Services and Homages by which they hold their respective Emoluments The Duty of the Lord to afford them again that Protection Assistance and Redress which the Laws of the Land the Custom of the Place or the Nature of their Dominion doth require Of the Honour of Masters and what the Grounds thereof are In order whereunto inquiry is first made concerning such of their Servants as become so by Constraint and particularly by Conquest by Sentence or by Purchase Where the Servants become such either by Conquest or a Condemnatory Sentence those to whom they do belong have for the Ground of their Honour their giving them that Life which it was in their power to have taken away Where Servants become such by Purchase there is the Title of those whether Conquerors or Princes to whom they did originally belong and that Valuable Consideration which the Purchaser paid for it If the Servant become such by his own free Consent as it is in Days-men Menial Servants and Apprentices there is not onely his own free Consent to entitle his Master to Honour from him but those Wages and Nourishment which the two former receive and that Skill or Craft which the latter is instructed in An Address to the Declaration of what Honours are due from Servants to their Masters and in what measure and proportion Where entrance is made with the Consideration of such Servants as become so by constraint and all sort of Honour shewn to be due from them which they are in a capacity to pay This evidenc'd both from Scripture and the Life which they receive from their Masters A Digression concerning the Abolition of Servitude in the Christian World where is shewn That it was neither founded upon any just Reason nor is much for the Commodity of it Of the Honours that are due from such as become Servants by Consent which are shewn to be in a great measure determinable by their own Compacts Certain Rules laid down for the more certain investigation of them such as are That they shew respect to their several Masters in Gesture and Language That they yield Obedience to their Commands and particularly in all such things as are expresly covenanted or are by Law or Custom impos'd upon them yea even when the matter of the Command is harsh provided it be not eminently such An Account of the Qualifications wherewith this Obedience of theirs is to be attended which are Singleness of Heart and a Chearful Mind Submission to the Censures of the Master another part of the Servants Duty even where they are rather frowardly than justly inflicted provided they be not often repeated nor prove intolerable An Appeal to the Magistrate in that case allowable but no violent Resistance in that or any other Of the Duty of Masters to their Servants and particularly to such as are Servants by Constraint or Slaves Where is shewn first That they ought to furnish them with Food and Rayment in such a proportion as may suffice the Necessities of Nature Secondly That they impose such Tasks upon them as are not above their Strength to undergo Thirdly Not to punish them above the demerit of their Crime or above what their Strength will bear And in sine That neither their Commands nor Punishments be extended any farther than the Laws of the Place give leave or Equity and Christian Charity permit It is however necessary for such Servants to submit to whatever is impos'd provided it be not above the proportion of their Strength partly upon the account of St. Paul's commanding Subjection to the Froward and partly upon the Account of that Life which is indulg'd them Of the Duty of Masters to Servants by Consent which to be sure comprehends 1. All things that are owing from them to Slaves 2. What they expresly covenant to afford them whether that be Wages or Instruction 3. To treat them agreeably to the Nature of that Service into which they are admitted 4. The exacting of due Labour from them and where they fail Chastisement 5. The restraining them from Vicious Courses and both prompting and obliging them to the Practice of Religious Duties Where both the Ground and Vsefulness of the Master 's so doing is declar'd WHAT Honour is due from us to those that have any thing of Dignity to commend them hath been already declar'd together with the Grounds upon which it stands It remains onely that we entreat of the Honour of such as are also in Authority and may command our Obedience as well as Respect I do not mean by vertue of any Publick Employment for what Honour is due to such hath been before sufficiently declar'd but by vertue of some Private Dominion such as is that of a Lord of a Mannor over his Tenants or of a Master of a Family over his Servants Of the former of these much need not be said whether as to the Necessity or the Kinds of Honour that are to be paid For holding their Lands from them upon condition of certain Rents Services and Homages to which they do moreover by Promise and Oath oblige themselves at their several Admissions to them the Benefit they enjoy by them and their own Compact shews the necessity of honouring them as the latter because particularly expressing them the Kinds of Honour they are to pay In consideration whereof as no Man of Conscience can pretend to withhold them were it onely for the Oath of God by which the Payment thereof is bound upon them so those who challenge this Honour from them are in reason to afford them that Protection Assistance and Redress which the Laws of the Land the Custom of the Place or the Nature of their Dominion doth require From this first Dominion pass we to that which is more general I mean that of the Master over his Servants Where first of all 1. I shall shew the Duty of Servants honouring their Masters 2. The Grounds upon which the Honour of them is built 3. What Kinds and Measure and Quality of Honour is due unto them 4. And lastly What is due from them again to their Servants 1. I begin with the first of these even the Duty of Servants honouring their Masters concerning which the Scriptures of the New Testament speak much and often as to that part of Honour which consists in Obedience and Submission But because when I descend to shew the Kinds of Honour they are to give them there will be a necessity of producing those Texts anew I shall content my self at present with that general Proof which St. Paul gives us in his First to Timothy and with that which this Commandment if well considered will be found to do For though the Letter of it specifie onely the Honour of Parents yet it sufficiently implies the Honour of other Superiours and particularly that Honour which is due from Servants to their Masters there being certainly a far greater Preeminence of a Master over his Servant than there is of a Father over his Child
