ingenious expedient of forming and publish r ing tenets for Papifts, which they neither "believe nor teach, but the very reverse of what they inculcate in their fermons, cate"chifms and rules of faith, is ludicrous enough: "A man is introduced upon the stage with a very good effect, who is perfuaded to profess himself a physician against his own knowledge; "and the comedy is certainly equally high, to attempt to make Romanists believe, that they 66 are mistaken in their own tenets, and that

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they actually believe what they do not believe. "If thefe wife creed-makers had combined to "make the world imagine, that the Popish tenets were impregnable, and could not be attacked "with any hope of fuccefs, unless they were mifrepresented, I defy them to take any other "courfe half fo effectual. The watchful and indefatigable Popish priest, who lets no advantage flip, makes a moft unmerciful ufe of this "childish stratagem. He does not fail to call upon his followers as witneffes, that he never preached rebellion or difloyalty to them; but, on the contrary, took every occafion to im"prefs them with the principle of paffive obedience to the conftitution, and of gratitude "and affection to a king; to whofe lenity it is owing, that they are treated as fubjects, and

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enjoy the common rights of humanity. He "appeals to them, if they were ever taught, "that it was lawful or difpenfable to break faith "with hereticks; he cannot fail obferving to

them, that even Proteftants have no need of "witnesses to this point, feeing that the whole kingdoms of England, Ireland and Scotland, are witnesses to it; for the Catholicks of thefe na

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*tions fuffer publicly the hardships of the laws "by their fincerity. They pay double taxes "here; they fuffer by informations, incapacities "and restraints, in Ireland; they bear the lofs of property and power; they bear infults and á variety of disadvantages, merely because they cannot difpenfe with their integrity, or make "profeffion to those they esteem hereticks, contrary to what they think.. The people the "priest appeals to, are perfect judges in this cafe; they know what doctrines they have "been taught; and the conclufion they natural

ly make from this abfurd difpute, is, that the re"formation can attack Popery only by misrepre"sentation and impofition. Is it not provoking "to fee Proteftants take pains to raise prejudi"ces in the candid and honest part of mankind against themselves, and draw a fufpicion on "their caufe by the difingenuous artifices un"der which they attack Popery?"

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So far this candid and ingenious writer, whofe fentiments upon this fubject, I have here given you in his own words, both because they have already been published to the world, and unanfwered in our grand metropolis itself, and because they difplay in very striking colours, the point I want to establish; viz. the grofs abfurdity of attacking Popery by mifrepresentation and calumny, and the immenfe advantages fuch conduct gives the Roman-Catholicks over their Proteftant adverfaries.

After fuch a public and recent detection of the folly and injuftice of these unwarrantable meafures, and of the fatal confequenees they produce, one fhould naturally imagine, that every honest heart, every man of candour and huma

nity, would difdain to tread in fuch perverse paths, or prostitute his pen to fuch vile purposes; with what indignation then, muft every generous breaft be fired to fee a fermon published to the world, under the refpectable name of Dr C-—————1, and faid to be preached before an affembly of Proteftant divines; which, on perufal, he finds to be fraught with the groffeft calumnies and most unjust mifreprefentations; and, at the fame time, vainly pretending to vindicate the purity, the charity, the fanctity, of the Christian religion by fuch unchriftian methods?

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

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

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

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

What fay you, my friends? Do you think thefe are likely arguments to do much honour to the Proteftant caufe? or that they will prove very ef fectual for undeceiving a Romanist? Let us fuppose, that fome ferious well-difpofed Proteftant, zealous for the converfion of his Popifh friend, and confident in the authority of fo great a man as Dr C1, fhould attack his friend upon this point, and make use of the above argument, in order to convince him, that the devotion of his church is all diabolical fuperftition, and a kin to Heathenifm itfelf; and let us fee what answer the Roman-Catholick would naturally make to this charge.

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

proof you bring is no proof at all, but mere "flander and calumny. I allow the defcription "you give of fuperftition to be very juft, and "that it always takes its rife from an ignorance " or misapprehenfion of God and of his Divine “truths, in fome degree or other; but I utterly deny, that the ignorance of God, or of his "Divine truths, is, in any degree whatfoever, promoted, authorized, or encouraged, by the Ro