and placeth his seate and mansion in it Wherefore if thou comparest all the riches and honours of this world and all naturall graces with the beauty and riches of a iustified soule all will seeme most obscure and most vild in comparison of it For as great difference as there is betweene heauen and earth betweene a spirit and a body betweene eternity and momentary time so great difference also is there found betweene the life of grace and the life of nature betweene the beauty of the soule and the body betweene the inward riches and the outward betweene the spirituall strength and the naturall For all these are circumscribed within certaine limits they are temporall and appeare onelie beautifull to the corporall eyes to which a generall comming of God is sufficient but to the other a speciall perticuler and supernaturall comming is required Neither can they be called temporall when they bring vs to eternity neyther can they be called altogether finite because they bring the infinite God to vs in whose eyes they are so precious and of such valour that by theyr beauty they prouoke God to loue vs. Furthermore when as God could haue wrought all these things by his helpe and will he would not doe it but it pleased him to adorne the soule with infused vertues and with the gifts of his holy Spirit with which not onely the very Essence of the soule but also all her powers are clothed and adorned with these diuine habites To all these diuine benefits the eternall and infinite goodnes of God doth ioyne another that is the presence and ayde of the holy Ghost and so of all the most sacred Trinity which doth turne into a iustified soule and doth come that he may dwell in her that he may teach her how to vse rightly so great riches as a good father who not content to haue giuen riches to his sonne but doth giue him also a Tutor who well knoweth how to dispose bestow them Insomuch that euen as Vipers Dragons and Serpents doe dwel in the soule of a sinner which are a multitude of ill malignant spirits who chose their habitation and abiding in such a soule as our Sauior saith in Mathew so on the cōtrary part the holy Spirit with the whole blessed Trinity doth enter into a iustified soule casting out al monsters and infernall beasts doth consecrate it for a Temple vnto himselfe and doth place his seate there as the Lord expresly testifieth in the Gospel saying If any man loueth me he will keepe my sayings my Father will loue him and we will come vnto him and will dwell with him By the vertue of these words all the Doctors as wel Ecclesiasticall as Schoolemen confesse that the holy Ghost himselfe by a certaine speciall peculier meanes doth dwel in a iustified soule distinguishing betweene the holy Ghost his gifts saying moreouer not only these gifts to be giuen of the holy ghost but also the holy Ghost to giue himselfe who entring into this soule doth make it his Temple habitation placing his seate in it Therfore he doth purge and sanctifie it doth adorne it with his gifts that it may be an In worthy of such a guest These benefits afore-sayd doe not suffice vnlesse that admirable one come to which is that all the iustified are made the liuely members of our Sauiour which before were dead members for they did not receaue and take their influences from the head Christ. Hence others and those very great prerogatiues and dignities doe proceede for hence it is that the sonne of God loueth them as his owne members and hath no lesser care of them then of himselfe he is no lesse carefull for them then for his owne members without intermission hee poureth his vertue and grace vpon them as the head vpon his members to be briefe the eternall Father doth behold them with fauourable eyes no otherwise then the liuely members of his onely begotten Sonne vnited and incorporated with him by the participation of his spirit Of the same dignity it proceedeth that when those that are iustified doe aske for fauour and grace of God they aske it with great confidence for they know that they doe aske it not onely for themselues but also for the sonne of God himselfe who is honoured in them and with them For seeing that it may not be denied but that which the members doe the head also doth the same it followeth that seeing Christ is their head when they aske any thing for themselues they aske it also for him For if it be true that they as sayth the Apostle who offend against the members of Christ doe offend against Christ himselfe and if Christ doth say that he suffereth persecution when his members doe suffer persecution as he sayde to his Apostle persecuting his Church why doest thou meruaile my brother if I say that when the members are honoured that then Christ himselfe is also honoured Which seeing that it is so how great confidence will a righteous man haue in his prayer when he considereth that desiring fauour and grace for himselfe after a certaine manner he also desireth the same of the eternall Father for his best beloued sonne Is it not true that when fauour is done to any man for the loue of an other that it is done principally for him for whose loue it is done For wee beleeue that he that showeth mercy to a poore man for Gods sake that he not onely doth shew it to the poore man but also to God himselfe Neyther heere yet is an end of the heauenly benefits for to all these benefits afore-sayd this as last is ioyned to which all the other are appoynted and ordayned that is the right and possession of eternall life which is giuen to the iustified For as that our infinite and vnmeasurable Lord in whom together shineth all iustice and mercy adiudgeth to euerlasting payne those that doe not repent so hee taketh to eternall life all those that truly repent And when as he could haue pardoned man of all his sinnes and receaued him into his friendship and fauor with communion and participation of his glory yet he would not doe it but those to whom for his mercies sake he remitteth sinnes he also iustifieth whom he iustifieth those he maketh his sonnes whom he maketh his sonnes those also he maketh heires and pertakers of his celestiall inheritance together with his onely begotten sonne Hence ariseth that liuely hope which maketh the iustified merry and glad in all tribulation by reason of the pledge and earnest of this infinite treasure For although they see themselues brought into straights to be afflicted with infirmities to be oppressed with the miseries of this life yet they know that the afflictions of this present time are not worthy of the glory which shall be shewed vnto them And also they know that this light affliction which is but
the print thereof in the heeles of my feete Such one consumeth like a rotten thing and as a garment that is moth-eaten And a little after Man that is borne of a woman is of short continuance and full of trouble He shooteth forth as a flower and is cut downe he vanisheth also as a shadow and continueth not Doost thou thinke it meete to open thine eyes vpon such an one and to bring him with thee vnto iudgement Who can bring a cleane thing out of filthines All these things said holy Iob greatlie wondering at the seuerity of the diuine Iustice which he saw that God did vse vpon man being a creature so fraile and so ready to fall into all euill who drinketh in iniquity like water But if he should vse this seuerity vpon Angels who are spirituall creatures and much more perfect it were lesse to be meruailed at but that God should vse it vpon man whose passions and euill inclinations are innumerable and that by exacting so strict an account that in his whole life hee doth not winke at one idle word nor doth let passe our minute of time ill spent this doth exceede and passe all admiration For who doth not feare and exceedingly tremble when he heareth those words of the Lord Verily I say vnto you that of euery idle word that men shall speake they shall giue account thereof at the day of iudgement Goe too therefore if an account shall be giuen of those words which offend no man what shall become of vnhonest words Of vnchast thoughts of hands full of blood Of the eyes of adulterers To be briefe of all the time of thy life euill spent in the works of iniquity If this be true as it is most true what tongue what eloquence can remember so great things of the rigour and seuerity of this iudgement which shall not be much lesse then the truth of the thing Or which can be equalized with it in any manner of respect How will wretched and miserable man stand astonished and amazed when in the assemblie of so many Senatours and in the presence of such a Councell an account shall be required of a little word which he hath spoken such or such a day without purpose or fruite Who will not be amazed at this demaund Who durst haue sayde these things vnlesse Christ himselfe before had spoken them Who durst haue vttered them vnlesse he had affirmed them What King was euer found that did expostulate or was greeued with his seruants for so small a fault O the depth of Christian Religion how great is the purity which thou teachest How strict is the account which thou exactest And with how seuere a iudgment doost thou examine search out all things How great will that shame be with which wretched and miserable sinners shall be there confounded When as all their iniquities and enormities which closely they committed within the wals of their houses whilst they liued whatsoeuer also vnhonest or filthy thing euen from their birth to their death they haue polluted themselues with all the corners of their hart and euery secret shall be discouered and opened in this Court before the eyes of the whole world Who there shall haue a conscience so pure that when these things shall begin to be done will not straight-wayes change colour and tremble throughout euery part of his body For if a man doth blush and is ashamed to tell his faults secretly to an other how great will that shame be with which sinners shall be confounded in the sight of God and all the world So great shall that shame be that the wicked as the Prophet testifieth shall cry out saying to the mountaines couer vs to the hils fal on vs. But be it that these be tollerable but what wil it be whē as those most sharp keene arrowes of that finall sentence shot from Gods mouth through their harts Depart from me ye cursed into euerlasting fire which is prepared for the deuil and his Angels Alas with what dolours wil sinners be tormented hearing this sentence When we can heare but a litle portion of his words saith Iob who can vnderstand his fearful power This voyce shal be so horible of such force that the earth in the twinkling of an eye shall be opened And sodainlie they shall goe downe to the graue as the same Iob sayth those which now take the Tabret and Harpe