deterret sapientem mors quae propter incertos casus quotidie imminet et propter breuitatem vitae nunquam longé potest ab esse Tria sunt generamortis vna mors est peccati vt anima quae peccat morte morietur alter a mistica quando quis peccato moritur et Deo viuit tertia qua cursum vitae buius explemus Aug. Of Time Defi. Time is a secrete and speedie consumer of howers and seasons older then any thing but the first and both the bringer forth and waster of whatsoeuer is in this world THere is no sore which in time may not bee saued no care vvhich cannot bee cured no fire so great vvhich may not bee quenched no loue liking fancie or affection vvhich in time may not eyther bee repressed or redressed Time is the perfit herrald of truth Cic. Time is the best Orator to a resolute mind Dailie actions are measured by present behauiour Time is the herrald that best imblazoneth the conceits of the mind Time is the sweete Phisition that allovveth a remedie for euery mishap Time is the Father of mutabilitie Time spent without profit bringeth repentance and occasion let slip vvhen it might be taken is counted prodigalitie There is nothing among men so entirelie beloued but it may in time bee disliked nothing so healthfull but it may bee diseased nothing so strong but it may be broken neyther any thing so well kept but it may be corrupted Truth is the Daughter of Tyme and there is nothing so secrete but the date of manie dayes will reueale it In time the ignorant may become learned the foolish may â—e made wise and the most wildest wanton may be brought to be a modest Matron Biâ—s The happier our time is the shorter while it lasteth Plinie Say not that the time that our fore-fathers liued in was better then this present age Vertue and good life make good dayes but aboundance of vice corrupted the time Ierom Nothing is more precious then time yet nothing lesse esteemed of Bern. As oyle though it be moist quencheth not fire so time though neuer so long is no sure 〈…〉 t for sinne As a sparkle raked vp in cinders vvill at last begin to glowe and manifest flame so treachery hidde in silence and obscured by time will at length breake foorth and cry for reuenge VVhatsoeuer villanie the hart doth thinke and the hande effect in proces of time the worme of conscience will bewray Tyme draweth wrinkles in a fayre face but addeth fresh colours to a fresh friend Things past may bee repented but not recalled Liuius A certaine Phylosopher being demaunded what was the first thing needfull to winne the loue of a vvoman aunswered opportunitie Beeing asked what was the second he answered opportunitie and beeing demaunded what was the third hee still aunswered opportunitie Delayes oftentimes bring to passe that hee which should haue dyed doth kill him which should haue lyued Clem. Alex. Procrastination in perrill is the mother of ensuing misery Time and patience teacheth all men to liue content Take time in thy choyce and bee circumspect in making thy match for nothing so soone gluts the stomacke as sweet meate nor sooner fills the eye then beautie Oportunities neglected are manifest signes of folly Time limitteth an end to the greatest sorrowes Actions measured by time sildome prooue bitter by repentance Reason oft-times desireth execution of a thing which time will not suffer to bee done not for that it is not iust but because it is not followed Many matters are brought to a good end in time that cannot presently be remedied with reason Time is lifes best counsellor Antist Time is the best gouernour of counsels Tyme tryeth what a man is for no man is so deepe a dissembler but that at one time or other he shall be easily perceiued Time maketh some to be men which haue but childish conditions A little benefit is a great profit if it bee bestowed in due time Curtius Times dailie alter and mens minds doe often change Time is so swift of foote that beeing once past he can neuer be ouer-taken The fore-locks of time are the deciders of many doubts Time in his swift pace mocketh men for theyr slownes Non est crede mihi sapientis dicere viuam Sera nimis vita est crastina viue hodie Omnia tempus edax depascitur omnia carpit Omnia sede mouet nec sinit esse diu Of the World Defi. This word worlde called in greeke Kosmos signifieth as much as ornament or a wel disposed order of things HE that cleaueth to the customes of the world forsaketh God Cicero and the Stoicks were of opinion that the world was wisely gouerned by the Gods who haue care of mortall things The world is vain worldly ioyes do fade but heauen alone for godly minds is made He that trusteth to the world is sure to bee deceiued Archim The disordinate desire of the goods of thys world begetteth self-selfe-loue Our honours and our bodily delights are worldly poysons to infect our soules The worlde seduceth the eye with varietie of obiects the sent with sweete confections the taste with delicious duties the touch with soft flesh precious clothing and all the inuentions of vanitie Hee that mortiâ—ieth his naturall passions is sildome ouer-come with worldlie impressions Greg. No man that loueth the world can keepe a good conscience long vnâ—orrupted The worldly man burneth in heate of desire is rauished with the thought of reuenge inraged with the desire of dignity briefely neuer his owne 〈…〉 he leaue the world Thys world thoâ—gh neuer so well beloued cannot last alwayes Thys worlde is the chaine vvhich fettereth men to the deuill but repentance is the hand which lifteth men vp to God Thys world is but the pleasure of an houre and the sorrowe of many dayes Plato The worlde is an enemy to those whom it hath made happy Aug. The world is our pryson and to lyue to the world is the life of death The delights of this world are like bubbles in the water which are soone raysd and suddainly layd The world hateth contemplation because contemplation discouereth the treasons and deceits of the world Erasmus VVee may vse the world but if wee delight in it we breake the loue wee should beare to him that created it Hee that loueth the worlde hath incessant trauaile but hee that hateth it hath rest Man hath neuer perfit rest or ioy in thys world neither possesseth he alwayes his own desire The world hath so many sundry changes in her vanitie that shee leadeth all men wandering in vnstedfastnes He which seeketh pleasures from the world followeth a shadow which when hee thinketh he is surest of it vanisheth away and turneth to nothing Socrat. The world the flesh and the deuil are three enemies that continually fight against vs we haue great need to defend vs from them The vanities of thys worlde bewitch the mindes of many men God created thys world a place
be in loue The best Phisition to cure loue is shee that gaue the wound Secret loue burneth with the fiercest flame The first steppe to wisedom is not to loue the second so to loue that it bee not perceiued As a King is honoured in his image so God in man is both loued and hated hee cannot hate man who loueth God nor can hee loue God who hateth man Bernard Loue that is soone gotten in a heate vvill quickly away with a cold Hee that gathereth Roses must be content to pricke his fingers and he that will winne a womans good will must be content vvith sharpe words The cause of loue is delight vvhich by the aspect and sight of beauty is first taken but whosoeuer in viewing beholding of others taketh no pleasure can neuer be mooued to loue There are sixe properties in loue Selfe-loue is the grounde of mischiefe Lasciuious loue the roote of remorse vvanton loue the cowards warfare Pure loue neuer saw the face of feare Pure loues eyes pierceth the darkest corners Pure loue attempteth the greatest dangers Libertas quoniam nulli iam restat amanti Nullus liber erit si quis amare velit Heu quantuÌ„ mentes dominatur in aequas Iusta Venus Of Iealousie Defi. Iealousie is a disease of the minde proceeding from a feare which a man hath that that thing is communicated to another which hee would not haue common but priuate to himselfe it is also bred of that loue which will not suffer a partner in the thing beloued HE that is pained with the restles torment of iealousie doubteth mistrusteth him selfe being alwayes frozen with feare and fired with suspition Iealousie is such a heauie and grieuous enemy to the whole state of matrimonie and soweth betweene the married couple such deadly seedes of secrete hatred and contention as loue beeing once raced out with sacklesse distrust thereof through enuie ensueth bloody reuenge A iealous man is suspitious euermore iudging the worst for if his wife be merry he thinketh her immodest if sober sullen if pleasant inconstant if shee laugh it is lewdly if shee looke it is lightly yea hee is still casting beyond the Moone and watcheth as the craftie Cat ouer the silly Mouse Loue as it is diuine with loyaltie so it is hell with iealousie Iealousie proceedeth from too much loue Iealousie is a canker that daily fretteth quiet thoughts a moth that secretly consumeth the life of man and a poyson specially opposed against the perfection of loue The hart beeing once infected with iealousie the sleepes are broken dreames proue vnquiet the whole night is consumed in slumbers thoughts and cares and the day in woe vexation and misery The iealious man lyuing dyes and dying prolongs out his lyfe in passions worse then death none looketh on his loue but suspition sayes this is he that couets to be coriual in my fauours none knocketh at the doore but starting vp hee thinketh them to be messengers of fancie none talkes but they whisper of affection if shee frowne shee hates him and loues others if she smyle it is because she hath had successe in her loue looke shee frowardly on any man she dissembles if shee fauour him with a gracious eye then as a man possessed with frenzie he crieth out that neither fire in the strawe nor loue in a womans lookes can be concealed thus doth he lyue restlesse and maketh loue that oft is sweet to be in tast more bitter then gall Iealousie is a hell to the mind and a horror to the conscience suppressing reason and inciting rage As there is no content to the sweetnesse in loue so