THE FIRST TITLE. That man is bound to seeke after Vertue, and to serue GOD: and of the excellencie of the Diuine perfection. CHAP. I.

TWO things chiefely (Christian Reader) are wont to mooue and stirre vp the will of man to any good action. One is the bond, by which we are bound to iustice: the other is the profit and fruite, which proceedeth & issueth of this action.Honestie & Profit, are to be consi­dered of in euery acti­on. For it is the iudgement of all wisemen, that these two things are to be considered of in euery matter and action; to wit, Honestie and Profit: which are (as it were) the two spurres of our Will, which pricke it forward, and en­courage it to take any action in hand. Of these two, although (for the most part) Profit is more sought after and desired, yet Honestie is more effectuall and powerfull. For there is not any profit or commoditie to be found in this world, although it be great, which may compare with the excellencie of Vertue: as also there is no losse or discōmoditie so great or grieuous, which a wise man ought not rather to choose, then to runne into anie vice, as Aristotle auerreth.

Seeing therefore, that it is our purpose and meaning in this Booke, to inuite men to the loue of Vertue, and to ensnare them with the beautie of it; I take it that we shall doe very well, if we begin of this more principall part, declaring the bond, by which we stand bound to Vertue: and therefore to God himselfe also, who seeing that he is goodnes it selfe, doth commend nothing in this world, doth desire nothing, doth not account any thing [Page 10] precious but onely Vertue. Therefore with great care and dili­gence, let vs consider those iust titles and claimes, which God hath, to demaund and exact this so great debt and bond of vs. But seeing that they be innumerable, wee will onely induce sixe of the chiefest, euery one of which seuerally do binde man, with out any excuse, to him in whatsoeuer he can or may. The first and greatest, and which can lesse be declared or expressed, is, to be him that he is;GOD is that he is. to which is referred the greatnes of his Maie­stie, and all his perfections. Hetherto pertaine the incompre­hensible magnitude of his goodnes, mercy, iustice, wisedom, in­finite power, noblenes, beautie, faithfulnesse, truth, benignitie, happines, maiestie, and the other riches and perfections that be in him; which are such and so immeasurable, that (as a certaine famous Doctor saith) if the whole world were ful of bookes, and all creatures Writers, and all the water of the Sea ynck, first all the bookes should be filled, first all the Writers should be wea­ried, and first all the Sea should be exhausted and drawne drie, then one alone of his perfections should be described absolute­lie, and as it is in deede, and in it selfe. The same Doctor also saith, if God should create a newe man, and should giue vnto him a hart so ample, capable and spacious, as are all the harts of men ioyned and mixed together, if that hart should apprehend with an immeasurable and vnusuall light the qualitie and quan­titie of one of these perfections, it would faint, die, or breake in peeces, by reason of the greatnes of that ioy and pleasure, which should redound to it, except it were preserued by the singuler power of GOD.

This therefore is the first & the most equall and iust reason, by which we are bound to loue God, and to serue & obey him, who is truth it selfe in so high a degree, that the very Epicures themselues, who are the ouerthrowers and destroyers of all Phi­losophy, (for they denie the diuine prouidence, and the immor­talitie of soules) doe not denie that there is a Religion, which is the worship and adoration of God.Epicures teach, that God is to be serued. For one of them disputing in that Booke, which Tully writ of the nature of the Gods, con­fesseth and prooueth very strongly that there is a God; and also he acknowledgeth the altitude of his admirable and wonderfull perfections; and for them he saith, that he is to be worshipped, [Page 11] adored, and reuerenced, for this is due to the greatnes and ex­cellencie of this most noble substance. Therefore he is to bee worshipped by that name and title onely, if hee had not anie o­ther. For if we honour and reuerence a King for the onely dig­nitie of his presence,A similitude although hee be without his kingdome, where we receiue no benefit by him; why rather should we not giue and exhibite all honour and reuerence, to this Lord, who (as Iohn testifieth) hath written vpon his garment, and vpon his thigh,Apoc. 19. The King of Kings, and Lord of Lords. It is he that with his three fingers doth beare vp the round Globe of the earth, doth dispose of causes, & moueth the heauens; it is he that changeth times, altereth the elements, diuideth the waters, bringeth forth the windes, engendereth causes, giueth influence to the Planets, and as an vniuersall King and Lord, doth nourish and sustaine all creatures.The king­dome of God is not by succes­sion. That also is of greater moment, that his kingdom is not by succession, or by election, or by inheritance, but by na­ture. For euen as a man naturally is greater thē a Pismier, so that most noble substance in greatnes doth far excell all other things created: insomuch that euery thing whatsoeuer it be, and the whole vniuersall world, in his eyes, haue scarce the quantitie and bignes of an Emmot. If that vnhappy Philosopher acknow­ledged and confessed this truth, why shall not Christian phylo­sophy acknowledge and confesse it? This therefore teacheth, that although there be many titles and names, by which wee are bound to God: yet this, that we now entreate of, doth excell them all, the which is of such weight & valuation, that (if there were no other) this alone deserueth all the loue and seruice of man, yea though he had infinite and innumerable soules and bo­dies, which might attend and waite vpon his worship and loue. That alwaies hath beene the care and studie of the Saints, whose loue were so pure and sincere,Bernard in his 83. Ser­mon vpon the Canti­cles. that of it S. Bernard saide; Pure loue doth not take strength from hope, and yet feeleth not the hurt of distrust. As if hee should say, that true loue is not kind­led through hope to worship God, by which it hopes for any reward from God, neither to waxe colder, although it knowe that it should receiue nothing of him; for it is not mooued through lucre and profit but through pure loue, which is due to that infinite goodnes.

[Page 12]Although this reason chiefely doth binde vs vnto God, yet it doth lesse moue the weake and imperfect,Why men are lesse moued with the perfecti­on of God. and that for two causes. The first is, because our owne proper commodity doth moue by so much the more, by howe much our owne proper loue hath taken deeper roote in the soule. The second is, be­cause many men being rude and ignorant, doe not vnderstand the dignitie, and beauty of that supreame goodnes. For if they had receiued the knowledge of it, this onely glory & splendour would so steale theyr harts from them, that beeing content with it alone, they would desire no other thing. Therefore I think it not amisse, to open a window to these men, and to yeelde them some light, that they may know more of the greatnesse of thys Lord. This doctrine is borrowed of that excellent & great Di­uine Dionisius, who hath no other purpose in his mistical The­ologie, then to shew the dignitie of the Diuine essence, bee ing compared with all other things created: teaching, that in the contemplation of God, our eyes are to bee turned from all the perfection of the creatures, least we be deceiued, being desirous to measure him by them; but leauing all these inferiour things, we must lift vp our minds to the contemplation of one Essence,In the con­templation of God, we must turne our eyes frō al creatures. which is aboue all Essences; of one substance, which is aboue all substances; of one light, which is aboue all lights, in compari­son of which, all light is darknes; of one beautie, which is aboue all beautie, to the which if all beautie be compared, it is defor­mitie and abhomination.

The clowde into which Moses entred, when he talked with the Lord,Exod, 24. doth signifie this vnto vs, which couered the face of all things, which were not God, that by this meanes the true God might be knowne more easily and more exactly. Thys thing al­so Elias signified couering his eyes with his Mantle,1. Kings, 19 when hee saw the glory of God passing by. For a man ought to turne a­way his eyes from all things, as vnworthy, when hee will con­template vpon the Diuine glory. This will bee showen more manifestly, if we consider the great difference betweene a thing vncreate, and a thing created: that is, the difference between the Creator and the creature. For we see that all the creatures had a beginning, and that they may haue an end; but he neither had beginning, neither can haue end. The creatures acknowledge a [Page 13] superiour, and depend of him: The Creator neyther acknow­ledgeth superiour, nor dependeth of any. The creatures be mutable and subiect to diuers alterations: the Creator hath nei­ther mutation in himselfe, nor any alteration. The creatures are mixt and compound; but in the Creator no composition is found, by reason of his pure simplenes. For if hee was com­pounded of many parts, hee should haue one to compound him, who should be before him, which is impossible. The cre­atures may be moe, then they are; haue more then they haue; know more then they know. The Creator cannot be moe then he is; seeing that the perfection of the whole Essence is in him; neyther can he haue more then he hath, seeing that in him is the bottomlesse deepenes of all riches: neyther can he knowe more then he doth know, seeing that his wisedome is infinite, and his excellency eternall, to which all things are as present. For which cause the great Philosopher Aristotle called the Cre­ator a pure act, signifying that hee is the chiefest and greatest perfection, to which nothing may be added: for it is impossible that he should participate more of that substance, wherof he is, neyther can any thing be thought of, which is wanting in him. All creatures doe fight vnder the banner of mutability, for like needy and poore beggers, they may be mooued to seeke for that, which is wanting vnto them: but he hath no cause at all to moue himselfe, because nothing is wanting to him, and he is found in euery place. All other things are found to be diuers and differing, and one to be distinguished from an other: but in him there is found no distinction of seuerall parts, by reason of his great simplenes: so that his Being, is his Essence, his Es­sence is his power, his power is his will, and his will is his vn­derstanding, and his vnderstanding is his intent, and his intent is his wisedome, and his wisedom is his goodnes, and his good­nes is his iustice, and his iustice is his mercy: which although they haue contrary effects (as to pardon and to punish) yet in him really and in deede they are one and the same; in so much that his iustice is his mercy, and his mercy is his iustice; and so in him these operations and perfections appeare onely, but are not contrary in deede, as Augustine hath well noted. For he is most misticall and most powerfull, most beautifull and the [Page 14] strongest, stable and incomprehensible, without place and in euery place, inuisible and seeing all things, immutable & chan­ging all things: hee doth alwayes worke and is euer quiet, hee doth fill all things and is not included, hee is stretched ouer all things and not diuided: he is great without quality, and there­fore immeasurable; hee is good without quality and therefore exceeding perfectly good.

To be briefe, that I may speake many things in few words, all things created as they haue their essence [...]ircumscript, which comprehendeth and contayneth them: so haue they their po­wer limited and finit, to which they are extended, and their li­mited labours in which they are exercised, and theyr circum­script places in which they stand, and theyr certaine names by which they are called and demonstrated, and theyr particuler definitions by which they are declared, & their particuler prae­dicaments vnder which they are contayned. But that supreme iustice as it is infinite in essence, so is it infinite in power, and in all other things: and as it hath no definition, by which his na­ture is defined, so it hath no praedicament, vnder which it is contayned, no place in which it is limited, nor name whereby his right propriety may be signified: Yea rather seeing that he hath no name, as Dionysius sayth, he hath all names: for in him are found all perfections, which in these names are comprehen­ded and signified. Whereupon is inferred, that as all creatures are finite and limited, so are they comprehensible: but that de­uine Essence solely as it is infinite, so is it incomprehensible of all created intelligences. For euen as, (saith Aristotle) that which is infinite hath no beginning, so neither absolutely nor fully can it be comprehended of any intelligence, vnlesse of that, which comprehendeth all things.

What other thing doe those two Seraphins signifie, which the Prophet Esay saw standing before the Lord,Ess, 6, who sate vpon an high throne, Euery one, sayth he, had sixe wings: with twaine hee couered his face, and with twaine he couered his feete; But to signifie, that those excellent spyrits, who haue so high a place in heauen, and are the nearest vnto God himselfe, cannot com­prehend all that is found in God: neyther come from one to an other that they may knowe and vnderstand these things, al| [Page 15] though they see him in his proper Essence & beauty? For euen as one standing vpon the shoare doth see the Sea,A simili­tude. and yet doth not see the breadth and depth of it; so those excellent spyrits, and all the other elect, which be in heauen, doe see God really, yet they cannot comprehend eyther the depth of his greatnes, or the altitude of his eternity. And although God in the Scrip­tures is sayd to sit vpon the Cherubines, yet rather hee may be sayd to stand vpon them, so that they cannot approach vnto him, much lesse comprehend him. This is the darknes, which, as the Psalmist sayth,Psal. 18, he made his secret place, and his pauilion round about him, euen darknes of waters, and cloudes of the ayre; that that might be signified, which the Apostle sayth, that God dwelleth in the light that none can attayne vnto,1, Tim. 6. and to which there is no passage open: therefore the Prophet calleth it darknes, because it hindrethas well the sight, as the apprehen­sion of God.A simili­tude. For euen as (as a certaine Philosopher sayth) al­though there can be found nothing more bright and visible then the Sunne, yet nothing is lesse seene then it, by reason of the excellencie of his brightnes, and the weakenes of our sight: so although there is nothing in it selfe more intelligible then God, yet there is nothing in this lyfe lesse vnderstoode then he, for the same reasons. Wherfore he that after any manner kno­weth God, after he shall come to the end, and furthest limit of those perfections, which may be knowne, he shall confesse, that hee must further proceede by infinite wayes, and that God is greater then those infinite wayes, then that he may be compre­hended: and by how much the more he acknowledgeth that [...]ncomprehensibility, by so much the more hee vnderstandeth more of him.

Heere-vpon it is that Saint Gregory saith vpon those words of Iob,Iob, 5. In the 27, Booke of his Morals, cap. 36. Who doth great thinges and vnsearchable, and meruailous things without number, sayth he, then we speake better of God, when as vnder the awe of consideration, through admiration we hold our peace. For then a man conueniently and seasona­bly doth prayse that thing, he cannot vtter, when hee is silent. In the same opinion also is Dionysius:In his mi­st [...]call The­ologie. [...]. 1. The secret and mistery [...]f the Diuinity, sayth he, which passeth all vnderstanding, wee [...]onour and adore with the holy worship and veneration of our [Page 14] [...] [Page 15] [...] [Page 16] minde, and with ineffable and chast silence. In which place he seemeth to allude to that of the Prophet, according to the tran­slation of Hierome,Psal, 65. For thee ô God all prayse wayteth and resteth, and is silent in Sion: signifying that this is the most perfect praise, which is done by holding the peace, and by that ineffable and chast silence: that is by confessing the incomprehensibility and altitude of that vnspeakeable substance, whose magnitude is aboue all magnitude, and whose substance infinitely exceedeth, and differeth from all other substance of things, as well visible as inuisible.In his book of Solilo­quies. Cap. 1 Wherfore Saint Augustine also sayth: When I seeke for my God, I doe not seeke for a shape of a body, not for the glory of time, not for the cleerenes of the light, not for beauty, not for the sound of sweet melody, and whatsoeuer ple­sant tunes: not for the sweete sauours and odours of flowers, oyntments and spices, not for honey and Manna pleasant and delightfull to the tast, not for other things gratefull and wel­come to the touch or embrace, neyther doe I seeke for any o­ther thing subiect to these sences, when I doe seeke for my God. God forbid that I should thinke these to be my God, which al­so are apprehended of the sences of bruite beastes. And yet when I seeke for my God, I seeke for neuerthelesse a certaine light aboue all light, which mine eye is not capable of: a cer­taine voyce aboue all voyces, which mine eare doth not con­ceaue: a certayne sauour aboue all sauours, which my nosthrils cannot conceaue: a certaine sweetnes aboue all sweetnes, which my tast cannot conceaue: a certaine embracing aboue all em­bracings, which my touch cannot conceaue. This light doth shine, where place doth not receaue it: this voyce doth sound, whereas no ayre doth moue it: this sauour doth smell, whereas no blast doth carry it: this tast doth there sauour, where there is no feeding: and this embrace is there touched, where it is not sundered.

But if thou wilt conceaue and vnderstand any thing of this incomprehensible magnitude, behold the frame of this world, which is the worke of his hands, that by the quality of the ef­fect, thou mayst know the noblenes of the cause; presupposing that of Dionysius in the beginning, that in all things there is sound a Being, an Ability, and a Worke: which three doe so [Page 17] agree betweene themselues,Three things are to be marked in euery thing, the Being, the Ability, and the Worke. that of what sort the Being of a thing is, of the same sort is the Ability of it, and what the Abi­litie of the thing is such is the Worke of it. This principle being thus layde, let vs foorth-with enter into contemplation, how beautifull, how well ordered, and how great this world is: for in the firmament there are certayne starres of such great mag­nitude, as Astrologers say, that in their quantity they exceede eighty times the earth and the water, which together make but one Globe. Then agayne consider how beautifully adorned the world is, and how full of infinite variety of things, which are found in the earth, in the water, in the ayre, and in euery part of it, all which are made with such perfection, that (monsters being excepted) from the beginning of the world, euen to this day there is nothing found, to which any thing is wanting to the furnishing or perfection of his Essence. Then consider (as Saint Augustine sayth) that God created this huge and admi­rable frame of the world, in a moment, and made it of nothing: for he made it without any matter beeing, without workmai­sters, without any workmen, without any instruments, without patterne, without any exteriour thing contayning example, and without space of time: but only according to the pure and simple conceipt of his owne will, he brought foorth into light this great worke, and this whole vniuerse of things.

Consider furthermore, that with the same facility he created this world, he could haue created infinite thousands of worlds, euery one of which should haue beene greater, more beautifull, and inhabited of moe people. And after hee had made them, hee could with the same facilitie haue cast them downe againe and ouerthrowne them, and brought them to nothing without any resistance. Therefore tell mee, if according to the doctrine of Dionysius (as it is presupposed before of vs) the power and force of the cause is knowne by the effects and work, and by the power & force the Essence is knowne: What maner of power shall it be, from whence so great a worke proceeded? and if this power be such and so great, what an one, and howe incompre­hensible is that Essence, which is knowne by that power? This contemplation without all doubt, doth farre exceed all humane reach. In this we must further consider, that all these excellent [Page 18] and great workes, not onely as they are, but as they might haue beene, are as though they were not in the viewe of that diuine power, yea after an infinite manner they are lesser: for that is infinitely greater, to which this power doth extend it selfe. Who then will not be astonished, considering of the greatnes of such an Essence, and of such a power? which although a man cannot see with his externall eyes, yet he may make a most certaine con­iecture, and gather of the foresaid reason, how great it is, & how incomprehensible.

This wonderfull immensitie of God, that great Schooleman Thomas Aquinas doth show in his Breuiarie of Diuinitie, by this example. We see (sayth he) in things corporall, that by how much any thing is more excellent, by so much also it is greater in quantitie; for we see that the element of the water is greater then the earth, and the ayre greater then the water, and the fire then the ayre: furthermore, the first or lowest heauen, is greater then the element of fire, the second heauen greater thē the first, and the third then the second; and after the same manner, by ascending euen to the tenth Spheare, yea euen to that heauen, which is aboue all the Spheares, whose greatnes is incompara­ble. That any one may plainly see, if he haue any consideration, how little the Globe and roundnes of the earth and water be, if they be compared with the heauens. The Astrologers also say, that the whole circumference of the earth and water, are but as a pricke or a poynt in comparison of heauen: which they proue manifestly by their demonstrations. For although the circle of the heauen be deuided into the twelue signes of the Zodiacke, through which once in a yeere the Sun doth runne, yet in ey­ther Horizon onely sixe are seene: for the bignes and standing of the earth, dooth take vp and possesse no more place of hea­uen, then a leafe of paper or a tablet will, being placed and sette in the Center of the world, from whence the compasse of the heauen may be seene without let or impediment. Seeing there­fore that that heauen which is aboue all the Spheares, which is the chiefest and the noblest body of the world, is of such an in­estimable magnitude aboue all bodies, we may easily vnderstand (sayth Thomas) how God, who is without any circumscription the chiefest, greatest, and best of all things, as well of things cor­porall [Page 19] as spirituall, who also is the maker of them, ought & must exceed all things with a certaine infinite magnitude, not in quan­titie (for he is no body) but in excellencie and noblenesse of his most perfect Essence. But that we may returne from whence we are digressed; after the same manner we may search in all o­ther things, how great and of what condition be the magnitudes & perfections of this Lord. For it is necessary that they be such as his Essence is. Ecclesiasticus confesseth that, where he spea­keth of Gods mercy,Eccle. 11. According to his greatnes (saith he) so is his mercy: of such sort are all the rest of his perfections. Such is his goodnes, such is his benignitie, maiestie, gentlenes, wisedome, sweetnes, noblenes, beautie, omnipotencie, and to be briefe, such is his iustice. He therefore is infinitely good, infinitely sweet, in­finitely amiable, and woorthy whom all creatures should obey, feare and reuerence: insomuch, that if mans hart could containe infinite loue and feare, and infinite obedience and reuerence, all that should be obliged by the bond and rule of iustice, to the dignitie and excellencie of this Lord. For if as euery one is more worthy & more excellent, so greater reuerence is due vnto him, it followeth, that seeing the excellencie of God is so infinite, that also infinite reuerence is due vnto him. Heereupon is inferred, that all that which is wanting to our loue and reuerence, where­by we doe not come to that measure, is therefore wanting, be­cause it is indebted to a dignitie of such greatnesse. Which thing seeing it is so, how great, I pray thee, is that debt, which this one­lie title, although there were no other, doth request of vs in the loue & obedience of this Lord? What I pray thee will he loue, who doth not loue so great a goodnesse? What will hee feare, who doth not feare so great a Maiestie? Whom will hee serue, who will not attend vpon such a Lord? For what is thy will made, if not to loue and embrace that, which is good? If then he be the chiefest good, what is the cause that our will doth not loue & embrace him, aboue all that is called God? And if it bee so heynous an euill, not to loue or feare his Lord aboue all things, what wil it be not to esteeme or regard him? Who would haue euer supposed, that the malice of man would haue come to so great impietie? Neuerthelesse, to that height of peruersitie they are come, that for a little beastly pleasure, or for a little ho­nour, [Page 20] or for a small gaine and filthy lucre, doe offend and con­temne so great a goodnesse. O blindnes to be deplored, ô in­sensiblenes more then bestiall, ô deuillish rashnes and presump­tion. What doth not he deserue who dareth such things? with what punishment, with what kind of torture, shall the contempt of so great a maiestie be worthily satisfied? It is certaine, that it shall be punished with no lesser torment, then that which is pre­pared for such an offence; that is, that whosoeuer hee be that contemneth God, shall be tormented in hell fire euerlastingly, and yet neither shall he worthily be punished.

This then is the first Title, which bindeth vs to the loue and seruice of this Lord: which bond is so great, that all bonds, by which by any manner of meanes in thys world we are bound to any person, eyther for his excellency, or for his perfection, are vnworthy the name of bonds, if they be compared with this. For euen as the perfections of all other things being compared with the diuine, are no perfections: so neither the bonds, which by reason of their perfections and excellencies are named such, are bonds, beeing compared with this: as neyther all the offences made onely to the creatures cannot be called offences, if they be compared to them, by which the Creator himselfe is offended. For which cause Dauid also in that paenitentiall Psalme sayth, that he had offended the Lord onely,Psalm, 50, and onely sinned against him, albeit he had offended most grieuously against Vrias, whō he had commaunded to be slaine, being innocent: and against his wife, whom he had defiled with filthy adultery, and against all his owne kingdome, which hee had so scandalizd. Yet hee saith that he had sinned against GOD onely; for he knew that all euils, offences, and inconueniences, were of no moment in comparison of the filthines of that sinne, for asmuch as it re­pugned the Law of God. Therefore the consideration of that enormitie, did so greatly afflict him, that he contemned, and set at naught all other iniu [...]ies and offences whatsoeuer. For euen as God is infinitely greater then all creatures, so also our debt is infinitely greater, in which wee are bound to him, and also the offence greater which is committed against him. For there is no proportion of a thing infinite, to a thing finite.

THE SECOND TITLE. Of the bond in which we are bound to Vertue: and to attend vp­on GOD, by reason of the benefite of our Creation. CHAP. II.

WE ought not only to apply our selues vnto Ver­tue, and to obey the diuine commaundements, for that which God is in himselfe; but also for that which hee is to vs: that is, by reason of his innumerable benefits: of which although wee haue spoken in another place, for that purpose which then we had in hand, neuerthelesse heere also wee will handle the same things: that they being before our eyes, we may see plainly, by how many names and titles we are bound to serue such a giuer. Of these benefits our Creation is the first, of which (seeing that it is knowne to euery bodie) onely I will say that, that man wholy is bound for that alone to serue and attend vp­on the Lord, who hath created him. For according to all lawes, a man is a debtor of all that he hath receiued. Seeing that there­fore by this benefite he hath receiued his being, that is, his body, with all his senses, and his soule, with all her powers and facul­ties, the consequent is, that he must bestow all them to the ser­uice of his Maker, vnlesse he will be accounted towards him a theefe, and an ingratefull man, beeing enriched with so great a benefit. For if a man should build a house, whom shall it serue for, but for the Lord who builded it? And if a man shall plant a Vineyard, who shall gather the grapes? shall not hee that hath planted the Vineyard? And if a Father hath a sonne, whom shal he rather serue then his father, who begat him.

This is that, which auncient lawes doe say, that it cannot be esteemed how great the authority of the father is ouer his chil­dren, which reacheth so farre, that it was lawfull for a father be­ing in necessity to sell his child: for in respect of that, that hee hath giuen to his child to be that he is, therefore the father hath that power ouer his child, that he might doe with his child what he would. If therfore the dominion and authority of a father [Page 22] be so great ouer his child; what shall be his dominion and au­thority, from whom is deriued the being of all fathers, as well in heauen as in earth? And if they as Seneca sayth, who haue receaued a benefit, ought to imitate and follow the fertile field, which yeeldeth much more, then it receaueth: how shall wee make aunswere to God, in this measure of gratitude, seeing that we cannot yeeld more vnto him, then we haue receaued of him, although we yeeld all that we haue? But if he that yeeldeth no more, then he hath receaued, doth not obserue and keepe this law and rule;Honour is due to God, because he is our fa­ther. what shall we say of him, who yeeldeth lesse, then is bestowed vpon him? And if, as Aristotle sayth, there can­not be rendered like to God and our parents, how shall there be giuen like to God, who hath bestowed more vpon vs, then all the fathers in the world? But if it be a greeuous offence, if a sonne be disobedient to his father, what a wickednes will it be to be rebellious to God, who by so many names is our father? Yea in comparison of whom no man deserueth the name of a father? This is that which the Lord worthily complayneth of by his Prophet.Mal. 1. If then I am your father, sayth he, where is mine honor? If I be your Lord, where is my feare? Against the same in­gratitude an other Prophet also enueieth, and that with words more stinging & pearcing:D [...]ut. 32. Ah peruerse and froward generation, sayth he, ah foolish and vnwise people, doest thou render such things to the Lord? Is not he thy father, that hath bought thee, that hath made thee, and proportioned thee?

These are they that doe not lift vp their eyes to heauen, ney­ther doe behold themselues being forgetfull and vnmindfull of themselues. For if they would view and behold themselues, they would secretly aske themselues, and they would endeuour to know, what was their first originall and their first beginning: that is, of whom they were made, and to what end they were created?By the con­sideration of the crea­tion, man doth come to y^e know­ledge of his Creator. Ezech. 29. For by the knowledge of these things, at length they shold come to the knowledge of that, which of duty they ought to doe. Because men doe not these things, they liue as though they sprung and were begotten and made of themselues. As liued that cursed King of Aegypt, whom God threatneth by his Prophet saying: Behold, I come against thee, Pharaoh King of Egipt, the great Dragon, that lyeth in the midst of his riuers, which [Page 23] hath sayde, The riuer is mine, and I haue made it for my selfe. After this manner liue all they, that forget theyr Creator, as though they were created of themselues acknowledging no maker. Better did Saint Augustine,Augustine in one of his Solilo­quies. ca. 31. who by the knowledge of his ma­king and beginning came to the knowledge of his Creator, say­ing in one of his Soliloquies: And I returned to my selfe, and I entred into my selfe, and I sayde vnto my selfe: Who art thou? and I aunswered my selfe, a reasonable man and mortall: and I began to discourse and dispute with my selfe, what this was, and I sayd: Whence commeth ô my Lord God this manner of cre­ature? Whence, but from thee? Thou madest me, and not I my selfe. Who art thou? Thou art hee, by whom I liue, thou art he by whom all things liue. Who art thou? Thou ô Lord art my true and onely God, omnipotent, and eternall, incom­prehensible and vnmeasurable, who alwayes liuest, and nothing dyeth in thee. O my God tell me thy humble seruant, ô mer­cifull God tell mee poore wretch, tell mee I pray thee for thy mercies sake, whence is this manner of creature, but from thee? Shall any man be the maker of himselfe? Is to be and to liue ta­ken from any other then from thee? Art not thou the chiefest good, of whom all things are that be? For whatsoeuer is, is of thee, because nothing is without thee. Art not thou the foun­taine of life, from whence floweth all life? For whatsoeuer ly­ueth, liueth by thee, because nothing liueth without thee. Thou ô Lord then hast made all things. Shall I aske who hath made me? Thou ô Lord hast made me, without whom nothing is made. Thou art my maker, & I thy worke. I giue thee thanks, ô my Lord God, by whom I liue, and by whom all things liue. I giue thee thanks ô my framer & fashioner, because thy hands haue made me, & fashioned me. I yeeld thee thanks ô my light, because thou hast enlightned mee, and I haue found both thee, and my selfe. This is therfore the first of the diuine benefits, and the foundation of all the other. For all other doe presuppose a Being, which is giuen by this benefit; and so all are gotten and ioyned with this as accidents with their substance, in which they haue their ground and footing, that by this meanes thou mayst vnderstand, how large & liberall a benefit it is, and how worthy it is that thou shouldest deepely and profoundly consider of it. [Page 24] Goe too therefore, if God requires so great a thanksgiuing of thee for euery one of his benefits, what doest thou thinke that he will require, for this alone, which is the foundation of all the other? Especially seeing that it is the condition of the diuine Godhead, that as he is most liberall in bestowing of his bene­fits, so is he most desirous, and as it were couetous in requiring thanks for them. Not because hee doth stand neede of them, but because our duty doth will them. For in the old Testament we reade that God did no sooner bestow one benefit vpon his people, but forth-with it being scarse bestowed, he commaun­ded, that it should be had amongst them in perpetuall memo­rie, and that for it they should giue euerlasting and immortall thanks.Exod, 12, So when he deliuered his people from the Egyptian seruitude and yoake, scarsely they were gone out of that Coun­trey, when he commaunded, that euery yeere they should cele­brate a solemne feast in remembrance of that benefit.Exod. 13. For that end also he slew all the first borne of the Egiptians, and forth­with commaunded that all the Israelites first borne should be sanctified vnto him, as well of men as of beasts, which after that should be borne of them, or amongst them.Exod. 16. GOD re­quireth of vs, grate­fulnes and thanksgi­uing. The Lord sent the Israelites Manna from heauen, where-with they might be fed, and hee fed them with that kinde of meate forty yeeres in the wildernes: as soone as they had begun to eate it, he commaun­ded them to gather a certaine measure of the Manna, and to put it into a pot, and to lay it vp before the Testimony, that all po­sterity might haue knowledge of this benefit. Not long after that, he gaue them a famous victory against the Amalekites, and sayd vnto Moses:Exod. 17. Write this for a remembrance in the booke, and rehearse it in the eares of Iosua.

If therfore God be so carefull, that the memory of his tem­porall benefits should liue for euer amongst his people; what will he not require of vs, for this immortall benefit, seeing that our soule, which he hath giuen vnto vs, is immortall? Heere­vpon sprung that consideration, which moued the holy Patri­arches to build Alters, that there might be monuments and re­membrances as often as they receaued any particuler benefits of the Lord: yea they did remember in the names of their sons receaued benefits,Gen. 41. least they shold be buried in obliuion. Wher­fore [Page 25] a certaine holy man very well concluded, that man should not oftner breathe, then he should be mindfull of his God. For euen as he alwayes hath a Being, so alwayes ought he to giue thanks to his Lord God for his immortall Being, which he hath receaued of him. The Bond of this obligation is so great, that also it was not vnknown to the Ethnick Philosophers but there were amongst them, that exhorted men that they should not be ingratefull to God.Epictetus. Epictetus a Stoicke Philosopher was wont to say: O man be not ingratefull to that high power, for benefits receaued, as are thy sight, hearing, tast, &c. But more for thy life, which he hath giuen thee, and for other things with which he nourisheth and sustaineth thee. Giue thanks to him for the ripe fruites, for wine, for oyle, and for all other things. But especially thou oughtest to blesse him, because he hath be­stowed vpon thee the light of reason, that thou mayst vse all them afore-sayd, and that thou mayst know theyr valour and worth. If an Heathen man shall so commend gratitude, & shall exact it so strictly for cōmon benefits; what ought not a Chri­stian man to doe, who hath also receaued a greater light of faith, and greater, & more excellent benefits and blessings of God?

But perhaps thou wilt say;That the benefits of nature are of God. that these common benefits doe seeme rather to be of Nature, then of God: to which why ther­fore am I bound for the disposition or the order of thinges, which are regularly done, and doe obserue theyr course? Alas, this is not the voyce of a Christian, but of an Ethnick, yea ra­ther of a Beast. But that thou mayst know and acknowledge this more manifestly, heare the same Philosopher, chiding and correcting such men. Thou wilt say perhaps that nature besto­weth these benefits vpon thee: Ah thou too much ingratefull man, doest thou not mark, that in saying that, thou doest change a name of God? vvhat other thing is Nature then God, who is the first and chiefest nature? Not therefore, ô ingratefull man art thou to be excused, when thou saiest that thou art bound to Nature, and not to GOD, seeing that not any nature may be found without God. If thou shouldest obtaine any thing of Lucius Seneca, and afterwards shouldest say, that thou art in­debted to Lucius, and not to Seneca, thou dost not change thy Creditor, but onely his name.

THE THIRD TITLE. How we are bound to the Lord GOD, by reason of the bene­fite of preseruation and gouerning. CHAP. III.

NOT onely man is bound to the Lord his GOD for the benefit of Creation, but also for the bene­fite of preseruation: for it is he that made thee, & after he made thee, hee also preserueth thee, so that thou doost depend of his hands, and thou canst no more lyue without him, then bee without him, before thou wast created. This is no lesse a benefit thē that former. For that was but onely once done for thee, but this is alwaie done and renued, and the Lord daily by one meanes or other, dooth estsoones create thee: for him he continually preserueth, whom he once created. Not lesse power, nor lesse loue is required in the one, then in the other. If thou therefore owest so much vn­to him, who created thee in a moment; how much more shalt thou be indebted to him, for that he preserueth thee continual­lie? thou doost not mooue a foote, which hee doth not mooue, neither doost thou open or shutte thine eyes without his helpe. And if thou doost not beleeue that God doth moue thy mem­bers when thou doost mooue, thou art not worthy that thou shouldest be called a Christian: but if thou doost beleeue, that he doth yeeld and bestow vpon thee this fauour, and yet darest offend him, I doe not know by what name I shoulde call thee.

Tell me, if a man should stand in an high tower, and should hold an other man in his hand hanging by a small thred,A simili­tude. durst he thinkest thou, that seeth himselfe in such a case, slaunder and rayle at him that holdeth him? If thou therefore, that art sustai­ned of the Diuine goodnesse, as hanging by a very small thred, that if God doth but a little draw backe his hand, thou necessa­rily commest to naught; how is it possible, that thou darest pro­uoke to wrath that Diuine Maiestie, which sustaineth thee, e­uen in that same time, wherein thou offendest him?In his my­sticall The­ologie, ca. 4. For as Di­onisius sayth) the vertue and goodnes of the chiefest Good is so excellent, that the creatures when they are immorigerous and [Page 30] disobedient, doe receaue of his immeasurable vertue the Being and Ability, by which they striue and strugle against him, that they may both Be, and be able to repugne him. Which seeing that it is so, how darest thou offend with thy members and sen­ces that Lord, who preserueth thee? O great blindnes, ô intol­lerable rebellion. Who euer saw so impudent a conspiracy? The members doe rise against the head, of which their life and death dependeth. The day will come, when this iniury shall be ma­nifestēd, and the complaints of the diuine honor shal be heard. Haue yee conspired against God? It is equall and right that the vniuerse of the whole world shold likewise conspire against you, and that God should arme euery creature to the reuenge of that iniury, and that all the whole circumference of the earth should warre against the ingratefull, and those that will not ac­knowledge this benefit. For it is meete, that they that would not open their eyes, whilst they had time, and were inuited of so great a multitude of diuine benefits, I say, that is meete, that their eyes shold be opened by the multitude of torments, which neuer shall haue end. But what will be done, if to these afore­sayd we set before thee, the plentifull, rich and aboundant table of this world,All things created for the vse of man. which the Lord hath created for thine vse? What­soeuer is found vnder the cope of heauen, is eyther for the vse of man, or for the vse of that thing, which attendeth and way­teth vpon man: for if man be not fed (as I may so say) with flies, that flye in the ayre, yet he is fed with those birds, which are fed with these flies: and if hee eate not grasse and wild hearbs, yet he eateth the beasts of diuers sorts and kinds, which are nouri­shed with these hearbs. Cast, and cast againe thine eyes vpon euery corner of the world, and thou shalt see how spacious and large the bounds and limits of thy riches are, and how plentifull and affluent is thine inheritance. Euery thing that goeth vpon the earth, that swimmeth in the water, that flyeth through the ayre, that shineth in heauen, is thine. But all these benefits are of God, and the works of his prouidence are the glasses of his beauty, and testimonies of his mercy, the sparks of his loue, and the reports and prayses of his liberality. See how many Prea­chers God sendeth vnto thee, that thou mayst know him. All things that are in heauen and in earth (sayth Saint Augustine) [Page 31] doe tell me, that I should loue thee ô my Lord, and they doe not cease to make the same proclamation to all men, that no man can be excused. If thou hast eares that thou canst vnderstand the voyces of the creatures, thou shalt perceaue manifestly, how they all together teach thee, that thou shouldest loue God. For all they in holding their peace, cry that they were made for thy seruice, that thou, as well for thy selfe, as for them, mightest serue both thy Lord & theirs.The expo­stulation of the elemēts with man. Heauen sayth, I doe minister vnto thee by day the light of the Sunne, and by night the benefit of the Moone and starres, that thou shouldest not walke in darknes; and I doe giue and send vnto thee diuers influences, that diuers things may encrease and breed with thee, that thou mayst not perish thtough hunger. The ayre sayth, I doe apply my selfe vn­to thee, that thou mayst breathe in me: I doe coole and refresh thee; I doe temper and moderate thine internall heate, least it consume thee: I haue in me diuers kinds of birds, that by their variety and beauty thine eyes may be delighted, thine eares with their singing pleased, and thy pallate by their tast contented, and satisfied. The water sayth, I do serue thee in the appoynted times of the yeere with my rayne and showers; I doe refresh & com­fort thee with my riuers and springs: I doe bring forth & nou­rish diuers kinds of fishes, that they may be meate for thee, I doe water thy sowing, thy gardens, & fruitfull trees, that thou mayst be nourished with them all, I doe giue thee way through the midst of the Sea, that thou maist traffique with the whole world, and that it may be at thy pleasure to ioyne thy riches with the wealth of another Hemispheare. What thinkest thou that the earth will say, which is the common mother of vs all, & as it were the shop and ware-house of all naturall things? Truly it will say not without reason, I doe beare thee as an vnprofitable lump, I thy mother doe carry thee as it were in mine armes, I doe pro­uide thee of necessaries; I doe sustaine thee with the fruits of my bowels; I haue participatinn & communion with all the other elements, with all the heauens, and I doe pertake of all theyr in­fluences, and I doe fruitfully yeeld and giue thee all my bene­fits. To conclude I like a good mother, neyther leaue thee in life nor death: for in lyfe I doe suffer thee to tread vpon mee with thy feete, and doe sustaine and beare thee vp; and in death [Page 32] I yeeld thee a place of quiet and rest, and I doe hide and enclose thee within my wombe. What neede I many words? All the world doth cry with a loud voyce, Behold with what great loue my Lord and Creator doth affect thee, who created me for the loue of thee, and willed that I should serue thee for him, & that thou in like manner shouldest loue and serue him, who created me for thee, and thee for himselfe.

These are, ô man, the voyces of all the creatures: marke and giue eare now that there can be no such wicked deafenes, as to heare these voyces, and to be ingratefull for so great benefits. If thou hast receaued a benefit, pay thy debt by thankfulnes, least thou be plagued vvith the punishment of ingratefull per­sons. For euery one of the creatures (as very well sayth a cer­tayne Doctour) doe speake to,The crea­tures do cal vpon vs with three words. and call vpon man with three words, Receaue, Render, Beware: that is, receaue a benefit, ren­der thy debt, and beware of punishment, if thou doest not ren­der it.

But that thou mayst more feruently meditate & think vpon these things, consider how Epictetus a Philosopher, of whom we haue made mention before, came to the knowledge of this Diuinity: who willeth that in all things created we shold heare and see our Creator,The saying of Epictetus saying: When the Crow doth crooke, and doth fore-shew any change of weather, it is not the Crow that doth fore-shew this to thee, but God himselfe. And if by mans voyce thou be admonished of any thing, is it not in like manner God, who created man, and gaue vnto him power and ability, that he might be able to admonish? That thou mayst know that the Diuine power doth worke somtimes by one meane, and somtimes by another, that he may doe as seemeth good in his owne eyes. For when things are of any great moment, which he would haue signified vnto vs, he causeth that they be signi­fied of more worthy and more noble Embassadours. Further­more, the same Phylosopher goeth forwards: At the length when thou hast ended the reading of my counsailes and adui­ses, thou shalt say vnto thy selfe; These things are not spoken vnto me of Epictetus the Phylosopher, but of God. For from whence, if not from him hath he got this faculty of pleading & perswading? Therfore not he, but God by him hath told these [Page 33] things to me. Hetherto Epictetus. How shall he be worthy the name of a Christian, who blusheth and is ashamed to proceede thither, whether this Heathen man proceeded? Certainly it is a most shamefull thing, that eyes enlightened with the clearenes of fayth should not see this, which, eyes set in the mist and dark­nes of reason did see.

THE FOURTH TITLE. That we are bound vnto Vertue by reason of the inestimable benefit of our Redemption. CHAP. IIII.

AFter the benefits of our Creation and Preseruati­on, followeth the inestimable benefit of our Re­demption. To handle and speake of this bene­fit, I finde my selfe so vnworthy and so vnapt, that I am vtterly ignorant where to begin, or where to make an ende. I know not what to speake, neyther what to keepe close and silent. If the idlenes and slothfulnes of men did not neede this prick to liue well, it were better to adore with silence the altitude and depth of such a benefit, then to ob­scure and darken it with the harshnes (that I may so speake) and penury of my tongue.A simili­tude. It is remembred in the writings of aun­cient men, that a certaine famous Paynter, when he would de­paynt the funerall solemnity of a certaine Kings Daughter, fay­ned many of her kinsfolks & alliance standing about the course with sorrowfull and heauy countenances; hee ioyned also the mother vnto them, more mournfull and sorrowfull then the rest: When he came to delineate and pourtray the father, hee did couer his face with a certaine artificiall shadow; signifying [Page 41] thereby that his Art did heere faile him. By which new deuice and inuention he expressed the greatnes of his greefe. If there­fore all our knowledge is not sufficient to declare the benefit of our Creation, what tongue, what eloquence, what oratory, can sufficient worthily expresse the benefit of our Redemption? God created all things with the onely becke and pleasure of his will; but for mans redemption he sweat thirty three yeeres, hee shed his blood, neyther had he any one member or sence, which was not tormented and vexed with some particuler and peculi­er greefe. It seemeth that an iniury is done to this glorious mi­sterie, if any man shall suppose that he can expresse it with hu­mane tongue.

