fearyng of hym As God sendeth thē so must we enioy with feare either aduersitie or prosperitie The vsage of hypocrites The errour of Hierome What it is to forsake the worlde No pleasure dureth with a man alwayes Agaynst Monkish lyfe Agaynst workes of mās choyce and deuise Wisedome is to want or be free from foolishnes Salomons exercises It is vanitie for a man to gouerne hym selfe after his owne deuise Princes deuises are vayne Ouermuch care to encrease ryches is reprehended The more thou drinkest water the more thou desirest it A mās vocation must be applyed and good successe desired and looked for of God. A rolle or register of Salomons workes Seruaūts borne in their maisters houses What wisdome Salomon vnderstādeth in this place The impediments of pleasures We must enioye thynges present Wise mens deuises frustrated Examples The successe is not aunswerable to wise mens deuises Deuises are of men but successe of God. We must not put trust in our owne deuises and commit the successe of them to God. Hee that made vs gouerneth vs. Both wisdome and temeritie without Gods gouernaunce is vnhappy We must not trust in our own deuises Our affayres must be cōmended to the kyng that made vs. All things through obliuion are buryed forgottē Nothyng is of continuaunce in this world Lycurgus Augustus Nero. Salomon Roboam Alteration of common weales and religions Salomon speaketh not of persons but of those things that men doe What this phrase to lyue signifieth How we must lyue The life of man is miserable we must not be carefull for to morrow The principall conclusion of the whole booke True mirth or ioye is the gift of god The godly vse their goodes with peace and myrth but the vngodly haue no peace All the workes of man haue a tyme to be begon to be done to be finished in How we be rulers Lordes of Gods creatures Man is no Lord but a bayliue of his lyfe Euery mā is apointed his certein houre to dye in We must vse the goods that God hath geuen vs. God appointeth all men a tyme and season Men cānot enioye the things that god geueth them They that are content with their state vse their goods present The saying of S. Hierome Thinges to come must be commēded to God things present must be enioyed What is most pleasaunt to a man. Gods workes are stable but mans fraile vnsure Therefore will God haue the workes of men to be vncertaine because he he will be feared The difference betweene the workes of God and man. Gods workes mans are not all one Vnrighteousnes in common weales The saying of Frederike Duke of Saxony A cōplaint of the confusion of mans lyfe to the outward sight agaynste which the worde of God must be set For ther is a difference betwene the godly vngodly The houre of death is vncertaine It seemeth that men beastes haue both one kinde of death but there is yet a great difference for the soules are immortal the bodies of men shall be reuiued All thyngs liuyng shall returne into dust of the earth Men in their miseries are cōforted with hope of eternall lyfe The vngodly doubte of the immortalitie of the soule The opinion of godly men which beleeue the immortalitie of the soule A cōplainte of the miserie of mans lyfe from which without the helpe of God hee can not be deliuered Sclander or reproche Oppression of good mē If the godly had no consolatiō it were better not to be borne then to lyue in so great miserie An other kynde of mans misery enuie hatred cōtention vsed in this lyfe Men must not leaue their vocatiō because of the euill will or vnthākfulnes of others We must follow our vocatiō although mē enuye or hate vs. Warninges and comforted Euangelicall How a mā may lyue All things can not be redressed Whom Salomon calleth fooles To folde the handes together a signe of some euill lucke To eate ones owne flesh is to vexe hym selfe Men must be content with meane estate The couetous are reprooued A commēdation of cōmunitie of goodes for goodnes will communicate it selfe The deprauyng of this place Cōmunion of benefites is a band of humane cōsolation He reprehendeth ambition Labour is cōmaunded but care forbidden The affayres of man passe wōderfully and are not ruled by our deuises The education of a kyng Our deuises deceaue vs. Nero. Heliogabalus Cōmodus Good princes are rare seldeom Roboam did degenerate Labour endeuour are not condemned but mens owne deuise and carefulnes The abuse of this booke Why churches and assemblies of people were instituted Why he biddeth thē to looke to their feete Our doings deuises must be ruled by the word of God. To harken to the worde of God is better then the sacrifices of fooles Who be fooles Hypocrites know not how much hurte they doe The foolishenes of hypocrites He warneth vs to auoyde offences The onely sonne of God is to be followed as our teacher nothing must be taught contrary to Gods worde Ostentatiō of wisdome ouermuch that reprehended God must