THE DVMBE DIVINE SPEAKER * ⎠* OR Dumbe speaker of Diuinity A Learned and excellent Treatise in praise of Silence shewing both the dignitie and defectes of the Tongue Written in Italian by Fra. Giacomo Affinati d'Acuto Romano And truelie translated by A. M. AT LONDON Printed for William Leake dwelling in Paules churchyard at the signe of the Holy-ghost 1605. To his most respected and very dearely esteemed kinde friend-Master Iohn Stermyn a true louer of learning and furtherer to all studious endeaueurs SIR hauing acquainted you with this long and laborious translation a subiect so learned and excellent as in any language I thinke the like is rare to be found And finding you willing to giue it entertainement I discharged my affections froÌ„ all great men of the world such as looke on learning awry and asquint or with a nod or I thanke yee requite great studious labours And made choice of you whome I knowe not onely capable of greater matters in your selfe but a most kind fauourer of any paines this way imployed The Author in Italian calles it Il Muto che Parla Concetti Scritturali And the best English title I coulde giue it in my mind is The dumbe Diuine Speaker or dumbe Speaker of Diuinitie because the whole course of matter is thereon absolutely grounded and in silent dumbnesse deliuereth an exquisite methode for the gouernment of our speaking Take you the honour of my paynes as one whome entirely I affect with you I giue the world my labours best benefite expecting from you but your wonted kindnesse And if the world giue me good words t is all I aske of it Yours in all true affection A. M. Fra. Giacomo Affinati to the Reader yeelding a reason for the title of his Booke HEE knowes my heart that rules the affections of euery soule how desirous I haue beene from time to time to be anie way helpfull to my neighbour to declare my selfe no vnfruitfull tree planted within the flourishing bosome of the Church And therefore with the occasion of a most gentle spirite bemoaning the infinite vaine trauailes of many such as indeede deserue no acknowledgement of the world I imposed an eternall silence vpon my selfe and to assist the world thereby so much as lay in me and to raise it vp from those weightie oppressions of wicked molestatioÌ„s according to the ability of mine own weak strength First I published the Mount of holy tribulation and now my Dumb diuine Speaker in prayse of Silence So called because I approoue by authoritye of sacred Scripture that whensoeuer we speake well and as becommeth vs it is not we that speake but the holy ghost which then moueth the organe of our speeche Non enim vos estis qui loquimini sed spiritus patris vestri qui loquitur in vobis Heereupon Christ casting foorth the diuell that was dumbe out of the possessed bodie the holy Euangeliste telles vs that the dumbe spake Erat Iesus eijciens Demonium illud erat mutum Et cum ciecisset Demonium loquutus est mutus Wherein we haue to noate how the Euangelist sayth that the diuell was dumb who being cast out of the possessed bodie he doeth not say that the diuell spake which was dumbe but he that was possessed referring the dumbnesse not to the diuell as first was affirmed but to the bodie possessed which hauing beene dumbe spake Et cum eiecisset Demonium loquutus est mutuis Now although the right sense be that he who first was dumbe spake the diuell being throwne out yet notwithstanding agreeing with the hidden voyce of the letter it is true that the dumb spake abyding also in his dumbnesse because he spake well as the Euangelist noteth Et loque batur rectè hee being dumbe and yet speaking by the meanes of the holy spirite therefore wee also are silent and God speaketh in and by vs when we speake well and decentlie and thus is it true that the dumbe man spake This haue I set downe in fauour and defence of the title of this Treatise wherein I purpose to deliuer the excellencie of Silence and how it is much better to keepe silence then to talke in regard of the numberlesse offences that men do fall into by their tongues only Which labor if I may perceiue the worlde gratefully to accept or the least apparant signe of thankefulnesse to proceede from thence I promise that speedily I will deliuer to the Presse another as excellent and profitable a worke entitled The world turned topsie turuie or the vpside downward discoursing of God of the Angelles of the heauens of sublunaâ—ie things and of Microcosmus or the little world man approouing how they are all ouerturned In the meane while vouchsafe with gentlenesse to read this treatise which may the more speedily hasten on the other And pray vnto the Lord for me that I may be a diligent ligeÌ„t obseruer ofsileÌ„ce which is ful of al securitie safety and abounding in all sacred blessings Whereupon Dauid sayde that the Israelites reioyced when they were quiet which made them afterward be brought to the porte of their owne pleasures Laetati sunt quia siluerunt deduxit eos in portum voluntatis corum For great ioy haue they that keep silence because therby they offend not god but in their silence they do alwaies contemplate theire cheefeste happinesse and euen as in a safe harbour haue perpetuall quietnesse FINIS The cheefe heades and Argumentes that are discoursed on in this labour and the seuerall application of Scriptures to them Of trueth and Of Lying 96. If I saye the trueth why doe yee not beleeue me Iohn 8.46 When he speaketh a lye then speaketh hee of his owne Iohn 8.44 Of Silence 22. 42. He rebuked them and suffered them not to say that they knew him to be Christ Luk. 4. 41. Of Flatterie 81. They answered Iesus and saide we cannot tell Mat. 21. 27. Master we know that thou art true and teachest the way of God truely c. Math. 22. 16. Of Wisedome 54. Be wise as Serpentes and innocent as Doues Math. 10. 16. Of Murmuring 137. 147. 156. But they that were Scribes and Pharisies among them murmured c. Luke 5. 30. Of the double tongue 166. This people draweth neere vnto me with their mouth and honoreth me with their lips but their hart is far off from me Mat. 15. 8. Of the dumb Diuell 111. Then he cast out a Diuell and he was dumbe Luke 11. 14. Of the Angels speaking And when the Diuell was gone out the dumb spake ibid. Of the gift of tongues 112. And they were filled with the holy ghost and began to speake with other tongues Act. 2. 4. Of Hypocrisie 166. 173. 182. When yee fast looke not sowre as the hypocrits do for they disfigure their faces that they might seeme vnto men to fast Mat 6. 16. Of Repentance 127. When I held my tongue my bones consumed through my daily complaining Psal 32. 3. Of Mercenaries 190.
