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Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
work_n	good_a	merit_n	merit_v	6,691	5	10.7705	5	false

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A07207	The epicures fast: or: A short discourse, discouering the licenciousnesse of the Romane Church in her religious fasts. By Henrie Mason, parson of St. Andrews Vndershaft, London	Mason, Henry, 1573?-1647.	1626 (1626)	STC 17608; ESTC S112435	50,940	70

play both the glutton and the drunkard vpon a fasting-day and yet keepe all the rules of a Popish Fast Only the question further is Whether a man sinning by intemperance in gluttony and drunkennesse and yet at the same time keeping their rules of fasting doe merit at Gods hands by his Fast And their answer hereto is That (a) Si tantus sa excessus vt peccet mortiferè amittit meritum ieiunij sicut aliorum bonorum operum Si autem non peccot mortiferè non amittit absolutè sed solum ex parte Quia qua parte voluntariè abstinet à cibis vetitis à secunde refectione propter Ecclesiae praceplum meretur quod meritum non eliditur eliamsi in vsu cibi vel petûs non seruet debitam moderationem qua tamē parte excedie non meretur Less de Iust Iure l. 4. c. 2. dubitat 2. nu 10. p. 718 719. if the excesse be so great that it be a deadly or mortall sinne then he loseth the merit of his fast as he doth of all other his good workes but if the man do not sinne mortally by this excesse then he doth not absolutely lose the merit of his Fast but only in part For in that he doth volun tarily forbeare forbidden meates and a second refection for the Churches commandement he doth so farre forth merit by his fasting which merit is not done away though he keepe not due moderation in the vse of meate or drinke but so farre forth as he vseth excesse he doth not merit The meaning of which speech is to this purpose that his fasting is a good worke though at the time of his fasting hee doe surfet and bee drunke and if his surfetting and drunkennesse be such and so great that it putteth him out of the state of grace then he cannot merit by it because a man that is not in the state of grace cannot merit by any worke at all how good soeuer otherwise it be but if his gluttony and excesse be not such and so great that it doth exclude him out of the state of grace then hee meriteth still by his glutionous and drunken Fast And thus ye haue the summe of what they say in this case concerning the quantitie of their meate and drinke on their fasting dayes Which is a most drunken conceit and vnworthy the profession of learned men or Christians But the vanity may appeare by these considerations First it is against the practise and opinion of all Antiquitie For their fayings are (a) Sint tibi quotidiana iciunia refectio satietatem fugiens Nibil prodest biduo triduoque transmisso vacuū portare ventrem si pariter obruatur si compensetur saturitale ieiunium Hier. Ep. 22. ad Eust pag. 175. B. Let thy Fasts be daily and thy refection without satietie For it profiteth it nothing to carrie an emptie pauch for two or three dayes together if at once it bee ouercharged if the Fast be recompenced by fulnesse after So writeth Saint Hierom to Eustochium giuing her rules of a religious Fast And the same Father writing to Rusticus a man that had deuoted himselfe to a religious life he giueth him this counsell concerning fasting (b) Quae ipsa ielunia moderata sint ne nimia debilitent stomachū maiorem refectionem poscentia erumpant in cruditatem quae parens libidinum est Modicus ac temperatus cibus carni animae vtilis est Hier. Ep. 4. ad Rustic pa. 43. A. Let Fasts be moderate lest being immoderate they weaken the stomacke and requiring greater refection afterward they breake out into crudity and inconcoction which is the mother of lust Sparing and temperate diet is good both for body and soule And yet againe the same Father (c) Nonnulli vitam pudicam appetentium in medio itinere corruum dum solam abstinentiam carnium putant leguminibus onerant stomachum quae moderatè parcéque sumpta innoxia sunt Et vt quod sentio loquar nihil sic inslammat corpora litillat membra genitalia sicut indigestus cibus ructusque convulsus Parcus cibus venter semper esuriens triduanis ieiunijs praefertur Hieron Ep. 10. ad Furiam pag. 93. D. E. Many saith he who doe desire a chaste life doe fall in the mid-way while they thinke that abstinence is onely in forbearing of flesh and fill the belly with pulse which being taken moderately and sparingly is