Selected quad for the lemma: sense_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
sense_n	catholic_n	church_n	universal_a	1,773	5	9.0565	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A49439	An answer to Mr. Hobbs his Leviathan with observations, censures, and confutations of divers errours, beginning at the seventeenth chapter of that book / by William Lucy ...	Lucy, William, 1594-1677.	1673 (1673)	Wing L3452; ESTC R4448	190,791	291

practices and surely in these cases it is a safe rule for any man when he finds a place of Scripture which seemingly opposeth the universal doctrine of the Church which is and hath been so heretofore to look about how that Scripture may be expounded according to the Analogy of faith and good manners or usage of the Catholick Church which then must be the sense and the other though more apparent at the first not the true meaning and by this means he shall not act contrary to his Conscience but if he do he must sin CHAP. XXIII SECT V. Every man Judge of his own Actions whether according to the positive Divine Laws or the Law of Nature Mr. Hobbs his consequencies observed and censured His absurd expression of a publick Conscience rejected Opinion and Conscience distinguished Thoughts not possibly to be regulated by humane Laws The external manage of Opinion The proper subject of Regulation The necessity of distraction from diversity of Opinions unless obtruded upon others This Argument retorted ad hominem HE proceeds And it dependeth on the presumption of making himself Judge of good and evil It doth say I for so every man will be in what concerns his own practice and must needs be so for else how can he judge that he doth right or no unless he may judge it and if there were no Law but what he speaks of the Civil he must judge whether his actions be according to that or no when he acts But Mr. Hobbs acknowledgeth a superiour Law to that to wit the Law of Nature and I have shewed another the positive Law of God and he must in both these use judicium privatum his private judgement whether his actions accord or no with these superiour Laws Now in all these he must judge and be responsible for that judgement whether he judge by such rules as ought to guide a prudent man but he gives a reason for what he speaks for a mans Conscience and his Judgement is the same thing and as the judgement so also the Conscience may be erroneous This doth not follow because he may erre therefore he should not be guided by it A man may have a false light shewed or his eyes may be weak as our eyes who are old men are must he therefore not make use of that light and sight which he hath Nay rather he must be more careful in the diligent using of his eyes and more seriously examining the light which is offered to them But in all these offers of reason which he makes in this Case they may be applyed to that judgement which he must make concerning the Law of Nature or the Civil Law which he allows a man must judge whether his actions be according to them and what ●s the meaning of them as well as what is the meaning of the positive Law of God and he must and will if he be a vertuous man act accordingly Therefore saith he though he that is subject to no Civil Law sinneth in all he doth against his Conscience because he hath no other rule to follow but his own reason yet it is not so with him that lives in a Common-wealth because the Law is the publick Conscience by which he hath already undertaken to be guided I cannot find how to apply this discourse closely to the question for he who is not imbodied in a Common-wealth saith he is ruled by his reason but hark you that reason ought to be ruled by the Law of Nature according to his own doctrine and according to mine by whatsoever is a known positive Law of God Likewise although there is no Civil Law And I will tell him farther that no Civil or Politick Law can have power to bind him to the breach of any of these and therefore what he speaks of a publick Conscience is an unheard of Language and not proper to be applyed to Conscience and most undoubtedly only educeable out of that before unheard of and most impossible principle of constituting a supreme which hath been abundantly confuted in my former discourses Let the Reader take notice that I am now in page the 169 Otherwise in such diversity as there is of private Consciences which are but private Opinions the Common-wealth must needs be distracted and no man dare to obey the soveraign power farther than it shall seem good in his own eyes In this clause he sets down the mischiefs as he thinks which may happen to a Common-wealth by diversities of Consciences or Opinions But before I proceed I will take notice of a mistake whereof he is guilty when he saith That private Consciences are but private Opinions To this I say there may be such Consciences which arise only out of private Opinions which ought to be overswayed with the greater weight of publick Authority but there are other Consciences which are drawn out of the evident Law of Nature or clear text of Scripture these are so strong foundations to build Conscience upon that a Conscience erected upon one or both of them cannot be shaken by that which he calls a publick Conscience howsoever it is an improper Phrase used by ●im to call Conscience Opinion or Science for it is rather a Conclusion deduced out of either as I have shewed But then when he is angry in these Politicks with diversities of Consciences or Opinions as he terms them I would fain have him consider how any Common-wealth should be able to make a Law to regulate mens thoughts for they can judge of them only by outward acts it is only God who can search the hearts and reins and therefore he only can make ●aws for them Men may consine the external manage of Opinions and Consciences which is fit the legislative should do in all such things which might impede or trouble the well government of a Common-wealth and punish the expression of them but let all the power in the World make what Laws they can men will think what appears most reasonable to their understandings thoughts are far from the controul of any Leviathan whatsoever And although it is true in some part that distractions in Common-wealths arise from diversity of Opinions yet it is not true what he saith the Common wealth must needs be distracted by them for so long as they are but Opinions they do no harm but to those Persons who have them but if they justify their Opinions to the withdrawing others or themselves from obedience than they are dangerous And therefore the Leviathan although he cannot know mens Consciences and therefore not judge of them must not make Laws for them yet because he can know and judge of the outward act which may distrub the peace he must be severe both in making Laws against and punishing those faults yet I cannot chuse but wonder how he who dares publish so many doctrines against all the Leviathans in the World should not allow others the liberty of thinking against them CHAP. XXIII SECT VI. Faith