Selected quad for the lemma: act_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
act_n	death_n	king_n	treason_n	2,352	5	9.2422	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A04224	The vvorkes of the most high and mightie prince, Iames by the grace of God, King of Great Britaine, France and Ireland, defender of the faith, &c. Published by Iames, Bishop of Winton, and deane of his Maiesties Chappel Royall; Works	James I, King of England, 1566-1625.; Montagu, James, 1568?-1618.; Elstracke, Renold, fl. 1590-1630, engraver.; Pass, Simon van de, 1595?-1647, engraver.	1616 (1616)	STC 14344; ESTC S122229	618,837	614

the soule is immortall Or thus with certaine seduced Christians The Pope hath ordained the word of God to be authenticall ergo all credit must be giuen to diuine Scripture Vpon the spurkies or hookes of such ridiculous arguments and friuolous reasons the L. Cardinall hangs the life and safetie of Kings With like artificiall deuises hee pretendeth to haue the infamous murders and apposted cutting of Kings throats in extreame detestation and yet by deposing them from their Princely dignities by degrading them from their supreame and Soueraigne authorities hee brings their sacred heads to the butchers blocke For a King deposed by the Pope let no man doubt will not leaue any stone vnremooued nor any meanes and wayes vnattempted nor any forces or powers of men vnleuied or vnhired to defend himselfe and his Regall dignitie to represse and bring vnder his rebellious people by the Pope discharged of their alleagiance In this perplexitie of the publike affaires in these tempestuous perturbations of the State with what perils is the King not besieged and assaulted His head is exposed to the chances of warre his life a faire marke to the insidious practises of a thousand traitours his Royall person obuious to the dreadfull storme of angry fortune to the deadly malice to the fatall and mortall weapons of his enemies The reason He is presupposed to be lawfully and orderly stripped of his Kingdome Wil he yet hold the sterne of his Royall estate Then is he necessarily taken for a Tyrant reputed an vsurper and his life is exposed to the spoile For the publike lawes make it lawful and free for any priuate person to enterprise against an vsurper of the Kingdome Euery man saith Tertullian is a souldier In reos Maiestatis 〈◊〉 publ●cos hostes omnis hom omiles est Tertul. apol cap. 2. to beare armes against all traitors and publike enemies Take from a King the title of lawfull King you take from him the warrant of his life and the weapons whereby he is maintained in greater securitie then by his Royall Guard armed with swords and halberds through whose wards and ranks a desperate villaine will make himselfe an easie passage being master of another mans life because he is prodigall and carelesse of his owne Such therefore as pretend so much pity towards Kings to abhorre the bloody opening of their liuer-veine and yet withall to approoue their hoysting out of the Royall dignity are iust in the veine and humour of those that say Let vs not kill the King but let vs disarme the King that he may die a violent death let vs not depriue him of life but of the meanes to defend his life let vs not strangle the King and stop his vitall breath so long as he remaineth King O that were impious O that were horrible and abominable but let him be deposed and then whosoeuer shall runne him through the body with a weapon vp to the very hilts shall not beare the guilt of a King-killer All this must be vnderstood to be spoken of Kings who after they are despoiled of Regalitie by sentence of deposition giuen by the Pope are able to arme themselues and by valiant armes doe defend their Soueraigne rights But in case the King blasted with Romane lightning and stricken with Papall thunder shall actually and speedily bee smitten downe from his high Throne of Regality with present losse of his Kingdome I beleeue it is almost impossible for him to warrant his owne life who was not able to warrant his owne Kingdome Let a cat be throwen from a high roofe to the bottome of a cellour or vault she lighteth on her feet and runneth away without taking any harme A King is not like a cat howsoeuer a cat may looke vpon a King he cannot fall from the loftie pinacle of Royalty to light on his feet vpon the hard pauement of a priuate state without crushing all his bones in pieces It hath bene the lot of very few Emperors and Kings to outliue their Empire For men ascend to the loftie Throne of Kings with a soft and easie pace by certaine steps and degrees there be no stately staires to come downe they tumble head and heeles together when they fall He that hath once griped anothers Kingdome thinks himselfe in little safetie so long as he shall of his courtesie suffer his disseised predecessour to draw his breath And say that some Princes after their fall from their Thrones haue escaped both point and edge of the Tyrants weapon yet haue they wandred like miserable fugitiues in forreine countreys or else haue bene condemned like captiues to perpetuall imprisonment at home a thousand-fold worse and more lamentable then death it selfe Dionysius the Tyrant of Syracusa from a great King in Sicilie tur'nd Schoolemaster in Corinth It was the onely calling and kind of life that as he thought bearing some resemblance of rule and gouernment might recreate his mind as an image or picture of his former Soueraigntie ouer men