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	world_n	3,255	5	4.3685	3	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A45334	Funebria floræ the downfall of May-games: wherein is set forth the rudeness, prophaneness, stealing, drinking, fighting, dancing, whoring, mis-rule, mis-spence of precious time, contempt of God, and godly magistrates, ministers and people, which oppose the rascality and rout, in this their open prophanenesse, and heathenish customs. Occasioned by the generall complaint of the rudenesse of people in this kind, in this interval of settlement. Here you have twenty arguments against these prophane sports, and all the cavills made by the belialists for the time refelled and answered. Together with an addition of some verses in the cloze, for the delight of the ingenious reader. By Tho. Hall, B.D. and pastor of Kings-norton.	Hall, Thomas, 1610-1665.	1661 (1661)	Wing H434A; ESTC R177805	36,599	55

mirth and great content I do inlarge their conscience And qualifie each great offence I take away all fear of evil Of sin and hell of death and devil I tell them 't is a time to laugh To give themselves free leave to quaff To drink their healths upon their knee To mix their talk with ribaldry To reel and spue to brawl and fight To scoff and rail with all their might I bid men cast off gravity And women eke their modesty Old crones that scarce have tooth or eye But crooked back and lamed thigh Must have a frisk and shake their heel As if no stitch nor ache they feel I bid the servant disobey The childe to say his Parents nay The poorer sort that have no coin I can command them to purloin All this and more I warrant good For 't is to maintain neighbour-hood The Pope's a friend to Letchery Witness his Stews for Venery In this I come not far behinde I give them leave to take their kinde I have allurements for the same As they do know that love the game First mirth doth make their passions warm Then liquor strong their lust doth charm Then dancing gestures looks and words More fewel to their fire affords And ' cause their works do hate the light Wee take th' advantage of the night Which covers with dark Canopy The means producing bastardy The Pope doth challenge power divine I next to him may say 't is mine I can command more countenance Than can the Lords own Ordinance They do to mee their love convert That from the Church withdraw their heart I can command from them great cost Who on the poor would think it lost For mee they will adventure life They flye the Gospels threatned strife The honour of the Sabbath day My dancing-greens have ta'en away Let Preachers prate till they grow wood Where I am they can do no good The Pope doth every where beat down The haters of his triple Crown Bell Book and Candle do defie Such as will not on him relye And to effect his dear intent New Locusts still from Hell are sent That fill the world with villanies And act each where their Tragedies Sometimes mens lands sometimes their state Must pay for 't ' cause they do him hate And have not I as powerful wrath To work the world as great a scath Have not I vassals like the Devil To pay such with all kinde of evil That ' gainst mee spake or dare to frown Much more that say they 'l pull mee down These brave my foes unto their face And glad this office to imbrace In colour that they plead for mee They 'l fight against all honesty To make their foes seem odious They 'l first proclaim them factious They 'l term them Rebels to the State And say they seek to innovate And breed disorder in each thing Yea that they hate their Soveraign King And if they be not purg'd the Land Nor Church nor Commonwealth can stand Then Libels foul are cast abroad When filthy slanders lay on load Incarnate Devils wee them call Of men most vile the worst of all Rogues Theeves and Drunkards saith our pen Compar'd with these are honest men And as for Papists oh they are Subjects more true than these by far Yea Puritans wee do them prove All such as do not May-poles love And if some matter there bee found That wants good proof to make it sound Wee have whole dozens prest to swear And freely false witness to bear Yea when my Rogues do victuals want When mony cloths and all grow scant Then forth a forraging they go And fall upon our common foe No pillage seemeth half so good As what is stollen from th' brotherhood Thus do wee joy our foes to grieve And 't is our death that they do live And lest you think my stately port Maintain'd alone by th' baser sort I have some of a better note That jet it in a silken coat I cannot boast much of their grace But this I le say