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
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
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
Euery tree that bringeth not forth good fruite shall be hewen downe and cast into the fire And in another place admonishing vs to liue circumspectly and carefully which is opposite to this vice he sayth Be yee ready watch and pray for in the houre that yee thinke not of will the sonne of man come Therefore when this slothfull and idle vice tempteth thine hart thou mayst arme thy selfe with these considerations following First consider what great labours and troubles Christ from the beginning of his life suffered for thee howe he continued whole nights in prayer for thee how he ran vp and downe froÌ„ one country to another teaching healing men how he was alwayes busied about those things which belong vnto our saluation and aboue all these things howe at the time of his passion he bare that heauy crosse being wearied martired through many stripes and whippings If therefore the Lord of maiestie suffered so many labours and sorrowes for the saluation safetie of others how much more meete is it that thou shouldest doe and suffer some thing for thine owne That most immaculate Lambe suffered so great things to deliuer thee from thy sinnes and wilt thou not suffer a little while and a small thing for his loue Consider also what the Apostles haue suffered when trauailing throughout all the world they preached the Gospell and what the Martyrs Confessors and Virgins haue suffered with those holy Fathers that liued in most vast and solitary wildernesses farre remote from any humane resort To be briefe coÌ„sider of all the labours and trauailes of the Saints who now tryumph with the Lord in heauen by whose labours toyles the Church of God to this day enioyeth many notable blessings Contemplate moreouer how nothing is created to be idle for the heauenly Armies cease not to praise the Lorde The Sunne the Moone the starres and all the celestiall bodies are euery day once turned about the vniuersall Orbe for our commodity hearbes plants and trees from small bodies encrease to theyr iust magnitude Ants in sommer gather theyr graynâ— which they may liue of in winter Bees make their Honey-combes with all diligence persecute the Drone Thou shalt finde the same thing to haue place in all if thou shalt run thorow all the kindes of liuing creatures Therefore ô thou man capable of reason let it shame thee of idlenes which all creatures detest and that onely by the instinct of nature Behold how great paynes and trauailes those doe sustaine who gather earthly riches together which shall perrish vvhich are gotten with great labour are possessed with grâ—â—ter cares and dangers what oughtest not thou rather to do who dealest for heauenly matters who laborest for celestiall treasures which endure for euer Beware that now when thou art sounde and strong and hast time that thou walke not idely least somthing be wanting vnto thee which hereafter thou canst not labor for and yet wouldest faine haue Which we see to happen to many The tyme of our life is short and full of a thousand miseries therefore whilst thou hast fitte time to worke take heede that it slide not away vainely in idlenes For the night shall come in which no man can worke Remember that the multitude of thine enormous sinnes do aske great repentance Saint Peter denyed the Lord thrice and he mourned for this sinne all the daies of his life although it was already forgiuen him Mary Magdalen deplored her sinnes to her dying day which shee had committed before her conuersion albeit she had heard those sweet words of Christ Thy sinnes are forgiuen thee But because I labour to be briefe I cease to rehearse moe examples of thys sort of those who in like manner haue ended theyr repentance with theyr life many of whom had committed both fewer and lesser sinnes then thou hast But thou who daily heapest sinnes to sinnes how darest thou say that it seemeth a thing too hard and difficult vnto thee to doe necessary labours by which thou mayst flie sinnes Therefore in the time of grace and mercy endeuour with thy ful strength that thou maist bring forth fruite worthy of repentance And sette before thine eyes that example of a certaine godly man who as often as the clocke made a report of a passed houre was wont to say O Lord GOD behold novve another houre of them is already past which thou hast allotted vnto my life for which how shall I be able to render thee an account If at any time we be wearied in our godly exercises and labours let vs forth-with consider by how many tribulations and troubles we must enter into the kingdome of heauen and that hee shall not be crowned that hath not lawfully contended And if thou thinkest that thou hast laboured inough already and that no further paynes is to be endured remember that he onely shall be sâ—â—ed who continueth and perseuereth to the end For withou◠〈◊〉 all perseuerance neyther the course is worthy of reward nor of the small fauour of the Lord. For this cause the Lord would not