Phenix gazette. [volume] (Alexandria [D.C.]) 1825-1833, 1831-10-12
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER IL, 1881.
COMMUNICATED.

OF 4 rSiuI Writef, Nouiu seeu, anu 'oiio"
SO close upon me, that unless l pause occasion
ally, the controversy, innocently enough pro-
voked on my part, may become irksome' iiei
no doubt, a polite as well as candid antagonist.
and will accept this apology for not sooner reply
ing to his last essay.
NV avooations will not permit mi to search
thoroughly the records Of Church and State to
satisfy "A friend to Religion and the State"
that | am correct. Even admitting the mere
favorable construction of the conduct of the &C.
clesiastics made by my opponent, the danger l
apprehended and spoke against remains the same.
If the Church returns the meretrecious embraces
of the State, does it matter which commenced
the courtship? If the Church willingly accepted.
and still, whenever practicable, holds on to anal
liance with the State, rs ii of much consequence
which couried the alliance9
But Che Clergy, without doubt, early sought
and obtained peculiar privileges. This laid the
foundation for the temporal power Of the Church.
,rhe corruption of the Clergy, before the union
Of Church and State, gave great facilities for such
an occurrence. happen TO have before me, evil
dence conclusive on this head
:" Before the union of Church and State, un-
der Constantine, We fad the Church already ar
rived at a considerable degree of arbitrary poicer,
a state very different from that which had pre-
ylously existed. when the different collections Of
Christians were not joined together by associa-
ton. confederacy. or any other bonds, than those
of charity. This was brought about by the iusti-
tuition of Councils. which changed the whole face
Of the church, and gave it a new form; tor by
them the privileges of the people were consli-
erabiy diminished, and the power and authority
Of the Bishops greatly augmented.
Ency. Brit.
An appearance of federation was for some time
kept up, to luli to sleep the vigilance OF those
who, even at that early day, were disposed to
watch their Entertainments. Asa fair warning,
drawn from The u%nerring page Of History, let what
follows be attended to: $50
A their (the prelates0 first appearance in
the general councils, they acknowledged that they
were ND more than the delegates of their respect
i've churches. and that thew acted in the name
and by the appointment of the people. But they
soon changed this humble tone; imperceptbly
extended the limits of their authority, turned
their influence into dominion, their councils into
laws, &c."-Eacy, Brit. Nos. SO f. 90.
After this, weare fully prepared for the yf'a@le;
AT length, in the fourth century. after the
Clergy had been, for a long time. augmenting
their power at the expense OF the liberty OF the
people, the Christian Religion was established BY
law. and no other tolerated throughout the Ro-
man Empire."-Eacy Brit.
These extracts from approved authority, will,
at least. show "A Friend to Religion and the
State, that my ground is tenable. As | make
no Wanting, this concession will satisfy me. |
haze not resorted to the pages of Gibbon or Lard
uer. nor will my other duties allow me to con-
suit Mosheim's, Minors or Gregory's e~ccleslas-
teal histories.
Speaking Of the Clergy, one of the most ele-
CANT writers on law in our language says:
:. This venerable body of men, being separate
and SET apart from the rest of the people, have
thereupon large privileges allowed them by our
municipal laws, and had formerly much greater,
which were abridged at the time of the ReiOrma-
ton. Fer the laws having exempted them from
almost every personal duty. they attempted a to-
tai exemption from every secular tie. = Black
stone, $40.
venerable master of the same profession
with the writer | have just quoted, says:
- AS Tue ONcIio"I VI "a'ei' uobh "'o"r t"'Co
make the river to lose its proper channel, SO in
times past, ecclesiastical persons, seeking to ex-
tend their liberties beyond their true bounds. Ell
Their lost or enjoyed not those which of right be-
longed to them. "-Coke'S Isl inst. 4.
The space 1 have occupied in transcribing the
foregoing extracts, admonlshes me that 1t is time
to conclude. l would not willingly weary the
patience of the reader, although have not noted
the steady resistance that several of the powers of
Europe made TO the Entertainments Of the Church
until their opposition was hushed to silence by
high toned threats, menaces, and even violence;
giving ample demonstration that the Church, un-
der the guidance of the Clergy, has ever sought
mower with avidity, and furnishing the most EN-.
pphatic reasons for believing that, as the nature of
man is the same, and the human mind liable to
all its ~ancieat errors, Its cOrmorant appetite Is
even not yet satisfied. l. TINES.