by this true explication which wee haue made it remaineth very cleare that the serious and seuere reprehensions wherwith Christ our Lord his Saints haue corrected the great crimes of sinners are not cōtrary to that Benignity which he taught vs but are full of the dearnes sweetnes of true Charity THE XVII CHAPTER Of the Benignity wherewith a Christian is to be glad of the good of his neighbour and to approue and praise the same and of the example which Christ our Lord gaue vs thereof ONe of the principall things besides those whereof wee haue spoken which belong to the vertue of Benignity and the sweet manner of conuersing with our neighbours is to be glad of their good and to praise them yet with that moderatiō which prudence requireth and to that end which Charity seeketh For this maketh a seruant of God to be amiable and sweet and thus he augmenteth Charity towards his neighbours he groweth more able to be of vse to soules For by this meanes his instruction and admonition will be the better receiued and the example of his good life better allowed and he will haue more efficacy to moue others So saith the worthy Doctor and Bishop Guiltelmus Parisiensis Benignity is the loue of anothers good and wee call those men Benigne who as soon as they discouer a good thing in their neighbours doe instantly loue it and loue him for it and from hence it growes that they praise and set him forth in wordes For the exercise of this vertue there is need of great consideration and much discretion and light from heauen For as by the vse therof with moderatiō being directed to the right end it is of great profit and edification towards the encrease of vertue so vsing it without moderation and without rectitude of intention it is both very hurtfull to his soule who praiseth and to his also who is praised For this reason Saint Bonauenture approueth this saying of Seneca praise that with moderation which is praise worthy dispraise that which is blamable with more moderation For superfluity of praise is liable to reproof as well as tēperate dispraise Well then let vs goe on declaring the errour which is committed and the hurt which groweth by inordinate praise and the manner intention which praise must haue to the ēd that it may be truly giuen according to vertue For a man to praise his neighbour for that which is naught is a great sinne and not onely doe they fal into it who praise a man for some reuenge which he may haue taken of an enemy or for hauing affrōted that person who did him iniury by some word or for hauing vttered some carnall speech performing some actiō of that kind but they also who praise sūptuous buildings superfluous humours gifts curious rich cloathes delicious costly dyet and all that which hath any tincture of vanity and pride and the regalo of this flesh blood and the loue of the world For all these thinges are ill and hurtfull to the soule of a Christian who to the end that he may get to heauen must deny himselfe and imbrace the Crosse of Christ our Lord. To all these flatterers who praise that which they should reprehēd Esay chap. 5. saith Woe be to them who praise wicked thinges as if they were good and who hould the darknes of errour for the light of truth and true light for darkenes and who esteem the bitter life of sinners to be sweet and the sweet life of vertue to be bitter In like manner it is vitious for a man to praise temporall naturall thinges as if they were the greatest principall gifts of God as riches nobility strength and beauty of the body For these are blessings of little value and they make not a man to be better in himselfe or more estimable in the sight of God such praise breeds much hurt to the soule for it makes a man greatly loue and praise those thinges which he should despise from which he should estrange his heart The holy scripture condemneth this vice saying doe not praise men for the corporall beauty which they haue nor despise them for their poore meane apparance Consider that the Bee being but a very little creature giueth so excellent a fruite as that it is the most sweet of all sweet thinges for there is nothing more sweet then hony The meaning is that as the little Bee hath efficacy to produce such a fruite so may a little body a meane presence haue much vertue And that which the Holy Ghost saith of the beauty of the body he will haue vs vnderstand of all other naturall and temporall gifts which are of so little value that a man is noe further worthy of estimation or praise for them thē if he had them not but onely so farre forth as there may result some profit to the soule thereby This was taught vs both by the example and diuine wordes of Christ our Lord For a certaine deuoute womā hauing seen his miracles and hauing heard his doctrine was not able to conteine herselfe but that she must needes praise that Mother aloud who had brought forth such a Sonne saying Blessed is the wombe which have thee and the brests which gaue thee sucke But Christ our Lord gaue her this answere Nay rather blessed are they who heare the word of God and keepe it By which wordes he discouered to vs how that free gratuite blessing whereby the most sacred Virgin was made Mother of the naturall Sonne of God did not alone and of it selfe make her happy or blessed nor worthy of the reward of heauen nor more great in the sight of God but the vnspeakeable vertue and suauity and grace wherby Almighty God did exalt and dignify her for such an office that which afterward he gaue her in regard of so high a dignity was the thing which made her so truly happy If then so admirable a gift as that was did not deserue great praise for it selfe alone but for that vertue and sanctity which went in company thereof how much more must all temporall blessings and gifts of nature which in themselues are so poore and perishing be vnworthy of praise but onely so farre forth as they may be found to assist and concurre towards the good of the soule So saith Saint Chrysostome declaring these wordes of Christ our Lord. By this sentence Christ our Lord did make vs know that it would not haue profited the Virgin to haue brought forth the Sonne of God if shee had not withall been endowed with that faith and incomparable sanctity which shee had And therefore as I said if so great a dignity would not haue profited the blessed Virgin without the vertue and sanctity of her soule how much more clear is it that it will serue vs to little purpose before Almighty God to haue Saints to our Fathers or sonnes or kinred or such other
times is lost by the ill gouernement of our tongues and finally wee shall edify our neighbours by the exāple of our good words All this was signified by the wise man when he said The peaceable and quiet tongue is a sweet tree of life Which signifieth that it recreateth and comforteth the hearts of men and giues them spirituall life and strength and frees them from the mortall distempers of anger and hatred and other passions And this is wrought by that man who giueth good language thrōugh the much gaine and merit which they get in the sight of Almighty God And in thē also who heare the good speech which is vsed by any man of his neighbours worketh the like effect for thereby they are edified and induced towards a loue of vertue THE XIV CHAPTER How wee are to exercise this Benignity and to vse this good manners towards them who vse vs ill SOme Christians there be who are very courteous and well conditioned towards their neighbours as long as those neighbours treate them with the same curtesy and ciuility but if their neighbours faile towards them they also faile and then they treate thē with the same discourtesy and disgrace wherewith they are treated and they vse the same ill termes which are vsed to thē This is no good but an ill spirit For that I should be well cōditioned towards my neighbour because he also is so to mee is no loue of charity but a loue of interest and concupiscence and that I should faile in curtesy and good cōdition towards another because he falles short therin towards me is not the vertue of Benignity but it is the vice of reuenge That which charity and Benignity requires and which God exacteth at our hands is that although another man do not what he ought yet I doe and that although another man should faile of vsing me with due curtesy yet that I faile not thereof towards him For by this meanes it wil appeare that in the ciuility which I vse towards my neighbours I am not moued by humane respects but for the loue of Almighty God and that I pretend not proper honour or interest but the glory of Almighty God and the profit of my soule and the edification of my neighbour And in this sorte I being of good condition and shewing curtesy towards him who doth not so to me I shal please almighty God much the more for I shall moue more purely for the loue of him and shall exercise more vertue and encrease merit and gaine more reward in the sight of God For together with the Benignity which I shall exercise by carrying my selfe sweetly