Then what shall I doe; shall I speake or shall I holde my peace? I may not be silent, and I cannot speake. How can it be, that I should keepe in silence thy mercy so vnmeasurable, and how shall I declare this mistery so high and so to be adored? To hold my peace ingratitude, to speake may be called rash­nes and presumption. Wherefore ô my God, I intreate thine vnmeasurable piety, grant vnto me, that as long as I shall speake of thy glory after my rude manner, those blessed spirits, which are aboue in heanen, who know how to glorifie thee, may prayse and glorifie thee for me, and that thy holy spirit may ad­minister and supply vnto me those things, wherin I faile.

After that man was created, and seated in a place of delights in great dignity and glory,The begin­ning of mans per­dition. and also was bound to God with so great and straight bonds, as the benefits were great, that he had receaued of him, he became disobedient and rebelled: and of those things, of which he should haue taken and receaued grea­ter causes of louing his Creator, of those he receaued and tooke greater occasion of treason and disloyalty. Therefore he was thrust out of Paradice, and cast into banishment, yea, and was adiudged to hell fire; that as hee was made a companion with the deuill in sinne, so hee might be his companion in punish­ment. The Prophet Elizeus sayd to his seruant Gehezi,4, Kings, 5. Thou hast receaued siluer and garments of Naaman: therefore the lepro­sie of Naaman shall cleaue vnto thee, and to thy seede for euer. Like was the iudgement of God against man, who seeing that he had affected the riches and treasure of Lucifer (that is his pride [Page 42] and ambition) it was meete that he should be infected with the leaprosie of the same Lucifer, which was the punishment of his pride. Behold then man made lyke vnto the deuill, being a fol­lower of his fault.

Therfore when man was so abhominable in Gods eyes, and had incurred so great displeasure, our most gracious and most mercifull Lord, did not disdaine to respect vs, he did not looke to the iniurie done to his supreame Maiesty, but to the misfor­tune of our owne misery: more lamenting our errour, then de­sirous of reuenge, for the contumely offered vnto him: he de­termined to repaire man and to reconcile him vnto him, his on­lie begotten sonne being our Mediatour. But how hath he re­conciled man vnto him? What humane tongue shall declare this vnto vs?The admi­rable miste­rie of the incarnation Christ hath procured so great friendship between vs and God, that not onely God hath pardoned to man all his fault, hath receaued him into his fauour, hath made him one and that same with himselfe through a certaine vnion of loue, but (that which passeth all greatnes) hath made such a likenes and similitude betweene himselfe & mans nature, that amongst all things created, there can be found no greater conformity, thē are the Deity and humanity: for they are not one and the same through loue and fauour, but also in person. Who euer durst haue hoped, that a wound so largely gaping, should after this manner haue beene drawne together? Who euer could haue thought, that these two natures, betweene which there was so great difference both of nature and of offence, that euer they could haue beene so neerely ioyned together; not in one house, not at one table, not in one loue, but in one and the selfe same person? What two greater contraries may be giuen, then God and a sinner? And what two things are now more straightly and narrowly combined together, what more commixt, then God and man? There is nothing higher or nobler then God (saith Bernard) and there is nothing lower or baser then that clay, of which man is formed.

Neuerthelesse, with so great humility GOD descended vpon the earth to man, and with so great sublimitie earth ascen­ded to God, that whatsoeuer God hath done, earth may be said to haue done it, and whatsoeuer earth hath suffered, God may [Page 43] be sayd to haue suffered it. Who would haue said to man, when he was naked, & knew that he had incurred the wrath of God, when he sought lurking holes and corners in Paradice, wherein he might hide himselfe; vvho (I say) would haue then said, that the tyme should come, when this vild substance should be vni­ted to God, in one and the selfe same person? Thys vnion is so neere, straight, and faithfull, that when it was to be dissolued, (which was in the tyme of the Passion) it would rather rent and breake, then faint and forsake. Death might seperate the soule from the body, which was the vnion of nature; but it could not pluck GOD from the soule, nor frō the body: for that vvas the vnion of the Diuine person. For what it once apprehendeth with so strong a loue, it neuer forsaketh. This is that peace, this is that health and saluation which wee receaue by the benefit of our Mediatour and Sauiour.

Although we are such and so great debtors for thys benefit, that no mans tongue can vtter it,Wee are bound to God, not onely for our Redēp­tion, but for the manner of it. yet we are not lesse bound to God for the manner of our Redemption, then for the redemp­tion it selfe. O my Lord, I am bound to thee in a high degree of dutie, that thou hast deliuered me from hell, and hast recon­ciled me vnto thee; but much more owe I vnto thee, for the manner it selfe, by which thou hast deliuered me, then for the liberty it selfe, which thou hast giuen me. All thy works are ad­mirable in all things, and although a man doth thinke when he hath considered one thing, that not any thing remaineth, which may be added to further admiratio [...], foorth-with all that won­derment vanisheth, when he turneth his eyes to contemplate an other thing. O lord, the glory of thy greatnes is not diminished, if one wonder dooth seeme to expell and put out another: but these are tokens of thy greater glory.

But what was the meane, ô my Lord, by which thou woul­dest take away my euils and wickednesses? There were infinite meanes by which thou couldest haue helped me, and giuen me perfect saluation, without labour, and without any price. Not­withstanding, so great, and so admirable is thy liberalitie, that to show me more manifestly the greatnes of thy loue & goodnes, thou wouldest helpe me with so great dolours, that the onely cogitation of them was sufficient, to extract bloody sweat from [Page 44] all thy members, & thy passion (a little after) through dolor to cleaue a sunder the hardest Rocks. O my Lord, the heauens doe praise thee, and the Angels sette forth thy wonders. What? didst thou neede our good? or were our euils any preiudice vnto thee?Iob, 35, If thou sinnest, (sayth Iob) what doost thou against him? yea, when thy sinnes be many, what doost thou vnto him? If thou be righ­teous, what giuest thou vnto him? or what receiueth he at thy hand?

Thys GOD so rich, so voyde of all euill, he whose riches, whose power, whose wisedome cannot increase, or be greater then it is; he that was neither before, nor after the creation of the world, greater or lesser then he is now; he that is neither more illustrious, or lesse glorious, because Angels sing his prayse, and men doe glorifie him, nay if all the creatures should curse and blaspheme him; thys great Lord, not of necessity, but of meere charitie, it not hindering him, that we were his enemies, he dyd not disdaine to incline and bend the heauens of his maiestie, and to descend into this valley of misery, to be clothed with the flesh of our mortalitie, and to take all our debts vpon him, & to can­cell them, to suffer and vnder-goe greater torments, then euer any suffered heeretofore, or shall suffer heereafter.

Ah my Lord, for the loue of me thou wast borne in a stable, and layd in a Cratch;The means by which we are re­deemed. for me thou wast circumcized the eyght day; for me thou flying into Egipt, liuedst there in banishment seauen whole yeeres; and for mee thou diddest sustaine diuers persecutions, and wast molested and vexed with infinite iniu­ries. For the loue of me thou didst fast, thou didst watch, thou didst run hether & thether, thou didst sweat, thou didst weepe, and thou didst proue by experience, those miseries which my sinnes deserued; and yet thou wast without any sinne, neyther was there guile found in thy mouth: neyther hadst thou offen­ded, but wast offended. To be briefe, for me thou wast taken, forsaken of thine, denied, sold, presented now before this Iudge, now before that, falsely accused before them, beaten with fists, spette vpon, mocked, whypped, crowned with thornes, reuiled with blasphemies, hanged vpon the Crosse, dead, and buried. At the length thou didst free me from all euill, dying vpon the Crosse, and ending thy life, thy mother looking on: at which time thou wast found in so great neede and misery, that in that [Page 45] thine intollerable thirst, a small drop of water was denied vnto thee, by which thou mightest refresh and coole the heate of thy mouth. Not onely thou wast forsaken of all externall things, but also of thine owne Father. What is worthy of greater ad­miration, then that the God of so great a maiestie, should end his lyfe vpon the cursed tree of the Crosse, with the title of a malefactour? When any man, yea of meane estate, commeth to that misfortune, that he is to be punished with like death for his offence and fault, and thou by chaunce dost know him, see­ing his countenaunce, thou canst not sufficiently wonder, con­sidering into what an vnhappy estate his misery hath cast hym, that hee must vnder-goe a death so cruell and ignominous. Wherefore, if it be an admirable thing, to see a common man of inferiour degree to be compassed with so miserable calamitie; what will it be to see not a man, but the Lord of all creatures to be so plunged? Can a thing be seene with greater admiration, then God himselfe to be brought into so great misery for the offences of one malefactour? And if by how much the person is more worthy, and more noble, who is slaine, by so much hys case is more admirable and more miserable;The Angels were asto­nished at the passion of our Lord O yee Angels, to whom the height and excellencie of this Lord is so perfectlie knowne & vnderstood, tel me, what was your griefe and discru­ciatement? What was your admiration & astonishment, when ye saw him hanging vpon the tree?

The Cherubins, whom God in the old Testament com­maunded to be placed at the two ends of the Arke of the Co­uenant, theyr faces beeing turned one to another towards the Mercie-seate, as though they beheld it admiring & wondering, doe signifie vnto vs, that those high and supreame spirits were astonished, when they did see and behold a worke of so great pietie; when (I say) they did see God made the propitiatorie sacrifice of the worlde hanging vpon a tree. Nature herselfe stoode astonished, and all the creatures were suspended from theyr functions; the principalities and powers of heauen were amazed, considering this inestimable goodnesse, which they knew to be in GOD. What then shall they doe, who doe not swimme in waters of so great admiration of the Sea? What shal they doe, who are not drowned in the Ocean of this goodnes? [Page 46] How cannot he but be amazed, as another Moses astonished then in the Mount, when the figure and patterne of this miste­rie was reuealed vnto him, and he cryed out with a loud voyce, The Lord, Exod. 34. the Lord, strong, mercifull, and gracious, slowe to anger, and aboundant in goodnesse and truth. Beeing able neyther to say, nor doe any thing, but to proclaime with a high voyce that mercy, which God then shewed to him? What shall hee doe, that couereth not his face as Elias dyd,3. Reg. 19. when he saw God passe by him, not in the figure of his maiestie, but in the forme of his most lowly humility: not ouerthrowing Mountaines, & ren­ting in sunder Rocks by his infinite power, but presented to the eyes of a froward Nation, & commaunding Rocks to be rent and clouen in sunder through his compassion?

Who then will not shut the eyes of his vnderstanding, who will not open the bosome of his will, that he may perceiue the greatnesse of thys loue and benefit, and loue thys Lord without any meane or measure? O the height of loue, ô the depth of vnmeasurable humility, ô the greatnes of mercy, ô the bottom­lesse pitte of incomprehensible goodnes. O Lord, if I bee so greatly indebted to thee, because thou hast redeemed me, what doe I not owe thee for that manner, by which thou hast redee­med me? Thou hast redeemed mee with most great dolours, with contumelies and ignominies not to be borne; in so much, that thou wast made a reproch of men, and the scorne of the whole vvorld. Through thy reproches thou hast honored me; through thy accusations thou hast defended me; through thy blood thou hast washed me; through thy death thou hast ray­sed me; and through thy teares thou hast freed me, from euer­lasting weeping, and gnashing of teeth.

O good Father, who so tenderly louest thy chyldren, thou art that good and true Sheepheard, which giuest thy selfe foode for thy flocke. O thou most faythfull Keeper, who lavest down thy life for thy Sheepe, which thou tookest to defend & keepe: vvith what rewards shall I recompence this so great a benefit? vvith what teares shall I requite thy weeping? vvith what lyfe shall I remunerate thy holy and pure liuing? There is too huge and great a difference, betweene the life of man and God; be­tweene the teares of the Creator and the creature.

[Page 47]But if ô man, it be apparent vnto thee, that thou art not on­lie indebted vnto God, that hee dyed not onely for thee alone, but for the whole world, beware thou be not deceiued.The Lord suffered not onely for all in generall, but also for euery one in particuler. For so he dyed for all, that also he dyed for euery one. For by his in­finite wisedome, all they for whom he suffered, were so present to his eyes, that they were all comprehended as it were in one; and with his vnmeasurable loue he embraced all in generall, and euery one in particuler, and he so shedde his blood for all, as if it had beene for one. To conclude, his loue was so great and so exceeding, that (as the holy men of GOD doe say) if but one onely amongst all men had been guiltie and faultie, yea for him alone he would haue suffered all that, which he suffered for all. Marke therefore, and ponder with thy selfe, howe much thou art indebted to thys Lord, who hath doone so great thinges for thee, and would haue doone much greater, if thy necessitie had required greater.

THE FIFT TITLE. How wee are bound to follow Vertue, by reason of our Iustification. CHAP. V.

WHat had the benefit of Redemption profited vs, if the benefit of Iustification had not follow­ed, by which the vertue of that most excellent benefit is applyed vnto vs?A simili­tude. For euen as a plai­ster is of no vse, if it bee not applyed to the wound, or to the diseased place; so there had beene no profit of that heauenly medicine, if it had not beene applyed by this benefit. Which dutie especially appertaineth to the holy Ghost, to whom the sanctification of man is attributed. [Page 52] For he it is, that by his mercie preuenteth a sinner, & afterwards calleth him; and beeing called, iustifieth him, and beeing iusti­fied, directeth him by the paths of righteousnes, and so bringeth him by the gyft of perseuerance to the end of his course and race, vntill at the length he bestoweth vpon him the crowne of glory: for this benefit comprehendeth in it all the other bene­fits. Amongst all these benefits, that of Vocation and Iustifi­cation is the first;What iusti­fication is. which is, when as by the vertue of this diuine Spirit, the chaynes and snares of sinne beeing broken and burst, man escapeth the rule and tyrannie of the deuill;No man can be iusti­fied by his own strēgth is raysed from death to life, of a sinner is made righteous, of a child of curse & malediction, is made the child of God. Which cannot by any meanes be brought to passe, without the peculier help & ayde of God: which the Lord testifieth in plaine words, vvhen hee sayth:Iohn, 6. No man can come to mee, except my Father draw him, sig­nifying, that no strength of mans nature can deliuer a man from sinne, and bring him vnto grace, vnlesse the arme of the diuine power helpe him.

Thomas Aquinas dooth thus comment vpon these words; Euen as a stone (sayth hee) alwaies of his owne nature falleth downevvards,A simili­tude. neyther can lift it selfe vpwards, without exter­nall helpe; so man (by reason of the corruption of sinne) dooth alwayes tend downewards; that is, he doth alwaies slide to the loue and desire of earthly things: but if hee be to be lifted vp a­boue, that is, to the loue, & to a supernaturall desire of heauenly things, he hath neede of the right hand of the highest, and of the Diuine helpe. Thys sentence is to be noted and obserued, for by this a man doth come to the knowledge of himselfe, and vnderstandeth the corruption of his owne nature, and knoweth how necessary the continuall prayer for the Diuine helpe is.

Therefore (that we may returne to our purpose) man by his owne strength cannot be deliuered from sinne, and brought to grace; because necessarily the hande of the Lorde is required, which must deliuer him. But who can declare what other great benefits are contained in this alone? For seeing without all con­trouersie, that by this, sinne is banished and expelled out of the soule, which ingendereth many euils in it; howe great a good will that be, which doth cast and driue out all these euills? But [Page 53] seeing that the consideration of this benefit,Iustificati­on, what great bles­sings it bringeth with it. doth very much stir vp man to gratitude, and to the desire of vertue, heere by the way I will declare the great blessings, which this onely good is wont to bring with it.

First, by it man is reconciled to God, and is brought and ad­mitted to his fauour and friendship. For the first and chiefest of all euils,1. It reconci­leth man to GOD. which sinne bringeth to the soule, is, that it maketh man an enemie to God: who seeing that he is infinite goodnes, aboue all things he hateth and curseth sinne.Psalme, 5. Therefore (sayth the Prophet) Thou hatest all them that worke iniquitie, thou shalt destroy them that speake lyes. He addeth furthermore, that God abhorreth and detesteth the bloody man and deceitfull. Thys is the greatest of all euils, and the roote and fountaine of all the rest; as on the contrary side, to be loued of God, is the greatest of all blessings, and the cause and originall of them. From thys so dangerous an euill, by this benefit of Iustification we are de­liuered: by which wee are reconciled to God,It maketh vs the sons of God. and of enemies, made friends vnto him; and that not in a common degree of friendship, but in the highest, which may be found of the Fa­ther towards the sonne. The Euangelist Iohn, worthily com­mendeth this fauour and friendship,1. Iohn. 3. when he saith, Behold what loue the Father hath shewed vnto vs, that we should be called and be indeede the sonnes of GOD. He is not content to say, that vvee should be called, but he addeth that we are: that the base estate and small confidence of man, might euidently know the boun­tifulnes and liberalitie of God: and that we might see, that it is not a name of honour or title, but rather of the deed and thing it selfe. But if it be so great an euill to be hated and reprobated of God, what great good will it be to be beloued of him, and to remaine in his fauour? This truly is an Axiome of the Phylo­sophers, that a thing is so much the better, by howe much his contrary is worser. And therefore it necessarily followeth, that that is the chiefest good, whose opposite is the chiefest euill, as we haue said that that is, to be hated of GOD. But if in this world it be esteemed a matter of great moment, if any man bee had in honour & estimation amongst his Superiors, as with the Emperour, King, or Prince, or such great & honorable estates, I pray thee what will it be, to haue found fauour and grace with [Page 54] the highest Prince, the supreame Father, & with the most glo­rious, excellent and noble Lord; in comparison of whom al the principalities and dignities of this worlde, are as though they were not? Which fauour also is so much the greater, by hovve much more it is freely gȳuen: for it is certaine, that as it is vn­possible for a man to be able to doe any thing before hee vvas created, whereby he might deserue to be created; (for then hee was not any thing) so also without all doubt is it, that he can do nothing, after that he is fallen into sinne, whereby hee may de­serue Iustification; not because he is not, but because he is euill, and hated of God.

2 By iustifica­tion man is freed from eternall pu­nishment.Another benefit followeth this going before, that it deliue­reth and freeth a man from the condemnation of euerlasting punishment: of which hee was guiltie by reason of his sinnes. for sinne doth make a man abhominable vnto God, & no man can liue without Gods fauour, without his owne extreame harme. Hence is it that the sinners forsaking God, because they sinne and contemne him, that they deserue to be contemned, & to be remoued out of the sight of God, beeing banished from his company, and from his beautifull dwellings: and because they forsaking God doe loue the creatures with an inordinate loue, it is meete that they should be punished in all things, and be tormented with eternall payne, to which, visible punish­ments being compared, they rather seeme paynted then true. To this so great vnhappines that euerlasting worme doth also come, which alwayes gnaweth the bowels and conscience of the wicked. But what shall I say of the society of those cursed spirits, and of all the damned? What shall I speake of that ob­scure and lamentable Region full of darknes, and confusion? Where there is no order, but where continuall horror abideth: where no ioy is found, no peace, no rest, no content, no hope; but perpetuall complayning, and euerlasting gnashing of teeth, exceeding outragiousnes and fury, continuall blasphemy, and eternall malediction? From all these euils the Lord hath deli­uered all them, whom he hath iustified, who after that they are reconciled to him, and receaued into his fauour, they are free from this wrath, and from the punishment of his vengeance.

Behold an other benefit more spirituall, which is the refor­mation [Page 55] and renouation of the inward man,3. Iustification doth renue a man. which was defiled and polluted through sinne. For sinne doth not onely depriue the soule of God, but also doth spoile and rob it of all superna­turall strength and fortitude, and of all other riches and gifts of the holy Ghost, with which it was adorned, beautified, and en­riched: by and by after that it is depriued of these graces, it is wounded, maymed, and depriued also of the naturall blessings. For seeing that man is a reasonable creature and sinne is a work done against reason, and seeing that it is naturall, that one con­trary should destroy an other; the consequent is, that by how much more sinnes are multiplied, by so much more the facul­ties of the soule are destroyed and disturbed; not in themselues, but in their aptnes to worke.

By these meanes sinnes doe make the soule miserable,What mis­chiefe sins work to the soule. weake, sluggish, and instable to euery good worke: but procline, prompt and ready to all euill, weake and feeble to resist tempta­tions, and flow to walke in the wayes of Gods commaunde­ments. They depriue her also of the true liberty and rule of the spirit: and they make her the captaine of the deuill, the world, the flesh, and of her owne appetites. And by this meanes shee liueth in captiuity more hard and intollerable then that of Babi­lon and Aegipt. Furthermore, all the spirituall powers of the soule are made also sluggish and slothfull, so that they doe not heare diuine inspirations and heauenly voyces; they doe not see the great euils prepared for them: they doe not smell the sweete fauour of Vertue, nor the most beautifull paths and examples of the Saints: they doe not tast how sweet the Lord is, neyther doe they feele the scourgings, nor acknowledge the benefits, by which they are prouoked vnto his loue; and besides all these, they take away the peace and ioy of the conscience, they doe extinguish the heate and seruour of the spirit, and doe leaue a man filthy blemished, deformed, and abhominable in the sight of God, and in the sight of all his Saints. From all these euils this benefit doth deliuer vs. For so bottomlesse are the mercies of God, that he is not content to haue pardoned our faults, and to haue receaued man into fauour, vnlesse also hee expell all these euils, which sinnes bring with them; reforming and re­nuing our inward man. By this maner he healeth our wounds, [Page 56] he washeth away our spots & blemishes, he breaketh the bonds of sinne, destroyeth the yoake of euill concupiscences, deliue­reth vs from the seruitude of the deuill, mitigateth and aswageth the fury and rage of our peruerse affections and perturbations; and doth restore vnto vs the true liberty & beauty of our soule: doth giue vs the peace and ioy of a good conscience, doth re­uiue our inward sences, doth make them prompt and fit to eue­rie good worke, and slow to any euill. Maketh them strong and valiannto resist the temptations of the deuill, and doth inrich vs with all good works. To be briefe, he doth so absolutely renue and repaire our inward man with all his powers, that the Apo­stle calleth such men, iustified, renued, yea new creatures. This renuing is so great, that when it is made by Baptisme, it is called regeneration, but when by repentance, it is called a resurrection and rising againe: not onely because the soule is raysed from the death of sinne to the life of grace, but because after a certaine manner it also imitateth the beauty of the future resurrection. This is so true,The beauty of a iustified soule. that no tongue of man is sufficient to expresse the beauty of a iustified soule. This onely knoweth that Spi­rit, that maketh it beautifull and his Temple, and placeth his seate and mansion in it. Wherefore if thou comparest all the riches and honours of this world, and all naturall graces, with the beauty and riches of a iustified soule, all will seeme most ob­scure and most vild in comparison of it. For as great difference as there is betweene heauen and earth, betweene a spirit and a body, betweene eternity and momentary time, so great diffe­rence also is there found betweene the life of grace, and the life of nature; betweene the beauty of the soule and the body, be­tweene the inward riches and the outward; betweene the spiri­tuall strength and the naturall. For all these are circumscribed within certaine limits, they are temporall, and appeare onelie beautifull to the corporall eyes, to which a generall comming of God is sufficient; but to the other a speciall, perticuler, and supernaturall comming is required. Neither can they be called temporall, when they bring vs to eternity, neyther can they be called altogether finite, because they bring the infinite God to vs, in whose eyes they are so precious and of such valour, that by theyr beauty they prouoke God to loue vs. Furthermore, [Page 57] when as God could haue wrought all these things by his helpe and will, he would not doe it; but it pleased him to adorne the soule with infused vertues, and with the gifts of his holy Spirit, with which not onely the very Essence of the soule, but also all her powers are clothed, and adorned with these diuine habites.

To all these diuine benefits the eternall and infinite goodnes of God doth ioyne another,4. By iustifica­tion God dwelleth in vs. that is the presence and ayde of the holy Ghost, and so of all the most sacred Trinity, which doth turne into a iustified soule, and doth come, that he may dwell in her, that he may teach her how to vse rightly so great riches,A simili­tude. as a good father, who not content to haue giuen riches to his sonne, but doth giue him also a Tutor, who well knoweth how to dis­pose & bestow them. Insomuch that euen as Vipers, Dragons, and Serpents doe dwel in the soule of a sinner, which are a mul­titude of ill & malignant spirits, who chose their habitation and abiding in such a soule, as our Sauior saith in Mathew;Math. 12. so on the cōtrary part, the holy Spirit with the whole blessed Trinity, doth enter into a iustified soule:Luke, 11. & casting out al monsters and infer­nall beasts, doth consecrate it for a Temple vnto himselfe, and doth place his seate there, as the Lord expresly testifieth in the Gospel, saying,Iohn, 14. If any man loueth me, he will keepe my sayings, & my Father will loue him, and we will come vnto him, and will dwell with him. By the vertue of these words, all the Doctors as wel Ecclesi­asticall as Schoolemen, confesse, that the holy Ghost himselfe by a certaine speciall & peculier meanes doth dwel in a iustified soule, distinguishing betweene the holy Ghost & his gifts: say­ing moreouer, not only these gifts to be giuen of the holy ghost, but also the holy Ghost to giue himselfe, who entring into this soule, doth make it his Temple & habitation; placing his seate in it. Therfore he doth purge and sanctifie it, & doth adorne it with his gifts, that it may be an In worthy of such a guest.

These benefits afore-sayd doe not suffice,5. Iustification doth make vs the liuely members of Christ. vnlesse that admi­rable one come to, which is, that all the iustified are made the liuely members of our Sauiour, which before were dead mem­bers, for they did not receaue and take their influences from the head Christ. Hence others, and those very great prerogatiues and dignities doe proceede: for hence it is, that the sonne of God loueth them, as his owne members, and hath no lesser care [Page 58] of them, then of himselfe; he is no lesse carefull for them, then for his owne members, without intermission hee poureth his vertue and grace vpon them, as the head vpon his members; to be briefe, the eternall Father doth behold them with fauourable eyes, no otherwise then the liuely members of his onely begot­ten Sonne, vnited, and incorporated with him, by the partici­pation of his spirit.Confidence in prayer. Of the same dignity it proceedeth, that when those that are iustified, doe aske for fauour and grace of God, they aske it with great confidence: for they know that they doe aske it, not onely for themselues, but also for the sonne of God himselfe, who is honoured in them and with them. For seeing that it may not be denied, but that which the members doe, the head also doth the same, it followeth, that seeing Christ is their head, when they aske any thing for themselues, they aske it also for him. For if it be true, that they (as sayth the Apostle) who offend against the members of Christ,Christ is honoured, whē a righ­teous man is honored. Act. 9. doe offend against Christ himselfe, and if Christ doth say that he suffereth persecu­tion, when his members doe suffer persecution, as he sayde to his Apostle persecuting his Church; why doest thou meruaile my brother, if I say that when the members are honoured, that then Christ himselfe is also honoured? Which seeing that it is so, how great confidence will a righteous man haue in his pray­er, when he considereth, that desiring fauour and grace for him­selfe, after a certaine manner he also desireth the same of the e­ternall Father for his best beloued sonne? Is it not true, that when fauour is done to any man for the loue of an other, that it is done principally for him, for whose loue it is done? For wee beleeue that he that showeth mercy to a poore man for Gods sake that he not onely doth shew it to the poore man, but also to God himselfe.

Neyther heere yet is an end of the heauenly benefits:6. By iustifica­tion eternal life is giuen. for to all these benefits afore-sayd, this as last is ioyned, to which all the other are appoynted and ordayned, that is, the right and possession of eternall life, which is giuen to the iustified. For as that our infinite and vnmeasurable Lord, in whom together shineth all iustice and mercy, adiudgeth to euerlasting payne those that doe not repent, so hee taketh to eternall life all those that truly repent. And when as he could haue pardoned man [Page 59] of all his sinnes, and receaued him into his friendship and fauor with communion and participation of his glory, yet he would not doe it; but those, to whom for his mercies sake he remitteth sinnes, he also iustifieth; whom he iustifieth, those he maketh his sonnes, whom he maketh his sonnes, those also he maketh heires, and pertakers of his celestiall inheritance together, with his onely begotten sonne. Hence ariseth that liuely hope, which maketh the iustified merry and glad in all tribulation: by reason of the pledge and earnest of this infinite treasure. For although they see themselues brought into straights, to be afflicted with infirmities, to be oppressed with the miseries of this life: yet they know,Rom. 8. that the afflictions of this present time are not worthy of the glory, which shall be shewed vnto them. And also they know, that this light affliction, 2, Cor. 4. which is but for a moment, causeth vnto them a farre more excellent and an eternall waight of glory.

These then are the benefits,Iustification of greater value then creation. Augustine vpon Iohn. which this one benefit of iustifi­cation comprehendeth in it; which iustification Saint Augu­stine maketh greater account of them he doth of creation: for God created heauen and earth with his onely word, but that he might sanctifie man, he shed his blood, and vnder-went many and great torments. If therefore we owe so many and so great duties to this Lord for our creation, how many moe doe wee owe to him for our iustification? Which benefit, by how much it was got by greater labours and afflictions, by so much it doth more bind vs vnto him.

Although there be many great & notable marks and signes,Howe to know whe­ther we be iustified or not. by which a man entring into himselfe, may examine and know, whether he be iustified or no, yet in my iudgement the renoua­tion and renuing of mans life is not the least, when a man hath so reformed himselfe, that he hath ouerthrowne the regiment of sinne, hath cut off the head of it, and from day to day still groweth to further purity and perfection of life. Hee that is such an one, let him be mindfull by how iust a title he is bound to serue such a Sacrificer, who hath redeemed him, and deliue­red him from so many euils, and hath heaped so many blessings vpon him, which hetherto we haue remembred. But if he doth still cleaue and sticke in his corrupt and depraued estate, I doe not know howe God may better mooue him to forsake that [Page 60] estate, then if he set before his eyes, all the euils, discommodi­ties, and dangers, which sinnes bring with them, and which we a little before haue reckoned vp; and also showe vnto him, the treasury of those great blessings, which doe arise of this incom­parable and vnspeakeable benefit.

THE SIXT TITLE. That the inestimable benefit of the diuine Predestination, doth binde vs vnto Vertue. CHAP. VI.

AMongst all the benefits before remembred, that also of Election is numbred, which pertaineth onely to them, whom GOD from euerlasting hath elected to eternall life; for the which bene­fite, the Apostle, as well for himselfe, as for all the Elect,Ephe. 1. doth giue thankes to him, in these words; Blessed be GOD, euen the Father of our Lord Iesus Christ, which hath bles­sed vs with all spirituall blessing in heauenly things in Christ, as hee hath chosen vs in him, before the foundation of the world, that wee should be holy, and without blame before him in loue: who hath pre­destinated vs, to be adopted through Iesus Christ vnto himselfe, ac­cording to the good pleasure of his will. Psalm, 65, The same benefit the king­lie Prophet commendeth, when he sayth; Blessed is he whō thou chusest and causest to come to thee: he shal dwell in thy courts.

Therefore woorthily thys benefit may be called a benefit of benefits, and a grace of graces. A grace of graces, because it is gyuen before all desert, of the onely infinit goodnes and libera­litie of God: who dooing iniurie to none, yea giuing a suffici­ent helpe to euery one to saluation, but to some hee extendeth more largely and bountifully the greatnes of his mercy, as an absolute and bountifull Lord of his riches. It is also a benefit of benefits, not onely because it is greater then the rest, but because it is also the cause and foundation of all the rest. For vvhen as man is elected vnto glory; by the meanes of thys benefit, by & [Page 64] by the Lord doth bestow vpon him all other benefits,Election is the founda­tion of all benefits. Iere, 31, which are required to the attaynement of thys glory; as hee testifieth by his Prophet, saying: I haue loued thee, with an euerlasting loue, therfore with mercy I haue drawen thee. Thou oughtest not to be ignorant that I haue called thee to my glory, that by it thou maiest obtaine my glory. The Apostle more plainly doth tell this, when he sayth; For those which he knewe before, hee also predestinate to be made like to the image of his sonne, Rom. 8. that hee might be the first borne among many brethren. Moreouer, whom hee pre­destinate, them also he called, and whom he called, them also hee iu­stified, and whom he iustified, them also hee glorified. The reason of this is, that the Lord disposing of all things sweetly and order­ly, after that hee hath vouchsafed to elect any man to his glory, for that fauour he bestoweth many other vpon him; for he gi­ueth all things which pertaine to the obtaining of thāt first fa­uour.

A simili­tude. For euen as a father, who bringeth vp his sōnne, that hee may bee a Minister of Gods holy word, or a Doctour of hys Church, doth accustome him from his young yeeres, to eccle­siasticall matters, and causeth him to apply his studie, & direct­eth the whole course of his life to the proposed end: so our heauenly Father, after that he hath elected any man to the par­ticipation of his glory, hee directeth him by his fatherly care, to the way of righteousnes, which leadeth to that glory; and hee fatherly leadeth him in it, vntill he come to his wished end. For this so auncient and so excellent a benefit, they ought to gyue thanks to this Lord, who feele in themselues some euidence of this benefite. For let vs grant that thys secret is hid from mans eyes, yet seeing that certaine marks and tokens of iustification are alwaies knowne, certaine signes also of the diuine predesti­nation and election may be had.Perseue­rance in good, a signe of e­lection. For as amongst the signes of iustification, the amendment of life is not the least: so amongst the signes of election this is the greatest, a perseuerance & con­tinuing in a good life. Because he that hath lyued many yeeres in the feare of the Lord, and with all care and diligence eschew­eth sinne, he may godly and religiously perswade himselfe, that (as the Apostle sayth) the Lord will strengthen him euen to the end,1, Cor. 1. that hee may be blamelesse in the day of our Lorde Iesu [...] [Page 65] Christ: and that as he hath begunne, so hee shall make an end. Surely it is true, that no man ought to be carelesse of his estate, and that no man ought to be secure of his perseuerance, seeing that the most wise Salomon, after that he had liued many yeres godly and religiously, in the end of his life failed, and playd the back-slider, and fell very filthily. But thys is but a particuler ex­ception from that generall vse and custome, which we brought out of Paule, and which Salomon himselfe teacheth in his Pro­uerbs, saying;Prouerbs. 22. It is a prouerbe, teach a child in the trade of his way, and when he is old, he shall not depart from it. So that if hee be a dilligent follower of vertue in his youth, he will be so in his old age. Of these and such like coniectures, which are found a­mongst the Doctours of the Church, hee that is such an one may with humility assure himselfe of the infinite goodnes of God, that he is one of the number of the Elect. For as he ho­peth in the infinite goodnes of God to be saued, so hee may humbly presume, that he is one of their number, who are to be saued, seeing that the one doth presuppose the other.

Which seeing that it is so, I pray thee consider with thy selfe ô man, with how great a pledge the Lord doth hold thee bound vnto him, for this vnmeasurable benefit, that is, that thou art written in that booke, of the which our Redeemer sayth to his Apostles,Luke, 10. In this reioyce not, that the spirits are subdued vnto you; but rather reioyce, because your names are written in the booke of life. How vnmeasurable therefore is this benefit to be loued and to be elected from that eternity, from which God was God? To rest in his most sweet breast, euen from the beginning of all e­ternity? To be accounted for the adopted sonne of God then, when his naturall sonne was begotten, in the glory and splen­dour of all the Saints, who were present in his diuine vnder­standing?

Consider therefore dilligently all the circumstances of this election,The cir­cumstances in election are to be considered. and thou shalt see euery one of them, to be singuler very great benefits: and also to bring new bonds and obligati­ons with them. Consider first the dignity of him who hath e­lected thee, who himselfe is God, happy, and infinitely rich,1 who neyther needeth thine, nor any mans riches else. Consider 2 how vnworthy he is, who is elected, if thou considerest his na­ture [Page 66] and quality: for he is a miserable and mortall creature, sub­iect to all the infirmities, miseries, and pouerty of this life; guil­tie of hell fire, both for an other mans, and also for his owne 3 sinne. Thirdly, marke how excellent the election it selfe is, af­ter that thou art elected to an end so high, then the which a greater cannot be: that is, that thou mayest be made a sonne of God, an heire of his kingdome, and a pertaker of his glory. 4 Consider fourthly, how free this election is, when it is (as wee haue sayd) before any merrit of thine, of the onely lyking and ordinance of the diuine will, and (as the Apostle sayth) for the glory, and praise of the bounty and fauour of God. But a 5 be­nefit the freer it is, the more it doth hold a man bound. Fiftly, the antiquity of this election is to be looked vnto; for it did not begin when the world was made, but it is much more auncient then the world it selfe: yea, it is of the same age with God him­selfe; who as he is from euerlasting, so he loueth his elect from euerlasting, and loueth them still, and will loue them for euer, whom he beholdeth with his fatherly eyes, and those truly fauo­ring, being alwayes mindfull to what an excellent good he hath 6 ordayned and predestinated them. Sixtly, the rarenes of this benefit is to be considered; after that among so many nations of barbarous men, & in such a multitude of the damned, the Lord would call thee to so happy an estate, that thou shouldest be in the number of them, which are elected to eternall life. And therefore he seperated thee from the masse of the corruption of mankind, condemned for sinne, & out of the leauen of corrup­tion hath changed thee into Angels food. In this consideration few things are found, that may be written; but many things that may be considered of in the minde, that thou mayest be thankfull to the Lord for the perticularity of this benefit, which is so much the more, by how much the number of the elect is lesser, and the number of those greater, that are to be damned; which number (as Salomon sayth) is infinite.

But if none of these things doe moue thee, at the least let the greatnes of the costs and charges moue thee, which the most bountifull Lord determined to make by reason of this benefit, as are the life of his onely begotten sonne, and his blood shed in the cause of this benefit, as who had determined from euerla­sting, [Page 67] to send him into this world, that he might be the executor of this determination. Which seeing that it is so, can there be any time long enough, and sufficient to consider of so great mercy of God? What tongue can euer vtter it sufficiently? What hart can perfectly feele and tast it? To be briefe, by what duties can he recompence it? And with what loue can man an­swere vnto this diuine loue? Who will be so ingratefull, that will refuse now at the length to loue him, of whom hee hath beene beloued from all eternity? Who will change him for any other friend? For seeing that in the holy Scriptures an aunci­ent friend is so highly praysed, and had in great estimation, who would change the possession and fauour of this most auncient friend with all the friends of the world? And if the possession of a thing time out of minde, doth giue authority and right to him, that in deede hath no right vnto it; what shall this eternall possession doe, by which the Lord doth possesse vs, that by the title of this friendship we may be reputed his? By these it is ma­nifest that no good may be found in the world, which is to be changed with this good, neyther that there are any such great euils, which are not to be borne for the loue of this good.

Who I pray thee can be so dull,An Apo­strophe to a begger but elected. blockish, and inconsiderate, that being taught by diuine reuelation, that some begger, which daily in the streetes from dore to dore doth seeke his bread, is predestinate of God after this maner, would not kisse the earth whereon he treadeth with his feete? Would not giue place vn­to him? And bending his knees, with great humility would not wish well vnto him, and gratulate him with these words; ô thou happy and blessed man, art thou one of the blessed number of the elect? Shalt thou reioyce in that happy company of An­gels? Shalt thou sing that heauenly musicke? Shalt thou pos­sesse that euerlasting and eternall kingdome? Shalt thou con­template and view that bright and glorious shining face of Christ? O happy is that day, in which thou wast borne, but much more happy is that day, in which thou shalt dye to the world: for then thou shalt begin to liue an eternall and immor­tall life. Happy is the bread, with which thou art fed; happy is the earth which thou treadest vpon, for that doth carry an incomparable treasure. Blessed are the tribulations which thou [Page 68] sufferest, and the neede, which doth presse thee. Because they doe open a way to thee, which leadeth to eternall life. What cloude of calamities or tribulations shall be so thicke, which will not vanish and be expelled at so great hope?

These and such like are the words, with which wee would moue and perswade any man, whom we knew certainly to be predestinated.A simili­tude. For if any Prince, who is to be the heire of a great kingdome, doth passe by any way, all the inhabitants, their houses being left, flock to that place, that they may see him, and they admire that blessed (according to the opinion of the world) estate, which doth tarry for that young man, because he is borne to be the heire of a kingdome; how much more then ought men to admire and wonder at this most blessed estate? That is, that man is borne and elected without any merrit of his, not that he may be a temporall King in this world, but that he may raigne in heauen with God himselfe, and with his blessed Saints for euer and euer world without end? Therfore by these things, my brother, thou mayest easily know of that great bond, by which all the Elect for this benefit are bound to their Lord and Electour. From the which benefit let no man thinke himselfe excluded, so that he will doe his duty, and will not be wanting vnto himselfe: yea, let him giue all dilligence that by good works (as Saint Peter admonisheth) hee may make his calling and election sure:2, Pet. 1. for we assuredly know, that he that doth this, shall be saued: we also know that the fauour and grace of God doth neuer faile and diaspoynt any man, neyther will at anie time leaue or forsake him. Therefore let vs perseuere in good works in the vndoubted certainty of these two truths, and let vs hope that wee are of that happy and blessed number of the Elect.

THE SEAVENTH TITLE. That man is bound to follow and embrace Vertue, by reason of the first of these foure last things, which happen vnto him, which is Death. CHAP. VII.

EVery one of the fore-sayde titles ought worthily and of right to mooue a man to serue the Lord his God, to whom hee is bound by so many names and reasons. But because the greater part of men is more moued by reward and hire, then by the debt to iustice, that is (as others speake) rather by profit then honesty; we haue thought it a thing worth the labour, if to these afore-sayd we adde the great profits and commodities, which are promised to Vertue, as well in this life, as in the lyfe to come. Heere at the first we will speake of two especially a­mongst the rest, of the Glory, which we obtaine by Vertue, and of the Punishment, which we auoide by it. These are the two oares, by the benefit of which we row and saile out of the dan­ger of this troublesome & stormy Sea: these are the two spurs, by which we are pricked forward to runne with celeritie to the way of this life. Hence it is, that certaine holy men, inspired with the holy Spirit, haue wished that Preachers would preach altogether, or for the most part, of vertues and vices, of glorie, and punishment; of vertues and vices, that they may teach how to liue well: of glory and punishment, that they may moue and perswade to liue well. It is also the opinion of Phylosophers, & the common iudgement of all men, that reward & punishment are the two counterpoises, by which the Horologe of mans life is mooued. For so great is the misery of our will, that no man desireth vertue being naked, bare and plaine, to the which pu­nishment is not adioyned, or which is not recompenced vvith some profit. And because no punishment, nor reward can bee thought of greater then that eternall glory, & euerlasting paine, wee haue purposed at this present to speake of them, before which wee will sette other two, because they are first in order, that is, Death, and the Generall Iudgement. Because each one [Page 70] of them being well considered of,The [...] ­bring & re­hearsall of those things that he will speake of. Ecclus, 7. they haue great motions to incite and stirre vs vp to Vertue, and to feare vs from vice, ac­cording to that saying of the Wiseman, Remember the end, and thou shalt neuer doe amisse. By the end, vnderstanding those foure that we a little before haue remembred, of the which wee will entreat in order, according to the tenour of our purpose.

