Selected quad for the lemma: conscience_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
conscience_n	bad_a	good_a	quiet_a	1,755	5	9.8229	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A01615	A discourse vpon the meanes of vvel governing and maintaining in good peace, a kingdome, or other principalitie Divided into three parts, namely, the counsell, the religion, and the policie, vvhich a prince ought to hold and follow. Against Nicholas Machiavell the Florentine. Translated into English by Simon Patericke.; Discours, sur les moyens de bien gouverner et maintenir en bonne paix un royaume ou autre principauté. English	Gentillet, Innocent, ca. 1535-ca. 1595.; Patrick, Simon, d. 1613.	1602 (1602)	STC 11743; ESTC S121098	481,653	391

will upon his owne daughter The custome which the Gaulois and many other people had to immolat and offer criminall men when they had an opinion that God was angrie with them what other thing was it but a following of the sacrifice of Abraham and of the sacrifices that God had commaunded for the expiation of sinnes The Paynims also imitated this of Moses his sacrifices that they immolated the like beasts and reserved also a part of the beast sacrificed to eat So that thereby also it is clearly seene That the Religion of Moses is the primitive and first and that the other religions are but fowle and lazie pourtratures and imitations thereof From hence followeth it That our Christian Religion which draweth his principles from the promises of Messias contained in Moses is the most ancient of the world yea as ancient as the world it selfe For I wil not vouchsafe to stay upō the refutation of the strange opinion of Machiavell and other ancient Philosophers Paynims which have maintained That the world had no beginning but I send them to Empedocles Plato and other ancient Paynim Philosophers which have maintained the contrarie I thinke that the ignorance of the philosophers which held That the world had no beginning shal something excuse them because they never saw the bookes of Moses and in a thing so difficile and hard to comprehend the spirits of men might easily faile But the impietie of Machiavel is no way excusable who hath seene the bookes of Moses yet followeth that wicked opinion like a mocker and contemner of the holy Scripture thinking to shew that he knowes more than others he I say who is ignorant and full of brutish beastlinesse as God willing I shall make knowne As for the simplicitie of the Christian Religion herein it is seene That the Christians Simplicitie of the Christian Religion will know God as he will that we should know him and as he hath manifested himselfe unto us simply without passing further For they are not so presumptuous as were those foolish Paynim philosophers which disputed of the Essence of God and disputing upon that point fell into opinions the most absurd and strange of the world Some after they had much dreamed in their brains cōcluded That the universall world was God others That it was the Soule of the world others That it was the Sun and others set forward certaine other like monstrous opinions They disputed also of his Power of his Eternitie and of his Providence by naturall reasons in all these they knew not how to resolve themselves therein For how is man so prowd and insensible to thinke that his braine which is not halfe a foot large can cōprehend so great and infinit a thing it is as great a foolery and grosenesse as he that in the palme of his hand will comprehend all the waters of the sea A Christian then hath this modestie and simplicitie To know God by those means and according as he will be known of men beleeving That to have a wil to passe further is to enter into darknesse not into knowledge From hence followeth it That the knowledge which a Christian hath of God is the only true knowledge and that all the knowledge that others as Paynims and Philosophers ever had it neither was nor is any other but a shadow and imagination very far from the most part of the truth And touching the excellencie of the doctrine of true Religion herein is it first seene The excellency of the Christian Religion that it is founded upon the promises of God made to the first fathers from the beginning of the world whereby all they that embrace that Religion are assured That God is their father and that he loveth them and that hee will give them eternall life by the meanes of Messias Can there then be any thing more excellent than this Is there any thing in the world that can give more contentment or repose to the spirit of man than this doctrine For when man considereth the brevitie of his dayes the languishments and miseries of this world full of envies enemities all vices and calamities will hee not iudge himselfe more unhappie than the beasts if hee hoped not for an eternall happinesse after this life The poore Paynims having this consideration aspired to an eternitie some in doing worthy acts wherof there should be a perpetuall memorie after them others writ bookes that might bee read after their death others persuaded themselves that the gods would send good mens soules into the Elisian fields and the wicked into the Acherontike and Stigian darkenesse Yet were there some Philosophers which disputed Cice. in Somn. Scipi Plato in Phaedo That the soules of generous and valiant men after death goe to heaven All these opinions and persuasions of men were but to give rest to their minds which iudged man of all creatures most unhappie without an eternall life after this But what assurance had they of these opinions which they gave to themselves These poore people had none neither founded they themselves but upon some weake and feeble reasons For thus they argued That it was not credible that God who is all good would create man who is the most excellent creature in the world to make him most unhappie which hee should doe if he should not enioy an happie and eternall life after this They also say That it is not credible that God which is all iust would equally deale with the good as with the bad which he should doe if there were not another life than this wherein the good might receive a felicitie and the wicked punishment for their misdeeds But what is all this These be but feeble and weake pettie reasons wherupon the spirits and consciences of men can find no good foundation to repose themselves and to take an assured resolution of a salvation and an eternall felicitie But the Christian hath another foundation than this for he knoweth that God is of old gone out if I may so say from his throne in heaven to communicate and manifest himselfe to our auncient fathers to speake vnto them to declare unto them his bountie and love towards mankind hee knowes that God hath made them promises of Messias which he hath since accomplished and that in him he hath promised to give eternall life to all them which lay hold of that Messias and use his meanes to come unto it These promises have ben many times reiterated to our said fathers and in ages well distant one from another that they might not be forgotten but that they might be so much the more cleare and known of every one insomuch that the Paynims themselves which never read our fathers writings have had some knowledge of the promises of God touching Messias they were so cleare not orious and well knowne as we shall say more at full in another place Heare thē for a resolution a great excellencie in this doctrine of Christian

