vours and dispensations as they might stand in need of, and which could only be granted by the pope. On the 27th, Pole came to the parliament-house, the king and queen being present. Gardiner informed the members of the arrival of the cardinal, and the business with which he was charged. Pole then addressed them at considerable length. He acquainted them of the commission from the pope, and that he had come "to restore England to its original noble estate, by reconciling them to the Catholic church." He ascribed the differences with Rome entirely to the conduct of Henry, and praised the queen in the highest terms.

Some members of the house of commons spoke of the pope's authority in the way it deserved; but the majority were so attached to Popery, or so bribed with Spanish money, that they agreed to unite with the house of lords in supplicating the legate to receive their submission to the see of Rome. They accordingly besought the king and queen to intercede with the representative of the pope, to grant the kingdom an absolution, and receive it again into the bosom of the church. This ceremony was accordingly gone through; and on the 29th of November, they were introduced into the presence of the legate at Whitehall. He made them a long oration upon the favours bestowed on the English nation in former times; he dwelt upon the unity of the church, and similar topics; and enjoined them, as a penance, to repeal all the laws against Romanism. He then granted them a full absolution, which they all received, kneeling humbly before him! Sir Ralph Bagnel was the only one who refused. Such was the conduct of an English parliament in the days of queen Marykneeling before a traitor, and humbling themselves to the authority of a foreign priest! They then all went to the chapel, and Te Deum was sung.

TRANSLATIONS FROM THE BRE

VIARY, WITH OBSERVATIONS,

By W. E. LIGHT, Esq.

THE Roman Breviary is a book in four volumes, corresponding to the four seasons of Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter, which is used in the Church of Rome as a prayer book. It contains various services, some of which in part resemble our own, with much besides; and nearly one half of each volume consists of services in honour of saints and others, with accounts of their lives, &c., and all in Latin, which the people cannot under

stand: contrary to the scripture,—" Therefore, if I know not the meaning of the voice, I shall be unto him that speaketh a barbarian, and he that speaketh shall be a barbarian unto me."-1 Cor. xiv. 11.

Spring Portion, Psaltery, Sunday Morning.-Immediately after the Pater Noster'

Our Father,' i. e. the Lord's Prayer, comes what is called the 'Ave Maria'Hail Mary,' which is a short prayer as follows: "Hail Mary, full of grace: the Lord is with thee! Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy wombJesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and in the hour of our death. Amen."

Observe, that the former part of this is the address of the Angel and of Elizabeth to Mary, as recorded Luke i. 28, 42. The rest is not to be found in the bible, but is the fond invention of men. Thus the words of man are joined with the word of God, and poor souls, who have not the bible to read for themselves, are taught that every thing pronounced by the priest is of the same divine authority. But more than this; here, at the very outset of the poor Roman Catholic's prayer book, we have a specimen of the idolatry and blasphemy which will be found only too common in it. This is a prayer-and to whom? to the Virgin Mary, who is called the mother of God, and asked to pray for us! Little do the poor creatures know how vain is their request, and that there is only one mediator, and one intercessor between God and man-the man Christ Jesus, the Son of God.

N.B. This prayer is muttered by the priest to himself.

Then comes a confession,-"I confess to God Almighty, blessed Mary, ever Virgin, blessed Michael the Archangel, blessed John Baptist, the holy Apostles Peter and Paul, to all the Saints, and to you, brethren, that I have sinned too much in thought, word, and deed. Wherefore, I pray, blessed Mary, ever Virgin, &c. to pray for me to our Lord God." Protestant reader! do you ever confess your sins to any but God and your neighbour? Have you ever confessed them to good men, who have died and gone to heaven-to Peter and Paul and the Virgin Mary? No, say you; I might as well confess to the grave stones. They can do me no good, they cannot hear me. Well, then, pity and pray for those who do-alas, how many!-poor blinded creatures, who know not what folly they commit.

