one of the elements doth not interpose his vertue albeit one of thē is alwayes predominant ouer the rest And most certaine it is that Man is a creature made of God after his owne Image well disposed by nature composed of bodie and soule In this sort man had his beginning and being of the great and eternall builder of the world of whom likewise hee was created so noble for three reasons The first that by this meanes man knowing howe God hath placed him aboue all other liuing creatures he might be induced dayly to loue and honour him as is meete And therefore did the Lord place the eies in mans bodie to behold his wonderfull workes And for this cause also did he fasten eares to mans head that hee shoulde vnderstand and keep his commandements The second to the ende that acknowledging the noble place race from whence he came hee might feare to staine his name and fame with dishonest vnlawfull deeds The third that hee not being ignorant of his owne excellencie shoulde extoll himselfe in God and in him through him he should iudge himselfe worthy of heauenly felicitie What should I rippe vp the good discipline of liuing the lawes customs arts and sciences by man inuēted to furnish life with the three sorts of good namely honest pleasant and profitable According to which there be also three sortes of companies one for honestie as the learned and vertuous another for pleasure as yong folks and maried men a third for profite as Marchants Wherefore by good reason man holdeth the soueraigntie and chiefest roome in this world Of the soule Chap. 5. THe infusion of the soule into the bodie by God the Creator is a most admirable thing seeing that the soule which is inuisible is cōprehended within the body being palpable that which is light and of celestiall fire within that which is earthy cold corruptible that which is free within that which is base bound This alone is the instrument that can bring vs to the vnderstanding of God and our selues This is speculatiue and actiue at one and the same instant This is she that for her beautie hath the foure cardinal vertues for her actions reason iudgement will and memorie Briefly this is she about whom the wisest of the world haue occupied their curious and fine wits Pythagoras affirmed that the soul was a nūber moouing it self Plato said that the soule was a portiō taken frō the substance of celestial fire The prince of the Peripatetickes writeth that the soule is the motiō or act of a natural body that may haue life Our Diuines define the soule after this maner The soule of man is a spirit that giueth life and light to the bodie wherevnto it is knit and which is capable of the knowledge of God to loue him as being fit to be vnited vnto him through loue to euerlasting happinesse That a man hath but one soule Chap. 6. EVen as in euery bodie there is but one essentiall kind of nature whereby it proceedeth to be that which it is so in euery liuing creatures bodie there is but one soule by the which it liueth In the scripture we neuerread that one mā had mo soules thē one Adam being created by God was a liuing soule All the soules that came with Iacob into Egipt and out of his loines beside his sonnes wiues were in all threescore and six soules that is threescore and sixe persons Also the sonnes of Ioseph which were borne him in Egipt were two soules Steuen being stoned by the Iewes called on God and said Lord Iesu receiue my spirit Saint Paul raising Eutichu◠from death sayde his life is in him Our sauiour Christ likewise complained vnto his Disciples saying My soule is verie heauie euen vnto the death Hereby we may note that one man hath but one soule How greatly therefore are those Philosophers deceyued who affirme that one man hath three distinct soules to wit reasonable sensitiue and vegetatiue wherof these two last are in a bruit beast as well as in a man and the vegetatiue in plants in beastes and in man This opinion of pluralitie of soules seemed so damnable vnto the ancient fathers that Augustine Damascenus and the fourth Councell of Constantinople proclaimed them to be excommunicated which would hold one man to haue many soules Briefly to leaue this errour it falleth out with the soule as it doth with figures for euen as the trigon is in the tetragon and this tetragon in the pentagon so likewise the vegetatiue power is in the sensitiue and this sensitiue is in the reasonable soule Obiection We see yong infants hauing vegetatiue and sensitiue soules and not possessing the reasonable soule before they come to yeares of discretion Moreouer it is well knowne that a man liueth first the life of plants then of beasts and last of all of man therefore a man hath three soules distinct aswell by succession of time as in essence and formall property Answere I grant that the faculties of mans soule are by their operations successiuelie knowne as the vegetatiue power is knowne more plainly in the beginning then the sensitiue last of al the reasonable soule But frō thence to conclude that infants haue no reasonable soule I deeme it meere madnesse For the whole soule is infused within them in the beginning but by the sacred power of God it is not made as then manifest vntill they attaine to elder yeres Touching your proofe that a man liueth the life of plants then the life of beasts and last of a reasonable man I answere that it is meant of the vitall powers and not of the soule and so I yeeld that a man at first exerciseth the powers vegetatiue and sensitiue and then he hath the benefite of the reasonable soule Of the immortaltiie of the soule chap. 7. ATheists and the hoggish sect of the Epicures who would faine stay in their bodily senses as beasts do deride the holy scriptures saying that it is not known what becomes of their soules af-the deth of their bodies or to what coast they trauell by reason that none returned at any time backe from thence to certifie them This is their childish reason Which truly in my iudgemēt sprūg vp of their negligence in not ferreting out the end of the soule For to what end els was the soule created but that knowing God her Creator and worshipping him for that great benefite shee might stand in awe and loue of him and at length attaine to euerlasting life which is appointed for her end Al other liuing creatures God made for mans vse but man he created to the end that the light of his wisdome might shine in him and that hee might participate with him his goodnesse Admit therefore that mans soule were corruptible what difference then I pray thee would there bee betweene a man and a bruite beast nay then consequently it must follow that man was