there is no dispayre to the preiudice of iealousie The seedes of rashnes lust are nourished in a disordinate multitude and the fruites of displeasure hate murther and wickednes are cherished by iealousie Socrates He that is iealous is like him that is sicke of an ague and poureth in drinke to augment the chilnes of his sicknes Hippoc. There can be no greater tyranny then iealousie whereby a man continually murthereth himselfe lyuing As a ship is in a tempest so is the minde tost by iealousie the one stil expecteth his wrack the other seeketh his owne ruine Iealousie maketh the cowarde stoute the bashfull audacious the babler silent Ielousie begetteth reuenge reuenge nourisheth iealousie Three thinges breede iealousie a mightie state a rich treasure and a fayre wife Iealousie is a hel-borne fiend that pestereth the minde with incessant passion Iealousie in seeking death contemneth it in finding it repineâ—h thereat not for enduring it but because it suffereth him not to out-lyue reuenge As the Crowe thinketh her owne byrds fayrest so the iealious man thinketh his ovvne choyce excellentest Cruelty is most cruell when we prolong the payne iealousie monstrous with lengthening the passion Of lyttle brookes proceede great riuers from small sparkles of iealousie arise great flames of distemprature To trouble a iealous man with counsaile is to augment his payne wyth suspition Matrimonium itá demum tranquillé exigi potest si vxer caeca maritus autem surdus fiat Faemineum genus zelotopiae est obnoxium et hinc oriuntur rixae et querimoniae rursus marito obnoxia est vxoris garrulitas qua molestia cariturus est si surdus sit Of Hate Defi. Hate or enuie is a griefe arising of another mans prosperitie and malignitie is most commonly ioyned with it whether it bee the fountaine of it as some say or one part therof as others will haue it This malignitie or common hate is a delight and pleasure taken in another mans harme although we receiue no profit thereby and it seemeth to bee accidentall that is procured by hatred or ill will arising of some euill affection which one man beareth to another THe greatest flood hath the soonest ebbe the sorest tempest the suddainest calme the hotest loue the coldest end and from the deepest desire oft-times ensueth the deadliest hate Hate thirsteth to salue his hurts by reuenge Enuy is a secrete enemy to honour There is nothing that more spighteth a man then to haue before his enemy any iniury Hatred is the spirit of darknes Hatred is blinde as well as loue Plut. Enuie is imagined of the Poets to dwell in a darke Caue beeing pale and leane looking a-squint abounding with gal her teeth black neuer reioycing but in others harme still vnquiet and carefull and continually tormenting herselfe Enuie maketh the body to bee ill disposed changeth the colour of the countenance and therefore it is called the VVitch and feauer heptick of the spyrit Arist. The enuious man is â—ed with dainty meate for hee dooth continually gnawe vppon hys owne hart Enuy is thâ—â—â—oynt may be discerned from hatred the one is secrete the other is open Hate hath sundry affections as contempt anger debate and scornfulnes Themistocles in his youth sayd that as then he had done nothing worthy of memorie in that there was no man whom hee might
esse sui Ouid. Omnibus qui patriaÌ„ conseruauerint adiuuerint auxerint certus est in caelo et definitus locus vbi beati aeuo sempiterno fruuntur Cicero Of Hope Defi. Hope is that vertue whereby the spirit of man putteth great trust in honest waightie matters hauing a certaine and sure confidence in himselfe this hope must be strong ly grounded vppon a sure expectation of the helpe and grace of God without which it is vaine and imperfect TO be cleane without hope is a hap incident to the vnhappy man He that will loose a fauour for a hope hath some wit but small store of wisedom Fortune may take away our goods but death cannot depriue vs of hope Hopes aboue fortune are the fore-poynters of deepe falls If thou chaunce to loue hope vvell vvhatsoeuer thy hap be That which is most common is hope Hope is a waking mans dreame Pyndarus To put our confidence in the creature is to dispaire of the creator Grego Vaine is hope that doth not feare God Gre. This mortall life is the hope of the life immortall Aug. They onely hope vvell who haue a good conscience Aug. Hope is the companion of loue Hope cannot be without fayth Aug. Hope is the God of the wretched Bernard Hope grounded on God neuer faileth but being built on the world it neuer thriueth Hope apprehendeth things vnseene and attaineth things by continuance Plato The euenings hope may comfort the mornings misery Hope is the fooles God the Merchant-mans comfort the souldiers companion and the ambitious mans poyson Hope of life is vanity hope in death is life and the life of hope is vertue Hope waiteth on great mens tongues and beguileth beleeuing followers Sweet words beget hope large protestations nourish it and contempt kils it He that supposeth to thriue by hope may happen to beg in misery Bion. The apprehention of hope derideth griefe and the fulnes of hope consumeth it As all mettalls are made of Sulphur so all pleasures proceede from hope As the one part laboureth for the conseruation of the whole body so hope for the accomplishment of all desires Sadnes is the punishment of the hart hope the medicine of distresse Crates Hope is a pleasant passion of the minde vvhich dooth not onely promise vs those things that we most desire but those thinges also which we vtterly dispaire of Our high hopes haue oftentimes hard fortunes and such as reach at the tree commonly stumble at the roote To hope for requitall of benefits bestowed may rather be counted vsury then vertue A cowardly louer without hope shall neuer gaine faire loue with good fortune To hope against all hope is the excellence of a mighty resolution In a little place is hid a great treasure and in a small hope a boundlesse expectation Confidence except it be guided by modesty and proceed from iudgment may rather be called arrogancy then hope Hope of all passions is the sweetest and most pleasant and heereof it is said that hope onely comforteth the miserable Hope is the Gouernour of men Symonides Perdicas seeing Alexander largelie bestovve many benefits vppon his friends asked him what hee would leaue for himself he aunswered hope A good and vertuous man ought alwaies to hope well and to feare nothing Hope is the beginning of victory to come and doth presage the same Pyndarus Sola spes hominem in miserijs consolari solet Miserum est timere cum sâ—eres nihil Of Charity Defi. Charitie is the indissoluble band of God with vs whereby wee are inflamed with the loue of him for that which we owe vnto him and therby also are induced to loue our neighbours for the loue of God CHaritie is the scope of all Gods commaundements Chris. Charity delayd is halfe lost Charitie raunsommeth vs from sinne and deliuereth vs from death Charitie increaseth fayth begetteth hope and maketh vs at one with God As the body without the soule enioyeth no life so all other vertues without charity are cold and fruitlesse Charity is a good and gracious affect of the soule whereby mans hart hath no fancy to esteeme any thing in this world before the study to know God Hermes The charitable man is the true louer of God Seuerus As the sunne is to the vvorld and life to the body so is charity to the hart Charity resembleth fire vvhich inflameth all things it toucheth Erasmus Charitie in aduersitie is patient in prosperitie temperate in passions strong in good works quicke in temptations secure in hospitalitie bountifull amongst her true chyldren ioyfull amongst her false friends patient Charitie in midst of iniuries is secure in hart bountifull in displeasures meeke in concealing euills innocent in truth quiet at others misfortune sad in vertues ioyfull Charitie in aduersity fainteth not because it is patient and reuengeth not iniuries because it is bountifull Hee that truely loueth beleeueth and hopeth Aug. By charitie one seeth the glorious light of God Aug. Hee alwayes hath to giue that is full of charitie Bernard To loue with all the soule is to loue wisely to loue with all the strength is manfully to suffer for truth to loue with all our hart is to prefer the loue of God before all things that flatter vs. Aug. The measure in louing of God is to loue him without measure Bernard Charity is the way of man to God and the way of God to man Aug. If any man waxe drunke vvith the loue of God he is straightwayes apt and ready to all good he laboureth and is not weary hee is weary and feeleth it not the malicious mock him and he perceiueth it not Bernard The loue of God hath power to transforme man into God Charity maketh a man absolute and perfect in all other vertues Neither the multitude of trauailes nor the antiquity of seruice but the greatnes of charity increaseth the reward God is charity vvhat thing is more precious he that dwelleth in charity dwelleth in God what thing is more secure God in him what thing is more delectable The nature of charity is to draw all things to it selfe and to make them participate of it selfe Lactan. There is no vertue persit without loue nor loue without charity Charity is neuer idle but worketh for him it loueth The greatest argument of godly loue is to loue what God loueth Charitable loue is vnder no rule but is Lord of all lawes and a boundlesse Emperor There is true charity where two seueral bodies haue one vnited hart Of charity mixed with mockery followeth the truth of infamy Pythag. Charity is the child of faith and the guide to euerlasting felicity All charity is loue but not all loue charity Augustine The filthy effects of bribery hinder exceedingly the works of charity Plato Charity causeth men to forsake sinne and embrace vertue Charitie is a word vsed of many and vnderstood but of a few Cicero By charity with God we learne what is our duty towards man By charity all men
