detested because thorough such a mischiefe they leade men to destruction turning them from the eternall felicitie and infecte the most pure doctrine which is our spirituall foode and so separate men from the catholicke church without which is no saluation S. Augustin in his 4. booke of the Citie of God reproueth Varro Pontifex Sceuola who were of opinion that it was very expedient men should be deceiued in religiō because that there is no felicitie or rest but in the certaintie thereof and in an infallible truth And Chrisippus said that without diuinitie the doctrine of god none could take any principle at al in the discipline of maners And Polibius sheweth that there was nothing which so much aduāced the Romanes as their religion albeit it was not pure S. Paul writeth to the Corinthians that he had prepared them for one husbande to present them as a pure virgine to Christ And the Prophets cal lying adultery And S. Chrisostome vpō the argument of the Epistle to the Romanes sheweth that al mischeif proceedeth frō the ignorance of the scriptures as our Sauiour Christ imputed vnto the Iewes that they were deceiued not knowing the scriptures nor the power of God Matth. 22. Mark 12. And if it haue been saide of the auntient fathers that the word is a medicine to the greeued spirite a man may well say it is also poison being falsly taught The which moued the prophets Apostles so carefully to warne men to beware of false prophets seducers wolues which speake not by the mouth of God neither are sent by him because there is no cōparison to be made between the straw and the corne nor betweene an infected riuer and a good spring Againe we are exhorted to stand in the wayes behold and to aske for the olde way which is the good way and walke therein to the end we should not wander from that life thorough desearts but find rest for our souls And we read in the Acts of the Apostles that at the end of the sermons euerie man searched the scriptures to see whether those thinges they had harde were so For God by Isaiah sendeth vs backe to the lawe and to the testimonie because if they speake not according to this woorde it is for that there is no light in them as who would saye that they were abused and remayned in darkenesse And S. Peter caught nothing when hee fished by night vntill he cast out his net into the sea at the cōmandement of our Sauiour as some anciēt fathers haue gathered hereon What euer we do without the worde of God profiteth vs nothing and it shall be sayde vnto vs as in the first of Isaiah who hath required these thinges at your handes And if they say that the holy scripture is harde and not easely to be vnderstood God protesteth in Isaiah that he hath not spoken in secrete neither in a place of darkenesse and his doctrine is not obscure nor doubtfull but readie to instruct vs to perfection to lighten vs and guide vs to saluation And in an other place he sayth that the word of God is as the wordes of a booke that is sealed vp to the vnbeleeuers And Saint Paule wrote to the Corinthians that if his Gospel were hid it was hid to the infideles that were lost For this great Prince making his alliance with his subiectes and creatures to saue them deliuered all in cleare and simple termes And Saint Augustine writeth that whatsoeuer appertayneth to saluation is manifestly set downe in the scripture and whatsoeuer is obscure in one place is manifested in another and in the 15. Chapter of the same booke he giueth vs a notable rule howe to discerne figuratiue speeches as if we be commaunded to doe well straight wee are forbid the euill and so is it no figure for in that one shall finde the very scope of the scripture to wit the glory of God and charitie but contrariwise if taken according vnto the letter if it seeme to commaund ill and forbid the good then may we easely iudge it to be a figure whereof he giueth vs sundrie examples And Saint Paul in his seconde to Timothe sheweth that the whole Scripture is giuen by inspiration of God and is profitable to teach to improoue to correct and to instruct in righteousnesse that the man of God may be absolute being made perfect vnto all good workes The holy ghost is likewise called the spirite of prudence and discretion enterteyned by meditating of the scriptures contrary vnto the Philosophers bookes where leaues are onely gathered and not the trewe fruite And after that the Prophet Baruch had set downe what a number of mischeifes grewe by the carelesnesse of hearing of the worde of God and that we should drawe from the fountaine of wisedome he exhorteth vs to Learne where is wisedome where is strength where is vnderstanding that we might knowe also from whence commeth long continuance and life and where the light of the eyes and peace is The holy Scripture is also called the worde of reconciliation of life of peace and of saluation and there is not almost one line thorough out the hole Bible which doth not pull vs by the eare and sleeue to awake vs out of the sleepe of this world and to pull vs out of the clammie vanities wherein wee hange that it may bring vs to the glory and presence of God which is our saluation The which mooued S. Augustine Chrisostome Ierome Theophilact and other doctors to exhort the laytie the simple people artificers and all kinde of persons dayly to exercise themselues in the reading and meditating of the holye scriptures adding that they which haue founde a golde or siluer mine trauayle to digge the earth and endure most pestiferous ouerheating of themselues so as they may gather some fewe drammes of golde and siluer and ought we that haue so riche precious a treasor in the holy scriptures to neglect and not search it out being called therto by God Yea wee see what toyle men take in haruest season and yet howe slacke and sluggish we are to reape our celestiall wheate And the sayde holy scriptures are better vnderstoode of a modest idiote then of an arrogant Philosopher And as Saint Basile wrote the lambe wadeth thorough the streames of the scriptures when the Elephant swimmeth And in 119. Psalme it is saide that this word of God serueth for a rule and correction to youth and lightneth and giueth grace to the humble And the most auncient trueth sayth Tertullian is the most certaine It is also called a testament and alliance because we finde therein the legacye of eternall life and an immortall succession in communicating of all the riches merites and perfections of our Lorde and sauiour Christ Iesus thorough the fayth which we haue in his promises It is giuen vnto vs for a buckler defence and safegarde against all assaultes for a present medicine
often times the ignorant and vnconstant do turne the scriptures to their owne ruyne as our Sauiour and S. Peter witnesse so is it very requisite that in the reading thereof men carry a sounde iudgement and certaine bookes to be forbidden to be reade of euery one and not to giue stronge meate vnto such as haue neede of milke and in this poynt is it very conuenient to followe the decree of the Councell of Trent in those places where it is receiued and the instruction of their Curate and Pastor Gregorie Nazianzene in his apologie maketh mention of the custome of the Hebrewes who neuer accustomed all ages to euery kinde of doctrine nor reuealed their secretes but to suche as were of a sounde iudgement The which S. Ierome marketh well in the beginning of Ezechiel and S. Ambrose vpon the 35. Psalme and S. Augustine li. de spir lit alleage for example the Cantickes which some for their owne pleasure haue very disorderly applyed I leaue to the iudgement of euery man whether we haue nowe lesse occasion then had the Prophetes to complaine of some pastors which they termed by the name of theeues wolues dumbe dogges seducers idoles couetous voluptuous hypocrits and by sundry other most detestable names The dreame or vision of S. Anthonie where hee imagined he sawe certaine swyne and moyles defiling the aultar is verified in this time Our dutie is to beseeche at Gods handes that it well please him to sende vs such as be good that they may search nought else then his glorie and nourish their flocke with good holsome food For from thence as Plinie doth witnesse commeth the good wooll that is to say good life S. Augustine commended the saying of Socrates that both God and