so dutifull to please God except he be first throughly cleansed frō this sinne of Enuy. Repent therfore thou sensuall and enuious man and aske God forgiuenes from the very bottome of thy heart Repent I say and God will heale thy wound which Chirons hand can neuer do no nor Phoebus nor Aesculapius Phoebus his deare sonne no nor all the world besides Of Calumniation and slaunder Chapt. 63. EVen as they which lay siedge vnto cities do not inuade their enemies where they see the walles strong and massy but where they perceyue there is small resistance and where they see the place easie to be scaled so they that pretend to backbite slaunder others do note what is most pliable and weake in the hearers mind that thereto they may conueigh their artillery and bring in their weapons which are falshood craft and periury This done they tickle the hearers eares and rubbe them as it were with a pen so that most cōmōly the accusers are beleeued they that are accused are not called to giue answere But in my iudgement they that lend their eares to these curre-dogs barking are no lesse to be reproued then the barkers themselues because they winke at such imperfections will not exchange stripe for stripe I meane because they will not punish and correct such slaunderers Of this brood I reckon many of our raskall trencherknights who not onely wind themselues in by subtill deuices but also set their tongues to sale for a morsell fo pasty-crust and take a delight to sow dissention betwixt man and wife and betwixt brother and brother Examples I need not produce for our pillories beare euident witnesse of their slaunderous dealings Leaue therfore to accuse your brethren to snap honest men by the shinnes and to raile and scoffe at them that will not in any case intermeddle with you Be like vnto newe borne babes and couet the milke of loue that so you may not bee guilty of that sentence which the holy Ghost pronounced namely that whosoeuer hateth his brother is a man-slayer The eleuenth part Of the Intellectuall vertues Of Art and whether Art be better then Nature Chap. 64. THis name of Art hath foure significations First it is taken for the vniuersall perfection of Art which wee comprehend in GOD. So we say that the world and all that therein is were made by Gods art Secondly the name of Art is put for the similitude and shadow of that which shineth in beasts birds flies such like In this sence it is said that the spider shewed vnto vs the art of spinning The Bee taught vs to conforme things in order The fish learned vs the Art of swimming Thirdly the name of Art is extended to the general habit of the mind as farre forth as we do any thing by it that is seperated from nature So Grammar Rhetorick Musick Arithmetick Logick Geometry and Astronomy are called Artes. Likewise in this sence Prudence is named the art of composing mans actions Science the Art of discerning the truth Fourthly the name of Art is taken for that true forme of Art which is distinguished from the other habites of the mind as farre forth as it is defined an habit of the mind ioyned with true reason apt to effect In this signification I terme it here an intellectuall vertue Herehence ariseth that doubtfull question to wit whether Art be better then nature To this I aunswere negatiuely perswaded specially by these three reasons The first the essence of a thing is better then the accident of a thing Nature is an essence Art an accident therefore nature is better then Art The second nature worketh inwardly and altereth the inward habit of the mind but Art only effecteth outwardly chaungeth the outward forme therefore Art is not better then nature Finally nature is ioyned with God according to that common sentence God nature do make nothing in vaine but Art is ioined with man and by reason of mans weakenesse is subiect to innumerable errours therefore nature is farre better then Art Obiection That which is later in birth is first in excellency and perfection Art is in birth later then nature therefore it is more excellent in perfection Aunswere Your rule onely holdeth in corruptible things namely while that which is first stayeth for the next which followeth But when the essence is compared with the accident as now it is the essence is farre more excellent and by a consequence nature is better then Art and your sentence false Of Science or knowledge Chap. 65. THe name of Science is taken foure maner of waies The first it is vsed for euery certaine knowledge of a thing So wee say that the snow is white the crow black the fire hot The second the name of Science is taken for euery true habite of the mind separated from the knowledge of the sences in which signification Hippocrates proued Phisick to be a science The third it is vsed more properly for euery habit gotten by demonstration separated from the habit of actiō in this sence supernatural philosophy is named the chiefest science The fourth the name of science is takē more strictly for a habit gotten by demonstration separated from wisedome in which last signification Naturall philosophy the Mathematickes are called Sciences and supernaturall Philosophy is