bee something without a smell but there cannot bee a smell without some thing so a woorke without prayer is something but prayer without a good worke is nothing and if thou prayest thou prayest not of fayth Idem hom 18. As fire doth scowre off the rust from iron so prayer dooth scowre our soules from the rust of sinne Idem hom 42. ad pop Antioch As no medicine can cure a wound if the iron remaine within it so no prayer profiteth his soule who hath deadlie hatred festring and rankling in it Augustinus de rectitudine Catholicae conuersationis Plato wryteth that the Lacedemonians were neuer heard to pray for anye thing but that which was good and profitable so a Christian should neuer pray for any thing but that which is good in the eyes of God and profitable for himselfe Isidorus Clarius orat de fructu orandi tom 1. Almes deedes AS the Princes of this worlde determining a voyage doe sende their furniture treasure and prouision before them and they themselues folow after so we are to diuide our goodes amongst the poore that they may prepare an entrance into life for vs. Stella de contemptu mundi As water sprinkled vpon an hot glowing gad of iron although it seeme to coole the hote burning iron yet at the length it causeth it to burne the more vehementlie so the workes of mercie albeit at a blush they seeme to make the soule lesse feruent by reason of the sundrie businesses which happen in exercising them yet they make it more earnest and vehement in the wayes of the Lord. Lodouicus Granat lib. de deuotione Euen as nothing is more naturall vnto God then to doe well vnto all his creatures so hee that participateth more of the spirit and goodnesse of God hee is more readie to doe good vnto others ibidem As in a treasurie they vse to mingle no false mony which outwardlie hath a little golde and seemes to be good yet inwardlie is a mixture of most base mettalles euen so and no otherwise are the woorkes and almes deedes of Hypocrites who outwardlie will appeare iust as if they were no sinners when inwardlie they haue seared and foule deformed consciences Stella de contemptu mundi As water quencheth burning fire so almes deedes resisteth sinnes Clemens Alexand lib. 3. paedagogi cap. 7. As seede cast into the earth bringeth forth profit to the sower so bread cast into the lap of the poore will in time to come yeelde thee great commoditie Basil hom in dite scentes As corne kept in thy garner is deuoured of vermine but being cast into thy lande is not onelie preserued but increased so riches kept in thy Chest vnder locke and key doe waste and fade but if thou disperse them into the bellies of the hungrie they doe not onelie not vanish but rise to greater value Chrysostomus homil 7. de poenitentia As an vnfruitfull Elme giueth moysture to the Vine that the Vine maye bring forth fruite both for it selfe and for the Elme so let thy substance further the reliefe of the poore in this world that their sanctitie may further thee in the other Chrysost hom 12. operis imperf As hee that wryteth an Epistle to a friend whilest hee writeth seeth in his heart the person of his friend to whom he writeth so hee that giueth almes for Gods sake seeth no man in his heart but the person of GOD alone for whom hee giueth it Idem homil 13. operis imperfect As worldlie men by Vsurie encrease their pelfe to their damnation so spirituall men by almes deedes encrease and multiplie the loue of God towardes them to their saluation Chrysost hom 7. in Epist ad Rom. As no man sorroweth to receiue a kingdome or greeueth to haue remission of his sinnes so let no man sorrowe to lay out his money vpon maintenance for the poore because hee shall receyue great gaynes by it Idem Homil. 21. in Epist ad Rom. As rich mens sonnes for an ornament doe weare Golde Chaynes about their neckes as a signe of their greatnesse and Nobilitie so wee ought alwayes to bee arrayed in the roabes of bountie that wee may shewe our selues to bee the sonnes of him who is mercifull who causeth his Sunne to arise both vpon the good and badde idem Hom. 1. ad Philippen As in physicall confections one herbe is predominant so in spiritualll matters almes deeds are in especiall account with God idem hom 9. ad Hebraeos As Iudges hauing receiued gifts do not suddenly proceed to pronounce sentence but endeuour to agree the parties so the Lord dealeth with them whose giftes are giuen to the poore August ser 146. As wee are not once to doe well but alwayes so we are not once to giue almes but alwayes Chrysosthm hom 1. in Epist ad Philippen A lumpe of vnmolten Lead put into a vessell full of holes doth rest in one side of the vessell but if it be melted with fire it filleth all the holes so an heape of mony being frozen with the colde of auarice lieth in the chest profitable to no man but if it be melted with the fire of diuine loue and powred out it floweth to all partes of the poore and relieuing the needy it filleth all the holes crannies of pouertie Hector Pintus in cap. 5. Ezech. 37. As the sea is fed by land Riuers which hath no neede of them when as the lande is left drie so manie bestowe their largesse and bounty vpon them that haue no need and let the needie and distressed perish idem in cap. 18. As sheepe and oxen are not eaten except they be dead and dressed so many Churles giue no almes but when they are dead and buried idem in cap. 16. As mount Oliuet according to Augustine was a mountaine of oyntment and vnction of fatnesse and refection of medicine and cure by reason of the abundance of oyle there growing so a mercifull man may be fitly resembled to this mountaine by reason of his almes which are the oyle of mercie and pitie As that seed is the best which is white within so are those almes deeds the best which come from a pure intent F. Ioannes a S. Geminiano lib. 3. de vegetabilibus Plant. cap. 20. As one Torch borne before dooth giue more light then foure borne behinde so one good deede done in life time is more acceptable vnto God then fortie after death Polancus in Methodo adiuuandi eos qui moriuntur Deuotion HE that woulde haue Iron alwayes to glow and shine redde hot it is necessary that hee alwaies applie it to the fire for if hee take it from the fire forthwith it returneth to his naturall coldenesse so the most noble affection of Deuotion so dependeth of that that man bee continuallie vnited vnto God by actuall loue and contemplation that if hee turne himselfe but a little from him forthwith hee slideth backe to the bosome of his mother that is to the olde disposition which before hee
