〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the present commodity is euer most accepted for the subtill age to come will alter all Together with this iron earthly age the seede of corruption is daily sowne whose blossomes nowe already put foorth though they shine cleere and bright as dooth the cockle amiddest the wheate yet if they once beginne to reape to threshe to grinde to grinde to bake to eate they shall soone perceiue that there is cockle amongest the corne and ofte times vnder the painted viserd of great knowledge you shall se blind bayard wax so bold that through many wordes and often speaking amongest the ignorant whose eyes dazell in beholding such painted sepulchers hee is reputed for wise and learned According to that true saying of that lerned Dorne In hoc ferreo postremoque saeculo non nisi faeces artium superesse videmus etsi non nulli putent eas maxime vigere propter sermonis ornatum In this last iron age we haue but the dâ—egges of artes and sciences although manie thinke that learning florisheth more nowe then in times past because we talke more then they did and that more cunninglie more smoothlie more courtlie Which great absurditie of this our age throughly mixt with earth iron to the great perill and daunger of many thousand soules mooued mee first to penne this rudely written treatise in the behalfe of the Church of Iesu Christ and the soules health of all true Christians vnto whose handes it shal come Which secret cogitation taking effect by outward sence and shewing to my bodilie eyes in sundrie places and manie solemne foundations nowe made desolate whereby manie thousandes of learned pastours might haue beene maintained for the preaching of the Gospell of Christ and the dailie praysing of his name credidi propterea loquutus sum with the holie Prophet and Apostle I beleeued and therefore I writte that which the holy scriptures the holy counselles the holy fathers haue plainelie affirmed When I looked backe and considered what wee are and what wee ought to bee what wee haue doone and what we ought to haue doone the truth piersed my spirite my heart rent and my ioyntes did cleaue in sunder the passion of that sight beganne to worke the fyer was kindled within the sayinges of the holie fathers ministred oyle wherewith the flame brake foorth at my mouth crying alowde for Sions sake I will not hold my peace Here with returning to the mirrour of trueth the holie word of God whereby all our thoughtes wordes and workes are to bee tried and furthermore perusing the holie fathers by the assistaunce of the holie Ghost openers of the true vnderstanding thereof I meant to gather some store of testimonies out of them to witnesse with mee that this my affirmation in this matter is a certaine and vndoubted trueth Hauing behelde this radiant sunne of light the word of God and the little starres the holie fathers illuminated with the cleare beames thereof though the trueth appeared plainelie in them both yet their testimonies concerning thinges once dedicated to holie vse seemed to mee neither so manie as I expected nor so plaine Herein hauing made some spence of time in seeking that which was not so plainely figured in the fathers as I hoped and as it was truely meant at length the trueth of that conclusion offered it selfe most plainelie to my cogitation which was that as that auncient Solon hauing made many excellent lawes amongest the Athenians hee made no lawe neither set hee downe any punishment for him which should kil his own father supposing that the earth would neuer nourishe so wicked a creature Euen so it is truely supposed that those holie fathers liuing in the siluer age of olde antiquitie did neuer imagine that out of this earthlie yron age of ours there should spring anie so barbarous so cruell so wicked that would attempt to take awaie any thing from the true worshippe of almightie God Which suppositioÌ„ least in some mens sight it should seeme to want true position and sure ground let vs turne our minds a litle from carnal cogitations of worldlie minded men which thinke of necessitie the course of the world must bee mainteined howsoeuer the seruice of God be neglected and his holie temple your mindes thus turned cleane away from wordlie vanities which in one minute shall all vanish and consume like the paper cast into the fier turne your eies and behold the booke of life therewith conferre the expositions of holie councels and ancient fathers expounding the true sence of the same and you shall see most plainlie that things once dedicated to holie vse are not in anie wise to bee altered vnleast it be in extreame necessitie the braunches whereof are plainlie laied open by that holie father Saint Ambrose in these wordes Vasa ecclesiae initiata in his tribus confringere conflare vendere etiam licet primum vt extremae pauperum egestati succurratur c. In these three cases it is lawfull to breake to melt to sel the vessels of the Church first for the relieuing of the poore secondlie for the redeeming of the Christians beeing captiues to infidels Thirdlie for the preseruing of the Church christian buriall of the dead these extremities make that irreligious fact sometimes lawfull as appeareth though verie seldome in the practise of the primatiue Church according to that which Sozomene writeth in the fourth booke of his ecclesiasticall storie the 24. Chapter Saith hee when the people of Ierusalem wanted meat and were all readie to perish through the great famine which was amongest them Cyrillus the Bishoppe of the citie solde the treasure of the Church with all the costlie clothes belonging to the same distributing to the poore according to their necessitie First of all the goods of the Church being dulie and dutifullie bestowed on the worshippe of God and diuine function the true proper and principall vse and end of the same Secondly in extreame necessitie this is a good lawfull and also a holie vse of them and scarcelie to be called alâ—enating of the Church goods sith the poore are belonging to the same according to that generall sentence of all the councels and fathers Bona ecclesiae sunt bona pauperum the goods of the church are the goods of the poore But to take awaie the landes and goods of the Church whereby the beautiful feete of those which bring the glad tydings of the Gospel are shed their sides clothed their bodies fed and numbers of those which dailie praie in his holy temple are or ought to be mainteined lifting vp pure hands with hartie prayers for the sinnes of the people and those also which dailie sing praises to his holie name for his wonderful mercies shewed to mankind no scripture no councel no father no writer no religioÌ„ whatsoeuer doth allow it If wee looke into the law of nature or the rules of humanitie not much dissonant from the conclusions of morall
our face most apparantly I will not long discourse on that part pardon me the glasse is cleare what should I write That prouerbe was vsed of auncient time and we prooue it true Suis quisque malis blanditur euery man flattereth himselfe in his owne humor and though the glasse do shew thee plainely that thy face is foulie spotted in diuers places with vncleannesse of thine owne hands and full of puffed pimples by reason thou drinkest lyquor not ordained for thy stomacke yet to the ende that those small scabbes without may breede great sores within and that thine ende may bee the lue of thy desert flattering thy selfe with thine owne deformrtie and loath to bee corrected by an other thou castest away the glasse which once abandoned qui semel verecundiae limities transilient without all blushing thou affirmest boldly a mould a wart a wrinckle a â—reckle a spotte a wheale is but a toye in a mans face I count but little of the foolishe glasse And shew me reason why not why not if it be not seene it is no blot but if it be no more hid then the nose on your face or the sight in your eye if all men loath the sight thereof and count you carelesse of your health for neglecting the same then knowe that the time is nowe come of which it was foreshewed that men should bee loouers of themselues more then of the Lorde and you are a childe of the same nowe therefore sith the glasse is gone and reason is the rule by the which you leauell knowe yee that your deformities are great and sith you loue to feede on meate forbidden two men of your complection know this for a trueth that all meates are not for al meÌ„ It were a straunge vnnatural kindnes if the little child sucking on his mothers brest shold pull the meate out of her mouth as she is feeding yet much more vnholsome to be eaten of the child then straunge to the beholders If this vnnatural vnkindnes doe seeme so vntollerable in the flesh how much more in the children of the spirite wee must knowe that man as Hermes writeth consisteth of two natures of heauen and earth of bodie and of soule of the fleshe and of the spirite The fleshe is of earth earthlie the spirite is from heauen heauenlie first is that which is spirituall and then that which is bodilie The bodie is quickned last and dieth first but the