The heretical sects in this country are so numerous, that an explanatory dictionary of their names has been published. They form a curious list! Arminians, Socinians, Baxterians, Presbyterians, New Americans, Sabellians, Lutherans, Moravians, Swedenborgians, Athanasians, Episcopalians, Arians, Sabbatarians, Trinitarians, Unitarians, Millenarians, Necessarians, Sublapsarians, Supralapsarians, Antinomians, Hutchinsonians, Sandemonians, Muggletonians, Baptists, Anabaptists, P?dobaptists, Methodists, Papists, Universalists, Calvinists, 334Materialists, Destructionists, Brownists, Independants, Protestants, Hugonots, Nonjurors, Seceders, Hernhutters, Dunkers, Jumpers, Shakers, and Quakers, &c. &c. &c.[18] A precious nomenclature! only to 335be paralleled by the catalogue of the Philistines4 in Sanson Nazarenzo,[19] or the muster-roll of Anna de Santiago’s Devils,[19] under Aquias, Brum, and Acatu, lieutenant-generals to Lucifer himself.
18. It must surely be superfluous5 to make any comment upon the ignorant or insolent6 manner in which synonymous appellations7 are here classed as different sects. The popish author seems to have aimed at something like wit by arranging them in rhymes:—as this could not be preserved in the translation, and it is a pity any wit should be lost, the original, such as it is, follows: “Arminianos, Socinianos, Baxterianos, Presbiterianos, Nuevos Americanos, Sabellianos, Luteranos, Moravianos, Swedenborgianos, Athanasianos, Episcopalianos, Arianos, Sabbatarianos, Trinitarianos, Unitarianos, Millenarianos, Necessarianos, Sublapsarianos, Supralapsarianos, Antinomianos, Hutchinsonianos, Sandemonianos, Muggletonianos, Baptistas, Anabaptistas, P?dobaptistas, Methodistas, Papistas, Universalistas, Calvinistas, Materialistas, Destruicionistas, Brownistas, Independantes, Protestantes, Hugonotos, Nonjureros, Secederos, Hernhutteros, Dunkeros, Jumperos, Shakeros, y Quakeros.”—The author, to make these names look as uncouth8 and portentous9 as possible, has not translated several which he must have understood, and has retained the w and k.—Tr.
This endless confusion arises from the want of some surer standard of faith than Reason and the Scriptures, to one or both of which all the schismatics appeal, making it their boast that they allow no other authority. Reason and the Scriptures! Even one of their own bishops12 calls Reason a box of quicksilver, and says that it is like a pigeon’s neck, or a shot-silk, appearing one colour to me, and another to you who stand in a different light.
19. These allusions13 are probably well understood in Spain; but here, as in many other instances, the translator must confess his ignorance, and regret that he can give no explanation.—Tr.
336And for the Scriptures, well have they been likened to a nose of wax, which every finger and thumb may tweak to the fashion of their own fancy. You may well suppose how perversely14 those heretics will wrest15 the spirit, who have not scrupled16 to corrupt17 the letter of the Gospel. In many editions of the English Bible ye has been substituted for we; Acts, vi. 3. the Presbyterians having bribed18 the printer thus to favour their heresy19. Were you to hear the stress which some of these Puritans lay upon the necessity of perusing20 the Scriptures, you might suppose they had adopted the Jewish notion, that the first thing which God himself does every morning is to read three hours in the Bible.
You said to me, Examine into the opinions of the different heretics, and you will be in no danger of heresy; and you requested me to send you full accounts of all that I should see, learn, and think during this enquiry, as the main confession21 you should require. The result will prove 337that your confidence was not misplaced; that nothing could leach22 me so feelingly the blessing23 of health, as a course of studies in an infirmary.
Many of the names of this hydra24 brood need no explanation; the others I shall explain as I understand them, and those which are left untouched you may consider as too insignificant25 in their numbers, or in their points of difference, to require more than the mere26 insertion of their titles in the classification of heresies27. The Dunkers and Sandemonians, the Baxterians and Muggletonians, may be left in obscurity with the Tascadrogiti and Ascodrogiti, the Perliconasati of old, the Passalaronciti, and Artotyriti, of whom St Jerome might well say, Magis portenta quam nomina.
Some of these sects differ from the establishment in discipline only, others both in doctrine28 and discipline; they are either political, or fanatical, or both. In all cases it may be remarked, that the dissenting29 338ministers, as they are called, are more zealous30 than the regular clergy32, because they either choose their profession for conscience sake, or take it up as a trade, influenced either by enthusiasm or knavery33, which are so near akin11 and so much alike, that it is generally difficult, and sometimes impossible, to distinguish one from the other.
