Selected quad for the lemma: sense_n
Text snippets containing the quad
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Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication) |
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A36673
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Religio laici, or, A laymans faith a poem.
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Dryden, John, 1631-1700.
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1682
(1682)
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Wing D2342; ESTC R71
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17,325
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45
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not every where Free from Corruption or intire or clear Are uncorrupt sufficient clear intire In all things which our needfull Faith require If others in the same Glass better see 'T is for Themselves they look but not for me For MY Salvation must its Doom receive Not from what OTHERS but what I believe Must all Tradition then be set aside This to affirm were Ignorance or Pride Are there not many points some needfull sure To saving Faith that Scripture leaves obscure Which every Sect will wrest a several way For what one Sect Interprets all Sects may We hold and say we prove from Scripture plain That Christ is GOD the bold Socinian From the same Scripture urges he 's but MAN Now what Appeal can end th' important Suit Both parts talk loudly but the Rule is mute Shall I speak plain and in a Nation free Assume an honest Layman's Liberty I think according to my little Skill To my own Mother-Church submitting still That many have been sav'd and many may Who never heard this Question brought in play Th' unletter'd Christian who believes in gross Plods on to Heaven and ne'er is at a loss For the Streight-gate wou'd be made streighter yet Were none admitted there but men of Wit The few by Nature form'd with Learning fraught Born to instruct as others to be taught Must Study well the Sacred Page and see Which Doctrine this or that does best agree With the whole Tenour of the Work Divine And plainlyest points to Heaven 's reveal'd Design Which Exposition flows from genuine Sense And which is forc'd by Wit and Eloquence Not that Traditions parts are useless here When general old disinteress'd and clear That Ancient Fathers thus expound the Page Gives Truth the reverend Majesty of Age Confirms its force by biding every Test For best Authority's next Rules are best And still the nearer to the Spring we go More limpid more unsoyl'd the Waters flow Thus first Traditions were a proof alone Cou'd we be certain such they were so known But since some Flaws in long descent may be They make not Truth but Probability Even Arius and Pelagius durst provoke To what the Centuries preceding spoke Such difference is there in an oft-told Tale But Truth by its own Sinews will prevail Tradition written therefore more commends Authority than what from Voice descends And this as perfect as its kind can be Rouls down to us the Sacred History Which from the Vniversal Church receiv'd Is try'd and after for its self believ'd The partial Papists wou'd infer from hence Their Church in last resort shou'd Judge the Sense But first they wou'd assume with wondrous Art Themselves to be the whole who are but part Of that vast Frame the Church yet grant they were The handers down can they from thence infer A right t' interpret or wou'd they alone Who brought the Present claim it for their own The Book 's a Common Largess to Mankind Not more for them than every Man design'd The welcome News is in the Letter found The Carrier's not Commission'd to expound It speaks it Self and what it does contain In all things needfull to be known is plain In times o'ergrown with Rust and Ignorance A gainfull Trade their Clergy did advance When want of Learning kept the Laymen low And none but Priests were Authoriz'd to know When what small Knowledge was in them did dwell And he a God who cou'd but Reade or Spell Then Mother Church did mightily prevail She parcel'd out the Bible by retail But still expounded what She sold or gave To keep it in her Power to Damn and Save Scripture was scarce and as the Market went Poor Laymen took Salvation on Content As needy men take Money good or bad God's Word they had not but the Priests they had Yet whate'er false Conveyances they made The Lawyer still was certain to be paid In those dark times they learn'd their knack so well That by long use they grew Infallible At last a knowing Age began t' enquire If they the Book or That did them inspire And making narrower search they found thô late That what they thought the Priest's was Their Estate Taught by the Will produc'd the written Word How long they had been cheated on Record Then every man who saw the Title fair Claim'd