and that is the bishop of Mentz; who admits, with a very peaceable fuccefs, fuch Lutherans, with his Catholicks, to enjoy their churches, as live in his town of Erford. Thus doth practice tell us, that neither monarchy nor hierarchy are in danger from a toleration. On the contrary, the laws of the empire, which are the acts of the emperor and the fovereign princes of it, have tolerated these three religious perfuafions, viz. the Roman Catholick, Lutheran, and Calvinist; and they may as well tolerate three more, for the fame reafons, and with the fame fuccefs. For it is not their greater nearness or confiftency in doctrine, or in worship; on the contrary, they differ much, and by that, and other circumftances, are fometimes engaged in great controverfies, yet is a toleration practicable, and the way of peace with them.

And, which is clofeft to our point, at home itself, we fee that a toleration of the Jews, French, and Dutch, in England, all diffenters from the national way; and the connivance that has been in Ireland, and the downright toleration in most of the king's plantations abroad, prove the affertion, that tolera

tion is not dangerous to monarchy.' For experience tells us, where it is in any degree admitted, the king's affairs profper moft; people, wealth, and strength being fure to follow fuch indulgence.

But after all that I have faid, in reafon and fact, why toleration is fafe to monarchy, story tells us that worse things have befallen princes in countries under ecclefiaftical union, than in places under divided forms of worship; and fo tolerating countries ftand to the prince upon more than equal terms with conforming ones. And where princes have been expofed to hardfhip in tolerating countries, they have as often come from the conforming, as non-conforming party; and fo the Diffenter is upon equal terms, to the prince or ftate, with the Conformift.

The first is evident in the Jews, under the conduct of Mofes; their diffention came from the men of their

own

own tribes, fuch as Corah, Dathan and Abiram, with their partakers. To fay nothing of the Gentiles.

The miferies and laughters of Mauritius the emperor prove my point, who by the greateft church-men of his time was withstood; and his fervant, that perpetrated the wickedness, by them fubftituted in his room, because more officious to their grandeur. What power, but that of the church, dethroned Childerick, king of France, and fet Pepin in his place? The miferies of the emperors Henry the Fourth and Fifth, father and fon, from their rebellious fubjects, raised and animated by the power of Conformifts, dethroning both, as much as they could, are notorious. It is alleged, that Sigifmund, king of Swedeland, was rejected by that Lutheran country, because he was a Roman Catholick.

If we come nearer home, which is moft fuitable to the reafons of the difcourfe, we find the church-men take part with William Rufus and Henry the First, against Robert their elder brother; and after that, we fee fome of the greatest of them made head against their king, namely Anfelm archbishop of Canterbury, and his party, as did his fucceffor Thomas à Becket to the fecond Henry. Stephen ufurped the crown when there was a church union: and king John lived miferable for all that, and at laft died by onc of his own religion too. The diffentions that agitated the reign of his fon Henry the Third, and the barons war, with bishop Grofteed's bleffing to Mumford their general; the depofition and murther of the fecond Edward and Richard, and fixth Henry, and his fon the prince; the ufurpation of Richard the Third, and the murther of the fons of Edward the Fourth, in the tower of London; the civil war that followed between him and the earl of Richmond, afterwards our wife Henry the Seventh; were all perpetrated in a country of one religion, and by the hands of Conformifts. In fhort, if we will but look upon the civil war that fo long raged in this kingdom between the houses of York and Lancafter, and confider that they profeffed but one and the

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fame religion, and both backed with numbers of church-men too (to fay nothing of the miferable end of our king's princely ancestors in Scotland, efpecially the first and third James) we fhall find caufe to fay, That church-uniformity is not a fecurity for princes to depend upon.'

If we will look next into countries where Diffenters from the national church are tolerated, we fhall find the Conformist not lefs culpable than the Diffenter.

The disorders among the Jews, after they were settled in the land that God had given them, came not from those they tolerated, but themfelves. They caft off Samuel, and the government of the judges. It was the children of the national church, that fell in with the ambition of Abfalom, and animated the rebellion against their father David. They were the fame that revolted from Solomon's fon, and cried in behalf of Jeroboam, "To your tents, O Ifrael!"

