bare vnto him to confound the slaunderer and to propound to euery one in the person of his seruant Iob an example and patterne of true feare of true loue of true faith and of true patience We see then that there are two sorts of hired loue because it may be such not onely in respect of him that receiueth a benefit but of him also that bestoweth it when hee doeth it for the causes aforesaide But he that doth good onely of charitie and loue hath no such scope but looketh only to the good which he delighteth to communicate to others in respect of that goodnes which is in himselfe Therefore he hath a more sure and excellent beginning of his loue namely his owne goodnes and will then he hath that receiueth the good whose loue beginneth at neede and want That Loue also which is grounded vpon goodnesse goeth on more easily and with greater courage from good to better then that which commeth from necessitie proceedeth to good For he that doth good imparteth the same frankely of his owne good will because hee will do so and therefore it redoundeth to his great honour But hee that receiueth a good turne taketh it because hee hath neede of it and therefore hee must acknowledge himselfe bound to his Benefactour For this cause he is somewhat ashamed of his neede and want For as Saint Paul witnesseth according to the saying of Iesus Christ It is a blessed thing to giue rather then to receiue Therefore that may well bee said in this respect which is commonly spoken namely that although Loue be of the nature of fire which alwayes mounteth vpward yet doeth it descend but neuer ascend For Fathers and Mothers alwayes loue their children yea their childrens children better then their children loue them The like may be saide of others that are in the place of parents And by a greater reason this may be spoken of the loue of God our Father towardes vs as also of the loue of Christ Iesus For he did not onely loue vs before we loued him yea euen then when we were yet his enemies but nowe also wee come farre short of louiâ—â— him as hee loueth vs. Therefore hee is called by Saint Iohn not onely louing and charitable but euen Loue it selfe For as he is the Creator of all things so he loueth perfecteth and preseueth them all and turneth them vnto himselfe But among all other things which drawe Loue nothing is of greater force then Loue it selfe For as one fire draweth another so is it with loue for one draweth and engendreth another Therefore if wee would be loued wee our selues must loue But when the contrary falleth out nameely that we are hated of them towards whome wee are well affected it is because hee that is loued doeth not knowe nor feele the loue that is borne him For likenesse hath such force and vertue in loue that it is as it were the mother therof For seeing euery one by nature loueth himselfe greatly and similitude is as it were the same in many it causeth him that resembleth vs to be as it were our selues whereupon it followeth that the same likenesse which causeth vs to loue an other induceth him also to loue vs. And againe loue causeth him that doth loue to engraue imprint in his heart that face and image which he loueth so that the heart of him that loueth is made like to a looking glasse in which the image of the party beloued shineth and is represented Therefore when hee that is loued and beholdeth and acknowledgeth himself in him that loueth him he is mooued and whetted on to loue him againe as one within whome he knoweth himselfe to be as it were Inhabitant yea as a second selfe Moreouer he that loueth doth as it were depriue himselfe of himselfe and giue himselfe to him whome hee loueth Therefore he that is beloued accompteth him deere and is as carefull of him as of a thing of his owne So that if wee loue God we shall be in his heart as if our image were engrauen there and his image also shall bee in ours yea hee will be carefull of vs as of his owne children as wee likewise wil be very careful of his honor and glory And the more we know his loue towards vs the liker we shal be vnto him and shall loue him the more as he in like maner wil loue vs the more Nowe because men can neither see nor know one anothers heart and wil to iudge of their loue we must declare the same by outward workes For none but God knoweth the hearts and willes of men Neuerthelesse he wil haue vs to manifest by workes our loue towardes him and our neighbours as hee hath shewed vs his loue by giuing himselfe with all his benefites vnto vs. Therefore wee must yeelde testimony of our loue by obeying his worde and keeping his holy commaundements the fulfilling of which consisteth in true and perfect charitie But forasmuch as the loue of men is so disordered nowadayes wee are to take 〈◊〉 heede and to looke diligently that wee deceiue not our selues by louing that which wee ought not to loue esteeming that to bee a good thing which is wicked and well done that which is ill done to the ende that our loue be not inordinate and bestowed vpon false and euil things and so prooue a vicious desire rather then true loue Therefore it shall be good if following our matter we consider what this affection of cupiditie or desire is properly and what are the kinds of it and how wee may separate it from Loue. Let vs then hear ken to ARAM discoursing of this matter Of Desire and Coueting and of the kindes of it of the infinitenesse of mens desires and what Good is able to satisfie and content it of the difference betweene Desire and Loue and of the vtmost limit and ende of Loue. Chap. 51. ARAM. As at the entry of a forrest some one path may seeme to be broade and beaten enough yet afterward when a trauailer is well entred into it he beginneth to loose it by little and little and being amazed the farther hee walketh on the more he wandreth out of his way euen so when as sensualitie inuiteth vs to the fruition of some obiect we thinke it an easie matter to attaine thereunto and hope to get some great good thereby but the further wee enter into and follow that path which our concupiscence doth shew vnto vs the worse we find the way to be and can see nothing before vs but a large field full of thornes and thistles which notwithstanding seeme for a time vnto sore eies to be faire floures of very goodly fruit But the tasting of them alwayes bringeth with it a long and late repentance in the ende Nowe as the body of the sunne when he first riseth may be easily looked vpon but after being mounted vp certain degrees in the Zodiake dazeleth the eies of them
in the latter times saieth first That they shoulde bee selfe-louers and hauing set downe this disordered loue as the roote after he commeth to the branches fruits of such a tree saying That they shall bee couetous boasters proude cursed speakers disobedient to parents vnthankfull vnholy without naturall affection truce-breakers false accusers intemperate fierce despisers of them that are good traitors heady bie minded louers of pleasures more theÌ„ louers of God hauing a shew of godlinesse but denying the power therof And in the Epistle to the Romanes he expresly mentioneth haiers of God Thus we see what the loue of meÌ„ is towards theÌ„selues being left in the corruptioÌ„ of their nature in respect of that which ought to be if it were not vnruly disordred For man should loue himselfâ— as the gift of God as also his life being which God hath giuen him that blessed estate for the enioying of which hee hath his being and that Good wherein it consisteth and whereby he may atâ—aine vnto it and shoulde loue no other thing nor otherwise But the great excesse that is in the loue of our selues causeth it to bee cleane contrary both to that loue which ought naturally to be in vs and also to our loue towardâ— God so that it ouerthroweth and confoundeth all heauenly order and the whole course of mans life Neuertheles when it so falleth out that this loue and affection is moderate in vs although in deede it be neuer so as it ought to be according to the rule of Gods will yet are they acceptable in his sight as our other naturall affections and friendships are which we beare towardes them that belong to vs prouided alwayes that they bee ruled and guided by faith and true loue and kinded with the flames of the holy Ghost as they were in Zacharie and Elizabeth towards their sonne Iohn and in so many other holy men as haue loued both themselues and theirs according to God wherof we haue a notable example in Abraham For out of all question if euer father loued his children hee loued his sonne Isaac But he shewed euidently by the effect that he did not onely loue him with the loue of flesh and blood as commonly we loue our children but he loued him also in God towards whome yet his loue was farre greater seeing he was very ready to offer him vp in sacrifice vnto him whe â—he so commanded it But although this naturall loue and affection bee not so pure in vs as in these holy men but that still there is mingled with it some thing of our owne because of sinne which wee hane by inheritance yet is it alwaies acceptable to God so that hee be first and chiefly loued For through his mercie he beareth with our infirmitie which euermore accompanieth our desires and willes As for those that are guided onely by the light of nature and are not regenerated by the spirit of God albeit these naturall affections are too vncleane in them yet they doe not so much displease him as inhumanitie and crueltie doe that are cleane contrary to the other which doe vtterly dispossesse men of loue and charitie We may consider the same things in all the other naturall inclinations For wee see that some are by nature inclined to ciuill iustice some to liberalitie and others to such like vertues Now if these inclinations be well guided they are goodly seedes of vertues but if they bee not well ordered and ruled they corrupt degenerate yeâ— they turne into the vices that are contrary to those vertues For iustice which is neuer without moderation may be turned into ouer great rigour or into crueltie as wee see it in many who being naturally inclined to seueritie which many times is very necessarie iniustice become so rigorous and extreme that their seue ritie which ought to be a vertue is turned into crueltie The like may be â—aid of other inclinations and affections Now that which befalleth these inclinations is procured also vnto them by the humors and qualities of the bodie which haue acertaine agreement with the affections For a sanguine man in whose nature blood beareth greatest sway amongst the other humours and qualities will naturally be more enclined to loue to ioy to liberalitie and to such other affections as are most agreeable to his nature But if this complexion bee not moderated and well guided it will easily passe measure in euerie affection so that it will fall into foolish and vnlawfull loues into excessiue and vnmeasurable ioyes and into prodigalitie in steede of following liberalitie The same may bee saide of all the other temperatures and complexions for their part in that they may bee seedes and prouocatioÌ„s either to vertues or to vices according to that correspondencie which is betweene the bodie and the soule and the temperature of the one with the affections of the other Therefore we may wel conclude that as diseases ingender in the body of the humours that are in it according to their change mingling and corruption so it falleth out in the nature of the soule and in the affections thereof For as good naturall humors become euil by corruption that seazeth vpon them and turne that health which before they affoorded into diseases so the inclinations and naturall affections of our soule which of their owne nature are good and the seedes of vertues are turned into vices and into their seedes through that corruption which sinne bringeth vnto them Behold then what we haue to consider of those natural inclinations that are in the Will in the desiring power of the soule of the actions thereof namely to wil and not to will to suspend and stay her action and to commaunde ouer the power of the appetites of all which wee haue largely intreated in our discourse of the Will Wherefore we will come to the habites of which thou shalt now discourse AMANA Of the Habite of the soule in the matter of the affections and of what force it is of the causes why the affections are giuen to the soule with the vse of them of the fountaine of vertues and vices Chap. 42. AMANA If a man will learne any occupation hee proues not a woorkeman the first day but learneth by little and little and beginneth to labour therein afterward by long continuance and custome he groweth more ready in his arte and practiseth it with greater facilitie and ease A painter waxeth expert in his science by often painting and his hand wherewith he laboureth by long continuance becommeth more steady more ready and able so that he can handle his pensill with greater ease and is farre more expert therein then hee was in the beginning Wee may note the like in the soule and in the chiefe powers and actions thereof For there are some of them which incontinently folow the nature of the faculties of the soule when they haue their iust times and are come as a man
