ibid. The droppes of raine are but little in quantity and yet they make great shoures and cause mighty floods which beare down all before them f Parna saepe scintilla conteÌ„pta magnum excitauit incendiuÌ„ Qu. Curt. lib. 6. Wee see that many times a little sparke of fire neglected causeth a great burning and a little fire as S. Iames saith kindleth a great matter Iam. 3.5 And therefore if wee desire to preserue our selues from comming to the height of sinne to commit all vncleannesse with greedinesse as the Apostle saith Ephes 4.19 g Mens christo dicata sic caueat minora vt matora quia a minimis incipiut qui in maxima proruunt Bera de ordine vitae Non solum grauia sed leuia peccata cauenda sunt Multa enim leuia vnum grande efficiunt Bern. de conscâ—aedâ—s cap. 46. Wee must not onely take heede of grosse and hainous sinnes but euen of small sinnes Yea wee must as well beware of the least as of the greatest for according to the prouerb Many littles make a great and they that begin with little sinnes we see by experience do often rush into greater Secondly wee must be carefull to preuent the first beginning of sinne and labour to kill it in the first sprouting h Principijs obsta sero medicina paratur Dum mala per longas invaluere moras Ouid. de remed c. Opprime dum noua sâ—nt subita mala semina morbi Nam mora dat vires Ibid. Phisitions giue vs counsell in the diseases of the body to stop the beginnings least by continuance of time they grow inueterate as wee see by experience Many a disease that might easily haue been cured at the first and many a wound that might soone haue beene healed if it had beene looked to in time afterward beeing suffered to continue ouerlong Vse 2 doe prooue incureable So should we doe in the diseases of the soule euen labour by all good meanes to preuent them when we perceiue them growing vpon vs at the first Men are carefull to kill serpents in the shell and rauens in the neast and cubbes in the earth before they begin to run and all to preuent the danger which otherwise might grow by them if they were let alone g So must wee doe with our sinnes labour to strangle them euen in the birth that they may be like an abortiue fruit and neuer come to perfection The fire when it is newly begun to burne is easily quenched with a little water i Cura in ipso vtero pâ—ssimae matris praefocari germen Bern. de consider lib. 3. Gual in Hos Homil. 21. but if by negligence and delay it gather strength it rageth exceedingly and can hardly be extinguished In like manner sinne at the first beginning might easily be ouercome but if it be suffered to grow to any height it will be a most hard matter to suppresse it As the Crowe being about to breed first gathereth little sticks and other matter to make a neast and then layeth egges which by her heat she cherisheth til her yong ones be hatched brought forth So the Deuill being about to produce sinne first hee gathereth a great many vaine and idle thoughts whereof he maketh his neast in the heart of man and there layes delights as it were his egges which hee so long nourisheth fostereth till his young brood of sinne bee hatched by consent and after brought foorth by operation as S. Iames liuely describeth the beginning and birth of sinne Euery man saith hee is tempted when he is drawne away by his owne concupiscence and is entised Then when lust hath conceiued it bringeth forth sin and sinne when it is perfitted bringeth forth death Iam. 1.14.15 Now as hee that would hinder the breeding of the Crowe doth either pull downe the neast as soone as it is made or breake the egges or at least killeth the birds before they can flie so if we desire to stay the birth of sinne we must resist it in the very first thought of it not giuing entertainment thereunto and if the Diuell doe buzze ill thoughts into our harts against our wills we must take heede wee yeeld not consent vnto them at the least if we haue consented let vs vse all good meanes to preuent it before it come to action And the rather because the longer we giue entertainement to any sinne the harder it will be to ouercome it The spreading of sinne is like the spreading of the pestilence which first infecteth the aire the aire beeing infected corrupteth our breath and that conuaieth the infection into the vital spirits and the bloud and so it ouer-spreadeth the whole body and is past recouery so sinne by little and little and by degrees getting hold in the heart disperseth it selfe into all the parts both of body and soule so as without the grace of God there is no meanes to bee freed from it The longer that the Diuell or any sinne hath had possession in the heart the harder will it bee to dispossesse them Wood that hath long laine soaking in the wette will bee long before it receiue