Selected quad for the lemma: death_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
death_n	believe_v	die_v	life_n	6,038	5	4.8496	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
B09949	The tree known by its fruits. Or A relation of the sufferings of Oliver Sansom of Boxford, in the county of Barkes, eagerly inflicted upon him through the means of, and by James Anderton priest of Boxford: Whereby it may appear to all people in the parish of Boxford, and elsewhere, where this shall come, who may with moderation peruse it; whether James Anderton do indeed walk in the way of the ministers of Christ, or in the very exact footsteps of the false prophets and deceivers, for hereby is he manifest, if it be lawfull to try him, and judge according to the rule of our saviour Jesus Christ, who hath said unto us, By their fruits ye shall know them, Mat. 7. 15, 16, &c.	Sansom, Oliver, 1636-1710.	1667 (1667)	Wing S686; ESTC R483576	23,631	75

bewitched with the Charms of Mirth as to think Laughing a good Argument to confute whatever may be said if Religion be so unreasonable a thing as you 'd perswade me by laughing at it why don't ye give me some fair Reasons against it Hereupon some of the oldest standing would suggest That Mahomet has more Votaries than Christ That that Religion is not without its Martyrs and Confessors That the wild Indians dare bravely dye for their Religion That there 's no Nation be it never so Barbarous that gives us not some fine Examples of Doing and Suffering that therefore it s not the Excellency of any one Religion but the Prejudices of all that produces these Effects That 't is the Habit and Custom of Education that creates the formidable Notions of Conscience Heaven Hell Futurity and the Immortality of the Soul all which are but the politick Inventions of Priests and cunning Magistrates to enrich themselves and keep the Vulgar in Awe who are naturally Superstitious and Fearful With a deal more to the same purpose Such Haranguesas these did by little and little poyson the Principles of this poor Gentleman and mould him into the same Leaven with themselves not only into the same Judgment but liberty of all Profaneness Debauchery and Injustice as far as he could act without the Cognizance of the Law It won't be amiss to add That this Gentleman was one of that CLUB which within these last seven Years met together constantly To lay down such Rules and Methods as that they might be critically wicked in every thing that they could without the Laws taking hold of them and therefore the Law itself was more particularly examined What Fallacies might be put upon it Where and in what Cases it did not provide against unheard of Villanies What Subterfuges and Evasions there might be in its Exposition with many more like horrid Instances which were all noted down as very useful Discoveries for the new Candidates of improved Impiety But to proceed This Gentleman's Sense and Education had furnish'd him with too much Prudence to lay open himself to every Body he commonly kept a very fair Correspondence with his Friends and in all strange Places was very sober and reserv'd Prudence obliging him not to discover all he believed to every Body Thus he liv'd several Years being as secretly wicked as all Temptations and the Advantages of a good Estate would suffer him But as the Wicked do not live out half their Days by reason of their Intemperance and Debaucheries so this Gentleman hastned his dismal Period by the like Courses falling desperately ill on the thirtieth of November last continuing so till the eighth of this instant December as we said above As soon as he found himself precipitated by his ill Courses into such a dangerous Sickness he began to be extreamly startled and amazed at the Apprehensions of Death for he believed he should dye and in spite of all he could do he could not forbear reflecting upon another Life and notwithstanding all his Fortifications to the contrary he could not confute nor rid himself of the Expectation of a Future Retribution Being thus distracted with his Distemper and Fears he threw himself upon the Bed and discoursed with himself after this manner Oh! what 's the meaning of this Tumultuous War in my Breast what Argnment is there now to assist me against Matter of Fact Do I assert that there 's no Hell at all and yet I feel one in my Bosom Am I certain that there 's no Heaven when I am so sure that there 's a Hell That there is no After-retributions when I feel a present Judgment Do I affirm my Soul to be as Mortal as my Body when this Languishes and that is as Vigorous as ever O that any one could restore to me my Ancient Guard of Piety and Innocency But it 's too late Wretch that I am whither shall I fly from this Breast or what will become of me He had no sooner ended but in comes one of his old Companions to pay him a Visit for he had heard that he was not well How now Brother says he why this Melancholy Look and Posture you seem to be more concerned in your Mind than Body pray tell me what 's the Matter The Matter replyed the other fixing a pair of ghastly Eyes upon him 'T is you