Selected quad for the lemma: book_n
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A36937
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A letter to a Lady from William Darrell ... ; wherein he desires a conference with the gentleman who writ her a letter furnishing her with Scripture testimonies against the principal points and doctrine of popery.
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Darrell, William, 1651-1721.
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1688
(1688)
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Wing D267; ESTC R6362
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2,210
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2
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A LETTER TO A LADY FROM WILLIAM DARRELL Of the Society of JESUS Wherein He desires a CONFERENCE with the Gentleman who Writ Her a LETTER Furnishing Her with Scripture Testimonies against the Principal Points and Doctrine of Popery ALthough I have not the Honour to know you I take the Freedom to Trouble your Ladyship with a Letter And because I am Ignorant of your Lodgings I have desir'd the Hawkers to find them out The occasion of giving my Self the Trouble of Writing and you of Reading this Leaf came from a Pamphlet which took the Name of a Letter though it deserves rather that of a Book However Madam call it what you please it Proves that least which it most Pretends Indeed the Gentleman flings a little Scripture before your Eyes not to Open them but to Blind them And yet as much as I can gather he desires you to Thank him for the Favour Did time permit me I assure your Ladyship I could make a Retaliation and confute with Scripture those very Points he Coroborats with it But yet I confess Ingenuously want of Time is not the only hindrance a VVorthier Pen has done it to my Hands And therefore in my Opinion 't is a piece of the greatest Folly to do that which is done already If your Ladyship will not believe me turn to the Triple-Cord and believe your own Eyes The Gentleman Insinuates You are endow'd with more than a Female Judgement Use this great Talent without Prejudice and Passion and I am sure you will see in the Book I recommend to you all the Articles of the Roman Faith so firmly Asserted by Scriptures and Fathers that you will Confess the Letter hath not shaken them But if you please to follow my Advice I will show you a shorter way to find out the Truth You know Madam that a cunning Artist can easily on a piece of Paper give Falsity some shaddow of Truth There is nothing more Facil than to clip a Text or to Daub it over with a false Varnish Therefore if the Gentleman can spare an Afternoon I desire him to meet me By this means you will see whether the Author deals fairly with you and us too that is whether he fastens on us no other Doctrine but what our Church owns I do not stand upon the place but submit my self to Yours and His Conveniency Only I desire we may have Amanuenses to avoid all Mistakes 1. I will desire the Gentleman to make good this But above all the Doctrine of Purgatory is as Obliging and Complaisant to Flesh and Blood as any thing can be for this takes off all necessity of a strict and Restrained life here is no need of Mortifying our Members upon the Earth as the Apostles Advice was Men need not be so fearful of pleasing their Appetites as they should be if they were to follow the rigid Precepts of our Saviour or St. Paul. But the Epicuraean Principle will make a Man happy here in gratifying the Lusts of the Flesh and hereafter he shall be happy in Heaven too if he has but been so frugal as to have a little Money to pay for a Catholick Burial only undergoing a little Prixation or Roasting by the way 2. I will desire him to make out this if they of the Church of Rome can brag of any works of Super-errogation they are such as these The Hallowing Daggers for the cutting off Princes that are not for their turn The Sacrificing all they please to call Hereticks And if he cannot I will Post him up for a Slanderer 3. I will not omit to ask the Gentleman from whence he took this Doctrine Here 's a Merchant has Indulgences to sell at a reasonable rate by virtue of which Man may gratifie the Lusts of his Flesh here and when he dies a small matter towards building or reparing some Religous Conventicle will purchase Masses enough to deliver him out of Purgatory 4. He shall convince your Ladiship to that we teach That the Pope can at once forgive a Man all the sins he ever has committed or ever shall be guilty of That he can thrust a Man into Heaven for as long a time as he pleases where he shall lye undiscovered by the All-seeing Eye of God and at the end of that Term be kick'd into Hell. That he can forgive the sins of all that are in the Communion of the Roman Church of all Christians if he pleases nay of the whole World at once You see Madam that the Charge is home and spoken with such an Accent as any may guess he desires the World to believe the Papists are guilty of such Extravagances 'T is worth the while to examine the Accusation by word of Mouth in your Ladiships presence That if true you may more detest Popery and if false your Correspondents Forgery and Calumny Madam at present I have only Cull'd these four Points when these are decided I will expose more I desire you for God's sake and your own to use all your Interest with the Gentleman for a speedy Meeting All the streets Ring with the Letter and the Ignorant Mobilee take the Contents for Gospel The heat is so great against Popery that every thing adds Fuel to the Flame but nothing enflames our Enemies more than such Monstrous Misrepresentations of our Doctrine Besides your haughty Zealots take our Modesty for Cowardise Our Patience for Fear and our Silence for a Defeat So that I make my Address to your Ladiship who perchance may be no Stranger to your Topping Gown-Men and conjure you to tell your Friend I am ready to meet him And if you please to be cleared of any other Point chuse whom you please of your Leading Ministers and you shall find me always willing to wait on them and your Ladiship But I believe you will find it more hard than you imagine to bring us together For those Men who had the face to Challenge Mr. Pulton in Print and the Courage not to take notice that he accepted of the Defy will easily bear this However I shall be ready at your call and am impatient to obey it as I am to Subscribe my self Your Ladiships Obedient Servant WILLIAM DARRELL From the Savoy July the 17. 1688