But if any demand how diviners and astrologers could so justly foretell the death of the emperour Domitian I answere that we must beleeve that this said prediction was not by art or science but the evill spirit would give boldnesse of enterprising unto Domitians enemies in making them know by frivolous divinations his fatall houre that they might beleeve the starres and heaven to aid their enterprise And God above who serves himselfe with such meanes as pleaseth him to exercise his justice gives efficacie to the spirit of error The same effect came of the divination of Caracalla for it was the cause that Macrinus enterprised to sley him although he never before thought of it till the astrologers declared their divination nay he would never have done that enterprise if that divination had not constrained and drawne him unto it Master Philip de Comines reciteth to this purpose a very memorable hystorie that happened in his time He saith there was at Naples a king called Alphonsus a bastard of the house of Arragon who was marvellous cruell a traitour and dangerous for none could know when he was angry he could so well manage his countenance yea and often betray men as he made them good cheare and he was a man wherein there was neither grace nor mercie neither had hee any compassion of the poore people This king Alphonsus had a sonne also as wicked as he called Ferrand who had found means to bring before him under his fathers assurance many princes and barons of the countrey to the number of foure and twentie and amongst them the prince de Rosane his brother in law having married his sister all which hee caused to be imprisoned notwithstanding the faith and assurance which he had given them insomuch as some remained foure or five and twentie yeares prisoners As soone as the king Alphonsus was dead and Ferrand his sonne was king the first thing hee did at his comming to the crowne was to massacre all those said great princes and barons which he himselfe had imprisoned during his fathers life by a Moorean slave of Affrica which he rewarded and straight after the execution sent him into his countrey This king Ferrand or Ferdinand having newes of the said murder as the king of Fraunce Charles the eight enterprised the conquest of Naples judging himselfe unworthie to be king because of his great and abhominable cruelties sent embassadors to the king to agree and to be at an accord with him offering to yeeld himselfe tributarie to the crowne of Fraunce to hold the kingdome of Naples of him and to pay him 50000 crownes yearely But the king who knew there was no fidelitie in the Arragonian race of Naples would enter into no treatie with the king Ferdinand who being in dispaire to be ever able to hold that kingdome against the king of Fraunce having his owne subjects his enemies died for sorrow and dispaire and left his sonne Alphonsus his successor This Alphonsus the new king was as wicked as his father and had alwayes shewed himselfe pittilesse and cruell without faith without religion and without all humanitie insomuch as perceiving that king Charles approched Rome his conscience also judging himselfe to be an unworthy king he resolved to flie into Spain and to professe himselfe a monke in some monasterie But before hee fled hee caused to be crowned king at Naples a young sonne of his called Ferdinand who was not yet hated in the countrey his nailes beeing not yet either strong or long ynough to doe evill This done hee fled into Sicilie and from thence to Valence in Spaine where he tooke the habite of a monke and in a little time after died of an excoriation of gravell But it was marvellous that this cruel tyrant should be so seized of feare as he should go in no good order away but left all his moveable goods and almost all his gold and silver in his castle at Naples And this feare proceeded to him from a faintnesse of heart for as Comines saith never cruell man was hardie And when one desired him onely to stay three dayes to packe up his goods No no said he let us quickly depart from hence heare you not all the world crie Fraunce Fraunce Men may see how an evill conscience leaves a man never in quiet This wicked man knowing that by his crueltie hee had procured the hatred of his subjects the wrath of God and the enmitie of all the world was tormented in his conscience as of an infernall furie which ever after fretted his languishing soule in the poore infected and wasted bodie And to end this tragoedie straight after he had saved himselfe the king of Fraunce obtained the kingdome of Naples And a little while after the said young Ferdinand sonne of the said Alphonsus died of a feaver and a flux So that within the space of two yeares God did justice on foure kings of Naples two Alfonses and two Ferdinands because of their strange cruelties which were accompained with disloyall impietie and oppression of subjects for alwaies those keepe company together A like punishment happened by the conduction and judgement of God to that Comines lib. 1 cap. 132. 133. and Bellay lib. 1. of his memories cruell king Richard of England king Edward the fourth his brother This king Edward deceasing left two sonnes and two daughters all yong and in the tutelage and goverment of Richard duke of Glocester his brother This duke desiring for himselfe the crowne of England caused his two nephewes cruelly to be slaine and made a report to goe that by chance they fell of a bridge and so were slaine His two nieces he put into a religion of Nunnes saying they were bastards because saith hee the dead king Edvard their father could not lawfullie espouse their mother for that before hee had promised to espouse a gentlewoman which hee named and the bishop of Bath beeing present protested it was so and the promises of marriage were made betwixt his hands The duke of Glocester having thus dispatched both his nephewes and nieces caused himselfe to be crowned king of England and because many great lords of England murmured at this crueltie this new tyrant king which named himselfe king Richard the third made to die of sundrie deaths all such as hee knew had murmured against him or his tyrannie After all this when hee thought hee had a sure estate in the kingdome it was not long before God raised him up for enemie the earle of Richmond of the house of Lancaster who was but a pettie lord in power without silver and without force who but a little before was detained prisoner in Bretaigne To whom certaine lords of England sent secretly that if he could come into England but with two or three thousand men all the people would come to him make him king of England The earle of Richmond hasted to king Charles the eight then raigning in France by whose permission hee levied people in