our practice 1. Now the first Direction in order hereto is To choose out some fit time to Meditate This will much further our design and prove helpful to us We find that our Great Master chose the early Morning For then rising up before Day he went out S. Mark 1. 25. and departed into a solitary place and prayed and the Patriarch Isaac used this Exercise in the Field at the Evening Gen 24. 69. It is not absolutely necessary to pitch just upon such a certain time and no other and if that be past or busied other ways then to lay it aside but we should as near as we can pitch on such a time wherein we are most free from our Worldly occasions Nor is it requisite that all Persons observe the very same time for all have not the same business or occasions and therefore divers hours may be most proper in this present case but some peculiar time of the Day or as oft as we can we should sequester our selves for pious Meditation And verily that part of the Day which is so us'd may procure a blessing for all the other parts for God doth not forget those who do not forget him 2dly We should find out a proper place 2. Direct for this Office such a circumstance may much further this necessary employ Solomon assures us that through desire a Man Prov. 18. 1. having separated himself seeketh and meddleth with all Wisdom The mind of Man is soon disturb'd with sights and noise and those matters which hinder the free exercise of Meditation and therefore convenient places conduce much to the right performance of it The Devil would fain burthen our Ears and employ them too much that so we being intent upon the lesser may neglect our greater concerns He would entertain and 〈◊〉 our Ears with pleasant Tales and Fables that so we might take no notice whether we be Travelling to Heaven or Hell It is his Sorrow and therefore it should be our Ioy to go into our private Apartments and there fix our minds upon our present and future condition 3dly In order to due 〈◊〉 Meditation 3. Direct we must get our Hearts into a right frame for it When we have resolv'd upon the Time and the Place then we should be as careful to order our Hearts well and in good earnest this is not an easy business for our Hearts will require some pains and study before we can bring them into a Meditatimg temper They are deceitful and so may perswade us that we are when indeed we are not so well qualified for this Duty as we ought to be To Meditate is to be very intent and serious and such a disposition is neither quickly or easily procur'd and yet this Frame we must get or we can't herein perform our Duty Now the most proper means to be thus qualified is to keep our Hearts with Mede on Prov. 4. 23. all diligence that is to watch them that they do not admit such vain and foolish things into them that may put aside this Office of Holy Meditation and if we cannot at one time we must strive at another to fix and compose our minds we must take some pains in this business and the gain of it as I have shewn will more than sufficiently recompence the hardness of the Task If we can't Meditate to day or to night we must try to do it tomorrow or some other time and follow the business to purpose till we have through Gods grace brought our Minds to a Meditating frame and when we are in tune for the Duty we shall perform it with comfort You must acknowledge that Mens Ignorance herein spoils all They suppose that a short time and little labour will serve for the Duty but when they go about it and find many worldly Cares and this and that and the other trifle put them by and take them off and oblige their Thoughts to fix on them sooner than upon Heaven and Heavenly matters then they are or may be convinc'd that to Meditate is not so easie a task as they imagin'd and then as the supposed easiness of it kept them from the exercise of it for some time so now the real difficulty of it will hinder them from any performance of it Now this may be prevented and the real knowledge of the Duty of Meditation may be obtain'd if we study to keep our Hearts in a due Frame and Disposition And to do thus we should not surfeit our Minds with inferiour things nor disorder our Bodies by Intemperance for the contrary Vertue 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 dic 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 frees our Souls from Vexatious Troubles and preserves them safe and sound Nor should we burthen our Memories with many Curiosities nor be always in much though perhaps not bad Company But we should be orderly and watchful and careful and sober and serious and solitary and hereby we shall keep our Hearts with all diligence and put them into a fit posture for Meditation and so exercise the Office with much delight and benefit 4thly When we would rightly Meditate 4. Direct we must preface that Office with Prayer Now Prayer is an Ascension of the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Heart to God and when it is presented to him with an entire and warm Affection the Tongue does not forerun the Wit that is we do not speak what we do not fore-think for God's Grace is not obtain'd by an unaccomptable Multiplication of Cyphers or Insignificant Expressions But the pious Heart shoots forth its Affections as so many keen Arrows which pierce into Heaven Upon Examination we shall find that there is not any Religious Duty which can be rightly perform'd unless it be begun with Prayer and the Reason is Because to do as we ought in Religious Matters is the Gift of God Now every S. Iam. 1. 