Selected quad for the lemma: duty_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
duty_n	allegiance_n	law_n	oath_n	1,012	5	7.8657	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A03941	A Nevv-Yeares gift for English Catholikes, or A briefe and cleare explication of the new Oath of Allegiance. By E.I. student in Diuinitie; for a more full instruction, and appeasement of the consciences of English Catholikes, concerning the said Oath, then hath beene giuen them by I.E. student in Diuinitie, who compiled the treatise of the prelate and the prince.	E. I., student in divinitie.; Preston, Thomas, 1563-1640.	1620 (1620)	STC 14049; ESTC S119291	68,467	212

plaine and common signification of the wordes and the rules before alleaged For albeit this word Successour may in generall bee taken for euery Successour who either vnlawfully or vnlawfull doth succeed yet particularly and properly when it is placed in a Law it is vsually taken only for a lawfull Successour wherefore according to that rule of the Ciuill Law before mentioned in the second Obseruation that the doubtfull words of euery Law must be taken in that sense which is without default this word Successours must in this Oath established by His Maiesties Law bee limited only to lawfull Successours and who according to the Lawes of the Kingdome doe succeed For as according to Law Id tantum possumus quod iure possumus We can only doe that which wee can doe lawfully or by Law so according to Law he only is accounted to succeed who by lawfull right doth succed Whereupon the Ciuill Lawyers doe define Inheritance to be a succeding to all the right of one deceased and an Heire who succeedeth him in all his right without adding lawfull succeeding or lawfully succeedeth for that it is alwayes so to bee vnderstood and therefore being necessarily supposed it is not expressed but altogether omitted in the definitions of an Heire and of Inheritance And whensoeuer in the Common or Statute Lawes of this Kingdome any mention is made of the King and his Successours this word lawfull is but few times added although alwayes it ought to be vnderstood 6 Thirdly it is also euident by the former Obseruations that by those words Treasons and Trayterous Conspiracies are only vnderstood true proper and naturall Treasons and which among all Nations what Religion soeuer they professe are accounted Treasons and repugnant to naturall Alleagiance and Temporall and Ciuill Obedience and not such Treasons which in regard chiefly of Religion are by the positiue Lawes of some Nations made Treasons and accounted Treasons onely for that they are punished with the penalties which are due to proper and naturall Treasons as are the comming in of English Priests into this Kingdome made by the Popes authoritie and all reconcilements to the Pope though in matters that concerne Religion For as His Maiestie and the Parliament haue declared the only intent of this Oath is to contayn the profession of naturall Allegiance and such ciuill and temporall dutie and obedience which euery true and well-affected subiect ought by the Law of God to beare to their lawfull Prince and Soueraigne with a promise to resist and disclose all contrarie vnciuill violence For to preuent such hainous attempts and mischiefes which in time to come might be plotted by the example of the Powder-Traytours who vnder colour of Religion attempted that barbarous and deuillish Conspiracie this forme of Oath was framed saith His Maiestie In his Apologie pag. 2. nu 2. to bee taken by all my subiects whereby they should make cleere profession of their resolution faithfully to persist in obedience vnto me acrording to their naturall Allegiance to the end that I might hereby make a separation not only betweene all my good subiects in generall and vnfaithfull Traytours that intended to draw themselues from my Obedience but specially to make a separation betweene so many of my subiects who although they were otherwise Popishly affected yet retayned in their hearts the print of their naturall dutie to their Soueraigne and those who being carryed away with the like fanaticall zeale that the Powder-Traytours were could not contayne themselues within the bounds of their naturall Allegiance but thought diuersitie of Religion a safe pretext for all kinde of Treasons and Rebellions against their Soueraigne Wherby it is apparant that only such Treasons and Trayterous Conspiracies are here vnderstood which are repugnant and contrarie to naturall Allegiance and not such Treasons which are not naturall Treasons but only in regard of Religion are by positiue Lawes made Treasons and to be punished with the ordinary penalties of true proper and naturall Treason And in this sense also those thirteene Reuerend Priests vnderstood the words Conspiracies Attempts and Practises in