Of Death therefore we wil take our beginning, which is the first in the number of those last things that happen vnto man; which is so much the more powerfull to moue the minde, by much it is more certaine, more vniuersall, and more familiar & common vnto him. Especially, if wee consider the particuler iudgement of all our life, which shall bee pronounced of it; which shall not be changed in that generall Iudgement, for that which shall be gyuen at the houre of death, that same for euer shall be ratified. How seuere thys iudgement will be, and how strickt the account which shall there be required, I wil not that thou learne of my wordes,In his l [...]d­der to Pa­radice, in the 6. staire. but of an history which Iohannes Climacus remembreth, of which he was an eye witnes, vvhich truly is one of the terriblest and fearefullest, which I remember that euer I read: these are the words of Climacus. I will not o­mit to relate the history of that solitary & monastical man, who dwelled in Choreb.A terrible & feareful historie. When as of a long time he had lyued ve­rie dissolutely and loosely, and had not had at all any care of his soule, at the length he was taken with a disease, and brought to his last home. And now when as an extasie had seased vpon his body, after an houre he came to himselfe againe, and desired all vs, that forth-with we should depart from him, & the entrance of his Cell beeing stopped with stones, hee remained vvithin twelue yeeres; not at all speaking any thing to any man, neither tasting any other thing besides bread and water. There sitting and beeing amazed, hee onely ruminated and reuolued those things, which he had seene in that seperation of his soule from his body, and in these things he was alwayes of so fixed & sted­fast a meditation, that he neuer changed his countenaunce, but alwaies continuing thus amazed & astonished, silently he pou­red forth aboundance of seruent teares.

When he was nowe at deaths doore, and death beganne to seaze on him, the entrance of his Cell beeing broke open, vve [Page 71] entred in. And when as we earnestly desired some instruction and doctrine of him, vve onely heard thys of him; Pardon me. No man can abide himselfe should be drawn to sinne, if hee in deed doth soundly carry in his mind the remembrance of death. We meruailously wondered at him, beholding him, that before was so negligent and loose, to be so suddainly changed, and to be made another man by this most blessed change. Hetherto Climacus, who was present at all these things, and what he saw, he testifieth in his writings. So that no man ought to doubt of thys deede (although it seeme to some incredible) especially see­ing that the witnes is true and faythfull.

In thys story there are many things which wee woorthily ought to feare; considering the life which thys holy man ledde, and much more the vision which hee sawe, whence came that manner of lyuing, which afterwards he obserued thorow out al his life. These therefore sufficiently prooue that saying of the Wiseman to be true,Ecclus, 7 [...] Remember thy end, and thou shalt neuer doe amisse. Goe to therefore, if this consideration doth so surely draw a man from sinne, let vs carefully runne ouer those things, which are wont to be spoken of death, that we may obtaine that excellent and notable good. Remember therfore (my brother) that thou art a Christian, and a man; because thou art a man, it is certaine that thou must die; because thou art a Christian, it is certaine that thou must giue an account of thy lyfe, after that thou art dead. Heere the fayth, that we hold and professe, ex­cludeth all doubt: and thus the experience teacheth vs, vvhich we daily see before our eyes. So that no man is free from thys cup, but all must drinke of it, whether he be Emperour, King, or whatsoeuer he be.

That day sometime will be, when as thou shalt liue in the morning,Death cer­taine, but the houre of dea [...]h vncertaine. but shalt not lyue at night. That day at the length wil come, (but when it will be, whether to day or to morrowe, it is altogether vncertaine) in the which thou thy selfe, who novve readest these things which we write, beeing strong and lustie, measuring thy life with longnes of desires, and thy dayes vvith multitude of businesses, thou shalt see thy selfe lying in a bedde, expecting the blow and sentence of fearefull death, spred ouer all mankinde, from which no man can appeale to any other [Page 72] Iudge. But most of all we must consider, how vncertaine that houre is; for that is wont to come (for the most part) when it is least looked for, and when as man is secure in all things, & doth least thinke of it: but beeing busied and earnest about the busi­nesse and necessities of this life, doth cast with himselfe to lyue and ouer-passe many dayes. For which cause it is sayde, that it commeth like a theese in the night, who is wont then to come, when as men doe soundly sleepe, and beeing secure, doe thinke of nothing lesse then of the theft so neerly hanging ouer them.

Before death come, great and grieuous infirmities goe be­fore, which are to be considered with all their accidents, griefes, vexations, molestations, loathings, decocted syrrups, fumigati­ons, pills, gargarismes, and other medicines; and also of the long nights, which at thys time bring much teadiousnesse and wearinesse.A simili­tude. For euen as he that would conquer a Castle, at the first doth make way to the ruine with his greater shot; after he doth assault, inuade and possesse it; so before death, great infir­mitie is sent, which doth so vanquish and breake the naturall strength, that it giueth no rest to man, whether it be by day or by night: but without intermission, shaketh and wringeth all the chiefe members of the body; so that the soule can no long­ger defend her Castle, neither can any longer be preserued in it: wherefore the relinquisheth the body, & hauing escaped, flyeth out of it, and goeth to another place.

But when as the infirmitie doth draw to that passe, that ey­ther the sicke partie or the Phisition beginneth to doubt & de­spaire of lyfe, good God, what streights, what oppressings, what griefes doe then crush & teare the miserable hart? For then the whole race and processe of thy precedent life dooth come in­ [...]o thy minde; then is it represented vnto thee, that thou must leaue all those things which heere thou so deerly louest, vvife, chyldren, friends, parents, riches, honours, titles, offices, and o­ther things, which leaue off to be, and take end with thy lyfe. After these things, those last accidents grow on, which are ioy­ned with death it selfe: which are much greater then these go­ing before. The forehead waxeth hard, the skinne is stretched out, from whence cold sweat breaketh foorth: the eyes vvaxe dimme, sayle, and are writhen about with intollerable payne; [Page 73] the eares grow deafe, the nose doth sincke downe, the nosthrils are filled with filth, the countenaunce waxeth pale, the mouth is disturbed, the tongue is vnmoueable, and ceaseth to doe his dutie any more; the tast perrisheth, the lipps waxe blewe and wanne: the breath gathering it selfe from the bottome of the breast faileth: the hands waxe cold, the nayles waxe black, the pulse languisheth and is very little, but very thicke, sometime it ceaseth, and sometimes striketh softly; the feete die, and loose theyr naturall heate.

What neede I many wordes? all the flesh is turned to cor­ruption, and all the members, and all the sences, are disturbed & troubled by reason of theyr too hastie seperation. After thys maner a man must at his departure out of thys life, recompence the labors and sorrowes of those, by whom he entred into thys world: bearing those griefes at his end, which his mother bare, when shee brought him forth. And so the proportion of mans departure and entrance into this world is notable: for both is full of sorrowes, his ingresse hath the sorrowes of another, his egresse his owne.

Whilst man is tost in this straight, sodainly the agony of death is at hand: the ende of life is presented to the memorie, the horrour also of the graue, and the infelicity of his body, which straightwayes is to be meate for wormes: but especially the soule is plunged, which as yet remayneth in the body, but after an houre or two being seperated from the body, it know­eth not what entertainement or dwelling place it shall haue. Then thou wilt thinke that the iudgement of God is present at hand: then thou shalt see before thee all thy sinnes, which will accuse thee before the iudgement seate of the Diuine iustice: then thou at the length too late wilt acknowledge how filthie the crimes were, which thou so easily didst commit: then with many cursings and execrations thou wilt banne that day, in which thou didst offend; thou wilt bitterly curse the pleasures and delights, which moued thee with their enticements to sinne. In that houre thou canst not sufficiently wonder at thy selfe, and thy lenity, who for things so vaine, and of no moment (as those were, which thou wast wont to loue with so inordinate loue) hast cast thy selfe in danger to suffer so intollerable paines; [Page 74] of the which in that most sorrowfull houre thou shalt make no small experiment. For the pleasures passing away, & the iudg­ment of them approching, that which before of it selfe was but little, and now ceaseth to be, shall seeme to be nothing: but that which is great of it selfe, and present at hand, thou shalt suppose that it is greater then it is; because at the length thou shalt ma­nifestly know it with all the circumstances.The danger in which he that dyeth is. When as therefore thou shalt see that for matters so vaine and light, I will not say filthy, thou hast depriued thy selfe of so great blessings, and ca­sting thy eyes heere and there, thou shalt see thy selfe on euery side compassed about with griefes and tribulations, (because longer thou canst not liue; and for repentance there is neyther place nor time; the number of thy dayes are come to an end: they cannot helpe thee, whom thou hast loued with so an inor­dinate loue: much lesse the Idols, which thou adoredst: what doe I say that they cannot helpe thee? Yea, those things which thou louedst most, and which were in the greatest estimation with thee, these then most of all shall vexe and torment thee) tell me I pray thee when thou seest thy selfe left in this danger, what minde, or what courage wilt thou haue? Whether wilt thou goe? What wilt thou doe? Whom wilt thou call vnto? To returne to lyfe it will be vnpossible, but to depart out of life it will be intollerable; to stay longer in this life it shall not be giuen vnto thee: what then wilt thou doe? In that day (saith the Lord God by his Prophet)Amos. 8. I will euen cause the sunne to goe downe at noone: and I will darken the earth in the cleere day, and I will turne your feasts into mourning, and all your songs into lamenta­tion: and I will make it as the mourning of an onely sonne, and the end thereof as a bitter day. O fearefull words, ô dreadfull sen­tence shaking all harts. In that day, sayth he, the sunne shal goe downe at noone: for in that houre the multitude of their offen­ces shall be set before sinners, and they seeing the deuine iustice to cut off the thred of their life: some of them shall be strucken with so great feare and trembling, and shall be so destitute of all hope and trust, that they shall suppose themselues to be repro­bate, and vtterly excluded from the diuine mercy.

Be it, that as yet they are in the noone mid-day, that is, that they are in the course of their life, (which is time as yet to for| [Page 75] sake their sinfull wayes, and to lay hold on Christ) yet they shall perswade themselues, that this time is ouer-past, and that all grace and fauour is shut vp from them. The most powerfull and mightiest perturbation of the minde is feare,Feare the mightiest perturbati­on of the minde. which suppo­seth euery small thing to be great, and alwayes dreadeth things absent as present. If a small feare of any thing doth this, what shall that true feare doe, conceaued of so fearefull and capitall dangers? Be it, that yet they suruiue, and that they are placed in this life in the midst of their friends: neuerthelesse they sup­pose that they as it were experiment and feele the dolours and punishments of the damned. At one and the selfe same time they thinke themselues aliue and dead: and they being caught with the sorrow of present things, which they are to leaue, they begin to feele the future euils, which they feare. They iudge them blessed and happy, who are left in this world, and of this enuy new sorrowes arise and increase.When the sunne goeth downe at noone to the wicked. Therfore then the sunne goeth downe at noone vnto them, when they casting their eyes euery way, shall see euery where entrance into heauen to be shut and denied vnto them, neyther any beame of light shall appeare or shine vnto them. For if they looke vnto the mercy of God, they shall suppose themselues vnworthy, that God should haue mercy on them: if they flye vnto the diuine iustice, they shall suspect that all cruell tortures are prepared for them: and that hetherto their day hath beene, but now that the day of the Lord doth hang ouer them; yea, they shall thinke that euen now it beginneth. If they call to minde their life past, euery part of that doth reprehend them: if they behold the present time, they see that now they are dying: if the future time, which is now at hand, they see the Iudge sitting vpon his tribunall, and expect iudgement from him. Being compassed with so many causes of feare, what will they doe? whether will they goe?

The Prophet proceedeth,Those thinges which be­fore seemed pleasant, in death are bitter. And I will darken the earth in the cleere day, that is, those things which heeretofore were wont sweetly to delight thee, now they shal exceedingly torment thee, and shall strike and thrust through thy soule with intollerable stings and pricks of griefe. It is pleasant and delightfull to a man liuing and in health, to see his children, to enioy his friends, to gouerne his houshold, to haue much riches, and to possesse [Page 76] with pleasure, whatsoeuer the minde desireth. But then all that pleasure shall be turned into sorrow. For all these afore-sayde with most bitter torments, shall rend and cut in peeces thy mi­serable conscience, and they shall be sharpe speares to wound their louers. It is naturall, that as the possession and presence of a thing, which we loue, doth ioy vs and make vs merry, so the absence of the same thing doth bring heauines and sorrowe. Hence it is that the sonnes doe flie the presence of their dying father, and the louing and religious wife being full of anguish, doth hide her selfe from her husbands face, least by her pre­sence she might encrease his dolours. For although the soule, being by and by to be seperated from the body, hath a long and dangerous iourney to goe, yet the great greefe doth not permit any obseruation of the termes of humanity and ciuility, neyther doth it graunt the soule euen now iourneying before her depar­ture, to bid farewell to her friends. If thou my Reader at anie time shall come to this passe, thou shalt surely vnderstand that I speake nothing but truth; but if thou as yet neuer camst into this danger, at least beleeue them, which haue had experience of these things.Ecclesiasti­cus, 43. For they that saile ouer the Sea, (as the Wise­man sayth) tell of the perils thereof.

If therefore they be such and so great,The ac­count that shall be re­quired of vs. which goe before this dolorous and lamentable seperation, what manner and how great doest thou thinke that they will be, which shall follow af­ter? If the preparation be so great, what shall the solemnity it selfe be? For straight-wayes after death, the account shall fol­low, which that most iust Iudge shall require of the soule, which how mightily it is to be feared, I would not haue thee to learne of the men of this world, who as they dwell in Egipt, that is, in a Land of darkues, so they liue in great blindnes and intollerable errours. But in this matter aske counsaile of the Saints of God, who dwell in the Land of Goshen, in which alwayes the light of truth shineth, and they will teach thee not onely with words, but also by examples, how greatly this account is to be feared. Without doubt King Dauid was a most holy man, neuerthe­lesse so great was his feare, which he conceaued being mindfull of rendring this account, that he sayd in his prayer to the Lord, Enter not ô Lord into iudgement with thy seruant: Psalm, 143. for in thy sight shal [Page 77] none that liueth, be iustified. Arsenius. In the lifes of the fa­thers, Part 2, §. 153. Arsenius was a holy man, who yet when he should dye began to weepe, and to tremble after that manner, that his Schollers, who stoode about him, being mo­ued at this his trembling, asked and sayd vnto him, Father why weepest thou? Why doest thou tremble? What doest thou al­so feare? To whom he aunswered: I feare in truth and verity, and this feare, which now is with me, hath alwayes beene in me, by which I became a solitary and a Monasticall man. Histories report of Agathon,Agathon in the s [...]me booke. §. 51 that hee dying had his eyes three dayes o­pen, and neuer shut, neyther euer moued them. But his bre­thren touching him, sayd; ô holy Father where art thou now? He sayd, I stand in the sight of Gods iudgement: his brethren sayd moreouer vnto him; doest thou also feare? To whom hee aunswered; alwayes as much as lay in me I purposed to keepe the commaundements of God, but I am a sinfull man, and how should I know, whether my works please God? To whom his brethren sayd, doest thou not trust in thy works, because they are according to Gods word and rule? To whom he aunswe­red, I doe not trust in my works in the sight of God, because in his iudgement and sight all our best works are imperfect and full of infirmity, but onely in Christ Iesus my Redeemer, in whom I assure my selfe to haue all righteousnes and perfection. No lesse fearefull is that example,In his lad­der to Para­dice, in the 7, staire. A fearefull example of one Stepha­nus, that led a solita­rie life. which Iohannes Climacus re­membreth of an other man, that led a solitary life: and that we will set downe heere with his owne words, (for it is especially to be noted) to the edefying of mens soules. A certaine man cal­led Stephanus, sayth hee, dwelling in this place loued a solitarie and a quiet life. This man when he had liued many yeeres so­litarily, being adorned with many singuler vertues of Christia­nity and sanctification, built himselfe a Cell at the bottome of that hill, in which in times past Elias beheld his holy and diuine vision. He so venerable for life and conuersation, that he might furnish himselfe with more integrity and purity of liuing, hee came to a place of Anchorites, which place was called Fayth. In which place when hee had passed ouer many yeeres with a most straight kind of life: for this place was vtterly remote from all humane consolation, and almost not come to of any man (for it was almost seauenty miles distant from any dwelling of [Page 78] man) in the very last part of his life he departed thence, desi­rous to dwell in the Cell of that holy Hill.

There were two Disciples of Palestina, very religious, who also diligently obserued the Cell of this old man. In which whē he had continued a fewe dayes, he fell into sicknes, whereof he dyed. But a day before his departure, suddainly hee fell into an agonie and astonishment of minde, and with open eyes he loo­ked about, first to the right side, then to the left side of the bed, and as though certaine required an account of him, all they that stoode about him, heard him say some-times thus: So in truth it is: but for this I haue humbled my selfe, and broken of my sinnes by repentance. Some-times hee said: No truly, but yee lie, I haue not doone thus. Then againe thus; So it is indeede, this is so; but I haue wept, and with weeping (as with a gunne­shot) I haue battered downe that partition wall, which kept Gods countenaunce from me, & God hath heard my prayers and my teares. And againe, yee rightly accuse me. In some also some-times he said, So it is truly, and to these I haue not that I may say, vnlesse God be mercifull vnto me, and God is more mercifull, then man can be sinfull, if man will be sorrowful. And surelie, this inuisible and most sharpe iudgement, was a feareful and a terrible sight, in which also (that which is more terrible) they obiected vnto him, what he had not done, (ah woe is me) he being a man of such sanctitie and holines of life. In many of his sinnes he said, that he had not what he might aunswere; euen this man said so, who had almost forty yeeres ledde a soli­tarie life, and had the grace of those teares, that wash and blot out the hand writing of GOD against vs. Certaine affirmed to me of a truth, that this man, whilst he was in the vvildernes, nourished a Leopard with his owne hand. And vvhilst thys strict account was required of him, and whilst he was in thys sore conflict, he departed thys life. Hetherto are the words of Climacus: which sufficiently declare, how greatly carelesse and negligent men ought to feare the seperation of theyr soule and body; when as the very Saints themselues are found to feare so greatly.

But if any one aske, why the Saints placed in this danger, do feare with so great trembling, to this Saint Gregorie aunswe­reth [Page 79] in the fourth booke of his Morrals,Why the Saints doe feare in death. In the 4. booke of his Morrals, chap. 2. in these words: The minde of the Elect, when it remembreth those things vvhich it hath done, is greatly feared with the dread of iudgement. Now it looketh perfectly into it selfe; but as yet it dooth not raise vp it selfe vnto security, because whilst it considereth how great the cumbrance and horrour of the last examination is, it carefullie trembleth betweene hope and feare; because the iust Iudge comming, he knoweth not what of his trespasses hee will im­pute vnto him, & what he will forgiue. For they are not there­fore secure, if outwardly in outward action they haue not offen­ded, but they are carefull for theyr thoughts, by which theyr minde is forced hether & thether.In the 11. booke of his Morrals, chap. 21. In the 24. booke of his Morrals. chap. 7. For as much as they can do, that they may not offend outwardly, so much they cannot doe, that they may not offend inwardlie in their thought. Therefore often-times, the elect vnwillingly offend in thought, which they marke diligently in themselues, and consider what great gilt it is before the eyes of God. And when as for these things they alwaies feare the strict iudgement of God, yet then especiallie they doe feare, when they comming to pay theyr debt vnto na­ture, do see themselues approching to the strict & exact Iudge. And so much more pearcing is the feare, by howe much more the eternall retribution is neere.

Moreouer, before the eyes of theyr hart at that time no fan­tasticall thing doth flie, because all such matters beeing taken a­way, they onely consider themselues and him, to whom they are approching. Feare increaseth by the neere retribution of iu­stice, and by the neerenes of death so much, by howe much the strict iudgement is neere, & as it were touched. Although they remember that they neuer offended in those things, which they know, yet they feare those things which they knowe not; be­cause they cannot vtterly iudge of and discerne themselues; therefore their end growing neere, they are terrified with a greater feare.Note. Neither is the soule of man then feared without cause, seeing that after a very short time it shall haue that iudge­ment which neuer can be changed. Hetherto Gregorie.

If therefore holy men with so great reason haue feared thys iudgement, what ought not they to doe, who are not such ones? Yea, who haue spent the greatest part of theyr lyfe in following [Page 80] the vanities of this world? vvho so often haue offended God? vvho hetherto haue liued most carelesly? vvho neuer haue had any care of theyr saluation? vvho haue neuer beene touched with any regard, to prepare themselues for this houre? If the iust doe so greatly feare, what shall the sinner doe? When as the Cedar of Libanus is shaken, what will the sprigge of the wilder­nesse doe?1, Peter, 4. If the righteous scarcely shal be saued, (as saith S. Peter) where shall the vngodly and sinner appeare?

Tell me (I pray thee) what doost thou thinke of that houre, whē as thou departing out of this life, shalt enter into that iudg­ment alone? naked? poore? without any one that may defend and maintaine thy cause, besides thy good works which thou hast doone, and only thy conscience wayting vpon them? that tribunall vvill be very sharpe and seuere, where it is not hand­led of life or death temporall, but eternall. And if in rendring thine account thou art found wholy oppressed with debts, alas, how horrible wil be the dolours and vexations of thy mind? O how full of confusion wilt thou be, and how aboundant in vn­profitable repentance? how voyd wilt thou be of all aduice and counsaile, and how destistute of all comfort? Truly great vvas the trouble and distraction of minde among the Princes of Iu­da, when as the victorious sword of Sesac King of the Egypti­ans,3, Reg. 25. did tyrannize in all the streets of Ierusalem; when as by the present paine and punishment, they acknowledged their pas­sed faults, and old errors. But there is no comparison between that confusion and thys,Nothing is of force in the houre of death. of the which we now speake. In that houre what will sinners doe? vvhether will they turne them­selues? vvho shall defend them? Teares will not profit them; there all repentance will be barraine and vnfruitfull; In that houre, neither prayers shall be heard, neither any promises shall take place, or any suretieshippe be accepted. When as the last moment of life is come, and the houre glasse runne out, novve there is no more time left for repentance. But if these foresaide things will not profit, much lesse shall riches, nobilitie, or ho­nours helpe; for the Wise-man sayth, Riches auaile not in the day of wrath: Prou, 11, but righteousnes deliuereth from death.

When as the vnhappy soule shall see it selfe compassed and inclosed in these streights, what will it doe? what will it say? [Page 81] vvith what other words will it lament this lamentable estate,The lamen­tation of a sinner. Psalm, 18. then with those which the Prophet vsed in times past, when he sayd, The sorrowes of death compassed me, and the floods of wicked­nesse made me afraid: the sorowes of the graue haūe compassed me a­bout: the snares of death ouertooke me. Woe is me poore wretch, into what a laborinth haue my sinnes ledde me? How sudden­lie, and thinking nothing lesse, hath this houre entrapped me? How hath it rushed vpon me, I neuer dreaming of it? What doe now my honours profit me? vvhat doe now my dignities helpe me? What doe all my friends for me? vvhat profit doe now my seruaunts bring me? vvhat fruite doe I now reape of all my riches & goods, which I was wont to possesse? For no a small peece of ground of seauen foote will containe me, and I must be content with a dwelling in a narrow Coffin, and vvith lodging in a poore winding-sheete.

But that which is worst of all, my riches shall remaine heere behind me, which I haue scraped together with so great toyle and sweating; others shall enioy them, and shall spend them on their pleasures. Onely my sinnes which I haue committed in gathering them, waite vpon me, that I may suffer deserued pu­nishment for thē. What can I make now of all my pleasures & delights, seeing they are all ouer-past, onely theyr dreggs are my portion, which are scruples & bytings of conscience, which like thornes doe pearce me, and doe runne through my myse­rable hart, and shall torment it with euerlasting tortures? O my intollerable blockishnes, ô my madnes and folly, to be cursed with a thousand execrations; how could it be, that I vnmind­full of thys time, haue not prepared my selfe to eschew these present calamities? How often haue I beene admonished of this day, but vvith deafe eares I ouer-passed all counsaile? vvoc is me, why did I not receiue instruction? vvhy haue I not obey­ed and harkened vnto my Teachers? and to the wordes that they taught mee? I lyued irreligiously in the midst of the Church, and amongst Gods people I haue polluted my selfe with all kinde of sinne. With these and such like lamentations, sinners will deplore and bewaile theyr miserable estate; and these (most commonly) will be their meditations, considerati­ons, and confessions.

[Page 82]But least thou my brother sholdest fall into the like straights, I pray thee that thou wouldest examine all these things afore­sayd with diligent regard: and that they being often meditated vpon, thou wouldest euery where and alwayes set them before thine eyes: but amongst others lay vp chiefely these three things deepely in thy minde, and in a faithfull memory: the first of which is, that thou consider the greatnes of the punishment, which thou shalt feele in the houre of death, for thy multitude of sinnes, by which thou hast offended the diuine goodnes: the second is, that thou diligently ponder, with what great de­sire thou wilt then wish so to haue led thy life, that in that houre thou mightest haue God propitious and fauourable vnto thee: thirdly, that thou remember how great, and how seuere a re­pentance thou wouldest enter into, if time should be graunted vnto thee. Therefore liue so now, as thou wouldest desire and wish that thou hadst liued in that houre.

THE EIGHT TITLE. That man is bound to desire Vertue, by reason of that second last thing that happeneth vnto him: which is the last Iudgement. CHAP. VIII.

AFter death followeth the perticuler iudgement of euery one, and after that the vniuersall iudg­ment of all: when that shall be fulfilled, which the Apostle sayth:2, Cor. 5. Wee must all appeare before the iudgement seate of Christ, that euery man may receaue the things which are done in his body, ac­cording to that he hath done, whether it be good or euill. Heere we will speake of the rigour of that strict account, which shall be exacted of vs in this iudgement; and what will follow after the sentence of this iudgement; that man may see, that he not one­lie is inuited vnto Vertue, but rather that he is drawne and con­strayned. First therefore we are to consider, that one thing a­mongst other, which holy Iob wondered at, that although man is so weake a creature, yet God who is so great and mighty, en­treth with great rigour into iudgement with him. Insomuch, [Page 83] that there is no word, no thought, no inordinate and disordered motion, which he hath not written in the booke and record of his iustice: that he may exact a most strict account of it. After a long discourse he at length sayth thus.Iob. 13. Wherefore hidest thou thy face, and takest me for thine enemy? Wilt thou breake a leafe driuen too and fro? And wilt thou pursue the dry stubble? For thou writest bitter things against me, and makest me to possesse the iniqui­ties of my youth. Thou puttest my feete also in the stocks, and lookest narrowly vnto all my paths, and makest the print thereof in the heeles of my feete. Such one consumeth like a rotten thing, and as a gar­ment that is moth-eaten. Iob. 14. And a little after: Man that is borne of a woman, is of short continuance, and full of trouble. He shooteth forth as a flower, and is cut downe: he vanisheth also as a shadow, and con­tinueth not. Doost thou thinke it meete to open thine eyes vpon such an one, and to bring him with thee vnto iudgement? Who can bring a cleane thing out of filthines? All these things said holy Iob, great­lie wondering at the seuerity of the diuine Iustice, which he saw that God did vse vpon man, being a creature so fraile, and so ready to fall into all euill: who drinketh in iniquity like water. But if he should vse this seuerity vpon Angels (who are spiritu­all creatures, and much more perfect) it were lesse to be meruai­led at: but that God should vse it vpon man (whose passions and euill inclinations are innumerable) and that by exacting so strict an account, that in his whole life hee doth not winke at one idle word, nor doth let passe our minute of time ill spent, this doth exceede and passe all admiration. For who doth not feare, and exceedingly tremble, when he heareth those words of the Lord,Math. 12. Verily I say vnto you, that of euery idle word that men shall speake, they shall giue account thereof at the day of iudgement. Goe too therefore, if an account shall be giuen of those words, which offend no man; what shall become of vnhonest words? Of vnchast thoughts, of hands full of blood? Of the eyes of adulterers? To be briefe, of all the time of thy life euill spent in the works of iniquity? If this be true (as it is most true) what tongue, what eloquence, can remember so great things of the rigour and seuerity of this iudgement, which shall not be much lesse then the truth of the thing? Or which can be equalized with it in any manner of respect? How will wretched and mi­serable [Page 84] man stand astonished and amazed, when in the assem­blie of so many Senatours, and in the presence of such a Coun­cell, an account shall be required of a little word, which he hath spoken such or such a day without purpose or fruite? Who will not be amazed at this demaund? Who durst haue sayde these things, vnlesse Christ himselfe before had spoken them? Who durst haue vttered them, vnlesse he had affirmed them? What King was euer found, that did expostulate, or was gree­ued with his seruants for so small a fault? O the depth of Chri­stian Religion, how great is the purity, which thou teachest? How strict is the account, which thou exactest? And with how seuere a iudgment doost thou examine & search out all things? How great will that shame be,The shame of sinners in the last iudgment. with which wretched and mise­rable sinners shall be there confounded? When as all their ini­quities and enormities, which closely they committed within the wals of their houses, whilst they liued, whatsoeuer also vn­honest or filthy thing euen from their birth to their death they haue polluted themselues with, all the corners of their hart, and euery secret, shall be discouered and opened in this Court be­fore the eyes of the whole world? Who there shall haue a con­science so pure, that when these things shall begin to be done, will not straight-wayes change colour, and tremble throughout euery part of his body? For if a man doth blush, and is asha­med to tell his faults secretly to an other; how great will that shame be, with which sinners shall be confounded in the sight of God, and all the world? So great shall that shame be, that the wicked,Ose. 10. How feare­full the sen­tence of the Iudge is. Math. 25. as the Prophet testifieth, shall cry out, saying to the mountaines couer vs, & to the hils fal on vs. But be it that these be tollerable: but what wil it be, whē as those most sharp & keene arrowes of that finall sentence, shot from Gods mouth through their harts, Depart from me ye cursed into euerlasting fire, which is prepared for the deuil and his Angels? Alas with what dolours wil sinners be tormented hearing this sentence;Iob, 26. When we can heare but a litle portion of his words, saith Iob, who can vnderstand his fear­ful power? This voyce shal be so horible & of such force, that the earth in the twinkling of an eye shall be opened,Iob, 21. And sodainlie they shall goe downe to the graue, as the same Iob sayth, those which now take the Tabret, and Harpe, and reioyce in the sound of the Or­gans, [Page 85] and they that now spend theyr dayes in wealth. This fall Saint Iohn describeth in the Reuelation,Apoc. 18, in these words; And after these things, I saw another Angell come downe from heauen, hauing great power, so that the earth was lightned with his glory. And hee cryed out mightily with a loud voyce, saying: It is fallen, it is fallen, Babylon the great Cittie, and is become the habitation of deuils, and the hold of all foule spirits, and a Cage of euery vncleane and hateful Bird. And a little after, the same Euangelist addeth, saying: Then a mighty Angell tooke vp a stone like a great Milstone, & cast it into the Sea, saying: with such violenee shall the great Cittie Babi­lon be cast, and shall be found no more.

After thys manner the wicked shall be cast into that pit and darke prison, full of all confusion, which in this place is vnder­stood by Babylon. What tongue shall be able to expresse the multitude and aboundance of paynes, which they shall suffer?The paines of the dam­ned. There their bodies shall burne with liuing fire, that neuer shall be put out; there without intermission, their soules shall be gnawne of the worme of conscience, which shall suffer them to take no rest; there shall be continuall weeping and gnashing of teeth neuer to haue end, which the holy Scriptures do so often threaten and repeate.The blas­phemies of the damned In this place of desperation, those wret­ches being damned, raging with extreame madnes, shall turne their furie against God, and shall rage vpon themselues, eating their owne flesh, tearing their owne bowels, most furiously ren­ting one anothers flesh with theyr nayles, and continually blas­pheming the Iudge, who condemned them to these paines. There euery one shall curse his miserable estate, and his vnhap­pie birth, repeating without ceasing that sorrowfull complaint, and those mournfull and forsaken lamentations of Iob,Iob, 3. Let the day perrish wherein I was borne, & the night when it vvas said, there is a man child conceiued. Let that day be darknesse, let not GOD regard it from aboue, neyther let the light shine vpon it. But let dark­nesse and the shadow of death staine it: let the cloudes remaine vppon it, and let them make it feareful as a bitter day. Let darknes possesse that night, let it not be ioyned vnto the dayes of the yeere, nor let it come into the count of the Moneths. Yea, desolate be that night, and let no ioy be in it. Let them that curse the day, (being ready to renue theyr mourning) curse it. Let the starres of that twilight be dimme [Page 86] through the darknesse of it: let it looke for light but haue none: ney­ther let it see the dawning of the day. Because it shut not vp the doores of my Mothers wombe: nor hid sorrow from mine eyes. Why dyed I not in the birth? or why dyed I not when I came out of the wombe? Why did the knees preuent me? and why did I sucke the breastes? Thys will be the musicke, thys the song, which the vnhappie and miserable, shall sing without end. O vnhappy tongues, which pronounce nothing but blasphemies; ô vnluckie eyes, that see nothing but calamities and miseries; ô miserable eares, which heare nothing but complaints and gnashings of teeth; ô vnhappie bodies, which haue no other refreshing but burning flames. What minde shal they haue there, who whilst thy ly­ued heere, triflingly bestowed their houres, and spent all theyr time vpon pleasures and delights?

O what a long chayne of miseries, haue thy short pleasures wrought & made for thee. O foolish and sencelesse, what shall the allurements of the flesh now profit you, which you then so much delighted in, sith yee are now cursed to eternall mour­ning and bewayling? vvhat is become of your riches? vvhere are your treasuries? vvhere are your delights? vvhere are your ioyes? The seauen yeeres of plentie are past, and other seauen yeares of dearth and scarcity are come, which haue deuoured vp al their plenty; no memory or footstep being left of it. Your glory is perished, and your felicitie is drowned in the Sea of sor­row; you are come to that scarcenes and sterilitie, that a small droppe of water is not graunted vnto you, by which the fierce flaming heate of your throate may be cooled, which so excee­dingly doth torment you. Not onely your delights haue not profited you, which you enioyed in this world: but they shall be the causes of greater torments. For then shal be fulfilled that which is written in the booke of Iob,Iob, 24. The pittifull man shall for­get him: the worme shall feele his sweetnes: he shall bee no more re­mēbred, & the wicked shal be broken like a tree: then the sweetnes of the delight of euill things shal be turned into the wormwood of sorow, when the memory of fore-passed pleasures (according to the exposition of Saint Gregorie) shall be get greater bitter­nesse of present griefes: they remembring what somtimes they haue been, and what place they now are in: and that for that [Page 87] so soone passed away, now they suffer that, which shall endure for euer.

Then at the length, too late they shall acknowledge the de­ceits of the deuill, and being in the midst of errours, they shall begin in vaine to vtter those words of the Wiseman;Wisdom. 5. Wee haue erred from the way of truth, and the light of righteousness hath not shined vnto vs: wee haue wearied our selues in the way of wickednesse and destruction, and we haue gone through dangerous wayes: but we haue not knowen the way of the Lorde. These shall be the com­plaints, these shall be the lamentations, this shall be the perpetu­all repentance, which the damned shall there make world with­out end, when it shall profit them nothing, because the time is past and gone, in which they should haue brought forth fruites worthy of repentance. All these and euery one of them, if they be considered,In the 22. homily to the people of Antioch. are pricks and motiues vnto Vertue. Wherfore also Saint Chrisostome dooth vse this argument also in his Ho­milies, that he might stirre vp the people to Vertue. That thou maist prepare thy soule, (saith he) as the dwelling and habitati­on of God, remember that horrible and exceeding feareful day, in which we all standing before the throne of Christ, shall ren­der an account of things done heere: our sinnes shall be layde open before the eyes of all people, & our actions shalbe reuea­led and showne to all those that know them not, where the fie­rie Riuer, and the vnsleeping worme are, where all things are naked and open. Where the bookes of our harts shall be ope­ned, and our secret and hidden deedes done by day or night, by ignoraunce or forgetfulnes, shall be read manifestly, & all those things that now lie hid, shal be reuealed.

Thinke therefore, that wee must come before a Iudge that cannot be deceaued: where not onely our actions, but also our words and thoughts shall be iudged; where wee shall receaue dreadfull and terrible paynes for those things that seeme but small vnto vs. Alwaies remember these things, and neuer for­get that vnquenchable flame. Haue an eye to him, comming to iudge the quick and the dead. Thinke vpon the thousands, and tenne thousands of Angels wayting vpon the Iudge; nowe let thy hearing preuent the sound of the Trump, and that feareful sentence of the Iudge condemning. Let thine eye fore-see some [Page 88] cast into vtter darknes, others excluded and shutte out of the gates, after much labour of virginitie. Consider some to be ga­thered as tares,For what sinnes men are damned and to be cast into a fiery fornace, and others de­liuered to the vnsleeping worme, and to mourning, & to gna­shing of teeth: this man to bee iudged for his vnreasonable laughter, that man for iniuring his neighbour, or because hee hath offended his brother; this man to be condemned for faults that he hath forgot, another man for an idle word; this man to be damned for his ill meaning, another for slaunderous rayling; one for anger to suffer intollerable punishment, another for ig­nominie; some to be depriued of the knowledge of Christ, and to heare,Math, 15. Verily, I say vnto you, I know you not: because they haue doone those things, which Christ hath forbidden.

These things therefore beeing thus, what ones ought we to be, or what teares ought we to shedde, and to say: Oh that mine head were full of water, Ierem. 9. and mine eyes a fountaine of teares, that I might weepe day and night. But that we may escape this dreadfull punishment,Psalm, 95. Come yee, let vs come before the face of the Lord with confession, and with diligence and amendement of life, let vs call vpon the name of our Lord God;Psalm, 6, For in the pit, who shal praise or confesse thy name? God hath giuen all things double vnto vs, two eyes, two eares, two hands, two feete. If therefore one of these be hurt, by the other we comfort and relieue our necessi­tie. But he hath giuen but one soule vnto vs; if wee shall loose this, with what shall we liue? Therefore let vs looke to prouide for this, let vs preferre nothing before the safetie of it, because this is also iudged with the body, and is freed and cleered toge­ther with it, and together with the body, dooth appeare before Christes tribunall. If thou then shalt say, my money allured me,Math, 16, the Iudge will say vnto thee: hast thou not heard, What shal it profit a man, though hee should winne the whole worlde, if hee lose his owne soule? If thou shalt say, the deuill deceaued me, he also will say vnto thee,Gene, 3, that it profited Eue nothing, to say, The Ser­pent deceaued me. Therfore we remembring these things, come, let vs rayse and stirre vp our selues, before we be ouer-taken, be­fore that great day of the Lord come and appeare, of which the Prophet sayth;Mala, 3. Behold, it commeth, and who shall endure it? Or who shall abide the day of his comming? That is a feareful day [Page 89] of hurly burly, and of darknes. But thou wilt say; Howe then may I escape these foresaide euils? I will tell thee: not onely keepe thy body pure and vnspotted, but when thou hast suffe­red iniurie, do good for it, if thou beest accused, be thou pati­ent. When thou doost fast, be not boasting of it; for fasts are not commended for abstayning from meate, but for abstayning from sinne. Search the Scriptures, & see how first the Prophet seeth a Hasill-wand, and afterwards a burning Cauldron, de­monstrating vnto vs, that the fire doth consume those that doe not beare the chastisement and correction of the rodde. So by Moses the pyllar of fire showed,Exod, 19, that they that obserue the law, receiue the light, but the disobedient receiue fire. Reade the Scriptures of our Sauiour, and learne, howe that when we goe hence thether,Psalm, 49, no body can helpe vs. The brother shall not re­deeme the brother from endlesse torments, nor the friend hys friend, nor the parents their children, nor the children their pa­rents.

And what doe I speake of myserable men, when as if Noe, Iob, and Daniel come, they cannot intreate the Iudge? But thou wilt say; Whence may I know this to be true? Looke vp­pon him that hauing not his wedding garment, was excluded, and none intreating for him. Looke vppon him that had the talent committed vnto him, and dyd not increase it, and how for him no body intreateth. Looke vpon the fiue Virgins, shutte foorth, neyther the other fiue intreateth for them, which also Christ calleth foolish; because, after they had troden pleasures vnder theyr feete, after they had cooled the fornace of concu­piscence, then they were found fooles, and not without cause, because they obseruing that great dutie of Virginitie, dyd not keepe that small commaundement of Humilitie. Looke vpon the Iudge in the day of iudgement, placing the Sheepe on hys right hand, and the vnprofitable Goates on his left, and saying to those on his right hand: Come yee blessed of my Father, receaue a kingdome prepared for you. But those on his left hand to be cast into vtter darknesse, and that no body dooth helpe and succour them being cast out. For it is a true speech; Behold the man and his worke. Luke, 16. Thou hast heard how Diues neuer pittying Lazarus, was tormented with flames, & desired a droppe of water. Thou [Page 90] knowest how that Abraham himselfe could not ease his paines, although he desired and beseeched him. Therefore heereafter we regarding and respecting our selues, before we are confoun­ded and vtterly cast downe, let vs giue the glory to God. It is better here that thy tongue should be dried vp through fasting, then to keepe it moyst, and there to desire that moysture, which being denied, is eternall paine. Heere with small labour wee may auoide great torments.Certaine excellent compari­sons. And if we be so delicate and ten­der in this life, that we can not suffer patiently a feauer of three dayes, how shall we in the life to come be able to suffer euerla­sting fire? If wee doe feare the sentence of death pronounced of an earthly Iudge, which taketh only from vs life of a few yeres: why doe we not feare the sentence of this Iudge, which depri­ueth vs vtterly of an eternall life? If we are terrified seeing the execution of some horrible punishment, which in this world is inflicted vpon some malefactour, when wee see the Sargiants with the Hang-man to draw the malefactour to punishment, to beate him, to hang and quarter him, or to burne him. Yet all these are rather solaces then sorrowes, if they be compared with the punishments to come. For these torments are ended toge­ther with life; but there neyther the worme shall dye, nor the tormenter shall be wearied, nor the fire shall euer be extingui­shed. In so much, that if all things, which thou shalt compare with this punishment, be fire, be sword, be beasts, be what tor­ment thou wilt, yet it is a sleepe, and a shadow in comparison of this. But what will the condemned doe, when they see them­selues depriued of so great a good, and condemned to so great misery? What will they doe? What will they say? How will they breathe? And all these in vaine. For after the ship is drow­ned, the Saylers are for no vse: neyther is a Phisition profitable, when the diseased dye. Then although too late, they shall dis­claime their errours,Repentance too late. and say, this was to be done, and this not. Although we often haue beene admonished, yet we haue not obeyed. Then the Iewes at the length shall acknowledge him, that commeth in the name of the Lord, but this too late know­ledge shall nothing profit them. For there shall be no time. O vs wretched and miserable,Our accu­sers. what shall we bring for our excuse in that day, when as heauen, the earth, the Sunne, the Moone, [Page 91] the day, and the night, with all things that are in the world, shall accuse vs, and shall cry out for reuengement vpon vs, bearing witnes of our euils? Yea, if all should hold their peace, yet our owne conscience would lift vp her voyce against vs, and accuse vs. All these things are out of Saint Chrisostome; by which it is manifest, how greatly hee shall be striken with a vehement feare, who shall come vnprepared to this sentence. This same Saint Ambrose feared,Ambro [...]e vpon Luke. when he sayth: woe vnto me, if I shall not rise at midnight to confesse and prayse thee ô Lord. Woe to me, if I shall deale craftily with my neighbour. Woe vnto me if I shall not speake the truth. The axe is layde to the roote of the tree; let it bring forth those fruites of grace, which it should of repentance. The Lord is at hand, that requireth fruite, hee giueth life to the fruitfull, but casteth the barren into the fire.