Christian reader! have you ever prayed to any but God? No; for it is written (Ps. L. 14, 15)," Offer unto God thanksgiving,

much, very much of what we want to know cendency on the part of clergy over the

is hid in impenetrable obscurity: an obscurity through which we must wander without any guide, except those who are interested in deceiving us. Gibbon well observes, that the materials of church history are so scanty, doubtful, and interwoven with fiction, that it is difficult to arrive at the information we desire.

But from the slender information we have, the following steps appear to me to be indisputable.

laity. Such an extent of authority did the clergy assume over the laity, that" in the government of his peculiar diocese, each bishop exacted from his flock the same implicit obedience as if that favorite metaphor had been literally just, and as if the Shepherd had been of a more exalted nature than his sheep. This obedience, however, (adds the historian, Gibbon,) was not imposed without some efforts on one side, and some resistance on the other." Kept in ignorance both of the Scriptures and even the elements of literature, we are not surprised at the progress of priestcraft and superstition over an ignorant, barbarous, or semibarbarous population.

3. Another important step of this antichristian spirit arose from the episcopal office of bishop claiming divine origin, instead of human expediency for the foundation of its authority.

1. Monasticism. Christians very early and very easily fell into this snare of Satan. For the desire of adding some work of our own to that of our Lord, and being commanded to be separate from an ungodly world, the temptation, to understand this precept in a literal, instead of a moral and spiritual sense, would be by no means strange or difficult. Added to this, the Scriptures could only be multiplied by manuscripts, and, therefore, not accessible by all who professed the faith; so those who, from an ardent temperament, sincere, but unenlightened faith, formed ascetic habits, did so primarily, perhaps, in mistaken obedience to the divine precept, "Come out, &c." But, however the sincerity and piety of the first Anchorites might induce their separation from the duties of common life," Nor less the directing hand of a superior; motives far below these soon actuated the selfish, indolent, and artful of both sexes, to separate from the labour, activity, and self-denial of every-day life, that they might live upon the bounties of those who were more honest, industrious, and benevolent than themselves.

The real, or pretended sanctity of these ascetics, procured for them the respect and devotion of the multitude; and, appearing by their self-imposed austerities so much above the rest of mankind, the public mind became used to obey their dictum as oracular, and feared to offend one of these, as much, if not more, than the Lord himself; consequently the mass were prepared for another step of the spirit of Popery.

2. The division of the body of Christians into clergy and laity. While numbers were issuing to the haunts of asceticism, and thus forging in secret those chains of darkness that fettered every community in Christendom so long, ecclesiastics were no less active, no less aspiring, no less guilty in placing their yoke upon the necks of their brethren. This distinction, used in our day and in our church, merely as distinctive of the relation borne by each class to the other, assumed then (and will assume again, unless the laity prevent it,) a very dangerous as

Our Lord, it will be remembered, reproved the desire of pre-eminence in his disciples, and said, "One is your master, and all ye are brethren." And this equality was practised by the first disciples. "But the most perfect equality of freedom requires the division of labour for the due performance of the several offices in the community.

and the order of public deliberation, soon introduces the office of president. A regard for public tranquillity, which would so frequently have been interrupted by elections, induced the primitive Christians to constitute an honourable and perpetual magistracy. Under these circumstances the lofty title of bishop began to raise itself above the humble appellation of presbyter; while the latter remained the most natural distinction for the members of the christian senate (or ministry), the former was appropriated to the dignity of its new president."-Gibbon, p. 288.

Here it must be distinctly observed, that the office by no means entails the spirit of Popery, but the assumption of power undelegated by the body of christians; and, by consequence, irresponsible to them for their official actions: in other words, that their authority was divine, and they, therefore, could not be amenable to any human tribunal.

Upon this false and dangerous assumption was built the defiance of the secular power to punish clerical offenders, whatever their crime. Hence arose that long and memorable contest between Henry the Second and the Pope, which, in its course, caused the death of the proud Thomas à Becket, and the subsequent degradation of the monarch.

