teem oaths only as matters of form, and their breach to be but common qualifications for preferment.

2. Secondly, when they go into holy orders, they profess, that they are inwardly moved by the Holy Ghost to take upon them their office : though nothing is more notorious, than that many are inwardly moved by the prospect of power and wealth, and by necessity of a mainten ance; and that many use all the arts and means, to no purpose, to procure to themselves law and physick fellowships in colleges, and other lay-preferments, (where no engagements contrary to their judgments and consciences are requisite) in or avoid the burden of going into orders and by consequence, they feel no inward motions of the Holy Ghost; unless the Holy Spirit can be supposed constantly to concur, just as serves the purposes of men engaged in the pursuit of their temporal interests. Here then is a solemn lye and prostitution of the conscience, in all those who do not feel themselves moved by the Holy Ghost.

3. Thirdly, many of the clergy abroad subscribe articles of religion, which they do not believe. Mr. Whiston (Essays, &c. p. 237.) says, " he believes there is scarce one clergyman, even of our reformed church, that has considered and examined things with any care, who believes all the 39 articles in their proper and original meaning," This implies, that the unbelievers, among the clergy, of the articles, are very numerous; unless it be suppesd, that few of the clergy consider and examine things with any care. But the thing is manifest from the sophistry and knavery used by many of them to palliate their subscription to the articles; which imply, that they do not believe those articles. (1.) Some pretend to subscribe them as articles, which, though in part erroneous, they oblige themselves not to contradict. (2.) Some pretend to subscribe them in any sense, wherein they can understand them according to the rules of grammar. (3.) Some pretend to subscribe them in any sense, wherein they can reconcile them to scripture. (4.) And others choose the sense, which they pretend to subscribe them in, out of the several senses which they suppose intended to be held forth by the same articles. And I wish more of them pretended to subscribe them honestly and fairly, namely, in the sense really intended by the imposers, who, to prevent diversity of opinions, impose their own sense, as agreeable to scripture; and therefore cannot be supposed to have intended, that the articles should differ from all other writings, which all readers endeavour to understand in the one meaning intended by the authors. Nay, to subscribe the articles without believing them, is so reputable among the highchurch priests, that a fair subscriber, that is, one who subscribes in the one sense which he supposes originally intended, passes amongst them for the worst of men, namely, a presbyterian, and an enemy to the church.

4. Fourthly, every clergyman instituted into any benefice, swears, that he has made no simoniacal payment, contract or promise, directly or indirectly, by himself, or by any other, to his knowledge, or with his consent, to any person or persons whatsoever, for or concerning the procuring and obtaining of his ecclesiastical dignity, place, preferment, otice or living, (respectively and particularly naming the same whereunto he is to be admitted, instituted, collated, installed, or confirmed)

nor will at any time hereafter perform or satisfy any such kind of payment, contract or promise, made by any other, without his knowledge or consent; so help him God through Jesus Christ. Now, whether any of them break this oath, I leave to the consideration of the reader who ought to esteem all clergymen taking it guilty, that either make presents to any body, or marry, or compound with the patron about tythes, in order to get the benefice; no less than those who, by bargain, pay money before or after the benefice is procured, are guilty.

5. Fifthly, an oath of allegiance to his majesty king George is taken by all beneficed clergymen; who may be justly deemed perjured, if they do not pay the same regard to his majesty, which they pretend to have been due to king Charles the first, or second, or to queen Anne at the beginning and latter end of her reign. The popularity and credit, to which this perjury entitles the high-church clergy among one another, and the disgrace attending those who are faithful to the oaths which they have taken, (the former being dubbed by them honest men, and good churchmen for breaking their oaths; and the latter rogues and betrayers of the church for keeping them ;) leaves us no room to doubt, that the perjured of this kind are but too numerous. However, I am willing to think it would be injustice to say, that many laymen need not not go out of their own parishes, to find one at least, and often more, where there are lecturers and curates.

The difficulty therefore mentioned in the beginning of this paper, admits of a plain solution; and it is as easy to conceive, that men, who begin the world in this manner, should exceed others in wickedness; who either begin the world innocently, or are under no necessity to begin it wickedly; as it is to conceive, that butchers and soldiers should be less humane than others, or that young women once prostituted, should lose all modesty. C.