THE NINTH TITLE. That man is bound to the exercise of Vertue, by reason of the third last thing that happeneth vnto him, which is the glory of Heauen. CHAP. IX.

EVery one of those things, which hetherto wee haue spoken of, by very good reason ought to haue sufficient force to inflame our minds with the loue of Vertue. But because the hardnes of mans hart is so great, that after all this it cannot be moued with all these; we will adde an other motiue,VVhat things are handled in this chap­ter. no lesse effectuall then the praecedent. It is the great­nes of the reward, which Vertue promiseth to her louers: that is, the glory of Heauen; in which two things are to be especi­ally looked vnto: the one is the excellencie and beauty of the place, that is, of the heauen of heauens: the other is the dignity and greatnes of the King, that dwelleth there with all his elect.

As touching the first:The beauty of heauen is gathered by coniectures. howe great the beauty is, and how great are the riches of this place, no humane eloquence can vt­ter: but by certaine coniectures we may come as it were aloofe [Page 92] of to some knowledge of it.The first coniecture is the end. Amongst these coniectures the first is the end of that worke: for the end is one of the circum­stances, which are wont especially to declare the condition and excellencie of a thing. The end therefore for which the Lord hath made this place, is, that by it he might manifest his glory. For although hee hath created all things for his glory,Prouer, 16. as sayth Salomon, yet properly and peculierly he is sayd to haue created heauen for this end; for in it after a more speciall manner, his dignitie, greatnes, and magnificence doth shine and appeare. For euen as King Assuerus, that raigned from India euen vnto Ethiopia,Esther, 1. ouer an hundred, and seauen and twenty prouinces, made a great feast vnto all his Princes and his seruants, euen the power of Persia and Media, in the Citty of Susan, by the space of an hundred and fourescore dayes, and that with all maiesty, cost, and royall magnificence: that hee might shew the riches and glory of his kingdome, and the honour of his great maie­stie: So the great King of Kings determined to make a most solemne and sumptuous feast in heauen: not by the space of a­nie time, but throughout all eternity: that in it he might show the vnmeasurablenes of his riches, of his wisedome also, of his liberality and goodnes. This is that feast, of which the Prophet Esay speaketh,Esay, 25. when he sayth; And the Lord of Hoasts shall make to all people in this mountaine a feast of fat things, euen a feast of fi­ned wines, and of fat things full of marrow, of wines fined and puri­fied. That is, of meates most delicate, most precious, and most sweete.

If therefore the Lord God doth make that solemne feast, that in it he may manifest the greatnes of his glory: if his glory be so great, what shall the feast be? What the riches? How precious all things that to this end are prepared?The power of the Lord. But we shal vnderstand this better, if wee consider the greatnes of the power of this Lord. His power is so great, that with one word he created this admirable frame, and that with one word in like manner he can destroy it againe. Neyther could he haue created one vvorld with one word, but infinite vvorlds: & in like maner againe he could haue destroyed so many with one word. Furthermore, whatsoeuer he doth, hee doth it without labour: so that with the same facility, that he created a small Pismire, hee could haue [Page 93] created the greatest Cherubin and Seraphin: for he feeleth no burthen, he sweateth not vnder a greater weight, neyther is hee eased of a lesse. For he can doe all things that he willeth, and whatsoeuer he willeth, he worketh by his onely will. Tell mee therefore, if the power of this Lord be so great, and if the glory of his most holy name be so great, & so vnmeasurable his loue, what thinkest thou will be his house, the ioy, & the feast, which he to this end hath prepared? What can be wanting to this worke,Reasons why heauen should be absolute & perfect. why it should not be absolute in euery respect? There shall be no defect of his hands, because he is infinitely mightie and powerfull. There shall be lesse defect of his braine, because he that made it, is infinitely wise. There shall be no defect of his will: because he is infinitely good. Neither shall this worke be hindered through want of riches, because the maker is the Sea and Ocean of all treasure. What then vvill this vvork be, where there is such and so great preparation? What shall that vvorke be, that commeth out of that shop, in which such vvorkmai­sters vvorke together, as are the omnipotency of the Father, the vvisedome of the Sonne, and the goodnes of the holy Ghost? Where the goodnes vvilleth, the vvisedome disposeth and or­dereth, the omnipotencie can doe all that, vvhich the goodnes vvilleth, and the vvisedome ordereth, although all these are one and the same in diuers persons.

We haue also an other coniecture,The second coniecture. meete for this purpose, not vnlike to the former: For God prepared not this house onely for his owne honour, but for the glory and honour also of his elect. Consider therefore how carefull God is to honour his friends,Iohn, 12. and to performe his promise, by vvhich he promi­sed that hee vvould honour all them that doe administer vnto him.All things obey the righteous euen in this world. This is manifested by the effect, seeing that he hath gi­uen to them that liue in this world, dominion, and rule ouer all creatures. This is manifest in Iosua; at whose commandement the Sun stood vnmoueable in the midst of heauē: no otherwise then if hee had had in his hands the bridle of the frame of the whole world,Iosua, 10. The Lord obeying (as the Scripture saith) the voyce of a man. 4, Kings, 20. We see the like in Esay; who gaue to King Hezekiah his wish, whether he vvould, that the shadow of the Sun should goe forward tenne degrees; or goe back ten degrees, for vvith the [Page 94] same facility that he could doe the one, he could doe the other. Is not the like power seene in Elias,3, Kings, 17, 18. vvho by his vvord stayed the cloudes that they should yeeld no raine as long as hee plea­sed? And afterwards by the vertue of his prayer, hee brought backe the cloudes and obtayned raine, and vvatered the earth vvith showers and dewes? Not onely such things in life are graunted vnto the Elect, but the Lord doth honour them so farre, that hee hath giuen this power after death to their bones and ashes.4, Kings, 13. Who vvill not prayse God, that the bones of dead Elizeus reuiued a dead man, vvhose body through feare of the theeues of Moab vvas cast into the Sepulcher of the Prophet? Yea,Acts, 5. he hath not onely giuen this vertue vnto the bones and a­shes of his elect, but also to their shadowes, the shadow of Peter restored them to health, whom it shadowed. O admirable God, ô exceeding and infinitely good, who hath giuen to man what he tooke not to himselfe,Christ gaue more to his Saints then hee vs [...]d himselfe. or which he himselfe vsed not: for it is not reade of Christ, that his shadow healed the diseased, which notwithstanding the Scripture testifieth of Peter.

If God be so ready to honour his Saints, yea in a time and place not ordayned nor destined for their reward, but appoyn­ted for labours and miseries: how great doost thou thinke that glory will be, which he hath prepared for his beloued, in a place proper for reward and recompence, to honour them, and that he may be honoured in them? Hee that so greatly desireth to bestow honour, and can so easily doe it, let euery one consi­der with himselfe, how ample, precious, rare, and magnificent those things ought to be, which hee hath prepared for the ho­nour of his Elect? In this place also may be considered the in­comparable liberality of this Lord, in rewarding the seruices of his seruants. The Lord commaunded the Patriarke Abraham to sacrifice his onely and deerely beloued sonne, who beeing obedient to the commaundement, and preparing himselfe to the sacrifice,Gen. 22. he heard of him. Now I know that thou fearest God, seeing for my sake, thou hast not spared thine onely sonne. By my selfe haue I sworne, because thou hast done this thing, and hast not spared thine onely sonne. Therefore will I surely blesse thee, and will greatly multiply thy seede, as the starres of the heauen, and as the sand which is vpon the Sea shoare, and thy seede shall possesse the gate [Page 95] of his enemies. More-ouer, amongst thy sonnes I will giue thee one, who shall be the Sauiour of the world, and he shalbe both thy sonne, and the sonne of GOD. Dooth this seeme vnto thee an ample reward? Thys is a reward woorthy of God; for God is God in all things. Hee is God in recompencing; hee is God in correcting; hee is God in all other things.

Dauid on a certaine night considered with himselfe, howe he himselfe dwelt in a house of Cedar trees, and the Arke of GOD remained within the Curtaines: and he began to think of building an house vnto the Lord. And the same night, the word of the Lord came vnto Nathan,2, Reg, 7. saying: Goe and tell my seruaunt Dauid, thus saith the Lord: vvilt thou build mee an house for my dwelling? I doe sweare vnto thee, I will builde thee an house for euer, and for all thy posteritie with a perpetuall kingdome: ney­ther shall my mercy depart from it. So he sayd, and so he did: for to the comming of Christ they raigned in the house of Iuda, who descended of the familie and seede of Dauid, whō Christ followed, who shall raigne for euer. Therefore, if the glory of Heauen be a recompence, and an vniuersall remuneration of the diuine worship and seruice done vnto God of his Saints; & if God be so liberall in this recompence, it is no hard thing to coniecture, how great the glory to come of the blessed will be.

We haue another coniecture,The 3. con­iecture. if we consider howe great the price is, which God requireth for this glorie; notwithstanding he is so liberall and bountifull.The price that must be giuen for the celesti­all glory. For after sinne, hee would not grant this glory to any man at a lesser price, then at the death & blood of his onely begotten sonne, Iesus Christ: insomuch that this heauenly life, is not gyuen to man but for the death of God, and for the sorrowes of God, celestiall ioy is giuen to man. And because God hanged vppon the Crosse between two theeues, now man raigneth amongst the assembly of Angels.

Tell me (if by any meane it may be spoken) what manner of good is that, which that the Lorde might giue it vnto thee, first he must sweat out his owne blood? he must be apprehen­ded, bound, beaten, mocked, crowned with thornes, and cruci­fied? What will it be (I pray thee) that the Lord, who other­wise of his own nature is so liberall, hath prepared that he might giue vnto men, for this so inestimable a price? Hee that kuow­eth [Page 96] well how to fish in thys depth, hee by this coniecture shall know the greatnes of thys glory, more manifestly then by all o­thers which may be imagined.

God also exacteth, as an appendix of thys former, the grea­test thing that may be exacted of man for this celestiall glory; that is, he take vp his crosse, that hee pull out his right eye, and cast it from him if it offend him; that he forsake Father and Mother, with all other things created, if they at any time, per­swade any thing contrary to the diuine commandements. And when we haue doone all things that we can, the Lord willeth, that we say that wee are vnprofitable seruants: hee willeth that glory be gyuen vnto him onely, and all things to be esteemed as his sole and meere grace. Which he confirmeth by Saint Iohn, when he sayth,Apoc. 21, I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, I wil giue to him that is a thirst, of the wel of the water of life freely. Tell me, what ones & how great are they thinkest thou, for the which the Lord requireth so hard things: which when we haue giuen or done, yet he would haue vs to confesse, that they are gyuen vnto vs freely, of his meere grace? Tell me therefore, if the Lord our God be so magnificent, and so liberall in bestow­ing his graces, if his diuine goodnes hath graunted to all men in this life, the vse of things so different, if all the creatures of hea­uen and earth indifferently serue all, and the possession of them be common, as well to the vniust as to the iust, who deseruedly can doubt, that much greater are those supreame blessings, which he hath prepared onely for the righteous? Who was e­uer found, that freely bestowed so great treasures vpon him, to whom he was not indebted? How much greater will he gyue, if he shal be indebted to any? He that is so liberall in bestowing gifts freely, how liberall will he be in repaying and rewarding a debt? He that bestoweth so great things freely, what will hee not giue to him that continueth faythfull? If the magnificence of those things which he giueth, be so inestimable, vvhat shalbe the splendour of those things, which he will repay? Certainly it cannot be spoken, nor be expressed by any words, how great that glory will be, which the Lord will gyue to his Elect, seeing they are so great, which of his great bountie he bestoweth vpon the vnthankfull.

[Page 97]The situation and height of the place may somewhat teach vs also of the quantitie and qualitie of thys glory:The fourth coniecture. The quan­tity & qua­litie of the glory, by the greatnes of the place. Psalm, 26. that this hea­uen of heauens, which is aboue the seauen Spheares, as it is grea­ter then all the heauens, so it is the noblest of all, the most beau­tifull, the most glorious, and the most worthy. Thys place the Scripture calleth, The Land of the liuing: that he might signifie, that this Land which wee inhabite, is a land of those which be dead. But if in this region of death, the creatures be so noble, so precious, and so excellent: what shall those there be, in the land of the euer-liuing? Turne thine eyes into what part soeuer thou wilt of thys visible world, and behold how many and how beautiful things are found in it. Behold how spacious the great­nesse of the heauen is, how great the splendour is of the Sunne, Moone, and of all the s tarres: how beautifull the earth is, being beautified and adorned with so great multitude and variety of plants, byrds, and other liuing creatures.

How pleasant a thing is it to see the plainnesse of the fielde,The beauty of the earth the highnesse of hills and mountaines, the greenes of Valleyes, the streaming of fountaines, the aboundance of riuers, vvhich like vaynes runne through the whole body of the earth: and that which is more, what great pleasure it is to see the largnesse of the Sea, full of so many and so admirable things? What be the standing pooles? vvhat be the lakes of pure and cleere wa­ter? what other things be they, then the eyes of the earth, & the looking-glasses of heauen? What be the meddowes clothed & adorned with the pleasantnes of Roses and other flowers? No other thing then a cleere heauen in a faire night, adorned vvith starres. What shall I speake of the vaines of gold, siluer, and o­ther mettals in most rich Mines? What of Diamonds Carbun­cles, Emeralds, and other most precious Iemmes, which seeme to contend by theyr beautie and brightnes, with heauen & with the starres themselues? What of the shapes, and the diuersity of colours, which are seene in byrds, and in other liuing creatures and flowers?

Let the pleasantnesse of Art, if it please you, be ioyned to the beautie of nature, and the beautie of all things shall be doubled. Because by Art, diuers and excellent peeces of curious work­manshyp are wrought in gold & siluer; by Art vessels, images, [Page 98] and pictures are made no lesse pleasant then artificiall; gardens and Orchards by singuler industrie are set and planted: buil­dings of Churches, palaces of Kings, are so cunningly made of gold, marble, and other things, that they carry mens minds into admiration & astonishment. If therfore in this base element, & the lowest of all, which is called the Land of the dead, there be so many, so delightfull, beautifull, and pleasant things; hovve many, and how great thinkest thou, shall those things be in that highest place, which by how much it is higher then all the hea­uens, and all the elements, by so much it is nobler, by so much richer, by so much more beautifull? Especially, if wee consider those celestiall bodies, which are obuious to our sight (as are the starres, the Sunne, & Moone) in splendour, in vertue, in beauty, and in perpetuitie, by so many degrees to excell and exceed all inferiour things; what then wil those things doe, which are hid from mortall eyes, and are onely open to immortall sight? thys excellencie can scarcely be presupposed or thought vpon.

We know that there are three kind of places, appointed of God vnto men in thys life,The 5. con­iecture. Three kind of places appointed to men, of GOD. according to the diuersitie of times: the first is, the mothers wombe after conception: the second, is this world, straightwaies after byrth: the third, shal be heauen after death, if we haue liued well. In these orders of places, there is that proportion, that by how much more the second is more excellent then the first, by so much the third is more excellent then the second, as wel in the continuaunce and perpetuitie of the tyme, as in the largenesse and beautie of the place, and in all other things. For the diuturnitie and longnes of the first lyfe, it is certaine that it is no longer then nine moneths: the second life at the most is but an hundred yeeres: but the third is end­lesse, and eternall. Moreouer, the greatnesse of the place of the first life, is no larger then the wombe in which it is contained: of the second, thys large and spacious world: but of the thyrd, the place is so much the greater and more spacious then the se­cond place, by how much the second is larger then the first, and the same excellencie that it hath in largenes and greatnesse, the same it hath in beauty, fairenes, riches, and in all other things. If therefore thys world by so much is more large, more beautiful, and more rich then the mothers wombe; how great will the [Page 99] largenes, the beautie, the riches, the nobilitie be of that heauen­lie place?

This same thing the difference of the inhabitants dwelling in these two places doe manifestly declare.The 6, con­iecture. From the noblenes of the inhabi­tants. For the frame and fashion of the building ought to be sutable to the condition of the inhabitants dwelling in it. This, as we haue sayd, is the land of the dead, that of the liuing: this is full of sinners, that of the righteous and iust: this of men, that of Angels: this penitentia­ries inhabite, that, those that haue obtayned the remission of sinnes: in this dwell the militant, in that the triumphant: to be briefe, this is the habitation of friends and enemies, that of friends onely, and of the elect. If therfore the difference of the inhabitants be so great, how great thinkest thou shal the diffe­rence of places be? Especially seeing that God doth make all places conformable to the inhabitants.Psal. 83. Great and glorious things are spoken of thee thou Citty of God. Thou art large and great in space and latitude, faire and beautifull in fight and view, preci­ous in matter, noble in society, sweet in exercises, rich in all bles­sings, and free from all euils. In all things thou art great, for he is the greatest that made thee, and the end is most excellent for which thou wast made; and thy inhabitants also are most noble, for whose vse thou wast made.

All these pertaine to accidental glory. But there is an other glory greater without all comparison,Essentiall glory. which is called essentiall, and consisteth in the sight and possession of God himselfe, of which Saint Augustine sayth, he himselfe shal be the reward of Vertue, who gaue Vertue, who shal be seene without end, lo­ued without loathing, and praysed without wearines. In so much that this reward is so great, that a greater cannot be: be­cause it is neyther heauen, nor earth, nor sea, nor any other cre­ature: but the Creator himselfe, and the Lord of all, who also as he is one, so he is the most pure and simple good, in whom all other good things are found.

For the further intelligence of this thing, we must know, that one of the wonderfull thinges, which are in this substance, is this, that we haue spoken of; that is, that it being but one and the most simple, yet it includeth all the perfections of all things, and that in the highest eminencie of perfection. For seeing that [Page 100] he is the Creator and maker of all,God is the perfection of al things. and it is he that gouerneth, and directeth all to their last end and perfection: it cannot be, that he hath not that, he giueth to another, or laboureth with any penury of that thing, that hee so aboundantly distributeth to others. Hence it is that all the blessed spirits doe reioyce in seeing all things in him alone; yet euery one according to the proportion of that glory, which they haue gotten. For euen as now the creatures are as it were looking glasses, in which the beauty of God may after some manner be seene; so then God shall be the looking glasse, in whom the beauty and fairenes of all creatures shall be seene: and that vision shall be much more perfect,God all in all. then if it were seene in the creatures themselues. So that God will be there the vniuersall good of all his Saints, the per­fect felicity and satietie of all their desires. There God will be a looking glasse to the eyes of his Saints, musicke to their eares, Nectar & Ambrosia to their palats, and ordoriferous Balsanum to their smelling. There we shall see the variety and beauty of the seasons, the pleasantnes of the Spring, the brightnes of Som­mer, the fruitfulnes of Autumne, and the quiet of Winter. To be briefe, there shall be whatsoeuer may delight our sences, and euery faculty of our soules. There (as Bernard sayth) will be the fulnes of light to our vnderstanding, the aboundance of peace to our will, and the continuance of eternity to our me­mory. There the wisedom of Salomon shall seeme ignorance: there the beauty of Absalon shall seeme deformity: there the strength of Sampson shall seeme weakenes: there the life of those men, that liued at the beginning of the world, shall be as it were death: to conclude, there wee may worthily call the treasuries of all Emperours and Kings, starke beggerie and pouertie.

If these things be so, ô wretched man, (as they are in deede) wherefore, and to what end doost thou desire to stay longer in the Land of Egipt, and to gather stubble? Why doost thou drinke troubled and foule water out of all cesternes, despising the vaine of felicity, and the fountaine of liuing waters? Why doost thou loue to begge and [...]o liue of almes, when thou shalt finde such aboundance in heauen? If thou desirest pleasure, lift vp thine hart, and see how delightfull that good is, that contay­neth [Page 101] in it the delight and pleasure of all good things. If this life created doth please thee, how much more shall that life please thee, which created all things? If health giuen make thee mer­rie, how much more shall he make thee merry, that giueth all health? If the knowledge of the creatures be sweet and accep­table, how much more sweeter shall the Creator himselfe be? If beauty be acceptable vnto thee, it is hee at whose beauty the Sunne and Moone admire. If thou desirest nobility, hee is the fountaine and originall of all nobility. If thou desirest long life and health, he is eternal life. If thou desirest satiety and aboun­dance, he is the fulnes of al good things. If thou delightest in the wel-tuned musicke & harmony of mortall men; there Angels doe sing most sweetly, & the Organs of the Citty of God, are heard there with great delight and pleasantnes. If the friend­ship, familiarity, and society of good men doe like thee; there thou shalt finde all the elect, hauing one minde and one hart. If thou thirstest after riches and honours, in that house of the Lord they are found in great aboundance. To conclude, if thou desirest to escape all kinde of punishments, tribulations, and miseries; there thou shalt finde libertie and freedome from them all.

God commaunded in the olde law,The mistery of Circum­cision. that vpon the eight day Circumcision should be celebrated; that secretly he might let vs vnderstand, that vpon the eight day of our Resurrection, which succeedeth the seauenth day of this life, God will circum­cise and cut off all the griefes, sorrowes, miseries, and calamities of them, that for his loue whilst they liued haue circumcised and cut off their appetites, lusts, and sinnes. What thing then can be found out more blessed or happy, then this estate of liuing, most free from all kinde of misery?Augustine in the 17, chapter of his Manuel. What, sayth Saint Augu­stine, is more blessed then this life, where there is no feare of pouerty, no infirmity of sicknes? No man is hurt, none angry, none enuieth, no concupiscence is kindled, no appetite of meat, no ambition of honour or dominion, doth vrge or moue thee. There is no feare of the deuill, no deceipts of deuils; the terror of hell is farre of, there is neyther death of body or soule, but a pleasant life through the gift of immortality. Then there shall be no mischiefes, no discords: but all agreement; because there [Page 102] shall be one concord of all the Saints. Peace and ioy embrace all things, all thinges are at quiet and rest, there is continuall brightnes and shining, not that which is now, but much more bright and cleare,Apoc, 21. because that Citty, as it is reade, needeth ney­ther Sunne nor Moone: but the Lord almighty shall enlighten it,Dan. 12. and the Lambe is the light of it. Where the Saints shall shine as the brightnes of the firmament, and they that turne many to righteousnes, as the starres for euer and euer. Wherefore there is no night, no darknes, no concourse of cloudes, neyther anie distemperature or vnseasonablenes of heate or cold: but there shall be such a temperature and moderation of all things, which neyther the eye hath seene,Esay, 64.1, Cor. 2. nor the eare hath heard, neyther hath it entred into the hart of man: except of them, who are found worthy to enioy it, whose names are written in the booke of life. But aboue all these things it is, to be consociate with the assembly of Angels and Archangels, and of all the celestiall po­wers: to behold the Patriarches, and Prophets, to see the Apo­stles, and all the Saints: to see also our parents. These are glo­rious, but much more glorious is it, to behold the countenance of the Lord, and to see that light not to be circumscribed; that will be superexcellent glory, when we shal see God in himselfe, wee shall see and shall haue him in vs, whom to behold there shall be no end.

Augustine in the 15. chapter of his Manuel All things to be suffe­red for the heauenly glory. O my soule, sayth the same holy man, if wee daily should suffer torments, if for a long time we should endure hell it selfe, that we might see Christ in his glory, and haue society with his Saints: were it not a thing worthy to suffer all bitternes and all crosse, that we might be pertakers of so great good, and so great glory? Therfore let the deuils lye in waite for me, let them pre­pare temptations: let fastings weaken my body, let hard and course cloathing afflict my flesh, let labours oppresse mee, let watchings dry me vp, let this man cry out against me, let this or that disquiet mee, let cold benum me, let my conscience mur­mur against mee, let heate burne mee, let my head ake, let my hart boyle within me, let my stomach faile mee, let my counte­nance waxe pale, let euery part of me be enfeebled; let my life forsake me in griefe, and let my yeeres end in sorrow: let rot­tennes enter into my bones, and flow vnder me, so that I may [Page 103] rest in the day of tribulation, and that I may ascend to the holy hil. For what shal be the glory of the righteous? How great the ioy of the Saints, when as euery face shal shine as the Sun? Hetherto S. Augustine.

If this good be so great, and so vniuersall, what shal the feli­city and glory be of those blessed eyes, which shal behold all these things? How excellent a thing wil it be to see the beauty of this Citty? And the glory of the Cittizens? The face of the Creator? The magnificence of the buildings? The riches of the Pallace, and the common ioy of that Countrey? How plea­sant a thing wil it be to see the orders of the blessed Spirits? The authority of that holy Senate? And the maiesty of those vene­rable Seniours and Elders,Apoc. 4. which Saint Iohn saw, Sitting vpon thrones in the sight of God, clothed in white rayment, and hauing on their heads crownes of gold? How sweet and how pleasant wil it be to heare those sweet angelical voyces, the consent of theyr musicke most excellently composed of maister singers, such Psalmody of such holy singers, such Symphonie so metrically ordered, not of foure or fiue voyces, as that is which wee now vse, but tuned and ruled with the variety of so many numerous and harmonious voyces, as there be Elect? What great plea­sure wil it be to heare theyr most sweet songs, which S. Iohn heard in his Reuelation.Apoc. 7. And they worshipped God, sayth he, say­ing; Prayse and glory, and wisedome, and thanks, and honour, and power, and might be vnto our God for euermore, Amen.

If the glory and pleasure be so great to heare this harmonie and consent of voyces; what wil it be to see the concord of bo­dies and soules so conformable and vniforme? But how much more admirable wil it be, to behold so great vnion of men and Angels? What doe I say of men and Angels? Yea, so great an vnion betweene man and God himselfe? Aboue al these it can­not fitly be imagined, how acceptable and welcome a thing it wil be to see those most spacious fields, and fountaines of lyfe, and those most delicate feedings vpon the mountaines of Isra­el. What wil it be to sit at that royall table, to haue a place a­mongst those inuited Nobles, and to dip thine hand into the dish with God, that is, to enioy one and the same glory of God? There the Saints shal rest, shal reioyce, sing, prayse, and going [Page 104] in and out, they shal finde pastures of inestimable delight. If the rewards of Vertue be so great and so precious, which our Catholique faith doe promise vs, who wil be so blind, slothful, negligent, and so peruerse, that is not moued to contend with his whole strength, for the obtayning of a reward so copious, ample, and large?

THE TENTH TITLE. That the last of those foure last things, that happen vnto vs, that is, Hell fire, doth bind vs to seeke after Vertue. CHAP. X.

THE least of those good things, which hetherto we haue remembred, ought to be sufficient to beget a loue of Vertue in our minds, by which we may obtayne so great blessings. Now if to this vnmeasurable glory, the greatnes of the tor­ments of hel be added, which are prepared for the wicked, who wil be so hard harted, and of so rebellious a mind, that vices be­ing forsaken, wil not hereafter willingly embrace Vertue?

For the vngodly and peruerse shal not comfort themselues with this voyce, Be it that I am wicked & vngodly; what then? Shal I not enter into that heauenly glory? Shal I not reioyce with God▪ In this consists al my punishment. Of other things I am not careful, because I shal haue neyther glory, nor any o­ther punishment.There are but two wayes. O my brother, thou art deceaued, the matter stands not so. For it is of necessity, that one of these must hap­pen vnto thee; that either thou shalt raigne eternally with God, or that thou shalt be tormented with the deuils in euerlasting flames. For betweene these two extreames, there is no meane.

Ieremy, 24. This is excellently shadowed out vnto vs, in the figure of those two baskets, which the Lord shewed vnto the Prophet Ieremy before the gate of the Temple: for one basket had ve­rie good figs, euen like the figs that are first ripe: and the other basket had very naughty figs, which could not be eaten, they were so euil. The Lord by this spectacle, would shew vnto his Prophet two kindes of men, one, to whom hee would shew [Page 105] mercy, the other, that he would punish according to his iustice. The estate and condition of the first kinde of men was passing good, neyther can a better be giuen: of the other exceeding ill, then which a worse cannot be found. The condition and lot of the good is to see God, which is the chiefest of al blessings: but the misfortune and vnhappines of the wicked shal be, to be depriued fo [...]uer of the sight of God; which euil is the worst of al euils. These things ought they diligently to consider, and alwayes to meditate vpon, who feare not to commit sinne, when as they see so great a burthen, and so cruel and direful punish­ment appoynted for sinne.

Porters and Cariers,A simili­tude. when they are called to carry a burthen on their shoulders, first they looke diligently vpon it, then they peise and lift it vp, and try whether they be able to vndergoe it, and whether they can carry it; and thou ô miserable man, to whom sinnes are so pleasing, that for a little pleasure, hast en­thralled thy selfe to carry the burthen of it; ah mad man, first prooue and assay how great the waight is of the burthen, (that is, of the punishment, which thou shalt suffer for this pleasure) that thou mayst vnderstand, whether thou hast strength to beare it.

That this proofe may be made more conueniently, I wil bring hether a certaine consideration, by the which after some manner thou shalt be able to vnderstand the quality and great­nes of the torments of hel: that thou mayst make a triall, whe­ther thou beest sufficient to beare the burthen, which thou vn­dertakest to carry,The great­nes of the punishment by reason of y^e great­nes of God. when thou sinnest. Let this then be the first consideration, the greatnes and infinite immensity of God, who will chastice and punish sinne, that wee may see what an one God is in all his works. This is it that I would say, that God is great and admirable in al things: not onely in the sea, in earth, and in heauen: but also in hel. In so much, that if the Lord be God in al his works (as we see that he is) he wil be God also in his wrath, in his iustice, and in the punishment of sinners. For this cause the Lord sayth by Ieremy,Ieremy, 5. Feare ye not me, or will ye not be afrayde at my presence, which haue placed the sand for the bounds of the Sea, by the perpetuall decree that it cannot passe it, and though the waues thereof rage, yet can they not preuaile, though they roare, [Page 106] yet can they not passe ouer it? That is, ouer the limits appoynted of me. As if he should say, is it not meete that ye feare the arme of the Lord so mighty, whose greatnes this admirable worke doth sufficiently shew? He therfore that is great in al his works, shal he not be great in punishing of sinners? Hee that for one thing is worthy, whom we doe reuerence and adore, shal he not be worthy for an other thing, that he may be feared? For this cause the same Prophet, although he was innocent, and sancti­fied in his mothers wombe, so greatly feared the Lord, when he sayd;Ierem. 10. There is none like vnto thee, ô Lord: thou art great, and thy name is great in power. Who would not feare thee ô King of Nati­ons? For to thee appertayneth the dominion: for among all the wise men of the Gentiles, and in all their kingdomes there is none like thee. And in an other place, I kept me farre off from men, because my hart was full of the feare of thy wrath. Although this Prophet was certaine that this wrath was not kindled against him, yet it was so great that it brought feare vpon him. Therefore it was sayd very well,Psal. 105. Iob, 26. That hee beholdeth the earth, and hee maketh it to tremble, he toucheth the mountaines and they smoake. And that the starres and pillers of heauen tremble and quake at his reproofe. And it is said of him not without reason, that before his maiesty those great principalities and supreame powers doe tremble; not be­cause they are not secure of their owne glory, but because the greatnes of the diuine Maiesty doth strike feare and trembling into them. If therfore they that be perfect be not without feare, what shal they doe, that are guilty and contemners of the diuine Maiesty? They are those, vpon whom hee wil poure out the fury of his indignation. This is one of the principal reasons, why the greatnes of this punishment is to be feared, as S. Iohn plainely teacheth in his Reuelation, where he after this manner speaketh of the scourges and torments of the Lord.Apoc. 18. Therefore shall her plagues come at one day (he speaketh of Babilon) death, and sorrow, and famine, and she shall be burnt with fire, for strong is the Lord God, which will condemne her. The Apostle also was not ignorant of the strength of this Lord, and therfore he sayd, It is a fearefull thing to fall into the hands of the Lord. Heb. 10. It is not a fearefull thing to fall into the hands of men, because they are not so mighty, but we may escape their violence, and flye from [Page 107] their fury; neyther haue they such authority, that they can thrust the soule into hel. Therfore our Sauiour sayd to his Disciples; Feare not them that kill the body, Math. 10. but cannot kill the soule: but ra­ther feare him, who can cast both body and soule into hell fire. These be the hands, into which the holy Apostle sayth that it is a feare­ful thing to fall. Of these things it is no hard matter to gather, what is the nature of those hands, of which Ecclesiasticus spea­keth; If we doe not repent,Ecclesi. 2.we shall fall into the hands of the Lord, and not into the hands of men. By all which it is most manifest, that as God is great in power, in Maiestie, and in all his works, so he will be great in wrath, in iustice, and in the punishments of the wicked.

The same also is yet more plainly seene in examining the Diuine iustice,The great­nes of the iustice of GOD. the effects aud executions of which, be these pu­nishments. Thys is after some manner knowen by the effects, that is, by the feareful punishments of God, inflicted at diuers times vpon wicked men, sundry of which are remembred in the Scriptures.Numb. 16. How terrible was the punishment of Dathan and Abiron, and of all theyr complices, whom the earth (opening her mouth) swallowed vp, with theyr Tents, and all their sub­stance, and they went quick into hel; because they had stirred vp sedition against Moses and the Priests? Who euer heard such like kind of threatnings as those that are read in Deutero­nomie? and they are purposed and threatned against thē, who doe not obserue the Lawe of the Lord: where amongst other horrible and feareful threatnings,Deut, 28, thus sayth the Lord; Thou shalt be besieged in all thy Citties, throughout all thy Land which the Lord thy God hath giuen thee. The husbād without the knowledge of his wife, shal eate his sons, and so shall y^e wife without the priuitie of the man, that they might eate alone. And thou shalt eate the fruite of thy bodie, euen the flesh of thy sonnes and thy daughters, which the Lord thy God hath giuen thee, during the siege and straightnes wherein thine enemies shall enclose thee: So that the man that is tender and exceeding daintie among you, shal be grieued at his brother, & at his wife that lieth in his bosome, & at the remnant of his children which he hath yet left. For feare of giuing vnto any of them of the flesh of his children, whom he shall eate, because he hath nothing left him in that siedge and straightnes, wherwith thine enemie shall besiedge thee in all thy Citties. The tender and daintie woman among you, which neuer would venter to sette the sole of her foote vpon the ground, for [Page 108] her softnesse and tendernesse, shall be grieued at her husband vvhich lieth in her bosome, and at her sonne, and at her daughter, and at her after birth, that shall come out from betweene her feete, and at her children, which shee shall beare: for when all things lacke, shee shall eate them secretlie, during the siedge and straightnesse, vvhere-with thine enemie shall besiedge thee in thy Citties.

Horrible and to be trembled at are these punishments: yet both these, and al other, with which men haue at any time been punished in this world, are no other thing then a smal shadow, and a figure of those punishments, which tarry for the damned in the other world: for that shall bee the time in which the Di­uine iustice shal shine, vpon and against those, that heere haue refused his mercy. But if the shadow be so horrible, who shal be able to sustaine the truth of the matter, and the thing it selfe? If now, when as the Diuine iustice is as yet tempered with mercy, and the cup of the wrath of the Lord is mixed with the water of his grace, be so bitter; what will it be, when it shall be drunke pure without mercy, especially of those that would shewe no mercy to theyr neighbour; although the punishment will al­wayes be lesse, then the desert and merrit of the sinne?

Neyther onely dooth the greatnesse of the iustice argue the greatnes of the punishment;Of the mer­cie of God, the greatnes of the pu­nishment is gathered. but also the greatnes of the mer­cie, of the goodnes of which wicked men presume so much. For what is more admirable, then to see GOD clothed with mans flesh, and in it to suffer all kinde of torments & reproches▪ euen from his entrance into this life, to his going foorth of it, which he ended vpon the Crosse? What greater mercy, then to come into this world, and to take vppon him the debts of the vvhole world, that he might disburthen the world of them? & to shed his blood for them who shedde his blood? Therefore, as the works of the Diuine mercie are admirable, so are the workes of the Diuine iustice to be feared: for there is not in God lesser or greater, but seeing that God is wholy and all that hee is in him­selfe, therefore as much as his mercie is, so much necessarilie is his iustice,A simili­tude. in those things that pertaine vnto it. For euen as by the greatnes of one arme, we gather the quantity of the other; so by the greatnes of the arme of the Diuine mercy, we measure also the quantity of the Diuine iustice: seeing that there is one [Page 109] and the same measure of them both.

Now therefore tell me (I pray thee) if in that time in vvhich GOD would shewe his mercy to the world,The two cōmin [...]s of Christ cō ­pared. hee wrought so admirable things, and so incredible to the world, that the world supposed them to be foolishnes: when the time of hys second comming shall approch, in which he determineth to shewe the greatnesse of his iustice, what doost thou thinke that hee vvill doe? hauing so many moe greater occasions, by howe much there shall be moe and greater offences of men. For the mercie of GOD had not any thing that might prouoke it, or desire it, seeing there was nothing in mans nature, that might deserue it: but the Diuine iustice shal haue so many pricks, motiues, and pullers on for reuengement, as there hath been sinnes commit­ted in thys world: ánd of these sufficient coniectures may bee taken, how great and howe terrible the Diuine iustice will be. This thing Saint Bernard excellently declareth in a certaine ser­mon of the Natiuitie of our Lord:In his first Sermon of the Natiui­tie of our Lord. Looke how milde & gentle he was (saith he) in his first comming, so hard and inexorable will he be in his second: and as now there is no man that may not be reconciled, so after a short time, there shalbe no man that may. Because, as the gentlenes and benignitie appeared beyond all hope and esteeme, so we must expect the sharpnes and seue­ritie, of the iudgement to be. God is vnmeasurable & infinite in iustice, as he is in mercy: great to pardon, great to punish: but mercy doth challenge the first place, that if we will, iustice might not be found, vpon whom it should be extended. This sayth Bernard. By thys it sufficiently appeareth, how that by the mercie of God, the quantitie of his iustice may be gathered.

The diuine Psalmographer doth most excellently shew thē both;Psalm, 68. This is our God (sayth he) euen the GOD that saueth vs: and to the Lord God belong the issues of death. Sure God wil wound the head of his enemies, & the hearie pate of him that walketh in his sinnes. Thou seest by these my brother, that the Lorde is as se­uere to his enemies, and to those that rebell against him, as he is kinde and mercifull to his friends. The same thing the Diuine pacience doth most plainly teach, which hee vseth as well to­wards the whole world, as towards all sorts of men, good and e­uill. For we see many men so disordered and dissolute, and of so [Page 110] reprobate a life, that from the first time that they begin to open theyr eyes of reason, euen to the last day of theyr life, doe con­sume and spend the greater part of theyr life in offending God, and contemning his diuine commaundements: hauing neither respect nor regard of the promises, threatnings, benefits or coū ­sels of God, or of any other thing. Neuerthelesse, in al the time of theyr life, the great goodnes of God wayteth for them wyth great patience, not cutting off the thred of theyr life: not cea­sing to call them by many wayes to repentance, although he see no token of amendement in them. But when that long pati­ence shal come to an end, if he shal poure vpon them the store­house of his wrath, (whom so many yeeres by little and little he hath beene gathering into the bosome of his iustice) with what force, with what violence, thinkest thou that they shal be ouer­whelmed?

What other thing would the Apostle signifie, when he said, Despisest thou the riches of his bountifulnesse, and patience, & long sufferance, Rom, 2▪ not knowing that the bountifulnesse of GOD leadeth thee to repentance? But thou after thine hardnesse, and hart that cannot repent, heapest vnto thy selfe wrath, against the day of vvrath, & of the declaration of the iust iudgement of God. Who will reward euerie man according to his workes. What is it that he sayth, thou heapest wrath vnto thy selfe, but that hee may signifie, that as one ga­thering a treasurie, doth daily adde a penny to a penny, & doth heape riches to riches, for so the masse dooth increase: so the Lord doth euery day enlarge the heape of his wrath, as the wic­ked man by his ill actions, dooth increase accounts to be rende­red for them. Tell mee (I pray thee) if any man in gathering treasure, should so closely and diligently sticke to it, that neyther any day or houre should passe, in which hee woulde not adde somewhat to it, and that by the space of fiftie or sixtie yeeres: if at any time afterwards he should vnlock his doore, & enter into his treasure house, what great store of treasure should he finde there? O vnhappy man, doost thou not marke, that neyther day nor houre passeth, in which thou doost not augment the heape of Gods wrath, which is reserued for thy destruction? that is, increased and augmented by euery sinne that thou com­mittest. For although there were no other thing, but the disho­nest [Page 111] looke of thine eyes, the impure thought, or vncleane de­sire, and the hatred of thine hart, the word and periurie of thy mouth, these were enough alone to fill the whole world. But if to these all thy other vices & sinnes be ioyned, meditate (I pray thee) what an vnmeasurable masse of the wrath of GOD thou hast heaped to thy selfe by the space of so many yeares? If the ingratitude and maliciousnes of peruerse men be well searched into, they will shewe vnto vs the greatnesse of the Diuine pu­nishments.

That thys is true consider the goodnesse and liberalitie of GOD towards men: consider moreouer that which he dyd and sayd in thys world, with that which he suffered for them all. Consider also the commodities and necessaries for the vse of men, prepared of hym, that they might liue well: and all other things that he hath pardoned vnto sinners, or winked at, how many blessings he hath bestowed vpon them, and from hovve many euils he hath deliuered them, and many other kind of fa­uours and benefits, which daily he bestoweth vpon them. All these things increase and multiply the heape of Gods vvrath. Moreouer, call to thy minde, the forgetfulnesse and negligence of men towards God, and also theyr ingratitude and rebellion, lastly, their blasphemies and contempt, as well of God himselfe, as of his commaundements; which are so great, that not onely they looke for no gaine or profit of theyr sinning, but often­times, of onely maliciousnes, they tread foolishly all that vnder theyr feete, which the Lord hath commaunded. He therefore, that without any reuerence or shamefastnes despiseth so great a Maiestie, no otherwise then if he were some Figge-tree God; who so often,Heb. 10. as Paule speaketh, hath troden vnder-foote the son of God, and hath counted the blood of the Testament as an vnholie thing, wherewith he was sanctified; he that so often hath cruci­fied him with his works, worse then the works of Pagans, what other thing is to be looked for of him, when the houre of ren­dering an account shall come, then that he giue the honour to God,The punish­ment ought to be like to the sin. or suffer so much punishment, as he hath iniured God? For seeing that GOD is a iust Iudge, it is his duety to bevvare, that the punishments be not lesse then the iniuries done: but that they be like to the sinne of him who hath beene iniurious. [Page 112] In thys case, if it be God to whom the iniurie is doone, vvhat sentence shall be pronounced against the body and soule of the condemned, that the iniury doone may bee recompenced by worthy punishment? But if in the satisfaction of the offence done to God, the blood of the sonne of God was necessarie, in supplying the dignity of the person, which was wanting & fay­ling for the greatnes of the punishment, what shall it be, vvhen the recompence shall be performed, not by the dignitie of the person, but onely by the seueritie of the punishment?

