Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n
Text snippets containing the quad
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A30956
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A remembrancer of excellent men ...; Remembrancer of excellent men
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Barksdale, Clement, 1609-1687.
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1670
(1670)
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Wing B806; ESTC R17123
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46,147
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158
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his Spirit he added an indefatigable Industry and God gave a plentiful Benediction for there were very few kinds of Learning but he was a Mystes and a great Master in them 21. He was a rare Humanist and hugely verst in all the polite parts of Learning and had throughly concocted all the antient Moralists Greek and Roman Poets and Orators and was not unacquainted with the refined Wits of the later Ages whether French or Italian 22. But he had not only the Accomplishments of a Gentleman but so universal were his parts that they were proportion'd to every thing And though his Spirit and Humour were made up of smoothness and gentleness yet he could bear with the harshness and roughness of the Schools and was not unseen in their subtilties and spinosities and upon occasion could make them serve his purpose And yet I believe he thought many of them very near a kin to the Famous Knight of the Muncha and would make sport sometimes with the Romantick Sophistry and phantastick Adventures of School-Errantry 23. His skill was great both in the Civil and Canon Law and Casuistical Divinity And he was a rare conductor of Souls and knew how to counsel and to advise to solve difficulties and determine Cases and quiet Consciences And he was no Novice in Mr. S.'s new Science of Controversie but could manage an Argument and make reparties with a strange dexterity He understood what the several Parties in Christendom have to say for themselves and could plead their cause to better advantage than any Advocate of their Tribe and when he had done he could confute them too and shew that better Arguments than ever they could produce for themselves would afford no sufficient ground for their fond Opinions 24. I shall adde only his great acquaintance with the Fathers and Ecclesiastical Writers and the Doctors of the first and purest Ages both of the Greek and Latin Church which he has made use of against the Romanists to vindicate the Church of England from the Challenge of Innovation and prove her to be truly Antient Catholick and Apostolical 25. But Religion and Virtùe is the Crown of all other Accomplishments and it was the Glory of this great man to be thought a Christian and whatever you added to it he look'd upon as a term of diminution And yet he was a zealous Son of the Church of England but that was because he judg'd her and with great reason a Church the most purely Christian of any in the world 26. In his younger years he met with some assaults from Popery and the high pretensions of their Religious Orders were very accommodate to his devotional Temper But he was always so much Master of himself that he would never be govern'd by any thing but Reason and the evidence of Truth which engag'd him in the study of those Controversies and to how good purpose the world by this time a sufficient witness But the longer and the more he consider'd the worse he lik'd the Roman Cause and became at last to censure them with some severity but I confess I have so great an opinion of his Judgment and the Charitableness of his Spirit that I am afraid he did not think worse of them than they deserve 27. But Religion is not matter of Theory and Orthodox Notions and it is not enough to believe aright but we must practice accordingly and to Master our Passions and to make a right use of that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and power that God has given us over our own actions is a greater glory than all other Accomplishments that can adorn the mind of man And therefore I shall close my Character of this great Personage with a touch upon some of those Virtues for which his Memory will be precious to all Posterity 28. He was a person of great Humility and notwithstanding his stupendious Parts and Learning and eminency of place he had nothing in him of Pride and Humour but was courteous and affable and of easie access and would lend a ready ear to the Complaints yea to the impertinences of the meanest persons 29. His Humility was coupled with an extraordinary Piety and I believe he spent the greatest part of his time in Heaven His solemn hours of Prayer took up a considerable portion of his life and we are not to doubt but he had learn'd of St. Paul to pray continually and that occasional ejaculations and frequent aspirations and emigrations of his Soul after God made up the best part of his Devotions 30. But he was not only a good man God-ward but he was come to the top of St. Peters Gradation and to all his other Virtues added a large and diffusive Charity And whoever compares his plentiful Incomes with the inconsiderable estate he left at his Death will be easily convinc'd that Charity was steward for a great proportion of his Revenue But the Hungry that he fed and the Naked that he cloath'd and the distress'd that he supply'd and the fatherless that he provided for the poor Children that he put to Apprentice and brought up at school and maintain'd at the University will not sound a Trumpet to that Charity which he dispersed with his right hand but wouldnot suffer his left hand to have any knowledge of it 31. To sum up all in a few words This Great Prelate had the Good Humour of a Gentleman the Eloquence of an Orator the Fansie of a Poet the acuteness of a Schoolman The profoundness of a Philosopher the Wisdom of a Chancellor the Sagacity of a Prophet the Reason of an Angel and the Piety of a Saint He had Devotion enough for a Cloister Learning enough for an University and Wit enough for a Colledge of Virtuosi And had his Parts and Endowments been parcell'd out among his poor Clergy that he left behind him it would perhaps have made one of the best Diocese in the world 32. But alas Our Father Our Father The Horses of our Israel and the Chariot thereof He is gone and has carried his Mantle and his Spirit along with him up to Heaven and the Sons of the Prophets have lost all their beauty and lustre which they enjoy'd only from the reflection of his Excellencies which were bright and radiant enough to cast a glory upon a whole order of Men. But the Sun of this our world after many attempts to break through the crust of an earthly Body is at last swallow'd up in the great Vortex of Eternity and there all his Maculae are scatter'd and dissolv'd and he is fix'd in an Orb of Glory and shines among his Brethren-stars that in their several Ages gave Light to the world and turn'd many Souls unto Righteousness 33. And we that are left behind though we can never reach his perfections must study to imitate his Virtues that we may at last come to sit at his feet in the Mansions of Glory which God grant for his infinite Mercies in Jesus Christ. Ob. Aug. 13. 1667. Soli Deo Gloria FINIS * Duacens Praef. ad Lib. de triplici Hom. officio * See a former Vol. * AEnea Pila Diog. Laert. * Archbish Laud B Mentague B. Lindsey Mr. John Selden c. * Jo. Antioch hist. tran out of Greek into Latine with Annot.