towards my neighbour I shall also exercise patiēce and humility in bearing with his ill condition and I shall exercise more charity by pardoning the iniury which he doth me in treating mee ill This was taught vs by the Apostle Saint Paule with a kinde of heauenly inuētion associating Benignity and Patience in suffering iniuries with Charity in pardoning thē for thus he saith Colos 3. Cloathe your selues spiritually as it becometh iust men and the elect of God with the bowells of mercy and Benignity that so you may be affable and sweetly conditioned towards your neighbours and with humility modesty and patience also enduring for the loue of God the ill treating and peruerse condition of one another and pardoning also the iniuries of one another And so also if it happen that any one be offended and affronted by any other and that he haue reason to complaine yet let him pardon it in imitation of Iesus Christ our Lord who when wee were wicked and as enemies of his had done him wrong did forgiue our sinnes and the offences which we committed against him and did free vs from them by meanes of Baptisme and Penance without taking that vengeance of vs which we deserued This is the substance of S. Paules discourse these are those rules of Charity and Benignity which we are to keep that so we may comply entirely with the will of Almighty God in this behalfe THE XV. CHAPTER That it is not contrary to Benignity to reprehend wicked and obstinate persons in their wickednes seuerely as Christ our Lord did IT is much to be noted concerning this vertue of Benignity which Christ our Lord taught vs both by his word and by his example that there are some both sayings and deedes of Christ our Lord in the Ghospell which to ignorant persons might seem cōtrary to this Benignity but which yet are not contrary but very agreable thereunto For Charity which teacheth vs that for the glory of God and good of soules we must vse this Benignity towards our neighbors of speaking to them in kinde gentle words the same teacheth vs also that when wee haue authority in our hands wee may vse words so seuere and pricking in some cases towards publicke and obstinate sinners and who by their ill example are pernitious to others as may discouer the grieuousnes of their sinnes and may disgrace and condemne them as they deserue that so if it be possible they may be reformed or at least that others may feare to follow their ill example And now wee will goe declaring some instances which Christ our Lord left vs of this truth in the holy Ghospell Saint Luke chap. 13. relateth that our Lord being then as it seemed in Galile which was the iurisdiction of Herod some of the Pharisees came and said to him Auoid this country for Herod hath a minde to kill thee Our Lord made them this answere Go tel that foxe that he may see I cast diuells both out of bodies and soules to day and to morrow and that the third day I shall dy and by ending my life giue end and perfection to these workes of mine By these three dayes our Lord vnderstood the time of his whole life and sometimes he called that one day and some other times three daies to signify the shortnes of this life and to signify also as wee said before that as no humane inuention or meanes was able to make the natural day one minute shorter then it is so neither was there any meanes to shorten his life by one minute And therefore the substance of what he said was this During all that time of my life which is giuen mee by the determination of my eternall Father I shall conuerse in this world and doe those workes for which he sent mee which is to teach truth to cast diuells both out of bodies and soules and to bestow both corporall and spirituall health vpon men and as long as this time shal last neither Herod nor any other power vnder heauen shall be able to take my life from mee But when the houre shall be come which is determined by my Father I wil offer my selfe to death to giue perfect life and health to the world Yet this I will not doe in Galile but in Ierusalem For as it is not fit that any
all that which may giue him any disgust or paine And so Benignity falls out to be the act and exercise of Charity with that perfection which wee haue declared and interiourly it embraceth the act of beneuolence and loue and exteriourly the exercise of beneficence liberality affability and of all sweetnes in conuersation It is also one of the fruites of the Holy Ghost For an act of vertue in regard that it proceedeth froÌ„ thence and giueth gust to him who performeth it is called a fruite and therefore Benignity being an act of Charity and causing delight in him by whom it is possessed is accounted amongst the fruits of the Holy Ghost All this is confessed by the Saints when they speake of Benignity Saint Isidorus saith That man is said to be Benigne who doth good with a good will and vseth sweetnes in his wordes And Saint Anselmus declaring what Benignity is saith thus Benignity is a good affection of the will a serenity of heart in vertue whereof a man doth for Gods sake giue all he can after a gratious and cheerfull manner and discourseth and conuerseth gently and sweetly with his neighbours And Saint Thomas explicating the nature of Benignity saith that it is the very sweetnes tendernes of Charity which spreads communicates it self exteriourly that as natural fier doth melt mettel make it flow so the fier of loue which is Benignity maketh a maÌ„ scatter what he hath towards the succour of the necessities of his neighbours This is that which the Saints say of Benignity and the summe of it all is this that it is the tendernes of Charity which doth not only communicate a mans exteriour goods to his neighbour but together with them it communicates his owne very bowells which is to discouer both by wordes and workes the dearnes sweetnes of Charity The Apostle declareth this by saying Charity is Benigne Which signifieth that it makes the man who possesseth it not to be straight handed but apt to communicate his goods and not to be harsh or bitter but that he communicate euen his very hart by conuersing with all men after an affable and sweet manner And to giue vs to vnderstand this truth the holy Scripture doth by one the selfe same Hebrew and Greeke word which signifieth Benignity in doing good signify also a softnes and sweetnes in the manner of shewing mercy And so whereas Dauid saith Our Lord is sweet towards all another letter saith Our Lord is benigne towards all And whereas he saith That maÌ„ is gentle sweet who sheweth mercy another translation saith The man who sheweth mercy is Benigne And therfore S. Basil when he would explicat what it was for a man to be Benigne saith that it is he who doth liberally enlarge himselfe to doe good to all such as are in necessity And he confirmeth it by that Psalme which saith Our Lord is benigne towards all and by that other which also saith That a man is Benigne who sheweth mercy and imparteth his goods to such as are in necessity In this Benignity did Christ our Lord instruct vs and perswade vs to it by many examples Mysteries of his holy life which wee wil eÌ„deauour to declare The first and principall Mystery wherein he discouered his Benignity was that of his Incarnation In that the most high sonne of God was pleased to become a naturall man to appeare visibly in the world in mortall flesh obnoxious to the miseries and penalties of other men and in that he did all this to doe good to man and to draw him to his loue and so to saue him not onely did he discouer an immense loue towards vs but a loue which was also most sweet and dear And not onely did he communicate his blessings to vs but he also did it with supreme liberality and gust and ioy of his owne sacred heart And together with his blessings he communicated to vs his very selfe namly his body his blood his blessed soule and his diuinity and all that which he hath yea and euen all that which he is he communicated to vs by many admirable mysterious waies This did the Apostle signify by saying WheÌ„ in the time of grace the Benignity immeÌ„se loue of our God and Sauiour to man did manifest it selfe to the world he saued and freed vs from our sinnes not by the title of Iustice and the merit of our workes which were not of any valew without Christ our Lord for the arriuing to that end but through his owne great mercy and most gratious bouÌ„ty and by meanes of that sacred Lauatory which is holy Baptisme whereby wee are engendred a second time to be the sonnes of God and renewed by a spirituall generation renouation which is wrought by the holy Ghost which Holy Ghost the eternall Father hath by meanes of his gifts and graces infused and coÌ„municated to vs in great abundaÌ„ce through the merits of Christ our Lord to the end that being iustified through the grace of the same Lord wee might from this instant become heires of eternall life which now wee hould by certaine hope and which hereafter wee shall haue in actuall possession This is deliuered by Saint Paule And