Selected quad for the lemma: book_n
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A39063
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An Expedient for peace perswading an agreement amongst Christians &c.
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1688
(1688)
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Wing E3872; ESTC R25075
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27,763
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15
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raise Bugbears and use all the little Shifts and Artifices which their reputed Enemies in much worse Circumstances formerly used and then were objected to them as Crimes So that in Conclusion after all the noise and talk of Loyalty and good Principles by every Party I find none of them good but when they are pleased which they say the Devil is and none much worse than another but when they are are provoked But here I know will come in an Objection and that is 〈◊〉 the Papists by their Principles are so for from thinking it a sin to destroy their Innocent Neighbours which are Heretâ—cks as they call them that they think it matter of Merit and Duty so to do Here is an Objection with a Witness Pudet haec opprobria nobis Et dici potuisse non potuisse refelli If this could be prov'd which I never yet saw and if they clear not themselves from this and give the World satisfaction I am so far from extenuating such a wicked Principle that I think what Opposition their Adversaries have already or hereafter may make against them is all but too little and I think it my Duty and ought to be the Duty of every Hoâ—ew Man to extirpate such a Race of Men from the face of the Earth and to respect them as a sort of wild Beasts that would devour and Prey upon Mankind God forbid I should argue foâ— such a sort of Men. What I argue for is only for an Indulgence of Thought in things of an indifferent Nature and Principles which terminate in Speculation and produce no wicked Action And I here declare again as at first That 't is an unreasonable thing that any sort of Men under what Denomination soever should have the benefit of any Government much less be admitted as a Member or Administrator in it unâ—ess he do his endeavour to Encourage and Protect it and give Security for his quiet and peaceable Living under it But then as our Saviour commended the Vnjust Steward so I cannot but commend all our Parties and must needs say They do wisely in their Generation abating their Honesty and Integrity For to begin with the Church of England Her Sons Act as Prudently as can be imagined for they have got all into theâ—â— own hands all the Spiritual Preferments in the Nation if any of them should turn Papists that is madness for they have got all already and the Papists have nothing to give them They know that if either they move to the Right Hand or the Left they shall be Lessened since they are craving needy People on both Sâ—des them Therefore their Interest consists in being obstinate and standing out against the Kings Demands They may be made less but cannot be made greater Therefore by all means possible they endeavour to keep those under that would come in Snacks with them also on the score of their Abuse for they are Conscious of the Injury they have done and are afraid of Retaliation Then as they cannot be blamed to keep their Wealth and Power so on the other hand the Endeavours of others must not be blamed in getting what they can And who in Conscience or Equity can accuse them who being Poor Indigent and ready to be Starved do endeavour to supply their Wants and come in Partners with the Possessors 'T is natural for every Man that has been Oppressed to rid himself of his Yoke and endeavour to secure himself for the future and that Man deserves to be hang'd who standing condemn'd by an unjust Law and gets a Reprieve will not endeavour to get so unjust a Law to be Repealed But then the Injustice of the first or the irregularity of the Methods of the Last I cannot consent to commend And it grieves me to consider how Religion is made a Stalking-Horse and is taken up for a Pretence and Cloak to cover Mens base Designs and indeed as far as ever I could observe two thirds of that which Men call by that venerable Name is nothing else but a Trick to get Money And the Holy Scriptures are like Original Deeds by which any Man that has but a little more Wit than Honesty may lay claim to an Ecclesiastical Possession But least I should be thought to speak irreverently of those Holy Books I acknowledge That if a man be sincere and honest and look for Truth as if he had a mind to find it and have no other ends in his Search but to please his Maker and save his Soul he may easily find enough to make him both happy here and hereafter But as far as I can see men seem to understand most of the Scriptures backward For