17. good and perfect Gift cometh from above And God will not let it drop down upon us unless we first raise up our Hearts by Prayer to him Now there is no Gift of greater Benefit as you have heard than that of due Meditation and therefore this should be beg'd and earnestly beg'd of God in our daily Devotions The Difficulty of that Duty should drive us to this for if we find that we can't do a business our selves we pray help and assistance and so we should of God in this case and this may be an Argument to prevail with him to comply with our Petitions when we do pray Our Experience tells us that our Souls are weak and infirm and infected with 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the plagues of Sin Now Prayer is the best and only Medicine to make them sound and so fit to exercise the Office of Meditation and the reason may be because if in Prayer we humbly and submissively acknowledge our own Weakness and declare that we cannot of our selves Meditate rightly and that we are not able to overcome
in a particular manner we would Meditate upon the Nature and Properties which God hath wrought in Beasts we might thence not only take good Instructions for the better preservation and sustenance of our Bodies but Lessons also to frame and perfect our Manners As for Instance Meditate on the Camel which then stoopeth and kneeleth when he shall be charged and thence learn the lesson of Humility Meditate on the Cock which giveth out of his own Mouth Meat to his Hens and exposeth himself to any danger to keep them safe and thence learn the Lessons of Liberality and care over our Families Meditate on the Bee which gets Honey out of the Flowers without any damage or injury done to them and thence learn to Gain by the use of anothers Goods without his hurt or prejudice Meditate on the one eyed Fish called vid. Fran. de Animal Ura Noscopos whose Eye so stands that it always looketh upwards and thence learn to fix your hearts upon things which are above Or upon the Goat which continually climbs up to high and eminent places and thence learn the same Lesson more perfectly From Meditation on such and the like Works of God Good and Learned Persons have much improved themselves and others by way of Application of them for Orators have us'd them to perswade and others also who have written well and Elegantly and God and Holy Men frequently instruct us by the Manners and Conditions of Beasts and lead us thereby to perfection and uprightness of Life for they advise us to be Prudent as Serpents and Innocent as Doves and Meek and Gentle as the Lamb and Strong and Constant as the Lyon Now to many other Examples of this kind I shall leave you to your own thoughts Thus we see what a large Field of Meditation all Mankind hath from what they see God hath done in the World But we must not bound our Meditations On what Christians should meditate here but consider that we are Christians and thereupon proceed in this Duty with care and circumspection for because we are thus called it behoves us to fix our thoughts chiefly on God's gracious Work in sending his Son into the World to Redeem those who Believe in him from the Bondage of Sin Death and Misery That God so loved the World that he Io. 3 16. gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting Life is such a glad Tyding which should never slip out of our memories Certainly there is much Benefit got by reflecting upon such loving Works of God for as the Flint is broken upon the Cushion so our Hearts which are hard and stony by customary sinning will hereby through God's Grace be broken and made tender and plyable to the observance of God's Laws Meditate upon Divinity cloathed in Humanity upon Life suffering Death upon Glory induring Shame upon the Beloved cast out to Misery upon Heaven Descending into Hell and then be silent if you can and if it be possible forbear to cry out who can resist such Love What frozen Heart cannot be thaw'd with such heat Who would not Fear such a Lord And who would not be Obedient to such a Father These are the admirable effects which are wrought in us by the Meditation on such a wonderful Work of God and therefore to fix our thoughts frequently upon this Object is not only the special Duty but the excellent priviledge of us who are called Christians And here Meletus that he might not surfeit his Hearers patience and hereby put the Medicine he us'd for their diligence in the prescrib'd Office in need of a Medicine it self he adjourn'd them to another time to hear the Report he was to make upon the next Object of Meditation CHAP. III. Meletus's Second Discourse of Meditation IN the next Congress he proceeded to declare that the Duty of Meditation was to be exercis'd upon our selves That is said he we must Think upon our Condition what we are and what we are like to be Whether we are what we profess Christians in reality and whether we declare our selves to be so by departing from Iniquity Now if by Meditation we discover what we are we shall soon know what we shall be if we so continue for Misery and Happiness everlasting will be the consequent of our Wicked or Pious Conversation as we Live so shall we Die and as we