From the person of the executi­oner, that is, of the deuill, the greatnes of the punish­ment is ga­thered. But let vs come from the condition of the Iudge, to the con­dition and quality of the executioner (whose part it will be to execute the sentence and decree of the Iudge.) If it be deman­ded who it shal be, I say that it shal be the deuil. From whose hands what is to be hoped, I thinke that no man will doubt. Yet that thou mayst vnderstand after some manner, how great the cruelty is of the executioner: I pray thee consider, how cru­elly he handleth them, which are committed to his power, as was holy Iob. Thou doost see this cruell Tyrant after that manner tyrannizing ouer this innocent man,Iob, 1. that after a greater or more cruel manner, he could not tyrannize ouer any reaso­nable creature: hauing not the least pitty or compassion. Did he not burne his sheepe and his seruants with fire brought from aboue? Did hee not by the Sabaeans steale away all his Oxen and Asses, and by the Chaldaeans steale all his Camels, and slay his seruants with the edge of the sword? Did he not ouerthrow his houses, and with the fal of them kil his children? Did he not at the last smite his body with sore byles, from the sole of his foote to the crowne of his head, neyther left him any other thing, besides a dunghil and a potshard to s [...]rape him? Hee left him a wife, and vnsound friends, not for his comfort and solace; but that they by theyr speeches, might be as wormes to gnaw and deuoure the very intrals and bowels of poore and misera­ble Iob. All these things he could, and dared to doe against a man, God permitting it. But what cruelty and extreame tiran­nie did he practise against our Sauiour, especially in that night, in which he was deliuered to the power of darknesse? This can not be expressed in a fewe words. If therefore this enemy, with all his confederate Catchpols be so cruell, and so direfull and [Page 113] extreame an executioner, and so bloody an enemy to all man­kinde: ô wretched man, what wilt thou do, when thou shalt see thy selfe deliuered into his hands, that hee may exercise all his crueltie vppon thee, according to the decree of the Diuine iu­stice? Alas this matter is too horrible. Neither must thou think that this punishmēt is for one night, for one day, or for one yere, but that it shall endure for euer, that is, throughout all eternity. What doth it seeme vnto thee? doost thou thinke that thou art committed to the hands of a good man? O what an obscure & blacke day will that be, when thou shalt vnderstand thy selfe to be committed to the power of Wolues so rauenous? But that thou maist better vnderstand, what friendshyp is to be looked for of these deuils, I will relate vnto thee a notable example, re­corded long agoe of Saint Gregory.

There was of late,In the 4. booke of his Dialog [...] chap. 37. sayth hee, a certaine young man that re­mained amongst vs, his name was Theodorus, of a dissolute life, and most negligent of his health and safetie. In thys same plague which lately hath consumed the greater part of our peo­ple, he was strooken with it in his groyne, and was brought to deaths doore. Whilst he was drawing to his last home, certaine brethren came vnto him, that they might pray to God for him. Now already the vtmost parts of his body were dead, only vitall heate remained in his breast. All the brethren began to pray so much the more earnestly for him, by how much he hasted more speedily to his end. Then on a suddaine, he beganne to cry out to the brethren kneeling about him, and with his exclamations to interrupt theyr prayers,A fearefull & horrible example. saying; Depart, depart. Beholde, I am gyuen to a Dragon to be deuoured, who by reason of your presence cannot deuoure me. Hee hath already swallowed vp my head into his mouth; giue place, that he may no more tor­ment me; but let him doe that he is to doe. If I be gyuen to be deuoured of him, why am I delayed by you? Then the bre­thren began to say vnto him: Brother, what is that which thou speakest? Call vpon the name of Iesus Christ our deliuerer. He aunswered, saying: I would call vpon the name of Christ, but I cannot; because I am oppressed with the scales of this Dragon. When the brethren heard thys, they fell prostrate vppon the ground, and began with teares to pray more feruently for hys [Page 114] release and deliuerance. And beholde on a suddaine, the sick­man began to cry out, saying; I giue thanks to God, behold the Dragon which would haue deuoured me, is fledde, he durst not stay, beeing feared by your prayers. Now pray, and I will pray with you, that God through Christ, would forgiue my sinnes, for now I am ready to be conuerted, & to leaue thys sinful lyfe, the which he did.

Of the same deuils Saint Iohn speaketh in his Reuelation, by the manner of an horrible figure.Apoc, 9. A descrip­tion of the deuils pow­er. And I saw (saith he) a star which was fallen from heauen vnto the earth, and to him was giuen the key of the bottomlesse pitte. And hee opened the bottomlesse pitte, and there arose the smoake of the pitte, as the smoake of a great for­nace, and the sunne and the ayre were darkned by the smoake of the pitte. And there came out of the smoake Locustes vpon the earth, & vnto thē was giuen power, as the Scorpions of the earth haue power. And it was commaunded them that they should not hurt the grasse of the earth, neither any greene thing, neither any tree: but onely those men, which haue not the seale of God in their foreheads. And to them was commaunded that they should not kill them, but that they should be vexed fiue moneths, and that their paine should be as the paine that commeth of a Scorpion, when hee hath stunge a man. Therefore, [...] those dayes shall men seeke death, and shall not finde it, and shal desire to die, & death shall flee from them. And the forme of the Locustes was like vnto horses prepared vnto battaile, and on their heads were as it were crownes like vnto gold, & their faces were like vnto the fa­ces of men. And they had haire as the haire of vvomen, & their teeth were as the teeth of Lyons. And they had Habbergions, like vnto Habbergions of yron: and the sound of their wings, was like the sound of Charrets, when many Horses runne vnto battaile. And they had tailes like vnto Scorpions, and there were stings in their tailes. He­therto Saint Iohn. Tell mee nowe, my brother, what was the minde of the holy Ghost, (for he is the Authour of this Scrip­ture) when vnder that horrible and fearefull figure, he vvould signifie the greatnesse of the scourges of the Diuine iustice? What other intent had he, then that by this terrible horrour he might admonish men, that they be not vnmindfull vvhat the wrath of the Lord God is, and what be the instruments of his iustice: what be the punishments of the wicked, and what is the [Page 115] power of our aduersaries: that we beeing admonished by the fearefull terrour of these things, may feare to offend God? For what is that starre, which fell from heauen vnto the earth, & to whom the keyes of the bottomlesse pitte were deliuered, but that most bright Angell who fell from heauen, to whom vvas giuen the power of darknes? And what be those Locustes like vnto Horses prepared for the warre, but hellish Furies, Armies of damned companions, assistants, helpers, and ministers vnto him, who are deuils? what is the grasse, what the greene plants, which they are forbidden to hurt, but the iust, who are greene, and doe florish by the dew of the Diuine grace, and doe bring foorth fruite to eternall life? Who be they that haue not the seale of God in their foreheads, but they that haue not the spirit of God, who is the seale of his seruaunts, and of the Sheepe of his flock.

Therefore, against those miserable and wretched ones, such an Armie of the Diuine iustice is prepared, that both in this life and in that to come, according to theyr merrits, they shalbe tor­mented and tortured of the deuils themselues, whom they haue serued,Exod, 8. no otherwise then the Egiptians were vexed of the wa­ter-flies and frogges, which they adored for Gods. How hor­rible and fearefull a thing will it be then, in that damned & cur­sed place to see so many terrible monsters, and hagges so dread­full? How fearefull will it be there to see that hungry Dragon, fretting and fuming with horrible madnesse: that great Behe­moth, of whom it is said in the booke of Iob, that his tayle is like a Cedar, that drinketh vp riuers, and feedeth on Mountaines?

Those things that hetherto haue been spoken of vs, do suffi­ciently declare,The con­clusion. how intollerable the punishments of the wicked shall be. For what is to be looked or hoped for of all them, but horrible punishments? What is to be looked for of the great­nesse and infinitenes of God, I say of the greatnes of his iustice, in punishing wicked men and sinners? vvhat of the greatnes of his patience, which so gently doth forbeare, and expect the re­pentance of sinners? vvhat of the multitude of his benefits, with which he doth loade sinners, that with the sweetnes of them, he might draw and allure them vnto him? What of the greatnes of his hatred, which he hath against sinne? for that sinne, that [Page 116] offendeth an infinite Maiestie, merriteth an infinite hate. What of the greatnesse of the furie of our enemies, who are so migh­tie in torments and tortures, and so ready to doe ill? What I say is to be looked for, or to be hoped of the greatnesse of all these things, but a mightie and vnheard of punishment of sinne? If therefore the punishment be so great which is prepared for sin, neyther may any escape it, neither doth it euer faile; (for so our sayth doth tell vs) what is the reason, or rather the blindnesse of them, who beleeuing and confessing these things, do not regard the intollerable burthen, which they take vpon them when they offend? For they committing but one sinne, are bound to this punishment, which by the fore-said reasons is proued to be so great and so vnmeasurable.

THE ELEVENTH TITLE. ¶ That we are bound vnto Vertue, by reason of the inesti­mable blessings, which are promised in this present life. CHAP. XI.

SVrely I know not, what they can pretend, or what excuse they can make, who doe not em­brace Vertue, seeing there be so many rea­sons, which doe enforce men to that study. For it is no small thing for the defence of this matter, to alledge that there is a God: and what the studious of Vertue deserue, what is giuen, and what is promised vnto them; on the other side, what threatnings are menaced and denounced against the vicious, and against those that flye from the study of Vertue.It is a won­der that a­mong Chri­stians, so many men are found wicked and vicious. A simili­tude. Therfore not without cause may some man aske, why amongst Christians, who beleeue and confesse all these things, there be so many found, who neglect vertues, & doe follow vices? For it is not to be meruailed at, that there be many such among infidels, who seeing they know not Vertue, haue it in no price: euen as a ditcher, if he by chaunce finde a Iem, doth little esteeme it: because he knoweth not the vertue and price of it. But that Christians, who know and be­leeue all these things, doe liue as though they beleeued not, vn­mindfull of God, seruants of sinne, bondslaues vnto their owne passions and appetites, by so much more addicted to visible things, by how much more they are carelesse of inuisible things, [Page 121] ready to all kinde of sinne, no otherwise, then if death were not at all, neither that they should come to iudgement, neither that anie glorie of heauen was to be looked for, and to be briefe, nei­ther hell to be feared. This I say, is greater then all admiration.

Therfore,Whence this negli­gence is. as I said, it may worthilie be demaunded, whence this negligence growes, and whence this stupiditie of vnder­standing, and this diabolicall inchauntment (if I may so call it) comes vnto men. This mischiefe hath not one onely roote, but many and diuers. Amongst others, and those not the least, is a certaine generall errour, in which men of this worlde doe lyue, supposing all that God promiseth to the louers of Vertue, to be reserued to the life to come; and that in this present world, no­thing is to be looked for. Therefore, seeing that man dooth so greatly desire reward, and especially is ledde by profit, but not vnlesse it be present, and is mooned with those things, which are obuious to the outward sences, when he seeth nothing present, he smally accounteth of that which is to come. So the Ievves seeme to haue doone in the time of the Prophets: For vvhen as Ezechiell (by the commaundement of God) did set before thē great promises, or did denounce against them direfull commi­nations, they mocked, and with a certaine contempt, hissed at them all,Ezech, 12, saying; The vision that he seeth, is for many dayes to come, and he prophecieth of the times that are farre of. So the scornefull contemned the sayings of the Prophet Esay,Esay, 28, and said; Precept must be vpon precept, precept vpon precept, line vnto line, line vnto line, there a little, & there a little. This is one of the especiall rea­sons, that withdrawes peruerse and froward men from the ob­seruance of Gods commaundements, perswading themselues, that there is no reward ordained for Vertue in this world; but all things to be reserued for the world to come.

To this that great Wiseman respected,Eccle. 8. when hee said, Be­cause sentence against an euill worke is not speedily executed, therfore the hart of the chyldren of men is fully sette in them to doe euill. The Wise-man addeth also another thing, and that is, the worst a­mong all things that are done vnder the Sunne,All things happen a like to the good and euill. and that it doth giue great occasion to the wicked to sinne, that it happeneth ill to the righteous, as though they had doone the workes of the wicked: and the wicked often-times doth liue so securely, as if [Page 122] they did the works of the righteous:Eccle. 9. or that all things come a­like to all; and the same condition is to the iust and to the wic­ked; to the pure, and to the polluted; to him that sacrificeth, & to him that sacrificeth not: as is the good, so is the sinner, hee that sweareth, as he that feareth an oath. Whereupon he sayth, The harts of the sonnes of men, are full of euill, and madnes is in their harts whilst they liue, and after that, they goe to the dead. That which Salomon heere speaketh, the wicked and vngodly them selues doe confesse by the Prophet Malachie, saying: It is in vaine to serue God: Mala. 3. and what profit is it that we haue kept his com­maundements, and that we walked humbly before the Lord of hosts? Therefore we count the proude blessed: euen they that worke wicked­nesse, are sette vp, and they that tempt God, yea, they are deliuered. These things the wicked say, and these are the things which e­specially hold them in impietie: for they suppose it a very hard thing, as Ambrose sayth, to buy hope at their owne perrill: that is, to compasse future blessings with the losse of present, and to giue those things that are in their hands, for those which some­times heereafter may be giuen.

To banish and expell this most pestilent errour, I know not whence to take a fitter beginning, then from those wordes and teares of our Sauiour, with which in times past, he did lament & weepe ouer that miserable Cittie of Ierusalem, saying: O if thou haddest euen knowne at the least in this thy day, Luke, 19, those things which belong vnto thy peace: but now are they hidde from thine eyes. Our Sauiour did consider on the one part, howe great the blessings were, which were brought into the world for the vse and good of that people, together with his person: for all the graces and heauenlie treasures, descended frō heauen together with Christ; on the otherside, he looked to this people, offended at his low­lie humilitie and base estate, and that they would not accept of his blessings, and that for this sinne, they should not onely lose these treasures, but also their whole Common-wealth, and their Cittie.

Therefore the Lorde exceedingly lamenting, wept most a­boundantly, and broke forth into this short and imperfect sen­tence: the which the shorter it is, it hath the greater significa­tion. This same affection, and these words may be fitly applied [Page 123] to our purpose. For considering on the one part the beauty of Vertue, and the graces and riches, which attend on her; and on the other part, how farre these things are remoued and hid from the eyes of men, drowned in earthly things, and also how Vertue doth sweepe the ground, and being despised in all the world, cannot finde a place for her selfe, doost thou not thinke that wee haue iust cause to weepe, and to say with our Lord, O, Men are ig­norant of those good things that are in Ver­tue. if thou haddest euen knowne at the least in this thy day, that is, ô that God would now open thine eyes, that thou mightest see the treasures, magnificence, riches, peace, liberty, light, tran­quillity, delights, fauours, and all the good things and blessings, which like Hand-maydes attend and wayte vpon Vertue, in what great price and esteeme wouldest thou haue her? With what great desire wouldest thou long and thirst after her? With what great diligence and labour wouldest thou seeke and en­quire after her? But now all things are hid from carnall eyes: for they not seeing any thing besides the outward bark of Ver­tue, neuer tasting the inward sweetnes of her, thinke that there is nothing in her, but that which is hard, sharpe, and vnsauery: they thinke, that she is not currant in this present life, but to be vsed in the other: and if there be any goodnes in her, that it pertayneth wholy to another world, and not to this. Therfore they disputing according to the flesh, doe say, that they will not buy hope by danger, neyther that they will hazard present things for things to come. So speake they that are offended at the exteriour figure of Vertue: for they are ignorant of the Philosophy of Christ,Vertue like vnto Christ. neyther know they that Vertue is like vnto her Maister Christ; who although outwardly hee beare the shape and image of a most poore and base man, yet inward­lie was the God and Lord of all creatures. The selfe same thing is also reade of the faithfull and beleeuers in Christ, that they are dead to the world,Colos. 3. and that their life is hid with Christ in God. Therefore as the glory of Christ was hid in this world, so is all theirs that imitate and follow his life.A simili­tude. We reade that in aun­tient times, men were wont to make certaine Images, which they called Sileni: these were rough and vnpolished without, but within they were curiously wrought with great Art. So that the deformity was outward, and the beauty inward. Deluding [Page 124] on the one part the eyes of the ignorant, on the other drawing into them the minds and eyes of the wise. Such certainly were the lifes of the Prophets, such the lifes of the Apostles, and such the lifes of all good and faithfull Christians, as was the life of the Lord of all.

Helpes of God, by which we ouercome the difficul­ty of Vertue Thou therefore, that hast nothing more oft in thy mouth, then that Vertue is conuersant about hard and difficult things, oughtest to cast thine eyes vpon those helps, which God hath prouided for vs to ouercome these difficulties: as are vertues in­fused into vs, gifts of the holy Ghost, the Sacraments of the Gos­pell, with many other graces & diuine helps, which are to vs, that which oares and sayles are vnto ships in sayling, and wings vnto birds in flying. Thou must behold the name and essence of Vertue, which by her owne nature, is a most noble habite. Which if it be true,Vertue is an habit. it followeth by a common manner of spea­king, that she will worke and labour with vs with ease and de­light: for this is proper vnto all habits. Thou must remember that God hath not onely promised to his the blessings of glory, but also the blessings of grace: partly for this life, and partly for the other:Psalm, 84. according to that of the Prophet, The Lord will giue grace and glory. Which two are two store-houses filled with all good things: one for this life, the other for the other. That thereby at the least may be vnderstood, that there is somewhat more in Vertue, then outwardly is seene. To be briefe, thou must consider, that seeing that the Author of Nature doth not faile in any necessary thing, (because hee giueth to all his crea­tures, those things that are necessary) and seeing that in the world there is nothing more necessary, nor any thing of greater moment then Vertue, that he would not leaue her in the hands of a will so weake and crased, of an vnderstanding so blind, of an appetite so ready to all euill, and of a nature so disordered, and so corrupt through sinne: but that he would prouide her of helpe and hability, by ayde of which she might saile through this Sea. For it was not meete, nor conuenient, that seeing the Diuine prouidence was so carefull in giuing to flies, spiders, and pismires hability, and all instruments necessary to preserue their life: that he should be vnmindfull of man, and that he should not giue him those things, which are necessary for the attaine­ment [Page 125] of Vertue. I will say more, if the world and the deuill do bestow vpon their seruants, for the seruice that they yeeld them, so manie kinde of tasts, pleasures, and delights, at the least so in appearance: how is it possible that God should be so barren & vnfruitfull to his friends and faithfull ministers, that he should leaue them in the midst of their labours & tribulations, fasting, and with hungry and dry mouthes? Howe? doost thou thinke then that the condition of Vertue hath so much gall, and that there is so much honny in the flowers of vices? Doost thou thinke that God will permit and suffer, that one should enioy delights, and another be exercised with troubles, and many tri­bulations? Thou art deceiued. Heare what God aunswereth to the lamentations of the wicked, by the mouth of his Prophet: Returne and see, Mala. 3. what difference is betweene a righteous man, and an vnrighteous, and betweene one that serueth God, and him that ser­ueth him not. In so much, that God is not content with the pre­heminence, which the iust shall haue ouer the vniust in the lyfe to come: but in this present, he saith, Returne and see, as though he should say,A compa­ring of the life of good men, and ill men. I would not that you should onely looke to the world to come, that you may know the glory of the blessed, and the greatnes of their felicitie: but returne now, and see the diffe­rence in this life, which is betweene a good man and an ill man; consider of the riches of the one, and the pouertie of the other, the ioy of the one, and the sorrow of the other; the peace of the one, and the vvarre of the other; the light in which the one ly­ueth, and the darknesse in which the other walketh; and then ye shall know indeede, how much more blessed and happy, the estate of the righteous is, then your opinion of them.

The like answere God gaue to certaine others, who beeing deceiued with the same perswasion & error, mocked the good, saying as it is in Esay;Esay, 66. Let the Lord bee glorified: but hee shall ap­peare to your ioy, and they shall be ashamed. As if they should say, Let the Lord declare the greatnes of his power and glory, and let him show vnto you his fauor, that by this way we may know the prosperitie & felicitie, that they haue, which serue the Lord, aboue them which serue him not. To which words, the Lord doth presently annexe the ioy and prosperitie of the righteous, saying, Reioyce yee with Ierusalem, and be glad with her, all yee that [Page 126] loue her, Diuine blá­dishments, with which the righte­ous are che­rished. reioyce for ioy with her, all yee that mourne for her, that yee may sucke and be satisfied with the breasts of her consolation: that ye may milke out and be delighted with the brightnes of her glory. For thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will extend peace ouer her like a flood, & the glory of the Gentiles like a flowing streame: then shall ye sucke, ye shal be borne vpon her sides, and be ioyfull vpon her knees. As one whom his Mother comforteth, so will I comfort you, and yee shall bee comforted in Ierusalem. And when yee see this, your hart shall re­ioyce, and your bones shall florish like an hearbe: and the hand of the Lord shall be knowne among his seruants. As if hee shoulde say, as men by the greatnes of heauen, of the earth, and of the sea, and by the beauty of the Sunne, of the Moone, and of the starres, doe come to the knowledge of the omnipotencie and excellen­cie of God, by the meanes of such excellent and famous works: so also the righteous doe come to the knowledge of the great­nesse of the power, riches, and goodnesse of GOD, by the ineffable graces and gifts, which they receiue of him, and which they feele and perceiue in themselues. For euen as God by the punishments and scourges, which hee inflicted vpon Pharao, declared to the whole world the greatnes of his seueritie against the wicked; so by the gifts of his graces and vnmeasurable be­nefits, which daily he bestoweth vpon the good, he showeth the greatnes of his goodnes, and his singuler loue, with which hee embraceth them.

Blessed and happy without all doubt, is that soule, which by gifts and benefits receiued of God, doth shew the greatnesse of his goodnesse: but vnhappy and miserable is that soule, which by punishments and torments, dooth make manifest the great­nesse of the Diuine iustice. Wherefore, seeing that the great­nes of all these which we haue spoken of, is so inestimable, what shall the riuers be, which flow frō these most fluent fountaines? Adde moreouer that to these sayings: If that the way of Ver­tue seeme to thee barren & fruitles, what is it that diuine Wise­dome speaketh of herselfe, Riches and honour are with mee, euen durable riches and righteousnesse. Prou, 8. I cause to walke in the way of righ­teousnesse, & in the midst of the paths of iudgement, that I may cause them that loue mee to inherite substance, & I will fill their treasures. What be these riches, what be these goods, if not of the heauenly [Page 127] which exceede all the riches of this world, what may bee com­pared to them, who walke in the way of righteousnes, which is Vertue herselfe,Good men truely rich. of the which we speake? For if heere there be not found riches, more excellent, and by this name more wor­thie then those, which the world promiseth, why doth the Apo­stle giue thanks to GOD for the Corinthians,1. Cor. 1. saying: that in all things they were made rich? Calling them absolutelie rich; signifying, that others were not to be called properly rich, but rich in this world, or rich men of thys world.

THE TWELFTH TITLE. That the first priuiledge or prerogatiue of Vertue, doth bind vs vnto her: which is the speciall prouidence, by which God directeth all good men to all good, and chastiseth the iniquity of the wicked. CHAP. XII.

The proui­dence of God, is the fountaine of all good things. WE beeing about therfore to speak of the twelue priuiledges and prerogatiues of Vertue, we wil beginne of the first and principall, from which, as from a liuely fountaine, all the rest doe flow, and that is, of the prouidence and fatherly care, which God vseth towards them, who do serue him. Although there is in him a generall prouidence ouer all his creatures, yet he hath a singuler and a speciall prouidence one­lie ouer them, whom hee hath chosen, that they should be his: and seeing that he accounteth of them as of his sonnes, he hath also giuen vnto them a childes hart, and a filiall spirit, and he in like manner, beareth towards them, the hart of a most louing & tender Father, and therefore he hath ouer them a care & a pro­uidence, equall vnto this loue.

But how great that prouidence is, it cannot be vnderstood, vnlesse of them, which haue tried, or at least haue seene, or haue read with industrie & attention those places of Scripture, which speake of this prouidence. Whosoeuer shall doe this, hee shall see that generally all these things are directed to that end. For all things haue reference and are turned about these two points,Two things are to bee considered of in euery place of Scripture: the Com­maunde­ment and the Pro­mise. no otherwise then the heauen about his poles, that is, about the Commaundement, and the Promise. For here, the Lord com­maundeth obedience to man, and obseruaunce of his precepts; there he promiseth great rewards to them who obserue & keep them, & threatneth fearefull punishments to them, who breake and violate them. This doctrine is deuided after that manner, that all the morrall bookes of the sacred Scripture do cōmaund and promise: and the historicall doe shew the true effect of this or that; showing how differently GOD carrieth himselfe to­wards the good & euill. But seeing that God is so magnificent [Page 133] and so liberall, and man so miserable and so fraile; he so rich in promising, this so poore in giuing; greatly different is the pro­portion of that which he commaundeth, in respect of that hee giueth: so that he commaundeth few things, but giueth verie many: he commaundeth loue and obedience, both which, hee himselfe giueth, and for them he offereth inestimable blessings, as well of grace, as of glory, both in this life, and that to come. Amongst these, wee giue the first place to his loue and fatherly prouidence, which he beareth towards them, who are receiued of him for sonnes: which loue exceedeth al loue & prouidence, which all earthly fathers haue, or can haue towards their sonnes. The reason is this, because euen to this day, there hath not been found any Father, who hath layd vp & prepared so great bles­sings for the good of his chyldren, as GOD hath prepared & prouided for his children: that is, the participation of his owne glorie. Neyther hath any Father laboured or taken so much paynes as hee, who hath for them shedde his owne blood: To conclude, neyther doth any Father watch and keepe his vvith so great care and diligence, as God dooth his, who are daily in his eyes, and to whom he is present in all their tribulations. This Dauid confesseth in his Psalmes,Psalm, 41. when he sayth, Thou vpholdest me in mine integritie, and doost sette mee before thy face for euer. That is, thou neuer turnest thine eyes from me, for that conti­tinuall care thou hast of mee. Also hee sayth in another place, The eyes of the Lord are vpon the righteous, Psalm, 34, and his eares are open vnto theyr cry. But the face of the Lord is against them that do euill, to cutte off theyr remembrance from the earth.

But because the greatest riches of a good Christian, is the prouidence which God beareth ouer him, & this the more cer­taine it is, and better knowne vnto man, the greater is his ioy & confidence:Testimo­nies of the diuine pro­uidence. I thinke that I shall doe a thing worth the labour, if I shall adde and bring hether, moe places and testimonies of the sacred Scripture, seeing that euery one of them, are as the Charters and Letter-pattents of a King, and new confirmations of the rich promises, and legacies of his diuine will. Therefore Ecclesiasticus sayth,Ecclus. cap. 15. & 34. The eyes of the Lord are vpon them that feare him, and he knoweth all the workes of man: hee is their mighty pro­tection and strong ground, a defence from the heate, and a shadow for [Page 134] the noone day, a succour from stumbling, and an help from falling, he setteth vp the soule, and lightneth the eyes▪ he giueth health, life, and blessing. Hetherto are the words of Ecclesiasticus, out of which it is euident and plaine to euery man, how many kind of duties there be, which GOD supplyeth in the preseruation of man. This the Prophet Dauid confirmeth, The paths of man are di­rected by the Lord, Psalm, 37, for he loueth his way. Though he fall, he shal not be cast of, for the Lord putteth vnder his hand. Consider (I pray thee) heere, what ill can happen vnto him, who falleth vpon a bolster so soft, as is the hand of the Lord our God? And in an­other place:Psalm, 34, Many & great (sayth he) are the troubles of the righ­teous, but the Lord deliuereth him out of them all. He keepeth all his bones, not one of them is broken.

In the New Testament also, more excellent & magnificent things are spoken of this diuine prouidence, where the Lorde sayth, that he onely hath not a care of the bones of the righte­ous, but also of euery one of theyr haires,Luke, 12, & 21. that they fall not, nor perrish without his prouidence: willing after this manner of speaking, to insinuate and intimate vnto vs, his greatest and spe­ciallest prouidence towards them. For of what thing shall not he haue care, who hath a care of all our haires? If this seeme too much vnto thee, heare that which is no lesse, which God spea­keth by his Prophet,Zach, 2. Hee that toucheth you, toucheth the apple of mine eye It had beene sufficient to haue sayd, hee that toucheth you, toucheth me: but it is more that he saith, he that toucheth any part of you, toucheth the apple of mine eye.

Neyther is our most bountifull Lord content,The Angels do keepe vs. that he hym­selfe should alone watch-ouer our safetie, but he also willeth, that the Angels should be ready to doe vs seruice: for so wee read in the Psalmes:Psalm, 91, Hee hath giuen his Angels charge ouer thee, to keepe thee in all thy waies: they shall beare thee in theyr handes, that thou hurt not thy foote against a stone. Didst thou euer see (I pray thee) such a Chariot or Wagon, as are the hands of Angels? See ther­fore how the Angels, who are our elder brethren, doe beare the righteous in their armes, who are their younger brethren: who as yet know now how to walk alone, but must be carryed in the armes of their elders. And this they doe not onely in life, but al­so in death, at the history in the Gospell testifieth of the rich [Page 135] Glutton:Luke, 16, in which we see that the begger Lazarus, after death was carryed of Angels into Abrahams bosome. The diuine Psalmographer confirmeth this:Psalm, 34, The Angell of the Lord, pitcheth round about them that feare him, and deliuereth them. How migh­tie and strong this garde is, the translation of S. Ierome dooth more expresse: The Angell of the Lorde compasseth and en­circleth them that feare him, that he may deliuer them.

What King was euer founde, that had such a garde as our Lord hath giuen vnto vs? This is most manifestly seene in the bookes of the Kings: the King of Syria comming to take the Prophet Elizeus,4. Reg. 6. brought a great Armie with him, vvhich the seruaunt of the Prophet seeing, feared, and began to tremble. But the Prophet turning to his prayer: prayed the Lorde, that hee would vouchsafe to open the eyes of his vnbeleeuing ser­uant, that he might see the Armie, which stoode for the defence of the Prophet, being stronger by infinite thousands then that, which came to hurt and wrong him. And hee opened the eyes of his seruant, and he saw the Mountaine ful of horses, and of fierie Charrets, for the defence and gard of Elizeus. Like to this gard is that, which is mentioned in the Canticles, in these words, What shall you see in the Shulamite (which is the Church,Cant, 6. or any soule liuing in the state of grace) but as the company of an Army? that is, an Armie of Angels. This same also in the same booke is explaned by an other figure,Cant. 3, when it is said; Behold Salomons bedde, threescore strong men are rounde about it, of the valiant men of Israell. They all handle the sword, and are expert in warre, euery one hath his sword vpon his thigh, for the feare by night. What o­ther thing is this, then that the holy Ghost by this figure might teach and show, the great care & singuler prouidence, by which God defendeth and watcheth ouer the soules of the righteous? For whence is it (I pray thee) that man being conceaued in sin, liuing in a corrupt flesh, bent to all euill, should passe so many yeeres among so many snares and dangers, without destruction and vtter ruine of himselfe,God tur­turneth e­uils into good, to those whō he loueth. if hee were not preserued & sustay­ned by the Diuine prouidence? Which is so great, that it dooth not onely preserue men from euill, but also oftentimes it dooth turne the very euills, into which men fall through carelesnesse and negligence, into a matter of greater good: that is, as often [Page 136] as by that they are made more wary, more humble, and more thankfull vnto him, who hath drawne them back from so great danger, and hath pardoned them so great a sinne.

Rom, 8. For this cause the Apostle sayth, Vnto them that loue God, all things worke together for the best. If this fauour and friendship be worthy of admiration,He is not onely good and graci­ous to the righteous, but also to their family Exod. 20. that shall be more worthy, that God doth not onely shew this mercy to his seruants, but also to their sonnes and Nephewes, and to all things, that appertaine vnto them: as God himselfe testifieth, saying; I am the Lord thy God, a iealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers vpon the children, vpon the third generation, and vpon the fourth of them that hate me: And shewing mercy vnto thousands to them that loue me, and keepe my commaundements. An example of this we haue in Dauid: for God would not cast off his sonnes in so many ages, although their sinnes had oftentimes deserued it. And that onely in re­spect of Dauid their Father.Gen. 17, and the 24. The same thing the Lord shew­eth in Abraham, when he directed his seruant in his way, and prospered his busines, when his maister had commaunded him, that he should fetch a wife for his sonne Isaack. Neyther onely is he good and gracious to the seruant for the deserts of the mai­ster; but that which is much more, for the loue of a good ser­uant, God hath a care of an ill Maister.God bles­seth a wic­ked maister, for the sake of a good seruant. So he blessed the house of Putiphar the Egiptian, as the Scripture sayth, for Iosephs sake, and encreased all his substance as well in his houses, as in his fields, notwithstanding that Putiphar, Iosephs maister, was an Idolater. What bountifulnes, what prouidence can be grea­ter then that? Who is so mad, that will not serue a Lord so libe­rall, so faythfull, and so louing towards all them, that waite and attend vpon him, and not onely towards themselues, but also towards all things that is theirs?

Of that manner of prouidence, by which God espieth out the wicked, to chastise theyr maliciousnesse. CHAP. XIII.

IF thou be not mooued with the loue of so happy and blessed a Prouidence, in which the good do ioy,The wic­ked are neglected of the lord. at least let the feare of that Prouidence moue thee (if it be lawfull so to call it) with which God doth espy and watch ouer the wicked; which is, to measure them with theyr owne measure, and to handle them according to the obliuion and contempt offered to the diuine Maiestie: forgetting them, who haue forgotten him, and con­temning them, of whō first he was contemned. But that I may speake this after a more homely manner, God commanded his Prophet Hosea to take vnto him a wife of fornications; that he might demonstrate the spiritual fornication of that people,Hosea, 1. who had refused and put away theyr lawfull Bridegrome and Lord, to play the fornicators. And hee willed also, that the Prophet should haue of that wife, sonnes of fornications, and the thyrd begotten, he should call by an Hebrue name, signifying, Not my people, that he might shew thereby, seeing that they for their sinnes would not acknowledge GOD, nor serue him as theyr God, that he in like manner would not acknowledge them, nei­ther would haue them for his people. And that he might con­firme this sentence,Hosea, 2, he saith by the Prophet a little below, Pleade with your Mother, pleade with her: for shee is not my wife, neyther am I her husband: as if hee should say, as shee hath not kept the fayth and obedience of a good wife towards me, so in like man­ner I will not keepe that loue and prouidence, which a good husband is wont to show and vse vnto a good wife. See howe plainely our Lord teacheth vs heere, how he dooth mete vnto euery one according to his owne measure: whilst he dealeth so towards men, as men deale with him.

[Page 144]Therefore the wicked doe liue as neglected and forsaken of the Lord, and they are in this world as a patrimony without an heire, as a schoole without a maister, as a shippe without a guide, and as a flock without a Pastour, layd open to the de­uouring greedines and voracity of Wolues. After this manner, he threatneth them by the mouth of his Prophet,Zach. 11. saying: I will not feede you; that, that dyeth, let it dye: and that that perisheth, let it perish: and let the remnant eate euery one the flesh of his neighbor. The same thing Moses obiecteth to Israel in his song; I wil hide, sayth the Lord,Deut. 32. my face from them: I will see what their end shall be: for they are a froward generation, and children in whom is no fayth. He sayth, I will consider what their end shall be, that is, I will stand idely, and will see what end their misery shall haue at length; neyther will I bring any release vnto them. Besides these things that haue beene spoken, much more plainely spea­keth Esay to the people of this kinde of prouidence, vnder the name of a Vineyard, in the person of the Lord, against which (when it had beene tilled, and much cost, and many benefits bestowed vpon it, neyther brought forth tollerable fruites) he pronounceth this sentence; And now I will tell you what I will doe to my Vineyard: Esay, 5. I will take away the hedge thereof, and it shall be eaten vp: I will breake the wall thereof, and it shall be troden downe. And I will lay it wast: it shall not be cut, nor digged, but bryers, and thornes shall grow vp: I will also commaund the cloudes that they raine no raine vpon it. That is, I will take away all the ayde and helpe, with which I haue hetherto defended it: which being ta­ken away, destruction and ruine will follow. Doth not this kinde of prouidence seeme fearefull vnto thee? Tell me, what greater danger, or what greater misery, then to liue without the defence of the Diuine prouidence? To be left, and layd open to all the persecutions of the world, to the iniuries and calami­ties of this life?How dan­gerous a thing it is to liue in this world without the diuine help. For seeing that the world is a tempestuous sea, and as it were a wildernes, full of theeues, and fearefull beasts, and seeing that there be so many, and so great discomodities and misfortunes of mans life: seeing that our enemies are so many and so strong, with whom we must fight; seeing that so many snares are hid, and so many nets layd, and to conclude, euery where so many and so great difficulties sowne and dispersed in [Page 145] our wayes: and man being a creature so fraile, weake, naked, blind, vnarmed, faynting, and voyde of counsaile: if the sha­dow and supportation of God faile him, what can he doe poore weake creature, among so many strong enemies? A Dwarfe among so many Gyants? Blind among so many snares, alone, and vnarmed among so many armed and powerfull enemies?

Neyther is heere an end of the euill:God doth not onely permit e­uils, but al­so he sen­deth them. for God doth not one­lie turne his eyes from sinners and the vnrighteous, and that hee permitteth and suffereth them to fall into diuers kinde of errors and afflictions: but he also sendeth euils among them, and ar­meth the creatures against them. Insomuch, that the eyes, which before were open for their profit now they watch for their hurt and ruine: as God himselfe manifestly testifieth by the Prophet Amos;Amos, 5. I will, sayth he, cast mine eyes vpon them for euill, and not for good. As if he had spoken more plainely, I will change pro­uidence with prouidence: for that with which before I did wa­ter for their defence, now it shall be for their punishment, and for a recompence of their iniquity. The same thing he speaketh more plainely in Hosea;Hosea, 5. And I will, sayth the Lord, be vnto E­phraim as a moath, and to the house of Iuda as a rottennes, that I may deuoure and destroy them, as a garment is consumed of moaths. And because this kinde of persecution seemed too long, but somewhat more gentle, presently after he adioyneth an other more terrible, and more fierce and rauening, saying; I will be vnto Ephraim as a Lyon, as a Lyons whelpe to the house of Iuda: I, euen I will spoyle, and goe away: I will take away, and none shall res­cue it. Tell me, I pray thee, what greater misery then this can be thought vpon? Neyther is the testimony of this prouidence more obscurely remembred by the Prophet Amos. For when as the Lord had commaunded that the sword should deuoure all the vngodly, for the sinne of couetousnes, forth-with he ad­deth: He that fleeth of them, Amos, 9. shall not flee away: and he that esca­peth of them, shall not be deliuered. Though they dig into the hell, thence shall mine hand take them: though they clime vp to heauen, thence will I bring them downe. And tho ugh they hide themselues in the top of Carmel, A fearefull place. I wil search and take them out thence: and though they be hid from my sight in the bottome of the sea, thence wil I com­maund the serpent, and he shal bite them. And though they goe into [Page 146] captiuity before their enemies, thence wil I commaund the sword, and it shal slay them: and I wil set mine eyes vpon them for euill, and not for good. Hetherto Amos.

Tell mee, I pray thee, who is that man, who reading these words, and being mindfull that they are the words of God him­selfe, and seeing what this manner of prouidence is, which God vseth against the reprobate, doth not tremble both in body and soule? Considering how angry and terrible an enemy God is to him, to whom he sheweth himselfe an enemy, and whom he hateth? Whom he hunteth out with so great diligence? Whom he snatcheth vp wheresoeuer he findeth? Vpon whose destruc­tion he watcheth with so great a care?In howe great dan­ger a man liueth ha­uing God his enemy and angry with him. How can this man rest? How can he eate hauing such eyes opposed against him? Such wrath? Such a persecutour? An a [...]me so mighty stretched out against him? For if it be so great danger to fall from, and be de­priued of the fauour of so great a Lord; what will it be to haue all the armies of the Diuine prouidence turned against him, e­specially when as the sword, which before was drawne out for thy defence against thine enemies, now doth set vpon thee for reuenge? The eyes which were ouer thee for thy safety, now watch for thy destruction? The arme that was stretched out to support thee, now is armed to kill thee? And the hart which mused vpon thoughts of peace and loue for thee, now is full of thoughts, of sorrow, and affliction? And he that should be thy buckler, shadow, and refuge, is now become a moath to de­uoure thee, rottennes to corrupt thee, and a Lyon to destroy thee? How can a man sleepe securely, who when he sleepeth, hath God ouer his head with a naked sword ready to kill him, and watching ouer him as that rod of Ieremy, for reuenge and and punishment? What counsaile shall this miserable man take against the counsaile of God? Of what arme shall he call for helpe against this arme? What prouidence shall he oppose a­gainst this prouidence? Who euer moued warre against God, or opposed himselfe against him, and went away conquerour? Holy Iob sayth;Iob, 9. If he would dispute with him, he could not aunswer him one thing of a thousand. He is wise in hart, and mighty in strength: who hath beene fierce against him and hath prospered?

To conclude, this euill is such and so great, that of the grea­test [Page 147] punishments, with which God threatneth and chastiseth the wicked in this life, it is one, and not the least, when he with­draweth from them the hand of his fatherly prouidence: as God himselfe testifieth in diuers places of the holy Scripture. Hence is that;Psal. 8. And my people haue not hearkned vnto my voyce, and Israel hath not obeyed mee; so I gaue them ouer to their owne lusts, and they followed after their owne inuentions. That is, they daily fell from ill to worse.Hosea, 4. And by Hosea; Seeing thou hast for­gotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children. Euen as therefore there can nothing happen worser, or more heauily to a woman, then to be forsaken and diuorced from her hus­band; nor to a Vineyard,A simili­tude. then to be neglected of the Lord, and no more to be trimmed (for then forth-with it degenerates, and growes wild) so nothing can happen worse to a soule, then to be forsaken of God.What the soule is without God. For what is the soule without God? It is as a Vineyard without one to dresse and trim it: as a garden without a Gardiner: as a ship without a Pilot: as an army with­out a Captaine: as a common wealth without a Gouernour: or (that I may speake more fitly) as a body without a soule. Thou seest therefore, my brother, how God doth encompasse thee on euery side, for this cause, that if thine hart will not be moued with the loue and desire of fatherly prouidence, at the least that it might be moued with the feare of reprobation, and forsaking: least perhaps he forsake thee, neyther any more stretch his hand out vnto thee. For oftentimes, they that are not moued with de­sire of good things, are moued with the feare of some great euil.

¶ Of the second priuiledge or prerogatiue of Vertue: that is, of the Grace of the holy Ghost, which is giuen to the vertuous. CHAP. XIIII.

THis fatherly prouidence, of the which we haue spoken a little before, is (as we haue sayde) as it were the fountaine and originall of all other pri­uiledges, and benefits, with which God enrich­eth, and beautifieth his friends in this world. For to this prouidence it pertayneth, to prouide them of all necessa­ries, [Page 148] to the obtaining of the last end, which is the last perfection and blessednes: by helping them in all their needes, and by cre­ating in their mindes all aptnes, disposition, vertue, & other ha­bits, which are requisite vnto that end.

