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breatltes through fcvfcry page . To bur shfti « e \ Be * it $ p 6 fce * i , that , although from the qirteumstahqies under which it « You ask me first for Castalio ' s sentiments . If , as I conjecture , the work eutituled De Htereticis an sfoitpersequendi , &c . y which purports to be compiled by Martin Beliius , and to which Beza ' s
celebrated treatise , De Hcereticis a Civili Magistrate , puniendis , &c . y was an answer , was drawn up by Castalio , it seems to have been his opinion that Turks and Unbelievers ought not to be molested by the civil magistrate on account of their
principles , though he appears to think differently with respect to Atheists : € Si quis ( as he writes in the work referred to ) Deum negat e is impius et atheus est et omnium jitdicio meritd abominandus * Having noticed the agreement of the Turks and Christians in their belief of
Oue God , and afterwards the diversity of their opinions respecting Christ , he proceeds , * Quid igitur in tantis dissidiis superest ? Ut fiat quod docet Paulus—QUI NON COMEDIT , COMEDENT NE CONTEMNAT , NAM UTERO . UE SUO DOMINO STAT aut cadit . Ne damnent Judcei aut Turcce Christianas , rurstmique ne contemnant Christiani et Turcas aut
Judtsossed potius doceani et pietate alliciant * Itemque inter Christianas ne damnemus alii altos , sed si doctiores sumus , simw etiam meliores et misericordiores j " There is some reason to suspect
that the Unitarian writers of this period wished to evade the question respecting the toleration of Unbelievers , lest by opposing it they should weaken their defence of religious liberty , or by advocating it increase the odium which their
religious tenets had drawn upon them , Laelius Socinus , if ( as I suppose ) he was the author of the work entitled Contra Libellum Calvini ; in quo ostendere cona-Lur ^ Hareticos jure gladn ' coercendos esse , 1554 , seems liable to this suspicion . Thus in one place he writes , < Si quis wangelium , quod ante professus fuisset , Plane negaret , et de Christo aut de Deo
v wediceret , ac petulanter blasphemaret , pro eo loqui equidem minime vellem ? And again , « Qui negant Sacras Literas , ii nan ^ retiefy sed infideles et impii habendi su nt , de quibus nos Me nan agimu& . ' In another part of the work , however , where < o P rofesses to discuss the question , slmdfit hesreticus et quonam modo traclandus ; he speaks out more explicitl
y : vuomam CaMnus de hcereticis disputims ' , i °° nfun ^ et mado blasphemos , modo lrn % ? De ° rv ™ cultores , modo fateos n ^ Z . w <* nda 9 Hasreticos horum ontnum tnvidiQ gravarit . Ostendam eos vui
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was written , it is peculiarly connected with England , it had never been translated ( at lejast in a complete state ) into qui Jusretici habentur mm esse tales . Imptos ttlos et Sucrarum Lzterarum contemptores ac blasphemos Hcereticorum nomine non comprehendo . Sed &t hnpios
tractandos judico . Si Deum negant , si blasphemant > si palam de sancta Christianorum doctrina maledicunt , sanctam piorum vitam detestantury eos ego relinquo magistratibus puniendoSy non propter religmnem quant nullarn habent , sed propter irreligionem * Quod si quis magistrates eos in vinculis
teneret si forte se corrtgerent ( quwniam immense est J > ei misericordiq ) is mini magistrdtus non alienus esse videtur a Christiana dementia * The object of CreJlius ' s book , Vindicice pro Religionism Libert at ey was to obtain for the Unitarians of Poland a toleration of the public
profession of their religion . He argues principally on the ground that no injury could arise from their opinions to the civil interests of the community . He notices the Turks and Mahometans , but only to shew that ^ as the Catholic
government tolerated both these bodies without suffering any civil injury , they might , with at least equal safety , tolerate Unitarians . He states , that in the case of neither would the government be charged with countenancing or approving . their peculiar and distinguishing tenets .
" Schlichtingius , in his work , Apologia pro f ^ eritate accusata , 1663 , had nearly the same object as to the Unitarians of Holland , as Crellius had respecting those of Poland . He mentions Turks and Jews only for the purpose of refuting a charge which had been alleged against the system of the Unitarians , as resembling Judaism and Mahometanism . He seems to have
entertained the most liberal views of religious liberty . ' Quid enim f he writes )' aliud est conscientice uni vero Deo adstricto , libertas quant in religione sentire quce velisy et quce sentias libere
pranunciare" The principle which you referred to , of distinguishing between the * modest worship * of heretics , or the privately holding of heretical opinions , and the public profession and promulgation of their sentiments , is frequently noticed incidentally by the early Unitarian writers
in their controversies with the orthodox of their day . But I am unable at this moment to give you any extracts from , the writers you specify on the subject . It was acted upbn by L . Socinas and Blandrata in the affair of Francis David * whom they would have allowed to remain unmolested if he had abstained from the
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Th ^ Nonconform ht . No .-XXI * 45 ? .
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Aug. 2, 1821, page 457, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2503/page/17/
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