Die so shall we be Rewarded we must either be Goats or Sheep receive our Blessing or our Curse either be thrown down into outer Darkness or else enter into our Masters Ioy. Now the first Meditation in reference to our selves should be to know what the Condition of our Heart is for that is the special Gift which God requests of us And Prov. 23. since we should not give him we know not what something at adventure and not what we may be assured he will kindly accept and carefully Preserve and plentifully Reward We must fix our thoughts so as to examine what our Hearts are in themselves and then we shall know what our selves are and what God expects from us Now as no Member of the Body performs any Action of Spiritual Life wherein a Pulse from the Heart doth not Beat. So it is in the See Mede on Prov. the 4. spiritual Man and the Actions of Grace that lives not which some Gracious v. 23. Motion from the Heart doth not quicken and therefore know by Tryal and Examination what that is Now according to Scripture Phrase the Heart of Man is of a large extent for 't is not only the principal inward part of all Life and the Fountain of Motion and Native Heat but it is the Principal and Original of all the faculties and of all the Because of this full description of the Heart the greek Inter preters give it many Names as 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Animal and Vital Operations The seat of the Understanding Fancy Memory and Affections It is the spring from whence the Thoughts Discourses Imaginations Passions and Motions which are in Man flow and stream forth Besides it is the Treasury of Virtues and Sink of Vices and the place of all Habits So that the Heart signifies a sincere assent of Mind a serious purpose of Will a great force of Affections a large endeavour of Strength and Integrity and perfection of Mind Now when upon Meditation we thus know what our Hearts are and how they are differenc'd from double or rather half Hearts then we shall understand what that Duty and Obedience to God is which is hearty or perform'd with the whole Heart and which will be well pleasing to him for hence we learn that it must be true and sincere not feigned and hypocritical serious and solid and not in jest light and superficial diligent and efficacious not weak remiss and sloathful whole and full not concise lame and imperfect Now this knowledge is not only worth the obtaining but absolutely
they can as little help as hear us and will be as insignificant in what we supplicate them for as the Roman Gods were to the Saguntines who in spight of their Divinity perished by Hanibal and the Carthaginians for keeping their Faith to the Romans Now since some Mens Dangers should if wisely improv'd be the caution of others then it should be ours and if in conformity hereto we would distill sovereign Water from Hemlock and Medicine from Poison that is Wisdom from Folly true Devotion from Superstition Ghostly Advice from Dead Saints we should study and learn the true from the Danger and Vanity of the fore-mentioned Persons false Worship and whilst they prove Fools in doing otherwise we should be so wise as to make Almighty God the only Object of our Prayers and send up our Hearts and our Desires to him through Christ the only Mediator and Intercessor By doing thus we shall speed and be as sure to have as that we ask and to find as that we seek Some Instances herein may be expedient so that when upon Examination of our selves which is a necessary Duty we perceive our Souls comfortless under the weight of our Sins and that the remembrance of them is grievous to us and the burden of them intollerable we should pray to our Saviour and mind him of his gravious Promise that he will give Rest to 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 are thus weary and heavy laden When our Souls are wounded and sick through the unwearied Assaults of our spiritual Enemies we must go to our Apartments and there Pray Not Holy Lady Mary but Holy Lord Heal our Souls for we have sinned against thee say not by thy Wounds O dear Saint Francis But by thy Passion O dear and sweet Iesu intercede for us When Holy Desires thro God's Grace are planted in our hearts we should Pray to him only who fulfils the Desires of Psal. 37. them who fear him that he would quench those Thirstings and satiate those Pantings of our Souls after him When we are under shrewd Tryals through various Temptations and at that time God delays help and stops his Ears when we Cry we should then throw up an Eye and it should be a Weeping Eye to Heaven and in an humble posture Pray Up Lord Why sleepest thou awake and be not absent from us for ever At thy Feet and there only will we lye with our Petitions and if we cannot speed but must even there perish let us perish To wind up our Bottom When we are hated and persecuted by the World and our Crosses like rowling Waves multiply to Mountains and then rush down to overwhelm us we must then Address our selves to God in Prayer and weep another Wave in complaint to him and beseech him to hear our Cry and save us we must throw all our Complaints into his Ears all our Groans and Sighs into his Bowels and hereupon he will bow down and lend us his Ear by hearkning to the Voice of our Cry and then his Bowels will yearn towards us and he will bow embrace us with his Arms and feed