wisedome alone hangeth the liues of all those that are embarked with him Now your studie age and experience haue brought vnto you great sufficiencie and ripenesse of counsell and your wisedome and sinceritie haue made you in such sort affect the coÌ„mon weale of your countrey as in deed you ought so that you haue thereby gotten your selfe such credit amongst your naturall countrey-men as the time yeeldeth and affoordeth for honest men to haue For with what pretence can you any way abandon the common good of your countrey It may be you will say I am not able to abide the outrages which reigne amongst the people I can not away to see the disorder and confusion where-into all thinges are fallen Tell me I beseech you doth this agree with the words which I haue heard you oftentimes speake that our Countrey is in the stead of our Father and Mother and to this effect it is called Patria by a name the deriuation whereof signifieth a Father and the feminine termination signifieth a Mother as conioyning them both in one word and signifying Patrie and Matrie both together Put the case that a Father should waxe mad and be out of his wits vppon whome would you bestowe the care keeping and ouersight of him would you not say vppon the Children Now if the Children would excuse them selues and say that hee had punished iniuried and beaten them and therefore would not take it vppon them would you not finde fault with them and with checks and taunts enforce them to doo that dutie which both nature and charitie commandeth them Peraduenture you will say that there are two things which withdrawe you and they seeme to excuse you for putting too your helping hand and medling in and with these affayres And the one is that it is lost labor that the pleadings of honest men are vtterlie vnprofitable and serue for none other purpose but to make them to bee enuyed and hated without bringing any benefite to the common-weale at all By this the wound is no whit the more cured and libertie hath ouer-much wonne vppon reason For honest men are no whit bound to trauell for the proffit and commoditie of the common-weale but so farre-foorth as theyr trauell may do good and that there is thereby some hope of well doing For men must deale in a State as Phisitions do with their phisicke for they must not minister phisicke vnto diseases that are incurable which bringeth nothing else vnto themselues but shame and dishonor The other that you tell of is this that there are some things which an honest man may not by any meanes possible support nor dissemble Well patience is a maruellous great vertue and greatly beseeming and necessary for the life of men and yet she hath her bounders and the mischiefe groweth sometimes vnto such an head as that they which both loue and feare God are no way able to abide it For answere vnto the first this I say that it is a cowardly idle and slothfull excuse grounded rather vpon our pusillanimitie then vppon wisedome which it so vaunteth of For who is he that can haue any iust occasion to despaire of the good of an Estate or of a Citie since we see by the course of histories how vncertaine both their ruine and preseruation is For how often haue we seene kingdomes cities fall euen in their most flourishing time by a suddaine earthquake and by great winds and other some altogether tottering and almost halfe fallen maruelously holden vp raysed and set vp againe in the middest of their ruines For this power of God which men foresee not hath caused them to hang betweene feare and hope neither was there euer any thing so sure as that the fall of it was not to be feared nor any thing so staggering as that there was not some hope of the staying thereof And this is without all doubt most true that if our saluation lay wholy in our owne hands we had alreadie bene damned Howbeit God fighteth for vs against our selues and will saue vs whether we will or no. Now although we were sure to be ruined and sawe it neuer so clearely that it would light vpon vs as in verie deed we see not so much as one iote thereof is it not a part of the dutie of good children and good friends â—o assist those that are incurably sicke euen vnto death and â—ourd them with faire words whome wee can not possibly heale You will perhaps say that you are not able to abide the vnbridled libertie which some priuate men take vpon them as the oppression of Iustice and the disorder and confusion wherein we liue What is it then that you would haue Would you see all things as they should be as to see good men in authoritie ill men supprest by lawes and Iustice to rule and reigne Surely these are worthy wishes of you and worthie an honest man howbeit the world is not gouerned by wishing and woulding A man may lawfully desier good things but let them be as they may we must needes beare them There will be vices ynow in the world so long as there are men in the world And this is to heale and ease these disorders whereunto the common weale and your dutie call