aut scientia superbire ô superba praesumptio ô praesumptuosa superbia August Cum non sit nostrum quod sumus quomodo nostrum est quod habemus Stultitiae genus est vt cum alijs debeas vitae beneficium tibi adscribas ornamenta virtutum Of Treason Defi. Treason is that damned vice hated of God and man where-with periured persons being bewitched feare not to betray themselues so they may eyther betray others or theyr Countrey it is the breach of fayth and loyaltie with God theyr Gouernours and Country THey are deceaued that looke for any reward for treason Curtius The conflict with traytours is more dangerous then open enemies Liuius Traytors are like moaths which eate the cloath in which they were bred like Vipers that gnaw the bowels where they were born lyke vvormes which consume the wood in which they were ingendered Agesilaus Trecherie hath alvvayes a more glozing shew then truth and flattery displayes a brauer flag then fayth No place is safe enough for a traytor Amb. Once a traytor and neuer after trusted Liuius VVho will not with Antigonus make much of a traytor going about to plesure him but hauing his purpose who will not hate him to the death Such as are traytors to their Prince periured to God deserue no credit with men Trechery ought not to be concealed and friends haue no priuiledge to be false Such as couet most bitterly to betray first seeke most sweetly to entrap Phillip Traytors leaue no practise vndone because they will not but because they dare not Victory is not so earnestly to be sought as treason is to be shunned Scylla did betray her owne Father vnto Minos but he rewarded her accordingly Ouid. A Schoolmaister among the Falerians hauing the charge and bringing vp of all the youth in the Cittie hoping to recouer the fauour of the Romaâ—s betrayed all the Cittizens children into the hands of Camillus but Camillus louing iustice caused him to bee stript and his hands to be bound behind him and gaue the children rods whips to beate him home to the Citty A good vvarrior ought to commit the fortune of his vvarre to the trust of his ovvne vertue not to the impiety and treason of his enemies Tarpeias daughter betrayed the Castle of Rome to the Sabines for lucre sake Many men loue the treason though they hate the traytor Many conspire valiantly but ende wretchedly Traytors haue continual feare for their bedfellow care for their coÌ„panion the sting of conscience for their torment Manlius A light head an ambitious desire a corrupt conscience ill counsaile soone breede a traytor VVhere the peoples affection is assured the traytors purpose is preuented Bias. There are many Traytors in Common-weales whom it is better to forbeare then to prouoke Of rash hopes proceede perrillous ends of execrable treasons damnable successe Traytors about the thrones of Princes are like wolues about the foulds of sheepe One skabd sheepe will infect a whole flock and one traytor subuert a whole Monarchy Caesar rewarded those that betrayed Pompey with death Those that murdered Caesar in the Senate-house neuer prospered Tully sayth that no vvise-man at any time will trust a Traytor Ne colloquiorum de praetextu pacis proditiones vrbium tententur fiantque interlocutores maximé cauendum est Proditores vrbium saepé né ipsi quidem proditionem euadunt sed ab hoste trucidantur Of Desperation Defi. Desperation is a sorrowfulnes without all hope of better fortune a vice which falsely shrowdeth it selfe vnder the tytle of fortitâ—de and valure and tickling the vaine humors of the vaine-glorious carry them to ignoble and indisereet actions to the vtter losse of soâ—les and bodies DEsperation is a double sinne and finall impenitency hath no remission It is better to be counted a dastardly coward then a desperate caitife Let no man dispaire of grace although hee repent in his latter age for God iudgeth of a mans end and not of his life past Benard Desperation springeth from the ignorance of God Aug. Idlenes is the root of desperation Theod. Better it is to lyue pinched vvith a few momentary passions then with desperate death to destroy both soule and body It is vaine to be stout and desperate where none of both will preuaile It is better to prolong our lyfe in miserie then to hasten our owne death without hope of mercy Lactan. Loue wanting desire makes the mind desperate and fixed fancie bereft of loue turneth into fury Desperate thoughts are fit for them that feare shame not for such as hope for credit Sighes are the emblazers of thoughts and melancholy the messenger of dispaire There is no offence so great but mercy may pardon neyther is there any thing so desperate which time cannot cure Dispaire is the fruite of disordinate sinne vvhich becomming his owne Iudge proues his owne exexcutioner The feare of ineuitable punishment is the cause of desperation Stobaus Nothing doth more torment a man then forsaken hope Quintilian Desperation preferreth profit before honestie Erasmus Let no man dispaire of that thing to be effected which hath beene done already Extreame feare danger makes cowards desperatly aduenturous and what perswasion could not make constant misery hath made desperate Resolution is grounded on honour desperatenes on danger He is foolishly desperate that engageth his honour for beauty and aduentureth the halter for a lye Diog. Fortune desperatly attained is as desperatlie lost and dispaire suddainly entertayned is a token of a wretched conscience If thou wilt be accounted valiant let neyther chaunce nor griefe make thee desperate Dispaire comes of the feeblenes of courage and the lack of wit To him that is subiect to passion dispayre is euer attendant He that is desperatly inclined to his ovvne will is euer most neere to the wrath of God Despaire leadeth damnation in chaynes and violently layes clayme to the vvrath of God Bernard Despayre and reuenge depriue men of the mercy of God and cleane blotteth out the memory of their former good deeds There can be no greater wonder then to see a wise-man become desperate Of all the perturbations of mans mind dispaire is the most pernicious Liuius If he be a wicked homicide which killeth a man then is he the same vvhich killeth himselfe because he killeth a man Many reading Plato his booke of the immortalitie of the soule haue layde violent hands vpon themselues Hee that through the burthen of his sinnes breakes forth into desperation wilfully refuseth the mercy of the Almighty VVhen hope leaueth a man feare beginneth to conquer him Plato The soules first comfort is to auoyde the fault the next not to dispaire of pardon Desperation is a certaine death Aug. The desperate ambitious build theyr houses vpon others ruins afterwards fall them selues by like practises S. P. S. Brutus and Cassius after the death of Caesar desperatly flew themselues Anthony when he heard that Cleopatra had killed her selfe sayd dye Anthony what lookest thou for
offence and from the iust hee takes away the occasions of his sinne Epirus King of Arcadia for breaking vp of Neptunes Temple was strooken blind Mardorus spoyling Circes temple was strooken mad with all his souldiers Alexanders souldiours seeking to spoile the Temple of the same Goddesse vvere slayne with lightning The Sibarites desirous to know frō Apollo howe long their prosperity should last were aunswered that so soone as they beganne to prefer men before God theyr state should be destroied Brennus the captaine of the French entring the Temple of Apollo and spoiling it was strooken with madnes and slew himselfe Scipios souldiers that robbed the Temple at Tolossa dyed all myserably As it is impossible with one the same eye to behold heauen and earth so it is as impossible with one disordinate wil to loue God the world Like as God surmounteth all other creatures so the remembrance of him surmounteth all other imaginations God is hie if thou lift thy selfe vp vnto him he flieth from thee but if thou humblest thy selfe vnto him he commeth downe to thee Gods doctrine is the rule of prudence his mercy the worke of iustice and his death the standard of patience Bernard The Resurrection of Christ to the deade is lyfe to the Saints glory to sinners mercie Simonides the more hee studied to knowe what God was the harder still it seemed vnto him If God helpe hee is mercifull if not vvee must not thinke hym vniust Diuinitie cannot be defined The operation of God is threefold creation formation consumation God is eternitie and therefore not founde but of such as continually seeke him God although he be omnipotent could neuer make a creature equall to himselfe The Lorde of hosts is called God the Father the Sonne is the image of the Father The Father the Sonne knowne the goodnesse of them both which is the holy Ghost is made manifest Augustine Iupiter est quodcunque vides quocunque moueris Quae Deus occulta esse voluit non sunt scrutanda quae autem manifesta fecit non sunt neganda né et in illis illicité curiosi et in istis damnabiliter inueniamur ingrati Of Heauen Defi. Heauen is generally taken for that part of the world which is ouer our heads a place full of diuine residence and that Land where the faithfull after this lyfe expect their portion and inhearitance HEauen is the seate of GOD and the Earth is his foote-stoole Heauen is the seate of glory the habitation of Angels the resting place of the faythfull fayre beyond thought and glorious beyond report VVe deeme it hard to knowe the things on earth and finde the obiects of our eyes wyth toyle but who can search the secrets of the heauens Heauen is neither infinite in forme nor figure but one in nature Heauen as it had his creation of nothing so it shal be dissolued to nothing The disposition and places of the Heauens are not of power to expresse our good or bad fortunes No man knoweth the property of the fixed starres neyther their natures therefore no man can iudicially speake of their effects Neither hath the eare of man heard the eye seene nor the tongue able to expresse vvhat ioyes the Elect possesse in heauen As Hell is the place of all horror so Heauen is the Hauen of all rest Heauen is the habitation of the Elect the throne of the Iudge the receit of the saued the seat of the Lambe the fulnesse of delight the inhearitance of the iust and the reward of the faythfull From Heauen our soules receiue their sustenance