Selected quad for the lemma: life_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
life_n	idol_n	offence_n	stumble_a	33	3	16.0067	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A02296	The dial of princes, compiled by the reuerend father in God, Don Antony of Gueuara, Byshop of Guadix, preacher, and chronicler to Charles the fifte, late of that name Emperour. Englished out of the Frenche by T. North, sonne of Sir Edvvard North knight, L. North of Kyrtheling; Relox de príncipes. English	Guevara, Antonio de, Bp., d. 1545?; North, Thomas, Sir, 1535-1601?; Guevara, Antonio de, Bp., d. 1545? Aviso de privados. English.; Marcus Aurelius, Emperor of Rome, 121-180.	1568 (1568)	STC 12428; ESTC S120709	960,446	762

to breake the good auncient customes We ordeine and commaund that the gouernour of the Prienenses do worship and honour the gods and that he be a louer of the sacred temples For otherwise he that honoreth not god wil neuer mynister equal iustice vnto men We ordeine commaund that the prince of Prienenses be contented with the warres which his auncetours lefte him and that he do not forge new matters to inuade any other straunge countreis and if perchaunce he would that no man in this case be bounde neyther with money nor in person to follow or serue him For the god Apollo tolde me that that man whiche will take another mans goods from hym by force shall lose his owne by iustice We ordeine and commaunde that the gouernor of the Prienenses go to pray and worship the gods twise in the weeke and lykewise to visite them in the temples and if he do the contrarie he shal not only be depriued of the gouerment but also after his death he shal not be buried For the prince that honoreth not god in time of his lyfe deserueth not his bones should be honored with sepulture after his death ¶ How god from the beginning punished men by his iustyce and speciallye those Princes that dispise his Churche and howe all wicked Christians are parishioners of hell Cap. xxii WHen the eternall creator who measureth the thinges by his Omnipotencye and wayeth them by his effectuall wisedome created al things aswel celestiall as terrestial vysible as inuisible corporate as incorporate not only promised to the good whyche serued him but also threatened the euyll with plagues whych offended hym For the iustice and mercy of god go alwayes together to thintent the one should encourage the good and the other threaten the euyl This thinge semeth to be true for that we haue but one god which hath created but one word wherin he made but one gardeine in the whiche garden ther was but one fountaine and neare to that fountayne he appointed only one man one woman and one serpente nere vnto which was also one tre only forbidden which is a thinge meruelous to speake and no lesse feareful to see how god dyd put into the terrestial paradyse the same daye that the creacion of the worlde was finyshed booth a sword and gibet The gibet was the tree forbidden wherof they dyd eate wherfore our fathers were condemned And the sword was the punishment wherwyth we al as miserable chyldren at this day are beheaded For truly they dyd eate the bytternes of their fault and we do feele the griefe of the paine I meane not to shewe howe our God by hys power doothe raise vppe that whyche is beaten downe howe wyth his wysedome he guideth those which are blind how by his wyl he dissembleth wyth the euyll doers neyther wil I tel how he through his clemency pardoneth the offences and through his light lyghtneth the darknes nor how through his ryghteousnes he amendeth that whych is broken and through hys liberality paieth more then we deserue But I wyll here declare at large howe our omnipotente God through his iustice chastiseth those whiche walke not in his pathes O Lorde god howe sure may thy faithfull seruauntes be for their small seruices to receiue great rewardes and contrary the euill ought alwayes to lyue in as great feare lest for their heynous offences thou shouldest geue them cruel punishmentes For though god of his bounty will not leaue any seruice vnrewarded nor of his iustice will omitte any euill vnpunished yet for all that we ought to knowe that aboue all and more than all he wil rigorously chastise those which maliciously despise the holy catholyke faith For Christe thinketh him selfe as much iniuried of those whiche persecute his church as of those that laide handes on his persone to put him to death We rede that in times past god shewed sondry greuous and cruel punishmentes to diuerse high lordes and princes besides other famous and renowmed men But rigour had neuer such power in his hande as it had against those