LECTURE XVI.

Further development and extension of Protestantism, in the period of the religious wars, and subsequently thereto.-On the different results of those wars in the principal European countries.

THE true Reformation, loudly demanded in the fifteenth century as the most urgent want of the times, not only by the capricious voice of the multitude, but by the first and most legitimate organs of opinion in church and state, and the nature of which had been long before clearly stated, and fully and generally understood, ought to have been a divine Reformation: then would it have carried with it its own high sanction - it would have proved it by the fact; and at no time, and under no condition, would it have severed itself from the sacred centre and venerable basis of Christian tradition, in order-reckless of all legitimate decisions, preceding as well as actual-to perpetuate discord, and seek in negation itself a new and peculiar basis for the edifice of schismatic opinion. Such a vast, extensive, deep, and effectual reform, which, while it kept within the limits of ancient faith, and steadily adhered to its divine centre, would at the same time renovate and revivify the Church, was not then accomplished. The disciplinary canons of the Council of Trent undoubtedly contained many wise, excellent, and wholesome regulations, whose efficacy has been proved by the experience of the different Catholic countries, and whose reception has been determined by the local circumstances of each; for these regulations, intended for the correction and removal of abuses, and for the revival of ancient discipline, were not adopted without modification, nor received to a like extent, in all Catholic countries. On the other hand, with respect to the Protestants, the decrees of the Council of Trent, from the very nature of things, could be only of a defensive character. Instead of the desired Reformation,

Protestantism early enough announced itself as a new and peculiar religion, and still more was it constituted as such; but the rupture was already consummated-the evil had become incurable before the remedy was applied. Protestantism was the work of man; and it appears in no other light even in the history which its own disciples have drawn of its origin. The partisans of the Reformation proclaimed, indeed, at the outset, that if it were more than a human work, it would endure, and that its duration would serve as a proof of its divine origin. But surely no one will consider this an adequate proof, when he reflects that the great Mohammedan heresy, which, more than any other, destroys and obliterates the divine image stamped on the human soul, has stood its ground for full twelve hundred years; though this religion, if it proceed from no worse source, is at best a human work. But even as the mere work of man, the Reformation was unquestionably a mighty, extraordinary, and momentous revolution, which, when once it had been outwardly established in the world (though inwardly it remained in a state of perpetual agitation), has thenceforward mostly directed the march of modern times, influenced the legislation and policy of the European states, and stamped the character of modern science down to our own days, when, though its influence has not been so exclusive and undivided as at an earlier period, it has been still the main and stirring cause of all the great political changes, and all the new and astonishing events, of our age. We must endeavour to view this great Revolution with the impartial eye of the historian, and labour duly to comprehend and judge it in all its manifold bearings, and in all its remote consequences; and if we should feel inclined to lament and deplore the long continuance of this unhappy division in the great European family, we should remember, that such a feeling of regret, however innocent and natural in our own bosoms and in our own conviction, can furnish no adequate criterion for an historical decision. At any rate, we should in no case immoderately repine at such an event, and murmur against Destiny-that is to say, the ruling Providence which permits the occurrence of such evils. The permission by God of a mere human, unsanctioned enterprise, nay, of a mighty, general, protracted, and incurable division among mankind—a system of opposi

tion, with all its unhappy consequences, its moral impediments, and its political disasters; such a permission forms, as I have already observed, the great enigma of history-the wonderful secret of the divine decrees in the conduct of mankind, as well as in the conduct of individuals. Perhaps this great enigma will then only be perfectly unravelled, and the mystery which hangs over this subject then only be perfectly dispelled, when this mighty Revolution shall have been terminated and brought to a close. Even now, the experience we have acquired, however imperfect and limited it may be, makes one thing evident; namely, that the influence of Protestantism has not been confined to those states and countries where it became predominant, and where it received a public and legal establishment. Far greater was the danger, far more fatal were the consequences, when an open rupture, a formal separation from the church did not take place, or had, if a temporary, at least no permanent existence- but where Protestantism, that is to say, the spirit of Protestantism, a like or a kindred set of opinions, was infused into the moral system of countries externally Catholic, and secretly instilled into the veins of the body politic, gradually corroded its vitals; till at last, amid a false and apparent repose, the longsuppressed element of revolutionary innovation infected with its deadly virus opinion, science, and lastly, government and society. The conscience in its inquiries after religious truth, to whatever decision it may come, only looks to the determination of a point of faith as the sole clue of its investigations. But in historical inquiries, this rigid intersecting line of faith forms no adequate rule of judgment. The experience of our own times, or that of the last generation, has proved that innovations in faith, politics, and philosophy, ingrafted on a Catholic nation, are far more fatal to its repose, and that of its neighbours, than a system of Protestantism which has settled into a state of permanent peace and stability. Hence, for instance, the policy and political interests of England, which is a state more than any other essentially Protestant, have often been in perfect accordance with the political system of an old leading Catholic power. And, I would ask, has the Atheism of the eighteenth century been productive of fewer commotions and less convulsion in the world than Protestantism in the first period of its ex

