The way of Promoting Fears, and Jelousies. The People meerly Passive in the Bus'ness. Both Parts seem to Contend for the

Same Common Principles. The Rise of Jelousies.

Saturday, August 21. 1686.

TRIMMER. The Accommodating of Words, Phrases, and Texts to the Matter in hand, with the Interjecting, here and there, of Certain Emphatical Winks, and Innuendo's, to the Common People, will do the Bus'ness of Fears and Jelousies, you need never Doubt it, without any more Ceremony.

OBSERVATOR. I do no more Doubt it, then I do, that a Proper Remedy; Rightly Prepar'd; and Administer'd in the Due Time and Proportion, will Work such or such an Effect. But the Skill lyes, in the Judgment of the Distemper; The Constitution of the Patient; The Choice of the Physick; The Prescription of the Composition, the Preparation, and the Dos. Now Your way of Operating, is only the Mechanicall Part of the Bus'ness; and no more, then the giving of a Box, a Gally-pot, or a Glass, with a Note of Directions, out of One hand into Another: which Any Porter that Plyes at the Next Corner, would do as Dext'rously, as ever a Doctor of the College. The Difficulty, and the Mystery, is Over, before You have any thing to Do with it: The Poysonous, and Intoxicating Draught, Prepar'd; The Multitude set a-Gaping for't, and Your Office, is only at last, to Pour it down their Throats. There's Matter of History, and Fact, enough, 'tis true, to Satisfy any man, that People may be made as Mad with Cant, and Gibberish, as if they had taken Henbane; and that the Sting of Jelousy, will put them out of their Wits as soon as the Biting of a Mad-Dog: But we are in the Dark all this while, for the Rise, the Progress, and the Methods of Enflaming Jelousies, to bring'em up to that Pitch. Prethee let me Understand a little of their Birth, Growth, Discipline, and Education; How they are Fed, Nourish'd, and Entertain'd? What's the End, and Use of them? What Language do they Speak; or how comes it to pass, that the Same Words, and Phrases, without Any Intelligence with Grammar, Logique, Common Usage, or Propriety, should Transport Some Men into Outrages, Palpitations of the Heart, Horrors, and Tremblings, both of Mind, and of Body; and yet Work no more upon Others, then they did, before the very Letters of'em were taken out of the Alphabet? I do not call ye to a Strict Shrift upon Every Point, but I Expect you shall say something to the Whole Matter; for a Few Words, in Order, will give a man more Light to the Reason of a Thing, then as many Volumes, in Confusion.

Trim. You are in the Right; that the Craft lies in the Project, and the Preparatory Manage of this Affair, and that the Danger is gone too Far, when the Mine is already Wrought; the Powder Dispos'd, and nothing wanting to the Final Execution of the Mischief, but the Lighting of the Match, and the Applying of the Coal to the Train. You have Well and Truly enough Observed, the Wonderfull Force, that Some Certain Words, and Phrases have; upon the Affections of the Multitude; without the Least Shadow of any Logical, Grammatical, or Philosophical Reason for the Operation of them. Now you must know, that These Words, and Phrases, are made Use of, and Understood, in the way of a Cypher, or a Jargon, and not according to the Ordinary Acceptation of them, in a Regular way of Writing, or of Speaking; So that, Effectually, the Efficacy of such Words, and Phrases, is given for Granted; and how they come to Obtain that Force, remains the Single Question.

Now towards the Understanding of this Matter, you must Consider, that no State can be Supplanted, but by Turning the Peoples Hearts, against the Persons, & the Actions of their Superiors: So that in All Conspiracies to Destroy a Government, Fears & Jelousies, are the Corner Stone of the Babel. Their Hearts are no sooner Lost, but they withdraw their Bodies too, and so, by Degrees, Erect Laws, and Religions of their Own; and look upon themselves, by This time, as in Another Commonwealth.

Obs. 'Tis most Certainly True; and that in this Separation, they set-up an Interest of Direct Spite, as well as Opposition, to That of the Church, and of the State.