receiue and to embrace it Wherupon ariseth a desire of coniunction to knit the same thing to it selfe and this loue is called Cupiditie Lusting or Coueting But because this affection is so out of square in this our corrupt nature these names are commonly taken more in the euill then in the good part Nowe this affection of desire or coueting hath respect either to that good which we enioy alreadie or which we haue yet in hope onely and in expectation If it be already present this cupiditie breedeth a desire to retaine and keepe it still if it be yet in expectation it bringeth forth a desire and longing to enioy it And in this sort we loue all those things which we esteeme and take to bee profitable for vs either for the soule or for the body or for the external goods For this cause many loue God because they know that it is he who giueth good things vnto men But this is not that true loue wherwith we must loue him For although they are very wicked and too vnthankfull which loue him not at leastwise with such a loue and for that cause yet if we goe no further we loue our selues more then wee doe him in this kind of loue seeing the chiefe cause for which we loue him is not in respect of himselfe but of vs. For we loue him by reason of that good which we receiue from him But true loue is that which causeth vs to loue a thing because it is good in it selfe and not in respect of any profite that may come vnto vs thereby With this loue we ought to loue God and our neighbours and friendes and of this loue wee haue a very cleare and manifest image in the loue of Fathers and mothers towards their children For they loue them not because they haue respect to some good which they may receiue of them but because they are their children For although they receiue nothing but trouble by them from the time of their childehood and expences rather then profit yet that letteth them not from louing them tenderly and with great affection Nowe if by this loue grounded vpon such a cause we iudge the like of the loue of God towards vs seeing it is hee that hath imprinted the same in the heartes of parents towards their children as an image of his loue towards vs we conclude well For seeing he is the fountaine of all true and perfect loue all other loues are but as it were little riuers which flowe from this liuely spring But there is none so expresse an image thereof in all the creatures as in the loue of fathers and mothers towards their children For doeth God loue vs in respect of any profite which hee looketh for at our hands Hereof it is that he setteth forth himselfe vnto vs as a Father to the end we may the better know that he loueth vs with a right fatherly loue Therefore also hee will haue vs to call him Father and so to accoūnt of him yea hee will not haue vs to take any other for our Father of whome to depende wholly but him alone And no doubt but we shoulde receiue wonderfull ioy and consolation if we coulde as well feele within vs that loue which this good Father beareth vs as we feele the loue which we beare towardes our children Now when loue is reciprocall and mutuall so that he which is loued doeth also loue for his part the partie that loueth him then is friendship bred of loue wherein there is mutuall beneuolence and goodwil Wherefore as God loueth vs so muust we for our partes loue him seeing this is the chiefe cause why he hath created man according to his image and similitude and hath giuen him a soule that is immortall and endued with vnderstanding and reason to knowe him first and then to loue him Therefore if wee consider by what steppes wee ascend vp to God we shall finde that as by the loue which he first bare vs we descended from the highest to the lowest so likewise we mount vp againe from the lowest vnto the highest by that loue which wee beare him For our soule descendeth from the highest which is God vnto the lowest which is the bodie by the loue of the Creator towards her who by meanes of this descending and coniunction communicateth his blessednesse both with the soule and with the bodie And as she came downe from him so through the knowledge which she hath of God and loue which she beareth him she ascendeth vp again returneth to her first birth Cōcerning those degrees by which we come thither we begin first at materiall and corporal things as the beginning of mans generation and birth teacheth vs then we come to the senses of the bodie by that vse which we haue of them Afterwarde we vse imagination and fantasie and from that we come to reason and iudgement next to contemplation and last of all to loue Heereby we may learne also to know the steppes of descending seeing they are the same but begunne at the contrarie ende Wherefore if iudgement bee gouerned and ouercome by the affections and reason by fantasie the estate of the soule is wholly ouerturned and peruerted as if the bodie beeing minded to walke shoulde set the head vpon the ground and lift the heeles vpwarde So likewise is it if in steede o mounting vp to God by loue we descend in such sort to the creatures that we ascend vp no more to him that wee may bee one with him For loue maketh all things one Therefore if we be vnited with God there must needes be perfect friendshippe betweene him and vs. For as he loueth vs so we loue him and then our selues for loue of him And from the loue of our selues springeth our loue towards our wiues and children as though they were a part of vs as also towardes our like and towards our woorkes For similitude and likenesse is a great cause of loue seeing that when one resembleth vs it is as if wee our selues were another because similitude maketh many things to be as one and the same thing Wherefore seeing God hath created vs to his image and likenesse it cannot bee but that he loueth his image and similitude in vs and vs also in respect of that as if it were himselfe For this cause the more this image is reformed and renewed in vs the more no doubt hee loueth vs and the like also may be said of our loue towards him In like manner beautie hath great vertue to procure loue and that for many causes For first the beautie which appeareth without in any body is as it were a witnesse and testimonie of the beautie in the soule according to that which we haue already spoken of the agreement of the powers affections thereof with the temperature of the bodie For God hath created all things in such manner that he hath commonly ioyned beautie and goodnes together
vnto it true and perfect loues so the image and similitude thereof draweth the images of loues And that loue whereby almightie God was mooued to create all things proceeded from his owne goodnesse Nowe forasmuch as beautie is a beame of that goodnes which is shed ouer all as the sunne spreadeth his light by his beames the goodlier any thing is so much the more amiable louely it is For the mother of Loue is goodnesse and the mother also of Beautie is goodnesse so that both of them are bredde and borne as it were of one mother And according to the diuersity of natures created by God so are there diuers kindes of beautie which are all as it were beames flames and lights of that heauenly and infinite beautie which is fountaine of al the rest The first chiefest and most excellent kinde of all is that beame of heauenly beauty whereby the spirit and minde is adorned and polished with vnderstanding and contemplation The secondis in that illumination whereby the soule receiueth knowledge Therefore the vnderstanding mounteth vp to those two first degrees of Loue which is drawen by such beauties and from thence proceedeth the loue of spirituall things The third kind which is as it were an other beame of diuine beauty appeareth in the effectes of lower degrees which are in that fruitfulnesse which God hath giuen vnto the creatures putting into them seedes to preserue and to encrease their kindes The last and lowest yea the most troublesome and earthly kinde is in corporall matters which are purtraited and painted with great varietie of formes and shapes And as the vnderstanding ascendeth vp to the two first degrees of which I haue already spoken so the imagination stayeth it selfe in the two last and from thence proceedeth the loue of the body and of bodily things and the affection to beget of that goodly thing thereby to drawe out a forme like to that beautie towardes the which a man is affectionated Nowe when wee shall consider aright of all these degrees and beames of beauty it is certaine that wee wil striue to ascend vp from the lowest to the highest whereas commonly wee descend from the highest to the lowest feeding our spirites with corporall and terrestriall loues which differ from their nature in steade of spirituall and celestiall loues which is their proper foode But we must note further that the greatest last and chiefest force of loue is of many and diuers things to make one and the same Therefore he that loueth our friend or doth him any good seemeth to do that to vs which is done to him and we esteeme of it as if we receiued it our selues For it is the nature of loue which way souer it turne alwayes to ioyne and knit vnto it selfe as on the contrary side hatred is of this nature that it will euermore disioyne and separate For this cause Iesus Christ prayed so earnestly for his vnto his Father to the ende saieth he that they all may be one as thou O Father arte in mee and I in thee euen that they may be also one in vs. And Saint Iohn saieth likewise of him that hee shoulde gather together in one the children of God which were scattered For seeing hee came to destroy the workes of the deuill as he saieth elswhere and seeing it is the nature of this enemy of mankind to scatter to disioyne and separat by reason of the enuy hatred which he beareth to God men it must needs be that Iesus Christ should gather together that which the deuil hath scattered and vnite in one that which he hath separated to the end that as man was one with God before he was seueuered by sinne through the enuy and malice of Satan so hee might returne into vnity and vnion with his Creator by the abolishing of sinne which is the cause of the seperation and by the likenesse of vertue with God through the meanes of Iesus Christ Therefore so great goodnes beneficence of God toward vs ought to enflame our loue towards him and moreouer to encrease the same when wee daily feele new benefits powred vpon vs which proceed come from his burning loue and charitie wherewith he loueth vs although he receiue no benefite thereby For we are to vnderstand that although he which hath receiued a benefit from another ought to carry greater loue towards him then hee that bestowed the benefite is bounde towardes the other to whome hee hath done a good turne yet the contrary oftentimes falleth out The cause whereof is because his loue that bestoweth a good turne proceedâ—th from his owne bountie and goodnesse whereas the loue of him that receiueth a benefite commeth of necessitie So that the one hath a great deale better foundation then the other For that loue which proceedeth of necessitie respecteth our selues because wee loue for the good which wee haue receiued and not in regarde of the person from whome the good commeth And this loue proceedeth from the loue wee beare to our selues so that it ought rather to be called Loue of concupiscence then true Loue. For as wee loue the person that doth vs good because of the good which wee receiue so we loue him and wish his good not so much for it selfe as for ourselues and for that profite which wee hope will come to vs thereby But after wee haue begunne with this kinde of Loue it serueth vs oftentimes as a steppe for to passe by afterwardes vnto true and perfect loue For acquainting our selues to loue them that doe vs good wee learne afterward to loue them not onely for loue of that good which they doe vnto vs but also because of themselues insomuch that we will not cease to loue them although it fall out so that they can doe vs no more good yea although they stand in neede of the like good at our hands againe Now when wee are come to this degree our loue is a great deale more pure yea then is it true loue which nowe loueth not the person beloued onely for loue of it selfe but for loue of him euen with the like loue wherewith it hath beene and yet is loued of him And as he that loueth is voide of true Loue if he loue onely in respect of the good hee receiueth so hee that doeth good loueth not with true loue if hee do it to receiue some profite thereby and with hope of recompence and not meerely for his loue to whome hee doth it For such a man respecteth himselfe more then him whom he pretendeth to loue Such is the loue of hypocrites towards God Therefore they honour and serue him as hirelings doe so long as hee vseth them wel and they see rewarde as Satan accused and slaundered Iob before God as though hee serued him for no other cause but for the benefites which hee receiued of his goodnesse Whereupon it pleased God to take trial of that loue which his seruant
