Selected quad for the lemma: religion_n
Text snippets containing the quad
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A39605
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Fitz-Harys's last sham detected, or, A vindication of His Sacred Majesty from those foul aspersions cast upon him by that impudent libel called Fitz-Harys's last confession left under his own hand and published by Dr. Hawkins by a truly loyal subject.
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Truly loyal subject.
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1681
(1681)
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Wing F1095; ESTC R14953
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10,033
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4
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Fitz-Harys's Last Sham detected Or A Vindication of His Sacred Majesty from those foul Aspersions cast upon him by that impudent Libel called Fitz-Harys's last Confession left under his own Hand and published by Dr. Hawkins By a truly Loyal Subject HOra mortis hora veritatis is an usual Saying and the Product of a Christian Charity presuming all Men to be Men and to have knowledge of an Eternal State and some dread of God upon their Souls but it faileth in several Cases 1. Where Persons in that hour have no just use of their Reason and so speak they know not what 2. Where the Person is not sure of his Death but is muzzled up in an hope of Life if he will speak to such a sense 3. Where the Person is ignorant or Atheistical either not knowing or not believing an Eternal State Or 4. Where the Party though believing an Eternal State yet is persuaded that the nearest way to it is by speaking false to save the Repute of a Sham-Religion into which he hath been Baptized and in which he hath lived In the first Case the same Reason that alloweth no great Credit to be given to one mad or drunk in his Fits while he liveth will also discharge our Charity for giving their Dying Words no more credit The Reason for the second is as plain because the onely Reason of Mens charitable Presumption in that Case is our fancy of the Persons Apprehension that he is presently going before the Tribunal of the just Judge of the whole Earth who hath told us that all Liars shall go into the Lake which burns with Fire and Brimstone Now he who hath no such Apprehension hath no more credit due to his Words dying than when he was living nay so much less as he valueth Life which he hopes may be prolonged by Lying For the third whoso considereth that the Reason why Charity directs more credit to the Words of a dying than of a living Man is because it presumes a Christian possessed with the belief of an Immortal State and Eternity and of the truth of Holy Writ will without difficulty understand why the Words of a dying Man that either doth not know or though he hath heard such things yet accounteth them Romantiquè deserve no more credit than they had due to them when the Person was at furthest distance from his Latter-end especially if he suffereth as a Malefactor for though it may be he either knoweth not or believeth not that he hath an Immortal Soul capable of eternal Happiness or Misery yet he cannot but know that his Repute will out-live him and when he is dead he will be yet spoken of and his Relations also will be a little concerned in the Worlds Discourses of him may justly be presumed not knowing of any inconvenience from false Discourses tending to that end to lie for his and his Families and Friends Reputation And in the fourth Case it is as plain admâ—â—ting a Man to believe an Eternity and the Immortallity of the Soul in Bliss or Misery yet 〈◊〉 he believeth that the nearest way in his State to that Bliss is to tell Lies for the Glory of God as he is persuaded to uphold the Reputation of the Church the onely true Apostolick Church and the true Catholick Religion he hath all the reason in the World and it is a great piece of his Religion to die with a Lie in his Mouth that is an highly officious Lie and so far from guilt that it becometh meritorious The third of these is the Case of too many who are no prâ—fest Papists Some scores die by the Hand of the Executioner every year boldly denying what must be true or double the number of them not tainted with any ill Repute must be perjured and an easie Judgment will determine That a double or treble number of Persons of known Integrity are rather to be believed upon their Oaths than half or a third part of that number are who have been ignorant and Atheistical Persons of no repute during the time of their Lives dying without any sense of their other Sins or due knowledge of the Principles of Religion which hath put me into some admiration of the Credulity of some amongst us who will so often say of Persons professing our own Religion though they have died denying the Fact for which they have died Doubtless they were guilty whatever they said at the Gallows that they should so easily credit Papists dying Words contrary to the most evident proof especially considering that by the Principles of Popery and the Determination of the generality of their Directors of Consciences Papists may tell Lies in an hundred Cases and in some Cases ought to do it which is directly contrary to all the Principles of that Religion which Protestants profess The fourth is the Case of Papists who do not onely judge that jocose Lies are no Sins and officious Lies to save themselves without wronging others but venial Sins but pernicious Lies also such as are to the injury of others and the violation of Justice in many Cases either not Sins or very little ones attoned presently by Confession as in case they do not tend to some notable damage of others of which I hope their Priests must be Judges He who will read in English what their Divines say in this Case may find it in a Book called The Practical Divinity of Papists p. 248 249 c. And if any desire to have it from the Pens of their Divines themselves he shall find them there quoted to his full satisfaction And if it be meritorious to lie for the Catholick Cause Lying with them in their hour of death for the Credit of their Church or pretended Religion is plainly the nearest way the Malefactors of that Religion can take to go to Heaven But yet when any of these Persons tell or write Lies at such a distance from the hour of their Death that they have time to make Confession and take Absolution according to their Religious Principles they are as innocent as the Child unborn So that I confess I have not been much affected with the Writings or pretended Writings or Speeches of Men of this Religion some short time before their Death or in their dying hour and have had a great temptation upon me to think that those Protestants who have been moved at them have been very ignorant of their Principles or at best too much inclinable to their Religion they would never else at that rate defame their own Religion by denying or questioning the truth of what hath been said by those who have been bred and lived in the Profession of it and credited the Romish Religion by a credulity of any thing the Professors of that say because forsooth they are Dying Words as if Protestants might I am sure by their Principles they may not die with Lies in their Mouths but Papists who by their Principles may and perhaps ought may not do the same