a Child's part and put in for a Share Consulted Soberly his private good And sav'd himself as cheap as e'er he cou'd 'T is true my Friend and far be Flattery hence This good had full as bad a Consequence The Book thus put in every vulgar hand Which each presum'd he best cou'd understand The Common Rule was made the common Prey And at the mercy of the Rabble lay The tender Page with horney Fists was gaul'd And he was gifted most that loudest baul'd The Spirit gave the Doctoral Degree And every member of a Company Was of his Trade and of the Bible free Plain Truths enough for needfull use they found But men wou'd still be itching to expound Each was ambitious of th' obscurest place No measure ta'n from Knowledge all from GRACE Study and Pains were now no more their Care Texts were explain'd by Fasting and by Prayer This was the Fruit the private Spirit brought Occasion'd by great Zeal and little Thought While Crouds unlearn'd with rude Devotion warm About the Sacred Viands buz and swarm The Fly-blown Text creates a crawling Brood And turns to Maggots what was meant for Food A Thousand daily Sects rise up and dye A Thousand more the perish'd Race supply So all we make of Heavens discover'd Will Is not to have it or to use it ill The Danger 's much the same on several Shelves If others wreck us or we wreck our selves What then remains but waving each Extreme The Tides of Ignorance and Pride to stem Neither so rich a Treasure to forgo Nor proudly seek beyond our pow'r to know Faith is not built on disquisitions vain The things we must believe are few and plain But since men will believe more than they need And every man will make himself a Creed In doubtfull questions 't is the safest way To learn what unsuspected Ancients say For 't is not likely we shou'd higher Soar In search of Heav'n than all the Church before Nor can we be deceiv'd unless we see The Scripture and the Fathers disagree If after all they stand suspected still For no man's Faith depends upon his Will 'T is some Relief that points not clearly known Without much hazard may be let alone And after hearing what our Church can say If still our Reason runs another way That private Reason 't is more Just to curb Than by Disputes the publick Peace disturb For points obscure are of small use to learn But Common quiet is Mankind's concern Thus have I made my own Opinions clear Yet neither Praise expect nor Censure fear And this unpolish'd rugged Verse I chose As fittest for Discourse and nearest Prose For while from Sacred Truth I do not swerve Tom Sternhold 's or Tom Sha ll 's Rhimes will serve FINIS Opinions of the several Sects of Philosophers concerning the Summum Bonum Systeme of Deisme Of Reveal'd Religion Socrates Objection of the Deist The Objection answer'd Digression to the Translatour of Father Simon 's Critical History of the Old Testament Of the Infallibility of Tradition in General Objection in behalf of Tradition urg'd by Father Simon The Second Objection Answer to the Objection
which as yet are more easy for us to prevent than they would be for them to remedy How fatally this Cassandra has foretold we know too well by sad experience the Seeds were sown in the time of Queen Elizabeth the bloudy Harvest ripened in the Reign of King Charles the Martyr and because all the Sheaves could not be carried off without shedding some of the loose Grains another Crop is too like to follow nay I fear 't is unavoidable if the Conventiclers be permitted still to scatter A man may be suffer'd to quote an Adversary to our Religion when he speaks Truth and 't is the observation of Meimbourg in his History of Calvinism that where-ever that Discipline was planted and embrac'd Rebellion Civil War and Misery attended it And how indeed should it happen otherwise Reformation of Church and State has always been the ground of our Divisions in England While we were Papists our Holy Father rid us by pretending authority out of the Scriptures to depose Princes when we shook off his Authority the Sectaries furnish'd themselves with the same Weapons and out of the same Magazine the Bible So that the Scriptures which are in themselves the greatest security of Governours as commanding express obedience to them are now turn'd to their destruction and never since the Reformation has there wanted a Text of their interpreting to authorize a Rebel And 't is to be noted by the way that the Doctrines of King-killing and Deposing which have been taken up onely by the worst Party of the Papists the most frontless Flatterers of the Pope's Authority have been espous'd defended and are still maintain'd by the whole Body of Nonconformists and Republicans 'T is but dubbing themselves the People of God which 't is the interest of their Preachers to tell them they are and their own interest to believe and after that they cannot dip into the