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
A86296	A letter from an officer in His Majesties army, to a gentleman in Glocester-shire. Upon occasion of certain querees scattered about that country.	Heylyn, Peter, 1600-1662.	1643 (1643)	Wing H1724; Thomason E101_25; ESTC R18322	12,609	17

protecting of Delinquents If we cannot recover Law againe for Gods sake let us have sense restored to us and not grow Beasts in our understanding as well as in our Liberty it will make us love mankind the worse to see men with sad browes as if they believed themselves seriously urge things in publique which in private would make friends quarrell for the scorne and Indignity offered to reason such is all your discourse of Priviledges and Delinquents But you have at last found a pretty obligation upon your selves to Rebell against Law and Reason your late Protestation requires all this at your hands in the behalfe of the Priviledges of Parliament which by that you are bound to defend and so you rescue your selves from the duty of Allegiance to which you have regularly and legally sworn by a voluntary Protestation to doe somewhat you doe not understand If there be any thing by that Protestation enjoyned to be done which was unlawfull to be done before the Protestation was taken 't is no more to be justified by that Act then any other unlawfull thing is by a rash and wicked Vow entred into by a Person who desires to doe mischiefe If there be nothing in it but what before was the duty of every man there needs no Argument from the Protestation The truth is though I like not the use hath been made of it to poyson and mislead simple people nor the irregularity to call it no worse of compelling men to take it when no Law requires it I know nothing promised or undertaken in that Protestation which every honest man doth not and alwaies did hold absolutely to be his duty no man being obliged by it to doe any thing but as farre as Lawfully he may And would not a stander by think a man mad that should swear to defend the Kings Person and to maintain the Priviledges of Parliament and immediatly draw His sword upon the King whose Person he knew in the behalfe of somewhat he is told is Priviledge of Parliament we are gotten again into the old circle of folly and madnesse Your last Scruple I will be serious with you in 't is that however thrown among the people malitiously and indeed against the Conscience of the Contrivers which I know startles many well meaning and well wishing men you are afraid of the Papists and that if the King prevailes that Religion will have too great a countenance and growth to the scandall of ours Indeed if this fear were well grounded you would have so many partners with you in your trouble that you would even be satisfied in your company and by that think your selfe secure against your fears what makes you doubt this an Inclination in the King Himselfe Let His life be examined His continued publique Acts of Devotion examples indeed for a through Reformation His understanding the differences between the Church of Rome and us and so not only utterly dissenting from them but knowing why he doth so and He will be found above the reach of Envy or Malice and indeed above your own feares and jealousies Take a list and survey of His Servants and Counsellors who are suspected to have the least interest in His favours and inclinations you will not find a man under the least taint that way and most of them till your dishonest uncharitable distinction of Popish and Popishly affected was thrown among the people thought eminent advancers of the true Protestant Religion established And let me tell you if there should be a breach made upon that Religion these men would stand in the Gap when halfe your Zelots would submit to an Alteration if it brought any satisfaction to their worldly Ambition But you say the Queene is of that Religion and Shee hath a great influence and power over His affections and you think it an unkingly thing to be a good Husband and whilest your selves are guided and swayed by other mens Wives for 't is not Women you are angry with you allow them whole sharers with you in your mischiefes you cannot endure He should so much as advise with His own indeed I cannot blame you to desire to keep Him from any Conversation with one you have used so ill But how comes this Melancholy upon you now Is Shee more a Catholique now then She was fifteen years since Why did not these Fears and Iealousies break out into Rebellion when He was first Married before the Nation knew any thing of Her but Her Religion After the experience of so many yeares after the enriching the Kingdom with so hopefull and numerous an Issue after the obliging all sorts of People with Her favours without disobliging any body that I have heard of after fifteen years living here with great expressions of Love and Affection to the English Nation without any other activity in Religion then to live well and wish well to Her owne with equall esteem of those who are not of the same Profession to desire to break and interrupt that excellent Harmony in Affections is an ingratitude an impiety worthy the contrivers of these bloody distempers Look into the Persons who have received the greatest testimonies evidence of Her favours you will not find them to be Popish or Popishly affected but in the list of your own Religious Men and Godly Women If you will convert Her let your Charity and Humility the principles of true Religion let your Obedience and Loyalty the effects of true Religion be an Evidence to Her that yours is the right the course you take will rather fright good People from any then invite them to yours She is a Lady too well understands Her own share and Her own adventure in the publique distractions not to endeavour with Her soule a reconciliation of them I would your Ladies were like Her She is as farre from revenge of Injuries and Indignities as from deserving them You have the advantage in your Provocations you have met with tempers as apt to forgive as you are to offend who are as unlimited in their mercy as their enemies are in their insolencies make good use of it set your hearts upon Peace and you will easily find the way to it be once ingenious and you will be quickly safe But oh the great Army of Papists if that were disbanded your feares and jealousies would infinitely abate that 's well pray observe how these Papists come together Remember Nottingham when you had a formed Army of 10000. men and His Majesty not 800. Muskets at His command in all His dominions if you had then fallen upon Him and destroyed Him as if Your Pride had not been greater then your Loyalty you had done you meant to strip Him by Votes and Ordinances of all Succors and Assistance that He should be compelled to put Himselfe into your hands for Protection and so confesse your Army to be raised for His defence Would not now all Christian Princes have thought His Majesty guilty of His own undoing who would

