Cleo. That is not universally true; tho", without doubt, there are many such. The grand Characteristick of a Man of Honour, at least of Modern Honour, is, that he takes no Affront without resenting it, and dares fight Any body without Exception; and such there are that have not common Honesty, and are noted Sharpers. Besides, by Education and conversing constantly with Men of Honour, and some of real Honour and Probity, Persons may contract a strong Aversion to every Thing that is dishonourable. The most effectual method to breed Men of Honour, is to inspire them with lofty and romantick Sentiments concerning the Excellency of their Nature, and the superlative Merit there is in being a Man of Honour. The higher you can raise a Man"s Pride, the more refin"d you may render his Notions of Honour.
Hon. The Substance of this you have said twenty Times; but I don"t understand your adoring of one"s self.
Cleo. I"ll endeavour to explain it to you. I am acquainted with Men of Honour, who seem to have a very slender Belief, if any, of future Rewards and Punishiments, and whom yet I believe to be very just Men.
Of these there are several, whom I could entirely confide in, and whose Words I would much rather take in Business of Moment than any Bishop"s, whom I know Nothing of. What is it that keeps these Men in Awe? What keeps them true to their Word, and steady to their Engagements, tho" they should be Losers by it?
Hor. I don"t know any Thing but the Principle of Honour, that is deeply rooted in them.
Cleo. Still the Thing, whatever it be, which a Man loves, fears, esteems, and consequently reverences, is not without, but within himself. The Object then of Reverence, and the Worshiper, who pays it, meeting and remaining in the same Person, maynot such a Person be justly said to adore himself: Nay, it seems to be the common Opinion, that this is true; for unless some Sort of Divinity was supposed, to reside in Men of Honour, their affirming and denying Things upon that Principle could never be thought an Equivalent for an Oath, as to Some it is allow"d to be. Pray, when a Man a.s.serts a Thing upon his Honour, is it not a Kind of Swearing by himself, as others do by G.o.d? If it was not so, and there was supposed to be the least Danger, that Men, endued with the Principle of Honour, could deceive or prevaricate, I would fain know, why it should be binding and acquiesc"d in.
Hor. You may say the same of the Quakers; and that there must be supposed to be some Divinity in them, that their solemn Affirmation should be thought equivalent to an Oath.
Cleo. That"s quite another Thing. The Quakers take all Oaths whatever, whether they are made before a Magistrate or otherwise, to be sinful, and for that Reason they refuse to Swear at all. But as it is their avow"d Opinion, that a wilful notorious Lie is not less Criminal in the Sight of Heaven than we take Perjury to be, it is evident, that in giving their Testimony, they stake their Salvation equally with other People that make Oath. Whereas those who, with us, are credited upon their Honour, have no such Scruples, and make Oath themselves on other Occasions: The Reason therefore why they don"t try Criminals and p.r.o.nounce their Judgment upon Oath, as other Judges and Juries do, is not, that they think appealing to G.o.d or Swearing by his Name to be Sinful, which is the Case of the Quakers; but because they are supposed to be altogether as credible without it, as if they did. And if there was not some Adoration, some Worship, which Men of Honour pay to themselves, the Principle they act from could not have produced the visible Effects it has in so many different Nations.
Hor. You have said several Things which I cannot disprove, and some of them, I own, are probable enough; but you are like to leave me as you found me. The Principle of Honour has lost no Ground in my Esteem; and I shall continue to act from it as I did before. But since you imagine to have so plainly proved, that we are Idols to our Selves, and that Honour is diametrically opposite to Christianity, I wonder you don"t call it the Beast in the _Apocalypse_, and say, that it is the Wh.o.r.e of _Babylon_. This would be a notable Conceit, and suit Papists as well as Protestants; nay, I fancy, that the Colour of the Wh.o.r.e, and her Thirst after Blood, might be better accounted for from Duelling, than any other Way that has been tried yet.
Cleo. The Revelations of St. _John_ are above my Comprehension; and I shall never laugh at Mysteries for not understanding them.
Hor. What you say of Mysteries, I think, ought to be more justly applied to the Principle of Honour, which we do understand; for whatever it may be derived from, the Advantages the Civil Society receives from it, both in Peace and War, are so many and so manifest, that the Usefulness of it ought to exempt and preserve it from being ridicul"d. I hate to hear a Man talk of its being more or less portable, the melting of it over again, and reducing it to a new Standard.
