An essay on the law of celibacy [electronic resource] : imposed on the clergy of the Roman Catholic Church, and observed in all the religious orders abroad; in which are delineated its rise, and progress from the most early ages of its existence, down to the present times; and the impropriety of this ecclesiastical constitution is shewn, whether it be considered in a moral, a physical, or a political light: as also, a summary account is given of the origin of the monastic life; of the prejudices which chiefly contributed to introduce it, and in what manner these have been perpetuated; &c. Interspersed with various remarks upon several other observances of the Roman Catholic Discipline.