Characters from 17th Century Histories and Chronicles eBook

This eBook from the Gutenberg Project consists of approximately 391 pages of information about Characters from 17th Century Histories and Chronicles.

Characters from 17th Century Histories and Chronicles eBook

This eBook from the Gutenberg Project consists of approximately 391 pages of information about Characters from 17th Century Histories and Chronicles.
in religion and indulginge to scruples, to reconcile himselfe to soone and to easily to the Church of Rome, and carryinge still his owne inquisitivenesse aboute him, without any resignation to ther authority (which is the only temper can make that Church sure of its Proselites) havinge made a journy to S’t Omers purely to perfecte his conversion by the conversation of those who had the greatest name, he founde as little satisfaction ther, and returned with as much hast from them, with a beliefe that an intire exemption from error was nether inherent in, nor necessary to, any Church; which occasioned that warr which was carryed on by the Jesuitts with so greate asperity and reproches against him, and in which he defended himselfe by such an admirable eloquence of language, and the cleere and incomparable power of reason, that he not only made them appeare unaequall adversaryes, but carryed the warr into ther owne quarters, and made the Popes infallibility to be as much shaken and declyned by ther owne Doctors, and as greate an acrimony amon[g]st themselves upon that subjecte, and to be at least as much doubted as in the schooles of the Reformed or Protestant, and forced them since to defende and maintayne those unhappy contraversyes in religion, with armes and weopons of another nature, then were used or knowne in the Church of Rome when Bellarmyne dyed:  and which probably will in tyme undermyne the very foundation that supportes it.

Such a levity and propensity to change, is commonly attended with greate infirmityes in, and no lesse reproch and praejudice to the person, but the sincerity of his hearte was so conspicuous, and without the least temptation of any corrupt end, and the innocence and candour of his nature so evident and without any perversenesse, that all who knew him cleerely decerned, that all those restlesse motions and fluctuation proceeded only from the warmth and jealosy of his owne thoughts, in a to nice inquisition for truth:  nether the bookes of the Adversary, nor any of ther persons, though he was acquainted with the best of both, had ever made greate impression upon him, all his doubles grew out of himselfe, when he assisted his scruples with all the strenght of his owne reason, and was then to hard for himselfe; but findinge as little quyett and repose in those victoryes, he quickly recover’d by a new appeale to his owne judgement, so that he was in truth upon the matter in all his Sallyes and retreits his owne converte, though he was not so totally devested of all thoughts of this worlde, but that when he was ready for it he admitted some greate and considerable Churchmen to be sharers with him, in his publique conversion.  Whilst he was in perplexity, or rather some passionate disinclination to the religion he had bene educated in, he had the misfortune to have much acquaintance with one M’r Lugar a minister of that church, a man of a competency of learninge in those points most contravened with the Romanists,

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Characters from 17th Century Histories and Chronicles from Project Gutenberg. Public domain.