Selected quad for the lemma: duty_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
duty_n	bind_v	law_n	obligation_n	1,168	5	9.4651	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A26303	Ahitophel's policy defeated a sermon preached on the 9th of September, being the day appointed by His Majesty for a publick thanksgiving for his kingdoms great deliverance from the late treasonable conspiracy against his sacred person and government.		1683 (1683)	Wing A439A; ESTC R19991	19,330	32

Children of Israel he was reputed the Fairest and therefore by the Vulgar who judge more by Sense than Reason would be accounted the most Deserving And indeed a Beautiful and Graceful Visage is apt to beget a secret love and esteem in Wiser men Virtuous Habits shine more Illustriously through a Beautiful Countenance and receive some Additional Grace from a well-proportion'd Body And on the other side nothing is more dangerous than Painted sin For the deformities of Vice cover'd over with a lovely Meen will pass for the fair Embellishments of Virtue so that the unwary Admirer of the one is soon tainted with the other whilst his Fancy is pleas'd his Judgment is defil'd and he swallows the most poysonous Drugs under the Name and Colour of Golden Pills He therefore who abuses these Gifts of Nature and uses them not as Recommendations of Virtue but Enticements unto Sin does waste his Talent and has reason to fear that hereafter he shall find the Reward of a wicked and faithless Servant These graceless Servants who instead of improving do misemploy their Endowments are highly Injurious unto the Lord of Heaven and Earth and at the last day will be miserably confounded when he shall require his own with usury If none be to be so much prais'd as Absalom for his Beauty and none so much to be condemned for his uncomely Qualities If from the crown of the head to the sole of the foot there be no blemish in him and yet all the Actions of his life be very ugly and fouly mishapen the Symmetry of his body will serve only to aggravate the Irregularities of his mind If the Pharisee's Hands be wash'd when his Heart is full of all manner of Corruption he 's still a Pharisee and shall receive the Woe denounc'd against such hypocritical Sinners for tho' he may deceive short-sighted Men he cannot impose upon the All-seeing God He may Cheat his Neighbour who looks only on the out-side but not him who discerns all the secrets of our hearts 3. Another advantage in Absalom's person was his Plausible Carriage and Popular Behaviour When any man came nigh him to do him obeisance he put forth his hand and took him and kissed him Ch. XV. v. 5. A courteous and friendly Deportment towards Inferiours if it proceed from a natural temper is a sign of an ingenuous disposition But if it be an Habit fix'd upon the Principles of Morality and true Religion is an admirable Vertue and most attractive of common approbation He who is sensible that Humanity and Gentleness is a common Debt will not confine his Civility to them who are above but will suffer it to descend on those below him He will treat all Persons with temperate and calm Language neither flattering his Betters nor despising those who move in a lesser Sphere He knows how to put a Just Value upon himself without the Unjust Contempt of others and does not think a Disdainful and Proud Behaviour to be a necessary Qualification of an Accomplish'd Gentleman He as much avoids the Moroseness of the sullen Stoick as the Vanity of the light Epicurean Having first sought himself in his own Conscience and endeavour'd to approve himself unto God as he does not seek so he doth altogether disdain other men's esteem if he can Please them for their good to edification or which by the way is the true meaning of Edification can thereby build them up in their Christian Faith in the Communion of the one Holy Catholick-Church Had Absalom's obligeing Carriage been founded upon this Principle and directed onely to this End no wise Man would have blam'd his Conduct But when his Popularity sprang from a rotten and corrupt heart and was design'd to inveigle men into a treacherous Conspiracy When he complemented the People only in order to his own Greatness and his Father's Ruine All his fair Words and taking Gestures were but so many Artificial Tricks of Leger-de-main whereby he stole away the Hearts of the People from his Father and of Loyal Subjects transform'd them into Revolting Rebels As the Lion is most Couchant when his Aims are most bloody so he put on the Guise of the greatest Meekness and Humility that with greater advantage he might seise upon his prey He fell down and humbled himself that the Congregation of the poor might fall into the hands of his Captains Psal X. 11. 4. In the next place we may observe That Absalom's stout Courage and manly Resolutions prompted him to Engage and promise unto himself Success in such a dangerous Undertaking His High Spirit could not well brook any Equal much less a Superiour tho' it was his own Father who by a triple Right Natural Civil and Religious might have commanded his Obedience This threefold Cord one would think might have bound his extravagant Passions to their good behaviour But alas what Obligations are strong enough to restrain the unruly Efforts of an hard-mouth'd Courage What signifies Reason Law and Duty on the one side or the prospect of Danger on the other to a Valiant Heart enflamed with the Fire of Ambition Such an one sees no Obstacles either of Conscience or Difficulty in the way therefore he presses on without either wit or fear and doubts not but that he shall either find or make an easie passage unto his desir'd Kingdom Had Absalom sat down and calmly consider'd with himself what an horrid Crime it was to Depose his Lawful Soveraign and dearest Parent how hard a matter the Subversion of a well settl'd Kingdom was likely to prove how strongly Princes are guarded by the King of Kings and Lord of Lords and how frequently the Divine Providence doth detect and confound the Designs of Disobedient Sons and Rebellious Subjects Had he seriously weigh'd these things he would have found that his fancy'd Dominion and Greatness in one Scale was not able to counter-ballance the Sin and Danger of this Conspiracy in the other But what Reason and Consideration can be expected from Brutal Courage and Armed Madness From Natural Strength heated with the Feaverish Imaginations of Crowns and Scepters This High and Daring Disposition Absalom's Politick-Drivers saw and abused His heady Resolution and inconsiderate Boldness made him they knew very well the fitter Instrument to actuate their Malice They give Advice and he is to undertake the Combats They Contrive and he is to Act within those Lines which they have Chalked-out As his Blood serv'd to Countenance so his Great Spirit to Animate their Wicked Intentions Out of his Discontented Passion his Counsellors wrought their own Ends and as it often happens unto Young and Noble Dispositions entangled him in their Old and most Dishonourable Designs But such men shall surely answer not only for themselves but also those whom they have Seduced If Absalom by the Management of a Faithful Counsellour might in his Station have become an Ornament of his Country and by Ahitophel's wicked Insinuations is made the worst of Subjects such