Not two ages ago, the church of France too generally fell in with the family of Guise, against their lawful fovereign Henry the Fourth: nor were they without countenance of the greatest of their belief, who ftiled it an holy war; at that time, fearing, not without a cause, the defection of that kingdom from the Roman fee. In this conjuncture, the Diffenters made up the beft part of that king's armies, and by their loyalty and blood preferved the blood royal of France, and fet the crown on the head of that prince. That king was twice affaffinated, and the laft time murdered, as was Henry the Third, his predecesfor; but they fell, one by the hand of a churchman, the other at least by a conformist.

It is true, that the next civil war was between the Catholicks and the Huguenots, under the conduct of cardinal Richlieu, and the duke of Rohan: but as I will not justify the action, fo their liberties and cautions, fo folemnly fettled by Henry the Fourth, as the reward of their fingular merit, being by the miniftry of that cardinal invaded, they fay they did but defend their fecurity, and that rather against the cardinal, than

the

the king, whose softness suffered him to become a property to the great wit and ambition of that perfon: and there is this reafon to believe them, that if it had been otherwife, we are fure that king Charles the Firft would not in the leaft have countenanced the quarrel.

However, the cardinal, like himself, wifely knew when to stop for though he thought it the interest of the crown, to moderate their greatness, and check their growth, yet having fresh in memory the ftory of the foregoing age, he faw it was wife to have a balance upon occafion. occafion. But this was more than recompensed in their fixed adherence to the crown of France, under the miniftry and direction of the fucceeding cardinal, when their perfuafion had not only number, and many good officers, to value itself upon, but yielded their king the ableft captain of the age, namely, Turenne: it was an Huguenot then, at the head of almost an Huguenot army, that fell in with a cardinal himself (fee the union interest makes) to maintain the imperial crown of France, and that on a Roman Catholick's head: and, together with their own indulgence, that religion, as national too, against the pretences of a Roman Catholick army, headed by a prince brave and learned, of the fame religion.

I mention not this to prefer one party to another; for contrary inftances may be given elsewhere, as interefts have varied. In Swedeland, a prince was rejected by Proteftants; and in England and Holland, and many of the principalities of Germany, Roman Catholicks have approved themselves loyal to their kings, princes, and states. But this fuffices to us that we gain the point; for it is evident in countries where Diffenters are tolerated, the infecurity of the prince and government may as well come from the conforming as diffenting party, and that it comes not from Diffenters because fuch.

But how happy and admirable was this civil union. between the cardinal and Turenne! Two moft oppofite religions, both followed by people of their own perfua

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fion:

fion one fays his mafs, the other his directory: both invoke one Deity, by feveral ways, for one fuccefs; and it followed with glory, and a peace to this day. O why should it be otherwife now! What has been, may be: methinks wifdom and charity are on that fide ftill.

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It will doubtlefs be objected, That the diffenting party of England fell in with the ftate-diffenter in our late civil, but unnatural war:' and this feems to be against us, yet three things must be confeffed: firft, that the war rather made the Diffenters, than the Diffenters made the war. Secondly, that those that were then in being, were not tolerated, as in France, but profecuted. And, laftly, that they did not lead, but follow, great numbers of church-goers, of all quálities, in that unhappy controverfy, and which began upon other topicks than liberty for Church-diffenters: and though they were herein blameable, reason is reafon, in all climates and latitudes. This does not af fect the question: fuch calamities are no neceffary confequences of church-diffent, because they would then follow in all places where Diffenters are tolerated, which we fee they do not: but these may fómetimes indeed be the effects of a violent endeavour at uniformity, and that under all forms of government, as I fear they were partly here under our monarchy. But then, this teaches us to conclude, that a toleration of those, that á contrary courfe makes uneafy and defperate, may prevent or cure inteftine troubles; as anno forty-eight it ended the ftrife, and fettled the peace of Germany. For it is not now the question, How far men may be provoked, or ought to refent it;' but, Whether government is fafe in a toleration, efpecially monarchy?' And to this iffue we come in fact, That it is fafe, and that Conformists (generally fpeaking) have, for their interefts, as rarely known their duty to their prince, as Diffenters for their 'confciences.' So that the danger feems to lie on this fide, of forcing uniformity against faith, upon fevere penalties, rather than of a difcreet toleration.