Selected quad for the lemma: religion_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
religion_n	kingdom_n	majesty_n	parliament_n	4,862	5	6.6563	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A34534	Dolus an virtus?, or, An answer to a seditious discourse concerning the religion of England and the settlement of reformed Christianity in its due latitude to which are added, the votes of Parliament.	Corbet, John, 1620-1680.; England and Wales. Parliament. House of Commons.	1668 (1668)	Wing C6252A; ESTC R19442	23,495	41

any thing which Your Majesty hath thought fit to propose And though we do no way doubt but that the unreasonable Distempers of mens Spirits and the many Mutinies and Conspiracies which were carryed on during the late Intervalls of Parliament did reasonably incline Your Majesty to endevour by Your Declaration to give some allay to those ill humours till the Parliament Assembled and the hopes of Indulgence if the Parliament should consent to it especially seeing the pretenders to this Indulgence did seem to make some Titles to it by virtue of Your Majesties Declaration from Breda Nevertheless we Your Majesties most Dutifull and Loyal Subjects who are now returned to serve in Parliament from those several parts and places of Your Kingdom for which we are chosen Do humbly offer to Your Majesties great Wisdom That it is in no sort advisable that there be any Indulgence to such persons who presume to dissent from the Act of Uniformity and the Religion established For these Reasons VVE have considered the nature of Your Majesties Declaration from Breda and are humbly of opinion That Your Majesty ought not to be pressed with it any further Because it is not a Promise in it self but only a Gracious Delaration of Your Majesties Intentions to do what in You lay and what a Parliament should advise Your Majesty to do and no such Advice was ever given or thought fit to be offered nor could it be otherwise understood because there were Laws of Uniformity then in being which could not be dispensed with but by Act of Parliament They who do pretend a right to that supposed promise put the Right into the hands of their Representatives whom they chose to serve for them in this Parliament who have passed and Your Majesty consented to the Act of Uniformity If any shall presume to say that a Right to the benefit of this Declaration doth still remain after this Act passed It tends to dissolve the very Bonds of Government and to suppose a disability in Your Majesty and the Houses of Parliament to make a Law contrary to any part of Your Majesties Declaration though both Houses should advise Your Majesty to it We have also considered the nature of the Indulgence proposed with reference to those Consequences which must necessarily attend it It will establish Schism by a Law and make the whole Government of the Church precarious and the Censures of it of no Moment or Consideration at all It will no way become the Gravity or wisdom of a Parliament to pass a Law at one Session for Uniformity and at the next Session the reasons of Uniformity continuing still the same to pass another Law to frustrate or weaken the execution of it It will expose Your Majesty to the restless Importunity of every Sect or Opinion and of every single person also who shall presume to dissent from the Church of England It will be a cause of increasing Sects and Sectaries whose numbers will weaken the true Protestant Profession so far that it will at least be difficult for it to defend it self against them And which is yet further considerable those Numbers which by being troublesome to the Government find they can arrive to an Indulgence well as their numbers increase be yet more troublesom that so at length they may arrive to a general Tolleration which Your Majesty hath declared against and in time some prevalent Sect will at last contend for an establishment which for ought can be foreseen may end in Popery It is a thing altogether without President and will take away all means of convicting Recusants and be inconsistent with the method and proceedings of the Laws of England Lastly It is humbly conceived that the Indulgence proposed will be so far from tending to the Peace of the Kingdom that it is rather likely to occasion great disturbance And on the contrary That the asserting of the Laws and the Religion establisht according to the Act of Uniformity is the most probable means to produce a setled Peace and Obedience throughout Your Kingdom Because the variety of Professions in Religion when openly indulged doth directly distinguish men into parties and withall gives them opportunity to count their numbers which considering the Animosities that out of a Religious pride will be kept on foot by the several Factions doth tend directly and inevitably to open disturbance Nor can Your Majesty have any Security that the Doctrine or Worship of the several Factions which are all Governed by a several Rule shall be consistent with the Peace of Your Kingdom And if any persons shall presume to disturb the Peace of the Kingdom We do in all humility declare That we will for ever and in all Occasions be ready with our utmost endevour and assistance to adhere to and serve Your Majesty according to our bounden Duty and Allegiance FINIS §. 15. P. 31. P. 32. l. 1. §. 14. P. 28. l. 10. P. 35. l. 1. P. 41. l. 21. Pag. 41. l. 33. Pag 42. l. 23. Pag. 20. l. 30. Pag. 31 18. Pag. 33 31. Pag 37 15. Pag. 34. l. 9. Pag. 32. l. 24. Pag. 22. l. 16. Pag. 21. l. 15. Pag. 17. l. ●● Pag. ●● l 19. Pag. 37. l. ●

