy of the kingdom were to be exempted from all accountability to the secular tribunals, in criminal as well as in civil cases ; by another, the King was to pay the Pope an annual sum of eight thou sand ounces of gold, and to present his Holiness with a fair and good white horse, ' unum palafrsenum pulchrum et bonum ;' and by another article the King engaged to keep one thousand horsemen constantly ready for war, with arms and equipments, to be em ployed by the Pope m the Holy War, or in the defence of the church. Upon Charles assenting to these articles of agreement— m which It will be seen that the Pope took good care of his own interests- he was proclaimed at Rome king of Sicily on the 29th of May, 1265, CHAP. XI.] POPERY THE WORLD'S DESPOT— A. D. 1073-1303. 347 Manfred killed in battle, refhsed burial, and cast into a ditch. Murder of the youthful Conradin and solemnly crowned, with his wife Beatrice, on the 16th of January following. § 104. — The victory which Charles soon obtained over Manfred, and the (^eath of the latter on the field of battle, restored the ascend ency of the Guelph party, the adherents of tlfe Pope, in Italy. The body of Manfred, by order of the Pope's legates, was forbidden, on account of his dying while under a sentence of excommunication, to be buried in consecrated ground, and was therefore thrown into a ditch. Charles exercised his dominion in Sicily with cruelty amd rigor, and oppressed the Sicilians, as their conqueror, with intolera ble burdens. One act of the tyranny of this obedient vassal of the Pope deserves to be recorded as a specimen of his vindictiveness and cruelty. It was about the end of the year 1267 that the young Conradin, grandson of Frederic and nephew of Manfred, aged only sixteen years, in compliance with the invitation which had been pri vately sent him by many of the Sicihan barons, to come and take possession of his paternal and hereditary kingdom, arrived at Verona, with 10,000 cavalry, to claim the inheritance of which the popes had despoiled his family. All the Ghibelines and brave cap tains, who had distinguished themselves in the service of his grand father and uncle, hastened to join him, and to aid him with their swords and counsel. Conradin entered the kingdom of his fathers, and met Charles of Anjou in the plain of Tagliacozzo, on the 23d of August, 1368. A desperate battle ensued ; victory long remained doubtful. Conradin, forced at length to fly, was arrested, forty-five miles from Tagliacozzo, as he was about to embark for Sicily. He was brought to Charles, who, without pity for his youth, esteem for his courage, or respect for his just right, exacted, from the iniqui tous judges, before whom he subjected him to the mockery of a trial, a sentence of death : and this interesting and unfortunate young prince was beheaded in the market-place at Naples, on the 26th of October, 1268. Thus by this series of usurpations, oppres sions and cruelties, undertaken by order of the popes, was the pre ponderance of the papal party once more established throughout Italy and Sicily.* § 105. — The inhabitants of Sicily, though always distinguished for their zealous adherence to the Romish faith, submitted with impatience to the foreign yoke imposed on them through the influ ence of the Pope. Oppressed by the victorious French soldiery which Charles of Anjou had brought with him into that island, they sighed for a return of the mild rule of their ancient race of sove reigns, and had formed the design of expelling their oppressors, and estabhshing upon the throne Don Pedro, king of Arragon, the son-in-law of Manfred, and husband of Constance, who was a daughter of Manfred, and consequently a granddaughter of Fred erick ll. But, says Sismondi, " Sicily was destined to be delivered by a sudden and popular explosion, which took place at Palermo * See Sismondi's Italian Republics, chap. iv. 348 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [book v. The Sicilian vespers. Council of Lyons. Election of Pope in conclave decreed. on the 30th of March, 1282. It was excited by a French soldier, who treated rudely the person of a yoimg bride, as she was pro ceeding to the churcbof Montreal, with her betrothed husband, to receive the nuptial benediction. The indignation of her relations and friends was coiAmunicated with the rapidity of lightning to the wjiole population of Palermo. At that moment the bells of the churches were ringing for vespers : the people answered by the cry, ' To arms — death to the French !' The French were at tacked furiously on all sides, and in a few hours more than 4000 of that hated nation were destroyed. Thus the Sicilian vespers over threw the tyranny of Charles of Anjou and the Guelphs ; sepa rated the kingdom of Sicily from that of Naples ; and transferred the crown of the former to Don Pedro of Arragon, who was con sidered the heir to the house of Hohenstaufen." § 106. — The pontificate of Gregory X., who succeeded Clement IV. in 1271, is distinguished chiefly by the fourteenth general coun cil, which was held at -Lyons in 1274, in which the two principal subjects of deliberation were (I), the relief of the Christians in Palestine, and the preservation of the conquests of former cru saders, and (2) the reunion of the Greek and Latin churches, which had for a long time been alienated from each other. Ambassadors were sent to it from the Greek emperor at Constantinople, and arti cles of concord and union between the Greek and the Latin churches were agreed upon and adopted, and a eulogy was pro nounced upon the emperor Michael Palseologus, and his son An- dronicus, by the Pope, in the fourth session of the council, as the chief -authors and promoters of this union. During the sessions of the council, the Pope and cardinals prevailed upon the archbishops, bishops, and abbots, to grant the tenth part of their income for the reUef of the Christians in Palestine for the space of six years. But the most memorable act of this council was the law relative to the mode of electing a new .pope, by which the cardinals were required to be shut up together in conclave during the election. The doors were to be carefully watched and guarded, so as to prevent all im proper ingress or egress, and everything examined that was car ried in, lest it should be calculated to influence the election. If the election were not over in three days, they were to be allowed but one dish for dinner ; and if protracted a fortnight longer, they were, after that, to be confined altogether to bread, wine, and water, and a maljority of two thirds of the cardinals was required to make a lawful election. This famous law, though with some modifications, has been continued in force to the present time. § 107.— Some time before this, the Pope had sent a letter of re monstrance and waming to Henry, bishop of Liege, in relation to his vicious life. Of this letter the following is an extract. " We hear," says the Pope, "with great concern, that you are abandoned to incontinence and simony, and are the father of many childrem some born before and some after your promotion to the episcopal dignity. You have taken an abbess of the order of St. Benedict tHAP. XI.] POPERY THE WORLD'S DESPOT— A. D. 1073-1303. 340 Horrible profligacy in a popish bishop. The Annals of Baronius and Raynaldus. for your concubine, and have boasted, at a public entertainment, of your having had fourteen children in the space of two-and-twenty months. (!) To some of your children you have given benefices, and even trusted them, though under age, with the cure of souls. Others you have married advantageously at the expense of your bishopric. In one of your houses, called the park, you keep a nun, and when you visit her you leaye all your attendants at the gate. The abbess of a monastery in your diocese dying, you annulled the canonical election of another, and named in her room the daughter of a count whose son has married one of your daughters ; and it is said that the new abbess has been delivered of a child by you." One would have thought that these charges were sufficient to ren der the mitred criminal worthy of immediate deposition, but the Pope only exhorted him to lead a different life, and warned him that unless he should reform his manners, he should be obliged to pro ceed against him. As he continued, however, to persevere in his course of open and shameless vice, he was compelled by the Pope, during the sessions of the council, to resign his bishopric. This notorious specimen of ecclesiastical profligacy was at last killed by some nobleman, whose female relative he had dishonored, and (as we are informed by the historian) left behind, at his death, no less than sixty-five illegitimate children !* While it is not denied that in this instance, the horribly vicious man who disgraced the episco pal office was, ultimately, deposed for his crimes ; yet it affords a lamentable and striking illustration of the state of morals among the Romish clergy of that age, that a bishop could retain his office while engaged in such a course of open and notorious profligacy, long enough to warrant him in making the shameless boast at a public entertainment, mentioned in the above letter of the Pope. § 108. — Gregory X., though of a much milder character than Hildebrand or Innocent III., yet did not hesitate, when occasion offered, of acting upon the odious maxim of these two popes — that the pope of Rome is lord of the world, and possesses an authority over all earthly princes and potentates. Thus, for instance, in the year 1271, when the empire was claimed by Alphonsus of Castile, to whose pretensions the Pope was opposed,! he wrote an imperi ous letter to the German princes, commanding them to elect an em- '" Concil., torn, xi., p. 922 ; Magnum Chron. Belgic. ; Bower, vi., 295. f See the letters of the Pope to Alphonsus, in the Annals of Raynaldus, the continuator of Baronius, ad Ann. 1274. As the great work of Baronius and Raynaldus has already been, and vnll yet be, frequently referred to, and is a work of great weight and authority among Romanists, I would remark in this place, that cardinal Baronius was bom in 1538, made a Cardinal by pope Clement VIII. in 1596, who also appointed him librarian of the Apostolic See. Upon the death of Clement in 1606, he came near being chosen pope, as he had thirty votes of the cardinals in his favor. He undertook his Annals when 30 years of age, and after collecting and digesting materials, published the first volume in 1588, and the twelfth, which concludes with the year 1198, was published in the year of his death 1607. Baronius left materials for three more volumes, which were used by Raynaldus in his continuation of the work, from 1198 to 1534 350 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [book v. Under pope Nicholas IU,, the papal states become entirely independent of the empire. peror without delay, and assuring them that unless they immediately complied with his wishes he would save them the trouble by choos ing one for them.* This threat was effectual, and Rudolph of Haps burg was elected. § 109. — Pope Gregory died in 1276, and after Innocent V., Adrian V. and John XXL, whose united reigns amounted to but a little over a year, was succeeded by the famous cardinal lohn Cajetan, who was elected Pope in November, 1277, and took the name of Nicholas III. It was under this Pope, as has already been mentioned, in the chapter on the temporal power of the popes (see page 178), that the last tie of the dependence of the popes upon the empire for their temporal sovereignty was broken. The cir cumstances were these : — The chancellor of the empire had caused homage to be done to his imperial master, Rudolph, in the cities of Bologna, Ravenna, Urbino, &c., belonging to the states of the church. The Pope thinking the time had come to break off this nominal dependency on the empire, remonstrated, and Rudolph at once yielded to his wishes. The Pope then forwarded copies of all the grants (both pretended and real) of former emperors, and accompanied them with a new form of donation which he wished Rudolph to grant. The Emperor, knowing that he was chiefly in debted to pope Gregory, one of the predecessors of Nicholas, for his own elevation, and that he needed the powerful support of the' Pope against his own enemies, complied immediately with his re quest, and granted the document confirming all former grants, as signing the limits of the papal territory, and releasing for ever the Pope and his successors from all dependence for their dominion upon the empire.f § 110. — Nicholas IIL, who had thus augmented the authority of the Roman pontiffs, and placed their temporal sovereignty on a securer basis than ever before, died in the year 1281, and was succeeded by Martin IV., a pope who was inferior in arrogance and ambition to but few of his predecessors. As evidence of this may be men tioned his excommunication of the emperor of Constantinople, Michael Palseologus, in 1281, for pretended heresy and schism, and for having broken the peace concluded between the Latin and Greek churches at the council of Lyons, a few years before, and also his excommunication the following year, of Don Pedro, king of Arragon, whose kingdom he also placed under an interdict, on ac count of his opposition to Charles of Anjou, whom, as we have seen, * Pracepit principibus Alemanniae electoribus, ut de Romanorum rege, sicut sua ab antiqua et approbata consuetudine intererat, providerent, infra tempus eis ad hoc de Papa Gregorio statutum : alias ipse de consensu Cardinalium Romani imperil providere vellet desolationi. (Urstisii German Histor., ii., 93. Gieseler, 11., 234.) f Raynaldi Annal. ad Ann. 1279. Also, Annales veteres Mutinensium (mMu- ratorii Script. Rer. Ital.) : De anno 1277: "Rodolphus Rex Romanorum donavit Civitatem Bononia et Comitatum Romandiolae Papse Nicholas HI., et sic Ec clesia Romana facta fuit domina illarum civitatum et terrarum." CHAP. Xl.] POPERY THE WORLD'S DESPOT— A.D. 1073-1303. 351 Pope Martin deposes the king of Arragon. The sentence disregarded. Pope Celestine tlie hermit popes Urban and Clement had aided in usurping the sovereignty of Sicily. But the terrors of these spiritual thunders had, for some years past, been gradually diminishing, and but little regard was paid by Don Pedro to the sentence of the Pope. Martin, therefore, proceeded to issue on the 22d of March, 1283, his papal bull, de posing him from his kingdom of Arragon, absolving his subjects from their allegiance, and forbidding them on pain of excommuni cation to obey him, or to give him the title of King, and granting his kingdom to any prince who would seize it ; but of so little account was all this regarded by the king of Arragon, that we are informed he was accustomed to call himself, by way of derision of the Pope's sentence, " Don Pedro, a gentleman of Arragon, the father of two kings, and lord of the sea."* The fact is, that the long period of successful papal usurpation and tyranny was now rapidly drawing to a close. The gloom and darkness which had so long brooded over the world, was in many places beginning to disappear, before the glimmering light of increasing inteUigence, and returning common sense. The mon strous and tyrannical doctrines of Gregory VII. and Innocent IIL had almost had their day, and emperors and kings had well nigh ceased to tremble at the nod of the spiritual tyrant of Rome, or like Henry of Germany, or John of England, humbly to sue for the privilege of kissing his foot, or prostrate to kneel at the feet of his Legate, and accept their crowns from his hands, to be worn as his vassals and tributaries. The period of papal usurpation intro duced by Hildebrand, was rapidly drawing to a close, and in nine years after the death of pope Martin, which took place in 1285, the last of the popes properly belonging to this period, ascended the papal throne. § 111. Honorius IV., Nicholas IV. and Celestine V., successively occupied the chair of St. Peter during these nine years. Of the two former it is sufficient to say that, in their efforts to maintain the papal authority, they trod in the steps of their predecessors. The last named was a venerable old man of irreproachable morals, who had hved for years the life of a hermit. The circumstances of his election were as singular as the fact of a holy man being elected was rare. After the death of pope Nicholas, the cardinals, who were divided into two opposing parties, had spent more than two years in the vain attempt to agree upon a successor ; when one of them, after mentioning this hermit, inquired " why should we not put an end to our divisions and elect him ?" and in a sudden burst of enthusiasm the proposal was unanimously adopted ; and the old hermit, much against his will, was persuaded to leave his retreat, and assumed the name of Celestine V. But it was an uncommon thing to see a man in the chair of St. Peter, who had even the repu tation of sanctity, and the austerity of his manners was a tacit reproach upon the corruption of the Roman court, and more espe- * ViUani, lib. vii., cap. 86, quoted by Bower, vi., p. 323. 352 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [book v. A gohi man for Pope ! Persuaded to resign, as unworthy of the office. Tyranny of Boniface VIII cially upon the luxury of the cardinals, and rendered him extremely disagreeable to a degenerate and licentious clergy ; and this dislike was so heightened by the whole course of his administration, which showed that he had more at heart the reformation and purity of the church, than the increase of its opulence and the propagation of its authority, that he was almost universally considered as unwor thy of the pontificate. Hence it was, that several of the cardinals, and particularly Benedict Cajetan, who succeeded him, advised him to abdicate the papacy, which he had accepted with such reluctance, and they had the pleasure of seeing their advice followed with the utmost facility. The good man resigned his dignity the foutth month after his election, and died in the year 1296, in the castle of FumOne, where his tyrannic and suspicious successor kept him in captivity, that he might not be engaged, by the solicitations of his friends, to attempt the recovery of his abdicated honors. § 112. — Cardinal Benedict Cajetan, after thus persuading the inof fensive old man to resign, was himself, as he had anticipatedj ele vated to the popedom in the month of December, 1294, and assumed the name of Boniface VIII. The efforts of Boniface to exercise the despotism of Hildebrand were carried to a length that amounted almost to a phrenzy. But these insane attempts were behind the age ; it was half a century too late, and his mad sallies of ambition and passion resembled only the convulsive struggles of an expiring . man. They were, in fact, the death-throes of papal tyranny and despotism. His most famous struggle, which is all we shall relate, was with Philip the Fair, kuig of France, on account of the levies made by that prince on the enormous revenues of the clergy, to aid in supporting the expenses of the state. With the hope of stop ping these exactions, the Pope issued a bull, known by the initial words Clericus laicos, absolutely forbidding the clergy of every kingdom to pay, under whatever pretext of voluntary grant, gift, or loan, any sort of tribute to their government without his especial permission. Though France was not particularly named, the king understood himself to be intended, and took his revenge by a prohi bition to export money from the kingdom. This produced angry remonstrances on the part of Boniface ; but the Galilean church adhered so faithfully to the crown, and showed indeed so much wil lingness to be spoiled of their money, that he could not insist upon the most reasonable propositions of his bull, and ultimately allowed that the French clergy might assist their sovereign by voluntary contributions, though not by way of tax. For a very few years after these circumstances, the Pope and king of France appeared reconciled to each other. § 113. — In the first year of the fourteenth century, however, a terrible storm broke out on the following occasion. A certain bishop of Pamiers was sent by the Pope as his nuncio, and had the insolence to threaten the King with deposition, unless he complied with the demands of his Holiness, in whom, he asserted, was vesUi CHAP. XI.] POPERY THE WORLD'S DESPOT— A. D. 1073-1303. 353 Pope Bouifhce's Hildebrandic bull, Unam Sanctam. all power, both spiritual and temporal ;* in consequence of which behavior, Philip considering him as his own subject, was provoked to put him under arrest with a view to institute a criminal process. Boniface, incensed beyond measure at this violation of ecclesiastical and legatine privileges, published several bulls addressed to the king and clergy of France, charging the former with a variety of offences, some of them not at all concerning the church, and com manding the latter to attend a council which he had summoned to meet at Rome. In one of these instruments he declares in concise and clear terms that the king was subject to him in temporal as well as spiritual matters. Philip replied by a short letter in the rudest language, and ordered the Pope's bulls to be publicly burnt at Paris. Determined, however, to show the real strength of his opposition, he summoned representatives from the three orders of his kingdom. This is commonly reckoned the first assembly of the States-Gen eral A. D. 1303. The nobility and commons disclaimed with firm ness the temporal authority of the Pope, and conveyed their senti ments to Rome through letters addressed to the college of cardinals. The clergy endeavored to steer a middle course, and were reluc tant to enter into an engagement not to obey the Pope's summons, though they did not hesitate unequivocally to deny his temporal jurisdiction. § 114. — Boniface opened his council at Rome, and notwithstand ing the king's absolute prohibition, many French prelates held them selves bound to be present. In this assembly Boniface promulgated his famous constitution, denominated Unam Sanctam. This is one of the most remarkable documents ever issued by the popes. It maintains that the church is one body, and has one head (the Pope). Under its command are two swords, the one spiritual and the other temporal. But I will let the decree speak for itself " Uterqueest in potestate ecclesijE,spir- Either sword is in the power of the itualis scilicet gladius et materialis. Sed church, that is to say, the spiritual and is quidem pro ecclesia, Ule vero ab ec- the material. The former is to be used clesia exercendus : ille sacerdotis, is by the church, but the latter for the manu regum ac militnm, sed ad nit- church. The one in the hand of the TUM ET PATENTiAM SACEKDOTis. Opor- priest, the Other in the hand of kings and tet autem gladium esse sub gladio, soldiers, but at the will ahd pleasure et temporaleni auctoritatem spiritnali of the pkiest. It is right that the tem- subjici potestati. Pokko sttbesse Ro- poral sword and authority be subject to MANO PONTIFICI OMNI HtTMANiE CEEA- the Spiritual power. MOEEOVEK WE DE- TTIR.a: DECLAEAMUS, DICIMUS, DEFINIMUS, CLARE, SAY, DEFINE, AND PRONOUNCE ET PRONUNClAMUS OMNINO ESSE DE NECES- THAT EVERT HUMAN BEING SHOULD BE 6ITATE FiDEi." (Extrav., lib. i., tit. 8, c. subject to the Roman pontiff, to be 1.) AN ARTICLE OF NECESSARY FAITH. Another bull issued by the Pope at this time, commands all persons of whatever rank, to appeal- when personally cited before the audience or apostolical tribunal of Rome : " since such is our pleasure, who, by divine permission, eule the woeld." * Raynald Anna!., ad Ann. 1300. 354 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [book y. Death of Boniface VIIL Decline of the power of papacy from this time § 1 15. — As Philip treated the bulls of the Pope with neglect and contempt, Boniface issued a bull of excommunication against him and made an offer of the crown of France to the emperor Albert I, This prince, however, felt no eagerness to realize the Kberal prom ises of Boniface, who was on the point of issuing a bull, absolving the subjects of Philip from their allegiance, and declaring his for feiture, when a very unexpected circumstance interrupted all his pro jects. In the assembly of the states at Paris, king Philip preferred virulent charges against the Pope, denying him to have been legiti mately elected,* imputing to him various heresies, and ultimately appealing to a general council and lawful head of the church. Without waiting, however, to mature this scheme of a general council, Phihp succeeded in a bold and singular attempt. Nogaret, a minister who had taken an active share in all the proceed ings against Boniface, was secretly dispatched into Italy, and, join ing with some of the Colonna family, proscribed as Ghibelins, and rancorously persecuted by the Pope, arrested him at Anagnia, a town in the neighborhood of Rome, to which he had gone without guards. This violent action was not, one would imagine, calculated to place the King in an advantageous light ; yet it led accidentally to a favorable termination of his dispute. Boniface was soon res cued by the inhabitants of Anagnia ; but rage brought on a fever, which ended in his death. § 116. — " The sensible decline of the papacy," says Hallam, "is to be dated from the pontificate of Boniface VIIL, who had strained its authority to a higher pitch than any of his predecessors. There is a spell wrought by uninterrupted good fortune, which captivates men's understanding, and persuades them, against reasoning and analogy, that violent power is immortal and irresistible. The spell is broken by the first change of success. Imprisoned, insulted, de prived eventually of life by the violence of Philip, a prince excom municated, and who had gone all lengths in defying and despising the papal jurisdiction, Boniface had every claim to be avenged by the inheritors of the same spiritual dominion. When Benedict XI., the successor of Boniface, perhaps learning wisdom from the fate of his predecessor, rescinded his bulls, and admitted Philip the Fair to communion, without insisting on any concessions, he acted perhaps prudently, but gave a fatal blow to the temporal authority of Rome."t With the death of Boniface we close the present division in our History of Romanism. In taking leave of the centuries durmg which Popery reigned Despot of the Worid, we are not to suppose that the popes subsequent to Boniface VIIL, ever discarded, or indeed that the Romish church either at that time, or at any subse quent period, has formally renounced the doctrine, which the popes * The reason for this charge, which was also preferred by the powerful family of the Colonna at Rome, against Boniface, was that the resignation of pope Celes tine was not valid or legal, and was effected by means of Boniface. t Hallam's Middle Ages, chap. vii. CHAP. XI.] POPERY THE WORLD'S DESPOT— A. D. 1073-1303. 355 Popery unchanged and unchangeable in its principles. What Popery is, and what It has been of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries used to justify their usurpa tions. By no means. The memory of Saint Gregory VIL, to papists, is as fragrant as ever. Popery is unchanged and unchange able. It is not, therefore, to be supposed that the successors of Boni face had renounced the right of deposing kings and ruling the nations with a rod of iron, because the period of Popery the World's Despot is said to close with that pontiff, but only that by the successful oppo sition of Philip of France, to this haughty and imperious Pope, this assumption of universal dominion over the whole earth received such a check, that future pontiffs were deterred from carrying the doctrines of Gregory VII. into practice with the same boldness or to the same extent as Hildebrand himself or his successors and imitators of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. In future periods we shall discover evidences that this doctrine was by no means abandoned, as in the instance of pope Pius V., and Elizabeth of England, and others ; but we shall see that in future periods the power of the pontiffs became so sensibly dimin ished, that in order to carry into effect their maledictions against the sovereigns of the earth, the knife of the assassin or the torch of the incendiary were needed in addition to the spiritual fulminations of the Vatican. In closing our account of this most memorable period in the his tory of Romanism, extending from Gregory VIL, to Boniface VIIL, the more than two centuries during which Popery sat on the throne of the earth, and reigned Despot of the World, we cannot do better than borrow the words of the eloquent Hallam. " Five centuries have now elapsed, during every one of which the authority of the Roman See has successively declined. Slowly and silently reced ing from their claims to temporal power, the pontiffs hardly pro tect their dilapidated citadel from the revolutionary concussions of modem times, the rapacity of governments, and the growing averse- ness to ecclesiastical influence. But, if thiis bearded by unmannerly and threatening innovation, they should occasionally forget that cautious policy which necessity has prescribed ; if they should attempt (an unavailing expedient !) to revive institutions which can be no longer operative, or principles that have died away, their defensive efibrts will riot be unnatural, nor ought to excite either indignation or alarm. A calm, comprehensive study of ecclesias tical history, not in such scraps and fragments as the ordinary par tisans of our ephemeral literature obtrude upon us, is perhaps the best antidote to extravagant apprehensions. Those who know WHAT ROME HAS ONCE BEEN, AEE BEST ABLE TO APPRECIATE WHAT SHE IS ; THOSE WHO HAVE SEEN THE THUNDEEBOLT IN THE HANDS OF THE GrEGORIES AND THE InNOCENTS, WILL HARDLY BE INTIMIDATED AT THE BALLIES OP DECEEPITUDE, THE IMPOTENT DAET OP PeIAM AMID THE CRACKLING EUINS OF TeOY !"* * History of Middle Ages, page 304 356 CHAPTER XIL PURGATORY, INDULGENCES, AND ROMISH JUBILEES. § 117. — The establishment by Boniface VIIL of the Romish Ju bilee, a periodical festival at which indulgences were granted to all who should visit, during the Jubilee year, the churches of St. Peter and St. Paul at Rome, presents us with a suitable opportunity of tracing the origin of indulgences ; or of the power claimed by the popes, for certain pecuniary or other considerations, of re mitting the temporal penalties annexed , to sin in this life, and of shortening or remitting altogether the period of suffering in the flames of the imaginary purgatory, to which the souls of the de parted were to be consigned after death. It is a part of the faith of Romanists, that a satisfaction in the place of these punishments has been instituted in what they call the sacrament of penance, and that the Pope has the power of remitting that satisfaction. This act of remission js called an indulgence ; it is partial or complete, as the indulgence is for a stated time or plenary, and the conditions of repentance and restitution are in strictness annexed to it. Through this doctrine the popes were, in fact, invested with a vast control over the human conscience, even in the moderate exercise of their power, because it was a power which overstepped the limits of the visible world. But when they proceeded, as, accord ing to Dean Waddington, " they did proceed flagitiously to abuse it, and when, through the progress of that abuse, people were taught to believe, that perfect absolution from all the penalties of sin could be procured from a human being ; and procured too, not through fervent prayer and. deep and earnest contrition, but by mili tary service, or by pilgrimage, or even by gold — it was then that the evil was carried so far, as to leave the historian doubtful whe ther anything be anywhere recorded more astonishing than the wickedness of the clergy, except the credulity of the vulgar."* § 118. — That this pretended power of granting indulgences was unknown to the ancients, is evident from the writings of Romish authors themselves. Thu^ in the work of Alphonsus against here sies, under the title of indulgences he makes the following candid admission, " Among all the matters of which we treat in this work, there is no one which the Scriptures less plainly teach, and of which the ancient writers say less." While we assent fully to the truth of this remark, for the plain reason that there can be no quantity less than nothing at all, we cannot agree with the remark which fol- lovfs — " nevertheless uidulgences are not on this account to be de spised, because the use of them seems to have been late received in the church." Alphonsus then proceeds to a remark, the truth of * Waddington's Church History, p. 529. CHAP, xn.] POPERY THE WORLD'S DESPOT— A. D. 1073-1303. 357 Indulgences unknown to the ancients. Confessed by Romanist authors. Fiction of Purgatory which cannot be doubted in relation to the doctrines of his own church — " There are many things of which the ancient writers were altogether ignorant, that are known to those who lived in a later age ' posterioribus.' " After thus plainly speaking out the truth, he proceeds to inquire — " what is there so wonderful then, that, in relation to indulgences, it should happen that among the an cients there.-should be no mention of them? Although," he adds, "the testimony of the sacred Scriptures may be wanting in favor of indulgences, yet he who despises them is deservedly Accou^JTED A heretic," &c. Let the reader mark this extract well, as it declares, without disguise, what is the doctrine of Popery, in distinction from the grand protestant principle. — ' The bible and the bible only.' — On account of its importance the original of this extract is given in the note.* A similar testimony to the novelty of popish indulgences is given by Polydore Virgil, another famous Romish author, who, after stating that Boniface VIII. was the first who introduced the Jubilee and granted indulgences, ' pcenarum -remissionem,' to those who visited the thresholds of the apostles, then adds in words which are worthy of special attention, " and then the use of pardons, which they call indulgences, began to be famous, which pardons, for what cause, or by what authority they were brought in, or What they are good for, much troubles our modern divines to show."t " If we could have any certainty concerning the origin of indul gences" says Cardinal Cajetan, " it would help us much in the dis quisition of the truth of Purgatory ; but we have not by writing any authority either of the holy Scriptures, or ancient doctors, Greek or Latin, which afford us the least knowledge thereof "J §119. — The truth is, that Romish indulgences, such as were granted in the days of Boniface VIIL, and in the time of the crusades, were dependent for all their supposed importance upon the fiction of Purgatory. The comparatively trifling penances enjoined in this life, remitted by indulgences, were looked upon as of small account. It was the pretended power of the popes to remit hundreds or thou sands of years of the tortures of purgatory, or, as. in the case of a person who should die immediately after receiving plenary indul^ * Inter omnes res de quibus in hoc opere disputamus, nulla est quam minus aperte sacrae literae prodiderint, et de qua minus vetusti Scriptores dixerint . . . neque tamen hac occasione sunt condemnandse indulgentise quod earum usus in ecclesia videatur sero receptus : quoniam multa sunt posterioribus nota, quce vetusti illi Scriptores prorsus ignoraverunt. . . . Quid ergo minim si ad hunc modum contigerit de indulgentiis, ut apud priscos nuUa sit de eis mentio ? . . . Etsi pro indulgentiarum approbatione sacrse Scripturae testimonium apertum desit, tamen qui contemnit, hsereticus merito censeatur, &.c. (Alphons. dg Castro. Ad- ver. Hceres., lib. 8, Indulgentia, as cited in the Cripplegate lectures.) t Ac Ua veniarum quas indulgentias vocant jam ium usus Celebris esse cmpii, quae qua de causa, quave ex auctoritate inductae fuerint, aut quantum valere vide- antur, nostri recentiores theologi ea de re egregie laborant, (Polydor Virgil, (*• Invent. Rerum, lib. 8, cap. 1.) I De Ortu Lidulgentiarum si certitudo habere posset, veritati indagandse opem ferret, &c. (Cajei. de Indulg. Opusc, tom. 1, tract 15, cap. 1.) 358 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [bookv. Purgatory established the importance of Indulgences. Origin of the purgatorian fiction. gence, to send the soul at once to heaven, without stopping at all at these purifying, but tormenting fires — it was this that gave to indulgences all their importance, and that enabled those who thus blasphemously pretended to this power over the invisible world, to wield such a tremendous influence over the ignorant and supersti tious, and not only to enhance their authority, but to enrich their coffers at the expense of the deluded and terror-stricken multitude. Now, as it is impossible for the source to rise higher than the fountain, the invention of indulgences must be subsequent to that of purgatory, and as the latter can boast no higher origin than the age of Gregory, about the close of the sixth century,* or at the very ear liest, the time of Augustine, who died in 430, of course the doctrine of indulgences must be of still more recent date. § 120. — Augustine, according to the learned Edgar,f seems to have been the first Christian author, who entertained the idea of purify ing the soul while the body lay in the tomb. The African Saint, though, in some instances, he evinced judgment and piety, dis played, on many occasions, unqualified and glaring inconsistency. His opinions on purgatorian punishment exhibit many instances of fickleness and incongruity. He declares, in many places, against any intermediate state after death between heaven and hell. He rejects, in emphatical language, " the idea of a third place, as un known to Christians and foreign to revelation." He acknowledges only two habitations, the one of eternal glory and the other of end less misery. Man, he avers, " will appear in the last day of the world as he vpas in the last day of his life, and will be judged in the same state in which he had died." J But, notwithstanding this unequivocal language, Augustine is, at other times, full of doubt and difficulty. The subject, he grants, and with truth, is one that he could never clearly understand. He admits the salvation of some by the fire mentioned by the Apostle. This, however, he sometimes interprets to signify temporal tribula tion before death, and sometimes the general conflagration after the resurrection. He generally extends this ordeal to all men without any exception : and he conjectures, in a few instances, that this fire may, as a temporary purification, be applied to some in the interval between death and the general judgment. This interpretation, however, he oflers as a mere hypothetical speculation. He cannot tell whether the temporary punishment is " here or will be hereafter ; or whether it is here that it may not be hereafter." The idea, he * Gabriel Biel, on the Canon of the Mass, lect. 57, saith, " We must confess, that before the time of Gregory (Anno 596), the use of indulgences was very little if at all known, bat now the practice of them is grown frequent." Dicendnm quod ante tempora B. Gregorii, modicus vel nuUus fuit usus Indulgentiarum, nunc autem crebrescit usus earum. (G. Biel, lect. 57.) f See Edgar's Variations, ch. xvi. passim. X In quo enim quemque invenerit suus novissimus dies, in hoc eum comprehen- det mundi novissimus dies ; quoniam qualis in die isto quisque moritur, talis in die Ulo judicabitur. (Augustin, ad Hesych., 2, 743.) CHAP. XII.] POPERY THE WORLD'S DESPOT— A. D. 1073-1303. 359 Augustine's and Gregory's obscure hints relative to Purgatory. Inconsistent with theinselves grants, is a supposition without any proof, and " unsupported by any canonical authority." He would not, however, " contradict the pre sumption, because it might perhaps be the truth."* Augustine's doubts show, to a demonstration, the novelty of the purgatorian chimera. His conjectural statements and his difficulty of decision afford decided proof, that this dogma, in his day, was no article of faith. The saint would never have made an acknow ledged doctrine of the church a subject of hesitation and inquiry. He would not have represented a received opinion as destitute of canonical authority : much less would he have acknowledged a heaven and a hell, and, at the same time, in direct unambiguous language, disavowed a third or middle place. Purgatory, there fore, in the beginning of the fifth century, was no tenet of theology. Augustine seems to have been the connecting link between the ex clusion and reception of this theory. The fiction, after his day, was, owing to circumstances, slowly and after several ages admitted into Romanism. The innovation, however, notwithstanding the authority of Au gustine and the Vandalism of the age, made slow progress. A loose and indetermined idea of temporary punishment and atonement after death, floated at random through the minds of men. The super stition, congenial with the human soul, especially when destitute of religious and literary attainments, continued, in gradual and tardy advances, to receive new accessions. The notion, in this crude and indigested state, and augmenting by continual accumulatioiis, pro ceeded to the popedom of Gregory in the end of the sixth century. § 121. — Gregory, like Augustine, spoke on this theme with striking indecision. The Roman pontiff and the African saint, discoursing on venial frailty and posthumous atonement, wrote with hesitation and inconsistency. In his annotations on Job, Gregory disclaims an intermediate state of propitiation. " Mercy, if once a fault con sign to punishment, will not, says the pontiff, afterward return to pardon. A holy or a malignant spirit seizes the soul, departing at death from the body, and detains it for ever without any change."! This, at the present day, would hardly pass for popish orthodoxy. This, in modem times, would, at the Vatican, be accounted little better than Protestantism. His Holiness, however, dares nobly to vary from himself. The annotator and the dialogist are not the same person, or at least do not teach the same faith. The vicar- general of God, in his dialogues, " teaches the belief of a purga torian fire, prior to the general judgment, for trivial ofiences."f * Sive ibi tantum, sive et hie et ibi, sive ideo hie ut non ibi non redargue, quia forsilan verum est. (Aug. C. D. XXI. 26, P. 649.) In eis nulla velut canonica con- stituitur authoritas. (Aug. Dul. 6, 131, 132.) t Si semel culpa ad poenam pertrahit, misericordia ulterius ad veniam non redu- cet. (Greg, in Job Tim., \0.) Humani casus tempore, sive sanctus sive malignus spiritus, egredientem animam claustra carnis acceperit, in aetemum secum sine uUa permutatione retinebit. (Greg, in Job viii., 8.) X De quibusdam levibus culpis, esse, ante judicium, purgatorius ignis credendus est. (Greg. Dial., iv., 39.) 23 360 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [book v. Gregory the discoverer of Purgatory. Progress of the fiction slotv Gregory has, by several authors, been represented as the dis coverer or rather the creator of purgatory. Otho, a learned histo rian of the twelfth century, and a man of extensive information, accounted this pontiff's fabulous dialogues the foundation of the pur gatorian fiction. Bruys, in modern times, agreeing with Otho, represents Gregory as the person who discovered this middle state for venial sinners.* The pontiff himself seems to confess the nov elty of the system. Many things, says he, have in these last times become clear, which were formerly concealed.f This declaration is in the dialogue that announces the existence of purgatory ; which, he reckons, was one of the bright discoveries that distinguished his age. This consideration perhaps will account for the pontiff's incon sistency. The hierarch, as already shown, both opposed and advo cated the purgatorian theology. The innovation mentioned in this manner with doubt by Augustine, and recommended with inconsis tency by Gregory, men of high authority in their day continued to spread and claim the attention and belief of men. The progress of the fabrication, however, was slow. Its move ments to perfection were as tardy, as its introduction into Chris tendom had been late. Its belief obtained no general establish ment in the Christian commonwealth for ages after Gregory's death. The council of Aix la Chapelle, in 836, decided in direct opposi tion to posthumous satisfaction or pardon. This synod mentions " three ways of punishment for men's sins." Of these, two are in this life and one after death, " Sins," said this assembly, " are, in this world, punished by the repentance or compunction of the transgres sor, and by the correction or chastisement of God. The third, after death, is tremendous and awful, when the judge shall say, depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels."J The fathers of this council knew nothing of purga tory, and left no room for its expiation. The innovation, in 998, obtained an establishment at Clugny. Odilo, whom Fulbert calls " an archangel," and Baronius the " brightest star of the age," opened an extensive mart of prayers and masses for the use of souls detained in purgatory. Fulbert's archangel seems, in this department, to have excelled all his predecessors. A few, in several places, had begun to retail intercessions for the purgatorians. But Odilo com menced business on a much larger scale, upon the establishment of the feast of All-souls in 993, prompted by the bowlings of the devils of Etna, in consequence of the efficacy of the prayers of Odilo's holy monks, in snatching from their hands the souls of those who were tormented in purgatorian fires. * Gregoire en fit la (purgatoire) decouverte dans ses beaux dialogues. (Bruys, 1,378. Oi/so, Ann. 1146.) ^ , t In his extremis temporibus, tam multa animabus clarescunt, qus ante latue- runt. (Gregory, Dial. IV., 40.) X Tribus modis peccata mortalium vindicantur ; duobus in hac vita : tertio vero m futura vita. Tertia autem extat valde pertimescenda et terribilis, quje non in hoc sed in futuro justissimo, Dei judicio fiet saeculo, quando Justus judex dicturus est, discedite a me, malediciti, m ignem sternum. (Labb., 6, 844. Brab., 2, 71 1.) CHAP, xn.] POPERY THE WORLD'S DESPOT— A. D. 1073-1303. 361 Drithelm's visit to the purgatorian regions. Horrible description of torments § 122. — The most dreadful descriptions of the torments endured in these imaginary regions, founded upon dreams, visions or super natural revelations, were given by fanatical or designing priests and monks, calculated to awaken the terror of the superstitious, and to induce them to leave no means untried which might shorten their own period of suffering, or by a better fortune, enable them to avoid altogether the necessity of making a visit to purgatory, on their way to heaven. A single instance of these descriptions will be sufficient to give an idea of the general character of the whole. It is related by Bellarmine and others that one Drithelm, dur ing a visit to the spiritual world, was led on his journey by an angel in shining raiment, and proceeded, in the company of his guide, toward the rising of the sun. The travellers, at length, arrived in a valley of vast dimensions. This region, to the left, was covered with roasting furnaces, and, to the right, with icy cold, hail, and snow. The whole valley was filled with human souls, which a tempest seemed to toss in all directions. The unhappy spirits, unable in the one part to bear the violent heat, leaped into the shiv ering cold, which again drove them into the scorching ffames which cannot be extinguished. A numberless multitude of deformed souls were, in this manner, whirled about and tormented without inter mission in the extremes of alternate heat and cold. This, according to the angelic conductor who piloted Drithelm, is the place of chas tisement for such as defer confession and amendment till the hour of death. All these, however, will, at the last day, be admitted to heaven : while many, through alms, vigils, prayers, and especially the mass, will be liberated even before the general judgment.* § 123. — With such horrible materials to work upon the fears of the superstitious multitude — ever ready, in the dark ages, to swal low the grossest absurdities of monkish imposture, and cherishing implicit faith in the almost unbounded power of their spiritual guides — it was no difficult thing to base upon the fiction of purga tory the doctrine of indulgences ; first to excite the fears of the multitude by portraying in vivid colors the torments of the one, and then by working upon those fears, and inculcating the unlimited power of the Pope and the priesthood over these terrible regions, to lay a foundation for the establishment of the other.f " So long," says a Roman Catholic author, " as there was no fear of purga tory, no man sought indulgences, for all the account of indulgence depends on purgatory. If you deny purgatory, what need of indul- * Bell., 1, 7. Faber, 2, 449. Edgar, 456. t There is much force in the following sarcastic but truthful rebuke, by arch bishop Tillotson, of the popish fictions of Purgatory and Indulgences : — " We make no money," says that learned prelate, " of the mistakes of the people ; nor do we fill their heads with fears of new places of torment, to make them empty their purses in a vainer hope to be delivered out of them : we do not, like them, pretend a mighty bank and treasure of merits in the church, which they sell for ready money, giving them bills of exchange from the Pope on Purgatory ; when they who grant them have no reason to believe they will avail them, or be accepted in the other world." (Til, vol. iii., serm. 30, p. 320.) 362 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. indulgences to reward the crusaders in Palestine, and the pious butchers of the Waldensian heretics. gences ? Indulgences began after men were frighted with the PAINS OF PURGATORY."* A similar opinion is expressed by Navarrius, the Pope's peniten tiary, who asks, " What is the cause that among the ancients so little mention is made of indulgences, and among the moderns they are in such use ? John of Rochester, most holy and reverend for his dignity of bishop and cardinal, hath taught us the reason, saying that the explicit faith of purgatory or indulgences was not so neces sary in the primitive church as now ; and again, while there was no heed taken to purgatory, and no man inquired after indulgences, because thereupon dependeth the property and worth of them."' ' Quare autem apud antiques tam rara, et apud recentiores tam fre- quens Indulgentiarum mentio V (fee. {Navar. Com. de Joel, et In dulg., p. 445.) The practice of granting indulgences remitting for certain pecu niary or other considerations, a portion or the whole of the pains of purgatory, was gradually grafted upon the belief of that fiction, but was little used for several centuries after the invention of purga tory. Pope Urban IL, the originator of the crusades, in the elev enth century, appears to have been the first who made any exten sive use of these indulgences, as a recompense for those who engag ed in the glorious enterprise of conquering the Holy land ; though it is admitted by Cardinal Baronius, that Gregory VII. had some few years eariier granted the full ^-emission of all their sins, to those who should fight against his celebrated enemy, the unfortu nate Henry IV. The same use was made of this imaginary power of the Pope and the priesthood, in exciting the fierce and fanatical multitude a century or two later, against the persecuted Albigenses of the South of France. Plenary remission of sins, and immediate admission to heaven, if they should die in the enterprise, were liberally promised to all who should engage in the pious work of exterminating with fire and sword, the Waldensian heretics ;t and some who from their sex or age could take no part in this holy war, would cast a stone into the air, with an exclamation that it was aimed " against the wicked Raimond and the heretics," in order that they might claim a share in these papal indulgences. § 124.— In the twelfth century, according to Mosheim, the Roman pontiffs thought proper to limit the power of the bishops, who had lately been driving a lucrative trade in the sale of indul gences, and assumed, almost entirely, this profitable traffic to them- * Quamdiu nulla fuerat de purgatorio cura, nemo qusesivit indulgentias, nam exilUpendet omnis indulgentiarum existimatio. Si toUas purgatorium, quorsura indnlgentus opus ent ? Cjjperukt igitur inotlgenti^, postq#am ad pukgatokH furlk^d^nCri^k^f ''''^™^^''*' ^^^- C"^"^""- Rof^- Assert. Lutheran Conr * Plenam peccaminum veniam indulgemus, et in retributione justorum salutis aEtems pollicemur augmentum. (Labb., 14, 64. Bury, 3, 13. Du Pin, 2, 336. Edgar, 218.) ^ ' ' ' DHAP. xn.] POPERY THE WORLD'S DESPOT— A. D. 1073-1303. 363 Works of Supererogation. Still the doctrine of Rome. Jubilee bull of 1824. selves. In consequence of this new measure, the court of Rome became the general magazine of indulgences ; and the pontiffs, when either the wants of the church, the emptiness of their coffers, or the demon of avarice, prompted them to look out for new sub sidies, published, not only a universal, but also a complete, or what they called a plenary remission of all the temporal pains and penal ties, which the church had annexed to certain transgressions. Tjiey went still farther ; and not only remitted the penalties, which the civil and ecclesiastical laws had enacted against transgressors, but audaciously ustxrped the authority which belongs to God alone, and impiously pretended to abolish even the punishments which are re served in a future state for the workers of iniquity. Such proceed ings stood much in need of a plausible defence, but this was im possible. To justify therefore these scandalous measures of the pontiffs, the monstrous and absurd .doctrine of Works of Superero gation was now invented, which was modified and embellished by St. Thomas in the thirteenth century, and which contained among others the following enormities : " That there actually existed an immense treasure of merit, composed of the pious deeds, and vir tuous actions, which the saints had performed beyond what was ne cessary for their own salvation, and which were therefore applica ble to the benefit of others ; that the guardian and dispenser of this precious treasure was the Roman pontiff; and that of consequence he was empowered to assign to such as he thought proper, a por tion of this inexhaustible source of merit, suitable to their respec tive amount of guilt, and sufficient to deliver them from the punish ment due to their crimes." " It is a most deplorable mark," adds Mosheim, " of the power of superstition, that a doctrine, so absurd in its nature, and so pernicious in its effects, should still be retained and defended in the church of Rome."* § 125. — It was reserved for the ingenuity of pope Boniface VIII. to devise an expedient whereby this gainful traffic in indulgences might realize, in a single year, an amount of money equal, perhaps, * As a proof that this doctrine of Works of Supererogation has not been aban doned, during the century that has almost elapsed from the death of Mosheim, and that the Pope still claims the possession of the key of that superabundant store of merit, consisting not only of the merits of Christ, but also of the Virgin and ALL THE SAINTS, we quote the following extract from the Jubilee Bull of pope Leo, issued from the Vatican at Rome, in 1824. "We have resolved," says he, " by virtue of the authority given to us from heaven, fully to unlock that sacred treasure composed of the merits, sufTerings, and virtues of Christ our Lord, and of his VTEGm MOTHER, and of all the saints which the author of human sal vation has INTRUSTED TO OUE DISPENSATION. To you, therefore, venerable brethren, patriarchs, primates, archbishops, bishops, it belongs to explain with per spicuity the power of indulgences : what is their efficacy in the remission, not only of the canonical penance, but also of the temporal punishment due to the divine justice for past sin ; and what succor is afforded out of this heavenly treasure, from the merits of Christ and his samts, to such as have departed real penitents in God's love, yet before they had duly satisfied by fruits worthy of penance for sins of commission and omission, and are now purifying in the fiee of fuegatory." 364 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [book v.' Romish Jubilee established by Boniface VUI. Jubilee for indulgences on a smaller scale in Ireland to the united previous gains of a century. This was by the esta blishment in the year 1300, of the famous Jubilee, which is still celebrated at Rome at stated periods,* and continues to be a profit able source of enriching the coffers of the popes, though the income arising therefrom, amidst the light of the nineteenth century, must, of course, fall vastly short of the immense revenue extorted from the fears of the ignorant and the superstitious at the comparatively dark and gloomy period of its original establishment. Boniface was, doubtless, the inventor of the Jubilee ; notwith- * These Jubilees for plenary indulgence, are sometimes granted on a smaller scale, by the special favor of his Holiness, the Pope. Thus, for instance, a few years ago, a plenary indulgence in the form of a Jubilee, was sent by pope Pius Vn., to Dr. Moylan, bishop of Cork, granted on the 14th of May, 1809, and pub lished in Cork, Anno 1813, as appears by the following extracts from the doctor's pastoral address : " Beloved Brethren, — Animated with the warmest desires of promoting your eternal welfare, we resolved immediately on completing our cathedral chapel, to establish a mission in it of pious exercises and instructions for the space of a month, in order to induce our brethren to attend thereat, and to profit by those effectual means of sanctification, we have applied to the holy See for a solemn plenary indulgence, in the form of a Jubilee, which the holy father was most eroci- ously pleased to grant by a bull, as follows : " ' Pius Vn., by divine Providence, pope, grants unto each and to every one of the faithful of Christ, who, after assisting at least eight times at the holy exercise of the mission (in the new cathedral of Cork), shall confess his or her sins, with true contrition, and approach unto the holy communion— shall visit the said cathe dral chapel, and there offer up to God for some time, pious and fervent prayers for the propagation of the holy Catholic faith, and to our intention, a plenary indul gence, applwable io the souls in purgatory by way of suffrage, and in this form of a Jubilee.' .^ o < j j " Such, beloved brethren, is the great, the inestimable grace offered to us by the vicar of Jesus Christ. Let sinners, by its means, become just, and let the just, by ii, become more justified. Behold, the treasures of God's grace are now open to you ! Ihe ministers of Jesus Christ, invested with his authority, and animated by lis Spirit, expect you with a holy impatience, ready to ease you of that heavy burden qf sm, under which you have so long labored. Were your sins as red as scarlet, by the grace of the absolution and application of this plenary indulgence, vour souls shaU become white as snow, &c. .u"^^®Tu°''®iT'*??'''y beloved, that you may all know that which, accordmg to the bull ol his Holiness, is necessary to gain the benefit of this plenary indvlsem, granted in the form of a Jubilee, you will observe, r j o • "a^™'' T^^* '*,'^''^ commence in the new cathedral chapel on the first Sunday m Advent, being the 28th day of November instant, and to continue to the festivd ot bt. John the evangelist, the 27th day of December. Second, to gain this ple nary indulgence, it is necess*y to be truly penitent, to make a good cmfessim, &c., according to the above bull and intention of our holy father the Pope, five paters, Thiir ^^f"'^""!,^ ''reed, to the above intention, fulfil the above obli^tions. fi^l Ih 1 Pfes'^.^PP^ved of by us to hear confessions can, during thi above Win. in n A ^^"^^ ^^^F^'^l^ P^sont themselvcs with due dispositions at con- TolL^ Vl fl, 1. 1 '° °'"^'" *is plem^ry indulgence, from all sins ami centres re- Z i^4 X^l " *° "'' *''^ ^"^""'°^ °" ^"'^'^ P^'^-^ - -« "^"^ "** dinl^P^ fn^'nill'' P^'°'-^l 1^""' ^""^ instruction to be read in every chapel in the arhnf'NnJZL " TT*"^'/* ^Yf^y mass,on Sunday the 14th, the 21st, the ro?k Nov TirA »7rT ^"i^T ^-"""^^y *« ^'^ °^ December next. Given at Cork,Nov. 2, 1813. (Letters of" Amicus Hibemicus." Rev. P. Roe, Dublin, 1816.) CHAP, xn.] POPERY THE WORLD'S DESPOT— A. D. 1073-1303. 365 Pomp and splendor of the Jubilee of Boniface. Immense sums obtained by means of ic. standing the vague and fabulous story related by Cardinal Cajetan, about the aged Savoyard, 107 years old, who, upon his arrival at Rome, is said to have asserted, that at the close of the preceding century, he had visited that city on a similar occasion, in company with his father, and that now in his extreme old age, he had tra velled to Rome in consequence of his father's words to him on his former visit, " that if he lived to the end of the next century, and then came to Rome, he would obtain z. plenary indulgence, or full remission of all his sins."* It would be of very little importance if this story were true, as it would only throw the origin of this popish invention a century or two back, yet it is worthy of remark, that if the Jubilee had been before observed, there would doubtless have been some historical record of the fact, and its truth would not have been dependent upon the pretended recollection of an ob scure old man. § 126. — The pomp and splendor of this Jubilee of Boniface, the countless multitudes that thronged the city, and the immense amount of treasure that was left behind by the pilgrims, are the themes upon which contemporary and succeeding writers delight to dwell with rapture and admiration. Some relate that on the first day of the Jubilee, the Pope presented himself before the peo ple to give them his blessing, in his gorgeous pontifical robes, and on the second day in an imperial mantle, with two swords carried before him, denoting his supreme, temporal, and spiritual power. ViUani, the contemporary Florentine historian, who was at Rome, on this occasion, gives an amusing account of the innumerable mul titudes who visited that city to avail themselves of these indul gences, and thus escape the pains of purgatory, so that the whole city had the appearance of a vast crowd, and in passing from one part of the city to another, it was difficult to press through the multitude.^ Carduial Cajetan relates that the offerings made at the tombs of St. Peter and Paul, in brass money alone, and, of course, princi pally by the poorer pilgrims, amounted to fifty thousand florins of gold, and hence leaves his readers to imagine the almost incalcu lable sums contributed by the more wealthy in gold and silver ;f and another writer describes " a couple of priests, standing at the altar of St. Paul, night and day, holding in their hands small rakes, ' rastellas,' and raking up ' rastellantes,' an infinite amount of money."§ § 127. — In the year 1343, pope Clement VL, bemg unwilling to let * The work from which this story is derived, is entitled " Relatio de Centesimo seu Jubilmo anno," by James Cajetan, cardinal of St. George. The false and fabulous character of the story has been well exposed by M. Chais, in his " Let ires sur les Jubiles," tom i., p. 63. f ViUani, lib. viii., c. 36. Bower, vi., 356. X Apud. Raynald. Annal., ad Ann. 1300. 5 " Papa innumerabilem pecuniam ab iisdem recepit quia, die et nocte, duo clerici stabant ad altare Sancti Pauli, tenentes in eorum manibus rastellos, rastellantes pecuniam infinitam." (Muratori.) 366 HISTORY OP ROMANISM. [book v. Jubilee of Clement VI. Vast number present. Altered eventually to 25 years so favorable an opportunity slip of enriching his coffers, reduced the time of a Jubilee from once to twice in a century, and issued his bull for another celebration in 1350. " This bull being everywhere published, pilgrims flocked in such crowds to Rome, from all parts of the then known world, that one would have thought," says Petrarch, who was present, " that the plague, which had almost unpeopled the world, had not so much as thinned it :" and another spectator tells us that on Passion-Sunday, when the famous Ve ronica was shown, the crowd was so great, that many were stifled on the spot. Matthew Villani, who has continued the valu able history of his brother John Villani, and was at this time in Rome, says it was impossible to ascertain the present number of pilgrims, constantly in that city, from the beginning of the Jubilee year to the end, but that, by the computation of the Romans, it daily amounted to between a million and twelve hundred thousand from Christmas, 1349, to Easter, which, in 1350, fell on the 28th of March, and to eight hundred thousand from Easter to Ascension- Day and Whitsunday ; that notwithstanding the heats of that sum mer, and the busy harvest time, it was no day under two hundred thousand, and that the concourse at the end was equal to that at the beginning of the year.* Meyer writes, that " out of such an immense multitude of persons of both sexes, of all ages and conditions, scarce one in ten had the good luck to return home, but died either of the fatigues of so long a journey, or for want of necessaries."! The time of the popish Jubilee was subsequently altered to twenty-five years, at which it still continues. The last was held in 1825, and the next will, of course, take place in 1850. * Villani, 1. i., c. 56. t Bower vi., 471. 367 BOOK VI. POPERY ON A TOTTERING THRONE. FEOM THE DEATH OF BONIFACE VUI. A. D. 1303, TO THE COMMENCEMENT OF THE COUNCIL OF TRENT, A. D. 1545. CHAPTER I. THE RESIDENCE OF THE POPES AT AVIGNON, AND THE GREAT WEST ERN SCHISM. § 1. — In tracing the history of Romanism hitherto, we have seen that its progress has been constantly onward. Springing up by degrees, in various early forms of error, we have traced the pro gress; of Popery in embryo, till the establishment of papal su premacy cemented those errors into a system, and the newly-ac quired authority of the pretended successor of St. Peter rendered them obligatory upon all. From Popery at its birth in 606, we have followed that anti-Christian power in its onward march, till, increasing in pride and strength, it united the temporal sovereignty to the spiritual supremacy in 756. From that epoch, we have seen it steadily advancing step by step, with giant strides, till, at length, trampling upon the pride of the mightiest monarchs, and marching onward through seas of blood — the blood of the martyrs of Jesus — we have beheld the professed successors of the humble apostle Peter, claiming and exercising universal sovereignty over the na tions of the earth ; and successfully daring, for more than two cen turies — from Hildebrand to Boniface — to fulminate their excommu nications at the heads of emperors and kings, to clothe whole na tions in mourning and sackcloth by the mysterious and terrible power of their interdicts, and to claim for themselves the same un limited obedience and submission from all the dwellers upon earth, as is due to Almighty God himself, of whom they declared them selves the vicegerents. In centuries of universal degeneracy and darkness, we have seen them doing all this, in spite of the greatest moral turpitude and profligacy of character, and their total want of resemblance to HIM who was meek and lowly of heart, and who said, " my kingdom is not of this world." We have now followed the march of Popery to its culminating point, and henceforward we are to contemplate its retrograde mo- 368 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [book vi. Decline of the tyrannical power of the popes from the time of Boniface VIII. tion ; not in pride, but in power ; not in willingness, but in ability to carry into exercise those tyrannical and bloody principles which it has never renounced, and of the retention of which we shall yet have abundant evidences in succeeding centuries. From the age of pope Boniface and king Philip, we shall see this mighty power which had so long reigned as Despot op the WORLD, under the repeated blows, at one period, of some puissant monarch disgusted with its tyranny and pride ; and at another, of some bold and fearless reformer — of a WickUff, a Huss, a Jerome, a Luther — aiming with strong and sturdy arm, at its very founda tions, — shaking upon a tottering throne, — and trembling for its very existence ; and yet striving, in efforts which may be compared to the convulsive death-throes of an expiring giant, to crush all its assailants, and to hold the nations of the earth yet longer in its slavish chains. § 2. — Up to the commencement of the fourteenth century, the progress of Popery was like that of a young Hercules — with strength enough, even in his cradle, to strangle his assailants — from birth to boyhood, from adolescence to manhood, from manhood to giant strength. The attempt of Boniface to wield the power of a Gregory, was like Hercules arraying himself in the poisoned tunic of the Centaur. From that hour the giant strength of Popery was paralysed ; the might of the Romish Hercules had departed, and monarchs and nations no longer quaked at the sight of his club. " The reign of Boniface," says a recent historian, " tvas fatal to the papal power ; he exaggerated its pretensions at the moment when the world had begun to discover the- weakness of its claims ; in the attempt to extend its influence further than any of his pre decessors, he exhausted the sources of his strength ; and none of his successors, however ardent, ventured to revive pretensions which had excited so many wars, shed so much blood, and dethroned so many kings. The death of Boniface marks an important era in the history of Popery ; from this time we shall see it concentrating its strength, and husbanding its resources ; fighting only on the de fensive, it no longer provokes the hostility of kings, or seeks cause of quarrel with the emperors. The bulls that terrified Christen dom must repose as literary curiosities in the archives of St. Ange- lo, and though the claims to universal supremacy will not be re nounced, there will be no effort made to enforce them. A few pontiffs will be found now and then reviving the claims of Gregory, of Innocent, and of Boniface ; but their attempts will be found de sultory and of brief duration, like the last flashes, fierce but few, that break out from the ashes of a conflagration."* § 3. — In addition to the moral influence of the triumph of Philip over Boniface, of royal over papal power, the power of the popedom was very much weakened throughput the fourteenth century by the * See Manual of Ancient and Modem History, by W. C. Taylor, LL.D., o* Trinity College, Dublin, p. 447. CHAP. 1.] POPERY ON A TOTTERING THRONE— A.D. 1303-1645. 369 The residence of the popes in France, called the Seventy years' captivity. The Avignon Popes removal of the papal court from Italy to France, from Rome to Avignon, and still more by the violent contest called the Great Western Schism, at the close of the seventy years' captivity in Babylon (as the residence of the popes at Avignon has been called, by way of derision), between rival popes, elected by the French and Italian factions respectively, at Avignon and Rome. After the brief reign of pope Benedict, the successor of Boniface VIIL, king Philip of France succeeded by his skill and address in securing the elec tion of one of his own subjects to the vacant See, who took the name of Clement V., fixed his residence in France, and passed the whole nine years of his reign in his native land, without once visit ing Rome, the ancient seat of papal grandeur and power. Pope Clement, throughout the whole of his pontificate, whether from gra titude to his royal patron, or from fear of sharing the fate of Boni face, was the obedient tool of king Philip. At the request or com mand of the King he revoked the bull Unam Sanctam and other decrees of Pope Boniface against France, created several French cardinals, and condemned and suppressed, upon the most absurd and improbable charges, the order of the Knights Templar, in a council held at Vienne in 1309.* § 4. — The Avignon popes who succeeded Clement were, John XXII., elected in 1316, whose reign is distinguished by his fierce, though unsuccessfiil contest with the emperor Louis of Bavaria, on ac count of that monarch taking upon him the administration of the em pire, without asking permission of the Pope ; Benedict XIL, elected in 1343, who put an end to the quarrel with Louis, and made some commendable efibrts to redress the grievances of the church, and to correct the horrible abuses of the monastic orders ; Clement VL, elected in 1342, a man of excessive vanity and ambition, who renewed the quarrel with Louis of Bavaria, and, like Boniface VIIL, attempted to wield the weapons of Hildebrand by issuing his male dictions against the Emperor, which, however, were treated by that prince with derision and contempt; Innocent VI. elected in 1352, who reigned ten years with comparative moderation ; Urban V. elected in 1362, who returned to the ancient palace of the Vatican at Rome in 1367, but probably at the persuasions of the French cardinals, came back to Avignon in 1370, where he soon after died; and Gregory XL, who, partly in consequence of a solemn deputa tion from the Roman people, and partly in consequence of the pre tended revelations of a. wretched fanatic, who has since been can onised as Saint Catharine of Sienna,f removed his court to Rome in 1374, where he died in 1378. * For the nature of these charges and tne proofs of the unjust condemnation of the Templars, see Sismondi's Italian Republics, chap. xix. Bower in vita Clem. v., &c. f This popish Saint Catharine either supposed or pretended that on one occa sion she had been blessed by a vision, in which the Saviour appeared to her, accompanied by the Holy Mother and a numerous host of saints, and in their pre sence he solemnly espoused her, placing on her finger a golden ring, adorned with 370 HISTORY OP ROMANISM. [booku Popular tumult at Rome, demanding of the cardinals a Roman pope. § 5. The place of the death of a pope was at that time of more lasting importance to the church than his living residence, because the election of a successor could scarcely fail to be affected by the local circumstances under which he might be chosen. There could be no security for the continuance of the papal residence at Rome, until the crown should be again placed upon the head of an Italian, At Avignon, the French cardinals, who were more numerous, were certain to elect a French pope ; but the accident which should oblige the conclave to assemble in an Italian city, might probably lead, through the operation of external influences, to the choice of an Italian. The number of cardinals at the death of Gregory XL, was twenty-three, of whom six were absent at Avignon, and one was legate in Tuscany. The remaining sixteen, after celebrating the funeral ceremonies of the deceased, and appointing certain officers to secure their deliberations from violence, prepared to enter into conclave. But the rights of sepulture were scarcely performed, when the leading magistrates of Rome presented to them a remon strance to this effect : " On behalf of the Roman senate and people, they ventured to represent that the Roman church had suffered for seventy years a deplorable captivity by the translation of the holy See to Avignon. That the faithful were no longer attracted to Rome, either by devotion, which the profanation of the churches precluded, or by interest ; since the Pope, the source of patronage, had scandalously deserted his church — so that there was danger, lest that unfortunate city should be reduced to a vast and frightful solitude, and become an outcast from the world, of which it was still the spiritual empress, as it once had been the temporal. Lastly, that, as the only remedy for these evils, it was absolutely necessary to elect a Roman, or at least an Italian pope — especially as there was every appearance that the people, if disappointed in their just expectation, would have recourse to compulsion. § 6. — The cardinals replied, that as soon as they should be in a con clave they would give to those subjects their solemn deliberation, and direct their choice according to the inspiration of the holy Spirit. They repelled the notion that they could be influenced by any popular menace ; and pronounced (according to one account), an express waming, that if they should be compelled to elect under such circumstances, the elected would not be a pope, but an intru der. They then immediately entered into conclave. In the mean time the populace, who had already exhibited proofs of impatience, and whom the answer of the cardinals was not well calculated to four pearls and a diamond. After the vision had vanished, the ring still remained, sensible and palpable to herself, though invisible to every other eye. Nor was this the only favor which she boasted to have received from the Lord Jesus : she had sucked the blood from the wound in His side ; she had received His heart in exchange for her own ; she bore on her body the marks of His wounds — though these two were imperceptible by any sight except her own. (Fleury, book xcvii., sec. 40. Spondanus, Ann. 1376.) CHAP. I.] POPERY ON A TOTTERING THRONE— A. D. 1303-1645. 371 Urban VI. elected. He severely reprimands the luxury of the bishops. satisfy, assembled in- great crowds about the place of meeting, and continued in tumultuous assemblage during the whole deliberation of the conclave, so that the debates of the sacred college were incessantly interrupted by the loud and unanimous shout — ' Romano Io volemo Io Papa — Romano Io volemo — o almanco Italiano !' — " We will have a Roman for a Pope — a Roman, or at least, at the very least, an Italian !" These were not circumstances for delay or deliberation. If any uiclination toward the choice of an Italian had previously existed in the college, it was now confirmed into necessity ; and on the very day following their retirement, the car dinals were agreed in their election. Howbeit, they studiously passed over the four Italian members of their own body, and casting their eyes beyond the conclave, selected a Neapolitan, named Bar- tolomeo Prignano, the archbishop of Bari. The announcement was not immediately published, probably through the fear of popular dissatisfaction, because a Roman had not been created ; and presently, when the impatience of the people still further increased, the bishop of Marseilles went to the window and said, " Go to St. Peter's, and you shall learn the decision." Whereupon some who heard him, understanding that the cardinal of St. Peter's had been chosen, rushed into the palace of that pre late, and plundered it, for such was the custom then invariably. observed on the election of a pope. In the meantime the other car dinals escaped from the conclave in great disorder and trepidation, without dignity or attendants, or even their ordinary habiliments of office, and sought safety, some in their respective palaces, and others in the castle of St. Angelo, or even beyond the walls of the city. On the following day, the people were undeceived ; and as they showed no strong disinclination for the master who had been really chosen for them, the archbishop of Bari, who took the name of Urban VL, was solemnly enthroned, and the scattered cardinals reappeared, and rallied round him in confidence and security. § 7. — The ceremony of coronation was duly performed, and several bishops were assembled on the very following day, at vespers in the pontifical chapel, when the Pope unexpectedly addressed them in the bitterest language of reprobation. He accused them of hav ing deserted and betrayed the flocks which God had confided to them, in order to revel in luxury at the court of Rome ; and he applied to their offence the harsh reproach of perjury. One of them (the bishop of Pampeluna) repelled the charge, as far as himself was concerned, by reference to the duties which he performed at Rome ; the others suppressed in silence their anger and confusion. A few days afterward, at a public consistory. Urban repeated his complaints and denunciations, and urged them still more generally in the presence of his whole court. The cardinals continued, not withstanding, their attendance at the Vatican for a few weeks longer and then, as was usual on the approach of the summer heats, they withdrew from the city, with the Pope's permission, and retired to Anagni. Of the sixteen cardinals who had elected pope Urban, 372 HISTORY OP RO.MANISM. [book vl Offended with pope Urban, the cardinals elect another pope, Clement VII. eleven were French, one a Spaniard, and four Italians. These four alone remained at Rome. The others were no sooner removed from the immediate inspection of Urban, than they commenced, or . at least more boldly pursued their measures to overthrow him. On the one hand, they opened a direct .correspondence with the court of France and university of Paris ; on the other, they took into their service a body of mercenaries, commanded by one Bernard de la Sale, a Gascon, and then they no longer hesitated to treat the elec tion of Urban as null, through the violence which had attended it. To give consequence to this decision, they assembled with great solemnity in the principal church, and promulgated, on the 9th of August, a public declaration, in the presence of many prelates and other ecclesiastics, by which the archbishop of Bari was denounced as an intruder into the pontificate, and his election formally can celled. They then retired, for greater security, to Fondi, in the kingdom of Naples. Still they did not venture to proceed to a new election in the absence, and it might be against the consent, of their Italian brethren. A negotiation was accordingly opened, and these last immediately fell into the snare, which treachery had prepared for ambition. To each of them separately a secret promise was made in writing, by the whole of their colleagues, that himself should be the object of their choice. Each of them believing what he wished, they* pressed to Fondi with joy and confidence. The college im mediately entered into conclave, and as the French had, in the mean time, reconciled their provincial jealousies, Robert, the cardinal of Geneva, was chosen by their unanimous vote. This event took place on the 20th of September, 1378, the new Pope assumed the name of Clement VIL, and was installed with the customary cere- monies.f § 8. — Such was the origin of the great Western schism which divided the Roman church for about forty years, and accelerated, more than any other event, the decline of papal authority. Whether Urban or Clement is to be regarded as the lawful Pope, and true successor of St. Peter, is even to this day, as Mosheim justly observes, a matter of doubt, nor will the records and writings, alleged by the contending parties, enable us to adjust that point with any certainty.J Urban remained at Rome ; Clement went to Avignon in France. His cause was espoused by France and Spain, Scotland, Sicily, and Cyprus, while all the rest of Europe acknowledged Urban to be * They were now reduced to three, by the death of the cardinal of St. Peter's. t See Waddington's Church History, chap, xxxiii. Sismondi's Italian Repub lics, chap. 1. X Platina, the Romish historian of the Popes, says, " In the time of Urban IV. arose the 22d (or 26th) schism, of all schisms the worst, and most puzzling. For it was so intricate that not even the most learned and conscientious were able to decide to which of the pretenders they were to adhere, and it continued to the time of Martin V." (more than forty years). CHAP. I.] POPERY ON A TOTTERING THRONE— A. D. 1303-1645. 373 Violence of this great Western schism. Council of Pisa. the true vicar of Christ, and the genuine link in the chain of apos tolic succession. § 9. — The dissension between pope Urban and his successors at Rome, and pope Clement and his successors in France, was foment ed with such dreadful success, and arose to such a shameful height, that for the space of forty years the church had two or three differ ent heads at the same time, each of the contending popes forming plots, and thundering out anathemas against their competitors. The distress and calamity of these times is beyond all power of descrip tion ; for, not to insist upon the perpetual contentions and wars be tween the factions of the several popes, by which multitudes lost their fortunes and hves, all sense of religion was extinguished in most places, and profligacy rose to a most scandalous excess. The clergy, while they vehemently contended which of the reigning popes was the true successor of Christ, were so excessively corrupt, as to be no longer studious to keep up even an appearance of religion or decency ; and in consequence of all this, many plain, well-mean ing people, who concluded that no one could possibly partake of eternal life, unless united with the vicar of Christ, were overwhelm ed with doubt, and plunged into the deepest distress of mind. Nevertheless these abuses were, by their consequences, greatly conducive both to the civil and religious interests of mankind ; for by these dissensions the papal power received an incurable wound, and kings and princes, who had formerly been the slaves of the lordly pontiffs, now became their judges and masters. And many of the least stupid among the people had the courage to disregard and despise the popes, on account of their odious disputes about dominion, to commit their salvation to God alone, and to admit it as a maxim, that the prosperity of the church might be maintained, and the interests of religion secured and promoted without a visible head, crowned with a spiritual supremacy.* § 10. — At length, however, it was resolved to call a general coun cil for the purpose of terminating this disgraceful schism, which was accordingly assembled at Pisa on the 25th of March, 1409. At this time the Roman pope was Gregory XIL, and the French pope Benedict XIL The latter had, while a cardinal, taken a solemn oath, if elected pope, to resign the papacy, should it be necessary for the peace of the church. When required to fulfil this promise, he positively refiased, and being besieged in Avignon by the king of France, he made his escape to Perpignan. In consequence of being thus deserted by their pope, eight or nine of his cardinals united with the cardinals of the Roman pope Gregory, in calling "the council of Pisa, in order to heal the divisions and factions that had so long rent the papal empire. This council, however, which was designed to close the wounds of the church, had an effect quite contrary to that which was uni versally expected, and only served to open a new breach, and to * Mosheim, iii., page 319. 374 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [bookvi The council choose another pope, Alexander V., making three popes at the same time. excite new divisions. Its proceedings indeed were vigorous, and its measures were accompanied with a just severity. A heavy sentence of condemnation was pronounced the 5th day of June, against the contending pontiffs, who were both declared guilty of heresy, perjury, and contumacy, unworthy of the smallest tokens of honor and respect, and separated ipso facto from the communion of the church. This step was followed by the election of one pontiff" in their place. The election was made on the 25th of June, and fell upon Peter of Candia, known on the papal list by the name of Alexander V., but all the decrees and proceedings of this famous council were treated with contempt by the condemned pontiffs, who continued to enjoy the privileges, and to perform the functions of the papacy, as if no attempts had been made to remove them from that dignity. " The deposed popes, Gregory and Benedict, protested against these proceedings, and each convoked another council, the one at Civitat de Frioul, the other at Perpignan. With much difficulty they succeeded in assembling each a few prelates devoted to their cause, yet they, nevertheless, bestowed upon these assemblies the name of oecumenical councils, which they had refused to give that of Pisa. It is certain, said they, that the church is the Pope, and it sufl[ices that the Pope be present in any place, for the church to be there also, and where the Pope is not in the body or in mind, no church is."* § 1 1 . — Thus was the holy Catholic church, which boasts so much of its unity, split up into three contending and hostile factions, under three pretended successors of St. Peter, who loaded each other with re ciprocal calumnies and excommunications, and even to the present day, the problem remains undecided, which of the three is to be re garded as the genuine link in the chain of apostolical succession. Doubtless they had all an equal claim, and that was no claim at all. If succession should be tested by possession of the same spirit and character, it would be found that these three ambitious and factious ecclesiastics, and heads of an infallible church, were better entitled to the character of the successors, of Judas the traitor, or Simon the sorcerer, rather than of Paul or Peter the apostle. In the year 1410, Alexander V., who had been elected pope at the council of Pisa, died, and the sixteen cardinals who attended him at Bologna, immediately chose as his successor, the notorious and abandoned man who assumed the title of John XXIIL and who afterward made such a figure in the celebrated council of Constance. The year after his election, pope John XXIIL, preached a cru sade against Ladislaus of Hungary, who was contendmg with Louis II. of Anjou, for the crown of Naples, on account of the former adhering to the cause of the rival pope Gregory XII. In the terrible bull of crusade which he fulminated against Ladislaus, * See the recent valuable work of Emilc de Bonnechose, Librarian to the king of France, entitled the " Reformation of John Huss, and the Council of Constance," translated from the French by Campbell Mackenzie, of Trinity College, DubUn.— Introd., chap. iv. CHAP. I.] POPERY ON A TOTTERING THRONE— A. D. 1303-1645. 375 Fierce and bloody edict of pope John, against king Ladislaus, for ihvorlng his rival. on the 9th of September, 1411, he enjoined, under pain of excom munication, ipso facto, all patriarchs, archbishops, and prelates, to declare, on Sundays and fast-days, with bells ringing, and tapers burning, and then suddenly extinguished and flung on the ground, that Ladislaus was excommunicated, perjured, a schismatic, a blas phemer, a relapsed heretic, and a supporter of heretics, guilty of lese-majesty, and the enemy of the Pope and the churcn. John XXIIL, in the same manner, excommunicated Ladislaus's children to the third generation, as well as his adherents and well-wishers : he commanded, that if they happened to die, even with absolution, they should be deprived of ecclesiastical sepulture : he declared that, whoever should afford burial to Ladislaus and his partisans should be excommunicated, and should not be absolved until he had disinter red their bodies with his own hands. The Pope prayed all emperors, kings, princes, cardinals, and believers of both sexes, by the sprink ling of the blood of Jesus Christ (horrible !) to save the church by persecuting without mercy, and exterminating Ladislaus and his defenders. They who should enter on this crusade, were to have the same indulgences as persons proceeding to the conquest of the Holy land, and in case they happened to die before the accomplish ment of their aim, should enjoy all the same privileges as if they had died in accomplishing it.* A second bull, published at the same time, and in which Angelo Corrario (Gregory XII.) is termed " the son of malediction, a heretic and a schismatic," was addressed to the pontifical commissioners : it promises complete remission of sins to all person^ preaching up the crusade, and to those collecting funds for the cause ; it suspends or annuls the effect of all other indulgences accorded even by the apostolic See. These two bulls, issued against a Christian prince, and for reasons purely temporal, show the extent of the rage which animated the See of Rome, and of the excesses into which it allow ed itself to be drawn : they set Bohemia in flames. § 12. — This fierce and bloody manifesto kindled the zeal of the celebrated John Huss of Bohemia, who was shocked at the abomi nable impiety of the Pope and his bull, and published a calm and dignified reply to it. " I shall affirm nothing," said he, " but what is in conformity with the holy Scriptures ; and I have no intention of resisting the power which God has given to the Roman pontiff: I shall resist nothing but the abuse of this authority. Now, war is permitted neither to the Popes, nor to the bishops, nor to the priests, particularly for temporal reasons. If, in fact, the disciples of Jesus Christ were not allowed to have recourse to the sword to defend him who was the chief of the church, against those who wanted to seize on him ; and if St. Peter himself was severely reproved for doing so, much more will it not be permissible to a bishop to engage in a war for temporal domination and earthly riches. " If," continues Huss, " the Pope and his cardinals had said to * Hist, et Monum. Hus., Tom. i., p. 212. 23 376 HISTORY OP ROMANISM. [book u Opposition of John Huss to the Pope's bull of crusade. An arsenal a bishop's library. Christ, ' Lord, if you wish, we will exhort the whole universe to compass the destruction of Ladislaus, Gregory, and their accom plices,' the Saviour would undoubtedly have answered to them as he did to his apostles, when they consulted him if they should take vengeance on the Samaritans : ' I am not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them.' (Luke ix.) Jesus did not smite his enemy, the high-priest's servant, when marching against him, but healed his wound. " Let him, therefore, who pleases, declare that he is bound to obey the bull, even unto the extermination of Ladislaus and his family ; for my part I would not, without a revelation — a positive order from God — raise my hand against Ladislaus and his parti zans ; but I would address an humble prayer to God, to bring into the way of truth those who are going astray : for he who is the chief of the whole church, prayed for his persecutors, saying: ' Father, pardon them ; they know not what they do !' (Luke xxiii., 34); and I am of opinion that Christ, his mother, and his disciples, were greater than the Pope and his cardinals."* In a subsequent chap ter, we shall see the consequences which resulted to the Bohemian reformer, for his temerity in thus venturing to attack the abomina tions of Rome. In the meanwhile, in consequence of these disgraceful squabbles of the pretended successors of St. Peter, the different states of the continent were so many theatres of war and rapine, and the clergy, instead of employing all their efforts to put an end to the evil, fre quently excited it by their example.' The schism afforded the ecclesiastics perpetual opportunities for insurrection : the bishops were men of war rather than churchmen, and one of them, when newly elected to his bishopric, having requested to be shown the library of his predecessors, was led into an arsenal, in which all kinds of arms were piled up. " Those," was the observation made to him, " are the books which they made use of to defend the church: imitate their example." " And how," asks Bonnechose, " could it possibly not have been so, when three popes showed much more anxiety to destroy one another, than ardor to gain over believers to God and Jesus Christ? Among them, the most warlike, as well as the most interested in exciting the martial tendency of his parti zans, was John XXIIL, whose temporal power over Rome and her dependencies was as insecure as his spiritual authority was feeble over men's minds."t § 13. — The general council was summoned to meet at Constance, in the year 1414, by pope John, who was engaged in this measure, by the entreaties of the emperor Sigismund, and also from an ex pectation that the decrees of this grand assembly would be favor able to his interests. He appeared in person, attended with a great number of cardinals and bishops, at the council, which was also honored with the presence of the Emperor himself, and of a great * Hist, et Monum. Hus., Tom. i., p. 215, dto. t Bonnechose, book i., chap. 3. CHAP.n.] POPERY ON A TOTTERING THRONE— A.D. 1303-1546. 377 Council of Constance. Papal schism healed by the election of pope Martin V. Dirth of Wickliff. number of German princes, and with that of the ambassadors of all the European states, whose monarchs or regents could not be personally present at the decision of this important controversy. The object of the council, viz. : the healing of the papal schism, was accomplished by the deposition of John XXIIL, and also of Bene dict XIII., the Avignon pope, and the voluntary resignation which the Italian pontiff, Gregory XII. (probably making a virtue of ne cessity), sent to the council, and by the unanimous election of Car dinal Otta de Calonna, who was soon after crowned with much pomp, and took the name of Martin V. There are other matters connected with the proceedings of the council of Constance, of far deeper interest to the Christian student of history, than the healing of this disgraceful schism ; but these particulars must be reserved to the chapters devoted particularly to those courageous and noble- minded opposers of papal abominations, Wickliff,* of England, Huss of Bohemia, and Jerome of Prague. CHAPTER II. WICKLIFF, THE ENGLISH REFORMER. THE CONDEMNATION OF HIS WORKS, AND THE BURNING OF HIS BONES, BY ORDER OF THE COUNCIL OF CONSTANCE.