Selected quad for the lemma: law_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
law_n	faith_n	speak_v	work_n	8,238	5	6.2840	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A09830	A disputation against the adoration of the reliques of saints departed Wherein nine palpable abuses are discouvered, committed by the popish Priests in the veneration thereof. Together with, the refutation of a Iesuiticall epistle, and an index of the reliques, vvhich euery seuenth yeere, are shovvne at Avvcon in Germanie vnto the superstitious people and pilgrimes, compiled by the canons of S. Maries Church an. 1608. By Iohn Polyander Professour of Diuinitie in the Vniuersitie of Leyden in Holland, & translated by Henry Heham, out of French into English.	Polyander à Kerckhoven, Johannes, 1568-1646.; Hexham, Henry, 1585?-1650?	1611 (1611)	STC 20095; ESTC S119215	57,951	182

the reliques of Saincts but also the Sonne and Moone neither Angels nor Archangels neither Cherubines nor Seraphins nor any name which is named either in this world or in that which is to come Least we should rather serue the creature then God who is blessed for euermore Now we honour the reliques of the Martyrs to worship him whose Martyrs they are From whence it appeareth plainely that the collection and religious seruice which those of the Papacie doe vnto the reliques of such as God hath with-drawne long since out of this world being not grounded vpon any commande of the Lord nor from the' exsample of any of the true worshippers of his diuine Majesty can neither be acceptable to God nor available vnto those superstitious men which giue themselves to this Idolatrie through a voluntary devotion without faith or assurance that God doth approove it in his holy word which is the light of our faith the rule of our religion the measure of all our devotion the guide of our conversation a lawe for all our workes without which all our actions intentions are but sinne displeasing to our Souveraigne Lord who had rather that we should obay and be attentiue to his voice then to offer sacrifice Now if there were noe other consideratiō then this which I haue expressed it were sufficient enough to make them renounce this errour but the perversity and obstinacie of such as take for a light their foollish imaginations for a rule their false traditions for a law their absolute will for a guide their old customs and for a paterne the exsample of their predecessors constraines me to proceede forward vnto the second point of my discourse and to proue that the Christians in time past haue learned this superstitious veneration of the reliques of the departed in the Gentils schole and since haue followed it and brought it into the primatiue Church by certaine steps and degrees to the great heart breake of their faithfull teachers and lawfull successours of the sacred and holy Apostles I say that this corruption is entred into the Christian Church by certaine stepps because that heretofore the source and begining thereof was but small and simple whereof Eusebius and some other Historians propounds vs a cleare exsample in the life of Constantine the Emperour For they all confesse with one accord that this Emperour thought good to coūcell the Christiās to immitate many sumptuous ceremonies which the gentiles vsed in solemnizing the funeralls of their ancestours especially in tansporting the dead corps of illustrate personnages and men of great renoume in their Contrey out of base and vnknowne places into Church-yeards and others that were more publique to make the memory of the Martyrs other faithfull servants of God the more comēdable and the Christiā religiō so much the more pleasing vnto all sorts of men But they witnesse in noe place that hee commanded his Bishops to lock them vp in their Church-Coffers niether to transport them by mamockes into diuerse places to represent them vpon feastiuall daies vnto the vulgar sort of people with an exhortation that they should salute and kisse them but on the contrarie enjoyned his subjects to burie them honorably and lay them in the Earth Notwithstand●ng the Devill taking hold and making vse of the Carnal wisedome of this Emperour turned it litle by litle into a cēsurable superstition For since that time many Christians haue suffred them-selues to bee carryed away through there in considerate Zeale from one vanity vnto another imagining with them-selues that the bodies of the faithfull deserued more or asmuch seruice after their departure as the infidels were not onely contented to remoue them from farr and remote places of their countreies into there Church-yardes wherein they ordinarily assembled in those days to watch pray and to doe therein some others rites of religion because then they had no Churches And euen thus sought to eternize the memorie of their vertues by building them