That fervile Fear is good, not only to stop the Hand, but to check the Will (k).' Father Salton, a famous Jefuit of Poitiers, boldly preach'd up this very Doctrine in 1717. The Sinner, fays be (1), by thefe Motives (the Deformity of Sin, and the Fear of Hell) is truly converted to God, and abfolutely diverted from any mortal Sin whatever; because these two Motives are extended to all mortal Sins." It wou'd be fuperfluous to quote any more Paffages from the Divines of that Society, upon this Head: For 'tis manifeft that 'tis the common Doctrine of their School, of which any one may be convinc'd by only referring to the Proof of it given by the Jefuits of Louvain themselves, in their famous Thefes against Janfenius, of which we will just give this fhort Conclufion. • Therefore, Say they, There is a Fear grounded on the threat ning of Hell, which carries in it all that con• ftitutes true Repentance, tho it does not pro⚫ceed from a Motive of Love (m).' This is what they call clear and positive Deci fions; according to which 'tis evident that the more a Man is poffefs'd with Fear, he is the better Penitent and Convert. But 'tis aftonishing how Men, who fet up for Teachers in Ifrael, cou'd poffibly advance fuch Paradoxes; for from whence did they fetch this Doctrine? Certainly, they did not find it in the FATHERS, whofe Doctrine upon this Article comes as near as poffible to this (k) Timor fervilis bonus eft, neque manum tantùm fed & animum cohibere poteft. In his Thefis of July 13. 1705. Pof. 7. N° 7. (1) Verè ad Deum convertitur, & abfolutè avertitur à quo cunque lethali peccato, quoniam hæc motiva ad omnia lethapeccata extendunrur. lia (m) Timor ergo aliquis ex gehennä intentatâ conceptus, com plectitur omnia quæ vera pœnitentia, etfi non ex charitate profecta, comprehendit. 4 cap. 2. Art. 16. p. 76. col. 2. n. 3. Pro Propofition of Father Quefnel (n), That Fear < only ftops the Hand, and that the Heart is addicted to Sin fo long as the Love of Juftice is not its governing Principle'. Nor did they find it in the Writings of the PAGANS; for thofe Men, with the Eye of Reafon only, faw very clearly that Fear alone is not capable of converting the Heart, nor of banishing finful Intentions. The most that Fear can do, as they fay very well, is to stop the Hand from committing criminal Actions; but it cannot restrain the Will, nor fupprefs the Longings after Sin. The Man, fays Terence, who does his Duty by Constraint (0), and from a Fear of Punishment, withholds his Hand a little from committing a Fault, when he thinks he fhall be found out: But if he hopes to conceal himself, he prefently relapfes into his natural Depravity; whereas he whofe Heart is well inclin'd, does his Duty cordially and with Affection.' Is it poffible to give a better Character of Fear and Love? And if I had not nam'd Terence, wou'd not the Reader have thought I had quoted that Paffage from the Books of St. Auftin? There's another I fhall borrow from Cicero, which one wou'd be apt to think was another Quotation from St. Austin. The Wife Man only (p), that is, the just, good Man,obeys the Laws not for fear of the Punishments which they threaten, but (n) 61ft. Of the condemn'd Propofitions. (0) Malo coactus qui fuum officium facit, dum id refcitum iri credit, tantifper cavet : Si fperat fore clam, rurfum ad ingenium redit. Quem beneficio adjungas, ille ex animo facit. Ter. Adelph. act. 1. fc. 1. (p) Dictum eft ab eruditiffimis viris, nifi fapientem effequi legibus quidem non propter metum paret, fed eas fequitur atque colit, quia id falutare maxime effe judicat. Cicer. 5. parad. c. 1. D 2 • because • because he loves and honours them, and thinks ¿ nothing more wholefom than a Conformity to them. Therefore the Jefuits Penitent, who is only influenc'd by the Fear of Punishment, is foolish, unjust, and wicked. For, fays St. Auguftin, they who are deterr'd from doing Evil (9) by Fear, ought not to be rank'd among the Good; for adds he, 'tis not the Fear of Punishment, but the Love of Juftice that makes a good Man. And whoever, fays St. Profper, is influenc'd only by the Fear of Punishment, and does not alfo love to fee Juftice and Holinefs bear fway, is not innocent (r). This is exactly the Thought of 'Horace. The Love of Virtue alone, says that Heathen Poet, makes honest Men flee Vice (s). But for thy part ('tis to the Jefuits, and their Penitents, that this is apply'd) nothing but the Fear of Punishment makes thee avoid Sin; and if thou coudft hope not to be detected, thou woud'ft jumble facred Things with profane (t). (q) Non- boni pronuntiandi funt, qui metuendo non peccant. Non enim bonus eft quifpiam timore pœnæ, fed amore juftitiæ. Aug. Epift. 