and reioyce in the sound of the Organs and they that now spend theyr dayes in wealth This fall Saint Iohn describeth in the Reuelation in these words And after these things I saw another Angell come downe from heauen hauing great power so that the earth was lightned with his glory And hee cryed out mightily with a loud voyce saying It is fallen it is fallen Babylon the great Cittie and is become the habitation of deuils and the hold of all foule spirits and a Cage of euery vncleane and hateful Bird. And a little after the same Euangelist addeth saying Then a mighty Angell tooke vp a stone like a great Milstone cast it into the Sea saying with such violenee shall the great Cittie Babilon be cast and shall be found no more After thys manner the wicked shall be cast into that pit and darke prison full of all confusion which in this place is vnderstood by Babylon What tongue shall be able to expresse the multitude and aboundance of paynes which they shall suffer There their bodies shall burne with liuing fire that neuer shall be put out there without intermission their soules shall be gnawne of the worme of conscience which shall suffer them to take no rest there shall be continuall weeping and gnashing of teeth neuer to haue end which the holy Scriptures do so often threaten and repeate In this place of desperation those wretches being damned raging with extreame madnes shall turne their furie against God and shall rage vpon themselues eating their owne flesh tearing their owne bowels most furiously renting one anothers flesh with theyr nayles and continually blaspheming the Iudge who condemned them to these paines There euery one shall curse his miserable estate and his vnhappie birth repeating without ceasing that sorrowfull complaint and those mournfull and forsaken lamentations of Iob Let the day perrish wherein I was borne the night when it vvas said there is a man child conceiued Let that day be darknesse let not GOD regard it from aboue neyther let the light shine vpon it But let darknesse and the shadow of death staine it let the cloudes remaine vppon it and let them make it feareful as a bitter day Let darknes possesse that night let it not be ioyned vnto the dayes of the yeere nor let it come into the count of the Moneths Yea desolate be that night and let no ioy be in it Let them that curse the day being ready to renue theyr mourning curse it Let the starres of that
weepe in the very bitternes of my hart These and other things being past finished which he remembreth forth-with the light of security being infused into his hart the darknes of al doubt fled away The Lord so changed his mind that afterwards he neyther desired any carnall vices nor any other vanity in this world And being losed from these chaynes he beginneth at the entrance of the booke following to giue thanks to God his deliuerer saying Lord I am thy seruant I am thy seruant and the sonne of thine Hand-mayde Thou hast broken my bonds I will sacrifice vnto thee the sacrifice of prayse My hart and my tongue doe prayse thee and all my bones doe say Lord who is like vnto thee Let them say so and Lord aunswer me and say to my soule I am thy saluation Who then am I and what an one What euill am I not Or was it my deedes or if not my deedes was it my words or if not my words was it my will But thou Lord art good and mercifull and thy right hand respected the profundity of my death and thou drewest the depth of corruption from the bottome of my hart And this was wholy that vnwillingnes which thou willedst and that willingnes which thou wouldest not But where was all this long time my wil to doe wel and from vvhat bottome and deepe Abysse didst thou in a moment call it forth vvhereby I might submit my necke vnder thine easie yoke and my shoulders vnder thy light burthen ô Christ Iesus my helper and onely redeemer How sweete on a sodaine was it for me to want the sweetnes of trifles and which I was afrayd to lose now it was a ioy vnto me to lose them For thou being the true and chiefest sweetnes didst cast them from mee thou didst cast them away and for them entredst in thy selfe being sweeter then any pleasure but not to flesh blood and brighter then any light but to the inward secret man and higher then all honour but not to those that are high in themselues Hetherto are the words of Saint Augustine Tell me now if the matter standeth thus if the vertue and efficacie of the Diuine grace be so powerfull what is it that holdeth thee captiue vvhereby thou canst not doe that vvhich they haue done If thou beleeuest that these things are true that the grace of God is effectuall to worke so admirable a change if it be denied to no man that with all his hart desireth it because now also he is the same God vvhich he vvas then vvithout respect of persons vvhat doth hinder thee vvhy thou goest not out of this wretched seruitude and embracest that chiefest good vvhich freely is offered thee Why hadst thou rather vvith one hell to gayne another then vvith one Paradice to gayne another Paradice Be not negligent or vvithout hope Assay once his busines and trust in God vvhich vvhen thou shalt scarcely begin to doe behold he vvill come to meete thee as the father met his prodigall child with open armes Certainly it is a matter of wonder astonishment That if some cosener should promise thee the Art of Alcumy vvhereby thou mightest extract gold out of brasse thou vvouldest not cease although it vvere very chargeable vnto thee vntil thou hadst tried and experimented it and heere the vvord of the Lord teacheth thee to make heauen of earth spirit of flesh and an Angel of a man and vvilt thou not assay and make trial And when as in the end eyther later or sooner eyther in this life or in that to come at the length thou shalt know the truth of this matter I desire thee that with attention thou wouldest consider how thou shalt finde thy selfe deceaued in the day of rendering an account when thou shalt see thy selfe damned because thou didst forsake the way of Vertue because thou imaginedst to thy selfe that it was hard and difficult And there thou shalt know most manifestly that this way is much more sweet and pleasant then the way of vices and pleasures which leade thee onely to earthly delights of which then there shall not be any footsteps or reliques left Against them that feare to enter into the way of Vertue for the loue of this world CHAP. XXIX IF we should feele the pulse and life vaine of all them who feare to enter into the way of vertue perhaps wee should finde many so slothfull and sluggish because the loue of this world hath infatuated them and made them fooles I say that it hath infatuated them for this loue is a false glasse and an apparance of good things which in truth are not good vvhich false glasse maketh all worldly things to be in so great price amongst the ignorant Whereupon beasts which feare shadowes flie all shadowie things as hurtfull dangerous when in deed they are not So these men on the contrary part doe loue and embrace the things of this world supposing estimating them to be louely and delectable when in deed they are not Therefore as they that would bring beasts from their shadowie idle imagination doe often leade them through those places which they feare that they may see that that is but a vaine shadowe which they feared So now it is necessary that we leade these men through the shadowes of earthly things who so ordinarily doe loue them that we may make them to behold them vvith other eyes that they may plainly see how great a vanitie and a shadow all that is which they so greatly admire and loue and that as those dangers are not worthy that they should be feared so also these good things are not worthy that they should be desired or loued He therefore that shall diligently and seriously consider of the world with all the felicities in it shall finde sixe euils and mischiefes in it which no man can denie as are shortnesse miserie dangers blindnes sinnes and deceipts vvith which the felicitie of the world is alwaies mingled by which it may plainly be seene who and what it is Euery one of these wee will handle in that which followeth yet briefely and in order ¶ How short the felicity of this world is GOe to thou canst not denie to me beginning to dispute of this worldly felicitie but that all the felicitie and sweetnes of this world or by what name so euer els thou wilt call it is short and of small continuance For this felicitie cannot endure beyond a mans life But how long the life of man is we haue before declared seeing that it reacheath scarcely to an hundred yeeres But how many be there that come to an hundred yeres I haue seene diuers Bishops and Cardinals who haue scarcelie liued two moneths in theyr dignitie others elected Popes who haue scarce sit one month I haue seene others that haue married wiues louing beautifull rich and vertuous so that nothing seemed to be wanting in them who haue not enioyed them one week
glory Doe not therfore run ouer these things carelesly slightly sleepingly as without aduisement thou doost read ouer many other things oftentimes passing ouer many leaues desirous to see an end before thou hast wel examined the beginning but I would that thou sitte as a Iudge in the iudgement seate of thine hart that thou heare all these words with silence quie tnes of mind These things are not to be posted ouer hastily but to be looked to heedfully discreetly because in thē are handled the whole regiment of thy life and what soeuer thereupon dooth depend Consider howe thou wouldest that all the businesses of thys worlde should bee ordered and appointed for in determining these things one mans opinion cannot suffice thee but haue an eye that they be seene to examined scanned of sundry Doctors Aduocates and Iudges least happily thou offend in them Wherefore seeing that in this case we doe not speak of earth but of heauen not of thine but of thy selfe haue an earnest care that this thing bee not considered of slothfully and negligently but with the greatest attention If thou hast erred hetherto now at the length cast with thy selfe that thou art regenerated and borne againe and beginne to enter into iudgement with thy selfe and cut off the thred of thine errors and begin by another way to vntwist this webbe O who will nowe so blesse my labours that thou maist now credite mee and harken vnto me with attentiue eares and that like a good Iudge thou mayst pronounce thy sentence and iudgement according to those things which are spoken and approued vnto thee for this thy resolution should be truelie blessed and thy labour exceeding profitable I know assuredly that I request too much and that a wryting cannot be found so effectuall and preuailing that may effect and performe this