§ 14. — At the time of the commencement of the great papal Schism of the West, in 1378, the celebrated Wickliff, the morning star of the Reformation, as he has been justly called, was employ ing all the influence of his great reputation, and the splendor of his commanding talents, against many of the corruptions of Popery. Of the two rival occupants of the chair of St. Peter, England had embraced the side of Urban, and the mendicant Franciscans and Dominicans were employing themselves with diligence in advo cating his cause, and in exciting the popular hatred and fury against his rival, Clement. Wickhff, who was bom in the year 1324, and was consequently about fifty-four years old at this time, had nearly twenty years be fore distinguished himself by his bold attacks upon these corrupt mendicant orders, and his feelings of abhorrence toward them were renewed by their activity on behalf of pope Urban at this time. Each of the popes endeavored to stimulate his adherents to take up * The name of this early reformer has been spelled in no less than sixteen dif ferent ways. Wiclif is adopted by his biographer Lewis, and is used in the oldest document containing his name. Vaughan, the ablest of his biographers, uses Wycliffe. In the present work Wickliff is adopted as the most popular form. 378 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [book vi. Wickliff's bold protestations against the crimes and the claims of the Pope and his priesthood. arms against his rival, by the same promises of spiritual blessings, and the same denunciations of divine wrath, as had been used to obtain supporters to the crusades, or military expeditions for the recovery of the Holy land from the infidels, yhese military expe ditions were rep"esented as equally meritorious, and were desig nated by the same title, while all the nefarious practices employed in support of the crusades were employed on the present occasion. The popish bishop of Norwich raised a considerable army by the bulls of pope Urban, promising full remission of sins, and a place in paradise to all who assisted his cause by money or in person ! This military prelate headed his troops, and invaded France, by which kingdom pope Clement was supported. But his campaign was unsuccessful : he returned to England in a few months with the scanty remains of his army, and was the subject of general de rision. Against Such proceedings Wickliff spoke boldly. He says, " Christ is a good shepherd, for he puts his own life for the saving of the sheep. But anti-Christ is a ravening wolf, for he ever does the reverse, putting many thousand lives for his own wretched life. By forsaking things which Christ has bid his priests forsake, he might end all this strife. Why is he not a fiend stained foul with homicide, who, though a priest, fights in such a cause 1 If m,an- slaying in others be odious to God, much more in priests who should be the vicars of Christ. And I am certain that neither the Pope, nor all the men of his council, can produce a spark of reason to prove that he should do this." Wickliff speaks of the two popes, as fighting, one against the other, with the most blasphemous leas- ings (or falsehoods) that ever sprang out of hell. But they were occupied," he adds, " many years before in blasphemy, and in sin ning against God and his church. And this made them to sin more, as an ambling blind horse, when he beginneth to stumble, continues to stumble until he casts himself down." § 1 5. — ^^Another circumstance had assisted not only to call Wickliff into public notice, but also to excite against him the hatred of the Pope and the priesthood. This was the decision of the English pariiament in 1365, to resist the claim of pope Urban who at tempted the revival of an annual payment of a thousand marks,* as a tribute, or feudal acknowledgment, that the kingdoms of Eng land and Ireland were held at the pleasure of the pope. His claim was founded upon the surrender of the crown by king John to pope Innocent III. The payment had been discontinued for thirty-three years, and the recent victories of Cressy and Poictiers, with their results, had so far strengthened the power of England, that the de mand by the pontiff, of the arrears, with the continuance of the tribute, upon pam of papal censure, was unanimously rejected by the King and parliament. The reader must recollect that this was not a question bearing only upon the immediate point in dispute ; the grand subject of papal supremacy was involved therein, and * A mark is 13s. id. sterling— about three dollars. CHAP, n.] POPERY ON A TOTTERING THRONE— A. D. 1303-1646. 379 Insolence of a monk. Wickliff calls the Popo " the most cursed of clippers and purse-kervcra." the refusal to listen to the mandate of the Pope necessarily tended to abridge the general influence of the clergy. A measure of this description was almost unknown in the history of Europe at that day. Such claims were not lightly relinquished by the papacy, and shortly after this decision of the parliament, a monk wrote in de fence of the papal usurpations, asserting that the sovereignty of England was forfeited by withholding the tribute, and that the clergy, whether as individuals or as a general body, were exempted from all jurisdiction of the civil power, a claim which had already excited considerable discussions in the preceding reigns. Wickliff was personally called upon by this writer to prove, if he were able, the fallacy of these opinions, which he did in an able and masterly manner, concluding his treatise with a prediction long ago fulfilled. " If I mistake not," said the bold reformer, " the day will come m which all exactions shall cease, before the Pope will prove such a condition to be reasonable and honest." § 16. — Wickliff had long been the subject of papal and prelatical vengeance for his opposition to transubstantiation, and other popish errors, and had only been shielded from the rage of his enemies by the powerfU protection of John of Gaunt, duke of Lancaster. This danger, after denouncing the Pope as " anti-Christ, the proud, worldly priest of Rome, the most cursed of cHppers and purse- kervers," was greater than ever ; yet he shrunk not from duty through fear of the consequences, and in the words of the ablest of his biographers, " The language of his conduct was — ' To live, and to be silent is with me impossible — the guilt of such treason against the Lord of heaven is more to be dreaded than many deaths. Let the blow therefore fall. Enough I know of the men whom I op pose, of the times on which I am thrown, and of the mysterious providence which relates to our sinful race, to expect that the stroke will ere long descend. But my purpose is unalterable ; I wait its coming.' "* Amidst these labors and persecutions Wickliff was assailed by sickness. While at Oxford he was confined to his chamber, and reports of his approaching dissolution were circulated. The men dicants considered this to be a favorable opportunity for obtaining a recantation of his declarations against them. Perhaps they con cluded that the sick-bed of Wickliff would resemble many others they had witnessed, and their power would be there felt and ac knowledged. A doctor from each of the privileged orders of beg gars, attended by some of the civil authorities of the city, entered the chamber of Wickliff. They at first expressed sympathy for his sufferings, with hopes for his recovery. They then suggested that he must be aware of the wrongs the mendicants had expe rienced from him, especially by his sermons, and other writings ; as death now appeared at hand, they concluded that he must have * Life and Opinions of John de Wycliffe, D.D., by Robert Vaughan, in 2 vols. liondon, 1828— vol. ii., p. 257. 380 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [bookvi. Wickliff's reproof of the mendicant friars. Specimen of his translation of the Scriptures feelings of compunction on this account ; therefore they expressed their hope that he would not conceal his penitence, but distinctly recall whatever he had hitherto said against theni. The suffering reformer listened to this address unmoved. When it was concluded, he ma4e signs for his attendants to raise him in his bed ; then fixing his eyes on the mendicants, he summoned all his remaining strength, and loudly exclaimed, " I shall not die, but live, and shall AGAIN DECLARE THE EVIL DEEDS OP THE FRIARS." The apj^allgd doctors, with their attendants, hurried from the room, and tfily speedily found the prediction fulfilled. " This scene," it has well been remarked, " would afford a striking subject for an able artist,'* and we have endeavored, by the help of our skilful artist, to reprei sent it in the accompanying engraving. {See Engraving.) § 17. — But however much the intrepid rector of Lutterworth ex posed himself to papal hatred, by his work " on the Schism of IJhe Popes," he completed in the year 1383 an infinitely more impor tant work, which excited to a still higher pitch the enmity and rage of his popish opponents. This was the translation of the Holy Scriptures into the English language from the Latin, a work which cost him the labor of several years.f The feelings of Romanists * Life of Wickliff in British Reformers, vol. i., p. 23. f The following specimen of Wickliff's translation may be interesting t» the curious in such matters, and may serve to show the changes in the English lan guage since his day. 1 JoN, CAP. I. — Wickliff's version. 1 John, chap. i. — Common version. That thmg that was fro the bigyn- That which was from the beginning, nyrig, which we herden, which we sigen which we have heard, which we have with cure igen, which we biheelden seen with our eyes, which we have and oure hondis touchiden of the word looked upon, and our hand? have han- of Iiif. and the Iiif is schewid, and we died, of the word of life (for the life saigen, and we witnessen and tellen to was manifested, and we have seen it, you eueriesting Iiif that was anentis tlie and bear witness, and show unto yon fadir and apperide to us. therefore we that eternal life which was with the tellen to you that thing that we sigen Father, and was manifested unto us); and herden, that also ye haue felowschip that which we have seen and heaid with us and oure felowschip be with the declare we unto you, that ye also may fadir and with his sone iesu crist. and have fellowship with us ; and truly onr we writen this thing to you, that ye fellowship is with the father, and with haue ioie, and that youre ioie be ful. his Son Jesus Christ. And these things and this is the tellyng that we herden write we unto you, that your joy may of him and tellen to you, that god is be full. This then is the message ligt and ther ben no derknessis in hym. which we have heard of him, and de- if we seien that we hau felowschip with clare unto you, that God is light, and in him, and we wandren in derknessis, we him is no darkness at all. If we say lien and doen not treuthe.- but if we that we have fellowship with him, and walken in ligt as also he is in ligt we walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the hau felowschip togidre, and the blood truth : but if we walk in the light, as of iesu crist his sone clenseth us fro al he is in the light, we have fellowship synne, if we seien that we haue no one with another, and the blood of Jesus synne we disseyuenussilff, and treuthe is Christ his Son cleanseth us from all not in us. if we knowlechen oure sin. If we say that w§ have no sin, we synnes, he is feithful and lust that he deceive ourselves, and the truth is not Wickliffe rebuking the Mendicant Friars. The dead body of a Pope lying in State CHAP, n.] POPERY ON A TOTTERING THRONE— A. D. 1303-1546. 383 A popish priest's lament that the Bible should be made common to the laity and to womeu. relative to this first translation of the Scriptures into the English language, are well illustrated by a passage from the historical work of a popish contemporary of Wickliff, Knighton, a canon of Lei cester. " Christ delivered his gospel," says he, •' to the clergy and doctors of the church, that they might administer to the laity and to weaker persons, according to the state of the times, and the wants of man. But this master John Wickliff translated it out of Latin into English, and thus laid it more open to the laity, and to women who can read, than it formerly had been to the most learned of the clergy, even to those of them who had the best understanding. And in this way the gospel pearl is cast abroad, and trodden under foot of swine, and that which was before precious both to clergy and laity, is rendered as it were the common jest of both ! The jewel of the church is turned into the sport of the people, and what was hitherto the principal gift of the clergy and divines, is made for ever common to the laity." What would this popish hater of the bible have said could he have foreseen how " common to the laity," and even to " women," the Holy Scriptures would have become in the nineteenth century, when the whole of God's word can be pur chased for an English shilling 1 Then a copy of the Scriptures could not be procured by the artisan short of the entire earnings of years ; now it can be procured by the poorest laborer for less than the earnings of, a day. True, the copies of Wickliff's Bible were multiplied with astonishing rapidity, considering that printing was not invented, and each one had to be transcribed with the patient labor of the pen ; still it is evident that the possession even of a New Testament could only be hoped for by those who were comparatively rich.* § 18. — Notwithstanding the malice of the Pope and the priests to ward Wickliff, for thus opening to the common people the Scrip tures, in which they might learn for themselves the errors of Rome, through the kindness of a protecting providence, he was permitted to die peacefully on his bed, December 31, 1384. The popish clergy in England were so incensed at the in creasing circulation of the English Bible, that in 1390, a few years after the reformer's death, the prelates brought forward a bill in the house of lords for suppressing Wickliff's translations. The duke of Lancaster is said to have interfered on this occasion, boldly de claring, " We will not be the dregs of all, seeing that other nations forgyve to us oure synnes, and dense us in us. If we confess our sins, he is fro al wickidnesse. and if we seien faithful and just to forgive us our sins, that we hau not synned, we maken him and to cleanse us from all unrighteous- a lier, and his word in not in us. ness. If we say that we have not sin ned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. * From the register of Alnwick, bishop of Norwich, in 1429, it appears that the cost of a testament of Wickliff's version, was 2/. 16s. 8d. (equal to more than 20Z., or one hundred dollars of our present money). At that time five pounds were considered a sufficient allowance for the annual maintenance of a tradesman or a curate. (Life qf Wickliff in British Reformers, vol. i., p. 25.) 384 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [book vi. Popish efforts to stop the circulation of the English Scriptures. Wickliff's bold expostulatioQB have the law of God, which is the law of our faith, written in their own language." He added that he would maintain our having the divine law in our own tongue, against those, whoever they should be, who first brought in the bill. The Duke being seconded by others, the bill was thrown out. Three years previously, in 1387 a severe statute had been revived at Oxford, which is thus de scribed in a prologue for the English Bible, written by one of Wickliff's followers : — " Alas ! the greatest abomination that ever was heard among Christian clerks is now purposed in England by worldly clerks and feigned religious, and in the chief university of our realm, as many true men tell with great wailing. This hor rible and devilish cursedness is purposed of Christ's enemies, and traitors of all Christian people, that no man shall learn divmity, or holy writ, but he that' hath done his form in art, that is, who hath commenced in arts, and hath been regent two years after. Thus it would be nine or ten years before he might learn holy writ." In the course of half a century, however, when these priests of Rome, after having burned the bones of Wickliff, because they could not burn him aUve, had at their command the fire and the faggot, we shall see that they were more successful in their efforts to prevent the circulation of the Scriptures in the English language. § 19. — It would be interesting to present to the reader copious specimens of the bold and earnest manner in which Wickliff argued against the priests of Rome in favor of the circulation of the Scrip tures in the vulgar tongue, but the limits and design of this work forbid, and I must refer those who wish to study further the life and writings of Wickliff to the authorities mentioned in the note.* A single specimen I must quote of his vigorous mode of reproving those popish priests who withheld from the people the possession of the Scriptures, and attached a greater importance to the decisions of popes and councils than to the dictates of the unerring word. " All those," says Wickliff, " who falsify the pope's bulls, or a bish op's letter, are cursed grievously in all churches, four times in the year. Lord, why was not the gospel of Christ admitted by our woridly clerks into this sentence ? Hence it appeareth, that they magnify the bull of a pope more than the gospel ; and in proof of this, they punish men who trespass against the bulls of the pope more than those wbq trespass against the gospel of Christ. Accord ingly, the men of this world fear the pope and his commandments more than the gospel of Christ, or the commands of God. It is thus that the wretched beings of this world are estranged from wr* ,^?il Vaughan's life and writings of Wickliff, chap. viii. ; Lewis's life of Wickliff, passim ; Baber's, ditto, prefixed to his edition of Wickliff s New Testa ment, and especially Wickliff's tract, entitled " Anti-Christ's labor to destroy holy writ, published from the MS. in the Library of Corpus Christi College, Cam bridge, in the British Reformers, vol. i., page 172—178. lam happy to inform tte reader that this valuable set of works, the Lives and Writings of the British Reformers, m 12 volumes, has recently been made accessible to the American reader, by its republication from the London edition by the Presbyterian Board of •Pubhcation. ' OHAP. n.] POPERY ON A TOTTERING THRONE-A. D. 1303-1546. 385 Articles from Wickliff's works condemned by the council of Constance. faith, and hope, and charity, and become corrupt in heresy and blas phemy, even worse than heathens. True teaching is the debt most due to holy church, and is most charged of God, and most profitable ' to Christian souls. As much, therefore, as God's word, and the bliss of heaven in the souls of men, are better than earthly goods , so much are these worldly prelates, who withdraw the great debt of holy teaching, worse than thieves, more accursedly sacrilegious than ordinary plunderers, who break into churches and steal thence chalices and vestments, or ever so much gold. The greatest of all sins is to deprive men of faith, and of the mirror of Christ's life, which is the ground of his well-being hereafter." § 20. — About thirty years after the death of Wickliff, the coun cil of Constance assembled for the purpose of healing the western schism, and purging the church of heresy. One principal business of the council was to examine the opinions of John Huss, of Bohe mia, which had lately given much trouble to the bigoted and blinded adherents of Popery in that kingdom. Before, however, smiting, in the person of John Huss, such doctrines as were subversive of the power of the priests, it was thought advisable to brand with repro bation the source firom which they had been taken. The council remembered that, toward the close of the preceding century, the world had seen a celebrated heresiarch go unpunished ; it recol lected that Wickliff had peaceably expired in the very country where his doctrines had been condemned ; that his mortal remains reposed in consecrated ground ; and that his writings were in cir culation throughout Europe. In citing him before it, the council proceeded against his genius and his dead body. Forty-five propo sitions, attributed to Wickliff, and already condemned in England, had been similarly dealt with at Rome, in 1412, in a council con voked by John XXIII. These same articles were again brought forward at Constance, and formed the principal ground of the accu sation laid against him. This great cause was brought before the council and judged, but without any discussion, in the eighth session. The assembly was as solemn as any of the preceding ones. The Emperor was present ; Cardinal de Viviers occupied the president's chair, and the Patriarch of Antioch celebrated mass. The passage of the gospel chosen to be read for the occasion was that beginning with the words, " Beware of false prophets." § 21. — Among the articles attributed to Wickliff, and solemnly condemned by the council, were five, which were so many violent attacks directed against the convents and monks of all the orders, who, under the appearance of poverty, drew together as much wealth as possible, and who were the most indefatigable champions of the privileges and the abuses of the Church of Rome. WickUff designated them by the appellation of Satan's synagogue. One of the articles condemned under this head, was the following : — " Monks ought to earn their livelihood by the labor of their hands, and not by begging." This proposition was declared to be false, rash, and 386 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [book vi. Wickliff 's bones condemned by the council to be dug up and burnt. founded on error, because it was written that the birds of the air reaped not, neither did they spin. By the birds thus mentioned, said the council, were to be understood the saints who flew toward heaven (! !) Three other articles combated the Roman doctrine relative to the mass, and denied the bodily presence of Jesus Christ in the sacra ment of the Eucharist, one directly asserting the folly of be lieving in indulgences, and another speaking of the Pope as Anti- Christ. But the most remarkable condemnation of this infallible general council, was that of Wickliff's proposition, which de clares the FAMOUS DECRETALS OF EARLY POPES to be folse and apo cryphal. The spurious character of these forged decretals has since been proved beyond the shadow of a doubt, and is admitted (since it is impossible to deny it) even by Romanists ; so that, after all, the infallible council was wrong — the papists themselves being judges — and the poor dead heretic was right, whose opinions were so unceremoniously condemned, and whose mouldering bones were so savagely ordered to be dug up from his grave and burnt ! The published works of Wickliff were condemned en masse, but his Dialogus and Trialogus* were thought worthy of special mention. " As to Wickliff himself," says L'Enfant, " the council declared, that since they had, after the strictest inquiry, decided that the said Wickliff died an obstinate heretic, therefore they condemn his memory, and order his bones to be dug up, if they can be distin guished from the bones of the faithful, and thrown upon a dung hill."! § 22. — This savage sentence was not enforced till the year 1428, at the command of pope Martin V., but then the popish execution ers of the dead reformer's bones, in their willing zeal, transcended the sentence of the council. They dug his remains from the grave m the chancel of the church at Lutterworth, where they had peace fully reposed for over forty years, burnt them to ashes, and then cast them into a neighboring brook, called the Swift. " And so," says Fox, " was he resolved into three elements, earth, fire and water ; they thinking thereby to abolish both the name and doc trine of Wickliff for ever. Not much unlike to the example of the old Pharisees and sepulchre knights, who when they had brought the Lord to the grave, thought to make him sure never to rise again. But these and all others must know, that as there is no council against the Lord, so there is no keeping down of verity, but It will spring and come out of dust and ashes, as appeared right well m this man. For though they digged up his body, burned his , bones, and drowned his ashes, yet the word of God and truth of his doctrine, with the fruit and success thereof, they could not bum, Britiflf b!? f 'rt°f *'' f'^T P^-luction of the reformer in the volume of the British Reformers before referred to, occupying five pages, 179-183. See also a summary of the Trialogus, including several extracts in L'Enfant's history of the T?lnf, ?" r "''^' •/" ? n^^- .'^"^'¦'° ' L°°'^°"' 1''39 = vol. i., pp. 231-241. t L Jijntant's Council of Constance, vol. i. 231. CHAP.m.] POPERY ON A TOTTERING THRONE— A. D. 1303-1545. 387 The scattering of his ashes an emblem of the dispersion of his doctrine. John Huss, of Bohemia. which yet to this day, for the most part of his articles, do remaiii, notwithstanduig the transitory body and bones of the man were thus consumed and dispersed." I will close this account of the " morning star of the Reforma tion," by citing the words of Fuller the historian, in reference to the bones of Wickliff — words which are worthy to be written in letters of gold. " The brook Swift did convey his ashes into Avon, the Avon into Severn, the Severn into the narrow seas, they into the main ocean. And thus the ashes of Wickliff are the emblem OF his doctrine, which is now dispersed all CHAPTER III. JOHN huss of BOHEMIA. HIS CONDEMNATION AND MARTYRDOM BT THE COUNCIL OF CONSTANCE. § 23. — During the latter years of the venerable Wickliff, a youth was growing up in an obscure village in Bohemia, who was des tined to bear the torch of gospel truth which the English reformer had kindled, into the very recesses of popish darkness, to seal, with the blood fif martyrdom, his testimony against the corrupfions of anti-Christ, and to transmit, with a martyr's hand, that torch of truth through a long succession of spiritual descendants. This youth was John Huss, or John of Huss, or Hussenitz, the small village of Bohemia which was rendered illustrious by his birth, on the 6th of July, 1373. At the death of Wickliff in 1384, Huss was a boy of eleven, pursuuig his studies at a school in the town of Prachatitz, and aiming by his diligence and assiduity to reward the care and the tenderness of a kind and widowed mother. f It is related of the youthful John Huss, that when he was one evening reading by the fire the life of St. Laurence, his imagination * Fuller's Church History of Britain, from the birth of Christ till 1646 — book iv., page 171. If Fuller could thus speak two centuries ago, what would he have said, had he been living now, and beheld the doctrines pf Wickliff and the New Testament spreading in India, Burmah, Persia, China, Africa and the Islands of the South Seas ? f See L'Enfant's Council of Constance, book i., chap. 20 — ^to which valuable and authentic work, together with the work of Bonnechose, I am indebted for most of the facts in the present chapter. The work of L'Enfant is the great store house of facts and authorities, to which subsequent \ tis circa prsdictum quondam Johannem sons guilty of high treason." (For the Hus detrahat, sive quomodolibet oblo- original of these decrees, see L'Enfant ii,, quatur. Q,ui vero contrarium fecerit, p. 491 ; for his translation, which has tanquam fautor hereticae pravitatis et been adopted, see i., p. 5li). reus criminis laesae majestatis irremissi- biliter puniatur." § 50. — The abominable doctrine thus shamelessly avowed that faith is not to be kept with heretics, was still more emphatically expressed and enjoined by the Pope, who owed his elevation to the council of Constance, Martin V. In a bull addressed in 1421, to Alexander, Duke of Lithuania, who, it appears, thought himself bound by some promise, not to persecute heretics, the Pope tells him as plain as words can express it, if he had made any promise to undertake their defence, " that he would be guilty of a mortal sin, shodid HE KEEP faith WITH HERETICS, WHO ARE THEMSELVES VIOLATORS OF THE HOLY FAITH, bccause there can be no fellowship between a believer and an unbeliever." I shall insert the original of this une quivocal avowal of pope Martin in the text, lest, by being thrown into a note, it should escape the attention of the reader. " Quod si tu aliquo modo inductus defensionem eorum suscipere promisisti; SCitO TE DARE FIDEM H.a!RETICIS, VIOLATORIBUS FIDEI SANCT.^;, NON PO- TuissE, ET IDCIRCO PECCARE MORTALITER, SI sERVABis ; quia fideli ad infidelem non potest ulla communio." It is published by CocMcbus, a prejudiced Catholic. (Lib. v., p. 212.) We cannot better close this subject than by citing the just re marks of Dean Waddington, relative to the act of horrid murder and perfidy, perpetrated by the council, and described above. After enumerating various acts of the council, he proceeds as fol lows : " But we have still to describe the most arbitrary and iniqui tous act of the same assembly. "The holy fathers, be it recollected, had met for the reformation of the church. The word was per petually on their lips, and they denounced, with unsparing vehe mence, some of the corruptions of their own system. In the midst of them were two men of learning, genius, integrity, and piety, who had entrusted their personal safety to the faith of the council, John Huss 3HAP. IV.] POPERY ON A TOTTERING THRONE— A. D. 1303-1645. 415 Dean Waddington's just remarks on the perfidy and cruelty of the council of Constance. and Jerome of Prague, and these two were reformers. But it hap pened that they had taken a different view of the condition and exi gencies of the church, and while the boldest projects of the wisest among the orthodox were confined to matters of patronage, disci pline, ceremony, the hands of the two Bohemians had probed a deeper wound ; they disputed, if not the doctrinal purity, at least the spirit ual omnipotence of the church. Those daring innovators had crossed the line which separated reformation from heresy — and they had their recompense. In the clamor which was raised against them, all parties joined as with one voice : divided on all other questions, contending about all other principles, the grand universal assembly was united, from Gerson himself down to the meanest Italian papal minion, in common detestation of the heresy, in implacable rage against its authors. Those venerable martyrs were imprisoned, arraigned, condemned, and then by the command, and in the presence of the majestic senate of the church, the deposer of popes, the uprooter of corruption, the reformer of Christ's holy communion — they were deliberately consigned to the flames. Is THERE ANY ACT RECORDED IN THE BLOOD-STAINED ANNALS OF THE POPES MORE FOUL AND MERCILESS THAN THAT 1 . . . . MorO than this. The guilt of the murder was enhanced by perfidy ; and for the pur pose of justifying this last offence (for the former, being founded on the established church principles, required no apology), they added to those principles another, not less flagitious than any of those already recognized — ' that neither faith nor promise, by natu ral, DIVINE, OR human LAW, WAS TO BE OBSERVED TO THE PREJUDICE OP THE Catholic religion !' "* Mr. Waddington adds the impor tant fact, that " this maxim did not proceed from the caprice of an arbitrary individual, and a pope, — for so it would scarcely have claimed our serious notice ; but from the considerate resolution of a very numerous assembly, which embodied almost all the learning, wisdom, and moderation of the Roman Catholic church."f § 51. — After some attempts by John Gerson and others, at the partial reformation of the horrible corruptions of the church, " in its head and members," which were principally defeated through the crafty management of the new pope, Martin V., it assembled for the forty-fifth and closing session on the 22d of April, 1418, and the Bull which gave the members of the council permission to return to their homes, showered on them and their domestics a profusion of indulgences, as a fitting reward for their labors. The following is a copy of the Bull of indulgence, issued on this occasion. " We, * ' Cum tamen dictus Johannes Hus, fidem orthodoxam pertinaciter impugnans se ab omni conductu et privilegio reddiderit alienum, nee aliqua sibi fides aut pro missio de jure naturali, divino vel humano, fuerit in praejudicium Catholicae fidei observanda : idcirco dicta sancta synodus declarat, &c.' These words are cited by Hallam (Middle Ages, chap, vii.), without suspicion, and also by Von der Hardt, in his valuable collection of authentic documents (Tom. iv., p. 521), without any expression of doubt. t Waddington's History of the Church, page 468. 416 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [book vi. The fathers dismissed by the Pope with indvlgences as a fitting reward. The cup denied to Ihe laity. Martin, bishop, servant of the servants of God, with a perpetual remembrance of this great event, and at the request of the sacred council, do hereby dismiss it, giving to each member liberty to re turn home. By the authority of the Almighty God, and the blessed apostles, St. Peter and St. Paul, and by our own, we grant to all who have been present at this council, a full and entire remission of their sins, once during their lifetime, so that each of them may enjoy the benefits of this absolution for two months after it shall have become known to him. We grant them the same grace when in articulo mortis, both to them and their servants, on this condition, however, that they shall fast all the Fridays in a year for the abso lution, at the point of death, unless they be legitimately prevented: in which case they will perform other acts of piety. After the second year, they shall fast the Friday for the rest of their hfe. . . . If any one shall rashly oppose this absolution and this concession, which we give, let him learn that he will thereby have incurred the indignation of Almighty God, and of the blessed apostles, Paul and Peter."* § 52. — Thus this numerous council, consisting of cardinals, arch bishops, and abbots, beside the Pope and the Emperor, occupied about three years and a half in the glorious achievements of remov ing three spiritual tyrants to make room for another, passing a de cree denying the use of the cup to the laity, in the sacrament, and burning the bodies of two living heretics, and the mouldering bones of one dead one. The canon which deprived all but the clergy of the use of the cup in the eucharist, was as follows : " The sacred council, wishing to provide for the eternal safety of the faithful, after a mature de liberation by several doctors, declares and decides, although in the primitive church this sacrament was received by the faithful in the two kinds, it can be clearly proved, that afterward it was received in that manner only by the officiating priests, and was offered to the laity under the form of bread alone, because it must be believed firmly, and without any hesitation or doubt, that the whole body and the whole blood of Jesus Christ are truly contained in the bread as well as in the wine. Wherefore, this practice, introduced by the church and by the holy fathers, and observed for a very great length of time, ought to be regarded as a law, which it is not per mitted to reject or change, without the authority of the church." The object of this unjust prohibition, so plainly contrary to the command of Christ, was evidently to exalt the dignity of the clergy, and draw the line of distinction between them and the laity (already wide enough) still wider, by giving them some exclusive preroga tive, even at the Lord's table. Compared with other popish inno vations and corruptions, this prohibition may seem to be of little importance, yet it was deemed so serious an innovation by the countrymen of the martyred Huss, that in addition to the horrid * From the MSS. at Venice, in Von der Hardt, vol. iv. CHAP, v.] POPERY ON A TOTTERING THRONE— A. D. 1303-1545. 417 This prohibition unscriptural. The Calixtines. Pope Mnrtin V. murder of their two eminent countrymen, it produced a serious revolt against their sovereign, who sustained the papal decrees, which con tinned for some years under the direction of that extraordinary man, the courageous, but too violent John Ziska. A portion of these Bohemian dissenters from Rome took the name of Calixtines, from the Latui calix, a cup. The fathers of the council found a greater difficulty in reconciling the minds of the people to this prohibition, than scarcely anything else, especially as the version of^ Wickliff's New Testament, and probably some others in other languages, were by this time in the hands of many of the people. The words of Christ were so explicit, " Drink ye all of it " (Matt, xxvi., 27), as though his omniscience had foreseen and provided against this per version of his ordinance, by the great apostasy, that the popish doctors found it a most difficult task, even in appearance, to recon cile their prohibition with the Scriptures. One of their most learned writers, the famous French Doctor John Gerson, wrote an elabo rate treatise against " Double Communion," in which he inadver tently disclosed the cause of his uneasiness, in the following words : " There are many laymen among the heretics who have z, version of the Bible in the vulgar tongue, to the great prejudice and ofience of the Catholic faith. It has been proposed," he adds, " to reprove that scandal in the committee of reform." No wonder, that since the Bible is directly opposed to this popish edict, the Eapists were anxious to shut that book up from the people. Such as ever been, and without doubt, such is still the cause of their bitter hatred of the universal circulation, in the vernacular languages of the people, of God's holy word. CHAPTER V. POPERY AND THE POPES FOR THE CENTURY PRECEDING THE REFORMATION. § 53. — The progress of Popery from the dissolution of the coun cil of Constance in 1418 to the time of Luther, about a century later, was from bad to worse. Pope Martin V., who was raised to that dignity by the council, yielded to but few of his predecessors in his haughty and extravagant claims of the dignity of the Holy See. He was a steady opponent of all measures of reform, during the whole of his pontificate. The people, starving for spiritual food, demanded bread, but he gave them a stone ; — they clamored for reform, but he gave them — indulgences. We can sometimes scarcely repress a smile at the pompous edicts 418 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. book vx Pompons titles of the Popes. Council of Basil. Dispute between pope Eugenius and the council. of the emperor of China, who styles himself " Lord of the Sun," but this was far outdone by pope Martin, who in his dispatches sent by his nuncio to Constantinople, adopted the following array of titles : " Sanctissimus, et Beatissimus, qui habet coeleste arbitrium, qui est Dominus in terris, successor Petri, Christus Domini, Dominus Uni- versi, Regum Pater, orbis Lumen," that is, " The most Holy and most happy, who is the arbiter op heaven, and the Lord of the earth, the successor of St. Peter, the anointed of the Lord, the Master op the universe, the father op kings, the light of the WORLD," &c.* Who in reading these blasphemous assumptions of a miserable mortal, is not reminded of the inspired description of the papal anti-Christ : " as God, sittuig in the temple of God, showkg himself that he is God ?" (2 Thess. ii., 4.) § 54. — In the year 1431 pope Martin died, and was succeeded by Eugenius IV., a man whose ignorance was only equalled by his presumption and obstinacy. His pontificate was chiefly distin guished by the obstinate and protracted contentions between him and the council of Basil, which, after a feeble attempt of the Pope to prevent it, assembled on the 14th of December, 1431. In the course of the contest with the Pope, the council of Basil published and reiterated a decree that had been passed by the council of Con stance, that the Pope was inferior, and subject to a General Council, and in the history of the council by jiEneas Sylvius, afterwards pope Pius II., this doctrine is strongly and forcibly urged, that a coimcil is superior to a Pope, and that the latter is rather the Vicar of the church than the Vicar of Christ.'\ We shall soon see that a change of circumstances produced a great change in this writer's views, and that pope Pius II. pronounced iEneas Sylvius a heretic, though one and the same person. § 55. — The following extracts from an eloquent letter of car dinal Julian, the president of the council of Basil to pope Eugenius, are transcribed on account of the light they throw on the morals of the popish clergy of this age, to reform which was one of the pro fessed objects of the council. " One great motive with me," says the Cardinal President, " in joining this council, was the deformity and dissoluteness of the German clergy, on account of wmch the laity are immoderately irritated against the ecclesiastical state : so much so, as to make it matter of serious apprehension whether, if they be not reformed, the people will not rush, after the example of the Hussites, upon the whole clergy, as they publicly menace to do. Moreover, this deformity gives great audacity to the Bohemians, and great coloring to the errors of those, who are loudest in their invectives against the baseness of the clergy : on which account, had a general council not been convoked at this place, it had been necessary to collect a provincial synod for the reform of the Ger man clergy ; since in truth, if that clergy be not corrected, even * Papal Rome by Rev. Dr. Giustiniani, p. 181. t jEneas Sylvius, Comment, de Gestis Basil, Concil., Lib. I., p. 16. CHAP, v.] POPERY ON A TOTTERING THRONE— A. D. 1303-1546. 419 Cardinal Julian's letter. The Pope suspended by the council, who In turn annuls ita acts. though the heresy of Bohemia should be extinguished, others would rise up in its place." .... "If you should dissolve this council, what vnll the whole world say, when it shall learn the act ? Will it not decide, that the clergy is incorrigible, and desirous for ever to grovel in the filth of its own deformity ? Many councils have been celebrated in our days, from which no reform has proceeded ; the nations are expecting that some fruit should come from this. But if it is dissolved, all will exclaim that we laugh at God and man." .... " Most blessed Father, beheve me, the scandals which I have mentioned will not be removed by delay. Let us ask the heretics, whether they will delay for a year and a half the dissemination of their virulence ? Let us ask those, who are scandalized at the de formity of the clergy, if they will for so long delay their indignation ? Not a day passes in which some heresy does not sprout forth ; not a day in which they do not seduce or oppress some Catholics ; they do not lose the smallest moment of time. There is not a day, in which new scandals do not arise from the depravity of the clergy ; yet all measures for their remedy are procrastinated !" .... " Why then do you longer delay ? You have striven with all your power, by messages, letters, and various other expedients, to keep the clergy away ; you have struggled with your whole force utterly to destroy this council. Nevertheless, as you see, it swells and in creases day by day, and the more severe the prohibition, the more ardent is the opposite impulse. Tell me now — is not this to resist the will of God ? Why do you provoke the Church to indignation ? Why do you irritate the Christian people ? Condescend, I implore you, so to act, as to secure for yourself the love and good will, and not the hatred of mankind." § 56. — The earnest pleadings of the Cardinal were, however, lost upon Eugenius. He was resolutely opposed to the council and to reform. The council cited him before them. The Pope retorted by a Bull of dissolution, and both were equally fruitless. At length, after eighteen months of remonstrance and forbearance, the council, on the 12th of July, 1433, suspended the Pope from his dignity ; and Eugenius, in reply, annulled their decree. At length this quarrel was carried to its final result. On the 31st of July, 1437, the coun cil cited the Pope to Basil to answer for his vexatious opposition to the reform of the Church ; and the Pope, in that plenitude of power to which he had never formally abandoned his pretensions, declared the council transferred to Ferrara in Italy. In the 28th session (Oct. 1, 1437), Eugenius was convicted of contumacy ; and on the 10th of the January following, he celebrated, in defiance of the sentence, the first session of the council he had assembled in opposition at Ferrara. On that occasion he solemnly annulled every future act of the assembly at Basil, excepting only such as should have reference to the troubles of Bohemia. Finally, on the 25th of June, 1439, the council of Basil solemnly deposed Eugenius IV. from the papal throne, and on the 5th of November following, another pope was elected, Amadeus Duke of Savoy, who assumed 420 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [bookvi. Renewal of papal schiem. Rival popes and rival councils. Seiious accident at the Jubilee of 1450. the name of Fehx V. Thus was again revived that deplorable schism, which had formerly rent the church, and which had been terminated with so much difficulty, and after so many vain and fruit less efforts, at the council of Constance. Nay, the new breach was still more lamentable than the former one, as the flame was kindled not only between two rival pontiffs, but also between the two contending councils of Basil and Florence, to which place Eugenius had removed the council of Ferrara. The greatest part of the church submitted to the jurisdiction, and adopted the cause of Eugenius ; while Felix was acknowledged as lawful pontifl", by a great number of academies, and among others, by the famous university of Paris, as also in several king doms and provinces. The council of Basil continued its delibera tions, and went on enacting laws, and publishing edicts, until the year 1443, notwithstanding the efforts of Eugenius and his adhe rents to' put a stop to their proceedings. And, though in that year the members of the council retired to their respective places of abode, yet they declared publicly that the council was not dissolved, . but would resume its deliberations at Basil, Lyons, or Lausanne, as soon as a proper opportunity was offered. This schism was at length terminated, in the year 1449, by the resignation of FeUx V,, who returned as Duke of Savoy to his delicious retreat called Ripaille, upon the borders of Lake Leman. The obstinate pope Eugenius had died in February, 1447, and his successor, Nicholas V., by the retirement of Felix, obtained undisputed possession of the papal throne. § 67. — During the reign of pope Nicholas, in the year 1450, the avarice of the Roman Clergy and people was again nourished by the celebration of the Jubilee; and so vast were the multitudes which on this occasion sought the plenary indulgence at the tombs of the apostles, that many are said to have been crushed to death in churches, and to have perished by other accidents. One of these accidents, on account of the number of lives lost, deserves particular mention. In consequence of the pressure of the vast multitude on a certain day, no less than ninety-seven pilgrims were thrown at once from the bridge of St. Angelo and drowned. This bridge is one of the favorite spots for viewing the Vast and splendid fabric of St. Peter's, especially on the night of the great festivals, when the dome is almost instantaneously illuminated, not by any in genious mechanical contrivance, but by the vast number of hands employed, each of whom, at a given signal, lights the lamp at which he is stationed, and thus converts, in a moment, the noble and stately dome, mto a vast hemisphere of liquid light. Our artist has represented, in the adjoining engraving, the acci dent at the bridge of St. Angelo, during the Jubilee of 1450, partly as a memorial of that event, but chiefly on account of the fine distant view that is afforded of the church of St. Peter's, and of a large portion of the city from that spot. {See Engraving) We have preferred to represent St. Peter's church as it is now .a 2: CHAP, v.] POPERY ON A TOTTERING THRONE— A.D. 1303-1646. 423 St. Peter's. Taking of Constantinople. iEneas Sylvius chosen pope by the name of Pius H seen from the bridge of St. Angelo, rather than the old church of Constantine, which then occupied the site of St. Peter's ; reminding the reader, at the same time, that the foundation stone of the present noble edifice, was not laid till a half a century later, viz. by pope Julius in the year 1506. Of course, it is impossible to represent in a. distant view the magnificent square of St. Peter's, surrounded by its stately colonnade of near three hundred pillars, with the Egyptian obelisk in the centre, and the beautiful fountain on each side of the obelisk. This deficiency, however, has already been supplied in the accurate engraving of this architectural wonder of the world opposite page 178. While we cannot but lament over the unjustifiable means em ployed to obtain funds for the erection of this magnificent structure by trafficking in the sins of men ; it is impossible to withhold our admiration at the grandeur of the architectural design and the ability, taste, and skill displayed in carrying forward to its comple tion, this proudest of all modern temples. § 58. — In the year 1453, an event occurred which spread a deep gloom over the whole Christian world. This was the taking of the city of Constantinople, for so many centuries the capital of the Eastern Roman empire, by the Mahometan, or as they were com monly called, infidel Turks, and the consequent entire overthrow of that empire, of which it was the metropolis. Previous to the fall ot Constantinople, pope Nicholas had used some exertions, but without success, to make the protection of the Christian capital of the East from the designs of the infidels, the common cause of the monarchs of Christendom, and he redoubled his efforts when the work before him was not one of protection, but of re-conquest. In the midst of his chivalrous designs to recover Constantinople, and expel the conqueror from Europe, and at a moment when there seemed some prospect of a partial co-operation for that purpose, Nicholas V. died, A. D. 1455. His complaint was gout ; and it is commonly asserted that its progress was hastened by the affliction with which he saw the triumphs of the uifidel. § 59. — After the brief reign of pope Calixtus III., the immediate successor of Nicholas, the celebrated vEneas Sylvius, whom we have before had occasion to mention, was elected to the popedom by the name of Pius IL, in 1458. One of his first acts was to assem ble a council at Mantua, for the purpose of invoking the co-operation of Christian princes, in a general crusade against the Turks, for the recovery of Constantinople. The council opened on the 1 st of June, 1459, just six years from the taking of Constantinople, and continued nearly eight months. The intestine divisions of Europe, however, prevented the carrying into effect the designs of Pius. At length the Pope proposed to go in person on this expedition. " This then," said he, " shall be our next experiment : we will march in person against the Turks, and invite the Christian monarchs to follow us ; not by words only, but by example also. It may be when they shall behold their master and father — the Roman pontiff, the vicar 424 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [book vi Plus condemns the opinions of iGneas Sylvius, his former self. Effect of a change of circumatances, of Christ Jesus — an infirm old man, advancing to the war, they will take up arms through shame, and valiantly defend our holy reli gion.* In accordance with this resolution, the old pontiff departed to assume the command of the force which had already assembled at Ancona, but had no sooner joined them than he died, and the whole expedition immediately dispersed. § 60. — In his early life, jEneas Sylvius was the able and zealous opponent of papal assumption over councils. His earliest laurels were won at the council of Basil, which deposed pope Eugenius, and reiterated the doctrine, that the Pope was inferior, and subject to a general council ; and iEneas at that time warmly advocated these views, and remained, through the whole of the schism, faith ful to the council. Upon his becoming pope himself, he seized an early occasion to discourage those liberal principles of church gov ernment, which were entertained by many Ecclesiastics, and which had so lately been propagated by himself During the council of Mantua, shortly before its dissolution, and at a moment when his influence over its members was probably the greatest, he published a celebrated bull against all appeals from the Holy See to general councils. '• An execrable abuse, unheard of in ancient times, has gained footing in our days, authorized by some, who, acting under a spirit of rebellion rather than sound judgment, presume to appeal from the pontiff of Rome, Vicar of Jesus Christ, to whom, in the person of St. Peter, it has been said, ' Feed my sheep ;' and again, ' Whatsoev-er thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven;' to appeal, I say, from his judgments to a future council — a practice which every man instructed in law must regard as contrary to the holy canons, and prejudicial to the Christian republic " The Pope then proceeded to paint in vague and glowing expressions the frightful evils occasioned by such appeals ; and finally pronounced to be ipso facto excommunicated all individuals who might hereaf ter resort to them, whether their dignity were imperial, royal, or pontifical, as well as all Universities and Colleges, and all others who should promote and counsel them. In the year 1463, pope Pius issued a bull containing a formal re cantation of his former views, and declared that no confidence was due to those of his writings, which offended in any manner the authority of the apostolical See, and established opinions which it did not acknowledge. " Wherefore (he added) if you find anything contrary to its doctrine, either in my dialogues, or my letters, «r any other of my writings, — despise those opinions, reject them, and follow that which I now proclaim to you. Believe me now that 1 am old, rather than then, when I spoke as a youth ; pay more re gard to the Sovereign Pontiff than to the individual ; reject jEneas — receive Pius. The former name was imposed by my • Raynald, Annal. ad Ann. 1463. CHAP, v.] POPERY ON A TOTTERING THRONE— A. D. 1303-1546. 425 Pope Innocent and his seven bastards. His bloody edict for extirpating of the Waldenses parents — a Gentile name, — and in my infancy : the other I assumed as a Christian in my Apostolate."* § 61. — The remaining popes of this century were Paul IL, Sixtus IV., Innocent VIIL, and Alexander VL, who were all men of vicious and abandoned lives, and who appear to have risen successively in the scale of avarice, cruelty, and sensuality, till Satan produced his master-piece in the infamous Alexander VI. Passing over the two first named, we must dwell for a moment upon the character < f Innocent. Sixtus, and preceding popes, had wasted the revenues of the church upon profligate nephews, but pope Innocent introduced a still more revolting race of dependants, in the persons of his ille gitimate offspring. Seven children, the fruits of various amours, were publicly recognized by the vicar of Christ, and became, for the most part, pensioners on the ecclesiastical treasury. Fewer crimes would, perhaps, have been perpetrated, had the Pontifl' resolved to be the only criminal. But with all his weakness, Innocent was animated by a spirit of avarice, which attracted observation even in that age of the popedom. And he performed at least one memorable exploit, as it were, in the design to surpass his predecessor by a still bolder insult on the sacred College ; he placed among its members a boy, thirteen years old, the brother-in-law of his own bastard.f But the court of Rome did not resent the indignity — it was sunk even be low the sense of its own infamy. § 62. — This same pope Innocent issued a violent and furious bull against the Waldenses, an extract of which, though only a speci men of a large class of similar effusions of papal bigotry and blood- thirstiness, is yet worthy of record as a specimen of the spirit oi Popery only a few years before the glorious reformation, and while Luther, its destined author, was just emerging from infancy. Luther was bom in 1483. The bull of pope Innocent was issued in 1487. This truly popish document institutes Albert de Capi- taneis archdeacon of the church of Cremona, nuncio and commis sioner of the apostolic See in the states of the Duke of Savoy, and prescribes to him to labor in the extirpation of the very pernicious and abominable sect of men called the Poor of Lyons or the Wal denses, in concert with the Inquisitor-General Blasius, of the order of the Preaching-Brotherhood. The Pope gives him, for that object, full power over all archbishops, bishops, their vicars and chief officers ; " in order," says he, " that they may have authority, together with you and the said inquisitor, to take up arms against the said Walden- - ses and other heretics, and to come to an understanding to crush them like venomous asps, and to contribute all their care to so holy * " .53neam rejicite, Pium recipite — illud Gentile nomen parentes indidere nas- centi ; hoc Christianum in Apostolatu suscepi." (Waddington, 506.) f This boy was John, the son of Lorenzo de' Medici, the same who became Leo X. It should be observed, that Innocent, on making the creation, stipulated that the boy should not take his seat in Consistory till he was sixteen. Some state the age of creation at fifteen, that of admission at eighteen. (See Raynaldus, Amu 1489. Waddington, 611.) 426 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [book vi. Indulgences promised for exterminating the heretics. Election of the infajQOua Alexander VI. and so necessary an extermination We give you power to have the crusade preached up by fit men : to grant that such per sons as shall enter on the crusade and fight against these same heretics, and shall contribute to it, may gain plenary indulgence and remission of all their sins once in their life, and also at their death ; to command, in virtue of their holy obedience, and under penalty of excommunication, all preachers of God's word to animate and incite, the same believers to exterminate the pestilence, without sparing, by force and by arms. We further give you power to absolve those who enter on the crusade, fight, or contribute to it, from all senten ces, censures, and ecclesiastical penalties, general or particular, by which they may be bound, as also to give them dispensation for any irregularity contracted in divine matters, or for any apostasy, and to enter some terms of composition with them for the goods which they may have secretly amassed, badly acquired, or held doubtfully, applying them to the expenses attendant on this extirpation of heretics ; .... to concede to each, permission to lawfully seize on the property, real or personal, of heretics ; also to command all being in the service of these same heretics, in whatsoever place they may be, to withdraw from it, under whatever penalty you may deem fit ; and by the same authority to declare that they and all others, who may be held and obliged by contract, or other manner, to pay them anything, are not for the future in any way obliged to do so ; and to deprive all those refusing to obey your admonitions and commands, of whatever dignity, state, order, and pre-eminence they may possess, to wit, the ecclesiastics of their dignities, offices, and benefices ; and the laity of their honors, titles, fiefs, and prim- leges, if they persist in their disobedience and rebellion ; .... and to fulminate all kinds of censures, according as the case in your judgment may demand ; .... to absolve and re-establish such as may wish to return to the lap of the church, although they may have sworn to favor the heretics, provided, taking the contrary oath, they promise to abstain most carefully from doing so."* Who does not perceive that the closing extract I have quoted of this bull of pope Innocent VIIL, is another reiteration of the doctrme of Con stance, and of pope Martin ; and however popish priests may seek to conceal the fact from the eyes of Protestants, ever the doctrine of Rome — no faith with heretics ? § 63.— Upon the death of Innocent VIIL, in 1492, the cardinals were notoriously bribed to give their suffrages for a Spaniard named Ro- deric Borgia, who upon his election assumed the name of Alexander VI. It would be a tedious and disgusting task to enumerate all the debaucheries, incests, assassinations and other outrages of which this papal Nero, and his equally infamous son Cardinal Csesar Bor gia, were the guilty perpetrators. In the downward progress of pontifical impurity, we have at length reached the lowest step, the . *J*,?*- Hist, des eglises Vaudoises, Vol. ii., chap. 2 ; the original of the bull is in the library of Cambridge University. OHAP. v.] POPERY ON A TOTTERING THRONE— A. D. 1303-1545. 427 Pope Alexander, the Devil's master-piece. Gives an entertainment in the Vatican to 50 public prostitutes. utmost limits which have been assigned to papal and to human de pravity. " The ecclesiastical records of fifteen centuries," says Waddington, " through which our long journey is now nearly ended, contain no name so loathsome, no crimes so foul as his ; and while the voice of every impartial writer is loud in his execration, he is, in one respect, singularly consigned to infamy, since not one among the zealous annalists of the Roman Church has breathed a whisper in his praise. Thus, those who have pursued him with the most unqualified vituperations, are thought to have described him most faithfully ; and the mention of his character has excited a sort of rivalry in the expression of indignation and hatred. In early life, during the pontificate of Pius IL, Roderic Borgia, already a cardi nal, had been stigmatized by a public censure for his unmuffled debaucheries. Afterwards he publicly cohabited with a Roman matron named Vanozia, by whom he had five acknowledged chil dren. Neither in his manners nor in his language did he affect any regard for morality or for decency ; and one of the earliest acts of his pontificate was, to celebrate, with scandalous magnificence, in his own palace, the marriage of his daughter Lucretia. On one occasion, this prodigy of vice gave a splendid entertainment, within the walls of the Vatican, to no less than fifty public prostitutes at once, and that in the presence of his daughter Lucretia, at which entertainment deeds of darkness were done, over which decency must throw a veil ;* and yet this monster of vice was, according to papists, the legitimate successor of the apostles, and the Vicar of God upon earth, and was addressed by the title of his Holiness ! ! Again I ask, is not that apostate church, of which for eleven years this pope Alexander VI. was the crowned and anointed head, and a necessary link in the chain of pretended apostolic succession — is she not fitly described by the pen of inspiration — " Mother of harlots, and abominations of the earth ?" (Rev. xvii,, 5.) § 64. — The following are the circumstances relating to the death of pope Alexander, which stand on the most extensive evidence. His infamous son, Caesar Borgia, being greatly in want of money to pay his troops, applied to his father for assistance ; but the apostolical treasury was exhausted, and neither resources nor credit were then at hand to replenish it. On which, the Cardinal suggested to the Pope an easy, and, as it would seem, not very unusual method of supply ing their wants. The cardinal Corneto, as well as some others of the sacred college, had a great reputation for wealth ; and it was then the practice at Rome for the property of cardinals to devolve, on their decease, to the See. He proposed to get rid of this Corneto. The Pope consented ; and, accordingly, invited the cardinals to an en tertainment which he prepared for them in his vineyard of Corneto, which was near the Vatican. Among the wines sent for this occa sion, one bottle was prepared with poison ; and instructions were * These infamous debaucheries are related with much more minuteness than is consistent with modem refinement and delicacy, by Burchardus, (Diar. 77.) 428 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [book vi, Pope Alexander caught in his own trap. America discovered, and given hy the Pope to the Spaniards carefully given to the superintendent of the feast respecting the dis posal of that bottle. It happened that, some little time before sup per, the Pope and his son arrived, and, as it was very hot, they called for wine. And then, whether through the error or the absence of the confidential officer, the poisoned bottle was presented to them. Both drank of it, and both immediately suffered its vio lent effects. Caesar Borgia, who had mixed much water with his wine, and was, besides, young and vigorous, through the immediate use of powerful antidotes, was saved. But Alexander having taken his draught nearly pure, and being likewise enfeebled by age, died in the course of the same evening.* § 65. — It was during the pontificate of Alexander VL, that the discovery of America was achieved by that wonderful man, Chris topher Columbus. For several centuries previous to that age, it had been regarded as an established doctrine, that the Pope, fi'om his supreme authority, had the right of granting all heathen coun tries to such Catholic princes as would engage to reduce them under the dominion of the church and the Holy See. In accordance with this doctrine, pope Martin V. early in the same century had granted to the crown of Portugal all the lands it might discover from cape Bojador in Africa, to the Indies. Immediately upon the intelligence being received by the Spanish sovereigns, Ferdinand and Isabella, of the success of Columbus, measures were taken to obtain the sanction of the Pope. Accord ingly, in compliance with the request of the Spanish ambassadors that were immediately dispatched to Rome, pope Alexander VI. issued his bull, dated May 2d, 1493, " ceding to the Spanish sove reigns the same rights, privileges, and indulgences, in respect to the newly discovered regions, as had been accorded to the Portuguese, with regard to their African discoveries, under the same condition of planting and propagating the Catholic faith. To prevent anv conflicting claims, however, between the two powers, in the vpid'e range of their discoveries, another bull was issued on the following day, containing the famous line of demarcation, by which their terri tories were thought to be clearly and permanently defined. This was an ideal line drawn from the north to the south pole, a hundred leagues to the west of the Azores, and the Cape de Verd islands. All land discovered by the Spanish navigators to the west of this line, and which had not been taken possession of by any Christian power before the preceding Christmas, was to belong to the Spanish crown ; all land discovered in the contrary direction was to belong to Por tugal. It seems never to have occurred to the pontiff, that by push ing their opposite careers of discovery, they might some day or other come again in collision, and renew the question of territorial right at the antipodes."! * See Waddington's Ch. Hist., p. 615. For a particular account of the lives and vices of this flagitious Pope, and his no less infamous son, Caesar Borgia, see Life of pope Alexander VI., by Alexander Gordon. t Life and Voyages of Columbus, by Washington Irving, book v., ch. 8. chap, v.] POPERY ON A TOTTERING THRONE— A. D. 1303-1545. 429 The power of the popes not what it once was. Pope Julian absolving himself from his oath. It may serve to correct the notions of some good people, who know but little about the history of Popery in past ages, and imagine that it never was more powerful than now, to remember that three centu ries and a half ago, not only the territory now called the United States, but the whole of North and South America, were given away by a single dash of pope Alexander's pen. I presume there is but little fear of the great Republic of the West ever being handed over, like an apple or an orange, as a present from his Holiness to their Catho lic majesties of Spain or of Portugal. And yet, according to the aforesaid decree of pope Alexander, the Catholic sovereigns of Spain have a right, so far as a papal grant can confer it, to the whole of the United States, from Maine to Texas, and to the entire continent of the West. Well may the old gentleman at Rome, when he thinks of the power of his predecessors, and casts his eye over the vast prairies and savannahs of the West, sit on his trem bling throne in Italy, like Bunyan's giant Pope, " biting his nails that he cannot come at them." § 66. — Upon the death of Alexander VL, Pius IIL, a sick and feeble old man, was elevated to the papal throne, through the in trigues of the Cardinal who hoped soon to succeed him, and died after a brief reign of only twenty-six days. The stratagem of JuHan della Rovera was successful. He celebrated the mass at the obsequies of the deceased Pope and scarcely was that office performed when he re-opened his former intrigues with the design. on this occasion, of procuring his own election. He gained the leading cardinals by magnificent promises, and the confidence that they would be observed. On the very first scrutiny, Julian della Rovera was unanimously raised to the chair of Alexander VI. On this occasion, Julian, who assumed the name of Julius IL, took the same oath which had been taken by the infamous Alexander and several of his unworthy predecessors of the fifteenth century, to convoke a general council within two years from his election, and effect other reforms in the administration of the church, under the penalty of " perjury and anathema," from which they swore neither to absolve themselves, nor suffer any others to absolve them. These oaths, however, were only made to be broken. The popes claimed the power not only of absolving others, but of absolving themselves from the obligation of an oath, and when, therefore, the object of taking the oath was accomplished, and the hat of the Cardinal ex changed for the tiara of the Pope, this convenient power was in variably exercised.* That this pretended power of the popes of absolving from the obligation of an oath, whether of allegiance to a ruler or of * Beausobre in his history of the Reformation (Livre i.) gives the words of the oath by which the candidate for the papal chair thus bound himself, which are worthy of being placed on record " Prsmissa omnia et singula promitto, voveo et juro observare et adimplere, in omnibus et per omnia, pure et simpliciter et bona fide, realiter, et cum efiectu perjurii et anathematis, a quibus nee me ipsum absolvam, nee alieni absolutionem committam. Ita me Deus adjuvet," &c. 430 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [bookvi The right of absolving from oaths still claimed by the priests of Rome. any other kind, has ever been believed and practised by the papal anti-Christ, is a fact which needs no proof to such as have but a limited acquaintance with history. We have seen how frequently it was practised in the lives of Gregory VII.,* Innocent III., and the other popes of that period when Popery reigned Despot of the World ;t but perhaps it is not equally well known, that the same doctrine is openly advocated by papists of the present day, and plainly taught in the text-books used in their colleges. Thus, in the class-book used in Maynooth College, Ireland, Bailly asserts that " there exists in the church a power of dispensing from the obligation of vows and oaths."J In this abominable proposition, quoted from a standard Romish author, the church means the Pope| as, according to the canon law, the Pope is the interpreter of an oath.§ Dens, in his theology, the modem standard of Catholicism in Ireland, authorizes this maxim.|| The dispensation of a vow, says this criterion of truth, " is its relaxation by a lawful superior in the place of God, from a just cause. The superior, as, the vicar of God in the place of God, remits to a man the debt of a plighted promise."^ If a pope has the power of absolving others from the obligation of an oath, he has, of course, the power of absolving himself, and hence can be bound by no promise, however sacred ; by no oath, however solemn. Upon this monstrous principle did pope Julius, like many of his predecessors, take a solemn oath pre vious to his election, vvhich he doubtless intended when he took it, to violate, so soon as his elevation to the popedom should give him the power of absolving himself from his oath, and thus annulling the laws of God with impunity.** T f^ru^^^°^' '"^ ^''®*'' ^^^^^^ ^^^ authority to dissolve the oath of feally. Hia IniaUibility supported his assertion by proofs, or pretended proofs, from scripture and tradition. This authority, his Holiness alleged, was conveyed in the power of the keys, consisting in bindmg and loosing, and confirmed by the unanimous consent of the fathers. The contrary opinion he represented as madness and idolatry. ' Contra lUorum insaniam, qui, nefando ore, garriunt, auctoritatem sanc ta et Apostolicae sedis non potuisse quemquam a sacramento fideliUtis ejus ab solvere.' (Labb. 12, 380, 439, 497.) t See above, Book v., passim. ,X '??'®''' '? ecclesia potestas dispensandi in votis et juramentis.' (BaiUyi, 140 ; Maynooth Report, 283.) ^. j ' 5 'Declaratio jurainenti, seu interpretatio, cum de ipso dubitatur, pertinet ad Papam.' (Gibert 3, 612.) "^ n 'Siiperior, tanquam vicariusDei, vice et nomine Dei, remittit homini debitum promissionis facts.' (Dens, 4, 134, 135.) 1 Dens also avers that a confessor should assert his ignorance of the truths which he knows only by sacramental confession, and confirm his assertion, if m- cessaij,byoath Such facts he is to conceal, though the life or safety of a man or the destruction of the state, depended on the disclosure. The reason, in this «^=wi' ^' extraordinaiy as the doctrine. "The confessor is questioned and Zl TLf .T\ T'^'l^"*' however, fee kwrws not as m««, 6zrf as God ;" T^n/Lnfo'"'"'^-^''^? "^'T^ ^T' ^'' '* opus est, idem juramento con&mari ut hnr^^i l! f I"™^"'"" "¦* ''°?'°' ^' ««Pondet ut homo. Jam autem non scit ut homo illam veritatem, quamvis sciat ut Deus.' (Dens, 5, 219 ; Edgar, 246.) Another instance of the practical exercise of this abomikablTdoctrine oc- The Pope as a Warrior. Pope Julius in Battle. The FoiJC as a God— adored on the high altar of St. Peter's. CHAP, v.] POPERY ON A TOTTERING THRONE— A. D. 1B03-1645. 433 Pope Julius a warrior. 300,000 men sir' in battle through his means. His quarrel with Lewis XIL § 67. — ^Pope Julius was a man of blood. His assumption of that name was itself an expression of his admiration of the ancient con queror, Julius Csesar, and a mode of avowing his preference of the military to the sacerdotal character. Almost the whole ten years of his pontificate (1503-1513) were spent in the field of battle, amidst scenes of carnage and slaughter. The evident object of his ambition was to reduce the whole of the peninsula of Italy under the sovereignty of the self-styled successors of St. Peter. He suc ceeded in compelling the Venetians to yield up several cities to the Holy See, and had he not been cut short by death in his victorious career, it is supposed by many that the object of his ambition might have been realized. It is related of him that he was so fierce and indefatigable a warrior, that though decrepit with age, he did not shrink from the toils of the meanest soldier ; that in prosecuting his schemes of ambition, he would never listen to a proposal of peace, while the slightest prospect of success remained, though to be purchased at the cost of thousands of lives ; and that two hun dred thousand men perished in battle through his means ; that al most the only use he made of his pontifical function was to dictate his bulls and anathemas, which he did with the same energy as he commanded his army ; and finally, in the words of a celebrated chronicler of France, that in his fierce and bloody conflicts on the field of battle, " he acted more like a sultan of the Turks than as THE vicAE OF THE Pkince OF Peace, and the common Father of all Christians."* {See Engraving.) § 68. — Lewis XIL, king of France, provoked at the insults he received from pope Julius, is said by many authors to have caused a medal to be struck, with the inscription, ' Perdam Babylonis nomen ' — that is, " I will destroy the name of Babylon." It is pro per here to add that the authenticity and occasion of this celebrated motto, has afibrded matter of keen debate to respectable writers on both sides of the question. There is no question, however, that Lewis was violently incensed against the arrogant military Pope, and that in the year 1511, several cardinals under his protection assembled a council at Pisa, with the intention of setting bounds to the power, and curbing the tyranny of this furious and ambitious Pontiff. Julius, on the other hand, thundered his anathemas against the council of Pisa, excommunicated all the members, and degraded the cardinals from their dignity. The council returned the com pliment (like that of Basil, seventy years before), by summoning the Pope into their presence, declaring him contumacious, and eventually suspending him from his office. The warhke pontiff, curred in the life of pope Paul IV., who, in 1555, absolved himself from an oath which he had taken in the Conclave. His Holiness had sworn to make only four cardinals ; but violated his obligation. His Supremacy declared, that the Pontiff could not be bound, or his authority limited, even by an oath. The contrary he characterized as " a manifest heresy." ' Le contraire toil une heresie manifeste.' (Father Paul Sarpi, lib. ii., sec. 27.) * Mezerai Abrege Chron., tom. v., p. 117; reign of Louis XII. 26 434 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [book vl I Accession of pope Leo X. Enactment of a general council against the freedom of the press. relying upon his carnal, at least as much as his spiritual defences, treated these proceedings with contempt and laughter, and sum moned a council at Rome,* which was opened on the 3d of May, 1512, and in which the proceedings of the council of Pisa were annulled, and condemned in the severest and most insulting lan guage. This council of the Pope is called by Romanists the eigh teenth general council, or fifth of Lateran, though almost all who were present were Italians, and the total number of cardinals was fifteen, and the archbishops and bishops, together, eighty. Proba bly the fierce denunciations of the Pope and this petty general council against the council of Pisa, would have been followed by the most dire anathemas against king Louis, and other princes who favored that council, had not death snatched away this fierce, turbulent, and bloody Pope on the 20th of February, 1513. § 69. — The successor of Julius was Leo X., a name which is insepa rable from the history of the glorious reformation, for the determined but unavailing opposition that he offered to the doctrines and measures of Luther. Under Leo the fifth council of Lateran continued its ses sions, at various intervals, till the month of March, 1517. Among the decrees of this council was one forbidding the freedom of the press, which in consequence of the invention of the art of printing had for some years been a source of annoyance to Rome. Pope Leo and the council ordained " that no book should be hereafter printed at Rome, or in any other city or diocese, until it had been examined — at Rome by the vicar of his Holiness, and the mas ter of the sacred palace — in other dioceses, by the bishop, or some doctor appointed by him, or by the inquisitor of the place, on pain of various temporal penalties and immediate excommunication." Popery has probably never received so severe a blow, as in the in vention of printing ; and according to human probabihties, the refor mation would have been nipped in the bud, and the world would still have been covered with popish darkness as it was amidst the gloom of the world's midnight, had it not been for the noble art which multi plied, almost with the speed of thought, the fearless protestations of the reformers against the proffigacy and corruption of Rome. The date of this noble art is generally placed in 1444, though some years doubtless elapsed before it was very extensively used. About 1472, not thirty years after the invention, pope Sixtus IV. commenced the crusade agamst the freedom of the press which Popery has carried on from that time to this. In 1501 the vile Alexander VI. ordained under the severest penalties, that no books of any description should be printed, in any diocese, without the sanction of the Bishop,! and a few years after Leo X., in the manner we have seen, renewed this prohibition. § 70.— There was another enactment of the fifth council of Late- * The bull of Julius convoking this council, in which he calls the council of Pisa a synagogue of Satan, and compares its authors to Dathan and Abiram, may be found in Raynald's Annals, ad Ann. 1511. t Raynald's Annals ad Ann. 1501, s. 36. CHAP, v.] POPERY ON A TOTTERING THRONE— A.D. 1303-1545. 435 A papist's groans at the ill success of the laws against heretics, in preventing the Reformation. ran, which deserves a passing mention. This was a decree enjoin ing upon the Inquisitions established in various countries to proceed zealously in the punishment and extirpation of heretics and Jews, especially against those who had relapsed, from whom every hope of pardon was withheld. These decrees are recorded by the Ro mish annalist Raynald, the continuator of the annals of Baro nius, who exclaims in tones which we might almost imagine to pro ceed from a hungry wolf, disappointed of his prey by the watchful ness of the shepherd and his faithful dog. " How ill, alas ! these most holy laws were observed, appears from the hydra-birth of the Lutheran heresy which CEune so soon afterwards."* § 71. — On the I6th of March, 1517, was held the twelfth and con cluding session of the council. The bull of dissolution announced the accomphshment of every object of the assembly : peace had been re-established among the princes of Christendom ; the schis matic synod of Pisa abolished ; and, above all, the reformation of the Church and court of Rome had been sufficiently provided for ! There were, indeed, some fathers who ventured to argue, that every abuse had not even yet been removed, and that the lasting interests of the Church would be better promoted by the further continuance of the council — but the majority supported the Pope ; and this universal assembly of the western Church, after having deliberately regulated all matters requiring any attention, and restored the estab lishment to perfect health and security, separated with complacency and confidence ! Little did Leo and the fathers of the council dream of the storm that was impending over them ; of the lightning of heaven that was already gathering to purify the moral atmo sphere of the popish miasma that corrupted it. It is a coincidence worth remarking, that in the very same year, almost before the pre lates of Rome had exchanged their parting congratulations on the imagined peace and security of the church, Luther had commenced his bold and fearless preaching against that plague-spot upon the polluted and rotten carcase of anti-Christ — the infamous doctrine of indulgences. "^ Raynald. ad Ann. 1614, sect. 31, &c. 436 CHAPTER VL THE REFORMATION. LUTHER AND TETZEL. THE REFORMER'S WAS AGAINST INDULGENCES. § 72. — We have seen, in a previous part of this work, the profit able use that was made by the popes whenever they wished to en rich their coffers, at the expense of a credulous and superstitious multitude, of the doctrine of indulgences, — the pretence that a miserable mortal, often polluted with the most awful crimes, had power to control the punishments of God's justice in the invisible world, and to grant a plenary indulgence for the most flagrant crimes, to such as would purchase it with money. The horrid im- ' piety of this blasphemous pretension is such that we can hardly help feeling astonished at the forbearance of the insulted Deity in suffering his name thus to be blasphemed, his prerogatives thus in vaded, and his creatures thus outraged and abused for so long a series of ages. But the justice of God does not sleep for ever. It pleased him that the very means of the aggrandizement and wealth of apostate Rome should also be the cause of its receiving a blow from which it never has, and never will recover. Indulgences, and the money they procured, were for ages the inexhaustible source of papal Rome's grandeur and wealth. Indulgences, and the indignation they excited, were the occasion of her fall. The proud structure of St. Peter's, it is true, was built upon a foundation of indulgences ; every stone in that gorgeous structure, if it had a tongue, might tell a tale of rob bery, or murder, or adultery ; or of the outrageous cheat announced by the infamous Tetzel, " the very moment the money jingles in the chest, the soul for whom it is paid escapes from the pains of purgatory, and flies to heaven." Yet, when the courtly and luxu rious Leo proclaimed his bull of indulgences, for the building of St. Peter's, little did he imagine how dearly that proudest of all the temples of anti-Christ would be bought. And there is not a true protestant in Christendom, however much he may despise the spiritual knavery and imposture of the indulgences upon which St. Peter's is erected, that would not regard the glorious reformation as cheaply purchased at the price of the millions of gold and silver it would require to build ten thousand such costly erections. A work like the present would not be complete without a sketch of the incidents connected with that memorable event in the annals of Popery, the glorious reformation. Yet it is a source of sin cere and unmingled satisfaction to the author, that the recent pub lication and unparalleled circulation of the most captivating, au thentic, and thorough history of the Reformation that has ever CHAP. VI.] POPERY ON A TOTTERING THRONE— A. D. 1303-1646. 437 Indulgences to build St. Peter's. Prices of sins in the Tax-books of the Roman Chancery. been written in any language,* precludes the necessity of devoting more than a few pages to that momentous moral revolution ; and even those few will ne devoted mainly to facts connected with the reformation, which reflect light upon the character and the history of Popery. § 73. — The first stone of the present church of St. Peter's at Rome, was laid in the year 1506 by the ambitious and warlike pope Julius IL, and when Leo X. succeeded him on the papal throne, he found the treasury of the church almost exhausted by the ceaseless wars and ambitious projects of his predecessor. " Making use," says Sleidan, " of that power which his predecessors had usurped over all Christian churches, he sent abroad into all kingdoms his letters and bulls, with ample promises of the full pardon of sins, and of eternal salvation to such as would purchase the same with money 1" It is obvious that the multiplication of crimes in a superstitious and dissolute age, would be proportionate to the facility of obtain ing pardon. It had been a practice ia the different governments of Europe to allow the payment of a fine to the magistrate, by way of compounding for the punishment due to an offence. The ava ricious and unprincipled court of Rome adopted a similar plan in religious concerns, and intent only on the augmentation of revenue, it even rejoiced in the degradation of the human mind and charac ter. The officers of the Roman chancery published a book con taining the exact sum to be paid for any particular sin. A deacon guilty of murder was absolved for twenty crowns. A bishop or abbot might assassinate for three hundred livres. An ecclesiastic might violate his vows of chastity, even with the most aggravating circumstances, for the third part of that sum. To these and similar items, it is added, " Take notice particularly that such graces and dispensations are not granted to the poor, /or not having wherewith to pay they cannot be comforted."-\ * It is almost unnecessary to say, that the author refers to D'Aubigne's popular and invaluable " History of the Reformation," to. which he would take this oppor tunity of expressing his obligation for most of the incidents connected with Lu ther's struggles against the abominations of Rome. The work of D'Aubigne has lately been honored with a special notice of reprobation in the Pope's Dull of 1844. Thank God it is translated into Italian ! Let D'Aubigne's History of the Reformation only be read throughout the whole of outraged and injured Italy, and the world will see that the Pope had reason to tremble on his tottering throne. t Taxa Cancellar. Romanee, quoted in Cox's life of Melancthon, chap. iii. As it has become usual with Romanists to deny the authenticity of these Tax-books for sin, since it has been discovered that protestants have become acquainted with their contents, it is proper to remark that more than twenty-seven editions of the work had appeared, before any one thought of denying their authenticity. The.evi- dence on this subject has been weighed and sifted a nundred times, and the result is, that in the opinion of the most eminent literary men, the authenticity of this genuine Romish work is established without the shadow of a doubt. The follow ing observations upon " the Taxatio Papalis," by the learned Mendham, author of the " Literary policy of the church of Rome," are sufficient to set this matter for ever at rest. The Tax Tables are a considerable advance upon the simple In- 438 HISTORY OP ROMANISM. [book vi. Editions of the Romish Tax-book for sins. Testimony of a Catholic author to its genuineness. " What," asks an ornament of the British establishment, " was the crying abomination which first roused the indignant spirit of dulgence ; for there, absolution for the grossest crimes— and for aU crimes — is ex pressly set to sale at specified prices — absolution, or dispensation, or license, &c., for Grossi, or floreni, or ducats. To what times or persons the origin of those small and precious volumes is to be assigned, it is perhaps impossible to determine. The least objectionable part, indicating only unprincipled cupidity and rapacity, the Chancery Taxes, may with certainty be traced back to pope John XXII., who reigned at the beginning of the fourteenth century, and is celebrated by papal as well as other historians, for his immoderate extortion by the dexterous management of benefices, and by other means, and for the immense wealth which he accumulated and left behind him. (Ciaconii Vit. et Act. Pont., tom. 2; 395.) The frequent and exclusive refer ence to the Liber Jo. XXII. in pope Leo's Xth's Taxze Cane. Apost., published in 1514, place the fact beyond a doubt ; and Polydore Virgil (lib. viii., cap. 2) ex pressly ascribes the origin of those Taxes to him. To the Penitentiary Canons succeeded the regular Tax-books ; of which the first fifteen editions were issued at Rome, as is attested by the Romish author Aii- diifredi, in a work avowedly enumerating those copies, and which volume is dedi cated to " Pius VI., Pont. Opt, Max.," or, the " Most Blessed and Supreme." Twenty-five other reprints were published at Paris, Cologne, and Venice — ^that from the last place under the auspices of pope Gregory XIII. The printing was pro bably rendered necessary or expedient from the number of agents, or collectors of these taxes, employed by the pontifft ; for beyond Rome, in the countries subject to those impositions, it was desirable for individuals to know what their vices would cost them, and how far they could sustain the expense. Momay, inhis Mystere d'Iniquite, and Claude d'Espence, prove that those books were publicly and openly exposed to sale. But we are told, that these works have been formally and publicly condenmed by papal authority in the Indices Prohibitorii. This matter is both a literary and a papal curiosity. Before the year 1664, when the Trent Index was compiled and published, twenty-seven of the editions of the Taxae had appeared, and probably many more, now unknown — and yet no notice whatever was taken of them, in one single instance, until the year 1570, just a century after the appearance of the first edition, in an Appendix to the Roman Index, published by the authority of the king of Spain. In what terms does it there appear ? " Praxis et Taxa officinas pcenitentiariffi Papae," p. 76 — a work, which, if it ever existed under that title, was probably never known. With apparent misgiving, and possibly with some fear, that it might involve what the papacy knew to be its own oflfepring, the next Index published by authority in Rome, that of 1596, by pope Clement vin., adds — " ab haereticis depravata ; corrupted by heretics." But that specification is a virtual admission that some copies existed, which were not depraved » cor rupted. In his Commentary on the Epistle to Titus, chap. 1., 7, Digressio Secunda, on the word , , tf In Carmine lambico ad Seleucum, p. 126. Ibid., p. 413, Svo. ; vol. ii., p. 473. XX In Praifat. ad Libr. Regum sive Prologo Galeato. Lardner, vol. v., pp. 16, CHAP. I.] POPERY AT TRENT— A. D. 1546-1563. 483 Never quoted by Chriat and his aposUes. Lay no claim Uiemselves to inspiration. nus,* and others of the fourth century ; nor in the catalogue of canonical books' recognized by the council of Laodicea,t held in the sfime century, whose canons were received by the Catholic church ; so that, as Bishop Burnet well observes, " we have the concurring sense of the whole church of God in this matter."J (5.) These books were never quoted, as most of the inspired books were, by Christ and his apostles. They evidently formed therefore no part of that volume to which Christ and his apostles- so often referred, under the title of Moses and the prophets. There is scarcely a book in the Old Testament, which is not quoted or referred to in some passage of the New Testament. Christ has thus given the sanction of his authority to Moses, and the Psalms, and the prophets ; that is, to the whole volume of scripture which the Jews had received from Moses and the prophets ; which they most tenaciously maintained as canonical : and which is known by us under the title of the Old Testament. But there was not one of the apocryphal books so ac knowledged by the Jews, or so referred to by Christ and his apostles. (6.) The authors of these books lay no claim to inspiration, and in some instances make statements utterly inconsistent therewith. The book of Ecclesiasticus, which, though not inspired, is superior to all the other apocryphal books, was written by one Jesus the son of Sirach. His grandfather, of the same name, it seems, had written a book, which he left to his son Sirach ; and he delivered it to his son Jesus, who took great pains to reduce it into order ; but he no where assumes the character of a prophet himself, nor does he claim it for the original author, his grandfather. In the prologue, he says, " My grandfather Jesus, when he had much given himself to the reading of the Law, and the Prophets, and other books of our fathers, and had gotten therein good judgment, was drawn on also himself to write something pertaining to learning and wisdom, to the intent that those which are desirous to learn, and are addicted to these things, might profit much more, in living according to the law. Wherefore let me entreat you to read it with favor and at tention, and to pardon us wherein we may seem to come short of some words which we have labored to interpret. Farther, some things uttered in Hebrew, and translated into another tongue', have not the same force in them. From the eight and thirtieth year, coming into Egypt when Euergetes was king, and continuing there for some time, I found a book of no small learning : therefore I 17, 8vo. ; vol. ii., p. 540, 4to., and also in several of his prefaces to other books which are given by Dr. L., vol. v., pp. 17—22, Svo. ; or vol. ii., pp. 640—543 4to' * Expositio ad Symb., Apost. Lardner, vol. v., p. 75, 76, 8 vo. ; vol. ii., p 573 4to' t Can. 59 60. Lardner, vol. iv., pp. 308, 309, Svo. ; vol. ii., pp. 414, 416,' 4to! Besides Dr. Lardner, Bishop Cosm, m his Scholastical History of the Canon and Moldenhawer (Introd. ad Vet. Test., pp. 148-154), have given extracts at lensth h T ^ .^ °^® mentioned fathers, and others, against the authority of the apocry- X On the Sixth Article of the Anglican church, p. 111. 6th edit 29 484 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [book vn. The author of the Maccabees disavows inspiration. A temperance argument against the Apocrypha. thought it most necessary for me to bestow some diligence and travail to interpret it ; using great watchfulness and skill, in that space, to bring the book to an end," &c. These avowals, as, will be seen at a glance, are altogether inconsistent with the supposition that this modest and candid author wrote under the direction of in spiration. The writer of the second book of the Maccabees professes to have reduced a work of Jason of Cyrene, consisting of five volumes, into one volume. Concerning which work, he says, " Therefore to us that have taken upon us this painful labor of abridging, it was not easy, but a matter of sweat and watching." Again, " leaving to the author the exact handling of every particular, and laboring to follow the rules of an abridgment. To stand upon every point, and go over things at large, and to be curious in particulars, belong- eth to the first author of the story ; but to use brevity, and avoid much laboring of the work, is to be granted to him that maketh an abridgment." " Is anything more needed to prove that this wri ter did not profess to be inspired ? If there was any inspiration in the case, it must be attributed to Jason of Cyrene, the original writer of the history ; but his work is long since lost, and we now possess only the abridgment which cost the writer so much labor and pains. Thus, I think it sufficiently appears, that the authors of these disputed books were not prophets ; and that, as far as we can ascertain the circumstances in which they wrote, they did not lay claim to inspiration, but expressed themselves in such a way, as no man under the influence of inspiration ever did."