Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	difference_n	former_a	great_a	135	4	2.1090	3	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A34967	An epistle apologetical of S.C. to a person of honour touching his vindication of Dr. Stillingfleet.	Cressy, Serenus, 1605-1674.	1674 (1674)	Wing C6893; ESTC R26649	61,364	165

as a good Consci●nce obliges me revoke since they are built only on suspicions not sufficient to warrant me to be a Iudge of his Intentions And this satisfaction I hope will deserve to be esteemed cordial and becoming a Christian because it is thus publickly made by me being at too great a distance to apprehend any danger from his resentment whereas the sharp language I then used towards him when I was obnoxious to the effects of his Choler To conclude this present argument I desire you Honoured Sir to reflect on that well known saying better becoming the Wise Laelius than a Comical Poet ● Omnes quibus res sunt minùs secundae magis sunt nescio quo mod● suspiciosi Ad Contumeliam om●i● accipiunt magis Propter suam impotentiam se semper credunt negligi ¶ 4. A Religious Profession pretended to be inconsistent with my Fidelity to His Majesty 46. AFter you had so generously laid an eternal Obligation on Dr. Stillingfleet by so publick a condemnation of me for my incivilities towards him you proceed to a charge against me of a far higher nature accusing I should say arraigning me for having renounced my Subjection to the King by being a Benedictin and consequently chusing other Superiours to my self with Obedience to wh●m my Obedience to the King you say is inconsistent so that I am so obnoxious to the Laws that I cannot securely live one day or set my foot in England c. 47. Sir if by my professing my self a Benedictin and moreover that I am obliged by Vow to obey my Superiours all which I cannot deny your inference be concluding that I am a Traytor to His Majesty God have mercy on my Soul I do not pretend to have any skill in our Statute Laws notwithstanding I never yet heard any one say that the meer being of a Religious Order was declared Treason in England for upon that account a Benedictin Lay brother would be as obnoxious to the Title and punishment of a Traytor as a Priest Besides this the French Benedictins of whose Fidelity to their King you have a good opinion m●ke the same Profession of Obedience to their Superi●urs without the least jealousie conceived by that State But however the matter stands as to the D●claration of Law I ●e●e protest in the presence of God that if I had any suspition that my Vow of Obedience to Regular Superi●urs did in any degree prejudice my Obligation of Fidelity to the King either by Nature or Religion n●y if I were not certain of the contrary the next Line here to be added should be a renunciation of the Title of a Benedictin and a r●vocation of the Vow of Regular Obedience 48. I will add further if I had not been assured that by the Profession of being a Member of the Roman Catholick Church I should continue as dutiful and obedient a Subject to His Majesty as ever I had been I had never before my Conversion so much as enquired into the Truth of other Cath●lick Doctrines 49. Nay yet farther Sir since I am fallen almost unawares into the humour of protesting though no Protestant I will be yet more bold to protest sincerely That if I were not entirely satisfied yea assured that no● the least Obligation of acknowledging any Temporal Authority in the Pope over this Kingdom was imposed on English Catholick Priests Secular or Regular by vertue of their receiving Ordination in and from the Church of Rome and likewise that the spiritual Jurisdiction exercised by them in vertue of such Ordination did in no measure prejudice or abridge the Civil Authority justly inherent in Monarchs of what Religion soever I should esteem them very unfit and dangerous Directors of the Souls of His Majesties Subjects and deservedly obnoxious to the utmost penalty of the Laws here enacted against them 50. Now what greater assurance can any one have of this than from a Consideration First That in all Catholick Kingdoms and States where the Supreme Magistrates are jealous enough of their Temporal Rights such Ordinations are not only p●rmitted but allowed and enjoined And Secondly That all the same Acts of Spiritual Iurisdiction exercised by Catholick Priests are also exercised by P●otestant Ministers over His Majesties Subjects For these also by vertue of their Ordination do lawfully and validly as they absolutely perswade themselves administer Sacraments absolve Penitent Sinners and I direct Souls in the way to Heaven c. Which Functions you will not surely say to be conferred on them by the King but only that the King permits them to receive them from the Bishop who only can communicate to others the Spiritual Faculties which himself has received from His Superiour the Archbishop 51. Truly Sir the innocence of Catholick Priests in this matter is to me so evident that I believe not any of them but durst commit themselves to the judgment of Dr. Stillingfleet himself but upon this condition that by the great interest you now certainly have in him you could obtain from him a sincere resolution of these few Proposals which I am sure he is able to give viz. 1. Whether among the several Sects with whom he received his Education and Learning the respective Ministers do not exercise all the foresaid Spiritual Faculties and Iurisdictions 2. Since it is certain that such Faculties have been conferred on th●m neither by the King nor Bishop but on the contrary are absolutely forbidden by all our Laws both Ecclesiastical and Temporal Whether he esteems the said Ministers to deserve therefore the name and punishment of Traytors 3. With what confidence they can take the Oath of the Kings Supremacy in all Causes as well Ecclesiastical as Civil 4. Whether he can demonstrate and if he can he is earnestly desired that he would do it that the difference in these regards between Catholick Priests and Dissenting Ministers is so great that the former deserve only the name of Traytors 5. This if he affirm he ought also to demonstrate that it is incomparably more dangerous to the King that Spiritual Functions should be received and this not immediately from one Person a thousand miles distant than from God knows how many in the Bowels of the Kingdom 52 If you will still oppose to poor Cath●licks alone the Laws of the Kingd●m which allow these Acts of Spiritual Iurisdicti●n in Pr●testant Ministers and scarce punish them in Presbyterians but make them Tre●s●n only in Catholick Priests To this terrible Objection what Answer can be given but either a silent patience or the same which the Apostles gave when convened before the Sanedrim And truly Honoured Sir if I were so happy as to see such a person as your self sitting in a high Place of Iudicature and were also a Priest arraigned before you for receiving and exercising such a Iurisdiction I should not be much apprehensive of a black Sentence from a Iudge in his own disposition compassionate and who by many years experience has