termed humane Diuinity The benefits that come by this intellectuall vertue are three First it aswageth mans mind beyng rude and barbarous and maketh it capable of true reason Secondly science setleth a mans mind in constancy and discretion that he may spend his life to the welfare and good estate of his countrey Thirdly it causeth a man to end his dayes honourably with an vndoubted beliefe of euerlasting life Of Vnderstanding Chap. 66. VNderstāding is an habit of the mind whereby as with an eye wee behold the principles aswell of practise as of contēplation I say with an eye because that the same which the sight is in the body vnderstanding is within the soule This vertue is the reward of faith the spirit of God y t sunne that giueth glorious light vnto all the world In a word this vertue is as it were the guide gouernesse of the soule And yet all mē are not endued therewith for now then it hapneth that we know more then we vnderstād And except we pray feruētly vnto God we cannot with all our paines worldly labours attaine vnto it Our eyes are blinded and must be opened Christ I meane must breathe on vs that we may receyue the holy Ghost The consideratiō of this moued Anaxagoras the Philosopher to affirme that vnderstāding was the cause of the world and of all order This likewise moued the Prince of Philosophers to proue the immortality of the soule by vnderstanding To be brief by the help of this vertue the soule seeth God and examineth the first causes of nature and vniuersall formes Of Prudence Chap. 67. ALl the
Peter Thy money perish with thee because thou thinkest that the gift of God may be obtained with money Simony may be coÌ„mitted three maner of waâ—es First whosoeuer selleth or buyeth the word of God is a Simonist Wherefore the Lord said vnto his disciples Freely you haue receyued freely giue Secondly hee that giueth or taketh any thing for a Bishopricke Benefice Headship or for a fellowes or Scholers roome is guilty of Simony Thirdly The Minister that denieth to bury the dead or say Diuine seruice committeth Simony Now hauing declared how many waies Simony is committed I wil shew that it is the vtter ruine of the Cleargie and consequently of the whole commonwealth First Simony is condemned with excommunication the seuerest censure of the Church and therfore odious Secondly Simony hindreth house-keeping so that ministers cannot distribute almes Thirdly it breedeth the desolation and destruction of the state For commonly there ensueth a dissolution of the commonwealth when the fruits 〈◊〉 reueneâ—es therof are decreased Fourthly Simony discourageth parents to send their sonnes to the Vniuersity for what parents bee so foolish as to bestow in maintenaunce of their sonnes at least three hundred pound before they attayne to perfection and then to pay againe two hundred pouÌ„d for a benefice or foure hundred pound for a Chauncelorship surely it is a lamentable case I had rather saith one that my sonne be a colier then a scholer For what shall I put my sonne to schoole when he shall pay so much for a liuing Better it is for me to leaue my sonne an ingram foole then to buy him a liuing through vnlawfull meanes Besides who is so bluntish that knoweth not the great infinite labours of Scholers that seeth not their eyes weakned their bodies empaired which is worse their spirites decaied O stony hearts O wicked Simonists Doubtlesse this abomination portends some great calamity to follow Lastly Simony is an heresie and for that respect it ought to be reiected from all true Christians To wind this vp in a word I wish all Pastours and patrons of benefices and Chancelourships to looke more narrowly vnto themselues and to stand in feare of God who vndoubtedly is offended with their Simony and will one day requite the slacknes of their punishments with the weight thereof wil cast them downe headlong into the bottomlesse and tormenting pit of hell where euery sence of their bodies shall abide his peculiar punishment Their eyes shall haue no other obiects then Diuels and Snakes their eares shall bee afflicted with clamours and howlings their noses with brimstone and filthy smels their tast with poison and gall and their feeling shal be vexed continually with boyling lead and firy flames The sixt Plant. Of the alteration of a common-wealth Chap. 52. COmmonwealths euen as mortall men haue their infaÌ„cy childhood stripling age youth virility middle age and old age that is they haue their beginning vegetation flourishing alteration and ends And like as diuers innouations maladies do happen to meÌ„ according to the coÌ„stitutioÌ„ of their bodies or according to their diet and education so in like maner it falleth out with commonwealths as being altered eyther by domesticall ciuill wars or els by forreyne or perhaps by both together or by the death of the noblest inhabitaunts or to bee briefe by vices which are suffred to creepe in It is necessary that all things which are in this world should waxe old and hasten to the same end some sooner others later according to the will of God their Creatour and by his permission through the influence of the heauenly bodies from which this mutuall succession of life and death issueth Howbeit notwithstaÌ„ding I confesse that prodigious signes are not the causes of euents but rather foretokens of them Like as an Iuy bush put forth at a vintrie is not the cause of the wine but a signe that wine is to be sold there so likewise if wee see smoke appearing in a chimney wee know that fire is there albeit the smoke is not the cause of the fire God onely chaungeth the tymes and seasons hee discouereth the deepe and secret things and the light is with him The effects of all the Cometes and the chiefest Eclipses which hapned in this last age Chap. 53. FOrasmuch as the alterations of commoÌ„wealths are for the most part foreshewed vnto vs by heauenly signes I