and the rest of my Companions that have instill'd those Principles into me which now having most need of them leave me in the Agonies of Despair and Confusion What Advice or Comfort have you now to fortifie me against my fearful Expectations of another Life Are you certain that my Soul is Material and Mortal And that it will dissolve with the Body I 'm so certain replyed the other that I venture my Whole upon it Here I interrupted them by coming into the Room and applying my self to the Sick Person I told him That I was a Stranger to him yet hearing of his Distemper I thought it my Duty to pay him a Visit and give him what Christian Comfort and Advice I was capable of I Thank you replyed the Sick Person and would desire you then to engage that Gentleman that sits there meaning his Friend and prove unto him that the Soul is not Matter nor Mortal That the Soul is not Matter said I Descartes has prov'd in his Method by shewing that the Soul is independent of Matter That Matter itself cannot think neither in the Whole nor its Parts is evident enough from Mr. Lock of HUMAN UNDERSTANDING But after all we perhaps can best prove it thus Matter is by every Philosopher granted to be in its own Nature indifferent to Motion or Rest That if it be in Rest it will lye eternally so unless something else moves it and that if any thing puts it in Motion it will eternally move were it not for the Opposition of other Matter which clogs and retards its Motion But those that would have the Soul to be a pure fine Matter say that it first moves the Animal Spirits they the Nerves and these a Leg an Arm c. mechanically as Matter moves Matter Now those that make the Soul the first Agent and Mover make Matter to move itself which is impossible according to the above-cited Thesis which will have Matter to rest eternally unless it be moved by something But the Soul does move the Body independent of Matter and Matter cannot move unless it be first moved Therefore the Soul is not Matter and consequently not perishable by Attrition Transinutation c. But Gentlemen added I I hope there 's no need of a Lecture of this Nature to either of you for you look like Creatures that have a share in Human Nature which has the Doctrin of the Immortality of the Soul innate with it The sick person made no other Answer than a dismal Groan as if his Heart had broke and his Friend also made haste out of the Room without bidding us

God b'w'e I was surprized at such an Effect and desired the sick Party to know the Reason of his Discontent offering my Assistance to remove it if possible by Counsel Prayers Advice or any way that lay in my Power Alas Sir replyed he you 've undeceiv'd me now it s too late I was afraid of nothing so much as the Immortality of my Soul now you have assured me of that you have ascertained me of a Hell of a fearful Expectation of Judgment of a Portion among those that have apostatiz'd from their Religion of the Lot of Atheists and Denyers of Christ You have now sealed my Damnation by giving me an Earnest of it I mean an awakened Conscience that brings my Sins into my Remembrance reckoning up the numerous Catalogue for which I must go and give an Account Oh Apostate Wretch from how great Hopes am I fallen Oh that I had never known what Religion had been then had I never deny'd my Saviour nor been so black an Heir of Perdition I was so surprized at such kind of Expressions that I stood speechless for a considerable Time for having received the Character of a Person that had imbibed some atheistical Principles I little expected such a desperate Change but rather that I should have an hard Task of it to make him consider seriously of a future Life But so soon as I could recollect my self I said Sir I would desire you to take heed how you violate the Mercy of God and think so slightly of the Sufferings of Christ as if they were not sufficient for the Redemption of the greatest Sinner This may be a Delusion of the Devil who would now hinder you from Repentance and Faith in Christ I hope if I have convinc'd you of the Immortality of the Soul 't is to a good End for the way to cure a Distemper is first to know it if you had died ignorant of it you had been miserably undecived in another World whereas knowing it now you have an Opportunity and some time left to prepare for your welfare To which he repli'd As to the Mercy of God in Christ I once knew and tasted what they are which is now part of my Curse in that I am more sensible of the loss of them They are I will grant you sufficient to those that have any share in them but what 's that to me who have denied Christ Who have daily Crucified him afresh and put him to open shame The Devil has nothing to do with the Torture I undergo 't is no Delusion of his but the just Judgment of God upon me and your Convictions are also part of my heavy Judgment in that you have given me a sensible Horror of my Sin by proving my Soul immortal whereas had I gone streight to Hell in my old Damnable Opinions I had endured but one Hell whereas I now feel two I mean not only an inexpressible Torture which I carry in my Breast but an