For that the Crown of England is free and hath been free from Earthly Subjection at all times being immediately subject to God in all things touching the Regalities of the same and not subject to the Pope Moreover one following additional Clause deserves to be considered in the same Statute viz. To this all the Bishops present and all the Procurators of those who were absent unanimously assented protesting also against the Popes translating some Bishops c. This Act also was confirmed with the Protestation of the Lords and all the Liege Commons That they would stand with the King and His ●rown and His Regalities in the cases aforesaid and in all other Cases attempted against Him His Crown and Regality in all points to live and to die 115. Now after all this though I am obstinately resolved never to take on me to frame a Form of Profession of Loyalty nor without a publick Command to concur with others to the framing one yet since you are pleased Honoured Sir so earnestly to demand one and being also firmly perswaded that it is from a charitable and compassionate intention towards us that you demand it I cannot refuse so far to comply with your curiosi●y as to shew you a Form not made in or for England yet such an one as perhaps you will judge very easily applicable to our purpose and ratified by v●ry great Authority And this I conceive will be more proper and fit for your view because therein you will see what judgment a whole great Catholick Kingdom has of the Popes pretended Temporal Authority and how little prejudice comes to a Sovereign Monarch's Right by admitting the Spiritual Iurisdiction of the Supreme Pastor But before I set down the said Form give me leave to relate a short Story regarding it 116. You may doubtless remember Noble Sir that not many years since the Catholicks being put in hope that the Poenal Laws against them would probably be Repealed were advised by some worthy Friends to prepare a clear and candid Form of Profession of Fidelity in the framing of which notwithstanding for the causes before mentioned they found great difficulty Whilst Consul●ation was had about this master it hapned that in a Conv●rsation with my Lord Aubigny I told him I believed I could propose a F●rm against which no r●●sonable exception could be made on any side and accordingly I brought one to him with which he was very well satisfied I left him in a resolution to present the said Form ●o a P●r●on of Highest Eminence and Pow●r in Publick Councils A few days after I ●ound that he had not ex●cuted that resolut●on and truly I remained sati●fied that there was a just reason for it For the s●id Eminent Person though H● was really desirous that favour should be extend●d to Cath●licks so far as that the Sa●guinary Laws against them should be abrogated But in continuance of the ancient P●li●y He thought fit that several other Paenal Laws should be only suspended to the end that upon certain occasions they might now and then be executed and this not upon the account of their Re●i●ion but a suspicion of their want of Fidelity to Hi● Majesty Which Fidelity was ●o b● supposed inconsistent with the Spiritual Iurisdiction which they acknowledged in the Pope Now in this said Form there were three great faults very prejudicial to such a design 〈◊〉 first no reasonable exception could be made against it as insufficient Again it was confidently believed that the Pope could never be induced to condemn it And thirdly it could not be doubted but that generally Catholicks would readily subscribe to it These things considered it was thought fit that the said Form should not be presented to the foresaid Great Person lest in stead of satisfying it should have incensed Him and rendred Him our Enemy After this Preface I will now subjoin the said Form of Profession of Fidelity 117. A certain scandalous and seditious Book being published Anno Domini 1626. the Faculty of Paris having appointed certain learned Doctors to peruse it they collected out of it these following Propositions 1. That the Pope may punish Kings and Princes with Temporal Punishment That he may depose them and deprive them of their Kingdoms and States for the Crime of Heresie and free their Subjects from their Obedience And that this hath been always the custom of the Church 2. That he may do the same for other sins if it be expedient if Princes are negligent if they be incapable or unprofitable 3. That the Pope hath Power over all things Spiritual and over all things Temporal And that he hath such Power by Divine Right 4. That we ought to believe that a Power hath been given to the Church and to her Sovereign Pastor to punish with Temporal Punishment Princes who sin against Divine and Humane Laws particularly i● their Crime be Heresie 5. That the Apostles were indeed de facto subject to Secular Powers but not de jure And as soon as the Pontifical Majesty became established all Princes became subject thereto 6. That those words of Jesus Christ to his Apostles Whatsoever ye shall bind on Earth shall be bound in Heaven c. are to be understood not of a Spiritual Power only but also of a Temporal 118. Now the Censure given by the Faculty touching the Doctrine contained in these Propositions is That it is new false erroneous and contrary to the Word of God That it renders the Sovereign Pontifical Dignity odious and opens a way to Schism That it derogates from the Sovereign Authority of Kings which d●pends on God alone That it hinders the Conversion of Infidel and Heretical Princes That it troubles the Publick Peace and overthrows Kingdoms States and Republick In a word that it withdraws Subjects from the Obedience which they owe to their Sov●r●igns and induc●s them to Factio●s Rebellions and Seditions and to attempt on the Lives of their Princes Moreover the like Censure was given by eight other Vnivers●ties in France 119. B● pleased now H●noured Sir to judge in case a Subscription to this Censure were required from Catholicks and performed by them whether that would not be a testimony of their Fidelity far more full and satisfactory than can be given by taking the Oath of Allegiance The enormous Power which some Canonists and flattering Scho●l-men bestow on the Pope is far more distinctly declared and the renouncing of it in its whole Latitude more express and emphatical here is likewise among the Brands given to such detestable Doctrines not forgotten a term equivalent to what I am confident you mean by Heretical which is contrary to the Word of God yet such a Supererogation I doubt would not be accepted And moreover it is more than probable that scarce any Catholick in England would have a scruple to submit his own private judgment in case it were di●●erent to a Decision made by the Flow●r of all the Learning of France to which