ordinary enjoyn'd even as to their not stirring from their Habitations Now concerning each of these Rests I shall not stick to affirm that according as before-stated they are not onely not obligatory to us Christians but superstitious That they are not obligatory will appear if we consider that the Sabbath it self is not For the Sabbath as was before-shewn being peculiar to the Jews to whom it was given as a Sign of the Covenant between God and them that Rest which gave it its Name and a great part of its Nature must be look'd upon as in like manner peculiar to them and consequently not obligatory to us But neither is it less evident that such a Rest would be superstitious if either impos'd or observ'd as Religious because placing Religion in that which however it might have some place in the Jewish yet is no part of the Christian because exhibiting that better Rest of which the other was a Type If therefore there be any Obligation upon us from the Rest here commanded it must be either to the Observation of that Spiritual Rest of which it was a Type or to such a Bodily one as is requisite to the Solemn Performance of God's Worship each of which I come now to consider Of the former of these Rests there is not the least doubt to be made that is to say of a Spiritual one or Rest from Sin For it being evident on the one hand that the Law of Moses was written for our Direction and Obedience as well that which is * See the Discourse concerning the Positive Laws of God c. Ceremonial as that which was Moral and Substantial and it being no less evident on the other that that of it which was Ceremonial was not written to oblige us to the Ceremony it self it follows because it was written for our Direction and Obedience that it was intended to oblige us to those Spiritual Duties of which the other were Types and Shadows Now forasmuch as the Rest enjoyn'd the Jews was a Type of some Christian Duty forasmuch as there is no Duty in Christianity which can better answer it than a Rest from Sin it follows that though we look not upon our selves as concern'd in the Rest enjoyn'd the Jews yet we look upon our selves as concern'd in that Rest of which it was a Type and accordingly cease from our Sinful Works as they did on the Sabbath from the Works of their several Employments Again Though the Rest enjoyn'd the Jews oblige us rather to the Thing signified by it than to the Rest it self though in the Circumstances in which it was enjoyn'd it was apparently Legal and consequently one of those Bondages from which Christ came to set us free yet so far forth as that is requisite to the performance of God's Worship there is no doubt it doth oblige us even as to the thing it self Because as was before shewn * See Part 1. of the Explic. of this Commandment a part of the Moral Law and subordinate to the main End of this But from hence as was there observ'd it will follow that we are to rest from our Employments both in and some time before the Time of God's Solemn Worship the Mind of Man being neither able to intend them both at once nor yet the Service of God alone with that freedom which it ought where the Cares of this World press too near upon it Which though it amount not to the strictnesses of the Jewish Sabbath yet will oblige us to such a Rest as will leave little leisure for other earthly Thoughts than what the Necessity of our Affairs or the Conveniences of Life will take up But as farther than this I neither shall nor dare press upon you the Rest enjoyn'd the Jews so even they who are more severe will not know how to free themselves if they should be press'd with their own Actions For who of them thinks himself a Sinner for gathering a few Sticks on the Christian Sabbath or going about to kindle a Fire on it The * Exod. 35.3 latter whereof was yet expresly forbidden the Jews as the ‖ Num. 15.36 former punish'd with death 2. Having thus shewn what kind of Rest was impos'd upon the Jews and withal how far we our selves are concern'd to observe it inquire we in the next place To whom and in what manner it appertain'd or rather into the latter onely the Commandment being express not onely for the resting of all sorts of Persons but also of the very Beasts themselves And first of all if the Question be concerning those who were sui juris or permitted so to be as to the Rest here enjoyn'd so there is no doubt that Rest appertain'd to them not onely as a Privilege but a Duty the Rest here spoken of being the Matter of a Command and consequently intended to oblige all those who were in a capacity to yield obedience to it On the other side if the Question be concerning Cattel which by the Tenor of the Commandment were to have a share in it so there is no doubt the rest here spoken of appertain'd to them onely by way of Privilege For being uncapable either of understanding or giving obedience to Laws they must be suppos'd to have been free from this and consequently what is said concerning their Rest to have appertain'd to them onely by way of Privilege Setting aside therefore both the one and the other as whose Case admits not of the least difficulty we will consider first of all the Case of Parents and Masters 2. Of Children and Servants And 3. and lastly because there is something particular in his of the Stranger that was within their gates For the first of these again there is no great difficulty in explicating their particular Concerns because the Commandment is clear not onely that they should rest themselves but oblige those who were under their Power to do so For those being more in their Parents and Masters Power than in their own the Command is in reason to be suppos'd to have appertain'd chiefly to them in whose Power their Labour or Resting was From Parents and Masters pass we to Children and Servants and inquire into their particular Concerns Where first of all there is no doubt for the Reason before alledg'd that it was no less their Duty than Privilege to rest from their Labours where they might be permitted so to do The onely doubt is whether it were incumbent upon them so to do though their cruel Masters should have us'd Threats or Chastisements to constrain them to their ordinary Labours For the resolution whereof I shall desire you first to consider that of Deut. 5.15 For it being manifest from thence that the great Design of the Rest enjoyn'd was that Servants should have ease from their Labours it is hard to suppose God would oblige them so to rest when a far greater Evil than their Labour impended on them For by this means God should
of such kind of Servitude and because when I come to entreat of the Duties of Masters to their Servants I shall have occasion to say somewhat of the Measure of those Servants Subjection and Obedience therefore supersedeing any farther consideration of it for the present I will go on to shew what Kind or Measure or Quality of Honour is due to their Masters who are Servants not by Constraint but by Consent and Compact For the resolution whereof though much need not be said because what Kinds or Measure of Honour is due from them is in a great measure determinable by those Compacts by which they become their Servants yet because those Compacts do sometimes run in more general Terms and because Servants are generally backward enough in the apprehending of their Duty I think it not amiss to be a little more particular in describing the several Portions of it In order whereunto the first thing I shall offer is the shewing Respect to them in Gesture and Language because as that is the primary Notion of that Honour which Servants are oblig'd to think their several Masters worthy of so without that much would be taken off from the readiness of that Submission and Obedience which are the principal and undoubted parts of their Duties Men being not over-forward to submit themselves to those whom they have not an honourable Esteem of nor to entertain such an Esteem long where they are suffered either to bear themselves as their Masters Fellows or talk to them as to their Equals From Respect in Gesture and Language pass we to Obedience concerning which Duty the Scriptures speak much and often Witness to omit others Ephes 6.5 and