Selected quad for the lemma: death_n
Text snippets containing the quad
|
ID |
Title |
Author |
Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication) |
STC |
Words |
Pages |
|
A45081
|
A serious epistle to Mr. William Prynne wherein is interwoven an answer to a late book of his, the title whereof is inserted in the next leafe. By J. Hall, of Grays-Inne.
|
Hall, John, 1627-1656.
|
1649
(1649)
|
Wing H359A; ESTC R216816
|
22,967
|
36
|
not as made of particular persons and that must be taken for its Ordinance which is the agreement of all or the mâ—jor paâ—t without any other consideration of Individualls save sometimes the entring of a dissent which may declare a private dislike but cannot disauthorize any thing For those two objections though you keep an hacking and slashing of them yet you do not at all infirme or destroy them For I would gladly know of you what radiâ—â—ll distinction you can perceive between businesses of greater and lesser moment in the House as you seeme to infer I meane what difference you can make between the House when it handles lesser businesses and the greatest For questionlesse 't is an House still and hath the same Priviledges and authority Nor do's your objection of the frequent summons make any thing for you saving that it proves it hath been a custome to summon in absent Members either when their abillities were particularly aâ—anting or else the number of absent Members took from the Majesty and Splendor Not the necessity and being of the House 2. Though you suppose They might make an House in cases of absoâ—ute Necessity yet you say their was never such a case as till now that 40 might expell 400 c. To this I say that Never was their so great a necessity as that of their suspension as may eaâ—ily be demonstrated 3. 'T was the Army suspended some Members indeed but injur'd not the collective body and abundance absented either through disaffection guilt or suspition and whereas you challenge them to shew such a Law or custome I cannot but laugh at you For if it be lawfuâ—l it may well stand on its one legs without such an infirme and unproper stay If unlawfull you will not expect any example should make it so For by the same reason every vice that can but parallel it self in Zwinger or Lycosthenes will soon be gilded into a vertue and you your self in every action you doe and garment you weare unlesse you can prove your Grandfather did and wore the like sin extremely and herein at one dash confuâ—e your whole Histrio-Mastix whâ—n by so many Presidents Records Iournalls Historyes Diarys Ledgeer Books Anâ—alls Poems Oratiâ—ns c. it can be prov'd that playes have been in former times acted and entertained into the deligâ—ts of Princes as your self write confesse declare acknowledge manifest and prove by Authors in your Retractation to that purpose 4. Then Fourthly since you stand so stifly upon it I challenge you to shew me by any Journall Year-Book Records the time when fourty was not accounted a Parliament though this far exceeds that number For 5. you say Neither Commons nor whole House ought to do it without K. or LL. Still Crambe â—is coâ—â—au sed you not that Topic largely before and do you now vomit it up againe I doe not now wonder at the facultie of squirting Books when you have this art of Repetition Truly voluminous Sir methinks you are like Flaminius his host who entertaine his Noble guâ—st with a great many various dishes which yet in the conclusion proved nothing but Swines-flesh or rather to Erisichthon's daughter who though she were sometimes sold under the shape of a Cow sometimes of an asse sometimes of a Sheep was but still Erisichthon's daughter and therefore who knows one of your Book knows all and who confutes one confutes them all Only I advise all that shall hereafter have to deale with you to medle with you no otherwise then the great Grotius did with a learned man that spoyles and looses abundance of brave learning amidst his volumes insteed of answering the Book to confute the contents So would I interdict any man further Commerce with you then the Title which is ever the best of your Bookes and having confuted that to sit downe in quiet For your answer to the second objection which sneaks in at the Back dore and stands like Ela in the Gamuth and no wonder for a man of your hâ—ste may easily forget Importancies viz. That the present Parliament shall not be dissolved unless by Act of Parliament by tâ—e Statute of 17. Car. ' swas conâ—uted â—ut of what hath been already spoken and hath been already touched upon you But to come closer to you that if the Kings Person were so necessary a businesse with what face did you justify their proceedings without when he was at Oâ—ford or if the forme oâ— writ calling them together to conâ—uâ—t with him Render them a meer Junctiâ—â—o of his and no loâ—ger a body then he lends them a soule what miserable and slavish people were we whose Nationall Counsells were to depend upon the will and pleasure of one man as though we had been created for no other end and cast hither by providence only to make so many vassalls for a Tyrant But I hope Master Prinne you know better what the safety of a people is then to adhere to so miserable Rules which being commonly struck from the present occasion cannot prevent all inconveniences and therefore must be Subject to change and alteration and with what prudence can you â—rge that your Act was only intended as to your lâ—tâ— King not to his Heirs and Succâ—ssors your reasons are so trâ—fling I passe them when you know the King of England never dyes and 't is an horrid thing that the welbeing of a people should depend uâ—on the truth of one who is but a Bubble and must dye like â— man For suppose in that heavy conjunctuâ—e of time which produced the act King Charles had put off his Mortality either the best Parliament that ever was shouâ—d have broke up and left us both in the present hazard of affaires and danger of never any more Parliaments or else the Supreme Right of the People and necessity would have confuted what you assert Besides the Parliamâ—nt was called for such and such ends and if the King had dyed before the fulfilling had it not been mâ—erly an illusion and a frustration oâ— the very act which even obâ—â—gâ— them to the accomplishment of such and such things But methinks that clause which you so Ingenuously quote cleers the Busines and that every thing â—r things whatever done or to be done for the adjourâ—ment or proroging or dissolving of the present Parliament contrary to the present Act shall he utteâ—ly void and of none effect upon this score the Anti-Parliamentâ—t Oxford was counted unlawfull and the Kings disclaiming them â—or a while of none effect But say you the Kings death cannot properly be said a thing done or to be done by him for the adjournment of the Parliament contrary to this present Act cannot make the Kings death voyd and of none effect by restoring him to life againe Spectatum admiâ—â—i Risum Tâ—neatis Amici But pray Sir is not death a privation what talk you then of it as an Act and of a privation you will not say it hath any thing positive the King hath done nothing by it whereby to dissolve and raise the Parliament I
