ed out all who would not be driven nor deceived by them, with malicious and opprobrious Names, proper to expofe them to Hatred and ill Ufage. Heretic, Apoftate, Unbeliever, Schifmatic, and the like hard and equivocal Words, were found ftrangely effectual towards ftirring up Rage, Revenge, and relentless War, against thofe unhappy People who were mifcalled by them; fo effectual! that the fame Set of Men have never fuffered the fame Set of Words to wax obfolete, but to this Day use them, and cause them to be used, to the fame impious and antichriftian Purpose, and (where the Law does not reftrain their bloody Hands, and guard the Innocent) with the fame Success.

WHEN these ungodly and merciless Ecclefiaftics had thus, under the Cloak of Religion, craftily raised the blind Refentment, and impious Zeal, of their deluded Followers, against their Chriftian Brethren, who preferred the Spirit of the Gospel, and the honeft Convictions of their Confciences, to the Pride and Commands of Men; there followed fuch amazing Instances of Cruelty, and fuch terrible Scenes of Blood, as muft affect the Hearts, and the Eyes, of all who read them, or hear of them, if they poffefs either Chriftian Grace, or natural Compaffion. Chriftians were, by their Priefts, fet on to butcher Christians; and to make Havock of each other, in the Name of that Religion, which was diftinguished from all other Religions, by a Spirit of Meekness, Mercy, and Love: And all this, perhaps, for their different Manner of explaining a Mystery, which could not be explained; or which, if explained, ceased to be one.

THIS reftlefs and unrelenting Rage, which Christians practifed, at the Inftigation of their

C 5

Clergy,

Clergy, upon one another, for Thoughts and Opinions which they could not help, was a strong and lafting Stumbling-Block in the Way of the Unconverted; who could have but fmall Appetite for a Religion, which difowned all Kindred to Peace and Humanity, and infpired its Votaries with fuch cruel Hatred, and fuch dreadful Fury: For, in fhort, that was the Religion which they were to embrace; a Religion no longer to be found in the Gofpel of Chrift, but in the ridiculous Systems, and selfish Inventions, of Priests. And it was no wonder that the Heathens were backward and afraid to embrace a Religion, in which the involuntary Mistake of a prieftly Diftinction, without a Meaning, might coft them their Lives, and ruin their Families.

So terrible and deformed had mercilefs Chrif tian Priests rendered the merciful and amiable Christian Religion! Their outrageous Zeal was become fo powerful, and had fuch bloody Effects, that the Pagan Perfecutions were real Advantages. to Christianity, as they gave it a breathing Time from the more fatal Perfecutions, and even Adulterations, of its own Priefts; who, while the civil Sword was over their Heads, being obliged to abfcond or fly, could not throw about their Balls of Contention and War; and therefore, against their Will, left Religion to flourish, as it always did, under thofe Pagan Perfecutions, which their own turbulent and feditious Behaviour had often brought upon it. This is indeed their highest Praise, that the Church reaped Good from their Wickedness.

THE Pagan Perfecutions no fooner ceased, but the War of the Chriftian Priefts recommenced; and the Perfecutions raised by them were ever

more mercilefs, and more dreadful, than those which were raised by the Heathen Princes; forafmuch as they added, as far as they could, the Destruction of the Soul to that of the Body: So complete was their Vengeance! And, befides, it had no End: The Severity of the Heathens had long and frequent Intermiffions; but the Cruelty of the Priests was infatiable.

