Page:Of the Principle and Duties of Natural Religion, 6th ed., 1710.djvu/12

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iv
The Preface.

and of our Neighbour, For all the great Duties of Piety and Justice are written upon our Hearts, and every Man feels a secret Obligation to them in his own Conscience, which checks and restrains him from doing contrary to them, and gives him Peace and Satisfaction in the Discharge of his Duty; or in case he offend against it, fills him with Guilt and Terror.

And certainly it is a Thing of very considerable use, rightly to understand the natural Obligation of moral Duties, and how necessarily they flow from the Consideration of God and of ourselves. For it is a great Mistake, to think that the Obligation of them doth solely depend upon the Revelation of God's Will made to us in the Holy Scriptures, It is plain that Mankind was always under a Law, even before God had made any

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