knoweth the body to be her instrumeÌ„t to accomplish many excellent endeuors as to exercise temperance in meate and drinke continency in other pleasures prudence in the gouernement of the creatures committed to reasons charge fortitude to conquer her enemies and the like as it is noted Mercur. in Pymond by Mercurius Trismegistus In which offâ—ces of vertue the body doth not only performe a taske of toylesome labour but also for the soules sake endureth oftentimes to be depriued of many delights which otherwise were due to the senses and to suffer many contrary effects of payne and griefe Whereupon the soule respecteth the body with a gratefull affection and seeketh by all outward remonstrance to cherish and honor it as an agent with her in the vse of vertue a fellow partener in all distresles a dutifull seruant in all occurrences a most assured friend and companion in all Tertul. de resurâ—ect Trogus 6. necessityes and as Tertullian speaketh the Case wherin she is kept and couered in this life If Epaminondas his sheild was so deare vnto him as that lying vpon his death-bed he desired to see it and departing this life kissed it louingly as his faithfull companion in all his aduentures what account is the soule to make of the body 5. The last cause which prouoketh this loue of the soule towards the body is the excelleÌ„cy of the body it selfe well knowne to the soule truly enformed For the body though it be mortall by sinne yet is ordained to immortality hath title to euerlasting glory and a triumphant roome in heauen How can the body saith Tertullian be separated from Tertul. lib. de resur reward with the soule whome in this life common labour and vertue haue ioyned together And wheÌ„ nature is abridged by death to cherish the body more in life she couereth the corse with blacke she burneth it with sweet spices she eÌ„balmeth and entombeth it erecteth for it the Plin. ep 5. ad Marcell num Tertul. lib. de cuitu Fem. best memory of eternall honor that she can neither hath mankind suruiuing taken any thing with greater impatience then to behold buryall denyed to their friends or kinffolkes bodyes by the impiety of their enemies Non alijs vltum Cadmeia pubes Insurgunt stimulis quà m si turbata sepulcris Stul. l. q. v. 1. Soph in Anâ—igon Piutar in Num. Pauâ—on in Atâ—ic Ossa patrum monstriâ—que datae crudelibus vrnae 6. And when the earth hath made a finall concealement of all the bodyes substance quality and glory yet reason liuing in posterity not vnmindfull of that endlesse immortality which belongeth to it by right and custome repaireth to the tombe and there by câ—remony of flowers and incense protesteth what good it wisheth to the body deceased and to what it is once maugre death to arriue in heauen Nos fest a souebimus ossa Violis frigida saxa Prudent cathemer Hieron in obit Paulin Liquido spergemus odore 7. Thus haue we specified the generall motiues for the soule to adorne the body in this life with Apparell hereby may be vnderstood the reason why this care is so common to euery ones cogitation that few according to their ability omit to do it more or lesse And therefore as the occasion is subiect to excesse so the moderation requireth prudence and vertue 8. Now to come to the particular differences of Apparel in diuers NatioÌ„s we may consider them in two sortes First according to substance then their quality and fashion And we shall see that both kinds proceed originaly from heate and cold of the Countrey wherin such people dwell Now concerning the substance of Apparell the matter is more cleare Heate of the sunne and cold in different climates giue occasion to the inhabitans to make their cloathes thicker or finer as necessity requireth 9. Also from the same constitution and temper of heate cold arise varietyes of fashions to couer mens bodyes more or lesse for we see vpon euery little difference in this kind euen in one and the selfe sâ—me kingdome according to variety of complexions great variety of fashions some iudging this forme or colour to be an ornament to the body because it representeth some proportionate quality of their minds which the inhabitants of other places vtterly mistike and make choyse of quite contrary colours and fashions for the same effect The Indian glorieth in gay coloured feathers his bracelets of gold his â—aseius lib. 1. Vâ—icornes horne sometimes balls of Iron â—incked to his eares and nether lip be arguments of his Nobility The Ouandus Easterling taketh pride in the caruing of his flesh with Imagery workes of flowers Trigault hist Chin. and other figures The Chinesian weareth long nayles as ornaments of nobility and witnesses that he getteth not his liuing by labour of his hands And in this kind one thing is iudged by some to be a decorum and fit remonstrance of inward excellency which others iudge to be disproportionate vndecent and ridiculous 10. No doubt there is in things themselues a decorum or decency for the office of Apparell notwithstanding euery nation seeking after it apprehendeth and practiseth it with great variety which hath no other origen then the difference of iudgements which proceedeth immediatly from the different temperatures and complexions of their bodyes that worke vpon their soules which temperatures haue beginning from the heauens vnder which they liue and take vitall breath and from the quality of the earth which giueth them food Neuerthelesse it is most certayne that besides these different comlinesses made so diuers and opposite through mens different conceits there is in Nature one true substantiall certayne and Arist in magn moral c. 29. perfect comlinesse as Aristotle affirmeth that besides iustice or equity of law and custome which is a particuler vertue there is in the things themselues a certayne fundamentall equity and iustice common to all Whereupon such people as in election of Apparell depart from that decency which is prime and originally implyed in the very bowels of Nature do discouer thereby their erroneous apprehension and the weakenes of their iudgements commonly accompanyed with disordered affections of their wills Plin. l. â—1 hist cap. 8. lib. 8 c 48. 11. Plinie affirmeth that men first beholding with pleasure the flourishing colours of flowers namely of the Rose Polid. Virlio â— de in 〈…〉 ◠◠〈◊〉 l. 8. â—yntag 〈◊〉 l. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Violet the Marigold and the like did â—â—â—â—ke that such colours also in their garments would much adorne their booyes and serue to represent the nobility of their mindes Homer in his history maketh mention of paynted Apparell The Pâ—â—igians first inuented cloath of needle worke King Attalus taught the world to mixe golden threeds with others of silke or woâ—ll The Babylonian was famous for his variety in dying his cloathes The old Gaule for branching them and the Alexandrian for his motly
pittifull But seeing it was created to the likenesse of Almighty God and redeemed with the precious Bloud of Christ how vnworthy a thing is it to see it cast downe and depressed only with superfluity of drinke 6. And if this Tyranny surprised the soule vpon a sodain or gayned victory ouer it at vnawares the fault were more pardonable and iâ—sse reproachfull to the soule to be so ouercome and debased But willing wittingly to be blinded the vnderstanding and will to be enthralled the memory oppressed the fancie deluded and all the senses giuen vp to the power of drinke and a man to put himselfe out of possession and vse of his witts with his owne handes what folly more exorbitant or what trespasse more worthy of punishment and reproach 7. Neither doth this debasement by drinke only disgrace and disorder the soule but the body also For as the Bernar sero sâ—de Aduent Tertul lib. â—â— Resur body liueth by the soule so from the same it receaueth splendour of complexion comlinesse of behauiour and a certaine diuine beauty which that noble substaÌ„ce when it is not defiled with the contagion of sinne imparteth to the body But this selfe same body this sheath of the soule this goulden cloud that receaueth light and splendour from the sunne when it is ouer-loaden with drinke becommeth no better then a barrell and by continuance looseth the naturall complexion the skinne like a withered bladder all comlinesse decayeth and he which liuing with sobriety kept the dignity of a man by intemperance of drinking maketh himselfe a beast wallowing in