Selected quad for the lemma: fire_n
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A33182
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The citizen's companion: or The trades-man's mirrour Wherein most parts of a trading life are accomodated to the judgments and examples of the ancients. A work enrich'd with proverbs, and historically beautified with the deeds and sayings of the wisest and worthiest men that ever were in the world.
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1673
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Wing C4338; ESTC R216321
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63,979
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167
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they are a hungry after new benefits Most Shop-keepers respect even so lasts no longer than the Customer uses them to their extream advantage Divines say that Flattery divides a man from himself he thinks himself otherwise than he is A house divided can't stand which some unjust ones considering by Flattery part a mans judgment from his will and so deceive him Oyl poured upon the Grass-hopper kills it Vineger revives it Flattery kills those whom sincere harsh treating doth heal A flattering mouth worketh ruine Prov. 26.28 So much danger hath Flattery begotten as the Emperour Sigismond Emperour of Germany struck one who praised him too much saying he hit him Antigonus King of Macedonia told a Poeâ— who call'd him a God therein observing his soothing that the Groom of his Stool knew 't was no such matter Alexander when his Parasite perswaded him to think himself a God reply'd he knew himself by two special things to be Maâ— and not a God namely by sleep anâ— carnal motions Heavier and sadder were their following Dooms King Philip of France and Constantine the Greâ—â— banish'd all Flatterers from their Counts At Athens they were put to death as the ruine and plagues of the Countries they dwelt in The Athenians put Tymagorâ— to death because to insinuate with Darius he saluted him after the Persian manner Whereby it is visible how obnorâ— ous Flattery hath ever been esteemed and the hatred it hath always contracted and the punishment a maâ— have met withal But it is not alwâ—â— so in Trade Some Customers will grâ—oâ— dull and displeased if they be not ofâ— whetted by Flattery down-right hoâ—â— speeches discontent them For thâ—â— cause as the Apostle said Be angry bâ— sin not So I say Flatter but sin not it be possible Yet it is my opinion that amiable looks and fair speeches will go far enough we need seek no by-ways It is better saith Plutarch to fall among a sort of Ravens than to happen into the company of Flatterers For the Ravens never eat a man till he be dead But Flatterers will not spare to devour him while he is alive Flattery is the corruption of truth a thing as pernicious as truth is excellent Flattery is like a Golden-pill which outwardly giveth pleasure but inwardly is full of bitterness Lastly among other things a Flatterer is known by this that he doth not onely imitate friendship but go beyond it Secondly Dissimulation is an evil more tolerable in a Citizen Nevertheless Plato the Mellifluous Philosopher advises all not to dissemble with a friend either for fear of displeasing him or for malice to deceive him Yet I said it was more tolerable because it is with him as with one who hath married a wise whom he must use well pretending affection to her though he can't love her and indeed Divines hold it in some cases lawful to pretend one thing and intend another as in the case of our Saviours going to Emaus with the two Disciples He made as if he would go further to stir up their desire of his presence whatever he pretended he intended to stay with them that night If a man pretends a long journey by being booted and spur'd but intends to return suddenly to see what those whom he puts in trust would do if he had gone is no sin whereas if he had said he would go such a journey and went not had been a lye But woe to them that dissemble to an ill end these have the voice of Jacob but the hands of Esau they are smooth in their words rough in their actions A feigned equity saith St. Augustine is a double iniquity because dissimulation is iniquity it self Let him know also that he sins thrice that counterfeits himself good to whom he may do ill Let him dread the judgment fell on a King of Poland who 〈◊〉 great Dissembler had always this with his mouth If it be not true I would 〈◊〉 Rats might eat me which came to pass for he was assail'd by them in such manne at a Banquet that neither his Guard Fire or Water could defend him fin them Worms eat up the tongue of the Cozener