to vs with beasts from reason groweth election which is proper to man and from the minde and spirite in which the image of the diuine essence is engrauen proceedeth the will As then sense knoweth none but sensible and corporall things so the appetite desireth only the same things and as the mind of it owne nature enclineth to the contemplation of spirituall and intelligible things so the will feedeth and contenteth it selfe onely with eternall and heauenly goods Now Man that is to say the soule by nature reasonable being placed as it were in the middest of these two extreames and sustaining wonderfull assaults and combates through the impression of these two contraries taketh part one while with the desires of this side an other while of that according as hee inclineth by his election either to this part or to that by stooping downe to the sense or by lifting vp himselfe to the minde But because of the darkenesse of errour which shadoweth his reason it is very necessary that the spirite of God worke mightily therein to this ende that by the power and vertue thereof the naturall affection of earthly things which offer violence to all the powers of the soule might be transported and lift vp to the desire of celestiall and eternall things Truely forsomuch as Good is the obiect of Loue good reason it is that wee should lift it vpward and separate it from the earth as much as we may For as so many rash affections which are the spring of all vices haue their beginning from earthly loue socōtrariwise celestiall and heauenly loue adorneth the soule with two excellent ornaments namely wisedome and vertue the ground of all true Beauty in which all good all contentation and felicitie consisteth And this loue which hath God for his ende and scope hath three great benefites among many others which are not to bee found in any other loue especially in that of concupiscence For first there is no good so excellent in the enioying of earthly things but it is mingled with some thing that may displease vs or some way harme vs. Whereupon taking it to be a lesse benefite and not altogether so good for vs wee are of this iudgement that it is the lesse to bee wished for of vs. But there is no such thing in God Therefore if the soule of man did beholde him by contemplation not such a one as hee is for that is impossible but as shee might contemplate him notwithstanding she is enclosed in this body shee woulde bee rauished in her loue with greater vehemencie then shee is stirred vp to embrace that which of all mortall and transitorie things shee iudgeth best and most certaine For she should know that God is a Good wherein there is nothing mingled that may breed yrkesomnesse or be hurtful but is altogether profitable and full of pleasure Although it can not be gainsaide but that the contrary seemeth to come to passe oftentimes when we see that they which loue God as they ought which by means of this loue are driuen forward induced to procure his honor and glory with all their might are commonly most visited with griefes losses and sorrowes Whereof it commeth to passe that many are alienated from this loue because they greatly dislike that troublesome estate But we must know that this humane and friuolous consideration proceedeth only of this that the price of loue is diuersly valued For there is one kinde of loue that is perpetuall and firme and another which is temporary according as the present motion of the heart pricketh one forward to followe any thing because at that instant it seemeth vnto him to be good or in regard of the profit which he seeth therein or of the appearance of good which he imagineth is in it As for example we know well that health is a greater good then is the swallowing downe of dainty morselles the pleasure whereof passeth away very quickely And yet it commeth often to passe that our appetite stirreth vs forward with such vehemencie that meere lickerishnes causeth vs to eate such meats as we know are contrary to our health The reason hereof is because we compare not the good that is in taste and in dainty fare which sodainely passeth away with that which is in health which is of a longer continuance or else because wee thinke there will not come so great hurt thereof as there may come or else we hope easily to remedy the same And thus is it with them that consider not what great good there is in God but forget him or els suppose that they cāeasily recouer that which they shal lose by folowing after a terrestriall and transitorie Good which causeth them to turne aside from God For if they thought well vpon it and knewe what losse they receiued they would neuer suffer themselues to be gouerned by their appetites and worldly desires But the bare imagination and consideration of honors and of earthly goods doth so dazell the eyes of their mind that they can not knowe the greatnesse and excellencie of celestiall goods which they forsake for those other Whereas contrariwise if they were not altogether blinde they should perceiue that this light affliction of good men which passeth away in a moment bringeth foorth in them an eternall waight of most excellent glory and maketh them partakers of God who is the perpetuall stedfast reward of their true and holy loue Now touching the second benefit which being in his loue is not to be foūd in the loue of creaturs we are to know that this latter is alwayes in feare and care for that thing which it loueth lest some euill should befall it So that notwithstanding any securitie that may be had yet there is alwayes some vexation in al loue towards men and towards mortall things But in that loue which is towardes God there is nothing but delight without care griefe or disquietnesse For we are very certaine that all things are most safe there full of ioy and lasting happinesse And for the third wee see that in the loue of concupiscence there is commonly enuy and euill iealousie which is one kind of it because many couet that which one alone would wholy possesse But it is cleane contrary in the true loue of the soule wherein is vprightnes and fellowship For he that loueth vertue and a vertuous man is so farre from being iealous that he would not onely haue many companions but wisheth that all the men in the worlde were like affected with him The same may be said of him that loueth God For he would haue al men his companions in that amitie iudgeth al those to be miserable wretched which are estranged from it As for that friend who would alone loue his friend hee loueth not perfectly but rather loueth some thing in him that is profitable to himselfe as namely to enioy alone whatsoeuer good he iudgeth to be in his friend
which is the nature of the loue of concupiscēce that looketh inwardly to it self But true friendship looketh outwardly vpon him whom it loueth insomuch that he which loueth doth die by litle and litle in himselfe but that which he loueth liueth in him Wherfore S. Paul not only knowing the nature of true loue but also hauing felt by experience the vehemencie therof saith I liue yet not I now but Christ liueth in me For he that truly loueth careth no more for himselfe but for that thing which he loueth This degree of loue may be rightly called Rauishing in which the louer is so rapt out of himselfe that he sorgetteth himselfe altogether being wholly in him whom he loueth and he whom he loueth being in him But as we said in the beginding of our speach Good is loued so far forth as it is knowen as we can vnderstand what it is therfore it is necessary that the knowlege of it should be so great that it be sufficiēt to draw loue which encreaseth by thinking often of that thing which is beloued For thereby it is planted rooted more deeply in the heart Wherefore there is nothing more contrary to loue then forgetfulnes the mother of ingratitude especially in our loue towards God For the more we thinke of him the more do we call to minde his goodnes towards vs whereupon also our loue doeth encrease is inslamed in vs towards him And the greater and more burning our loue is the nearer are we vnited linked vnto him Therfore we may well conclude that we loue God according to that measure of knowledge which we haue of him and of his benefits and according as we consider and remember them and if we want these things we loue him not as we ought Now whē we are ioyned vnto the thing that is deare vnto vs according to the end of loue we know it a great deale better because we behold it neerer and then are we said to enioy it Hereupon we may note two kinds of knowledge in loue the one first the other last By the first we beleeue that thing to be good which we do know by the last we haue experience of it which is of great force in al loue because the fruit thereof is the fruition of the thing beloued This enioying is the action of delight and of pleasure which is not onely of the will but also of the vnderstanding as it is in GOD. And if wee take it so Loue shall be as the meane betweene the first knowledge which is onely begunne and the last which is full and perfect which consisteth in the vnion of him that loueth with him that is beloued and wherein the desire that is in loue and which afflicteth and tormenteth the party louing is alwayes abolished not the loue it selfe but being vnited the greater number and the more excellent it findeth the goods in regarde of those which the first knowledge affoorded the more is it encreased and inflamed Heereof it is that we put a difference betweene Loue and the Desire that is in loue because when wee loue a thing wee desire therewithall the fruition and possession thereof And if there be delaie made so that wee cannot enioy the thing so soone as wee woulde this delay tormenteth vs by reason of the desire which presseth and pricketh vs forward to get the possession of it But this torment commeth not of Loue then which there is nothing more sweete and pleasant but of that desire which endeth in the vnion and fruition of the thing beloued In the meane time as long as this desire lasteth the loue from whence it proceedeth causeth the torment to be abated yea it is not without some pleasure especially when there is some hope that at length it may bee obtained and brought about And the more confident this hope is the greater solace yea the greater delight and pleasure it bringeth withall For as loue hath great delight in vnion and fruition so is it not small in hope because it propoundeth vnto vs the enioying of the thing as being present euen as if our imagination had already led vs vnto it Therefore forasmuch as the hope of Gods children is certaine they are nowe beeing in this worlde as it were blessed in heauen although the desire which they haue of greater goodes hoped for yet and to be enioyed in that full vnion and coniunction which they shal haue with God in the life euerlasting causeth them to groane and to sigh continually with all the creatures waiting for their full and perfect deliuerance from all corruption and from this miserable life So that wee can not doubt but that our loue towardes GOD will bee farre greater and much more vehement when as wee shall haue this full fruition of God our soueraigne Good and when wee shall bee perfectly vnited vnto him by true Loue not seeing him obscurely in a glasse onely or knowing him in part as we do nowe but beholding him face to face and knowing him as we haue bin knowen of him For the knowledge which we haue nowe of him is yet but begunne in respect of that which we shall haue fully and wholly in that glorious and immortall life And then also wee shall be wholly swallowed vp with his loue By the same reason we may wel beleeue that the loue and charitie which the godly beare one towardes another in this mortall life and pilgrimage shall be a great deale more enflamed in the other life then euer it was in the holiest and most perfect that euer was amongst them in this world For the better men friends are the more stedfast and firme is their friendship which among good men is alwayes of long continuance but contrariwise with the wicked And to speake properly there is no friendship betwixt them but onely some familiaritie and fellowship or to speake better a conspiracie against right and common peace Howsoeuer it be whether familiaritie or fellowship it is very short and weake because it hath no good foundation Wherefore they can not long continue vnited and knit together We haue daily testimony heereof in worldly and carnall men who hauing made for a time profession of very great friendship vpon a Yea or a Nay assault one another euen vnto death But wee are not greatly to maruaile at it For seeing their amitie and vnion is ill grounded as it cannot be of long continuance so they can receiue no great ioy or delight But it is contrary in the friendship of good men as that which hath a farre better foundation namely God and his word Wherefore if the better men that friendes be the greater their friendship is and more firme euen in this world no doubt but it will be greater more burning and constant in that blessed and eternall life which wee expect where we shal be much better men and more perfect then wee are heere better linked one with an
other as also we shall be altogither a great deale more conioyned with and in God For this cause Saint Paul had good reason to say that Loue doeth neuer fallaway though prophecyings be abolished or tongues cease or knowledge vanish away Wherefore in this respect hee concludeth that loue is the greatest of these three Faith Hope and Loue. But wee haue spoken enough of the nature of Loue for the subiect of our discourse of the naturall historie of man Nowe I thinke it will not bee vnprofitable if wee say somewhat of other affections that are neere neighbours vnto Loue and ioyned with it as of fauour reuerence honour and pitie which haue such good or ill qualities in man as the nature of that loue hath which bringeth them foorth as ASER will giue vs to vnderstand Of fauour reuerence and of honour of their nature and effectes of those outward signes whereby they shew themselues of pitie and compassion and how agreeable it is to the nature of man Chap. 53. ASER. I cannot marueile enough at the drowsines of many great spirits who are so delighted with the vaine dreames of their own fancies that they employ all the giftes and graces of their minde to lift vp euen vnto the heauens the pleasures that are receiued in the loue of humane and mortall things especially in the fruites of concupiscence and yet the least of them cannot be gotten without a thousand troublesome discommodities besides that they leaue alwayes in man an insatiable desire of them I would aske of them gladly when the most voluptuous man of them all hath not euen in the middest of his pleasures sighed and bene subiect to passions desiring some other thing besides or when there was euer founde betweene twaine that loued ech other corruptly that conformitie of wils that communication of thoughts those continual agreements that concord of life which is necessary in all true loue especially seeing it is a hard matter yea impossible to see a wicked man that is not daily at variance with himselfe insomuch that if he could leaue himselfe as two men forsake eche other there are many who vpon euery occasion woulde leaue themselues to take another body or another soule And as when one being very desirous to eate and thereupon falling asleepe dreameth that he is feeding and yet is not satisfied because it is not a dreame of meate that will content the sense and appetite which seeketh to bee appeased but substantiall meate it selfe euen so it falleth out when men dreaming in spirite which is as pernicious a thing as the sleepe of death giue themselues by a certaine natural inclination which they haue to the loue of Good to seeke for the beautie contentation delight thereof vpon earth when they are not to be