Selected quad for the lemma: soul_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
soul_n	apostle_n	body_n	spirit_n	5,900	5	5.3950	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A39735	The life and death of the B. Virgin giving an account of the miracles ascrib'd to her by Romish writers : with the grounds of worship paid to her / by a lay hand.	Fleetwood, William, 1656-1723.	1688 (1688)	Wing F1247A; ESTC R29843	26,177	44

Const in Encomio B. Virginis tenderest years the Scriptures say nothing of this neither but we have lost nothing by that for we learn elsewhere That Ann to obtain her of God had as Hannah heretofore had done for Saemuel vowed her to his Service And that when she was weaned and three Years old she was presented to the High Priest who received her as a precious Jewel and Lodged her in the Sanctum Sanctorum where before stood the Ark of the Covenant and where he himself alone had right to enter once a Year Zachary the Father of St. John Baptist was it seems High Priest and made no such unnecessary Scruple as these How should I introduce a little Girl into a place where I my self can enter in but once a year How can I in the most sacred and august Partition of the Temple bring in a Bed a Nurse and little Child with all that 's necessary in such a case And what shall become of all the Impurities inseparable from the Infant Age But being a Prophet and knowing the Mystery of all he received her without any stickling Thither she was brought accompanied with troops of Virgins with slaming Torches in their hands and there was brought up for eleven years the Angels all the while supplying her with nourishment After eleven years the Priests assembled to consult what they should do with this divine Virgin and at last concluded to commit her to the Guardianship of St. Joseph of whose vertue and continence they were very well assured 11 and 3 make 14 and at 14 she was affianc'd to Joseph 3 months after the Angel came with the Salutation she conceived of the Holy Ghost and was brought to bed at 15. An unbelieving Jew would make a great many odd exceptions to this History he would say it was a thing unheard of in the Mystery of Religion to introduce to feed and bring up a Girl in the Holy of Holies where ordinary Priests themselves durst never enter He would tell us that Women were they never so pure were never admitted into the Temple beyond the place called the Womens Court. He would say it was very strange the Rabbins and ancient Doctors should mention no such thing as this either to recount or refute it He would add moreover that in the Catalogue of High Priests he could find no such Man as Zachary the Father of John Baptist Indeed these difficulties have put our Catholick Costerus Medit 3. de praesent Virg. Doctors to no small trouble and now they rather chuse to say that round the Sanctuary there were little Chambers where Recluses and Religious Maids were bred up and worked for the Temple to whose care the Education of little Mary was intrusted But our old devout Gentlemen heretofore never concerned themselves with any Scruples or Objections of Unbelievers but in great simplicity swallowed all for truth upon the word and authority of Saints such as J. Damasc●n Canonized and consequently made Infallible at least by the tacit consent of the Church And who can forbear believing a History that has gotten some twelve hundred years upon his head For Gregory Nyssen reports this And In Natalib Chr. tom 3. though he reports it only as an Apocryphal History yet the Church has since made it as good as Canonical by an universal Belief of it The Blessed Virgin consented to live with Joseph in shew of Marriage but in effect in pure Virginity for she told him secretly that she had made a Vow of Chastity and withal advis'd him to do so too But notwithstanding her Vow which seem'd to determine her never to become a Mother she quickly after became so by the operation of the Holy Ghost And here the Doctors are in great trouble to know of what it was that the Virgin conceived and formed the Saviour of the World. Some believe the Holy Ghost took three drops of her Heart-blood and disposed them in their place to make the Body of our Lord. Salmeron though Tome 3. tract 9. he reject this Opinion yet allows it to be a devout religious Contemplation But he himself is of another mind which I cannot give you in his terms no more than I can the Opinions of other Authors upon this Occasion because they search into the Mysteries of Generation so profoundly and exactly and examin them in such a gross and naked manner that even the chastest and most delicate Translation of their Latin into English would not fail to wound or at least disorder our Imagination It would be worse yet if I should recite any thing out of a Book that was current in the last Age and it may be is in being now intituled Proto Evangelium sive de Natalibus Christi ipsius Matris V. Mariae and Fathered on St. James Here we may find enough to make the most shameless Prostitutes to blush upon occasion of one Salome a Midwife who would not believe a Virgin had brought forth but would needs be as curious in her way as St. Thomas doubting of the Resurrection was afterwards in his One William P●stell in the preceeding Age made the discovery of this Horrible Gospel God knows whence But is it not a pretty ready way to bring the True and Sacred Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ into contempt I will pass 〈◊〉 all the impertinent tales with which they cha●● 〈◊〉 Life of the Blessed Virgin. The care she took 〈◊〉 keep the Fore-skin of our Lord at his Circumcision The pains she was at to gather all the Blood and Water that fell from his hands and feet and side upon the Cross and in particular the care she had to keep the Nails that sastened him thereto I will pass over all this I say and a hundred such like things to come to the last and greatest action of all her Assumption into Heaven because it is one of the principal Stories on whcih the Worship of the Blessed Virgin is establish'd Thus then the Gentlemen report the matter The Blessed Virgin lived upon the Earth after her Pelbart who lived in the Year 1471. and dedicated his Book to Pope Sixt. IV. Son till she was Fifty Eight years old as some say Sixty Three as others and others more by a great deal At last she Prayed very earnestly to her Son that she might depart from this place of Pilgrimage on Earth and be gathered unto him who thereupon sent an Angel to her promising that within three days he would take her to himself Together with this News the Angel delivered her a branch of Palm that he brought from Paradise and told her she must have it carried before her Bier to her Interment he gave her also a Suit of Mourning which her Son had sent her Of this Angel she demanded two things first that she might be buried by all the Apostles Secondly that when her Soul departed from her Body it might meet with none of the Devils or Malign Spirits Upon which last demand the

