Selected quad for the lemma: ground_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
ground_n	world_n	write_n	write_v	37	3	5.0493	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A65709	Aonoz tez kisteōz, or, An endeavour to evince the certainty of Christian faith in generall and of the resurrection of Christ in particular / by Daniel Whitbie, chaplain to the Right Reverend Father in God, Seth, Lord Bishop of Sarum ...	Whitby, Daniel, 1638-1726.	1671 (1671)	Wing W1731; ESTC R37213	166,618	458

that for such which they believed not to be so they being Men whose Holy Lives as well as Sufferings made a full proof of their exact Integrity If neither they could universally conspire to effect this thing nor can it be suspected that Providence should suffer them to do a thing so contrary to its great design of love unto Mankind If lastly it is morally impossible that since the second Century those Writings should be either forged or accidentally corrupted in matters of concern and moment they must remain sufficient Records of the Christian Faith Corol. Hence it follows That those Writings must be the very Works of those Apostles and Evangelists whose Names they bear since no Man could pretend they were so had they not really been such but they must put a cheat upon the World and substitute their own Inventions for the Word of God Indeed they have been handed down for such by a more general Tradition and of a firmer Credit then any of those Books of Virgil Cicero or Martial which we indisputably own as theirs For it was a Tradition of the whole 12 Christian World which owned and cited and received them for such from the Apostles days as is apparent from the Epistles of St Clement Barnabas Ignatius Polycarp the Works of Irenaeus and Justin Martyr whil'st others which pretended to the same Original were universally rejected by them Besides they did attest them so to be by many Sufferings which they had no Temptation to endure besides the truth of their Assertion and many Wonders to confirm their Testimony It was a Tradition which concern'd things of the highest moment and which it was their greatest Interest to be well assured of they being the sole ground and matter of their support at present under the sharpest Tryals and of their future hopes and therefore Writings they were concern'd to get and hear and read and keep Books written to whole Churches Nations yea the whole 13 World of Christians who could not have received them easily had the Apostles by whom they were at first converted given no Intimations of them Books of the greatest opposition against the Superstition both of Jews and of Gentiles and which denounced against them the greatest Plagues and Judgments such as obliged them to search as much as it was possible into the Truth of what they said And yet these Books were not denyed to be the very Works of those Apostles and Evangelists whose Names they bare Books which no cheat could be concern'd to forge nor could obtain that belief which was not due to them without the greatest Forgery Books which could not be spread abroad as they were in the Apostles Names whil'st they were living unless the Apostles had Endited them nor be esteemed as if they were the greatest Charter of the Christian Faith and the Apostles be so forgetful of them as not to let those Persons know it for whose sake they were written Books which pretended to a Commission from the Holy Jesus to leave a rule of Life and Doctrine to Mankind which was intrusted in the Hands of none but the Apostles and Evangelists all others still pretending to deliver what they received from them Lastly They being written partly to confirm and to ascertain to us the story of Christs Birth Life Passion Resurrection and partly to engage us to believe partly to put an end to Contentions and rectifie those Errors which had crept into the Church in the Apostles days and which did need a speedy Reformation partly to justifie themselves against false Brethren and to assert the Truth of their Apostleship and partly to preserve their Proselytes from such as did pervert the Faith and partly to instruct them how to bear up in Fiery Tryals and to support the Soul under those Miserie 's the Christians suffered and therefore on those Grounds which did require their quick dispatch on that Errand and to those Churches unto which they did intend them it is evident the Apostles must intend that early notice should be given of them and so accordingly commit them to their new-born Proselytes and Babes in Christ and so the Records of our Saviour his Life Death Resurrection Miracles must be divulged throughout Iudea whil'st the far greater part of Men were able to disprove them if they had been false ANNOTATIONS On the 4th Chapter 1. TErtullian tels us Percurre Ecclesias Apostolicas apud quas ipsae authenticae earum literae recitantur sonantes vocem repraesentantes uniuscujusque 2 Collected and consigned by S. John Veteres narrant Johannem Asiaticarum Ecclesiarum rogatu Germanum Scripturae Canoncm constituisse Euseb 3 Those many wavering Spirits nutant enim plurimi maximè qui literarum aliquid attigerunt Lact. l. 5. c. 1. 