OCR Text |
Show ( 36 ) to Foreigners; but as there are no Diffin~ ters nor Schifmatich among~ ~hem, to abufe and vilify the Qrth~dox Mmiftcrs _for thefe matters, every thmg goes on Wt~h gre~t Vniformity, and the People are m a fatr way to drink God Thor's Health to the end of the World. h mult be confefs'd, that there are fome learned Men, tho very few among/1: them, who have been bred at ~ne of our Univerlities (as it has been faid before) and generally at the 1 , King's Charge. This indeed is the wifefl: Expence he can pollibly be at, for his AU depends upon them. They are the Commanders in Chief of the Body' of Priefis, which may be moll: properly call'd the King's Lifeguard ; for 'tis undoubtedly true, that if there were no fuch Bi/hops, and no fuch Clergy, there could be no fuch King. This fort of Swifs, with their Sermons, lnjunBions and Decrees, are a much greater, Security to a Tyrast, than their Brethren of the Canton.s with all their Muskets, Pikes and Halbards. Thefe latter can only keep them in awe, who may hwe fome Thoughts of recovering their Liberties : the former, I mean the Priejls, go to the very bottom, and remove a \I that may give occalion to any fuch Intentions : They fpare no Pains to rafe out thofe fl:rong natural lmprellions of the Lrrue of one's Country, which, next to the Duty one s111es to God, ought to be above all things moll: deeply engraven on every Man's Heart ; and infiead of this worthy ObjeCl: Qf the Peoples De!ires and AffeCtions, the · · Priejls ( 3"7 ) Priefts fet up the imaginary Honour of foine rveak Man, and the tern poral fnterefl: of their own dear · felves, under a Jpiritual Cloke of a furious Zeal for their Religion. To which~ ends~ ·tfle}'·prefs down, , cnjlave and debafe the Mmds and Confciences of Men to that 'Vilenefs and· Stupidity, tba~ they become fond of living and being us'd like Dogs. This is very-vifible, efpecially in the Prote! l:ant Countries, where the Divine Right and Pajjive.obedience ride tr,iumphant. It has been no fmall piece of Cunning in, fo 111e Perfohs of late-}/ears to make fo mucq:..noife about Frfnch Sla-very. I-moll: own ~he ·F,rench are pretty_ good Slaves, but they are '.not nor ·ever can be fuch Slaves; as the Prore: jlanes 'in·t the Coqn~ries · before-mention'd. No Popilh King, riot even Lewis le Grand can devour his Snb)eCl:s ;~s a Northern King can· do; ·and the Reafon is plain, .for if their Bones were pick'd fo clean, .there would riot · be enough left for tHe Prieft; for 'asl the Roman C;Hholick Clergy have much! greater De'mands to make than the Proteltant Clergy can pretend to, fo lhould the greatefl: Mon~rch up~ on Earth touch any thing that they call theirs, there would. be ~now to ca¥ _upon their Superior Paftors to do their Duty, in tl;u~dering out their EC~Ufipftica! Anatl;ema,s agazn{f him, and to denounce Woe tQ the fear. ful' Heam and faint Hands, till .they had fonnd another Clement o'r Ravillac to undertake the languilhing Caufe of the Cburcb. · One 'of their own Poets ha's told us, , Po~r maintdn~ tes droits que lc Ciel Authorife, Boileau. 4b,me tout plutot, c'eft l'Efprit'de l'Eglife. A |