Imatges de pàgina
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the right of relieving and reftoring the oppreffed. Thofe that make no account of thefe things, do as much as in them lies to drive piety, juftice, and charity out of this

and nearest servants, and impeaching them for misde

meanours.

4. That the king could, in his courts below, take cognizance of, and cenfure the debates of the com

mons.

5. That the king could, by warrants figned with his own hand, arreft and imprifon his fubjects; and efpecially the members of parliament, for what they faid and did in parliament.

Thefe illegal and destructive acts of power king Charles the First claimed as his prerogatives, and exercifed them as long as he was able, with great rigour, and extraordinary circumftances; and how fuch a general oppreffion, and rendering the two eftates of lords and commons of no fignification, can make the memory of this prince bleffed ;-or, how his fuffering, in the manner he did, in defence of fuch abfolute, law-giving power, that was inconfiftent with the conftitution, and with the reafons upon which it is founded, can render him a holy and bleffed martyr, is paft my comprehenfion. Ifhould rather chufe to fay, that fince Charles would not act for the protection, happinefs, and fafety of his people, but by a continued exertion of fovereign power endeavoured to opprefs and ruin them, and change the form of government, his arbitrary principles brought him to a difmal extremity. This (as before obferved) is the truth of the cafe. May his death be a warning to future English kings; that they may, like his majefty-king George the Second, govern with parliaments, and exert their power for the protection, fafety, and happinefs of the people.

world,

world, that they may never more be heard of.

Who was the

author of the Vindicia contra Ty

rannos.

I asked one of thefe gentlemen, if he knew who was the author of this book; for it was afcribed to various men: he told me, that the learned Hubert Languet was the reputed author, as we find in De la Mare's elogium upon him; but De la Mare was misinformed by Legoux. The great Du Pleffis (30) was the author.

D'Aubigne

Account of

Du Pleffis

Mornay.

(30) The great Du Plefis Mornay was born the 5th of November, 1549, and died at his barony La Foret in Poitou, the 13th of November, 1623, aged 74; having retired to his country feat, after Louis the Thirteenth had taken from him the government of Saumur. He writ feve

ral excellent books, and one that is invaluable, called Mornay on the Eucharift, against the papifts, which was publifhed in 1598.This book produced the famous conference between Du Pleffis Mornay and Cardinal Perron, at Fontainbleau, in the year 1600. The victory at this conference is by the papifts afcribed to Perron: but the proteftants, with more juftice affirm, that Du Plefis was victor at Fontainbleau. Jacques Davy du Perron, at the time bishop of 'Evreux, publifhed a book on this conference, in which he gives a pretended true account of it, and illuftrates and defends his caufe: but to this the great Mornay replied, and made a poor devil of Perron. See - F2

thofe

An account of Cardinal Perron.

thofe pieces, reader, and you will be finely entertained; for, Perron, tho' a papist, was a great man. N. B. Cardinal Perron was born in the year 1556, Nov. 25, and died at Paris, A. D. 1618, aged 63. He had been Sept. 5. trained up in the reformed religion with great care; but went off to popery, on the preferments offered him by Henry III.-As, on the contrary, Du Pleffis Mornay had been educated a papift, but became a proteftant, to the lofs of the greateft preferments. It was Du Perron that converted to popery the famous Henri Sponde, bishop of Pamiers, and abridger of the annals of Baronius, dedicated to Perron :--and, in conjunction with Cardinal d'Offat, he made a papift of Henri le Grand, Henry the Fourth of France. It was owing to the management of this Cardinal de St. Agnes, in the conclave, and to d'Offat, that that wicked fellow, Paul V. * was created pope, and cardinal Baronius loft the popedom: Bellarmine, however, (whỏ was likewife one of the 59 cardinals in that conclave) might have had it, but he refufed it.—Those things we find in Guy Pattins letters, tom. 1.———— Godeau melanges critiques, apud antillon.and hift. des

conclaves.

Borghefe, alias Paul V. who fucceeded that fine character, Leo XI. † in the year 1605, in the 53d year of his age, died the 28th of January, 1621; aged 68;-and had for his fucceffor, Ludovifio, called Gregory the Fifteenth.

An account of Cardinal d'offat.

