in every other refpect, they enjoy the prerogatives of citizens.

Some of our bishops in France have been fufpected of thinking that their honour and intereft is concerned, in not fuffering any proteftants within their diocese, and that this is the principal obftacle to allowing of toleration amongst us; but this I cannot believe. The epifcopal body in France is compofed of perfons of quality, who think and act in a manner fuitable to their high birth; and as Envy itfelf must confefs that they are both generous and charitable, they therefore certainly cannot think that those whom they thus drive out of their diocefe, would become converts in any other country, but great honour would redound from the converfion of them at home; nor would the prelate be any lofer by it in his temporals, seeing, that the greater the number of the inhabitants, the greater is the value of the land.

A certain Polifh bishop had a farmer, who was an Anabaptift; and a receiver of his rents, who was a Socinian. Some perfon propofed to the bishop to profecute the latter in the fpiri-· tual court, for not believing in tranfubftantiation, and to turn the other out of his farm, be

cause

cause he would not have his fon chriftened till he was fifteen years of age; the prelate very prudently replied, That though he made no doubt of their being eternally damned in the next world, yet heffound them extremely neceffary to him in this.

Let us now for a while quit our own little sphere, and take a survey of the rest of the globe. The grand feignior peaceably rules over fubjects of twenty different religions; upwards of two hundred thoufand Greeks live unmolefted within the walls of Conftantinople; the Mufti himfelf nominates the Greek patriarch, and prefents him to the emperor; and, at the fame time, allows of the refidence of a Latin patriarch. The fultan appoints Latin bishops for some of the Greek ifles; the form ufed on this occafion is as follows : " I command such a one to go " and refide as bishop in the ifle of Chios, ac"cording to the antient custom and idle cere "monies of thofe people." The Othman empire fwarms with Jacobines, Neftorians, Monothelites, Cophti, Chriftians of St. John, Guebres, and Banians; and the Turkish annals do

+ See Ricaut.

not

not furnish us with one fingle inftance of a rebellion occafioned by any of thefe different fects.

Go into India, Perfia, and Tartary, and you will meet with the fame toleration and the fame tranquility. Peter the Great encouraged all kinds of religions throughout his vaft empire: trade and agriculture have been gainers by it, and no injury ever happened therefrom to the body politic.

We do not find that the Chinese government, during the course of four thousand years that it has fubfifted, has ever adopted any other religion than that of the Noachides, which confifts in the fimple worship of one God; and yet it tolerates the fuperftitions of Fo, and that of a multitude of bonzes; which might be produc tive of dangerous confequences, did not the wisdom of the tribunals keep them within proper bounds.

It is true, that the great Yong-T-Chin, the most wife and magnanimous of all the emperors of China, drove the jefuits out of his kingdom; but this was not because that prince himself was non-toleran', but, on the contrary, becaufe the jefuits were fo.

They

They themselves, in their letters, have given us the speech the emperor made to them on that occafion: "I know, fays he, that your religion "admits not of toleration; I know how you "have behaved in the Manillas and at Japan; "you deceived my father, but think not to de❝ceive me in the fame manner." And if we read the whole of the converfation which he deigned to hold with them, we must confefs him to be the wifeft and most clement of all princes. How could he indeed, with any confiftency, keep in his kingdom European philofophers, who, under the pretence of teaching the use of thermometers and œolypiles, had found means to debauch a' prince of the blood? But what would this emperor have faid, had he read our hiftories, and bad he been acquainted with the times of the league and the gunpowder plot?

It was fufficient for him to be informed of the outrageous and indecent difputes between thofe Jefuits, Dominicans, Capuchins, and fecular priests, who were fent as miffionaries into his dominions from one extremity of the globe to preach up truth; instead of which, they employed their time in mutually pronouncing damnation against each other. The emperor,

then,

then, did no more than send away a fet of foreigners, who were disturbers of the public peace. But with what infinite goodness did he difmifs them! and with what paternal care did he provide for their accommodation in their journey, and to prevent their meeting with any infult on their way! This very act of baaishment might ferve as an example of toleration and humanity.

The Japonefe were the most tolerant of all nations; twelve different religions were peaceably established in their empire: when the Jefuits came, they made the thirteenth; and, in a very little time after their arrival, they would not suffer any other but their own. Every one knows the confequence of these proceedings: a civil war, as calamitous as that of the league, foon fpread deftruction and carnage through the empire; till at length the Christian religion was itself swallowed up in the torrents of blood it had set a flowing, and the Japonefe for ever shut the entrance of their country against all foreigners, looking upon us as no better than savage beasts, such as those

See Kempfer, and all the accounts of Japan.

from