Selected quad for the lemma: authority_n
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A13314
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The hauen of pleasure containing a freemans felicitie, and a true direction how to liue well : profitable and del[i]ghtfull to all, hurtfull and displeasing to none, except it bee to such pecuish dames as do either foolishlie reiect, or carelesly neglect the dutie of chast matron[e]s / gathered out of the best approued authors.
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I. T.
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1597
(1597)
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STC 23621; ESTC S1650
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98,226
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170
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vvhich vvaie or after what forte GOD will bee vvorshipped and painteth out vnto thee the vvaie of thy saluation vvhich so it bee soundlie deliuered leaueth all other Artes so farre behinde it as Heauen is distaunt from the earth or as stronge thinges differ from the weake That part of this knovvledge which indueth the minde with faith shewed out to the Worlde in the workes of Charitie is necessarie for all menne to obtaine their saluation as I haue elsevvhere more at large shevved For by faith in Christe vvee haue accesse and entrance in one spirit vnto the Father Physicke prescribing a spare and temperate diet prouideth for healthe by the vse of vvholsome receiptes and healeth all diseases This as Plutarch witnesseth is of such accompt amongste the liberall Sciences that for honour and pleasure it is nothing at all inferiour to Ciuill and politique gouernement And it bringeth suche profite vnto the studentes thereof that besides the increase of all thinges belonging vnto house keeping it is most healthfull for the bodye which is more excellent then large possessions But what delight and profite the diligent seâ—ing into the nature of herbs bringeth together with the knoledge of their force and strength and what pleasure and delight is in the anatomising and cutting vp of men and vvomens bodies and in the diligent obseruation of their partes no man can be easilie perswaded vnlesse by vse exercise he hath practised it Now the knowledge of the Ciuill lavv hath alwaies bin had in great prize and estimation vvhose office is to rule Cities by counsel to establish good Lawes in them and to correct and amend them with iudgements Consulere in medium ac râ—bus succurrere fessis Parcere subiectis debellare superbos 〈…〉 Which is To counsell men indifferenthe and bring the wrongd to right To spare the humble and throw down proud trusters in their might Which order if any man thinke to contemne he as Cicero saith not onelie violentlie taketh avvay the bonds of true iudgement but also of common profite and life For by the helpe of the law we see Common wealthes to be vpheld and all controuersies betvveen Citizens and Countrie people to bee ended in peace and tranquilitie and that onelie by the authoritie of good lawes whereby princes and magistrates do exercise iustice and receiuing povver from God do punish malefactors and wicked persons and on the contrarie defend those that are good And therefore it is that God will haue great honour and obedience performed to kings â—om 13 such as gouern the commonwealth so they command thinges that bee iust and agreeable with Gods vvord That we must cleaue to some setled profession Chap. 19. SEing the most delectable studies do so please manie that they onelie spend their time and waxe olde in them neuer bending themselues to anie sound profession I thought it not amisse to aduertise all men that desire to receiue anie fruit by learning and would not spende their cost and labour in vaine to addict themselues to that profession wherunto they are most fit by nature least they should seeme to attempt any thing altogither againste Nature then earnestlie to applie the studies of their professions whereunto they are addicted and vvith all their force to attaine to the perfection thereof that applying their studies after this sort they may so it may be gotten attaine to a ful and perfect knowledge therein And for other delectable studies let him prooue them sometimes by fits as it were breathing or resting himselfe from his setled labour and yet with such a condition that he quickly returne againe to the taske and office of his vndertaken profession and call home againe his mind to his intermitted studies What studies and exercises are most profitable and fruitful and what are hurtful and pernicious Chap. 20. WE must also bevvare of that which diuers do practise in manie professions which is that we bestow not too much labour and paines about difficult obscure and altogither vnprofitable thinges but if thou spende much care and studie vppon