Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
spirit_n	ghost_n	holy_a	scripture_n	19,615	5	6.1818	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A36877	The monk's hood pull'd off, or, The Capvcin fryar described in two parts / translated out of French.; Capucin. English	Du Moulin, Pierre, 1568-1658.; Basile, de Rouen, d. 1648?	1671 (1671)	Wing D2592; ESTC R17147	60,217	212

ages after Methinks it is enough to have God our enemy If a man incurs the indignation of God the indignation of these two Apostles will not render him the more miserable In vain therefore doth Francis after he hath denounced against the Minor Fryars who shall disobey his Rule the Indignation of God threaten them with the indignation of St. Peter and Saint Paul who are pre-supposed though without proof and contrary to the word of God to know the heart and to see all that is done here below Also we would fain know why Francis threatens the Monks with the indignation of St. Peter and St. Paul only And why not with the indignation of St. John and St. James but perhaps he believed that they have less credit in Heaven or that they are less cholerick It is very observable that Francis composed his Rule wherein he gives laws and commandeth with authority when he was but a Lay man and a private person and a long time before the Pope approved it And although he was of the meanest rank of people and without any office or dignity yet he speaks magisterially To the Rule of St. Francis is added his Testament wherein he speaks with full power and authority saying Firmiter volo quod fratres laborent de laboritio praecipio firmiter fratribus per obedientiam c. That is I do strictly charge and do firmly and absolutely command the Fryars by their obedience c. He pre-supposeth that obedience is due to him and that his commands ought to be firm and inviolable Kings speak not with more authority CHAP. XXI Some Laws and Ordinances contained in St. Erancis 's Rule FRancis his Rule begins with these words The Rule and Life of the Minor Fryars is as follows viz. to observe the Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ in these things viz. in living Obediently Chastly and without Poverty These words are very remarkable for they do not oblige the Monks to acknowledge Jesus Christ to be the eternal Son of God and the Saviour and Redeemer of the world not to be charitable and liberal to the poor nor to be at peace with their neighbours nor to do to others what they would have done to themselves nor diligently to read the Holy Scripture and to be instructed in the Doctrine of Salvation which are things expresly cantained in the Gospel of Jesus Christ and recommended by the Apostles But this Rule obligeth the Minor Fryars to observe the Gospel in things which the Gospel of Jesus Christ commands not for you cannot find that the Gospel of Christ forbids any one to marry on the contrary Jesus Christ by the mouth of his Apostle commands those who cannot contain to marry and St. Peter was married Jesus Christ forbids us not to possess any thing in particular nor doth he command us to live in beggary by the sweat of other mens brows He commands not to make a Vow of Obedience to a Guardian or Abbot or Superiour of a Monastery for in the days of Jesus Christ there were no such people nor in many Ages after Can there be a more manifest mockery then to oblige men by Vow to obey the Gospel in such things whereof the Gospel makes not the least mention and some whereof are contrary to the Gospel But if these things are commanded in the Gospel as this Rule falsly pre-supposeth why then doth the Pope dispence with this Vow by permitting Monks to marry However he seldom gives this permission except to persons of great Quality In the second Chapter of the same Rule you shall find these words Let those who are received Monks have a Cloak with a Hood and if they will another without a Hood Also let those wear shooes who are constrained by necessity so to do Likewise let all the Fryars wear poor and base cloaths which they may patch with pieces of sack-cloth and such other stuff and shall have the blessing of God with it Must not that man be out of his wits who thinks that the patching of old cloaths can bring down the blessing of God upon any one And seeing the Capucins cloaths are of woollen-cloth St. Francis did very improperly ordain that they should be patched with sack-cloth In the same Chapter of this Rule mention is made of three Lents viz. the Lent before Easter another from All Saints day till Christmass and the other from the day of the Epiphany till the Lent before Easter So that there are five Months of Lent The two first are necessarily enjoyned but the third is left to every ones liberty In this same Chapter the Minor Fryars are forbidden to ride on Horse-back except in case of extreme necessity Also they are commanded when they enter into any house to eat whatsoever is set before them By this Rule they may eat flesh in Lent They are likewise forbidden in the same Chapter to receive money either personally or by Proxie For Pope Nicholas hath already told us that to have a Bag and Money as Jesus Christ and his Apostles had is an action of infirmity but St. Francis who had neither Bag nor Money attained unto greater perfection In the fifth Chapter of the same Rule Francis commands his Monks to labour with their hands if they are able But in his Testament he speaks more precisely for he saith that he himself did labour with his hands and he adds I do likewise expresly command all the other Monks to labour This Command is not observed now a days for the Capucins and Cordeliers who understand a Trade had rather live in idle beggery by other mens labour And thus they daily break their Vow and transgress their Rule But above all are remarkable the words of the Tenth Chapter of this Rule which are these Let not the Fryars trouble themselves to teach those to read who cannot read but above all things let them desire the Spirit of God St. Francis says this because some Monks are very ignorant and cannot read Some such there are now adays but not so many as there were in St. Francis's time whose opinion it is That no body needs trouble himself to teach them to read that so they may be instructed in the Holy Scriptures he had rather they should remain ignorant Only he would have them desire the Holy Ghost not considering that God gives this Spirit to those who are instructed in his Word For to desire the Holy Spirit and yet to neglect the ordinary means whereby the Holy Spirit works in the hearts of men is to shut the door against him while we desire him it is just as if a man should desire to have a Bell rung without having the Clapper of it moved These are the Commands of Francis who is exalted above the Cherubins that stand before the Throne of God to the observation of which Commands he promiseth Life Eternal and by the transgression of them a man incurs the indignation of God and of the Apostles Peter