his owne foyle and filth A deare sale of worth and nobility for a momentary passage of Beere Ale or Wine downe the throate to drowne all the talentes of nature and grace and become a meere vessell to receaue aboundance of drinke and giue the spoiles and triumph ouer so noble a creature as man is to so vile and beastly a vice as is drunkennesse 8. So as in fine the superiority and dominion remayneth to drinke Bacchus and the Diuell rest absolute coÌ„manders And how will man be able to answere to Almighty God dishonouring thus his body and soule How will he excuse his fault in abusing the creatures committed to his charge dishonouring I say and abusing with himselfe both heauen and earth the elementes the birdes the fishes the beastes plantes hearbes all the rest of Gods creatures who if they could speake would disclaime from the subiection and seruice of such a man or rather a beast that suffereth himselfe to be ouercome by drunkennesse specially Heauen which is notoriously iniured when the body ordayned to dwell there after death is in this life made a Beer-barrell or a vessell of wine fitter for a celler then to be seene aboue ground and much lesse in heauen And the same in proportion may be said of the rest for as the seruantes quality is blemished and impaired by the vilenesse and disreputation of his maister so all creatures subordinate to man as to their Lord are dishonoured and abased when he by excesse of drinke is transformed into a swine into a block without sense and made a vessell for dregges and draffe 9. Let the soule then force it selfe to mount vp aboue sense to bridle the taste and moderate all vnreasonable vse of drinke hating drunkennesse as a monstrous vice which the very brute beastes doe abâ—orre and should be so far from the excellencie of man as a soueraigne Prince should be free from crueâ—l â—ondage Wherinto if by mishappe he should fall at any time surprised by some vile trayterous varlet no doubt but getting his liberty he would take a iust reuenge and stand vpon his guard all the dayes of his life after not to come any more into the like thraldome The same must the soule do once rescued and set free from the seruitude of drinke it must represse sensuality and restraine the power of drinke with diâ—daine so that it neuer be able to contriue any more with â—ast against reason nor to bring the body and soule into vnworthy slâ—uery againe To this purpose Clem. Alex lib. â— paed cap. 1. Clemens Alexandrinus compareth a drunkard to a sea-Asse whose harâ— saith he is not in his brest but in his belly that is when all the honour and dignity of man is subiected to the desire and delight of meat and drinke 10. S. Basil also vseth the comparison of S. Paul for the disgrace of drunkennesse Basil orat cont Aebrios What thing more contemptible saith he then an Idol or false God which hath eares and heareth not eyes and seeth not handes and feeleth not feet and cannot walke And yet drunkenesse by reason of the obiect effectes is no lesse ignominious then if a man by Idolatry should adore and serue an oxe an asse or any other beast For these obiectes at least haue senses and keep their due vses wheras the body of a drunkard ouerchardged with surfet though it haue eyes yet it seeth not hands it feeleth not eares it heareth noâ— and though it haue feet yet can neither goe forward nor stand vpright 11. But to proceed a litle further and to passe from this basenes of mans estate procured by drinke to the particular detrimentes of his body and soule and of the common wealth It is an axiome both in Philosophie and Diuinity that our affection towardes others proceedeth originally from the natural loue of our selues so that we first wish well to our selues and consequently to others with whome we communicate by nature or grace as members of our body For if we be brutish and cruell to S. Thom. 2. 2. q. 2 â— art 4. Arist l. Magnor Moral our selues to whome shall we be sweet and mercifull If euery man should destrâ—y himselfe what would become of the 〈◊〉 Therfore for a man to 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is by seqâ—ele to annoy the community of which he is a part as where â—ch one in particular the Senatour the Scholer the Doctor the Souldiar were giuen to drinke what should become of the Ciâ—ty Wherfore drunkâ—rds for as much as lyeth in them by their president and example endeauour to make all their countrimen turne soppes and the common wealth to swim in drinke For if this particular person may be permitted to swill and tiple till he be drunke why may not the second the third and all rest challenge the same liberty 12. There be some bad dispositions in man which bring no domage to the soule as hungar thirst sicknes and the like yea sometimes they are occasions 2. Cor. 12. of vertue wherby the soule is strengthned and perfected There be also sundry bad affections of the soule which detract nothing from the body But drunkennesse with one and the selfe same inundation ouerfloweth corrupteth them both it depriueth the body of health deflowreth the soul of beauty Some sinnes there be which first make entry into the soule as Pride Enuie Heresie and consequently
preserue our priuate interpretations from errour and heresie 12. By that which hath bâ—n sayd it is euident that an oath is lawfull for for as much as it is agreable to reason and so consequently an act of some one vertue or other Now it remayneth that we declare to what vertue it belongeth And concerning this point it is most certaine that a lawfull oath is an act of Religion which among the morall vertues is of high quality For although he that sweareth doth not principally intend to honour God by his protestation but only purposeth to approue some truth neuerthelesse by swearing he intendeth to protest his faith about the infallible truth of Almighty God and so bringeth it in as a sacred and potent witnesse of the truth by him auouched therfore in this respect specifying the excellencie of Almighty God in his oath he honoureth him with an outward signe and that with supreme subiection and seruice of Latria which is a worship proper only to Almighty God 13. Hereupon the ancient people Chryso ho. 12. in 5. cap. Act. Apost either did sweare immediatly by Almighty God or by some notorious great and sacred Creature in which Almighty Gods excellencie did especially shew it selfe as by Temples by Altars by Mountaines by Springs and Riuers by mens Heades by the Emperours Image his Scepter his Genius and such like as Homer Tertullian and Homer â—liâ—d 2. Tertul. in Apol. ca. 3. Alex. â—i 5. cap. 11. Gen. 25. August in â—sal 4â— Gen. 42. 2. Cor. 1. others report And in this sense according to S. Augustine Isaacs seruant did sweare religiously touching the thigh of his Maister as a sacred and mysticall thing by reason of the genealogy of the Messias thence deduced Also according to this manner Ioseph did sweare by the health of Pharao S. Paul tooke an oath by his owne soule Neuertheles all these oathes by creatures in as much as they are obiectes of an oath and of the worship of God imply in them the truth of Almighty God which only can infallibly attest and which only finally is to be worshipped by the act of an oath 14. Lastly it is to be obserued that an oath either of asseueration or of promise may haue adioyned vnto it as accessory an additioÌ„ of execration or Imprecation when a man not only sweareth a thing to be true calling vpon God Almighty as witnesse but desireth moreouer that God in particuler reproue the falsity by some harme to fall vpon him that sweareth or others as if he should say If this be not so let Almighty God take my life from me Which manner of protestation was familiar among the Romaâ—s namely when the Heraldes as â—iâ—i l. â—1 Hist Rho. 21. cap. 15. Liuie recordeth after an oath taken concerning promise made to others in the name of the coÌ„mon wealth they threw away a stone wishing that Almighty God would so cast them from the society of men by an accuâ—se if the thing were false which they by oath had affirmed or promised to be done 15. Also for the same signification in solemne oathes he which sware holding a lambe in his left hand with his right tooke hold of the Altar and then stroke the lambe vpon the head with a flint wishing by that cerimony his owne destruction if in case he were periured And that this manner of swearing by way of ImprecatioÌ„ is lawfull if