# Memoirs of the Twentieth Century/Rome, Nov. 7, 1997

To the Lord Treasurer, &c.
Rome, Nov. 7, 1997.
My Lord,
YOUR second Express which followed close on the Heels of the first, found me here just settled in a most handsome and convenient House, assign'd by his Holiness a Day or two after my first Audience, on the 3d Instant, which past to my entire Satisfaction. The Pope, to say Truth, how heartily soever he wishes our Destruction, as the great Bulwark of the Protestant Cause and Interest; yet is so sensible of his Majesty's Wisdom and Power, and the vast Ascendant his Fleets and ​Arms have procur'd him, over all the Affairs in Europe; that he shews the greatest Readiness to comply with all our Demands, and puts the best Mien on it he can. He has already confirmed Civita Viechia a free Port for us, and restor'd all our Privileges in the Adriatick, and has engag'd that after the next Consistory he holds, which will be in two or three Days, no British Subject shall be liable to the Inquisition. A Bull is to be publish'd accordingly; and in a Word, he has complied with all the less important Articles I was commanded to insist on.
Matters standing thus, I see nothing to hinder our Squadron, to fail directly from Leghorn according to their Instructions, and have signified as much by this Express to Admiral Mordaunt; being persuaded that there will not the least Objection or Obstacle arise in these Affairs, from the Roman See.
In the mean Time, I shall use my utmost Industry to observe my Instructions, to get the best Intelligence possible, of all the dangerous Intriegues of this overgrown State; and give the fullest Lights, and use the fittest Means I can reach to, to enable his sa​cred Majesty, by your Lordship's wise Counsels, to disappoint and overturn them.
Tho' I am settled here but a few Weeks, I have not been asleep, but pursuant to the 5th Article of my Instructions, have applied my self where I was directed, as well as to the Imperial and French Ambassadours here. I live already in no small Degree of Intimacy and Confidence with them; as they assure me, they have in Command from their Masters to do, on their parts with me, and which your Lordship well knows their own Interests tie them to.
By their Informations and my Intelligence from the other Quarter, I hope to be able to observe your Directions, and answer your Enquiries concerning this tow'ring See, or rather this new Empire of the Vatican as they universally, and too justly call it here; which is risen of late to so prodigious an height, that it seems not only to rival, but out-grow the most extended Limits of old Rome, in the fullest Glory of its Strength.
I shall therefore endeavour to lay before your Lordship's discerning Eye, the whole Plan of this spiritual Monarchy, and the Pillars on which it is built; which we shall find subsists no longer, as Cardinal Sancta ​Croze told Thuanus, (Aulæ nostræ Majestas stat tantum famâ & patientiâ hominum) but on the deepest and best laid Foundations Men can lay, by vast Riches, incredible Policy, and the greatest armed Strength in Europe.
When I have done this to the best of my poor Capacity, I shall, as your Lordship directs me, examine whether his Holiness still pursues his prodigious Views, in Case of the present Emperour's Demise; and what reasonable Hopes his Majesty may entertain, openly to thwart or secretly to undermine them.
Your Lordship's Knowledge of the Affairs of Europe in the 19th Century, as well as the present Times, is too extensive, to allow me to dwell long on those terrible Wars and Divisions, between the Emperour, France and Spain; which with the unhappy Dissensions here, gave the Jesuits so far the Ascendant in the Conclave at that time, as to blind the Eyes of the Cardinals, to take that fatal and deplorable Step, of placing Paul IX. a Jesuite on the Papal Throne.
Nor is your Lordship less appriz'd of all the dreadful Train of Consequences that follow'd, to the infinite Increase of the Power ​of that aspiring Order, and thro' their means of the Roman See. Hence it came that after they had by degrees made themselves Masters one way or another, both of Savoy, Naples, and Tuscany in less than fifty Years; they brought even Venice it self with all her Policy, to be with her Territories but a sort of Ecclesiastical Fief to the Empire of the Vatican.
