Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	court_n	king_n	law_n	5,153	5	5.1808	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A05633	A more full answer of John Bastwick, Dr. of Phisick made to the former exceptions newly propounded by another wellwiller to him, against some expressions in his Letany, with his reasons for the printing of it. All set downe as more articles superadditionall vpon superadditionall, against the prelats. This is to follow the Letany as a fourth part of it.; Litany. Part 4	Bastwick, John, 1593-1654.	1637 (1637)	STC 1575; ESTC S104510	13,880	12

then replying that I was not conscious to my self of any delinquency either against God or the King or that deserved convention before any Court of Iudicature in the world and for my part I resolved to dye rather then by basenesse of submission to make my self an offender Vpon which they demanded of mee if I would contend with their Lords grace I then againe answered that I contended with no man but for the truth of God and the honour of the King my Country and Religion and in that contention I would live dye Whereupon one of the cheifest Advocats in v court told me that the Prelat would kill me with his breath which I conses was such a diabolicall expression and a speech of such arrogancy as never I thinke before was heard of and therefore upon that I called him ever after VVilliam the Dragon for the Dragon onely killeth men with his breath as Historians do relate and as the Apocalips witnesseth and had I not been a Physitian and had an Antidote against it what do you thinke would have become of mee when his breath is poyson I must ingenuously confesse it I thinke it is not safe that such a breath should come nigh the King who knowes but that he was the cause of this last yeares plague that killed so many and that hee infected the ayre And for the Prelat of York he would have had mee knocked downe with club law for maintaining the Kings prerogative royall against Papall usurpation and said in open Court that hee was not beholding to the King for his Bishoprick for Iesus Christ made him a Bishop and the Holy Ghost consecrated him when notwithstanding he never performed the office of a Bishop and true Pastor of Iesus Christ but hath ever been a meere drone and a hinderer of all preaching and teaching by all which he may well deserve censure from the King and State as being in a Premunire and the title of an abby lubber But you say they are privy Councellors and that the Angell would not revile the Devill and therefore I have done amisse in that To all which I will breifly answer and so conclude as concerning their dignity so long as they had not by their misdemeanour made themselves delinquents I never impeached it or hurt their renowne in the least but they falling from grace becoming contumacious against God and the King and noysome to all his poore subjects in this condition where now they are I conceive no honour due unto them nor they worthy of any dignity 〈◊〉 they acknowledge their errors crave pardon of God and his most Sacred Majestie And the truth is it is great pitty that there is none of the Nobles that will informe his Highnes of their wickednes by which they have made themselves unworthy of all honour much lesse to be of his privy Councell and most secret admission they are the privy members of the Clergy that stand up against all goodnes and adulterate the whole Church And what mischeife may not such men doe who have abandoned all good conscience nay what misery have they not brought all the Kings subjects into For they when they are most disloyall and pernicious to Church and State yet make the King beleeve that they are his best subjects and the support of his Crowne and Dignity and the onely upholders of Government thus they prate also in open Courts and this hath ever been the language of Antichrist and his limbs No Pope no Church No Pope no King but present confusion upon all Nations where his Government is called in question when as it is well knowne to all those that are not strangers to the Histories of times that the Bishops of Rome haue made Kings and Emperors their very Vassalls and have been the bane of many florishing Kingdomes and to this day inslave all those Christian Princes and their subjects where ever I say they have power and authority so that the Kings have onely the name but they command and their Cardinalls Preists and Prelats and are attended like Princes their very meat being stood bare to as to Kings For they say Be uncovered my Lords meat is comming up so that they captivate Princes and make themselves Lords Neither can it be otherwise for they have the breeding of all those Kings Princes and they are resolved to keepe them in a perpetuall ignorance for they say that King Henries and King Iames his learning was the overthrow of the church and so long as Princes and Kings were kept in blindnes they then held their possessions and honours in all security but since that they began to looke indeed into learning they found it fatall to them therefore they have now decreed amongst themselves hereafter that Princes and Nobles which they will have the breeding of shall be acquainted with nothing but pleasures or at most with Grammaticall learning Nay they shall be perswaded it is rather a dishonour to a King to know letters then a dignity and that it is not fit for them to looke on a booke it being enough for Kings to have learned men in their Kingdome and a florishing clergie neither is it for them to trouble themselves about learning or religion but to leave it to the reverend Fathers and to put their authority into their hands and they will case them of all cares that way so that they shall in time find a sweet content for they promise to make them a people subject enough which indeed they doe for they make them beggers and slaves and most Kings that they have the tutoring of either children or tyrants and all the Nations where they have place but an unhappy people for they keepe them ignorant and deprive them of the liberty of their consciences and take away the right of the subjects from them For all the Kingdome of Antichrist is a monstrous deformity of Government and such as advanceth it self above all that is called God and tramples upon all states of men so that it is a wonder to mee that all the Kings and Princes in the world do not joyne together to demolish that Babell and to ruine the whore But I much more admire that in this Kingdome where there is so much light so understanding a Prince that the Nobles and Gentry with the Commons do not joyne together to petition his Majestie that we may be eased of this intolerable yoake of these Prelats that are now by their frequent usurpations enimies of his royall prerogative most burdensome to his poore subjects and if there be not some speedy course taken with them will ruine this florishing Monarchy All which is so palpable as all men that see any thing in States affaires may easily behold it There is one thing that I cannot but stand astonished at that so many wise men in a Kingdome should not looke into and perceive the inconvenience of it and the wrong it doth to the whole Nation and that

