The practical divinity of the papists discovered to be destructive of Christianity and mens…

Sect. 4. Let us see in the next place, if Perjury may not prove as blameless, and as necessary. Breach of Oaths is no less with them than a virtue, or a necessary duty in many cases, (of which a further account hereafter) let me now instance but in one. Suppose a Prince that has Protestant Subjects, should for their satisfaction, give them the security of his most solemn Oath, that they should not suffer for their Conscience, either in Life, Estate, or Liberty; that Religion does oblige the Prince to break all such Oaths, or to count himself no ways obliged by them, because they are against the Laws of the Church; against that particularly of the general Council of Lateran ⟨p. 204⟩under Pope Innocent. 3. which forbids all favour to be showed to Heretics under •h• severest penalties, and decrees that favourers of Heretics are under Excommunication. So that in this case it must be the Princes duty to be perjured, and to break his Oath made in favour of his heretical Subjects, & that by the sacred decree of the Church. He must forswear himself, if he will not be Excommunicated and consequently deposed, and thereby exposed to the violence of every hand. Yea he puts himself into the state of Damnation, and sins mortally, if he be true to his Oath. So Pope Martin, 5. Declared in writing to Alexander Duke of Lithuania, ⁽ⁿ⁾know, says he, that thou sinnest mortally, if thou keep thy Oath with Heretics. Hereby it appears that no Papists, Princes or Subjects, can possibly give any security which may be trusted, that Protestants shall enjoy any thing, which is in their power to deprive them of, for the greatest securities that can be given in this case, are engagements of faith and truth, God being invocated for confirmation in solemn Oaths: but by the principles of their Religion, they are so far loosed from all such Bonds, that they are not at all to be trusted by any, but credulous fools; unless it can be supposed, that they will act as other men than Papists, and contemn all the Authority of that Church, which leaves no hopes of salvation but in obedience to it. For another general Council, that of Constance has determined, that no faith is to be kept with Heretics. In the nineteenth.