Selected quad for the lemma: death_n
Text snippets containing the quad
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A81262
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The case is altred [sic]: both thy case, and my case, and every mans case. With a direction for a speedy present way to make every thing dog-cheap.
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1649
(1649)
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Wing C869; Thomason E556_9; ESTC R205762
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4,363
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8
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The Case is altred BOTH THY CASE AND MY Case and every mans Case With a direction for a speedy present way to make every thing Dog-cheap Printed in the Yeare 1649. The case is altered THere are as many Cases as there are living creatures the cases of our bodies are our skinnes and the case of our souls is our bodies And as a leaden sword may have a golden scabbard or a woodden dagger a velvet sheath so many a faire rich case covers a foule poore carcasse and many a beautifull outside is the case of a treacherous inside for Lucifer was a bright Angell Saul a goodly Personage Absolon faire and Jezabell of rare and painted exquisite beauty These were once in very good or great places and cases as many thousands more have been But the Pride of one made him a Devil the disobedience of the other made him a cast away and desperately kill himself the Rebellion of the third purchast him a self casuall hanging by the haire of his head and loud crying murther was repayed to the fourth a murdresse for she was eaten up by dogs So that with them the cases or case was strangely altered To take the words of my Title in order as they lie First THE the words THE CASE doth impart the onely one main Case as much as to say THE CASE of most concernment and consequence IS ALTERED for as a Bible is a book so THE Bible is the book of books to which in comparison all other books are but Pamphlets or as he that calls to his servant to fetch him a Cloak or his Cloak may perhaps have more Cloaks then one but he that calls for THE CLOAKE it is to be supposed hath no more but one The Athenians were great Idolaters and they erected Altars to a great many ungodly gods but onely one Altar had the Inscription upon it To THE UNKNOWN GOD That God was is and will be everlastingly THE GOD He changeth not nor is ever to have so much as a shadow of change or alteration but with all things mortall The case is altered Is the word sayes not was or will be altered But is in the present Tense which denotes unto us the continuall attendance of our changing Mutability The case was altered with the foure Monarchies of the world from the Assyrians to the Persians from the Persians to the Grecians from the Greeks to the Romanes and from the Romanes almost no whither This Kingdome of England hath had its case six times altered First it was conquered by the Bryttains Secondly by the Romanes Thirdly by the Saxons Fourthly by the Danes Fiftly by the Normanes and lastly for want of a forreigne enemy we have made a shift to warre without a foe whereby we have most courteously conquered one another insomuch that there is scarce any one house name family or person either of the Royall Party or the present Army or a Party but may truly say the Case is altered It is to be noted that all those great men who had any hand in the killing of Julius Cesar in hope to destroy Monarchie did afterwards murther themselves or die violent and untimely deaths the fruits of their attempts were frustrated Monarchie was remounted and their Cases altered When Great and Good Families are Metamorphosed into beggars and knaves and beggars raised to high preferments and rich fortunes a man may think though he dare not say that with both these sorts of people the case is strangely altered It may be imagined that all England is transformed into one entire Bedlam or habitation of mad folks all are not either as they would or should be no one is fully contented and most of them will never be satisfied they com plain of want they grumble at scareity and cut of their Lunacie or Frensie in this time of plenty would make us believe every thing is deare when it is onely a meere fantasie of the brain a Whirligigge in the mind e a squinting or misty vapour before the eyes a meere deceptio visûs or delusion of the sight which so far stupifies and plunders our wits and senses that we neither feel our comforts or see our happinesse Is it not strange that Wheat should be three shillings the Bushell and we are so madly blind that we cannot see it and foolishly dream that we pay ten or eleven shillings for it Coals very good sea coals at three pence the Bushell at Castela Nova and we talk idly that we have lately paid two shillings foure pence the Bushell with other high prices but we have eaten Charvill which hath the vertue and operation to make folks think that every one thing they see is either double treble or foure times more then it was wont to be It is not perceived that so many fast dayes and dayes of Humiliation have brought down the Price of flesh more then Hecatombes of Popish Lents or Ember weeks could have done all the Vigills or superstitious Eves of Saints the nice observation of them did formerly raise meat to very high rates whereas the suppressing of them hath brought such a cheapnesse amongst us that any one that will buy the best Beef 〈◊〉 may have a stone for ten pence and all other things except Butter and green Geese are as a man may say dog cheap There is a Cook that dwells in long Acre two or three houses from the Globe Taverne that dreamed he sold a shoulder of Mutton and a Calves head with no Bacon for eighteen Shillings on Monday the 22 of April last the Cook believes and dare swear it true and I thought it very necessary for the honour of our Lords of misrule and Masters of mischief to declare to the world what cheapnesse and plenty we are brought to by Divisions and Distractions by which extraordinary happines we may believe as a great many simpletons do that the Case