The Difficulties of Protestantism. BY THE REV. JOHN FLETCHER, D.D.

 

General state of religion, page 1. 

Its causes, 3.

-Necessity of examination, 4.

-Religion, its unity, 6.

-Means to discover the true religion , 8.

-Systems of the Protestants, 9.

-Human reason, its character, and fruits, 10.

-Feelings, their nature and effects, 17. 

-Inspiration, 19.

-The Scriptures, 22.

-Authority, its necessity, 29.

-Owned by Luther, and the Reformers, 41.

-Inconsistencies of the Protestants, in relation to the authority of councils, 43.

-The Bible alone the alleged religion of Protestants, 50.

-Protestant restrictions, 53.

-Late act of conciliation, 55.

-Fundamentals, 57. 

-Socinians, &c. 69.

-State of Protestantism, 73.

-Incredulity, the natural effect of Protestant principles, 75.

-Repugnance of the Protestants to study the character of the Catholic religion, 82.

- Features of the Catholic and Protestant religions, 96.

THE DIFFICULTIES OF PROTESTANTISM. ' 

"All the religions, and all the sects, in the world, are built upon the dispute betwixt these two, whether men are to govern themselves by their own private judgment, in their faith, and religion ; or to be deter- mined by the authority of others . "-Bishop Leslie, on Private Judgment. 

I. WHOEVER, with serious attention, contemplates the scenes, which in this country, present themselves, every where, to his observation, cannot but be forcibly struck with the singularity of the spectacle. It is a spectacle, which is, almost alike, interesting to the curiosity of the philosopher, as it is important to the feelings of the Christian. He beholds a nation, which is distinguished for its supposed illumination, and good sense, divided, and torn in pieces, by the countless multitude of its sects . He sees an immense host ofmotley preachers, inculcating ardently almost every possible form of doctrine ;-the higher orders of society, the thoughtless victims of indifference, and incredulity ;-the vulgar, the dupes of ignorance, and contemptible fanaticism ; whilst the little portion, which, alone, cultivates the truth with pious care, is almost imperceptible. In short, he sees, every where around him, a scene of error, and confusion ; of infidelity, and neglect. There is not a truth, but what is denied ; not a mystery, but what is contradicted ; not a principle, but what : is contested ; not a duty, but what is violated, and called in question. Neither are these evils confined solely to religion. They extend to the civil order of things. Men now dispute about every thing, -about governments, laws, customs, and institutions of every kind. A spirit of revolution is actively working in the public mind ; and scattering, every where around, the seeds of licentiousness, and mischief. A cloud, a dark, gloomy cloud, which is daily thickening, hangs over the country ;--and indeed, over half the states of Europe. There exist, in nearly all of them, associations, whose chief aim is the subversion of the Christian church, and the destruction of the present order of civil governments ;-associations, which are less formidable for their insolence, than they are for their secrecy ; and which are more terrific for their mysterious darkness, than if they were daringly arrayed in the field of battle. I say nothing concerning the state of public morals. For these, it is unhappily too manifest, are awfully corrupted, and profane. To account for these calamities, is a subject, which, to the philosophic mind, requires little or no investigation. It is easy to account for them, at once, by the leading principle alone of the reformation. For, if men are taught to acknowledge no other arbiter of their belief, but their own private judgment ;-if it be the imprescriptible right,-as by the rule of Protestantism it is, of every individual to judge and decide, as his own reason bids him,--considering these circumstances, and the infinite varieties of the human character,- there are no opinions, however false ; no errors, however pernicious, but what are the obvious consequences of so wide, and so singular a privilege. Under its sanction, every thing becomes personal, and individual. Every thing becomes right, which the judgment of each reasoner deems right. Thus, faith, opinion, feelings, assume as many different forms as there are differences of feature in the human mind, that is, as there are differences of prejudices, passions, interests, talents, and dispositions. It is hence, therefore, that reason in labor has produced, and is daily producing, so many monsters ;-so many errors in religion ; so much confusion in governments ; such corruption in society :-hence, that sects, and irreligion, and incredulity, go on, advancing with rapid strides ; that the bands of social order become, every where more feeble ; that the tide of iniquity overflows the nation ; and that the spirit of Christian piety is almost extinct amongst us. " At least nine- tenths of the people, " says Dr. Daubeny, " are indifferent about the truth ; and of the remaining tenth, the much greater part are unqualified to examine." [See Illustration, A.] Where such is, confessedly, the state of things, it ought, of course, to every thoughtful mind, to appear a matter of serious moment to pause over the awful circumstance ; and to weigh well the causes, which have given birth to so great an evil. In reality, there is no possible subject, which can deserve better the attention, both of the Christian, and of the philosopher.

It is upon its wise solution, that depend the order of our duties ; the proper regulation of our lives ; the foundation of our hopes, and the prospects of future happiness. These are the objects, which ought to awaken the solicitude, and animate all the industry, of Christian piety. The time, each thoughtful mind must feel it,-the time is not far distant, when we must all appear before the divine tribunal, there to render an account " of that faith which is in us. " And what then will be the confusion of those imprudent individuals, who, interrogated respecting the momentous obligation, will be reduced to the necessity of replying, that " they had never studied the important subject,-never given it, perhaps, so much as one serious thought." Far, then, very far,- from every Christian mind this culpable neglect. Let each one study, what he ought to believe, in order that he may thus know, what he ought to practise. Let him build his faith, and therefore also his hopes, upon a strong, and secure, foundation. This is, indeed, the real science of immortal beings, compared with which, all other sciences are but the objects of idle curiosity, or the amusements of luxurious indolence. [See Illustration, B ]

II. That there exists such an institution as Religion,- this is a fact, which it would be needless to undertake to prove. The existence of this divine order of things is, amongst all the variety of undeniable truths, the most palpable, and manifest. It is, alike, the instinct of nature ; the dictate of reason; and the strongest impulse of the human heart. It is the necessary effect, and expression, of those various relations, which arise from the attributes of God, and from the character and state of man. It is the link, which unites the creature to his Creator. And as it is manifest, that there exists such an institution as religion, so also it is just equally evident, that the sacred object is necessarily but One. It is One, because the Divinity is One ;-insomuch that, as no being can be God, which is not One, so neither can any religion be the true religion, if it be not, like the Godhead, characterised by its unity. Whence, also, as the unity of God distinguishes him from all false divinities , so in like manner does the unity of religion distinguish it from all false religions. Religion is One, because all truth is One. Whence again, even in the eye of reason itself, no religion can be deemed divine, which does not possess this important characteristic. Accordingly, it is by this feature, that the true religion, or the true church of Jesus Christ, has always been, and will for ever be, distinguished : " ONE God ; ONE FAITH ; ONE Baptism. " It is unity, that forms the proof, and the heavenly stamp, of the true religion. " Indeed," says St. Austin, " unity is the form of every thing that is beautiful ; and, of course, it is, in particular, the form of truth ; for truth is beauty by excellence. " 

III. The true religion is One. Therefore, the immediate inference, as I have just stated, is, that, save this One,-all other religions are false ; and being such, are, of course, displeasing to the God of truth, and injurious to man's salvation . Being false, they are the institutions of human pride; or the creatures of human weakness. Being false, they are, of course, opposed both to the attributes of God, and to the nature, and state, of man. They are, above all, repugnant to the divine veracity. And exactly as crime separates man from the source of purity, so also does the profession of falsehood separate him from the source of truth. Hence, therefore, it is, that we may remark those strong expressions of reprobation, with which our great Legislator condemns the sin of error. Hence, those awful anathemas, which he pronounces upon all those, who resist, or reject, the authority ofhis church :-" He, that will not hear the church, let him be as the heathen, or the publican.” 

