Selected quad for the lemma: truth_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
truth_n	devil_n	father_n	lie_n	3,415	5	9.0726	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
B10272	An answer to a scandalous and deceitfull pamphlet: entituled, Considerable queries humbly tendred touching reducement of the excise to the customs; published by necessity.	Wattes, Jeremiah.	1653 (1653)	Wing W1153A; ESTC R186315	15,904	24

should be served in so high an imployment by a supercilious conceited pragmatick busibody that pretends to finde holes in other mens coates when he might have work enough to imploy more wit then the shallow pan of his brains can hold in searching out the leaks whereby so much treasure slips beside the receipt of the Excise and so begin reformation at home But to proceed after your wiser brethren had perswaded your imperiousnesse to admit of a debate between them and the Commissioners for Customes it was concluded for goods Exciseable from the Coast that the ancient and uninterrupted way of sufferances granted joyntly by the Commissioners of the Customes and Excise should be continued but as for this new device of your brain for such an injunction for goods that owed no Excise they all except your self wiser in your own conceit then seven men that can render a reason could see no cause for yet you could not rest with this but about a moneth after your survayour or deputy came to the Commissioners of Customes to let them know it was expected that sufferances for goods that owed no Excise should be signed by the survayour or deputy for Excise as well as by the Commissioners of Customes whereupon the Commissioners of Customes readily complied although they knew it uselesse to the State and gave order to their Clerks to prepare and order accordingly But the Masters trading to Newcastle and other parts refused to go to the Excise officers for any such sufferances saying they were English men and by law not enjoyned thereunto and that those things required were inovatious and troublesome and they could not write the bills well enough to please the Excise officers and therefore were necessitated to get the Deputy or some other Clerks of Excise to write and so on every entry to pay for two lines writing 6. d. or 4. d. which upon so many thousand entries would amount unto a vast sum of money meerly cheated out of their purses and thereupon the Ship-masters resolved to land their goods upon tender of their Cockets unto the Commissioners of Customes as by law they were injoyned which the Commissioners well weighing and knowing by law no more was injoyned did desire the Survayor of Excise to acquaint the Commissioners of Excise therewith that except they did shew reason to the contrary the Commissioners of Customes ought and would proceed to grant sufferances by themselves for all goods not Exciseable But the Survayor of Excise answered that the Commissioners of Excise did adhere to their former resolution whereupon the Commissioners of Customes did again confer with the Commissioners of Excise and found but one of them ingaged with the Deputy and the rest declared they were put upon it by the Deputy And I am perswaded it was only Necessity put him upon it and had it been caried on their parts it would have made a good revenue for themselves by a multitude of six-pennies or groats which it seems they had projected to have received a meer oppression and exaction as ever was thrust upon a people Which caused the Commissioners of Customes to send for the Surveyor or Deputy of Excise T. L. and plainly tell him that they now discerned the reason of his strong endeavours for this innovation being of no use but to vex the ship-masters and traders and bring money to his office and supply Necessity And therefore this goes so neer the heart of this Miser that he complaines pag. the 6. lin 10. And one of them did sharpely rebuke the Surveyor of Excise for discovering their misdemeanors to the Commissioners of Excise But consider this jugling Necessity had urged the Surveyor or Deputy T. L. upon a foul misdemeanour for which he was worthily reprehended by the Commissioners of Customes And now this shitlecock cries whore first and layes misdemeanours upon the Commissioners of Customes who as I have said are men of unquastionable integrity and ability to manage their trust yet he hath the impudence to do what he can to blush their reputation But they are above the aire of his stinking breath nor can his black mouth bespot their innocence and those sharp arrowes his bitter words will retort upon his own soul either to humble or terrifie him And yet he hath one envenomed dart which he would stick in their very hearts and charges the Commissioners of Customes that they have unduely maintained persons detected of defrauding the Excise the Devill himselfe would have been ashamed to have printed such a lie it 's true he is the Father of lies and skilfull in making lies but he was so carefull in delivering his oracles that they should have some colour of truth in them and would so contrive his answers that whatsoever the event was yet he would shew so much wit as not to be found in a lie but though you cannot out-wit him you will out-lie him take heed he be not too wise for you at last how can you thinke ever to be beleeved by honest men they say what is bred in the bone will never out of the flesh your first trade in drawing Chancery bils wherein men take liberty to lie at large hath begotten in you such a custome that you cannot leave it You might have done well to have named some of those detected persons that so there might have been some colour of truth and that Knaves might be known from honest men but you throw your dirt at randome and care not who you daube and deprave a great many better men then your selfe and till you make good your charge they cannot but think as bad of you as you write of them But what persons did your wisdome ever detect I can instance many discoveries that have been made by the wisdome and insight of the Commissioners of Customes of several frauds whereby the Common-wealth was basely cheated as that of counterfeit warrants which all your skill could not finde out although it was chiefly in defrauding the Excise whereby the Common-wealth was wronged of many thousand pounds and was but newly begun to be practised in the Customes but the Commissioners there discovered and found out those unworthy officers of your putting in or continuance Witnesse also that notable combination of your dearly beloved Pratt with Ludlow and Welden Custome officers what deceitfull practises were by them discovered I might instance in many more wherein by the prudence and vigilant inspection of the Commissioners of Customes such persons have been detected and imprisoned and cast out and made uncapable of any preferment where they have to doe and yet this pertinacious peece of confidence sayes they maintain persons detected c. They say that the receiver is as bad as the theef if you knew this why did you not reveal it if you were privy to such unjust practises you did not well to conceale them how have you discharged your trust for these many years why did you not complain before the law upon conviction would