Nineteen cases of conscience. Submissively tendred to Mr. Hugh Peters, and the rest of his fellow commissioners, the triars by sundry weak brethren. This text is an enriched version of the TCP digital transcription A89692 of text R203061 in the English Short Title Catalog (Thomason E986_16). Textual changes and metadata enrichments aim at making the text more computationally tractable, easier to read, and suitable for network-based collaborative curation by amateur and professional end users from many walks of life. The text has been tokenized and linguistically annotated with MorphAdorner. The annotation includes standard spellings that support the display of a text in a standardized format that preserves archaic forms ('loveth', 'seekest'). Textual changes aim at restoring the text the author or stationer meant to publish. This text has not been fully proofread Approx. 10 KB of XML-encoded text transcribed from 5 1-bit group-IV TIFF page images. EarlyPrint Project Evanston,IL, Notre Dame, IN, St. Louis, MO 2017 A89692 Wing N1163 Thomason E986_16 ESTC R203061 99863149 99863149 115333 This keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the Early English Books Online Text Creation Partnership. This Phase I text is available for reuse, according to the terms of Creative Commons 0 1.0 Universal . The text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. Early English books online. (EEBO-TCP ; phase 1, no. A89692) Transcribed from: (Early English Books Online ; image set 115333) Images scanned from microfilm: (Thomason Tracts ; 147:E986[16]) Nineteen cases of conscience. Submissively tendred to Mr. Hugh Peters, and the rest of his fellow commissioners, the triars by sundry weak brethren. Peters, Hugh, 1598-1660. 8 p. [s.n.], London : printed in the year MDCLIX. [1659] Variant: title page has "Petrs". Annotation on Thomason copy: "June. 14.". Reproduction of the original in the British Library. eng Religious tolerance -- England -- Early works to 1800. Great Britain -- Church history -- 17th century -- Early works to 1800. A89692 R203061 (Thomason E986_16). civilwar no Nineteen cases of conscience.: Submissively tendred to Mr. Hugh Peters, and the rest of his fellow commissioners, the triars by sundry weak Peters, Hugh 1659 1398 6 0 0 0 0 0 43 D The rate of 43 defects per 10,000 words puts this text in the D category of texts with between 35 and 100 defects per 10,000 words. 2007-05 TCP Assigned for keying and markup 2007-05 Aptara Keyed and coded from ProQuest page images 2007-06 Jonathan Blaney Sampled and proofread 2007-06 Jonathan Blaney Text and markup reviewed and edited 2008-02 pfs Batch review (QC) and XML conversion NINETEEN CASES OF CONSCIENCE . Submissively tendred to Mr. HVGH PETRS , And the rest of his Fellow Commissioners , the TRIARS By sundry weak Brethren . LONDON , Printed in the year MDCLIX . NINETEEN CASES OF CONSCIENCE . I WHether the Immortality of a man's Soul be a Doctrine at all fit , or suitable to be preached , or taught , either in Pulpits or Books , to the men of this Generation ? and whether there be any such thing as a future condition of happiness or misery in another world ? Now the ground of this scruple ariseth from long observations in State ever since 1641 , till this present 1659. II Whether it be not a matter of weighty consequence , that a Petition be preferred to the Parliament , to entreat them , that they would pass an Act for repealing , nulling , and making void all Oathes whatsoever , taken since 1 Caroli to the 3 of Septemb. 1658 ? And whether it be not expedient that this be done very suddenly , least some who may be concern'd should in the interim sneak out of the world , and so become incapable of receiving any benefit thereby ? III Whether it would not much advance our long desired Reformation , if those places of Scripture , out of which the Common-Prayer-Book is collected , were diligently sought after , and blotted out of our Bibles , that no mark of the Superstitious Liturgy may remain among us , to make our Children Idolaters ? IV Whether Lying , crying at pleasure , swearing by the living God , murthering men at an High Court of Justice ; Perjury three or four times over ; eating the Bread of Orphans ; grinding the faces of the Poor ; trampling on abilities ; starving a learned and orthodox Ministry , and exercizing worse Tyranny for five years last past over England than Pharaoh did over Aegypt , were sins or ●ot ? And if sins , whether any whit more venial in a Saint than a Sinner ? V Whether we have not as good cause to celebrate a solemn Anniversary of Thanksgiving upon the 3 of Sept. as the 5 of Novemb. for the mercifull deliverance from the Author of all our co●fusions . VI VVhether a Common wealth modell'd ( as Mr. Harrington would have it ) like to that of Israel , be not