spirite is that which is first and laste As the spirituall is first so wee ought first of all to walke after the spirit and not after the flesh to become like our spirituall father and to nourish our spirituall mother and brethren redeemed with the same spirituall sacrifice renewed with the same spirituall grace confirmed by the same spiritual pastours vnto sanctimony holines of life reading first aboue al other knowledge science contemplacions and reuelations the true heauenlie doctrine of the spirit Seking with our bodies liues and goods to preserue keepe the volumes the pastours the temples of the spirituall worship of the Lord where the breade of life is broken to those which hunger and thirst after righteousnes and the spirituall foode of the soule After the body followeth the shadowe and next to this spirituall foode of the soule the food of the corruptible bodie is to be prouided Both are necessarie but the former first Therefore let vs not seeke after the foode which perisheth but seeke the foode which preserueth both bodie and soule vnto eternall life knowing that as our sauiout Christ saith man liueth not by bread onely but by euerie worde which proceedeth out of the mouth of God This word is the conduit of the spirit whose substaunce is perfect trueth this word was in the beginning by it all thinges were made It created all thinges of nothing in weakenes strength in vilenes honour in the dust it placed a liuing a heauenly and an vnderstaÌ„ding soule erecting the bodily chariot where in he placed it right vp to heauen that he might aboue al things continually haue his face his eie his hart and cogitacion fixed on heauen and heauenlie conuersation But man would not abide in honour the spiriual grace of the heauenly fountaine infused into him was corrupted with the vncleanes of the vessel FroÌ„ the beginning his enemies prouoked him to offend his maker to leaue y e heauenly spirit to incline to her handmaid this sinful filthy coruptible flesh Therewith he lusted after his sensuall appetite he rowled his eie to fro according to y e wauering of fleshly sensuallity leauing the mistris in most degenerate sort he bound himself to serue the pleasurs of the body with the los of life he brought in death in affecting the losenes of the flesh he lost the freedome of the spitit in seeking lands honor on the earth he left the spiritual Canaan the heaueÌ„ly IerusaleÌ„ perfect lawe of the libertie Sith therfore the essence of man is his spirit according as it is written Mens vniuscuiusque is est quisque as the minde is so is the man eyther good or bad and that our first and chiefest constitution is spirituall Let vs vnderstand thus much of our selues that it is most consonant to our creation to our constitution to our saluation that aboue all other things we frame all our thoughts and meditations our calling and conuersation our goods and landes our liues and liuinges our bodies and our soules to the nourishing of the doctrine of trueth and the maintaining of the nurses the true teachers and preachers of the same This is the key of knowledge whereby wee must open the doore of heauen the tree of life which feedeth the soule the cleare light which lighteneth euery man which commeth into the world Now the windowe beginneth to open the day spring from an highe now visiteth vs teaching vs truely that as we consist of two natures so we are of two beginnings spirituall and earthly of a spirituall father the creator of heauen and earth a spirituall mother the holy catholique Church on whome hee hath sent his holy spirite visibly descending So we must first and principally apply our selues to the maintaining of the health peace and safety the reuerence renowne and glory of this spirituall father and mother leauing our earthly father and our earthly mother in regard of them because hee created redeemed and sanctified vs vnto himselfe our holy mother She nourisheth vs with the spirituall milke of the holy ghost that wee should be an holie religious generation vnto the Lord. Therefore after wee haue truelie confessed that wee beleeue in the most holie blessed and glorious trinitie three persons and one God next vnto our heauenlie Father wee acknowledge our spirituall mother the holie catholique Church in whose custodie at his departing out of this world he left his will and testament plainlie written and subscribed with his owne hand and the handes of
theÌ„ know that they must die like men that theyr bodies are made of a lothsome matter that they are but wormes meate dun ashes earth earth earth most vile and corruptible earth as all other men be though their descent bee princely ofte times from the house of many mighty Kings and Emperours though the knee of flesh and bloud doe bowe and kneele at their presence though their honour bee great in the eyes of the people their scepter mightie their crown gorgious yet one clod of earth must couer their heades in the graue and all their glorie shall be shut vp in a fewe lines according to the saying of saint Augustine in his booke De vera innocentia Qui splendes in mundo c. Thou which shinest in the world aboue the rest thou accountest of thy nobilitie of thine auncestors thou reioycest in thy large dominions in thy parentage in the great honour and homage which all men doe vnto thee knowe thy selfe that thou art earth and thou shalt bee consumed into earth againe looke vppe but a little and beholde those which were placed in the same throne of maiestie before thy time What is become of those excellent Oratours those mightie princes those puissant conquerous those renowmed Emperours Looke vnto the graue whether thou art passing beholde and see are they not all nowe rotten dust are they not like a sparke of fire which is vanished is not all there glorie and fame contained in a fewe lines written of them by some poore contemned scholler shall not the greatest Prince in this world rise vp naked at the daie of iudgement all amazed trembling and quaking Naie not his bodie onelie but his heart and his minde his soule and his conscience shalbe laied open before the Lord his Angels his saints and all his elect If hee haue plaied the tyraunte beating his fellowe feruantes ruling for his owne gaine and not for the benefitte of his Church shall not the remembraunce of his honour bee a stinging serpent to him in his conscience and his Princely dominion a most deadly corasiue to his heart Therefore be wise ye kings and princes of the worlde and yee which iudge the earth hearken to the wordes of vnderstanding Knowe yee that the wisedome of this world is not as is the wisedome of God Many men in their wisedome forecast by all meanes possible to come into possession of riches honour authoritie power and maiestie which when they haue attained let them but looke back a little and consider with what wicked sinnefull greeuous paines they were gotten with what feare and daunger they are possessed with what greefe they are loste let them enter into theyr owne heartes and beholde what a hell of corruptions and what an armie of tempting serpentes accompanie the minde that is set vppon riches let them marke howe manie wise men of this world haue come vp of nothing to great aboundaunce of wealthie authoritie and yet after they haue well practised and wiselie waied manie yeeres which waie they might come to enioye the height of their desire which is to rule whilest they liue heere on earth and to leaue the like to their posteritie it hath pleased the Lorde in one hower to cutte of the sequell and issue of all theyr hope Either theâ—â—elues togeather with their posteritie are cutte off or else the Lorde dooth take awaye that theyr ioye before theyr face or after all sendeth a worse mischeefe to theyr soule then anie penne can write anie tongue can tell or anie heart can vnderstand Which though we cannot sound to the bottome yet let vs learne by the shadowe to gesse the pourtraiture of the body by the effect to search the cause by the conclusion to knowe the trueth of that axiome Who so euer maketh his God of any thing here on earth it shall neuer prosper with him And who so maketh his quiet heauen here He shall neuer possesse the eternall heauen in the world to come Who so presumeth of his owne wisedome before the iustice of God or on his might that he may treade downe the poore hee shall not bee able to stand vpright in the daie of his daunger and to his vtter confusion he shall heare that voice at length Non est sapientia non est prudentia non est consilium aduersus dominum there is no wisedome there is no pollicy there is no counsell against the Lord. If wee will not hearken to the poore contemned ministers of Iesu Christ which forewarne vs dailie of that great daunger of our soule which wee rashlie aduenture by more esteeming of man then of God of the seruice of man then of the seruice of God of the commaundement of man then of the commaundement of God of the house of man then of the Church of God of the seruaunt of man then of the minister of God the stones in the wall shall crie out aloud and our owne conscience shall tell vs plainly that in