Selected quad for the lemma: death_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
death_n	eternal_a	life_n	word_n	8,769	5	4.5336	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A18100	The ansvvere of Master Isaac Casaubon to the epistle of the most reuerend Cardinall Peron. Translated out of Latin into English. May 18. 1612; Ad epistolam illustr. et reverendiss. Cardinalis Perronii, responsio. English	Casaubon, Isaac, 1559-1614.	1612 (1612)	STC 4741; ESTC S107683	37,090	54

be bound with any peremptorie necessitie of vsing the same For he holdeth Necessarie and Indifferent to be of a contrarie nature But of these more largely in the Obseruation following THE THIRD OBSERVATION SEeing in the matter of religion there is more then one kinde of necessitie we must take heed when we speake of things necessarie to saluation that we be not deceined with the ambiguitie of the tearme For there is necessitie absolute and vpon condition a necessitie of the meane and of the precept There is also a necessitie of beleeuing which bindeth all Christians without exception and another which doth not generally binde all Lastly there is a necessitie of action and a necessitie of approbation HIS MAIESTIES ANSVVERE THe doctrine in this Obseruation wherein the diuers kinds of necessitie are learnedly and very accurately declared his excellent Maiestie is so farre from disliking that on the contrarie he thinketh if these distinctions be taken away a manifold confusion would follow in matters of religion For what can be thought more dangerous then that things absolutely necessarie should be held as necessarie only vpon condition or contrariwise and that other distinction which serueth for the right and orderly disposition of all things in the house of God is no lesse profitable Likewise in your examples his Maiesty obserueth nothing greatly to be disallowed But in your explication of things absolutely necessarie hee commendeth the truth of that speech that there is no great number of those things which be absolutely necessarie to saluation Wherefore his Maiestie thinketh that there is no more compendious way to the making of peace then that things necessarie should be diligently separated from things not necessarie that all endeuours might be spent about the agreement in the necessarie and as touching the not necessarie that a Christian libertie might bee granted Simply necessarie his Maiestie calleth those things which the word of God expressely chargeth to bee beleeued or practised or which the ancient Church by necessarie consequence hath drawne out of the word of God But such things which out of the institution of men although with a religious wise intent yet besides the word of God were receiued and vsed of the Church for a time those he thinketh may be chāged or relaxed or abolished And as Pope Pius the second said of the single life of the Clergie that there was good right in times past to ordaine it but now there is better to disanull it his Maiestie thinkes that the same speech may be vsed in generall of the most Ecclesiasticall obseruations which are brought into the Church without any precept of Gods word If this distinction were vsed for the deciding of the controuersies of these times and if men would ingenuously make a difference betwixt diuine and positiue law it seemes that amongst godly and moderate men touching things absolutely necessarie there would bee no long or bitter cōtention For both as I said euen now they are not many and they are almost equally allowed of by all which challenge the name of Christian And his excellent Maiestie doth hold this distinction to be of such moment for the diminishing of controuersies which at this time doe so vexe the Church of God that he iudgeth it the dutie of all such as bee studious of peace diligently to explane it to teach it to vrge it Now will we addresse our selues to speak of some examples which are proposed in this Obseruation Amongst the things absolutely necessarie yet not simply but in respect of diuine institution you reckon the baptisme of infants which wee say you doe referre vnto this kinde of necessitie Afterwards you bring a place out of S. Augustine wherein the possibilitie of saluation of children not baptised is precisely denied Here first his Maiestie professeth that himself and the Church of England doe allow the necessitie of baptisme in respect of diuine institution as wel as you The Church of England doth not binde the grace of God to the meanes which is contrarie euen to the doctrine of the better sort of schoolemen yet because God hath appointed this for the ordinarie way to obtaine remission of sins in his Church and Christ himselfe denieth the entrance into the kingdom of heauen to those which are not borne againe of