fire so the longer that any mans heart hath beene soaked or steeped in sinne the longer will it be before it receiue any impression of grace a Quae praebet latas arbor spatiantibus vmbras Quo posita est primum tempore virga fuit Tunc poterat manibus summa tellure reuelli Nunc stat in immensum viribus aucta suis Ouid. de remed Nil assuetudine maius Oâ—id de arte amandi A young plant may easily be pluckt vp by the roots but if it grow till it be a great tree it can hardly be remoued So long as there is nothing but dust in our floores a light broome will serue to sweepe it away but if it be stiffe clay a broome will doe no good there must bee a spade to spittle it out In like manner so long as our sinnes are young they may with little labour be rooted out but if once they be confirmed in our hearts wee shall finde it a very hard matter to displace them Hence it is that the prophet Ieremy saith Can the blacke Moore change his skinne or the Leopard his spottes then may you also doe good that are accustomed to doe euill Ierem. 13.23 Giuing vs thereby to vnderstand that it is the most difficult thing in the world for a man to leaue a custome or an habite of sinning euen as for a blacke Moore to be made white who is naturally so blacke as there is no meanes to alter his hewe Though a man should wash him with nitire and much sope yet it would not preuaile And therfore it is grown to a prouerb that when a man vndertaketh any impossible thing which cannot bee effected bee is said to wash a blacke Moore b Ars sit vbi a teneris crimen condiscitur annis Ouid. Epist Difficulter reciduntur vitia quae
And therefore if we conuerse with them there is danger that we should be en wrapped in their punishments when the wrath of God breaketh out against them As Salomon threatneth The companion of fooles shall be afflicted Pro. 13.20 Gen 13.10.11.12 13. 14.12 19.16 And so wee see it fell out with Lot who by the fruitfulnesse of the place being drawne to liue in Sodome where the men were wicked and exceeding sinners against the Lord when they were taken prisoners he was taken prisoner with them And had not the Lord beene mercifull vnto him he had perished in the generall ouerthrow of the citty And therefore when the Lord was about to destroy Corah and his company for their rebellion Num. 16.26 Moses chargeth all the congregation to depart from the tents of those wicked men and to touch nothing of theirs least they perish in all their sinnes And it was the voyce of God from heauen concerning Babilon Apoc. 18.4 Qui iunguntur in culpa non seperantur in paena Cyprian lib. 1 Epist. 4. Euseb eccle hist lib. 4. cap. 14. Goe out of her my people that ye be not partakers in her sinnes and that yee receiue not of her plagues Hence was it that the Apostle Iohn comming into a bath at Ephesus to wash himselfe and finding there vnlooked for Cerinthus that wicked heretike straight way leapt backe and departed vnwashed saying to those that were with him Let vs flee from hence least the bath fall vpon our heads wherein this enemy of Gods truth is washed 5. Their company is contagious and there is great danger to be infected by them wicked men for the most part hold the old rule The more the merrier And therefore as Salomon saith Pro. 1.10.11.14 Noui ego hoc seculum moribus quibus sit Malus bonum malum esse vult vt sit sui similis Plant. Trinum they will entise and draw on others to come with them and to cast in their lot c. As it is the Deuils desire to make many partakers of his owne damnation so his instruments haue the same affection They that are bad would make the good bad also that they may be like themselues As they say he that hath the plague running on him hath a desire to infect others so he that is infected with any vice laboureth to make others as bad as himselfe As we see in drunkards and swearers and such like they loue none but such as will swill and drinke and sweare and swagger with them And as wee haue heard before the danger in this case is the greater because of our selues we are * Dociles imitandis turpibus prauis omnes sumus Iuuen. Sat. 14. Ad deteriora faciles sumus Sen. Epist 97. all so apt and prone to sin we are all of vs too apt schollers to learne that that is naught As the Painter with a light hand and running pencill can expresse the wrinckles warts moles in the face but not so easily the face it selfe sowe are hardly brought to follow the vertues of our friends if any be but for their vices we imitate them without any labour It is with vs in this case Seneca Epist 7. Si quis magistruÌ„ capâ—t improbum ipsum animum aegrotum ad deteriorem partem plaerûmque applicat Terent. And. Pro. 22.24.25 Non tuta tibi tua bonitas obsessa malis non magis quà m sanitas vicino serpente de confid ad Eg. lib. 40. as