This Dionysius was the onely man to my knowledge that had a humour to laugh after the losse of a Kingdome and in the state of a Pedant or gouernour of children merily to ieast and to scorne his former state and condition of a King In this my Kingdome of England sundry Kings haue seene the walls as it were of their Princely fortresse dismantled razed and beaten downe By name Edward and Richard both II. and Henrie the VI. all which Kings were most cruelly murdered in prison In the reigne of Edward III. by Acte of Parliament Whosoeuer shall imagine that is the very word of the Statute or machinate the Kings death are declared guiltie of Rebellion and high Treason The learned Iudges of the Land grounding vpon this Law of Edward the third haue euer since reputed and iudged them traitors according to Law that haue dared onely to whisper or talke softly betweene the teeth of deposing the King For they count it a cleare case that no Crowne can be taken from a Kings head without losse of Head and Crowne together sooner or later The L. Cardinal therefore in this most weightie and serious point doth meerely dally and flowt after a sort Page 95. when hee tells vs The Church doeth not intermeddle with releasing of subiects and knocking off their yrons of obedience but onely before the Ecclesiasticall tribunall seat and that besides this double censure of absolution to subiects and excommunication to the Prince the Church imposeth none other penaltie Vnder pretence of which two censures so farre is the Church as the L. Cardinall pretendeth from consenting that any man so censured should bee touched for his life that she vtterly abborreth all murder whatsoeuer but especially all sudden and vnprepenced murders for feare of casting away both body and soule which often in sudden murders goe both one way It hath bene made manifest before that all such proscription and setting forth of Kings to port-sale hath alwaies for the traine thereof either some

conclusion of all his examples The Cardinals paire of Martyrs weighed he reckoneth his two English Martyrs Moore and Roffensis who died for that one most weightie head of doctrine as he alledgeth refusing the Oath of Supremacie I must tell him that he hath not been well informed in some materiall points which doe very neerely concerne his two said Martyrs For it is cleare and apparantly to be prooued by diuers Records that they were both of them committed to the Tower about a yeere before either of them was called in question vpon their liues for the Popes Supremacie And that partly for their backwardnesse in the point of the establishment of the Kings succession whereunto the whole Realme had subscribed and partly for that one of them to wit Fisher had had his hand in the matter of the holy 8 Called Elizabeth Barton See the Act of Parliament maide of Kent hee being for his concealement of that false prophets abuse found guiltie of misprision of Treason And as these were the principall causes of their imprisonment the King resting secure of his Supremacie as the Realme stood then affected but especially troubled for setling the Crowne vpon the issue of his second mariage so was it easily to be conceiued that being thereupon discontented their humors were thereby made apt to draw them by degrees to further opposition against the King and his authoritie as indeede it fell out For in the time of their being in prison the Kings lawfull authoritie in cases Ecclesiasticall being published and promulged as well by a generall decree of the Clergie in their Synode as by an Acte of Parliament made thereupon they behaued themselues so peeuishly therein as the olde coales of the Kings anger being thereby raked vp of new they were againe brought in question as well for this one most weighty head of doctrine of the Pope his supremacy as for the matter of the Kings mariage and succession as by the confession of one of themselues euen Thomas Moore is euident For being condemned he vsed these words at the barre before the Lords Non ignoro cur me morti adiudicaueritis videlicet ob id Histor aliquet Martyrum nostri seculi Anno 1550. quòd nunquam voluerim assentiri in negotio matrimonij Regis That is I am not ignorant why you haue adiudged mee to death to wit for that I would neuer consent in the businesse of the new mariage of the King By which his owne confession it is plaine that this great martyr himselfe tooke the cause of his owne death to be onely for his being refractary to the King in this said matter of Marriage and Succession which is but a very fleshly cause of Martyrdome as I conceiue And as for Roffensis his fellow Martyr who could haue bene content to haue taken the Oath of the Kings Supremacie with a certaine modification which Moore refused as his imprisonment was neither onely nor principally for the cause of Supremacie so died hee but a halting and a singular Martyr or witnesse for that most weighty head of doctrine the whole Church of England going at that time in one current and streame as it were against him in that Argument diuers of them being of farre greater reputation for learning and sound iudgement then euer he was So as in this point we may well arme our selues with the Cardinals owne reason where he giueth amongst other notes of the trew Church Vniuersalitie for one wee hauing the generall and Catholique conclusion of the whole Church of England on our side in this case as appeareth by their booke set out by the whole Conuocation