upon a general charge imputing to the Church of England the great crime of Schism and by this they thought they might with most probability deceive unwary and unskilful Readers for they saw the Schism and they saw we had left them and because they consider'd not the Causes they resolved to out-face us in the Charge The Bishop now having an Argument fit to employ his great abilities undertakes the question and in a full Discourse proves the Church of Rome not only to be guilty of the Schism by making it necessary to depart from them but they did actuate the Schism and themselves made the first separations in the great point of the Pope's Supremacy which was the palladium for which they principally contended He made it appear that the Popes of Rome were Usurpers of the Rights of Kings and Bishops that they brought in new Doctrines in every Age that they impos'd their own devices upon Christendom as Articles of Faith that they prevaricated the Doctrines of the Apostles that the Church of England only return'd to her Primitive purity that she joyn'd with Christ and his Apostles that she agreed in all the sentiments of the Primitive Church 18. The old Bishop of Chalcedon known to many of us replyed to this excellent Book but was soon answer'd by a Rejoynder made by the Lord Bishop of Derry in which he so pressed the former Arguments refuted the Cavils brought in so many imimpregnable Authorities and probations and added so many moments and weights to his Discourse that the pleasures of reading the Book would be the greatest if the profit to the Church of God were not greater Whenever men will desire to be satisfied in those great questions the Bishop of Derry's Book shall be their Oracle 19. I will not insist upon his other excellent Writings but it is known every where with what Piety and acumen he wrote against the Manichaean Doctrine of fatal necessity which a late witty man had pretended to adorn with a new Vizor but this excellent person washed off the ceruss and the meretricious paintings rarely well asserted the Oeconomy of the Divine Providence and having once more triumph'd over his Adversary betook himself to the more agreeable attendance upon Sacred Offices and having usefully and wisely discoursed of the Sacred Rite of Confirmation impos'd hands upon the most illustrious Princes the Dukes of York and Glocester and the Princess Royal and ministred to them the promise of the Holy Spirit and ministerially established them in the Religion and Service of the Holy Jesus 20. And one thing more I shall remark that at his leaving those parts upon the Kings Return some of the Remonstrant Ministers of the Low-Countries coming to take their leaves of his great man and desiring that by his means the Church of England would be kind to them He had reason to grant it because they were learned men and in many things of a most excellett Belief yet he reproved them and gave them caution against it that they approached too near and gave too much countenance to the great and dangerous errours of the Socinians 21. He thus having serv'd God and the King abroad God was pleas'd to return to the King and to us all as in the days of old and we sung the Song of David In convertendo captivitatem Sion When King David and all his Servants returned to Jerusalem this great person having trod in the Wine-press was called to drink of the Wine and as an honorary Reward of his great Services and Abilities was chosen Primate of this National Church He had this Remark in all his Government that as he was a great hater of Sacriledge so he professed himself a publick enemy to non-residence and religiously against it allowing it in no case but of necessity or the greater good of the Church 22. There are great things spoken of his Predecessor St. Patrick that he founded 700 Churches and Religious Covents that he ordained 5000 Priests and with his own hands Consecrated 350 Bishops How true the story is I know not but we are all witnesses that the late Primate whose memory we now Celebrate did by an extraordinary contingency of Providence in one day consecrate two Archbishops and ten Bishops and did benefit to almost all the Churches in Ireland and was greatly instrumental to the endowments of the whole Clergy and in the greatest abilities and incompararable industry was inferiour to none of his most glorious Antecessors 23. The Character which was given of that Learned Primate Richard of Armagh by Trithemius does exactly fit this our Father Vir in divinis c. He was learned in the Scriptures skilled in secular Philosophy and not unknowing in the Civil and Canon Laws in which studies I wish the Clergy were with some carefulness and diligence still more conversant He was of an excellent Spirit a Scholar in his Discourses an early and industrious Preacher to the People And as if there were a more particular sympathy between their souls our Primate had so great a veneration to his Memory that he purposed if he had lived to have restor'd his Monument in Dundalk which time or impiety or unthankfulness had either omitted or destroyed So great a lover he was of all true and inherent worth that he loved it in the very memory of the Dead and to have such great examples transmitted to the intuition and imitation of Posterity 24. At his coming to the Primacy he knew he should at first espy little besides the ruines of Discipline a Harvest of Thorns and Heresies prevailing in the hearts of the people the Churches possessed by Wolves and Intruders mens hearts greatly estranged from true Religion and therefore he set himself to weed the Fields of the Church He treated the Adversaries sometimes sweetly sometimes he confuted them learnedly sometimes he rebuked them sharply He visited his Charges diligently and in his own person not only by proxies and instrumental deputations he design'd nothing that we know of but the Redintegration of Religion the Honour of God and the King the restoring of collapsed Discipline and the renovation of the Faith and the Service of God in the Churches and still he was indefatigable and even in the last Scene of his life not willing that God should take him unemployed 25. The last of January God sent him a brisk alarm of Death whereupon he made his Will in which beside the prudence and presence of Spirit manifested in making a just and wise settlement of his Estate and provisions for his descendants at midnight and in the trouble of his sickness and circumstances of addressing death he kept still a special sentiment and made confession of Gods admirable mercies and gave thanks that God had permitted him to live to see the blessed Restauration of his Majesty and the Church of England confessed his Faith to be the same as ever gave praises to God that he was born and bred up in this Religion and prayed