Selected quad for the lemma: book_n

Word A Word B Word C Word D Occurrence Frequency Band MI MI Band Prominent
book_n good_a holy_a scripture_n 3,042 5 5.5201 4 true
View all documents for the selected quad

Text snippets containing the quad

ID Title Author Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication) STC Words Pages
B20784 An essay for the conversion of the Irish shewing that 'tis their duty and interest to become Protestants : in a letter to themselves. Cox, Richard, Sir, 1650-1733. 1698 (1698) Wing C6721 30,538 48

There is 1 snippet containing the selected quad. | View lemmatised text

the Priest and the Purifications of Purgatory with very little regard to Holiness without which no Man shall see the Face of GOD Sect 23. And hence it is that the two Crying Sins of the Nation Theft and Perjury which are rarely found amongst Protestants are so common among you that the one is become an Epithet and the other Proverbially Scandalous The Protestants know they must make Restitution if possible or b● Damn'd and therefore few of that Communion but notorious profligate Reprobates will either Forswear or Steal But you are not under this Awe having too often some Sophistical Pretence or other to Justifie or Excuse you and at worst fancying that you may be absolved at an easie Rate either by Confession and slight Pennance or if that fails by a few turns in Purgatory Sect 24. And thus have many by these Loose Notions been deluded to the Gallows and more to Hell who had never been thus miserably cheated of their Lives and their Souls if they had been used to Sound Doctrine and good Sermons or suffered to Read the holy Scriptures and other good Books that might better instruct them Sect 25. But the Priest will say He does warn you of these Vices and preach Restitution but Experience has convinc'd us that whatever he says on that Subject is very Cold and Ineffectual and that he does countenance the contrary Practice since all is discover'd to him in Confession and yet no Restitution is made but to special Friends or such whom the Priest is afraid of And since without Restitution he gives Absolution and administers the Sacrament not only to Petty Thieves but to Proclaim'd Tories and Rapparees who were to Rob and Murther again the next Day Sect 26. For GOD's sake Gentlemen do not suffer your selves to be thus Impos'd upon Pray look back a little and enquire Was it not the Priests that were the Original of Rapparees Did not they enjoyn every one upon pain of Excommunication to bring a Rapary or Half Pike in his hand to Mass Did not they Head the Rabble and in many Places at Noon-Day with Bag-Pipes and other Circumstances of Jollity and Insolence plunder their Protestant Neighbours Were there ever more Perjuries or greater Villanies committed in so short a time than whilst the Popish Clergy had the Ascendant Or would your greatest Enemies desire more than Liberty to Copy afttr your Example and to serve you Now as barbarously as you served Them Then Sect 27. In short How can you pretend to be Good Christians and to obey the Will of GOD whilst you are so ignorant what it is and know so little of it You are utter Strangers to the Holy Scriptures which are the Word of GOD and even the Prayers and Offices of your Church are in a Language you do not understand Scarce one in a Tbousand of you can give a Tolerable Account of the Christian Faith or the Hope that is in him but is contented with a Jingle To believe as the Church believes which is He knows not what and in effect he thinks that a blind Obedience to the Avarice and Ambition of the Clergy will serve him instead of the Practice of Christian Vertues Sect 28. And Gentlemen Since it is not to Upbraid much less to Scandalize you that I have insisted upon this Ungrateful Theam but purely for your Service to open your Eyes and Undeceive you That you may plainly see you want Help and Advice And since that Chyrurgion is more your Friend that Searches your Wound to the bottom that he may cure it throughly than he that Skins it over and lets it fester and break out again you will excuse me if for the same Reason and for your Thorough Cure I put you upon the Enquiry Whether you are not defective in your Language Obnoxious to the Laws and Incapable of Preferment And whether too many of you are not Slovenly in your Habit and in your Houses Unjust in your Actions even to Perjuries and Forgeries innumerable shamefully countenanc'd and favour'd by some of your Courts of Justice in the late Reign Barbarous in your Designs to Extirpate the Protestants Poor in your Fortunes Low in your Reputations and by your Ingratitude and Cruelty Nakedly Exposed to the Just Resentments of a Provok'd People to whom GOD Almighty has Given and notwithstanding frequent Rebellions Continued the Dominion over you Sect 29. And is there any way to Extricate you out of all these Misfortunes but a Total Conversion and Conformity to the Laws Language Habit Manners and Religion of England Sect 30. And would not your Miserable Country-men now begging and starving in France be over-joy'd to Return to their Native Soyl upon these Terms How gladly would they conform if they might be Restor'd Why then should you lose the Present Opportunity of making your selves and your Posterity happy by your Conformity to Things that are in Themselves so Excellent and so much for your Advantage both as to Body and Soul Sect 31. I will not deny but that I press this the more Earnestly upon you because I think you are Originally English and of Brittish Extraction To prove this I shall not wholly Rely on the Testimonies of Tacitus Polybius and many other Ancient Historians and Geographers who affirm That Ireland was Peopled from Britain but shall demonstrate it from the Nature of the thing which could not be otherwise For before the Use of the Compass was discover'd they could make no other than Coasting Voyages in sight of the Shoar Hence 't is that all Countries were first Peopled by their next Neighbours Greece from Asia Italy from Greece France from Italy England from France and Ireland from Great Britain So that what the Old Irish Chronicles report to the contrary is not only False but utterly Impossible 32. To this I might add many of the Customs of the Ancient Brittons retain'd in Ireland to our own days your Bows and Arrows Bolyes Mantles Glibs Bards Druids and even your Gavelkind are derived thence But what need we say any more but that your Character is Saxon and your Language Originally Welsh Sect 33. Besides Two Thirds of those that are called Irish here are beyond Controversie of English Extraction and the Progeny of the First Conquerours or of such as came over afterwards from England to support them Of this sort in Munsier we have the Barryes Courcyes Skiddyes Golds Coppingers Galways Lumbards Heas Hodnets Cogans Lacyes Roches Rices Miaghs Purcels Sarsfeilds Powers Barrets Fitzmaurice Condons c. In Conaught Burks Briminghams Dillons Browns Frenches Kirevans Bodkins Linches Athys c. In Leinster Butlers Fitz-Geralds Nettervills Plunkets Aplmers Prestons Wogans Barnwells Cusacks Flemings Nugents Hussyes Nangles Keatings Talbots Sherlocks Eustaces c. And in Vlster Savages Dowdals Russels Peppards c And many more And when I have added That there have been so many Cross-Marriages between the old English and old Irish that there is scarce a Man of any Note but has of