iudge it more meet for mee to declare those which chaunced within this last age rather then in any other especially for that they are neerer to our fathers memories and also more familiar vnto vs. In the yeere of our Lord 1500. there appeared a Comet in the North after the which followed many and straunge effects For the Frenchmen assaulted the kingdome of Naples the Tartarians the kingdome of Polonia Then was a great famine in Swethland and a cruell plague throughout al Germany besides ciuill warres amongst themselues in taking part with the Bauarians against the Bohemians TheÌ„ died Pope Pius the 3. together with the Archbishop of Treâ—ires and diuers other famous wights In the yeere 1506. appeared another Comet Whereupon died Prince Philip the father of Charles the fift and Ferdinand afterward Emperours Maximilian the Emperour made warre with the Frenchmen and Venetians In the yeere 1514. was an Eclipse of the sunne About which time George Duke of Saxony inuaded and spoyled FrizelaÌ„d King Lewis the 12. of FrauÌ„ce and Vladislaus king of Hungary Bohemia departed out of this world In the yeere 1518. was seene another Eclipse of the sunne Immediatly after the which died the Emperour Maximilian the first Christierne the 2. king of Denmarke fought a most bloudy battell with the Swethens within a while after he was deposed of his kingdome In the yeere 1527. appeared a great Comet the operation wherof the poorâ— Hungarians felt as being barbarously to the shame of all Christians martyred destroyed by the Turkes The prodigious disease of sweating was rife here in England The riuer Tiber ouerflowed the citie of Rome The sea also consumed away a great part of the low countries In the yeere of our Lord 1533. waâ— seene another blazing starre whereupoÌ„ a litle while after king H. y â— 8. was diuorced froÌ„ his brothers wife The sect of the Anabaptists begaÌ„ to rise Pope Clement the 7. departed out of this life and Pope Paul the 3. was inuested in his roome In the yeere 1539. chaunced an Eclipse of the sunne presently after appeared a Comet the effects wherof were many For there was a great coÌ„motioÌ„ in GauÌ„t which the Emperour not without much damage at leÌ„gth appeased took away their priuileges froÌ„ them Iohn the K. of Hungary ended his life And so did Henry Duke of Saxony The Duke of Brunswisk was by the young Duke of Saxony and by the Landgraue of Hassia driuen out of his countrey The English ouercame
heare do some of our brazen-faced Caualeers cease to blaspheme God by denying most impudeÌ„tly his euerlasting essence O foolish men when they see a faire house they immediatly presuppose some one or other to haue built it So in like maner wheÌ„ they behold one another will not they sometimes eueÌ„ by natural discourse aske who made them The heathen Oratour saith that there is no natioÌ„ so sauage no people so seÌ„celes which wil not coÌ„fesse that there is some God euen they that are Libertines Epicures and in other points of their liues differing little from bruite beasts do reserue some seed of religion Also the very Deuils beleeue that there is a God and do tremble as saith the Apostle Yea the very obstinacy of the wicked is a substanciall witnesse that the Deitie is knowen which with their furious striuing yet caÌ„ neuer wind themselues out of the â—eare of God But what need I dally thus with doltish Atheists let them read the holy scripture they shall find fiue generall meanes whereby God is made manifest vnto man The first are the framed things wherin God did first reueale himself for the heauens declare the glory of God and the firmament sheweth his haÌ„dy worke The secoÌ„d is the sparke of nature wherby all men as it were by naturall instinct obtaine the infallible admonition of the truth The third way whereby God is made knowen is the verball will which successiuely from time to time in some countrey or other hath bene holden vp by worldly blessings apparitions ceremonies prophesies and last of all by the presence of the Messias himselfe The fourth is the holy Ghost who openeth our misty eyes wherby we embrace the true and Apostolicall doctrine The fift meanes whereby God is knowen are his miracles at the sight of which the very Atheists themselues being affrighted must exclaime with Iulian the Apostata O God O Galilaan thou hast ouercome our vnbeleefe Of Atheists Chap. 3. OF Atheists there are two sorts the inward and the outward The inward Atheist is he that slyly carieth the countenaunce of a sheepe and yet is no sheepe but a sheep-biter He swaloweth vp aduowsons hospitals and other mens goods vnder pretence of simplicity He raiseth rents incloseth commons and enhaunceth the price of corne With his wooll or wealth hee vseth to snarle deceyue honest-minded men whom at length hee notwithstanding hauing Scripture in his mouth snatcheth at most greedily clappeth in irons This kind of Atheist I will decipher hereafter The outward Atheist on the other side openly professeth nature to be his God And euen as the spider infecteth with poyson the fragrantst liquours hee suckes so the outward Atheist most wickedly extracteth common places out of the secretes of nature and turning them to his owne vse hee blasphemeth God whom he neuer knew Is there any rayne without a clowd any apples without trees any portraiture without a painter any kingdome without rulers can the heauens moue without a mouer say thou viper for a better name thou deseruest not wilt thou not beleeue that which thou beholdest with thine eies wherfore I pray thee was the world framed was it not for man what idiot when hee passeth through a village though halfe ruinous will not presently suppose that it was contriued by some or other Much rather O sensuall beast shouldst thou imagine that a quickning maker eueÌ„ God hath created not onely thee but all the world besides If no reason will persuade thee yet me