Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	christian_a	church_n	great_a	1,565	5	2.6950	3	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A18100	The ansvvere of Master Isaac Casaubon to the epistle of the most reuerend Cardinall Peron. Translated out of Latin into English. May 18. 1612; Ad epistolam illustr. et reverendiss. Cardinalis Perronii, responsio. English	Casaubon, Isaac, 1559-1614.	1612 (1612)	STC 4741; ESTC S107683	37,090	54

readie at al times as our Sauiour teacheth to scatter tares amongst the good seede And considering in these times wee see with our eyes that this is come to passe and it is so grosse that wee may almost grope it with our hands it is ridiculous and most absurd to dispute whether this thing could heretofore happen or hath now happened Therefore the Church of Rome the Greek Church the Church of Antioch and of Aegypt the Abyssine the Moschouite and many others are members much excelling each other in sinceritie of doctrine and faith yet all members of the Catholike Church whose ioynture in regard of the outward forme was long since broken For which cause his Maiestie doth much wonder when hee considers how some Churches which heretofore were but members of the bodie once entire doe now ingrosse all the right of the whole and appropriate to themselues the name of Catholike excluding from their communion and affirming boldly that they belong not to the Catholike Church whosoeuer doe dissent from them in anything or refuse the yoke of their bondage Neither do you only challenge to your selues this right there are others that do the same For his Maiestie speakes it with griefe there are at this day many priuate Churches which beleeue that they onely are the people peculiar which they call the Church Giue them that strength which the Church of Rome hath and they shall doe the same with her and pronounce of all others as hardly as she doth What shall wee say are there not sundrie sects now adaies which are certainly perswaded that they only haue insight into the Scriptures and as the Poet saith that they only are wise that all others walke like shadowes It is true indeed that in euery age there were conuenticles of sectaries and dissemblies which did boast themselues of the Catholike Church and by this prouocation did allure many vnto them but it is the peculiar and famous calamitie of these latter times that the Catholike Church vnto which of necessitie a man must adhere either really and actually or at the least in will and vow is become lesse manifest then it was of old lesse exposed to the eyes of men more questionable and doubtfull For which cause his excellent Maiestie thinketh that he ought more carefully in such a deluge of variable opinions to betake himselfe to the mountaines of the sacred Scripture and as S. Augustine gaue counsell to the Donatists to seeke the Church of Christ in the words of Christ And so S. Chrysostome both elsewhere and of purpose in his 33. Homilie vpon the Acts of the Apostles handling the question How the true Church might be discerned amongst many Societies which challenge to themselues that name teacheth that there be two meanes of deciding that question first the word of God and secondly antiquitie of doctrine not inuented by any new author but alwaies knowne from the birth and beginning of the Church These two trials the King and Church of England embracing doe auouch that they acknowledge that doctrine onely for true and necessarie to saluation which flowing from the fountaine of sacred Scripture through the consent of the ancient Church as it were a conduit hath been deriued vnto these times Wherefore to make an end of this obseruation his Maiestie answeres that it is faultie many waies and cannot stand with the hypothesis propounded Because saith he the Church of England is so farre from forsaking the ancient Catholike Church which she doth reuerence and admire that she departeth not from the faith of the Church of Rome in any point wherein that Church agreeth with the ancient Catholike If you question the succession of persons behold the names of our Bishops and their continuance from the first without any interruption if the succession of doctrine come make triall let vs haue a free Councell which may not depend vpon the will of one The Church of England is readie to render an account of her faith and by demonstration to euince that the authors of the reformation here had no purpose to erect any new Church as the ignorant and malicious doe cauill but to repaire the ruines of the old according to the best forme and in their iudgement that is best which was deliuered by the Apostles to the Primitiue Church and hath continued in the ages next ensuing His Maiestie grants that his Church hath departed from many points of that doctrine and discipline which the Pope of Rome now stifly defendeth but they doe not thinke this to be a reuolting from the Catholike Church but rather a returning to the ancient Catholike faith which in the Romane Church by new deuices hath been manifoldly and strangely deformed and so a conuersion to Christ the sole Master of his Church Wherefore if any man grounding vpon the doctrine of this obseruation will inferre from it that the Church of England because it reiects some ordinances of the Romane hath therefore departed from the ancient Catholike Church his Maiestie will not grant him this vntill he prooue by sound reasons that all things taught by them of Rome especially those which they will haue to be beleeued as necessarie to saluation were allowed of from the beginning and established by the ancient Catholike Church Now that no man can euer doe this at least neuer yet hath done it his Maiestie and the reuerend Bishops of the English Church doe hold it to be as cleere as when the Sunne shineth at mid-day Lastly his Maiestie thinketh it a great offence to forsake the Church but hee vtterly denieth that hee or his Church are guiltie of this crime For saith his Maiestie we depart not voluntarily but we are driuen away And your Honour well knoweth how many and how excellently learned and godly men for these fiue hundred yeeres at the least haue wished the reformation of the Church both in the head and members What grieuous complaints haue been often heard of worthie Kings and Princes lamenting the estate of the Church in their times But what auailed it for vnto this day we see not any one thing amended of all those which were thought most needfull of reformation Wherefore the Church of England in this separation feareth not any fellowship with the Donatists if the matter be debated by ingenuous men They willingly and without cause left the Catholike Church which at that time the consent of all nations did approue whose doctrine or discipline they could not blame but England being enforced by great necessitie separated her selfe from that Church which innumerable Christian people did not grant to be the true Catholike and vniuersall Church nay more which many of your owne writers haue heretofore ingenuously confessed to haue varied much from the ancient Church in matters of faith and discipline to haue patched many new things to the old and euill to the good which indeed is now better knowne to the vniuersall world then that any man can denie or be ignorant

