Selected quad for the lemma: duty_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
duty_n	child_n	parent_n	provoke_v	1,966	5	10.4177	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A81791	Moral instructions of a father to his son upon his departure for a long voyage: or, An easie way to guide a young man towards all sorts of virtues. With an hundred maximes, Christian and moral.; Instruction morale d'un père à son fils. English	Dufour, Philippe Sylvestre, 1622-1687.	1683 (1683)	Wing D2455A; ESTC R231963	42,504	123

request whereto the assurance you gave me did not a little contribute that the impatience of becoming more worthy of my singular Care in your Education did prompt you to this besides your mentioning what Joy you should conceive to share the Pains I take to increase your Fortune The Protestations of this truth made to me in private and reiterated in the presence of our Relations who I was willing should be witnesses of my Carriage towards you in an Affair of this importance prevented my making use of an absolute Authority given to me as a Father to force you to comply with my Will and that for three Reasons which I shall the more gladly impart to you because I am presuaded the knowledg of them will excite you to acknowledge my Kindness The first is That altho many Fathers will admit of no Limits in Filial Obedience and their claim thereto being of Divine Right yet I can say I never took such advantage over you by this Right as to use it in it's utmost Rigour Of this I have given you more than one Proof and you may remember that as often as your Conduct brought upon you my Correction in the greatest and most lawful Causes I had of being incensed I always allayed the heat of those Provocations caused through your Indiscretion with the Fondness of a tender Father You know I have Contracted the Bounds of your obedience and extended those of my Kindness to whatsoever you could pretend and in putting you in mind of your Duty by these words of St. Paul Children obey your Parents in all things for this is well-pleasing unto the Lord I was exhorted to mine by the words following Fathers provoke not your Children to Anger least they be discouraged The second Reason which obliged me not to withstand absolutely your Intentions was to avoid the Reproaches which you might reflect upon me hereafter that my refusal had bin an Obstacle to your Fortune And the last was the Fear I had lest you should have made use of that very refusal for a Pretext to justifie ever after all defects in your Proceedings These Reasons my Son were the Cause of my complying so easily with your request I could have wished you would have altered your Intentions to please me but seeing that you could not conform to my Sentiments and that you still persist in your design after having implored the Almighty to grant you his Grace and to Shower down the most precious of his Blessings upon your Soul your Person and your Actions I think it is absolutely necessary for to satisfie my Inclination and Duty not to let you go without some peculiar Instructions which may be as a Guide to your Manners and which most certainly will be convincing Proofs of my Kindness as also inexhaustible Springs of future happiness in your Conversation both Spiritual and Civil if you will apply your self to them which I exhort and command you to do However let what will happen these Instructions will remain as so many irrefragable Witnesses how zealously I endeavoured to do my Duty if unhapily you should be wanting in yours By telling you my dear Son that these Instructions which I am about to give you are the Effects of my Inclination and Duty I have inverted that order which Reason requires I should rather have said these Effects proceeded from my Duty and Inclination and so have preferred Duty before Inclination because the first is governed by Reason whereas the latter is but an Incitement of Nature who is not seldom blinded by those tender Impulses which Proximity of Blood inspires But I was overcome by a Weakness common to most Fathers which I do not stick to confess to the intent you may be perswaded that in this following Discourse I rather fell into a great Indulgence than that I maintained a Severity too Austere 'T is also not without some Mystery my Son that in wishing you the Blessings of God I would have them applied to your Soul your Person and your Actions The order of these Words is one of the Duties whereon I shall give you some Instructions which I enjoyn you to observe and practice I divide it into three parts Spiritual Personal and Civil Duties the first shall teach you your Duty to God the second your Duty to your self and the last shall instruct you in your Duty to your Neighbour If I should go about to treat of this Matter to an extent as great as it's Importance I ought instead of a few Pages I intend for you to write several Volumes but this being wide of my Design as also far above my Abilities I shall rest satisfied in being as concise as this matter can possibly allow God grant through his Grace that I may be inspired with Arguments both so clear and strong as to equalize the greatness of my Enterprize and that through his Goodness he may encline you to put them in Practice for his Glory for your Salvation for my Satisfaction and for your Profit and Advancement Of Spiritual Duties YOU learned in your Childhood my Son that God created you to know him and to serve him These two Obligations which bind you from your Birth have Relation to the two chief Faculties of the Soul The Knowledge of God belongs to the Vnderstanding and the Service of him to the Will but the Light of our Understanding has too narrow limits ever to arrive to the perfect Knowledge of his Divinity and the Will of Man is too perverse to be capable of serving him as we ought These Impediments which grow out of the abundance of our Corruption must nevertheless not discourage us A bruised Reed God shall not break and smoaking Flax shall he not quench He fulfils his Power in our Weaknesses he supplies our Wants he helps our Infirmities and he knowing that of our selves we cannot ascend to him out of his Divine Goodness is pleased to come down to us He not only makes use of his Word and his Works to imprint in our Minds some kind of Idea of his Greatness which we may not wholly conceive but also through the Communication of his Holy Spirit he corrects our Inclinations and when he has made them to will what naturally they would not he also forces them to act it by a sweet sort of Violence which we cannot resist My Son read this Word and that as often as possibly you may but read it with great Respect and Attention 'T is the Voice of God This Reason must oblige you to the Respect and 't is for your Instruction you read it this should force you to the Attention I demand of you Set apart some hours for this sacred Study which on Sunday ought to be two at least and one upon each other Day Be careful that upon no account you neglect this Duty The greatest of all Considerations is that of your Salvation quit all others that you may not fail in this and let not any interest or pleasure