In a little Time they actually tore from them, Brescia, Crema, and Bergamo with their Dependencies, as having been anciently united to the Millanese, which they were long possess'd of, by the Cession of the Emperour Charles IX. in 1845. The Polesin they wrested out of their Hands, in the Wars that broke out soon after, between Innocent the XV. and the Senate; who after the fatal Battle of Verona, had like to have lost all their Dominions on the Continent, if they had not sav'd them by that infamous Peace, which has in a manner made them Vassals to this See ever since.
These are Events which fill the Histories of those Times, and all that read them, with Amazement; tho' I doubt not but your Lordship's Wisdom considers them, ​but as the natural Consequences of the Power of that Church, which being entitled to seize or purchase every thing she can lay her Talons on, and unable to alienate any thing she has once possess'd, must necessarily have been foreseen, (if Men had Eyes) to be secure in a few Ages of becoming Mistress of the World, as she has now in a manner made her self, by enslaving Italy. A Truth, which even the Blindness of the last Age, might have discern'd with half an Eye, tho' the Pope had not been believ'd by them, to have the Keys of Heaven and Hell absolutely in his Disposal. For this Privilege alone as it tied all pious scrupulous Minds fast to Rome, so the other as to this World, where her Power must be ever necessarily encreasing, could not fail to join strongly to her, all daring and ambitious Spirits, by the Riches and Possessions, she could tempt them with, to her Interests. The Policy of this See had, for many Ages perpetually employ'd her Ecclesiasticks to preach up to the People in all parts of the Earth, the vast Superiority of the spiritual Office of the Priesthood, above that of the Temporal one of a worldly King. They advanc'd the Priest, as taking care of the immortal ​Part the Soul, infinitely above the Prince, who only had Authority over their Bodies; and as they had persuaded them that the poorest Friars, were the Moses and Aarons sent and commissioned by Heaven to be as Gods to Kings, (who were really but the Pharoahs of the World,) they had gain'd a much greater Influence over the Minds of Men, than their Governours. On these deep Foundations the Jesuits took care to build the prodigious superstructures of Wealth, Territories and Power; and join'd to that notional Empire, which ties down Mens Minds and Consciences, those additional Strengths and Buttresses, that might prop it up, when length of Time and encrease of Knowledge should threaten it's Fall; and by every worldly Motive, secure Mens Hands and Passions, and earthly Interests to support and keep it standing.
But these are Reflections which lie too open to your Lordship's Mind, to allow of my dwelling long on them, and it will be sufficient to say, that as they have ever since had the ablest Hands and the wisest Heads to employ them; they have so far establish'd their Usurpations, during the Distractions ​of Europe and Italy which they artificially fomented, that they have taken such Root, as will probably keep them secure from tumbling in the greatest Storm.
But let us carefully view the several Steps and Measures they have made use of towards the maintenance of this Power they have arriv'd at; and your Lordship will soon see the Apprehensions of the deep rooting of their Strength, to be more than probable.
And in speaking to this matter, I shall not once touch on that prodigious Authority which they have ever claim'd, of disposing of the Crowns and Empires of the World, as they find good for the Service of the Church and their spiritual Kingdom below: This they have exerted these two last Centuries in all the Plenitude of their Power: And I shall only dwell on such worldly Schemes and Methods, which have rais'd this Order to be Masters of the Earth; without which power of the Sword, that of the Keys (in these Days especially) would have signified little.
And first then, they are not only Masters of Italy, excepting Piedmont and that part of Savoy, which Geneva and the Swisse Cantons conquer'd and keep in spite of them, ​to the great Joy of the Christian Princes; but they are Masters of it more strongly fortified, better furnish'd with Magazines, and better guarded with a standing Force of near 130000 Veteran Troops, than ever the World yet saw it. But besides this, with the Forts and Hands of Italy, they have by the Pope's Authority amass'd together, all the Wealth of it's Churches, the Hoards of it's Convents and Monasteries, and all the votive Plate, Images, Jewels and Riches of Loretto. These, under Pretence of saving them from the Fury of he Wars, and the Plunder of Hereticks, they have treasur'd up in the Castle of St. Angelo, to the Value of near 150 Millions, as Men generally compute it. A Fund which in such Hands, and under the Management of such artificial Craftsmen, is able not only to keep up an invincible Army as they perpetually do, but even to buy off the venal Faith and Forces of half the Princes of Europe, to their side.