* The author of this book concludes with the following words, which are utterly un vvorthy of a person writing by inspiration. " Here will I make an end. And if I have done well, and as is fitting the story, it is THAT which I desired ; BUT IF SLENDERLY AND MEANLY, IT IS THAT WHICH I COULD ATTAIN UNTO. FoT as it is hurtful to drink wine or water alone ; and as wine mingled with water is pleasant, and de- hghteth the taste ; even so speech finely framed delighteth the ears of them that read the story. And here shall be an end." (7) There is one additional evidence at least, that this book is not inspired, to be drawn from the silly expression just quoted that " it is hurtful to drink water alone." If there were no other proof, this single expression would be sufficient to show that God was not its author, especially since the investigations of total abstinence so cieties have proved that cold water alone, instead of being hurtful, is the most healthful beverage which can be used.f * Alexander on the Canon, page 80. f The above brief sketch of the evidences which prove that the books of the Apocrypha are uninspired, and therefore not a part of the sacred scriptures, would not have appeared in the present work, had it not been called for, by the fact that Romish priests are taking advantage of the general ignorance that prevails rela tive to the Apocrypha, to inculcate some of the unscriptural doctrines of their apostate church upon the authority of these books. In a recent course of popular lectures in defence of the doctrines of Popery in the city of New York, the preacher took CHAP, n.] POPERY AT TRENT— A. D. 1546-1663 485 The curse against r€;jecters of tradition or the Ajwcrypha. Standard authors on tho Apocrypha (note). After attentively weighing the above evidences, that the apocry phal books possess not the slightest claim to be regarded as a part of God's word, let the reader peruse the following additional extract from the decree of the council of Trent. The curse upon those who refuse to receive the apocryphal books as inspired, or who reject the authority of the traditions. Si quis autem libros ipsos inteOTOs Whoever shall not receive, as sacred cum omnibus suis partibus, prout in Ec- and canonical, all those books and every clesia Catholica legi consueverunt, et in part of them, as they are commonly veteri vulgata Latina editione habentur, read in the Catholic Church, and are pro sacris et canonicis non susceperit ; contained in the old Vulgate Latin edi ct traditiones prsdictas sciens et prudens tion, or shall knowingly and deliberately contempserit ; ANATHEMA SIT. despise the aforesaid traditions ; LET HIM BE ACCURSED. CHAPTER II. FOURTH SESSION CONTINUED. LATIN VULGATE EXALTED ABOVE THE INSPIRED HEBREW AND GREEK SCRIPTURES. PRIVATE JUDGMENT AND LIBERTY OF THE PRESS FORBIDDEN, AND A POPISH CENSORSHIP OF THE PRESS ESTABLISHED. § 9. — The second part of the decree passed at the fourth ses sion is entitled, " of the edition and use of the Sacred books," and as this decree authoritatively declares the present doctrine of the Romish church with respect to the Scriptures, I shall quote the largest part of it in three divisions, with appropriate headings. as his text to establish the doctrine of prayers for the dead, evidently because he could not find one in God's inspired word, 2 Mace, xii., 43, 44, above cited. He might just as well, in the estimation of protestants, have taken a text from the his tory of Robinson Crusoe or Sinbad the Sailor. Yet many might be ensnared with the plausible train of remark ; " If these books are not inspired," say the papists, " why have even protestants bound them up in their bibles ?" And to this we can only reply — why indeed ? No consistent protestant should ever pur chase a bible with the Apocrypha. Let booksellers, if they choose, publish these apocryphal books, and let readers purchase and read them as they would any other curious and ancient writings, but let them never be bound in the same volume with God's inspired word. The reader who would examine still further the overwhelming evidences that the apocryphal books are uninspired and uncanonical, is referred to any or all of the following works : — ^Lardner's works. Vol. v. ; Home's Critical Introduction, Vol. i.. Appendix No. v. ; Alexander on the Canon. But especially the recent valuable work entitled, " The arguments of Romanists on behalf of the apocrypha, discussed and refuted by Professor Thomwall, of South Carolina College." 486 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [book vn. A mere human performance, and an imperfect one too, placed above God's inspired word. The Latin Vulgate put in the place of the inspired Hebrew and Greek Scriptures as the only authentic word of God, from which all translations were therefore in future to be made, and to which all appeals were to be ultimately referred. Insuper eadem sacro-sancta Synodus Moreover, the same most holy conn- considerans non pariim utilitatis ac- cil, considering that no small advantage cedere posse Ecclesiae Dei, si ex omni- will accrue to the church of God, if of bus Latinis editionibus, quae circumfe- all the Latin editions of the Sacred runtur, sacrorum librorum, quaenam pro Book which are in circulation, some one authentica habenda sit, innotescat, sta- shall be distinguished as that which tuit, et declarat, ut hsec ipsa vetus et ought to be regarded as authentic — doth vulgata editio, quse longo tot seculorum ordain and declare, that the same old usu in ipsa Ecclesia probata est, in pub- and Vulgate edition which has been licis lectionibus, disputationibus, prse- approved by its use in the church for so dicationibus, et expositionibus pro au- many ages, shall be held as authentic, in thentica habeatur ; et ut nemo illam re- all public lectures, disputations, sermons, jicere quovis prstextu audeat vel prse- and expositions ; and that no one shall sumat. dare or presume io reject it, under any pretence whatsoever. Thus were the ipsissima verba, the very words, in the original Hebrew and Greek, which were dictated by the Holy Spirit, thrown aside by the council of Trent, and a mere human performance substituted in their place, viz., the Latin translation of Jerome, which many of the most learned Romanists have ac knowledged to abound with errors. The learned Roman Catholic, Dr. Jahn, confesses that in translating the Scriptures into the Vul gate Latin, Jerome " did not invariably give what he himself be lieved to be the best translation of the original, but occasionally, as he confesses {Prcef. ad Com. in Eccles.) followed the Greek trans lators, although he was aware that they had often erred through negligence, because he was apprehensive of giving umbrage to his readers by too wide a departure from the established version ; and therefore we find that, in his commentaries, he sometimes corrects his own translation. Sometimes, too, he has substituted a worse in place of the old translation." In another place. Dr. Jahn adds as follows : " The universal admission of this version throughout the vast extent of the Latin church multiplied the copies of it, in the transcription of which it became corrupted with many errors. Towards the close of the eighth or the beginning of the ninth cen tury, it was, at the command of Charlemagne, corrected by Aicuin from the Hebrew text. This recension was either not widely pro pagated, or was again infected with errors ; for which reason Lan franc, archbishop of Canterbury, who died in 1089, caused some copies to be again corrected. Nevertheless, cardinal Nicholas, about the middle of the twelfth century, found ' tot exemplaria quot codices ' (as many copies as manuscripts), and therefore prepared a correct edition." In the year 1540, the celebrated printer, Robert Stephens, printed an edition of the Vulgate with the various readings of three editions and fourteen manuscripts. " This again," says Dr. CHAP, n.] POPERY AT TRENT— A. D. 1546-1663. 487 The two infallible papal ediUons of the Vulgate wiUi 2000 variations between Uiem. Jahn, " was compared by Hentenius with many other manuscripts and editions, and he added the various readings to an edition pub hshed at Louvain in 1547. This edition was frequently reprinted, and was published at Antwerp in 1580, and again in 1585, en riched with many more various readings, obtained by a new colla tion of manuscripts by the divines of Louvain."* § 10. — As the Vulgate was thus exalted by the council of Trent to the place of the inspired original, it was, of course, necessary to prepare an authorized edition of this Latin version on account of the innumerable variations in the different editions of the Vulgate issued previous to that time. To effect this object, pope Sixtus V. commanded a new revision of the text to be made, and corrected the proofs himself of an edition which was published at Rome in 1590, and proclaimed, by his infallible papal authority, to be the authentic and unalterable standard of Scripture. It was very soon discovered, however, that this edition abounded with errors, though it had been accompanied by a bull, enjoining its universal reception, and forbidding the sHghtest alterations, un der pain of the most dreadful anathemas. The popish dignitaries thus found themselves in a most em barrassing predicament, and that whichever horn of the painful dilemma they choose, if the facts only became known, it would le equally fatal to themselves ! Either this edition must be maintain ed as a standard with thousands of glaring errors, or infallibility must be shown to he fallible, by the correction of these errors. To make the best of a bad thing, the edition, as far as possible, was called in, and a more correct edition issued by pope Clement VIII. in 1592, accompanied by a similar bull. Happily for the cause of truth, the popish doctors were unable to effect an entire destruc tion of the edition of Sixtus. It is now exceedingly rare, but there is a copy of it in the Bodleian library at Oxford, and another in the royal library at Cambridge. The learned Dr. James, who was keeper of the Bodleian li brary, compared the editions of Sixtus and Clement, and exposed the variations between the two in a book which he called, from the opposition between them, Bellum Papale, i. e. the Papal War. In this work Dr. James notices 2000 variations, some of whole verses, and many others clearly and decidedly contradictory to each other. Yet both editions were respectively declared to be authentic by the same plenitude of knowledge and power, and both guarded against the least alteration by the same tremendous excommunication.f Dr. Jahn candidly relates the facts above named, and makes * See Dr. Jahn's Introduction to the Old Testament, sect. 62, 64. f For a full account of these two editions of the Vulgate, see Dr. Townley's illustrations of biblical literature, ii., 168, &c. For between thirty and forty specimens of these variations, between the two infallible editions, see a small work published by the present author in 1843, entitled " Defence of the protes tant Scriptures against popish apologists for the Champlain Bible-burners," pp. 45-48. 488 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [book vn. Eighty thousand errors in the Vulgate. Laws forbidding private judgment and liberty of the press. the following remarkable admission : — " The more learned Catho lics have never denied the existence of errors in the Vulgate ; on the contrary, Isidore Clarius collected eighty thousand." It is amusing to notice the embarrassment caused to this learned Roman ist, by the decree of the council of Trent establishing the authority of the Vulgate. As a good Catholic he was bound to receive that decree, and yet his learning forbade him to bhnd his eyes to the errors of that version, elevated by the said decree to a higher stand than the original Hebrew and Greek text. The attempt of Dr. Jahn to explain the decree of the council of Trent, so as to reconcile it with his own enlightened views of the Latin Vulgate, exhibits an amusing specimen of ingenuity, and may be seen in his Introduc tion to the Old Testament, section 65. It is hardly necessary to add, that the Rhemish Testament, Douay bible, and all other popish versions of the Scriptures are made (not from the original Hebrew and Greek, but) from the above imperfect Latin Vulgate version of Jerome ; and as the stream cannot be expected to rise higher than the fountain, the errors of the Vulgate are perpetuated in all the translations made from it. True, even the Douay bible is better than none : but Romish priests are afraid to let even that be given to their blinded adherents with out notes to prove that, wherever it condemns their anti-Christian system, it does not mean what it says. This, however, is in strict accordance with the council of Trent, which we shall see in the next extract forbids the right of private judgment. § 11; — The right of private judgment in reading the Scriptures prohibited, and its exercise punished. The next extracts which we shall quote from the decree, are as follows : — Praeterea, ad coercenda petulentia in- In order to restrain petulant minds, ^enia, decernit, ut nemo, suje prudentis the council further decrees, that in mat- innixus, in rebus fidei, et morum, ad ters of faith and morals and whatever aedificationem doctrinae Christianae perti- relates to the maintenance of Christian nentium, sacram seripturam ad suos sen- doctrine, no one, confiding in his om SUB contorquens, contra eum sensum, judgment, shall dare to wrest the sacrd quem tenuit et tenet sancta mater Ec- Scriptures to his own sense qfthem, con- clesia, cujus est judicare de vero sensu trary to that which hath been held and et mterpretatione Scripturarum sancta- still is held by holy mother church, whose rum, aut etiam contra unanimem con- right it is to judge of the true meaning sensum Patrum, ipsara Seripturam sa- and interpretation of Sacred Writ; or cram interpretari audeat ; etiam si hu- contrary io the unanimous consent of the jusmodi mterpretationes nuUo unquara fathers; even though such interpretations tempore in lucem edends forent. Qui should never be published. If any dis- contravenerint, per Ordinaries declaren- obey, let him be denounced by the ordim- tur, et poems h. jure statutis puniantur. ries, and punished according to law. § 12.— 7%e liberty of the press authoritatively forbidden. Sed et Impressoribus modum in hac Being desirous also, as is reasonable, parte, ut par est, imponere volens, qui of setting bounds to theprinters,who wUh jam Pme modo, hoc est, putantes sibi li- unlimited boldness, sujmosing themselves cere quidquid libet, sine licentia superi- at liberty to do as they please, print edi- orum eoclesiasticorum, ipsos sacrs tions of the Holy Scriptures with notes chap, ii.] POPERY AT TRENT— A.D. 1546-1663. 480 The decree of tho council enacting fines and penalUcs for exercising the liberty of the press. and expositions taken indiiierently from any writer, without the permission of their ecclesiastical superiors, and that at a con cealed or falsely-designated press, and which is worse, without the name of the author — and also rashly expose books of this nature to sale in other countries ; the holy council decrees and ordains, that for the future the sacred Scriptures, and especially the old Vulgate edition, shall be printed in the most correct manner possible ; and no one shall be permitted to print, or cause to be printed any books relating to rehgion without the name of the author ; neither shall any one here after sell such books, or even retain them in his possession, unless they have been first examined and approved by ihe ordi nary, under penalty of anathema, and the pecuniary fine adjudged by the LAST council OF Lateran.* And if they be regulars, they shall obtain, he- sides this examination and approval, ihe license qf their superiors, who shall ex amine the books according to the forms of their statutes. Those who circulate or publish ihem in manuscript without being examined and approved, shall be liable to the same penalties as the printers ; and those who possess or read them, unless they declare ihe authors of ihem, shall themselves be considered as ihe author. The approbation of books of this description shall be given in writ ing, and shall be placed in due form on the title-page of the book, whether ma nuscript or printed ; and the whole, that is, the examination and the approval, shall be gratuitous, that what is deserv ing may be approved, and what is un worthy may be rejected. The above extracts from this decree need no comment. Let it be remembered that these prohibitions and penalties were enacted by the last general council of the Romish church, that they have never been repealed, that they are now enforced wherever Popery has the power to enforce them, and always will be, wherever that power shall be possessed. The proofs are abundant that Popery hates liberty of opinion and of the press, as much in the nineteenth century as she did in the sixteenth, when these laws were passed * The decree of the council of Lateran here referred to, which was enacted in 1616, was to this effect ; that no book whatever should be printed without exami nation and license by the bishop, his deputy, or an inquisitor ; and that those who offended should forfeit the whole impression of the book printed, which should be publicly burnt, pay a fine of 100 ducats, be suspended from the exercise of their trade for one year, and lie under excommunication ! (See above, p. 434.) Scripturae libros et super illis annota- tiones, et expositiones quorumlibet in- differenter, ssepe tacito, ssepe etiam ementito praelo, et quod gravius est, sine nomine auctoris imprimunt ; alibi etiam impresses libros hujusmodi temere ve- nales habent ; decernit, et statuit, ut post- hac sacra Scriptura, potissimiim vero haec ipsa vetus et vulgata editio, quam emendatissime imprimatur ; nuUique li ceat imprimere, vel imprimi facere quos- vis libros de rebus sacris sine nomine auctoris; neque illos in futurum ven- dere, aut etiam apud se retinere, nisi primiim examinati probatique fuerint ab Ordinario, sub poena anathematis et pe cuniae in canone Concilii novissimi La- teranensis apposita. Et, si regulares fuerint, ultra examinationem, et proba- tionem hujusmodi, licentiam quoque a suis superioribus impetrare teneantur, recognitis per eos libris, juxta formam suarum ordinationum. Qui autem scrip to eos communicant, vel evulgant, nisi antea examinati, probatique fuerint, eis- dem poenis subjaceant quibus impres- sores. Et qui eos habuerint, vel lege- rint, nisi prodiderint auctores, pro aucto- ribus habeantur. Ipsa vero hujusmodi librorum probatio in scriptis detur, atque ideo in fronte libri, vel scripti, vel im- pressi, authentice appareat: idque to tum, hoc est, et probatio, et examen, gratis fiat: ut probanda probentur, et reprobentur improbanda. 490 HISTORY OP ROMANISM'. [book vn. Indignation of the protestants at the decrees of the council upon tradition, the Apocrypha, &c. by the supreme authority of the church. As, however, we are about to transcribe the ten rules of the congregation of the index in rela tion to prohibited books, no comments are necessary. Those cele brated rules are an emphatic commentary upon the above cited decree. § 13. — The proceedings of the council — says Mr. Cramp (p. 57)__ were carefully watched by the protestants. They quickly per- ceived that it was altogether under the control of the Pope, and would issue no enactment contrary to the estabhshed order of things at Rome. Several publications were sent forth, declaratory of their views and feelings, one of which was written by Melancthon. In these works, while they expressed their willingness to abide by the decisions of a council composed of learned and pious men, eminent for the fear and love of God, they positively refused to acknowledge the authority of the assembly at Trent. Their reasons were nu merous and weighty. They objected to the presidency of the Pope, he being a party in the cause ; to the Romish prelates, the appointed judges, many of whom were ignorant and wicked men, and all of them declared enemies of the reformation, but especially to the rules of judgment laid down in connexion with Scripture, and treated with equal or greater deference — viz., tradition and the scho lastic divines. The friends of the departed Luther, who had just been gathered to his rest, the great champion of the Bible, were deservedly indig nant that the council should place tradition on a level with the Scrip tures, which they regarded as an act of daring impiety. They were surprised to hear, that several books which had ever been regarded as of doubtful authority, and had only received the sanc tion of some provincial councils and of two or three popes, should now, without examination, be ranked among the acknowledged pro ductions of inspired men, and be made portions of the Sacred Vol ume. Nor were they less astonished and surprised at the decision respecting the Vulgate, in which that version, though confessed to abound with errors, was made the authoritative and sole standard of faith and morals, to the neglect of the original Greek and He brew Scriptures. Nor were the free spirits of the sixteenth cen tury less indignant that so insignificant a company of priests and monks should endeavor, by restraining the liberty of the press, and appointing a censorship of popish priests, to crush the germ of inquiry, to strengthen the bonds which had held the nations so long, and to cast the mantle of ignorance over the population of a whole continent. It is not to be wondered at, therefore, that the protes tants looked upon the council, not only with suspicion but disgust, and positively refused to submit to its authority or decrees. During the continuance of the council, a committee was appoint ed, called the congregation of the mdex, whose duty it was to pre pare an index of prohibited books. This index was not published tillMarch24,1564, shortly after the adjournment of the council, by pope Pius IV., to whom it had been committed by the council. The chap, n.] POPERY AT TRENT— A. D. 1646-1563. 491 The ten rules of the index of prohibited books. These rules Ihe present imperative laws of Romanism. following ten rules, generally called " the rules of the congregation of the index," are here given, though belonging to a later period of the council, on account of their connection with the subject of the present chapter, and they are transcribed entire, on account of their vast importance, as illustrative of the policy of the church of Rome, in repressing as much as possible the circulation of the Scriptures, and in placing restrictions upon the freedom of the press. Let it be remembered that the following rules are the present imperative laws of the Romish church, adopted by the very highest authority in that church, the last general council, and sent forth to the world under the sanction of its supreme head, pope Pius. These rules are the laws of the Romish church, in precisely the same sense as a statute enacted by the House of Representatives and Senate of the United States, and signed by the President, becomes the law of the American nation ; and all popish bishops and priests are bound to enforce these laws, wherever Popery prevails, to the very utmost of their ability. Let the protestant lover of his bible, and of that glorious bulwark of liberty, the freedom or the Press, pay particu lar attention to the passages marked by italics or capitals, and then say whether it is possible for freedom to exist in any land where Popery is the predominant religion, and the priests of Rome pos sess the power to enforce these laws of their church. § 14. — The ten rules of the congregation of the index of pro hibited BOOKS, enacted by the council of Trent, and approved by pope Pius IV. in a bull, issued on the 24th of March, 1564. By these rules, the foUovring descriptions of books are con demned and prohibited : — Regula 1. Libri omnes quos ante Rulel. " All books condemned by the annum MDXV aut Summi Pontifices, supreme pontiffs, or general councils, aut Concilia cecumenica damnarvmt, et before the year 1516, and not comprised in hoc indice non sunt, eodem modo in the present Index, are, nevertheless, damnati esse censeantur, sicut olim to be considered as condemned. damnati fuerint. Regula 2. Haeresiarcharum libri, tam Rule 2. " The books of heresiarchs, eorum qui post praedictum annum whether of those who broached or dis- haereses invenerunt, vel suscitirunt, seminated their heresies prior to the quam qui haereticorum capita aut duces year above mentioned, or of those who sunt vel fuerunt, quales sunt Lutherus, have been, or are, the heads or leaders Zuinglius, Calvmus, Balthasar Paci- of heretics, as Luther, Zuingle, Calvin, montanus, Swenchfeldius, et his similes, Balthasar Pacimontanus, Swenchfeld' cujuscumque nominis, tituli aut argu- and other similar ones, are altogether menti existant, omnino prohibentur, forbidden, whatever may he their names, Aliorum autem haereticorum libri, qui titles, or subjects. And the books of de reUgione quidem ex professo tractant, other heretics, which treat professedly omnino damnantur. Qui vero de re- upon religion, are totally condemned; ,. . , 2j, '^•" "^ '^ i.^uii. I oi.ig luii,, lire wiauy conaemnea; hgione non tractant, k Theologis Catho- but those which do not treat upon re- licis, jussu Episcoporumetlnquisitorum ligion are allowed to be read, after be- examinati et approbati permittuntur. ing examined and approved by Catholic Libri etiam Catholici conscripti, tam ab divines, hy order of the bishops and in- aliis qui posted in haeresim lapsi sunt, quisitors. Those Catholic books also quam ab illis qui post lapsum ad Eccle- are permitted to be read, which have siffi gremium redie're, approbati k facul- been composed by authors who have 492 HISTORY OP ROMANISM. [book vn, Rules on prohibited books continued. The circulation of the Bible " will cause more evil than good " tate Theologica alicujus Universitatis CatholicEB, vel ab Inquisitione generali permitti poterunt. Regula 3. Versiones scriptorum etiam Eoclesiasticorum, quse hacteniis editae sunt a damnatis auctoribus, modo nihil contra sanam doctrinam contineant, per mittuntur. Librorum autem veteris Testamenti versiones, viris tantum doc- tis et piis judicio Episcopi concedi pote runt ; modo hujusmodi versionibus tam- quam elucidationibus Vulgats editionis, ad intelligendam sacram Seripturam, non autem tanqukm sano textu utantur. Versiones vero novi Testamenti, ab auctoribus primae classis hujus indicis factJE nemini concedantur, quia utilitatis parum, periculi vero plurimum lectoribus ex earum lectione manare solet. Si quje vero annotationes cum hujusmodi quje permittuntur versionibus, vel cum Vul gata editione circumferuntur, expunctis locis suspectis k facultate Theologica alicujus Universitatis Catholicje, aut inquisitione generali permitti eisdem poterunt, quibus et versiones. Quibus conditionibus totum volumen Bibliorum, quod vulgo Biblia Vatabli dicitur, aut partes ejus concedi viris piis et doctis »)terunt. Ex Bibliis vero.Isidori Clarii Brixiani prologus et prolegomena praeci- dantur : ejus vero textum, nemo textum Vulgatae editionis esse existimet. Regula 4. Ciim experimento mani- festum sit, si sacra Biblia vulgari lin- gu4 passim sine discrimine permittantur, plus inde, ob hominum temeritatem, de- trimenti, quam utilitatis oriri, hac in parte judicio Episcopi, aut inquisitoris stetur: ut cum concilio Parochi vel Confessarii, Bibliorum k Catholicis auc toribus versorum lectionem in vulgari liugui eis concedere possint, quos in- tellexerint ex hujusmodi lectione, non damnum, sed fidei atque pietatis aug mentum capere posse, quam facultatem in scriptis habeant. Qui autem absque tali facultate ea legere seu habere prze- Bumpserit, nisi prius Bibliis Ordinario redditis, peccatorum absolutionem per- cipere non possit. Bibliopolae vero, qui afterwards fallen into heresy, or who after their fall, have returned into the bosom of the church, provided they have been approved by the theological faculty of some Catholic university, or by the general inquisition. Rul» 3. " Translations of ecclesiasti cal writers, which have been hitherto published by condemned authors, are permitted to be read, if they contain nothing contrary to sound doctrine, Translations of ihe Old Testament may also be allowed, but only to learned and pious men, at the discretion qfthe bishop; provided they use them merely as dm. dations of the vulgate version, in order to understand the Holy Scriptures, and not as the sacred text itself But Translations of the New Testament made by authors of the first class of this Index, are allowed to no one, since little advantage, but much danger, generally arises from reading them. If notes accompany the versions which are allowed to be read, or are joined to the vulgate edition, they may be per mitted to be read by the same persons as the versions, after the suspected places have been expunged by the theo logical faculty of some Catholic uni versity, or by the general inquisitor. On the same conditions also, pious and learned men may be permitted to have what is called Vatablus's Bible, or any part of it. But the preface and pro legomena of the Bible pubhshed by Isidorus Clarius are, however, excepted; and the text of his editions is not to be considered as the text of the vulgate edition. Rule 4. " Inasmuch as it is mabi- fest feom expekience, that if the Holt Bible, translated into thb vulgar tongue, be indiscrimihatelr allowed to EVERT ONE, THE TMEKIM OF MEN WILL CAUSE MORE EVIL THAM GOOD TO ARISE FKOM IT, it is, an this point, referred to ihe judgment of the bishops, or inquisitors, who may, by Ik advice of the priest or confessor, permit the reading of the bible trabs- lated into the vulgar tongue bt Catholic authors, to those persobs WHOSE faith and piett, thet atpre- HEND, will be AUGMENTED, AND NOT INJURED BT IT ; AND THIS PEHMISSIOH THET MUST HAVE IN WRITING. But if any one shall have ihe presumption to CHAP, n.] POPERY AT TRENT— A. D. 1646-1563. 493 Punishments for those who have the "presumption " to read or sell the Bible withont permission. prasdictam facultatem non habenti Bib lia idioraate vulgari conscripto vendi- derint, vel alio quovis modo concesse- rint, librorum pretium, in usos pios ab Episcopi convertendum, amittant, aliis- que poenis pro delicti qualitate ejusdem Episcopo arbitrio subjaceant. Regu lares vero non nisi facultate a Praelatis Buis habits, ea legere, aut emere pos sint. Regula 5. Libri ilh, qui haereticorum auctorum opci& interdum prodeunt, in quibus nulla aut pauca de suo apponnnt, sed aliorum dicta colligunt, cujusmodi sunt Lexica, Concordantiae, Apophtheg- mata, Similitudines, Indices, et hujus modi, si quae habeant admista, qus ex- purgatione indigeant, illis Episcopi et Inquisitores, una cum Theologorum Catholicorum concilio, sublatis, aut emendatis, permittantur. Regula 6. Libri vulgari idiomate de controversiis inter Catholicos et haereti- cos nostri temporis disserentes non pas sim permittantur : sed idem de lis ser vetur, quod de Bibliis vulgari lingua scriptis statutum est. Qui vero de ra- tione bene vivendi, contemplandi, con- fitendi, ac similibus argumentis, vulgari sermone conscripti sunt, si sanam doc trinam contineant, non est cur prohibe- antur ; sicut nee sermones populares vulgari lingu4 habiti. Quod si hacte nus in aliquo regno vel Provincial aliqni libri sunt prohibiti, quod nonnuUa con- tinerint quse sine delectu ab omnibus legi non expediat, si eorum auctores Catholici sunt, postquam emendati fue rint, permitti ab Episcopo et Inquisitore poterunt. READ OR POSSESS IT WITHOUT SUCH WRITTEN PERMISSION, Tie shall not re ceive absolution until he have first de livered up such Bible to the ordinary. Booksellers, however, who shall sell, or otherwise dispose of Bibles in ihe vulgar tongue, to any person not having such permission, shall forfeit the value OF THE BOOKS, to be applied by ihe bishop io some pious use ; and be subjected by the bishop to such other penalties as the bishop shall judge proper, according to the quality qf ihe offence. But regu lars shall neither read nor purchase such Bibles without a special license from their superiors. Ride 5. " Books of which heretics are the editors, but which contain little or nothing of their own, being mere com pilations from others, as lexicons, con cordances, apophthegms, similes, in dexes, and others of a similar kind, may be allowed by the bishops and inquisi tors, after having made, with the advice of Catholic divines, such corrections and emendations as may be deemed requi site. Rule 6. " Books of controversy be twixt the Catholics and heretics of the present time, written in the vulgar tongue, are not to be indiscriminately allowed, but are to be subject to the same regulations as Bibles in the vul gar tongue. As to those works in the vulgar tongue, which treat of morality, contemplation, confession, and similar subjects, and which contain nothing contrary to sound doctrine, there is no reason why they should be prohibited ; the same may be said also of sermons in the vulgar tongue, designed for the people. And if in any kingdom or province, any books have been hitherto prohibited, as containing things not proper to be read, without selection, by all sorts of persons, they may he al lowed by the bishop and inquisitor, after having corrected them, if written by Catholic authors. Regula 7. Libri qui res lascivas seu Rule 7. " Books professedly treating obscffinas ex professo tractant, narrant, of lascivious or obscene subjects, or ant docent, cum non soliim fidei, sed et narrating, or teaching them, are utterly morum, qui hujusmodi librorum lectione prohibited,* since, not only faith but * We suppose this rule is not intended to apply to obscene and lascivious books Intended for the instruction of candidates for the priesthood, or for examination of 494 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [book vn. Rules of the Index continued. Further restrictions upon the liberty of the ptees. facile corrumpi solent, ratio habenda sit, omnino prohibentur : et qui eos habue rint, severe ab Episcopis puniantur. Antiqui vero ab Ethnicis conscripti, propter sermonis elegantiam et proprie- tatem permittuntur : nulla tamen ra- tione pueris praelegendi enint. Regula 8. Libri quorum principale argumentum bonum est, in quibus ta men obiter aliqua inserta sunt, quae ad hjeresim, seu impietatem, divinationem, seu superstitionem spectant, a Catholi cis Theologis, inquisitionis generalis auctoritate, expurgati, concedi possunt. Idem judicium sit de prologis, summa- riis, seu annotationibus quae a damnatis auctoribus, libris non damnatis, appositae sunt : sed posthac non nisi emendati excudantur. Regula 9. Libri omnes et scripta Geomantiae, Hydromantiae, Aeromantiae, Pyromantiae, Onomantise, Chiromantiae, Necromantiae, sive in quibus continentur sortilegia, veneficia, auguria, auspicia, incantationes artis magicae prorsiis re- jiciantur. Episcopi vero diligenter provideant, ne astrologiae judicariae libri, tractatus, indices legantur, vel habean tur, qui de futuris contingentibus, suc- cessibus, fortuitisve casibus, aut iis ac- tionibus, quae ab humana voluntate pen dent, certi aliquid eventurum affirmare audent. Permittuntur autem judicia, et naturales observationes, qu^ naviga- tionis, agriculturae, sive medicae artis juvandae gratia conscripta sunt. Regula 10. In librorum, aliarumve scripturarum impressione servetur, quod in Conciho Lateranensi sub Leone X., Sess. 10, statutum est. Quare, si in alma urbe Roma liber aliquis sit impri- mendus, per Vicarinm Summi Pontificis et Sacri Palatii Magistrum, vel per- Eonas a Sanctissimo Domino nostro de- morals, which are readily corrupted by the perusal of them, are to be attended to ; and those who possess them shall be severely punished by the bishop. But the works of antiquity, written by the heathens, are permitted to be read, because of the elegance and propriety of the language ; though on no account shall they be suffered to be read by young persons. Rule 8. "Books, the principal sub ject of which is good, but in which some things are occasionally introduced tending to heresy and impiety, divina tion, or superstition, may be allowed, after they have been corrected by Cathelic divines, by the authority qf die general inquisition. The same judgment is also formed of prefaces, summaries, or notes, taken from the condemned au thors, and inserted in the works of au thors not condemned ; but such works must not be printed in future, until they have been amended. Rule 9. " All books and writings of geomancy, hydromancy, aeromancy, py romancy, onomancy, chiromancy, and necromancy ; or which treat of sorce ries, poisons, auguries, auspices, or magical incantations, are utterly re jected. The bishops shall also dili gently guard against any persons read ing or keeping any books, treatises, or indexes, which treat of judicial astrolo gy, or contain presumptuous predictions of the events of future contingencies, and fortuitous occurrences, or of those actions which depend upon the will of man. But such opinions and observa tions of natural things as are written in aid of navigation, agriculture, and me dicine, are permitted. Rule 10. " In the printing of books or other writings, the rules shall he ob served, which were ordained in the 10th session of the council of Late ran, under Leo X. Therefore, if any book is to be printed in the city (if Rome, it shall first be examinm Jj the Pope's Vicar and the master cf conscience preparatory to confession. If so, Dens's Theology, their most popu lar standard work for students, and " the Garden of the Soul," published at New York, 1844, with the approbation of bishop Hughes, must certainly be included in the prohibition. Probably, however, the rule was only intended to apply to works of this description when published by heretics. CHAP, n.] POPERY AT TRENT— A. D. 1546-1563. 495 Piuiishmeuts of booksellers who violate these rules. Their shops to be examined by inquisitors. putandas piitis examinetur. In aliis vero locis ad Episcopum, vel alium ha- bentem scientiam libri vel scripturae im- primendae, ab eodem Episcopo deputan- dum, ac Inquisitorem haereticae pravita tis ejus civitatis, vel dioecesis, in qua impressio fiet, ejus approbatio et examen pertineat, et per eorum manum propriS. subscriptione gratis et sine dilatione im- ponendam sub poenis et censuris in eodem decreto contentis approbetur: hac lege et conditione addita., ut exem- plum fibri imprimendi authenticum, et manu auctoris subscriptum, apud ex- aminatorem remaneat; eos vero, qui libellos manuscriptos vulgant, nisi ante examinati probatique fuerint iisdem pce- nis subjici debere judic&runt Patres de- putati, quibus impressores : et qui eos habuerint et legerint, nisi auctores pro diderint, pro auctoribus habeantur. Ip sa vero hujusmodi librorum probatio in scriptis detur, et in fronte libri vel scripti, vel impressi authentice appareat, probatioque et examen ac cetera gra- tias fiant. Praeterea in singulis civitatibus ac dioBcesibus, domus vel loci ubi ars im- pressoria exercetur, et bibliothecae li brorum venialium saepius visitentur a personis ad id deputandis ab Episcopo, sive ejus Vicario, atque etiam ab In quisitore haereticae pravitatis, ut nihil eorum quae prohibentur, aut imprimatur, aut vendatur, aut habeatur. Omnes vero Ubrarii, et quicumque librorum venditores habeant in suis bibliothecis Indicem librorum venalium, quos habent, cum subscriptione dictarum personarum, nee alios libros habeant, aut vendant aut quacumque ratione tradant, sine licen tia eorumdem deputandorum, sub pcenS. amissionis librorum, et aliis arbitrio Episcoporum vel Inqnisitorum impo- nendis. Emptores vero lectores, vel impressores, eorumdem arbitrio punian tur. Quod si aliqui libros quoscumque in aliquam civitatem introducant, tene antur eisdem personis deputandis re- nunciare : vel si locus publicus merci- bus ejusmodi constitutus sit, ministri. the sacred palace, or other persons chosen by our most holy father for that purpose. In other places, the examination of any book or manuscript intended to be print ed shall be referred to the bishop, or some skilful person whom he shall nominate, and the inquisitor of heretical pravity of the city or diocess in which the impression is executed, who shall gratuitously and without delay aflBx their approbation to the work in their own handwriting, subject, nevertheless, to the pains and censures contained in the said decree ; this law and condition being added, that an authentic copy of the book to be printed, signed by the author himself, shall remain in the hands of the examiner : and it is the judgment of the fathers of the present deputation, that those persons who pub lish works in manuscript, before they have been examined and approved, should be subject to ihe same penalties as those who print them, and that those who read or possess them should be con sidered as the authors, if the real au thors of such writings do not avow themselves. The approbation given in writing shall be placed at the head of the books, whether printed or in manu script, that they may appear to be duly authorized; and this examination and approbation, &c., shall be granted gra tuitously. " Moreover, in every city and diocess, the house or places where the art of print-- ing is exercised, and also ihe shops qf booksellers, shall be frequently visited by persons deputed for that purpose by the bishop or his vicar, conjointly with the inquisitor qf heretical pravity, so thai nothing that is prohibited may be printed, kept, or sold. Booksellers qf every de scription shall keep in their libraries a catalogue of the books which they have on sale, signed by the said deputies ; nor shall they keep or sell, nor in any way dispose of any other books, without per mission from the deputies, under pain OF FORFEITING THE BOOKS, AND BEING LIABLE TO SUCH OTHER PENALTIES AS shall be judged PROPER BT THE BISHOP OR INQUISITOR, WHO SHALL AL SO PUNISH THE BUTERS, READERS, OR PRINTERS OF SUCH WORKS. If any per son import foreign books into any city, they shall be obliged io announce them to the deputies; or if this kind of mer chandise be exposed to sale in any public 496 HISTORY OP ROMANISM. [book vii. Books of deceased persons not to be used, till examined by inquisitors. Punishments of disobedience. publici ejus loci praedictis personis sig- nificent libros esse adductos. Nemo ve ro audeat librum, quem ipse vel alius in civitatem introduxit, alicui legendum tradere, vel aliqui ratione alienare, aut commodare, nisi ostenso priiis libro, et habita licentia a personis deputandis, aut nisi notorie constet, librum jam esse omnibus permissum. Idem quoque servetur ab heredibus et executoribus ultimarum voluntatum, ut libros a defunctis relictos, sive eorum indicem illis personis deputandis ofier- rant, et ab iis licentiam obtineant, prius- quam eis utantur, aut in alias personas quacumque ratione transferant. In his autem omnibus et singulis poena statua- tur vel amissionis librorum, vel alia ar bitrio eorumdem Episcoporum, vel In- quisitorum pro qualitate contumaciae vel delicti. Circa vero libros, quos Patres depu- tati examinarunt aut expugnarunt, aut expurgandos tradiderunt, aut certis con ditionibus, ut rursus excuderentur, con- cesserunt, quidquid illos statuisse con- stiterit, tam bibliopolae, quam ceteri ob- servent. Liberum tamen sit Episcopis aut Inquisitoribus generalibus secun- diim facultatem quam habent, etiam libros, qui his regulis permitti videntur, prohibere, si hoc in suis regnis, aut pro- vinciis, vel diaecessibus expedire judi- caverint. Ceteriim nomina, cum libro rum qui a: Patribus deputatis purgati sunt, tum eorum quibus illi hanc pro- vinciam dederunt, eorumdem deputato- rum Secretarius notario Sacrae univer salis Inquisitionis Romae descripta Sanctissimi Domini nostri jussu tradidit. Ad extremum vero omnibus fidelibus praecipitur, ne quis audeat contra harum regularum praescriptum, aut hujus in dicis prohibitionem libros aliquos legere aut habere. Quod si quis libros haere ticorum, vel cujusvis auctoris scripta, ob haeresin, ob falsi dogmatis suspicio- nem damnata atque prohibita, legerit, sive habuerit, statim in excommunica tionis sententiam incurrat. Qui vero libros alio nomine interdictos legerit, aut habuerit, praeter peccati mortalis reatum, quo afficitur, judicio Episcopo rum severe puniatur. place, ihe public officers of the place shall signify to the said depuii^, that such books have been brought ; and no one SHALL PRESUME TO GIVE TO READ, OR LEND, OR SELL, ANT BOOK WHICH HE OR ANT OTHER PERSON HAS BROUGHT INTO THE CITT, UNTIL HE HAS SHOWS IT TO THE DEPUTIES, AND OBTAINED THEIR PERMISSION, unless it be a work well known to be universally allowed. " Heirs and testamentary executors shall make no use of the books of the de ceased, nor in any way transfer them to others, until they have presented a cata logue of ihem io the deputies, and ob tained their license, under pain of the confiscation of ihe books, or the inflic tion OF SUCH other PUNISHMENT as the bishop or inquisitor shall deem proper, according to ihe contumacy or quality cf the delinquent. " With regard io those books which the fathers of ihe present deputation shall examine, or correct, or deliver to be cor rected, or permit to be reprinted on cer tain conditions, booksellers and others shall be bound to observe whatever is or dained respecting ihem. The bishops and general inquisitors shall, nevertheless, he at liberty, according to ihe power they possess, to prohibit such books as may seem to be permitted by these rules, if they deem it necessary for ihe good ofAe kingdom, or province, or diocess. And lei ihe secretary of those fathers, accord ing to the command of our holy father, transmit to the notary of the general in quisitor, the names of the books that have been corrected, as well as of the persons to whom tlie fathers have granted the power of examination. " FiNALLT, IT IS ENJOINED ON ALL THE FAITHFUL, THAT NO ONE PRESUME TO KEEP OR BEAD ANT BOOKS COHTRART TO THESE RULES, OR PROHIBITED BT THIS INDEX. But if ant one KEEP OR READ ANT BOOKS COMPOSED BT HERE TICS, OR THE WRITINGS OF ANT AUTHOR SUSPECTED OF HEREST, OR FALSE DOC TRINE, HE SHALL INSTANTLT INCUR THE SENTENCE OF EXCOMMUNICATION; AND THOSE WHO READ OR KEEP WORKS IN TERDICTED ON ANOTHER ACCOUNT, BE SIDES THE MORTAL SIN COMMITTED, SHALL BE SEVERELT PUNISHED AT THE WILL OF THE BISHOPS." CHAP, n.l POPERY AT TRENT— A.D. 1646-1663. 497 Authors honored with a place in the index. Extracts ftam a popish license to read heretical books. § 15. — The committee appointed at the council of Trent, and under whose supervision the above rules were drawn up, was made permanent, and exists at the present day under the style of " the congregation of the index." Under the care of this committee, the original index of prohibited books has ever since been receiving constant additions, and of course, by this time, has grown to a pon derous size. Among the names of authors included in this index prohibitorius, are many familiar and dear to the protestant world : Wickliff, Luther, Calvin, Bucer, Zwinglius, Melancthon, Beza, Tyn dal, Cranmer, Ridley, Latimer, Knox, Coverdale, Bishop Hooper, John Fox, John Huss, Jerome of Prague, Addison, Lord Bacon, George Buchanan, Cave, Claude, Grotius, Sir Matthew Hale, Locke, Milton, Mosheim, Robertson, Saurin, Jeremy Taylor, Young, the author of Night Thoughts, and even Leigh Richmond, the sainted author of that sweet little tract, which has been the means of lead ing so many souls to Christ, has, for writing " The Dairyman's Daughter," been honored (for it is an honor) by a place in this pro- scriptive popish index.* None of theworks of these authors are allowed to be read by the blinded and priest-ridden votaries of Rome, according to the above rules of the index, without a special license from the popish bishop ; and this can only be obtained by favored individuals under very peculiar circumstances. Bishop Burnet, in the collection of records appended to his history of the Reformation, has preserved a Latin copy of such a hcense, granted by the Romish Bishop Tonstal, of London, on the 7th of March, 1527, to the celebrated papist. Sir Tho mas More, who was about to write against the reformed doctrines, from which the following extracts are translated : — " Forasmuch as the church of God has, of late throughout Germany, been infested by heretics, certain sons of iniquity have joined together, who are endeavoruig to bring into our country the ancient damned heresy of Wickliff and of Luther, and are publishing in great abundance their most corrupt writings into our vernacular tongue ; and striv ing with great efforts to corrupt the truth of the Catholic faith by their most pestilential dogmas. And forasmuch as it is greatly to be feared that the Catholic verity may be in danger, unless good and learned men oppose themselves to the malignity of the afore said men, &c. . . . And forasmuch as thou, most famous brother, both in our own tongue and in Latin can excel even a Demosthenes," &c. The document then alludes, as an example, to the most illus- * Beside the index prohibitorius, the papists have their index expurgaiorius — that is, an index of books not entirely prohibited, hut in which certain passages are expurgated ; and this includes multitudes of passages not only from protestant but from Romish writers, and even from various editions of the works of the Fathers. For a fuU account of both these indexes, see that valuable, learned, and authentic work, " Mendham's Literary Policy of the Church of Rome, exhib ited in an account of the damnatory catalogues, or Indices, both Prohibitory and Expurgatory." London, 1820. 498 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [book vii. Bishop Tonstal's license to Sir Thomas More to read the works of Luther, Sec— note. trious king, Henry VIIL, who by his defence of the Sacraments of the Church " had merited the immortal name of the Defender of the faith," and to the writings of Luther, by reading of which Sir Thomas might understand in what lurking places these crooked serpents hide themselves ' quibus latibulis tortuosi serpentes sese condant ;' and after exhorting him to obtain an immortal name by thus defending the church against the heretics, concludes by grant ing him the license to read the heretical books in the following words : " To that end we grant and concede unto you the power and license of keeping and reading books of this kind."* May the time never arrive when the free-born sons of Protestant America, before being at liberty to write, and to pubhsh, and to read what they choose, must, like the ignorant and degraded inhab- * The following is a correct transcript of this curious and ancient document: " Cuthbertus permissione Divina London Episcopus Clarissimo et Egregio viro Domino Thomae More fratri et amico Charissimo Salutem in Domino et Benedict. Quia nuper, postquam Ecclesia Dei per Germaniam ab haereticis infestata est, juncti sunt nonnuUi iniquitatis Filii, qui veterem et damnatum haeresim Wycliffi- anam et Lutherianam, etiam haeresis WyclifiianEE alumni transferendis in nostra- tem vernaculam linguam corruptissimis quibuscunq ; eorum opusctdis, atque illis ipsis magna copia impressis, in hanc nostram Regionem inducere conantur ; quam sane pestilentissimis dogmatibus Catholicae fidei veritati repugnantibus maculare atq; inficere magnis conatibus moliuntui. Magnopere igitur verendum est ne Catholica Veritas in totum periclitetur nisi boni et eruditi viri malignitati tam pize- dictorum hominum strenue occurrant, id quod nulla ratione melius et aptius fieri poterit, quam si in lingua Catholica Veritas in totum expugnans haec insana dog mata simul etiam ipsissima prodeat in lucem. " Quo fiet ut Sacrarum Literarum imperiti homines in manus sumentes novos istos HtEreticos Libros, atq ; una etiam Catholicos ipsos refellentes, vel ipsi per se verum discernere, vel, ab aliis quorum perspicacius est judicium recte admoneri et doceri possint. Et quia tu, Frater Clarissime, in lingua nostra vernacula, sicut etiam in Latina, Demosthenem quendam praestare potes, et Cathohcae veritatis as- sertor acerrimus in omni congressu esse soles, melius subcisivas horas, si quas tuis occupationibus suffurari potes, collocare nunquam poteris, quam in nostrate lingua aliqua edas quae simplicibus et ideotis hominibus subdolam hsreticorum malignitatem aperiant, ac contra tam impios Ecclesiae supplantatores reddant eos instructiores ; habes ad id exemplum quod imiteris prae-clarissimum, illustrissi Do- niini nostri Regis Henrici octavi, qui Sacramenta Ecclesiae contra Lutherum tolis viribus ea subvertentem asserere aggressus, im'mortale nomen Defensoris Ecclesia in omne EEVum promeruit. Et ne Andabatarum more cum ejusmpdi larvis lucteris, ignorans ipse quod oppugnes, mitto ad te insanas in nostrate lingua istorum nae- nias, atque una etiam nonnuUos Lutheri Libros ex quibus haec opinionum monstra prodierunt. " Quibus abs te diligenter perlectis, facilius intelligas quibus latibulis tortuosi ser pentes sese condant, quibusq ; anfractibus elabi deprehensi studeant. Magni enim ad victoriam moment! est hostium Consilia explorata habere, et quid sentiant quove tendant penitus nosse : nam si convellere pares quae isti se non seflsisse dicent, in totum perdas operam. Macte igitur virtute, tam sanctum opus aggre- dere, quo et Dei Ecclesiae prosis, et tibi immortale nomen atq ; aeternam m Ccelis gloriam pares : quod ut facias atque Dei Ecclesiam tuo patrocinio mnnias, magno pere in Domino obsecramus, atq ; ad ilium finem ejusmodi libros et retinendi et legendi facultatem atq ; licentiam impertimur et concedimus. Dat. 7 die Martii, Anno 1527 et nostras Cons, sexto." (Regist. Tonst., Fol. 138; Burnet, ml iv., p. 4.) CHAP, iil] POPERY AT TRENT— A. D. 1545-1663, 499 FiUh and Sixth Session. Canons atMl curses on original sin remitted by baptism and on jusUflcaUon. itants of popish countries,* humbly sue for permission to the despotic priests and inquisitors of Rome ! CHAPTER m. original sin AND JUSTIFICATION. § 16. — The Fifth Session was held June 17th, 1546. After several days spent in unprofitable debate upon the subject of original sin, in which more use was made of the subtleties of Aquinas and Bona- ventura and of the unintelligible dogmas of the schoolmen than of the word of God, a decree was passed, which is hardly worth recording, expressive of the views of Rome on this point, and con cluding as usual with the awful anathema on all who presumed even to think differently. The following two brief extracts are sufficient, as specimens of the spirit of this decree : — Si quis parvulos recentes ab uteris Whosoever shall afiirm, that new- matrum baptizandos negat, etiam si fu- bom infants, even though sprung from erint a baptizatis parentibus orti, &c., baptized parents, ought not to be bap- ANATHEMA SIT. tized, &c., LET HIM BE ACCURSED. Si quis per Jesu Christi Domini nos- Whosoever shall deny that the guilt tri gratiam, quae in Baptismate confer- of original sin is remitted by the grace of tur, reatum originalis peccati remitti ne- onr Lord Jesus Christ, bestowed in bap- gat, &.C. Si quis autem contrarium tism, &c. If ant one THINKS differ- senserit, ANATHEMA SIT. entlt, LET HIM BE ACCURSED. The Sixth Session was to have been held July 28th, but the pro tracted debates on the important subject of justiwcation so long de layed the preparation of the decree that it had to be deferred till the 13th of January, 1547, when a long decree, consisting of six teen chapters and thirty-three canons, was finally passed. A few of the canons and curses will be sufficient to indicate the doctrine of Rome on this point. Si quis dixerit, homines justificari vel Whoever shall affirm, thai men are sola, imputatione justitiae Christi, vel justified solely by ihe imputation of the sola peccatorum remissione, exclusal righteousness of Christ, by the remission gratiai, et charitate, quae in cordibus of sin, to the exclusion of grace and eorum per Spiritum sanctum difiimda- charity, which is shed abroad in their tur, atque illis inhaereat ; aut etiam gra- hearts, and inheres in them ; or that the tiam, qual justificamur, esse tantvim fa- grace by which we are justified is only voremDei; ANATHEMA SIT. the favor of God; LET HIM BE AC CURSED. * In popish priest-ridden Spain these prohibitions of the index still operate in all their force, and wo be to the man who presumes to sell or to read a book pro scribed by these priestly enemies of the freedom of the press. " There is still fixed," says Mr. Bourgoing, " every year, at the church doors, the index, or list of those books, especially foreign, of which the holy ofiice has thought fit to inter dict the reading, on pain of excommunication." Modem State of Spain, ii., p. 276. 30 500 HISTORY OF ROMANISM, [book vn. Canons and curses of the council on Justification. Si quis hominem semel justificatum dixerit amplius peccare non posse, neque gratiam amittere, atque ideo eum qui labitur, et peccat, nunquam vere fu isse justificatum ; aut contra, posse in tota vita peccata omnia, etiam venialia, vitare, nisi ex speciali Dei privilegio, quemadmodiim de beata Virgine tenet Ecclesia; ANATHEMA SIT. Si quis dixerit, justitiam acceptam non conservari, atque etiam augeri co ram Deo per bona opera ; sed opera ipsa fructus solummodo et signa esse justifi- cationis adeptas, non autem ipsius au- genda; causam; ANATHEMA SIT. Si quis in quolibet bono opere justum saltem venialiter peccare dixerit, aut, quod intolerabilius est, mortaliter ; atque ideo poenas aetemas mereri ; tantumque ob id non damnari, quia Deus ea opera non imputet ad danmationem ; ANA THEMA SIT. Si quis dixerit, eum, qui post Baptis- mnm lapsus est, non posse per Dei gra tiam resurgere, aut posse quidem, sed sola, fide amissam justitiam recuperare sine Sacramento Poenitentiae, prout sancta Romana, et universalis Ecclesia, a Christo Domino, et ejus Apostolis edocta, hue usque professa est, servavit, et docuit : ANATHEMA SIT. Si quis post acceptam justificationis gratiam, cuilibet peccatori poenitenti ita culpam remitti, et reatum aBternae poenae deleri dixerit, ut nullus remaneat reatus pfflnae temporalis exsolvendae vel in hoc seculo, vel in futuro in Purgatorio, an tequam ad regna coelorum aditus patere possit ; ANATHEMA SIT. Si quis dixerit, hominis justificati bona opera ita esse dona Dei, ut non sint etiam bona ipsius justificati merita ; aut, ipsum justificatum bonis operibus, quae ab eo per Dei gratiam, et Jesu Christi meritum, cujus vivum membrum est, Sunt, non vere mereri augmentum gra- tiae, vitam aeternam, et ipsius vitae aeter- nae, si tamen in gratia decesserit, con- secutionem, atque etiam gloriae augmen tum ; ANATHEMA SIT. Whoever shall affirm, that a man once justified cannot fall into sin any more, nor lose grace, and therefore that he who falls into sin never was truly justified ; or, on the other hand, that he is able, all his life long, to avoid all sins, even such as are venial, and that without a special privilege from God, such as the church believes was granted to the blessed Virgin ; LET HIM BE ACCURSED. Whoever shall affirm, that justifi cation received is not preserved, and even increased, in the sight of God, by good works ; but that works are only the fruits and evidences of justification received, and not the causes of its in crease : LET HIM BE ACCURSED. Whoever shall affirm, that a righteona man sins in every good work, at least venially ; or, which is yet more intolera ble, mortally ; and that he therefore de serves eternal punishment, and only for this reason is not condemned, that God does not impute his works to condemna tion ; LET HIM BE ACCURSED. Whoever shall affirm, that he who has fallen after baptism cannot by the grace of God rise again ; or that if he can, it is possible for him to recover his lost righteousness by faith only, without the sacrament qf penance, which the holy Roman and universal church, in structed by Christ the Lord and his Apostles, has to this day professed, kept, and taught ; LET HIM BE AC CURSED. Whoever shall, affirm, that when the grace of justification is received, the of fence of the penitent sinner is so for given, and the sentence of eternal pun ishment reversed, that there remains no temporal punishment to be endured, be fore his entrance into the kingdom of heaven, either in this world, or in ihefur ture state, in purgatory ; LET HIM BE ACCURSED. Whoever shall affirm, that the good works of a justified man are in such sense the gifts of God, that they are not also his worthy merits ; or that he, being justified 'by- his good works, which are wrought by him through the grace of God, and the merits of Jesus Christ, of whom he is a living member, does not really deserve increase of grace, eternal life, the enjoyment of that eternal life if he dies in a state of grace, and even an increase of glory ; LET HIM BE AC CURSED. CHAP.ia] POPERY AT TRENT— A. D. 1545-15C3. 501 Way in which Popery makes the work of Christ a stepping-stone for human merit. § 17. — Thus did the doctors of Trent transform the finished work of our Lord J esus Christ, into a mere stepping-stone for human merit, and teach men to look rather to their own good works as the founda tion of their hope than to the glorious righteousness of the Son of God imputed to the believer, and received by faith ; and such has ever been the doctrine of Rome. Still further to " darken counsel," the doctors connected justification with baptism, whether in the case of an infant or an adult. Is an individual distressed on account of sin ? If he was baptized in infancy, he is told that he was then justified, and that penance is now the path to peace, the " second plank after ship wreck." If he was not baptized in infancy, as soon as that ordin ance is administered he is assured that he is safe. He is not bidden to look to the cross of Christ ; nothing is said of the " blood that cleanseth from all sin ;" he has been washed in the " laver of regene ration ;" the " instrumental cause" of justification, and with this he is to be satisfied. Here is no room for the Apostolic declaration, " Being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ" (Rom. v., 1) : it is shut out altogether. The effect of these sentiments on the mind, and the influence it is intended they should exert, may be ascertained by a reference to the manner in which they are interwoven with the devotional exer cises of Roman Catholics. The following extracts are taken from the " Garden of the Soul." A "Morning Prayer" contains these expressions : " I desire by thy grace to make satisfaction for my sins by worthy fruits of penance ; and I will willingly accept from thy hands whatever pains, crosses, or sufferings I shall meet with during the remainder of my life, or at my death, as just punishments of my iniquities ; begging that they may be united to the sufferings and death of my Redeemer, and sanctified by his passion, in which is all my hope for mercy, grace, and salvation." " How very short the time of this life is, which is given us in order to labor for eternity, and to send before us a stock of good works, on which we may live for eternity." The sick person is thus instructed, " Beg that God would accept of all your pains and uneasiness, in union with the suf ferings of your Saviour Jesus Christ, in deduction of the punish ment due to your sins." On these passages no comment is re quired : their design and tendency are sufficiently apparent. We add some specimens of the prayers prescribed in the Roman Missal. " Let our fasts, we beseech thee, O Lord, be acceptable to thee, that by atoning for our sins, they may both make us worthy of thy grace, and bring us to the everlasting effects of thy promise." "Receive, O Lord, we beseech thee, the prayers of the faithful, to gether with these oblations ; that by these duties of piety they may obtain eternal life."* " O God, who by innumerable miracles hast honored blessed Nicholas, the bishop ; grant, we beseech thee, that by his merits and intercession we may be delivered from eternal * Roman Missal for the use of the Laity, pp. 61, 337 502 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [book vb. Tyndal and Luther on the glorious doctrine of justification by faith. flames."* " O God, who wast pleased to send blessed Patrick, thy bishop and confessor, to preach thy glory to the Gentiles ; grant, that by his merits and intercession we may, through thy grace, be enabled to keep thy commandments."t " 0 God, who hast translated the blessed Dunstan, thy high priest, to thy heavenly kingdom ; grant that we, by his glorious merits, may pass from hence .to never- ending joys."j " O God, who grantest us to celebrate the transla tion of the relics of blessed Thomas, thy martyr and bishop ; we humbly beseech thee that, by his merits and prayers, we may pass from vice to virtue, and from the prison of this flesh to an eternal kingdom."§ § 18. — In opposition to these anti-scriptural popish sentiments, it is cheering to turn to the glorious doctrine advocated by Luther, Melancthon, and their noble associates in the work of reforma tion. There was no doctrine upon which the reformers were more unanimously agreed, than the glorious truth of justification by faith alone through the righteousness of our Lord Jesus Christ. Says the martyred Tyndal, the early translator of the New Testament, in his " Prologe to the Romayns :" " The somme and hole cause of the writing of this epistle is, to prove that a man is justified by fayth onely ; which proposition whoso denyeth, to him is not onely this Episjtle and al that Paul wryteth, but also the hole Scripture so locked up, that he shall never understand it to his soul's health." Luther calls this doctrine ' articulus stantis aut cadentis ecclesia' — the article by which a church stands or falls ; he says, " it is the head corner-stone which supports, nay, gives existence and life to the church of God ; so that without it the church cannot subsist for an hour." — He calls it the " only solid rock." " This Christian article," he writes, " can never be handled and inculcated enough. If this doctrine fall and perish, the knowledge of every truth in religion will fall and perish with it. On the contrary, if this do but flourish, all good things will also flourish, namely, true religion, the true worship of God, the glory of God, and a right knowledge of every thing which it becomes a Christian to know.|| The followmg memorable protestation of Luther on this subject, deserves to be written in letters of gold. " I, Martin Luther, an un worthy preacher of the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, thus pro fess, and thus believe ; that this article, that faith alone, without WORKS, can justify BEFORE GOD, shall ucvcr be overthrown, neither by the Emperor, nor by the Turk, nor by the Tartar, nor by the Pope, with all his cardinals, bishops, sacrificers, monks, nuns, kings, * Roman Missal for the use of the Laity, p. 527. f Ibid., p. 563. | Ibid., p. 685, } Ibid., 614. The late celebrated Romanist, Dr. Milner, said of bishop Poynter, « that he would give the universe to possess half his merit in the sight of God." Laity's Directory, 1829, p. 74. Cramp, 115. There is a striking sunilarity, or rather identity between the doctrines of the Oxford Puseyites and the Romanists on the article of Justification. For proof of this, and extracts from Puseyite writings, see M'llvaine on the Oxford Divinity— passim. II Mflner's Church history, vol. iv., p. 515. Scott's Continuation of Milner, vol. i., p. 527. Cramp 112. OHAP. III.] POPERY AT TRENT— A D. 1645-1563. 503 LuUier'B noble protestation. His visit to Rome. The just shall live by faith. prmces, powers of the world, nor yet by all the devils in hell. This article shall stand fast whether they will or no. This is the true Gospel. Jesus Christ redeemed us from our sins, and he only. This most firm and certain truth is the voice of Scripture, though the world and all the devils rage and roar. If Christ alone take away our sins, we cannot do this with our works ; and as it is im possible to embrace Christ but by faith, it is therefore equally impos sible to apprehend him by works. If, then, faith must apprehend Christ, before works can follow, the conclusion is irrefragable, that faith alone apprehends him, before and without the consideration of works ; and this is our justification and deliverance from sin. Then, and not till then, good works follow faith as its necessary and INSEPARABLE FRUIT. This is the doctrinc I teach ; and this the Holy Spirit and the Church of the faithful have delivered. In this will I abide. Amen."* § 19. — And it was no wonder that Luther loved this doctrine of jus tification by faith. It was that blessed passage, " the just shall live by faith" that first darted a ray of gospel peace and joy into his mind, when struggling to obtain ease for a wounded conscience by the ceremonies and mummeries of Popery. In 1510, the future re former was dispatched on a journey to Rome. On his way thither, the poor German monk was entertained at a wealthy convent of the Benedictines, situated on the Po, in Lombardy. This convent enjoyed a revenue of thirty-six thousand ducats ; twelve thousand were spent for the table, twelve thousand on the buildings, and twelve thousand to supply the other wants of the monks. The magnificence of the apartments, the richness of the dresses, and the delicacy of the viands, astonished Luther. Marble, silk, and luxury of every kind ; what a novel spectacle to the humble brother of the convent of Wittemberg ! He was amazed and silent ; but Friday came, and what was his surprise ! The table of the Benedictines was spread with abundance of meats. Then he found courage to speak out. " The Church," said he, " and the Pope forbid such things." The Benedictines were oflended at this rebuke from the mimannerly German. But Luther, having repeated his remark, and perhaps threatened to report their irregularity, some of them thought it easiest to get rid of their troublesome guest. The porter of the convent hinted to him that he incurred danger by his stay. He accordingly took his departure from this epicurean monastery, and pursued his journey to Bologna, where he fell sick. Some have seen in this sickness the effects of poison. It is more probable that the change in his mode of living, disordered the frugal monk of Wittemberg, who had been used to subsist for the most part on dry bread and herrings. This sickness was not "unto death," but for the glory of God. His constitutional sadness and depression returned. What a fate was before him, to perish thus far away from Germany under a scorching sun, in a foreign land I The dis- * Lives of the Eminent Reformers, p. 98 : Dublin, 1828. 504 HISTORY OP ROMANISM. [book vn. Luther climbing Pilate's stair-case for indulgence. His horror and shame at himself. tress of mind he had experienced at Erfurth again oppressed him. A sense of his sins disturbed him ; and the prospect of the judgment of God filled him with dismay. But in the moment when his terror was at its height that word of Paul, " The just shall live by Faith" recurred with power to his mind, and beamed upon his soul like a ray from heaven. Raised and comforted, he rapidly regained health, and again set forth for Rome, expecting to find there a very different manner of life from that of the Lombard convents, and eager to efface, by the contemplation of Roman sanctity, the sad impression left upon his memory by his sojourn on the banks of the Po. § 20. — On his arrival at Rome, with the hope one day of obtaining an indulgence promised by the Pope to any one who should ascend on his knees what is called Pilate's staircase, the poor Saxon monk was slowly climbing those steps which they told him had been miraculously transported from Jerusalem to Rome. But whilst he was going through this meritorious work, he thought he heard a voice like thunder speaking from the depth of his heart : " The just SHALL live by FAITH." Thcsc words, which already on two occa sions had struck upon his ear as the voice of an angel of God, re sounded instantaneously and powerfully within him. He started up in terror on the steps up which he had been crawling ; he was hor rified at himself; and, struck with shame for the degradation to which superstition had debased him, he fled from the scene of his folly. . This powerful text had a mysterious influence on the life of Lu ther. It was a creative word for the reformer and for the refor mation. It was by means of that word that God then said : " Let there be light, and there was light." It is frequently necessary that a truth should be repeatedly presented to our minds, in order to produce its due effect. Luther had often studied the Epistle to the Romans, and yet never had justification by faith, as there taught, appeared so clear to him. He now understood that righteousness which alone can stand in the sight of God ; he was now partaker of that perfect obedience of Christ which God imputes freely to the sinner as soon as he looks in humility to the God-man crucified. This was the decisive epoch in the inward life of Luther. That faith which had saved him from the fear of death became hencefor ward the soul of his theology ; a stronghold in every danger, giv ing power to his preaching and strength to his charity, constitutmg a ground of peace, a motive to service, and a consolation in life and death.* * Merle D'Aubignl, pp. 64, 65. 505 CHAPTER IV. THE SACRAMENTS AND THE DOCTRINE OP INTENTION. BAPTISM AND CONFIRMATION. § 21. — The Seventh Session. — It was resolved by the fathers of Trent at the first general congregation,* after the sixth session of the council, that the subject of the next doctrinal decrees should be the sacraments. Respecting the number of the sacraments, the members were pretty generally agreed. It was held that they were seven, viz., baptism, confirmation, the eucharist, penance, ex treme unction, orders, and matrimony. In support of this number, they adduced tradition and the most fanciful analogies. Some of them gravely argued that since seven is a perfect number, since there are seven days in the week, seven excellent virtues, seven deadly sins, seven planets, &c., therefore, as a matter of course, there must be seven sacraments. Such was the boasted wisdom of the united talent and learning of this infallible popish council 1 Still, it is not astonishing that the fathers resorted to arguments like these, in support of seven sacraments, since it was impossible to find in the New Testament a single argument for more than two, viz., baptism and the Lord's Supper. f The doctrinal decree was ready by the 3d of March, 1547, and was promulgated in the seventh session held on that day. A few extracts from it will be sufficient. The decree was divided into three parts. (1) Of the sacraments in general, (2) of baptism, (3) of confirmation. The following are extracts from the first part, the sacraments in general. Ad consummationera salutaris de jus- In order to complete the exposition tificatione doctrinie, quze, in prsEcedenti of the wholesome doctrine of justifica- proxima Sessione uno omnium Patrum tion, published in the last session hy consensu promulgata fuit ; consentaneum the unanimous consent of the fathers, visum est de sanctissimis Ecclesize Sa- it hath been deemed proper to treat of cramentis agere, per quEe omnis vera the holy sacraments of the church, by justitia vel incipit, vel ccepta augetur, which all true righteousness is at first vel amissa reparatur. Propterek sacro- imparted, then increased, and after- sancta oecumenica et generalis Triden- wards restored, if lost. For which tina Synodus, in Spiritu sancto legitime cause the sacred, holy, oecumenical and congregata, &c. . . . sanctarum Scrip- general council of Trent, lawfully as- turarum doctrinEe, Apostolicis traditioni- sembled, &c., abiding by the doctrine bus, atque aliorum Conciliorum et Pa- of the sacred scriptures, the tradition trum consensui inhaerendo, hos prae- of the apostles, and the uniform con- * The meetings of the council for debating the various subjects, and for pre paring the decrees, were generally called Congregations. When the decrees were in readiness, the Session was held at which &ey were authoritatively pro- midgated and enacted. t See Father Paul's History of the council of Trent, lib. ii., s. 86. 506 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [book vn. Canons and curses of the council on the Sacramenta and Intention. sent of other councils, and of the fathers, hath resolved to frame and de cree these following canons, &c. Whoever shall affirm that the sacra ments of the new law were not all in stituted by Jesus Christ our Lord, or that they are more or fewer than seven namely baptism, confirmation, the eu charist, penance, extreme unction, or ders, and matrimony, or that any of these seven is not truly and properly a sacrament : LET HIM BE ACCURS ED. Whoever shall affirm that the sacra ments of the new law are not necessary to salvation, but superfluous; or that men may obtain the grace of justificar tion by faith only, without these sacra ments, although it is granted that they are not all necessary to every indivi dual :* LET HIM BE ACCURSED. Whoever shall affirm that the sacra ments of the new law do not contain the grace which they signify ; or that they do not confer thai grace on those who place no obstacle in its way ; as if they were only the external signs of grace or righteousness received by faith, and marks of Christian profession, whereby the faithful are distinguished from un believers : LET HIM BE ACCURSED. Whoever shall affirm that grace is not conferred by these sacraments of the new law, by their own power \ex open operaio'] ; but that faith in the divine promise is all that is necessary to ob tain grace : LET HIM BE ACCURS ED. Whoever shall affirm that when ministers perform and confer a sacra ment, it is not necessary that they should at least have the intention to do what the church does : LET HEM BE ACCURSED. § 22. — This last canon and curse with respect to the doctrine of intention, demands a few words of explanation. The doctrine of Popery is that the validity of a sacrament depends upon the intention of the officiating priest ; so that no man can be sure that he has been duly baptized, unless he can be sure that the priest not only pronounced the formula of the words, but also had the intention in his mind to baptize him. So in like manner, no one can be sure that he has received absolution from the priest, or that he has duly re ceived the sacrament of the eucharist, unless he can look into the sentes canones statuendos, et decernen- dos censuit, &c. Si quis dixerit, Sacramenta novas legis non fuisse omnia a Jesu Christo, Domino nostro, instituta ; aut esse plura vel pauciora qukm septem, videlicet, Baptismum, Confirmationem, Eucharis- tiam, Pcenitentiam, Extremam Unctio- nem, Ordinem, et Matrimonium ; aut etiam aliquod horum septem non esse verfe et proprie Sacramentum ; AN ATHEMA SIT. Si quis dixerit Sacramenta novae legis non esse ad salutem necessaria, sed superflua ; et sine eis, aut eorum voto per solam fidem homines a Deo gratiam justificationis adipisci ; licet omnia sin gulis necessaria non sint ; ANATHE MA SIT. Si quis dixerit, Sacramenta novae legis non continere gratiam, quam significant, aut gratiam ipsam non ponentibus, obi- cem non conferre, quasi signa tantiim externa sint acceptae per fidem gratiae vel justitiae, et notae quEcdam Christianae professionis, quibus apud homines dis- cemuntur fideles ab infidelibus ; AN ATHEMA SIT. Si quis dixerit, per ipsa novae legis Sacramenta ex opere operate non con- ferri gratiam, sed solam fidem divina promissionis ad gratiam consequendam sufficere ; ANATHEMA SIT. Si quis dixerit, in ministris, diim Sa cramenta conficiunt, et conferunt, non requiri intentionem saltem faciendi quod 'facit Ecclesia; ANATHEMA SIT. * This exception refers, doubtless, to orders and matrimony. culiar to the priesthood, the latter forbidden to them. The former pe- CHAP. IV.] POPERY AT TRENT— A. D. 1546-1563. 507 Absurdity of the Romish doctrine of Intention. heart of the minister and be sure that he had the intention duly to administer these rites. Now, as Romanism teaches that these are absolutely necessary to salvation, and the validity of all depends upon the state of the priest's mind, unknown to any but the omni scient God ; in what a distressing state of doubt and anxiety must those be who seriously believe these doctrines and attentively re flect upon them ! How different, all this, from the gospel plan of immediate access to the mercy seat ; not through the medium of a fallible > and often corrupt and depraved mortal, but through the Lord Jesus Christ himself, the great Apostle and High Priest of our profession. Popery says, " come to the priest ; if he baptize you, if he absolve you, then you may be saved ; but if he refuse to do it, then you shall be damned. Or if he do it, but without the due in tention of mind (of which you can never be absolutely sure), then he may utter the formula of baptism, he may pronounce the words of absolution, but still you shall be damned I for in the words of the decree, the ' intention' of the priest is essential to the validity of the act, and the act validly performed is necessary to salvation." On the other hand the Scriptures say — and Protestantism re-echoes the blessed invitation — " Come to Christ ; for ' he is able to save unto the uttermost, all that come unto God by him !' ' Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved' — and ' him that cometh unto me I will in no wise cast out.' " In the one system, all is made to depend on the priest, and the sinner is thus held in the chains of mental bondage to a miserable mortal ; in the other all is shown to depend on Christ, and the ransomed believer is enabled to say, " I know in whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed to him, until that day." Such is the slavery of Popery. Such is the freedom of the gospel ! § 23. — The doctrine of intention also has an important bearing upon the change of the wafer into the body and blood of Christ, and upon what is called the " sacrifice of the mass." For if the priest have not the intention to effect this change, and thus to " create his creator, then it is maintained by Romanists that no change takes place, the wafer does not become God, and the people who worship it are consequently guilty of idolatry. So that no man who wor ships the host, can possibly be sure at the time that he is not guilty of idolatry. The following extract from the Romish Mass Book or Missal (p. 53), will sufficiently explain this remark. The portion of the book from which it is taken is entitled — ' De defectibus in cele- bratione missarum occurrentibus ;' that is, respecting defects oc curring in the mass. De defectibus Vini. — Of the defects of the Wine. Si vinum sit factum penitus acetum, If the wine be quite sour, or putrid, or vel penitus putridum, vel de uvis acerbis be made of bitter or unripe grapes : or sen non maturis expressum, vel ei ad- if so much water be mixed with it, as mixtum tantum aquae, ut vinum sit cor- spoils the wine, no sacrament is made. ruptum, non conficitur sacramentum. 508 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [book vn. Curious extracts from the Romish Missal on defects in the Mass. Si post consecrationem corporis, aut etiam vini, deprehenditur defectus alte rius speciei, altera jam consecrata ; tunc si nuUo modo materia quae esset appo- nenda haberi possit, ad evitandum scan- dalum procedendum erit. If after the consecration of the body, or even of the wine, the defect of either kind be discovered, one being consecrat ed; then, if the matter which should be placed cannot be had, to avoid scan dal, he must proceed. De defectibus Forma. — The defects in the Form. Si quis aliquid diminuerit vel immuta- ret de forma consecrationis corporis et sanguinis, et in ipsa verborum immuta- tione, verba idem non significarent, non .conficeret sacramentum. If any one shall leave out or change any part of the form of the consecration of the body and blood, and in the change of the words, such words do not signify the same thing, there is no consecra tion. De defectibus Ministri. — The defects of the Mmister. Defectus ex parte ministri possunt contingere quoad ea, quae in ipso requi- runtur, haec autem sunt, imprimis inten- tio, deinde dispositio animae, dispositio corporis, dispositio vestimentorum, dis positio in ministerio ipso, quoad ea, quae in ipso possunt occurrere. Si quis HON intendit conficere, sed delusarie aliquid agere. Item si aliquae hostiae ex oblivione remaneant in altari, vel aliqua pars vini, vel aliqua hostia la- teat, cum non intendat consecrare, nisi quas videt ; item si quis habeat coram se undecim hostias, et intendat consecrare solum decem, non determinans quas de cern intendit, in fats' casibus non conse- crat, quia requiritur intentio, &c., &c. The defects on the part of the minis ter, may occur in these things required in him, these are first and especially in tention, after that, disposition of bob], of body, of vestments, and disposition in the service itself, as to those matters which can occur in it. If any one intekd" hot to consecrate, but to counterfeit ; also, if any wafers remain forgotten on the altar, or if any part of the wine, or any wafer lie hidden, when he did not intend to con secrate but what he saw; also, if he shall have before him eleven wafers and intended to consecrate but ten only, not determining what ten he meant, in all these cases there is no consecration, because intention is required ! In addition to the above extracts from the Missal, the following upon various other defects besides the intention of the minister, are curious, and worth recording : — Si post consecrationem ceciderit mus- ca vel arnea, vel aliquid ejusmodi in ca- licem et fiat nausea sacerdoti, extrahat eam et lavet cum vino, finitamissa, com- burat et combustio ac lotio hujusmodi in sacrarium projiciatur. Si autem non fuerit el nausea, nee ullum periculum timeat, sumat cum sanguine. Si in hieme sanguis congeletur in ca lice, involvatur calix in pannis calefactis, si id non proficerit, ponatur in fervente aqua prope altare, dummodo in calicem non intret donee liquefiat. Si per negligentiam, aliquid de san guine Christi ceciderit, seu quidem su per terram, seu super tabulam lingua lanAatur, et locus ipse radatur quantum If after consecration, a gnat, a spider, or any such thing fall into the chalice, let the priest swallow it with the blood, if he can ; but if he fear danger and have a loathing, let him take it out, and wash it with wine, and when mass is ended, bum it, and cast it and the wash ing into holy ground. If in winter the blood be frozen m the cup, put warm clothes about the cup ; if that will not do, let it be put into boiling water near the altar, till it be melted, taking care it does not get into the cup. If any of the blood of Christ fall on the ground by negligence, it must be licked up with ihe tongue, the place be sufficiently scraped, and the scrapings CHAP. IV.] POPERY AT TRENT— A. D. 1546-1563. 509 The priest must piously swallow hia vomit. Priests ridiculing their own mummeries. satis est, et abrasio comburatur : cinis burned ; but the ashes must be buried in vero in sacrarium recondatur. holy ground. Si sacerdos evomet eucharistiam, si If the priest vomit the eucharist, and species integrae appareant reverenter su- the species appear entire, he must pi- mantur, nisi nausea fiat ; tunc enim ously swallow it again ; but if a nausea species consecratae caute separentur, et prevent him, then let the consecrated in aliquo loco sacro reponantur donee species be cautiously separated, and put corrumpantur, et postea in sacrarium by in some holy place till they be cor- projiciantur; quod si species non appa- rupted, and after, let them be cast into reant comburatur vomitus, et cineres in holy ground ; but if the species do not sacrarium mittantur. appear, the vomit must be burned and the ashes thrown into holy ground. How miserably debased must be the soul and intellect of a ra tional being, before he can submit to a religion which enjoins such rules as the above ! The votaries of Jupiter, Diana or Juggernaut, would be ashamed of them ! Is it possible for the priests to believe these disgusting absurdities ? Credat Judceus Apella. § 24. — Now the question naturally arises, when these priests pro nounce the words of consecration, do they always intend to conse crate, or to transmute the wafer into " the body, blood, soul, and di vinity of Christ ?" Let the following incident in the life of Luther suf fice for a reply. One day, during the visit of the future reformer at Rome, Luther was at table with several distinguished ecclesiastics, to whose society he was introduced in consequence of his charac ter of envoy from the Augustins of Germany. These priests ex hibited openly their buffoonery in manners and impious conversa tion ; and did not scruple to give utterance before him to many in decent jokes, doubtless thinking him one like themselves. They related, amongst other things, laughing, and priding themselves upon it, how when saying mass at the altar, instead of the sacra mental words which were to transform the elements into the body and blood of the Saviour, they pronounced over the bread and wine these sarcastic words : " Bread thou art, and bread thou shalt remain ; wine thou art, and wine thou shalt remain — Panis es et panis manebis ; vinum es et vinum manebis." " Then," continued they, " we elevate the pyx, and all the people worship." Luther could scarcely believe his ears. His mind, gifted with much viva city, and even gaiety, in the society of his friends, was remarkable for gravity when treating of serious things. These Romish mock eries shocked him. " I," says he, " was a serious and pious young monk ; such language deeply grieved me. If at Rome they speak thus openly at table, thought I, what, if their actions should cor respond with their words, and popes, cardinals, and courtiers should thus say mass. And I, who have so often heard them recite it so devoutly, how, in that case, must I have been deceived !"* * Merle D'Aubigne, p. 53. That the priests of the nineteenth centur^ in the city of Rome are no better than those of the sixteenth above mentioned, is mani fest from the following words of one who was but lately one of their number. " What was my surprise," says Dr. Giustiniani (after becoming sceptical upon some of the doctrines of Popery), " when I made known my thoughts to some priests my intimate friends, to find that they were rank infidels ! With the Scrip- 510 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [book TO. Canons and curses on Baptism and Confirmation. Baptism declared necessary to salvation. § 24. — The second and third divisions of the decree were upon the subjects of Baptism and Confirmation. From these it will be sufficient to cite, without remark, the following extracts. Si quis dixerit, Baptismum liberum esse, hoc est, non necessarium ad salu tem ; ANATHEMA SIT. Si quis dixerit, parvulos, eo quod ac tum credendi non habent, suscepto Bap- tismo inter fideles computandos non esse, ac propterea, ciim ad annos dis- cretionis pervenirent, esse rebaptizan- dos ; aut praestare omitti eorum Bap- tisma, quam eos non actu proprio cre- dentes baptizari in sola fide Ecclesiae ; ANATHEMA SIT. Si quis dixerit, Confirmationem bap- tizatorum otiosam caeremoniam esse, et non potiiis verum et proprium Sacra mentum ; aut olim nihil aliud fuisse, quam catechesim quamdam, qua adoles- centiae proximi fidei suae rationem co ram Ecclesia exoonebant; ANATHE MA SIT. Si quis dixerit, injuries esse Spiritui sancta eos qui sacro Confirmationis chrismati virtutem aliquam tribuunt; ANATHEMA SIT Whoever shall affirm that baptism is indifferent, that is, not necessary to sal- vation; LET HIM BE ACCURSED, Whoever shall affirm that children are not to be reckoned among the faith ful by the reception of baptism, because they do not actually believe ; and there fore that they are to be re-baptized when they come to years of discretion ; or that, since they cannot personally believe, it is better to omit their baptism, than that they should be baptized only in the faith of the church : LET HIM BE AC CURSED. Whoever shall affirm that the con firmation of the baptized is a trifling ceremony, and not a true and proper sacrament; or that formerly it was nothing more than a kind of catechiz ing ; in which young persons explained the reasons of their faith before the church : LET HIM BE ACCURSED. Whoever shall affirm that they offend the Holy Spirit, who attribute any vu- tue to the said chrism of confirmation; LET HIM BE ACCURSED. By the first of these canons, we perceive that Rome regards baptism as necessary to salvation, and pronounces her curse upon all who believe otherwise. By the second, she consigns in a body to damnation (that is, so far as her good wishes can operate), at least one of the largest denominations of the great protestant family; and by the third and fourth, that and all the other denominations of Christians belonging to that great family, who are unwilling to beheve that " confirmation " is " a true and proper sacrament." tures they were unacquainted ; the doctrines of the church they considered as human fabrications ; mocked at and ridiculed things most sacred in the eye of a devoted papist, and laughed at the ignorance of the poor deluded people." (Papal Rome as ii is, p. 42, by Rev. Dr. Giustiniani, formerly a Romish priest in the city of Rome, now a minister of the Lutheran church in America.) 511 CHAPTER V. SUSPENSION OF THE COUNCIL IN 1549, AND RESUMPTION UNDER POPE JULIUS III. IN 1551. DECREE ON TRANSUBSTANTIATION. § 25. — Soon after the session in which the canons just cited were passed, a proposal was made under the pretext of a fever having broken out at Trent to transfer the council to some other place ; and through the influence of the legate, De Monte, and others of the ultra-papal party, a vote of the majority was obtained, and a de cree passed at the eighth session, March 11th, 1547, though not with out strong opposition, to remove to Bologna, a city belonging to the Pope, and where the future sessions would be still more exclusively under his influence, than those already past. This step was very offensive to the emperor Charles, who employed all his influence in persuading, as many as possible of the divines still to continue at Trent. Those who assembled at Bologna were all Italian prelates, and entirely under the direction of the Pope. Being so few in number, and exclusively of one nation, they could hardly presume to act as a. general council. On April 21st, they met in what was called the ninth session, only to adjourn to June 2d. On the latter day they met again, and adjourned to September 14th, when they as sembled only to prorogue the council for an indefinite period ; and after the lapse of more than two years, the few prelates still re maining at Bologna were informed by the Pope on the 17th of Sep tember, 1549, that their services were no longer needed, and conse quently they dispersed to their homes. § 26. — In less than two months after the suspension of the coun cil, pope Paul III. died, on the 10th of November, 1549. When the cardinals entered into the conclave to choose a successor, they pre pared and signed a series of resolutions, which they severally bound themselves by solemn oath to observe in the event of being elected to the Apostolic chair. The resumption of the council, the esta blishment of such reforms as it might enact, and the reformation of the court of Rome, were included.* It was long before they could agree, so powerful was the influence of party feelings and conflict ing interests, producing complicated intrigue, and thereby extend ing their deliberations to a most inconvenient and wearisome length. At last the choice fell on De Monte, the former legate at Trent, who was publicly installed into his high office, February 23d, 1550, and assumed the name of Julius III. It affords a striking comment upon the pretended efforts of the ecclesiastics at the council of Trent, to effect a reform in the dis cipline and morals of the priesthood, that a notoriously immoral man like De Monte should have been elevated to the papacy. In addition to his other vices, he was a notorious sodomite, and bestow- * Le Plat, vol. iv., p. 166-169. 512 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [bookvii. A hard question to answer. The arrogant bull of pope Julius for the re-asaerabling of the council. ed a cardinal's hat on a young man named Innocent, the keeper of his monkey, of whom he was suspected to be too fond. When the cardinals remonstrated with him on occasion of this promotion, he cooly replied, " And what merit did you discover in me, that you raised me to the Popedom ?" They could not easily answer such a question,* nor could they any more easily remove the unworthy pope from his ill-deserved elevation. § 27. — The Emperor, who was now anxious to unite all the Ger man princes in some plan of religious union, pressed the resumption of the council of Trent upon the new pope, and endeavored to pre vail upon him, in his bull for the re-assembling of the council, to use such language as might not disgust the Protestants, and prevent them from coming to Trent. It soon became evident, however, that Julius wished to hinder the Protestants from attending the council, and was determined by this means to prevent the discussions which would result from their appearance there. Instead of showing any moderation in the style and temper of the document, he used ex pressions that could not but be obnoxious and offensive, even to many Roman Catholics. The pontiff asserted that he possessed the sole power of convening and directing general councils ; com manded, " in the plentitude of apostolic authority," the prelates of Europe to repair forthwith to Trent ; promised, unless prevented by his age and infirmities, or the pressure of public affairs, to pre side in person ; and denounced the vengeance of Almighty God, and of the Apostles Peter and Paul, on any who should resist or disobey the decree, f When the bull was presented to the Protes tants, it produced exactly the effects that were anticipated. They declared that such arrogant pretensions precluded the hope of con ciliation, and that they must retract any promise they had given to submit to the council, since it could not be done without wounding their consciences and offending God. § 28. — At length the council was re-opened. The eleventh session was held on the 1st of May, 1551, and the twelfth on the 1st of September following, but no doctrinal decrees were passed at either. The thirteenth session -was held on the 11th of October, and a long decree was issued on the subject of Transubstantiation, con sisting of eight chapters and eleven canons and curses. It will be sufficient to quote the following five of the canons and curses. Si quis negaverit, in sanctissimae Whoever shall deny, that in the most Eucharistiae Sacramento contineri vere, holy sacrament of the eucharist there realiter et substantialiter corpus et san- are truly, really, and substantially con- guinem unk cum anima et divinitate tained the body and blood of our Loid Domini nostri Jesu Christi, ao proinde Jesus Christ, together with his soul and totum Christum : sed dixerit tantum- divinity, and consequently Christ entire; * Thuan. Hist, des Conclaves, Tom. i., p. 101. f Wolf. Lect. Memorab., tom. ii., p. 640-644. Wolfius says that a new coinage was issued by Julius III., with this motto — " Gens et regnum, quod mihi non parue- rit peribit — The nation and kingdom which will not obey me, shall perish." See also Father Paul's council of Trent, lib. iii., sec. 33. CHAP, v.] POPERY AT TRENT— A. D. 1546-1663. 