man, the least unworthy of the Deity. It only remains to observe,
whether such sublime simplicity be consistent with popular devotion;
whether the vulgar, in the absence of all visible objects, will not
be inflamed by enthusiasm, or insensibly subside in languor and
indifference. II. The chain of authority was broken, which restrains
the bigot from thinking as he pleases, and the slave from speaking as he
thinks: the popes, fathers, and councils, were no longer the supreme
and infallible judges of the world; and each Christian was taught
to acknowledge no law but the Scriptures, no interpreter but his own
conscience. This freedom, however, was the consequence, rather than
the design, of the Reformation. The patriot reformers were ambitious of
succeeding the tyrants whom they had dethroned. They imposed with equal
rigor their creeds and confessions; they asserted the right of the
magistrate to punish heretics with death. The pious or personal
animosity of Calvin proscribed in Servetus [35] the guilt of his own
rebellion; [36] and the flames of Smithfield, in which he was afterwards
consumed, had been kindled for the Anabaptists by the zeal of Cranmer.
[37] The nature of the tiger wa s the same, but he was gradually
deprived of his teeth and fangs. A spiritual and temporal kingdom was
possessed by the Roman pontiff; the Protestant doctors were subjects
of an humble rank, without revenue or jurisdiction. His decrees were
consecrated by the antiquity of the Catholic church: their arguments
and disputes were submitted to the people; and their appeal to private
judgment was accepted beyond their wishes, by curiosity and enthusiasm.
Since the days of Luther and Calvin, a secret reformation has been
silently working in the bosom of the reformed churches; many weeds of
prejudice were eradicated; and the disciples of Erasmus [38] diffused
a spirit of freedom and moderation. The liberty of conscience has
been claimed as a common benefit, an inalienable right: [39] the free
governments of Holland [40] and England [41] introduced the practice of
toleration; and the narrow allowance of the laws has been enlarged by
the prudence and humanity of the times. In the exercise, the mind has
understood the limits of its powers, and the words and shadows that
might amuse the child can no longer satisfy his manly reason. The
volumes of controversy are overspread with cobwebs: the doctrine of a
Protestant church is far removed from the knowledge