Selected quad for the lemma: truth_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
truth_n	believe_v	faith_n	know_v	8,213	5	4.2899	4	true

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
B08923	Memoires of Mr. Des-Ecotais: formerly stiled in the Church of Rome the most venerable Father Cassianus of Paris, priest and preacher of the Order of the Capucins. Or, The motives of his conversion. Divided into two parts. I. That the doctrin of the now Roman church is not grounded neither upon the Holy Scripture; neither upon the belief of the primitive church or the authority of the Holy Fathers, which is more particularly and more evidently verified in the examination of the belief of Rome concerning the Eucharist. II. That the church of Rome is not the true church; that it doth not enjoy, as absolutely its own, out-shutting all other churches, neither the antiquity of the belief, neither the multitude of the people, neither the true and lawful succession of the bishops; that the authority thereof is not infallible, and that it is full of errors and corruptions.	Des Ecotais, Louis.	1677 (1677)	Wing D1174AA; ESTC R204416	150,657	428

put his hand upon (a) Mar. 8.24 he did see truly but yet he was not able to distinguish Men from Tree the Word of God had restored my Eyes but they were but weak and subject to a great many dimnesses it was need to have some time to strengthen me in the Truth which I had but a glimpse of and to take away the Ignorance of Divinity under the pretences of which the Devil would cloak the Word of God Therefore the Divine Providence that took care for my Conduct disposed all things to hasten my Conversion it brought to pass several incidents which the Profane would call chance but the Saints stile The hand of the Lord. First I was destinated for the study of Divinity four years before all my Companions let the Flatterers and Profane say what they please those who judge holily of things that come to pass understand very well that the design of the Lord in that was no other but to take away as soon as it could be the fair Pretences wherewith Error would have offuscated Truth Secondly the Lord permitted I should come to an able man learned in Divinity both Scholastical and Positive perfect in Right Canon which is the Decrees of Fathers Councils and Popes in a word a man who was marvellous in Study of Controversies and in every thing which can contribute to make an absolute Divine But He permitted also that there might be in so excellent a man the fair Dealing and the Sincerity of a Child that was the reason that some Years after when he had known the Truth of God and the Errors of Rome because he knew not how to disguise Truth he published it every where he could not forbear to say that Indulgences Purgatory and the Obligations of Believing the Articles of Faith of the Pope and of keeping his Commandements upon ●ain of a mortal Sin were so many ●rafty Tricks of Rome to get Money He could not forbear to tell every Body the Mysteries the Factions the Impostures of the most part of those last Councils which are accounted General and Oecumenical by the Church of Rome he defended generously all the Truths which we profess in the Church of England wherefore he drew upon himself all the Persecutions he suffered for Truth so that afterward he died a Martyr for the Gospel by the severity of the Laws of Rome Oh! had he been in the time that I conversed with him as much lightned as he has been since he had saved me many troubles and perplexities he had doubtless delivered me out of that Suspension of Spirit whereunto I was reduced by the subtilty of his Answers and the height of his Resolutions But in that time the Lod did but begin his Conversion as well as mine and lighten us both by degrees yet with these two differences First the Lord destinated him to suffer all kinds of Persecutions to make him a Witness of his Holy Word a Martyr of the Gospel and he has not yet judged me worthy of Persecutions nor of Martyrdom Secondly he would have him raised up to the number of those great Saints whom the World afflicts and torments Ch. 1. §. 4. (a) Heb. 11.38 Of whom the World is not worthy Therefore the Lord ravished betimes that innocent Soul in the liveliness of his Years and speedily was he taken away (b) Wisd 4.11 as saith Solomon Lest Wickedness should alter his Understanding or deceit beguile his Soul Whereas the Divine Justice has looked upon me as a grievous Offendor who am suffered to live that I might Mourn and Weep longer for my Sons §. 