513 Canons and curses of the council on TransubatanUation. modo esse in eo ut in signo, vel figurd, aut virtute ; ANATHEMA SIT. Si quis dixerit, in sacro-sancto Eu charistiae Sacramento remanere sub- stantiam panis et vini una cum corpore et sanguine Domini nostri Jesu Christi, negaveritque mirabilem illam et singu larem conversionem totius substantiae patnis in corpus, et totius, substantiae vini in sanguinem, manentibus dumtaix- kt speciebus panis et vini ; quam qui dem conversionem Catholica Ecclesia aptissime Transubstantiationem appel lat; ANATHEMA SIT. Si quis negaverit, in venerabili Sacra mento Eucharistia; sub unaquaque spe cie, et sub singulis cujusque speciei par tibus, separatione facta totum Christum contineri ; ANATHEMA SIT. Si quis dixerit, peracti consecratione, in admirabili Eucharistiae Sacramento non esse corpus et sanguinem Domini nostri Jesu Christi, sed tantiim in usu, diim sumitur non autem ante vel post, et in hostiss seu particulis consecratis, quae post communionem reservantur, vel supersunt, non remanere verum cor pus Domini ; ANATHEMA SIT. Si quis dixerit, in sancto Eucharistiae Sacramento Christum unigenitum Dei Filium non esse cultu latriae, etiam ex- terno, adorandum ; atque ideo nee fes- tiva peculiari celebritate venerandum, neque in processionibus, secundtim lau- dabilem et universalem Ecclesiae sanctae ritum et consuetudinem, solemniter cir- cumgestandum, vel non publice, ut adoretur, populo proponendum, et ejus adoratores esse idoltras ; ANATHE MA SIT. but shall affirm that he is present there in only in a sign or figure, or by his power: LET HIM BE ACCURSED. Whoever shall affirm, that in the most holy sacrament of the eucharist there remains the substance of the bread and wine, together with the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ ; and shall deny that wonderful and peculiar con version of the whole substance of the bread into his body, and of the whole substance of the wine into his blood, the species only of bread and wine remain ing, which conversion the Catholic church most fitly terms transubstantia tion : LET HIM BE ACCURSED. Whoever shall deny that Christ en tire is contained in the venerable sacra ment of the eucharist, under such spe cies, and under every part of each spe cies when they are separated : LET HIM BE ACCURSED. Whoever shall affirm, that the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ are not present in the admirable eucharist, as soon as the consecration is perform ed, but only as it is used and received, and neither before nor after ; and that the true body of our Lord does not re main in the hosts or consecrated mor sels which are reserved or left after communion ; LET HIM BE ACCUR SED. Whoever shall affirm, that Christ the only begotten Son of God, is not to be adored in the holy eucharist with the external signs of that worship which is due to God ; and therefore that the eu charist is not to be honored with extra ordinary festive celebration, nor solemn ly carried about in processions accord ing to the laudable and universal rites and customs of holy church, nor pub licly presented to the people for their adoration : and that those who worship the same are idolaters ; LET HIM BE ACCURSED. Enough has already been said in former portions of this work, relative to the monstrous absurdity of Transubstantiation pro claimed in the preceding canons. Upon such an insult to common sense and reason, it cannot be necessary longer to enlarge. In this place, therefore, no further remark will be offered on this most con- contradictory and absurd of all the doctrines of Rome. 514 CHAPTER VI. ON PENANCE, AURICULAR CONFESSION, SATISFACTION, AND EXTEEKE UNCTION TO THE SECOND SUSPENSION IN APRIL, 1552. § 29. — Tw.^ fourteenth session of the council was held November 25th, 1551, and issued its decrees on penance and extreme unction. The decree on penance contained nine explanatory chapters, and fifteen canons and curses. Penance is said to consist of three parts, contrition, confession, and satisfaction. The following extracts from the canons will sufficiently explain the faith of Romanists on the subject of penance. Of penance in general. Si quis dixerit, in Catholica Ecclesia Pcenitentiam non esse vere et proprie Sacramentum pro fidelibus, quoties post baptismum in peccata labuntur ipsi Deo reconciliandis, a Christo Domino nostro institutura; ANATHEMA SIT. Si quis Sacramenta confundens, ip sum Baptismum, Poenitentiae Sacramen tum esse dixerit, quasi haec duo Sacra menta distincta non sint, atque ideo Pcenitentiam non recte secundum post naufragium tabulam appellari ¦ AN ATHEMA SIT. Si quis dixerit, verba ilia Domini Sal- vatoris: Accipite Spiritum sanctum: quorum remiseritis peccata, remittuntur eis : et quorum retinueritis, retenta sunt : non esse intelligenda de potestate re- mittendi et retinendi peccata in Sacra mento Poenitentiae, sicut Ecclesia. Ca tholica ab initio semper intellfixit ; de- torserit autem, contra institutionem hu jus Sacramenti, ad auctoritatem praedi- candi Evangelium ; ANATHEMA SIT. Si quis negaverit, ad integram et per- fectam peccatorum remissionem requiri tres actus in poenitente, quasi materiam Sacramenti Poenitentiae, videlicit, Con- tritionem, Confessionem, et Satisfac- tionem, quE tres PtEnitentiae partes di- cuntur; aut dixerit, duas tantiim esse Poenitentiae partes, terrores scilioit in- cussos conscientiae, agnito peccato, et fidem conceptam ex Evangelic, vel ab- Whoever shall affirm that penance, as used in the Catholic church is not truly and properly a sacrament, insti tuted by Christ our Lord, for the benefit of the faithful, to reconcile them to God, as often as they shall fall into sin after baptism : LET HIM BE ACCURSED. Whoever, confounding the sacraments, shall affirm that baptism itself ia a pen ance, as if those two sacraments were not distinct, and penance were not rightly called a " second plank after ship wreck:" LET HIM BE ACCURSED. Whoever shall affirm that the words of the Lord our Saviour, " Receive ye the Holy Ghost ; whose sins you shall forgive they are forgiven them, and whose sins you shall retain, they are retained ;" are not to be understood of the power of forgiving and retaining sins in the sacrament of penance, as the Catholic church has always from the very first understood them; but shall restrict them to the authority of preaching the gospel, in opposition to the institution of this sacrament: LET HIM BE ACCURSED. Whoever shall deny, that in order to the full and perfect forgiveness of sins, three acts are required of the penitent, constituting as it were the matter of the sacrament of penance, namely, contri tion, confessioii, and satisfaction, which are called the three parts of penance; or shall affirm that there are only two parts of penance, namely, terrors where with the conscience is smitten by the CHAP. VI.] POPERY AT TRENT— A.D. 1546-1563. 515 Canons and curses upon Auricular Confession. solutione, quk credit quis sibi per Chris- sense of sin, and faith, produced by the tum remissa peccata: ANATHEMA gospel, or by absolution, whereby the SIT. person believes that his sins are forgiven him through Christ : LET HIM BE ACCURSED. Of secret or auricular confession to the priest. Si quis negaverit, Confessionem Sa- cramentailem vel institutam, vel ad sa lutem necessariam esse jure divino, aut dixerit, modum secrete confitendi soli sacerdoti, quem Ecclesia Catholica ab initio semper observavit et observat, aliermm esse ab institutione et mandate Christi, et inventum esse humanum ; ANATHEMA SIT. Si quis dixerit, in Sacramento Poeni tentiae ad remissionem peccatorum ne cessarium non esse jure divino, confiteri omnia et singula peccata mortalia, quo rum memoria cum debita et diligenti praemeditatione habeatur, etiam occul ta, &c. ; ANATHEMA SIT. Si quis dixerit, Confessionem onmium peccatorum qualem Ecclesia servat, esse impossibilem, et traditionem hu- manam, a piis abolendam ; aut ad eam non teneri omnes et singulos utriusque sexus Christi fideles, juxta magni Con cilii Lateranensis constitutionem, semel in anno, et ob id suadendum esse Chris ti fidelibus, et non confiteantur tempore Quadragesimae ; ANATHEMA SIT. Si quis dixerit Absolutionem sacra- mentalem sacerdotes non esse actum judicialem, sed nudum ministerium pronuntiandi e} declarandi remissa esse peccata confitenti ; modo tantiim credat se esse absolutum ; aut sacerdos non serio, sed joco absolvat ; aut dixerit non requiri Confessionem poenitentis, ut sacerdos eum absolvere possit ; AN ATHEMA SIT. Whoever shall deny that sacramental confession was instituted by divine com mand, or that it is necessary io salvation ; or shall affirm that the practice of se cretly confessing to ihe priest alone, as it has been ever observed from the begin ning by the Catholic church, and is still observed, is foreign to the institu tion and command of Christ, and is a human invention : LET HIM BE AC CURSED. Whoever shall affirm, that in order to obtain forgiveness of sins in the sacra ment of penance, it is not by divine command necessary to confess all and every mortal sin which occurs to the memory after due and diligent premedi tation — including secret offences, &c. : LET HIM BE ACCURSED. Whoever shall affirm that the con fession of every sin, according to the custom of the church, is impossible, and merely a human tradition, which the pious should reject ; or that all Christians, qf both sexes, are not bound to observe ihe same once a year, accord ing to the constitution of the great Council of Lateran ; and therefore, that the faithful in Christ are to be persuad ed not to confess in Lent : LET HIM BE ACCURSED. Whoever shall affirm that the priest's sacramental absolution is not a judicial act, but only a ministry, to pronounce and declare that the sins of the party confessing are forgiven, so that he be lieves himself to be absolved, even though the priest should not absolve seriously, but in jest; or shall affirm that the confession of the penitent is not necessary in order to obtain absolu tion from the priest: LET HIM BE ACCURSED. § 30. — Before quoting from the canons of satisfaction in the same decree, it is necessary to pause here, for the purpose of briefly showing the indecency, the bigotry, and tyranny of the above laws of the Roman Catholic church relative to auricular confession. Let it be remembered that this decree enjoins upon all of " both sexes," the females as well as males, to confess in the ear of the 31 516 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [bookvii. Indecency of females secreUy confessing to a priest. priest alone, closeted with him in the closest secresy, not only every sinful or unholy act, but every impure thought that has passed through the heart ; and that it is the duty of the priest to question and to cross-question their penitents in every variety of form, rela tive to their violations in thought, word, or deed, of each of the commandments of the decalogue. The reason for this particularity in confession, is given in the fifth chapter of the decree in the fol lowing words : — " For it is plain that the priests cannot sustain the office of judge, if the cause be unknown to them, nor inflict equita ble punishments, if sins are only confessed in general, and not mi nutely and individually described. For this reason it follows that penitents are bound to rehearse in confession all mortal sins, of which, after diligent examination of themselves, they are consdious, even though they be of the most secret kind," dec. In the various Romish books of devotion, such as the " Path to Para dise," " Garden of the Soul," &c., there are directions to penitents how to prepare themselves before going to confession for this scru tinizing examination. The following few questions, from the direc tion for the examination of conscience, in the " Garden of the Soul," are cited at random, as characteristic specimens of the confessional enquiries on the subjects to which they refer. " Have you by word or deed denied your religion, or gone to the churches or meetings of heretics, so as to join in any way, with them in their worship ? or to give scandal ? How often 1 Have you blasphemed God or his saints ? How often ? Have you broke the days of abstinence commanded by the church, or eaten more than one meal on fasting days ? or been accessary to others so doing? How often ? Have you neglected to confess your sins once a year ; or to receive the blessed sacraments at Easter ? Have you presumed to receive the blessed sacrament after having broken your fast ? Have you committed anything that you judged or doubted to be a mortal sin, though perhaps it was not so ? How often ? Or have you exposed yourself to the evident danger of mortal sin ? How often ? And of what sin ? Have you enter tained with pleasure the thoughts of saying or doing anything which it would be a sin to say or do ? How often ? Have you M the desire or design of committing any sin ? Of what sin ? Hm often ?" § 31. — The disgusting indecency of auricular confession, and its ne cessarily corrupting influence, both to priest and penitent, must be evident to all, when the nature of the subjects is considered upon vvhich the priests are bound to examine their female penitents rela tive to violations of the laws of chastity. I have now lying before me the edition of the " Garden of the Soul," printed in 1844, at New York, and as we are informed on the title page, " with the approbation of the Right Reverend Dr. Hughes, Bishop of New York." On pages 213 and 214 of that popular Roman Catholic book of devotion, I find the following questions in English, for the CHAP. VI.] POPERY AT TRENT— A.D. 1546-1563. 517 CluesUons ou the seventh commandment from the *' Garden of the Soul," approved by Bishop Hughes. examination of conscience on the sixth* commandment. They are transcribed verbatim et literatim, with the omission of por tions of two of the queries, which are calculated to suggest modes of pollution and crime, that a pure minded person would never think of I had thought at first, of translating these questions into Latin, and throwing them into a note ; but they are printed in PLAIN ENGLISH, iu a popular book of devotion, issued under the auspices of the most celebrated Romish Bishop in America, and to be found in the hands of almost every Roman Catholic ; and it is nothing but right that Protestants, and especially those who send their daughters to Roman Catholic seminaries, should know the kind of queries that will be proposed by the priests, in the secret con fessional, to their wives and their daughters, in case they should be induced to embrace the religion of Rome. I must be excused for omitting the most indecent portions of the two vilest questions in the filthy list. I dared not pollute my page with them. The work in which they are found, can be procured at any Roman Catholic book-store. The following are the questions : " Have you been guilty of fornication, or adultery, or incest, or any sin against nature, either with a person of the same sex, or with any other creature ? How often ? Or have you designed or at tempted any such sin, or sought to induce others to it? How often ? Have you been guilty of self-pollution ? Or of immodest touches of yourself? How often ? Have you touched others or permitted yourself to be touched by others immodestly ? Or given or taken wanton kisses or embraces, or any such liberties ? How often ? Have you looked at immodest objects with pleasure or danger ? Read immodest books or songs to yourselves or others ? Kept indecent pictures ? Willingly given ear to, or taken pleasure in hearing loose discourse, &c. ? Or sought to see or hear anything that was immodest ? How often ? Have you exposed yourself tc wanton company ? Or played at any indecent play ? Or frequent ed masquerades, balls, comedies, &c., with danger to your chastity ? How often ? Have you been guilty of any immodest discourses, wanton stories, jests, or songs, or words of double meaning ? How often ? And before how many ? And were the persons before whom you spoke or sung married or single ? For all this you are obliged to confess by reason of the evil thoughts these things are apt to create in the hearers. Have you abused the marriage bed jjy # * # # # * *****. Or by any pollutions ? Or been guilty of any irregularity, in order **##** * * * * *_ How often ? Have you without a just cause refused the marriage debt ? And what sin may have followed from it ? How often ? Have you debauched any person that was innocent before ? Have you forced any person, or deluded any one by de- * This is properly the seventh commandment, — " Thou shalt not commit adul tery." It is called the sixth in' the Garden of the Soul and other popish books, on account of their omission of the second, which forbids the worship of images or idols. They make up the number ten, by dividing the tenth into two. 518 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [boosvii, Auricular confession at Rome in the words of an eye-witness. Instance of assault to a young lady. ceitful promises, &c. ? Or designed or desired so to do ? How often ? You are obliged to make satisfaction for the injury you have done. Have you taught any one evil which he knew not be fore ? Or carried any one to lewd houses, , a word which every Greek scholar knows refers to an operation of the mind {vovs) from which the word is derived, with the preposition /^sra denoting change. Two or three instances of this fraudulent translation will be sub joined. Thus, Matt, iii., 2 : "Do penance, for the kingdom of hea ven is at hand." Luke xvii. 3 : " If thy brother sin against thee, rebuke him ; and if he do penance, forgive him." Acts viii., 22. CHAP. VI,] POPERY AT TRENT— A D. 1646-1563. 523 Doing penance. Flagrant falsification of God's VVord, in tho popish Bordeaux testament — (nota.^ Peter to Simon Magus : " Do penance therefore, from this thy wick edness." In every one of these instances, it is scarcely necessary to say the Protestant version renders the term repent, as the meaning of the Greek word undoubtedly requires. They even carry this mis translation into the Old Testament, for instance. Job xiii., 6. " There fore I reprehend myself and do penance in dust and ashes." Pro- fessiant : " Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes." Ezek. xviii., 21 : "If the wicked do penance for all the sins which he hath committed," &c. Protestant: "But if the wicked will turn," &c.* * The Bordeaux Testament. — The falsification of God's Holy Word, by substi tuting " do penance" for " repent" is not the most flagrant instance of the cor ruption of the Sacred Scriptures of which the votaries and advocates of Popery have been guilty. Soon after the expulsion of the Huguenots from France in 1685, in consequence of the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes, the papists, per ceiving that they could not prevent the scriptures from being read, resolved to force the sacred volume itself into their service, by the most audacious corruptions and interpolations. An edition of the New Testament was published, so trans lated, that a Roman Catholic might find in it explicit statements of the peculiar dogmas cf his church. The hook was printed at Bordeaux, in 1686. It was entitled, " The New Testament of our Saviour Jesus Christ. Translated from Latin into French, by the divines of Louvain :" and the attestation of the popish archbishop of Bordeaux was prefixed to it, assuring the reader that it was " care fully revised and corrected." Two doctors in divinity of the university of the same place also recommended it as useful to all those, who, with permission cf their superiors, might read it. A few quotations will show the manner in which the work was executed, and the object which the translators had in view. In the summary of the " contents" of Matthew xxvi,, Mark xiv., and Luke xxii., it is said that those chapters contain the account of the " institution of the mass !" Acts xiii., 2, (" as they ministered to the Lord and fasted") is thus rendered — " as they offered to the Lord the sacrifice qf the mass, and fasted," &c. In Acts xi., 30, and other places, where our English version has the word " elders," this edition has "priests." A practice that has proved very productive of gain to the priesthood, is made scriptural in the following manner : " And his father and mother went every year in pilgrimage to Jerusalem," Luke ii., 41. " Beloved, thou actest as a true believer in all that thou doest towards the brethren, and towards the pilgrims." 3 John, 5. Tradition is thus introduced : — " Ye keep my commandments, as I left them with you by tradition," 1 Cor. xi., 2. " The faith which has been once given to the saints by tradition." Jude 6. That the Roman Catholic might be able to prove that marriage is a sacrament, he was furnished with these renderings : — " To those who are joined together in the sacrament of marriage, I command," &c. 1 Cor. vif!, 10. " Do not join your selves in the sacrament cf marriage with unbelievers." 2 Cor. vi., 14. 1 Cor. ix., 5, is so directly opposed to the constrained celibacy of ihe clergy, that we can scarcely wonder at finding an addition to the text ; it stands thus — " Have we not power to lead about a sister, a woman io serve ^ us in the gospel, and io remember us with her goods, as the other apostles," &c. In support of human merit, the translation of Heb. xiii., 16, may be quoted — " We obtain merit toward God by such sacrifices." Purgatory could not be introduced but by a direct interpolation : " He himself shall be saved, yet in all cases as by the fire of purgatory." 1 Cor. iii., 15. Many other passages might be noticed. " Him only shalt thou serve with latria," i. e., with the worship specially and solely due to God : this addition was 534 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [book vn. A Spaniard's idea of doing penance. Form of administering Extreme Unction. The idea which the common people among Papists entertain of doing penance, is well illustrated by a reply once made by an intel ligent Spaniard to a friend of mine, a clergyman of New York. "It means," said he, " to eat no breakfast — very little dinner — no tea ; not to lie in bed, but on the floor, and (suiting the action to the word) whip yourself! whip yourself! ! whip yourself! I !"* Of Extreme Unction. § 37. — This also is regarded as a sacrament by the Romish church. It consists in the anointing, by the priest, of a person supposed to be at the point of death with the sacred oil upon the eyes, the ears, the nostrils, the mouth, and the hands. The unction is applied to all the parts above mentioned. At each anointing the priest says, " By this holy unction, and through his great mercy, may God in dulge thee whatever sins thou hast committed by sight " — " smell " — " touch" &c. This is called the " form " of the sacrament. At this time the priest has the power of absolving the dying person from all sins, even from those which in the seventh chapter of the decree on penance are reserved to the decision of the Supreme evidently made to prevent the text being urged against the invocation of the saints ; Luke iv., 8. " Many of those who believed, came to confess and declare iheir sins." Acts xix., 18. " After a procession of seven days round it." Heb. xi., 30. "Beware, lest being led away with others, by ihe error of ihe wickedhere- tics," &c. 2 Pet. iii., 17. " There is some sin which is not mortal, but venial." 1 John v., 17. " And round about the throne there were twenty-four thrones, and on the thrones twenty-four priests seated, all clothed with albs." Rev. iv., 4. The alb, it will be recollected, is part of the official attire of a Roman Catholic priest. But the most flagrant interpolation occurs in 1 Tim. iv. 1 — 3. " Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some will separate themselves from the Roman faith, giving themselves up to spirits of error, and to doctrines taught by devils. Speaking false things through hypocrisy, having also the conscience cau terised. Condemning the sacrament of marriage, the abstinence from meats, which God hath created for the faithful, and for those who have known the truth, to receive them with thanksgiving." " Such," says Rev. J. M. Cramp, now president of the Baptist college in Mon treal, to whom I am indebted for this important fact — " such was the Bordeaux New Testament. Whether it was actually translated by the divines of Louvain is doubtful. This is certain, however, that it was printed by the royal and univer sity printer, and sanctioned by dignitaries of the Romish church. It is proper to add, that the Roman Catholics were soon convinced of the folly of their conduct, in thus tampering with the inspired volume. To avoid the just odium brought on their cause by this wicked measure, they have endeavored to destroy the whole edition. In consequence, the book is now excessively scarce." I am not aware that a single copy of the Bordeaux Testament is to be found in the United States. Pour copies, however, are known to be in existence ui Great Britain. One is in the library of the dean and chapter of Durham ; another is possessed by the Duke of Devonshire ; a third is in the archiepiscopal library at Lambeth ; and the fourth was a few years ago in the possession of the late Duke of Sussex, by whom President Cramp was permitted to visit his valuable library, and to make the extracts from the Bordeaux Testament, cited in the above note. {See Cramp's History of the Council of Trent, page 67, &c.) * See Defence of Protestant Scriptures, by the present author, page 52. CHAP. VI.] POPERY AT TRENT— A. D. 1645-1663. 525 Popery puts the priest in the place of Christ Canons and curses on E.xtreinu Unction. Pontiff. However the man may have lived during life, let him on his dying bed confess to a priest, receive absolution and extreme unction, and he is sure of his passport to Heaven. Awful delu sion ! thus to put the priest in the stead of Christ, and teach the poor dying smner to trust in a few drops of oil from the fingers, and a few words of absolution from the lips of a miserable mortal, instead of directing him to Christ that " rock of ages," who is the only " sure foundation " of a sinner's hope, and bidding him trust alone in that Almighty Saviour, who is " able to save unto the ut termost all that come unto God by him." " All will confess," says Mr. Cramp, " the vast importance of right views and feelings in the prospect of death. Perilous as is deception or delusion in things spiritual at any time, the danger is immeasurably increased when the last change is fast approaching, and the final destiny is about to be sealed for ever. It is then that the church of Rome " lays the flattering unction to the soul." The dying man sends for the priest, and makes confession ; absolution is promptly bestowed : the eucharist is administered ; and lastly, the sacred chrism is ap plied. These are the credentials of pardon, the passports to hea ven. No attempt i^ made to investigate the state of the heart, de tect false hopes, bring the character to the infallible standard : nothing is said of the atonement of Christ and the sanctifying in fluences of the Spirit. Without repentance, without faith, without holiness, the departing soul feels happy and secure, and is not un deceived till eternity discloses its dreadful realities — and then it is too late. It is not affirmed, indeed, that the description is univer sally applicable ; but that, with regard to a large majority of in stances, it is a fair statement of facts, cannot, alas, be questioned."* It will be sufficient to quote the following two canons with the curses upon all who cannot believe that these drops of oil " confer grace" or " forgive sin," and who prefer, therefore, to trust for sal vation solely to the infinite merits, the perfect righteousness, and the one-atoning sacrifice of the Son of God. Si quis dixerit, Extremam Unctionem Whoever shall affirm that extreme non esse vere et proprie Sacramentum unction is not truly and properly a a Christo Domino nostro institutum, et sacrament, instituted by Christ our a beato Jacobo Apostolo promulgatum : Lord, and published by the blessed sed ritum tantum acceptum a Patribus, Apostle James, but only a ceremony re- aut figmentum humanum : ANATHE- ceived from the fathers, or a human in- MA SIT. vention : LET HIM BE ACCURSED. Si quis dixerit, sacram infirmorum Whoever shall affirm, that ihe sacred Unctionem non conferre gratiam ; nee unction of the sick does not confer grace, remittere peccata, nee aUeviare infir- nor forgive sin, nor relieve the sick : mos : sed jam cessasse, quasi olim tan- but that its power has ceased, as if the tiim fuerit gratia curationum ; AN- gift of healing existed only in past ATHEMA SIT. ages: LET HIM BE ACCURSED. § 38. — No doctrinal decrees were passed at the fifteenth and six teenth sessions, the latter of which was held on the 28th of April, * Cramp's council of Trent, p. 214. 526 HISTORY OP ROMANISM. [book vn. Second suspension of the council in 1553. Re-opens, after a ten years interval, in 1562. 1552. On that day a hasty decree was passed, adjourning the council for two years, in consequence of the alarm excited by the successes of the protestant prince, duke Maurice of Saxony, who was at war with the emperor Charles, and moving with his victorious forces in the direction of Trent. No sooner was this decree passed for a second suspension, than the council-hall was quickly vacated, and the fathers hastened to the asylum of their homes. CHAPTER VII. FROM THE SEVENTEENTH TO THE TWENTY-FIFTH AND CLOSING SES SION. DENIAL OP THE CUP TO THE LAITY. THE MASS. SACRA MENTS OF ORDERS AND MATRIMONY. PURGATORY. INDULGENCES, RELICS, &C. § 39. — Though the council had adjourned for but two years, nearly ten years elapsed, from various causes, before it was re opened. During this interval, after the death of pope Julius IIL, which took place March 23d, 1555, three other pontiffs successively occupied the papal throne, Marcellus, cardinal of Santa Croce, one of the former legates at Trent, who died after the very brief reign of twenty-one days, Paul IV., a most bloody persecutor and pro moter of the Inquisition, and Pius IV., who was chosen on Christ mas day, 1559. At length the council was re-opened on Sunday, January 18th, 1562, and the first session under pope Pius IV., or seventeenth from the commencement, was held. After mass and a sermon, the bull of convocation was read. Four other bulls or briefs were also produced : the first contained the Pope's instructions to the legates ; in the second and third he gave them authority to grant licenses to the prelates and divines to read heretical books, and to receive pri vately into communion with the Romish church any persons who might abjure their heresies ; by the fourth he regulated the order of precedence among the fathers, some childish disputes havuig al ready arisen among them on that account. § 40. — The eighteenth session was held February 26, when the principal subject of consideration was the subject of prohibited books. A brief from pope Pius was read, authorising the council to prepare a catalogue of prohibited books. This document ad verted in a lugubrious strain to the wide dissemination of heretical books, and the importance of interfering to avert this evil. A com mittee, or congregatior was subsequently appomted to prepare this chap, vn.] POPERY AT TRENT— A. D. 1546-1563. 627 Prohibiting books. 'The Holy Spirit in a travelling bag. Proposals for reform rejected. index prohibitorius,* the result of whose labors has already been mentioned, in connection with the doings of the fourth session of the council, and their restrictions upon the liberty of the press. The reason of the Pope sending directions relative to this subject was a fear lest it should appear that the council was superior to the Pope, by the proposed revision of an index prohibitorius previ ously prepared by pope Paul IV. The doings of the council were in fact almost entirely under papal control, so much so that M. Lanssac, the French ambassador, in a letter written the day after his arrival to De Lisle, the French ambassador at Rome, expressed his fear that little advantage would be derived from the assembly, unless the Pope would suffer the deliberations and votes of the fathers to be entirely free, and no more " send the Holy Spirit in a travelling bag from Rome to Trent .''"f § 41. — The nineteenth session was held. May 14th, and the twen tieth, June 4th, but no doctrinal decree was passed at either. At these sessions the most determined opposition to all proposals of re form was made by the papal legates, and the party under their in fluence. A memorial was presented to the legates by the imperial ambassadors, containing the Emperor's wishes with regard to re formation. It included among others the following demands : that the Pope should reform himself and his court, that no more scan dalous dispensations should be given, that the ancient canons against simony should be renewed, that the number of human pre cepts in things spiritual should be lessened, and prelatical con stitutions no longer placed on a level with the divine commands, that the breviaries and missals should be purified, that prayers, faithfully translated into the vernacular tongues, should be inter spersed in the services of the church, that means should be devised for the restoration of the clergy and the monastic orders to primi- . tive purity, and that it should be considered whether the clergy might not be permitted to marry, and the cup be granted to the laity. The legates were alarmed, and exasperated at this memo rial ; they quickly perceived how dangerous it would be to suffer its introduction to the council, and persuaded the ambassadors to wait till they had negotiated with the Emperor. Delphino was at the imperial court : he assured Ferdinand, that if he persisted in requiring the memorial to be presented, a dissolution of the council would be the consequence. The Emperor yielded, and that im portant document was suppressed.J § 42. — Refusing the cup to the laity. — Discussions ensued upon the question of withholding the cup in the sacrament from the laity. The denial of the cup had been predetermined at Rome, and, of course, all the influence of the legates and their party, and especially of Lainez,|| the second general of the Jesuits, who was * Father Paul Sarpi, lib. vi., c. 6. Pallavicini, lib. xv., s. 19. t Le Plat, vol. v., p. 169. Cramp, 250. X Father Paul, lib. vi., sect. 28 ; Pallavicini, lib. xvii., cap. 1. ii Lainez. This famous successor of Loyala, the founder of the Jesuits, was 528 mSTORY OF ROMANISM. [book vn. Canons aud curses on denying the cup to the laity. And on the sacrifice of the Mass, a member of the council, was employed to effect this object. They alleged that should this point be conceded to the laity they would lose all their reverence for the holy sacraments, and that the dif- ference^between the laity and the holy clergy would be so nar rowed down, as to be almost destroyed. On the other hand, the ambassadors of the Emperor and of France, and the envoy from Bavaria, contended strongly for conceding the cup to the laity, The imperial ambassadors presented a memorial on the state of ' Bohemia, alleging that ever since the council of Constance the practice of communion in both kinds had been maintained with great tenacity by the Bohemians, and that a refusal on the part of the council to concede this point, would probably cause them to take refuge with the Lutherans. But all was of no avail. A de cree was prepared, and on the 16th of July, 1562, it was passed in the twenty-first session. The following two canons embody the substance of the decree. Si quis dixerit, sanctam Ecclesiam Whoever shall affirm, that the holy Catholicam non justis causis et rationi- Catholic church had not just grounds bus adductam fuisse, ut Laicos, atque and reasons for restricting the laity and etiam Clericos, non conficientes, sub non-officiating clergy to communion in panis tantummodo specie communicaret, the species of bread only, or that she aut in eo errasse ; ANATHEMA SIT. hath erred therein : LET HIM BE ACCURSED. Si quis negaverit, totum, et integrum Whoever shall deny that Christ, Christum omnium gratiarum fontem et whole and entire, the fountain and au- auctorem sub una panis specie sumi, thor of every grace, is received under quia ut quidam falso asserunt, non se- the one species of bread ; because, as cundvim ipsius Christi institutionem sub some falsely affirm, he is not then re- utraque specie sumatur ; ANATHE- ceived according to his own institution, MA SIT. in both kinds: LET HIM BE AC CURSED. § 43. — Of the sacrifice of the Mass. — The decree on this subject was passed at the twenty-second session, held September 17th, 1562. It consisted of eight chapters and nine canons, and taught that in the eucharist, a true propitiatory sacrifice was offered up for sin, in the same way as when Christ offered up himself as a sacrifice on the cross. Five of the canons were as follows :— Si quis dixerit, in Missa non offerri Whoever shall affirm, that a true and Deo verum et proprium sacrificium, aut proper sacrifice is not offered to God m quod offerri non sit aliud, quam nobis the mass ; or that the offering is nothing Christum ad manducandum dan ; AN- else than giving Christ to us, to eat : ATHEMA SIT. LET HIM^BE ACCURSED. Si quis dixerit, lUis verbis, Hoc facite Whoever shall affirm, that by those in meam commemorationem, Christum words, « Do this for a commemoration non instituisse Apostolos sacerdotes ; of me," Christ did not appoint his apos- a prominent member of the council, and distinguished himself by his advocacy of all the measures calculated to establish and enlarge the authority of the Holy fc.ee. He delivered a celebrated speech on the sovereign jurisdiction of the Pope, which IS reported at some length by Father Paul, and copied by Dr. Campbell in us Lectures on Ecclesiastical History, Lect. xx. CHAP. VIII.] POPERY AT TRENT— A. D. 1545-1663. 529 The Mass to be performed in LaUn. Awftil perversion of Christ's sncrificu in tho Romish Mass. aut non ordinasse, ut ipsi, aliique sacer- ties priests, or did not ordain that they dotes oflerrent corpus et sanguinem and other priests should offer his body suum ; ANATHEMA SIT. and blood : LET HIM BE ACCURS ED. Si quis dixerit, Missae sacrificium tan- Whoever shall affirm, that the sacri- tum esse laudis et gratiarum actionis, fice of the mass is only a service of aut nudam commemorationem sacri- praise and thanksgiving, or a bare com- ficii in Cruce peracti non autem pro- memoration of the sacrifice made on pitiatorium; vel soli prodesse sumenti ; the cross, and not opropiriaton/ o^enTig'; neque pro vivis et defunctis, pro pecca- or that it only benefits him who receives tis, poenis, satisfactionibus et aliis ne- it, and ought not to be offered for the cessitatibus offerri debere ; ANATHE- living and the dead, for sins, punish- MA SIT. ments, satisfactions, and other necessi ties : LET HIM BE ACCURSED. Si quis dixerit, blasphemiam irrogari Whoever shall affirm, that the most sanctissimo Christi sacrificio in Cruce holy sacrifice of Christ, made on the peracto, per Missae sacrificium, aut illi cross, is blasphemed by the sacrifice of per hoc derogari ; ANATHEMA SIT. the mass ; or that the latter derogates from the glory of the former: LET HIM BE ACCURSED. Si quis dixerit, imposturam esse, Whoever shall affirm, that to cele- Missa celebrare in honorem sanctorum, brate masses in honor of the saints, and et pro illorum intercessione apud Deum in order to obtain their intercession with obtinenda, sicut Ecclesia intendit ; AN- God, according to the intention of the ATHEMA SIT. church is an imposture : LET HIM BE ACCURSED. § 44. — By the same decree they enjoined the performance of the Mass in the Latin language, and pronounced a curse upon all who should " declare that it should be celebrated in the vernacular lan guage only." How contrary all this to the declaration of St. Paul, " In the church I had rather speak five words with my understand ing, that by my voice I might teach others also, than ten thousand words in an unknown tongue." (1 Cor. xiv., 19.) What an awful perversion of the glorious sacrifice of Christ on the cross is presented in these canons on the Mass ! At the cost of incurring the impotent curse pronounced in the fourth of them, I assert that by this doctrine the holy sacrifice of Christ is blasphemed, and the cross of Christ made of none effect. How utterly opposed is this doctrine of Christ being offered up as often as the sacrifice of the Mass is celebrated, to the whole tenor of the New Testament, and especially to the Epistle to the Hebrews. Doubtless the omniscient and Holy Spirit foresaw this feature of the Romish Apostasy, and (as it would appear with the special de sign of meeting this exigency), inspired the apostle Paul to write as follows : — " For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true ; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us. Nor yet that he SHOULD OFFER HIMSELF OFTEN, as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year with the blood of others ; for then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world ; but now ONCE in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. And as it is appointed unto men once to die, and after that the judgment ; so Chi-ist was once offered to 530 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [book vn. Orders and apostolic succession. Thieves and Robbers. The ministry that cuts — note. bear the sins of many For by one offering he hath per fected for ever them that are sanctified." (Heb. ix., 24-28 : x., 14.) Is it any wonder that popish priests are so bitterly envenomed against the circulation of God's holy word without note or com ment, since its plain and unequivocal declarations are so diametri cally opposed to their doctrines ? — " Christ is not offered up in sacri fice, so often as the ancient Jewish high priests offered the sacrifice under the ceremonial law, that is, once every year," says the apostle Paul, writing under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. "There you are wrong, Paul," reply the priests of Rome ; " for we have the power given unto us of ' creating our Creator,' and offering him up for the sins of the world ; and instead of not being offered up so often as once every year, he is offered up hundreds of times every month, whenever the sacrifice of the Mass is celebrated ; and whoever shall affirm (whether Paul or any one else) that Christ is not offered up as often as this, even every time the Mass is cele brated, LET HIM BE ACCURSED. Thus does apostate Rome, in consistency with her true character, maintain throughout all her distinctive doctrines her title to the name of anti-Christ. § 45. — The twenty-third session was held on the 15th of July, 1563, and the subject of the decree passed was the sacrament of orders. The doctrine of Rome on this subject is too well known to render it necessary to transcribe the decree. It taught that the peculiar excellence and glory of the priesthood was " the power given to consecrate, offer, and minister Christ's body and blood, and also to remit and to retain sins ;" that there are " seven orders of ministers," viz., " priests, deacons, sub-deacons, acolytes, exorcists, readers and porters ;" that " orders is one of the seven sacraments of the holy church ;" that in ordination, " grace is con ferred ;" that bishops have " succeeded to the place of the aposdes" and " hold a distinguished rank in this hierarchal order ;" that " they are placed there by the Holy Spirit to rule the church of God ;" that they are " superior to presbyters," " ordain the ministers of the church," &c., and that all who " presumptuously undertake and assume the offices of the ministry" by any other authority than that of these popish bishops " are not to be accounted ministers of the church, but thieves and robbers."* The decree consists of four * Thieves and Robbers.— It is well known that on this subject the views of the Puseyites are identical with those of Rome. All of them believe, and some of them do not scruple to affirm that the holiest and the best of the ministers of the various protestant churches— our Doddridges, and Bunyans, and Paysons, and iuUers,and Halls— are nothing more than thieves and robbers, because they have entered mto the Christian ministry some other way than through the boasted but pretended lineal apostolical succession. The following anecdote of a well known and distinguished living member of this community of "thieves and robbers," con veys a decided rebuke of these arrogant assumptions • The ministry that cuts.—When the venerable Lyman Beecher was a young man, and returning on a certain occasion to his native town in Connecticut, he fell into conversation by the road-side with an old neighbor, a high churchman, who had been mowing. Mr. Beecher," said the farmer, " I should like to ask you a ques- CHAP.vn.] POPERY AT TRENT— A. D. 1546-1563. 531 Twenty-fourth session of the council. Decrees on matrimony with the canons and curses. chapters, from which the above sentences are quoted, and closes with eight canons, embodying the same doctrine and pronouncing upon all who refuse implicitly to receive the dicta of Rome, the usual awful malediction— ANATHEMA SIT— LET HIM BE ACCURSED. § 46. — The twenty-fourth session was held on the 11th of No vember, 1563, and the subject of the decree was, the sacrament of matrimony. After an allusion to the " ravings" of the " impious men" of those times (evidently referring to Luther, Calvin, and their associates) the decree proceeds as follows : — Therefore this holy and universal council, desiring to prevent such rashness, hath determined to destroy the infamous heresies and errors of the before-named schismatics, lest many more should be affected by their destructive contagion ; for which cause the following anathemas are decreed against these heretics and their errors. Then follow twelve canons, with the usual curses annexed on this subject, of which it will be sufficient to transcribe four : — Si quis dixerit, eos tantvim consan- Whoever shall affirm, that only those guinitatis et affinitatis gradus, qui Levi- degrees of consanguinity or affinity tico exprimuntur, posse impedire matri- which are mentioned in the book of Levi- monium contrahendum, et dirimere con- iicus can hinder or annul the marriage tractum ; nee posse Ecclesiam in non- contract ; and that ihe church has no nuUis illorum dispensare, aut constituere power io dispense with some of ihem, or ut plures impediant, et dirimant ; ANA- to constitute additional hindrances or THEMA SIT. reasons for annulling the contract : LET HIM BE ACCURSED. Si quis dixerit, matrimonium ratum. Whoever shall affirm, that a marriage non consummatum, per solemnem reli- solemnized but not consummated is not gionis professionem alterius conjugum annulled if one of ihe parties enters into nondirimi; ANATHEMA SIT. a religious order: LET HIM BE AC CURSED. Si quis dixerit, Clericos in sacris Or- Whoever shall affirm, thai persons in dinibus constitutes, vel Regulares, cas- holy orders, or regulars, who may have titatem solemniter professes, posse mat- made a, solemn profession of chastity, rimonium contrahere, contractumque may contract marriage, and that the validum esse, non obstante lege ecclesi- contract is valid, notwithstanding any astica ; vel voto ; et oppositum nil aliud ecclesiastical law or vow ; and that to esse, quam damnare matrimonium, pos- maintain the contrary is nothing less seque omnes contrahere matrimonium, than to condemn marriage ; and that all qui non sentiunt se castitatis, etiam si persons may marry who feel that though eam voverint, habere donum; ANA- they should make a vow of chastity, THEMA SIT: cum Deus id recte pe- they have not the gift thereof; LET tion. Our clergy say that you are not ordained, and have no right to preach. I should be glad to know what you think about it." " Suppose," replied Dr. Beecher, " you had in the neighborhood a blacksmith who said he could prove that he belonged to a regular line of blacksmiths which had come down all the way from St. Peter, but he made scythes that would not cut ; and you had another blacksmith, who said he could not see what descent from Peter had to do with making scythes that would cut. Where would you go to get your scythes ?" " Why to the man who made scythes to cut, certainly," replied the farmer. " Well," said Dr. Beecher, " that minister which cuts, is the minister which Christ has authorized to preach." In a recent conversation on the same subject, Dr. Beecher gave his opinions by relating this circumstance. 632 HISTORY OF HOMANISM. [book vn. News arrives of pope Pius's sickness. The council hastens to the last session. Article on Pnrgatorv. tentibus non deneget, nee patiatur non HIM BE ACCURSED — for God does deneget, nee patiatur nos supra id quod not deny his gifts to tljose who ask possumus, tentari. aright, neither does he suffer us to be tempted above that we are able. Si quis dixerit, statum conjugalem Whoever shall affirm, that the conju- anteponendum esse statui virginitatis, gal state is to be preferred to a life of vel cselibatus, et non esse melius ac virginity or celibacy, and that it is not beatius manere in virginitate aut csli- better and more conducive to happiness batu, quam jungi matrimonio ; ANA- to remain in virginity or celibacy than THEMA SIT. to be married, LET HIM BE AC CURSED. By the first of these canons. Popery makes good its claim to the character of anti-Christ by claiming the power to abrogate the laws of God ; by the second, it encourages persons to break the most inviolable of all obligations and contracts upon condition (by enter ing a monastery or nunnery) of becoming one of the slaves of Rome ; by the third, it forbids marriage to the clergy, and thus makes good its claim to another mark of anti-Christ, " forbidding to marry ;" and by the fourth it places an undeserved stigma upon that state which God himself established, which Jesus honored by his presence and a wonderful miracle, and which St. Paul, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit pronounced " honorable in all." § 47. — The council had resolved on the 9th of December for the twenty-fifth session, intending, if possible, to make it the closing session. All parties, legates and prelates, the ambassadors and the Pope, were now anxious to bring the council to a close. The sub jects of Purgatory, Indulgences, Feasts, Saints, Images, and Relics remained yet to be discussed, and it was resolved, that instead of lengthy decrees, with all the formality of chapters and canons, brief statements only of the doctrine of tlie church should be published on these subjects. While discussing these matters on the night ot the first of December, news arrived that pope Pius was alarmingly ill, and that his life was considered to be in danger. The fathers were hastily convened, and a resolution passed to celebrate the closing session of the council, as soon as the necessary documents could be prepared, instead of waiting for the ninth instant, the day originally appointed. Accordingly, on December 3, 1563, and the following day (for there was too much business to be dispatched at one sitting) the twenty-fifth and last session was held. Purgatory, the invocation of saints, and the use of images were the subjects of the first day's decision. On the second day, indulgences, the choice of meats and drinks, and the observance of feasts were the subjects of consideration. The following extracts from the statements promulgated by the council on these subjects, will be sufficient to show the doctrine of Popery on the topics to which they relate :— On Purgatory.—" Since the Catholic Church, instructed by the Holy Spirit, through the sacred writing and the ancient tradition of the fathers, hath taught in holy councils, and lastly in this cecumenical council, that there is a purgaiofy and thai the souls detained there are assisted by ihe suffrages of the faithful, but especially by the accepiable sacrifice of the mass ; this holy council commands all bishops OHAP. vn.] POPERY AT TRENT— A. D. 3,646-1563. 588 Doctrinal atatementa of the councU on Indulgences, Fasts, InvocaUon of Saints, and Relics. diligently to endeavor that the wholesome doctrine of purgatory, delivered to us by venerable fathers and holy councils, be believed and held by Christ's faithful, and everywhere taught and preached Let the bishops take care that the suffi-ages of the living faithful, masses, prayers, alms, and other works of Eiety, which the faithful have been accustomed to perform for departed believers, e piously and religiously rendered, according to the institutes of the church ; and whatever services are due to the dead, through the endowments qf deceased per sons, or in any other way, let them not be performed slightly, but diligently and carefully, hy the priests and ministers of the church, and all others to whom the duty belongs." On Indulgences. — ^" Since the power of granting indulgences has been bestowed by Christ upon his church, and this power, divinely given, has been used from flie earliest antiquity, ifee holy council teaches and er^oins thai the use cf indulgences, so salutary to Christian people, and approved by the authority of venerable councils, he retained by the church ; and it anathematizes those who assert that they are useless, or deny that the church has the power of granting them," &c. On choice qf Meats and Drinks, Fasts and Feast-days. — " Moreover, the holy council exhorts aU pastors, and beseeches them by the most holy coming of our Lord and Saviour, that as good soldiers of Jesus Christ, they assiduously recom mend to all the faithful the observance of all the institutions of the holy Roman church, the mother and mistress of all churches, and of the deerees of this and other oecumenical councils ; and that they use aU diligence to promote obedience to all their commands, and especially to those which relate to the mortification of the flesh, as the choice of meats and fasts ; as sQso to those which tend to the in crease of piety, and the devout and religious celebration of feast-days ; admonish ing the people to obey those who are set over them — for they who hear them, shall hear Gcod, the rewaiaer— hut they who despse them, shall feel that God is the avenger." On the Invocation qf Saints. — " The holy council commands all bishops, and others who have the care and charge of teaching, that according to the practice of the Catholic and apostolic church, received from the first beginning of the Christian religion, the consent of venerable fathers, and the decrees of holy coun cils, they labor with diligent assiduity to instruct the faithful concerning the invo cation and intercession of the saints, the honor due to relics, and the lawful use of images ; teaching them that the saints, who reign together with Christ, ofier their prayers to God for men — that it is a good and useful thing suppliantly to invoke ihem, and io flee io iheir prayers, help, and assistance, because of the benefits be stowed by God through his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who is our only Re deemer and Saviour ; and that those are men of impious sentiments who deny that the saints, who enjoy eternal happiness in heaven, are to be invoked — or who af firm that they do not pray for men, or to beseech them to pray for us is idolatry, or that it is contrary to the word of God, and opposed to the honor of Jesus Christ, the one Mediator between God and man, or that it is foolish to supplicate, verbally or mentally, those who reign in heaven." On ihe reverence due io the Relics qf ihe Saints. — " Let them teach also, that the holy bodies of the holy martyrs and others living with Christ, whose bodies were living members of Christ and temples of the Holy Spirit, and will be by him raised to eternal life and glorified, are to be venerated by the faithful, since by them God bestows many benefits upon men. So that they are to be wholly con demned, as the church has long before condemned them, and now repeats the sen tence, who affirm that veneration and honor are not due to the relics of the saints, or that it is a useless thing that the faithful should honor these and other sacred monuments, and that the memorials of the saints are in vain frequented, to obtain their help and assistance." 32 534 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [book vn. Wotship of images. Pagan and popish idolaters. The curse upon all who dare to ^ink difierently. On the reverence due to Images of Christ, the Virgin, and other Saints. — " More over, let them teach that the images of Christ, of the Virgin, mother of God, and of other saints, are to be had and retained, especially in churches, and due honor and veneration rendered to them. Not that it is believed that any divinity or power resides in them, on account of which they are to be worshipped, or that any bene fit is to be sought from them, or any confidence placed in images, as was formerly by the Gentiles, who fixed their hope in idols. But the honor with which they are regarded is referred to those who are represented hy them ; so that we adore C&ist, and venerate the saints, whose likenesses these images bear, when we kiss them, and uncover our heads in their presence, and prostrate ourselves. All which has been sanctioned by the decrees of councils, against the impugners of images, especially the second council of Nice." In reference to this last article it is worthy of remark, that the worshippers of Brahma, Vishnu, Gaudama, and other heathen idola ters, make precisely the same defence as the Romanists, when ac cused of worshipping images, viz : that they do not worship the images when they kiss them and prostrate themselves before them, biit the divinities, " whose likenesses these images bear." The divine command is, " Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, thou shalt not bow nowN thyself to them nor serve them," (Exod. XX., 4, 5), and the Romanist who in the words of the above decree, "prostrates" himself before an image (let him say what he will) is just as much an idolator as the Burman worshipper of Gau dama, or the Hindoo worshipper of Juggernaut. On this subject I have an interesting letter from* distinguished missionary from Bur mah, which I shall present in a future chapter. After thus establishmg the doctrine of Rome, on these gross per versions of the word of God, the council proceeds to add, in its usual style of bitter malediction against all who shall dare to think for themselves. Si qiiis autem his decretis contraria Whoever shall teach or think m op. docuit, aut senserit ; ANATHEMA position to these decrees : LET HIM SIT. IbE ACCURSED. 535 CHAPTER vm. CONCLUSION OP THE COUNCIL. ACCLAMATIONS OF. THE FATHERS, AND POPE Plus's CREED. § 48. — Decree of Confirmation. — After the foregoing decrees had been enacted, the council passed the following decree of confirma tion, in which it will be seen that, in accordance with the invariable policy- of the Romish church, in countries where they have suf ficient mfluence, the council invokes the secular arm, and exhorts all princes to enforce these decrees. Such is the unrepealed doc trine of Rome, in this decree of her last general council on the duty of the civil magistrate to enforce upon the people the dogmas of Popery. ,^ " So great has been the calamity of these times, and the inveterate malice of the heretics, that no explanations of our faith have been given, however clear, nor ^ny decrees passed, however express, which, influenced by the enemy of mankind, they have not defiled by some error. For which cause the holy council has taken particular care to condemn and anathematize the principal errors qf the heretics of our age, and to deliver and teach the true and Catholic doctrine ; this has been done — ihe council has condemned, anathematized, and defined. But since so many bishops, called from diffirent provinces of the Christian world, could be no longer absent fi-om their churches without great loss and universal peril to the flock — and no hope remained that the heretics would come hither any more, after hav ing been so often invited and so long waited for, and having received the pledge of safety, according to their desire ; and therefore it was necessary to put an end to this holy council ; it now remains that all princes be exhorted in the Lord, as they now are, not to permit its decrees to be corrupted or violated by ihe heretics, but to ensure their devout reception and faithful observance, by them and all others. But if any difficulty should arise in regard to their reception, or any circumstances oc cur, which indeed are not to be feared, that should render necessary any further explanation or definition ; the holy council trusts, that in addition to the remedies already appointed, the blessed Roman pontiff' will provide for the exigency, either by summoning certain individuals from those provinces in which the difficulty shall arise, to whom the management of the business may be confided, or by the cele bration of a general council, if it be judged necessary, or by some fitter method, adapted to the necessities of the provinces, and calculated to promote the glory of God, and the good of the church." § 49. — Acclamations of the fathers. — Before separating, a kind of closing recitative service was held, conducted by the cardinal of Lorraine, to express the assent and solemn confirmation of the fathers, of all that . had been done. At this service a responsive dialogue or declaration was uttered, called the acclamations of the fathers, ' acclamationes patrum,' and as it is of itself a curious per formance, and a most striking illustration of the spirit of Popery, it is here subjoined. Domine Deus, Sanctissimum Patrem O Lord God ! long preserve the most diutissime Ecclesije tuEE conserva, mul- Holy Father of thy church for many tos annos. years. Cardinal. Beatissimomm Summorum Cardinal. To the souls of tlie blessed 536 HISTORY OP ROMANISM. [book vn. Acclamations of the fathers at the close of the council. The last words were corses Pontificum animabus Pauli IH. et Julii m. quorum auctoritate hoc sacrum generale Concilium inchoatum est, pax a Domino, et Ecterna gloria, atque feUci- tas in luce sanctorum. Responsk) patrum. Memoria in bene dictione sit. Card. Caroli V. Imperatoris et Sere- BiSsimonim Siegum, qui hoc universale Concilium promoverunt et protexerunt, memoria in benedictione sit. Resp. Amen, Amen. pontifis Paul III. and Julius IE., by whose authority this holy general conn. cU was begun, peace from the Lord, eternal glory and felicity in the light of the saints. Answer of ihe fathers. May their me mory be blessed. Card. May the memory be blessed of the emperor Charles V., and the most serene kings who have promoted and protected this universal council. Ans. Amen, Amen. After similar acclamations, in praise of the emperor Ferdinand, the Pope, legates, reverend cardinals, illustrious orators, &c. the Cardinal proceeded as follows : — Card. Sacro-sancta oecumenica Tri dentina Synodus: ejus fidem confitea- mur, ejus decreta semper servemus. Resp. Semper confiteamur, semper servemus. Card. Omnes ita credimus: omnes id ipsum sentimus : omnes consentien- tes et amplectentes subscribimus. Haec est fides beati Petri, et Apostolonnn : haec est fides Patrum: haec est fides Orthodoxorum. Resp. Ita credimus ; ita sentimus ; ita subscribimus. Card. His decretis inhaerentes, digni reddamur misericordiis et gratis, primi, et magni supremi Sacerdotis Jesu Chris ti, Dei intercedente simul inviolate, Do- mind, nostra sancta Deipard,, et omnibus Sanctis. Re.ip. Fiat, fiat. Amen, Amen. Card. Anathema cukctis HaiKETicis. Resp. ANATHEMA, ANATHEMA. Card. The most holy and oecumeni cal council of Trent — ^may we ever confess its faith, ever observe its de crees. Ans. Ever may we confess, ever ob serve them. C. Thus we all believe : we are all of the same mind ; with hearty assent we all subscribe. This is the faith of the blessed Peter and the Apds' ties ; this is the faith of the fathers ; this is the faith of the orthodox. Ans. Thus we believe; thus we think ; thus we subscribe. ' C. Abiding by these decrees, may we he found worthy of the mercy of the chief and great high priest, Jesus Christ our God, by the intercession of our holy Lady, ihe Mother of God, ever a virgin, and all ihe saints. Ans. Be it so, be it so : Amen, Amen. C. ACCITKSED BE ALL HEKETIOS. Ans. ACCURSED, ACCURSED. Thus this famous council closed, with a bitter curse upon its lips, solemnly repeated in full chorus, in the most emphatic form, against all who should dare to think for themselves, or refuse im plicitly to receive their dogmas. And be it remembered, this is THE LAST GENERAL COUNCIL OF THE RoMisH CHUKCH, and that all its acts and decrees are just as binding now upon every papist as they were at the moment when they were proclaimed to the world. Again did this popish council, at the moment of its separation in its very last words vindicate the claim of Popery to the character of anti-Christ, for Christ has said, " Love your enemies, bless amd CURSE NOT ;" but anti-Christ says, " Accursed be all heretics, anathe ma, ANATHEMA ! ACCURSED 1 ! ACCURSED I ! 1" CHAP. VIII.] POPERY AT TRENT— A. D. 1545-1563. 58"? Summary of the doctrines of Trent in pope Pius's creed. § 50. — Pope Pius's creed. — On January 26th, 1564, pope Pius IV. pubhshed the bull of confirmation of the acts and decrees of the council, enjoining the prelates of the church, whenever neces sary and practicable, to call in the aid of the secular arm to enforce the decisions of the council upon all. In December of the same year, the Pope issued a brief summary of the doctrinal decisions of the council, in the form of a creed, usually called, after himself, "Pope Pius's Creed." It was immediately received throughout the universal church : and since that time, has ever been considered in every part of the world, as an accurate and explicit summary of the Roman Catholic faith. Non-catholics, on their admission mto the Catholic church, pubhcly repeat and testify their assent to it, without restriction or quahfication. On account of the authority and importance of this creed of pope Pius, it will be given in the original and a translation. It is expressed hi the following terms : Ego N. firma fide credo et profiteer omnia et singula, quae continentur in symbolo fidei, quo S. Romana, ecclesia fttitur, viz. ; — I. Credo in unum Deum Patrem omnl- potentem, factorem coeli et terraE, visibi- lium omnium, et invisibUium ; et in unum Dominum Jesum Christum, filium Dei unigenitum, et ex Patre natum ante pnmia ssecula ; Deum de Deo, lu men de lumine ; Deum verum de Deo vero; genitum, non factum; con- snbstantialem Patri, per quem omnia lacta sunt ; qui propter nos homines, et propter nostram salutem descendit de coelis, et incamatus et de Spiritu Sancto ex Maria virgine, et homo factus est ; cmcifixus etiaim pro nobis sub Pontic Pilato, passus, et sepultus est ; et resur- rexit tertia die secundum scripturas : et ascendit in coelum, sedet ad dexteram Patris ; et iterum venturus est cum glo ria judicare vivos, et mortuos ; cujus regni non erit finis: et in Spiritum Sanctum Dominum, et vivificantem, qui ex Patre Filioque procedit; qui cum Patre et FUio simul adoratur, et conglo- rificatur, qui locutus est per prophet^ : et unam sanctam Catholicam, et apos tolicam ecclesiam. Confiteor unum baptisma in remissionem peccatorum, et expecto resurrectionem mortuorum, et vitam venturi soeculi. Amen. 2. Apostolicas et ecclesiastioas tradi tiones, reliquasque ejusdem ecclesiae ob servationes et constitutiones firmissime adffiitto, et simplector. I, N., believe and profess, with a firm faith, all and every one of the things which are contained in the symbol of faith, which is used in the holy Roman church, viz. : — I believe in one God, the Father Al mighty, maker of heaven and earth, aud of all things visible and invisible ; and in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only be gotten Son of God ; bom of the Father before all worlds ; God of God ;' Light of Light ; true God of true God ; be- fotten, not made ; consubstantial to the 'ather, by whom all things were made; who, for us men, and for our salvation, came down from heaven, and was incar nate by the Holy Ghost of the Virgin Mary, and was made man ; was cruci fied also for us under Pontius Pilate, sufiered and was buried, and rose again the third day, according to the scrip tures, and ascended into neaven ; sits at the right hand of the Father, and wUl come again with glory to judge the liv ing and the dead, of whose kmgdom there wiU be no end ; and in the Holy Ghost, the Lord and Life-giver, who pro ceeds from the Father and the Son ; who, together with the Father and the Son, is adored and glorified, who spoke by the prophets: and one holy catholic and apostolic church. I confess one baptism for the remission of sins ; and I expect the resurrection " of the dead " and the life of the world. Amen. I most firmly admit and embrace apos tolical and ecclesiastical traditions, and all other constitutions and observanceB of the same church. 538 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [book vn. Creed of pope Pius IV., continued. 3. Item sacram seripturam juxta eum sensum, quem tenuit et tenet sancta ma ter ecclesia, cujus est judicare de vero sensu et interpretatione sacrarum scrip turarum, admitto ; nee eam unquam, nisi juxta unaninem consensum patrum accipiam, et interpretabor. 4. Profiteer quoque septem esse vere et proprie sacramenta novae legis, a Jesu Christo Domino nostro instituta, atque ad salutem humani generis, licet non omnia singulis necessaria, scilicet baptismum, confirmationem, eucharis tiam, poenitentiam, extremam unctionem, ordinem et matrimonium ; illaque gra tiam conferre; et ex his baptismum, confirmationem et ordinem, sine sacrile- gio reiterari non posse. 6. Receptos quoque et approbates ec clesiae catholicae rftus, in supra-dictorum omnium sacramentorum solemni admin- istratione recipio, et admitto. 6. Omnia et singvda, quae de peccato ori- ginali, et de justificatione in sacro-sancta Tridentina Synodo definita et declarata fuerunt, amplector et recipio. 7. Profiteor pariter in Missa offerri Deo verum, proprium et propitiatorium sa crificium pro vivis, et defunctis ; atque in sanctissimo Eucharistiae sacramento esse vere, realiter et substantiahter cor pus et sanguinem, una cum anima et di vinitate Domini nostri Jesu Christi; fierique conversionem totius substantiae panis in corpus, et totius substantiae vini in sanguinem : quam conversionem ca tholica ecclesia transubstantiationem ap pellat. 8. Fateor etiam sub altera tantum spe cie totum atque integrum Christum, ve- rumque sacramentum sumi. 9. Constanter teneo purgatorium esse, animasque ibi detentas fidelium sufiragiis juvari. 10. Similiter et sanctos una cum Chris to regnantes, venerandos atque invocan- dos esse, eosque orationes Deo pro nobis ofierre, atque eorum reliquias esse ven- erandas. n. Firmissime assero, imagines Chris ti, ac Deiparae semper virginis, necnon ali orum sanctorum, habendas et retinendas esse, atque eis debitum honorem ac ven erationem impertiendam. 12. Indulgentiarum etiam potestatem a I also admit the sacred scriptures ac cording to ihe sense which ihe holy mo ther church has held, and does hold, to whom it belongs to judge of the true sense and interpretation of the holy scriptures ; nor will I ever take or in terpret them otherwise, than according to ihe unanimous consent of the fathers. I profess also, that there are truly and properly seven sacraments of the new law, instituted by Jesus Christ our Lord, and for the salvation of mankind, though all are not necessary for every one : viz., baptism, confirmation, eucharist, pen ance, extreme unction, order, and matri mony, and that they confer grace ; and of these, baptism, confirmation, and or der, cannot be reiterated without sacri lege. I also receive and admit the ceremo nies of the Catholic church, received and approved in the solemn administra tion of all the above said sacraments. I receive and embrace all and every one of the things which have been de fined and declared in the holy council of Trent, concerning original sin and justification. I profess, likewise, that in ihe mass is offered to God a true, proper, and prop- iiatory sacrifice for the living and Uie dead ; and that in the most holy sacrifice of the eucharist there is truly, really, and substantially the body and blood, to gether with ihe soul and divinity qf our Lord Jesus Christ; and that there is made a conversion of the whole sub stance of the bread into the body, and of the whole substance of the wine mto the blood, which conversion the Catholic church calls transubstantiation. I confess also, that under either kind alone, whole and entire Christ, and a true sacrament is received. I constantly hold that there is a yar- galory, and that the souls detamed therein are helped by the suffiages of the faithful. Likewise, that ihe saints reigning to gether with Christ, are to be honored and invocated, that they offer prayers to God for us, and that their relics are to be venerated. I most firmly assert, that the imti^es of Christ and of the mother of God, ever virgin, and also of the other saints, are to be had and retained ; and that due honor and veneration are to be given them. I also affirm, that the power of indid- CHAP. VIII.] POPERY AT TRENT— A. D. 1546-15(53. 539 This creed binding upon all. According to it, Leighton, Baxter, Payson, fcc, ore now all In Htll. gences was left by Christ in the church, and that the use of them is most whole some to Christian people. I acknowledge the holy catholic and apostolical Roman churcn, the mother and mistress of all ¦ churches ; and I promise and swear true obedience to the Roman bishop, the successor of St. Pe ter, the prince of the apostles, and vicar of Jesus Christ. I also profess and undoubtedly re ceive all other things delivered, defined, and declared by the sacred canons, and GENERAL COUNCILS, and particularly by the holy council of Trent ; and like wise I also condemn, reject, and anathe matize all things contrary thereto, and all heresies whatsoever, condemned, rejected, and anathematized hy the church. This true catholic faith, ouT of which NONE CAN BE SAVED, which I now freely profess, and truly hold, I, N. promise, vow and swear most constantly to hold and profess the same whole and entire, with God's assistance, to the end of my life : and to procure, as far as lies in my power, that the same shall be heU, taught, and preached by aU who are un der me, or are entrusted to my care, by virtue of my office. So help me God, and these holy gospels of God. Christo in ecclesia relictam fuisse ; il- larumque usum Christiano populo max ime salutarem esse affirmo. 13. Sanctam Catholicam et apostolicam Romanam ecclesiam, omnium ecclesi arum matrem et magistram agnosco; Romanoque Pontifici, beati Petri, Apos tolorum Principis, successori, ac Jesu Christi vicario veram obedientiam spon dee, ac juro. * 14. Caetera item omnia a sacris canoni- bus, et cecumenicis cpnciliis, ac praecipue a sacro-sancta Tridentina Synodo tradita, definita, et declarata, indubitanter recipio atque profiteor ; simulque contraria om nia, atque h^reses quascumque ab ec clesia danmatas, rejectas, et anathema- tizatas, ego pariter damno, rejicio, et an- athematizos. 15. Hanc veram Catholicam fidem, ex tra quam nemo salvus esse potest, quam in praesenti sponte profiteor, et veraciter teneo, eandem integram et inviolatam, usque ad extremum vitae spiritum con- stantissime (Deo adjuvante) retinere et confiteri, atque a meis subditis, vel Ulis quorum cura ad me in munere meo spec- tabit, teneri, doceri, et praedicari, quan tum in me erit, curaturum, ego idem N. spondeo, voveo, ac juro. Sic me Deus adjuvet, et haec sancta Dei evangelia." § 51. — The above creed is binding at the present day upon every Romanist, whether priest or layman, and to it, every Romish priest now living has solemnly expressed his adherence. By this creed, it is expressly declared that out of the Romish church none can be saved, and that of course all who have died out of it are now suffering THE torments of HELL ! The seraphic Leighton, the godly Baxter, with Howe, and Hooker, and Chamock, and Flavel, and Owen, and the long list of worthies, their compeers of the olden time, in Eng land and on the contuient of Europe ; the angelic Payson, the heaven ly minded Nevins, and the holy and truly catholic Milnor,* the self- sacrificing missionaries, Carey, and Ward, and Morrison, and Boardman, and Henry Martin, and Ann Judson, and Harriet New ell — all, all of them, according to the solemnly professed creed of the Romanist, are even now suffering in the fires op Hell ! Is it possible for anti-Christian bigotry to go beyond this ? Besides this, be it remembered that he who professes this creed, * Since page 68 was stereotyped, on which the name of this estimable clergy man and devoted Christian was before mentioned, he has been called to enter into his rest. He departed this life, and exchanged, without doubt, the toils and sorrows of earth for the joys and the rest of Heaven, on the 8th of April, 1846. For many years previous to his death he had been the honored, revered, and succesBfu) Rector of St. George's Episcopal Church, New York. 540 HISTORY OP ROMANISM. [book to. The doctrines of Popery became permanentiy fixed at the councU of Trent solemnly declares that he receives " all things delivered, defined and declared by the general councils." This, of course, includes the decrees of the third and fourth council of Lateran on the duty of extirpating heretics* and all the rest of the unscriptural and anti- Christian decrees of these councils, which have been related in the present work. Then let it be remembered that this is the present faith of every intelhgent Romanist, and solemnly sworn to by every Romish priest. With the history and decrees of the council of Trent we might appropriately close our labors, as this was the last general council of the Romish church, and from that time to the present. Popery hag undergone but little change. In this council her doctrines became permanently fixed, and in its decrees all her anti-scriptural inventions were embodied. Since then her influence has been gradually declin ing, with occasional fitful efforts to regain her long-lost power. Wherever she could secure the aid of the secular arm, she has not failed to harass, and imprison, and bum the heretics who have opposed her ; and she has still reeled on in succeeding centuries, " drunk with the blood of the saints." A few sketches of the most famous of the persecutions of Popery, and a brief summary of the most important events in the history of the popedom since the Trentine period, will bring our labors to a close. * For these decrees, see above, pp. 302, 320. BOOK VIII. POPERY DRUNK WITH THE BLOOD OF THE SAINTS. PERSECUTIONS OF POPERY TO THE REVOCATION OF THE EDICT OF NABTES, A. D. 1685. /mMMAr^nfwvwwwwi^ CHAPTER L PERSECUTION PROVED FROM DECREES OP GENERAL COUNCILS AND WRIT INGS OF CELEBRATED DIVINES TO BE AN ESSENTIAL DOCTRINE OP POPERT. § 1. — Among the scriptural marks of the predicted Romish Apos tasy, the Babylonish Harlot of the Apocalypse, is the following :— « " And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs op Jesus (Rev, xvii., 6). The whole history of Popery is a commentary upon the truthfulness of this description. That history is written in lines of blood. Com pared with the butcheries of holy men and women by the papal anti- Christ, the persecutions of the pagan emperors of the first three centuries sink into comparative insignificance. For not a tithe of the blood of martyrs was shed by Paganism, that has been poured forth by Popery ; and the persecutors of pagan Rome, never dreamed of the thousand ingenious contrivances of torture, which, the malignity of popish inquisitors succeeded in inventing, when in the language of Pollock, they ******* gj^f g^jij planned Deliberately, and with most musing pains, How, to extremest thrill of agony. The flesh, and blood, and souls of holy men. Her victims might be wrought. From the birth of Popery in 606, to the present time, it is esti mated by careful and credible historians, that more than Fifty Mil lions of the human family, have been slaughtered for the crime of heresy by popish persecutors, an average of more than forty thoU' 542 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [book vm. Immense numbers of the martyred victims of popish bigotry and cruelty. sand religious murders for every year of the existence of Popery. Of course the average number of victims yearly, was vastly greater, during those gloomy ages when Popeiy was m her glory and reign ed Despot of the World ; and it has been much less since the pow er of the popes has diminished to tyrannize over the nations, and to compel the princes of the earth, by the terrors of excommunication, interdiction, and deposition, to butcher their heretical subjects.* The reader of the foregoing pages need not again be told, that the right to persecute heretics, and to put them to death for the sake of their opuiions, has been claimed and exercised for centuries by the Romish church. " The duty of putting heretics to death," says Professor Gaussen, of Geneva, " is among the infalhble and irre vocable decrees of its general councils, hke those of the Mass and Purgatory ; and when Luther dared to say, ' that it was against the will of the Holy Spirit, to burn with fire men convicted of error,' the court of Rome, in its bull Exsurge, placed this opmion among the number of the forty-one propositions for which it condemned Luther, and ordered, under severe penalties, that he should be seized and sent to the Pope."t § 2. — According to the faith of Romanists, there can be no higher legislative authority than a pope and general council, and what ever is decreed by such a council, with the concurrence of the Pope, becomes a legitimate doctrine and article of faith. Accord ingly, as we have seen, every priest, in the words of the creed of pope Pius, solemnly swears, on the holy evangelists, to hold and teach all that the sacred canons, and general councils have dehvered, declared, and defined. Of course they are bound to receive all the laws enacted by the general councils of Lateran, Basil, Constance, &c., enjoining the extermination of heretics. Innumerable provincial and national councils have issued the most cruel and bloody laws of outlawry and extermination against the Waldenses and other heretics ; such as the councils of Oxford, Toledo, Avignon, Tours, Lavaur, Albi, Narbonne, Beziers, Tolosa, &c. J But as papists will assert that these possess no authority to estabhsh a doctrine of the church (though they must be admitted to * " No computation can reach the numbers who have been put to death, in dif ferent ways, on account of their maintaining the profession of the Gospel, and op posing the corruptions of the Church of Rome. A million of poor Waldenses perished in France ; nine hundred thousand orthodox Christians were slam m less than thirty years after the institution of the order of the Jesuits. The Duke of Alva boasted of having put to death in the Netherlands, thirtt-six thocsakd by the hand of the common executioner during the space of a few years. The Inquisition destroyed, by various tortures, one hundred and fiftv thousakd within thirty years. These are a few specimens, and but a few, of those which history has recorded ; but the total amount wUl never be known till the earth shall disclose her blood, and no more cover her slain" (Scott's Church History). f See an able discourse of Professor Gaussen, of Geneva, to the Theological students at the opening of the course in October, 1843, entitled " Popery an argu ment for the Truth, by its fulfilment of Scripture Prophecies." X See Edgar, 218, 219, with citations of original authorities. chap. I.] POPERY DRUNK WITH BLOOD OF SAINTS. 543 Oeneial councUs which have enjoined the slaughter and extirpaUon of heretics. be illustrations of its spirit), I shall pass over these, and simply re- muid the reader, once more, of the general councils that have sanc tioned by their decrees the punishment of death for heresy. Six at least of these highest judicial assemblies of the Romish church, with the Pope at their head, have authoritatively and solemnly en joined the persecution and extermination of heretics. These comprehended (1) the second general council of Lateran, who in the year 1 139, in the twenty-third cangn, excommunicated and condemned the heretics, commanded the civil powers to suppress, thein, and included their protectors and defenders in the same curse with themselves.* (2.) The third general council of Lateran, in 1179, under pope Alexander III., issued a still fiercer manifesto against the heretics. An extract fi:om this bloody decree has already been given in English on page 302. It will be sufficient, in this place, to throw into a note a corresponding extract from the original Latin of the same decree, t (3.) The fourth general council of Lateran in 1215, under the inhuman pope Innocent IIL, exceeded in ferocity all that had pre ceded it. A copious extract from the decree of this council, both in the original and in English, has already been given on pages 332, 333. (4.) The sixteenth general council held at Constance in 1414, we have already seen carrying these bloody principles into execu tion in the inhuman religious murder of Huss and Jerome. Not content with this act of horrible treachery and barbarity, the Pope and the coimcil proceeded, previous to its dissolution in 1418, to a solemn sanction of the inhuman decrees of Lateran. The holy and infalhble assembly, in its forty-fifth session, presented a shock ing scene of blasphemy and barbarity. Pope Martin, presiding in the sacred synod and clcj,hed with all its authority, addressed the bishops and inquisitors of heretical pravity, on whom he bestowed his apostolic benediction. The eradication of error and the es tablishment of Catholicism, Martin represented as the chief care of himself and the council. His Holiness in his pontifical polite ness, characterized Wickliflf, Huss, and Jerome, as pestilent and de ceitful hierarchs, who, excited with truculent rage, infested the Christian fold, and made the sheep putrify with the filth of false hood. The partisans of heresy through Bohemia, Moravia, and other kingdoms, he described as actuated with the pride of Lucifer, the fury of wolves, and the deceitfulness of demons. The Pontiff * Eos qui religiositatis speciem simulantes, tanquam haereticos ab ecclesia Dei pellimus, et damnamus, et per potestates exteras coerceri praecipimus. Defensores quoque ipsorum ejusdem damnationis vinculo innodamus. (Bin. 8, 596.) f Eos et defensores eorum et receptores anathemati decemimns subjacere. Sub anathemate prohibemus, ne quis eos in domibus, vel in terra sua tenere vel fovere, vel negotiationem cum eis exercere prjEsumat. Confiscentur eorum bona et liberum sit principibus hujusmodi hoKdnes subjicere servituti. (Labb. 13, 530. BiM. 8, 662.) 544 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [book vm. Sanctioning murder in the name of the God of mercy. Plenary indulgence for the murderen. then, supported by the council, proceeded, for the glory of God, the stability of Romanism, and the preservation of Christianity, to excommunicate these advocates of error, with their pestilent pa trons and protectors, and to consign them to the secular arm and the severest vengeance. He commanded kings to punish them according to the Lateran council. The above mentioned inhuman enactments of the Lateran, therefore, were to be brought into requisition against the Bohemians and Moravians, and they were to be de spoiled of all property, Christian burial, and even of the consola tions of humanity.* (5.) The council of Sienna, in 1423, which was afterward con- tuaued at Basil, pubhshed persecuting enactments of a similar kind. The holy synod assembled in the Holy Ghost, and representing the universal church, acknowledged the spread of heresy in difierent parts of the world through the remissness of the inquisitors, and to the ofience of God, the injury of Catholicism, and the perdition of souls. The sacred convention then commanded the inquisitors, in every place, to extirpate every heresy, especially those of Wickliff, Huss, and Jerome. Princes were admonished by the mercy of God to exterminate error, if they would escape divine vengeance. The holy fathers and the viceroy of heaven conspired, in this man- ner, to sanction murder hi the name of the God of mercy : and granted plenary indulgences to all who should banish those sons of heterodoxy or provide arms for their destruction.f These enact ments were published every sabbath, while the bells were rung and the candles lighted and extinguished. (6.) The fifth general council of the Lateran, in 1614, enacted laws, marked, if possible, with augmented barbarity. Dissembling Christians of every kind and nation, heretics polluted with any con- tammation of error were, by this infallible gang of ruffians, dis missed from the assembly of the faithful, and consigned to the in- Suisition, that the convicted might undergo due punishment, and le relapsed suffer without any hope of pardon.! * HaeresiarchsE, Luciferina superhia et rahie lupina evecti, ds^monum fi^udibns illusi. Oves Christi Catholicas haeresiarchse ipsi successive infecerunt, et in ster- core mendaciorum fecerunt putrescere. Credentes et adhaerentes eisdem, tan quam haereticos, indicetis et velut haereticos seculari Curiae relinquatis. (Bin. 8, 1120.) Secundum tenorem Lateranensis Concilii expellant, nee eosdem domicilia tenere, contractus inire, negotiationes exercere, aut humanitatis solatia cum Christi fidelibus habere permittant. (Bin. 8, 1121. Crab. 2, 1166.) _ f Volens hffic sancta synodus remedium adhibere, statuit et mandat omnibus et eingulis inquisitoribus hsreticae pravitatis, ut solicite intendant inquisitioni et ex- tirpationi hsresium quarumcumque. Omnes Christianae religionis principes ac dommos ta,m ecclesiasticos quam saeculares hortatur, invitat, et monet per viscera misericordia Dei, ad extirpationem tanti per ecclesiam praedamnati erroris omni celeritate, si Divinam ultionem et pcenas juris evitare voluerunt. (Labb. 17, 97, 98. Bruy. 4, 72.) It is proper here to remark, that some Romish authors deny the claim of the council of Sienna and Basil to be a general council. Othere, however, admit it. I Onmes ficti Christiani, ac de fide male sentientes, cujuscumque generis aut nationis fuerint, necnon haeretici seu aliqua hsresis labe polluti, a Christi fide- CHAP. L] POPERY DRUNK WITH THE BLOOD OF SAINTS. 545 Persecution of heretics advocated by popish divines. St. Aquinas, Cardinal Bellarmine " The principle of persecution, therefore," justly remarks the learned Edgar, " being sanctioned, not only by theologians, popes, and provincial synods, but also by general councils, is a neces- .sARY AND integral PART OF RoMANisM. The Romish communion has, by its representatives, declared its right to compel men to re nounce heterodoxy and embrace Catholicism, and to consign the obstinate to the civil power to be banished, tortured, or killed."* § 3. — The same persecuting principles have been advocated by individual Romish divines in various ages. It will be sufficient to quote proofs of this remark from Saint Aquinas in the thirteenth century, Bellarmine of the sixteenth, and Peter Dens who wrote in the eighteenth, but is studied and followed by popish colleges and seminaries of the nineteenth. The persecuting doctrine is frequently avowed in the writings of St. Aquinas, the angehc doctor, as he is called by Romanists. " Heretics," says he, " are to be compelled by corporeal punish ments, that they may adhere to the faith."f In other places, St. Aquinas unequivocally asserts, that " heretics may not only be ex communicated, but justly killed," and that " the church consigns such to the secular judges to be exterminated from the world by death."X But the most remarkable illustration of the spirit of Popery on this subject, is the labored argument of a celebrated Cardinal, enforcing the duty of thus putting heretics to death. Cardinal Bellarmine§ is the great champion of Romanism, and expounder of its doctrines. He was the nephew of pope Marcellus, and is acknowledged to be a standard writer with Romanists. In the 21st and 22d chapters of the third book of his work, entitled " De Laicis" (concerning the laity), he enters into a regular argu ment to prove that the church has the right, and should exercise it, of punishing heretics with death. The following extracts are so conclusive as to the faith of Romanists on this point, that we give them in the original, as well as in the translation. The titles of the chapters are Bellarmine's as well as what follows. lium coBtu penitus eliminentur, et quocumque loco expellantur, ac debita ani- madversione puniantur, statuimus. (Crabb. 3, 646. Bin. 2, 112. Labb. 19, 844.) * See Edgar, chapter vi., passim. f Haeretici sunt etiam corporaliter compellandi. (Aquinas 2, 42.) And again, Hffiretici sunt compellandi ut fidem teneant. (Aquin. 2, 10.) X Haeretici possunt non solum excommunicari sed et juste occidi Eccle sia rehnquit eum judici saeculari mundo exterminandum per mortem. (Aquinas 2, 11 ; 3, 48.) 5 Cardinal Bellarmine. — ^This celebrated popish casuist and divine was bom in Tuscany, in 1542. He was raised to the dignity of Cardinal in 1599, as a re ward for his writings and services on behalf of Popery; and from 1605 to the year of his death, 1621, he resided at Rome, in constant attendance upon the per son of the popes, and under their ptronage, industriously employing his pen for the defence of the Roman Catholic faith. After his death, on account of the valuable services he had rendered the Romish church by his writings, he was very near being placed in the calendar of saints. Out of seventeen cardinals, we are informed by a Romish historian, that ten voted for his canonization. (Dupin, cent, xvii., book S.) 546 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [boor vm.' Bellarmine's argument proving that the church has a right to punish Heretics with death. Chapter XXI. That heretics, condemned by the church, may be punished with temporal penalties and even with death. ' Posse hcere- ticos ab ecclesia damnatos temporalibus poenis etiam morte mulctari.' Nos igitur breviter ostendemus haereti cos incorrigibiles ac preesertim relapses, posse ac debere ab ecclesia rejici, et a secularibus potestatibus temporalibus poenis atque ipsa etiam morte mulctari. Primo probatur scripturis. Probatur secundo sententiis et legibus imperato- rnm, quas ecclesia semper probavit. Probatur tertio legibus ecclesiae. Pro batur quarto testimoniis Patrum. Pro batur ultimo ratione naturali. Primo hEEretici excommunicari jure possunt, ut omnes fatentur, ergo et occidi. Probatur consequentia quia excommunicatio est major pcena, quam mors temporalis. Secundo experientia docet non esse aliud remedium, nam ecclesia paulatim progressa est et omnia remedia experta ; primo solum excommunicabat deinde ad- didit mulctam pecuniariam ; tam exili- um, ultimo coacta est ad mortem venire : mittere iUos in locum suum. Tertio, falsarii omnium judicio meren- tur mortem ; at hasretici falsarii sunt verbi Dei. Quarto, gravius est non servare fidem hominem Deo, quam feminam viro ; sed hoc morte punitur, cur non Ulud. Quinto, tres causae sunt propter quas ratio docet homines occidendos esse; prima causa est ne mali bonis noceant ; secunda est, ut paucorum supplicio multi corrigantur. Multi enim quos impunitas faciebat torpentes supplicia proposita excitant ; et nos quotidie idem videmus fieri in locis ubi viget Inquisi- tio. Denvjue haereticis obstinatis benefi- cium est quod de hac vita tollantur; nam quo diutius vivunt eo plures er rores excogitant, plures pervertunt, et majorem sibi danmationem acquirunt. "We will briefly show that the church has the power and ought to cast ofl" incorrigible heretics, especially those who have relapsed, and that the secular power ought to inflict on such, tempo ral punishments, and even death itself. let. This may be proved from the Scripture. 2d. It is proved from the opinions and laws of the Emperors, which the church has always approved. 3d. It is proved by ihe laws of ike church. 