SECT. III. _Pride, ambition, and covetousness, the grand sources of persecution._ Surely it could not be zeal for God and Christ, and the truth and honour of christianity; no real love to piety and virtue, that prompted and led the bishops and their clergy on to these acts of injustice and cruelty. Without any breach of charity, it may be asserted of most, if not all of them, that it was their pride, and their immoderate love of dominion, grandeur and riches, that influenced them to these unworthy and wicked measures. The interest of religion and truth, the honour of God and the church, is I know the stale pretence; but a pretence, I am afraid, that hath but little probability or truth to support it. For what hath religion to do with the observation of days? or, what could excite Victor to excommunicate so many churches about Easter, but the pride of his heart, and to let the world see how large a power he had to send souls to the devil? How is the honour of God promoted, by speculations that have no tendency to godliness? Will any man seriously affirm, that the ancient disputes about “Hypostasis, Consubstantial, &c.” and the rest of the hard words that were invented, did any honour to the name of Christ, or were of any advantage to the religion of his gospel? Or, can he believe that Alexander, Arius, Athanasius, Macedonius, and others, were influenced in all their contentions and quarrels, in all the confusions they were the authors of, and the murders they occasioned, purely by religious motives? Surely the honour of religion must be promoted by other means; and genuine christianity may flourish, and, indeed, would have flourished much better, had these disputes never been introduced into the church; or had they been managed with moderation and forbearance. But such was the haughtiness of the clergy, such their thirst of dominion over the consciences of others, such their impatience of contradiction, that nothing would content them but implicit faith to their creeds, absolute subjection to their decrees, and subscription to their articles without examination or conviction of their truth; or for want of these, anathemas, depositions, banishments, and death. The history of all the councils, and of almost all the bishops, that is left us, is a demonstration of this sad truth. What council can be named, that did not assume a power to explain, amend, settle, and determine the faith? That did not anathematize and depose those who could not agree to their decisions, and that did not excite the emperors to oppress and destroy them? Was this the humility and condescension of servants and ministers? Was not this lording it over the heritage of God, seating themselves in the throne of the Son of God, and making themselves owned as “fathers and masters,“ in opposition to the express command of Christ to the contrary?