be heard obeyed The doctrine of vowing What things may be vowed The vowes of the olde testament The vowes of Monkes What our vowes and wishes be To vowe virginitie is a thyng impossible God is angry wyth scorners cōtemners Contempte of God cōdemned What the Hebrew worde Sigaion signifieth Where many cares be there are many dreames vanities The sūme of this doctrine What the Scripture vnderstandeth by vowing An admonition agaynst the offēce takē when good men are oppressed The saying of Doctour Sulpitius Good politike men are rare The offēce taken of naughty gouerning the commō weale The saying of Frederike the third Emperour The doctrine of this booke is that in the commō miseries of this life we should keep faith fast a good cōscience and quyet hart in God. That God is the reuēger of all wickednes Wherfore the Magistrate is ordeyned of God. The dutie of kynges The vice of couetousnes What a couetous man is The goods of the couetous consumed by others What it is to gather riches Moderate labour commaunded How we ought to vse our goods A doctrine how we ought to vse our goods and to beare the common miseries of this life The goods of many are hurtful to the owners Examples George Duke of Bauarye We must get goods but to our owne and others godly vses That that Christ will not take the Chequere will. Apply thy labour and aske and looke for good successe of God. How we should vse our goods To labour agaynst the wynde What lyght and darkenes signifieth in the Hebrewe toung What it is to eate in darcknes The conclusion of the whole booke oftētimes repeated Of what rich and couetous mā Salomon here speaketh What maner of riche man he describeth in this place The miserable state of couetous men A rich man couecous is a miser What this phrase meaneth to looke on the
wisdome passeth foolishnes although things be gouerned neither by foolishnes nor wisdome We must holde therefore a meane betwéene both we must commit our matters to the king which made vs If he offer vs any commoditie wée must vse it if he geue vs ought we must take it if he take ought from vs we must suffer it c. Doe that thou art able what thou canst not doe that let alone Looke what thou canst not lift let it lye So my wisdome shall be profitable vnto me if I doe that I know pleaseth God and leaue to his ordering that he will doe by me If we would thus doe then should we be wisemen in déede For the wyse are euer as little in remembraunce as the foolishe For the dayes shall come when all shal be forgotten BOth that the wise man hath done and deuised by this counsell and that the foole hath done through his foolishnesse whether it succéeded well or euill shal be forgotten For neither they themselues nor other shall be the better for it that they may learne to committe all thinges vnto God but their posteritie shall follow their owne wayes and not be content with the ordinaunces of their Auncestors but séeke new deuises lothyng that they haue and séeking for that they haue not dreaming thus If it once succeeded well with me it will doe so once agayne If it did not before succéede it will now succéede We wil doe wiselyer then they haue done before vs c. Beholde the Romaines cōmon weale how the Consulles alwayes and the Emperours afterwarde still repealed their Predecessours Actes disdayning thinges present and past and lookyng on thinges to come Why therefore doest thou take such care as though thy posteritie would like or allow that thou doost It will not be For that men haue they reiecte as vnprofitable c. Therfore it is impossible that thinges should remaine in the same estimation wyth posteritie that they were in before Lycurgus thought he had geuen such lawes to the Lacedemonians as they would haue kept till he had come backe agayne that is for euer According to the which deuise he went his wayes mynding to returne backe no more hoping by this meanes that his lawes should be alwayes obserued but he nothing preuailed Augustus sayd he had layd such foundations of a common weale as he hoped should stand for euer but they that came after turned all vp set downe The people of Rome wished the death of Nero hoping they should haue had a better cōmon weale But afterward it went neuer the better with their commō weale Salomon so gouerned his Realme that he thought it shoulde haue so continued still and by and by after his death it was deuided For Roboam which succéeded him not content with his fathers wyse gouernaunce of the kingdome rent it in two partes And it commeth not onely thus to passe in externe and ciuile matters where such foolishnes is the more tollerable because there is but the losse of thinges corporall but also in religion and in the word of God where posteritie alway neglecting the puritie of the doctrine left by our predecessours séeke newe inuentions euen as they which now the Gospell is published not content with