" ingenious expedient of forming and publishe "ing tenets for Papists, which they neither "believe nor teach, but the very reverse of "what they inculcate in their fermons, cate" chisms and rules of faith, is ludicrous enough: "A man is introduced upon the stage with a

very good effect, who is perfuaded to profess "himself a physician against his own knowledge; " and the comedy is certainly equally high, to attempt to make Romanists believe, that they are mistaken in their own tenets, and that they actually believe what they do not believe. "If these wife creed-makers had combined to *" make the world imagine, that the Popish tenets were impregnable, and could not be attacked " with any hope of fuccess, unless they were misrepresented, I defy them to take any other "course half so effectual. The watchful and indefatigable Popish priest, who lets no advantage flip, makes a most unmerciful use of this childish stratagem. He does not fail to call upon his followers as witnesses, that he never preached rebellion or disloyalty to them; but, on the contrary, took every occafion to impress them with the principle of paffive obe"dience to the constitution, and of gratitude " and affection to a king; to whose lenity it is owing, that they are treated as fubjects, and enjoy the common rights of humanity. He appeals to them, if they were ever taught, " that it was lawful or difpenfable to break faith " with hereticks; he cannot fail observing to

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them, that even Proteftants have no need of " witnesses to this point, feeing that the whole

kingdoms of England, Ireland and Scotland,

are witnesses to it; for the Catholicks of these na"tions suffer publicly the hardships of the laws " by their fincerity. They pay double taxes " here; they fuffer by informations, incapacities " and restraints, in Ireland; they bear the lofs of

property and power; they bear infults and a " variety of disadvantages, merely because they cannot dispense with their integrity, or make profeffion to those they esteem hereticks, contrary to what they think. The people the priest appeals to, are perfect judges in this

cafe; they know what doctrines they have "been taught; and the conclusion they natural"ly make from this abfurd difpute, is, that the re"formation can attack Popery only by mifrepre" sentation and imposition. Is it not provoking " to see Proteftants take pains to raise prejudi

ces in the candid and honest part of mankind " against themselves, and draw a fufpicion on " their cause by the disingenuous artifices un" der which they attack Popery?"

So far this candid and ingenious writer, whose sentiments upon this subject, I have here given you in his own words, both because they have already been published to the world, and unanfwered in our grand metropolis itself, and because they display in very striking colours, the point I want to establish; viz. the gross absurdity of attacking Popery by misrepresentation and calumny, and the immense advantages fuch conduct gives the Roman-Catholicks over their Proteftant adverfaries.

After fuch a public and recent detection of the folly and injuftice of these unwarrantable meafures, and of the fatal consequenees they produce, one should naturally imagine, that every honest heart, every man of candour and humanity, would disdain to tread in fuch perverfe paths, or prostitute his por to fuch vile purposes; with what indignation then, muft every generous breast be fired to fee a fermon published to the world, under the refpectable name of Dr C1, and faid to be preached before an affembly of Proteftant divines; which, on perusal, he finds to be fraught with the grossest calumnies and most unjust mifrepresentations; and, at the fame time, vainly pretending to vindicate the purity, the charity, the sanctity, of the Christian religion by such unchriftian methods?

It would be an endless work, were I to make a regular difcuffion of every thing exceptionable which this fermon contains. I shall, therefore, confine myself to those parts of it which more directly concur to prove the charge I have lodged against it.; and, I proceed to take notice of fome of the most remarkable instances of calumny advanced in it, pointing out the immenfe hurt they do to the Proteftant cause, both by confirming Papifts in their own sentiments, and by carrying over Proteftants to their fide.

The first instance of this kind is what we find page 25; where, after having given us a full description of the nature of fuperftition, and shown, that it always arises from an ignorance or misapprehenfion of God, and has always more or lefs of demonism at the bottom, in order to bring in the Papifts as guilty of this horrid monster, he proceeds thus : "There have been times, and "there are places, in which fome of the prieft" hood have maintained, that ignorance is the "mother of devotion. Have not fuch unwarily " betrayed, by this adage, to what family their

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" devotion belongs? Can it be related to that " religion, where the knowledge of God is of more account than burnt-offerings? We must own indeed, that its affinity to that worship "which Pagan Athens anciently paid to the un"known God, cannot reasonably be difputed." I do not know, gentlemen, what emotions you may feel, on reading this passage; but, for my part, it feems to involve in its bosom such an infult on candour and humanity, and much more on Christian charity, that it fills me with indignation! Though, the author here, in order to strike the deeper, puts on an air of modefty, and feems to accuse only fome of the prieft-hood; yet, as it is a common cant, in every body's mouth, that the Popish clergy do all they can to keep their people in ignorance, in order thereby, to fupport their own ufurped power, and hinder their errours from being discovered; it is eafy to fee, that under this show of modesty, he brings his accufation with greater force againft that whole body; and, I dare say, if you were to ask any of his ordinary readers, whom they think he means by the expreffion, fome of the priest-hood? They would, without hefitation, answer, the Papists. Here then we have an accufation of the deepeft dye charged upon that whole set of people; and the argument, by which they are proved guilty, when put in plain English, is this; Superftition always rifes from an ignorance or misapprehenfion of God, and a perversion of the sense of right and wrong; and has always fomething of demonism at bottom: But the Papists hold as a maxim, that ignorance is the mother of devotion, Therefore their devotion is nothing else but demoniacal fuperftition, and bas no relation to the religion of Jesus; wherein the

knowledge of God is of more account than burnt-offerings. Again, as the God, whom they form to themselves, by their misapprehenfions of him, is quite different from the true God, therefore the devotion they pay to that ideal God of theirs, is no better than the idolatrous worship which Pagan Athens paid to the unknown God.

What say you, my friends? Do you think these are likely arguments to do much honour to the Proteftant caufe? or that they will prove very effectual for undeceiving a Romanist? Let us fuppose, that some ferious well-disposed Proteftant, zealous for the converfion of his Popish friend, and confident in the authority of so great a man as Dr C-1, should attack his friend upon this point, and make use of the above argument, in order to convince him, that the devotion of his church is all diabolical fuperftition, and a kin to Heathenism itself; and let us fee what anfwer the Roman-Catholick would naturally make to this charge.

"The accufation you bring against my church, " will he say, is very heavy indeed, and, would certainly require a most convincing proof, be"fore you can, with a safe confcience, pro“nounce her guilty; but alas! my friend, the

proof you bring is no proof at all, but mere "flander and calumny. I allow the description

you give of fuperftition to be very juft, and "that it always takes its rise from an ignorance

or misapprehenfion of God and of his Divine "truths, in some degree or other; but I utterly deny, that the ignorance of God, or of his "Divine truths, is, in any degree whatfoever, pro" moted, authorized, or encouraged, by the Ro