whiche honoured the infamed Idoll and violated the sacred temples For to god this is the most heinous offence to forsake the holy catholike faith in his life and to dispaire in his mercy at the houre of his death Woulde to god we had so much grace to acknowledge our offences as god hath reason to punishe our sinnes For if it were so thē we would amend in time to come god would graunt vs a generall pardon for al that is past I see one thing wherin as I thinke I am not deceiued which is this that the frailnes miseries which we commit we thinke them naturall and in the satisfaction and amendement of the same we say they are straunge so that we admit the fault condemne the paine which therby we do deserue The secret iudgements of god do suffer it and our offences do deserue it I do not deny but that the euyll may hold possesse this life at their pleasour but I sweare vnto them when they shal lest thinke of it they shal lose their life to their great displeasour for the pleasurs of this life are so vnconstant that we scarce begin to taste thē when they vade out of their sight It is a rule infallible whiche bothe of the good euill hath bene proued that all naturally desire rather to abound than to want and all that which greatly is desired with great diligēce is serched and through great trauaile is obteined and that thing which by trauaile is attained with loue is possessed that which by loue is possessed with much sorow is lost bewailed lamented For in th end we can not deny but that the watry eies do manifestly shewe the sorowfull hartes To the fine wittes and stout harts this is a continuall torment and endlesse paine a worme that alway gnaweth to cal to mind that he must lose the ioyfull life whiche so entierly he loued and taste the fearfull death whiche so greatly he abhorred Therfore to proue this matter which I haue spoken of before it is but reason that princes know if they do not know that euen as the diuine prouidence exalteth them to high estates they not deseruing thē so likewise his rigorous iustice will bring them to nought if they be vnthankeful for his benefites For the ingratitude of benefittes receiued maketh the man not worthy to receiue any mo The more a man through benefits is bound the more greuous punishment if he be vnthankefull he deserueth Al wyse men shuld finde if thei apply their mindes therunto that in chastising god calleth those offences first to his mind which are furthest from the thoughtes of men For before the tribunal of god our secret faultes are alwaies casting out bloud to th end he should execute of our persons open iustice And further I saie that in this case I doe not see that the prince is exempted more though he liue

to morow the rust of diseases taketh him and afterwardes by aduersitie he is writhen and by infirmities he is diseased by riches he is whetted by pouerty he is dulled agayne and finally oftentimes it chaunseth that the more sharpe he is whetted so muche the more the lyfe is put in hasarde It is a true thinge that the fete and handes are necessary to clyme to the vanyties of youth and that afterwardes stumblynge a lytle immediately rowling the heade downewardes we discende into the miserie of age For to oure seamynge yesterdaye we knewe one that was yonge and beautifull and with in shorte tyme after we heare that he is dead and rotten When I consider manye men aswell frendes as enemyes whiche were not long a goe florisshyng in beautye and youth and presently I see them to be olde and drye sycke and foule truly I think that as then I dreamed of them or that they be not nowe as they were then What thynge is more fearefull or more incredible then to see a man become miserable in shorte space that the fashion of his visage shoulde chaunge the beautie of the face shoulde be loste the beard waxe whyte the heade bauld the cheekes and forheade full of wrynckelles the teethe as whit as Iuorye become blacke the lighte feete by the goute to seme crepeled and afterwarde waxeth heauie the palsey weakeneth the strong arme the fyne smothe throte with wrinckelles is pleated and the bodye that was streight and vpryghte waxeth weake and croked Aboue all that I haue spoken I say to the Epesipus which presumest to be faire that he which through hys propernes in youth was the mirrour of all becommeth to be such a one that he douteth whether he be the selfe same now in his age that he was in his youth Doe what thou wilte prayse and gloryfye thy beautie asmuch as thou thinckest good yet in the ende the beautie of men is none other but as a veile to couer their eyes a payre of fetters for the fete manacles for the handes a lyme rodde for the