Selected quad for the lemma: duty_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
duty_n	husband_n	parent_n	superior_n	1,154	5	11.8385	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A01492	A treatise of c[hri]stian renunciation Compiled of excellent sentences [and] as it were diuerse homelies of ancient fathers: wherin is shewed how farre it is lawfull or necessary for the loue of Christ t[o] forsake father, mother, wife and children, and all other worldly creatures. Against the enemies of the crosse of Christ, ... Wherunto is added [a shorte discourse against going to hereticall churches.]	Garnet, Henry, 1555-1606.	1593 (1593)	STC 11617.8; ESTC S113062	99,728	170

necessary a precept of Christian life infinite multitudes of all maner of estates do daily perish I see that such is the forgetfulnes of those which should be the souldiers of Christ that as though this vertew of renunciation were a ceremony only of Monkes Ermittes Freers and other religiouse persons they esteeme the same as no parte of their Christian dewty I see that in steed of that vertuous and fruitfull hatred of ones selfe the necessary effect of this renunciation euery one almost is ouercome with a blinde flattering perniciouse selfeloue and in steed of building in him selfe a spirituall Hierusalem by loue of God buildeth a confused Babylon by loue of the world And that we may bring examples onely of our owne countrey and those in one kind onely of iniquity although what iniquity is there committed amongst Christians but for want of renunciation into the handes and will of God who is there in our poore and lamentable estate either withhoulden from God holy Church their tender mother or made shamefull by reuolte and fall frō the same but for want of renunciation where do we not see that either parents by children or children by parents husbandes by wiues or wiues by husbandes one frend by an other the subiects by the superiours and superiours by subiectes are hindered from the seruice of God and that as our Sauiour saide Math. 10. inimici hominis domestici eius the enimies of a man are those of his owne houshould Which generall pestilent disease we can surely impute to no other cause than to the want of renunciation So that we see nothing in the world so ordinarily so daily so generally renounced as God him selfe and Christian dewty Those which are by Gods law Parents and the very law of nature commanded to bring vp their children in the discipline and correction of our Lord Ephes 6. are now bent to no other thing so much as to dedicate them vnto the Deuell Psal 105. Maried persons as Dauid also complained of the like case those which should in the holy estate of wedlocke represent the vnspotted and vnseparable coniunction of Christ and his Church Sicut equus mulus in quibus non est intellectus Psal 31. not regarding any other thing but base affections seek to draw one another frō Christ the spouse of their soule and doe deuide Christ his spouse frō Christ whose perpetuall lincke they should resēble Obedience And that which is most sacrilegious and blasphemous to speake or thinke all these so great and hainous disorders are oftentimes fathered either vpon that sacred power which God hath ordeined wherby either wiues vnto their husbandes or children to theire parents or other subiectes to their superiours doe owe a kinde of dewty and obedience or vpon the most honest lincke of humane frendshippe as though either wiues had sould both body soule to be by their husbande 's morgaged to perpetuall slauery of the Deuell or parents had autoritie to kill the soules of their children ouer whose bodies they haue no such power or those which are as it were Gods Lieuetenants in their seuerall offices might conuert theire forces to fight for hell and lawfully constraine their souldiers and subiectes to rebell against God or finally as if there were any perfect frendship where there wanteth honesty All these many other iniquities in the like sorte as by defaulte of renunciation they are committed so by the performance of the same according to the most sacred law and will of Christ they may easely be auoided The purpose of this Treatise I purpose therfore by Gods assistance to whose glory I direct my labours in this treatise briefly to shew how necessary and meritorious a thing Christian renunciation is and that for no respectes of kinred obedience or affection in the world it is to be neglected Renunciatiō is somtimes of Counsell sometimes of precept See chap. 2 out of S. Augustin ●p 89. q. 4 And that the same sometime is of counsaile to those which are free but many times of necessity from which none can be free It is of counsell whan voluntarily he which aspireth vnto perfection without any bond at all selleth that which he hath and geueth to the poore followeth Christ that he may haue a great treasure in heauen Yet I say that this is of counsaile for those which are free For those which are in the estate of mariage cannot without mutuall consent seuere them selues except in some cases as we will declare herafter Bishops also bondslaues and whosoeuer for some condition or circumstance haue not free power to alter the estate of their life cannot vndertake a religious or solitary life Parents can not hinder their children from religion Yet this we say that neither parents may hinder their children nor any other superiour his subiect which is free in this point from such a resolution We vrge also defend that in some case that which is of counsaile may be of necessity and that which is of counsaile for some onely because it is not lawfull for all may be a thing so absolutely required of all maner of persons that they may vnder paine of dānation be bound to forsake not only riches externall goods of fortune but parents husband wife children all whatsoeuer is not God him selfe The child is not bound to forsake his parents but yet he may doe it with meritt for the seruice of God A wife may be bound to forsake her husband See chap. ● The wife may not forsake her husband at her pleasure although it were for to be religious yet if either the sonne must forsake his faith or his father or the wife her husband or her maker most certaine it is that the thing which was lawfull before in the sonne is now necessary and that which the wife could not doe before but sinfully now she cannot neglect but dānably Hence shall it easely appeare what account as well childrē as wiues ought in this lamentable contagious time for to make either of the euell examples or of the peruerse commandements of their superiours the first wherof sheweth them the way wherfore this treatise was compiled of sentences of holy Fathers the second euen driueth them to hell And of this matter we will not bring our owne discourses but the most graue sentences of auncient holy Fathers at large for three causes First for that they doe not onely declare vs their vncorrupted iudgemēt in these matters which we desire to perswade but according to the aboundance of that spirit which dwelled wtin them they are very earnest and copious in exhorting vs to all Christian feruour and perfect abnegation of our selues Wherfore I doubt not but hence it will come to passe that although both the searching and translating of these places haue cost me no lesse labour than if I had vndertakē a wholl worke of my owne yet this treatise shall be reade