Of the number of these, the first is the grace of the holy Ghost,After the diuine pro­uidence, the grace of the holy Ghost is y^e begin­ning of all blessings. which next to that diuine prouidence, is the originall & beginning of all other priuiledges and celestiall gyfts. Thys was the first robe with which the prodigall childe was clothed, after he was receiued into his Fathers house. If thou demaundest of me what this grace is? I answere, that this grace, (according to Diuines) is a participation of the Diuine nature: that is, of sanc­titie, goodnes, puritie, and of the noblenesse of God himselfe: by whose helpe & benefit,What the grace of the holy Ghost is. man doth cast from him all the base­nes, vildnes, and rudenes, which hee tooke and receiued from Adam; and is made partaker of holinesse, and of the Diuine noblenesse: putting off himselfe, and putting on Iesus Christ. The Fathers show this by the example of yron cast into a fire;A simili­tude. which remaineth yron still: yet pertaking of the nature of fire, it is pulled out altogether shyning & glowing, as though it were fire in deede. I say, that the same substance of yron remaineth with the name: but the heate, the splendour or shyning, and all other accidents, are not of the yron, but of the fire. After the same manner grace (which is an heauenly qualitie,Grace doth deifie. which God infuseth into the soule) hath that admirable vertue and effeca­cie, that it transformeth man into God: after this manner, that still remaining a man, yet hee is made a partaker of the Diuine puritie and noblenesse;Gala, 2. as he was a partaker, who said; I doe not now liue, but Christ lyueth in me.

Furthermore, Grace is a supernaturall forme, and diuine, which maketh that a man leades a life cōformable to the forme,Grace is a supernatural forme. from which it proceedeth: which also is supernatural & diuine. In which thing, after an admirable manner, shineth the Diuine prouidence: which as it willeth that man should liue a double life,Two soules of man. naturall and supernatural, so hath it prouided for the same a double forme: which are as it were the two soules of these lifes: one by which we liue this first life, another, by which we liue the other. For euen as from the soule, which is the naturall forme, all the powers and sences doe proceede, by whose help we liue this [Page 149] naturall life: so from grace, which is the supernaturall forme, al vertues and gyfts of the holy Ghost doe proceede, by the bene­fit of which we liue a supernaturall life. Therefore this is, as the prouision of two kinde of instruments, by helpe of which, we labour in diuers exercises.

Grace is also a spirituall ornament of the soule,Grace is a spirituall ornament. wrought by the handes of the holy Ghost, which dooth make the soule so beautifull, and so acceptable in the eyes of God, that he recea­ueth it for his daughter, and for his Bride. Of this ornament the Prophet glorieth,Esay, 6, saying; I will reioyce in the Lorde, and my soule shall be glad in my God, because he hath put vpon me the vesture of saluation, he hath couered me with the garment of righteousnes, as a Bridegrome adorned with a crowne, and as a Bride decked vvith Iewells. Which are all vertues, with all the gyfts of the holy Ghost,Psalm, 44. with which the soule is adorned at the hands of GOD. Thys is that golden vesture, wrought about with great variety, with which the Queene was clothed, who stoode before the King her Spouse: for from grace, all the colours of all vertues & celestiall habits doe arise, in which the beautie of the Queene consisteth.

Of these it is easily gathered what be the effects, which grace worketh in those soules,1. The worke of grace, maketh a man accep­table to God. wherein it dwelleth. For the speciall ef­fect of it is, to make a soule so acceptable and beautifull in the eyes of God, that hee taketh her to be his daughter, his spouse, his temple, his dwelling, in which he enioyeth his delights with the sonnes of men. An other effect of it is, not onely to adorne the soule, but also to strengthen it with those vertues, which proceede from it.2. It streng­theneth man. Which are as the haires of Sampson, in which consisted not onely his beautie, but also his strength. As well from this, as from the former effect of grace, the soule is praised in the Canticles, where the Angels admiring the beautie of it, say;Cant. 6, Who is shee that looketh foorth as the Morning, faire as the Moone, pure as the Sunne, terrible as an Armie with banners? Wherby we know, that Grace is as a shield couering the whole body, or as a complete Armor, which armeth a man from the head to the foote, and maketh him beautifull and valiant, & so valiant, that, if we beleeue a certaine learned Schoole-man, a lit­tle grace is sufficient to conquer and ouer-come all the deuills, [Page 150] with all sinnes that raigne and rule in the world.

There is also a third effect of grace, that it maketh the soule so acceptable and excellent in the sight of God,3. It maketh our works acceptable vnto God. that as manie works as it dooth deliberatiuely and aduisedly, (which are not sinnes) are acceptable vnto him. That not onely the acts of ver­tue, but also naturall works, as to eate, drinke, sleepe, & such like, are acceptable before the Lord.

The fourth effect is, that it maketh vs the sonnes of God by adoption,4 It adopteth vs to be the sonnes of God. and heyres of the heauenly kingdome, and also wor­thy to bee written in the booke of Life, in which all the names of the righteous are written: and by consequent, it giueth vnto vs a lawfull claime and title, to that most rich and heauenly in­hearitance. This is that priuiledge and prerogatiue which our Sauiour praysed so greatly in his Disciples, then, when they re­turned merily vnto him,Luke, 10. saying: Lord, euen the deuils are subdu­ed vnto vs through thy Name: to whom our Sauiour answered; In this reioyce not, that the spirits are subdued vnto you: but rather reioyce because your names are written in heauen. For it is certaine, that this is the greatest good, that mans hart can thinke vpon, or desire in this life.

But that I may speake many things in few words, it is grace that maketh man fitte to all good:The For­rest of the effects of grace. which maketh the way to heauen plaine before vs: which maketh the yoke of the Lorde, easie and sweet vnto vs: which leadeth man by the way of ver­tue: which healeth our weake nature, & maketh all that seeme light vnto vs, which while it was weake, seemed intollerable: it is that, which after an ineffable manner, reformeth and armeth all the powers and faculties of our soules, & that by the meanes of those vertues, which proceede from it: it enlightneth the vn­derstanding, it inflameth our will, it strengtheneth our memo­rie, it tempereth and moderateth our part concupiscible, least it runne into all euil: it cōfirmeth the part irascible, least it be slow & too sluggish to work well. Moreouer, because all our natural passions, which are found in these two inferiour powers of our appetite are as it were step-dames vnto vertue, & dores, wherby deuils oftentimes enter into our soules, it hath appointed, as it were Sentinels in each of these parts, which watch and keepe it: that is, a certaine infused vertue, comming from aboue, vvhich [Page 151] doth helpe man, and maketh him secure in danger, which ari­seth by meanes of those passions. So to defend the soule frō the appetite of gluttonie, it sendeth Temperance: to defend it frō the lust of the flesh, it sendeth Chastitie, and to defend it from ambition, it sendeth Humilitie, and so in the rest.

But there is one thing,Grace ma­keth our soules the dwelling & temple of God. which exceedeth all the fore-sayde, that is, that grace maketh God to dwell in our soule, that dwel­ling in it, he may gouerne it, defend it, direct it in the heauenly way: God therefore sitteth in our soule as a King in his king­dome; as a Captayne among his armie; as a Maister in his schoole: and as a Pastour among his flocke, that there he may exercise, and vndergoe spiritually all these offices, and admini­ster all prouidence. Goe to therefore if this precious pearle, out of which so many good things come, be a perpetuall com­panion vnto Vertue, who will not willingly imitate that wise Merchant in the Gospell, who sold all that he had, that he might buy this alone?

¶ Of the third priuiledge of Vertue, which is a light, and a certaine supernaturall knowledge, which our Lord giueth to them, who seeke after Vertue. CHAP. XV.

THE third priuiledge,This know­ledge doth proceede from grace. which is graunted vnto Vertue, is a certaine speciall light, and a certaine wisedome, which our Lord doth bestow vpon them, that are righteous; which also proceedeth from that grace, of which we haue hetherto spo­ken. The reason is,The first reason. because it is a function and duty of grace to heale and recure nature beeing weake, feeble, and decayed. Euen as therefore it healeth the appetite and will weakened through sinne,It is a pro­perty of grace to il­luminate the vnder­standing. so also it recureth the vnderstanding, being ex­ceedingly obscured and darkned by the same sinne: that by this benefit the vnderstanding may know, what it ought to doe; and by the will there may be ability & power to doe, that which now it vnderstandeth is needefull for to be done. Not vnlike to this is that Saint Gregory hath in his Morals; Not to be able [Page 152] to fulfill that which man vnderstoode, was a punishment of sinne: as also that was a punishment of the same, not to vnder­stand that.Psal 27. Therefore sayd the Prophet; The Lord is my light, against ignorance, and my saluation, against impotencie. In one is signified what is to be desired, in the other strength is giuen, by which we may attaine vnto it. And so as well this as that pertayneth to the same grace. Hence it is that besides fayth and prudence infused, which enlighten our vnderstanding, that it may vnderstand, what it ought to beleeue, what also to doe, the gifts of the holy Ghost doe increase also in vs,Foure gifts of the holy Ghost be­long to the vnderstan­ding. foure of which pertaine to the vnderstanding; that is, the gift of wisedome, which is giuen for the knowledge of high and lofty matters; the gift of Science, which is giuen, that wee may vnderstand lower matters; the gift of vnderstanding, by which we come to the knowledge of the misteries of God, and to the congruen­cie and beauty of them; and the gift of counsaile and aduice, by whose helpe we know the actions of this life, and how to go­uerne and rule, whatsoeuer happeneth to vs in it. All these beames come from the splendour of grace onely, which there­fore is called in the holy Scriptures,Grace why it is called an Vnction. an Annointing or Vnction. For it teacheth all things, as Saint Iohn speaketh. Wherefore, euen as oyle among all liquid substances, is the fittest to pre­serue light, and to cure wounds: so this diuine Vnction doth cure the wounds of our will, and doth illuminate the darknes of our vnderstanding. This is that most precious oyle, better then all oyle;Psal. 23. of which the kingly Prophet speaketh; Thou hast an­noynted mine head with oyle. It is certaine that he speaketh heere not of a materiall head, nor of materiall oyle, but of a spirituall head, that is, of the superiour part of our soule, in which our vnderstanding is, as very well sheweth a learned man, wryting vpon this place: and of spirituall oyle, which is the light of the holy Ghost, by which our lampe is preserued, that it is not put out. Of the light of this holy oyle this good King had much, who thus speaketh of himselfe;Psal, 51. Thou hast taught me wisedome in the secret of mine hart.

The second reason. An other reason may be also giuen of this. For seeing that it is the office of grace, to make a man endued with Vertue; it cannot execute this, vnlesse first it moue a man to sorrow and [Page 153] repentance of his former life, and stirre vp the feare of God in him. Vnlesse before it worketh, that man doth deadly hate sinne, and desire heauenly blessings with great feruency, and al­together contemne these worldly vanities. But the will cannot obtayne these and the like, vnlesse before it hath the light of vnderstanding, and a knowledge proportionable, by which the will may be stirred vp.The will is a blind fa­culty. For the will is a blind faculty, which is not mooued except the vnderstanding goe before, carrying a light, and shewing good and euill in all things, that the affection towards them may encrease or decrease. Hence it is, that Tho­mas Aquinas sayth, euen as the loue of God doth encrease in the soule of a righteous man: so also encreaseth the knowledge of the goodnes, fauour, and beauty of the same God, and that by an equall proportion: that if one of them encrease an hun­dreth degrees, so many also encreaseth the other. For hee that loueth much, he vnderstandeth many causes of loue in the thing beloued; but he that loueth little, vnderstandeth but few. And that which is cleerely vnderstoode of the loue of God, this also is vnderstoode of feare, hope, and of the hatred of sinne. From which men would no more abhorre, then from other things, vnlesse they vnderstood that it was an euill, then which nothing in this world is more worthy of horror and execration.

Seeing therefore that the holy Ghost willeth that these ef­fects should be in the soule of a righteous man, he willeth also that there should be causes in it, from whence they may come. As hee willeth that there should be diuersity of effects in the earth, so also he willeth that diuers causes and celestiall influen­ces should be wrought in it. Furthermore, seeing that it is true, as we before haue proued, that God doth dwell by grace in the soules of the righteous; and that God is light, Enlightning euery man that commeth into the world, Iohn, 1. as Saint Iohn sayth; it is not to be doubted, that by how much the soule is purer and cleaner, by so greater a clearenes the beames of the diuine light doe shine in it.God is the Glasse of a purified soule. Wherefore Saint Augustine calleth God the Glasse of a purified soule: for hee maketh it shine with the beames of his light, teaching it all things, which are necessary to saluation. What meruaile is it, that he doth bestow this benefit vpon men, who hath not denied such a like thing to lower and more inferi­our [Page 154] creatures, which by the instinct of the Authour of nature know all things,God hath giuē know­ledge to beasts, to flie hurtfull things, & to embrace wholsome, which belong to theyr preseruation? Who hath taught the beasts among so many kinde of herbes, which grow in the fieldes, to knowe which are wholesome, and which are hurtfull? To feede vpon these, and to leaue the other vn­touched? To know also what creature is enemy vnto them, & what is a friend? To flie a Wolfe, & followe a dogge? It is cer­taine that they haue learned this of none other, thē of the Lord. If therefore God hath infused thys knowledge into vnreasona­ble creatures, that they might be preserued in theyr naturall life, how much more ought hee to prouide for the righteous, that they may haue greater knowledge, whereby they may bee pre­serued in a spirituall life? For thys is no lesse necessary for men, by reason of those things that be aboue nature, then those things are for beasts, which concerne their nature. For if the Diuine prouidence hath beene so carefull to prouide things of nature, how much more shall it be carefull for those things, which per­taine to grace? vvhich by howe much they bee more excellent, by so much they exceede the powers and faculties of humane wit.

What thys supernatu­rall know­ledge is. This example not onely proueth that there is such a light of the vnderstanding, but also it sheweth what it is: for it is not a knowledge so speculatiue as actiue, not so contemplatiue as practike: neither is it giuen, that we may vnderstand, but that we might worke: not that wee should bee subtile and wittie in disputing, but industrious and laborious in working. Therfore, not onely it remaineth in the vnderstanding, as Sciences got in Schooles; but by the power of it, it moueth the vvill, inclyning it to all that, to which such kinde of knowledge dooth prouoke and excite. For it is the proper instinct of the holy Ghost, who as a most perfect maister, teacheth his very often with this per­fection, all that which it behoueth them to knowe. Thys the Bride confesseth in the Canticles;Cant, 5. My soule, sayth shee, melted within me, after that my beloued spake. By which sentence it ap­peareth, what is the difference betweene this learning, and that, which is deliuered in schooles: for that onely enlightneth the vnderstanding, but this moueth the will also, and delighteth it, and by her vertue doth pierce all the corners of our soules, wor­king [Page 155] and effecting all that, which pertaineth to the reformation of them:Heb. 4, as the Apostle declareth, when he saith; The Word of God is liuely, and mighty in operation, and sharper then any two ed­ged sword, and entereth through, euen vnto the deuiding a sunder of the soule and the spirit, and of the ioynts and the marrow. For it ma­keth a diuision betweene the part animall of a man, and the part spirituall: seperating the one frō the other, dissoluing that most dangerous bond of friendship, which was wont to be between the flesh and the spirit: for when the spirit is mingled with the flesh, it is made one with it: which bond is dissolued by the word of God, making, that a man lyueth a spirituall life, and no more a carnall.

Thys therefore is one of the especiall effects of the Diuine grace: one also of the especiall priuiledges, in which those that are endued with vertue, doe ioy in this world. But (although those things which we haue spoken of, be sufficiently proued of vs) least any man be so carnall, that hee should complaine, that these things are obscure to be vnderstood,Testimo­nies of the Scripture as cōcerning this know­ledge. Iohn, 14. Iohn, 6, and hard to be belee­ued, I will confirme them with most euident testimonies, as wel of the olde Testament as of the new. In the new Testament Saint Iohn telleth, that Christ sayd at his last supper; The holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, which I haue told you. And in another place: It is written in the Prophets; and they shall be all taught of God. As if hee should say, the time shall be, when as men euery where shall bee taught of God. Euery man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, commeth vnto me. The same the Lord promiseth by the Prophet Iere­my; I will giue my law into their bowels, (and that which before was written in tables of stone) I will write in their harts: Ierem. 31, So that all men are to be taught of the Lord. The Lord in like manner willing to shew how great the maiesty, glory, and prosperity of the Church should be, thus among other things he speaketh in Esay:Esay, 54. O thou afflicted, and tossed with tempest, that hast no comfort, behold, I will lay thy stones with the Carbunkle, & lay thy foundation with Saphirs, and I will make thy windowes of Emerauds, and thy gates shining stones, and all thy borders of pleasant stones. And all thy children shall be taught of the Lord. And in another place; I [Page 156] am the Lord thy God, Esay, 4 [...]. which teach thee to profit, and leade thee by the way, that thou shouldest goe.

Of this which hath beene spoken, we may easily know that there be two kindes of sciences; one of the Saints, another of Wise-men, one of the Righteous, another of the Doctours. The science of the Saints is that, of which Salomon speaketh, The science of the Saints is prudence. Prou. 9. Because science consisteth onely in the vnderstanding, and belongeth vnto contemplati­on: but it is the property of prudence to wish the best things,In the first booke of his great Morals, chap. 34. and to choose and doe them, sayth Aristotle. And it is required not that we may know, what things be right, but that we may become honest and righteous. How often doe wee finde this wisedome promised vnto vs in the Psalmes? In one it is sayde, The mouth of the righteous will speake of wisedome, Psal. 37. and his tongue will talke of iudgement. And in another. I will giue to thee vnder­standing, and I will teach thee in the way wherein thou goest, and I will set mine eyes vpon thee. Againe in another Psalme hee de­maundeth, as a thing of great moment, and worthy of admira­tion,Psal. 25. What man is he that feareth the Lord? him will hee teach the way that he shall choose. As if he should say, who is he to whom the Lord doth giue such a benefit, that he himselfe must be his maister, and teach him the law, according to which hee must liue?Psal. 94. In another place he calleth this man happy. Blessed, sayth he, is the man, whom thou chastisest, ô Lord, and teachest him in thy law. Psal. 25. In the Psalme cited a little before, where wee reade; The Lord is a foundation to them that feare him. Ierome. Ierome translateth: The secrete of the Lord is reuealed to them, that feare him, and his couenant to giue them vnderstanding. Which gift is no­thing else, then a great light of the vnderstanding, a sweet foode of the will, and a great recreation of the whole man. Which knowledge the same Prophet oftentimes calleth the foode of the soule, sometimes the water of refreshing, a table prepared against his enemies. For this cause the same Prophet in that di­uine Psalme,Psal. 119. whose beginning is, Blessed are those that are vp­right in their way: so often doth desire of God that light, and that knowledge. Giue me, sayth hee, vnderstanding, and I will keepe thy law, yea, I will keepe it with my whole hart. And a little after: I am thy seruant ô Lord, giue me vnderstanding, that I may [Page 157] know thy testimonies. And afterwards, Let my complaint come be­fore thee, ô Lorde, and giue me vnderstanding, according vnto thy vvord. To conclude, thys is that petition which hee repeateth so often, which he had not craued with so great importunitie, vnlesse he had very well vnderstood the force & efficacie of this doctrine, and the manner and meanes, which God vseth in be­stowing of it.

Which seeing that it is so,The dignity of this doc­trine. what greater glory can there be, what ampler dignity, then to haue such a maister, to frequent such a schoole, where the Lord God himselfe sitting in a chaire, prosesseth thys learning and heauenly philosophy? If men, as Saint Ierome testifieth,See S. Ie­rome more at large in his 103. E­pist to Pau­linus. c. 1. Philostra­tus in the life of Apol­lonius Tya­neus. in times past came to Rome frō the fur­thest coasts of Spayne and Fraunce, that they might see Tytus Liuius; whose eloquence was famous throughout the vvhole world: And if that most excellent and famous Phylosopher, Apollonius Tyaneus, trauailed almost throughout the vvhole world, and passed euen to the Mountaine Caucasus, and to the Brachmanes, Philosophers of India, that he might onely heare Iarchas, an Indian Philosopher, in his golden throne prosessing wisedome among the small number of his schollers, and dispu­ting of the motion of the celestiall Spheares; what ought not men to doe, that they may heare God himselfe, who sitteth in the chayre of theyr harts, not teaching how the heauens are mo­ued, but how men may come to heauen?

But that thou maist knowe that this doctrine is not vnfruit­ful, or common,Psal, 119, heare what the Prophet speaketh of it, I haue had more vnderstanding then all my Teachers: for thy testimonies are my meditation. I vnderstood more then the auncient, because I kept thy precepts. More aboundantly yet doth the Lord promise to his by the mouth of his Prophet;Esay, 58, And the Lord thy GOD, sayth he, shall guide thee continually, and satisfie thy soule in drought, and make fatte thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watred garden, & like a spring of vvater, whose waters faile not. What be these bles­sings, with which the Lord will satisfie the soules of the righte­ous, but knowledge of things belonging to saluation? For in these he showeth, how great the beauty of vertues be, and howe great the filthines of vices are: how great the vanity of the world is, how great the dignity of grace is, the greatnes of glory, the [Page 158] sweetnes of the consolation of the holy Ghost, the goodnesse of GOD, the malice of deuils, and to be breefe, howe short the life of man is, and how great and intollerable is the common er­rour of thē liuing in it. With thys knowledge, as the same Pro­phet testifieth, a man is often lifted aboue the highnesse of all mountaines, & there doth contemplate of the King in his beau­tie, and his eyes beholdeth the earth a farre off. Hence it is, that celestiall blessings seeme such vnto him, as they are in truth: be­cause he seeth them neerely: but terrestriall things seeme small; for besides that they are such, also hee beholdeth them a farre off. The contrary happeneth to peruerse and wicked men: who behold heauenly things a farre off, & earthly things neerly & iust before theyr eyes.For what this wise­dom is pro­fitable. This is the reason, why they, that par­ticipate of this heauenly gift, are not puffed vp with vaine-glory in prosperitie; neither are troubled or cast downe in ad uersitie. for by the benefit of this light they see, of what small moment it is, that the world can eyther gyue or take away, if it be compa­red with those things, which are in the Lords power. The wise­man witnesseth thys,Ecclus, 27. when hee sayth: A man grounded in wise­dome, is stedfast as the Sunne: as for a foole, hee changeth as the Moone. Which sentence Saint Ambrose expounding in a cer­taine Epistle,Ambrose to Simplicia­nus, Epist. 7. saith thus: For a vvise man is not broken through feare, is not changed through power; is not exalted in prospe­ritie, neyther is drowned in aduersity. For where there is vvise­dome, there is courage of minde, there is constancie and forti­tude. A wise man therefore is one and the selfe same in minde, he is not lessoned, nor encreased through the change of things; neyther as vnstaied doth he flote here and there, to be carryed a­bout with euery winde of doctrine, but he remaineth perfect in Christ, grounded in charitie, an d rooted in fayth.

Let it not seeme strange to any, that this wisedome is a thing of so great vertue; for it is not earthly wisedom, as we haue said, it is not that puft and vaine wisedome, which causeth to swell, but that wich edifieth: it is not that which with speculation on­ly enlightneth the vnderstanding, but that which with her heate gyueth motion to the will: as it in times past moued the hart of Saint Augustine, of whom it is written, that through ioy hee wept, as often as hee heard the Psalmody and Psalmes of the [Page 159] Church,The digni­tie of that wisedome. which sounded so sweetly: the sound entred into the in most part of his hart, and there through the heate of deuoti­on, truth was resolued in his bowels, and showred teares from his eyes, which were to him, as he saith, most sweet & pleasant. O blessed teares, happy Schoole, and happy wisedome, which bringeth forth such fruite: what may bee compared with her? Man knoweth not the price of it, Iob, 28. for it is not founde in the Land of delicate liuers. The depth saith, It is not in mee: the sea also saith, it is not with me. Gold shall not be giuen for it, neyther shall siluer be weighed for the price thereof. It shall not be valued with the wedge of gold of Ophir, nor with the precious Onix, nor the Sa­phir. The Golde nor the Christall shal bee equall vnto it, nor the ex­change shal be for plate of fine gold. Which cōmendation of wise­dome, thys most holy man concludeth in these words; Beholde, the feare of the Lord is wisedome, and to depart from euill, is vnder­standing.

Thys therefore my brother, is one of those great rewards, by which thou art inuited to Vertue, seeing shee hath the key of thys treasure. After thys manner the Wiseman inuiteth vs vnto her in his Prouerbs,Prou, 2. My sonne, sayth hee, if thou wilt receiue my words, and hide my commaundements within thee, &c. Then shalt, thou vnderstand the feare of the Lorde, and finde the knowledge of God: The vnder­standing of the righte­ous increa­seth. Prou, 4. for the Lord giueth wisedom, out of his mouth commeth know­ledge & vnderstanding. Thys knowledge continueth not in one & the same state, but daily is encreased by new lights & know­ledge, as the same Wiseman testifieth. The way of the righteous, sayth he, shineth as the light, that shineth more and more vnto the perfect day: that is, vnto that blessed eternity, in which we shall no more say with the friends of Iob;Iob, 4, A word was spoken vnto mee secretly, and mine eare hath receaued a little thereof: that is, of her diuine and hidden inspirations: but there we shall heare open­ly, and shall see God himselfe.

Thys is that wisedome,The dark­nes of the wicked. which the sonnes of light enioy: but the wicked on the contrary, doe lyue in the horrible darknes of the Egiptians, which may be felt with hands. A figure of which thing was, that it is sayd in the Land of Goshan, where the chil­dren of Israell dwelt,Exod, 10, there was light: but in Egypt for three dayes space, there was such thicke darknes, that it might be felt: [Page 160] which represented that obscure and darke night and blindnesse, in which sinners liue,Esay, 59, as they confesse in Esay, saying; Wee haue waited for light, but loe, it is darknes: for brightnes, but we walke in darknes. We grope for the wall like the blinde, and wee grope as one without eyes: we stumble at the noone day, as in the twy-light: we are in solitary places as dead men.

Tell me, I pray thee, what greater blindnes can be thought of, or greater disorder happen, then that is, into which the wic­ked doe dailie slide? What greater blindnesse or ignorance is there, then to sell the right of the byrth-right, that is, the inhea­ritance of the kingdome of heauen, for a little pleasure of the worlde? then not to feare hell? not to attaine Paradice? not to haue hated sinne? not to haue a regarde of the last iudgement? to sette at naught the promises & threatnings of the Lord? not to remember death? vvhich euery houre hangeth ouer theyr heads? not to prepare themselues to gyue an account, not to thinke that it is momentany, and for a time that delighteth, but for euer that tormenteth?Psalm, 9, They haue not knowne (saith the Pro­phet) neyther haue they vnderstood: they walke in darknes, and they shall goe from darknesse into darknesse. They shall goe, I say, from inward darknes, to outward darknes: from the darknes of thys life, to that of the lyfe to come.

Other mens sentences & iudgemēts, are to be heard.I suppose that I shall doe aduisedly, if at the end of this mat­ter, I doe admonish thee, that although all is most true, vvhich hath beene spoken of this heauenly wisedome, and light of the holy Ghost: yet no man ought, albeit he be iustified, rashlie or proudly to gaine-say the iudgements of men, but humbly sub­mit himselfe, to the iudgements of his elders: especially to theirs, whom GOD hath appointed Doctors and Pastours of his Church.Gala, 1, For who more abounded wth this light then S. Paule? Who more then Moses, who spake face to face with the Lord? Neuerthelesse,Exod, 18, one of them went to Ierusalem, that hee might conferre of the Gospell with the rest of the Apostles, which hee had learned in the third heauen: the other also contemned not the aduise of Iethro his Father in law, although he was an hea­then man, and vnacquainted with the knowledge of the true God. The reason of this is, because the inward helps and aydes of grace, do not exclude these outward of the Church. For after [Page 161] both manners the Diuine prouidence woulde prouide for our weakenes,A simili­tude. to which both helps are necessary. For euen as the naturall heate of our bodyes is helped of the exteriour heate of heauen: and as nature (although most carefull to preserue it selfe) doth receiue much helpe of externall medicines, created to that end of God: so also the light and inward helpe of grace, is much helped by the light and doctrine of the Church.

Of the fourth priuiledge of Vertue, that is, of the consolations and comforts of the holy Ghost, which the righteous enioy in this world, and which they ioy in. CHAP. XVI.

I Could, after the inward light of the holy Ghost, by which the darknes of our vnderstanding is en­lightned, appoint for the fourth priuiledge Cha­ritie, and the loue of GOD, by which our will is inflamed, especially, seeing that the Apostle him­selfe, dooth put thys in the first place, among the fruites of the holy Ghost. But because heere wee doe rather speake of the priuiledges and prerogatiues, which vertues bring with them, then of the vertues themselues; Charitie being the Prince of all vertues: we will not heere speake of it, although it also might be referred to thys order, and our purpose, not as a vertue, but as an admirable gyft, which God is wont to giue to those that apply themselues to the studie of Vertue: and that which after a cer­taine ineffable manner inflameth the inmost part of our will, & inclineth it to loue God aboue all things, which may be belo­ued. Which loue, the more perfect it is, the more sweet and de­lightsome it is. For thys cause, not vnfitly it may be inserted in­to this number as a fruite, or a reward, as well of other vertues, as of it selfe. Notwithstanding that I may not seeme an ambiti­ous and too curious a prayser and commender of vertues, of which so many and so great things may bee spoken, I will sette in the fourth place the ioy of the holy Ghost, which is a natu­rall proprietie of the same charitie, and one of the especial fruits of the holy Ghost, as Saint Paule testifieth, writing to the Ga­lathians. For euen as we said a little before, that light and know­ledge, which God doth bestow vpon his friends, not onely doth [Page 162] sticke in the vnderstanding, but also doth descend to the will, where it doth diffuse her beames, and disperse her brightnes; so that the minde is made glad, and reioyceth in the Lord after a certaine ineffable manner. In so much, as the naturall light sen­deth from her heate, which we feele: so this light being spiritu­all, doth beget in the soule of a righteous man that spirituall ioy, of which we speake; according to that of the Prophet, Light is sowne for the righteous, Psal. 97. and ioy for the vpright in hart.

This matter is so plentifull and copious, that neuer too ma­ny thinges may be spoken of it. But for the purpose of this booke, it shall be worth the labour to show, how great this ioy is: for the knowledge of this greatnes is very profitable, and ve­rie forcible to draw the minds of men to the loue of Vertue. For no man is ignorant, that as all kinde of euils are found in vices;Euill men thinke that there is no pleasure in Vertue. so all kinde of good things, as well honest as profitable, are perfectly to be found in vertues, onely pleasure excepted, which naughty and wicked men deny to be in vertues. Seeing that therefore mans hart desireth nothing so much as pleasures, these men say (at least their works speake, if not their words) that they had rather haue pleasure vnperfect, then that which wan­teth pleasure, with all her perfections and prerogatiues. This is that Lactantins Firmianus sayd in times past, Because, sayth he, bitternernes is mixed with vertues, and vices are seasoned with pleasures: and men eschew bitternes, and are inticed with the sweetnes of pleasures; many forsaking vertues, with great earnestnes follow after vices. This is one, and the onely cause of so great a mischiefe, and hee that shall bring men from this perillous errour, he shall not bestow a small benefit vpon them, and he that shall prooue by most euident arguments, that the way of vertue is much more playner and sweeter then the way of vices, he shall mightily helpe them. This is that wee would now prooue and demonstrate with most firme arguments and clearer then any light, especially with the authorities of the di­uine Scripture, seeing that they are more certaine and sound proofes, then those which may be brought for this matter from any other place. For the heauen and the earth shall sooner pe­rish, then any iote or title of them.

Tell me therefore, ô blinde man, wrapped in miserable er­rors, [Page 163] if the way of the Lord be so bitter, as thou imaginest to thy selfe,Psal. 31. what meaneth that of Dauid. How great ô Lord is the sweetnes of thy goodnes, which thou hast layd vp for them that feare thee? In which words the Prophet doth not onely expresse the greatnes of the sweetnes, which is giuen of the Lord to the righteous: but also he doth render a reason, why the wicked doe not know it: because the Lord hath layd it vp from theyr eyes. What other thing meaneth that of the same Prophet; My soule shall be ioyfull in the Lord: Psal. 35. it shall reioyce in his saluation. All my bones, that is, all my strength and might, shall say, Lord who is like vnto thee? Tell me, what other thing is this, then to say that the ioy and mirth of the righteous is so great,The flesh al­so of the righteous reioyceth. that al­though it be directly taken in the spirit, it doth redound neuer­thelesse for the aboundance and plenty thereof also vpon the flesh, that which before knew not to be delighted, but in car­nall things, now for the communion and participation of the spirit, is delighted in spirituall things, and reioyceth in the liuing God, and that with so great ioy, that all the bones of the body being full of this admirable sweetnes, doe force a man to cry out, Lord, who is like vnto thee? What pleasures are like thine? What ioy, what loue, what peace can any creature giue compa­rable to this of thine? What meaneth this also of the same Psal­mist; The voyce of ioy and deliuerance, Psal, 118. shall be in the tabernacles of the righteous? What I say, meaneth that, vnlesse that he might signifie that true ioy and deliuerance are not found in the hou­ses of sinners, but in the soules of the righteous. What also mea­neth the Prophet,Psal. 68. when he sayth; The righteous shall be glad and reioyce before God: yea, they shall leape for ioy, but that hee might shew the ioyes and spirituall feastings, with which God often­times vvonderfully doth refresh the soules of the righteous, with the sweetnes of all celestiall thinges? In which banquets there is drunke that most sweete wine, which the same Prophet praysing sayth;Psal. 36. They shall be satisfied and drunke with the fatnes of thine house, and thou shalt giue them drinke out of the riuer of thy pleasures. With what other words could the Prophet haue more cunningly or liuely depainted, and expressed the great­nes of these delicates, calling them drunkennes and a riuer of pleasures, that hee might shew the force and efficacie, which [Page 164] they haue to draw the mindes of men from earthly things, and to conuert them to God? This is vnderstoode by this drun­kennes. For euen as a man,A simili­tude. who is ouercome with much wine, looseth the vse of his sences, neyther differeth much from a dead man, by reason of the strength of the wine: so when any one is full of that heauenly wine, hee dyeth to the world, and hath all his sences with all their desires shackled and fettered. Furthermore, what meaneth that of the same Prophet; Blessed is the people, that can reioyce in thee? Psal. 89. Some body perhaps might haue sayd, Blessed is the people, who haue plentifully all things necessary for them, who is encompassed with strong wals, and enuironed with mighty bulwarks; who is garded with choyce Seruants and Souldiours;How great the spiritual ioy is. But this most holy King, who knew all these, doth not speake so, but he sayth that he is blessed, who hath learned by experience, what it is to ioy and reioyce in the Lord: not with euery kinde of ioy, but with that, which is wor­thy of the name of ioy: which, as Gregory sayth, is a ioy of the spirit so great, that it cannot be expressed, nor shewed by any externall signes. Blessed therefore is the people, who so hath profited, and hath made such progresse in the sweetnes and loue of God, that knoweth by experience, what this ioy is, which neyther that most wise Plato could vnderstand, nor that most eloquent Demosthenes vtter with words, but it is onely knowne to an humble and pure hart, in which God dwelleth.

God as he is great in iu­stice, so is he great in mercy.If God be the Author of this ioy, I pray thee consider, how great it ought to be which proceedeth from God: for it is cer­taine, that as the diuine punishment is like to God himselfe; so also his comfort is wont to be like and conformable vnto him. But if his punishment, when hee correcteth man, be so great, how great thinkest thou shall his consolations be, when he doth comfort man? If hee hath a hand so heauy to smite, how light shall it be, when hee stretcheth it out, that hee may stroke and cherish his friends? Especially seeing that this good God is much more meruailous in his works of mercy, then in his works of iustice. Moreouer, tell me I pray thee, what is that Celler of vvine, of most precious wine, into which the Bride doth glory that shee was brought of her Bridegrome? What is that ban­quet, to which that same Bridegrome doth call his friends, when [Page 165] he sayth,Cant. 1. Drinke my friends, and be drunken my beloued. What drunkennes is this,How great the force is of y^e sweet­nes of the heauenly wine. but the greatnes of the diuine sweetnes and ioy, which doth so alienate and infatuate the hart of man, that a man seemeth as it were to be carried beyond himselfe. For it is wont to be commonly sayde, that a man is drunke, when the wine that he drinketh is of greater measure, and more aboun­dant, then that his naturall heate may concoct or digest: for then the wine ascendeth into the braine, and so ruleth ouer man, that now hee doth not rule himselfe, but is ruled of the wine. Which thing if it be so, tell mee I pray thee, what shall be the state of that soule drunken with that heauenly wine? When it is as it were a vessell full of God, and of the diuine loue: so that it is not able to beare so great a burthen of pleasures, neyther is her whole capacity sufficient, to beare and carry so great felicity and happines?Holy Effrem. So it is written of holy Effrem, that oftentimes he was so full of the wine of this heauenly ioy and delight, that the frailety of his body beeing vnequall to the burthen, hee was not able to vndergoe the greatnes of the pleasures; and there­fore he was constrayned to exclaime and cry out; ô Lord, de­part a little from mee, for the frailty of my body, is not able to sustaine the greatnes of thy delights. O admirable goodnes, ô vnmeasurable sweetnes of this supreame Lord, which is with so large an hand communicated to his creatures, that the strength and valour of theyr minds, is vnable to carry the aboundance of so great ioy. Therfore with this heauenly drunkennes all the sences of the soule are brought a sleepe: this dooth bring the sleepe of peace and life, by this the soule is lifted vp aboue it selfe, it knoweth, loueth, and tasteth more, then it could by her naturall essence.A simili­tude. Hence it is that as water set ouer fire, when it doth waxe hot, as though it had forgot the owne proper nature (seeing that all heauy things are carried downwards) boyleth and swelleth aloft, imitating the nature and lightnes of the fire, by whose force it is hoysted and eleuated with that motion: so also the soule inflamed with that heauenly fire, is exalted aboue it selfe, is whirled about with a certaine force, and is carried vp to heauen, whence that fire is sent; it boyleth with a most seruent desire of God, and with a most vehement force runneth into his embrace: it stretcheth out it selfe, and lifteth vp her armes on [Page 166] high, trying, if shee can flye vnto him whom shee loueth. But when she seeth that she cannot come vnto him, she ceaseth not to desire him;Spirituall languor­ment. and when she knoweth that shee is frustrated of her desire, yet one comfort doth yet remaine, to send into hea­uen sighes and grones fetched from the bottom of the hart, and to say with the Spouse in the Canticles;Cant, 5. I charge you, ô daughters of Ierusalem; if you finde my beloued, that you tell him that I am sick of loue. Which kinde of languishment, the Saints doe say to spring of that, that man is hindered, and cannot bring the vn­measurable desire of his hart to his wished end & purpose. Doe not destroy thy selfe, sayth a certaine Doctor, for this impati­ent desire; for this languishment is not deadly, but for the glo­rie of God,Iohn, 11, that the sonne of God may be glorified by it.

But what tongue can eloquently and learnedly enough vt­ter the greatnes of these delights, which the friends of God en­ioy in that florishing pageant of Salomon, or bedde curiously wrought of the wood of Libanon, whose pillers are of siluer, & the pauement of gold? This is the place of the spirituall marri­ages, which therefore is called a bedde, because it is a place of rest and loue; I say a place of perfect rest, of liuely sleepe, & of celestiall pleasures: which how great they are, none can know, but those that haue learned by experience.

Coniectures of the great­nes of the spiritual de­lights. 1.But we may attaine to some knowledge and science of these things, out of most weighty and pregnant coniectures: for hee that diligently considereth the greatnes of the goodnes, & loue of the sonne of God, who for the loue of man-kind vnderwent so vnheard of reproches and torments, he shall vnderstand that it is impossible, that it should be difficult and hard to come by, that wee seeke for heere, when as that is altogether nothing, in comparison of them. What will hee not doe for the righteous, who hath doone such things for the vnrighteous? what friend­ship will he not shewe to his friends, who hath vnder-gone so cruell punishments for his enemies? This is some-what disclo­sed, & bewrayed vnto vs in the Canticles, where so many fayre and louing speeches, so many delights are read of betweene the Bridegrome and the Bride, who is the Church, or any soule vn­der the estate of grace; where so many louing & amiable words are spoken one to the other, as no eloquence, no loue can faine [Page 167] or imagine greater or more louing.

We haue another coniecture in respect of men, I say of righ­teous men, and true louers of God. For if thou narrowly siftest and lookest into their harts, thou shalt finde there a seruent de­sire, and a serious meditation, by what manner of meanes they may chiefely serue their Lord GOD, and that for his loue, if it might be, they would be cutte into a thousande peeces; at the least, that they might please and gratulate him in some matter, which they knew might be gratefull and acceptable vnto hym, of whom they are so deerely loued, and are daily loaden vvith such heapes of so many benefits, recreated with so many sola­ces; and gouerned with so great prouidence. Tell me nowe, if man, who is a creature so vnfaithfull, and vnapt to any good, come to this degree of faithfulnes with God, what will hee doe againe to man, whose goodnes, whose charitie, and whose faith­fulnes is infinite? If his propertie be, that hee is holy with the holy,Psalm, 18, and good with the good; and the goodnes of man come to so great perfection, whetherto (I pray thee) shall the good­nesse of God proceede? If God striue with the good in good­nesse, howe great I pray thee, shall that excellencie be in thys glorious striuing? And if, as wee haue spoken a little before, a righteous man doth wish to be dismembred, and to be puld in­to a thousand peeces, because that he burneth with the loue of God, at least that he might please God? what will not GOD himselfe doe, that he may cherrish this righteous man, and doe good vnto his friend, that he might comfort him whom hee lo­ueth? This can neither be expressed with the tongues of men, nor be apprehended with the vnderstanding; wherefore it is sayd of the Prophet,Esay, 64, Neither that the eye hath seene, nor the eare hath heard, neither hath it entered into the heart of man, what God hath prepared for them that feare him. Which is not onelie to be vnderstood of the blessings of glory,1, Cor, 2. but of those, which are of grace, as Saint Paule testifieth.

Doth it now appeare vnto thee,Vertue hath her delights. my brother, that the way of Vertue hath her delights and pleasures? Dost thou thinke, that all the allurements of the louers of thys world, may be compa­red with these delights? What comparison can bee betweene Christ and Belial? light and darknes? earthly delights and hea­venly [Page 166] [...] [Page 167] [...] [Page 168] pleasures? the enticements of the flesh, and the ioyes of the holy Ghost? To conclude, the delights of the creatures, and the sweetnes of the Creator? For it is most certaine, that things by howe much they are more noble, and more excellent, by so much they are more powerfull to procure greater pleasures. Tell me what other thing the Prophet meant,Psalm, 37, when he said; A small thing vnto the iust man, is better then great riches vnto the wicked. Psalm, 84, And in another place: A day in thy courts, is better then a thousand other-where: I had rather be a dore-keeper in the house of my GOD, then to dwell in the Tabernacles of wickednesse. To be briefe, what other thing meane those words of the Spouse in the Canticles;Cant, 1, Thy breasts are better then Wine? and a little after, We will reioyce and be glad in thee, beeing mindfull of thy breasts aboue wine? That is, mindfull of the most sweet milke of thy consola­tions and comforts, with which thou refreshest, and nourishest at thy breasts thy spirituall children; which is sweeter, and more pleasant then all vvine. By that wine he vnderstandeth not ma­teriall wine, (as neither in the breast of God we know that there is milke) nor the delights and ioyes of the worlde, such as the whore in the Reuelation beginneth to her louers,Apoc, 17, sitting vppon many waters, and hauing a golden cup in her hand full of abho­mination, and of the filthines of her fornication, making drun­ken and peruerting the iudgment of all them that dwell in Ba­bylon, least they should foresee their destruction, and repent them of theyr wickednes.