N. B. D'Oat was born Auguft 23, 1536, and died at Rome, March 13, 1604, aged 67. His five volumes of letters are a mafter-piece in politics, and next to Father Paul's

*So Marbais, a doctor of divinity, who knew this pope well, affures us, Nic. de Marbais requeste a l'empereur, p. 223. Leyd. 1613.

Leo XI. reigned but twenty-five days.

hiftory

biftory of the Council of Trent, are the best books you can look into, reader, for an exact and full defcription of the artifices of the court of Rome.-Remarkable was the faying of this cardinal, when Henry the Fourth of France was ftabbed ;- -If there was the leaft pretext for fuch affaffinations, they ought to be contrived and executed by the heretics, whom the king feparated from and abandoned, and thereby gave them reafon to be afraid of him; but they never made the leaft attempt of this kind, neither against him, nor the five kings his predeceffors, though their majesties made the moft cruel butcheries of the Huguenots.

Account of
Cardinal Ba-

ronius.

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N. B. Baronius was born, October 30, in the year 1538, and died the 30th of June, 1607, aged 68. His twelve tomes in folio of ecclefiaftical annals, containing the history of the church for twelve centuries, ending at the year 1198, have been well called the twelve labours of the Roman Hercules. It is a prodigious work. reading, the erudition, the judgment, the order and method of the author, are amazing: but an unhappy prejudice for papal rights, and Romish pieties, attaches him continually to the Roman caufe, without the leaft regard to truth, in a thousand and a thousand articles, and makes it plain, that he was not affifted from above in this work, as he affirms himself. moft judicious of the Roman Catholic writers fay,— Il feroit a foubaiter qu'il eut été exempt des préventions, que fon education & fon pais lui avoient infpirées.

The

N. B. Ifaac Cafaubon, in his fine exercitations, fays with great juftice of this great man ;" qui denique merita fua in ecclefiam, fi immoderato partium ftudio non corrupiffet, dignus erat fine controverfia, cui omnes et veteres et recentiores, qui illam eruditionis partem attigerunt, affurgerent, et fafces fubmitterent. Sed vir eruditiffimus quando ad fcriptionem fe accingebat, de approbanda fide fua ex æquo omnibus, ficuti par erat fidelem hiftoricum, adeo nihil cogitavit; ut contra, id fummo ftudio videatur egiffe

F 3

egiffe ne, qui in negotio religionis alia fequebantur caftra ullum ufquam æquitatis veftigium in fuis fcriptis reperirent. Adeo in defenfione illarum partium quas probabat, totus eft ubique hiftoriam profeffus, non folum theologum, fed etiam perfæpe difputatorem è fchola agit. Locos communes, a narratione hiftorica digrediens, fæpiffime contexit; Proteftantes paffim nullo difcrimine, convitiis, maledictis et infandis calumniis inceffit. Jura principum, quæ a paucis feculis obtentu religionis imminui ceperunt, ita cupide, quoties datur occafio, contrahit, arrodit, evertit, ut natum in regno nofcere nequeas; educatum, altum et auctum Romæ facile agnofcas. Denique ita fe geffit Baronius totis 12 fuorum annalium tomis, ut qui dubitari nollet, præcipium fibi fcopum fuiffe, papalem monarchiam ftabilire, amplificare, et ad cœlum ufque evehere." This is a juft character of the annals of Baronius. The best edition of this work, is the English translation of it by Hall, doctor of the Sorbonne. It is not only preferable to the French, Italian, and every other tranflation, but far better than the original Latin, on account of Hall's corrections, and most learned notes and differtations.

Account of the centuries of Magdebourg.

N. B. After all, however, the centuries of Magdebourg, published in 1559 and 1560, are the most valuable body of ecclefiaftical history. Baronius, who pretended to answer them by his annals, is undoubtedly the finest writer; but the minifters, Matthias Flaccius, Jean Vigand, Matthew le Judin, Bafil Faber, Nicholas Gallus, and Andrew Corvin, are the learned men to whom we are indebted for the nobleft collection of hiftorical truths in ecclefiaftical affairs, that ever appeared in the world. They are honeft writers indeed. Every page of their work discovers a zeal for truth, and the glory of Chrift; while Baronius fadly labours for a pontifex maximus, and the cheats of Rome. The work of the centuriators extends to the 13th century, and every century contains 16 chapters: the ift

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