Wherefore, I will again remark, that, since all religions, save One, are false ; and as such, unavailing to future happiness ;-since there is but One Church, established by the wisdom of God for the worship, and salvation, of his creatures, and which, also, he commands them, under the pain of reprobation, to reverence, and obey ;-so, consequently, it should manifestly seem to follow, that, whosoever values his own soul, and reveres the mandate of his Redeemer, ought, of course,-if he be not already a member of the divine institution ; or if he have not the wise conviction, that he enjoys this blessing,-to labour, with all his industry, to find it out. Here, his obligation is evident. Here, ignorance, at least all wilful ignorance,-is fatal.¹

IV. The same evidences, which evince the unity, and necessity, of the true religion, evince likewise, and just equally, this other important fact, that there must, consequently, exist some medium or other, by which the public may find it out,-some clear criterion, by which, amidst the multitude of institutions, which crowd society, men may, with real certitude, ascertain, where stands the immortal sanctuary. Indeed, no notion could possibly be, I will not say, more unjust, but even more preposterous, than to suppose, that the wisdom of God has established a religion, and commanded men, under the pain of reprobation, to profess it, and that yet, he has not given them the means to trace it out. The great glory of a Being, who is infinitely good, is to manifest his goodness. Whence, to imagine, that he has imposed laws, and obligations, whose infraction is everlasting death, and yet covered them with a dark, and almost impenetrable veil, this would be insulting, or rather, it would be blaspheming, this darling attribute. In short,-to conceive, that he has placed millions of his creatures between truth and falsehood, commanding them at the same time, with all the severity of his justice, to profess, and obey the truth, to conceive this, and still suppose, that he has left them without the means of discerning it, this is an idea, or proposition, which is far worse than folly. Therefore, is the consequence manifest, that there do exist certain mediums, by which the sacred object may be discovered ; and not only this, but mediums clear, and accessible to every one,-mediums, analogous and proportioned, to the minds, and capacities, of all, of the simple, as well as of the enlightened ; of the ignorant, as well as of the learned. The reason too of all this is plain : It is, because the true religion is designed to be the rule, and conductor, of the former, just equally as it is the guide, and director, of the latter. Whence, again, Rousseau, whom I have just cited in the preceding note, observes,— following only the suggestions of his reason : " S'il étoit une religion sur la terre, hors de laquelle il n'y eut que peine éternelle, et qu'en quelque lieu du monde un seul mortel de bonne foi n'eut pas été frappé de son évidence, le Dieu de cette religion seroit le plus inique, et le plus cruel, de tyrans." 

V. Accordingly, this again, like the other propositions , which I have thus far stated, is generally admitted : and in conformity with such admission, there have been suggested, and adopted, a variety of ingenious measures, by which men have undertaken to seek the truth ; and pretended that they had discovered the real seat of the Christian sanctuary. I will just cite, and rapidly discuss, those, which were adopted by the early Protestants ; and which, also, are still followed, and made use of, by the different sects of the present day. The following are the principal ones, to which, also, every other may immediately be referred :-First, the dictates of reason, and private judgment ; Secondly, the suggestions of sentiment, or feeling ; Thirdly, the voice and insinuations of inspiration. These, assisted, at the same time, by the guidance of the sacred Scriptures, are the mediums, by which, it is contended by the Protestants, the truths of religion, and the seat of the true church, should be investigated ; and by which, they still farther maintain, the happy discovery may be made, not only with certitude, but even with very little difficulty. Wherefore, having thus stated the alleged expedients, I will proceed to examine, how far they are adapted to their important, and pretended purposes . 

VI. When Luther, and his fellow reformers, detached themselves from the communion of the parent church, they were, of course, compelled, as the only justification of their rebellion, to deny the lawfulness of her authority. " The principles, they went upon," says Archdeacon Blackburn, "were such as these :-Jesus Christ by his gospel has called all men unto liberty-the glorious liberty of the sons of God; and restored them to the privilege of working out their salvation by their own understandings. " Accordingly, consonant to this " glorious " privilege, the language, which they addressed to their followers, was this : " The authority, which the Church of Rome has usurped over the minds of the faithful, is a violation of the laws of Christian liberty. Its pastors are just equally fallible, as you are. Therefore, it is your right, and your duty too, to judge for yourselves. It is, indeed, for this, that your reason has been given to you. Therefore, read, examine, and decide, as your own judgments prompt you. "-Such was the language of the first reformers -as it is still also the language of every consistent Protestant. For, it is only thus, only by the adoption of the above " glorious liberty," that it is possible, with any thing like consistency, to pretend to vindicate the Protestant revolution. It is, therefore, by the dictates of their reason, it is thus contended, that men are to judge of the doctrines, or divinity, of religion. 

It is true, indeed, that such opinion, to those who have not considered attentively the character of the human mind, may appear specious, if not satisfactory. For, reason, there is no doubt, is the noblest attribute of human nature, that grand, and sublime faculty, which approximates us, in some degree, to the Divinity itself,-rendering us, more or less, the sharers, as it were, of his Being ; the partakers of his wisdom; the participators in his truth. It is by it, that we are exalted, not only above those millions of worlds, which roll in the immensity of space, but above all those created beings, which, possessed of life and feeling, are not gifted with the talent of understanding. So that it is, indeed, with justice, that we entertain a very high opinion of the dignity, and exalted importance, of human reason. 

However, all this admitted, is it, after all, the fact, that reason, with all its magnificent prerogatives, does really possess all those attributes, and rights, which the reformers, and the reformed churches, have been pleased to give it ? The reader, if he will reflect with candor, and attention, will, I am convinced, think, Not. Thus, for example, let him only consult, for a moment, the annals of experience. Let him, for instance, in the first place, look at the state of the pagan world, during the brightest periods of its learning, and supposed illumination. He sees at once the most monstrous errors; the most corrupted maxims, and the most unsocial opinions, combined, and blended, with the few truths, which nature, and the necessity ofthings, compelledthem to retain. Let him remark the disputes, the contradictions, the absurdities, of the schools of the philosophers. There is hardly a truth, which these men, though guided by their reason, did not deny, a duty, which they did not disregard, an obliga- tion, which they did not despise. It was reason, they solemnly proclaimed, that induced them to believe in the divinity of a Jupiter, a Venus, a Bacchus, &c. It even sanctified vice, and deified corruption. In short, the whole history ofhuman reason, during the most distinguished eras of pagan wisdom, is little else than the history of contradictions, absurdities, and vice. Whence, that well-known saying of Cicero, " Nihil tam absurdum, quod non dicatur ab aliquo philosophorum. " Such are the effects of reason, when it presumes to judge, and determine, for itself.

In the next place, let us consider the character, and fruits, of human reason, as we see it exercised, even at present, under the beams, and influences, of Christian knowledge. Alas, we find it, even here, a very imperfect guide to truth, and a very feeble barrier against incertitude. We find it, on the contrary, made use of, every where, as the very principle of error, and the basis of incredulity. We find it a torrent, which is furiously breaking down all the mounds, both of piety, and Christian wisdom . For, what is the truth, which reason does not deny ? or what the falsehood, which it does not defend ? It is incessantly employed in combating every good, and in supporting every bad cause. There is not a nation, nor a place, in which men have affected, or affect, to take reason for their guide, but present to us the spectacle, not only of different, but of the most conflicting, and contradictory opinions. What one individual deems true, another, we remark, finds false. What this man looks upon as wise, his neighbour ridicules as nonsense. Indeed, such, I conceive, is the character of human reason, that, let any two, and even well-instructed persons start from any one given point,-going on, reasoning, and aiming at the selfsame conclusion, the consequence will be, that they will not have advanced three steps, before they separate, and divide. In fact, I say too much,-for, let only the same person, taking his reason for his guide, attempt, under its direction, to pry into the nature, or secret, of any difficult, and important subject, it will be found, that he will soon, and incessantly, differ from himself,-alternately, and perhaps in the space of a few days, adopting, and rejecting ; believing, and disbelieving, the very same opinion ; and this, too, with the very same degree of confidence, and conviction. The case is, that reason, with all its magnificent endowments, is a very feeble, fluctuating thing ; the easy dupe of passion, of prejudices, of interest, &c. It is dependent upon a thousand contingencies, accidents, and circumstances, upon the nature of organisation ; upon health, climate, affections, love, hatred, education, and so on. For, all, and each of these, give a bias to our judgments, and a colouring to our opinions. They are the sources of those endless, countless, contradictions, differences, and fluctuations, which we find so common, not only in the walks of society, but in the mind even of the self- same reasoning individual.