Trim. This is the very Course, and Progress of a Popular Jelousy: But pray take Notice as we go, that the People, are thus far, Meerly Passive; and Contribute No Otherwise, to the Ruine of the Publique, then a Snapping Sea does, to the Sinking of a Vessell, when the Billows are Hurry'd-on by the Violence of an Irresistible Tempest: if the Winds would but let the Waves alone, they'd be Quiet. When they come once to Gather into [Private Meetings,] (or as you call them, Conventicles) you may Then accompt upon it, that they are as good as put to School, to Learn the Mystery of their Profession. For there are Canting-Schools, as well as Reading-Schools: and under This Discipline, they come by Insensible Degrees, to part with their English Tongue, as well as with their English Principles, and Manners. Nay, and Effectually, to take up such Uncouth, Novel, and Strange Thoughts, Opinions, and Practices, that it looks, as if the English-Man, the Christian, and the Subject, were all lost in a Disguise. They are now, you must know, under New Lords, and Consequently, under New Laws; where they are Train'd-up to New Ways of Understanding Things, and to a New Idiome of Expressing them. Religion, Law, Government, Conscience, Good Manners, are so Sacred in Themselves, that the Worst of Men cannot but Pretend a Veneration for them; but how to Baffle, or to Elude the Force, the Obligation, and the Authority of them; and, at the Same Time, to set-up for the Asserters, and Supporters of These Publique Rights, Privileges, and Duties, There lies the Difficulty of the Undertaking.

Obs. That is to say, how to Resolve Religion, into an Empty Notion: To Talk Christianity into a Paradox; and, with Christ in our Mouths, at London, to fall down, and Worship Mahomet, in Buda: How to Confound Gods, and the Governments Friends and Enemies, so as to make the Common People take One for T'other. Now This can be no way done, but by setting-up the Counterfeit of Religion, Law, and Conscience, against the Genuine, and Authentique Original; and by making Evil, to be Good, and Good, to be Evil.

Trim. You must Note, further, that in This Opposition, the Main Cause appears to be the very Same, on Both sides; and Both Parts seem to Contend, for the Same Common Principles, of Divine Worship, and of Civil Obedience.

Obs. Only the One Flies to the Invisible Lights and Dictates of the Spirit, in Matter of Religion; (taking Fancy for Revelation) and, in the Matter of Government, has Recourse to Certain Unaccountable Whimsies, of [Powers Reserv'd,] where there never was any Power at all; & These Fooleries, they Trump upon the Little People, under the Pompous Name of [FUNDAMETALS;] while the Rulers, on the Other hand, Stick to the Law, to the Text, and to the Approved Sense of the Best Interpreters of Both, for their Guide.

Trim. Very Good! And after they have Departed from the Common Rule, and Divided themselves from the Common Interest; it is but Reasonable to Expect, that they will Set-up Another Interest, and Another Rule to Themselves.

Obs. Well! But how do they Manage That Province all this while, as to the Subject, I mean, that we were Speaking of?