requisite conditions of truth iustice and iudgement be present is also manifest For in the old Testament this was an ordinary clause of an oath Ruth 1. â— Reg. 18. Let God do these thinges vnto me and adde them So also the Apostle S. Paul vsed an execration swearing by his soule I call God 1. Cor. 2. to witnesse vpon my soule And thus hauing briefly declared the nature and issue of an oath and the principall obiects therof to be the supreme authority of Almighty God accoÌ„panied with supreme Religion we are consequently to enquire what reuerence is to be vsed by those which inuocate by an oath his holy name and dignity What submission and reuerence is to be wished in all those who sweare a truth inuocating the Excellency of God Almighty CHAP. II. SEEING that an Oath importeth an inuocation or bringing in of Gods authority for witnesse of that which a man affirmeth respectiuely vnto excellency of this holy name and maiesty great respect and reuerence is to be vsed in swearing For as truth and maiesty are two principall attributes in Almighty God so are they both called vpon by him which sweareth his truth for auouchement of that which is sworne his maiesty with acknowledgement that he is infinitly potent to giue testimony by assured effects Wherupon an oath falsely taken is not only an impeachement against the truth of God but also an irreuerence to his sacred maiesty 2. This maiesty in Almighty God is nothing else but the height of all perfection in him as well implying such degrees therof as are absolute in himselfe to wit his goodnesse wisdome iustice sanctity and the like as also those which respect his creatures as his power and dominion and the like All which summed vp in one indiuisible point of Deity make the Maiesty of God the proper obiect of our feare loue homage and religion 3. The Sonne honoureth his Father and the seruant his Lord If then I be thy Father where Malach. 1. is my honour and if I be thy Lord where is my feare saith the Lord of Hostes And to the end that God Almighty might the better appeare an obiect of maiesty to procure in vs a duetifull reuerence he hath often times notified his personall perfection Osâ— â— by a Title of maiesty The Lord is his Name Which maiesty God did manifest to the Iewes in particuler and indeed Deut. 5. all the earth and the heauens are full of the same which as it is in God himselfe as fountaine so also doth it flow from thence to the sacred humanity to the Soule and Body of our Sauiour Iesus Christ For according to his words The Matth. â—â— sonne of man shall sit vpon his seat of maiesty at the later day Wherfore whether an oath taken by the diuine authority of God immediatly or by the humanity of Christ our Sauiour there is not only an allegation made of the diuine infallible verity but also a reuerenciall estimation and protestation of the maiesty exhibited 4. Whereupon our Sauiour purposing to abbridge or rather cut off the custome of swearing held by the Iewes vpon respect of diuine maiesty forbad ChristiaÌ„s many formes of oaths vsed by Matth. 19. the Iewes I say to you sweare not by heauen because it is the throne of God Heauen is not only a place wherin almighty God resideth in vertue of his immensity but in regard of the proper nobility of substance of the height scituation and immutability Arist l. 2. de mundo cap 2. l. â— de caelo Cyriâ— l.
soueraignty and the other ought to prouoke vs to sorrow of hart true repentance of our sinnes for which he suffered Behold sayth S. Iohn he commeth with clouds Apoc. 1. Zach. 12. and euery eye shall see him and they that wounded him And all the tribes of the earth shall bewaile themselues vpon him Moyses approched to God Iesus Naue entred into the land Exod. 7. Iosue 5. Luc. 10. of promise bare footed and the Apostles the neerest seruantes about our Sauiour vsed no shooes Whē one part of the ballance is depressed the other ariseth so saith S. Basil prayer being an eleuation Basil hom in illud Attende tibi of the soule vnto God then it mounteth vp the highest when the body as the opposit part of the ballance by penance and mortification is borne downe and most depressed 15. Neither only in time of prayer and supplication are we to represent the humiliation mortification of our bodys by our apparell and modest attire but in the whole course of our liues It is the maine cry of S. Paul Mortifie your Colloss 3. bodies which are vpon the earth for they be enemies to the soule From which practice the custome of our dayes declineth much accordingly we thriue The enemy of the soule is to be kept vnder not to be pampered and much lesse applauded maintayned in his hostility and as it were carryed about in triumph when he worketh our ruine Who attireth a coarse when it is to be buried in other colour then in blacke or who according to Christian discipline his dead Christened body then in a weed of humiliation and pennance We know according to the same Apostle that we Rom. 6. are dead in Christ and our liues hidden with him in God To what purpose then are our bodyes to be set out vpon the stage of vanity in splendor of apparel to make profession that they liue yet in sinne 1. Cor. 7. The same Apostle rehearsing such cōmodities as be lawfull in this life aduertiseth vs that we are so to enioy them as if they were not ours as indeed they be not but lent that is not to dwell in them or to expect our felicity by them but to vse them and loue them in such manner as we be not loth to leaue them when God shall please to take them from vs or vs from them and that in no wise they hinder our loue towardes him in which respect they are lent 16. But where great curiosity of apparell is seene there is giuen a quite contrary signification If all glory in this Tertul. lib. 2. de cult Eem life be vaine saith Tertullian that is the vainest of all which is found in our flesh The present miseries of our dayly corruptiō the tragical end of our liues the earthly funerall of our bodyes declare sufficiently if we be not senselesse that neither the tragedy is to be increased nor our funerals garnished with vnseemely apparell What a fall will it be fit for a tragedy when after much ado to trimme vp a rotten body in painted cloathes it must be shrowded in the winding sheet The funerals must needs be more dolefull where pompe of apparell affordeth more prey for death the spoiles for deuouring sepulchers be greater Owe we so much to the dole of the tragedy or to the gastly spectacle of the opened earth as to honour our fall by the one our corruption by the other with a costly maske of curiosity preceding I haue heard of diuers fortunate sea-faring men who returning home with a rich booty haue entred the harbour in triumph and brauery their sailes and topsailes of silke displayed with oftentation But I neuer heard of of any that solemnized his shipwrack in such a fashion if he were not mad much lesse did it on purpose to runne vpon the rockes In like sort it may seeme a preposterous errour to attire superfluously these bodys of ours which haue already receaued an irreuocable sentence of death and runne on by natures motion directly as to shipwrack to our death-bed and to the loathsome appurtenances of our graue 17. When the Spider out of her owne bowels hath spunne her curious habitation in the webbe then commeth the sweeper with his broome and in a trice defaceth all she hath done And when the best part of our life of our time of our money and of our cogitations and study haue beene spent in cloathing our body trimming it vp a little after entreth death called by another name Stoupe gallant and with one dash casteth all into dust Your richesse saith S. Iames are putrified and your Iacob 5. garments eaten vp by the mothes But aboue all the acknowledgement of Almighty Gods finall iudgment should worke in vs restraint of this vanity And though superfluity and curiosity of apparell were not otherwise offensiue to his diuine maiesty or hurtfull to vs then only in respect that it wasteth our time withdraweth our cogitations from our last account and the employments of our hartes from the memory loue and reuerence of God yet it is to be estemed as very hurtful and to be auoyded 18. Man was created to the likenesse of almighty God that his principall occupation should be to thinke vpon his Creator to loue him to serue him to conuerse with him and to liue continually in his presence Wherfore he must withdraw himselfe from all impertinēt or contrary distractions which turne his eye another way diminish interrupt or extinguish his care affection towardes his maister maker or hinder his endeauours or the execution of what he is to do if he will not be reiected and punished as a carelesse and vnprofitable seruant For what Maister would keep a lubber in his house which should spend all the day in putting on his cloathes Heereupon is the Counsaile of our Sauiour Be not solicitous of your body what to weare as if he should say Employ Matth. 