Clergy.
THough a Clergy-man have no Faults of his own, yet the Faults of the whole Tribe shall be laid upon him, so that he shall be sure not to lack.
The Clergy would have us believe them against our own Reason, as the Wo∣man would have had her Husband against his own Eyes: What! will you believe your own Eyes before your own sweet Wife.
The Condition of the Clergy to∣wards their Prince, and the Condition of the Physician is all one: The Physicians tell the Prince they have Agaric and Ru∣barb, good for him, and good for his Sub∣jects Bodies; upon this he gives them leave to use it; but if it prove naught, then away with it, they shall use it no more: So the Clergy tell the Prince they have Physick good for his Soul, and good for the Souls of his People; upon that he admits them: But when he finds by Ex∣perience they both trouble him and his People, he will have no more to do with them, what is that to them, or any body else, if a King will not go to Heaven.
A Clergy-man goes not a Dram further than this, you ought to obey your Prince in general; [if he does he is lost] how to obey him, you must be inform’d by those whose Profession it is to tell you. The Parson of the Tower (a good discreet Man) told Dr. Mosely, (who was sent to me and the rest of the Gentlemen committed the 3d Caroli, to persuade us to submit to the King) that they found no such Words as [Parlia∣ment, Habeas Corpus, Return, Tower, &c.] Neither in the Fathers, nor the School∣men, nor in the Text; and therefore for his part he believed he understood no∣thing of the Business. A Satyr upon all those Clergy-men that meddle with Mat∣ters they do not understand.
All confess there never was a more learned Clergy, no Man taxes them with Ignorance. But to talk of that, is like the Fellow that was a great Wencher; he wish’d God would forgive him his Leachery, and lay Usury to his Charge. The Clergy have worse Faults.
The Clergy and Laity together are never like to do well, ’tis as if a Man were to make an excellent Feast, and should have his Apothecary and his Physician come into the Kitchen: The Cooks if they were let alone would make excellent Meat, but then comes the Apothecary and he puts Rubarb into one Sauce and Agrick into another Sauce. Chain up the Clergy on both sides.