Selected quad for the lemma: england_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
england_n	act_n	king_n	queen_n	2,864	5	7.0730	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A93137	A a [sic] letter to a friend, concerning a French invasion, to restore the late King James to his throne And what may be expected from him, should he be successful in it. Published by authority.	Sherlock, William, 1641?-1707.	1692 (1692)	Wing S3296; ESTC R232295	16,807	14

least for all the Con●●derates while he has found other employment for the Imperial English Forces but ●anks be to God the K. of Engl. the English Forces are novv at leisure to attend his Motions those Forces which beat him at the Boyn at Athlone at Agrim at Lymerick in a word which beat him out of Ireland and have now got a habit of beating the French And it is no wonder that he is not fond of such company in Flanders but endeavours to find some new work for them at home And if he can but send them home again and embroil us in a Civil War that is one great point gained but if he proves successeful in his Attempt he makes England his own and will turn their Arms upon the Confederats and what can them stand in the way What should hinder him from being the sole and absolute Monarch of the West And then it is easie to read the Fate Protestants Thus Sir I have freely told you what I apprehend will be the necessary and unavoidable effects of a French Conquest I pretend not to prophesie nor to demonstration in such cases but what I have said has all the appearances of probability all the degrees of moral certainty that any thing of this nature can have and this is the only Rule in the matters by which wise men are to judge and act And this has appeared a plain and easie Answer to your Second Question what English Subjects are bound in Conscience to do in case the late King should Land in England with French Forces to demand his Crown Now there are two sorts of persons concerned in this question 1. Those who have not sworn Allegiance to King William and Queen Mary but account the late King James as much their King as he was when he sat upon the Throne and that their obligations to him are the same now that ever they were 2. Those who have sworn Allegiance to King William and Queen Mary And there are two parts of this Question 1. Whether they are bound in conscience to assist the late King if he return 2. Whether it be lawful for them to oppose him and fight against him As for the first part of this Question and as far as it concerns the Non-swearers I shal ask them two or three Questions and leave them to answer them themselves 1. The first question is Whether they can think themselves bound in Conscience upon any pretence whatever to fight for Popery against the Protestant Faith and Worship that is as they must confesse if they are Protestants to fight for Heresie and Idolatry against the true Faith and Worship of Christ or to fight for Antichrist and against Christ Can any consideration make this lawful If nothing can as I wil● venture to take it for granted that nothing can then whatever duty they may fancy they still owe to their Abdicated Prince it cannot be their Duty to fight for him whe● they cannot fight for him without fighting against Christ and his Religion though they must not fight against their Prince for Christ because Christ in such cases require his Disciples to suffer not to fight for him yet it does not follow that they must fight for their Prince against Christ to bring a Persecution upon his faithful Disciples and to contribute what they can to extirpate the Name and the Religion of Protestants out o● Europe Do they think themselves bound in Conscience to fight for their Prince against th● Laws and Liberties of their Countrey as well as against the Faith and Worship o● Christ Let the Rights of Princes be never so Sacred have the rest of mankind no Rights but only Princes Is there no such thing as Justice due to our selves ●or to our Fellow● Subjects have the Free-born Subjects of England no Natural no Legal Rights And is there any Law of God or man to fight for our Prince against the Laws and Liberties of our Countrey which are the Measures and boundaries of ●hat Duty which we ow● to Princes that is to fight for our Prince against the rule of our duty and obedience to Princes when our Prince and the Laws and Liberties of our Countrey are on contrary sides tho we should grant them according to their own Principles that we must not fight against our Prince for our Laws and Liberties yet no more must we fight for our Prince against our Laws and Liberties It is abundantly enough to be Passive in such cases but a Nation which fights against its own Laws and Liberties is Felo de se guilty of the worst kind of Self-Murder Can any English man whatever opinion he has of the late King 's Right think himself bound in conscience to maintain his Right by giving up his Countrey to France To make him King and all his Subjects French Slaves For can any Prince have more Right to be King of England than the Kingdom of England has to be England Is it not an unaccountable tendernesse scrupulosity of Conscience to be so concerned for any one Prince's Right as to sacrifice the Rights and Liberties of all the Princes in Europe to his To set him upon the Throne to drive all other Princes from theirs We are Citizens of the World as well as Subjects of England have our Obligations to Mankind to other Princes as well as to our own though our obligation to no one other Prince is so great as to our own yet the publick good of mankind or of a great part of the world is a more sacred obligation than the particular Interest of our own Prince or Countrey much lesse then can the Right of any particular Prince be it what it will stand in competition with the Rights and Liberties of our own Countrey and of all Europe besides It is no more purpose to dispute with men who do not feel the Force of this Argument at the first hearing than to reason with blind men about Colours they have no sense left nothing but a stupid and slavish Loyalty all things tho never so sacred must give place to this the care of Religion the love of the Countrey their Justice and Charity to all mankind must vail to their senselesse mistake of the true meaning of this word Loyalty by which they will needs understand an Absolute Obedience without Limitation or Reserve when most certainly it signifies no more than Obedience according to Law 2. I would ask them What they would think themselves bound to do in such cases were the late K. upon the Throne again Unlesse they have chang'd their minds then they are not so steady to Principles as they pretend to be we may very reasonably guesse what they would do by what they did while he was upon the Throne It is certain they so much dislik'd his open designs of Popery Arbitrary Power that they opposed him as far as they durst would not Fight for him to keep him on the Throne