Cleo. I know, you dislike this in the Fable of the _Bees_; but if you"ll examine into what you have read there, you"ll find, that my Friend has ridicul"d Nothing but what deserves it. There is certainly a great Difference between the Men of Honour in former Ages and many of those, who now-a-days a.s.sume the t.i.tle. A Man in whom Justice, Integrity, Temperance and Chast.i.ty are join"d with Fort.i.tude, is worthy of the highest Esteem; but that a debauch"d Fellow, who runs in every Tradesman"s Debt, and thinks himself not obliged to pay any Thing but what is borrow"d or lost at Play, should claim the same Regard from us, for no other Reason than because he dares to Fight, is very unreasonable.
Hor. But is he serious, when he speaks of the Men of ancient Honour, of whom he thinks _Don Quixot_ to have been the last?
Cleo. When the Romance-Writers had carried the Prowess and Atchievements of their heroes to an incredible Pitch, was it not ridiculous to see Men in their Senses, not only believe those Extravagancies in good Earnest, but likewise endeavour to imitate those fabulous Exploits, and set about copying after those imaginary Patterns? For it was that which _Cervantes_ exposed in _Don Quixot_.
Hor. In the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Century, the _Spaniards_ were the best Soldiers in the World; they shew"d themselves on many Emergencies to be a grave and wise Nation, and had many real Patterns of strict Honour and great Virtue among them. Things are as often over-done in Satyrs as they are in Panegyricks; and the Likeness of a _Caricatura_ is no more to be trusted to than that of the most flattering Pencil.
Cleo. I shall always bear the highest Esteem for Men of strict Honour and real Virtue, and will never ridicule what is approved of by Custom, and the Consent of several Ages has render"d valuable; but no t.i.tle or Dignity, no Name or Distinction can be so honourable, or so eminent, that a serious Enquirer may not have Leave to trace it to the Bottom. I have acknowledged, that the Word Honour, in its first and genuine Sense, is as ancient as the oldest Language in the World. As to my Conjecture concerning the same Word, as it signifies a Principle which Men act from, I leave it entirely to your Judgment: But whatever the Origin may be of either, it is certain, that whatever the Words Honour and Honourable are join"d with, added or applied to, there is plain Design in them of pleasing and gratifying those it concerns, on Account of the Pa.s.sion of Self-liking, and a palpable Tendency to humour, approve of, or encrease the good Opinion Man has of himself: As you"ll find, on the Contrary, that in the Words Dishonour Shame, Ignominy, and whatever is dishonourable, there is an Intention, or Something imply"d, to displease and mortify those it concerns, on Account of that same Pa.s.sion of Self-liking, and an Endeavour to lessen, contradict or destroy Self-Esteem, which is that good Opinion which Man has of himself from Nature.
Hor. That the Words Honour and Shame are either literally made Use of, as you say, or metaphorically applied to other Creatures or Things inanimate, I believe: I allow likewise, that the Principle of Honour is found in no Breast that is not possess"d of Self-liking to an eminent Degree; but I don"t think that a Fault.
Cleo. The only Fault I have found with the Principle of Honour, is, it"s clashing with the Christian Religion. I have told you the Reasons, why the Church of _Rome_ thought it her Interest to reconcile them, and make People believe, that they did not interfere with one another. She has always consulted Human Nature, and ever join"d gay Shew and Pomp, as I have hinted before, to Superst.i.tion; well knowing, that, as to keep Man under and in Subjection, you must work upon his Fear, so, to make him act with Alacrity, and obey with Pleasure, where Lucre is out of Question, you must flatter his Pride. It is from this Policy of hers, that all Names of Dignity and Distinction among Christians, as Earl, Baron, Duke, Marquis, &c. had originally their Rise as Hereditary t.i.tles. To the same have been owing all the various Ceremonies of Inst.i.tutions and Instalments; and Coronations, as well as Inthronizations. Of the Orders of Knighthood, and the vast Multiplicity of them, I have spoke already.
Hor. You give more to the Church of _Rome_ than her Due: Most Countries in _Christendom_ have Orders of Knighthood peculiar to themselves, and of which it is evident, that they were inst.i.tuted by their own Sovereigns.
