Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n
Text snippets containing the quad
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A55056
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The present state of New-England impartially considered in a letter to the clergy.
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Palmer, John, 1650-1700?; F. L.
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1689
(1689)
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Wing P247; ESTC W19307
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40,586
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47
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mine Enemy but I dare not transgress the Commands of God. Lib. 2. And Josephus speaking of David after he had cut off Sauls Garment saith That his heart smote him So that he confessed Injustuâ— facinus crat Regem suum occidere It was a a wicked act to kill his Soveraign And presently after Horrendum Regem quamvis malum occidâ—re poenam enim id factenti imminere constat ab eo qui Regem dedit It is an horrid act to kill a King though wicked for certainly He by whose providence all Kings reign will pursue the Regicide with vengeance inevitably To reproach any private man falsely is forbidden by the Law but of a King we must not speak evil though he deserve it because as he that wrote the Problems fathered upon Aristotle saith He that speaketh evil of the Governour scandalizeth the whole City So Joab concludes concerning Shimei as Josephus testifies Shalt thou not dye who presumest to curse him whom God hath placed in the Throne of the Kingdom The Laws saith Julian are very severe on the behalf of Princes for he that is injurious unto them doth wilfully trample upon the Laws themselves Misopogoris Now if we must not speak evil of Kings much less must we do evil against them David repented but for offering violence to Saul's Garments so great was the Reverence that he bare to his person and deservedly For since their Soveraign power cannot but expose them to the General Hatred therefore it is sit that their security should especially be provided for This saith Quintilian to the fate of such as sit at the Stern of Government that they cannot discharge their Duty faithfully nor provide for the publick safety without the envy of many And for this cause are the persons of Kings guarded with such severe Laws which seeem like Draco's to be wrote in blood as may appear by those enacted by the Romans for the security of their Tribunes whereby their persons became inviolable Amongst other wise Sayings of the Esseni this was one That the persons of Kings should be held as sacred And that of Homer was ast noable His chiefest care was for the King That nothing should endanger him And no marvel For as St. Chrysostome well observes If any man kill a sheep he but lessens the number of them but if he kill the Shepherd he dissipates the whole flâ—ck The very Name of a King as Curtius tel's us among such nations as were governed by Kings was as venerable as that of God. So Artabanus the Persian Amongst many and â—â—â—se most excellent Laws we have this seems to be the best which commands us to aâ—ore our Kings as the very image of God who is the Saviour of all And therefore as Plutarch speakes Nec â—as nec lâ—iâ—um est Regis corpori manus inferre It is not permitted by the Laws of God or man to offer violence to the person of a King. But as the same Plutarch in another place tells us The principal part of 〈◊〉 is to save him that saves all If the eye observe a blow threatning the head the hand being instructed by nature interposeth it self as preferring the safety of the head whereupon all other members depend before their own Wherefore as Cassiodâ—â—e notes He that with the loss of his own life Redeems the Life of his Prince doth well if in so doing he propose to himself the freeing of his own soul rather than that of another mans body for as conscience teacheth him to express his sidelity to his Soveraign so doth right Reason instruct him to prefer the life of his Prince before the safety of his own body But here a more difficult question ariseth as namely Whether what was lawful for David and the Maccabees be likewise lawful for us Christians Or whether Christ who so often enjoins us to take up our Cross do not require from us a greater measure of patience Surely where our Superiours threaten us with Death upon the account of Religion our Saviour advised such as are not obliged by the necessary Duties of their Calling to reside in any one place to flee but beyond this nothing St. Peter tells us That Christ in his suffering left us an ensample who tho' he knew no sin nor had any guile found in his mouth yet being reviled reviled not again when he suffered he threatned not but remmitted his cause to him that judgeth righteously 1. Pet. 4. 12 13 14 15 16. Nay he adviseth us to give thanks unto God and to rejoice when we suffer persecution for our Religion and we may read how mightily Christian Religion hath grown and been advanced by this admirable gift of patience wherefore how injurious to those anc ent Christians who living in or near the times of either the Apostles themselves or men truly Apostolical must needs be well instructed in their Discipline and consequently walked more exactly according to their Rules yet suffered death for their saith how injurious I say to these men are they who hold that they wanted not a Will to resist but rather a power to defend themselves at the approach of death Surety Tertullian had never been so imprudent nay so impudent as so considently to have affirmed such an untruth whereof he knew the Emperor could not be ignorant when he wrote thus unto him If we had a will to take our private Revenge or to act as publick Enemies could we want either numâ—â—rs of men or stores of warlike Previsions Are the Moors Germans Partisians or the people of any one Nation more than those of the whole Worlâ— We though strangers yet dâ— fill all places in your Dominions your Cities Islands Castles Forts Assemblies your very Camps Tribes Courâ—s Palaces Seâ—â— es only your Temples we leave to your selves For what war have we not alwaies declared our selves sit and ready though in Numbers of men we have sometimes been very unequal How cometh it then to p ss that we suffer Death so meekly so patiently but that we are instructed by our Religion that it is much better to be killed than to kill Cyprian also treading in his Masters steps openly declares That it was from the principles of their Religion that Christians being apprehended made no Resistance nor attempted any revenge for injuries unjustly done them though they wanted neither numbers of men nor other means to have resisted but it was their confidence of some diviâ—e Vengeance that would fall upon their persecutors that made them thus patient that perswaded the innocent to give way to the nocent Lib. 5. So Lactantius We are willing to conside in the Majesty of God who is able as well to revenge the contempt done to Himself as the injuries and hardships done unto us Wherefore though our sufferings be such as cannot be expressed yet we do not mutter a word of discontent but refer our selves wholly to him who judgeth righteously And to the same tune sings St Augustine When Princes err they