Trim. Why their way is, only to put Religion, and Government in Another Dress; but under the Name, of [Religion,] and [Government,] Still; and then to lay on a Superstructure, Answerable to the Foundation; I speak of the Leaders only; for their Disciples are Blanck Paper; and ready for any Impression. They Talk, to the Ears, and to the Passions of their Hearers, not to their Understandings: and their Auditors gather more of their Meaning, from their Gestures, Actions, Countenances, and from Pathetical Tones, then from the Words Themselves. As for Sense, or No Sense, 'tis all a Case; for 'tis the Jingle, not the Matter, that does Their Bus'ness. The Less the People Understand, the More they are Edify'd; for they take the Congruities of Carnal Reason, for Vain Philosophy; and Incomprehensible Nonsense, passes for the Work of the Light Within. Their Religion lies alltogether in Groan, and Rapture: They Sacrifice to the Unknown God; and in One Word; They Supply the Want of Knowledge, with an Excess of Zeal; and when they cannot Understand the Plain English of a Discourse, they Wrap Themselves up in the Mystery. The making of a Party, & the Saving of their own Skins, are the Two Main Points of the Leaders; and therefore, they Cover themselves under Ambiguity, & Riddle; & Compass those Matters, by Theatrical Gesticulations, & Actions, which they dare not Venture upon, in Words at Length, or by the Dint of Argument; for there is no Law against making of Faces, and Dusting of Cushions, They are told Mightily, and Plainly, of Heaven, and Hell; but in such a Manner, that they will Never Allow God, and the Government to be Both of a side. Schism is Dignified with the Name of Conscience; the Story of their Grievances, is the Bitterest of Satyrs; Their very Petitions have the force of Invectives; and the Smoother, the Softer, you find the Surface of them, the Falser, and the more Dangerous they are at the Bottom: For betwixt the Persecution that is Insinuated, on the part of the Government, & the Innocence, the Piety, and the Modesty, on that of the Sufferers, Nothing can more Provoke, a Horror, and Indignation for the One, or a Tenderness, & Compassion, for the Other.

Obs. That is to say, among Those that are not Well Enform'd, in the Reason, and Equity of the Cause in Question.

Trim. Come Come. I tell ye Nakedly how things Are, and not how they Ought to be: and I speak of Those Men too, that neither Do, nor Will, nor Can make a Right Judgment upon the Matter in Issue. They do not take down Reasons in Connexion; neither do their Teachers so much as Offer at'em; But their Work is, only to Feed Itching Ears, and Humours, with New-Quoyn'd Words, Affectate Phrases: And briefly, to Instruct their Disciples, by Signs and Tokens, like so many Dancing Horses to fall Lame upon all Four, for the Pope; to come-over, for the Grand Vizier; and at the very Sound of Babylon, Anti-Christ, or Absolute Power, to Snort, and Boggle, as if they Smelt Fire. If I may tell ye the Arrant Truth, and Simplicity of my Heart; This is the very Train of a Popular Institution. They are Tutor'd, and Inur'd, to the Assuming of such and such Passions, upon such and such Occasions; and they do All their Ayres, and Tricks, by the Direction of the Hand, or Eye. They Dance to Sounds, Hints, Nodds, Forms, and Syllables; not to the force of Fair Reasonings, and Natural Conclusions; Nay, they are Taught, when to be Angry; when to be Pleas'd; and their very Inclinations, and Aversions, are none of their Own, Neither: The Whole Bus'ness, in short, is Artifice, Manage, and Practice; for All their Mistakes, and Mis-understandings, take the Same Biass.

Obs. I do Observe, indeed, that they Shelter themselves under the Dark Prophets, and the Revelation. The Number of the Beast, they have all at their Fingers Ends; the Geneva-Bibles are Thumm'd over and over, at the Same Texts: As upon the Subject of the Groves, & the High Places, Christian Liberty, Will-Worship, Humane Inventions, Idolatry, Superstition, &c. There's not a Verse in the whole Bible, against Persecution, but makes them Shake their Heads at the Government. Popery by Interpretation, is Episcopacy: The Liberty of the Subject, has an Aking Tooth at the Prerogative of the Prince: But finally; such and such Terms, and Forms of Speaking, are, by Common Consent, to pass for Current, under such or such a Sense, and Meaning, how Contrary soever, to their Proper, and Genuine Signification, or Import. But this speaks only to the Propagating of Jelousies, not to the Rise of them.

Trim. If you Ask me the [Rise] of Jelousies, I must Answer ye, that they are Begotten betwixt Ambition, Avarice, Hypocrisy, Craft, Malice, and Disloyalty, on the One side; and Ignorance, Obstinacy, Blind Zeal, and an Impetuous Temerity, on the Other.

London, Printed for Charles Brome, at the Gun in St. Paul's Church-yard.

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