loouing the honour the maintenaunce the issue of our bodie wee haue vtterly lost the saluation of our owne soules O that our eyes were so cleane washed with the water of life that wee might but once stedfastly behold the bright beautie of the radiant sonne of God no doubt we would leaue this great politike wisedome of this world wherin euery one striueth to frame his children and learn the true wisedome which is follie in the eyes of flesh wee would humble our selues before the Lorde and kisse the sonne least he be angry We would not count of that sweetnes which is tasted with toong nor of the fading beautie which shineth in the face of sinneful flesh we would cast our worldly honour in the dust and put our scepter vnder the foote-stoole of Iesu Christ We would not so much seeke the honour of earthly kingdoms nor triumph so often in the flesh but we would first aboue all other thinges reade the will of our God and meditare in the same both daye night wee would seeke to differ from the heathen in extolling our scepters after the manner of flesh bloud we would leaue the delight careful seeking of the worlde which is the first entraunce vnto Christ. We would knock at the doore of his mercie by a true faith and enter further by perfect obedience We would drawe neere to the father and kisse the sonne most louingly because he loued vs first so entirely that when wee were his enemies and beeing a most vile and sinnefull creature he left thousands of bright shining holie angels his daily ministers the spheares of heauen the stars of the firmament with all the rest of his beautiful creatures comming down in great humilitie was made man He beeing the high God of heauen earth for our sake was made man he suffered hunger and thirst reprochies and reuilings agonies and paines he sighed in his heart hee groned in the spirite and that which is able
forth in Israel not for weekes or yeares or hundred yeares onlie though it was suppressed in that watrish Aegipt but it shined so cleare out of the darke Cloude in the wildernesse that the arke was there built by the hande of his great messengers Moses and Aaron Neither could the desartes of Synaie or sinne or the exceeding high hilles of all the mountaine countrey restraine the course thereof but it passed ouer the toppes of the highest mountaines it diuided the deepest waters of that Countrey passing on drye lande throw the bottom thereof into that promised land the land of Canaan When the Arke the true figure of the Temple was by the prouidence of almightie GOD thus brought and placed neere the propper home And Dauid also the seruaunt of the Lord taken from the sheepefowlde preserued from the tyrannie of Saul and placed in his kingdome Now for our example let vs marke howe this holie place and godlie King accord together and what effect there is betwixt them The Arke hauing bene long before neglected by Saul which appeared by his ende Dauid hee had a speciall eie and regarde vnto it before all other thinges with great strength power glorie bringing it from the house of Abinadab neerer him ' First placing it in the house Obededom and afterwardes seeing the great blessinges which the Lorde shewed to that place where his Arke stoode he brought it home into the Citie of Dauid placing it in the tabernacle which hee had built for it Afterwardes when hee had conquered all his enemies round about and he sate quietly in his pallace hee followed not the swelling humour of flesh bloud which ruleth most in those that are the lowest born and the basest minded according to that auncient saying Asperius nihil est humili cum surgit in altum but that which is the dutie of a godly prince hee called the prophet Nathan vnto him and saide Do you not marke howe I dwell in my sumptuous house of Cedar and the Arke of the Lord is simply couered with skins shewing that it was not meete that the house of the king or of anie man should bee more faire more sumptuous more honourable and maiesticall than the house of God And therefore hee purposed fully with himselfe to builde a temple vnto the Lorde which hee hath perfourmed with dutifull endeuour in good time but that the Lord by the mouth of his holy prophet signified that his good intent was accepted and therefore the Lorde would blesse him on all sides promising that hee would giue him peace and rest from his enemies that he would place him quietlie in his owne pallace and when his yeares were come to an ende and that hee should after the manner of the godly sleepe with his fathers the Lord promised that hee would raise vp a sonne vnto him in whome he would establish the kingdome of Dauid for euer and which should builde an holie temple vnto the Lord God of Israell Heere vppon the kinglie Prophet did magnifie the Lord in his soule and his spirite did so hartelie reioyce in the wonderfull mercies of his creatour that hee lifte vp his voyce before the Lorde and penned manie Godlie himnes to bee musicallie and melodiouslie sunge by the chaunter and the quire before the Lord. He yeelded his whole heart vnto the Lord and gaue vnto him the first fruites of his lippes Therefore the Lord blessed him with a vertuous sonne euen the wise Salomon whose workes were lyke vnto the wisedome of his heart shewinge plainelie vnto vs the worke and fruite of true and perfecte wisedome and what is that As hee was the wisest man that euer was created so he brought foorth the best and happiest fruite that euer was building an holie temple vnto the honour and seruice of the Lord and that such a one as farre surpassed all the superstitious temples of the heathen Hee set manie thousandes of men a worke at once hee prouided the goodliest timber that could bee seene or heard off the fairest squared stones that might bee and of greatest price His ships went to Tharsis for golde and hee spared not to spende the iewels of Arabie on the same He erected therin great piâ—llers of beaten gold siluer gilding it on euerie side and garnishing it most â—oyallie Hee endowed it with landes and possessions most liberallie He finished it most perfectlie he frequented the same with his deuout praiers dailie to the glorie of God the profitre of his nation the publique practise of the â—olie lawe and sacrifice of the Lord. All the daies of his life hee enioyed it most happilie though by infirmitie hee fell yet y e Lord remembring his mercie let him depart in peace so that hee slept with his fathers and was buried in the cittie of Dauid and Roboam his son raigned in his steede Likewise also the highe and mightie Monarch Cirus King of the Persians though he were an heathen man yet hee yeelded so much vnto the true God that hee released his chosen people out of captiuitie saying the Lord of heauen who hath made mee Lord ouer the whole earth hee hath commaunded mee to builde him an house in Ierusalem Though hee was an heathen and cheefe ruler ouer all the worlde yet hee disobayed not the heauenlie voyce sending Zorobabell the cheefe of the Iewes proclaming that it might bee lawfull for anie of those which were in captiuitie to goe home and to helpe vp the buildinge of the house of the Lord bringing out the golden vesselles which Nabuchodonozer brought from the temple of Ierusalem and yeelding them all into the handes of Zorobabell and the rest whome hee sent vnto Ierusalem to builde vp the wasted temple giuing them great freedome authoritie and store of golde of filuer of worke men and all kinde of suppliance what so euer After this his religious bountie towardes the temple of the Lorde hee had great battailes against the Kinge of Babilon and manie other mightie Princes against whome the Lorde gaue him so great and so good successe that after he had ouercome the rich and strong king Craesus king of Babilon and that most mightie magnificent famous Cittie which manie other most puissant Princes hee alone was cheefe ruler of the Assirians the Medes the Persians beeing the first erector of the second Monarch of the worlde Wherein wee see most plainelie the great care and dilligent eye which the Lorde hath vnto his temple in that hee commaunded Cyrus to reedifie it and the good successe which followeth those which helpe to builde the same Especiallie if they perseuer in theyr good deuotion vnto the ende But if after they haue begunne to worke in the spirite they incline themselues to fulfill the desire of their fleshlie eye Let them knowe though they obtaine most excellent victories and high renowne in the battaile though they be placed ouer many kingdomes and haue obtained the height of theyr desire in what they