diuine Heauen is the church of the Elect the soule of the iust field of the faithfull Hee is most myserable that is denyed to see the Sunne shine and hee is most accursed to whom God denyeth his heauenly fauours It is hard to liue well easie to die ill hard to obtaine Heauen easie to keepe from thence None knoweth better how great is the losse of Heauen then they that are iudged to lyue continually in Hel. A good lyfe begetteh a good death and a good death a glorious inhearitance in heauen The way to heauen is narrower thē the way to hell In gloria caelesti mira serenitas plena securitas aeterna felicitas Esque Dei sedes nisi terra et pontus et aer Et coelū et virtus superos quid querimus vltra Of Angels Defi. Angels are indeede nothing els but the diuine messengers of the will of God for so much the word signifieth ANgels at all tymes and in all places behold the face of our heauenly Father Selfe-loue the ruine of the Angels is the confusion of men Angels are carefull of mens actions protectors of their persons lightners of their soules and conductors in theyr iourneyes Angels were created of God immortall innocent beautifull good free and subtile of the essence of God hymselfe Angels haue theyr habitation in Heauen theyr eyes fixed on the maiestie of GOD theyr tongues formed to his prayses and themselues onely in him The Angels exceed not in desire desire not because they want not vvant not in beholding theyr Creator Ambr. Angels intende two thinges the first is the glory and seruice of God the second is the health and saluation of hys Chyldren Angels are the comforters instructers and reformers of men Angels are Tutors of the Saints Herralds of Heauen and Gardiants of our bodyes and soules The Angels haue charge to conduct men wisedome to instruct men and grace to preserue men Angels vvere the first creatures that euer God made Angels wheresoeuer they are sent doe alwayes behold the face of God There are nine orders of Angels Angels Archangels Vertues Powers Principalities Dominations Thrones Cherubins Seraphins Tho. Aqui. Angels vvere of the light created with the light ordayned to serue God who is the Lord of light Angels Sunne Moone starres and other celestiall motions confirme and approoue a superior Dietie The diuine nature of Angels suffereth neyther change nor end for they are immutable and diuine All the world is the Temple of God and all Angels his ministers Euery true Minister is a true Angell and their tongues bear the embassage of the most high God The loue of men is written on the bosoms of Angels Angeli sic foris exeunt vt internis contemplationis gaudijs non priuentur Apostatae Angelo similis efficitur homo qui hominibus esse similis dedignatur Of Vertue Defi. Vertue is a disposition and power of the reasonable part of the soule which bringeth into order decencie the vnreasonable part by causing it to propound a conuenient end to it owne affections and passions whereby the soule abideth in a comly and decent habit executing that which ought to be done according to reason briefely it is a proportion and vprightnesse of lyfe in all poynts agreeable to reason HE that desireth to be called vertuous it is first requisite that he be good therfore in the account of reputation it is
impurity of the hart and doe watch it with all diligence that they can and labour to restraine that the corruption thereof burst not out eyther to the hurt of themselues or others Let no deuout soule be dismayed because his prayer is not suddainly heard but hope with patience the visitation of our Lord because he will poure his mercy plentifully on all those that call vpon him In our prayers we ought diligently to aske for mortification of our appetites and passions for they are subtile enemies The Romaines vpon certaine high dayes prayed for encrease of wealth to the people of Rome which Scipio beeing Censor changed saying that it was sufficient and that they ought onely to pray vnto God to preserue it such as it was Thy prayer is thy speech to God when thou readest God speaketh to thee when thou prayest thou talkest with God Let prayer ascend that grace may descend Hee that knoweth how to pray well knoweth how to liue well VVher the mercy of the giuer is not doubted the negligence of him that prayeth is to be reprehended Prayer must be accompanied with the exercise of mortification No prayer can tie the will of God vnto vs except first of all we renounce and conquer our owne wills Pray in thy hart vnto God at the beginning of all thy works that thou mayst bring them to a good conclusion Fixe thy iudgement in prayer on thy faith and not on thy experience because fayth is true and experience deceitfull Pray not to God to giue thee sufficient for that hee will giue to euery man vnasked but pray that thou maist be contented and satisfied with that which he giueth thee Heauen shall cease to be when it shall cease to runne and men cease to prosper when they cease to pray The wrath and loue of God follow each other but the former is mittigated by prayer and repentance Prayer repentance bringeth peace to the vnquiet conscience Orans considerare debet quid petit quem petit seipsum qui petit Bernardus Flectitur iratus voce rogante Deus Of Blessednes Defi. Blessednesse or beatitude is the grace of God and his benefits bountifully bestowed on them that serue him and keepe his commaundements TRue blessednes from mortall eyes is hid and left as obiect to the purer spirits That man cannot be truly blessed in whom vertue hath no place A man that is wise although he fall into extreame pouerty yet is hee very rich and greatly blessed Aristotle calleth blessednes an outward quietnes Blessednes farre of beginneth from humilitie A blessed man cannot erre There is no truer happines in this life then that vvhich beginneth euerlasting happines and no truer misery then that which leadeth to euerlasting misery The first felicity that godly men haue after this life is the rest of their soule in Christ the second shall be the immortality and glory of their bodies Socrates and Plato of all the Philosophers were in the rightest way to blessednes yet that small sparkle of truth was often quenched with opinions This is perfection and happines euen for euery thing to attaine the ende for which it was created and therein to rest and be blessed Since in euery thing the excesse is hurtfull the aboundance of felicitie is most daungerous It is not true blessednes which hath an end Hatefull and haplesse is that happines that trayneth men from truth to insolence If thou knowest all that ought to be known thou art truly blessed They are to be accounted blessed to whom Fortune hath equally wayed the good with the euill All things truly belonging to blessednes do cheefely consist in the noble vertue of wisedome True blessednes consisteth in a good life a happy death Not the rich but the wise auoyde miserie and become happy and blessed They that thinke riches the cause of happines deceaue themselues no lesse then if they supposed that cunning playing vppon the Lute or Harpe came from the instrument and not from Art That man is vvorthily counted blessed to whom nothing can seeme intollerable which may discourage him or nothing so pleasant that may proudly puffe him vp or make him vaine-glorious Those men be truly blessed whom no feare troubleth no pensiuenes consumeth no carnall concupiscence tormenteth no desire of worldly wealth afflicteth nor any foolishnes mooueth vnto mirth True felicity consisteth in the good estate of the soule Felix anima quae spreto turbini seculi pertransiens corporis claustra illius summi et incompres hensibilis lucis potest aliquo illustrari radio faelix cui victa voluptas Terga dedit longi quem non fregere dolores Of Loue. Defi. Loue is the most excellent effect of the soule whereby mans hart hath no fancie to esteeme value or ponder anie thing in this world but the care and study to know GOD neyther is it idle but worketh to serue him whom it loueth and this loue is heauenlie There is also a loue naturall and that is a poison which spreadeth through euery vaine it is an hearb that being sowne in the intrailes mortifieth all the members a pestilence that through melancholy killeth the hart and the end of all vertues LOue is the Maister of boldnes and confidence Loue is an vnreasonable excesse of desire which commeth swiftly departeth slowly VVhosoeuer loueth is deceaued and blinded in that which he loueth The loue that a man getteth by his vertues is most permanent Loue is full of speach but neuer more aboundant therein then in praises A friend loueth alwayes a louer but for a time The loue of beauty is the forgetting of reason Loue begun in perrill sauoureth of greatest delight when it is possessed Loue inchanteth the harts of men with vnfit fanciees and layeth beauty as a snare to intrap vertue Fancie is neuer painted but treading vpon thornes Parrahsius drawing the counterfaite of loue paynted her tickâ—ing youth on the left side with a feather and stinging him on the right side with a Scorpion Loue is a fading pleasure mixed with bitter passions and a miserie tempered with a fewe momentary delights Loue is a vertue if it be mesured by dutifull choise and not maimed with wilfull chance Lawlesse loue neuer endeth without losse nor the nuptiall bed defiled escapes without reuenge Zeno. Fancie is a vvorme that byteth forest the flourishing blossomes of youth Loue is not to be supprest by wisedom because not to be comprehended by reason Hote loue is soone colde and faith plighted vvith an adulterers vowe is tyed vvithout conscience and broken without care Loue as it is variable so is it mighty in forcing effects without deniall As Venus hath her charmes to inchaunt so Fancie is a sorceresse that bevvitcheth the sences Cupid is not to be resisted with courage but entertayned with curtesie Loue vanquisheth Tirants conquereth the mallice of the enuious and reconcileth mortall foes vnto perfect loue and amity Loue is a heate full of coldnes a sweete full of bitternes a paine full of