of England called The Institution of a Christian man the same matter being likewise very learnedly handled by diuers particular learned men of our Church as by Steuen Gardiner in his booke De vera obedientia with a Preface of Bishop Boners adioyning to it De summo absoluto Regis Imperio published by M. Bekinsaw De vera differentia Regiae Potestatis Ecclesiasticae Bishop Tonstals Sermon Bishop Longlands Sermon the letter of Tonstall to Cardinall Poole and diuers other both in English and Latine And if the bitternesse of Fishers discontentment had not bene fed with his dayly ambitious expectation of the Cardinals hat which came so neere as Calis before he lost his head to fill it with I haue great reason to doubt if he would haue constantly perseuered in induring his Martyrdome for that one most waighty head of doctrine And surely these two Captaines and ringleaders to Martyrdome were but ill followed by the rest of their countreymen for I can neuer reade of any after them being of any great accompt and that not many that euer sealed that weighty head of doctrine with their blood in England So as the trew causes of their first falling in trouble whereof I haue already made mention being rightly considered vpon the one part and vpon the other the scant number of witnesses that with their blood sealed it a point so greatly accompted of by our Cardinal there can but smal glory redound thereby to our English nation these onely two Enoch and Elias seruing for witnesses against our Antichristian doctrine And I am sure the Supremacie of Kings may The Supremacy of Kings sufficiently warranted by the Scriptures wil euer be better maintained by the word of God which must euer be the trew rule to discerne all waighty heads of doctrine by to be the trew and proper office of Christian Kings in their owne dominions then he will be euer able to maintaine his annihilating Kings and their authorities together with his base and vnreuerend speaches of them wherewith both his former great Volumes and his late Bookes against Venice are filled In the old Testament Kings were directly 1 2. Chron. 19.4 Gouernours ouer the Church within their Dominions 2 2. Sam. 5.6 purged their corruptions reformed their abuses brought the 3 1. Chron. 13.12 Arke to her resting place the King 4 2. Sam. 6.16 dancing before it 5 1. Chron. 28.6 built the Temple 6 2. Chron. 6. dedicated the same assisting in their owne persons to the sanctification thereof 7 2. King 22.11 made the Booke of the Law new-found to bee read to the people 8 Nehe. 9.38 Dauid Salomon renewed the Couenant betweene God and his people 9 2. King 18.4 bruised the brasen serpent in pieces which was set vp by the expresse commandement of God and was a figure of Christ destroyed 10 1. King 15.12 2. king 13.4 all Idoles and false gods made 11 2. Chron. 17.8 a publike reformation by a Commission of Secular men and Priests mixed for that purpose deposed 12 1. King 2.27 the high Priest and set vp another in his place and generally ordered euery thing belonging to the Church-gouernment their Titles and Prerogatiues giuen them by God agreeing to these their actions They are called the 13 2.

righteousnesse that their persons as bright lampes of godlinesse and vertue may going in and out before their people giue light to all their steps Remember also that by the right knowledge and feare of God which is the beginning of Wisedome Prou 9.10 as Salomon saith ye shall know all the things necessarie for the discharge of your duetie both as a Christian and as a King seeing in him as in a mirrour the course of all earthly things whereof hee is the spring and onely moouer Now the onely way to bring you to this knowledge The meanes to know God is diligently to reade his word and earnestly to pray for the right vnderstanding thereof Search the Scriptures sayth Christ for they beare testimonie of me and Iohn 5.39 the whole Scripture saith Paul is giuen by inspiration of God and is profitable to teach 2. Tim. 3.16.17 to conuince to correct and to instruct in righteousnesse that the man of God may be absolute being made perfite vnto all good workes And most properly of any other belongeth the reading thereof vnto Kings Deut. 17. since in that part of Scripture where the godly Kings are first made mention of that were ordained to rule ouer the people of God there is an expresse and most notable exhortation and commandement giuen them to reade and meditate in the Law of God I ioyne to this the carefull hearing of the doctrine with attendance and reuerence for faith commeth by hearing Rom. 10.17 sayth the same Apostle But aboue all beware ye wrest not the word to your owne appetite as ouer many doe making it like a bell to sound as ye please to interprete but by the contrary frame all your affections to follow precisely the rule there set downe The whole Scripture chiefly containeth two things a command Wherein chiefely the whole Scripture consisteth and a prohibition to doe such things and to abstaine from the contrary Obey in both neither thinke it enough to abstaine from euill and do no good nor thinke not that if yee doe many good things it may serue you for a cloake to mixe euill turnes therewith And as in these two points the whole Scripture principally consisteth Two degrees of the seruice of God so in two degrees standeth the whole seruice of God by man interiour or vpward exteriour or downward the first by prayer in faith towards God the next by workes flowing