Selected quad for the lemma: son_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
son_n	brother_n	sister_n	wife_n	57,154	5	9.8443	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A49908	A treatise of the causes of incredulity wherein are examin'd the general motives and occasions which dispose unbelievers to reject the Christian religion : with two letters, containing a direct proof of the truth of Christianity / translated from the French of Monsieur Le Clerc.; De l'incredulité. English	Le Clerc, Jean, 1657-1736.	1697 (1697)	Wing L827; ESTC R19200	151,596	339

like manner People whose Desires are contrary to the Spirit of the Gospel may indulge those Desires without calling into question all the while the Truth of Christianity In the second place the Manners of most Christians are contrary to their Perswasion not that they perceive not this Opposition well enough and condemn it too when they think of it but the Method of Living generally receiv'd and that 's most agreeable to their Passions carries it over the Judgment they make of themselves in their own Consciences and we may be convinc'd of it by the Examples already alledg'd and by thousands of the like nature In short It cannot be hence concluded that we must judg of Religion according to our Inclinations nor that we may accommodate it rather to our manner of living than continue to believe what we do not obey Who will maintain that a Prince would do better in changing the Laws according to his present Passions than to let them subsist and break 'em every hour No body For if he observes not the Laws as he should he leaves them their Authority however with respect to his Subjects and such other Princes as are willing to observe them which is of absolute Necessity to Society What Disorders would it cause in the Commonwealth if an adulterous Prince lest he should be thought to contemn their Authority would abrogate all those Laws prohibiting Adultery Herodot l. 3. c. 31. 'T is said that Cambyses the Son of Cyrus being in Love with his Sister and desirous of marrying her enquir'd of the Royal Judges who were the Interpreters of the Laws amongst the Persians whether it was lawful for a Brother to have his Sister to Wife They answer'd him That there was no Law which permitted it but that there was another Law that permitted the Kings of Persia to do whatever they pleas'd Upon this Answer Cambyses marry'd his Sister and the Persians have not from that time scrupl'd to imitate their King in this Practice It had questionless been less criminal and much less hurtful to the Society if Cambyses had marry'd his Sister without saying any thing of it and not endeavour to cover his Incest by Authority of Law If it be ask'd then Which Carriage is most dangerous and blameable that of such as violate the Laws of the Gospel whom they believe to be Divine or that of the Incredulous who reject the Divinity of these Laws because they have no mind to obey them 'T is plain that the latter is much worse than the former supposing the Laws of the Gospel to be beneficial to Society which cannot be doubted as I have shewn in the first Chapter So whatever be the Conduct of those who profess the Christian Religion Unbelievers cannot however excuse themselves because others do not act coherently seeing they neglect to understand what imports them most to know The greatest part of Christians are doubtless in the wrong herein and they deny it not themselves but the Incredulous are much more to blame than they If the latter would examine themselves they might discover perhaps some other Source of this Negligence in their own Persons and it is that generally they are not very sollicitous about knowing the Truth in Matters of Religion There are some People so much taken up with the present and having so good an Opinion of themselves that they shut their Eyes and Ears to all sorts of Discourse or Examples which might convince them that they have reason not to be well satisfy'd with their Opinions and Practice Altho they seem sometimes to love the Truth yet if it be well remark'd it will appear that they love nothing but their Passions and are careful only how to indulge these for they receive no more of the Truth but what is not incompatible with their Desires Thus Princes and Persons of great Quality cannot bear that such as are about them should ingenuously acquaint them with what is said of them and tell besides their own Thoughts of the Matter If any is a little too sincere he 's quickly banish'd from their Presence 'T is just so with many private Persons who take none for their Friends but such as flatter them and help to keep them up in the good Opinion they have conceiv'd of themselves Princes and private Men do equally drive out of their Minds all Thoughts that might trouble their Repose and hinder them from quietly enjoying what they love They cannot say therefore that they are such mighty Lovers of Truth who care for knowing no more of it than what is pleasing to them And it may probably happen that many Unbelievers deal after this manner with Religion neglecting to understand what might convince them out of a secret Averseness they have of searching into such Truths as they cannot discover without extremely disquieting themselves So S. Paul reasoning before Felix of Justice Acts 24.25 Temperance and future Judgment this trembling Governour was quickly weary of hearing him and put him off till another time Had S. Paul entertain'd him with some other Discourse he would have heard him it may be as long as he pleas'd but the Vertues whereof this Apostle began to speak to him were too opposite to his Manners to obtain a longer Audience from him 'T is evident then that this Disposition is entirely against all good Sense and the whole World does equally blame Flattery and Flatterers 'T is generally agreed upon likewise that there is nothing more remote from Wisdom than wilfully to continue ignorant of what is disadvantageous to us for without knowing it we can never bring a Remedy against it and our Ignorance about it changes not the Nature of the thing but contributes not seldom to render our Condition worse The Incredulous therefore ought to look to it and not fear to hazard their Repose in the Search of disquieting Truths They ought to beware of that ill regulated Self-love which flatters our present Passions and avoids every thing that may mix some Bitterness with the Sweetness we taste in the Enjoyment of them For my part I 'm perswaded that their Negligence of informing themselves about the Grounds of Christianity proceeds in great part from this dangerous Disposition and they would agree to it no doubt were they capable of examining themselves Did we see Unbelievers use much Application in the Search of Truth without omitting any thing that was necessary for their thorough Information and yet not quit their Infidelity we should perhaps be tempted to believe that they were in the right seeing they did not conclude but after a long and requisite Discussion But we see not one of them so dispos'd and they are all contented with a very superficial Knowledg of Religion without endeavouring to penetrate into the Proofs of it which gives us occasion to confirm our selves in the Belief of the Truth and to be perswaded that their Infidelity proceeds as I have prov'd from their Neglect of due Instruction CHAP. VI.