their Duty. By this means it would be in the Power of the vileft Favourites and Inftruments in Iniquity, to fell the best Preferments in the Church to the best Bidder; though he had no other Kind of Merit, but that of giving a valuable Confideration. This must neceffarily tend to make Religion appear to the undifcerning, the illiterate, and injudicious, which are much the greater Part of Mankind, to be not only an empty Name, but a Cheat and Impofition upon Mankind, when they fee it so prostituted to the vileft Purposes of Lewdness, Ambition, and Covetoufnefs.

There is one Difficulty yet behind: It may fo happen that a well-difpofed Prince, of a most gracious Difpofition, and upright Intention, may yet be betrayed through an exceffive Easiness and Credulity, into an improper and unhappy Choice of Ministers, both in Church and State. A Prince that is refolved to fee with his own Eyes, and hear with his own Ears, cannot easily be deceived in the Choice of proper Persons to fill the highest Stations in both. But if, through Diffidence or Indolence, he delegates his whole Authority to a favourite Minifter, and resigns himself abfolutely to his Direction, he thereby makes him not only his Premier in Temporals, but his Vicegerent in Spirituals, with Confequences no lefs dangerous to his own Royal Perfon and Authority, than to the Intereft and Security of Church and State. In a Nation divided into Factions and Parties, which is too often the Cafe of all Nations, more or less, there will be perpetual Struggles for Power and Establishment; and out of whichever Party the Minifter is chofen, he will naturally conL 3 fider

fider himself as the Head and Representative of that Party, whom he must support and strengthen, that they may be able to fupport him; which can only be done by Power, and keeping up a good Majority in both Houses of Parliament. And as the Bishops are known to have great Weight in the Upper Houfe, it is natural for him to prefer none but fuch as give him full Security for their intire Attachment to his Perfon and Intereft. If, in full Confidence of his Integrity, upright Intentions, and public Spirit, he should determine to prefer none but Men of diftinguished Learning, Piety, and Courage, he need never be at a lofs to find out proper Perfons fo qualified: But if he want a Set of Thoroughers (as Sir Humphrey Polefworth, of immortal Memory, used to call them), fuch are always to be found in the Purlieus of a Court, waiting for Vacancies, and ready to accept them upon the Terms of their Patron. The Confequence of this muft quickly be, a Contempt of public Spirit and political Virtue, of good Learning, found Morals, and true Religion, as Things of no Ufe or Confideration towards procuring Preferment, which they see folely bestowed upon political Confiderations. The Principles of the Minister and his Party are digested into a Kind of political Creed; which is as abfolutely neceffary for obtaining Preferment, as the Articles of the Christian Faith are for obtaining Salvation. I remember I once faw the Form of fuch a Creed, drawn up in a late Reign, by a very merry Writer, to this Effect: I believe my Lord *** to be the best and wifeft Man in England, the King only excepted; that all be fays is true, and all he does is just and right;

and

and whoever thinks otherwife, is either a Knave or a Fool, an Enemy to his Country and his own Intereft, and deferves never to be admitted to any Office or Trust, Ecclefiaftical, Military, or Civil, from this Time forth for evermore. Amen. Very concife; but very comprehenfive; including every thing that is necessary to be believed by any Man that intends to rise by the Interest of a Party. I would not be thought to mean any particular Minifter or Party, Parties confidered as Parties are all alike: They differ only as a Black Bull may do from a White one in Size, and Strength, and Colour. The strongest is always in the Right, and the weakest always in the Wrong. The firft refolved, at all Adventures, to fupport itfelf; the other watching all Advantages to perplex their Counfels, to diftrefs their Administration, and fet their whole Conduct in the most odious Lights, in Hopes of procuring a Change, and getting the Reins into their own Hands. Upon the whole, we may venture to pronounce, that a wife and good Prince will never knowingly prefer an unworthy Man to any of those eminent Stations in the Church; and that a weak or irreligious Prince, or cunning Minister, will never but by Chance prefer a good one. A projecting Head, a voluble Tongue, and a fupple Confcience, will be a more fuccefsful Recommendation than the Knowledge of an Angel, the Piety of a Saint, or the Courage of ą Martyr.

The next great Lay-Patron is the Lord High Chancellor, who has a Right of presenting to every Benefice belonging to the Crown, under the Value of

L 4

201

201. per ann. in the King's Books. The Reafon of this is generally faid to be, that he had formerly several Clergymen constantly attending him in the Execution of his Office, who were a Sort of Affeffors or Affiftants upon fome particular Occafions, as particularly in Causes of a religious Nature; where, as Keeper of the King's Confcience, he was to determine, rather by the Laws of God and Revealed Religion, or Canon Law, (which, at that time, was esteemed a neceffary Branch of Learning for every Clergyman) rather than by the Forms of Civil or Common Law. On which Account, it has been generally thought, the Kings of England formerly ufed to prefer fome Bishop of eminent Sanctity and Learning to that high Office. These Clergymen always attended the Lord Chancellor, as thofe now do, who are called Clerks in Chancery, and who were not permitted to marry, till a Statute was made on Purpose to enable them, in the Reign of Henry VIII. And that the Lord Chancellor might be enabled to gratify these Clerks, he had the Privilege of beftowing those Benefices given him by the Crown. And a very great Privilege it is, as he prefents not only to several very valuable parochial Cures, but to several Dignities in Cathedral Churches, as Rochefter, Gloucefter, Bristol, &c. which Preferments, as they were intended to be the distinguishing Rewards of distinguished Merit, were certainly never lodged in better Hands than they are at prefent. If univerfal Knowledge, confummate Prudence and Experience, and unaffected Piety and Zeal for Religion, can give us any Security, we are morally certain that his Lordship can never prefer an ill Man, nor dif

countenance

countenance a good one. I have been credibly informed, that when the Lord Chancellor FINCH was firft promoted to the Seals, he used often to say, That the Patronage of Ecclefiaftical Preferments was the greatest Burden annexed to his Office; and that after many serious and pious Reflections upon it, he one Day addreffed himself to his Chaplain, Dr. Sharp, afterwards Lord Archbishop of York, (whom he loved and trufted as a Friend, and honoured as his Confeffor and spiritual Guide) to this Effect: The greatest Difficulty, I apprehend, in the Execution of my Office, is the Patronage of Ecclefiaftical Preferments. God is my Witness, that I would not knowingly prefer an unworthy Perfon; but as my Course of Life and Studies has lain another way, I cannot think myself fo good a Judge of the Merits of fuch Suitors as you are; I therefore charge it upon your Confcience, as you will anfwer it to Almighty God, that upon every fuch Occafion, you make the best Inquiry, and give me the best Advice you can, that I may never bestow any Favour upon an undeferving Man; which if you neglect to do, the Guilt will be intirely yours, and I shall deliver my own Soul.

The next great Patrons are the most Reverend the Archbishops and Bifhops. And methinks there is at firft Sight fuch an apparent Congruity betwixt Ecclefiaftical Jurifdiction and Patronage, that I am often tempted to wifh, they had more Intereft and Power in this respect, than at present they seem to have; that they had as much Power in the Government of the Church, as the Lords Commiffioners of the Admiralty, and the Commiffioners of Trade and Plantations have in their respective Provinces: Or, which is

yet