Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n
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A18922
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Henoch Clapham his demaundes and answeres touching the pestilence methodically handled, as his time and meanes could permit.
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Clapham, Henoch.; Re., Pere.
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1604
(1604)
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STC 5343; ESTC S108006
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28,520
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38
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to giue in his answer Hearing nothing more of that of 7. weekes I on the day of Pentecost insuing complayned to his Highnes againe Thereto Sir Iulius Caesar in his Maiesties name subscribeth thus The Kings Maiesty hath eftsoones referred this petitioÌ„ to the Lord Bishop of London who is required by his Highnes calling other of the Hycommission vnto him withall convenient expedition and according to the Law to proceede to iudgement either with or against the partie as his cause shall deserue that his Highnes may not further bee importuned herein So farre the Kings commaund To the Bishop I sent it but hearing nothing from him a fortnight after I sent to the King againe About a week after I was convented And after much talke to no purpose the Bishop concluded thus you may doe this at least the Doctrines being put downe as supposed to be taught of you you may subscribe herein I was truely or not truly vnderstood I answered let that be done and I shall doe what I ought Doctor Stanhope then said Maister Deanes of Westminster Pawles are appointed to that who at their convenient leasure will send for you So the Court broke vp This was the eleventh of Iuly last and then the first time also of excepting at the doctrine of Faithes apprehending deliverance from the plague taught in the foresaid Epistle Being thus left to the two Deanes I writt to them sundry times for speedy proceeding One of them sent my messenger to the other backward and forward At the Monethes end Doctor Androes sends me word that he had put the matter from him And so he never sent for me according to the Courtes Depute Passing by inconvenient repeates about three weekes after I was sent for to the Registers office Coming thither his man lets me see Doctor Androes his moneths worke And what was it A flat recantation and nothing answerable to that which the Court in myne hearing appointed as afore So much I signified to the Bishop as also to the Doctor But other answer since I could haue none but this put in bondes so to protest When and Where we shall appoint and so departe prison So my cause at the penning hereof standeth The severall pointes for the which I am thus handled in the sequent Discourse I do treat of by way of Quere and Response that is by way of Question and Answere Wherein my cause is vnsound reiect wherein Orthodoxall accept and so farre be Gods instrument for my Good Art thou a Magistrate Then hearken what Salomon saith Deliver them that are drawen to death and wilt thou not preserue them that are ledd to be slaine If thou say Behold we knew not of it he that Pondereth the heartes doth he not vnderstand it And he that keepeth thy Soule knoweth hee it not Will not he also recompence every man according to his workes Thus let the Magistrate take heede how he pleades ignorance and wincketh at the fall of the innocent For such a looking through the fingers may fill the earth with innocent blood till it roare again for heavens iudgement And so not only such but also the whole lande shall fare the worse for iniustice Art thou a Minister Then heare what Moses and Salomon say And if any haue sinned namely by hearing the voyce of an othe and he can be a witnesse whither he hath seene or knowen of it he do not vtter it he shall beare his iniquitie Open thy mouth for the dombe in the cause of all the children of destruction Some of you are reported to say that Clapham hath a good cause but it is to be doubted if so he haue sufficient learning to defend it That I haue I haue God make me faithfull in that I haue But thou that art able to giue in thy Testimonie art bound also to do it If thou wilt not be a Procter for Christ in his members one of the two Theeues executed with lesus shall turne Preacher giue in sâ—fficient evidence to thy condemnation To the People Also Brethren I beseech you for our Lorde Iesus sake and for the loue of the Spirit that ye would striue with me by prayers vnto the Lord for me that I may be deliuered from the disobedient and that my seruice which I haue yet to do may be accepted of the Sanctified that I may come forth to his people with ioy by the will of God and may with you be refreshed Thus the God of peace be with you all Amen Yours Henoch Clapham Qu. Is the Plague infectious CHAP. I. Answer EVery Answer is to be made either by Affirming or Denying or Distinguishing or by Retorting Affirme it to be or not to be I cannot for reason ensuing For retorting an answer I could by vrging a Quere of like nature thus Is the crab restoritiue yea or no If answer be made tell me whither you speak of the fruit crab or Sea-crab and then I will satisfie you euen so I say tell me whither you speake of the Naturall Plague or the Supernaturall Plague and then I will say it is or it is not infectious The doubtfulnes then of the answer doth arise from the doubtfulnes of the question The question is doubtfull by reason of the word Plague for that it hath sundry significations For the better vnderstanding whereof let vs first examine the seuerall senses Plague is a word taken in the evill part and spoken of any harme inflicted vpon any Creature All diseases are termed plagues be they inflicted vpon mankinde or others So be Crosses in Common Wealthes Châ—rches Famelies So be som Windes and Weathers to Trees hearbes flowers c. And so Egypt had his ten sundry plagues But passing by all such inferiour sortes it is in this dispute taken for a speciall kinde of evill inflicted on mankinde The Divine Prophets Canonicall do terme it in Hebrue DEBER The divine Septuagintâ— do specially terme it in Greek Logos The Ancient HeatheÌ„ Phisitians do terme it Loimos The Latines call it Pestis and Plaga whereof do come our English wordes Pest. Pestilence Plague but Plaga in playne English A Stripe or Blowe and therefore how many stripes so many Plagues Quere That plague which is so straingly mortall at this time throughout England is it infectious yea or no CHAP. II. Answer I vnderstand that plague or pest not to be single or of one kinde And so farre as I conceaue no learned Divine or Phisition is otherwise minded Thereof it is that sometimes they vrge textes of scripture for making the Angell Agent according to that speach of our King in his Parliamentall Oration who termes the Pest the violâ—â—lence of Gods devouring Angell and sometimes againe they discourse of Corrupt ayre in suing Constellations and fuming corruptions In which respecte naturall politicall Orders are vrged as for the other Fasting and Prayer In regard of the first one speaking of the Plague in Davids time writes thus This