But amongst all the most notorious Shams of this nature there hath been none so foul and impudent as that which we have in a late Pamphlet entituled The Confession of Edward Fitz-Harys Esq written with his own Hand and delivered to Dr. Hawkins Minister in the Tower 1. July 1681 being the day of his Execution I must confess I have often wondred that the Magistrates of this Noble City being Men of so great Loyalty and Integrity and who have lately been reflected on for suffering Pamphlets with ill Reflexions to His Majesty to be printed and sold have nor before this time bound over to the Sessions the Publishers of that impudent Pamphlet which reflects upon His Majesty to a degree beyond any Pamphlet that I have met with and such a one as no good Subject ought to have patience for For considering that the Trial and Execution of that wretched Villain were both â—…cted by His Majesty he must have entertained most vile Thoughts of His Majesty that can believe Fitz-Harys saying As to the Crimes for which I die I was no further concerned in the Libel than as EMPLOYED to give the King notice of what Libels and other Accusations were against him and to this intent and no other I endeavoured to get this Libel This he repeats again in his Speech at his Execution and he further tells the Reader Mrs. Wall was she by whose Hands he conveyed such Libels and he was taken with this Libel while he was going to my Lord Clarendon or Hyde Can any who hath one dram in him either of Loyalty or Reason believe this And will not all the World both admire the Loyalty Reason or Policy of him who was the Man-Midwife to this spurious Pamphlet and the Sponsor for it too After such an avowed Piece of Villany and Falshood as this is it at all to be admired that he saith against my Lord Howard or indeed any other All which may be reasonably presumed as true as that he had no other concern in the Libel than what he mentioneth for if he had no concern in the first composing of it or adding to it or dispensing of it they must have strange Apprehensions of their Sovereign that will think he should for a Piece of Loyalty and Service direct this Man's Tryal and Execution He who can believe this may easily believe what he saith else which cannot reasonably be thought to be more true than this idle and scandalous Story having as much yea more the Emphasis of Dying Words for it is repeated at his Execution again than any thing else he said But it is evident that he who drew up that Paper had a thousand times more regard to the Reputation of a Roman Catholick and the Reputation of the Church and Religion of Rome than to the Reputation and Honour of His Sacred Majesty His most Honourable Council and the Reverend Judges And those that publish or vouch it fall not much less under the same suspicion What Everard is or what Parts he hath to fit him to draw Libels I cannot tell but it is not probable that the King or His Honourable Council or His Judges believed a word of what he saith That he had the Libel from Everard for then Everard in stead of being pardoned and used as a Witness had doubtless been indicted and prosecuted as the Principal in as foul a piece of Villany as ever was acted upon an English Theatre For it had been the highest Injustice imaginable to have proceeded so severely against an Accessary yea no Accessary if what he said before of his Employ be true and to have let the Principal go free For what he saith of my Lord Howard I shall leave it to time to discover the truth or falshood of it but it is all prefaced with such an apparent Lie as he had just before told about the Libel and his onely concern in it Admit my Lord Howard had had or known of sâ—ch a Design as he mentions it is hard to imagine what could move him to communicate it to such a Fellow who as he lived upon others Trenchers and was not likely to have advantaged it by his Purse so having never risen higher in Military Affairs than an ordinary Captain or Ensign in which Employ his famous Military Eâ—ploits are yet to be made known to the World too it is as hard to conceive how he could advantage it by his Arms or Interest so as we that live abroad in the Woâ—ld cannot fancy my Lord Howard should communicate such things to him unless his Lordship had a mind to capacitate a Witness or two to take away his Life of which I never heard that his Lordship had reason to be weary His next Paragraph sufficiently reflects upon our two Sheriffs Men known to all the City to be Men of Integrity and Truth He saith they came to him in Newgate that is March 12. for after that they saw him not he was the next day removed to the Tower he saith They told him that he was to be tried within three or four days that must be at furthest by March 14. That the People would Prosecute him and the Parliament would Impeach him Within a few Lines after he saith The Sheriffs brought instructions which they said came from the Lords and Commons who met that day in order to Address to the King on his behalf if he should confirm the Instructions Fitz-Harys could not but know that the Parliament was Proclaimed to meet at Oxford March 21. The Sheriffs came to him the Tenth of March to inform him he would be Tried by the Fourteenth of March and that not at the Suit of the King which might have been true but at the Prosecution of the People upon the Impeachment of the Commons which could not possibly be till March 24 or 25. For they met out the 21. and two or three days must at least be allowed them to swear their Members and settle their Great Committees before they could think of Impeachments Now is it not likely that the Sheriffs should tell him a Story which himself could not but know was impossible and they must know was no less than a most impudent Lie In the next place he reflects upon our Renowned Recorder He brings him in swearing Gods-wounds what were you ever but a Rogue Let all who ever conversed with Sir George testifie whether he be a Person ever used his Tongue to such a Dialect It is not very probable that his first Oath should be Gods-wounds especially to a Prisoner and upon no further Provocation than the Paper mentioneth The Integrity of Sir Robert Clayton and Sir George Treby is too well known for any but Papists to believe they would either of them sollicit ot subborn Men against the Duke and the Lords Bellasis Arundel and Powis besides that Sir George Treby knew so much of what was deposed before the Committee of Secresie that he could not but know that against the Lords