with one that hath beene long weakened with sickenesse that as he can hardly come abroad but he taketh some cold and is the worse for it so it is as hard for vs to come into lewd company and receiue no hurt If they cannot cause vs wittingly to yeeld to sinne yet they will giue vs some staine at vnawares And therefore Salomon giueth vs good counsell Make no friendship with an angry man neither goe with the furious man least thou learne his waies c. The like may be said of all other sins And Bernard hath a good saying to this purpose It is as hard for a man to preserue his goodnesse in the middest of euill men as it is hard to keepe his health in the middest of serpents For there is a secret poyson both in their words and deeds which fretteth and infecteth whomsoeuer it touceth as the Apostle speaketh of Hymenaeus and Philetus Hence is it that by reason of the manifold sinnes that beare sway the Apostle saith the times are perilous times 2 Tim. 3.1.2.3 such as it should be hard for a man to keepe faith a good conscience in them * Aliquid mali propter vicinum malum Eras adag Eras de lingua Dum spectant laesos oculi laeduntur ipsi Ouid. de remed It is a true prouerbe Much euill comes by an ill neighbour He that dwelleth by a man that halteth shall learne to limpe of him He that liueth daily among them that stammer shall in time learne to stut like them And he that is much conuersant with them that haue bleare eyes is in danger to catch the disease himselfe So he that is familiar with wicked men will in time become as bad as they a Haerebit tibi auaritia quandiu auaro sordidoque conuixeris Incendent libidines tuas adulterorum sodalitia Sen. Ep. 104. Eccles 13.1 Ecclus. 13.1 Pro. 6.27 Let a man liue with a base couetous person couetousnesse will strik vnto him Let him keep company with whore-masters and it will set his lusts on fire And as Ecclesiasticus saith He that is familiar with the proud shall be like vnto him As it is hard for a man to goe into a mill and not to haue some meale sticke on his cloathes or to touch pitch and not be defiled with it or to walke much in the Sunne and not to be tanned and sunne-burnt or to take fire in his bosome and his cloathes not be burnt or to goe into a pest-house and not take infection so it is as hard for a man to come into lewd and profane company and not be tainted with some vice or other For this cause the Lord gaue such straight charge to the people of Israel that they should haue no dealing with the inhabitants of the land of Canaan Exod. 23.32.33 34.12.15.16 Deut. 7.2.3.4 Thou shalt make no couenant with them nor with their Gods Neither shall they dwell in thy land least they make thee sinne against me And againe Take heed to thy selfe that thou make no compact with the inhabitants of the land whither thou goest least they be the cause of ruine among you Least when they go a whoring after their Gods some man call thee and thou goe a whoring also And againe Thou shalt make no couenant with them Neither shalt thou make mariages with them neither giue thy daughter to his sonne nor take his daughter to thy sonne For they will cause thy sonne to turne away
pro L Flacco that many haue friendly and familiar countenances that haue angrie and wrathfull minds and is there not often hidden displeasure where there is open flattery This is a very odious and an abhominable thing c Tuta frequesque via est per amici faâ—ere nomen Tuta frequensque licet sit via crime habet Salomon compareth him that vnder pretence of friendship is an enemie vnto a potshard ouerlaid with siluer drosse Prou 26.23 And Dauid saith that his enemies came about him like Bees Psal 118.12 and very fitly as one obserueth because the Bee hath sweet honey in her mouth and a venomous sting in her taile Yea and such kinde of persons are most dangerous taking away the vse of humane societie For how can a man liue and conuerse safely with that man that bloweth both hot and cold as the Satyre said d Altera manu fâ—rt lap dem altera ostentat panem Pâ—aut Aulular that carieth fire in the one hand and water in the other Though a man be neuer so wary and circumspect yet he can hardly in this case auoide danger e Nullae sunt occultiores Insidiae quam â—e quae latent in simulatione officij aut in aliquo necessitudinis nomine Nam cam qui palam est aduersarius facile cauendo vitare poâ—sts hoc verò occultum intestinum ac domesticum malum non â—â—do tion existit verumetiam opprimit antequam perspiccré atque explorare potueris Cic. in Verr. lib. 1. For there is none more secret and hidden trechery then that which is cloked with pretence of friendship An open aduersarie may easily bee shunned but this close mischiefe will oppresse a man before he can perceiue it As Dauid saith of his enemies Surely mine