Hor. I never thought to hear you speak against the Liberty of the Press.
Cleo. And you never will; for tho' Orthodoxy and the National Clergy are always the Gainers by these Curbs and Prohibitions, yet Truth and Religion are ever the Sufferers by them. But all prudent Men ought to behave according to the Condition they are in, and the Principles as well as Privileges they lay claim to. Reform'd Divines own themselves to be fallible: They appeal to our Reason, and exhort us to peruse the Scripture Ourselves. We live in a Country where the Press is open; where all Men are at full Liberty to expose Error and Falshood, where they can find them; and No body is debarr'd from Writing almost any Thing, but Blasphemy and Treason. A Protestant Clergy ought always to remember the Reasons, which their Predecessors alledg'd for separating themselves from the Roman Communion, and never to forget, that the Haughtiness and Luxury of the Prelates, as well as the Covetousness, the Insolence, and barefac'd Encroachments of the Clergy, were a considerable Part of the Complaints against Popery. No equitable Guides, that have open'd our Eyes to see the Frailties of others, ought to expect from us, that in Regard to themselves we should keep them shut close, and never look upon their Behaviour. The Roman Pastors, who keep their flocks in the Dark, teach them blind Obedience, and never vouchsafe to argue with 'em any more than if they were real Sheep. They don't advise Men to read the Bible, but such Books of Devotion as their Priests shall think proper for them; and are so far from appealing to their Judgment, that they conjure them, on Pain of Damnation, never to trust their Reason, but implicitly to believe whatever the Church shall require of them.
Hor. You put me in Mind of Father Canaye, the Jesuit in St. Evremond. No Reason! No Reason at all!
Cleo. Where the Clergy are possess'd of, and keep up this Authority over the Laity, and the Secular Arm is at their Devotion, to punish whom they condemn, they need not be nice or circumspect in their Manner of Living; and no Pomp or Luxury will easily lessen them in the Esteem of the Multitude. No Protestant Clergy have wrote better in Defence of the Reformation than ours; but others have certainly gone greater Lengths in it, as to Worship and Discipline in outward Appearance. The Difference between the Roman Catholicks and us seems to be less irreconcilable, than it is between them and the Reformed Churches of the united Netherlands and Switzerland; and I am fully persuaded, that the Mother Church despairs not of bringing back to her Bosom this run-away Daughter of hers, and making this Island one Day or other repay with Interest the Losses she has sustain'd by its long Disobedience. Arguments alone will never keep out Popery; and Great Britain being once reconciled to the Church of Rome, would add such a Weight to her Power, that it would not be difficult for her in a little Time to reduce all the Rest of the Protestants by main Force, and entirely to Triumph over what She calls the Northern Heresy.
Hor. We have very good Laws to secure us from the Usurpation of Rome; and the Abbey Lands, that are in the Possession of the Laity, I believe, are a better, I mean, a stronger Argument against the Return of Popery, than ever will be shewn in Print.
Cleo. I believe so too; but it is not easy to determine, what Difficulties and Discouragements true Politicks and never ceasing Industry may not surmount in Time. The Church of Rome is never without Men of great Parts and Application; she entertains Numbers of them; and there is no Government, without Exception, of which the true Interest is so well understood, or so steadily pursued without Interruption, as hers.
Hor. But why may not Protestants have Men of good Sense and Capacity among them, as well as Roman Catholicks? Do not other Countries produce Men of Genius as well as Italy?
Cleo. Perhaps they do; tho' none more. The Italians are a subtle People; and I believe, that consummate Knowledge in State Affairs, and Worldly Wisdom are less precarious at Rome, than in any other Place you can name. Men of uncommon Genius are not born every Day, no more in Italy than any where else; but when in other Countries a good Politician goes off the Stage, either of Life or Business, it is often seen that a Bungler succeeds him, who in a few Years does more Hurt to the Nation, that the other had Time to do them good in a long Administration. This never happens at Rome; and there is no Court in the Universe so constantly supplied with able Managers and crafty Statemen as hers: For how short soever the Lives of most Popes may be, the Sacred College never dies. Tell me now pray, what unlikely Change, what Improbability can you imagine, of which we have not Reason to fear, that, if it be possible at all, it may be brought about by such a Set of Men; when every one's private Interest, as well as that of the Common Cause, are highly concern'd in it, and they are not stinted in Time?
Hor. Assiduity and Patience, I know, will do strange Things, and overcome great Obstacles. That the Church of Rome is more diligent and sollicitous to make Proselytes, than the Protestants generally are, I have long observed.
Cleo. There is no common Cause among the Reformed: The Princes and Laity of different Persuasions would have been firmly united long ago, if the Clergy would have suffer'd it; but Divines, who differ, are implacable, and never known to treat any Adversary with Temper or Moderation; and it has never been seen yet, that Two Sects of Christians did agree, and join heartily in one Interest, unless they were oppress'd, or in immediate Danger of suffering by a common Enemy to both. As soon as that is over, you always see their former Animosities revive. If the Church of Rome had no Hopes left, and given over all Thoughts of ever bringing this Kingdom back within her Pales, you would see the English Seminaries abroad neglected and dropt by Degrees; which she now cultivates with the utmost Care: For it is from them only, that She can be furnish'd with the proper Instruments to keep Popery alive in England, and buoy up the drooping Spirits of the distress'd Catholicks, among the many Hardships and Discouragements, they labour under beyond the Rest of their Fellow-Subjects. Such Offices as these, are every where best perform'd by Natives: Whatever Persuasion People are of, if the National Church of their Country, be not of their Religion, it is natural the them to wish it was; and that all imaginable Care is taken in the English Seminaries to encourage, and with the utmost Skill to heighten and encrease this Natural Desire in those under their Care, no Man can doubt who considers the Abilities of the Tutors that are employ'd in them, and the vast Advantage the Reduction of Great Britain would be to the See of Rome. Whilst those Colleges are constant supply'd with English and Irish Youth, the Popish Interest can never die in this Realm, nor the Church of Rome want insinuating Priests, or hearty Zealots, that will act any part, put on any Disguise, and run any Risque for their Cause, either in Strengthening the Roman Catholicks that are among us in their Faith, or seducing Protestants from theirs. No Foreigners could do us half the Mischief. People love their own Language from the same Motives as they love their Country; and there are no Priests or Clergy, whom Men will sooner hearken to and confide in, than such, as take great Pains and express an uncommon Zeal in their Function, at the same Time that they exercise it at the Hazard of their Liberty or their Lives. The Church of Rome has fit Tools for every Work and every Purpose; and no other Power upon Earth has such a Number of Creatures to serve it, nor such a Fund to reward them when they do. That the Protestant Interest lost Ground soon after it was well establish'd, and is still declining more and more every Day, is undeniable. To one Roman Catholick, that is converted to the Reform'd Religion, Ten Protestants turn Papists, among the highest Quality as well as the Vulgar. What can be the Reason of this Change? What is it that this Evil ought to be imputed to?