thinges that bee honest and worthie to be knovvne I will highlie commend thee For there are some which busying themselues in some studies bestow all their paines in those thinge which are ful oâ— toile doubtes and griefs and yet returne no profite to their labour as is that ouer â—urious marking and iudging of the starres a vanitie fetched from the Chaldeans to which our rash professors leaning vnto do certainlie tell what shall happen to men to vvhat fortune they are borne vvhat shall be the ende and successe of all their actions neuer asking counsell at the Prouidence of God by vvhose will the whole worlde is gouerned whose rash and doubtfull predictions Esaiâ— quippeth and laugheth to scorne such as aske counsell and demande an Oracle or sentence from such deceiuers Cap. 44 47 For thus he derideth them Let the soothsayers which contemplate the starres of heaâ—en salute thee and let them reckon the moneths and thence tel thee things to come Cap. 10 Iereâ—â—e also doth the like Learn not of the Gentiles nor feare not the signes of heauen which the Gentiles feare because the lavves of them are vaine and their demonstrations are deceitfull and foolish By which words the holie prophets doe not altogither condemne and reiecte Astâ—ologie vvhich hath also her vse and profit but they scorne such professors of it vvho vnder counterfait and deceiueable colours of Diuination or telling of Fortune doe blind the common sort of people and deceiue them that are credulous with a vain expectation of things to come A neere kinsman to this is Chiromancie or Palmestrie which by looking on the lines and wrinkles of the hande telleth woonders The smoke and deceipt also of Alcumistrie where the trifling Alâ—umist perswades himselfe he can turne siluer bâ—asse and manie other thinges into gold And which is vvorse then all these Necromancie or Coniuration vvho are wont to raise dead bodies out of their graues and of them to aske Oracles and answeres 1 Kin. 29 as vve read Phytonissa did who to gratifie Saule brought Samuel or rather a counterfait and fained shape of Samuel to be seene of him Of the saide nature also are those Diuinations which call spirites to appeare in water and fire which we may call Hydromancers and Pyromancers and manie other iuglinges of diuelles and inchauntments of Sorcerers Hariolation Aruspitiation Auguration Auspication that is Diuination by seeing into the bowels of beastes and foretellings by the chirping and songes of birdes To which also I referre al such witches wisardes hagges and Sorcerers as doe hurt and annoie their neighbours Cattell and vvith the helpe of the Diuell doe steale avvaie their milke and butter spoile their haruest and vintage and take awaie strength from men and maketh them so feeble and weake that they are altogither vnable to performe the dutie of marriage of which strong men haue often complained to mee lamenting that they vvere
hath also had the name With sound of lute and pleasing words to moue stir the stones And lead theÌ„ where so ere he wold such force had wisdom once To seuer each mans goods apart the sacred from prophane To prohibite adultery and wedlocks rites explane To build vp townes make good lawes which were ingrau'd in wood And thus they honord Poets once and verses that were good Of the vse and profit of Histories Chap. 15. SEeing that a historie that is a faithfull narration of thinges done hath no lesse profite then delight for besides the pleasure we take in reading it doth it not bring vnto vs also most plentifull fruites of wisedome Therefore it is verie meet and requisite that euerie man do exercise him selfe therein For that the fruite of a historie is verie great Titus Liuius incidently declareth in these words It is a historie that in the knovvledge of things is most profitable and fruitfull there mayst thou see and behold documents of al examples laid vppe as it were in some excellent monument thence mayst thou gather that which thou thy selfe and thy familie may imitate and there mayest thou finde waies how to auoide bad enterprises and dangerous euents And when one demanded Zenâ— by what meanes a man may bee happie if saith he thou behold attentiuelie the age that went before thee that is If thou diligentlie marke the Noble acts of thy Elders and their excellent vertues For a historie as Ciâ—ero saith is the light of truth the keeper of time the life and strength of memory the mistris of our life the messeÌ„ger of antiquity in which al things are written finely and plentifully and as it ought to be faithfullie according as it vvas atchieued and doone And as for the holie Bible doeth it not lay open vnto vs a large field of Histories and shevve vnto vs plentifullie thinges done of olde From vvhence vvee may gather profitable instructions and fitte patternes of a good life of which manie of them do laie open to our eies and vnderstanding the