grees, you see, persecution is embodied into the Romish religion; and when heresy is the disease, ruin is the only remedy. A sure one indeed; but O how heavenly wide of those mild prescriptions of the great Physician of souls! who being urged by his own disciples to revenge himself upon a company of rude and obstinate schismatics, solemnly professes, that he came not to destroy men's lives, but to save them. The occasion of which words was an affront which the Samaritans had offered to our blessed Saviour; who being notorious enemies to the Jews that worshipped at Jerusalem, refused to entertain our Saviour for one night, perceiving he was a Jew, and so of a contrary religion to themselves: upon which James and John, moved with great indignation to see their blessed Master so unworthily treated, request him, that, after the example of Elias, they might call for fire from heaven to destroy them: but he no way approving their motion, severely rebukes them for it; and plainly tells them, that they knew not what spirit they were of. As much as if he should have said, If you will needs imitate that legal zealotick spirit Elias acted by, whatever you pretend, you act not like my disciples, whose spirit and genius ought to be more tender and merciful; and therefore, though these Samaritans are of a different sect and religion, and will not embrace me nor my doctrine, yet far be it from me to destroy them: for this is quite contrary both to my temper and the design of my coming; which is not to destroy men's lives, but to save them. So that you see the plain scope of the words is this; that to destroy men's lives upon the score of religion is a practice contrary to the spirit of Christ and the design of his religion.

Before I proceed to the proof of this proposition, I shall briefly endeavour to state and restrain it within its just bounds and limits; and they are these four.

First, That it is not to be understood of any religion that is in its own nature wicked and immoral : for if a man's religion teacheth vice, or directly. patroniseth it, his vice is not the less punishable because his religion prompted him to it. Indeed, if he keep his wicked opinion to himself, it cannot be punished, because it cannot be known: but if he persuades others to it, or practises it himself, it becomes matter of fact, and is as punishable as the crime is it persuades to. For the great rules of virtue and good life are so clear and perspicuous, that a man cannot be ignorant of them without being faulty: and therefore if a man embrace a wicked opinion, and act or spread it, the matter of fact is justly punishable according to the proportion of its malignity. And indeed if wicked actions were to be excused upon the score of conscience or opinion, religion would be made a sanctuary for all the villainies in the world: and there is no crime so monstrous, but would make a shift to shelter itself from punishment under the protection of conscience.

Secondly, and more particularly, That the proposition is not to be understood of such opinions as, either directly or in their immediate consequents, undermine the foundations of government: for government being indispensably necessary to the well-being of the world, men ought to know, that that can be no good religion which teaches doctrines whose consequents destroy it; and therefore it is just and reasonable it should be rooted out as a dangerous pest and nuisance to the public interest; and the neces

sity of the thing will justify the lawfulness of it: for were princes bound to tolerate ungovernable principles, they must be kings no longer than they can get leave to reign from the humour or conscience of each hotbrained opinionist; and all their authority must be dependent upon the little capricios of every peevish zealot; the consequents of which must be the dissolution of government, and that an inlet to all disorder and confusion. And therefore those that, under a pretence of religion, propagate such principles, are justly accountable for all the consequent inconveniencies, and punishable accordingly.

Thirdly, That the proposition is not to be understood of our practice, but of our judgments and opinions for every man hath a natural right, as he is a rational creature, to judge for himself; and to punish any one for so doing is the greatest tyranny in the world, it being an exercise of dominion over the minds of men, which are subject only to the empire of God: but as for our practice, that is liable to the restraint of human laws; and that as well in sacred as in civil affairs. They cannot indeed oblige us to what God hath forbidden us; because his being the supreme authority ought to take place against all the countermands of any inferior power whatsoever: but then there are a world of things which remain in a state of indifferency, and are left undetermined both by the natural and positive laws of God: and these are all liable to the commands and determinations of human authority, and are the proper matter of civil and ecclesiastical laws; to the extent of whose jurisdiction there can be no other restraint, than only the countermand of a superior authority: and therefore if there be nothing antecedently evil enjoined by

the laws, whether civil or ecclesiastical, we are bound to obey them; and if we do not, we are justly punishable for our disobedience. Indeed, if we believe the thing enjoined to be evil, though it be not, we ought not to do it, in obedience to the supreme authority of God, which we believe hath forbidden it: but yet if we mistake, and the thing be not evil, but in its own nature indifferent, we are justly punishable for the not doing it, because our mistake alters not the nature of the thing: if it be indifferent, it is a proper object of human laws, whether we think it so or no, and as such may be justly imposed; and the imposition being just, our not obeying it must needs be justly punishable. In this extremity therefore we have no other redress, but to seek information, and get our mistaken consciences better instructed. And if, when we have done all, we cannot alter our opinion, our meek and patient submission to the penalty will be our excuse before the tribunal of God.

Fourthly, and lastly, That the proposition is not to be understood of our making a public profession of our opinions, so as to disturb the peace of the church with them. So long as men are humble and modest in their dissent, and do not go about to advance their opinions into factions, and to divide and rend the church in the propagation of them, I see no reason why these should be punished and persecuted for them. But if men openly profess their dissent to the prejudice of the public peace and interest, and dote so much upon their own conceits as to fancy them necessary for all the rest of mankind, and consequently go about to vex their neighbours, provoke their rulers, and unsettle the government for the propagation of them; if through an inconsiderate

zeal for their own notions, they should be active and industrious to make a party against the church, and withdraw others from her communion, they are of fenders to the public peace, and as such are liable to punishment for they ought to consider, that unless their opinion be of greater moment than the church's peace, it ought to vail, and give way to it; and that there are no opinions weighty enough to balance the church's peace, whose contraries do not undermine Christianity itself, and utterly defeat the ends of Christian society. For every man is obliged, by virtue of being in society, to do his utmost to preserve the honour and interest of it, and to join in all acts of it so far as they tend thereunto; and dissent from every thing which tends to the apparent ruin of that society. Now the main end of Christian society being the honour of God and the salvation of souls, the primary reason of men's entering into churches, or Christian societies, is to advance these ends, and to join in all acts of the society they are listed into, so far as they tend to the advancement of them: but if any thing be required of us directly repugnant to these ends, we are bound to manifest and declare our dissent from them; and if for so doing we are cast out of the particular Christian society, by so doing and suffering we preserve our communion with the catholic society of Christians: but if I am never so much persuaded, that such a practice or article of the church is an error, yet, if it be not such an error as doth defeat the great ends of Christian society, I am bound, either to keep my persuasion to myself, or at least not to disturb the peace of the church in my endeavours to propagate it to others; because, next to the honour of God and the salvation of souls,