our Souls with his Kisses by giving us frequent Tokens of his Love Thus spake Theosebius And Glycon having noted with much Satisfaction the mild and ingenuous Temper which he shew'd to Sebagius who was his Opponent and that he had steep'd his Weapons in Balsom that is his solid Arguments with perswasive Expressions and thereby had wounded and healed him at the same time he was solicitous that something might be Discoursed of in reference to the Love and civil Temper which we should use to our Enemies in their largest Sense that is not only to those who are so to our Sentiments or settled Perswasions as it was in the forementioned Disputants but to 〈◊〉 Persons and all our outward Goncerns and having good Reason to judge 〈◊〉 to be a Person universally Benevolent he prayed him to proceed in their next Meeting upon this Matter Eumenes who very seldom if ever denied his Acquaintance the satisfaction of their Wishes and was Courteous and Complisant to an Example chearfully comply'd with this and after a little thoughtfulness stood up and thus Discoursed of CHAP. X. The Worlds Riddle OR The Love of Enemies Discoursed of by Eumenes THAT the Love of our Neighbour Eumenes i. e. One Benevolent and kind from the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Mitis Benevolus is a general Precept of the Law of Nature is proved by this Reason namely for that every Person is wedded to himself or his own Interest Now as often as private Advantages do separate the whole political Body and disjoyn one Member thereof from another the mutual Communication which Nature it self or right Reason dictates for every ones use is suspended and thereupon the order of Nature is violated and God the Author of Man's Conjunction in the Band of Love is dis-regarded and this must turn to the prejudice of every single Person However this hath been the peevishness and absurdity of some People especially the Iews and amongst them the Scribes who were their Men of the Long Robe that they have esteemed Neighbourhood from each Persons condition and quality and so have thought none N. B. to be their Neighbours but such who deserved their Love by some Benefit and officious Carriages or at least could return one good Turn for another But it cannot be unknown to us that our Master hath taught us another Lesson which is that the Love which God Commands in his Law doth not respect each person's Merits but diffuseth it self upon the unworthy perverse and ungrateful This is the genuine Sense which our Master the Holy Iesus did in his Sermon upon the Mount restore and vindicate from Reproach and Calumny and thereupon made it plain that he gave at that time no new Laws but corrected the ill Paraphrases and Comments of the forementioned Scribes and their Followers with which the Purity of God's Law was corrupted Now the whole Doctrine of our 〈◊〉 is agreeable to this large Scope and extension of Love where Enemies are included and the Reason may be because whoever can perswade himself to love those who hate him will easily or at least more than otherwise avoid all Revenge and bear all Evils that is all Affronts Disgraces and Injuries and will be much more propense to help and relieve the necessitous and oppressed Persons Now the Object of this huge and thick Christian Grace to wit Enemies must be exactly weigh'd in our Minds that we may know its due measure and when it is so we shall find That it signifies such Who are 〈◊〉 mies persons who vex us in any degree and have offensive and injurious Designs against us And such who pursue us with scandalous and malicious Speeches or offer violence to our Lives Estates or Relations or Friends or who willingly disturb our Peace and prosperous Condition And to love this Object is to forgive all the forementioned Faults to such persons
David spared his raging Enemies and would if he could have obliged them For all Persons but those would have acknowledged themselves to have been so Let our next Stage be towards Mount Olivet and thence let us take a View of the Law of Grace and therein we shall find that the Holy Iesus St Stephen the Apostles and Martyrs and all Saints have been Exemplary herein this Motto was given by one of the first Rank of them Maledicimur Benedicimas 1 Cor. 4. It is true These were Saints and such to whom a large Manifestation of the Holy Ghost was given But yet Caesar and Pericles were not such nor were many others which we may call to mind from our own reading and observation and therefore what they did to procure a vain and transitory why should not we do to obtain a real and eternal Glory Moreover Ioseph David Stephen Paul and others were Saints yet at that time they were also Men they were kneaded up together of Flesh and Bones and we all know they had Sense and Blood and Choler tho' they were Pure and Holy and so ought we all to be otherwise we shall not enter into the Kingdom of God Thus we have heard that the whole World and each part of it enjoyn us by their Example to Love our Enemies And now Eumenes was passing on to his last Reason for this Duty But there being in this Congress a Nephew of his by his Sister Aurora named Musophil who Beloved of the Muses had been very attentive to what had been spoken and having peculiarly noted his Uncle's Argument for Enemy-Love which was drawn from Authority especially as to the two first parts