toucheth the Nettle tenderly is soonest stong the Flie that playeth in the fire is singed in the flame so he that dallieth with women is drawen to his woe The soft droppes of raine doe pierce the harde Marble many strokes ouerthrowe the tallest Oake so a sillie woman in time may make such a breache into a mans heart as her teares may enter without resistance A Rose is sweeter in the budde then full blowne yong twigs are sooner bent then olde trees white Snowe sooner melted then hard Ise so a woman the yonger she is the sooner she is to bee wooed and the fayrer she is the likelyer to be wonne There is no sworde made of steele but hath yron no fire made of woode but hath smoke no wine made of grapes but hath lees so there is no woman created of flesh but hath faultes Chirurgions affirme that a white veine being striken if at the first there spring out blood it argueth a good constitution of body so if a faire woman hauing hearde the sute of a louer if she blush at the first brunt and shew her blood in her face sheweth a well disposed minde As a Doue seemeth angry as though she had a gall yet yeeldeth at the last to delight so women pretend a great skirmish at the first yet are boorded willingly at the last As castles that come to parle so women that delight in courting are willing to yeelde As Fish caught with medicines so women gotten with witch-craft are neuer wholesome As all Fish are not caught with flyes so al women are not allured with personage Lions fawne when they are clawed Tygers stoope when they are tickled Bucephalus lieth downe when he is curried so women yeeld when they are courted Arelius whose Art was onely to drawe Women painted Venus Cnydia catching at the Ball with her hand which she seemed to spurne at with her foot the Myrre tree being hewen gathereth in his sappe but not moued poureth it footh like sirup so women are neuer more coye then wheÌ„ they are beloued yet in their minds neuer lesse constant seeming to tye themselues to the mast of the ship with Vlisses when they are wooed with a stroÌ„g cable which being well discerned is a twinde thredde throwing a stone at the heade of him vnto whome immediatelie they cast forth an Apple Younge is the Goose that will eate no Oates and a very ill Cocke that will not crow before he be olde and no right Lion that will not feed on hard meat before he taste sweete milke so a tender Virgin God knowes it must bee that measureth her affections by her age when as naturally they are inclined to play the Brides before they be able to dresse their heades Instrumentes sound sweetest when they be touched softest so women are wisest when they be vsed mildest The horse striueth when he is hardly rained but hauing the bridle neuer stirreth so women are starke madde if they be ruled by might but with a gentle raine they will beare a white mouth As fire is hotte as well in the coldest region of the North as in the furthest Southerne paralell as grasse is of the same colour in Egipt as it is in Iewrie so womeÌ„ wheresoeuer they be bred be Mala necessaria Robert Greene. As the Diamondes in India bee more harde then the Cornish stones in England and as the Margarits of the west are more orient then the Pearles of the South so womens affections are affected after the disposition of the clime wherein they are borne although Auicen in his Aphorismes settes downe this conclusion that thornes no where growe without pricks nor nettles without stinges Idem As the people Hyperborei spurne liquorice with their feet and yet secretly slake their hunger with the iuice thereof so coie wantons seeming to contemne their suters motions stande in deadly feare least they shoulde leaue of their amorous passions As pumice stones are light and full of holes so are those women that haue as many louers as their heartes haue entrances for loue As the earth yeelds weedes as well in the lowest valleyes as in the highest mouÌ„taines so women are vniuersally Mala necessaria wheresoeuer they bee either bred or brought vp Greene. As the Lapwing runneth away with the shell on her head as soone as she is hatched so many girles no sooner out of cradell but they looke for husbands as soone as they touch the teenes they think themselues nauigable As when Nilus ouerfloweth before his time Egypt is plagued with a dearth as the trees that blossome in February are nipped with the frostes in May as vntimely fruites haue neuer good fortune so those women that are wooed won ere they be wise sorrowe and repent before they be olde As the Diamondes are tried by cutting of glasse the Topace by biding the force of the anuile the Sethin wood by the hard nesse so womens excellencie is discouered in their constancie As the Hartes in Calabria knowing Dictamum to be deadly yet browse on it with greedinesse and as the fishe Mugra seeing the hooke bare yet swalloweth it with delight so women foresee yet doe not preuent knowing what is profitable yet not eschewing the preiudice As the eye of the Basiliske pearceth with preiudice the iuyce of Celidony is sweete but it fretteth deadly and as Circes cuppes were too strong for al