man will be serued as he commaundeth The which he applyeth to the seruice of the trewe God who commaundeth that nothing be eyther added or diminished vnto his worde And sayth that for this cause the Romanes allowed the seruice of all gods hauing for that ende builded a Temple to all gods called Pantheon and yet would neuer receaue the trewe to wit the God of the Hebrewes Because if they had serued him otherwise then he commaunded they had not serued him at all but their owne fictions if they had done as he had ordeined then had they cleane reiected and set aside all other Gods For the principall seruice of God consisteth in obedience as Samuel sayde vnto Saul The Prophets called it a spirituall chastitie not to swarue therefrom nor to thinke that whatsoeuer wee finde good in our owne eyes pleaseth him And as Nahas the Ammonite woulde by no meanes receiue them of Iabes a citie in Iudea which he had beseaged to his mercie vntill he had put out their right eye And when the Philistins had subdued the children of Israell they disarmed them euen to their kniues So did that Apostata Emperour Iulian Dioclesian and other who studied in what they coulde to make the Christians continue in ignoraunce and blindnesse neuer enquiring of the will of GOD or order of the primatiue Churche and vnder a great payne made them to be disarmed of that worde which the scripture calleth the knife of the spirite Iosephus lib. 2. contra Apionem setteth downe the custome which the Iewes obserued euerie weeke in reading of the holie scripture so as eache man vnderstoode it and knewe it by heart The which Socrates lib. 5. cap. 22. sheweth was also obserued in Alexandria and it maye bee seene by that which is written of our Sauiour Luke 4. Actes 5. 1. Tim. 4 When in the time of Iosias 2. Kinges 21 the booke of the lawe after it had long lyne hydde was founde againe he made great estimation thereof and sayde vnto the Priestes Goe yee and enquire of the Lorde for me and for the people and for all Iudah concerning the wordes of this booke that is founde for great is the wrath of the Lorde that is kindled agaynst vs because our fathers haue not obeyed the wordes of this booke to doe according to all that which is written therein for vs. We must likewise imagine that such as haue taken vppon them to teach the way to that happinesse which all men couet to attayne vnto haue beene but counterfayte except they haue layde the foundation out of the holy and Canonicall scriptures and the lyes wherein their fathers liued ledde them into erroure according as Amos wrote We ought therefore often to praye vnto God with Dauid Salomon and Saint Paule that he will giue vs wisedome and vnderstandinge and open our eyes that we may followe that which may be most agreeable vnto him without deceiuing of our selues Saint Ierome in his Epistle to Laeta sayeth excellently well that reading ought to followe prayer and prayer reading A man might verye well impute the cause that so manie prouinces haue beene made subiecte vnto the tyrannie of the Turke so many disorders corruptions warres seditions maladies murthers and other calamities haue happened to the contempt of this worde according to which a man will not reforme his life nor his strange opinions nor supporte one an other knowing that this worde teacheth nought else then peace concord and amitie and that we may be wise as serpentes which to saue their heade laye open their bodie and with their tayle stop their eare against the enchanter So let vs spare nothing for the mayntenance of this doctrine so long a goe left vnto vs without dissolutenesse sectes or discentions for there is nothing so well established which discorde can not ransacke and as Saint Augustine sayth very well the knowledge of the trewe doctrine humilitie and patience entertayneth concorde And Quintius Capitolius in Titus Liuius sayth that partialitie poysoneth and infecteth common-wealthes making such as would gayne saye not to consider what is most expedient as we finde by experience in France and haue too many examples both at home and abroade The Emperour Maximilian the seconde had often in his mouth that it was a greenous sinne and errour to raygne ouer mens consciences as the lawes carryed it I can here affirme that if men did knowe the truth and the happinesse which followeth the knowledge of trewe religion the voluptuous man would there searche his pleasures the couetous his wealth the ambitious his glorye the onely meane which can fill their heart and satisfie their desire and it serueth vs for a guyde to leade vs vnto God whereas the false doeth cleane withholde vs from him CHAP. XXXI That those which deferre their amendment doe wrappe them selues in a daungerous lie WE haue alreadie shewed that if they which name themselues Christians would but follow their profession vice should not raigne so plentifully For who so would beleeue the promises of God and setle therein a full assurance and consider what a great blessing is prepared for such as feare him and what euerlasting punishment
The Aegyptians ordained death it selfe for a punishment to periured persons and to such as declared not the verie trueth in their declaration which of necessitie eche one was to make yearely both touching his name and the meanes he had to nourish his familie The Scithians and Garamanthes followed the same lawe and there was he condemned that had prognosticated any false thinges to come The Persians and Indians depriued him of all honour and farther speache which lyed The Gimnosophistes Chaldeans barred them al companies dignities condemned to remaine in perpetual darknes without speaking And Nicephorus reciteth how the verie wormes did eat the toung of the cosener Nestorius in his life time Monstrelet writeth of Popiel k. of Pologne who had euer this word in his mouth If it be not true I would the Rattes might eat mee that he was so assailed by rattes in a banquet that neither his gards nor fire nor water could preserue him from them Other do assure vs that an Archbishop of Magence died of the like death K. Artexerxes made one of his souldiers toungs to be nailed with iij nailes that had made a lie The lawes of Solon imposed great pains vpon such for that cause did the Gabaonites lose their libertie The emperour Traian surnamed the good Prince took away frō the sonne of Cebalus the kingdom of Dace which we terme at this day Trāsiluania Valachia only because he caught him in a lye told him that Rome the mother of truth could not permit a lyar to possesse a kingdom Cirus in like sort told the k. of Armenia that is was most manifest a lye was not capable of pardō as Xenophon writeth in his 3. booke of his Pedia After that one had red vnto Alexander the great a historie out of Aristobulus wherin he had intermingled certaine counterfait praises he flong the booke into the riuer saying the said writer deserued to haue bin flung in himself because men ought to studie to serch out the truth without which nothing can be wel don that it was a shame great damage when a lye shold put good wordes out of credit And he found fault with another when he compared him to Hercules If he had in this sort remained al the rest of his life that prosperitie flatterie had not rendred himself more insolent he had bin worthy of much greater honor I could here verie wel alledge how in Almanie the lye hath bin alwayes extremely hated shunned as it were a plague bastardes could neuer obtain the prise of any ocupatiō whatsoeuer nor take degree in any art or science as also in the olde testament they were excluded both out of the church sanctuarie For they are euer in doubt which of the sundrie mignions that their mother entertained was their father For this cause Philo Alexandrin compareth those with Idolaters who through ignorance of their creator and his bountie cal vpon many declareth that a multitude as much to say as a pluralitie of gods is very athisme the grounde of lying banishing for euer from thence life euerlasting CHAP. XXIX That the periured and blasphemers are detestable lyers and the paines for them CIcero was of opinion that there was no difference betweene the lyar and the periured person and that God had ordained to eche like punishment and that he which was accustomed to lye did easily periure himselfe The which opinion