dangers true vertue atchieueth the greatest victorie And surely if we behold the poore innocent Church all naked in the midst of hir armed enimies daily wouÌ„ded by some betraed by others coÌ„temned of the most If we looke into the world see the smal comfort which poore schollers haue commonly when they come abrode the counterfeit curtesie the seeming friendship the smiling looks the double words the single deedes the smoth promises the doubtfull denials We cannot but confesse that hee which in this vncertainty continueth a certaine asure Patron Arduam virtutis calcauit viam sed tamen gloriosam He hath entred the hard way of perfect vertue but yet that which leadeth vnto true honor He which with the light of heauenly wisedome and the true integrite of a right noble heart hath entred this way at no time diuerting out of the same ether by flatterie of fauning friends or feare of priuie nipping enimies or by double danger proceeding from theÌ„ both He it is whom God loueth whome the better sort doe striue to imitate whose memorie the posteritie shal celebrate for whom we dailie pray and whom I honor with my hart In this perfect resolution I haue presumed to dedicate this my Dissuasiue vnto your Honour at this day a most assured friend to the church of Christ a special benefactor to our Vniuersitie and my most honorable singuler good Patron whoÌ„ I desire to gratifie in the best manner I can deuise Which I haue done the rather to shew my duetie to the common vveale and the sincere affection vvich I beare to your most rare vertue assuring my selfe that you will take it in good part as from him which without all flatterie and with intire affection doth beseech your creator to bestow that vpon you vvhich your most honourable heart doth desire Your Honours in all dutifull obseruance for euer Euâ—rard Digbye The Preface to the Reader IF my pen Gentle Reader had erst bin dipped in the siluer streames flowing from Parnassus hill or that Apollo with his sweet sounding harp would vouchsafe to direct the passage thereof vnto the top of that high Olympus after so general a view of great varietie fâ—r and neere I might bouldly begin with that most excellent Poet Cicelides Muse paulo maiora canamus But sith I finde it true in this my simple state of life now wel nere spent which the father said vnto his sonne affecting his goulden tressed chariot draweÌ„ with breathing horses through the christall skies Magna petis Phaeton quae non viribus istis munera conueniunt I feare to flie so high a pitch leaue the loftie discourse of higher argument to those which with the Eagles eies of perfect wit are able to behould the bright radiant Sunne of true inuention And sithens sometimes in giuing attentiue eare to the sweetstrains of melodious musicke I have most affected the pleasant mean sith in the life of man the goulden mean is that sure rule by which the wise do passe they sie seas of worldly calamities In a mean stile I mind to record to you a true Christian argument which though in these daies it be but meanly regarded of the most yet it is and alwaies hath bin had in great honor with the highest the greatest mightiest Princes in the world And what is that meane that soundeth so high If you wil listen the note is sweete and the dittie resoundeth the little Church of Iesu Christ. Though my musike bee verie simple and I not practised in the art though the song bee plaine truth and the Echoe thereof most vsually odium parit yet sith naked truth by her owne meere strength preuaileth against all the armies and armed men of the world sith her simplicitie is not able to bee refuted by the finest wittes and most eloquent tongues I am bould to sound my slender oten pipe amongest Mineruaes muses and therewith to gratifie you with Celsus of Verona his dissuasiue plainly translated into our English tongue The truth whereof incited me in simple stile no lesse effectuallie to record the good blessings of the Lord powred on those which loue his church than Celsus hath done to the contrarie Considering that these be those euil daies foreshewed by the Apostle of which it was said charitie shall wax cold and that the generall flow of iniquitie ouer the face of the whole earth doth argue vnto vs the dauning of the latter daie For our soules health I thought it expedient to shew vnto those which shall read this rudely written treatise how daungerous a thing it is in the sight of God how loath some in the eies of all true christians to detract any thing from the true worship of God his holy temple and the reuerend fathers the true disposers of the sacred mysteries in the same In which discourse though in the eares of some I may seeme to sing the treble rather than the meane to nisse the moode and to mistake the figure and therewith to sound some sharps insteed of flattes yet in that my purpose is to profit the good and so little as I may to offend the euill I hope God willing to shewe the truth so plainely so briefly and so truely as that the well disposed may vouchsafe to read and the euill may desire to learne To the end that this little fountaine might flow more abundantlie and therewith deriue it selfe into diuers passages I ment before this to haue published the same indifferentlie to all But afterwards considering the simple plainnes of the same scarce worthie the reading of the learned on good cause hauing halfe vowed neuer to publish any thing hereafter I thought it good rather to present my friend with it as a priuate token of my goodwill then by publishing it to make my selfe a marke for such boults as in this case vsually flie abroad Hauing sometimes walked this waye heeretofore I finde that Poeticall prouerbe most true pronounced by that anncient Alceus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 vnder euery stone there lieth a Serpent If the enuious toong were but as the winde which changeth often or as the sting of the little Bee whose greatest swellings are easily asswaged with the annointing of sweet honey Then might I aduenture my little boate into the wide Ocean seas and crie alowd with old Anchises Vela date ventis But sith the venimous tong more mortal then the Cockatrice empoisoneth farther then â—the eye can see infesting the absent with deadly disgrace heereafter Spes fortuna valete shall be my song and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 my full conclusion Euerard Digbie his Dissuasiue The first part THE exiled Poet in the sorrowfull distresse of his banishment gentle Reader hauing penned the record of the same and now readie to send it into the citie Parue nec inuidio sine me liber ibis in vrbem My litle booke saith he I do not enuie thee that thou shalt freelie passe thither whither I cannot come Sith the Poets shadowed stile
manie faithfull witnesses surelie sealed with his most precious bloud He fixed it so surelie and with such vertue that therwith the speres did shrinke in the heauens the Moone against nature retired from the East into the Meridian the Sunne lost his light the aire was darke the earth did shake the graues opened the spirits arose the hel below all trēbled so that the powers therof were loosed After this athentical signifying of his most pretious death bitter passion in heauen in earth in hel he gaue it as his owne deed his last wil testamēt vnto his beloued spouse the holy church a sure seale and pledge of eternall saluation to her all her faithfull children for euer As is the loue of her husband so is hirs for she hath it giuen her of him euen breathed from his owne mouth hee is one and his loue is one for euer the heauens shall waxe old like a garment the Sun shal shrinke from his Excentrich the earth shall passe awaie like a tempest but the loue of our spiritual mother is as the loue of our heauenlie father once euer whom she once loueth she loueth them to the end that most entirely according to the saying of the prophet when father and mother forsaketh me then the Lord taketh me vp Therefore if we be his true children we must frame our selues that we bee like our spirituall parents not in countenance onlie outward looke but in sinceritie holy deuotiō We must forsake both father mother concerning the flesh honouring our spirituall father our spiritual mother aboue all other things both in heauen and in earth He hath begotten vs sonnes of the spirit euen by the spirite of life and she through his great grace doth nurse vs vp with the same food she taketh vs vp out of the mirie waies of this sinful flesh she vnfoldeth the sinfull clothes of the bodie wherewith wee are almost smothered she openeth our mouth applying thereto her tender teats from whence she distilleth the drops of spiritual life into our hearts wherby our soules be fed our bodies preserued our vnderstāding increased our eies cleared our faith perfected so that we see most plainly how we should loath the world learne to loue our holy mother the church knowing that it is not meete to leaue the cleare Sunne to waite on shadowes or possible to serue God Mammon this world heauen the flesh the spirit according as Hermes writeth Nisio fili corpus tuum oderis teipsum amare non poteris impossible est vtrisque simul intendere O Sonne vnlesse thou hate thy body thou canst not loue thy soule for it is impossible to applie thy selfe at once to them both Therfore be ye not so blinded with the stinking mist of Sathans deadly smoke or the painted vale of this wicked world or the sinful web of fleshlie corruptions ouerspredding the sight of your eie that you should not look into the cleer glas now set before your face wherein you may plainlie behold the reflexion of your deformities this