religious Face upon it; and how common in their Mouths are violent Invectives against the Pleasures in general of this World? And who pursue them more than themselves? Or indulge them more than they do? They call them empty and infipid, but they don't think them fo; and thus they openly seem to treat Honour and Wealth, but privately folicit, and eagerly fue for them and, when obtain'd, bug them heartily, They are as proud and covetous as other People (nay, rather worse, because they pretend to a greater Purity) and when they preach up, and feem to ufe Humility; 'tis but to ferve their Pride. And pray what good has all their Wbining and Canting, their Preaching and Prating, their Scribling and Printing, done for thefe Seventeen hundred and odd Years? It might, with little Pains, and great Plainnefs, be fhew'd, that a great deal of Mifchief has been done thereby; but I shall leave them to the Refarmers of this prefent Age, to fee if they can do any good with them; for I fear I can't, though I have used my hearty Endeavour. Indeed I do not fee that the World is a Whit the better (or like to be) for them, or their Freaching, or their Books; when I find lefs Roguery and Villainy in it, and more Honour and Honefty, if they are the Cause of it, I may change my Opinion.

And now, Gentlemen, and Fellow Soldiers, I fhall take my Leave of you, and wish you and myself an early and happy Campaign, where I hope to see you fuddenly; and therefore let us hafte away, and do our Duty, and I hope God will give us a fignal and eminent Victory this Year over our Enemies in Flanders, and then Boys, for France. Adieu.

THE

T

HE whole Pagan, Mahometan, and Chriftian World, have been long (too long) plagu'd with Priefts and Prieftcraft; the common Theme, the daily Difcourfe, the general Complaint, the fatal Malady, the eternal Grievance, and State-Sore, believed it to be incurable; and therefore born as an Affliction without Remedy.

What it is that fo univerfally clouds (except they have intirely abandon'd their whole Reason) the Mafs of People of all Nations of the known inhabited Globe (especially of Europe, who are thought to be wifer and clearer-fighted, at least in the Matters of this kind; having at this time more Learning among them than all the World befides) with this Stupidity, fatal and most pernicious Blindness, this deteftable and most ridiculous Bigottry, I know not; that, Comet-like, with fiery blazing Tail hovers over whole Kingdoms; Ominous, Portentous, Boding, Malevolent, threatning nought but Death of Multitudes, Deftruction of Cities, Towns, and Villages, utter Ruin to, and absolute Extirpation of Families and Governments. For thus much scrupulous, fuperftitious Fools, and fly Hypocrites, when heated by Religion, pretended, have done, and may also do again.

What have we left now (after the dear Experience of whole Centuries of Years, and many of them tumultuous, rebellious, and bloody ones too! to the Priests eternal Shame be it fpoke, who prefented and gave fire too) but the mere empty Name and Sound of Religion; the vaft Numbers (Libraries almoft I may fay) of Books and Pamphlets of Controverfy, which tend not to the Pacification, but rather general Disturbance and Confufion of Mankind, in their Opinions, Notions, and even Practices of it? Nay, of Books too, that only bear the Glofs and Varnish of Religion? I fhall fay no

thing

thing of the mighty Breach of civil Society, by foolish and unnatural Heats; the Pulpit and the Prefs go hand in hand, confederated, to improve the Mischief, and fpread the Evil. Surely it must be for their Intereft they bawl fo boldly, and print fo abundantly. Ah, this Intereft! this damn'd prevailing Intereft! that governs all the World (and even thofe good Men too) that rules the Roast every-where; that in all Places fo abfolutely plays the Tyrant, enflaving moft (and wou'd if they cou'd all) Men's Perfons, Purses, and Senfes, notwithstanding all their fpecious and gilded Pretences to the contrary? Nay, they tell the World, that by their kind Affiftance, and never-failing Help, they shall all be made wife here, and happy hereafter; but believe them who will for me.

Whither then shall we fly in fearch of that which is really (and not only call'd) true Religion? I mean the Effential, not Nominal, which is in every body's Mouth, and only there; that Religion which is to guide us in the dark and difficult Paths we move in, and which muft hereafter fave our main Stake.