the puritie of fayth doctrine of the Gospell raise newe disputations about the Sacramentes which when it hath béene of any continuaunce newe sectes will arise without ende For the fleshe can not be cōtēted with one plaine and true doctrine Thou must vnderstand that Salomō speaketh not here of the persons but of the things that men do whether they be wise or foolish because they be neglected The remembraunce of men indureth in bookes but not in ordering of the commōweale and matters are registred and put in Recordes but no mā careth or taketh héede to them neither is posteritie moued with the examples of their predecessours Still they deuise new wayes and fashions That lyeth before them is lothed that they haue not is desired Briefly to be content with thinges present is playnely a gift of the holy ghost a thyng impossible to the fleshe which alwayes forsaketh thinges present for thinges to come and whiles it pursueth the one it loseth the other defrauding it selfe of the vse of both A couetous man lacketh aswell that hee hath as that hee hath not And as it fareth with the couetous in money so fareth it with all mankind in pleasures and deuises c. that is to say they haue nothing though they haue all thing Let Alexander Magnus stand for an example whose mynde was not satisfied after hee had conquered all Asia If this be true in outwarde thinges what maruell is it in matters of the Gospell That we haue we haue not because our affection is not settled but are desirous of other thinges On the other side Christians haue all things though they haue nothyng And the wyse man dyeth as well as the foole THe lyke saying is in the Psalme 49. Wise men also dye and perishe togither aswel as the ignoraūt and foolish and leaue their riches for other c. This also is to bee vnderstanded of things that men doe The wise mā dyeth for all his doynges aswell as the foole No man regardeth what they well ordeined And when thou hast done aswell as is possible for thy reward are all thy doynges disdayned or els thou art hanished or put to death c. Yea many will contemne thine Actes and repeale them Wherefore I was weary of my lyfe because I saw that all thinges done vnder the sunne were naught For all was but vanitie and vexation of mynde THat is whatsoeuer was done vnder the Sunne did much displease mee forasmuch as it was naught elles but vaine labour and vexation Not that Salomon wished his death but for that hee thought it was a miserable case to leade a mās life in such doings Thus he meaneth I became weary of it and ouerladen therewith For who can suffer to haue nothing but labour in diuising and contempt after he hath done To liue or life after the phrase of Scripture signifieth to liue well and at ease To leade a perfect life Psalme 22. No man hath quickened his owne soule that is whose soule liued not well Those that liue euill and a hard lyfe as poore men that are oppressed and in misery and appointed to dye Of these it is sayd in the scriptures they liue not Therefore he sayth not he desireth death but that this trade of life wherein men are so wearyed and vexed with their owne deuises displeaseth him Salomon meaneth that wee should stand in a readines whether life or death betyde and calleth vs backe to the vse of thinges present because we should bee content with them without care of hereafter and commit all thinges vnto God who will worke by vs as it were vnwitting to vs Euē as the Oxe that treadeth out the corne and eateth knoweth not
can not be corrected vntil that appointed time season come In vaine therefore doe we goe about to preuent that time by our amending of all things afore that tyme In so much that my enterprise succéeded not in myne officers I did what I was able I corrected as much as I could the rest I committed vnto God. I considered in myne hart the state of the children of men that God hath purged them yet to see to they are in themselues as beastes For the condition of the children of mē and the cōdition of beastes are euen as one As the one dyeth so dyeth the other THis place is somewhat obscure not so much of it selfe as through the default of the expositours which greatly trouble themselues while they suppose for the most part that Salomō speaketh in the presence of the vngodly but thys is but a colde inuention and supposall although a receaued Mée thinketh the sence is to be taken plainely He maketh a maner of a Sermō or collation of mās wayes and deuises that they are all but vayne At length he commeth to the trouble and vexation that is in officers how they which ought to be a rule ensample to other are also vaine them selues So of speciall propositions going before he descendeth to generall What shall I say or speake of singular estates of persons when we be all as beastes Is not this a miserable case among mē Wherin differ they from beastes which haue no remembraunce