descend from the Crosse when the Iewes willed him because he would not leaue the worke of our redemption vnperfect If therefore we will follow our head it is necessary that we should labour with all diligence till death because the reward of our Sauiour endureth for euer Let vs not leaue of continuall repentance let vs not be weary in bearing the Crosse of the Lord by following Christ otherwise what shall it profit to haue sayled succesfully and prosperously a long voyage if at length we make shipwrack in the Hauen Thou oughtest not to feare the difficulty of fighting God who sendeth thee to the warre doth promise thee helpe to ouercome he is a present beholder of thy fight and doth ayde and succour thee with a fresh supply when thou art eÌ„ndangered or when thy strength faileth but crowneth thee when thou hast ouercome When thou art wearied through tediousnes of trauaile thus resolue with thy selfe Doe not compare the labours of Vertue with the sweetnes and delight of the contrary vice but conferre the sorrow and anguish which thou now feelest in Vertue with the sorrow and disquietnes which thou shalt feele after thou hast sinned and the ioy which thou feelest in sinning with the ioy which for vertue remaineth for thee in the glory to come and thou shalt presently see how much better the condition of vertue is then of vice When thou shalt come Victour from one warre be not idle be not voyde of care for often-times as a certaine Wiseman sayth after victory the conqueror casteth away all care yea alwayes stand vpon the watch for by and by thine enemy wil approch againe and his trumpet will giue a signe of a new onset and a new assault will begin For the Sea cannot be vvithout vvaues and billowes nor this lyfe vvithout tribulation and temptation For he
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
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
So doe thou louing that which is made of GOD and abhorring that which man hath made euill But perhaps thou wilt reason with thy selfe and say What haue I to doe with him in what thing am I bound to him I know him not he is not my father nor my kinsman he neuer pleasured me nor performed any duty vnto me yea he hath some-time endamaged me But remember that GOD without any desert of thine hath heaped many benefits vpon thee and therefore hath commaunded thee that in being thankfull and making some recompence for this his bounty thou in like manner shouldest be liberall not towards him for he needeth none of thy goods but towards thy neighbour whom â—e hath commended and committed vnto thee Of the remedies against Gluttony CHAP. VIII GLuttony is an inordinate desire or appetite of meate and drinke Christ exhorteth vs to beware of this vice when he sayth Take heede to your selues least at any time your harts be oppressed with surfetting and drunkennes and cares of this life When as this vice doth knock at the gates of thy hart resist it with these considerations First consider how for one sinne of gluttony death entred vpon all mankind and therefore it is necessary that thou shouldest be superiour and haue the vpper hand in this first combat in which if thou fayntest or yeeldest thou shalt be impugned more noisomly of ther vices and shalt be much more weake and vnable to make resistance Therfore aboue all things resist the temptation of gluttony with a manly courage which vnlesse thou conquerest thou shalt in vaine oppose thy selfe against other vices But thou shalt easily ouercome all other enemies which are without if first thou shalt ouerthrow and kill those that are bred in thee For he to no end fighteth with them that are without if he hath an enemy within Wherefore the deuil first tempted Christ with gluttony thinking so to open a gate for other vices Consider also the rare and singuler abstinence of our Lord Iesus Christ who not onely after his fast in the Wildernes but also other where oftentimes handled his most holy and sacred flesh most sharply and suffered hunger for our comfort that he might giue vs an example For if he that by his onely presence nourisheth Angels and feedeth the fowles of heauen suffered hunger for thee how much more oughtest thou to suffer somthing for thy selfe by what title wilt thou glory that thou art the seruant of Christ if he hungered and thou consumest thy whole life in gluttony and drunkennes he suffered troubles and punishments for thy saluation and wilt not thou suffer for the same If the crosse of abstinence seeme too greeuous vnto thee remember the gall and Vineger which Christ tasted vpon the Crosse because as Bernard sayth No meate is so bitter vvhich if it be tempered with the remembrance of the Vineger and gall of Christ is not forth-with made sweeter Recall also into thy memory the abstinence of all the holy Fathers in the Wildernes who frequenting desert places haue with Christ crucified their flesh with all the lusts and concupiscences and by the grace of God haue sustained themselues many yeares onely with the rootes of hearbs and haue macerated themselues with so great abstinence that almost it seemeth