46 ANIMADVERSIONS ON A TREATISE
withal. These are things that may be fit to entangle unstable spirits, who, being regardless of eternity, and steering their course according to every blast of temptation that fills their lusts and carnal pleasures, are as ready to change their religion (if men can make any change in or of that which in reality they neither leave nor receive, but only sport themselves to and fro with the cloud and shadow of it) as they are their clothes and fashions. Those who have had experience of the power and efficacy of that religion which they have professed, as to all the ends for which religion is of God revealed, will be little moved with the stories, pretences, and diversions of this discourse.
Knowing, therefore, our author's design (and which we shall have occasion to deal with him about throughout his treatise), which is to take advantage, from the late miscarriages amongst us, and the differences that are in the world in religion, to persuade men, not indeed and ultimately to mutual moderation and forbearance, but to a general acquiescency in Roman Catholicism, I shall not here flirther speak unto it. The five heads of his matter may be briefly run over as he proposeth them, p. 13; with whose consideration I shall take my leave of his preface.
1. The first is, " That there is not any colour of reason or just title to move us to quarrel and judge one another with so much heat about religion." Indeed there is not, nor can there be; no man was ever so mad as to suppose there could be any reason or just title for men to do evil : to quarrel and judge one another with heats about religion is of that nature. But if, placing himself to keep a decorum amongst Protestants, he would insinuate that we have no reason to contend about religion, as having lost all title unto it by our depar- tm-e from Rome, I must take leave unto this general head to put in a general demurrer; which I shall afterward plead to and vindicate.
2. His second is, " That all things are so obscure, that no man in prudence can so far presume of his own knowledge as to set up him- self a guide and leader in religion." I say so too ; and suppose the words as they lie, whatever be intended in them, are keenly set against the great papal pretension: whatever he may pretend, we know the pope sets up himself to be a guide to all men in religion ; and if he do it not upon a presumption of his own knowledge, we know not on what better grounds he doth it. And though we wholly condemn men's secting up themselves to be guides and leaders to their neighbours, yet if he intend that all things are so obscure, that we have no means to come to the knowledge of the truth con- cerning God and his mind, so far as it is our duty to know it, and, therefore, that no man can teach or instruct another in that know- ledge,— I say, as before, v/e are not yet of his mind : whether we shall be or no, the process of our discourse will show.
ENTITLED FIAT I-UX. 47
S. He adds, " That no sect hath any advantage at all over another, nor all of them together over Popery." Yes; they that have the truth, wherein they have it, have advantage against all others that have it not: and so Protestancy hath advantage over Popery. And here the pretext or visor of this Protestant begins to turn aside; in the next head it quite falls from him, —
That is, 4. " That all the several kinds of religion here in England are equally innocent to one another; and Popery, as it stands in opposition to them, is absolutely innocent and unblamable to them all." I am little concerned in the former part of these words, con- cerning the several kinds of religion in England, having undertaken the defence of one only, — namely, Protestancy. Those that are de- parted from Protestancy so far as to constitute another kind of reli- gion, as to any thing from me, shall plead for themselves. However, I wish that all parties in England were all equally innocent to one another, or that they would not be willing to make themselves equally nocent. But the latter part of the words contains, I promise you, a veiy high undertaking : " Popery is innocent, absolutely innocent and unblamable to them all." I fear we shall scarce find it so Avhen we come to the trial. I confess I do not like this pretence of absolute innoceucy and unblamableness. I suppose they are men that jii'ofess Popery, and I do know that Popery is a religion or pro- fession of men's finding out. How it should come to be so absolutely innocent on a sudden, I cannot imagine ; but we will leave this until we come to the proof of it, taking notice only, that here is a great promise made unto his noble and ingenuous readers, that cannot advantage his cause if he be not able to make it good. The close is,— _ _ .
5. " That as there neither is nor can be any rational motive for disputes and animosities about matters of religion ; so is there an indispensable moral cause obhging us to moderation," etc. But this, as I observed before, though, upon the first view of the sign hanging up at the door, a man would guess to be the whole work that was doing in the house, is indeed no part of his business; and is there- fore thrust out at the postern in two short leaves, the least part of them in his own words, after the spending of three hundred and sixty- four pages in the pursuit of his proper design. But seeing we must look over these things again, in the chapters assigned to their adorn- ing, Nve may take our leave of them at present and of his preface together.