sundry doctors of the church haue in like sort helde Others notwithstanding haue thought that they haue offended more deepely which abuse the name of God to confirme their lying the which sort of people deserued death by the lawes of Plato Aegypt as committers of sacriledge And the Prophet Ezechiel calleth it the prophaning of the name of God the spoyling him of his trueth He saieth also that he which despiseth his othe shall neuer escape And it is written in Ecclesiasticus that A man that vseth much swearing shalbe filled with wickednes and the plague shall neuer goe from his house Saint Chrisostom made sundrie homilies sermons to the end we should hate leaue all othes that there mought neuer be among men folowing the cōmandement of our sauiour but yea yea nay nay without blaspheming the name of God by swearing And he greatly marueiled to see vs so ready to obey the lawes ordinances of Princes albeit they be very hard vnreasonable that of Gods commandemēt so expressely giuen vnto vs not to sweare at al we make so litle account wherof also Plato greatly complaineth and that men couer themselues with a lewd custom which euery man ought to enforce himselfe vtterly to abolish The saide doctor in like sort writeth that it is vnpossible that he which much sweareth should not forsweare himselfe As wee reade of the othe rashly made by King Saul whereby he was constrained either to put to death his innocent sonne or to remaine periured And God reuenged vpon his race and people the great slaughter that he made of the Gabaonites contrarie to the othe sworne vnto them by his predecessours And the other tribes of Israel hauing sworne that they would not giue their daughters in marriage to that of Beniamin because they woulde not breake their othe chose rather to councell them to rauish their saide daughters And Titus Liuius sheweth that the Petelins in Calabria the Sagontines in Spaine chose rather to dye a most miserable death then to breake the faith they had plighted It is written in Zechariah I sawe a flying booke the length thereof is 20 Cubites and the bredth 10. the curse whereof shall enter into the house of him that falsely sweareth and it shall remaine in the middest of his house and shall consume it with the timber thereof and stones thereof Now that all is full of blasphemies othes and periuries wee greatly ought to feare a most sharpe chastisement of the wrath of God for so ordinarie a contempt of his holy name and followe the counsell of Ecclesiasticus Keepe thy mouth from being accustomed to sweare for that carryeth great at ruyne withall K. Agesilaus hauing vnderstoode that Tisaphernes K. of Persia had broken the promise which he had sworne vnto him aunswered that therein he had done him a verie great pleasure because that by his periurie he had rendred himselfe odious and enimie both to the Gods and men And truely all policies and matches are cleane turned topsie turuie if the promise be not obserued Titus Liuius in the beginning of his historie greatly commendeth the common wealth of Rome because it was gouerned by faith and simple oth not by feare of lawes or chastisements It was also the principall charge of the Censors of Rome as Cicero writeth to punish the periured against whome there is great threates in the holie scripture and in Leuiticus not onely the periured man is
more are wee bounde to those at whose hands we haue alreadie receiued a good turne For it is in our power to giue or not to giue but as Seneca writeth it is by no means lawfull for a good man not to render againe the like pleasure which he hath alreadie receiued and sheweth that he is most miserable which forgetteth it and that the vngratefull man is of worse condition then the serpents which haue venome to annoy an other but not themselues whereas he is in perpetual torment making that which he hath receiued seeme lesse then in deede it is iudging it in himselfe a most dishonest part not to acknowledge it and yet against his owne conscience giueth place to his couetousnes and often times wisheth them dead to whome hee is moste bound The histories are full of plagues and miseries sent by god to the vnthankfull and of praises that haue beene giuen vnto those which haue acknowledged euen towardes verie beasts that good which they haue receiued of the great expense trauaile taken by manie to take away the verie suspition of ingratitude to which for breuitie sake I wil referre you I wil not for all that forget here the example of K. Pirrhus who greatly lamented the deth of a friend of his because thereby hee had lost the meanes to requite those benefites which he had receiued of him and greatly blamed himselfe in hauing before so long time differred it And it was not without cause said by Publius Mimus that who so receiueth a benefite selleth his owne libertie as who would saye that he made himselfe subiect to render the like And that we may bee the rather stirred vp to preserue this humane societie and thankfulnesse we must account what we receiue of greater value then in deede it is and what wee giue to bee of lesse and not suffer our selues to be ouercome by benefites Through the whole course of the holy Scripture we reade how the Saints and Patriarches haue beene diligent and carefull in praising of God rendring thanks vnto him for the benefits and fauours receiued at his handes and greatly lamenting the vnthankfull shewing the miseries that lighted vppon them Euen God complaineth in Isaiah and the rest of the Prophets that he nourished and brought vp children but they rebelled against him and that beastes had more iudgement to acknowledge their benefactors then men And reproched them in Hosea that they did not knowe that he gaue them corne and wine And complained in Deuteronomie that the people being waxed grose and laden with fatnesse forsooke God that made them and regarded not the strong God of their saluation In Micah hee calleth more amply to minde his benefites bestowed on the Iewes asketh what he hath done to see himselfe so yll acquited and yet declareth that the Lorde requireth of them suerlie to do iustly and to loue mercie and to humble themselues to walke with their God and sundrie other like passages are there in the Bible And Salomon writeth that He that rewardeth euil for good euil shall not depart from his house The lawes of Athens Persia and Macedonia were in time past highly commended for giuing iudgement against the vngratefull yea so farre as they condemned him to the death as it was in like sort in the law of Periander As touching Lycurgus hee woulde ordaine nothinge therein esteming it a most monstrous thing that a benefit should not bee acknowledged It is written of K. Philip that he put one of his souldiors out of pay and proclaimed him a villaine and vncapable of al honor because he was found vnthankful and caused to be printed in his forehead this worde Vngratefull And for this cause it was written of Socrates that hee woulde receiue nothinge from any man how great a personage so euer hee were except in short time he had bin able to haue requited him with the like And sundrie Philosophers great Captaines haue sent backe great presents when they were offred vnto them yea forbad their Embassadors in no wise to receiue any as wee wil hereafter declare fearing least they should therby remain more bound vnthankful And by the oracle of Apollo an vngrateful person ought to be reiected blamed throughout the world And it was lawful to reuoke liberties franchises for ingratitude into the which we our selues fall as Cicero in his oration of the consular prouinces declareth except we acknowledge what was in our libertie to receiue or were offered vnto vs and be thankfull as well for the benefites which we receiue at Gods hande as for those which he adorneth our neighbours withal declaring thereby his good will which hee beareth towards men which are as one bodie of many members And if that which Publius Mimius was wont to say be true that what soeuer is giuen to a good man bindeth euery man then haue wee great occasion to be thankful vnto God for that good which hee bestoweth of our neighbours Furthermore wee ought to esteeme aduersities as great blessings and testimonies of the good will of God towards vs thereby to humble vs retaine vs in that discipline due