cancelling of sinne but yet inchoatiue as Dauid saith Initium sapientiae timor domini Lodouico Let vs then cheerefully open our mouthes and desire of God that he would fill them with this spirit of wisedome so necessarie to our owne soules health and the good of our neighbour Claudio He that partaketh not with this spirit his tongue is like a sharpe swoord his lippes as offensiue weapons his teeth are like arrowes his mouth a most noysome sepulcher his palate full of maledictions his heart of deceipts and his wordes are enuenomed dartes Hence grewe Dauids speeches that they neuer ceased from speaking euill Dixit enim in corde suo Non mouebor à generatione in generationem sine malo Cuius maledictione os plenum est amaritudine dolo sub lingua eius labor dolor He sayth in his heart I shall neuer be mooued nor be in daunger His mouth is full of cursing and deceipt and fraude vnder his tongue is mischiefe and iniquitie Lodouico Perhaps such as these are they of whose stirpe Salomon speaking in his Prouerbes sayth Est generatio quae pro dent ibus gladios habet There is a generation whose teeth are as swoordes Because the wicked tongue is after the manner of a swoord alwayes cutting It cuttes our neighbours good fame diuides separates and teares in peeces the honour of others Wherof the diuine Musition speaking agrees almost with Salomon his sonne Filii hominum dentes eorum arma sagitiae lingua eorum gladius acutus The children of men whose teeth are speares and arrowes and their tongue a sharpe swoord As if he would haue sayd according to the interpretation of Caietanus Such are the sonnes of Adam who haue their teeth like launces which are wont to offend neere at hand and as arrowes to wound afarre off and their tongue is a sharpe swoord to doe harme on all aduauntages And needes must it bee so because the tongue that is not guided by God and the mouth not opened by the Lords owne hand can pronounce nothing but blasphemies and cursings euen like vnto an infernall tongue directed by the diuell Therefore looke howsoeuer it speakes it cannot but commit mortall sinne Sometime by false imposition of infamy Sometime by vaunting of a vile acte performed which notwithstanding he neuer did Sometime by making large addition to other mens offences and conuerting a small sticke to a huge big beame Sometime in reuealing contrary to charitie other mens hidden infirmities to make our poore neighbour infamous among many Sometime by peruerting others intentions iudging sinisterly of mens hearts calling fasting couetousnesse praying hypocrisie and all other good actions whatsoeuer thinking them to be done to euill purpose Sometime in denying the truth when being demaunded concerning other mens good deedes wee answere slaunderously of them to the end that no good account may be made of them Sometime in concealing the good of others wherewith though wee bee truely acquainted yet we continue silent being asked onely because that those goods should neuer be knowen of nor any successe to the right owner ensue by them This cruell silence Gilbertus Porre tanus calleth pilling polling or extortion Grauis rapacitas cùm veram alterius gloriam etsi mendacio non corrumpis silentio praeteris Liuâ—r enim excellentiam propriam seÌ„per cogitans alienam obscurat Sometime in composing infamous lynes verses or songs vpon other mens concealed sinnes or speaking like an impostor on them Sometime in reporting others disgraces for a truth being onely but suspected and neuer in any force yet this is done eyther for hate or enuie Sometime in shewing truely the defectes of others and accusing them thereof yet not for any zeale to iustice nor because being corrected they might be amended or to any other vertuous end but only in meere hatred and to make them generally receiued for infamous Sometime by shewing very ioyfully and recounting in the height of pleasure the errors of other men onely to make but floutes and scornes of them Sometime in giuing commendation that others defamations should bee blazed abroad and taking great delight in the publication of them inuiting others to giue them attention Sometime in blaspheming and detracting the honour dyuine with an hundred nay a thousand other ennormous offences Nor are there so many letters in the Alphabet as the tongue daylie deliuers abuses in diuers and sundry kindes of sinning and yet no account at all is made thereof God therefore of his goodnesse alwaies open our mouthes to the end we may not in such grieuous manner offend thereby both him and our neighbour Claudio The greater part of the world we see doe runne into these defects of the tongue But if first of all they would consider on their owne wordes ere they spake them and poize them before in the ballance of iustice they would not fall into so many offences Lodouico As a remedy for this great defect wee ought to followe the counsell which the great doctour of the Church Saint Ierome giues vs Prius ad limam quà m ad linguam verba veniant as if he would haue said If a man before he speake would conduce the wordes which hee hath to vtter first to the file or touch ere to the tongue as considering whether they were worthy or no to come foorth of his breast whether they be to the dishonour of god or vnchristian preiudice of our neighbour no error at all should be coÌ„mitted Because all those speeches which may otherwise proue superfluous wold thus be abated our words would be much more corrected and adorned Now in regard that our weaknesse is very great and without the diuine assistance all humane diligence is meerly but in vaine let vs doe as we haue already said the blessed Apostles did that is Let vs retyre into the secret closet of our harts and desire the Lord to send vs his sanctified Spirit which puryfying the heart examining the thoughts ruling the tongue moouing the lippes and procuring passage of our words all will bee well Otherwise neuer can the tongue pronounce one onely word except the heart be first made cleane For Saint Paul the Apostle saith that without the diuine helpe we cannot so much as thinke one good thought of our selues Non quòd sufficientes simus cogitare aliquid à nobis quasi ex nobis sed sufficientia nostra ex Deo est Not that we are sufficient of our selues to think any thing as of our selues but our sufficiency is of God It behooueth therefore that God doe first of all speake in our hearts and then we may afterward speak the better to others Not of our owne proper will or after our owne peculiar conceipt but as learning of that first spoken by God him selfe in our hearts So shall it not be we that speake but God who speaketh by our meanes and so shall we
this wicked vice of flattery that like another Iudas kils a man with kissing Chap. 8. LODOVICO The improuidence of many men in their talking procuâ—eth diuers important disorders in any common wealth onely through â—he tongues want in speech of those conditions which for iust and equall direction are most necessarie in discoursing And in regard Plato telles vs That the heart of man endureth greater labour in refraining the toÌ„gue then in amendment of life me thinkes men should therefore imploy all their forces in curbing the tongue to preuent infinite euills and inconueniences of weightie import yea verily such as when a man speakes confusedly and without aduise how wise soeuer he be yet he is reckoned but as a foole or a mad man And then this iudgement passeth on him that many are wise by booke which are but fooles in talke and in speculation they know much but in practise are most ignorant the reason hereof is alleaged by Cicero in one of his Epistles where hee sayeth That a man is knowne to be good or bad by the workes that he dooth but whether he bee foolish or wise that is discerned by the wordes hee speaketh If a man be held for a fool in his country by the words he speakes what auayles instruction of doctrine to make him most learned I haue known diuers that in the doctors Chaire or pulpit for disputation no man could go beyond them in learning but yet in familiar conference or sociable conuersing none likewise could outstep them in foolishnes Wherupon look what honor they won in the chaire or pulpit they lost it apparaÌ„tly out of the school which makes me of this mind that a coÌ„tinual silence were better out of the School for maintenaÌ„ce of the reputation gotten by learning than by speaking weakly to staine the glory of good letters with the idle froth of his owne sillinesse Claudio Such kind of men are apt to teach others good doctrin yet haue as much need themselues to be taught wisedome therefore for the better apprehension of this vertue the Schoole of Pythagoras were most meetest for them But whence comes it I beseeche you that in the doctors Chaire men are so wise and yet in familiar conference are little lesse then fooles be getting themselues hatred by their owne tongues For doubtlesse if so many enuy them for their learning as many surely are ashamed of their conuersation all this happeneth by the tongue only Lodouico If you would know the reason hereof it is thus when they reade to their Schollers they talke with other mens tongues eueÌ„ with those of the doctours which they haue studied but in their own familiar discoursing they pronounce no more then the