Selected quad for the lemma: authority_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
authority_n	pope_n	power_n	prince_n	6,725	5	6.0581	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A20886	A true report of the araignment, tryall, conuiction, and condemnation, of a popish priest, named Robert Drewrie at the Sessions house in the old Baylie, on Friday and VVednesday, the 20. and 24. of February: the extraordinary great grace and mercie offered him, and his stubborne, traytorous, and wilfull refusall. Also the tryall and death of Humphrey Lloyd, for maliciouslie murdering one of the Guard. And lastly the execution of the said Robert Drewry, drawne in his priestly habit, and as he was a Benedictine fryer, on Thursdaie following to Tiborne, where he was hanged and quartered.		1607 (1607)	STC 7261; ESTC S109954	11,237	30

him that is the onely iudg of al desire his heauenly help and assistance neuer to suffer vs to be led into the like temtations Let vs nowe remember where we lefte before and returne to the matter concerning the Priest In this time of respit since his condemnation bethinking himselfe belike of his present dangerous condition he solicited sundry great Persons by his Letters entreating all possible fauour to bee allowed him Among the rest he wrote to Sir Henry Montague Recorder of London requiring to haue some priuate speech with him The Gentleman being of a milce and mercifull inclination willing to do good to any but much more to one at the point of such perill vpon Monday morning sent for Drewrie downe into the Sessions house garden to him where vrging to know what fauour he requested and alleaging the kings great and gratious mercy to any that expressed themselues to be his louing Subiects and would take the oath of duty and obedience to him Drewrie made voluntary tender of himselfe that he would take the oath acknowledging the greatnes of his maiesties mercy and humbly required that the like grace might bee affoorded to his Brother VVilliam Dauies the other Priest that was cōdemned with him Maister Recorder conceiued very well of this his submission and was in his minde perswaded that if he had put him to the oath presently without any refusall he would haue taken it But he as an vpright Iusticer very wisely considering that his fact being openly knowne and the people acquainted with his dangerons practises his publike submission and taking the oath would the better witnesse his obedience and submission and proue much more pleasing then any thing done in priuate deferred it till the time of more conueniency so Drewrie departed vppe to his Chamber againe being vsed with all kind and gentle respect ¶ The extraordinary great grace and mercy offered at the Sessions-house to Roberd Drewrie and William Dauies Pristes on vvednesday the 25. of February and lastly the sentence of death pronounced against them ACcording to the custome in such cases obserued the tryall and condemnation of Robert Drewrie passing as hath beene already declared on the Fryday before On Wednesday following beyng the fiue and twentieth day of February the Prisoner was brought to the Barre againe Where it being tolde him that he had beene already araigned vppon high treason and had pleaded thereto not guiltie but for his tryall had put himselfe vpon GOD and his Countrey the Country had found and deliuered him vppe guilty it now remained to heare what he could say for himselfe why iudgement of death should not be pronounced against him He replyed as he had done before that he tooke himselfe not to be conuicted of Treason but onely for his Priest-hoode which if the Law made treason hee had nothing to say but appealed to the Kinges grace and mercy Heereupon his voluntarie offer to take Oath on the Monday before was rehearsed to him And it was further tolde him that now it was apparantly perceiued how collorably hee cloaked his priuate and pernicious dealing answering by equiuocation and setting downe one thing vnder his owne hand then afterward speaking dyrectly against the same For proofe whereof his owne Letter written sithence the time of his condemnation to a Person of great honor was there read and as much thereof as concerned the present occasion then in hand was the more insisted vppon Wherin if my memory faile me not it appeared that he had bin requyred to set downe his censure opinion according as himselfe did best gather and conceiue therof concerning the Oath of legalty and alegiance mentioned in the late tatute whereunto as I remember his answere was thus I freelye confesse that in my opinion euery honest and good Catholicke may lawfully safely take it Immediately because hee had made such a free confession of the Oathes lawfulnes and safety in taking himselfe was willed to take the Oath which he had thus censured to let y e world perceiue now publickly