THE ANSVVERE OF MASTER ISAAC CASAVBON to the Epistle OF THE MOST ILLVSTRIOVS and most reuerend Cardinall PERON Translated out of Latin into English May 18. 1612. LONDON Printed by FELIX KYNGSTON for VVilliam Aspley 1612. TO SIR THOMAS EDMONDS HIS MAIESTIES Legier in France ISAAC CASAVBON wisheth Health HOnourable Sir the importunate curiositie of men hath at length ouercome my purpose which would not suffer neither this answere nor the Epistle that gaue the occasion of it to keepe priuate with other scroles in the desks of the owners As for me how vnwilling I haue been from the beginning and euer since to haue it published both you well know and others of worth can witnesse who haue earnestly requested that of me yet did not preuaile But now seeing so great a man forced to yeeld vnto other mens desire let none marueile that I also haue done the same And although this Answere was not written to the end that it should be published yet if they into whose hands it shall come be equall and moderatly minded not seruile to affections there will proue no cause I trust that I should repent of publishing it or they of reading it It shall be knowne to honest men and such as be desirous of publike agreement amongst Christian people as I haue obserued the most to be on both sides that are good men and intelligent in matters Diuine that they haue his excellent Maiestie of GREAT BRITAINE ioyning with them in their most holie wish yea with most earnest desire Who although he haue iust cause to be perswaded that his words his writings his actions heretofore haue made manifest to the whole Christian world the excellencie of his minde in this behalfe yet he thought good not to despise this occasion happened also of declaring the same Who is there so void of al sense of piety which doth not embrace and admire this affection in so mightie a Prince Who so sauage and barbarous as otherwaies to interpret it or to make doubt whether this answere of the King did proceed from a vehement desire of concord Religious and wise men shall further vnderstand what manner of peace and concord in the Church this most pious Prince wisheth and vpon what termes and conditions his Maiestie is readie to make couenant For this answere is tempered with such moderation that the zealous endeuour by all good meanes to make vp peace appeareth not to be inferiour to the Zealous endeuour of defending the truth And this surely is the Kings opinion this his firme sentence that it is but vaine for such men to thinke or talke of the peace of the Church which are not afraid to separate and disioyne this celestiall chariot which ought in no wise to be discoupled That in vaine therefore doe they vaunt of the truth of their opinion who maliciously interpreting all the sayings of other men and deducting thence such absurd consequences as they list giuing bad example of such peruerse industrie doe proue themselues destitute of charitie which is the mother of vnitie That in vaine also doe they vsurpe the golden names of Charitie and Vnitie which are not willing to admit of Truth which is the foundation of pietie that is sincere It was of old excellently spoken by S. Hilarie Beautifull is the name of peace saith he and faire is the opinion of vnitie but who may doubt that that only is the peace of the Church which is the peace of Christ The peace of Christ which alone is taught by this most holy father to bee approued off in the Church it is that by which the doctrine of Christ which he taught his Apostles and his Apostles taught the primitiue Church doth remaine safe defenced and vnshaken Let those to whom it belongeth who challenge the principall places in the Church offer vnto his Maiestie such a peace and straightway the discord is ended Let them ingeniously and faithfully separate humane matters from diuine things superstitious from things religious nouelties and late-borne deuices from such matters as be truly ancient lastly the nothing or lesse necessarie from the necessary and I say againe and I crie aloud that all may heare on his Maiesties part and for the Church of England the discord is at an end Now to come vnto so great a benefit there lieth but one Kings streete as it were which from the entrance of the Church hath been beaten by our ancestors namely the free celebration of a Generall Councell wherein the complaints of all Nations may be heard wherein controuersies may be determined and peace for the time ensuing by Gods mercie bee established For the rooting of bad opinions out of mens mindes and for the reconciliation of nations diuided by dissention the Church in all ages knew no other course but this nor vsed other but this they vsed not violence nor armes But seeing by reason of the generall sinnes of vs all there appeares no hope of a Generall Councell yet it would be some ease of this euill if the great libertie or rather vnbridled licence of daily writing and publishing bookes of Diuinitie were by seuere lawes on both sides restrained For now what hope can remaine when throughout all Europe euery where euer now and then new writers come abroad such as be readie to powre oyle into the fire rather then by casting on water to extinguish the flame Gregorie Nazianzen that admirable Diuine could not endure in the men of his time the curiositie in disputing of diuine matters and in diuers places of his writings hee affirmes that the only cause almost of the euils which that age suffered not vnlike to ours now adaies was this because men void of Gods spirit commonly and promiscuously did dispute of spirituall things and conuert Theologie into technology that is make no other vse of Diuinity but as a matter of learned or artificiall discourse as they talke of other arts and sciences out of humane reason From this licence which now almost euery where beareth sway rise so many new tearmes and such diuersitie of formes of speech and sentences which daily more and more breed dissention in the Church of God Away then with this libertie of prophecying which is so pleasing vnto some of these times if they vnderstand thereby a licence of broaching new deuices and departing from the doctrine which hath been receiued by consent of all men in the ages of the primitiue Church What should I tell here of those vnsauourie and vnlettered writers which are scarcely perfit in the first elements of Christian religion which daily come foorth of those places especially where without any difference made of good or euill demeanours without respect of knowledge or ignorance to the hurt of the common good rewards are propounded vnto any one that being growne impudent can set out a booke against the aduerse part though it be full of rage and emptie of all learning But what good can be hoped for from such as make