that teems with every thing; and as it can produce all Opinions, so it can as eafily maintain them; because whoever will oppofe, must beg the Question.

Palavicin. in his In

A Cardinal Jefuite

trod. to his Hift. of going about to demon

the Coun. of Trent.

ftrate the benefit and neceffity of this New Guide, gives us this Reason for it: Men (fays he) must be governed as they are, and not as one could with them to be: Now we know that Men are generally born with corrupt inclinations, and therefore the Gospel (ftrictly taken) being too rigid for corrupt Nature to obferve, it was necessary to conftitute fuch a Vicar here upon Earth as might temper Religion and accommodate it to Humane Affections; and abate, remit, difpence, and give grace upon occafiom, as Temporal Princes do to their Subjects: fo that if at any time Men would not live up to the Rule, the Rule might ply down to them; and fo God ftill be ferved, and Men kept good Catholicks upon fuch terms as they would bear. This is the import of

what

what the Cardinal fays more at large: And furely in this he spoke more truth than he intended; for although it be profane to say that this was God's reafon to constitute a Vicar (for he had no hand in the Constitution) yet doubtless this was the reason that fet men on work to constitute such a Vicar; that thereby they might better bring Religion to ferve their Carnal Ends. For though they were pleased in an unmannerly comparison to call the Scriptures a Leaden Rule, yet they found it wanted flexibility enough to comport with their Designs; and therefore the only expedient was to fet up another Authority.

Under the Countenance of this New Guide began a

* See the Jefuite Writers of Pratic. Divinity.

* Cafuiftical Divinity to direct mens Confciences without the Rule of God's Word; the chief effect of whose Doctrine is to deftroy the Nature of Truth, by diftinguishing Words from Meaning; and to confound all F 3

Morality,

Morality, by diftinguishing Acts from Ends; by teaching to fanctifie ill PraEtices with good Intentions; and to make Religion a Cloak for Sin; though my Text fays, that the Religion which our Saviour delivered, had left all Sin without a Cloak. And then to what purpose is it that our Saviour came? Or to what end that he spake? As one of the Mediterranean Pirates told Cæfar, Sir, If you kill the little Pirates, and fet up for a great one your felf, what is the World the better? So if Religion come armed against all Vices, and beat them out and ; yet may bring them in at the Back Door, to serve her own turn, how is the World amended? To what purpose is it, that according to the Principles of Chriftianity, we renounce the World, the Flesh, and the Devil, if yet we may plough with all these, to bring in a Harvest to the Church, if this World may be hook'd in, in order to the next; and it be lawful to debauch Nations, in or

der

Machiavel

Difc.

der to profelyte them, that when their Confciences are diftracted with Guilt and Fear, they may run into the Arms where they find moft Indulgence; and catch at a Plenary Abfolution, as a drowning Man will catch at a Floating Twigg. Nay, If Religion may be made a Cloak, the World is the worfe for it; and Men would have been lefs barbarous, had they continued Infidels. For the *Florentine Politician makes it one inftance of Humane Weakness, that men cannot be thorow pac'd in Villany; and the reason is, because the natural fear of Confcience baffles them, and makes them Cow. ards; and fo for not acting their Mis chiefs home, they commonly lose both themselves and their Designs: but this Check of Confciencious Fear can have no place in the Cafe of a Religious Villain, who has the ill of the Action reconciled to his Confcience; in such a Cafe Men have no reftraint, they dare

be as Mischievous as Machiavel or the Occafion would have them to be.

This bold Treatment of Religion, to bring it to ferve to Carnal Ends, made others conclude it a more ingenuous way to the fame Ends, fairly to renounce Religion: and fo Italy became at the fame time the Mint both of Faith and of A theifm. And indeed the New Guide and the Atheist feemed to proceed upon fome Parity of Reasons. For the One would new model the Church, and govern it without the Scriptures; and teach for Doctrines the Traditions of Men: And the Other would new make the World, and govern it without a Providence, and teach inftead of Scripture the Projects of his own Syftem: The One found out Methods to forgive Sin without purging the Confcience; and the other found out Methods to commit Sin without af fecting the Confcience: The One difpofed of Heav'n and Hell for no feeming Reasons but that he was Arbitrary; and

the