Castles Forts Townes and Ships and seized upon all the Armes of the Kingdome stopped His Rents and incensed the people in all parts against Him Oh thinke upon Him at Nottingham when you would not vouchsafe to Treat with Him only giving your great Generall power of receiving him to mercy when you had reduced him to that Condition that He had neither Armes Men or Money or knew as you thought where to have any and this at a time when you had a wanton flourishing Army of 10000 men within two dayes March of him to bring Him back to London here is an Argument for a Miracle observe Him in a moment as if Regiments fell from the Cloudes hasting his owne March to the place where he was expected without staying to be called upon at Shrewsbury view Him at Edgehill with a handfull of men and if they were more imagine how he got them finding out this formidable Army and dispersing them Himselfe taking as much paines to save those who came to destroy him as others had done to seduce them Instead of being brought up by the Earle of Essex as by the vote of both Houses He ought to have been See Him making his owne way scattering those at Reading and shewing himselfe at Brainceford that if indeed He were so much desired at London and might be worthily received there they might have their wish Beleeve it Sir His Majesty hath not so great a Iourney to the Conquest of Spaine as he had from Nottingham to Brainceford If you cannot suddenly find how this Army was raised enquire how it hath been kept together a fit of Loyalty and Affection a little dislike and indignation to see a good King ill used might procure a present supply but that this Army raised without Money and armed without Weapons should live and grow sixe moneths together that no Souldier should starve for want of Meat or murmur for want of Pay that the King should have a Magazine and you want Armes that the King should pay his Souldiers and you have no money is such an instance of the power and presence of the Almighty that if any such Argument were currant with you your principall Members would no longer have tempted God in this Kingdome but have sought him in a strange Land Improve all these instances by your owne Observations and tell me sadly on whose side the Miracles have appeared You would know my Opinion what the Burgesse of D. should do and you tell me his Honour will not suffer him too apparantly to recede from those with whom he hath kept so much Company I know not what Counsell to give upon that principle If his Honour and his Innocence have not a care of each other neither can be safe Me thinks the King himselfe hath given you a rare Pattern of Modesty in this poynt he did not satisfie himselfe with consenting to new lawes but acknowledged passed Errors Reparation is as Soveraign a thing as Bounty and except there be this Ingenuity Reformation can never be perfect you say he doubts what he hath done formerly will be more remembred then what he hath since done or shall do for the future he is too blame he hath not a generous nor a Christian minde who thinks ill services may not be throughly repayred by future duty I am so farre from that opinion as though his mistakes have been of as ill consequence to the publique as most mens I beleive he hath so good an opportunity by some eminent service to repaire himselfe that he may even lay an obligation of Gratitude upon the King not only to forgive but reward his Affection There is no such way to have what he now does not valued as by justifying what he hath done so contrary to this 't is no scandall to be deceived lesse to confesse he was so Let him take the same paines to oppose and suppresse unreasonable Persons as he doth to perswade others to consent to what himselfe thinks unreasonable and the worke is done As he hath a taske to do somewhat that is noble so he hath a faire game before him having done it I know nothing of yours unanswered you must give me leave hereafter not to beleive you if you stumble any more at these straws rather consider what he is to Answer to God the King his Country and Posterity that sits idle without resisting the violence and indignity offered to all foure that is content to see this pretious game of Religion Liberty and Honour played at other mens Charges and possibly in hazard of being lost for want of his Assistance Consider whether you and the rest who first exercised the Militia in Glocester-shire and so discomposed the Government and first taught the People a new obedience have not to Answer for all the miseries and pressures which have since befallen that poor Country Let those who have contributed to the raising and maintenance of that Rebellious Army think sadly whether they are not guilty of all the blood-shed on either side and in this meditation that virtuous Lord who had long since been starved but for the Kings Meat and been naked but for His Clothes may find himselfe guilty of the murther of his Father Remember the blessed Condition we were in Eighteen Moneths since and be proud if you can of the State you have now brought us to Think of the firm stable happinesse our Ancestors enjoyed and resolve there cannot be security but by the same Rule 'T is not laying down Armes makes a Peace but such a Vnion of affections that neither party unpleasantly remembers the way to it If King or People be enforced to give away that which properly belongs to them it will produce rather rest then Peace the memory there of will be so greivous to the looser that perpetuall Iealousies and discontents will be between them Insist upon your Rights let all doubts which may concern Religion Liberty and Property be cleared secured Let Parliaments recover their good old Priviledges these are all our Birthrights and hath been that which hath made the happinesse and freedom of the English Nation loved and envyed throughout Christendom we will not part with a tittle of them but when they shall be in danger will joyn with you in their Defence But let us rest here Presse not the King to part with what properly belongs to Him 't is our right to see that He enjoyes His the hower that he growes lesse a King We have lost a part of our freedom if the power of Subjects be once enlarged we are loosers by it and affect an Authority will destroy us Do not think the Kings love of Peace can invite Him to part with the benefits of Peace what would the world thing of Him if after the taking up Armes for the defence of His own he should upon Condition he might lay them down again part with that for the maintenance of which He tooke them up would he not justifie what hath been done against Him if He yeelded that now which if He had 8. Moneths since all this Confusion they will say might have been prevented and will he not leave an excellent Encouragement to Posterity to tread in their Fathers steps and to follow the example of their prosperous wickednesse Do not think a Iewell plucked out of the Royall Diadem can help it's brightnesse and lustre in any other place 't is a losse to the Nation which cannot be repaired by an accesse of power to private hands If this be Reason Let not the folly and madnesse of other people make you quit it Warre it selfe is not halfe so greivous as the Iurisdiction of these men who would have you resigne your understanding to their fury and madnesse Let them shift for themselves and you shall quickly see what a contemptible People they will prove Let Religion Reason Law Iustice and Honour be your guides the Kingdom will flourish and we shall againe be happy in each other From my Quarter this 10th of April 1643. FINIS