thinkes the extraordinary punishments of God which alwaies such Atheists as thou art haue felt should be of force to recall thee from thy most damnable opinion It is written of Diagoras one of the first authours of this sect that being fledde from Athens and his bookes burnt by vniuersall consent he was slaine by certaine men whom the Athenians had hired for that intent Pliny the elder one likewise of the same stampe while hee was ouercurious in searching y e causes of nature was choakt neere to the mountaine Vesuuius with smoake and with the smell of brimstone issuing out of the same Pope Leo the teÌ„th who often said that Moses Christ and Mahomet were three of the greatest dissemblers was by the iust iudgement of God sodainly strooken dead with an extreame laughter Likewise an Italian Captaine of late daies in the low countries leading his company to skirmish with the enemy thus encouraged them Sirs quoth he remember the former glory of our nation and fight valiantly as for your sinnes if you die you shall vnderstaÌ„d there is no God Which when he had said he fought was the first man that was slaine Not inferiour to these was one Christopher Marlow by profession a play-maker who as it is reported about 7. yeeres a-goe wrote a booke against the Trinitie but see the effects of Gods iustice it so hapned that at Detford a litle village about three miles distant from London as he meant to stab with his ponyard one named Ingram that had inuited him thither to a feast and was then playing at tables he quickly perceyuing it so auoyded the thrust that withall drawing out his dagger for his defence hee stabd this Marlow into the eye in such sort that his braines comming out at the daggers point hee shortlie after dyed Thus did God the true executioner of diuine iustice worke the ende of impious Atheists Furthermore some of our worldlings may worthily bee ranged in the forefront of this hellish route They I say that belch out this accursed theoreme of Machiauel namely that the heathenish religion made men couragious wheras our religioÌ„ makes men fearfull O foolish sotsâ— is the feare and loue of God become the cause of your foolish feare Nay rather it is your consciences that bring feare into your hearts The more wicked ye be the more you feare Me thinks that albeit ye had no demoÌ„stration of God yet this ought to satisfie you which proceedeth of a natural fear For whosoeuer feareth sheweth necessarily that there is some supreme power which is able to terrifie hurt him As contrariwise he that is assured that nothing can appall or diminish his valour is altogether free from feare The second part Of Man Chap. 4. ABdala one of the wise men of Arabia being on a time demaunded what was the most wonderfull thing in the world answered Man Hermes Trismegistius termed maÌ„ the great miracle Others called him the little world Likewise the wisest Philosophers agreed that mans body is composed of the foure elements and of all their qualities For the flesh agreeth fitly with the earth his vitall spirites with the aire the fire and his humours with the water The sense of touching consenteth with the earth The sense of seeing with the fire that of smelling with the aire and fire that of tasting with the water that of hearing with the aire Yea there is no part in the whole body of maÌ„ wherein
and the punishment thereof Chap. 61 IT is strange nowe-a-dayes to see how one man is a woolfe to another and how their whole imaginations are set on nought else saue on destruction and bloud Although they speake gently and vtter the wordes of the holy Prophets yet in their mustie mindes they repose the Foxes subtilties and hating their brethren are as sounding brasse and tinkling Cimballes For which cause lette not beastes excell vs who are wont to conuerse with all other of the same kinde and doe right kindly loue together Lette vs not I say bee at variance amongst our selues and suffer the Diuell to haue his tryumphant will by prouoking vs to further mischiefe and like promooters to lay trappes for our enemies To fall out for euerie strawe and to reuenge euerie iniurie is as if one member of the body should rebell against another and to say the truth doe we not dayly see howe these kindes of contentious men are ouermet withall and ouerthrowne in their owne inuentions Albeit they flourish for a while yet notwithstanding at last they haue their deserts for GOD when hee strikes strikes home and to the quicke For manifestation wherof I will propose certaine late examples and which haue chanced within this last age In the yeere of our Lord 1503. Ceasar Borgias determining to poyson a Cardinall and others inuited them to supper and for that purpose sent before a flaggon of wine that was infected with poyson by a seruant that knew nothing of the matter commanding that no man should touch them but such is the iudgement of God who in the execution of iustice raiseth one tyrant to kil another and breaketh the brands of fire vpon the head of him that first kindled it Pope Alexander the sixt Cesar Borgias his father comming by aduenture in somewhat before Supper and ouercome with the exceeding drought of the weather called for drinke and because his own prouision was not as thē brought from the palace he that had the infected wine in charge thinking it to bee recommended to his keeping for wine most excellent gaue the Pope to drinke of the same wine which Cesar Borgias his bastard sonne had sent who likewise arriuing while his father was drinking drunke also of the same wine being but iust that they both should tast of the same cup which they had prepared for others In the yeere of our Lord 1563. the Duke of Guise purposing to sacke the Citie of Orleans wrote vnto the Queen Mother that within foure and twentie howres after he would send her word of the taking of Orleans wherein hee would not spare any man woman or