To these enormous, I would rather say abnormous, misshapen lies, I add, in finishing, your assertion, that _the Jesuits took part in every intrigue, in every revolution_. You are not ignorant, it seems, that revolutions are always preceded by intrigues. Now, Laicus, you must patiently submit to be branded with the title of SPLENDIDE MENDAX, until you produce {272} undeniable proof, that the Jesuits were concerned in the intrigues, which produced the several revolutions of Denmark, Sweden, and Russia, of the United Provinces in 1570, of Portugal in 1640, of England in the same year, and again in 1688, and, more recently, in the revolution, which wrested the American States from the British crown. I will rub off the _splendide mendax_ from your forehead when you prove, that any one of these revolutions was contrived, or conducted, by Jesuits. It is a remarkable circumstance, that, amidst the fiercest rage of unceasing wars, the two great rival houses of Bourbon and Austria vied with each other in esteem and affection for the Jesuits. During the reigns of Philip II, and his three immediate successors in Spain; during the reigns of Maximilian, of the three Ferdinands, and Leopold, in Germany; during the reigns of Henry IV, and of the three Louises, who succeeded him, in France, the Jesuits obtained their most distinguished settlements in those various kingdoms. If ever a history of the {273} destruction of the Jesuits be written, it will show, that, purposely to bring forward the grand revolution, from which Europe is now struggling to recover, they were expelled from all the situations, in which European monarchs and prelates, the guardians of church and state, had placed them. This is the only revolution, in which Jesuits ought to be named. And here I advise you to meddle no more with this matter. _Melius non tangere, clamo._ Inquiry, or even chance, may betray your real name. If this happen, I shall add with the poet, _Flebis, et insignis tota cantaberis urbe_. HOR. Sat. i, l. 2. Mean time your antagonist is CLERICUS. * * * * * {274} LETTER II. SIR;