Nestorius Absalom that Master-piece of Hypocrisie who was within a Nero without a Cato he had a painted tongue but not a painted punishment Behold him hanging on a Tree as unworthy of Heaven or Earth Behold him thrust through with three Darts as worthy of a treble death He that hateth dissembleth with his lips Pro. 26.24 These Dissemblers like the Polypus can take all colours to deceive But how cowardly a humour is this and how servile He that dissembles must still have a fearful eye upon himself lest he be discovered his mystery is poor for he is ere long found out and then not credited all he speaks is Apocryphal O how excellent a thing is freedome there is no better life than to live according to a mans nature resolving always to dip the tongues Pen in the hearts Ink speaking but what he thinks to do otherwise is impiety and deserves the punishment the Lacedemonians inflicted on one who professing a rigid life used to wear hair-cloth lin'd with purple Yet to utter all he thinks is eminent folly Clytus for speaking too boldly to Alexander was kill'd by him Silence is most safe and Phocion is to be imitated above all whose closeness was a freedome in expressing in a few words his matter and surpassing therein as it is said Demosthenes himself whose eloquence excell'd all others Thirdly A lying tongue saith Solomon hateth those that are afflicted by it Prov. 26.28 Lying is a base vice is a sickness of the soul which cannot be cured but by shame and reason It is a menstruous and wicked evil that filthily prophaneth and defileth the tongue of man which is consecrated of God for the utterance of his praise It is thâ— part of a slave saith Bias to lye It is the property of a lyar saith the same 〈◊〉 put on the Countenance of an honest maâ— that so by his outward habit he mâ— the more subtilly deceive And the Poet is offended at it highly Dare to be true nothing Can need a Lye A fault that needs it most Grows two thereby Lying is pernicious to humane Society contrary to Nature and worse thaâ— Theft for silence is more sociable than untrue speech it is the worse because so various if it had but one visage there were some remedy for it a man might take the contrary to it for truth That which is good is certain and finite saith Philosophy there is but one way to hit the mark Evil is infinite and uncertain there are a thousand ways to miss it It is reported of the Indians that they offered humane blood to their Gods but none other than what was drawn from their tongues and ears for an expiation of the sin of lying as well heard as pronounced Even those that use this vice most conceive the baseness of it counting that the extreamest
generally walk as men with dark Lanthorns they light none but themselves as we love none save our selves But mark Prov. 21.13 He that stoppeth his ear at the cry of the Poor he also shall cry himself and not be heard The Romans made a certain Law that no man should make a publick Feast except he had provided before for the Poor Far alas is the sense of such a thing from us much less the imitation Cymon of Athens saith a famous Author gave a yearly pension to the poor fed the hungry and cloath'd the naked The house of Lucius Lucullus was the Hospital of all that travail'd from Greece to Rome Pertinax the Successor of Comodus the Roman Emperor was liberal above all before or after him he used to say that His Lands were not proper to him alone but common to all the people of Rome If I would swell my Piece with such observations how bulky might it be made but I deem what 's already quoted enough to shame my Citizen if he be too close-fisted and to enkindle the sparks of his charity till his Zeal for God's Service like David's consumes him Psal 119.139 I shall end this Subject by enlivening him with two or three recompens'd as the Scripture assures us and that meerly for their tenderness and hospitality Rahab on this score was with all her kindred saved from death when all the people of Jericho besides both great and small past the edg of the Sword I should have mention'd formost Gen. 19. how Lot was drawn out of Sodom by force and preserved from burning in it because he entertain'd most kindly two Angels in the shapes of men 2 Kings 4. Elisha to requite the charitableness of the Shunamite who had constrained him so often to eat bread restored her dead Son to life And now if my Citizen can lock up his Yellow and White rather than impart to the wants of distressed and unfortunate people he may cloath himself in fine Linen and fare delicately but the doom of Dives too assuredly and dreadfully will at length light on him He that denyed a Crum of bread to Lazarus was denyed a drop of water when he was all