Antidotes so womens flatteries are too forceable to resist at voluntarie The tallest Ashe is cut downe for Fuell beâ—â—â—se it beareth no good fruite the cow that giues no milke is brought to the slaughter the drone that gathereth no Hony is contemned so the woman that maketh her selfe barren by not marrying is accouÌ„ted among the Grecian Ladies worse then a carrion as Homer reporteth As the loue between man maÌ„ proceedeth of the similitude of manners so the loue betweene man and woman issueth of the sinceritie of the heart The Phisitian saith it is dauÌ„gerous to minister Phisicke vnto the Patient that hath a colde stomacke and a hotte liuer least in giuing warmth to the one he inflame the other so verely it is harde to deale with a woman whose wordes seeme feruent whose heart is congealed into harde Ice least trusting their outward talke hee bee betraied with their inwarde trechery As it is the eye of the maister that fatteth the horse so it is the loue of the woman that maketh the man The sweete songes of Calipso were subtill snares to entice Vlysses the Crab then catcheth the Oyster when the sunne shineth Hiena when she speaketh like a man deuiseth most mischeefe so wanton women when they bee most pleasant pretend most mischeefe As thou learnest of Alexander continencie in not viewing the beauty of Darius wife temperance of Cirus in not beholding the heauenly hewe of Panthea abstinence of Romulus in not drinking wine be it neuer so delicat plainnesse and simplicitie of Agesilaus in despising costlie apparrell bee it neuer so curious so learne of Diogenes to detest
more burdenous which through griefe make the life tedious it is a disease of the minde to beleeue that all things are made of moates in the Sun but yet it doth not plague the mind so much as couetousnesse doth ibidem As childish complaintes doe easilie vanish awaie so toyish desires the matter beeing taken away doe soone fade Ibidem As the chaunging of the Moone or a sharpe winde or the ebbe of the sea or any such light change of thinges doth take life from a sicke and weake man so euery smal offence doth disturbe weake mindes corrupted by affections when as they that are of a strong heart and a resolute minde do not feele any such matter As no creature neither tame nor wilde doth yeeld to that reason which it wāteth so neither any affection Seneca As many wilde weedes springing vp in a field are euill and naught of themselues and yet are signes of a fruitfull ground if it were tilled so the affections of the minde being euill of themselues doe argue no ill wit if it were tilled with hole some instructions Plut. in Moral As angrie dogges barke at euerie noyse but are quiet when they heare a voyce knowne and familiar vnto them so the diseases of the minde when they rage they cannot be restrained except the speaches be known familiar vnto thē which may correct them being moued Ibid. As the body is not capable of pleasures except it bee well ordered so the minde doth not participate of true pleasure except it be free from feare and other affections ibidem As diseases although but small in the beginning do stil grow worse and worse if they be letten alone so if but once thou admit euill affections although they bee but of small moment and validity they will encrease and growe to greater heade Seneca As a man hath alwaies remedy at hand against the poyson of serpents to wit his spettle which they beeing touched withall or a little hot water beeing cast vppon them they flie awaie and if it enter into their mouthes they die so wee alwayes carry a present remedie about with vs against al pestilent desires if we knew how to vse it Wee must looke for it in our mindes As there are serpēts that meet with vs in the woodes and some lie lurking at home in our houses so some affections are mannaged by reason and shew themselues reasonable some lie lurking in our workes and shew themselues vnreasonable Marcus heremita de lege spiritali As they are to bee freed from fetters that haue a long iourney to goe so they are to bee withhelde from immoderate affections that directlie woulde go vnto God Theodoretus de spirituali animae resurrectione As the foure humors of the body heate coldnes drines and moisture are the causes of all welfare and ill fare in the body so the foure principal affections of the mind loue hatred ioy and griefe are the causes of al ioy and annoy in the mind Richardus Victorinus de statu interioris hominis c. 34. As they that kill the heade of a Serpent kill the whole bodie also so they that cut off the first motions of ill affections kill the whole rabble of them Procopius in Exodum As there is no sire so hot but it is quenched with water so there is no affection so strong but it is weakened with reason He that hath been burned knoweth the force of the fire he that hath been stoung remembreth the smart of the Scorpion so he that hath endured the brunts of fancie knoweth best how to eschewe the broyles of affection As thou art wary in thy trauell that thou dash not thy foote against a stone or a pricke so in thy life bee wary that no affection rule thee that may offend Epictetus in Enchiridio cap. 53. As saylers doe applie themselues to the chaunges of the windes so doe wise men to the affections of the minde Aristonymus apud Stobaeum sermone 1. De prudentia As Tarquine when hee walked in his Garden did with a wande strike off the heades of Poppie so wee must especiallie resist the stronger and more powrefull affections of our mindes Angelus Politianus de ira As they that liue vnder a Tyrant are in bondage and seruitude so are they that are ruled by headstrong affections Philo lib. quod omnis probus sit liber As they that are ruled by good lawes liue in peace so they that are ruled by sound reason and not by vnruly affections liue in rest and tranquility