it to say, that soon above 100,000 deluded creatures believed and followed the impostor; upwards of 50,000 of whom perished in the field, the wretched victims of his ambition, and the dupes of their own credulity. The greater part of them fell-without either fighting, or attempting to run away; for Munster had assured them, that he would stop the balls in the foldings of his robe, or catch them; so that no one should be wounded."

"After the death of Munster who met with the fate which his crimes had amply merited, his sect-far from decreasing, continued to multiply, and counted an immense herd of adherents in every country where the seeds of the reformation had been sown. He had several successors, some of them as ambitious, and many of them as frantic as himself;-Rotman, Knipperdoling, Matthews, and John of Leyden-who from the honorable profession of a taylor aspired to the supreme dignity, and was in fact proclaimed by his fanatic party-the Universal Monarch of the Earth; and this religious ruffian-breathing nothing but inspiration, spread wide around him slaughter and devastation. Fortunately, however, for mankind, the dreadful pow er which these men possessed, and the more dreadful effects which it produced, were but transient. The states in which the sect was most numerous, alarmed for their own security, adopted measures to repress it; and these measures, in proportion to their rigor, were in general, effectual. The consequence wasthat, as they could no longer be seditious with impunity, they gradually became more moderate; and, chiefly by the influence of Menno, abandoned the idea of recurring any more to arms. Having, therefore, sunk to a state of indolence or inaction; and instead of contending with princes for their kingdoms, disputing with themselves about words, they soon began to fritter into distinct societies, which have very little resemblance with each other, except in the general appellation of Anabaptists. They are divided into Mennonites, Hutterians, Gabrielites, Moravians, &c. &c. among whom there prevails a degree of confusion, equal to that which reigned at Babel. Some deny the Trinity; some the distinction of persons; some maintain that all learning, particularly that of the languages, is derived from Satan; with other like absurdities. Such in a word is the multiplicity of their discordant opinions, that it is difficult if not impossible, to unravel their religious system."

"From the school of the Anabaptists came forth several new heresiarchs-George Delpht, who called himself the true Messiah, and was followed by great numbers of disciples in several parts of Holland-Henry surnamed House of Charity, who ranked himself above Moses and Jesus Christ-William Postel, who taught that himself had delivered men from eternal death, while his wife had done the same good turn in favor of the wo man kind,"

"About this period began to appear on the theatre of the reformation-the sect of the Socinians. Their doctrines are a compound of those of Ebion, Arius, Sabellius, Photinus, Abelard; and of several other heresiarchs. With a boldness, says our protestant historian, which christianity should not tolerate, and which is dangerous to civil governments, they began to corrupt and undermine all the truths of revelation. Servetus was the first founder of the sect: Gentilis gave it some celebrity; but Lælius Socinus the bosom friend of Calvin, diffused it; while Faustus the nephew of Lælius, organised it into system."

"To the aid of impiety in 1552 rose up also-the heresy of the Ubiquitarians, who in addition to many other errors maintained, that the body of Jesus Christ is every where personally present; and that all the properties of the Divine nature were infused into his human nature by the hypostatic union. Hence they taught, that the body of Christ is contained-in a glass of beer, in a sack of corn, in the rope with which the criminal is hanged. Their first apostle was John Westphalus, a minister of Hambourg, succeeded by Brentius, Wigard, Illyricus, Oseander, Schmidling and several others, the greatness of whose learning was exceeded, only by the greatness of their impiety."

"In Holland the reformation had hardly superseded catholicity when its tranquillity began to be disturbed by the new and formidable society of the Arminians. These, treading in the footsteps of the Socinians, or more properly real Socinians themselves not only entertain the most impious tenets respecting grace and predestination; (though not half so impious in fact, as those of either Luther or Calvin) they also teach that it is wrong to worship the Holy Ghost, and that the Trinity is merely an object of speculation, &c. Armed with these errors,—the Arminians formed a schism in the churches of the Low Countries, the suppression of which excited fresh seditions and disturbances throughout the nation. At length, however, the arm of persecution, aided by the synod of Dort, did re-establish peace, though nothing like unanimity."

"Among the reformed churches, frequent attempts were made to bring about a reconciliation: but such was the turbulence of their respective leaders, and such their ardor for error and innovation, that every attempt proved fruitless and abortive. Hulseman, Calovius, Danhauwer, with a crowd of other reformers and particularly those of Wittenburg, armed themselves with new violence to create divisions."

"In England," continues Hornius, " as in all other countries, the introduction of the reformation was the introduction of discord, disorder and division. The passions of Henry had altered many of the ancient doctrines of the church. Edward added fresh changes to those of Henry; and Elizabeth improved upon the innovations of the infant king. However, along with

all these changes, there was still permitted to subsist a multitude of popish ceremonies, and the tyrant anti-christian institution of episcopacy. All these in general, but particularly the latter, were extremely obnoxious to the followers of Calvin, who at this period were become very numerous, and very formidable to the nation-under the name of Puritans. The contest between these and the established sect forms a very striking epoch in the annals of English history."

"The Puritans early began to marshal themselves into various classes of Brownists, Separatists, Semi-separatists, Robinsonians, and the numerous sects of Independents: the number exceeds forty. In short, England was infected with the venom of every species of corrupted opinion. There was nothing sacred that was not reprobated as profane; nor hardly any thing profane which was not held up as sacred. Even the most ignorant, and the very dregs of the populace became preachers. They preached-(the case is precisely the same with the Methodists at present); and the mob was all credulity and attention. How well,-to use the words of the commentators of the English bible on the 25th verse of the 10th chapter of Genesis -how well does the name of Phaleg become our times? How well might we give this name-(it signifies division)—to every. child that comes into the world! How easy would it be to fill up our annals with this name; so deplorable are our divisions. Never since the creation of the world did there exist so many monstrous opinions, as there are at present in England."