without harme And to speake what I thinke saith he nothing doth so inflame mens bodies and stirre vp lust as vndigested meat He yet addeth Sparing diet and a stomack still hungrie is better then Fasts three dayes long From which speeches of this learned and religious Father any man may collect that if hee thought a full meale after immoderate abstinence would engender lust then sure he neuer could imagine that surfetting on a fasting day can bee a meanes to coole lust and to beate downe the body And if he thought that it was in vaine and without profit to fast much if a man did make amends for his abstinence by fulnesse afterward then certainely he would neuer yeeld that men did a meritorious worke if abstaining from flesh they did on the very day loade themselues with excesse of any meates and drinkes But to proceed Cassian saith that (a) Non qualitas sola sed etiam quantitas escarum aciem cordis obtundit ac mente cum corne pariter impinguatae noxium vitiorum fomitem igneumque succendit Cassian Inst l. 5. c. 5. pag. 195 not onely the qualitie of meates but the quantitie also doth blunt the edge or vigor of the heart and fatting the minde with the body it doth kindle a noxious and firie fuell of vices And a little after he addeth (b) Esculentiores cibi vt procurant corporis sanitatem ita castitatis non adimūt puritatem si cum moderatione sumantur Cassian ibid. cap. 7. pag. 198. that the more nourishing meates as they breed health to the body so they doe not take away the purity of chastitie if they be taken moderately By which speeches we see that this ancient Father is so far from allowing excesse in a Fast that he preferreth a sparing meale of the best meates before a full meale of the coursest as also in the former restimony of St. Hierome we may obserue that that Father preferreth a moderate refection of flesh before a plentifull refection of pulse and as if he had meant to reproue the error of the present Roman Churth he derideth them who thinke to preserue chastitie while they abstaine from flesh and fill themselues with pulse To the same purpose it is that (c) Malunt bi qui perfectionem discretionis ignorant etiam bidus protelare ieiunia idque quod hodie sumpluri fuer●t in crastinum reseru●re dummodo ad refectionem peruenientes desideratâ satietate potianantur Quod nuper Beniamin ciuem vestrum pertinaciter tenuisse cognoscitis

THE EPICVRES FAST OR A SHORT DISCOVRSE DISCOVERING THE LICENCIOVSnesse of the ROMANE Church in her religious FASTS BY HENRIE MASON Parson of St. Andrews Vndershaft London LONDON Printed by G. P. for Iohn Clarke and are to be sold at his Shop vnder St. Peters Church in Cornhill 1626. TO THE RIGHT WORSHIPFVLL Dr. IOHN KING one of the Canons of Christ-Church in Oxford and second Sonne to the worthy Prelate Dr. KING late Bishop of LONDON * ⁎ * Good Sir I Did heeretofore offer to your * Dr. Hen●y King elder Brother a little Booke of the right vse of Fasting and now I bring vnto your selfe one much lesse of the abuses of Fasting My intention in both is the same to testifie towards your deceased FATHER now with the Lord my thanks seruice dutie and whatsoeuer a Domesticke could owe to a louing wise and vertuous Lord and withall to expresse according to my power the loue and affection which I shall euer beare to his suruiuing Posteritie praying also that you who haue receiued from him life and being may follow him and if it may be euen exceede him in his vertues Which intention and desire of mine if you shall please to accept of in this small Treatise as your Brother did in the other I shall esteeme it in you both as a token of your Fathers continued loue vnto me in his succeeding Issue My purpose in this small Treatise is to lay open the seuerall abuses which in these later yeeres haue corrupted this holy exercise of fasting and made it both odious to God and lesse passeable among men And this I did for two causes First to admonish good Christians that they beware of formalitie empty shews in religious duties and more especially that when they fast they be not like the Hypocrites of our time who in so foule a maner haue defiled so good a worke Secondly I vndertooke this Discouerie thereby to detect the superstition the pride of the Roman Church in hope that some euen amongst them may be moued to lay these things to heart And first for their superstition that is heereby detected that neglecting the power and vertue of a religious Fast and whatsoeuer hath any goodnesse or efficacie in it yet they doe place