Saint Bernard vpon these words declaring that Benignity of God which was discouered in this Mystery discourseth thus Before the humanity of Christ our Lord appeared in the word the Benignity of God was hidden from vs. There was already in God this Benignity mercy which in him is eternall but so great Benignity as this was not knowen before nor was there any meanes how to to know it And although it were promised by the Prophets yet men vnderstood it not and felt it not and many did not so much as beleeue it But when that time arriued which had been ordained by the diuine wisedome Almighty God came in mortall flesh and being vested with his sacred Humanity and appearing to the eyes of our flesh blood his Benignity came to be made knowne for by no meanes could he more haue manifested his Benignity then by taking our flesh and by no meanes could he more haue declared his mercy then by vndertaking our misery Let maÌ„ consider and vnderstand from hence how great care God hath of him and how much he esteemeth him and for how mighty an end he made him since he did and suffered so great thinges for him And thus by this Humanity wee may know his Benignity for how much the lesse he became by his Humanity so much the greater doth he shew himselfe to be in bounty and by how much the more he abased himselfe for vs so much the more amiable doth he shew himself to vs. This is said by Saint Bernard and so it is a most clear truth that nothing hath made so great discouery â—o vs of the bounty and Benignity of God nor hath moued obliged vs so to loue and praise him as for that he hath
great defect in the disciples because they were aduertised of the much danger wherein they were to see themselues that night and they had promised that they would giue their life for our Lord and they had been warned by him two seuerall times in words of great exaggeration and waight that they should watch and pray because they were to be tempted in a grieuous manner and their prayer was to be the meanes for their not being ouercome by that temptation And yet notwithstāding all this they neither watched nor prayed and they suffered themselues to be ouercome by sleepe which was the cause why afterward being ouercome by the temptation they fled all away for feare at the time when our Lord was apprehended and they denyed their Master who was the head and crowne of them all But yet our Lord did suffer and passe by seeke to reforme this so great defect with so great Benignity that finding thē asleepe the first time he corrected them with no other then these gentle wordes Why sleepe you Whereby he would giue them to vnderstand how vaine that confidence was which they had reposed in their owne strength making a promise that they would giue their life for their Lord whereas the while they had not the strength to watch and pray during that little time And when he went to visit them the second time and perceiued them to be ouercome by sleepe through the great weaknes and frailty of imperfect men he dissembled the seeing it and hauing compassion of their infirmity did not reprehend them nor so much as speake a word nor wake them but still let them sleepe And the third time returning to them seing the difficulty they had to ouercome their sleepe in regard of their much sorrow he did not onely passe it ouer but expressely gaue them leaue to repose and rest whilest he was watching and praying and sweating blood for them With this so admirable Benignity and so full of the deernes and sweetnes of loue did Christ our Lord treate his disciples and tolerate their defects and endure the trouble they gaue him and he remoued their ignorances and cured their faults THE V. CHAPTER How wee are to imitate this Benignity of Christ our Lord. THis Benignity must wee vse towards our neighbours in imitation of Christ our Lord and especially it must be done by Superiours towards their Subiects by Teachers towards their Schollers by Masters towards their Seruants and slaues and by Parents towards their children First they must exercise this Benignity by enduring their imperfections negligences and faults not suffering themselues to be ouercome by wrath to wish them any euill or to curse them or giue them iniurious words or any other word of reuenge And to this exteriour patiēce they must add the sweetnes of Benignity in such sorte as that it may be a benigne kinde of sufferance which springeth from the interiour sweetnes of Charity To this did Saint Chrysostome admonish vs who vpon those words of Saint Paul Charity is patient it is benigne discourseth thus There are some who haue patience but they doe not vse it as they ought for although in the exteriour they are silent and dissemble the cause of their disgust yet they doe it with a kinde of bitternes of heart yea and they shew some exteriour vntowardnes and vnderualue of their neighbour and so they grow to offend and prouoke to further wrath euen those very persōs whom they were resolued to tolerate This kinde of patience is not agreeable to charity which is benigne and vseth to suffer with gentlenes and sweetnes both exteriour interiour and whilest it is suffering doth not prouoke a mans neighbour to encrease of anger but rather doth mitigate and appease it For we must not be content to tolerate the faultes of our neighbours after a superficial manner but whilest wee be suffering wee must also admonish and comfort them and thus shall we cure that wound of wrath which they may haue in their hearts Saint Chrysostome declareth that this is to suffer with Benignity Superiors also who haue charge of others must exercise this Benignity prouiding all thinges necessary both for their bodies and soules for their bodies giuing them food cloathing physicke in their sicknes ease in their labours and comfort in their troubles to the end that they may beare them with contentment and for their soules also by giuing them doctrine counselle spirituall consolation and good example which may edify them This doe Prelates owe to their Subiects Lords to their Seruants and slaues and fathers to their children Benignity I say doth require that Superiours make prouision of all thinges necessary both for the body and soule of all such as are vnder their charge not sparingly miserably not with disgust and bitternes and vexation of the inferiours but sufficiently and plentifully according to the necessity of the inferiour to the ability and meanes of the Superiour and that they doe it with facility and suauity and with comfort to the inferiour For to this is the office and charge of a Superiour ordeined not for the honour ease and temporall comfort of the Superiour but for the remedy benefit of the inferiour whom he hath in charge So saith Saint Augustine Wee who are Superiours and Pastors of others haue two capacities the one in that we are Christians the other in that we are Superiours and rulers Our being Christians makes for our selues and vnder that capacity we are to looke to our owne profit fit and good but our being Superiours is for the vse of others and for the complying with this duty wee must procure their benefit whom wee haue in charge This is deliuered by Saint Augustine And although it be true that the Superiour as he is a Superiour is not to looke so carefully to his owne temporall profit as to that of his subiect yet doing that which he ought in his office and complying with them whom he hath vnder his charge he doth also negotiate his owne profit dispatcheth his owne businesse best since he purchaseth spirituall and eternall benedictions thereby All Superiours must also exercise this Benignity by imposing the burdens of their imploymēts and commaundements in such sorte as that the inferiours may be able to carry them on with comfort Let them measure out the labours the businesse and the offices wherewith they will charge their subiects by the strength and talents of euery one of them to the end that they may not carry them with deepe sighes nor be forced to faint vnder thē but that they may be able to discharge them with a cheerfull and contented heart And let them moderate their directions and cōmaundments whereby they rule and gouerne according to the capacity and talent of the inferiours that so they disposing thēselues to obey and to doe their duties may performe them with facility and profit of their soules So faith Saint Chrysostome If thou wilt proceed