found in the whole worlde As for their shadowes which in some sort appeare in corporall and earthly things and in those delights which proceede of them they doe not feede their mindes with sound and good thinges but rather abuse and deceiue them Therefore we ought to take great heed that wee set not our heart and affection rather vpon those miserable corruptible and deceiueable pleasures wherein worldlings and carnal men doe glory then vpon that great and infinite brightnesse of which the sunne is but a very small beame and vpon those singular blessed and heauenly trueths which the worde of life doeth teach vs and which are the onely true and solide meates that can content and satisfie our spirits eternally It is certaine that nature mooueth vs to set our affection chiefly vpon some one thing rather then vpon another forasmuch as loue is a gift bestowed by the Creatour vpon all natures at the time of their birth Nowe vnto Loue many other affections are ioyned among which Fauour commonly hath the first place This affection is a kinde of good will and liking which springeth from a iudgement conceiued of some Good so that wee may call it a loue begunne For in this iudgement of Good wee esteeme well of him towardes whome our fauour is extended and iudge him woorthie of some good thing and by this meanes wee beginne to loue him Wherefore although fauour may bee without true loue yet loue cannot bee without fauour Notwithstanding when wee fauour one before wee loue him euen then wee enter into the way that leadeth to loue him And for the least shadowe of loue in our heart towardes another wee fauour him as wee see it in those that are linked vnto vs by some degree eyther of consanguinitie or of affinitie or by meanes of some acquaintance and knowledge Now forasmuch as GOD loueth vs he beareth vs fauour also although not in the regarde or for the iudgement of any good which hee seeth in vs or in our corrupted nature but because of the loue hee beareth vs in Iesus Christ his welbeloued in whome by his grace hee hath made vs acceptable to himselfe Therefore this fauour bringeth with it the perfection of all Good vnto vs. For what can hee want that is fauoured of God who can doe all things This fauour which God beareth vnto vs is called grace and blessing in the holy Scriptures which comprehendeth all those benefites which wee receiue of his goodnesse For they proceede all of this fauour and this fauour of the loue hee beareth vs in Iesus Christ Reuerence also commonly accompanieth loue whereby we vnderstand an affection proceeding from the iudgement of some great good that hurteth vs not For if wee thought it woulde hurt vs there woulde bee feare ioyned with hatred and not true reuerence For although there is euermore in all reuerence some feare mingled with shamefastnesse neuerthelesse this feare bringeth no hatred with it This reuerence is bredde in vs by comparing the greatnesse of another with our smalnesse as if wee admired those excellent thinges that are in him For as the heart doeth enlarge it selfe through the consideration and opinion it hath of it owne greatnesse so doeth it restraine and close vp it selfe vpon the reputation and conceipt of another mans greatnesse so it bee good or at leastwise without hurt Therefore if wee compare our greatnesse with some other mans that is farre greater we know our owne smalnesse thereby Whereupon it commeth to passe that we doe not onely esteeme woorse but euen dislike and contemne our selues by which meanes wee become more humble whereas before wee were puffed vp with pride through the opinion of our greatnesse of which wee haue experience as often as wee compare our selues with GOD and lift vp our spirite euen to the consideration of his diuine maiestie comparing that with our basenesse For then beeing rauished with admiration of his highnesse and infinite greatnesse wee honour and reuerence him by reason of his power vnto which wee ioyne also his wisedome and goodnesse And according to that reuerence wee beare towardes him wee reuerence those also in whome wee see the same
the cause that so fewe contemplate as they ought the forme and fashion of their beeing or that giue due glorie to him who daily bringeth them into the worlde by such woonderfull workemanship Neither is it possible that men shoulde giue such glorie to GOD as they ought except they esteeme all those workes which hee effecteth daily amongest them to be so many miracles woorthie admiration which way soeuer they turne their eies Moreouer let them knowe that what measure of knowledge soeuer they are able to get of his woorkes yet that which they doe knowe is very little yea almost nothing in regarde of that whereof they are ignorant euen in that which concerneth their creation and generation Nowe following that which wee haue already heard touching this matter we are to consider a maruailous prouidence of God in the similitude that is betweene the creature engendering and that which proceedeth from it Where by the way we may obserue this that there is greater resemblance in the Generation of plants then in that of liuing creatures and more in that of beasts then in that of men forasmuch as plants are void of imagination and that imagination which is in beasts is more firme and staied then that which is in men because our mindes are more floting and vnstable But it is woonderfull to consider what great similitude there is insomuch as we commonly see that the infirmities of some members in the parents are founde also in their children and that oftentimes they expresse their very lookes countenances and gesturs Which also may serue for a further confirmation of that which wee haue already touched concerning the agreement of euilles with the complexion and temperature of the humours of mens bodies Againe it appeareth by the strength or weakenesse that is founde to bee as well in children as in their fathers and mothers that the seede of which they are begotten descendeth not onelie from the braine as some haue thought but that it is also taken from all the other members and from all partes of the body And because it is a profitable superfluitie taken from the nourishment of the blood scattered throughout the whole body after the fourth digestion it hath peculiar vesselles in the body some to drawe it others to perfect and preserue it for generation and some to expell it out And as this expulsiue vertue is necessary in Generation on the behalfe of the male so in regarde of the female it is requisite that there shoulde be a vertue to containe and preserue and secondly to change mingle and temper it with the womans seede so farre foorth as shall bee expedient for the temperature of the whole bodie and of euery member thereof Besides there must bee another vertue to fashion into members all this matter mingled and tempered and to giue vnto them that figure and shape which agreeeth to euery one of them Lastly there is an other vertue requisite which shoulde driue out the childe after it is fashioned at the time which GOD hath appointed in nature for that purpose And these are all the partes with their offices which are to bee founde in the Generatiue power of the vegetatiue soule Nowe because there are so many sortes of them it is very meete that they shoulde haue sundrie places and diuerse instrumentes in the bodie for the exercise of them For this cause there are to serue all these offices sundrie partes and many members composed with woonderfull Arte and distinguished in most admirable fashion both with figures and qualities But our meaning is not to make any long particular narration both by reason of the matter which woulde bee very long as also because sinne hath made the Generation of man so full of shame that men can hardly speake of it or of those members that serue thereunto especially of one part of them without shame Neuerthelesse as before wee haue considered the counsaile and prouidence of God in that hee hath ioyned to man created to immortalitie that part wherein the light of his diuine wisedome shall shine the loue of God shall be feruent and righteousnesse shall dwell for euermore with the kitchin of mans body whose vse shall passe away after this life so wee must consider the cause why hee hath ioyned vnto this kitchin the Generatiue power and wherefore hee hath giuen it to man Let vs knowe then that as man was created for an other ende then plants and beastes so God hath giuen to him the power of Generation to an other ende then hee hath to them vpon whome it is bestowed onely for the preseruation of their kindes For it was especially giuen him because the Creatour of the whole worlde purposed to collect and gather together a perpetuall Church out of mankinde that is a companie of men begotten after this manner to bee dedicated and consecrated vnto him Therefore wee ought diligently to meditate and to thinke often vpon this woonderfull counsaile of GOD and to yeelde him praise in that hee hath manifested himselfe vnto vs and of this weake and corrupt masse of flesh hath assembled and culled out an euerlasting Church and in that hee aydeth nourisheth and preserueth vs yea is carefull ouer vs and heareth vs calling vpon him Neyther doeth hee onely preserue the whole course of nature for our sakes but also giueth himselfe vnto vs which are such benefites as exceede all the imagination and eloquence of man Wherefore wee ought so much the rather to awaken our mindes to consider them well and bee very much displeased with our selues because wee doâ— not so well as wee ought beholde this presence of GOD in that obscuritie and darkenesse wherein wee liue as also because wee are no more stirred vp to loue serue and honour him in regarde of that true and great loue wherewith hee loueth vs. But to goe forward with our matter of Generation wee must call to minde what wee heard before of the vse of the kidneis for the purging of blood in respect whereof wee call all that part of the body wherein they are seated by the name of Reines And by reason of the neerenesse that is betweene them and the seede vessels seruing for Generation which are many in number all that part is taken chiefely in the holy Scriptures for the seate and spring thereof and as it were for the seminary of mankinde Therefore it is written in the Hebrewes that Leui was yet in the loines of his father Abraham when Melchisedec met him And Moses speaking in the person of the Lorde of the promise made to Iacob sayeth Kings shall come out of thy loines Dauid also minding to shewe what knowledge God hath of men whome hee hath created saieth Thou hast possessed my reines thou hast couered mee in my mothers wombe And Iob declaring the selfe same thing more fully and speaking of the seed whereof he was begotten after hee had saide Hast thou not powred mee out as milke
22. Of the ioy of the godly Luâ—e 6. 21. matth 5. 4. Esay 61. 3. Ioh. 16. 20 21. Philip. 44. Eccles. 7. 4 6. Prou. 6. 25. How worldlings deceiue themselues What hope is Difference betweene ioy and hope Of the true and certaine hope The profite and necessitie of hope Ephes 4. 4. Rom. 5. 3 4 5. Psal 25. 3. Rom. 5. 2. Rom. 12. 12. 15. 13. Hebr. 6. 19. Ier. 17. 7 13 17. psal 65. 5. and 91. 2 9. psal 31 1. and 71. Psal 118. 8 9. Prou. 10. 28. Iob 8. 13 14 15 The wickâ—d can not abide to speake or heare of God What feare is How palenesse colde and shaking are bâ—ed in the body How death commeth through feare Esay 13. 7 8. A place of Esay expounded The cause of cowardlines and the signe of courage Iob 41. 16. Effects of Feare in the soule Iosua 7. 5. Psal 22. 14. Ierem. 4. 9. The definitions of assurance and boldnesse Iosua 2. 9. Psal 53. 5. Psal 112. 1 7 8 Psal 56. 3 11. and 118. 6. prou 14. 26. Iohn 14. 1. Lâ—uit 26. 36. Deu. 28. 65 66 67. God is the authour of courage Why God hath giuen men affections The diuers effects of feare in the godly and in the wicked A fantasticall Good Who are to bee accounted wise men Eccles. 2. 1. Of delight and pleasure what it is and how it is receiued How God communicateth himselfe vnto men Of the diuers degrees of pleasures according to euery mans nature The delights of the bodily senses The delights of the internall senses CoÌ„templation is the greatest delight of the soule Of the abuse of pleasures Against the immoderate vse of pleasures The cause why a little griefe is stronger in vs theÌ„ a great pleasure Of the pleasures of fantasie The pleasures of reason and of the minde How we descend from true pleasures to false delights Of pleasures which men seeke crosse-wayes Of the vse of the delights of the spirite How the spirit is hindred in his actions How the spirite must bee occupied How corporall and spirituall pleasures chase each other Natural pleasures are more purethen artificiall Degrees to ascend vpto sound and perfect delight The knowledge of the affections very requisite What loue is How loue is engendred Of the kindes of desire Of the loue of men towards God The loue of parents towardes thir children The loue of God towards men The originall of friendship In what sort by loue we ascend vp to God and descend againt Of the vnion that is in loue Similitude is a cause of loue Beautie draweth loue Gen. 1. Beautie a flower of goodnes A caueat for faire women The force of Beautie The causes of the abuse in beautie Beautie maketh vice more vgly A good vse of Looking-glasses Three kindes of Loue. God created the world by Loue. Diuers kindes of beauty and loue Loue tendeth to vnitie Iohn 17. 21. Iohn 11. 52. 1. Iohn 3. 8. Sinne the cause of our seperation from God A double ground of loue Loue is free Iob 1. 9. Two sortes of hired loue Actes 20. 35. Loue descendeth but doth not ascend 1. Iohn 4. 8. Loue breedeth Loue. The heart of a louer compared to a looking glasse Loue ought to shew it selfe by workes Euils must be resisted in the beginning What Desire is Diuersitie of Goods Goodâ— belonging to this life Goods of fanciâ— and in opinion onely The effects of ambition and couetousnesse Of the false opinion of want The right vse of coueting The diuerse kinds of Desires Two sorts of Loue. The last ende of Loue. Acts 4. 