When the schism10 was fairly established in this island by the accursed Elizabeth, all sorts of heresies sprung up like weeds in a neglected field. The new establishment paid its court to the new head of the church by the most slavish doctrines34; the more abject35, the more were they unlike the principles of the Catholic religion, and also to the political tenets of the Nonconformists. The consequence was, a strict union between the clergy and the crown; while, on the other hand, all the fanatics36, however at variance37 in other points, were connected by their common hatred38 of this double tyranny. Elizabeth kept them 339down by the Inquisition: she martyred the Catholic teachers, and put the Puritans to a slower death, by throwing them into dungeons40, and leaving them to rot there amid their own excrement41. They strengthened during the reign42 of her timorous43 successor, and overthrew44 the monarchy45 and hierarchy46 together under Charles, the martyr39 of the English schismatical church. Then they quarrelled among themselves; and one party, disappointed of effecting its own establishment, brought back Charles II., who ruled them with a rod of iron. A little prudence47 in James would have restored England to the bosom48 of the church; but he offended the clergy by his precipitance, forced them to coalesce49 with the Dissenters50, and lost his crown. His father’s fate was before his eyes, and he feared to lose his head also; but had he been bold enough to set it at stake, and been as willing to be a martyr as he was to be a confessor, a bloodier51 civil war might have been excited in England than in Ireland; England 340might have been his by conquest as well as by birth, and the religion of the conqueror52 imposed upon the people.
This revolution occasioned a new schism. From the time of their first establishment the clergy had been preaching the doctrines of absolute power and passive obedience53; that kings govern by a right divine, and, therefore, are not amenable54 to man for their conduct. These principles had taken deep root in consequence of the general fear and hatred against the Calvinists. No inconsiderable portion of the clergy, therefore, however heartily55 they dreaded56 the restoration of what they called Popery by James, could not in conscience assent57 to the accession of William: indeed, the more sincerely they had deprecated the former danger, the less could they reconcile their really tender consciences to the Revolution. They therefore resigned, or rather were displaced from, their sees and benefices, and lingered about half a century as a distinct 341sect, under the title of Nonjurors. These men were less dangerous to the new government than they who, having the same opinions without the same integrity, took the oaths of allegiance, and washed them down with secret bumpers58 to King James. But great part of the clergy sincerely acquiesced59 in the Whig principles; and this number was continually increasing as long as such principles were the fashion of the court. Of this the government were well aware: they let the malcontents[20] alone, knowing that where the carcase is there will the crows be gathered together; and in this case it so happened that the common frailty60 and the common sense of mankind coincided.
I have related in my last how the Dissenters, from the republican tendency of their principles, became again obnoxious62 to government during the present reign; 342the ascendancy63 of the old high church and tory party, and the advantages which have resulted to the true religion. Their internal state has undergone as great a change. One part of them has insensibly lapsed64 into Socinianism, a heresy, till of late years, almost unknown in England; and into this party all the indifferentists from other sects, who do not choose, for political motives65, to join the establishment, naturally fall. The establishment itself furnishes a supply by the falling off of those of its members, who, in the progress of enquiry, discover that the church of England is neither one thing nor another; that in matters of religion all must rest upon faith, or upon reason; and have unhappily preferred the sandy foundation of human wit. Crede ut intelligas, noli intelligere ut credas, is the wise precept66 of St Augustine; but these heretics have discarded the fathers as well as the saints! These become Socinians; and though many of them do not stop here in the career 343of unbelief, they still frequent the meeting-houses, and are numbered among the sect2. With these all the hydra brood of Arianism and Pelagianism, and all the anti-calvinist Dissenters have united; each preserving its own peculiar67 tenets, but all agreeing in their abhorrence68 of Calvinism, their love of unbounded freedom of opinion, and in consequence their hostility69 to any church establishment. All, however, by this union, and still more by the medley70 of doctrines which are preached as the pulpit happens to be filled by a minister of one persuasion71 or the other, are insensibly modified and assimilated to each other; and this assimilation will probably become complete, as the older members, who were more rigidly72 trained in the orthodoxy of heterodoxy, drop off. A body will remain respectable for riches, numbers, erudition, and talents, but without zeal31 and without generosity73; and they will fall asunder74 at no very remote period, because they 344do not afford their ministers stipends75 sufficient for the decencies of life. The church must be kept together by a golden chain; and this, which is typically true of the true church, is literally76 applicable to every false one. These sectarians call themselves the enlightened part of the Dissenters; but the children of Mammon are wiser in their generation than such children of light.
From this party, therefore, the church of England has nothing to fear, though of late years its hostility has been erringly directed against them. They are rather its allies than its enemies, an advanced guard who have pitched their camp upon the very frontiers of infidelity, and exert themselves in combating the unbelievers on one hand, and the Calvinists on the other. They have the fate of Servetus for their warning, which the followers77 of Calvin justify78, and are ready to make their precedent79. Should these sworn foes80 to 345the establishment succeed in overthrowing81 it, a burnt-offering of anti-trinitarians would be the first illumination for the victory.
