Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A Word B Word C Word D Occurrence Frequency Band MI MI Band Prominent
cause_n king_n law_n lord_n 4,135 5 3.8427 3 true
View all documents for the selected quad

Text snippets containing the quad

ID Title Author Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication) STC Words Pages
A02862 A reporte of a discourse concerning supreme power in affaires of religion Manifesting that this power is a right of regalitie, inseparably annexed to the soueraigntie of euery state: and that it is a thing both extreamely dangerous, and contrarie to the vse of all auncient empires and commonwealths, to acknowledge the same in a forraine prince. Hayward, John, Sir, 1564?-1627. 1606 (1606) STC 13001; ESTC S116592 39,799 62

There are 2 snippets containing the selected quad. | View lemmatised text

iudgements to correct his lawes to restraine or constraine him at pleasure and with case Religion is seated within the soule and conscience of man and is a most potent ruler of the same The life saith Plinie consisteth in religion If then the consciences of a people be commanded by a stranger if their soules be subiect to a forraine power if their liues be at the seruice of an external Prince it is but a weake but a dead dominion which the naturall Prince shall hold ouer their bodies That Prince whose subiects soules are in subiection to a stranger for matters of religion shall neither preuaile more against his enemies nor beare greater authoritie amongst his owne people then that stranger shall limit him leaue All men of themselues are moued with religion but when they are also thrust on by those who make it their purchase as Liuie speaketh to possesse soules with superstition then doe they not inconsideratly only but in a wild furie runne and rush vpon most desperate aduentures The multitude saith Curtius being weake fierce and mutable when it is once possessed with vaine religion is more obedient to their Priests then to their Commander or Prince Diodorus Siculus hath a memorable Historie concerning this point of the Priests of Iupiter in the Iland Meroe enuironed with the riuer Niliu who held the people of Aethiopia in so superstitious dependancie vpon them that they would send to them at pleasure and giue in charge the slaughter of their Kings no man making offer either to deny or to delay their cruell command vntill Ergamenes a King of Aethiopia suddenly surprised and slew them all whereby both their office and authority did surcease Florus writeth that Eunus a slaue counterfeiting a fanaticall furie and pretending some diuine inspiration was able to see 60. thousand armed men in the face of the Romans euen in the principal time of their policie and strength being then hardlie able to deliuer Sicilia frō his subiection Iosephus reporteth of an Aegyptian in the time of the Emperour Claudius who bearing himselfe to be a Prophet vnder that pretext adioined 30. thousand men vnto him in the country of Iudea with whom he maintained head against the forces of the Romans Tacitus writeth the like of Maricus who giuing forth that he was the God and deliuerer of Gallia drew 8. thousand men vnto him with whom he attempted against the Romane garrisons One of our late writers reporteth that because in one chapter of the Alcoron all the Musulman Princes are forbidden to call themselues Lords except their Caliph or great Vicar of their Prophet Muhamed by colour thereof the Mahometan Bishops vsurped absolute soueraignety aboue all their Princes disposing of principalities at their pleasure vnder the name and title of gouernments At last the Muselman Princes supposing that Chapter not to haue been inserted by Mahamed their Law-giuer but by their Caliphes for aduancing their owne authoritie at such time when of diuers corrupt Alcorons they composed one long time after the death of Muhamed they tooke aduantage of a diuision among their great Bishops when three of them did take vpon them the title of great Caliph together and thereupon the Princes of Persia the Curdes the Turkes the Tartars the Sultans of Aegypt the Kings of Marrocco of Fez of Telensin of Tanes of Bugia the people of Zenetes and of Luntune quitted themselues of their obeysance to the Caliphes and maintained Soueraigntie within their states Elmahel in Africa hauing gained a great opinion of sanctitie among the people of Marocco raised them against Abraham their King and dispoyled him both of his Empire and life With like industrie and art an other impostor called Chemin Mennal stirred the people against the King of Fesse and constrained him by armes to yeeld vnto him the kingdome of Temesna Schacoculis being of the sect of the Persians by pretence of piety gathered such strength that he tooke many Cities in Asia ouerthrew the Turkes forces in three