Along with this immense Treasure, the Pope and this Order (for they are but one and the same Body and Interest) have from their Provinces in Africk, their Territories or Empire rather of Paraguay in America, ​and their Revenues from China, a Fund so prodigious, that it exceeds all Belief, or even Computation; the neat Produce from Paraguay alone, after all Deductions, amounting to near three Millions. To add to these, the Computation of all the Revenues of Italy, and their vast Estates in the different Parts of Europe, would be a needless Labour; since every one may see, as plainly as your Lordship, that they are already Masters of a Treasure, sufficient to carry on the largest Designs, that their Ambition or even their Religion (as they have drest up Religion) can prompt them to.
But they have Forces still unmentioned, that are equal to their Riches, for my Lord, you, who know the Courts of Europe so intimately, can vouch, that there is hardly a great Person in them, who has not a Jesuite for his Confessor, nay his Director. How few of its crown'd Heads are there, whose Prime Minister is not either a Cardinal Jesuite, or so absolutely under the Influence of the Pope's Nuncio, that they may be said to be entirely govern'd and directed by them, and the perpetual Couriers and Councels that are sent hourly from Rome, where the Nephew or Cardinal Padrone dictates ​measures to Europe, as if he were a fifth Evangelist.
By these means it is, that they have entirely excluded all Princes from intriguing in the Conclave; for tho' they sometimes leave the Nomination of fit Persons to the sacred Purple (provided they are Jesuits) to crown'd Heads; yet are there no longer Spanish, French or German Cardinals in the World, since whatever Nation they belong to, they are absolutely and solely Jesuits and nothing else. Thus by confining the Cardinalship and Popedom to their own Order, they have been able to avoid two Rocks, namely, long and factious Conclaves, and short Reigns. For it is not now as it was formerly, that he who went in there Pope, came out Cardinal, but even during the Pope's Life, they settle by Agreement the next Successor, without Violence and Party-Feuds, and enter the Conclave for a few Days for Form's sake, and generally take care to chuse a middle-ag'd and healthy Pope, by which they are the more enabled to execute their Schemes and build up their Power.
Nay, so indolent are the Princes of Europe grown and so little jealous of their old Rights, or at least so conscious are they of ​their want of Power to influence Elections, that 'tis grown a common Maxim with them, that Popes resemble Houses, which 'tis better generally to buy ready made, than to be at the Expence and Care in making and raising them, since often they do not like them, when the top Stone is plac'd on the Building. And here indeed, is the great Source and Fountain of their Strength, for chiefly by this Canal (the Popedom) that feeds their lesser Streams, are the great Promotions, Rewards and Preferments, not only in their own but all other Courts, deriv'd to the Friends of the Society; and by them are the smaller Rivulets supplied, and the Land water'd and enrich'd, by their wise and artful Distribution. Thus are all kept in awe by hopes of Preferment of one kind or another. Omnibus una quies, Venter! All that stick to them zealously and serve them faithfully, being secure of Rewards and Advancement, whatever Profession or Employment they follow.
From such plain Facts as these, it is, my Lord, that most People are convinc'd, that over and above the Crowds of great ​Men, that are listed openly in this Society, there are still a much greater Number, who are secretly Jesuites in private, and ex Voto as they call it. Nay, the World is much deceiv'd if they have not, by this subtle Method as many Generals at their Devotion, in the Service of other Princes, as they keep in their pay in Italy, and their Territories abroad.
With such incredible Assistances, is it any thing wonderful, that they have been able to divide and distract the Protestant Powers, to corrupt and pervert some of them, perfidiously and atheistically to break thro' Oaths, and the most solemn and sacred Engagements, and to embrace the Romish Communion; and purchase off the poor distress'd Branches, of the Greek and Armenian Churches, to submit to their Authority, and obtain their Protection at the Price of their Faith.
