any thinge preuayle though we take neuer so much care there about He calleth it thy breade and thy wyne that thou hast gotten through the blessing of god So Esay 4. We will eate our breade And Paule to the Thessalonians Let euery one eate his owne breade ¶ For thy workes please God. THis exhortation belongeth to the Godly that feare God as if he shoulde saye Thou that art Godly doo that thou canst forasmuch as thou knowest thy woorkes shall please god And this is the greatest wisedome that can be to knowe that God will be mercifull to vs and that our workes and labours please him as Paule sayth to the Romaynes the viij The spirit beareth witnes to our spirit that we are the children of God. For onelesse our hart place and settle it self in the good will and pleasure of God it can neuer swéeten the bitternes thereof The harte remayneth euer bitter vnlesse it be thus filled alway with the good will of god This place ought to haue béene inough to haue confuted those which of the wordes set before but manyfestly translated Man knoweth not whether he be worthy of loue or hatred c. would goe about to make men doubtfull and vncertaine of Gods good will and fauour towardes them At all tymes let thy garmentes bee white and let thyne heade be anoynted with oyle SAlomon speaketh here according to the vsage of that Countrey The Romanes Gréekes commende purple and scarlet But the Nations eastward and specially the Iewes coÌ„mende whyte apparell because they may be washed and by reason of cleanlynes and puritye which they earnestly professed eueÌ„ as the Turk vseth lynnen garmentes for the most gorgious And we in the tyme of Popery at great feastes vsed Albes This is it he meaneth Be meary alwayes vse such raymeÌ„t as thou art accustomed at feastes and banquetting And anoynt thy hed with oyle THat is vse also the oyles which God hath geuen thée Againe he speaketh according to the maner of the countreye who set great pryce and delight in their oyntmentes This it is he sayth â–ª Thou lyuest in the myddest of vanitie Enioye therefore thy lyfe and destroy not thy selfe with indignation put away sorrow out of thy mynde Thou canst not better mocke and geâ—ke the worlde then to laugh when it is angrye Let this be sufficient to thée that God is mercyfull to thée For what is the malice of this worlde to be compared with the pleasauntnes that is in god Neyther doth he here perswade vs to any voluptuous lyfe or to such royetousnes as they vse which perceiue not this vanity for that were to add oyle vnto fyre but speaketh of the godly which féele and haue experience of the vexations and gréefes of this worlde These mens hartes goeth he about to chéere and reare vp These men counselleth he to be meary not the frowarde and vngodly which otherwise lyue in all maner of sensualitie and voluptuousnes The same he meaneth where he sayth Reioyce with the wife whom thou hast loued all the dayes of the lyfe of thy vanitie which God hath geuen thee vnder the Sunne all the dayes of thy vanitie For this is thy portion in the lyfe and in thy trauell wherein thou labourest vnder the Sunne AS though he should say Thou shalt carry no more with thee So Paul in the first to Tymothy the 6. Hauyng foode and rayment let vs therewyth be content For they that be not conteÌ„t herewith but couet after other thynges and afflicte their selues with indignation and cares adde sorow vnto sorow vanitie vnto vanitie at once depriue themselues of all goodnes All that thyne hand shall finde to doe doe wyth all thy power for there is neyther worke nor inuention nor knowledge nor wisdome in the graue whether thou goest THis is the other part of his exhortation which he obiecteth to those idle persons who because they sée the worlde vnkinde and greuous cease of from labour and will doe no more good He coÌ„maundeth vs therfore to doe both namely to be meary and yet not so that we loyter but labour according as God hath commauÌ„ded Gen â–ª 3. Let vs take labour vnto vs but put cares of mynde from vs and be content with the present estate adde a third thing vexe not thyne harte because thou séest the worlde is ingratefull It is notable that he sayth shall finde that is follow not thyne owne counsell but doe thinges as they fal out that which God commaundeth offreth taking no care for ought to come Wheras he sayth with all thy power thereby he requireth industry and diligence For in the graue there is no worke AN other place prouing that the dead haue no perseueraunce or féeling There is saith he no deuise no science no knowledge no wisedome there Salomon iudgeth that the dead are a sleepe and féele nothing at all For the dead lye there accompting neyther dayes nor yeares but when they are awaked they shall séeme to haue slept scarce one minute Hell signifieth a pit or graue but properly as I iudge that secret withdrawing place where the dead sléepe out of this lyfe whence the soule goeth to her place whatsoeuer it be for corporall it is not so that thou mayst vnderstaÌ„d hell to be that place where the soules be kept being a certayne graue as it were of the soule without this corporall worlde as the earth is the sepulchre of the body But what maner of place it is we know not So in the 42. and 43. of Gen I shal goe downe mourning into hell Agayne they shall bring my white head wyth sorow vnto the graue For they that truely are holy goe not into hell to suffer any thing there The dead therefore are out of all place For whatsoeuer is out of this lyfe is out of place Euen as after the resurrection we shall be cleare from place and tyme. And I turned me vnto other things done vnder the sunne and I sawe that in ruÌ„ning it helpeth not to be swifte in battell not to be strong to get liuing not to be carefull to get riches not to be wise to be had in fauour it helpeth not to be cunning but that all lyeth in tyme and fortune THis is the summe and conclusion as it were of his discourse and roll of vanities as if he should say It makes no matter what a maÌ„ can doe Therefore follow not thyne owne wayes or deuises but that thyne hand findeth that is continue in a certayne worke appointed and commaunded by God leauing the thinges which may hinder thée therefroÌ„ as Samuel sayd vnto Saule thou shalt be chaunged into an other man and that thine hand findeth that doe c. He prescribed him no rule or lawe but whatsoeuer thing fell to take it in good part and to labour therein Thus doth Salomon teach vs in this place Alwayes goe forwarde with that thou hast in hand and belongeth to thy vocation
