Selected quad for the lemma: england_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
england_n	abandon_v	emperor_n	great_a	27	3	2.6985	3	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A34208	Concubinage and poligamy disprov'd, or, The divine institution of marriage betwixt one man, and one woman only, asserted in answer to a book, writ by John Butler, B.D. for which he was presented as follows : We the grand jury, sworn to enquire for the body of the city of London, on Wednesday, the first day of December, 1697, present one John Butler, for writing and publishing a wicked pamphlet : wherein he maintains concubinage to be lawful, and which may prove very destructive to divers families, if not timely suppress'd.		1698 (1698)	Wing C5714; ESTC R1558	49,472	113

to what our Author says is allowed at Rome and in some Reform'd States tho there be none of the latter charg'd with any such thing but Holland it 's no warrant for any Mans Conscience For the Sixty Sixth of those called the Apostolical Canons Ordering that any Person who destour'd a Virgin should either Marry her or have no other Wife during her Life It is nothing to his purpose but rather against Poligamy and Concubinage As to his Instances of Constantinus Chlorus and Constantine the Greats having Concubines and being receiv'd by the Christians into places of Authority notwithstanding It 's Forreign to his purpose the Christians were Subject to former Emperours who were the worst and lendest of Men it not being i● their Power to hinder or advance them at that time and whatever was the Practice of the Christians then If they either committed Fornication themselves or Countenanc'd it in others they did thereby Act contrary to the truly Apostolical Canons Act. 15. Commanding them to abstain from Fornication and the repeated Injunctions of the Apostles to flee Fornication which properly signifies as has been already prov'd uncleanness us'd by unmarried Persons and as for Adultery or defiling the Marriage Bed which the said Princes must have been guilty of by their Concubinage it 's every where Condemned by God and Man tho the Christians in those times might perhaps neither have Power nor think it prudent to quarrel with those Emperours that were but just then beginning to see the Dawn of the Gospel Light which utterly Condemns all such things Nor can our Author make it appear but they reprov'd them as well as one of our Bishops did Henry VIII and yet the Protestants did not think fit neither to quarrel with his own Title to the Crown nor those of his Successors tho perhaps there might have been good Reason to Question Queen Marys Legittimacy and yet our Author knows that the Church of England neither approves of Concubinage Incest nor Adultery So false and inconcludent is his Argument Besides our Author Conceals that Constantius Chlorus was no declared Christian tho a Great Favourer of 'em and that he was forc'd to abandon Helena and Marry Theodora Step Daughter to the Emperor Maximianus Hercules who thereupon made him Caesar Nor does he take any notice of Constantine the Greats being Married very young to Minervina when it is not certain that he made profession of the Christian Religion nor yet when he Married Fausta Daughter to the Emperour Maximian one of the Greatest haters of the Christians that ever was Neither does he take notice of the Plague that this wretch'd Woman Fausta was to him for being enamoured on his Son Crispus by Minervina and not obtaining her end she accus'd him of a design to Debauch her for which his Father put him to Death but understanding the Falsehood of the Accusation afterwards he put her to Death too so disastrous were the effects of his Poligamy As to Valentinian the Emperor he was passionate in anger even to Madness and probably as Extravagant in his Amours the Story is very well known that his passion to see the Empire Insulted by such an ugly deform'd Barbarous People as the Quadi made him fall into such a fit of anger as that it kill'd him so that he is no very commendable Pattern to be followed Neither does Mr. Butler take any notice that God did not bless the Marriage of Valentinian with Justina his Wifes Maid for she became a Cursed Arrian and his Grandson Valentinian by Galla her Daughter became a cruel Persecutor of the Orthodox Valentinian did also make a Law in Imitation of his own Practice as Mr. Butler Writes in Defence of his that any Man might Marry two Wives but succeeding Emperors would not allow it the Honour of being put into the Code Nor do I believe the Universities will Honour Mr. Butlers Pamphlet with a place in any of their Libraries As to his false pretence of Concubinage or Poligamies being allowed by the Primitive Church it is so gross it needs no Confutation Any Man that has read the Apologies of Tertullian Clemens Alexandrinus Origen against Celsus or any thing of Ecclesiastical History will find the contrary and for such as cannot have the opportunity of perusing those Authors themselves I refer them to the Account of what they said on that Head given by the Author of Gods Judgments against Whoring at the End of that Book Our Authors last effort is p. 34. Where he proposes a Reformed Concubinage to these Realms for preventing the Ruine of Royal Noble and Generous Families and as an honest help to destroy those foul and crying Sins of Whoredom and Adultery which Ruine Kingdoms as well as Families His Arguments to back this Proposal are that had it not been for Concubinage King Solomon had utterly fail'd of that Royal Raco whence Jesus Christ Lineally descended That if Alexander the Scot had used a Concubin an Heir of his Body might have prevented those dreadful Wars betwixt Bruce and Baliol for that Crown That if Richard the II. had been allowed an Heir by a Concubine the War betwixt the Houses of Lancaster and York had been prevented which at last was not ended but by a Son sprung from a Bed of Concubinage He concludes thus Happy was that Concubinage of Robert the II. of Scotland which advised to by a Parliament of that Nation gave Birth to that Family of the Stuarts which have made both England and Scotland exceeding happy and being grafted into the Family of the Welch Teudors of the Royal Blood of England another Family sprang from a Bed of Concubinage are to this day reigning over both Kingdoms Which if so let no Man by Corrupt and Vnlawful Customs go about to stain the Legitimacy of such a Race of Princes as both England and Scotland have Reason to remember with Praise and Thanksgiving to God especially for Charles the I. of Blessed and Never-dying Memory the Gracious Gift of God for whose blessed sake Good Things may justly be expected in time both unto his Royal Race and these his Kingdoms And thus much may serve in Vindication of this Respondent for Bedding with Mary Tomkins Our Author here as every where else hath discover'd himself to be a Physitian of no Value for if they may be call'd so who prescribe a Remedy worse than the Disease then certainly he deserves that Title Suffering is always preferable to Sin and it 's better that Ten Thousand Families should be Extinguish'd than that any one Man should run the risk of his Soul to keep them up Mr. Butler's Passion for Concubinage doth so effectually blind him that he can't see an Inch b●fore his Nose for had he but look'd into that very Instance of Robert Stuart's Concubinage he might havd seen what Buchanan the Scotch Historian says concerning it viz. Quae res postea tam numerosam familiam prope Extinxit i. e. Which Affair had well-nigh extinguish'd