request therefore in the beginning of this my worke of what esteeme or value soeuer it bee I intreat this one thing that he who is the power and wisedom of his Father who hath the key of Dauid that he may shutte and open heauen to whom he will would be heere present and so temper these my writings that they may yeeld a perswasiue spirit lyfe to those who shall reade them But if I shall gette no fruite of thys my labour yet this shall be a recompence sufficient for mee that I haue satisfied mine owne desire delight and that once I haue filled glutted my selfe in praysing commending a thing greater then all praise as Vertue is especially seeing that of a long time I haue longed and wished to apply my minde to this studie This also I haue obserued throughout all this worke which also I haue doone in all the rest of my labours that I might fitte and apply my selfe to all sorts and estates of men spirituall and not spirituall Clergie and Laitie that as the cause and necessitie is common so also this Treatise might bee as common For the good reading this shall be confirmed in the loue of Vertue being deeplie grafted into it they shall take deepe roote in it they that be not good perhaps shall vnderstand by this what they haue lost and forgon With thys our labour good Parents may instruct and teach theyr chyldren when they are but young that they may be accustomed from theyr infancie to haue Vertue in honor reuerence and to bee studious of it seeing it is the greatest ioy that a Father hath to see his sonne whom he loueth to bee a louer of Vertue honest in very deede and beautified adorned with all kinde of Vertue This doctrine moreouer will be especially profitable to thē whose dutie it is in the Church to teach the people and to perswade them to embrace Vertue for heere are deliuered in order the chiefest instructions titles and reasons which make vs debtors vnto Vertue to the which also as to common places euery thing may bee reduced which is written of this matter And seeing that heere are handled those graces and blessings which are promised in this world to Vertue which are displaied and vnfolded in her twelue notable and famous preheminences and prerogatiues and seeing that it is true that we haue all these good things and blessings by Christ it consequently followeth that this doctrine shal bring much light to the vnderstanding of the holy Scriptures especially to those places which intreate of the misterie of Christ and the inestimable benefite of our Redemption of the which amongst others the Prophet Esay Salomon in his Canticles and such others doe write more of purpose THE ARGVMENT OF THE FIRST BOOKE THIS first Booke Christian Reader dooth containe a large exhortation to Vertue which is the watchman and keeper of the commandements of GOD in which consisteth true Vertue This Booke is deuided into three principall parts In the first part Vertue is perswaded to be embraced of vs with those reasons and common arguments which are wont chiefely to bee alledged of the holie and auncient Fathers as are those bonds by the which we are bound to our Lord GOD as well by that which hee is in himselfe as by that which he is for vs by reason of his inestimable benefits and also by the necessitie of Vertue herselfe which is prooued and layd open vnto vs by the foure last things which are Death Iudgement Heauenly-glory and Hell And these are handled in the first part In the second part the same thing is conuinced and prooued manifestly by other newe reasons as are the commodities and profits of grace which are promised in this life to the students louers of Vertue Heere the twelue particuler prerogatiues and priuiledges are rehearsed by which Vertue is famous renowned and they are handled and discoursed of seuerally and by themselues Which prerogatiues although many times they are touched of the Saints and holy Writers shewing the light the peace the true libertie and ioy of a quiet conscience and the consolations and comforts of the holy Ghost which things the righteous enioy and all those excellent benefits which are circumscribed within Vertues circumference yet neuer any man was seene or read of me who handled this matter so copiously and in that order as wee doe Therefore it hath not beene vnto mee a little trouble or a small labor to bring together into one head all these things out of diuers places of Scripture to call thē by their propper names to reduce them into order to declare and display them and to approue euery one of them seuerally by diuers testimonies of the Scriptures and of the Fathers This diligence was very necessarily bestowed that they who are not mooued to loue Vertue for the hope of the good to come because it seemes to be farre off frō them at the least that they might bee moued with the profite of that inestimable good which Vertue affoordeth in this world But because it suffiseth not to produce all the reasons which proue
ability that he might be able to admonish That thou mayst know that the Diuine power doth worke somtimes by one meane and somtimes by another that he may doe as seemeth good in his owne eyes For when things are of any great moment which he would haue signified vnto vs he causeth that they be signified of more worthy and more noble Embassadours Furthermore the same Phylosopher goeth forwards At the length when thou hast ended the reading of my counsailes and aduises thou shalt say vnto thy selfe These things are not spoken vnto me of Epictetus the Phylosopher but of God For from whence if not from him hath he got this faculty of pleading perswading Therfore not he but God by him hath told these things to me Hetherto Epictetus How shall he be worthy the name of a Christian who blusheth and is ashamed to proceede thither whether this Heathen man proceeded Certainly it is a most shamefull thing that eyes enlightened with the clearenes of fayth should not see this which eyes set in the mist and darknes of reason did see ¶ It may be gathered of these afore-sayd how vnworthy and how vild a thing it is not to serue the Lord God THis being thus what shall be the Sea of this so great ingratitude to swim in the Ocean of so many and great benefits and not once to remember of whom these benefits are bestowed Saint Paule sayth Hee that doth well vnto and blesseth his enemie heapeth coales of fire vpon his head Therefore if all the creatures of this world be the peculiar benefits of God what other thing then shall the whole frame and machine of this world be then a fire of so much vvood and so many fagots as there are creatures in the world What hart then is so hard and sencelesse that beeing in the midst of this fire doth not burne yea and feele the heate Is it possible ô Christian that thou who receauest so many benefits daily and without intermission sholdest not lift vp 〈◊〉 eyes somtimes to heauen that thou mayst see who it is that bestoweth so many blessings and good things vpon thee Tell me if it should happen that thou being wearied through a long iourney shouldest rest thy selfe at the foote and bottome of some Tower or Castell and shouldest exceedingly and extreamely be tormented with hunger and thirst If one in that Tower or Castel should reach thee as much meat and drinke as thou desirest canst thou contayne thy selfe but that thou must needes lift vp thine eyes and see who it is that so well deserueth of thee Certainly I thinke that thou canst not but doe it What other thing doth God to thee from his high and lofty heauen but raigne vpon thee without ceasing his benefits Giue me any thing eyther small or great which is not giuen from heauen and from aboue by the speciall prouidence of God Why then somtimes doest thou not lift vp thine eyes to heauen that thou mayst acknowledge and loue so liberall a Lord and so continuall a benefactour What other thing doth this carelesnes show but that men haue put off theyr owne nature and haue degenerated into the nature of vnreasonable beastes Thou wilt say that it is a filthy thing to say that we are made like vnto beasts and that we resemble beastes in our conditions but yet it is reason and meete that wee speake of men according to their deserts For in this wee are like vnto Swine feeding vnder an Oake who when their Keeper climeth into the tree and beateth downe the Acorns with his whyp or staffe they are onely busied in eating and grunting pushing at one an other and seeking to driue one another from their meate neuer looking or respecting who gaue them this meate neither know they how to looke vp that they may see from whose hands this benefite discended O yee beastly ingratitude of the sonnes and children of Adam who when ye haue besides the light of reason countenaunces and visages erected and looking vp to heauen yet yee will not with the eyes of your bodies lift vp and eleuate the eyes of your minds towards heauen that yee may see acknowledge and giue thanks to him who bestoweth so great benefits vpon you Dost thou thinke that it pleaseth God that men should be excelled exceeded in reason of beastes The law of gratitude is so generall and so beloued of God that hee would haue this inclination imprinted euen in wilde beastes as we see plainly and euidently by many examples What is more cruell and fierce then a Lyon and yet Appion Polihistor writeth that Androdus a Dane the seruaunt of a Romane Senator beeing constrained to take his flight into Affrica through the bad dealing of his Maister with him being daily and vniustly beaten abused and that his lurking might be the more safe and secret he liued in the wildernes of fieldes and in the desert of sands and hauing gotte into a certaine Den farre from any frequencie of people there hee hid and reposed himselfe Not long after a Lyon came thether into the same Denne with one of his feete lame wounded pittifully complaining and lamenting the griefe of his wound At the first the seruaunt was horribly afraide but at the length the Lyon beeing mild and gentle came vnto him and lifting vp his foote showed it to the seruaunt as though hee seemed to desire his helpe Androdus as sayth Appion pulled out a great stumpe or stalke of a tree sticking in the sole of his foote and crushed and squeased out the putrified matter that was festered and corrupted within the wound The Lyon being eased through the cure and helpe of Androdus putting his foote into his hands he laid him downe and rested himselfe from that time three whole yeeres the seruaunt and the Lyon liued together in the same Denne and with the same foode For what soeuer wilde beastes the Lyon hunted tooke hee brought the more principall and daintier parts of them to Androdus which he with the mid-day sunne for he had no fire rosted and eate At the length Androdus being wearie with that kinde of life fledde away the Lyon being absent and being taken and brought to Rome to his Maister he was condemned to the beasts In the meane time the Lyon was also taken and brought to Rome is let in for to fight with Androdus The Lyon when hee sawe him a farre of on a suddaine stoode still as though he was amazed and after that as though he should know him came vnto him leysurely and peaceably Then he mooued his tayle after the manner and custome of fawning doggs gently and meeklie and licked his legges and hands with his tongue softly and pleasantly Androdus at these blandishments and allurements of so cruell and fierce a beast plucked vp his spirits and at length knew the Lyon and both seemed to reioyce For this cause the man and the Lyon were both sette free which