Col. 3.22 In the former whereof St. Paul commands Servants to be obedient unto them that are their Masters according to the flesh In the latter to obey them in all things and that too with such Qualifications as are there subjoyn'd The onely thing of difficulty is what ought to be the Measure of their Obedience and with what Qualifications to be attended And here not to tell you concerning the former that it ought to be in things lawful and possible because to other than such there can be no Obligation that suppos'd I shall affirm 1. That their Obedience ought to extend to all those things that are expresly covenanted between their Master and them there being nothing more reasonable or necessary than to pay their Masters that Service which they expresly promise to afford them But from hence it will follow that there can be no pretence for withholding their Obedience in the Matters of that Employment or Trade for which they are more particularly hir'd because however other things may be set down in more general Terms these are always expresly covenanted by them There is the same necessity secondly of yielding Obedience in all those things which though not particularly express'd in the Agreement yet are by Law or Custom impos'd upon them partly because of that Obedience we all owe unto the Law and partly because their Masters stipulating with them in the general to be obedient to their Commands it is in reason to be understood of all such Commands as either the Law or Custom privilege them to impose It being but reasonable to suppose that to be understood which is not onely too long to express but is by the generality of the World presum'd as due But from hence it will follow not onely that Servants are to obey their Masters in such things as relate to that Employment for which they are more particularly covenanted with but also that if they be requir'd they are to tend upon them and do other such like Offices about them after the same manner that we find those Servants in the Gospel after they were come out of the Field obliged by their Master to make ready first for him and gird themselves and serve him before they sate down themselves Luke 17.8 Which is the rather to be taken notice of because ordinary Servants now adays look upon their Employment rather as an Office than a Service and consequently do but in part give obedience to their Masters Commands Thirdly As Servants are to yield obedience in such things as are expresly covenanted for and in such as are by Law or Custom impos'd upon them so they are to do the like even where the Matter of the Command is harsh provided it be not eminently such the Precept of St. Peter being That Servants should be subject not onely to the good and gentle but also to the froward 1 Pet. 2.18 Which said nothing remains to account for but the Qualifications of that Obedience which both Nature and Scripture exacts of them which is either first the doing it with singleness of Heart or secondly with a ready and a chearful Mind The former whereof excludes all Eye-service and such as studies rather to avoid the Masters displeasure than to do him true and faithful Service the latter all obeying with murmuring and repining Both which Vices as they are plainly enough condemn'd by St. Paul Col. 3.22 23. and the contrary Qualifications enjoyn'd so the latter as the same St. Paul * Vers 23 24. Eph. 6.6 7. observes have this farther Reason to bind them upon Servants that that Obedience which is requir'd of them is impos'd upon them by God and Christ as well as by their Earthly Masters Which latter however Servants may think to put off with a deceitful or repining Service yet they cannot hope so to satisfie God who both sees them when their Masters do not and requires nothing more than a willing and a chearful Mind Lastly As Servants are to be obedient to their Masters so also to submit unto their censures yea such as are rather frowardly than justly inflicted the command of St. Peter being that Servants should be so subject to the froward as the Reason he subjoins shews even because as he there goes on That and that only is thank-worthy with God if a man for Conscience toward God endure grief suffering wrongfully 1 Pet. 2.18 19 This only would be added that though Servants are by the command of God to submit even to unjust Censures yet it ought to be understood provided they be not often repeated nor prove intolerable when they are For in that case though the Servant may not violently resist yet there is no doubt he may endeavour to avoid them by making his appeal to the Magistrate to whom the redressing even of Servants unjust sufferings doth appertain Whence it is that by the Rescript * Vid. Justinian Institut l. 1. tit 8. s 2. of Marcus Antoninus even Slaves had the priviledge of flying to the Temple or the Statues of the Prince and the Presidents of the Provinces were commanded to take cognisance of their Complaints and deliver them from their Masters cruelties But as where the Chastisement is neither intolerable nor often repeated it cannot be thought reasonable when St. Peter
commands Submission to the Froward for Servants to oppose themselves so if they should be allow'd to do so it would introduce a greater confusion in Families than either the Peace of them or of the State would be consistent with 4. What Honour is due from Servants to their Masters hath been at large declar'd and thereby so far as this particular is concern'd the main intendment of the Commandment discharg'd But because I have often said that the Commandment which is now before us was intended also to comprehend the duty of Superiours toward Inferiours as well as of Inferiours toward them I think it not amiss to speak somewhat of the duty of Masters toward their Servants and the rather because oftentimes they stand as much in need of an admonition as the other In order whereunto following the division before laid down I will consider the duties of Masters toward their Slaves and and then of their duties toward such as though their Servants yet are so in a more ingenuous way Now though the Authority of Masters over Slaves be undoubtedly much greater than that over other Servants though anciently as Justinian * Institut tells us they had the power of Life and Death and were not accountable for it though they put them to death unjustly yet as the Roman Laws * Lib. 1. tit 8. sect 2 3. set bounds to that exorbitant Power of theirs and our own hath yet more retrench'd it so if we consult the Laws of Nature and Christianity we shall find there is more owing from them unto their Slaves than is ordinarily thought fit to be paid Of this Nature is first Furnishing them with Food and Rayment in such a proportion as may suffice the necessities of Nature this being absolutely necessary to enable them to the performance of that Service and Labour which they exact Of the same nature is secondly The imposing such Tasks upon them as is not above their strength to perform this being no more than common humanity requires of which Slaves are equally partakers with our selves But such also is it thirdly Not to punish them above the demerit of their Crime nor above what their Strength will bear Justice requiring that the Punishment do not exceed the Proportion of the Offence and common humanity that it pass not the bounds of their Natural Abilities In fine for so St. Paul plainly intimates where he commands Masters to give unto their Servants