LIBERTY OP REASONING 



that he was as fallible a man as any other ; and that his 

 vicariate of Chriffc was no better founded than his fuc- 

 ceffion to the chair of St. Peter, who never faw Rome 

 in his life, or his fucceffion to the title and rights of a 

 pontifex maximus, which belonged to the caefars. And 

 ' juft fo it proved, from the nature of the cafe, with all 

 the reft of his authorities. The greater party ftramed 

 every nerve to draw the holy fathers, the great doctors 

 of the church, the traditions, the decrees of councils, 

 to their fide : but, whenever' they were in favour of the 

 opponents, their teftimony was evaded ; and, from their 

 authority, they appealed to a higher. Even the re- 

 peated appeals to a general council that was to be con- 

 voked, if it was any thing more than a fubterfuge to 

 which they were compelled by the prcflure of circum- 

 ftances, implied a confidence in the majority of voices 

 in fuch an affembly; which, with the reformers, 

 amounted to a conviction of the goodnefs of their 

 caufe : for, fuppofe the council mould decide againfl 

 them, — which that of Trent did not fail to do, — 

 what was left for them but to declare the whole affem- 

 bled hierarchy, in corpore, to be but men, who col- 

 lectively were no more infallible, and no lefs liable to- 

 error, than when taken lingly ? 



Accordingly, it was not long before they found it 

 neceilary to declare the holy fcripture to be the fole 

 decifive judge in matters of faith, and the only fount 

 from whence the tenets of chriftianity were to be drawn ; 

 and to allow all other authorities to be only fo far valid as 

 they perfectly agreed with that. How much or little ad- 

 vantage was thereby gained againd the church of Rome, 

 and what that church has, with plaufibility or with 



jufticG* 



