But then he understood Mankind very well; his very Enemies, that were
his Contemporaries, allow'd him to be a Man of great Parts. If he had
had the the same Opinion of Christianity, which you have, and the
Unfitness of it to make Men quarrel and fight with Obstinacy, he would
never have made Use of it among his Soldiers.
Cleo. And it is clear as the sun, that he never did.
Hor. That his pretences to religion were no more than Hypocrisy, I
have allow'd; but it does not appear, that he desired others to be
Hypocrites too: On the Contrary, he took Pains, or at least made Use
of all possible Means to promote Christianity among his Men, and make
them sincerely Religious.
Cleo. You will never distinguish between Christianity, that is, the
Doctrine of Christ, and the Interpretations, that are made of it by
Clergymen; tho' I have often shew'd you the great Difference there is
between them. _Cromwell_ was a Man of admirable good Sense, and
thoroughly well acquainted with Human Nature; he knew the mighty Force
of Enthusiasm, and made Use of it accordingly. As to Strictness of
Religion and the Love of Liberty, they had all along been the darling
Pretences of the party he engaged in. The complaints of the _Puritans_
against Episcopacy, and that the Church of _England_ was not
sufficiently reformed, began in Queen _Elizabeth's_ Time, and were very
near as old as the Reformation itself. The people's Murmurings and
Struggles for Liberty were of some Standing, when King _Charles_ the
First came to the Throne: The Jealousies, which Parliaments had of the
Regal Power and Prerogative, had been openly shewn in his Father's
Reign, and, throughout the Course of it, been troublesome to his
Ministers.
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