ON MATTERS OP BELIEF. 77 



heaven and on earth # , that he can make wrong to be 

 right, that he is fuperior to all laws, that he can make 

 and unmake kings, and a multitude of the like propo- 

 litiones male fonantes ~f — that, I fay, thefe and fimilar 

 opinions, depend on our good pleafure to believe them 

 or not to believe, them, exactly as in the cafe of the 

 divinity of Diana. St. Paul would infallibly, from the 

 quite limple argument — cc a man fuch as we are, can, 

 no more than a wooden image, be a god or a demi- 

 god," — have concluded in favour of the unbelief. In 

 like manner, if I may fay fo, we abfolutely run our 

 nofes again ft the folution of the grand problem, which 

 is held by numbers to be as difficult as the difcovery 

 of the philofopher's ftone ; and I ihould run the hazard 

 of being accufed of an undue diftruft in the fagacity of 

 my reader, were I to add: that the biihop of Rome 

 would be neither more nor lefs than the foremoft 

 among the weftern bilhops, his brethren, whenever it 

 Ihould be found good, on this head, folely to adhere 

 to plain matters of facl, antient authorities, found rea- 

 fbn, and the nature of the cafe. 



And hence, probably, we fhould be great gainers 1 

 For thus might all the good, which, as we have al- 

 ready feen, might reafonably be expecled to accrue 

 from a fudden overthrow of the city of Rome, without 



* That in heaven we will readily grant him uncontefted, fo he 

 will but rtlinquiOi his fupreme authority over this poor earth-ball 

 which we inhabit j a facrifice, which, in companion with his au- 

 thority in heaven, that will (till remain to him, is fo very infignifi- 

 cant. that it is alrnoft a fhame to fpeak of it. 



f See the confeffion of P. Giannone. 



buying 



