Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	good_a	great_a	king_n	5,512	5	3.6764	3	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A61234	The speech of William Howard, late Lord Viscount Stafford, upon the scaffold on Tower-Hill immediately before his execution, Wednesday Decemb. 29, 1680.	Stafford, William Howard, Viscount, 1614-1680.	1680 (1680)	Wing S5157; ESTC R25784	3,739	4

THE SPEECH OF William Howard Late Lord Viscount Stafford Vpon the Scaffold on Tower-Hill immediately before his Execution Wednesday Decemb ' 29. 1680. BY the Permission of Almighty God I am this day brought hither to suffer Death as if I were guilty of High Treason I do most truly in the Presence of the Eternal Omnipotent and All-knowing GOD protest upon my Salvation That I am as Innocent as it is possible for any man to be so much as in a Thought of the Crimes laid to my Charge I acknowledg it to be a particular Grace and Favour of the Holy Trinity to have given me this long Time to prepare my self for Eternity I have not made so good use of that Grace as I ought to have done partly by my not having recollected my self as I might have done and partly because not only my Friends but my Wife and Children have for several daies been forbid to see me but in the presence of one of my Warders This hath been a great Trouble and Distraction unto me but I hope God of his Infinite Mercy will pardon my Def●●●s and accept of my good Intentions Since my long Imprisonment I have considered often what could be the Original Cause of my being thus accused since I knew my self not culpable so much as in a Thought and I cannot believe it to be upon any other Account than my being of the Church of Rome I have no Reason to be ashamed of my Religion for it teacheth nothing but the Right Worship of God Obedience to the King and due Subordination to the Temporal Laws of the Kingdom And I do submit to the Articles of Faith believed and taught in the Catholick Church believing them to be most consonant to the Word of God And whereas it hath so much and often been objected that the Church holds That Sovereign Princes Excommunicated by the Pope may by their Subjects be Deposed and Murdered as to the Murder of princes I have been Taught as a matter of Faith in the Catholick Faith that such Doctrine is diabolical horrid and detestable and contrary to the Law of God Nature and Nations and as such from my heart I renounce and abominate it As for the Doctrine of Deposing Princes I know some Divines of the Catholick Church hold it but as able and learned as they have writ against it but it was not pretended to be the Doctrine of the Church that is any point of Catholick Faith wherefore I do here in my Conscience declare That t is my true and real Judgment That the same Doctrine of Deposing Kings is contrary to the Fundamental Laws of this Kingdom injurious to Sovereign Power and consequently would be in me or any other of his Majesties Subjects impious and damnable I believe and profess that there is one God one Saviour one Holy Catholick Church of which through the Mercy Grace and Goodness of God I die a Member To my great and unspeakable Grief I have offended God in many things by many great Offences But I give him most humble thanks not in any of those Crimes of which I was accused All the Members of either House having liberty to propose in the House what they think fit for the good of the Kingdom accordingly I proposed what I thought fit the House is judge of the fitness or unfitness of it and I think I never said any thing that was unfitting there or contrary to the Law and use of Parliament for certainly if I had the Lords would as they might have some way punished me So I am not culpable before God or Man It is much reported of Indulgences Dispensations Pardons to Murder Rebel Lye Forswear and commit such other Crimes held and given in the Church I do here profess in the presence of God I never learned believed or practised any such things but the contrary and I speak this without any Equivocation or Reservation whatsoever And certainly were I guilty either my self or knew of any one that were guilty whosoever that were 〈◊〉 of any of those Crimes of which I am accused I were not onely the greatest Fool imaginable but a perfect Madman and as wicked as any of those that so falsly have accused me if I should not discover any ill design I knew in any kind and so upon discovery save my Life I having so often had so fair occasions proposed unto me and so am guilty of Self-murder which is a most grievous and hainous sin And though I was last impeached at the Lords Bar yet I have great grounds to believe that I was first brought to Tryal on the belief that to save my Life I would make some great Discovery and truly so I would had I known any such thing of an ill design or illegal dangerous Plot either of my self or any other person whosoever without exception But had I a thousand Lives I would lose them all rather than falsly accuse