can not be corrected vntil that appointed time season come In vaine therefore doe we goe about to preuent that time by our amending of all things afore that tyme In so much that my enterprise succéeded not in myne officers I did what I was able I corrected as much as I could the rest I committed vnto God. I considered in myne hart the state of the children of men that God hath purged them yet to see to they are in themselues as beastes For the condition of the children of mē and the cōdition of beastes are euen as one As the one dyeth so dyeth the other THis place is somewhat obscure not so much of it selfe as through the default of the expositours which greatly trouble themselues while they suppose for the most part that Salomō speaketh in the presence of the vngodly but thys is but a colde inuention and supposall although a receaued Mée thinketh the sence is to be taken plainely He maketh a maner of a Sermō or collation of mās wayes and deuises that they are all but vayne At length he commeth to the trouble and vexation that is in officers how they which ought to be a rule ensample to other are also vaine them selues So of speciall propositions going before he descendeth to generall What shall I say or speake of singular estates of persons when we be all as beastes Is not this a miserable case among mē Wherin differ they from beastes which haue no remembraunce or féeling of God But here riseth a question Wherefore he compareth men with beastes whereas before he taught vs there was a religion and feare of God and a life euerlasting after this life Which thing hath most troubled the expositours The aunwere is shorte The interpretours doe not here marke the scope and drift of the booke neyther doe they remēber which thing yet Salomon doth often repeate that he speaketh of the things vnder the Sunne which in the newe Testament and more commonly is sayd in the world For this booke maketh a difference betwen a godly life the life that is led in the world or vnder the sunne To haue a chearefull hart and to ioye in the things that God géeueth vs in the feare of god is nothing of the worlde but a gifte of God from heauen and aboue the sunne But to be vexed with the care of worldely thynges is a beastly state and condition The state or fashion of the children of men IN the Hebrew toung this word is of a large signification but as it is here vsed it signifieth a fashion māner order conuersation as in the Psalme 109. Thou art a Priest for euer after the order or fashion of Melchisedech I thinke it signifieth properly a guise or manner The Epistle to the Hebrewes doth notably handle this worde of the Psalme For euen as Melchisedech saith he had neither father nor mother c euen so and in like sorte c. It commeth of this worde Dabar whiche is a thing or cause It signifieth therfore a fashion or manner so that the meanyng is I considered in myne hart the māner or fashion of mans life After what sort men behaue them selues on earth What successe men haue in their doynges and how they behaue them selues For the condition of the childrē of men and of beastes are all as one THat is the like things happen to mē as doe vnto beastes He meaneth mā passeth vp down this life as the beastes doe and getteth no more by his life then doe the beastes As the beastes dye so dye men HE speaketh of the houre of death not of the kinde That is as the houre of the beasts death is vncerteine so is the houre of mās A beast knoweth not whē he shal fall sicke or be whole or when he shal dye no more knoweth a man Why therefore are we so proude Since wee know no more when we shall dye then doth the beast For they haue all one breath and there is no excellency of mā aboue the beast For all is vanitie All goe to one place all was of the dust and all shall returne to the dust THis place can not be wrested to the mortalitie of the soule because he speaketh of things vnder the sunne Certes the worlde can not perceaue nor beleue that the soule is immortall But if a man regarde the likenes that Salomō speaketh of man dyeth lyke as the beast doth breatheth euen as the beast doth In a kynde of likenes therfore we be all one The Philosophers reasoned in déede of the immortalitie of the soule but so coldly that they may séeme to haue done nothyng but trifle but Aristotle chiefly so disputeth of the soule that in all places hee taketh circumspect héede that he reason not of the immortalitie therof and would not expresse what his meanyng was Plato reported rather what other men sayd then what him selfe thought For the immortalitie therof cā be prooued by no reason of man because it is a thing beyond the sunne to beleue the soule is immortall In the world it is not séene nor vnderstanded for a certeinty that the minde of mā is immortall All goe to one place c. THat is vnles the Lord gaue his spirite vnto man no man could say that man differed any thyng from the beast For man and beast are made both of one matter of dust and returne agayne also into that dust And the returning agayne into the same thing or place is an argument of likenes betwene man and beast Not that it is so in déede but because the worlde according to the likenes falling out betwen them so supposeth can not suppose otherwise Therefore to hold or beleue otherwise is required an higher matter then is the world Wherby he tryeth them THe Hebrew worde signifieth to purifie or choose God sayth he suffreth both man and beast all after one sorte and fashion to come into the world and to goe out of the worlde But this he suffreth to trye whether men will onely regarde these outward appearaunces and be led with the argumentes of the wicked beleue none other thyng The godly by these thinges are so exercised that their fayth is the more increased They passe out of this world in déede as doe the wicked and the beastes but in their hart and spirite they are comforted and at quyet Who knoweth whether the spirite of man ascende vpwarde and the spirite of the beast descend downward vnto the earth TEll me plainely saith he of one mā not of the godly but of those that are vnder the sunne or in the world which can affirme that the soule shall liue after this life considering he séeth the lyfe of mā and beast to differre in nothing For assoone as their breath faileth them they dye both This no man knoweth But in that we know it we know it not as mē but as the sonnes of God and aboue the sunne as
