Selected quad for the lemma: nature_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
nature_n	humane_a	law_n	positive_a	2,470	5	10.9031	5	false

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A17534	A general discourse against the damnable sect of vsurers grounded vppon the vvorde of God, and confirmed by the auctoritie of doctors both auncient, and newe; necessarie for all tymes, but most profitable for these later daies, in which, charitie being banished, couetousnes hath gotten the vpper hande. VVhereunto is annexed another godlie treatise concernyng the lawfull vse of ritches. Seene and allowed accordyng to her Maiesties iniunctions.; Doctrina de usura. English	Caesar, Philipp, d. 1585.; Hemmingsen, Neils, 1513-1600. Commentaria in omnes epistolas Apostolorum.; Rogers, Thomas, d. 1616.	1578 (1578)	STC 4342; ESTC S107129	86,650	150

are moste common to wit Daneismos and Tokos the later of whiche deriued frō the verbe T●kto whiche signifieth to beget or to bryng foorthe doeth plainlie shewe foorthe the nature and force of Vsurie that contrarie to the nature of money whiche is à thyng barren and frutelesse it bringeth forthe à child Thence is it called in Hebrue Tarbis and in Latine Foenus as it were Foetus the frute of the wombe Now consider how greate is the blindenesse or rather the madnesse of men in these dotyng daies of this worlde that to à thyng frutlesse barren without seede without life will ascribe generation and contrary too nature and common sense will make that to engender whiche beeyng without life by no waie can encrease And therefore Aristotle an Ethnike and without all knowledge of Christianitie for this cause dooeth pronounce Vsurie to bee à thing detestable and to bee abhorred His wordes are these By good reason hath Vsurie come into the hatred of man because money is onely reaped and is not referred to the exchange of thynges for whiche cause it was firste inuented For contrarie to the course of nature Vsurie doeth augment and encrease money from whiche it is so called Wherefore in this so excellente and wounderfull clearenesse of the Gospell let Christians bee ashamed to iudge that allowable whiche à prophane Philosopher so highly did condēne Hetherto of the definition of the ●ame Vsurie For I thought to vtter and shewe for the suche names which the Prophetes and Apostles haue especially ascribed vnto the same Vsurie what Exodus 22. If thou lendest thy money to my people whiche are among you in miserie doe not oppresse them neither put Vsurie vpon them Luke 6. Lende looking for nothyng againe By these testimonies out of the old and newe Testament this definition of Vsurie may bee gathered Vsurie is à gaine aboue the principall exacted onely in consideration of the loane Many sortes accordyng to the sundrie kindes of thynges vsed might be declared of Vsurie but I thinke it needelesse to make any subtile distinction when as in that one whereof the scripture dooeth speake all maie bee easely included When to wit in the loane of anythyng either of money or of corne c. wee are contente for the lendyng to receiue more than wee gaue that couenaunte is called Vsurie and is condemned in many places of holie Scripture as hereafter shal bee shewed Whereof Bernard saieth notablie Usurie is à legal thèfe foretellyng afore what he doth mynde afterward to steale The efficient cause of Vsurie is the forcerie and bewitchyng of Sathan For euen humane reason not altogether quenched by the Diuell dooeth detest and abhorre all suche thynges as destroye nature as Vsurie doeth The materiall is money corne wine and any other thyng whiche wee maie consume The formall is the filthie snares whiche are laied for temporall goodes The finall or the ende therof is that Vsurers maie enriche themselues by impouerishing of others and that thei may spend their daies pleasantly in idlenesse without paine that such as stand in neede maie be brought into extreme pouerty miserie yea that multitudes hauing so vndoen themselues may in greif hunger and wretchednes cōsume their daies in this miserable world Vsurie offendeth God and without repentaunce purchaseth his heauie wrathe and eternall damnation it quencheth charitie diminisheth substaunce maketh accursed bryngeth into the greeuous slauery of the vngodlie it is the deuourer of good men the destroyer of all humane societie And therefore Vsurers bee rightly called Noschim that is Oppressors And hence it is that Cato likened Vsurie to à sworde made for the destruction and decaye of life For so beeyng asked What it was to bee an Usurer as reporteth Cicero aunswered That whiche is to bee à Murtherer It is greatly to bee lamented and with vnfained teares to bee bewailed that wee to whom the will of GOD through his vnspeakeable mercie is opened and reueiled