Trace, next, the effects, which reason has produced in the minds, and on the conduct, of the men, who adopted its judgment, as the rule of their belief. No sooner had the reformers proclaimed what they called the " glorious charter of Christian liberty," than, straight every form of error sprang up under its captivating influence ; and multitudes,-even many of the reformers themselves, became infected with the poison of infidelity ;-insomuch that Melancthon, contemplating the awful scene, and considering the bearings of the licentious principle, exclaimed emphatically, " Great God ! what a tragedy have we not been preparing for posterity ! "2

He tells us, that he traced its effects with horror, and trepidation ; foretelling, at the same time, that no mounds, or barriers, would ever arrest the torrent of its devastations. (Ep. xiv. L. 4.) Ere long, appeared Socinus ; when the virus of deism was found to circulate through every vein of the reformation. It is true, many rigid theologians expressed very feelingly their reprobation of the distressing evil. They deplored it sincerely. But, then, the misfortune was, there existed no remedy for its correction. The tree bore its fruits ; and though bad, and bitter, yet there were no means in Protestantism to hinder them from ripening. Thus, Germany, and Holland, became crowded with hosts of freethinkers. In France, Jurieu informs us, the Protestant ministers had long aimed at the destruction of Christianity itself: " Ils formoient," he says, " dans les églises reformées de France ce malheureux parti, qui conjuroit contre le Christianisme." In this country, the case was perhaps equally deplorable. Indeed, it is a fact, that Voltaire, and the general body of our modern philosophists , very frequently acknowledge, that they have borrowed their chief doctrines of infidelity from the schools of Protestant England." 

But, let us, too, once again, cast our eyes upon the general state of the Protestant churches, at the present period,— regulated, as they profess to be, by the genuine rule of the Reformation, the pure dictates, and suggestions, of enlightened reason. Why, what a spectacle do they not, all of them, every where, exhibit, what a scene of confusion, anarchy, and disbelief! In this wise nation, for example, we possess above a hundred organised religions ; whilst, perhaps, in each religion, no two individuals exactly believe alike.- In Germany, Baron Starke, Muller, and a multitude of other writers, inform us, there is not so much as one single Christian dogma, but what is publicly, and systematically, denied by the pastors of the Protestant churches. In Geneva, it is positively forbidden to speak in the pulpit, or in the schools, of the Divinity of Christ, or of the Trinity, and original sin : - which, in other words, is forbidding the defence of Christianity itself. In France, the case is similar. There, with perhaps hardly an exception, the reformed pastors are acknowledgedly Socinians . But, in short, no where,-in no one Protestant church, is there so much as the slenderest shadow of Christian unity. No where,-in no part of Europe,-does there remain little more than a mere remnant of the original tenets of the first apostles of the Reformation. There is no where a minister, so unenlightened, or so bold, as now confidently to come forward, and preach the antiquated doctrines of a Luther, a Zuinglius, a Muncer, &c. It is their general boast, that better instructed now, and more liberal than formerly, they have cast away the absurd prejudices, and ignorances, of their early predecessors. Not, however, that'these men are not equally real Protestants as were their predecessors. They are precisely as much so ; be their belief, or even their unbelief, what they may: because Protestantism, according to that accurate definition of Dr. Burgess with which I have ushered in this treatise, consists simply in the abjuration of Popery. [See Illustration, D.] 

Wherefore, contemplating the effects, which the alleged rights of reason every where produce ; -beholding the errors, the confusion, and infidelity, which it generates, it becomes difficult to imagine, how such a principle can really have been instituted by the divine wisdom, to be the foundation of the Christian's faith. If, indeed, such is the fact, then also it is just equally certain, that the principle of religion is, at the same time, the very principle of anarchy, and falsehood ; of doubt, and incredulity ;---a proposition, surely, which is just as palpably absurd, as it is evidently false.

VII. The next principle that is cited, as another means of ascertaining the truth ; and as the foundation of security, is sentiment, that is, the feelings, and convictions, of a mind, satisfied with the supposed certitude of its own belief; and of the divinity of the sect, it follows. This too, is an argument, which, amongst multitudes of well-disposed individuals,- the ardent, above all, the simple, and illiterate,-is used incessantly ; and used always with an expression of peculiar satisfaction, both as the proof, and confirmation, of their respective tenets, or religions, whatsoever these chance to be.

However, the pretension is at least equally feeble as that which I have been discussing. For which reason, I shall devote very few observations to it . 

And what, then, are sentiments, or feelings, in reality ? Why, they are any thing, or every thing, that you please. They are all the follies, and infirmities ; all the dreams, and visions, of the human mind. They are assurances, devoid of any foundation ;-fears, the effect of melancholy ; and melancholy, the effect of bile. They are likings, the fruit of partiality ; and dislikings, the creatures of prejudice. They are, in short, every possible shape of illusion, extravagance, and error . Insomuch that if feelings were to be admitted as the criterions of certitude, and right, there would, at once, be an end, both of truth and piety ; of order, morality, and virtue. For, it is a fact, which no one will controvert, that there is not a form of falsehood, and fanaticism ; not a practice of superstition, or of vice itself, but has been sanctioned, and even sanctified, under the plea, and pretext, of feeling. 

The circumstance, however, which, alone, suffices to prove, that feelings are not the medium, instituted by the divine wisdom, as the real criterions of what is true, and right, is the simple fact of that confusion of religions ; that variety, and contradiction, of opinions, which they have, every where, generated. A Being, such as our holy Legislator, and who is wisdom itself, cannot possibly have been the author of a rule, which produces effects like these. And yet we find, that, however opposite any doctrines, or contradictory any religions, may chance to be, still do their respective advocates believe them, each, with the same stern conviction, and defend them with the same share of confidence. The case is, that the feelings of true, and false ; of right, and wrong, vary, every where, with the varieties of the human character ; and are dependent upon a thousand adventitious circumstances,- upon education, habits, constitution, times, seasons, fashions, &c. There is hardly a question, or opinion, but what strikes different men in different ways ; nay, sometimes, even the very same man, upon different occasions, and at different seasons : insomuch that what seems true, to-day, will seem false, and absurd, to-morrow. Whence, also, it is a common, if not general case, that, whenever men go on consulting but the suggestions of their feelings, they are sure to proceed from error to error, and from illusion to illusion ; until, by a very natural progress, they advance from error, and illusion, to incertitude, and doubt ;-and thence, by an easy descent, to incredulity, or indifference. Indeed, whether it so chance, that men follow the impulse of their feelings, or the suggestions of their reason, they arrive, ere long, at one or other of these awful terms, the most fatal boundaries of the human intellect. Or if, indeed, certain minds do not reach the dreadful gulf, the happy circumstance is owing, not so much to their strength, and talents, as to the fortunate influences of their weakness, and timidity. 

VIII. Besides the two mediums, thus briefly stated, I have cited a third, which its advocates are pleased, to consider as, of all others, the best, and surest criterion of the true religion. This is the spirit of inspiration. But this, again, is a subject, upon which I shall not dwell. For, to undertake to convince the sober-minded, and the enlightened, of the emptiness of such pretext, would be superfluous; and to attempt to undeceive the fanatic, and the enthusiast, who are the dupes of its delusions, would be unavailing. To correct the errors of the understanding is, in general, a very difficult task ; but to reform, or remove, the errors of sentiment, when once they are exalted to fanaticism, is next to an impossibility. In this state, they form a mental fever, which no remedy can reach, nor any restorative subdue. For, in this state, men consider their feelings, not only as the dictates of wisdom ; but as the voice , and impulse, of the Holy Ghost, which, ofcourse, they deem it an act of irreverence to disobey. ' 

The convictions of inspiration have been, at every period, common amongst the various sects, and members, of the reformation. They animated vast multitudes of its first adherents . They, once, inflamed, and fired, half the population of this country; as it is unfortunately too true, that they still continue to cheat an immense portion of its community. At the early part of the Reformation, the claim to inspiration was the great lever, by which the artful were wont to excite the passions of the violent, and to deceive the credulity of the simple. At present, and above all, in this nation,-it is the argument, by which multitudes defend doctrines the most preposterous, and profane. The idea is flattering to selflove, and to the imagination. For which reason, it is easily impressed. And hence, in the history of Protestantism, that long series of excesses, extravagances, and follies, which are the disgrace, both of reason, and religion. We see even, - and this, too, very frequently,-vice itself inculcated as a virtue ; the grossest falsehoods boldly taught, and confidently believed, as essential truths ; and the most profane disorders committed, as acts of exalted piety. 