of it made some sign to Glycon that they might admit of his chearful Interpone before any other Argument was urged in the present Matter This offer was kindly accepted and hereupon Musophil added to the Narrative of the first part of the Worlds Testimony for the Love of our Enemies this That Tho' 〈◊〉 with Storm the April Tulip be Yet when that 's or'e it smiles most gratefully And as unhurt Courts as before each Eye And again Th' Air pleasing Bird tho' turned out of Cage Wanders not to and fro in scraming rage But with her winged sails doth cruise in th' Air Back to her first place where she sings more rare I thank you said Eumenes for this gilt Button to my Freez Ierkin and for this carving said Glycon to our Oaken board And now Eumenes had in reserve his last Reason to Discourse upon but considering that 't would take up more time than could at present be well spar'd to make it clear and demonstrative to his Friends he kept it as a fit Subject for their hearing the next Meeting CHAP. XII Eumenes Second Discourse of the Love of Enemies WHEN they appear'd together again after the usual Formalities were over Eumenes assisted their Memories with a short Narration of whathad been formerly deliver'd and then past on to another main Reason why all Christians should Love their Enemies and this he drew from the State and Condition of all Persons in this World For says he We can go no where but we shall meet with opprobrious Terms and injurious Actions these are daily past N. B. upon us and we can get no Buckler large enough to defend us from them However unless we learn to Love these Enemies who are thus desperately bent against us and to Pardon their Affronts and sometimes wink at their Dis-obligations there will be no Love or Peace in this Life we must love them or we can scarcely Love any Body and therefore we should do exceeding well and that which would be much more than the value of our Pains to make this Virtue of Necessity And here I cannot choose but add That in this Life we are so frail of Temper and so full of Sin that the very thought hereof should hinder us from breaking the Band of Love when Injuries and Disgraces are cast upon us For to expostulate this Case a little I pray tell me Are we despised Let us consider that we N. B. have nothing Praise worthy Are we cheated or plunder'd of our Goods Let us consider that they were perishable and uncertain and that it becomes each of us to be as those who have nothing Are we hurt and maim'd in our Bodies We should consider that this is a sort of necessary Discipline taught us by God himself Are Traps and Snares laid for our Lives We should then consider what St. Paul in this very Case did and follow him Are we maliciously and peevishly slander'd and frequently ill spoken of We should then Note that our Great Master and dear Saviour was so used and when he was revil'd revil'd not again Now when we are gone hence and have proper time to Meditate let us do so by weighing these foremention'd Considerations and then we must think it reasonable to Love our Enemies so as to forgive and forget their Injuries And besides all this for Arguments in this Case swarm about us It is an Office most excellent in its Essence and Operations and highly Beneficial to those who can execute it and in good Earnest none can be more for it is a Matter Generous Noble and most Christian like To Love our Friends is a mere Mechanical Employ and can Challenge only the Name of Traffick or Merchandise for that is such and not Friendship which aims at Gain and only regards that it may be hoarded up To love our Friends is an Occupation which Publicans and Sinners can set themselves about Ay and by your leave said Musophil this Occupation as you well word it may and hath been manag'd by Creatures most irrational and vile For Wolves Vipers Lions Tygers can Give Love unto their Brood as well as Man The Youth who pickt the Thorne from th' Lion's Foot Got Friendship from him and his Life to 〈◊〉 It is well and truly observ'd said Eumenes but the Love of our Enemies is a Business of another kind and a Lesson of an higher form and a Star of a greater magnitude Believe it there is nothing of the forementioned Merchandize in it But we must acknowledge that there is in it another which is much more gainful for hereby we wind and turn the penny for things which are eternal It is not impossible but a Friend may be loved for the sake of God however it is not so apparent as that there can be no question made of it But when an Enemy is loved it seems as clear as Light it self that he is so in respect of God himself for where shall we find any other Motive to it 'T is certain that the Love of God doth not shine forth very hot in a Friend but in an Enemy it spreads forth its Beams largely and its Rays are very keen and servent And though thus to love be against Nature yet it is only that which is corrupt for it agrees and
