Selected quad for the lemma: love_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
love_n	know_v	see_v	think_v	5,028	5	3.7942	3	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A45744	A treatise of moral and intellectual virtues wherein their nature is fully explained and their usefulness proved, as being the best rules of life ... : with a preface shewing the vanity and deceitfulness of vice / by John Hartcliffe ...	Hartcliffe, John, 1651-1712.	1691 (1691)	Wing H971; ESTC R475	208,685	468

Tongues What it is to rule the Tongue is to weigh and consider what we are about to speak and to restrain our selves from uttering that which upon consideration we find is not fit to be made known And be we never so passionately earnest to ease our Minds yet we must chuse rather to offer the greatest violence to our Passions than give our selves leave to speak that which sober Consideration and sound Christianity do not allow of Both which do principally charge us to speak nothing when we are urged to speak much or to speak gently and wisely when our Passions would move us to speak at random THEREFORE we must bridle our Tongues especially from meddling with these five things 1. Vanity 2. Swearing and Cursing 3. Lying 4. Flattery 5. Reproach and Scoffing For by these Evils most of the mischief that is in the World is promoted He who babbles that which is vain and trivial is altogether useless and He who speaks that which is false is very destructive at least to himself He who Flatters abuses his Friends with false Countenances and feigned Speeches He who Reproaches wounds his Neighbour and violates the great Duties incumbent on us Justice and Charity He that swears profanes God which is a certain sign of a vain and light Spirit that considers little and cannot distinguish Things TO the Question Why we ought to bridle our Tongues I shall answer in two Instances Want of consideration the cause of speaking foolishly and rashly First BY shewing the Evils that accompany an unbridled Tongue 2. BY shewing the rare Effects of a well-governed Conversation NOW if a Man doth not consider what He is to say in some measure he speaks he knows not what how great a Folly is it to offer that to the judgment of others whereof a Man hath made no judgment himself to speak Words and expect the Hearer should put Sense into them though the Speaker intended none Whereas weighty and deep Sense lies low and deep in the mind is not easily and readily drawn out Wise Sayings and Sage Counsels do not dwell upon the Tip of the Tongue they do not edg and fringe our Lips they do not gush out like pent-Waters but spring gently and easily drop by drop So the heaviest Bodies lie nearest the Centre Gold and Silver are in the hidden Mines of the Earth while dirt and mire cover its Face So the Treasures of the Sea sink to the bottom while Foam swims aloft like unto which are rash und hasty Words that knock at every Ear that importune every Man that ask and answer every Question They are the Scum of an empty Mind the very froth of an unsetled and uncomposed Spirit WHEN therefore I see a Man swell with Pride and Scorn with Envy and Wrath saying This Man hath no Religion and the other knows nothing of the Power of Godliness This is a Formalist and That an Hypocrite this is Ignorant and the other meerly Moral I can no more think him to be a good Christian than I can believe Scorn to be Piety Bitterness to be Love or Fury to be Patience WHEN I see a Man haunt Atheistical Company hear him Rioting in Wine when vain Discourse fills his Mouth and Trifles wag his Tongue as puffs of Wind shake the leaf of the Asp when uncleanness flows out of his Belly into his Mouth I must needs think that his Heart is full of these Fornications which have debauch'd his Tongue and that all these Evils are painted tot he life in his impure Fancy which hedescribes in his Discourse Men will be judged of according to their words Wherefore let a Man speak as He would be thought to be For whatever slight Thoughts any man hath of his Words others will pass Sentence on him according to them and the less he considers them the more they will be considered by others and that to his shame and to the disgrace of that Religion which He doth profess MOREOVER an unbridled Tongue disturbs the World fills it with Confusion and darkens all with Smoak and no wonder for it sets all things on fire and no wonder at that neither being its self set on fire of Hell and as a spark will kindle a great Fire so a word hath been often the occasion of many Quarrels and of Deaths in the World For Words are the wings of evil Reports and evil Reports are the Arrows of evil Tongues and wicked Words feather those Arrows they carry an ill Tale through a whole Country and propagate Mischief as the Sun doth Light swiftly and on every side they publish it in the Streets or at the Table and whisper it in the Closet so every place is infected with Calumnies evil Surmises and bitter Censures Scornful Speeches the rise of most differences Look but into any Neighbourhood and how many Feuds shall you find between Brother and Brother How few Families shall you find not infected with this Breath that are not filled with Suspicions that are not exasperated with Contests and Contradictions Then if you enquire into the reason of these inordinate Heats and unchristian Distempers you will find they began thus this Neighbour spoke contemptibly of the other and He returned the Scorn again then mutual Scorns beget mutual Grudges and God knows where those Grudges will end For He that draws the Sword must as we use to say throw away the Scabbard So He that speaks a rash Word little knows the offence He may give what jarrs he may kindle and how far or how long they may be propagated For commonly men entail their Quarrels upon their Children and following Generations inherit the the Animosities of their Ancestors and Children study to Revenge their Parents sufferings Hence come endless Suits at Law and hence proceed many bloody Duels For how many have lost their Estates to satisfie a Passion How many have rather chosen to die upon the point of a Sword that have the pain of a sharp Reproof So great miseries doth Evil-speaking produce in the World besides the confusion it creates in a man 's own Soul for it makes the same shakings within as it does without Now there can no greater Evil befal a man in the judgment of the Holy and Wise than to have his mind the Seat of a War than to have Wrath Malice Fear and Revenge clashing one against another in his own Heart For every man 's own Spirit should be a Sanctuary or a place of Rest to himself after the hurries that he meets with in the World and in the government of its Affairs a man should always have God and a peaceable Mind to retreat to for this is the security of wise and good Men that the disturbances which are without them do not reach their thoughts looking outward when they see nothing but Disorder and hear nothing but Clamour within they find peace and joy and light even the Light of God's Countenance and of a clear Conscience But