that which is just and equal their Commands and Punishments ought to extend no farther than the Laws of the place give leave or Equity and Christian Charity permit which to be sure will not only exclude all Cruelty and Injustice toward them but impose a necessity upon the Master of shewing such Compassion to them as their Weakness or Necessities may at any time require In the mean time though I no way doubt but Masters are to give unto their Slaves that which is just and equal and consequently to abstain from all Cruelty either in their Commands or Censures yet I think it necessary for them to submit both to the one and the other where the burthen which is impos'd is not above the proportion of their strength partly because St. Peter commands subjection to the froward and difficult and partly because that they have so much as their life is owing either to the mercy of their present Masters or of those from whom they were purchas'd From the duties of Masters to their Slaves pass we to the duties of the same to their Servants such I mean as are so in a more ingenuous way Where first of all I shall make no difficulty to affirm as I suppose neither will any man so grant that all those things are undoubtedly owing to Servants which are from a Master to his Slave the condition of Servants being much better than that of Slaves and therefore to be sure not to require less of their Masters than the other As little difficulty can be made that all that is owing to them from their Masters which at the entrance upon their service they do expresly covenant to afford them a Promise even where there is no other Obligation making the party promising a Debter and how much more then where there is a valuable consideration to engage him But from hence it will follow first Where there is any such thing covenanted that they are to give them the promised reward or wages and that too at or near the time wherein they become due to them he paying less than he ought who pays not at or near the the time because depriving the party to whom he owes it of that use and advantage which he might and which because it is his own it is fit he should receive by it It will follow secondly where that is a part of the Contract that Masters carefully and faithfully teach their Servants that Trade for the Learning whereof they become Servants to them which is the rather to be observ'd because it is oftentimes through sloathfulness omitted or basely and invidiously conceal'd at least as to the cheifest Mysteries thereof as if a Contract could be satisfied by paying one half the thing contracted for and it may be too the less considerable one I observe thirdly That in such Servants as are by Contract to receive their whole maintenance from their Masters a regard is to be had not only of what necessity but what the condition of that Service into which they are assum'd requires For by how much the more Ingenuous the Service is so much the more free in reason ought to be the entertainment of those that are in it especially when as it mostly happens paying accordingly to their Masters for it Whence it is that no Man of reason doubts but that the Apprentice of a Merchant or other such more liberal Profession should be treated in a better fashion than one of a man of a more inferiour one or an ordinary Serving Man to the same I observe fourthly That as care is to be taken on the one hand that they afflict not their Servants with immoderate Labours or Punishments so also on the other hand that they suffer them not to be Idle nor be sparing of just Chastisements when they deserve them the omission of that not only proving the bane of their Servants but being a falsification of that Trust which is reposed in them by their Servants Parents and an injury to the Commonwealth which by their slothfulness or cowardise is like to have so much the worse Subjects Fifthly and Lastly more than which I shall not need to say unless it be to exhort them to the practise of what they are thus bound to It is incumbent upon all Masters of Families to restrain their Servants from all Vitious Courses and both prompt and oblige them to the practise of Religious Duties not indeed by any direct obligation upon them from their Authority which reacheth rather to Temporal than Spiritual matters
Parts or to one who was born a Prince Be it thirdly that all other Obligations could be fully requited and consequently we our selves freed from any Tie of Honour which might be suppos'd to arise from them yet unless as * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Philo. de Decalog Philo speaks we could beget those who begat us that of our Birth will remain uncancell'd and together therewith our Obligation of honouring them because of it Lastly Be it that thou hadst no Obligation to thy Parents in themselves as neither intending any other than their own Pleasure in the Begetting nor concerning themselves for thee when thou wert yet so far as they were God's Instruments in bringing thee into the World they call for thy Regard neither can they be neglected without casting a Contempt upon God himself So that still if our Honour have this ground it will be of eternal necessity and we may as soon cease to be Children as cease to be oblig'd to those whom we are requir'd to honour But because there are few Parents who contribute no farther to their Children than their Birth and much less like the Ostrich which Job speaks of that leaveth her eggs in the earth and warmeth them in the dust forgetting in the mean time that the foot may crush them or that the wild heast may break them Job 39.13 and so on Because I say there are few Parents that shew themselves so unnatural nay which do not on the contrary dandle their Children in their Arms and in their Heart and never leave off providing for them till they are in a capacity to provide for themselves hence there ariseth another Obligation to pay them Honour and Obedience and such a one as we must be very ungrateful to forget For if we think it a just ground of Honour that we feed those whom we retain and furnish them with all other things necessary for their support in the mean time not concerning our selves any farther and much less making them the Subject of our perpetual Care and the End of all our Toil and Travel what Ground of Honour may we think it to be when we have infinitely much more done for us by our Parents to make us happy both in this World and in the next PART II. Of the Kinds of that Honour which is to be given to Parents which are shewn to be 1. An awful Esteem of them as which is the very Soul of Honour 2. An outward Declaration of it whether it be in our Gesture and Behaviour where the general necessity of such Expressions of Honour is evinced or in our Language to or of them the Nature whereof is also declared or in our Actions These last divided into such as minister directly and immediately to their Honour or indirectly and by consequence Of the former sort are first Our administring to them in their Wants which is shewn both to be a Duty and as it may and ought to be manag'd an Expression of our Honour and secondly ministring to them in their Weaknesses Of the latter sort are such Actions whatever they are in themselves which are done with their Consent in compliance with their Advice or in obedience to their Commands The Question concerning the Consent of Parents resum'd and that shewn to be generally necessary in the Principal Actions