immense a reward in the kingdome of heauen THE VIII CHAPTER Of the Benignity which Christ our Lord did vse to diuers blinde men hearkning to them expecting them and illuminating them and how wee are to imitate him in this Benignity IT doth also belong to this vertue of Benignity to giue that to ones neighbour which he desireth with facility and sweetnes yea and more then that which he desireth and not to reflect vpon the indignity of him who asketh nor vpon the authority greatnes of that Lord who may need the like but to consider what is agreable to charity which whensoeuer it is great it communicateth it selfe to all and doth good to all and taketh order that in many things the high and lowe the great and little men of the world be made equall to one another Christ our Lord left vs many examples of this truth Saint Luke chap. 18. relateth how once coming to the Citty of Iericho a blinde man neer the way was asking almes and when he heard the noise of the people in company of our Lord and vnderstood that it was Iesus of Nazareth who passed by he began to cry out and say Iesus thou sonne of Dauid haue mercy on me And although the people bad him hould his peace yet still he continued in crying out and beseeching our Lord that he would free him from the misery wherin he was Our Lord heard his cry and deteined himselfe in the high way and made all that people which was in his company stay with him and commaunded that they should bring the blind begger to him and he stayed expecting till he came being come he asked him this question What wouldest thou haue mee doe for thee What doest thou desire at my hands The blinde man answered the thing which I desire and beg of thee is that thou wilt giue mee my sight and instantly our Lord without the least delay gaue him that which he desired and said Receiue thy sight And he receiued the sight of his corporall eyes the sight also of his soule for being full of faith and deuotion he followed Christ our Lord both with body and soule and did not cease from glorifying Almighty God This passed at the entry which Christ our Lord made into Iericho for Saint Luke relates that he entred into Iericho after he had wrought this miracle Saint Matthew also chap. 20. shewes that Christ our Lord going forth of the same Citty of Iericho and being accompanied with much people there stood two blinde men close vpon the way demaunding almes when they knew that Iesus passed by they began to cry out and say Iesus the sonne of Dauid take pitty on vs. Christ our Lord did instantly make a stand in the way and caused them to be called to him and being arriued he asked thē thus what do you aske at my hands They answered Lord that thou open these eyes of ours and take this blindenes from vs and at the instant our Lord extended his hand to their eyes and they obtained sight both of body and soule and they followed our Lord being full of gratitude for so great a benefit and of faith and desire to doe him seruice Much is here to be considered in the admirable Benignity which Christ our Lord did vse towards these blind men in that he would hearken to their cries and they being so base persons and our Lord so soueraignely high that he would yet pawse in the way stay for them and make all them also stay who went with him and condescend thereby to the necessity of those blinde men and accōmodate himself to their weaknes For if our Lord had gone walking on they not seeing the way could not haue followed him or at least not fast enough to ouertake him he must haue giuen them much trouble in putting them to it That way of Iericho was also full of impediments and dangerous precipices as Saint Hierome notes and so if they had been put to goe a pace in such a way they had been in danger to receiue much hurt For these reasons did our Lord make a stand as also because he would vouchsaffe to doe them honour making so much accoūt of them as for their respect to stay in that high way and to make so much people stay with him And besides it was a great testimony of his Benignity towardes them to graunt them at the instant of their asking it and that with so much comfort to them so great a benefit as it was to receiue their sight both in body and soule and such deuotion as carryed thē on to glorify Almighty God A great wonder it was that Iosue should cause the Sunne to stand still and make a pawse in the heauen to illuminate the earth till such time as he had obtained victory ouer his enemies and that the Sunne and all the Orbes which moued with it should stand still obeying the voice of Iosue the seruant of God But a much greater wonder it is that our Lord who created both the Sunne and the whole machine of the world should make a stand in the way obeying the voice of a blinde begger that he might illuminate him both in body and soule as the true Sunne of Iustice A great Benignity it is that a Kinge of any earthly kingdome passing on his way through a street should stay and make all the Grādes of his Court stay with him vpon the cry of a begger who asketh almes and that he should expect that begger till he could arriue and should giue audience to his petion and then instātly open a purse with his owne hands and giue the begger whatsoeuer almes he had desired But a farre greater Benignity it is that the King of heauen and earth should deteine himselfe in a high way and stand expecting a poore begger till he could arriue to him and then should aske him what he would desi◅ to the end that his owne mouth might be the measure of that which our Lord would giue him and that instantly he should open the treasures both of his mercy power and bestow all that almes vpon him which he could aske or desire yea and much more then he knew how to aske Now our Lord by shewing this mercy to those blinde men hath shewed also a very great mercy to all faithfull Christians instructing vs and perswading vs by his example to vse Benignity towards our neighbours giuing eare to the cry of the poore and bestowing with liberality what they aske according to the ability wee haue and that when they are not able to come to vs to aske remedy as being hindred either by infirmity or ignorance or any other weakenes wee goe to seeke them out or make thē be sought to the end that wee may helpe them accommodating our selues to their impotēcy and necessity And teaching vs also by this example that wee must expect and stay for our neighbours when there is occasiō to do
silent and he discouered the Benignity and sweetnes of his immēse charity towards his enemies since he obeyed them who had noe right of commaundmēt ouer him and satisfied their demandes who were so vnworthy of all answere Let vs follow the example of Benignity which here our most blessed Lord and Sauiour giues vs and not onely let vs loue our enemies as wee haue already shewed but let vs also be benigne towards them and let vs grant them what they desire when it may lawfully be done condescending to their disposition and inclination in lawfull thinges and speaking to them humbly and modesty and shewing them the loue of our hearts and the desire wee haue to giue them gust and contentment in such things as are agreable to the wil of God This doth our Lord himselfe expect and aduise vs to by Saint Luke saying Loue your enemies and do good to them and if they desire to borrow money of you or any other thing affoard it without hoping after any interest And when there is need giue with a free hand without expecting any other reward then of Almighty God and so the reward which God wil giue you for such workes will be very abundant and great For you shall be the sonnes of the most high God who is benigne euen to men who are vngratefull and wicked and though they be vnworthy of his benefits and breakers of his cōmaundments worthy of eternall torments yet he ceaseth not to doe them good THE XI CHAPTER Of the Benignity which wee are to vse towards our neighbours doing them honour by good wordes and of the examples which Christ our Lord gaue vs herein THe vertue of Benignity requires that a man should be courteous and well mannered in the wordes he speaketh of his neighbour and that both in presence and absence he doe him honour by his manner of speech For Benignity maketh a man sweet and ciuill in his discourse and cōuersation sticking close to the end of charity which is a spirituall and eternall good And a principall part of this sweet conuersation doth consist in that the wordes be ciuill and curteous whereby wee may honour our neighbour according to the quality of his person and state and for this reason a man who vseth curtesy is called benigne and gentle and he adorneth his neighbour with good wordes There are men who being gouerned by a spirit of this world or els by their naturall condition not corrected by reason vse to speake of their neighbours with little estimation of them when there is a latitude of giuing thē a title more honourable they giue him the least they can so it be without offence to the quality of his person And whereas they might treate them in better termes they proceed in such sorte as to shew little estimation of them and so they trouble and greiue them And especially they speake of their neighbours when they are absent in wordes which shew they make little account of them and thereby they thinke to exalt themselues to make thēselues more esteemed by others but they are deceiued For in that they do not the thing which is required by charity which is benigne and sweet they obtaine not that which they pretend which is to be esteemed and honoured but they are despised and dispraised for it For estimation springeth from loue and if