as the prouerbe sayth knowen mischiefes are best We must not therefore so flye and abhorre aduersities considering we know that the ende of all mē is to haue enuye flaunder myseryes and death Therefore if thou wilt wade through them all thou must learne these things by continuall vse Such griefes come vpon fooles vnlooked for but to the Godly by reason of long vse they séeme light as vnto whom this worlde is counted but as donge and death séemeth pleasaunt And in that they lyue they lyue onely for gods sake which will haue them so to lyue And the liuing shal lay it to his hart THe lyuing is he that liueth in wealth and pleasure The naturall lyfe the Hebrewes cōmonly call the soule and the vsuall and pleasaunt lyfe they call to liue He truely expresseth what the experience of aduersitie doth namely that he that lyueth in pleasure layeth it to his hart that is that he is compelled in mynde or harte to learne by such aduersities And he that wil not suffer aduersitie learneth nothing and so remayneth still a foole Anger is better then laughter for by a sad looke the harte is made better THis is all one saying with that afore But how agreeth this with that he sayd afore We must not be angry but reioyce in all our labor And here he saith anger is better then laughter I aunswere He speaketh rather of sadnes then anger not that foolish sadnes which men counterfet But euen as he speaketh of the house of mourning so he speaketh of anger so that anger is a kinde of sadnes or gréefe that causeth a kinde of heauynes as when it was tolde Dauid that all the kinges children were slayne he fell sadd There is the same worde that is in this place which surely can not there signifie anger but heauynes so that it is all one with that we say in the Dutch tounge He was abashed and much troubled Aduersities dusken the countenance and make it heuye So he that is in office publicke or pryuate Such a one can leaue his laughing so that he be a good man and will doo his duetye truely there shall he finde such gréefe that he shall be compelled to saye The deuyll be a burrow master or gouernour for there is nothing but more sorow trouble in it Such sorowes cause sadnes in the countenaunce of those men as wish all thinges well in so much that they thus reason and thinke cease of geue ouer thou nothing preuailest but gettest thy selfe griefe and enuie Here Salomon withstandeth these thinges counselleth and warneth thée saying yelde not but goe thorough with it For it is better thou take indignatiō be sad that thou must bite away the same laughing that thou shewe heauines in thy countenaunce and behauiour and that thou be compelled to shewe it namely by reasō of griefe then to laugh The reason is Because thorough a sadde countenaunce the hart is made better THis may be vnderstāded two wayes first through a sad countenaunce the hart to say of others is amended So Paule in a Byshop requireth grauitie in manners and cōuersation that he offend not men by reason of lightnes c. So Salomon would haue him that is in auctoritie to reioyce in hart but to shew himselfe graue outwardly that other might thereby be amended For if a mā behaue himself in such wise that his hart be meary and his countenaunce graue so that he shew no lightnes in his apparell and gesture him will other feare and reuerēce and his familie will be of no dissolute demeanour Secondly it may thus be expounded In an heauy countenaunce the hart goeth well that is there is no cause but the hart may be meary although the countenaunce outwardly be heauy so that the meaning may be thus It is better to leade a graue and seuere lyfe thē a lyght and dissolute The Hebrewes call laughing such a kynde of lyfe as our Papistes lead which liue most dissolutely contemning and deriding all thinges And thys meaning pleaseth me better then that whereby it is thought that the hart of a foole or godles body can be corrected by any mās sadnes or grauitie It may séeme that a wicked body feareth the grauitie of an other but his hart is all one still I take this saying therfore to be vnderstanded of thine owne hart that in the middle of troubles it may be good It is an Hebrew phrase a good hart for a pleasaunt and meary hart And Salomon speaketh after this sort to dyrect his hearer to the marke of his meaning that is to teach them to be meary howsoeuer the world goeth But where before he sayd It is good to reioyce c. here he séemeth to affirme a contrary Sadnes is better then laughter Surely these two séeme not to agrée but godly matters are alwayes difficulte they are alwayes wrested to a contrary sence If we teach that nothing iustifieth but onely faith then the wicked neglecte all good works Againe if we teach that faith must be declared by workes then they attribute iustification to workes A foole alway swerueth too much on one side So hard a thyng it is to kéepe the highe way So here Salomon requireth neither sadnes alone nor mirth alone but will haue a meane kept betwéene them bothe The mynde must be meary at libertie settled bearing it selfe euen in worldly matters betyde whatsoeuer aduersitie or prosperitie In the sadnes of the countenaunce c. AS if he should say I distinguishe betwéene sadnes of countenaunce and sadnes of hart I will haue all mē meary in hart inwardly for it can not be but outwardly some sadnes will happen As the Apostle saith 2. Cor. 6. As sad and alwayes meary c. so that the one must be referred to the outward sadnes the other to inward The hart of the wise is in the house of mourning but the hart of fooles is in the house of myrth ALl these things seeme cōtrary to that he hath sayd before except we make a difference betwene these two the inward myrth and the outward and inward sadnes and outward He contynueth on in cōforting exhorting saying follow not those fooles which chaunge their mindes with euery chaunge of thinges in hart cleaue to them they be meary in prosperitie but when aduersitie commeth they mourne and are sad In the house of mourning THe Hebrewes call a house not that building onely which is made of tymber and stone but what place so euer any thing is donne in So with their Grammariās euery letter is a house of words that beginneth with the same letter But why is the hart of the wise in the house of mourning Because wise men are not ouercomed of aduersitie neither chaunge with euery alteratiō Fooles follow outward myrth and flye aduersytie a most troublesome kinde of men taking many things in hande with great rashenes and feruencie and when neuer so lytle trouble appeareth