with exceeding more fruite than if it had proceded from my owne inuention here being conteined for the most parte as it were so many godly de●●ute homelies as there are diuerse allegations of Fathers so that this treatise may serue euery distressed Catholicke in steed of a comfortable sermon whansoeuer he wāteth other meanes of fruitfull encouragements Wherin also euery one shall so much more effectually be moued because he is sure that he readeth the deuout speaches of those in whom he may not doubte but God inhabited and he may very well hope that euē in these particuler discourses it is not they them selues which speake Mat. 10. but the spirit of their Father within them Secondly for that the misery of our tempestuous time continually more and more increasing and the huge billous of our troublesome sea daily with more violence seeking to beat against the fortresse of our faith vntill such time as it shall please him who hath shutte the sea within his fludgates and bolted it within the compasse of certaine bounds Iob. 38. to say hitherto thou shalt come and not proceed any farther and here thou shalt breake thy swelling waues it may surely happen that this worke may be more necessary hereafter than at this present For wheras now perhaps parents and husbands are ready to preuent vniust lawes and to do before they be vrged that which hereafter may chaunce to be vrged vnto all it will be no small aduantage at that time to haue in readines a Parliament of Gods Saintes and of his most holy and auncient Pastours for the declaration of our dewty in so waighty a matter The third cause which moueth me to make this a worke of auncient Fathers rather than mine owne is least happely the like befall in this question which we handle 〈…〉 here to 〈…〉 which doth ordinarily happen in other questions of the same importance Our present difficulty is I call it a difficulty although in deed the case be most euidēt because to worldly riche men there is nothing but seemeth difficult an inheritance which Christ hath permitted them Mat. 19. vntill they leauing their Camells hugenes will submit themselues vnto the lowlines of Christ But this our present question is whether a child by the commandment of parents or a wife for obedience to her husband or a seruant or inferiour for dewty to his Superiour or a father for prouiding for his children may lawfully doe that which of it selfe is against the law of God and preiudiciall to the necessary confession of his faith contemptuous withall vnto Christ his Church a very separation from the same Whether I say by these respects of temporall dewty these hainous deformities may be taken away and a contrary bond caused of such tēporall obedience or duety or rather any of those may with meritte in case of perfection yea be bound necessarily whan Gods honour so requireth to renounce all worldly persons and temporall respects onely cleauing vnto Christ and his holy will This is our case this is our question But what do we see in the like who knoweth not how often the question of going to hereticall Churches hath bene tossed in our countrey And who is ignorant of the generall resolution of all those learned reuerend and godly Priests which are and haue bene in the same * The enemies of the Crosse of Christ whose end is destruction whose God is 〈◊〉 belly 〈◊〉 their 〈◊〉 in their cofufiō which mind 〈◊〉 dly 〈◊〉 Philip●● But what hath happened Certaine priuate persons who haue wholly addicted them selues to make them Gods either of their belly and ease or of the 〈◊〉 ked mammon setting God behind all things 〈◊〉 may delight them will not onely 〈…〉 their pernicious custome of frequenting hereticall conuenticles which were a crime more tolerable but they refuse also to beleeue that they do amisse and that which is more hainous and a most high degree of pride they defend their wickednes neither content with this as though it were no comfort to perish alone they induce and by all possible meanes allure their frendes subiectes to the same iniquitie But with what foundation groūd because forsooth the cōtrary doctrine proceedeth only from the persuasions terrours or feares of some selfe minded and wilfull persons whom if you desire to know they will tell you they be the young clergy These men vndoubtedly after they haue once learned to conster latin and to turne our Ladies Primer and perhaps the Breuiary or at Oxford to talke a little of logicke Dion c. 2 de diuin nom where it may be they haue looked into the Diuinitie schoole as for Diuinitie who knoweth not that amongst heretickes none can be learned these men I say betaking them selues afterwardes to the study of Bucolicall and georgicall affaires and attending to that worldly substance which God hath cast vpon thē no otherwise than that young man which as the Poets faine being sent by his father to keepe sheepe by dreaming that he was made a Poet became in deed a Poet Hesiodus haue so soudainly become Deuines that they are more learned more humble discreet and vertuous than those which scornfully they call the young clergy but should in deed if they were such as they flatter them selues to be acknowledge as the rulers and shepheardes of their soules For otherwise what clergy must we send these men vnto for their spirituall reliefe or wherin differeth the young clergy from the ould or what Catholicke clergy can they find in the wholl world of contrary iudgement But let vs send them to the Conuocation house there shall they find the auncient reuerend clergy which they appertaine vnto for vnto the clergy of Christ his Church they nothing belong And let vs permitte these new Doctours with 〈◊〉 ould Prelates to gage theire soules so often soul● already to the Deuell not vnderstanding as S. Paule saieth neither what thing they speake nor of what they affirme 1 Tim. 1. daily prospering to the worse erring driuing into errour 2. Tim 3 It is no maruaile if refusing to be of the sheepe of Christ they disdaine to acknowledge the shepheardes of Christ Those who esteeme their soules and tremble at Gods iudgemēts in so ruled a case will flye from such Counsailours as from the Deuells instruments This am I willing and desirous that they should know that although the Church of Christ hath learned by the mildnes of her spouse to tender the case of those which of humane frailty fall into sinne and can handle with lenitie such as go from her and yet in hart are with her yet doth she and all her trew children professe an eternall hatred vnto those which are peruerters and seducers of soules as vnto heretickes themselues as I hope they shall shortly be discouered what they are if after the definition of the cheife Pastour they will remaine selfe minded and wilfull in theire so pernicious