Selected quad for the lemma: judgement_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
judgement_n	court_n	judge_n	law_n	3,614	5	4.9602	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A64570	A speech of VVilliam Thomas, esqvire in Parliament in May 1641 being a short view and examination of the actions of bishops in Parliament from Anno Dom. 1116 to this present of 1641 in the severall reignes of 23 kings and queens of this kingdome of England, &c. : in all and each of their times it is made to appeare they have been most obnoxious to prince and people and therefore that it is not fit or convenient that they should continue members of that honourable House in which they have beene so disloyally and traiterously affected to regality and no lesse mischievous and pernicious to church and commonwealth.	Thomas, William, Sir, d. 1653?	1641 (1641)	Wing T985; ESTC R8551	19,310	28

A SPEECH OF VVilliam Thomas ESQVIRE IN PARLIAMENT In May 1641. Being a short View and Examination of the Actions of Bishops in Parliament from Anno Dom. 1116. to this present of 1641. in the severall Reignes of 23. Kings and Queens of this Kingdome of England c. In all and each of their times it is made to appeare they have been most obnoxious to Prince and People and therefore that it is not fit or convenient that they should continue members of that Honourable House in which they have beene so disloyally and traiterously affected to Regality And no lesse mischievous and pernicious to Church and Commonwealth A SPEECH OF WILLIAM THOMAS ESQVIRE I Have formerly spoken of the present Church government by Archbishops Bishops c. Declaring the corruption and unsoundnesse thereof and how farre degenerate if not contrary to the pure Primitive Apostolicall institution Also I have touched a little of the other parts as how unlawfull it was for them to intermeddle in temporall affaires to use civill power or to sit as Iudges in any Court much lesse in the Court of Parliament where they passe censure and judgement not onely of our lives and liberties but on the Estates and inheritance and blood as of us so of our posterity And as this is unlawfull by the Divine Law so by the Canons of the Church yea of this Church and Acts of Parliament of this Realme whereof I shall further enlarge myselfe in my ●●●●ing discourse So hath their sitting there beene prejudiciall and obnoxious to Kings and Subjects Now I desire briefly to declare when and how the Bishops came to be members in the Parliaments in the House of the Lords and by what meanes they continued their sitting there because prescription is much insisted upon although long usage as King Iames truly delivereth confirmeth no right if unlawfull originally or at convenient times interrupted And whereas it hath beene demanded why the first of our reasons viz. that it hindreth Ecclesiasticall vocation was not urged 600. yeares agoe I answer There was then no cause for the first beginning of Parliaments was not 74. yeares after But if this had beene delivered of the lawfulnesse and conveniency of their intermedling in temporall affaires I should have replyed that it hath beene declared not onely 600. but 1600. yeares agoe and in each century since But supposing and granting that it was meant of such Parliaments as were before the Conquest you shall finde that above 600. yeares agoe the Prelates are charged by their intermedling in secular affaires to neglect the office of Episcopall function For this we read The Clergy altogether were unlearned wanton and vicious for the Prelates altogether neglected the office of Episcopall function which was to tender the affaires of the Church and to feed the slocke of Christ lived themselves idle and coveto●s addicted wholly to the pompe of the world and voluptuous life little caring for the Churches and soules committed to their charge And if any saith Higden told them that their lives ought to be holy and their conversation without covetousnesse according to the sacred prescript and vertuous example of their Elders they would scoffingly put them off with a Nunc aliuá tempus alii pro tempore mores Thus saith he they plained the roughnesse of their doings with the smoothnesse of their answers Briefly they were so loose and riotous saith Gervasius of Canterbury that they fell so fast to commit wickednesse as to be ignorant of sinfull crimes was then held to be a great crime it selfe And the Clergy saith Malmsbury contenting themselves with triviall literature could scarcely hack and hew out the words of the Sacrament Robert was then Archbishop of Canterbury who instigated King Edward the Confessor against his mother queene Emma charging her with incontinency with Alwyn Bishop of Winchester observe how one Locust stings another which she washt away and cleared her selfe of by a sharpe tryall of fire Candentes ferri being put according to the Law Ordalium to cleare her selfe by passing nine Plough-shares glowing red hot bare-footed and blind-folded which she did without hurt And as this Bishop had charged the queene his mother with incontinence so did he likewise the queene his wife Edith or Egith with adultery but no lesse untruly and unjustly then maliciously and enviously as saith Malmesbury shee being a Lady incomparable as for beauty so for vertue in whose breast there was a Schoole of all liberall Sciences And the like testifies Ingulphus that had often conference with her that as she was beautifull and excellent well learned so in her demeanour and whole course of life a virgin most chaste humble and unfainedly holy milde modest faithfull and innocent not ever hurtfull to any And doe we not reade that about the yeare 1040. that Bishop Alfred had his hand deepe in the murder of Prince Alfred who having his eyes inhumanely put out lived not long after in torment and griefe Some say he died by a more horrible kinde of cruelty as his belly was opened and one end of his bowels fastned to a stake his body pricked with sharp poniards till all his entrailes were extracted in which most savage torture he ended his innocent life These Bishops little regarded Ecclesiasticall vocation or function but worldly pompe and courtly rule They cannot bee at assemblies of States and Parliaments but their neglected flock must be starved these feed not their hungry sheepe but hunger to feed on them and this care of the world volves them in a world of cares What hath beene spoken of those Bishops I wish had not been delivered of other latter Prelates wherein I crave leave to speake what others write That they are growne to that height of idlenesse the mother of ignorance and luxury within themselves and by reason thereof in contempt and base estimation with the people that it is thought high time that blood should bee drawn from their swelling veines I will not though perhaps I might say with them that the Commonwealth hath little use of such I mean of over Lordly Bishops out for that they are so far degenerated from the Primitive institution I wish there were reformation I speake not of demolishing but of amendment and restitution and untill it appeare that the whole is unsound I shall not assent to utter extirpation or eradication Thus much I have made bold to deliver though not in due place nor in any purpose to plead against those or any of them that have declared themselves to bee of contrary opinion I am not ignorant of my disability to enter the lists with any or to contend with such Worthies in this or other argument but I hope there will not be denied to me leave and liberty to declare the cause and reason of my vote in this house in which I have the honour to sit as a member and if I have erred I have beene mis-led not onely