or féeling of God But here riseth a question Wherefore he compareth men with beastes whereas before he taught vs there was a religion and feare of God and a life euerlasting after this life Which thing hath most troubled the expositours The aunwere is shorte The interpretours doe not here marke the scope and drift of the booke neyther doe they remēber which thing yet Salomon doth often repeate that he speaketh of the things vnder the Sunne which in the newe Testament and more commonly is sayd in the world For this booke maketh a difference betwen a godly life the life that is led in the world or vnder the sunne To haue a chearefull hart and to ioye in the things that God géeueth vs in the feare of god is nothing of the worlde but a gifte of God from heauen and aboue the sunne But to be vexed with the care of worldely thynges is a beastly state and condition The state or fashion of the children of men IN the Hebrew toung this word is of a large signification but as it is here vsed it signifieth a fashion māner order conuersation as in the Psalme 109. Thou art a Priest for euer after the order or fashion of Melchisedech I thinke it signifieth properly a guise or manner The Epistle to the Hebrewes doth notably handle this worde of the Psalme For euen as Melchisedech saith he had neither father nor mother c euen so and in like sorte c. It commeth of this worde Dabar whiche is a thing or cause It signifieth therfore a fashion or manner so that the meanyng is I considered in myne hart the māner or fashion of mans life After what sort men behaue them selues on earth What successe men haue in their doynges and how they behaue them selues For the condition of the childrē of men and of beastes are all as one THat is the like things happen to mē as doe vnto beastes He meaneth mā passeth vp down this life as the beastes doe and getteth no more by his life then doe the beastes As the beastes dye so dye men HE speaketh of the houre of death not of the kinde That is as the houre of the beasts death is vncerteine so is the houre of mās A beast knoweth not whē he shal fall sicke or be whole or when he shal dye no more knoweth a man Why therefore are we so proude Since wee know no more when we shall dye then doth the beast For they haue all one breath and there is no excellency of mā aboue the beast For all is vanitie All goe to one place all was of the dust and all shall returne to the dust THis place can not be wrested to the mortalitie of the soule because he speaketh of things vnder the sunne Certes the worlde can not perceaue nor beleue that the soule is immortall But if a man regarde the likenes that Salomō speaketh of man dyeth lyke as the beast doth breatheth euen as the beast doth In a kynde of likenes therfore we be all one The Philosophers reasoned in déede of the immortalitie of the soule but so coldly that they may séeme to haue done nothyng but trifle but Aristotle chiefly so disputeth of the soule that in all places hee taketh circumspect héede that he reason not of the immortalitie therof and would not expresse what his meanyng was Plato reported rather what other men sayd then what him selfe thought For the immortalitie therof cā be prooued by no reason of man because it is a thing beyond the sunne to beleue the soule is immortall In the world it is not séene nor vnderstanded for a certeinty that the minde of mā is immortall All goe to one place c. THat is vnles the Lord gaue his spirite vnto man no man could say that man differed any thyng from the beast For man and beast are made both of one matter of dust and returne agayne also into that dust And the returning agayne into the same thing or place is an argument of likenes betwene man and beast Not that it is so in déede but because the worlde according to the likenes falling out betwen them so supposeth can not suppose otherwise Therefore to hold or beleue otherwise is required an higher matter then is the world Wherby he tryeth them THe Hebrew worde signifieth to purifie or choose God sayth he suffreth both man and beast all after one sorte and fashion to come into the world and to goe out of the worlde But this he suffreth to trye whether men will onely regarde these outward appearaunces and be led with the argumentes of the wicked beleue none other thyng The godly by these thinges are so exercised that their fayth is the more increased They passe out of this world in déede as doe the wicked and the beastes but in their hart and spirite they are comforted and at quyet Who knoweth whether the spirite of man ascende vpwarde and the spirite of the beast descend downward vnto the earth TEll me plainely saith he of one mā not of the godly but of those that are vnder the sunne or in the world which can affirme that the soule shall liue after this life considering he séeth the lyfe of mā and beast to differre in nothing For assoone as their breath faileth them they dye both This no man knoweth But in that we know it we know it not as mē but as the sonnes of God and aboue the sunne as
