Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	child_n	great_a	parent_n	1,520	5	8.2359	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A64409	The flaming hart, or, The life of the gloriovs S. Teresa foundresse of the reformation, of the order of the all-immaculate Virgin-Mother, our B. Lady, of Mount Carmel : this history of her life, was written by the Saint herself, in Spanish, and is newly, now, translated into English ...; Vida de Santa Teresa de Jesus. English. 1642	Teresa, of Avila, Saint, 1515-1582.; Matthew, Tobie, Sir, 1577-1655.	1642 (1642)	Wing T753; ESTC R33913	394,344	744

them but all goodnes and all care also of my good But passing on from that tender age to be able to beginne to vnderstand the benefits and guifts of Nature vvhich our Lord had bestovved vpon me vvhich others esteemed and sayd to be great in steed of giueing him thankes for the same I beganne to serue my self of them all tovvards the offence of his Diuine Maiestie as I shall novv declare THE SECOND CHAPTER VVhich shevves hovv she vvent loosing in the vvay of Vertue and hovv very much it importes to conuerse in childhood vvith vertuous persons I Belieue that a certaine thing vvhereof I vvil novv giue account beganne to doe me a great deale of hurt Sometimes I grovv to consider hovv ill those Parents doe vvho procure not that their Children should be euer seing examples of Vertue in all kindes For though my Mother were very eminent that vvay as I haue sayd already yet I tooke not so much of that good to myself vvhen first I came to the vse of Reason no nor almost euen anie thing at all and on the other side vvhatsoeuer there vvas of imperfect and ill did hurt me much My Mother vvas very particularly affected to reade Bookes of Caualleria or vaine histories but she tooke not so much hurt by that entertainment as I did because it hindred not that vvorke the vvhile about vvhich she vvas but disengaged vs from other things that so vve might reade them And perhaps she did it also the rather that she might so haue her thoughts lesse bent vpon the memorie of the great afflictions vvhich she felt and to employ also her Children in such sort as to diuert them from the thought of vvorse things My Father vvas yet so much troubled at this that particular care vvas had that he might not kouvv it But I in the meane time remained with the custome of reading these Bookes and that little fault of mine vvhich euen I myself discerned therein beganne to coole my good desires and vvas the reason vvhy I also grevv to faile in the rest and I made myself belieue that it vvas not very ill donne though yet I spent manie howers both of the day and night in so vaine an exercise and though it vvere still concealed from my Father But I vvas possessed heervvith in such extremitie that if perhaps I could not gett some nevv Booke I savv not hovv I could be in contentment I beganne also to make my self fine and to desire to grovv acceptable in seeming handsome and I tooke much care of my hands and of my haire and to get choice perfumes togeather vvith all those vanities vvhich it vvas possible for me to incurte by this meanes vvhich I confesse vvere enow in regard that I vvas very curious in this kinde I had only no ill intention nor desired I vpon anie tearmes that anie Creature should offend Almightie God vpon anie occasion of mine but I continued in so great a curiositie for daintines and cleanlines as vvas euen beyond all reason and those things vvhich for manie yeares I conceaued to be of no sinne at all I finde novv hovv very ill they vvere Novv I had certaine Cosen-germans vvho frequented my Fathers house in familiar manner no others hauing any such libertie as that For my Father was very warie and reserued in this kinde but I would to God he had also been so in respect of my Cosins because now I discerne the danger that it is for such as are to beginne to plant Vertue in the soule to treate with persons who know not in true account how great the Vanitie of the world is but rather are inclined to awake stirre others vp to cast themselues also into the same danger These kinsmen of mine were in effect of mine owne age or rather a little elder then I. VVe were vsually togeather and they carried great affection to me and in all things which gaue them contentment I was willing to vphold the discourse and gaue eare to the successes of their loue to others and such other fooleries as are good for nothing Yea and which is worse I grew by these meanes to lay my soule open to be looked vpon by certaine idle thoughts which were the cause of all the ensuing ill If I were worthie to aduise Parents I would wish them to take great heed what kinde of persons they admitted to conuerse with their Children for much harme may grow from thence since the naturall condition of Mankinde wil neuer clime vp so easily towards good as decline towords ill at least it hapned so to me I had a Sister much elder then my self of whose puritie and goodnes whereof she had great store I tooke no part but I failed not to take all hurt from a certaine other kins-woman of mine who had also familiar entrie into our house Now she was of so light and guiddie a conuersation that my Mother had vsed seuerall diligences to diuert her from familiaritie with vs. For it seemes she did euen half foresee the mischief which was to grow vpon me by her meanes and yet on the other side the occasion was so great faire whereby she was to enter that euen my Mother could not tell how to decline it VVith this Creature as I was saying did I come to haue much delight to entertaine myself VVith her was my conuersation and my discourse because I found that she employed her self willingly vpon all those wayes of passing my time wherein I delighted most Yea and sometimes she would embarke me in them of her self giuing me part and knowledge of all her owne conuersations and vanities Till I beganne to be familiar with her when I thinke I was some foureteen yeares old or rather a little more I meane till she had wrought her selfe into so much friēdship with me as to make me partake the knowledge of all her little affaires I am much inclined to thinke that I had neuer forfeited the fauour of Almightie God by anie Mortall Sinne nor euer forsaken the feare of his Diuine Maiestie though yet still I feared more to loose my honour This last point was of power enough with me for not permitting mee to loose it outright nor doe I conceiue that any thing of this world could make mee change that resolution nor was there any person aliue who could winne mee to yeild my selfe vp to that misery I would to God I had so abounded in strength courage as not to make one pace against the honour of his Diuine Maiestie as euen a kinde of naturall constitution of minde confirmed me towards the not loosing that wherein I held the honour of this world to consist though yet I considered not the while that I lost euen that also manie wayes For the vaine vpholding heerof I had euen an extreame resolution though yet for the proper and fitt meanes which was necessarie for preseruing it I vsed none at all only I was earnest in taking care that I might by