incredible If therfore our fathers haue thus imitated Christ and after this manner haue followed him into heauen how thinkest thou to come thether by the way of deliciousnes and pleasure Remember how many poore there be in the world who thinke themselues happy if they may satisfie their bellies with bread and water and thou shalt vnderstand how bountifully the Lord hath dealt with thee who hath bestowed much more vpon thee then vpon them Therefore there is no reason neyther is it meete that thou shouldest conuert this liberality of thy Lord to be an instrument of thy gluttony To be briefe consider that the delight of gluttony doth not consist in a greater place then of two fingers nor in a longer time then of two minutes in which the meate passeth downe and is gone neyther is it meete that for a place of mans gluttony so narrow and for a pleasure so short and momentany that the Land the Sea nor the ayre should suffice To satisfie this gourmandizing gluttony oftentimes the poore are spoyled and many iniuries are done that the hunger of the feeble may be conuerted into the delicates of the mighty Certainly it is a thing miserable and lamentable and much to be deplored that a pleasure of so small a part of mans body should cast the whole man into hell and that all the members and sences of the body should suffer eternall punishment for the momentany greedines of one member Thou doost not marke how shamefully thou errest nourishing thy body so delicately and with such costly meates which ere it be long shall be meate for wormes but neglectest thy soule which before it be long shall stand before the Diuine tribunall which being voyde of vertues when as the body is full of delicate meates shal be punished with eternall torments And if thy soule be damned be sure that thy body also shall haue her punishment for euen as the body is created for the soule so it shall be punished with the soule Therfore thou contemning the nobler part of thy selfe and nourishing in delicacie the ignobler thou doost destroy them both and thou killest thy selfe with thine owne sword For thy flesh which is giuen to be an helpe vnto thee doth lay a snare for thy life and doth attend thee vnto torments as it followed thee here in vices Remember the hunger of Lazarus who desired to be releeued with the crums that fell from the rich mans table and there was no man that gaue them vnto him Wherfore when he was dead he was carried by the hands of Angels into Abrahams bosome but on the contrary part the rich Glutton who was clothed in purple and fine linnen and fared well and delicately euery day was buried in hell for hunger fulnes pleasure and continency haue not the same euent for after death misery followeth pleasure and pleasure misery Let vs put the case thou â—atest and drunkest the last yeare both delicately and largely tell me now what remayneth vnto thee of all those pleasures surely nothing at all except it be the sting and remorse of conscience which perhaps will torment thee euerlastingly Therefore all that thou hast prodigally wasted and deuoured beyond reason and measure all that thou hast vtterly lost and that thou hast with-drawne from thy selfe and distributed to the poore that is very well disposed and bestowed and as a treasure layd vp for thine owne vse which shall be restored and repayed vnto thee in the heauenly Citty Least thou be entrapped by ouer-sight and at vnawares in this vice thou must very heedfully beware because often-times when as necessity desireth to be satisfied and releeâ—ed the
that which the Lord sayd The vvorld shall reioyce and yee shall sorrow but your sorrow shall be turned into ioy Or hath it slipt out of thy memory which the same Lord sayth in aâ—other place Wâ—e be to you that now laugh for yee shall 〈…〉 weepe Many words and much babling sayth He is not faulty that speaketh many words so they be good 〈◊〉 he that speaketh few and those ill Discreet 〈◊〉 answereth It is true that thou sayst but whilst many good wordes are vttered it often happeneth that the speech begunne of good words often endeth in ill Thys the holy Scripture telleth In 〈◊〉 â—â—rds there cannot want iniquâ—ty Is it possible that in many words there should be none faulty But can idle and vnprofitable words be auoyded of which thou art sure to render an accouâ—t hereafter Luxury sayth Why doost thou not wallow thy selfe in pleasure seeing that thou knowest not what will become of thee Therefore thou oughtest not to lose the time alotted vnto thee in want because thou knowest not how soone it may fade away For if GOD would not haue had man no take his pleasure with woman at the beginning hee would haue onely created male and not female Undefiled Chastitie answereth I would not haue thee to sayne thy selfe ignorant what shall become of thee after thys lyfe For if thou liuest religiously and chastly thy ioy shall be without end but if thou leadest thy life irreligiously and luxuriously thou shalt be tortured with eternall paynes Spirituall fornication sayth Doth he doe any thing damnable who consenteth to lust in his hart and doth not