second and third chapiters And here thou séest that Salomō doth not cōdemne riches nor forbid vs to get riches eyther meate or drinke but calleth them the gifts of God to teach vs to cast our cares away to looke for all these things at gods hand by fayth and when God will patiently to take the losse of them as Abraham gaue his sonne vnto god Therfore riches must not be cast away for God doth not geue vs them to that end to cast them away or to absteyne from them but rather to vse and deale them to those that néede This sentēce is the interpretation of the whole booke that Salomon forbiddeth all vaine cares that we should vse things presēt mearily being nothing carefull for things to come least we lose our present benefite and commodity For this is his portion c. THat is the same is all that he hath of it For he remembreth not the dayes of his lyfe That is his hart is not vexed with cares and heauines neyther of thinges past ne yet to come because God cheareth his hart c. Thus hath he ioye in his labour and in the middle of euils entreth into Paradise But the vngodly and couetous and as many as after thys example vse not these worldly goods beginne here to be tormented and throwen into hell c. The sixt Chapiter This is also an euill vnder the Sun and much vsed among men A mā to whom God hath geeuen ryches and treasures and honour wanteth nothing for his soule of all that he desireth and yet God suffereth him not to eate thereof but a straunge man shall eate it vp This is a vayne thing and a miserable AFter this doctrine and exhortation intermedled he returneth to his rolle of the diuers deuises of mans lyfe wherin vanitie and misery raigneth It séemeth lyke that he sayd before of the rich man But here he speaketh of such a rich mā as kéepeth much riches about hym and a great family liuing in rest without losse of his goods and yet in the middest of his honor and riches is greeued and can not enioye them because eyther he falleth sicke or is vexed with hatred care how to kéepe and encrease his goods So with that he hath he is molested and perisheth If he haue a sonne then cōmeth another care how he may leaue hym a rich man whē he is of age For as the prouerbe sayth for a smal childe there is but a smal care for a great childe great care They gather for their childrē they desire to leaue them rich to bring them to great honor These are the wishes and desires of all mē which yet are most vaine For what is it for a mā in his life to haue al things and yet to vse nothing but alwayes to gape after more and that he hath not not regarding that he hath He describeth therfore such a rich man as wanteth nothing to liue welthely and mearely with and yet doth not so Looke vpō many of our noble men which might liue commodiously vpon their owne hauing aboundaunce of goods vppon theyr landes yet not contented therewith get them to Princes Courtes and looke still for more lyuing most miserablye The lyke we may sée in riche men and Marchaunts who being able to lyue at home quietly with great daunger of their life and losse of their goods make great vyages both by land and Sea. Is not this a vayne and miserable trade Therefore it followeth If he beget an hundreth children and yet liue many yeares and haue great riches al the dayes of his life yet his soule is not satisfied with goods and his body not buryed I say that an vntymely fruite is better then he For he commeth into vanitie and goeth into darkenes and his name shall be couered with darkenes HE amplifieth the misery of a couetous rich man Let no mā saith he thinke by sparing to enriche his heyres For riches are the gift of God and come not of our labour for many labour carefully to get riches yet can not attayne to them Againe many waxe riche and haue takē no great payne for them that a man may know riches are the gyft of god Neyther is it in thy power to leaue this or the heyre riche It is ment that poore men shal not be rich Doe what thou wilt thou shalt not enriche him whom God will haue to be poore Furthermore it may come to passe that this couetous rich man may dye when he hath lost all hys goods before And may want buryall HE holdeth on in exaggerating of hys mysery that is he may be forsakē of all his frendes or dye in an other countrye and not at home I say that an vntymely fruite is better then such an one THat is it were better he were not at all then to be such a miserable man and in such great store of goods a begger This is true without godlynes Compare the lyfe of a couetous rich man and a wretch with him that is not yet borne and thou shalt perceaue it And Salomō speaketh not as fooles vse to speake as some say of this place but setteth out the lyfe of fooles in the outward body