to be tryed by Gods worde for already it is vnder the tryall of the Bishops sworde Only heere thus much 1. The Leper was not put off till his disease were throughly seene tryed and censured But our sicknes are shaken off without tryall often tymes vpon false suppositiôn 2. The Priest then was tyed by dutie to take such tryall But the Priest ordinarily with vs is of the rest furthest from that shaking off not only the sicke but the sound also 3. The Priest and people got the Leper conveyed to some place apart providing sufficiently for him that so his lothsom body might bring no grievance to the Congregation But the most of our Priestes and people haue beene so farre from convaying forth the sick so provided as they rather haue put out them selues providing for themselues and leaving the sick behinde them 4. The Leprous house and garment came also vnder the Priestes tryall and censure will our Priestes do the like I will hardly beleeue it till I see it 5. The Leprous garmentes were to be burnt and the houses pulled downe will they deale so with pestilenced houses and garmentes Then downe with all England Haue I not these circumstances remembred had iust cause to complayne of abuse committed against the Ceremoniall law of Leprosie Sub Iudice lis sit Let the Church of God all abroad iudge it As for any Rules of Politicall decency or safetie to be drawen frō Levit. 13. or any other scripture nether haue I nor I think any scholler ever excepted against And as farre from my thought it was Contemptuously herein to oppose vnto the doctrine of Leprosie published in the booke of Orders for the Wednesdayes Fast besides that my said Epistle was published before that book som dayes if not weeks at least in my iudgement as they haue vnder my hand and oth nor could I euer from Pawles Church-yard or otherwise learne the contrarie But inough of that Parenthesis When men be vnwilling Tolay downe their liues for their Brethren to giue their liues for their flocke to preferre bodies to soules eternall life to temporarie what Law of God man will bind them What evasions will not be devised And what transgression will not of such be iustified euen somtymes to the harming of such as haue beene conscionable obseruers of the Law This chapter then I will finish with other mens wordes * One saith thus Let not Gentlemen and rich Citizens by flying vnlesse they fly likewise frō their sinnes thinke to escape scot-free Another writes thus It is a great shame for a Christian man to be afrayde of the plague of pestilence as to fly from them that he is bound to serue by Gods commaundement Another writes thus They that fly for meare feare ought to acknowledge their want of faith and to bewayle it as those that consider neither of them selues nor of the hand of God that stricketh perswading them selues that staying is the only daunger and that flyinge is the only meane to escape Such men do as litle Children that flye from the Fathers Rodde and so make him more angrie Againe another writes so They must summon them selues vnto the iudgement feate of God and looke on the plague as on the messenger of Gods wrath which can not be avoyded with change of place but by repentance and amendment of life So farre they From such authorised sentences let the Reader collect that howso ever all departure be not gayn-sayed yet no such departure is graūted as whereby Relatiue duties be omitted and cast aside or Barbanitie may ensue for the least euill may not be done to the ende that good may come thereby for to such saith the Apostle Damnation is iust From the beginning of the world God knoweth all his workes and therefore neither needeth nor craueth nor alloweth the helpe of our false finger Let vs striue in all estates to be helpefull one to another and blessed is that servant who when his maister Christ cometh is found so doing Dixi. Epilogue EQuall is that Pentameter 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Euery forced busines is grievous Almost a yeare is passed at the penning hereof So long forbearance was much and onerous specially in so even a cause If my Aduersaries scorpions haue by lashing enforced this Cry and thou thereby bettered Deo gratias giue God the prayse who out of a flint can fetch fier and of stones rayse vp children to Abraham Meane tyme be assured it had beene more ease for me not to haue beene so vrged But though I were slaine I must with Iob hold fast myne innocencie Innocency By how much the more it is innoeencie by so much the more I should by silence haue borne false witnes against God his Church and myne owne soule But if it bee remembred what horride reportes were scattered abroad of me both touching Fact and matter of Faith notwithstanding all orderly suites and protestations subscriptorie and iuramentall yea against the tendering Royal purpose of our Soueraigne to the possessing of Magistrates eares with vntruthes to the perverting of Ministers and people for bending all against me and so the sword of Gods holy Angell yet vn-sheathed gainst all damming vp the course of my Ministerie cutting of my bodies liberty propounding my life to daunger breaking the heart of my family consumed the substance I had paynefully earned to the gladding of fooes sadding of friends procuring murmurations c. and al for praying preaching visiting and good-doing to all sortes pestilenced when almost none els would if all this be layd to heart am I Iron that I should not feele or am I lead that I should not sound Nay is it reasonable though I bee therefore cōmitted close prisoner yea should dy the death but I should speak and write for clearing of myne innocencie Wherein I haue fayled and who is it that in nothing sinneth not thou that art stronger helpe to sustayne me at least simpathize so my estate as I may be helped by thy feeling and harty prayers And so with reference of my cause to the iudgement of God his Church in England Scotland France Ireland and wheresoeuer I end This 18. of September 1604. The Lord most vnworthy HENOCH CLAPHAM A Letter to a friend YOu desire to heare by what Law I was committed and so am still continued in prison I protest in the presence of God I know not by what Law all this is done There is a Law that toucheth som concerning iudgement and doctrine of the Pestilence It is layd downe in the booke called the Queenes Orders for the Pestilence I speake of our late sweet Soveraigne now gone vnto God The same booke since as I take it was published last pest-tyme in his Maiesties name and this is it verbatim Order 16. Item if there be any person Ecclesiasticall or Lay that should hold and publish any opinions as in som places report is made that it is a vayne thing to