Expectation of I know not what a Change Oh that I were in Hell that I might feel the worst And yet I dread to Die because that worst will never have an end All that he spoke was with an Air of such horror and eagerness as can scarce be imagined indeed it had such Effects upon me that I knew not what to answer I trembled at the Judgment of and I remember I wisht within my self that one or two of the loosest Atheists in the Age had been there verily believing it would have put a stop to their Impiety The Gentleman was got to Bed refusing all Sustenance and sweating through Violence of his Torments in the most prodigious manner that ever I saw or heard of As soon as he was got to Bed I desired to pray by him before I took my Leave which with much Reluctance he consented to In the midst of Prayer he groaned extreamly tossing and turning himself as if he had been under the deepest Agonies of Death When Prayer was over I ask'd him how he did and why he groaned after such a rate in Prayer-time To which he answered As the Damned in Hell which lift up their Eyes in Torments and behold afar off the Saints in Abraham's Bosome have their Torments thereby doubly enhansed first by reflecting on their own Misery and then taking a prospect of the Beatifick Vision they have lost even so I who know my self to be hardned and sealed unto Damnation hearing the Prayers of the Righteous to which God Almighty's Ears are always open granting their Requests this encreases my Torments to think how I am excluded from such a priviledg and have no other Portion left me but Blaspheming Weeping aad Wailing and Gnashing of Teeth for ever Pray Sir said I Consider that there 's a vast deal of difference betwixt you and those that are in Hell they are lost irrevocably for ever-more without any opportunity of Reprieve or hopes of Pardon but you are yet alive and have Promises belonging to you in common with other Sinners Christ died for Sinners and God hath Sworn by himself that he delights not in the Death of a Sinner but rather that he should turn from his Wickedness and Live and that at what time soever a Sinner returneth from the Evil of his Ways he shall receive Pardon To which he reply'd with his usual earnestness I 'll grant you as much difference betwixt me and those that are in Hell as betwixt a Common Devil and a Devil Incarnate If these are irrevocably lost without opportunity of Reprieve or hopes of Pardon and I am yet alive what then what 's the Consequence not that the Promises belong to me in common with other Sinners nor to any Sinners but such as Repent and Believe If Christ dy'd for Sinners 't is for such as Repent and Believe but tho' I would I can do neither I have outstood my Day of Grace and am hardned and turned Reprobate If God delights not in the Death of Sinners 't is of such Sinners as repent and return unto him but his Justice will vindicate it self upon such obstinate perverse Sinners as I who have deny'd his Power and Providence both in my Words and Actions and now he has met with me for it and oh 't is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God If God was not against me I should not value it tho' all the Legions of Hell engaged me tho' all the Power and Malice of Men joined in one Complicated Body to study and exercise the utmost Barbarities that Flesh and Blood could inflict upon me but when an Angry Irreconcilable God looks upon his Creature in Wrath and consigns him over to his Eternal Vengeance and Fury this is intolerable inexpressibly afflicting and grievous Ah who can dwell in everlasting Burnings Oh ye that have any hope and have not yet past your Day of Grace Cry mightily to God Day and Night think no labour too much which secures you from the Wrath of God

are fallen dangerously ill and that it had a Melancholy Effect upon you I could not considering our stricter Friendship but endeavour at least the removal of those Evils your Mind may lie under which perhaps is an Office no less grateful than making your Body Sound and Vigorous Sickness and Death are the common Lot of Mankind and to Repine and Grieve at the bearing of this Lot is to Combat the Laws of Nature and Fight against Impossibilities what Wise Man Repines at the Heat in Summer or Cold in Winter or troubles himself that the Sun ever goes out of our Hemisphere all the Night-time a common Evil that every Body bears ceases to be an Evil because there 's no one has a better Fortune to compare with it and without comparison nothing can be said to be better or worse thus also a Good made common Palls into Indifferency from the same Reasons But perhaps your Melancholy suggests unto you that 't is a dismal thing to Launch out into an unknown Abyss to be you know not where nor what I Answer I dream sometimes of frightful things and the Idea's that I have of them impress as afflicting Resentments upon my Spirits as if they were real but when I awake all vanishes Thus if we will examine Death and its supposed Consequences by the Prejudices of a Melancholy and Distracted Brain we may be Miserable proportionable to the heighth of our Folly but if by our Reason we