hart suggests the tongue being the true tel-tale of the hart if the heart do keepe within the bosome either lasciuiousnesse pride folly immodesty or ambition euen such are the speeches that flye from the toÌ„gue These are excellent instructers of others in the speculatiue cases but haue mighty need of the practiue themselues beeing empty of discretion yet full of sciences Claudio I remember a singular example to this purpose which I haue read of a certain king who being the Father of three Sons wold needs approoue which of them was the wisest after his decease meetest for the gouernment of his kingdome began in this maÌ„ner with them My Sons you haue diuers times deliuered by open apparance instant requests made vnto me which of you three I would leaue as successor of my kingdome which now I am resolued to let you know he shall be the only man among you three that answers to my question with greatest wisedom thus it is I would know of you all if you might be transformed to what kind of Foule you wold best fancy to be compared and likened The first answered I would be like the Eagle which is the bird of Ioue and flyeth higher then all other foule it stedfastly looketh vpon the Spheare of the Sun and is the imprese for euery Prince in regard of his especiall prerogatiue The second sayde I would bee like the Peacock who hath the most delicate and fairest feathers of all Birds whatsoeuer Quoth the third I would be like the Crane because he hath the longest neck among all the foules of the ayre and if hee had but the gift of speeche he woulde be very wise and discreete in talking for whatsoeuer his heart conceited hardly and long time first would it be before the mouth vttered it because they stand so far asunder And in this space he may very well consider and deliberate if what he hath to say bee worthy vtteraunce or no. A matter very especially beseeming a king rather then any other who ought in dooing or saying to bee gouerned by wisedome to shunne the euill report of dooing somthing vnbeseeming the wreath royall as one very well sayde Qui bene vult fari oportet meditari Lodouico This third Son in my iudgement was worthier of the Crowne then both the other because he had greatest respect to the office of royall dignity Pirrhus king of the Epirotes did not thus who beeing demaunded by his sonnes to which of them he would leaue the succession of his kingdome made answere Hee shall be my successour that hath his sword keenest Alluding thereby that hee would leaue his Realme to him who was aptest by armes to defend it neuer considering that oftentimes a kingdome is better defended by discreet ruling winning the harts of the people then by stearne vnciuill Armes for the principall nerue of the king is the loue of his subiects which by wisedome is sooner wonne then by seuerity of war Many kings had the Israelites but none wiser then Salomon and thence it ensued that he enioyed his gouernement in the felicity of peace so that not only he was neuer disturbed with wars but likewise euery king accounted himselfe happy that could attain to be combined with him in amity Dauid was a martiall man endued with great strength both from God and nature so that in his younger dayes he puld a Beare and a Lyon in pieces Neuerthelesse in the wordes that he spake hee declared himselfe to haue the neck of a Crane and trusted more in wisedome then in his owne might Meditatus sum nocte cum corde meo exercitab am scopebam spiritum meum Signifying therby this to be his conceite Before I would open my mouth to speake before I would let loose my tongue to speeche before I would mooue my lips to forme a word Iimagined well in my heart during the night time on that which in the day ensuing I was to vtter because I would deliuer nothing with my mouth that might not become the dignity of a king My spirit exercised practised by forethinking then afterward pronouncing the same with my toâ—gue it was to
the glory of god edifying of my neighbour therfore I swept purged and clensed my thoughts from al the filth of malice slattery infamy and trechery Claudio Quite contrary do they that vtter whatsoeuer comes first to mouth lashing it liberally foorth without conceiting and foredeeming whether it be good or euill of whome wee may well speake that saying of Dauid Ecce labia mea non prohibebo Domine tu scistâ—s I will not refraine my lips O Lord thou knowest This is the reason why they commit many errors and become euen vnlike an vntamed horse without a bridle beside oftentimes by defect of the lips the whole body and soule do suffer greeuance dearly repenting what the tongue hath wilfully blabd abroade which if not in this world yet assuredly in the other as Dauid in very significant wordes testifieth in the 140. Psalme Labor labiorum ipsorum operiet eos Let the mischefe of their own lips come vpon them And therfore I think the Latins called the lips Labia à labendo quia per labia homo labitur in praeceps Lodouico Some hold that he would or else might haue sayd Labor labiorum ipsorum angustiabit or rather vestiet eos but in saying that the trauaile of the lippes shall couer them signifieth that there shall bee no parte of the bodie or the soule but it will be anguished by the defect of the lippes Moreouer such will bee the payne of the error committed by the lippes that their rage and choler beeing wasted the damned shall deuoure vp their owne tongues according as of some of them the Secretarie of Christ Saint Iohn telles vs in his Apocalypse Et commanducauerunt linguas suas prae dolore blasphemauerunt Deum coeli prae doloribus vulneribus suis And they gnawed their tongues for sorone and blasphemed the God of heauen for theyr paynes and their sores Be more carefull and respectiue Oh negligent man in thy talking and consider miserable wretche how manye are damned in hell not so much for what they haue doone as for their vile and blasphemous words spoken Claudio Sampson was a man of woonderfull strength yet so soone as he was ouercome by an immodest sillie woman he was bound and deliuered into the hands of his enemies who pluckt our his eyes and made him like a beast to grinde in a mill all which happened to him by beeing ouer carelesse of his tongue and too too readye in the labour of his lippes Dauid exhorteth them that forethinke not well what they woulde saye to lay a punishment on themselues answerable to such neglect thereby to preuente a farre greater detriment Quae dicitis in cordibus vestris in cubilibus vestris compungimini Examine your own harts and in your chambers and be still as meaning to inflict the penaltie there where the crime was committed The heart first contriued it before the tongue spake it the hart first cried guiltie ere the tongue did blab it therefore the heart must haue his due chastisement imposed on it Sacrificate sacrificiuÌ„ iustitiae c Offer the sacrifices of righteousnesse c. This sacrifice of righteousnesse saith old Father Augustine is the very same where of king Dauid speaketh in another place Sacrificium Deo spiritus contribulatus cor contritum humiliatum Deus non despicies The sacrifices of God are a contrite spirit a contrite and a broken heart O God thou wilt not despise In the hart was first of all conceiued and committed the sinne of the tongue therfore the Iibbet of death should first be set vp for the hart there the soule dooing her true repentance shee is to endure the iustice of sacrifice on her selfe causing the hart to be intirely sory euen from the very bottom therof to weep bloudy tears in true compunctioÌ„ promising neuer to minister matter more to the tongue without sincere deliberate premeditation Lodouico The flatterer should haue some reason to refrain his glib and oylie tongue because silence is much better then false and coyned lying speeches for that is a sinne against nature because the tongue being the discouerer of the heart in speaking otherwise then then as the hart thinketh it appears to haue some want in his naturall office Pliny affirmeth That the tongue of a man hath two veines one correspondent to the hart the other agreeable to the braine the place where reason makes his abiding It seemeth that the diuine architect did this to instruct thereby that we ought not to haue one thing in the tongue and another in the hart much lesse should wee profer with the tongue all that is hidden and lockt vp in the heart but only those things wherof reasoÌ„ hath first tasted Whereupon the wise man sayd Qui ambulat fraudulenter reuelat arcana qui autem fidelis est celat amici commissum The flatterer praiseth and blameth not according to what he hath in his heart but agreeable to that which hee perceiues pleasing to him whome he would flatter therefore he neuer fastneth on any proper sentence but turnes and windes still euery way not much vnlike the clapper of a bell or like a vane on a house top as the winde bloweth Claudio The Satyrick Poet Iuuenal paints him forth to the life in a Satyre of his Rides maiori cachinno concutitur Flet si lachrimas aspexit amici Nec dolet iguiculum brumae si tempore poscâ—s Accipit endromidem si dixeris aestuo sudat Nocte dieque potest alienum sumere vultum A' facie iactaâ—e manus laudare parat us Plato in his Phedon and in Menexemus calles the flatterer A wilde furie infested in man and au vncleane deuill that with vnhappie meates and hurtfull brutishnesse nourisheth defiled thoughtes He compares him likewise To a Iuggler an Enchaunter or a poysoner who by deceiuing wordes worke mens mindes to their owne willes Hee giues him also the name Of a seperator because he is diuided in himselfe keeping one thing in his breast and vttering another with the tongue The Grashopper bathed in oyle dyeth but afterward being washt with vinegar he comes to life againe Euen so many are slayne by the oyly tongue of a flatterer which afterwarde by a iust reprehension doone with charitie doe recouer life againe This made holy Dauid saye Corripiet me iustus me in misericordia increpabit me oleum autem peccatoris non impinguet caput meum Let the righteous smite me for that is a benefit let him reprooue me and it shall be a pretious oyle that shall not breake mine head The reason heereof his sonne Salomon teacheth vs where hee sayeth Meliora sunt vulnera diligentis quà m frrudulenta oscula odientis The woundes of a louer are better then the false kisses of aâ— eâ—emie Lodouico Let euery such tongue be dumbe in a christian common
