Selected quad for the lemma: duty_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
duty_n	bind_v	law_n	nature_n	1,568	5	5.4669	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A70113	Their highness the Prince & Princess of Orange's opinion about a general liberty of conscience, &c. being a collection of four select papers.; Correspondence. Selections	Fagel, Gaspar, 1634-1688.; Stewart, James, Sir, 1635-1713. Correspondence. Selections.; Burnet, Gilbert, 1643-1715.	1689 (1689)	Wing F93; Wing B5930; ESTC R3295	28,089	40

are only to blame for it who will rather be content that they and their Posterity should lie still under the weight of the Penal Laws and exposed to the hatred of the whole Nation than be still restrained from a capacity of attempting any thing against the Peace and the Security of the Protestans Religion And be deprived of that small advantage if it is at all to be reckoned one of having a share in the Government and publick Employments since in all places of the World his has been always the priviledge of the Religion that is established by Law and indeed these Attempts of the Roman Catholicks ought to be so much the more suspected and guarded against by Protestants in that they see that Roman Catholicks even when liable to the Severity of Penal Laws do yet endeavour to perswade his Majesty to make the Protestants whether they will or not dissolve that Security which they have for their Religion and to clear a way for bringing in the Roman Catholicks to the Government and to publick Employments in which case there would remain no relief for them but what were to be expected from a Roman Catholick Government Such then will be very unjust to their Highnesses who shall blame them for any Inconveniency that may arise from thence since they have declared themselves so freely on this subject and that so much to the advantage even of the Roman Catholicks And since the Settlement of matters sticks at this single point that Their Highnesses cannot be brought to consent to things that are so contrary to Laws already in being and that are so dangerous and so hurtful to the Protestant Religion as the admitting of Roman Catholicks to a share in the Government and to places of Trust and the Repealing of those Laws that can have no other effect but the securing of the Protestant Religion from all the Attempts of the Roman Catholicks against it would be You write That the Roman Catholicks in these provinces are not shut out from the Employments and places of Trust But in this you are much mistaken For our Laws are express excluding them by name from all share in the Government and from all Employments either of the Policy or Justice of our Country It is true I do not know of any express Law that shuts them out of Military Employments that had indeed been hard since in the first Formation of our State they joyned with us in defending our publick Liberty and did us eminent service during the Wars therefore they were not shut out from those Military Employments for the publick safety was no way endanger'd by this both because their numbers that served in our Troops were not great and because the States could easily prevent any Inconvenience that might arise out of that which could not have been done so easily if the Roman Catholicks had been admitted to a Share in the Government and in the Policy or Justice of our State I am very certain of this of which I could give very good proofs that there is nothing which Their Highnesses desire so much as that His Majesty may Reign happily and in an entire Confidence with his Subjects and that His subjects being perswaded of His Majesties fatherly affection to them may be ready to make him all the returns of Duty that are in th●●● Power But their Highnesses are convinced in their Consciences that both the Protestant Religion and the safety of the Nation will be exposed to most certain Dangers if either the Test or those other Penal Laws of which I have made frequent mention should be Repealed Therefore they cannot consent to this nor concur with His Majesty's Will for they believe they should have much to Answer for to God if the consideration of any present advantages should carry them to consent and concur in things which they believe would be not only dangerous but mischievous to the Protestant Religion Their Highnesses have ever pay'd a most profound Duty to His Majesty whcih they will always continue to do for they consider themselves bound to it both by the Laws of God and of Nature But since the matter that is now in hand relates not to the making of new Laws but to the total Repealing of those already made both by King and Parliament They do not see how it can be expected of them that they should consent to such a Repeal to which they have so just an aversion as being a thing that is contrary to the Laws and Customs of all Christian States whether Protestants or Papists who receive ●one to a share in the Government or to publick Employments but those who profess the publick and established Religion and that take care to secure it against all attempts whatsoever I do not think it necessary to demonstrate to you how much their Highnesses are devoted to His Majesty of which they have given such real Evidences as are beyond all verbal ones and they are resolved still to continue in the same Duty and Affection or rather to encrease it if that is possible I am SIR Yours c. Novemb. 4. 1687. Amsterdam Printed in the Year 168● Reflexions on Monsieur Fagel's Letter SIR I Shall endeavour to answer yours as fully and briefly as possible 1. You desire to know whether the Letter I sent you be truly Monsieur Fagel's or not 2. Whether their Highnesses gave him Commission to write it 3. How far the Dissenters may relie on their Highnesses word 4. What effects it has on all sorts of People Sir Roman Catholicks may be pardoned if they endeavour to make that Letter pass for an Imposture it is their Interest so to do and they are seldom wanting to promote that let the methods be never so indirect which they are forced to make use of It does indeed spoil many hopeful projects of theirs But how any Protestant among us can really doubt the truth of it is strange to me Some things carry their own evidence along with them I take this Letter to be one of that kind I do not desire you to believe me upon my bare affirmation that I know it to be genuine tho this be most true but shall offer my Reasons to convince you that it cannot be otherways First The Letter is like its Author the Matter is weighty the Reasoning solid the Stile grave full and clear like that of a Lawyer It has an Air all over which as well shews the Religion and Temper of its Writer as the Matter and Method of it do his Capacity and Judgment Now all these Qualities make up the Character of Monsieur Fagel Secondly There are the same grounds to believe this Letter to be M. Fagel's as there are to believe any thing you have not seen viz. The constant Asseverations of Persons of undoubted Credit that come from Holland who all agree in it and assure us of it M. Fagel own'd it to several English Gentlemen and many both here and in Holland knew two