DOLUS an VIRTUS OR An ANSWER TO A SEDITIOUS DISCOURSE CONCERNING The RELIGION of ENGLAND AND The Settlement of Reformed Christianity in its due Latitude Vae Vobis Hypocritae To which are added The VOTES of PARLIAMENT LONDON Printed for Henry Brome at the Star in Little Britain M. DC LXVIII AN ANSWER TO A SEDITIOUS DISCOURSE CONCERNING The RELIGION of ENGLAND MEeting with your Discourse of the Religion of England asserting That Reformed Christianity settled in its due Latitude is the Stability and Advancement of this Kingdom I was inclin'd to peruse it because casting my Eye upon your Preface I found your first words acknowledge That Religion is deeply imprinted in humane Nature and hath a great power over it therefore I could not but hope to meet with the great Effects of it in your own especially since you seem'd so sollicitous only for the Peace of Religion and the Nation and that you did so ingenuously profess That nothing was suggested in your Discourse for Politick ends That Episcopacy was not undermin'd nor any other Form of Government insinuated That all Pragmatical Arrogance presuming to give Rules to Governors or teach them what to do was carefully avoided That only the Possibility Expediency and Necessity of Moderation was represented And that you humbly desired this honest intention of yours in pursuance of Peace might find a favourable reception This is the pretended Incense you offer to the Publick good hoping that the smoke of it will skreen your Falsehood from view but being smoke it vanisheth and leaves your designs so perspicuous that I esteemed my self obliged to detect you and to shew the World how contrary your Discourse is to all these Pretensions in your Preface A man may see an itching humor in you to be doing but what one can hardly conjecture but by the shadows of your motions which are subtle and violent and therefore properly to be called Presbiterian Three differing wayes of Religion are mentioned in your Discourse to be in this Realm viz. Protestants of the Church of England Protestants Non-conformists and Papists With the Papists you begin and therein spend seven Sections which are premised on purpose to make your Reader more attentive and kind to the Author who would be accounted so fiery an enemy to them But this part of your Discourse I am not concerned in who neither am nor ever was a Papist nor do I pretend to understand their Religion as you do therefore I shall leave them to the consideration of the Parliament who you confess hath appointed a Committee to receive Informations concerning them only I shall offer somewhat out of your Discourse whereby it may truly be discern'd how true an enemy you are in your heart to them I have heard very wise and great Politicians say that Jesuites are but Popish Presbiterians and Presbiterians but Protestant Jesuites and it is no wonder that Cocks of the Game bred up in the same Principles should sometimes fight with one another not coldly as with some others but with most sharp and deadly stroakes provoked and enabled by the Spurs of Emulation and Pragmaticallness Under this consideration I confesse you may be looked upon as an enemy but wherein else we will now consider In your Preface you acknowledge that in this your discourse you only submissively offer to the consideration of your Superiours a Relaxation only of the Prescribed Uniformity and some Indulgence to Dissenters of sound Faith and good life amongst which number you account the Papists because after the Character you have given of their Faith and Actions you say in your Seventh Section That Notwithstanding they have not changed their Principles c. but have taken methods of greater artifice and subtilty yet you professe that your whole preceeding Discourse against them is not directed against the security of their Persons and Fortunes or any meet Indulgence or Clemencie towards them but advise That they may have their Faith to themselves without being vexed with snares or any wayes afflicted Here your Proposing a Tolleration for Popery under the pretence of a meet Indulgence or Clemencie must not by any means be thought a suggestion for Politique Ends although 't is one of the chiefest in your whole discourse since it increases the number of the Dissenters from the Church of England which presently makes the body of them in your opinion so momentous c. Next The security without any limitation which you plead for their Persons and Fortunes which at once proposes the Repealing of all the Poenall Statutes against them which you account snares is in your opinion only a Relaxation of the prescribed Uniformity and no pragmatical arrogance nor doth not in the least presume to teach your Governours what to doe contrary to the established Sanctions both of Church and State But Dat veniam Corvis You may write what you please provided you pretend That you only propound these things in Case of insuperable necessity and that for Truth 's sake but should any thing of the like nature be in the least motioned by any else of whatsoever persuasion we know the Tune you would sing presently Now Sir I will accompany you to your main design where you would be though with much cunning sliness you creep to it by degrees and with more Pollicy even then conceal it when you speak it so that none may see your skin but only such as can see thorough the thin lawn of your Rhetorick § 10 First then in your Tenth Sect. you tell us That you would have Reformed Christianity to be settled in the Kingdom in its full extent In your Eleventh That Protestants Non-Conformists are most momentous in the Ballance of the Nation In your Twelfth That the Extirpation of them is most difficult and unprofitable And in your Thirteenth That all this your discourse for them is neither threatning nor intimation of Rebellion I could wish you had not mentioned these last words for the very telling us you do not threaten after you have discoursed so largely of the number momentousnesse and weight of Non-Conformists and withall of the impossibility of their extirpation which was never yet thought of Does deeply threaten Reform'd Christanity must be settled in its full extent this argues that it is not yet done Those who require it are an innumerous people powerfull and momentous which indeed they did demonstrate sufficiently but the other day when they bare down all before them and now being again debarr'd from the Benefices and Fatness of the Land they esteem themselves ruin'd and extirpated and yet they cannot be extirpated because it is neither good nor feasable not feasable and therefore cannot not good and profitable and therefore will not all this you say and yet if any think you threaten in all this he is much mistaken you do not use to threaten before you strike nor strike before you find evidently you can prevail and strike home But what is the Cause of all this