The works of John Dryden, now first collected in eighteen volumes. Volume 17Dryden, John
General
The works of John Dryden, now first collected in eighteen volumes. Volume 17
Dryden, John
English literature
He next enquires, what need she had of an infallible church, if she owed
her change so wholly to Almighty God?
_Wholly_ is already explained to him, and then his argument is of no
more force against her, than against all Catholics who have once been
Protestants; which is a new subject of dispute, and foreign to the
argument in hand.
“Her conclusion,” as he tells us, “is, that she would never have changed,
if she could have saved her soul otherwise;” whereupon he infers, “if
this were true, she had good reason for her change; if it were not true,
(as most certainly it was not,) she had none.”
But her words (which he hath falsified in this place) are these: “I would
never have changed, if I had thought it possible to have saved my soul
otherwise.” He never misquotes without design. Now by altering these
words—_if I had thought it possible to save my soul_, into these—_if I
could have saved my soul_, he would shuffle off her true meaning; which
was, that her conscience obliged her to this change. And that is a
point he would not willingly have touched; for he cannot deny, upon his
own principles, but that, after having examined the scriptures, as she
professes to have done as well as she was able, concerning the points in
dispute, and afterwards using the assistance of her spiritual guides, the
two bishops, she was to judge for herself in the last resort; and the
judgment she made, according to her conscience, was, that the scripture
spoke clearly in behalf of the Catholic church, or church of Rome, as he
calls it: therefore, according to his principles, and her conscience, she
was to be of that church, of whose truth she was thus convinced; so that
whether she could be otherwise saved or no, was not the proposition to be
advanced, but whether she thought it possible to be otherwise saved. And
therefore, though it were true that she could otherwise be saved, yet she
had a sufficient reason for her change, (though he says she had none,)
which was, her conscience; and supposing that were erroneous, yet, upon
his principles, she must be the judge of it without appeal.
“Her scruples began upon reading Dr Heylin’s ‘History of the
Reformation;’ and there she found such abominable sacrilege upon Harry
the Eighth’s divorce, King Edward’s minority, and Queen Elizabeth’s
succession, that she could not believe the Holy Ghost could ever be in
such councils.” Thus he compendiously quotes her paper, as being, it
seems, ashamed of the particulars therein mentioned; but for once I will
follow him his own way.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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