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	prince_n	3,191	5	5.6737	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A05066	A short apologie for Christian souldiours wherein is conteined, how that we ought both to propagate, and also if neede require, to defende by force of armes, the Catholike Church of Christ, against the tyrannie of Antichrist and his adherentes: penned by Stephanus Iunius Brutus, and translated into English by H.P. for the benefite of the resolution of the Church of England, in the defence of the gospel.; Vindiciae contra tyrannos. Part 4. English	Languet, Hubert, 1518-1581.; H. P., fl. 1588.; Mornay, Philippe de, seigneur du Plessis-Marly, 1549-1623, attributed name.	1588 (1588)	STC 15207; ESTC S105564	11,591	32

is the dutie of euerie priuate man with most earnest prayer to desire at Gods hand so it is the dutie of Magistrats by their powers by their assistance by all meanes they can to raise her vp being fallen to set her in the prosperitie she was before There is not one church of the Ephesians and another of the Colossians and of the rest but all these are parts of the vniuersall church and the vniuersal church is the kingdome of Christ which kings and princes and magistrates ought to enlarge propagate amplifie against all enemies and aduersaries of the same and for this cause was there one onely temple among the Iewes built by Salomon which did represent the vnitie of the Church that builder might be called a foolish builder which making one part of his house windtight watertight doth suffer an other to let in the rayne and the winter So likewise all Christian kings when they are admitted to the crowne they receiue the sworde expressely vpon this condition that they shall defende and mainteine the Catholike and vniuersall Church the which sworde when they haue taken into their handes they shake it to the East and to the West and to the North and to the South and to all quarters and climates of the worlde Nowe when they take vpon them the patronage and protection of the church they vnderstand no doubt the true and not the false church and in her defence they ought to imploy all their industrie force and strength Of this we haue examples in godly princes that it hath alwayes béen obserued In the time of Ezechias the king of Iuda 2. Chro. 31 the kingdome of Israel was in seruitude to the king of the Assyrians euen from the time of Osea the king Wherefore if that onely church of God which was in the kingdome of Iuda and not the vniuersall Church was committed to Ezechias and that he had authoritie to defend the Church no farther than he had to commande tribute surely Ezechias especially in those times in which the Assyriās were masters ouer the whole worlde woulde haue kept him selfe within the limittes of the kingdome of Iuda But we reade that he did inuite by messengers the whole people of Israel the subiects of the king of Assyria to celebrate the passeouer in Ierusalē and that he did ayde the godly men in Israel in breaking downe the highe places and spoyling the powers of Ephraim and Manasses 2. Reg. 22. 2. Chr. 34. others which were in subiection to the Assyrians We reade also of Iosias the godly king that he did purge not onely his owne kingdome but also the kingdome of Israel subiect to the king of Assyria from the worshipping of Idols So that where the cause of the glorie of God and of the kingdome of Christ is touched no limits and bounds ought to abate and quench the zeale of good and godlie princes But if the force of their enemies be great let them vnderstand by the examples of these kings which did truly serue the Lorde that they may not or néede not feare any These examples of godly Princes many Christian kings haue followed whereby the Church which was onely within the limits of the lande Palestine hath béen and is spredde throughout the whole worlde Constantine and Licinius were both Emperours the one of the East the other of the West they were fellowes of like and equall authoritie It is a prouerbe that those which are equall haue no iurisdiction the one ouer the other Neuerthelesse Constantine when he sawe Licinius vnder the pretence of religion vexing killing the Christians he proclaimeth warre against him We must ●eade this aduisedly because we may not by ●he worde of God rest our own ●rince if he ●e wicked and by force of armes setteth vp the frée seruice of God to the Christians and in the ende Licinius breaking his league which he had made with him and returning to his former crueltie he caused him to be put to death at Thessalonica This did Constantine the great whose godlinesse is so much celebrated and set out by the Christians in those times that they said it might very well agree to him which was prophesied by Esaie the Prophet that kings should be nursing fathers and Queenes nursing mothers to the church When he was dead the Romaine Empire was deuided among his sonnes that they should all rule equally among which Constans did fauour the Christians and Constantius the Arrians which also droue out of Alexandria Athanasius an enemy to the Arrians If there were any account to be made of limits and bounds it were most especially betwéene brothers neuerthelesse Constans threatneth his brother that vnlesse he restore Athanasius into his place againe hee woulde come with force of armes against him If Constans doubted not to do this only for restoring of one Bishop may it not more rightly be done when a great part of the people is oppressed when they humbly require ayde and desire that they may kéepe their religion among them the nobles of their countrey being chiefe authours in this request Sozom. li. 7. ca. 18. So Theodosius being persuaded by a Bishop of Asia tooke vp armes against Chesroem king of the Persians that thereby he might rescue the Christians being all priuate men which were vexed in the cause of religiō The which thing those godly Princes which made so many