CENT. with their usual freedom and vehemence, against XVI the vanity of external worship, and the dissensions PART of jarring and contentious doctors.

The state of

and practi

XXVIII. There was no successful attempt morality made, in this century, to correct or improve the cal religion, practical or moral system of doctrine that was followed in the church of Rome; nor, indeed, could any make such an attempt without drawing upon him the displeasure, and perhaps the fury, of the papal hierarchy. For, in reality, such a project of reformation seemed in no wise conducive to the interests of the church, as these interests were understood by its ambitious and rapacious rulers. And it is undoubtedly certain, that many doctrines and regulations, on which the power, opulence, and grandeur of that church essentially depended, would have run the risk of falling into discredit and contempt, if the pure and rational system of morality, contained in the gospel, had been ex. hibited in its native beauty and simplicity, to the view and perusal of all Christians without distinction. Little or no zeal was therefore exerted in amending or improving the doctrines that immediately relate to practice. On the contrary, many persons of eminent piety and integrity, in the communion of Rome, have grievously complained (with what justice shall be shewn in its proper place []), that, as soon as the Jesuits had gained an ascendant in the courts of princes and in the schools of learning, the cause of virtue began visibly to decline. It has been alleged, more particularly, that this artful order employed all the force of their subtile distinctions to sap the foundations of morality, and, in process of time opened a door to all sorts of licentiousness and iniquity, by the loose and dissolute rules of conduct they propagated as far as their influence extended.

[] See Cent. XVII. Sect. II. Part I. Chap. I. Sect.

XVI.

extended. This poisonous doctrine spread, indeed, CENT. its contagion, in a latenr manner, during the six-ST. II. teenth century; but, in the following age, its abet- PART I. tors ventured to expose some specimens of its turpitude to public view, and thus gave occasion to great commotions in several parts of Europe.

All the moral writers of the Romish church, in this century, may be distinguished into three classes, the Schoolmen, the Dogmatists [t], and the Mystics. The first explained, or rather obscured, the virtues and duties of the Christian life, by knotty distinctions, and unintelligible forms of speech, and buried them under an enormous load of arguments and demonstrations. The second illustrated them from the declarations of scripture, and the opinions of the ancient doctors. While the third placed the whole of morality in the tranquillity of a mind withdrawn from all sensible objects, and habitually employed in the contemplation of the divine nature.

contro

XXIX. The number of combatants that the The state pontifs brought into the field of controversy, dur- of religious ing this century, was prodigious, and their glaring versy. defects are abundantly known. It may be said, with truth, of the most of them, that, like many warriors of another class, they generally lost sight of all considerations, except those of victory and plunder. The disputants, which the order of Jesuits sent forth in great number against the adversaries of the church of Rome, surpassed all the rest in subtilty, impudence, and invective. Bat the chief leader and champion of the polemic tribe was Robert Bellarmine, a Jesuit, and one of the college of cardinals, who treated, in several bulky volumes, of all the controversies that subsisted

[] The reader will easily perceive, by the short account of these three classes that is given by Dr Mosheim, that the word Dogmatist must not be taken in that magistrcial sense which it bears in modern language.

XVI.

CENT.sisted between the protestants and the church of SECT. III. Rome, and whose merit as a writer consisted, prinė PARTcipally, in clearness of style, and a certain copious

The contro

ness of argument, which shewed a rich and fruitful imagination. This eminent defender of the church of Rome arose about the conclusion of this century, and, on his first appearance, all the force and attacks of the most illustrious protestant doctors were turned against him alone. His candour and plain-dealing exposed him, however, to the censures of several divines of his own communion; for he collected, with diligence, the reasons and objections of his adversaries, and proposed them, for the most part, in their full force, with integrity and exactness. Had he been less remarkable on account of his fidelity and industry; had he taken care to select the weakest arguments of hist antagonists, and to render them still weaker, by proposing them in an imperfect and unfaithful light, his fame would have been much greater among the friends of Rome than it actually is [u].

XXX. If we turn our view to the internal state versies that of the church of Rome, and considered the respective church of sentiments, opinions, and manners of its different

divide the

Rome.

members, we shall find that, notwithstanding its boasted unity of faith, and its ostentatious pretensions to harmony and concord, it was, in this century, and is, at this day, divided and distracted with dissensions and contests of various kinds. The Franciscans and the Dominicans contend with vehemence about several points of doctrine and discipline. The Scotists and Thomists are at eternai war. The bishops have never ceased disputing with the pontif (and the congregations that he has instituted to maintain his pretensions) concerning

the

[] See Jo. Frid. Mayeri Ecloga de fide Baronii et Bellarmini ipsis pontificiis dubia, published at Amsterdam in 8vo, in

XVL

the origin and limits of his authority and jurisdic-CENT. tion. The French and Flemings, together with s.CT. III. other countries, openly oppose the Roman pontif? A R T I. on many occasions, and refuse to acknowledge his supreme and unlimited dominion in the church; while, on the other hand, he still continues to encroach upon their privileges, sometimes with violence and resolution, when he can do so with impunity, at other times with circumspection and prudence, when vigorous measures appear dangerrous or unnecessary. The Jesuits, who, from their first rise, had formed the project of diminishing the credit and influence of all the other religious orders, used their warmest endeavours to share with the Benedictines and other monasteries, which were richly endowed, a part of their opulence; and their endeavours were crowned with success. Thus they drew upon their society the indignation and vengeance of the other religious communities, and armed against it the monks of every other denomination; and, in a more especial manner, the Benedictines and Dominicans, who surpassed all its enemies in the keenness and bitterness of their resentment. The rage of the Benedictines is animated by a painful reflection on the possession of which they had been deprived; while the Dominicans contend for the honour of their order, the privileges annexed to it, and the religious tenets by which it is distinguished. Nor are the theological colleges and seminaries of learning more exempt from the flame of controversy than the clerical and monastic orders; on the contrary, debates concerning almost all the doctrines of Christianity are multiplied in them beyond number, and conducted with little moderation. It is true, indeed, that all these contests are tempered and managed, by the prudence and authority of the Roman pontifs, in such a manner as to prevent their being carried to

an

CEN T. an excessive height, to a length that might prove XVI. fatal to the church, by destroying that phantom PARTI. of external unity that is the source of its consistence

SECT. III.

The more

momentous controversies that

have divi

ded the

church of

Rome.

as an ecclesiastical body. I say tempered and ma naged; for to heal entirely these divisions, and calm these animosities, however it may be judged an undertaking worthy of one who calls himself the Vicar of Christ, is nevertheless, a word beyond the power, and contrary to the intention, of the Roman pontif.

XXXI. Besides these debates of inferior moment, which made only a slight breach in the tranquillity and union of the church of Rome, there arose, after the period in which the council of Trent was assembled, controversies of much greater importance, which deservedly attracted the attention of Chtistians of all denominations. These controversies were set on foot by the Jesuits, and from small beginnings have increased gradually, and gathered strength; so that the flame they produced has been transmitted even to our times, and continues, at this very day, to divide the members of the Romish church in a manner that does not a little endanger its stability. While the Roman pontifs foment, perhaps, instead of endeavouring to extinguish, the less momentous disputes mentioned above, they observe a different conduct with respect to those now under consideration. The most zealous efforts of artifice and authority are constantly employed to calm the contending parties (since it appears impossible to unite and reconcile them), and to diminish the violence of commotion, which they can scarcely ever hope entirely to suppress. Their efforts however have hitherto been, and still continue to be, ineffectual. They have not been able to calm the agitation and vehemence with which these debates are carried on, nor to inspire any sentiments of moderation and mutual forbearance into minds,