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renounce and forsake all foreign jurisdictions,

powers, superiorities, and authorities, and do pro"mise that from henceforth, I shall bear faith and true allegiance to the Queen's highness, her heirs " and lawful successors, and, to my power, shall "assist and defend all jurisdictions, privileges, pre"eminences and authorities granted or belonging to "the Queen's highness, her heirs and successors, or "united and annexed to the imperial crown of this "realm. So help me God, &c."

By the Queen's being the only supreme governor of this realm, as well in all spiritual or ecclesiastical things or causes as well as temporal, might very fairly be meant only such a directive, coercive, political power in all ecclesiastical causes, as has been before asserted. And if the prelates of that time had rightly considered it, with all the other declarations that had been made upon this subject, they might have easily seen, that no more was intended than this.

Indeed, there was reason to believe they were satisfied that no more was intended, because many of them had taken an oath of the like nature, full as strong as this, in the time of King Henry the Eighth, required by 25 Henry VIII. chap. i. by which they renounced all the Pope's jurisdiction here, and swore to acknowledge the King as supreme head on earth of the church of England; and to maintain and defend all the acts or statutes made, or to be made, in confirmation and corroboration of his majesty's power and supremacy on earth of the

church of England; so that they could not well have any real scruples now about this oath to Queen Elizabeth.

But whether they had any such scruple or not, as they had no real cause for refusing the oath, which was designed for a just security to the government, they might, with reason, be supposed to be persons disaffected to it, and might, therefore, be justly deprived of the ecclesiastical benefits and dignities they possessed.

But the Romanists object farther, that this deprivation of the bishops, in the first year of Queen Elizabeth, was unjust in another respect, viz. because it was effected by the lay power only, which has no right to eject bishops out of their sees. As they are consecrated to them by a spiritual authority derived from Christ, nothing less than the like authority can take away the right which they have to them, or dissolve the spiritual obligations, which the people committed to their charge are under to obey them. The act of the temporal legislature, therefore, by which only they were deprived of their bishopricks, was a sacrilegious violation of the rights of the church; and consequently their successors were schismatical and unjust intruders into those sees; and, consequently, the succession of our present bishops, derived from them, is unjust, irregular, and schismatical.

In answer to this objection, we affirm, that, whenever any bishops are really disaffected to the civil state, or otherwise notoriously unworthy of their

sacred charge, and their fellow bishops will not censure and deprive them, they may then be justly and effectually censured or deprived of their sees by the civil power alone.

This authority to censure and deprive the bishops and clergy, when there is just occasion for it, belongs to the civil sovereigns of every state, on account of their being trustees and guardians of the public welfare, to the maintenance of which this authority is necessary. For, if the civil sovereign had it not, the clergy might, in some cases, be not only corrupt and heretical to a great degree themselves, and so the people might be infected by their example and instruction, but they might have so great an influence upon the people, as might affect or endanger the subversion of the civil government. They might raise or foment such notions or prejudices among them, as might, either directly or indirectly, make them disaffected to the government, and as disposed as they might be able to raise successful seditions and rebellions against it. If you think this not to be practicable, do but consider what has been actually done in divers instances.

First, the authority of the Greek emperors in Rome, and a great part of Italy, was in a very short time almost wholly subverted by the artful management of the bishops and clergy of Rome, and their influence upon the people, in the dispute concerning image worship. The Emperor Leo Isau

having thought fit to interpose to prevent the ship of images, which was grown excessive and

highly scandalous to the Christian religion, the people of Italy, who were much inclined to that worship, were so artfully applied to by the Pope of Rome, and their zeal for the images, and against the profaneness of the emperor, as it was represented, was so much inflamed, that they very soon raised a sedition against his authority, pulled down his images, denied his tributes, and, in a little time, by the help of the Franks, entirely threw off all subjection to him.

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How far the superstition of the people, and their attachment to the clergy may go, and consequently how able the clergy may be to distress the civil vernment, we have another remarkable instance in the case of Robert, King of France, the son of Hugh Capet. This prince was of a good moral character; he, by the advice of an assembly of the bishops of France, espoused Bertha; who being sa parente au quatrième degré, the canon law did not allow him to marry her without a dispensation from the Pope. Pope Gregory the Fifth being incensed because he made no application to him for that purpose, threatened to excommunicate the king and Bertha, if he did not separate from her, and actually put the whole kingdom of France under an interdict, A. D. 1003. "A quoi les peuples déférèrent "si humblement (says Mezeray, Abr. vol. i. p. 313. "See also Droit Eccl. Franc. tom. i. p. 219.) que "tous les domestiques du Roi, à la réserve de deux'

ou trois, l'abandonnèrent, et on jettoit aux chiens "tout ce qu'on desservoit de devant lui, personne

ne voulant manger de viandes qu'il avoit touchées. "Ces rigueurs le contraignèrent de se séparer "d'avec elle. Mais ce ne fut que deux ou trois ans

après. Et on trouve qu'ils firent le voyage de "Rome, soit pour y défendre leur cause devant le Pape, soit pour lui demander pardon. Tant y a que le mariage demeura nul." It is evident, that, if there had been other fit circumstances, the superstition of the people might have been easily wrought upon to dethrone this prince.

In Germany, about the year 1076, the emperor Henry IV. was excommunicated by Pope Gregory VII. upon the quarrel between them, concerning the right of giving investitures to bishops. "Pon"tifex Augustum diris devovit, populum sacra"menti et obsequii vinculo solvit. Ejusmodi ful"minis pontificii eâ tempestate tanta vis fuit, ut et

apud plerosque omnes (says Puffendorf, Introd. "Hist. of Europe, p. 423.) Imperatoria majestas

evilesceret, et ipse Augustus in summas calami"tates et ærumnas conjiceretur. Indicto A. D. "1076, omnium pene principum conventu Treberæ, "imperium Henrico abrogatur. Sententia tamen

postea mitigata est, ut ad arbitrium pontificis tota

causa referatur. Inter hæc Henricus paucis co"mitibus, adultâ jam hieme, in Italiam profectus, "Canusii ad portam sub dio, vulgari et laneo habitu nudisque pedibus per triduum substitit, veniam "supplex a pontifice petens." And even after this base submission, the Pope did not cease to excite so great troubles and rebellions against him, that in the