Sumptuous tombes solemnising their funeralls with too excessiue praises To shew then to euery man that Sathan the Athenians Law giver and other Idolaters instituted this Ceremonie I wil onely alledg without reciting the testimonies of other Historians what Plutarke writeth thereof in his discourse vpon the interring of Theseus and Cimon His wordes are these that when Cimon by fore of armes had conquered the I le of Scycros bee remembred with himself that the auncient Theseus sonne vnto Ageus flying from Athens came into that Ileland where Lycomedes for some bad suspition hee had of him caused him to be slayne by tresaon Now by all meanes hee laboured to finde out his graue in regard the Athenians had receaved before an or Oracle or prophesie from Apollo or to speake more properly from the Deuill by which hee commaunded them to bring backe to Athens the bones and ashes of Theseus to honour him as a Demy-God but hee knew not where they had enterred him because the inhabitants of that I le kept his graue secret and vnknowen and would suffer no man to seeke it out Howbeit Cimon vsing all expedition to search it out espied by chance an Aegle which strook the ground with her beake and talents in a place some what higher then the rest whereupō it came into his minde as it were by divine inspiration to cause that place to be digged where they found the graue of some great corps and the poynt of a brasen lance with a sworde In such sorte that hauing at last found the tombe he tooke forth Theseus bones and brought them into the Admirall-Galley somptuously adorned and transported them presently into his Contrey foure hundred yeeres after Thesius had departed from thence For this seruice the people receaued him with great ioy and he gott thereby the good will of the Athenians which receaved theise reliques with great Applause with somptuous sacrifices processions as if Thesius himself had ben liuing and had returned back again into the Citie And his reliques are in the midst of the Towne yet vnto this day neere vnto the Parcke where the young mē resort together for the excercising of their bodies where is freedom both for slaues and all poore a●flicted ones More-ouer the Sepulchres which yet vnto this day are called Cimonia testefie that Cimon● bones ashes were brought back againe into Attica Notwithstanding the inhabitants of the towne of Citium honour still a certaine Tombe which they affirme should be Cimons because that in the time of a great dearth famine they had an oracle that is an answere from the Deuill which commaunded them to haue a care vnto Cimon and not to neglect him but to honour and reverence him as a God as Nancicrates the Orator hath recorded it in writting The like hee saith also of Demetrius and Phocyon in the storie of their death whereunto for breuitie sake I will send the Reader Now al-be it that the Christians members

denieth that S. Ireneues corps was burned at Lyon● or that his ashes were cast into the Rosne I say againe that this accusatiō of theirs it false because they impute to the first Reformers of our age whom wronfully they tearme Innovators of religion the insolences committed by some vndiscreet souldiers in the beginning of the troubles without their councel or avouchment For they were so farre from exhorting thē to burne the bodies of the Saints or to throw their ashes into riuers that cōtrariwise they preached against such outrages and admonished their anditorie therein to followe the example of the auncient Fathers and that euery man was obliged to lay them into the Earth and honorably to burie the bones and ashes of those whom God had taken out of this world The fift fault is they ranck amonge the nomber of the first founders of their Catholique religion the Emperor Charles the great who approoued not all the point● thereof For sundty Historians yea and his booke which he wrot against the second Councell of Nice shewes euidently that hee condemned the decree of that Councell for the worshipping of images calling it a most impudent tradition and a foolish and prophane invention comming neere vnto that infidelitie which alwaies keeps her Adorers in errour Touching their allegation of the double diligence which many towns provinces vsed in searching out and in honoring the reliques of the deceased Saincts wee reply that wee are not bound to follow the customes of men but onely the rule of diuine law which neither hath enjoyned vs nor our fathers vnto any such superstitious worshipping of reliques Let vs now proceed forward to see what these Canons of Awcon cann say vnto vs in the third part of their Epistle The third parte of this Iesuiticall Epistle This abundant liberalitie of God say they seemeth noe new thing to those that are read in holy writ and Historie because they know that by S. Peters shadow though nothing seemeth more vain and