6. not much time nor care of apparel but be content with that which is easy ready to be had in this kind through my prouidence The cause of which aduertismēt is for that a Christian which hopeth to get to heauen ought so to be wholy and perpetually in the memory and contemplation of heauenly thinges and in the execution of his necessary or charitable employmentes so entierly occupied with them that he should haue no leasure to thinke of trifles amongst which is the care curiosity of superfluous apparell when it had no other bad intention nor effect but only losse of time choosing rather to be a Lilly of the field then a Puppet of the Taylors shop 19. But when it shal be proued against vs in the last iudgement that we haue in this life beene more carefull to beautifie the body then the soule lesse carefull and circumspect to please the eyes of God then to present to the world a false couer to a filthy carcasse that where
in all the body and malignity of diseases which as Aristotle teacheth are to be dryed vp and taken away by vertue of a temperate restraint And as during the time in which that filth remayned vpon the earth no hearb flower nor fruit could grow vpon it so as long as such euill dregges of drinke be in the body it is incapable of all good from the soule barren for all operations of vertue 19. But the similitude is yet extenuated August in Psal 1. by S. Augustine and yet notwithstanding the same morall truth auerred He compareth then the body of man to the arke of Noë by which also we may learne our lesson in this affaire The Arke made for the saluatioÌ„ of mankind was to swim aboue the water for otherwise if the water had broken into the Arke both mankind and beastes had perished In like manner our body which containeth a reasonable soule and withall some wild passions and affections of the sensitiue appetite is to be kept from all excesse of drinke least man and beast reason and sense be drowned 20. Pleasures saith Seneca when they exceed measure become penalties Is it not a Seneca ep 82. punishment for him which according to his naturall constitution should be a man with vigour and strength to be brought to such weakenesse as he is not able to defend himselfe from the most impotent enemy nor to hide his misery from the mockery and scorne of the beholders no not to stand vpon his feet Finally the body of man commeth to that deformity by excesse of drinke that when the soule is infatuated therwith it is worse then the body of any brute beast and in this respect S. Basil Basil hom â—â— Chryso hom 1. 37. Senec. ep 85. and S. Chrysostome call drunkennesse a voluntary Diuell as Seneca calleth it a voluntary madnesse 21. Instinct of nature preserueth in beastes their naturall shape and all ornaments agreable to their kind where the body of a drunkard depriued of the vse and defence both of reason and nature through voluntary sinne resteth with no prototype or likenesse either of man or beast but resembleth rather a filthy Fiend in hell Let the Christian therfore whose body adorned with many giftes of nature hath byn washed in Baptisme and receiued therin new dignity loath this turpitude Let the body made to be a heauen for the soule an instrument of Iustice an inheritour of eternall blisse abhorre this hellish deformity not occasioned by necessity not brought vpon it by hazard of euill successe but voluntarily procured and consummated only by folly and freedome of the drunkards owne will 22. Thus much for the body But now if we consider what deriment the soule receaueth by this vice and how the corrupt vapours of immoderate drinke spylling the complexion destroying the beauty of the body below mounteth vp to blind also the eye of the soule to blemish darken and defile the chrystall glasse of intelligence with the loathsome ordure of mortall sinne to surrender the castle of free will impregnable by force of any creature to the subiection of Sathan and the faculties of body and soule for armes and instruments to performe all maÌ„ner of wickednes and finally set the image of God vpon Dagons Altar and in open hostility against God himselfe deseruing therby Eternall punishment iust cause shall we haue to conceaue extreme hatred against so monstrous and pernicious a vice 23. But yet a litle further deuiding the whole hability of mans soule into three parcels or portions the coÌ„cupiscible irascible and reasonable faculties we shall find that immoderate vse of drinke disordereth them all VVine Prou. 20. sayth Salomon stirreth vp lust See then how concupiscence is set on fire by the feruour of drinke And drunkenesse is tumultuous Behold â—re enraged by the same intemperance He which delighteth in them shall not be wise So as this beastly excesse depriueth also the reasonably portion of wisdome and knowledge 24. And concerning the first domage very natural Philosophy deemeth it a great bondage and calamity to be perturbed with lust In so much as Cicero Cicero lib 1. offic among other good qualities and commodities of old age iudgeth one and a great one to be that it is freed from that bestiality Seeing therfore that a Christian knoweth how through originall sinne his body is distempered and disposed of it selfe to vnquiet the mind and incline reason to the imitation of brutish appetite his office is and his care should be rather to diminish the force of this poyson to quench the heat of this fire and rid himselfe from the importunity and trouble of so base and contemptible a commaunder keeping his body in a temperate constitution with moderation of diet yea and with abstinence from meat and drinke sometimes as there is need and as Christian people vse and haue vsed to do in all times and places when and where God is or hath byn duely serued and by this temperance to defend the soule and keep it pure and free not only from the combustion of this infernal fier but from the soote and shame of the smoke rather then to seeke fewell to cast into the fornace and increase the deflagration of this miserable Troy To what purpose must youthfull bloud boyling of it selfe be enflamed by the hoat spirits of wine which not only consume the naturall vigour of the bloud it selfe drying it vp and making it vnfit for generation as Aristotle teacheth but also blast all the vertues which as greene plantes flourish in the soule and disfigure the soule it selfe What brute beast is so beastly as to adde fier to fier for increase of his lust 25. Therfore when a Christian putteth in practise by drinke that which a beast abhorreth by nature in what degree of abasement should we hold him Assuredly there is no affection more disgracefull and opposite to a laudable life or against which a Christian man ought more to striue as vnworthy of his name and person then this perturbation for where it is not bridled by temperance and subdued with the grace of God it carryeth away mens actions to the vilest and basest obiectes against both reason and faith tying them both to the stake with an iron chaine of slauery and by litle and litle consuming into ashes of intemperance all which either grace or nature had giuen for ornament so as there remayneth no more of Christianity but the bare name nor of man-hood but the shape 26. The truth of this miserable chaunge may be seene in a notorious example of one that liued not long agoe famous for the mischiefe and publike scandall that hath followed in these parts of the world by his fal into sinne Martin Luther who had not only vowed Religion and chastity but liued many yeares chast in Angellical profession and company and yet in his declining yeares by intemperance of gluttony and drunkenesse degenerated so far from himselfe as measuring all
