Page:The Works of the Rev. Jonathan Swift, Volume 5.djvu/350

342 margin puts a very pertinent and powerful question: If God be the sole Lord of the conscience, why should the rights of conscience be subject to human jurisdiction? Now to apply this to the catholicks; the belief of transubstantiation is a matter purely of religion and conscience, which does not affect the political interest of society, as such: therefore, why should the rights of conscience whereof God is the sole Lord, be subject to human jurisdiction? And why should God be deprived of this right over a catholick's conscience, any more than over that of any other dissenter?

And whereas another author among our brethren the dissenters, has very justly complained, that by this persecuting test act, great numbers of true protestants have been forced to leave the kingdom, and fly to the plantations, rather than stay here branded with an incapacity for civil and military employments; we do affirm, that the catholicks can bring many more instances of the same kind; some thousands of their religion having been forced by the sacramental test, to retire into other countries, rather than live here under the incapacity of wearing swords, sitting in parliament, and getting that share of power and profit which belongs to them as fellow christians, whereof they are deprived merely upon account of conscience, which would not allow them to take the sacrament after the manner prescribed in the liturgy. Hence it clearly follows, in the words of the same author, That if we catholicks are incapable of employment, we are punished for our sent,