For my part, my Lord, when I see them possess'd of such Power and Policy together, when I see all the Cardinals, Fathers, Prelates, nay, all the Orders of their Church, all the Ministers of their Princes, (not to say the Princes themselves,) absorb'd and sunk into this one prodi​gious Body; I cannot but admire at their Prudence or rather the Providence of Heaven, that keeps them from being as absolute Masters of this World, as they give themselves out, (and are believ'd) to be of the next, in spite of their flagitious Actions, and the open and flagrant Wickedness of their Conduct.
These Articles, my Lord, which I have been insisting on, are the great Engines by which this vast Machine has gain'd, and now continues to exert its Strength; and let me now hint some others as useful, tho' seemingly more weak and contemptible, which this Church makes use of by her inferior Dependants.
And First then, there is not an Art so mean, which these Jesuits do not stoop to, if it can be of use to them. With this View, besides their being the general Bankers and Traders of the World, they have unjustly, and by the vilest means engross'd all the Schools and Colleges of Europe, and the sole Education of the Youth there. From among those, they pick and garble all the choice Spirits and promising Genius's; whom by Places in their Universities and Prefer​ments when they leave them, and every Allurement that suits their natural Temper and Dispositions best, they tie fast to themselves, either as Friends or Members of their Society.
But they stoop lower yet, for as they alone, or such as they license, are allowed the Privilege of being Confessors, (that is Spies over all Mankind) by the Bull of Clement XIV. in 1862; so they do not only thus keep an infinite ascendant, over the Minds of Princes and all in Authority, but they even preserve their Empire with the lower Ranks and Degrees of Men; to the poorest Tradesmen, the common Soldiers, and the very Porters and Rabble of the Streets, who are all oblig'd to Confession at least once a Month, or to be Excommunicated and Outlaw'd.
In the next place, my Lord, as by the same Bull they are constituted sole Inquisitors, and thereby have intirely routed their old Rivals the Dominicans and secular Clergy; they have thence got an unbounded Power, of ruining the Fortunes and destroying the Lives, of all that offer not openly to oppose, (which were vain) but even to ​censure them. For as by their Arts they have turn'd the holy Office of the Inquisition (as they style it,) into a meer Engine of State, to take off under Colour of Heresy, all of whom they, or the Prince conceive the least Jealousy; so the Awe which by this Method they strike their Enemies Minds with, can only be equal'd by the Hopes and Encouragement, they give their Friends both Laity and Clergy, by espousing and serving their Interests and Advancement, per fas & nefas, Right or Wrong.
By the same Bull they alone are priviledg'd to Exorcise the Obsest, which gives them an huge Appearance of Sanctity with the Crowd, as if none but they among the Regulars, were able to combat with, and overcome the Rage and Fury of the Devil; and what adds not a little to their Veneration, tho' others are allowed to marry People, which they never do (possibly as fearing they may gain more Enmity and Curses, than good Will and Thanks by it) yet they alone are empower'd to examine into, and grant Divorces where they see cause, which makes them not a little consider'd and applied to.
​But as tho' these were but small Honours, which the holy See has heap'd on them, they are constituted also sole Licensers of Books, by which means nothing appears in Publick, but what is season'd to their Palate, and dress'd up by their spiritual Cooks so skilfully, as to please their Society and the relish of the World. And it is worth your Lordship's Notice, that since 1862, there has not one Book either in Divinity or History (for on other Subjects they are very indifferent) which has seen the Light, but what have been wrote by the publick Professors in those Faculties; so that both present and future Times, must either take up with the false Lights they present them with, or search out Truth from a few private conceal'd Manuscripts, which it will be difficult, if not impossible to come at.
This brings to mind, what Pasquin said on this Occasion, that his Holiness had made his good Brethren the Jesuits, sole Spectacle-makers to the World; by which means they were impower'd to make all things in Print, appear dark or clear, fair or foul, great or little, as they pleas'd to represent them to the Eyes of others. ​But to preserve and maintain their Power yet further, as all other Ecclesiasticks are but little Agents and under-work Men to them, so the Cures in remote places are serv'd by such; while the crowded, and most frequented Pulpits are still filled with Fathers of the Society, who are the popular Preachers admir'd and ador'd by all. Nay, to insinuate themselves the more with the Crowd, they affect to appear the Champions and Defenders of their darling Doctrine of the Immaculate Conception; in favour of which a Bull was at last procur'd for them, in spight of the Dominicans Opposition. By this means they pretend to be so peculiarly favour'd by her, as to receive particular Revelations from Heaven, nay, to work miraculous Cures and Conversions, and to be enabled as it were, to inspire the dullest Children with Learning, by her Blessing on their Prayers and Labours, all which extraordinary Gifts none of the other Orders have dar'd to set up for, or rival them in this last Century, whatever they us'd to do in the former ones.