geue ouer Where things succede with them they goe through the stiche with it where not their hart is in their hose and away they runne Wherfore they are neyther good to beare office publicke nor yet to haue any priuate regiment forasmuch as in no kind of life men can lyue without incommoditye and griefes But the valyant mynde harte of the wise beareth out all bruntes and passeth through the pikes of all aduersitie It is to be noted where he sayth the hart of the wise and the hart of the foole For he iudgeth according to affections not the thinges their selues The hart of the foole looketh alway to myrth pleasure the harte of the wise to aduersitye and myshap notwithstanding the wyse man many tymes hath prosperitie and the foole aduersitye Therefore these are confirmations and exhortations of good men It is better to heare the rebuke of wise men then the song of fooles For the laughing of fooles is lyke the cracking of thorns vnder a pot This also is vanitye HE calleth the opinions of fooles a song by a trimme figure Neyther must it be transferred or vnderstanded of Musicke no more then that which goeth before of outward banquetting but of the whole conuersation of mans lyfe after the maner of the Hebrewes according to their figure And rebukes are doctrines and exhortations towching thinges to be donne This therfore he sayth â–ª Although thou séeme to preuaile nothing yet must thou goe forward with that thou hast in hand not cease froÌ„ rebuking although fooles will geue no eare to the which thinge Paule 2. Timoth. 4. thus vttered Reproue rebuke be instant in season out of season I haue taught and doe teach that this worlde is vayne and that thinges can not be ordered after our counsels and deuyse c. When a foole heareth these rebukes he draweth them an other way Let vs then doe nothing sayth he But we must not cease for all this neyther from doing nor from rebuking of vanities neyther from teaching and preaching howsoeuer we séeme to be contented but must burst through all impedimeÌ„ts and rebuke the vngodly If I should haue left of preaching of the worde because I see small fruite of the worde but amonge a very fewe great peruersenes and ingratitude of all the worlde I should long sythens haue helde my peace But God doth wysely which letteth vs not sée or perceaue such things before we are in the middle of our course when we can not come back agayne And much better it is to be enuyed with these euils then to leaue of Therefore it is more profitable to heare the rebukes of the wyse which wishe vs well then the singing of fooles that is those thinges which the fleshe heareth willingly and which are pleasant to fooles For onelye they desyre of vs to speake to them all thinges that may please them To be breefe Salomon treateth with vs to this ende that we should not waxe ere the slacker or cease from doing through occasion of this foresayde doctrine For lyke as the cracking of thornes vnder a pot so is the laughing of a foole LAughing signifieth the whole lyfe of a foole wherein he delighteth but it is but an outwarde visure of myrth no true Ioye of the harte But there is a merueilous lykenes betwene the laughing of fooles cracking of thornes The Iewes abound in similitudes which they take from thinges among theÌ„ For they were still occupied in baking and keeping of â—ier by reason of their continuall washinges and Sacrifices c. For their priests were very butchers and Cookes Hereof sprang that prouerbe of the cracking of thornes in the fyre both here and in the Psalmes This séemeth to vs an harde thing because it agréeth not with our vsage euen as our prouerbes seeme harde to them as when we saye Copper money copper soule masse although it be in vse with vs and taken from our religion yet woulde not they at all vnderstand it Therfore all this place almost is as a certeine allegory taken from the fier of thornes which is a fier by and by and ful of crackling but is soone done There is more flame and blase in it then fier It threateneth a great fier but as soone as the blase and sounde is done the fier is out So in the Psalme They are extinct as the fier among the thornes And Virgil in the third booke of his Georgikes As sometime a great fier in the stubble without any force maketh great adoe c. Therfore the fier of bryers or thornes geueth no heat it pearceth not and yet it hath a greater shew then a fier of coales which hath not much blase in it but very great heate So the myrth of fooles hath a shewe as though it woulde endure continually and to haue as much force in it as it hath flame but there is nothing lesse because they ioy but for a season for wheÌ„ aduersities come they are dashed and all thinges lye in dispayre Thus I thinke the senteÌ„ce is cleare and very wel agréeing with that which goeth before and that which followeth This also is a vanitie BEcause after the ende of myrth griefe and trouble remaineth in the mynde After this sort is all carnall myrth it endeth in trouble and leaueth behinde it a king stinges For a sclaunderer troubleth a wyse man and destroyeth a liberall or bountifull hart THis also serueth for a place of consolation This is spoken by way of concession or graunt that is it may come to passe that a sclaunderer may trouble a wise man and destroy the hart of the gifte for so it is in the Hebrew that is the bountifull and liberall hart For where a wyse man goeth about by his counsell to prouide the best he can for the worlde and doth all thinges very well yet fooles speake the worste they caÌ„ of him he hath nothing but vnkindenes for his paines The histories both of the Gentiles and of the Iewes declare the same yea dayly experience Thus Antiochus filthily put to death a man that had done very much for him hauing first slaine his two childreÌ„ before his face This verely was the rewarde that he had for his good desertes Iustinian the Emperour most vniustly slew Bellisarius a very good maÌ„ and a wyse All writinges are full of like histories Wherfore he that will couet to beare rule eyther in the common weale or in the house must looke to lose his benefite as well as God that loseth his benefite of the sonne all other his giftes vpoÌ„ vnkynde and wicked persons Math. 5. So sclaunder destroyeth a liberall hart in so much that impatiencie causeth him to thynke to leaue of his doing and maketh hym through ingratitude to become a foole vnles his hart be instructed in the worde of god Thus wise men sometyme doe as Hierome saith Patience ofteÌ„times offended rageth And man caÌ„ doe none other but God can God hath geuen the