me Let the Diuells of Hell torment me yea Let all creatures persecute me but only be not thou wanting to me O my deare Lord for I know by good experience with how much aduantage and fruit thou deliuerest all such persons as put their confidence in thee alone For when I was in this great and miserable affliction of Spirit at a time when I had not enioyed anie one Vision at all these only few following words were sufficient to free me from all trouble and to quiet me entirely Feare not O my Daughter for it is I and I vvill not forsake thee Doe not feare It seemes to me that considering what kind of Creature I was then there would haue been need of a long time to perswade me to quiet my self and that no bodie would haue been able to doe it and yet now behold me heer all quieted and composed by these few words and I was endued with strength with courage with securitie which was accompanied with a kind of repose and light in such sort as that at that verie instant I saw my Soule become a direct other thing then it was before and me thinkes I could euen haue disputed against the whole world in proofe that this proceeded from Almightie God O what a good deare God is this O what a good deare Lord is he and how very powerfull for not only doth he giue the counsaile but the remedie also His verie Words are Workes and O how doth he both strengthen our Faith and encrease our Loue It is really very true that I often called to minde how our Lord had commanded the windes to compose and quiet themselues at Sea when a Tempest had been raised And so also did I say Who is this whome all the Powers of my Soule obey and who at an instant brings-in light to chace so great an obscuritie away and makes that hart grow soft and supple which seemed to haue the verie hardnes of stone and knowes how to driue and draw-downe the water of sweet teares where there was so great a drougth so long before Who is he that can inspire these desires Who can imprint such a courage what was I about to doubt and what can I feare What is this I desire to serue this Lord and I pretend no other thing then to please him I renounce all contentment and ease or anie other good at all but only the accomplishing of his Will For of this I was very sure in my opinion and that I might safely affirme it that since this Lord is so powerfull as I see he is and as I know he is and that all the Diuels of Hell are his Slaues and of this there can be no doubt since it is matter of Faith and I being the Seruant of this Lord and King what hurt can they all be able to doe me and why may not I haue strength enough to fight with all the Powers of Hell I then tooke a Crosse into my hand and really I thought God gaue me courage to conceiue that I should be shortly another kinde of woeman and that I was not to be afrayd to wrestle a Fall with the Diuels but conceiued that togeather with that Crosse I should be easily able to ouercome them all yea and once I prouoked them thus Come towards me as manie of you as dare for I being the Seruant of our Lord will see what you all can doe against me And it is most certaine that I thought they were afrayd of me and for my part I remained so in quiet and so totally without feare of them all that all the feares which I had formerly conceiued till that verie present time were remoued from me For though I saw them sometimes as I shall declare afterward yet I neuer feared them more but conceiued that they were rather affrayd of me I possessed a dominion ouer them which had been giuen me by the Lord of all Creatures and I make no more reckoning of them then of so manie Flyes and they seem to be of so cowardlie a nature that when once they come to find that they are not esteemed they haue no power at all For this kind of enemie knowes not how to set vpon anie one who renders not himself vp to them or els when Almightie God permitts for the greater good of his Seruants that they may tempt and torment them I would to God it might please his Diuine Maiestie that we would feare whome indeed we ought to feare and that we might perfectly vnderstand that we shall receiue more preiudice by committing anie one single Veniall sinne then by all the power of Hell put togeather for this is a most certaine truth How extreamly doe these Diuels carrie vs frighted vp and downe because our selues indeed will needs giue occasion thereof by our being so close fastned as we are to our Honours to our Estates and to our Delights For then we being ioyned togeather with these impediments by louing and desiring to possesse them who are our contraries whome we ought to abhorre they grow able to doe vs much hurt For we enable them to fight against our verie selues with our owne weapons which we put into their hands though indeed we were to defend our selues thereby against them And this is both pitty and shame But now if on the other side we shall resolue to abhorre all those things for the loue of our Lord and embrace his Crosse and pitch vpon doing him seruice in good earnest he flyes as fast away from these solid truths as a man would doe from the Plague In fine he is a freind of Lyes yea and a verie Lye himself He is easily kept from medling much with such persons as walke entirely according to Truth but when once he can discouer that a mans Vnderstanding growes to be obscured he hath a particular grace in procuring to breake the verie strings of his eyes and if he see one already proue so blind as that he will needs build his rest and ease vpon vaine things and so vaine as that being things of this world they are no better then toyes fitt for children he findes already that such a person is a verie Child and so he treates him like such an one and wrestles with him more or lesse as he sees cause I beseech our Blessed Lord that I may neuer proue to be one of these but that his Diuine Maiestie may be pleased to doe me so much Fauour as that I may vnderstand that to be ease and rest which is indeed true ease and rest and that to be honour which is true Honour delight which is true delight and not the direct contrarie to all this and then a figg for all the Diuels in Hell for then they shall be all of them afrayd of me For my part I vnderstād not those feares of the Diuel and the Diuel and I know not what when we may be able to say God and God c.