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highwaymen by the sword, heretics by fire; why do we not rather "attack with all kinds of arms these masters of perdition, these cardinals, these popes, and all this sink of the Romish Sodom, which corrupts without ceasing the church of God, and wash our hands in "their blood." Again, he says in a book which he composed to oppose the ecclesiastical hierarchy :- "All those who will venture their lives, "their estates, their honour and their blood, in so Christian a work, as to root out all bishoprics and bishops, who are the ministers of "satan, and to pluck up by the roots all their authority and jurisdic"tion in the world: these persons are the true children of God, and obey his commandments."-Contra statum Ecclesia, &c. Nor did he confine these declamations to the clergy, for he shortly after proceeded to attack the temporal authorities both in his writings and preachings. "You must know," said he, "that from the beginning of the world to "this day, it has ever been a rare thing to find a wise prince; but more rare to find one that was honest: for commonly they are the greatest fools and knaves in the world."-De Sæculari Potest. Again: "You must know, my good lords," said he, "that God will have it so, "that your subjects neither can, nor will, nor ought any longer to en"dure your tyrannical governments."-Contra Rusticus. "If it is law"ful for me," he again says, to his patron, the elector of Saxony, "for the sake of Christian liberty, not only to neglect, but to trample 66 under my feet the pope's decrees, the canons of councils, the laws "and mandates of the emperor himself, and of all princes; think you "I shall value your orders so much, as to take them for laws?"-Contra Ambr. Catharin. Calvin was equally as seditious in his religious dogmas as Martin Luther. He writes" They are beside their wits, quite void of sense and understanding, who desire to live under ab"solute monarchies ; for it cannot be, but that order and policy must decay, where one man holds such an extent of government.' -Comment. in Dan. c. ii. v. 39. "These kings," he goes on, 66 are in a manner all of them a set of blockheads and brutish men.' -Ibid. c. vi. v. 3. Again, "Princes forfeit their power when they oppose God in opposing the reformation; and it is better in such cases to spit in "their faces than to obey."-Ibid. v. 22. Theodore Beza, a disciple of Calvin, supported the same doctrine as his master, as may be seen in his preface to his translation of the New Testament; and again in his book Vindicia contra Tyrannos. "We must obey kings for God's "sake, when they obey God," he writes, but otherwise " as the vassal "loses his fief or tenure, if he commit felony, so does the king lose his right and realm also." This doctrine is similar to the allegiance of the Orangemen at this day, which is given only so long as the king remains a Protestant. Muncer, one of the leaders of the new sect of Anabaptists, pretended that he had received from God "the sword of Gedeon," in order to depose and kill all idolatrous (Catholic) magistrates, and compel the people to acknowledge the fanatical notions of a distempered brain, which they called the new kingdom of Jesus Christ. We could multiply these impious and seditious doctrines, till we swelled out this number, but enough has been here said to shew how dangerous these doctrines were to the peace and security of society, and we will now proceed to shew what the consequences were that followed

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their promulgation. In doing this we beg the reader to pay particular attention to dates.

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The propagation of the doctrines above quoted were soon followed by a general rising of the peasantry in Germany, (where the reformation, as it is called) had taken root, who carried devastation through the provinces of Suabia, Franconia, and Alsatia. In their progress, these fanatic insurgents plundered and burned churches, monasteries, and castles, and killed the priests, monks, and noblemen. Alarmed at the desolating progress of these propagators of " the pure light of the gospel," the Catholic sovereigns and people very naturally confederated together to preserve their own rights and creed, against a band of lawless disturbers of the peace, dubbed by John Fox and " Protestant-ascendency," evangelical reformers and holy martyrs. Precious reformers of the gospel and sufferers for true religion! Well, in the year 1525, just eight years after Luther began to preach his new doctrines, and forty-seven before the massacre we have to notice, a battle took place at Frankhusen, between the favourers of the new creed, and the defenders of Catholicism, when the former were defeated, and Muncer and Phiffer, the chiefs of the fanatics, were taken prisoners and soon after executed. This defeat, however, did not suppress the tumults, and for a long series of years the whole empire of Germany was distracted and convulsed with murder,, sacrilege, and rapine, under the cloak of religion. Similar scenes were also acted in Switzerland. The cantons that had embraced the fantasies of Zuinglius, were not content with pleasing themselves, but they were determined that their Catholic neighbours should do as they had done, whether they liked it or no. This occasioned a war to ensue, and Zuinglius, the reforming apostle, was slain while directing a battle fought in the year 1531. As our remarks must be confined to the massacre of 1572 in France, we shall leave Germany with these few facts, which are necessary to be known, as they shew how differently the reformation, as it is called, of the sixteenth century was ushered into the world, to what the Catholic religion always was, wherever it was planted, whether from the beginning of its foundation by the apostles, or it resuscitation at this present moment in France, after having suffered years of persecution by the infidel philosophers in that country. Catholic missionaries are armed only with the authority of God, the purity and zeal of a religious mind, a cross, and a breviary. They follow the doctrines of their Divine Master, and they treasure up his words: "Behold, I send you as sheep in the midst "of wolves."-They act by the precepts of the two great apostles, SS. Peter and Paul, "Be ye subject," says the former, to every human "creature for God's sake," &c. 1 Ep. c. ii. v. 13. And the latter, "Let 06 every soul be subject to higher powers; for there is no power but " from God; and those that are, are ordained of God." Rom. xii. 1.Consistent with these precepts, St. Justin the martyr, in his Apology to the emperor, writes, "Our hopes are not fixed on the present world, " and therefore we make no resistance to the executioner that comes "to strike us.... We adore only God, but in all other things we cheer"fully obey you." So writes Tertullian in his Apology:-" We Chris"tians pray to God, that he may grant to the emperors a long life, a peaceable reign, safety at home, victorious arms, a faithful senate,