vvonderfull iudgements of God and doe vvarne euerie one of vs hovv detestable a thing before God is Idolatrie the contempt of gods word the irreuerent regarde of him and the truste in any other but him alone Of Comedies Chap. 16. A Comedie is a neere kinsman to a hystorie and a glasse of mans life in vvhich one may see and behold his maners affections the expresse image of all his life vnder the person of another man and may marke and obserue thereby his ovvne vices and vertues yea and that as Tullie sayth after a pleasant elegant ciuill wittie and mery fashion vvhich kind of exercises almoste all Nations vse in their ovvne tongue and that sometimes vvith such a large scope and libertie of speech that as Horace saith libertie among players became a vice because they vvere thereby more prompt to follovv vice For they did not in this their libertie onelie defame the common and base sort of people but also disquieted rulers and great menne euen in the open Theaters of their Cities and sharpelie taunted them in vnseemlie rimes Yet if they had done this thinge without anie reproch or staine of the good name of them that were good and had not so inueyed against them with their seditious verses but had sharpened their tongues against them onely that had deserued it then might it seeme tolerable because the touching of suche sores might perhaps haue brought the sicke to repentance and haue put them in mind to haue regarded their duties The Dutchman cals this licence Batementen that is in English Priuate plaies and the rime or meter their Enterludes end in Rym oft Dychte that is rime or meter Now these delights and pleasures of vvit ought to be learned betimes while we are young and not after vve are stricken in yeares because these studies agree best vvith flourishing youth albeit the auncient may sometimes delight themselues therevvith hauing had a good smacke of it before in their youth For those thinges that are wholsome and profitable to vertue and honestie let not him that is growne to a good age no nor hee that is olde and farre stricken in yeares be ashamed to learne for to learn good things there is no time too late and to forsake vice neuer out of season Of eloquence and the art of speaking which is needeful and profitable for all men what Language soeuer hee speake Chap. 17. RHetoricke or the Art of Oratorie whose office is to speake aptlie distinctly finelie and with choise words and graue sentences to intice and inflame the minds of his auditorie is most needfull and profitable for such as execute the office of preaching rule in a Commonvvealth beare the office of Magistracie for such as are appointed to bee Maiors or sherifes in Cities and which must liue among discordes strifes in a campe sedition and vprores in a Citie and Commonwealth vvhose parts it is and whose authoritie requireth to appease the furious minds of a â—ude multitude and to rule them with good counsell words of authoritie For subiects are not alvvaies brought to obedience by threatninges feare violence crueltie svvord and punishment no they must not go so farre vnlesse the matter cannot be appeased without those bloudie remedies but they must be reclaimed from wicked enterprises to their duties by faire words holsome exhortations and countenances ful of grauitie and constancie The selfe-same wisedome and discretion ought maisters of families to vse tovvardes their seruantes and teachers of children tovvardes their schollers To what Artes the studies of humanitie do open vs the waie Chap. 18. THe studies of humanitie and liberal sciences doe not onelie polishe the toung with intising wordes and sweet sentences but also auaileth to get the proâ—itable and necessariâ— Artes of this life to wit Physicke Surgeriâ— and the Ciuill Lavve and in which the minde of man taketh great ioy and pleasure Phylosophie not onelie humaine but also Diuine vvhereby through Christe to come to the knowledge loue and Faith in God For all Artes in vvhich manne diligentlie exerciseth himselfe must be referred hither and onelie ayme at this white The professors of vvorldelie wisedome couâ—de neuer attaine to this vvho wandering from the veritie did thrust into mennes minds falshood for truth vaine conceits for sounde opinions forgerie for synceritie doubtes for certaintie and harmes for helpes and all because they wanted the spirite of God Now seeing that among all other artes there are onlie three which bring not onelie honour and profit to the professours albeit profite shoulde not bee so much regarded but also is of great vse to maintaine the liues of the common sort of people thou muste betimes deliberate vvhich of them thou haste a desire to follovve and to vvhich by Nature thou art moste apte and sitte Theologie that is the knovvledge of Diuinitie giuen by the inspiration of the holie Ghoste frameth the minde to godlinesse and instructeth thee