Cleo. But look into the Ceremonial of those Inst.i.tutions, and the great Share the Clergy has in most of them, and you"ll easily see, what Stock they sprung from. And tho" the Sovereign, in every Country, is deem"d to be the Fountain of Honour, yet the Sovereigns themselves had their t.i.tles, as well as Coats of arms, from the Popes; nor had they ever any Ensign of Honour, Power or Authority, which they could depend upon, unless it had first been granted, or confirm"d and ratify"d, by the See of _Rome_.
Hor. I take the _Insignia_, which the Proconsuls and Proprietors had in the different Provinces of the _Roman_ Empire, and which _Pancirolus_ has wrote of so amply, to have been much after the Nature of Coats of Arms.
Cleo. Those _Insignia_ belong"d to the Office; and a Governour could only make Use of them, whilst he was in it: But hereditary Coats of arms, that were given to particular Men or Societies, by Way of Reward for Services perform"d, were never known; and Heraldry it Self had no Existence, before the Pope"s Supremacy had been acknowledged by the Christian World. And if we consider the fine Opportunities, which the most idle and indolent, the most insignificant and unworthy of the Society, often meet with from this Invention of valuing themselves upon Actions that were perform"d several Ages before they were born, and bespeak a Merit which they know in their Consciences that they are dest.i.tute of; if, I say, we consider what I have now mention"d, we shall be forc"d to confess, that, of all Arts and Sciences, Heraldry has been the most effectual to stir up and excite in Men the Pa.s.sion of Self-liking, on the finallest Foundation; and daily Experience teaches us, that Persons of Education and Politeness can taste no Pleasure in any Thing at Home or Abroad, at Church or the Play-House, where the Gratification of this Pa.s.sion is entirely excluded. Of all the Shews and Solemnities that are exhibited at _Rome_, the greatest and most expensive, next to a Jubilee, is the Canonization of a Saint. For one that has never seen it, the Pomp is incredible. The Stateliness of the Processions, the Richness of Vestments and sacred Utensils that are display"d, the fine Painting and Sculpture that are expos"d at that Time, the Variety of good Voices and Musical Instruments that are heard, the Profusion of Wax-Candles, the Magnificence which the Whole is perform"d with, and the vast Concourse of People, that is occasion"d by those Solemnities, are all such, that it is impossible to describe them.
Hor. It is astonishing, I own; but what would you infer from them?
Cleo. I would desire you to observe, how vastly different some of the Ends and Purposes are, that Canonizations may be made to serve at the same Time. It is pretended, in the First Place, that they are perform"d to do Justice and pay Veneration to the Memory of those Holy Persons: Secondly, that by Men"s worshiping them, they may be induced, among the Rest of the Saints, to intercede with G.o.d for the the Sins of their Votaries: And lastly, because it is to be hoped, that among such Numbers as a.s.sist at those Solemnities, there are many who will be affected by them, and endeavour to imitate, in their Lives, the holy Examples that are set before them: For there is no Time more seasonable to stir Men up to Devotion and Sentiments of Piety, than when Rapture and high Admiration have been rais"d in them first.
Hor. Besides Canonizations keep up the Reputation of the _Roman_ Catholick Faith; for the new Saints, that are made from Time to Time, are always fresh Witnesses, that Miracles are not ceas"d, and consequently that the Church of _Rome_ continues to be the same Church which Christ and his Apostles first establish"d.