pleasantnes making thoughts haue eyes and harts eares bred by desire nursed by delight weaned by iealousie kild by dissembling and buried by ingratitude That which with the hart is loued with the hart is lamented Loue is a worme vvhich commonly liues in the eye and dies in the hart Legmon To be free from loue is straunge but to think scorne to be beloued is monsterous Loue and royalty can suffer no equals Loue being honest may reape disdaine but not disgrace Loue is the daughter of desteny the simpathy of afectiōs is fore-pointed by the stars He that feedes vppon Fancy may be troubled in the disgestion Loue vvithout his fruite is lyke a picture without a face Loue neuer tooke thought but neere her lifes end hope of heauen had neuer feare of hell Things immortall are not subiect to affection Affection bred by inchauntment is like a flower wrought in silke in colour and forme most like but nothing at all in substance and sauour Loue gotten by witch-craft is as vnpleasant as fish taken with medicines vnwholsome Loue is a Camelion vvhich draweth nothing into the mouth but ayre nourisheth nothing in the body but the tongue Loue breaketh the brain but neuer bruseth the brow consumeth the hart but neuer toucheth the skinne and maketh a deep scarre to be seene before any wound be felt A man hath choyse to begin loue but not to end it It is meet for Louers to prefer manners before money and honesty before beauty Lawlesse loue without reason is the verie load-stoue to ruth and ruine Loue couereth a multitude of sinfull offences and loyaltie recouereth a world of infirmities Loue knots are tyed with eyes cannot be vntyed with hands made fast with thoughts not to be vnloosed with fingers To haue a saire Mistresse in loue and want golde to maintaine her to haue thousands of people to fight and no penny to pay them maketh your Mistres wilde and your souldiours tame True loue is neuer idle but worketh to serue him whom he loueth Aug. As Iuie in euery place findeth some-what to cleaue vnto so loue is sildome without a subiect Likenes of manners maketh loue stedfast and pure Haunt not too much thy friends house for that ingendereth no great loue neyther bee thou long frō thence for that begetteth hate but vse a meane in all things Socrates Better are the rebukes of him that faythfully loueth then the flattering wordes of hym that deceitfully hateth Mar. Aur. VVithout loue no vertue can be perfect Loue as Plato the Phylosopher sayth is threefold the first onely embraceth vertue the second is infamous which preferreth bodilie pleasure the third is of the body and soule nothing more noble thē the first then the second nothing more vile the third is equall to both Loues scope beeing pleasure it will not so much as vtter griefe in the forme of pleasure Loue is a cruell impression of that wonderfull passion which to bee defined is impossible because no wordes reach to the strong nature of it and onely they knowe it which inwardly doe feele it Hee that makes not his Mistresse a Goldsinch may perhaps in time finde her a VVagtayle The assaults of loue must be beaten back at the first sight least they vndermine at the second Pythag. He that looketh to haue cleere water must digge deepe hee that longeth for sweet musicke must straine Art to the highest and he that seeketh to win his loue must stretch his labour and hazard his lyfe It falleth out in loue as it doth with Vines for the young Vines bring the most wine but the old the best Byrds are trayned with sweet calls but they are caught with broad Nets so louers are inlured with fayre lookes and intangled vvyth disdainfull eyes Of loue mixed with mockery foloweth the truth of infamie Pythag. He that hath sore eyes must not behold the Candle nor he that would leaue his loue fall to the remembrance of his Lady for the one causeth the eyes to smart and the other procureth the hart to bleede A louer is like the hearb Helitropiam which alwaies inclineth to that place where the sun shyneth beeing depriued of the sun dyeth Like as the fire wasteth the wood so scornfulnes consumeth loue Her There must be in euery triangle three lines the first beginning the figure the second augmenteth the figure and the third concludes it So in loue there are three vertues affection which drawes the hart secrecie which increaseth the hope and constancie which sinisheth the worke Loue can neuer be truly fixed when in him that is beloued there wanteth merrit It is conuenient in loue to be discreet and in hatred prouident and aduised Loue is a frantick frenzie that so infects the mindes of men that vnder the tast of Nectar they are poysoned with the water of Stix Loue brings one lewd lookes to command by power and to be obeyed by force Loue and Fortune fauors them that are resolute Louers oft tymes proceed in theyr sutes as Crabs whose paces are alwayes backward As affection in a louer is restlesse so if it bee perfect it is endlesse Loue is a sweet tyrannie because the louer endureth his torments willingly The mind of a louer is not where he liueth but where he loueth Loue fixed on vertue increaseth euer by continuaunce The passionate Louer if he sayle loue is his Pilot if he walke loue is his companion if he sleepe loue is his pyllow Loue is onely remedied by loue and fancie must be cured by affection Sophocles being demaunded what harme he would wish to his enemy aunswered that he might loue where he was not fancied Loue is most fortunate where courage is most resolute Affections are harder to suppresse then enemies to subdue Louers othes are like fetters made of glasse that glister fayre but couple no constraint Loue maketh a man that is naturally addicted to vice to bee endued vvith vertue forcing him to apply himselfe to all laudable exercises that thereby he may obtaine his louers fauour coueting to bee skilfull in good letters that by his learning he may alure her to excell in musicke that by his melodie hee may intice her to forine his speech in a perfect phrase that by his learning eloquence he may perswade her and what nature wanteth he seeketh to amend by nurture the onely cause of thys vertuous dysposition is loue Loue be it neuer so faythfull is but a Chaos of care fancie though neuer so fortunate is but a masse of myserie Chilo Loue is to be dryuen out by reason not to be thrust out by force Amidst the naturall passions of man loue is the fountaine of all other The louer being angry doth flatter hymselfe with many lyes The louer knoweth what hee dooth desire but he knoweth not what he should desire Loue may wither by little and little but the roote will not be remooued on a suddaine It is a profit for young men and a fault for old men to
liue well Like as in a payre of tables nothing may be well written before the blots and blurs be wiped out so vertue and noblenesse can neuer be seene in a man except hee first put away his vices Mar. Aur. Measure thy pathes and marke what vvay thou walkest so shalt thou be sure to passe in safetie Si vis ab omnibus cognosci da operam vt á nemine cognoscaris Nulli te facias nimis sâ—dalem Gaude bis minus et minus dolebis Of Consideration Defi. Consideration or iudgement is that which properly ought to be in euery Magistrate obseruing the tenor of the law it is the distinguisher of controuersies and bringer foorth of happy counsailes and agreements COnsideration is the enemie to vntimelie attempts Actions well meant ought alwayes to bee well taken There is no needles poynt so small but it hath his compasse neither is there any haire so slender but it hath his shadow Hee is not to be accounted rich vvho is neuer satis-fied nor happie vvhose stedfast minde in quyet possession of vertue is not established It is better to practise doe aduisedly then to thinke and imagine neuer so wisely The consideration of pleasures past greatly augments the paines present No man doth so much reioyce at his prosperity present as he that calleth to minde his miseries past Chilo It is farre better for a man to be absent then present at perrils It is a benefit to denie such thinges as will hurt him that asketh them The pardon may well be granted where he that hath offended is ashamed of his fault VVise men will alwaies consider what they ought to do before they conclude any thing As we haue the audacity to commit a fault so if wee list wee may inforce our selues to worke amends August In any affaires whatsoeuer there can be no greater danger or else no greater safety then soundly to consider into vvhose hands men commit their causes Not so hard is the inuention in getting as the disposition in keeping when it is gotten Men loose many thinges not because they cannot attaine them but because they dare not attempt them Pythag. As a vessell sauoureth alwayes of the same liquor wherewith it was first seasoned so the minde retaineth those qualities in age wherin it was trained vp in youth CoÌ„sideration is the root of all noble things for by her we doe attaine to the end of all our hopes True consideration is the tutor both to action and speaking The haters of consideration neuer prosper in their actions Consideration is an honour to the meanest and improuidence a shame in princes Good consideration ought to be laide before we giue credit for faire tongs oft-times worke great mischiefes Circumspect heed is an espetiall care of the minde to bring those things which wee take in hand to some good purpose Circumspect heede in warre is the cause of scaping many dangers in peace Circumspect peace doth all things to the increase of vnity amongst men The causes bringing circumspection are feare care necessity and affection Feare afflicteth care compelleth necessity bindeth affection woundeth Bee circumspect to shevve a good countenaunce to all yet enter not into familiaritie with any but onely such whose conuersation is honest and vvhose truth by triall is made trusty Archim Suddaine trust brings suddaine repentance Qui sua metitur pondera ferre potest versate diu quid ferre recusent Quid valeant humeri Of Office Defi. Office or dutie is the knowledge of man concerning his owne nature contemplation of diuine nature and a labour to benefit our selues and all other men it is also taken for authority or rule MAns life may not bee destitute of