Note 23 — Chapter VIII

Father Mariana, a Jesuit, having published a book entitled, De Regi et Regis Institutione, in which he denounced tyranny and its fomenters, the court ordered that the work should be burnt, under the pretext that Ravaillac, who had assassinated Henri IV, had taken advantage of the Jesuit's authority to excuse his murder. It was certain that the Jesuits were the best friends of the late king. Nevertheless, they had to suffer the hostility of a certain part of the secular clergy. Father Coton, a Jesuit, published at once a pamphlet under the title, "Is it lawful to kill the tyrants?" in which he taught that it is not lawful to kill a king, except he abuses his authority. An answer to the pamphlet, published anonymously, soon appeared, which was a satirical paper rather than a refutation of Father Coton's letter. During the same year a new satirical paper against the Jesuits was printed, entitled L'Anticoton. It was translated into Latin.