obedience which wee owe vnto him as wee haue marked heretofore And we ought to take as great pleasure in calling to remembrance what benefites wee haue receiued in time past as in those which are in present offered vnto vs thereby to pricke vs forward to acknowledge them by faith hope charitie patience good works giuing of thanks to aspire vnto riches more certaine otherwise wee shall cleane turne from vs the course of those benefits giftes of God which through men as a meane hee bestoweth vpon vs render our selues most vnworthie of all Cicero in his oration for Plancus calleth thankefulnes the mother of all other vertues and saith that there is nothing so inhumane or brutish as to suffer our selues to be found vnworthie verie beastes to surmount vs in acknowleging of benefits bestowed As in sundrie histories a man may see it euident that verie Lions Beares serpents dogges other like beasts haue acknowledged the helpe which hath beene done them sufficiently to confounde such as remaine vngratefull And S. Paul among the vices and wickednes that shall happen in the latter time comprehendeth vnthankfulnes and Salomon in his Prouerbs writeth that euil shall not depart from the house of the vnthankeful Plinie wrote not without cause that an yll and ouer deare bargaine is always vnthankful because it condemneth his master of folie lightnes We ought not then so much to cast our eye vpon those which seeme vnto vs to liue more at their ease then our selues as vpon an infinite number of other that are lesse and which haue not so much health friends cōmodities whereof we haue cause to thanke God shun this so great a vice Princes ought in like sort aboue
to an other is to fall from one mischeife to an other drawing towardes death With good discretion did Solon call townes boroughtes and villages the retreates of mans miseries full of noysomnesse trauaile and fortune And Aristotle termeth man to be the disciple of imbecillitie of inconstancie of ruines and diseases All which ought to make vs humble our selues The old prouerbe is common who knoweth himselfe best esteemeth himselfe least For if any man seeme to himselfe that he is somewhat when he is nothing he deceiueth himselfe in his imagination sayth S. Paul This is also the reason why the prophet Abacuc writeth that the iust man liueth by faith and that they which exalt themselues shall haue a fall Sundry writers make mention of K. Sesostris that he made himselfe be drawen by foure Kings which he held captiues and one of them euer vsed to turne his face backwarde and being demaunded why he did so aunswered that in beholding the wheeles howe the highest part became lowest he remembred the condition of men with which aunswere the same Sesostris became a great deale the more ciuill Saladin after his death made his shirt to be carried at the ende of a launce and to be cryed that of all the Realmes and riches he had nowe nothing was left him but that In sundry places doth the holy scripture impute this qualitie of pride left to them which distrust in God and presume of them selues And would to God ech one would practise the exhortation of S. Paule to the Philippians To be like minded hauing the same loue being of one accorde and one iudgement That nothing be done thorough contention or vayne glorie but that in meekenesse of minde euerie one esteeme other better then himselfe Looking not euery man on his owne thinges but euery man also on the thinges of an other man And to the Romaynes he desireth them to be affectioned to loue one an other with brotherly loue in giuing honour going one before an other Herodotus telleth of one Apricus Kinge of Aegypt who was so insolent that hee would saye that there was neyther God nor man could abate him or dispossesse him of his kingdome but shortly after Amasis put him by it and hee was strangled by his owne subiectes The like doeth Ouid make mention to befall to one Niob. Goliah was slaine by Dauid Iulius Caesar was so arrogant as he would say that it should stande for a lawe whateuer pleased him Other Princes haue had this woorde in their mouth I will it be so neuer considering that their willes ought to bee measured by the will of God iustice and lawes for the preseruation of their estate as king Theopompus and the Emperour Alexander Seuerus were woont to say and as wee recited before of Kinge Antigonus good Princes ought to esteeme nothing honest and lawefull that is not so of his owne nature and agreeable to the lawes And as touching such as are ambitious they neuer doe ought that is entirely pure and neete but euer in their actions you shall discerne a kinde of bastardie full of faultes dispersed according to the diuersitie of the windes which driue them forwarde and neuer measuring themselues doe dayly commit notorious errours and ruine themselues in vndertaking more then they are able or then is honest Whereupon it is very necessarie that the counsell of Ecclesiasticus be put in practise Seeke not out the things that are too harde for thee neyther search the thinges rashly that are too mightie for thee and burthen not thy selfe aboue thy power while thou liuest Plutarke in the life of Agis applyeth the fable of Ixîon which was tormented in hell and of him which found a clowde insteede of Iuno to such as are ambitious vngratefull And so do some other refer that which Homer in his Odes reciteth of Sysiphus who continually rouled the stone which he was neuer able to cary to the toppe of the mountaine and of Phaëton who would needs guide the horses of the sunne It hath bin an old prouerbe that he which aduaunceth himselfe further then he ought receiueth more thē he would They resēble the fisherman in Theocrites who satisfied his hunger with dreames of gold And with very great reason may a man impute all sects heresies diuisions foolish enterprises combats and vnnecessarie warres to the ambition of vnquiet mouing spirits which neuer content thēselues in their vocation for this cause S. Gregory Nazianzene wrote to Procopius that he neuer saw any good issue come of any coūcel or Synode by reason of ambitiō which did more impare controuersie thē amend thē And Aristotle in the 2. of his Politiques sheweth that the greatest part of faults which men cōmit proceedeth frō ambition or couetousnes as there are infinite examples of factions which haue long time endured in France Englād Italy Hesiodus writeth that the vnwise do not vnderstand that the halfe is more thē the hole For this cause it often chaunceth that they lose what euer they haue gotten which peaceably before they enioyed through a gredines of vndewly getting frō other as we see it fell out so doth it euery day to a number which haue not retyred themselues in dewe time not being able to staye the course of their fortune The which in the ende Antiochus full well vnderstoode for after that he was vanquished and that the Romanes had taken from him the prouince of Asia hee was wont to say that he esteemed himselfe much bounde vnto them for the learning which they had taught him and for their gratiousnes and courtesie which they had vsed towards him for when I enioyed sayth he so large a circuit of countrey I could not content my selfe nor set an ende to my ambition or desires but since such time as the Romaines haue abrydged my limittes they haue so gnawen my wings of ambition that I am more content then I was and nowe my care needeth not to be so great to gouerne well my little kingdome which is left before not beeing able to be satisfied Augustus the Emperour said that he wondered how so great a king as Alexander who had conquered all Greece Aegypt and Asia and yet could not be quiet except he mought stil be in hande with new busines continuing war not considering that it was both as great a vertue redounded as much to his glory by wholsome lawes and ordinances to establish the gouernment of a well pacified monarchy as it was to conquer it I greatly cōmend the councel of one Democrites that a man should euer propose vnto himselfe and couet thinges possible and be contented with the present and with that portion and measure which it hath pleased God to yeelde vnto him and to fashion himselfe according to that facultie and meane which is giuen vnto him neuer coueting the manuage of any greater affayre then appertayneth to his owne estate