water and the Spirit therefore it is carefully prouided heere by the Ecclesiasticall lawes that parents may haue baptisme for their children at any time or place Wherefore that which Tertullian saith of the primitiue Church that Bishops Priests and Deacons did baptise and lastly that the same was lawfull for lay men also in case of extreame necessitie the same as concerning Bishops Priests and Deacons is at this day practised in the Church of England without any rigid or inuiolable obseruation of whatsoeuer time or place But for the baptisme of lay men or women as by the lawes of the Church it is forbidden to be done so being done according to the lawfull forme in a manner it is not disallowed the Church pronouncing it to be baptisme although not lawfully administred But his excellent Maiesty doth so highly esteeme of this Sacrament that when some Ministers in Scotland pretending I know not what ordinances of new discipline refused vpon the desire of the parents to baptise infants readie to die he compelled them to this dutie with feare of punishment threatning no lesse then death if they disobeyed Wherefore the words of S. Augustine which doe precisely exclude the not baptised from eternall life if they be vnderstood of the ordinary way thither and the only way that Christ hath taught vs his Maiestie hath nothing to obiect against that opinion but if it be simply denied that almightie God can saue those which die vnbaptised his Maiestie and the Church of England abhorring the crueltie of that opinion doe affirme that S. Augustine was an vnnaturall and hard father vnto infants Vndoubtedly his Maiestie thinketh that both these extreames are with the like care to be eschewed lest if wee embrace this rigid sentence we abbreuiate the power of God and offer wrong to his infinit goodnesse or whilest as some doe we reckon baptisme amongst such things the hauing or forgoing whereof is not much materiall wee should seeme to make light of so precious a Sacrament and holy ordinance of God S. Augustine was a worthie man of admirable pietie and learning yet his priuate opinions his Maiestie alloweth not as articles of faith neither doe you allowe them for example Saint Augustine beleeued as did Innocentius the first before him that the receiuing of the blessed Eucharist by infants was no lesse necessarie to their saluation then baptisme and this he auoucheth in many places of his writings yet you beleeue it not neither hath the Church of England changed this point of doctrine which she receiued from you Amongst those things which impose necessitie of action vpon some persons you number mariage Siquis sobolem tollere voluerit If any

reckon it amongst the mysteries and indeed the Eucharist is a mysterie the remainders whereof should be consumed with fire That is as the fathers doe elegantly vnderstand it which should be adored by faith not debated by reason This is the saith of the King this is the faith of the Church of England Who that I may summarily comprise the whole matter doe beleeue that in the Supper of the Lord they are made really partakers of the bodie and blood of Christ as the Greeke Fathers speake and as Bellarmine himselfe confesseth spiritually For by faith they apprehend and eate Christ and they belecue that there is no other kind of eating profitable to saluation which all your men also haue confessed To the second Instance concerning the sacrifice in the Christian Church HIs Maiestie is not ignorant neither doth he denie that in place of the manifold sacrifices of the Mosaicall law the ancient Fathers did acknowledge one sacrifice in the Christian religion But this he auoucheth to be nothing else but the commemoration of that sacrifice which Christ did once offer to his Father vpon the crosse Therefore S. Chrysostome which maketh mention of this sacrifice as oft as any vpon the ninth chapter of the Epistle to the Hebrewes after he hath called it a sacrifice straightwaies adioyneth by way of explication or correction or rather commemoration of that sacrifice That tearme or rather what force it hath you know very well And often hath the Church of England protested that they would not contend about the word so they might obtaine of you to haue the ancient saith restored And that these things which you practise contrarie to the custome of the ancient Church might be abolished For it is certaine that the celebration of the Eucharist without any communicants and all that merchandise of priuate Masses condemned by many of your owne Diuines tooke their originall from the peruerse doctrine concerning this sacrifice And whereas for the deliuering of the soules of the deceased from the flames of Purgatorie the necessitie of many Masses is vrged his Maiestie doubteth not but that this is a dotage of