Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n
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A67496
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War and its effects, laid out to the life being a seasonable advice to our Protestant brethren now ready to go against the Irish rebels usurping authority in the kingdom of Ireland / by Philopolites.
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Philopolites.
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1689
(1689)
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Wing W726; ESTC R13383
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12,694
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30
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WAR AND ITS EFFECTS Laid out to the LIFE BEING A Seasonable Advice TO OUR PROTESTANT BRETHREN Now ready to go against the IRISH REBELS Usurping Authority in the Kingdom of IRELAND By Philopolites With Allowance LONDON Printed for William Miller at the Gilded Acorn in St. Paul's Church-Yard 1689. Where Gentlemen and Others may be furnished with most sorts of Acts of Parliament and other State Matters as also Books of Divinity Church-Government Sermons on most Occasions c. To the Noble Valiant and Generous Undertakers for the Retaking of the Kingdom of IRELAND from the IRISH POPISH REBELS now in Rebellion against the King and Queen of ENGLAND Honoured Sirs BEing assured that your Persons have been ever accompanied with Courage Valour Wisdom and Clemency it hath been a great emboldening unto your Servant to make a dutiful present hereof to your Perusals and Patronage not to the purpose that this can be either your directions or instructions as you be frequently conversant in all passages of this nature but rather to express such things to your view knowing ye are expert in the Original Needless it were to teach Typhis to steer a Ship or to instruct Automedon to guide a Chariot should your Servant apprehend any such Ambition he must necessarily incur the aspersion of Impudence or express such palpable ignorance as might draw him into a just imputation of folly But noble Sirs such is the modesty of your humble servant that by studying to be free from either he may evade the aspersion of both only desiring your best constructions of these his weak and unpolished labours which present themselves so rudely into your presence Noble Spirits upon your generous dispositions I humbly prostrate my self together with these my imperfect labours to your judicious censures whose least distaste is able to stifle the hope of your Servant and whose favourable approbations have Power to give Life to these the weak Endeavours of YOUR Humble Servant to all Posterity Philopolites WAR AND THE EFFECTS thereof laid out to the Life c. WAR in general is a Lawful Defence What War is whereby the Lawful Magistrate for just Causes taking up Arms doth publickly repel Force with Force revengeth publick and general Injuries or recovers general or generally sustained losses In this Definition three things are observable viz. First That War is not to be undertaken but for just Causes Secondly That it belongs only unto the Magistrate to make War and not to private Persons Thirdly That it is not to be moved but repelled not kindled but quenched that is rather for Defence than Offence for the punishing of Injuries than the doing of wrong all which shews evidently the lawfulness of the Protestants against Irish Papists in Ireland being for Religion enacted by Parliament and the Republick's good and defence of the late Setlement all at present being in that Kingdom under Papal Jurisdiction Military and Civil contrary to Law The Query will be what the Ground and Causes of War are Answer First in general Alexander the Great The Causes of War being once demanded why he endeavoured by War to be Lord of the whole World made Answer All the Wars that are raised in this World are for one of these three Causes either to have many Gods many Laws or many Kings Guevara familiar Epist Pag. 240. therefore I desire saith he by War to possess the World and to command it that all the Inhabitants thereof may Honour but one God serve but one King and observe but one Law War comes sometimes from a good Ground or Cause sometimes from a bad Foundation Aug. in lib de verbo Domini Wars from a good Ground as our now Protestant War with Ireland is to make Men live in Peace Whence St. Augustine saith That even amongst yea by the true Worshippers of God Wars are often raised and undertaken not out of Covetousness or Cruelty but out of a true and sincere desire of setling Peace Hence the Emblematists devised this