of Sparta to put out their Samien guest out of Peloponese for feare he should entise any Spartians to become naught The saide Ephores giuing eare to this aduise bannished him the very selfe same day And Demosthenes was bannished by the Senate of Areopage for hauing receiued a present from Arpalus Curius and Fabritius refused the presentes of the Samnites and Pirrhus As also did Daniell of king Baltazard and the sayd Fabritius sayd that as long as he coulde commaund his owne members he should neuer haue neede of much mony Lysander would not receaue the apparell and iewels which was sent vnto his daughter frō Dionisius the tyrant sayinge that his presents more dishonoured then honoured his daughters Sophocles before sayde the like The which was the very cause that Alexander Seuerus so grieuously punished such of his officers as hee knew had taken bribes And according vnto that most excellent saying of our sauiour Christ Iesus recorded by S. Paule it is a blessed thing to giue rather then to take Which also king Ptolome Philadelphus was wont to repeate and that it was better to enrich an other then him selfe Euen the very Epicuriens helde that it was more excellent and pleasaunt to doe good to an other then to receaue a benefite And Cicero in his Oration which he made for Plancius declareth that it is an inhumane thing and brutish to suffer ones selfe to be ouercome thorough benefites And as king Cyrus was wont to saye that hee heaped vp great treasures when he enriched his friendes and subiectes And Constance the Emperour had often in his mouth that it were better that publike riches and appertayning to a king were possessed by priuate men then kept in a coffer or treasury And for the ease of the Empire he vsed onelye earthen vessell and was content with little for as Seneca writeth he is as great which vseth earthen vessell as siluer and siluer as if they were earth Cato Cicero and Titus Liuius teacheth vs a meanes to meete with auarice in taking away all riotousnesse and superfluous expence as sundry common weales and Empires haue done Pluto was called Dis that is to say the God of riches and hell as if too great wealth made the way more easie for vs. And the Poets faine that the Furies were the daughters of Pluto and Proserpina allotted to great reuenewes as if the aboundaunce thereof tooke away our vnderstanding except God enclined vs to vse it better And with great consideration did Lycurgus king of Sparta abolishe the vse of all gold and siluer as the very occasion and subiect of the wickednesse which man committed And Plinie wished that gold mought be cleane rooted out as if it had beene first found out for the ruine and destruction of mans life esteeming that age happye in which those things changed Artaxerxes was wont to saye that it was farre more royall to adde then to take away And Isocrates wrote to Nicocles that he shoulde bee more esteemed of in giuing then taking for these respectes one ought not easily to receiue a present and to charge himselfe hereby with a further recompense except hee wilbee polluted with that vilanous vice of ingratitude heretofore described If we consider the intents of the most parte of men we shal find they tend to the heaping vp of wealth to ioyn stone and wood one vpon another without once thinking of the life of the soule as though we had none at all The which causeth me to remember an aphorisme of Hipocrates They saith he which in their sicknes feele no paine at al tosse tumble their clothes teare their hayre and pill strawe it is a verie yll signe and no apparance at all that they shall liue For it is lesse decent to settle our wittes vppon heaping vp of riches then to drawe a peece of cloth of golde through a sinke And such as are giuen thereto are cleane out of taste as they are which haue the greene sicknes who loue to eate coales and ashes which is a strange cacochimie and corruption of nature And riches do not consist but in opinion and estrange vs from God Themistocles said that it was verie requisite for the chiefe of an armie to knowe the enemies councel yea aunswered Aristides but it is more decent and praise worthie to haue pure hands As Pericles was also wont to saie And if wee shoulde put in practise the iudgements of K. Cambises who caused a Iudge to bee fleade which was corrupted with brybes and fastened his skinne to the seat which afterwarde he caused his sonne to holde that of Darius who for the like cause caused one to be hanged and of a Bishop of Cologne who caused the eyes of sixe of his counsellors to be put out and left one to the seuenth which had taken least of any to the ende he mought guide the rest through the citie thereby shewing how much himselfe detested to bee corrupted with bribes there would be an infinite number at this time flead hanged made blind I could here discourse howe great miseries auarice breedeth how much it ought to be detested resembling the diuel from whence it is sprong which deliuereth vp his followers to the hangman breaketh their necke after that hee hath a while colled thē but ynough of others haue entreated therof And the holy scripture causeth vs often times to flye it as a plague and roote of al euil a bottomles pit making vs sustaine much euil to attaine vnto euil to turmoile toyle ones selfe to pleasure his heire who is often time vnknowen And the better hap a man hath to attaine therunto the more is he accursed in being more tormēted with the feuers of the mind vnquietnes Not without cause do they compare a couetous man to one in a dropsie or to him which hath bin stong by that dangerous serpēt Dipsas both which are neuer satisfied with drinke vntil they dye therwith And it was wisely saide that the poore man wanteth but a litle and the wise man al things that he neuer doth good vntil he dye the longer he liueth the more he tormenteth himselfe S. Chrisostome often times preached that the more money a man heaped togither the more he coueted that with great welth pouertie encreased And Salomon writeth He that is greedie of gaine troubleth his owne house but he that hateth gifts shal liue the couetous are excluded out of the kingdō of God 1. Cor. 6. Ephes ◠2. Tim. 6. Seneca writeth that if couetousnes do once surprise youth she wil strangle it before she wil leaue it It is a strange matter to see how many are withdrawn from the feare of God through riches wealth which notwithstanding proceed but frō his liberalitie therfore ought rather to make the possessors of thē more deuout affectionate vnto his seruice And
time which is so precious and not able to be againe recouered And in a good beginning we ought to perseuer without loosing courage And forasmuch as meere leasure is the cause of disorders and little honest thoughtes we ought not to spend one bare houre in vaine Many haue counselled youth to exercise themselues in Musicke to employ their time in those harmonies which stirre vp to commendable operations and moral vertues tempering desires greedinesse and sorrowes for so much as rimes melodies consist in certaine proportions and concords of the voyce And so long as this pleasure without wantonnesse allureth them they loose the occasion of deuising any lesse honest sport according to Plato his opinion the seconde of his lawes and eight of his commonwealth and Aristotle in his Politiques lib. 8.3 5. 