4th. It is proved by the testimony of tlie fathers. Lastly. It is proved from natural reason. For first: It is owned by all, that heretics may of right be ex communicated — of course they may be put to death. This consequence is proved because excommunication is a greater punishment than temporal death. Secondly. Experience proves that there is no other remedy ; for the church has step by step tried all remedies- first,— excommunication alone ; then pe cuniary penalties; afterward banish ment ; and lastly has been forced to put them io death ; to send ihem io iheir own place. Thirdly. All allow that forgery de serves death ; but heretics are guilty of forgery of the word of God. Fourthly. A breach of faith by man toward God, is a greater sin, than of a wife with her husband. . But a woman's unfaithfulness is punished with death ; why not a heretic's ? Fifthly. There are three grounds on which reason shows that heretics should be put to death : the 1st is, lest the wicked should injure the righteous — 2d, that by the punishment of a few, many may be reformed. For many who WERE MADE TORPID BT HHPUHIiy, AEE ROUSED BT THE FEAR OF PUNISHMEIiT j AND THIS WE DAlLT SEE IS THE KESUIT WHERE THE InQTOSITION FLOURISHES. Finally, It is a benefit to obstinate heretics to remove them from this life ; for the longer they live the more errors they invent, the more persons they mis lead : and the greater damnation do they treasure up to themselves. In the next chapter Bellarmine proceeds to reply to the objections of Luther and others, against the burning of heretics. We 'tran- CHAP. I.J POPERY DRUNK WITH THE BLOOD OF SAINTS. 547 Cardinal Bellarmine's answers to objections against the punishment of heretics by death. scribe the replies of the popish casuist to the first, second, thirteenth and eighteenth arguments against the burning of heretics.* The chapter is entitled as follows : Chapter XXII. Objections answered. ' Solvuntur objectiones.' Superest argumenta Lutheri atque alibrum haereticorum diluere. Argu mentum, primum, ab experientia totius ecclesiffi : ^Ecclesia,' inquit Lutherus, ' ab initio sui usque hue nullum combussit h/creiicum, ergo non videtur esse volun tas Spiritus ut comburantur.' Respondeo, argumentum hoc optime, probat, non sententiam, sed imperitiam, vel impudentiam Lutheri : nam cum infiniti propemodum, vel combusti, vel aliter necati fuerint, aut id ignoravit Lutherus, et tunc imperitus est, aut non ignoravit, et impudens, ac mendax esse convincitur : nam quod haeretici sint saepe ab ecclesia combusti, ostendi po test, si adducamus pauca exempla de multis. Argumentum secundum; experientia testatur non profici terroribus. Respon deo, experientia est in contrarium ; nam Donatistae, Manichaei, et Albigenses armis profligati, et extincti sunt. Argumentum decimum tertium : Do minus attribuit ecclesise gladium spiri tus, quod est verbum dei non autem gladium ferri; immo Petro volenti gladio ferreo ipsum defendere, ait : ' Mitte gladium tuum in vaginam,' Joan 18. Respondeo ecclesia sicut habet Principes Ecclesiasticos, et seculares, qui sunt quasi duo ecclesiae brachia, ita quos habet gladios, spiritualem, et ma- terialem, et ideo, quando manus dextera gladio spirituali non potuit hjereticum convertere, invocat ausdlium brachii sin- " It remains to answer the objections of Luther and other heretics. Argument 1st. Prom the history of the church at large. ' The church,' says Luther, 'from the beginning, even io ihis time, has never bumed a heretic.] Therefore it does not seem to be the mind of the Holy Spirit, that they should be burned !' I reply that this argument proves not the sentiment, but the ignorance, or im pudence of Luther ; for as almost an INFINITE NUMBER WERE EITHER BURNED OR OTHERWISE PUT TO DEATH, Luthcr either did not know it, and was there fore ignorant ; or if he knew it, he is convicted of impudence and falsehood — for that heretics were often bumed bt THE CHURCH may be proved by adducing a few from many examples. Argument 2d. ' Experience shows that terror is not useful.' Ireply, experience PROVES THE COHTRART — FOR THE Do- NATISTS, MaNICHEANS, AND ALBIGENSES WERE ROUTED, AND ANNIHrLATED BY' ARMS. Argument 13th. ' The Lord attributes to the church " the sword of the Spi rit, which is the word of God ;" but not the material sword, nay. He said to Pe ter, who wished to defend him with a material sword, " put up thy sword into the scabbard."' John 18th. I answer; As the church has ecclesiastical and secular princes, who are her two arms ; so she has two swords, the spiritual and material ; and therefore when her right hand is unable to convert a heretic with the sword of the Spirit, she invokes the * The whole of this labored argument of the great popish divine, to prove the lawfulness and expediency of the burning of heretics, is well worthy of examina tion and study, by all who would understand what genuine Popery is. In the edi tion of Bellarmine's works (Six vols., fol. 1610), which I have consulted in the cele brated Van Ess library of the New York Theological Seminary, it occupied ten folio columns of Vol. II., p. 555, &c., besides the 20th chapter, of four columns, proving that the books of heretics ought to be destroyed. t If Luther ever made this assertion ascribed to him by Bellarmine, his meaning must have been that the true church of God had never bumed a heretic, not that the anti-Christian Popes, councils, and secular powers of the Romish church had not bumed heretics, for in the sense of the Romish church, all history testifies to the truth of Bellarmine's remark, that " an infinite number" of heretics were " either bumed, or otherwise put to death," and that too (in the words of Bel larmine), " BY THE CHURCH." 548 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [book vm. Popery ia unchangable. The doctrine of Bellarmine taught by papists in the nineteenth centuryi istri, Ut gladio ferreo haereticos coerceat. aid of the left hand, and coerces heretics with ihe material sword. Argumentum decimum ociavum: Argument 18th. " The Apostles never Nunquam Apostoli brachium seculare invoked the secular arm against here- contra haereticos invocaverunt. Re- tics." Answer (according to St. Augua- spondet S. Augustinus in epist. 60. et tine, in letter 50 and elsewhere). " The alibi, Apostolos id non fecisse, quia nul- Apostles did it not, because there was no Ius tunc erat Christianus Princeps, quem Christian Prince whom they could call invocarent. At postquam tempore Con- on for aid. Bui afterwards in Constan- Btantini Ecclesia tine's time. . ... the church called aiixilium secularis brachii imploravit. in the aid of ihe secular arm." Now if, as Romanists in protestant countries sometimes assert, the Romish is not a persecuting church ; could it be possible that one of the very highest dignitaries of that church, a Cardinal, the nephew of one pope, and the special favorite and confidant of others, could have penned, without rebuke, such an infamous and labored argument in support of the burning of heretics, as that from which the foregoing extracts are made. § 4. — Some people suppose that, with the lapse of ages, the character of persecuting Rome has changed. No such thing. Popery is unchangeable, and so her ablest advocates declare. Says Charles Butler, in the work he wrote in reply to Southey's book of the church, — " It is most true that the Roman Catholics beheve the doctrines of their church to be unchangeable ; and that it is a tenet of their creed, that what their faith ever has been, such it was from the beginning, such it is now and such it ever will be."* But supposing Romanists admitted a possibility of change in their doctrines, still there is abundant evidence in point of fact, from the writings of recent popish divines, that their doctrine remains the same, relative to the duty, whenever, and wherever they possess the power of extirpating heretics by death. It would be easy to cite a multitude of proofs of this assertion from various writers, but a single author will be sufficient. It is from the theology of Peter Dens, the celebrated doctor of Louvain. It was written, or rather the first volume was printed in 1758, and was adopted by the popish clergy m Dublm, in the year 1808, " who unanimously agreed that this book was the best work, and the safest guide in Theology for the Irish clergy."! -A- single extract will be sufficient. After statmg . that heretics are deservedly visited with the penalties of exile, im prisonment, &c., the popish Doctor inquires, An haretici recte puniuntur morte 1 Are heretics rightly punished with Respondet S. Thomas afiirmative : quia Death ? St. Thomas answers w the falsarii pecunis vel alii rempublicam affirmative. Because forgers of mo- turbantes juste morte puniuntur : ergo ney or other disturbers of the state are etiam hffiretici qui sunt falsarii fidei et justly punished with death; therefore nt experientia docet rempublicam gravi- also heretics, who are forgers of the ter perturbant. . . . Confirmatur ex faith, and as experience shows, greatly 80 quod Deus in veteri lege jusserit oc- disturb the state. . . . TMsiscon- * Butler's Book of the Roman Catholic ChurcL t Edgar's Variations, p. 243. CHAP, n.] POPERY DRUNK WITH THE BLOOD OF SAINTS. 549 The persecuting doctrine taught in the Rhemish Testament, fcc. Bloody queen Mary. cidi falsos Prophetas. . . . Idem firmed by the command of God under Jrobatur ex condemnatione articulii 14, the old law, that the false prophets oan. Huss in ConoUio Constantiensi. should be killed. . . . The same is (Dens, 2, 88, 89.) proved by the condemnation — by the fourteenth article — of John Huss in the council of Constance. The same horrid doctrine is taught in the Extravagants or Constitutions and other authorized writings of a large number of the popes, the Directorium Inquisitorium, or Directory for Inquisi tors, the notes to the Rhemish Testament,* &c., &c., but the point is already established upon sufficient authority, and further testi mony is unnecessary. Without undertaking to give a complete account of the persecutions of Popery, we shall present a few additional sketches of the manner in which the persecuting princi ples of Rome have in various ages been carried out in the tortures, massacres, burnings, and other barbarities inflicted upon those whom she chose to stigmatize with the name of heretics. CHAPTER II. SUFFERINGS OF THE ENGLISH PROTESTANTS UNDER BLOODY aUEEN MARY. THE BURNING OP LATIMER, RIDLEY, CRANMER, &C. § 5. — It would be improper entirely to omit, and yet it is not necessary minutely to describe the well known cruel burnings of the English protestants, during the reign of the bigoted and hard hearted woman, whose name has been appropriately handed down to posterity as bloody Queen Mary.I And it seems proper to * In the Rhemish translation of the New Testament for the English Romanists, the following note is appended to the words of our Lord — Luke ix., 55 — when he rebuked two of his disciples for their desire to destroy those who refused to receive him : " Not justice, nor all rigorous punishment of sinners, is here forbidden ; nor Elias's fact reprehended ; nor the Church, nor Christian princes, blamed for put ting heretics to death ; but that none of these should be done for desire of our particular revenge, or without discretion, and in regard of their amendment and example to others. Therefore, St. Peter used his power upon Ananias and Sap phira, when he struck them both down to death for defrauding the Church .'" He brews X., 29, is, in like manner, applied to all whom the Church of Rome calls heretics. f Full infonjiation on these persecutions may be obtained from that well known and authentic work, " Fox's Book of Martyrs," " Southey's Book of the Church," &c. I would especially recommend the valuable abridgment of Fox's work, accompanied with remarks in her own beautiful and impressive style, by Mrs. Tonna, better known as Charlotte Elizabeth, a lady, who, by her genius, piety, and genuine Protestantism, as exhibited in the numerous productions of her pen, has laid un- 33 550 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [book vm. Number of martyrs of the Marian persecution. The venerable Latimer and Ridley. commence these few sketches of persecutions of Popery, with the recital of the sufferings of the Marian martyrs, as they all occurred during the interval that elapsed between the second adjournment and resumption of the council of Trent already described. During her brief reign of five years, according to the lowest calculations, two hundred and eighty-eight persons were burned ALIVE, by her order, for the crime of heresy, and among them were the wealthy and the poor, the priest and the layman, the merchant and the farmer, the blind and the lame, the helpless female and the new-born babe. The persecutions did not commence in the first year of her reign. She was proclaimed Queen on the 17th of July, 1553, and it was not till the commencement of 1555 that the venerable John Rogers, the proto-martyr of the Marian persecu tion, sealed the truth with his blood by being burnt alive at Smith- field. He suffered on the 4th of February, 1555. The number of heretics burnt alive in England, in 1555, was seventy-one; in 1556, eighty-nine ; in 1557, eighty-eight; and in 1558, forty. The num ber of the victims would have been largely swelled, had not death relieved the world of the presence and tyranny of this popish mon ster in the shape of a woman, on the 17th of November, 1558. The names of Rogers, and Saunders, and Hooper ; of Taylor, and Bradford, and Philpot ; of Latimer, and Ridley, and Cranmer; and of their martyred associates, have become familiar as house hold words to their protestant descendants of England and Ameri ca; and the oft-repeated story of their painful but triumphant deaths, amidst the torturing fires of martyrdom, continues to preach loudly and eloquently of the cruelty and bigotry of Rome. Our limits will allow but a brief sketch of the martyrdom of the three last-mentioned of the nine worthies whose names have been cited above. § 6. — Bishops Latimer and Ridley were two of the ablest as well as holiest of the martyrs whose blood was offered as a sacri fice upon the altar of popish bigotry during the reign of Mary. Hugh Latimer was born about 1472, and was now, therefore, upwards of fourscore years old. He had been a prominent man, in the reign of the licentious Henry VIIL, the father of queen Mary, and was appouited by him to the bishopric of Worcester. It is related of Latimer, as an instance of his faithfulness, that on new year's day, when, according to the prevailing custom, the emi nent men of the land presented the King with a new year's gift, his gift consisted of a copy of the New Testament, with the pas sage marked, and the leaf turned down to the words, " Whoremon gers and adulterers God will judge." Those acquainted with the history of the adulterous Henry VIII. need not be told how applicable was the reproof to his character. der deep obligation the whole protestant world. I know of no uninspired writer, either of the past or present time, who so happily combines entertainment with instruction as this gifted lady. Her " English Martyrology" and " Siege of Derry " ought to be read by every protestant youth in the world. chap, n.] POPERY DRUNK WITH THE BLOOD OF SAINTS. 551 DegradaUon of Ridley from the priesUy office. Reasons of this ceremony. When this faithful and venerable man was apprehended by order of the bloody Mary, he said to the officer, " My friend, you are a welcome messenger to me ;" and in passing through Smithfield, where so many of the martyrs of J esus had been burned alive, he remarked, " Smithfield hath long groaned for me." He suffered a long and cruel imprisonment in the Tower previous to his martyr dom. One day, when suffering from the severe frost and denied the comfort of a fire, the aged sufferer pleasantly remarked to his keeper, that if he were not taken better care of, he should certainly escape out of his enemies' hands, meaning that he should perish with cold and hardship, and thus escape the burning intended for him by his enemies. Nicholas Ridley was bom in the year 1500, had been chaplain to the pious youth, king Edward VI., the predecessor of Mary, and had been appointed by him bishop of London. Upon the accession of Mary, he was soon seized and committed to the Tower, where he and Latimer continued during the winter of 1553 and 1554, and were afterwards removed to Oxford, and lodged in a common prison. In the year 1555, a commission was issued to several popish bishops to proceed against these two holy men. Full ac counts are given by Fox of the various disputations they held with the martyrs. It is sufficient here to remark, that neither threats nor promises could shake their constancy, and that in every interview they came off" triumphant over all the arguments of their popish opponents, by whom they were condemned to be degraded, and delivered up to the secular power. § 7. — The reason why the church of Rome always performed this ceremony of degradation upon ecclesiastics before delivering them up to the secular arm to be burnt, was because she was too watchful over the immunities of the privileged order of priests, to deliver them up to temporal jurisdiction, till stripped of the sacer dotal character, and degraded to the situation of laymen. Brooks, bishop of Gloucester, performed this ceremony on Ridley on the 15th of October. Brooks repeated on this occasion his fruitless attempts to shake the constancy of the martyr, and to induce him to acknowledge the authority of the Pope ; but Ridley only renewed his faithful testimony concerning " the usurped authority of the Romish anti-Christ ;" and declared, " the Lord being my helper, I will maintain so long as my tongue shall wag, and breath is within my body, and in confirmation thereof seal the same with my blood." Ridley continued so faithfully to reason upon the true character of the Pope, that the Bishop threatened to employ the gag, a weapon of frequent use in those days, when the faithful testimony of the martyrs could be in no other way prevented. The bishop of Gloucester then remarked, that seeing he would not receive the Queen's mercy, they must go on to degrade him from the dignity of priesthood ; saying moreover, " we take you for no bishop, and therefore we will the sooner have done with you, com mitting you to the secular power ; you know what doth follow.'' 552 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [book vm. Ridley's courage under moclcery and abuse. Latimer and Ridley at the stake " Do with me as it shall please God to suffer you," was the reply • " I am well content to abide the same with all my heart." Brooks desired him to put off" his cap and put upon him the surplice : he answered, " I will not." " But you must." " I will not." " You must ; therefore make no more ado, but put this surplice upon you." " Truly, if it come upon me, it shall be against my will." « Will you not put it upon you ?" " No, that I will not." " It shall be put upon you by some one or other." " Do therein as it shall please you ; I am well contented with that, and more than that ; the ser vant is not above his Master. If they dealt so cruelly with our Sa viour Christ, as the Scripture maketh mention, and he suff"ered the same patiently, how much more doth it become us, his servants ?" The surplice was then forcibly put on him, with all the trinkets appertaining to the mass : during which he vehemently inveighed a,gainst the Romish bishop, calling him anti-Christ, and the apparel foolish and abominable. This made Dr. Brooks very angry : he bade him hold his peace, for that he did but rail. The Christian martyr replied, so long as his tongue and breath would suff"er him, he would speak against their abominable doings whatsoever hap pened unto him for it. When they came to the place where he should hold the chalice and wafer-cake, they bade him take them into his hands : he replied, " They shall not come into my hands ; and if they do, they shall fall to the ground for me." An attendant was obliged to hold them fast in his hands while^Brooks read acer- tain thing in Latin, appertainmg to that part of the performance. Next they placed a book in his hand, while Brooks recited the passage, " We do take from you the office of preaching the gospel," &G. At these words Dr. Ridley gave a great sigh, and looking up toward heaven, said, " O Lord God, forgive them this their wick edness !" The massing garments being taken off" one by one, till the surplice only was left, they proceeded to the last step of the de gradation, by deposing him from the lowest office of the priesthood." {See Engraving.) .j;j> . §8.— On, the following day, October lOth, 1555^Latimer and Ridley were brought to the stake, which was prepared in a hollow, near Baliol college, on the north side of the city of Oxford.-, The venerable Latimer being stripped for the stake, appeared in a shroud prepared for the occasion; and now, says Fox, "a remarkable change was observed in his appearance ; for whereas he had hith erto seemed a withered, decrepit, and even a deformed old mail^he how stood perfectly upright, a straight and comely person. Ridley was disposed to remain in his trousers ; but on his brother observ ing that it would occasion him more pain, and that the article of dress would do some poor man good, he yielded to the latter plea, and saying, "Be it, in the name of God," dehvered it to his brother. Then, being stripped to his shirt, he stood upon a stone by the stake, and holding up his hand, said, « O heavenly Father, I give unto thee most hearty thanks, for that thou hast called me to be a professor of thee, even.; unto death : I beseech thee, Lord God, take mercy upon reremon>' of tliP DecTti'.lation of a Prii."^t pri^^ inns m M ir»i r^lnin. "^1 jJuniiiig ol" l.atiinri- ami Kidlej , at Oxford. CHAP, n.] POPERY DRUNK WITH THE BLOOD OF SAINTS. 555 Dying remark of the venerable Latimer. Ridley's horrible nnd protracted torment by his slow burning this realm of England, and deliver the same from all her enemies." The smith now brought a chain, and passed it round the bodies of the two martyrs, as they quietly stood on either side of the stake : while he was hammering the staple into the wood, Ridley took the chain in his hand, and shaking it, said, " Good fellow, knock it in hard, for the flesh will have its course." This being done, Shipside brought him some gunpowder in a bag to tie round his neck ; which he received as sent of God, to be a means of shortening his tor ment ; at the same time inquiring whether he had any for his bro ther, meaning Latimer, and hastening him to give it immediately, lest it might come too late ; which was done. A lighted faggot was then brought, and laid down at his feet, on which Latimer turned and addressed him in those memorable and prophetic words, " Be of good comfort, Mr. Ridley, and play the man : " we shall this DAY light such a CANDLE, BY God's GRACE, IN EnGLAND, AS, I TRUST, SHALL NEVER BE PUT OUT." The flames rose ; and Ridley in a wonderfully loud voice ex claimed hi Latin, " Into thy hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit," often repeating in English, " Lord, receive my spirit !" Latimer on the other side as vehemently crying out, " O Father of heaven, receive my soul !" and welcoming, as it were, the flame, he embraced it, bathed his hands in it, stroked his venerable face with them, and soon died, seemingly with little pain, or none. So ended this old and blessed servant of God, his laborious works, and fruitful life, by an easy and quiet death in the midst of the fire, into which he cheer fully entered for Christ's sake. But it pleased the Lord to glorify himself otherwise in Ridley : his torments were terrible, and pro tracted to an extent that it sickens the heart to contemplate. The fire had been made so ill, by heaping a great quantity of heavy fag gots very high about him, above the lighter combustibles, that the solid wood kept down the flame, causing it to rage intensely be neath, without ascending. The martyr finding his lower extremi ties only burning, requested those about him, for Christ's sake, to let the fire come to him ; which his poor brother Shipside hearing, and in the anguish of his spirit not rightly understanding, he heaped more faggots on the pile, hoping so to hasten the conflagration, which of course was further repressed by it, and became more ve hement beneath, burning to a cinder all the nether parts of the suf ferer, without approaching the vitals. In this horrible state, he continued to leap up and down under the wood, praying them to let the fire come, and repeatedly exclaiming, " I cannot burn," writhing in the torture, as he turned from side to side, the bystanders saw even his shirt unconsumed, clean, and unscorched by the flame, while his legs were totally burnt off. In such extremity his heart was still fixed, trusting in his God, and ejaculating frequently, " Lord, have mercy upon me !" intermingling it with entreaties, " Let the fire come unto me — I cannot burn." At last one of the bill-men with his weapon mercifully pulled away the faggots from above, so giving the flame power to rise ; which the sufferer no 556 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [book vni. Oxford, the burning place of Latimer and Ridley, no place for compromise with Rome. Thorn. Cranmer. sooner saw, than with an eager effort he wrenched his mutilated body to that side, to meet the welcome deliverance. The flame now touched the gunpowder, and he was seen to stir no more ; but after burning awhile on the other side, he fell over the chain at the feet of Latimer's corpse. Such are thy tender mercies, tyrant Rome ! The rack, the faggot, or the hated creed — Fearless amidst thy folds fierce wolves may roam. Whilst stainless sheep upon thine altars bleed. § 9. — Let the Christian reader now draw nigh and contem plate this painful scene — the venerable form of the holy Latimer, with his snowy locks whitened by the frosts of eighty-three win ters, dressed in his shroud, directing his eyes upward to heaven for strength as the torturing flames gather and wrap themselves around his .aged and quivering limbs, and yet amidst his tortures praying for his tormentors — the stately and noble form of his companion Ridley, chained to the same stake, with his feet and legs actually burning to a cinder, till they fall from his tortured body ; before death, the welcome deliverer, has done his work — then let him con template the cowled priest of Rome, with cross in hand, insulting the dying agonies of the martyrs, and rejoicing in their protracted and excruciatuig torments — and remember that this, stripped of dis guise or concealment — this is Popery — " drunk with the blood OF THE saints AND OF THE MARTYRS OF JeSUS." Well does that gifted authoress, Mrs. Tonna, exclaim, after citing the description of the horrible tortures inflicted upon these two holy men, " Wo unto us, if, with these examples before us, we shrink not from touching, even the outermost fringe of that harlot's polluted garments I There is that mingled with the dust of Oxford which will rise up in the judgment, a terrible witness against those who, while trampling on the ashes of the martyrs, shall dare to sug gest any, even the slightest measure of approximation to the apos tate church — any recognition of her, otherwise than as the deeply ACCURSED ENEMY OF ChRIST AND HIS SAINTS."* § 10. — Thomas Cranmer was born in 1489, and had been ap pointed by Henry VIII. archbishop of Canterbury. During the brief reign of the youthful Edward VL, Cranmer (though not entirely free from the contamination of the doctrine of Rome, the right to persecute for conscience sake) was one of the principal agents in advancing the reformation in England. Upon the accession of bloody Mary, he was soon marked out as a conspicuous victim for papal fury. His closing days are clouded, as were those of Je rome of Prague, by his signature to a written recantation, obtained from him by his enemies, by the means of the prospect they held out to him of life and comfort, after nearly three years of cruel and rigorous imprisonment ; yet, like the Bohemian reformer, he * English Martyrology, by Charlotte Elizabeth, vol. ii., p. 65. CHAP, n.] POPERY DRUNK WITH THE BLOOD OF SAINTS. 557 Cranmer in St. Mary's church. His mounifUl demeanor and copious tears. bitterly repented this act of natural weakness, and showed the sin cerity of that repentance, by his extraordinary courage and con stancy, amidst the fires of martyrdom. After Cranmer had signed this document, he soon found reason to suspect that his popish ene mies would still not be satisfied without his blood ; and in the esti mation of some, this circumstance may, perhaps, tend to cast a shade of doubt over his dying protestations. No one, however, who will carefully consider the circumstances of the last few hours of his life (which we shall now proceed to narrate), can reasonably doubt that his penitence for this act of pardonable weakness was sincere, and that the same Jesus who cast a look of love, and melted the heart of Peter, who had denied him, sustained the dying Cranmer by his presence and his smiles, and welcomed the ran somed spirit of the departed martyr to the abodes of the blessed. § II. — It is generally thought that Cranmer was not informed of the determination to put him to death, till the morning when he was to suff"er. About nine A. M., of the 21st of March, 1556, he was taken to St. Mary's church, Oxford, to listen to a sermon by Doctor Cole, preached at the church instead of at the place of exe cution, on account of its being a very rainy day. A Romanist who was present, and who expressed the opinion "that the former life and wretched end of Cranmer deserved a greater misery, if greater had been possible," was yet, in spite of his heart-hardening opinions, touched with compassion at beholding him in a bare and ragged gown, and ill-favored ly clothed with an old square cap, exposed to the contempt of all men. " I think," said he, " there was none that pitied not his case, and bewailed not his fortune, and feared not his own chance, to see so noble a prelate, so grave a counsellor, of so long-continued honor, after so many dignities, in his old years to be deprived of his estate, adjudged to die, and in so painful a death to end his life." When he had as cended the stage, he knelt and prayed, weeping so profusely, that many, even of the papists, were moved to tears. While Cole was preaching the sermon, in which he endeavored to make the best apology possible for the act of the Queen in con signing Cranmer to the flames, the venerable martyr himself seemed overwhelmed with the weight of sorrow and penitence. " With what great grief of mind he stood hearing this sermon," says good John Fox, in his own simple and beautiful style, " the outward shows of his body and countenance did better express, than any man can declare : one while lifting up his hands and eyes unto hea ven, and then again for shame letting them down to the earth. A inan might have seen the very image and shape of perfect sorrow lively in him expressed. More than twenty several times the tears gushed out abundantly, dropping down from his fatherly face. Those which were present testify that they never saw, in any child, more tears than burst out from him at that time. It is marvellous what commiseration and pity moved all men's hearts that beheld so heavy a countenance, and such abundance of tears, in an old man 558 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [book vm. His courageous and unexpected dying testimony to the truth. Renounces his extorted recantation of so reverend dignity." Withal he ever retained " a quiet and grave behavior." In this hour of utter humiliation and severe re pentance, he possessed his soul in patience. Never had his mind been more clear and collected, never had his heart been so strong. After the sermon. Cole exhorted Cranmer to testify before the peo ple the sincerity of his conversion and repentance, that all men might understand he was " a Catholic indeed." § 12. — " I will do it," rephed Cranmer, " and that with a good will." He then rose from his knees, and, putting off his cap, said, " Good Christian people, my dearly-beloved brethren and sisters m Christ, I beseech you most heartily to pray for me to Almighty God, that he will forgive me my sins and offences, which be many without number, and great above measure. But among all the rest, there is one which grieveth my conscience most of all, whereof you shall hear more in its proper place." He then knelt down, and offered up a touching and fervent prayer, speaking of himself as " a most wretched caitiff and miserable sinner." Rising from his knees, he proceeded to address the assembled multitude, giving them many pious and godly exhortations, before touching upon the point which all were anxiously expecting to hear — whether he was about to die in the Romish or the protestant faith. At length he said : " And now, forasmuch as I am come to the last end of my life, whereupon hangeth all my life past, and all my life to come, either to live with my Master Christ for ever in joy, or else to be in pain for ever with wicked devils in hell (and I see be fore mine eyes presently either heaven ready to receive me, or else hell ready to swallow me up) ; I shall therefore declare unto you my very faith, how I believe, without any color of dissimulation ; for now is no time to dissemble, whatsoever I have said or written in times past." He then repeated the Apostles' creed, and declared his belief in every article of the true Catholic faith, every word and sentence taught by our Saviour, his Apostles, and prophets, and in the New and Old Testament. "And now," he continued, "I come to the great thing which troubleth my conscience more than anythmg that ever I said or did in my whole life, and that is, the setting abroad of writings contrary to the truth ; which now here I RENOUNCE AND REFUSE as things Written with my hand, contrary to the truth which I thought in my heart." Hitherto, with con summate skill, the martyr had avoided a single word which could indicate to his popish persecutors the unexpected blow they were about to receive. Up to this time, probably, the multitude of Romanists had expected him to confirm his recantation, and sup posed that the writmgs to which he had just referred and which he now renounced were those which he had pubhshed in opposition to the doctrines of Rome. This illusion was dissipated, when, m the next sentence, he spoke of those writings as — " written for fear of death, and to save my life, if it might be : and that is, all such bills and papers as I have written or signed with my hand smce my de gradation, wherein I have written many thmgs untrue. Crnniiipr's Rfnimciation nf his Rpcantation in St. Mary's riinrfli, OxforH, Martyrdom of Cranmer. "That hand htith sinned, that hand shall firKt suffer' " CHAP, n.] POPERY DRUNK WITH BLOOD OP SAINTS. 561 Rage of the papists at Crnnmcr's noble confession. His unflinching constancy In the flames. " And," proceeded Cranmer, " forasmuch as my hand offended, writing contrary to my heart, my hand shall first be punished there fore ; for may I come to the fire, it shall be first burnt !" He had time to add, " As for the Pope, I refuse him as anti-Christ ; and as for the Sacrament, I believe as I have taught in my book against the bishop of Winchester, the which my book teacheth so true a doctrine of the Sacrament, that it shall stand at the last day before the judgment of God, when the papistical doctrme, contrary thereto, shall be ashamed to show her face." § 13. — At this unexpected and noble confession. Cole and the rest of the popish priests, monks and laymen, were too much as tonished to interrupt him, or he would not have been suffered to proceed so far. At length, an uproar was raised which prevented him from proceeding ; Cole foammg with rage, cried from the pul pit — " Stop the heretic's mouth, and take him away," and the priests and friars rushed upon him, and tore him from the stage, on which he was standing. {See Engraving.) Cranmer was quickly hurried to the stake, prepared on the spot where Latimer and Ridley had suffered five months before. The venerable martyr had now overcome the weakness of his nature ; and, after a short prayer, put off his clothes with a cheerful coun tenance and willing mind, and stood upright in his shirt, which came down to his feet. His feet were bare ; his head, when both his caps were off", appeared perfectly bald, but his beard was long and thick, and his countenance so venerable, that it moved even his enemies to compassion. Two Spanish friars, who had been chiefly instrumental in obtaining his recantation, continued to ex hort him ; tdl, perceiving that their eflforts were vain, one of them said, ' Let us leave him, for the devil is with him !' Ely, who was afterward president of St. John's, still continued urging him to re pentance. Cranmer replied, he repented his recantation ; and in the spirit of charity ofi"ered his hand to Ely, as to others, when he bade him farewell ; but the obdurate bigot drew back, and reproved those who had accepted such a farewell, telling them it was not lawful to act thus with one who had relapsed into heresy. Once more he called upon him to stand to his recantation. Cranmer stretched forth his right arm, and replied, " This is the hand that WROTE IT, AND THEREFORE IT SHALL SUFFER PUNISHMENT FIRST." True to this purpose, as soon as the flame arose, he held his hand out to meet it, and retained it there steadfastly, so that all the peo ple saw it sensibly burning before the fire reached any other part of his body ; and often he repeated with a loud and firm voice, " This hand hath offended ! this unworthy eight hand." {See Engraving.) Never did martyr endure the fire with more invincible resolu tion ; no cry was heard from him, save the exclamation of the protomartyr Stephen, " Lord Jesus, receive my spirit I" He stood immoveable as the stake to which he was bound, his countenance raised, looking to heaven, and anticipating that rest into which he 562 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [book vm, " First perish this unworthy hand." Cranmer's martyrdom, injurious to the cause of Rome, was about to enter ; and thus, " in the greatness of the flame," he yielded up his spirit. The fire did its work soon, . . . and his heart was found unconsumed amid the ashes. The pile is lit — the flames ascend ; Yet peace is in the martyr's face ; And unseen visitants attend That chief of England's priestly race ; Mightier in peril's darkest hour. Than when enthroned in rank and power Steadfast he stood in that fierce flame, As standing in his own high hall : He said, as sadness o'er him came. Remembrance of his mournful fall — Stretching it to the burning brand — " FutST PERISH this UITWORTHT HAKD !" Thy foul and cruel deed, 0 Rome ! Was vain ; that blazing funeral pyre Where Cranmer died, did soon become To England as a beacon fire ; And he hath left a glorious name. Victorious over Rome and flame. "Of all the martyrdoms during this great persecution," says Dr. Southey, " this was in all its circumstances the most injurious to the Romish cause. It was a manifestation of inveterate and deadly malice toward one who had borne his elevation with almost unex ampled meekness. It effectually disproved the argument on which the Romanists rested, that the constancy of our martyrs proceeded Hot from confidence in their faith, and the strength which they de rived therefrom ; but from vainglory, the pride of consistency, and the shame of retracting what they had so long professed. Such deceitful reasoning could have no place here : Cranmer had re tracted ; and the sincerity of his contrition for that sin was too plain to be denied, too public to be concealed, too memorable ever to be forgotten. The agony of his repentance had been seen by thousands ; and tens of thousands had witnessed how, when that agony was past, he stood calm and immoveable amid the flames ; a patient and willing holocaust ; triumphant, not over his persecu tors alone, but over himself, over the mind as well as the body, over fear and weakness, as well as death."* , ^ ^H~7f°^ upwards of two years and a half from the martyr dom of Cranmer, a mysterious providence permitted the papists of England to glut their bigot rage in the slaughter of the lambs and the sheep of Christ's fold who refused to subscribe to the doctrines of Rome At length the time of dehverance approached. The last of these bloody sacrifices to the popish Moloch was made on the 10th of November, only one week previous to the death of queen Mary, m the burning alive of three men and two women at * Southey's Book of the Church, chap. xiv. CHAP, n.] POPERY DRUNK WITH THE BLOOD OF SAINTS. 563 The last burning in the reign of bloody Mary. Joy of the people ut her death. Elizabeth and the Pope. Canterbury, for denying transubstantiation and the worship of images. The names of this last company of victims who brought up " the noble army of martyrs " of the Marian persecution, were John Corneford, John Hurst, Christopher Brown, Alice Snoth, and Catharine TuJey. The last was an aged and helpless woman, whose years and debility, one would have thought, might awaken pity even in the breast of a savage. But popish bigotry knows no pity ; and the feeble and withered body of the aged saint was con sumed to ashes in the torturing flames. From the burning pile of this last company of martyrs, the prayer arose from the lips of the sufferers that their blood might be the last that should be thus shed, in England, for the truth ; and God heard that prayer. One week after, on the 17th of November, the merciless bigot-queen was called before a higher tribunal to give an account of the innocent blood that she had poured out like water durmg her brief but terrible reign. Mary died in the morning. Before night the bells of all the churches in London were rung for the accession of Elizabeth, and amidst the lamentations of popish bigots that some of their victims had escaped, a shout of rapture went up from the hearts of the people that the work of blood was done ; and bonfires and illuminations testified the general joy that the reign of terror and of Rome was over. § 15. — Great was the sorrow and disappointment of that bloody persecutor and promoter of the Inquisition, pope Paul IV., at hear ing of the death of his " faithful daughter," Mary, and the accession of her protestant sister Elizabeth to the throne of England. In answer to the ambassador sent to the court of Rome, in common with the other European courts, the Pope replied in a haughty style, " Tliat England was held in fee of the apostolic See. . . . that it was great boldness in her to assume the crown without his consent ; for which, in reason, she deserved no favor at his hands; yet, if she would renounce her pretensions, and refer herself wholly to him, he would show a fatherly affection towards her, and do every thing for her that he could consistently with the dignity op the APOSTOLIC See !"* Elizabeth treated these kind proposals of his Holiness with just the attention they merited, and a few years afterward was excom municated and deposed by pope Pius V., and her subjects absolved from their allegiance and forbidden to obey her, under penalty of the -same anathema I ! This important instrument of papal ven geance renews all the obsolete pretensions of Hildebrand and Boni face, and is especially valuable as an exhibition of the feelings of ap probation and regard on the part of the anti-Christian popes of Rome toward that bloody persecutor of God's saints, queen Mary ; and their bitter hatred toward her sister Elizabeth, who had put an end to those scenes of horror and of blood. The original bull, in Latin, may be found in the collection of * Burnet's Hist, of the Reformation, vol. iL, f. 580. 564 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [book vm. Copy of the bull of pope Pius, excommuuicating and deposing queen Elizabeth. records at the end of Burnet's History of the Reformation. The following is a translation of the most important part : Excommunication and deposition of queen Elizabeth of England. " Pius, &c., for a future memorial of the matter. He that reign- eth on high, to whom is given all power in Heaven and on Earth, committed one Holy, Catholic and Apostohc Church, out of which there is no salvation, to one alone upon earth, to Peter the Prince of the Apostles, and to Peter's successor the Bishop of Rome, to be governed in fullness of power. Him alone he made prince over all people, and all kingdoms, to pluck up, destroy, scatter, con sume, plant and build, &c. . . . But the number of the ungodly hath gotten such power, that there is now no place left in the whole world, which they have not essayed to corrupt with their most wicked doctrines. Amongst others, Ehzabeth, the pretended Queen of England, a slave of wickedness, lending thereunto her helping- hand, with whom, as in a sanctuary, the most pernicious of all men have found a refuge ; this very woman having seized on the king dom, and monstrously usurping the place of the Supreme Head of the church in all England, and the chief authority and jurisdiction thereof, hath again brought back the same kingdom into miserable destruction, which was then newly reduced to the faith, and to good order. For having by strong hand, inhibited the exercise of the true religion, which Mary the lawful Queen, of famous memory, HAD, BY the help OF THIS See, RESTORED, after it had been formerly overthrown by King Henry VIII., a revolter therefrom, and follow ing and embracing the errors of heretics, she hath removed the royal council, consisting of the English nobihty, and filled it with obscure men, being heretics ; hath oppressed the embracers of the Roman faith, hath placed impious preachers, ministers of iniquity, and abolished the sacrifice of the mass, prayers, fastings, distinction of meats, a single life, and the rites and ceremonies ; hath com manded books to be read in the whole realm, containing manifest heresy, &c. . . . She hath not only contemned the godly re quests and admonitions of princes, concerning her healing, and con version, but also hath not so much as permitted the Nuncios of this See to cross the seas into England, &c. . . . We do, there fore, out of the fulness of our Apostolic power, declare the afore said Elizabeth, being a heretic, and a favorer of heretics, and her adherence in the matter aforesaid, to have incurred the sentence of anathema, and to be cut off from the unity of the body of Christ. And, moreover, we do declare her to be deprived of her pretended TITLE to the kingdom aforesaid, and of all dominion, dignity, and privilege whatsoever : and also the nobility, subjects, and people of the said kingdom, and all others which have in any sort sworn unto her, to he for ever absolved from any such oath, and all manner of duty, of dominion, allegiance, and obedience ; as we also do, by the authority of these presents, absolve them, and do deprive the samb Elizabeth of her pretended title to the kingdom, and all other things aforesaid. And we do command and interdict all and every ¦-¦^. tflfi".^ y -ill .»^ r' ' v J ¦, '\ r^Tii .\^^>\\ A^^ '' ^. „. iiL5r^«'tf#' ^ J Prison of the Inquisition, at Cordova, in Spain. :hap. ni.] POPERY DRUNK WITH THE BLOOI) OF SAINTS. 567 Original of the bull excommunicating Elizabeth— nolo The Uoly InqulBllion one of the noblemen, subjects, people, and others aforesaid, that they presume not to obey her, or her admonitions, mandates, and laws ; and those who shall do the contrary, we do innodate with the like sentence of ANATHEMA.* " Given at St. Peter's at Rome, in the year 1569, and the 5th of our pontificate." CHAPTER III. the INaUISITtON. SEIZURE OF THE VICTIMS. MODES OP TORTURE, AND CELEBRATION OF THE AUTO DA FE. §16 . — Of all the inventions of popish cruelty the Holy Inquisi tion is the masterpiece. We have already referred to its establish ment by Saint Dominic, in the thirteenth century. For the history of this destructive engine of papal cruelty, we must refer to any, or all of the authentic works of Llorente, Puigblanch, Limborch, Stockdale, Geddes, Dellon, and other historians of the Inquisi tion. All that we shall undertake will be a brief description of the treatment, tortures, and burnings of the unfortunate beings who writhed under its iron rod of oppression. The adjoining engraving represents an exterior view of one of the gloomy prisons of the Inquisition in that country, which, more than any other, has been oppressed and crushed by this horrid tribunal, un happy Spain. It is copied from a drawing taken on the spot by David Roberts, Esq. {See Engraving.) It was impossible for even Satan himself to conceive a more horrible contrivance of torture and blood, than this so called Holy * The following is the original of the closing ejrtract of this bull, deposing Eli zabeth from her throne. We should hardly have believed that the mad pretensions of Hildebrand were thus revived by the Pope near the end of the sixteenth century, and half a century subsequent to the glorious reformation, were not the original documents at hand, and the fact beyond the shadow of a doubt : — " Declaramus de Apostolicae potestatis plenitudine, prsedictam Elizabetham Hjereticam, et Hsre- ticorum fautricem, eique adherentes in praedictis, anathematis sententiam incurrisse, esseque a Christi Corporis unitate prsecisos : Quin etiam ipsam prsetenso Regni prEedicti jure, necnon omni et quorumque Dominio, dignitate, privilegioque priva- tam ; Et item proceres, snbditos et populos dicti Regni, ac cateros omnes, qui illi quomodocunque juraverunt a Juramento hujusmodi, ac omni prorsus dominii, fide- litatis, et obsequii debito, perpetuo absolutos, prout nos illos praesentium authori- tate absolvimus, et privamus eandem Elizabetham pxEetenso jure Regni, aliiisque omnibus supradictis. Preecipimusque et interdicimus Universis et singulis Proce- ribus, Subditis, Populis et aliis praedictis ; ne illi, ejusve monitis, mandatis, et legi bus audeant obedire : Qui secus egerint, eos simili Anathematis sententia innoda mus." — Burnet's Reformation, vol. iv., p. 99. 568 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [book vm. PoUocIc's poetical description of the Inquisition. Mode of apprehending the victima; Inquisition. There it was (in the words of Pollock), that the Babylonish harlot of the Apocalypse, ***** "With horrid relish drank the blood Of God's peculiar children — and was drunk ; And in her drunkenness dreamed of doing good. The supplicating hand of innocence. That made the tiger mild, and in his wrath The lion pause — the groans of suflfering most Severe were naught to her : she laughed at groans ; No music pleased her more ; and no repast So sweet to her as blood of men redeemed By blood of Christ. Ambition's self, though mad And nursed on human gore, with her compared Was merciful. Nor did she always rage ; She had some hours of meditation, set Apart, wherein she to her study went ; The Ikquisition model most complete Of perfect wickedness, where deeds were done, Deeds ! let them ne'er be named, — and sat and planned Deliberately, and with most musing pains. How, to extremest thrill of agony. The flesh, and blood, and souls of holy men. Her victims might be wrought ; and when she saw New tortures of her laboring fancy bom. She leaped for joy, and made great haste to try Their force, — well pleased to hear a deeper groan.'' § 17. — The victims of the Inquisition were generally apprehended by the officers of the tribunal ctSieA familiars, who were dispersed in large numbers over Spaui, and other lands where the " Holy office" was estabhshed. In the dead of the night, perhaps, a carriage drives up, and a knock is heard at the door. An inquiry is made from the window, by some member of the family rising from his bed ; ' who is there V The reply is the terrible words, ' The Holy Inquisition.' Perhaps the inquirer has an only child, a beloved and cherished daughter ; and almost frozen with terror, he hears the words, ' Deliver up your daughter to the Holy Inquisition,' — or it may be — Deliver up your wife, your father, your brother, your son. No matter who is demanded, not a question must be asked. Not a murmur must escape his lips, on pain of a like terrible fate with the destined victim. The trembling prisoner is led out, per haps totally ignorant of his crime or accuser, and immured within those horrid walls, through which no sigh of agony or shriek of an guish can reach the ear of tender and sympathizing friends. The next day the family go in mourning ; they bewail the lost one as dead ; consigned not to a peaceful sepulchre, but to a living tomb ; and strive to conceal even the tears which natural affection prompts, lest the next terrible summons should be for them. In the gloomy cell to which the victim is consigned, the most awful and mysterious silence must be preserved. Lest any of its internal secrets might be disclosed, no sounds were permitted to be heard throughout the dismal apartments of the Inquisition. The poor CHAP, m.] POPERY DRUNK WITH THE BLOOD OF SAINTS. 569 A poor heretic whipped to death for coughing in the Inquisition. Torture of pulley and ropes. prisoner was not allowed to bewail his fate, or, in an audible voice, to offer up his prayers to Him who is the refuge of the oppressed ; nay, even to cough was to be guilty of a crime, which was imme diately punished. Limborch tells us of a poor afflicted victim who was, on one occasion, heard to cough ; the jailors of the Inquisition instantly repaired to his cell and warned him to forbear, as the slightest noise was not tolerated in that house. The prisoner replied that it was not in his power to forbear ; a second time they admo nished him to desist ; and when again, the poor man, unable to re frain from coughing, had repeated the offence, they stripped him naked, and cruelly beat him. This increased his cough, for which they beat him so often, that at last he died through the pain and an guish of the stripes which he had received. § 18. — The commonest modes of torture to force the victims to confess or to accuse themselves, were, dislocation, by means of pul ley, rope and weights ; roasting tlie soles of the feet ; and suffoca tion by water, with the torment of tightened ropes. These tor tures were inflicted in a sad and gloomy apartment called the " Hall of Torture," generally situated far underground in order that the shrieks of anguish generally forced from the miserable sufferers, might not interrupt the death-like silence that reigned through the rest of the building. (1.) Dislocation by the pulley, ropes, and weights. In this kind of torture, according to Puigblanch,* a pulley was fixed to the roof of the Hall, and a strong cord passed through it. The culprit, whether male or female, was then seized and stripped, his arms forced be hind his back, a cord fastened first above his elbows, then above his wrists, shackles put on his feet, and weights, generally of one hun dred pounds, attached to his ancles. The poor victim, entirely naked, with the exception of a cloth around the loins, was then raised by the cord and pulley, and in this position was coolly admo nished by the cruel inquisitors to reveal all he knew. If his replies were unsatisfactory, sometimes stripes would be inflicted upon his, or her naked body, while in this dreadfully painful situation — ^the arms bent behind and upwards, and the weight of the body, with the heavy irons attached, wrenching the very bones from their sockets. If the confessions were still unsatisfactory, the rope was suddenly loosened and the victim let fall to within a foot or two of the ground ; thus most fearfully dislocating the arms and shoulders, and causing the most indescribable agony. This dreadful process was sometimes repeated again and again, till (oh horrible !) the poor mangled victim, with his dislocated bones, dangling on the ropes, as it were by his loose flesh, fainting from excessive pain, was hurried to his miserable dungeon, and thrown upon the cold damp ground, where the surgeon was permitted to attend him, to set * See " Inquisition Unmasked, a historical and philosophical account of that tre mendous tribunal, byD. Antonio Puigblanch." "Translated from the Spanish. 2 vols. ; London, 1816. 570 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [book vm. Torture of roasting the soles of the feet, the tightened ropes, &c. Horrid torture of a young lady. his dislocated bones and patch up his poor tortured frame, only to prepare him for a renewal of these horrors, unless in ¦ the interval he should choose to avoid them either by renouncing his faith, or by accusing himself of what he might be entirely mnocent. (2.) Roasting the soles of the feet-^n this torture the prisoner, whether male or female, stripped as before, was placed in the stocks ; the soles of the feet were well greased with lard, and a blazing fire of coals in a chafing dish placed close to them, by the, heat of which the soles of the sufferer's feet became perfectly roasted. When the violence of the anguish forced the poor tortured victim to shriek with agony, an attendant was commanded to interpose a board be tween the victim's feet and the fire, and he was commanded to con fess or to recant ; but if he refused to obey the command of the inquisitor, the board was again removed and the cruel torture re peated till the soles of the sufferer's feet were actually burnt away to the bone, and the poor victim, if he ever escaped from these hor rid dungeons of torture and misery, was perhaps made a cripple for life. The two forms of torture above described are represented in the adjoining illustration. (-See Engraving) (3.) The torture of tightened ropes and suffocation by water was performed in the following manner. The victim, frequently a female, was tied to a wooden horse, or hollow bench, so tightly by cords that they sometimes cut through the flesh of the arms, thighs and legs to the very bone. In this situation, she was obliged to swallow seven pints of water slowly dropped into her mouth on a piece of silk or linen, which was thus sometimes forced down her throat, and produced all the horrid sensations of droviming. Thus se cured, vain are all her fearful struggles to escape from the cords that bind her — every motion only forces the cords further and further through the quivering and bleeding flesh. Heretics who were supposed incapable of surviving the mflic- tion of the horrid tortures above described, were subjected to other contrivances for inflicting pain, with less danger of life. Among these lesser tortures was one called the torture of the canes. A hard piece of cane was inserted between each of the fingers, which were then bound together with a cord, and subjected to the action of a screw. Another of these was the torture of the die, in which the prisoner was extended on the ground, and two pieces of iron, shaped like a die, but concave on one side, were placed on the heel of his right foot, then bound on fast with a rope which was pulled tight with a screw. Both of these kinds of torture occasioned the sufferer the most intolerable pain, but with little or no danger of life. § 19. — Not unfrequently death ensued from the severe tortures of the holy office. "A young lady, who was incarcerated in the dungeon of the Inquisition at the same time with the celebrated Donna Jane Bohorques, will supply an instance of this kind. This victim of inquisitorial brutality endared the torture till all the mem bers of her body were rent asunder by the infernal machinery of Tortures nf the Inquisition— Pulley, and Roasliiig the Foot, -yl-'I'W'IV'l 1^1^ r 1 1 r Lady after Torture, brought before. the Tribunal of the Holy Office. CHAP. HI.] POPERY DRUNK WITH THE BLOOD OF SAINTS. 573 A young lady tortured to death. Reflections on such an act of Inquisitorial cruelty the holy office. An interval of some days succeeded, till she began, notwithstanding such inhumanity, to recover. She was then taken back to the mfliction of similar barbarity. Small cords were twisted round her naked arms, legs and thighs, till they cut through the flesh to the bone ; and blood, in copious torrents, streamed from the lacerated veins. Eight days after, she died of her wounds, and was translated from the dungeons of the Inquisition to the glory of hea ven."* Ah, who can conceive the tale of unutterable anguish that is in cluded in a single instance of inquisitorial malignity and cruelty — such, perhaps, as that just related I A lady — a young lady — per haps the only daughter of doating parents, as dear to them, reader, as your daughter to you, or mine to me — brought up, perhaps, in the lap of luxury and refinement — living amid the smiles and ca resses of doating friends, and dreaming of no danger nigh. In an unguarded moment a sentence has escaped her, disrespectful to the idolatry of Rome. Perhaps she has dared to say, she trusts for salvation, not in Mary and the saints, but in Christ alone. That sentence has been heard by a spy of the Holy office. She retires to sleep at night ; at the midnight hour the carriage of the Inquisi tion stops before the door, and the lovely, the tender, the delicate female, upon whom the wind has never before been sufiered to blow roughly, is dragged away to the damp and gloomy cell of the hor rible Inquisition. Look at her, as she kneels prostrate in her gloomy dungeon, and implores succor from on high I See that tear of natural an guish that trickles dovra her cheeks, as she thinks of the agony of a doating father, of a tender mother, perhaps of a frantic betrothed one, who yet dare not give utterance to their anguish for fear of a similar fate. She is summoned before the tribunal of the men of blood. She is darkly told of suspicions, of informations, but she knows neither their author nor their subject. She is commanded to confess, without knowing her accusation, and is silent. The rough and hardened popish executioners are summoned, and her maiden modesty-is outraged by her clothes being rudely tom from her per son by cruel and bloody men. The command is given, the horrid torture is applied. The piercing cords are bound around her tender limbs, till they cut through the quivering flesh, and, fainting, she is borne back to her gloomy dungeon. No father's hand is there in that gloomy dungeon to wipe away those tears, no mother's hand to stanch and to bind up those bleeding wounds. She flies to the throne of grace for help (where else can she ?) and she feels that Jesus is with her. In a few days, she is carried, all pale, enfeebled and ema ciated, before her iron-hearted judges. {See Engraving.) She is agam examined, and the horrible process of outrage and torture is repeated. She is carried back to her dungeon, to breathe her sighs to the cold stone walls, to Imger alone, and sufTer- * Moreri, 6, 7. Limborch, 323. Edgar, 230. 34 574 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [book vm. The Auto da ti. Description of the dresses of the victims. The San benito— Coroza, tc. ing for a few days, and then her ransomed spirit quits the tortured body, and wings its way to Heaven. Her mournmg friends know not of her death, for no news is suflTered to transpire beyond those gloomy walls. But there is ONE who knows, ONE who sees, and in his book are recorded all the groans and sighs of that poor suf ferer, to be brought forth in fearful reckoning against her murderers in another day. When the mind has formed an accurate and vivid conception of a single case like this, then let it be remembered that it is but one of thousands and tens of thousands of equally barbarous instances of popish persecution, cruelty and torture ; and that for ages, in lands that groaned under the iron rod of Popery, these horrors were of daily occurrence. O merciful and compassionate God ! what deeds of cruelty and blood have been perpetrated upon thy suffering children, in the name of HIM whose very heart is tenderness, and whose very name is LOVE ! § 20. — The next scene in this melancholy tragedy is the auto da fe. This horrid and tremendous spectacle is always represented on the Sabbath day. The term auto da fS {act of faith) is applied to the great burning of heretics, when large numbers of these tor tured and lacerated beings are led forth from their gloomy cells, and marched in procession to the place of burning, dressed accord ing to the fate that awaits them on that terrible day. The victims who walk in the procession wear the san benito, the coroza, the rope around the neck, and carry in their hand a yellow wax candle. The san benito is a penitential garment or tunic of yellow cloth reaclung down to the knees, and on it is painted the picture of the person who wears it, burning in the flames, with figures of dragons and devils in the act of fanning the flames. This costume indicates that the wearer is to be burnt alive as an incorrigible heretic. If the person is only to do penance, then the san benito has on it a cross, and no paintings or flames. If an impenitent is converted just before being led out, then the san benito is painted with the flames downward ; this is called " fuego repolto," and it indicates that the wearer is not to be burnt alive, but to have the favor of being strangled before the fire is applied to the pile. Formerly these garments were hung up in the churches as eternal monuments of disgrace to their wearers, and as the trophies of the Inquisition. The coroza is a pasteboard cap, three feet high, and ending in a point. On it are likewise painted crosses, flames, and devils. In Spanish America it was customary to add long twisted tails to the corozas. Some of the victims have gags in their mouths, of which a number is kept in reserve in case the victims, as they march along in public, should become outrageous, insult the tribunal, or attempt to reveal any secrets. The prisoners who are to be roasted alive have a Jesuit on each side continually preaching to them to abjure their heresies, and if any one attempts to offer one word in defence of the doctrines for CHAP, m.] POPERY DRUNK WITH THE BLOOD OF SAINTS. 575 Gagging of heretics. Outrageous hypocrisy of the Inquisition, in their pretence of mercy which he is going to suffer death, his mouth is instantly gagged. " This I saw done to a prisbner, says Dr. Geddes, in his account of the Inquisition in Portugal, " presently after he came out of the gates of the Inquisition, upon his having looked up to the sun, which he had not seen before in several years, and cried out in a rapture, ' How is it possible for people that behold that glorious body to worship any being but Him that created it.' " § 21. — When the procession arrives at the place where a large scaffolding has been erected for their reception, prayers are offered up, strange to tell, at a throne of mercy, and a sermon is preached, consisting of impious praises of the Inquisition, and bitter invectives against all heretics ; after which a priest ascends a desk, and re cites the final sentence. This is done in the followmg words, wherein the reader will find nothing but a shocking mixture of blasphemy, ferociousness, and hypocrisy. " We, the inquisitors of heretical pravity, having, with the con currence of the most illustrious N , lord archbishop of Lisbon, or of his deputy, N , caUing on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and of Ins glorious mother, the Virgin Mary, and sitting on our tribunal, and judging with the holy gospels lying before us, so that our judgment may be in the sight of God, and our eyes may behold what is just in all matters, &c. &c. " We do therefore, by this our sentence put in writing, define, pronounce, declare, and sentence thee (the prisoner), of the city of Lisbon, to be a convicted, confessing, affirmative, and professed heretic ; and to be delivered and left by us as such to the secular arm ; and we, by this our sentence, do cast thee out of the eccle siastical court as a convicted, confessing, affirmative, and professed heretic ; and we do leave and deliver thee to the secular arm, and to the power of the secular court, but at the same time do most earnestly beseech that court so to moderate its sentence as not to touch thy blood, nor to put thy life in any sort of danger." Well may Dr. Geddes inquire, in reference to this hypocritical mockery of God and man, " Is there in all history an instance of so gross and confident a mockery of God, and the world, as this of the inquisitors beseeching the civil magistrate not to put the heretics they have condemned and dehvered to them, to death ? For were they in earnest when they made this solemn petition to the secular magistrates, why do they bring their prisoners out of the Inquisition, and deliver them to those magistrates in coats painted over with flames ? Why do they teach that heretics, above all other male factors, ought to be punished with death ? And why do they never resent the secular magistrates having so little regard to their earnest and joint petition as never to fail to burn all the heretics that are delivered to them by the Inquisition, within an hour or two after they have them in their hands ? And why in Rome, where the su preme civil, as well as ecclesiastical authority are lodged in the 576 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [book vm. Joy of papists at the auto da f^. Kings and queens witnessing and aiding in the bloody scene. same person, is this petition of the Inquisition, which is made there as well as in other places, never granted ?"* § 22. — If the prisoner, on being asked, says that he will die in the Catholic faith, he has the privilege of being strangled first, and then burnt ; but if in the Protestant or any other faith different from the Catholic, he must be roasted alive ; and, at parting with him, his ghostly comforters, the Jesuits, tell him, " that they leave him to the devil, who is standing at his elbow to receive his soul and carry it to the flames of hell, as soon as the spirit leaves his body." When all is ready, fire is applied to the immense pile, and the suffering martyrs, who have been securely fastened to their stakes, are roasted alive ; the living fiesh of the lower extremities being often burnt and crisped by the action of the flames, driven hither and thither by the wind before the vital parts are touched ; and while the poor sufierers are writhing in inconceivable agony, the joy of the vast multitude, inflamed by popish bigotry and cruelty, causes the air to resound with shouts of exultation and delight. Says Dr. Geddes, in a de scription of one of these auto da fes, of which he was a horrified spectator : " The victims were chained to stakes, at the height of about four feet from the ground. A quantity of furze that lay round the bottom of the stakes was set on fire ; by a current of wind it was in some cases prevented from reaching above the lowest ex tremities of the body. Some were thus kept in torture for an hour or two, and were actually roasted, not burnt to death. " This spec tacle," says he, " is beheld by people of both sexes, and all ages, with such transports of joy and satisfaction, as are not on any other occa sion to be met with. And that the reader may not think that this inhuman joy is the effect of a natural cruelty that is in this people's disposition, and not the spirit of their religion, he may rest assured. that all public malefactors, except 'heretics, have their violent death nowhere more tenderly lamented, than amongst the same people, and even when there is nothing in the manner of their death that appears inhuman or cruel."f (^e Engraving.) It was not uncommon for the popish kings and queens of Spain to witness these wholesale burnings of heretics from a magnificent stage and canopy erected for the purpose, and it was represented by the Jesuit priests as an act highly meritorious in the ^g to sup ply a faggot for the pile upon which the heretics were to be con sumed. Among other instances of this kind, king Charles II., in an auto da fe, supplied a faggot, the sticks of which were gilded, adorned by flowers, and tied up with ribands, and was honored by being the first faggot placed upon the pile of burning. In 1559, king Phihp, the popish husband of bloody queen Mary of England, was witnessing one of these cruel scenes, when a protestant nobleman named Don Carlos de Seso, while he was being conducted to the * Geddes' tracts on Popery. View of the cotirt of Inquisition in Portugal, p. 446. Limborch, vol. ii., p. 289. f Cited in Limborch, vol. ii., p. 301. CHAP. IV.] POPERY DRUNK WITH THE BLOOD OF SAINTS. 579 The Waldenses. Their increase, in spite of persecution. Cruel outrage in the valley of Fragelo. stake, called out to the King for mercy in these words : " And canst thou, oh king, witness the torments of thy subjects ? Save us from this cruel death ; we do not deserve it." " No," replied the iron- hearted bigoted monarch, " I would myself carry wood to burn my own son, were he such a wretch as thou." Thus is it that popish bigotry can stifle the strongest and tenderest instincts of our nature, turn human beings into monsters, and inspire joy and delight at wit nessing the writhing agonies and hearing the piercing shrieks of even tender and delicate women, as their living bodies are being roasted amidst the fires of the auto dafe. CHAPTER IV. INHUMAN PERSECUTIONS OP THE WALDENSES. § 23. — We have already given an account of the popish crusade against the Waldenses of the south of France, and the horrible cru elties and massacres inflicted on them by the bloody Montfort and the Pope's legate, at the commencement of the thirteenth century. (Book v., chap. 7, 8.) Nothing more than a very brief sketch can now be added of the barbarities of a similar kind, which at various mtervals were endured by this pious and interesting people during the five centuries which followed from the commencement of the crusade of pope Innocent. In spite of all the efforts of the popes and their bigoted adherents to extirpate from the earth these pious people, they continued to increase in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries in various coun tries of Europe, but especially in the valleys of Piedmont, where, shut in by the lofty and snow-capped mountains around them, they were in some degree sheltered from their popish persecutors. About the year 1400, a violent outrage was committed upon the Waldenses who inhabited the valley of Pragela, in Piedmont, by the Catholic party resident in that neighborhood. The attack, which seems to have been of the most furious kind, was made toward the end of the month of December, when the mountains are covered with snow, and thereby rendered so difficult of access, that the peaceable inhabitants of the valleys were wholly unapprised that any such attempt was meditated ; and the persecutors were in ac tual possession of their caves, ere the former seem to have been apprised of any hostile designs against them. In this pitiable plight they had recourse to the only alternative which remained for saving their lives — they fled to one of the highest mountains of the Alps, with their wives and children, the unhappy mothers carrying the cradle in one hand, and in the other leading such of their offspring 580 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [book vm. Mothers and infants perish In the mountains. Horrid barbarities of the archdeacon of Cremona. as were able to walk. Their inhuman invaders, whose feet were swift to shed blood, pursued them in their flight, until night came on, and slew great numbers of them, before they could reach the mountains. Those that escaped, were, however, reserved to expe rience a fate not more enviable. Overtaken by the shades of night, they wandered up and down the mountains, covered with snow, des titute of the means of shelter from the inclemencies of the weather, or of supporting themselves under it by any of the comforts which Providence has destined for that purpose : benumbed with cold, they fell an easy prey to the severity of the climate, and when the night had passed away, there were found in their cradles, or lying upon the snov/ , fourscore of their infants, deprived of life, many of the mothers also lying dead by their sides, and others just upon the point of expiring. § 24. — Nearly a century later, in consequence of the ferocious bull of pope Innocent VIIL, already cited (page 425), a most barbarous persecution was carried on against the Waldenses in the valleys of Loyse and Frassiniere. Albert de Capitaneis, archdeacon of Cre mona, was appointed legate of the Pope to carry his bull into exe cution, and was no sooner vested with his commission, than calling to his aid the lieutenant of the province of Dauphiny, and a body of troops, they marched at once to the villages inhabited by the here tics. The inhabitants, apprised of their approach, fled into the caves at the tops of the mountains, carrying with them their children, and whatever valuables they had, as well as what was thought neces sary for their support and nourishment. The lieutenant finding the inhabitants all fled, and that not an individual appeared with whom he could converse, at length discovered their retreats, and causing quantities of wood to be placed at their entrances, ordered it to be set on fire. The consequence was, that four hundred children were suffocated in their cradles, or in the arms of their dead mothers, while multitudes, to avoid dying by suffocation, or being burnt to death, precipitated themselves headlong from their caverns upon the rocks below, where they were dashed in pieces ; or if any escaped death by the fall, they were immediately slaughtered by the brutal soldiery. " It is held as unquestionably true," says Perrin, " amongst the Waldenses dwelhng in the adjacent valleys, that more than three thousand persons, men and women, belonging to the valley of Loyse, perished on this occasion. And, indeed, they were wholly extermi nated, for that valley was afterwards peopled with new inhabitants, not one family of the Waldenses having subsequently resided in it ; which proves beyond dispute, that all the inhabitants, and of both sexes, died at that time."* § 25. — In the year 1545, a large tract of country at the south of France, inhabited chiefly by the Waldenses, was overrun and most cruelly desolated by the popish barbarians, under the command of a violent bigot, named baron Oppede. A copious account of this per- * Perrin's History of the Waldenses, book ii., chap. 3. CHAP. IV.] POPERY DRUNK WITH BLOOD OF SAINTS. 581 A barn full of women burnt to death. Dreadful persecution of tho Waldenses in Calabria. secution is given by a candid Romish contemporary historian, Thu anus, in the history of his own' times. As a specimen of the cruel ties perpetrated upon the heretics at this time, we can only extract the description of the taking of a single town, Cabrieres. " They had surrendered to the papists, upon a promise of having their lives spared ; but when the garrison was admitted they were all seized, they who lay hid in the dungeon of the castle, or thought themselves secured by the sacredness of the church ; and being dragged out from thence into a hollow meadow were put to death, without re gard to age or the assurances given : the number of the slain, within and without the town, amounted to eight hundred : the women, by the command of Oppede, were thrust into a barn filled with straw, and fire being set to it, when they endeavored to leap out of the win dow, they were pushed back by poles and pikes, and were thus mise rably suffocated and consumed in the fiames."* § 26. — About the year 1560, during the suspension of the council of Trent, a most violent and bloody persecution was carried on against the Waldenses of Calabria at the south of Italy, by direc tion of that brutal tyrant, pope Pius IV. Two monks were sent from Rome, armed with power to reduce the Calabrian heretics to obedience to the Holy See. Upon their arrival, at once to bring matters to the test, they caused a bell to be immediately tolled for mass, commanding the people to attend. Instead of complying, however, the Waldenses forsook their houses, and as many as were able fled to the woods with their wives and children. Two com panies were instantly ordered out to pursue them, who hunted them like wild beasts, crying, " Amazzi I Amazzi I" that is, " murder them ! murder them I" and numbers were put to death. Seventy of the heretics were seized and conducted in chains to Montalto. They were put to the torture by the orders of the inquisitor Panza, to induce them not only to renounce their faith but also to accuse themselves and their brethren of having committed odious crimes in their religious assemblies. To wring a confession of this from him, Stefano was tortured until his bowels gushed out. Another prisoner, named Verminel, having, in the extremity of pam, promised to go to mass, the inquisitor flattered himself that, by increasing the violence of the torture, he could extort a confes sion of the charge which he was so anxious to fasten on the Pro testants. The manner in which persons of the tender sex were treated by this brutal inquisitor, is too disgusting to be related here. Suffice it to say, that he put sixty females to the torture, the greater part of whom died in prison in consequence of their wounds re maining undressed. On his return to Naples, he delivered a great number of Protestants to the secular arm at St. Agata, where he inspired the mhabitants with the utmost terror ; for if any indivi- * Thuani Historia sui temporis. Lib. vi. The same horrible cruelties, with some additional particnlars, are related by Sleidan, in his History of the Reformar tioii, hook xvi. 582 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [book vm. Horrible barbarities at Montalto. Eighty-eight throats of the Waldenses cut in cold blood dual came forward to intercede for the prisoners, he was immedi ately put to the torture as a favorer of heresy.* Of the almost incredible barbarities of the papists at Montalto in the month of June, 1560, the best and most unexceptionable account is that furnished in the words of a letter of a Roman Catholic spectator of the horrid scene, writing to Ascanio Carac cioli. This letter was published in Italy with other narrations of the bloody transactions. It commences as follows : — " Most illus trious sir — Having written you from time to time what has been done here in the affair of heresy, I have now to inform you of the dreadful justice which began to be executed on these Lutherans early this morning, being the 11th of June. And, to tell you the truth, I can compare it to nothing but the slaughter of so many sheep. They were all shut up in one house as in a sheepfold. The executioner went, and, bringhig out one of them, covered his face with a napkin, or benda, as we call it, led him out to a field near the house, and, causing him to kneel down, cut his throat with a knife. Then, taking ofl" the bloody napkin, he went and brought out another, whom he put to death after the same manner. In this way, the whole number, amounting to eighty-eight men, were butchered. I leave you to figure to yourself the lamentable spec tacle, for I can scarcely refrain from tears while I write ; nor was there any person who, after witnessing the execution of one, could stand to look on a second. The meekness and patience with which they went to martyrdom and death are incredible. Some of them at their death professed themselves of the same faith with us, but the greater part died in their cursed obstinacy. All the old men met their death with cheerfulness, but the young exhibited symp toms of fear. I still shudder while I think of the executioner with the bloody knife in his teeth, the dripping napkin in his hand, and his arms besmeared with gore, going to the house and taking out one victim after another, just as the butcher does the sheep which he means to kill." Lest the reader should be inchned to doubt the truth of such horrid atrocities, the following summary account of them, by a Neapolitan historian of that age, may be added. After giving some account of the Calabrian heretics, he says — " Some had their throats cut, others were sawn through the middle, and others thrown from the top of a high clifi": all were cruelly but deservedly put to death. It was strange to hear of their obstinacy ; for while the father saw his son put to death, and the son his father, they not only exhibited no symptoms of grief, but said joyfully that they would be angels of God : so much had the devil, to whom they had given themselves up as a prey, deceived them."t * Perrin's Waldenses, pp. 202 — 206. Leger, r X Ad lino, ad uno (Davila, tom. i., p. 295.) " They were compelled to go out one after another by a little door, before which they found a great number of satellites armed vvith halberds, who assassinated the Navarrese as they came out." (German Narrative cited by Mr. Sharon Turner, Reign of Elizabeth, f. 319.) CHAP, v.] POPERY DRUNK WITH BLOOD OF SAINTS. 589 Multitudes of the slain in Paris and other cities of France. blood, under the very eyes of the king. Even the protestant king of Navarre himself had been ushered into the presence of Charles through long lines of soldiers thirsting for his blood, and commanded with oaths to renounce the protestant faith, and was then, together with the prince of Conde, thrust into prison, and informed that un less they embraced the Roman Catholic faith in three days, they would be executed for treason. In the meanwhile the work of slaughter went forward, and during seven days, at the lowest com putation,* 5000 protestants were murdered in the city of Paris alone. § 31. — The whole city was one great butchery and flowed with human blood. The court was heaped with the slain, on which the King and Queen gazed, not with horror, but with delight. Her majesty unblushingly feasted her eyes on the spectacle of thousands of men, exposed naked, and lying wounded and frightful in the pale hvery of death.f The king went to see the body of admiral Co ligny, which was dragged by the populace through the streets ; and remarked, in unfeeling witticism, that the " smell of a dead enemy was agreeable." The tragedy was not confined to Paris, but extended, in general, through the French nation. Special messengers were, on the pre ceding day, dispatched in all directions, ordering a general massa cre of the Huguenots. The carnage, in consequence, was made through nearly all the provinces, and especially in Meaux, Troyes, Orleans, Nevers, Lyons, Thoulouse, Bordeaux, and Rouen. Twenty- five or thirty thousand, according to Mezeray, perished in different places. Many were thrown into the rivers, which, floating the corpses on the waves, carried horror and infection to all the coun try, which they watered with their streams. The populace, tutored by the priesthood, accounted themselves, in shedding heretical blood, " the agents of Divine justice," and engaged " in doing God service."J The King, accompanied with the Queen and princes of the blood, and all the French court, went to the Parliament, and acknowledged that all these sanguinary transactions were done by his authority. "The Parliament publicly eulogized the King's wisdom," which had effected the effusion of so much heretical blood. His Majesty also went to mass, and returned solemn thanks to God for the glorious victory obtained over heresy. He ordered medals to be coined to perpetuate its memory. A medal accord- * That of Mezeray. Bossuet says 6000, and Davila 10,000 victims in Paris. t Tout le quartier ruisseloit de sang. La cour etoit pleine de corps morts, que le Roi et la Reine regardoient, non seulement sans horreur, mais avec plaisir. Tout les rues de la ville n'etoient plus que boucheries. (Bossuet, 4, 637.) On exposa leurs corps tout nuds k la porte, du Louvre, la Reine mere etant h. une fenestre, qui repaisoit ses yeux de cat horrible spectacle. (Mezeray, 5. Davila, v. Thuan., ii., 8.) Frequentes e gynoeceo foeminas, nequaquam crudeli spectaculo eas absterrente, cnriosis oculis nudorura corpora inverecunde intuebantur. (Thuan., 3, 131.) X Les Catholiques se regarderent comme les executeurs de la justice de Dieu (Daniel, 8, 738. Thuan., 3, 149.) 590 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [book vm. Joy of the Pope and Cardinals at the massacre. Medal struck in honor of the event ingly was struck for the purpose with this inscription, PIETY EXCITED JUSTICE.* § 32. — The King sent a special messenger to the Pope to an nounce to him the joyful intelligence of the extirpation of the pro testants, and to tell him that " the Seine flowed on more majesti cally after receiving the dead bodies of the heretics." Nothing could exceed the joy with which the news was received at Rome The Pope and cardinals went in procession to the church of St. Louis to return solemn thanks to God (oh, horrible impiety I) for the extirpation of the heretics. Te Deum was sung, and the firing of cannon announced the welcome news to the neighborhood around. The Pope's legate in France felicitated his most Christian majesty in the Pontiff's name, " and praised the exploit, so long meditated and so happily executed, for the good of religion." The massacre, says Mezeray, '• was extolled before the King as the triumph of the church."t The Pope was not satisfied with a temporary expression of his joy. He caused a more endurmg memorial to be struck in the form of triumphant medals in commemoration and honor of the event. These medals represented on one side an angel carrying a sword in one hand, and a crucifix in the other, employed in the slaughter of a group of heretics, with the words hugonotobum sTRAGEs (slaughter of the Huguenots), 1572 ; on the other side, the name and title of the reigning Pope. A new issue of this cele brated medal in honor of the Bartholomew massacre has recently been struck from the papal mint at Rome, and sold for the profit of the papal government. (For fac-simile, see Engraving) Such was the joy of the cardinal of Lorraine (whom we have already seen closing the council of Trent with anathemas against heretics); upon receiving the news at Rome, that he presented the messenger with one thousand pieces of gold, and, unable to restrain the extravagance of his delight, exclaimed aloud that "he believed the King's heart must have been filled with a sudden inspiration from God when he gave orders for the slaughter of the heretics."^ Another Cardinal, Santorip, afterwards pope Clement, VIIL, in his autobiography,, desiighates the massacre as "the celebrated da^f St. Bartholomew, most cheering to the Catholics."^ Thus is iRiy * Pietas excitavit justitiam. II fit frapper un medailfe a I'occasion de I5, Saint Barthelemi. (Daniel, 8, 786.) Apres avoir oui. solemnellement la'toesse pour re- mercier Dieu de la belle victoire obtenue sur I'heresie, et commanc^de faferiqner des ffledailles pour en conserver hi inemoire. (Mezeray ^ 6, 160, cited by Edgav, S40.) f La haine de 1' heresie les fit reoevoir agreabletnent a Rome. On se rejouit aussi en Espagne. (Bossuet, 4, 544.) La Cour de Rome et le Conseil d' Espagne eurent une joye indicible de la Saint Bartelemy. Le Pape alia en procession & I'eglise de Saint Louis, rendre graces k Dieu d'un si heureux sueces, et Ton fit le panegyrique de cette action sous le nom de Triomphe de 1' Eglige. ¦ (Mezeray, 5, 162. Sully, 1, 27. Edgar, 241.) X De Thou, lib. liii., ch. 4. Smedley, ii., 36. 5 He speaks of the " giusto sdegno del re Carlos IX. di gloriosa memoria, in quel celebre giorno di S. Bartolomeo lietissimo a' cattolici ;" that is, " the just wrath of king Charles IX., of glorious memory, on the celebrated day of St. Fac-simile of Papat Sfcdal iii lioDor of iho Mnfisacro of St. llarUiulomew's. Mussucre of St. Barlluiloincw's, in PariB, in I.j CHAP, v.] POPERY DRUNK WITH THE BLOOD OF SAINTS. 593 Revocation of the edict of Nantes in 1685. Cruel effects of this decree. the joy of the Pope and cardinals at the massacre, by the medal struck in its commemoration and honor, and by their solemn thanks givings for the happy events, without alluding to the proofs (by no means inconsiderable) of a previous correspondence between the Pope and the King, that this horrible slaughter is fixed as another dark and damning spot upon the blood-stained escutcheon of Rome. § 33. — After the massacre of Bartholomew, the protestants of France continued to be the subjects of cruel and bitter persecution from the papists, and yet in the midst of all, the blood of the inar- tyrs was the seed of the church, and the cause of God and of truth continued steadily to advance. At length, in the year 1598, twenty-six years after the massacre, an edict granting the protestants liberty of worship, with certain restrictions, was passed, through the favor of kuig Henry IV. This was caUed the edict of Nantes, and though far from removing all disabilities on account of rehgion, was received by the protestants with joy and gratitude. It continued in force till 1685, though for the last few years of that period many of its provisions had been violated with impunity, and the protestants exposed to a series of cruel insults and annoyances from their popish neighbors. In the year 1685, king Louis XIV. of France, a bigoted papist, at the persuasions of La Chaise, his Jesuit confessor, publicly revoked that protecting edict, and thus let loose the floodgates of popish cruelty upon the defenceless protestants. By the edict of revocation, all former edicts protecting the protestants were fully repealed ; they were forbidden to assemble for religious worship ; all their ministers were banished the kingdom "within fifteen days under penalty of being sent to the galleys ;* all their children born in future were ordered to be brought up in the Roman Cathohc re ligion, and the parents required to send them to the popish churches under a penalty of five hundred livres ; and what rendered the law yet more cruel, all other protestants, except the banished ministers, were forbidden to depart out of the kingdom, under penalty of the galleys for men, and of confiscation of money and goods for the women. § 34. — ^In the cruelties that followed the revocation of the edict of Nantes, the policy of Rome appeared to be changed. She had tried, in innumerable instances, the effect of persecution unto death, and the results of Bartholomew had shovra that it was not effectual in eradicating the heresy. Now, her plan was by torture, Bartholomew, most cheering to catholics." (Cited by Ranke in his History of ihe Popes, book vi., p. 228.) * Sent to the galleys. — ^This was a punishment somewhat similar to sending felons to the hulks or convict ships, such as those at Woolwich, England ; except that the rigor of the former was much greater. The galley-slave was chained to his oar, compelled to labor without intermission, in company with the vilest felons and blasphemers, and continually exposed to the lash of the cruel and (in the case of heretics especially) often vindictive taskmaster, upon his naked back. To this horrid and degrading punishment, some of the most distinguished and learned of the French protestant clergy were doomed during this persecution. 594 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [book vui. Wearing out the saints of the Most High, Dragoonading. Cruel treatment of the protestants. annoyance, and inflictions of various kinds suggested by a brutal ingenuity, " to wear out the saints of the Most High." One of the most common means was what was called dra goonading ; that is quartering brutal dragoons upon the defence less people, who had license to employ any means in their power to compel the poor persecuted protestants to embrace the popish faith. " There was no wickedness," says M. Quick in his Synodi con, " though ever so horrid, which they did not put in practice, that they might enforce them to change their religion. Amidst a thousand hideous cries and blasphemies, they hung up men and women by the hair or feet upon the roofs of the chambers, or hooks of chimneys, and smoked them with wisps of wet hay till they were no longer able to bear it ; and when they had taken them down, if they would not sign an abjuration of their pretended heresies, they then trussed them up again immediately. Some they threw into great fires, kindled on purpose, and would not take them out till they were half roasted. They tied ropes under their arms, and plunged them again and again into deep wells, from whence they would not draw them till they had promised to change their religion. They bound them as criminals are when they are put to the rack, and in that posture, putting a funnel into their mouths, they poured wine down their throats till its fumes had deprived them of their reason, and they had in that condition made them consent to be come Catholics. Some they stripped stark naked, and after they had offered them a thousand indignities, they stuck them with pins from head to foot ; they cut them with penknives, tore them by the noses with red-hot pincers, and dragged them about the rooms till they promised to become Roman Catholics, or till the doleful cries of these poor tormented creatures, calling upon God for mercy, constrained them to let them go. They beat them with staves, and dragged them all bruised to the popish churches, where their enforced presence is reputed for an abjuration. They kept them waking seven or eight days together, relieving one another by turns, that they might not get a wink of sleep or rest. In case they began to nod, they threw buckets of water in their faces, or hold ing kettles over their heads, they beat on them with such a con tinual noise, that those poor wretches lost their senses. If they found any sick, who kept their beds, men or women, be it of fevers or other diseases, they were so cruel as to beat up an alarm with twelve drums about their beds for a whole week together, without intermission, till they had promised to change. In some places they tied fathers and husbands to the bedposts, and ravished their wives and daughters before their eyes. And in other places rapes were pubhcly and generally permitted for many hours together. From others they plucked off the nails of their hands and toes, which must needs have caused an intolerable pain." § 85. — The galleys formed another mode of oppression. There, a vast body of protestants, some of them, such as Marolles and Le Febvre, of the highest station and talent, were confined — wretch- OHAP. v.] POPERY DRUNK WITH THE BLOOD OF SAINTS. 