vnnaturall spot wherewith you greatlie disgrace your selues before the face of God and man at this day If your eies be so dim through the cares of this present world that ye cannot looke into the times of old if you cannot see so far before you by reason of the cloudy tēptations which the world the flesh the deuil beat in your faces yet in regard of your safety look downe vnto your own feet least you depart frō the way of life If you be so intangled with the briers of this wicked world that you cannot goe forward nay that you cannot once turn your selfe to look towards the Church Yet fixe thy feete that thou goe not backward from euill to worse and let thy countenance affect the sight of the heauenly Ierusalem Though thine eies bee dim yet open thine eares harken to the sweet admonitiōs of thy mother foreshewing thee the sweete and the sower of this thy dangerous iourneie wherein sith thou art to walke through the wildernes of this wicked world before thou assaie the isie ground therof know that which elsewhere is wisely written Terra imbrobitatis est prouincia the earth is a prouince full of naughtines through which who so mindeth to walke safelie hee must bee verie circumspect taking heede to his beginninges knowing that hee which beginneth well hath halfe finished the work The first entrance of this waie vnto eternall life is to loue the Lord thy God with all thy hart thy mind thy soul the next step is like vnto it loue thy neighbour as thy selfe according to the rule of nature Quod tibi fieri non vis alterine feceris Do vnto others as yee would that they should doe vnto you againe This rule is generall the meaning large the obseruance thereof hard and tedious therfore before I post forward too fast vnto the ende I will make some litle small spence of time in opening the first beginning thereof and which is that as it is said in the rule of christian faith next to the blessed trinitie is ioyned the holie catholique church as also in the table of the ten commaundements next to those which wholie concerne the worship of God in the first place and before all the rest is placed Honor thy father and thy mother and that with a blessing which who so mindeth to be partaker of hee must not onelie honor his naturall father and mother but he must vnderstand truelie that as the spiritual part soule of man is before the flesh so first and principallie wee must honor our heauenlie father which hath begotten vs of the true spiritual immortal seed wherby as saith S. Paul the faithful daily crieabba father next to this our spiritual father aboue all fleshlie parentes we must honour our spirituall mother the holy catholique church whose children we are before we haue our perfect beeing in the flesh according to the saying of Euaristus in his decrees Scimus Christum esse caput cuius nos membra sumus ipse est sponsus ecclesia est sponsa cuius filii nos sumus wee trulie know that Christ is the head of his Church whose members we are for he is the husband and the church is his spowse we the children of thē both Therefore before wee looke at our naturall parents we must most christianly apply our selues vnto the honour and reuerence of our spirituall father and our spirituall mother Nay we must forsake both goods and landes honour and dignitie frendes kindred brethren yea our naturall father and mother and cleaue vnto our spirituall mother the holie Church according to that most christian aunswere of that learned Tritemius to his naturall mother To whō after she had signified by diuers louing letters that she most earnestly desired to see him face to face hee returned this aunswere Non licet mihi
place permit But yet first and principally wee must seeke to feede our soule with the foode that neuer perisheth and then the body Those which doe blesse the Lorde of heauen and loue him aboue all the fading ioyes of the earth they shall receyue from aboue blessing for blessing grace for grace loue for loue to their endlesse comfort in the great day of his visitation they shall florish like the fruitfull vine their children shall stande like oliue braunches round about their table and they shall neuer want one to sit vppon their seate after them for euer They shall see their childrens children together with the temples and good woorkes of their owne handes They shall reioyce therein because their memorie shall neuer perish from the face of the earth but especially because this oyle which they haue in their lampes shall giue a light to their eyes a direction to their feete a comfort to their heart and conscience in the day of iudgement This is the sentence of holy scripture and the example is like vnto the same Looke ouer the booke of God peruse it diligently and tell mee if euer you did see the righteous forsaken or his seede begging their bread But alwaies those which first aboue all worldly affaires did seeke the kingdome of God and the righteousnesse thereof whiche built temples to his holie name maintaining his praise and glorie in the same they had all good blessings powred on them Abraham left his owne country willing to haue sacrificed his onely sonne at the voice of the Lord and therefore hee had this assuraunce by the voyce of an Aungell from heauen By my selfe haue I sworne saith the Lorde that in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed Which blessing continued in Isaac the fruits therof began to budde in Iacob whose willing minde well knowen vnto the Lord concerning his house in his sleepe there appeared vnto him a ladder the foote whereof stood on the earth but the top did reach vnto the heauens by which the angels did ascend and descend and the Lord leaning on the top of this ladder said vnto him I am the Lord the God of thy father Abraham and thy father Isaac the land in which thou art now will I giue thee and to thy seed and thy seed shall bee as the dust of the earth Thou shalt increase from the East to the West froÌ„ the North to the South and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed When Iacob awaked out of his sleepe he said of a truth the Lord is in this place I knew not and trembling he said further O how terrible is this place this is none other place but euen the house of God and the gate of heauen Forthwith rising in the morning hee tooke the stone which lay vnder his head all night and rearing it an ende he powred oile vppon it making a vow and saying if the Lord will bee with mee c. the Lord shall be my God and this stone which I haue here set an ende shalbe called the house of God and I will giue him the tenth of all the encrease which hee shall giue me After the sparks of heauenlie fire new kindled in the breast of the holie patriarch the flame brake forth at his mouth and so fructified together with his true pietie that afterwards hee was wonderfull rich in seruants goods and cattel in beeing a ioyfull father of manie goodlie-children liuing to a good olde age seeing his childrens children laying his hand on them that which passeth all though his graundfather Abraham did make an alter in the same place proceeding to offer the bloud of his onelie sonne vnto the Lord which was a perfect figure of Christ yet the latter light did shine the clearer and the Lord did so multiplie the blessings promised to Abraham in his sonnes Isaac and Iacob that long before the time of the reuelation of that holie one to him and in him he vncouered the vale so much that he shewed his louing regard to his elect here vppon earth in looking downe on Iacob and leaning on the ladder in sending his Angels vp and downe to his patriarch full of grace Who when his eies were open and he did see as it is said Gratia gratiam peperit Grace brought foorth grace For to the end that hee and his posteritie might more easilie clime this ladder and for our example hee trembled when hee perceyued that the Lord was there hee gaue the title and ioyned the reuerence thereunto saying out of all doubt this is the house of God and the gate of heauen concluding it shall be called the house of God Which his zealous speech and dooings condemne the fruitelesse zeale of our age for when hee perceiued that hee was once in the house of God with a reuerent feare hee trembled Not dispairing but beleeuing in heart hee looked vp confessing with the mouth hee promised and perfourming in deede hee reared vp the corner stone on which euen in the same place the holie temple of the Lord euen in the Temple of Ierusalem was afterwards built which though it was refused of the cunning builders in latter times yet beeing once annointed with holy oile it became the head stone of the corner If the Lord did so woonderfullie blesse the patriarch Iacob in his true faith and perfect zeale that of one smaâ—â— sâ—one hee raised the most holie the most honourable the most sumptuous the most rich and costlie Temple in the whole world Let no good Christian doubt to lay though it bee but one stone in the Colledge the Church the Temple of the Lord acknowledging with Saint Paul that Non est volentis non est currentis sed miserentis Dei It is not hee which willeth or hee which runneth but God which sheweth mercie It is not wee which do it but the grace of God which is in vs. Which if it once beginne to spring and shew it selfe in the woorke laie waight enough on it for it will rise mauger the might of all the world Hee which hath laied the greatest foundation in the lowest element the highest glorie in the lowest places which confoundeth the strength of this world with his weaknes which putteth downe the mightie from their seat and exalteth the humble meeke of his abundant mercie hee will magnify the charitie of the poore Widowe though it bee but a mite he will make the building strong though it bee founded on a cuppe of could water Those which loue his spouse hee will blesse their seede here vpon earth with plentie of peace and glorifie them in his heauenlie lerusalem This blessing is seldome obscure or vnseene amongest the sonnes of GOD neither doth it cease from generation to generation For if wee looke backe vnto this litle sparke wee shall see and saie with the prophet Dauid that the fire was kindled in Iacob and the flame broke
