Selected quad for the lemma: book_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
book_n	life_n	part_n	write_v	3,080	5	5.3628	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A52162	A discourse concerning the love of God	Masham, Damaris, Lady, 1658-1708.	1696 (1696)	Wing M905; ESTC R3455	44,516	134

A DISCOURSE Concerning the LOVE OF GOD. LONDON Printed for Awnsham and John Churchil at the Black-Swan in PREFACE THE Prejudice that Piety and Religion receive by being removed from their true Foundations is of so ill Consequence in disturbing or misleading the best meaning and most serious part of Mankind that any Design which tends to prevent Mistakes about them will I hope at least merit Pardon The ensuing Discourse is Publish'd with this View It being intended to show the unserviceableness of an Hypothesis lately recommended to the World for a Ground of Christianity and Morality As likewise the farther injuriousness of that Hypothesis to True Religion and Piety Which I think I may securely affirm neither ever have suffer'd or ever can suffer so much from the Arguments of any Opposers as from theirs who induced by Weakness Vanity or any other Motive have undertaken or pretended to Support them upon false Grounds and wrong Reasonings I am indeed inclined to Believe as well as Hope that the Notion which this Discourse is level'd against is in no great danger of being a very general or prevailing Opinion It being too Visionary to be likely to be received by many Intelligent Persons And too abstruse to be easily entertain'd by those who are altogether unconversant with Scholastick Speculations Yet there are so many to whom Novelty alone has sufficient Charms to recommend any thing that I cannot but think if what I have writ answers the Intention it was writ with the Subject of the following Papers very well merited those few Hours that were bestow'd upon ' em And I am confirm'd in this Opinion by that of one of the Highest order in our Church Who since the Writing of them I was glad to hear say That it would be well done of any one who had leisure for it to show the weakness and extravagance of such of Mr. N's late Practical Discourses as are built upon the Principles of Pere Malbranche This Incouragement added to the like from some other Persons has occasion'd the Printing of a Discourse which was not writ with such an intention A DISCOURSE Concerning the Love of God WHatever Reproaches have been made by the Romanists on the one hand of the Want of Books of Devotion in the Church of England or by the Dissenters on the other of a dead and lifeless Way of Preaching I think it may be affirm'd That there cannot any where be found so good a Collection of Discourses upon Moral Subjects as might be made of English Sermons and other Treatises of that Nature written by the Divines of our Church Which Books are certainly in themselves of the greatest and most general Use of any and do most conduce to that which is the chief Aim of Christianity a good Life For whatsoever else its Professors divided into Parties may contend about This they must all agree in That we ought to be a People zealous of good Works Yet tho' no body can deny this And all are forced to allow that the Duties of a good Life ought to be practis'd It is certain that this which is so essential to Religion is so far degraded by some as not to pass for a part of it They accordingly distinguish a Religious from a Moral Man and carry their Zeal for the Doctrinal Part of Religion so far that they seem to lay little Stress on the Performance of those Vertues recommended by our Saviour Christ as the Way to Eternal Life Which Vertues have been commonly enough term'd Splendid Vices in those they account not true Believers And the Books writ by others to recommend the Practice of them to the World are look'd upon by these Men as little more worthy of a Christian's Perusal as such than Histories or Maxims of humane Prudence But others there are who do not in this manner undervalue Morality that yet perhaps are not less injurious to it Whilst they strain the Duties of it to an impracticable Pitch or pretend to ascend by it to something beyond or above it Which has been mightily the Fault of those in the Church of Rome Who having a better Relish of Religion than to be satisfied with one consisting of nothing but idle superstitious and pompous Shows have betaken themselves to that which they call the inward Way or Life of Contemplation Of which there never has wanted great Numbers in that Church known in several times by several Names which distinguish'd them more than their Opinions For in those they all agreed in one common Difference from all the rest though variously express'd And who whatever their Errours have been have yet seem'd the most in earnest in the Business of Religion of any that the Roman Church can boast of But however excusable these may be in regard of their own Church which perhaps allows them no other Way of being Religious than that which leads them into these Mistakes they yet are certainly very injurious to Christianity in the Representations they make of it by supposing as they do the Perfection of a Christian State to consist in Contemplation And the Duties of a social Life for which 't is plain Mankind were intended to be low Matters fit only to exercise the young Christian not yet advanced into the spiritual State to which when he arrives even but to the first Degree for they talk of three Degrees at least of it by which Perfection is to be ascended to he then looks down upon all the Duties of the second Table as an inferiour Dispensation belonging to those of a lower Class And when he is ascended to the highest Degree he is then got above Reason it self being first melted and brought to nothing and then lost and swallowed up in God And by these who suppose themselves thus far advanced the Vse of Reasoning and internal Discourse tending to fix our Affections upon God and expressing it self in sensible Devotion and even outward Acts of Obedience to God's Will are look'd upon as parts of the active Life and less perfect State of a Christian as may be seen in divers Books which treat of this Matter and particularly in Santa Sophia Treat 1st Ch. 1. c. 3. Which sufficiently shows of how dangerous Consequence it is to talk after this Fashion and to erect into a Rule or Dispensation of Life what possibly the Experience of some whose Circumstances or extraordinary Illuminations for ends unknown and which we have nothing to do with may have inabled them to give a sober and intelligible Sense of to themselves though to others it appear Jargon Enthusiasm or even Irreligion If Books of this kind which more or less those usually are the Papists call their spiritual Books are wanting in the Church of England it is well that they are so since they would be likely to make many more Enthusiasts than good Christians For as the Bishop of Worcester in his Fanaticism of the Roman Church says very well If once an unintelligible Way of Practical Religion