shall adde only you stand so strictly upon poore Formalities why you may not as well say that the Parliament is not at al because their are no Bishops in it as wel as you say about Loros For you cannot be ignorant how far in these darke times of superstition the Bishops have incroâ—cht and why should Presidents for the Temporall Lords be more inviolable then for them insomuch that they once came to a contest of Precedency which certainly they would never have done without some assurance of themselves and interest and therefore it was no more Injury to the Lords Temporall to be dispossessed then for the Spirituall they being both derived from one power and though you 'l say the latter were ejected in a free and full Parliament and so not the former yet I think I prov'd other whilst I had in hand your Syllogisme and must now tell you I conceive not what more Right or title the one have then the other and why they may not as well be disrobed of these Priviledges which are both unnecâ—ssary and burdensome and to speak freely Superior to any other in Europe and Inconâ—istent with the liberty of our Nation I shall not much trouble my self with your disingenuitie in quoâ—ing the Parliaments former Declarations against them since that They have been as good as their words in procuring the libertie of the Nation and what they doâ— at this present is meerly out of publique necessity and safety But I must tell you that of all men living you ought the least to encounter your adversaries out of theâ—r own writings since your own doe aboâ—â—d with such strong monstrous Contradiction and forgetâ—ulnesse that a man may suppose you change â—ouâ—es as often as you doe shirts or else there is an unanimous conspiration in mankind to adopt all absurdities whatsoever under your Name And now have I thank the curtesie of my fates fully survey'd your first Reason and truly if your other Nine take me up as much time I shaâ—l with difficulty wade through the rest of this inglorious taske and I am affraid obtain your faculty of Multiplication of lines and in stead of your adversary turn your Schollar like Julian the Emperour that essayed at first what he could say against Christianism but at last exercised himselfe into a losse of it And now for your second Reason which tells us that there are some sit in the House who ought not to sit some whose Elections have been Voted voyd some chosen by a new great Seale since the Kings death some that are Noblemen and therefore uncapable of sitting there c. But stay bring me but one example or president where the illegality of Election deprived the Parliament which must ever be considered in the Aggregat not dis-junctively of its authority and Right sure we have proved them a Parliament and supreme why may not they make a Seal and use it and for the Lords since their House is broke up why should the people be denyed their liberty of choosing or the Lords without any demerit their capacity of sitting For your scruple at the Oath of Alleageance I see not how it oblig'd further then civil obedience in lieu of civill protection or why it should oblige longer then the power that imposed it had existence or why it should oblige a man to a perpetuall pertinacy contrary to his judgement and conscience Till I be satisfied in this I must put away all your Arguments of this heaâ— and in the mean time Recruit you to that judicious and learned piece of Mr. Aschâ—m concerning this subject and truly if you want empâ—oâ—ment you would doe well to gnaw a little upon that file The Third you learnedly draw from the ends of your Tax which being two you accordingly branch your Argument into two heads The first whereof the Maintenance of my Lord Fairfax his Aâ—my and to this you answer That their notorious defections Rebellions have made them unworthy of pay To this I say you in your confused Catalogue of their misdemeanours you lay many things to their charge which are not properly theirs a many things you mistake and many things you falsly suggest so that he that pares off your exaggerations and considers them nakedly will find them an illustrious brave sort of people particulâ—rly favour'd by Providence and worthy all the encouragement and care of this State Then secondly you say No â—ax ought to be imposed but in case of Necessitie let any judge whether there bee not a Necessity for this Tax But you say there is no necessity of keeping up this Army for these strong Reasons The Kingdome is exhausted with seven years Taxes and therefore for saving a little mony now must be utterly ruin'd and as though you in all your reading could want examples how often such a base parsimony hath bin fatall to people and Cities 2. The decay of Trade as though a petty payment hinder'd either Importation or exportation or slackned mens endeavours or as though that money were not spent among the people that pay it and so there can be no decrease in the main stock But a decay of Trade must ever be expected in or immediatly after a civilâ— wâ—rre and so you lodge this cause amisse 3 It destroyes trade why did you not tumble this with the former for they both came to one head Still you â—urn to your voâ— it of impertinency and largenesâ—e 4. There is no visible enemy in the field and therefore not in Houses or abroad Do not you know Maâ—ter Priâ—ue that an enemy is not quite vanquish'd when he is forc'd to give the field but so long as he has animosities grudges opportunities encouragements hopes is to be fear'd and therefore for any people to gull themselves in such a mad security can be no other then to fall a sleep that their enemies might with the better conveniency cut their throats Besides you cannot be ignorant that that Thing which you call a King hovers and flutters over and if he could but engage any forreigne Prince on his desperate lost fortunes would come over and see if he couâ—d set up the Dagon of Monarchy once more amongst us and you would have us tamely cast away our swords that he might with more liberty exercise those cruelties upon us and that either his indignation revenge flatterers or possibly Inclination might suggest unto him 5. This was but at first established 40000 l. per mensem and after 60000. But why 90000 l. now since those for Ireland of that establishment Thou knowest not it seems Wil Prynne Nor thy Neighbours at Swanswick that there are a great many new forces rais'd and their are a great many there already to be maintained The Country Militia's might serve the forme of them in secure time is good enough But not in the midst of such contingencies as we daily see and if we be at