An Enquiry into an Origin of Honour; and the Usefulness of Christianity in War by Bernard Mandeville
page 82 of 173 (47%)
page 82 of 173 (47%)
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Catholick, who is firm in his Belief; is obliged to think, that
whatever Cost is bestow'd upon Canonizations, no Money could be laid out better. But if we mind, on the other Side, the strong Sollicitations of the great Men, that either are, or pretend to be the Relations of the venerable Person, whose Holiness they vouch for; the vast Pains that are taken, the Intrigues that are carried on for Years together, to procure this high Favour of the Sacred College; and when it is obtain'd, what an Honour it is to the whole Family; the Visits that are paid from all Parts to every Rich Man that belongs to it, and the Compliments that are made on Account of it; besides the Privileges they receive from it ever after; If, I say, we mind these Things on the other Side, we shall find, that in the Motives from which Men sue for this Honour, there is not a Grain of Religion to an Ounce of Pride, and that what seems to be a Solemnity to celebrate the Sanctity of the Dead, is in Reality a Stratagem of the Church to gratify the Ambition of the Living. The Church of _Rome_ has never made a Step without Regard to her Temporal Interest, and an After-Thought on her Successors, _Luther_ and _Calvin_, and some Others of the chief Adversaries of _Rome_, were Men of great Parts, that have gain'd themselves Immortal Names; but it must be confess'd, that they rais'd themselves altogether at the Expence of their Brethren. They gave up both the Patrimony and Dominion of the Church, and made Presents of them to the Secular Powers, that would espouse their respective Causes, and establish their Doctrines; by which, and the destroying of Purgatory, they not only stript the Clergy of their Wealth and Power for the present, but likewise took away the Means by which, one Day or other, it might have been possible for their Successors to retrieve them. It is well for the Protestant Cause, that the Multitude can't hear or know the Wishes, that are made in Secret by many of the Clergy, nor the hearty Ejaculations, which the Men of Spirit among |
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