you neither must you bring with you your eyes alone but your hands also to heale your countrey of so grieuous wounds I right well knowe that you shall not therein be able to do as you would neiâ—her is the mischiefe to be medled withall but you must do what you can in it and as the condition of the mischiefe will suffer you This is an occupation out of which we choose not the matter but is geuen vnto vs for a good workman is oftentimes enforced to worke in a rotten peece of wood and yet for all that he must not geue it ouer but make the best he can of such an ilfauoured peece of wood When Solon was asked whether he had geuen vnto the Athenians the best lawes he could he answered no but I haue geuen them the best that they are able to abide And we must apply remedies according to the strength nature of the diseased To be short we are not warranted in our affaires none otherwise then with our counsels and hauing done the best we can because it is to be done we are thereof discharged both before God men And as for the particular iniuries which we receiue therby where caÌ„ we better bestow our charitie patience where shall we exercise that which we learne out of the schoole of Christ if we can not beare the iniuries slanders of the people with whome wee liue yea when shall we hope that by our patience wee shall appease the popular furies bring agayne the rebellious people into their right wits displace the wicked from their authoritie and set good men in their rooms It is most certaine that these diseases are sooner cured by winning of time then by applying of
valure But my desire is to follow the discipline of those whose liues and conuersations I would gladly follow Philo the Iewe speaking of the religious men dispersed throughout the deserts of Egipt and who in great perfection of life bestowed their time in contemplation saith That they laid vp in their soules Temperance as a good firme and sure foundation whereon they might afterward settle and establish all manner of vertues and therefore we must begin at that end For if Plato with some reason compareth our soules vnto horses which must be ridden and broken ken by a skilfull rider for a cunning horseman will first of all be sure to haue the Bitte in the horse mouth before he giue him the spurre that he might restraine him from going out of his lists and thereby be able both to manage and turne him euenly and not suffer him to beat himselfe and fling and leape at all aduentures We call this temperance the authoritie and power which â—eason ought to haue vpon the lusts and violent affections which carrie our will vnto pleasures and delights This then must be the reine as it were vnto our soules or rather serue vs as a fit instrument to scum the boiling desires which arise in our soules by reason of the heat of bloud that they might be alwaies ioyned and egalled vnto reason wher vnto they must be proportionable not regarding nor yeelding themselues vnto the sensible obiects which offer themselues vnto them But contrariwise so to yeeld vnto them as that they cause those obiects to serue them and reason whereof they should be altogether in very deed made Now of all the passions ouer which temperance must haue an especiall eye to arrange these vnto reason filthie concupiscence is the most ordinarie which tieth vs vnto the lust of the flesh making vs to seeke out in the coniunction ordeined by God not the blessing of a long and happie posteritie to substitute in our steads seruants vnto our creator but a beastly pleasure and infamous delight which blindeth our soules and maketh our spirites drunke God hauing heaped in man so many sundrie perfections meant yet notwithstanding as it were to finish the same and did communicate with him that which is the most wonderfull in all the deitie which was the making him a creator like vnto himselfe For as he created the world that his power might be seene established before him his wisedom in his works so also would he that maÌ„ should beget another one like vnto himselfe that he might see also himselfe in his owne worke and loue and cherish that which came of himselfe And therefore he gaue him a wife to be a companion with him in this workemanship Nay he did more then this for his meaning was that man who was bond and thrall vnto death looked that there should one day one of his posteritie be borne of a Virgine who should be the Sauiour and redeemer of the world stirring him vp as it were religiouslie to vse an holy vnion which should serue to the ministerie of his redemption Wherefore as the vse of this coniunction at this day is no more necessarie for our saluation which for vs is fully purchased neither left vnto vs but as a lawfull intemperaÌ„ce if so be we are not able to passe it yet let vs vse it at the least as a remedy of infirmity vnder the authority of the law of God for the cooling and mortifying of the lusts of the flesh which bud spring out in vs. And seeing that the desire which casteth vs out of