ibidem As Noahs Arke did admitte all kinde of creatures which Paradice did not so mans bodie doth admitte all vnrulie and vntamed affections but admitteth not vertues worthy of praise Idem lib. de plantatione Noae As a sparrowe tied by the leg assaying to flie is pulde downe by the string to the grounde so the minde beeing not freede of affections endeuouring to flie to the knowledge of celestiall thinges is helde down by affections and cast to the earth Maximus lib. primo de charitate If the eye bee troubled it cannot exactlie see his obiect so if the heart bee disturbed with affections it cannot well beholde the truth Basilius in Psal 33. epistola 1. As a foule polluted glasse cannot receiue the impressions of pictures presented before it so a soule dimmed and darkned with carnall affections and wordly cares is not capable of spirituall illuminations Idem Epist 64. As too much wine maketh drunke so the affections of lust sorrowe and wrath hauing expelled reason do bring madnes Idem in cap. 5. Esayae Brethren AS in a paire of scales when one goes vp the other goes downe so one brother ought to yeeld vnto another aduanced to higher dignity Plut. As in Arithmeticke figures of lesser value being added to greater doth multiplie them in like maner are multiplied thēselues so one brother dignifieng another encreaseth the honour of hun that is dignified and adorneth the dignifier with the splendour of his dignitie ibidem As those fingers that can neither write nor play vppon an instrument are moued with those that write and play so one brother shoulde bee like affected to another ibidem If thy weapons breake or bee taken from thee thou mayst repaire them againe or get thee other but thou canst not get thee another body so thou maist find other friendes but not other brethren Ibidem Of the same first matter elementes arise most repugnant and opposite betweene themselues so many times of the same parentes brethren are bred of most contrarie dispositions As Caine and Abell Ismael and Isaac Esau and Iacob Amphion and Zetis Eteocles and Polynices Titus and Domitian As ciuill seditions are better transposed to enemies then bestowed on our own countrimen so it is better and more equall respectiuely to enuy and maligne others then our own brethren although it is not good to enuy or maligne any body Plut. Admonition AS wee cast bridles vpon horses not in the race but before they runne so
the Torch turned downwarde is extinguished with the selfe same waxe which was the cause of his light so Nature turned to vnkindnesse is quenched by those meanes it should be kindled leauing no branch of loue where is found no roote of humanitie Newes AS Cookes wish for a plentiful breed of cattell and fishers of fishes so busie brained innouaters doe hunt after newes and innouation in states Plut. As we set vp meate from cats and dogs so we must take heed what we speake before newes-mongers and insinuating intelligencers idem As our bodies are more indangered in the Spring and in Autumne by reason of change so all noueltie doth offende and hurt the common wealth As change of meate drinke and aire doth offend albeit it be into like or into better so it is better still to retaine our old Princes and Magistrates then to gape for newe because all innouation is full of daunger and disturbance As Apion called Homer from the dead for none other cause but to knowe from what parentage he was descended so manie take great paines and bestowe much cost onely to heare newes and knowe nouelties Plin. lib. 30. cap. 2. Recreation AS we see byrdes for procreation and profit sake make themselues nestes afterwards being freed from their labours freely to fly abroad take their pleasure so our mindes being wearied with labour and busines do couet and delight to expatiate abroad being free from carke and care Cicero lib. 2. de Oratore As an engrauer that hath had his eies long fastened vppon his worke and wearied doth againe refresh them by withdrawing them from their former intensiuenesse so wee ought sometimes to recreate our mindes and with certaine delights to refresh them but let thy delights be such as may be wholesome and profitable vnto thee Seneca lib. 2. epist 59. As lande although sowen but euery other yeare doth recompence that intermission by fruitfulnesse so wit refreshed with a litle recreation doth returne to studie with that alacritie and vigour of spirit that it doth more in a shorter time thē before being dulled it would haue done in a longer Plinius lib. 18. cap. 16. As there are intercourses of sleepe and waking of night and day of faire weather and fowle of warre and peace so labours are to be eased by disportes and recreations Plutarchus in Moralibus As we vnloose the strings of a harpe or a bowe that we may the better stretch and bende them againe so the minde is to be recreated with leasure that it may be made more fitte for labours Ibid. A wagoner doeth not alwaies holde streight his raines but doeth sometimes loose them so children are sometimes to be refreshed fauoured and cherished ibidem A bow that alwaies standes bended becomes the weaker so a wit that is alwaies toyled becomes duller As there is watching so there is sleepe As there is warre so is there peace As there is winter so is there summer As there be māy working daies so is there also many holy daies We vnbend the bowe that we may the better bende it we vnloose the harpe that wee may the sooner tune it the bodie is kept in health as well with fasting as eating so the minde is healed with ease as well as with labour Hippomanes ceased to run when he had gotten the goale Hercules to labour when he had obtained the victorie Mercurie to pipe when he had cast Argus in a slumber so euery action hath his ende and then we leaue to sweat when we haue found the sweete The Ant though she toyle in