Selected quad for the lemma: truth_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
truth_n	know_v	let_v	word_n	4,119	5	3.9916	3	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A30491	Third remarks upon An essay concerning humane understanding in a letter address'd to the author.	Burnet, Thomas, 1635?-1715.	1699 (1699)	Wing B5955; ESTC R20274	20,916	28

of Vertue and Honesty And if those Rules be neglected more or less by Men or appear little amongst some People this is no good Proof that there are no such Principles As it is no sufficient Argument that there is no Sun in the Firmament because his Light is obscured in Cloudy Days or does not appear in Foggy Regions 'T is enough to prove there is such a Luminary if he shine clearer in other Climates or by fits though he be subject to Clouds and Eclipses as well as the Light of Nature So I do not see any necessity of Universal Consent or Universal Uniformity to declare a Principle to be Natural How many are there amongst all sorts of Men who say they can make no distinction of Musical Sounds or of Concords and Discords They say all Compositions for Voices or Instruments are equal to them as to Pleasantness or Unpleasantness only some are more Noisie than others or of quicker or slower Time Yet I think no Man will deny the Sense of Musick to be Natural to Mankind without Ratiocination So also for Beauty I do not mean that of Faces only or Colour but of Order Proportion Uniformity or Regularity in general This is very different in different Persons and some scarce appear at all affected with it Yet who does not think that some Notion or Idea of Order and Regularity and of their Difference from Confusion or Disorder is Natural to us Even the Power of Reason several Passions a propension to Laugh at ridiculous Objects or Actions are more and less and appear sooner in some than others And this may be observ'd in Children of whose Weakness you make great use and frequent mention If you allow these other Principles to be Natural and born with us I know not why you should make so much a-do about the word Innate I should be glad to know if you allow any Powers or Principles to be Innate in your sense of the word If you allow none at all not these last mention'd nor so much as willing or nilling this or that the Controversie will be chang'd and I desire to know what Idea you can form of a Soul or of a Spirit without any Powers or any Action I wish that may not be the Supposition that lies at the bottom of your Philosophy That the Soul of Man is no distinct Substance from God or the Body but either a Divine Influence or the Power of the Body This hypothesis I confess may lead you to deny both innate Idea's and practical Principles To proceed a little further you have an odd Exception in your 12th Paragraph to show that the Dictates of natural Conscience are not Truths because they are not form'd into Propositions And to make them capable of being assented to as Truths they must have the word Duty join'd to them But say you what duty is cannot be understood without a Law nor a Law be known or supposed without a Law-maker or without Rewards and Punishments This to me is but Chicanry about words But let us see how far these things make for you or against you Do we not preserve our selves Do we not make use of Reason without the formality of a Law telling us 'T is our Duty to do these things Or in the case of natural Conscience have we not the Marks and Sense of our Duty and of the Will of our Maker from an inward Testimony approving or disapproving our Actions according as we obey or disobey that Principle in the distinction of Moral Good and Evil On the one hand Occultum quatiente animo tortore flagellum On the other Hic murus aheneus esto Nil conscire sibi These were both the Sayings of Heathens that had no other Law than the Law of natural Conscience And so their Apostle says They were a Law to themselves by help of that Principle When you offer a Child Bitter instead of Sweet he turns away his Head and makes grimaces when he has no Law or Duty prescrib'd to him nor any other Logick than what was born with him or what he suck't from the Breasts of his Mother Then as to Punishments and Rewards there is a Presage of them from natural Conscience and they are furthermore deducible from the Nature of God if you allow him Moral Attributes as we do Indeed in your way upon your Idea of God and your uncertainty of the Immortality of the Soul I do not see how possibly you can prove future Rewards and Punishments without a Revelation nor consequently give us a Foundation for Morality and natural Religion I must tell you again that you bring such Arguments against Natural Conscience as you might bring against Christian Religion In your next Paragraph put but Christianity in th● room of innate Principles and your Argument will be as good §. 13. or as bad against either of them The sum of your Argument is taken from the Topick of Universal Practice as conformable or not conformable to the Rule You say it is impossible that Men should without shame or fear confidently break a Rule which they could not but evidently know that God had set up and would certainly punish the breach of Which they must if it were innate Put in this place Which they must if they were Christians to a degree to make it a very ill Bargain to the Transgressor Does not this hit the Christians as well and as manifestly as those that abuse natural Conscience Then you say again But let any one see the Ibid. fault and the Rod by it and with the Transgression a Fire ready to punish it A Pleasure tempting and the Hand of the Almighty visibly held up and prepared to take vengeance For this must be the case where any Duty is imprinted upon the Mind Put here For this must be the case where our Duty as Christians is manifestly known and acknowledged and then tell me whether it be possible for People with such a prospect such a certain knowledge as this wantonly and without scruple to offend againct a Law which they carry about with them in indelible Characters and that stares them in the face whilst they are breaking it Might not this to our sorrow be urg'd against Christians Or to prove that the Law of Christianity is not known to them or believed Neither ought you to be offended that we transfer your Argument to Christians seeing you your self to prove that there is no Natural Conscience in our sence have argued before from the Practice of Christians as well as Heathens You alledge the Practice of the Mengrelians You instance in Duels and bloody Wars c. amongst Christians You might have applied all these things particularly to Christians but still we should have thought it no good Proof that there is no Christian Law no more than it is that there is no Natural Conscience Do we not see Men every day in spite of Laws External or Internal Divine or Humane pursue their Lusts