moderation in this behalfe aboue all the rest that may be written or imagined so his nakednesse vpon the câ—osse doth teach vs to beware seeing with it he ransomed our excesse and prodigality in apparell 8. The Apostles and other faithfull people that spred their clothes vpon the ground to honour and serue our Sauiour when he ridde in humble maÌ„ner towardes Hierusaleâ— teach vs ChristiaÌ„s to contemne and cast away all arrogancy of attire vpon the view of Christes humility and by our apparell to endeauour rather to yield him honour and homage then to purchase vaine praise or estimation for our selues Wherupon the ancient Christians of the primitiue Church by direction of their faith and Religion kept great moderation in their apparell and for their outward cloathing chose rather to vse a cloake as a garment of lesse ostentation then a gowne which as Tertullian saith Tertul. lib. Palliâ— was in those dayes the Romans aâ—tirâ— who therfore reproached the Christians They reproued also the Grecian robe with a traine that trailed on the ground in signe of Maiesty and state for that as Clemens Alexandrinus teacheth Clem. Alex lib. 1. de ped cap. 11. they thought it vnseeming for ChristiaÌ„ humility How then doe we now degenerate so farre in apparell from our renowned ancestors as though either we were made of another mettle then they or cast in another mould or aymed at another end then theirs In their dayes inward solide vertues and ornaments of the mind were holden for precious and outward apparell esteemed only as a signe and testimony of that worth which was really within as the rich iewell is couered with the case But now the soule being naked of vertue and without any ornament to be worthily esteemed apparell is become forsooth an instrument of ambition Although the wiser sort make no other account then of old that the most corrupted stinking carcasses commonly are buryed in the richest sepulchers as the vilest and most abominable soules are many times couered with the gayest clothes which â—ell the beholders what kind of stuffe is vnder them 9. In other times sinners grieuing vpon the memory of their sinnes shrouded their bodyes in dolefull attire and fearing to fall againe after pardon auoyded all curiosity of apparell and whatsoeuer else might giue them occasion of sinne When they loued Almighty God they hated their bodies whose inclinations were contrary to his lawes and put their soules many times in danger to be lost But now that error and darknesse haue preuailed so farre that God is forgotten and sinnes holden by fooles for fatall or naturall defectes neither soule nor body are duely accused but rather excused by the offenders and in lieu of due chasticement the one is fed with flattery and the other pampered with dainty meates and couered with rich apparell vnder which are harboured snakes serpents toades and all sortes of venimous creatures yea sometimes foule vgly Diuels Vpon which consideration Clemens Alexandrinus Clem. Alex lib. 3. ped cap. 2 compareth persons in sumptuous attire to the Aegyptian Temples 10. Nothing ought to be more familiar with Christians according to their profession then mortification of their bodies For as they professe to loue God more then others as they are bound so ought they more carefully to remoue all obiectes that may hinder or diuert them from the accomplishment of this duety or entangle their wills in other imploymentes In which respect our bodies are to be restrained in discipline least they become Idols of selfe loue and treacherously depriue the true and sole God of his owne that is of our pure inflamed finall and totall affection 11. Hester that vertuous Lady although vpon occasion of Gods and her contryes seruice she was forced to put her selfe in costly apparell yet she Hest 19. did it with griefe protesting before Almighty God that from her hart she detested the diademe that she carried vpon her head Much more Christian Ladies generally haue cause to mislike themselues in any attire which is either arrogant or licentious And especially this mortification and modesty of apparell is by them to be vsed in the time of prayer when they present themselues before Almighty God according to the example of the same Hester Iudith Hest c. 14. Iudith c. 9. who going to pray cloathed themselues in sackcloth and haire and dolefully scattered ashes vpon their heads in witnesse of their repentance and humility of hart If then this mornfull attire be gratious in the sight of Almighty God and a fit habit for suppliantes wherin to tender their petitions and requestes the contrary brauery of Peacocks tailes set vp to band him as is the habit of his enemies friendes to Sathan who by such inuentions impeacheth his honour filleth the world with sinnes and worketh the bane of mankind Wherupon the Apostle S. Paul willeth Tim. 2. that women performe in the Church their deuotions in attire that may testifie their shamefastnes and sobriety not with frizled haire or with gold and pearles or precious garments 12. The head then must be couered and abased to natures simplicity The body cloathed in that weeÌ„d which rather signifieth misery and trespasse then of false pretended felicity gold may be left in the bowels of the earth which is his place the pearles to the cockle shell in the bottome of the sea sumptuous apparell belongeth to the Pagan Infidell that maketh an Idol of his body because he knoweth not Christ nor aspireth by harty affection to the friendship of God Therfore saith Tertullian it is an outward irreligious Tertul. lib. de pallio contempt and as it were a displaying of a banner of defiance against his diuine Maiesty when men and women come to Church in their brauery where consequently they are so farre from attayning pardon comming in such manner as in the sacred place they redouble their former faults because theâ— sinfully they despise Almighty God when they pretend he should be most mercifull vnto them 13. S. Hierome talking of the penitent plight of B. Mary Magdalen prostrate Hieron ep 10. ad Furian at Christs feet washing them with teares and drying them with her haire saith that in that case she was the fayrer by how much the fouler So the Niniuites punishing their bodies and doing pennance in sackloth were doubtles amiable vnto God who before shining in gould and siluer and precious apparell were odious to him and deserued that their citty should be destroyed But they saued it as S. Augustine noteth and from August in 2 Psal â—0 a Babylon worthy to perish they turned it into a Hierusalem by their pennance 14. Whilest we performe our duety in the Church the principall obiects of our thoughtes there must be the maiesty of God and the charity of our Redemer hanging vpon the crosse The former if we haue wit and discourse may cause in vs humiliation of soule and of body also in regard of so great a
for that nature hauing prouidently giuen them hoater liuers to resist the cold of the region which with the same also is augmented by Antiperistasis and repercussion they drinke more then others and are more subiect to excesse if with reason and temperance it be not moderated But for better vnderstanding of this matter it is to be knowne that there be two kindes of choller the one naturall which causeth animosity fearcenesse rising from the hoate agile and quick spirits which one hath by constitution of nature and may be increased by fumes of drinke that heat the braine in which sense Galen saith that wine causeth men to be headlong in wrath But there is another choler accidentall ingendred in the stomake by indisgestioÌ„ and putrifaction of superfluous meat and drinke which being continued by surfets breedeth a permanent quality of the same nature in the stomake and consequently a like habitual disposition and inclination in the whole body wherby a man is sayd to be cholerike that is affected in such manner as he is prone in all occasions of conuersation to shew his Ire as drie wood is quickly kindled And in this sense we take choler in this place speaking of accidentall and vnnaturall choler that proceedeth from putrifaction in the stomake and immoderate drinke And according to this sober reckoning the vice is seene to be detestable for this distemperance of the stomake and consequently in the bloud spirites causeth bitternesse and teastinesse in the very operation of the soule and banisheth that sweetnesse of life which nature hath otherwise ordayned as a reward of temperance in such as be maisters of themselues 15. Besides this accidentall and vnnatural choler is an opposite disposition to all good abearance towardes superiours