summer yet in winter she leaueth to trauaile the Bee though she delight to sucke the fayre flower yet is she at last cloyed with the honie the Spider that weaueth the finest thread ceaseth at the last when she hath finished her web so after earnest studie we are to recreate our wearied mindes Reprehension AS he is to blame that blameth Nilus for bringing forth the crocodile and the aspe neuer remembring what fruitfulnes it bringeth vnto Aegypt so is he to be reprehended that reprehendeth nature for bringing forth some fruitfull things neuer calling to mind the innumerable good things she produceth Plut. Fables tell vs that the hagges called Lamiae were cleare sighted abroade but when they came home they put their eies in a boxe and sawe nothinge so some are very cleare sighted to reprehend others and are stone blind to espy any thing in themselues Idem As they that haue no quiet at home haue all their pleasure to be abroad so a mind that vnto it selfe is guilty of villanie abhorring it selfe doth feede with the malicious reprehension of others Idem It is an easie matter to pull downe that another hath builded but it is a very hard matter either to reedifie the same againe or to build a better so it is an easie matter to finde fault with another mans oration but to speak after the same manner or better it is not so easie Idem When in Summer it thundereth more then it lightneth it portendeth great store of winde as Plinie saith so when one vehemently declareth against other mens vices himselfe showing no integrity of liuing it is a manifest signe of a minde more puffed vp with the wind of ambition then endued with true godlinesse Sorrow AS the ouen dampt vp hath the greatest heate fire supprest is most forcible the streames stopt either breake through or ouerflowe so sorrowes concealed as they are most passionate so they are most peremptorie As a wise pilot in a calme doth expect a tempest so in tranquilitie the minde is to be prepared for griefe and sorow Plutarchus As Phisitians in a vehement fluxe of phlegme doe not forthwith vse inwarde medicines but first outwardly apply outward things that may ripen the humour and then they cure it so in a newe greefe wee must be silent till it growing more milde it may admit comfort Idem We make those things sauourie by mixing sweete thinges with them which by nature are bitter so sadde and sorrowfull thinges by reason are to be allayed Idem As flies doe rather choose to sitte vpon rough places then vpon glasse or smooth places so some doe forget pleasant things and remember onely heauie and maestiue matters Idem As the rose the fairest of all flowers doth spring of thornes so of sorowfull and sharpe laboures most pleasant fruite is gathered As wine mixt with vineger hath not the same sweetnesse so sadnesse and heauines annexed to the holy spirit hath not the same pure and cleane praier Hermas seu Pastor As a boate is drowned by a tempest so the minde is deiected by sorow Chrisost Hom. 10 de poenitentia As they that sayle ouer the vast ocean sea cannot be without sicknesse so they that liue in this worlde cannot be without sorow Idem Hom. 67 ad pop Antioch As a moath doeth eate a garment so sorrow doth feede on the heart of man Idem epist. 8. ad Olympiam As the tenderest wood
and the Cabbish the Oake and the Oliue tree so the serpent and the Ash-tree the Iron and Theamides can by no meanes agree together Cunctation THe whelpes of Lions are borne ill fashioned they moue themselues when they are two moneths olde but scarcelie go at sixe moneths so those thinges that are to become excellent do growe by leasure and are perfited by little and little Choyse THe water of the sea is vnprofitable to drinke but it nourisheth fishes and is seruiceable for saylers so we must excerpe extract whatsoeuer commody is in any thing Plut. As it is a goodly thing to haue sayled and trauelled by many cities but it is expedient to inhabit dwel in one of the best so many thinges are to be known but the best thinges are to be followed and kept Idem Glorie WHen the Sun-beames are perpendicular ouer a mans head they either altogether take awaie his shadowe or make it verie little so exceeding great glory doth quite extinguish enuie Plutarchus As a smoake great at the first doth soone vanish so doth glory falsely gotten Idem As that fire doth make no smoake that presently breaketh into a flame so neither is that glory subiect to enuy that presently shineth forth but enuy attends them that rise by degrees idem As a shadow waiteth vpon vs whether we wil or no so glory followeth vertue albeit she fly from it Seneca As they that are distempered by sicknesse do abhor the pleasantest meates so fiâ—thie fellowes neuer tasting of true glory coeneuer seeke after it Cicero Philip. pr. As it is leuity to hunt after vaine glorie so it is foolishnesse to put from vs true and deserued glorie Idem in Pisonem The shadowe sometimes goeth before and sometimes commeth behinde so sometimes glory commeth before that we may see it and somtimes it commeth after vs but that is greater which commeth after then when enuy is husht for whilst Democritus raged Socrates could scarcelie be heard of Rome honoured not Cato till she had lost him Rutilius his innocency had not beene diuulged if hee had not beene iniuried Seneca epist 80. The auncient Sapientes called glorie a Crocodile For as a Crocodile doeth followe a man flying him and flieth from him that followes him so glory doth flie from them that desire it and doth follow them that flie it Albertus Nouicampianus As hee that is cloathed with silke and purple wil not haue a durty cloake put on him so holy men cloathed with excellent vertues should not couer themselues with humane glory Dorotheus De humilitate doctrina 2. Vaine Glory AS moathes do eate out a garment so vaine glorie hath