religion and merit in the empty name and the bare out-side which they onely haue retained And againe for their pride that appeareth in this that finding many corruptions crept into their practise of fasting contrarie to the custome both of Scriptures and the ancient Church as themselues cannot but confesse yet they had rather defend their grosse practises then acknowledge that the Church of Rome can doe any thing amisse Which two foule faults as they are vsuall with that Church in other things so they are palpable in this exercise of fasting as will clearely appeare by the particulars in this ensuing Treatise Would GOD our seduced Countreymen Rom. 10.2 who haue a zeale of GOD but not according to knowledge would heereby learne that all are not ancient customes that carry the old name but that the Church of Rome can retaine the titles of Antiquitie when she hath vtterly abolished the things which were afore time meant by them And my prayer to God is for such among them as desire to know the truth to saluation that God at length will open their eyes to discerne betweene things that differ and will moue their hearts to consider how vnsafe it is for them to commit their soules to those mens guiding who make the corrupt practise of their Church the vnquestionable rule of their Doctrine And with this Prayer I end my Preface commending my selfe to your loue my labours to your acceptance and you and all yours to GODS blessing and gracious protection Iune 12. 1626. Your louing and obliged Friend HENRIE MASON To the Reader IN the Authorities alledged beside the quoting of the Bookes Chapters numbers c. I haue most times named the leafe or page where the words are to be found I did it for 2. causes 1. That when I should haue occasion to reuiew any Authoritie I might with the more speede be directed to the place 2. That if there should happen any error in the number of the Bookes Chapters c. the addition of the leafe or page might be an helpe to amend it And because the Reader may make the like benefit of these quotations if he chance vpon the same Impression that I haue ●sed I thought it not amisse to specifie what Edition I followed in the seuerall Authors Which is as followeth Iosephi Angles Flores theologic Qq. Part. 1. in 4o. Burgis 1585. Antiquitates Liturgicae A Booke in three tomes in 8o. without the name of the Author Printer place or yeere but it was licenced by Petrus Lintrensis of Doway 1604. and granted with priuiledge to Bellerus the Doway Printer by the Archdukes 1603. Io. Azorij Institut part 1. Coloniae 1602. Bellarmini Controuersiae in fol. Paris 1608. Beyerlinck Promptuar Moral part 3. Colon. in 8o. 1616. Martin Bonacinae Opera in folio Lugduni 1624. Cajetani Summula in 8o. Paris 1539. Cassiani Opera in 8o. Duaci 1616. Euseb Histor Graecolat in fol. Coloniae Allobrogum 1612. Anton. Fernandes Examen Theologiae in 8o. Colon 1621. Ioan. Filesaci Opera in 8o. Paris 1614. Vincentij Filliucij Morales quaest Lugduni 1622. Barthol Fumi Aurea armilla 8o. Lugduni 1596. Matthaei Galeni Catecheses in 4 to Lugd. 1593. Iac. de Graffijs Decisiones aureae in 4 to Antwerp 1604. S. Hieronymi Opera Paris 1609. Ioan. Hofmeisteri Loci communes in 16o. Paris 1573. Hieron Llamas Summa ecclesiastica in 8o. Mogunt 1605. Cornel. à Lapide in Prophetas majores Antwer 1621. Leonar Leffius de Iustitia Iure Antw. 1612. Guliel Lindani Panoplia Colon. 1575. Iodoci Lorichij Thesaurus Friburgi 1609. Barthel Medinae Instructie Confessari●rum in 8o. Venet. 1601. Ioan. Medinae Cod. de Iejunio 4o. Brixiae 1606. Alphon. Pisanus de Continentia Abstinentia 8o. Colon. 1579. Valer. Reginaldi Praxis fori poenit fol. Coloniae 1622. Emman Roderiquez Sūma Casuū Colon. 1620. Franc. Toleti Instr Sacerd. 8o. Rothomagi 1609. Greg. de Valentia in Thomam Venet. 1608. THE EPICVRES FAST OVr Sauiour in his Sermon on the Mount among other lessons tending to Religion and an holy life doth instruct his Hearers in the right vse of Fasting (a) Mat. 6.16 17 18. When ye fast saith hee bee not as the Hypocrites of a sad countenance for they disfigure their faces that they may appeare vnto men to fast Verily I say vnto you they haue their reward But thou when thou fastest anoynt thy head and wash thy face c. In which words our Lord doth two things 1. He giueth a Caueat to beware of an abuse in fasting such as the Scribes and Pharises did defile this holy worke with Be not as the Hypocrites of a sad countenance c. And secondly he giueth vs counsell to take the right way in fasting