much evill every way it ought to stirre up authority to looke into it for very reason teacheth us that which is no way usefull nor needfull for the salvation of men of that there can be no true need now of the Service booke there is no need nor necessity for if there had been God would himselfe have appointed one and all Christian Churches would have had that that had been needfull to their salvation and therefore when God hath neither appointed certain prayers to be daily read nor other Christian Churches which are daily saved never had any and when no man dare conclude that any man was ever excluded from heaven that never heard any Divine service it seemeth a strange thing to mee that such a peece of service in our Church should be authorized that was taken out of the Masse booke and of the which all the learned in reformed Churches where I have lived wonder that such a learned Prince as King Iames was would ever admit it in his dominions for they all had seene it it being translated into French and this I was often an eare witnes of that the profoundest men said if so be they had a purpose to turne againe to Babylon from which they were commanded to come out they would for a speedy way bring in the English service and discipline and then farewell immediatly all true religion and the intire service of God and by this meanes they should give so great and strong a weapen into their adversaries hands as they should never be able to make good their proceeding and withall should in a little time breed such a deale of ignorance in the people as they would be easily seduced For whereas many of them had not time through their many occasions in the whole weeke to reade the Scriptures if they should also on the Lords day be taken up in reading of prayers gathered and collected out of Popish Pamphlets this would bee an absolute meanes to extinguish that little knowledge they had already and bring in blindnes in stead of it And with all the correspondency that was between them in rites Ceremonies and Service would kindle a greater love in the Papists to their superstitious worship and in the Protestant it would also upon the least occasion beget some desire to returne unto their old errors and therefore they protested as they tendered the honour of God the salvation of the people and the advancement of learning they could never admit of our service amongst them of all which they professed they thought it an enimy and they add farther that if they had ever beleeved that such formes of prayer had been for the advancement of the Gospell and the glory of God and the edification of the people they had thousands in their Church that could make formes of prayer and never be beholding to the Masse-booke for them And I can truely say thus much I neuer yet met a Minister in France were hee in neuer so meane a place but he was a diligenr preacher and able to instruct any flock withall he was of so good literature as I never saw yet Bishop or any high Priest in England to be compared to him for that which I speake to the eternall honour of that people that giue vnto their Ministers such singular breeding and haue such care in their elections that they be able and sufficient men and euery way so accomplished for life doctrine as they cannot neither by feare fauour or preferment be brought from their integrity nor by all persecutions warres bloudy massacres be in the least daunted or deterred from their holy profession And of this Christianimity is this people and many more and of this sound learning where they neuer had a Letany or seruice book or either in gouernment discipline or ceremonyes were like vnto the Papists all which haue been euer dangerous if not fatall to all true religion for when Christians began to bring in Iewish and heathenish ceremonies rites and customes and their inuentions they then began to pervert true Religion and corrupt the sound doctrine of our glorious and holy profession And King Iames himself though for some ends he was willing for a time to retayne the ceremonyes yet he professed in the conference at Hampton Court that if he did dwell among the heathens Papists that then there was great danger in symbolizing with thē in any such things for it would much animate them in their superstition by which they might be hindred rather then furthered in religion but in regard that they had no Papists among them which might be hurt by them he was the more willing to conniue at them but had he liued vntill now and seene what mischeif both ceremonyes and service haue done amongst vs or did but King Charles see or were but truly informed of the ignorance that is amongst the people both in regard of their duty towards God and his royall Maiestie of the backsliding to Popery and superstition which hath ever protested against he would take some speedy course for the remouing of all the occasions of it which is nothing els bur the seruice booke and ceremonyes with their corrupt discipline Gouerners as by his autority the autority of his royall Predecessors they were established so when the inconueniences of all such constitutions are by dayly experience seene which was euer sufficient cause to abrogat lawes and dismisse Officers they may well be remoued with the great good to the whole Church and state and to his excellencyes immortall honour and the perpetuation of his Crowne and dignity And thus much at this time shall suffice to haue spoken concerning the seruice book and the tackling belonging to that businesse because I haue formerly spoken of it And now I am come to your master and capitall exception where you thinke that they will heauily censure mee for calling the Prelat of Canterbury William the Dragon and the Bishop of yorke the abby lubber of the North. Which you coniecture will be esteemed scandalum magnatum and will cause a seuere punishment from autority and which they haue also cruelly threatned vnto mee for the same words and therefore you would haue them omitted But before I come to the distinct answer to that you now suggest I thinke it fit to say something for a proeme concerning this scandalum magnatum and the orginall of it you very well know that Kings haue euer been called and esteemed Gods vpon earth and they indeed went before their people shining in vertues and goodnes of which they were composed so farre they were from any commaculation of vice that people were not to thinke euill of the King in their bedchamber or to say what dost thou by all which is sufficiently inferred what excellency is in Princes and mighty potentates aboue other men And as Kings had the supreme and first degree of dignity both for place and vertue so next vnto them had the true