eaten out manie mens possessions Chrisostom homil 42. in Genesin As drunkennesse obscureth reason so vaine glory corrupteth discretion Idem hom 2 in Ioan. As we despise earthly riches when wee hope for heauenly possessions so we contemne the vaine glory of this life when we perswade our selues of celestial glory idem hom 28. in Ioan. As a profane woman doth set her selfe to sale to euery body so doe they that are giuen ouer vnto vain glory Idem hom 17. in epist ad Rom. As nightes succeed daies and winters summers so griefe and heauines followes vain glory pleasure either in this world or in the worlde to come Maximus lib. 2. de charitate As the Pismyre eateth the endes of the corne shee hath gathered that it may not sproute nor grow so vaine glory nippeth all our good parts in the head Climacus de inanis vitae fuga As Iuie embracing a tree withereth the roote so vainglorie corrupteth the roote of true vertue if it spring vp by it Nilus oration 7. aduersus vitia S. Isaias abbas oratione 16. As the winde carieth away the print of thy footesteppe paced in sand or dust so vainglorie vtterly taketh away the vertue and rewarde of an almes deed ibidem As the flower flourisheth to day and to morrowe is withered so dooth humane glorie Isidorus Clarius oratione 105. tomo secundo As a shadowe hath no footing so neither hath vainglorie Henricus de Hassia in Soliloquio animae The tract of a ship is not discerned in the sea so neither the glory of man hath any biding in the world ibidem As the wind pufs vp the waues so vaine glory pufs vp vaine men As an Asse is not to be preferred before a horse albeit he bee decked with golden trappings so no man is to be vainglorious and proude for externall acontrements and outward habiliments seeing that the Elephant excelleth him in hugenesse the Lion in courage the Nightingale in singing the Peacocke in beautie Bees in cunning the Spider in weauing the Hare in swiftnesse the Eagle in sight the Asse in hearing and the Dogge in smelling Isidorus oratione de humilitate tomo primo As the little Worme Teredo that eateth woodde in the night shyneth and maketh a crackeling but in the day time is knowne to bee a Worme and putrifaction so also Vaine-glorie shyneth and glistereth with great pompe in the night of this worlde to weake and dimme eyes which cannot iudge but by outwarde appearances but when that cleare bright day of iudgement shall come wherein God shall reueale the darkest and obscurest things of our soules and shall manifest the secret counsels of our harts then those that seemed happy and glorious shall bee knowne to be filthie and vile and without any hope of saluation Lodouicus Granatensis in lib. de septem Meditationibus Meditatione quinta Braggers THey that are hungrie are more prouoked with appetite if they see others eate so braggers are more inflamed with glory wheÌ„ they heare others extolled Plu. As many riuals snarle about one loue so they iar that affect glorie and praise by one thing idem As a Chamaeleon is fedd with none other nourishment then with the ayre and therefore shee is alwayes gaping so popular applause dooth nourish some neither doe they gape after any other thing but vaine praise and glorie As in times past Herostratus and Manlius Capitolinus did and in our age Peter Shakerlye of Paules and Monarcho that liued about the Court. As the Moone is sometimes big sometymes small and sometimes is not seene at all neuer continuing in one estate so Braggers that place their prayse in Parasites mouthes are sometymes extolled as great personages and sometimes depressed as base pesants and sometimes they are no bodie and sometimes some bodie as it pleaseth their slipperie tongues to make them Bernardus sermone de Natiuitate Ioan. Baptistae Gratitude AS we do not grudge to giue the pawns backe when the goods are restored so let vs not grudge to restore and repay thankes to God for the benefites that hee bestowes vpon vs. Plutarchus in Moralibus As wee repay Vsurers their money with gaine so let vs repay both God and man Seneca As Beanes and Lupines do not make the grounde leane where they growe but doe fatte it so a gratefull man doth make his
salt it is but the further off it is the salter it is so some in France resemble Germanes but being in Germanie resemble Frenchmen and the further they are from a Countrey the more they resemble it A horse in a Mault-mill is as farre in the morning as at night when hee hath done his dayes worke so many trauellers are as wise when they goe forth as when they come home Many schoolemaisters are as rich when they leaue teaching as when they begin so are many trauellers whether you respect crowns in their purses or knowledge in their minds As the yong scholler in Athens went to heare Demosthenes eloquence at Corinth and was intangled with Lais beautie so most of our trauailers which pretend to get a smacke of straunge language to sharpen their wits are infected with vanitie in following their willes The bird Acanthis being bred in the Thistles will lie in the Thistles the Grashopper being sprung of the grasse will rather die then depart from the grasse so many are so far from trauelling that they cannot abide to leaue the sight of the smoke of their owne chimneyes As the snaile that crept out of her shell was turned eftsoones into a toad therby was forced to make a stoole to sit on disdaining her owne house so the traueller that stragleth from his owne countrey is in short time transformed into so mōstrous a shape that he is fain to alter his mansion with his maners and to liue where he can not where he would No Mosse will sticke to the stone of Sisiphus no grasse hang on the heeles of Mercurie so no butter will cleaue on the bread of a traueller As the Eagle at euery flight looseth a feather which maketh her bald in her age so the traueller in