4. Unsatiated with any power, authority, or honour, while an equal share in these was enjoyed by any other being, was the ruling sin of that great apostate spirit, who aimed to hurl the Almighty from his throne. Like him, his protege the man of sin could not rest while other bishops enjoyed equality with him. "The same causes which at first had destroyed the equality of the presbyters, introduced among the bishops a pre-eminence of rank, and from thence a superiority of jurisdiction. As often as in the spring and autumn they met in the provincial synod, the difference of personal merit and reputation were sensibly felt among the members of the assembly. But the order of public proceedings required a more regular and less invidious distinction; the office of perpetual presidents in the councils of each province was conferred on the bishops of the principal city. It was easy to foresee that Rome must soon enjoy the respect-and would soon claim the obedience of the provinces. "The number of christians bore a just proportion to the capital of the empire; and the Roman Church was the greatest, and in regard to the west, the most ancient of all the christian establishments. The bishops of Italy and provinces, were disposed to allow them a primacy of order and association." That was an opening of sufficient magnitude for all the future assumptions of the Papal see to enter.

Persecutions from without, and the unbending spirit of truth within, withstood and prevented the developement of the climax of papal ambition for some ages; but its sway was truly depicted in the word of prophecy, as that which opposeth and exalteth itself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped.

It is well to trace the progress of this spirit, that we may detect its present aspect. 5. Having gained the ecclesiastical domination, and secured itself from the power of the civil ruler, but one step remained to render it the supreme arbiter of human affairs. To arrogate the civil authority as well as the ecclesiastical-or, in her own words, to wield both swords," by making the civil subject to the spiritual.

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and like the monkey's decision between the two cats-he invariably bit off a piece for his trouble. Such being the abject condition of the greatest monarchs of Europe during the sombre reign of the spirit of Popery-no wonder the mass of the people were abject too. The natural connexion between them had been broken by the unnatural spirit of Popery, and, therefore, the people were left without a protector, and the ruler governed a number of mercenaries,― who cared as little for whom they fought, as the ass for whom he bore his burdensknowing that whoever ruled they must remain the dupes of tyranny.

Before we proceed to the next division of our subject, it may be well to notice one main cause that contributed to the progress of this spirit-the unsettled state of the empire. The sun of Rome began to wane as the sun of righteousness arose. During the first three centuries of Christianity, it had to struggle with Pagan rulers, as well as idolatrous people; but as soon as Constantine ascended the throne, and adopted Christianity as the state religion- that formed the only channel of priestly preferment-consequently, numbers who cared as little for Christian principle as for Pagan worship, made their way into the church.

Again, Constantine removed the seat of government from Rome. The inhabitants had been previously degenerated by luxury; few or none bore arms; the army formed of Illyrian, Dacian, Gothic, Franks, and Saxon barbarians, were open to the reception of superstition, and unused to respect the authority of a distant monarch, were the more readily induced to pay homage to the Pontiff.

The frequent and sudden changes of civil authority to which the ancient capital was subject, while the Pontiff was the only visible authority there which remained unmoved, tended much to increase that power he so readily and successfully claimed. Added to this the Bishop of Rome knew well how to avail himself of the continual change of emperors. If a centurion was successful in dethroning and murdering his monarch, He sent his Nuncio with his devout thanks This the Roman Pontiffs fully accom- to the new emperor for having delivered the plished by artifices the most skilful-in- empire of a tyrant. When this same usurtrigues the most politic-and measures the per is put to death, he execrates his memory most profound. Anathematizing those as the vilest of the vile. Should a Gothic monarchs who would not bow to her yoke monarch tolerate freedom in religion, he absolving their subjects from their alle- could alienate the allegiance of his soldiers, giance to them-supporting competitors for and cause the remnant of the days of the their thrones, or raising civil wars-foment- most generous and benevolent of the Goths ing foreign quarrels, and then appearing as to go down with sorrow to the grave. As mediator between the contending parties, the lands were partitioned, the priesthood