idle braines and such as for their owne gaine doe wickedly abuse the simplicitie of the people Remoue those and the like grosse and soule abuses which raigne amongst you the Church of England which in her Liturgie maketh expresse mention of a sacrifice can be well content to rest in the custome of the ancient Church Wherefore his excellent Maiestie being lately informed that not long agoe at a famous assemblie of Dominican Friers you disputed learnedly concerning a double sacrifice of Expiation and of Commemoration or religion hath affirmed in the hearing of many that he approued that distinction and commandeth me now to signifie so much vnto you To the third Instance of prayer for the dead THat it was a very ancient custome in the publike prayers of the Church to make commemoration of the deceased and to desire of God rest for their soules which died in the peace of the Church few are ignorant much lesse is it vnknowne vnto his Maiestie Neither is there any doubt but that this custome sprung from a vehement affection of charitie Likewise the ancient Church hereby gaue testimonie of the resurrection to come This custome although the Church of England condemneth not in the first ages yet she thinketh not good to retaine it now for diuers and weightie causes some whereof I will touch heere First because she is verely perswaded that without any precept of Christ the supreme Lawgiuer of his Church this custome was introducted neither could the contrarie hitherto bee demonstrated by any of your Doctors Wherfore although his Maiesty doth not take vpon him as he hath protested in his Monitorie epistle to condemne an ordinance which is approued by the practise of the ancient Church yet he is vndoubtedly perswaded that his Church is not bound by any necessitie to obserue it For whatsoeuer the ancient Christian Fathers haue done on this part all that his Maiestie reserreth vnto the head of things profitable or lawfull of which wee haue spoken in the second obseruation neither can it be prooued that this custome is to be referred vnto those things which are of absolute necessitie For whence should this necessitie spring not from the law of God for he neuer commanded it and if it flow not from that fountaine it is no necessitie For wee haue alreadie laid this ground that nothing ought to be accounted necessarie to saluation which is not either expressely contained in Gods word or thence by necessarie consequence deducted And wee haue declared that such things as the ancient Church beleeued or practised without necessitie the same ought now also to be left with libertie vnto vs. A second reason is that although his Maiestie acknowledgeth the authors of this custome to haue been very ancient yet no man hitherto could proue that such was the vse in the beginning and in the Apostolike times which is the fountaine of all antiquitie in the Church Besides that the prayers then vsed doe much differ both in their end and manner from these which are now practised and taught A third reason is added by his Maiestie that when once prayer for the dead tooke place amongst Church rites not long after a rout of shamefull errours and doting superstitions did band together and breake into the Church Now let indifferent arbitratours iudge to whom the name of Catholike should be denied whether to the King and his subiects which by reason of errours ensuing haue left off or thinke it not lawfull to vse a custome grounded vpon no necessitie or to your men which by sophisticall cauillations and incredible obstinacie had rather maintaine then reforme all the errors of former ages though neuer so grosse and pernicious To the fourth Instance concerning the inuocation of Saints COncerning the inuocation of Saints his Maiesties answere is the same with his former touching prayers for the dead From a small beginning as all men know it grew to such greatnesse that in former ages and I wish it were not so now in many places Christian people haue put more confidence and hope of present aide in Saints then ô horrible impietie in our Sauiour himselfe who being in the forme of God that he might bring saluation vnto vs which were his enemies did emptie himselfe by taking the forme of a seruant and humbled himselfe being obedient vnto death euen the death of the crosse And when this blessed Sauiour according to his neuer enough admired goodnesse and clemencie doth inuite miserable sinners with these sweete words of his Gospell Come vnto me all you that are wearie and heauie laden and I will refresh you yet some haue endeuoured by the peruersnes of their wit to frustrate this gracious inuitation and painting Christ who is our onely Aduocate to God the Father alwaies terrible and vnmercifull they would perswade poore soules that there is no way