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ID Title Author Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication) STC Words Pages
A77727 Pietatis in parentes disquisitio: or, The duty of children towards their parents: truly examined and stated. : In a letter to a friend in the city. Brydall, John, b. 1635? 1700 (1700) Wing B5266; ESTC R215721 10,447 12

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Pietatis in Parentes Disquisitio OR The Duty of CHILDREN TOWARDS THEIR PARENTS Truly Examined and Stated In a Letter to a Friend in the City SIR YOUR kind Lines with the Prints you were pleased to send me I have received for which I return you many Thanks and tho' I do much approve of the Letter written to a Friend in the Country in the defence of the Rights of Primogeniture yet I must declare to you that I am afraid the exposing of such a Letter to publick view may prove an Encouragement to all Elder Sons to live disobedient and disorderly Lives seeing the ill Practise of some Fathers in Disinheriting their First-begotten Sons is so much exploded thereby and therefore I conceive the Publication of it is somewhat unseasonable when we see that the Son doth not only not Honour his Father but even Dishonoureth him and is ashamed of him He is so far from Loving him that he rather hateth him so far from fearing him that contrariwise he mocketh and contemneth him And instead of Serving and Obeying him he riseth up and Conspireth against him If the Father be angry the Son laboureth to anger him more Briefly scarce any Duty of a Child towards his Father is seen now a days O execrable Impiety And to shew you that I my self abhor such an Impious Behavior of any Son towards his Father I will endeavour to draw you a Scheme of that Piety or Duty which all Children do owe to their Parents by the Laws of God of Nature and of Man The Piety or Duty then of Children towards their Parents may be reduced to six Heads comprehended in these very Words Honour thy Father and thy Mother 1. The first is the Duty of Reverence and that not only in External Gesture and Behaviour but also Internal which is that Sublime and Sacred Esteem and Veneration a Child ought to have of his Parents as the Authors and Original Causes of his Being as also of his good and well Being which Reverence towards Parents shall be evidenced from Scripture from Nature and from the Civil Law of the Romans I. From the Holy Scripture Honour thy Father and Mother which is the first Commandment with promise that it may be well with thee and that thou mayst live long on Earth Exod. 20.12 Deut. 5.16 Mat. 15.4 Mar. 7.10 Eph. 6.2 3. From whence Sir we may make these Remarks 1. That Reverence to Parents is placed next to the Honour due to God Nature saith Plutarch and the Law which doth preserve Nature hath given the first place of Reverence and Honour after God unto the Father and Mother And Men cannot do any Service more acceptable to God Almighty than graciously and lovingly to pay to their Parents that Begot them and to them that brought them up the Usury of new and old Graces which they have lent them as contrariwise there is no Sign of an Atheist more certain than for a Man to set light by and to offend his Parents 2. That the 5th Commandment only hath a special Promise annexed thereunto to shew that a more plentiful Blessing in this kind followeth from the Obedience of this Commandment than of the other that follow Hence it is called by the Apostle St. Paul the first Commandment with Promise it being the first in order of the second Table and the only Commandment of that Table which hath an express Promise and the only Commandment of the Ten that hath a particular Promise II. From Nature Our Parents are as Gods 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Earthly Gods as Hierocles calls them Conspicuous and Visible Gods who do imitate the Invisible and Unbegotten God in giving Life unto others And therefore Proculus says that the Father is the Image of God and Plato calls Parents God's Images or Representatives to whom we owe our Reverence as to the Gods themselves saith Aristotle yet not such an Obedience and Reverence as is infinite and unlimited so that this Duty of Reverence of Children towards Parents the very Infidels Ethnicks and Pagans by the Instinct of Nature do Instruct them Add hereunto a farther Illustration of the Awe and Reverence we owe our Parents taken from Heathen Nations Amongst the Lacedemonians this Custom took place that the younger sort rose up from their Seats before the Aged Whereof when one asked the Cause of Teleucrus It is quoth he to the end that in doing this Honour to whom it belongeth not they should learn to yield greater Honour to their Parents The Arrogancy and Irreverence of a Child was the Cause that one of the Ephori published the Law of Testaments whereby it was permited to every one from that time forward to appoint whom he would his Heir This Law served well to make Children to pay the Duty of Obedience and Reverence to their Parents and to cause them to be afraid of displeasing them To be brief you will find among the Romans that the Child was not admitted to plead his Father's Will after his Death by way of Action but only by way of Request using very Humble Honourable and Reverent Speech of his Dead Father and leaving the whole Matter to the Discretion and Religion of the Judges But here may be started this Question Whether in sitting or otherwise the first Place and Prerogative of Honour be due to the Father a Private Man or to the Son that is a Magistrate The Solution of this Question propounded we find given in Aulus Gellius Lib. 2. Cap. 2. viz. In publicis locis atque Muneribus atque Actionibus patrum jura cum filiorum qui in Magistratu Sunt Potestatibus Collata inter quiescere paululum connivere Sed cum extra Rempublicam in Domesticâre atque Vita Sedeatur Ambuletur in Convivio quoque familiari Discumbatur tum inter filium Magistratum Patrem privatum publicas Honores Cessare Naturales atque genuinos exoriri Buda in his Annotations upon the Pandects hath observed many good Things belonging to the Roman Judgments which curious Spirits may look into Among the rest of the great Respect and Honour that was given to Magistrates Concerning which Matter we may use as a good Testimony that which we read in Plutarch of Fabius Maximus his Son when he was Censor who seeing a far off that his Father came towards him on Horseback and that his Sergeants in regard of Fatherly Reverence had not caused him to alight did himself Command his Father to set Foot on Ground which Command the Old Man the Father cheerfully and willingly obeyed saying Domestick Power must give place to Publick-Authority III. From the Civil Law of the Romans How unworthy soever Parents be in respect of their Personal Defects yet such as God and Nature have placed under their Authority are to count them worthy not only of Honour but also of all Honour Children being not herein so much to look unto their Persons as unto the Ordinance of God who hath placed them over their Children and