stampt in vs his owne perfect figure and made his Sonne in all points like vnto vs sin only excepted what fairer portraite then this was euer drawne in the world But the deuill enuying this rare piece of workemanship by his craft and subtiltie made a staine first in the very forehead and afterwarde in other places disfiguring mightilie so curious a master piece and holding on his course still to marre the whole together hinders euery good meane that might reforme it againe The staine in the forehead he couers that with some proude vaile the stayne in the hearte hee hides that with fonde ostentation and so for euerie blemish he hath an apt couerture to make vs hide and conceale our sinfull infirmities But the penitent soule though smitten dumbe by this vile enemy cryes out in anguish of spirit to her Creator and he dipping his pensill in the purple of his passion makes her as pure and perfect as euer she was before Tollit peccata mundi non peccatores And the deuill working in vs this hurtfull silence is sure to doe it when wee haue most need of speech yea of crying out loudest vpon our heauy transgressions therefore we may still say Et illud erat mutum We can do no greater spight to the deuil then by breaking silence with Dauid and crying to the Lord that hee would take compassion on our sinfull soules Therefore sayth Saint Augustine Si tegis peccata tua Deus detegit si detegis Deus tegit illa pallio gratiae misericordiae Lodouico Hereupon it may be was it that the Prophet Osea sayd that Ephram speaking a great feare came vpon Israell Loquente Ephraim horror inuasit Israell Ephraim by interpretation is sharpe and Israell the man that saw God The sinner sheweth great sharpnes against the deuill when by true contrition he layes open his soule to God in which sense we may terme him to bee the same Ephraim As for Israel well may we tearme him to be Lucifer who saw God he being one of the chiefest and most noble angelicall spirits that God created Now the deuill can haue no greater feare horror and dismay then when he sees a contrite sinner to accuse him selfe of sinne and without any thought at all of merit to condemne himselfe as vnworthy to come in Gods sight for then are his sinnes pardoned in the death of his deare sonne and the deuill looseth the soule which he thought he had wonne And who can tell but that the Prophet Ezechiel had the like meaning in those mysterious words which he spake Loquutus sum ad populum mane mortua est vxor mea vespere I spake vnto the people in the morning and at euen my wife dyed as if he would haue said A great matter is this that hath happened vnto mee O Lord because I spake vnto the people in the morning and to me my wife is dead at euening it may bee therefore perhaps my wife dyed by night because in the cleare morning I spake to the people Our wife is our sinne or transgression which in committing of it we take as our consorte and she being naught and wicked seekes to dye secretly and in the darke euening of wilful despaire as ashamed of her owne lothsomnesse But in the bright morning that is in the contrite clearing of our consciences by the lustre of diuine grace which shewes our foule deformity and makes vs humbly acknowledge al our sins from the bottome of our hearts to God alone then is the diuell made mad and highly displeased Claudio Why then I perceiue that sometimes we ought not only to be silent but to speake likewise and cry out with a lowd voice in such manner as the keepers of a City do exclaime hearing the enemies drums and trumpets neer at hand intending the cities ruine spoile So then not with mute voice but rather in the loudest note of repentance we ought to breake silence in such a dangerous season seeing our deadly deformed sins our very grand capital enemies seeking all aduantages against the noble city of our soule Whereto the careful watchmen keepers therof the reuerend Fathers Preachers and ministers of the word doe dayly inuite vs as beeing put in trust with the charge of so worthy a city According as the Prophet Esay sayth Super muros tuos Ierusalem constitui custodes tota die tota nocte in perpetuum non tacebunt I haue set watchmen vpon thy walls O Ierusalem which all the day and all the night continually shall not cease How can they cease seeing so fierce and mortall enemies in armed preparation comming against vs Quasi romphaea bis acuta omnis iniquitas plagae illius non est sanitas All iniquitie is as a two edged sword the wounds whereof cannot be healed Two wayes is the Launce of our sinnes made sharpe depriuing vs both of grace and glorie killing both the body and soule together and offending both God and our neighbour robbing vs of glory condemning vs into hell fire confounding our vnderstanding and quite blinding our will How then can the carefull keepers of this Citie holde their peace seeing such cruell enemies comming on vs and armed with such dreadfull weapons Non tacebo saith the Prophet Ieremy quoniā vocem buccinae audiuit anima mea clamorem praelij I cannot be still for my soule hath heard the sound of the trumpet and the alarme of the battell Who can chuse but cry now and cry out with an affrighted feare when this mortal building is to be shaken with such dread terror Contritio super contritionem vocata est vastata est omnis terra repentè vastata sunt tabernacula mea subitò pelles meae Destruction vpon destruction is cried for the whole land is wasted suddenly are my tents destroyed and my curtaines in a moment Lodouico They also that are mindfull of the day of the Lord so dreadfull and terrible can do no otherwise but euen break silence cry out in teares They likewise that ruminate on the infinite fauors and singular graces hitherto extended toward them cannot abstain but break forth into diuine praises euen as the Prophet Esay did Qui reminiscimini Domini ne taceatis ne detis silentium ei donec stabiliat donec ponat Ierusalem laudem in terra Oh you that are mindful of the Lord keep not silence and giue him no rest till he repaire und till he set vp Ierusalem the praise of the world as if he wold haue said O you that remember God you that are mindfull both of his iustice and mercy in no case see you be silent neither let him enioy any rest vntill he establish and bring our soules into that land of promise so worthy of all glory and eternall laude But al this crying out is not any part of our speaking but euen
left them Spes hypocritae peribit The hope of hypocrites shall perish Hatefull they are to God and men Exterminant facies suas More especially because they neuer shew a true countenāce for it followeth vt appareant that they might seem vnto men but he sayth not vt sint because whatsoeuer they do they do it but to appeare onely and not to be truly the same indeed Lodouico What a misshapen monster is this But tel me my Lord I pray you vpon what occasion was it said Nolite fieri and not much rather Nolite facere In mine opinion it had bin better sayd I would not haue ye do as hypocrites do then saying I wold not haue you be made like to hypocrites Claudio Do you not know my Lord that this difference is betweene men and brute beastes in their actions that the one doth freely whatsoeuer he will but the other beastes I meane are led meerely by nature and a determinate fantasie to their attemptes or otherwise they are not able to do any thing The saying then of Christ concerning hypocrites Nolite fieri implyes thus much not to be led after the manner of beasts to their actions by blind sense and not by reason Heerein their folly manifestly is discerned seeing that by such workes wherewith they made a shew of winning heauen euen as if they had bin the iustest men in the world they haue therby purchased their owne damnation neuer to looke vpon the bright face of heauen And Petrus Chrisologus sayth The hypocrite with the sharpe lance of vertue murthereth vertue it selfe kils fasting with fasting empties prayer by praying and by mercie dries vp the flowing fountaine of mercy Hypocrisie is all one with the Feuer procuring a fiery burning by cold drinking or as the dropsie is in the body euen so is hypocrisie to