These effects are at once the evidence of the emptiness of the alleged pretension ;-which, in fact, is an insult to the wisdom, and perfections, of the Almighty. But, without appealing to any such disorders, the circumstance alone of the incoherencies of the men, who have affected to be guided by it, is sufficient to point out its fallacy. The suggestions of the Holy Ghost are, of course, always uniform , and consistent ;-as such also is the character of truth itself. Whereas, among the men that have laid claim to the heavenly favour, we find that every thing is replete with contradiction, and incongruity. Precisely as their fancies, or feelings, chanced to vary, just so, in like manner, do their doctrines . They had, each of them, their own sentiment, and conviction ;-each asserting with confidence, what the others, with equal confidence, denied. So that referring to the pretendedly inspired religions of these men, we discover, that not so much as any two of them do any where agree together. Thus, for example, we have recently seen our Wesley, and Whitfield, each arrogating to himself the sacred gift of inspiration, and each delivering doctrines diametrically opposite to one another. Whence, it follows, that the alleged claims to inspiration, are, at best, but mere illusions ; and that the strong convictions, under which the sacred privilege has been, and is still, so often asserted, evince nothing more nor less than the enthusiasm, the folly, or the weak credulity, of the men, who have pretended to it . Conviction, even the most powerful and invincible conviction, has often animated the very worst, and most desperate, fanatics.

IX. To the aid of reason, and to the sanctions of sentiment and inspiration, the Protestant, it is true, calls in the aid of the sacred Scriptures ;-appealing constantly, and confidently, to their testimony; and reposing his convictions upon their presumed authority. This is, indeed, one of the chief,-if not the best,-stronghold of his defence. And it is because the Catholic does not exactly approve of this mode of deciding the truth, or the falsehood, of any doctrine, that he is so severely condemned, as the enemy of the word of God. This is even a subject, which forms the great theme of those countless publications, which are unceasingly issuing from the press, against Popery ; and above all, it is that which fires the zeal and animates the eloquence of our modern hosts of Bibliomaniacs. Wherefore, since both the imputation, and the question itself, are so important, I will, hence, pause, at some length, upon them . And first, I will state the opinion, which the Catholic entertains respecting the sacred volume ; evincing, how groundless is the accusation of our supposed hostility, either to the divine Book, or to its circulation. 

The fact, then, is, that the church of Rome, so far from being an enemy to the Bible, considers its possession as the most valuable of its treasures ; and so far from being averse to its circulation, she, on the contrary, wishes to see it dispersed through every corner, and cottage, of the Chris- tian universe,-provided only that its translations be correct ; and that men read it, in the dispositions of humble, and prudent piety. We deem it a peculiarly fortunate and happy circumstance, that the Christian religion, although, indeed, it was established without the aid of any written word,- should have its annals, and its written code of doctrines. It is well, that the faithful should possess the authentic registers of their faith, and the titles of their future expectations ; well, that, amidst the trophies of error, and the monuments of incertitude, and incredulity,-truth should equally, and still more, have its trophies, and its monuments too. It is well, that, whilst books without end, and number, attest the thoughts of man, there should at least be one to attest the thoughts of God.

But, the utility, and advantages, ofthe Scriptures are, still farther, rendered evident from the consideration of the following circumstances,-that, precisely as tradition serves to explain, and determine, the sense of the sacred pages, so also do these same pages, in return, serve to prove the antiquity of tradition ; and to confirm, and strengthen, its authority. They show, that religion, its dogmas, and its duties, are, at all times, binding, and irrevocable. They fix, or contribute to fix, the language, and consequently, too, the stability,- of the public faith. Whilst moreover, it is true, that, without their aid, and testimony, a variety of facts, instructions, &c. , which help powerfully to move the heart, and to enlighten the understanding, would either, by this time, be unknown, or at all events, known but to few; they present to us truths, the most sublime; and injunctions, the most important,-designed, for the regulation of the church; the order of society ; and the conduct, and sanctification, of individuals. Whence, St. Paul says : "All scripture is given by inspiration of God; and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness ; in order that the man of God may be made perfect, and thoroughly furnished unto all good works." Such are the Scriptures ; and such as these, the notions, which the Catholic entertains of their sanctity, their utility, and their benefits;-revering them, as the most precious and important gift, that the wisdom and goodness of the Almighty has bestowed upon his creatures. With all these advantages, then, and seeing, that the sacred volumes have been lent to us for the above- cited purposes,-seeing this, is it not, for these reasons, but a piece of consistency to suppose, that the understandings of men, assisted, at the same time, by the instincts, and impulse, of their feelings, are competent, with these aids, to judge, and determine, what, in religion, it is wise, and proper, to believe ; and what it is right, and prudent, to reject ? Such as this, no doubt, is the doctrine,-the necessary doctrine, of every Protestant church, and of every consistent Protestant. All these, in the language of the " immortal " Chillingworth, as he is called, exultingly proclaim, " The Bible, the Bible, and only the Bible, is the religion of Protestants. " And hence it is, that we hear the clergy, and the preachers, of each Protestant sect, so earnestly exhorting their respective followers to read, and study, the divine Book unceasingly. " Read it," they call out; " examine it : for it is the Book of Life . Learn from it ; for it will teach you, what it is proper for you to believe, and what it is right to practise." As I have just remarked, all this is but a piece of consistency.2

Since, then, it is thus contended, that it is the privilege, and duty, of men to interpret the sacred pages, ought not the direct consequence to be, and is it not the dictate of common sense to suppose it, that they should, therefore, be competent to understand them ? Such consequence is, no doubt, palpable :-else, the reading, and examination, become nugatory, and unavailing. Well ; and do they, then, understand, -or are they competent to explain, the mysterious volumes ? This is indeed a question, which requires no discussion whatever. They do not understand them. Even the learned themselves, left to their own talents, do not understand them. The truth is, and it is the concession of the most enlightened scholars, that, amongst all the variety of books in the whole order of literature, there is not one single work, that is more obscure, more perplexing, and difficult to be understood, than the sacred Scriptures , roof, this alone, that they never were designed by the eternal wisdom to be subjected to the interpretation of each private individual. " Open," says Dr. Balgui, “ Open your Bibles, take the first page that occurs in either Testament ; and tell me, without disguise, is there nothing in it too hard for your understanding ? If you find all before you clear, and easy, you may thank God for giving you a privilege, which he has denied to many thousands of sincere believers." Accordingly, referring to the opinions of even the most learned Protestants, we constantly find, that, whenever they pretend, or attempt, to interpret the holy pages by the light of their own private reason, and the dictates of their own feelings, they not only, all, differ amongst themselves, just equally as do the ignorant, and the simple, but they plunge, many of them, into errors, which are, sometimes, as pernicions as they are absurd. Their opinions are as various as their respective characters ; and as numerous almost, as their persons. Yes, and not only this, but even the creeds, and symbols, of the reformed churches, although composed by the wisdom, and policy, of the learned ; and reposing professedly upon the plainest texts of Scripture ;-and designed to create a something like unity amongst the public ;-even these are, all, at variance with each other. So that, no where, amongst all the in numerable sects of Protestantism, do any two of these important, but singular instruments agree together. [See Illustration, E.] 

From these few reflections, therefore, or rather, from the consideration of these facts,-it ought, I conceive, to appear but reasonable to the candid mind to conclude, that, divine, and useful, as are the Scriptures, yet, being also obscure, and difficult to be understood, they are not, for this reason, designed by the eternal wisdom to be subjected to the interpre- tations of men's private judgment. For, every where, and on every occasion, does experience attest this fact, that, let the talents, the learning, the industry, and even the dispositions, of men be what they may, yet whensoever they have attempted to interpret the sacred volume by the light of their own reason, and to form their own opinions, respecting the doctrines of religion, by the suggestions of their own feelings, they have uniformly and constantly, not only differed widely amongst themselves, but fallen, many of them, into the grossest errors and contradictions. But then, too, to contend, -as the consistent Protestant must contend,-that all men,- even the most illiterate, and simple ; men of every character, -the immoral, and the vain, just equally as the virtuous, and the humble ;-to contend, that all these should read, and explain, the awful volume, this, surely, is a piece of absurdity, which no wisdom,-save the wisdom of such men as Dr. Ryder, and our modern bibliomaniacs, can pretend to explain away. Good God! to thrust the divine Book, as these sages do, into the hands of the poor, and wild, and ignorant Irish, or into those of the just equally ignorant English, and bid all these learn from it the genuine doctrines of religion, this is one ofthose acts of folly, for which it is only possible to account, either by the extravagancies of fanaticism, or the horror, and dread, of Popery. But, in short, I have no hesitation in saying this-that, if the reason of each private individual be the interpreter of the Bible,- as by the essential rule of Protestantism it is ;-if it be thus, that men must find out the truth, and grope their way to the real sanctuary of religion, then also do I think it true, that the sacred Book (seeing, that it is so difficult, and obscure) is a very unhappy, and a very fatal present. For, in this case, men will for ever dispute; for ever doubt ; for ever remain uncertain ; and unable to ascertain its genuine signification. So that God will thus have spoken to us to very little purpose. [See Illustration, F.]