they 're men of place Whose Country-worship hath great praise For May-polizing now adaies Though cold enough in better things In this they reign like Parish-Kings Though bit to th' bare by Usury Yet prodigal to maintain mee Yea Gentiles of the Female kinde To mee devoted have their mind They keep my Festivals with joy And fence mee from my foes annoy Themselves sometimes will lead the dance And Tomboy-like will leap and prance And though they seem O fatal hap As light as feathers in their Cap Yet how much bound to them am I To grace mee with their levity And more than these some learned men Perhaps Divines what say you then That have disputed oft in Schools I hope these are no simple fools These stifly do maintain my cause To bee according to Gods Laws They say I benefit the poor And help t' increase the Churches store They 'l make them good were 't not for mee All love would perish speedily They Champion-like dare to maintain That Papists to the Church I gain Where neither fear of God nor man Can make them come These say I can O leap for joy yee Papists all Sith these do you my Converts call And cleave no more to Popish Rites You are Sir May-poles Proselites Now Traveller learn more grace to show And see that thou thy betters know Thou hear'st what I say for my self I am no Ape I am no Elf I am no base ones Parasite I am this great worlds Favorite And sith thou must now part mee fro Let this my blessing with thee go There 's not a Knave in all the Town Nor swearing Courtier nor base Clown Nor dancing Lob nor mincing Quean Nor Popist Clerk bee 't Priest or Dean Nor Knight debaucht nor Gentleman That follows Drabs or Cup or Can That will give thee a friendly look If thou a May-pole canst not brook FINIS a An old Roman Strumpet the Goddess of May-Games b Una dolo Divúm c. Aeneid lib. 4. c The Flesh d Adultery e Fornication f Lasciviousness g Drunkenness h Carm. lib. 2. Ode 13. Hodie mihi Juppiter esto cras mihi truncus eris ficulnus inutile lignum Cantants fremunt perstrepunt tumultuantur fu●entibus similes insanire videntur Nicol. de Clemangis de novis celebritatibus non instituendis Vetus fabula novi histriones Quid tristes queremoniae si non supplicio culpa reciditur quid leges sine moribus vanae proficiunt Horat Carm. l. 3. Ode 24. Against Healths See my Comment on 2 Tim. 3. 3. p 94. I have this from an eye-witness and cannot but mourn to think that those who should bee teachers of others have learnt no better themselves Surgunt indocti rapiunt coelum c. Yea in some places Maids drink Healths upon their knees 'T is vile in men but abominable in women There were two persons of quality that some years since drank this Kings Health upon their knees and not

present May wherein they take notice of a spirit of prophaneness and impiety that hath over-spread the Land to the dishonour of God and the grieving of his Ministers and people they do therefore order that the Justices of the Peace and Commissioners for the Militia do use their utmost indeavours to prevent all licentiousness and disorder all prophanation of the Sabbath all interrupting or discouraging of Ministers in the work of their Ministery that they suppress all Ale-houses and all ungodly meetings that they own and protect all such as have adhered to the Parliaments cause and interest and all good men in their sober and pious walking against all that are turbulent malignant or disaffected and upon just cause to secure them The Council doth likewise command them to have a special care to prevent prophaneness and disorders of people about May-poles and meetings of that nature and their rude and disorderly carriages towards people in molesting them to get monies from them to spend vainly at such meetings Ju. This is full and to the point indeed blessed be God and blessed be their counsel But have you yet no more evidence Cry Yes my Lord here is Mr. Elton a man eminent for Piety and of known integrity in his time hee hath long since told us in his Exposition of the second Commandement that such filthy company where there is such filthy speeches and lascivious behaviour with mixt dancing at their merry meetingss are great provocations to lust and inducements to uncleanness and therefore to be abhorred of all sober Christians To him assents that great School-Divines Dr. Ames who tells us that those who will shun incontinency and live chastly must shun such prophane meetings and take heed of mixt dancing stage-playes and such incentives to lust where wickedness is presented to the eye and ear and the man puts on the womans apparel which is an abomination to the Lord Deut. 22. 