32. Communitie among friends Loue bringeth equalitie Loue must first beginne at God Three meanes of knowledge The benefites that come of true loue whose scope is God The first benefite of true loue Diuers estimations of Loue. The cause of mens errour from the true Good The second benefite that is in true Loue. The third benefit Galat. 2. 20. The highest degree of Loue. Knowledge requisit in Loue. Two sortes of knowledge in Loue. The difference betweene Loue and Desire Rom. 8. 22. 1. Cor. 13. 12. Of friendship betweene wicked men What foundation the friendship of good men hath 1. Corint 13. 8 A similitude shewing the vanity of the loue of worldly delights What sauour is Why God fauoureth vs. Of reuerence The caause of humilitie A good lesson for princes Reuerence requisite in true friendship Of honour and of maiestie Rom. 12. 16. Of the signes of honour and of reuerence Of Mercie and Compassion Rom. 12. 8 9 10. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 1. Cor. 12. Heb. 13. 3. Math. 5. 7. Luke 6. 36. Prou. 21. 21. Iam. 2. 13. Foure causes of all the troubles of the soule The nature of corporall goods How the passions may be good Of offence What euill may offend vs. Why men are so easily offended What offences are most grieuous Of the nature of mankind how hardly it is pleased Of the degrees of offence How offence may be welâ— vsed The remedy to cure offences What contempt is Of mockery Esay 53. 7. Diuers opinions of the Philosophers touching the affections What anger is How it differeth from offence Of rancour The violence of anger Prou. 27. 4. Ecclus. 8. The fruites of anger What effect it hath in the body The fountaine of the appetite of reuenge The causes of looking pale and red How anger troubleth the braine The best remedy against anger Ecclus. 28. Another remedy against anger Why the affection of anger is naturall what good commeth by it What Hatred is The causes of it Why it is an easier matter to hate then to loue 1. Ioh. 3. 10 12. The fruits of Hatred Of a good kinde of hatred Rom. â—2 9. Amos 5. 15. How loue is turned into hatred Remedies against the euill kinde of hatred Description of Enuy. Diuers sorts of Enuy. Enuy is neuer without griefe Against what good things Enuy is most bent How an enuious body is tormented The countenance of an enuious man Prouer. 14. 30. Ecclus. 30. 17 24. Of a good kinde of enuy 1. Cor. 12. 31. 2. Cor. 9. 2. Roman 13. galat. 5. 21. Esay 3. 16. and 48. 4. Ezech. 3. 8 9. Psal 34. 15. 1. Pet. 3. 22. Esay 29. 23. Exod 13. 14. Iob 40. 4. Exod. 15. 7 8. Iob 9. 17. What Iealousie is Iames 4. 1 2. A good kinde of iealousie What mutuall loue ought to be betweene man and wife Why Iealousie is attributed to God What Indignation is From whence Zeale proceedeth Ioel 2. 18. Isaiah 9. 7. What Zeale is 2. Cor. 11. 2. A good lesson for Princes and Pastors The abuse of Indignation and of Zeale Rom. 10. 2. 1. Timot. 1. 13. Act. 26. 10 11. Hebr. 10. 30. Matth. 10. 28. Luke 21. 19. prouer 20. 22. What reuenge is What Rage is Of Crueltie Three sortes of Crueltie How magistrates ought to punish With what affection God punisheth offendors What Shame is Blushing commendable in some persons A second kind of
nature and composition of the heart and of the midriffe of the tunicles or skinnie couerings of the breast and of the Pericardion or Cawle about the heart of the motion office and vse of the lungs of the heart and of the arteryes Chap. 37. 224 Of the substance situation and counterpoize of the heart of the nature and vse of the vitall spirite and of the forge vessels and instruments thereof of the sundry doores and pipes of the heart and of their vses Chap. 38. 229 Of the second motion of the heart which belongeth to the affections of the soule and of those that goe before or follow after iudgement of the agreement that is betweene the temperature of the body and the affections of the soule Chap. 39. 233 Of the health and diseases of the soule of the agreement betweene corporall and spiritual physicke how necessarie the knowledge of the nature of the body and of the soule is for euery one Chap. 40. The sixt dayes worke 237 OF foure things to bee considered in the will and in the power of desiring in the soule and first of natural inclinations of selfe loue and the vnrulinesse thereof Chap. 41. 241 Of the habite of the soule in the matter of the affections and of what force it is of the causes why the affections are giuen to the soule with the vse of them of the fountaine of vertues and vices Chap. 42 246 That according to the disposition of the iudgement the affections are more or lesse moderate or immoderate of the cause of all the motions of the soule and heart of the variety of affections of the generation nature and kindes of them Chap. 43. 250 That ioy or griefe are alwayes ioyned to the affections and what ioy and griefe are properly Chap. 44. 255 Of the causes why God hath placed these affections of ioy and sorrow in the heart of true and false ioy and of good and bad hope Chap. 45. 260 Of feare and of the nature and effects thereof toward the body the mind and the soule and how it troubleth them of the true harnesse and armour against feare Chap. 46. 265 Of the delight and pleasure that followeth euery ioy and of the moderation that is required therein of diuers degrees of pleasures and how men abuse them especially those pleasures which are receiued by the corporal senses Chap. 47. 270 Of the comparison of pleasures receiued by the internall senses and how men descend by degrees from the best to the basest pleasures of the difference betweene the vse of spirituall delights and corporall and how the one chase the other Chap. 48. The seuenth dayes worke 276 OF the affections of loue of the nature kinds and obiect of it of the beginning of friendship of the vertue and force of alluring that is in likenesse and in beauty of the agreement that is betweene beauty and goodnesse Chap. 49. 281 Of other causes why beauty procureth loue and of diuers degrees and kinds of beauty how it is the nature of loue alwayes to vnite an what other effects it hath how loue descendeth and ascendeth not what power it hath to allure and breed loue Chap. 50. 286 Of desire and coueting and of the kinds of it of the infinitenesse of mens desires and what Good is able to satisfie and content it of the difference betweene desire and loue and of the vtmost limit and end of loue Chap. 51. 291 Of the good things that are in true loue of the diuers valuations of loue and of the benefits which it procureth what knowledge is requisite to allure loue and how one loue groweth by another of the friendshippe that may bee both betweene the good and the badde Chap. 52. 297 Of fauour reuerence and of honour of their nature and effects of those outward signes whereby they shewe themselues of pity and compassion and howe agreeable it is to the nature of man Chap. 53. 302 Of offence in the heart and soule of the degrees of offence and of the good and euill that may be in this affection of contempt that is bredde of it and of mockery which followeth contempt Chap. 54. 307 Of anger and of the vehemency and violency thereof of the difference that is betweene anger and rancor of the affection of reuenge that accompanieth them of the motions of the heart in anger with the effectes thereof wherefore this affection is giuen to man and to what vse it may serue him Chap. 55. 313 Of hatred and of the nature and effects thereof of a good kind of hatred and of the remedy to cure the euill hatred of enuie and of the kindes and effects thereof of the difference betweene good and euill enuy Chap. 56. The eight dayes worke 319 OF iealousie and of the kindes thereof how it may bee eyther a vice or a vertue howe true zeale true iealousie and indignation proceede of loue of their natures and why these affections are giuen to man Chap. 57. 324 Of reuenge cruelty and rage and what agreement there is among them what shame and blushing is and why God hath placed these affections in man and of the good and euill that is in them Chap. 58. 330 Of pride with the consideration thereof aswell in nature intire as corrupted of the orginall thereof and of such as are most inclined thereunto what vices accompany it how great a poison it is and what remedy there is for it Chap. 59. 335 Of the naturall powers of the soule and what sundry vertues they haue in the nourishment of the body of their order and offices of their agreement and necessary vse where the vegetatiue soule is placed in the body and what vertue it hath to augment the same Chap. 60. 341 What instruments the soule vseth in the body about the naturall works of nourishing and augmenting of the ventricle of stomacke and of the figure orifices and filamentes it hath of the stomacke and of what substance and nature it is of the causes of hunger and of appetite of the inferior orifice Chap. 61. 347 Of the intalles and bowels and of their names and offices of the nature of the three smaller guttes and of the other three that are greater of the instructions which wee may learne by these things Chap. 62. 353 Of the Mesentery and Mesareon of the Meseraicall veines of the Pancreas or sweete bread and of their nature and office of the liuer and of his nature and office of the rootes bodies branches of the veines of their names and vses and of the similitude betweene them and the arteries Chap. 63. 358 Of the blood and of other humours in the body of their diuersity and nature and of the agreement they haue with the elementes of the similitude that is betwixt the great garden of this great worlde and that of the little worlde touching the nourishment of things contayned and preserued in them Chap. 64. The ninth dayes worke 363 OF the vapours that ascend vp to the braine
a lampe to moysten the meate to the end that this fire should not consume it so quickly And because it must alwayes be kept burning otherwise the light thereof which is the life will die together with it it must haue new matter continually ministred vnto it as it were to a fire that cannot alwayes continue kindled in the chimney and not goe out if it be not preserued by wood or coale or in a candle or lampe if it haue not alwayes cotton or weeke and oyle or some other tallowy and moyst matter Therefore wee see that when either of them beginneth to fayle another is put in to supplie the place of it And thus as fire and the light thereof are mainteined in a lampe or candle by meanes of that nourishment they haue both in the weeke and in the tallow thereof so life and that naturall fire which giueth life to the bodie are mainteyned by that food which they receiue ordinarily in eating and drinking The meate then in mans bodie is to nourish and preserue the naturall heate thereof as the weeke is in a candle or lampe and the moysture which it receiueth by drinke is vnto it as the â—oyle and tallowe For this cause if heate bee stronger in a man he shall feele thirst which is an appetite and desire of that which is moyst and colde that is of such qualities as are contrary to the fire which is hote and dry For the moysture must be confirmed strengthened to moderate the burning heate as it is when oyle is powred into a lampe And if both heate and moysture consuming eche other beginne to waxe faint and to fayle they must both bee holpen that they may gather more strength as when we put not onely oyle but weeke also into a lampe And this is the cause of hunger which is a desire of that which is hote and moyst But there is difference betweene the humiditie required in hunger and that which is required in thirst because the moysture desired in thirst is more thinne and lesse earthie then that which is required in hunger And if the moisture be increased ouer much so that the heate decreaseth and languisheth and consequently the appetite to meate and drinke and to receiue nourishment decayeth it must be restored againe by physicke For although all nourishment be as it were physick to the body neuerthelesse there is this difference in that foode repaireth the whole person and all the body whereas physicke repaireth onely the instruments of the body which are to serue for nourishment For this cause food is alwayes necessary for all at all times and in all places but besides that all stande not in neede of physicke they that want it vse it but at certaine times as necessitie requireth For if those members that serue to nourish the body be well disposed and discharge their office so well that all the partes of the bodie receiue due nourishment and the whole body bee healthie and sound there needeth nothing but ordinary foode to preserue the body and to keepe it in good health But if any member be weakened and doeth not his duetie well especially any of those that ought to serue to nourish the whole bodie it must be restored again to strength by the meanes of physicke Now albeit the sense of taste whereof we haue presently discoursed be not so apt to teach especially the knowledge of spirituall and diuine things as the senses of sceing and hearing of which we haue spoken heretofore yet we may receiue much good doctrine thereby For as the body cannot liue except it haue such corporall foode as agreeth to the nature thereof so the soule cannot liue if it haue not that knowledge which God hath appointed for it And as life is kept in the body by heate which is the chiefe instrument thereof to the life of our soules consisteth and is preserued and increased by heate namely by the loue charity of God without which it cannot liue that life that is agreeable to it owne nature For the soule that is separated from the loue of God is dead in respect of the true and blessed life seeing God liueth not in it nor it in God For this cause this loue must be alwayes nourished and mainteyned therein by the celestiall and diuine moysture agreeable to the nature thereof Wherefore as it is of a heauenly and celestiall nature so the foode thereof must be answerable thereunto