Since, therefore, it is thus manifest, both from the dictates of common sense, and from the attestations of experience, that neither individual reason, nor feelings, nor the pretext of inspiration, nor the light and language of the Bible, as interpreted by the suggestions of private judgment, are competent, or sufficient, to conduct mankind to the sure knowledge of the real doctrines of religion, it should, of course, appear to follow, that, as the belief and profession of these divine truths are strictly enjoined by their sacred Author, as the necessary conditions of future happiness,-so, consequently, there ought to exist, and therefore does exist,- some other principle, besides the above, by which this blessing may be attained ; and a principle, moreover, by means of which, the possession of the true religion may be ascertained, with such a degree of certitude, and security, as to leave no room for rational doubt upon the mind of the sincere inquirer. In reality, there is no kind of certitude, and conviction, that should be so strong, and so completely devoid of doubt, as the certitude, and conviction, of Christian faith. In religion, all doubt is not only wrong, but criminal . The want of a solid basis to sustain belief must, of course, produce error, scepticism, and indifference. It is only a fixed, and sure criterion, that can create wise stability, or inspire rational conviction. 

X. And what, therefore (I come now to ask the important question), is that happy principle, by means of which these invaluable blessings may be obtained ? Why, if the various mediums, which I have thus far discussed, be inadequate to this purpose, then is the reply at once obvious, and incontestable. For, in this case, there remains but one medium more, by whose aid the attainment of the above benefits can be reasonably accounted for. This medium is Authority ; but, an authority, of course, unerring, and infallible ; an authority, instituted by the wisdom of our supreme Legislator ;-designed by his mercy to be the guide, and instructor, of his subjects ; and so established, as to preserve inviolate, till the end of time, the sacred depositum of his revelations. In religion, the means ought manifestly to correspond to the end. So that if the unity, and perpetuity, of the true faith be the necessary appendages of the sacred institute, then must there also coexist some means or other, corresponding to these benefits, by which they may be effectually attained, and secured. This means, as I have just said, is no other than Authority. 

XI. That our great Legislator promulgated, and established, the doctrines, and the law, oftruth, this is a point, which, just equally with the Catholic, every Christian sect very readily admits. He did this, in the effusions of his mercy towards his creatures. However, merely to have done this was by no means enough. It was still requisite, that he should also provide for the preservation of those benefits ; because they are designed to be, not temporary, but perpetual, and immortal institutions. It was necessary even, beyond this, to secure their preservation against all the profane mixtures of error, and the impure alloys of human corruption :-because they are intended to remain always, such precisely as they were originally,-as pure, holy, and uncontaminated, as when they came forth from the bosom of the Divinity. This, too, is obvious : and such as this, accordingly, is the order of things instituted by our great Legislator. He has even done this, in a way, which strikingly attests his own eternal wisdom ; points out that knowledge ofthe human character, which can only belong to an infinite Being ; and expresses, at the same time, that property of unity, which is the distinctive attribute of the works of the Almighty. 

But how, then, and by what means, has he effected this ? Has he done it, by committing his divine doctrines to the pages of a book ;-affixing to it proofs, so peculiarly manifest, and arguments, so palpable, that the human mind cannot easily either reject, or misunderstand them ? Such as this, no doubt, in the formation of a code of laws, would be the plan, and endeavour, of the political legislator, orofthe human philosopher. However, who but must feel at once, that, considering the pride, and passions, the self-love, and the weaknesses, of the minds of men, to have acted thus, would have been opening a field,-a vast, boundless field,-to endless difficulties, to strife, contention, and disunity ? Who but must be sensible that, by thus flattering, and addressing, the reason of the public,-authorising them to believe only what they clearly understood,-would have been, in reality, to have erected an insurmountable barrier, between man, and an incomprehensible Being ? It is, consequently, hence, that the great Legislator, disdaining all the feeble and vain supports of human opinions, descends at once, and penetrates, into the very foundations of our nature, and constitution : and it is there, that he lays, and fixes, the grounds of the unity, and perpetuity, of his law. He maintains and preserves his divine truths in the thoughts of men, precisely as he maintains and preserves thought itself,-by the transmission of his sacred word,-preparing, at the same time, for the security of this transmission, by the institution of a medium, which is inviolable, and holy. That is, in other words, he has formed, and established, on earth, a regular society, under the control of a regular government, of which himself is the corner- stone. He has united together by certain exterior, and indissoluble links, that happy portion of mankind, who constitute its members; again uniting them, moreover, interiorly, by the principles of the same belief. Such as this is the character of the real church of Jesus Christ, 

XII. The principle, as the reader knows, upon which our divine Legislator himself undertook the office of teaching, and conducting mankind, was the deputation, which he had received, for these purposes, from the sanction of his eternal Father: for, as St. Paul remarks, " Christ glorified not himself to be made a high-priest." It was solely in virtue of this charter, as himself declared, that he inculcated his sacred doctrines, and imposed his precepts.-Wherefore, being thus deputed, and commissioned, this divine Being, in his turn, deputes, in like manner, and commissions, a new order of pastors , to whom, also, he transfers that self-same charter, which himself had received from the hands of his heavenly Father. " As the Father," he said, addressing his apostles, and through them, their successors to the end of time,-" As the Father hath sent me, even so do I send you. " " Go, therefore, and teach all nations ; and behold I am with you, all days, to the end of the world." Hence, exactly as Christ Jesus has said, speaking of himself,-" He, who hath sent me, is true ; and I say again to the world those things which I have heard from him," so also, speaking of themselves, do these pastors, thus authorised, for ever, and at present, say,-" He, who hath sent us, is true ; and we say again to the world those things, which we have heard from him." Mere witnesses of the divine word, these men but simply testify what they have heard from their Master ; so that their testimony is no other than that of Jesus Christ himself,-precisely as the testimony of this sacred Being is but that of his eternal Father, who had sent him, and said of him, " This is my beloved Son ; hear you him." It was accordingly for these reasons, that this divine Personage, addressing his apostles, says to them, " He that heareth you, heareth me ; and he that despiseth you, despiseth me ; and he that despiseth me, despiseth him that sent me. " Wherefore, this consequence ought to appear undeniable,-that, in order to enter into society with God,- or as the Scripture expresses it, " in order to become the children of God," the necessary medium is, to receive his doctrines from his church, as his church had received them from Christ, and as Christ himself had received them from the hands of his heavenly Father ;-and to receive them, at the same time, with the convictions of a firm, and unhesitating faith ; not only because such is the sole means of possessing the truth, but because all doubt, even the slenderest doubt, is an insult to the supreme authority, which has revealed it. If, indeed, these principles be once set aside, and the mere aid of reason called in to determine what are the real dogmas of revelation, what it is necessary to believe, or proper to reject,-in such case, there must soon be an end of truth, and of all prudent, and fixed convictions . Transposed, and placed upon so weak and contemptible a basis , the sacred fabric of religion sinks, ere long, an awful and distressing ruin ;-overwhelming in its fall, and under the weight of its fragments, that presumptuous principle, human reason, which flattered, and deceived, by the suggestions of its own pride, had vainly considered itself as strong enough to sustain the whole pressure of the immortal sanctuary. 

XIII. It is , therefore, owing to the nature of divine faith ; to the character in particular of its unity ; and to the obligation of believing, and professing it, such precisely as it comes from the bosom ofthe Divinity, that, at every period of time, -under all the dispensations of God's mercy to his creatures, -there has always existed on earth a visible and speaking guide, a guide, not only commissioned to instruct the public how to believe, and to act; but invested, moreover, with the authority, both to command, and to enforce obedience. In reality, if faith be essentially one, and at the same time unchangeable, as well as necessary, then is such medium manifestly requisite. Because it is only thus, that it can be conceived, I do not say, easy, but even possible, to prevent, or suppress, contentions ; to remove doubts ; to inspire confidence; and to maintain security, and wise conviction. Faith, without the principle of authority, leans only upon a reed. For this reason, therefore, it was, that even our divine Legislator, before he took upon himself, either to teach, or to command, established first, and rendered incontestable, the reality of his own authority to do so. He did this, by the attestation, and splendor, of his miracles. He performed miracles ; thus proving his right to conduct the public ;-and then only, he said to them, " Believe." It was so, too, with his apostles. They, too, in like manner, -ere they came forward to guide, and instruct mankind, - demonstrated, in the first place, their power to do so, by the blaze of miracles ; and then it was, that, like their great Master, they, too, called out, " Believe. " In fact, authority is the sole foundation of Christian faith, precisely as it is also the basis of social order. The obedience of the understanding forms the character of Christianfaith, just as the obedience of the will forms the character of Christian virtue.