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1
sects
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| n.宗派，教派( sect的名词复数 ) | |
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sect
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| n.派别，宗教，学派，派系 | |
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scriptures
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| 经文，圣典( scripture的名词复数 )； 经典 | |
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philistines
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| n.市侩，庸人( philistine的名词复数 )；庸夫俗子 | |
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superfluous
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| adj.过多的，过剩的，多余的 | |
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insolent
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| adj.傲慢的，无理的 | |
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appellations
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| n.名称，称号( appellation的名词复数 ) | |
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uncouth
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| adj.无教养的，粗鲁的 | |
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portentous
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| adj.不祥的，可怕的，装腔作势的 | |
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schism
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| n.分派，派系，分裂 | |
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akin
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| adj.同族的，类似的 | |
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bishops
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| （基督教某些教派管辖大教区的）主教( bishop的名词复数 )； （国际象棋的）象 | |
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allusions
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| 暗指，间接提到( allusion的名词复数 ) | |
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perversely
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| adv. 倔强地 | |
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wrest
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| n.扭，拧，猛夺；v.夺取，猛扭，歪曲 | |
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scrupled
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| v.感到于心不安，有顾忌( scruple的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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corrupt
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| v.贿赂，收买；adj.腐败的，贪污的 | |
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bribed
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| v.贿赂( bribe的过去式和过去分词 )；向（某人）行贿，贿赂 | |
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heresy
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| n.异端邪说；异教 | |
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perusing
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| v.读（某篇文字）( peruse的现在分词 )；（尤指）细阅；审阅；匆匆读或心不在焉地浏览（某篇文字） | |
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confession
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| n.自白，供认，承认 | |
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leach
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| v.分离，过滤掉；n.过滤；过滤器 | |
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blessing
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| n.祈神赐福；祷告；祝福，祝愿 | |
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hydra
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| n.水螅；难于根除的祸患 | |
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insignificant
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| adj.无关紧要的，可忽略的，无意义的 | |
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mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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heresies
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| n.异端邪说，异教( heresy的名词复数 ) | |
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doctrine
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| n.教义；主义；学说 | |
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dissenting
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| adj.不同意的 | |
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zealous
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| adj.狂热的，热心的 | |
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zeal
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| n.热心，热情，热忱 | |
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clergy
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| n.[总称]牧师，神职人员 | |
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knavery
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| n.恶行，欺诈的行为 | |
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doctrines
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| n.教条( doctrine的名词复数 )；教义；学说；（政府政策的）正式声明 | |
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abject
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| adj.极可怜的，卑屈的 | |
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fanatics
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| 狂热者，入迷者( fanatic的名词复数 ) | |
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variance
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| n.矛盾，不同 | |
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hatred
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| n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨 | |
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martyr
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| n.烈士，殉难者；vt.杀害，折磨，牺牲 | |
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dungeons
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| n.地牢( dungeon的名词复数 ) | |
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excrement
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| n.排泄物，粪便 | |
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reign
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| n.统治时期，统治，支配，盛行；v.占优势 | |
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timorous
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| adj.胆怯的，胆小的 | |
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overthrew
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| overthrow的过去式 | |
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45
monarchy
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| n.君主，最高统治者；君主政体，君主国 | |
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hierarchy
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| n.等级制度；统治集团，领导层 | |
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prudence
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| n.谨慎，精明，节俭 | |
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bosom
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| n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的 | |
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coalesce
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| v.联合，结合，合并 | |
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dissenters
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| n.持异议者，持不同意见者( dissenter的名词复数 ) | |
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51
bloodier
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| adj.血污的( bloody的比较级 )；流血的；屠杀的；残忍的 | |
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conqueror
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| n.征服者，胜利者 | |
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obedience
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| n.服从，顺从 | |
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amenable
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| adj.经得起检验的；顺从的；对负有义务的 | |
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heartily
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| adv.衷心地，诚恳地，十分，很 | |
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dreaded
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| adj.令人畏惧的；害怕的v.害怕，恐惧，担心( dread的过去式和过去分词) | |
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assent
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| v.批准，认可；n.批准，认可 | |
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bumpers
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| （汽车上的）保险杠，缓冲器( bumper的名词复数 ) | |
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acquiesced
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| v.默认，默许( acquiesce的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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frailty
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| n.脆弱；意志薄弱 | |
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recollect
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| v.回忆，想起，记起，忆起，记得 | |
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obnoxious
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| adj.极恼人的，讨人厌的，可憎的 | |
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ascendancy
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| n.统治权，支配力量 | |
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lapsed
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| adj.流失的，堕落的v.退步( lapse的过去式和过去分词 )；陷入；倒退；丧失 | |
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motives
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| n.动机，目的( motive的名词复数 ) | |
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precept
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| n.戒律；格言 | |
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peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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abhorrence
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| n.憎恶；可憎恶的事 | |
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hostility
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| n.敌对，敌意；抵制［pl.］交战，战争 | |
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medley
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| n.混合 | |
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persuasion
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| n.劝说；说服；持有某种信仰的宗派 | |
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rigidly
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| adv.刻板地，僵化地 | |
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generosity
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| n.大度，慷慨，慷慨的行为 | |
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asunder
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| adj.分离的，化为碎片 | |
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stipends
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| n.（尤指牧师的）薪俸( stipend的名词复数 ) | |
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literally
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| adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实 | |
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followers
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| 追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件 | |
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justify
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| vt.证明…正当(或有理)，为…辩护 | |
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precedent
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| n.先例，前例；惯例；adj.在前的，在先的 | |
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foes
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| 敌人，仇敌( foe的名词复数 ) | |
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overthrowing
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| v.打倒，推翻( overthrow的现在分词 )；使终止 | |
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