by the kerchiefs and hād kerchiefs which they brought frō S. Pauls body all sorts of griefs presently most happily haue be● driuen from diseased boddies the infernal Spirit● cast foorth of their Soules From which example th● Godly custome of our ancestours proceeded tha● in immitating Ioseph of ●●rimathea Nicodemu● represented by the bodies of our Lord Iesus Christ and S. Stephen they vsually wrapped vp the most precious reliques of their Church in silken clothes which they called Sāctuaires of holy coverleds as ecclesiasticall historiās write the which they haue since distributed sent abroad according to the anciēt custom of the church to such as through piety and loue vnto religiō desired thē in such sort that the Romane church hath not bestowed noe other reliques vppon Emperours or any other great personnages whatsoeuer thā such sanctuaires and Couverleds as appeareth by the letters pope Hormisda wrote vnto his Embassadours and vnto Iustinian the Emperour And to the end those Sanctuaires might bee in the greater request amonge vs it pleased the diuine goodnesse as it euidēt to māy of our church to illustrate manifest thē through the operation of many great miracles so much the more because that without this meanes they could not satiate the pietie which was kindled in many Now this custōe of going on pilgrimage towards thee places renowned for their reliques and other memorialls of the Saincts was brought vp in Christēdō frō the first age of the Catholique church in that time whē she had some rest from the oppression of Tyrants and other perverse Ennemies of the faith And because we wil not here speake of the Ceremonies of the anciēt law wherby euery one was enjoyned to goe yearely on pilgrimage to the feasts as God himself had cōmāded it many other most religious personages yea Chris● himself his most holy parēts accomplished it with so great a zeale of going on pilgrimage principally vnto the holy places of the land of Iudea which zeale was kindled also in the hearts of mē after Christs death in immitating their ancestours as the testimonie of diuine write and S. Hierome also speaking vpon this matter doth auouche that all the wordes in the holy Scripture recommend to vs this godly worke And in another place they runne hither saith he from al the corners of the Earth the citie is full of all sorts of people c. But chiefly with those which hold the highest degrees of honour in this world meet here with one accord And verely our Patron Charles of most holy and famous memorie withour producing any other examples at this present of any other Emperours most noble parsonages who were so much giuen vnto the exercise of these holy pilgrimmages that oftentimes they went a foote to Rome onely to excercise thēselves in this godly worke And haue attributed so great honor vnto S. Peters Cathedrall church at Rome as they haue kissed the very stares thereof one after another So that one may say of him these Emperours that which Austin heretofore obiected against the Idolaters of Madaure ye se that the highest dignity of the most noble Empire supplicates with an humble crowne by the Sepulchre of S. Peter the fisher The like also haue ben found in Englād Dēmarke Frāce Splayne who being touched with this desire of pilgrimages discharging thēselfs for the present fro● al the affaires of their earthly kingdomes transported themselfes thither-wards through a long daungerous weary some way to honour there their hevenly King after the example of the three Kings which came to honour the cradell of our Lord Iesus Christ. Also many other Christians haue done the same whose ordinarie custome was eftsoones to visite the places which were destined for the holy memorials sepuleres to the end that as it is written of the virgin marie their inward loue might be nourished by holy signes inflamed with the more loue of devotion through the most joyfull contemplation of the Saincts tombes reliques For this hath alwaies ben found by experience confirmed by the testimony of all antiquity that through these pilgrimages through this great flocking and godlynes of the people a new zeale began to kindle in our spirits togeather with the piety reverēce we bore to these holy things and also new desires to liue well and to immitate the Saints in our life and manners And loe next vnto the glory of God the chiefest ende of our pilgrimages which God so specially demādeth of vs was because as S. Augustin saith the bodies of the Martirs haue ben giuen vs to awaken vs vnto the excercise of devotion through the admonition of the places by the presence of these holy pledgs For the holy place as this Father exhorteth vs reneweth encreaseth our former affections whē as through the advertisment of the places it is manifested raiseth it self vp by wheating our charitie aswell towards those whome we are to imitate as