of our Life such as are in particular the disposal of our selves in Marriage or entring upon any lasting Course of Life The Advice of Parents also considered and shewn to have the nature of a Command where the Parent may be presum'd to make use of that Form of Speech for Loves sake onely but however not to be departed from where we have not a considerable Reason to the contrary Of the Commands of Parents and by what our Obedience to them is to be bounded where is shewn That their Commands are of no force against the Commands of God or the Magistrate in things that carry an invincible Antipathy to our Inclinations or such as are greatly dishonourable to the Child Submission to the Chastisements of Parents the fourth and last Declaration of our inward Esteem 2. THOUGH this and other such like Precepts whilst they continue in their generality do carry Conviction with them where-ere they come yet they have not the like success when drawn down to particular Instances and apply'd to each Man 's immediate Concern The Reason whereof is partly their pressing so hard upon Men and partly that Relief which the consideration of General Precepts gives For finding themselves pinch'd with so particular an Application and what such a Pressure doth naturally produce desirous to free themselves and considering moreover that there is no Precept almost so general which doth not admit of some Exceptions the forementioned Pressure and their desire to free themselves from it makes them first willing to believe their own case to be one of those Exceptions and after that actually to do it In consideration whereof as the Masters of Morality have ever thought it their chiefest Business to be as particular as they could in describing and confirming the several Duties of it so I intend at this time to follow their Example and shew what particular Duties the Honour of Parents does involve 1. And here in the first place because that is the very Soul of Honour and gives Life both to it and all the Expressions of it we are to entertain in our Minds such an awful Regard of them as the Dignity of their Relation doth require that is to say we are to account of them as so many Mortal Gods as by whom under the True we live and move and have our being lastly we are to account of them as his Images and Agents as Resemblances of the Great Creator or rather Cooperatours with him For as the Notion of a Parent involves all this and therefore in reason to regulate our inward esteem of them so the consideration thereof is of excellent use to stifle all those Conceptions which the weaknesses of our Parents might suggest For be it that our Parents are either of crazie or deformed Bodies that they have weak Understandings naturally or have liv'd to see them die before them either of which may tempt unsetled Minds to abject thoughts concerning them yet if we remember they were under God the Authors of our Being and thereby as Moses sometime was to Aaron a kind of Gods to us such thoughts as the other will quickly vanish and we shall in spite of all their Infirmities look upon them as in the place of God and next to him to be honour'd and rever'd 2. But beside the entertaining honourable Thoughts of our Parents to which I have over and above represented the most proper Motives we are also as was before shewn to express those Conceits of ours by some sensible declarations of them Whereof 1. The first I shall represent is that which of all others seems to be the most natural even that of our outward Gesture
is indeed an excellent Portion or if that will not suffice or be not suitable to their Condition that they lay up for them that which Solomon tells us answers all things Otherwise they will leave them unprovided for as to that state which stands most in need of it Neither will it avail to say there is no reason the Fathers care should reach beyond his own life when we have before said that the Child's obedience generally ought not For as I have before shewn that the Honour of a Parent ought to abide after his death and Obedience to his Commands also so far as that is concerned in it so it is but requisite that answerably to that a Fathers care should extend beyond his own time and not only provide for his Children during his own life but as much as in him lies afterwards especially when the necessities of his Child which is the ground of making provision for them is then likely to be greater than before The only thing to be enquired into in this affair is after what proportion a Father is to provide for them For the resolution whereof though I might have referr'd you to what was said before concerning making provision for them in the Parents life time because giving us to understand that both the one and the other ought to be according to the condition of the Father yet I thought it not amiss to bring it anew before you if it were only to add this necessary limitation to a Fathers care to wit that he ought not so to see to the providing for his Children as to forget to minister of his substance to the more publick concernments of Church or State or the pressing and instant necessities of those charitable Objects he hath before him For as both the one and the other ought rather to be regarded than the leaving to our Children a pompous and glorious Estate so he that forgets not to do good and to communicate provides much better for his Children than he who will not suffer any the least part of his Estate to pass away from them Money lent to God as all that is so employ'd is * Pro. 19.17 being as Master Herbert hath well observ'd ‖ Country Parson chap. 10. plac'd surer for the Childs advantage than if it were given to the Chamber of London which was in his time the best security in the world 2. The second duty of Parents follows even the institution of their Children in Life and Manners which is a provision for their better part their Souls concerning which therefore I will shew first the Authority by which it stands the Duties it contains and the Inconveniences that attend the omission of it And first if we enquire by what Authority the Institution of Children stands we shall find it to be by the same whereby all other moral Duties do that is to say by the Law of Nature and Revelation both the one and the other binding it upon the Consciences of Parents and that too more stronger than the former That the Law of Nature doth the Argument before alledg'd for Parents making provision for their Subsistence is to me an abundant Evidence For the design of God in our Birth being the happiness of those to whom he gives a Being he must consequently be supposed to have enjoyn'd the adding of those things which may serve for the procuring of it Which being in an especial manner to be understood of a holy Institution because our Eternal happiness doth depend upon it will make the addition of that even by Natures Law more incumbent upon Parents than the providing for their Temporal one The same is no less evident from the positive Laws of God as well those of the Old Testament as the New in the former whereof * Deut. 6.7.11.19 we find Parents commanded to teach Gods Commandments diligently unto their Children and to talk to them of them when they sit in their House and when they walk by the way when they lie down and when they rise up in the latter ‖ Eph 6.4 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 quod significat institutionem per poenas vid. Grot. in loc which is tantamount