Selected quad for the lemma: conscience_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
conscience_n	humane_a	law_n	obligation_n	1,134	5	9.8189	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A62638	Several discourses of repentance by John Tillotson ; being the eighth volume published from the originals by Ralph Barker.	Tillotson, John, 1630-1694.; Barker, Ralph, 1648-1708.	1700 (1700)	Wing T1267; ESTC R26972	169,818	480

are done to Persons without their consent And these tho' are not always the greatest Michiefs yet they are the greatest Injuries And these Injuries are done either by fraud and cunning or by violence and oppression either by over-reaching another Man in Wit or over-bearing him by Power And these usually either respect the Bodies of men or their Estates or their good Name The Bodies of men He that maims another or does him any other Injury in his Limbs or Health either by fraud or force is bound so far as he is able to make Reparation for the Injury Or they respect the Estates of men If by cunning or by violence or by false Testimony or Accusation thou hast hinder'd a Man of any Benefit which otherwise would have come to him thou art bound to Restitution If by thy Power or Interest by thy knowledge in the Law or skill in Business thou hast directly and avowedly helped and assisted another to do Injustice to his Neighbour thou art bound to Restitution tho' not as the principal yet as the accessory If thou hast over-reached thy Brother in any Contract making Advantage of his ignorance or unskilfulness if thou hast made a gain of his Necessity if thou hast by thy Power and Interest or by any more violent and forcible way detained his Right or taken away that which was his thou art bound to make Reparation for these Injuries to restore that which thou hast borrowed to return the pledge which thou hast wrongfully kept to release unconscionable Forfeitures to pay debts to make satisfaction for frauds and cheats to take off all unjust invasions and surprizals of Estates yea tho' the fraud be such that thou art not liable to make satisfaction by any Humane Law yet thou art as much bound to it in Conscience to God and thy Duty as if thou hadst stolen it or taken it by violence from thy Neighbour For in truth and reality fraud is as great an Injury as violence altho' Humane Laws cannot take Cognizance of it so as to relieve every Man that is over-reached in a Bargain nay of the two it is worse for whenever thou decievest a Man in this kind thou dost not only wrong him in Point of Estate but thou abusest his Understanding And so likewise in respect of a Man's Fame and Reputation If thou hast hurt any Man's good Name by slander or calumny by false witness by rendring him ridiculous or any other way thou art bound to give such Satisfaction as the thing is capable of or if there be any other Injury which I have not mentioned thou art obliged to make Reparation for it III. As to the manner how Restitution is to be made 1. Thou art bound to do it voluntarily and of thy own accord tho' the Person injured do not know who it was that did him the Injury tho' he do not seek Reparation by Law When a Man is forced by Law to make Restitution it is not a Virtue but Necessity this is not a Fruit of Repentance and a good Mind but of good Law And that thou dost not do it unless the Law compel thee to it is an Argument thou wouldst not have done it if thou couldst have avoided it And tho' the thing be done yet thou hast not done it but the Law and unless thou heartily repent of thy Crime the Injury still lies at thy Door and in God's account thou art as guilty as if no Restitution had been made Not that thou art bound in this Case to make new Restitution over again but thou art bound to bewail thy neglect that thou didst not do it voluntarily and without the compulsion of the Law 2. Thou must do it in kind if the thing be capable of it and the injur'd Party demand it Thou must restore the very thing which thou hadst deprived thy Neighbour of if it be such a thing as can be restored and be still in thy Power unless he voluntarily accept of some other thing in exchange 3. If thou canst not restore it in kind thou art bound to restore it in value in something that is as good As for spiritual Injuries done to the Souls of men we are bound to make such Reparation and Compensation as we can Those whom we have drawn into Sin and engaged in wicked Courses by our influence and example or by neglect of our Duty towards them we are so far as becomes the Relation we stand in to them to make acknowledgement of our fault to endeavour by our Instruction and Counsel to reclaim them from those Sins which we led them into and to recover them out of the snare of the Devil and should never be at rest till we have done as much or more for the furtherance of their Salvation and helping them forwards towards Heaven as we did contribute before to their Ruin and Destruction If we have violated any ones Chastity we are bound to Marry them if it was done upon that Condition and if they require it thou art bound to keep and maintain those Children which are the Fruit of thy Lust and to make Reparation to the Person whom thou hast injured by Dowry or otherwise If thou hast defrauded and injured any Man in his good Name thou art obliged to make him a Compensation by acknowledgment of thy fault by a studious vindication of him and by doing him honour and repairing his Credit in all fitting ways And if the Injury be irreparable as it frequently happens that we can hardly so effectually vindicate a Man as we can defame him and it is seldom seen that those wounds which are given to mens Reputation are perfectly healed I say if the injury be irreparable especially if it prove really prejudicial to a Man in his Calling and Civil Interest if no other Satisfaction will be accepted it is to be made in Mony which Solomon says answers all things and the rather because the Reason and Equity of humane Laws hath thought fit to assign this way of Satisfaction in many Cases upon Actions of Scandal and Defamation And whatever the Law would give in any Case if it could be proved that is the least we are bound in Conscience to do when we are guilty to our selves tho' the Law cannot take hold of us So likewise if thou hast wounded a Man thou art bound to pay the Cure to repair to him and his Relations the Disability for his Calling and his way of Livelyhood and Subsistance which he hath contracted by thy injury And so for false Imprisonment the real Detriment which comes to him by it is to be made amends for and so in all other Cases the injured Person is so far as is possible to be restored to the good Condition in which he was before the Injury IV. As to the Measure and Proportion of the Restitution we are to make Zacheus here offers fourfold which was much beyond what any Law required in like Cases The Measure of Restitution by the