therefra before the world which is nothing else but the exercise of Religion towards God and of equitie towards your neighbour As for the particular points of Religion I need not to dilate them I am no hypocrite follow my footsteps A regardable paterne and your owne present education therein I thanke God I was neuer ashamed to giue account of my profession howsoeuer the malicious lying tongues of some haue traduced me and if my conscience had not resolued me that all my Religion presently professed by me and my kingdome was grounded vpon the plaine wordes of the Scripture without the which all points of Religion are superfluous as any thing contrary to the same is abomination I had neuer outwardly auowed it for pleasure or awe of any flesh And as for the points of equitie towards your neigbour because that will fall in properly vpon the second part concerning a Kings office I leaue it to the owne roume For the first part then of mans seruice to his God Religion which is Religion that is the worship of God according to his reuealed will it is wholly grounded vpon the Scripture as I haue alreadie said quickened by faith and conserued by conscience For the Scripture I haue now spoken of it in generall but that yee may the more readily make choice of any part thereof for your instruction or comfort remember shortly this methode The whole Scripture is dyted by Gods Spirit The methode of Scripture thereby as by his liuely word to instruct and rule the whole Church militant to the end of the word It is composed of two parts the Olde and New Testament The ground of the former is the Lawe which sheweth our sinne and containeth iustice the ground of the other is Christ who pardoning sinne containeth grace The summe of the Law is the tenne Commandements more largely delated in the bookes of Moses Of the Law interpreted and applied by the Prophets and by the histories are the examples shewed of obedience or disobedience thereto and what praemium or poena was accordingly giuen by God But because no man was able to keepe the Law nor any part thereof it pleased God of his infinite wisedome and goodnesse to incarnate his only Sonne in our nature for satisfaction of his iustice in his suffering for vs that since we could not be saued by doing we might at least bee saued by beleeuing The ground therefore of the word of grace Of Grace is contained in the foure histories of the birth life death resurrection and ascention of Christ The larger interpretation and vse thereof is contained in the Epistles of the Apostles and the practise in the faithfull or vnfaithfull with the historie of the infancie and first progresse of the Church is contained in their Actes Would ye then know your sinne by the Lawe Vse of the Law reade the bookes of Moses containing it Would ye haue a commentarie thereupon Reade the Prophets and likewise the bookes of the Prouerbes and Ecclesiastes written by that great patterne of wisedome Salomon which will not only serue you for instruction how to walke in the obedience of the Lawe of God but is also so full of golden sentences and morall precepts in all things that can concerne your conuersation in the world as among all the prophane Philosophers and Poets ye shall not finde so rich a storehouse of precepts of naturall wisedome agreeing with the will and diuine wisedome of God Would ye see how good men are rewarded and wicked punished looke the historicall parts of these same bookes of Moses together with the histories of Ioshua the Iudges Ezra Nehemiah Esther and Iob but especially the bookes of the Kings and Chronicles wherewith ye ought to bee familiarly acquainted for there shall yee see your selfe as in a myrrour in the catalogue either of the good or the euill Kings Would yee know the doctrine life and death of our Sauiour Christ Vse of the Gospel reade the Euangelists Would ye bee more particularly trained vp in his Schoole meditate vpon the Epistles of the Apostles And would ye be acquainted with the practises of that doctrine in the persons of the primitiue Church Cast vp the Apostles Actes And as to the Apocryphe bookes I omit them because I am no Papist as I said before and indeed some of them are no wayes like the dytement of the Spirit of God But when ye reade the Scripture How to reade the Scripture reade it with a sanctified and chaste heart admire reuerently

you had For I hope there are no good Subiects either within or out of the Parliament House that would not be content for setting streight once and setling the Honourable State of their King to spare so much euery one of them out of their purses which peraduenture they would in one night throw away at Dice or Cards or bestow vpon a horse for their fancies that might breake his necke or his legge the next morning Nay I am sure euery good Subiect would rather chuse to liue more sparingly vpon his owne then that his Kings State should be in want For conclusion then of this purpose I wish you now to put a speedie end to your businesse Freenesse in giuing graceth the gift Bis dat qui citò dat The longer I want helpe the greater will my debt still rise and so must I looke for the greater helpes And now I would pray you to turne your eyes with mee from home and looke vpon forreine States Consider that the eyes of all forreine States are vpon this affaire and in expectation what the successe thereof will be And what can they thinke if ye depart without relieuing mee in that proportion that may make