7. This mooued Architas to inuent a certaine musicall instrument to stay the running wit of children I could here extoll Curius Diocletian Lucullus and sundry other who retyred themselues into a little small farme to the ploughe And Cicinnatus who after he had giuen ouer his Dictatorshippe returned to his plough as did Attilius Calatinus Attilius Regulus and sundrye other who contented themselues with the labour of the field despising all honours The which in my opinion mooued Plynie to write that the grounde tooke pleasure in being ploughed by Emperours Wantonnesse and daintinesse breedeth vexation of minde strange fashions and choler whereas facilitie of manners maketh one content with what he hath in hande and to seeke nothing too exquisite or superfluous I am of opinion that the manner which the Aegyptians helde and long time obserued in carrying vp and downe the hall at feastes a dryed anatomie of a dead mans bodie and shewing it vnto the companie thereby admonishing men to remember that in short time they should be a like was to make men more sober and temperate And sundry before time haue written that the diseases of the body be not to be feared so as the soule be sounde the health whereof consisteth in the good temperature of powers couragious or wrathfull coueting and reasonable she being the reasonable mistresse and bridling the two other as two furious and vnbroken coltes For as wee are curious to preserue the health of our bodie through the receites which are giuen and prescribed vnto vs by Phisitians or experience and so abstayne from meates and excesse which may offende or alter the same it is more required at our handes to remayne in the trueth and to haue a greater desire and care to preserue the health of our soules diligently obseruing all the rules which God the souerayne Phisitian of all prescribeth vnto vs and taking great heede on the other side that we shunne and auoyde whatsoeuer he hath forbidden And if we be carefull to seeke out those remedies which nature art and experience present vnto vs to preserue the health of our bodie much more ought wee to drawe and sucke out of the holy scriptures and histories that which formeth dresseth teacheth aduiseth reformeth and healeth the most noble and excellent part of vs which prepareth and strengtheneth vs at all assayes to receiue and carie with great contentment hope God assisting whatsoeuer may befall vnto vs in this life CHAP. XLVII What we ought to iudge of certaine examples of lying WE haue before recited the maxime which Vlysses in Sophocles would teach the sonne of Achilles as a matter very necessarie neuer to bee ashamed to lye when a man may reape profit thereby as also we put in vre what Plato permitted to Magistrates and Phisitians to lye so some other benefit mought be reaped for the scriptures and Doctors of the Church forbid all kinde of lying as well to great as to small And none ought to saue his corporall life to loose his spirituall And such helpe as we ought to minister vnto our neighbour ought to be without offence to God by iust vpright and honest means A man must not in like sort doe euill in hope of good And as touching that kinde of lying which is called ioyfull or offycious it discouereth it selfe easely doth no great harme Now to satisfie what may be obiected of the ly which the midwiues of the Hebrewes made and of Rahab which hid the spies of the children of Israell of Iacob which saide he was Esau and of other places which seeme to derogate from the truth S. Augustine sayth that as touching the midwiues we ought not so much to respect the lie as the fayth which they had in God and the affection and mercie which they shewed vnto the children of Israell In the rest wee are to consider the will of God and that they haue beene moued thorough the holy Ghost to foretell like Prophets what God had ordayned for his glory And when he willeth a thing then is sinne cleane excluded and what may seeme vnto men most vniust is in respect of our soueraine Lorde most iust Constance the father of Constantine the great made proclamaton that all Christians should giue ouer their offyces and lyuing which the good did and went from the court but such as were but in name gaue ouer their religion The sayde Emperour shortly after caused all those to be called home agayne which were departed and droue away the rest saying that if they were not faythfull to God they would not be to his seruice The like was doone by Iehu who after he had summoned all the Priests of Baal as though he would reestablish their idolatrie put them all to the edge of the sworde and made a iakes of their temple Yet ceased he not to worship the golden calfes We ought then to admire the sayinges and deedes of great personages and not to imitate them in what is not conformable to the rule which God hath prescribed or wherein they shall fayle like men and to followe the counsell giuen vnto vs by S. Paul to trie all things and holde that which is good CHAP. XLVIII Of the meanes how to render a nation true and happie and of the bringing vp of youth ALbeit that sundry of those meanes may bee perceiued by that which we haue before touched yet by reason of their importance to be meete with sundry inconueniences which happen I thought good to set forth more at large howe the very fountayne of all trueth godlines bountie iustice pollicy and vertue proceedeth frō a naturall good and that thorough the carelesnes of heads Magistrates guiding their affayres by hazard without any foresight according to the humor of mē which in all time haue halted in their dutie youth neuer hauing receiued good bringing vp corruption hath in euery place mightely increased For as Isocrates wrote in his Areopagiticke it is not great reuenewes nor riches nor lawes ordinances which make a citie quiet and happie but the good nourture of youth which being ill brought vp maketh no account
whore for she had couered her face And God in Zephaniah threateneth that he will visit the Princes and the Kings children and all such as are clothed with strange apparel And it was forbidden to men to weare weomens garments to weomen to wear mens And an account must be rendred of euery idle word And as S. Paul alleaged of Menander euil wordes corrupt good manners The which moued sundry wel gouerned common wealths to forbid masques vpon great paines in England of death It had bin no ways impertinent to haue shewed how much Princes haue abused themselues rather in taking care giuing themselues to conquer cities countries make great buildings then to preserue wel gouerne what they haue alreadie gotten and to maintaine those houses which haue beene left vnto them verie commodious As Augustus the Emperour greatly wondered to see that Alexander did not esteeme it so great a matter and honour to gouerne wel an Empire alreadie conquered left as to conquer a greate countrye and preferre necessarie and profitable expenses before voluptuous According to the disposition of the law likewise the legacie or gifte that is appointed for to be employed about a newe buylding ought to be conuerted to the repairing and amending of the olde in the latter lawe D. de operibus publ l. decuriones de administr re ad ciu pert I mought also speake howe Idolatrie the gods of the Pagan first began and how they were left according vnto the prophesie of Ieremie that The gods which haue not made the heauens and the earth shall perish I coulde also blame the condition of hucksters sellers by retayl in that as Cicero writeth they gain nothing except they lye which was before confirmed by Ecclesiasticus I mought also amplifie howe deepely they lye which liue wickedly dishonor and periure themselues that they may leaue their heires riche which often times are such as loue them not The dissolutenesse which is too much spread throughout France woulde haue required a discourse vpon the law which was made to forbid Tauernes and playing at dyce and cardes considering the inconueniences which daily happen thereby and that in Turkie all playe is punished by infamie great penalties as Cuspinien writeth One might also shew how much they deceiue themselues which couet to come to extreme old age because that the long life is not the better but the more vertuous And as it is written in the book of wisdom the honorable age is not that which is of long time neither that which is measured by the number of yeres but wisedome is the gray haire an vndefiled life is the old age And many haue esteemed them most happy which haue changed this miserable life with an immortal before such time as the discōmodities wearisomnes of old age hath crept vpon them And besides the assured testimonie which we haue out of the holye scriptures Aristotle wrote that when Silenus was taken he saide the condition of dead men was better then of the liuing And Pliny after that he had in the beginning of his seuenth booke shewed at large the miseries of mē concluded that nature gaue nothing better then a short life Notwithstanding to the faithful no estate of liuing cōmeth amisse since they wholy refer themselues to the wil of God taketh euery thing in good part as a blessing proceedinge from his hand We mought also shew how pernitiously they lye which clippe washe and delaye coyne as the Poet