whether his hand and hart held true correspondence together and whether he were so honest and good a Catholick as but to expresse the loyalty of a Subiect and giue Caesar his due Now plainly appeared both what he and such of his profession inwardly are for he plainly refused to take y e Oath hauing the Booke deliuered into his owne hands and willed to take and aledge what exceptions he could against any part or particle of the Oath his answere was that hee did but deliuer his opinion of the Oath what any good or honest Catholick might do excluding himself out of any such titles neither quoth he can it be any waye aduantageable to me being condemned as I am therefore I haue no reason to take it But then to meet iustly with such cuning dissembling and equiuocating and to discouer such apparant falshood that no lesse admired then most worthy Gentleman sir Henry Mountague Knight Recorder of the Citty of London as he had many times before so still he continued in displaying the subtil slights of so dangerous a person and what hurt ensued to the state by such as he was To driue him nowe from these ydle suggestions and to lay open the kings most Royall Mercy though not so much as in Truth it deserued yet sufficiently able to conuince such impudence he told him that he was a poore Minister of Iustice vnder his Maiesty and hadde such true acquaintance with his euer-royall and mercifull inclination that harty sorrow or repentance in an offender no sooner coulde be discerned but he was euen as readie to giue pardon and forgiuenes and rather did superabound in grace then séek after blood and therefore willed him to let all the people there perceiue whether he would accept of this proffered grace or no. Nay more because euery one was not acquainted with the Oath contained in the Statute and perchance might conceite otherwise thereof then in equity it deserued the Clearke was commaunded to read it there publickly and himselfe to except against it whatsoeuer he could alledge The Clerke accordingly began as followeth reading it destinctly as it is in the Booke The Oath of euery true and honest subiect I A.B. do truely and sincerely acknowledge professe testifie and declare in my conscience beefore God and the worlde that our Soueraigne Lorde king Iames is lawfull and rightful king of this realme and of al other his Maiesties Domions and Countries And that the Pope neither of himselfe nor by any authority of the Church or See of Rome or by any other meanes with anie other hath any power or authority to depose the King or to dispose any of his Maiesties kingdomes or Dominions or to authorize any forraigne Prince to inuade or anoy him or his countries or to discharge any of his subiects of their alegiance and obedience to his Maiesty or to giue license or leaue to any of them to beare Armes raise tumult or

to offer violence or hurte to his Maiesties royall Person state or gouernment or to any of his Maiesties subiectes within his maiesties Dominions Also I do sweare from my hart that notwithstanding any declaration or sentence of excommunication or depriuation made or graunted or to be made or graunted by the Pope or his successors or by anie Authority deriued or pretended to bee deriued from him or his See againste the said king his heires or Successors or any absolution of the saide subiects from their obedience I will beare faith and true allegiance to his Maiestie his heires successors and him and them wil defend to the vttermost of my power against al conspiracies and attempts whatsoeuer which shal be made against his or their persons their crown and dignity by reason or colour of anie such sentence or declaration or otherwise and wil doe my best indeuour to disclose and make knowne vnto hys Maiesty his heires and successors al Treasons and Traterous conspiracies which I shal know or hear of to be against him or any of them And I doe further sweare that I doe from my hart abhorre detest and abiure as impious and heretical this damnable doctrine and position that Princes which be Excommunicated or depriued by the Pope may bee deposed or murdered by their subiects or anie other whatsoeuer And I do beleeue and in conscience am resolued that neither the Pope nor any person whatsoeuer hath power to absolue me of this Oath or any parte thereof which I acknowledge by good and faithful authority to be lawfully ministred to me and doe renounce all pardons and dispensations to the cōtrary And al these things I do plainly and sincerely acknowledge and sweare according to these expresse wordes by me spoken and according to the plaine and common sence and vnderstanding to the same words without Equiuocation or mentall euasion or secret reseruation whatsoeuer And I do make this recognition and acknowledgement hartily willingly and truly vpon the true faith of a Christian so helpe