the soule The dropsie encreaseth thirst by drinking and the ouerdrunk hypocrite dyeth with thirst gaping hourly for more more but euer with an extraordinary greedinesse after idle shaddowes of fleeting vaineglory Lodouico He committes an intollerable follie that by vertue seekes to purchase the fauours of men because for a vile matter he partes with an importaunt iewell and that which might haue made him fitte for heauen he barters away for fruitlesse breath the copper coyne of mens vaine praise and sinkes therewith deseruedly to hell So sayeth Saint Gregory in the eighth of his Morralles Claudio It is so vndoubtedly and thereupon sayd the goulden tongu'd diuine That the delectation of humane praise lasteth no longer then it is heard and the relish therof dyeth with the very tast For when the word is spoken the worth is ended a folly so great as there cānot be imagined a greater He that is desirous of eternall commendation must not seeke that which comes from men but from the searcher and examiner of all harts Tunc erit laus vnicuique à Deo Then shall euery man haue praise of God There is no security saith a learned Father in committing ones glory to the tongues of men which are like chests without either lock or key For when it is referred to another mans liberty it is no longer in thine own power but in the others either to cōmend or to condemn thee Lodouico How perillous it is and without any security at all to commit our own praise into an others power is very easie to be discerned Therefore hypocrisie in his earnest affection to popular applause is compared to the weeuel from whom we cannot so closely keep the corne but he steales into it so soone as it is threshed and to the end it may not be sowed to spring againe to a further encrease he filcheth away the sbstance leauing nothing but a dissēbled empty huske Euen such is hypocrisie saith Iohn Climachus which stealeth away all our honest deseruings so that no other reward is to be expected but this bare breath of vaine glory Receperunt mercedem suā a price so vile as worse is not to be thought on A foole may that merchant well be called which brings most pretious wares into so poore a city as yeelds no man able to buy the very meanest of them Such merchants are hypocrites who sell theyr workes by a signall formality of praying exhortation teaching fasting and open giuing of almes in this world where there is no man that can giue them the condigne value to such good deeds doon in sincerity and therefore they sell them but for a little vaine commendation You shall sometimes see a Preacher preache for many years together to the amazement of all his hearers euen as if at his lippes there hung no meane perfection but rather such power and efficacy in his speeches as many stubborne minds haue bin won by him to god euery one admyring and honouring him euen as if he were another Paul Neuerthelesse among so many by him conuerted himselfe remaineth peruerted by executing this his Apostolicall office onely for the applause of poore mens breath for his own aduancement to honor in the world Wheron it followeth that by helping others to heauen he goes himselfe to hell causing others to be repentant yet himself hath continued impenitent in his sins thirsting after a little praise and vainglory of men loosing therby the grace and true glory of heauen Agreeable with the brood Hens quality calling the other chickēs to meat but famisheth her self Or they are like the horse that brings bottles of wine home to the house and drinketh nothing but water himselfe Caesar and Alexander cheered on their souldiers and boldly encouraged them to the battaile but yet were themselues the formost in fight In like manner with greatest heart and spirit did the Princes Moyses Iosuah and Gedeon lead on Gods armies and the Priests ledde on the Ark of the Testament when others stood and noted their woorthy example But these hollow harted hypocrites send out others before them and tarry at home themselues immooueable because after the manner of the Pharisies Dicunt non faciunt they talke onely but do nothing except it bee by contraries Whereas God hauing giuen vs one tongue and two hands he implyeth thereby that we should worke much but talke little The Nurse first takes the food into her owne mouth and hauing prepared as it ought to be then she nourisheth her child therwith But the hypocrite without once tasting himselfe the foode of any good actiōs feeds the people with faire words preaching fasting but himself with a ful belly exalting vertue in others being most vitious himselfe and condemning others couetousnesse when his owne hart is most greedy and insatiable But what sayth S. Paul concerning these people Qui alium doces te ipsum non doces Qui praedicas non furandum furaris Thou which teachest another teachest thou not thy selfe Thou that preachest a man should not steale dost thou steale Heereto
Dauid that hee had slaine king Saul as hoping to haue gotten thereby a great reward because Saul was a most heauie enemy to Dauid But albeit hee was cleerelye innocent of the fact yet notwithstanding hee bare the penaltye of a murderer onelie by belying him selfe and accusing him selfe of a deede which hee neuer thought to doe Whereupon Dauid sayd to him Sanguis tuus super caput tuum Os enim tuum loquutum est aduersum te dicens Ego interfeci Christum Domini Thy bloud be vpon thine owne head for thine own mouth hath testifyed against thee saying I haue slaine the Lordes annointed I say againe that the want of speech is the occasion of much quiet because it is no meane labour to speake well to make answere in due time and to apt purpose to talke gratiously and to giue proportionable gesture to our words to adorne our sayings with comelinesse to deliuer sentences with sweetnes to accompany our speeches with the bodies seemely behauiour sometimes speaking lowde sometimes lowe now sweetlie then more sharplie But this you will say is the labour onely belonging to an Oratour Yet let me tell you that the want of speech in consideration of the many harmes whereinto a man falles by the tongue onely is the chiefe way to much quietnesse and the meanes to preuent innumerable euils Diuers haue desired that they could neuer haue spoken but neuer attained to such a happinesse If Cicero the father of Latine eloquence and Demosthenes the splendour of the Greeke tongue had euer been dumbe both the one and other had longer liued and death had been more sufferable to them and much lesse grieuous Claudio Questionlesse whosoeuer considereth our humane frailcie and how procliue a man is to faile in his speaking will allowe dumbenesse to be farre better then speeche He that hath lost the vse of speech hath also lost the arte of lying the consuetude of deceiuing the instrument of enmitie the organe of quarrelling the sower of slaunders and the broacher of blasphemies Many more are they that by their wordes haue become infamous then by their deedes for there is no part of our body more ready to doe harme and harder to bridle then the tongue of man is Therefore they that know them selues apt to faile thereby and consequently to fall into the vices whereon wee haue so long discoursed me thinkes should rather wish them selues to be dumbe then to couet the engine of their owne vnhappines Lodouico It is very true in regard it is a great treasure to be poore in euill Whereupon we may say and very truely that such as are borne without the vnhappy tongue are borne to be rich and they that haue such a wicked kinde of tongue doe loose for euer the eternall riches Thus by a new way may wee become wealthy loosing by finding and finding by loosing because there is no worse thing then to haue an euill tongue Euen so by consequence there is nothing better then in hauing it to remaine as depriued thereof seeing he that gets much that way looseth much more an other way And the tongue is as a fire which consumeth any thing Labia eius repleta sunt indignatione lingua eius quasi ignis deuorans Claudio But what shall we say if the tongue be not good that many yet haue been found to be of innocent tongues euermore praising therewith their Creator If then to loose an euill tongue is to get great riches to loose a good tongue is to loose greater riches Lodouico Hee that hath lost his tongue hath not lost his heart He remaines onely depriued of that member wherewith hee could appeare pleasing but to men but is not robbed of his heart wherewith he pleaseth God onely Being then not secured by that member which wonne him but the bare pleasing opinion of men it is best for him to preserue the heart carefully whereby hee may be thankefull to God to whom though hee cannot speake with his materiall tongue yet may he liberally and freely expresse his whole heart And if the wicked be said to haue the lippes of the heart how chaunceth it that the iust haue them not also Of the wicked saith Dauid Labia dolosa in corde corde loquuti sunt Flattering with their lippes and speake with a double heart The iust haue the mouth and tongue of the heart wherewith they may freely speake vnto God which made Dauid say of him selfe Non est occultatum os meum à te quod fecisti in occulto My bones are not hid from thee though I was made in a secret place Or as if he should say