4. The Conclusions of this Chapter How I came to know that the Articles of faith of Rome cannot be proved by Scripture IT was under the Conduct of that learned and holy Man that I began to give my self to the Study of Divinity I read what Authors do write concerning those Questions but specially and more exactly concerning the Questions which are controverted which are for the most part the Doctrines the Church of Rome hath received out of pride and covetousness without any ground in the Scripture I found in those Questions several difficulties I came to propound them to my Master there is said he what Bellarmin Answers there is for this matter the Exposition of Cardinal du Perron there is what Bonaventure what Thomas Aquinas what Scotus what Suarez what Valentia what Boivin what Herincx what others say touching that difficulty But when I asked him Tell me I beseech you freely what do you think He Answered me almost to every one of those Questions To tell you the truth said he the Doctrin of Purgatory of Indulgences of Worshiping Images and Reliques the Doctrin of Transubstantiation c. I do not find all these Doctrins very evident in the Scripture I do not see neither how they can be drawn very directly out of those places of the Bible th Authors of Rome are wont to produce to prove them by I give them you said he only to alledge to those who would have a place of the Bible he brought forth in every matter to have some pretence to say seasonably or unseasonably the Scripture speaks of that Matter and to content the Hereticks But to speak plainly I do sincerely confess it is not the Scripture which obliges or perswades me to believe all those Articles but the true and the only reason why I do hold them is because the Church teaches them so There are said I in self at once a great many difficulties abridged it is a great deal more just and more reasonable to deal after this manner than to consume all our brain to find in the Scripture with great pains of false discoursing what the Holy Ghost had never intention to teach therein Let us acknowledge then freely that all the Articles of the Faith of Rome are not in the Scripture nor grounded upon any thing else but upon the Authority of the Church After that all these difficulties may be very easily resolved All the business will be but to know whether or no I am obliged to believe as an Article of Faith what the Roman Church teaches without any ground from the Scripture This was the pass to which I was reduced to this I thought all the Theologie of Rome was to be reduced I did but loose my labour in consulting other Professors of Divinity in Conferring with those Friends of mine who were some Bachelors some Licentiates some Doctos of Sorbon and Curates of some chief Parishes in Paris They spoke but Gibbrish or some Latin words contrary to the good common Secne and Reason when they would have grounded the Doctrin of the Church of Rome upon the Scriptures and they never spake with reason but when at last they reduced themselves as to a Principle to the infallible definitive and final Judgement of the said Church in such matters CHAP. II. Chap. 2. How I understood the Articles of Faith of the

Augmentation of the Sacraments of that Church the Ignorance of the Holy Scripture and the Invocation of Saints which in the Roman Church is gone as far as Idolatry are all grounded and lest some body should believe that I charge falsely the Church of Rome when I accuse it of Idolatry or lest some body should believe what the Papists use to say that it is but the common people that ground their hope upon the merits of the Saints and that the learned men who are lightned do not fall in so gross errors do but read the Psalter of the blessed Virgin Mary in the works of St. Bonaventure and you shall see that this Cardinal attributes to the blessed Virgin Mary all that which is attributed to God Almighty in Davids Psalmes and every where where the name of God should be he puts in the room the name of the Blessed Virgin pray can any thing be more impious and more wicked Neither can you say that that error is an error of a private man for I answer that it is a publick error in that Church and the error of the Church it self since in the book of the Mass upon St Nicolas's day (b) Decemb. 6. the Priest who says the Mass hath an order from the Church whereby he is engaged under the pain of a Mortal sin to pray God that by the merits and prayers of St. Nicolas they may be delivered from the fire of Hell Vt ejus precibus meritis à gehennae incendiis liberemur a Church which makes that prayer doth it not believe that it is by the prayers and merits of St. Nicolas that we are delivered from Hell and to believe that is it not to believe an horrible Impiety In the same book of Mass on the day (a) The 6th of July of St. Peter and St. Paul all the Roman Church prays to God that by the merits of these two Saints all men may obtain Eternal Glovy Vt amborum meritis aeternitatis gloriam consequamur then it is the errour of all the Roman Church and not of a private man to believe that it is by the merits of Saints we are to obtain eternal life And on the day (b) The 14 July of St. Bonaventure the Church of Rome prays God he would be pleased to absolve all men from their sins by the merits of that Saint ejus intercedentibus meritis ab omnibus nos absolve peccatis Now a Church which believes that it is by the merits of Saints that we are delivered from Hell that it is by the merits of Saints that we obtain eternal life that it is by the merits of Saints that our sins are forgiven is that a Christian Church could the Mahometans and Idolaters hold or think any thing more destructive of the merits and more opposite to the Glory of Jesus Christ could they invent an error more contrary to the truth of Christianity GENERAL CONCLUSION That I was engaged to go out of the Church of Rome whereof God Almighty made me know the errors by the degrees I have rehearsed in the two parts of this discourse AFter I