595 Popery tolerates wickedness, but not hcreay. Pious expressions of the perseoated Lo rebvr* edly fed on disgusting fare — and wrought in chains for many years. The prisoners often died under their sufferings. When they did not acquit themselves to the mind of their taskmasters, or disre garded any of their persecuting enactments, they were subjected to the lash. Fifty or sixty lashes were considered a punishment se vere enough for the criminals of France — men who were notorious for every species of profligacy ; but nothing less than one hundred to one hundred and fifty would suffice for the meek and holy saints of God. They were considered a thousand times worse than the worst criminals. It is a striking feature of the persecutions of Popery that the more holy and Christ-like her victims, the more dreadfully severe have been the character of their sufferings ; her war has not been against wickedness, but heresy, and she could readily tolerate the grossest immorahty, so long as she had no reason to complain of the rejection of her creed. This is consistent with her true character. Popery is anti- Christ, and it is natural to suppose that the nearer men come to the character of Christ, the fiercer will be her hatred, and the more bitter her persecution. Hence the quenchless enmity of Rome for such holy men as Wickliff and Huss and Jerome, Rogers and Latimer and Ridley, Le Febvre and Marolles and Mauru. We shall present an extract or two from the letters of the three last named victims of the revocation of the edict of Nantes, while suf fering under the cruel inflictions of the papal anti-Christ, to sustain this assertion. § 36. — Says Le Febvre, when writing from a noisome dungeon, "Nothing can exceed the cruelty of the treatment I receive. The weaker I become, the more they endeavor to aggravate the miseries of the prison. For several weeks no one has been allowed to enter my dungeon ; and if one spot could be found where the air was more infected than another, I was placed there. Yet the love of the truth prevails in my soul ; for God, who knows my heart, and the purity of my motives, supports me by his grace. He fights against me, but he also fights for me. My weapons are tears and prayers. .... The place is very dark and damp. The air is noisome, and has a bad smell. Everything rots and beqomes mouldy. The wells and cisterns are above me. I have never seen a fire here, ex cept the flame of the candle You will feel for me in this misery," said he to a dear relative, to whom he was describing his sad condition : " but think of the eternal weight of glory which will follow. Death is nothing. Christ has vanquished the foe for me : and when the fit time shall arrive, the Lord will give me strength to tear off the mask which that last enemy wears in great afflictions." .... Far be it from me to murmur. I pray without ceasing, that he would show pity, not only to those who suffer, but also to those who are the cause of our sufferings. He who commanded us to love our enemies, produces in our hearts the love he has com- 35 596 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [book vm. Marolles and Pierre Mauru. Heavenly-minded piety m a dungeon and in a galiey-shlp. manded. The world has long regarded us as tottering walls ; but they do not see the Almighty hand by which we are upheld." § 37^ — Says Marolles, a minister of eminent piety, and extensive scientific attainments, in a letter to his wife, after being removed from a galley to a dungeon, " When I was taken out of the galley and brought hither, I found the change very agreeable at first My ears were no longer offended with the horrid and blasphemous sounds with which those places continually echo. I had liberty to sing the praises of God at all times, and could prostrate myself be fore him as often as I pleased. Besides, I was released from that uneasy chain, which was far more troublesome to me than the one of thirty pounds weight which you saw me wear." He then goes on to speak of a temptation into which he was permitted to fall — a distrust of God lest he should lose his reason, and a fear that he was advancing to a state of insanity — " At length," says he, " after many prayers, sighs, and tears, the God of my deliverance heard my petitions, commanded a perfect calm, and dissipated all those illusions which had so troubled my soul. After the Lord has de- • livered me out of so sore a trial, never have any doubt, my dear wife, that he will deliver me out of all others. Do not, therefore, disquiet yourself any more about me. Hope always in the good ness of God, and your hope shall not be in vain. I ought not, in my opinion, to pass by unnoticed a considerable circumstance which tends to the glory of God. The duration of so great a temptation was, in my opinion, the proper time for the Old Serpent to endeavor to cast me into rebellion and infidelity ; but God al ways kept him in so profound a silence, that he never once offered to infest me with any of his pernicious counsels ; and I never felt the least inclination to revolt. Ever since those sorrowful days, God has continually filed my heart with joy. I possess my soul in patience. He makes the days of my affliction speedily pass away. I have no sooner begun them than I find myself at the end. With the bread and water of affliction he affords me continually most delicious repasts." This was his last letter. He resigned his spirit into the hands of his heavenly Father on the 17th June, 1692. § 38. — The next example of suffering piety, from whom I shall quote, was of one who wrote from amidst the slavery and suffering and horrors of the galleys. Says Pierre Mauru, after referring to the cruel stripes he was forced to bear, from twenty to forty at a time, and these repeated frequently for several days in succession. " But I must tell you, that though these stripes are painful, the joy of suffering for Christ gives ease to every wound ; and when, after we have suffered for him, the consolations of Christ abound in us by the Holy Spirit, the Comforter : they are a heavenly balm, which heals all our sorrows, and even imparts such perfect health to our souls, that we can despise every other thing. In short, when we belong to God, nothing can pluck us out of his hand If my body was tortured during the day, my soul rejoiced exceed ingly in God my Saviour, both day and night. At this period chap, v.] POPERY DRUNK WITH THE BLOOD OF SAINTS. 597 Cruel scourging of Pierre Mauru ou board the galleys. The faith and the patience of the saints, especially, my soul was fed with hidden manna, and I tasted of that joy which the world knows not of ; and daily, with the holy apos tles, my heart leaped with joy that I was counted worthy to suffer for my Saviour's sake, who poured such consolations into my soul that I was filled with holy transport, and, as it were, carried out of myself .... But this season of quiet was of short duration ; for soon afterwards the galley was furnished with oars to exercise the new-comers ; and then these inexorable haters of our blessed re ligion took the opportunity to beat me as often as they pleased, telling me it was in my power to avoid these torments. But when they held this language, my Saviour revealed to my soul the ago nies he suffered to purchase my salvation, and that it became me thus to suffer with him. After this, we were ordered to sea, when the excessive toil of rowing, and the blows I received, often brought me to the brink of the grave. Whenever the chaplain saw me sinking with fatigue, he beset me with temptations ; but my soul was bound for the heavenly shore, and he gained nothing from my answers In every voyage there were many persons whose greatest amusement was to see me incessantly beaten, but particu larly the captam's steward, who called it painting Calvin's back, and msultingly asked if Calvin gave me strength to work after being so finely bruised ; and when he wished the beating to be re peated, he would ask if Calvin was not to have his portion again. When he saw me sinking from day to day under cruelties and fa tigue, his happiness was complete. The officers, who were anxious to please him, had recourse to this mhuman sport for his entertain ment, during which he was constantly convulsed with laughter. When he saw me raise my eyes to heaven, he said, ' God does not hear Calvinists when they pray. They must endure their tortures till they die, or change their religion.' .... In short, my very dear brother, there was not a smgle day, when we were at sea, and toil- uig at the oar, but I was brought into a dying state. The poor wretched creatures who were near me did everything in their power to help me, and to make me take a little nourishment. But in the depth of distress, which nature could hardly endure, my God left me not vpithout support. In a short time all will be over, and I shall forget all my sorrows in the joy of being ever with the Lord. Indeed, whenever I was left in peace a little while, and was able to meditate on the words of eternal life, I was perfectly happy ; and when I looked at my wounded body, I said, here are the glorious marks which St. Paul rejoiced to bear in his body. After every voyage I fell sick ; and then, being free from hard labor and the fear of blows, I could meditate in quiet, and render thanks to God for sustainuig me by his goodness, and strengthening me by his good Spirit." Here is the faith and the patience of the SAINTS. Is it possible to conceive of suffering borne in a holier cause or in a more Christ-like spirit ? § 39. — It would be an endless task to recount all the inventions of popish ingenuity to harass and to wear out these saints of the 598 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [book vm. Fiendish cruelty to a mother and babe. The Pope's thanlts to Louis for thus persecuting the heretici, Most High. One vvhich could not have been conceived anywhere else but in the bottomless pit and in the heart of a fiend, deserves to be mentioned. On January 23d, 1685, a woman had her suck ing child snatched from her breasts, and put mto the next room, which was only parted by a few boards from her's. These devils incarnate would not let the poor mother come to her child, unless she would renounce her religion and become a Roman Catholic. Her child cries and she cries ; her bowels yearn upon the poor miserable infant ; but the fear of God, and of losing her soul, keep her from apostasy. However she suffers a double martyrdom, one m her own person, the other in that of her sweet babe, who dies in her hearing with crying and famine before its poor mother. The heart sickens at the contemplation of such enormities. Human language cannot describe the sufferings of these oppressed victims of popish cruelty. It is only the Spirit of God who can mark the terrible lineaments, and he does so when he speaks of " wearing out the saints of the Most High," and of anti-Christ being " drunk with the blood of the saints," and of their blood crying firom under the altar, " O Lord, holy and true, how long dost thou not judge and avenge our blood upon them that dwell on the earth?" and when he speaks of similar worthies as persons " who were stoned, were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword : they wandered about in sheep-skins and goat-skins ; being destitute, afllicted, tormented (of whom the world was not worthy) : they wandered in deserts and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth."* § 40. — Let the reader carefully consider the above affecting and authentic instances of suffering for Christ's sake, and then let him read the following language of pope Innocent XL, in praise of the popish bigot, by whose orders they were inflicted. This Pontiff wrote a special letter to king Louis, expressly thanking him in the warmest and most glowing terms for the service he had rendered the church in this persecuting edict against the heretics of France. The Pope requests him to consider this letter a special testimony to his merits, and concludes it in the followmg words : — " The Catholic Church shall most assuredly record in her sacred annals a work of such devotion toward her, and celebrate your name with never-dt- iNG PRAISES ; but, above all, you may most assuredly promise to yourself an ample retribution from the divine goodness for this most excellent undertaking, and may rest assured that we shall never cease to pour forth our most earnest prayers to that Divine goodness for this intent and purpose." Thus evident is it not only that the acknowledged head of the apostate church of Rome approved of the horrid barbarities in flicted upon the French protestants, but that he regarded their per petrator as conferring a special favor upon that church, thus en- titluig himself to her lasting gratitude and her warmest thanks. * Lorimer's Protestant Church of France, chap. iv. BOOK IX. POPERY IN ITS DOTAGE. FROM THE REVOCATIOH OF THE EDICT OF KANTES, A. D. 1686, TO THE PEESEHT TIME, A. D. 1845. CHAPTER I. THE JESUITS. THEIR MISSIONS. THEIR SUPPRESSION, REVIVAL, AND PRESENT POSITION. § 1. — The eighteenth century was chiefly distinguished by events connected with the history and proceedings of that crafty and dan gerous order, the Jesuits ; their missionary efforts to extend the dominion of the papacy in China and other oriental countries, and the disputes which arose relative to their practice of amalgamating heathen with Christian rites ; their protracted and fierce contests with the rival sect of the Jansenists ; their banishment from the various kingdoms of Europe, and the final suppression of the order by pope Clement XIV. in 1773. Before describing the controversy which arose in this century relative to the missionary operations of the Jesuits in China, it may be necessary briefly to refer to the origin of those missions. The missionary efforts of the Jesuits commenced immediately after the establishment of that order: in 1541, Francis Xavier, who appears to have been a man of fervent piety, free from the trickery and worldly policy that afterwards distinguished his order, and who by his zeal and success obtained the name of " the apostle of In dians," sailed for India, where he was successful in converting thou sands to the Romish faith. In 1549, he visited Japan, where he laid the foundations of a branch of the Romish church, which in after years is said to have consisted of two or three hundred thou sand members. From Japan, with a zeal and self-devotion worthy of a purer faith, Xavier sailed for China, but died when in sight of that populous empire, in 1552. Subsequently to his death, Matthew Ricci penetrated into China, recommended himself to the favor of the nobihty and Emperor by his skill in mathematics, and succeeded in planting the Romish faith in Pekm, the capital, where he died in 600 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [book k. Policy of the Jesuit missionaries, " All things to all men." Their shameful conformity to heathenism. 1610. Other Jesuit missionaries, in process of time, extended the spiritual dominion of the Pope and their order into Malabar, Abys sinia, and other countries, and especially into South America, where they succeeded in reducing whole nations of Indians to theii sway. In 1622, was established at Rome, by pope Gregory XV., the Congregation for propagating the faith {De Propagandd Fide), a body of cardinals, priests, &c., whose special duty it is to devise means for propagating the Romish faith throughout the world ; and in 1627, the College De Propagandd Fide, in which young men of all nations are educated as Romish missionaries ; and in 1663, the kindred institution in France, called " the Congregation of the priests of foreign missions." From these institutions hundreds of Jesuits were sent forth to reduce the nations of the world to the obedience of the Pope. § 2. — In accomplishing this object the Jesuits early adopted the principle that the end sanctifies the means, and scrupled at no measures to entrap the people to the nominal profession of Chris tianity. In the words of au eloquent living writer, " The motto and device in one of their earlier histories was well illustrated in their conduct. That device was a mirror, and the superscription was ' Omnia omnibus,' All things to all men. But what in Paul was Christian courtesy, leaning on inflexible principle ; and what in Loyola himself was probably wisdom, but slightly tinged with unwarrantable policy, became, in some of his disciples, the laxest casuistry, chameleon-like, shifting its hues to every varying shade of interest or fashion. " The gospel is to be presented with no needless offence given to the prejudices and habits of the heathen, but the gospel itself is never to be mutilated or disguised ; nor is the. ministry ever to stoop to compliances in themselves sinful. The Jesuit mistook or forgot this. From a very early period, the order were famed for the art with which they studied to accommodate themselves and their religion to the tastes of the nation they would evangelize. Ricci, on entering China, found the bonzes, the priests of the nation ; and to secure respect, himself and his associates adopted the habits and dress of the bonzes. But a short acquaintance with the empire taught him, that the whole class of the priesthood was m China a despised one, and that he had been only attracting gratuitous odium in assuming their garb. He therefore relinquished it again, to take that of the men of letters. In India, some of their number adopted the Brahminical dress, and others conformed to the disgusting habits of the Fakeer and the Yogee, the hermits and penitents of the Mo hammedan aijd Hindoo superstition. Swartz met a Catholic mis sionary, arrayed in the style of the pagan priests, wearing their yellow robe, and having like them a drum beaten before him. It would seem, upon such principle of action^ as if their next step ought to have been the creation of a Christian Juggernaut ; or to have arranged the Christian suttee, where the widow might burn CHAP. I.] POPERY IN ITS DOTAGE— A. D. 1686-1846. 601 Worshipping the crucifix upon the altar of Confticius. Decrees of pope Clement. The Jansenists. according to the forms of the Romish breviary ; or to have or ganized a band of Romanist Thugs, strangling in the name of the virgin, as did their Hmdoo brethren for the honor of Kalee. " In South America, one of the zealous Jesuit fathers, finding that the Payernes, as the sorcerers and priests of the tribe were called, were accustomed to dance and sing in giving their religious ui- structions, put his preachments into metre, and copied the move ments of these Pagan priests, that he might win the savage by the forms to which he had been accustomed. In China, again, they found the worship of deceased ancestors generally prevailing. Failing to supplant the practice, they proceeded to legitimate it. They even allowed worship to be paid to Confucius, the atheistical philosopher of China, provided their converts would, in offering the worship, conceal upon the altar a crucifia: to which their homage should be secretly directed. Finding the adoration of a crucified Saviour unpopular among that self-sufficient people, they are ac cused by their ovra Romanist brethren of having suppressed in their teachings the mystery of the cross, and preached Christ glo rified, but not Christ in his "humiliation, his agony and his death. A more arrogant act than this, the wisdom of this world has seldom perpetrated, when it has undertaken to modify and adorn the gos pel of the crucified Nazarene."* About the commencement of the eighteenth century, the ques tion arose in the Romish church whether this amalgamation of heathenism with Christianity in the missionary operations of the Jesuits was a lawful method of multiplying converts. This was decided by pope Clement XI., in the year 1704, against the Jesuits, and the Chinese converts were forbidden by a solemn edict any longer to practise the idolatrous rites of their nation in connection with their professed Christian worship. This edict, however, so displeased the Jesuit missionaries, that the same Pope, dreading the consequences of exasperating so powerful an order, deemed it [)olitic to issue another edict a few years later, which in effect nul- ified the provisions of the former. This latter decree which was dated in 1715, allowed the heathen ceremonies referred to, upon condition that they should be regarded, not as religious but civil institutions ;t a distinction which might serve to satisfy the con science of the Pope in thus authorizing the ceremonies of heathen ism, but would have not the slightest effect on the feelings of the Chinese devotee in muigling in the same act of devotion, the wor ship of Confucius and of Christ. § 3. — Among the most persevering and able of the opponents of the Jesuits and their methods of converting the heathen, the Jan senists were the most conspicuous and celebrated. They were so called from Cornehus Jansenius, a celebrated Roman Catholic * See an able and learned article on " the Jesuits as a Missionary Order," from the pen of Rev. Wm. R. Williams, D.D., in the Christian Review, for June, 1841. t Bower's Lives of th6 Popes, vol. vii., page 494 ; Mosheim, vi., 3. 602 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [book n. Pascal's provincial letters. Father auesnel's booli on the New Testament condemned. bishop, who, about/the middle of the seventeenth century, had pub lished a work under the title of Augustinus, advocating the doc trines of the African bishop on the native depravity of man, and the nature of that divine influence, by which alone this depravity can be cured. The doctrines of this book were altogether too evangelical for the Jesuits, who opposed it with all their might. Through the influence of the Jesuits, the book was first prohibited by the Inquisition, and afterwards condemned by the Pope, and a fierce and bitter controversy was thus enkindled between these rival sects in the Romish church, which continued for more than a century. For a time the Jesuits appeared to triumph in France, but a blow was given to them in the " Provincial Letters " of the devout and learned Pascal, from which they never have and never can recover. In this celebrated work it was shown by innumera ble citations from their own standard writcrs, presented in a style of inimitable wit, beauty, and eloquence, that Jesuitism is utterly subversive of all true principles, alike of morality, religion and civil government ; a fact which the whole history of this crafty and mis chievous order in every land where it has obtained a foothold has tended to confirm. The cause of the Jansenists acquired an additional degree of credit a few years later by the publication, in 1687, of "Father Quesnel's moral reflections on the New Testament." The quintessence of Jansenism was blended, inan elegant and artful manner, with these annotations, and was thus presented to the reader under the most pleasing aspect. The Jesuits were alarmed at the success of Ques nel's book, and particularly at the change it had wrought in many, in favor of the evangelical and almost protestant doctrines of Jan senius : and to remove out of the way an instrument which proved so advantageous to their adversaries, they engaged that weak prince Louis XIV. to solicit the condemration of this production at the court of Rome. Clement XI. granted the request of the French monarch, because he considered it as the request ot the Jesuits; and, in the year 171.3, issued out the famous bull Uni- genitus, in which Quesnel's New Testament was condemned, and a hundred and one propositions contained in it pronounced heretical. Among the propositions condemned were the following three, \\z., that grace is the effectual principle of all good works ; that faith is the fountaui of all the graces of the Christian ; and that the Sacred Scriptures ought to be read by all. § 4. — This temporary triumph of the Jesuits was destined to be but short. The princes of Europe at length opened their eyes to the dangerous principles of an order which hesitated at no means, however unjust or perfidious, to accomplish their nefarious designs. The only wonder is that they should not have eariier begun to dis trust an order of men, a part of whose creed it was, that it vi^as meritorious to assassinate rulers and governors that stood in the way of the advancement of the Romish church. The Jesuits had long been notorious for attempting the lives of CHAP. I.] POPERY IN ITS DOTAGE— A. D. 1686-1846. 60S The Jesuits' plots against the lives of princes. Tho gunpowder plot and tho Jesuit Garnet sovereigns, as is testified by the assassination of Henri III. of France, and William, prince of Orange, as well as by the various unsuccessful plots against queen Elizabeth and James I., of Eng land. Toward the close of the reign of Elizabeth, in a pro clamation dated Nov. 16th, 1602, she says that "the Jesuits had fomented the plots against her person, excited her subjects to revolt, provoked foreign princes to compass her death, engaged in all affairs of state, and by their language and writings had undertaken to dispose of her crown." In the reign of her successor, James I., after the failure of several schemes against his life, the Jesuits, in the year 1605, con trived the horrible gunpowder plot to blow up the King, the royal family, and both houses of parliament, in order to place a papist upon the throne of England. Through the good providence of God, this dreadful plot was defeated, and its popish contrivers de tected and punished. In this atrocious conspiracy, says Southey (Book of the Church, 435), " Guy Fawkes and his associates acted upon the same principles as the head of the Romish church, when in his arrogated infallibility he fulminated his bulls against Eliza beth, struck medals in honor of the Bartholomew massacre, and pronounced that the fi-iar who assassinated Henri III. had per formed " a famous and memorable act, not without the special providence of God, and the suggestion and assistance of his Holy Spirit !" If the conspirators had felt any compunctious scruples, the sanction of their ghostly fathers quieted all doubts ; and when one of their confessors, the Jesuit Garnet, suffered for his share in the treason, it was pretended that a portrait of the sufferer was miraculously formed by his blood, upon the straw with which the scaffold was strevra ; the likeness was rapidly multiplied ; a print of the wonder, with suitable accompaniments, was published at Rome ; Garnet in consequence received the honors of beatification from the Pope, and the society to which he belonged enrolled him in their books as a martyr." Even the persecuting Louis XIV. of France stood in fear of the dirk or the poniard of the Jesuits. When Pere La Chaise, for so many years the Jesuit confessor of Louis, and the prompter of his persecuting measures against the protestants, felt his own end approaching, he earnestly begged of him to select his future con fessor from among the Jesuits. He requested him to do so, ac cording to S. Simon, " for his own security," as the society num bered among its members persons that ought not to be driven to despair, and because after all a "bad blow" was soon struck, and was not without precedents. Louis XIV., however prodigal of the lives of others, was too careful of his own to neglect the Jesuit's advice, and selected a successor to La Chaise from among the same powerful and dangerous order.* * S. Simon. Memoires, chap. 217. See an able article on the Jesuits m Pramce in the North British Review for Fehruary, 1845. 604 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [book ix. Suppression of the Jesuits in France, Spain, &c. Abolition of the order by Clement XIV. § 5. — The Jesuits had already been expelled from England by proclamation of James I., in 1604, the year previous to the gun powder plot. But it was not till the latter half of the eighteenth century that the other sovereigns of Europe awakened to the dan ger of permitting in their dominions an order of men holding such principles ; and incensed by the officious interference of the Jesuits in political affairs, they one after another expelled them as a pest and a plague from the countries they governed. They were ex pelled from Portugal in 1759. Three years later, the French parliament declared that such a body, having peculiar laws, and all subject to one individual residing in Rome, was dangerous to the state ; and in 1764 the society was suppressed in France by order pf the King. Three years afterward they were expelled from Spain. On the 31st of March, 1767, the colleges and houses of the Jesuits in that country were surrounded at midnight by troops ; sentinels were posted at every door, the bells were secured, the royal decree expelling them from Spain read to the members hastily assembled; and then having taken their breviaries, some linen, and a few other conveniences, they were placed in carriages and escorted by cavalry to the coast, where they embarked for Italy. In the follow ing year, 1768, the king of the Two Sicilies and the duke of Parma, followed in the steps of France and of Spain, and sup pressed the order in their dominions. § 6. — At length, by a bull of pope Ganganelli, or Clement XIV., dated July 21st, 1773, the order of the Jesuits was entirely abolished, its statutes annulled, and its members released from their vows. , " Their abolition was not a work of haste. According to the life of this Pope, pubhshed in the year 1776, he spent four years deliberately examining the history of the order. He searched the archives of the Propaganda for the documents relating to their missions, the accusations against and apologies for them ; desirous of being correct in the matter of his condemnation, he communi cated his brief privately to several cardinals and theologians as well as to some sovereigns, &c., before he promulgated it. He then decided on the abolition, but not without considering the con sequences to himself He believed it would be death to him ; when he signed the instrument, he is reported to have said : " The sup. pression is accomplished. I do not repent of it, having only re solved on it after examining and weighing everything, and because I thought it necessary for the church. If it were not done, I would do it now ; but this suppression will be my death." The initial letters of a Pasquinade appeared on St. Peter's church, which he interpreted, " The Holy See will be vacant in September," vfhich was verified in his death on the twenty-second of that month, 1774, attended with every symptom of poison. Thus ended for the time being the order of Jesuits, and thus too the man that dared to stop them in their course of iniquity. It is not saying too much," re marks Rev. Dr. Giustiniani (page 247), " if we consult history and experience, that another so infamous a class of men never hved." chap. I.] POPERY IN ITS DOTAGE— A. D. 1685-1845. 605 The order revived by pope Pius VII. in 1814. Copy of the Jesuits' oath § 7. — Notwithstanduig this deliberate condemnation of the Jesuits, the order was revived by pope Pius VII., soon after his re turn to Rome from his captivity in France, where he had been de tained by Napoleon. The bull of restoration was dated August 7th, 1814, and the order is now engaged, as busily as ever, in Eng land, Switzerland, America, and other lands, in secretly under mining every protestant government by its insidious and crafty, yet steady and persevering efforts to advance the influence of the order, to propagate the dogmas, and extend the dominion of Rome. It will be a sufficient evidence of the dangerous character of the order to any government where they are suffered to pursue their nefarious designs, to append to this brief notice of the Jesuits the solemn oath that is taken by every member upon his initiation into the Society. Jesuits' Oath. — " I, A. B., now in the presence of Almighty God, the blessed Virgin Mary, the blessed Michael the Archangel, the blessed St. John Baptist, the holy apostles St. Peter and St. Paul, and the saints and sacred host of heaven, and to you my ghostly father do declare from my heart, witliout mental reserva tion, that pope Gregory is Christ's Vicar General, and is the true and only Head of the universal church throughout the earth ; and that by virtue of the keys of binding and loosing, given to his Holiness by Jesus Christ, he hath power to depose HEKETICAL KINGS, PRINCES, STATES, COMMONWEALTHS, AND GOVERNMENTS, ALL BEING ILLEGAL, WITHOUT HIS SACRED CONFIRMATION, AND THAT THET MAT SAFELT BE DESTROTED ; therefore to the utmost of my power, I will defend this doctrine and his Hohness's rights and customs against all usurpers of the hereti cal or protestant authority whatsoever, especially against the now pretended au thority and church in England, and all adherents, in regard that they be usurped and heretical, opposing the sacred mother church of Rome. "I DO RENOUNCE AND DISOWN ANT ALLEGIANCE AS DUE TO ANT HERETICAL KING, PRINCE, OR STATE, NAMED PROTESTANT, OR OBEDIENCE TO ANT OF THEIR INFERIOR MAGISTRATES OE OFFICERS. I do further declare the doctrine of the church of England, of the Calvinists, Huguenots, and other protestants, to be damnable, and those to be damned who wiU not forsake the same. I do further declare, that I will help, assist, and advise aU or any of his Holiness's agents in any place wherever I shall be ; and do my utmost to extirpate the heretical pro testants' doctrine, and to destroy all their pretended power, legal or otherwise. I do further promise and declare, that notwithstanding I am dispensed with to as sume any religion heretical, for the propagation of the mother church's interest, to keep secret and private all her agents' counsels, as they entrust me, and not to divulge, directly or indirectly, by word, writing or circumstance whatsoever, hut to execute all which shall be proposed, given in charge, or discovered unto me, by you my ghostly father, or by any one of this convent. All which I, A. B., do swear by the blessed Trinity, and blessed sacrament, which I am now to receive, to perform and on my part to keep inviolably ; and do call all the heavenly and glorious host of heaven, to witness my real intentions to keep this my oath. In testimony hereof, I take this most holy and blessed sacrament of the eucharist, and witness the same further with my hand and seal, in the face of this hol^ convent." 606 CHAPTER IL THE PERSECUTING ANH INTOLERANT SPIRIT OF POPERY, AS EXHIBITED IN THE EIGHTEENTH AND NINETEENTH CENTURIES, § 8. — SuBSEauENT to the cruel edict of the popish king Louis XIV. in 1685, which was the 'cause of the horrible sufferings de scribed in a previous chapter, the remaining years of the seven teenth and a few of the eighteenth century, were occupied in France in attempting to suppress the insurrections which arose ia some parts of that kingdom, by those who banded together in de fence of their religious liberties. Multitudes of the Huguenots, in spite of the decree which forbade them to quit the country, evaded the vigilance of the guards, and escaped into Holland, England, America, and other countries where they could enjoy freedom to worship God. The larger number of those who escaped were artisans, and carried their useful arts and manufactures to the countries which they thus enriched by their flight. The farmer was unable to carry with him his cattle or his fields, his vines or his fig trees, and was thus, in some instances, driven by oppression to fight for religious freedom in his native land. A thrilling account has been given of the protracted struggle for religious freedom of the people of the Cevennes, in Languedoc, and the horrible barbarities of their popish persecutors and conquerors, by one of the most celebrated of their leaders, Mons. Cavalier, whose memoirs were published in London in 1726. In this contest no quarter was given by the papists to the Huguenots, or Camisards as they were now generally called, and hundreds of men, women, and children, the inhabitants of whole towns, were butchered in cold blood. § 9. — In the year 1705, a few months after the Camisards ap peared to be wholly crushed, some of the leading men who yet sur vived, secretly assembled at the house of Mons. Boeton, between Nismes and MontpeUier, to consult upon a new attempt to extort religious liberty from the government. The plan was discovered ; Boeton was apprehended, and condemned to the horrible death of being broken alive upon the wheel — a cruel death, which he bore with a fortitude worthy of the primitive martyrs, and which showed that the spirit which animated a Huss, a Latimer, and a Ridley, was not extinct at the commencement of the eighteenth century. When led forth to execution, he never ceased to raise his voice above thfe rolling of the drums, to exhort the spectators, and especially such as he saw dissolved in tears, to " continue to remain firm in the communion of Jesus Christ." Incessantly importuned by two priests who accompanied him, and who offered him pardon in the name of the King, if he would abjure his religion and repent of his faults, he was seen to lift his eyes toward heaven, as if praying for CHAP, n.] POPERY IN ITS DOTAGE— A. D. 1685-1846. 607 Cruel martyrdom of Boeton. His courage and piety to the last strength to withstand the suggestions of those ecclesiastics, whom he regarded as angels of darkness sent to seduce him, and for forti tude to endure the attacks of death, like a faithful soldier fighting in the cause of God. One of his friends, who chanced to be out and perceived him approaching, was so deeply pained by this touching sight, that he stepped hastily and in tears into a shop to avoid meeting him. Boeton, having observed him, asked permission to say a word to his friend. It was granted, and he desired that he might be called out. "What!" said he, "do you shun me because you see me clothed in the hvery of Christ ! Why should you weep, when he grants me the favor to call me to himself, and to seal the defence of his cause with my blood ?" Sobs choked the utterance of his friend, who was going to embrace him, when the archers made Boeton walk on. As soon as he came in sight of the scaffold erected on the esplanade, he exclaimed, " Courage, O my soul ! I behold the scene of thy triumph. Soon, released from thy painful bonds, thou wilt be in heaven !" Without a murmur he submitted to the torments prepared for him. The bones of his legs, thighs, and arms, were broken by the blow of the executioner's club ; and in this deplorable and mutilated condition he was left fastened to the torturmg wheel, with his head hanging down, for five hours, which he spent in singing hymns, in fervent prayers to God, and exhortations to those who drew nigh to listen. His tormentors perceiving from the tears of the specta tors, and their loud praises of the constancy of the suffering mar tyr, that instead of strikmg terror into the protestants, this specta cle only tended to strengthen them in their faith, the order was given for the executioner to terminate his work by the coup de grace. As he was about to do this, an archer on the scaffold ex claimed, in the true spirit of Popery, that this Huguenot ought to be left to die on the wheel, since he would not renounce his errors. Boeton made this reply to the cruel wretch : " You think, my friend, that I am in pain ; indeed I am : but learn that He who is with me and for whom I suffer gives me strength to endure my suf fering with joy." The executioner now came to complete his task. Boeton made a last effort; raised his head, notwithstanding the horrible state to which he was reduced ; and, lifting his voice above the drums, which had never ceased beating during the execution, among the troops drawn up in order of battle around the scaffold, he em phatically pronounced these his last words ; " My dearest brethren, let my death be an example to you to maintain the purity of the Gospel, and be faithful witnesses how I die in the religion of Jesus Christ and of his holy aposties," and immediately expired. § 10. — It is computed that to the persecuting spirit of Louis XIV., not less than three hundred thousand protestants were sacrificed during his reign. After his death in 1 714, the French protestants enjoyed a temporary respite from their sufferings, 608 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [book n. Popish clergy clamor for the execution of the laws against heretics Martyrdom of Rochette, &c,, ia 17(3. though the edicts against them remained unchanged, and they were still in various ways exposed to the annoyances of their ene mies. One of the most serious of these was the fact, that their marriages were regarded as illegal, because not solemnized by a papal priest. The children of such parents were regarded, in the eye of the law, as illegitimate, and the parents represented by the priests as living in a state of concubinage. Property left to such children was in many cases made over to the nearest popish relative, and in other instances confiscated to the crown. In the meanwhile, the popish clergy clamored for the literal execution of the laws against heretics. The bishop of Alais, in reply to an officer who was a friend to tolerance, wrote — " The magistrates have relaxed the severity of the ordinances, and thus caused all the evils of which the state has to complam." Another popish prelate, the bishop of Agen, having heard a report that the tolerating edict of Nantes was to be re-enacted, wrote a pamphlet praising the piety of Louis XIV. for revoking that decree, and for persecuting the heretics, and expressing the hope that his successor would never undo the noble deed of his predecessor.* § 11. — About the year 1745, the former cruelties were revived, and all Huguenot pastors who fell into the hands of the government were put to a cruel death. The apprehension of M. Desubas, a young pastor, in December, 1745, was the cause of a most cruel and wanton waste of life. Some of his flock assembled unarmed to implore the liberation of their beloved pastor, and were twice fired upon with muskets, by which upwards of forty were killed. The young pastor obtained the crown of martyrdom, February 1st, 1746. Among those who fell victims to this cruel persecution were a venerable man of eighty years old, who was condemned to be hung for preaching, and went to the gallows repeating the fifty-first Psalm, and a youthful pastor named Benezet, whose patience, cou rage, and joy, at the hour of his martyrdom, in January, 1752, were such as to lead even the executioner to say that he " did not hang a man, but an angel." So late as 1762, a Huguenot pastor named Francis Rochette, and three brothers named Grenier, who had made an attempt to rescue their pastor, were executed at Thoulouse. The eldest was not twenty-two years of age. They had endeavored to release their pastor from captivity, and were beheaded close to the gibbet on which Rochette was hanged. They were offered their lives if they would abjure ; but their firmness did not reheve them from the obtruding' solicitations of four priests, who beset them until the fatal moment. As the crucifix was occasionally presented to the brothers, the eldest observed : " Speak to us of him who died for our sins and rose agam for our justification, and we are ready to listen ; but do not introduce your superstitions." Rochette was forced to descend m front of the cathedral, where he was ordered * See Browning's History of the Huguenots, chap. kvi. CHAP, n.] POPERY IN ITS DOTAGE— A. D. 1685-1846. 609 Cessation of the persecution. Remonstrance of the popish clergy. The French revolution. to make the amende honorable : but he boldly declared his princi ples, refused to ask pardon of the King, forgave his judges, and to the last displayed a martyr's constancy. The brothers Grenier were equally firm. After two had suffered, the executioner en treated the younger to escape their fate by abjuring. " Do thy duty," was the answer he received, as the youth submitted to the axe.* § 12. — Soon after this, the Jesuits, the relentless enemies of the Huguenots, were suppressed in France, and the flowing of heretic blood ceased ; though an effort was made in 1765 by the popish clergy to resist the tendency to toleration by a remonstrance to the King. " It is in vain," that body declares, " that all public worship, other than the Catholic, is forbidden in your dominions. In con tempt of the wisest laws, the protestants have seditious meetings on every side. Their ministers preach heresy and administer the Supper ; and we have the pain of beholding altar raised against altar, and the pulpit of pestilence opposing that of truth. If the law which revoked the edict of Nantes — if your declaration of 1724 had been strictly observed, we venture to say there would be no more Calvinists in France. Consider the effects of a tolerance which may become cruel by its results. Restore, sire ! restore to the laws all their vigor — to religion its splendor." Similar presentations were made by the papist clergy against the protestant assemblies so late as 1770 and 1772, thus afford ing the most conclusive evidence that the persecuting spirit of Popery remained unchanged, and that its priests, even so late as toward the close of the last century, would gladly have renewed against the heretics of France the massacres, the barbarities and outrages of 1572, or of 1685. A few years subsequent to these memorials against the protestants, the Roman Catholic clergy were themselves exposed, amidst the horrors of the French revolution, to the same sufferings of confiscation and banishment, which they thus earnestly desired to be inflicted upon their protestant neigh bors. And while we most heartily deprecate the atrocities of the infidel faction which then ruled the destinies of unhappy France, and rejoice in the hospitality shown in England and other pro testant lands, to the banished Romish clergy (among whom were, doubtless, some who had joined in these persecuting petitions twenty years before), presenting as it does so marked a contrast to the intolerance and cruelty of these very priests towards the pro testants in their own land ; at the same time, we cannot but regard these sufferings as a part of that retributive vengeance which will not always sleep, and which we learn from the eighteenth chapter of Revelations, is yet to fall more fearfully upon persecuting and apostate Rome. § 13. — The Inquisition in Spain continued its work of torture and * From the Toulousaines, a series of letters published in 1763, cited by Brown ing, 273. 610 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [book k. The Inquisition in Spain. Its suppression. Still exists in Rome. of blood through the greater part of the eighteenth century, and so late as November 7th, 1781, a woman was burnt alive by the sen tence of the Holy Office at Seville, on the charge of having formed a contract with the Devil. At the time of the suppression of the Inquisition in Spain by Napoleon, in 1808, multitudes of unhappy victims were found in a most deplorable condition, incarcerated in the horrid dungeons of the tribunal, and restored by the French soldiery to liberty and their homes. Upon the restoration of Fer dinand VIL, the Catholic king of Spain, he re-established the In quisition by an ordinance dated July 21st, 1814, and appointed the bishop of Almeria, Inquisitor-general, but it only continued in ope ration five years. Upon the revolution of 1820, it was finally sup pressed by the Cortes. In the Papal States, the Inquisition still exists, though its opera tions are conducted with much secresy, and are veiled as much as possible from the public eye. In other countries the exercise of inquisitorial power is frequently entrusted to the popish prelates*. The Roman tribunal now in existence is that established by pope Sixtus V. in 1588, which was styled the " Holy Roman and Uni versal Inquisition." It consists of twelve cardinals, several pre lates as assessors, several monks called consulters, and several priests and lawyers called qualificators, whose business is to pre pare the cases. Persons at Rome are frequently imprisoned for not going to confession, having in their possession bibles and pro testant books, and for other offences against Popery. It is said by papists that the torture and the punishment of death is not now in flicted by the Romish inquisition. All we know on the subject is that its punishments are inflicted with the profoundest secresy, that its victims are no longer publicly burnt at the auto da fe, and that their sufferings, in most cases, are known only to themselves, their persecutors, and to God. Occasionally, a victim of Romish bar barity escapes to a land of freedom, and pubhshes to the world the recital of his sufferings, though these narratives are invariably de nounced as false by the Jesuitical defenders of Rome, in accord ance with their well known principle of action that frauds are holy and lies are lawful, when told for the good of the church. § 14. — One of the most valuable recent narratives of this kind is that of a young monk, named Raffaele Ciocci, who after being bar barously treated in an inquisitorial prison near Rome, in 1842, till he consented to sign a recantation,* escaped to England, where he * After Raffaele had been entrapped into the hands of his inquisitorial persecu tors, many means were employed by the Jesuits to subdue him. Four times a day he had to listen to a lone sermon against the doctrines of Protestantism. To all the questions which he addressed to the Jesuits, one would reply : " Think on hell, my son !"— a second : " Think, my son, how terrible the death of a sinner !" — a third would exclaim : " Paradise ! my son, Paradise !" Next, recourse was had to phantasmagory, to strike him with terror. A skeleton placed in his cham ber : a transparency, presenting a resemblance of the last judgment day, suddenly appeared before him during the rehearsal of terrible discourses, or afterward cal culated to affect him. At last, filth and privations of every kind came also to the CHAP, n.] POPERY IN ITS DOTAGE— A. D. 1685-1846. 611 Treatment of Raffaele Ciocci by the Roman Inquisition, in 1843. Eublished his thrilling and ins,tructive narrative, a production which ears internal evidences of its truth, as is well remarked by Sir aid of the Jesuits, in subduing their obstinate pupil. When they saw him suffi ciently shaken, the following declaration was offered to him for his signature : " I, Rafiaele Ciocci, a Benedictine and Cistercian monk, unskilled in theological doc trines, having in good faith, and without malice, fallen into the errors of the pro testants, being now enlightened and convinced, acknowledge nly errors. 1 retract them, regret them, and declare the Roman church to be the only true Catholic and Apostolic church. I bind myself, therefore, to teach and preach according to her doctrines, being ready to shed my blood for her sake. Finally, I ask pardon of all those to whom my anti-Catholic discourses may have been an occasion of error, and I pray God to pardon my sins." On reading these lines, Raffaele trembled with indignation, and immediately exclaimed : " Kill me; if you please, my life is in your power ; but as for subscribing this iniquitous formulary, I shall do so — NEVER !" After vain efforts to induce him to comply with his wishes, the Jesuit withdrew in a rage The following day Raffi,ele appeared befpre his persecutors. ' who again urged him to sign the declaration. On his refusal Fatiier Rossini' spoke : " Your opinions are iniSexible ; be it so ; we are going to treat you as you. deserve. Rebellious son of the church, in the plenitude of power which she has received from Christ, you shall feel the holy rigor of her laws. She cannot per mit the tares to infect the soil in which grows the good seed, nor suffer you to re main among her sons, and become a stumbling-block for the ruin of many. Aban don the hope, therefore, of leaving this place, and of retuming to dwell among- the faithful. Knbw, then, that all is over with you." " Then," continues Ra5 &ele, " there was a long silence ; all the terrors which had seized me during my seclusion at once assailed me. The immovable countenances of the Jesuits, who in their cold insusceptibility of feeling seemed alien from earth, convinced me that all indeed was over with me My courage failed, and trembling I ap proached the table ; with a convulsive movement I seized the pen, and wrote .... my shame ! . . . . my condemnation ; . . . . God of mercy ! O may that moment be blotted from my life !"• The Jesuits congratulated him, and he was permitted to return to the convent of San Bernardo, in which, from that time, he was' allowed a little more liberty. He continued, meanwhile, to read the Bible, and strengthened himself more and more in his determination to break definitely with the errors of Rome, and to bid an eternal adieu to Italy and his family. A circumstance presented itself which favored the execution of this project. Two English travellers, whom Raffaele accompanied one day in the quality of cicerone in the circus of the baths of Diocletian, and to whom he discovered his situation, took a strong interest in his behalf. Several times they returned, had conversations with the unhappy monk, and undoubtedly instructed him as to the means of escaping from his prison. In &ct, not long after this, he embarked at Civita-Vecchia, where, before doing so, he had the privilege of reading, posted up in the church, a brief of excommuni cation against " D. Raffaele Ciooci, a Cistercian monk, an apostate ;" and after various distressing perplexities, owing to his inexperience, he reached Marseilles, crossed France, and arrived at London, where he was received with kind hospi tality, and protected from the attempts of the Jesuits to seize once moTe on their, prey. '' Oh !" exclaims he, " that my companions in slavery in the monasteries of San Bernardo and Santa Croce, in Gerusalemme, could see me as I am, in a state of health and tranquillity, while they are taught to believe that the excommunica tion has penetrated my bones, and that I am wasting away like a lamp whose oil is failing.. Poor youths ! seized with terror at the funeral ceremony performed on occasion of the apostasy of any member of the Order, they are not aware that it is but a trick, calculated to expel from their minds every thought of imitating the example, and of following the footsteps of the fugitive."— (Ciocci's Narrative, page»l37.) 36 612 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [book a. Continued persecuting policy of Rome. Exiles of Zillerthal. Bible-burning at Champla.in. Culling Eardly Smith, a distinguished protestant gentieman, who long resided in Rome, and is therefore well qualified to judge.* Not more than two years ago a severe decree against the Jews of Ancona was issued by the Roman Inquisition, dated from the chancery of the Holy Office, June 24th, 1843.f The persecuting policy of Rome is still carried out by her priests in the various countries where they are dispersed, just in proportion to the power and influence they possess. In thoroughly popish countries they continue openly and without disguise to act upon their ancient intolerant and persecuting principles, though the spirit of the age forbids them, as formerly, to sacrifice at once whole hecatombs of human victims ; in semi-papal lands, as in France and some other parts of continental Europe, where Pro testantism is tolerated by the government, they exhibit the same spirit by a system of petty annoyance, and attempted restrictions upon the freedom of a protestant press ; and in protestant lands, as America and England, in prder the more effectually to accompUsh their designs, they aim, as much as possible, to conceal the true character of their church, ahd sometimes even have the bare-faced effrontery to deny that persecution is or ever has been one of its dogmas. In the first case, the wolf appears in his own proper skin, showing his teeth, and growling hatred and defiance against all opposers ; in the second, with his teeth extracted, but with all his native ferocity, shovfing that if his teeth are gone, he can yet bruise and mangle with his toothless jaws ; and in the last, covered all over with the skin of a lamb, attempting to bleat out the assertion, •' / am not a wolf, and I never was," and yet by the very tones of his voice betraying the fact that though clothed in the skin of a lamb, and trying to look innocent and harmless, he is a wolf still ; waiting only for a suital^le opportunity to throw off his temporary disguise, and appear in all his native ferocity., § 15.^^As a recent illustration of this unchanged spirit of Roman ism may be mentioned the persecutions, banishment, and exile, in the year 1837, of upwards of four hundred protestants of Ziller thal, in the Tyrol, for no other reason but because they refused to conform to the Roman Catholic church.J As another instance of the intolerance of Popery, and its de termined hatred to the bible in the vulgar tongue, may be mentioned an occurrence still more recent, by which the feelings of protestant Americans were outraged, viz., the public burning of bibles, which took place no longer ago than October 27th, 1842j at Champlain, a village in the State of New York. The following account of this sacrilegious outrage is from an official statement of facts, signed by four respectable citizens appointed as a committee for that purpose :— « About the middle of October, a Mr. Telmont, * Ronianism in Italy, by Sir C, E. Smith, page 41. f Ibid., 49, 65. X An interesting account of the sufferings of these exiles for conscience sake has been written by Dr. Rheinwald, of Berlin, and translated from the German by Mr. John B. Saunders, of London. CHAP, n.] POPERY IN ITS DOTAGE— A. D. 1685-1845. 613 Jesuits openly burning bibles. Disgraceful language of a priest on the protestant bible {note). a missionary of the Jesuits, with one or more associates, came to Corbeau in this town, where the Catholic Church is located, and as they say in their own account given of their visit, ' by the direction of the bishop of Montreal.' On their arrival they commenced a protracted meeting, which lasted several weeks, and great numbers of Catholics from this and the other towns of the county attended day after day. After the rrieeting had progressed several days, and the way was prepared for it, an order was issued requiring all who had bibles or testaments, to bring them in to the priest, or ' lay them at the feet of the missionaries.' The requirement was gene rally complied with, and day after day bibles and testEiments were carried in ; and after a sufficient number was collected, they were burned. By the confession of Telmont, as appears from the affi davit of S. Hubbell, there were several burnings, but only one in iiublic. On the 27th of October, as given in testimony at the pub ic meeting held there, Telmont, who was a prominent man -in all the movements, brought out from the house of the resident priest, which is near the church, as many bibles as he could carry in his arms at three times, and placed them in a pile, in the open yard, and then set fire to them and bunted them to ashes. This was done in open day, and in the presence of many spectatoi-s." For a pictorial illustration of this scene of popish intolerance and sacrilege, see En graving opposite page 440. In the aflidavit of S. Hubbell, Esq., above alluded to, who is a respectable lawyer of the place, it is stated that the President of the Bible Society, in company with Mr. Hubbell, waited upon the priests, and requested that inasmuch as the bibles had been given by benevolent societies, they should be returned to the donors and not destroyed ; to which the Jesuit priest, perhaps with less cun ning than usually belongs to his order, coolly replied, that " they had bumed all they had received, and intended to burn all they could get."* § 16. — A still more striking illustration of the unchangeably per secuting spirit of Popery down to the present time, remains yet to be told. In the Portuguese island of Madeira, which is almost en tirely under the control of the popish priesthood, a violent persecu tion has been lately carried on, chiefly in consequence of the suc- * For a full accotmt of the circumstances connected with this atrocious act, see " Defence of the Protestant Scriptures against Popish Apologists for the Cham- plam Bible-Burners," by the present author. The above little work was written in reply to a popish priest named Corry, of Providence, R. I., who justified the burning of the bibles upon the ground of the alleged unfaithfulness of the pro testant version. Among other statements he makes use of the following dis graceful language : — " If, then, such a version of the bible should not be tolerated, me question then is, which is the best and most respectful manner to make away with it. As for myself, I would not hesitate to say, that ihe most respectful would be to bum it, rather than give it to grocers and dealers to wrap their wares in, or consign it to more dishonorable purposes (! !) and I hardly think, that there is a man of common sense, be he Catholic or protestant, that would not say the same." 614 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [book ix. A woman sentenced to death for heresy in 1844, by the papists of Madeira. cess of the labors of Dr. Kalley, a pious physician from Scotiand, and a British subject, resident on the island. Dr. Kalley has for some time past been in the habit , of reading and explaining the scriptures in his own house for the benefit of his family and such others as chose to come in. Several of these have been convinced of the errors of Popery, and have consequently exposed themselves to the most cruel annoyances and persecutions. In a letter from Dr. Kalley, dated May 4th, 1844, and published in the London Record, he says : " Last Sabbath two persons, when going home from my house, were taken prisoners and committed to jail, where they now lie, for not kneehng to the host (or consecrated wafer) as it passed. On IVfonday a third was imprisoned on the same charge. On Wednes day, several were mauled with sticks, and some taken by the hands and feet as in procession, and carried into the church, and made to kneel befpre the images. On the 2d of May, a girl brought me some leaves of the New Testament, telling me, with tears, that her own father had taken two, and beaten them with a great stick, and then burnt them. On the same day, Maria Joaquina, wife of Manuel Alyes, who had been in prison nearly a year, was con- DEMNEn TO DEATH." (!!!) Ycs, Condemned to death, in the year, 1844, for denying the absurd dogma of transubstantiation, refusing to participate in the idolatry of worshipping the wafer idol, and (in the words of the accusation) " blaspheming against the images of Christ .and mother of God ;" in plain language, refusing to give that worship to senseless blocks of wood and stone which is due only to God. The same letter contains a copy of the sentence of death passed on this poor woman by Judge Negrao, of which the follow ing is an extract : — " In view of the answers of the jury and discussion of the cause, &c., it is proved that the accused, Maria Joaquina, perhaps forgetful of the principles of the holy religion which she received in her first years, and to which she still belongs, has maintained conversations and arguments condemned by the church, maintain ing that veneration should not be given to images, denying the real existence of Christ in the sacred Jiost (the wafer), the mystery of the most holy Trinity ;* blaspheming against the most holy Virgin, Mother of God, and advancing other expressions against the doc trines received and followed by the Catholic Apostolic Roman Church, expounding these condemned doctrines to different persons, thus committing the crime of heresy and blasphemy, &c. * * ********I condemn the ac cused, Maria Joaquina, to suffer death, as declared in the said law, * Though the crime of the papists would not have been diminished in the slightest degree, had this accusation been true, as persecution for conscience sake is in every case unjust ; yet it is due to this victim of popish persecution to say, on the testimony of Dr. Kalley and others, that she firmly believes the doctrine of the Trinity, and is " an intelligent, clear-minded. Christian woman, quite willing to die, if the Lord will." CHAP, n.] POPERY IN ITS DOTAGE-A. D. 1685-1846. 615 Maria Joaquina in her dungeon. PersecuUon, not a mere abuse, but part of the system of Romanism. and in the costs of the process, which she shall pay with her goods. Funchal Oriental, in public court, 2d of May, 1843. Joze Pereira Leito Pitta Ortegueira Negrao." The papists have not yet dared to brave the indignation of the world by executing this sentence, and thus burning or hanging a heretic in the middle of the nineteenth century. Yet, the fact that a pious and respectable woman, the mother of seven children (the youngest at the breast when she was cast into prison), should receive such a sentence in the year 1844, for the crime of heresy, should arouse the whole protestant world to the unchange ably persecuting character of the apostate church of Rome. At the last accounts, the poor woman was still languishing in her dun geon ; Dr. Kalley states his opinion that " it is as likely that she will be actually executed, as it was that she should be condemned to death." Of this, however, we have doubts. However glad the popish priests might have been to burn a heretic, could they have confined the knowledge of the fact to their own little island, they dare not, and they wiU not do it, now their cruelty has been pub lished abroad, and the pulse of the whole protestant world is throb- bmg with sympathy for that suffering martyr of the nineteenth century as she pines in her lonely dungeon, the persecuted Maria Joaquina. § 17. — The instances of persecution and intolerance above related are not mere abuses of the system of Romanism, or excrescences upon it ; they are a part of the system itself, and that Romish bishop who does not, to the utmost of his power, " persecute arid oppose " heretics and rebels against his Lord, the Pope, is false to his most solemn oath. This wiU be evident from the following oath, which is taken by every archbishop and bishop, and by all who receive any dignity from the Pope. Let particular notice be taken of the sentence printed in capitals. Bishops' Oath of Allegiance to the Pope. — " I, N., elect of the Church of N., from henceforward will be faithful and obedient to St. Peter the Apostle, and to the holy Roman Church, and to our Lord, the Lord N., pope N., and to his successors, canonically entering. I will neither advise, consent, nor do anything that they may lose life or member, or that their persons may be seized, or hands in anywise laid upon them, or any injuries offered to them, under any pretence whatsoever. The counsel with which they shall intrust me by themselves, their messengers, or letters, I will not knowingly reveal to any to their prejudice. I will help them to defend and keep the Roman papacy, and the royalties of St. Peter, saving my order, against all men. The legate of the apostolic See, going and coming, I will honorably treat and help in his necessities. The rights, honors, privileges, and authority of the holy Roman Church, of our Lord the Pope, and his aforesaid successors, I will endeavor to preserve, defend, increase, and advance. I will not be in any counsel, action, or treaty, in which shall be plotted against our said Lord, and the said Roman Church, anything to the hurt or prejudice of their persons, right, honor, state or power ; and if I shall know any such thing to be treated or agitated by any whatsoever, I will hinder it to my utmost, and as soon as I can, will signify it to our said Lord, or to some other, by whom it may come to his knowledge. The rules of the holy Fathers, the apos tolic decrees, ordinances, or disposals, reservations, provisions, and mandates, I will observe with all my might, and cause to be observed by others. 616 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [book k. Bishop's oath to persecute heretics. Persecution as much an article of faith as the Mass, Stc. "Heretics, schismatics, and rebels to our said Lord, or ms aforesaid successors, I WILL TO MT UTMOST PERSECUTE AND OPPOSE. 'Here- ticos, schismaticos, et rebelles eidem domino nostro vel successoribus prsdictis pro posse persequar et oppugruAo.' I will come to a council when I am called, unless I be hindered by a canonical impediment. I will by myself in person visit the threshold of the Apostles every three years ; and give an account to our Lord and his foresaid successors of all my pastoral office, and of all things anywise belong ing to the state of my Church, to the discipline of my clergy and people, and lastly to the salvation of souls committed to my trust ; and will in like manner humbly receive and diligently execute the apostolic commands. And if I be de tained by a lawful impediment, I will perform all the things aforesaid by a certain messenger hereto specially empowered, a member of my chapter, or some other in ecclesiastical dignity, or else having a parsonage ; , or in default of those, by a priest of the diocess ; or in default of one of the clergy of the diocess, by some other secular or regular priest of approved integrity and religion, fully instructed in all things above-mentioned. And such impediment I will make out by lawful proofs to be transmitted by the foresaid messenger to the cardinal proponent of the Holy Roman Church in the congregation of the sacred council. The pos sessions belonging to ray table I will neither sell, nor give away, nor mortgage, nor grant anew in fee, nor anywise alienate, not even with the consent of Sie chapter of my Church, without consulting the Roman Pontiff". And if I shall make any alienation, I will thereby incur the penalties contained in a certain con stitution put forth about this matter. So help me God and these holy Gospels of God." The original Latin of this oath may be found in the treatise of the learned Dr. Isaac Barrow, on the papal supremacy (works, folio edition, vol. i., page 553). It was copied by Barrow from " the Roman Pontificate, set out by order of pope Clement VIII." (Antwerp, anno 1626, p. 59, &;c.) After quoting the oath. Dr. Barrow remarks : " Such is the oath prescribed to bishops, the which is worth the most serious attention of all men who would understand how miserably slavish the condition of the clergy is in that church, and how inconsistent their obligation to the Pope is wilh their duty to their prince ;" and we may add, with their fidelity and allegiance to any government under which they dwell. Besides thus solemnly engaging to " persecute and oppose here tics," every bishop and priest, in swearing to the creed of pope Pius (see page 539), professes to receive " all things delivered, de fined, and declared by the general councils," including, of course, the decrees of several of those councils for the extirpation of here tics, which have been cited in the progress of this work (see pages 302, 332, 434, 543-545). Nothing can be more evident, therefore, than that the right to persecute heretics, and the duty of exercising this right to the utmost of their power, is at the present time as much an article of faith of every Romish prelate and priest as the doctrine of the Mass, of Purgatory, or of Extreme Unction. § 18. — It is a remarkable fact, and one which well illustrates the unchangeably persecuting spirit of Popery, that a solemn curse, « with bell, book, and candle," against all heretics, is annually pro nounced by the Pope at Rome, and by other ecclesiastics in other places, on the Thursday of passion week, the day before Good Friday, the anniversary of the Saviour's crucifixion. This is called CHAP. H.] POPERY IN ITS DOTAGE— A. D. 1685-1845. 617 Ceremony bf excommunication and cursing at Rome on Holy Thursday. the Bull in coena domini, or " at the supper of the Lord." The cere monies on this occasion are well adapted to strike terror into the superstitious multitude. The bull consists of thirty-one sections, describing different classes of excommunicated persons. The fol lowing single section, which includes all protestants, is given as a specimen. " In the name of God Almighty, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, and by the au thority of the blessed Apostles, Peter and Paul, and by our own, we excommuni cate and anathematize all Hussites, Wickliffites, Lutherans, Zuinglians, Calvin ists, Huguenots, Anabaptists, Trinitarians, and other apostates, from the faith ; and all other heretics, by whatsoever name they are called, or of whatever sect they be. And also their adherents, receivers, favorers, and generally any de fenders of them : with all who, without our authority, or that of the apostolic See, knowingly read or retain, or in any way, or from any cause, publicly or pri vately, or from any pretext, defend their books containing heresy, or treating of religion ; as also schismatics, and those who withdraw themselves, or recede ob- Stmately from their obedience to us, or the existing Roman Pontiff"." § 19. — ^A recent spectator of the ceremony at Rome says that after the excommunicated are mentioned, the curse proceeds as follows : — " Excommunicated and accursed may they be, and given body and soul to the devil. Cursed be they in cities, in towns, in fields, in ways, in paths, in houses, out of houses, and all other places, stand ing, lying or rising, walking, running, waking, sleeping, eating, drinking, and whatsoever things they do besides. We separate them from the threshold, and from all prayers of the church, from the holy mass, from all sacraments, chapels, and altars, from holy bread and holy water, from all the merits of God's priests and re ligious men, from all their pardons, privileges, grants, and immuni ties, which all the holy fathers, the popes of Rome have granted ; and we give them utterly over to the power of the fiend ! And let us quench their soul, if they be dead, this night in the pains of hell- fire, as this candle is now quenched and put out (and then one of them is put out), and let us pray to God, that if they be alive, their eyes may be put out, as this candle is put out (another was then extinguished) ; and let us pray to God, and to our Lady, and to St. Peter, and St. Paul, and the holy saints, that all the senses of their bodies may fail them, and that they may have no feeling, as now the light of this candle is gone (the third was then put out), except they come openly now, and confess their blasphemy, and by repentance, as in them shall lie, make satisfaction unto God, our Lady, St. Peter, and the worshipful company of this cathedral church. And as this cross falleth down, so may they, except they repent, and show themselves." Then the cross on which the ex tinguished lights had been fixed was allowed to fall down with a loud noise, and the superstitious multitude shouted with fear. This terrific scene is represented by the gilt stamp on the back of the volume, as completely as was possible in so small a compass. The impious farce of cursing is soon followed by the Pope's blessing on all who believe, or profess to believe, his own creed. . 618 HISTORY OF ROMANISM; [eookix. Popery still unchanged with respect to freedom of opinion and the press, &c. On Easter day he says mass at the high altar of St. Peter's, and at its close pronounces his blessing on the prostrate multitude in the square below, many of whom are pilgrims from considerable dis tances. {See Engraving opposite page 430.) One thing is, how ever, clear : he curses some who are objects of the Divine favor } he blesses others with whom God is angry every day. In each instance he speaks in vain, as it regards them ; but in every one there is a record against him bf presumptuous sin, in the book of God's remembrance.* CHAPTER m. POPERY UNCHANGEn. MODERN DOCUMENTARY EVIDENCE OP ITS HATRED TO LIBERTY OF OPINION, SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE, FREE DOM OF THE PRESS, AND A TRANSLATED BIBLE. § 20. — An impression is extensively prevalent that the Popery of the present day is something entirely different from the Popery of the dark ages, when amidst the gloom and the superstition of the world's midnight, it reigned Despot of the World. Yet while this change for the better is charitably believed by some lukewarm protestants, who are therefore contented to lay down their weapons and forsake their watch-tower, it is absolutely and unequivocally denied by the most celebrated champions of Rome. Says Charles Butler, in his Book of the Roman Catholic Church, " It is most true that Roman Catholics believe the doctrines of their church to be UNCHANGEABLE ; and that it is a tenet of their creed, that what their faith ever has been, such it was from the beginning, such it is now, and SUCH it ever will be." We have already seen, in the last chapter, that Popery is the same as in the dark ages, with respect to its essentially persecuting spirit. We shall now proceed by citations from various authentic documents of recent date, and by a reference to the state of Popery, as it is at present seen in popish countries, to show that in every important particular ; in its hatred to the freedom of opinion and of the press, and to the bible in the vulgar tongue ; in its hos tility to the separation of church and state ; in its debasing, super stitious, and grovelling idolatry ; its blasphemous pretended power of indulgences, and its forged miracles and lying wonders ; in all these respects, that Popery is even now the same that we have seen it throughout the career of ages, over which our long joumey is now nearly finished. * Spirit of Popery, page 116. CHAP. in.J POPERY IN ITS DOTAGE— A. D. 1685-1846. 619 Liberty of opinion still forbidden. Pope opposed to separation of church and state. §21. — In the last session of the council of Trent, it was decreed in reference to certain doctrines, " If any one shall presume to teach or think (' senserit ') differently from these decrees, let him be accursed" (see page 534). Thus we see that Popery invades the sanctuary of a man's most secret thoughts, and however con sistently he may speak or act, if he presumes only to think difler- ently from her decrees, subjects himself to her curse. To show that liberty of opinion is still prohibited in the Romish church, it will be sufficient to present a single extract from a document which no Roman Catholic will presume to dispute, emanating from the Supreme Pontiff himself, of no older date than August 1 5th, 1832. It is the famous Encyclical letter of the now reigning Pope, — Gregory XVI. " From that polluted fountain of indiflference flows that absurd and erroneous doctrine, or rather raving, in favor and in defence of ' liberty of conscience,' for which most pestilential error, the course is opened by that entire and wild liberty of opinion which is everywhere attempting tlie overthrow of civil and religious institutions ; and which the unblushing impudence of some has held forth as an advantage of religion." * * * • « From hence arise these revolutions in the minds of men, hence this aggravated corruption of youth, hence this contempt among the people of sacred things, and of the most holy institutions and laws ; hence, in one word, that pest qf all others most to be dreaded in a state, unbridled liberty qf opinion." f22. — It might be expected that a power which is thus bitterly hos tile to liberty of opinion, should be equally opposed to the separation of church and state, which has always been regarded by every en lightened friend of freedom, as one of the surest safeguards of the liberty of nations. Accordingly we find pope Gregory, in the same document, making use of the following plain and unequivocal language : — " Nor can we augur more consoling consequences to religion and to government, from the zeal of some to separate the church from the state, and to burst the bond which unites the priest hood to the empire. For it is clear that this union is dreaded by the profane lovers of liberty, only because it has never failed to con fer prosperity on both." The reason why the Pope is in favor of a union of the state vrith the church, especially when the secular powers can be held in submission to Rome, is too obvious to need remark. In the fol lowing extract from Gregory's bull of 1844, the Pope calls upon his "venerable brethren" to prevent the machinations of the Christian Alliance, and by exciting the jealousy of the sovereigns of Italy, lest their subjects should obtain with liberty of conscience political hberty also, he invokes their aid in frustratmg these " sec tarian combinations." " Moreover, venerable brothers," says he, " we recommend the utmost watchful ness over the insidious measures and attempts of tlie Christian Alliance, to those who, raised to the dignity of your order, are called to govern the Italian churches, or the countries which Italians frequent most commonly, especially the ft?n'>erB and ports whence travellers enter Italy. As these are the points on which the 620 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. " [book n. The Pope's horror of political liberty. Bull against the " detested liberty of the press.' sectarians have fixed to commence the realization of their projects, it is highly necessary that the bishops of those places should mutually assist each otter, zealously and faithfully, in order, with the aid of God, to discover and prevent their machinations. " Let us not doubt but your exertions, added to our own, will be seconded by ihe civil authorities, and especially by the most influential sovereigns of Italy, no less by reason of their favorable regard for the Catholic religion, than that they plainly perceive how much it concerns them to frustrate these sectarian combinations. Indeed, it is most evident from past experience, that there are no means more cer tain of rendering the people disobedient to their princes than rendering them indif ferent to religion, under the mask of religious liberty. The members of the Chris tian Alliance do not conceal this fact from themselves, although they declare that they are far from wishing to excite disorder ; but they, notwithstanding, avow that, once liberty of interpretation obtained, and with it what they term liberty qf conscience among Italians these last will naturally soon acquire political liberty." Such has ever been the horror of the popes, in all countries sub ject to their sway, lest the people should obtain political liberty. § 23. — From the decree of the fourth session of the council of Trent, as well as the rules of the congregation of the Index (see above, pp. 488-499), we have seen that the laws of Popery authori tatively prohibit the freedom of the press, and decree certain heavy penalties, wherever they have the power to enforce them, on all who dare to exercise that freedom. That this is still the doctrine of Rome will be evident from an additional extract or two from pope Gregory's bull of 1832. " Hither tends that worst and never sufficiently to be execrated and de tested LIBERTY OF THE PRESS for the diffiision of all manner of writings, which some so loudly contend for and so actively promote." Again : " No means must be here omitted, says Clement XIII., our predecessor of happy memory in the Encyclical Letter on the proscription of bad books — no means must be here omitted, as the extremity of the case calls for all our exertions, to exterminate ihe fatal pest which spreads through so many works, nor can the materials of error be otherwise destroyed than by the flames, which consume the de praved elements of the evil. From the anxious vigilance then of the Holy Apos tolic See, through every age, in condemning and removing from men's hands sus pected and profane books, becomes more than evident ihe falsity, the rashness, and ihe injury offered io ihe Apostolical See by that doctrine, pregnant with the most de plorable evils to the Christian world, advocated by some, condemning this censure OF books as a heedless burden, rejecting it as intolerable, or with INFAMOUS effrontery, PROOLAlIMING IT TO BE IRRECONCILABLE WITH THE RIGHTS OF MEN, OR DENYING, IN FINE, THE RIGHT OF EXERCISING SUCH A POWER, OR THE EXISTENCE OF IT IN THE CHURCH." In addition to the other "bitter causes of solicitude," pope Gregory proceeds to mention " certain associations, and political assemblies," in which (horribile dieiu .') " LIBERTY OF EVERY KIND IS MAINTAINED, rovolutions in the state and m religion are fomented, and the sanctity of all authority is torn in pieces." In the above extracts from these famous documents of pope Gre gory, the acknowledged head of the Roman Catholic church, there is no ambiguity. The doctrine of Popery is stated without disguise. Let the reader remember, that these extracts are not from a document of the dark ages ; that they did not proceed from the pen of a Gregory VIL, or an Innocent IIL, but from the present CHAP. HI.] POPERY IN ITS DOTAGE— A. D. 1685-1845. 621 Bunyau'8 giant Pope biting his nails. Rome's hatred to the Bible in tho vulgar tongue. reigning Pope in the nineteenth century ; and that in them those rights which Americans and freemen of every nation hold most dear, liberty of opinion, of conscience, and of the press, are fiercely denounced as "absurd and erroneous doctrines;" "preg nant with the most deplorable evils" — and "pests of all others most to be dreaded in a state ,-" while such as dare to " condemn this censure of books as a needless burden," " proclaim it to be irrecon cilable with the rights of men," or deny " the existence of such a power in the church," are charged with falsity, rashness, and in famous effrontery ! ! , Who will deny that the spirit manifested in this document would prompt its author to enforce its abominable doctrines against the friends of freedom of every name, by the rack, the faggot, and the stake, like his predecessors, in the palmy days when Popery was in its glory, if he did but possess the power ? But, in the words of good old John Bunyan, though the giant Pope be still alive, sit ting " among the blood, bones, ashes, and mangled bodies of pil grims that had gone this way formerly," yet, " by reason of age, and also of the many shrewd brushes that he met with in his younger days, he has grown so crazy and stiff in his joints, that he can now do little more than sit in his cave's mouth, grinning at pilgrims, as they go by, and biting his nails, that he cannot come at them." § 24. — With respect to Rome's hatred to the bible in the vulgar tongue, we have seen that the council of Trent, in the fourth rule of the congregation of the Index (p. 492), declares that its indiscriminate use will be productive of " more evil than good." Such is still the doctrine of Rome. Within the last thirty years, several papal bulls, or circulars, have been issued, condemning Bible Societies and the free circulation of the scriptures in the vulgar tongue. One by pope Pius VIL, in 1816, one by Leo XIL, in 1824, another by Pius VIIL, in 1829, and two by the present Pope, Gregory XVL, in 1832 and 1844. It will be sufficient to give a brief extract from the circular of Pius VIL, in 1816, and more copious extracts from the bull of 1844, which, on account of its exhibition of the present character of Popery, is the most valuable of them all. In a letter addressed to the primate of Poland relative to Bible Societies, and dated June 26th, 1816, pope Pius VIL uses the following language: "We have been truly shocked at this most crafty device (Bible Societies), by which the very foundations of religion are undermined. We have deliberated upon the measures proper to be adopted by our pontifical authority, in order to remedy and abolish this pestilence, as far as possible,— this defilement of the faith so imminently dangerous to souls. It becomes episcopal duty, that you first of all expose the wickedness qf ihis nefarious scheme. It is evident from experience, THAT THE HOLY SCRIPTURES, WHEN CIRCULATED IN THE VULGAR TONGUE, HAVE, THROUGH THE TEMERITY OF MEN, PRODUCED MORE HARM THAN BENEFIT. Warn the people entrusted to your care, that they fall not into the snares prepared f^_^r everlasting ruin" (that is, as you value your souls, have nothmg to do with Uible Societies, or the bibles they circulate). 622 HISTORY OF ROMANISM [book ix. Gregory's bull of 1844. All versions of the Scriptures forbidden without popish notes. § 25. — Nothing but want of space (as we have already exceeded our intended limits) preveiits us from giving entire the last bull of pope Gregory XVL, dated May 8th, 1844; so conclusive is the evi dence it affords of Rome's unchanged hostility to the Bible. The following are the most important portions : — " Venerable Brothers, health and greeting Apostolical : — ^Among the many attempts which the enemies of Catholicism, under whatever denomination they may appear, are daily making in our age, to seduce the truly faithful, and deprive them of the holy instructions of the faith, the efforts of those Bible Societies are conspicuous, which, originally established in England, and propagated throughout the universe, labor everywhere«to disseminate the books of the Holy Scriptures, translated into ihe vulgar tongue ; consign them to the private interpretation of each, alike among Christians and among infidels ; continue what St. Jerome formerly complained of— pretending to popularize the holy pages, and render them intelli gible, without the aid of any interpreter, to persons of every condition — to the most loquacious woman, to the light-headed old man, to the wordy caviller ; to all, in short, and even by an absurdity aS great as unheard of, to the most hardened infidels." The Pope then proceeds to remark that these societies " only care audaciously to stimulate all io a private interpretation of the divine oracles, to inspire contempt for divine traditions, which the Catholic Church preserves upon the authority of the holy fathers ; in a word, to cause them to reject even the authority of the Church herself." The Pope then proceeds to eulogize the tyrannical and bloody persecutor of the Waldenses and founder of the Inquisition, for his zeal against " Bibles translated into the vulgar tongue." " Hence the warning and decrees of our predecessor Innocent III., of happy memory, on the subject of lay societies and meetings of women, who had assembled themselves in the diocese of Metz for objects of piety and the study of the Holy Scriptures. Hence the prohibitions which subsequently appeared in France and Spain, during the sixteenth century, with respect to the vulgar Bible." " It became necessary subsequently," he adds, " to take even greater precau tions, when the pretended reformers, Luther and Calvin, daring, by a multiplicity and incredible variety of errors, to attack the immutable doctrine of the faith, omitted nothing in order to seduce the faithful by their false interpretations and translations into the vernacular tongue, which ihe then novel invention of printing contributed more rapidly to propagate and multiply. Whence it was generally laid down in the regulations dictated by the Fathers, adopted by the council of Trent, and approved by our predecessor Pius VIL, of happy memory, and which (regulations) are prefixed to the list of prohibited books, that the reading of the Holy Bible, translated into the vulgar tongue, should not be permitted except to those to whom it might be deemed necessary to confirm in ihe faith and piety. Subsequently, when heretics still persisted in their frauds, it became necessary for Benedict XIV. to superadd the injunction that no versions whatever should BE suffered to BE READ BUT THOSE WHICH SHOULD BE APPROVED OF BY THE Holy See, accompanied by notes derived from the writings of the Holy Fathers, or other learned and Catholic authors. " Notwithstanding this, some new sectarians of the school of Jansenius, after the example of the Lutherans and Calvinists, feared not to blame these justifiable precautions of the Apostohcal See, as if the reading of the Holy books had been at ail times, and for all ihe faithful, useful, and so indispensable that no authority could assail it. " But we find this audacious assertion of the sect of Jansenius withered by the most rigorous censures in the solemn sentence which was pronounced against their doctrine, with the assent of the whole Catholic universe, by two sovereign pontiffs of modern times, Clement XI. in his unigenitus constitution of the year 1713, and Pius VI. in his constitution actorem fidei, oi the year 1794. Conse quently, even before the establishment of Bible Societies was thought of, the deerees of the Church, which we have quoted, were intended to guard the faithful chap, m.] POPERY IN ITS DOTAGE— A. D. 168.5-1845. 623 All preceding decrees against the Scriptures in the vulgar tongue confirmed by pope Gregory. against the frauds of heretics who cloak themselves under the specious pretext thai it is necessary to propagate and render common the study of ihe holy books. " Since then, our predecessor, Pius VH., of glorious memory, observing the machinations of these societies to increase under his pontificate, did not cease to oppose their efibrts, at one time through the medium of the apostolical nuncios, at another by letters and decrees, emanating from the several congregations of cardinals of the Holy Church, and at anoAer by the two pontifical letters ad dressed to the Bishop of Gnesen and the Archbishop of Mohilif. After him, another of our holy predecessors, Leo XIL, reproved the operations of the Bible Societies, by his circulars addressed to all the Catholic pastors in the universe, under date May 5, 1824. Shortly afterward, our immediate predecessor, Pius VIIL, of happy memory, confirmed their condemnation by his circular letter of May 24, 1829. We, in short, who succeed tliem, notwithstanding our great un- worthiness, have not ceased to be solicitous on this subject, and have especially studied to bring to the recollection of the faithful ihe several rules which have been successively laid dcrwn with regard to the vulgar versions qf the holy books." Alluding to the recently formed society called the Christian Alliance, the Pope says : " This society strains every nerve to introduce among them, by means of. individuals collected from all parts, corrupt and vulgar Bibles, and to scatter them. secretly among the faithful. At the same time, their intention is to disseminate WORSE BOOKS still(! !), or tracts designed to withdraw from the minds of their readers all respect for the Church and the Holy See." After referring with evident alarm to the fact of the translation into Italian of those excellent works, D'Aubigne on the Reformation, and M'Crie's Reformation in Italy, the Pope proceeds as follows : " With reference to works of whatsoever writer, we call to mind the observance of the general rules and decrees of our predecessors, to be found prefixed to the Index of prohibited books ; and we invite the faithful to be on their guard, not only against the books named in the Index, but also against those proscribed in the general proscriptions. " As for yourselves, my venerable brethren, called as you are to divide our soli citude, we recommend you earnestly in the Lord, to announce and proclaim, in convenient time and place, to the people confided to your care, these Apostolic orders, and to labor carefully to separate the faithful sheep from the contagion of the Christian Alliance, from those who have become its auxiliaries, no less than those who belong to other Bible Societies, and from all who have any communica tion with them. You are consequently enjoined to remove from the hands of the faithful alike tlie Bibles in tlie vulgar tongue which may have been printed con trary to the decrees above mentioned of the Sovereign Pontiffs, and every book proscribed and condemned, and to see that they learn, through your admonition and authority, what pasturages are salutary, and what pernicious and mortal. . . . Watch attentively over those who are appointed to expound the Holy Scriptures, to see that they acquit tliemselves faithfully, according to the capacity of their hearers, and that they dare not, under any pretext whatever, interpret or explain the holy pages contrary to the tradition of the Holy Fathers, and to ihe service of ihe Catholic Church." After more remarks in a similar strain, the Pope proceeds, in the following words, to renew the condemnation of the Bible Societies, and to confirm all pre ceding decrees against the Scriptures in th6 Vulgar tongue : "Wherefore, having consulted some of the Cardinals of the Holy Romish Church, after having duly examined with them everything and listened to their advice, we have decided, venerable brothers, on addressing you this letter, by which we again condemn the Bible Societies, reproved long ago by our predeces sors, and by virtue of the supreme authority of our apostleship, we reprove by name and condemn the aforesaid society called the Christian Alliance, formed last year at New York ; it, together with every other society associated with it, or which may become so. " Let all know, then, the enormity of the sin against God and his Church which they are guilty of who dare to associate themselves with any of these societies, or abet them in any way. Moreover, we confirm and renew the decrees re- cued ABOVE, delivered IN FORMER TIMES BY APOSTOLIC AUTHORITY, AGAINST THE 624 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [book a. Four facts evident from pope Gregory's bull. publication, distribution, reading and possession of books of the holt Scriptures translated into the vulgar tongue." The circular letter from which the above copious extracts are transcribed is superscribed as follows : " Given at Rome from the Basilic of St. Peter, on the 8th of May, in the year 1844, and the fourteenth of our Pontificate." Signed, Gregory XVL, S. P. § 26. — The above is a remarkable document. It shows conclu sively that Rome's hatred to the Bible remains unchanged, and that she is just as much opposed in the nineteenth century to " the publica tion, distribution, reading, and possession of books of the Holy Scriptures translated into the vulgar tongue," as she was in the fifteenth or sixteenth centuries, when she burnt the heretics who were guilty of these enormous crimes, with their Bibles hanging round their necks, or ransacked the grave of Wickliff, the first translator of the New Testament into English, and vented her rage by burning his mouldering bones to ashes. In the closing sentence of our quotations from the bull, pope Gregory confirms and renews the various decrees referred to in his circular, including, of course, the decree of pope Benedict XIV., which he cites, forbidding the reading of all versions, ex cept " those which should be approved by the Holy See, and accom panied BY NOTES, derived from the writings of the Holy Fathers, or other learned and Cathohc authors." Among the other decrees confirmed and approved in this letter of pope Gregory are the decree and rules in relation to pro hibited books, adopted by the council of Trent, and approved by pope Pius VIL, of happy memory — the bull Unigenitus of pope Clement XL, in 1713, condemning the New Testament of Father Quesnel, and the circulars or bulls of popes Pius VIL, Leo XIL, and Pius VIIL, against Bible Societies, issued successively from Rome in I8I6, 1824, and 1829. From the extracts we have given from this bull of pope Gre gory, four facts are manifestly evident. First, That the Pope, and of course all true papists, are still opposed to the " distribution, reading, and ppssession of books of the Holy Scriptures m the vul gar tongue." Second, That tradition is still regarded as of equal authority with the inspired word of God. Third, That private in terpretation of the Scriptures is still absolutely prohibited ; that is, that the Romanist does not believe the Bible means what it says, but what the church says it means. Fourth, That all bibles in the vulgar tongue are positively prohibited to the people, unless accom panied by popish notes, for the purpose, of course, of persuading the credulous multitude that where they depict the character and the doctrines of the papal anti-Christ, they do not mean what they say. We accordingly find that this rule is followed in America, and wherever Popery prevails. Romish priests do not even dare to circulate the Douay version, without popish notes, for fear that the people might learn, even from that, if published without note or CHAP, m.] POPERY IN ITS DOTAGE— A. D. 1686-1845. 