Selected quad for the lemma: truth_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
truth_n	authority_n	church_n	pillar_n	1,970	5	10.4442	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A11467	Europæ speculum. Or, A vievv or survey of the state of religion in the vvesterne parts of the world VVherein the Romane religion, and the pregnant policies of the Church of Rome to support the same, are notably displayed: with some other memorable discoueries and memorations, never before till now published according to the authours originall copie.	Sandys, Edwin, Sir, 1561-1629.	1629 (1629)	STC 21718; ESTC S116680	134,835	260

from the inward operation of Gods spirit the guift wherof is faith and that faith being a knowledge not of Science but of beliefe which searcheth not by discourse the particular necessitie of the veritie of the things which are delivered but relieth in a generall upon the approved wisdome truth and vertue of him that doth deliver them Surely whosoever will needs haue necessarie proofe of the seuerall articles of his Religion doth but wittily deceiue himselfe and by overcurious endevour to change his Faith into science but lose that which he seekes to perfect If then without faith no possibilitie of salvation surely needs must this be the highway to perdition Now seeing that Christianitie is a doctrine of faith a doctrine whereof all men even children are capable as being to bee received in grosse and to be believed in the generall the high vertue whereof is in the humilitie of understanding and the merit in the readinesse of obedience to embrace it for these haue bene alwayes the true honours of faith and seeing the outward proofs therof are no other than probable and of all probable proofs the Churches testimonie is most probable What madnesse for any man to trie out his soule to wast away his spirits in tracing out all the thorny paths of the Controversies of these dayes wherin to erre is a thing no lesse easie than daungerous what through forgerie abusing him what through sophistrie beguiling him what through passion partialitie and private interest transporting him and not rather to be take himselfe to the high path of truth whereunto God and Nature reason and experience doe all giue witnes and that is to associate himselfe unto that Church whereunto the custodie of this Heavenly and Supernaturall truth hath beene from Heaven it selfe committed So that two things onely are to bee performed in this case to weigh discree●ly which is the true Church and that being found to receiue faithfully and obediently without doubt or discussion whatsoever it delivereth Now concerning the first poinct some doubt might be made if there were any Church Christian in the world to be showne which had continued from CHRISTS time downe to this age without change or interruption theirs onely excepted But if all other haue had eyther their end and decay long since or their beginning but of late If theirs being founded by the Prince of the Apostles with promise to him by CHRIST that Hell-gates should not prevaile against it but that himselfe would bee assisting to it till the consummation of the world haue continued on now to the end of Sixteen hundred yeers with an honorable and certein line of neere two hundred and fourtie Popes all successours of S t. PETER both Tyrants and Traytors both Pagans and Heretikes in vain wresting raging barking and undermining if all the lawfull generall Councels that ever were in the world being the venerable Senats of Gods Officers and Ministers haue from time to time approved obeyed and honoured it if God haue so miraculously blessed it from aboue as that so many sage Doctors should enrich it with their writings such armies yea millions of Saincts with their holinesse of Martyrs with their bloud of Virgins with their puritie should sanctifie and embellish it if their Church haue bin a ruine always to them that opposed against her a stay repose and advancement to all her followers if even at this day in such difficulties of unjust rebellions and unnaturall revolts of her neerest childrē yet she stretches out her arms to the utmost corners of the world newly embrasing whole Nations into her bosome if lastly in all other opposit Churches wheresoever there be nothing to be found but inward dissention and cōtrariety but change of opinions uncertenty of resolutions with robbing of Churches rebelling against Governors confusion of orders nothing to be attended but mischiefe subuersion and destruction which they haue well deserved shall assuredly haue whereas contrariwise in their Church the Vnitie undivided the obedience unforced the unalterable resolutions the most heavenly order reaching frō the heighth of all power to the very lowest of all subjection with admirable harmony and undefectiue correspondence all bending the same way to the effecting of the same worke do promise no other than continuance encrease and victorie let no man doubt to submit him selfe to this glorious Spouse of God on whose head is the blessing of God in whose hand is the power of God under whose feet are the enemies of God and to whom round about do service all the Creatures of God This then being accorded to be the true Church of God it followeth that shee be reverently obeyed in all things without farther disquisition hauing the warrant that hee that heareth her heareth Christ and whosoever heareth her not hath no better place with God than a Publican or Pagan And what follie were it to receiue the Scripture upon credit of her aucthoritie and not to receiue the interpretation of it upon her aucthoritie also and credit And if God should not protect his Church alwayes from errour and yet peremptorily commaund men alwayes to obey her than had he made but very slender prouision for the salvation of mankind to whom errour in matter of faith is certein damnation which conceipt of God whose care of vs even in all things touching this transitorie life is so plaine and eminent were ungratefull and impious And hard were the case meane had his regard bene of the vulgar people whose wants and difficulties in this life will not permit whose capacitie will not suffice to found the deep and hidden mysteries of divinitie to search out the truth of these intricate controversies if there were not other whose authoritie they might rely on Blessed therefore are they which beleeue and haue not seene the merit of whose religious humilitie and obedience doth exceed perhaps in honour and acceptance before God the subtill and profound knowledge of many other And lastly if any man either in regard of his vocation or by reason of his leasure list to studie the controversies take he heed that he come not with a doubtfull mind unto them for diffidence is as the sinne of Rebellion let him bested fast in faith let him submit his owne reason to the Churches authoritie being the house of God the pillar and ground of truth let him be fast and unmoueably built on that foundation and let his end be only this to furnish and arme himselfe in such sort as to bee able to with-stand and overthrow those Haeretikes whom hee shall at any time eyther chuse or chaunce to encounter This is the main course of their perswading at this day whereby they seeke to reestablish that former foundation In the unfolding whereof I haue been the longer because tryall hath taught mee that not by some mens private election but as it should seeme by common order direction or consent they haue relinquished all other courses and hold them to this as the most effectuall meanes