Angel said unto her Madam why are you afraid to meet the Devil whose Head it is that you have bruised However what you ask you shall have You shall meet with no Devils and the Noble Apostles shall Inter you Upon this the Angel re-ascended into Heaven environ'd with a great Light. And suddenly the branch of Palm that he had brought and left in the Virgins hand became exceeding bright of a lively shining Green and every leaf thereof as glorious as the Morning Star. To free you from all manner of doubt in this matter St. Cosmus Vestitor from whom honest Pelbert says he took this History tells us he saw himself a little piece of this Branch which retained to his days a lustre equal to a very bright Star. The Virgin full of Joy at this good news assembled all the Virgins and Saints together and gave them to understand her Death was now at hand comforting them thereupon At the same time was St. John the Apostle Preaching at Ephesus and in the middle of his Sermon comes me a clap of Thunder and a white Cloud that whisk'd him through the Air and set him down at the Door of the Virgin Maries House where being enter'd he and the Virgin embrac'd each other with abundance of Tears and Mary recommended to his care her Burial At which words the good Apostle threw himself down upon the Earth and with a great deal of passion cry'd out and said Alas My God My God Why dost thou lay this sore affliction upon us to take away this Holy Mistress of our Religion the Mirror of Sanctity and our only Consolation As he was thus lamenting the Blessed Virgin shew'd him the shining Palm and the Mourning Suit her Son had sent her and order'd him to take great care this Branch were carried before her Bier St. John desir'd with all his heart that all the Apostles might accompany him at this Solemn Action and immediately the Apostles that were scattered in all the corners of the Earth were carried through the Air on white Clouds and set down before the House where entring in and meeting with St. John they were marvellously astonished but after Salutations he explained the whole Mystery to them upon hearing of which they were overwhelmed with grief and entering into Maries room adored her in the Angels Salutation saying Ave Maria gratia plana c. to whom the Virgin replied saying God preserve you the chosen Disciples of my only Son. After a great deal of homage adoration paid unto her by the Apostles she received the Communion recommended her Spirit to her Son kneeled down upon the ground lift up her Soul to God and disposed herself to give up the ghost About the third hour of the Night Jesus himself with the nine Orders of Angels the Assembly of Patriarchs Prophets Martyrs Confessors and Virgins came down from Heaven and stood about her Bed the whole Coelestial Army singing Songs and admirable Hymns to the honour of Mary Jesus himself beginning and saying Come my chosen come and I will place Thee on my Throne To whom the Virgin answered Lo I come as it is written in the Volume of the Book that I should do thy will O my God and the reupon render'd up her Soul into the hands of her Son who bore it away with him to Heaven When the Soul was gone the Body made shift of itself to say I I give thee thanks O Lord for that I am thy glory remem-Me because I am the work of thy hands and have kept what you committed to my charge upon which the Body became so luminous that the Maids who were preparing it for Burial and could touch it very well before could not so much as look upon it Now when all things were ready and the body to be taken up the Apostles made abundance of Complements and Ceremonies offering the Places of Honour to one another round with great civility but at last it was agreed that Peter and Paul should carry the Corps John should go before with the Palm and the rest of the Apostles should folin couples As they were going forward Jesus Christ march'd over them with all his Angels covered in a Cloud and joyning Voices with the College of Apostles they made an admirable Consort and at the same time a most sweet and fragrant Odour was spread through all the Region of the Air on all hands The Jews at this sight being fill'd with rage and malice thought this a very fair opportunity to rid their hands at once of all the Apostles of Jesus Christ there met together and gathering together the High Priest himself advances first and most profanely lays his two hands upon the Bier to stop them when lo immediately they both withered and were torn of at the elbows and there hung on each side of the Corps whilst the rest that followed him were struck with blindness The miserable High Priest made a lamentable howling for the loss of his hands and for extreme anguish that he felt But Peter told him honestly there was no way to save himself but by kissing the Bier where the Body of Mary lay and making Profession of the Christian Faith which he quickly did and both his hands were immediately fastened on again A little after Peter gave him one of the Dates that grew on the Branch of Palm to rubb his Followers eyes with who thereupon recovered their sight And now without any further molestation they were come to the Vale of Jehosophat where they found a Sepulchre hewn out of a Rock and altogether like that of Jesus Christ there they laid the Body of the Virgin and continued three days in their Devotions at her Tomb. At the end of which a bright Cloud shone all about the Sepulchre the Voices of Angels ecchoed out from every quarter a sweet smelling Savour was spread throughout the Air and all the World was seiz'd with ravishing astonishment Jesus descended with his Angels and having saluted his Apostles said unto them What Glory and what Honour think you ought I to bestow upon my Mother To which with one consent they answered It seemeth just unto thy Servants O Lord that as Thou hast vanquished Death and reignest from Generation to Generation so also Thou shouldst raise the Body of thy Mother and set her at thy right hand for evermore The Soul of Mary presently appeared and our Lord said to it Arise my well beloved the Tabernacle of Glory thou art fair my dear beloved and there is no blemish in thee as thou hast no spot so shall thy Body never see corruption And thus were things carried according to the report of Pelbart of Temeswar a grave Author whom Father Crasset a Jesuit hath very lately cited abundance of 1 Part. tr 1. quaest 13. pag. 103. times in his Book of True Devotion to the Virgin Printed in 1679. as worthy throughly to be believed and Pelbart himself tells us he had them from the Writings of