Lord the mouth of my heart which thou hast created for me in the most secret part of my body from thee it is not hidden because thou searchest into the secrets of the heart and hearest the moouing of the lippes of the thoughtes Dominus autem intuetur cor Praise then the Lord with the tongue of the heart because he is wont to be much more attentiue to that kinde of language then to the other idle talkatiue noise of the voice And in the presence of his omnipotent Maiesty there is no clamour more loude more vehement nor more moouing then that of the heart is because otherwise as we haue already sayd hee onely delighteth in silence This clamour did that Shepheard of his flocke and afterward the guide to numberlesse people Moyses breath foorth when praying in silence with a most earnest spirit his zealous cryes entred the eares of the Almighty which made God himselfe say Quid clamas ad me Wherefore cryest thou vnto me He spake not neither mooued his lippes and yet it is sayd he cryed As we perceiue then that he whom god heares is not dumbe because he speaketh to him with his heart euen so may we say that he who hath lost the tongue of outward crying and of the voyce whereby hee would striue to be vnderstood neyther wantes his materiall tongue nor voyce vocall Moreouer losse of the vse of speech hath been very aduantagious to diuers men because thereby their thoughtes haue had the more gentle freedome Which made King Dauid say that it behooued to set a good watch before the tongue Pone Domine custodiam orimeo ostium circumstantiae labits meis Set a watch O Lord before my mouth and keepe the doore of my lippes Dixi custodiam vias meas vt non delinquam in lingua mea I sayd I will take heede to my waies that I sinne not with my tongue Posui ori meo custodiam dum consisteret peccator aduersum me I will keep my mouth bridled while the wicked is in my sight And Salomon his sonne sayd that it behooueth with all diligence possible to keep the heart as that which is the fountaine of life Omni custodia serua cor tuum quoniam ab ipso vita procedit Keep
grace thou hast euacuated their proper will singular sense and priuate affection which giues them now to know both their own frailtie how much they were subiected to misery But by sending thy sanctified spirit into them thou hast created a new man within them formed according to thine owne diuine will Induimini nouum hominem qui secundum Deum creatus est in iustitia sanctitate veritatis Put on the new man which after God is created in righteousnes and true holinesse The iust man being filled with this spirit speakes holy wordes deliuers heauenly doctrine frames arguments of truth and grounded altogether vpon gods worde Eructauit cor meum verbum bonum My heart will vtter foorth a good matter And as a glasse being full with a very little turning aside doth emptie some part of the licquor contained in it Euen so the iust man with the least breath of an ardent sigh sendes foorth part of his grace receiued vnto vs making vs partakers of his inward blessings and so by the vertue of his good spirit he purgeth and dryeth vp the watrishnesse of our sinne so much as in him lyeth Lodouico How can this doctrine holde If winde be of a colde and moiste qualitie then it hath no drying vertue if we doe presse it according to the letter I speake not this to gaine-say you but rather to learne Claudio Aristotle the Prince of the Peripatecians in his twentie seauenth Probleme and fift particle going about to search by what occasion the winde being of qualitie colde and moiste hath yet notwithstanding a drying vertue answers him selfe thus Because it takes away and euaporates the part more colde As if he would say The winde is of a temperate coldnesse and humiditie therefore it makes the part more colde and moiste to euaporate it selfe as meaning thereby mudde and water The holy ghost is called a spirit and winde Tanquam spiritus vehemâ—â—tis As of a rushing and mighty winde Veni Auster perfla hortum meum fluent aromata illius Arise O North and come O South and blowe on my garden that the spices thereof may flowe outâ— because it cooleth the heate of carnall concupiscences Therefore the Angell speaking of this spirit to the virgin Marie said Spiritus sanctus superveniet in te virtus altissimi obumbrabit tibi The holy ghost shall come vpon thee and the power of the most High shall â—uershadow thee This shadowing is expounded by almost all the doctours that it signifyeth The taking away of all lasciuious or carnall affections and purgeth euerie loose concupiscence When therefore the holy spirit bloweth on the minde of him that listens to the woord of God it causeth to euaporate and vanish by his expulsiue vertue the excessiue coldenesse of sinne which is of such chilnesse as it freezeth vp the heate of all charitie So euacuating this colde it disposeth the soule to quietnesse and to lend attention to the holy doctryne of Christ For Saint Iohn Chrysostome saith That as it is not possible for the earth to fructifie by water only without winde Euen so as impossible is it that the Doctrine of the iust which is as the water celestiall they like pregnant cloudes Qui sunt isti qui vt nubes volant What are these that fly like a cloude that they I say should cause any fruite to growe in the ground of our soules without the sweet breathing winde of the holy ghost which of it selfe disposeth mens hearts to the hearing of gods word and makes them to bloome forth after the manner of the earth Euen as when Zephirus sends his kindely blastes abroad in the month of March according to the Poet Mantuans description The iust man therefore opens his mouth in the middes of the people and the Lord filleth it with the diuine spirit of wisedome and from hence proceede infinite good fruites to the soules of his hearers According as from the Apostle Peter it did who at the very first Sermon he made conuerted to the faith of Iesus Christ three thousand persons or thereabout as is to be read in the Actes of the Apostles the second Chapter Lodouico Yet by your licence my Lord it is necessary for vs to know what wisedome is so much the rather because according to the Prince of Latine Oratorie It is most expedient in an Oratour who without wisedome is tearmed ignorant and his full tide of speech is called loquacity not eloquence Whereupon being once demaunded what eloquence was he answered Nihil est aliud eloquentia nisi copiose loquens sapientia Claudio Iob maketh a long discourse of wisedome searching where it should be and what it was Finally after a long repetition of sententious wordes and a very large inuestigation of them he concludes That God onely knoweth what it is And he reuealing the same vnto man sayth That wisedome is nothing else but the feare of the Lord. Et dixit homini Ecce timor Domini ipsa est sapientia recedere a malo intelligentia And vnto man he said Behold the feare of the Lord is wisedome and to depart from euill is vnde standing And Dauid sayth Initium sapientiae timor Domini The beginning of wisedome is the feare of the Lord. The Peripatecians vsed to say That wisedome is an intellectuall vertue and by the highest and most noble causes makes thinges to be knowen Whereupon in the sixt booke of Ethickes the sixt Chapter and in the first of Metaphysickes the first Chapter defyning a wise man Aristotle saith Sapiens est qui scit omnia difficilia propter certitudinem causam ipsum scire propter se quaerens alios ordinans persuadens And a little after he saith That the wise man ought to be knowen not onely by the cause but also by the highnesse of the the cause According to the Stoickes and moral Philosophers such perhaps as were Seneca Socrates and Boetius wisedome is taken for none other But a masse or a heape of morall vertues which make a man to be vertuous Therefore according to this kinde of wisedome Seneca sayth in his booke of the tranquillitie of the minde That to a wise man there can happen no iniury or offence at all to molest the felicity of his minde which in the Stoicks opinion ought to bee imperturbable and his heart adamantine But according to the sacred Theologians or diuines Wisedome is a gift supernaturally infused whereby a man hath cognition of diuine things and of humane by diuine and spirituall inspiration or by some especiall gratious vicinity to God And because there is none more neerer vnto God then the innocent man so cleane as possible he may be from the foule staines of sinne who by such innocencie is made apt to vnderstand the secrets diuine therefore sayd Iob that wisedome is nothing else but the feare of God and the