though expressed in fewer words that they should bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. From the Authority by which this Duty stands pass we to the particulars it contains which may be reduced to these Three Heads Instruction Command and Example the first to shew them how they ought to Live and Act the two latter to induce them to the practice of it For as it is impossible for Children to live well till they know what it is to do so or know it without a precedent Institution they neither bringing with them into the world a knowledge of their Duty nor being able through the tenderness of their Understandings to find it without the help of others so the pravity of their Natures makes it but necessary that they should be Oblig'd as well as Instructed and Encourag'd as well as Oblig'd The former whereof as it is best done by the Parents commands which till the minds of Children come to be debauch'd have a mighty influence upon them so the latter by the Parents shewing themselves a Pattern of those things which they bind upon them by their Instruction and Commands nothing prevailing more with Children than Example doth nor any Example more than that of a Father Which therefore as it is but necessary that Parents should superadd to compleat the Institution of their Children so woful experience shews that the want of that alone makes all other ways of Institution fruitless it being rare to find a Child who is not more debauch'd by his Fathers ill Example than regulated by his wholesome Instruction and Commands Having thus shewn as well what the Institution of Children implies as by what Authority it stands it remains only to give it so much the more weight that I represent some of those inconveniencies which attend the omission of it For to say nothing at all that that Father is like to be ill serv'd himself who hath not taught his Children to revere his and their common parent God nor yet that the omission of a Holy Institution may expose them to the taking such Courses as will bring little comfort either to their Children or themselves I shall desire such Parents to consider how they will be able at that great day to look those Children in the face whom they have begotten only to Eternal Torments For as if they have the bowels of a Father it cannot but be an infinite affliction to them to see those who are a part of themselves plung'd in Eternal Torments so if they have any the least shame it will be an equal confusion to them to consider that they became so by their means even by theirs who ought in reason to have done their utmost to make them happy and enstate them in Gods Kingdom as well
Four things that procure dignity to Men as that is set to denote a preeminence without Authority 1. Their Parts and Endowments 2. Their Birth 3. Their Fortunes 4. And Lastly The Titles and Characters that are bestow'd upon them by Princes and Societies 1. The the first of these ought to have our Honour and consequently the Persons that are endu'd with them needs no other proof than that they are the Gifts of God For being so they are in reason to be respected by all those who think God a due object of it The only thing worthy our enquiry is in what order they are to be honour'd and what kind of Honours we are to afford them the former whereof will best be judg'd of by the Honour they bring to God or the use they are of unto the World For thus because Piety doth most immediately tend to the honour of God as being nothing else than an immediate regard both of him and of his Laws the Parties in whom it is are caeteris paribus to be honour'd before those that are Masters of any other Endowments In like manner because Divinity ministers more directly to that end than any other kind of Learning or qualification in the World Reason would that those who are eminent in it should be preferr'd before the Learned of other Professions Lastly because Learning contributes more to Religion than Courage or Strength and is generally more useful to the World hence it comes to pass that by the consent of Nations Arms yield to the Gown and the Lawrel of the Conqueror to the Eloquence of the Tongue All therefore that remains to enquire is what kind of Honours we are to afford them which in general is the giving them that Respect and Encouragement which their several Endowments and Usefulness in the World doth require in particular the attending to their particular Excellencies and demeaning our selves answerably thereunto Which we shall do if we imitate the Vertues of the Pious follow the directions of the Learned in their several Faculties and as much as in us lies promote the welfare of those who hazard their Lives for the safeguard of the Publick 2. From Mens Parts and Endowments pass we to the nobility of their Birth which we shall find to be another ground of Honour this being but a just tribute to the merits of their Ancestors and a necessary means to promote Virtue and Piety in the World For who would willingly Travel for the Publick good if the reward thereof should reach no farther than himself or think himself well apaid if the Children of less deserving Persons should enjoy the same Priviledges with his especially when it often happens that they who deserve so well of the World are either by the suddenness of their death or the constancy of their Travels debarr'd the enjoyment of them in their own persons 3. To the Nobility of Mens Birth subjoin we the amplitude of their Fortunes as which next to that is a just ground of Honour Not that it is simply Noble to be Rich but that it bespeaks on the one hand the Virtues of them or of their Ancestors and on the other hand the Favour of the Divine Providence For though Men do sometimes acquire Wealth by evil means and such as therefore make their Wealth rather a Reproach than a Mark of Honour yet ordinarily it is by Industry and Wisdom by the Eminency of their Learning and the Greatness of their Valour things which are so Honourable that they may very well cast a Lustre upon those very Fortunes that are acquir'd by them And though Grace and Virtue be undoubtedly a greater Mark of God's Favour than any outward Acquisitions whatsoever yet inasmuch as even these happen not to Men without the Divine Providence they cannot but be look'd upon as Testimonies of his Favour where they are honestly acquir'd and those that have them upon that score to be reverenc'd and esteem'd Lastly 4. As Mens Parts or Birth or Fortunes do call for that Honour which is here requir'd so the same Honour is due to those Dignities that are conferr'd upon Men by the Favour of the Prince or under him by the indulgence of those Societies or Corporations which are by the Prince priviledg'd to bestow them Such as are for the former the Dignities of Dukes Marquesses and the like as for the latter the Degrees that are bestow'd in Universities For as these are generally the Rewards of their Vertue upon whom they are bestow'd so they are in all the Marks of the Favour of those whom God hath commanded us to honour In consideration whereof as it cannot but be thought reasonable to honour them because otherwise through their Sides wounding the Honour of the Prince so all fear is remov'd of paying Respect to their Worthlesness whom Princes do sometime promote He who pays a Man respect for the Dignity which the Prince bestows upon him doing it not so much to him as to the Prince by whom it is conferr'd In the mean time though that