whereas the Prophet saith He hath shewed thee O Man what the Lord requireth of thee to do Justice and love Mercy and to walk Humbly with thy God. And the Apostle tells them That True Religion before God and the Father consists in visiting the Fatherless and Widows in their Affliction and to keep themselves unspotted from the World also another That they should follow Peace with all men and Holiness without which no man shall see the Lord By their Actions and Living they seem to understand them clear contrary as if it had been said thus He hath shewed thee O man what the Lord requireth of thee to do Injustice to love Persecution and to walk at Enmity and Defiance with thy God. True Religion before God and the Father is this To neglect the Fatherless and afflict the Widows and to conform themselves to the Fashions of the World and follow Contention and Strife with all men without which no man shall go to Heaven Truely men's Actions seems to favour this latter Interpretation rather than the former And many other places of Scripture I could quote which exhort to Love and Peace and mutual Condescention which men either do not or will not understand and 't is a deplorable thing to consider how partial they are in understanding the Scriptures Some Texts are great Favourites when they seem to countenance their Interest or Designs and others that will not Vote for them are cashier'd and a hundred Objections raised against them That of Contend earnestly for the Faith once delivered to the Saints I warrant you at this time o' th' Day is a precious one for here peevish Nature is gratified and here if I have a mind to keep any thing that is dear to me I have a Cover for my Dish 't is but calling my Faction my Passion Humour Prejudice Interest c. by the Venerable Name of True Faith and then I have a Commission to contend earnestly for it Contend earnestly with us for our Livings and Benefices once deliveus by the Laws would not look well But Contend earnestly for the Faith that 's plausible and goes down glib I will readily allow the Objection which I see is ready to come upon me that is That men are obliged in Conscience to contend for the Faith or that which they think to be true yet this Contention ought not to proceed further than to Edification and if any other Methods be used besides calm Reasoning and Argument that destroy Charity an Indifference is better than such Contention And when men exhort their Auditory to Contentions however innocent their Meaning and Intentions may be yet their Discretion must be blamed and they will never be able to clear themselves of publick Censure if they do not qualifie their Discourse with all the Limitations and Restrictions imaginable for men are too apt to Contend without Exhortation But to Conclude SINCE in so many Ages no Humane Art or Industry nor all the Powers on Earth together by either Force or Stratagem neither hitherto have found nor hereafter can possibly find an Expedient or make it possible amidst so many various and all incompetent Mediums That all men should be of one Mind or that they should not Disagree not be Deceived or not have Differences and Contentions I say since these things are impossible to be done Salva veritate and allowing Liberty of Judgment the Attempt is Vain and Foolish and not to be prosecuted but by Fools or Mad Men. And since it is so the next thing which naturally comes under Consideration is How to make all things as Innocent and Easie and Suitable to Government as possible All which things His Gracius Majesty having duly Weighed and Considered out of Great Experience Deep Wisdom and Princely Compassion towards His miserable contending Subjects hath found out and pitched upon the only Expedient in order thereto I mean a Great Pacifick Charter which though it cannot subdue mens Ill Nature and Will yet will put it out of the Power of any one Contending Party to hurt another 'T is this Instrument and only this with God's Blessing can make our miserable Contending Nation Happy And he either does not truly understand his Interest or is no True English-Man who doth not heartily desire it and by all honest means endeavour to promote it And I doubt not maugre all the Opposition of Interested and Vnreasonable Men but that His Majesty will duly Effect it The Almighty all Good and Wise God who put it in his Heart no doubt but will assist him in it and if so Gamaliel's Advice is pertinent in the Case To strive against the Almighty will be to no purpose They but in vain promise themselves success against the King of Heaven and Earth It seems to be an Honour and a Blessing reserved by Heaven on purpose for him and is an Action and Performance truly worthy of so Judicious so Just so Couragious a Prince and will raise Him a Name and a Monument not to be Defaced by the Spight of Time or Succession of Ages FINIS London Printed for the Author 1688.