lawes and had such speciall care of Iustice and equitie would neuer haue done if they had thought or iudged that they had entred into the limits or gone about to breake the lawes of their Princes in so doing To what end were so many expeditions of Christian Princes into Syria against the Saracens to what ende were so many taxes reared summes of money leuied such warre proclaimed against the Turkes and so many forces erected against them if it had not béen lawful for all Christian Princes euen for those which dwell farthest off to deliuer the church of God from tyrannie and from the yoke of seruitude And by what arguments and reasons were they vrged and stirred to take this warre in hande but onely because the church of Christ is one because Christ him selfe had cited all able men to take weapon because that common daungers were to be cut off by common ayde all which do verie well agrée to this cause wée haue in hande So that if it were lawfull for them against Mahomet and not onely lawfull but also that rewards were giuen to them which did willingly take armes and punishment to those which did detract the same why may we not do the like against the enemies of Christ And if we may do it against the Grecians besieging of Troy why may we not do it against Sinon which by setting cities and houses on fyre doth rob and spoyle To conclude if it be a godly acte to deliuer the Christians from bodily seruitude for the Turkes compell no man is it not much more acceptable

either for feare or of necessitie But peraduenture you wil say it is a faulte for a man to meddle with the affaires of others the olde man Chremes in the Poet shall aunswere Pompon de regim leg 36. Homo sum humani nihil à me alienū puto I am a man therefore I thinke whatsoeuer pertaineth to a man pertaineth to me If it bee obiected which some saye for the cloaking of their vngodlinesse that God hath apointed limits and boundes to euerie nation and that we may not as it were thrust in our sicle into their haruest neither is my counsell to the contrarie that vnder pretence of ayde we should inuade the countrey of an other nation or chalenge their iurisdictiō vnto vs or conuey their haruest into our floures nor as he did who beeing chosen arbiter in a cause Cice. 2. o●… iudged it vnto him selfe but rather that we should cut short any prince inuading the kingdome of Christ any tyrant afflicting his own people any king throwing downe the props and stayes of his common wealth And this wée must performe in such sort hauing respect not to priuate commoditie but to publike societie for séeing that iustice doeth wholy concerne others and not our selues and iniustice our selues and not others wee shall then deale iustly when we haue a speciall care of the good and prosperitie of others Finally if a prince doe violently breake the bonds of pietie and iustice an other prince may iustly and lawfully excéede his owne limittes not to inuade the others but to force him to be content with his owne If a prince vse tyrannie towards his people we ought to ayde no lesse than if his subiectes shoulde raise sedition against him and we must bee the more readier to do it because the wickednesse is more daungerous of many then of one If Porsenna reduce proude Tarquinius to Rome againe much more iustly may Constantine be sent for by the people and Senate of Rome to expell Maxentius a tyrant out of the citie If the prouerbe say Homo homini lupus that one is as a wolfe to an other in crueltie why may not one man as the same prouerbe hath be Deus a God to another for ayde and defence They did in olde time account of Hercules as of a God because he did vanquish and pull downe Procrustes and Busyris and other tyrantes which were verie plagues of mankinde Cicero 2. offic and monsters of the whole world So was the Empire of Rome as long as it continued a frée Empire it was estéemed as a common defence of the whole worlde against the mischiefe of tyrants because the Senate of Rome was a refuge to kings to people and nations in their calamities So Constantine being sent for of the Romains against Maxentius the tyrant the Captaine of his armie beeing God himselfe whose expedition and preparation the whole Church did commende when as notwithstanding Maxentius had the same authoritie in the West which Constantine had in the East Likewise Charles the great made warre against the Longobardians being stirred vp thereūto by the princes of Italie when as notwithstanding the kingdom of Longobardia was already established and Charles could chalenge no right or title which he had in them Likewise also when Charles the balde so called king of Fraunce had tyrannously put to death Lambert and Iamaetius gouernours of the countie which lieth betweene the riuers of Sequana and Ligeris and that the nobles of Fraunce did flie to Lewes king of the Germains Charles his brother to craue ayde against Charles and his wicked mother Iudith Lodouicke heard them most willingly in an honorable assemblie of the princes of Germanie by whose cōmon consent it was decreed that for the restoring of those which were banished by Caluus there should be open warre proclaimed against him To conclude as there haue béene tyrants some in all places so there are examples in all historiographers of princes which haue both resisted the tyrants and defended the people The which examples princes in these dayes ought to imitate that they be not coūted tyrants themselues against those which deale tyrannously with their people with their bodies with their souls with the cōmon wealth with the church of Christ To cōclude all in one worde pietie commaundeth vs to defende the lawe of God and the Church iustice commaundeth vs to restraine tyrants and those which ouerthrowe the common wealth charitie commandeth vs to helpe the oppressed such as stande in néede therefore they which doe it not take away pietie extinguish iustice and make no account of charitie FINIS