wee Christians should bee surpassed of the verie Pagans in godlinesse but without all controuersie in his tyme God by the greeuousnesse of paines will reuenge this impietie The thynges whiche are contrary to Vsurie is the commaundemente of God the duetie and obedience whiche by an immutable order the creature oweth to his creatour the threatnynges of punishemente bothe temporall and eternall the loue of our neighbour the equitie and equalitie ordained for conseruation of humane societie The law of Nature the positiue lawes ¶ The 3. Chapter whether Vsurie be lawfull NOwe beecause the matter doth so require wee will encounter with Vsurers and deale with this questiō whether Vsurie be lawfull or no Seeyng that Vsurie by the expresse worde of GOD is plainly forbidden there is no question but it is vnlawfull For man is accordyng to the likenes and similitude of God created by the Sunne redeemed and sanctified by the holy ghost that in him the knowledge and glorie of God may shine and bee seen that obediently he should serue God that he should declare and manifest the gratefulnes whiche hee oweth to his maker for all the benefites whiche he hath receiued That God most straightly and seuerely hath forbidden the same it is apparent by these testimonies which follow collected out of holy scripture Thou shall not steale If thou lendest thy mony to my people which are among you in miserie doe not oppresse them neither put Usurie vppon them If thy brother bee waxed poore and fallen into decaye with thee thou shalt releeue hym both the straunger and the soiorner that hee may liue with thee And thou shalt take no Vsurie of hym or vantage but thou shalt feare thy God that thy brother may liue with thee Thou shalt not giue hym thy Money vppon Vsurie nor lende hym thy corne for encrease Thou shalt not hurt thy brother by vsurie of Money nor by vsurie of Corne nor by vsury of any thing that he may be hurt withall He that lendeth vpon vsurie and taketh ouerplus shall this man liue He shall not liue He that hath giuen his money to Vsurie shall not dwell in the tabernacle of the Lorde nor rest vpon his holie hill Lend looking for nothyng therby When he saith lend he biddeth not to giue but hee would haue the principall to bee restored But he doth forbid that any thyng should be exacted more than was lent And yet borowyng in extreme necessitie the thyng borrowed should be repaied Let not couetousnes bee once named among you as it becometh sainctes Couetousnes of Money is the roote of all euill These euident and plaine testimonies not onely of the olde but also of the new Testament drawen out of the most cleare fountaines of Israell and witnisyng of the pleasure of God doe approue to all men that Vsurie is forbidden of God and therefore vnlawfull ¶ The 4. Chapter What kinde of synne Vsurie is

his will may shine and be seen in vs. The seconde The greate eternall and straight commaundement of God which is giuen and proposed to all the Ministers of the Churche preache repontaunce The preaching of repentaunce for that it is against all synnes it must needes rebuke vsurie The thirde The wofull commination whereby God doth threaten eternall damnation of all suche as either diminishe his commaundementes or of a set ignorance ouerpasse his will in silence or rashly presume to ad vnto his word or carelesly neglect their callinges An Embassadour of an earthlie prince beeyng sent on busines if without the counsaile of his Prince he alter the forme of his Commission is iudged to haue doen wickedlie and iustly getteth vnto hymself the anger of his Prince and punishment for his presumption Then what shall we thinke of those messengers what displeasure doe they runne into what iudgement doe they deserue and what cruell punishment should they haue which beyng Embassadours of Christ hymself take suche power and libertie vppon them contrary to the will of their almighty and euerlasting Prince that they will chaunge peruerte and permit at their pleasures whiche are placed in his worde to be beleeued and to be obeied For this controuersie is not about an earthly kingdome but it concerns the glory of God and the health of the soule and respecteth that lyfe whiche in deede is to be called a lyfe the losse wherof after this lyfe cannot be recouered The four●h ▪ The consideration of the greate and wonderfull profite whiche commeth aswell to the teachers as hearers by the reprehension and condemning of Vsurie We the ministers of God shall attaine this reward if as other synnes so we reprehend vsurie in all places that as faithful fulfillers of the wil of our master we shal haue his fauour and the testimony of a good conscience and ioye and cōfort and willingnes to praie yea in all the race of our life and before the tribunal seate of the sonne of