Selected quad for the lemma: virtue_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
virtue_n	good_a	justice_n	temperance_n	1,152	5	10.5078	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A01368	The vviddoves mite cast into the treasure-house of the prerogatiues, and prayses of our B. Lady, the immaculate, and most glorious Virgin Mary, the Mother of God. With reasons why we are to haue great confidence in her prayers. Whereunto is annexed, A prayer, for the loue of God, made in contemplation of the passion of Christ our Sauiour.	A. G., fl. 1619.; Matthew, Tobie, Sir, 1577-1655, attributed name.	1619 (1619)	STC 11490; ESTC S118624	73,100	210

Recall thy thoughts which Rauen-like do feed Vpon the Carrion of inferiour thinges And send them vp to Heauen where they shall read Thy fortune written in the Booke of Kinges 98. Of Kings of Heauen for God who only is The King in his owne right adopteth thee To raigne with him in euerlasting blisse For all his Sonnes myne owne coheires shall be 99. Therefore my bloud vpon this Crosse is sould To saue thy body and thy soule from Hell Changing thy house of clay to Church of gould VVherin the Holy Ghost himselfe shall dwell 100. Ordeyning Sacraments whereby mankind May purge offences and acquire new grace Misterious Sacraments which not thy mind Much lesse thy pen can paint without disgrace 101. Bidding his Angells serue thee and vnfould The secrets of his loue and Sathans hate Confound thy selfe with wonder to behould Such honour added to thy base estate 102. Honour with Pleasure for what earthly ioy Doth equall that which a good conscience giues And doth full fill whilest yet it doth not cloy The Spirit and the soule wherein it liues 103. Not like to worldly pleasure that transformes It selfe to payne through sad remorse of mind But in the middst of fortunes bitter stormes A quiet passage and safe port doth find 104. So shalt thou see that they who take most care To beare this Crosse of myne with humble hart To extasy of ioy transported are Their bodyes heere in heauen their better part 105. Although they cannot long enioy that glory Till after death the end of all restraintes But then they shall contemplate the whole Story Of all Gods Attributes with all his Saints 106. And vnderstand one God in Persons three Vniti●g that which seemes so far asunder Whome eu'n the Angells tremble when they see No trembling of base feare but of high wonder 107. Where God is faine to giue a speciall grace To keep mans soule from melting with delight In whose comparison the withered face Of worldly thinges though great doth vanish quite 108. Looke vp to Heauens high vaute consider right The Starres so bigge though they so small appeare The Sunne except this instant swolne with light Yet voyd of heate although it heate men heere 109. Looke on the earth and wonder at her seate See how the Sea moates in her fortresse faire Which though it be a Masse so hugely great Hath no foundation but vnstable ayre 110. Behold her garments wrought with curious cost With bushes purld with streames of siluer last With flowres imbrodered with faire woods embost Buttond with hilles which bind it all so fast 111. This on her backe she weares but in her wombe Rich mettalls are and Iewells beyond price Which lye inter'd as in a regall tombe Till men do rayse them vp by strang deuise 112. All this God made and made man Lord of all And of himselfe by giuing him Freewill A Memory and wit Imperiall An Vnderstanding both of good and ill 113. A soule that might the seate of Vertues be Of Iustice Temperance Prudence Strength of mind A hand which with extreme facility Acts that which is by buisiest braynes designd 114. A curious knot of senses Hearing Smell Sight Tast and Touch which men so much adore These are but patternes which may serue to tell Of richer wares that God layes vp in store 115. For if his Foot-stoole and the world is such Be so inricht what is his Princely throne And if mans miseryes do shine so much VVhat shall his glory do God knowes alone 116. And man may say no more therof but this That when he hath deuisd the most he can The world to come as far excelling is As God immortall doth exceed frayle man 117. But thou though fraile be not so fondly bent As to destroy thy soule to flatter sense And sell a Crowne of glory permanent For trash which yet thou canst not carry hence 118. For heere all dyes with thee thy sinnes excepted And that which followes sinne eternall paines For hauing so preposterously neglected A Sunne so full to choose a Moone that wanes 119. How much more noble were it since thou art Composd of Beast and Angell