of the sixteenth century, on which we are treating. A set of self-interpreting bible-readers, after following an old woman, the late Johanna Southcot, as a prophetess, have taken it into their heads to adopt the ceremonial of the old law, circumcision, and, in some instances, of long beards, to appear like the patriarchs of old. In performing the rite of circumcision on a child of 14 days old, however, from the unskilfulness of the high priest, death ensued; the priest has been found guilty of manslaughter, and committed to Lancaster gaol. Being in a Protestant country, we do not hear of any outcry against the proceeding, but we have not a doubt, had the affair taken place in Spain, and the circumciser been put into the inquisition, that the "few plain Christians" ! would have made him a confessor of the faith in their next edition of this Book of Martyrs.

From the statement given by Fox, the reader is induced to believe that every thing was perfectly quiet and regular on the part of the reformers, until Charles declared war against them. We wish the reader not only to examine dates, but to be made acquainted with some of the diabolical doctrines propagated by these pretended reformers of 'religion, the dear and beloved friends of the "few plain Christians," who have united to "diffuse among their fellow-believers a knowledge " and love of the genuine principles of Christianity." Well, then, reader, among other notions imbibed by these scripture-readers, it was held by them, that all those who were not re-baptized MUST BE IMMEDIATELY SLAIN! A very moderate mode of propagating the truth, and by no means partaking of the spirit of persecution. They also believed all books but the Bible useless, and accordingly they burned all they could meet with, to shew their great love for learning and the sciences. The Fanatic Martyrology tells us that John of Leyden declared," that, a man should not be tied to one wife, but might marry as many as he pleased. Some scrupling to approve of this doctrine, "he summoned them to appear before the twelve governors, where "he swore upon the evangelists, that this doctrine had been revealed to "him from Heaven, and to testify the evidence of the spirit, he com"manded some of the opposers to be beheaded. Immediately his "preachers confirmed this doctrine; but the greatest confirmation "was the prophet's practice, who presently married three wives, and never gave over till he had made them up fifteen. Many followed "his example, and it was looked upon as honourable to have many "wives, nay so eager were those holy brothers, that as soon as the "revelation was made public, they all ran after the handsomest women, lying with them beforehand, without any matrimonial contract, for "fear of being disappointed."

Of the horrid freaks carried on by this mock king, and submitted to by the infatuated victims of delusion, the reader may form some idea from the last mentioned work" This upstart king, being originally taylor, soon converted the rich copes and vestments he had stolen "from the churches, into robes to adorn his vile person, and appeared glittering in gold and silver; and even his horses had all their fur"niture suitable, their saddles, hoosings,&c. being embroidered. The "taylor king rode abroad daily in much state, attended by his officers. "Next before him went two young men, the one carrying a bible

" and the other a sword. About his neck he wore a great chain, in "the nature of the collar of some order of knighthood, with this motto, rex justitiæ hujus mundi, the king of righteousness of this "world. He was followed by 50 persons well clad. Thrice a week " he gave public audience, and sat in judgment on an high throne. "Under him sat Knipperdoling, his governor of the city, and some"what lower his four great councellors of state. In this court he de"cided all controversies, which were principally about divorces; for "by the new erected scheme of libertinism, every man that was weary "of his wife, might put her away, and take another. The tyrant pre"tended king to shew his authority, being offended at one of his wives, brought her forth into the market-place, and struck off her head, causing all his other wives to dance about her, and give thanks to their "heavenly Father, after which he began to dance himself, and com"manded all the people to do the like.

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"Another time, when he was sitting on the throne, in great majesty, his prophet Thuscocure came to him and said, king John, the gospel was renewed by thee, thus said the Lord God. Go and say to "the king of Sion, that he prepare my supper in the church-yard of "the great church; and that he send forth preachers of my word unto "the four quarters of the world, to teach all nations the way of "righteousness, and to bring them, by the spirit of their mouths, unto my sheepfold.