For example, just to appeal to the dictates of common sense, let the reader imagine (if he can imagine such an absurdity), let him imagine such things in the order of society, as a state, or community, without a legislator ;-duties to be discovered, and performed, by the dictates of each one's private understanding ; -laws, whose sanctions, and obligations, are to be determined in the breast, and by the feelings, of individuals, and so on. Why, at the mere proposal of such a system, there is no one but feels at once the grossness of its absurdity; and that it is alike repugnant to common sense, as it is inconsistent with every notion of social order. Each individual his own legislator ! And yet such as this,- if not even greater than this, is the absurdity, which is involved in the leading maxim of the reformation, rendering each one, as it does, the supreme arbiter of his own belief ; and the judge of objects, which, of all others, are the most important and incomprehensible.

 Laws presuppose two things,--a legislator, whose will renders them obligatory ; and a visible authority to proclaim and promulgate them. Thus, should it chance, that any conflict, or seeming contradiction, takes place between various statutes ;-or should any doubt arise, respecting their import, or application ;-any dispute, concerning what, or which, is the real law itself;-the obvious method in all such cases, and that which alone is adapted, both to the situation, and capacity of the public, is, not philosophically to examine the nature of the laws in themselves, a point which very few are competent to determine, or which, perhaps, none can determine, with absolute certitude,-but simply to investigate, and ascertain, which, and what, is that law, that has been proclaimed by the voice, and sanctioned by the seal, of lawful authority, or at least, by the voice, and sanction, of the highest authority.

If the foregoing principles are denied, the consequence must, then, manifestly be that, which I have so often stated, -namely, that there exists no other established basis of belief, save the judgment, which is exercised by the reason of each private individual. In this case, religion becomes just equally fluctuating, and uncertain, as is the reason of the person, who presumes, or undertakes, to judge. It becomes no longer a law, but a mere opinion ; no longer a prudent conviction, but a rash persuasion, reposing, either upon pride, and partiality ; or upon ignorance, simplicity, or fanaticism . And as, too, the judgment of one individual is by no means, according to the alleged privilege, obliged, or so much as supposed, to submit to the judgment of another, who is only his equal,-so, of course, is each one, as Bishop Watson remarks, authorised, not only to believe, but to profess, what, to his own understanding, appears the most rational , or true, according to that classic definition, which the learned prelate has thought proper to adopt, as the most accurately descriptive of the religion of the Protestant, " Et sentire quæ velit, et quæ sentiat dicere." With these maxims it is, certainly, quite impossible to reconcile that first, and essential attribute of the Christian religion, its unity. They are, in fact, destructive, not only of all unity ; but they are manifestly calculated to render, as, wheresoever they are consistently followed up, they do render,-the state of every Protestant community a scene of confusion and incredulity. Their never- failing effect is to produce, in time, either irremediable doubt, or irrecoverable indiffer ence.

Thus, both by the dictates of good sense, and the attestations of experience, I have conducted the reader to this conclusion,-that, in order wisely to ascertain the genuine doctrines, and the real sanctuary, of the true religion, the sole method is, to find out that society, which reposes upon the greatest visible authority. And this, too, I have likewise observed, is , at the same time, an object, so plain and manifest, that even the most simple,-did they look around them, -might discover it, without any difficulty. To discover it, little else is required than to have eyes. For, whilst the Catholic church,-venerable for its antiquity, boundless in its diffusion, resplendent in the sanctity of its members, unvarying, and invariable, in its tenets, whilst such is the Catholic church, the Protestant societies, meanwhile, the creatures, all of them, of yesterday ; insignificant (when considered separately) in their extent ; inglorious in their founders, are every where in a state of anarchy, and contradiction, their followers without any fixed system of belief, -their very ministers, all, at variance amongst themselves ; - under these circumstances, to ascertain, which is the best guide to truth, or which the real sanctuary of religion, should not, cannot, to the sincere inquirer,-appear a task of any great perplexity. At all events, the considerations which I have thus presented,-simple, as they are striking, should suffice, if not to satisfy, at least to awaken, the attention of the thoughtful, and the prudent. But, unhappily, so it is : we live in an age of prejudice, and incredulity ; at a period of sophistry, and disputation. It costs men a great deal, such is the effect of human self-love,-to own, or renounce, their errors . Once educated, and involved in error, they struggle even against their own convictions, and shut their eyes to the plainest truths. But, as this part of my subject is so interesting, I will again resume it.

XIV. At the epoch when Luther commenced his revolutionary career, there had existed, during the long course of fifteen hundred years, a religious society, -the Catholic church,-conducted, under the guidance of one supreme head, by a body of pastors, who, in conformity with the assurances of Christ, considered themselves, -and were equally so considered by the public, as invested with the authority to judge infallibly, and to decide irrevocably, all those questions in religion, which related to the doctrines of Christian faith. The method, in which they did this, was, not by creating new dogmas ; not by citing the ancient dogmas before the tribunal of human reason, in order to examine them in themselves (for this would have been subjecting the wisdom of God to the puny wisdom ofman) ; but merely by the way of testimony, ascertaining, and verifying, the tradition, or universal faith, by the tradition, or faith, of each particular church. So, for example, when Luther, and the reformers, first began to preach, the Catholics at once called out, " These doctrines of yours were never heard of, until now. Yesterday, we had never so much as heard them spoken of. And how, therefore, can they possibly be, or how can we think them, true? Truth is not the creature of yesterday, or to-day: it is the object of all times, and ages : it existed from the beginning, and will continue to exist for ever; whereas, error possesses no surer characteristic than the feature of novelty. Either, then, you do not teach what Christ has taught, and in this case we ought not to listen to you, or else your doctrines are conformable to his. Now, in this supposition, you ought, of course, to show, that they are conformable also to those of his church.y For, since he had promised to remain, all days, to the end of the world, with this divine institution ; so it could not, even for one single day, teach any doctrines, save those which it had received from its sacred Founder." Such as this was the language, which the Catholics addressed to Luther, and to the first authors of the reformation. It was, in fact, upon these principles,-upon these fundamental, and immoveable principles, -that, without any process of argumentation ; without any dangerous discussion of the internal nature of the Christian dogmas ; without the labour of endless disputes with the authors, or advocates, of heresy,-the ancient councils pronounced their irrevocable decrees ; and that the whole body of the church said anathema to Arius, to Nestorius, to Eutyches, &c., and to all those daring innovators, who, like the above heresiarchs, substituted the visions of their own fancies in room of the ancient faith.

Before the pretended reformation, never did one single sect, or even sectarist, presume to deny directly the authority of the Catholic church. Never did they so much as contest the reality, and justice, of her right to act, as the judge of faith :-nor did they ever call in question the infallibility of her decisions. They cavilled, it is true, not unfrequently, against the forms, and order, of her judgments. They contended, that the councils, which had condemned them, were not proper and lawful councils ; and that they had not observed the indispensable rules of a wise and just determination. All this kind of remonstrance, and complaint, was, indeed, the very common language of the early heresiarchs. But still , never did any one of these men so much as whisper out the insolent, and fatal term, " Independence. " Never did any of them pretend, that the sole judge of Christian faith is the tribunal of human reason. So forcibly, at those periods, were impressed upon their minds, and upon the minds of the whole body of the Christian public, those thundering words of our Redeemer,-" He that will not hear the church, let him be as the heathen and the publican . "

Even Luther himself, when first he entered upon his bold career, still owned, and protested with sincerity, or at least with apparent sincerity, his humble submission to the judgment of the church. He loudly, and earnestly solicited the convocation of a council : and although his soul seemed but an assemblage of violent passions, all fed by the force of pride,-yet did he, for some time, show himself disposed to bend down his haughty head before the tribunal of the chief pastor, and rulers, of the sacred fold. The constant practice, and opinion, of all preceding ages, confirmed and founded, as they are, upon the plainest texts of the divine word, did not, as yet, allow him so much as even to conceive the daring idea, that men may destroy that awful barrier, which the wisdom of our immortal Legislator has erected against the inroads of innovation, and the intrusions of heresy. However, the continuance of these dispositions was not of any long duration. For, when, ere long, his errors were condemned in Rome ; and soon as the rapid increase of his followers had roused his courage to bolder darings ; - then, giving ear only to the suggestions of his anger, and ambition, he altered at once his language ; and unawed by any feelings of moderation, unrestrained by any sense of decency, he insolently, in the fury of his indignation, uttered anathema against anathema, and unfurled the standard of rebellion. Then it was, at this awful period, that began, in Europe, the race of error, and the war, and conflict of opinion : insomuch, that, within the short space of very few years, the public beheld a hundred new systems of religion, where, until now, they had never witnessed any more than one. 