to procure Thy flesh to do her homage to that part Which is superiour incorrupt and pure 120. So shalt thou grow like God thy heauenly Father And suffering heere with me with me shalt raigne Thou shalt receaue the Holy Ghost or rather Be fild top full with showres of his sweet raine 121. That spotles Virgin will behould thy state As tender Mother doth her deerest Sonne The Angell that attends thee will relate The glorious course that thou beginst to runne 122. Thou shalt be bidden to a dayly feast By thy good Conscience which all plenty bringes And thy faire soule from sinnefull flesh releast Shall mount to Heauen vpon bright Angells winges 123. This not for need that I inuite thee so For know my glory will as brightly shine In thy damnation to eternall woe As in the sauing of that soule of thyne 124. My loue alone did force me to descend Into this Nothing Loue the loadstone is Which makes the iron rod of Iustice bend To mercy pardoning all thou dost amisse 125. And so I aske no retribution But only Loue and if thou graunt not this Tigers may teach thee more compassion And softnes flint for thy hart harder is 126. Such speach thou wouldst nay such thou didst impart Not to mine eares for then thou wert growne domme And I was deafe but to my sinnefull hart Then take this answere which from thence doth come 127. Deare Lord I graunt that thou all reason hast And I should rage in Hell who thus neglect Of thy still present loue the pledges past To which my soule doth owe supreme respect 128. Wretch that I am I want not grace to know The endles obligation I am in The little that I pay the much I owe To thy deare Passion that huge price of sinne 129. But all this knowledge of what I should do Detects me of vnkindnes so much more Because myne actions do not sute therto Which are as cold and careles as before 130. My tast my touch my smell myne eares myne eyes I graunt were giuen for scouts who might fetch home A ladder by the which my soule should rise From creatures to the loue of thee alone 131. The facultyes and powers of my Mind Myne Vnderstanding Will and Memory I graunt were lent as lockes and keyes to bind My hart to know and loue and thinke on thee 132. All these thy mercyes and a million more I haue mispent and with the selfe same armes Which thou hadst willed me to keep in store For my defence I did my soule most harmes 133. So that they are not my foule sinnes alone Which strike me with a sad remorse of mind But eu'n thy mercyes to such height are growne As that in them more cause of feare I find 134. For how can I to whome thou giu'st such grace As would haue serud

erroneous beliefe haue discredited the doctrine of her inuocation yet withall they might at least haue largly described praised her vertues they might haue magnifyed her prerogatiues they might haue perswaded men to the imitation of her examples if in their harts they had prosecuted her with true affection and admiration For could this omission peraduenture come from want of matter worthy to be obserued in the B. Virgin Or be these thinges but fables which haue been brought out of Scripture and layd heere before your eyes No. But the true reason is that there is something in the spirit of etrour which is not compatible with a true and tender and filiall reuerence of affection to the sacred Virgin which maketh them all carry a kind of tooth towardes her some grinne and shew it others beare it with more appearance of modesty but with no lesse malice and generally all of them haue some kind of antipathy whereof some of themselues do scarse know the roote against her By whome although their soules may be assisted and fauoured as soone and sometymes before they haue the grace to desire so great a blessing yet their opinions are hated by her who brought him forth that hath beene the destruction of all former and will be so of all future heresyes And it should seem that the enemy of mankind finding the wound to be so deadly which he hath receaued in great part by her meanes procureth to reuenge himself in a particuler manner by arming such as he hath drawn into errour towardes an auersion from her For whereas Catholikes are taught to know that they do not honour her too much in giuing her whatsoeuer a pure creature is capable of and in beleeuing her to haue been preserued by the speciall prerogatiue of Almighty God from those shames and sinnes to which all the rest of mankind is subiect and euen the Mahometans though they do not so much as beleeue in the diuinity of our Sauiour Christ yet do they admire and magnify her out of the very historicall relation that they haue of her life These