now the best kind of Government for us , seeing we have so many Jewes amongst us ? ( VII ) VVhether the fellowes of Magdalen College in Oxford , have not given Dr. Thomas Goodwin ( upon the account of his wife better reason to make an Horn-booke than Dr. Owen had given him by any body , to make a Primmer ? ( VIII ) VVhether his late Highness's Letter to the House was not a large manifesto of the humility of his Spirit , of his forsaking the World , and the Devil ; of his Christian valour , and fortitude , a tryal of his patience , an exercising of all his virtues , a probate of his desire to save his windpipe , and lastly of his mighty will to inform the world and the worthies thereof how inconstant that same blind whore Fortune is , how burthensome Thrones and Scepters ; nay how empty a thing , and how vain is Supream-Magistracy : And this Remarqu ' may give us occasion to think upon those Comparisons which are frequent concerning this matter : Mr. Quarl● hee sayes , Or like a Sun , or like a shade , Or like the Gourd that Jonas had &c. Another , he sings sweetly . Fortune my foe , why art thou thus unkind , &c. Comparing Crowns to Crabtrees , the Pearls upon them to Missletoe-berries which ( which we are confident ) are profitable for nothing save only to make birdlime to ensnare ambitious mortalls , who ( as hee goes on with the Allegory ) are like little birds that hop up and down on little twigs on the highest trees they can find . O ( sayes the School-boy ) think upon Icarus and Phaaeton thou that aspirest to a Diadem ! ( saies another Classicall Author ) remember Belizarius , Blind Belizarius reaching out his cripled fingers , and crying , Give poor Belizarius one farthing ! O who would not part with an hundred Protectordomes ( if hee had them ) to occasion so many good thoughts in a sinner . IX . VVhether this Parliament would not quit Curtesie handsomly to turn his bones out of the Abbey , who turn'd them by force , and violence against all humanity , and good manners out of the Parliament House ? or in short whether Quid pro Quo be not lawfull , and avowable ? X. VVhether Machiavels maxime , for which our Divines rail so at him ( viz. ) that [ Christian Religion makes man Cowards , ] be not now sound Doctrine , and most evidently demonstrated his by late Highnesse ? XI . VVhether a man may not venture his Soul for the procurement of an Estate , and promotion of his worldly interests , altogether as laudably as for Religion ? XII . VVhether it were not a deed of Charity in the Parliament to erect another High Court of Justice , that so the Lord L●s ; le might know how to dispose of some of that time , and leasure which they have thought fit to allot him , by discharging him the trouble of being one of the Keepers of the great Seal of England ? And whether we ought not to think in Charity that the House discarded him of his dignities in tender compassion to his Soul , that so he might have convenience to repent him of his blood guiltinesse , and other crying Sins , which can the pared off with his nails . XIII . VVhether Sermons should not be put down as well as Playes , the meetings being farr greater , the A●●ores more seditious , and fewer Souldiers being there , by their good wills ? XIV . Whether the Whore of Babylon that Man of Sin , be in good earnest ( after so many disputes ) a Man , or a 〈◊〉 , or an Hermaphrodit● ? XV . Whether old Oliver Cromwel , and Dr. Iohn Hewyt , are now within sight of one another ; and if not , how many Leagues over the Gulph is that parts 'em ? And truly the resolution of this one doubt ( if the Gulph were stated to be but narrow ) would make many men in this world excellent Swimmers , in hopes one day to make use of their Art , when the time shall come that they must either Sink , or Swim . XVI . Whether they best deserve of the State who have hazarded their persons , and estates , or they that have ventur'd their Souls and Consciences for the Good Old Cause . XVII . Whether we be not much happier now than we have been any time this seven years before , in regard we have again gotten over us the Harp , and Crosse , one being an inctrument of mirth , and the other a badg of our Religion ; wheras before we had a great white ramping Lyon over us : now a Lyon is a beast of prey , and the property of beasts of prey is to devour ( as we all know . ) VIII . VVhether the Devil be not a Malignant , because he is so hot for Monarchy ? and whether ( if the Act of Oblivion will not quit him ) that one Argument be not enough to perswade men to defie him and all his works ? ( XIX ) VVhether , seeing that Liberty of Conscience is now generally granted to all men , it be not the best exercise for poor witty Cavalliers to write Pamphlets , and the best recreation for rich Commonwealth's men to read them ? The End .