may be some satisfaction to the Honourer and where Men are wise take off from those Prejudices which the Vices of Noble Persons give yet as it can afford little satisfaction to the Honoured who thus sees himself made onely an Instrument of anothers Honour so we are not to expect that he should signifie so much with those who have not the like faculty of discerning For inasmuch as Excellency is the proper ground of Honour it will not be easie to procure them any perfect Honour who have not some Personal Excellency to deserve it What remains then but that they who are thus dignified shew themselves worthy of their several Titles and be no less glorious in their Actions than in the Characters that they bear That the Learned and the Valiant employ their Learning and Valour for the Publick Weal and the Man of high Birth do Things worthy of those Ancestors from whom he sprang That the Man who is truly Pious continue and add to it and not make it a pretext for a future slothfulness or to be able so much the more securely to deceive In fine That he who is rich in this World shew himself rich in good Works and be as vertuous in the dispensation of his Wealth as he or his Ancestors have been happy in acquiring it So doing they shall not onely have Honour among Men but be respected by the Almighty and when all their Earthly Honour shall be laid in the dust be advanc'd to a Crown and such a one whose Lustre no Time or Malice shall be able to impair PART X. Of the Honour of those who are Superiour to us in any Private Authority or Dominion whether it be that of a Lord of a Mannor over his Tenants or of a Master over his Servants The Ground of the Honour of the former that Emolument the Tenants receive by him and their own Oath and Compact as the Honours they are to pay those Rents
But so that I may strengthen this Inference with the Doctrine of Christianity St. Paul doth expresly enjoyn willing as many Servants as are under the yoke to count their Masters worthy of all Honour 1 Tim. 6.1 2. The necessity of Servants honouring their Masters being thus evinc'd both from St. Paul and the general Reason of the Commandment my proposed Method obligeth me to inquire into the Grounds of it which are different according to the different sorts of Servants For either they are such as become so 1. By their own free consent or 2. Such as become Servants by constraint The latter of these are again of three sorts according to the different means whereby a Man may come to have Dominion For either he may acquire it 1. By the means of Conquest or 2. By Sentence or 3. And lastly By Purchase from those who have either the one or the other Title to their Service If the Question be concerning the first that is to say of such as become Servants by Conquest so the Ground of Honouring their Masters is the giving them their Life when it was in their power to have taken it away For being by the Law of Nations priviledg'd to take away the Life of those which should be taken by them in the Wars it seemed but reasonable and indeed is no other that if the Conquerour give them their Life they should for so great a Benefit dedicate that Life unto his Service Whence it is as * Institut lib. 1. tit 3. sect 3. Justinian observes that Servants among the Romans had the Name of Mancipia and Servi the former importing their being taken by the Hand of the Enemy the latter the saving of them by those that took them when it was in their Power to have destroy'd them In like manner if the Magistrate when for any Offence he might take away the Malefactor's Life condemns him to a perpetual Slavery that Indulgence of his is a sufficient Ground to oblige the Malefactor to submit his Neck unto the Yoke The Tie is much the same though with the addition of a farther one upon such Servants as become so by Purchase For the Conqueror and the Magistrate transferring their Title unto another and moreover taking a Valuable Consideration for it Reason and Equity would that he who is so passed over should look upon himself as obliged to serve the Purchaser because succeeding into their Rights and moreover paying a Valuable Consideration for that Honour and Service which he exacts From such Servants as are made so by constraint pass we to those which are made so with their own free consent such as are Days-men Menial Servants and Apprentices Concerning whom it will be no hard matter to shew that there is a just Ground of giving Honour to their Masters nor yet what those Grounds are The two former having for the Ground of their Honour those Wages and Nourishment which they receive the latter moreover that Skill or Craft which their Masters profess all of them the Astipulation of their own Consent and Compact by which that Honour and Service is bound so much the faster on them For what can be more reasonable than the paying them Honour and Service who give them a Valuable Consideration for it especially when they do moreover oblige themselves thereto and covenant for the paying of it It being a known and undoubted Maxim That there can be no Injury there where that which is exacted is with the free Consent of him that is to pay it 3. Having thus shewn the Grounds of that Honour which Servants owe unto their Masters and thereby evinc'd the Reasonableness as well as Necessity thereof nothing remains on the part of Servants but to inquire what kinds of Honour they are to pay and in what measure and proportion For the resolution whereof we must recall the forementioned Distinction of Servants by Constraint and such as are made so by their own Consent and Compact If the Question be concerning the former that is to say of such as become Servants by right of Conquest by the Condemnation of them for some notorious Wickedness or by Purchase so little doubt can be made but all Honour is due from them to their several Masters which they are in a capacity to pay For beside that St. Paul in the place before-quoted commands such Servants to think their Masters worthy of all Honour it is no more than is due from them for the Benefit they enjoy from those to whom they are subjected I speak not onely as to their constant Sustenance but the granting them that Life which it was in their power to have taken away And though since Christianity took place in the World such kind of Servitude or Slavery hath been more rare especially in such Persons as are of the same Profession with their Masters yet I think so general an Abolition of it was neither founded upon any just Reason nor hath prov'd much for the Conveniency of the World Not the former because as Busbequius * Busbeq Tut cic Epist 3. well observes neither can all Men bear a Liberty that is attended with Poverty neither are all Men so fitted by Nature as to know how to govern themselves without the Conduct and Command of others being herein not unlike to certain Beasts whose Fierceness would be always to be dreaded unless they were restrain'd by Bonds Which suppos'd what can be more reasonable where a just Cause precedes than the introducing of such a Servitude as we speak of as by means of which the Master may live by the Servants Labour and the Servant on the other side not onely be maintain'd by it but be restrain'd from those Exorbitances to which either his Ignorance or the Pravity of his Nature may incline him But neither hath so general an Abolition of Servitude been much for the Conveniency of the World For as the same Busbequius * Busbeq ubi supra observes if it had still continu'd neither would the Wars nor the Gallows take off so many Men which might otherwise be of great use unto the World that Profit which might arise from the Use or Sale of them being likely to make the Conqueror less cruel and the Magistrate less severe in his Executions To say nothing at all that through the fear of that some Men might be more effectually restrain'd from those Exorbitances which the World labours under a constant Slavery being undoubtedly more terrible to the idle Gallant than either a Gibbet or an Ax. Add hereunto and more I shall not need to add that St. Paul himself doth not onely no where disallow this Servitude but commands those that are under it to think their Masters worthy of all Honour such Servants as are under the yoke being no other than Bondslaves as you may see if you compare that Phrase with Lev. 26.13 and Isa 9.4 But because at least in this corner of the World there is but little