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"Accordingly a public communion was celebrated being a full meal, a solemn feast, for the number of persons and plenty of meat the communicants, as they called them, being about 4000, and the com"munion three courses of meat; between the which courses there was "a bloody inter-mess, for John of Leyden, during the entertainment, "accused a man of treason, and cut off his head, and returning with “his hands reeking with the blood, took upon him to administer the "communion, assisted by his queen, performing the office of a deacon, " and the like was done by the principal officers of state."

The scenes here described demonstratively prove that the reforma tion so called was ushered in by very different means to those pursued by the apostles of Christ and their successors. The maxims laid down by by the latter and enforced by example carried conviction to the Jews and Gentiles, and softened the barbarian nations into civilized Christians. The notions, however, instilled by the reformers of the sixteenth century brutalized their followers and made them ignorant and cruel. The fruit of Catholicism was the raising of noble edifices to the worship of God, and public institutions for the support of the indigent and infirm; the fruit of Protestantism was the demolition of these sacred temples, and the confiscation of the patrimony of the poor. But even in the midst of these disorders, the arm of force was not raised until the power of persuasion was shewn to be unavailable, At the instigation of the pope, Leo X. and the princes of the empire, the emperor Charles assembled a diet at Worms in 1521, to discuss and deliberate on the most effectual means to put a stop to the disorders that troubled their states. Luther was summoned and attended, but eloquence and truth were lost on this ambitious and immoral man. He would not retract; an imperial edict was therefore passed, con

demning his books, and placing him under the ban of the empire.Luther thought fit to secure his safety by flight, and the emperor being called suddenly into Spain, the edict was not acted upon. In 1524 another diet met at Nuremburg, and two others at Spire in 1526 and 1529, but to no purpose. In the year 1530 the Lutheran doctors published a profession of faith in twenty-one articles, called the Confession of Augsburg, and in the year following the famous league of Smalkald was entered into, by which the confederate princes of the new confession bound themselves to support each other against the emperor, and protested against all compulsive measures he might think fit to adopt to bring them to a sense of duty. From this Smalkald protest, the reformers acquired the appellation of Protestants. Notwithstanding this warlike disposition on the part of the Protestants, Charles did not assume a similar attitude. He recommended plans of pacification, such as the calling of a general council, and a committee of divines on each side to compose a formulary of faith that should be agreeable to all parties. To this mode of proceeding there could be no objection, provided TRUTH was the object of each; but as the Catholics could make no change in the doctrines they had received from God; and as the Lutherans were not disposed to give up the indulgent system they had adopted, the recommendation was fruitless and nugatory,

As we have before shewn, when error has been carried to an extreme height, and the exertions of the provincial guardians of the faith have been ineffectual in suppressing it, recourse has usually been had to general councils, for preserving and pointing out the Truth. This conduct was pursued by the church against the Arians in 325; the Mace donians in 381; the Nestorians in 430; the Eutychians in 451, the Monothelites in 680; the Iconoclasts in 757; the Photians in 869; the Manicheans and Albigenses in 159; the Wickliffites, Hussites, &c. in 1414; and the Lutherans, in 1545. The motive of these councils is not to encourage or sanction persecution, but to remove the current of abuses, by adopting salutary measures of reform; and to silence error by a solemn declaration of the truths received from the apostles and handed down from the primitive ages to the period in which these sacred synods or ecclesiastical parliaments were held. Thus on the 13th day of December, in the year 1545, a considerable number of prelates and divines assembled from all parts of Christendom, in the cathedral of Trent, a free city of the Germanic empire, under the authority of a bull issued by pope Paul II Besides Italian, French, and Spanish bishops, there were some from Portugal, Greece, Poland, Germany, Hungary, Illyrica, Moravia, Croatia, Flanders, Ireland, and one from England. Thus it may be very justly said, the Catholic church was fairly represented from all parts of the world, and the deputed fathers could testify as to the belief held in their respective countries. The Irish bishops were Thomas O'Herlihy, bishop of Ross, in Munster, who died in 1597, Donat Mac-Congail, bishop of Raphoe, in Ulster, who died in 1589; and Eugene O'Hart, a Dominican bishop of Achonry, in Connaught, who died in 1603, at the age of one hundred years. The English prelate was Thomas Goldwell, bishop of St. Asaph's. Besides the prelates above, a hundred and fifty theologians, some of the ablest of all Catholic nations attended, and discussed every point in the conferences.

