"and in the love of God, above all things, and "of our neighbour as ourselves, for God's fake; "that the more we advance in this, and in this only, the more perfect we are; and that all these "exterior practices of abftaining from fenfual pleasures, and inflicting bodily pains, are only to "be confidered and used as means and helps for acquiring this purity of heart, to which they are certainly moft conducive; by leffening our "inordinate love and attachment to creatures; 86 by withdrawing the feuel from our concupif"cence; by curbing our paffions, and by restraining and diminishing the ardour of our inordi"nate defires." What a different idea does this give us of these things, from what our charitable author would make us believe! how confonant to reafon and experiance! But the Catholick does not stop here; he defires me to obferve further: "That this their real belief in these matters is fo far from being against the scripture, or owing to any forced interpretation of the "facred oracles, that nothing is more clearly "contained in them, than the neceffity of mor 66 tifying the corruption of our flesh, by volun"tary aufterity, and the many and great advan tages that accrue to us from fo doing. 66 66 <6 Our bleffed Saviour, Matth. ix. 15. exprefsly fore"tells us, that, after his afcenfion, his followers fhould practise fasting; and, Matth. vi. gives rules how to do it fo as to please Almighty God, and obtain a reward for fo doing from him. In confequence of this, we "find the apoftles and first Christians practising "it on feveral occafions, as related Acts xiii. 8. 2 Cor. vi. 5. and xi. 27. Anna the prophetess is "praised for ferving God in fastings and pray 66 ers. Luke ii. 37. And Chrift himself affures us, that fome affaults of fatan are of fuch a nature as not to be overcome but by prayer and fafting, Matth. xvii 21. Mark ix. 29. Again, "does not Jefus Chrift abfolutely require it as 66 66 a condition of being his difciple, that we prac"tife self-denial and mortification, and affure us, "that Except we deny ourselves and take up our 66 crofs daily and follow him we are not worthy of "him? See Matth. xvi. 24. and Luke ix. 23. compared with Matth. x. 37. 38. and Luke "xiv. 33. Does not St Paul declare to us the neceffity of the fame in the most express terms, "when he tells us; If you live after the flesh ye fhall die; but if by the Spirit ye mortify the deeds of the body ye fhall live, Rom. viii. And again, "when he gives it as a fign of our belonging to "Christ, if we not fimply mortify the flesh but crucify it; and that not its vices alone but its very lufts and affections alfo. They that are Chrifts (fays he) have crucified the flesh with the affections and lufts, Gal. v. 24? And, that we may be at no lofs to understand the force of "these texts, does he not confirm them by his own example and practice, which, he affures us, was to keep under his body and bring it into fubjection? And obferve his reafon: leaft that by any means, (fays he), when I have preached to o"thers, I myself fhould be a caftaway, 1 Cor. ix. 27. "St Paul, the vessel of election, who was not be"hind the chiefeft of the apostles, who laboured 66 66 66 more abundantly than they all, is yet afraid of "himself, and afraid leaft he fhould become a caftaway; and, to prevent this, judged it ne"ceffary, by felf-denials and mortifications, to "keep under his body, and bring it into fubjection; 66 " and fhall any one that calls himself a Christian, "dare to fay St Paul was guilty of fuperftition in "fo doing, and of extravagancies the most marvellous, the most frantic? and yet, fuch must be his "condemnation, if our author's reafoning ftand good! What fhall I fay of the many advantages which the fcripture affures us are to be "obtained by voluntary afflictions, and affures "us of this in the most convincing manner, by "pointing out to us the examples of thofe, who 86 66 By by fo doing have actually obtained them? Mo❝fes and Elias were prepared by fevere fafting "to be admitted to the Divine-prefence, and to enjoy the converfation of God himself. fafting and abftinence, and voluntary afflic"tions, the prayers of Daniel were heard, and an angel fent from heaven to tell him all he de"fired to know, Dan. ix. and x.; who alfo ex 66 66 prefsly affured him, that his very chastening "himfelf before God was the cause why his prayer was heard, and he (the angel) fent to ❝him, Dan. x, 12. By humiliations and faftings, and other voluntary aufterities, fack cloth, and lying on the ground, the impious "Ahab appeased the wrath of God, and pre"vented the severe punishments he had been "threatened with, 1 Kings xxi. By the fame 66 means, the Ninivites averted the anger of "God enkindled by their fins, and faved them"felves from utter deftruction. And, fhall we 66 fay, after all these plain, evident and convin"cing teftimonies of God himself in his holy "word, that to practise these things is fuper"ftition, and a difhonour to the name of religion? "and that they who practise them, and recom"mend them as ufeful means of obtaining a ડ bleffing from God, and of purifying their "hearts from finful attachments, are guilty in "fo doing of frantic extravagancies, and mifinterpreting the fcripture? let reafon judge and de "termine. Seeing, therefore, that these voluntary felf-denials and aufterities are, by the ex"prefs and repeated declarations of holy writ, "fo powerful helps, both to purify our own "hearts, and gain admittance in prayer to the Divine-prefence, and of courfe to increase our love to him; and alfo, to appease the wrath of "God provoked by fin, and turn away the ef "fects of his vengeance from us; can we, with any fhadow of reafon, blame or condemn, yea, have we not rather the utmost reason to praise and admire thofe generous fervent fouls, "who cheerfully renounce all the most endearing enjoyments of nature, and embrace a state "of life whofe very effence confifts in the con"tinual practice of thefe aufterities; and who "do fo, on purpose, that, by this means, they may δε 86 more and more purify their own fouls, and "offer up a continual facrifice of themselves to "God, with fervent prayers to him, in order to "appease his wrath for the fins of the world, " and, through the merits of their dear Redeemer, (through whom alone all these their endeavours are acceptable to God), avert the judge"ments these fins deferve, and obtain a bleffing " in their ftead? The word of God affures us, "that the fervent prayer of a righteous man avail"eth much, James v. 16.; and How often have "the prayers of a fingle perfon, of a Mofes, of an Elias, obtained favours from heaven for a "whole nation? what then may we not expect, D σε when numbers of holy fouls, favourites of heaven, and friends of God, are daily pouring out their most fervent prayers for the happiness and profperity of their people? But your author tells me, thefe religious people "are idle ufelefs members of fociety, and public nui16 fances. What an unpardonable ignorance does "this affertion difcover! Pray, confider a mo6 ment. Is it poffible, that the civil powers in "all Catholick countries fhould not perceive fo "interesting an evil to the state, if it really be fo? and can common fenfe imagine, that they would ever be allowed fo much as an existence by those civil powers, much less be encouraged "and protected by them, if they were found to be public nuifances? When any of them are "but fufpected of being of any prejudice to the "ftate, we fee how rigorously they are dealt "with, fo as even to be utterly extirpated; as "has of late been the cafe with the Jefuits in no "lefs than three Catholick kingdoms: no fear "of their intereft with the people; no refpect "for their character as religious or priests;, no "dread of church-cenfures, could reftrain the "civil powers from exerting their authority upon them; although perhaps it is yet a problem "whether they had really been guilty of any "thing that could in justice deserve such treat66 ment, Now, is it confiftent with common "fenfe to fuppofe, that all the others would not "meet with the fame fate, if they were idle ufe 66 lefs members of fociety, and public nuifances? But "what an infult does the author offer to the common fenfe of mankind, by fuch an affer"tion? Is it not a common fubject of converfation, among fuch as know any thing about |