Oliver Protellor. 16 5 8. ~ His enthuji– ojin. The HIS T 0 R Y of tbe PuRITANs. Vot, JI. ' But with all t~efe good qualiti~s, '~is. certain the.ProteCl:or was a {l:rong enthufiafl:, and d1d not take up 111S rebgwn upon ratwnal or folid principles which led him .into fun~ry ~ifl~kes, not fuppo~ted by r?afon or fcrip~ ture. One of hts favounte prmc1ples was a parttcular fatth; that is if ~ny thin~ was ~rongly imprelfed upon his mind in prayer, he apprehended Jt came Immedtately from God, and was a rule qf aClion; but if there were .no im~reflion~, b~t a flatnefs in his dev~tions, it was adenial. Up– on tl11S maxim he IS fa1d to fuffer the late kmg to be pnt to death, in an arbitrary and illegal manner. - Another maxim was, that in extraor– dinary cafes, Jomething extraordinary or beyond the common rules ofjlfflice, may be done ; that the moral /a1vs, which are binding in ordinary cafes, may then be difPenfed with; and that PRIVATE JUSTICE muft give way to Pu_BLIC NECESSITY. Which was the protector's governing principle in all his unwarrantable £l:retches of power. A third principle by which the proteCl:or was miOed, was, his determ~ning the goodnifs qf a caufl by the jitccejs. An appeal to the [word was with him an appeal to God; and as vic– tory inclined, 'God owned or difcountenanced the caufe ~ 'Tis impof– fible that a man's condu~ could be juft or confiftent, while it was direCl:ed by fuch miftaken principles. Ob[ellio~s aIt has been further objected to the protector's charaCl:er, that he was ga'J{J budn notorioufly guilty of h)'flOCrijj and diiftmulation both to God and man; that 'D"J;~:/a: he mocked Go~ .by the pretence qf piety and de~1otion, and by long prayers tion. full qf bypocrztzcal zeal. But who can penetrate the heart, to fee whether \ .!.!mbition. the outward aCtions flow from an inward· principle? With regard to men 'tis certain the proteCl:or knew how to addrefs their paffions, and talk to them in their own way; and if in his devotions he uttered with his mouth what his heart never meant, no one can vindicate him: But men are not flightly to be arraigned (fays Rapin), for the inward motions of their heart, which pafs all human knowledge -- Befides, 'tis not eafy to' conceive the watchful eyes that were upon him, aJ'ld the va£l: difficultie~ l1e bad to contend with. ~en Elizabeth's diffimulation has been extolled, for the very fame reafon that the protector's is condemned : If there– fore fuch a conduct was necdfary to govern the feveral parties, there iso nothing greatly blame-worthy in it (fays the fame author), unlefs it was a crime in him not to put it into the power of his enemies, to deftroy him with the greater eafe. Ambition and tbirft of glory, might fometimes lead the proteCl:or afide; for he imagined himfelf to be a fecond Phineas, raifed up by providence to be the fcourge of idolatry and fupedl:ition, and in climbing up to the pinnacle of fupreme power, did not always keep within the bounds of law and equity : To this paffion fome have afcribed his alfuming the proteCl::or– fuip, and putting himfelf at the head of three kingdoms.; though others are
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