Charles IX

two years, without fpilling any other Blood but that of its Profeffors, who were couragious ePope Pius IV. nough to defend the Truth at the peril of their own Life. We have feen to what degree of fury the Perfecution was carried against them, under Francis I, Henry II, and Francis II, in all the Provinces of the Kingdom, without their having ever thought of freeing themselves from that cruel Tyranny by any unlawful means till the Plot of Amboife, of which they have been charged, nay, which fome Jefuits have endeavoured to render our Religion anfwerable for. But, methinks, I have fufficiently cleared it of that calumnious imputation; fhewing forth, (1) That the Plot was not laid against the King or the Royal Family, but against the Ufurpers of the Government. (2) That the Catholicks, as well as the Reformed were engaged in that Plot, which is a convincing Proof that, Religion was not concerned in it. (3) That tho' the Reformed alone fhould have been concerned, nay, tho' it fhould be demonftrated that the Plot was laid against the King, the Reformed Religion could be no more charged with it, than the Gofpel's Doctrine can be charged with the Vices and Crimes which the Chriftians are addicted to.

It is evident that nothing, but the Patience, Conftancy, Godliness and Good Manners of the Reformed, oppofed to the Ignorance and Immo a lities of the Roman Clergy of thofe days, has occafioned the vaft Progrefs which the Reformation made in the Kingdom; and to be convinced thereof, one needs but to read the feveral Speeches of the Archbishop of Vienna, the Bishop of Valence, Lange, Britain and Chancellor L'Hofpital, which I have fet at large; purposely to the

end,

end, that every one may fee what were the Opi- Charles IX? nions of the best fort of People in thofe times.

1562.

Pope

If the Reformation had begun in France only Pius IV. under Francis II's Reign, its Progrefs could have been afcribed with more plaufible Reasons to the Ambition of the great Lords of the Kingdom, who, in order to maintain themselves, and to make themfelves to be feared, had embraced that Party. But when we fee the Reformation, began under Francis I, taking root, ftrengthning and fettling it felf under Henry II, notwithstanding the most violent oppofitions; when we fee under that Reign great Lords, nay Princes and Princeffes of the Blood adhering to that Doctrine, tho' they knew certainly that they cannot get any thing by it; that, on the contrary, they run the hazard of lofing their All in this World: one must acknowledge, that nothing but the prevailing power of Truth upon their Confcience could oblige them to do what they did.

But for all that I will not deny that there has been amongst the Reformed some rash, hot-headed People, whose blind Zeal carried them to Exceffes contrary to the Spirit of the Gofpel, and confequently of the Reformed Doctrine; there has been fome Images and Crofs-breakers; People, who being not able to do worse, to revenge themselves of the many Injuries and Evils they had undergone, vented their Anger by fatyrical and paffionate Libels againft the Doctrines of the Church of Rome, and its Minifters, nay, against the prefent Government. There has been fome who carrying their impatience too far, have ufurped the Temples and Monafteries belonging to the Roman Catholicks. But (1,) if Examples could juftify Actions bad in themfelves, the Reformed guilty of thofe Exceffes, fhould be fully juftified by our Adverfaries behaviour, how contemptibly

Charles IX temptibly and fcornfully have they used the Ho Pop ly Bible, before and after this time I am fpeakPaul IV. ing of? They have condemned that moft, facred

1562.

Book to be hang'd, to be burnt with thofe who profeffed to receive it as the only Rule of their Faith and Worship. What have they not done or faid, in order to difgrace our Holy Religion, by the moft opprobrious Titles and most odious Names? tho' its Doctrines, at least in the Points controverted between us and the Church of Rome, and which have occafioned cur feparation, are grounded upon the very Decifions of the Holy Ghoft. And laftly, who could be able to draw an exact Catalogue of all the Books which have been publifhed thefe three or four hundred years against the lawful Authority of Princes and Magiftrates, and for the arbitrary Power of the Popes?

But (2,) it is not by recriminating that I intend to answer. We acknowledge, that fome of the Reformed have exceeded the Rules, and we do condemn them; but we may fay, (1) That their Number has been very fmall, except in the times of the Civil Wars. (2) Thofe Breakers of Images, &c. thofe Makers of Libels, and others who committed fuch Outrages, have been always dif owned by the fober and moderate part; nay, they have been forbidden the Communion, and even excommunicated, and delivered to the Magiftrate, in order to be punished as they deferved; we might inftance this in many particulars, if it was requifite.

(3) As to their feizing upon Churches, (as that happened fcarce only in places where the Reformed made the greatest Number) we may fay in their behalf, that their Ancestors having

founded

founded and endowed thofe Churches by their Charles IX Liberality, they had as much right to the ufe 1562. of them as others, and that the greatest Num- Pius IV. Pope ber made that right fo much the better, but we ichufe to blame thofe Actions which were gene-rally condemned by all the Minifters, as we may evinte it by five or fix Letters of fo many of the moft eminent Divines in the Reformed Party. And the Submiffion and Obedience which the Reformed paid readily to the King's Edicts, by -which they were commanded to defift and reftore the Churches to their Owner, is, methinks, a full Satisfaction, fufficient to blot out the blame which fome of them had incurred,

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V. If thofe, who judge of things only by appearances, fay, that the Reformed would have been more prudent, had they been more modeft, because that show of their great Number was looked upon as an hectoring, by which they provoked their Enemies against them, and incited them to devife the moft violent methods for their Deftruction. I defire then to confider, -whether it was not natural for People, who had groaned under the moft fevere and cruel Oppreffion for almost forty Years together, to use freely the Liberty, which they thought to have -attained to at laft? Befides that, they had Reafons of Prudence which might oblige them to behave themselves as they did; they may think that their Enemies would have a greater regard for them, when they should come to be acquainted with their ftrength.

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However, the Catholick Church escaped narrowly in France; for if the Reformed ftood out the firft Civil War with fuch bravery, tho' the King of Navarr had forfook them, what would they not have done, had they waged the faid War under the Protection of the faid King,

Charles IX Lieutenant-General of the Kingdom, with whom 1562. certainly, the Queen-Mother would have fided? Pope Pius IV. There are several other Reflections on the Occurrences of the first year of this Reign, which, for brevity-fake, I refer to the next Book; I shall end this with an Obfervation which I have omitted to make in its proper place, viz. ·

That befides feveral Provincial Synods, the fecond National was held at Poitiers; on the tenth day of March 1561, N. S. Monfieur Le Bailleur being Moderator. They drew a Memorial to be prefented to the States-General, which were to meet at Pontoife; whereby they shewed forth to the King, the Queen-Mother and the Princes of the Blood, that it was not in their power to answer the Demands made by the King of Navarr at Orleans, till a Council for his Majefty fhould be fettled according to the Laws; becaufe otherwife there would be no Security for the execution of the King's Orders, nor of the Contracts made between his Majesty and his Subjects, nor even between the Subjects themselves; because the Powers of the Deputies to the States of Orleans, were expired by the late King's death. They required likewife, that the Lord High Chancellor fhould be fufpended from his Office, because he had not been nominated nor recommended by the General States, nor elected by their Highneffes the Princes of the Blood; but I don't fee that fuch a Memorial has ever been prefented.

Befides that, they made feveral Obfervations, Corrections and Additions, to their Difcipline; as for Example on the 24th Article, it was faid, that it belonged not to the Office of Elders and Deacons to catechife in publick, that their Office was not perpetual; that, nevertheless, neither of

them