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Title:  Irenicum, to the lovers of truth and peace heart-divisions opened in the causes and evils of them : with cautions that we may not be hurt by them, and endeavours to heal them / by Jeremiah Burroughes.
Author: Burroughs, Jeremiah, 1599-1646.
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let evill into his conscience, he puts himself into such a condi∣tion, as whatsoever he doth, he must needs sin against God, so long as he holds his errour: Evill gets into the consciences of many very easily, because they think the dictates of their consciences will be sufficient to bear them out in what they doe;Conscientia er∣ronea non obli∣gat. but they are deceived, for an erroneous conscience does not bind, you sin notwithstanding your conscience bids you do it; and if you goe against this erroneous conscience, you sinne too; what a miserable snare is this? you had need look to your selves then, and take heed what you let into your con∣sciences. The fourth thing is, to charge him, and if it be in a matter of consequence, to adjure him in the Name of God (who is the searcher of the hearts of men, and will judg them at the great day accordingly) that he deals plainly and sincerely, not to dare to put a pretence upon that which he knows his conscience cannot justifie him in; if there be indeed any consci∣entiousness in the man, this will startle him. But it may be this will not prevail, wherefore in the fifth place, whatsoever a man holds, though his conscience be ne∣ver so much taken with it, yet if it cannot stand with the pow∣er of godliness, but destroys it, if this man be in a Christian society after all means used to reduce him, if he still perse∣veres in it, he is, notwithstanding his conscience, to be cast out of the society of the Saints; this is not a little matter, if a man hath any conscience in him, it cannot but be a dreadfull thing to him: If poyson be got into a glass, and you cannot wash it out, the poyson and glass too is to be thrown into the sinck: Such a man as this is, with the conscience that he hath, is to be thrown upon the dung-hill. If a man by his wicked∣ness cuts himself off from the mysticall body of Christ, the Church may cut him off from his visible, he hath forfeited his Church-priviledger. Sixtly, If the errour with the profession of it be destructive to the State, and he cannot be reclaimed, he may likewise be cut off from it, or at least deprived of the priviledges of it, and benefits by it, notwithstanding his plea of conscience. This justifies the cutting off Jesuites and Priests, who teach people that the Crown is at the dispose of any forraign pow∣er, 0