childe whatsoeuer and that after hee had kept his Shrouetide therein hee would in such sort spoile and destroy the towne that the memorie thereof should be extinct for euer But man purposeth and God disposeth for the same day as the Duke about euening returned from the camp to the Castle where he lodged minding to execute that which he had written vnto the Queene a yong man named Iohn Poltrot hauing long time before intended to giue the stroke stayed for him in the way as hee returned to his lodging and discharged his pistoll laden with three bullets at him whereof the Duke presently after died In like maner the Duke his sonne hauing occasioned that bloudy massacre at Paris in the yeere 1572. and purposing in the yeere 1588. vtterly to roote the Protestants out of the realme was himselfe slaine through the commaundement of the French king his soueraigne whom he a litle before most traiterously had iniuried By these and such like examples let vs take heed how wee entrap one another yea let vs beware how we curse lay in waite for our chiefest enemies Vengeance is Gods and he will reward Briefly let vs embrace loue and friendly agree together in Christ Iesu. For loue deferreth wrath it is bountifull loue enuieth not loue doth not boast it selfe it is not puffed vp it reioyceth not in iniquity but in the truth it suffereth all things it beleeueth all things it hopeth all things it endureth al things Of Enuy. Chap. 62. NOt without reason are vices named brutish for they be all borrowed from brute beasts Niggardize we haue from the hedgehog pride from the lion anger from the wolfe gluttony frō the beare sluggishnesse frō the asse enuy from the dog All which saue enuy may sophistically be iustified as for example niggardize is shadowed vnder the number and care of wife and children and otherwhiles vnder the vaile of pouerty Pride pleadeth that familiarity breeds contempt and that she must obey the importunity of the times Anger alleadgeth the ingratitude of men the indignity of iniuries the disparagement and shame that may follow by too much patience Gluttony sheweth that hee hath a strong constitution of body a good stomack to his meat and therefore hang sorrow and kill care Sluggishnesse declareth that labour and study consume the vitall spirites that he which sleepes well thinkes no harme and he that thinks no harme pleaseth God Thus euery vice for the most part can shrowd it selfe vnder some cloake or other But Enuy where is thy excuse Truly thou hast nothing to say for thy selfe Onely thou meanest to escape away scotfree because thou art concealed in mans heart as being like vnto a tree which in outward appearaunce seemeth to be most beautifull and is full of faire blossomes but inwardly is rotten worme-eaten and withered Now a-daies thy subiects beare all the sway they put men by the eares they are the Petifoggers they the politicians and who but they Alasse there is no man that enuieth not another mans prosperity What then shall we further expect nothing but the comming of the great Iudge Wee see all things fulfilled wee see the father enuious against the sonne the sonne against the father to bee short wee see one brother enuious against another Now is that golden prophesie of the Greeke Oratour come to passe to wit When equity and the common good are ouerturned by enuy then must wee thinke that all things are turned topsy turuy Examples aswell domesticall as forraine be infinite concerning enuy howbeit at this time I will rehearse but one and that a forraine one In the yeere of our Lord 1596. the Duke of Medina seing that our English fleet had burnt the Spanish nauy had takē the towne of Cales and doubting that the other nauy which he had at S. Lucas would either be compelled to yeeld or pay ransome was so enuious of our happy successe that he caused it immediatly to be set on fire so that to spare a reasonable redemption he rashly lost twelue millions of gold which as it is credibly reported the nauy valued Amongst other sins which the Turks account deadly this of Enuy is not held to be the least For say they no man whatsoeuer shall euer come to the ioyes of Paradise although in all other things he be neuer
doores yet for all his begging cannot come by the crumbes of the rich mans table Wherefore extend your bounty vnto the poore O yee that be rich according to the proportion of your wealth and as your good conscience shall lead you so giue Remēber that your daies be short vpon earth and that you haue but a smal time to liue Distrust not Gods promise who said that whatsoeuer is giuen to the poore is lent to himself and looke what you lay out shall be payd you againe Obiection A mā that hath a great charge of children cannot well giue almes vnto the poore therefore he may be excused Aunswere Marke what Christ saith He that loueth his father and mother aboue me is not worthy of me The loue of God is not with them who will not benefit the poore The widow of Sarepta preferred not her sonne before Elias in the time of famine neither was that lost which shee bestowed on Elias In a word no man must despayre of Gods reward I have beene yoūg quoth the Prophet Dauid and now am old and yet saw I neuer the righteous forsaken nor his seed begging their bread publickly with vtter shame and discredit Circumstaunces to be obserued in giuing of almes Chap. 28. HOwbeit for all this I am not so indulgent and fond that I would haue men to distribute almes without exception and without due regard of circumstaunces For herein fiue things are to bee respected whereof the first is that they giue their almes for the Lords sake and that voluntarily of their owne proper motion The second that they argue with them touching their religiō before they giue them any thing to the end they may vnderstand whether they be true Protestants or froward Papists or Atheists The third that they dispute with thē