Selected quad for the lemma: book_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
book_n	call_v	church_n	england_n	3,146	5	6.0876	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A60805	Some modest reflections upon Mr. Stephens's late book, entituled, A plain relation of the late action at sea, between the English, Dutch, and French fleets, from June 22 to July 5 last with reflections thereupon, and upon the present state of the nation, &c. : with a vindication of the Church of England from what he has therein advanc'd against her / by a hearty lover of King William and Queen Mary.	Hearty lover of King William and Queen Mary.	1691 (1691)	Wing S4523; ESTC R17992	20,922	32

a word said on 't Where they are us'd every day Morning and Evening as well as Sundays Wednesdays and Fridays at such hours as are thought most convenient for an Auditory tho' what is so to one person is often the contrary to another when I say more can hardly be said by Man nor with more constancy and earnestness to press the people to this most solemn part of Christian Worship yet where there is seldom a Congregation large enough to make the Responses nor in such cases as these is it said to excuse their own neglect by falsly accusing their People and laying it upon them And the truth is tho' many more than do frequent such Prayers might be there if they pleas'd yet for the much larger part of the common people this is so far from being their Duty that they might perhaps rather sin in doing it God will have Mercy and not Sacrifice and they ought not to neglect their Families or providing for their own House tho' for the highest Acts of Devotion And after all there are very many places in the City and Suburbs where God's Service is decently and constantly perform'd every day and Morning and Evening-Sacrifice presented to Heaven a custom never practis'd by those better Men whom he so much admires He persists to charge us with as he calls it before greater abominations than these A Pharisaical Exaction Pharisaical Persecution and at the same time permitting notorious contempt of the Laws of God in our own members without check or controul or scarce serious Resentment He drives on yet more zealously calls us Fanaticks and Mad-men and so much worse Fanaticks than those we call so that he says 't is a truth too notorious to be deny'd that we have few Christian Assemblies besides those of the Dissenters which can properly be call'd Holy I wonder indeed and so wou'd any one who reads his Book that he do's not forsake such a Pharisaical nay Diabolical Communion and joyn himself to the Holy Ones he so much admires and were the Church of England such as he represents it I think it shou'd be one of the last I wou'd communicate with We have had all 't is too true our Sins and Follies and I hope are by this time of both sides pretty well convinc'd and asham'd of ' em There is not indeed that desire of Unity which wou'd be wish'd among Christians of either side but the Inclination to mischief one another which has stood still no-where nor ought to be fix'd on one Party since it has gone all round is sure pretty well work't off and only such things as these which have a direct tendency to revive the former Enmity and keen Animosities which every good Man wishes Eternally buried But the Nobility and Gentry meet with no kinder entertainment from his warm Zeal than the Church and Clergy Since even the Mob he assures us have more steadiness constancy and virtue than a great part of them can pretend to Contrary to which one may safely aver that take a proportion of both tho' I don't pretend to be so intimate with either of 'em as I find he is and I am pretty confident 't will be much harder to find a Man tollerable virtuous among the scum of the People whom he magnifies and admires than among those he vilifies and abuses And if he were no more fam'd for steadiness and constancy than that Mob he commends he wou'd not have the Reputation the World now gives him Which is so great that I can hardly think he really intends some things which he speaks a little too warmly without being examin'd by his calmer Judgment What account else shall we give of that passage Page 42. where he not only prefers the Mob before a great part of the Nobility and Gentry but one wou'd think intended to set 'em upon them as his Brother the Modest Inquirer do's upon the Clergy by telling 'em That wicked Men be they Gentlemen or Noblemen or what they will are ten thousand times worse than the dirt of the Streets and ought to be trod upon by the meanest of Humane race I thought there had been respect due to the publick Character of a person be his inward Qualifications what they wou'd however the Mob is but an ill Judge and if it once calls a Man wicked as they oft do when a person don't please 'em there are but a few steps more to their treading 'em under their feet For the King's Duty which he as freely lays down as if he were another Moses sent from Heaven for that very purpose did not his own Inclinations and Virtue sufficiently prompt him to the performance thereof he has I doubt not notwithstanding the squinting Censures scatter'd through the Book on their Policy and Divinity those about him who can represent all those things to his Majesty as faithfully and a little more mannerly than he do's and who wou'd both in publick and private occasions humbly recommend to his practice those Virtues for which he is already so eminent Fidelity to God Courage Vigor Faith Resignation and Righteousness Nor can I see any reason why they shou'd not Preach on all these Subjects at least as well as my Author Omitting all the Over-worn De Jure and De Facto business it ought to be remarkt to the Author's honour that he certainly has no respect of persons for after he has done with the King the Parliament next are to be taken to task but they are e'en so bad 't is in vain to preach to 'em there being no hopes of their Amendment and therefore he thinks it a good expedient to send 'em about their business or as he expresses to dissolve 'em and call another speedily unless they 'll mend their manners T is enough to say on this Head that we have had few Houses of Commons who have made more good Laws or more heartily espous'd the Interest of the Nation than this at present sitting which deserves sure a more gratefull treatment than some Mens Civility thinks fit to give ' em He 's got to Sea again Pag. 53. and tells us very ill news That our Men of War are generally fill'd with such Captains and Officers as few Merchants wou'd intrust with a Ship of 200 Tun and 't is the common opinion of most Seamen and Merchants that there are but few amongst 'em that are any way qualified for that service Yet the Blew Squadron by their own Relation or that part of it which cou'd get up fought as bravely as cou'd be expected from Men and made the French Fleet bend before ' em The Author as hot Men often do usually over-shoots the mark had he only complain'd that some nay that too many of of the Officers might not be so fit for their Places this had lookt with a face of probability but when he adds that they are generally such one may I hope take the Liberty to believe that either his Informations are faulty