either my self or any other whosoever And if I had known of any Treason and should thus deny it as I do now upon my Salvation at this time I should have no hope of Salvation which now I have through the Merits of Christ Jesus I do beseech God to bless his Majesty who is my lawful King and Soveraign who I was always by all Laws Humane and Divine bound to obey and I am sure that no Power upon Earth either singly or all together can legally allow me or any body else to lift a hand against him or his Legal Authority I do hold that the Constitution of the Government of this Kingdom is the only way to continue Peace and quietness which God long continue Next to Treason I hold Murder in abhorrence and have ever done and do and I do sincerely profess that if I could at this time free my self immediately and establish what Religion I would and what Government I would and make my self as Great as I could wish and all by the death of one of those Fellows that by their Perjuries have brought me to the place where I am I so much abhor to be the cause of any mans Death that I would not any way be the cause of their Murder How much loss would I endeavour the Assassination of his Majesty whom I hold to be as Gracious a King as ever this or any other Nation had and under whom the People may enjoy their Liberties as much as ever any did and if it please God to grant him Life and Happiness according as I have always wished and prayed for I am morally perswaded that he and all his Dominions will be as happy and prosperous as ever People were which I beseech God grant I do most humbly ask pardon of the Almighty and All-merciful God for all the great offences I have committed against his Divine Majesty and I know he would not have the death and confusion of a sinner but that he may repent and live in that assurance I hope knowing he never despiseth a contrite Heart and though I have not so feeling a Contrition as I would yet I have it as well as I can and I doubt not but that God will accept of the good will I do desire that all people will forgive me any injury that I have done them in any thing either wilfully or by chance and I do heartily forgive all people in the world that have injured me I forgive even those Perjured men that so falsly have brought me hither by their Perjurie I do now upon my Death and Salvation aver that I never spoke one word either unto Oates or Turbervil or to my knowledge ever saw them until my Trial and for Dugdale I never spoke unto him of any thing but about a Foot-boy or Foot-man or Foot-race and never was then alone with him All the punishment that I wish them is that they may repent and acknowledge the wrong they have done me then it will appear how Innocent I am God forgive them I have a great confidence that it will please Almighty God and that he will in a short time bring Truth to light then you and all the world will see and know what injury they have done me I hope I have made it appear that I have some Conscience for if I had none certainly I would have saved my Life by acknowledging my self guilty which I could have done tho I know I am not in the least Guilty And I having some Conscience make very ill use of it for I throw my self into eternal Pain by thus plainly and constantly denying thus at my Death the Knowledge of what I am accused of in the least I have said thus much in discharge of my Conscience and do aver upon my Salvation what I have said to be really true I shall say little of my Trial and whether it were all according to the known Law I am too much a Party to say much of it if it were not so God forgive him or them that were the cause of it My Judges were all Persons of Honour who were all as much bound to judge rightly as if they had been upon Oath upon what was legally proved and not to Vote but according as in their Consciences they were satisfied and if any of them did otherwise upon any account whatsoever I beseech God forgive them I do so heartily I shall end with my ●ea●ty Prayers for the happiness of his Majesty that he may enjoy all happiness in this world and the world to come and govern his People according to the Laws of God and that the People may be sensible what a Blessing God hath so miraculously given them and obey him as they ought I ask Pardon with a prostrate heart of Almighty God for all the great Offences that I have committed against his Divine Majesty and hope through the Merits and Passion of Christ Jesus to obtain everlasting Happiness into whose hands I commit my Spirit asking Pardon of every person that I have done any wrong unto I do freely forgive all that have any ways wronged me I do with all the Devotion and Repentance that I can humbly invoke the Mercy of our Blessed Saviour I beseech God not to revenge my Innocent Blood on the Nation or on those that were the Causers of it with my last Breath I do with my last Breath truly assert my Innocency and hope the Omnipotent Allseeing Just God will deal with me accordingly FINIS