"From the body of the Independents, as from the Trojan horse, there issued, as already has been noticed, more than forty different sects. Some of them rejected the scriptures; some taught that there was no longer any church of God whatever upon earth, these were called Waiters:-some maintained, that there was indeed a church, but that it was hidden; and these were called Seekers. The opinions of some of these sectaries are too horrible to be related. For my own part, I think as those do, who say that England is the great nursery of error, and the grand theatre where reigns the most dreadful licentiousness of believing, writing, and of teaching too, whatever passion or folly is pleased to dictate. The history of the heresies and schisms of other nations presents nothing to be compared with the scenes of horror, which it exhibits." Here, I think, Hornius shews some partiality, and would willingly have his readers overlook the equally impious and unaccountably absurd opinions of his fellow-countrymen, from whom this nation borrowed its unorthodoxy.

He goes on: "At periods also, still more recent than those to which I have alluded, Great Britain continued to hold out to the rest of Europe (now indeed somewhat recovered from its late insanity) nearly the same exemplifications of extravagance

and impiety with the above. You might often find in one family as many religions as there were individuals that composed it. The pretext and the apology for all this was-liberty of conscience, and the privilege of universal toleration. Nothing in reality is more flattering to vanity and self-love, than to be the arbiter of one's own belief."-HORNIUS.

Such is the description given by this enlightened protestant of the errors and confusion resulting from the reformation; and such the concluding reflections which he makes upon the principle from which they emanated. It is contained in the following words of Luther-Judge for yourselves: this is the sole rule of truth, and the sole rule of gospel liberty. What a prolific source of errors and impieties is here laid open to the human mind; and how easy is it by it to account for all the heresies and abuses, the disorders and the horrors of the reformation! "Surely," exclaims the author of the Sermons for the Sundays after Pentecost, from whom I have copied the above; "surelyif truth be divine and essentially one; and if the profession of truth, as undoubtedly it is, be essential to salvation; then should the path which conducts to it be more secure, and the means of attaining it, more easy. To permit all in matters of religionyea, to command all to follow their individual private judgement, -this appears to me worse than nonsense. It would, I think, be just equally wise to command the ignorant and unexperienced landsman-without sail or rudder, without helm or compass-to sail amid storms and darkness, to the pole ;-just equally wise to bid the populace be temperate and sober, and yet open pipes of wine, or oceans of liquor, to their intemperance !"

"Since the period when Hornius drew up his genealogy of the errors of the reformation, it is well known how much the frightful generation has increased. Error since that epoch has been daily begetting error, and fancy and fanaticism producing folly and superstition. Each parent sect has, with portentous fecundity, generated an offspring too numerous, in some instances, for industry to account-an offspring soon, like its parent heresy, producing another offspring, innumerable as itself, and equally positive of its own exclusive claim to orthodoxy. But why look for unity and order where individuals have all an equal share of liberty-where each one has the right to judge and decide, and none the power to control his decision? Admit only a similar system of civil liberty into politics, how soon would society exhibit a scene of anarchy and discord? But, the fact is, protestant governments understand much better the nature of civil liberty, and regulate much more wisely, its influences, than their churches fix the boundaries of their religious liberty." (Ibid. Serm.)

But enough of Lutheranism and the effects of Lutheran fanaticism. We have refuted its erroneous tenets respecting the hierarchy of the church, under the article AERIUS; respecting

wows and the celibacy of the priesthood, under that of VIGILANTIUS; its errors regarding the nature of the catholic church, under the article DONATISTS; those on transubstantiation, under the article BERENGARIUS; on laical communion in both kinds, under that of the HUSSITES, and the pope's supremacy, under the article GREEKS. We will examine in few words the catholic doctrine concerning indulgences, the sacraments, the sacrifice of the mass, the christian's rule of faith, and lastly, the infallibility of the church of Christ. Meanwhile we will just premise, that if the whole body of the church of Christ did err in faith, as Luther asserts it did, but as we shall prove by and bye, it neither did nor could, consistently with the promises of Christ and with our creed ;-Luther and his jarring fellow-gospellers too, were much more liable themselve to error, and consequently, -to follow their new-invented system of religion, much more unsafe.

Of Indulgences.

An indulgence, in the ecclesiastical acceptation of the term, means a remission of the temporal punishment due to sin after the Divine pardon has been obtained by the sacrament of penance-as to the eternal punishment which awaited it in the life to come. This is a distinction which we find exemplified in the person of King David, and of the Israelites who perished in the wilderness, in consequence of their infidelities, which God had pardoned upon their repentance and at the instance of his servant Moses, but still rigorously executed upon them his threat of a general exclusion from the Land of Promise, on account of the self-same prevarications, &c.

As our Blessed Redeemer imparted only to the pastors of the church the power of remitting sin, to them exclusively it appertains, to enjoin to sinners appropriate works of penitence or satisfaction-in proportion to their wants, or the grievousness of their crimes; and there may exist also, sufficient reasons for occasionally diminishing the severity, or limiting the duration of such penalties. Hence it becomes the duty of the sovereign pontiff and the other prelates of the church to accord indulgences. Of this we have a remarkable instance in the conduct of St Paul towards the incestuous Corinthian, c. 5, 1 Cor. and ii. Cor. c. 2, v. 10. The church through every succeeding age has continued to adopt in practice the condescendence of the apostle. This fact is too notorious to admit being called in question; and even protestants have approved it in the primitive church, while they affect to reprobate it in the church of Rome. They reason ill. For the very establishment of canonical injunctions, is an invincible argument against them-of the belief which the church had ever retained, that after the remission of the eternal guilt of sin, together with its eternal punishment, the sinner notwithstanding, is obliged to satisfy the Divine justice by