istence, or in the era of religious wars? although the infidel party in the last century by no means constituted a distinct and separate sect; but was like a deadly contagion of the spirit of the times, infecting all beside and around, above and below it, whithersoever the wind of chance or the breath of fanatic zeal might carry it.

According to my own personal conviction, the theological point of view is to be preferred in historical inquiries. as the best and final rule of investigation. But in these latter times, when religious opinion is so divided, and where the juridical view of things, in which each party struggles to make out a favourable case for itself, leads only to endless disputes, the historian is compelled to view the diseased state of society with the eye of a pathologist. In medicine it is considered far better and more advantageous that a dangerous disease should be got rid of in a decisive but happily terminated struggle for life or death, than that by any sudden check given to the crisis the disorder should fall on any internal part, and thus attack and corrode the vital powers. This principle, which the history of parti cular countries has shewn to be equally applicable to man's moral existence, may be applied to the general state of Europe at that period. If Protestantism had then been outwardly suppressed and put down, would it not have raged inwardly, that is to say, would not the most essential part of Protestantism, the spirit of revolutionary innovation, the spirit of destructive negation-rationalism, in a wordhave secretly remained? And may we not conclude from the examples of a partial experience, that that secret and inward working of the disease would have been far more dangerous and fatal? I should wish that these and other like expressions before made use of should not be taken as so many categorical assertions; for the question of doctrine, lying as it does beyond the reach of doubt, does not fall within the limits of my plan, and the perfect reconciliation of minds is not in the power of man, but can come only from God. But these expressions are merely meant to convey a conciliatory view of things in history, and (as is the proper duty of the philosophic historian) to vindicate the ways of Providence. Undoubtedly this great religious contest, this long-protracted struggle, has tended to excite

the emulation of both parties in the pursuits of learning and the labours of science, to stir up a mutual vigilance in the moral conduct of individuals as well as in the administration of states, and thus to keep both parties in a state of salutary watchfulness and activity. Even from the collision of these two conflicting elements there has sprung up in some countries a new and third element, which, though not such as could be desired, nor entirely conformable to Christianity, has still been productive of important and remarkable consequences. Of the eight or nine countries in which Protestantism has obtained a firm footing, and acquired a permanent existence, there are three in particular where it has been attended with mighty historical effects, and where the originally destructive conflict of hostile elements has given birth to three new and momentous phenomena in the history of mankind. These are, in Germany, the religious pacification, which forms the basis of her future prosperity, stamps the peculiar character of the German nation, and designates its future moral destiny; in England, the highlyvalued, or, as it is there called, the glorious Constitution of 1688, whose mere outward form, or dead letter, has been an object of desire to so many other nations; lastly, [in France, the revolution in philosophy produced by the indirect influence of Protestantism, and the combination of so many Protestant or semi-Protestant elements, and which gave birth to a frightful political revolution, which, after a short intervenient period of military despotism, has been succeeded in its turn by a mighty epoch of moral and social regeneration—a regeneration which indeed has not yet been consummated, which is still in a state of precarious and convulsive labour, but is even on that account the more entitled to the historian's attention.

Of the countries immediately contiguous to Germany, the home and cradle of Protestantism, Switzerland was, at the commencement of the Reformation, the theatre of a fierce civil war, in which the Swiss reformer fell fighting on the field of battle. But the strong federal spirit of the Swiss, the necessity of mutual defence, and the nearly equal numbers and strength of both religious parties, produced at an early period a religious pacification. The indirect Protestant influence which French Switzerland has exerted