Selected quad for the lemma: virtue_n
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A34967
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An epistle apologetical of S.C. to a person of honour touching his vindication of Dr. Stillingfleet.
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Cressy, Serenus, 1605-1674.
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1674
(1674)
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Wing C6893; ESTC R26649
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61,364
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165
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hence you being perswaded that it is more do wish that all English Catholicks who you think have a Religion different from that in other Catholick States would give an evidence and security of and for their Fidelity to his Majesty by disclaiming all kind of subjection to another Spiritual Sovereign as their fellow Subjects do yea as hath been done lately even by Catholick Subjects in France 101. These noble Sir are the Proposals at least as many of them as concern me at present which you have thought fit to make to the end to oblige me by my resolution of them to discover whether the suspicions you seem to have of the defect in Loyalty not of my self only but of my Superiours and Brethren also be not justly grounded I am willing to give you herein the best satisfactâ—on I am able And truly Sir were it not for the first Proposal I should heartily wish that as I do not at all doubt but that you are indeed a Person of Honour I could also be assured that you were of Great Authority in Publick Counsels for then I might hope that God would make an instrument of his great goodness to us such a Person who has generously in such circumstances as we are at the present declared his judgment that in case we could justifie our Loyalty we should not for our dissenting otherways from the Religion of the State be the only persons excluded from his Majesties gracious Indulgence and the rights of Free-born Subjects 102. In order now to the satisfaction I desire to give you Sir I will in the first place consider the first proposal which I conceive you intended for a foundation on which you build a perswasion that we ought to renounce an acknowledgment of any authority at all though purely spiritual assumed by the Pope over his Majesties Subjects 103. Hereto therefore I say that as to the distinction you have framed between a Religion of State and Christianity considered according to its essentials which last only you seem to affirm to be unalterable it being a distinction never before heard of by me and now aâ—so not perfectly understood I know not wâ—ll what Answer to make In discoursing on this subject you seem to make your State-Religion to regard external discipline Ceremonies Solemnities c. And for such matters it will be easily granted that the Sovereign Temporal Prince may if need be interpose himself in the ordering of them for the convenience of his people in case this may be done without endangering a Schism from the Body of Christianity But you extend your State-Religion yet farther so as to contain Doctrines also such as are not essential to a Christian Profession which you say may be altered by the Prince with Advice of his National Clergy and errors removed how long soever continued and how largely soever dispersed This may also pass upon condition first that neither the Prince nor his Clergy take upon them to judge those Doctrines to be errors which the Vniversal or Patriarchal Church of which they are subordinate members doth teach and hath Synodically established And next that they will submit their decisions to a future judgment of the Vniversal or Patriarchal Church For otherwise all Vnity all Authority Ecclesiastical and all Order in Gods Church will be utterly dissolved 104. And whereas you demand of Catholicks that they explain what is the full extent of that Spiritual Power which they acknowledge in the Pope over England c. you must permit me to say that to give an account exactly of all the several Acts of Spiritual Iurisdiction belonging to the Pope over all within his Patriarchate would require perhaps several months study But I suppose the intent of this demand may more easily be satisfied by saying in the first place That since even the greatest Princes are not Spiritual Pastors â— but subject as to their souls to the Iurisdiction of their lawful Pastors an exemption from which would not be a priviledge but a misery And again since the Pope considered but even as a Patriarch has of right belonging to him a Spiritual Iurisdiction and power to inflict Spiritual Censures on all persons subâ—ect to him even Princes also according to their demerits we therefore conceiving it an unquestionable Truth that England is comprehended within the Western Patriarchate must also affirm that the Pope's Spiritual Iurisdiction extends to us also But then in the next place we also confidently affirm that by Virtue of this Spiritual Iurisdiction inherent in the Pope the Temporal Rights and Power of the King or even of the meanest of his Subjects are not at all abridged or prejudiced This assertion Sir you cannot but know has always been maintaine in France the Pope not contradicting it Hence it follows that it is agreeable to Catholick Religion And why English Catholicks should be suspected not to be as tender of the just Rights and precious Lives also of their Sovereign as the Catholick Subjects of any other Kingdom and why they should be thought to be willing to acknowledge any Temporal power Direct or Indirect to be inherent in the Pope over the King or Kingdom to which not any Catholick Gentleman or Nobleman would submit I cannot imagine And truly Honoured Sir I do extremely wonder upon what grounds you should suspect any Catholicks disposed to betray the Rights and Honour of our Sovereign or our Ecclesiasticks unwilling to touch upon this Point concerning the Popes Temporal Power which you say is the Hinge upon which all other Controversies between Protestants and English Catholicks do so entirely hang and depend that if that only were taken off all the rest would quickly fall to the ground 105. Noble Sir if ever you read this Apology you will find that it is published permissu Superiorum and therefore what I shall now write on this special subject you may please to consider not as the inconsiderable opinion of one particular person only I do now therefore assure you that there is not any one Point of Controversie upon which we more earnestly desire to be summoned to give an account before equal Iudges than this But withal permit me I beseech you to say that though in many regards none could be more fit to sit on that Tribunal than your self yet one Principle you seem to have imbibed which would undo us all For you will not be content with our justifying our selves to be Loyal Subjects unless we will be Herodians also you will not be content that we should give to Caesar the things which belong to Caesar unless we give him those things which belong to God too We do willingly acknowledge that all Christian Kings not of England only have in some sense a kind of Spiritual Authority â— that they ought to be Nursing Fathers to God's Church that God expects from them that they should promote true Christian Doctrine both touching Faith and Manners that they should employ their Kingly Power when occasion
