402 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.

CHi F, of a limited government seems to require, inlvh. extraordinary cafes, some mitigation of so rigor-iMf. ous a doctrine; it must be confessed, that thepreceding genius of the English constitution hadrendered a mistake in this particular very naturaland excusable. To inflict death at least on those,•who depart from the exact line of truth in thesenice questions; so far from being favorable tonational liberty, savors strongly of the spirit oftyranny and proscription.

Toleration had hitherto been so little theprinciple of any christian sect, that even the ca-tholics , the remnant of the religion professed bytheir forefathers, could not obtain from theEnglish the least indulgence. This very houseof commons, in their famous remonstrance , tookcare to justify themselves , as from the highestimputation, from any intention to relax the gold-en reins of discipline, as they called them, orto grant any toleration“: And the enemies ofthe church were so fair from the beginning, asnot to lay claim to liberty of conscience, whichthey called a toleration for soul-murder. TheyOpenly challenged the superiority, and even me-naced the established church with that persecution,which they afterwards exercised against her withsuch severity.. And if the question be consideredin the view of policy; though a sect, alreadyformed and advanced , may, with good reason,demand a toleration; what title had the puritans

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Nelson, vol. ii. p. 705.