money as we say Goods doe encourage that is they that haue riches haue trust they that haue wisdome haue trust these be things graunted but yet make I a difference betwene them For herein wisedomo passeth riches or money that wisedome bringeth lyfe to the owner This is not money able to doe it neither kéepeth lyfe nor deliuereth from death This he saith because he woulde not séeme vtterly to condemne riches but onlye the abuse of them Then he preferreth wisedome because it saueth the owners life Beholde the workes of god Who can make straight that he hath made crooked HE concludeth all this place which he tooke in hand for the comfortyng of impatient and angry mē with a trimme sentence Why saith he art thou angry why art thou so impatient with ingratefull mē Beholde the workes of God how no man can make that straight that he hath made crooked let this comfort thée For by this argument thou mayst know that God gouerneth all thinges and that it is not required of thée that all men should be good and kynde nor is not in thy power to make them so Therefore be contēt and let it goe as it listeth It is not in my power to straighten things crooked I benefite many and I receiue reproche and vnkyndnes for my labour This is no maruaile nor any newes For vnles god geue man an vnderstanding and kynde hart thou shalt lose all thy good turnes Therfore this place hath in it singular good doctrine that it is mans arbitremēt to make the hart of man straight or to correcte any kinde of griefe Thou mayst in déede teach admonishe men c. But none but god cā amēde it To know this is the onely remedy against such ingratitude and sclaunders Wherefore when thy rebuke and instruction helpeth not take Paules rule A man that is an heretike after once or twise admonishing auoyde Whē thou hast done thy part God will doe his For not to leaue of before thou haddest corrected such things were to place thy selfe in Gods roome which were openly to be mad Therfore Vse well the tyme of prosperitie and remember the day of misfortune For God hath made this as well as that so that man can finde nothing after hym THis is the other part of his sentence Thus shalt thou doe If thou haue wealth be meary and vse it as thou hast it Lay thy cares aside and thy deuises moderate thine affections Let God be thy wisedome commit vnto hym bothe thinges past and thinges to come And so reioyce presētly that thou also remember aduersitie That is so frame thy selfe that thou mayst also be sad Enioy the things present but so as thou put not thy confidēce in them that they shall alway indure Be not careles alwayes looking on prosperity but prepared also for aduersitie bearing a stedfast mynde and an vpryght betweene both states Thus he putteth away the affection and affiaunce of fooles which are drowned in ioyes present as though they woulde alwayes continue We must so ioy that we be not drowned therein but kéepe a parte of our hart for God wherewith we may also suffer aduersitie So shall it come to passe that mischiefes forséene shal lesse disquiet vs. For as God made this so made hee that also after his manner and custome HE fetcheth all our cogitations to god and pulleth them from the things of this worlde God saith he made all these thinges the good day aswell as the badde he ioyneth the good lucke by the euill and that after his vsage custome where againe there is an hebrew phrase in this worde Dabar as was before in the third chapiter and in the Psalme according to the order of Melchisedech that is as it is writtē and sayd of hym according to his manner as he was wonte this consider thou then shalt thou easely ouercome all temptations But we are eyther drowned altogether in prosperitie or aduersitie But when the godly sée the entercourse of good and euill they saye thys is Gods order or vsage and are ouercommed of neyther That man can finde nothing after hym THat is that he may be taught that he can haue no more prosperitie then God will geue him although he séeke it Man séeketh further then God appointeth but he findeth not God hath geuen thée myrth and thou séekest more myrth but thou shalt not finde it For no man is able to add any thing vnto Gods workes When our Lorde hath made an ende then canst thou add nothinge to it When the hart is meary it can not be sory and contrarywise God so appointeth all thinges that thou maist learne to be content with that that he sendeth and to vse it so moderately that our ioy may bée in the Lorde I haue seene all thinges in the daies of uanitie there is a iust man that perisheth in his Iustice a wicked man that contynueth long in his naughtines NOw hauing ended his exhortatiōs and consolations he returneth to his Roll looking roūd about him When I had vewed and considered sayth he all thinges among other vanities came this also to be rehearsed There is a iust man he perisheth HEre againe we must so marke Salomon that we thinke him not to speake of Gods iustice or of the iustice of fayth but of ciuill iustice so that by a iust man must be vnderstāded an exactor of iustice He that will make the people honest Such as is a man in office or master of a familie I saw sayth he a iust man that had notable lawes ordinaunces which when he beganne to vrge and to exacte them all to the vttermost he nothing preuayled but all went backwarde Much lyke a rertaine foole which bowing and crooking him selfe against the Sunne founde faulte that his shadow was crooked and yet woulde not lifte vp himself Such be we lyke We sée a mote in our neighbours eye but the beame in our owne eyes we consider not To be short Extreame lawe or right is extreame iniury He that will right all thinges perfectly eyther in ciuell affayres or domesticall shall haue much labour and littell profit On the contrary syde an other wil doe nothing careth not for the executing of iustice neyther doth any good But a man must neither be wyse nor a foole neyther iust nor wicked What thē must me doo This shall be a meane Be not iust ouermuch neither make thy self ouerwise least thou perish Be not ouermuch wycked neyther be thou foolish least thou dye before thy tyme. THat is let goe all extremitie of ryght Measure thy selfe by thine owne foote and singe Knowe thy felfe Then shalte thou finde in thine owne bosome a long roll of vyces and shalt say Behold I my selfe am yet vniust yet suffred of God and not driuen out from amonge men Why then am I so hasty to exact of other so rigorously that I my selfe perfourme not This is to be too iust The world