There it is better not to be borne then to liue in such sort that is to say to haue ryches glory children long lyfe and yet not to enioye them This therfore is truely vnderstanded of a miserable riche man who hath the thinges pertayning to felicitie and yet hys wretched mynde will not suffer hym to vse them Surely a poore man that taketh his condition in good part is better then a rich for the wayfaring man with neuer a penny in his pursse will sing as he goeth by the way but the rich man is afrayde of euery bushe and in great felicitie is a very begger Therfore the world is altogether ruled by opinions but God ruleth in déedes We are vexed with opinions and lose the things their selues lyke to that dogge of Aesops that we spake of For he commeth into vanitie and goeth into darkenes THat is naked destitute of all thinges and néedy he came into the worlde so he lyueth and so he dyeth because he enioyeth not his goods but onely is troubled with care and desire of more Thys is nought els but to haue nothing and to be bare and beggerly And his name shall be couered in darkenes THat is he doth nothyng worthy of name or commendable in his house but onely it is sayde of him he was neyther his owne frende nor other mens Such a miserable man as no man would desire to follow Also he hath not seene the Sunne nor can be quiet in any place THis is an hebrewe phrase to see the Sunne to enioy reioyce in thinges For this corporall lyfe estéemeth that 〈◊〉 as a certain holy and sacred power very necessary for man without the which all thinges appeare and be sad and lumpish as Christ also sayth
as the prouerbe sayth knowen mischiefes are best We must not therefore so flye and abhorre aduersities considering we know that the ende of all mē is to haue enuye flaunder myseryes and death Therefore if thou wilt wade through them all thou must learne these things by continuall vse Such griefes come vpon fooles vnlooked for but to the Godly by reason of long vse they séeme light as vnto whom this worlde is counted but as donge and death séemeth pleasaunt And in that they lyue they lyue onely for gods sake which will haue them so to lyue And the liuing shal lay it to his hart THe lyuing is he that liueth in wealth and pleasure The naturall lyfe the Hebrewes cōmonly call the soule and the vsuall and pleasaunt lyfe they call to liue He truely expresseth what the experience of aduersitie doth namely that he that lyueth in pleasure layeth it to his hart that is that he is compelled in mynde or harte to learne by such aduersities And he that wil not suffer aduersitie learneth nothing and so remayneth still a foole Anger is better then laughter for by a sad looke the harte is made better THis is all one saying with that afore But how agreeth this with that he sayd afore We must not be angry but reioyce in all our labor And here he saith anger is better then laughter I aunswere He speaketh rather of sadnes then anger not that foolish sadnes which men counterfet But euen as he speaketh of the house of mourning so he speaketh of anger so that anger is a kinde of sadnes or gréefe that causeth a kinde of heauynes as when it was tolde Dauid that all the kinges children were slayne he fell sadd There is the same worde that is in this place which surely can not there signifie anger but heauynes so that it is all one with that we say in the Dutch tounge He was abashed and much troubled Aduersities dusken the countenance and make it heuye So he that is in office publicke or pryuate Such a one can leaue his laughing so that he be a good man and will doo his duetye truely there shall he finde such gréefe that he shall be compelled to saye The deuyll be a burrow master or gouernour for there is nothing but more sorow trouble in it Such sorowes cause sadnes in the countenaunce of those men as wish all thinges well in so much that they thus reason and thinke cease of geue ouer thou nothing preuailest but gettest thy selfe griefe and enuie Here Salomon withstandeth these thinges counselleth and warneth thée saying yelde not but goe thorough with it For it is better thou take indignatiō be sad that thou must bite away the same laughing that thou shewe heauines in thy countenaunce and behauiour and that thou be compelled to shewe it namely by reasō of griefe then to laugh The reason is Because thorough a sadde countenaunce the hart is made better THis may be vnderstāded two wayes first through a sad countenaunce the hart to say of others is amended So Paule in a Byshop requireth grauitie in manners and cōuersation that he offend not men by reason of lightnes c. So Salomon would haue him that is in auctoritie to reioyce in hart but to shew himselfe graue outwardly that other might thereby be amended For if a mā behaue himself in such wise that his hart be meary and his countenaunce graue so that he shew no lightnes in his apparell