concerning their conuersation The 4. that they giue their almes vnto religious men and to them that be old blind lame or crazed and sicke of body The fift circumstāce to be noted and followed in distributing of almes is that men giue them not for a brauery and vainglory to be praysed and extolled of the world but rather of pure zeale deuotion not expecting any recompence againe Of Fasting That an housholder should obserue fasting dayes Chap. 39. EVen as learned and wise Physicians in euery fluxe of the belly occasioned of surfet and repletion do for the most part prescribe an exquisite diet and also a purgation to wit of Rheubarb or such like to the end that not onely the superfluous substaunce of the belly may be drawne out but also that nature may be strengthened by the secret property and vertue of the Medicine so expert and wise householders ought in time of famine specially to haue regard that they lay downe a limited order of fasting vnto their families whereby they may not onely purge the rebellious humours of the flesh but likewise in after-clappes sustaine themselues the better from pouerty and dearth Oh what is it for a man to spare two meales in a weeke and bestow the estimate vpon the poore Alasse it is not much out of their way Wee read that the Iewes so oft as they would pacifie or aske any benefit of GOD vsed most commonly to fast By fasting Moses saw God Elias after his fasting was entertained of God The Niniuites fasted with repentance and were pardoned By fasting Daniel reuealed Nabuchodonozors dreame But if these examples can worke no charity in the adamant and steely hearts of our English Rookes yet ciuill policy me thinkes and her Maiesties commaundement might preuayle so much with them that they obserue Frydaies Saturdayes Lent and Ember dayes so neere as they may as fasting dayes both for the preseruation of meates ordained for their owne sustenaunce and for the safegard of their consciences and for the supplying of their neyghbours wants Obiection Good meates do nourish bloud and do reuiue aswell the vitall as the animall spirites As for fish figges and such like they bee slimy windy and make a man to bee ill complexioned And againe fasting is more daungerous for it weakneth and enfeebleth the whole body therefore a man ought not to obserue fasts Answere Al the commodities which you bring on the behalfe of meats are nothing in comparison of the good that spring of fasting for by it men become capable of visions and of the word of God by it many sicknesses are alayed Wheras on the contrary by flesh the body is enflamed and tormented with hot burning agues with innumerable maladies besides So that the commodities of fasting do farre exceed downewaigh the discōmodities thereof Yet notwithstāding I verily beleeue that old persons and cholerick folkes may be licensed to eat flesh In like maner women with child scholers and they that by study and care haue annoyed their spirits might be authorized from fasting In briefe I am perswaded that fasting is hurtfull for them which haue not attained to their perfect growth and strength Of the true fast Chap. 30. NEuerthelesse I am of this mind that those men obserue not the true fast which hypocritically forgo a meale or two of purpose colourably to hunt for worldly prayse and to be accounted religious in the sight of man but they rather are the true and allowed fasters that strongly leane to the euerliuing God that shunne as the horrour of hell al earthly vanities and that mortifie the filthy appetites of the flesh Albeit the other I confesse is a coadiutour to that thing and auayleth much for that purpose Whosoeuer therefore is willing to fast vprightly and according to the ordinaunce of GOD must fast with all the members of his body First hee must fast with his eyes and not pry too much into the pompeous shewes dazeling beauty of this world lest at the sight thereof as of a Cockatrice he be wounded to death both of body and soule Next he must fast with his eares that is hee must not consent to the alluring speeches of Seminarie Priests heretikes flatterers slaūderers and such like lest Sirenlike they entice him into their snares Thirdly he must fast with his toung and beware of blasphemies lies and vngodly communications Fourthly he must fast with his mouth that is he must take heed that he eat and drinke no more then sufficeth nature and that he abstaine from meats at conuenient seasons whereby as with a wing he may fly into heauen Fiftly he must fast with his heart and refraine from sinfull and idle thoughts Sixtly hee must fast with his feet and bridle them from being too swift to shead bloud or from trudging to London for proces against his brethren The end of the second booke THE THIRD booke of the Golden-groue moralized The first Plant. Of a Common-wealth Chap. 1. A Common-wealth is a societie of free mē vnited together by a generall consent to the end to liue well and orderly not onely in regard of iustice but also
forfeits or capitall punishments let them first satisfie the agrieued parties Iudges may erre sixe maner of waies First when they be partial towards their friends and kinsmen Secondly when they haue no power ouer them whome they iudge Thirdly when for hatred they prosecute any man Fourthly when they repriue men for feare to displease some great personage Fiftly when being greased in the fist with the oyle of gold they winke at enormities and corruption Sixtly when being vnlearned they iudge rashly without premeditation Of Bribes and going to law Chap. 28. WOe be vnto you that haue taken giftes to shead bloud or haue receyued vsury and the encrease and that haue defrauded your neighbours by extortion For you respect not what the lawe decreeth but what the mind affecteth you consider not the life of the man but the bribes of the butcher When the rich man speaketh he is atteÌ„tiuely heard but when