and hide my commaundements within thee c. Then shalt thou vnderstand the feare of the Lorde and finde the knowledge of God for the Lord giueth wisedom out of his mouth commeth knowledge vnderstanding Thys knowledge continueth not in one the same state but daily is encreased by new lights knowledge as the same Wiseman testifieth The way of the righteous sayth he shineth as the light that shineth more and more vnto the perfect day that is vnto that blessed eternity in which we shall no more say with the friends of Iob A word was spoken vnto mee secretly and mine eare hath receaued a little thereof that is of her diuine and hidden inspirations but there we shall heare openly and shall see God himselfe Thys is that wisedome which the sonnes of light enioy but the wicked on the contrary doe lyue in the horrible darknes of the Egiptians which may be felt with hands A figure of which thing was that it is sayd in the Land of Goshan where the children of Israell dwelt there was light but in Egypt for three dayes space there was such thicke darknes that it might be felt which represented that obscure and darke night and blindnesse in which sinners liue as they confesse in Esay saying Wee haue waited for light but loe it is darknes for brightnes but we walke in darknes We grope for the wall like the blinde and wee grope as one without eyes we stumble at the noone day as in the twy-light we are in solitary places as dead men Tell me I pray thee what greater blindnes can be thought of or greater disorder happen then that is into which the wicked doe dailie slide What greater blindnesse or ignorance is there then to sell the right of the byrth-right that is the inhearitance of the kingdome of heauen for a little pleasure of the worlde then not to feare hell not to attaine Paradice not to haue hated sinne not to haue a regarde of the last iudgement to sette at naught the promises threatnings of the Lord not to remember death vvhich euery houre hangeth ouer theyr heads not to prepare themselues to gyue an account not to thinke that it is momentany and for a time that delighteth but for euer that tormenteth They haue not knowne saith the Prophet neyther haue they vnderstood they walke in darknes and they shall goe from darknesse into darknesse They shall goe I say from inward darknes to outward darknes from the darknes of thys life to that of the lyfe to come I suppose that I shall doe aduisedly if at the end of this matter I doe admonish thee that although all is most true vvhich hath beene spoken of this heauenly wisedome and light of the holy Ghost yet no man ought albeit he be iustified rashlie or proudly to gaine-say the iudgements of men but humbly submit himselfe to the iudgements of his elders especially to theirs whom GOD hath appointed Doctors and Pastours of his Church For who more abounded wth this light then S. Paule Who more then Moses who spake face to face with the Lord Neuerthelesse one of them went to Ierusalem that hee might conferre of the Gospell with the rest of the Apostles which hee had learned in the third heauen the other also contemned not the aduise of Iethro his Father in law although he was an heathen man and vnacquainted with the knowledge of the true God The reason of this is because the inward helps and aydes of grace do not exclude these outward of the Church For after both manners the Diuine prouidence woulde prouide for our weakenes to which both helps are necessary For euen as the naturall heate of our bodyes is helped of the exteriour heate of heauen and as nature although most carefull to preserue it selfe doth receiue much helpe of externall medicines created to that end of God so also the light and inward helpe of grace is much helped by the light and doctrine of the Church Of the fourth priuiledge of Vertue that is of the consolations and comforts of the holy Ghost which the righteous enioy in this world and which they ioy in CHAP. XVI I Could after the inward light of the holy Ghost by which the darknes of our vnderstanding is enlightned appoint for the fourth priuiledge Charitie and the loue of GOD by which our will is inflamed especially seeing that the Apostle himselfe dooth put thys in the first place among the fruites of the holy Ghost But because heere wee doe rather speake of the priuiledges and prerogatiues which vertues bring with them then of the vertues themselues Charitie being the Prince of all vertues we will not heere speake of it although it also might be referred to thys order and our purpose not as a vertue but as an admirable gyft which God is wont to giue to those that apply themselues to the studie of Vertue and that which after a certaine ineffable manner inflameth the inmost part of our will inclineth it to loue God aboue all things which may be beloued Which loue the more perfect it is the more sweet and delightsome it is For thys cause not vnfitly it may be inserted into this number as a fruite or a reward as well of other vertues as of it selfe Notwithstanding that I may not seeme an ambitious and too curious a prayser and commender of vertues of which so many and so great things may bee spoken I will sette in the fourth place the ioy of the holy Ghost which is a naturall proprietie of the same charitie and one of the especial fruits of the holy Ghost as Saint Paule testifieth writing to the Galathians For euen as we said a little before that light and knowledge which God doth bestow vpon his friends not onely doth sticke in the vnderstanding but also doth descend to the will where it doth diffuse her beames and disperse her brightnes so that the minde is made glad and reioyceth in the Lord after a certaine ineffable manner In so much as the naturall light sendeth from her heate which we feele so this light being spirituall doth beget in the soule of a righteous man that spirituall ioy of which we speake according to that of the Prophet Light is sowne for the righteous and ioy for the vpright in hart This matter is so plentifull and copious that neuer too many thinges may be spoken of it But for the purpose of this booke it shall be worth the labour to show how great this ioy is for the knowledge of this greatnes is very profitable and verie forcible to draw the minds of men to the loue of Vertue For no man is ignorant that as all kinde of euils are found in vices so all kinde of good things as well honest as profitable are perfectly to be found in vertues onely pleasure excepted which naughty and wicked men deny to be in vertues Seeing that therefore mans hart desireth
respectiue a regard dooth excite and stirre vp in man a great hope and an assured confidence Of the seauenth priuiledge of Vertue that is of the true libertie which the righteous haue and reioyce in and of the misery and vnknowne seruitude and bondage in which sinners liue CHAP. XIX OF all the priuiledges and prerogatiues hetherto spoken of but especially of the second fourth that is of the grace of the holy Ghost and of the Diuine cōsolation another preheminence doth arise no lesse admirable which the righteous enioy and that is the true liberty of the soule which the Sonne of God brought into this world of which priuiledge he hath obtained the name of the Redeemer of mankind Because he hath redeemed man and hath freed him from that wretched miserable seruitude in which he liued and brought him into true libertie This is one of the especiallest blessings which Christ brought into this world one of the most excellent benefits of the Gospell one of the most noble effects of the holy Ghost For where there is the Spirit of the Lord there is libertie sayth the Apostle To be briefe this is one of the richest rewards which in thys world are promised to the worshippers of the true God Thys libertie the Lord promised to certaine that were willing to serue him If saith he yee continue in my word yee are verilie my Disciples and shall knowe the truth and the truth shall make you free that is it shall giue vnto you true libertie They answered him Wee be Abrahams seede and were neuer bounde to any man vvhy sayest thou then ye shall be made free Iesus answered them Verily verily I say vnto you that whosoeuer committeth sinne is the seruant of sinne And the seruant abideth not in the house for euer but the sonne abideth for euer If the sonne therefore shall make you free yee shall be free in deede In which words the Lord plainely intimateth vnto vs that there are two kinds of liberty one false and in a show the other true and reall False liberty is proper vnto them who haue their bodies free but their soules captiuated and subiect to the tiranny of their own passions and sinnes as was the soule of great Alexander who when hee was the Lord of the whole world he was the seruant of his owne vices But true liberty is proper vnto them who haue their soules free from all these tirannies although their bodies be somtimes free and sometimes bond and captiuated as was the soule of the Apostle who although he was captiue and holden in bonds yet in spirit he mounted vp to heauen and by the doctrine of his letters he freed the whole world The reason why this liberty is called properly liberty and not that other is this because as among the two essentiall parts of man the soule is much more noble then the body yea it is as it were the whole man the body is no other thing then a matter or subiect in which the soule is included so he truly is to be called free who hath his more principall part free but hee is falsely called free who hath his soule captiue bond although he carrieth about his body freely whether so euer he pleaseth ¶ Of the seruitude in which wicked men liue IF any man shall aske me whence is this bondage of which we speake I say that it is a seruitude and captiuity vnder the most terrible most direfull and most cruell Tyrant of any that may be named that is vnder Sinne. For amongst all the most abhominable and dreadfull things that be in the world the torment of hell is most dreadfull and abhominable