and gesture him will other feare and reuerēce and his familie will be of no dissolute demeanour Secondly it may thus be expounded In an heauy countenaunce the hart goeth well that is there is no cause but the hart may be meary although the countenaunce outwardly be heauy so that the meaning may be thus It is better to leade a graue and seuere lyfe thē a lyght and dissolute The Hebrewes call laughing such a kynde of lyfe as our Papistes lead which liue most dissolutely contemning and deriding all thinges And thys meaning pleaseth me better then that whereby it is thought that the hart of a foole or godles body can be corrected by any mās sadnes or grauitie It may séeme that a wicked body feareth the grauitie of an other but his hart is all one still I take this saying therfore to be vnderstanded of thine owne hart that in the middle of troubles it may be good It is an Hebrew phrase a good hart for a pleasaunt and meary hart And Salomon speaketh after this sort to dyrect his hearer to the marke of his meaning that is to teach them to be meary howsoeuer the world goeth But where before he sayd It is good to reioyce c. here he séemeth to affirme a contrary Sadnes is better then laughter Surely these two séeme not to agrée but godly matters are alwayes difficulte they are alwayes wrested to a contrary sence If we teach that nothing iustifieth but onely faith then the wicked neglecte all good works Againe if we teach that faith must be declared by workes then they attribute iustification to workes A foole alway swerueth too much on one side So hard a thyng it is to kéepe the highe way So here Salomon requireth neither sadnes alone nor mirth alone but will haue a meane kept betwéene them bothe The mynde must be meary at libertie settled bearing it selfe euen in worldly matters betyde whatsoeuer aduersitie or prosperitie In the sadnes of the countenaunce c. AS if he should say I distinguishe betwéene sadnes of countenaunce and sadnes of hart I will haue all mē meary in hart inwardly for it can not be but outwardly some sadnes will happen As the Apostle saith 2. Cor. 6. As sad and alwayes meary c. so that the one must be referred to the outward sadnes the other to inward The hart of the wise is in the house of mourning but the hart of fooles is in the house of myrth ALl these things seeme cōtrary to that he hath sayd before except we make a difference betwene these two the inward myrth and the outward and inward sadnes and outward He contynueth on in cōforting exhorting saying follow not those fooles which chaunge their mindes with euery chaunge of thinges in hart cleaue to them they be meary in prosperitie but when aduersitie commeth they mourne and are sad In the house of mourning THe Hebrewes call a house not that building onely which is made of tymber and stone but what place so euer any thing is donne in So with their Grammariās euery letter is a house of words that beginneth with the same letter But why is the hart of the wise in the house of mourning Because wise men are not ouercomed of aduersitie neither chaunge with euery alteratiō Fooles follow outward myrth and flye aduersytie a most troublesome kinde of men taking many things in hande with great rashenes and feruencie and when neuer so lytle trouble appeareth
wil not away with this Obserue therefore the lawes teaching and preaching and giue thankes to God if at any tyme thy family or hearers confesse thy lawes to be right holy although they perfourme them not according to the prescript So art thou in déede a iust and a wise man But theÌ„ art thou too wyse too iust when in authoritie or in thyne owne house thou hast good lawes and wilt haue them so straightly vrged and folowed that thou wilt not haue one Iote of them broken For this is Extreame right extreame rigour A wyse Magistrate and householder must make a difference betwéene the goodnes of lawes and the obedience of Subiectes It is better we beare and suffer a little rebellion then the whole common weale should perish as commeth to passe where there are such seuere Exactours of lawes Therefore lawes must be vrged and set forward as thinges will beare not farther Thus doe Phisicians also they iudge not nor heale not dyseases according to the prescript of their bookes onely but many tymes are compelled to take an other way according to the quantitie of the bodyes they haue in cure So mens myndes are so diuersly affectioned that many tymes lawes must be moderated To this purpose we haue neede of most wise men whereof there are but fewe in the worlde Therefore we should choose all Magistrates and howseholders lyke vnto Dauid Abraham Salomon Iosua and such like if they could be had which could vse lawes aright So expedient it were to haue the common weale well gouerned ¶ Be not thou too wicked c. THis is the other parte of the conclusion Sée the as thou art not too iust so thou