Hieroglyphick to express this Truth Andr. Alâ—iat Emblem Pag. 445. viz. a Helmet that had been used in War being in time of Peace neglected and laid by a Swarm of Bees Emblems of sweet Peace come and live build and breed therein The Motto was Ex bello pax Peace is the Off-spring of War or War the Parent of Peace much like unto the Souldiers Sword which in Martial was turned in the time of Peace into a Reapers Sickle Pax me certa ducis placidos curvavit in usus Agricolae nunc sum Militis ante fui Secondly Sometimes War comes from a bad bottom as the late Irish War began Anno 1641 and springs from either of these evil roots to wit either First from some unbridled Pleasures and immoderate and inordinate Lusts Or Secondly From diversity of Religion as it did here in England in the Reign of Charles the First sometimes Satan the Father and Prince of Heresies stirs up War against the Woman and Antichrist always having an intestine hatred and bitterness of Spirit and Mind against Christ and his Truth instigates and sets on work still some Instruments or other for the opposing distructing and dividing of those Persons who profess the Gospel Or Thirdly from covetous Designs and Affections The Fountain and Original of all Wars saith Plutarch are the corrupt covetous desires of Men. Fourthly Wars come from Ambition as with Tyrconnil who is Ambitious to Rule Ireland that Kingdom never ruled by Papists since Queen Elizabeth's Reign until now he being there placed it is by a Romish King yet by Act of Parliament contrary to Law and at present he still Usurping contrary to the present established Powers and Authority Having thus far run over the Grounds and Causes of War Our next thing is to consider Requisita what or how many things be requisite in War Three things necessary in War as a Souldier Thuyd lib. 5. These three things are necessary First to be willing to fight because if a Man hunt with unwilling Hounds he will scarcely ever catch the Hare and if a Man fight against his Will he will hardly endeavour as he ought to overcome him or them with or against whom he fighteth Secondly to fear Disgrace and Shame for in case he be shameless and fearless of Disgrace he will quickly flee and forsake his Colours Thirdly to be obedient to Commanders for in case the Souldier does not obey his Captain and Commanders he will quickly be disranked he may be quickly slain or taken by the Enemy and cannot perform any good service for him under whom he fights Three things necessary in War as a Christian But to speak now as a Christian only these three things are necessary in War First a Lawful Authority commanding it for War must not be attempted without the Authority of the Magistrate Secondly 1 Judg. 20.13 2 King 18.14 a Lawful and Just end or cause occasioning and moving it Thirdly A good affection
in following it or a due consideration of the manner of the enterprizing or prosecuting of this War for though your cause of War against Ireland at present be Just yet you must not rashly wage War but all other means must first be tryed It is also requisite to enquire what the Nature of War is What the Nature of War is and its Necessaries Plutar. in Lacon Bruso lib. 3. c. 15. Witness the Citizens of Dublin going to Collens-wood on black Monday in Easter week First War is sometimes the Whetstone of Fortitude and the encourager and stirrer of Youth unto Martial Discipline When the King of the Lacedoemonians did threaten that he would utterly destroy and raze a certain City as Tyrconnil doth now threaten to Fire Dublin in case he hears of Forces from hence landing which had often annoyed the Lacedoemonians as Dublin hath the Irish ever since the Conquest it being never taken by them although now in the hands of them by the permission of the late King and found them work the Ephori would not permit it saying Thou shalt not destroy nor abolish the Whetstone of Youth calling thus that City which so often troubled them The Whetstone of Touth because their young Men thereby were whetted and their Affection set on edge to be skilful in the art of War seeing there were those so near them who would try both their skill and strength upon every occasion and advantage Isa 21.15 Jer. 46.16 2 Sam. 2.26 Jer. 5.22 Jer. 4.10 Secondly War most commonly is evil whence the Scripture sometimes calls it a Grievous Evil sometimes an oppressing Evil sometimes a bitter Evil a devouring Evil and sometimes an Evil which pierceth unto the Heart and Soul Thirdly War is of that Nature that few are enriched thereby as may thus appear If any grow rich by War then it is those who gather the spoils thereof but seldom these therefore few or none We say