Selected quad for the lemma: religion_n
Text snippets containing the quad
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A31765
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The Charitable Samaritan, or, A short and impartial account of that eminent and publick-spirited citizen Mr. Tho. Firmin who departed this life on Monday Dec. 20, 1697 / by a gentleman of his acquaintance.
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Gentleman of his acquaintance.
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1698
(1698)
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Wing C2067; ESTC R25982
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20,066
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27
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commit some mistakess through Inadvertency or Forgetfulness but it could never enter into his Thoughts that any one should think it worth their while to injure him taking a Standard of the Integrity of all Mankind from that which he so nicely followed himself He had observed with that rancour and bitterness of Spirit People of different Parties in his time had all along labour'd to blacken one another and if the Trade of Calumniating he said could be so successfully and generally carried on in so Inlightened an Age as this is and in so small a Spot of Ground as England when by the Invention of Printing it is so easie a thing to find out and discover the Truth He thought a Man in common Discretion should not be too forward to pass a rigid Censure upon several of those Persons who in the Writings of Epiphanius and other Ancient Authors are Branded for Hereticks and loaded with such execrable and horrid Crimes that Humane Nature one would hope could never be capable of What helped to confirm him in this Opinion is a famous Passage in Socrates the Historian who L. 2. C. 18 ingenuously tells the Reader That it was a common Custom with the Bishops to Accuse those Persons who were turned out of their places to pronounce them to be Impious and the like without giving themselves the trouble to justifie the Particulars of that Impiety they charged them with Thus we have a frank Confession of what was commonly Practised in those Ages of the Church and whoever doubts whether the same Methods were not carried on afterwards let him but read what a Monstrous Account the Popish Writers have given of Wickliff and the Lollards as they call'd them how hideously the Monks have blackned those Princes that were not in their Interests what abominable Stories the Jesuits have reported of Luther and Calvin let him I say but turn over Sanders's History of the Reformation the Catalogues of Bale and Pits Fox's Martyrs and to come down to our own times White 's Centuries of Scandalous Divines Edward's Gangrena the several Mercuries in the late Civil Wars the Querela Cantabrigiensis the Histories of F. Maimbourg and Varillas the Packets of Advice and the Observators the Scotch Presbyterian Eloquence and the Answer to it with a Million of other Anonymous Pamphlets and Secret Histories and if this don't convince him I don't know what will He was a hearty Assertor of the Liberties of his Native Country and looked with Indignation and Contempt on those Citizens who in a strain of Flattery scarcely to be matched in the servile Reigns of Tiberius and Domitian most humbly Addressed King Charles II. that he would be graciously pleased to put Chains and Fetters on them and thus prostituted those Rights and Immunities which their Ancestors had taken such care to Transmit safely to a most unworthy Generation He thought that the perpetual Bellowing of Passive Obedience and Non-Resistance from the Pulpits did not a little contribute to fix these Slavish Impressions upon People's minds Admit these Doctrines were as certain as any in the New-Testament why should they as it were in preference to the rest be everlastingly inculcated to all Congregations Or where was the Policy to tell the King and his Officers that they might strip the People of all they possess'd in the World and yet they were in Conscience bound not lift up a finger against them What Man of sense that desires to keep his Wife honest would be always ratling in her Ear Pawn my Plate and injure my Bed as often as thou wilt for my Religion teaches me to bear all patiently Princes are naturally ambitious of Power and don't need Instructors to tell them that if they please they may Govern their Subjects Despotically and then quote them Texts of Scripture for it But he often used to say As long as Deaneries and good Preferments were to be got by Preaching this absurd stuff so long the Church wou'd stand by it but that if ever the Court came to put matters home to these Passive Gentlemen and pinch the Retailers