SOME Modest Reflections UPON Mr. STEPHENS's late BOOK ENTITULED A Plain Relation of the late Action at SEA between the English Dutch and French FLEETS from June 22. to July 5. last With Reflections thereupon and upon the Present State of the NATION c. WITH A VINDICATION OF THE CHURCH of ENGLAND FROM What He has therein Advanc'd against Her By a Hearty Lover of King William and Queen Mary LONDON Printed and Sold by Randall Taylor near Stationers-Hall And by most Booksellers 1691. To the Reader HAving accidentally some time since met with a Book Entituled A plain Relation of the late Action at Sea c. I read it with some greediness being tempted with a lawfull curiosity to satisfie my self in matter of Fact relating to so great an Action In the perusing of which Account as I must acknowledge I found satisfaction in some things so others seem'd very disagreeable both to those Notions which I had entertain'd and indeed to Experience and Common Reason especially in what he writes relating to the Church of England whereof he seems to imply he is and I profess my self to be a Member I acknowledge as I proceeded I cou'd hardly without some Indignation pass by many things which I there met with and after I had gone through the same have ever since in vain expected an Answer especially to 〈◊〉 part which contains I hope many groundless Reflections on the Establish'd Protestant Church of this Nation On this at last I took Pen in hand and bestow'd a few Hours in Examining and Confuting such things as I thought deserv'd it which having communicated to a Friend at his desire I now publish tho' upon the Character he gives me of the Author and my Observations on his Writings believing him to be really an honest Man and one who means well to the Publick and may in some Instances do it service I have review'd what was written and given several things a less severe turn than I at first intended Which is all I have to let you know before you come to the Book Some Modest REFLECTIONS c. THE Reason why this so much talk'd-of Book ought to be Answer'd is palpable and obvious because 't is full of Reflections on the present State of Affairs or rather a kind of a Compendium of what is objected by mistaken Friends or bitter Enemies The reason why that Person who has now undertaken to Answer it thought not fit to do it before was that he expected some better Hands would attempt it especially when it contain'd Reflections sharp enough on such as were well able to hold the Cudgels against him that made ' em But those from whom it was expected neglecting to take him to task lest what he advances should have deeper or larger Influence because unanswer'd should be thought unanswerable these few Sheets are at last sent abroad into the World on purpose to disabuse it and place some things in a better Light which he and others have render'd more dark and obscure by pretending to explain ' em Nor can I expect but to be rank'd by the Zealous Author for this undertaking among those whom he styles a Faction perhaps too he 'll say I 'm of the Court-party and consequently that I am guided by Guilt or Interest in this attempt But the best is one who shoots his Bolt so nimbly as he is in no great probability of hitting what he aims at and if he should bestow the Character of a Favourer of Debauchery upon me as he 's very liberal that way I have yet the Comfort of very good Company as he has order'd it all the Bishops in England being if you 'll believe him in little better Circumstances This all that reade him or know him will grant He tells the Reader he 's a Hearty Friend to King William and Queen Mary but after all he is certainly Notion-struck and believes he has an extraordinary Call to the great Work of Reforming Kingdoms A Privy-Counsellor at once to the Kings of Earth and Heaven and knows as well why Providence did not give us leave to beat the French as how to make King William the most Glorious Prince in Christendom if he would but follow his advice that is Gargil his Council Fleets and Armies turn out every Man that would Swear Drink and Whore Encounter the King of France with the remainder and obtain a miraculous Victory by the virtue of Venner's promise that One should chase a Thousand And this indeed if look'd into is the summ drift and upshot of all his Writings He concludes his Epistle with a Politick Complement to his Reader a Cause placed there 's in terrorem I have seen something like it hang up in a Corn-field to scare any one from disliking or answering him Know therefore also says he with a huge deal of Grandeur and Authority if thou canst be offended with him who wishes so well to his Country and no Ill to thy self thou canst be no good Man Very well your Argument is He that can be offended with any one who wishes well to their Country and to those who are offended can be no good Man This is the sense of this Complaint or it has none at all And if 't is fair Arguing you also ought to have a care how you are offended with your Answer who protest as deeply as you can that he wishes well to his Country and no Ill to you Nay as you do that you may be better and wiser a very Charitable wish for otherwise you have given away that Character you have so deservedly prov'd of a good Man according to your own Arguing To leave the Preface and fall upon the Book it self In considering of which we 'd willingly observe some Method though 't is very difficult to keep any in treating of what has none However the best way will be to throw the Contents thereof into these following different heaps in one or other of which 't will go hard but we shall meet with and clear all the seeming Arguments there laid together The unfortunate business of the Fleet the general Mismanagement of Affairs the Debauchery of the Nation and those in publick Employments the Behaviour of Church-men towards Dissenters and others his own Bill at the end For the first of these The Affair of the Fleet. Here the Author of the Reflections needed not to have hedged in his Bett so carefully and to fright any one from Answering what he writes on that Head Enter his Protestation as he does Page 10. That it requires a Person of rare Invention of equal Impudence and void of all Sense of Honour and Love to his Country to compose a Vindication of that Transaction and People of no less stupidity and easiness to be impos'd upon by such pretences and lower such a Miscarriage as none will offer to excuse who are not either Partners in the Crime or no good Friends to the Cause I say he 's safe enough in that Lock