Of the fift priuiledge of Vertue, which is the tranquilitie and peace of a good conscience, which the righteous enioy: and of the torment and inward byting, with which the wicked and vngodly are tortured. CHAP. XVII.

AFter the ioy and consolation of the holy Ghost, an other ioy doth succeede, which the righteous haue from the testimonie of a good conscience. For the more euident vnderstanding of this pri­uiledge, wee must know that the Diuine proui­dence, (which bountifully prouideth, that all the creatures haue those things that are necessary for their preseruation and perfec­tion) when it willeth that a reasonable creature should be per­fect, hath prouided most plentifully and copiously, that not any of those things should be wanting, which belong vnto his per­fection. And because the perfection of this creature, consisteth in the perfection of his vnderstanding and will, which are two of the chiefest and principallest faculties of our soule, one of which is perfected by Science,In what thing consi­steth y^e per­fection of man. the other by Vertue, God hath created vniuersall principles of all sciences in our vnderstan­ding, whence theyr conclusions proceede: and in the vvill hee hath ordained a seminary or seede plotte of all vertues: for hee hath put in it a certaine naturall inclination to all good, and a dread or horrour of that which is euill: so that the vvill natu­rally reioyceth in the one, and is heauy in the other, murmuring against that, as against a thing which it naturally abhorreth.

Which inclination is so naturall, and so effectuall, that al­though by chaunce it be weakened through a daily custome of ill liuing, yet it cannot vtterly perrish or altogether be extingui­shed. We haue a figure of this in the booke of Iob; in each of the calamities and losses of this man of God, alwayes there was a seruant remaining, which brought him word of the misfor­tune and misery. After the same manner this seruant is neuer wanting, nor euer leaueth him who sinneth. The Doctors doe name this seruant, the Keeper or Watcher ouer the conscience, [Page 178] which in all shypwracks escapeth safe, and among all the dead, it onely dieth not, which ceaseth not to present before the eyes of the wicked, the good which they haue omitted, vvhen they sinned, and the euill which they haue committed. In vvhich thing, the care and loue of the Diuine prouidence, shineth with a wonderfull beautie, by which it loueth & embraceth vertue, after that it hath appointed for her a perpetuall stirrer vp, that she sleep not; a perpetuall Preacher that neuer keepeth silence, and a maister, who alwaies directeth her to all good.

Epictetus.The Stoicke Philosopher Epictetus, very well vnderstood this, who said; Our Parents deliuered vs, beeing children, to a Schoolemaister or Tutor, which might attende vs, that wee should not be hurt: but God hath committed men to bee kept of their owne conscience seated within them, which conscience and Keeper is not to be contemned, because it both would dis­please God, and we should become enemies to our owne con­science.

The consci­ence is the Maister and Teacher of good men, but a tor­mentor and [...]orturer of the wicked,Euen as this conscience is, as it were a Teacher and Maister of good men: so on the contrary part, it is a tormenter and tor­turer of the wicked, which afflicteth and excruciateth them in­wardly, & without intermission accuseth sinners for their sinnes committed, and mingleth Wormwood with all their pleasures, insomuch, that scarce they bite of the Garlicke of Egypt, but a teare doth fall from theyr eyes. This is one of those plagues, with which the Lord in Esay doth threaten that he will torment the wicked, saying; And I will make Babilon a possession to the Hedgehog. Esay, 14, For by the iust iudgement of God, the hart of the wicked, which heere is vnderstood by Babilon, is giuen into the power of the Hedghog, that thornie and pricking creature, that is, into the handes of the deuill, and also into the power of the thornes and pricks of the conscience, which sinnes doe bring with them: which as sharpe thornes and needles, doe thrust through and rent the hart of man. But if thou askest mee what be these thornes, I say, that one is the filthines and enormity of sinne,The first thorne. that of it owne nature is so abhominable, that a certaine Phylosopher sayd; If I knew that God would pardon me, and that men were ignorant of it, yet I should blush to sinne, for the onely filthines of sinne.Plato.

[Page 179]Another thorne is,The second thorne. when the sin bringeth with it an offence or iniurie to another man; for then as it were the blood of Abel is represented to his eyes, which cryeth for vengeance before the Lord; there is an example of this in the bookes of the Ma­chabees:1. Mach, 6, all the iniuries, and all the euils which Antiochus the King had doone at Ierusalem, came into his minde, hee beeing now at the point of death; by the which remembrance he came into such tribulation and anguish, and into those floods of hea­uinesse and sorrow, that he said, And nowe doe I remember the euils that I haue doone at Ierusalem: for I tooke all the vessels of gold and of siluer that were in it, and sent to destroy the inhabitants of Iuda without cause. I know that these troubles are come vpon mee, for the same cause, and beholde, I must die with great sorrowe in a strange Land. The thyrd thorne. Infamie is another thorne, which followeth sin, whicha sinner knoweth of will he nill he; and therefore he can­not but grieue: for naturally men wish well vnto themselues, & are afflicted with the contrary.Seneca in his 3. booke of benefits, chap. 17. Certaine o­ther thorns. For there is not a more grieuous punishment, as a certaine Wiseman sayth, then publique hate. An other thorne is the necessarie feare of death, the incertainty of life, the feare of rendering an account, and the dread & hor­rour of euerlasting punishment. Euery one of these are seuerall thornes, which grieuously pierce and prick the hart of the vn­godly: insomuch, that as often as the memory of death com­meth, on one side so certaine, on the other so incertaine, he can­not but be sadde and heauy, as saith Ecclesiasticus. For he seeth that day, which shall auenge all his iniquitie, and bring an end to his vices and pleasures. Neither is there any man, who can altogether cast the remembrance of this from him, seeing that nothing is so naturall to a mortall man, as to die.

Hence it is,The feare of an euil con­science. that being in any dangerous estate, hee quaketh and trembleth through feare, being doubtfull whether he shall die, or not, for the vehemencie of his owne loue, and the per­turbation of feare, maketh him to feare a shadow, and to dread, where there is no such cause. Therefore, if in the Land destruc­tions and common infirmities doe arise, as the plague, Earth­quakes, thunder and lightning, a sinner straight-waies feareth, and is troubled, and is altered through the feare of an euill con­science, perswading himselfe that these shall light vppon him. [Page 180] All these thornes together pricke, goare and thrust through the harts of wicked men, as very largely remembreth one of Iobs friends,Iob, 15, The wicked man, sayth he, is continually as one that trauai­leth of child, and the number of yeeres is hid from the Tyrant: A sounde of feare is in his eares, and in his prosperitie the destroyer shal come vpon him. Thys sounde, is the clamors and cryes of an ill conscience, which continually biteth and accuseth him: in the midst of peace hee feareth the deceits of his enemies, for al­though he lyueth peaceably, and content with that hee hath, yet the feare of an euill conscience is neuer absent. Hee beleeueth not that he may returne out of darknes into light: that is, he cannot be­leeue that it is possible, that at any time he should be freed from the darknes of thys miserable estate in which he liueth, and ob­taine that peace and tranquilitie of a good conscience, which as a most pleasant light reioyceth, and illuminateth all the corners of the soule. Hee seeth the sword on euery side of him, which vvay soeuer he turneth his eyes, he seeth a naked sword before hym, insomuch, that when he mooueth himselfe to gette his bread, when he sitteth at the table, where men are wont to be most merry, a thousand feares are present with him, for he knoweth that the day of darknes is prepared at hand: that is, of death, iudgement, and definitiue or finall sentence, insomuch that Affliction and anguish shall make him afraid: they shall preuaile against him as a King rea­die to the battell, foote-men and horse-men, shall hemme him a­bout.

After this manner thys friend of Iob doth describe the cru­ell torment, which those miserable and wretched men do suffer in their harts. For feare, as the Phylosopher sayth, dooth vvaite vpon the wicked, by the Diuine dispensation. Not vnlike to thys, is that of Salomon, The wicked flieth, when no man pursu­eth, Prou, 18. In his se­cond booke of Confes­sions. but the righteous is confident as a Lyon, and without feare. Saint Augustine comprehendeth all this in few words; Thou hast commaunded ô Lord, and truly it is so, that euery inordi­nate soule should be a punishment vnto it selfe. That for the most part is seene in all things.All disor­dered thin­ges are euil. Similitudes. For what is found in the vvorld inordinate or disordered, which naturally is not vnquiet, trou­bled, and restlesse? Bones out of ioynt, & remoued from theyr naturall place, what griefes doe they bring? That element that [Page 181] is without his Spheare, what violence doth it suffer? the humors of mans body when they exceede their quantity, and naturall temperature, what infirmities doe they not bring? Seeing that therefore it is so proper vnto a reasonable creature to liue or­derly and according to reason, if hee whose life is out of order and square, his nature doth suffer and is tormented: Not with­out cause, sayth Iob, Who hath resisted God, and hath had peace? Saint Gregory hath commented vpon these words thus, Hee who wonderfully hath created all things,Gregory in the 9. booke of his Mo­rals. cap. 2. he hath ordayned that the things he hath created should agree within themselues. He inferreth out of this, that as often as the Creator is resisted, so of­ten that agreement of peace is dissipated and broken: because, sayth he, they cannot be orderly, who loose the disposition of the high gouernment. For they that are subiect to God, cannot remaine in quiet, if they suffer confusion in themselues: because they finde no peace in themselues, they resist and contradict that which commeth from aboue from the Author of peace. So that high Angelicall spirit, who beeing subiect vnto God, might haue continued in his high estate, suffered the repulse & foyle of himselfe: because through the vnquietnes of his owne nature he wandred out of himselfe, and out of his order. So the first parent of mankinde, because he resisted the precept of his founder and Author, hee presently felt the contumely of his owne flesh: and because he would not by obedience be subiect to his Creator, he was prostrated and cast downe vnder him­selfe, and forth-with lost the peace of his body. This saith Saint Gregory.

That therefore is a torment, in which the wicked liue by the iust iudgement of God: and it is not the least misery of those punishments, which they suffer in this world. Almost all the Fathers of the Church doe testifie as much, and among others Saint Ambrose;Ambrose of duties. vvhat greater punishment, sayth hee, then the wound of the inward conscience? Is not this more to be flyed then death? then losse? then banishment? then sicknes? then sorrow? Isidore sayth, A man may flie all things, but his owne hart:Isidor. in Syn. for he cannot depart or leaue himselfe; for whether so e­uer he goeth, the guiltines of his conscience doth not leaue him. And in an other place; No punishment is more greeuous, then [Page 182] the punishment of conscience.In the 2. booke of his Solilo­quies. But wilt thou neuer be sad or heauy, liue well. A secure and safe minde doth lightly sustaine sadnes. A good life hath alwayes ioy: but a guilty conscience is alwayes in torment. A guilty minde is neuer secure; for an euill mind is tortured with the stings and pricks of the conscience. This is so true, that also the very Ethnick Philosophers not ac­knowledging, or beleeuing the punishments, by which our faith punisheth wicked men, through all theyr works haue confessed the same thing.Seneca E­pist 43. Heare Seneca; vvhat profiteth to hide thy selfe, and flie the eyes and eares of men? A good conscience cal­leth company together, but an ill conscience is fearefull, and trembleth in solitarines. If the things that thou doost be ho­nest, let all men know: if vnhonest, what skilleth it if no man know? O thou wretch and miserable, if thou contemnest this witnes; for thy conscience, (as it is in the Prouerb,) is a thousand witnesses. The same Author sayth also in another place, The greatest punishment that sinne can be punished with,In his book of manners. is, to haue committed it. In another place repeating the same thing, Feare (sayth hee) no man more, that knoweth of thy sinnes, then thy selfe. For thou mayst flie another, but thy selfe thou canst ne­uer. For wickednes is the punishment of it selfe. Cicero also in a certain [...] Oration,Cicero in his Oration for Milo. reasoning of this matter, sayth; Great is the force of the conscience on both sides: that they feare no­thing which haue offended nothing; and they that haue offen­ded, think alwayes that punishment is before their eyes.

This then is one of the torments with which the wicked and vngodly are vncessantly afflicted and tortured: which begin­neth in this life, and shall be continued in the other: for this is that immortall and neuer dying worme, as sayth Esay, vvhich wringeth and gnaweth without end the consciences of the wic­ked: this is for one depth to call another depth, as sayth Isi­dore; when as sinners passe from the iudgement of their owne conscience, to the iudgment of eternall damnation.

Of the sixt priuiledge of Vertue, which is the confidence and hope of the Diuine mercy, which the righteous reioyce in: and of the miserable and vaine trust and repose, in which the vvicked liue. CHAP. XVIII.

HOpe and Confidence doth accompany & fol­low the peace and ioy of a good conscience, in which the righteous liue, of which the Apostle speaketh,Rom, 12. Reioycing in hope, patient in trouble: counsayling vs to reioyce in hope, and to haue patience in trouble: for Hope telleth vs, that we haue a strong helper, and a bountifull rewarder. This is one of the chiefest iewels & treasuries of a Christian life: thys is the possession and patrimony of the sonnes of God; thys is the safe and secure hauen, & true remedy of all the miseries of this lyfe. But we must heere note (least perhaps wee be deceiued) that as there be two kindes of fayth, one dead, which bringeth foorth no fruite, and thys is the fayth of euill and wicked Christians: the other is a liuely fayth, full of charitie, and fruitfull vnto eue­rie good worke, which the righteous haue, which leadeth vnto life:Hope two fold. so also there are two kindes of Hope or Confidence, one dead, which gyueth not life vnto the soule, neither strengthe­neth it with her workes, neither comforteth it in tribulations. Such is the hope which the wicked glory in. The other is a liue­lie hope (as the Apostle Peter calleth it) which as it is a thing that hath life,1, Peter, 1, so also it bringeth foorth the effects and fruites of lyfe: which are to rayse vp the minde, to comfort, to reioyce it, and to support it in that way, which leadeth to heauen, and to recreate, refresh, and encourage it in the troubles of this world: as that holy woman Susanna was strengthened and refreshed, of whom it is written, that beeing already condemned, when she was led to the place of execution, where she should haue beene stoned to death, she was not discouraged, but shee hoped in God, and her hart had sure affiance in the Lord. Such was the hope of Dauid,Psalm, 119, when he sayd; O thinke vpon thy seruant as concerning thy [Page 197] Word, wherein thou hast caused me to put my trust: the same is my comfort in my trouble. Many & meruailous be the effects of this liuely hope, in that soule wherein it dwelleth, and so many the moe, by howe much it more participateth of the loue of God, which giueth life vnto hope.

Of these effects the first is, that it strengtheneth a man in the way of Vertue,Effects of true hope. 1. through the hope of a rewarde: for the more sure and certaine he hath the pledge and pawne of this reward, by so much more cheerefully he runneth thorowe whatsoeuer tribulations of this world, as all the holy Doctors of the Church confesse with one mouth. Hope, sayth Saint Gregory, dooth rayse vp the soule vnto eternitie,Gregory in the 6. booke of his Mor­rals. and therefore it feeleth no e­uils, which it outwardly beareth. Origen sayth, the hope of fu­ture blessings, dooth bring rest to those that labour: as to those that contend in battell, the hope of victory and reward dooth mittigate the griefe of theyr woundes.In his 9. homily vp­on Exodus. Vpon the 12. Psalme. Saint Ambrose dooth subscribe vnto this: Hope of profit, saith he, dooth steale away our labours, and doth hide the feare of danger. Of the same minde is Saint Ierome; All labour, and euery worke, sayth he, is wont to become easie, and to be made light,Ierom in an Epistle. when the reward of it is thought vpon: and the hope of reward, is the solace and comfort of the labour.

Saint Chrisostome is more copious in this poynt,In his 17. homily vp­on Genesis. Alwaies, sayth he, the hope of future blessings, doe make lighter the pre­sent discommodities. Any body may see this in Merchants, who passe and sayle ouer the large and bondlesse Seas, and suffer shypwracks,Similies. Pyrats, and many other dangers, by which theyr hope is often frustrated, neither yet do they so leaue of, but they assay and try the same things againe and againe. Wee also may say the same of Husbandmen: for when as they haue deeplie furrowed the ground, and diligently haúe tilled it, and sowne it, oftentimes they are frustrated of theyr hope, eyther through drought, or too much moysture, or through blasting, and some other calamitie. Neuerthelesse, they doe not so leaue of, but a­gaine, when the season approcheth, they exercise theyr husban­dry. And in another place;Vpon Saint Mathew. If any man setteth by a laborious life, let him despise and hate slothfulnes: for if to Marriners the threatning billowes and fearefull waues of the Sea doe seeme [Page 188] tollerable: if stormes & winters are tollerable to Husbandmen, if wounds and slaughters to Souldiers, if grieuous blowes and stripes seeme light and tollerable to champions, for the hope of temporall and perrishing commodities: much more whē hea­uen is prepared for a reward, wee ought not to esteeme or ac­count of these present troubles & afflictions. Exceedingly doth a promise & a blessed end mittigate the labours. Doe not thou therfore, ô Christian, think or coniecture, that the way of Ver­tue is rough and sharpe, but looke to the end of it. Be not de­ceiued in beholding the pleasant way of vices, but looke to that downfall and destruction, that it leadeth thee to.

That holy man sayd very truly and well. Which of vs wish­eth or desireth to walke in a way strowed with Roses, & planted with diuers flowers, if the assured end of it be death? And who will refuse a rough and difficult way, that leadeth vnto life?

Thys hope doth not onely adde courage vnto vs, to obtaine our desired end; but it encourageth vs in all the meanes, which are destinated to that end, and generally in all our necessities, & in the miseries of thys life. For by this a man is helped in all his trouble; defended in dangers, hee receiueth solace in sorrowes, ayde in infirmities, sufficiencie in all neede: for by thys wee ob­taine the fauour and mercy of the Lord, which helpeth and ay­deth vs in all affaires. Of all these wee haue most certaine, and most euident pledges and gages of holy Scriptures: but especi­ally in Dauids Psalmes. For there is scarcely found any psalme, which doth not commend vnto vs this vertue, and which de­clareth not vnto vs, the most noble fruites of it. For without all doubt hope is a most rich treasury, & a very great consolation, which the righteous haue in this world. Therefore let no man thinke much, if we be more long and prolixe in repeating the authorities of thys place.

In the second booke of the Chronicles, a certaine Prophet sayth to King Asa;2, Chro. 16. The eyes of the Lorde behold all the earth, to strengthen them, that with a perfect hart beleeue and hope in him. Ieremie speaketh thus of thys hope;Lamen. 3, O how good is the Lord, vn­to them that put theyr trust in him, and to the soule that seeketh af­ter him. Esay, 30, And Esay sayth, If ye returne and be quiet, ye shalbe safe, your strength shall be in quietnesse and hope. By quietnesse in thys [Page 189] place is vnderstood, the tranquilitie & inward rest of the soule, in the midst of tribulations: which is the effect of hope, which hurleth and casteth foorth all carefulnesse, and inordinate anxi­etie, by that fauour which it expecteth of the Diuine mercie. Not vnlike to thys, is that of Ecclesiasticus, Yee that feare the Lord, Ecclus. 2, beleeue in him, and yee shall not be frustrated of your reward. Ye that feare God, hope in him, and mercy shall come vnto you for pleasure. Consider the old generations of men, and marke them well, was there euer any one confounded that put his trust in the Lorde? And Salomon in his Prouerbs sayth;Prou, 3, Put thy trust in God with all thy hart, and leane not vnto thine owne wit. In all thy wayes ac­knowledge him, and hee shall order thy goings. Surely it is a great furtherance vnto hope, to haue knowne the mercie of God, not only by reading, but much more by experience. For a man ho­peth through an assured affiance, that hee will profit him, who often hath profited others.Psalm, 9, Hence is that of the Psalme, They that know thy name will put theyr trust in thee: for thou Lord, hast neuer failed them that seeke thee. Psalm, 31, He saith also in another psalme, My trust hath beene in the Lord: I will be gladde and reioyce in thy mercie. The effect of thys hope, the same man declareth, when he sayth;Psalm, 32, Who so putteth his trust in the Lord, mercy embraceth & compasseth him on euery side. Hee sayth very well, embraceth and compasseth, that he might signifie, that it shall keepe and garde him on euery side, no otherwise then a King is encompassed with his Garde, that he may be the more safe. In another psalme he teacheth the same thing more at large:Psalm, 40 I waited patiently, saith he, for the Lord, and he enclined vnto mee, and heard my calling. He brought mee also out of the horrible pitte, out of the mire and Clay: and sette my feete vpon the Rocke, and ordered my goings. And hee hath put a newe song in my mouth: euen a thanks-giuing vnto our GOD. Many shall see it and feare: and shall put theyr trust in the the Lord. Blessed is the man that hath set his hope in the Lorde, and turned not vnto the proude, and to such as goe about with lies.

All these be the words of the Prophet, in which hee also 3 sheweth another effect of this Vertue; that is, the mouth and eyes of man are opened, that hee may know by experience the goodnes and fatherly prouidence of God. It is also a singuler 4 fruite of hope, that wee are not onely deliuered from dangers; [Page 200] but also that there is a new prayse and a new thanksgiuing put into our mouthes, which the Prophet insinuateth, when hee sayth; And he hath put a new song in my mouth, &c. He calleth it a new song, which is sung for a new deliuerance, with an vnusu­all and new affection of mirth. We shal not easily end this mat­ter, if wee should alledge all the verses, and sometimes whole Psalmes, written of this matter. For the ninety and one Psalm, and the hundreth and fiue and twenty are wholy imployed in commending this vertue vnto vs, and to describe the excel­lent fruites of it, which they enioy and ioy in, who haue theyr trust and confidence in the Lord, and dwell vnder his protecti­on. Saint Bernard writing vpon the ninth verse of the former Psalme:Bernard in his 9, Ser­mon vpon the Psalme, Who dwel­leth. Because thou ô Lord art my hope: he sayth; Whatsoeuer therefore is to be done, whatsoeuer is to be eschewed, whatsoe­uer is to be borne, whatsoeuer is to be wished, ô Lord, thou art my hope. This is the onely cause of all my promises, this is the whole reason of mine expectation. Let one pretend merit, let him boast that he hath borne the heate of the day, let him say that he hath fasted twice a weeke, lastly let him brag that hee is not like other men: but it is good for mee to cleaue vnto the Lord; and to put my trust in my Lord God. If rewards be pro­mised me, I will hope that I shall obtaine them by thee; if wars rise against me, if the world rageth, if the wicked fret and sume, if the flesh lust against the spirit, yet I will trust in thee. For to what end are we wise, if we doe not sticke and cleaue with all feruour and deuotion of soule and spirit to this solide, sound, perfect, and blessed hope, and cast away all other miserable, vaine, vnprofitable, and seducing hopes? A little after the same mellifluous Doctour by way of Dialogue, doth thus reason: Fayth sayth;In his 20. Sermon vp­on the same Psalm. Great and inestimable blessings are prepared of God, for those that serue him: Hope sayth; those are kept for me: Charity sayth; I runne vnto them.

Behold my brother, thou doost see how great be the fruites of this vertue,A Cata­logue of the effects of hope. and profitable for what. Hope is as a safe Ha­uen, to which the righteous direct theyr course, so often as any storme of the world rageth: it is as a most strong shield, vpon which all the darts of our enemies are receaued without any wound: it is as a Store-house for foode, whether in the time of [Page 201] famine, all the poore may come, & haue bread. It is that taber­nacle, couer, and shadow, which the Lord doth promise in E­say, that hee will be to his elect a shadow to defend them from the heate of the day, and a defence from the stormy tempest and from raine. That is, a safegard from all the aduersity and pros­perity of the world, To conclude, it is the medicine, and com­mon remedy of all our euils, and encumbrances. For it is cer­taine, that whatsoeuer we hope for of God iustly, faithfully, and wisely, we shall obtaine it, if it be conducent and appertayning to our saluation.Cyprian in an Epistle to Don. Therfore Cyprian calleth the mercy of God, a fountaine or vvell of all blessings, that cannot be drawne dry, and our hope and trust a bucket or vessell, in which those bles­sings are receaued: and he sayth that according to the quantity of the vessell, so is the proportion of the remedy. For in respect of the fountaine, the water of mercy neuer fayleth. The Lord sayd to the children of Israel, All the places that the soles of your feete shall tread vpon, Iosua, 1. haue I giuen you: So also all the mercy, vpon which man shall set his foote, shall be his. Like to this is that; He that taketh his motion, or is moued of the Lord, hee will hope all things, neyther shall he be frustrated of his hope. Whereby it is ma­nifest, that this hope is an imitation of the vertue and diuine power,Bernard in his 85. Ser­mon vpon the Cant. Hope ma­keth men omnipotēt. redounding to the glory of the same God. Bernard was not ignorant of this, when hee sayd; Nothing doth make the omnipotency of the word more cleare, then that it doth make all them omnipotent, who hope in him. Wilt thou know that this is true; did not he pertake of the omnipotency of God, who being vpon the earth, commaunded the Sun, that it should stand still in the midst of heauen, and that it should not hasten to runne his course, for the space of a day? And an other, who gaue a wish to King Ezechias,4, Kings, 20. whether he would that the sha­dow of the Sunne should goe forwards ten degrees, or returne backe so many? This is that, that after a singuler manner illu­strateth the glory of the Lord, when we see his seruants so pow­erfull. For if that proude King of the Assirians glorified in that,Esay, 10. that Kings, as himselfe, serued him: how much more shall the Lord our God glory, that after a certaine manner all they are Gods, that serue him; after they haue participated of his power?

Of the seauenth priuiledge of Vertue, that is, of the true libertie, which the righteous haue and reioyce in: and of the misery and vnknowne seruitude and bon­dage, in which sinners liue. CHAP. XIX.

OF all the priuiledges and prerogatiues hetherto spoken of,Whence this libertie springeth. but especially of the second & fourth, that is, of the grace of the holy Ghost, and of the Diuine cōsolation, another preheminence doth arise no lesse admirable, which the righteous en­ioy: and that is the true liberty of the soule, which the Sonne of God brought into this world, of which priuiledge he hath ob­tained the name of the Redeemer of mankind. Because he hath redeemed man, and hath freed him from that wretched & mi­serable seruitude, in which he liued; and brought him into true libertie. This is one of the especiallest blessings, which Christ brought into this world; one of the most excellent benefits of the Gospell; one of the most noble effects of the holy Ghost: For where there is the Spirit of the Lord, 2, Cor, 3, there is libertie, sayth the Apostle. To be briefe, this is one of the richest rewards, which [Page 198] in thys world are promised to the worshippers of the true God. Thys libertie the Lord promised to certaine, that were willing to serue him:Iohn, [...]. If (saith he) yee continue in my word, yee are verilie my Disciples, and shall knowe the truth, and the truth shall make you free: that is, it shall giue vnto you true libertie. They answered him, Wee be Abrahams seede, and were neuer bounde to any man: vvhy sayest thou then, ye shall be made free? Iesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say vnto you, that whosoeuer committeth sinne, is the seruant of sinne. And the seruant abideth not in the house for euer: but the sonne abideth for euer. If the sonne therefore shall make you free, One kinde of liberty true, an o­ther false. yee shall be free in deede. In which words the Lord plainely intimateth vnto vs that there are two kinds of liberty; one false and in a show, the other true and reall. False liberty is proper vnto them, who haue their bodies free, but their soules captiua­ted, and subiect to the tiranny of their own passions and sinnes: as was the soule of great Alexander; who when hee was the Lord of the whole world, he was the seruant of his owne vices. But true liberty is proper vnto them, who haue their soules free from all these tirannies, although their bodies be somtimes free, and sometimes bond and captiuated: as was the soule of the Apostle, who although he was captiue, and holden in bonds, yet in spirit he mounted vp to heauen, and by the doctrine of his letters he freed the whole world.

Why the li­berty of the soule is the true liberty. The reason why this liberty is called properly liberty, and not that other, is this: because as among the two essentiall parts of man, the soule is much more noble then the body, yea, it is as it were the whole man, the body is no other thing, then a mat­ter or subiect, in which the soule is included: so he truly is to be called free, who hath his more principall part free: but hee is falsely called free, who hath his soule captiue & bond, although he carrieth about his body freely whether so euer he pleaseth.

Of the eight priuiledge of Vertue, that is, of the blessed peace, and in­ward quietnesse, which the righteous enioy: and of the wretched warre, and continuall trouble and terrour, with which the wicked are shaken and smitten in theyr soules. CHAP. XX.

AFter the priuiledge of the liberty of the sonnes of God followeth another, no lesse then it: that is, the prerogatiue of the peace and inward quiet­nes, in which the vertuous and good doe liue. But that this may be vnderstoode the better, we must know that there are three kindes of peace: one is with God, another with our neighbour, and the third with our selues. Peace with our neighbours is to loue all men,Peace with men. and to be loued of all, and to haue friendship with all: to wish euill to no body, to hate no body. This had Dauid when he sayd, I was peaceable with them that hated peace: Psal. 119. and when I spake vnto them therof, they set themselues of purpose against mee. This peace the Apostle commendeth, admonishing vs, that as much as we may, wee should haue peace with all men.

Peace with God. The other peace which is with God, consisteth in this, that we haue friendship and fauour with God, and it is got by the meanes of iustification, which reconcileth man to God, & ma­keth man to loue him, as hee againe is loued of him: so that there is no warre, no contention betweene them. Of this peace the Apostle speaketh:Rom. 5. Then being iustified by faith, we haue peace toward God.

Peace with our selues. The third peace is that, which man hath with himselfe. Let no man meruaile at this: for it is knowne, that in one and the selfe same man are found two men, and one contrary to the o­ther, as be the inward and the outward man: or the spirit and the flesh, the appetite and the reason. Which contrariety doth not onely stirre vp cruell warre against the soule, but also doth trouble the whole man with furious passions, with burning de­sires, and most turbulent concupiscences. And hence the in­ward [Page 219] peace, which is the rest and tranquillity of our spirit, is troubled and disturbed.

Of the ninth priuiledge of Vertue: that God heareth the prayers of the righteous, and reiecteth the prayers of the wicked. CHAP. XXI.

THey that embrace and seeke after Vertue, haue yet another priuiledge, besides those, which he­therto we haue spoken of, that is, that their pray­ers are heard of God: and this vnto them is a notable and an excellent comfort, and a singuler helpe in all their necessities,A double deluge. and miseries of this life. For the vn­derstanding of this priuiledge we must know, that there haue [Page 231] beene two vniuersall deluges and drownings of this world; the one materiall, the other spirituall; and they both had one cause, that is,Gen. 7. sin. The materiall deluge, that was in the time of Noah, left nothing aliue in the worlde, but those that were in the Arke: for the waters couered all things, so that the Sea deuou­red the earth with all the labours and riches of men. But there was another flood before that, much greater then this: for it did not onely hurt and endamage the men of that age, but it brought deadly destruction to all the men of the ages past, pre­sent, and to come: neyther did it onely hurt their bodies, but al­so theyr soules; for it spoyled them of all the riches of grace, which the world had receaued, by the meanes of him that was first formed. And in this miserable estate all things as yet con­tinue, as we may see in euery creature, which newly commeth into this world, being naked and disfurnished of all the goods as well of the soule, as of the body.

From this first deluge all those miseries, beggeries, and cala­mities are deriued, to which mans life is subiect, which are so many and so great, that learned Wryters, and graue Doctors of the Church, haue written large and copious volumes of this matter: Philosophers also very learned, on the one part consi­dering the dignity of man aboue all other lyuing creatures, and on the other vnto what great miseries and vices he was subiect, they could not wonder sufficiently at it, seeing so great disorder and misgouernment in the world: for they vnderstoode not the cause, which was sinne. For they did note and marke, that onely man, amongst so many liuing creatures enioying so many thousand kindes of pleasures, and desires of the flesh, was vexed with couetousnes, ambition, and insatiable desire to liue, neither with these bonds his misery to be limitted, but that hee must thinke of his death and buriall, and what shall become of him after death.Mā is more miserable then any lyuing crea­ture. There is not any liuing creature that hath a nature more fraile, or inflamed with greater gurmandize or couetous­nes, neyther that feareth more vainely, or more rageth through anger. They did also see that other lyuing creatures did passe the greater part of their life, without sicknesses and infirmity, without the helpe of Phisitions; and that all necessaries were prouided for them, without their labour or industry. But on [Page 232] the contrary part, they did see that miserable man was exposed and layd open to a thousand infirmities, mischaunces, necessi­ties, and greefes, as well of soule as of body, both for himselfe, and for his friends. That which is past, greeueth him; that which is present, afflicteth him; that which is to come, terrifieth him; and that oftentimes he laboureth and taketh paynes all his life long, for a morsell of bread, and a mouth full of water, to su­staine himselfe with all. Neyther can I so soone make an ende to speake of these miseries of mans life, of which blessed Iob sayth:Iob, 7. The life of man is a warfare vpon earth, and his dayes as the dayes of an hireling.

This same thing with so great tediousnes afflicted those aun­tient vvise-men, that there be some found amongst them, who feared not to say, that they doubted, whether Nature was a mo­ther vnto vs, or not much rather a stepdame, which hath expo­sed vs to so great miseries.A saying of Silenus ta­ken captiue of Mydas. Ouid in the 11, book of his Me [...]a. Another sayd: That it is the best for man neuer to haue beene borne, and the next, soone after to dye. Neyther erred he, that sayd; That many would not haue desired life, if they had made tryall of it before. If therfore our life be thus deformed through sinne, and our chiefest renowne and principall good lost through this deluge, what remedy hath he left for man, who so grieuously hath punished mankinde? Tell me,A simily. what remedy hath a lame and a weake sickly man, who sayling vpon the Sea, looseth at one mischance all his riches? I know what thou wilt say vnto me, If hee haue not whereon to liue, sayst thou, neyther hath ability to traffique by reason of his infirmity, it followeth of necessity that he must begge. Goe to then,Prayer the onely re­medy of man. if man in that vniuersall deluge, lost what so euer he had, and scarcely escaped the danger poore and naked; what other remedy is left vnto him, then that like a most needy begger, he call and cry at the gates of the Lord? This King Iehosophat teacheth plainely,2, Chro. 20. when he sayth: Lord, when wee are ignorant what we ought to doe, we haue onely this remedy, that we may lift vp our eyes towards thee. [...] say, 38. To this agreeth King Hezechias. From day to night, sayth he, wilt thou make an ende of me? Like a young Swallow so did I chatter, I did mourne as a Doue. As if he should haue sayd: I am so poore, and I doe so depend of thy mercy and prouidence, that not one day I am assured of my lyfe: [Page 233] Therefore all my exercise shall be, alwaies to mourne, grone, & poure out my sighes before thee as a Doue, and I will call and cry out vnto thee, as a young Swallow doth vnto her Dam. So this holy man spake, although he was a most mighty King. Also his Father Dauid beeing much greater then bee, neuerthelesse in all his neede he ranne to this sanctuarie, & with the same spi­rit, and same intent,Psalm, 142, saith; I cryed vnto the Lorde with my voyce: with my voyce I prayed vnto the Lord, I poured out my meditation before him, & declared mine affliction in his presence. That is, when I cast mine eyes about looking heere and there, I see all passa­ges stopt, and the gates of hope shutte against mee; therefore, when as mans helpe doth faile me, by prayer I desire heauenlie ayde, which God hath left vnto me, as the onely refuge & stay in all my troubles and dangers.

Perhaps thou wilt aske me, whether this remedy be safe, and vniuersall for all the necessities of our life.How sure a remedy our prayer is. Vnto this (seeing that it dependeth of the Diuine will onelie) none els can answer but those, whom God in this matter hath chosen to be his Secreta­ries, as are the Apostles & Prophets, amongst whom one saith: There is no other Nation so great, Deut, 4, vnto whom the Gods come so neere vnto them, as the Lord our God is neere vnto vs, in all that wee call vnto him for. These be the wordes of God himselfe, although they be vttered by the mouth of a man, which ought to haue greater credite with vs, and to make vs in this matter more se­cure, then all the testimonies of the world: that is, when wee pray, although we see no body, who answereth vs, yet we speak not to the walls, neither doe we scatter our words in the winde, but God himselfe is present, who heareth and helpeth vs pray­ing, pittying our neede and preparing remedie for vs, if so that remedy be con [...]enient and necessary. What therefore can be a greater comfort to one praying, then to haue an earnest and a pledge so certaine of the Diuine assistance? But if this be suffi­cient to comfort and to confirme vs in prayer, how much more shall those things confirme vs, which Christ himselfe speaketh, and that pledge which wee haue of our labour, as hee himselfe saith in the Gospell:Math, 7, Aske and it shall be giuen you, seeke, and yee shall finde: knocke and it shall be opened vnto you. What pawne can we haue more precious, or more certaine then this? Who can [Page 234] call these wordes into doubt or question? who by this comfort will not be refreshed and encouraged in all his prayers? vvhom will not this royall charter content & satisfie? This is one of the greatest and chiefest priuiledges, which attend vpon the louers of vertue in thys, that is, to knowe that these great and assured promises are especially made for them. For it is one of the ex­cellentest graces, that our Lord bestoweth vpon them for the paiment of their obedience, that he alwaies is present with them praying, and that hee heareth all their prayers. Dauid assureth this vnto vs,Psalm, 34, when hee saith; The eyes of the Lorde are vpon the righteous, and his eares are open vnto theyr cry. And the Lord pro­miseth the same thing by Esay;Esay, 58, Then shalt thou call, sayth he, and the Lord shall aunswer: thou shalt cry, and hee shall say, Heere I am. Not onely when they cry, but before they shall cry, the holy Prophet promiseth, that the Lord shall heare them. Thys pro­mise moreouer hath great force to obtaine other promises, as Christ himselfe sayth in Iohn: If ye abide in me, and my words a­bide in you, Iohn, 15, aske what ye will, and it shall be doone vnto you. But be­cause the greatnes of this promise did seeme to exceede all hu­mane credit, he repeateth the same thing the second time, and that with greater asseueration,Iohn, 16, saying: Verily, verily, I say vnto you, whatsoeuer ye shall ask [...] the Father in my Name, hee will giue it you. What greater grace or fauour can bee showed? What greater riches giuen? or what greater domination? Aske what you wil, saith he, and it shall be giuen vnto you. O word worthy of such a promiser: who could promise this that is not God? What power could extend it selfe to things so hard and magnificent, but the power of God alone?

How farre prayer ex­tendeth it selfe. This after some manner, maketh man the Lorde of all, thys deliuereth vnto him the key of the Diuine treasuries. All other gifts, and Diuine graces haue the [...] lymits, in which they are cir­cumscribed. But thys amongst the rest, as a royall gift of the in­finite Lord, hath the nature of his infinitenes, that it is neyther determined with these, or those limits: but it is said, all whatsoe­uer ye wil, so that it be conducent to your saluation. And if men were iust prisers and esteemers of things, how greatly were they to esteeme this promise? Of what great woorth would a man make it, if he had found this fauour with some King, who would [Page 235] giue vnto him, whatsoeuer he should aske? If an earthly King would be in such price with thee, shall not this heauenly King be in greater? But if thou shalt esteeme these to bee naked words, and that the effect and fruite dooth not follow the pro­mise, looke into the liues of the Saints, and consider what they haue done onely by prayer. How great things did Moses in E­gipt, and in all that iourney through the wildernes,What great things the Saints haue doone by prayer. onelie by prayer? What great things did Elias and Elizeus effect & bring to passe, onely by prayer? What great miracles did the Apo­stles by prayer onely? With this Armour did the Saints fight: with this they haue ouerthrowne the power of deuils; by thys they haue triumphed ouer the world: by this they haue excee­ded nature: by this they haue mittigated & quenched the heat of fire: to conclude, by this they haue pacified the wrath of the Lord, and haue obtayned whatsoeuer they would.

This therefore is the rewarde promised to the obedience of the righteous, that seeing they are so faithfull & obedient to the voyce of the Lord, he semblably dealeth with them; & because they answere vnto his voyce, when hee calleth and cryeth vnto thē, it is meete that he should remunerate them after the same manner. Hence it is that Salomon saith, That an obedient man doth speake of victory;Prou, 12, for it is meete, that God should doe the will of man, when man doth the will of God.

Hetherto of the prayer of the righteous. But contrarily spea­keth the Lord of the prayer of the wicked;Esay, 1, When you shal stretch out your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you: and though you make many prayers, Ierem, 2, I will not heare. And by Ieremie the Lorde dooth threaten them, saying: And in the time of theyr trouble, they vvill say: Arise and helpe vs. But where are thy gods that thou hast made thee? Let them arise, if they can helpe thee in the time of thy trou­ble. Iob, 27, In the booke of Iob also it is written; For what hope hath the hypocrite, whē he hath heaped vp riches, if God take away his soule? Will God heare his cry when trouble commeth vpon him? And also Saint Iohn in his Canonicall Epistle dooth subscribe vnto thys; Beloued, 1, Iohn, 3, saith he, if our hart condemne vs not, then haue wee bold­nes toward God. And whatsoeuer we aske, we receiue of him, because we keepe his commaundements, and doe those things which are plea­sing in his sight. Not vnlike to this, is that of the Psalmographer, [Page 236] If I regard wickedness in mine hart, Psalm, 66, the Lord will not heare mee. But God hath heard me, and considered the voyce of my prayer: because I haue not dealt wickedly.

A thousand such like authorities may be brought out of the holy Scriptures, of which may be easily gathered the difference, which is betweene the prayers of the righteous, and of the wic­ked, and by consequent, how farre the one part excelleth the o­ther, when as the one is heard, and dealt with all as sonnes, the other reiected as enemies. For when they doe not ioyne good works to theyr prayers, neither that deuotion & feruour of spi­rit, neither that charitie and humilitie, which is required: it is no maruell, if they be not heard. For the petition, as Ciprian sayth, is not forcible, when the prayer is barren.

Of the tenth priuiledge of Vertue: which is the helpe and fauour of God, which the righteous feele and tast of in their tribulations: and of the impatience and torment of the wicked in carrying theirs. CHAP. XXII.

VErtue also hath another priuiledge no lesse ad­mirable: that is, that strength & fortitude is gi­uen to the louers of Vertue, that they may beare theyr tribulations with ioy, which in this life shal neuer be wanting vnto them. For we know, that there is not any sea so stormy and rempestuous in this world,Our lyfe is a Sea. as our life is: for in it there is not found any felicitie so safe and se­cure, which is not subiect to a thousand kindes of casualties, which at all times hang ouer our heads. Surely it is a thing wor­thy of consideration, to see with what great difference good and euill men doe passe through this miserable world: for the good, knowing that they haue GOD to be theyr Father, and that it is he, that bids them drinke of this cup, like vnto a medi­cine prescribed of a most wise and skilfull Phisitian; and that tribulation is as a file, the which the sharper it is it so much the more maketh the soule purer, brighter, and more shining, and doth scoure of all the rust: and considering in like manner, that it is it, which maketh men humbler in their thoughts; more [Page 237] feruent in their prayers, and more pure in their consciences: I say that the righteous knowing and considering of these things and the like, cast downe theyr heads, and are humbled as little ones, in the time of tribulation: and also they poure in water into the cup of affliction, or (that I may speake better) God himselfe poureth it in:Psal 80. who, as the Prophet sayth, Giueth vs teares to drinke in measure. God doth temper and prop [...]rtio­nate tribu­lations ac­cording to the strength and ability of men. There is no Phisition, that with so great care and diligence doth measure and proportionate the quantity of his phisick, which he giueth to his diseased patient, according to the quallity of his complexion: as our heauenly Phisition doth proportionate the medicine of tribulation, which he deuideth to the righteous, according to the quality of theyr strength, by which they may be able to beare it.