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"virtuous subjects, universal peace, and every thing that a man and emperor can desire."-How different was the spirit of Christianity in the first ages, as evinced by these apostles and primitive writers, and the spirit of the chief reformers of the sixteenth century. The former practised and preached a system of submission to authority, self-denial and pure morality; the latter inculcated resistance to all authority but their own, let loose the worst passions of human nature, and deluged the world with blood, rapacity and wickedness. Compare again, we say, the means by which truth was propagated by Catholic missionaries throughout the world, and the means resorted to by those who espoused the cause of error, and it will soon be seen whether the creatures of the reformation are worthy the distinguished character of martyrs for religion or conscience-sake, which the people of England have been so long taught, by the falsification of historical facts, and the misrepresentations of designing men, to consider them. Have we not seen the Arians attempting to force their errors by persecution and not by reason? Have we not seen that the Albigenses were guilty of outrage and rebellion, the fruit of their impious notions? And here, in the sixteenth century, we see the physical force of infuriated men employed to circulate those novel doctrines (which reason could not accomplish when opposed by truth) where the constituted authorities were against them; and the same weapons are used by the temporal rulers against the people, where the former are infected with error, and instigated by avarice and pillage. From the detail given by Fox, the reader is led to suppose that the sufferers in this massacre of 1572 were the most inoffensive and injured of all human beings. Let it not be understood that we are going to justify the bloody deed, because we are taught, by the principles of our religion, to consider the act to be unjustifiable; yet there may be some traits and circumstances attending and preceding the deed, which may throw a different shade upon the matter, and rescue religion from having any share in it, though Fox and his editors have endeavoured to fix all the odium upon the Catholic church. We have shewn that the doctrines of Calvin as well as Luther were calculated to produce turbulence and disaffection, and in fact they did produce rebellion and civil war in France, some years before the event we are now treating of took place. Dr. Heylin, in his History of the Presbyterians, devotes one whole book in describing" the manifold seditions, conspiracies, and insur"rections in the realm of France, their (the reformers) libelling against “the state, and the wars there raised by their procurement, from the year 1559 to 1585." As this historian was a Protestant, and by no means friendly to the Catholics, he may be looked upon as an unexceptionable witness in this cause. The same historian in another work called Cosmography, speaking of these new sectarians, the Presbyterians, says, "Rather than their discipline should not be admitted, and the episcopal government destroyed in all the churches of Christ, they were "resolved to depose kings, ruin kingdoms, and SUBVERT THE FUN"DAMENTAL CONSTITUTIONS OF ALL CIVIL STATES." Such being the disposition of these religionists, if such they ought to be called, need we wonder that those who were in possession of power, should exercise their force and authority to awe and intimidate these turbulent and revolutionary spirits into subjection? We think not.

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But, we will here ask, what sort of Christianity must that be, which can employ rebellion, fire, pillage, murder and sacrilege in its train? Can peace, charity, and security to society be the fruits of such a disposition as that which Dr. Heylin says influenced the disciples of Calvin at the period we are treating of? Most undoubtedly not; and therefore the "long series of troubles in France," which Fox admits preceded this massacre, were occasioned, not by the intolerant or cruel spirit of the Catholics, who were then in possession of that kingdom, but by the treacherous and perfidious principles disseminated by the preachers of the pretended reformation.

