feed clergy. He decreed, that they should all swear true obedience to the Roman pontiff, the successor of St. Peter, and vicar of Jesus Christ *** In short, how completely the clergy under their bishops became one of the two ecclesiastical kingdoms of the papal beast, will best appear from the following oath, set forth by order of Pope Clement' the eighth to be taken by all bishops at their consecration, and by all metropolitans at their instalment.

"I N. elect of the church of N. from hence"forward will be faithful and obedient to St. "Peter the Apostle, and to the holy Roman "church, and to our Lord, the lord N. Pope N. " and to his successors canonically coming in. "I will neithercadvise, consent, or do any thing, "that they may lose life or member, or that their persons may be seized, or hands any wise laid upon them, or any injuries offered to them "under any pretence whatsoever. The counsel, "which they shall intrust me withal, by them"selves, their messengers, or letters, I will not "knowingly reveal to any to their prejudice. I

2

will help them to defend and keep the Roman "Papacy and the royalties. of St. Peter, saving my order, against all men.. The legate of the "apostolic see, going and coming, I will honourably treat and help in his. necessities. The rights, honours, privileges, and authority, of

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Introduct. to Hist. of Eur. cited by Whitaker, p. 407.

"the

te

"the holy Roman church, of our lord the Pope, "and his aforesaid successors, I will endeavour "to preserve, defend, increase, and advance. "I will not be in any counsel, action, or treaty, "in which shall be plotted against our said lord, "and the said Roman church, any thing to the "hurt or prejudice of their persons, right, honour, state, or power; and, if I shall know any such

thing to be treated or agitated by any whatsoever, I will hinder it to my power; and, as soon as I can, will signify it to our said lord, or to some other by whom it may come to his knowledge. The rules of the holy fathers, the "apostolic decrees, ordinances, or disposals, re"servations, provisions, and mandates, I will ob"serve with all my might, and cause to be observed by others. Heretics, schismatics, and rebels to our said lord, or his aforesaid successors, I will to my power persecute, and oppose

As for the precise steps, by which this ecclesiastical kingdom was finally and perfectly organized, they are well pointed out by Lord Lyttleton in his History of Henry the second-" It was now "an established notion," says he, "that all me"tropolitans were only the vicars or rather vice

roys of the Pope in their several provinces; and "the pall was the ensign of their office. This was too lightly given way to by kings, and proved in its consequences one of the deepest

* Whitaker's Comment. p. 408.
x 2

"arts,

"arts, by which the policy of the Court of Rome "supported its power. For thus all the greatest. "prelates, who might have affected an indepen"dence on that see, had another object of am"bition set up, namely, an independence on "their own sovereigns, and an imparted share of "the papal dominion over all temporal powers"And again: "Henry the first did not enough, "consider, how much the design of detaching the, clergy from any dependence upon their own sovereign, and from all ties to their country, was promoted by forcing them to a life of celibacy but concurred with the see of Rome, " and with Anselm its minister, in imposing that "yoke upon the English church, which till then "had always refused it-He was also prevailed

upon to suffer a legate a latere, the Cardinal "of Crema, to preside in a council held at Lon"don upon this and other matters, in derogation

to the metropolitan rights of the archbishop "of Canterbury; thereby confirming that dangerous and degrading subjection to the Bishop of Rome, which his father had brought upon "the church of England *"-There was yet another step, by which the second ecclesiastical kingdom of the papal empire was both completed, and kept in subjection. Well knowing the truth of the maxim Divide and rule, the artful pontiffs dexterously contrived to play off the one kingdom against

* Hist. of Henry II. cited by Whitaker. p. 410, 411.

the

the other, to govern the secular clergy by the instrumentality of the regular. "Whenever any bishop,” says Puffendorff, "attempted any thing

against the Pope's authority, the mendicant friars "with their clamour and noise pursued him every "where like so many hounds, and rendered him "odious to the common people, amongst whom

they were in great veneration through their out"ward appearance of holiness; and from thence it came to pass, that the bishops, who opposed "the Pope's authority, never could make a great party among the common people. Besides this, "the friars always kept a watchful eye over the "actions of the bishops, giving continual advices "concerning them to their generals residing at

Rome, whereby the Popes were enabled to oppose timely any design intended against their authority. And these friars proved the main obstacle, why the bishops could not so effectually oppose the Pope's authority which he assumed over them; so that, being destitute of means to help themselves, they were forced to follow the "current

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The regular and secular clergy then, under their respective generals and bishops, are the two horns or ecclesiastical kingdoms of the papal catholic empire. These horns appeared to the prophet to be of a different form from those of the first or tem→ poral beast: they resembled the horns of a lamb.

Hist. of Henry II. cited by Whitaker. p. 416.

Now, when we recollect that the second beast is styled a false prophet, we can scarcely doubt but that the symbol was so constructed in allusion to his spiritual character. Accordingly, the two ecclesiastical horns claimed to be the only servants of the lamb of God, and affected to be like him in meekness and humility. Solemnly devoting themselves to a life of celibacy, and ever engaged in a round of religious ceremonies, they appeared to the deluded populace to be saints indeed, far removed from all the cares and vanities of this transitory world. And, in order that this impression might not be too soon worn off, new saints were at seasonable intervals added to the calendar; and their names enrolled along with those of the real servants of the Lamb, the holy Apostles of the primitive Church. Even the sovereign pontiff himself, who had a look more stout than his fellows, delighted nevertheless to style himself, with sanctified hypocrisy, the servant of the servants of God.

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3. But,

* We may, if we please, suppose the cardinals to constitute the body of the second beast; and we shall then have the whole Romish Hierarchy completely pourtrayed. "Prælati Romanenses in Universitate Pragensi congregati, contra Johan66 nem Hussum et alios affirmant (in quarto suo decreto seu "articulo), quod collegium cardinalium Romæ sunt corpus "Ecclesia. Cui respondet Johannes Hussus, Christum esse "caput Ecclesiæ, omnesque fideles Christianos corpus esse Ecclesia "Christi. Cui replicant Prælati processu longo et tædii pleno, "ostendentes, quomodo Papa sit caput, et quomodo cardinalium

" collegium