effect the deede of his desired lust Cleannes and purity of hart aunswereth He offendeth very deeply that keepeth not purely the cleannes and chastity of his hart Wher-vpon the Author of cleannes and chastity saith in the Gospell Whosoeuer looketh on a wâ—mâ—n to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already iâ— his hart To auoyde this holy Iob saith I made a couenant 〈◊〉 â—iâ—e eyes that I should not thinke on a mayde The loue of this world sayth VVhat can be more beautifull honest or delectable then that we daily behold in this present life O how admirable iâ— the glorious vaute of heauen in the tralucent ayre in the light of the Sunne in the increase and decrease of the Moone in the variety and course of the starres how delightfull is the earth in the flowers and flourish of vvoods in the sweetnes of fruites in the pleasantnes of meddowes and riuers in the ripenes plenty of corne in the fruitfulnes of Vineyards loaden with clusters of Grapes in the shades and chaces of woods in the running and coursing of Horses and Doggs in the skippings and iumpings of Harts and Goates in the flying of Hawkes in the necks and feathers of Peacocks Doues and Turtles in the paynted walls and carued roofes of houses in the sweet and pleasing sounds and tunes of Organes and all musicke in the beautifull aspects of vvomen in their fore-heads in their hayre in their eyes and cheekes in their lips and necks in their nose and hands and especially if they be beautified and adorned with gold and precious stones with Bracelets Ouches Carcanâ—ts and Tablets and such other Ornaments which I cannot in any wise reckon The loue of the heauenly Countrey aunswereth If these things delight thee which are vnder heauen if the prison be so beautifull what is the Countrey the Citty and the house If they be such and so excellent which the strangers enioy what be they which the children possesse If they that be mortall and miserable be so rewarded in this lyfe how are they that be immortall and blessed inriched in that life Wherefore let the loue of this present world goe where none is so borne that he doth not dye and let the loue of the future world come in the place where all so liue and are reuiued that they dye no more Where no aduersity disturbeth no necessity pincheth no greefe disquieteth but euerlasting ioy raigneth and remayneth for euer and euer If thou demaundest what is there where there is such and so great felicity it cannot be aunswered otherwise but that whatsoeuer good is that is there and whatsoeuer euill is that is not there Thou askest what that good is Why doost thou aske me It is aunswered thee of a Prophet and of an Apostle The things which eye hath not seene neyther eare hath heard â—eyther hâ—th entrâ—d intâ— mâ—ns hart hath God prepâ—red for them that loue him VVhatsoeuer hath hetherto beene spoken of vs hath this â—yme that it may moue vs to haue alwayes our spirituall weapons in a readines which are necessary for vs in this warfare for the attaynement of the first part of vertue which is the flying and eschewing of vices and to defend this fraile house of ours in which God hath placed vs least it should be surprized of enemies For if we shall faithfully keepe this Mansion and Habitacle there is no doubt but that heauenly guest will turne in vnto it and will lodge and dwell in it Seeing that Saint Iohn sayth God is loue and he that dwelleth in loue dwelleth in God and God in him But he dwelleth in loue who doth nothing contrary to loue and the opposition and contrary to loue is onely sinne And against this sinne all that fighteth and warreth vvhich hetherto hath beene spoken of vs. ¶ The end of the first part of the second Booke THE SECOND PART OF THE SECOND BOOKE OF THE SINNERS GVYDE In which wee entreate of the exercise of Vertues Of the three kinde of Vertues in which the vvhole summe of Christian righteousnesse is contained CHAP. XIII SEeing that in the former part of thys Booke wee haue spoken largely and sufficiently of sinnes by contagion of which our soules are polluted and obscured now we wil intreat of Vertues which beautifie them with spirituall graces and adorne them with the ornaments of righteousnesse making them seeme fayre and beauteous in the sight of the Diuine Maiestie Euen as it pertaineth vnto iustice to giue to euery one that is his owne belongs vnto him that is to God to our neighbour to our selues so also there are three kindes of vertues pertayning to righteousnes and iustice and which concurre to the effecting and perfecting of it One is by which we render to GOD that which is due vnto him the second is by which wee giue to our neighbour that which is his and the third by which man is bound vnto himselfe When man hath attained these three kindes of vertues nothing is further required to fulfill all that righteousnes vvhich he professeth But if thou wouldest learne in fewe words and very summarily howe thys may be brought to passe I will tell thee by thys triple duty and bond man shall repay most exactly all his debt that is if towards GOD he hath the hart of a sonne towards his