indeed he has plainly fignified, that he avoided fuch restrictions to any kind of perfons, to the end that they might live continently. As for the advice given by the apostle, 1 Cor. VII. 32, 33. that related only to the then prefent diftrefs; as appears from ver. 26. And yet, in the very fame chapter, ver. 2. he actually recommended marriage, for the fake of living continently, to all perfons without exception. And writing to Timothy, 1 Tim. IV. 1, 3. he makes the forbidding to marry a mark of feducing Spirits, and a doctrine of devils. And what mischiefs the pretended celebacy of the Romish clergy has introduced, by their innumerable whoredoms, adulteries, and murders of the fpurious offspring, and by making the clergy a body diftinct from, and of an oppofite intereft to the laity, their history will abundantly testify.

But there is one corruption, which has not yet been mentioned: which extends itself to all the Romish facraments; and which, tho' it was plainly defigned to give the priests a plenitude of power, yet in its natural confequences falls as heavy upon themselves as upon the people. It is the doctrine of the neceffity of the priest's good intention, in order to the efficacy of the facraments he adminifters. This is mentioned by the council of Florence, in the following words, after the mention of all the feven facraments. All thefe facraments are made up of three parts:

that

+ Hæc omnia facramenta tribus perficiuntur: videlicet rebus, tanquam materiâ; verbis, tanquam formâ; & perfonâ ministri conferentis facramentum, cum intentione faciendi quod facit ecclefia. Quorum fi aliquid defit, non perficitur facramentum. Labbi, Concil. tom. XIII. pag. 535.

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that is to fay, of things, as the matter; of words, as the form; and of the perfon of the minifter who confers the facrament, with the intention of doing that which the church does: of which parts if any one be wanting, the facrament is not perfected. Nay, fuch a ftrefs do they lay upon the right intention of the minifter; as rather to allow the validity of miniftrations, which themfelves will by no means own to be regular, than to drop this grand point. Thus, within a few fentences after that just now quoted: tho' they infist, that a prieft is the proper minifter of the facrament of baptifm, and that to him it belongs by his office to baptize; yet, in what they call cafes of neceffity, they allow a layman, or a woman, or even a pagan, and a heretic, to baptize: but ftill they make it neceffary, that the form of the church be obferved, and that the perfon miniftring intend to do that which the church does.

*

Now the chief thing I wou'd obferve here is the wicked arrogance, of prefuming to fufpend, upon the meer will and pleasure of the minister, all the good effects defigned by Christ in his ordinances; for the papifts infift upon it, that all their feven facraments are ordinances of Chrift. Let them fhew, as well as they can, the confiftency of this doctrine with the article now under confideration; which affirms, that all the feven facraments confer grace. It must be only on condition that the priest thinks fit to let them. But

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*Minifter hujus facramenti eft facerdos; cui ex officio competit baptizare. In caufa autem neceffitatis, non folùm facerdos vel diaconus, fed etiam laicus vel mulier, imo etiam paganus & hæreticus baptizare poteft; dummodo formam fervet ecclefiæ, & facere intendat quod facit ecclefia. Ibid.

But it is farther obfervable; that, according to this doctrine, it is impoffible for a Romanist to prove, that there is now any fuch thing as a prieft, or indeed a chriftian in the world; becaufe no man can certainly tell, whether the perfon, from whom he received orders or baptifm, perform'd the fervice with the intention which the church requires.

From the account which has been given of the Romish facraments it is easy to fee: that they are attended with much fuperftition; and with fuch grofs corruptions, as are utterly inconfiftent with the purity of Chrift's doctrine: that they tend to draw off mens regards to inward and real religion that the authority, by which they are bound upon the people, is inconfiftent with the obedience which we owe to our great legislator; and the cruel bitterness, with which they are enforced, quite oppofite to the meek spirit of christianity.

The fourth article of Pius's creed is as follows.

IV. I embrace and receive all and every thing, which hath been defined and declared in the holy fynod of Trent concerning original fin and juftification.

Now the least that a man can do, to qualify himself to be a believer in this article, is to get. himself well acquainted with all thofe things,

which

which the fynod of Trent has defined and declared concerning these two points. And how the common people in all christian countries fhall be able to do this, it will be fome difficulty to conceive. But in cafe all of them did come at the historical knowledge of all that the council of Trent has declared and defined; the difficulty would be to bring them to a thorough fatisfaction, that all thofe declarations and decrees are right and good. Indeed, if the former articles are allowed, which require us to interpret fcripture only in that fenfe which the church holds, and to obferve all ecclefiaftical traditions; then there can be no difpute about this, or any other point. And therefore, one would think, pope Pius might have faved himself the trouble of adding any more articles at all; unless it were the XIth, wherein the good catholic promises unlimited obedience; or the XIIth, which curfes and condemns all those who do not embrace whatever the church in its councils has decreed. But if the fcripture is indeed the word of God; and if, instead of popes and councils, this is the rule of our faith: then how fhall a private chriftian, of common understanding, be able to pronounce, with the council of Trent, that all of human kind have loft their holiness and righteousness by the fin of Adam; (Sefs. V. § 2. decr. de peccato origin.) and yet make an exception, which the fcripture no where makes, for the virgin Mary, the mother of our Lord? (See the conclufion of the fame decree.) And with regard to juftification: how fhall he reconcile the words of this council, Jefs. VL can. 32. which affirm, that a justified

man does by his good works truly merit increase of grace and life eternal, with the words of our bleffed Lord himself, Luke XVII. 10. When ye Shall have done all those things which are commanded you, fay, we are unprofitable fervants; we have done that which was our duty to do; or with those of his apoftle, Rom. VI. 23. that eternal life is the gift of God, through Jefus Chrift

our Lord?

V. I do alfo profefs: that in the Mafs there is offered unto God a true, proper, and propitiatory facrifice for the living and the dead: and that in the most holy facrament of the eucharift there is truly, really and fubftantially, the body and blood, together with the foul and divinity, of our Lord Jefus Chrift: and that there is a change made of the whole fubftance of the bread into his body, and of the whole fubftance of the wine into his blood; which change the catholic church calls tranfubftantiation.

So important an article as this could not be omitted, when the creed of a Romanist was to be drawn up. But what authority is it built upon? The former part intirely on the authority of

men,