yet much more dreadfull and abhominable is Sinne which is the cause of this torment and also of this seruitude by which sinners are made seruants and bondslaues as you haue vnderstoode by the words of our Lord before aleadged Whosoeuer committeth sinne is the seruant of sinne What seruitude then can be more miserable then this Neyther is he onely a seruant of sinne who committeth sinne but he is a slaue vnto the perswaders and procurers of sinne as are the deuill the world and his owne flesh corrupted of the same sinne and he is a seruant vnto all other inordinate desires which proceede of the flesh For he that is the seruant of the sonne is also a seruant of the father And it is confessed of all that these three are the fathers of sinne and therefore they are called enemies to the soule because they bring procure great mischiefe to the soule as that is that they make it a slaue a Captiue and deliuer it into the hands of this cruell Tyrant And although all these three doe conspire to this end yet they worke by diuers meanes For the two first are serued of the third which is the flesh as another Eue to deceiue Adam or as an instrument very fit to carry and draw vs into all euill For this cause the Apostle doth more manifestly call the flesh sinne putting the effect for the cause for it is it which pricketh forwards to all kind of sin For the same cause the Diuines call it the tinder touchwood of sinne that is the meate and nourishment of sinne By a common name it is called Sensuality Flesh or Concupiscence which also is called by a name more knowne Fleshly or sensuall desire whence all the perturbations of the minde spring in as much as it is corrupt and made disordered through sinne it is the motioner mouer and picker forwards to all sinne Therefore also the two other enemies take singuler aduantage of the flesh and her appetites that they may more strongly assault and wrong vs. Hence it is that Saint Basill sayth that the especiall weapons with which the deuill fighteth against vs are our owne desires For the vehemency of our affection seeketh by right and wrong to enioy those things that it lusteth after neither maketh any regard although it be forbidden by the law of God and from such an affection sinnes doe arise Such an appetite therfore is one of the most cruell Tyrants which man being a sinner is subiect vnto or as the Apostle speaketh vnder which he is sold. Hee calleth him sold vnder sinne because his sensuall appetite is made so mighty that it carrieth him as a bondslaue whether so euer it listeth But what is more lamentable then to see a man who hath a soule made to the image and likenes of God illuminated with heauenly light and an vnderstanding by which hee ascendeth aboue all things created vntill it find out God himselfe yet notwithstanding that hee should contemne and despise all this his nobility and excellency and be subiect and gouerned after a certaine furious and frantick maner of his beastly appetite to be corrupted of sin and moreouer to be led about to be moued and driuen forwards backwards of the deuill What I
It is a miserable thing to labour and to haue no fruite of the labour neither to profit any thing by it But much more greater is it to lose that is gotten by labour and when thou hast an ill night to lose also a good day All these things doe manifestly teach with what great difference good and euill men doe beare tribulations how great peace ioy and strength the good doe feele when as the wicked doe suffer so great afflictions and perturbations of the minde This was in times past excellently shadowed in that great clamor lamentation which was heard throughout the whole land of Egypt when the Lord had smitten all their first borne neither was there an house in which there was not a cry but in the land of Goshen where the chyldren of Israell dwelt there was quiet rest so that a dogge did not barke against any one But what shall I besides this peace speake of the profit which the righteous draw out of tribulations by which the wicked do reape so great losses and hurts For as Chrisostome saith from one and the selfe same fire both the gold is made bright shyning and the wood is burnt and consumed so by the fire of affliction the righteous is made more beautifull as gold but the vnrighteous as dry and vnfruitful wood is turned into coales ashes Not vnlike to this is the sentence of Augustine Vnder the same flayle sayth he the huskes are diminished and broken but the grane purged and purified neither therefore is the mother or lees confounded with the oyle because they are pressed and troden vnder the same presse or plancke so one the selfe same weight pressing the good and the badde doth try purifie and purge the good but doth damnifie consume and wast the bad Whereupon in the same affliction the wicked doe detest blaspheme God but the righteous do pray vnto him praise him So much it behoueth not what is suffered but who suffereth it For by the same motion in sifting a thing the refusse is tossed foorth and the spyce doth smell fragrantly Thys sayth hee The same thing also is prefigured by the Red-sea which not onely dyd not swallow vp the chyldren of Israell but it was a wall vnto them on theyr right hand and on theyr left But on the contrary part those waters returning to theyr course ouerwhelmed the Charrets and the horse-men of all the Armie of Pharao and drowned them in the midst of the sea The waters therefore of tribulation are for the greater protection and safegard of the good and also for the preseruation and exercise of theyr humilitie and patience But vnto the wicked they are as dangerous and deadly waters which swalloweth them into the pitte of impatience blasphemie and desperation Thou hast therefore my brother another prerogatiue by which vertue excelleth vice for which the Phylosophers loued and so greatly esteemed phylosophie supposing that it belonged onely to philosophy to make men constant in affliction But they vvere deceaued in thys as also in manie other things for as neyther true Vertue so neyther true constancie is to be found amongst Philosophers but in the schoole of that Lord who being nayled vpon the Crosse doth comfort his by his owne example and raigning in heauen doth strengthen them by his spirit and promising them eternall glory by a liuely hope doth rayse vp their minds which comforts are not to be found in humane Philosophy Of the eleuenth priuiledge of Vertue that is that the Lord doth prouide temporall blessings for the louers of Vertue CHAP. XXIII WHatsoeuer hetherto hath beene spoken pertayneth to the spirituall blessings and riches which the Lord God in this life besides the eternal glory of the life to come bestoweth vpon the louers of Vertue But these blessings are promised to the world at the comming of Christ as the Oracles of the Prophets haue fore-told Therfore rightly he is called the Sauiour of the world seeing that by him true saluation is giuen as grace wisedome peace victory and conquest ouer our passions and affections the comfort also of the holy Ghost the riches of hope and to conclude all other blessings which are required to the attaynement of this saluation of which the Prophet sayd Israel shall be saued in the Lord with an euerlasting saluation But if any man be found so carnall who more respecteth temporall blessings or the welfare of the flesh rather then spirituall blessings or the welfare of the spirit as the Iewes did let him proceede I will not that therefore there should be varience and contention betweene vs yea we will giue him longer space to deliberate of this matter then hee himselfe would desire Tell me what meaneth that of the vvise-man when directing his speach to speake of true vvisedome in which the perfection of Vertue consisteth he sayth Length of dayes is in her right hand and in her left hand riches and glory So that she hath in her hands two kinde of blessings to which she inuiteth men in one she hath eternall blessings and in the other temporall Doe not thinke that God doth forsake his so that they perish through hunger neyther is he so vnprouident or so negligent that seeing he giueth meate in due season to Ants and Wormes of the earth that he will suffer men to famish who night and day serue in his house But if thou wilt not beleeue me readâ— if it please thee the sixt Chapter of Mathew through and thou shalt see and finde the certainty and assured pledge of this promise Behold sayth the Lord the fowles of the heauen for they sow not neyther reape nor carry into the barnes yet your heauenly father feedeth them Are yee not much better then they And concluding this matter he addeth Therefore take no thought saying what shall we eate or what shall we drinke or where-with shall we be cloathed For after all these things seeke the Gentiles For your heauenly father knoweth that yee haue neede of all these things But seeke yee first the kingdome of God and his righteousnes and all these things shall be ministred vnto you For this cause the kingly Prophet inuiteth vs to serue the Lord saying O feare the Lord yee that be his Saints for they that feare him lacke nothing The Lyons doe lacke and suffer hunger but they that seeke the Lord shall want no manner of thing that is good And this is so certaine that the same Prophet sayth in another place I haue been young and now am old and yet saw I neuer the righteous forsaken nor his seede begging their bread But if thou desirest a longer tractate of this matter that thou mayst see what the righteous are to looke for heare what great things God in Deuteronomy promiseth to the obseruers of his law If sayth he thou shalt harken diligently vnto the voyce of the Lord thy God and obserue and doe all his