be sure not to breake silence Non enim vos estis qui loquimini sed spiritus patris vestri qui loquitur in vobis For it is not yee that speake but the spirit of your Father which speaketh in you This is that whereof God spake by the Prophet Ose speaking to our soule Ducam illam in solitudinem loquar ad cor eius I will bring her into the wildernesse and speake vnto her heart As if God would haue said to the soule of a deuout christian To the end that the soule of my deare and deuout sonne may not erre in talking nor scandalize the conneâ—sation of others I will leade her into the secret desert of holy contemplation there I wil do her so much fauour as to reueale vnto her the secrets of mine own heart speaking in a silent voice to her heart But yet in such sort as when she her selfe by the sound of her voyce would speake to others it shall not be of such mysteries as she goes about thinking on or what words she shall vse nor of the things she is to speake of Because I will minister to her thoughts and I will guide her wordes speaking my selfe within the secrets of her heart Wherfore she shall haue nothing else to doo but onely to be a faithfull deliuerer of what I shall commit to her speaking This is the sending of his holy Angels to inspire our soules with what we haue to doe and they may say to them that they speake to their hearts Loquimini ad cor Ierusalem He calles the soule Ierusalem because she is made a Citizen of the Soueraigne Ierusalem Euen in like manner as the Preacher vseth to doe when hee tearmes his present hearers by the name of the whole Citie saying I speake to thee Roome I speake to thee Millaine or I speake to thee London that is I speake to you which are the inhabitants of Roome or to you Romaines Londoners c. Claudio A very speciall fauour is this which God doth vnto man in speaking to the heart to auoyde breach of silence by importunity of words And most happy is that soule to whom God reuealeth his secrets diuine and gouerneth his words least he shold erre in praying by not fayling in his speeches nor stumbling in reproofe of other mens defects Finis Chap. 23. The Argument From whence it ensueth that man being a creature so noble yet notwithstanding he committeth greater errours then any other creature whatsoeuer How God hath giuen him many helpes to preserue him from sinne and particularly the precept of brotherly correction committed into the power of the tongue The necessitie and excellencie whereof is heere discoursed on And that silence in such a case is prooued great babbling and a grieuous sinne because the tongue may be a safety to our neighbour They also shew the way which we ought to obserue in correcting of our neighbour as also the qualitie of the precept it selfe by approoued sound doctrine and testimonies of holy Scripture Chap. 24. LODOVICO As God speakes vnto the heart thereby most highly manifesting his diuine secrets to his esteemed sonnes seruantes least they should erre in speaking or else in any other humane action Euen â—o ought we also to assist one another with the office of the tongue â—or auoiding of such defects as oftentimes wee doe fondly commit Because christian charitie so requireth and he that diâ—igently imployes him selfe in the duety of charity resembleth God him selfe who seekes very many waies whereby to help man out of his sinne Whereupon it is said by Ieremie Si separaueris pretiosum à vili quasi os meum eris And if thou take away the pretious from the vile thou shalt be according to my word Euen as if he had said Man is by nature fraile apt to erre corrupt and led by giddy sense but thou if by the keene swoord of thy tongue thou wilt seeke to separate the precious soule of thy neighbour from the vilenesse of sinne thou shalt be like vnto me Who to raise man out of misguidance haue layde aside honour life and all other commodities whatsoeuer and to me is giuen in liew thereof death with mine owne bloud standing bound to redeeme him from the cruell obiected articles of sinne and the deuill Well shal it become vs then to labour duetifully for those meanes wherby we might resemble so great a maiesty a beauty so exquisite as without any like that of god is As also for the help of our neighbor we being equal bretheren in christ desceÌ„ded of one stock created by one and the same God redeemed by one most precious bloud nourished by the selfe same sacraments and hoping for one and the very same glory Admit you were trauailing on the way with a freend of yours perchaunce should meete with an enemy of his who drawing forth his weapon attempts al the wayes he can to wound him Would not you lay hand to your sword with your freend defend him to your vttermost Our neighbour is mainly assaulted by sinne the capitall enemie that seekes the slaughter of his soule while we are in this miserable peregrination of this world together We therefore not to see the death of our brother thus assailed by sinne ought to draw foorth the sword of the tongue Lingua eorum gladius acutus and with him help to driue his aduersary to flight striuing to cure his trespasses with humble reprehensions and charitable exhortations Because as there be many sins coÌ„mitted by the tongue so likewise are there as many vertuous actions thereby to be performed in which behalfe strict silence is a fault as hainous as is idle vain needles talking Claudio If insensible creatures by so admirable an order in nature lend help one to another profit each other in their kinde led onely thereto by naturall inclination As the Sunne in most wondrous manner enlighteneth the Moone the Starres and other Planets and she also clearing the ougly darknesse of the night giuing an influence to the earth whereby it yeelds to vs such copious bounty of precious fruites The fire purging the ayre the ayre purifying the water the water bathing and fertiling the earth and they of all these giftes are not scarse or sparing to vs. How much more then ought men being adorned with vnderstanding beautyfied with reason ennobled with senses and endued with discourse bee forward in helpe one to an other especially in so weighty a case as sinne is which robbing vs of grace depriues vs of glory making vs meete for hell by taking the blessed Angels comfort from vs and giues vs in stead thereof the company of deuils Therefore we ought to vse all diligence by being helpfull in this kinde euen to our vttermost and if we finde defect in our own abilitie to call for the more powerfull assistance of others who may binde vp
and a publicane Herein are three things to be obserued namely the place the time and the manner The place is noted when he sayth Si peccauerit in te If thy brother trespasse against thee that is If thy neighbour sinne secretly and thou onely knowest thereof reprehend him in some remote place that no one may know thereof for feare of giuing therby scandale to others and discouering against charity another mans defects To the end also that the delinquent may the more willingly amend by perceiuing that all this is doone vnto him in loue The time also is to be respected because alwayes at all seasons it is not a time for reprehension For it often falleth out that the person offending is incorrigible Which he wel knowing or perceiuing that shold vrge the reproof he stands not bound then to mooue correctiō least the sinner shold fal into greater guilt but ought to take a fitter opportunity Or else if he know it to be no apt season euen immediatly vpon the transgression to strike with reproof his wisedom in forbearāce cannot be therfore impeached yet the sinner in due time may be also chastised Noah patiently awaited seauen dayes together hauing first sent foorth the dooue and seeing her returne to be so quickly without bringing any signe of the waters cessation then he sent her foorth againe and then shee brought back the Oliue braunche with her At illa venit ad eum ad vesperam portans ramum Oliuae virentibus folijs in ore suo Intellexit ergo Noe quòd cessassent aquae super terram And the Doue came to him in the euening and loe in her mouth was an Oliue leafe that shee had pluckt whereby Noah knewe that the waters were abated from off the earth In Noah is figured the christian soule remaining within the Arke of our body The waters of the deluge are our sinnes wherein we like poore wretches are as drowned VVhereof Dauid speaking sayth Saluum me fac Deus quoniam intrauerunt aquae vsque ad animam meam Saue me O God for the waters are entred euen to my soule The Doue representeth brotherly correction and the Oliue branche is the fruit of this brotherly admonition VVhen we behold our brother in the deluge of sin we ought to send foorth out of the Arke of the body by the window of our mouth the doue of mild correction Which returning vnfruitfully and without any signe of amendment at all we ought not therefore to despaire of his recouery But after the example of Noah with patience to attend a time more opportune In which space perhaps the waters of this wretched floud may cease by the want of former proude conceit and better consideration of his own estate VVhereupon sending foorth againe the simple Doue in kind correction and on meere charity doubtlesse she will bring some signe of the great floods fall euen the very fruit of so good an endeauour and so thou hast won thy brother Lucratus es fratrem tuum We must in like sort obserue the manner that is charitably with sweet words and full of loue Dauid draue the tormenting spirit foorth of Saul not with stearn strokes but with mild musique Eliseus the Prophet sent his seruant Gehezie with a staffe to reuiue the son of the widdow which prooued to nothing but when afterward he came himself in person and with his own limbs warmed the dead-benummed limbs of the child being lifelesse he ioyning part to part face to face hands to hands breast to breast and feete to feet thus heating the child he raised him from death to life So when we would reuiue our brother he