540 Extracts of the dangerous Affertions of the Jefuits. extracted from their numerous and various writings, with a view to reprefent them as advocates for all the crimes, and even more than all the crimes, forbidden in the Decalogue. Give a cur an ill name, fays the proverb, and hang him. This, indeed, feems to be the cafe with the French Jefuits; who, notwithstanding they have been fo long eftablifhed in France, and entrufted with the education of the principal youth of the nation, are now discovered to be all, without exception, a parcel of traitors, conjurers, and infidels, who inculcate the principles of idolatry, blafphemy, facrilege, perjury, theft, and murder. What adds to the merit of this difcovery, alfo, is, that it is made from books which have been printed, fome of them, at least an hundred and fifty years. We hope none of our readers will here fo far mistake us, as to think we stand up in general as advocates for the Jefuits. Right glad are we to find the ftrongest pillar of the church of Antichrift fo effectually fhaken by thofe who fojourn under its own roof: but though, for the fake of community, we fhould be glad to have a notorious malefactor brought to juftice, we should be particularly defirous that he fhould be clearly found guilty of the crime for which he might fuffer. With regard to the extracts contained in thefe volumes, it is certain there are many very ftrange, unjustifiable, and even horrid propofitions among them; but we fhould not be furprifed that many well-meaning and even fenfible people fhould be fcandalized at the matters frequently contained in cafuiftical debates, or fcruples of conscience, even when the doctrine they are intended to illuftrate is unex→ ceptionable. In points of cafuiftry the fubject of fcruple is often too impious, indecent, or fcandalous in itfelf, to admit of investigation our reverend Fathers, however, do not appear to have poffeffed much delicacy in this refpect; preferring their talents for the exercife of logical fubtilties to every other confideration, There is one thing, however, remarkable in the conduct of the Jefuits, and which diftinguifaes them from all the other orders of the Romish clergy; this is, that the former have refolved their whole fyftem of morality into cafes of confcience; whereas the latter feem to think their penitents obliged as implicitly to obey their injunctions as if they had no confcience at all. It would be difficult alfo to determine which hath contributed moft to the corruption of mankind, the ftrange lengths which the Jefuits have carried the matter of cenícience, or the abominable proftitution of confeflions, pardons, and indulgencies. When the morality of any action is ultimately referred to the confciences. of men, it is highly necefiary that their confciences fhould be fufficiently enlightened to perceive the natural obligation or prohibition of it, as well as to judge of the good or evil confequences cf fuch action; without which, it is an abfolute abufe of words to call the will, or inclination, of a perfon to do or nich "Do whatever your confcience fuggefts to be right, and that you are commanded to do.-If, through any in incitit ce, you fhould even believe that God hath commanded you to he and blafpheme, lie and blafpheme." "Do nothing which your confcience tells you is afiladv forbidden. Neglect even the worfhip of God, if you concube he hath prohibited it." Now, what idea can we have of a comfcience fuggefting falfhood and blafphemy? Can fach fergel tions prevail in any mind, that is not misled by the nat plorable ignorance, or perverted by the most diabolica z In this cafe, the dictates of confcience may be mifte of folly or vice.-In another part of the work, hovinz. are fuppofed to be merely thofe of prudence. "Whosoever does that which he thinks hef bound to do, is conceived to act aright, may be forbidden by a pofitive law; berle to his confcience." The numerous paffages, felected in under eighteen heads; examples of i quote, for the fatisfaction and entert... One of the principal doctrine: in its time made no little rofa. is that of admitting the lep greater. Thus Ferdinand making choice of the w to take that which is the fufficient that we take t caufe there may happ most probable and m is founded on the the probability of the this by example my own; 1 belongs to ro were le e e to exam 2. kecure 542 Extracts of the dangerous Affertions of the Jefuits. it, if he fhould recover, and have leisure to do it more conveniently." This doctrine of probabilifme, as the French call it, gives, indeed, great latitude to feepticifm in moral conduct, and is therefore highly reprehenfible; efpecially in that it admits of a total contradiction between fpeculation and practice; with regard to religion, however, there feems to be fomething tolerating in it, for which, if it were in any measure confiftent with itfelf, we should think it not quite fo damnable a doctrine as fome have represented it. The fame fpirit of toleration, fo diametrically oppofite to the general doct ine of the church of Rome, appears to be inculcated alfo, under the article of the peccatum philofophicum: according to which, they admit that a pagan, ignorant of the chriftian religion or of the true God, is excufable in worshipping o..." For, fay they, "Whoever acts agreeably to the di ces of confcience, whether certainly right or invincibly wrong, cannot offend God: invincible ignorance, though even of the law of nature, fufficiently excufing those who act according to fuch ignorance." Again, to the fame purpose, under the article of Irreligion, we have the following quotation from Francis Suarez. "In the first place, with regard to infidels, who have never heard of the chriftian faith, their infidelity is negative and innocent; as far as we can judge from the common order of things. In the fecond place alio, with refpect to fuch as may have heard fomething of our faith, but without having had it fully propofed to them; thefe, if they remain in their infidelity, are in fome cafes excufable, and in others not. It is certain, that they are not guilty of a fin in difbelieving what is not fufficiently laid open to their