cause why for if the Lord promise long life and happie daies to them which dutifullie honor their father and their mother shall hee not pull out his flaming sworde of indignation and cutte of the line of their posteritie which dishonor their spirituall mother the holie church pilling and powling her of her iewels ornamentes auncient liberties large possessions making her loathsome euen in in the sight of the heathen If thy louing mother tooke thee vp out of the wildernesse from the mouthes of manie wilde beastes if shee brought thee in her louing armes into her house and lapped thee warme in her owne clothes if she suckled thee with her tender brestes if she sustained many great losses harde aduentures in bringing thee vp if she suffered many troubles daungers in defending thee nay if shee haue beene most greeuously persecuted once twise thrise nay more than tenne times for thy sake is it not barbarous crueltie for thee when thy mother is olde to take her iewels from her necke her clothes from hir backe her house ouer her head her meate out of hir hande Wilt thou scratch the teate that gaue thee sucke or diminish the liuing of the Church which giueth the spirituall foode for the soule though the holy scripture had not once mentioned it yet the law of nature dooth threaten a dreadfull doome to all those which destroy their owne parents God the Creator of nature it selfe dooth neuer leaue it vnpunished Let vs propound vnto our selues the life the honour the dignitie the blessed memorie and immortall glorie of those worthie princes already mentioned And on the contrary the sinister beginnings the euill successe the miserable endes of all those which neglected the glorie of God and the prosperous estate of his Church which of all Christians especially of all true nobilitie ought most to bee abhorred Doe but lift vp your eie and looke at tbose which haue shaked their head at Sion by shaking of Sion her selfe haue meant to strengthen themselues on all sides Fixe your eies stedfastly yea but a little on those gracelesse ympes after many great plagues and destructions sent on them ye shall see the clowde cleane vanished and in the house of the wicked no man lefte His habitation shalbe voide and there shall no man remaine to saie with the olde Prophet alas my brother alas my vnckle alas my loouing father Nowe hauing bent our eyes vnto the viewe of sundrie examples let vs looke into the ages past and see if euer the Godly were vtterlie destitute or that the enemies of the Church of God euer continued long in honour or if those which anie waie impared the Church prospered afterwardes in their generations Come and see nay I pray you reede and vnderstand that the Lord hath alwaies beene most ielous ouer his beloued spouse Tell mee if you bee so olde or your memorie so good can you name anie what so euer which at anie time in anie nation diminished the state the liuing the honour the safetie of the church of Christ and scaped the handes of the almightie Dauids eating of the shewe breade in the dayes of Abiather the high Preest is aunswered by the Lord of truth extreame necessitie droue him therevnto and yet as the learned write hee might more safely doe it because he was both a Prophet and a king herein prefiguring the person of a sauiour Christ who was a king a preest and a Prophet But let vs proceede plainly saying the sooth of our conclusion The Lord in executing his iudgementes hath no respecte of persons neither pardoneth he this greeuous voluntarie sinne of detracting from the Church so easilie as hee dooth other sinnes of infirmitie But rather hee sheweth his most seuere iudgement against those which take the liuing of the leuit from the Church and impropriate the same vnto themselues their wiues and their children Ely was a goodlie old Priest aud verie learned He was so beloued of the Lord that by the mouth of God hee and his seede were appointed to minister in the house of God hee had the freedome and prerogatiue of the Priests and he onelie had the disposing of the Arke the house the sacrifice of God in his daies Till at the length together with the vse of holie rites thorough the hope of small gaine hee suffered great abuse to enter into the house of God in that the sonnes of Ely forgetting God the due reuerence which they ought vnto his holy sacrifice applied the vse thereof more to the feeding of their owne selues then to the solemne and reuerend pacifying of the Lord for the sinnes of the people They seldome offered themselues whē any of the people came to offer vp vnto the Lord whilest the meat was boiling the Priests boy came hauing a fleshhook in his hād he thrust it deep into the caudron what piece soeuer came vp that the Priest tooke to himself This did they vnto all the people of Israel which came to sacrifice in the house of God at Silo. Yea before they burnt the fat the priestes boy came to him which offered saying giue me a portiō that I may rost for the priest I will not stay to take boiled flesh at thine hands but I must haue it rawe To whom when he which offred vnto the Lorde answered not so but according to the custome let the fat be burnt first take then at your pleasure To whome the boy replied nay but if thou wilt not giue it me presentlie I will take it whether thou wilt or no. Herevpon the sins of the sonnes of Elie was grieuous in the sight of God because they being sinfull flesh tooke to their owne vse that which was bestowed on the sacrifice of the God of heauen Elie heard all those things of his sonnes and more then that and he said vnto them verie mildlie howe is it my sonnes that I heare of such wickednes committed by you against the Lord doe so no more my sonnes doe so no more Consuetudo peccandi tollit sensum peccati They sinned still by dailie custome without regard they offended the Lord without remorse the old father spake to his sonnes sometimes but so louing lie that hee hated his children that hee fed their humour and nourished them in their wanton wickednes forgetting that truth which he spake with his lips If one man sinne against another God may be pacified for them both but if man sin against God who shal intreat for him or make sufficient satisfactiō This mild old man waxed towards his end As is the vse of natural fathers he loued his sons too much too vehementlie too childishlie in that he was loather to loose their fauning looks then the fauor of the Lord. Alas say some you must beare with nature he was verie old and his greatest ioy was his sons Was his ioy here vpō earth And did he reioice more in his fleshly childrē then
in the true seruice of the Lord because he loued the issu of his flesh more theÌ„ the glory of God maintained his childreÌ„ with y â— which was bestowed on the worship of god therfore the Lord seÌ„t a doble embassage vnto him First y e man of God told him plainly after this maner Thus saith the lord did not I plainly appear vnto y â— house of thy father when he was in Egypt in Pharaos house and chose him out of all the tribesâ— of Israell to bee my Preest to offer vpon mine alter and to burne incense and to weare an Ephod before mee and I gaue vnto the house of thy father all the burnt offeringes made to mee by fire of the children of Israell Wherefore haue you kicked against my sacrifice and mine offeringe which I commaunded in my tabernacle and honourest thy children aboue mee to make your selues fatte of the first fruites of all the offeringes of my people Israell Wherefore the Lord God of Israell saith I saide that thine house and the house of thy father should walke before mee for euer But nowe the Lord saieth it shal not bee so for them which honour me them I will honour And they which despise mee shall be dispised Beholde the day shall come that I will cut of thine arme and the arme of thy fathers house and there shall not bee an olde man in thine house and thou shalt see thine enimie in the habitation of the Lord c. And this shall bee a signe vnto thee thy two sonnes Ophney and Phinees shall both die in one daie This was the first Embassage and