Selected quad for the lemma: religion_n
Text snippets containing the quad
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A41261
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Fiat justitia & ruat cœlum, or, Somewhat offer'd in defence of the imperial crown of England and its successor in answer to a speech pretended to be spoken in the honourable House of Commons, upon the reading the bill against the D. / by a true Englishman.
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True Englishman.
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1679
(1679)
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Wing F845; ESTC R35675
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8,199
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6
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Fiat Justitia Ruat Coelum Or Somewhat offer'd in Desence of the Imperial Crown of England And its SUCCESSOR In Answer to a SPEECH pretended to be spoken in the Honourable House of Commons upon Reading the BILL against the D. By a true Englishman IT is not long ago since a mighty Orator Lawyer Logician and what not most strenuously undertook for weighty Considerations to overthrow all Law and Logick and by tacking of inconsequent words as he us'd to do Bills together to shew the World how zealously and boldly he could speak No sence This same Sir Formal Trifle who in his Exordium very gravely tells his Auditory there is a necessity of speaking their minds in a Grand Affair that concerns the King and Kingdom would fain make them believe that he is a going to say somewhat for the King as he expresses it and so to prove himself an extraordinary Loyalist makes a Speech for the King in opposition to the Royal Will He knows very well the King has often declar'd That he would never do any thing that might hinder the Succession to the Crown in the right Line yet still he must try his faculty in Rhetorick and say somewhat for the King Now either this kind Gentleman imagines he can be a greater Friend to the King than the King to himself or else his Wit and Eloquence have spoil'd his Memory in the Law for there he may find the King is no Minor but that he has always years enough to speak for himself But 't is no matter what he means let it be what it will he must needs be a good States-man that utters himself like a Spout for the King and Kingdom especially in a business of such importance as the securing of Religion And indeed this Theologico-Political Orator of ours takes the true way to secure Religion for he will not let any body enjoy so much as his Birth-right if it be possible that such a thing may be dangerous to Religion Now truly here we may take occasion to consider in this weighty Matter what manner of Religion this good Gentleman would secure Is it the Creed of Knipperdolling truly I am not certain he does not mean so Is it the truly modern Institutions of Genevesian John it may be so either for ought I know but that it is not the Protestant Religion of the Church of England I dare boldly and with the highest zeal affirm I cannot tell what he supposes or what the Spirit within him dictates but if his Policy have not o'recome his Religion he must confess that neither the avow'd Doctrine of this Church nor any just and rational Interpretation of Scripture can induce him to think that Religion is to be secur'd by perverting the universal principle of all Nations and acting contrary to the express Word of God But indeed so zealous is this passionate Advocate for his Religion i. e. his Estate for so he afterwards explains himself that to secure his own Right he will not be discouraged by the seeming opposition of any that another has no though his own King's Successor whose Orator he has lately made himself My Lord Chancellor he tells us lately told them that This was the Time and he very wisely thinks that he may make use of this Saying upon all occurrences like Teage in the Committee so he has but a Letter he cares not who it 's written to And then besides that he presumes to be as good a Politician as my Lord how arrogantly the World may judge and to apply those words which his Lordship maturely brought forth to the crude Notions of his own raw Brains he goes on and comments upon what my Lord said and makes his Lordship's Time long enough for deliberation and profound Thoughts to shrink and dwindle into an inconsiderable inconsiderate Moment But truly a Moment is of a duration sufficient to speak all his Reason in and if divisible would lie at least one half upon our hands ready to be imploy'd in any other kind of Jargon And now he has found the Critical Minute of action he as judiciously advises not to let it slip but with a dispatch as quick as Thought immediately resolve upon his Counsel For if you do not you are under a great hazard that your Children may curse you nay be bound to curse you that 's more A strange obligation this upon Children that they should be bound to curse their Forefathers for doing Justice even to an Heathen For surely this Gentleman's Children especially if they are not truly his may easily come to know that Right and Wrong were never restrain'd to this or that sort of men but common and diffus'd to all Mankind No they 'l certainly consider that there 's no reason they should curse their Fathers for not making a Law to dis-inherit an Heir for it will be naturally suggested to them that it might have been their own case Oh! but the great good that follows upon this however unnatural Injury is no less than the securing of Religion So then we may do ill that good may come on 't I protest but that this Gentleman is a Member of the Honourable House I should have taken him for a Jesuit that had onely disguis'd himself under a pretence for Protestant Religion For I appeal to the whole House if this be not a Jesuitical practice to cut off a King or which is worse dethrone him and yet more barbarously let him live meerly because he is an Heretick to their Principles He that relies upon such Maximes makes it utterly impossible ever to establish any much less the Protestant Religion I admire what wonders this worthy Patriot thinks the D. can do when he comes to the Crown can he make Laws or alter the Constitution of the Government without the consent of a Parliament He does not think so I am sure Why then certainly he must believe the whole Nation is inclined to Popery or otherwise he could never imagine a Popish Successor to be so formidable a Gyant as he makes him But let him live where he will in the City or Countrey I don't doubt but he hears arguments enough to perswade any reasonable Creature that 't is a difficulty to bring Popery into England next to that of translating Rome to London Can he think that the King 's being a Papist will be a just reason why the People must be so too when so many and the same Laws continue in force against that kind of men If we for fear of the Tyranny of the See of Rome stealing upon us would take way the Kings Succession what kind of Elective Monarchy would this be that for so many Ages has ran down in a continu'd stream of Inheritable Blood without any interruption At that rate when ever the Speech-makers in the House of Commons could make the rest fear any remote possibility of danger from the King's Successors perswasion be it what it would be the Crown must be straight-way
