Selected quad for the lemma: religion_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
religion_n	commodity_n	language_n	name_n	41,159	5	10.7214	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A01883	The fall of man, or the corruption of nature, proued by the light of our naturall reason Which being the first ground and occasion of our Christian faith and religion, may likewise serue for the first step and degree of the naturall mans conuersion. First preached in a sermon, since enlarged, reduced to the forme of a treatise, and dedicated to the Queenes most excellent Maiestie. By Godfrey Goodman ...	Goodman, Godfrey, 1583-1656.	1616 (1616)	STC 12023; ESTC S103235	311,341	486

their counsell and experience Our owne forefathers committing their workes to writings they seeme aliens and strangers vnto vs we cannot vnderstand them without the vse of Dictionaries and Commentaries To let passe how nations haue issued out of nations and all men descended from one whereby they might retaine the same speech and language for the learning and perfection of the reasonable soule as they doe the like foode for preseruation of their bodies and the same seede for propagation of their kind But for this varietie of tongues I would gladly aske Doe not all other creatures of the same kinde agree in one and the same language of nature wherby they testifie to each other either their ioy or their sorrow Haue not many birds as much varietie in their notes and tunes and yet all are the same in the same kinde as there are words and syllables which passe betweene men I pray' doth it not appeare in all other workes of nature that the inward forme doth naturally of her selfe discouer her selfe by some outward propertie and why should not the reasonable soule make her selfe knowne by a naturall speech and language that wee might see the inward man as well as the outward feature for speech is the only companion and witnesse of reason Consider the instruments of speech the throate the tongue the teeth the lips and the pallat are they not the same and alike in all men Is not the ayre and breath the same which frames the sound of this voyce Take all instruments of musicke and being fashioned alike you shal find a like sound they consist of a meane a treble a tenour a base c. they haue so many strings so many stops they giue the same musicke that is the same language in effect though the lessons doe varie that is the difference consists in the diuersitie of their speech or their conference Are there not many naturall notes which are alike common to all languages our laughter our sighing our sobbing our sneesing cā the passions of the bodie thus naturally discouer thēselues and yet cannot the minde naturally disclose her owne secrets Is there any thing so proper and peculiar to man as societie and fellowship and yet for want of one common language the kind cannot conuerse with it selfe and yet you may obserue in all languages how there is a necessitie of the same alphabet for there are but fiue vowels and more or lesse there cannot bee which proceedes from the opening or contraction of the mouth will Nature lay the foundation and yet God in his wisedome forbid to finish this building then is it euident that contrarie to the first intent of nature wee are changed and altered by sinne God confounding our tongues brings our workes to confusion But I pray' consider the occasions which might serue ●or the retaining of the same language Are not all men deriued from the loines of one and the same man haue not nations issued foorth out of nations and is it possible that they should retaine the same seede remember their beginnings obserue the same rites customes and manners and yet forget their owne language In Pembroke-shire certaine Dutch-men being anciently permitted to inhabit their posteritie vnto this day retaines the luxurie and riot proper to that nation and yet they haue forgotten their language Thus the tongue serues to be instrumentum gustus loquelae the instrument of taste the instrument of speech the one she stil practiseth the other she hath cleane forgotten and in both you may acknowledge the corruption of mans nature and the iust punishment of mans sinne If our beginning bee forgotten and that wee haue learned a strange language yet me thinkes the noble and braue conquest of Princes especially the great Monarchs of the world should haue reduced all things as to the vniformitie of gouernment so to the vniformitie of tongues that all being ruled and guided by one law hauing recourse to the Emperours court doing their homage and seruice to his person this might be an excellent meanes to auoyd barbarisme and to re-unite the tongues of men in one speech as the bodies of men are knit together vnder one yoake of subiection But all will not serue against the diuine prouidence for he confounded their tongues who hath likewise confounded their Monarchies sooner you may suppresse a state and put them all to the sword then that you can bridle their mouthes bring them to schoole and teach them a new tongue If the sword cannot preuaile yet me thinkes the necessity of trading and commerce should inforce a necessity of the same language especially considering that there are certaine fruits proper to nations and as their soyle yeelds them as their country affoords them so the inhabitants first impose the name and this name should accompany the fruits and be together transported to those nations to whom these fruits are imparted for assuredly the name would no way increase the burthen or price of the commodities but it should seeme that together with the change of our windes and our sailes in the passage we must alter these names or els we haue forgotten the ould names and remembring only the v●e and valuation we do well hope that a new name may make a new price supposing that it lies in our power being now masters of the commoditie to giue it a name at our pleasure and thus you see the confusion of tongues But of all other meanes to reduce the world to one language me thinks the greatest consists either in the necessity of the same lawes which in ancient times haue gouerned the whole world or els from the vniformity and concent of religion which vnites and knits together the hearts of all men in one league of faith the tongues of all men in one confession of faith the actions of all men in one seruice of faith and in the same bonds of charity and deuotion So that there is notwithstanding the separation of persons time and place a perfect communion of Gods Saints If generall councells should meete and assemble together necessary it is that they should confer in one common language concerning such things as may generally tend to the good of the whole Church or if we should be inforced to trauell it were to be wisht that we might not be destitute of the meanes for our soules health but that wee might bee fit to ioyne with all congregations in prayer yet God forbid that wee should pray in an vnknowne tongue which in effect were to offer vp vnto God the calues of our lips vitulos labiorū without the burning incense of the heart which should set on fire the sacrifice and make it acceptable and heere you may well obserue the curse of God in the confusion of tongues This punishment doth not only argue how tongues are confounded among themselues that from one naturall and instrumentall tongue there should proceed infinit notes and numberlesse tongues and