Cleo. You are in the Right; and whilst we consider and give Credit to those Pretences, the Design must seem to be religious; and every _Roman_ Catholick, who is firm in his Belief; is obliged to think, that whatever Cost is bestow"d upon Canonizations, no Money could be laid out better. But if we mind, on the other Side, the strong Sollicitations of the great Men, that either are, or pretend to be the Relations of the venerable Person, whose Holiness they vouch for; the vast Pains that are taken, the Intrigues that are carried on for Years together, to procure this high Favour of the Sacred College; and when it is obtain"d, what an Honour it is to the whole Family; the Visits that are paid from all Parts to every Rich Man that belongs to it, and the Compliments that are made on Account of it; besides the Privileges they receive from it ever after; If, I say, we mind these Things on the other Side, we shall find, that in the Motives from which Men sue for this Honour, there is not a Grain of Religion to an Ounce of Pride, and that what seems to be a Solemnity to celebrate the Sanct.i.ty of the Dead, is in Reality a Stratagem of the Church to gratify the Ambition of the Living. The Church of _Rome_ has never made a Step without Regard to her Temporal Interest, and an After-Thought on her Successors, _Luther_ and _Calvin_, and some Others of the chief Adversaries of _Rome_, were Men of great Parts, that have gain"d themselves Immortal Names; but it must be confess"d, that they rais"d themselves altogether at the Expence of their Brethren. They gave up both the Patrimony and Dominion of the Church, and made Presents of them to the Secular Powers, that would espouse their respective Causes, and establish their Doctrines; by which, and the destroying of Purgatory, they not only stript the Clergy of their Wealth and Power for the present, but likewise took away the Means by which, one Day or other, it might have been possible for their Successors to retrieve them. It is well for the Protestant Cause, that the Mult.i.tude can"t hear or know the Wishes, that are made in Secret by many of the Clergy, nor the hearty e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.i.o.ns, which the Men of Spirit among them are often sending after the Memory of the first Reformers, for having left their Order in that Pickle, and almost at the Mercy of the Laity, after they had been made dependent on the Clergy. If those pious Leaders had understood, or at least consulted Human Nature, they would have known, that strict Lives and Austerity of Manners don"t go by Inheritance, and must have foreseen, that as soon as the Zeal of the Reformation should begin to cool both the Clergy and the Laity would relax in their Morals; and consequently, that their Successors, after Two or Three Generations, would make wretched Figures, if they were still to continue to preach Christianity without Deceit or Evasions, and pretend to live conformably to the Rules of it: If they had but reflected on what had happen"d in the Infancy of their Religion, they must have easily foreseen what I say.
Hor. What is it that happen"d then?
Cleo. That Christ and his Apostles taught by Example as well as Precepts the Practice of Humility and the Contempt of Riches; to renounce the Pomp and Vanity of the World, and mortify the Flesh, is certain: And that this was striking at the very Fundamentals of Human Nature, is as certain. This could only be perform"d by Men preternaturally affected; and therefore the Founders of Christianity being gone, it could not be expected, that the same Austerity of Life and Self-denial should be continued among the Successors of them, as soon as the Ministry of the Gospel became a Calling, that Men were brought up to for a Livelihood; and considering how essential those mortifying Principles are to Christianity, it is not easy to conceive, how the one could be made still to subsist, when the other should cease to be. But Nothing seems more impracticable than that the Gospel, which those Principles are evidently taught, should ever be turn"d into an inexhaustible Fund of Worldly Comforts, Gain, Honour, and Authority; yet this has been perform"d by the Skill and Industry of the Architects, who have built that Master-Piece of Human Policy, the Church of _Rome_. They have treated Religion as if it was a Manufacture, and the Church a Set of Workmen, Labourers and Artificers, of different Employments, that all contribute and cooperate to produce one entire Fabrick. In the great Variety of their Religious Houses, you have all the Severity of Manners and Rigour of Discipline, which the Gospel requires, improved upon. There you have perpetual Chast.i.ty, and Virgins wedded to Christ: There is Abstinence, and Fasting; there is Mortifying of the flesh, Watching, Praying, the Contempt of Money and Worldly Honour; a literal Retirement from the World, and every Thing you can ask for, relating to Self-denial, as to Carnal Enjoyments and the renouncing of Pomp and Vanity, at least to all outward Appearance. When Men see that Strictness of Morals, and that Christian Self-denial, which are so manifestly taught in the Gospel, own"d by the Clergy, and some where or other actually comply"d with, they will easily give Ear to any Thing that is said to them besides. This grand Point concerning the Austerity of Life, and mortifying the Flesh, being literally understood, and acknowledged by the Clergy to be such, as the Apostles have deliver"d them without Prevarication, it will not be difficult to make the Laity believe, not only mysterious Contradictions, but likewise the most palpable Absurdities, such as Transubstantiation; that the Pope is infallible, and has the Power of Thundering out _Anathema"s_ and granting Absolutions; and consequently of d.a.m.ning and saving whom he pleases; that the Pomp and Magnificence of the Sacred College, and even the Luxury of a Court, are laudable Means, and absolutely necessary to keep up the Dignity and outward l.u.s.ter of the visible Church; and that the Spiritual Welfare of it depends upon Temporal Authority, and cannot be duely taken Care of without large Revenues, Princely Power, Politicks, and Military Force. No Set of Men have deserv"d better of the Church of _Rome_, than the Writers of Legends and the Forgers of Miracles. In the Lives of the Saints, there is a plausible Representation of the Church Militant; and considering how naural it is for Man to be superst.i.tious, and to love the _Merveilleux_, Nothing could be thought of more agreeable or edifying than to read of such Numbers of Holy Men and Women, that did not flinch from Combating themselves, and to see the n.o.ble Victories that have been obtain"d over the World, the Flesh and the Devil, in a literal Sense, as are to be met with in those judicious Relations.