of this monstrous Hypothesis they would as certainly leave it in the lurch as they would a starving Curacy in the Hundreds for a rich Parsonage in a better Air. The event has confirmed the truth of what he said for no sooner did K. James and his Priests begin to pull one of their Tythe-Pigs by the Ear but all the Pulpits from the Lands-end to Berwick upon Tweed rung of Persecution and Tyranny and since His present Majesty's accession to the Crown the Laity has had the satisfaction of seeing their Teachers face about and declare for the quite contrary Doctrine or at least restrain it except a few whom either the real belief of a Principle early received or the shame of being thought Turn-Coats or Obstinacy or Interest and other By-ends have hindred from taking the Oaths to the Government What was remarkable in a Person of his Private Condition who had not the advantage of a Learned Education or of an ample Fortune and Wealth to Support him he was honoured with the Acquaintance of the most Illustrious Men that this Age has produced This he obtained by the Simplicity of his Manners the Uniformity of his Life by his Judgment naturally Solid and well Determin'd and his active Genius that was capable of the greatest Undertakings Not to mention several worthy Citizens of the most distinguish'd Rank he was particularly Esteemd by the equally Learned and Pious Dr. Wilkins Bishop of Chester by the Honourable Mr. Boyle the great Restorer of Natural and Christian Philosophy by that Eminent Oracle of the Law Sir Matthew Hale and what will be the most lasting Elogy to our Friend that I or any other Hand can give him he was happy in the Friendship of the most Excellent Prelate that ever filled the Archiepiscopal Chair the Incomparable Dr. Tillotson Having presumed to mention that great Name which will be Sacred to all Posterity in so worthless a Paper as this is I hope Sir you 'l give me leave to make a short Digression You know the Arch-Bishop has been Maliciously Represented in some Libels as a Betrayer of the Church and an Enemy to the Christian Faith because when he was advanced to that Dignity which he the best deserved of any of his Function he was pleased to suffer a Visit now and then from his old Acquaintance Mr. Firmin All the Impartial World I believe is satisfied that Dr. Tillotson was far from being a Socinian His own Works sufficiently testifie it to the everlasting Infamy of those that laid it to his Charge and yet an innocent Correspondence with a Person whose Unhappiness and not Fault it was to Dissent from us in some disputed Points must be improved into the blackest Sin imaginable as if it were impossible to shew common Civilities to our Neighbour without being of his Opinion Even the Church of Rome which by virtue of its Infalliblity has the
best right to Prescribe its Sons what Company to keep has not been able to influence several of its Worthy Members from paying a due deference to conspicuous Merit tho' they found it lodg'd in an Enemy Father Paul thought it no Scandal to him to pass his vacant Hours in Sir Henry Wooton or Mr. Bedel's Company tho' they disagreed from him in matters of Religion Our Country-man Mr. Hobbes of Malmsbury who was no Friend to the Papacy all the World knows was singularly honoured by Gassendus and F. Mersenne The Learned Malpigius of Florence never scrupled to keep a Correspondence with the Gentlemen of our Royal Society tho' in his Country they pass for Hereticks Nay before the late War the King of France who cannot be suspected of favouring Protestants used to give Annual Pensions to Learned Men of all Countries and Religions as for instance to Monsieur Huygens Spanheim Groevius and Isaac Vossius Conversation must be confined to very narrow bounds indeed if it be a Sin to have any Commerce with those that don't come up exactly to our Sentiments in every Point But this spiteful Objection has been chiefly made by two sowr morose Church-men of our Nation one of them an abdicated Dean who has been already chastised for his Insolence by another Hand the other is the famous Adversary of Dr. Sh k who the truth on 't is deserves none of the civilest usage but in a Subject that required the greatest Sobriety of Stile he has vented his Eury in a wayso boisteous and unpresidented nam etiam sunt Belli jura that if a System of Scurrility were to be compiled I know not where the Materials are to be so plentifully found as in his Writings If the generality of the Divines were of this brutal and savage Temper as Heaven be praised they are not were a Man to express a steddy incurable unrelenting Hatred he could not call it by a properer Term than that of Odium Theologicum after the same manner as the Pious Provision which both Regulars and Seeulars take in Popish Countries