1 1 2 ANIMADVERSIONS ON A TREATISE
may be no contradiction: for all Papists are not^ we know it well enough, of the same mould and form. Some may more imbibe some principles of religion, tending in appearance to mortification; some, those that lead to pride and presumption, and so be liable to several charges; but neither are these things inconsistent in themselves. IMen in their greatest consternation of spirit from sense of punish- ment, real or imaginary, wherewith they are disquieted, may yet jiroudly reject the righteousness of Christ; and if our author knows not this to be true, he knows nothing of the gospel. The next in- stance is of the same natura " One," he saith, " affirms that murders, adulteries, lies, blasphemies, and all sin, make up the bulk of Popery; another, that Papists are so wholly given to good works, that they place in them excessive confidence." I scarce believe that he ever heard any thus crudely charging them with either part of the ima- gined contradictory proposition. Taking Popery, as the Protestants do, for the exorbitancy of the religion which the E.omanists pro- fess, and considering the product of it in the most of mankind, it may be some, by a usual hyperbole, have used the words first men- tioned ; but if we should charge the Papists for being " wholly given to good works," we should much wrong both them and ourselves, seeing we perfectly know the contrary. The sum of both these things brought into one is but this, that many Papists, in the course of a scandalously sinful life, do place much of their confidence in good Avorks; which is, indeed, a strange contradiction in principles between their speculation and practice, but we know well enough there is none in the charge. Let us consider one more : " One affirmed that the pope and all his Papists fall down to pictures and commit idolatry with them; another, that the pope is so far from falling down to any thing, that he exalts himself above all that is called God, and is very antichrist." If one had said, he falls down to images, another, that he falls not down to images, there had been a contradiction indeed ; but our author, by his own testimony, being a civil logician, knows well enough that the falling down in the first i)roposition and that in the second are things of a diverse nature, and so are no contradic- tion. A man may fall down to images, and yet refuse to submit him- self to the power that God hath set over him. And those of whom he speaks would have told him, that a great part of the pope's exalt- ing himself against God consists in his falling down to images, wherein he exalts his own will and tradition against the will and express com- mands of God. The same may be showed of all the following in- stances, nor can he give any one that shall manifest Popery to be charged by sober Protestants with any other contradictions than what appear to every eye in the inconsistency of some of their principles one Avith anotlier, and of most of them with their practice. In the
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particulars by himself enumerated, there is no other show of the charge of contradictory evils in Popery than Avhat by his additions and wresting expressions is put upon them.
Weary of such preaching in England, our autlior addressed him- self to travel beyond the seas, where what he met withal, what he observed, the Aveight and strength of his own conversion being laid in pretence upon it (indeed, an apology for the more generally ex- cepted against parts of his Roman practice and worship being in- tended and pursued), must be particularly considered and debated.
CHAPTER XIV.
Mass.
Sect. xxil. The title our author gives to his first head of observa- tion is " Messach," on what account I know not, unless it be with respect to a ridiculous Hebrew etymology of the word " missa;" as though it should be the same with i^^P , a word quite of another sig- nification. If this be that which his title intends, I wish him better success in his next etymologizing, for this attempt hath utterly failed him. " Missa" never came out of the east, nor hath any affinity with those tongues; being a word utterly unknown to the Syrians, and Grecians also, by whom all Hebrew words that are used in religion came into Europe. He that will trouble himself to trace the pedigree of " missa" shall find it of no such ancient stock, but a word that, with many others, came into use in the destruction of the Roman empire, and the corruption of the Latin tongue. But as it is likely our author, having not been accustomed to feed much upon Hebrew roots, might not perceive the insipidness of this pretended traduction of the word " missa," so also, on the other side, it is not improbable but that he might only by an uncouth word think to startle his poor countrymen at the entrance of the story of his travels, that they might look upon him as no small person who hath the missach, and such other hard names, at his fingers' ^nds; as the Gnostics heightened their disciples into an admiration of them by " Palda- baoth, Astaphasum," and other names of the like hideous noise and sound. ^