had made that examination of the principles whereupon is grounded the Authority of the Roman Church after I had discovered the falsehood and the nullity of the reasons which she alledges to oblige the world to commit it self into her hands after I had found that Antiquity Multitude and Succession are not priviledges which the Church of Rome possesses above all other Churches after I had known that if the Church of Rome should enjoy all those priviledges above other Churches yet it would not be a good consequence from thence that it be the true Church and a Church freed from errors after I had discovered that all the infallibility of the Roman Church was grounded only upon the Authority of the Popes and that the greatness and Authority of the Popes was grounded but upon Ambition and Covetousness I understood that there was no other foundation of the true Religion but the word of God I acknowledged the truth of those Axiomes of St. Chrysostome (a) Homil. de Lazaro That the Ignorance of the Scripture procreates Heresies and that (b) Homilia 38. sup Joann the Scriptures bring us to God Almighty drive away Heresies and keep us from falling into error that thought imprinted it self upon my mind very strongly and made an end of scattering away the Clouds which Truth seemed to be wrapped in I knew manifestly that all points which are called Articles of Faith in the Roman Church but are not grounded upon the Scripture are indeed Articles of the Interest and of the Ambition of those who rule it and not Articles of Faith which are to be no other than Articles of the Word of God I understood well that that which was taught in that Church was the word of man not the word of God and that having no foundation in the Scripture they could not be sufficient Articles to oblige all men to believe them moreover in examining particularly and without preoccupation the Articles of Rome I knew them to be contrary to the Scripture so whereas at that time I acknowledged nothing but the word of God for the true rule of my Faith I concluded that all those Articles of Rome were so many errors and that having a natural obligation to forsake error assoon as we know it I was obliged to go out of the Roman Church to forsake altogether and faithfully all the errors which it stands for §. 1. The occasion of a Sermon about the Sacrament called again in my mind all the notions I had of the Errours of Rome THus I discussed the Articles of the Belief of Rome when the time of my obedience being finished I left the Monastery where I was near Saumur to come again to Paris there the F. Provincial who had disposed of his Secretary to send him to govern one of the Monasteries of our province spoke of making me his Secretary but the Divine Providence ordered it another way for the F. Provincial seeing that the F. General had taken upon himself all the care of our Province for the while he was to stay at Paris thought that it should be needless to take a Secretary that was the reason why he commanded me to go to preach at the Parish of Meudon which is a Borough six miles out of Paris That Place where God Almighty had begun some years before to lighten me with the light of his Truth seemed to me the place of all the world the most pleasing and the most well liked I preached every Sunday and every Holy-day which is kept by the Church of Rome till at last about the time that they Celebrate the days which are called Corpus-Christi-days being engaged to preach as I us'd to do I read again what I had written afore upon the matter of the Sacrament and I was troubled in reading what I had written What! said I must I abuse

Quoyque par la Grace de Dieu il ya déja prés de trois années que je fais profession de la Pureté de l'Evangile je puis pourtant me conter encore au nombre des nouveaux Convertis pour bien des raisons et dans cet estat je me trouve reduit à la même fortune qu'eux à encourir la haine et l'aversion de ceux dont j'ay quitté les erreurs et à trouver dans beaucoup de Protestants dela froideur et dela repugnance quand ils sçauront que j'ay autrefois fait profession de l'erreur et persecuté ceux qui embrassoient la pureté de l'Evangile Je ne suis pas assez peu informé jusqu'où peut aller le Zele et la Passion des hommes en matiere de Religion pour ne pas excuser mes ennemis je leur pardonne de tout mon coeur et je prie Dieu qu'il les éclaire et leur fasse connoistre la Verité Je ne suis pas assez injuste nonplus pour condamner la prudence des Protestants je reconnois qu'ils ont raison de se méfier de moy puisque d'autres les ont trompez et comme je n'ay pas la vanité de me croire plus parfait que St. Paul aussi ne les croy-je pas plus criminels que les Disciples et tous les Saints qui demeuroient à Jerusalem qui se méfioient de cet Apôtre et qui craignoient que sa Conversion ne fut pas veritable C'est dans cet estat que je reconnois que j'ay besoin d'une puissante protection et c'est pour implorer la vôtre Monseigneur que je viens me jetter aux pieds de Vôtre Grandeur Les Disciples se rassurerent lors qu'un des Apôtres leur presenta Paul et qu'il leur raconta les merveilles que Dieu avoit operées dans sa Conversion N'ay-je pas toutes les raisons du monde de croire que ceux qui font profession dela pureté de l'Evangile se