it suffise thée to kéepe lawes so farforth as all thinges be not trod vnder foote For this is the greatest wisedome not to know what lawe and equitie is but to know that wisedome is not followed nor obeyed in this worlde This lyfe will not abyde to haue all thynges done right The summe therefore of this place is not to put any trust in our strength but to rule by wisedome which oftentymes kéepeth all things vpright in a kyngdome where force and violence marreth all Why so Because there is no mā on the earth that doth good and sinneth not MArke this alway the Salomon speaketh of things vnder the sunne and of such thinges as may be donne Neyther informeth he here mens consciences chieflie but teacheth quietnes of mynde in difficulte matters of this world Therfore he addeth expressely on the earth vnderstanding worldly iustice and such offēces as we make one against the other as if he should say Why goest thou about to haue all thinges donne straightly according to lawe It shall neuer be that all thinges shall be aright If thou wilt lyue in the common weale thou muste winke at many thinges thou must not knowe many thinges to the ende thou mayst obserue some iustice Looke vpon thy selfe and thou shalt sée how many tymes thy selfe doost vniustly so not without a cause offendest many Therfore séeme not too iust because thou sinnest and offendest in many ihinges So Christ in the seuenth of Mathew sayth Thou seest a mote in thy neighbours eye and considerest not the beame in thine owne although there he speaketh of heauenly iustice If we would looke on our selues at home thē surely we should fynde these defectes that iustly offende others This thing surely ought to admonish vs not to be so seuere Iudges towarde others nor to iust exactours of others Iustice For hereof it commeth that such rigorous exactours are manye tymes most vitious men They haue no affection of mercy and compassion they are greuous and intollerable both toward them selues and others Salomon therefore meaneth that we should not be angrie though we sée things donne that offende vs For we our selues alwayes doe not that we ought At many thinges we must winke and beare with them For as it is the propertie of the righteousnes of fayth and spirituall Iustice to beare with the weake and gently to enfourme them so it belōgeth to ciuile iustice wherof he speaketh in this place to beare with others defaultes so that there ought to be a mutuall bearing and suffring one with an other Cicero in his booke of frendship will haue nothing dissembled in frendeship And Erasmus in his Moria will haue all the faultes of our frendes corrected There be also speculations of most passionate men Fooles will gouerne the worlde with bookes not perceauing how no man is able to perfourme that is prescribed So the Stoikes fayned most foolishly a wyse man without sence being themselues greuous to all men It remayneth therefore that we winke and beare one with an other For there is no man but offendeth and doth that that greueth an other Take not heede vnto euery worde that is spoken least thou heare thy seuaūt curse thee For thine owne hart knoweth that thou thy selfe also hast often tymes spoken euill by other men EVen as I sayd to thée touching the experience of thine owne sight so say I also touching the hearing of other men In déede thy familye must be gouerned and the wicked must be punished If thou canst amend or redresse no farther let it alone The wicked shall not goe vnpunished For this is a true prouerbe or saying thou doest not clerely runne from the hangman for God is the hangeman him selfe Least thou perhappes here thy Seruaunt cursse thee THere are some so curiouse in them selues that they will hunte out all mens sayings and signes in so much that they will harken at the windowes and péepe in at the creuesses of the walles to heare what euery body speaketh of them To whom it iustly falleth out to heare that of their owne familye that gréeueth them Therefore if thou wilte geue eare to euery bodyes taulke looke to heare euen thine owne householde to speake euill of thée Yea perhappes when thou thinkest not of it For as thou shalt trye and proue many thinges so shalt thou heare many thinges that thou wouldest not so that thou shalt not néede curiously to harken what euery body sayth Neyther be thou therfore by and by angry take weapon in hand but make light of them cosidering that thy selfe also hast offended others in many thinges If Iupiter shoulde throw foorth his thunderboltes as often as men deserue them he would in short space be left weapōles as Horace sayth Therefore these two thinges are necessary in the gouernaunce of the world The lawe maker and the Qualifier of the lawe The lawe maker to order and gouerne the comon weale by wholsome lawes The Qualifier of the lawe to applye them rightly and to vse them prudently according to tyme place and persons c. And a Moderator of the lawe is more necessary in the comon weale then a lawe maker as we may sée by the example of our owne howses A wyse housholder appointeth euery seruaunt his dutie his tyme and place to doe it in moreouer he appoynteth meate drynke and clothing for men seruaunts and mayde seruauntes But it chaunceth that his seruaunt falleth sicke Here the lawe must be broken and tyme must be serued He will not require his taske of the sicke body He prepareth for him better meate drynke and more handsome lodging then for the rest c. And he is discharged of his taske For els his maister shoulde be a foolyshe man and an vngodly So here the appointment of the lawe is dashed because the person is chaunged Therfore if we many tymes depare frō the lawe and offende in our sayinges doinges let vs beare with the same in others All these thinges haue I proued by wysedome for I thought I would be wise but it wēt the farther from me It is farre of What may it be And it is a profounde deepenes Who can finde it HE alleadgeth his owne experience declaring what heretofore hath happened vnto him while he wente aboute to search these things I instruct thée saith he by myne owne example I teach y to leaue of this precise wisdome that wisdome a wise man be not all one I was cōpelled to learne these things by experience when I would go about to be wise and bring all the worlde to be ruled by my straight lawes But nothing succeded lesse Therefore these two as I sayde are necessary for the lyfe of man a lawemaker and a moderator of lawe this one aswel as that other Euen as it is not inough for a wagener to haue good horses and to knowe what waye to goe vnlesse he gouerne well his wagen in the way as he goeth