Hor. But what a.n.a.logy is there between the _Roman Catholick_ Religion, and a Manufacture, as you insinuated?
Cleo. The Division of the whole into so many different Branches. The great Prelates, of whom not many have any Religion at all, are yet for Worldly Ends continually watching over the Temporal Interest of it.
The little Bishops and ordinary Priests take Care of the Mystical Part of it; whilst the Religious Orders contribute meritorious Works, and seem actually to comply with the harshest Precepts of Christianity, often in a more rigid Construction than the Words themselves will bear.
Hor. Then have the Laity no Share in it?
Cleo. Yes; but their Task is the easiest, and what they club towards Religion chiefly consists in Faith and Money. But when Men pretend to be Christians, and Nothing is to be met with in any Part of their Religion, but what is easy and pleasant, and Nothing is required either of the Laity or the Clergy, that is difficult to perform, or disagreeable to Human Nature, there is Room to suspect, that such a Set of People lay claim to a t.i.tle, that does not belong to them. When Ministers of the Gospel take Pains to undermine it themselves, and flatly deny the Strictness of Behaviour, and Severity of Manners, that are so manifestly inculcated in every Part of it, I don"t wonder, that Men of Sincerity, who can read, should refuse to give Credit to every Thing that is said by such Ministers. It is easier to speak with Contempt of the recluse Lives of the _Carthusians_, and to laugh at the Austerities of _La Trappe_, than it is to refute what might be alledg"d from the Gospel to prove the Necessity there is, that to be acceptable to G.o.d, Men should fly from l.u.s.t, make War with themselves, and mortify the Flesh. When Ministers of _Christ_ a.s.sure their Hearers, that to indulge themselves in all earthly Pleasures and Sensualities, that are not clashing with the Laws of the Country, or the Fashion of the Age they live in, will be no Bar to their future Happiness, if they enjoy them with Moderation; that Nothing ought to be deem"d Luxury, that is suitable to a Person"s Rank and Quality, and which he can purchase without hurting his Estate, or injuring his Neighbour; that no Buildings or Gardens can be so profusely sumptuous, no Furniture so curious or magnificent, no Inventions for Ease so extravagant, no Cookery so operose, no Diet so delicious, no Entertainments or Way of Living so expensive as to be Sinful in the Sight of G.o.d, if a man can afford them; and they are the same, as others of the same Birth or Quality either do or would make Use of, if they could: That a Man may study and be sollicitous about Modes and Fashions, a.s.sist at Courts, hunt after Worldly Honour, and partake of all the Diversions of the _beau monde_, and at the same Time be a very good Christian; when Ministers of _Christ_, I say, a.s.sure their Hearers of this, they certainly teach what they have no Warrant for from his Doctrine. For it is in Effect the same as to a.s.sert, that the strictest Attachment to the World is not inconsistent with a Man"s Promise of renouncing the Pomp and Vanity of it.
Hor. But what signify the Austerity of Life and Forbearance of Nuns and Friars, if they were real, to all the Rest who don"t practise them? And what Service can their Self-denial and Mortification be of to the Vain and Sensual, who gratify every Appet.i.te that comes uppermost?
Cleo. The Laity of the _Roman_ Communion are taught and a.s.sured, that they may be of great Service even to the Wicked; nay, it may be proved from Scripture, that the Intercession of the Righteous and Innocent, is sometimes capable of averting G.o.d"s Vengence from the Guilty. This only wants to be believed; and it is the easiest Thing in the World to make the Mult.i.tude believe any a.s.sertion, in which there is Nothing that contradicts receiv"d Opinions, and the common notions which Men have of Things. There is no Truth, that has. .h.i.therto been more unanimously believed among all Sects and Opinions of Christians in all Ages, than that the gospel warns Men against Carnal Pleasures, and requires of them Humility, the Contempt of Earthly Glory, and such a Strictness of Manners and Morality, as is difficult for Human Nature to comply with. Now when a clergyman, who pretends to preach the Gospel, puts such Constructions on the plainest texts, in which the Doctrine I spoke of is literally taught, as can only tend to extenuate and diminish the Force of them, and when moreover he leaves no Shifts or Evasions untied, till he has destroy"d the Observance of those Precepts; when a Clergyman, I say, is thus employ"d, it is no Wonder that his Doctrine should raise Doubts and Scruples in his hearers, when they compare it with the common Notions Men have of Christianity.