rassureront aussi à mon égard et qu'ils me considereront comme un veritable enfant de l'Eglise aussi tôt qu'ils apprendront que les Motifs de ma Conversion ne paroissent en public que sous la Protection de Vôtre Grandeur Celuy qui presenta St. Paul aux Fidelles estoit un Apôtre qui prenoit un interrest tout particulier à l'accroisse ment du Royaume de Jesus Christ il estoit tout transporté de Joye et de Satisfaction spirituelle quand il voyoit les effets dela grace de Jesus Christ dans les coeurs des peuples qui se convertissoient à l'Evangile C'estoit un homme de bien plein du St. Esprit et de la foy de Jesus Christ c'est en abregé le panegyrique qu'en fait le St. Esprit au 11 Chap. des Actes C'est cequi fit ce me semble que les Disciples se rassurerent au sujet de St. Paul et qu'ils le considererent comme un homme veritablement converty puisqu'il leur estoit presenté par un Apôtre dont la Foy le Zele et la Vertu leur estoient si parfaitement connües Et n'ay-je pas sujet de croire que les veritables Protestants me considereront comme un homme veritablement converty quand ils verront que c'est Vous Monseigneur qui m'introduisez dans l'Eglise Vous à qui Dieu a donné un talent particulier pour discerner les esprits Vous qui n'avés point de plus grande joye au monde que de voir les operations divines dela Grace dans les coeurs de ceux qui vivoient autrefois dans l'Erreur Vous qui prenez tant de soin des Nouveaux Convertis qui entrez si hautement dans leurs interrests qui faites vôtre gloire de les élever et de les nourir comme de jeunes plantes dont il plait à Dieu d'orner son Eglise malgré toutes les oppositions des ennemies dela Propagation de l'Evangile Vous dont l'integrité ferme la bouche à tous ceux même qui estant les ennemis de l'Eglise de Jesus Christ sont devenus vos ennemis enfin Vous Monseigneur dont le Zele et la Foy se font connoistre tous les jours si genereusement quand il s'agit des interrests de Dieu dela gloire de Jesus Christ et dela pureté de sa Parole N'ay-je pas sujet dis-je de croire que tous les Fidelles ne douteront plus dela sincerité de ma conduitte quand ils sçauront que c'est Vous Monseigneur qui m'introduisez dans l'Eglise et que Vous avez bien voulu me recevoir en vôtre Protection Vôtre tres Humble et tres Obeïssant Serviteur Loüis Des-écotais To the Right Honourable AND Right Reverend Father in God HENRY Lord Bishop of LONDON Dean of His Majesties Chappel AND ONE Of His most Honourable Privy Council My Lord 'T Is not of to day that those who leave the party of Error to embrace Truth find themselves exposed to the Persecution of the World And it is not of to day neither that they have need of dowerful Protectors to defend them against Injustice Your Lordship knows that St. Paul had no sooner the title and the quality of a Man newly Converted Act. 9. but presently he saw himself Forsaken and Persecuted of all the Earth He doth but lose his labour in alledging to the Jews the Motives of his Conversion in Disputing against them in Confounding them Ver. 22 the Jews are not yet for all that less mad or less furious against him These wicked men do still imagine that the Motives which have obliged Paul to leave the Religion of his Fathers for to embrace the Purity of the Gospel are no others but the Inconstancy of his mind or the desire of Novelty And in that perswasion they look upon him as a Runaway and an Apostata they lay wait for him Ver. 23 24. they frame Plots and Conspiracies to kill him and think that they cannot render to God Almighty a service more Religious than to bind themselves with a solemn Vow saying Act. 23. v. 12.14 That they would neither eat nor drink till they had killed Paul St. Paul is obliged to run away Act. 9. v. 25. he must go out of Damascus over the Walls to avoid the fury of his Enemies he must retire to Jerusalem that he might be more safe and there St. Paul though a Chosen Vessel has the trouble to see that the very Disciples shun his society that they are all affraid of him Vers 26 and that they will not trust him because that they are suspitious least his Conversion should be counterfeited imperfect and dissimulated And for that reason he must have recourse unto one of

be possible that God should ask of me an account of the Salvation of those men who will stubbornly follow errors and who are all disposed to tear me in pieces if I dare publish the truth Am I better than I know not how many learned men who live in France who know wery well the errors of Rome who notwithstanding continue in the communion of that Church Am I better than a great many Doctors of Sorbon who are perswaded that the Church of Rome is fallen into a multitude of Errors and Corruptions even as many of them have often declared to their friends Am I better than several Bishops and Archbishops of France who suppose themselves equal in every thing to the Bishop of Rome who do not repute his decrees to be of an infallible determination In fine am I better than all those Gentlemen who compose that famous Society of Jansenists who are almost all the most learned writers the rarest men and most witty in all that kingdom Am I better said I than all those excellent men who are accounted even among the Papists as if they were perswaded of all the truths of the