being mortally wounded with sin and euen almost dead in soule we should not send our seruant with a staffe to doo such correction as Pilate did to Christ Corripiam ergo illum dimittam I will chastise him and let him loose Neither ought we to vse any rough or rigorous words But like to Eliseus warme the delinquents soule with the heate of charity and by compassionating his case euen transforming our selues altogether into him According to the instruction of Saint Paul Fratres si praeoccupatus fuerit homo in aliquo delicto vos qui spirituales estis huiusmodi instruite in spiriu lenitatis considerans teipsum ne tu tenteris Brethren if a man be falne by occasion into any fault you which are spirituall restore such a one with the spirite of meekenesse considering thy selfe least thou also bee tempted Being thus heated with the warmth of christian charity we shal raise the sinners dying soule by the religious meanes and office of the tongue Oh how pleasing is this manner to me and I prayse the true vse therof from time to time because when we goe ouer hastily to the committed euil the offender hauing his senses blinded will not suffer himself to be reprehended but rather in haughtinesse of spirit wil euen approoue and maintaine his sin VVherefore looke how thou blowest the fire then so much the more thou kindlest it whereto if nourishment want it will extinguish of it selfe Euen so is it with thy brothers cholerick and hasty nature being reproued too quickly of his committed error Therfore it shal become vs wel to expect a while in our reprehension to vse no loftinesse because the sinner in this case may very aptly be compared to a sick man When a sick body would feede on delicate and healthfull meates for his disease and yet are to him most displeasing though in their owne nature very wholesome they vse such art in the deliuerance of them labouring to please his weak rellish as he hardly perceiueth what they are The finner by his ouersurfetting on sin abhors all spirituall meates how healthfull or delicate soeuer they be He finds no tast in preaching he hath no delight in praying no mind to the holy Sacraments no pleasure in fasting nor any godly action agrees with his relish Nay he is reduced into such an estate as he hath no feeling of any spirituall matter So that euen as Dauid sayth Omnem escam abominata est anima corū Their soule abhorreth al meat Almost they are ready to leaue their houses drawing on their latest breath euē as next neighbour to eternal death Appropinquauerunt vsque ad port as mortis VVherefore in the administring of this healthfull foode of brotherly correction that it may be willingly and louingly accepted you must shadow it in som substantial manner to make it cary a tast of kind and comfortable words after this or the like obseruation Deare brother so it might not be displeasing to you I would deliuer a few words greatly to your profit wherein God is my witnesse nothing else mooueth me but the honour of God true brotherly charity and vnfeigned regard of your good I know well that such
shall your God deliuer you out of my hand And his seruants spake yet more against the Lord God and against his seruant Ezechias He wrote also letters blaspheming the Lord God of Israel and speaking against him fol. 64. Nehemiah Chap. 4. 17. 18. And they that builded did the work with one hand and with the other held a sword For euery one of the builders had his sword girded on his loynes fol. 189. Iob. Chap. 39. 38. Once haue I spoken but I will answer no more fol. 4. Chap. 13. 5. Oh that you wold hould your peace that it might be imputed to you for wisedome fol. 5 Chap. 10. 1. I will speake in the bitternesse of my soule fol. 26. Chap. 4. 2. Who can withhould himself from speaking fol. 34. Chap. 33. 14. For God speaketh once or twise and one seeth it not fol. 43. Chap. 20. 5. The ioy of hypocrites is but a moment fol. 171 Chap. 8. 13. The hopes of Hypocrites shall perish fol. 177 Chap. 39. 16. Hast thou giuen the pleasant wings vnto the Peacocks or wings and feathers vnto the Estrich fol. 186 Chap. 2. 11. Touch al that he hath to see if he wil not blaspheme thee to thy face fol. 112 Chap. 2. 9. Then said his wife vnto him doest thou continue yet in thine vprightnesse Blaspheme God and dy ibid. Chap. 28. 28. And vnto man he sayd Behold the feare of the lord is wisedome and to depart from euil is vnderstanding fol. 256 Dauids Psalmes Psalm 45. 1. 2. My heart will vtter foorth a good matter I will intreate in my works of the king My tongue is as the pen of a swift writer fol. 31 Psalm 31. 3. While I held my tongue my bones consumed fol. 4 Psalm 140. 3. All the labour of a man is for his mouth fol. 9 Psalm 112. 1. 2. Blessed be the name of the Lord from hencefoorth and for euer The Lords name is praised from the rising of the Sun vnto the going down of the same The Lord is aboue al nations and his glory is aboue the heauens fol. 13 Psalm 15. 1. 2. 3. Lord who shall dwell in thy Tabernacle and who shall rest vpon thy holy mountaine c. fol. 18 Psalm 140. 3. Set a watch O Lord before my mouth keep the door of my lips fol. 22. Psalm 5. 11. Their throate is an open sepulcher and they flatter with their tongue fol. 27. Psalm 50. 16. Open thou my lips O Lord and my mouth shall shew foorth thy prayse fol. 33. Psalm 119. 131. I opened my mouth and panted ibid. Psalm 38. 13. But I as a deafe man heard not and am as a â—umb man that openeth not his mouth ibid. Psalm 56. 4. Their tongue is a sharpe sword fol. 39 Psalm 62. 18. One time only God spake and these two I heard that power belongeth vnto God and to thee O Lord mercy for thou rewardest euery one according to his work fol. 43 Psalm 2. 7. The Lord hath said vnto me Thou art my Son this day haue I begotten thee fol. 45. Psalm 64. 1. O Lord praise waiteth for thee in Sion ibid. Psalm 115. 2. Euery man is a lyer fol. 47 Psalm 5. 6. Thou shalt destroy all them that speak lyes ibid. Psalm 61. 9. The children of men are vanity the cheefe men are lyers to lay them vpon a balance they are altogether lighter then vanity it selfe fol. 48 Psalm 52. 12. God looked down from heauen vpon the children of men to see if there were any that would vnderstand and seeke God Euery one is gone back they are altogether corrupt there is none that doth good no not one ibid. Psalm 81. 6. I haue said you are Gods and you are all children of the most high ibid. Psalm 43. 3. Send thy light and thy truth let them lead me let them bring mee vnto thy holy mountaine and to thy Tabernacle fol. 49 Psalm 38. 8. Surely man in his best estate is altogether vanity ibid. Psalm 41. 10. Open thy mouth wide I wil fill it fol. 52 Psalm 38. 1. 2. I sayd I will take heed to my wayes that I sin not with my tongue I will keep my mouth bridled while the wicked are in sight fol. 54 Psalm 38. 3. I was dumb and spake nothing I kept silence euen from good fol. 55 Psalm 129. 86. All thy commandements are true ibid. Psalm 4. 5. Be angry but sin not fol. 59 Psalm 3. 3. 7. 8. Thou O Lord art a buckler for me my glory and the lifter vp of my head c. Thou hast smitten all mine enemies without cause vpon the cheek bone thou hast broken the teeth of the wicked Saluation belongeth vnto thee O Lord c. fol. 61 Psalm 77. 4. I was astonied and could not speake ibid. Psalm 34. 12. 13. VVhat man is he that desireth life and loueth long laies for to see good Keep thy tongue from euil thy lips that they speake no guile fol. 63 Psalm 64. 3. 4. They haue whet their tongues like a sword and shot for their arrowes bitter words to shoot at the vpright in secret they shoote at him suddenly and feare not ibid. Psalm 64. 8. They shall cause their tongue to fal vpon them and whosoeuer shall see them shall fly away fol. 64 Psalm 29. 4. 5. The voyce of the Lord is mighty the voyce of the Lord is glorious The voyce of the Lord breaketh the Cedars fol. 69 Psalm 140. 3. They haue sharpened their tongues like Serpents Adders poyson is vnder their lips fol. 79 Psalm 22. 20. Deliuer my soule from the sword my desolate soule from the power of the dog fol. 80 Psalm 77. 6. I called to remembraunce my song in the night I communed with mine owne heart and my spirit searched diligently fol. 83 Psalm 40. 9. I will not refraine my lips O Lord thou knowest fol. 84 Psalm 140. 8. Let the mischief of their own lips come vpon them ibid. Psalm 4. 5. Examine your own harts and in your chambers and be still fol. 85 Psalm 4. 6. Offer the sacrifices of righteousnesse c. ibid. Psalm 50. 18. The sacrifices of God are a contrite spirite a contrite and a broken hearte O God thou wilt not despise ibid. Psalm 141. 5. Let the righteous smite me for that is a benefit let him reprooue me and it shall be a pretious oyle that shall not break mine head fol. 86 Psalm 31. 18. Let the lying lips be made dumb ibid. Psalm 12. 1. 2. The faithfull are failed from among the children of men They speake deceitfully euery man with his neighbour flattering with their lippes and speake with a double hearte fol. 91 Psalm 13. 5. Their throat is an open sepulcher with their tongues they haue deceiued fol. 92 Psalm 119. 86. All thy commandements are truth fol. 97 Psalm 91. 4. His truth shall be thy shield and buckler ibid. Psalm 5. 9. There is no truth in their mouth within they are very corruption fol.