God we shall glorie that we haue been faithfull before hym whiche is the knower of all hartes our very auditors will they or nil they shal cōfesse the same where then we shal bee adorned with a florishyng crowne of eternall glorie And the auditors whiche are tuched with a care of the safetie either of their bodies in this world or of their soules in the lyfe to come shall take suche fruite and profite by this preachyng of repentaunce that beeyng admonished of the contagiousnes of this plague whereby their soules are infected and killed they prouide in tyme a medicine for the creepyng diseases lest otherwise the whole part be drawen and leaste the soule polluted with this vice and defiled with that damnable synne be cast by the iustice of God into euerlasting tormentes The fift The consent of all the godlie and faithfull preachers in the Churche from the Apostles tyme vntill this age hath an especiall force to stirre vp not onely a liberty but also a cōtinual matter to accuse and condemne vsurie The sixth Because it quencheth charitie whiche is the principall chaine of humaine societie it taketh awaie the lawe of nature from whence the positiue lawes are taken whiche also condemne vsurie The Ethnikes beeyng glorious by this light of naturall discernyng of honest from filthy thinges haue not feared to pronounce that vsurie is a thing detestable and to be abhorred For they did rightlie suppose that a theefe with a double but an vsurer with a fourfold punishment should bee afflicted and that because he is a destroyer of nature For CAT obeyng demaunded what was vsurie hauing respect hereunto aunswered that which murther was The seauenth Because vsurie is heresie For by the iudgement of all the learned and godly writers it is called Heresie an obstinate errour striuyng against the foundation that is the Articles of our faith The confirmation of this definition is extant in the thirde chapter of the Epistle to Titus in these wordes After one admonition or two auoid an heretike c. Now let vs applie this doctrine that it maie bee knowen in what respect vsurie in called heresie By many testimonies of holy scripture it maie bee proued that vsurie is a deadly synne as by that whiche followeth shall appeare Now if this synne after many admonitions bee defended and with sondrie colours bee excused painted and become pertinacie then is it no more a simple but is called an obstinate errour Then a question riseth whether Vsurie bee contrarie to the foundation of the scripture that is to the Articles of our faithe But the definition of an Article of faithe beeyng considered the aunswere is easie An Article of faithe is any parte of Christian doctrine either in the old or newe Testamente whiche is deliuered vnto vs and proposed to bee beleeued For it is the propertie of faithe not to assent to à part but to all the woorde of GOD whiche is written and giuen out to bee credited accordyng to that of Dauid And in the lawe of the Lorde not in à parte of the lawe will hee meditate daie and night Now many commaundementes whiche forbid the exactions of Vsurie are aswell in the olde as newe Testamente proposed to bee credited of vs that accordyng too that rule our life maie bee directed and conformed by à good conscience in newnesse of life to the honor of God and profite of our neighbour Therefore the forbiddyng of Vsurie is an article of our faithe Wherefore thei whiche imbrace this errour of Vsurie and with an obstinate mynde defende it and with contentious woordes alowe it and beyng admonished or by strong and euident places of scripture conuicted doe cōtinue therein and are vpholders thereof thei ma●e rightlie bee accounted and proclaimed for Heretikes as also the Ciuill lawers doe witnesse And for that to fall into heresie is verie daungerous and beeyng in too come out againe is harde it were good for all Vsurers to prouide and foresee leste thei bee spotted with the staine of Heresie and so by little at the length thei slide into suche à sincke from whēce fewe can escape and come out And what needes many woordes Doeth not Christe and Paule call Coueteousnesse whiche is worse than Vsurie as Luther witnesseth Idolatrie For Christe saieth Ye can not serue God and Mammon And Paule Knowe this that euery Fornicator impure person or couetous whiche is an Idolater hath none inheritaunce in the kingdome of Christ and of god Let no man deceiue you with vaine woordes For for suche the wrathe of God commeth vpon the sonnes of vnbeleef Bee ye not therefore partaker of them Euen as the Manichees horrible heretikes did commende Vsurie as Augustine writyng of their maners and customes saieth Thei encrease Vsurie and openly defende that to bee an Vsurer is better than to bee an housbandman because an Usurer dooeth not breake of the members