you loue a man you esteeme him and so on the other side contempt springeth from hate and to abhorre a man is to despise him And so when a man is wel conditioned and curteous in his wordes towards his neighbours he is generally beloued and for the same reason all men respect esteeme and honour him for they loue a man who loueth them and they esteem honour such as esteem and honour them But when a man is discourteous in his wordes and appeareth to make small account of his neighbours he is abhorred by all men or if they doe not abhorre his person yet they abhorre his condition discourteous language and for the same reason he is little accounted of and despised by all This is taught vs by holy scripture saying A sweet and gentle word doth reconcile and winne the hearts of men and makes thē their friends and multiplieth others and doth sweeten appease enemies and a benigne and gratious tōgue doth abound in a good man The meaning is it produceth an abūdant fruite in the heart of others mouing them also to be benigne and to speake gently sweetly to such as speake gently sweetly to them The holy Ghost saith of the seruant of God that he is well mannered and curteous in his wordes and this is that diuine fruite which he produceth in his neighbours to make them meek and Benigne as himselfe is And of him on the other side who is rude discurteous in his words the Holy Ghost also saith The stroke of a whippe maketh the flesh blacke and blew but the blow of an ill tongue breakes the bones that is to say it doth many times hurt and wound the soule in such sort as to cause is to fall into sorrow and impatience hatred wherby the strength and vigour of that grace and vertue which it had is lost This hurt doth a discurteous vnmannerly word which wanteth Benignity produce in the soule of man Of this kinde of Benignity in speech Christ our Lord did leaue vs most excellent examples in his holy Ghospell They brought him one day a man in his bed who was a paralitike breaking through the roofe of the house they placed him before him Mat. 9. and our Lord behoulding the faith of them who brought him did him so particular a fauour that he efficaciously moued him to a great sorrow for his sinnes and to haue faith in our Lord confidence that he should be forgiuen And being then in so good a disposition he pardoned them and so he declared himselfe to doe by saying Sonne thy sinnes are forgiuen thee This man being so miserable in his corporal state and being so base of condition as that he might without shame carry his couch vpon his backe and being a sinfull man besides for as Saint Hierome notes he had contracted his disease by his sinnes and coming to the presence of our Lord with the vncleannes of those sinnes by the waight whereof he was oppressed for there they appeared to haue been takē from him by our Lord the same Lord being the creator of all things did yet call him Sonne which is a title of great sweetnes of loue and sheweth such equality in condition as runnes between fathers sonnes So high a Lord doth honour and exalt so base a man so farre that in some sort he maketh him equall to his Angells and Saints by giuing him the name and title of his Sonne For this is the great dignity honour which Saints and Angels haue to be the sonnes of the most high God So doth S. Hierome note
necessity which they had of making recourse to strong remedies for they were sinnes which were inherited from their predecessors who had been wicked and they were deeply rooted in their hearts Christ our Lord did especially make such seuere and sharpe reprehensions when they did falsly sooth and flatter him For many times when they darted out iniurious words against him he reprehended thē not but answered them with all sweetnes shewing his humility and meekenes and teaching vs to suffer wrongs with patience But when they flattered him he reprehēded them indeed as when with counterfeit hearts they said Master wee desire a signe of thee from heauen for then he answered them thus Matth. 12. You wicked and adulterous generatiō And when they said Master wee know that thou art true and teachest the way of God according to truth For then he said why doe you tempt mee you hipocrites discouring therby that he vnderstood their hearts and that he would not pay himselfe with their flatteries conterfeit praises and teaching all the world that wee were not to take gust in being soothed nor to desire to be praised by men So did S. Chrysostome obserue vpon these wordes Master wee desire that thou giue vs a signe frō heauen Where he saith that first they iniured him saying he had a diuell and that then they flattered him calling him Master And therefore it is that he reprehendeth them with vehemency saying that they were a wicked generation So that when they affront him with ill words he answereth them with meekenes and when they flatter him with a false heart he giues them sharpe wordes Our most blessed Lord discouering to vs thereby that he was free from all passion and that neither he was put to impatience by affrōts nor that he was inueigled by flatteries THE XVI CHAPTER That is was conuenient that Christ our Lord should vse these seuere reprehensions to teach the Prelates of his Church how they should proceed against sinners and how the Saints haue been euer wont to proceed BEsides these reasons why Christ our Lord did so sharply reprehend the sinnes of the Scribes and Pharises there is yet another and it is for the instructing of the Prelates of the Church after what manner they are to reproue the sinnes of publickē obstinate and rebellious sinners which are of the more grieuous sorte and more preiudiciall to others and that they are to doe it publickly with great weight and force of words to the end that obstinate sinners may finde how wicked they are and that they may reforme themselues and that others may feare and take warning by their ill example and that all sinnes and sinners are not to bee reproued after the same manner but some gently and sweetly and others with seuerity and rigour according to the quality of the sinne and the obstinacy of the sinner the hurt which he doth thereby to others And that these seuere reprehensions which are made in punishment of delinquents must not be vsed by all but by Superiours who haue authority for the same and that the end which such mē haue must not be the affront nor the trouble of the sinner but the reformation both of him others And therfore Charity which teacheth vs to be sweet and benigne towards some kinde of sinners because that course is fit for the good of their soules the selfe same Charity teacheth vs to be seuere and strict towardes others because that also is conuenient to the and that others may be warned and they reformed Saint Gregory noteth this in these words Some offences are to be reprehended with vehemency to the end that the delinquent who of himselfe perhaps vnderstāds not the grieuousnes of his sinne may come to finde it by the wordes of him who reprehends and that he may growe to feare the committing of that sinne which he thought to be but light by the very seuerity wherwith it is corrected And it is the duty of the Superiour to correct with great seuerity those offences of their subiects which are not gently to be endured but he must not doe it out of anger but out of a holy zeale for feare least if he correct not faults as he ought himself grow to be faulty and that the punishment which was due to the offences of his subiects doe fall vpon himselfe through his negligence And the same Saint saith in another place that their sinnes who haue not lost shame are to be reprehended after another sorte then theirs who haue lost all shame For seuere reprehēsion is necessary for the reformation of them who are growne impudent but such as are still ashamed of their sinnes are vsually better reformed by some milde exhortation This stile of seuerely reprehending the more griouous and pernitious sorte of sinnes which haue been cōmitted by the powerfull men of this world and by the false guide of soules hath been obserued by the auncient Saints who were mooued to it by the Holy Ghost and the Saints also of the Euangelicall Lawe haue vsed the like being instructed by the example of Christ our Lord though it be true that these later haue obserued it with greater moderation and more mixture of suauity then the former for so the Lawe of grace requires The Prophet Nathan 2. Kings 12. chap. reproued Kinge Dauid and hauing first propounded him a parable he concluded saying Thou art that man who hath cōmitted so great wickednes as to take the wife of another and for this sinne the sword shall neuer faile to hang ouer thy house as a punishment both of thee and thy descendents The Prophet Elias 2. Kings 18. chap. hauing heard that imputation which King Achab layed vpō him in these wordes Art thou that man who troublest Israel did reproue him for that wickednes which he had committed against God and his Prophets and made answere to him after this manner I am not the man who trouble Israell but thou and the house of thy Father are they who trouble it because thou hast forsaken the lawe of our Lord. The Prophet Elizeus 4. Kings 3. chap. reprehending the sinnes of King Ioram who was in company with Kinge Iosaphat when he desired the Prophet to obtaine of God that he would send downe water to the army for that it was ready to dy of thirst made him this answere What hast thou to doe with me goe to the Prophet◠of thy Father and of the mother and if it were not for the respect of Kinge Iosaphat who is present for my part I would not so much as looke vpon thee The man of God who was sent by him to Samaria 4. Kings 13. chap. and found King Ieroboam who was in Bethelle offering sacrifice vpon an Altar like a Priest did addresse his speech as to the Altar and thereby reprehended him after this manner A sonne shall be borne of the house of Dauid called Iosias and he shall kill those Priests vpon thee who are now offering incense