our selues cannot driue vs to loue God as we should let vs yet at the least keep it within the chaste bosom of her whom God hath destined for our wife companion And let vs take great heed thâ—t we make not our members filthy stinking vessels and so defile the Temple of God seeing he vouchsafeth to dwell in vs by the impure dealing with those kind of women who in violating their bodies violate also therewith all maner of lawes For first they breake the law of God who commaundeth chastitie the law of nature which forbiddeth to make that common which is borne for one alone the law of Nations which hath brought in marriages and the law of families vniustly transferring the labour and trauell of another vnto a strange heire Truly from this abhominable and vnbrideled concupiscence come and are deriued aâ— from a liuely and pleasant Fountaine all publike and particular calamities as it were For when this foolish loue is once formed in our soules which being nourished with belly-cheere and idlenesse beginneth there to grow and encrease and hath as heady wine run through our vaines it by and by bringeth our sences a sleepe and benummeth our members bereaueth our reason and so furiously reigning ouer vs carrieth vs away violently into most furious purposes and practises Do we not see at this day the mightiest kingdomes to be by it digged downe as it were with Pickaxes and Empires to stumble and fall downe to ruine And do we not see that it deuoureth in one day the ritches and conquests of infinite worlds That it openeth the gate to all iniustice Hath it not brought ielowsie betweene brethren and quarrels betweene Fathers and their children But the worst and foulest of all the effects that it hath wrought is the vncertaintie that it bringeth into the minds of kinsmen and families For in defiling the mariage bed it taketh froÌ„ the children the loue of their father which cannot be conserued but by the good opinion that the husband hath of the chastitie of his wife it breaketh also the pietie of the children towards their fathers which caÌ„not be founded but vpon the self same consideratioÌ„ Now when these bonds of affection good will are lost amongst meÌ„ how can they conteine themselues within any ciuill amity and society how can they ioyne vnite themselues together to serue God obey his coÌ„mandements This sinne as an ancient father saith is the deuils hauen which floting flowing in vs through voluptuousnes continually rebloweth the bellowes of our sences with new hoat desires which set our soules on fire there nourisheth them with smoake taking from them both sight iudgement which should guide them to euery good thing And therfore how far soeuer we can see this foolish loue we must hunt it away and detest it as the very poison of our souls Howbeit we contrariwise call it vnto vs and make much of it how farre soeuer it be from vs. For we inuite it to giue it reward and the rewards of honor are for none but for his officers all the most fine and rare wits take the greatest delight to impe his feathers that he might the speedelier and more contentedly come flying into the palaces of Princes Now a Christian man especially such a one as would attaine vnto this blessed conteÌ„platioÌ„ whervnto we prepare him will bereaue his soule of all these
thee my poore countrey of France and graâ—…â—…gr are to be able as blessedly to pâ—…uâ—… thy welfare as I haue an earnest desire to do it G. DV V. MEDITATIONS vpon the Lamentations of Ieremiah THE PREFACE Aleph A Good Father hath alwayes a great regard vnto the welfare of his childreÌ„ and seeketh by all meanes possible to preserue keepe them But when they through their rashnesse and wilfulnesse shall despise his wisedome and go about vtterly to vndoe them selues and in the end cast them selues headlong into those calamities which he foretold them he by and by is reuenged of his eyes filleth his face with teares and his soule with griefe But if so be he haue leysure to poure out his sighes and that sorrow geueth his tongue leaue to vtter any words they are nothing else but so many lamentable passions turned into gall and bitternesse Such a one do we both heare and see at this day this Prophet to be who hauing long before foreseene the tempest which should ouerthrow his countrey denounced and cryed out with open mouth that the time of her destruction was at hand and should see their houses burnt and their City sackt before their faces if so be the inhabitants therof did not speedily with running streames of teares and with sackcloth and ashes meet with the enflamed wrath of God for their sinnes and transgressions But they rather harkned vnto the deceitfull words of their enemies then vnto the voyce of their friends and harkned rather vnto those that brought them tidings of their destruction then vnto them which denounced the same vnto theÌ„ And so it fell out that this beautifull and mightie Citie the very eye of the East and myracle of the whole world after so many and so