153. ad Maced. Tom. 2. p. 530. () Nullus enim eft infons folâ formidine pœnæ, Qui fanctum & juftum non amat imperium. Hor. Ep. 16. (s) Oderunt peccare boni virtutis amore. Tu nihil admittes in te formidine pœnæ Sit fpes fallendi, mifcebis facra profanis. (1) I don't believe the Jefuits will cavil with me here, becaufe the Pagans, whom I quote, only spoke of natural Fear. The Reverend Fathers themselves have confounded it with fupernatural Fear; and fo far they were in the right. For as to Fear, the one is as natural as the other for working Converfion, if to fear is fufficient for Converfion. Whatever happens, if they take it amifs that I have not quoted their Paffages relating to the Efficacy of Natural Fear, let them but speak, and they Shall quickly have abundant Satisfaction; tho after all, nothing can be faid more strongly than what the Bull fays, viz. That one may approach to God with Fear like Beasts. Let Let every Man now lay his Hand upon his Heart. Will he not acknowledge that were he not reftrain'd by Fear, he wou'd stick at nothing, provided he was fure of Impunity? Let us then admire on the one hand those Pagans I have juft now quoted, who fo well knew the Heart of Man, and the only thing capable of converting him. But on the other hand, we muft equally admire at the Jefuits, that are neither Chriftians nor Pagans, who ftifle all the Sentiments of Religion and Reason, and who in defiance of the Cry of all Confciences, that it belongs to Love alone to banish all Inclination to Sin, affert, with a rashness not to be conceiv'd, that the Fear of Punishment alone is capable of producing that Effect. Nor have they been content to propagate their Errors, without caufing the contrary Truths to be at least condemn'd. For having found a fair opportunity, they have improv'd it. And by making ufe of the Name and Authority of the Pope who was perfectly devoted to them, they have gone fo far as to cause these two Propofitions, fo agreeable to Piety and good Senfe, to be condemn'd. 6 1. That Fear only withholds the Hand*, and that the Heart is abandon'd to Sin fo long as 'tis not guided by a Love for Justice, 2, That he who only abftains from Sin for fear ⚫ of the Punishment f, commits it in his Heart, and is already guilty before God.' Now, from the Condemnation of these two Truths, these two Errors neceffarily follow. 1. That Fear alone is capable of banishing the Will of finning from the Heart. 2. That the Abstinence from Evil thro' Fear, is fufficient to render us Juft and Innocent before God. And thofe are the two favourite Tenets of the Jefuits, which tho *Propofition 61. † Prop. 62. D 3 Clement Clement XI. authorifes by his Conftitution, we have confuted by the Pagans. Surely, Cicero wou'd fay, is it poffible that Men who call themfelves Wife, Reafonable, and alfo Infallible, fhou'd be capable of fuch grofs Miftakes? For, the Pagan wou'd add, can any Man in his Senfes fay, That (w) they are really chafte σ who only abstain from Adultery out of Fear?'Alas! faid be but just before, how I blufh for fuch Philofophers (x)! 6 It has been feveral times afferted, but here is plain Demonftration, that the Doctrine authoris'd by the Conftitution, wou'd have made the very Heathens blush. And really that must be a very odd Decree, because one of the most zealous Sticklers for it (y), finding that the Truth was thereby wounded, wou'd not justify it but by advancing thefe Maxims, to which every one may give what Character they pleafe. 1. That tho it were certain that many of the condemn'd Propofitions, (z) are naturally fufceptible of a good Meaning, and tho fome of them were ftrictly true in the very Terms of them, yet the Truth thereof, whether real or apparent, or the favourable Conftruction which may or ought naturally to be put upon them, are no Reasons why the Pope and Bishops have not juftly condemn'd them. 2. That even tho they had been innocent before 6 T (w) Quid enim poffumus eos, qui ftupro arcentur metu, pudicos dicere me iftorum Philofophorum pudet, Cic. l. 1, Leg. (x) Cicero was declaiming against the Epicureans whereby we fee the conformity of their Doctrine with that of the Jefuits and the Conftitution. (y) M. Languet, Bishop of Soiffons; (z) His Advertisement or Warning, p. 52. |