externall gifts if withall wee haue not goodnes and vertue and doe not lead a spirituall life For this is that which maketh men to be of value worthy of praise in the sight of God It is also an errour and fault of flattery to praise our neighbour for any vertue which he may haue and thereby to delight and comfort him principally for the temporall gaine and profit which he hopeth to receiue of him For the praise of true vertue which principally is to be ordeined to some spirituall good and to the seruice of God is ordeined by him to his owne priuate interest which is a sinnefull thing so much the more grieuous it will be as there is more inordinatenes in the thing And when it is very great that will be fulfilled in their persons which is spoken of by the Psalmist Psal 2. God will defeare and destroy the strength and authority of them who desire and procure to please and giue gust to men and haue that for their end not looking vp towards God but downe vpon their owne priuate interest and humour Especially they who procure to please worldly men forbearing to doe those thinges which they owe to God in respect of them these indeed shall be confounded and put to shame by Almighty God For both in this life euen all their temporall hopes shall prooue vaine and besides in the other life they shall be fulfilled with shame and deliuered ouer to eternall torments Besides it is a defect and the fault of soothing to praise a man either for his wit or learning or for the talents and parts which he hath yea or euen for his true vertue when it is likely that through his weakenes or vnmortified ill inclination he may fall into pride and vaine complacēce in himself or into any other preiudice of his soule Saint Augustine obserued this in these wordes A hard thing it is that some little impurity of errour doe not stick to the hart of a man euē though it be cleane vpon the praises of another vnles indeed he should haue it so very cleane as that be should take no gust in them nor be touched by any vapour of thē and vnles the praise which they giue him should more content him for the good of them who praise him then for the comfort or honour or estimation which may growe thereby to himselfe And thē he may know that their praise of him is profitable to thē if in their life they honour not him but God not fastning their mindes vpon him by the praise honour which they giue him but rising vp by him towards Almighty God whose most sacred temple euery man is who liueth well So that it may be fulfilled in him which is spoken of by the Psalmist My soule shall be praised by such as are good not in it selfe but in our Lord that is to say for the gifts which it hath of our Lord and for the glory of the same Lord. This is the danger to which they are ordinarily subiect who are much praised by men vnles they be possessors of true and solid vertue whereby they may resist vaine complacence and refer the praise to the Author of all good thinges which is God For so saith the holy Scripture Better is it to be corrected by a discreet and wise man then to be praised by an imprudent man who with his smooth kinde of praising leaues vs in errour And declaring the danger wherin man is when he who praiseth doth not obserue the moderatiō and end which ought to be kept Saint Hierome said There is nothing which doth so easily infect and corrupt the hearts of men as flattery and the tongue of a flatterer doth more hurt then the sword of a persecutour Another fault is also committed in praising some when it is for the dispraise of others A man will not dare expressely to speake ill of his neighbour especially to one who hath auersion from hearing it and therefore to doe it the more couertly he doth it by meanes of praising another man for the same vertues and gifts of his and then the detracter would haue it thought that the man whom he meaneth to dispraise doth want those vertues or else is subiect to the contrary defects Saint Chrysostome noteth this vice in these wordes We doe many good thinges but not allwaies with a good minde Wee praise many but not to the end that we may speake well of them but to detract and speake ill of others Now that which wee say is good because we praise vertue in another but the minde wherwith with wee say it is infected with sinne and set on worke by Satan for wee pretend not to doe him good whom wee praise but hurt to him whom wee dispraise These are the defects and vices which growe by praisinge others when it is done without discretion and moderation and without that end to which it ought to be addressed and so it leaueth to be vertue as is turned into the vice of flattery And now wee will declare how praise is to be vsed to the end that it may be a fruite of the vertue of Charity Benignity And wee will produce some examples which Christ our Lord shewed vs concerning the manner and intention which we were to hould in praisinge our neighbours THE XVIII CHAPTER Of the intention and moderatiō wherwith we are to praise vertue in our neighbours and of the examples which Christ our Lord gaue vs thereof IT is a thing both lawfull and very pleasing to Almighty God for a man to praise his neighbours for the good he hath done to the end that being praised they may loue vertue so much the more and be animated to the exercise thereof and not be dismaied by the troubles and difficulties to which a vertuous life is subiect And this is principally to be done towards men who are but beginners in the way of vertue and who are weake and of little heart for such persons haue the greater need of helpe Yet euen this praise must be giuen with the moderation aforesaid in such sort as that it may profit and not hurt the party praised but may edify and induce him to a loue and estimation of vertue and not to a presumption in himselfe and a loue of vanity For the obtaining of this end the praise must be giuen in words which may not greatly exaggerate or amplify the vertue but plainly declare the truth and his approbation thereof Let vs see some exāples which Christ our Lord gaue of this Nathaniell came to Christ our Lord Iohn 1. being brought to him by Saint Philip. This Nathaniell was a man full of vertue very obseruant of the lawe and came in doubt whether or no Christ our Lord were the true Mestias as S. Philip had said he was And drawing neer our Lord looked vpon his disciples and said in the hearing of Nathaniell Behould here a true Israelite in whom there is no guile As
that light sweet labour in performing that work of piety with her owne hands she pleased Almighty God so much and merited so greatly in his sight obtained so much honour throughout the world that as long as it lasts she shall be praised had in veneration for this worke by all faithfull Christians and for all eternity shall be made happy amongst the Angells in heauen with a most high crown of glory And so will that be fulfilled which was said by the wise man The memory of iust persons wil remaine amōgst men after their death and they shall relate their heroicall deedes and exhibite praise and veneration to them whereas the memory and fame of wicked persons shall be full of reproach and it shall perish Secondly we are to draw from this example of Christ our Lord that when wee see vertuous people suffer hurt in their reputatiō or good name whereby their neighbours were to be edified whereof they are depriued by the slaunders and lies of wicked people wee must defend them by giuing testimony to the truth and by praising their good life And when men murmur against them in our presence wee must excuse their innocency declare their vertue And if it so fall out that we haue any credit with the murmurers we must procure to mend them and stop the discourse and if our aduice by way of speech will not serue we must shew both by our silence and by our countenance that such murmuring is displeasing to vs. This is that which the holy Ghost doth admonish saying that as the sharpe cold winde coming from the North hindreth raine and permits not through the coldnes thereof