fome others did the fame ; yet the king, the queen mother, and the other perpetrators of it,exulted and gloried in their wickedness, and the pope and cardinals bestowed the highest encomiums upon this outrage of.

divine and human laws.

THE queen's maids of honour, as void of modesty as compaffion, delighted themselves with the fight of the mangled bodies of the poor

N: 3

4 Voltaire gives a remarkable inftance of M. Mont morrin, governor of Auvergne, expreffing his abhorrence of this most inhuman maffacre. Orders being fent from court to the governors of all the provinces in France to murder the protéffants, this worthy gentleman wrote to the king the following letter, which, as my author fays, well deferves to be tranfmitted to pofterity.

"SIR, Jam i

"I have received an order under your majefty's feal "to put to death all the proteftants in my province. I have too much refpect for your majefty not to believe "the letter is forged; but if (which God forbid) the or der is really yours, I have too much refpect for your "Majefty to obey it."

The fame author fays, that the king obferving from the window of his palace at Paris, that fome poor wretches were swimming over the river to the Fauxbourg St. Germain to fave their lives, (it is, fays Voltaire, almost incredible, but too true) he fired upon them with a carabine: and I have fomewhere elfe read, killed feveral, Some priests holding a crucifix in one hand, and a fword in the other, ran at the head of the murderers, and encouraged them, in the name of God, to fpare neither relations nor friends. The Hiftory of the civil wars of France, p. 10, 11, 12, 13.

poor flaughtered proteftants, and in the midft of this horrible carnage, carried their abomi❤ nable curiofity so far, that decency forbids me to relate it. The queen herself encouraged ✓ the affaffins, and made fport at the dying groans of the murdered. Brantome nevertheless speaks greatly in praise of this queen's religion:" She was," fays he, " a good "chriftian, very devout, went often to con"feffion, and never miffed divine fervice, "morning or evening." This is indeed no uncommon character; for there are many ftances to be met with, of perfons being very punctual in their devotions, and extremely zealous for what is commonly called religion," and yet at the fame time moft enormously wicked, and particularly most cruel perfecutors. Should this proteftant country of ours ever fall again under the dominion of popish fiery zealots, what a fcene of flavery, defolation, flaughter, and deftruction, would it become!

in

BUT to proceed with our narrative. The king, in his letter to the pope on occafion of this maffacre, exultingly writes, that more heretics had been deftroyed in that one day, than in all the twelve years of the war. In France there were medals ftruck, with devices and mottos, to celebrate the action, and

↑ Histoire de France, an. 1581.

perpetuate

I

perpetuate the remembrance of it. At Rome, no fooner was the acceptable news of this diabolical exploit arrived, than a proceffion was immediately ordered to offer up folemn thanks to God for fo great a bleffing to the fee of Rome and the catholic church. A few days after another proceffion was made by the pope and cardinals, and then the pope granted a jubilee to all Christendom; one of the reafons affigned for which was, that they fhould thank God for the flaughter of the enemies of the church, lately executed in France. A third proceffion was procured by the cardinal of Lorraine, (one of the first contrivers of this inhuman fact) in which assisted all the clergy, the ambassadors, cardinals, and the pope himself: the cardinal celebrated mafs, and, in the king of France's name, thanked the pope and cardinals for their good counfels, the help they had given him, and the affistance he received from their prayers, of which he found most wonderful effects. After this the pope fent his legate, cardinal Urfin, in all hafte to France, to thank the king for fo great a fervice done to the church, and to defire him to go on, and extirpate herefy root and branch, that it might never · grow again. How mad were these people with religious rage and cruelty! and how did they thirst after proteftant blood!

By the pope returning thanks to the king of France for this moft barbarous and cruel flaughter of his christian fubjects, and exhorting him to go on and extirpate herefy root and branch, that it might never grow again, it is evident that the total deftruction of he¬ retics, as well as herefy, was intended by his holiness: but whether he defigned that this pious work fhould be completed by another. maffacre of thofe heretics who had escaped the former, or by ré-eftablishing the inquifi tion in France, or by both, is not equally clear. Most probably by both for as no thing could fo speedily and effectually root out herefy at that time as another maffacre, fo no means were equally proper to prevent its being replanted as the inquifition.

On all the methods of perfecution and re ligious cruelty already mentioned in this Effay, or indeed among all the means ever invented or practifed by thofe called chriftians, to deter men, as much as poffible, from thinking, believing, profeffing, and acting in religious matters according to their consciences, this of the inquifition has, ever fince its firft inftitution, been defervedly esteemed. the most effectual. !

PERSECUTION by halves, in which compaffion or lenity have any fhare, instead of rooting up a religion, generally causes it to flourish

2

flourish: but as not the leaft weakness of this kind ever appears or is exercised in the proceedings of the inquifition, this holy office is therefore admirably well adapted to destroy herefy root and branch. So complete an engine of religious cruelty muft not pass with out a short account being given of it.

TH

SECTION IX.

ILL the beginning of the thirteenth century,: the making of laws and edicts for fuppreffing herefy and heretics was left almost entirely to fecular princes; and the execution of them principally committed to civil magiftrates and bishops. But about the year of Chrift 1200, long before the time of the maffacres above-mentioned, Pope Innocent III, taking notice that great numbers of heretics appeared, efpecially in and about Tholoufe in France; and that he, refy, even the very worst kind of it, that of oppofing the pope's power, greatly prevailed; he perceived plainly what thefe evils, as he, called them, proceeded from, Secular princes were fometimes prevented, either by good, policy or humanity, from weakening their do minions, by banishing or deftroying many of

the