afire Alas what is the Ocean to the infinite World of fire in Hell Yet Dives unhappy and much to be pityed Dives who wasted in his life so many Tuns of Wine cannot now procure a drop of Water to cool the tip of his tongue Lastly my Citizen must not be backward to promote the weal of the Publick lest at one time or other he be chastised by another Epaminondas who commanding a miserable Citizen of Thebes to give another a round Sum of Money was askt by him upon what account Because reply'd he sharply thou hast robbed the Common-Wealth An Ant is a wise Creature for it self but a shrew'd thing in an Orchard or Garden and certainly men that are great Lovers of themselves waste the Publick Men saith Cicero are not born for themselves but for their Gountrey Parents Kindred and Friends I can't hold now from reproving with reason the Cowardise and fearful amazement of our late Citizens when they should have succour'd singly or in gross the best of Princes How can the Ghost of Wat Tyler's Conqueror do less than haunt such a degenerate brood whose aim is at a dignity springing from Majesty and King-ship and yet none stir'd before the dreadful stroak with a single blow to deliver their oppress'd Countrey but especially a Prince that as meer man never had his fellow upon Earth Mutius Scaevola that magnanimous Roman was possess'd with that courage that to free the City by Porsenna's death he entred the Camp alone and killing the King's Secretary instead of himself not knowing well to distinguish them notwithstanding he undauntedly justified his intention by burning his hand in a fire before Porsenna's face seeming to feel no more heat than if he warm'd it in the Sun and thereby frighting the King to a dismissing of him honourably though with the loss of his right hand and to the raising his Siege from before Rome Dion of Syracuse never rested till he had dethron'd Dionysius the Tyrant Aglauros an Athenian hearing the Oracle had pronounced the ruine of his Country unless some one dyed voluntarily to expiate their crimes cast himself feaâ—lesly from the walls of the City But faint-heartedness avarice sloath and luxury caused the fall of Constantinople into the Great Turk's hands Mahomet the first and cruel Emperour caused Constantine a pious vertuous Prince and the last Eastern Emperour to expire amidst the horrour and confusion of the City and afterwards to have his Head exalted on a pole and carried by the Turks in derision through the City The Pride and ill affections the cowardize and covetousness of our City undoubtedly concur'd most to the deplorable end of our Learned Wise Virtuous Valiant Merciful and Religious Soveraign But as Constantinople was destroyed with Fire and Sword and desolated as a deserved punishment on those that had wherewithal and might with ease have prevented their own miseries and their Princes So with a kind of Authority for I could cite a credible Prophecy for it may I speak London comparatively to have labour'd under the effects of impartial Justice for their defaults and bewailable negligence in permitting Gods Anointed to be so ignominiously used as was our Royal Martyr But Ah the Mercies of a patient and ever-loving God! it hapned with this difference as if we had been put to David's choice and chose like him Whereas Constantinople was almost razed and its Inhabitants e'n extirpated the Earth by the rage and cruelty of Men Our London blessed be the lot was almost depopulated by a Pestilence and its Buildings e'n consum'd through Fire but by the immediate and powerful hand of a most merciful and restoring God I may well say restoring For what man ever read or heard of such a prodigious and sudden Rebuilding a City so vast and ruinated who can't but admire the populousness of a place whose Inhabitants had been first innumerably swallow'd by a Pestilence and afterwards dispers'd into all parts of England by an entire overthrow of their dwellings Certainly my Citizen must needs be astonish'd to consider those wonders he may behold in our Phoenix-City And it 's impossible to refrain crying out with David Psal 126.3 The Lord hath done great things for us whereof we are glad Finally if my Citizen would be reckoned a just peaceable and profitable man he must reverence the higher Powers established by Time Right Reason and the Laws of the Land The present Government is most agreeable and consistent with the Divine most suitable to the Genius of the Nation and the advantage of particular persons It is free from discords emulation and ambitious desires concluding that For the sins of our Land many were the Princes thereof Wherefore my Citizen Prov. 24.21 Fear thou the Lord and the King and meddle not with