NUMBER 18.

A general idea of Priest-Craft..

I have in my eighth and other papers, vindicated the Almighty from the imputation of obscurity in revealing his will to mankind; and shewn, that he is plain, exact, and even circumstantial, when he delivers his precepts to them. I shall now expose the contrary proceedings of weak and corrupt men; by giving a general idea of the principal arts, by which the designing priests of all religions have kept their craft and impostures from a discovery, and made the truth as far as they could, inaccessible.

Every mad action, or principle, in religion and government, must have some appearing cause assigned for it, proper to make the people stare, and to hide the true one. Mankind, as tame as priests and ty rants have made them, will not be content to be deceived or butchered without having a reason for it. The pope, who assumes a power to

judge for all men, and devotes whole nations to damnation and massa + cre, and sends people to heaven or hell in colonies, just as their money or disobedience determines him, acts a very consistent part in tying the keys of both worlds to his girdle, and in stiling himself God's absolute vicar general. These are his reasons; and the catholick and more orthodox parts of Europe are well content with them.

In former reigns, when many of our English clergy thought fit to tie us band and foot, and deliver us over to our kings, as their proper goods and chattels, to be fed or slayed according to their sacred will and pleasure, they told us, it was the ordinance of God, that one man might glut his lust, or his cruelty, with the destruction of millions, and if we kept out of harm's way, we were assuredly damned. And these were their reasons then. Of late, it is true, many of them have chang ed their doctrine and their behaviour. We are, it seems, at present living in the guilt of rebellion, which is a damnable sin; and so we are to rebel upon pain of damnation, to free ourselves from the damina. tion which follows rebellion. These are their reasonings now.

Formerly, when some certain persons were content to be protestants the church of Rome was a spiritual Babylon, and the scarlet whore, and Sodom; and the pope was anti-Christ; for he sat in the temple of God, and exalted himself above all that is called God. But this was truth, and could not hold long, considering into whose hands it was fallen; and therefore in a little time, when they had a mind to get into the pope's place, and to do and say as he did, the church of Rome be came all of a sudden a true church, and an old church, and our mother church. In short, the old withered harlot and mother of whoredoms grew a great beauty, and her daughter here in England resembled her mamma more and more every day she lived, and gave the foregoing reasons for it.

From hence it is plain, that though for every imposture some cause must be assigned, yet a very indifferent one will serve the turn. The gross of the world are dull and credulous: Few make any enquiries at all, and fewer make successful ones. It is, however, still best if the cheat stands upon such a foundation, that it cannot be searched nor examined by any human eye.

When Numa Pompilius told the Romans, that he conversed familiarly with the nymph Egeria; which of them could pay her a visit, and ask her whether the prince and she were in earnest such very good neighbours? And when Mahomet took such a wide range through the other world upon his nag Elborach, and told wonders at his return; there was neither man nor horse in all Arabia, that could take the same journey to disprove him; or when he was pleased to be thought conversant with the angel Gabriel, I donot hear that ever the angel signed a certificate that they were no wise acquainted. The quack who had found out the true fern seed and the green dragon, thought it no doubt, a bard matter to prove him a lier.

In the heathen temples of old, neither the Sybils, nor any other priests or belchers of prophecy, male or female, were answerable for the oracles and dark sayings which they uttered. They had what they said from God, who never once contradicted them. It was impossible to come at him for personal information; and a very profane crime not to believe his priest; and to distrust the deity himself was almost as

bad; you had nothing to do, but to captivate your reason to your faith, and swallow the verbum sacerdotis. If you did not, the judg ment of the God, that is, the anger of the priest was sure to pursue you, -The same policy has ever been practised by the deluders of mankind in all names and shapes. They have always entrenched them. selves behind the ramparts of mystery, uncertainties and terrours. The Romish clergy maintain all their pretensions and power by doc. trines, which are calculated to make the people either wonder or tremble. And when a man has lost his courage and his understanding, you may easily cheat or terrify him into as tractible an animal as the creation affords. The doctrines of purgatory, and of the priests power to forgive or damn, are alone strong enough to frighten most folks into what liberality and submission the church thinks fit to demand of them. And we all know that she is not over modest upon such occasions. Bring me all thou hast and follow me is her style.

