Selected quad for the lemma: duty_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
duty_n	conscience_n	good_a	life_n	1,961	5	4.7606	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A67478	Walwyns jvst defence against the aspertions cast upon him in a late un-Christian pamphlet entituled Walwyns wiles / by William Walwyn.	Walwyn, William, 1600-1681.	1649 (1649)	Wing W685; ESTC R27583	46,332	38

pre-supposed with me But as if one should command me to take charge of the Rols or Records of the Pallace I would answer I have no skill in them or to be a Leader of Pioners I would say I am called to a worthier office Even so who would go about to employ me not to murther or poyson but to lye betray or forswear my self I would tell him if I have rob'd or stoln any thing from any man send me rather to the Galleys for a Gentleman may lawfully speak as did the Lacedemonians defeated by A●ripater upon the points of their Agreement You may impose as heavy burthens and harmfull taxes upon us as you please but you lose your time to command us any shamefull or dishonest thing Every man should give himself the oath which the Egypt an Kings solemnly and usually presented to their Judges Not to swerve from their Consciences what command soever they should receive from themselves to the contrary .. In 448. he saith thus What is lesse possible for him to do then what he cannot effect without charge unto his faith It will I know be wondred at that I thus enlarge my self but these things are so rich and excellent that I cannot but insist upon them and a●● in some hope to convert my Adversaries which hath ever been my aim equall to my own vindication for I recite these passages because I am in love with them wishing them also of the same mind for I wish them no worse then I wish to my self or if I fail of thi● yet I am desirous and hopefull to better other men by the things I write These are the plainnesses wherein I have ever delighted so far ●m I from that politique crafty subtil and hidden reservednesse which this Author would perswade the world I abound withall exercising his wit so exquisitly in decyphering me out to be a man of so large capacity and ability as for my part I do not believe there is any man in the world so much lesse my self who setting aside a little consideration and experience united to an upright conscience have nothing to please my self withall Nor do I much desire those extraordinary parts which are seldom employed to their right end being commonly tempted to serve some Politicians ends as may be seen rather in the abilities and application of them in this Author for he hath drawn such a picture of mans ability as shews only his own parts in so doing and applyes them to me that have no part of them of purpose to make me 〈◊〉 lifts me up to the top of the pinacle that he may cast me down to my greater 〈◊〉 Truly I never thought a good cause ever needed such workings is he exalts himself not me withall and I dare appeal to those many my Friends that I daily and hourly converst withall for some years now in publique businesses whether ever they saw more plainesse and open-heartednesse in man Indeed ●f I suspected any man inclinable to ensnare me as these mens practises made me of late somewhat wary I had reason to be carefull And whereas he taxes me of ●eightening mens discontents I believe till now they are pleased not without particular morsels none were more apt thereto then themselves but the world is well am●nded with them and every other mans mouth must be stopt on pain of Treason I am not more pleased with the former sayings of Montaign then with what he saies in pag 449. I have the●rfore placed Epaminondas in the first rank of virtuous men and now recant it not unto what a high pitch raised he the consideration of his particular duty Who never ●●ew man he had vanquished Who for their valuable good of restoring his Country her liberty made it a matter of Conscience to take away any mans life without a due and formall course of Law and who ●udged him a bad man how good a Citizen soever that amongst his enemies and in the sury of a battail spared not his friend or his hon so here a mind of a rich composition And truly I boast not but these things have long since made so deep impression in me that I have been extreamly mistaken by those that gave our there was a plot amongst us to murther the King when he was at Hampton Court and as much these that now start that other as base of an intention to murther the Lieutenant Generall they are wayes neither justifiable nor profitable for where should such courses end or what could more disparage that side that began it I wish you would be but as carefull to preserve intirely the due and formall course of Law to every man without exception friend or foe as we have been and though at present you may please your selves with the sufferings of your adversaries as you fancy them yet you do therein but tread down your own hedges and pluck up that Bank that lets in the sea of will and power over whelming your own liberties But before I part with this Mr. Richard Price I have another thing to lay to his charge and that is That he should say I had a hand in that plot where Read and Sir Basil-brook were in question in so much as my friends came running to me with tears in their eyes and all from his unadvised speeches was this like a friend vvith vvhom you had eaten and drunk and discoursed familiarly and from vvhom you had taken some small tokens of sincere affection as the books entituled Luthers Christian liberty The benefits of Christs death Freemans meditations and is I remember Christs Councell to Loadicea and since I vvas so far from retorting this injury upon you as that after it I chose rather to convince you by love and as a testimony of my good respects to you sent you the Hystory of Thucidides vvherevvith I vvas much delighted truly I vvonder nothing could keep you from bearing me rancour thus long and to vvatch this time of any to slay me vvith your unjust report And truly upon occasion lately making my moan of this kinde of usage to one of their ovvn people that had received extream prejudce against me upon these the like false reports vvhich upon some discourse vvith a friend of mine first and aftervvards vvith my friend and I together he did professe much greef for my hard usage and told me that he did impute most of all this to pride and emulation from this Mr. Price and in that my pen in Petitions vvhich othervvise vvas his vvork and trade vvas many times accepted if it be so it is a sad story indeed his ovvn conscience only knovvs vvhether it be so or not Yet I cannot but fear most of all the injuryes of this nature I have received have proceeded from this ground for othervvise I am certain I have given no occasion to that Congregation vvhereas most of my reproaches come fro● them And since I am thus fallen upon Mr. Richard Price there is yet