commaundements which I commaund thee this day the Lord will set thee on high aboue all nations of the earth And all these blessings shall come on thee and ouertake thee if thou shalt harken vnto the voyce of the Lord thy God Blessed shalt thou be in the Citty and blessed in the field Blessed shall be the fruite of thy body and the fruite of thy ground and the fruite of thy cattell the encrease of thy kine and the flockes of thy sheepe Blessed shall be thy basket and thy store Blessed shalt thou be when thou commest in and blessed when thou goest out The Lord shall giue ouer thine enemies that rise against thee that they may fall before thy face they shall come out against thee one way and flee before thee seauen wayes The Lord shall commaund the blessing vpon thee in thy store-houses and in all that thou settest thine hand vnto and will blesse thee in the land which the Lord thy God giueth thee The Lord shall make thee on holy people vnto himselfe as he hath sworne vnto thee if thou shall keepe the commaundements of the Lord thy God and walke in his wayes And all nations of the earth shall see that the name of the Lord is called vpon ouer thee and they shall be afrayd of thee And the Lord shall make thee plenteous in goods in the fruite of thy body in the fruite of thy cattell and in the fruite of thy ground in the land which the Lord sware vnto thy fathers to giue thee The Lord shall open vnto thee his good treasure the heauen to giue raine vnto thy Land in due season and to blesse all the labours of thy hand Tell mee what riches what treasures may be compared to these blessings But if thou shalt say that these promises are rather made vnto the Iewes then vnto Christians for vnto these according to Ezechiel those more excellent blessings as are the blessings of grace and of glory are promised yet as in that carnall law God did not denie to the righteous Iewes spyrituall blessings so in the spirituall law he doth not withdraw temporall prosperity from good Christians yea hee doth giue vnto them temporall blessings and that with a double commodity neyther of which the wicked haue The first is because as a skilfull Phisitian he bestoweth these blessings vpon them after that measure which their neede requireth that by this way they may be releeued and not waxe proude neyther beeing fatted and crammed kick and spurne This commodity the wicked haue not for they scrape together as much as they are able neuer regarding theyr saluation When as notwithstanding the superfluity of temporall goods is not lesse hurtfull to the soule then that meate is to the body which cannot be by any meanes digested For although it is necessary and needefull to eate for the releefe and sustentation of the body yet superfluity of meate doth very much hurt So although the life of man consisteth in the blood yet too much aboundance of blood is the cause of death and oftentimes killeth men The second commodity is because lesser pelse and a measurable and an indifferent possession of riches doth bring greater quietnes and tranquillity vnto the soule which is the end why men with such greedines desire temporall goods For whatsoeuer God can doe by second causes he can doe it yea more perfectly by himselfe without those meanes So hath hee done in all his Saints in whose name the Apostle sayth Hauing nothing and possessing all things For so little doth suffice vs that we hauing very little and being therewith content we seeme vnto our selues to be the Lords of the whole world A trauailer for his prouision in his voyage carrieth his money in gold for so he is the richer and he is troubled with lesse weight after the same manner also our Lord doth lighten his laying vpon them but easie burthens but yet sufficient and that which may content them After this manner the righteous doe goe naked yet they are content they are poore and yet they are rich But the rich when they are full of wealth yet dye for hunger and when as they sit euen vp to the lips in water yet they are slayne with thirst as the Poets in times past fabled of Tantalus For this and such like causes that great Prophet long agoe did prayse the obseruance of the Diuine law willing that in it all our meditation should be For he knew very well that in this all things were fulfilled These be his words Seate all these words in your harts and in your soules and bind them for a signe vpon your hands and they shall be as frontlets betweene your eyes And yee shall teach and rehearse them continually vnto your children and shall talke of them when yee tarry in your houses and when yee walke by the way and when yee lye downe and when yee rise vp Also thou shalt write them vpon the posts of thine house and vpon thy gates that thy dayes and the dayes of thy children may be multiplied in the Land which the Lord sware vnto your fathers to giue yee for euēr O holy Prophet what I pray thee hast thou found worthy of so great commendation in the keeping of the law It is not to be doubted but thou who wast so great a Prophet and a Secretary of the Diuine counsaile didst vnderstand the inestimable greatnes of this good and knewest that in it were to be found all kinde of blessings present and to come temporall and eternall corporall and spirituall and he that hath satisfied the law hath fulfilled all things Thou knewest very well that a man did not loose his time when hee was occupied in doing Gods will yea then to labour in hys owne Vineyard then to water his gardens to till his fields and to dispatch all his busines better then if he had laboured with his owne hands for he satisfying Gods will casteth all his care vpon God who finisheth all the rest For this is the law of the league and federacie which God made with man that man should keepe his commaundements and God would prouide all necessary things for him and doe his busines Neyther shall this league and couenant be euer violated of God For if man be a faythfull seruant vnto God God will be a faythfull Lord and patrone vnto man This is that one thing which the Lord sayd was necessary that is to know to loue and to serue God for this one thing being kept and obserued all the rest are well and in safety Godlines sayth Paule is profitable vnto all things which hath the promise of the life present and of that that is to come See I pray thee how plainely heere the Apostle promiseth vnto godlines which is the worship and seruice of God not onelie the blessings of eternall life but also of this life as much as are conducent to obtayne the other But we
present which he must forsake and beginneth to thinke vpon future things which he must expect Behold shall he say all delights and pleasures haue passed away as a shadow but reproches and faults remaine still The same Doctour also in another homily prosecuting this matter sayth Let vs consider what a lamentable estate a dissolute soule shall be in departing frō this body what streights shall it be brought into what horror and darknes will there be when as the conscience all about beset with faults and sinnes shall appeare first of all the number of our aduersaries For it all other proofes and witnesses set apart shall bring that to light and to our eyes that the proofe of it shall conuince vs and the knowledge of it shall confound vs. Neyther may any one couer or keepe secret any thing or deny any thing when as the accuser or witnes is not to be produced from farre or from another place but is to be fetched from within vs. Hetherto he Another learned and holy man doth handle this same matter more largely and more mistically when hee sayth Let vs consider with speciall attention when the soule of a sinner is departing out of the prison of the flesh with what terrible feare it is shaken and smitten and with how many pricks of a pearcing conscience it is goared and thrust through It remembreth sinnes past which it hath committed it seeth the Diuine commaundements which it hath contemned it greeueth that the time of repentance hath beene so ill and lewdly ouerpast it is afflicted because it seeth the ineuitable houre approch of rendering an account and of the Diuine vengeance it would tarrie still but it is constrayned to depart it would recouer that is past but time is not graunted If it looke behind it seeth the course and race of the whole life led as a moment of time If it looke before it beholdeth the infinite space of eternity which expecteth it It sorroweth and sobbeth because it hath lost the ioy of euerlasting eternity which it might haue obtayned in so short a time it tormenteth it selfe because it hath lost the ineffable sweetnes of perpetuall delight for one sensuall carnall and momentany pleasure It blusheth considering that for that substance which is wormes meate it hath despised that which Angels price so highly And weighing the glory of those immortall riches it is confounded that it hath changed them for the basenes and vildnes of temporall things But when it casteth the eyes vpon things below and seeth the darke and obscure valley of this world and beholdeth aboue it the shyning brightnes of eternall light then it confesseth that all that it loued in this world was black night and vgly darknes O then if such a soule could obtayne a space of repentance and a time to recall it selfe how austere and seuere a life would it embrace What difficult and great matters would it promise vnto what great vowes prayers and other exercises would it bind it selfe But whilst it meditateth and consulteth of these things with it selfe the fore-runners and harbengers of death begin to approach that is the eyes waxe dim the breast swelleth and panteth the voyce sayleth and foltreth the members grow colde the teeth waxe blacke the mouth is filled with humors and the countenance waxeth pale and wan In the meane time come the Officers and Sargiants which attend vpon Death now at hand and they present vnto the wretched soule all the works speaches and cogitations of the life past bearing bad and dangerous witnes against theyr mistres and although she would not see them yet she is compelled to see them By and by commeth an horrible flocke of yelling deuils and there also a sacred company of holy Angels doe present themseules And there they begin to dispute betweene themselues to whether part this miserable pray must happen For if fayth in Christ vertues and works of piety and godlines be found in her straightwayes she is comforted with the sweete speaches and consolations of Angels But if the enormity of sinnes and a life wickedly led doe require another thing alas sodainly she trembleth and is terrified with an intollerable dread and feare and trembling doe terribly assault her Forthwith the deuils assayle her and take her and violently pluck her from the miserable flesh and cast her headlong into torments neuer to be ended but to continue for euer and euer All these be the words of this holy and learned man Tell me if thou wilt confesse this to be true and that each thing proceedeth after this order what other thing is required if so any sparke of wisedome or vnderstanding be left in vs that we may know how detestable and wretched the condition of sinners is seeing that the end prepared for them is so greeuous and vnhappy and which neuer shall haue end And if the delights and pleasures of this life at that time could bring any help or comfort as they were wont to doe this mischiefe were more tollerable but honours will not there helpe neyther riches defend friends heere cannot preuaile nor seruants giue theyr attendance neyther can families nor the noblenes of descent profit any thing in riches there is no hope all the helpe for one that lies a dying is in Christ in Vertue and in innocencie of life For the vvise-man testifieth that Riches helpe not in the day of vengeance but righteousnes that is Vertue deliuereth from death Seeing therefore that a sinner is found so naked poore and destitute of all helpe and ayde how can he not but feare and be afflicted when as he seeth himselfe left alone forsaken and desolate neyther hauing any hope or confidence in that Diuine iudgement ¶ Of the death of the righteous BVt the death of the righteous is farre off from these miseries and calamities For euen as at that time the wicked receaue the punishment of theyr iniquity so the righteous receaue the wages of their vprightnes according to that of Ecclesiasticus Who so feareth the Lord it shall goe well with him at the last and in the day of his death he shall be blessed That is he shall be enriched and shall receaue the reward of his labours Saint Iohn in his Reuelation doth insinuate the same thing more manifestly when he sayth that he heard a voyce from heauen saying vnto him Write The words which he was commaunded to write were Blessed are the dead which dye in the Lord. Euen so sayth the Spirit that they may rest from theyr labour and their works follow them How can he be discouraged in that houre that heareth this of the Lord when he now seeth himselfe hasten thether where he shall receaue that which he desired all the time of his life Therefore of the righteous it is reade in the booke of Iob And thine age shall appeare more cleare then the noone day thou shalt shine and be as the morning Which words Saint Gregory expounding