me able to maintaine my State but that either ye are vnwilling to helpe mee thinking me vnworthy thereof or at least that my State is so desperate as it cannot be repaired and so that the Parliament parts in disgrace with the King and the King in distaste with the Parliament which cannot but weaken my reputation both at home and abroad For of this you may be assured that forreine Princes care the more one for an other if they may haue reason to expect that they may bee able to doe them good or harme in Retribution And ye know that if a King fall to be contemned with his neighbours that cannot but bring an oppression and warre by them vpon him and then will it be too late to support the King when the cure is almost desperate Things foreseene and preuented are euer easliest remedied And therefore I would aduise you now so to settle your businesse as ye may not take in hand so many things at once as may both crosse my errand and euery one of them crosse another Yee remember the French Prouerbe Qui trop embrasse rien estreint We are not in this Parliament to make our Testament as if wee should neuer meete againe and that all things that were to be done in any Parliament were to be done at this time and yet for filling vp of your vacant houres I will recommend to your consideration such nature of things as are to bee specially thought vpon in these times First I will beginne at GOD for the beginning with him makes all other actions to bee blessed And this I meane by the cause of Religion Next I will speake of some things that concerne the Common-wealth And thirdly matters of Pleasure and ornament to the Kingdome As for Religion we haue all great cause to take heed vnto it Papists are waxed as proud at this time as euer they were which makes many to think they haue some new plotin hand And although the poorest sort of them bee God be thanked much decreased yet doeth the greater sort of them dayly increase especially among the foeminine Sexe nay they are waxed so proud that some say no man dare present them nor Iudges meddle with them they are so backed and vpholden by diuers great Courtiers It is a surer and better way to remooue the materials of fire before they bee kindled then to quench the fire when once it is kindled Nam leuius laedit quicquid praeuidimus antè I doe not meane by this to mooue you to make stronger Lawes then are already made but see those Lawes may bee well executed that are in force otherwise they cannot but fall into contempt and become rustie I neuer found that blood and too much seueritie did good in matters of Religion for besides that it is a sure rule in Diuinitie that God neuer loues to plant his Church by violence and bloodshed naturall reason may euen perswade vs and dayly experience prooues it trew That when men are seuerely persecuted for Religion the gallantnesse of many mens spirits and the wilfulnes of their humors rather then the iustnesse of the cause makes them to take a pride boldy to endure any torments or death it selfe to gaine thereby the reputatiom of Martyrdome though but in a false shadow Some doubts haue beene conceiued anent the vsing of the Oath of Allegiance and that part of the Acte which ordaines the taking thereof is thought so obscure that no man can tell who ought to bee pressed therewith For I my selfe when vpon a time I called the Iudges before mee at their going to their Circuits I mooued this question vnto them wherein as I thought they could not resolutely answere me And therefore if there bee any scruple touching the ministring of it I would wish it now to bee cleared And since I haue with my owne pen brought the Popes quarell vpon mee and proclaimed publique defiance to Babylon in maintaining it should it now sleepe and should I seeme as it were to steale from it againe As for Recusants let them bee all duely presented without exception for in times past there hath beene too great a conniuence and forbearing of them especially of great mens wiues and their kinne and followers None ought to be spared from being brought vnder the danger of Law and then it is my part to vse mercie as I thinke conuenient To winke at faults and not to suffer them to bee discouered is no Honour nor Mercy in a King neither is he euer thanked for it It onely argues his dulnesse But to forgiue faults after they are confessed or tried is Mercie And now I must turne me in this case to you my Lords the Bishops and euen exhort you earnestly to be more carefull then you haue bene that your Officers may more duely present Recusants then heretofore they haue done without exception of persons That althought it must be the worke of GOD that must make their mindes to bee altered yet at least by this course they may be stayed from increasing or insulting vpon vs. And that yee all may know the trewth of my heart in this case I diuide all my Subiects that are Papists into two rankes either olde Papists that were so brought vp in times of Poperie like old Queene Mary Priests and those that though they bee younger in yeeres yet haue neuer drunke in other milke but beene still nusled in that blindnesse Or else such as doe become Apostats hauing once beene of our Profession and haue forsaken the trewth either vpon discontent or practise or else vpon a light vaine humour of Noueltie making no more scruple to seeke out new formes of Religion then if it were but a new forme of Garment or a new cut or courtsey after the French fashion For the former sort I