This foode therfore cannot be had but of God who is the life of the soule as the soule is the life of the body and the meanes which he hath appointed to minister this food vnto it is his heauenly eternall word and those spirituall graces which he communicateth vnto vs thereby But let vs follow our matter subiect of corporall senses And seeing we haue intreated of the meanes wherby the body is nourished we ought to consider more particularly of those things that are meet and conuenient to mainteine and preserue the body of man and see how God prepareth them to this end in which thou shalt instruct vs AMANA Of helpes and creatures meete for the preseruation and nourishment of the bodie how God prepareth them to serue for that purpose of their vse Chap. 18. AMANA God being carefull ouer the welfare of his creatures that haue life hath put in them a desire to preserue themselues to the ende they shoulde followe after such things as are profitable for their health and shunne that which is hurtfull and contrarie vnto it Nowe this preseruation consisteth eyther in the equalitie of heate and moisture nourishers of life or els in an inequalitie that may easily be reduced and brought to an equalitie by that which we eate and drinke For if there bee so great excesse of heate or moysture that the one consumeth the other death followeth necessarily if there be no excesse of either but a good equalitie the body is very well affected But it is very hard to finde a bodie so tempered And although such a one might be found yet it could not long continue in that estate but that it would quickly change as we may iudge by that which we haue learned in the former discourse But when this change doeth not bring with it so great excesse and inequalitie but that it may be kept vpright by nourishment the body is neuerthelesse well disposed vntiil such time as the excesse is greater then can bee repaired by foode For then if foode will not serue the turne wee must haue recourse to physicke and if the inequalitie be so great that by the helpe of physicke no remedie can be found there is no other naturall ayde to be had Nowe this inequalitie that approcheth so neere to equalitie is very pleasaunt as that which is the pricke and procurer of naturall pleasures necessarie for the life of man to incite him to desire them and as it were the sawse to make them toothsome For if
through a cloude For that is the contemplation of all contemplations seeing it is the beholding of God with whome nothing may bee compared Then there shall be no cloude of ignorance when wee shall haue not a likely or probable but a most certaine and true knowledge For the trueth shall bee shewed vnto vs most certaine in GOD who is the Authour and Father thereof in whome wee shall throughly and perfectly see and knowe the causes of all things For our spirites shall be helde no longer in such an obscure and darke prison as heere they are constrained to suffer in our mortall bodies Therefore there shall bee no more diuersities disagreements or contrarieties of opinions and iudgements that some shoulde condemne that which others approoue but all shall be of the same iudgement But seeing we are fallen into the matter of contemplation it shall not be vnprofitable if vpon occasion of that diuision which is commonly made of the actiue and contemplatiue life wee note that although the spirite desireth aboue all things the pleasure that is in contemplation as the proper foode and delight thereof yet wee must alwayes consider that wee are not only borne for ourselues but also for others and to this ende that wee shoulde all in common serue one an other both generally and specially For God doeth not onely commaund the performance of that seruice which hee requireth of vs towardes his owne person according to that which is contained in the first Table of the Lawe but he commaundeth vs also in the second Table to doe that which hee requireth of vs towardes other men Therefore hee will not haue vs dwell alwayes in contemplation but wee must put to our hand and discharge vs of our dutie towards euery one according as he teacheth vs by his word Wee are then to learne that so long as wee liue in this world we must not separate the actiue life from the cōtemplatiue but alwayes ioyne them both together vntil we come to that blessed life which shal be altogither contemplatiue when we shal be deliuered frō al the miseries and necessities and from al the troubles lets in which wee are wrapped and detained in this mortall life God graunt vs his grace to vse all our senses so well both externall and internall and all the powers faculties and vertues of our soule and spirite of which wee haue hitherto spoken that wee may cause them all to serue to his glory and that wee may attaine to that blessed contemplation which is prepared for all his elect in his celestiall pallace and that to this ende hee woulde dispose in vs our will and all the affections of our soule of the nature of which we will beginne to morrowe to discourse And first ASER I thinke thou art to intreate of those appetites that are naturally in man seeing Desire is the proper subiect of the Will as thou shalt instruct vs more at large The end of the fourth dayes worke THE FIFT DAYES worke Of the Appetites that are in al liuing creatures and namely in man and of their kindes and particularly of the Naturall and Sensitiue Appetite Chap. 33. ASER. As God and all that is in the worlde is propounded to the minde of man that hee might knowe him so farre foorth as is needefull for him so is hee also propounded to the will that hee might will desire and folowe him as farre as his nature is capable thereof Wherefore if man had not sinned but had continued in his first estate wherein God created him this great and eternall Goodnes had shed in our soules that diuine worde together with his holy spirite which worde being the eternall sonne of God woulde haue alwayes taught and shewed vs the Father of whome bee was begotten before all time and woulde haue lightened our mindes with the light of all wisedome that we might haue beheld and seene him and the holy spirite would haue ioyned our hearts and willes vnto the Father and to the Sonne through a mutuall loue replenished with all ioy and gladnesse and through certaine motions agreeable with the diuine nature By which meanes there should haue bin in our hearts a great fire of loue towardes God and next to him wee should haue loued all other good things according to that order which is shewed vnto vs in his heauenly wisedome and doctrine and should haue desired them for the loue of him But nowe in the estate of naturall corruption in which wee are all this goodly agreement harmony and concord which ought to be betweene God and man is wholly peruerted and ouerthrowen For in place of the true knowledge of God there is nothing but ignorance and doubting in our mindes and as for the will it searcheth after and desireth other things whereunto it applieth it selfe and seeketh not after God Neither doeth it keepe any order in those things which it hath for obiects and which it setteth downe in steade of the things commanded in his word So that while it thinketh to attaine to that good whereunto naturally it aspireth it obtaineth nothing to it selfe but a very great euill Nowe when wee spake before of the braine and of the internall senses of the soule and of the principall part and vertue thereof we made some mention of the wil which ought to be directed and ledde by vnderstanding and reason It remaineth nowe that we looke more narrowly into the nature thereof and of the affections of the soule of the vitall vertue of the heart and of other members which are the seates and instruments thereof euen as when wee intreated of the animall vertues of the soule wee considered of their seates and instruments First then we must marke what hath beene hitherto spoken namely that God hath giuen to all his creatures a naturall inclination that leadeth euery one of them to that which is naturall and agreeable to itselfe Beasts haue an appetite to follow that good that is fitte for them and therefore also hath God giuen them the knowledge of that good and senses meete for that purpose to the end they might shewe vnto them what is good for their preseruation to followe it and to shunne the contrary Wee haue learned also howe God hath giuen both the one and the other to man and vnto what degree concerning both of them hee hath lifted him vp aboue all liuing creatures For as hee hath created him to enioy a farre greater and more excellent Good then hee hath beastes and hath giuen vnto him a will to wish and desire it so hee hath endued him with a deeper knowledge whereby to knowe that Good because hee coulde not wish for it and desire it except hee did knowe it and he could not knowe it if he had not a minde capable thereof and endewed with greater knowledge then that is which hee hath giuen to beasts For this cause as they haue a kind of knowledge agreeable to their nature and to the
it is as it were begotten by reason and brought forth by Will But that wee deceiue not our selues in these names of reason and of Will we are to knowe that both of them are taken diuersly as the names of Minde and Vnderstanding are For sometime they are taken for that vertue of vnderstanding which is in the soule and sometime for the action thereof and the thing which it doeth vnderstand as when we say that wee haue the vnderstanding of something So reason is sometime taken for the minde that giueth direction and counsaile and for the will which obeyeth it and restraineth the affections and in this sence it comprehendeth both the Vnderstanding and the Will But sometime it is taken onely for that part which vnderstandeth and hath knowledge to conduct and guide as nowe we must so take it in making it the Mistresse and counsailour of the Will Besides reason is also taken oftentimes for the arguments and discourses of reason as when we say of a man He hath good reason in that or els He hath proued his saying by good and pregnant reasons that is to say by good arguments And if we take reason so it signifieth not only that power and vertue of discoursing which is in the soule and in the minde but also the act and effect therof The like may be said of this word Will. For it is commonly taken not so much for that power and vertue which the soule hath to Will as for the Will it selfe which is the action and effect thereof as when one speaking of tyrants saith that their Will is all their reason For then we meane that they take nor Reason for their counsailer neither follow the aduice thereof but onely their Will and that which pleaseth them So then wee vse this worde Will for that which proceedeth from it and so likewise it is often taken in the holy Scriptures when they speake of the Will of God whereby we doe not vnderstand that power of Will that is in him but that which hee willeth and commandeth vs. And therefore we craue that his Will may be done and not that which we will But speaking now of the Will of man we take it not in this sence but we vse it for the power and vertue of Willing that is in the soule which power is aboue the sensitiue appetite whereof we haue already spoken For we see by experience that there are certaine degrees of appetites and that the appetite of the senses is subiect to the Will as I hope we shall intreate more at large in the sequele of our speech Wherefore the Will is the highest and most soueraigne vertue of desiring farre aboue all other appetites and that which woorketh with libertie after the minde hath shewed vnto it what it ought to follow and what to eschew what to make choyse of and what to refuse The actions thereof are to Will and not to Will and the meane or middle thing which shee hath betweene them twayne is to suspend her action vntill shee decline eyther on the one side or the other And as concerning the naturall disposition of the Will it is to will that good which is truely good or that which seemeth to bee so and to shunne euill eyther that which is euill in deede or that which it thinketh to bee so Nowe if shee choose and followe euill for good it followeth not therefore but that shee woulde alwayes followe the good as that which properly appertayneth vnto her and reiect euill as her enemie But the reason why shee maketh choyce of euill for good is because shee is deceiued taking one for another which commeth to passe through the ignoraunce and corruption that is in the nature of man For albeeit shee can will and not will that thing which is propounded vnto her yet shee cannot simply will and not will one and the same thing all at one time nor yet make choyse of cleane contraries For shee can desire nothing but onely vnder some shewe of good nor refuse any thing but vnder some shewe of euill Wherefore it may well bee that it will not desire that which shall bee shewed vnder some appearaunce of good but it cannot hate or reiect it Likewise it may peraduenture abstayne from reiecting or flying from that which shall bee presented before it with shewe of euill and not of good but it cannot desire loue and pursue the same Wherevpon it followeth that our Will is at libertie and free and cannot bee constrayned yea God the Creatour and Lorde thereof woulde haue it so otherwise it shoulde not bee a Will It is verie true that it followeth reason alwayes because the Will hath no light of it selfe but onely so farre foorth as it receiueth the same from reason which guideth and directeth it And therefore it neuer applieth it selfe to any thing whatsoeuer but hath reason alwayes for a guide whome it followeth Neuerthelesse it is not so subiect therevnto as that it may compell it to followe all the reasons that are propounded vnto it by reason or tye it to any of them but that alwayes shee hath her libertie to make choyse of which reason shee please out of all those that are set before her And so it is alwayes a Will although it change sometime beeing perswaded by reasons to will when it was vnwilling or disswaded from Will to bee vnwilling But in the meane time shee willeth whatsoeuer shee will and that as long as it pleaseth her to remayne in one opinion For not onely no creature whatsoeuer is able to take from her that which GOD her Creator hath giuen her but shee cannot depriue her selfe thereof no more then she may not be that which shee is For as God will haue his image shine in the minde of man by vnderstanding and wisedome of which hee hath made it partaker so hee will haue his image also to shine in the Will by that freedome and libertie which hee hath giuen vnto it As therefore hee cannot bee constrained but woorketh and doeth what pleaseth him with all libertie as beeyng a Soueraigne that hath no superiour so hee hath appoynted that the Will which hee hath giuen to men and Angels shoulde bee alwayes franke and free and not bee subiect to violence or constraint to the ende hee might haue them children not slaues because hee requireth of them a voluntarie obedience and such a seruice as is not forced or constrayned but agreeable to his owne nature For as hee doeth nothing himselfe by constraint so hee will not constrayne those by whome hee will bee obeyed neither delighteth hee in any seruice that is not voluntary and proceeding from a good heart and from a sincere and pure affection towardes him Therefore seeing God hath so loued vs and done vs so great honour as to create vs after his owne image and likenesse wee are vile and ingratefull wretches if wee doe not acknowledge the same and cause