for his defence vntill his eyes were opened by the prayer of the Prophet of God then he saw that there were moe defenders then offenders Of the same kinde and semblance is the errour of them of whom we now speake for when as they perceaue and feele in themselues the difficulty of Vertue and not hauing felt the graces and helpes that God fendeth for the attainement of Vertue and piety they pull back their foote and shrink away from Vertue Tell me if the way of Vertue be so difficult why doth the Prophet say I haue had as great delight in the way of thy testimonies as in all riches And in another place The iudgements of the Lord are truth they are righteous altogether and more to be desired then gold yea then much fine gold sweeter also then bonny and the honny-combe So that the Prophet not onely granteth that that all we yeeld vnto Vertue that is admirable excellency and dignitie but also that which the world denieth that is sweetnesse pleasantnes and delectation For thys cause not without good reason thou mayst perswade thy selfe that those who doe so aggrauate and exaggerate this burthen and doe imagine to themselues that it is so heauy and so vnsupportable although they be Christians and liue vnder the couenaunt of grace yet they haue not tasted of thys misterie O thou wretched man thou that sayest thou art a Christian tell me why Christ came into the world Why he shedde his blood why he ordained his Sacraments why he sent his holy Spirit into the world what is meant by the word Gospell what by the word Grace and what is the meaning of this most famous and excellent name IESVS If thou knowest not enquire of the Euangelist and he will tell thee Thou shalt call his Name IESVS for hee shall saue his people from their sinnes What other thing meaneth the name of Sauiour Deliuerer What other thing to be saued and deliuered from sinnes then to obtaine pardon for vs for our sinnes past grace to eschew those to come For what other cause came the Sauiour into the world but that he might helpe thee and further thy saluation Why would he dye vppon the Crosse but that he might kill sinne Why would he rise from the dead but that he might raise thee and might make thee to walke in newnesse of lyfe Why did he shed his blood but that he might make a medicine or a plaister to heale and cure thy woundes For what other cause did he institute ordaine Sacraments in his Church but to strengthen thee in the progresse of righteousnesse What other is the fruite of his most bitter passion and comming into this world but that he might make the way to heauen plaine smooth which before was sharpe and rough with thornes and that he might make it passable and easie to be iourneyed This is that which Esay fore-told should come that in the dayes of the Messias Euery valley should be exalted and euery mountaine hill should be made low and the crooked should be strait the rough places playne To be briefe besides all these why was the holie Ghost sent from heauen but that thy flesh might be turned into spirit And why did he send him in the forme of fire but that he might inflame thee as fire and illuminate thee and transforme thee into himselfe and lift thee on high from whence he himselfe first came To what end profiteth grace all the vertues which proceede from it but that they may make easie and light the yoke of the Lord that they might make his seruice tollerable that they might make men couragious in tribulations to hope in perrils and ouercome in temptations This is the beginning thys the middle and this the end of the Gospell It is necessary also to know that as Adam an earthly man a sinner made all men earthly and sinners so Christ a heauenly man and a righteous made all men heauenly and righteous What other thing haue the Euangelists written What other thing be the promises sent vnto vs from the Prophets what other thing haue the Apostles preached This is the summe of all Christian Diuinitie thys is that abreuiated worde which the Lord made vpon the earth Thys is that consummation and abreuiation which Esay sayth he heard of the Lord vppon which followed so great riches of righteousnes vertues in the world But let vs declare a little more plainly those things which we haue spoken I demaund of thee from whence thinkest thou that this difficulty ariseth which is found in Vertue Thou wilt say from the wicked inclination of the hart and from our flesh conceaued in sinne for the flesh gainesayeth the spirit and the spirit resisteth the flesh as two contraries between themselues Let vs imagine that God calleth thee and saith vnto thee Man come hether I will take from thee that hart thou hast and will giue thee a new one I will giue thee strength also by vvhich thou shalt be able to represse and hold vnder thy appetites and euill concupiscences If God promise this vnto thee shall the way of Vertue yet seeme difficult vnto thee It is certaine that it shall not I pray thee what other thing is it that God so often hath promised vnto thee that he hath so often auerred in the holy Scriptures Heare what the Lord spake in times past by his Prophet Ezechiell speaking especially to them vvho lyue vnder the couenaunt of grace And I will giue them sath he a new hart and I will put a new spirit within theyr bowels and I vvill take the stony hart out of their bodies will giue them a hart of flesh that they may walke in my statutes and keepe my iudgements execute them and they shall be my people and I will bee their GOD. Hetherto the Prophet Why then doost thou doubt ô man Is not God sufficient to performe his promise And if he shall performe his promise and keepe his credite with thee shalt thou not be able with his helpe and ayde to walke in his statutes If thou shalt deny the first thou wilt make God a rash and false promiser and that is exceeding great blasphemie but if thou shalt say that thou are not yet with all his helpe able to walke in his statutes and obserue his iudgements thou makest GOD an impotent prouider and fore-seer whilst he would haue man to sweare to that he is not able to doe by giuing him a remedie vnsufficient which in like manner is false What other doubt then is there Why should not Vertue haue force to mortifie these euill inclinations which fight with thee and which make the way of Vertue seeme difficult Thys is one of the chiefest fruites of the tree of Lyfe vvhich the Lorde hath sanctified by his blood The Apostle confirmeth this when he saith Our old man is crucified with Christ that the body
heauen care not what men thinke or suspect by thee in earth Humble satisfaction which would willingly content all answereth Occasion of detraction nor suspition of surmizing is to be gyuen but if thou beest rightly accused or lawfully conuinced confesse but if vniustly or wrongfully deny with an humble protestation because the Apostle admonisheth that we should giue no occasion to the deuill by reason of ill report Which is detested in them who consenting to the Christian fayth satte downe to eate meate sacrificed to Idols Sorrowfulnes sayth What hast thou whereof thou mayst reioyce when as so great euils are spoken of thee Consider how greeuously they looke who are in such bitternes Spirituall ioy aunswereth I know that there are two kinds of sorrowfulnes one which worketh to saluation the other to destruction one which dâ—â—weth to repentance the other which leadeth to desperation Thou art knowne to be one of them but that which worketh death Therefore I am not to be heauy and sorrowfull at these things as thou wouldest perswade me but contrarily I ought to reioyce for those thinges which yet are not vnderstoode because the giuer of euerlasting ioy sayth Blessed are yee when men reuile you and persecute you and say all manner of euill against you for my sake falsely Reioyce and be glad for great is your reward in heauen Drowsines or Idlenes sayth If thou attendest reading and continuall study thine eyes will waxe dim if thou pourest forth teares aboundantly thou wilt be blind if thou giuest thy selfe much to singing of Psalms thou wilt catch the swimming of the head if thou spendest thy selfe with daily labour how shalt thou be enabled for spirituall labour The exercise of vertue aunswereth Why doost thou vse so vaine excuses and proposest vnto thy selfe so friuolous procrastination Knowest thou whether thou shalt liue to morrow or no Yea thou knowest not whether thou shalt continue one houre in this life Is it slipt out of thy mind what our Sauiour sayth in the Gospell Watch therefore because yee know neyther the day nor houre Wherefore shake off this slugishnes of thy body and alwayes remember that neyther the tender nor the effeminate nor the slothfull nor the luke-warme but the violent and feruent doe take hold of the kingdome of heauen Dissolute wandering sayth If thou beleeuest that God is euery where why doost thou keepe one place aboue all other where so many euils are committed and rather goest not vnto others Firme stability aunswereth If it be so as thou affirmest that God is euery where then this place where I am is not to be left which thou willest me to forsake because God is also in it But thou sayst I seeke for a better and I finde a better I aunswer Shalt thou finde a better or such an one as thou knowest that the deuill and his angels and man haue lost Be