Selected quad for the lemma: religion_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
religion_n	ability_n	able_a	false_a	22	3	5.5227	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A50893	A defence of the people of England by John Milton ; in answer to Salmasius's Defence of the king.; Pro populo Anglicano defensio. English	Milton, John, 1608-1674.; Washington, Joseph, d. 1694.	1692 (1692)	Wing M2104; ESTC R9447	172,093	278

much as in them lay and petition'd the Emperor that the People of the Jews might be govern'd without a King Caesar was moved at their entreaty and did not appoint a King over them but a Governour whom they called an Ethnarch When that Governor had presided ten years over Judea the People sent Ambassadors again to Rome and accused him of Tyranny Caesar heard them graciously sent for the Governour condemn'd him to perpetual Exile and banished him to Vienna Answer me now That People that accused their own Princes that desir'd their Condemnation that desir'd their Punishment would not they themselves rather if it had been in their Power and that they might have had their choice would not they I say rather have put them to Death themselves You do not deny but that the People and the Nobles often took up Arms against the Roman Deputies when by their Avarice or their Cruelty their Government was burdensome and oppressive But you give a ridiculous reason for this as all the rest of yours are You say They were not yet accustomed to the Yoak very like they were not under Alexander Herod and his Son But say you they would not raise War against Caius Caesar nor Petronius I confess they did not and they did very prudently in abstaining for they were not able Will you hear their own words upon that occasion We will not make War say they because we cannot That thing which they themselves acknowledge they refrain'd from for want of Ability you false Hypocrite pretend they abstain'd from out of Religion Then with a great deal of toil you do just nothing at all for you endeavour to prove out of the Fathers tho you had done it as superficially before that Kings are to be prayed for That good Kings are to be pray'd for no Man denies nay and bad ones too as long as there are any hopes of them so we ought to pray for Highway-men and for our Enemies But how Not that they may Plunder Spoil and Murder us but that they may repent We pray both for Thieves and Enemies and yet whoever dreamt but that it was lawful to put the Laws in execution against one and to fight against the other I value not the Egyptian Liturgy that you quote but the Priest that you mention who prayed that Commodus might succeed his Father in the Empire did not pray for any thing in my opinion but Imprecated all the mischiefs imaginable to the Roman State You say that we have broken our faith which we engaged more than once in solemn Assemblies to preserve the Authority and Majesty of the King But because hereafter you are more large upon that subject I shall pass it by in this place and talk with you when you come to it again You return then to the Fathers concerning whom take this in short Whatever they say which is not warranted by the Authority of the Scriptures or by good reason shall be of no more regard with me than if any other ordinary man had said it The first that you quote is Tertullian who is no Orthodox Writer notorious for many errors whose authority if he were of your opinion would stand you in no stead But what says he he condemns Tumults and Rebellions So do we But in saying so we do not mean to destroy all the peoples Rights and Priviledges all the Authority of Senates the Power of all Magistrates the King only excepted The Fathers decla●m against Seditions rashly raised by the giddy heat of the multitude they speak not of the inferior Magistrates of Senates of Parliaments encouraging the people to a lawful opposing of a Tyrant Hence Ambrose whom you quote Not to resist says he but to weep and to ●igh these are the Bulwarks of the Priesthood what one is there of our little number who dares say to the Emperor I do not like your Laws This is not allowed the Priests and shall Lay-men pretend to it 'T is evident of what sort of persons he speaks viz. of the Priests and such of the people as are private men 〈◊〉 of the Magistrates You see by how weak and pre 〈◊〉 a reason he lighted a Torch as it were to the distentions that were afterwards to arise betwixt the L●ity and the Clergy concerning even Civil i.e. Temporal Laws But because you think you press hardest upon us with the Examples of the Primitive Christians who though they were harassed as much as a people could be yet you say they never took up 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Emperour I will make it appear in the first place that for the most part they could 〈◊〉 ●…ondly that whenever they could they did And thirdly that whether they did or did not they 〈◊〉 such a sort of people as that their example de●… 〈◊〉 to have little sway with us First therefore 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 can be ignorant of this that when the Com 〈◊〉 of Rome expired the whole and Soverign● power in the Empire was setled in the Empe 〈◊〉 that all the Soldier were under his Pay in 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 if the whole Body of the Senate the E 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and all the common people had endea 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a change they might have made way for a 〈◊〉 of themselves but could not in any 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 then lost Liberty for the Empire would 〈◊〉 have 〈◊〉 though they might per 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 so lucky as to have kill'd the Emperour This being 〈◊〉 what could the Christians do 't is true there were a great many of them but they were dispersed they were generally persons of mean quality and but of small interest in the world How many of them would one Legion have been able to keep in awe Could so inconsiderable a body of men as they were in those days ever expect to accomplish an Enterprize that many famous Generals and whole Armies of tried Soldiers had lost their lives in attempting when about three hundred years after our Saviour's Nativity which was near upon twenty years before the Reign of Constantine the Great when Di●clesian was Emperour there was but one Christian Legion in the whole Roman Empire which Legion for no other reason than because it consisted of Christians was slain by the ●est of the Army at a Town in France called Octodurum The Christians say you conspir'd not with Cassius with Albinus with Niger and does Tertullian think they merited by not being willing to lose their lives in the quarrels of Inndels 'T is evident therefore that the Christians could not free themselves from the yoke of the Roman Emperours and it could be no ways advantagious to their interest to conspire with Infidels as long as Heathen Emperors reign'd But that afterwards the Christians made War upon Tyrants and defended themselves by force of Arms when there was occasion and many times revenged upon Tyrants their Enormities I am now about to make appear In the first place Constantite being a Christian made War upon Lacinius and cut him o●● who was his