Nay, so peculiarly does she protect them, (as 'tis generally said) and believed, that if any great Sinner enters into their Order, he ei​ther dies by her Means, or amends his Life perfectly in six Months; and as there has not these fifty Years, been one Jesuit accus'd of any Crime whatever, so it is well known, that for fifty Years before, none were accus'd who were not acquitted, and whose Accusers did not die some violent or sudden Death, by her vengeance and the judgment of Heaven; tho' Hereticks, like your Lordship, may impute it to another cause.
In the last place, their Numbers and political Correspondence are of vast service to them, for tho' there are computed to be near 170,000 known Jesuits in Europe alone, all of whom by their Friends and Relations strengthen their Party; yet are matters so regularly order'd, that each Member once a Week, gives an Account of his Conduct and Observations to his Rector, and he to the College, each College to the Provincial, each Provincial to the Nuncio, and each Nuncio to the Pope, who is always General of the Order. Their Numbers are also as exactly distributed, as the regular Forces of a Prince, and even in Great Britain, if my Intelligence be good, there are not less than 1300 quartered in different Places and Disguises; some of ​them as Tradesmen, Valet de Chambres, and Clerks, and not a few as Preachers and School-masters, among our unhappy and unreasonably divided Sectaries.
I send enclos'd a List of 75 of these Traytors Names and last Places of Residence; and I need not caution your Lordship, not to be impos'd on by Proofs of their being zealous Protestants in their general Conversation, or keeping no Fasts, nor regarding Lent, &c. for they have full Dispensations for these useful Acts of Hypocrisy.
And thus, I shall shut up this tedious Account, of this prodigious Society, which I believe will be found to have fully deserv'd the Title, so long since given it, of the Monarchia Solipsorum. Sure I am, this vast Encrease of Power, has done as much harm to the Health, not to say the very Being of the Christian Church, as the Swelling and Over-growth of the Spleen does to the Human Body, which wastes and consumes in proportion to the Size and Excess of the other.
After what I have laid before your Lordship, I fear it will appear, that there is too much Ground for my being sent hither; and to apprehend that his Holiness will ​be able to pursue, (tho' I hope unsuccessfully,) those prodigious Views which the Imperial and French Ambassadors are so much alarm'd with; and both establish the Inquisition in France, and in cafe of his Imperial Majesty's Death, endeavour, if possible, to be chosen Emperour. This last is the more to be fear'd, because he has so far influenc'd the Electors already, as to refuse to chuse a King of the Romans, and it is by all agreed here, that as Charles V. one of the ancient Heroes of the 16th Century, actually laid his Schemes to be chosen Pope, tho' he could not carry it; so the Pope could not do better for the good of Christendom, if he made Reprizals, now when it is more than probable he may not be disappointed.
Of the eleven Electors, the two last of which were made entirely by the Intrigues of this Court, it is certain he has the five Ecclesiasticks at his Devotion, both as they are all Jesuits, and also as they expect the Purple for their Attachment to him; and tho' the other six seem determined to oppose him, yet alas, what a weak Security is a little German Truth and Virtue, when tempted by all the Arts, and Wealth, and ​Power of this See. The Imperial Ambassador assures me, that he has actually offer'd the Electour of Bavaria to make him a King, and be acknowledg'd as such by all the crown'd Heads in Europe that are Catholicks, if he will Vote for a Person he shall propose, and with some Assurances that it shall be a German. But how far this, and especially the last Particular, can be depended on, and if true, how far his Electoral Highness's Virtue may outweigh his Vanity, which has so long thirsted after this airy and empty Title, we must wait on that great Discoverer Time to unriddle.