THE Perfecutions practifed by the Pagans, had moreover this Mitigation, that they were occafioned for the most part by the Words and external Behaviour of Chriftians, who contemned their Gods, neglected their Temples, and ridiculed their Manner of Worship: In all which, though they had Reason and Truth on their Side; yet they provoked by fo doing these ignorant Bigots, whofe falfe Religion laid no Reftraint upon their Paffions, but on the contrary greatly inflamed them. But the priestly War was waged against the Mind itfelf; the free and independent Mind! They would be controuling the voluntary, neceffary, and invincible Motions and Operations of the Soul; and be putting Bonds upon the Imagination, which is as ungovernable as the Wind or the Sea. You must say after them, nay, you must think after them, and believe by their Direction; and either be Slaves or Hypocrites. A terrible and inflexible Tyranny! It was to no Purpose to alledge, that you could not perform Impoffibilities, nor fee with other Mens Eyes: You must be punished for what you could not help; you must be delivered to Satan, in fpite of your Innocence; and rewarded with Hell for your Sincerity, and Well-meaning: And the fame honeft Qualities which intitled you to the certain Favour of God, provoked the certain Vengeance

of his pretended Embaffadors; to whofe Empire, Virtue and Truth are ever the moft formidable Foes. To complete this ghoftly Barbarity, not appeafed by Death and Damnation, your good Name must be murdered with your Body, and your Memory loaded with monftrous Calumnies, and bitter Defamations; which mercilefs Treatment could be expected only from that accurfed Spirit, who had been a Lyar and a Murderer from the Beginning; or from thofe who are acted by him. To pity you, was unpardonable; and to fpeak well of you, was to involve all those who did it, in your Doom. Thus holy Wrath is, of all others, the fooneft kindled, the fierceft while it burns, and the floweft in going out, if ever it goes out.

IT would be endless to give Inftances of the bloody Spirit of fuch fort of Churchmen. They are the only Body of Men upon Earth who poffefs leaft of human Compaffion. They have been even ingenious in Cruelty, and shewed vaft Invention in their rigid, various, implacable, and exquifite Manner of executing it. Ita feri, ut fe mori fentiat, feems to have been the Doctrine and Delight of the Church, as well as of Caligula. Neither he, nor Phalaris, nor Perillus, nor Nero, nor any other Pagan Monster, who made himfelf Sport with human Agonies and Mifery, has exceeded them in the Variety and Inhumanity of his projected Tortures, nor equalled them in the Length.

IT is a melancholy Obfervation, that the Mahometans, who by Principle use the Sword as their great and moft prevailing Apoftle for the Propagation of their Religion, do yet frankly tolerate Christianity, and every Sect of it, all over their

Dominions;

Dominions; and that, on the contrary, Chriftians, who by the Doctrine of the Gofpel are allowed the Ufe of no Means but thofe of Gentlenefs and Perfuafion, to promote the Faith of Jefus Chrift, do yet exercise Fiercenefs and Barbarity upon all who differ from them, where-ever the Mercy of the Government does not reftrain the Cruelty of the Clergy. Thus far the Turks act, as if they were conducted by Grace, and obeyed the Precepts of our bleffed Saviour; and thus far the Chriftians act, as if they had adopted the Spirit and Fierceness of Mahomet, and renounced the Gospel for the Alcoran.

HOWEVER, that I may not feem partial to the Mahometans, I fhall add this mournful Reflection; namely, That too many of the Chriftian Clergy do justly fhare with these Infidels, the infamous Praife of having almoft difpeopled the Earth. The Infidels have flain their Thousands, and They their Ten. Thoufands. They have been the great Promoters of Cruelty, and the Sword; they have been the conftant Patrons of Arbitrary Power, that mighty Engine for rendering Mankind few and miferable; they have been the continual Authors of War, Famine, and Maffacres; and, in fine, they have been the great Inftruments of driving Virtue, Truth, Peace, Mercy, Plenty, and People, out of the World. Kill all, faid the Abbot Arnold, a Monk militant, to the Army, which being employed by the Church to flaughter the poor pious Albigenfes, had taken the City of Bezier, and being Laymen, were inclining to have fome Mercy; Kill all, cried this bloody Priest: God knows his own, and will reward them hereafter. Accordingly Two Hundred Thoufand of thefe confcientious Chriftians, and Catholics mixed

with