the poore complaineth no man giueth eare vnto him Or if percase one of our fine-headed lawyers vouchsafe to take his cause in hand he followeth it slowly and in a dozen sheets not hauing eight lines on euery side he laieth downe such friâ—olous and disguised contradictions and replications that his suites shall hang seuen yeeres yea and perhaps a dozen yeeres according to the number of those superfluous sheetes before they bee brought to any perfection vntill the poore client become farre behind hand Nowadaies the common fee of an atturney is no lesse theÌ„ a brace of angels notwithstanding hee speake but once and that the Lord knows very coldly to the right sence of the suit And if a poore man should proffer him lesse he wil aunswere him in this maner Sir behold my face and complexion and you shall find that it is all of gold and not of siluer Innumerable are the quirkes quiddities and starting holes of our English petifoggers for sometimes when a definitiue sentence is pronounced they forsooth will inuent some apish tricke eyther to suspend it from execution vpon some smal cauillation or obiection or els they call it into a new controuersie by a writ of errour or by a ciuill petition or to coÌ„clude they find out some shift or drift to reuerse and reuoke the sentence Thus do they play the sophisters with their seely clieÌ„ts or rather conies whom they haue catched and intrapped in their nettes But these disorders would bee quickly reformed if men will follow my counsell which is To forbeare awhile from going to law Honest and well disposed men might content themselues at home and not gadde euery foote to the court of Common pleas to the Chauncery to the Starchamber Neighbours Isay and kinsfolkes ought to regard one another and to end all doubts and quarrels among themselues I do not meane by brutish combats and affraies but by mediations atonements and intercessions Man is by nature humane that is gentle and curteous and good vsage will in time cause him to relent from his former stubbernesse Many countries haue their Courts Leetes or Lawdaies where men generally do meet together there me thinkes light controuersies and iarres might assoone be taken vp and decided aswell as in farre places If this aduice of mine were obserued we should haue fewer lawyers and lesse controuersies Of Magistrates Chap. 29. EVen as in the body of a liuing creature the organe of seeing is ascribed only to the eies al the other offâ—ces do obey them as their guides so in like maner all offices in the commonwealth are coÌ„mitted vnto wise magistrates as to the eies of the realme the other members must be directed by theÌ„ For which consideration I require in a magistrate learning and vertue without which he is not worthy to be termed the eye of a commoÌ„wealth but rather a blind bayard as wanting both the eies of the body the eies of the mind WheÌ„ as we chuse a rapier we chuse it not because the hilt is double-guilt the scabberd of veluet and beset with pearles but because the point of it is sharp to enter well and the blade strong stiffe So hapneth it in the electioÌ„ of magistrates namely that they be learned vertuous rather then haÌ„dsomely and beautifully proportioned in body Strength of body is required in a laborer but policy in a magistrate This is profitable to a twofold scope that the wise feeble may commaund and the strong obey Next magistrates must coÌ„sider why the sword of iustice both by the law of God and man is put into their hands that is to say they are the ministers of God and the executioners of the law to take vengeance on the wicked not to let offenders in any case wilfully to perseuer in their errours In the beginning euery malady is easy to be cured but if it be let alone for a while it groweth past remedy Magistrates therfore must in time prouide salues to redresse abuses otherwise they incurre the anger of God They must haue lions harts that they shrink not in iust causes They must bee constant lest by their friends intercessions they waxe partiall Lastly they must be both graue ciuill graue in commaunding ciuill in conuersation Of the great cares and troubles of Magistrates Chap. 30. O How greatly are meÌ„ deceyued that perswade theÌ„selues that magistrates do lead the ioyfullest liues Litle know they how vnquiet bee their thoughts They thinke not of their loÌ„g watchings and that their nature is weakened and through such distemperatures their bodies languish No man liueth exempt from some sorrow or other Although ignorant men and fresh-water souldiers to whome warre is pleasant account it felicity to commaund yet if they compare in an euen balance the waight of such troubles as daily happeÌ„ in their magistracies vnto the weakenesse of pleasure which proceedeth by coÌ„maunding they shal perceiue that far greater is the toyle of the one then the toy of the other How often are they cumbred with coÌ„plaints How long in perusing of informations So that in fine their offices will not permit them any contentation Poore men that weary their bodies to get food for the sustentation of themselues their wiues and children and do pay subsidies to their Prince should liue in too great discomfort and despayre if great men and magistrates had nothing in this world but pleasure and they on the contrary side but toyles and calamities But God hath otherwise disposed of the case For they languish in mind whereas poore men do but weary their bodies which easily might be recouered againe The consuming of the vitall spirites is in a maner irrecuperable insomuch as the cares of the one exceed farre the labour of the other Whether magistrates may receyue presents sent vnto them Chap. 31. THey that walke in iustice refusing gaine of oppression and shaking their hands from taking of giftes shall dwell on high their defence shall be the munitions of rockes and they shall see GOD in his glory