Selected quad for the lemma: war_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
war_n	great_a	king_n	scot_n	2,247	5	9.2324	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A84893	Light vanquishing darknesse. Or a vindication of some truths formerly declared, from those aspersions which have been (by reason of some misapprehensions) cast upon them; now published for the satisfaction and benefit of others. With a preambular epistle to all sorts of men. As also a parcell of good counsell, if you can take it. / By Captain Francis Freeman, a late member of the army.	Freeman, Francis.; Fairfax, Thomas Fairfax, Baron, 1612-1671.	1650 (1650)	Wing F2129; Thomason E615_7; ESTC R206543	58,771	68

poor people go bare-footed and bare-legged and scarce a ragge of clothes to cover their nakednesse or having any bread or any kind of food to put into their bellies to keep them from starving And ask the poor people whose land they lived in or who was their Land-lord they would tell us that it was either the Earl of Northumberland or the Lord Gray and now lay this home to your consciences and acquaint you with the pittiful condition of these poor people and ask you where is the feeding of the hungry and clothing of the naked you will be ready to answer me as I have bin already answered that the Earl of Northumberland or the Lord Gray should look to them and make provision for them as if it did not concern you at all and will be ready to post it off from post to pillar and say you have poor enough of your own and that you ought to take care for them But is it not as much neglected by you as by them for is there not daily crying out in your streets for bread bread for the Lords sake not only in this City but in the countrey also by many thousands of poor people who are ready to perish with famine and few or none take pitty on them as to releeve them but are ready to beat them from your doors notwithstanding they are flesh of your flesh blood of your blood and bone of your bone And all this proceeds from the hardnesse of your hearts and from pride and self-loftines from whence comes oppression and cruelty and are there not grievious burdens and taxes lying heavy upon the people which causeth a dearth upon all things notwithstanding there is great plenty of all in the Land and who suffers but the poor who are your fellow-creatures whose cries are already ascended up into heaven before the Almighty who is able to subdue all powers and to bring down all the proud and lofty ones to submit to his foot-stool and to ly prostrate at his feet and may you not justly tremble at that terrible doom and sentence of our Saviour to such as you shew your selves to be Mat. 25.41.42.43 Depart from me ye cursed c. For I was bungry and ye gave me no meat I was thirsty and ye gave me no drink I was a stranger and ye took me not in naked and ye clothed me not sick and in prison and ye visited me not And may not the Apostle James 5.1 2 3 4 5 6. thunder a ratling peal of terror in your ears Go to now ye rich men weep and howle c. see Micah 2.2 Micah 3.1 2 3. and Amos 6. from the 1. to the 7. read these Scriptures considerately and weigh them well and then I shall give ye my Counsel and advise for a remedy speaking after the mannor of men which shall be first to you Rulers and Governours who are placed in authority over us who sit at the helme and ought to steere all things aright according to equitie and justice That seeing all those lawes which came in by the Norman-conquest and have continued ever since successively by Kings and consequently by Tyrants till the late Kings head was taken off which laws for the substance are still in use as if that he were yet alive only the form altered But my Counsel is that they may be wholly taken away and wholesome laws prescribed in the room that the people may no longer ly under that yoke which is an intolerable burden For many families have bin utterly undone by long and wearisome journies and by their vast expence of mony in their long and tedious suits and by the corruption of the lawyers which corruption will never be taken away unlesse the lawes be wholly taken away both root and branch And if so be you should go about to mend these lawes and have them translated into the English tongue and divide the Nation into several provinces to avoid tediousnesse of travelling yet the same lawes being put in execution though they are translated as aforesaid the corruption will still rmeain and the people will still ly under the yoke Therefore my Counsel is that you will wholly take away all the lawes in one day and give us such wholesome lawes the next that may stand most consistent with the republique which will be most suitable to what they were before the Norman Conquest Let there be a Court of Judicature erected in each hundred of every County where causes may be equally determined by twelve sworn men annually chosen by the freemen of the said hundred and not left to depend upon the prerogative lawyers for justice the obstructors of the peoples freedomes And you know there can be no men able to judge so well of causes and controversies between partie and party as such as are neighbours to the parties where the offence or trespasse was committed and so those twelve men to be their Judges to hear and determine as in time past before the Conquest the Jury were the Judges and ended all controversies that were amongst the people This being one parcel of good Counsel if ye can take it Now the next Counsel I shal give you is that this unjust and intolerable burthen of Tythes may be wholly taken away that those who go under the notion of Ministers may live on Gospel maintainance and not by law Seeing it is a more blessed thing to give then to receive that no man be compelled to maintain such a generation of men who look to their own way every one for his own advantage and for his own purpose Who bite with their teeth and cry peace and he that puteth not into their mouth they even prepare warre against him as we have had sad experience of them being the greatest incendiaries against us the publick good of this Nation ever since the beginning of these troubles For the first warre was the Bishops warre and you know that the Clergie had a great hand in the second warre labouring to set the people against both Parliament and Army crying out against them almost in every pulpit But when they saw that there was a rising in Wales in Kent and that the Scots had invaded the Nation and were setting up the Kings interest again and knew full well that they should be no gainers thereby then as they had faced about to the left before so they could face about again to the right as they were like good souldiers And you know that this warre is the Kirks warre and the Clergie have the greatest share therein crying out against errors heresies and blasphemies as if they themselves and none but them were able to judge what heresie and blasphemy is and as if they were of such infallible judgement that whatsoever they shall say is heresie or blasphemie it must of necessity be so And thus much more I shall tell you that whensoever the Lord shall be pleased to give our Army victory over our enemies in