However, notwithstanding these disorders, and spite of all this licentiousness of opinion, it is still true, so deeply were the maxims of the ancient faith ingrafted in the public mind, -it is still true, that the leading principle of the Reformation did not, at once, nor yet very generally, develope itself in all its plenitude, and deformity. At first, there was only a certain number of bold, and penetrating individuals, men, possessed of that kind of character, which hardly any consequences could dismay, that, early, descried its bearings, and at once rushed forward, and pushed on to its utmost limits . Still, the number of these was, for some time, comparatively speaking, only small. The multitude, as yet, still followed their steps with languor, and regret. They still continued to cherish some of the principal, and most prominent truths of their parent church. And what is striking, or what should, at least, seem striking to the Protestant, is this : that, in proportion as each new sect thought proper to preserve a greater portion of the ancient truths, so also did it labour the more industriously to preserve amongst its adherents the principle of authority. In fact,-let the Protestant deny it as he will, it is still true, that this sacred principle must subsist, wheresoever there subsists any order, or any respect for truth ; or wheresoever men admit, either any codes of morals, or any forms of worship. Essential even in the order of social life, it is doubly so in the economy, and order, of religion. For this reason,-inconsistent as the thing is with the maxims of the Reformation, it subsists, more or less, in every one of the sects of Protestantism. It subsists in them all : but it is, in them all, a usurped authority. Thus, as Montesquieu remarks, the first, and fundamental organisation of the church ofEngland was created, and established, by the influences of despotic power,-" the will, and caprice, of a single individual, " as he adds, " there ordaining, and arranging, every thing." 

XV. The Reformation, properly speaking, according to its fundamental charter, that law, which gave it birth, and which still sustains it, is a religious republic (I might say rather, a religious anarchy), in which power, under the guidance ofno fixed rule, and without the assurance of any stability, becomes the property, either of any audacious demagogue, who has the means, and boldness, to subdue the public mind; or of the canting hypocrite, who has the art to impose upon its credulity. Still, however, notwithstanding that the maxims of this charter do thus positively exclude the interferences of authority, still it is the fact, that the respect for authority is so deeply imprinted upon the feelings of mankind, that nothing can ever efface it. It will, and must, continue to subsist, so long as men continue to believe any thing. It will perish, only when perishes the last of truths. [See Illustration, G.] 

XVI. The Protestant theologians, many ofthem, did not refuse, for some time, to admit the authority of the first ecumenical councils ; insomuch that they opposed their decisions to the tenets of the Arians and Socinians. They even spoke, a few of them, now and then, with a certain degree of respect, of the ancient Fathers;-citing these, on some occasions, with honour ; supporting their own opinions by the sanctions of their testimony ; and attributing to them a considerable share of authority in the determination of controverted doctrines. The fact is, no doubt, manifest, that, wheresoever religion is not an empty name, it is wise, and prudent, to trace its doctrines, and reasonable to expect to find them, such precisely as Christ Jesus had delivered them, in the writings of those learned, and holy men, who lived so close to the age of the first apostles. If this be not the case, then it must necessarily be contended, that the doctrines of salvation,-those sacred truths which the Divine Wisdom came down from heaven to announce to men,-began simply to be understood, fifteen hundred years after their publication ; and that Luther, after the apostles, was in reality the first of Christians. But, surely, common sense revolts at the absurdity of such ideas. However, be this as it may, -the circumstance is still true, that such as these are the propositions, which the Protestant is under the necessity of maintaining, on all those occasions, when, overwhelmed by the testimonies of the Fathers, he finds himself compelled to own, that the faith and doctrines of those illustrious defenders of the Christian church were, in no respect, different from the faith and doctrines of the Catholic, at the present day ; - that they believed, and taught, precisely what the pastors of the Catholic church believe, and teach, in the nineteenth century ;-and that it is impossible to read their immortal works, without tracing, in almost every page, the express condemnation of the tenets of the Reformation.

In relation, in the next place, to the posterior councils,- the perplexity, and embarrassment, of the reformers, or of the Protestant divines in general, were not much less awkward, than they were in the preceding cases . " Either," said the Catholics, and we say so still to every Protestant, -" either you consider the ancient councils as infallible, or not. In the former supposition, their infallibility, you should conceive, must have been founded,-for, there is no other basis, upon the power, and promises, of Jesus Christ,- upon a power, and promises, unlimited, and unconfined ; and whose effects it depends not upon you to restrict to any age, or to restrain to any period. If the church were infallible, during the course of six centuries, -she, then, is just equally such, at the present day ; and she will also continue to be such, for ever. Wherefore, in opposing her decisions, you oppose, in reality, the authority of Christ himself. For, amongst all the various arguments, and objections, which you allege against the posterior councils ; and above all, against that which has censured you, there is not one, which might not equally, with the same consistency and truth,-be applied to those ancient assemblies, which you profess to admit. To reject any one of them, is to overturn them all . For, they, all , either stand, or else fall, together. Concerning the council of Chalcedon, the disciples of Eutyches, and Dioscorus, spoke, precisely as you do, of the council of Trent. Like you, those men contended, that their enemies domineered it over them ; and that the purity of truth had been sacrificed to the influences of intrigue, and to the artifices of cabal. However, their reproaches, and declamations, were unavailing, and disregarded : and it is, even in your opinion, right, that they were so. In reality, would not disputes be endless, if, before any judgment should be looked upon as decisive, it were necessary to have the sanction of all the parties, that are interested in it ? Again, if faith be incompatible with incertitude, or even with the slenderest doubt,-then, either there must exist no tribunal to judge, and determine, the contests concerning the doctrines of religion ; or else, this tribunal must be infallible. The consequence, therefore, must be, that you cannot, with any thing like consistency, affect to admit the authority even of one single ecumenical council, without equally admitting the infallibility ofthem all ; and by another necessary consequence, also, without declaring yourselves rebels, both to God and to his church. "

"But if, in order to avoid these perplexing inferences, you should refuse to admit the infallibility of the ancient councils, -what benefit, "-we then ask you,-" in the case of such refusal, could you derive, or what advantage would you thus possess, over the Arians, or the Socinians ? Would you, in this case, compel these men to submit, as a necessary obligation, to the dictate, and authority, of mere human determinations ? But if so, would they not, in their turn, oppose to you your own principles, and your own example ?" For, " Where," they ask,-" where can there possibly be any obligation, or how can there exist any substantial motive, for subjecting our understandings, in matters of faith, to the understandings, andjudgment, of a set of men, who, just like ourselves, are liable to error ? Would not such submission imply manifestly the abandonment of our salvation to the risk of hazard ? Andwould it not be believing, if not by the dictate of caprice, at all events without rule, certitude, or secure conviction ? "- But, here you again reply, " that the first councils-although liable, indeed, to error-did not err. By the merciful effect of his divine power and wisdom, God permitted them to preserve in its original purity that sacred depositum of his doctrines, which he had communicated to mankind."

At this observation, the Socinian, the Arian, &c. again in- terfere ; and taking up the question, remark : "The first councils, " you say, " although liable to error, did not err. Now, this is precisely the very point which we contest. You presuppose, as a certain fact, the very circumstance which we deny. As consistent Protestants, it is your place to prove clearly to us, to convince us, by the authority of reason, and by the sanctions of the Scripture, that the doctrines, which we reject, are true. Then there will be no need of citing to us, or of alleging against us, the authority and decrees of councils . Or, if you cannot do this,-if you cannot establish the truth, and certainty, of your tenets, by the sanctions of the above attestations, then it is, surely, still more unavailing to cite to us, by the way of convincing us, or else of shutting our mouths,-a set of councils, which, you allow, were liable to error." Such as this, and it is but the dictate of common sense,-is the remonstrance, which the Socinian, the Arian, &c. present to those Protestant establishments, which, admitting the early, reject the posterior councils. Neither can any rational reply, the leading maxims of the Reformation once admitted, be made to refute it. For, supposing the early councils to have been fallible, then, according to these maxims, it ought to appear necessary, precisely as in the case of all other doctrines, to discuss the tenets, which they have either defined, or handed down to us. In fact, not only this, but,-setting aside the sanctions of an infallible guide,-it should seem, and indeed is,- necessary to follow up, and examine, through all the dark labyrinths of reasoning and argumentation, and at the risk, therefore, of being lost at every step,-to follow up, and examine, one after another, all the divine truths, and doctrines of Christianity. For, in matters offaith, all fallible authority is essentially null, and groundless .

