ty to the Queen, their abjuration of the pretender, the fettlement of the crown in the Proteftant line, and a revolution-principle? their affection to the church established, with toleration of diffenters? Nay, fometimes they go farther, and pafs over into each other's principles; the Whigs become great afferters of the prerogative, and the Tories, of the people's liberty; these crying down almost the whole fet of bifhops, and thofe defending them: fo that the differences, fairly stated, would be much of a fort with those in religion among us, and amount to little more than, who fhould take place, or go in and out first, or kifs the Queen's hand; and what are thefe but a few court-ceremonies? or, who should be in the miniftry ; and what is that to the body of the nation, but a mere fpeculative point? Yet, I think it must be allowed, that no religious fects ever carried their mutual averfions to greater heights than our state-parties have done, who, the more to inflame their paffions, have mixed religious and civil animofities together; borrowing one of their appellations from the church, with the addition of high and low, how little foever their difputes relate to the term, as it is generally understood.

I now proceed to deliver the fentiments of a church-of-England man, with respect to govern

ment.

He doth not think the church of England for narrowly calculated, that it cannot fall in with any regular species of government; nor doth he VOL. II. think

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think any one regular fpecies of government more acceptable to God than another. The three generally received in the schools, have, all of them, their several perfections, and are subject to their several depravations. However, few states are ruined by any defect in their inftitution, but generally by the corruption of manners, against which, the beft inftitution is no longer a fecurity, and without which, a very ill one may subsist and flourish; whereof there are two pregnant inftances now in Europe. The first is, the ariftocracy of Venice; which, founded upon the wifeft maxims, and digested by a great length of time, hath, in our age, admitted fo many abuses, through the degeneracy of the nobles, that the period of its duration feems to approach. The other is the united republics of the States-General, where, a vein of temperance, induftry, parfimony, and a public fpirit, running through the whole body of the people, hath preferved an infant commonwealth, of an untimely birth, and fickly. conftitution, for above an hundred years, through fo many dangers and difficulties, as a much more healthy one could never have ftruggled against, without thofe advantages.

Where fecurity of perfon and property are preferved by laws, which none but the whole can repeal; there, the great ends of government are provided for, whether the administration be in the hands of one, or of many. Where any one perfon or body of men, who do not represent the whole,

feize into their hands the power, in the last refort, there is properly no longer a government, but what Aristotle and his followers call the abufe and corruption of one. This diftinction excludes arbitrary power, in whatever numbers; which, notwithstanding all-that Hobbes, Filmer, and others, have faid to its advantage, I look upon as a greater evil than anarchy itself; as much as a favage is in a happier state of life, than a slave at the oar.

It is reckoned ill manners, as well as unreasonable, for men to quarrel upon difference in opinion; because that is usually supposed to be a thing which no man can help in himself. But this I do not conceive to be an universal infallible maxim, except in those cafes where the question is pretty equally difputed among the learned and the wife. Where it is otherwise, a man of tolerable reafon, fome experience, and willing to be inftructed, may apprehend he has got into a wrong opinion, though the whole courfe of his mind and inclination would perfuade him to believe it true: he may be convinced that he is in an error, though he does not fee where it lies, by the bad effects of it in the common conduct of his life, and by obferving thofe perfons, for whose wisdom and goodness he hath the greatest deference, to be of a contrary fentiment. According to Hobbes's comparison of reafoning with cafting up accempts, whoever finds a mistake in the fum total, muft allow himself out, though, after repeated

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repeated trials, he may not fee in which article he has mifreckoned. I will inftance in one opinion, which I look upon every man obliged in confcience to quit, or in prudence to conceal; I mean, that whoever argues in defence of absolute power in a fingle perfon, though he offers the old plaufible plea, that it he opinion, which be cannot help, unless he be convinced, ought, in all free ftates, to be treated as the common enemy of mankind. Yet this is laid as a heavy charge upon the clergy of the two reigns before the revolution, who, under the terms of paffive obedience, and non-resistance, are faid to have preached up the unlimited power of the prince, because they found it a doctrine that pleafed the court, and made way for their preferment. And, I believe, there may be truth enough in this accufation, to convince us, that human frailty will too often interpofe itself among perfons of the holiest function. However, it may be offered in excuse for the clergy, that, in the best focieties, there are fome ill members, which a corrupted court and miniftry will induftriously find out and introduce. Besides, it is manifeft, that the greater number of those who held and preached this doctrine, were misguided by equivocal terms, and by perfect ignorance in the principles of government, which they had not made any part of their study. The question originally put, and as I remember to have heard it difputed in public fchools, was this, Whether, under any pretence whatfoever, it

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may be lawful to refift the fupreme magiftrate? which was held in the negative; and this is certainly the right opinion. But many of the clergy, and other learned men, deceived by a dubious expreffion, mistook the object to which paffive obedience was due. By the fupreme magiftrate, is properly understood the legislative power, which, in all governments, must be abfolute and unlimited. But the word magistrate seeming to denote a fingle perfon, and to exprefs the executive power, it came to pafs, that the obedience due: to the legislature, was, for want of knowing or confidering this easy diftinction, misapplied to the adminiftration. Neither is it any wonder, that the clergy, or other well-meaning people, fhould. fall into this error, which deceived Hobbes him-felf fo far, as to be the foundation of all the political mistakes in his books; where he perpetually confounds the executive with the legislative power; though all well inftituted ftates have ever placed them in different hands; as may be obvious to those who know any thing of Athens,, Sparta, Thebes, and other republics of Greece, as well as the greater ones of Carthage and Rome.

Besides, it is to be confidered, that, when these doctrines began to be preached among us, the kingdom had not quite worn out the memory of that horrid rebellion, under the confequences of which it had groaned almost twenty years. And a weak prince, in conjunction with a fucceffion of moft prostitute minifters, began again to difpofe: