Selected quad for the lemma: act_n
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B20784
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An essay for the conversion of the Irish shewing that 'tis their duty and interest to become Protestants : in a letter to themselves.
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Cox, Richard, Sir, 1650-1733.
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1698
(1698)
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Wing C6721
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30,538
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48
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Inhanc'd upon him as his Necessities increas'd and when the Peace of 1646. was made it was within three weeks after Perfidiously Broken by Publick Edict of the Clergy at Waterford Those that did observe it were Excommunicated by the Nuntio and the Kings Heralds that went to proclaim it were basely Affronted both at Waterford and Limrick to the great hazard of their Lives and contrary to Allegiance Good Manners and the Law of Nations Sect 13. Nor were they more dutiful in His Majesties Extremities for they delayed the Peace of 1648 until a Fortnight before his Death and even then Forc'd Conditions upon Him that Hastned his Fate And this Peace also was perfidiously violated as well as the former not only because Limrick Waterford and other great Towns would not obey the Lord Lieutenant Ormond according to Stipulation but also because they Persecuted him with a Thousand Affronts and Indignities and at last Drove him out of the Kingdom even whilst he was Cloathed with the Royal Authority And they were no less Undutiful to the Lord Deputy Clanrickard tho he was of their Own Religion so that they had no other Quarrel to him but that he was the King of England's Deputy and yet without his Concurrence or Knowledge they sent Agents to Offer the Kingdom to the Pope the French King the Duke of Lorain or indeed any Body that would take it from the English Sect 15. As to the Reign of King Charles II. they lived in too much Hopes to plunge themselves into Open Rebellion However they gave this Demonstration of their Inclinations That in a National Synod held by Extraordinary Favour at Dublin Anno 1666. They refused to let the People take an Oath of Allegiance which their own Procurator-General P. W. had fram'd for them but on the contrary Persecuted him and his Adherents for endeavouring to Bind them to a Heretick Government by so strict an Oath and they also refused to beg Pardon for the Rebellion of 1641. one of their Bishops publickly averring That he knew none at all guilty of any Crime for any thing done in the War Sect 16. And as for King James II. You must allow that your Partiality was to his Popery and not to his Person or his Title and that you valued him as your Popish Friend and not as an English King since you paid him no more Respect or Loyalty than your Own Interest required and when that varied you shewed little Respect to Him or His Interest but on the contrary us'd him very ill in many things and particularly in the Instances following Sect. 17. First Whereas nothing could more Prejudice or Disoblige the People of England or Defeat King James's hopes of being Restor'd there than the ill Usage of the Protestants especially Clergy-men in Ireland yet did you Barbarously and Ungratefully abuse the English in all parts of the Kingdom you Assaulted and Wounded some of the Clergy and forc'd from them several of their Churches contrary to Law and contrary to King James's Express Command whom you Aw'd to that degreee That thô he issued a Proclamation to prevent seizing any More Chnrches yet he did not think fit to insert a Clause for the Restitution of those that were illegally taken before Sect 18. Secondly Contrary to King James's Interest and Inclination and to the Fundamental and Inherent Right of the Crown of England you made This Kingdom Independent of That You forc'd him to call a Parliament Unseasonably when he had need of the Members to promote the Siege of Derry You baffled Poyning's Law and Repeal'd the Act of Settlement and Prohibited Appeals and Writs of Error from hence to England Sect 19. Thirdly Whereas you had Cried Up and Asserted King James's Dispensing Power in England and therefore should have done so in Ireland that we might have thought you in Earnest yet you were so far from this that by your Severe Bill of Attainder whereby you endeavour'd to Ruine Women and Children some that were never in Ireland and more that had never done you any harm you took away the King's Power to Pardon which is the Inherent Right of the Crown Sect 20. Fourthly Thô the Chancellorship and Treasurership of Christ-Church Dublin were founded by Queen Mary and the Namination to those Dignities reserved to her and her Successors yet did the Titular Archbishop of Dublin clandestinely obtain Bulls from Rome and put in two Priests into those Places against King James's Will and thô he offer'd them Equivalents yet they Contested the matter so Obstinately with him that he was forc'd to pronounce the Bulls Surreptitious and to write to Rome to Justifie himself in a long Letter wherein he complains heavily of this Undutiful Attempt upon his Undoubted Right lamenting that the Clergy were not satisfied to Invade his Prerogative in other matters without Intruding even into his Chappel-Royal Sect 21. So that 't is manifest that the Pretended Loyalty of Superstitious and Bigotted Papists especially Clergy-men is appropriated to the Court of Rome and not to the Crown of England And if you will consider that you in Ireland who believe the Supremacy and Infallibility of the Pope whenever the Pope Excommunicates the King as Paul III. did Henry VIII and Pius V. did Queen Elizabeth must either renounce your Allegiance or your Religion and turn either Protestants or Rebels and if you will likewise consider Father John Talbot the Jesuit's Assertion That it is to no purpose to Exact an Oath of Allegiance from Papists because 't is lawful in Point of Conscience to break that Oath the next hour provided you follow the Doctrine of Probabilities and understand that any one Doctor is of that Opinion You will perhaps be of my Sentiment That 't is difficult for one that is Govern'd by a Popish Priest to be a Good Subject to a Protestant King And this may lead you to Examine and consequently to Detest and shake off a Religion so Inconsistent with True Loyalty Sect 22. My next Enquiry should be Whether you are good Christians or can be so whilst you are wrap'd up in so much Superstition and Ignorance Pray consider whether your Religion does not consist too much in Outward Shew and Pageantry without the Power of Godliness in your Hearts How formal and vain is your Devotion that is satisfied with the Number of Prayers without regarding the Words or understanding the Meaning and without any Intention or Attention of the Mind How hypocritical are your Mortifications whilst they are perform'd sometimes by Deputy and sometimes in a Trivial and Ridiculous Pennance Is it not a Mockery to pretend to Fast upon the best Fish Fruit White-meats and Wine that can be got In a word Do not you place your Piety in being of a Party and make Vnity and Communion with the Pope the Sum and Substance of Christian Religion and expect your Salvation from meer Chimerical Notions such as the Treasures of the Church the Indulgence of the Pope the Absolution of
the Old or New English Blood in his Veins I have said enough to convince the World that you are of English Extraction Sect 34. And pray Gentlemen consider what greater Honour can you desire than to be accounted English Since they are a People Famous all the World over as well for Arts and Arms as for Honesty Industry Courage and Good Nature They have for a long time held the Ballance of Europe and more than once preserved the Liberty of the Christian World from the Attempts of an Universal Monarchy and which is yet more when they have subdued Others they have at the same time Generously Conquer'd Themselves and have post-pon'd their Resentments to their Compassion and their Justice else there had been no occasion for this Monitory Epistle at this time S. 35. As for the Laws one ought to refer you to the Flourishing Condition of England that is Govern'd by them They cannot but be Excellent since they are derived from the Law of GOD the Laws of Nature and Reason Common Customs which long Experience has found to be Useful and made into Law and Acts of Parliament made by your selves or your Ancestors and as occasion requir'd adapted to Our or Their Necessities Nor can you deny but that the Administration of these Laws is Just and Equal without regard to Shiboleth or Siboleth and not as it was in your Time when few but those of your Party could have any Success in the plainest Cases In short I appeal to your own Consciences whether you do not live much better under the Government of the Laws of England than ever your Ancestors did under their Lords and Brehoos Sect 36. As for your Language it is Originally Welsh to which there are added some Words of Latin and some of English so that you are deceiv'd in believing that Irish is a pure Original Language But whatever it be why you should not forsake it for the English Tongue which is much more Copious and which is by Law the Language of this Kingdom No Reason can be assigned but Priestcraft to keep you in Ignorance and to uphold a Feud between us Otherwise by using the English Tongue one is better qualified for the Casâ—â—e the Courts of Justice and the Market more capable of Preserment and of Charity and of the Benefit of Clergy and in a word more fit for the best Company and Conversation So that it seems to me they are Bewitched who live under a Government and Refuse to Learn the Legal and Received Language thereof Sect 37. As to the Habit and Manners of the English you cannot deny but the former is Neat Tight and Clean and the other Correct and Genteel and therefore as many of you as come to any Understanding or Fortune in the World do imitate us in both but with this difference That such Irish as turn Protestants conform entirely to our Habit and Mannors whereas those who continue Papists are generally more Slovenly and Unfashionable more Slattering in their Cloaths and more 〈◊〉 in their Houses But sure there will be no difficulty to perswade your Conformity to us in these Points since all we desire of you is but to be Neat and Clean about your Persons and in your Houses and to be Civil Genteel and Orderly in your Conversation to which in Truth you are Naturally inclin'd Sect 38. Nor can I see why you should scruple to Conform to the Religion of the Church of England since we believe all that our Blessed Saviour has Reveal'd or the Apostles Taught all that the holy Scriptures Contain or the Primitive Christians Believ'd or the first Four General Councils Approv'd Sect 39 And accordingly The Symbols of our Faith are the Apostolical the Athanasian and Nicene Creeds And after this Manner which you call Herefie do we Worship the GOD of our Fathers Sect 40. And suitable hereunto the Precepts of our Religion are Holy Exhorting to all sorts of Vertue and forbidding all manner of Vice It enjoyns Good Works without the Foppery of Merit and without Derogating from the Value of our Saviour's Sufferings and Mediation It admits of no Repentance but what produces a Reformation of Life and Manners and it indispensibly Asserts That without Holiness no Man shall be saved Sect 41. Hence you may perceive which is the Ancient Religion since we press you to believe no more but the Doctrines of Primitive Christianity which were from the Beginning and which your Church dare not deny and which indeed you believe already whilst the Church of Rome obliges you to believe all the New Articles she has Coyn'd or shall hereafter Coyn for her own Profit and Advantage Sect 42. We that perceive her Designs and are deliver'd from her Tyranny and converted from her Errors being desirous according to the Divine Precept to strengthen our Brethren Call out to you with a loud Voice and fore-warn you of the Danger We beg you to consider whether you are not over-laden with Superstition and Idolatry and whether the Popish Clergy do not make Tools of you to Enrich and Aggrandize themselves we offer to Demonstrate the Cheat and to shew it to you in divers Instances and we offer to prove by the Word of GOD That your Church has Apostatiz'd from her Primitive Purity in many Articles both of Doctrine and Practice Sest 43. Now supposing the Priest were a Deceiver and had a mind to Impose upon you as we say he has what part could he Act but as he does He would exhort you to stop your Ears and shut your Eyes and not to hear or read a word against the Church Probably he would try to Frighten you and tell you That he that Doubts is Damn'd 'T is certain he would advise you to an Implicit Faith blind-fold to believe as the Church that is the * By the word Church we understand its Head the Pope Greg Val. 34. Pope believes to be Liberal and Charitable to the Clergy and to trust him to direct you right to Heaven thô perhaps he does not know one step of the way thither himself Sect 44. And will not you reply to such a one That since GOD has given you Reason and Eyesight and has Publish'd the Holy Scriptures for your Direction and has commanded you to Try all things that you may hold fast 2 Thes 5. 21. ohat which is Good that therefore you desire to be inform'd in the Way you are to go that you may examine whether it be Right or Wrong And since our daily Prayer To strengthen our Faith shews there are degrees of it it must needs follow That such Scruples in Faith as put Men upon Enquiry Why they believe This or That are so far from being Damnable that they are subvervient to a great Duty of Searching the Scriptures in order to increase our Faith which will certainly grow stronger according to the Satisfaction we receive of its being well Founded Sect 45. Besides This false Principle is the Parent of