625 Burning of Roman Catholic Testaments in South America, because without notes. comment, that the Pope is anti-Christ, and that the Romish church is the great predicted Apostasy of the New Testament. It is per- fectiy safe to challenge the Roman Catholic world to produce a Douay Bible without popish notes. It cannot be done. There are none in existence, and were our Bible Societies to publish them, they would be hunted up and burned by Romish priests with as much zeal as they have recently displayed in collecting and burn ing copies of the protestant version. § 27. — As a proof of this remark, the following account of an auto da fe of Spanish New Testaments of the Roman Catholic version in Chili, South America, a few years ago, may be worthy of record. The Testaments had been printed by the American Bible Society, without note or comment, and the letter was from a worthy agent of that Society to the secretary. " My dear Sir, — Soon after my arrival in this place, some persons informed me that the New Testament had been taken from them as a proscribed book, and that several copies were to be burned in the public square on the following Sab- hath. Letters had been received, I was further informed, from the Pope himself, cautioning the bishops and priests against spurious editions of tlje New Testa ment printed in England, and circulated gratuitously in South America, for the purpose of creating divisions and heresies in the church. In order to obviate mis apprehensions of this kind, I have repeatedly presented your edition of the New Testament to the clergy for their inspection, requesting them to compare it wiljj their own copies of Scio, at the same time offering to give up all the books in my possession (for I had Testaments only) in case there should be discovered the slightest discrepancy between them. As the comparison has uniformly resulted in our favor, the clergy have resorted to the old objection, that all editions of the Bible and Testament without notes are prohibited by a decree of the Council of Trent. " On Sabbath evening, the time fixed for the sacrilegious conflagration, a pro cession was formed, having the curate at the head, and conducted with the usual pomp, the priest kneeling a few moments at each comer of the square, and placing a large crucifix upon the ground. During the afternoon a fire had been kindled for the purpose, I was 'told by several bystanders, of burning heretical books which ridiculed the mass and confession ; and among the number was mentioned the New Testament. A guard of soldiers prevented me from examining them separately, but I stood sufficiently near to discover that the greater part were copies of the New Testament issued by the American Bible Society. As the flame ascended, increasing in brightness, one of the clergy shouted ' Viva Deos ' (Let God reign), which was immediately echoed by the loud acclamations of a large concourse of people. For the time I forgot what a late writer says, ' We must always remember that South America is a Christian and not a heathen land.' The outrage was public, and instead of being disowned, was openly ddended, and done, it was said, in compliance with the decree of an infallible council.' The Scriptures bumed were of the approved Spanish version, translated from the Vulgate by a Spanish Roman Catholic bishop. They were New Testaments too, so the plea that the Apocrypha was excluded could not be urged. They were portions of tieir own acknowledged word of God, because in the vulgar tongue and without popish notes, solemnly committed to the flames ! ! 626 CHAPTER IV., POPERY AS IT NOW IS. TESTIMONY OF EYE-WITNESSES.— ^ITS MODERN PIOUS FRAUDS AND PRETENDED MIRACLES. § 28.-^NoT only does Romanism remain unchanged, as we have shown in the preceding chapter, in its essentially persecuting, intole rant, and? enslaving principles ; but in thoroughly popish countries, it is still distinguished by the same grovelling superstitions, senseless mummeries, pretended miracles, and lying wonders, as marked its history in those dark ages, when it held the nations of Europe in the gloom of an intellectual and moral midnight. To see Popery as it is, it is not enough to contemplate the opera tion of the system as it is seen in America and other protestant lands. -The priests of Rome are too cunning to allow the most re pulsive features of Romanism to be displayed, except where the people are firmly bound in their slavish vassalage ', and thus, how ever unchanging its principles, yet with respect to its outward mani festation, it changes its hue, like the chameleon, with the country in which it is exhibited. There is one kind of Romanism to be ex- Eibited in protestant lands, and another and a widely different kind in Italy, Spain, and other popish lands, where it reigns in its glory. To understand Romanism as it is, in its true character, it must be seen in those countries ; because, as it is there, so it will be in America, England, or anywhere else, when it shall obtain that as cendency and universal prevalence after which it is grasping. It could scarcely be credited, that in the nineteenth century, the priests of Rome should be able to impose on the inhabitants of Italy, Austria, Spain, and even France, their plenary indulgences, mi raculous medals, fictitious relics, and pretended miracles, wrere npt the facts attested by the united voice of all intelligent travellers. § 29. — Though it would he easy to quote from many recent tra vellers in proof of this assertion, I prefer to insert the following brief but interesting letter from a clerical and literary friend, the Rev. Robert Turnbull of Boston, who recently spent some months ui the tour of Europe, in company with the Rev. Rollin H. Neale, of the same city : " While in France and Italy, I saw upon many Catholic churches, such advef- tisepients— in large, staring capitals — as the following — Indulgentia. Plenaria^ Indulgeritia toties et quoties — Indulgentia Quoiidiand, Indulgentia pro vivis ei mortuis. These indulgences are promised, for pecuniary benefactions, to benevo lent objects, such as Missions to the United States, for pilgrimages to particular places, for assistance in religious professions, and so forth. For example, I saw at Lyons, on the day of the festival of John the Baptist — usually called the Fete 2>i«ti— indulgences promised to those who should take part in the procession on that occasion, avec pieie, as it was expressed, signed Baron, Vicar-General. In Rome and in all other Italian and Catholic cities, innumerable indulgences are granted daily. They are not exactly bonght^so say the priests, and so the people CHAP. IV.] POPERY IN ITS DOTAGE— A. D. 1685-1845. 627 Testimony of nn eye-witness on the superstitions of Rome, fcc. also affirm — but they are generally given in connection with the payment of money from the recipients. They are often, nearly always, secured by relatives, for the dying. No matter what tlieir character, if they will only confess, take the eucha rist, and submit to extreme unction, they can always have the benefit of a priestly indulgence, which covers at once the past and the future. Nay, the dead them selves may enjoy the benefit, provided their relatives and friends comply with the requisite conditions. " I was much struck, both in France and in Italy, but particularly in Italy, with the extreme superstition of the Catholic Church. Accounts of miracles tlie most f'otesque and absurd are retailed by the priests and circulated among the people. he most of these are performed by the Virgin Mary, who is the presiding ge nius, and, one may say, the goddess of the Catholics. Her image is to be seen everywhere, in churches and in private houses. It is worn as an amulet by priests and people, and the most extravagant things are said of her glory and power, and the most marvellous accounts given of the miracles performed by her agency. I read several of these stories in Italian pamphlets or tracts, and heard many of them from the lips of apparently intelligent priests. Relics of dead saints, known only to the Catholic Church, and even of Christ and his Apostles, are to be seen in many of the Catholic churches, and many wonderful stories are told of their miraculous powers. " In the church of San Gennaro, or St. Januarius, in Naples, the blood of the patron saint is kept in a vial, and liquified once or twice a year, to the great edifi cation and delight of the faithful. A picture in miniature of the Virgin Mary is shown in the church of the Augustines (I think that is the name) in Bologna, painted by St. Luke 1 It is said that the brazen serpent, or a piece of it, is shown m the church of St. Ambrose at Milan ; and a gentleman informed me, that even in the church of St. John Lateran, in Rome, they show the table on which our Lord partook of the Last Supper. " The holy stairs, visited by so many pilgrims, and which they ascend on their knees, are composed, according to the Catholics, of the steps up which our Sa viour walked to Pilate's judgment hall, and the pilgrims are often seen kissing the spots said to be ' blessed' with the sweat of his sacred feet. The water which flows from the rock in the dungeon of the Carcere Mamertina, in which Paul and Peter are said to have been confined, is sold to pilgrims, as possessing most marvellous properties. Mr. Neale and I drank of the water, having paid the requisite sum. Tradition says it was miraculously brought from the rock, before dry, by the Apostle Peter ; hence its great value. Large sums of money are made annually by the sale of such holy water, and in other ways which appeal du-ectly to the grossest superstition of the people. " You frequently see persons prostrate before images, and in a state of the great est apparent devotion, even if those images are formed out of materials taken from heathen temples. At Pisa I saw several females prostrate before the statues of Adam and Eve, which are exhibited in a state of almost entire nudity. The celebrated statue of St. Peter, in the church of St. Peter's at Rome, the toe of which is almost literally kissed away, was originally a statue of Jupiter, taken from the Capitol. Many of the altars, ornaments, and so forth, in the churches, are entirely heathen in their origin and appearance. Naked forms in marble abound in all the churches. Many of the vases used for baptismal purposes, and those containing the holy water, were anciently used for similar purposes in the days of heathenism. Nothing struck me with more force than incidental cu-cumstances like these, as mdicating the gross ignorance, credulity, superstition and dishonesty abounding in the Catholic church." § 30. The allusion in the above letter to the connection of Roman ism with Heathenism (a topic which has been treated at large in the early part of this work), may suitably introduce the following strikmg parallel between the system of modern heathenism, called Bhoodism and Popery, for which I am indebted to the Rev. Euge- 37 628 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [book ix. Rev. Mr. Kincaid's parallel between Bhoodism and Romanism. nio Kincaid, who has spent thirteen years as a most successful mis sionary in Burmah, and who kindly furnished me with the following, in reply to my inquiries to him on this topic. The titles in itaUcs, by which the various parts of the letter are distinguished, I have myself prefixed. « Bhoodism," says Mr. Kincaid, " prevails over all Burmah, Siam, the Shan Principalities, and about one-third of the Chinese empire. Gaudama was the last Bhood, or the last manifestation of Bhood, and his relics and images are the ob jects of supreme adoration over all Bhoodist countries. In passing through the great cities of Burmah, the traveller is struck with the number and grandeur of the temples, pagodas and monasteries, as also with the number of idols and sha ven-headed priests. Worship of images, relics and saints. — " Pagodas are solid structures of ma sonry, and are worshipped because within their bare walls are deposited images or relics of Gaudama. The temples are dedicated to the worship of Gaudama ; in them thrones are erected, on which massy images of Gaudama are placed ; in some of the larger temples are the images of five hundred primitive disciples who were canonized about the time or soon after the death of Gaudama. Bhoodist monasteries. — " The monasteries are the abode of the priests, and the depositaries of the sacred volumes, with their endless scholia and commentaries. These monasteries are the schools and colleges of the empire. They are open to all the boys of the kingdom, rich and poor. No provision is made for the educa tion of girls. Bhoodist monks with shaven heads. Vow qf celibacy, cf-c. — " Priests are monks, as monasticism is universal ; they take the vow of poverty and celibacy — ^theur heads shaved and without turbans, and, dressed in robes of yellow cloth, they retire from society, or, in the language of their order, retire io ihe wilderness. Hence forth, they are always addressed as lords or saints, and over the entire population they exert a despotic influence. Priests, dead and alive, are worshipped the same as idols and pagodas, because they are saints, and have extraordinary merit. Bhoodist Rosaries. Prayers in an unknown tongue. — " All devout Bhoodists, whether priests or people, male or female, use a string of beads, or rosary, in the recitation of their prayers — and their prayers are in ihe unknown tongue, called Pali, a language that has ceased to be spoken for many hundred years, and was never the vernacular of Burmah. Acts of merit. " The frequent repetition of prayers with the rosary, fasting, and making offerings to the images are meritorious deeds. Celibacy and voluntary poverty is regarded as evidence of the most exalted piety. To build temples, pa^ godas and monasteries, and purchase idols, are meritorious acts. Burning of wax candles in the day time. — " The burning of wax tapers and candles of various colors, both day and night, around the shrines of Gaudama, is universal in Bhoodist countries, and is taught as highly meritorious. Social prayer is unknown — each one prays apart, and making' various prostrations before the images, deposits upon the altar offerings of fruit and flowers. The Bhoodist Lent. Priests confessing each other. — " The priests are required to fast every day after the sun has passed the meridian till the next morning. Be sides this, there is a great fast once a year, continuing four or five weeks, in which all the people are supposed to live entirely on vegetables and fruits. During this great fast, the priests retire from their monasteries, and live in temporary booths or tents, and are supposed to give themselves more exclusively to an ascetic life. At a certain time in the year, the priests have a practice of confessing and exorcis ing each other. This takes place in a small building erected for the purpose over running water. The Bhoodist priesthood and Pope. — " There are various grades of rank in the priesthood, and the most unequivocal submission in the lower to the higher orders is required. Tha-iha-na-bing is the title of the priest who sits on the highest ecclesiastical throne in the empire (and thus corresponds to the Pope among Ro- CHAP. IV.] POPERY IN ITS DOTAGE— A. D. 1685-1845. 629 Resemblance of Bhoodist and Romish worship. The blood of St. Januarius commanded to liquefy. manists). He is Primate, or Ijord Archbishop of the realm — receives his appoint ment from the King, and from the Tha-tha-na-bing (or Pope) emanate all other ec clesiastical appointments in the kingdom and its tributary principalities. He lives in a monastery built and furnished by the King, which is as splendid as gold and silver can make it. Bhoodist defences against idolatry the same as the excuses rf Romanists for the worship of images. — " I should observe that intelligent, learned Bhoodists (like some Romanists) deny that they worship the images and relics of Gaudama, but only rcTieroie them as objects that remind them of Gaudama, the only object of supreme adoration — but the number of Bhoodists who make this distinction is very small. Striking resemblance between the worship of a Bhoodist temple and a Roman Catholic Cathedral. — " Often," says Mr. Kincaid, " when standing in a great Burman temple, and looking round upon a thousand worshippers prostrating them selves before images, surrounded by wax candles, uttering prayers in a dead lan guage, each one with a rosary in hand, and the priests with long, flowing robes and shaven heads, I have thought of what I have witnessed in the Roman Catholic Cathedral in Montreal, and it has required but a very small stretch of the imagi nation to suppose myself transported to the opposite side of the globe, looking not upon the ceremonies of an acknowledged heathen temple, but upon the Christian ized heathenism of Rome." § 31. — One of the most amusing, and at the same time bare faced impostures performed in Italy by Romish priests at the pre sent day is the pretended liquefaction of the blood of St. Januarius, referred to in the letter of Mr. Turnbull. The following amusing account of the effect of the injunctions of one of Napoleon's offi cers upon the Saint, when he appeared reluctant to perform his accustomed miracle, is taken from the recent work of Dr. Giustiniani (Papal Rome, p. 258) : — " St Januarius is the protector of Naples in Italy ; his blood is preserved in a small bottle at the altar of the church of the same name. It is believed by every Neapolitan, that the liquefaction of that blood is an indication of grace and mercy to the inhabitants of the city, as well as to private individuals, who approach in faith to the saint. At the time when Napoleon invaded Italy, suppressing the convents and nunneries, carrying the priests and their riches to France, the few who remained were, as a matter of course, not very loyal to the Emperor ; they agitated in secret, whispered in the confessionals, into the ears of the Lazza- roni, that ' St. Januarius is displeased with the conduct of the invaders, that his blood did not boil during the whole time the ungodly French soldiers occupied the kingdom of Naples.' On the day of the celebration of high mass, the blood of Januarius was exposed to the adoration of the people ; but it would not boil, not even hquefy. The spies of the French immediately informed the commander of the troops of the imminent danger of the rising of the populace, who without delay gave orders that the whole army should occupy the prindjial streets of the city ; two cannon were planted before the door of the church of^t. Januarius, and at the different corners of the streets with lighted matches, and a special order to the Vicar of the bishops, who celebrated the mass : ' That if in ten minutes St. Janu arius should not perform his usual miracle, ihe whole city would be reduced io ruins ;' and in five minutes the saint was pacified, his blood was liquefied and boiled. The ' gloria in excelsis' was sung, the shouts of joy re-echoed in the air, and the French rejoiced with them, but not the disappointed priests." What a comment upon the power of Popery, to blind the under standing and degrade the intellect of its victims, that the periodical performance of this foohsh and barefaced piece of imposture is still 630 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [book ix. Our Lady of Loretto. Journey of the holy house through the air. Mother " Goose" come true. actually credited by multitudes of the deluded votaries of Rome as a veritable miracle ! § 32. — But a still more ridiculous and contemptible piece of priestly imposture is the Santissima Casa, or holy house of the Virgin, at Loretto, a small town in the Pope's dominions in Italy. The popish priests pretend that this is the house in which the Virgin Mary was born, and was carried by angels through the air, from Nazareth to Loretto (!) some centuries ago ; and that the Virgin Mary herself appeared to an old man to reveal to him the wonder ful fact. They also show the Santissima Scodella, or holy porrin ger, in which, they gravely assert, the pap was made for the infant Jesus (I I) The pilgrims who visit this laughable imposture, regard it as a special favor to obtain a chaplet or a rosary that has been shaken in this wonderful porringer, duly certified by the priests, or an inch square of the Virgin's old veil, which is changed eveiy year ; and if fortunate enough to obtain them, they sacredly preserve these treasures, which they regard as preservatives against witch craft and other calamities. The holy house and image are hung around with votive offerings, some valuable, such as golden hearts, chains with precious stones, silver and gilt angels, &c., which have been contributed by rich devotees, besides multitudes of other offer ings, the gifts of the poorer pilgrims. This ridiculous fable of the journey through the air of the Santa Casa, porringer and all, irresistibly reminds one of the famous feat, recorded by Mother Goose, about "the cow that jumped over the moon," and " the dish that ran off with the spoon ;" and the mental imbecility which can credit the one, is scarcely equalled by the childish simphcity which beheves the other. And yet, incre dible as it may seem, the great body of Romanists, amidst the light of the nineteenth century, profess actually to believe this most ab surd of all impostures ; and a regular establishment of priests is maintained, with an annual revenue of many thousand dollars, the proceeds of the exhibition. A small pebble picked up in the house, duly certified, has been sold for ten dollars, and an unfortunate mouse that had concealed itself under the Virgin's dress, for as much as would purchase an ox, and afterward embalmed by the purchaser, and kept as a preservative against diseases and accidents. The Litany to the " Lady of Loretto" may be found in the " Garden of the Soul" (page 288), and in most other Romish prayer-books. § 33. — It is not Uncommon for the apologists of Popery, when we refer to the stigmata or miraculous wounds of St. Francis or St. Catherine, and to other pious frauds of Romanism in the middle ages, to attribute them to the general ignorance and darkness which then prevailed ; but we are prepared to relate similar instances of blasphemous imposture, that have been contrived by a cunning and designing priesthood, and imposed upon the credulous multitude m the very times in which we live. However strange it may ap pear, no longer ago than 1841, the cunning Roman priests exhibited CHAP. IV.] POPERY IN ITS DOTAGE— A. D. 1685-1845. 631 Outrageous imposture. Two women receiving the miraculous wounds of Christ in 1841. two wonderful " Virgins of the Tyrol," who professed to have miraculously received the five wounds of Christ, from which the blood is said frequently to flow, " without staining the sheets," and much more copiously on the "Friday," the day of the Saviour's crucifixion ; and they were successful in imposing, among others, upon a weak-minded and gullible English papist, called the Earl of Shrewsbury, who published a most marvellous pamphlet concern ing his visit to these two prodigies, whom he styles " the Ecstatica of Caldaro, and the Adolorata of Capriana." This silly story has been republished and extensively sold to the poor deluded papists of America ; and the reality of the miracle of the wounds is doubtless by many of them believed as a positive fact (!) And this in the nineteenth century. Can any one deny that the lying impostures of Romanism are unchanged, and that its power to debase and degrade the human intellect remains the same as ever ? § 34. — Nothing has been more common in popish countries than the pretence of images of the Virgin Mary miraculously winking the eyes, shedding tears, &c., and these impositions have been the more frequent from the facility with which the priests have learned to manage them. At the comer of the Via Paganica, in Rome, there exists at this moment a picture of the Virgin Mary, with her title Mater Providentiae (mother of Providence), and un derneath it a statement, that "in September, 1796, this adorable image, by sundry winkings of^ its eyes, refreshed the praying crowds with its benign countenance ;" and every evening at sun set devotees may be seen kneeling before this miraculous image, repeatuig a litany to it, in the hope of obtaining two hundred days' indulgence, promised to such service by the Pope. The imposi tions of the priests with these miraculous images have frequently been detected; yet, among papists, multitudes are found simple enough to devour with greediness every fresh instance of impos ture. One will be related as a specimen of hundreds of similar cases. It is taken from the recentiy pubhshed life of Ramon Mon- saltvage, a converted Spanish monk (page 48). " In 1835, the Liberal Government of Spain, at the head of which was Queen Christma, since the death of Ferdinand VH., in 1833, was unable any longer to withstand the insurgents, and ordered that all the monastic conunumties should be dispersed, and their convents destroyed, which was done in many places. The 6th of July was the day appointed for the formal suppression of our convent at Olot, where I was then studying. The Justicia, or civil officers, presented them selves, and, in the name of the Queen, declared the community to be dissolved, and delivered to each monk a passport; to return to his native place. But before we had time to leave the convent, the leaders of the insurgents of Olot rushed in, and began their work of destruction. The crowd soon hastened to the chapel, and tore down the pictures and the altars, which had so long been the objects ot blind adoration. , , • i " There was there an image of the Virgin Mary, which had the miraculous pro- perty of weeping. Many a time have I seen it, with the big tears trickling down its cheeks, anf I, as did aU others, believed it to be "n-l^est.onably a mirade. When the insurgents penetrated into the chapel, as I have above stated, they tore 632 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [book ix. The miraculous medal and its wonderful miracles. the image down from its niche, and discovered behind its head small tubes con ducting from a basin in which water was poured ; and thus the image wept." § 35. — Another glaring mstance of popish knavery and imposture is in the recent invention and pretended wonders achieved by the miraculous medal. A book was published at Rome, in 1835, giving a minute account of these wonders, by the Abbe Le Guillen. Ac cording to the Abbe, the origin of the medal was as follows : — "Toward the end of the year 1830, a well-born young female, a noviciate in one of those conservatories which are dedicated in Paris to the use of the poor and the sick, * * * * whilst in the midst of her fervor during her prayers, saw a picture representing the most Holy Virgin (as she is usually represented under the title of the Immaculate Conception), standing with open and extended arms : there issued from her hands rays of light like bundles, of a brightness which dazzled her : and amidst those bundles, or clusters of rays, she distin guished that some of the most remarkable fell upon a point of the globe which was under her eye. In an instant she heard a voice, which said, ' These rays are symbolical of the graces which Mary obtains for men, and this point of the globe on which they fall most copiously is France.' Around this picture she read the following invocation, written in letters of gold : — ' O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to you.' Some moments after, this painting turned round, and on the reverse she (the Estatica) distinguished the letter M, sur mounted by a little cross, and below it the most sacred hearts of Mary and Jesus, After the young girl had well considered the whole, the voice said, * A medal must be struck, and the persons who wear it, and who shall say with devotion the inscribed short prayer, shall enjoy the very special protection of the Mother of God.' " Accordingly, by direction of the archbishop of Paris, the medal was struck, and a large supply was ready against the invasion of the cholera, and this wonder-working medal has since been in troduced in immense numbers into all popish countries, and also into England and America, and sold at a most extravagant price to the multitudes of the ignorant and deluded papists. The Boston Pilot, a Roman Catholic paper in Boston, has al ready had advertisements, offering these " silver miraculous medals " for sale. In the work of Abbd Le Guillon, two hundred and fifty pages are occupied with accounts of the cures effected by the medal, and various other wonders it had wrought, which very much resemble the testimonies of wonderful cures which we fre quently see appended to the advertisement of some famous quack medicine. Were my intention to excite the risible faculties of my readers, I would transcribe some of these prodigies, but as my space will not permit of that, it will be sufficient to remark that they are worthy of the darkest ages of Romish imposture. We shall close our brief notice of this impudent piece of religious quackery, written by an officiating priest, and gravely sanctioned with the imprimatur of the episcopal censors at Rome, in an Italian translation, by an additional extract : — " Finally," says the Abb6, " from all parts we hear the most con soling facts. Priests full of the spirit of the Lord tell us, that these medals are reviving religious feeling in cities as well as CHAP, v.] POPERY IN ITS DOTAGE— A. D. 1685-1845. 633 The holy coat of the Saviour at Treves. Present position of Romanism in Italy. country places. Vicars-General, who enjoy a well-merited con sideration, as well for their piety, and even distinguished bishops, inform us that ' they have reposed every confidence in these medals, and they regard them as a means of Providence for awakening the faith which has slept so long in this our age.' " But the grossest and most notorious instance of recent priestly imposture, and one which is likely to be most pregnant in its con sequences to the Romish church, is the exhibition, within the past few months, of the pretended coat of the Saviour at Treves, in Ger many, by the popish Bishop of that city. An account of the immense sensation that has been created in Europe by the fearless remon strance against this impostm-e, made by John Ronge, a second Lu ther, who has arisen to complete the deliverance of his country from the thraldom of Rome, will be reserved for the next, which is the concluding chapter of our history CHAPTER V. RECENT EVENTS. DISCONTENT IN ITALY. PUSEYISM. THE HOLY COAT, AND THE PRIEST RONGE. JESUITS IN SWITZERLAND. STA TISTICS. CONCLUSION. § 36. — The position of the Romish church and government in Italy for some years past, has been striking and pecuhar, and the hopes or the fears of its friends have been alternately excited by a succession of favorable or adverse events. Within the last half century, the power of the Pope has been alternately shaken and revived in several of the kingdoms of Europe. The Pope himself has been a captive m a foreign land, and restored again to his throne ; yet ever since, feeling that throne shakmg beneath him, at the aroused spirit of liberty which has been awakened in the breasts of the enlightened and the patriotic, among the men of Italy. The interposition of Austria has alone prevented, long ere this, the prostration of the throne of anti-Christ ui Italy, the ex tinction of the Papal States from the monarchies of Europe, and the entire destruction of the political, if not of the spiritual power of the popes in the land where they so long reigned as Despots of the Worid, and hurled their thunders at the thrones of the mightiest of earth's monarchs and rulers. In the year 1831, an insurrection broke out in the Papal btates, under the lawyer Vicini, who established his head-quarters at Bologna. The Pope and the cardinals in their terror and weak ness besought the aid of Austria, and an army of twelve thousand 634 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [book jx. The Pope's dread of political liberty. Extract from bull of 1844. men sent in compliance with their petition, defeated the revolu^ tionists, and thus perpetuated for a few years longer the crumbling dominion of the Pope in Italy. The spirit of liberty was checked by the bloody executions which followed, but not crushed. In spite of the Pope and his minions, the San-fedists (so called from la santa fede, the holy faith), that spirit has been kept alive by the societies of liberalists, whose object is the restoration of civil and religious liberty, called Carbonari, in various parts of the papal dominions. Every effort is made by the Pope to suppress these combina tions. Persons suspected of liberalism are subjected to the sur veillance of the papal police, and these suspected persons are com pelled regularly to transmit to the police a certificate that they have confessed and communed, after three days' retirement in a convent designated by the Bishop, under penalty of three years' hard labor ! No wonder that the enlightened among the Italians groan under such a system of slavery, and long to be delivered from it. The Pope understands full well that his tyrannical reign must end, so soon as the people become enlightened ; and hence his jealousy of every attempt to diffuse religious knowledge, and above all, the translated Bible among the thousands who groan beneath his oppressive government. This, without doubt, was one chief cause of his alarm at the formation of the Christian Alliance, as exhibited in his bull of 1844, against that Society, from which copious citations have already been made. Who can mistake the feehng of alarm for the security of his throne, which prompted the following language from the same document : — " Among the sectarians of whom we are speaking, deceived in their hopes, and in despair at the immense sums which the publication of their Bible costs them, without producing any fruit, some have been found who, giving another direction to their manoeuvres, have betaken themselves to the corruption of minds, not only in Italy, but even in our own capital. Indeed, many precise advices and documents teach us that a vast number of members of sects in New York, in America, at one of their meetings, held on the 4th of June, last year, have formed a new association, which will take the name of the Christian Alliakce, a league composed of individuals of every nation, and which is to be farther in creased in numbers by other auxiliary societies, all having the same object, viz., to propagate among Italians, and especially Romans, ' ihe principles of Christian liberty,' or, rather, an insane inbiffekence to all religion." Again — " This is why, determined to afibrd all people ' liberty of conscience' (or rather, it should be said, libeety to ere), from which, according to their theory, must flow, as from an inexhaustible source, public prosperity and poliiical liberty, they think they should before all things win over the inhabitants of Rome and Italy, in order to avail themselves after, of their example and aid in regard to other countries." § 37. — In England, and chiefly in connection with the University of Oxford, a movement has recently taken place which has afforded the Pope some cause of consolation, amidst the turbulent complaints of his rebellious subjects, and the diminution of his influence in Spain, France, Austria, Prussia, Germany and other parts of continental Europe. CHAF. v.] POPERY IN ITS DOTAGE— A. D. 1685-1845. 635 Rise of Puseyism in aid of Popery at Oxford. Character of this system. Second German reformation. This movement has generally obtained the designation of Pusey ism, from the name of one of the leaders, Dr. Pusey, who, in con nection with Rev. Mr. Newman and some others, commenced, about ten or twelve years ago, the publication, at Oxford, of a series of " Tracts for the Times," advocating the equality of tradi tion with the bible, lineal tactual apostolical succession, baptismal regeneration, the real material presence of Christ in the eucharist ; the observance of saints' days, reverence of relics, use of crosses, wax candles, &c., and nearly all the anti-Christian doctrines and superstitious mummeries of Popery, with the single exception of the supremacy of the pope of Rome. This insidious form of anti- Christian error, though opposed with a giant's strength by a Whately, and other faithful protestants, has wormed itself into the very frame-work of Episcopacy in Great Britain ; and in America, notwithstanding the faithful expostulations of such men as Milnor, and M'llvaine, and Hopkins, and Tyng, has made considerable pro gress in that branch of the same church which exists in the United States. The Pope and his priesthood have looked calmly on, contemplatmg with satisfaction the efforts of the Puseyites to dis seminate prmciples which inevitably lead towards Rome, and in following which principles, several have already thrown themselves at the feet of his Holiness, and taken refuge in Holy- Mother Church. What is to be the eventual result of this semi-papal movement, time alone can reveal. If the expectation of the Pope shall be realized, and all who embrace the Tractarian views shall, in con sistency with their creed, go where they properly belong, into the bosom of the Romish church, the communion which they leave may indeed be diminished in numbers, but what is lost in numbers shall be more than gamed in strength and efficiency ; and the faith ful men who shall be left standing at their post (for there are yet hundreds of such), shall again be left untrammelled to show them selves worthy of the name of protestants, and to carry on the conflict with the Devil and with Rome, in the spirit of their fathers of the same church, a Latimer, a Chillingworth and a Jewel. § 38. — The advantage gained to Rome by the spread of Pusey ism in England and America has been more than counterbalanced by a recent important movement in Germany, which threatens speedily to prostrate, perhaps to annihilate the remains of Popery, in the various German principahties, if not in other nations of con tinental Europe. This second German reformation, like that of Luther, has been caused by the base imposture and insatiable cupidity of the priests of Rome. In the German reformation of the sixteenth century, the pious zeal of the monk of Wittemberg was aroused by the shameless traffic of John Tetzel in indulgences for sin ; in that of the nineteenth, the equally shameless cupidity of Arnold, bishop of Treves, in exhibiting a piece of old cloth as the holy coat of the Saviour, endowed with miraculous powers, for the purpose ot en- 636 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [book ix. Exhibition by popish priests of the pretended holy coat of our Saviour at Treves. Immense throng. riching the coffers of the church, has awakened the energies of John Ronge to protest against the impostures and abominations of Rome. I quote from the account furnished in an eloquent letter of Professor G. de Felice, dated Montauban, November 24th, 1844. " It would be difficult to imagine anything more scandalous, more disgusting, more contrary to the spirit of the gospel than the popish farce recently enacted at Treves, a city of Germany, belonging now to the kingdom of Prussia. The clergy of Treves pretend to have in their hands the seamless coat of Jesus Christ (John xix. 23, 24), and they made a formal exhibition of it, from the 8th of August last to the 6th of October, inviting all Romanists to come and see and touch this pre cious relic. Some journals say that eleven hundred thousand pilgrims responded to this call. The most moderate computation makes the number of visitors at least five hundred thousand. " What a striking proof that the church of Rome shows ever the same spirit, the same conduct, the same contempt of the common sense of mankind, and tiie same inclination to deceive miserably the consciences of men ! In the nineteenth cen tury, in the heart of civilized Europe, by the side of the flourishing literary insti tutions of Germany, when a thousand periodical journals are daily relating all the news, are priests who dare, in the face of heaven and earth, to exhibit an old bit of cloth which they call our Saviour's coat ! and they promise a plenary indul gence to all who will come to view it ! and they assert that this relic will work miracles ! and a million of men are found flocking from all parts to countenance this absurd sacrilege. Oh ! let us not be so proud of what we call the intelligence qf our age. Gross darkness still covers the people. There are still thousands, mil lions of unhappy men, who are the dupes of ambitious and greedy priests. " If we were told that in the interior of Africa, the degraded natives prostrated themselves before a fetish, or that, on the banks of the Ganges, a blind multitude sought the pardon of their sins by worshipping idols, it would seem credible to us, because these poor creatures have never heard the name of Jesus Christ. But that in a church pretending to be Christian, and even more Christian than all others, such idolatries should occur ; that they should be sanctioned by bishops, cardinals, the Pope himself, would seem incredible at first view ; we should re quire most authentic evidence to admit the fact ; and now we ask. How can rea sonable and intelligent men still remain in a church which has sunk so low ? Will not a sense of shame force them to disavow a clergy who speculate so impu dently upon the stupidity of the mass of the people ? " Cicero said that two soothsayers of Rome could not meet without smiling. I presume it is so with the priests of Treves. No, they would not dare to affirm, with their hands upon their hearts, that they believe this bit of old cloth to be the real coat of Jesus Christ ! Be this as it may, the invitation was made to all faithful Romanists, and on the 18th of August the bishop of Treves performed mass in his pontifical robes, and afterwards exhibited the seamless coat. All the parishes in the city made a pompous procession. The civil and military authori ties, the students of college, the school children, the mechanics, tradesmen, all attended. In the evening the houses were illuminated. The soldiers were led by their officers before the relic, with their colors lowered. Three hundred prison ers asked leave to visit the holy garment, and they came with great gravity and compunction. During the whole exhibition, the cathedral was open from five o'clock in the morning till eight o'clock at night, and it was constantly filled with an immense crowd. " Pilgrims came from all countries, chiefly from Germany and the eastern firon- tiers of France. They were for the most part peasants, who, with their vicar at their head, flocked to this pagan spectacle. The city of Treves presented during the exhibition a Uvely scene. In all the streets and public places, processions were continually passing. Ordinarily the pilgrims marched two and two, and chanted a monotonous litany. All the hotels were crowded. Extensive wooden barracks were erected at the gates of the city ; and there, for a penny or two a CHAP, v.] POPERY IN ITS DOTAGE— A. D. 1685-1845. 637 Procession in the Cathedral to touch the holy coat. Immense gain of money to the priests. head, the pilgrims found a little straw to lie upon. At two o'clock in the morning the noise began again, and continued till a very advanced hour of the night. Play actors of all sorts established themselves at Treves ; every day several thea tres were opened to amuse the strangers. Tliere were panoramas, dioramas, menageries, puppet shows, all the diversions which are found in France at fairs. Everywhere mirth and revelry abounded, wholly unlike tlie composed and pious feelings inspired by the performance of a religious duty. " Let us now accompany the pilgrims to the cathedral. At the bottom of the nave, on an altar brilliantly lighted, is the relic in a golden box. Steps placed at each side lead to it. The pilgrims approach, mount the steps, and pass their hand through an oval aperture in the box, to touch the coat of the Lord. Two priests seated near the relic receive the chaplets, medals, hoods, and other articles of the faithful, and put them in contact with the marvellous coat, because mere contact is a means of blessing. Objects which have thus touched the relic are consecrated, sanctified ; they then become holy chaplets, holy medals, &c. ; and after this ceremony, the pilgrims go away rejoicing, thinking they have acquired the remission of all their sins. It is needless to say that this exhibition was dis tinguished by numerous miracles. Has not Rome miracles always at her service ? Is not her whole history filled with striking prodigies ? " This exhibition of course brought a great deal of money to the priests. This is the true explanation of the riddle. It is estimated that the offerings of the faithful amounted to 500,000 francs ($100,000), in the space of six weeks, without reck oning the 80,000 medals of the Virgin which were sold, and the profits from the sale of chaplets and other objects of devotion. Even now, in all the towns of France, the priests employ persons, particularly women, to sell at an exorbitant price a thousand petty articles which have touched ihe holy coat ! such as — ^rib bons, bits of cloth, cotton and silk, some of which are shaped like the coat ; be sides crucifixes and images, in wood or in glass. The clergy have monopolized all the old rags of the neighborhood of Treves and sell them for their weight in gold, and they find dupes weak enough to purchase these amulets ! The product of this traffic, added to the offerings of the pilgrims, will be perhaps from one to two millions qf francs. " We mention, however, one honorable exception among the Romish clergy. A German priest, named John Ronge, has published a letter addressed to the bishop of Treves, which has produced much sensation. Fifty thousand copies of this letter were sold in a few days. All Germany exulted, as if she heard the voice of a new Luther ! It is said that this bold and conscientious priest has been sum moned before the ecclesiastical courts, and is to be deposed. " I give you some extracts from this protest : ' What would have seemed till now,' says John Ronge, ' a fable, a fiction, bishop Arnold of Treves presenting to the adoration of the faithful, a garment called the coat of Christ ; you have heard it, Christians of the nineteenth century ; you know it, men of Gerniany r you know it, spiritual and temporal governors of the German people ;— it is no longer fable or fiction, it is a real fact Truly may we here apply the words : Whoever can believe in such things without losing his reason, has no reason lo lose.' ,.• ,. ¦, • " The author of the protest tlien points out the dangers to which pilgrims were exposed who visited this relic. ' This anti-Christian spectacle,' he says, 'is but a snare laid for superstition, formalism, fanaticism, to plunge men mto vicious habits. Such is the only benefit which the exhibition of the holy coat, whether genuine or not, could produce. And the man who offers this garment, a human work, as an object of adoration ; who pervert;s the religious feelings of the cre dulous, ignorant, and suffering multitudes ; who thus opens a door to superstition and its teain of vices ; who takes the money and the bread of the poor, starving people ; who makes the German nation a laughing-stock to all other nations. . . this man is a bishop, a German bishop ; bishop ArnoU qf Treves ! « ' Bishop Arnold of Treves ! I turn to you and I conjure you, as a priest, as a teacher of the people, and in the name of her rulers ;-I conjure you to put an end to thiL pagan exhibition of the holy coat, to take away this garment from pub lic view, and not to let the evU become greater than it is already. 638 HISTORY OF ROMANISM [book ix. Rouge's expostulation with the bishop-showman of the holy coat. A new church formed. Articles. " ' Do you not know — as a bishop you must know, that the founder of the Chris tian religion left to his disciples and his successors not his coat, but his spirit. His coat, bishop Arnold of Treves, was given to his executioners ! '"Do you not know, — as a bishop you ought to know, that Christ has said, God is a spirit, and they thai worship Him must worship him in spirit and in truth ? . . " ' Do you not know, — as a bishop you ought to know, that the Gospel forbids expressly the adoration of images and relics of every kind ; that the Christians of the apostolic age and of the first three centuries, would never suffer an image or a relic in their churches ; that it is a pagan superstition, and that the Fathers of the first three centuries reproached the pagans on this account ? " ' Be not misled by the great concourse of visitors. Believe me, while hun dreds of thousands of pilgrims go to Treves, millions of others groan in anger and bitterness over the indignity of such an exhibition. And this anger exists not in this or that class, this or that party only ; it exists among all, and every where, even in the very bosom of the Catholic clergy, and the judgment will come sooner than you think. Already history takes her pen ; she holds up your name, Arnold of Treves, to the contempt of the present age and posterity, and stigmatizes you as the Tetzel of the nineteenth century !,' " In a subsequent letter addressed to the Romanists of Germany and dated on the New Year of 1845, Ronge mentions a fact which sets this gross popish imposture in the most ludicrous point of light, and challenges his opponents to deny it — that pilgrims to this marvellous piece of old cloth, have been heard in numbers to use this prayer, " Holy coat ! pray for us !" Think of that, Americans. Amidst the intelligence of the nineteenth century, "Holy coat! pray for us!" § 39. — As might be expected, the faithful and fearless man who could thus rebuke the avarice and imposture of a Romish bishop, was soon degraded from the priesthood and excommunicated. God designs, however, in this to make the wrath of man to praise him. Churches, independent of Rome, have already been established, consisting of the followers of this second Luther, at Breslau (of which Ronge is pastor), Berlin, Elberfeld, Magdeberg, Offenbach, Dresden, Leipsic, &c. The independent community at Breslau have published their confession of faith, from which, as will be seen from the following summary of the principal articles, all the dis tinctive doctrines of Popery are utterly excluded ; and thus it appears that though styled the German Catholic Church of Breslau, the doctrines of the church are such as are held by the great body of protestants. Article I. " The foundation of Christian faith must be solely and exclusively ihe Holy Scriptures, interpreted by sound reasoning. n. " The church adopts the creed of ihe Apostles for its confession of faith. ¦IV. "The church avows the principle of free inquiry. VI. " The church admits but two sacraments, baptism and ihe holy supper, be cause, from the testimony of Scripture, they are the only ones instituted by Jesus Christ. X. " Transubstaniiaiion is rejected, because it cannot be defended fi-om the gospel. XIII. " The celibacy of the priests is refected, because it is not' founded on the gospel, because it cannot be supported by reason, and is a mere popish contrivance to strengthen the Romish hierarchy. XIV. " The church r^'ecis the supremacy of ihe Roinish pope. CHAP. v.T POPERY IN ITS DOTAGE— A. D. 1685-1846. 639 Recent proceedings of the Jesuits in Switzerland. Social worship forbidden through their means. XV. " It abolishes auricular confession. XVI. " It employs in its worship only the vernacular language. XVII. " It rejects all invocation of saiiUs, all worship rendered to relics and to images. XVIII. " It rejects alike fasts, pilgrimages and indulgeiwes. XXII. " The church claims its former privilege of choosing its own pastors and guides. It is represented by the pastor and elders." Thus in the nineteenth century has God seen fit to overrule the priestiy imposture, which could exhibit an old piece of rotten cloth to the gaping multitude as the genuine coat of the Saviour, in order to fleece the deluded people of their money (as he overruled, in the sixteenth century, the outrageous imposition of Tetzel in selling his pretended indulgences) ; for the purpose of raising up a new set -of reformers to complete, in the natiye land of Luther, the glorious reformation from Popery, which was begun by the re former of Wittemberg three centuries ago. § 40. — ^While these stirring events have been transpiring in Ger many, the land of Luther; Switzerland, the land of Zwinglius, has been shaken to its very centre, by a movement of a different kind, but no less calculated to awaken the people to the anti-Christian character and insidious designs of Popery than was the exhibition of the pretended holy coat of our Saviour by the bishop of Treves. I refer to the recent violent efibrts of the Jesuits to regain their lost power, and to obtain the exclusive control of education in several of the cantons of Switzerland, which constitute so instruc tive a chapter in the history of Popery in the nineteenth century. These iniquitous proceedings of the Jesuits in that beautiful but now distracted country, which have resulted in bringing upon, it all the horrors of a civil war, commenced in the year 1843. Toward the close of that year, the people of the Upper Valais, constituting the illiterate mountaineers in complete subjection to the popish clergy, suddenly attacked the citizens of the Lower Valais, who are more intelligent, and many of whom are pious protestants, chiefly such as have come from the canton of Vaud to pm-sue their peaceful occupations. This attack was successful. The priests triumphed, and at once took advantage of their victory. Many honorable citizens were thrown into prison, and others forced to leave their country. Special courts were instituted to try summarily those whom they called rebels, and the most iniquitous sentences were passed upon men who had committed no other fault than that of resisting the usurpations of the clergy. A reign of terror existed in the whole canton, and the Jesuits hastened to establish a new political consti tution, while the general panic prevented good citizens from lifting their voice in opposition. It is needless to add, that this constitution was cunningly contrived to give the preponderance to the priests and their friends. The Jesuits even proceeded so far, in imitation of the ancient in tolerance of Popery, as to cause the passage of a law in the can 640 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [book ix. The Jesuits in Switzerland. Law against the social meetings of protestants. Civil war. ton of Valais, forbidding to the protestants the right to assemble for the worship of God. " A few members of the council of state," according to an able and accurate writer, " proposed, with some feeling of shame left, to forbid only public worship by protestants, but to allow them to celebrate social or family worship. Even this was a violation of the rights of religious worship ; it was gross intolerance ; but the priests, the Jesuits, and their adherents, judged that the provisions of the bill did not reach far enough. So they demanded that social worship itself shoxAd be forbidden to pro testants ; and, in consequence, the majority of the representative council being the mere tools of the clergy, sanctioned this exorbi tant and iniquitous law. Thus, in the canton of Valais, — do not forget it, American citizens ! do not forget it. Christians of all de nominations I — protestants have no right to celebrate even social worship ; they have no right to read the Bible with a pastor and their brethren in their own houses. Here we have the acts of Jesuits and the true spirit of Popery."* § 41. — In the canton of Lucerne, the Jesuits soon after obtained the passage of a law by which all the colleges, schools, and other institutions of learning were to be solely directed by them. "This was accomplished through the address of the cunning disciples of Loyala, in intriguing with the poor and ignorant peasantry in the remote parts of the canton. The intelligent and educated in habitants of Lucerne, the capital, and other cities, were very gene rally opposed to the influence of the Jesuits, and used their utmost eflforts to defeat the law. After passing the legislative body, the laws of the canton required an enactment of this description before it coijld go into operation, to be ratified by a numerical majority of the citizens. The city of Lucerne rejected the law consigning the education of their chiltfe-en to the absolute control of the Jesuits, by a majority of more than three to one. Yet, notwithstanding this, the influence of the Jesuits was such in the country places, that they obtained a majority of the citizens of the entire canton, and thus the iniquitous enactment became a law, and the Jesuits were constituted the only legal professors and teachers of the canton. ihe result of these proceedings was that thousands of the people arose in their might, and demanded the expulsion of the Jesuits Irom bwitzeriand. In the civil war which ensued, the Jesuit party were victorious. Many of the insurgents (as they were called) who had arisen m defence of their right to appoint their own in structors for their children were slain; many respectable citizens of Lucerne were imprisoned ; the freedom of the press was de stroyed ; the printing offices of two liberal journals at Lucerne were closed at the mstance of the Jesuits, and the editors forbidden hereafter to publish their papers. fol!f n^^i^'^'l"" "*/ h*^ P°P'* movement in Switzerland » in the Pro- testant Quarterly Review for Apri , ]845, chieflv taken fmn, t\!^.^^„lu pondence of the Rev. Professor GustavusdeKDD ffV.l^^^^^^^ European correspondent of the New York Observer ' '^' ^^^ ''''^^ CHAP, v.] POPERY IN ITS DOTAGE— A. D. 1685-1845. 641 ESbrts of the Pope and European papists to spread Popery in America. Sums for Romish missions It remains yet to be seen what will be the result of this contest, and whether in any of the Western States of our own America the efforts of the Jesuits (as active there as in Switzerland, though in a more secret manner) shall be attended with similar results. § 42. — It is the general opinion of enlightened and observing protestants that the influence of Romanism among the nations of continental Europe is gradually but surely diminishing, that the throne of the triple-crowned tyrant in Italy is tottering to its fall, and that the long reign of papal despotism, which has kept one of the most beautiful countries of the world at least two centuries be hind the age in the march of civilisation and improvement, is rapidly drawing to a close. It is shrewdly suspected that even the Pope and the cardinals are themselves aware of this fact, and while they feel the pillars of their Italian empire shaking around them, are anxiously looking abroad for a site to re-erect their throne in some other country, perhaps in another hemisphere, when they shall be compelled to fly from the ruins of that which they have so long occupied. Hence, it is easy to comprehend the motives for the herculean efforts recently put forth by the emissaries of Rome, and the vast sums of money that are sent from Europe, and poured forth like water in disseminating the doctrines of Popery and extending the dominions of the Pope, especially in the United States of America. As our lireiits will not permit extended comments upon the efforts of Romish missionaries in America, we must content ourselves with a few statistical facts. Besides the Propaganda at Rome, devoted to popish missions in all lands, there are two socie ties in Europe whose principal object is to reduce America to sub mission to the Pope, viz., the Leopold Foundation in Austria, and the Society of St. Charles Borromeo, in Lyons. The society at Lyons alone transmitted to the United States in 1840, $163,000, and in 1842, $177,000. The following is an extract from the annals of these societies of the appropriation of a portion of their funds to different missionary stations in America. The sums are stated in francs, about five to a dollar. Paid to Lazarists, for missions to Missouri and Illinois, the seminary and the college of St. Marie des Barriens, 7,000 fr. Outfit of missionaries who left in 1839 to join those missions, - - 9,333,30 To the JesMt/s, for missions in Missouri and New Orleans, - - 16,000 To the Jesuits in Kentucky, 6,000 i'j my4ord Eccleston, Archbishop of Baltimore, .... 7,327 To my lord Sarus, Bishop of Dubuque, .-.--. 62,627 To my lord Purcell, Bishop of Cincinnati, 39,827 To my lord Kenrick, Bishop of Philadelphia, 20,327 To my lord Fenwick, Bishop of Boston, 20,327 To my lord. Hughes, acting Bishop of New York, .... 831,50 To my lord Miles, Bishop of Nashville, 26,807 To my lord Fluget, Bishop of Bardstown, 21,409 To my lord Hailandiere, Bishop of Vincennes, .... - 65,827 To my lord Rasati, Bishop of St. Louis, 20,327 To my lord Blane, acting Bishop of Natchez, 10,827 To my lord England, Bishop of Charieston, . - - ' - 13,827 Outfit of missionaries to Detroit, ;; 4,000 341,823.80 642 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [boor IX. statistics of Popery in the United States. § 43. — Fifty years ago there was but one bishop, twenty-five priests, and a few scattered Romish churches in the United States ; now there are twenty-one bishops, more than seven hundred priests, and over a million of papists. The following table is taken from the Metropolitan Catholic Almanack and Laity's Directory for 1845, and is a general summary of the Romish Church in the United States. Dioceses. 9 9I s o S31: 1§ is H ll§.i' g S.es in0 ? it G a ft = 1 • 5 s i h 1 Q Cr ll' 1 1 £o Baltimore, ... New Orleans, . Louisville, - - Boston, - . . Philadelphia,New York, - - Charleston, - - Richmond, - - . Cincinnati, - . - 6946 40 3261 110 20 10 70 33 1212 40 13 35 41 2 38 10 18 32 2685 16 6 7560 15 6026 3031 30 9 33 16 6 68 4340 3134 49 96 1910 67 3110 15 33 12 8 6 24 2 20 7 9 16 37 11 24 33 72 1 10 29 26 2 5 1 31 1 11 2 3 11 11 56 10 9 30 20 1^19 26 7 19 3 8 4 1 3 1 4 1 11111 2 11 1 11 53 4 1 1 224 1 1 1 1 11 5 4 11 1 63 2 1 284 1 6 2 1 22 1 '2 27 6 4 1 4 16 6256 7 6 1 4 1 90,000 160,000 40,000 65,000 200,000 10,000 65,000 Mobile, - - - - Detroit, - - - Vincennes, - - - Dubuque, - - - 11,000 40,000 25,000 5,800 Pittsburg, - 30,000 Chicago, . - - Hartford - - - 50,000 MiLWAUKIE, - - Ap Vic Or T. 20,000 Dioc. 21, V. Ap. 1 675 592 572 137 22 220 26 28 63 94 811,800 To the above table is appended the remark that the aggregate population of the dioceses not marked, is probably about 260,000, making a total of 1,071,800 as the entire Romish population at pre sent in the United States. To show the probable increase of Roman ism in future years, which, by the way, is chiefly by immigration from popish countries in Europe, the following comparative statis tics of their increase in the past ten years are given from the same source. Dioceses, in 1835, 13 m 1840, 16 in 1845, 21 Bishops, " 14 C< 17 26 Churches, " 272 « 454 675 Priests, " 327 (C 482 " 709 Eccles. Seminaries. " 12 it 16 " 22 Colleges, " 9 ti 11 16 CHAP, v.] POPERY IN ITS DOTAGE— A. D. 1685-1846. 648 Designs of the Pope and his adherents in America. Plain svowal of a popish editor (note). During the same ten years the total number of Roman Catho- Rcs in the United States, like the number of churches, has more than doubled, and with the addition of at least 100,000 popish immigrants every year, there can be no doubt that it will double again in less than the same time. The ratio of increase of the whole population of the United States, is about 34 per cent, for ten years. §44. — There can be no doubt that the Pope and his adherents have formed the deliberate design of obtaining the ascendency in the United States. Popish priests and editors make no secret of this design, and expect its realization at no distant day.* The rapidity with which they are carrying forward their operations in the Western States may be gathered from the statistics of a single city. At the last census, St. Louis contained about 36,000 inhabitants, of whom probably 15,000 are papists, though the priests claim one half the population. From the St. Louis Directory, recently pub lished, we gather the following particulars, furnished by the priests themselves. They have, including the cathedral and the chapel of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, which is attached to the Convent, now built and building, seven churches, five of which are oL the largest size and * The following language of Orestes A. Brownson, who is just now a flaming Roman Catholic, in the number of his Quarterly Review for April, 1845, would be of very little consequence from the chamelion character of the writer or editor, who, it has 'justly been remarked, " is everythmg by turns, and nothing long to gether," were it not believed that the paragraphs relative to , the designs of Popery in Ai&!rica are pubhshed " under authority." " ' But would you have this country come under the authority of the Pope ?' Why not ? ' But the Pope would take away our free institutions !' Nonsense. But how do you know that ? From what do you infer it ? _ After all do you not commit a slight blunder ? Are your free institutions infallible ? Are they, founded ' on divine right ? This you deny. Is not the proper question for you to discuss, then, not whether the Papacy be or be not compatible with republican government,. but, whether it be or be not founded in divine right ? If the Papacy be founded m divine right, jt is supreme over whatever is founded only in human right, and then your institutions should be made to harmonize with it, not it with your insti tutions. . . . The real question, then, is, not the compatibility or incompatibility of the Catholic Church with Democratic institutions, but, is the Catholic Church the Church of God 3 Settle this question flrst. But, in point of fact, Democracy is a mischievous dream, wherever the Catholic Church does not predominate, to inspire the people with reverence, and to teach and accustom them to obedience to author ity. The first lesson for all to leam, the last that should be forg9tten, is, to obey. You can have no government where there is no obedience ; and obedience to law, as it is called, will not long be enforced, where the fallibility of law is clearly seen and freely admitted. ... But ' it is the intention of the Pope to possess this country.' Undoubtedly. ' In this intention he is aided by the Jesuits, and all the Catholic prelates and priests.' Undoubtedly, if they are faithful to their rcli^fion " After the above plain avowal and additional remarks in a similar strain, Mr. B. comes to the following conclusion :—" That the policy of the Church is dreaded and opposed, and must be dreaded and opposed, by all protestants, mfidels, dema- cogues, tyrants, and. oppressors, is also unquestionably true, bave, then, in the discharge of our civil duties, and in the ordinary business of life, there is, and CAN BE, NO HARMONT BETWEEN CATHOLICS AND PrOTESTANTS. 38 644 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [boox ix. Statistics of Popery in Great Britain and throughout the world. the most durable construction. They have a University contain ing one hundred and fifty students, under charge of the Jesuits ; an extensive hospital, and a Convent in charge of the Sisters of Charity. They have two large orphan asylums, also under the charge of the Sisters of Charity ; four free schools, two of them with five teachers each, one containing two hundred and fifty, and the other three hundred and fifty pupils, besides two female acade mies, under the care of the Ladies of the Visitation. § 45. — Extraordinary efforts have also recently been made for the propagation of Popery in Great Britain. The following statis tics of the Romish church in that kingdom are taken from the Catholic Directory for 1845 : — The total number of Roman Qatholic chapels in England is 601, in Wales 8, in Scotland 73 besides 27 stations where divine service is performed, making a grand total for Great Britain of 682. Of the chapels in England, there are in ancashire 98, in Yorkshire 58, Staffordshire 32, Middlesex 26, Northumberland 22, Warwickshire 22, Durham 17, Leicestershire 15, Cheshire 14, Hampshire, Somersetshire, and Worcestershire 13 each, Kent and Lincolnshire 12 each, and Cumberland, Derby, and Shropshire 9 each. Of the chapels in Scotland, there are in Invemesshire 17, in Banffshire and in Aberdeenshire 10. In England there are 10 Catholic colleges, in Scotland 1. In England there are 31 convents and 3 monasteries. The number of missionary priests in England is 666, in Scotland 91, making a grand total of 767. An intense excitement has, within the present year, been pro duced in England by a Parliamentary grant — produced chiefly through the agency of Sir Robert Peel — of a large endowment to Maynooth Roman Catholic college in Ireland, near Dublin, where about 450 students are preparing for the Romish priesthood. § 46. — The total number of the Roman Catholic population throughout the world at the present time is variously estimated from one to two hundred millions. The Metropolitan Catholic Almanac for 1844, gave the number of " the faithful," 160,842,424, though it is to be remembered the entire population of many papal countries are included, whatever may be . their religious views ; and it is well known that multitudes in Italy and elsewhere enumerated in the census of " the faithful." are infidels. The entire number of popish priests cannot be less than 600,000, probably more. Among these, according to the Catholic Almanac, are one Pope, 147 archbishops, 584 bishops, 71 vicars apostolical; 9 pre fects, 3 apostoMcals, and 3,267 missionary priests. If such are the strength and numbers of the Romish church at the present time, it may be asked, why we have entitled this closing portion of our history " Popery in its Dotage." To this we reply, that its apparent increase in some countries is more than counter balanced by its rapid decrease in others, as well in number as in influence and in power. The one hundred thousand annually swell ing) hy immigration, the Romish ranks in America, are only a trans fer of so many from the old and priest-ridden countries of Europe ; and if it is true that the foundations of the throne of the papal anti- CHAP, v.] POPERY IN ITS DOTAGE— A. D. 1686-1846. 645 Popery, upon the whole, gradually diminishing in influence aiul strength. It is in its Dotage. Christ are being laid, broad and deep, on these western shores, still it IS cause of joy and gratitude to the friends of truth, that in Europe that throne is tottering to its fall. The blows which Popery has received within a year past, in continental Europe, from the sturdy arms of John Ronge and his noble coadjutors in Germany, more than outweigh, in the estimate of its aggregate strength, its apparent and boasted successes in the western world ; and while it behoves America to be watchful against the advances of that dangerous and insidious power which is aiming to control her des tinies, still it is consoling to reflect that the strength and influence of the papal anti-Christ is, upon the whole, gradually yet certainly diminishing ; and that it has been growing weaker and weaker, with each succeeding century, from the time when a Gregory, an Innocent, or a Boniface, by the force of their spiritual thunders, hurled monarchs from their thrones, or an Alexander VI., by a single dash of his pen, granted to the Catholic king of Spain the whole continent of America, North and South, and all beyond " a line drawn a hundred leagues west of the Azores, and extending from the South to the North Pole."* Most heartily, then, do we again join in the eloquent words of Hallam : — " A calm, comprehensive study of ecclesiastical history, not m such scraps and fragments as the ordinary partisans of our ephemeral literature obtrude upon us, is perhaps the best antidote to extravagant apprehensions. Those who know what Rome has ONCE BEEN, AEE BEST ABLE TO APPRECIATE WHAT SHE IS ; THOSE WHO HAVE SEEN THE THUNDERBOLT IN THE HANDS OF THE GrEGORIES ANH •4he Innocents, will hardly be intimidated at the sallies of DECREPITUDE, THE IMPOTENT. DART OF PrIAM AMID THJB CRACKLING EUINS OP Troy !"t Yes ! in spite of its spasmodic efforts for enlargement. Popery is m its dotage ! It is not, and never again can be, what it once was ; and compared with the Popery of the middle ages, notwithstanding its boasted and frequently exaggerated numbers, it is a Pigmy compared with a Giant. Popery is in its dotage ! and therefore all its struggles to regain its former power shall prove only like the convulsive throes of a dying man ; for, sure as the unerring word of prophecy, anti-Christ is destined to fall, and the signs of the times indicate that the day cannot be very far distant, when the shout of joy and exultation shall be heard — " Babylon the Great is fallen, IS FALLEN !" Let the Protestants of the present age only be vigilant, active, persevering and prayerful ! let them sleep not while the enemy is sowing his tares, and some of their children may yet live to see the day when the Romish Babylon shall be destroyed, and to join in the shout of triumph which shall burst from a disenthralled and regenerated world over its final downfall and destruction ! * See Irving's Life and Voyages of Columbus, book v., chap. 8, ei supra, 428. t Hallam's Middle Ages, page 304, et supra, 355. 646 CONCLUDING REMARKS. § 47. — Thus have we, at length, arrived at the close of our long journey of sixteen or seventeen centuries, from the dawn of papal corruptions down to the present time. The result of our examin ation is the solemn conviction — strengthened the more attentively we study the subject — that the Romish, so far from being the true church, is the bitterest foe of all true churches of Christ — that she possesses no claim to be called a Christian church — but, with the long line of corrupt and wicked men who have worn her triple crown, that she is ANTI-CHRIST ; — the original of that apostate power whose character was sketched eighteen hundred years ago by the pen of inspiration, " whose coming is after the working of Satan, with all deceivableness of unrighteousness," and " whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and destroy with the brightness of his coming." (2 Thess. ii., 8-10.) If this is so, if Popery is not Christianity, but a system of cor ruption, error, and falsehood, that has usurped that venerable name, then it is evident that Christianity is not chargeable with the atro cious vices and horrible cruelties of which her corrupt and wicked hierarchy have been guilty through so many centuries, of perse cution, of shame, of pollution and guilt, and^ the history of which has been given in the preceding pages. Let not the infidel, therefore, after perusing the detail of the enormities of anti-Christian Rome, close tne book with a scowl of contempt at the New Testament, and say — " this then is your Christianity." No! Popery is not Christianity; it is not the re ligion of the New Testament ; it is as far from it as light from darkness, as heaven from hell, as Christ from anti-Christ. And it would be just as rational to brand Christianity with the cruelties and enormities of the idol temples of Juggernaut or of Kalee, or with the atrocities of the infidel actors in the French revolution, as to lay at the door of the religion of HIM who was meek and lowly in heart, and who came not to destroy men's lives, but to save them — the crimes, the murders, the burnings, the massacres, the obscenities, the impostures, the lying wonders — which have marked the career of apostate Rome, at every stage of her pol luted and blood-stained history. If Popery were a just exhibition of Christianity, it would be a religion unworthy of a Being of infinite holiness, purity, and be nevolence, and were it not that prophecy has foretold its history and described its character, the existence of such a system for so many centuries under the name of Christianity, would be the strongest prop of Infidelity. This difficulty, however, immediately vanishes, and Popery is transformed into an eloquent argument for the truth of the bible when we remember that its whole history and character are fully delineated in the prophetical scriptures ; that CHAT, v.] POPERY IN ITS DOTAGE— A. D. 1685-1845. 647 Men who have advocated the identity of Rome with antl-Christ. Can a Roman Catholic be saved 1 it is that great anti-Christian power, described by Daniel, in his seventh chapter (verse 25), under the emblem of a httle horn, as " wearing out the saints of the Most High ;" by John in the Revelations, as a beast " making war with saints," and " open ing his mouth in blasphemy against God" (xiii., 5, 6, 7), and as " Babylon the great, mother of harlots, and abominations of the earth," " a woman drunken with the blood of the saints and the martyrs of Jesus" (xvii., 5, 6), and by Paul in his first epistle to Timothy as " a departure from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils (iv., 1), and in his second epistle to Thessalonians as " a falling away," or apostasy, as the revelation of that '' Man of Sin," that " Son of perdition who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God or is worshipped" (u., 3, 4). In these prophetic scriptures, the character of the papal anti-Christ is drawn, with an unerring precision, which is sufficient alone to prove that these holy men, Daniel, Paul and John, " spake as they were inspired by the Holy Ghost." This identity of papal Rome with anti-Christ was maintained by Luther, Melancthon, Calvin, and all the continenta:l reformers ; by Latimer, Ridley, Cranmer, and all the British reformers : by the illustrious Sfr Isaac Newton, Mede, Whiston, Bishop Newton, Lowth, Daubuz, Jurieu, Vitringa, Bedell, and a host of equally pious, illustrious and learned names. The same testimony has been borne in the authorized doctrinal standards of the Episcopal, Pres byterian, Lutheran, Methodist, Baptist, and other churches both of Europe and America. The same doctrine is still taught in the theo logical school of Geneva by the illustrious D'Aubigne and Gaussen, and with but here and there a solitary exception, by all the most learned professors and clergymen of the present day, connected with the various evangelical denominations of protestant Christians. § 48. — Here the inquiry naturally presents itself, ' if the Romish is not a true church of Christ, but only an apostate anti-Christian power, is it possible for any one to be saved who dies in her com munion V To this we reply, that the salvation of a man depends not upon what visible Church, whether true or false, he is connected with, but upon the question, whether he has been " bom again" (John iii., 3), whether he has truly repented of his sins before God (Luke xiii., 3), and believed on the Lord Jesus Christ (Acts xvi., 31 ; John iii., 16, 36). If any man be thus reconciled to God through faith in Christ,' he is a " new creature ; old things are passed away ; behold, all things are become new" (2 Cor. v., 17) ; and he who is thus called and justified shall most assuredly be glorified (Rom. vm., 30), what ever visible church he belong to, or if he belong to none at all. It is not the connection with any particular church that saves a man (thouffh it is the duty of every converted man to become a member of a church of Christ), but it is his union to the Lord Jesus Christ by a sanctifying and saving faith ; and if this is wanting, then ali the confessions? and absolutions, and indulgences and extrenie unc tions of a priest can confer no benefit ; but if he possesses this sav- 648 HISTORY OF ROMANISM. [book ix Some of God's believing people probably in Babylon. All exhorted to come out of her. ing faith in Christ, then while these popish practices can do him not a particle of good, they shall not avail to shut him out of heaven. The great danger of these popish observances is, that they have led thousands and tens of thousands to trust not in the atonement and righteousness of Christ, but in them for salvation, while the ab solute necessity of the new birth, and the new heart and the new life (" hid with Christ in God") has been kept out of sight, till it was too late ; and thus are the skirts of the Romish priesthood covered all over with the blood of the thousands and tens of thousands whom they have led blindfolded to hell. Still it is a thought calculated to relieve in some degree the pain ful feelings produced by this bitter reflection, to remember that a Fenelon, a Kempis, a Pascal, a Bourdaloue, and perhaps thousands more who once held an external connection with the church of Rome, have, in spite of such connection, and the hindrance it offers to that personal application to and reliance on Christ, without which none can be saved, become penitent believers in Jesus, and are now in glory. O it is pleasing to hope that many a poor monk, like Luther in his monastery at Erfurth, may have found out, within the walls of his solitary cell, that " the just shall live by faith," and that salvation is to be obtained, not by pilgrimages, and penances, and indulgences and extreme unction, but through faith in the blood and righteousness of Christ ; and thus discovered the way to heaven, though he may never have renounced his external connec tion with Rome. That there may be some, even in the Romish Babylon, who are the " children of God by faith in Jesus Christ" (Gal. iii., 26), seems to be intimated by the warning cry, " Come out of her, my people !" If there were none of God's people in Babylon, they could hardly be called upon to come out of her. To such, therefore, in the com munion of Rome, who, though (like Luther in the sixteenth, and Ronge in the nineteenth century,) nominally connected with the Romish Babylon, have discovered her errors and mourned over her corruptions, I would say. Come out of her ! like Luther and the thousands of holy men who have trodden in his footsteps. Come out of her ! — if you would not be instrumental, by your influence and example, in leading souls from Christ to trust for salvation ia the foohsh mummeries of Popery which your souls despise — Come out of her ! finally, if you would escape the calamities which pro phecy declares are yet to fall upon her, hear the voice from heaven (Rev. xviii., 4, 5), which says — Come out of her, my people ! that YE be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues ; for her sins have reached unto heaven, and God HATH remembered HER INIQUITIES ! FINIS. CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE of popes, GENERAL COUNCILS, AND REMARKABLE EVENTS IN THE HISTORY OF ROMANISM. In &e following table, the list of ihe bishops of Rome up io 606, and thejpopes after that (taken chiefly from Bower), is printed in capitals with a cross ¦)¦ ; the kings of England, after the conquest, with an asterisk * : and other famous sovereigns in th^same characters, without any mark. In reference io ihe General CotmciLs, it is well known that Romanists are divided among themselves, into fiercely contending sects and parties, as io which of the couru:ils possess a claim to that character. In compiling the complete list of the General Councils embodied in the following table, we have adopted the most popu lar and generally received list among Romanists, as given by Father Gahan itt his popular manual of Roman Catholic Church History; At the same time, we have mentioned some other Councils which have, by some Romish authors, been regarded as General. 65. Martyrdom of the apexes Peter and Paul. /Tote. — Pkter is asserted by Rom.inists to have been the first Pope of Rome. Of this, how ever, there is not a particle of evidence. Dif ferent and opposing lists are given of his sup posed immediate successors, which have been mentioned in this work (page 48. note), but as Bomish writers disagree among themselves, we shall commence our chronological catalogue of the bishops of Rome, with Victor, who ia the first of whom anytiiing of importance is cer tainly iuiown. The names previous to Victor, generatly inserted in the catalogues by apos tolic sueeessionistSy sometimes in one order and sometimes in another, are Linus, Cletus, or Anacletus (sometime^ one and sometimes two persons), Clement, Evaristus, Alexander, Six tus, Telesphorus, Hyginus, Pius, Anicetus, So- ter, and Eientherius. 100. Death of ttie apostle John, the last of the apostles. 192. t VICTOR, bishop of Rome. In the dispute with the eastern Christians about the time of observing Easter, Victor excluded them from fellowship with the church of Rome. This is the first instance on record of this kind of Romish tyranny and assumption. His excom munication of the eastern Christians was re garded by them as of no authority whatever. (See p. 33.) 201. tZEPHYRINUS. 219. t CALIXTUS. 223. tURBANUS. 230. tPONTIANUS. 235. t ANTERIUS. 236. tFABIANUS. 250. Paul the hermit, during the persecution of Decius, betakes himself to the deserts of Egypt, where he lives for upwards of 90 years. 251. t CORNELIUS. 252. t LUCIUS. 853. t STEPHEN. 256. Council of Carthago relative to the baptism of heretics. St. Cyprian excommunicated by Stephen, bishop of Rome, for deciding con trary to hia opinion in this council. Hrs ex communication regarded as of no authonty. which is a proof that papal supremacy was not yet establishsd 257. t SIXTUS II. 258. Martyrdom of Cyprian, bishop of Carthage. 259. t DIONYSIUS. 269. t FELIX. 270. About this tim%, Anthony, an Egyptian, the founder of Monasticism, retires to the deserts, where lie continued till his death in 356, at the age of 105. 275. t'EUTYCHIANUS. 283. tCAIUS. 296. t MARCELLINUS. 308. t MARCELLUS. 310. tEUSEBroS. 311. tMELCHlADES. 312. Supposed miraculous conversion of the em peror Constantine. He talies Christianity un der the patronage of the State. 314. t SYLVESTER. 314. Ministers forbidden to marry after ordination at the council of Ancyra. 325. First General Councii. at J^icc. Arian- ism condemned, and the Nicene creed framed. 336. t MARK. 337. t JULIUS 347. Council of Sardis allows of appeals to Rome. One of the first steps toward papal supremacy. 352. t LIBERIUS. 356. Death of Anthony the hermit, nged 105. 363. Attempt of Julian the apostate to rebuild the temple at Jerusalem frustrated. 366. DAMASUS. Bloody contest between Da masus and Ursicinus, his rival competitor for the See of Rome. 137 persons killed in the church itself. 372. Law of Valentinian, empowering the bishops of Rome to judge other bishops. 381. Second General Oookch., first of Cm- stantinople. The distinct personality and deity of the Holy Spirit declared, in opposluon to the tenets of Macedonius. 650 CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE 384. t SIRICIUS. The first bishop of Rome who issued decrees enjoining celibacy on the clergy. 386. St. Ambrose professes miraculously to dis cover the bodies of two saints, as he could not consecrate the church at Milan without relics. 395. Jerome translates the bible into the Latin Vulgate. 398. t ANASTASIUS. 402. t INNOCENT. 410. Rome besieged and sacked by Alaric, king of the Goths. 417. t ZOSIMUS. 417. Appeal of Apiarius, a presbyter of Africa, to Zosimus, bishop of Rome. The decree of Zosimus in his favor rejected by the African bishops, and their own independence asserted, proving that papal supremacy was not yet es- tablij^hed. 419. 1 BONIFACE. 422. t CELESTINE 430. Death of Augustine, bishop of Hippo. 431. Third General Codncil, at Ephesus, con demns Nestorius for refusing to apply to the Virgin Mary, the title of '¦ Mother of God." The result of this controversy contributes much toward originating the idolatrous worship of the Virgin. Opinions of Pelagius also con demned. 432. t SIXTUS m. 440, fLEO THE GREAT. 451. Fourth General Council at Chalcedon. The opinions of Eutyches condemned, relative to the nature of Christ. This council decrees the same rights and honors to the bishop of Constantinople as to the bishop of Rome. 4^. Leo, bishop of Rome, visits the camp of the ferocious Attita, king of the Huns, and pre vails upon him to retire fiom Italy. 454. Rome taken and pillaged by Genseric, king of the Vandals. * 461. tHILARIUS. 461. Death of Symeon Stylites, the pillar saint, aged 69, after spending 47 years on tops of dif ferent columns ; the last of which was 60 feet high. 467. tSIMPLIClUS. 476. End of the Western empire. Augustulus de posed Emd banished by Odoacer, the Gothic conqueror, king of the Heruli. 483. i" FELIX IL 492. tGELASIUS. 496. t ANASTASIUS IL 496. Dec. 25, Clovis, king of the Franks, baptized with 3000 of his subjects. 498. t SYMMACHUS. 500. Fierce and bloody schism at Rome between the rival bishops Symmachus and Laurentius. 514. tHORMlSDAS. 523. tJOHN. 526. t FELIX. 529. Benedict founds the order of Benedictine monks, and builds his monastery on Mount Cassino. The monks of Clugni, the Carthu sians, the Cistercians, and the Celestines, es tablished in after ages, were regarded as dif ferent branches of the Benedictine order. 530. t FONIFACE IL Another disgraceful schism at Rome between Boniface II. and Di oscurus. 532. t JOHN IL 535. t AGAPETUS. 536. tSILVERIUS. 537. t VIGILIUS, who succeeds Silverius, after intriguing with the Emperor to drive him from hiB See. 553. Fifth General Council, second of CW stantinople. The opinions of Origen coa- dcmned. 555. t PELAGIUS. 560. tJOHN ILL 574. t BENEDICT. 578. t PELAGIUS IL 590. t GREGORY THE GREAT. 591. Gregory strenuously opposes the title of Universal Bishop, which had been assumed by the bishop of Constantinople, and pro nounces him who accepts it to have the pride and character of ami- Christ. In opposition to it, hypocritically adopts for himself the title ' Servus Servorum Dei * — " Servant of the ser vants of God." 596. Augustin the monk lands in Kent, England, as a missionary from Rome Ten thousand baptized on Christmas day. 601. Gregory orders that images should be used in churches, but not worshipped. 602. Phocas, a centurion, cruelly murdera the em peror Mauritius, his wife and children, and usurps his throne 605. tSABINIAN. 606. t POPE BONIFACE IIL EPOCH OF THE PAPAL SUPREMACY. Birth of Popery pro per. Boniface obtains from the tyrant and murderer Phocas The title of Universal Bishop, and the Pope is thus proved to be anti-Christ, Saint Gregory being witness. Boniface, properly speaking, was (Ae first of the popes. 608. t BONIFACE IV, 615. tDEUSDEDIT. 619. t BONIFACE V. 622. Era of the Hegira, or flight of Mahomet from Mecca to Medina. 625. t HONORIUS. 634. Commencement of the Monothelite contro versy. 636. Jerusalem taken by the Saracens under Omar, who retain it 429 years, till taken by the Turks in 1065. 638. t SEVERINUS. 640. t JOHN TV. 642. t THEODORE. 649. t MARTIN, who was banished by the em peror Constans II. to Tauri^ca ChersonesuB, where he died. 656. t EUGENIUS. 657. t VITALIANUS. 667. The Pope by his sole authority appoints Theo dore, archbishop of Canterbury, who is de tained three months at Rome to have his head shaved with the Romish tonsure. 672. t ADEODATUS. 676. fDONUS. 678. t AGATHO. 680. Sixth General Council, third of Constan tinople, condemns Monothelitism and anathe . matizes pope Honorius for heresy. 062. t LEO II. 684. t BENEDICT IL, who obtains a decree from the emperor Constantine IV., permitting the election of popes without imperial con firmation. Revoked by Justinian two yeara after. 685. tJOHN V. 686. tCONON. 687. t SERGIUS. 692. The council at Constantipiople called Q«ini- sezt, because regarded as supplementary to the fifth and sixth general councils. Causes great contention between the East and West. CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE. 651 701. tJOHN VL 715. tJOHN VIL 708. tSISINNIUS. 708. t CONSTANTINE. 710. The emperor Justinian kisses the feet of pope Constantine, while on a visit to Constantinople. Supposed to be the origin of the custom of kissing the Pope's feet. 715. t GREGORY IL 726. Commencement of the great controversy on image worship. The emperor Leo issues his first decree against image-worship 730. Leo's second decree enjoining the removal or destruction of images, occasions tumults at Constantinople and Rome. 732. t GREGORY IIL 734. The Emperor sends a fleet against the re fractory Romans, which is lost at sea. 740. Luitprand, king of the Lombards, invades and lays waste the papal territories, and the Pnpe applies fur help to Charles Martel, mayor of the palace in France. 741. Death of the emperor Leo, the great opposer, and pope Gr^ory, the great advocate of image worship, and also of Charles Martel, all in the same year. 74L t ZACHARY. 751. PEPIN of France, son of Martel, encouraged by pope Zachary^ dethrones king Childeric III. of France, and usurps his place. 752. t STEPHEN O. 754. Council at Constantinople, called by the em peror Constantine V., condemns image-wor ship. The Greek church claims this as the seventh general council. The Romish church denies it. 756. EPOCH OF THE POPES' TEMPORAL SOVEREIGNTY. Pepin of France compels Aistulphus, king of the Lombards, to yield up the exarchate of Ravenna, to the See of Rome, which thus becomes a temporal monarchy. 757. tPAUL. 767. t STEPHEN m. 772. t ADRIAN. 772. CHARLEMAGNE of France, son of Pepin. 774. Charlemagne visits Rome, and confirms and enlarges the donation of Pepin. 781. Charlemagne visits Rome a second time, and causes his son Carloman to be crowned king of Lombardy, and Lewis, king of Aquitaine. 787. Seventh General Council. The infamous empress Irene convenes the second council of Jtiee, called by the Latins the seventh general eouncU, which establishes th* worship of images. 794. The body of Albanus, the proto-martyr of Britain, said to be revealed to Offa, king of Mercia, who build St. Alban's monastery. 795. tLEO in. 800. Charlemagne crowned euferor of the RossANs by pope Leo, at Rome- 817. t PASCHAL. 894. t EUGENIUS H. 827. t VALENTINE. 827. * EGBERT of England, who unites the se ven kingdoms of the Saxon Heptarchy into one kingdom. 828. t GREGORY IV. 831. Paschasius Radbert, the inventor of Transub stantiation, publishes his treatise on that sub ject 844. t SERGIUS IL This pope changed his original name of Os Porci, upon the pretext of imitating the Saviour, who altered Simon to Peter. Thi^ is the origin of the custom that bas ever since been followed of every pope assuming a new appellative after his election. 1 847. Rnbnnus Maurus writes in opposition to Pna chusius, against tho newly-invented doctrinc of Transubstantiation. 855. t BENEDICT IIL 858. t NICHOLAS. 863. t Fatal schism betioeen the Lati7t and the Oreek churches. Pope Nicliolas e.Ycoinmuni- caies Photius, who had been appointed patri arch of Constantinople by the emperor Michael, in the placuof Ignatius, upon the appeal of the laittT to Nicholas. The e.vcimmmiii cation is disregarded, and Photius in his turn excommu nicates the Pope. 867. t ADRIAN II. 869. Eighth General Council, the fourth qf Constantinople. At this council the legates of pope Adrian presided ; Photius, the patriarch of Constantinople, was deposed, and the ban* ished patriarch Ignatius appointed in his stead, who had been recalled from his exile by the emperor Basil, the murderer of his predecessor. This proceeding partially healed the schism between the Latin and Greek churches. 872. t JOHN VIIL 872. * ALFRED THE GREAT, of England. 875. CHARLESTHEBALD.grandson of Charle magne, after a fierce contest with other de scendants of Charlemagne, crowned Emperor al Rome on Christmas day, by pope John VIIL, who was rewarded by Charles with many costly presents. From this time, the popes claimed the right of confirming the election of the emperors. 882. tMARINUS. 884. 1 ADRIAN III. 885. t STEPHEN V. 891. t FORMOSUS. 896. t BONIFACE VL 896. t STEPHEN VE. 897. t ROMANUS. 898. t THEODORE IL 898. t JOHN IX. 900. t BENEDICT tV 903. tLEO V. 903. t CHRISTOPHER. 904. t SERGIUS III. At this time a nctorioui prostitute named Theodora and her two equal ly infamous daughters, Theodora and Marozia, ruled at Rome, and appointed popes by their influence. Pope Sergius had a bastard son by Marozia, who was afterward made popo t John XI.), through the influence of his mother. 911. t ANASTASIUS IU 913. t LANDO. 914. tJOHN X. 929. tLEO VL 929. t STEPHEN VU. 931. JOHN XL He was the bastard son of the harlot Marozia, by pope Sergius III. 936. t LEO VII. 939. t STEPHEN VIIL 941. Dunstan, the English monk, made abbot of Glastonbury. 942. fMARINUS IL 946. t AGAPETUS U. 956. tJOHN xn. 960. Dunstan made archbishop of Canterbury. 963. tLEO vm. 965. t JOHN XIII. 968. Custom of baptizing bells introduced by popo John XTII., who places a new bell in the Late ran, which he baptizes by the name of John. 969. A commission granted by king Edgar ts Dunstan against the married clergy of Englatd. 