4 Those Hereticks who upon other motives did renounce the greater part of the New Test Cerinthus allowed only the Gospel of S. Mark Valentinus only that of S. John Iren. l. 3. c. 11. Marcion onely that of Luke Tertul. cont Marcio c. 4. Epiph. Haeres 42. Iren. l. 3. c. 11. the Ebionites rejected all the Epistles of S. Paul and embraced only the Gospel of the Nazarites 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Orig. in Cels p. 274. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Euseb Hist Eccl. l. 3. c. 27. vid. Valesium in locum Ejusdem farinae erant Severiani Tatiani ex quibus conflati sunt Encratitae 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Euscb Hist Eccl. l. 4. c. 27. Hieron catal script Eccl. in Tatiano De Encratitis vid. Theod. haeret fab l. 1. 5 Soe universally acknowledged and consented to Euseb calls them 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Hist Eccl. l. 3. c. 25. 6 Soe generally dispersed for even the passage of S. Irenaeus which tells us of some barbarous Nations Qui fidem crediderunt sine literis sine charta sine atramento scriptam habentes in cordibus suis salutem doth shew plainly that other places not deemed Barbarous enjoy'd them as also doth the question following Quid autem si neque Apostoli quidem scripturas reliquissent nobis 7 Multiplyed into divers versions Cum enim fides Christiana ab ipsis Apostolorum temporibus recepta est nec sine scriptur is esse potest Ecclesia probabile est à primis nascentis Ecclesiae incunabilis harum versionum originem accersendam esse Walton Proleg in Bib. Polygl Of the innumerable latine versions that were extant in S. Augustine's daies we have one styled by S. Jerom. in Esaiam c. 14 49. Communis vulgata and by S. Gregory Epist ad Leandrum Vetus probabile est inquit Waltonus ipsam ab ipsis Ecclesiae primordiis in usu fuisse cum Ecclesia Latina sine verfione Latina esse non potuit eamque Ecclesia Romana in communi usu reciperet Of the Syriack version he speakes thus Ab Apostolicis viris factam concedo quod praeter generalem Ecclesiarum Orientalium traditionem cui multum in hoc loco tribuendum cum nulla

should subdue by sufferings and make the Scepter stoop and bow to the Cross that it should 33 Conquer the most part of the civilized World in lesser time than others take to travel over it A world of so riveted by Laws and Customes and so enslav'd by mulcts and penalties to its Antient and therefore Venerable Superstitions so enthral'd to the Vassallage of Satan and over-Grown in wickedness and so impatient of disturbance I say that such a Doctrine should convert such a World by such unlikely meanes haveing no heavenly Power engaged to assist it but rather to confound it if our adversaries say true and having no other thing to be alledged by its Assertors but the assistance or the holy Ghost and the performance of their Saviours promise that he would be with them and Give a mouth and wisdome to them which all their Adversaries should not be able to Gainsay this of all matters of this nature must be most incredible and is no less then a very Prodigy of Prodigies § 2. THIS Argument depends on these Principles which are confirmed to us by Reason and Experience 1. That the stronger the prejudice is the stronger must that power be which overcomes it 2ly That a new Doctrine which stands obnoxious to Great and many prejudices both of the Judgment and affections and which contains many things that seem to render it incredible to the one and many more which render it unpleasant to the other and also suffers disadvantage both from the infamy and rudeness of its propagators is most unlikely to prevail upon the World in opposition to all other Doctrines 3ly That men are not easily induced to reject those Principles which they received from their Education but still are backward to admit new Faith and to confess their Errours and condemne themselves and pass hard Sentences upon the state of their beloved Freinds and their Relations and their Ancestours 4ly That men are naturally wedded to their Lusts and bear a passionate affection to the pleasures and enjoyments of the World and therefore that which suddenly prevailes upon them to Renounce them all must be of Greater Power and of more prevailing Efficacy