'TIs the Duty of all good Subjects to give sincere and undeniable Proofs of Loyalty to their Prince; And because the Oath of Allegi­ance is generally offer'd to Roman-Catholicks, as the Legal Test of their Fidelity, (in which they all pro­fess to agree as to the substance, tho' some hard words in it, and other circumstances not in the least material to their Allegiance, as some affirm, have caus'd dis­sputes;, and rais'd Scruples in tender or weak Con­ciences) several Gentlemen and Persons of Quali­ty, of their persuasion, have made it their business these late years, to clear those small Doubts, that whilst the Substance of the Oath is embrac'd by all, none should startle at the shadow, since they almost unanimously, at least very few excepted, who are suf­siciently known to the World, acknowledge the Imperial [Page]Crown of England independent of any Deposing Power whatsoever.

Their misfortune in being dispers'd and driven into Foreign Countries, almost ever since the beginning of these Troublesome times, has given them at last a fair opportunity to accmplish abroad, what they were before endeavouring to effect at home; And because there were Difficulties grounded, (as many did suppose,) chiefly upon Religion, which made them boggle at the taking of the Oath; The whole matter, with all the particu­lars, was propos'd to the Doctors of Sorbonne at Pa­ris, a Body of as able and learned Divines, as any is of the Roman Persuasion: and those whom Rome it self, upon Debates of the greatest moment, has often consulted and advis'd with. Many of these Pious and Learned Doctors have examin'd the Oath very care­fully, have weighed every word, and consider'd every cir­cumstance; And as they themselves declare, Perpensis omnibus difficultatibus praecipuè illis, quae à sum­morum Pontificum Brevibus adversus hoc Jura­mentum [Page]datis, & ab haereseos notâ Paragrapho, quarto petuntur, Having weighed all the difficulties, particularly those that arise from the Popes Breifs given against this Oath; and from the word Heretical in the fourth Paragraph, after a long and mature Deliberation, have given under their Hands this following Determi­nation and Declaration, upon the Oath in Latin as 'twas worded when first sent to Rome in Paul the fifths time. Which, with a faithful Translation has been thought very Convenient to be Publish'd here in Eng­land, that Men of clearer understanding, and of deeper sence then the common sort of People; and whose Judge­ment is wholly carried by the strength of reason, may be sensible that the Roman Catholicks, (tho' never in so great a distress) will be always ready, with all submis­sion and chearfulness to give Caesar his due, which can­not be deny'd him, but by a breach of the Law of Jesus Christ; who with the same breath Commanded Obedience to God in Heaven, and to Caesar his Vice-gerent upon Farth. By which Decree of the [Page] Divine Wisdom, the Primitive Christians thought the Emperors and Kings so well settled in their Thrones, that great Athanasius, the Pillar of Ca­tholick Faith against the Arians, Writing to Constan­tius the first Heterodox Emperor, and a dreadful Enemy to Gods Church, acknowledges: That no Power in the World, (without opposiing Gods positive Com­mand,) can so much as cas [...] a spiteful look upon his Crown. Tibi Deus Imperium commisit—qui tuum Imperium malignis oculis carpit contradicit Ordinationi Divinae. God, says he, Has Com­mitted the Empire unto You, he that but looks a­wry upon your Empire, opposes Gods Ordination. And St. Augustin commending the obedieuce the Chri­stians constantly paid to Julian the Apostate, Successor to Constantius; Speaks thus of them, upon the Psal. 124. Propter Dominum aeternum subditi erant Domino temporali, quia necessitate subditi erant, non solùm propter iram evadendam, sed etiam propter conscientiam, propter dilectionem, & [Page]quia jussit Dominus. They obey'd the Temporal Lord for the Eternal Lords Sake, because they were by necessity his Subjects, not only to avoid anger but for Conscience sake, out of Love, and because God Com­manded it.

Certainly in that Golden age of Christianty there was no such thing as deposing Emperors and Kings, or dis­pensing with their Subjects Allegiance upon the score of Heresie or Apostasy, or upon any other pretence what­soever. And many hundred years after Pope Gregory the II. declar'd in a Letter to the Emperor Leo Isau­ricus, accounted a dangerous Heretick by the See of Rome, that he had not the power so much as to look in­to his Majesties Palace; and to dispose of any of his Regalities, Pontisex introspiciendi in Palatio po­testatem non habet, ac dignitates Regias deferendi. Where was the pretended deposing power in those days?

This publication will be therefore very necessa­ry also for the satisfaction of several honest and well­meaning [Page] Catholicks, who having been hitherto troubled with doubts, for want, it may be, of a right informa­tion concerning the Oath, may be glad to have so firm and so good a ground to settle their wavering and scru­pulous Conscience upon.

These were the motives which induc'd me to make this publick, and as my endeavours in all this business have been clear from all Interest, and my intentions sincere, without any other prospect but of the common good, I hope in this I may have oblig'd many, without incurring the dis­pleasure of any one, who is a lover of truth, and a faithful Subject to his Majesty.