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For's Book of Martyfs,

CRITICAL AND HISTORICAL.

No. 24. Printed and Published by W. E. ANDREWS, 3, Chapter- Price 3d.
Burung oft die house-court, St. Pau
St. Paul's Churchyard, London.

There were also many superiors of religious orders, and a great number of eminent canonists. Of such men was this last general council composed; and a more learned body could not be assembled to deliberate on subjects which regarded the eternal happiness of mankind. The order in which the council was conducted we shall give in the Rev. Alban Butler's own words; it shews the sincere desire entertained by those who composed the synod to come at the truth, and their readiness to listen to every objection that might be started. In a word, free discussion was exercised by every one, and in this council, as in all others canonically called, arguments and facts were opposed to sophistry and error.

"Matters were discussed," writes Mr. Butler, "in particular congregations; and, lastly, defined in the sessions. After some debates, it was agreed that points of faith and matters of discipline should be 'jointly considered, and the condemnation of errors, and the decrees

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"for the reformation of manners carried on together; there being "abuses in practice relative to most points of doctrine. The doctrine "of faith is first explained in chapters, then the contrary errors are "anathematized, and the articles of faith defined in canons. This faith "is in no point new, but the same which the apostles delivered, and "which the church in all ages believed and taught. When F. Barnard "Lami, the Oratorian, had advanced that the chapters or exposition of "doctrine in this council are not of equal authority with the canons, "Bossuet, in a few words, charitably convinced him of his mistake, "which the other readily corrected and recalled, as archbishop Languet relates. The decrees for the reformation of manners, and eccle"siastical discipline, particularly in the clergy, follow the chapters and canons of doctrine in the several sessions. Points relating to the "holy scriptures, original sin, free-will, justification, the sacraments in general, and those of baptism and confirmation in particular, are ex"amined in the seven first sessions held under Paul III. On account " of an epidemical distemper at Trent, he had consented that the pre"lates might remove the council to Bologna; this was decreed in the eighth session, and the ninth and tenth were held at Bologna, but no "business done; the emperor and some of the prelates being displeased at the translation, so that the pope suspended the council on the "fifteenth of September, and died November the tenth, 1549. His legates a latere in the council were cardinal Del Monte, bishop of "Palestrino, cardinal Marcellus Cervinus, and cardinal Reginald Pole. The first of these was chosen pope, after the death of Paul III. took "the name of Julius III. and re-assembled the council of Trent in 1551. "His legates there were cardinal Marcellus Crescenti, legate a latere, " and Sebastian Pictini, archbishop of Manfredonia, and Aloysius Lippomannus, bishop of Verona. The eleventh and twelfth sessions were preparatory: in the thirteenth and fourteenth the eucharist, penance, and extreme-unction were explained: in the fifteenth the "Protestants were invited under a safe conduct; and in the sixteenth "the council was suspended on account of the wars in Germany. "Julius III. died March the twenty-third, 1555, and cardinal Marcellus "Cervinus, an excellent, courageous, and pious man, was chosen pope, "and took the name of Marcellus II. but died within twelve days. "Cardinal Caraffa was chosen pope, May the twenty-third, 1555, and "called Paul IV. The surrender of the empire by Charles V. "between France and Spain, and some difficulties which arose between "the emperor Ferdinand and Paul IV. protracted the suspension of

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the council, and this pope died the eighteenth of August, 1559. "Pius IV. who succeeded, obtained the concurrence of the emperor and "Catholic kings to restore the council, and published a bull for the "indiction of the same, November the twenty-fifth, 1560. At the "head of five papal legates at Trent was the cardinal of Mantua, Her"culus Conzaga, and after his death cardinal Morone. In the seven"teenth session, held on the eighteenth of January, 1562, the council was opened. In the following, the prohibition of books was treated "of, and letters of safe-conduct sent to the Protestants. In the twen"ty-first, the question about communion in both kinds; in the twentysecond, the holy mass; and, in the twenty-third and twenty-fourth,

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