office because in it honesty consisteth Office is the ende where-vnto vertue aymeth and chiefely when vve obserue things comely Office marrieth the soule to respect maketh it principally acquainted with piety The first office of dutie is to acknowledge the Diuinity Office is strenthened by zeale and zeale makes opinion inuinsible VVee must feare a dissembling officer because he delights in a tyrannous office A busie officer doth best become a troublesome office The office of a wise-man prefers euer consideration before conclusion Office without profit brings a man to pouerty and profit without office looseth his best reward Men to rule mens desires is the greatest authority In dooing nothing but what we ought wee deserue no greater reward but what we beare about vs. Chris. To know euill is an office of profit but to vse euill is a sinne of indignity Vpon the Anuile of vpbrayding is forged the office of vnthankfulnes It is an office of pitty to giue a speedy death to a miserable and condemned creature It is also an office of charitable loue to doe good vnto euery man that needeth and to refraine from seeking reuenge for our owne iniuries Loue sufficiency and exercise are the three beauties which adorne offices Old men well experienced in lawes and customs ought chiefly to be chosen Officers It is not meete that man should beare anie authoritie which with his money seeketh to buy another mans office The buiers of offices sell by retaile as deerâ— as they can that which they buy in grosse No poynt of philosophy is more excellent then office in publique affaires if officers doe practise that which Philosophers teach VVhere offices are vendible there the best monied ignorants beare the greatest rule They which sell offices sell the most sacred thing in the vvorld euen iustice it selfe the Common-wealth subiects and the lawes It is as hard an office to gouern an Empire as to conquer an Empire He is only fit to rule beare office which comes to it by constraint against his will The office of a Monarke is continually to looke vpon the Law of God to engraue it in his soule and to meditate vpon his word Officers must rule by good lawes good examples iudge by prouidence wisedome and iustice and defend by prowesse care vigilancie Agesil Pericula labores dolores etiam optimus quisque suscipere mauult quaÌ„ deserere vllam officij partem Cicero Sigismundus Romanorum Imperator dicere solitus est nulla nobis militia opus esset si suas quique ciuitates praetores caeterique magistratus moderaté iustequé gubernarent Of Auncestors Defi. Auncestors are our fore-fathers the reputed first beginners of our names and dignities from whom we challenge a line all desent of honour proouing our selues of theyr selfe substance TRue nobility desending from auncestry prooues base if present life continue not the dignity VVhat can the vertue of our ancestors profit vs if we doe not imitate theÌ„ in their godly actions Great merrits aske great rewards great auncestors vertuous issues As it is more coÌ„mon to reuenge then to reward so it is easier to be borne great then to continue great Stobaeus VVhere the perrill is great and the redresse doubtfull men are content to leaue right auncestrie in distresse It is miserable
for three causeth first for that she was a Kings daughter secondly a Kinges vvife thirdly a Kings mother VVhen Fortune commeth suddainly with some present delight pleasure it is a token that by her â—â—attering vs she hath made ready her snares to catch vs. Aurel. As the fortune of this world shall make thee reioyce ouer thine enemies euen so it may make thine enemies reioyce ouer thee Through idlenes negligence and too much trust in fortune not onely men but Citties and kingdoms haue been vtterly lost and destroyed Fortune is exceeding slippery and cannot be held of any man against her owne will Fortune is neuer more deceitful then when shee seemeth most to fauour Plot. Fortuna multis dat nimis satis nulli Nulla tam bona est fortuna de qua non possis quaeri Of Riches Defi. Riches of the Phylosophers Poets are called the goods of Fortune vnder which are comprehended plate money iewels Lands possessions in aboundance they are according to theyr vse good or badde good if they be well vsed bad if they be abused RIches are good when the party that possesseth them can tell how to vse them Riches rightly vsed breed delight pleasure profit and praise but to him that abuseth them they procure enuie hatred dishonor and contempt Plautus As the greater wee see our shadow the neerer we draw towards night so must we feare least the more that wee our selues abound in wealth the further of truth and the light estrange themselues from vs. A wicked man is eyther wicked of himselfe or heyre to a wicked man Ierom. As pouertie is not meritorious if it bee not borne with patience no more are riches hurtfull vnlesse they be abused It commonly happeneth that those men which enioy most wealth are most vexed with the greedy desire of getting more and mightily molested with feare least they shold loose what they haue already gotten The greatest riches in the worlde to a good man is his soule and reason by which hee loueth righteousnes and hateth iniquity There is no man more willing to become suretie for another then hee that wanteth most wealth He hath riches sufficient that needeth neyther to flatter nor borrow Solon Rich men without wisedome and learning are called sheepe with golden fleeces The more that a miserable man increaseth in riches the more he diminisheth in friends and augmenteth the number of his enemies Anaxag The riches aboundance of wealth in thys world are priuie thieues that greatly hindereth many men from the study of vertue and all godly exercise Rich men haue need of many lessons to instruct them to doe well Philippus Rich men through excesse idlenesse and delicious pleasures are more grosse conceited then poorer persons Those riches are to bee despised which are lost with too much liberalitie and rust with â—iggardly sparing VVhere riches are honoured good men are little regarded It worketh great impatience in a rich man to be suddainly decayed and fallne into pouertie Hermes He hath most that coueteth least Great substance and possessions maketh vertue suspected because they be ministers of pleasant affections and nurses of vvanton appetites Great aboundance of riches cannot of any man be both gathered and kept without sin Erasmus There be three causes that chiefely mooue mens mindes to desire worldly wealth the one is the loue of riches â—ase mirth and pleasure Another the desire of worship honour and glory The thyrd is the doubtfulnes and mistrust of wicked and faithlesse men which are too much carefull for their owne lyuing heare in this world thinke all they can get too â—iâ—â—â— to sufâ—â—se them Solon Immortall honour exceedeth all transitory treasure Great businesse the hart of man hath to search for the goods of thys world and great paynes to come by them but without comparison the greatest dolour is at the houre of death when we must depart and leaue them Suffisance is the sure holde which keepeth wise men from euill works Polion Vpon a couetous minded man riches are ill bestowed for he is neyther the warmer clothed the better fedde nor any thing in shew the more wealthy for them Money neuer satisfieth the greedy minded man but maketh him more hungry after he hath gotten a little gaine If thou know how to vse money it will become thy hand-maide if not it will become thy maister Small expences often vsed consume great substance in short space No man is rich by his birth for all men are borne naked Money prooueth often the cause of strife sedition and euill will He that delights onely in his riches delights in a dangerous pleasure Men shoulde lyue exceeding quiet if these two words Mine and Thine were taken away Anaxag It is better to haue a man without money then money without a man Plato would haue both plenty and pouertie to be banished his common wealth the one because it caused pleasure idlenes ambition the other because it maketh abiects seditions and men giuen to all filthy luâ—re Siluer commaunds pesants and golde controules Princes Crates Money is the sinnewes of warre and keyes to vnlock hidden secrets VVhere greedy desire of money is there raigneth all manner of mischiefe Affaires are ill ordered where mony vndergoes vertue Plentie begetteth want for hee that hath much needes much Seruice is a recompence for mony and money a recompence for seruice O thou vnsaciable hunger of golde and siluer what is it not that thou dost compell the harts of men to buy and to sell. Tully It is against nature that we should increase our owne riches substance with the spoyle of other mens wealth Hee that hoordeth vp money taketh paines for other men It is a rare miracle for money to want a maister Pacunius As the touchstone tryeth gold so gold tryeth the mindes of men There is no vice more foule then the greedy desire after gaine especially in magistrats and other Rulers in authoritie He is rich that liues content with his estate To be maister of much wealth is to be coÌ„bred with many cares Multa loquor quid vis nummis presentibus opta Et veniet clausum possidet arca Iouem Difficile est virtutes eum reuereri qui semper secunda fortuna sit vsus Of Change Defi. Change is generally any alteration eyther of times states studies opinions or anie other facultie whatsoeuer THe whole world is nothing but a shoppe of change for riches wee exchange pouertie for health sicknesse for pleasure sorrow for honours contempt briefely it is nothing els but change whatsoeuer chaunceth vnto vs. There is no change more certaine then the change of lyfe to death There is no better change then for a man that hath beene lewde to become honest and for a woman that hath beene as lasciuious as Lais to waxe as repentant as Maâ—dlein The vnstayed and wandring minded man is neuer wise VVho changeth peace for war hath all miseries layde open to his eyes his goods spoyled his chyldren slaine