The object of the Calvinists or Hugonots, as the adherents of the faction were called, from their going through St. Hugo's gate in the city of Tours to attend their secret meetings, as we have before said was to overthow the Catholic religion in France by force of arms, and plant Calvinism on its ruins. It was natural, therefore, that the Catholics should be prepared to resist this plan, and preserve that religion which they and their forefathers had professed for ages, as well as the form of civil government which had existed for many centuries also. Thus, then, faction was introduced by the birth of the pretended reformation, and to the spirit of faction we must attribute all the evils that have visited every state in Christendom since Luther first began to dogmatize. The premature death of Henry II. of France in 1559, weakened the government of that kingdom, and gave the greatest advantage to the Calvinist party. This monarch left three sons, the eldest but fifteen years of age, who all succeeded him in the throne. The first, Francis II, who married the unfortunate queen of Scotland, reigned only one year, consequently the sovereigns were for some time minors, while the kingdom was distracted by the ambition of certain powerful families. The house of Guise, related to the royal family, headed the Catholic party, though the mother of the sovereign, Catherine de Medicis, acted as regent, and the prince Condé headed the confederacy of the Hugonots. Having contrived to raise a powerful force, it was agreed upon by the Hugonot chiefs, says Dr. Heylin, that "a certain number "of them should repair to the king at Bloise, and tender a petition to “him in all humble manner for the free exercise of the religion which "they then professed, and for professing which they had been perse"cuted in the days of his father. But these petitioners were to be "backed with multitudes of armed men, gathered together from all parts on the day appointed; who, on the king's denial of so just a "suit, should violently break into the court, seize on the person of the king, surprize the queen, and put the Guises to the sword: and, "that being done, liberty was to be proclaimed, free exercise of religion granted by public edict, the managery of affairs committed to "the prince of Condé, and all the rest of the confederates gratified with "rewards and honours." This scheme, however, was frustrated, and the armed bands were completely routed, while such was the clemency of the monarch and the moderation of the duke of Guise, that a general pardon was proclaimed on the 18th of March, 1560, to all those who had entered into the conspiracy, provided they laid down their arms and retired peaceably to their homes. This lenient dispositon, however, had no effect on the chiefs of the Hugonots, for they caused great tu

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mults to be raised in Poictiers, Languedoc, and Provence. To which places, writes Dr. Heylin, "the preachers of Geneva were forthwith called, "and they came as willingly; their followers being much increased "both in courage and numbers, as well by their vehemency in the pul"pit, as their private practices. In Daupheny, and some parts of Pro66 vence, they proceeded further, seized upon divers of the churches for "the exercise of their religion, as if all matters had succeeded answer"able to their expectation. But on the first coming of some forces "from the duke of Guise they shrunk in again, and left the country in "the same condition wherein they found it." Still proceeding on the side of clemency, a proclamation was issued to convene an assembly of the most eminent persons in the kingdom, where all parties were to be at liberty to propound their grievances and advise on some expedient for redress thereof. These salutary measures towards a rational reform of abuses were imputed by the Hugonots to consternation in the government, and they resolved to seize on such towns and places of strength as might enable them to defend their party against all opponents, and, thus fortified, to demand of the assembly of the states to depose the queen regent, remove the Guises from the goverment, declare the king to be in a minority till he came to twenty-two years of age, and appoint the king of Navarre and the prince of Condé, the chiefs of the Hugonot party, to be his tutors and governors. This plot, like the former one, failed, and after many incidents not necessary to mention here, an edict was published by the French government, on the 28th of January, 1561, decreeing "that the magistrates should be ordered to "release all prisoners committed for matters of religion, and to stop "any manner of inquisition appointed for that purpose against any person "whatsoever; that they should not suffer any disputation in matters of "faith, nor permit particular persons to revile one another with the 66 names of Heretic aud Papist; but that all should live together in peace; "abstaining from unlawful assemblies, or to raise scandals or sedition."

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Could any thing be more tolerant and just than the above document, which breathed the spirit of “ peace and good will unto all men;" yet such was the turbulence of the Hugonots, that they were not content with its provisions, and resolved to have further concessions. For, writes the same historian, "thinking the queen-regent not to be in a condition to "deny them any thing, much less to call them into question for their "future actings, they presently fell upon the open exercise of their "own religion, and every where exceedingly increased both in power " and numbers. In confidence whereof, by public assemblies, insolent speeches, and other acts the like unpleasing, they incurred the hatred "and disdain of the Catholic party; which put all places into tumult, " and filled all the provinces of the kingdom with seditious rumours: so that contrary to the intention of those that governed, and contrary "to the common opinion, the remedy applied to maintain the state and preserve peace and concord in the king's minority, fell out to be dangerous and destructive, and upon the matter occasioned all those dis"sensions which they hoped by so much care to have prevented. For as the cardinal informed the council, the Hugonots were grown by "this connivance to so great a height, that the priests were not suf"fered to celebrate their daily sacrifices, or to make use of their own

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