forfeit the eternal inheritance which was not purchased with corruptible things but with the precious Blood of the Son of God And if this Consideration which is the weightiest in the World will not prevail with men I can only say with the Angel Rev. 22.11 He that is unjust let him be unjust still let him continue in his Injustice at his Peril and remember what is added at the 12th verse Behold I come quickly and my reward is with me to give to every Man according as his work shall be II. In respect of our Children and Posterity it is greatly our interest to make Restitution God many times suffers an Estate got by oppression to prosper for a little while but there is a curse attends it which descends upon the Estate like an incumbrance and Parents many times when they think they entail an Estate they entail Poverty upon their Children Job 20.10 speaking of the Children of the Oppressor he saith His Children shall seek to please the Poor and his hands shall restore their Goods And Job 21.19 God layeth up his iniquity for his Children Thou layest up Riches for thy Children and God lays up thine iniquity and Injustice for them the Curse that belongs to them Hab. 2.9 10 11. Wo to him that coveteth an evil covetousness or gaineth an evil gain to his House c. Thou thoughtest to raise thy Family by those ways but thou hast consulted shame to thy House No such effectual way to Ruine thy Family as Injustice and Oppression As then you would not transmit a Curse to your Children and devolve Misery upon your Family free your Estates from the burden and weight of what is other mens lest by God's just Judgment and secret Providence that little which you injuriously detain from others carry away your whole Estate to them and their Family God's Providence many times makes abundant Restitution when we will not Having now endeavoured to satisfie men that it is their truest Interest to make Restitution for the injuries they have done to others it remains only that I should answer an Objection or two which men are apt to make against this Duty First Men say they are ashamed to do it Ans It is not matter of shame but of Praise and Commendation But it may be thou wilt say It is matter of shame to have injured another and this is the way to lay open thy shame Indeed if the injury were publick the Restitution ought to be so too as the only way to take off the shame of the injury For thy Restitution doth not in this Case publish thy shame but thy honesty but if the injury was private thou may'st preserve thy own Credit by concealing thy self and provided thou do the thing effectually thou may'st be as prudent as to the manner of doing it as thou pleasest Secondly Another Objection is the prejudice it will be to mens Estates But this I have answer'd already by shewing that it is more their Interest to make Restitution than to continue in the Sin I shall only add that as our Saviour reasons in another Case It is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish rather than that thy whole Body should be cast into Hell 't is true likewise here it is profitable for thee that thou shouldst go a Beggar to Heaven rather than that thou shouldst go to Hell laden with the spoils and Guilt of Rapine and Injustice Thirdly The last Objection that I shall mention is dissability to make Restitution This indeed is something where nothing is to be had every Man must lose his Right but then remember that there must be a hearty Repentance for the Sin and thy Sorrow must be so much greater by how much thy ability to make Restitution is less and there must be a willing Mind a firm Purpose and Resolution of doing it when God shall enable thee and diligent endeavours to that purpose Under the Law those who were not able to make Restitutution were sold for six years if their service did not make Reparation in less time 'T is true indeed the moderation of the Gospel doth not suffer Christians to deal so hardly with one another but if the Gospel remit of this rigor and do not allow Christians to challange it we should voluntarily do in effect that which they were forced to that is we should use our best endeavours and diligence to put our selves into a Condition of making Satisfaction and we should not look upon any thing beyond the necessary conveniences of Life as our own till we have done it unless the Party injured will recede from his Right in whole or in part For tho' the impossibility of the thing do discharge us for the present yet the Obligation still lies upon us to do it so soon as we are able And here it will be proper to consider the Case of those who have compounded with their Creditors for a small part whether they be in Conscience and Equity released from the whole debt I am loth to lay unnecessary Burdens upon mens Consciences therefore I am very tender in resolving such Cases but I ought to have a more tender care of the Souls of men than of their Estates therefore to deal plainly and to discharge my Conscience in this matter I think such Persons do notwithstanding the Composition stand obliged in Equity and Conscience for the whole debt and are bound to discharge it so soon as they can with tolerable Convenience My Reason is because tho' they be discharged in Law yet the Law does not intend to take off the Obligation of Conscience or Equity which they are under but leaves that as it found it Thus the Case stands men who are in a way of Trade are engaged by the necessities of their calling to venture a great part of their Estate in other mens Hands and by this means become liable many times to be undone without their own fault therefore it is usual when any Man in a way of Trade becomes disabled for the Creditors to make such a Composition with him as his Estate will bear and upon this Composition to give him a full discharge so as that they cannot afterwards by Law require of him the remainder of their debt Now tho' this be a favour to the debtor yet it is principally intended for the benefit of the Creditor because it being his Act it is to be presumed that he intended it as much as may be for his own Advantage and so it is for the Creditor hath as much Satisfaction at present as can be had and the debtor is hereby left in a capacity of recovering himself again by his industry and diligence which could not be if he were not fully discharged for if he were still liable for the rest he would continually be obnoxious to Imprisonment which would render him incapable of following his calling or if he were at liberty he could have no Credit to enable him to do