Mala parta male dilabuntur Goods ill got waste like Snow before the Sun yea Lawful prey or pillage is seldom long enjoyed according to our English Proverb lightly come lightly go and therefore I may spend it the more freely Joh. 1.15 Heb. 11.34 2 Sam. 11. Ezek. 14.21 Again War is a miserable Plague whence this Word War in the Hebrew Tongue hath its Name from cutting biting and devouring because Wars devour and consume many Hence the Sword is said to have a Mouth that is an Edge and to eat that is to kill War is one of God's four Plagues 2 Sam. 24. Lev. 26.16 Deut. 48.44 yea one of his sorest Judgments and seems to be one of the greatest of all the three or four Let not these miseries my dear Brethren affrighten you or cause ye to say If War be of this Nature then what may we think thereof First Augustin in Serm. de Centur Ye may safely think some War is Lawful as St. Augustine saith If Christianity should blame or tax all Wars then when the Souldiers asked Christ what they should do for the Salvation of their Souls he would undoubtedly have bidden them to cast away their Weapons and to have given over War which Christ doth not but only forbids them to wrong any and bid them be content with their wages which shews plainly that some Wars are Lawful and therefore not to be condemned Just thus our War with Tyrconnil and the Irish is not to be condemned as you shall hear anon Secondly Julius Caesar Com. Lib. 7. You may think that the event of War is most uncertain and therefore they are much mistaken who expect from Wars nothing but good news and prosperous success in all Designs and Enterprises for he who puts on his Armour must not brag as he that puts it off Philip of Macedon warring upon the Grecians Diogenes came into his Tent and being conducted to the Emperour and asked if he were a Southsayer or Fortune-teller answered Yes I am a true Fore-teller and Fortune-teller of thy folly and vanity who when none compells thee comes to hazard thy Life and Kingdom to cast the dice of War whether thou shalt live or not and whether thou shalt have a Kingdom at Command or to possess or not When two Armies are in the Fields we see both of them to have warlike weapons and both to have Humane Bodies and not the one of them to be armed and the other naked the one Mortal and the other Immortal and therefore success event expectation never deceive us or frustrate our hope so much in any thing as in War War soon begun but not easily ended Thirdly You must consider War is not so easily ended as begun therefore you are all to take notice of this who undertake War That it is easily begun but hardly ended easy to enter into but hard to get out of like a curious Garden Maze the beginning and ending not being in the same Man's power for every Coward or fresh-water Souldier may begin War but it is laid aside when the Conqueror will Another thing necessary for War Souldiers and Officers are to know that is what things are justly taxed in War First An implacable desire of revenge or to mischief those with or against whom ye fight for although ye may punish Offences yet ye must not revenge your selves for in War ye should be more inclinable to spare when ye can take and with safety keep alive than to kill especially when the War is undertaken for the punishment of Delinquents as those now of Ireland because then if ye may take them alive they may fall by the Sword of Justice in the Magistrates Hand as well as by you in Battle and therefore they who have no mercy upon any in War are justly taxed Secondly Cruelty in revenging and punishing in Wars is justly taxed for although any of you may kill your Enemy in Battle you are not to delight in using Cruelty towards them by devising new or strange torments as the Irish did to the Protestants in Ireland ripp up Women's Bellies and take Infants out of the same or casting of People down into the water from high Bridges as they did over Port-down-Bridge or for thrusting skeans into them and leaving them in torture These Cruelties are to be avoided Thirdly Cruelty and Pillage is taxed in War for although it be not a Sin to fight in War yet to fight or War only for Prey or Pillage is a Crime In the next place The lawfulness of War at present with Ireland you are to consider the lawfulness of War and how you may go against your Enemies with a safe Conscience and upon terms you now are going to fight First Your now present War with Tyrconnil is Just and Lawful as it is for the Protestant Religion there in Ireland planted by Authority of Parliament and now a destroying by Popish Rebels usurping contrary to the Laws of England to which that Kingdom is subject and hath sworn