for pouertie sith no man lyueth so basely as he was borne Salust It is giuen onely to a wise man to bee content in pouerty Suffer that with patience which thou canst not auoyde be not displeased at thy poore estate The beggars crutch serueth him both to leane vpon and to fight withall Patiently should that bee borne vvhich no strength can ouer-come nor counsell auoid whether it be pouerty to pinch the body or aduersity to crosse the minde It is better to suffer necessitie then to borrow of him whom a man may not trust Pouerty possessed in safetie is better then great riches enioyed with much feare VVhen a man is plagued with pouerty and sicknesse both ioyned together without any succour or easement then riseth in him an intollerable griefe a fire not able to be quenched a sorrow without remedy a tempest full of wracks Pouerty is a vertue of it selfe Diog. Hee liueth in most wretched estate of beggery that is not indued vvith any good qualitie Si ad naturam viuas nunquam eris paâ—per si ad opinionem nunquam eris diues exiguum natur a desiderat opinio immensum Seneca O vitae tâ—ta facultas Paâ—peris angustiquelares ô munera nondum Intellect a Deum Of Banishment Defi. Banishment is a putting away or driuing out of any man eyther from the place where he ought and should inhabite or from thence where he tooke delight desired to dwell FOr sinne was man thrust into the world therfore his life in it is banishment No banishment is sweete but the banishment of a righteous soule from the prison of a world wearied body Stebeus Banishment is there where is no place for vertue Cic. The banished man without a house to dwell in is like a dead body without a graue to rest in It is better for a man to bee banished his country with wise men then to liue there still amongst fooles He that denieth himselfe to his Country is in banishment already VVheresoeuer a man liues well there is his Country Cic. In exile calamity wee know friends from aduersaries A chast eye exileth licentious lookes To exile a true friend is to loose a persit soule To banish hope is to call home dispaire Good fortune attends not euerie great estate nor euill chance euery exild person To stuffe thy coffers with coyne is to commit thine honour to exile True happines is neuer had till after death nor exile welcome but in death There was neuer foule loue nor faire prison welcome death nor desired banishment It is a needlesse question to aske a sick man if he be willing to haue his health or an exile if he would be called from banishment There is nothing better then a contented minde nor any thing worse then the name of a fugitiue There is more sorrowe in loosing a mans owne Countrey then in conquering a world of other nations Death banishment come soone enough if slow enough In time custome becomes a second nature and long banishment breedes loath in delightfulnes The ayre is neuer vvithout some vvind or some clowde nor a banished man vvithout some crosse or trouble Sweet is rest after long pilgrimage great is the comfort a banished man takes at the tidings of his repealement It is the nature of man to loue those things deerest which are banisht farthest from him Hee that in the morning is proude of his possessions may happen ere night to be banished from his pleasures Seneca Beauty and youth once banished neuer repeale The comfort of fugitiues is that there bee many fugitiues Care followeth a fugitiue person euen as a shadow followes the body Exilium terribile est ijs quibus quasi conscriptus est habitandi locus non ijs qui omnem orbem terrarâ—â— vnam vrbem esse dicunt Cic. Priuari patria magnum malum est sed maius ve quam sermone Of absence and presence Defi. Absence is the departing or losse of a friend or anie other obiect wherein wee take delight and presence is the continuall companie of the partie with whom wee desire to be most conuersant THe presence of the minde is to be preferred before the presence of the body VVee neuer know how profitable the presence of a friend is vntill vvee haue felt the want of his absence for a time Absence in loue makes true loue more firme and constant The absence of friendes is the presence of griefes As contraries are knowne by contraries so the delight of presence is knowne by the hell of absence Man seperate from money is like a soule seperated from a body The griefe of vnwished absence is vvorse then the wound of a stubborne launce The diuorce of sorrow is slow-footed and lasie A teadious presence decayes loue a long absence forgets true familiarity The absence of couetousnes is the prosperitie of present estates Trauaile not to gaine absence for society is the strength to happines Absence puts off happines and time alters resolutions VVhen thought absents it selfe from truth the soule presents her selfe to sinne Demost. The euills got by absence wisedome recureth Take heede of speaking ill of the absent The solitary man is either a God or a beast Much absence is a signe of small loue Life and faith once absented neuer returne The fayrest presence is but a dunghill couered ouer with white and purple VVhilst the presence of power by pleasures gets acquaintance vertue is vnknowne and liues in absence Infamy is neuer absent from arrogancy Men gaine theyr desires by trauaile sustain them by thought and are absent from them by anoyance Aristip. The presence of one day blameth the absence of another but the last shall giue iudgement of all that is past Absence from euill cleeres vp of euill The absence of punishment is no pardon for transgressions Absence is death death is rest absent death is deaths rest Non vna eademque molestia est rerum praesentium et absentium Euripides Distantia locinon seperat amicitiam sed operationem Aristotle Of Acts. Defi. Acts are the monumentall deedes of our liues and our actions are the Ensignes by which are knowne the perfectnes of our good or euill lyuing ALl the praise of inward vertue consisteth in outward action An action without reason a reason without an action are both alike imperfit Action is the ready entrance into contemplation A silent deede is better then an vnperformed word Crates Neyther can good words colour a bad action nor badde vvordes depraue from a good action Shape beautifies an image good actions commends a man Actions are by so much more manifest then words by how much the eyes are surer witnesses then the eares It is an argument of too much weakenesse to remember what should haue been doone Action is the life of contemplation and the tongue of conceit In action a man doth not onely benefit him selfe but profit others S. P. S. God would neuer haue deliuered a soule into the body which hath
sound of harmonie is made which reioyceth the spirits vnloadeth griefe from the hart and consisteth in time and number THE most commendable end of musick is the praise of GOD. Disagreeing musick and vaine pastimes are the hinderances of delight The brutish part of the soule depending of the feeding beast vvithout reason is that which is pleased and ordered by soundes and musicke Musick is fitter for funeralls then feasts rather meete for passions of anger then dalliance and delight Eurip. Musicke vsed moderatly like sleepe is the bodies best recreation Loue teacheth musicke though a man bee vnskilfull Plutar. Musick is the gyft of God The better musicke the more delighted in To sing well and to lyue ill is abhominable before God Nothing rauisheth the minde sooner then musick and no musicke is more sweete then mans voyce There is no lawe to be compared with loue nor any Art to the Art of musick The ignorance of musick hindereth the vnderstanding of the scriptures August One day takes from vs the credite of another and one musick extinguisheth the pleasure of another Musick and pleasure are euer counted best when they cost deerest Musick ouercommeth the hart the hart ruleth all other members Beautie is no beautie without vertue nor musicke no musicke without Art Musick is a comfort to the mind oppressed with melancholie Diuersitie and change is Natures chiefest musicke That musicke looseth most his sounde and grace which is bestowed vpon a deafe man It is impossible with great strokes to make sweet musick Patience exceedeth knowledge musick begetteth patience The loude sound of Drummes and Trumpets is counted a Captaines vvarfaring musicke Musicke which comforts the minde hath power to renue melancholie Eurip. Shame and danger are prides musitians Hope is grieâ—es best musick and ouercomes the desires of the soule Musicke ouer our soules is both Queene Mistresse All things in this world is but the musick of inconstancie All thinges loue theyr likes and the most curious eare the delicatest musick Too much speaking hurts too much galling smarts and too much musicke gluts and distempereth Musick is the world of sciences for it imbraceth all discipline without which it cannot be perfit Architas inuented a certaine musical instrument to stay the running with of chyldren Youth ought to exercise themselues in musicke and to employ theyr time in those harmonies which stirre vp to commendable operations morrall vertues tempering desires greedines and sorrowes forasmuch as musicke consisteth in certaine proportions and concords of the voyce Musick is the Load-stone of fellowship the cheerfull reuiuer of dulled spirits the sole delight of dauncing Siluestres homines sacer interpresque Deorum Caedibus et faedo victu deterruit Orpheâ—s Dictus ob id lenire tigres rabidosque leones Vt quidam magnetes ferruÌ„ attrahunt at Theamedes qui in Aethiopia nascitur ferrum abigit respuitque Ita est musices genus quod sidet affectus est quod incitet Of Dauncing Defi. Dauncing is an actiue motion of the bodie which proceedeth from the lightnesse of the hart iudicially obseruing the true time and measure of musicke TIme Dauncing are twinnes begot together Time the first borne beeing the measure of all mouing dauncing the mouing of all in measure Dauncing is loues proper exercise Dauncing is the child of musick loue Dauncing lyke Loue his Sire whom paynters make a boy euer flourisheth in lustie youth Loue brought foorth the three Graces vvith hande in hande dauncing an endlesse round and with regarding eyes that still beware that there be no disgrace found among them Ganimede Hebe