euery country looseth some fleece which maketh him a begger in his youth by buying that with a pound which he cannot sel again for a penie Repentance As wines made of good grapes are more holsome being drawne from their Lees so those which for a good cause depart their country are as men of a singular diuine qualitie to be embraced of all sorts The world AS a house made to dwell in dooth perceiue nothing of it selfe but is subiect to the lord that made it that inhabiteth it so the world perceiuing nothing of it self is subiect to God that made it who made it for his owne vse Lactantius lib. 2. cap. 6. As a Booke deciphers the minde of the authour so the worlde as a written Booke dooth witnesse and contestate the glorie of God and his roiall maiestie Basil hom 1 1. exameron As milke is presently curded so the world presently was Iustinus quaest 3. earum quas gentes ponebant Christianis When we see an excellent peece of workmanship wee praise both the worke and workeman so when we cast our eyes vpon the glorious fabricke of the worlde wee should not onely bestowe commendations vpon it but also magnifie God that made it Theodoretus serm 3. de prouidentia When wee heare an instrument of Musicke melodiouslie tuned consisting of diuerse soundes of Meanes Tenours Trebles Countertenours and Bases we knowe that there is one that dooth thus harmoniouslie order it so when wee see the concordious disposition of the world where things inferiour doe not rise against superiour nor low things against loftie we are to knowe that it is onely God that doth thus moderate them Hector Pintus in cap. 1. Ezechiel When we see in a citie sundrie sorts of people noble and vulgar rich and poore young and olde to liue in loue and peace without iniurying one another we presently iudge that the ruler is iust mightie and wise so when wee view the huge masse of the world and the great concord of so many different things we cannot but wonder at the iustice omnipotencie wisdome of the creator and gouernor of them ibidem Although a tree bring forth many branches yet there is but one roote of all those branches so in the world albeit one man doth propagate and produce another yet there is but one father who hath created al. Chrysost hom 43. operis imperfecti As God is not to be accused of impotencie that he made but one world and not manie so he cannot bee accused of imperfection that he did not make the worlde as soone as hee was himselfe but when hee woulde Iustinus in Resutatione responsionis Gentilis ad 3. quaest Christianorum An husbandman doth sow in one ground wheate in another barly in another other seedes so God hath planted immortality in heauen alteration and change vpon the earth and in the whole world life and motion Trismegistus in Pymandro The loue and vanitie of the worlde AS the fish Lepo or Mole doth sticke vnto sea rockes so many men cleaue vnto the worlde and contemne immortality Clemens Alexandrinus in exhortatione ad gentes As the same cies cannot at one time beholde heauen and earth so the loue of the world and the loue of God cannot dwell togither in one heart Cyprianus de 12. Ascensionibus As children doe more admire and loue a Babie of cloutes then a beautifull woman so worldlinges doe more esteeme the pelfe and trash of this worlde then the pleasures and treasures of heauen Chrysost hom 80. in Ioannem It is in vaine to powre water into a sieue to snatch at the flame of fire and to beate the aire so the loue of the worlde is vaine and extreame vanitie Idem hom 77. in Matth. As pitch doth pollute as lime doth detaine as a snare doth enthrall so doth the loue of the worlde pollute detaine and inthrall Dugo Philonius de scientia bene moriends As the beautie of a whore dooth allure so the garishnesse of the world dooth entice Isaac presbyter de mundi contemptu cap. 2 As the sea doth one while cast shell fishes crampe fishes and weedes vpon the shoare without water and by and by doth suppe them in againe and carrie them into the deepe so the worlde doth sometimes banish vs and sometimes receiue vs and when we thinke our selues safe on the shoare then we perceiue our selues deceyued and tossed with varietie of calamities Hector Pintus in cap. 3. Ezechiel The contempt of the worlde SWallowes as sayeth Solinus doe not build their nests in ruinous houses or in ill-built edifices so neither should men build their Mansions and Tabernacles in this ruinous and tottering worlde Hector Pintus in cap. 10. Ezechiel As they that liue in a shippe are neither fedde nor cloathed of it but haue their maintenaunce from else where so the soules of Christians liuing in this worlde take their celestiall foode and spirituall cloathing not from this Worlde but from heauen Macarius hom 44. A childe when he is hungrie setteth naught by his costly iewelles and sumptuous apparell but onely setteth his minde vpon his mothers dugge whereby he may bee refreshed and nourished so a Christian ought to contemne all the enticements of this