those who had maliciously defaced the marks of the Image of St. Francis which was at Gennes in the Church of Saint Mary de Vignes About twenty six years since Pope Nicholas the Fourth sent Bulls to all the Churches under the Papal jurisdiction certifying the truth of St. Francis's marks though divers who were hard of belief laughed at it since which time the memory of St. Francis's marks is sacred in the Church of Rome which as Antonine saith observes the Feast of St. Francis's marks which honour is not done to the marks of Jesus Christ. When I consider these things I cannot enough wonder at the blindness of those that give credit to things so full of absurdities and impostures It seems as if the adorers of St. Francis had invented them on purpose to dishonour and mock him for no man who hath any common sense left him will do such things as are attributed to St. Francis who play'd the mad-man that he might be counted a Saint and as much as in him lay kept himself from the usual and ordinary actions of mankind that he might be admired viz. To draw roasted flesh through the ashes to wallow in the dirt with Swine to tumble in the Snow to give instruction to Animals and to call them his brethren and Sisters are things which cannot be done by a man that is in his right senses And herein we must admire the just effects of Gods displeasure who hath revenged the contempt of his Word contained in the Holy Scriptures for in those days and in the following Ages the the Holy Scripture was a Book sealed and altogether unknown to the people Nothing was then talked of but Images lying Wonders Croisades Indulgencies Adoration of Reliques and the power of the Pope was then at the height and absurd and feigned Legends were the ordinary subject of Sermons Wherefore God be-being provoked strook the people with the spirit of giddiness and with a horrible blindness which grew thicker and thicker until God took the Candle of his Word from under the Bushel and exposed to view the Holy Scriptures CHAP. XX. That under the Cloak of Humility Saint Francis hid an unparalle'ld pride WHosoever shall rightly consider the actions of St. Francis shall under the Cloak of Humility discover an unparallel'd pride In the beginning of the Legend written by Jacobus de Voraigne it is reported That Francis being prisoner with divers other persons he only was merry and all the rest were sad And being asked what was the cause of his mirth he answered Ideo me exultare noveritis quia adhuc sanctus per totum seculum adorabar that is Know that I rejoyce because I shall be adored for a Saint throughout the World To desire to be adored is the highest degree of pride None of the Apostles desired this honour Cornelius the Centurion who was a man fearing God knew that there is but one God which he continually invoked he knew well enough that St. Peter was not the Creator of the world but being seized with reverence he would have given him some inferiour adoration for which Saint Peter rebuked him saying Stand up I my self also am a man Act. 10. 26. St. John seized with fear would have adored the Angel that talked with him as you may see in the one and twentieth Chapter of the Revelation But the Angel rebuked him saying See thou do it not for I am thy fellow-servant worship God He knew well enough that this Angel was not God for the same Angel had told him so before in Chap 19. of the same Book Is it not therefore an impious folly for a man to live the life of a beggar that he may be adored after his death The Rule of St. Francis which speaks with an absolute authority demonstrates the pride of him that composed it For who gave brother Francis who was of the meanest of the people and without any charge either Ecclesiastical or Civil power to compose Laws different from the laws of God and to make ordinances which oblige men upon pain of damnation Who gave him power to command with absolute authority For see how he speaks in his Rule Per obedientiam injungo Ministris I enjoyn Ministers by their obedience And he concludes his Rule with these words That it is not lawful for any man to infringe this Rule or by rash boldness to contradict it That if any one shall presume to make such an attempt let him know that he shall incur the displeasure of Almighty God and of the Blessed Apostles Peter and Paul I demand how we can be assured that God would have us upon pain of incurring his displeasure entirely observe Francis his Rule and that God would be angry with a Minor Fryar who instead of a Cord should gird himself with a leather-girdle or should receive money or would not wear patcht clothes or would wear a shirt or should whether he be a Capucin or a Lay Cordelier say less then seventy six Paters in one day What can be said more against Murtherers Adulterers and Blasphemers than to say that they incur the indignation of Almighty God Hath not weak and sinful man enough to do to obey the commands of God without having heavy burthens imposed on him in things unnecessary and which God requires not and then to be made believe that he who doth in the least transgress these laws invented by man doth incur the indignation of God It is observable that many of those who are rigid observers of those humane laws and oblige others to be so too do very easily dispence with the Laws of God and are far from loving God with all their hearts and their neighbours as themselves But Superstition prevails more than Religion And hence it is that in the Convents of Monks there are envies factions and continual emulations besides other vices But how did this Francis know that a Monk who observes not his Rule incurs the indignation of St. Peter and St. Paul Had he spoken with them Did they declare and promise that they would be avengers and enemies to all those that should contemn the Rule of the Minor Fryars We have the Epistles of those excellent Apostles Peter and Paul which without comparison are better then Saint Francis's Rule and yet they do not declare themselves avengers of the contempt of their doctrines They do not say that he who shall violate their precepts shall incur their indignation Wherefore it appears that this venerable Francis assumes an authority over the Apostles whom he would oblige to be angry for his sake and to undertake his quarrel But it is not credible that the Apostles who enjoy celestial glory will concern themselves for the observation of the rules of Monks especially seeing they themselves were no Monks and that their lives were as much unlike the lives of the Capucins as Heaven is distant from Earth Also because there were no Convents of Monks in the Apostles days nor in many