this time rather then I would any way hinder my intent I will willingly grant it let there be a difference and such a difference as Scripture reports a wisdome in their owne generation a worldly wisdome a serpentine wisedome differing from the wisedome of schooles Now for this wisedome see how she is defectiue in her owne kinde and there wanting wherein she desires to be most perfit Great wits breed melancholy thoughts and serue rather to stirre vp ielousies and feares then to giue courage and resolution the multiplicitie of their proiects hinders their actions and sometimes the wit contents ●t selfe with a vaine speculation of his owne plots together with an idle discourse what would be done or could bee done or should bee done when nothing is done to the purpose And this I conceiue to bee the cause why men of the deepest vnderstanding haue not alwaies the best successe in the State not only because they are supprest by an higher power which hauing alreadie attained to the top desires by al possible meanes to secure it selfe but in their actions intending and desiring to auoid all casualtie and chance which is so necessarie and incident to ou● fraile condition as that it cannot be auoided desiring to build vpō sure grounds they spend their whole time in deliberation and consultation and chuse rather to manage their owne priuate estates then to commit themselues to the stage of this world to the fortune and varietie of times And hence it is that seldome or neuer they performe or attempt any great and honourable worke and the wits themselues are so dangerous as that they giue men occasion rather to feare and to distrust their practises then to relie vpon their counsels and directions In so much that sometimes it is a speciall point of wisedome to conceale it selfe as he that acts the foole in a Comedie is commonly the wisest fellow in the companie for you shall obserue that the meane capacitie giues greater hearts ease more contentment liues more plentifully and increaseth his meanes much better then the deep vnderstanding who either will attempt nothing or not taking the ordinary course most vsually failes in his purposes Where there is a little want of braine there you shall find the truest ioy for it is a great point of happinesse not to vnderstand his owne griefe To daunce about May-poles to skip ouer bon-fires heere was the old countrie sport and here is the truest mirth for there is no true mirth without some mixture of follie Serious waightie thoughts are a great hindrance to mirth and great wits as they are alwaies ingendring so stand they alwaies in feare and in ieopardie the battaile and combat of wits being no lesse bloodie then that of the sword whereas honest plaine men protect themselues with their owne harmelesse innocencie neither fearing nor fearefull to others Great learning seemes to transport a man to an element aboue himselfe and being of little vse in this lower region the great Clerke hath his owne learning for his owne reward and is permitted quietly to enioy himselfe together with all his swee●e and heauenly meditations Honour or wealth would distract him and interrupt the course of his studies the noyse of this world would awaken him out of his extasis thus sitting aloft in a Doctors Chaire and wanting the earths foundation at length he must fall vnlesse he be miraculously supported from aboue The discontentment of learning in these daies proceeds not onely for want of preferment but euen the credit of learning in her owne kinde is now called in question All other trades are able to keep● their owne wares in their due valuation only learning in these daies is growne so common and triuiall such are the helps of 〈◊〉 translations abridgements and Indexes so many so plentiful that me thinks a naturall and mother wit seemes to ou●face learning and to call it pedantisme making a farre greater show and ostentation of learning then learning can doe of her selfe as things counterfeit make alwaies the best outward appearance like bold and presumptuous liers who seeme to be most confident in their reports These gentle Clerks cannot be content to kindle and enlighten their owne lampes but now they desire to put out the light and to raise vp their buildings with the ruines of learning perswading the world that it is not of that necessitie and vse in the State whereas all our religion seemes to adorne and support learning and together with it is infused into the hearts of men all our ciuility all our customes our manner and forme of speech all our lawes and whatsoeuer else makes man sociable all was first borrowed from the well-spring and fountaine of learning though now by habit practise and continuance of time we may seeme to enioy them When learning was once exiled nations turned barbarous without the seruice of God or the feare of the Magistrate I dare excuse nothing from vanitie and therefore I must truly confesse that learning seemes to bee defectiue in her selfe For as the whole world is circular and as whole nature consists in alteration and change the night succeeding the day and the day the night so learning seemes to runne in a circle or maze not attaining that height which it aimes at where it ends there it begins reading much and forgetting much and neuer comes to a period Learning hath likewise her superfluous lops which in time may well admit incision I do not like an ouer-great curiosity in the knowledge of languages or a fond affectation of stile I doe not commend too much nicitie in the rules of Logi●ke to be ouer-strict in the tearmes of Art to fight about shadowes to insist too much in the precepts when as the perfection consists in the vse Poetrie and Criticks they are young mens delights and lothed in age a ripe and staied iudgement will not admit the trickes and subtilties of Schooles Whereas the best learning consists in the discouerie of the truth and truth delighteth in plainnesse and in a homely attire Ars est dissimul●re artem we must not alwaies be precise in obseruing the rules of an Art wee must not stand strictly vpon the formes of our Syllogismes as if the reasonable soule were not capable of a reasonable discourse but she must spell out the sense by knitting and vniting the propositions according to mood and to figure Here are the excrements I confesse not vnlike the wings or skirts of a garment or the warts or spots of the flesh which serue for lustre and ornament of the rest and not for any speciall vse and commoditie whereas true learning doth wonderfully enlighten the vnderstanding quickens the inuention directs the iudgement makes a dissection of nature opens the entrailes and seeing the wisedome of the Creator contents the curiositie of our mindes prepares the way to religion guides and directs vs in our actions Giue me leaue in one word to speake in defence of the