it is quite contrary with the violent Talker who is at first warmed by some inward heat but then the Coals are blown up and the Fire grows too strong to be suppressed Hence we may observe that He who hath begun a Quarrel sometimes in Words expressing Prudence though Displeasure hath in the progress of it talked himself into a Fhrenzy and hath enflamed his own Spirit beyond all measures of Discretion FURTHER Religion scandalized by an unbridled Tongue An unbridled Tongue Scandalizes Religion therewith bless we God even the Father and therewith curse we men who were made after his likeness This is to join the love of our Father and the hatred of our Brother together Thus to represent Religion as a thing reconcileable to Evil is the greatest Scandal to it and makes it a contradiction to it self Woe be to them saith our Saviour by whom offences come and woe be to him that censures Morality and is not himself Moral who calls himself a Christian and yet hath not mortified one Lust For it is not Christianity to be unlike the Author who was meek humble and charitable in all his Conversation Neither is it so to make a Lye to be Suspicious or Envious Proud or Self-willed to Scorn and Deride to Censure and Backbite For as a Fountain cannot send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter so neither can a godly Man raise a false Tale or believe it when it is raised but his Christianity is such as the Apostle describes 1 Corin. 17.4 5 6.7 suffereth long and is kind vaunteth not it self is not puffed up doth not behave it self unseemly seeketh not her own is not easily provoked thinketh no evil rejoyceth not in iniquity but rejoyceth in the Truth beareth all things believeth all things hopeth all things endureth all things MORE than this an unbridled Tongue is an uncontroulable Evil a Beast not to be tamed and quieted Is it not an unreasonable thing to value no man's Religion and to spare no man's good Name What can we think of such a Spirit whom the reverence of God's Command shall not awe whom Christ's Example of Patience shall not move Who will not learn Modesty from an Angel who would not bring a railing Accusation against the Devil himself REFLECT therefore O Man upon thy self and consider as thou wouldst not demonstrate thy self to be a rash and unmortified Person as thou wouldst not enflame the Neighbourhood and disturb the World as thou wouldst not ruffle and darken thine own Soul as thou wouldst not of a man make thy self an unreasonable Brute as thou wouldst not have thy Religion a vain and unprofitable Thing as thou wouldst not be deceived in so important an Affair as Christianity it self take heed of an unbridled Tongue and govern thy Speech wisely which is to be done by these means 1. By possessing certain Habits 2. By acting by certain Principles First THE Habits we are to possess are 1. Sound and impartial Judgment 2. True Christian Love 3. Deep and serious Humility 4. Firm and solid Patience First WE must study to gain a clear Judgment A sound judgment will put a stop to Evil-speaking that no self-Conceit may bribe us to think well of our selves or to despise our Brethren For says Plutarch We should not first love and then judg but first judg and then love And there is in no case more need of This than in relation to our selves because we naturally love our selves even before we are able to make any judgment what we really are and we are all fond of our selves well reconciled to our own Opinions and Actions and therefore do always presume well of our selves But on the contrary most men are at enmity with the Virtues of others therefore we are apt to think meanly and speak suspiciously of what is Eminent in them whereas if we would forbear to speak of others till we have examined our selves I believe our accusations of them would die in that self-examination and we should generally find so much to condemn in our selves that we should not readily arraign other men Charity is of great use to rule the Tongue Secondly HE that will govern his Tongue well must labour after the Spirit of Charity For Charity will cover a multitude of sins our own sins from the indignation of God and other men's sins from our reproach And He who stabs his Brothers Reputation with an evil Tongue ought to consider that these polluted streams which gush out of the Mouth flow from a bitter Fountain in the Heart that keen words are the effusions of Hatred and He that hateth his Brother is a Murderer Whereas if our Religion were Love as it ought to be what a great change would it make among us For when we love we shall hold our Peace without a bridle in our mouths we shall bridle our Tongues without a Bit in our jaws we shall rule our Passions without pain and naturally Heal where we now Wound Humility will check rash words Thirdly WE must practise deep and serious Humility For rash words are generally the vomit of Anger and Anger proceeds from Pride But of all men those that are humble are the least prone to break out into violent and indecent Speeches For if other men think well of themselves they are apt without evident reason to the contrary to think so of them too if others have a mean esteem of them they think as meanly of themselves they agree with their very Enemies and they are of the same Opinion with those who have the least value for them It is Pride that swells and boils with Rage and Contempt that is displeased and offended with every thing that brands this man with Hypocrisie and the other with Superstition that calls this man Carnal and the other Ignorant Nay if God were like unto vain Man then Ignorance must know and Prejudice must judg Passion must hold the Scales with her trembling Hand and Pride must step into the Ballance to weigh for Religion But when these fumes of Pride are over and the vapours are scattered when Humility hath brought us to self-Reflection we then learn to think soberly and to judg charitably according to that of the Apostle Phil. 2.3 Let nothing be done through strife and vain-glory but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than themselves Without Patience we are not fit for this World Fourthly WE must endeavour after Patience which if it be not as firm as a Rock we are not fit for this World if we cannot hear ill and do well if we cannot be content to hear a Fool contemn a Wise Man and an Hypocrite vaunt it over a sincere Christian if we have not the patience to hear Words cryed up against Things and impertinent Discourses thought to be very Oracles if we cannot hear our selves censured for our Sobriety and hated for our Love we are not fit to converse among men For the best