great battailes and brought his whole Empire to a dangerous distresse How Iohn of Leiden a Taylor by his trade set all Germany in vproare and in armes by bearing himselfe to be a principall man in religion it scarce exceedeth the memory of this present age And what practises in this kind haue been either atchieued or attempted in other Christian countries I shall haue occasiō hereafter to touch But for auoiding of these and the like dangers I find that two policies were aunciently obserued One consisted in excluding all externall ceremonies and rites the other was in comm●ting the gouernment for matters of Religion to the soueraigne power and authoritie in the State In regard of the first the Iewes would not conuerse or accompanie a man who was not of their owne religion Among the Grecians Socrates and Protagoras were condemned Anaxagoras and Aristotle were accused for holding opinions contrarie to their receiued religion Iosephus writeth that the Athenians had a seuere law against any man who should speake a word in religion against that which was established by law The Scythians put Anacharsis to death for performing the tites of Bacchus after the manner of the Grecians Liuie writeth that among the Romanes the Aediles receiued in part of their charge that no externall religion or ceremony should be brought in And to the same purpose M. Aemilius recited a decree that no man should sacrifice in a publike or sacred place after a new or externall rite How often saith the same Liuie haue our fathers and ancestors giuen charge to the Magistrates that externall ceremonies should bee forbidden Maecenas in Dio gaue this exhortation and aduice to Augustus Obserue religion after the fashion of your country and compell others to do the like but those who bring in strange and foraine rites hate and correct because they perswade many to worke alterations from whence conspiracies and seditions are oftentimes occasioned Concerning the second point Iustine reporteth that it was a custome among the Iewes to haue the same men both Princes and Priests This was at sometimes true in the gouernment of the Iewes At other times the Kings gaue order in matters of religion and appointed not only inferiour Priests and officers as did Iosias but also high Priests as did King Salomon to execute the same For this cause Moses left in charge that the King should reade in the booke of the law all the daies of his life that he might learne to feare the Lord his God and to keepe all the words of that law and those ordinances for to dee them For this cause also they were sacred with oyle to declare saith Eusebius both their dutie and authoritie in matters of religion From hence it proceeded that as the Kings prooued good or euill so the true religion was either obserued or neglected From hence also Tacitus hath
three or foure at the table who esteemed that which I had said not for a paradoxe but for an Adoxe or flat absurditie seeing many Christian countries both lately and at this present haue admitted forain gouernment in matters of religion By this time the Basons and Ewers were set vpon the table and all of vs were attentiue to the giuing of thankes After wee had washed and the cloath was taken away N. in this sort renewed speech What hath been the vse of auncient Empires and Common-wealths concerning supreame gouernment in matters pertaining to religion I haue not I doe confesse obserued But it seemeth indeed that the politicall gouernment in Ecclesiasticall affaires should be a point of Regalitie and that it is a hard matter if not impossible for any state either to grow or long time to continue very great wherein a forraine power doth hold the regiment in religion At the least either to grow or continue any greater then that forraine power shall thinke expedient That which from me was openly reiected being allowed by N. and in the very same words by him repeated found good acceptance among the rest Whereupon I tooke occasion to say that speech I perceiued was oftentimes like vnto coine which passed for currant not in regard of the mettall onely but chiefely in regard of the stampe that was set vpon it Nay said N. beautifying his speech with a courteous smile we will also bring your mettall to the touch There is but one truth in religion which is not subiect to any humane power but the discipline thereof or matters of circumstance and externall forme are held by our Church to depend vpon the power of the Prince If question be made touching matter of substance the same also may be determined within the realme by the Clergie thereof assembled together by authoritie of the Prince Or if the Clergie of any other countrie should be taken to assistance or aduice they come as equals and not as superiours For so Eusebius reporteth that Cyprian Bishop of Carthage did aduise with