not to injure their frail Bodies with bad Liquor has made the best sort of Wine to be commonly called Vinum Theologicum and one might have reason on his side to apply to such Incendiaries the following passage out of the Preface to the fifth Edition of Father Simon 's Critical History in French Il y a long temps qu'en a remarque que les Theologiens sont gens sans pitie quils ne donnent jamais coup de dent sans emporter la piece I purposely forbear to Translate it into English because as to the general the imputation is false I may venture to say That no Age and perhaps no Nation in the World has propuced a Man of a more useful more Disinteressed and extended Charity since the Apostolic al times He made it his business and employed all his Interest which was very considetable to relieve the Necessities of the Poor under which Denomination I don't comprehend those sturdy abandon'd Vagrants those lazy Counterfeits and unprofitable Vermin that to the eternal Scandal of our Laws and Government are suffered to pester our Streets and Highways and fill all places with their impudent Clamours But real Objects of Compassion such as Orphans and Widows and House-keepers that by unforeseen and unavoidable Accidents were reduced to Poverty He looked upon us to be none of the ablest Politicians in the World who living in a County naturally Productive of the best Commodities having so much wast Ground to imploy idle Hands and the Sea on every side of us that lies as much neglected sting up all these advantages that our Situation and Soil have conspired to bestow upon us and tho we pretend to give Laws to all Europe yet are content to pay an ignominous Tribute of 700000l per Annum to a parcel of unthankful insolent Vagabonds at home He was of Opinion that if the aforesaid Sum was thrown into a Common Stock and Working-Houses Erected in all the considerable Market-Towns in the Kingdom we should in a few Years find our Poor less burthensom to us than now they are at least the Republick would derive this benefit from it that tho the Contributions for them continued in the present State yet an effectual stop would be put to the reigning Vice of Pilfering and Stealing Besides that by this means he said we should soon clear our Roads and Streets of those troublesom People we should breed a Healthful Generation of able Bodied Men fit for the Plow and Sea-service and disarm our Beggars of the only tollerable Excuse they have for such a Profligate Life viz. ' That they are willing to Work if any one would imploy them Therefore to set a leading Example to the rest of the Nation he not only contributed what he thought proper for such a Design out of his own Purse but engaged as many of his Acquaintance as he could to Erect a Working-House in Little-Britain and tho the Manufactures that were wrought there fell considerably short of answering the Expence of the Undertakers were yearly at yet it produced this good effect that it constantly imployed abundance of Necessitous Persons all the year round who must otherwise have betaken themselves to a Vitious habit of Life or else proved burthensom to the respective Parishes where they lived I have dwelt the longer upon this Article because I am in hopes that so generous and so fresh a President will prevail with our Patriots to cure their Country of this lingring Distemper that has so long annoy'd it especially at this Conjuncture when the Genius of England seems to be animated with a new Spirit when we have a Victorious Monarch at the Head of the Government who is willing to rectifie all the Abuses and Disorders of our Constituion and to put in Execution whatever his faithful Senators advise him to when the Royal Fishery that will employ so many hands has already made such considerable Advances and lastly when upon the Disbanding of our Land-Forces we shall find our selves obliged to make some sort of Provision for the Soldiers that they who behaved themselves so gallantly in Flanders may not be necessitated for want of Employment tobetake themselves to indirect courses to prevent Starving As for that other Branch of Christian Charity which relates to Men as they unhappily differ from us in Points of Religion it shin'd in every action of his Life and indeed was interwoven with his Nature He rightly judged that nothing has given greater Scandal to the Jews nor so sensibly wounded our Religion among Heathens and Mahometans nor furnished the Papists with a more Popular Objection that in short nothing has been more effectually made a pretence even for Atheism and Infidelity than our unnatural Divisions and Animosities 'T is indeed certain that our Controversies about Religion as we have aukwardly managed them have at last brought even Religion it self into Disputet among such whose