Popery and the popish question Author:George Croly Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: merit is a despotism, it has been found habitu-1 ally connected with despotic governments. In religion, it shuts Scripture upon the people; it loads them with a ... more »yoke of ceremonies, contrary to the spirit and command of Scripture; it throws down the laity at the foot of the Priest; it claims a haughty and unlimited dominion over every other faith ; and it urges this monstrous claim by intolerance and sanguinary persecution. Rome, at this hour, looks upon every Protestant state as a rebel, left loose only till she can have the power of fierce coercion. For England, as the great offender, the very chief of the revolt, there is a black and consummate reserve of retribution. We come to the Popish question of the day. The English are certainly a generous people, and, with the usual fate of the generous, easily cajoled. There is no spot on earth where an empiric, and, of all the trade, a political empiric, whether stationary or itinerant, volunteer or stipendiary, can fatten to a larger size. The English love liberty, and hate slavery, and those words, in the mouth of an orator of whatever dimensions, are irresistible. Mr. O'Connell is certainly an able artist in these things. No man is more dextrous in disco chapter{Section 4vering the true soft material to work into the shape of sympathy; and when he is fully warmed into his tavern tale of the "six hundred years of Ireland's beggary and chains," when he forbids the women of his country to bring forth males, lest they should be found fettered in, the cradle ; and obtests the vengeance of his three hundred and sixty-five saints against the remorseless and indescribable tyranny which, while it gives liberty of worship, person, and prpperty, yet withholds from his compatriots silk gowns, Lord Mayor's coaches, and the other comm...« less