However, amidst all our Apprehensions, it is some Comfort that his Imperial Majesty's Health rather improves than declines; and tho' the strong and hale Complexion of his Holiness, bids fair to survive him, yet it is possible the Goodness of Heaven may interpose, for the Peace and Liberty of Europe, which if this terrible Intrigue should succeed, would be greatly endangered. It is most sure his Britannick Majesty is consider'd here, as the greatest Obstacle to all these Schemes of the Papal Ambition; and how far the daily Terror of our ​Fleet on this Coast, and his Majefty's Arms, Conduct, and personal Bravery, (hereditary to his House) may intimidate and cool the Ardour of his Hopes, is not easily to be imagin'd. In the mean time, as to the other Particular, this Court seems resolute in setting up the Inquisition in France, and has actually sent an Express last Week, by the way of Lyons, to order the Nuncio to make the most pressing Instances, that it may be no longer delay'd; and if this be complied with, the Slavery of that unhappy Nation is compleated, who long since have had no other Remains of their ancient Liberty left them but the Freedom of their Tongues; whereas this infernal Office, like Satan who invented it, will accuse them for the very Guilt of their Thoughts too.
A Proceeding so much the more ungenerous and unjust, as it oppresses a Nation, to whose Valour and pious Assistance, the State and Grandeur of this See is so highly indebted; but as the great Cornaro said once, that Ingratitude is the Vice of Priests, so this will be but one of many Proofs, that it is a Crime that descends ex traduce, and is hereditary to the Popedom, if I may use such an Expression of an elective Kingdom.
​The Study of Antiquity which is the reigning Passion of this Court, has put his Holiness on an extraordinary Project, which is to be executed early next Summer; and that is, to cut a new Bed for the Tiber, by a vast Canal from its old Channel, thro' the deep Valley hard by the Poute Molle. As it is expected, (besides, the Convenience of railing the Banks of the River, and securing it from future Inundations) that prodigious Quantities of Antiquities of all kinds will be found by this Method, and much more than will answer the Charge; they propose to spare no Expence, in executing the Design with Care and Expedition, before the great Heats endanger the Health of the Inhabitants, from the Stench of the Filth and Slime of the River.
I forgot to mention to your Lordship, that I was shewn here Yesterday, an old Gentleman who is actually the lineal Descendant of one of our ancient Kings, who abdicated his Throne thro' a violent Aversion to the Northern Heresy, and his Zeal to this See; and yet, so grateful are his good Patrons the Jesuits, that he is no farther consider'd here then as a Piece of Antiquity, which they keep to ​mortifie themselves with in Lent. They allow him 2000 l. a Year, aud a beneficial Place, of first Valet de Chambre to his Holiness. He seems to be a grave heavy Man, and very constant at his Breviary, neither he, or his Father ever took the Title of King on them; he is near Eighty, and has a very bad Aspect. He keeps no Attendants but a few Highland Gentlemen, and has such a saturnine melancholy Severity of Manners, that he converses with none but a Rabble of Scotch and English Jesuits, and now and then an Italian Painter or Fiddler. He is certainly Great Great Grandson, to the Person who is once or twice mention'd in the Histories of the glorious Reigns of George II. and Frederick I. under the Name of the Pretender. He was never married but has five illegitimate Children; two Sons, one of whom is Bishop of Como, the other is a Colonel in the Pope's Service, (but I know not whether Horse or Foot,) and three Daughters, who are Mother Abbesses to three Nunneries of very large Revenues. I saw him at the Opera, for he is a great Lover of Musick, and we conversed together near an Hour in Italian, having no English.
I am asham'd to have detain'd your Lordship so long and so unprofitably, and therefore shall only add, that as I shall faithfully pursue my Instructions here, so I hope my Zeal for my Country, and Attachment to your Lordship, stand in need of no Professions, and especially from one, who has so often sacrific'd his Fortune and Interest, to the little Services he has been so happy to render to both, and to the Honour of being
My Lord, your Lordship's, &c.
Hertford.
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