972. t BENEDICT VL 652 CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE. 974. fDONUS IL 975. t BENEDICT VIL 984. tJOHN XIV. 985. jJOHN XV. 988.' Death of Saint Dunstan. 993. Pope John XV. canonizes Saint Udalric. This is the first time a pope exercised alone the prerogative of saint-making. In this year the feast of All Souls was established, through the influence of Odilo, abbot of Clugni. 996. t GREGORY V. 999. t SILVESTER IL 1000. About this time a wide-spread panic pre vailed relative to the expected conflagration of the earth. 1003. tJOHN XVIL 1003. tJOHN XVIIL 1009. t SERGIUS IV. 1012. t BENEDICT VHL 1024. fJOHN XIX. 1033. t BENEDICT IX. 1045. Berenger of Tours publicly opposes Transub stantiation. 1045. t GREGORY VL 1046. t CLEMENT VL 1047. t DAMASUS II. 1048. fLEO IX. 1054. The schism between the Greek and Latin churches made irreparable. Vehement dispute between the patriarch Michael Cerularius and pope Leo IX. Three papal legates sent to Constantinople, who, before their return, pub licly excommunicate Cerularius and alt his ad herents ; who afterward excommunicates the legates and their followers, and bums the act of excommunication they had pronounced against the Greeks. 1055. t VICTOR IL The monk Hildebrand, after ward pope Gregory VIL, empowered to go to Germany, and select a pope. Nominates Vic tor II., who is chosen. 1056. HENRY IV., emperor of Germany. lOSr. t STli;PHEN IX. 1058. T BENEDICT X. 1058. t NICHOLAS II. 1659. Origin of the college of Cardinals. Pope Nicholas issues a decree confining the elec tion of future popes to the college of Cardinals, and granting to the great body of the clergy and the Roman people, who had heretofore had a vote in the elections, only a negative power. This negative power was annulled a century later under pope Alexander III. 1061. t ALEXANDER IL 1065. Jerusalem taken by the Turks from the Sara cens. 1066. * WILLIAM THE CONaUEROR. Con quest of England, under the sanction of the Pope, by William of Normandy. 1073. t GREGORY VIL, or HILDEBRAND. 1075. Commencement of the controversy between the Pope and the Emperor relative to investi tures of bishops. 1077. The emperor Henry IV. excommunicated and deposed by pope Gregory VIL, and his subjects absolved from their ailegiance. Sub mits to the Pope, and stands three days in the court of the Pope's palace before admitted to his presence. 1078. Berenger compelled to renounce his opinions against Transubstantiation. 1086. t VICTOR III. }087. * WILLIAM IL (Rufus) of England. 1088. t URBAN II. 1088 Berenger dies persisting in his opinions against Transubstantiation, and bitterly repenting hie dissimulation. 1091. Under pope Urban, the ceremony of sprink ling the forehead with ashes on Auh- Wednes day is established, in a council at Benevento. 1095. First invention of rosaries to pray by. 1095. Crusades to the Holy Land resolved on in the council of Clermont, under pope Urban. First Crusade under Peter the hermit. 1098. Council at Rome, in which pope Urban ar gues against clerical homage to kings, because to priests it is granted "to create God, the Creator of all things." 1099. t PASCHAL IL 1099. Jerusalem taken by the Crusaders. 1100. * HENRY I., of England. 1109. Death of Anselm, archbishop of Canterbury, after a fierce contest with king Henry, who la in no haste to appoint a successor. 1113. Knights of John of Jerusalem associated. 1118. tGELASIUS IL 1118. Order of Knights Templars formed. 1119. t CALIXTUS II. 1122. Ninth General Council. First in the Lateran palace at Rome chiefly on the subject of investitures. Plenary indulgence granted to crusaders to Palestine. 1124. t HONORIUS II. 1126. The Pope grants a commission to his legate, cardinal Crema, against the married clergy of England, who is himself detected in the gross est licentiousness, the night after the nationai council. 1130. t INNOCENT IL 1135. * STEPHEN (of Blois), king of England. 1139. Tenth General Council, second of Late ran, relative to a schism in the papacy, caused by the claims of Peter Leo, called by his ad herents Anacletus II. The doctrines of Arnold of Brescia condemned, who had maintained that the Pope and the priesthood should only possess a spiritual authority, and be supported by the voluntary offerings of the people. 1143. t CELESTINE n. 1144. t LUCIUS IL 1115. t EUGENIUS m. 1147. Second crusade, excited by St. Beraard. 1152. FREDERICK (Barbarossa), of Germany. 1152. Gratian's papal decretals collected. 1153. t ANASTASIUS IV. 1154. t ADRIAN IV. 1154. * HENRY IL (Plantagenet), king of England. 1155. Arnold of Brescia burnt. 1155. King Henry receives Ireland as a. gift from pope«Adrian. Commencement of the contest between the popes and the emperor Frederick Barbarossa. 1159. t ALEXANDER HL 1159. Thirty dissenters from Popery are persecuted to death in England. First instances of death for heresy in that country. 1159. Peter Waldo preaches against the corruptions of Popery. 1161. Kings Henry II. of England, and Louis VII. of Prance, lead together the Pope's horse at the castle of Toici on the Loire. 1163. Beginning of the dispute between the king of England and Thomas a Becket. 1171. Murder of Becket, who is soon after canon ized. 1177. Frederick Barbarossa leads the Pope's mule through St. Marks Square. 1179. Eleventh General Council, third of Lateran. Pope Alexander issues a violent and cruel edict against the Albigenses, or Wair CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE. 653 denses. At this council it was ordained that a two-thirds vote of the cardinals should in fti ture be necessary to the election of a pope. 1181. t LUCIUS m. 1184. Pope Lucius issues a cruel edict against the Waldensian heretics. 1185. t URBAN ni. 1187. t GREGORY VIIL 1187. Jerusalem re-taken by Saladin. 1188. t CLEMENT m. 1189. * RICHARD II. (Cmur de Lion), of England. 1189. Third crusade^ under king Richard of Eng land, and Philip Augustus of France. 1191. t CELESTINE III. 1192. Battle of Ascalon. Saladin defeated by Richard, Cceur de Lion. 1198. t INNOCENT HI. 1198. Pope Innocent sends his orders to king Rich- aid of England, and the archbishop of Can- teibury, to demolish the works of an episcopal palace commenced at Lambeth, which they re- %\ luctantly obeyed in the January and February following. With this year the Annals of Baronius close, and the Annals of Raynaldus commence. 1199. *JOHN of England. 1202. JHmrtA crusade sets out from Venice. 1207. Pope Innocent and his legate excommunicate count Raimond of Thoulouse for refusing to exterminate his heretical subjects. Compels a few monks at Rome to choose Langton arch bishop of Canterbury. Commencement of the Mendicant orders, the Dominicans and Fran ciscans. 1208. In consequence of king John's opposition to Langton, the Pope lays England imder on in terdict. 1209. Otho crowned Emperor at Rome, after tak ing an oath of allegiance to the Pope. Cru sade against the Albigenses in France com menced. Destruction of Beziers, &c. 1211. King John excommunicated. ^ 9vaur taken by the bloody Montfort and the crusaders in France, and the inhabitants burnt for heresy. 1212. FREDERICK IL. of Germany. 1213. King John's disgraceful submission to Pan dulph, the Pope's Legate. Yields up his king dom, and receives it back as a vassal of the Pope. 1215. Twelfth General Council, fourth of Lateran. Transubstantiation first declared an article of faith. Auricular confession to a priest enjoined at least once a year- Decree of pope Innocent III. passed for the persecu tion of heretics, and enjoining upon all princes the duty of extirpating them out of their do minions. In the same council, Innocent ex communicated the barons of England, for their opposition to his now faithftU vassal, king John. 1215. Magna Charta, the great charter of English liberty, extorted by the barons of England from king John, who signs it at Runnymede. 1216. * HENRY III , of England. 1216. t HONORIUS IIL 1227. t GREGORY IX. 1228. The emperor Frederick makes an expedition to Palestine, and the Pope invades his do minions in his absence. 1233. The Inguisitiim established, and committed to the charge of the Dominicans. 1239. Frederick is publicly and solemnly excommu nicated on account of his quarrel with pope Gregory. 1241. t CELESTINE TV. 1243, t INNOCENT IV. 1245. Thirteenth General Council, ffirst of Lyons. The emperor Frcdetick deposed by pope Innocent IV. Tho Cardinals flrst dis tinguished in this council by the red hat. 1248. Fifth crusade, under St. Louis of Fronce. 1250. Frederick II. dies after a long and successful opposition both to the temporal and spiritual weapons of the Pope. 1254. t ALEXANDER IV. 1261, t URBAN IV. 1264. The festival of Corpus Christi, or body of Christ, in which the consecrated wafer is car ried about in procession, instituted by pop* Urban IV. 1265. t CLEMENT IX. 1265. Charles of Anjou, at the invitation of the Pope, invades Sicily; kills Manfred, son of Frederick IL, the head of the Ghibeline party, and usurps his throne. 1268. t GREGORY X. 1272. * EDWARD I., of England. 1274, Fourteenth General Council. Second of Lyons. To consider the re-union of the Greek and Latin churches, and the state of the Christians in Palestine. Election of popes in conclave decreed. 1276. t INNOCENT V, 1276. t ADRIAN V. 1377. t NICHOLAS IU. 1278. Pope Nichotos III. obtains from the emperor Rudolph of Hapsburg, a deed of the mdepend- ence of the Papal States on the Empire. 1280. t MARTIN IV. ^ 1281. Pope Martin excommunicates the emperor of Constantinople. 1282. The Sicilian vespers, a massacre in which more than 4000 French were destroyed in Sicily. , 1285. t HONORIUS FY. 1288. t NICHOLAS IV. 1292. t CELESTINE V., the hermit. 1294. t BONIFACE VIIL This haughty and ty rannical man ascends the papal throne after persuading the simple-minded Celestine to re sign. 1298. OTTOMAN, or OTHMAN, the founder and first Sultan of the Turkish empire. 1300. Establishment of the Romish Jubilee. A vast multitude at the Jubilee of Boniface at Rome. Commencement of the quarrel be tween pope Boniface and Philip the Fair of France. Boniface issues his famous bull Unam Sanctam. 1303. t BENEDICT XI. 1304. t CLEMENT V. 1305. Commencement of the residence of the popes at Avignon in France, frequently called by the Romans the seventy years captivity in Babylon. 1307. * EDWARD H- 1309. Fifteenth General Council, at Vienne, in France. The order of Knights Templars suppressed, and many of them cruelly tortured and stain upon most absurd charges. 1314 t JOHN XXII. 1324, Birth of the English Reformer, John Wick liff, the morning star of the Reformation. 1327. * EDWARD IIL 1334. t BENEDICT XII 1342. t CLEMENT VL, who reduces the tunc of the Jubilee to once in 50 years. 1347. Suppression of the Flagellants, or aelf-whfp pers, on account of their sensuality. 1350. Celebrated Jubilee of Clement VL at Rome. 1352. t INNOCENT VL 1362. t URBAN V. 654 CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE. I37L tGREGORY XL 1373. Birth of John Hubs, the Bohemian reformer and martyr. 1374. Pope Gregory XL, at the persuasions of Saint Catherine of Sienna, removes his court from Avignon to Rome. End of the seventy years^ captivity. 1377. * RICHARD IL 1378. *URBAN VL Tumult of the populace at Rome for an Italian pope, in consequence of which Urban VI. is elected. The cardinals retire to Fondi, and elect another ^)ope, the cardinal of Geneva, known as Clement VIL This is the origin of the Great Western Schism, which continued till the election of Martin V. by the council of Constance, A. D. 1417. John Wickliff writes his work " on the Schism of the Popes." 1383. Wickliff completes his translation of the New Testament. 1384. Wickliff dies, and is buried in the chancel of his church at Lutterworth. 1389. t BONIFACE IX. 1399. * HENRY IV. 1400. Cruel outrage of the papists upon the V\ al- denses in the valley of Pragela. 1404. t INNOCENT VU. 1406. t GREGORY XII. 1409. t ALEXANDER V. 1409. Council of Pisa, called by some writers the Sixteenth General Council, assembles to heal the papal Schism, but only makes it worse by electing a third pope, known as Alexander V. There were now three rival popes, cursing and excommunicating each other. 1410. tJOHN XXIIL 1410. John Huss excommunicated by the Pope. 1413. * HENRY V. of England. ¦ 1414-1418. Sixteenth General Council, atCiin- stance, which condemns John Huss and Je rome, who are burnt alive, orders Wick liff's bones to be dug up and burnt, and ter minates the Western Schism by the election of pope Martin V. 1417. t MARTIN V. 1418. John Oldcastle (Lord Cobham) roasted alive by the papists in England. 1422. * HENRY VI. 1424. Death of John Zisca of Bohemia. 1428. The bones of Wickliff, the first translator of the New Testament into English, dug up and burned, 44 years after his death, according to the sentence of the council of Constance. 1431. t EUGENIUS IV. 1431-1443. Council of Basil, regarded by some as a General Council. Protracted quarrel between this council and pope Eugenius, with his oppo sition council of Ferrara. 1437. Seventeenth General Council, at Fer rara, and afterwards at Florence. Sustains the cause of pope Eugenius against the council of Basil. 1444. Invention of printing. 1447. t NICHOLAS V. 1450. Jubilee of pope Nicholas at Rome. Acci dent by which ninety- seven persons were thrown from the bridge of St. Angelo and drowned, in consequence of the throng. 1453. Capture of Constantinople by the Turks. 1455. t CALIXTUS IIL 1458. tPlUS IL (iEneaa Sylvius). 1461. * EDWARD IV. of England. 1464. tPAUL IL 1471. t SIXTUS rv. 1473. Pope Sixtus issues his bulls against the free dom of the press. 1483. * EDWARD V. of England. 1483. * RICHARD IIL of England. 1483. Birth of Martin Luther, the great German reformer. 1484. t INNOCENT VUI. 1485. * HENRY VII. of England. 1487. Pope Innocent VIIL issues a violent bull for the extirpation of the Waldenses. 1491. Conquest of Granada by Ferdinand and Isabella. End of the Moorish kingdom in Spain. 1491. Birth of Ignatius Loyala, the founder of the Jesuits. 1492. t ALEXANDER VL, the Devil's master piece. 1492. Columbus discovered America. 1493. May 2d. Pope Alexander VI. issues his bull granting the newly-discovered regions of America to the Spaniards. 1501. Pope Alexander VI. decrees that no book shall be printed in any diocess without the sanction of the bishop. 1502. Tetzel, the Dominican friar, appointed seller of indulgences. 1503. t JULIUS IL, the warrior. 1506. Foundation stone of St. Peter's church laid by pope Julius. 1509. * HENRY VIIL of England. 1510. Luther dispatched on a journey to Rome on behalf of his monastery at Wittemberg. 1511. Council of Pisa. They quarrel with pope Julius, and pass a decree suspending him from his office. 1512-1517. Fifth council of Lateran. The pro ceedings of the council of Pisa annulled and condemned by order of pope Julius. Decrees passed forbidding, under heavy penalties, the freedom of the press, and enjoining the extirpa tion of heretics. 1513. tLEO X. 1515. FRANCIS I. of France. 1516. CHARLES V., emperor 1516. Zwingle, the Swiss reformer, begins to pub lish the gospel at the convent of Einsidlen. 1517. Luther begins his opposition to the proceed ings of Tetzel, the peddler of indulgences. Oct. 31 . Fixes his theses against indulgences to the door of the church at Wittemberg. 1518. August 23d. Cardinal Cajetan commissioned as legate by pope Leo to reduce Luther to sub mission.October 7-17th. Luther at Augsburg before Cajetan.November 28th. Luther appeals from the Pope to a general council. December. Zwingle appointed preacher in the cathedral of Zurich, in Switzerland. 1520. Junel5. Bull of pope Leo anathematizing the books and doctrines of Luther. October 6th. Luther publishes his famous tract on the Babylonish captivity of the church. December 10th. Luther bums the Pope's bull in Wittemberg. 1521. Cortez completes his conquest of Mexico 152L January 3d. Leo issues his bull excommuni cating Luther as an incorrigible heretic. April 17. Luther's first appearance before the Diet of Worms. April 28. On his return from the Diet, he ia seized and confined in the castle of Wartburg, where he translates the New Testament into German. 1522. t ADRIAN VL 1523. t CLEMENT VU. CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE. 655 1535. Battle of Pavia. Francis I. taken prisoner by Charles V. 1529. Diet of Spires, in which the popish party triumphed. Reformers called Protbstants for protesting against the decision of this Diet. 1534. tPAUL IH. 1534. Ignatius Loyala. Lainez, Xavier, and four others, form themselves into " the Society OF Jesus." 1540. The order of Jesuits sanctioned by a bull of pope Paul. 1540. Dissolution of monasteries in England by Henry VIII. 1545. Eighteenth General Council at Trent begins Dec. 13th. 1546. Feb. 18th. Luther's death during a visit to his native village at Eisleben. 1547. • EDWARD VI. of England. 1550. t JULIUS IU. 1552. Francis Xavier, the apostle of the Indians, dies in sight of China. 1553. * MARY of England. 1555. t MARCELLUS U. 1555. tPAUL IV. 1555. Uueen Mary begins her persecutions. OcL 16th. Latimer and Ridley burnt. 1556. March 21sL Cranmer burnt. 1558. *ELIZ.\BETHof England. 1560. tPIUS IV. 1560. CH.4ELES IX. of Prance. 1560. Inquiry in Spain relative to priesUy solicita tion of females at confession. Number of criminals found so great that the Inquisition deemed it expedient to hush it up, and consign the depositions to oblivion, 1560. Horrible butchery of the Waldenses of Cala bria, by order of Pius IV. 1560. Reformation in Scotland, completed by John Knox. 1563. December 4th. Closing session of the council of Trent. 1566. tPIUS V. 1569. Pope Pius V. issues his bull of excommuni cation and deposition against queen Elizabeth. 1572. tGREGORY XOI. 1572. August24. The horrible massacre of St. Bar tholomew's in France. 1582. The JVem Style introduced into Italy by pope Gregory, who ordered the 5th of October to be counted the 15th. 1585. t SIXTUS V. 1587. Mary, queen of Scots, beheaded. 1590. tURHAN VIL 1590. t GREGORY XIV. 1591. t INNOCENT IX. 1592. f CLEMENT VIH. 1596. Baronius, the great Romish annalist, raised to the dignity of Cardinal. 1598. Tolerating edict in France, called the edict of Niintes. 1603. * JAMES I. of England. 1604. Jesuits expelled from England by royal pro clamation. 1605. The gunpowder plot of the Jesuit Garnet and others, to blow up the English king and both houses of parliament. 1606. t LEO XI. 1606. tPAUL V. 1609. Galileo discovers the Satellites of Jupiter. 1621. tGREGORY XV. 1622. Establishment of the Congregation DeVro- paganda Fide at Rome. 1623. t URBAN VIII. 1625. • CHARLES L of England. 1627. Establishment of the College De Propagandi Fide. 1631. DnilW writes his celebrated work on Iha Fathers. 1633. Galileo imprisoned by the Inquisition for ns- serting that the cartli moves. 1641, October 23. Irish rebellion, and bloody mas sacre of the Protestants. 1643, LOUIS XIV. of France. 1644. t INNOCENT X. 1049. * COMMONWEALTH. Oliver Cromwell. 1855. t ALEXANDER VIL 1660. * CHARLES II. of England. 1GG6. Great fire of London. 1667. t CLEMENT IX. 1670. t CLEMENT X. 1676. t INNOCENT XI. 1685. * JAMES II. 1685. Revocation of the edict of Nantes by Louie XIV. Renewal of cruel persecutions in Francft 1689. * WILLIAM III. and MAEY of England. 1689. t ALEXANDER VIII. 1692. t INNOCENT XII 1700. t CLEMENT XI. 1702. *ANNE of England. 1704. Pope Clement XI. decides against the Jesuits' mode of converting the Chinese, by adopting their heathen ceremonies. 1713. Pope Clement's bull unigtnitus, against the Jansenist Quesnel's work on the New Testa ment. 1714. ¦* GEORGE I. of England. 1715. LOUIS XV. of France. 1715. Pope Clement's second decree allowing tJie Ciiinese heathen ceremonies in Christian wor i^hip, if regarded as civil and not religious in stitutions. 1724. t BENEDICT Xin. 1727. * GEORGE II. of England. 1730. t CLEMENT XII. 1740. t BENEDICT XIV. 1752. Mew Style introduced in Britain. Septem ber 3d reckoned 14th. 1758. t CLEMENT XIII. 1759. Jesuits expelled from Portugal. 1760. * GEORGE III. of England. 1762. Martyrdom of the Huguenot pastor Rochette and the brothers Grenier, at Thoulouse in France. 1764. Jesuits expelled from France. 1767. " " from Spain. 1768. " " from the Two Sicilies and Parma. 1769. t CLEMENT XIV. 1773. July 21st. Bull of pope Ganganelli, or Cle ment XIV., finally abolishing tho order of the Jesuits. 1774. t PIUS VI. 1774. LOUIS XVI. of France. 1781. November 7th. A woman burnt alive at Se ville. The last public burning of the Inquisi tion in Spain. 1798. The papal government suppressed by the French. Feb. 26. The Pope quits Enme, and retires for refuge to a convent near Florence. Afterward transferred to France, where he died iu Au gust, 1799. 1800. t PIUS VII. The Cardinals at Venice elect cardinal Chiaramnnti as Pnpe, who is crowned at Venice on Ihe 2l3t of March. 656 CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE. 1800. July 25. Bonaparte restores the Pope to his sovereignty at Rome, who makes his public entry July 25th. 1808. The Inquisition in Spain suppressed by Bona parte, 1809. Pope Pius VIL deposed by the French (May I7th), and taken captive to France. 1814. The Pope is restored to freedom and power, after a captivity of five years, upon the over throw of Bonaparte by the allied armies. 1814. July 2Ist. Inquisition in Spain re-established upon the restoration of the Catholic king Fer dinand VII. 1814. August 7th. Bull of pope Pius VII. restoring the order of the Jesuits. 1820. * GEORGE IV. of England. 1820. Inquisition In Spain finally suppressed by the Cortes. 1^2. tLEO XIL 1835. The last popish Jubilee at Rome. 1829. fPIUS VIIL 1830. * WILLIAM IV. of England. 1830. t GREGORY XVL 1837. Persecutions by the papists of the protestant exiles of Zillerthal, who are driven from their homes in the Tyrol, to seek an asylum in Prussia. 1837. *VICTORIA of England. 1843. October 27th. Public burning of bibles by the Romish priests at Champlain, N. Y. 1844. May 2d. A woman condemned to death for heresy by the papists of the Portuguese island of Madeira. 1844. May 8th. Bull of pope Gregory XVL against the Christian Alliance and Bible Societies. 1844. August 8th. The exhibition of the pretended holy coat of our Saviour by the Romish priests at Treves, which continues till October 6th. John Ronge, for protesting against this impos ture, is excommunicated, and forms a new German Catholic church upon protestant principles. 1844. Civil war caused in Switzerland by the ef forts of the Jesuits to obtain the control of education. 1845. The British government (chiefly by means of Sir Robert Peel) grants an endowment to Maynooth Roman Catholic College in Ireland, of 26,000 pounds, or over $120,000, annually. Causes an immense excitement among pro testants in Great Britain. GLOSSAKY OF TECHNICAL OR ECCLESIASTICAL TERMS CONNECTED WITH ROMANISM. Abbot (or Abbe). — The chief or ruling monk of an abbey. Abbey. — A monastery of persons devoted by vow to a monastic life. Absolution. — The third part of the sacrament of penance ; signifying the remission of sins. Acolyte. — One of the lower orders of the priesthood in the Roman church. Advent. — The four Sundays preceding Christmas day. The first Sunday in Advent is the first after November 26th. AsNTjs Dei (lamb of God). — A consecrated cake of wax stamped with the figure of a lamb, supposed to have the power of saving from diseases, accidents, &c. Alb. — A vestment worn by priests in celebrating mass. So calle* from its color, alba — white. All Saints. — An annual feast in honor of all the saints and martyrs, cele brated on the first of November. All SotTLs. — A festival, appointed for praying all souls out of purgatory ; prin cipally out of regard to those poor souls who had no living friends to purchase masses for them. Celebrated November 2d. Altaks in the Romish church are built of stone, to represent Christ, the foun dation-stone of that spiritual building, the church. There are three steps to an altar, covered with carpet, and adorned with many costly ornaments, according to the season of the year. Amict. — A part of the emblematic dress of the priest in celebrating mass. It is made of linen and worn on the neck, and sometimes forms a sort of hood for the head. It is said to represent how Christ was blindfolded and spit upon. Anathema. — A solemn curse pronounced by ecclesiastical authority. Ahnats or Annates. — A year's income, due, anciently, to the popes on the death of any bishop, abbot, parish priest, &c., to be paid by his successor. AKHtwcLiTioN. — A festival celebrated on the 25th of March, in memory of the annunciation or tidings brought by the angel Gabriel to the Virgin Mary of the incarnation of Christ. On this festival, the Pope performs the ceremony of mar rying or cloistering. Apockisarius. — A kind of legate or ambassador from the Pope to the court of some sovereign. Ash Wednesday. — The first day of Lent. It arose from a custom of sprink ling ashes on the heads of such as were then admitted to penance. The ashes must be made of the olive tree, laid on the altar, blessed, and strewed on the heads of priests and laity. Assumption of the Blessed Virgin, a festival held August iSth, in memory of the pretended assumption of the Virgin Mary to Heaven, body and soul, without dying. AususTiNS.— An order of monks who observe the rule of St. Augustine, pro perly called Austin friars. 658 GLOSSARY. Aukicular Confession. — Confession made in the ears of a priest privately. AwTO DA .Fe, or act of faith, is a solemn day held by the Inquisition for the roasting-alive of heretics. Ave Mama QmU Mary). — A common salutation or prayer to the Virgin. Ban. — A sentence of the Emperor, by which a person is forbidden shelter or food throughout the empire, and all are commanded to seize the person who is put under the ban of ihe Empire. Charles V. put Luther to the ban of the Empire after the Diet of Worms. Bartholomew's (St.) Day. — A festival celebrated on the 24th of August; St. Bartholomew was one of the twelve apostles. On this day was the horrid mas sacre of Paris in 1572. Beads-man, from bede, a prayer, and from counting the beads. A prayer-man, one who prays for another. Bead-Roll. — This was the catalogue of those who were to be mentioned at prayers. The king's enemies were thus cursed by name in the bead roll at St. JPaul's. Beatieication (from Beatus, happy). — The act by which the Pope declares a person happy after death. Benedictines. — An order of monks who profess to follow the rules of St. Bene dict. In the canon law they are called black monks, from the color of their habit ; in England they were called black friars. Benison. — A blessing. Bernardins. — A sect first made by Robert, Abbot of Moleme, and reformed by St. Bernard, Abbot of Clervaux. Their usual habit is a white gown. BodrdAj. — A staff, or long walking-stick, used by pilgrims. Breviary. — The Roman Catholic Common Prayer-Book, generally in Latin. Briefs, apostolical, denote letters which the Pope dispatches to princes and other magistrates touching any public affair. Brothers. — Lay-brothers among the Romanists are those persons who devote themselves, in some convent, to the service of the monks. Bull. — A written letter, dispatched by order of the Pope, from the Roman chancery, and sealed with a leaden stamp (bulla). Candlemas day, Feb. 2, called also the feast of the purification of ihe Blessed Virgin. Called Candlemas, because on this feast, before Mass is said, the candles are blessed by the priests, for the whole year, and a procession made with them. Canon, i. e. ruje ; it signifies such rules as are presented by councils concenv- ing faith, discipline, and manners, as the canons of the council of Trent. Canons. — An order of religious, distinct from monks. Canonical Hours. — There were seven : — 1. Prime, about six a. M. i. Tierce, about nine. 3. Sext, about twelve at noon. 4. Nones, about two or three P. m. 5. Vespers, about four or later. 6. Complin, about seven. 7. Matins; and Lauds at midnight. Canonization (Saint making). — A solemn ofiicial act of the Pope, whereby, after much solemnity, a person reputed to have wrought miracles, is entered; into the list of the saints. Capuchin. — Monks of the order of St. Francis, so called from capuce or copit- chon, a stuff cap or cowl with which they cover their heads. They are clothed with brown or grey, always barefooted, never go in a coach, nor even shave their beard. Cardinal. — A prince of the church, distinguished by wearing the red hat ; and who has a voice in the Roman conclave at the election of a Pope. Carmelites. — An order of mendicants or begging friars, taking their name from Carmel, a mountain in Syria, formeriy inhabited by the prophets Elijah and Elisha, and by the children pf the' prophets, &om whom this order pretends to descend in an uninterrupted succession. GLOSSARY. 659 Carozo. — A kind of conical pasteboard cap, with devils and flames painted on it, worn by the condemned victims of the Inquisition, on their way to the flames at the Auto da fe. Carthusians. — An order of monks instituted by St. Bruno about the year 1086, remarkable for the austerity of their rule, which obliges them to a perpetual soli tude, a total abstinence from flesh, even at the peril of their lives, and absolute silence, except at certain times. Their houses were usually built in deserts, their fare coarse, and discipline severe. Cassock, the gown of a priest. Catechumen. — One who is receiving instruction preparatory to Baptism. Cathedral. — A church wherein a bishop has a see or seat (catliedra). Catholic — Universal or general — Charitable, &c. This term is monopolized by the Romish church, though destitute of the slightest claim to it. Celebrant. — The priest oflaciating in any religious ceremony. Chalice. — The cup or vessel used to administer the wine in the mass. Chasuble. — A kind of cape open at the sides, worn at mass, with a cross em broidered on the back of it. Childermas Dat, called also Innocents' Day, held December the 28th, in me mory of Herod's slaughter of the children. Chrism. — A mixture of oil and balsam, consecrated by the bishop on holy Thursday, with great ceremony, used for anointing in Confirmation, Extreme Unc tion, Sic. Chbistmas (Christi missa), that is, the mass of Christ. A festival, celebrated December the 25th, to commemorate the birth of Christ. Chbtsom. — A white linen cloth used in baptism. Cincture. — A girdle with which the priest in the mass binds himself, said to represent the binding of Christ. Cistertian Monks. — A religious order founded in the nineteenth century by St. Robert, a Benedictine and Abbot of Moleme. Cloister. — ^A house for monks or nuns. College. — A society of men set apart for learning or religion, and also the house in which they reside. CoLOBiuM. — A tunic or robe. Commendam, in the church of Rome, is a real title of a regular benefice, such as an abbey or priory given by the Pope to a secular clerk, or even to a layman, with power to dispose of the fruits thereof during life. Complin. — The last act of worship before going to bed. Conception of the Virgin Mary, a feast observed December 8th. Conclave. — The place in which the cardinals of the Romish church meet, and are shut up, in order to the election of a Pope. (From Latin con, and clavis, a key.) Confiteor. — Latin for I confess, the term applied to a general confession of sins. Confirmation. — ^Imposition of hands by a bishop, given after baptism. Ac cording to the church of Rome, it makes the recipients of it perfect Christians. Consistory. — A college of cardinals, or the Pope's senate and council, before whom judiciary causes are pleaded. Cope. — An ecclesiastical habit. It was, at first, a common habit, being a coat without sleeves, but was afterwards used as a church vestment, only made very rich by embroidery and the like. The Greeks pretend it was first used in memory of the mock-robe put upon our Saviour. Corporal. — A fair linen cloth thrown over the consecrated elements at the cel ebration of the eucharist. Corpus Christi, or Corpus Domini (the body of Christ or of our Lord) — a feast held on the Thursday after Trinity-Sunday, in which the consecrated wafer 39 660 GLOSSARY. is carried about in procession in all popish countries, for the adoration of the mnl- titude. Council. — An ecclesiastical meeting, especially of bishops and other doctors, deputed by divers churches for examining of ecclesiastical causes. There are reckoned eighteen general councils, besides innumerable provincial and local ones. Cowl. — A sort of monkish habit worn by the Bemardines and Benedictines. Some have distinguished two forms of cowls, the one a gown reaching to the feet, having sleeves and a capuchon, used in ceremonies ; the other, a kind of hood to work in, caUed also scapular, because it only covers the head and shoulders. Crosier. — The pastoral stafi^ so called from its likeness to a cross, which the bishops formerly bore as the common ensign of their office, and by the delivery of which they were invested in their prelacies. Crucifix. — A picture or figure of Christ on the Cross in common use among papists. Crusade. — A holy war, or an expedition against infidels and heretics, as those against the Turks for the recovery of Palestine, and against the Albigenses and Waldenses of France in the thirteenth century. Curiall. — A class of officers attached to the Pope's court. « Dalmatica. — A vestment or habit of a bishop and deacon, so called because it was first invented in Dalmatia. It had sleeves to distinguish it from the colobium, which had none. It was all white before, but behind had two purple lines, or stripes. Databy. — An officer in the Pope's court, always a prelate and sometimes a cardinal, deputed by the Pope to receive such petitions as are presented to him touching the provision of benefices. This officer has a substitute, but he cannot confer any benefice. Decree. — An ordinance enacted by the Pope, by and with the advice of his car dinals in council assembled, without being consulted by any person thereon. Decretal. — The collection of the decrees of the Pope. Several forged collec tions of the decrees of the early popes have been published. Degradation. — The ceremony of unrobing a priest, and thus degrading him from the sacred office ; always performed previous to delivering up a heretical priest to the secular power to be burnt. Dirige. — A solemn service in the Romish church ; hence, probably, our Dirge. Dispensation. — ^Permission from the Pope to do what may have been forbidden. Dominicans. — An order of mendicant friars, called, in some places, Jacobins, Predicants, or preaching friars. Dulia and hyperdulia. (See Latria.) Emeer Weeks or Days. — ^Fasts observed four times in the year ; that is, on the Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday after the first Sunday in Lent ; after WTiit- Sunday ; after the 14th of September; and after the 13th of December. Accord ing to some, ember comes from the Greek hemera, a day ; according to others, from the ancient custom of eating nothing on those days till night, and then only a cake, baked under the embers, called ember-bread. Epiphany, called, also, the manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles. Observed on the 6th of January, in memory of the Star appearing to the wise men of tha East. Euchaeist. — A name for the Lord's supper. Excommunication. — An ecclesiastical penalty, whereby persons are separated from the communion of the Romish church, and consigned to damnation. Exorcism.— -Ceremony of expelling the Devil performed, preparatory to the administration of baptism, by Romish priests. Exorcist.— One of the inferior orders of the ministry, whose office it is to expel de^/ils. Extreme Unction.— One of the sacraments of the Romish church, adminis- GLOSSA.TIY. 661 tared to the dying, as a passport to Heaven, consisting of anointing the feet, hands, ears, eyes, &c., with holy oil or chrism. Feasts of God. — Files de Dieu. A solemn festival in the Romish church, instituted for the performing a peculiar kind of worship to our Saviour in the eucharist. Fiancels. — Betrothing. — A ceremony performed by the priest, after which an oath was administered "to take the woman to wife within forty days, if holy church will permit." Franciscans. — A powerful order of mendicant friars in the Romish church, fol lowing the rules of St. Francis. Friary. — A monastery or convent of friars. Gipciere. — A small satchel, waUet, or purse. Good Friday. — A fast in memory of the sufferings and death of Christ, cele brated on the Friday before Easter. Gradual. — A part of the mass service, sung while the deacon was ascending the steps. (Gradus.) Geaal. — The Saint Graal, or holy vessel, was supposed to have been the ves sel in which the paschal lamb was placed at our Saviour's last supper. Heretics. — A name given by papists to all Christians not of their church. Hierarchy. — A sacred government or ecclesiastical establishment. Holt rood day. — May 3. — A feast in memory of the pretended miraculous finding of the true Cross, by Helena in the year 326. Holt Water, a mixture of salt and water, blessed by the priest, to which the papists attribute great virtues. Host. — A term applied to the wafer, after it has been turned into a god by the priest (fi-om the Latin hostia, a sacrifice.) I. H. S. and I. N. R. I. — Letters on the wafer that signify Jesus hominum Sal- vator, " Jesus the Saviour of men," and Jesus Nazarenus, Rex Jud/eorum, " Je sus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews," being the initials of the Latin words. IscEKSE. — A rich perfume, burning of itself, or exhaled by fire, offered by Ro manists in their worship. Indulgence. — ^In the Romish theology, the remission of temporal punishments dae to sin, and supposed to save the sinner firom purgatory. The Popes have made vast sums of money by the sale of them. Ih peito. — Held in reserve. Interdict. — A censure inflicted by popes or bishops, suspending the priests from their functions, and consequently the performance of divine service. An interdict forbids the performance of divine service in the place interdicted. This ecclesiastical censure has frequently been inflicted in France, Italy, Germany and England. Ihtroit. — The beginning of public devotions among the Papists. Jesuits. — A famous religious order in the Romish church, founded by Ignatius Loyala, a Spaniard, A. D. 1634. Jubilee. — A grand church solemnity, or ceremony, celebrated at Rome — now every 26 years — wherein the Pope grants a plenary indulgence to all who visit tho churches of St. Peter and St. Paul at Rome. Ktrle Eleison. — " Lord, have mercy upon me !" a form of prayer often used. Lammas Day. — August 1. Celebrated in the Romish church, in memory of St. Peter's imprisonment. LiTRLi. — The kind of worship due to God and to the consecrated wafer, distin guished from dulia or hyperdulia, paid to the saints, relics, &c. An unmeaning distmction invented by Romanists to shield themselves from the charge of idolatry. Legate, from Latin legatus. — A cardinal or bishop, whom the Pope sends as his ambassador to sovereign princes. 662 GLOSSARY. Lent, called in Latin quadragesima. — A time of mortification, during the space of forty days, beginning on Ash- Wednesday and ending on Easter ^ Sunday wherein the people are enjoined to fast, in commemoration of our Saviour's fasting in the desert. Magdalen (St.) the religious of. — A denomination given to many communi ties of nuns, consisting generally of penitent courtesans. Malison. — A curse. Maniple. — A portion of the dress of a priest in celebrating mass, worn upon the left arm. Maeiolatry. — A term frequently and justly applied by protestants to the idol atrous worship of the Virgin Mary. Mass. — The office or prayers used in the Romish church at the celebration of the eucharist. The sacrifice of the Mass is the pretended offering in sacri fice of the body of Christ (created from the wafer by the priest) every time the eucharist is celebrated, as a true propitiatory sacrifice for the living and the dead. The word is supposed to be derived from the expression anciently used, when the congregation was dismissed before the celebration of the sacrament " ita missa est" (thus the congregation is dismissed). In process of time the word missa (mass) was employed to designate the service about to be performed. Maunday Thursday.— The Thursday before Good Friday ; probably so called, from the Latin dies mandati ; that is, the day of command to commemorate the charge given by our Saviour to his disciples before his last supper — or from the word mandatum, a command, the first word of the anthem sung on that day (John xiii., 34), " A new commandment," &c. Mendicants. — Begging friars, as the Franciscans, Dominicans, &c. Miracle. — A prodigy. Some effect which does not follow from the known laws of nature. Miserere (have mercy). — A lamentation. The beginning of the 61st peniten tial psalm. Month's Mind. — A solemn office for the repose of the soul, performed one month after decease. Nativity of Christ. — Christmas day, December 25th. Nativitt of John the Baptist. — A festival held on the 24th of June. Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. — A festival held September 8th. Novitiate. — The time spent in a monastery or nunnery, by way of trial, before a vow is taken. Novice. — One who has entered a religious house, but not yet taken the vow. Nun. — A woman secluded from the world in a nunnery, under a vow of perpe tual chastity. Nuncio. — An ambassador from the Pope to some Catholic prince or state. Obit. — A funeral celebration or office for the dead. Oblat.2;. — Bread made without leaven and not consecrated, yet blessed upon the altar ; anciently placed upon the breasts of the dead. Orders. — The different ranks of the ministry in the Romish church. The number of orders is seven, ascending as follows : porter, reader, exorcist, acolyte, sub-deacon, deacon and priest. Oriel. — A portico or court ; also, a small dining-room, near the hall, in monas teries. Pall. — A pontifical garment worn by popes, archbishops, &c., over the other garments, as a sign of their jurisdiction. Palm Sunday. — The Sunday next before Easter, kept in memory of the tri umphant entry of Christ into Jerusalem. Palmer. — A wandering votary of religion, vowed to have no settled home. Pasoh Eggs. — Easter eggs, from pascha — the pascha, the passover. GLOSSARY. 663 Passion Week. — The week preceding Easter, so called from our Saviour's pas sion, crucifixion, &c. Paten. — A little plate used in the sacrament of the eucharist. Paternoster. — (Our Father) the Lord's prayer. Also used for the chaplets of beads, worn by nuns round their necks. PATRLiKCH. — A church dignitary superior to archbishops. Pax, or Paxis (an instrument of peace). — A small plate of silver or gold, with a crucifix engraved or raised upon it, which, in the ceremony of the mass, was presented by the deacon to be kissed by the priest, and then to be handed round and kissed by the people, who delivered it to each other, saying, " Peace be with you." It is said to be now disused. Pax. — The vessel in which the consecrated host is kept. Penance. — Infliction, public or private, by which papists profess to make satis- fection for their sins. Peter-Pence. — An annual payment from various nations to the Pope ; at first voluntary, but afterward demanded as a tribute. PisdN.!:. — Sinks where the priest emptied the water in which he washed his hands, and all consecrated waste stuff was poured out. Pix, or Pyx. — The box or shrine in which the consecrated host is kept. Placebo. — The vesper hymn for the dead. Planeta. — Giown, the same as the chasuble ; a kind of cape, open only at the sides, worn at mass. Plenary. — Full, complete. Plenary indulgence is the remission of all the purgatorian and other temporal penalty due up to the time it is given. Portesse, or Portasse. — A breviary, a portable book of prayers. Prior. — The officer in a priory, corresponding to an abbot in an abbey. Priory. — A convent, in dignity below an abbey. Purgatory. — ^A place in which souls are supposed by the Papists to be purged by fire firom carnal impurities, before they are received into heaven, unless deliv ered by papal indulgences. Requiem. — A hymn imploring for the dead requiem or rest. Reeedoss. — The screen supporting the rood-loft. Rocket. — The bishop's black satin vestment, worn with the lawn sleeves. Rogation Week (from Rogo, to ask, pray). — The next week but one before Whitsunday, because certain litanies to saints are then used. Rood. — An image of Christ on the cross in Romish churches. Rood-loft. — ^In churches, the place where the cross is fixed. Rosary. — A chaplet or string of beads, on which prayers are numbered. There are ten small beads to every one large one. The small ones signify so many Ave Marias, or prayers to the Virgin. The large ones so many paternosters, or pray ers to God. Sacrament. — Thus defined by the Romish authors of the catechism of the council of Trent : " A thing subject to the senses, and professing, by divine insti tution, at once the power of signifying sanctity and justice, and of imparting both to the receiver." The sacraments of the Romish church are seven, Baptism, Con firmation, Eucharist, Penance, Extreme Unction, Orders and Matrimony. Saoeing, Saunce, or Saints' Bell. — A small bell which is used to call to pray ers and other holy offices. Sacristy. — The place in a church where the sacred utensils and the conse crated wafer are kept. San Benito. — The garment worn by the victims of the Inquisition, at the Auto da fe, with devils and flames painted on it. Those who were to be burnt alive had the flames pointing upward. Such as had escaped this horrible fate, pointing downward. 664 GLOSSARY. Santa Casa, or Santissima Casa, the pretended holy house of the Virgin Mary, carried by angels through the air, from Nazareth to Loretto in Italy. Santa Scodella. — The pretended holy porringer in which the pap of the infant Jesus was made, kept in the Santa Casa, and exhibited to the pilgrims by Romish priests. Saviour, Order of our. — ^A religious order so called, founded 1344, under the rule of St. Augustine. Scapulae, or Scapulaey. — ^A badge of peculiar veneration for the Virgin Mary, said to have been given, in person, by the Virgin Mary to a hermit named Simon Stock, to be worn by her devotees as " a sign of salvation, a safe-guard in danger, and a covenant of peace." It forms a part of the habit of several orders of monks. Of the scapular there is a friary or fraternity, who profess a particular devotion to the virgin. They are obliged to have certain prayers, and observe cer tain austerities in their manner of life. The devotees of the scapular celebrate their festival on the 10th of July. ScLAViNA. — A long gown worn by pilgrims. Shrift, or Shkive. — Confession to a priest. Shrovetide. — The time of Confession. Sins, the Seven mortal. — ^Pride, idleness, envy, murder, covetousness, lust, gluttony. Soutane. — ^A cassock, or clerical robe. Stole. — A part of the emblematical dress of the priest, worn in celebrating mass ; a kind of linen scarf, hanging loosely from the shoulders in front. Suffragan. — A bishop considered as subject to the metropolitan bishop. Thurible. — ^A censer or smoke-pot to bum incense in. Tonsure. — The particular manner of shaving the head, as practised by Romish priests and monks. Teinity-Sundat.— A feast in honor of the Trinity on the octave of Whit sunday. Viaticum (from Via, way). — The term applied to the Eucharist, when admin- istered to a dying person, or one who is on his way to the unseen world. Vulgate.— A very ancient Latin translation of the Bible, made by Jerome, and the only one which the church of Rome acknowledges to be authentic. The council of Trent placed the Vulgate higher in point of authority than the mspired Hebrew and Greek texts. Ukhouselled. — Without receiving the sacrament. Ursulines.— An order of nuns, who observe the rule of St. Augustine ; chiefly noted for educating young maidens. They take their name fi-om their institutrix, St. Ursula, and are clothed m white and black. Weeping-Cross. — A cross where penitents offered then- devotions. Whitsuhday, or Pentecost (fiftieth).— A feast in memory of the descent of the Holy Ghost fifty days after the resurrection. Called Whitsuntide fi-om the cate chumens being anciently clothed in white, on this festival, at their Baptism. ALPHABETICAL INDEX. A, Acclamation of the Fathers at Trent, 535. Adolorata of Capriana, 631. Aistulphus, king of the Lombards, 168, 172. Alaric, king of the Goths, ravages Rome, 42. Albanus, St., the protomartyr of Great Britain, 229. Albigenses, 29D ; bloody crusade against, under Montfort and the Pope's legate, 307, &c. ; slan ders against them, 323. Aleander, the Pope's I^ate, bums Luther's books, but cannot get permission ftom Charles V., or the elector Frederick, to bum him, 464 Alexander in., pope, his horse led by two kings, 274, Alexander VI., pope, his horrible crimes and de baucheries, 426, 427 ; dies of poison he had pre pared for the murder of another, 428. Alphonsus, quoted on Indulgences, 356. Alredus, the abbot, his description of the vices of priests and monks, 223. Ambrose, St., miraculously discovers some holy bones, without which he could not consecrate a church, 94. America discovered, and given by a papal bull to the Spaniards, 428. Ancyra, council of, forbids marriage after ordina tion, A. D. 314, 72. Angelf^ St., bridge of^ accident at, during the Jubi lee of 1450, 430. Anselm elected archbishop of Canterbury, 268; his quarrel with king William Rufus and Hen ry I., 268, 270. Anthony the hermit, 88. " SL, blessing of horses on his festival, 117. Apocrypha, decree of Trent on, 480; arguments against the inspiration of, 481. Appeals to Rome encouraged by the Pope, 40, 139. Apostolic succession, absurdity of this pretence, 48. Aquinas, St., quoted in favor of persecution, 545. Aringhus defends the adoption of pagan rites by his church, 129. Arsenal, a bishop's library, 376. Ashes, marking with, on Ash-Wedn^day, 256. Ass, festival of, 213. Asses kneeling to the wafer-idol, 199. Anila, king of the Huns, lays waste Italy, 43. Augustin the monk arrives in England from Rome. Hia progress and success, 228. Augustine quoted on Christ the Rock, 47; on image worship, 154; his contradictory expres sions about a purgatory, 358, 359. Authors in the Index prohibitorius, 497. Avignon popes, 369. B. Baptism, decree of Trent on, 510. Baronius, cardinal, his account of the origin of the baptism of bells, 207 ; his language in relation to the profligate popes and their harlots of the tenth century, 219, S30; his annals, and continuation by Raynaldus, 349, note. Barons of England, excommunicated by pope in nocent IU., 292. Bartholomew, massacre of, 587—590. _ Becket, his quarrel with king Henry II., 274-^279; his death, canonization, and shrine, 279. Bede quoted on Christ the Rock, 49. Bees worshipping the wafer-idol, 198, 199. Bellarmine quoted on the infallibility of the Pope, 153 ; advocates the temporal power of the popes, 254 ; his celebrated argument for burning here tics, quoted, 546. Bells, baptism of, described, 207. Benedict IX., a most profligate pope, 221. Berenger of Tours opposes Transubstantiation, 195 his persecutions and death, 196, 197. Beziers, siege of, and slaughter of the heretical ic habitants by the'popish crusaders, 314. Bible, Rome's hatred to it, 621. Biel, cardinal, blasphemous expression of, 203. Bigotry of the creed of Rome, 539. Bishops and presbyters or elders the same in primi Uve times, 36, 37. Boeton broken on the wheel in France, 607. Boniface III , properly the first pope, obtains from ' the tyrant Phocas the titie of Universal Bishop, 55 ; exercises his newly obtained power, 64. IV. dedicates the Pantheon to the blessed Virgin and all the saints, 124. VIII., his dispute with Philip the Fair of France, 352 ; his imperious bull Unam Sanc tam, 353 ; his death, 354 ; his reign fatal to the despotic power of the popes, 368, 369. bishop of Germany, takes an oath of al legiance to the Pope, 140. Bordeaux Testament, 523 jwte. Britain, Great, statistics of Popery in, 644i Brownson, O. A., quoted on the designs of the Pope in America, 643. Bull Unam Sanctam, 353; of Gregory XVI., in 1844, 622, 634. Burning bibles at Champlain, 612; at Chili, South America, 625. Butler, Chat)., quoted on Popery unchangeable, 548. Cajetan, cardinal, commissioned by pope Leo X. to reduce Luther to submission, 451 ; summons Luther to Augsburg, but fails in his attempt to reduce him to submission, 452 — 459, Candles, burning, in the day-time, adopted from Paganism, 131. Cannibalism of Transubstantiation, 201. Canonization made a prerogative of the popes, 188, Carcassone, siege of, and escape of the inhabitants from ^e popish crusaders, 316. Cardinals made the exclusive electors of the popes, 238, 239. Catharine of Sienna, Saint, and her holy stigmas or wounds of Jesus, 369, note. 666 ALPHABETICAL INDEX. Catholic religion not the right name for Popery, 56. Celestine V., the hermit pope, 351. Celibacy, early superstitious notions as to its sup posed merit, 70. , clerical, gradually introduced, 70 — 77; means employed to enforce it in England, 232, 235. Cerda the Jesuit, confesses the use of holy water derived from Paganism, 116. Cevennes, the persecutions in, 606. Chalcedon, council of, 41. Charlemagne, son of Pepin, 174, 175 ; crowned Em peror at Rome by the Pope, 176. Charles of Anjou, invited by the Pope to invade Sicily, 346. Chillingworth's immortal sentiment quoted, 66. Chrysostom, his strange exposition of the parable of the ten virgins, 75, 76 ; extravagant praise of virginity, 80, 81. Cicero quoted, 122, 129. Ciocci, Raffaele, narrative of, 610, Clement of Alexandria quoted, 71 VII., rival of Urban VI.,hiselection the com mencement of the Great Western Schism, 372. Coat, holy, of the Saviour, imposture of, at Treves 636. CoUyridians, ancient worshippers of the Virgin Mary, 82. Conclave, election of the popes in, decreed, A. D. 1274, 248. Concubinage of the priesthood. Concubines of the priests confessing to their paramours, 222 ; pre ferred to marriage, 223. Confession, auricular, decreed by the fourth coun cil of Lateran, 333 ; licentiousness of the priests promoted by it, 334, 337, 518; decree of Trent on, 515. Confirmation, decree of Trent on, 510. Constance, council of, 376. Constantine the Great, his worldly patronage of the church disastrous to its spirituality, 29, 31; his supposed miraculous conversion, 30. Constantine, pope, his visit to Constantinople, 142. Copronymus, amusing anecdote of. 16, note. 161. ¦ v., emperor, opposes image worship. Constantinople, bishop of, becomes a rival to the bishop of Rome, 41. , city of, taken by the Turks, A. D. 1453, 423. Corpus Christi, festival of, 337, 339—341. Councils or Synods, origin of, 38. J first general, Nice I., A. D. 325, 72. , second general, Constantinople I., A. D. 381. Chron. Table. , third general, at Ephesus, A. D. 431. Nestorianism condemned, 86. , fourth general, at Chalcedon, A. D. 451. Chron. Table. , fifth general, Constantinople II., A.D. Chron. Table. t sixth general, Constantinople HI., A. D. 553. 680, 151. at Constantinople, A. D. 754, condemns image- worship, 162. ¦ ", seventh general, Nice II., A. D. 787, es tablishes image-worship, 164. , eighth general, Constantinople IV., A. D. 869. Chron. Table. , ninth general, Lateran I. (at Rome), A.D. 1122. Chron. Table. , tenth general, Lateran H., A. D. 1139. Condemns heretics, 543. -, eleventh general, Lateran III., A. D. 1179 Decrees the extermination of heretics, 302, 543. , twelfth general, Lateran IV., A. D. 1215, decrees Transubstantiation, extermination of heretics, &:c., 197, 331, 543. thirteenth general, Lyons I., A. D. 1245, 344 348. — , fourteenth general, Lyons H., A. D. 1274, —, fifteenth general, at Vienne, A. D. 1309, } and Chron. Table. , of Pisa, A. D. 1409, assembles to termi nate the great Western Schism, 373. sixteenth general, at Constance, A. D. 1414, 376 ; condemns the writings of Wickliflf 385; orders his bones to be dug up and burst, 386 : condemns Huss to the flames, 401—404 ; and Jerome, 411, 412; close of, the members dw- missed with indulgences as a fitting reward, 415, 416. - of Basil, A. D. 1431 ; its contest with pope Eugenius, 418 — 420. - — , seventeenth general, at Ferrara and Flo rence, A. D. 1437, 419 and Chron. Table. , fifth of Lateran, A. D. 1512, 434. , eighteenth general, Trent, A.D. 1545— 1563, 475—540. Cranmer, his martyrdom, 556. Creating God the Creator of all things, 203. Creed of pope Pius IV., 537. Crema, cardinal, detected in gross licentiousness, 271. Cromwell, his interposition on behalf of the per secuted Waldenses, 585. Cross, figure of, 105 ; incensing one, 259. Crusades to Palestine, resolved upon by pope Ur ban 11., in the conncil of Clermont, A. D. 1093, 359—263. Effects of, in enriching the church and the clergy, 265 ; crusade against the Albigenses of the south of France, under Montfort and the Pope's legate, 307. Cup denied to the laity by the council of Cobstance, 416 ; by the council of Trent, 527, Curse, annual, upon heretics at Rome, &c., 617. Cyprian of Carthage, excommunicated by Stephen, bishop of Rome, 33 ; the act of no authority, be cause papal supremacy was not established, 34. quoted, 71. Damasus and Ursicmus, bloody contest between them for the popedom, 35. Daniel the prophet, meaning of the littie hora, 133. Death for heresy, first instance in England, 272,373. Decretals, forged, 182—185, 224, 225; Wickliff con demned by the council of Constance for denying their authority, 386. Degradation, ceremony of, and reason, 551. De Maistre, his treatise published in 1819, advocat' ing the temporal supremacy of the popes, and defending to the fullest extent the doctrines of pope Hildebrand or Gregory VII., 254. Dens quoted on the papal supremacy, 44. Desubas, martyrdom of, in 1745, 608. Deylingius, his eleven propositions on the gradaal rise of the popes* tyrannical power, 355. Diagoras, the philosopher, anecdote of, 133. Dictates or maxims of Hildebrand, 252, 253. Dominic, St., his history, 324 ; his wonderful mira cles, 325. Dominican friare, 324 ; great champions of the Vir gin, 326. ALPHABETICAL INDEX. 667 Donation of Constantine, forged, 182, 183 ; remark of Daill6 on, S'W. Dotage, Popery is in its, notwithstanding its boasted numbers, 644. Drithelm, his visit to purgatory, 361. Dublin, baptism of bells at, 311. Dunstan, St., his birth, life, and miracles, 330—235. E. East, worshipping towards, adopted from Pagan ism, 114. Easter, dispute concerning, 33. Echthesis, the decree called, 134, 147, 148, 150. Ecstatica of Caldaro, 631. Edgar, king of England, persecutes the married clergy, 232, 333. Eligius, bishop of Noyon, specimen of his doc trine, 144. 145. Elizabeth, queen, excommunication of, by pope Pius v., 563. End of the world in the year 1000, wide-spread panic, 260. England, popery in, prior to the conquest, 227— 235 ; after the conquest, 266-292. , the kingdom of, laid under an interdict, 286. Epiphanius, in the fourth century, tears a painting down from a church, 98. Etheldreda, queen of Northumberland, forsakes her husband, and retires to a monastery, 139. Etoa, howling of devils in, heard by Odilo, 191, 360. Excommunication and interdict, fearful conse quences of, 225. Extreme unction, decree of Trent on, 534. F. Faith, none to be kept with heretics, 134, 309, 316, 325 (note), 400. Decrees of the council of Con stance establishing this doctrine, 413; plainly avowed by pope Martin V. in 1421, 414 ; also by Innocent VIH., 426. Fasts, decree of Trent on, 533. Feast of All Saints, established by pope Boniface of All Souls, to pray souls out of Purgatory, established by Odilo, 191, 360. Felix, bishop of Ravenna, his eyes put out by the Pope and the Emperor, 141. Festivals or saints' days increased, 188. — of the Ass described, 213. of Corpus Christi established, 337 ; man ner of observing it in Spain, 338 : in Rome, 341. Fornication sanctioned by the popish council of Toledo, 223. Francis, St., his life, 329. Frauds aud lying wonders of Romanists, 99. Frederick I,, Barbarossa, emperor, his dispute with the Pope, 293 ; deposed by pope Alexander HI., 294; his submission, leads the Pope's horse, 294. Frederick II., emperor, his quarrel wi^ the popes, 342-345. Fuller, the historian, his remark on the ashes of Wickliff cast into the river Severn, 387. 6. Garden of the Soul, its indecent confessional ques tions for females relative to the seventh com mandment, 517 'Genseric, king of the Vandals, takes and pillages Rome, 42. Glastonbury Abbey, 231. Golden age of Popery the iron age of the world, 336. Gregory the Great, bishop of Rome, his letters re lative to what he calls the blasphemous and In fernal title of Universal Bishop, 52-55. his flattery of the tyrant Phocas, 61 ; his abuse of tlie emperor flliuiritius after Phocas had murdered him, 62-63 ; his inhuman severity to a poor monk, 91 ; his letter to Ihe Emi'iL'ss in re ply to her request for ihe head of St. Paul, 107; his letters to Augustin and Serenus, directing them to connive at pagan rites, 130, 156, 238. - II., pope, his abusive lettLT to the emperor Leo for his opposition to images, 158, 159. - III., his letter to the Emperor on image- worship, 160. — -— encourages the worship of images, saints, and relics, 161. -VH., pope, 238, &c. ; his inordinate am bition and plans for universal empire, 240; his violent dispute with, and excommunication of the emperor Henry VI., 243-248 ; several other instances of his tyranny and usurpation over nations and kings, 249-353; his dictates, or max ims, 252, 253; made a Saint, and reverenced as such on the festival day of Saint Gregory VII., May 25th. IX., pope, his quarrel with the emperor Frederick H., 342, 343. X., 349. XVL, his encyclical letter of 1832, 619, 620 ; his bull of 1844, 633, 634. Gregory Nazianzen, his eulogy on the monastic life, 89. , his invocation to his departed father, and to St Cyprian, 97. Guibert of Nogent, his account of the multitudes that engaged in the crusades, 363, 264. H. Heathen rites adopted at Rome, 43 ; also in Eng land, 228. Helena, the discoverer of the wood of the true cross, (1) 31. Henry, bishop of Liege, his horrid profligacy, 348. Henry I., king of England, his quarrel with arch bishop Anselm, 209, 370. Henry IL, his quarrel with Becket, 274-379. Henry IV., emperor, excommunicated by Gregory VII., 243 ; stands three days at the Pope's gate before being admitted to kiss his toe, 244 ; his subsequent misfortunes and death, 247-249. Heretics, decree for the extermination of, by the third conncil of Lateran, 302; another of pope Lucius, 304 : another of the emperor Frederick, issued to oblige the Pope. 305 ; bull of Innocent III. against Albigenses, 309; right to extirpate, claimed by the Romish church, 320 ; decree of the fourth council of Lateran, commanding princes to extirpate them, 332; bull of Innocent VUI., against them, 425; decree against, by the fifth council of Lateran, 434 ; cursed by the fathers of Trent, 536. Hilarion, the Syrian hermit, 88. Hilary, quoted on "the Rock," 47. Hildebrand, or Gregory VII., 238, Sec. Holy water, 99. use of, adopted from Paganism, 116. Honorius, pope, 146, 147. condemned and anathematized for heresy by a general council, 153. Horses, blessing and sprinkling, on St. Anthony's day, 117. kneeling to the wnfer-idol, 199. Host, or consecrated wafer, worship of, 304, 337. Huss, John, of Bohemia, preaches against pope John's murderous crusade against Ladislaus, 375; his early life, 387 ; excommunicated by pope John XXIIL, 390; his opposition to indulgences, 668 ALPHABETICAL INDEX. 393, writes the Six Errors, Members of anti- Christ, &.C., and is summoned to the council of Constance, 397; imprisoned in violation of his safe-conduct, 400 ; his condemnation and degra dation, 401 ; his martyrdom, 403, 404. Idols of the heathen turned into popish saints, 124, 125. Ignorance of the bishops of the seventh century, 144. Image-worship, condemned by Justin martyr, Au gustine, Origen, fcc, 154 ; gradual introduction of, 155, 156 ; opposed by the emperor Leo, 157, &c. ; condemned by the council of Constantinople, A. D. 754, 162 ; established by the seventh gene ral council at Nice, A. D. 787, 164 ; decree of Trent on, 534. Incense, use of, adopted from Paganism, 115. Index of prohibited books, ten rules on at Trent, 491. Indulgences, granted to the cmsaders to Palestine, 363; for destroying the Waldensian heretics, 309,362; origin and history of, 356-366; granted as a reward to the members of the council of Constance, 415, 416 ; the preaching of by Tetzel the occasion of the reformation, 436 ; decree of Trent on, 583. Infallibility of the popes, disproved, 153. advocated by Bellarmine and Lewis Capsensis, 153. Infidelity gains nothing from the abominations of Popery, because Popery is not Christianity, and therefore not chargeable with them, 646. Innocent III., pope, establishes Transubstantiation, 197 ; his tyrannical treatment of king John of England, 282-291 ; his tyranny toward other nations, 294-299 ; his bloody crusade against the Albigenses, 307; favors the establishment of the Mendicant Orders, 334. Innocent IV., pnpe, issues a sentence of deposition against the emperor Frederick II., 344; his joy at Frederick's death, 345. — VIIL, pope, and his seven bastards, 435 ; his furious bull, against the Waldenses, 425, 436. Inquisition, its victims, tortures, &c., 568 ; bums a woman in 1781, 610 ; suppressed by Napoleon, 610. Intention, doctrine of, decreed at Trent, its ab surdity, 506 ; anecdote relative to, 509. Interdict, fearful consequences of, 335 ; laid upon England, its effects described, 286. Intolerance of Popery, 206 ; still the same, 613-618. Investiture of bishops with ring and crosier, dis pute about, 341, 242. Ireland given to king Henry by the Pope, 372. Irene, the wicked empress, her cruelties to her son Constantine, 163; favors image-worship, 164. Iron age of the world. Popery in its glory, 181, &c. Iron age of the world the golden age of Popery, ,235. Jansenists, opponents of the Jesuits, 601. Januarius, St., miracle of liquefying his blood, 629. Jerome's abuse of the heretic Vigilantius, 78, note; his definition of idols, 123. Jerome of Prague, 391-396 ; sets out for Constance, fiees in alarm, and is arrested, 407 ; his cruel im prisonment, recants, but soon renounces his re cantation, 408 ; his noble and eloquent protesta tions before the council, 409; his sentence, 411 : martyrdom, 412. Jemsalem taken by the crusaders, A. D. 1099, 264. Jesuits, establishlnent of the order of, 473 ; their missions in China, &c., 599 ; their plots against the lives of princes, 603 ; their suppression, 604 ; their oath, 605 ; their recent proceedings in Swit- zeriand, 639. Jew, unbelieving, fetches blood from the conse* crated wafer, 200. Jewish priesthood, rights and privileges of, claimed for the Christian clergy, 38. Jew's dog worships the wafer-idol, 199. John, king of England, commencement of his diEh- putewith pope Innocent, 283; his kingdom laid under an interdict, 386; excommunicated, 287; his degrading and abject submission to the ty ranny and insolence of the Pope and his legate, Pandulph, 288-291. — VIIL, pope, a most profligate pontiff, 216. — X., XL, XII , popes, their horrible licentious ness and profligacy, 217, 218. — XXIIL, pope, his ferocious crusade against Ladislaus, 375. Jovinian and Vigilantius, early reformers, 78. Jubilee, popish, established by Boniface VIIL, A. D. 1300, 364 ; Jubilee bull of 1834, 363 on a smaller scale, 364. of pope Clement in 1350, 366. Julius IL, pope, absolves himself from his oath, 439 ; a warlike Pope, his battles and slaughters, 433. Justification, decree of Trent on, 499; Tyndal quoted on, 503 ; Luther's experience on, 503. Justinian, the tyrant, kisses the Pope's foot, 143; his cruelties and tyranny, 142, 143. Justin Martyr quoted on image-worship, 154. EincaJd, Rev. Eugenie, letter of, on resemblance between Bhoodhism Emd Popery, 628. Kissing the Pope's toe, imitated from the pagan ty rant Caligula, 126 ; done by the emperor Jus tinian, 141. Ladislaus, king of Hungary, cmsadti against him by pope John XXIIL, 374, 375. Lainez, the Jesuit, at Trent, 527, Tiote. Lambeth palace, the building of, stopped by order of pope Innocent IIL, 280, 281. Lancaster, duke of, favors Wickliff's bible, 383. Langton, archbishop of Canterbury, 385. Lateran, third council of, its cmel decree against the heretical Waldenses, 302-304. , fourth, ditto, 333. fifth, ditto, 434. Latimer and Ridley, martyrdom of, 550. Latin tongue, mass to be performed in, 529. Lavaur taken by the popish crusaders, and the heretics burnt *' with infinite joy," 319, Le Febvre, his sufferings in France, 595. Leo the Great, bishop of Rome, 41, 43. IIL, emperor, issues his first decree against images, A. D. 726. 157 ; his second decree, which causes tumults, 158,160. — ^X., pope, his accession, 434; his careless re mark concerning Luther, 448. Letter from St. Peter in heaven to king Pepin, 171. Liberty of opinion and press. Popery opposed to, 620. Licence to read heretical books. Copy of one granted to Sir Thomas More, 497. Lodi, the popish bishop of, his ferocious harangue at the condemnation of Huss,' 401; and of Je rome, in which he mourns that he had not been tortured, 410, 411. ALPHABETICAL INDEX. 660 Lollard's tower described, 381, 383. Loretto, miracle of the holy house, and porringer, flying through the air, 630. Loyala, Ignatius, the founder of the Jesuits, 472 ; popish parallel between him and Luther, 473. Louis XIL, of France, hia quarrel with tho war rior-pope Julius, 433. Luitprand, king of the Lombards, 166. Luther, the great German reformer, 435, 435; his opposition to Tetzel and indulgences, 446 ; writes to pope Leo, and sends a copy of his solutions, 449; appears before cardinal Ci^etan at Aug5- bu^, his noble constancy, and return to Wittem berg, 454-459; discovers, by reading the Decre tals, that the Pope is anti-Christ, 459, 460 ; dis putes with Doctor Eck on the primacy uf the Pope at Leipsic, 460; burns the Pope's bull at Wittembei^, 463 ; finally excommunicated as an incorrigible heretic, 463, 464 ; appears before the Diet of Worms, 466-468; is seized nnd con fined in the castie of Wartburg, 469; translates the New Testament, 471 ; his death, 472 ; his experience, relative to justification, 503. M- Mabillon, his confusion of fictitious Romish saints, 100. Madeira, a woman condemned to death for heresy there in 1844, 614. Mahomet, 145. Man, Isle of, made a fief of the Romish church, 342. Manfred, son of the emperor Frederick, 345-347. Marolles, his sufferings in France, 596. Marriage, according to Taylor and Elliott, a neces sary qualification for a minister, 69, note. of the clergy, efforts to suppress, 2^ 235, 271, 273. Maotel, Charles, 166. Martin, bishop of Tours, his rudenras to the em peror MaximUB, 35 ; h^ character by father Ga han, 35; his funeral attended by 2000 of his monks, 89. Martin L, pope, banished by the Emperor, 151. IV., pope, deposes Don Pedro, king of Ar^ ragon, 350. — v., pope, advocates the doctrine of no faith with heretics, 414; his lofty tities, 418. Mary, bloody queen, her persecutions, 549. Mass, defects in, curious extract on, from the Romish missal, 507; decrees of Trent on the mass, 528. Matrimony, sacrament of, decree of Trent on, 531. Mauritius, emperor, and his family, murdered by the tyrant Phocas, 58, 59. Mauru, Pierre, his sufferings as a galley-slave, 596. Maximus, the monk, 148; disputes with Pyrrhus, 149. Medal, miraculous, 632. Mendicant orders, establishment of, 333; their vast increase, 330, 331 ; reproved by Wickliff on his sick bed, 380. Menerbe taken by the popish crusaders, and 140 of the Waldensian inhabitants burnt in one fire, 318. Middleton, Dr. Conyers, letters from Rome, 100, 113,&c. Midnight of the world, Popery m ita glory, 181, &c. Miltitz dispatched to Germany as legate to reduce Luther to submission, 459. Milton, his sonnet on the slaughtered Waldenses, 585. Miracles, pretended, of the Virgin, 189, 190 ; to establish the belief in the wafer-idol, 198, 199, 236 ; to enforce clerical celibacy in England, 233 of St. Dunstan, 331-235 ; of St. Dominic, 335 of the Virgin and the Rosary, 326 ; of St. Fran cis, 330 ; Januarius, St., 639 ; Loretto, 630 ; weep ing image, 631. Monasteries erected, 00 ; fertile in pretended saints, 93. Monkery, its early origin and growth, 87-92 ; imi tated from Paganism, 138; increase of reverence for, 185. Monks, profligacy of, 333. Monothelite controversy, origin and history of, 146- 153. Monte, De, cardinal, legato at Trent, 477; chosen pope though a Sodomite, 511. Montfaucon, his reflection on pagan tricks, equally applicable to popish, 132. Montfort, leader of the crusades against the here tical Albigenses, or Waldenses, 307 ; his horrible cmelty, 317, 318. Montreal, baptism of bells at, 207. Morse, professor, abused at Rome for not bowing to the popish idol, 341. Mount Soracte changed into St. Oreste, and wor shipped, 100. N. Nuntea, revocation of edict of, and cruel persecu tions which followed, 593-598. Naples, baptism of bells at, 207. Nestorian controversy, origin of, 86 Nice, council of, A. D. 325, 72. Nicholas, HI., pope, formerly cardinal John Caje tan, secures the independence of the popedom on the empire, 350. Nuns, crowning and consecrating of, 72. O. Oath of allegiance to the Pope, the first instance, 140 ; form of one taken by ^e emperor Otho, of allegiance to pope Innocent III., 298 ; the Jesuits', 605 ; the bishops', 615. Oaths, right of dissolving claimed by popes, 313, 439, 430. Odo, archbishop of Canterbury, his haughty pre tensions and letter, 330. Odoacer, king of the Heruli, subverts the western Roman empire, A. D. 476, 42. Orders, sacrament of, decree of Trent on, 530. Origen quoted on image worship, 1 54. Original sin decree of Trent on, 499. P. Pagan rites imitated, 98, 109-133, 228. -, close resemblance between popish and, 110, &.C. Pandulph, the Pope's legate in England, 387, 390, 391. Pantheon, dedicated to the Virgin and all the saints, 134. Papal States, 178, 179, 633. Paphnutius opposes the progress of clerical ce libacy, 73. Pascal, his provincial letters, 602. Paschasius Radbert, in the ninth century. Invents the doctrine of Transubstantiation, 194. Patriarch, title and ofiicfi of, 31, 38. Paul the hermit, 88. , saint, his leapinghead, and the fountains, 1 J3. Penance, decrees of Trent on, 514 ; " doing pen ance," false translation, 522. Pepin, mayor of the palace to the king of France, under the advice of the Pope, dethrones hia so vereign, Childeric IU-, 167, 168 ; succors Rome at the application of pope Stephen, 173, 670 ALPHABETICAL INDEX. Perseoudon, purifying influence of, on the primitive church, 26 ; origin of doctrine of the right of, 105; first instances of, in England, 272, 273; of the Albigenses, 307-319; one himdred and forty burnt in one fire at Menerbe, 318 ; an essential attribute of Popery, 320; fifty millions of vic tims, 541 ; enjoined by its g«neral councils, 542. Peter, no proof that he was ever at Rome, much less that he was bishop of Rome, 45 ; no proof that he was ever constituted by Christ head of the church, 46. Peter, Saint, consecrating a church iu person at Wesiminstcr, (!) 144. Peter's, St., church, described, 433. Peter the hermit preaches the Crusades, 359, 361. Petrus Vallensis, the monkish historian of the cru sades against the Albigenses, his rapture at the success of the popish crusades, and at the burn ing of the heretics, 317-319. Phocas the tyrant grants to pope Boniface the title of Universal Bishop, 55. Pilgrimages to Palestine, 98 ; encouraged by St. Gregory, 108 ; previous to the crusades, 259. Pious frauds, doctrinc, 105. Polydore Virgil confesses wax images as votive ofierings, to be derived from Paganism, 122; quoted on indulgences, 57. POPE, establishment of his spiritual supremacy, A. D. 606, 55. — ¦¦ ¦ of his temporal sovereignty, A. D. 756, 172, 173. Popery a subject of prophecy, 27. ¦, properly so called, established in 606, 56 ; according to its advocates, unchangable, 392, 548, 618. Prsetextatus, a heathen, his remark upon the ex travagance of the Roman bishops, 34. Press, freedom of, forbidden by pope Sixtus, A. D. 1472, by Alexander VI., A. D. 1501, and by the fifth council of* Lateran, and Leo X., A. D. 1517, 434 ; decree against at Trent, 488 ; rules of the Index, 491. Primitive churches, the simplicity of their organiza tion and government, according to Waddington, 36 ; to Gieseler and Mosheim, 37. Printing, invention of, a great blow to Popery, 434. Private judgment, decree against at Trent, 488. Processions of worshippers and self-whippers, imi tated from Paganism, 127. ' Profligacy of popish priests, 274, 348, 349. Profligate popes— John VIII., 216; Sergius III., 217; John X., 217; John XL, 217; John XU., 218 ; Benedict [X., 221 ; Alexander VL, 426. Prohibited books, rules on, at Trent, 491. Purgatory advocated by St. Gregory, 108 ; his con tradictory expressions, 359, 360 ; fears of, in the dark ages, 190, 361 ; this fiction the cause of in dulgences, 357, 361, 363; description of the tor ments in, 361 ; decree of Trent on, 532. Puseyism, or Oxford Romanism, rise of, 634. Pyrrhus, bishop of Constantinople, 147, 148; ex communicated by the Pope, and the sentence signed with the consecrated wine of the sacra ment, 149, 150. a. Quesnel, Father, his reflections on the New Testa ment condemned, 602. R. Rabanus Maurus in theni.ith century writes against the newly-invented doctrine of Transubstantia tion, 194, 195. Raimond, count of Thoulouse, refuses to butcher his heretical subjects, 307 ; excommunicated, 308 ; his submission and degrading penance, whipped on the naked shoulders by the Pope's legate, 313; his dominions given to the earl of Montfort, 333. Reformation, account of the, 436, &c. Relics enshrined jn churches, 93, 94 ; reverence for, 105, 106, 185 ; spurious, 186 ; trafiic in England, ^9 ; spurious brought in vast quantities from Palestine by the cmsaders, 265, 266; decree of Trent on reverence to, 533. Reverence of the barbarian conquerors for the priests of Rome, transferred to them tho reverence they bore to their heathen priests, 43, Rhemish testament, 77, note; quoted on clerical celibacy, 78 ; translated from the Vulgate, 488. Road-gods of the heathen imitated by papists, 125. Robert the monk, his account of pope Urban's speech on the Cmsades, 363, 263. Robert of Normandy acknowledges himself a vas sal of the Pope, 238. Rochette, martyrdom of, in 1762, 608. Rock on which the church is built not Peter, but Christ, 46. Roger, count of Beziers, his treacherous and cruel treatment by the Pope's legate, 315. Ronge, his noble expostulation against the impos ture of the holy coat at Treves, 637 ; founds a new church in Germany, 638. Rosary of the Virgin described* 189; pretended miracles performed by means of, 336 S. Sacraments, decree of Trent on, 505. Sardis, council of, 39. Satisfaction, decree of Trent on, 5^. Saints, pretended, lives of, 92; invocation of, 93; decree of Trent on, 533 : fictitious, St. Viar, Am phibolus, Veronica, &c., 101; multiplication of new, 186, 187. Schism in the Popedom, between Damasus and Ursicinus in 366, accompanied with civil war and bloodshed, 35 ; between Symmachus and Laurentius, about A. D. 500, 50. Schism, Great Western, 370-377, revived, 420. Scriptures, a popish priest's lament that they should be made common to the laity and to women, 383, 417 ; noble defence of, by Wickliff, 384; re garded by Huss as the only infallible authority, 389 ; and by Jerome, 410. Seneca quoted on the heathen self-whippers, 128. Sepulchres, praying at, 105. Serenus, bishop of Marseilles, destroys images, but is directed by Saint Gregory to connive at them to gratify the pagans, 131. Sergius L, pope, pays the exarch of Ravenna 100 pounds of gold for securing his election, 135. IIL, pope, the father of pope John Ihe bastard, by the harlot Marozia. Sicilian vespers, 348. Sigismund, the emperor, hia safe-conduct of Huss, 398; the safe-conduct shamefully violated, 400; his blushes at his baseness, 402, 468. Siricius, bishop of Rome, decrees the celibacy of the clergy, about A. D. 385, 77. Solicitation of females at confession, iustancesof, 336. Sovereignty, temporal of the Pope established, A. D. 756, 172, 173, 177, 178, 350. Spain, ignorance of the Bible there, 224, jiote. Stephen, bishop of Rome, excommunicates St Cyprian of Carthage, 33; his tyranny disre garded, 34. , pope, forges a'letter from St. Peter in heaven to kmg Pepin, 171. ALPHABETICAL INDEX. 671 Stubbes, old Philip, his curious account of the baptism of bells, A. D. 1598, 213. Supererogation, works of, 363; still believed by papists evident from Jubilee bull of 1824, 363. Supremacy, papal, not established in the fourth century, 39; steps toward it, 39-44 ; divine right of, claimed after the fall of Rome, 44 ; this claim disproved, 44-50 ; finally established by the favor of Phocas the tyrant, A. D. 606, 55; immediate consequences of its establishment, 57. Switzerland, recent proceedings of the Jesuits in, 639. Sylvius, .^neos, afterwards pope Piua IL, 388, 418- 423 ; whe-u Pope, renounces his former opinions against tho supreme authority of the popes, and condemns his former self, -i^i. Symmachus and Laurentius, bloody struggle be tween them for the popedom, 50. Symeon, the pillar saint, 90. Synods, or Councils, origin of, 38. T. Tax-book for sins, extract from, 437; its different editions and genuineness proved, 437, 438. Temperance argument, against the inspiration of the Apocrypha, 484. TertuUian quoted, 38, 70. Tetzel, the famous peddler of indulgences for pope Leo X., 439 ; his mode of dlspc^ing of his com modities, 440-445; bums Luther's theses against indulgences, 447; his own theses burnt by the students of Wittemberg, 448. Theodore, archbishop of Canterbury, 135 ; tarries three months to have his head shaved, 139. Tonsure, disputes about different forms, 136, Tradition regarded by the papist and the Puseyite as of equal or superior authority to the Bible, 68 ; decree of Trent on, 479. Transubstantiation, the most absurd of all inven tions of the dark ages, 193 ; its origin in the eighth and ninth centuries, 193, 194; decreed by the fourth council of Lateran m 1315, 197, 337; anecdote to show its absurdity, 197; its canni balism, ^1 ; curses of Trent against those who refine to believe it, 205 ; the great buming arti cle, 337 ; decree of Trent on, 511. Trent, coimcil of, 475-540. Turnbull, Rev. Robert, his letter on Popery in Italy, 626. Tyndal quoted on Justification, 502. Type, the decree called, 150. U. United States, Romish missions in, 641 ; statistics of Romanism in, 642. Universal Bishop, contest about this title between the bishops of Rome and Constantinople, 51 ; St. Gregory writes against, 52-54 ; pope Boniface, his successor, a few years later, solicits and ob tains it, 55. , the badge and the brand of anti- Christ, 64. Urban II„ pope, horribly blasphemous expression of, 203, 269 ; his eloquent speech in the council of Clermont on behalf of the crusades to Pales tine, 262, 263. VL, election of, commencement of the Great Western Schism, 371, 372 ; raiaos a cru sade against his rival pope, 378; against which Wickliff protests in England, 378 V. Valentinian the emperor, law of, favoring the pow er of the bishop of Rome, 40. Veronica, St., and the holy handkerchief, 102. Vicini, his insurrection in 1832, in the papal States, 633. Victor, bishop of Rome, presumes to excommuni cate his brethren of the East, 32. Vigilantius and Jovinian, the early reformers, 78. Virginity, Chrysostom's extravagant praise of, 75, Virgin Mary, early superstitious notions concemine her, 81 ; worship of, 82-86, 189 ; her pretended miracles, 189, 190, 326, 631. Virgins of the Tyrol and their stigmata, 630. Vomit of the wafer ordered in the Romish missal to be swallowed again by the priest, 509. Votive gifts and offerings, imitated from Paganism, 131. Vulgate, Latin, decree of Trent establishes It as authentic, 486; two infallible editions of, with 3,000 variations between them, 487. W. Wafer-idol, worship of, worse than heathenism, 204. Walch quoted on the uncertainty of the first bishops of Rome, 48, note. Waldenses, testimonies to their characters and mo rals, by Evervinus, 299, 300 ; by Bernard, Claudius, and Thuanus, 301; persecution of, 304, 314-319, 579-586. Waldo, Peter, 304 Whately quoted on uncertainty of the apostolic succession, 49, note. Wickliff, his birth, life, and death, 377-383; speci- meR of his translation of the New Testament, 380; his bones dug up and biu'nt by the papists 44 years after his death, 386. Wilfrid, bishop of York, appeals with success to the Pope, 139. William the Conqueror appeals to the Pope to li cense his invasion of England, 266; pays Peter- pence, but refuses to do homage to pope Gregory for the kingdom of England, 253 ; arrests Odo, bishop of Bayeux, not as a bishop, but as an earl, 367. William Rufus, 267. Worms, Diet of, and Luther's noble defence before it, 465-468. Z. Zillerthal, exiles of, in the Tyrol, 612. Zwingle, Ulric, the Swiss reformer, 461. INDEX OF ENGRAVINGS. Paob. I. Frontispiece. Elevation and worship of the wafer at Mass. 2. Emblematical title-page. 3, 4. Crowning of Nuns and anathema against false Nuns, - - - - 73 5. Way-side shrine of the Virgin. Calabrian minstrels playing in her honor, 83 6. Worship of the image of the Virgin in a church, ----- 83 7. Relics carried in procession to a church to be consecrated, - - - - 95 8. The Bishop closing up the Relics in the Altar, ------ 95 9. Praying at the Tombs of the Martyrs, -..-... 103 10. Sprinkling and blessing of horses at Rome on St. Anthony's day, - - 119 11. Different forms of priestly tonsure, or shaving heads, ... 137 12. Consecration of an Abbot by the imposition of hands, .... 137 13. St. Peter's Church, with the Piazza, Colonnade, Obelisk, and Fountains, - 179 14. Romish ceremony of the Baptism of Bells, ...... 209 15. Remains of Glastonbury Abbey, the scene of St. Dunstan's miracles, - 233 16. The Emperor Henry IV. doing penance at the gate of the Pope's palace, - 245 17. Marking the foreheads of the people with ashes on Ash- Wednesday, - 257 18. The ceremony of Incensing a Cross, ....... 257 19. Two kings leading the Pope's horse at the castle of Toici, in France, . 275 20. View of Lambeth palace, near London, ....... 283 21. Doorway in the Lollard's tower, an apartment of the palace, - - .283 22. King John delivering up his crown to Pandulph, the Pope's legate, - - 289 23. Emperor Barbarossa leading the Pope's mule through St. Mark's square, . 295 24. Count Raimonds' degrading penance— whipped around the monk's tomb, - 311 25, 26, 27. The Scapular, Rosary, Consecrated Wafer, Standards of Inquisition, &c. 327 28. Procession of Corpus Christi at Rome. Colosseum, in the foreground, - 339 29. Wickliff rebuking the Mendicant Friars, 381 30. The dead body of a Pope lying in state, ------- 381 31, 32. Jerome's contrast. The Master and the Servant. Christ and the Pope, 393 33. Burning of John Huss at Constance 4Qg 34. Rome and St. Peter's from the bridge of St. Angelo. Accident at Jubilee, 421 35. The Pope as a warrior. Pope Julius in battle, 43I 36. The Pope as a God. Adored on the high altar of St. Peter's, - - - 431 37. Tetzel selling indulgences, -... ....441 38. Burning of Bibles by Romish Priests at Champlain, N. Y., . . . 441 39, 40. Auricular Confession in a church, and in a sick chamber, - . .519 41. Ceremony of the degradation of a Priest, previous to Martyrdom, - - 553 42. Burning of Latimer and Ridley at Oxford 553 43. Cranmer's renunciation of his Recantation, in St. Mary's Church, Oxford, 559 44. Martyrdom of Cranmer,—" This hand hath sinned, this hand shall suffer," 559 45. Prison of the Inquisition at Cordova, in Spain, 5G5 46. Tortures of the Inquisition. Pulley, and roasting the feet, - - - 571 47. Lady after torture brought before the tribunal of the Holy Office, - - 571 48. Procession of heretics condemned by the Inquisition to an Auto da ft, - 577 49. Cruelties of the Popish Piedmontese soldiery to the Waldenses, - - 583 50. Children forcibly taken from their parents to be brought up as Papists, - 583 51. Massacre of St. Bartholomew's, in Paris, in 1572, - . . .591 52. Fac-simile of Papal Medal in honor of Massacre of St Bartholomew's, - 591 TO YOUNG PERSONS. My Dear Youno RsACfttt : I take this mothotf of inforniing you that t hav6 lately prepared and published * vrorTif entitled, "Qidle Biographt, or the Livea and Characters of aU the principal personages recorded in the Sacred Writings,^' omheUishod with about three hundred pew and beautiful pictures, illustrating* Scripture Scenery, His tory, Geography, Antiquities, Ac. It is well known to all my young friends, wlvo have been brou^it up in Sabbath Sohoo)s,^and had Chris tian Parents and Teachers to instruct thotUi that the Scriptures are largely mode up of the lives of individuals, nnd doubtless for tnii rea son, to show us specimens of human character in every variety of kind and condition, that uur understanding may be eiercised, and we may, when entering into the world, be better pre pared to cleave to what is good, and avoid what is evil. But to come at once to my story i I have written the above book for your amusement and instruction ; and the world may take it for what it is worth. I have illus trated the "Bible BroGRAPHY" with pic ture*. I have written for the Young ; out oa I desire that this vblume may not be forced upon any body, I say in the title page that it ii designed for famihes, I wish it to be permit ted to enter the family circle, and take iti chance to make its way. If it is placed, not as a task book, on the table, perhaps the cnildren may patronise it ; perchance the parents may deign to look into it. The Editor in his Pbb- FACE says : — " In deUneating the Scripture Characters, I had Young Persons chiefly in my view. End have therefore endeavored to render the whole pleasing and instructive to them. The se^Sa of piety cannot be sown too early, and nothing will so much recommend reli^on as an agres- able form. History and Biography are very attractive to young minds, (especially when accompanied vith correct and suitable engra vings, illustrative of the facts and scenes re corded in the Sacred Volume,) and if we con recommend the essential principles of religion, by means of this species of composition, an imjxirtant service will be rendered to the rising generation. " This method is also well calculated for family instruction on Sabbath evenings, ai nothing will excite attention or produce reflec tion so much as an entertaining and interesting narrative. Most of the articles in this Tolnme are of such length aa to be easily read through in one sitting ; a few only are considerably longer— these may be divided into two or three portions, a.s shall appear most convenient." I do not ask any one to read this book ; but ^ if your parents, your older brothers or sis ters, wish to hear you recite these " Sacred Narbatives," they have the easy means of doing ao. The book is no story-teUer — it deals not in Sacrbd Fiction— but in Truth, and eternal realities. How cruel and wicked do those Christian Publishers act, who publish and sell lies, to deceive and rob you of your time and money '. My dear young friends — I call your attention to the Bible— the whole Bible— and nothing but the Bible. True, I have given you several hundred pictures, — some few of which are imaginary, or fancy sketches of Scripture scenes and events— lioping thereby to reconcile you tD the drier parts of the work. Every page you will find richly spiced with new and beautiful En gravings ; for 1 would gain your attention by every available art. Notwithstanding the many books pubhshed in every department of hterature and morals, I believe there is nona that occupies the field ejcplored by the one now before you. You cannot well do without it. It is attractive and engaging, and is just such o book as will carry blessings into every house it enters. It is not for fathers only, or mothers, or the Yodno, but for the family— the whole Christian Family But to you, the youthful portion of my readers, would 1 more especially recommend a diligent attention to the many interesting subjects which win be found in ita pages. For you the work has been chiefly prepared, and to these important ends, that your knowledge of Scripture may be enlarged ; that your faith in its truth may be confirmed ; and that it may be said «f each one of you, as the apostle Paul said of Timothy, " From a child thou hast knovm the Holy Scriptures, whicii are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which ia in Christ Jesus." — 2 Tim. in. 15. I wish you, therefore, to ask your Parents and Teachers to call and examine this work ; and if they are anti«»6ed « its utility and the correctness of the above statement, to procure you a copy. Then I want you to read n care* rally and prayerfully yourselves ; and as you read, think and feel. If yon will do this, and keep close to your Bible, you will gain much Scripture knowledge — you will be able, ere long, to extract useful lessons from almost every verse of the Bible. You will grow up useful members of both civil and religious aocietjjj You will rosiit temptation and conquer. You will hear the sarcasm of the profligate without leading you to sin ; and whilf the Atheist says not only in his heart, but with hie hps, "There is no God," you will see the hand of acieatingr God, and reverence it— of a preserving Gon, and rejoice in it. Youthful Reader ! with the Bible, alone, for rour foundation, you will stand amid the temptations of the world like a self-balanced tower. Happy he who seeks and gains the prop and shelter of Christianity. If these should be the fruits of my labors, the end 1 have demred will be attained. FAREWELL. ^D-T" To Sabbath School Teachers, Superintendents, and Scholars.— Where Companies often or more unite in a Sabbath School, the work is put ¦tthe low price of $2.00— the wholesale price to Booksellers and Agents. Where this is done, in all cases, the Teacher or Super atendent must pro- •nre them direct from the Pubhsher, No. 114 Fulton-st., New York City , a*d in the British Provinces ef G. & E. Sears. K»ng-st.. St. John, N. B — • E. WALKER, 114 Fdlton-bt.— .4 G^JVTS WAJ^TED /JV TOWJT AJ^D COUKTRT OS^XTpwards of 14,00d copies of the above instmetive and beautiful volume have been sold ui the apace of two CONTAINING THREE HUNDRED BEAUTIFUL PICTURES r y WU^ ^rWiWS ' THIS IS UNQUESTIONABLY ONE OF THE MOST USEFUL AND POPULAR WORKS EVER GOT UP. IT IS DESTINED TO HAVE A TREMENDOUS SALE."— iitoary Advertiser. TO THE WHOLE WOULD! ©MM A^ MM^MIEIPIEIIgll ! ! I]J=A MAGNIFICENT BOOK.Xtt FIVE HUNDRED ENGRAVINGS. STOREHOUSE OF KNOWLEDaE FOR ALL READERS. THE BEST FOOD FOR THE MIND. By A CAEEFUL EXAMINATION of this Adyertisement is respectfully requested of ALL PERSONS under whose eye it may come. sss= ©W'^J b. Just Published, and for sale at No. 114 Fulton-street, New York city, AN IMPORTANT, VALUABLE, AND CHEAP WORK, Complete in One Volume Royal Octavo — containing about 600 Pages of Letteb-Pkess, and nearly FIVE HUNDRED ENGRAVINGS, Elegantly bound in gilt; price only $3.60 per Copy: Tonng and Old may here increase their Knowledge. WONDERS OF THE WORLD, 35n Nature, ^tt, unts ^ints* C0MFRISII7G A COMPLETE X I B K A R Y OP USEFUL AND ENTERTAINING KNOWLEDGE, And illustrated by nearly FIVE HUNDRED ENGRAVINGS, consisting of Views of Cities, Edifices, and other great works of Architecture, Monuments, Mechanical Inventions, Ruins, Illustrations of the Manners and Costumes of different Nations, Religious Rites and Ceremonies, Cataracts, Volcanoes, Curiosi ties, Trees, Beasts, Birds, Fishes, Reptiles, and the numerous objects cnntataed in the Fossil, Vefjelable, Mineral, and Animal Kingdoms. Carefully compiled by ROBERT SEARS, from the best and latest sources. On a subject embracing so vast a range as the rich and innumerable "Wonders of "Nature's Storehouse," the lEditor has endeavored to produce a work com mensurate with its soul-expanding importance. The contemplation of the nu merous objects contained in the Fossil, Vegetable, Mineral, and Animal King doms, lavished so bountifully around us, discovers facts of an interesting and extraordinary character, and alone presents abundant material for intellectual energy and research. The wonders of the Antediluvian "World— the massive mountain rising above the neighboring hills— the volcano and earthquake, each spreading devastation in its course— the ever-sounding and boundless deep—the clear blue vault of heaven, studded through illimitable space with countless orbs—are phenomena that must enlarge and elevate the mind, induce ennobling views of the Universal Governor, and teach us our dependance upon his power, his wisdom, and his goodness, 111 the varied works of art on which man has exercised his genius and indus try, in which Science and Philosophy have aided his efforts, are recorded all that is rare, curious, and admirable ; marking the gradual progress and advancing stages of inijirovement. The Wonders of the Mind— the Creator's higYiest work, his mirror and repre sentative—do not inaptly engage our thoughts. The mind is in itself a micro cosm, man's chief and highest distinction— a transcript of that Intellectual Energy that first gave birth to Nature. To select these pearls, and to seize the beauties every where presented to ua, form the features of " the Wonders of the World." On all subjects, reference has been constantly made to every available source of information : the veil of error and credulity which too often obscures the narrative of the traveller has been carefully withdrawn ; the most recent and best accredited authorities (whe ther English or American) has been sedulously compared, and data given for fiir ther research ; so that truth without alloy may usher in the varied departments of Nature's "ample bound." The work is embellished with spirited Engravings, derived from authentic sources, which, if regarded as highly-finished specimens of art, or vivid pictorial illustrations of the subjects, will be found superior to ntost contemporary pro- cUictlons. Tor further particulars, pteaae to address the suoscrfoer, post patd, E. \VALKER. 114 FULTCW-0TREET. N Y ' JJd- Every famiiy should ai least have one copy of tlm work, as ihe pieeee are snort^ and can be read ai leitiure moments. g^POSTMASTEKS.— Agents of Newspapers and Periodicals.— Book FefUers tec. won.d do weil to emoarK in the saie of this Work. _) " A COMPLETE TREASURY OF USEFUL KNOWLEDGE— WORTHY OF A PLACE IN EVERY FAMILY LIBRARY THROUGHOUT THE LAND."— Sun. YALE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY 3 9002 01267 2060