that the cloudes should easily dissolue thēselues into water so doth the reserued and sad countenāce of him who heareth ty vp the tongue of the murmurer This saith the Wise man in the Prouerbs who was instructed by the Holy Ghost And the reason is because when the murmurer sees that they who heare him looke cheerfully vpon the matter he thinkes he pleaseth them that they giue him a glad eare and he taketh so much the more heart and liberty to murmur but whē he findeth that they shew him an ill countenance he vnderstāds by that that the discourse pleaseth not but that they are vnwilling to heare it this he markes and so he begines to giue ouer murmuring THE XXII CHAPTER How wee ought to praise wise men when they are vertuous to the end that others may profit by their example and doctrine BEsides those reasons before expressed there is yet an other of great force why wee ought to praise the seruants of God and it is to the end that our neighbours hauing notice of their vertue and parts may profit more both by their doctrine and by the example of their life This praise belongeth chiefly to persons who are much knowne and haue authority or publicke office as Prelates Iudges Preachers Cōfessors Religious men Priests and rich and noble persons for vpon the vertue prudence and wisdome of such as these who are as the heads and hearts dependeth the vertue of the people and so the good life and incorrupt doctrine of these seruants of God being generally knowne and commended the rest of men doth profit by it so much the more and are more edified by their good speeches and vertuous examples and therfore to praise such persons with that discretion which is fit is a thing very acceptable to God and very profitable for the gaining of soules Let vs relate an example which Christ our Lord gaue vs hereof The disciples of Saint Iohn Baptist came to Christ our Lord in their Masters name Mat. 11. Luc. 7. to know if he were that Christ who was to come that is to say if he were the Messias who had been promised by Almighty God for the saluation of the world And our Lord hauing answered this question by the workes he did which was by working the miracles which were prophecied of the Messias and by preaching that doctrine which belonged to him to teach and publish he dispatched them away saying Tell Iohn what you haue and heard When the disciples of Saint Iohn were gone our Lord began to celebrate the diuine praises of the same Saint Iohn and to proclame his admirable vertues saying What went you out to see in the desert Went you perhaps to see some reed or cane which is shaken with euery winde or some man set forth in soft and delicate apparell He meāt as followeth you went not out to see a light or vnconstant person who is mooued by euery passion or interest but a most constant man and who perseuereth with admirable resolution in the truth which he preacheth and in that holy life which he began to lead And you shall euidently see that inconstant and light persons who are mooued with passions or by the interests of this world be allwaies in loue with regaloes and delicacies in their food their cloathing and their habitation and are desirous of wealth and haue recourse to the houses of great men where these things are foūd in abundance But in Iohn you shall see nothing of this but a life of great penance and austerity very abstinent estranged from all manner of regalo and wholly depriued destitute of all earthly goods For his habitation is in the dry and horrid desert his bed is the hard ground his garment is a sharpe hairecloth made of camells haire his food is dry locusts his drinke running water and his continuall exercise is to pray and contemplate in that desert and to baptise and preach penance in the riuer of Iordan He saith moreouer of him And what went you out to see in the desert Was it perhaps some Prophet Verely I say to you that he is more then a Prophet For this is he of whom the eternall Father said whilest he was speaking to his sonne as is recorded in Malachias Behould I send my Angell before thy presence to prepare the way for thee I tell you for a most certaine truth that there was not borne of woemen a greater then Iohn the Baptist but yet he who is the least in the kingdome of heauen is greater then hee Which signifieth according to the best exposition He who for his age the office of humility which he exerciseth and in opinion of the people is the poorest member of the Church which was our Lord himselfe the true Messias is both in dignity and sanctity greater then he Saint Iohn had preached penance to the people and exhorted men to the exercise of all vertue and had giuen expresse testimony mony of Christ our Lord affirming that he was the Messias And now to the end that by sending this message whereby they asked of Christ our Lord if he were the Messias the people might not suspect that he made any doubt as some inconstant might doe of that which formerly he had testified and of that which now
pleasing to God to praise men whilest they liue as we haue declared already and the Scripture it selfe saith The faithfull man shall be much praised But he meaneth that wee must not praise such as are still liuing with a coÌ„pleat and perfect praise as if they were secure and confirmed in the state of grace as they are to be in heauen And so that doe not praise doth signify as the Greeke letter sheweth do not beatify or prâ—clame any man for blessed before his death which sentence grew into this Prouerbe Let no man couÌ„t himselfe happy before he dy And therfore wee are admonished by this sentence not to praise any man as absolutely blessed or entirely happy in this life but when was say he is happy wee are to vnderstand it with this condition or limitation that he is happy according to the present iustice wherin he liues or happy according to his present state and disposition and in fine that he is happy in hope For as long as a man liueth it is euer fit for him to be affraid of falling and to be in doubt of perseuering Yet this takes not from vs but that wee may praise good men but onely that our praise of theÌ„ must be moderate as of meÌ„ who may faile in the course of vertue wherin they are may fall vpoÌ„ that sinne in which they are not til the good eÌ„d of a happy death doe secure their vertue ratify their good life This did S. Ambrose declare in these words He is not instantly happy who hath now no sinne in his soule for it is not said without cause that we must praise no man before his death And it is certaine that whilest a man liues he may faile and therefore till he dy he must not be celebrated with any praise as determinate and certaine and which cannot be reuoked He who after the end of a good life hath died well may be iustly termed happy for already he enioyeth the society of the blessed with a security which is perfect THE XXV CHAPTER Of the rules which they are to keepe who are praised that so they may be at no preiudice but receiue profit thereby THey who praise others are to obserue those rules wherof I haue spoken Let vs now say somewhat of the rules which are to be kept by them who are praised remitting the rest to some other place The first rule is that a man for as much as concernes himselfe that is to say his owne honour his estimation and his comfort must not desire or seeke the praise of men For to desire praise vpon these reasons and for this end is a vaine and vitious thing which spotteth and defileth the heart of man and disquieteth and disturbeth it and maketh it subiect to euery change For as all human thinges are subiect to alteration and one man praiseth and another man dispraiseth one exalteth and another abaseth one honoureth and another dishonoureth his neighbour from hence it groweth that the miserable heart which loueth praise is now cheerfull and then sad now refreshed them dismaied and neuer doth enioy strength or rest On the other a maÌ„ who cares not for the praises of men but despiseth and auoides them and for his part desireth onely to be approoued and praised by Almighty God whose iudgment is right and vpon whose approbation and praise our saluation dependeth and who contents himselfe with this testimony doth proceed like a iust man who loueth true iustice and not vanity and so keepes his heart quiet and firmely set vpoÌ„ goodnes because he resteth himself vpon God who is not subiect to any change So saith Saint Chrysostome The wicked man is delighted with the praises of men and though he haue not the vertue for which he is praised yet he holds his peace and is glad of it But the iust man flies from praise and though he haue that vertue for which they praise him though he know thereby that he who praised him said true yet still he hath no minde to be praised And in another place the same Saint saith Nothing makes men so vaine and light as the appetite of glory of the praise of men and so nothing maketh them so firme and constant and strong as the coÌ„tempt of all the honour and praise of this world But now since it