many threats fell in the end into extreame calamitie And after that she had bene spoyled and sacked she saw her inhabitants chayned and led into miserable bondage whole households taken away and led into captiuitie women and maydes dishonored and afterward deuided parted amongst the Souldiers And then Ieremiah beholding the vncomfortable face of this Citie acknowledging therein nothing more then the sorrowfull effects of his old prophesies began to lament them after this manner saying CHAPTER I. Aleph OVt alasse in what estate doo I see thee thou great and proud City O the pride of thy magnificent Palaces is now abated Now all thy sumptuous and ritch shewes of thy costly buildings are come downe and brought to rubbish I looked on euery side of mee to see what was become of all the braue men which were woont to furnish thy houses but I sawe all lye lyke a waste wildernesse I sought in euery place and could finde nothing there was no bodie to answer me and yet I called all the towne ouer I saw nothing come out of thy Castles but iack dawes owles And now ô poore Citie which sometime wert the stately dwelling place of Kings and the Princesse of Prouinces and the feate of the kingdome thine honor is dead and thou art become a most miserable widow Sorow is now thy liuery and badge sorrow without end sorrow full of all horror yea and sorrow full of all despaire For alasse thou sawest not only thy goods and childreÌ„ lost but being lost thou sawest them also put vnto most cruell paine and torment With what eyes shall they be euer able to looke towards thee and with what thoughts be able to remember thee when as groaning vnder the burden of a most insupportable slauery they shall represent vnto thee thine auncient magnificence and their pristinate libertie will they not all say weeping that the Princesse of the nations is now become a most wretched slaue and she that was wonted to commaund others is become her selfe now to be taxed O poore and miserable Citie thou hast now maruellously altered thine estate and condition Weepe therefore and sigh hardly for neither thy weeping nor yet thy sighing will these many dayes be able to match thy miseries Beth. She wept and wept againe and her eyes neuer ceased And when the Sunne arose to take his course she began to mourne and when he went downe yet had she neuer made an end All liuing creatures withdrew them selues into dolefull and darke places and all things were silent and at rest euery where but her plaints encreased in the darke and the nights rest was troubled with her cryes Her broken and trembling voyce sounded euery where and all the whole world that heard this complayning voyce were moued with horror and feare Her cheekes were neuer dry and her teares neuer ceased running Her face was euer wet and her eyes distilled continually And alasse how could her plaints end when as there was no end of her miserie She had not one onely to comfort her no not so much as one to wipe away her teares All her friends forsooke her and the neerest neighbours she had quite and cleane left her They that sometimes honored her good hap do now vtterly contemne her and they that once reuerenced her prosperitie do now scorne and mocke her for some of them fled from her when she fell into miserie and they that tarried behinde did nothing else but dishonor her Gimel Thus was poore Ierusalem and the poore Hebrewes entreated and handled in their captiuitie And after losse followed shame and after domage repâ—och They went this way and that way thinking to find some that would comfort them but all the world pursued them And what the very dens of the wilde beasts were their safetie when any went about to set vppon them and the poore people could neyther finde caue nor any place of repaire safely to go into The nature of miserie is to haue compassion on others but the miserie of this people encreased the hatred that was borne them In so much as that nature it selfe is here altered to the end to augment the torment of these poore people Alasse what a fatall ruyne is this that can not be auoyded For thus they might haue sayd If so be ye will haue our goods ye shall haue them if so be it be for our lands houses that ye afflict vs why take them to you and if yee persecute vs for hatred that yee beare vnto the name of our Countrey why wee will banish our selues thence What would our miserie haue more of vs Why persecuteth it vs when as wee are readie to flye Doth it afflict vs that are poore wretches and pursue vs who are banished Wee are scattered abroade through out all the nations of the world and stray and fleete about like wracks and vagabonds we haue all the miseries that any can possibly beare and yet haue not so much as one of the least of their comforts And they that see vs are voyde of commiseration neyther do they looke only vncompassionately vppon vs but scornefully also And this was not our entertaynemeÌ„t in one place alone but euery where and the onely benefit which we haue