Bible but one Text or another will turn up for their purpose If they are under Persecution as they call it then that is a mark of their Election if they flourish then God works Miracles for their Deliverance and the Saints are to possess the Earth They may think themselves to be too roughly handled in this Paper but I who know best how far I could have gone on this Subject must be bold to tell them they are spar'd though at the same time I am not ignorant that they interpret the mildness of a Writer to them as they do the mercy of the Government in the one they think it Fear and conclude it Weakness in the other The best way for them to confute me is as I before advis'd the Papists to disclaim their Principles and renounce their Practices We shall all be glad to think them true Englishmen when they obey the King and true Protestants when they conform to the Church Discipline It remains that I acquaint the Reader that the Verses were written for an ingenious young Gentleman my Friend upon his Translation of The Critical History of the Old Testament compos'd by the learned Father Simon The Verses therefore are address'd to the Translatour of that Work and the style of them is what it ought to be Epistolary If any one be so lamentable a Critique as to require the Smoothness the Numbers and the Turn of Heroick Poetry in this Poem I must tell him that if he has not read Horace I have studied him and hope the style of his Epistles is not ill imitated here The Expressions of a Poem design'd purely for Instruction ought to be Plain and Natural and yet Majestick for here the Poet is presum'd to be a kind of Law-giver and those three qualities which I have nam'd are proper to the Legislative style The Florid Elevated and Figurative way is for the Passions for Love and Hatred Fear and Anger are begotten in the Soul by shewing their Objects out of their true proportion either greater than the Life or less but Instruction is to be given by shewing them what they naturally are A Man is to be cheated into Passion but to be reason'd into Truth TO Mr. Dryden On his POEM called RELIGIO LAICI GReat is the task and worthy such a Muse To doe Faith right yet Reason disabuse How chearfully the Soul does take its flight On Faith's strong wings guided by Reason's light But Reason does in vain her beams display Shewing to th' place whence first she came the way If Peter's Heirs must still hold fast the Key The house which many Mansions shou'd contain Form'd by the great wise Architect in vain Of Disproportion justly we accuse If the streight-gate still entrance must refuse The onely free enriching Port God made What shamefull Monopoly did invade One Factious Company ingross'd the Trade Thou to the distant Shore hast safely sail'd Where the best Pilots have so often fail'd Freely we now may buy the Pearl of price The happy Land abounds with fragrant Spice And nothing is forbidden there but Vice Thou best Columbus to the unknown World Mountains of Doubt that in thy way were hurld Thy generous Faith has bravely overcome And made Heaven truly our familiar home Let Crowds impossibilities receive Who cannot think ought not to disbelieve Let 'em pay Tithes and hud-wink'd go to Heaven But sure the Quaker cou'd not be forgiven Had not the Clerk who hates Lay-policy Found out to countervail the Injury Swearing a trade of which they are not free Too long has captiv'd Reason been enslav'd By Visions scar'd and airy Phantasms brav'd Listning t' each proud Enthusiastick Fool Pretending Conscience but designing Rule Whilst Law Form Interest Ignorance Design Did in the holy Cheat together joyn Like vain Astrologers gazing on the Skyes We fell and did not dare to trust our Eyes 'T is time at last to fix the trembling Soul And by thy Compass to point out the Pole All men agree in what is to be done And each Man's Heart his Table is of Stone Where he the God-writ Character may view Were it as needfull Faith had been so too Oh that our greatest fault were humble Doubt And that we were more Iust though less Devout What reverence shou'd we pay thy sacred Rhimes Who in these Factious too-believing Times Hast taught us to obey and to distrust Yet to our selves our King and God prove just Thou wantst not Praise from an ensuring Friend The Poor to Thee on double Interest lend So strong thy Reasons and so clear thy Sense They bring like Day their own bright Evidence Yet whilst mysterious Truths to light you bring And heavenly things in heavenly numbers sing The joyfull Younger Choir may clap the Wing To Mr. DRYDEN on Religio Laici 'T Is nobly done a Layman's Creed profest When all our Faith of late hung on a Priest His doubtfull words like Oracles receiv'd And when we could not understand believ'd Triumphant Faith now takes a nobler course T is gentle but resists intruding force Weak Reason may pretend an awfull