enemie did not defame me for I could haue borne it neither did mine aduersarie exalt himselfe against mee for I would haue hid mee from him But it was thou O man my guide and my familiar c. Psal 55.12.13 By this meanes it commeth to passe that a man cannot tell whom to trust f Non hospes ab hospite tutus Non socer a genero Ouid. Metam lib. 1. If there bee falshood in fellowship it is not safe for any man to trust his friend Yea hee must keepe the dores of his mouth from her that lyeth in his bosome Mich. 7.5 This doctrine serueth to admonish euery one of vs Vse to take heede of this sinne As we desire to approue our selues to be members of the Church in this life and heires of Gods Kingdome afterwards we must speake the truth in our hearts Psal 15.2 We may not pretend loue to any man in word and in tongue only but we must loue in deede and in truth Especially 1. Ioh 3.18 we must keepe all bonds of friendship inuiolable with those that trust vs and relie vpon vs. Then when he saw that he was condemned Aquinas in locü. Aquinas moueth a question how Iudas could see this when as yet Christ was not condemned For Pilate had not yet examined him much lesse pronounced sentence against him But hee answereth out of Origen that hee easily saw what the end would bee because hee perceiued Vers 1.2 that the chiefe Priests and Elders had taken counsell to put him to death and for that purpose had deliuered him to the Deputy Now when he saw the matter was come to this passe then he beganne to repent himselfe of that he had done It is like that he thought before that Christ might escape and that there was no danger of death But now seeing indeed what the issue would be his conscience is troubled and his heart beginneth to smite him Hee could neuer before see the hainousnesse of his sinne till hee saw that this was the end of his treason that so innocent a person should be put to death And now at the last comming to himselfe he beginneth with sorrow and griefe to waigh the enormitie of his fact and to be displeased with himselfe for it * Doctrine Mens eies are blinded before the coÌ„mitting of sinne and opened afterward Where we may obserue the craft and subtilty of the Deuill that he dazeleth mens eies and blindfolds them that they cannot see the foulenesse of their sinnes till hee haue brought them whether he would but afterward when it is too late he letteth them see what they haue done a Non permittit Diabolus cas qui non vigitant videre malum antequam persiciant Aquinas in locum First he extenuateth a mans sins to draw him on the more easily but afterward he aggrauareth them and maketh them appeare out of measure sinnefull hee seduceth them with a false perswasion as though either no hurt at all or at least not much hurt would follow vpon their sinnes b Malè humanis ingenijs natura consuluit quod plerunque noÌ„ futura sed transacta perpendimus Qu. Curtius lib. 8. Yea there is euen in nature a disposition neuer to waigh the issue of a thing throughly till it be done and past Which being furthered by the Deuill must needes be so much the worse Hence was it that Iudas neuer saw the hainousnesse of his bloudy thoughts against his Master till he was condemned otherwise he would neuer haue done so cruell a deede He had often heard from our Sauiour Christ himselfe that hee must be betrayed and deliuered into the hands of the high Priests and by them be crucified He had heard a grieuous woe denounced against him that should betray him Mat. 26.24 that it had beene good for that man if he had neuer beene borne But the Deuill soone extinguished the remembrance of these things and made them no better then a tale told to a deafe man No doubt he made him beleeue that Christ should neuer be put to death but that hee might enrich himselfe with the money and yet his Master should do well enough He perswaded him that either his owne innocencie would acquite him when he should be brought to his trial or else if his enemies should be so malicious as to condemne him without cause yet by his diuine power he could easily when he listed Mat. 8.26 Luke 8.29.30 rescue himselfe out of their hands It was not likely that he that with a word could still the raging of the Sea and with a word could cast out a legion of Deuils would suffer mortall men to preuaile so farre as to put him to death Besides he had had experience of Christs power in this case When the men of Nazareth Luke 4 29.30 offended at his preaching thought to cast him head-long from the top of an hill hee passed through the midst of them and went his way Yea when himselfe with a rabble of Souldiers came to apprehend him in the garden Joh. 18.6 hee did but speake a word and they all went backward and fell to the ground But now perceiuing contrary to his opinion