and the nine Muses ryde on the Zodiack for pleasing loue vvith dauncing Bacchus taught the people of East-India to honour heauen and heauens great rouling eye with daunces Duncing is the faire character of the worlds consent the heauens great figure and the earths ornament The virgins of Basill on the festiuall dayes vse to daunce publiquely without the company and leading of men and to sing chast songs And by this meanes effeminacie idlenes and lasciuiousnesse beeing auoyded they become the mothers of vvell knit and manly chyldren Ramus King Dauid to shew his cheerefull hart for the returne of the Arke daunced before it Pirrhus play which he inuented in Creete for the souldiours to exercise themselues in Armes wherein he taught diuers iestures and sundry shyfts in mouings whence first proceeded much the vse of warres was a kinde of dauncing in Armes as Dionisius Halicarnassaeus in his 7. booke testifieth The Ethiopians vsed songs of diuers tunes and dauncing before they went to warres The dauncing of Herodias daughter cost Iohn Baptist his head Progne the wife of Tereus in a daunce dyd finde fit time and place to murther her sonne Itis VVhen the Mermaides daunce and sing they meane certaine death to the Marriner VVhen the Dolphins daunce some dangerous storme approcheth The soberer and wiser sort among the heathen haue vtterly disliked dauncing and among the olde Romaines it was counted a shame to daunce Dauncing is the chiefest instrument of ryot and excesse Salust No man beeing well in his wits wil daunce neyther will an honest man daunce openlie if he might get thereby very great inheritance Cicero Semphronia a Romaine Lady although fortunate in husband chyldren famous for her knowledge in learning yet was blemished with note of lasciuiousnes for more then necessary expertnes in footing a daunce Plato and Aristippus beeing inuited to a banquet of Dionisius being both by him commaunded to array themselues in purple and to daunce Plato refused with thys aunswere I am borne a man and know not how to demeane my selfe in such vvomanish effeminacie Aristippus arrayed himselfe in purple prepared himselfe to daunce with thys aunswere At the solemnities of our Father Liber a chast minde knoweth not hovve to be corrupted Clisthenes King of Sicyon hauing a daughter marrigeable commaunded that it should bee proclaimed at the games of Olympus that he that would bee counted Clisthenes son in lawe shoulde within threescore dayes repaire to Sicyon VVhen many wooers had mette together Hippoclides the Athenian sonne of Tisander seemed the fittest but when as hee had trode the Laconique and Attique measures and had personated them with hys legs and armes Clisthenes stomaking it sayd O thou sonne of Tisander thou hast daunced away thy marriage Albertus the Emperour father of Ladislaus was wont to say that hunting was the exercise of a man but dauncing of a woman Fredericke the thirde Emperour of Rome would often vse to say that hee had rather be sicke of a burning Feauer then giue himselfe to dauncing Alphonsus that most puisant King of Aragon and Sicily was wont to taxe the French men of great lightnes who the more auncicient in yeres they waxed the more they delighted themselues vvith vaine and franticke dauncing The same Alphonsus when he had beheld a woman daunce very lasciuiously and impudently Behold quoth hee by and by Sybilla will deliuer an Oracle
Saint Augustine reproueth Varro Pontifex Scaeuola vvho were of opinion that it vvas very expedient men shoulde bee deceiued in Religion because that there is no felicitie or certaine rest but in the ful assurance thereof and in an infallible truth without diuinitie and the doctrine of GOD none can take any principle at all in the discipline of manners Polybius vvriteth that nothing so much aduaunced the Romaines as theyr Religion albeit it were not pure The VVorde is a medicine to a troubled spirit but being falsely taught it prooueth a poyson Bern. Religion is like a square or ballance it is the canon and rule to liue well by and the very touch-stone vvhich discerneth truth from falshood The auncient Fathers haue gyuen three principall markes by which the true Religion is known first that it serueth the true God secondly that it serueth him according to his VVord thirdly that it reconcileth that man vnto him which followeth it The true worshyppe of God consisteth in spyrit and truth Chrisost. VVhere religion is Armes may easily bee brought but where Armes are without religion religion may hardly be brought in There can bee no surer signe of the ruine of a kingdome then contempt of religion There can bee no true Religion vvhere the word of God is wanting Those men are truly religious which refuse the vain transitory pleasures of the world and wholy sette theyr mindes on diuine meditations Hee which is negligent and ignorant in the seruice of his Creator can neuer be careful in any good cause Religion doth linke and vnite vs together to serue with willingnes one God almighty It is the guide of all other vertues and they who doe not exercise themselues therein to withstand all false opinions are like those souldiers which goe to warre vvithout weapons The Romaines allowed the seruice of all Gods and to that end builded a Temple to all Gods called Pantheon yet woulde they neuer receiue the true God to wit Iehouah the Lord God of the Hebrues The principall seruice of God consisteth in true obedience which the prophets call a spirituall chastitie not to swarue there-from nor to thinke that whatsoeuer wee find good in our owne eyes pleaseth him The knowledge of true religion humilitie and patience entertaineth concord August If men dyd knowe the truth and the happinesse which followeth true religion the voluptuous man woulde there seeke his pleasures the couetous man his wealth the ambitious man his glory sith it is the onely meane which can fill the hart and satisfie theyr desire it serueth vs also for a guide to leade vnto God whereas the contrary dooth cleane with-hold vs from him No creature is capable of religion but onelie man Basil. The first precept that Socrates gaue to the Prince Demonicus was Tima ton Theon feare God The first law that should bee giuen to men should be the increase of religion and pietie The chiefest oath that the Athenians tooke was this In defending religion both alone with others will I fight against my foes The auncient Romaines through the instinct of Nature dyd so reuerently thinke of Religion that the most noble men of Rome sent theyr sonnes into Hetrurio to learne the manner of seruing God It is a very hard matter to change religion VVhere no religion resteth there can be no vertue abiding August True Religion is to be learned by fayth not by reason Religion is in truth not in falshood Religion is the stay of the weake the Mayster of the ignorant the phylosophie of the simple the oratory of the deuout the remedie of sinne the counsaile of the iust and the comfort of the troubled Pure religion vndefiled before God the Father is thys to visite the fatherlesse and widdowes in theyr aduersity and for a man to keepe himselfe vnspotted of the world Philosophia pernosci non potest siue Christiana veraque religione quam prelucentem si tollis fateor ecce et clamo ludibrium illa vanitas delirium Oportet principem anté omnia esse deicolam Country or Commonweale Defi. Our Country is the region or clime vnder which we are borne the Common mother of vs all which wee ought to holde so deere that in the defence thereof wee should not feare to hazard our liues THere can bee no affinitie neerer then our Countrey Plate Men are not borne for themselues but for theyr Countrey parents kindred friends Cicero There is nothing more to be desired nor any thing ought to bee more deere to vs then the loue of our Country Children parents friendes are neere to vs but our Country challengeth a greater loue for whose preseruation wee ought to appose our liues to the greatest dangers It is not enough once to haue loued thy Country but to continue it to the end Plut. VVhere soeuer wee may liue well there is our Country The remembrance of our Country is most sweet Liuius To some men there country is their shame and some are the shame of theyr country Let no man boast that he is the Cittizen of a great Citty but that he is worthy of an honourable Country Arist. VVe ought so to behaue ourselues towards our Country vnthankful as to a mother The profit of the country extendeth it selfe to euery Citty of the same Stobaeus Our Country saith Cicero affoordeth large fields for euery one to runne to honor So deere was the loue of his Country to Vlisses the he preferred his natiue soyle Ithaca before immortality Our country first challengeth vs by nature The whole world is a wisemans country Necessity compelleth euery man to loue his country Eurip. The loue which we beare to our country is not pietie as some suppose but charity for there is no pietie but that which we beare to God and our Parents Many loue theyr Countrey not for it selfe but for that which they possesse in it Sweet is that death and honourable which we suffer for our Country Horace If it be asked to whom we are most engaged and owe most duty our Countrey and parents are they that may iustly challenge it The life which we owe to death is made euerlasting beeing lost in the defence of our Countrey Giue that to thy country which she asketh for nature will constraine thee to yeeld it Happy is that death which beeing due to nature is bestowed vpon our Country Happy is that common-wealth where the people doe feare the law as a tyrant Plato A cōmon-wealth consisteth of two things reward and punishment Solon As the body without members so is the common-wealth without lawes Cicero Peace in a common-wealth is like harmony in musick Aug. Men of desert are least esteemed of in their owne Country Erasmus Coriolanus beare vnkinde Armes against his Countrey Plut. Nascia was most woorthily renowned for the defence of his Country Appian Q. Mutius Scaeuola Curtius deserued euerlasting memory for louing their country Nescio qua natale solum dulcedine cunctos Allicit et memores non sinit