If we go to the Church-National in every Kingdom (not to fay one Word of our own, for they muft not be meddled with; the Prefs must be broke, and the Books burnt, if they are touch'd, though never fo gently) how wretched! how miferably are they divided, rent and torn among themfelves you wou'd think yourfelves amongst the feign'd Furies, or amidst the Sons of Mars in Battle, and not with the Minifters of Peace; fo hot, fo violent, fo furious, (nay, and revengeful too, in due time) are they in their empty Difputes! And what a forry Account (God knows) do they give of the Business of the other World, of which they make fo great a Noife, and know nothing (not that I deny a future State) whereas indeed to fpeak ftrictly, and home to the Purpose, they are fo

much

much concern'd for, and bufied in, and with the Profits, Honours, and Pleasures of this World, that they trouble themselves very little about that. Good Men! you'll fay there is a great deal of reafon they should be fo much efteemed and refpected as they are. But, pray, by whom are they fo? By the Mob, and fome foft Heads amongst the richer (not wifer) Sort of People; not by one Man of Senfe, I am fure.

And for that Hydra of Separation, of more Names than Heads; thofe red hot Monsters, that Salamander like can live, for ever, in the Fire of Contention; thofe Mount Etna's, that belch out nothing but Fire and Brimftone, Hell and Damnation; their Doctrines (not to mention their Practices, wholly contradictory, selfish, worldly, and to our Coft, for we can remember it, very bloody) are fo terrible, fo full of Horror and Defpair, and Heaven gain'd by their Affiftance, which is feldom, if ever, with fo much Difficulty, that many of their Hearers have gone immediately from their Auditories, and poifon'd, hang'd, or drown'd themselves; and others left in a desponding Condition, only fit for Pity and Compaffion; there Men will not help us at all in this Matter.

What if we fhould take a Tafte of the New Roman (Catholick, as they call it themselves, though falfly, every body knows) Religion? I doubt we fhall relifh it but very indifferently; not to run through the several Orders of crafty Jefuits, lecherous Priests, and lazy Monks; but to ftick a little upon the Jefuits (who have often stuck upon our Skirts) their greatest Champions, their CaptainGenerals; thofe cunning Rogues, that, Mole-like, love, live, and act under-ground, and in the Dark; thofe Hocus Pocus's, thofe German, French, Spanish, Portuguese, and Italian Jugglers, with their Powders of Pimper de Pimp (I mean their Politicks) have çonfounded and embroil'd the greatest Part of the

World

World, where they have had to do, though, I think, we of England are highly oblig'd to them, for a Civility they did us, in eafing us of a King that began to be very troublesome to us; it must be avowed, they are ingenious and modest Men, for they don't pretend to Abundance of Religion; they spend their time in, and bend their Studies wholly to Politicks (let the other Ordèrs look to what Religion is left, and cultivate it, if they will or can); they content themselves with the Secular Government of the World. Alas! they are Men of fome Ambition, and love to rule, but hate to be rul'd, no, not by their own Provincial; and instead of Pulpits, you may find them in Princes Cabinets: 'Tis not enough for them to be their Confeffors, but they must be their most private Counsellors too; and it may be thofe Princes are not altogether in the Wrong, because all their Applications tend to affift them in their Mysteries, as they call them, of State, thofe Arcana Imperii. But let thofe golden Heads have a care, and look to themselves, left they be ferv'd by them, as a Gentleman was that travelled fome Years fince into France, the fecond time; though one would have thought he had had enough of the firft, at leaft if he had` reflected upon his and his Brother's good Ufage there, and from their dear, indeed, Brother Lewis too, to learn the Trade of Empire, or to better his Air, (I am fure he did not better his Condition by it) or to learn to cock his Hat a little handfomer a-la-mode de France. Well, 'tis no great Matter which, he had time and leisure enough to bemoan his Misfortunes, and seriously to confider whence they sprung. And, to conclude this Paragraph, may they all be fo treated, who adhere fo ftifly to the Society of Jefus, or indeed to any other of the Black Gang.

And for the poor Mahometans and Pagans, we can expect but little help from them, we may rather pity their Blindness and Ignorance (of both

which