live either that he may be reformed or that the good Person may be exercised by him And 't is worth a Remark that this is one Difference betwixt the Sons of Nobles and Inferiour Persons that the first have their Governors who care for them and reprove and correct them when there is need of it the others have none but they do what they list Thus those who are the adopted Sons of God 〈◊〉 they are dutiful and obedient and are Heirs of the Kingdom of Heaven they have a Governor that is an Enemy who exerciseth corrects and reforms them Hereupon Christ saith Love your Enemies St. Mat. 44. and do good to them that hate you He saith not in this place Do good to them who do evil to you but to them who hate you And this saying shews that he who persecutes us does not do us evil but good because by him we are exercised to Vertue When Rebecca had two Sons in her womb Esau and Iacob they strove between themselves Hereupon God said The Elder shall serve the Younger i. e. Esau Iacob Hence S. Augustin asks How did Esau serve Iacob since he persecuted him to Death and through the fear of him he fied his Countrey To which he answered That the Elder was to serve the Younger not by Obedience but Vexation as the Fire serves the Gold Wherefore tho' the Sinner persecutes the Righteous by Scoffs and Injuries and threats of Death yet he doth not hurt but profit him he doth him good and not evil and therefore is not his Enemy He is only his true Enemy who seeks the Life of his Soul and always studies to deprive him of his eternal Inheritance and this the Devil doth and therefore is his true and only true Enemy This wrought such Conviction upon one of the Assembly who sate near the present Speaker named Eureketas that he openly said Certainly he must have no Eye in his Soul that is no understanding who cannot perceive much Splendour and he must be a bad Accomptant who cannot reckon up many Benefits which are plac'd in this Office of Love Enemy as you have describ'd it to us But if you can yet hold out I would beg the Favour of you to teach me how to make those Engines by which I may frame it in my self for till now I never esteemed it possible to be wrought in any Body I shall replied Eumenes only teach you to make one Engine and that will do it as well as a Thousand and that is this I would have you not only to know what the Grace of Charity is as it hath been lately described to you but to live in the right use and exercise of it for as the heat of the Sun consumes the Clouds so the heat of Charity melts away Injuries to nothing and so translates an Enemy into a Friend But on the contrary as the cold of the Night nourisheth the Clouds so the Heart grown cold with Malice and Revenge retains and encreaseth Reproaches and hatcheth Enmity out of a very little Injury It is worth more than our ordinary Notice what we read in Holy Writ of a little Cloud which ascended from the Sea and then the Heavens were much darkned 2 King 18. and many Clouds and much Wind did arise and there followed a great Storm For it may be thus applied It is frequent in our present Case That first a little Cloud ariseth from the Sea that is some small Injury from a salt bitter heart some Scurvy word is utter'd and then other Clouds of Injuries do follow Hereupon the Mind is much darkned and much Thunder and Rain that is many railing and angry Expressions fall but if the heat of the Sun of Charity extenuates the little Cloud of Reproaches and disperseth it then a Tempest of revengeful Evil will not arise Upon Tryal you will find that the Affection of Love is an hot Sun and he that takes it away deprives the World of that Planet but if it remain then as the Sun gives light to the Stars so that will give Loveliness to Angels and Men And as Gold gilds Wood and Iron and adorns them so will that Affection gild the Soul and cloath it with the Ornament of God I am hugely satisfied said the forementioned Eureketas that an Engine made as you have directed is proper to frame this sort of Affection and when it is fram'd I must own it to be an excellent Peice and such as will make the Soul very gay and lovely But there is one part of it generally disliked and I have seen some scornfully Smile at it and say that it spoils the whole and indeed most Persons whom I have convers'd with Shoot some Bolt against it I had thought said Eumenes to have given you a Taste a full Draught would prove nauseous of the Sentiments which some entertain against this Duty of Loving our Enemies But you speak but of one part which finds an ill Character with some Persons and therefore I pray mention it that you may have your desired Resolution therein It is then with Submission said he That part of the Duty which concerns the forgiving of Injuries That is replied Eumenes a curious Slip of that delicate Flower the Love of an Enemy and it is Pity it should be blown upon and ruffled with the Wind of a detracting Tongue However proceed and tell us What is the ill Character which you have heard of it It is this said Eureketas Namely that to forgive Injuries is called by some a low pittiful sneaking Temper and us'd only by Persons of narrow scanty Souls and Fortunes and void of all Bravery and Courage I have heard the same said Eumenes but this is an Errour and such which rather deserves Pity if not Scorn than a serious Thought and an Argument against it would be too too great an Honour for it For I pray weigh the Matter and N. B. tell me Doth God himself account it high and noble to Forgive and shall any Person account it vile and base Is it honourable in the Lords eye and shall it be despicable in the Servants Surely if there can be any such Conceit it must be the mishapen Child of Ignorance and Pride There are other Persons who instead of forgiving Injuries study to excuse themselves from the Duty by saying that if they do so All People will slight them and they shall bear no Figure or a very little one amongst their Neighbours Now herein I shall suppose as they do and also that they may be scorched with the Iuniper Coals or the scotts and Ieers of rude Tongues but then I must request them to tell me whether the Commendations of God and Angels will not prove a Remedy sufficient to cure the smart which they suffer hereupon It is well known that unworthy Persons condemn them and those of the best Qualifications think them Praise-worthy Fools deride and Wise men admire them and surely this Carriage may be made use