equals and inferiours And therfore must needs be accounted an harmefull condition when a man cannot liue with his wife his children nor with his familie or friendes without continuall brauling and breach of a mitie wherby not only he looseth that delight which he might enioy by quiet and tractable conuersation and tormenteth himselfe inwardly by euery occasion with bitternesse of wrath and dislike but moreouer he purchaseth at a very deere rate and without any profit the disfauour and hatred of others as many as must liue in his company or haue any dealings with him 16. Neither is this choler of which we speake that which serueth as an instrument to valour and fortitude but another beastly humour that makes a man brutish and good for nothing For coÌ„monly where it aboundeth there are not to be found those ardent gallant spirites which other people in hoater climates or in the same that be moderate in their drinke haue by nature and good complexion their bodyes being more dry their bloud more pure and their spirits more Etheriall whose choler is temperate but constant as naturall and therfore as it is not moued but by reason so is it reasonable and lasteth as long as by reason it should where the other brutish perturbation as it is easily vp to contradict braule reuile so is it done with the drinke or at least when the fumes are disgested and fitter for the tauerne then for the field For great drinkers though they abound with accidentall choler and are tall fellowes when they are armed with drinke yet their bodys are full of moyst and cold humors which make them heauy and cowardly especially if any danger be presented vpon cold bloud 17. Besides who is cholerike in this manner cannot possibly be permanent in contemplation or prudent in practise for that reason and iudgement is either wholly oppressed in him or very much hindered by his turbulent beastly choler yea it suffereth not the tongue to deliuer the month to vtter nor the hand to execute orderly what the minde hath conceaned but with fury and confusion ordinarily breaketh out into dishonourable and reprochfull yea sometime into sacrilegious blasphemous wordes and causeth a man to do with precipitation and hast that which afterwardes he is to bewayle by leasure And this humour abounding turneth consequently all other humors into it and so working still and fretting vpon life hasteneth death by corrosion or which is as bad with a moisty fogge of putrified fleame neuer sufficieÌ„tly concocted which queâ—â—heth by litle and litle as it were drowneth naturall heat and so when moysture cold the proper quality of drinke haue gotten the victory they returne the body in which they abound as a prey to the earth from whence it was taken 18. Neither doth drinke powred immoderatly into the belly attaine the end for which it is taken to wit extinction of thirst For putrifaction causeth hear as may be seene by a dunghill and that vnnaturall heate affecteth the stomake with the like quality and inflameth also the liuer adioyning and so as out of a vessell full of corruption set vpon the fire ascend perpetually corrupted vapours to the tongue and mouth which cause continuall thirst And therfore Pline writeth that the Embassadours Plin. l. 14. hist â— 2â— of Scythia were wont to say of the Parthians that they became dry in drinking 19. Loe then how great an abuse is committed against nature by this excesse That whereas drinke is ordayned to quench and expell the distemper of heat and drinesse the same drinke becomâ—â—th an instrument of insatiable thirst as if men were made to hang by the spigot and all their cogitations and desires to be directed and employed about the remedy of this continuall sicknesse procured by themselues What a slauery of base ignominous employment is this what a circle of disorder from the preposterous and hurtfull vse of drinke when through a momentany delightonly of the mouth or throat which the organ of tast affecteth with excesse where reason beareth no rule the foolish man endeuouroth voluntarily to make his body still thirsty by coÌ„tinuance of drinking and effecteth vpon himselfe that penalty and torment of continuall thirst which damned gluttons suffer in hell 20. This hatefull effect of too much drinke is so manifest that experience to the eye and sense it selfe giueth vs no leaue to doubt of it for those which are drunke ouer might besides other euill consequences alwayes find themselues in the morning distempered with thirst proceeding from indisgestion and putrification of humors dregges in the stomake which thirst is not taken away as the tripler imagineth with adding more more drinke though for the present his mouth and throat â—e refreshed as it goeth downe but must be cured with abstinence and moderate exercise that may help the stomake to disgest the crudities which cause that thirst as hath beene said Besides some kind of drinke oft taken in prouoketh the tast and causeth appetite to haue frequent vse of the same so as inordinate request after drinke is caused not only by vnnaturall heate of the stomake but also by the particular disposition of the tast it selfe distempered both which proceed from
by naughty effects redound vnto the body These are of a more spirituall and as we may tearme them more subtill and aeriall constitutioÌ„ Others which make breach first vpon the body and in consequence passe to the soule are in a certaine manner more grosse and materiall of which sort is drunkennesse one of the grossest and foulest of all For ouerch arging the body it defileth and deformeth the soule by many wayes 13. And as for the body we Christians know that our bodies were bathed by the sacrament of Baptisme in the bloud of Christ mingled with the August tract 11. in Ioan. cap. 3. water as S. Augustine saith who therefore calleth Baptisme the Red Sea through which we passe towards our country of heauen the land of promise That purple water drowned only the Aegiptians as our Baptisme now annoyeth only the Diuels deliuereth vs from their tyranny and clenseth our bodyes and soule from sinne and fertilizeth Psal 1. them to bring forth flowers of vertue and fruits of good life What a dishonour then is it not only in preiudice of our bodyes but also of our Baptisme to take the hallowed vessels from the altar and make them vessels of prophanation idolatry in sacrifice of Bacchus 14. O washed Christians O vnspoted Nazarites now made drunken swine a sport for Cerberus the Diuell We Christians Thren 4. are certayne that the bath of regeneratioÌ„ fumed not vp into the head to distemper the braine it serued not for an obiect of corporall delight but clearing Rom. 6. 1. Cor. 6. the coast aboue where the soule resideth prepared our bodyes and made them so many cleane Tabernacles to entertaine worthily the holy Ghost But o foule and vnworthy bath of drinke which blindeth the eyes of the soule maketh the head â—otter and ready to fall from the body like a worme-aten aple from the tree the body to be turned into one of Circes her hogges an instrument of turpitude a ship fraught with a loathsome burden a storehouse of sinne a retraite for Diuels which was made consecrated for a Temple of the holy Ghost Heere the yong man looseth his complexion the souldier his strength the Philosopher his wit the Oratâ—r his discourse the Merchant his reckoning the Husband-man his thrift the Craftes-man his honesty the Seruant his time and all become so many sponges to make the barrells empty whilest the liquour which greedily they draw in cannot disgest filleth them with incurable diseases that fal from the pot vpon their miserable carcasses which once surprised become slaues of sicknesse due to sinne and vnfit either to serue Almighty God or profit the Common-wealth in any exercise or office of vertue 15. The Fowle auoydeth the Falcon the sheep the wolfe the hare the greyhound the other fishes the whale euery creature flyeth fâ—oÌ„ his contrary What a miserable foolish thing then is man who runneth after sicknesse and death inuiteth them to lodge in his body yea hireth them with money to soiourne with him only to enioy the pleasure of drinking although it cost him his patrimony his health his honour and his life 26. Whilest I was writing this came to see me an Honorable Gentleman of our Nation of 72. yeares of age and no doubt by Gods prouidence though with different intention and occasion little knowing what I was doing