Selected quad for the lemma: duty_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
duty_n	christian_n	good_a	work_n	1,327	5	5.4021	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A42517	Observations on a journy to Naples wherein the frauds of romish monks and priests are farther discover'd / by the author of a late book entituled The frauds of romish monks and priests.	Gabin, Antonio, fl. 1726.	1691 (1691)	Wing G393; ESTC R25455	167,384	354

all in that which you take not a jot more than if you should eat the Bread and drink your Wine separately so that you may for time to come safely do it without any scruple In a word this Father resolved a vast number of Difficulties that had been propounded to him and which for the most part were of the same Stamp with those I have given you a taste of Because we are speaking of the Observation of Lent at Milan you may take notice that Lent begins there four days later than in all the other parts of Italy by a Priviledge they pretend to hold from S. Ambrose Now for these four days a vast quantity of People from all Parts of Italy repair thither to enjoy this Priviledge and I have known Persons that came above one hundred Leagues which shews that there is a strange Avidity in the Papists to eat Flesh at the time it is forbid them Now these days are no sooner ended but all this Crowd makes as much haste to get away from thence as before they made haste to get thither the reason is because afterwards the Quadragesimal Abstinence is observed with much more rigour and exactness at Milan than in any other part of Italy excepting only those that have Licences which as I have mentioned before are always in great Numbers If any one be found that transgresseth the Rules of the Lent Fast they are sent immediately to the Inquisition and proceeded against as Hereticks The Spaniards will allow of no slackning of this Point in those Countries that are subject to them In the time when Burgundy was under Spain they observed the Fasts of the Church much more rigorously than they do now since it is under the Dominion of France An Officer of the great Chapter of Mentz gave me the Relation of a troublesome Accident tho' the passages of it be very pleasant which hapned to him and three of the great Canons of Mentz with relation to Fasting They had taken a view of the greatest part of France and they returned to their own Country through Burgundy in time of Lent As they were Travelling from Dola to Besançon this Officer hapned to kill a great Hen in the Fields and the Gentlemen Canons having Congratulated his good Luck resolved to eat it at the first Inn they should come at Being Arriv'd about Dinner-time at the first Village they met with they ordered a great Fire to be made in their Chamber and the Officer commanded them to bring up a Kettle without saying what he intended to do with it Their Hostess brought them one but being seiz'd with a curiosity to know what use they would put it to she spi'd them so well that she found they were Boyling a Hen. Whereupon she presently ran out of Doors and told her Neighbours who came all running away in Throngs no otherwise than if the House had been on Fire The Hostess led them the way to the Chamber of these Gentlemen and in a furious Transport demanded her Kettle again they desired her to have Patience a little telling her that what they had put into it was almost Boyled but the Woman in a great rage snatch'd the Kettle from off the Fire and the Officer forc'd it from her again to have his Hen. In the mean time the Neighbours all came up at the Noise and belching forth the most execrable Oaths which were far worse than the breaking of the Fast threatned the Gentlemen to kill them immediately if they did not render themselves Prisoners These Grand Canons who were all of them Lords of great Quality in vain call'd up for their Foot-Boys drest in their rich Liveries and put off their Riding Coats which covered their rich Silk Habits and shewed them their Golden Crosses and the fair Medals hanging about their Necks These Villanous Peasants in spite of all they could shew or alledge made them get on Horse-back and having bound them with Cords in a most ignominious manner they Conducted them with a strange Hue and Cry carrying the Par-boil'd Hen ty'd to the top of a Staff before them till they came to the City of Besançon which was about Eight Leagues from the Village insulting over them with a thousand Affronts all along the Way as if they had been Hereticks As soon as they were come into the City a vast Throng of People came from all Parts to see them flinging Dirt and Stones at them and crying aloud Burn them alive Burn them alive They brought them in this Posture straight to the Archbishop who being immediately inform'd who they were brought them into one of the Dining-Rooms of his Palace and had very much ado to appease the Rabble After that he had signified to them the Humour of the People of that Country and the extream Danger to which they had expos'd themselves he exprest to them the sensible Regret he had for the Affront they had received and shewed them a thousand Civilities in Token of the Respect he bore to the Canons of the most Noble Chapter that was in the whole Empire And the next day very early in the Morning he let them escape by a back Door for fear of their being Torn to pieces by the Rabble See here what an Extravagant Zeal for Superstitious Observances is capable to produce neither Civility nor Virtue nor Reason being able to gave Check to the furious Effects thereof Jesus Christ certainly never left us any such Spirit or any such Religion It wanted but very little of our falling into the same Trouble by the Imprudence of my Companion the Evening we Arriv'd in the Suburbs of Naples and had they put us into the Inquisition it would have been much worse with us I do not in the least disapprove of Fasts but on the contrary think them to be both commendable and useful for a Christian to Exercise them especially when accompanied with Prayers and Alms-giving for the humbling of our Souls and the subduing and subjecting our Bodies to the Spirit that is for the Mortifying our Brutal Passions which commonly owe their force and vigour to a healthy pamper'd State of the Body and too great Repletion and to give the Spirit a greater liberty and agility in the practice of Virtue Nay what is more I could wish with all my Heart that Christians would exercise themselves by times alltogether in this good Practice to the End of Encouraging one another by their good Examples and by their Union in so good a Work to draw down upon themselves the Heavenly Blessing But I cannot by any means approve the going about to force People to this Duty by the Confiscation of all their Goods by Tortures and Fire and by a most pitiless and cruel Inquisition I don't believe that God ever gave such Power to Men over one another as to proceed to such barbarous and inhuman Constraints and those who pretend to such a Power ought not to be called Pastors but Robbers and Murtherers who are