the Bishop of Rome concerning the affaires of the Church and that Dyonise of Alexandria aduised in like sort with Cornelius Stephen and Sixtus Bishops of Rome without attributing vnto them either title or qualitie otherwise then as men of their owne order and ranke Now I haue read many controuersies in Diuinitie concerning this question whereof the multitude doth rather cloy then content and therefore I will not embarke you in that disputation If you can make proofe out of other writers that this authoritie in matters of religion is a right of Regalitie it will follow I suppose that it cannot without apparant danger depend vpon a foraine power If also you do manifest that in all principall Empires and Common-wealths this authoritie hath bin exercised by the chiefe in state you may probably conclude that it is a Regalitie For these rights doe little varie but remaine in a manner the very same in all states of what kind soeuer they are And although true religion is reuealed vnto vs by God yet religion in the generall proceedeth from nature in regard whereof there is some coherence and communitie in all sorts of religions as to acknowledge that there is a God to worship him to worship him by oblation and sacrifice c. For although all nations doe not acknowledge and worship the true God yet there is no nation as Cicero saith which doth not both acknowledge and adore some These generall points which naturally or by consent of nations are common in religion may well bee considered without contending which religion in particular is true For this will hardly by all parties be agreed because euery man as Philo saith either by vse or by instruction iudgeth his owne religion best So Chrysostome affirmeth that in all differencies of religion euery man will say I say true But this argument which you haue propounded being new this point being not pointed at by any whom I haue seene I would gladly here you fortifie the same The argument being new answered I and now newly raysed into question you must not engage your expectation too farre I shall doe much if I minister some matter for better iudgements to work into forme The rights of Soueraignty or of maiesty so termed by Cicero and by Liuie the rights of Empire and of Imperiall Maiestie by Tacitus sacraregni by Aristotle 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by the Lawyers Sacra sacrorum sacra indiuidua iura sublimia by the Feudistes iura regalia are nothing else but an absolute and perpetuall power to exercise the highest actions and affaires in some cretaine state These are the proper qualities of Soueraigne or Maiesticall power that it be both absolute and also perpetuall If it be absolute but not perpetuall th●n is it not soueraigne for such power hath been oftentimes committed by the Romanes to their Dictators by the Lacedemonians to their Harmostes by many Kings to their Regents Viceroyes or Lieutenants But because they haue no proprietie of power inherent in them but only an execution or exercise thereof committed to their charge vnder limitation of time because also it may vpon iust cause bee reuoked within that time they are not accounted to haue the same in Soueraignetie And this holdeth true although such power bee committed for a very long time as the Athenians did to their great Archos for tenne yeres although it bee committed also in a most ample manner which the auncient Latines called optima lege without controlement or account such as had the Pontifices in Rome or as the Cuidians euery yeere chose 60. of their Citizens whom for this cause they called Amimones that is men without imputation or account And lastly although it be without certaine limitation of time as sometimes had the Regents of France created for the infancie furie or absence of their King who before the law of Charles the fifth dispatched matters in their proper name Againe if it be perpetuall but not absolute as either depending vpon some other or else giuen either vpon charge or with exception and restraint then is it not soueraigne For such power was giuen by decree of Charles the fifth Emperor to the Senate of Milan To confirme the constitutions of the Prince as also to infirme and abrogate the same to dispence contrarie to the statutes to make enablements giue prerogatiues graunt restitutions c. that no appeale should be made from the Senate c. And whatsoeuer they should doe should haue like force as if it were done or decreed by the Prince Yet might they not graunt pardon for offences or giue letters of safe conduct vnto parties conuicted So likewise in the ancient forme of inaugurating the Kings of Arragon the great Magistrate or Iustice said thus vnto him Wee who are in vertue not inferiour and in power greater then thy selfe create thee King yet with this condition that one amongst vs shal haue