THE

OF A

Church of England Man

With respect to

RELIGION and GOVERNMENT.

Written in the Year 1708.*

HOEVER hath examined the con

W duet and proceedings of both parties for fome years paft, whether in or out of power, cannot well conceive it poffible to go far towards the extremes of either, without offering fome violence to his integrity or understanding. A wife and good man may indeed be fometimes induced to comply with a

This appears to be an apology for the Tories, and a juftification of them against the misreprefentations of the Whigs, who were then in the ministry, and ufed every artifice to perpetuate their power. Mr. Harley, afterwards lord Oxford, had by the influence of the duke of Marlborough and lord-treasurer Godolphin, been lately removed from his poft of principal fecretary of state; and Mr. St. John, afterwards lord Bolingbroke, refigned his place of fecreta ry at war, and fr Simon Harcourt that of attorney. general.

Bat

number, whofe opinion he generally approves, though it be perhaps against his own. this liberty fhould be made ufe of upon very few occafions, and thofe of small importance, and then only with a view of bringing over his own fide another time to fomething of greater and more public moment. But to facrifice the innocency of a friend, the good of our country, or our own confcience, to the humour, or paffion, or intereft of a party, plainly fhews, that either our heads or our hearts are not as they fhould be; yet this very practice is the very fundamental law of each faction among us, as may be obvious to any, who will impartially and without engagement be at the pains to examine their actions, which however is not fo eafy a tafk: for it feems a principle in human nature, to incline one way more than another, even in matters where we are wholly unconcerned. And it is a common obfervation, that in reading a history of facts done a thoufand years ago, or ftanding by at play among thofe, who are perfect strangers to us, we are apt to find our hopes and wifhes engaged on a fudden in favour of one fide more than another. No wonder then that we are all fo ready to intereft ourselves in the courfe of public affairs, where the moft inconfiderable have fome real share, and, by the wonderful importance which every man is of to himself, a very great imaginary one.

And indeed, when the two parties, that divide the whole commonwealth, come once to a rupture, without any hopes left of form

ing

ng a third with better principles to balance the others, it seems every man's duty to chufe one of the two fides, though he cannot intirely approve of either; and all pretences to neutrality are juttly exploded by both, being too ftale and obvions, only intending the fafety and cafe of a few individuals, while the public is embroiled. This was the opimon and practice of the latter Cato, whom I efteem to have been the wifeft and beft of all the Romans. But, before things proceed to open violence, the trueft fervice a private man may hope to do his country, is by unbiaffing his mind as much as poffible, and then endeavouring to moderate between the rival powers, which must needs be owned a fair proceeding with the world, because it is of all others the least consistent with the common defign of making a fortune by the merit of an apinion.

I have gone as far as I am able in qualifying myself to be fuch a moderator: I believe I am no bigot in religion, and I am fure I am none in government. I converfe in full freedom with many confiderable men of both parties; and, if not in equal number, it is purely accidental and perfonal, as happening to be near the court, and to have made acquaintance there, more under one ministry than ano ther. Then, I am not under the neceffity of declaring myself by the profpect of an employ

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ment

One of the fextumviräte in Gulliver. Part III Chap. VII.

ment. And lastly, if all this be not fufficient, I induftriously conceal my name, which wholly exempts me from any hopes and fears in delivering my opinion.

In confequence of this free use of my reafon, I cannot poffibly think fo well or fo ill of either party, as they would endeavour to perfuade the world of each other, and of themfelves. For instance; I do not charge it upon the body of the whigs or the tories, that their feveral principles lead them to introduce prefbytery, and the religion of the church of Rome, or a commonwealth, and arbitrary power. For why fhould any party be accufed of a principle, which they folemnly difown and protest againft? But, to this they have a mutual answer ready: they both affire us, that their adverfaries are not to be believed; that they difown their principles out of fear, which are manifeft enough, when we examine their practices. To prove this they will produce inftances, on one fide, either of avowed prefbyterians, or perfons of libertine and atheistical tenets, and on the other of profeffed papifts, or fuch as are openly in the intereft of the abdicated family. Now it is very natural for all fubordinate fects and denominations in a state to fide with fome general party, and to chufe that, which they find to agree with themselves in fome general principle. Thus at the refloration the prefbyterians, anabaptifts, independents, and other fects, did all, with very good reafon, unite and folder up their feveral fchemes to

join against the church, who, without regard to their diftinctions, treated them all as equal adverfaries. Thus, our prefent diffenters do very naturally clofe in with the whigs, who profefs moderation, declare they abhor all thoughts of perfecution, and think it hard that thofe, who differ only in a few ceremonies and fpeculations, fhould be denied the privilege and profit of ferving their country in the higheft employments of ftate. Thus, the atheists, libertines, defpifers of religion and revelation in general, that is to fay, all those who usu ally pass under the name of Free-thinkers, do properly join with the fame body; because they likewife preach up moderation, and are not fo over-nice to distinguish between an unlimited liberty of confcience, and an unlimited freedom of opinion. Then, on the other fide, the profeffed firmnefs of the tories for epifcopacy, as an apoftolical institution: their averfion to thofe fects, who lie under the reproach of having once deftroyed their conftitution, and who, they imagine, by too indifcreet a zeal for reformation have defaced the primitive model of the church: next, their veneration for monarchical government in the common course of fucceffion, and their hatred to republican schemes: thefe, I fay, are principles which not only the nonjuring zealots profefs, but even papifts themfelves fall readily in with. And every extreme, here men tioned, flings a general scandal upon the whole body it pretends to adhere to.

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But