Dante called Philip the fayre a falsefier of coyne because by reason of his affayres hee was constrayned to delaye his siluer And very wisely did the Emperour Tacitus forbid the mingling of mettalles in his coyne where there ought to be a correspondance and proportion betweene the gold and siluer or other metall in which now a dayes sundry pernitious faults are committed Consequently I could describe the vanitie of alquemie which hath empouerished those which haue vsed it and turned the golde which they haue put therto into smoke whereof we dayly see but too many examples the which gaue occasion to Domitian to cause all the bookes to be burned which he was able to finde out I could also set forth the fault which they commit who put too much trust in dreames according as Ecclesiasticus hath written that Dreames haue deceiued many and they haue fayled which haue put their trust therein And Lucian in the citie of sleepe which he describeth in which dreams do dwell saith that they are all cosenners and lyers It were also a very large matter to write of to shewe howe albeit that blinde men choose some one to leade them yet an infinite number of persons which haue their iudgement and wit blinded and goe groping at all their businesse wandering without knowing the way which they ought to holde doe not for all that seeke ether councell or guide and are meruelously polluted with the same fault which they finde in an other and in their owne ignoraunce become Censors ouer other mens manners It were not likewise vnprofitable to declare howe daungerous a matter superstition is the which is so fruitefull that of one error or lye it engendreth a great number and thorough a kinde of sleight simplicitie or false apparence it cleane chooketh the truth and is for this cause termed in the holy scripture whoredome and adulterie violating the promise which we haue before made vnto God We mought likewise extoll the saintes in all ages which haue taken paines to maintayne the truth agaynst lying and to make a register of all vertues and abuses which are committed I could likewise enlarge sundrye Chapters in shewing howe daungerously they doe lye who after so many examples and experiences ruynes defacinges desolations and mischiefes happened in Fraunce desire for all that that men woulde yet the fifth time cast themselues hedlong into a ciuill warre couering their passion with a cloake of religion which is setled in the vnderstanding the which can not be gayned but thorough a perswasion founded vpon the holy and canonicall scriptures and not by violence or constraynt as Saint Augustine in sundrie places and other auncient fathers haue maintayned And the warre which is not necessarily vndertaken is an enimie to religion iustice order reformation and good manners and as the Emperour Iustinian writeth it carrieth great greefe to euerie good man it is brutish dissolute and without all ho especiall the ciuil which is miserable and moste pernitious as well in regarde of the victorers as of the vanquished as Cicero affirmeth in sundry places and in his Philippiques he adiudgeth him which desireth it to be a most detestable citizen It were not also a matter much different from that which we now discourse of if I should set downe the opinion of Plinie which affirmeth that there are no lyes more dearely solde nor more daungerous then those of the
receaued an iniurye ought to keepe and obserue as aboue I haue touched and it is onelye longe sufferinge that in the ende byteth And to pardon is a signe of a heroicall and noble heart and as Homer wryteth the more excellent a man is the lesse is his anger burninge and euerye gentle hart is easelye contented Sainct Paule wryteth to the Collossians As the elect of God holye and beloued put on tender mercy kindenesse humblenesse of minde meekenesse long suffering forbearing one an other and forgiuing one an other if anye man haue a quarrell to an other euen as Christ forgaue you euen so doe yee And aboue al these thinges put on loue which is the bonde of perfection And let the peace of God rule in your hearts to the which yee are called in one body and be yee amiable They ought to be accounted wise who knowing how apt of their owne inclination they be to choler vse notwithstandinge such remedies as they thinke fit to retyre themselues either in bearing patiently forgetting pardoninge moderating of them selues without beeinge too much mooued or breaking that which is easie to be dashed in peeces of a seruaunt as did Calias and Cotis or in burning their enemies letters before they see them as Pompei did those of Sertorius and Caesar those of Pompei The holye scripture doth often times exhort vs to forbeare one an other And whereas Saint Paule writeth that we shoulde portion a like to one an others charges hee vnderstandeth infirmities Dion after hee had restored his countrie againe to libertye was counselled to put to death one of the greatest enemies that he had now fallen into his handes but he sayd that he had long agoe learned to surmount wrath enuy and all euill will whereof the proofe consisted in behauing ones selfe temperatelye and courteouslye towardes his enemies and that he rather chose to surmount in bountye and courtesie then in power reuenge proceeding from a base minde We ought then to shun all suspicion of contempt and audacity rather casting the fault vppon the ignoraunce mistaking or lacke of those which haue offended vs to the ende we may escape that vengeaunce which is so often forbidden of the Lorde and which proceedeth from the same spring as doth the iniury and offence Notwithstanding that anger is not to be blamed which is vsed sometimes to make men amende when they haue done a fault For as Aristotle writeth in the fourth of his Morales euen as disordinate anger is a fault so is sometime the want of moderate choler or rather hatred of vice And it seemeth that they which are not angrye when it is required at their handes to feare offendours are very euill aduised and expose them selues to manye iniuries For this cause Plato called anger the sinew of the soule for that it serued to encrease valour being moderate and temperate And Aristotle writeth that it is an armour to vertue but such a one as rather mooueth vs then is ought mooued it selfe Lactantius in his booke intituled of the wrath of God c. 17. writeth that it is necessary that those thinges which are nought should displease such as are vertuous persons and that hee which is displeased at euill should be mooued when he seeth it wrought so wee doe decline to vengeaunce not because men haue offended vs but to the end discipline may be kept maners corrected and licentiousnes repressed This kinde of choler is lawfull which as it is necessarye to man for the amendment of lewdnesse so is it found in God of whome man taketh example for as much as we ought to chastise our subiectes so ought God to represse the vices of each one And to bring this to passe it is necessarye that he be angry and that it is naturall and good to be mooued and stirred to wrath Therefore anger ought to be defined a motion of the spirite lifted vp for the repression of sinne For the definition which Cicero maketh of the desire of reuenge is not much different from this but that anger which we call choler or fury ought not to fall within man being a thing vicious vnprofitable Notwithstanding I am of opinion that the diuines will not be of Lactantius his mind in that he attributeth any passion to God for he worketh nothing either with greef or paine The old prouerb holdeth that an Ant will be angry and yet we are not able to discerne when she is moued much lesse in God whose workes are vnsearcheable and passe the capacitye of our vnderstanding Albeit the holy scripture doth often apply it selfe to our fashion of speach who trouble our selues with passions in taking pitie or in punishing or in seeing some disorder And S Paule writeth that of our own nature we are the children of wrath from whence we are deliuered by Christ Iesus our mediatour Dauid sayde Psa 103. that God hath not dealt with vs after our sinnes nor rewarded vs after our iniquities And Psal 86. he calleth him a pitifull God and mercifull slow to anger and great in kindnes and truth And Psal 145. That the Lord is good to all and his mercies are ouer all his workes The which is likewise repeated in Exodus 34 Numbers 14. Nehemiah 9. Ieremiah 15 Ioel 2. Ionas 4 Nahum 1. A man ought diligently to take heede how he committeth those sinnes which prouoke the wrath of God especially to be no idolatour Deu. 9. 