the second was like vnto it denounced by the childe Samuell in this manner Behold I will doe a thing in Israell that the eares of all which heare it shall tingle In that day I wil bring all the plagues against Elie and against his house which I haue already determined and I will iudge his house for euâ—r and the iniquitie of his house shal not be done away with offeringes and oblations for euer Which when Elie heard he being stricken with greese of hart hee saide it is the Lord let him doe as it seemeth best in his eies Immediatly after these offeÌ„ces of the soÌ„s of Ely against the Lord his holy worship the prophaning of the tabernale which was a figure of the church the Philistnes moued battail against Israel they won the field they tooke the arke of the Lord in the same day Oppney and Phines the sons of Elye were slaine in the battaile At which time Ely sitting vppon a cell trembling for feare of the arke then gone forth into the battaile he beeing blind in the euening he hard a sorowfull noise through out the whole cittie weeping mourning great lamentation euen in such sorte that he sent presently to know the cause thereof In the same instant a messenger came running from the feelde in hast telling him that all Israel was that day discomfited in the battaile great effusion of bloud in the middest of Israell with the death of his two sons Ophney and Phinees also the arke of God was taken by the Philistines But when Elie hearde the arke of God named he fell downe backward froÌ„ his feate brake his necke O the dreadfull iudgement of the Lord against those which take awaie the liuing giueÌ„ to maintaine his holy worship Here we see the truth of Elies speach if man sinne agaist man there may be an attonement made betwixt theÌ„ But if man sin against God if he diminish the glory of the Lords temple to increase his own honour or feed himselfe his wife his children with the goods giuen to the worship of the Iord his holy temple who shall intreate for him those which by weakenes of the flesh sin of infirmity to theÌ„ the Lord wil more easily grant pardoÌ„ But if thou lift thine hand against the mighty God of heauen earth willingly diminish the worship of his holy name theÌ„ tremble fear repeÌ„t indeed for not the malefactor only but his father his bretheren his citie his countrie where his wickednes is suffred shal be grieuouslie punished by the hand of God in peace vanquished by the enemie in the daie of battail Herein both Clergie Temporaltie are to take example of the punishmeÌ„ts which light on those that diminish or alter the oblations godlie deuotions which true christian Princes other wel disposed people hath freely bestowed on the Church Though their hearts be so hardened that they doe not feare and their conscience so brauned that they cry to those which shew forth the dreadfull iudgements of the Lord in this case Talke on giue me the goods therein take the fat of the Church liuings and leaue the leane for those which minister at the Altar of the Lord Yet let them assure themselues that the Lord wil come wil not defer and till he come he hath laid vp a heauie iudgement for them against the daie of distresse In the battaile they shall be discomforted their sonnes shall perish with the sword themselues shall die the same night they shal know that it is the Lord. He wil be serued first none but he He wil haue the best of our lands goods children none but he He will haue the Kingdome the power the glorie none but he There shall no iniquity remain in his house Neither is he like to sinful man that he wil grant childish dispensations contrarie to his own laws He hath granted no priuiledge of euil life to anie person whatsoeuer If the King offend hee spareth not his goods his lands his childreÌ„ his life his honor If the people sin he raiseth a strong strange people against them in war or sendeth a secret pestilence to destroy them at home in peace If the priest conuert the offerings of the Lords worship vnto the maintenance of his wife children though it be that good old man Elie yet the people for whom he praieth shal flie before their enemies his sons shall die on the edge of the sword he shal break his neck down backward the ark of the Lord shal be taken by the vncircuÌ„cised Philistines that which is the core of this most grieuous plague sore the glory of the Lord shal depart from the land Tunc tuares agitur paries cùm proximus ardet if iudgmeÌ„t begin at the house of God what shall be amongst the estranged sinners if the fier be already so kindled in the greene tree what shall become of the drie If the Lorde thus seuerelie punished his priest whom hee chose vnto himselfe for diminishing the sacrifice the solemnity therof with what sword wil he reuenge the disgraces of his holie Temple amongst the heathen or the greedie Atheists which spoile hir of hir dailie maintenance of hir pretious clothing of hir solemn foundations of hir wel bestowed lands You know that
SalomoÌ„ was the wisest man that euer was being onlie man yee haue heard of the fruit of his heauenly wisdome euen the building of a holy temple vnto the Lord. If heauenly wisedome built it vp then sinful folly pulled it down down it came But wil you see with what countenaÌ„ce the Lord beheld that fact That mightie Monarch Nabuchodonozer amongst his generall warres and famous victories he conquered Ierusalem and rased the walls he spoiled the Temple and tooke away some of the golden vessels of the house of God placing them in his emple before his Idols wherein the learned obserue that he had some conscience in taking some of the vessels not all in vsing them only in the temple of his gods not in his owne house He was a mightie Emperor as his dominions were greater then those of other princes so was his hart lift vp in prid aboue all other men therefore the Lord he put the mighty man from his seate hee disarmed him of all his power he made him naked of al his glory he remooued the crowne of golde from his head that which argueth what manner of men they be which laie violent handes on the temple of God he tooke from out his brest the vnderstanding hart of man placed therein a brutishe beastly heart together with the shape of an Oxe which hath hornes and hoofs and eateth haie After this hee tooke him from the princely pallace and turned him lose into the wilde soile euen amongst the beasts of the wood His body was wet with the dewe of heauen his drinke was the water of the puddle his solace was the company of brute bests He led this dul deadly life for seuen yeres y t hee might learne to know the God of heauen to regard his truth to giue him al honor and glory which after the Lord of his mercy wisdom had restored him to his kingdome he did most willingly plainely acknowledg euen in these words I Nabuchodonozer do lawd magnify extoll aboue al things y â— king of heauÌ„e earth c. Though after this strange chastisement he was woÌ„derfully humbled in the sight of God man yet the corruptioÌ„ of the fathers bloud did sinke so depe into the bones of his son king Balthasar that when he was at a solemne feast amoÌ„gst his princes the nobilite of his court being dronken he commanded y â— the golden vessels which his father Nabuchodonozer â—ad brought froÌ„ the temple of IerusaleÌ„ should be brought into him that he his princes his nobles wiues concubines in a brauery might drinke in them It was so don They did eate and drinke in the vessels belonging to the temple of the Lorde they praised their idoll Gods but by the way the wine which tasted sweete to his lips came cold to his hart For in the same moment as hee was drinking right ouer against the candle standing on the table there appeared the fingers of a mans hand writing on the wal which once discried by the king himselfe hee beheld it with a gastly looke and fearefully esprised with the letters which appeared in his sight his colour chaunged his heart panted his spirit was troubled his raines were loosed and his legs shrunke vnder him Straightway in great hast hee sent for Daniel who read the writing which was this Mane Techel Phares expounding these three words in this manner Mane that is God hath numbred thy kingdom broght it to an end Techel thou art weighed in the ballaunce thou art found too light Phares thy kingdome is diuided giuen to the Medes Persians This was the sentence of the Lord against that mightie king for translating his vessels appointed for his holy sacrifice vnto prophane vse the execution was not long deferred for the selfe same night in which he presumed to drinke in those holy vessels hee was slaine in his owne house Though the Lord do not alwaies sende such manifest speedy reuenge on all those which take the goods of the holy church vnto their priuate vses yet let them which are guiltie thereof beware that they abuse not too much the merciful louing patience of the Lord for his sword is sharpe passeth swiftly betwixt the soule and the spirit like the lightning breaking out of the clowd Think not that he is forgetfull because the fact is nowe past or vniust because vengeance yet lieth hid or partial that without repentance