"THIS Duty implies that we should affectionately interest ourselves in whatever concerns the Honour, the Fame and Security of our Sovereign and his Government"
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A cleric telling you to “affectionately interest” yourself in the “Honour, the Fame and Security” of the sovereign isn’t offering spiritual counsel so much as drafting parishioners into a loyalty campaign. Inglis’s phrasing turns politics into piety: “Duty” arrives with the weight of a commandment, while “affectionately” insists that obedience shouldn’t feel coerced. You’re not merely required to comply; you’re expected to want to.
The triad is doing quiet heavy lifting. “Honour” and “Fame” are not just about competent governance; they’re about reputation management. The state’s image becomes a moral object, something a good Christian should tend like a shared altar. “Security,” placed last, supplies the implied threat: affection is nicer than force, but force is waiting offstage. In a period when loyalty to crown and government was contested, that sequencing reads like pastoral soft power followed by a hard reminder of stakes.
Contextually, Inglis was an Anglican clergyman in the revolutionary era, famously aligned with the British cause. His project was to fuse ecclesiastical authority with imperial legitimacy, reframing dissent as a failure of character rather than a disagreement about rights. The subtext is blunt: if you question “his Government,” you aren’t participating in civic debate; you are endangering the moral and social order. It’s propaganda in vestments, sanctifying monarchy by making the sovereign’s standing a shared spiritual responsibility.
The triad is doing quiet heavy lifting. “Honour” and “Fame” are not just about competent governance; they’re about reputation management. The state’s image becomes a moral object, something a good Christian should tend like a shared altar. “Security,” placed last, supplies the implied threat: affection is nicer than force, but force is waiting offstage. In a period when loyalty to crown and government was contested, that sequencing reads like pastoral soft power followed by a hard reminder of stakes.
Contextually, Inglis was an Anglican clergyman in the revolutionary era, famously aligned with the British cause. His project was to fuse ecclesiastical authority with imperial legitimacy, reframing dissent as a failure of character rather than a disagreement about rights. The subtext is blunt: if you question “his Government,” you aren’t participating in civic debate; you are endangering the moral and social order. It’s propaganda in vestments, sanctifying monarchy by making the sovereign’s standing a shared spiritual responsibility.
Quote Details
| Topic | Leadership |
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