Protestant Church whom the Papists themselves accuse as if they intended to establish the purity of the Gospel to abolish those pretended Sacraments newly found out by the Church of Rome who are lookt upon as if they intended to introduce into that kingdom prayers in a vulgar tongue overthrow the Superstitions of the Mass and destroy the obligation of the secret confession unto a Priest For those Gentlemen for all that they know evidently the errors of Rome do not forbear to say the Mass to preach to write Books even in the matter of the Eucharist for the very doctrine of Rome to administer the Sacraments after the form of that Church and more than that they Dedicate their Books to the Pope himself to dazle the people and to make as if they would have acknowledged his jurisdiction and his Authority If so be that all those excellent and learned men do dissemble may not I dissemble withy them If they do deceive the people may not I deceive them also and perform but outwardly all the functions they expect of me §. 4. God makes me understand how great sin it is to withstand the Holy Ghost an●●●●so makes an end of my conversion and brings me out of the Communion of Rome THese thoughts brought me into such a condition that I was very near staying still in the Roman Church the mind which one may have to live in quietness and security in the middle of his friends and kinsmen among a people of whom he is almost worshipped was a mighty prejudice which hindred me from discovering the error and falsehood of all those considerations But at last the grace of God did perform its uttermost endeavour to take me out I understood that God is Truth and that lying and dissimulation have no other Father than the Devil What! shall I spend all my life in seducing the people in perswading them what I do not believe my self Alas those good people will think that I speak from my heart that I preach the will of God that I declare to them his heavenly orders and I all the while should be but the instrument of the Devil those who have no convenient time nor opportunity to instruct themselves in the Holy Writings because they are treasures which the Pope has hidden from them will come to me to take advice upon their doubts I shall perceive sometimes in those innocent souls the rayes of Grace which is pleased to work sometimes mightily in the simplest Consciences as the Sun on the untilled lands shall I then withstand the Spirit of God deceive the ignorant with a lye coloured with several Sophismes to suffocate springing truths which Grace would have produced shall I say that God doth speak this when God doth not speak it and should not I be the most wicked in the world to abuse thus and deceive men who should come to me with so much of innocency and sincerity The examples of all those learned men whom I proposed to my self just now signifies nothing to answer at the great tribunal of God's severe Justice their sins will not be an excuse for me I thought then I heard all the maledictions (a) Jerem. 14.15 Ezech. 23.6 which God has pronounced against the false Prophets who seduced his people And what doth a Priest who says the Mass in the Roman Church and who is fully perswaded of the truth of the word of God doth he not cause the people to believe that there is no bread in the Sacrament that the bread is Transubstantiated into the body and blood of Christ is not such a Priest guilty before God of all the Idolatries of the people and of all their errors c Those last hindrances being overthrown after Grace had overcome the shifts which my natural inclinations had before devised I took the resolution to forsake entirely the Church of Rome and to retire into some country where I might freely and publickly make profession of the purity of the Gospel I did very well foresee that I was to bid an everlasting farewell to all the satisfactions of this world to take my leave of all the delights and recreations of the earth and wait for nothing but crosses troubles sorrows and all kind of persecution from the Enemies of the Gospel I did foresee that I undertook the greatest and most important business of all my life but the hope of my eternal Salvation quickned me and the inward comfort I felt in following the light of the Spirit of God made me undergo all kinds of troubles and difficulties Thus I went out of the Church of Rome these are the means wherewith God Almighty has been pleased to work my conversion such has been the goodness of God towards me this is the fulness of his abundant mercies not only he made me understand my errors lightned my mind with the marvellous light of his Holy Word but furthermore he drew me out of those errors by the Almighty strength of his arm and brought me into a land full of light and truth a Church which is Jesus Christ's peculiar kingdom where we disown detest and abhor those impious and pernicious errors of the Church of Rome those doctrines which are destructive of true Christianity The God of all mercies keep us in this Holy faith and call home such as are willfully or ignorantly gone astray and give them grace to receive the love of the truth that the number of those whom he has chosen from the beginning may increase more and more to the Honor and Glory of his most Holy Name Amen FINIS