cheerefull his affection was towards them what ioy he receiued thereby as himselfe speaking plainly doth with his mouth giue full testimony of his heart writeth thus vnto them O Corinthians our mouth is open vnto you our heart is made large you are not kept straite in vs. And then complaining of them that their heart was not so bent towardes him he saieth But ye are kept straite in your owne bowels And heere we may note that by this worde Bowels is meant generally all the internall members and parts of man especially the heart and those that are next vnto it Now because the heart is the seate of the affections and the other members neere vnto it serue for his vse therefore the bowels are taken in the holy Scriptures for all the motions of the heart and for all the affections of men that proceed from it but chiefly for loue also for ioy pitie and compassion which haue their beginning from loue whose nature is to open the heart which in steade of opening shutteth vp it selfe against those that are not loued or that a man hateth Therefore as loue or hatred is great or small hote or cold so doth the heart open or close it selfe Hereof it is saide in the historie of the two women that stoode before Salomons iudgement seat about their two children whereof the one was dead and the other aliue that the bowels of the true mother were mooued towardes her childe And Saint Paul exhorting the Colossians to charitie and compassion saieth Now therefore as the elect of God holy and beloued put on the bowels of mercy that is to say of tender affection kindnesse humblenesse of minde meekenesse long suffering forbearing one another and forgiuing one another if any man haue a quarrell to another euen as Christ forgaue you so doe ye And aboue all these things put on loue which is the bond of perfectnesse and let the peace of God namely that which God hath established among his rule in your hearts to the which ye are called in one body and be gracious or amiable We see here what vertues accompany these bowels of mercy of which hee spake in the beginning as in deed al thâ—se vertues and heauenly gifts are so knit together that they cannot be separated one from an other And Saint Iohn speaking of that liberalitie and loue which ought to be among Christians saieth Whosoeuer hath this worldes good and seeth his brother haue neede and shutteth vp his bowels from him how dwelleth the loue of God in him Then he addeth Let vs not loue in worde neither in tongue onely but in worke and in trueth And to this purpose Esaias saith If thou powre out thy soule to the hungry and refresh the troubled soule then shall thy light spring out in the darkenesse and thy darkenesse shal be as the noone-day All which places agree very well to that which wee haue touched concerning the motion of the heart whereby it is either opened or closed vp as the affections are disposed that mooue it But let vs consider more narrowly the nature of these affections of ioy and sorrowe and what difference is betweene them seeing we haue taken them for the ground of our speach For the first let vs know that ioy is properly a motion or an affection of the heart whereby it taketh pleasure and stayeth it selfe in that Good which is offered vnto it or if wee had rather thus it is a motion of the soule proceeding from the iudgement of some Good which is already present or certainely neere at hand And therefore when the heart is enlarged therewith not onely laughter is bred but all the body also leapeth when the ioy is so great that the breast cannot containe nor keepe in the heart But when the ioy is moderate it purgeth the blood by heate it confirmeth health and bringeth with it a liuely and vigorous heate which is very wholsome and acceptable to the heart True it is that the heart and will often deceiue themselues in the choice and election of that which is Good whether it be that following reason and iudgement corrupted which should shew what is Good they embrace their errour or whether it be that Will being corrupted of it selfe through sinne letteth loose the bridle against the iudgement of reason and so suffereth her selfe to be carried headlong by her euill affections in following some false shewe of good Whereupon it commonly commeth to passe that in steade of ioy which the heart should receiue of Good vnto which the will tendeth naturally it receiueth great sorrow and griefe after knowledge taken of the fault This is the cause why we are so often admonished by the spirite of God to renounce our owne sense reason prudence and wisedome and to submit our selues wholly to the counsaile and wisedome of God and to iudge of good and of euill of the true and false Goods according to his iudgement and not according to our owne as also to renounce our owne desires to followe his will As for griefe or sorrow wee may iudge of this affection by the contrary which is ioy namely that it is a motion and an affection of the heart whereby it is restrained and pressed either with some present euill or with some that is in a manner present which displeaseth the heart as if it had receiued some grieuous wound Therefore it trembleth and languisheth as a sicke body who drying vp with griefe by little and little in the end dicth except hee haue some remedy against his sickenesse For the like happeneth to the heart of man through griefe as long as it is within it insomuch that it neuer forsaketh it vntil it hath quite dried vp and consumed the same And therefore as there is pleasure and rest in ioy so in sorrow there is dolour and torment For it ingendreth melancholy and melancholy ingendreth it and increaseth it more so that wee often see melancholy men very sadde although no harme hath befallen them neither can they giue any reason of their heauines Moreouer this blacke melancholy humor is of this nature that it will make the spirit and mind darkish whereby it groweth to be blockish the heart looseth all his cheerefulnes And because the braine is cooled thereby it waxeth very heauy drowsie Now when griefe is in great measure it bringeth withal a kind of loathing tediousnes which causeth a man to hate to be weary of all things euen of the light and of a mans selfe so that he shal take pleasure in nothing but in his melancholy in feeding himselfe therewithall in plunging himselfe deeper into it and in refusing of all ioy and consolation To conclude some growe so farre as to hate themselues and so fall to dispaire yea many kill and destroy themselues And as the heart by enlarging it selfe with ioy appeareth in the countenance so doeth it also in sorrow and griefe For as
taste doth breede an other desire to continue therein and to preserue those meanes whereby they may alwayes enioy such pleasure Whereby wee may iudge howe the desire and coueting that is in man wandereth and goeth astray when as notwithstanding it is giuen him of God to the end he might wish for that which hee iudgeth to bee good for him and that hee might followe after it and hauing obtained the same might holde and keepe it fast Now Forasmuch as God is the true stedfast and firme good of man hee doeth naturally wish and desire him and because this good is infinite it falleth out thereupon that the largenesse length and depth of our coueting is infinite and can be filled with no other thing but with God Wherefore when it is come thither there it stayeth and resteth it selfe But whilest it wandreth hither and thither there wil be no end but one desire begetteth another insomuch that there are infinite kindes of them which take their particular names of those things which they couet For the vnmesurable coueting of honours is called ambition of golde and siluer couetousnesse of meates and drinkes gluttony and drunkennesse the vnlawfull and immoderate desire of coniunction betweene man and woman is called Whoredome which also hath diuers kindes vnder it according to the degrees of their filthinesse and enormities in whome it aboundeth The vertues opposite and contrary to these vicious desires are iustice liberalitie continencie chastitie and temperance of which vertues and vices and of others proceeding of them we haue discoursed at large in our fist morall institution Therefore to conclude that which hath beene hitherto spoken of Loue and of Desire I thinke wee ought to make two sortes of Loue the one in vertue the other in vice For that Loue proceeding of Desire and Coueting such as we see commonly in men is false and fained And because it counterfaiteth often the actions of true loue therefore wee ought to be very wary that it beguile vs not and that wee take not the one for the other Concerning the first wee must remember that all loue is begotten of Good that it bendeth and draweth towardes Good as wee haue already learned Now Good is of that nature that it breedeth in vs a desire to bee ioyned vnto it in regarde of that agreement which it hath with vs of which agreement and coniunction commeth delight and then blessednesse and felicitie So that the vtmost bounds and limites of Loue is to be knit together in vnitie as much as may be And the straighter and closer the bond of loue is tied and conioyned in one and the same essence so much the more truely and perfectly is loue come vnto his ende and consisteth in the perfection of his nature Therefore the desire of coniunction which is in Loue is giuen to man to the ende hee shoulde wish and couet to be vnited with God his true Good that being made as it were a little God like vnto him hee might be partaker of his eternall blessednesse This is the true firme and fruitfull coniunction of loue and the great and excellent reward thereof For all the rest are nothing in comparison of this but onely vaine and fruitlesse Nowe the Loue of the body desireth the coniunction of the body and the loue of soules desireth to be ioyned with soules that there may be as it were one soule in many bodies And this coniunction is the greatest truest and of longest continuance which causeth but one heart and one will among friends as if they were one onely body and one onely soule and as if hee that loueth were the same party that is beloued Therefore it is written of the first Christians that were in the Church of Ierusalem that the multitude of them that beleeued were of one heart and one soule neither any of them saide that any thing of that which he possessed was his owne but they had al things common Neither is it saide without reason in common Prouerb that all things are common among friendes which is the cause that a friend calleth and accompteth as his owne whatsoeuer belongeth to his friend whether it be in prosperitie or in aduersitie Therefore also it is commonly said that a stedfast friend is tried in doubtfull matters Wherevpon it commeth to passe in true loue that friends lift vp into great dignitie are more carefull of those whome they loue how base soeuer they be and of their affaires then of themselues and of their particular estate Moreouer we are to knowe that as it is the nature of Loue to ioyne together so doeth it also bring equalitie with it so farre foorth as the nature of those things that are conioyned will beare insomuch that the highest stoope downe to the lowest to lift them vp vnto themselues they that are equall associate themselues together Therefore as we haue often saide that the fountaine and patterne of all true loue is in God so in this point it doth chiefly shew it selfe vnto vs. For hee abaseth himselfe to our smallnesse as though he would reach vs his hand from heauen to drawe and lift vs vp vnto himselfe by the meane of Iesus Christ vnto whome and by whome wee are truely vnited with him But heere wee are to knowe that the desire lust or coueting which is bredde of Loue groweth to bee vicious through the corruption of our nature which otherwise being directed by good meanes and by reason according to the will of God and ayming at the right Good which is God woulde cause vs to loue God first for his owne sake and then his creatures in him and for the loue of him Neither shoulde wee euer couet worldly goods with an vnbrideled desire but woulde rather accompt all mortall things vnworthy to bee cared for by our immortall soules Whereunto wee shall be the rather perswaded if following that which wee haue begunne to speake of true and false loue and of the difference betweene them wee consider what good things are to be found in the one aboue the other what sundry rewards men propound vnto themselues in loue what knowledge is required therein and howe the one is encreased by the other This then shall be thy matter subiect ACHITOB which thou shalt take to make an end of our discoursing of the nature of Loue. Of the good things that are in true Loue of the diuerse valuations of Loue and of the benefits which it procureth what knowledge is requisite to allure Loue and howe one Loue groweth by another of the friendship that may be both betweene the good and the bad Chap. 52. ACHITOB. Good is loued so much as it is knowen and as wee are able to vnderstand what it is For things are first knowen to the end they may be loued Now there are three meanes of knowledge in our soule namely by sense by reason and by the mind From the sense springeth appetite which is common