Hor. I am no Admirer, you know, of Priests of any Sort; but of the Two, I would prefer a Man of Learning and good Sense, who treats me with good Manners, recommends Virtue, and a reasonable Way of Living, to an ill bred sour Pedant, that entertains me with fanatical Cant, and would make me believe, that it is a Sin to wear good Cloaths, and fill my Belly with what I like.
Cleo. There is no Doubt, but the _beau monde_, and all well bred People, that desire to be judged of from outward Appearance, will always chuse the most easy _Casuists_; and the more ample the Allowances are, which Clergymen give them, of enjoying the World, the more they"ll be pleas"d with them. But this can only be of Service among the Fashionable and the Polite, whose Religion is commonly very Superficial, and whose Virtue is seldom extended beyond good Manners.
But what will it do to Men of greater Sincerity, that can and dare examine themselves? What will it do to serious and able Enquirers, that refuse to trust to Outsides, and will not be barr"d from searching into the Bottom of Things? If this was only a Matter of Speculation, a disputable Point in a Ceremony, as whether Men are to sit or to stand at the Performance of it, the Thing might easily be given up: but it plainly appears to be a Theory skilfully raised by Clergymen, to build a Practice upon in their Favour. Those easie Divines don"t make such large Allowances to others for Nothing: They speak one Word for the Laity, and two for themselves, and seem to have Nothing more at Heart than to enjoy the Benefit of their own Doctrine.
It is no Wonder therefore, that so many of the Clergy are always desirous to converse with the _beau monde_. Among the best bred People there is seldom any Difference to be seen between Believers and Unbelievers; neither of them give any Trouble to their Pastors, and they are all equally cautious of offending. Polite People contradict No body, but conform to all Ceremonies that are fashionable with Regard to the Time and the Places they are in; and a courtly Infidel will observe Decency at Church, and a becoming Carriage there, for the same Reason that he does it at a Ball, or in the Drawing-Room.
Hor. As to Indulgences and large Allowances, the _Roman Catholicks_ out-do us far, especially the _Jesuits_, who certainly are the most easy _Casuists_ in the World.
Cleo. They are so; but it is only in the Management of those, whose Consciences are under their Direction. A Jesuit may tell a Man such or such Things are allow"d to Him in particular, and give him Reasons for it from his Quality, or the Post he is in, from the State of his Health, his Temperament, his Age, or his Circ.u.mstances: But he"ll not deny or explain away the Self-denial and the Mortification in general, that are commanded in the Gospel. When you come to this Point, he"ll not lessen the Difficulty and Irksomeness of Christian Duties to Human Nature and the Flesh; but he"ll refer you to the Founder of his Order, and the great Self-denial he practis"d: Perhaps he"ll relate to you, how that Saint watch"d his Arms all Night, after he had dedicated them, together with his Life, to the _Virgin Mary_. But that the Gospel requires a literal Mortification of the Flesh, and other hard Tasks from us, is the very Basis which the Pope"s Exchequer is built upon.
He could have no Colour for enjoining Fasting and Abstinence, if it was not supposed, that he had a Warrant for it from the New Testament.
It is this Supposition, that brings all the Grist to his Mill; and thus a Man may eat Flesh in Lent, without a Sin; but tho" he can get the Meat perhaps for Nothing, he shall pay for the Liberty of Eating it. Buying Absolutions implies the Consciousness of having committed a Crime; and No body would give Money for Indulgences, if he thought, that what he desires to be indulged in, was lawful without them. All Mult.i.tudes will sooner believe a Man to come from G.o.d, who leads an Austere Life himself, and preaches Abstinence and Self-denial to others tho" they themselves, I mean the Hearers, don"t practice it, or take any Pains to comply with his Precepts, than they will another, who takes greater Liberties himself, and whose Doctrine is less severe. This the wise Architects of the Church of _Rome_, who were thoroughly skill"d in Human Nature, were well aware of; and accordingly they have improved upon the Scriptures, and added l.u.s.tre to all those Precepts, which is most difficult to comply with; and in commenting on the severest Duties of Christianity, they have been so far from extenuating and explaining away our Obligations to perform them, that they have heighten"d and magnify"d them, not only by Words and in Theory, but the Practice and Example; as is so manifest from the hard and almost incredible Tasks, which many of them have actually impos"d upon themselves, and gone through. They have flinch"d at Nothing on this Head.