also be not to wicked that is that thou coÌ„temne and neglect not all gouernment geuen thee in charge and that thou suffer not all things to runne to hauock It is good to dissemble some thinges but not to neglect all thinges If thy wysedome procéede not thou must not therefore rage in Ire and desyre of reuenge Againe giue not thy selfe to Idlenes as one that careth not which ende goe forwarde Doo not lyke the wicked seruauÌ„t that hid his tallent in the grounde and would not put it to vsaunce Sée thou bée iust other with thée set forward Godlynes and continewe so doing howsoeuer thinges fall out Why so least thou perish and dye not in thy tyme. For it is to be feared least thy Lorde come and call thée to iudgement as he did the rich mans sowle in a night when he least thought of it If this were an heauenly and Angelicall lyfe nothing should be done vniustly but this sinful nature can doe naught els but sin and play the foole He that knoweth not this knoweth not the worlde as yet We must imagine that we be here as it were in a shipwracke or in the middle of a great fier where we must labour to take some brandes away séeing we can not stâ—nt or put the fier cleane out Wherfore if thou be an householder be content if thou canst pull but one out of the common fier of naughty men If thou be a teacher of children labour to teach and bring vp well though it be but one c. If thou be a preacher of the Gospell so preach not as thou wouldest win all men vnto Christ for all wil not obey the gospell but if thou canst bring and conuerte but two or thrée soules as it were smokye brands endes vnto Christ geue God thanks for we must not therfore geue ouer because so fewe amende through preaching of the Gospell But as Christ did so doe thou He deliuered his elect the other he let alone So did the Apostles thou shalt be able to doe no better Thou art a foole if eyther thou presume to doe all thing or contrariwyse if thy doinges succéede not despayrest of all thyng It is good for thee to take holde of this and not to let that goe out of thy hand for he that feareth God shall come forth with them all A Lyke senteÌ„ce vseth Christ Math 23. saying These thinges it behoued you had done and not haue omitted or left vndone the other So here also he requireth bothe iustice and not exacte iustice so that thou shouldest be neyther too remisse nor too precise Sometimes dissemble the lawes equitie as though thou were wicked Sometyme agayne lay holde on the lawe and shew thy selfe iust But remember that Salomon speaketh not here of such iustice as is requyred of euery person as was sayd before but of ciuile and politike iustice which is not before God but in gouerning of others and before the worlde For in personall and particular iustice there caÌ„ not be too much He that feareth God shall come forth of them all THat is the feare of God shall iudge what is best in both to doe If I feare the Lord my hart sayth oftentimes I haue lyued thus and as yet I lyue filthely Therefore I will vse compassion towarde those that offende If I can kéepe theÌ„ vnder by moderate discipline I will if not I will let them goe till they incurre the daunger of the sworde And if they escape all these yet shall they not escape the iudgement of god Thus he the feareth God walketh vprightly in these things when he séeth he caÌ„ not preuaile he calleth vpon god Wherfore doe that is thy duetie admonishe exhorte cease not He that will not harken vnto thée shal fall into punishment although thou punishe him not There shall be one that will punishe him As it chaunced of late to the Bowers who when they woulde not harkeÌ„ to our rebuking of them were punished inough by others c. Wisedome shall comfort the wyse man more then tenne myghty men in the Citie THis is a commendation of the wysedome he spake of before that is to say of iustice and equitie Thinges are not preserued by force but all things are done and procéede through wisedome in the kingdome in lawes in administrations in occupations So we are made men to doe all thinges by reason and to preuaile more therby then all beastes by their streÌ„gth Therfore though lawes be neuer so well made common weales neuer so well ordered and appointed yet if wisdome lacke all things goe backward For when a wyse man maketh lawes it is impossible that he caÌ„ foresée all cases circumstaunces Wherfore many things are left to the order of those that execute lawes So the lawyers call the Emperour a lyuely lawe because he is set in place to moderate lawes as he that sitteth at the charrette to rule it disposeth all things according to place tyme and persons c. For a foole doth more hurt by his precisenes in séeing lawes obserued then a wise man doth in dissembling some lawes All these thinges as yet are sayd by way of exhortation Be not angry sayth he though thinges succéede not accordyng to thy desier Let