take a View of these Formidable Monsters they grow tame and familiar to us I would demand of him that asks me What Estate I shall be in after Death What Estate he was in before Life Pain and Pleasure will leave their Impressions upon a Human Spirit 't is as natural as Wax to receive the Impression of that Seal by which it is Sealed Therefore if I was either Happy or Miserable before I commenced Humanity I must still reatin some Impression of it but I now do neither therefore shall do neither hereafter I came out of a State of Nothingness and shall return into the same again as the Flame of an extinguished Candle dissolves and loseth it self in the Circumambient Air even so the Taper of Life vanishes into pure Aether and is no more when the Laws of the Vnion of the Soul and Body are violated and broken Death it self is nothing and after Death there 's nothing and why should I be afraid of nothing Take Courage Man and either Die like your self Master of your Fate and Happiness so long as it is to be kept or Recover and Live Worthy the Character of a Person that knows how either to Live or Die So wishes Your real Friend and Servant A. B. I had no sooner read this Letter through but he surpriz'd us all with repeated dismal Groans as if his Soul had been strugling under the last Throws of Separation We thought it not convenient to press for the Reason of it considering that Human Nature feels or at least supposes an Ease by complaining of the Evil it suffers and it happened according to our Expectations for at length he broke out into these afflicting Imprecations Cursed be the Day wherein I commenced such a fatal Friendship Oh unhappy Time when first I imbib'd these Atheistical Principles When first I exchanged the Christian Faith for the Creed of Spinoza and the Leviathan When first I relinquish'd all reveal'd Religion for the natural one and the last for none at all When casting his Eyes upon me he said I am not able to write an Answer to that Letter though I earnestly desire there should be one nor is it worth my while to get an Emanuensis for that purpose for I suppose I shall have no occasion to write any more I 'm also sensible that you might be better able to answer such a Letter than I and yet my present Circumstances are such I being not only a Party but the dismal subject a Matter my self that what comes from me may make a deeper impression upon the Spirit of my Friend than what comes from a strange Hand therefore you will oblige me if you will only lend me your Hand and let me dictate which I freely offering he ordered a Chair to be set on the other Side of the Bed thinking it convenient to be as secret and free from Noise and Diversion as possibly he could And then he proceeded SIR BEing not able to use my own I have borrowed another Hand to answer yours possibly I may subscribe my self You say well It s a gratefuller Office to endeavour to remove the Evils of the Mind than of the Body What you urge of the common Lot of Mankind as Death and Sickness I could wish it were my Case but mine alas is a discovery that I pay dearly for viz. That Despair and Hell is the common lot of Atheists Now your Arguments cannot reach my Case unless you first prove that Atheism is as inevitable as Death and Sickness and that therefore the effects of it are to be born patiently unless a Man will combat Necessity and fight against the Laws of Fate Your way of arguing is such as I have us'd my self formerly and I cannot but wonder now bow I could think it conclusive Perhaps I never indeed thought of that but was pleased with it because I wish'd it to be true and because I saw it my Interest that it should be so If you please I 'll just make a Reflection or two upon what you have writ and then give you my Sentiments of the whole matter You say That if we examine Death and its supposed Consequences by our Reason those formidable Monsters grow tame and familiar If by our Reason you mean either the peculiar Creed of Atheists or the common Reason of Human Nature I am sure those Monsters will be less tame and familiar the more you think of them for since no Reason discovers what an unexperienc'd death is or the unknown change consequent thereupon how can we judg of things that we know not Reason as long as you please upon things that you are ignorant of and at last you will be as far from Truth and Satisfaction if not farther than when you first began like him that demanded a considerable Time to tell what God was and when that was expired he demanded yet a greater and being ask'd why he did so he replyed the more he thought the less he knew of him It might have been retorted on him though the same History gives no account of it Why then did he petition for means of greater Ignorance and Confusion Your Argument is extream weak about a pre-existent and future State viz. I retain no impression of Happiness or Misery that I had in a pre-existent State therefore shall retain none in a future State How that 's a consequence in any Rules of Logick I see not Next you would have me believe upon your bare Word That Death is nothing and that after Death there