shall by and by have occasion to confirm it that God hath endu'd the Husband with Authority over the Wife and commanded her to pay Obedience to it But because it is not impossible Men may arrogate to themselves a greater Authority than ever God intended them or exercise it more fully and with greater rigour than they ought therefore it may not be amiss in describing the peculiar duties of the Husband to shew him what kind of Authority he hath how it is to be exercis'd and about what For answer to which I say first that the Authority of the Husband over the Wife is not coercive but directive that is to say an Authority which priviledges him to command but not to constrain her to Obedience For being given by God to Man as a Companion * Malach. 2.14 and a helper and which is more in such a degree as to become one with him it is unreasonable to think he should have such a power over her as to constrain her to a compliance by force and violence A forcible Treatment degrading her from the condition of a Mate and ranking her among Subjects or Servants Neither will it suffice to say that so also will the laying of Commands because according to the usual saying par in parem non habet potestatem which is alike true as to Commands and Coercions For beside that by the Divine Institution the Man is priviledg'd to rule over her as you may see Gen. 3.16 beside that in this case there is not a perfect parity as the rule before spoken of shews the power of Command is not only not destructive of the conjugal Society but absolutely necessary to the maintaining of it For inasmuch as the Married parties may both entertain different apprehensions concerning such things as are to be done and also take up different resolutions concerning them if there were not a power of ruling somewhere it would be in the power of either party to obstruct the common good of both But as there is not the same necessity of a coercive Power partly because the Husband hath the Law of God to back his Commands and partly because not without a sufficient Power from the Laws of the place he lives in to be able to effect his own purposes so it is perfectly inconsistent with that Society and fellowship into which the Wife is assumed by him It may suffice the Husband that he hath the power of Commanding and in case of refusal that of Reproof and Admonition as which those of far less Authority are not excluded from but other coercion than that no Law of God gives him and is not therefore to be arrogated by him The Authority of the Husband over the Wife being thus explain'd and shewn to consist in Commands Admonitions and Reproofs proceed we to enquire how this Authority is to be exercis'd the second thing propos'd to be discoursed of For the resolution whereof though I might again take my measures from that Partnership into which we have said the Wife to be admitted yet I shall choose rather to shape my Discourse by that Love which the Husband is every where commanded to shew her who is so admitted by him For Love where it is either finding or making Persons equal especially where there is not too great an imparity between the Parties it will follow that the Commands or Admonitions of the Husband are not generally to be delivered in imperious terms and such as savour more of Authority than Kindness St. Paul having taught us by his own behaviour toward Philemon that though a Man may have power to Command yet where that will serve the turn for Love's sake he should rather entreat and not so much constrain as invite them to a compliance I say not the same where she whom God hath commanded to obey shews her self utterly averse from a compliance For in such a case to be too officious were to make himself contemptible and not only so but that Authority which God hath vested in him Only as we learn from St. Paul elsewhere * Col. 3.19 even here also a mean is to be used and though nothing hinders him to express himself in terms suitable to his own Authority yet no Law either of God or Man allows him to be bitter against her The third and last particular comes now to be discours'd of even about what the Authority of a Husband is to be conversant which if we may judge of by the obedience the Wife is required to pay appears to be every thing as you may see Eph. 5.24 But as the same Apostle elsewhere where he entreats of that very Argument adds by way of limitation as it is fit in the Lord Col. 3.18 thereby manifestly restraining the Authority of the Husband to all such things as are within the bounds of our Religion so Reason requires the limiting it to such things also as are suitable to that fellowship into which she is admitted From whence as it will follow that the Husband ought not to impose upon her such things as are more proper for a Servant or Vassal than a Wife so also that he is generally to leave the administration of Houshold affairs to her alone care and management Because as I have often said she is admitted into a Copartnership with him which cannot well be salv'd if that should be taken from her and because both St. Paul 1 Tim. 5.14 and the Laws of Nations appropriate the guiding of the house to her According to that known Proverb which the Roman Matrons were wont to use when they were brought home to their Husbands Houses Vbi tu Caius ibi ego Caia Where you are a Master I expect to be a Mistress and enjoy the priviledges of such 2. Having thus shewn the Duty of the Husband to the Wife as to that Authority wherewith he is invested over her it remains that we enquire what is due from her to him as well in respect of his Authority as her own necessary subjection to it Now though that be easie enough to infer from the foregoing Discourse and may therefore seem to require the less pains in the investigating of it yet I think it not amiss if it were only to observe a due proportion between them to be as particular in the declaration of it as I was before in that of the Authority and Duty of the Husband In order whereunto I say 1. That inasmuch as God hath invested the Man with Authority over the Wife it must be look'd upon as highly irreligious in her to be so far from submitting to it as on the contrary to usurp Authority over him Such a Behaviour bidding defiance to the order of God and Nature because not only thwarting but perverting it And accordingly as St. Paul not only proscribes it as a thing unlawful but moreover represents it as a thing not to be suffer'd 1 Tim. 2.12 So he hath also given us there to understand what is to be