After the death of Francis I. a prince, whom it must be confeffed, was more remarkable for his gallantries and his misfortunes than for his cruelty, the execution of a thousand heretics, and in particular that of Dubourg, a counfellor of the parliament, together with the maffacre of Vaffy, made the perfecuted fly to arms. Their fect multiplied in proportion with the fires lighted for them, and the fwords of executioners drawn against them, patience gave way to rage, and they followed the ex

"brare; non denique Pontifici aut Epifcopis ho"norem deferre, fed quofdam è fuo numero de"lectos pro antiftibus & do&toribus habere. Hæc

uti ad Francifcum relata VI." Id. Feb. anni &c.

Madame de Cental, who was proprietor of part of the lands thus laid wafte and drenched in the blood of their quondam inhabitants, applied for redrefs to Henry II. who referred her to the parliament of Paris. The folicitor-general of Provence, whose name was Guerin, and had been the principal author of thefe maffacres, was condemned to lofe his head; and was the only one who fuffered on this occafion, the punishment due to the other accomplices in his guilt; becaufe, fays De Thou, aulicorum favore deftitueretur, he had not friends at

Court.

C 6

ample

ample of their enemies in cruelty. Nine civil wars filled France with carnage; and a peace, more fatal than war itself, produced the day of St. Bartholomew, which ftands without example in the annals of crimes.

Henry III. and Henry IV. fell victims to the league; the one by the hand of a Dominican friar, and the other by that of a monfter who had been a brother of the Mendicant order. There are who pretend, that humanity, indulgence, and liberty of confcience, are horrible things; I would ask fuch perfons ferioufly, if they could have produced calamities comparable to those I have just related?

CHAP.

CHA P. IV.

Whether TOLERATION is dangerous; and among what Nations it is practifed.

OME people will have it, that if we were

SOME

to make use of humanity and indulgence towards our mistaken brethren who pray to God in bad French, it would be putting arms into their hands, and we should fee revived the bloody days of Jarnac, Moncontour, Coutras, Dreux, St. Denis, &c. I know not how this may be, as I have not the gift of prophecy; but I really cannot discover the congruity of this reafoning, "That because these men took up arms against "me when I oppreffed them, they will do the "fame if I fhew them favour."

And here I would willingly take the liberty to intreat those who have the reins of government in hand, or are deftined to fill the highest ftations, for once to examine maturely, whether there is any reason to apprehend, that indulgence would occafion the fame rebellions as cruelty and oppreffion; and whether, what has happened under certain circumftances, would happen under others of a different nature; or

whether

whether times, opinions, and manners are always the fame ?

The Hugonots, it cannot be denied, have formerly given into all the rage of enthusiasm, and have been polluted with blood as well as ourfelves but can it be faid, that the prefent generation is as barbarous as the former? Have not time and reason, that have lately made fo great progrefs, together with good books, and that natural foftnefs introduced from fociety, found their way among those who have the guidance of thefe people? And do we not clearly perceive that almoft all Europe has undergone a change within the laft century?

The hands of government have every where been strengthened, while the minds of the people have been foftened and civilized; the general police, fupported by numerous ftanding armies, leave us no longer any caufe to fear the return of those times of anarchy, when protef tant boors and catholic peafants were haftily called together from the labours of agriculture, to wield the fword against each others lives.

Alia tempora, alia cura. It would be highly abfurd in the prefent days to decimate the

body

body of the Sorbonne, because it formerly petitioned for the burning the Pucelle d'Orleans; because it declared Henry III. to have loft his right to the throne, and because it excommunicated and profcribed the illuftrious Henry IV. We fhould not certainly think of profecuting the other public bodies of the nation, who committed the like exceffes in thofe times of error and madnefs; it would not only be very unjust, but as ridiculous as if we were to oblige all the inhabitants of Marfeilles to undergo a course of phyfic, because they had the plague in 1720.

Should we at prefent go and fack Rome, as the troops of Charles the Fifth did, because pope Sixtus the Fifth, in the year 1585, granted a nine years indulgence to all Frenchmen who would take up arms against their fovereign? No, furely it is enough, if we prevent the court of Rome from ever being guilty of fuch excef fes for the future.

The rage infpired by a spirit of controverfy, and the abufe made of the Chriftian religion. from want of properly understanding it, has occafioned as much bloodshed, and produced as many calamities in Germany, England, and

even