is not lawfull to like the praises of men for his owne honour and temporal comfort let vs see whether it be lawfull for him to like and desire them for the animating and encouraging himselfe thereby to the exercise of vertue We therfore say first that this may bee lawfull in some case and with some moderation as namely for a man who is in affliction or desolation to desire that men may comfort him putting him in minde of the good he hath done or of the fruite which hath followed vpon his actions or by his example or instruction that so he may not be dismaied with his affliction and if he be dismaied that he may take heart not admitting of that praise with any meaning to dwell therein but as a receipt of physicke wherewith to cure his infirmity and weaknes and to induce himselfe the better to serue God for what God is and for the accomplishment of his holy will As King Ezechias did who being in the extreamity of sicknes and much afflicted with the approach of death did for the increase of his confidence in God and for the comfort of his soule and the redresse of his desolation commemorate to God himself the good deedes he had done saying thus I beseech thee ô Lord remember how I haue liued and conuersed before thee with truth and without all hypocrisy or dissimulation how in all things which concerned thy Religion I haue serued thee with the intire affection of my heart not honouring any other God but thee who art the true God and how I haue performed these good workes which thou hast commaunded In this sort the good afflicted King acknowledging that all the good things which he had done were the gifts of God and referring them all to him reduced them to his memory and presented them before almighty God not resting and relying vpon them but vpon the mercy and grace of God by meanes whereof he had wrought them he did it to the end that he might erect himselfe to some good hope and to comfort his sad heart And so it may be lawfull for an afflicted man with the same intention and to the same end to like and accept of being assisted by this meanes of the pious and confortable speech of his neighbour Secondly we say that although this manner of praise may be lawfully accepted with this moderation yet it is not conuenient to desire or procure it because there are many better meanes theÌ„ this whereby to be animated and induced to vertue and by reason of danger which there is in louing humane praise and the honour which growes therby and of
vncleanes the horrour of their diseases and without any feare also of contagion would go to the sicke and would be seruing them vpon his knees and regaling them with extreame Benignity And this he performed with so great cheerfullnes and estimation of this office as if visibly he had beheld the person of Christ our Lord in euery one of those poor people And finding on day a leaper whose nose whose very eyes were eaten out with the leprousy who was become euen abhominable to all that saw him to this man he vsed extraordinary tendernes and gaue particular regaloes and serued him vpon his knees putting the meat into his mouth with his owne hands and giuing him the wine water which he was to drinke The Count Elzearus of Ariano had euery day in his house twelue Leapers he washed their feet and gaue them meate and not content with what he did in his owne house he went to the hospitalls where they liued and there putting himselfe vpon his knees before them he would wash their feet and kisse and clense and tie vp their soares One day in the hospital he found six leapers and some of them had their lips and mouthes so eateÌ„ that they could not be looked vpon without horrour and the holy Count went to them and comforted them by word of mouth and afterward kissed the soares of euery one of them and this charity was so acceptable to God that instantly they were all cured and the house was filled with a most fragrant odour Not onely did Christ our Lord approue this worke by curing those leapers who had been touched by his â—eruaÌ„t but himself also was pleased to appeare to him in forme of a leper that so he might receiue the same seruice and regalo which was affoarded to the rest Surius relateth in the life of Saint Ethbinus the Abbot whose feast is celebrated vpon the 19. of October that another holy Priest going with him by the fieldes to his Monastery they encountred in the way a poore leper all full of soares and deepely groaning vpon the ground where he was laid They came to him comforted him and hauing much coÌ„passion of his misery they asked him what he would haue and offered him all the seruice they could performe although it were to giue him of their very flesh The leper said the thinge which I desire of you is that because my nose is so ful of corruption and filth you would asswage my grief by making it cleane They doe soe and Ethbinus takes him in his armes and raiseth him vp from the ground and the Priest comes clenseth the corruption of his sore with his to uÌ„g In that very instant wherin they beganne this worke of so great Charity and Benignity there appeered Angels from heauen close by the leaper and there appeared also a Crosse which was placed ouer his head and the leaper rose vp whole all full of splendor and beauty and they saw cleerly that it was Christ our Lord. And when he was a little mounted vp he said Yea were not ashamed of mee in my afflictions neither will I be ashamed to confesse you and to admit you as my seruants in my kingdome and when this was spoken he vanished and ascended vp to heauen The two Saints were amased and full of mighty ioy and could not satisfie themselues with praising God for the great fauor he had shewed them by appearing in the forme of an poore sicke man and for vouchsafing to receaue that poor seruice at their hand and to reward that with so great bounty as to giue them an assured hope that they should enioy him in his kingdome There haue also been many Queenes and great Ladies in the Church of Christ our Lord who haue imitated his Benignity towards sicke persons Fortunatus the Bishop relates of Radegundis the holy Queene of FraÌ„ce whose feast is celebrated in August that shee made an Infirmarie into which she gathered and wherein shee cured a great multitude of sicke persons and shee her selfe would serue them and licke the corruption of their soares euen the wormes which grew therein and she would clense their heads cut their haire And especially she did this to leprous woemen whom she would embrace and kisse and anoint and cure and serue at table with great sweetnes of loue The Queen Donna Isabel daughter to Don Petro King of Arragon and neece of S. Isabell daughter of the King of Hungary who was married to Don Dionysio King of Portugall and who for her sanctity is publikely reputed and serued in Portugall as a Saint by leaue of Pope Leo did not content herselfe to giue all the goods she had to poore people who were sicke but shee herselfe would be seruing and curing them in her owne person And for this purpose she would cause both men and woemen who were sicke of loathsome infirmities as soares and leprosies and cankers to be sought forth secretly brought into her Palace and there shee cleansed and cured and serued and regaled them with all the expressions of pietie that she could make she would kisse the feet the soares of the leprous woemen One day washing the feet of a woman who was leprous the woman hid one of them because it had been much eaten with the canker and there distilled forth corrupt matter which gaue a most loathsom sauour The QueeÌ„ made one of her woemen draw forth the leprous foote put it in a basen that she might wash it When this was done there came such a pestiferous sauour from that foote that the Queenes woemen not being able to endure it went all out of the roome The Queene remaining alone with the leaper did gently touch the foote with her hand for feare of hurting it and she cleaÌ„sed it and stooping kist it with that horrible sore which it had And Christ our Lord being pleased to discouer how much gust be taketh in such workes of piety did entirely cure the leaper at the instant when the Queene kist her foote Now wee also are to imitate Christ our Lord and his Saints in this sweet and benigne kind of charity towards poore sicke persons and wee must visit them in their houses and hospitalls and infirmaries and wee must serue and cleanse and cure and coÌ„fort them and prouide them the best wee may of all things necessary And howsoeuer wee may be placed in great height of nobility and dignity yet must we not disdaine to affoard such seruices regaloes to poore sicke people since this was done by Christ our Lord who is the King of glory and many Christian Kings and Queenes haue done the same for loue of him And it is a great honour and glory for vs to be able to do a worke so acceptable and pleasing to Christ our Lord and so profitable to our owne soules and of so great edification and good example to our neighbours and which hath the assurance of so