me GOD. This Oath which no good subiect will refuse to take hauing beene very audibly read well neare in the perfect hearing of euery one there present hee was required to alleadge or inferre against any part thereof what he could But he insisting vainely as he had done before that hee had but giuen his opinion thereof for others and refusing vtterly to take it himselfe gaue euident and manifest testimony that such Priestes as himselfe was were not included in y e ranke of honest or good Catholikes but apparant Traitors to the King and state in saying one thing and dooing the contrary in making an outward shew of duty obedience vnder hand writing and reseruing a traytorous intentiō in their close bosome Wherin the grosse deceiuing and abusing of too many ouer-credulous soules being falsely perswaded of such men otherwise thē they are indeede is very much to be pittied and lamented for they do but iudge by y e exterious habit of smooth sanctitie and holines and not by the close seducing of them and their soules Religion is the Cloake cast ouer intended treason and holy protestations hide hollow harted practises more deuillish then in plaine meaning can easily be doubted and far more dangerous then weake capacities are able to discouer as very excellently and elegantly was there plainely approued Another allegation also as impertinent did Drewrie make in saying that a French Priest or a Spanish Priest comming into this land to exercise their function at either of their Lord Ambassadors or otherwise they might in like manner be tearmed traitors whereat all the by-standers were euen ready to hisse him Knowing very well and as it was with good discretion answered him that such priests neither were or could be reckoned subiects to this state nor were they enabled to deale in such daungerous manner with our people wanting our language and credit in such a case to countenaunce them as by their slye insinuating they being borne subiects credited more then beseemed did too much preuaile by And as freely might such Ambassadours haue men of spiritual office about them being of their owne country as ours are allowed the like within their Maisters Dominions So that still he wold haue maintained that Priesthood and not the trecherous complotting and practises of Priests in his vnderstanding was to bee helde for Treason The same grace fauor which had beene before extended to Drewrie in as ample measure was offered to Dauies the other Priest and hee was demaunded whether he would take the Oath or no. Hee replyed that he was a poore simple ignorant man and could hardly censure what thereto belonged For there were many learned Priests whose iudgements in this case he would first know then perhaps hee might be otherwise altered Wherein appeareth y t one onely Romish rule and obseruation is a lesson or direction to them all and the Buls or Breues of the Pope are more regarded and respected by them then the natiue loyalty and obedience they owe to their King and Country But mercy hath beene ouermild too long and won no such grace from as iustly was expected but rather hath armed them with more boldnesse insolence then either is fit in them to offer or standes with the wisedome of so great a state to endure For Nunquid colligunt de spinis ruas 〈◊〉 de tribulis ficus Do o Men gather Grapes of Thornes or Figs of Thistles When no further good either by testimonie of their owne shame or euen Father-like most kinde perswasions could be wrought vpon either of them first a most graue learned and indicious admonition was made vnto them containing breefely the many extraordinarie great graces of the kings Maiestie towarde menne of their condition and howe after graunting them first his free and generall pardon hee neuer left off but pursued them still with all fauours that could bee deuised as not desiring the death of any one but rather to liue quietly like a godly peacefull and religious King not enacting any new or seuere Lawes against such daungerous Persons but ratyfieng and confirming them that he found at his comming which Queene Elizabeth of euer happy memory compulsiuely was cōpelled and enforced to make against them And yet the Iustice of those Lawes which had beene of seauen and twenty yeers continuance before his Maiestie did forbeare to execute and finding manye whose liues lay vnder the forfeit of the law not onely did hee remitte them in grace but likewise gaue his free pardon to all Sending so manie as were in durance away at his own cost and charge and publishing the like offer to all other that woulde except of so kind a benifit as loath to meddle with their blood that were enemies to his life and desirous to win them by mercy if they were not too monstrous Nor hath he sentenced any Priest with death since his comming to the Crowne but such as were men of most dangerous