Accordingly, it is not the Socinians alone, but also many other sects of the Reformation, that, founding their reasonings upon the maxims of Protestant theology,-complain very loudly of that intolerance, and inconsistency, which would compel them to admit doctrines which their judgment disapproves ; and which even ties them by oaths, and tests, to profess tenets, which yet, they acknowledge, may not be true. All this, they very properly remark, is overturning the very foundation of the Reformation, and affording a triumph to the Catholic. For they too, like the Catholic, say,-" Either the ancient church was infallible, or it was not. If it was infallible, during certain centuries, why, then, should we not deem it infallible still ;-since there are exactly the same réasons for the continuation of the important prerogative, as there were for its alleged and supposed duration ? In this case, it is in the decisions only, and in the sanctions, of the Catholic church, that men ought to seek for the true, and genuine doctrines of salvation. But, if the church, at the present day, is not infallible, then, also, it is true, that she never was so. And in this case, men always might,- and indeed, always ought,-ere they admitted, or believed her doctrines, to have first discussed, and examined them with care . It is, surely, too gross an illusion, too insolent a stretch of power, to pretend to oblige us to give up our judgment, in calm submission, to a certain number of her decrees, whilst you assume the liberty of rejecting a multitude of others ; and of rejecting some, which are just equally clear, and as well established, as those which you would compel us to receive . What ! have you, then, forsaken the Catholic church, only to intrude yourselves into her place ? Have you accused her of tyranny, only to establish upon her ruins a tyranny, that is still more revolting, and far worse than hers ? For, at all events, the Catholic church possesses in her own favour a long, uninterrupted, and undisturbed possession. She, in exercising that authority, which you arrogate to yourselves, does not, like you, contradict and violate her own maxims. You admit certain councils, and reject others. Now, whence this preference ? Whence such difference, and distinction ? By what means do you know, by what criterion do you ascertain, that, since many of the councils have, according to you, taught false doctrines, so those, also, which you admit, may not equally have done the same ?-or, that these alone have preserved faithfully the sacred truths of revelation ? Have you any wise assurance of all this ?-any other certitude of it, save the suggestions of your own feelings, or the dictates of your own judgment ? Most certainly not. Therefore, the consequence is, that it is to your own weak, and falli- ble authority, that you wish, and seek, to subject us. However, do not deceive yourselves. After having taught us to deny, and reject, the authority, and alleged infallibility, of the pastors of every age, and of the whole body of the universal church itself,-after having done this, you, surely, cannot reasonably expect us to acknowledge, without some share of difficulty, the singular claim, or attribute, of your own inerrancy. " Such as these are the reasonings, both of the Socinians, and many of the dissenting sects of the Reformation. They are such, that no Protestant defender of councils, or of oaths, and tests, and subscriptions, can make any consistent answer to them. '

XVII. Seldom indeed, or perhaps, never, do the torrents of error, or the tide of opinions, flow back to their ancient sources. Thus, it was in vain, that some of the reformers, and a certain portion of the reformed theologians, attempted to stay the violence ofthe tempest ; and to check that conflict, and confusion of beliefs, which the Reformation had every where produced, amongst its own victims, and disciples. Its abettors, with very general consent, had early been reduced to proclaim this grand, and important principle,-" That the Bible alone, independent and exclusive of any visible authority, is the sole rule and depositum of the Christian's faith. " " To know," says Chillingworth, " the religion of Protestants, you must neither consult the doctrine of Luther, nor that of Calvin, or Melancthon ; nor the Confession of Augsburg, nor Geneva; nor the Catechism of Heidelberg ; nor the Articles of the Church of England ; nor yet, the Harmony of all the Protestant churches ;-but that, which they all subscribe to, as the perfect rule of their faith and actions, that is to say, the Bible. Yes, the Bible, and the Bible only, is the religion of Protestants . " 

Such was the Reformation ; and such the general state of Protestantism, at no great length ofinterval after the epoch of its introduction. Its members, that is, the chief portion of its more reasoning partisans,-ashamed of its everlasting variations, and tired out with wandering perpetually from creed to creed, thought proper now, with improved courage and consistency, to disavow at once both the authority of the first reformers, and the wisdom of their confessions. " It is not," they now said, " by reading our countless creeds and professions of faith, not by confiding in the opinions of our Luthers, Calvins, and Melancthons, that you will learn our belief. We care little or nothing about creeds, and confessions ; and we now laugh at the errors of our first apostles . The Bible, the Bible only, is the religion of the Protestant."

However, as I have before remarked, -there presents itself here a very serious difficulty. The Bible is always silent ; and often, extremely obscure. It does not explain itself. The question, therefore, is-Who shall explain it ? This, too, is a question, which I have answered repeatedly. Why,- according to the above maxims,-all, without exception, should explain it. For, as all, without exception, are called to the knowledge ofthe truth,-and truth, it is contended, is no where to be found but in the Bible,-so, of course, it must be the bounden duty of all to seek, and to find, the sacred treasure there. This, indeed, is so plain a consequence, that no consistent Protestant will pretend even to contest it. Well, and yet it is true, that it is this, this very concession,-that involves the Protestant in perplexities so inextricable, and in contradictions so preposterous, that one blushes almost for the honour of human reason. It was, I have shown, in order to account for the method, by which men might, all of them, explain the Bible, and discover, in its divine pages, the true doctrines of salvation, that the reformers, and the reformed theologians, invented so many strange and extravagant devices, in the first place, that of private inspiration ; next, that ofsentiment, and taste, &c.-contending, that, just as by the feelings, and taste, men distinguish heat and cold, sweet and bitter ; just so, and by a similar kind of mental impulse, do they discover in the sacred volume the true doctrines of salvation. However, ashamed again, ere long, of these and such like sensitive systems, they now, as their best resource, concluded, that the real arbiter of Christian faith, the tribunal, which alone and exclusively possesses the right of interpreting the Bible, is, the good sense, or judgment, ofeach private individual.

All this is repetition; but repetition is sometimes necessary. And hence, although I have already stated some of the consequences of the alleged pretension, yet, again resuming the subject, I will point out a few more of its awkward difficulties .

XVIII. The religion, then, of the consistent Protestant is thus, according to the above- cited principle, transformed into a system of reasoning. And the consequence, as I have so often stated, was, and still is, that it early assumed, and possesses at present, as many forms, and features, as there are fancies, and feelings, in the human mind. Sects at once arose ; and each sect soon generated others,-succeeding, and following, one another with restless and rapid velocity, -like cloud pursuing cloud, or wave rushing upon wave. Never did the Christian world, at any period, behold so astonishing, and so wild a fecundity of errors,-a profusion of creeds contradicting creeds, and of doctrines opposed to doctrines ; but yet all, and every one of them, deduced plainly, according to their respective authors, from the word of God. To pretend to state, or even enumerate them, would be absurd ;-more absurd than to attempt, on a day of tempest, or in the midst of a storm, to count up the clouds which obscure the sun. 

XIX. The whole history of Protestantism is replete with inconsistencies. Thus, notwithstanding all the wide liberty of its maxims, and the freedom with which its members are allowed to apply them, such, notwithstanding these circumstances, is the attachment, which men entertain for their own belief, or at least, such was the affection, which the reformers, some of them, entertained for their own opinions,- united, it may have been, with a certain remaining, but expiring respect for unity,-that, although indignant at the condemnation which had been passed upon them by the church of Rome, they proceeded, very early, to condemn, and even anathematise, each other. Thus, we know, with what severity the arch apostle, Luther, reprobated many of the doctrines of his fellow apostle, Calvin, whilst the latter, in like manner, with an equal degree of aversion, expressed his dislike to several of those of Luther. Again, how strikingly