5. Pris My Lord these were old Puritans and Precisians who were more precise than wise Cry I will produce men of another strain here are Bishops against you B. Babington hath long since told us that these sinful pastimes are epulum Diaboli the Devils festival the inticements to whoredome and the occasions of much uncleanness being condemned by Councils and forbidden by Scripture which commands us to shun all appearance of evil Judg. This is good but have you no more Cry Yes my Lord here is one more 't is B. Andrews a man of great note for his learning who in his Exposition on the seventh Commandement tells us that wee must not onely refrain from evil but also from the shew of evil and must do things honest not onely before God but also before men to this end wee must shun wanton dancings stage-playes c. because our eyes thereby behold much vanity and a man cannot go on these hot coals and not bee burnt nor touch such pitch and not bee defiled nor see such wanton actions and not bee moved Besides there is much loss and mis-spence of precious time at such prophane meetings Judg. This is pious and to purpose here is evidence sufficient I shall now proceed to sentence Cry My Lord I desire your Patience to hear one witness more and then I have done Judg. Who is that which comes so late into the Court Cry My Lord 't is acute and accomplisht Ovid. Pris My Lord hee is a Heathen Poet who lived about twenty years before Christ Judg. His Testimony will bee the stronger against your Heathenish vanities Publius Ovidius Naso what can you say against Mistress Flora Ovid. My Lord I have long since told the world that the Senatorian Fathers at Rome did order the celebration of these Floralian sports to bee yearly observed about the beginning of May in honour of Flora that our fruits and flowers might the better prosper At this feast there was drinking dancing and all manner of lasciviousness by a harlotry company suitable to the memorial of such an Harlot who was light her self and therefore delighted in Jokes and pleasant Comedies but not in sad and direful Tragedies Pris Sir you wrong the Poet and may for ought I know wrong mee by wrapping up his ingenious narrative in so little room Judg. Grata brevitas I love those whose writings are like Jewels which contain much worth in a little compass yet since the learned and ingenious Reader may desire to hear the Author speaking in his own language since hee speaks so fully and clearly to this purpose you shall for once have your desire Dic Dea responde ludorum quae sit origo c. Convenere patres si bene floreat annus Numinibus nostris annua festa vovent Mater ades florum ludis celebranda jocosis Distuleram partes mense priore tuas Incipis Aprili transis in tempora Maii Alter te fugiens cum venit alter habet Cum tua fint cedantque tibi confinia mensum Convenit in laudes ille vel ille tuas Circus in hunc exit clamataque palma theatris c. Quaerere conabar quare lascivia major His foret in ludis liberiorque jocus Sed mihi succurrit numen non esse severum Aptaque deliciis munera ferre Deam Ebrius incinctis phylirâ conviva capillis Saltat imprudens utitur arte meri Ebrius ad durum formosae limen amicae Cantat habens unctae mollia serta comae Nulla coronatâ peraguntur seria fronte Nec liquidae vinctis flore bibuntur aquae Scena lenis decet hanc non est mihi credite non est Illa Cothurnatas inter habenda Deas Turba quidem cur hos celebret meretricia ludos Non ex difficili cognita causa fuit Non est detetricis non est de magna professis Vult sua Plebeio sacra patere Choro c. Cry Now my Lord and please you wee will call over the Jury that the prisoner may see wee have done her no wrong Judg. Do so Cry Answer to your names Holy Scriptures one Pliny two Lactantius three Synodus Francica four Charls the Second five Ordinance of Parliament six Solemn League and Covenant seven Order of the Council of State eight Elton nine B. Babington ten B. Andrews eleven Ovid. twelve These with all the godly in the Land do call for Justice against this turbulent Malefactor Judg. Since 't is so I shall proceed to sentence Flora thou hast here been indicted by the name of Flora for bringing in abundance of mis-rule and disorder into Church and State thou hast been found guilty and art condemned both by God and man by Scriptures Fathers Councils by learned and pious Divines both old and new and therefore I adjudge thee to perpetual banishment that thou no more disturb this Church and State lest Justice do arrest thee An Answer to all the Cavils which are of any weight or worth which are brought in defence of May-Games Vice seldome