than the Temptations of the World 5ly That as any distemper is more dangerous and more rooted and inveterate so the nature of it is the more Malignant and so much the ●●onger and more efficacious must that Power be which effects its cure 6ly That it is not easy to prevail upon the World to quit a present and important Interest only in hopes of future Good to or expose themselves to the worst of sufferings in confirmation and pursuance of those Hopes without the most concluding Grounds of hope much less in contradiction to them 7ly That men of the lowest Birth and Education and such as were Great Sufferers both in their Reputation and their Persons and thereforeseem to be deserted by that God they owned were men unlikely to prevail upon the Wise and the inquisitive Philosophers who examine things by Reason upon Princes and Statesmen that consider their Interest upon the Magician and Sorcerer the Merchant and the Tradesman who measure things by their advantage and profit upon the Giddy and inconstant multitude which is led by the sense and custome and opinion of Persons upon the soft and tender Sex the passionate and heady Youth the infirme and feeble Age upon Persons of all sorts and conditions whatsoever to quit their Religion and their habitual Lusts their Worldly Interests and their alluring Pleasures and their espoused Tenets much more their Livers and Dearer Relatives and to expose themselves unto those evils which are most contrary to the desires of humane nature and to the designes of meer natural men Lastly That when the Greatest Potentates and Princes edged with the keenest malice and assisted by the Arts of Wit and Policy Learning and Eloquence and driving on profest designes to ruine and extirpate such inconsiderable men whose faith enjoyn'd them to endure all afflictions without the least disturbance of the Civil Government or opposition to their Cruel and tyrannous Governours I say when Persons of so Great ability and wisdome by all their subtilty and power and all their other arts engaged against them only encreased the number of those men whose utter extirpationthey intendedand pursued 't is rational to conclude as they affirmed that a more powerful hand was on their side and that God had choosen the foolish things of the World to confound the Wise and weak things to confound the mighty § 3ly IN confirmation of this Argument it may deserve to be considered that albeit the wisdome of the Heathe Philosohers had nothing in it that seem'd to thwart the reason or the affections and inclinations of mankind albeit their divinity did not reproach what their Forefathers own'd but was consistent with all those modes of worship which had obtained in every country albeit it met with nothing to oppose and persecute the first Abettors and the Promoters of it but was encouraged by Kings and Princes and had all the advantages of art and Rhetorick to set it off and the engagements of the smooothest pens and subtlest heads to recommend it to the World yet could it not present the world with any thing so well accommodated unto our natural apprehensions or any thing so worthy of a Deity so entirely fitted to the Good and welfare of mankind as are the Christians Faith and Precepts nor yet obtain and spread it self in many hundred years through any places of those Barbarous Nations in which the Gospel flourished in the Apostles days but in its flourishing condition was confined to Greece and Italy where it did either vanish of its own accord or else concluded in Scepticisme or was ecclipsed by the appearance of the Gospel light and whilest it did continue 't is apparent from the compliants confessions and from the declarations of their Greatest Sages as well as Christian Writers how ineffectual it was to work a reformation on the world how few of those who were the Greatest masters of it live according unto what they writ how rare a thing it was to find a Polemo or Phaedon Vid. Orig. in Cels l. 3. pag. 152 or any other person whose reformation it had wrought Since then the Christian Doctrine though stript of all those fair advantages which might commend it to the world and clog'd with all the prejudices forementioned did in the space of forty yeares make such a large diffusion of it self through many places where scarce the name of a Philosopher was known and since it wrought so admirable a change and reformation in the customes lives and manners laws and conceptions of so many millions it may be rationally thought to be derived from that superior Power to which all other ways of Worship do in vain pretend Add to this that none of the Philosophers or of their chief admirers would suffer for the truth of their assertion or seal it with