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Show 3~s No CROSS, No CROWN. . VoL. I. J668. Rtafo11able at indifferent, Cuftom is obliging ~r harmlef;..);ft> in1Things Un~ ~ re.ifonab/c or Unfa'fljful, She has no Authonry. For \....uuom tan no more Chap. X. change Numbers than Genders, nor Yoke Oneand_To11 together, than m:1kc a Man into a Woman; or One a Thoufand. But tf Cu~om ~e to conclude us, 'tis for us: For as Cullom is nothing _elf~ but Anmrttt Vfage, I appeal ro the PraEHce of .Mankind, from the Begmmng of_rhc ''Vorld, through all J\'arionr. againfr the A'Ovelty of this Confufion,. vrz. Y~u to 0ttr Peif~n. Let Cuftom, which is ancient PraUicC: and FaEl:, tffue t~1s Qpi::lhon. Mtftake me not: I know Words are nothmg, but as Men g1vc them a Value or Force by Ufe: But then, if yo,u w_ill_ dif~h~rge Tho11! and that1Tau molt fucceed in its Place, let us have a Dijlmguifhrng Wcrd m the Room· of To11, to be ufed in Speech to .J1any. But to ufe the fame Word for 'One and ftiany, when ther~ are Two, and t~ar only' to plea~e a prond an~ 1Jallg~ry Humour in Man, ts not Reafonable m our Senfe ; which, we hope> ts Chrijt· ian, tho' not Modijh. . . . . §. VII. But if Thou to a fingle Petfon be 1mproper or unctvll, God Hunfeif, aU the Holy Fathers and Propbm, Cbrlj! ]eft!< and JJi< !Apujlles, the Primitive Sainu, aU Lang1u~es tbr.osgbout tfre World, and o11r oum L~w-Proceedings tire Guilty; whtch, wt~h.Subm.t~on, .were great 'Prefumption to im~ine. Befides, we all know, ttts fafi?Iltar wnh the moft of .A111bors, to Pn ac! their Difcout'fes to the R1t1der m the fame Language of ~b" and f)OU : .As Reader : Thou art defire~, &c. Or, R1ad~r, This ;,S writ tfJ i11form Thee of tbe OcCttjion, &c. And ~~. cannot be .de!lted,, tha.t the moft famous Poems, dedicated to Love or .AlaJefly, are wnt 10 thts Snle. Read of each in Chaucer, Spenter, WaDer, Cotoley, Dryden, &c. Why then fhould it be fo homely, ill·bred, and infufferablc in us? This, I conceive, can never be anfwered. §. Vlll. I doubt not at all, bu~ tha.t ~omething altogether as_Singular, attended the Speech of Cbrijl and hts Difczples: For I remember 1t was ur· ged upon Peter in the High Prieft's Palace, as a Prcof of his belonging to J\<bt· 2.6. 71• Jefus, when he denied his Lord: Surely (faid they) tbou ttljo art one ~f 7;, 74• them; for thy Spe.ecb bewrayetb thee, They had guefs'd by his Looks, but juft before, that be bad been with Jefin; but when they difcourfed him, his Languttge put them all out of Doubt: S11rely then be wtU one of tbtm, and be hal been with Jifm. Something it was he had learn'd in his Company that was Odd and Obfervable; to be fore, not of the World's Beha" Viou:. Without Qpeftion..t the Garb, Gate and Speech of his followers differed as well as his Doctrine, from the·World; for it was a Part of His Dott.~ine it fhould be fo. It' is eafie to believe, they were more Plain, G1ave and Precife; which .is more Credible, from the Way which poor, eonfoltjnt, fearful Peter took. to difguife the Bufinefs; for he fell to Curjing and 'Swear· ing. A fad Shift! But he thought That the likelieft Way to remove.!he Sufpicion, that was moft unlike Cbri{J. And the Policy took; for it Jfilenced their Objeftions:, and Pererwas as Orthodox as they. But tho' they found "him not out, the Cock.'s·Crow did; which made Peter remember his Dclr 'Suffering Lord's Words, and He went forth and Wept bi1urly ;. that he had denied his Mafter, who was then delivered up to Dye for him. .. §. IX. Hut our Lafi Rtafon ls of moft Weight with me; anO becaufe, J:.~gumentum ad Hominem, it is moft heav-y upon our. Dt:[pifeu, Which i' thJS: Tt jhDII!d not therefore he urged upon rn, becnufe 1t U a moft eJCI1'11V.1- tant Piece of Pride_i~ a Mortal Man, to require or exP.tfl, {Nm bU FeD~wCreatitrt, a more C,vr/ Speu1J, or GratefJtl Langllt~ge, than ht 'is wont to &lvt rbe Immortal God, and bH Creator., in "10 his WorfhijJ to bim. 'Art thou, 0 Man, Greatt?' than He tiMt marle thee I Canft thou..at)~roach the God of •thy Breath, and Great Judge of thy 'Life, with Thfl!l &rid ·Tbu; -and when thou rifeft off thy Knees, fcorn a Chrtfiian for giving to rhee (.poor Ka.fr room of the Errtb) no better L11nguage than thou bt'l..ft given to God but . juft before? A,n .Arroga'!cJ not to be e~fi~y equall'd I Hut again, it ;s ei1b1r too mucb Or too little Re{pdl; if too much, don't Repr9~ch ~nd W Angry, '"I gravely and humbly rr[uj< it; if too liuk, Why do1\ thou !how to God "' VoL. I. No C R 0 S-8, -No C R 0 W N .