and wyne maketh them meary THat is these pestilent Gluttons and Cormarantes haue no honest trade of lyfe but get their wages and liuing onely by toyes and gaudes by flattering and clawing men by the backe by bolling and drinking and thus they waxe rich Such are for the most parte in Princes Courtes Yea amongest foure hundred hers are scarce fower or fyue which by honest meane and trade get their lyuing and tender the common weale Wyne maketh them meary AS much as to say they care for nothing but how they may lyue pleasauntly they doe Princes no good but spende their prouision and charge them with néedeles expences But vnto mony all thinges are obedient WE in the Germane tong properlye expresse it thus All things be done for money They looke all together for money and gaine be it with or against the common weale The eleuenth Chapiter Curse not the king in thy thought nor the rich in thy bed chamber for the soules of heauen shall carry thy voice they which haue wings shall bewraye it THe Chapiter going before was a kynde of inuectiue agaynst fooles and a discription of the kingdome of this worlde what a kynde of thyng it is so that whosoeuer beareth office may know he hath a troublesome administration And to knowe that the kingdome of this worlde is so troublesome and incorrigible is the greatest wisedome that can be Now this chapiter exhorteth to good workes for whē men are taught how vniust the kingdom of this world is then their hartes begin to waxe weary and they deuise how to geue vp all kinde of administration and to forsake the world being ouercommed with the malice of men as was declared heretofore But Salomon teacheth that the more vnhappye and vngracious the worlde is the more we should trauel and indeuour to doe some good And first he beginneth with honoring of the magistrate for the magistrate is an ordinaūce of God and the better part of the worlde vnder the Sunne and by this ordinaunce God doth all thyngs that are done vnder the Sunne But the wicked beginnes with cōtemning of the magistrates because they heare in the scripture that God reprehendeth them but it is Gods office to rebuke reprooue magistrates and where thou hearest God thus doe thou must not follow him therin for thou art not God or any ordayner or restorer of godly ordinaunce but as God reprooueth thē euē so reprooueth he thée also in his scriptures that thou also mightest doe thy duety but thou forgetting the beame in thine owne eye begynnest to espye a moate in an other mans eye and reprehendest thy superiours of whom thou oughtst rather to be reprehēded For if thou wert in their office thou wouldst commit farre more faultes then they and wouldst not performe so much as they doe let vs therefore heare how God rebuketh the magistrate but not follow him in so doing This therfore is his meaning I haue sayd many things of of Princes how they destroy the world but doe not thou speake euill of the king within thy self or in thy hart nor of the rich mā in thy secret chamber that is to say men that are in authority must be reuerenced because it is no mās ordinaūce but Gods. For although Peter call the magistrate an ordinaunce of man because they are taken from among men yet is their power of god And although they be euill men yet are they to be honoured because of Gods ordinaūce Why therefore wilt thou speake euill of thē which are troubled with so many cares trauailes for thy weale if they be good men and if they be euill men their wickednesse is and bringeth them euils inough Beare with them therefore but thus we doe not yea the worlde doth the contrary it rendereth vnkyndnesse to the good it speaketh euill of others it commendeth fooles and maketh good men out of the way To conclude we can suffer neyther our selues ne yet others neither prosperitie no yet aduersitie If God try vs with a litle affliction with sicknesse or pouerty we become impatient and accuse God if he geue vs ouer to our owne desiers neyther can we be so cōtent It is a great patience of God that can beare with vs in so great vnthankfulnes Let vs cease therfore to speake euill of the magistrates but geue them honour whether they be good or bad geue God thanks for them if they be good if they be euill lament it and beare with them And let the preachers rebuke them and not the commōs For the foules of heauen shall carry thy voyce and they which haue winges shall bewray it THe Hebrwes call a birde or foule a man of wings or husband of feathers or one that hath feathers This he meaneth if thou speake euill of the kyng it shal not lie hidden but commeth to light and so thou shalt be punished For the wrath of the king is death but his louing fauour is as the euening dewe Cast thy breade vpon the waters for after many dayes thou shalt finde it THis agayne is an Hebrew phrase as Salomō aboundeth in such figures This is it he would say Be liberall to euery man while thou mayst vse thy riches euery where by pleasuring euery man And he ioyneth a promise thereto For if thou liue long thou shalt receaue an hūdred folde So in his prouerbes He that hath pitie on the poore lendeth vnto the Lord. So Christ also Geue and it shall be geuen vnto you And Paule God loueth a chearefull geuer He that will be a begger let him geue nothing to other men He sayth therefore Cast thy bread that is distribute deale of that liuing which God hath geuen thée vpon the waters that is geue boūtifully and with a single eye although it séeme to thée thine almes perish and thy bread be throwen in the water For Salomon vseth a metaphore whereby he signifieth that thou being a man shouldst féede and nourishe man. For after many dayes thou shalt finde it THat is if thou liue long thou shalt finde that bread that thou didst caste into the water as though he should say it shall not be lost that thou geuest to others although it séeme so yea the Lord will geue thée bread for a long season Psal. 36. The righteous is euer mercifull and lendeth Againe In the time of dearth they shall haue plenty For God will not suffer himselfe to be ouercommed in liberalitie but will far passe and surmount our bounty and largesse Geue a portion to seuen and also to eight for thou knowest not what euell shall be vpon earth HEre againe he exhorteth and ioyneth a threatening to his exhortatiō Deuyde saith he thy breade among seuen or eight that is geue plentifully For he that soweth sparingly shall reape sparinglye He that soweth aboundantly shall reape aboundantlye As Paule sayth Thinke it not to much whatsoeuer thou geuest And although y shouldest giue all thou hast yet shouldest
