Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	accusation_n	accuse_v	act_n	18	3	5.5155	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A00586	The widowes petition delivered in a sermon before the iudges at the assises held at Northampton, Iuly 25. 1633. by Antony Fawkner, parson of Saltry All-Saints, alias Moygne in Huntingtonshire.	Fawkner, Antony, b. 1601 or 2.	1635 (1635)	STC 10724; ESTC S101885	19,826	36

vnto the woman the honour of Protection So the wise man counsels in the widowes in the Plaintiffes case Deliver them that suffer wrong from the hand of the oppressour and bee not faint-hearted when thou iudgest Be as a Father vnto the Fatherlesse and as an Husband vnto their Mother so shalt thou bee as the sonne of the most high and hee shall loue thee more then thy mother doth Ecclus. 4. 9. 10. Obserue I beseech you the vnparalleld reward of Assimilation In being tanquam Pater as a Father to the poore they shall bee sicut Filius altissimi as the Sonne of the most High who is the Father of the Fatherlesse and the ludge of the Widowes Psal 68. 5. And so I descend vnto the second part of the Assise contained vnder the Widowes Title Testes the Witnesses All Demonstration and consequently all perfect knowledge we must confesse to be Derebus necessarits aeternae veritatis as the Philosopher instructs his schoole about those things which are in themselues of an invariable constancie and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or materialls in propositions of eternall truth and consequence infallible So that in those things without the ayde of externall information reason can easily conclude the necessity of the effects and acts from the constant influx and vnchangable operation of their cause But in all free Acts and such are all mans Actions there is such a variable contingencie that a certain knowledge of their particulars can never bee attained themselues continuing Pro libitu for ever so vncertaine Things that must be done all men may knowe but to those things which either may or may not be done only the Actors in whose liberty they are are conscious Wherefore because of all humane actions about which Iustice principally is conversant there can bee in the Iudge no certaine knowledge demonstratiue God for the better processe of equity and right hath allowed 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a kinde of notice of their outward Acts from the probability of externall testimonie There is indeed aboue every mā Test is intuens a great and cleere-eyed witnesse that viewes the heart and reynes and fore-sees our secretest actions before they come to Act. And there is too in every man Testis internus an inward witnesse which wee can no more eschew then we can runne from our owne selues That Conscientia that intimate ioynt-knowledge or conscience of our Good or Evill so soone yea in the first instant it is done And these two commonly though they knowe most speake least God of his mercy forbearing Conscience bridled by him in whose liberty for a time it is for that time not openly convincing or accusing But the third witnesse is Extra Hominem without the man who because the spirit of man is onely conscious of what is in man according to the Apostle can ingender no certaine knowledge in vs but a probability of truth by his accusation God frequently expresseth this his knowledge in Vindication conscience hers in Confession and our neighbour his in Accusation God from his most infallible science both accuseth so he did Ely 1. Sam. 2. 29. and condemneth as in the blaspheamers case Levit. 24. 14. and avengeth without either accusation or conviction For first hee punished Israel and after told the cause Iosh 7. 11. Then conscience is the best evidence next God and both accuseth as S. Iohn 8. 9. and condemneth Rom. 14. 22. But the outward witnesse the neighbour onely can accuse So then God is Witnesse Iury and Iudge Conscience Witnesse and Iurie but Man the witnesse only Wherefore because the witnesses accusation as being most infirme breeds onely the vncertaine evidence of probabilitie God gradually betters and confirmes the truth of this probability by the persons multiplicity If one onely accuse and one defend it is probable the defendants answer may be as true as the Plaintiffes objection but if two or more witnesse and but one deny the probability inclines to the part of the plaintiffe Wherefore at the mouth of two or three witnesses shall the matter be established Deut. 19. 15. Two or three witnesses saith the old Testament in the generality of cases and two or three witnesses saith the new in an Elders accusation at the least 1. Tim. 5. 19. And sure I am that if one had serued the turne Susanna who is now so celebrated for her vertue and chastitie had for her goodnesse died branded with the disgracefull note of sinne and advoutries One man hath but one soule and therefore as conscious of his owne thoughts may bee irreuelably constant to his own villanie but two or more men haue as many soules and those soules as diverse thoughts those thoughts as various expressions So that what one falsely averres for truth the other as ignorant of his thoughts may contradict For if both those witnesses against Susanna had had but one soule and had consequently beene conscious each to others thoughts both surely would haue stood to one tale and the second would never haue called that a Prime tree Dan. 13. 58. which the forme had before averred to be a Lentiske vers 54. And therefore One witnesse shall not testifie against a person to cause him for to dye saith that first greatest justest Law-giuer The Lord. Num. 35. 30. It is a Negatiue precept which in Morals bindes Adsemper and the Author of our English History of the World quotes Fortescue speaking of a great Iustice an acquaintance of his who kenned well enough the common distinction of a generall inconvenience a particular mischiefe yet confessed vnto him that vpon the conscience of omission of this negatiue precept in one case of life he bare I may say what himselfe confessed the guilt consequently the trouble to his graue But all this we passe vnto the discussion of the Schooles only this caveat let me leaue to those it may concern That he who carries his neighbours life and fortunes on so ticklish a point as the tip of his tongue had need be another Cato vndequaque rotundus a very perfect honest man Or if one witnesse be good which in some case and especially when the defendants evill life is an evidence against himselfe I may not altogether contradict as perswading obedience to the Law yet this I may be bold to say without the least suspicion of a crime In this case if in any Two are better then One Eccles 4. 9. But a threefold cord is not easily broken ver 12. From the quantity then of the Witnesses if wee descend vnto their quality wee shall easily obserue that their testimony onely ingendering a probability as you haue heard whatsoever defects may impaire that probability detract by consequent from the evidences sufficiencie As the defect of reason in children mad or distempered men inferres a probability that their evidence is but vanity And againe the defect of moderation in his passion or affection makes an enimy iustly suspected of malice