contrary to Charity and partly because Laws are establish'd in all publick matters well ordered for the repairing of Injuries and comforting of those who are hereby grieved Now these would be perfect Cyphers if there must be no Accompt made of them against those who are injurious and oppressive and partly because it is profitable for the very Malefactors themselves that they be sued and punished for their Wrongs and unjust Dealings and that their Prey so got should be taken from them and assuredly it is a part of Love to cause them to suffer Punishment according to due course of Law For he is lovingly and beneficially setter'd and chastis'd who is restrain'd thereby from his Oppression Upon this Head I remember the wholsome Advice which Seneca gives to Lucilius 47 Epist. in one of his Epistles It is says he behoveful to neglect N. B. Injuries and Taunts and Checks which I will call the Shadows of Injuries whether I deserve them or not For if I do it is not a proper Check or Scoff but a just Opinion given of me If not then he who was injurious should blush hereat and not my self Now if there be not one Reason and it is impossible there should why each Christian should not Con this Lesson as exactly as any Philosopher I am sure there are a great many you have been told of why he should do it better I shall add one Example to the former I have cited and soon after put a period to this Discourse and what you may in your Retirements super-add by your Meditating upon what you have heard and read and known hereof will so confirm this Duty of Love Enemy that it shall never be doubted of hereafter but put in exercise with great Zeal and Constancy The Example is this Pyrrhas King of Epyrus had heard that certain of his Subjects had injur'd his Name over their Cups amongst the Tarentines He sent for some of them and ask'd whether what he had heard and then repeated to them was true One of them answered That if they had not wanted Wine that which was told him was but Mirth and Iest to what they should have said of him This blunt Excuse of this Debauch and such a plain Confession of Truth turn'd their King's Frowns into Smiles and by this his Mildness and Love he afterward procur'd the Tarentines Thanks whenever they were sober and their Hussa's and good Wishes when in their Revels and Iollities Your Example in this case said Eumenes is very apposite and worthy to be added to those we have mention'd before and may not only confirm to our Understandings but cause our Wills to embrace and choose this Love of our Enemies as you have very pertinently noted And if in our united Devotions we would beseech Almighty God to teach us it by the Hand of his Holy Spirit without which all our Labour will be Idleness and our Care Negligence we shall prove good Proficients in this Art for as red-hot Iron burns by the 〈◊〉 which penetrates its Substance and not of it self so we become zealous or inflam'd herein not through our own dull Natures but by the Fire of Divine Love which God by his Holy Spirit kindles in us With this wholesom Advice Eumenes shut up his Discourse and Glycon not dismissing the Assembly thereupon as he had formerly done they chearfully waited to know the Reason hereof supposing as it fell out that himself would dictate something worthy of himself and useful to them And after some Premeditation he stood up and made it evident to them what an incomparable Art of Memory he had learned for a short account of the reason of his Intention being given instead of presenting them with his Note-Book as a dumb Rehearser of what the former Lecturers had deliver'd he made himself a Speaking-Book to them by a punctual Rehearsal thereof and when he had thus gratified them he dismiss'd the Assembly FINIS Advertisement Of some Books Printed for Sam. Kebleat the Turks-Headin Fleet-street SEnertus's Meditations setting forth a plain Method of Living Holily and Dying Happily Written Originally in Latin and now Translated into English The Historical Part of the Old and New Testament in Verse with One hundred and twenty Cuts being the best Use of Poetry and Sculpture 120. Epicteti Enchiridion Or the most Excellent Morals of Epictetus Made English in a Poetical Paraphrase A Collection of Private Forms of Prayers for Morning Noon and Night and other special Occasions Divine and Moral Discourses on Divers Subjects The Penitent Or Entertainments for Lent Written in French by the R. F. N. Causin and Translated into English by Sir B. B. with Sculptures Preparations to a Holy Life or Devotions for Families and private persons with Directions suited to most particular Cases Also Meditations Prayers and Rules for the more pious observing the Holy Time of Lent