is to oblige even Ecclesiastical persons to perform their Duties yea even Bishops also to govern Christ â—s flock according to the Orders prescribed them and all their Subjects to live in all Christian Piety and Virtue We sincerely acknowledge all this and that in executing this they are God's Substitutes But we dare not acknowledge them to be the Successors of Christ's Apostles We receive Christian Doctrines and the Orthodox sence of Scripture not from Princes but from such Pastors and Teachers only as God has appointed by a Lineal Succession to continue in his Church to the end of the World for the perfecting of the Saints for the work of the Ministry for the edifying of the Body of Christ that we be not children tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of Doctrine by the slight of men c. These divinely authorized Teachers and Pastors by the assistance of God's Spirit promised to them do preserve the Church one Body consisting of several distinct Members united in the same Catholick and Apostolick Faith and Charity which Faith is unalterable both as to the Foundation and Superstructure We do not understand your State-Religion We never till now heard of such a Position as this That all Churches in case they preserve entire only the Fundamental Articles of the Creed though the Supreme Power respectively in them took liberty to change any other Doctrines were sufficiently Orthodox And I confess when I had read such a Discourse in your Animadversions touching a State-Religion I then exceedingly wondred at the Approbation 107. But Sir does this concern only Roman Catholicks in England Are they the only persons obnoxious to a suspicion of Disloyalty and to all the most horrible punishments threatned in our Laws against Traytors because they dare not profess the State-Religion You seem to be perfectly acquainted with the State of France and you are well satisfied with the Profession of Fidelity made by the Hugonots But have they any reverence for the State-Religion there Do not they freely justifie their own Religion against it even that Religion the Profession whereof they extorted by shedding the blood of many Myriads of their Kings faithful Subjects Yet notwithstanding all this they are now in your opinion very faithful Subjects too and no man thinks of obliging them to the State Religion Doubtless also you know England better than France How many thousand Dissenters are there from the State Religion besides Roman Catholicks yet the terrible Laws are made only against Roman Catholicks From Roman Catholicks only care is taken of exacting Oaths both of Fidelity and Supremacy as being esteemed the only dangerous Subjects in the Kingdom and this for the Treasonable Actions or scarce one score of persons abhorred by all the rest For the discovery and prevention of such personal Treasons Thanksgivings must solemnly every year be paid to God and Devotion at such times is expressed by renewing malice against innocent persons Whereas a delivery of the whole Kingdom and Church from almost an Vniversal Rebellion designing the extinction of Monarchy and Prelacy both yea and executing the Murder of the lawful Sovereign is not esteemed a motive for a publick Engagement to pay thanks to God or to preserve in mens minds a memory of his wonderful Blessing to the Nation neither it seems is there at all a necessity of requiring from any a Retraction of the Principles of Rebellion or a promise that it shall never be renewed Noble Sir I beseech you not to interpret this to be spoken out of a malignant envy against any or a desire that others should share in our sufferings Perhaps there is a necessity considering the Constitution of the present Age that some party should remain for ever in a state of suffering And this being so it is certainly agreeable to Prudence that those should suffer whose Religion teaches them to suffer and who have been so long enured thereto who most certainly will meekly suffer without resisting and who do sincerely profess that according to their perswasion it is absolutely unlawful to defend their Religion persecuted by Sovereign Magistrates by any other way but suffering Notwithstanding it is probable that these Statesmen may find small cause to boast who have thought fit to continue the last Ages policy when for the gaining of a present advantage or preventing an inconsiderable incommodity it was judged expedient to have always in a readiness this mean of giving contentment to the Vulgar by complying with their clamours Christianâ—s ad Leâ—nes For they might have done well to have some apprehensions least those Lions after they had devoured their destined prey might perhaps next with more security and a fiâ—rcer appetite turn upon their Masters 108. It is now at length time to say something to your Principal Proposal in which I am most nearly concern'd which is your wish that English Catholicks ' would give an evidence and security of and for their Fidelity to His Majesty c. that so they may shew themselves as good Subject's as those of France who by occasion of a seditious Book have you say Sir in a Declaration of the Sorbon concerning the King's Independency thus certified their resolution in the year 1663. Quâ—d Subdâ—ri fidem c. That Subâ—ects do so entirely owe Faith and Obedience to their most Christian King that upon no pretext whatsoever they can be dispenced therefrom For this you commend the French But as for English Catholicks they in your judgment do depend on the Pope so entirely that they have a Religion quite different from that which is professed and established in any other Cathâ—lick Country in Europe 109. Honoured Sir it cannot indeed be denied but that English Catholicks I mean Ecclesiasticks have a peculiar dependance on the See of Rome more than Catholicks generally have in other Countries For without in Authority thence derived they cannot come into England to sacrifice their lives for the Spiritual assistance which Charity requires from them to their Brethren here But Sir it such a dependance be a crime to whom 〈◊〉 to be imputed It is câ—rtain they themselves would much rather live under such Orâ—inary Superiours as govern in all Catholick Countries But this will not be allowed them to their great griâ—f It cannot therefore be help'd but they must either râ—nounce Châ—istian Charity and suffer their poor Country-men to starve for want of Spiritual Nourishment or apply themselves to 〈◊〉 who alone as the case now stands can give them a Mission and Authority to die for Faith and Charity 110. But Sir I cannot conceive how such a special dependance as this should move you to think that we are of a Religion quite different from that of other Catholicks abroad For whatsoever Iurisdiction our Priests do exercise it is the very same which in case there were any Catholick Bishops in England would have been conferred by them No other Commission have they no particular engagement to