Selected quad for the lemma: england_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
england_n	france_n	great_a	king_n	26,882	5	4.1773	3	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A44641	The character of a trimmer concerning religion, laws and liberties by a person of honour, Mss. H.	Halifax, George Savile, Marquis of, 1633-1695.; Coventry, William, Sir, 1628?-1686.	1689 (1689)	Wing H299; ESTC R40539	43,903	47

Liberties Then the several varities of Arguments used by France in several Countries is very observable In England and Denmark nothing is insisted on but the Greatness and Authority of the Crown On the other side the great Men in Poland are commended who differ in Opinion with the King and they argue like kind Friends to the priviledges of the Diet against the separate Power of the Crown In Sweden they are something troubled that the King should have changed somethings there of late by his ●ingle Authoritie from the Ancient and settled Constitution At Ratisbone his most Christian Majestie taketh the Liberties of all the Electors and free States into his immediate protection and telleth them the Emperor is a dangerous Man an aspiring Hero that would infallibly devour them if he was not at hand to resist him in their behalf But above all in Holland he hath the most oblidging tenderness for the Common wealth and is in such Disquiets lest it should be invaded by the Prince of Orange that they can do no less in gratitude than to undoe themselves when he biddeth to shew how sensible they are of his good Nature Yet in spite of all these Contradictions there are in the World such very refin'd States Men as will upon their Credit affirm the following paradoxes to be real Truths First That France alone is sincere and keepeth its Faith and consequently that it is the only Friend we can rely upon That the King of France of all Men living hath the lest mind to be ● Conqueror That he is a sleepy Tame Creature void of all Ambition a poor kind of a Man that hath no further thought than of being quiet That he is charmed by his Friendship to Us that it is impossible he should ever do us hurt And therefore tho Flanders was lost it should not in the least concern Us. That he would fain help the Crown of England to be Absolute which would be to take pains to put Us in a condition to oppose him as it is and must be our interest as long as he continues in such an overballancing greatness Such a Creed as this if once received might prepare our Belief for greater things And as he that taught Men to eat a Dagger began first with a Pen knife so if We can be prevailed with to digest these smaller mistakes we may at last make our Stomacks strong enough for that of Transubstantiation Our Trimmer cannot easily be converted out of his Senses by these State Sophisters and yet he hath no such peevish obstinacy as to reject all Correspondence with France because We ought to be apprehensive of the too great power of it He would not have the Kings Friendship to the Confederates extend to the involving him in any unreasonable or dangerous Engagements neither would he have him lay aside the Considerations of his better Establishment at home out of an excessive zeal to secure his Allies Abroad But sure there might be a mean between the two opposite Extremes and it may be wished that our Friendship with France should at least be so bounded that it may consist with the Honour as well as with the Interest of England There is no Woman but hath her Fears of contracting too great an Intimacie with a much greater Beauty because it exposed her too often to a comparison that is not advantagious to her and sure it may become a Prince to be as Jealous of his Digntty as a Lady ●an be of her good Looks and be as much out of countenance to be thought an humble Companion to so much a greater power to be alwayes seen in such an ill Light to be so darkned by the brightness of a greater Star is somewhat Mortifying And when England might Ride Admiral at the Head of the Confederates to look like an Kitchin Yaught to the Grand Lewis is but a scurvy Figure for us to make in the Mapp of Christendom it would rise upon our Trimmers stomach if ever which God forbid the power of Calling and Intermitting Parliaments here should be transferred to the Crown of France and that all the opportunities of our Settlements at Home should give way to their Degsins and Projects Abroad and that our Interest should be so far sacrificed to our humour that all the Omnipotence of France can never make us full amends for it In the mean time he shrinketh at the dismal Prospect he can by no means drive away from his thoughts that when France hath gathered all the Fruit arising from our mistakes and that we can bear no more they they will cut down the Tree and throw it into the fire All this while some Superfine Statesmen to comfort us would fain perswade the world that this or that Accident may save us and all which is or ought to be dear to us would have us rely meerly upon Chance not considering that Fortune is Wisdoms ●reature and that God Almighty loveth to be on the wisest as well as on the strongest side Therefore this is such a miserable shift such a shameful Evasion that they would be laughed to death for it if the ruining consequence of this Mistake did not more dispole men to the Rage and detestation of it Our Trimmer is far from Idolatry in other things and in one thing only he cometh somewhat near it his Countrey is in some Degree his Idol He doth not Worship the Sun because it is not Peculiar to us it ram●leth about the World and is less kind to us then it is to other Countries but for the ●arth of England tho perhaps inferiour to many places Abroad to him there is Divinitie in it and he had rather die then see a Spi●e of English grass trampled upon by a Forreign Grashopper He thinketh that there are a great many of his Mind for all Plants are not to taste of the soil in which they grow and we that grow here have a root that produceth in us a stock of English juice which is not to be changed by Grafting or Forreign In●usion and I do not know whether any thing less will prevail then the Modern experiment by which the Blood of one Creature is Transmitted into another according to which before the French Blood can be let into our Bodies every drop of our own must be drawn out of them Our Trimmer cannot but lament that by a Sacrifice too great for one Nation to make to another we should live like a rich Mine made useless for want only of being wrought and that the life and vigor which should move us against our Enemies is miserably applyed to tear our own Bowels That being made by our happy situation not only safer but if we please greater too then Countries which far exceed us in Extent that having Courage by Nature Learning by Indust●y Riches by Trade we should corrupt all those advantages so as to make them insignificant and by a fatality which seemeth peculiar to us misplace our active rage one