Therefore I could not but do it and the rather to vindicate my selfe in such a kind of dialect for peradventure it may the better work upon his spirits knowing that my own conscience will not suffer me to write any untruths although we know that such as will prosecute their designes by false and scandalous accusations are very apt to deny truths But suppose that Colonel Okey should question any of these truths herein contained so farre as it concerns himself then I know his own conscience will accuse him and bear witnesse against him and be ready to fly in the very face of him for it and this very book of mine will prove to be a devil to torment him as bad as seven devils But suppose he should think to carry it off with a high hand as he knows how to do it pretty well and call me knave for my labour as once he call'd Captain Mercer and told him he was troubled with a company of knaves to his Officers nay suppose he should all to be spatter me with such uncivil language behind my back according to his wonted practise before my face and say that these are not truths which I have written and that I have done him wrong then I shall appeal to those six Troops of his own Regiment which are with him in Scotland both Officers and Souldiers who for the generality of them know them to be truths And this will prove to be a tormenter indeed when there shall be so many witnesses against him besides his own conscience is as a thousand witnesses more But me thinks I hear him raile at me exceedingly and at my book and lay this poor book to my charge for a base scurrelous and scandalous book as he did my letter which I sent to him at Lancaster Then I shall appeal to the letter it selfe whereof I shall give you a true Coppy which is as followeth and leave it to you to judge Sir I Am at present under a cloud of aspersions though undeservedly by reason of some misapprehensions or misunderstandings one of another which occasions some distemper and trouble of mind to some Yet I praise my God there is no man can take away my comforts from me for I behold the Lord indeed in this appearance and see him in all other his various workings what though I am defamed in my good name it is the Fathers pleasure it should be so What though I ly under a cloud for a time in regard of an outward appearance before men Yet when the day-starre shall arise in your bea rt and that truth may be manifested it will cause you to have some trouble of mind and auxiity of spirit for these my sufferings Your conscience will tell you whether you prosecute this designe against me for some by-sinister-ends as to advance selfe-interest or out of sure zeal truly for my parts in doth not appear to me that your do it our of pure zeale it savours to little of a spirit rightly qualified but if it be out of pure zeal truly such zeale must be burnt up or at least cleansed and purified from the drosse for there is abundance of mixture You say that I and such others are the occasion of these warres Truly for my Part it doth appear to me that it arises from pride and selfeloftynesse and not from an humble and contrite heart for ambition carries a great stroake and from whence come warres is it not from your lusts you lay that every honest man will be as good as his word and charge me for not making good my engagement which was to lay down my commission And truly for my part I really intended it and was against my Souldiers petitioning the Generall knowing of the suffering of Captain Barringtons men who lay in London till they had spent their horses and all that they could make shift for before they could have any imployment Besides you know that you would not affoard me a hearing at a Councel in Warre lesse then which could not be granted to the meanest Souldier in the Armie But since the case is altered as I told you for above two moneths afire my Souldiers much musing at your hard dealings towards me that you would not grant me a tryall unknown to me did petition the Generall to that purpose which petition was granted and I tooke is to be a great favour considering what informations you hed given in against me to render me as odious as might be possible Now I shall appeale to your own canscience whether or no you have made good all your former engagements notwithstanding they were of lesse concernment then this is to me then look upon the equitablenesse of the cause and see whether or no a deprivation of my liberty may not stand in competition according to your former engagement with my non prformance of my promise Besides if I should be put off upon these tearmes without a Councel at Warre it may breed some distractions amongst the Officers in the Army which is not my desire knowing that there is no president for any such thing nor was there ever such arbitrarinesse exercised amongst them And it will be abundance of dissatisfaction to my friends who are lovers of truth in regard I shall still ly under a cloud of aspersions and not capable of any future imployment New if so be there be that righteous law within you to do as you would be done by Then I conceive you cannot exercise any such power Besides we all engaged against all arbitrary-power and will you set it up in your selfe surely this must be destroyed in you or else you will be destroyed in it For what art thou O Man that findest fault with another man and thou thy selfe doest the same thing You say that I am a heathen Truly for my part I thinke it better to be amongst beath ens then amongst such professors such as have a form of godlinesse but deny the power thereof You pretend abundance of zeal of religion and to religious men but I see but little justice towards me The Lord speakes by the mouth of the Prophet Jeremiah chapter 5. verse 1. Runne ye to and fro into the streets of Jerusalem and see now and know and seek in the broad places therof if ye can sind a mar if there by any that executeth judgement that seeketh the truth and he will pardon the City And though they say the Lord liveth yet they swear falsly verse 2. now if so be justice be not to be found in such a great City then where shal we find it but at the fountain You yet charge me with error and heresie truly for my part I take heresie to be a work of the flesh and he that is without sin and free from the workes of the flesh let him cast the first stone but the fruit of the spirit it love joy peace long-suffering gentlenesse goodnesse faith meeknesse temperance c. And the Apostle laies down