their Protestation CHAP. IIII. The Fourth Branch of the Oath and an Explication thereof ANd I doe further sweare That I doe from my heart abhorre detest and abiure as impious and hereticall this damnable doctrine and position That Princes which bee excommunicated or depriued by the Pope may be deposed or murthered by their subiects or any other whatsoeuer 1. Although this Branch may at the first sight seeme somewhat suspicious in regard of that word hereticall yet if it be duly examined according to the former Obseruations it will easily appeare that it contayneth no such difficultie as some impugners of the Oath would seeme to imagine but that if it bee lawfull to abhorre detest and abiure the aforesaid position as cleerely false and iniurious to Princes which the former Discourse doth plainly conuince it is also lawfull to abiure it as hereticall or which is all one as contayning in it a falshood which is repugnant not onely to naturall reason but also to the Word of God reuealed in the holy Scriptures For as euery Doctrine and position which is agreeable to that truth which God hath reuealed is to be accounted of faith so contrariwise euerie Doctrine and position which contayneth in it a falshood which is repugnant to the Word of God reuealed in the holy Scriptures is to be accounted hereticall and repugnant to faith And in this sence the word hereticall is not onely by all Protestants but also by many learned Catholique Diuines commonly and vsually taken as Widdrington hath shewed at large in his answer to Fitz herbert Widdrington in his Adioinder to the first and second part 5. Neyther is it necessarie that we must take the word hereticall as likewise no other ambiguous word contayned in this Oath in that strict and rigorous sense wherein some Catholickes take the word hereticall to wit for that doctrine which not onely contayneth a falshood repugnant to the holy Scriptures but also which by the Church or a generall Councell which representeth the Church is expresly and particularly declared and defined so to be but it sufficeth that we take the word hereticall in a proper and vsuall signification and wherin Catholickes doe commonly take it especially when this common sense is agreeable to the meaning and vnderstanding of the Law-maker for that according to the approued rule before set downe in the second obseruation in a penall and odious matter when the wordes of any Law are doubtfull or ambiguous and there be many common senses of the same word or sentence we ought to take them in that common sense which is more fauourable especially when it is not against the meaning of the Law-maker 6. Neither also is it necessarie to make any Doctrine or Position to be hereticall that the proposition with all particular circumstances therein expressed must bee contained in the holy Scriptures but it sufficeth that it contain

of the Law and declaration of the Law-maker only temporall Allegiance is demanded for that by the end and reason of the Law the ambiguitie of the words saith Suarez Suarez lib. 6. de Legibus cap. 1. nu 19. is chiefly to be determined and it is morally a sure meanes to finde out the will and intention of the Law-maker especially that reason which is expressed in the Law for then the reason of the Law is in some sort a part thereof because it is contayned and supposed therein 8. Fourthly it is to bee obserued that albeit English Catholikes might at the first before they examined particularly the end reason matter and contents of this new Oath iustly suspect it to be vnlawfull and to contayne in it more then temporall Allegiance and that His Maiestie and the Parliament vnder pretence of demanding that temporall Allegiance which by the Law of God and Nature is due to all temporall Princes did intend to haue couertly at leastwise abiured some spirituall obedience which by the institution of Christ is due to spirituall Pastours both for that it is a new vncouth and vnwonted Oath of Allegiance and expresly denyeth the Popes authoritie to depose wherewith other Christian Princes in the ordinarie Oaths of Allegiance which they demand of their subiects doe not in plaine and expresse termes intermeddle and also for that it was deuised by those who are opposite to the Catholike Romane Religion yet this bare suspicion can bee no sufficient cause ground or motiue to condemne it as likewise no man vpon a bare suspicion is to be condemned but only to haue it examined and if after due examination it be found faulty to reiect it if otherwise to approue it But doubtlesse whosoeuer will sincerely and with a pure desire to find out the truth and to yeeld without all partialitie as wel to Kings as to Popes that which is their due examine the occasion end matter and contents of this new and vnwonted Oath will quickly finde that it is condemned