I wish I could keep these impostures and wild claims altogether out of England, and confine them to popish and infidel countries only. But that which is obvious and avowed cannot be hid. Very many of our high jacobite clergy aim at dominion by the same wicked means, and hood-wink and alarm us all they can. They lead us out of the road of reason, and play their engines in the dark; and all the illumination we can get from them is, that we are all in a mist. Without their guidance we go astray, and with it we go blind-fold. All their arguments are fetched from their own authority. Their assertions are no less than rules and laws to us; and where they lead we must follow, though into darkness and servitude. If we grow wilful, and break loose from our orthodox ignorance, we are pursued with hard names, and curses. Doubting is infidelity, reason is atheism. What can we do in this case? There is no medium between a blockhead and a schismatick; if we follow them blindly, we are the first; the second if we leave them. We want faith, if we will not take their word; we want eyes if we do.

They indeed give a sugar-plumb, and refer us to the bible for proof of all that they say. But, in truth, this privilege, if we examine it, will appear none at all; but, on the contrary, an arrant trick, and gross mockery. For when they have sent us to a text, will they allow us to construe it our own way? No such matter: They have nailed a meaning to it, and will permit it to bear no other. You may read, provided you read with their spectacles; and examine their propositions freely, provided you take them every one for granted. You may exert your reason fully, but be sure let it be to no purpose; and use your understanding independently, under their absolute direction and controul. I wonder bow these men could ever have the front to accuse the church of Rome, for locking up the bible in an unknown tongue!· "The eternal war that they wage against reason, which they use just as they do scripture, is founded upon good policy; but it is pleasant to observe their manner of attacking it. They reason against reason, use reason against the use of reason, and shew, from very good reason that reason is good for nothing. When they think it on their own side, then they apply all its aids to convince or confound those who dare to think without their concurrence; therefore, in their controversies about religion, they frequently appeal to reason; but we must not ac

cept the appeal, for if our reason be not their reason, it is no reason. They use it, or the appearance of it against all men; but no man must use it against them. As there is no such thing as arguing and persuading without the assistance of reason, it is a little absurd, if not ungrate ful, in these gentlemen to decry it at the same time they are employing it; to turn the batteries of reason against reason, and make itself destroy itself.

Neither scripture, therefore, nor reason, by these rules signify any thing till the priests have explained them, and made them signify something; and the word of God is not the word of God, till they have declared its sense, and made it so. Thus by the time that scripture and reason have been modelled, and qualified, and cooked up by the high-church jacobite clergy, they are neither scripture nor reason; but a perfect French dish, or what the spiritual cooks please; an oleo or hodge-podge of nonsense, jargon and authority.

From all that has been said, the following conclusions may be drawn. Such clergymen as I have been above describing, prove every thing by asserting it, and make any pretence support any claim. They build systems upon pretended facts, and argue from propositions which are either highly improbable, or certainly false. When they cannot convince, they confound us; when they cannot persuade they terrify. We have but two ways to try the truth of their doctrines, and the validity of their demands, namely, reason and revelation; and they deprive us of both, by making the one dark, the other dangerous. What a contempt must this tribe have for mankind! G.t

NUMBER 19.

Ecclesiastical authority, as claimed by the high-clergy, an enemy to religion.

SINCE there are so many different opinions and apprehensions in the world about matters of religion, and every sect and party does with so much confidence pretend, that they, and they only, are in the truth; the great difficulty and question is, by what means men may be secured from dangerous errours, and mistakes in religion? For this end some have thought it necessary, that there should be an infallible church, in the communion whereof every man may be secured from the dangers of a wrong belief: And others have thought it necessary, that their several fallible churches should have authority in matters of faith, in order to keep up a right faith in the people of the fundamentals of religion.

But it seems God has not thought either necessary: If he had, he would have revealed himself more plainly in this matter, than in any particular point of faith whatsoever. He would have told us expressly and in the plainest words, that he had appointed an infallible guide and judge in matters of religion, or men who should have authority in