settled upon some other Christian or no Christian all 's one so no Papist and so the right Heir be dis-inherited for not serving the People with more reverence than his Maker There 's no man but would willingly enjoy the freedom of his Religion and would hardly think it just to have his Estate taken from him for it how then can any one say 'T is fit that the Descent of a Crown should be impeded for an opinion which was precedently taken up If it were such a crime to be of this or that Opinion so high as to make a man liable to be dis-inherited how could any one be sure of what he has For be it once granted that the D may be cut off from his Inheritance for his present Perswasion then the reason will be equally urgent against any other as him For whosoever comes to the Crown with a new or an old Religion is as obnoxious to this Exception as a Romanist The onely objection against the D. that can possibly be made is that he would endeavour to propagate his Perswasion who would not who does not This very Orator would and does most vehemently press the House to believe what he says and dares do 't nay thinks he 's bound in Conscience to do it i.e. to settle his Religion by such means as none would do but such a Person as is acted by Zeal and Interest mix'd with some Vanity and Popularity The Argument would return too smartly upon him if we should say Therefore a Presbyterian may lose his Right because of his being so But besides the want of Reason I find a great scarcity of common sense in what this Politician says It will be utterly impossible to secure the Protestant Religion under a Popish Successor unless you totally disable him to inherit c. How is he Popish Successor under whom c. if he be totally disabled to inherit And then the connection of what follows is so natural unless you disable him to inherit and the Tyranny of the See of Rome will infallibly steal upon us I confess I cannot tell when no more than he can For I must tell him boldly that if he means under a Popish Successor it is non-sense upon non-sense For first he says A Successor under whom c. should be utterly disabled to inherit c. and then after that The Tyranny will steal upon us infallibly because the Man from whom we ought to fear is totally disabled to inherit But whether it hang together or no 't is all one it sounds well enough and looks like an happy Thought for our security And who can blame a man for an incoherence as long as he loves his Countrey It may be he was in a Rapture or a fit of the highest Zeal and then one may be allowed to forget himself having so great a respect to the Protestant Religion The next consideration in this weighty matter is that a King is not restrainable by Penal Laws but like Samson can break through them and therefore we must clip his Locks that is take his Crown or his Head from him if we can possibly surmise that he would pull down the Temple Truly this Gentleman would have made a better Philistin than a Protestant Oh! but how can one blame him for his zealous fear when he has lately seen Coleman's Ghost dreadfully reciting a terrible Maxim That the Papists would get the upper hand if they stood upon an equal foot and if so and so it must needs be if Mr. Coleman's infallible Spirit said it why then to secure our own Lives and Estates make sure of the Duke's let him not have his Right if ours may be indangered by suffering him to have his This is a Maxim of ours Mr. Coleman and so there 's a Rowland for your Oliver I say this is true Religion besides the Policy of it For look you Religion teaches to secure Religion and I my self have found out a way to effect it The invention indeed is very new but 't is the better for that and the more 〈◊〉 and though it seem a little odd at first yet if a man do but consider that Religion is concern'd why then he may easily imagine that Religion can be against nothing that is done in favour of Religion There 't is then We to prevent Massacres may do worse that is calmly and advisedly by the Sanction of Law take away a Prince's Inheritance lest in his Reign there should happen a Riot or an Hurly-burly among the People Is it reasonable that any King should Rule us that will not promise to make Westminster-Hall of no use or swear at his Coronation that no Popish Priest or Laick shall ever molest trouble or annoy any of the King's Liege People with any Disputes or Controversies in or about Religion or that any Jesuit in any disguise whatsoever shall ever set foot upon his Majesty's Land of Great Britain For Sir I must tell you unless it were so I know no cause why we may not choose another man that can and will do so Poor man how pale he looks at the apparition of Coleman's Maxim Truly though he pretends zeal for the Protestant Religion yet me-thinks this argues him to have but a very mean opinion of it and I suspect him for a Jesuit now more than before because he believes so stedfastly in Coleman's Maxim Surely he could not give any great credit to Coleman if he had those honourable thoughts which he pretends of the Protestant Religion nor ever think the ruine of it so feasible if he were so zealous for the securing of it And now he a second time brings my Lord Chancellor before us and by pretty allusions would make his Lordship's Speech as insignificant as that of himself Now 't is a Fig-leafe and in the same breath Leaf-gold and to both these he allows some use and flattering Ornament more than my Lord can do for his Speech But he has a third Metaphor which does my Lord a great deal of honour before he 's aware on t 'T is like a Mother that has a froward Child he says And truly I am much of his mind for 't is indeed as froward and humorsome a Brat as e'er poor Mother had it wou'd have so many Toys and Jim-cracks that she cannot possibly please it Indeed the peevish Chit scarce knows what to ask or at least is used to make his demands after such a manner that 't is impossible the good Gentlewoman should answer his desire but with some disparagement to Maternal Dignity Yet still there is a necessity that his Requests must be satisfied let them be what they will just or unjust against Nature or otherwise all 's one Child must be pleased And so the necessity of the Bill is Mathematically demonstrated But that is not all unless you can demonstrate the good that may accrue by it for there is a difference between the Bill and its Goodness and so consequently make the