of three great Kingdomes is in a manner altered But it is beyond the thoughts and Apprehensions of all wise men here and beyond Sea That true borne English men Loyall Subjects and professed Protestants would ever so farre degenerate from their profession of fearing of God or their Allegeance towards their Lawfull Soveraigne being a Protestant as to hunt him up and down to and fro to every County of England to deprive him of all Earthly comforts to scandall him with venemous Tongues and pens in Pulpits and written and Printed Libells and weekly occurrences and Roguish Pamphlets To mock him with a Treaty and when Peace was agreed on to cut His throat at his own doore to share all His houses goods Lands Jewells and whole estate to dishinherit Root and Branch all the Royall posterity to starve all the Kings Servants such as did never bear Armes but attend onely on his person according to their Oathes and duties Me thinks it is impossible for any men to be so Divelish mad to do all these things with many more vertuous actions but I cannot be so sottishly
frantick to believe other wise but that we all are in a dream for it is beyond all beliefe or example that Christians English men Protestants and true Subjects would or could be so farre deprived of Grace Wisdome Understanding Wit Sense or common Capacity as wilfully headlong to precipitate themselves into such and so many Temporall and Eternall dangers as such horrid designes must necessarily produce But these are onely mad dreams as may be fancied with no more shew of truth amongst honest men except such as either saw or feele the miseries and mischiefs then it is for a great Earl to degenerate so farre as to be a Knight of a Shire or a Lord Major to descend lower then to the office of an Headborough or Tithingman Charity is a most heavenly vertue her chiefest delight being still to be doing of good and in relâ—eving the necessities and wants of the needy true Charity is never idle and because she shall not want work there are fresh and new beggers made every day but the Proverb sayes Charity should begin at home but where her home is is a very hard and cold enquiry It is to be imagined that she is well esteemed and much made of in the House of Commons at Westminster for their weekly Historians and Chronologers of their most Honourable Acts and Monuments do week-ly moderate-ly and perfect currant-ly set forth their abundant love of Charity for a great part of their Pamphlets do frequently devoutly and palpably declare the care and pains there taken for the speedy relief of the poore and the further encrease of Beggers for the Kingdomes honour the humiliation of the Malignant Party and the exercise of Charity But suppose there were a dearth dearnesse and scarcity of food fewell and other things which are the Preservers and maintainers of our Lives yet there is a speciall provident speedy way to avoid a sudden famine to procure a present plentie And it is a wonder that our State-Pollitians have not long agoe put it in practise for it would make them to be more honoured for so charitable a worke then for all the good that ever they have done since their first sitting and thus it is First if they would consider the great number of Malignants and the many thousands that are sequestrated amongst all which innumerable numbers with their Families their oppressours have not one friend amongst them all They with their Children Wives Kinsfolks Friends and Allies cannot be fewer then a million of mouths and those mouths do eat and feed every day upon such meat as the Godly Parliament and sanctified Army should have and seeing they are deprived of their livelyhood and means of subsistence to live It is as just to cut their throats and take away their lives and by so doing stop so many mouths at once from eating and this is one way to stay abundance of Sâ—oâ—nacks and to bring down the price of victualls suddenly besides it will raise more money for the State and Army by making quick Sale of such small possessions of Lands and Goods which as yet all those whom they are pleased to call Malignants and Delinquents do live poorely upon Secondly if they would be pleased to hang all the Whores and Whore-masters in the Kingdome and that a Committee be appointed for that purpose And further that the ingenious Harry Martin may be Chaireman to the said Committee And also if they please they may take all the drunkards loyterers and idle vagabonds and thieves Sectaries knaves and Levellers into the bargain Thirdly they may do as the Canniball Brasilians do in America kill all the old folks men and women of all degrees who by reason of their decrepit impotency weaknes and encombrances of old age are but a chargeable pestring and trouble to the State and little or no pleasure to themselves and when they have killed them they may eat them as the Canniballs do Fourthly they may hang up all the Beggars male and female old and young blind lame deaf and dumb this is a piece of Charity for it is better to hang then starve besides it will be no losse to the State for they can at their pleasure make Beggers at any time or at all times more then a good many Fifthly they may play the part of Herod not to destroy males of two yeares old and under But to dispatch all the females which are not seven years of age for the feminine exceeds the masculine seven to one and the Girles outvie the boyes more then treble in number and all those toyes do eat and drink daily and help to make every thing deare It may be considered that men have more wayes to dy then naturall deaths but for the most part women do seldome dy by any casualty of warre either by Sea or Land as men do for if the women do fight at any time it is but a kind of Billingsgate Battell with tongue and nailes scolding and scratching and those conflicts are seldome mortall Lastly if they would hang up all the Rebells and Traitours or all the Enemies of the late King it would be much available for the saving of dinners and suppers but if they will do none of these things for the good of the Common-wealth then they are humbly desired to hang themselves for the case of the Kingdome FINIS