winges a these of tyme an occasion of daunger a prouoker of trouble a place of lecherye a sinke of all euill and fynallye it is an inuentour of debates and a scourge of the affectioned man Since thou haste forsaken thy studye I am not bound to send the any thing chiefely wasting thy monye in childysh and youthfull toyes but notwithstandyng all those thinges I sende the by Aulus Vegenus two thousande crounes for thy apparaile and trulye thou shalt be very vnthankfull if thou dost not knowe the benefite done vnto the. For a man ought to giue more thākes for that which is done of curtesie then for that which is offered of necessitie I cannot tell what to let the vnderstande in these partes but that thy sister Anania Salaria is maried who sayeth she is contente I praye God it be so for with money men maye be holpen to mariages but it lyeth in the gods to contente the parties If thou wilte know of Toringa thy cosen thou shalte vnderstande she is imbarked in the fleete whyche went to Spaine and in dede I neuer thought otherwise on her after she had hene .3 dayes hydde in the waye of Salaria For maydes that will betimes gather their grapesi t is a token that they will goe on warfare with souldyars Of Annius Rufus thy frende and companion I certify the that he is gon into the I le of Helespont and he goeth by the authority of the senate to vnderstand the gouernement therof and albeit he be yong yet he is wise and therfore I suppose he will render a good accompt of his commission For of these two extremities the aged that do decline or the yong that are wise I had rather holde my selfe to the wisdom of the yong then to the white berdes of the aged My wife Faustine saluteth the and be thou assured that in thy affaires at the least to my seming she is very fauourable vnto the and dayly she instauntely requireth me not to be angrye with the sayenge that sage men oughte not to esteme the lyghtenes of youth and that there is no olde man that is sage but he which in all thinges was lighte and youthefull I say no more to the in this case but if thou wylte be good I cannot denaye that thou art not my nepheue my old scoler and seruaunte For if in the I se amendment I wil withdrawe mine ire For trulye amonge the louing hartes there is nothing that plucketh vp the euill will vnles it be the good lyfe At the request of my wife Faustine I haue writen the this worde and I saye no more but that of her parte and mine thou commende vs to all the vniuersitie The Gods haue the in their custodye to whom it may please to gyue the amendement of lyfe Marcus Aurelius the romaine emperour to the Annius Epesipus wryteth with his owne hand How princes and great Lordes in olde time were louers of wise men Chap. xliii ONe of the chiefest thynges that wanne reputacion and eternall memorye to the auncient princes and Gouerners was that they sought wyse men to be alwayes couersaunt about them whose graue counsaile their realmes alwayes obserued and obeyed It profiteth a king litle to leade with him a greate nomber of sages to gouerne him and his realme if his subiectes are armed with malice not to obey hym Let princes knowe whiche esteme not the counsaile of sages that their commaundement of other shall not be regarded For the lawe whiche by will is made and not of right ordeined deserueth not to be obeyed We which turne and tosse the leaues of the auncient histories cannot denay but that the romaines naturally were proude Yet we muste confesse that as they haue ben stout in thinges touching warres so they haue shewed them selues temperate in the affaires of the publike weale And truly herin Rome declared her wisedom might for as by hardye and stoute captaynes the enemies were destroied in warre so by sages and wise men the common wealth was gouerned and mainteined in peace Ofte tymes with my selfe I muse whereuppon all these discordes grew betwene lords and subiectes princes and vassalles and my count being made I finde that they haue both reason For the subiectes complaine of the litle loue of their lorde and the lordes complaine of the great disobedience of their subiectes For to say the truth disobedience is so much augmented and the desier of commaundement is become so licencious that it semeth to the subiectes that the waighte of a fether is lead and on the cōtrary it semeth to princes that for the flieng of a flye they should draw their swordes All this euill and damage commeth not but because the princes haue not with them wise men whiche maye counsaile them for there was neuer any good prince that credited euil counsaile There are two thinges in princes and prelates whiche gouerne the soule th one is the