enuious mindes are knowne by their maners Gluttonie AS corporall fasting doth lift vp the spirit to God so superfluitie of meate and drinke doth cast and sinke it downe Lodo. Granat lib. de deuotione As the spirit when it is full of deuotion doth inuite the hart to spirituall and diuine thinges so the bodie being full of meate doth draw and hale the same vnto corporall and vaine matters ibidem As ships of lighter burthen do swiftly sayle through the sea but those that are ouerloaden with many burdens are drowned so fasting maketh the soule light that it lightly saileth ouer the sea of this life that it mounteth aloft and beholdeth heauen and heauenly thinges but being ouerburdened with too much meat and drinke the spirit groweth sleepie and the bodie heauy the soule is captiuated and made subiect to a thousand miseries ibidem As a soldior that is ouerloaden can hardly mannage his weapon so that man can hardly watch at his prayers who is gluttonously filled with superfluitie of meates Ibidem As much water is the cause of moorish groundes fens myres and muddy places where nothing engendreth but Toades Frogs Snakes and such like foule vermine euen so excesse of wine procureth brutish wicked and beastly desires many sensuall appetites and other sinnefull qualities Ibidem As Trees which are planted or cut in the full of the Moone do but ingender worms loose their owne vertue and perish the like doeth excesse of eating or drinking for when the bellie is full it nothing but encreaseth the wormes of sinne in the soule consumeth the whole man and cutting him off from God makes him die and wither in wickednes Stella de contemp mundi As the wals of Babilon were ouerthrown by Nabuchadnezar euen so doth surfeting by meat or drink destroy all the vertues abiding in the soule ibidem As Mathematicians circumscribe all things within a center and a circumferēce so many do circumscribe al pleasure within their bellies Plut. in Moralibus Aristotle saith that the fish whom the Grecians cal ovoç hoc est Asinus of al other liuing creatures hath the hart in the belly so gluttons haue theirs Clemens libro 2. paedag cap. 1. As a cloude doth obscure the beames of the Sunne so gluttony doth dimme the splendour of the minde Nilus oratione 1. aduersus vitia As birdes that haue weighty bodies are vnapt for flight so gluttons with their fleshy panches are vnfit for contemplation F. Ioannes a S. Geminiano lib. 4. de natalibus volatilibus cap. 35. Anger AS a drunken man cannot do any thing wisely and with reason of which he doth not afterwards repēt him as we read of Alexander the great so when as a man is disturbed and troubled with anger and blinded with the smoake of this passion he cannot rest neither take aduisemēt which to day although it seeme iust and reasonable vnto him yet to morrow when the fury of his passion shall be ouer he shall confesse that it was vniust and vnreasonable As in a tumult we doe not heare what is spoken vnto vs so angry persons doe not admit other mens counsell vnlesse reason speake within which appeaseth the hurlie burly of the mind Plut. As a tumour ariseth by a blowe of the flesh so effeminate and weake persons doe most of all swel with anger as women and old men idem The Barbarians do infect their weapons with poison that they may do double hurt so angry folks do againe and again poison their tongues with venemous words idem As the first messengers are not forthwith beleeued as Phocion of Athens hearing tel of Alexanders death saide if he bee deade to daie hee will bee dead to morrowe and for euer so wee must not presently beleeue anger saying vnto vs he hath iniuried me but wee must protract the time for manie daies make further inquiry idem As the body is shaken and corrupted with a long cough so the minde is exulcerated with often anger idem As a child through vnskilfulnes doth often hurt himselfe when hee would hurte another so many times anger doth hurt it selfe when it would wrong others idem As we doe not bridle horses in the race but before they runne so they that are subiect to anger are to be admonished by reasons before they fall into danger Idem If one fire be ioined to another the flame becommeth the greater so anger by anger is not appeased but is more prouoked Chrisost hom 12. operis imperfecti As Asses bite and kicke so angry people raile and fight Idem hom 3. in Ioannem As winter is ful of stormes so is an angry mind full of perturbations idem hom 9. ad pop Antioch Vineger infecteth a vessell if it long stay in it so anger corrupteth the heart if it make any aboade in it Augustinus Epistola 88. A scald head is soone broken so a womā and a child are soon angry Sen. lib. 1. de ira As lukewarme water asswageth inflammations so gentle and milde wordes doe quench anger Anthonius parte 2. sermone 53. As the sunne for fortie yeares neuer saw Episius eating so it neuer saw Iohn the Anchorete angry Idlenesse AS the Milesian garment did not become Hercules when hee serued Omphale after he had put off his Lions spoiles so neither doth it befit a ciuil man after his magistracy to giue himselfe vnto idlenesse and voluptuousnes Plut. As the birdes called Martinets are alwaies either flying or lying still vppon the earth because they want feet so some are too vehement in both extremities they are either too busie or too idle they keepe no meane Plin. lib. 10. cap. 39. As they that walke and play crankes vpon ropes if they be but a little carelesse fal down and so perish so they that walke in this life if they giue themselues but to a little idlenesse they are throwne headlong into folly Chrisost hom 3. de Ozia As rust doth putrifie iron so idlenesse doth corrupt the wit and disposition of man Ouid. lib. 5. de tristibus elegia 12. As water continually entring into a ship by some secret leak doth at the last drown it through the carelesnes of the Mariners so by idlenes and slothfulnes euil thoughts and concupiscences are so long multiplied till the ship of the heart yeelding vnto them be endangered with finne Bernard serm de S. Andrea As in standing water venemous wormes are engendered so in an idle soule ill thoughtes and hurtfull concupiscences are bred Laurentius Iustinianus lib. de perfectionis gradibus cap. 9. Birds that are couped vp soone growe fat so by lazines the body groweth corpulent and the mind vnfit for any good exercise Seneca epist 122. As too much bending breaketh the bow so too much remission spoileth the minde Seneca Rust doth fret the hardest iron if it bee not vsed the Moath doth eate the finest garment if it bee not worne mosse doth growe on the smoothest stone if it bee not stirred so impiety doth infect the wisest wit if it