fell into discourse of the corruption of our countrey since he could remember He told me that when he was young and liued in the Court and in London if by chaunce any base companion as a water man or the like should be seene ouertaken with drinke the Prentices would come out of their shops as to a wonder cry after him a Dutchman a Dutchman Where now alas the wondring hath ceased with opinion that only Dutchman are drunke for they meet often not only English-men but as he said Englishwomen also well tipled in Tauernes which commonly is not seene amongst the Dutch For though the husbands be vnthrifts and drinke their wits sometimes from home yet their wiues be wiser it is as I haue heard a very rare thing to see a woman drunke in the most drunken deboshed Countryes If it be now otherwise in England it is the more shame and the more to be pittyed though there be no wind so bad that bloweth not profit to some body For the same person told me that where in London there was wont to be but one tipling house or tauerne now there be 20. and the like may be deemed in other citties and townes From whence is deduced an euident argument not vnprofitable to be considered from this and the like effects to their original cause and so to know the roote by the tree the tree by the fruit 17. But to returne to our purpose many haue compared the soule of man Gregor Nicen. l. dâ— charâ—ct hom Basil lâ—d homin dignitâ—t in his body to almighty God in heauen For that mans body is of the finest corporall would and complexion amongst all the works of nature set out with the senses as with so many celestiall planets whose operations are no lesse to be admired then the motions of the heaueÌ„s in their kind Wherfore man for the excellent composition and disposition of his soule and body of the powers and faculties of both is worthily called a little world 18. Let our drunkard then consider the metamorphosis and change of his heauen his firmament resolued into moysture his planets rather swimming like fishes then abiding stedfastly in their places all finally turned into durt and drâ—gges and made a very pudlewharfe and he will be ashamed at the change and cannot choose but be sory for the losse Who would not rather preserue his heauen pure firme and coÌ„stant in all regular motion by temperance then by intemperauce and surfet defile and confound this noble worke of nature But for better vnderstanding Tertul. l. de Resur Ambâ— de Paradiso to take yet a lower coÌ„parison with Tertullian and S. Ambrose the body of man includeth in it selfe a representation of the whole glory of the Elements as hauing some higher and some lower like hils and dales his bloud streaming in the veines as in riuers his bones couered with the flesh as metals and minerals vnder ground vpon which contemplation we may see what a disorder and deformity it is for a man to make euery day a new Noës Floud within his body and to drowne in superfluous Genes 8. drinke this Epitome of the earth It is recorded in holy Scripture what abondance of suddes and slime the waues of Noës Floud leaft behind them vpon the face of the earth which could not be consumed but with a drying wind that Arist l. moral â—ect 3. q. 1. 6. came from aboue The effects remayning in the body after excesse of drinke are fumes in the head humors in the eyes dulnesse of wit captiuity of sense inward coldnesse heauinesse
by his owne misery after his fall from Gods grace amongst other pernicious errours he taught with shame inough that man could not liue chast Though his meaning was to couer his incontinent life with an excuse of impossibility the deceit lying in supposition of the like intemperance that a man giuen ouer to riot and drunkenesse can hardly liue chast which without preiudice to chastity may be graunted to the Doctors weaknesse that taught this learning and to the experience of his chiefest disciples which haue followed his doctrine and life And yet for all this the contrary is most certaine for if Chastity could not be kept Christ our Sauiour would neuer haue coūsailed it to his followers nor the Apostles commended so highly this kind of life 27. The difference is that the disciples of Christ which by continuall temperance keep the body subiect alwayes to the soule and all the senses employed in exercise of Christian life within the compasse of reason faith as in the rest of their actions dedicated wholy to the honour and seruice of Almighty God they imitate the Angels that serue him in heauen so they receaue from him as a necessary ornament of their estate as a Gods penny of greatter reward the precious iewell of perpetuall Chastity which in some degree aduanceth them aboue the dignity of Angels Whilest they conserue Angelicall purity in corruptible bodyes of flesh and bloud as we see performed by innumerable persons of both sexes holpen as I say by the grace and assistance of him that gaue this counsaile example helping themselues also as they should by auoyding occasions of temptation not to giue aduantage to the Diuell and by the ordinary meanes of temperate diet and abstinence yea and of rigorous fasting also and other exercises of pennance when there is need which remedies the old Heathens could tell were helpes to Chastity and so they taught that sine Cerere Baccho friget Venus But these new Doctors because they desire not to liue chast will not make vse of this doctrine Thus we see that the disciples and followers of Christ our Sauiour by temperance and Chastity are exalted aboue their owne nature to be like Angels in life as the others giuing themselues ouer to gluttony and drunkennesse become worse then beastes And so no meruaile if their maister and Foreleader taught so filthy and beastly doctrine taking the measure of mans possibility by himselfe and his owne weaknesse after he had degenerated to the habit and custome of a beastly life 28. The chast temperate soule in the water of baptisme beholdeth Almighty God his Angels the sacred mysteries of our holy faith and there contemplateth the temperate and fruitfull quality of a Christian The others in their riot and intemperance of drinke what shape can they find but of vgly Diuells and fiends of hell who are delighted to see them wallow in the myre of beastly pleasures and become worse then beasts inordinate desires like to themselues 29. Consequently when immoderate drinke hath thus set the concupiscible part of the soule on fier as hath bin said the dregges and droppinges are choler fury in the irascible A strange effect that from hony should be strayned gall But so it is the face of a Nimph but with the sting of a serpent Much Ecclesiast cap. 19 wine drunken sayth the Wise-man prouoketh wrath and many ruines What thing more hurtfull or more mad then for a man willingly to poyson himselfe and draw downe his throat the sweetest liquor that may bereaue him of his wits The mountaine Etna in Sicily whose bosome alwayes full of fier groaning and roaring as it were in rage to disgorge itselfe of wrathfull rancor casteth vp burning coales continually as it were to take reuēge of the heauens such a monster is a drunkard when the heate of drinke hath entred into his body down his throat scalded his veines scorched his liuer and enflamed his head for then like an Etna with a burning face glowring eyes after that drinke hath let loose in him all possible distemper of nature and vice he beginneth in rage to breath out contumelious words and many times breaketh out into effects of fury no lesse then if he were mad as he is indeed whilest the fit endureth and therfore Bacchus was painted in forme of a Mad-man as Athenius Iuuenal Satyr 6. reporteth and Iuuenal that the Aegyptian Bacchanalies or solemnities of wine were outragious in violence of contention and fight and seldome without bloud Which disposition who knoweth not how farre it repugneth to the mild spirit of a Christian So as he denyeth this holy and most honorable name and in very deed renounceth his baptisme whosoeuer giueth himselfe ouer to riot and drinke for these kind of people be those of whome the Apostle sayeth Quorum Deus venter est gloria eorum in confusione Their tast and belly is their God and their glory confusion and repoach 30. Thus farre we are come in the offence domage which a man receaueth in the concupiscible and irascible parts of his soule by excesse of drinke Now let vs come to the third and chiefest For as nothing in him is more precious and honorable then the light of reason so nothing can be to him of greater impeachmēt nor more disgracefull then to haue it by any meanes troubled or eclipsed The grosse vapour raysed from the earth though it ascend to the middle region of the ayre yet it neuer ariseth so high as to touch the sunne it selfe How foule and vnworthy a thing is it then that the filthy vampe of intemperate drink boyling in the stomake should presume to depriue the soule of vnderstanding freedome S. Thom. 1. 