circumspect therefore what thou doost for the first angell fell from heauen and the first man bâ—â—â—ng expelled out of Paradice came into the miserie of this world Desperation sayth How many and how great be the faults and transgressions which thou hast committed and yet thou hast not bettered thy life neyther hast amended thy conuersation for behold as thou seest custome hath so fettered thee that thou art not able to arise Thou endeuourest to rise but being ouer-loaden with the burthen of sinnes thou fallest downe againe Therefore what wilt thou doe seeing that certaine damnation hangeth ouer thee for thy sinnes past and no amendment commeth for those that be present vnlesse thou beware that thou lose not the pleasures of temporal delights seeing that thou canst not attaine the ioyes of the world to come The assurance of Hope aunswereth If thou speakest of crimes and transgressions behold Dauid guilty of adultery and murther freed and taken by the mercy of the Lord out of the iawes of hell Behold Manasses the wickedst impurest and vildest of all sinners one of the most damnable and detestable men that euer liued by repentance returned from death to life Behold Mary Magdalen polluted and stayned with innumerable blemishes of sinnes penitently running to the fountaine of piety and mercy washing the feete of the Lord with her teares and wiping them with her haires and also kissing them and annoynting them with oyntment she herselfe was washed from her sinnes Behold Peter bound with the chaines of his deniall broke in sunder the knots of infidelity with his bitter teares Behold the theefe that in the moment of one houre passed from the Crosse to Paradice Behold Saule persecuting the Church of God slaying many for the name of Christ and as I may say bathing himselfe in the blood of the Martirs being made an Apostle was changed into a vessell of election Therefore where so many and so great examples goe before let no place be left for desperation seeing that it is written At what time so euer a sinner repenteth himselfe and turneth 〈◊〉 the Lord he shall be saued Couetousnes sayth Thou art altogether without fault in that thou desirest 〈◊〉 possesse those things thou hast and wishest some things thou hast not not because thou greedily desirest to multiply much but because thou fearest to want and that another man keepeth ill thou spendest better The contempt of the world aunswereth These things are not procured of the men of this world without danger and offence because by how much euery man beginneth to possesse more by so much he coueteth to haue more and it commeth to passe that he hath no measure in coueting whilst he posteth to engorge himselfe with the infinite cares of this world For as the Scripture saith A couetous man shall neuer be satisfied with money Gluttony sayth God hath made all cleane things for our feeding he that refuseth to be satisfied with meat what other thing doth he then contradictorily deny a gift giuen him Temperance aunswereth One of these which thou namest is true For least man should pine and dye through hunger God hath created all things for his feeding but least he should exceede measure in eating he hath also commaunded to him abstinence For amongst other euills Sodome especially perished by fulnes of bread the Lord testifying it who speaketh to Ierusalem by his Prophet saying This was the iniquitie of thy sister Sodome fulnesse of bread Wherfore as a sicke man commeth to Phisicke so euery one should come to feede on dainties that is not seeking for pleasure in them but releefe of necessity Vayne foolish mirth sayth To what end doost thou hide the ioy of thine hart within thee Walke merrily abroade and frolicke make thy selfe and thy neighbours laugh make them merry with thy mirth Moderate sadnes answereth From whence hast thou thys myrth Hast thou already ouercome the deuill hast thou already escaped the paynes of hell Doost thou nowe returne out of banishment into thy Country hast thou already receiued security of thine election Or hast thou forgotten
constancie But what shall I speake of the arts and inuentions vvhich that ingenious and witty cruelty I say not of men but of deuils hath deuised to ouer-throw and confound with corporall tortures fayth courage fortitude Some of them after they were most cruelly martyred and theyr flesh all to be-torne and rent were cast vpon a floare all sette with goades and prickes that theyr bodies all at once might be goared and 〈◊〉 with a thousand woundes and that they might feele a generall greefe throughout all theyr members that theyr intollerable payne might striue for victory with their faith Others beeing condemned were commaunded to walke vpon hote burning coales with their naked feete Others beeing tyed to the tayles of horses were drawne ouer thornes and bryers and rough places Others were condemned to wheeles stucke all round about with sharpe kniues that theyr bodies being put vppon them whilst they turned about might be cutte small peeces Others were stretched vpon Racks and their bodyes beeing harrowed and furrowed from top to toe with yron crookes and peircers did openly show their naked bowels the flesh being puld of and their ribs lying bare What shall I say more seeing that the barbarous and more then beastly cruelty of Tyrants not being contented with these torments hath found out a certaine new kind of cruelty With certaine instruments they so brought together two high sturdie trees that their tops touched one the other to one of these tops they bound the right foote of the Martyr to the other the left Then losing the Trees to their old scope they carried the body with them and violently tare it in peeces and each tree carryed with it his part into the ayre In Nicomedia among other innumerable Martyrs one was beaten so long till his white ribbs appeared through his bloody wounds for the scourges and whippings had peece-meale puld away the flesh then they washed his whole body with most strong vinegar after vinegar stuffed all his wounds ful of salt The Tyrants not yet satisfied with these dire discruciatements and extreame tortures when they saw that the Martyr yet breathed they cast his halfe dead body vpon a gridyron vnder which they made a fierce scorching fire haling the gridyron this way and that with their yron hookes vntil the body being fully rosted the sanctified pure-purged soule passed to the Lord. And thus those most barbarous inhumane butcherly murtherers inuented tortures more cruel thē death which notwithstanding was wont to be termed the terriblest of all dreadful things For they sought not so much to kill as to slay with vnheard of torments without any deadly wound by a lingering death and with intollerable greatnesse of dolours and sorrowes Surely these Martyrs had not bodies vnlike to ours or which were of another substance their flesh was as our flesh and theyr complexion was the same with ours neyther had they another God for theyr helper besides our God neyther did looke for another glory then that wee looke for Proceede therefore if they haue obtayned eternall life by so violent death why should we feare for the same cause at the least to mortifie the euill concupiscences of our flesh If they died through hunger wilt not thou fast one day If they with their mangled bodies perseuered in prayer why wilt not thou being sound and in health with bended knees continue a little in prayer If they were so patient that without resisting or contradiction they suffered their members to be maymed and detruncate and theyr flesh to be torne in peeces why wilt not thou abide that thine appetites and thine vnruly affections should be circumcised and mortified If they many yeares and many moneths sat imprisoned in darke dungeons why wilt not thou a little be contayned and shut vp in thy chamber If they haue not refused to haue their shoulders furrowed and mangled with whips and scourges why wilt not thou chastice thine If these examples doe not suffice thee lift vp thine eyes to the Crosse of Christ and behold who is he that hanging vppon it suffered so great and so cruell things for the loue of thee The Apostle sayth Consider him that endured such speaking against of sinners least yee should be wearied and faint in your minds This is a fearefull and a dreadfull example what way so euer thou shalt consider of it For if thou lookest vppon the torments there can be no greater If thou respectest the person who suffereth a more excellent cannot be giuen If thou examinest the cause for which he suffereth not for his owne offence for he is innocency it selfe neyther suffereth he of compulsion for he is the Creatour and Lord of all creatures but of his mere goodnes and free loue Yet for all this he suffered so great torments not only in his body but also in his soule that the torments of all Martyrs of all men that euer haue been in the world are not to be compared with these This was such a spectacle that the heauens were astonished the earth trembled rocks claue in sunder and all the insencible creatures felt the indignity of the thing How therefore commeth it to passe that man should be so insencible blockish that he should not feele that which the brute elements haue felt with what face can he be so ingratefull that he should not study somewhat to imitate him who hath done and suffered so great things that he might leaue vs an example For euen so as the Lord himselfe affirmeth Christ ought to haue suffered and so to enter into his glory For seeing that he came into the world that he might teach that heauen is not to be cōpassed by any other way then by the Crosse it was necessary that the Lord himselfe should first be crucified that a courage might be put into his Souldiers seeing their Captaine to be so cruelly and inhumanely handled and intreated Who then will be so ingratefull wicked proud and impudent who seeing the Lord of Maiesty with all his friends and chosen ones to walke such difficult wayes and yet he himselfe will be caried in an Horse-litter and on a bed of Downe led his life in deliciousnes King Dauid commaunded Vrias whom he had called from warre to goe into his owne house to sup sleepe with his wife but the good seruant answered The Arke and Israell and Iuda dwell in tents and my Lord Ioab and the seruants of my Lord abide in the open fields shall I then goe into mine house to eate and drink and lye with my wife by thy life by the life of thy soule I will not doe this thing O good and faithfull seruant who by so much is worthier of prayse by how much he is vnworthier of death And thou ô Christian seeing thy Lord lying vpon an hard Crosse hast thou no respect of him neyther doost thou yeeld honour reuerence vnto him The Arke of God made of incorruptible Ceder wood