other aduersaryes of Gods Truth and Church whereof they once were though now they are departed from thence such as are only Iewes and Heretikes be the only two races of men that can be found vnder the cope of heauen for the Pagans know little of her to haue lift vp their hands and opened their mouths to the reproach and blasphemy of this sacred and immaculate Virgin But I would beseech them euen by the bowells of Christ Iesus our Lord if they care indeed for those bowells of his who carry no more reuerence to these bowels of hers which brought him forth that if they will not be as pious towardes her as they ought they will at least not be so dangerously imprudent as they are to themselues Let them take heed how they continue to arme thēselues towards the assault of this Tower of strength Hier. in Ierem. 31. Zach. 14. Christ himselfe is the corner stone and our B. Lady is the Quarry or rather the Mine of spotles marble out of which he would be taken without the help of any other handes thē those of the Holy Ghost Our Sauiour hath sayd of himselfe in the similitude of this stone Luc. 2● He that stumbleth vpon it shall fall and he vpon whom the stone falleth shall be driuen to powder which howsoeuer it be principally litterally true of him in regard of them who offend him first and afterward prouoke him to take vengeance of them for their other sinnes yet experience telleth vs that it carryeth some proportion towards such others as oppose themselues and offend the honour of our B. Lady who haue come after liues led in extreme obscurity of mind and misery to end wretchedly in despayre I remit my selfe to good obseruers whether some such as hauing beene Catholikes and comming after to loose togeather with their Religion the very reputation both of Christianity and common honesty haue not beene formerly knowne to carry a secret and subtile spite to the honour of our Lady and on the other side I could for a need name some Caluinists who being in a faire way to obtaine both temporall and eternall felicity by finding themselues to be moued internally to grow into some tendernes of deuotion towards our B. Lady vpon an expresse resistance of those good motions and a fortifying themselues in the contrary purpose haue fallen into such pouerty and misery and disreputation and confusion as that at the instant wherein now I speake they are growne to be the very By-wordes and Prouerbs of the places wherein they liue And as for such as are and by the grace of God are to continue of our cōmunion whether they be of England or any other Countrey as there is a latitude in the natures and inclinations of men and some euen amongst vs are much more deuoted to our B. Lady then some others yet so that none of vs doe not take ioy in giuing her gladly all her rights none of vs that do not extoll her none of vs that do not desire her prayers that God Almighty may be mercifull vnto vs through Christ our Lord so I can protest as in the diuine presence that whosoeuer they be amongst vs that are and appeare to be the most tenderly affected towards the honouring and louing of this sacred Virgin are also found to be the men who in other respects deserue to be acknowledged as most eminent in all kind of Angelicall vertue So that deuotion to her is not only a distinct signe between good and bad that is between Catholikes and no Catholikes but it is in like manner a signe of difference betweene good and better that is between ordinary Catholikes and such others as are the best amongst vs. And though some may haue their mouths and pens ful of her prayses whilest their harts are voyde of her vertues and I beseech Iesus from my very soule that my selfe may not be found the foremost of that ranke yet in the generality that proportiō which I first deliuered is most certainely true Towards the further building vp of her greatnes in the iudgment of any reasonable man I will desire him yet to let one only other stone be added by remembring that Parable of the Penny which was giuen for the dayes worke in the Ghospell and by considering that speach of our Sauiour which he vsed against those enuious old labourers Is it not lawfull for me to do what I will with my owne Matt. 22. and Is your eye therfore euill because I am good For heereby he may vnderstand that Almighty God is not any bodyes Ward that he disposeth of his treasures according to the latitude of his owne heart and that he would haue the world rather enlarge it selfe towards the admiration of his vnspeakable bounty powred forth vpon his creatures then be accustomed through certaine mechanicall and enuious little thoughts to paint