Selected quad for the lemma: power_n
Text snippets containing the quad
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A60057
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A Short answer to His Grace the D. of Buckingham's paper concerning religion, toleration, and liberty of conscience
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1685
(1685)
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Wing S3561; ESTC R10573
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14,126
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40
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in the Epistle where his Grace hopes a Consideration of the Present State of this Kingdon if it could sink deep enough into Mens Hearts to make them endeavour now to promote a true Liberty of Conscience would make the Nation happy or at his foreseeing without pretending to Prophesie that the contrary will terminate in a general Discontent the dispeopling of our Country and the exposing us to the Conquest of a Foreign Nation Whereas in Fact as well as plain Reason the direct contrary is most evident Division hath generally been the Fore-runner of the Fate of States and Kingdoms and to give Men leave to divide and sub-divide into ten thousand Fractions is the ready way to sow the Seeds of Discords Animosities and everlasting intestine Quarrels to expose us perpetually to the dangerous Conspiracies of Ambitious Turbulent and Factious Republicans and to put us into the next disposition to become a Prey either to Foreign Invaders or Domestick Usurpers It is the most undoubted way to ruine all Religion and put us out of the Protection of the Divine Mercy and Goodness It is the most compendious way to ruin the Church of England of whose stedfast Loyalty and of whose ability to support the Crown how despicable or inconsiderable the Faction have endeavoured to render it both his late Majesty and our present Gracious King have had and have owned too great Experience of to be doubted or disputed and should that Pillar be taken from the Throne by Toleration a man shall not need to Prophesy what the Commonwealth-Conscience-men would do with the Monarch and with the Monarchy nay should the Church of England be discountenanced and discouraged by Toleration so as to recede from its active Loyalty in opposing the Dissenting Faction no knowing or observing man but must dread the terrible and unavoidable Consequences of their betaking themselves to a passive Loyalty and it is easie to guess how deplorable a misfortune it would be to the King and Nation to be at the Discretion and Mercy of the Conscience of the Faction But God be praised who hath conducted his Majesty to the Royal Throne through the Tempestuous Sea of Assotiating Assassinating and Excluding Consciences which hath given him a sufficient Experience how far he may trust them and be safe And God be praised we have his Royal word which we esteem as sacred and inviolable as the Laws of the Medes and Persians for our comfort and protection nor is there any person who hath the least sparks of Generosity himself or is even at the remotest distance acquainted with that glorious Character which hath rendred him so conspicuous to the whole Earth as a Prince of the most generous Constancy and Firmness to his word but will believe it with as much Confidence as humane certainty is capable of I have but three or four Words more to add to his Graces Questions and I shall herein follow his Method First Whether Jesus Christ who himself taught and practiced Subjection to Government did not believe Soveraign Power had Authority to maintain the Order of Society by Rewards and Punishmets and whether my Lord hath considered that spiritual Punishments are far more Rigorous than Temporal the Chains of Darkness than humane Imprisonments eternal Damnation than pecuniary Penalties Banishment from Heaven than Exile upon Earth Excommunication than a petty Fine And that therefore whether he who would have men compelled by the greatest punishments and the Terrors of them to become Christians hath not done more to force men to be Religious than all the Powers of the Earth ever have done or ever can do And lastly whether by his Graces Maxime he may not incur the horrid Consequence of proving even the Apostles of Jesus Christ who teach this Doctrine to be Antichristian and another not fit to be named For his Grace is to know that the nature of neither any Spiritual or Temporal Law is purely Penal but intended primarily to prevent the danger it prohibits and to punish only secondarily where it meets not with that first effect and yet the dread of Punishment is the only force that can affect humane Nature nor do humane Laws pretend to inforce any other way than according to the Methods prescribed and practiced by the most Wise God and even yet this force is also the highest Reason Secondly Whether there being a hundred Monarchies happy without Toleration and Liberty of Conscience to one Republick that allows it with Restriction and whose future Fate we are ignorant of and whether that may not in time prove its ruin it be not a hundred to one that a Monarchy shall be more flourishing safe and lasting without Toleration and Liberty of Conscience than with them Thirdly Whether it be not Cross and Pile whether a man who may be of any and of all Religions will be of any or of none at all And to conclude with my Friendly advice Let all men cherish promote and propagate that Religion which renders them the best Subjects to God and the King and endeavour to convince as many as they can by their Reason and their Virtue and by all lawful ways to discourage all Rebellion and Sedition Disloyalty and Faction let their Clamours be never so loud against Persecution and for Toleration and Liberty of Conscience under pretence of Religion For assuredly this Nation shall never be happy so long as those whose Principles lead them to cutting of Throats for Conscience-sake make such a stir for the Liberty of Conscience Nor will any thing contribute more to our Peace and Safety than taking the Wise mans counsel My son fear thou the Lord and the King and meddle not with those who are given to change for their calamity shall come suddenly and who knoweth the ruin of them both FINIS