Folly and Vanity of their Contention all aiming at and designing the same things viz. The Salvation of their own Souls and the Glory of God to perswade men to calm quiet and soften their Minds and to convince them of the Unreasonableness of their Mutual Severities and Impositions and to dispose them to Mutual Compliances and Charity Also I would discountenance as much as possible the foolish and vain Attemps of those Men who with all the Art and Industry imaginable do endeavour to make the World all of One Mind are impatient of any Contradiction and Dâ—ssent 'T is strange that the Experience of so many Ages should not School them into a better Understanding let them quote the Age wherein they all agreed Has there not been Father against Father Council against Council a continuation of Changes and Innovations And have we not transmitted to us a Black List of Heresies and Schisms as men call them And 't is possible they may quote an Universal Force and Tyranny but never an Universal Agreement But why should I go on These are things past Contradiction c. And what hopes is there now to make Men all of One Mind more than formerly Have we not Their Difficulties and our Own too to contend with And to say true we have nothing handed down certain and not subject to dispute but the Good Being weadore and his only begotten Son in whom we believe These things indeed are Universally Credited amongst us and not disputed by any But all other things do and may challenge a Dispute since they have passed through so many differing Hands and served so many different Interests and Parties Indeed some Records I reckon more Authentick than others I mean those that teach and instruct us in the ways of Peace and Holy-Living but in general all lie more or less liable to exception For they have been managed by men of various and differing Understandings Passions Humours Constitutions and Interests And have we not the same sort of men And is not the World governed by the same Methods and Politicks as formerly We see every party quote Scripture and Fathers and Councils one against another But to what purpose For none of them at this time of the day after the Revolution of so many years are competent or sufficient to decide our Differences Every Age brings up Men of Prudence and Discretion enough to govern themselves and what the Fathers did is not to be drawn down for a President for these Time They lived in Ages wherein their Civil Customs were different from ours and their Civil Customs may as well be imposed on us as their Ecclesiastical their Civil Customs did influence their Ecclesiastical and so doth ours and that increases the difficulty Besides they were but Men and so are We They were Good Men indeed and lived Holy Lives and were Ornaments to their respective Generations and as such we ought to respect them But there is too much reverence paid to Antiquity by some and they are apt to draw very weak Conclusions and say Such a Father said such a thing Ergo 't is true and think this way of Arguing is Good and Authentick never considering the Truth and Reasonableness of the Thing so much as the Authority of the Man. But further passing over the Iniquity of the Times and the Corruptions which they may have undergone and supposing them to be all truly transmitted to us yet they will signifie very little at best since every Disputer and Party is to manage them They will speak any thing we would have them to speak and are Weapons in the Hands of every one that pleases to take them And nothing is more common than to hear all Sides and Parties say They have Reason Scriptures Fathers and Councils on their Side but this signifies nothing at all because they must not be Judges in their own Case Indeed they signifie as to particular men for instruction and direction in Holy Living and give Excellent Councel and Advice and minister to Holiness and Piety but will decide few of our Controversies since Parties must manage them 'T is certain that Law Scripture Argument and Reason signifies little amongst Disputers each Party calling that Law which doth serve their Turns that Scripture which doth seem to countenance their Opinion and that Reason and good Argument which favours and tends to promote their Design and not what really are so And this misery will still be continued in the World as long as we have several Interests to manage several Parties and so few if any indifferent and impartial Judges amongst us and all things will suffer Aggravation or Extenuation be great or little good or bad according as they quadrate with mens Opinions Prejudices or Interests But supposing men to be Impartial Diligent and Honest yet 't is impossible they should not differ in their Sentiments since their Understandings are so various And some understand more some less than is meant some Figuratively some Literally some Relatively others Collectively Distributively Privitively Positively Affirmatively Negatively and a hundred other ways to the wearying and wearing out of all the Adverbs Witness all those numerous and large Comments and Explications on Law and Gospel both by Ancient and Modern Expositors most differing one from the other though on the same Texts according to the Capacities differing Acquirements Educations Prejudices or Prior Notions of the Managers all which add to the Difficulties of Mens Agreement Then again Affection being founded in Likeness the various Authors find Abetters according as they find Readers of the same Humour and Constitutions One loves such a Book and such a Man and saith What he writes is certainly the Truth and Right and why Not that it really is so but because he writes something suitable to his Genius and Complexion The Sanguine loves the Chearful and Encouraging the Melancholy the most Doleful and Tragical Exposition and most call that which pleases them the Truth But further Let them tell me what good they have done by such their Endeavours of Uniting Men as they call it Have they no raised more Devils than they can lay Has not one Book begot another and one Dispute another And so like is Truth to Falshood and one thing to another and there be so many Plausibilities and Probabilities the Wisest and most Considering Man may be deceived and so by Consequence this Humour of Disputing propagated to the end of the World which instead of Curing and Healing Differences doth but enlarge the Breaches and increase them by raising Mens Passions and destroying Charity As to publick Disputes 't was hardly ever known but they that had most Power and the largest Interest always went away with the Victory And as for private I scarce ever knew two Persons engaged in a Dispute but that both came off worse though both got the better The love of Victory on one hand and the shame of being overcome on the other their Passion and