companie of ba●e Rebels and vow-breaking Friers of Church-robbing Politicians and Church-razing Souldiers of infected and infecting both Schismaticks and Haereticks innovators of orders underminers of governement troublers of states overturners of Christendome against whom if they haue not hitherto sufficiently prevailed it is to be attributed onely to the force of popular furie and not to any strength and goodnesse of theyr cause much lesse to any Coelestiall and divine protection Next for Martyrologies they haue England for theyr field to triumph in the proceedings wherein against theyr later Priests and complices they aggravate to the height of NEROES and DIOCLESIANS persecutions and the sufferers of theyr side in merits of cause in extremity of tormenes and in constancie and patience to the renowmed Martyrs of that heroicall Church-age Whereof besides sundry other treatises and pamphlets they haue published a great volume lately to the world in Italian compiled with great industrie approved by authoritie yea some of their books or passages illustrated also with picturs in sum wanting nothing saue only truth sincerity An easie thing it is without growing to the extreame impudencie of palpable lying by leaving out the bad on the one side and the good on the other by enforcing and flourishing all circumstances and accidents which are in our favour and by elevating and disgracing of all the contrarie by sprinkling the tearmes of Honour wholly on the one part of hatred and ignominie on the other to make the tale turne which way shall please the teller But writers of Histories should know that there is a difference between theyr profession and the practise of advocates pleading contrarie at a bar where the wisedome of the Iudge picketh the truth out on both sides which is entire perhaps in neyther And verily in this kind both the Protestants and Papists seeme generally in the greatest part of theyr stories both too blame though both not equally having by theyr passionate reports much wronged the truth abused this present age and praejudiced posteritie in so much that the onely remedie now seeming to remaine is to read indifferently the stories on both parts to compt them as advocates and to play the Iudge betweene them But partialitie seemes to haue bene the chiefe fault of the Protestant loue and dislike some time dazeling his eyes and drawing him from an Historiographers into an Oratours profession though some of them haue carried them selues therein with commendable sinceritie even as some also of the other part haue discharged them selues nobly But surely the Priests and Friers which haue medled in that kind haue straungely behaved themselues and disclosed how smal reckoning they make of truth in any thing theyr devising theyr forging theyr facing theyr piecing theyr adding theyr paring having brought not onely their modestie but their wits also in question whether they forgot not what it was which they undertooke to write a work of storie or of poetry rather which Arts though like yet ought they to know are different And for these Martyrologies to speak of England as they do let the truth of Religion lye indifferent on whether side unlesse difference be made between men who suffer for theyr Consciences onely theyr very adversaries having no other crime to ob●●ct against them and those who eyther in theyr owne particular persons or at leastwise in theyr directors whom they haue chosen to follow and vowed to obey are convinced to haue attempted against the Prince and State and to haue practised the alteration and ruine of both if no difference be to bee made betweene those mens sufferings let all like let the persecuting of sheepe and hunting of wolues be one But enough and too much perhaps of these comparisons and imitations I will adde onely hereto theyr policie of News for some kind of resemblance it hath with the former I must confesse it could not settle in my conceipt of a long time that men of theyr wisedome so well furnished with better meanes should descend to that base and vaine devise of inventing and spreading of false Newes in theyr favour being an odious kind of abusing the world and such also as in the end comming to be checked with the truth redounds to the deepe disgrace and discredit of the Authors being accompted no other than the tricke of a bankrupt Howbeit finding by experience that this frequent among them in other places at Rome aboue all other was a most ordinary practise from whence during the time of my abode in Italy beside other lesse memorable there came first solemne News that the Patriark of Alexandria with all the Greeke Church of Africa had by theyr Ambassadours submitted and reconciled themselues to the Pope and recorded from his Holynesse absolution and benediction there being no such matter as I learned afterward of a Greeke Bishop who hath particular acquaintance and intelligence with that Patriarch An other time that the King of Scotts amongst many acts worthy of a Christian Prince had chased away the Ministers yea and executed two of them confiscating theyr goods and bestowing them upon the Catholikes which newes was soone after recalled from the same place Not long after that BEZA the Arch-heretike CALVINS successour drawing towards his death had in full Senate at Geneva recanted his Religion exhorting them if they had care to saue theyr soules to seeke reconciliation with the Catholike-Church and to send for the Iesuites to instruct them whereupon both himselfe by speciall order from the Pope was absolved by the Byshop of Geneva ere he dyed and the Citie had sent to Rome an Ambassage of submission a beginning of which newes it was my chaunce to heare as being whispered among the Iesuites two moneths ere it brake out but when it was once advertised so solemnely from Rome it ran over all Christendome and in Italy was so verily believed to be true that there were as is said who rode on very purpose to see those Ambassadors of Geneva yet invisible And to make up the full measure of that noble policie I being afterwards at Lyons and understanding that the Post of Rome there then passing for Spaine gaue confidently out that he left the Queene of Englands Ambassadours at Rome making great instance for agreement and with his Holynesse and to haue her re-catholized and absolved newes as to me then seemed cut out purposely for Spain and to consolate theyr favourers and afflicted adhaerents Finding also by the observation and judgement of some wise men that the Iesuites are the Masters of that worthy Mint and that all these Chymicall Coynes are of theyr stamp yea and that theyr glorious newes of the miraculous proceedings of the Fathers of their Societie in converting the Indies are not thought much truer And lastly perceiving that the doctrine of all that side in their cases of Conscience making it lawfull for them to aequivocate with theyr adversaries in their answeres though given upon theyr oathes whensoever their liues or liberties are touched