2. q. 48. art 1. ludic 16. by which principally it carryeth the image of Almighty God Which surprised and blinded by drinke like another Sampson is exposed to the scorne and laughter of foolish perturbations And if no countrey clowne be so rude and vnmannerly as to touch the robes of a Prince without reuerence or to enter into his priuy-chamber vncalled what an vnworthy presumption is it for the ignominious breath of vndisgested drinke not only to touch the light of the soule but ouerpresse it in captiuity and darknesse yea to strike it dead till the force of nature holpen by sleep reuiue it and restore it to liberty 31. How thinke you will God Almighty beholding our drunkard depriued both of reason and sense and all resemblance of a man take this villany cōmitted against the soueraignty of his Royall armes and image in his broad Seale surprised defaced and contemptously defiled by surfet of drinke which redoundeth also as an iniury to himselfe worthily to be punished The Angels also looking vpon the same spectacle of a reasonable soule thus annoyed by drinke will hold themselues highly preiudiced for that the same image similitude which they see defaced in man is their principall flower and the
diademe of their Nature and Being Wherfore if that force which should turne a mighty Prince out of his robes and estate into the habit and quality of a Pesant be holden for malignant how strang and malicious is the fume of intemperate drinke which ouermastering reason casteth downe mans high dignity to the basest condition lower then of the filthiest beast 32. We loue our eyes saith Aristotle and carefully defend them because we Arist l. metaph c. 1. loue knowledge to which our eye-sight auaileth much How much more then are we to affect and preserue the vnderstanding it selfe by which properly and immediatly we know and not permit it to be stroken with blindnesse only to enioy the pleasure of a litle more drinke then nature doth desire Wherfore if all kind of vice in generall be odious in quality for as much as it is repugnant and iniurious to nature and so much the worse by how much it is more contrary seeing then that other sinnes do only neglect and as it were contemne reason passing by it with disgrace this offence of drunkenesse which rebelleth directly against it seaseth vpon it with violence and killeth it in a manner starke dead must needs be holden in a most superlatiue degree of hatefull deformity and disgrace 33. Which supposed and that according to the nature and quality of the obiect the measure of malice is to be esteemed more or lesse in any act of mans will that a man losing the vse of reason is not only depriued of his greatest good by the intemperance of drinke but that the same losse is voluntarily procured by the drunkard himselfe and without any benefit of all to soule or body for what meate or drinke is taken in more then nature requireth for sustenance which is but a litle setting euill custome aside serueth for nothing else but to make more worke for the Scauenger it must needs be concluded that this vice of surfet and drunkenesse is a most foolish and grieuous trespasse 34. If a man should willingly cast away his money which should serue him for the necessary maintenance of himselfe his wife his children and family no doubt but the folly were very dispraisable Or if by his owne voluntary fact he should procure ignominy and the losse of his good name it would also be cōdemned for a foolish vnnaturall iniury Or if he should willingly and wittingly feed himselfe with vnwholesome and poysoned food to destroy his bodies health would it not be thought he were desperate and out of his wits But aboue all the rest for a man of set purpose to contriue and procure his owne senselessenes his owne want of wit and discretion his owne folly fury and madnes is aboue all comparison monstrous and detestable Are there not things now afflictiue offensiue to reason in this life as it were so many flying blacke clouds that engrosse the aire of our element and obscure the light of our vnderstanding but that the wretch with his owne hands must raise this mist of darkenesse must cast this smoake before his eyes to confound and infatuate himselfe And why forsooth to giue a little passing pleasure to the throate that dureth no longer but whilest the liquor is going downe which besides the hurt it bringeth to the drunkard in his soule obligeth his body also to endure long penalty afterwards a pretty merchandize Is reason and health of no greater a worth then to be cast a way for so small a price is the drinke taken in of more value thē the health drowned and the wit vented out If it be iust that he which hath a ring with a precious stone be carefull to preserue it from defacing much more a man hauing so precious a iewell as a reasonable soule in his body is to keep it carefully from all iniury But because humane diligence is not alwayes sufficient to maintaine the soule in purity to keep this shining beame of reason vnclowded and vndazeled this eye of the soule we must make recourse to Almighty God that he by his especiall grace will preserue this eye and fortify it with internall light against externall darkenesse 35. To this purpose holy King Dauid cryed out Lighten O Lord mine eyes that I Psal 12. neuer sleep in death What an vnnaturall fact is it for a man not only by drinke to hinder this accessory light of grace but also to put quite out the light of nature not only vnabling himselfe to looke vp to heauen but to looke down to the earth or to see himself That man in his vnderstanding might haue light of a supernaturall knowledge the Sonne of God died vpon the Crosse and there disbursed the inestimable treasure of his precious bloud The holy Ghost descended and bought for vs starres to shine in the firmament of our soules And must then drunkenes extinguish all as if they were nothing worth and that only to content the tast during the current of drinke 36. All men and that iustly reproue the auncient cruell Sacrifices of many Nations which committed barbarous slaughter of men to the honour of their Idols But is not drunkennesse a worse slaughter of the souls intelligence in the idolatrous seruice of drinke Will nothing content that Monster but to prey vpon reason Is there no offering or sacrifice fit for his Altar but humane witt there to be destroyed Reason once gone fury ensueth no sense is left behind in any order but all become instruments of drinke And what will not sense commit in obscurity when the light of reason is extinguished and sense in the darknesse of ignorance as the Wise-man saith let loose without Ecclesiast ◠all restraint 37. Neither is the malice of drinke ended with the end of a waking life but pursueth the soule euen when the body lyeth in darknesse and the eyes are oppressed with sleep For then rush out of the imagination as it were so many furies of hell the horrible and gastly representations of foule fiends to fright a troubled and tormented soule putting the poore wretch in plight as if now he were in the paines of hell O deere and sowre payment for a little pleasure of drinke These these are the Harpies and Furies which arise from surfet and begin to torment the drunkard euen in this life procupating his damnation to come 38. Thus haue we compassed about by contemplation the whole circuite of mans nature contayned in the body and soule of a drunkard and found ech part and faculty therof depraued with drinke Let vs now to conclude consider the respect which man should beare to Almighty God and towards others of his owne kind with whome he must liue and we shall perceaue by this reckonning also that he is exceedingly endomaged by drunkennesse as the sequell will declare Whatsoeuer duety belongeth to a Christians charge either to God or Man is only violated by this vice of Drunkennesse CHAP. III. SALOMON describing the soueraigne wisdome of Almighty