Hor. A Man must be very stupid to believe, that his close Attachment to the World, and the Loosness of his own Morals can be atton"d for by the recluse and strict Lives that are led in some Religious Houses.
Cleo. Not so stupid as you imagine: There is Nothing in it that clashes with the common Notions of Mankind. Ceremonies are perform"d by Proxy; Men are Security for one another; and a Debt is not more effectually discharg"d, when we receive the Money from him who borrow"d it, than when it is paid by his Bail, tho" the Princ.i.p.al himself runs away. If there is but real Self-denial to be met with any where in a Religion, it is no difficult Matter to make Mult.i.tudes believe, that they have, or may buy, a Share in it: Besides, all _Roman Catholicks_ are brought up in the firm Belief of the Necessity there is of Self-denial. They are strictly forbid to eat Flesh on Fridays; and Pains are taken to inspire them from their very Childhood with a Honour against the breaking of this Commandment. It is incredible, what Force such a Precept is of, and how closely the Influence of it sticks to men, when it has been earnestly inculcated to them from their early Youth. There is no Difficulty in the Thing when they are grown up; and I"ll engage, that a _Roman_ Catholick, who always has been accustom"d to this Piece of Observance till he is Five and Twenty Years of Age, will find it more easy afterwards to continue than to leave it off, tho" he should turn Protestant, or even Turk.
Hor. I have often admired at the great Force this senseless Piece of Superst.i.tion is of; for I have seen great Reprobates and very loose Fellows among the _Roman_ Catholicks, who stuck at no Manner of Debauchery, and would often talk prophanely, that yet refused to eat Flesh on a _Friday_, and could not be laugh"d out of their Folly; tho"
at the same Time I could see, that they were actually ashamed of it.
Cleo. No Set of People have so artfully play"d upon Mankind as the Church of _Rome_. In the Use they have made of Scripture, they have consulted all our Frailties; and in their own Interpretations of it, most dextrously adapted themselves to the common Notions of all Mult.i.tudes. They knew perfectly well, not only, that all Men are born with the Fear of an invisible Cause, but likewise that it is more natural, or, at least, that the rude and ignorant of our Species are always more apt to suspect, that this invisible Cause is their Enemy, than they are to think it to be their Friend, and will sooner believe it to be an evil and malicious, than a good beneficent Being. To turn this to their Advantage, they made Use of all their Skill and Cunning to magnify the Devil, and cry up his Force and Subtlety, his supernatural Art, his implacable Hatred to Mankind, and great Influence over Human Affairs. All the strange Stories they have spread, the monstrous Fables they have invented, and the gross Lies they have maintain"d, of Spirits, of Witchcraft, and Apparitions, never had any other Tendency than to manifest the Works of Satan, and make Every body afraid of his Power and Stratagems at all Times, and in all Places; which has been a prodigious Gain to them. They never taught any Thing that contradicted Vulgar Opinions, and never gave Men any Ideas of Heaven, that were not borrow"d from Something on Earth. That Courts of Princes are not deem"d to be compleat without Women, has advanced the _Virgin Mary_ to be Queen of Heaven. From the Influence of Mothers, and the Authority they are known to exercise of their Infants, they have drawn the most childish Conclusions to raise Superst.i.tion; for to that Notion, and the great Honour which is every where allow"d to be due to Parents, it has been owing, that the Mother of G.o.d in the _Roman_ Communion has been all along more address"d and pray"d to, than her Son; and of the Two She seems to be the more venerable Person. All Patrons in ancient _Rome_ had their Clients, whom the protected; and all Favourites of Princes have their Creatures, whose Interests they espouse upon Occasion: This has produced the Invocation of Saints and Angels; and that no Advocates might be wanting in the Celestial Court on any Emergency, the Church has provided, that there is no Town or Country, no Handicraft or Profession, no Pain or Disease, Danger or Distress, but there is a kind Saint for that particular Affair, whose peculiar Province is to preside over and take Care of every Thing that relates to it; which has made the Number of them equal with, if not superiour to that of the Pagan Deities. She knew, that the Incredibility of Things is no Obstacle to Faith among Mult.i.tudes; and that in believing of Mysteries, Propositions will not be the less swallow"d for being contradictory to Reason.