he should suffer any sin to scape vnpunished in any person whatsoeuer from the beginning of the world vnto this day Dauid was a holy and a kingly prophet a man euen according to Gods owne hart his eies beheld the vaine beautie of a woman wherewith his hart was straight inflamed and set on fire within his brest hee tooke his poore subiects wife and sent her husband to wars where hee was slaine he loued he killed and after that he possessed the woman had by hir a goodly boy What followeth in the text of holy scripture the prophet Nathan brought him a heauie message froÌ„ the Lord saying it is euen thou thou hast sinned against the Lord and thy poore subiect thou hast slaine Vrias the Hethite and married his wife wherefore the sworde shall not departe from thine house for euer This was the defiance of the Lorde sounded against king Dauid by the mouth of Nathan the prophet to which the great alarum was not vnlike For the Lord did visite the little childe which he had by Vrias wife with sicknesse For whom Dauid prayed vnto the Lorde most instauntly that hee would spare the childe Hee prayed long hee fasted religiously hee mourned hee remained in the darke hee put on sackecloth and ashes hee lay vppon the colde ground his noble counsellors could not intreate him to take any meate for seuen dayes in the ende whereof the Lord tooke away the fruit of his sinfull delight euen the childe vnlawfully begotten which he so entirely loued Afterwards though the Lorde blessed him with Salomon yet to shewe that the fight of the rereward should bee no lesse mortall than the sodaine alarum giuen before to the maine battaile the Lorde stirred vp his owne sonne in armes against him and armed the people so stoutly with rebellious heartes in desire of his destruction that it was saide plainely before the king that all Israell were vp in armes against him and sought to destroy him This tumult of the people was so sodaine so violent and so outragious for the time that the king for feare fledde out of his owne pallace and durst not staye therein though hee had shewed great signes of hartie repentaunce and the Lorde had sayde that hee would remember his mercies promised vnto him the retreate was not fully sounded but the Lorde punished the sinnes of the king together with the death of seuentie thousand of his subiects destroyed with the plague which hee sent amongst
secrete polling and vndermining the Church of Iesu Christ. And if it be a great punishment sent from God vpon thee thy wife thy children thy house or family thy countrie or people though thou haue not sinned lately notoriouslie yet remember what thou hast done long since thinke that long since thou inclosedst such a fielde from thy poore neighbours that that thou tookest the goodes lands and priuiledges from such a Church there giuen to maintaine the worshippe of the Lorde therewith remember that though it were long since yet with the Lord a thousand yeares is but as one day and therefore now hee punisheth thee euen with as perfect iustice as if the deede were nowe in dooing before his face Would to God that men woulde hereby learne to feare the Lord and to tremble at his secrete iudgement that they woulde cast off the loue of this wicked worlde which corrupteth their consciences and poisoneth their owne soules that they woulde leaue this fained kinde of repenting in worde onelie and repent in deede which is restoring with Zacheus foure folde and vndooing that which they haue done to the vttermost of their power If the loue of the Lords blessinges will not incite them to good life yet let the fcare of his heauie iudgementes deterre them from sinne Let vs not looke on those great and grieuous examples which I haue nowe rehearsed thinking those were long since in times past and that in forraine nations beyond the seas for if we looke well we shall see that as many plagues pestilences and other contagious diseases of the bodie haue beene brought ouer sea into this fortunate Iland so also this most contagious and deadly maladie of bodie and soule came ouer and rooted it selfe in this lande long since Wee haue store of examples at home and one shall serue for the perfecting of this period William Rufus the third sonne of the Conquerour after hee had ouercome his enemies and their resistance diuers times beeing returned out of Fraunce and quietly enioying the Scepter of this land afterward hee liued in ioy and triumph and for the more suppliance of his pleasure and pastime he to inlarge his Forrest pulled downe foure Abbeies seauenteene parish Churches and all the Townes belonging to the same Quo quisque peccat eodem saepe plectitur modo Oft times a man is punished the same way by which hee offendeth and so was hee for in the same Forrest where these Churches stood which hee pulled downe and in the same disport or pastime for which he dissolued them he was slaine by the glauncing of an arrow shot at a Deare by a Knight so that hee fell downe therewith on the grounde giuing onelie one grone Some write that in the same place where he fell downe and died in olde time there had beene a faire Church which with others in his Fathers time were dissolued for the enlarging of the said Forrest in which Forrest also a litle before the Kings Nephew was slaine by the like chaunce This Kings Father and he both minded to haue made this a fâ—ire goodly Forrest fit for the disport and hunting of a king but the Churche of Christe and the houses of his poore Subiects stood in his waie His officers and sycophants considering what would come rouling into their purses that way said it was very meete it should be so so it was But alas it proued a small pleasure of the father which ended with the deadlie groning of his sonne a simple pastime for the king to haue his bodie wounded with the piercing arrow to the death Pleasure bought with griefe is seldome kindly and gaine procured with the displeasure of the Almighty doth neuer profite The hearts of the wicked lust after their owne bane and wanton pleasure poisoneth hir owne Nurse The flower of flesh florisheth not an houre and the fall thereof is griefe to the eie The wisedome of this world compoundeth cares and the height of their deuises want successe Most mens fancie wearieth the spirite and their welthiest wish is perfect disquietnes He which magnifieth himself seeketh his owne decaie because the chaire of pride is placed on slipperie ice Hee which gathereth vnrighteous goodes for his children pierceth the heart of his owne flesh and who so taketh away his neigbours possession he diggeth vp the roote of his owne posteritie Hee which neglecteth his maker choketh his soule and hee which taketh from the Church shall not prosper vppon earth his bodie shall decaâ—e without his bloud shall drie vp within his marowe shall consume within his bones his musicke shall bee groning daie and night his feeding shall be loathsomnes of meate his wish shal be O that I were as yonder poore man his comfort that his good daies bee past his recreation one pang vpon an other his glad tidings the death of his children his consolation the loathing of his friends his hope the feare of death and vnlesse hee repent his ende shall bee despairre of eternall life Who so mindeth to liue with Iesus Christ eternally in heauen aboue and in this life mindeth to see good daies let him walke the way of the righteous and marke the fruitlesse paths of the wicked Frst of all let him keepe his hands from violating holie things and behold the miserable ende of those which doe the contrarie Let him reade the holie Gospell of Saint Mathewe and in reading let him marke diligentlie in marking diligentlie let him vnderstand truelie what our Sauiour Christ meaneth when hee saith yee fooles whether is the golde holie or the Temple which sanctifieth the golde and whether is the gift holie or the Altar which sanctifieth the gift If the Temple make the ornaments holie then the walles the woode the stone of the which the Temple doth consist is holie if the Altar doe sanctifie the gift then that which belongeth to the maintaining of the Altar is sanctified they which minister ther at are to be reputed holy If by our sauior Christ his speach those things be true then they be holie men which build vp the Lords house and they be wicked which pull downe the same according to that old verse Ecclesias Christi quas fundauêrâ— parentes Heu malè diripiunt gnati pietate carentes The godlie Fathers builded vp the Churches of Christ and the vngodlie children haue pulled them downe But marke the end of all those which walked this way and learne to keepe thy conscience cleare from this gracelesse fact The Lord inflicted manie plagues on them whilest they liued here and when they were once deade their honour vanished like smoake and was buried with them in the graue As their bodies consumed in the earth euen so their infamie did spring vp out of the ground their goods wasted like waxe in the fire and like snow before the Sunne their posteritie became like the grasse growing on the house top which withereth before it â—ee ripe Nether was this only the