by some vpon a bare and naked suspicion and without due examination by others vpon a blind and inconsiderate zeale to the See Apostolike not regarding in like manner the dutie which by the Law of God they owe to their temporall Prince and by all that thinke it vnlawfull without sufficient ground 9. For the occasion of this vnwonted Oath was that vnwonted barbarous Powder-plot of certaine Catholikes who pretended to iustifie their neuer heard of Barbarisme vnder the colour of Religion and the Popes authoritie to dispose of the Crownes and liues of temporall Princes in order to spirituall good and so no maruell that to preuent the like vnwonted crueltie was deuised this vnwonted remedie And albeit the inuenters of this Oath are opposite to the Catholike Romane Religion and are fully perswaded that the Pope by the Law of God hath no authoritie ouer this Kingdome so much as in spiritualls yet there meaning was not as you haue seene aboue to meddle in this Oath with that spirituall authoritie which is granted him by all Catholikes but only to demand a profession of that temporall Allegiance which all the Subiects of this Land of what Religion soeuer they be doe owe to their temporall Prince and not to the Pope 10. And therefore which is carefully to bee obserued this Oath doth not meddle positiuely with the Popes authoritie for that it doth not belong to temporall Princes to declare what authoritie the Pope hath but it medleth positiuely with the Kings temporall Soueraigntie and negatiuely with the Popes authoritie and it doth not declare ●… what authoritie the Pope hath but only what authoritie hee hath not And what man I pray you can bee so blinde as not to see that whosoeuer expresly affirmeth King Iames to bee his true and rightfull King and Soueraigne in temporalls and to haue ouer him and his other Subiects all Kingly Power Authority and Iurisdiction doth consequently and vertually deny the same of the Pope Wherefore if wee well examine the matter and contents of this vnwonted Oath wee shall find that His Maiestie and the State doe herein deny no other authoritie of the Pope expresly and by name then which not only in the Protestation of those thirteene Catholike Priests but also in all other vsuall Oaths of Allegiance which absolute Princes are wont to demand of their Subiects is vertually couertly and in effect implyed For whosoeuer sincerely and from his heart acknowlegeth any Prince to be his only rightfull King and Soueraigne in temporals which all absolute Princes in their vsuall Oaths of Allegiance demand of their Subjects hee must vertually acknowledge that the Pope is not his Soueraigne Lord in temporals and consequently that he hath no authoritie ouer his Prince or him in temporals and therefore neither to depose his Prince or to dispose of His temporall Dominions for that these are tēporal things for what end cause crime or pretext soeuer either spirituall or temporall they be done 11. Fiftly to know vpon what assured grounds the Popes authoritie to depose Princes or to attempt and practise their deposition is by Catholikes denyed in this Oath it is to be obserued that as Leonardus Lessius a famous Iesuite noteth very well Lessius in his Singleton part 2. nu 38. a power which is not altogether certaine but probable cannot be a sufficient ground or title whereby immediately any man may bee punished or depriued of that right dominion or any other thing which he actually possesseth but such a power or title must bee most certaine and without all doubt or controuersie Wherefore neither can the Pope nor any other Prince without manifest iniustice inuade the Kingdome of another Prince make warre against him or seeke to depose or dispossesse him vpon a probable vncertaine or controuersed title For certes saith the Authour of the Prelate and the Prince and who is knowne to bee a famous Doctor and Professor of Diuinity though masked vnder the name of I. E. Cap. 11. pag. 235. as it is iniustice to put one out of his land or house who hath probable right and and withall possession because poti●…r est conditio possidentis better is the condition of him that is in possession So were it open iniustice in the Pope to depriue a King of his Crowne and Kingdome who hath probable right and withall possession And this also is the receiued doctrine of all Diuines and Lawyers Victoria in Relect de ture belli nu 29. seq Vasquez 1. 2. disp 64. cap. 3. Gregorius de Valentia 2. 2. and Pope Adrian with many others cited by Valentia and grounded in the light of naturall reason and declared by the approued rules of the Law that no man can bee iustly inuaded or be put out of his possession vpon an vncertaine or controuersed title because In causa dubia siue incerta potior est conditio possidentis In a doubtfull or disputable cause the condition of the