judgment; for the divine precepts are conformable to reafon, and oblige us to act in all cafes prudentially. Now to believe what is not fufficiently explained to us, is not the effect of prudence for whofoever is credulous or ready of belief, is of a light mind, and may be cafily deceived. But though such a perfon is not bound to believe immediately, he may be under fome obligation to procure, if poffible, a more perfect knowledge of the doctrines propofed to him; and to examine whether he ought to believe or not. On the fuppofition that he takes all the means in his power to procure this inftruction, without being able to effect it, his infidelity is ftill negative, and not criminal. In regard to the contrary fentiment, founded on the axiom, Facienti quod in fe eft, Deus non denegat gratiam, we may reply to it, by denying the confequence, although fuch infidel Could not take all the means in his power. Even in this cafe, wwever, he would not be guilty of a religious crime, or the 3 breach breach of a law of faith, but only of a breach of fome precept in the law of nature; becaufe, being under an invincible ignorance of the former, and as ignorant, that the neglect he is guilty of prevents his being enlightened by God, there is no wilful crime in his infidelity." The Jefuits, indeed, carry their latitudinarian principles fo far as to admit of a prieft's confeffing and abfolving an heretic, and even of abfolving him without confeffion. "There was a certain merchant," fays Gobat," who, being given over by the - physicians, fent for a Lutheran minifter: his fervants, however, brought a catholic one, who, on his arrival, commended fome good qualities in Luther, (for even the Devil himself hath fome good qualities) and thus got into the fick man's favour, inftructed him in the Romish religion, heard his confeffion, and gave him the faciament. The poor merchant imagined himfelf confeffing to a Lutheran, (for auricular confeffion, though treated by Luther with contempt, is ftill in ufe in many places among his followers) he was neverthelefs only a Lutheran materialiter; fo that his deception concerning the perfon of that confeffor, did not invalidate his confeffion.' To the fame purpofe, Trachala relates that Drufus, an heretic, but otherwise a man of good morals, and who appeared or e to be mistaken materialiter, fell fick, and lay at the part of death. His curate vifited him, and put to him the following queftions: Is it not because you look upon the Lutheran re gion to be true, that you remain attached to that Would not you forfake it immediately, if you were per at were falfe? Are not you forry for having offended 22 will you not confefs your fins to him who can h Would you not confefs them to me, if you thought n fo to do?- -Drufus anfwered every one of theis mus the affirmative; the curate conditionally prozantse lution*." The Jefuits have, befide their material falvo for the neceflary means of fath between the materia neceffaria e neceffaria neceffitate præcepti. Trachala, in comprehending t and of the Incarnation: for i Trachala hath put the ce of the catholics and heretics; whim lution." Sigiberto moribund utique illum ad fe attrabunt. menti non fcio me rei ivere: nefcio, tu fcis. Esto propitiu Trekka abfolutio? Refp. Affirmat 544 Extracts of the dangerous Affirtions of the Jefuits. with the terms, but it is neceffary to form fome idea in the mind applicable to them; and of this ignorant perfons and children feem abfolutely incapable. How then is a confeffor to behave with fuch penitents? Leffius refolves the question, by faying, that an explicit and distinct faith not being neceffary neceffitate med, fed folius præcepti, fuch perfons as may be ig norant of these articles may be abfolved, on condition of ther 'promifing to inform themfclves about them hereafter.' For my part," continues Trachala, "I antwer, with many others, that a perfon of this kind, who hath complied with every other requifite to confeffion, or who may fo comply, ought to be abfolved without hefitation; it being fufficient for fuch ignorant penitents, that they believe, in a confufed and implicit manner, the three perfons in the Trinity, and the mystery of the Incarnation, to be entitled to abfolution. And the reafon is, th the explicit faith in these myfteries, required by the New T tament, is only neceflary neceffitate medii, in regard to adults and perfons of proper capacity. But fuch penitents as we are speaking of, are not proper to conceive thefe myfteries, on account ti the weakness of their understanding. This kind of explict faith, therefore, is not neceffary for them." It is no wonder that fo prudential and politic a body, whi'e publicly teaching their brethren to make fuch important conce fions in Europe, fhould impower their milionaries to indulgi their pagan converts with as great a latitude in their ancient icolatries. Thefe Fathers, however, have been very frequently condemned, by the Sovereign Pontiff, for their lenity in this re fpect, towards the idolaters of China and Malabar. Next to the extracts relative to thefe fubjes, we come to the article of lewdness and obscenity; the cafuiftical difcuffions of these pious Fathers being here very prudently inferted in Latin, without any tranflation by the Editor. It had been well alto it the fame caution had been obferved with regard to moft of the paffages arranged under the articles, Perjury, Prevarication, Theft, fecret Indemnification, and Homicide: on all which fubjects are started a number of queftions, which are very improper objects of difcuffion except among the grave and learned, whose underftanding may be able to fee through the fallacy of sophistical reafoning, and whofe paffions are not to be excited by mere reprefentations of legality. Cafuiftical propofitions and arguments are by no means proper to be fubmitted to popular animadverfion; and indeed it would probably be much better for the Learned themfelves, if this kind of exercife were difused; the heart being feldom, if ever, improved by the extraordinary fubtilty of the head. To rack the imagination for cafes that, in all probability, will never happen; to place men in circumftances 4 |