teach in this booke Though a man lyue many yeares and in them all reioyce yet he shall remember the dayes of darkenes because they are many all that commeth is vanitie THis is a very comprecation or prayer as I sayd lyke as he should saye that age would I faine see that had obserued the contentes of this booke the same were an excellēt man. Looke how pleasaunt ioyfull the Sun light is so pleasaunt a thing it is to sée a man many yeares inured with the experience of these matters yet meary at his hart and conteyning all worldy Daungers He should sée in déede much darkenes that is myseries of this worlde But this should delight him that he could set them lighter as one knowing and perceiuing long before that this were the state and trade of the worlde The xii Chapiter Be meary therfore O young man in thine youth and let thine hart be glad in thine young daies AFter that he hath described a rare kinde of byrde namely such a man as hath lyued all his life with a meary harte and hath laughed at the troubles malice of the world then he ioyneth to a kinde of exhortation Thou young man therefore sayth he that hast litle experience of the world if thou wilt lyue mearely harken what I write for the and teach thée that thou passe not thy boūdes Liue so as thou mayst contemne the world and ouercome the naughtines thereof And here maist thou sée what Salomon calleth contempt of the world not to forsake our selues or other men but to be conuersaunt in the worlde in the myddle of the broyles thereof but so as we must kéepe a quyet and peaceable harte in all maner of aduersities This it is therefore that he saith If thou wilt attaine to this gole or marke to haue a quiet hart in the myddle of all troubles enure thy selfe with troubles that from thy childhode For so shalt thou safelie stand al stormes and daungers Let thyne hart be glad THat is take prosperitie mearyly when it commeth and be not ouercommed of aduersitie when God sendeth it Thus should youth be brought vp and instructed And vnles youth follow such an admonisher he shall neuer doe lyke a man For youth is ledde altogether with affections is vnskilfull which vnskilfulnes is cause that it cā not beare nor yelde hereafter to the naughtines and ingratefulnes of the world Salomon therefore is an excellent instructer of youth He forbiddeth not ioyes and pleasauntnes as the foolishe masters the Monkes haue done For this is nothing els but of yoūg men to make blockes And as Anselme the veryest Monke of all other sayd to set a great tree in a litle pot Thus these Monkes shut vp their youth in a coupe and forbid them the sight and communication of men because they should learne nor perceaue nothing where as nothing is more daungerous for youth then solytarines The mynde must be well infourmed wyth good vnderstanding and opinions that it be not corrupted wyth the company and familiaritie of naughty men but the body must be conuersaunt in euery thing We must beholde the world and heare it onely sée that we haue a good maister and teacher Therefore we must beware that youth be not in sorrow and solitarines For myrth is as necessary for youth as meate and drinke For the body doth battel through mirth of minde And we must not beginne with the education of the body but with the mynde that it be not corrupted Whē the minde is well taught and enfourmed there the body is soone well gouerned We must therfore beare with youth to be meary and to doe all thinges with gladsomnes of hart onely we must take héede that they be not corrupted with the pleasures of the fleshe For these quaffinges surfetting and amourousnes are not the myrth of the mynde that Salomon here speaketh of but rather the sorrow of the same Walke in the wayes of thyne hart THys place caused me to thinke that all this Chapiter from the beginning was but a kynde of derision and scorne because if a man walke after the wayes of his owne hart it is commōly taken in euill part But we must sticke to the argument and consequēce of the text This it is then that he sayth when thine hart is well taught and enstructed no ioy or myrth shall be able to hurt it so that it be lawfull ioye and no such naughty and wofull myrth as I spake of before And walk in the sight of thine eyes THat is to say enioy that that cōmeth to thy sight Vexe not thy selfe about thinges to come least thou doe as the Monkes doe of whom there were some namely Syluanus the Monke which taught men they shoulde not looke vpon the Sunne They would bereue youth of their sight of hearing of taulking all their senses and shut them vp lyke Capons into a coupe being in déede vngodly and the true Misanthropi that is haters of men Therefore if thou see or heare any pleasaunt matter enioy it so thou offend not agaynst god Appoint or prescribe thy selfe no rules in this behalfe but enioy euery thing in the feare of god Sée thou follow not the peruerse pleasures of the worlde which will corrupt thy mynde Thus far for one part Put away greefe out of thyne hart and cause euill to depart from thy fleshe for childehode and youth are vanitie IT is as much as if he should say euen as I would haue thée stayed by the feare of God from following filthy noysome pleasures so woulde I keepe thee from being ouercommed with sorrowes and aduersitie Put sorrow therefore out of thy mynde that is vse not to be angry nor to conceaue indignation whē things goe not as thou desirest If any sad or sorowfull matter fall know that it is the state of this world Let other enuy hate and fret at it but doe not thou For such doinges marre the pleasaunt lyfe according to the prouerbe Enuie is the rotting of the bones For enuye is a fretting and a consuming sicknes Let thine hart alwayes be one neyther doe thou corrupt it with ouermuch worldly pleasures ne yet wyth too many worldly griefes c. Put away euill from thy fleshe THat is whatsoeuer may vexe or trouble thée put from thee not that he forbiddeth man to chasten his fleshe but in vayne saith he doost thou vexe thy selfe while thou lettest such thinges trouble thee Frowne not at these matters therefore but be of meary cheare Onely see that thou feare god For a meary countenaunce declareth a meary hart And euen as I will haue thée to be meary in mynde so will I thou be also cherefull of body For childehode and youth c. THat is remember thou art young and set all together in the way of vanitie For youth of it selfe is a vayne thing and led with sundry and diuers passions Be thou wise therfore