Hor. But I thought you was not for keeping Men in Ignorance.
Cleo. What I am for, is not the Question. Priests who would bear an absolute Sway over the Laity, and live luxuriously at their Cost, ought First to make them believe Implicitly: Whereas an honest Clergy, that will teach Nothing concerning Religion, but what is consistent with good Sense, and becoming a rational Creature to believe, ought to deal uprightly with Men throughout the Whole, and not impose upon their Understandings in one Point more than they do in another. From the real Incomprehensibility of G.o.d, just Arguments must be drawn for believing of Mysteries that surpa.s.s our Capacities. But when a Man has good Reason to suspect, that he who instructed him in these Mysteries, does not believe them himself, it must stagger and obstruct his Faith, tho" he had no Scruples before, and the Things he had been made to believe, are no Ways clashing with his Reason. It is not difficult for a Protestant Divine to make a Man of Sense see the many Absurdities that are taught by the Church of Rome, the little Claim which Popes can lay to Infallibility, and the Priestcraft there is in what they say of purgatory and all that belongs to it. But to persuade him likewise, that the Gospel requires no Self-denial, nor any Thing that is irksome to Nature, and that the Generality of the Clergy of _England_ are sincerely endeavouring, in their Lives and Doctrine, to imitate the Apostles, as nearly as Human Frailty will let them, and is consistent with the Difference of the Age and Manners between their Time and ours; to persuade, I say, a Man of Sense, that these Things are likewise true, would not be so easy a Task. By a Man of Sense, I mean a Man likewise of some Knowledge, who, in the First Place, has read the Bible, and believes the Scripture to be the sole Rule of Faith; and, in the Second, is no Stranger to our Church, or any Thing that is openly to be seen relating to her Clergy, especially the Heads of them, the Bishops; such as their Palaces and Manner of Living; their Translations, Revenues and Earthly Power, together with the Worldly Honours, Precedency and other Privileges, which our Spiritual Lords insist upon to be their Due.
Hor. I have often laugh"d my Self at Apostles in Coaches and Six; but what must at that Rate the Men of Sense and Sincerity among the _Roman Catholicks_ think of their Prelates, who live in much greater Splendour and Luxury than ours? What must they think of the Cardinals and the Pope himself?
Cleo. Think of them? What they please, so they dare not to open their Lips against them, or any Thing which the Clergy are pleas"d to call Sacred. In all _Roman Catholick_ Countries, you know, no Books or Pamphlets may be publish"d, but what are Licensed; and no Man is allow"d to divulge any Sentiments concerning Religion, that are not entirely Orthodox; which in all Countries, so regulated, is a vast Ease and an unspeakable Comfort to the Clergy of the establish"d Church.
Hor. I never thought to hear you speak against the Liberty of the Press.
Cleo. And you never will; for tho" Orthodoxy and the National Clergy are always the Gainers by these Curbs and Prohibitions, yet Truth and Religion are ever the Sufferers by them. But all prudent Men ought to behave according to the Condition they are in, and the Principles as well as Privileges they lay claim to. Reform"d Divines own themselves to be fallible: They appeal to our Reason, and exhort us to peruse the Scripture Ourselves. We live in a Country where the Press is open; where all Men are at full Liberty to expose Error and Falshood, where they can find them; and No body is debarr"d from Writing almost any Thing, but Blasphemy and Treason. A Protestant Clergy ought always to remember the Reasons, which their Predecessors alledg"d for separating themselves from the _Roman_ Communion, and never to forget, that the Haughtiness and Luxury of the Prelates, as well as the Covetousness, the Insolence, and barefac"d Encroachments of the Clergy, were a considerable Part of the Complaints against Popery. No equitable Guides, that have open"d our Eyes to see the Frailties of others, ought to expect from us, that in Regard to themselves we should keep them shut close, and never look upon their Behaviour. The _Roman_ Pastors, who keep their flocks in the Dark, teach them blind Obedience, and never vouchsafe to argue with "em any more than if they were real Sheep. They don"t advise Men to read the Bible, but such Books of Devotion as their Priests shall think proper for them; and are so far from appealing to their Judgment, that they conjure them, on Pain of d.a.m.nation, never to trust their Reason, but implicitly to believe whatever the Church shall require of them.