• no more? 0 whither is Man gone I To what a Pitch docs he foar? He Would be ufed more civil1y hy us, than, he ufes God; which is to have us make more than a GQd .o~ J~i.~ : B_ut he fhall want Worjhippers of us, JS well as he wants the DJVIIII(Y, m lumfelf that deferves to be Worlhipped. Certain we are, that the Spmr of G~d leeks not thefe Refpetts, much lefs pleads for them, or would be wroth with any that Confeientioujly ,-ef"fe to give them,. B~t th~t this Vain Generation is guil~y of ufing t~e~, to gra· tifie a Vatn 111md, lS too palpable. What Ctlppmg, what Crmgmg, OJbat Scrapi11g, whtrt vain. unmeant Words, mofl Hyperbolic a I Exprrj]i_onr, Comple-ments, grofl Flattenes, and plain Lyes, under tbe J\fune of Civilities, are .Men and Wome11 GUilty of in Converfation! Ah, my Friends ! lVhence fetch you thefe Examples? What Pan of all \hC Writings of tbe Holy ..Men of God warranrs thcfe Things? But to come near to your own Profeffion: 1668. ~ C~•P· X. ls CHRIST your Example herein, whofe Name you pretend to bear? Or tbofe $aints of Old, that lived in Difolate Places, o{ whom tbe World waJ Heb. u. tiol r»IJrtby ? Or do you think, you follow the Praflice of ttiofe Chrifiians, that in Obedience to thtir Malter·s Life and DoChine, forfook the Refpeft of Perfons, and .relinquijhed the Fa!hions, Honour and Glory of this Tran· ficory World: Whofc Qualifications lay not in External Geflures, Rifpdh atul Complements, but in a meek and guiet Spirit, adorned witb Temperance, 1 Pet. 3·.J,4. Jfirtue, Modejly, Gravity, Patience, ftnd Broiberly-Kindneft, ~hich were the Tokens of True Honour, and only Badges oj Rejpefl anil Nobility in tbofe Cbri.fiitin Times? ONo! But is it not to expofe our felves both to your Contempt and Fury, that we imitate them and not you ? Apd tell us, pray, are not Romances, PlnJ!, Majh, Gaming, Fidlers, &c. the EntertJin· ments thar mofi delight }'o\1' Had you the Spirit of Chriflianity indeed, could you confume your moil: Precio11s Little Time info many unnecefi'ary Vifits, Games, Jnd Paftimes; in your Vain Complements, Counfhips, feign-ed Stories, Flaneries, Jnd fruitlefs Novelties, and what not ? Jnvented and ufed to your Diverfion, to make y0u eafie in your Forgetfulnefs of God : Which never was the Cbri.fli,m, Way of Living, but Entertainment of tbe Heathens that knew not God. Oh, Were you truly to11cb'd with the Senfe of your Sins, and in any Me:1fure Bot:n again ; did you take up the Croft of JESUS, and live under it, thefe Things (which fo much pleafc your wanton and f~nfual Nature) wo11ld find no Place with )'Oll! This is not fulling the Thmgs that are .Above, to have the Heart thus fet on Thinl!s Col. 3• '· that are below; nor Working out your own Saloation witiJ Fear and 1.'rem!J-ling, to fpend your Days in Vanity. This is not crying with Elih11, I /\.now not to give Flattering Tides to .Aien; for in Jo duing my Maker wo11/d Jooir take me away: This is not to deny Stl[, and lay up a more bidden and endu-ring Suhftllnce, an Ertrnal Inheritance in the Henvens, that will not pafs a-way. Well, my Friends, whatever you think, your Plea of CuUom will find no Place at God'.r Trib1mal: The Light of Chrijl in your own. Hearts wiU over;rulc it, and this Spirit, againft which we teftifie, fhall then ap-pear to be what we fay it is. S1y not, I 11m Scrittus about flight Things: But beware you of Levit{ and Rnjhnifs in Serious Things. §. X. Before I clofe, !hall add a few Teflimonier from Men of Generai Credir, in Fa\·our of our J\1m·Conformity to the World in this ParrictJlar. L11thtr, the Grear Reformer (whofe Sayings were Oracles with the Age he 7k Tr/1im~llved in, and of no lefs Reputation now, with many that objeB: ag:~inft us) .,;,r of ftve~ Js ro far from Condemning our Pltlin Speech, that, in his Luillls, he fports fAlo h. 1mfelf with You to ::a Sing.le Perfon. :1s ~m incongruous and Ridiculous Speech, viz. Aiagi/ler vos ejti; iratus? Maflcr, are You Angry? As ab(urd with him in Lorin; as, JH_,v Maflers, art Thou Angry? Is in Eng lift. Ernfmus, J Learned Jl1m1, and an Ex118 Critick in Spercb, (than whom,_ I know not any we may fo properly refer the Gram1nar of the Maner to) Mt only derides it, but bel1:ows :1. whole Dijco111fe upon rendrlt1g ir .Ahfurtl: Pbinly manifefiing, that it is impoffible to prefervc 1\'llfllhcrs, if Yo11, the only Word for mflre th:m One, be ufed to exprefs One: As alfo, That the Ori:in~tlof this Corruption, was the Corrnption of Flattery. J.fpauss af- , U u firms,- |