treatise of these two affections The end of the seuenth dayes worke THE EIGHT dayes worke Of Iealousie and of the kindes thereof howe it may be either a vice or a vertue howe true zeale true iealousie and indignation proceede of loue of their natures and why these affections are giuen to man Chap. 57. ASER The holy Scripture applying it selfe to the capacitie of mans vnderstanding describeth mens affections oftentimes by those testimonies which their outward members affoorde conuincing them of vices rooted in their heart by the carriage of their eies of their eie-liddes of their forehead and of their whole countenance Which is to this ende chiefly that when they know that men may reade one in anothers face as it were in a Booke that which is couered and hidden in the heart they shoulde perswade themselues that God soundeth and seeth more easily the most secret thoughts of their heartes and that they can hide nothing from him Likewise the holy spirite to condescend to our rudenesse and to teach vs to knowe God by our selues not onely by our soule which we see not but also by our body which wee see speaketh often of his high infinite and incomprehensible maiestie as it were of a man attributing vnto him eies eares a nose a mouth armes legges feete hands a heart and bowelles Moreouer albeit this pure simple and eternal essence be in no wise passionated with affections yet the same heauenly word doth not only attribute vnto him wrath reuenge anger iealousie and other affections but doth oftentimes propound him vnto vs as an yrefull man hauing the face behauiour and whole countenance of one greatly stirred vp to wrath reuenge yea euen to great fury Which is done to this end both that by the knowledge which we may haue of the nature of these affections whereunto wee are enclined and of the effectes which they bring foorth and causes from whence they proceede wee shoulde meditate the same things to bee in God when wee offend him and knowe what rewarde wee are to looke for and also to teach vs that right rule of all our affections which wee haue in his diuine goodnesse Nowe if wee remember what hath beene declared vnto vs of the nature of Loue wee heard that true and pure loue was without iealousie and that this affection sprang of the loue of concupiscence and yet it was tolde vs yesterday that Iealousie was placed amongst the kindes of enuy Let vs then see what this affection is properly and whether all iealousie be vicious I vnderstand by Iealousie a feare which a man hath lest an other whome hee woulde not should enioy something This commeth to passe two wayes namely either because wee our selues woulde enioy it alone or else because we would haue some other to whom we wish the same thing to enioy it alone the reason heereof is because we iudge it hurtfull either to our selues or to those whome wee loue if others should enioy it As if the question were of some honour or of some other good which we would haue to our selues alone or for some one whome wee loue and should be greeued that an other enioyeth it and thereupon enuy him either because wee are afraide hee shall enioy it or because hee enioyeth it already heerein appeareth enuy and euill iealousie which bringeth with it great mischiefes For as Saint Iames saieth From whence are warres and contentions among you are they not hence euen of your lustes that fight in your members yee lust and haue not ye enuy and are iealous or haue indignation and can not obtaine ye fight and warre and gâ—t nothing Wherefore to auoide this enuy and euill iealousie wee must consider of what nature that Good is which stirreth vs vp to this affection For according to the nature thereof our iealousie may be either a vice or a vertue For if the question be of some Good thing which belongeth in such sort to mee alone or to any other whome I loue that none may enioy it except it be vniustly and to the dishonour of God it is no euill iealousie if I feare lest any shoulde abuse it or bee grieued when it falleth out so If it concerneth some body whome I lâ—â—ue who is abused by another to the displeasure of God and to the dishonour and hurt of the party beloued I haue yet greater occasion to feare to bee greeued and euen to bee iealous both ouer my owne Good and ouer the good of the partie beloued And as I haue iust cause of Iealousie in this case in that thing which properly belongeth vnto mee so also I haue like occasion when an other vniustly enioyeth that Good which belongeth to him whome I loue and of whome I ought to bee carefull and be greeued when any reproch or wrong is offered vnto him As for example seeing the husband hath such an interest in his wife and the wife in her husband as no other eyther may or ought to haue the like both of them haue iust cause to beware that no other haue the fruition heereof but themselues to take the matter heauily if it fall out otherwise and to bee very much offended and full of indignation against him that shoulde attempt any such thing For that can not be done as not without the great dishonour and dammage of the parties so knit together so also not without the great dishonour of GOD whose lawe and couenant is thereby violated On the other side that mutuall loue which ought to be betwixt the husband and the wife doth binde them to desire and to procure the honour and profite eache of other and to keepe backe all dishonour and hurt that may befall them Wherefore both of them haue iust cause to bee offended with those that seeke to procure any blemish in this respect The like may bee saide of fathers mothers and children and of all that haue anie charge ouer others or that are linked together by friendship But on the other side a man must beware that he be not too suspicious and that hee carry not within himselfe matter of Iealousie and so torment himselfe and others without cause as likewise hee must bee very carefull that hee giue no occasion of Iealousie to any other And thus you see howe there may be a good iealousie notwithstanding that in this case it be mingled with loue and anger For Iealousie causeth the party that loueth to be angry with him by whome that thing which hee doeth loue receiueth any dishonour or detriment Therefore this anger commeth of loue which inciteth him to set himselfe against him that offendeth the thing beloued So that these affections are alwayes commendable arising of this cause and being ruled according to that Zeale and Iealousie which the holy Scripture attributeth vnto GOD in regarde of vs. For hee is called a iealous GOD not onely in regard of his honour and glory which hee will not
heart and first of Reuenge Crueltie and Rage And because Reuenge is appointed to punish offences and euery vice findeth a Iudge within it selfe wee will speake also of the affection of Shame which commonly followeth euery vile acte It belongeth therefore to thee AMANA to intreate of this matter Of Reuenge Crueltie and Rage and what agreement there is among them what Shame and Blushing is and why God hath placed these affections in man and of the good and euill that is in them Chap. 58. AMANA If euery one might be a Iudge in his owne cause and execute his own decrees the malice of men doth declare sufficiently that there would be no iustice obserued in the world but robbery publikely put in practice insomuch as the strongest would alwayes carry away the spoile For that blind loue which euery one beareth towards himselfe causeth vs that we cannot see clearly either into our owne or or into other mens affaires so that wee are alwayes more ready to doe wrong to others then to depart from anie thing of our owne Euen so if wee might be suffered to reuenge those iniuries which oftentimes without cause wee suppose wee haue receiued it is certaine wee woulde obserue neither measure nor meane but suffering our selues to be guided by the passion of anger and wrath wee would fall into more then brutish crueltie and rage For as God hath reserued vengeance to himselfe and promised to recompense it so no man carrieth that minde to doe it iustly that is in him neither indeede can any because it is the spirite of a man that offereth iniury to an other whereas the body is but the instrument of the minde and as it were a sworde vnto it which the spirite manageth and causeth to cutte Whereupon it followeth that the party offended can not reuenge himselfe of his chiefest and greatest enemy For God onely is able to take vengeance of the soule and to throwe it together with the body into hell fire Moreouer when wee thinke to hurt the body of our enemy which is but the executioner of the euill disposition of his Spirite wee hurt our owne soule making it guiltie of the iudgement of God who forbiddeth vs all reuenge and commaundeth vs to possesse our soules in patience and neuer to requite euill for euill but to waite the Lordes leasure being assuredly perswaded that he will saue and deliuer vs. Nowe looke what the affection receiueth and embraceth the same doeth it desire to returne and send backe againe where it did receiue it whether it be good or euill Therefore as a good affection both wisheth and doeth well to him of whome it receiueth good will and beneficence so a naughty affection desireth to returne euill receiued vnto him of whome it hath receiued it For this cause when the heart is wounded with griefe by any one it desireth to returne the like to him that hath hurt it and to rebite him of whome it is bitten This affection is a desire of reuenge which being put in execution is reuenge accomplished namely when wee cause him that hath offended vs to suffer that punishment which in our iudgement he hath deserued This punishment is to damnifie him eyther in soule or in body or in his goodes yea sometimes by all the meanes that may bee And when power to reuenge is wanting there are some that fall into outrageous speeches into horrible and execrable cursings crying out for vengeance eyther at GODS hand or of some other that can perfourme it Euery offence therefore that ingendereth hatred anger enuy or indignation bringeth with it a desire of reuenge which is to render euill for euil and to requite griefe receiued with the like againe And when the offence is growen to that passe that nothing can asswage the extremitie thereof nor stay it from breaking foorth into reuenge and hurting by all the meanes that may bee then is this Reuenge turned into Rage For a man in such a case is not much vnlike to a madde dogge For because Reuenge can not take that effect which it woulde haue it vexeth and closeth vp as it were the hart bringing great griefe great torment to the whole body so that a man so affected is as if his heart body were ready to burst asunder Nowe when the heart is hardened with Reuenge it is turned into Crueltie which is a priuation of pitie and compassion For when Offence and Anger are set on fire they exclude all good thoughtes out of the minde and perswade to all kinde of Crueltie of which there are three degrees For there are some that procure it who neuerthelesse woulde not execute it themselues There are others that execute it Besides there is a third kinde of Crueltie when wee faile in perfourming our duetie towardes them that are in necessitie whome wee both ought and might helpe and succour whether this come of euill will or through negligence For thereby wee shewe that wee are without pitie and compassion Heereof followeth inhumanitie which is as if wee shoulde lay aside all humane affection and bee transfourmed into brute beasts Therefore wee may well conclude that all priuate Reuenge proceeding of enuy or of hatred or of anger is vicious and forbidden by God who commaundeth vs to render good for euill and not euill for euill For hee hath ordained the meanes whereby hee will haue vengeance execucuted among men Therefore hee hath appointed Magistrates to execute it according to his Lawe and following his ordinaunce not with any euill affection but with iust indignation proceeding from loue and from true zeale of iustice For to punish the wicked is a very acceptable sacrifice so that there be no intermingling of our own passions withall and that wee exercise not our enuies rancours and reuenges vnder the name and title of Iustice and of the glorie of God For if wee doe so wee cease to exercise the punishments and corrections of the Lorde and put our owne in practice Wee must therefore followe his example For hee suffereth not euill to goe vnpunished if men auoide not punishment by his grace and mercie and by those meanes which he hath appointed for the obtaining thereof Therefore it is often saide of the wicked in the Scripture that GOD will returne into their bosome the euill which they haue done and his children and seruantes desire him also to perfourme the same But when hee doeth it hee is not mooued with any euill affection but onely with the loue hee beareth to iustice and vertue and to his children and with pity and compassion towardes them in regarde of the iniuries done vnto them And as himselfe commeth in iudgement to take vengeance so hee woulde haue them that supplie his place among men vnto whome hee hath committed the sworde for the defence of the good and punishment of euill doers to followe his example But whether they doe so or no there is no sinne that can auoide