32. nor to tempt God Exod. 17. Psal 78. nor to murmure against his prouidence Nom. 12. 14. nor to be rebellious Deu. 9. nor to shead the bloud of the innocent Math. 25. nor to molest the widowes and fatherlesse Exod. 22. The holy scripture speaketh of the old and new man and of the circumcision of the heart So meant the Philosophers when they sayde we were made of two partes and that he which made the worse subiect vnto the better was counted continent and contrariwise he which made the brutish and vnreasonable part of his mind to preceed and commaunde the more noble was accounted incontinent and worse then it For this cause is it required that thorough the bit of reason we put backe and tame that felonious courage of ours to submit it vnto the moste milde yoke of the holye lawes of God which so much recommendeth vnto vs peace patience and mercy Valerius and others haue written that iniuries are surmounted thorough courtesie and bountye not by the reuenge of a new hatred And Cicero in his Oration for Murena and Demosthenes particularly in that he made before Alexander the great to hinder the siege of Athenes do amply shew that it is an act nearest approching vnto diuinitye to vanquishe ones owne courage represse his wrath moderate victory amplifie the dignity of ones enemy commande ouer ones selfe and not too much to trust in anger a mortall enemy to counsell For as our sauiour Christ sayde the violent that is to say
condemned but they which are consenting thereto and knowe him do not reueale him to the end that the holye name of God be not prophaned contrarie to the first table of commandements which forbiddeth vs to take it in vaine The which hath beene the cause that some diuines haue esteemed it a greater and more haynous sinne then murther forbidden by the second table the rather for that if proofes be wanting against the murtherer men haue recourse to his othe Salomon in his prayer that hee made at the dedication of the temple demaunded the punishment of such as should periure themselues The Aegyptians and Scithians put them to death the Indians cut off the toppes of their feete and handes for an example to shewe the offence they had committed against God and their neighbour Saint Lewys the King caused their lips to be feared with a hote yron in Zuiserland they fasten their tong with two nayles and in some Cantons they make them dye like felons or pul out their tongue And against them there are sundrie ordinances made by the Kings of France which we ought to obserue especially against blasphemers the which God in Leuiticus woulde should be stoned vnto death It is written in the Prouerbs The toung of the frowarde shalbe cut off And Iustinian the Emperour ordained by sundrie lawes that such should be executed And not without cause haue the diuines accounted blasphemie much more worthie of punishment then any other fault wickednesse which as Samuel sayth are chiefely committed against men whereas blasphemies are directly against the honour of God and in despite of him And by some decrees of the Court they haue beene condemned to a most greeuous fine and to haue their tongue perced thorough with a hot yron and after to be hanged and strangled It is worthy to be considered what Iohn Viet a Phisition in his historie of the deceites of diuels and sundry other writers haue testified of some that haue beene visibly carryed away by diuels in calling vpon them or giuing themselues vno them Pope Iohn the 12. was deposed and afterwardes put to death for hauing broken his othe made to Otho touching Berangare Iustinian the sonne of Constantine the fourth for hauing violated his faith giuen to the Bulgares and periured himselfe in assailing of the Sarazins was deposed from his imperiall crowne and banished I omit an infinite number of other who haue receiued like punishmentes for their periuries Pericles being required by a certaine friende of his to sooth a certain matter for his sake aunswered I am thy friende as farre as the aultar that is to say so farre as not to offende God To which that which is written of Hercules may be very well referred that he was so religious and vertuous that hee neuer swore in all his life but once and it was one of the first thinges that children were forbid as Fauorinus testified and the better to retayne and keepe them from this vice there is a very auntient ordinance at Rome that expressely forbiddeth them to sweare And the Prophetisse of Delphos made aunswere vnto the Lacedemonians that euery thing should prosper better and better if they forbad all othes Also it was in no case permitted to the Priestes of Iupiter to sweare for that often times an othe endeth in cursing and periurie And Stobeus writeth that for this cause the Phrigians did neuer sweare They which periure themselues as an auncient father sayth very well shewe suffycient testimony howe they despise God and feare men And if one thoroughly examined all estates and whereto euery offycer is bound to God to the king and to iustice by his othe hee should finde a maruelous number of periured Cicero in his oration which hee made for Balbus sayth that what oth soeuer he that is alreadie periured can take yet must one not beleeue him and in the end shall carrie his own paine For what shal remaine to God if he be spoyled of his truth making him a witnesse and approuer of fashood Therefore Iosua when he would haue had Achā to confesse the truth vnto him sayde My sonne I beseech thee giue glorie vnto the Lord God of Israel declaring that God is greatly dishonored if one periure him selfe by the like coniuration that the Pharises were wont to vse in the Gospell it appeareth that they commonly accustomed this kind of speech If we will then liue with quietnes of minde without destroying our selues we must eschewe all lying periurie folow our vocation obserue whatsoeuer we haue promised to God men CHAP. XXX That lying in doctrine is most pernitious and that one ought carefully to search for the truth EVery man confesseth yea the very Pagan Philosophers that men were created for the seruice of God and that aboue all thinges they should make accoūt of religion which giueth the only meanes to vnite and reconcile man to God for his saluation Cicero and Lactantius in sundry places declare besides that we find written in the old new testament that onely by seruing of god men differ from brute beasts and the good frō wicked and that the aucthoritie of Philosophie consisteth in the searching out of the principall end soueraine good of man And since that godlinesse is the scope of the rest it is requisite that it be fixed vnmoueable yet ther is nothing wherin mē erre so much as in that which ought to be most knowen The cause of the error proceedeth as in sundry places S. Augustin writeth by the testimonie of the scriptures for that the most part measure the said seruice rather according vnto their own blind braine then by the rule giuē in the word of god according to our corrupt reason through the hereditary fal of our prime parēts who were not able to cōprehend as the Apostle saith the diuine heauēly things Frō thence hath proceeded the multitude of Gods when they haue thought that one was not able to suffice prouide for all so were sundry kind of seruices in shew inuēted which might plese the cōmō people the creature taken in place of the creator nothing in steed of infinit S. Basil in a proeme writing of the iudgements of God greatly lamenteth that the church was so seuered in diuisions And searching into the cause therof he remēbred that passage in the booke of Iudges where it is written that Euery man did that which was good in his owne eies Since then that no error is so dangerous as that which is cōmitted in religion for as much as our saluation quietnes and happines dependeth therō it is very requisite that we apply therto what sense or vnderstāding soeuer is within vs according to the opiniō of S. Augustin if it be a leude part to turne the waifaring mā out of his right waye then are such as teach false doctrine much more to bee