But if at any time the labour and payne encreaseth, the helpe and ayde also encreaseth, least man should faynt: and he is made so much the richer, by how much his tribulation is mightier: that he may not flye from it,Tribulati­on profita­ble. as from a dangerous and hurtfull thing; but that he may desire it, as a merchandize of great gaine. For these causes the righteous oftentimes doe beare calamities and miseries, not onely with patience, but also with ioy. For they doe not looke vpon the labour, but vpon the reward: not vpon the payne, but vpon the crowne: not vpon the bitternes of the medicine, but vpon the health which it bringeth: not vpon the griefe of the chasticement, but vpon the loue of the chasticer, who himselfe sayth, that hee chasticeth euery one whom he loueth. The ayde of the Diuine grace, doth ioyne it selfe to this consideration, as already we haue sayd; which neuer forsaketh the righteous in the [...]me of tribulation.

For seeing that God is so true and faythfull a friend vnto his,God is pre­sent with the righte­ous in tri­bulation. he is neuer nearer vnto them, then in theyr tribulation and trouble: although the contrary seemeth to be true. Runne throughout all the holy Scripture, and thou shalt scarcely finde any thing, which is so often repeated and promised, as this which we heere speake of. Is it not written of him, that he is a helper in neede and tribulation? Is it not he, that inuiteth vs, to call vpon him at that time?Psal. 50. Call vpon me, sayth hee, in the day of trouble: so will I deliuer thee, and thou shalt glorifie me. Doth not the Prophet testifie this, as hauing had experience of it him­selfe? [Page 238] When I called, Psal. 4. sayth he, the God of my righteousnes heard me, thou ô God hast set me at liberty, when I was in distresse. Is not he that Lord,Psal. 55. in whom the same Prophet trusting sayd; I will wayte for the Lord, who hath deliuered me from faynting, and from the stor­mie wind and tempest. Which tempest is not of this Sea, but that, which afflicteth and excruciateth the hart of him that faynteth and, is weake, when it is troubled; which tempest, by so much is the greater, by how much the hart is weaker and seebler. This truth the same Prophet confirmeth in many places, eyther with the same words, or with words more effectuall: both that we might be confirmed in the fayth of this truth: and also that we might be strengthened and comforted in our weakenes.Psal. 35. For the saluation, sayth he, of the righteous is of the Lord, and he is theyr protectour in the time of tribulation: and the Lord shall helpe them and deliuer them, and shall take them from among sinners. and shal saue them, because they trusted in him. And in another place yet more plainely.Psal. 31. How great is thy goodnes ô Lord, which thou hast layd vp for them, that feare thee, and done to thew [...] that trust in thee, euen before the sonnes of men. Thou doost hide them priuily in thy presence from the pride of men: thou keepest them secretly in thy Tabernacle from the strife of tongues. Blessed be the Lord: for he hath shewed his meruailous kindnes toward mee in a strong Cittie. Though I sayd in mine hast, I am cast out of thy sight, yet thou hear­dest the voyce of my prayer, when I cryed vnto thee. Thou seest heere how manifestly the Prophet demonstrateth the fauour and ayde, which the righteous haue of God in their greatest and sorest troubles. But it is to be noted, that he sayth; Thou doost hide them priuily in thy presence, A simily. signifying (as a certaine interpre­ter sayth) that as a King when hee would keepe any man safe from danger; placeth him in his Pallace, that not onely the wals of the King, but also the eyes of the King may defend him from his enemies: then the which gard none can be safer: so the hea­uenly King by the same prouidence doth defend his. Hence it is that we see and reade, that the Saints oftentimes being com­passed with many dangers & temptations haue endured them, and borne them with a minde quiet and vntroubled, and with [...] countenance and iesture cheerefull, pleasant, and merry. For they are assured that they haue that faithfull gard present, which [Page 239] will neuer forsake them: and then chiefely and especially to be present,Dan. 3. when the dangers come to the highest. Those three young men felt this, whom Nabuchodonozer commaunded at Babilon to be cast into the firy furnace: among whom the An­gell of the Lord walked in the midst of the fire, and cast out the flame of the fire out of the furnace, and made the midst of the furnace like a coole and refreshing wind, and the fire touched them not, neyther troubled them, nor brought any greeuance vnto them. And the King was astonished, and sayd; Did wee not cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? And be­hold, I see foure men loosed, and walking in the midst of the fire. And the fourth is beautifull as the sonne of God. Thou seest then how the presence of our Lord is at hand in trou­bles. That argument of this matter is not lesse, which the Lord performed for that holy young man Ioseph, after he was sold of his brethren.Wised. 10. For hedeliuered him from sinne (as it is in the booke of Wisedome) he went downe with him into the dungeon, and fayled him not in the bands: till he had brought him the seepter of the realme, and power against those that oppressed him, and them that had accused him, he declared to be lyers, and gaue him perpe­tuall glory.

These examples confirme that Diuine promise, which is in Dauid: I am with him, sayth the Lord, in trouble; I will deliuer him, and I will honour him. O happy trouble, which deserueth to haue such a companion. Which seeing that it is so, let vs all lift vp our voyces with Saint Bernard, and say: O Lord send me trouble,All vertues helpe the afflicted. that thou mayst alwayes be with mee. With this the ayde and supply of all vertues doe ioyne themselues, which con­curre at this time, that they may strengthen, corroborate, and rayse vp the distressed minde. For euen as when the hart is di­stressed and afflicted,A simily. all the blood from euery part runneth thether, that it may releeue and comfort it, that it faynt not: so the soule when it is oppressed with griefe and anguish, forth­with all the vertues runne vnto it, and releeue it, now after this manner, now after that. But after a more especiall maner Fayth is present, bringing a cleare and plaine knowledge both of the good things, and of the euill in the life to come: in comparison of which, all the calamities and miseries of this world are of no [Page 240] moment. Hope commeth, which maketh men patient in all their troubles and afflictions, in looking for a reward. The loue of God commeth, with which loue they being inflamed, desire with great feruentnes to beare all kinde of sorrowes and afflicti­ons in this life. Obedience and the conforming of our wils with the Diuine will runneth & hasteth hether; at whose hands they receaue with ioy, and without murmuring, whatsoeuer is giuen vnto them. Patience ioyneth herselfe vnto these, whose pro­perty is to strengthen the shoulders, that men may be able to beare all those burthens, which are layd vpon them. Humility hath also heere her function and worke, which bendeth the hart as a young twig, shaken and tossed to and fro of the stor­my wind of tribulation, and maketh man to be humbled vnder the mighty hand of the Lord; whilst he acknowledgeth, that those things which he suffereth are much lesser, then his sinnes [...]. To conclude, the consideration of the labours and [...]orrowes of Christ crucified, and the afflictions of all the holy Saints doe exceedingly helpe, in comparison of whom all our tribulations are as though they were not.

Mimesis, called the figure of imitation, or counter­fetting of words and iestures. Rom. 8. After this manner therfore the vertues helpe them, who are in affliction and calamity; euery one with their proper and pe­culier functions; neyther onely with theyr functions, but also (if I may say so) with their words and exhortations. First of all [...]: The afflictions of this present time are not woorthy of the glory, which shall be shewed vnto vs. Charity sayth, that it is meete and reason, that we should suffer and beare all things for his loue, who so deerely and tenderly hath loued vs. Gratitude sayth with blessed Iob;Iob, 2. Shall we receaue good at the hand of God, and not receaue euill? Repentance sayth, it is meet, that he should suffer something against his will, who so often hath wrought wickednes against the Diuine will. Faythfulnes addeth, that it is right and reason, that he should be once found faythfull and gratefull in his life, who hath receaued so great gifts, and so ma­ny graces of God through the whole course of his life. Pati­ence admonisheth, that tribulations are the matter of patience, Or doe bring forth patience: Rom. 5. and patience bringeth forth experience, and experience hope, and hope maketh not ashamed. Obedience sayth, that there is not a greater sacrifice, or more acceptable to [Page 241] God, then in all trouble to cōforme ourselues to the good plea­sure of Gods will. But amongst all the vertues, liuely Hope hel­peth man in that time, after a singuler and an especiall manner, and it wonderfully strengtheneth our hart in the midst of tribu­lations. The Apostle declareth this, who when hee had sayd; Reioycing in hope, Rom, 12, he further addeth, and patient in tribulation: not being ignorant that one followeth another: that is, of the ioy of Hope, followeth the fortitude of Patience. For which cause the Apostle not vnelegantly calleth Hope an anchor:Hope is an Anchor. Hebr, 6, for euen as when it is fastned into the earth, it keepeth the shyppe safe, which stayeth in the midst of the waues, and maketh it, that it feareth not the billowes of the raging sea: so liuely Hope, bee­ing firmly fixed vppon the heauenly promises, preserueth the minde of the righteous vnremoued in the midst of the waues of this world, and maketh it, that it contemneth and despiseth all the storme & tempest of the winds. So it is reported that a cer­taine holy man did in times past, who seeing himselfe enclosed on euery side with tribulations, sayd: That good that I looke for is so great, that all punishment and all torment is a pleasure vnto me.

Therefore thou vnderstandest, my brother, how all vertues concurre to strengthen the mindes of the righteous, when they see them in a straight. And although a man be weake and fear­full, yet forthwith he returneth to himselfe, & to his right mind, and with greater affection and zeale, sayth: If thou shalt fayle in the time of triall, when God hath determined to try & proue thee, where is thy liuely Fayth, by which thou beleeuest in him? where is thy charity? where is thy fortitude? where is thy obe­dience? where is thy patience? where is thy faithfulnesse? and where is thy strength of hope? Is this the end of all thy labors? is this thy good purpose? is this that thou so often desiredst, & prayedst to God for? Remember, that Christianitie consisteth not onely in this,Wherein true Chri­stianitie cō ­sisteth. to fast, to pray, to heare seruice and sermons, but it is necessary, that God find thee faithfull, as another Iob, or Abraham, in the time of trouble. A righteous man beeing helped after this manner by his good meditations and contem­plations, by his owne vertue, and by the fauour of the Diuine grace, which neuer forsaketh him, at length commeth to that [Page 242] passe, that he beareth the burden of his troubles not onely with patience, but also with thanks-giuing, and with great ioy. A proofe of this, is the example of the holy man Tobias the elder, of whom it is written, that after many calamities, with which he was proued; yea by Gods sufferance he lost his sight in his old age, that an example of patience might be giuen vnto men: he was neither consumed through griefe of minde, neither lost he that sayth and obedience, which before he had. Wherefore the Scripture sayth;Tob, 2. But God therefore suffered this temptation to hap­pen vnto him, that an example of his patience might remaine vnto posteritie: like as of holy Iob. For when as hee had alwayes feared God, euen from his infancie, and had kept his commaundements, hee did not murmur against God, that this plague of blindnesse fell vppon him: but he remained vnmoueable in the feare of GOD, giuing thanks to God all the dayes of his life.

Thou seest therefore, that the holy Ghost dooth adde pati­ence in troubles, vnto vertue and vnto the feare of the Lorde, which this holy man had, according to that, which before hath beene said. There might also in this place be remembred cer­taine excellent and famous examples of our time: in which cer­taine men and maids, the seruants of GOD, haue borne very great troubles and afflictions with great ioy: who in bitternesse haue found sweetnes, in tempest a calme, and in the midst of the Babylonian fornace haue found a most wholsome and comfor­table refreshing.

Of the eleuenth priuiledge of Vertue, that is, that the Lord doth prouide temporall blessings for the louers of Vertue. CHAP. XXIII.

WHatsoeuer hetherto hath beene spoken, pertay­neth to the spirituall blessings and riches, which the Lord God in this life, besides the eternal glo­ry of the life to come, bestoweth vpon the louers of Vertue. But these blessings are promised to the world, at the comming of Christ, as the Oracles of the Pro­phets haue fore-told. Therfore rightly he is called the Sauiour of the world, seeing that by him true saluation is giuen: as grace, wisedome, peace, victory, and conquest ouer our passions and affections: the comfort also of the holy Ghost, the riches of hope, and to conclude, all other blessings, which are required to the attaynement of this saluation; of which the Prophet sayd; Israel shall be saued in the Lord, Esay. 45. with an euerlasting saluation. But if any man be found so carnall, who more respecteth temporall blessings, or the welfare of the flesh, rather then spirituall bles­sings, or the welfare of the spirit, as the Iewes did; let him pro­ceede, I will not that therefore there should be varience and contention betweene vs: yea, we will giue him longer space to deliberate of this matter, then hee himselfe would desire. Tell me, what meaneth that of the vvise-man, when directing his speach to speake of true vvisedome, in which the perfection of Vertue consisteth,Prou. 3. he sayth; Length of dayes is in her right hand, and in her left hand riches and glory? So that she hath in her hands two kinde of blessings, to which she inuiteth men: in one she hath eternall blessings, and in the other temporall. Doe not [Page 247] thinke that God doth forsake his, so that they perish through hunger: neyther is he so vnprouident or so negligent, that see­ing he giueth meate in due season to Ants and Wormes of the earth:God doth not suffer his to be hunger­starned. Math. 6. that he will suffer men to famish, who night and day serue in his house. But if thou wilt not beleeue me, read [...] if it please thee the sixt Chapter of Mathew through, and thou shalt see and finde the certainty and assured pledge of this promise. Behold, sayth the Lord, the fowles of the heauen: for they sow not, neyther reape, nor carry into the barnes: yet your heauenly father feedeth them. Are yee not much better then they? And conclu­ding this matter, he addeth; Therefore take no thought, saying, what shall we eate? or what shall we drinke? or where-with shall we be cloathed? For after all these things seeke the Gentiles. For your heauenly father knoweth, that yee haue neede of all these things. But seeke yee first the kingdome of God, and his righteousnes, and all these things shall be ministred vnto you. For this cause the kingly Pro­phet inuiteth vs to serue the Lord,Psal. 34. saying; O feare the Lord yee that be his Saints: for they that feare him lacke nothing. The Lyons doe lacke, and suffer hunger: but they that seeke the Lord, shall want no manner of thing that is good. And this is so certaine, that the same Prophet sayth in another place.Psal 37. I haue been young and now am old: and yet saw I neuer the righteous forsaken, nor his seede begging their bread. But if thou desirest a longer tractate of this matter, that thou mayst see what the righteous are to looke for; heare what great things God in Deuteronomy promiseth to the obseruers of his law; If, sayth he, thou shalt harken diligently vnto the voyce of the Lord thy God, Deut. 28. and obserue and doe all his commaun­dements, which I commaund thee this day: the Lord will set thee on high aboue all nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come on thee, and ouertake thee, if thou shalt harken vnto the voyce of the Lord thy God. Blessed shalt thou be in the Citty, and blessed in the field. Blessed shall be the fruite of thy body, and the fruite of thy ground, and the fruite of thy cattell, the encrease of thy kine, and the flockes of thy sheepe. Blessed shall be thy basket and thy store. Blessed shalt thou be when thou commest in, and blessed when thou goest out. The Lord shall giue ouer thine enemies that rise against thee, that they may fall before thy face: they shall come out against thee one way, and flee before thee seauen wayes. The Lord shall commaund [Page 248] the blessing vpon thee in thy store-houses, and in all that thou settest thine hand vnto, and will blesse thee in the land, which the Lord thy God giueth thee. The Lord shall make thee on holy people vnto him­selfe, as he hath sworne vnto thee: if thou shall keepe the commaun­dements of the Lord thy God, and walke in his wayes. And all nati­ons of the earth shall see, that the name of the Lord is called vpon o­uer thee, and they shall be afrayd of thee. And the Lord shall make thee plenteous in goods, in the fruite of thy body, in the fruite of thy cattell, and in the fruite of thy ground, in the land which the Lord sware vnto thy fathers to giue thee. The Lord shall open vnto thee his good treasure, the heauen to giue raine vnto thy Land in due sea­son, and to blesse all the labours of thy hand.

The tempo­rall promi­ses of the old Testa­ment after some man­ner doe al­so pertayne vnto the righteous of the new Testament. Tell mee, what riches, what treasures may be compared to these blessings? But if thou shalt say, that these promises are ra­ther made vnto the Iewes, then vnto Christians: (for vnto these according to Ezechiel those more excellent blessings, as are the blessings of grace, and of glory, are promised) yet as in that car­nall law, God did not denie to the righteous Iewes spyrituall blessings, so in the spirituall law he doth not withdraw tempo­rall prosperity from good Christians: yea, hee doth giue vnto them temporall blessings, and that with a double commodity; neyther of which the wicked haue. The first is, because as a skilfull Phisitian, he bestoweth these blessings vpon them after that measure, which their neede requireth: that by this way they may be releeued, and not waxe proude, neyther beeing fatted and crammed kick and spurne. This commodity the wicked haue not; for they scrape together as much as they are able, ne­uer regarding theyr saluation. When as notwithstanding the superfluity of temporall goods is not lesse hurtfull to the soule, then that meate is to the body, which cannot be by any meanes digested.A simili­tude. For although it is necessary and needefull to eate for the releefe and sustentation of the body: yet superfluity of meate doth very much hurt. So although the life of man con­sisteth in the blood, yet too much aboundance of blood, is the cause of death, and oftentimes killeth men. The second com­modity is, because lesser pelse, and a measurable and an indiffe­rent possession of riches doth bring greater quietnes and tran­quillity vnto the soule: which is the end, why men with such [Page 249] greedines desire temporall goods. For whatsoeuer God can doe by second causes, he can doe it, yea more perfectly, by himselfe, without those meanes. So hath hee done in all his Saints; in whose name the Apostle sayth:2, Cor. 8. Hauing nothing, and possessing all things: For so little doth suffice vs, that we hauing very little, and being therewith content, we seeme vnto our selues to be the Lords of the whole world.A simili­tude. A trauailer for his prouision in his voyage carrieth his money in gold: for so he is the richer, and he is troubled with lesse weight: after the same manner also our Lord doth lighten his, laying vpon them but easie burthens, but yet sufficient, and that which may content them. After this manner the righteous doe goe naked, yet they are content: they are poore, and yet they are rich. But the rich when they are full of wealth, yet dye for hunger; and when as they sit euen vp to the lips in water, yet they are slayne with thirst, as the Poets in times past fabled of Tantalus. For this and such like causes, that great Prophet long agoe did prayse the obseruance of the Di­uine law, willing that in it all our meditation should be. For he knew very well, that in this all things were fulfilled. These be his words.Deut. 6. Seate all these words in your harts and in your soules, and bind them for a signe vpon your hands, and they shall be as frontlets betweene your eyes. And yee shall teach and rehearse them continu­ally vnto your children, and shall talke of them when yee tarry in your houses, and when yee walke by the way, and when yee lye downe, and when yee rise vp. Also thou shalt write them vpon the posts of thine house, and vpon thy gates: that thy dayes, and the dayes of thy chil­dren may be multiplied in the Land, which the Lord sware vnto your fathers, In the kee­ping of the law al good things are found. to giue yee for euēr. O holy Prophet, what I pray thee hast thou found worthy of so great commendation in the kee­ping of the law? It is not to be doubted, but thou, who wast so great a Prophet, and a Secretary of the Diuine counsaile, didst vnderstand the inestimable greatnes of this good; and knewest that in it were to be found all kinde of blessings, present, and to come; temporall, and eternall; corporall, and spirituall; and he that hath satisfied the law, hath fulfilled all things. Thou knewest very well,To him that keepeth the law of the Lord all that a man did not loose his time, when hee was occupied in doing Gods will: yea, then to labour in hys owne Vineyard: then to water his gardens; to till his fields; and [Page 250] to dispatch all his busines better,things suc­ceede and prosper well. then if he had laboured with his owne hands: for he satisfying Gods will, casteth all his care vpon God, who finisheth all the rest. For this is the law of the league and federacie, which God made with man; that man should keepe his commaundements, and God would prouide all necessary things for him, and doe his busines. Neyther shall this league and couenant be euer violated of God. For if man be a faythfull seruant vnto God, God will be a faythfull Lord and patrone vnto man.Luke, 10. This is that one thing which the Lord sayd was necessary: that is, to know, to loue, and to serue God; for this one thing being kept and obserued, all the rest are well and in safety.1, Tim. 4. Godlines, sayth Paule, is profitable vnto all things, which hath the promise of the life present, and of that, that is to come. See, I pray thee, how plainely heere the Apostle promiseth vn­to godlines, (which is the worship and seruice of God) not one­lie the blessings of eternall life, but also of this life: as much as are conducent to obtayne the other. But we must note heere, that labour is not excluded: for man must also labour and doe that lyeth in him, according to the quality of his estate and condition.

Of the twelfth priuiledge of Vertue: that is, of the quiet, peaceable, & ioyfull death of the righteous: and contrarily, of the wretched, miserable, painfull, disquiet, and grieuous death of sinners. CHAP. XXIIII.

THE last priuiledge & prerogatiue, at the length is ioyned to the precedent; that is, the death, and the glorious end of the righteous, when they de­part out of the prison of this body: vnto the which end all the rest of the priuiledges are desti­nated [Page 255] and ordayned. Because in the end (as we are wont to say) the praise is proclaimed. Tell mee, what is more glorious, or what more delightsome then the end of the iust and righteous? And contrarilie, what is more wretched or vnhappy, then the death of sinners?Psalm, 116. Right deere and precious, saith the Psalmoga­pher, in the sight of the Lord, is the death of his Saints, but the death of sinners is vilde, and exceeding euill. What meaneth thys vvord, Exceeding euill, vttered in the Superlatiue degree? Because thys is the last and greatest of all euils, as well for the soule as for the body.Bernard in Epist. After thys manner S. Bernard doth expound this of the Psalmist, The death of sinners is exceeding euill. Because it is euill in losing the world, worser in the seperation of the flesh, but ex­ceeding euill in that double calamitie of the worme, and of the fire. It is grieuous to leaue the worlde, more grieuous that the soule is seperated from the body, but exceeding grieuous, and in no wise to be compared vnto the other, to be tortured vvith the torments of hell.

Both these, and many moe miseries, shall vexe and turmoile the wicked in this houre.The acci­dents of death. For then, before and aboue all things, the accidents of thys infirmitie shall surmount, the griefes of the body, the terrors of the soule, and the afflictions of externall things: the thoughts of things to come, the remembrance of sinnes past, the feare to giue an account, the dreadfull sentence, the horrour of the graue, the seperation and departure from e­uery thing, that was too deere, and imbraced with an inordinate loue: that is, from riches, friends, wife, children; from this light, from the ayre wherein we breathe, and from life it selfe. All & euery one of these so much the more doe afflict a man, by how much they are loued.August in Enchir. Adylon. For as Augustine sayth; They are not lost without griefe, which are possessed with loue. Therefore it was very well said of a Phylosopher; Hee that in his life know­eth of fewest delights, least of all other feareth death. But most of all in that houre the burned and feared conscience, and the consideration of that which is prepared for them, doth excruci­ate & vexe the vvicked. For then, man beeing raised as it were out of a deepe sleepe by the presence of Death, openeth hys eyes, and beginneth to behold and see that, which he neuer saw before.

[Page 256]Eusebius Emisse [...]s,Eusu. Emiss. in his 1. Ho­mily to those that leade solita­ry and mo­nasticall lyues. giueth a reason of this; At what passe will man be then at, sayth hee, when bidding his last farewell to all worldly matters, hauing death before him, & leauing life be­hind him, he shal be drawn into that horrible & fearefull gulfe? For there shall be no preparation for victuals, or care for cloa­thing: no busines for Labourers, Souldiers, or Traffickers: no ambition for wealth or honour: but there, an intollerable terror of giuing an account shall fill and possesse the minde, being free from all other cares: and the heauy and vnsupportable weight of iudgment shal dreadfully hang ouer the captiue sences. Then man forgetteth all thinges present, which he must forsake, and beginneth to thinke vpon future things, which he must expect. Behold, shall he say, all delights and pleasures haue passed away as a shadow, but reproches and faults remaine still. The same Doctour also in another homily prosecuting this matter, sayth: Let vs consider what a lamentable estate a dissolute soule shall be in, departing frō this body; what streights shall it be brought into? what horror and darknes will there be? when as the con­science all about beset with faults and sinnes, shall appeare first of all the number of our aduersaries. For it, all other proofes and witnesses set apart, shall bring that to light and to our eyes, that the proofe of it shall conuince vs, and the knowledge of it shall confound vs. Neyther may any one couer or keepe secret any thing, or deny any thing, when as the accuser or witnes is not to be produced from farre, or from another place, but is to be fetched from within vs. Hetherto he.

A wonder­full and ex­cellent say­ing of Pe­trus Dami­anus of the oureof death. Another learned and holy man doth handle this same mat­ter more largely and more mistically, when hee sayth: Let vs consider with speciall attention, when the soule of a sinner is de­parting out of the prison of the flesh, with what terrible feare it is shaken and smitten, and with how many pricks of a pearcing conscience it is goared and thrust through. It remembreth sinnes past, which it hath committed: it seeth the Diuine com­maundements, which it hath contemned: it greeueth that the time of repentance hath beene so ill and lewdly ouerpast: it is afflicted, because it seeth the ineuitable houre approch of ren­dering an account, and of the Diuine vengeance: it would tar­rie still, but it is constrayned to depart: it would recouer that is [Page 257] past, but time is not graunted. If it looke behind, it seeth the course and race of the whole life led, as a moment of time. If it looke before, it beholdeth the infinite space of eternity, which expecteth it. It sorroweth and sobbeth, because it hath lost the ioy of euerlasting eternity, which it might haue obtayned in so short a time: it tormenteth it selfe, because it hath lost the inef­fable sweetnes of perpetuall delight, for one sensuall, carnall, and momentany pleasure. It blusheth, considering that for that substance, which is wormes meate, it hath despised that, which Angels price so highly. And weighing the glory of those immortall riches, it is confounded, that it hath changed them for the basenes and vildnes of temporall things. But when it casteth the eyes vpon things below, and seeth the darke and ob­scure valley of this world, and beholdeth aboue it the shyning brightnes of eternall light, then it confesseth that all that it loued in this world was black night, and vgly darknes. O then if such a soule could obtayne a space of repentance, and a time to recall it selfe, how austere and seuere a life would it embrace? What difficult and great matters would it promise? vnto what great vowes, prayers, and other exercises would it bind it selfe? But whilst it meditateth and consulteth of these things with it selfe, the fore-runners and harbengers of death begin to approach: that is, the eyes waxe dim, the breast swelleth and panteth, the voyce sayleth and foltreth, the members grow colde, the teeth waxe blacke, the mouth is filled with humors, and the counte­nance waxeth pale and wan. In the meane time come the Of­ficers and Sargiants, which attend vpon Death now at hand: and they present vnto the wretched soule, all the works, spea­ches, and cogitations of the life past, bearing bad and dange­rous witnes against theyr mistres, and although she would not see them, yet she is compelled to see them. By and by commeth an horrible flocke of yelling deuils, and there also a sacred com­pany of holy Angels doe present themseules. And there they begin to dispute betweene themselues, to whether part this mi­serable pray must happen. For if fayth in Christ, vertues, and works of piety and godlines be found in her, straightwayes she is comforted with the sweete speaches and consolations of An­gels. But if the enormity of sinnes, and a life wickedly led doe [Page 258] require another thing; alas, sodainly she trembleth, and is terri­fied with an intollerable dread, and feare, and trembling, doe terribly assault her. Forthwith the deuils assayle her and take her, and violently pluck her from the miserable flesh, and cast her headlong into torments, neuer to be ended, but to continue for euer and euer. All these be the words of this holy and lear­ned man.

Tell me, if thou wilt confesse this to be true, and that each thing proceedeth after this order, what other thing is required (if so any sparke of wisedome or vnderstanding be left in vs) that we may know, how detestable and wretched the condition of sinners is, seeing that the end prepared for them is so greeuous and vnhappy, and which neuer shall haue end? And if the de­lights and pleasures of this life at that time could bring any help or comfort, as they were wont to doe, this mischiefe were more tollerable: but honours will not there helpe, neyther riches de­fend: friends heere cannot preuaile, nor seruants giue theyr at­tendance, neyther can families, nor the noblenes of descent pro­fit any thing:Nothing a­uaileth in death but vertue. Prou. 11. in riches there is no hope, all the helpe for one that lies a dying is in Christ, in Vertue, and in innocencie of life. For the vvise-man testifieth, that Riches helpe not in the day of vengeance: but righteousnes, that is, Vertue, deliuereth from death. Seeing therefore that a sinner is found so naked, poore, and de­stitute of all helpe and ayde: how can he not but feare and be afflicted, when as he seeth himselfe left alone, forsaken, and de­solate; neyther hauing any hope or confidence in that Diuine iudgement.

Against the first excuse of those, who deferre and put off from day to day the amendment of their lifes, and the embracing of Vertue. CHAP. XXV.

I Thinke that no man can deny, but that those things are sufficient, which hetherto haue beene spoken of vs, yea, and that they suffi­cientlie and plentifully doe approoue our principall purpose and intent, which wee promised at the beginning to discourse a [...]d dispute of. That is, that we might moue the harts of men (Gods grace being first presupposed) to the loue and study of Vertue. But although we may be thought to haue satisfied and performed our promise, yet the malitiousnes of men haue excuses, which haue a show of truth, by which they defend their lingering and loytering negligence, and still com­fort and please themselues in their wickednes, as Ecclesiasticus intimateth and insinuateth,Ecclesi. 32. saying; An vngodly man will not be reformed, but can helpe himselfe with the example of others in his purpose: That is, with apparant excuses. The same thing also Salomon seemeth to tell vs of,Prou. 18. when he sayth, He that would de­part from his friend seeketh occasions. So hee that would depart from God, as sinners doe, seeke, and at length finde out some of these excuses;Diuers re­fuges of sinners. some deferre and procrastinate their repen­tance, putting it off from day to day; others reserue it to the ende of theyr life; many say that they absent themselues from godly and vertuous lyuing, because it is painefull and laborious; [Page 266] some cheere vp themselues through the hope of the Diuine mercy, supposing that they shall be saued by a naked and fruit­lesse fayth, and a dead hope without charity: to be briefe, others being inamoured of this world, will not change the felicity, which they think they possesse in it, with the promises of Gods word. These in a manner be the fraudes and errors, the snares and nets, with which the enemy of mankind ensnareth and en­tangleth the vnderstanding of men, that he may detayne them all their life long prisoners and flaues vnder sinne, that at the length death may set vpon them sodainly, and oppresse them at vnawares. To all these cauelations, and friuolous excuses, we will aunswere in this last part of this booke. But first of all we will dissolue and aunswere their obiection, who put off the a­mendment of their lifes vnto the time to come, which excuse is more vsuall and more generall then the rest.

Againt thē that defer their repen­tance. There are many that confesse, that all things are true, which hetherto haue beene spoken, and that there is not any estate or condition more secure and safe then theirs, that embrace and follow after Vertue: yea, and that they themselues will heere­after enter into a vertuous and a godly kinde of life; but they cannot yet; but the time will come when they shall doe it with greater conueniencie, and performe it with more perfection. So Saint Augustine saith of himselfe;August. in the 8 booke of his con­fessions, the 5. chap. O Lord, I had not wher­with to aunswere thee, when thou saydst vnto me; Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall illumi­nate & enlighten thee: and thou demonstrating in euery poynt those things to be true, which thou spakest vnto me, I beeing conuinced with the truth, had not any aunswere at all, but one­ly the words and speaches of a loytering sluggard, & of a drou­zie sleeper; By and by, and behold anone: and let me alone a little: But by and by, and behold anone, had neyther measure nor moderation, and let me alone a little, held on a long time. So also the wicked at this day deale with God: still procrastinating and putting off the time, and neuer comming vnto true con­uersion. It is no hard thing to shew that this was the deceipt of that old Serpent (to whom it is no new or vnusuall thing to lye, and to deceaue miserable men:) and if I shall conuince this, I thinke that I shall take away this controuersie, and dissolue this [Page 267] obiection. For we all know that nothing ought more to be wi­shed of Christian men, then the health of their soules: and for this respect the amendment of their lifes is necessarily required; for without this it is most certaine that no man can be saued. So that heere, nothing commeth into question, but the time, in which the life ought to be amended: In the rest there is no discent.The st [...]te of the que­stion. Thou sayst that thy conuersion is to be deferred till the time to come; my assertion is that it ought to be done present­ly. Therefore let vs see whether opinion is more probable, and more conformable vnto the truth.

But before we speake of the easines and facility of conuersi­on, tell me, I pray thee, who hath promised thee this time to come? How many men haue there been, whom this vaine hope hath miserably deceaued?Gregory in an homily. Although God, sayth Gregory, hath promised pardon to the penitent, yet he hath not promised to­morrow to a sinner. Not vnlike to this, is that of another lear­ned Writer: Some man will say; when I come vnto old age, then I will runne vnto the remedy of repentance. Why dare mans frailty presume thus much of himselfe, seeing he hath not one day of all his life in his owne power? Verily I suppose that innumerable soules haue perished through this vaine perswasi­on. After this manner that rich man in the Gospell perished, of whom Saint Luke wryteth, that when his fielde had brought foorth plentifull fruites, hee thought within himselfe, saying. What shal I doe, Luke, 12. because I haue no roome where to bestow my fruits? And he said, This will I doe, I will pull downe my barnes, and build greater, and therein will I gather all my fruites and my goods. And I will say to my soule: Soule, thou hast much goods laid vp in store for many yeeres, take thine ease, eate, drinke, and be merry. But whilst this miserable man thought thus with himselfe, a voyce vvas heard, saying vnto him; Thou foole, this night doe they require thy soule againe from thee: then whose shall those things be, vvhich thou hast prouided? Therefore, what greater foolishnes can there be, then that a man by his owne authority should presume to dis­pose of that, that is to come, no otherwise then if he had beene set and appoynted to gouerne times and seasons, which the eter­nall Father hath put in his owne power.Apoc. [...]. And if Saint Iohn say, that the sonne onely hath the keyes of life and death, that hee [Page 268] may shut and open, to whom he pleaseth, and when he plea­seth: how dare a vild and an obiect worme attribute vnto him­selfe and vsurpe this authority?The iust iudgement of God. Onely this impudent boldnes is worthy of notorious punishment, that is, that he should finde no place of repentance in the time to come, who vainely and fruitlesly passeth ouer that time, which God hath graunted vn­to him. That so this punishment may giue vnderstanding, and that a foole thereby may become the wiser. But seeing that the number of them, that are thus chasticed, is very great, men shall doe very aduisedly, if by other mens harme they become more wary, and out of other mens danger they learne to be more cir­cumspect; following that good counsaile of Ecclesiasticus, say­ing; Make no tarrying to turne vnto the Lord,Ecclesi. 5.and put not off from day to day: for sodainly shall his wrath come, and in the time of ven­geance he shall destroy thee.

But let vs graunt that thy life shall be as long and lasting, as thou perswadest and promisest vnto thy selfe: tell me, I pray thee, whether will be more easie now to amend it, or heereafter when thou hast procrastinated and deferred thy conuersion? But that thou mayst vnderstand that better, which we say, we will by the way rehearse the chiefest causes, from whence this difficulty ariseth.Causes frō whence the difficulty of conuersion ariseth. It ariseth not from those impediments & lets, which they imagine: but from an euill habite, and from the cor­ruption of a naughty custom of a life wickedly & vngraciously led, which to change is a death, as we are wont to say. The ouer­much 1 accustoming our selues vnto vices, sayth Saint Ierome, doth make the way of Vertue hard and vnpleasant vnto vs. For custome is another nature:Ierome vn­to Celantia. Chap. 4. Bernard. and to expell it, is as it were to ouercome Nature herselfe, then the which there cannot be a greater victory. Hence it is that Saint Bernard sayth; After that any one vice hath been cōfirmed & rooted in vs by the custome of many yeeres, we haue neede of the speciall and miraculous helpe of the Diuine grace, to ouercome and roote it vp. And therefore a Christian ought to be very wary and circumspect, that he doth not fall into the custome of any vice: for when as anything commeth vnto an habit, it is very hardly thrust forth and expelled: so also vice being confirmed by daily vse and cu­stome, cannot be eschewed and forsaken without the especiall [Page 269] grace of GOD, as sayth Bernard.

Also, this difficulty proceedeth from the power of the de­uill,2 who hath a certaine peculier rule in that soule, which is held vnder the slauery of sinne.Luke, 11, For he is that strong man armed, of whom the Gospell speaketh, who keepeth his pallace with a vigilant and a most especiall care.

Moreouer, it proceedeth from that, that God is farre of frō 3 a soule polluted with the filth of sinne. For this is the watch and gard,Esay, 62, that the Lord sette ouer the walles of Ierusalem: which is so much the further of from a sinner, by how much a sinner is heauilier loaden and burthened with sinnes. From this absence great & mighty miseries are deriued, as the Lord himselfe saith by his Prophet;Osea, 7, and the 9. Apoc, 11, Woe vnto them who haue forsaken me. And, Woe vnto them when I shall forsake them. Thys is according and cor­respondent to that Woe, of which Iohn maketh mention in his Reuelation.

To conclude, this difficultie arriseth from the corruption of 4 the powers of our soule, which are grieuously disturbed and corrupted through sin, although not in themselues, yet in theyr operations and effects.A simili­tude. For euen as Wine is marred by vineger, and fruites are spoyled of wormes; and euery contrary is cor­rupted of his contrarie: so also all the powers of our soule are disturbed and infected through sinne: which is an especiall e­nemie, and most contrarie to our soules. Wherefore by sin the vnderstanding is obscured, the will is weakened, and the affecti­ons remooued out of order; and it maketh that man is neyther Lord of himselfe, nor of his actions; yea although his Fayth, & the liberty of himselfe be neuer lost. For these powers & facul­ties be as instruments, by which the soule worketh that which is good:A simili­tude. & as wheeles of the clock of a life wel ordered; which when they wander out of order, what other thing is to be ho­ped of them, but misgouernment, and the confusion of all the Clock?

These be the chiefe and especiall causes of that difficultie,Whether now [...] or hereafter it is more ea­sie to turne vnto God. which take their originall from sinne, & daily increase through vse, and the corruption of euill custome. These things beeing thus, who will be so madde, to beleeue that his conuersion, and the amendement of his life, shall be more easie after certaine [Page 270] yeeres, when his sinnes shall be moe in number, and the causes of this difficultie shall be multiplied? It is certaine that thē thou by so much shalt be more vnapt and vnfitte, and that the deuill shall haue so much the more power ouer thee, and that GOD shall be so much the more further of from thee, by howe much thy sinnes shall be multiplied & increased. Moreouer, after cer­taine yeares, thy soule will be more disordered, and all the pow­ers and faculties of it more disturbed, as before we haue sayd.

If therefore these be the causes of this difficultie, who is of so corrupt a iudgement amongst vs, that hee should suppose that his conuersion should hereafter be easier, the causes of the dif­ficulties encreasing on euery side? For when as sinnes are dailie heaped vnto sinnes, there is no doubt, but that the knots, vvith which the soule is tyed, are multiplied, and the chaines, vvith which it is bound, are made the stronger and the more insolu­ble. The vnderstanding for the time to come, through the vse of sinning, will be more darke and obscure; the will wilbe wea­ker to worke well; the appetite will be more ready and prone to all euill, and all the faculties of the soule will be so weakened, that they shall not be able to defend themselues from the vio­lence of sin. Which seeing that it is so, how can it be, that thou shouldest beleeue that thy conuersion in the time to come, shal be more easie, and that thou caust performe it with greater con­uenience? If thou shalt say,A simili­tude. that in the morning thou canst not passe ouer the Fourd, when as yet the water is low; how shalt thou be able to passe ouer it at night, when the bankes are full, and the Riuer swelleth like the floods and tydes of the sea? If it seemeth an hard thing vnto thee, to pull vp the roote of vices newly and lately planted; what wilt thou doe when they haue taken deepe and profound rooting, and they cleaue and sticke much faster in the earth then they dyd before?

Let vs put the case: That now thou must fight with an hun­dreth sinnes, but hereafter the time shall be that thou must fight with a thousand: that now thou art to fight with the corrupt & depraued custome of one or two yeeres, but perhaps hereafter with the naughty inueterate custome of ten yeares. Who then will say vnto thee, that hereafter thou shalt be more able to car­rie that burden, when now thou art in no wise able to support [Page 271] it, when as the burden neuerthelesse is daily augmented and in­creased? Doost thou not perceaue that these are the cauillati­ons and impostures of euill paying debters? who because they cannot repay that money that was credited vnto them, doe de­lay and put off from day to day theyr payment? Who knovv­eth not that these are the deceits & fraudes of that old Serpent, who by the same craft and subtiltie that hee deceiued our first Parents, doth continually goe about to circumuent theyr chyl­dren? Surely I doe maruell, and exceedingly wonder, that the difficultie daily & on euery side increasing, that thou shouldest thinke, that that then should be possible and easie, which novve seemeth vnto thee to be difficult & vnpossible. Who wilbe in­duced to beleeue (except he be madde) that the offence increa­sing, yet the pardon to be the easierly obtained: and the disease and infirmity growing greater, yet the medicine should speedi­lier profit the diseased? Art thou ignorant of that of Ecclesia­sticus; An inueterate and old disease,Ecclus, 10,troubleth the Phisitian: but an infirmitie lately growen, he easily taketh away.

There is a pretty Story in the liues of the Fathers, wherin an Angell excellently sheweth this guile and legerdemaine, to a certaine holy Father lyuing in the Wildernes. For the Angell taking this Anchorite, carried him abroade into the fields, and there shewed him a man cutting downe of vvood. When he had gathered together a great bundle of the vvood, he assayed, whether lie would lift it vp, and lay it on his shoulders, and goe away with it: but when he found himselfe vnable to doe it, he returned againe, and cut downe more vvood, and a great deale more encreased his burthen. When he was now lesseable to support his burthen, (for now his bundle was farre greater, then it was before) hee againe augmented it; and this he did often with a firme and a resolute purpose. The Anchorite meruai­ling at the great madnes of the man, demaunded, what was the meaning of it. The Angell aunswered, that such was the mad­nes and dotage of men, who when they cannot beare the bur­then of sinnes by reason of the intollerable heauines of the weight, yet they daily adde new to old, and almost euery mo­ment encrease the burthen, heaping sinnes vpon sinnes, and burthen vpon burthen, thinking that they can beare many, whē [Page 272] as they are not able to beare a few. But what shall I speake a­mong many other things of naughty and corrupt custome,The force of euillcu­stome. and of the violent tiranny thereof, which so surely detayneth men growne old in wickednes? It is familiar and knowne vnto eue­ry body, that he that driueth a nayle into a post, that he faste­neth it at the first stroke that he giueth with his malet,A simili­tude. but more firmely at the second stroke, but so fast at the third, that it can hardly be pulled out againe, and the oftner that he knocketh it, the faster it sticketh, and is pulled out againe with the greater difficulty: so in euery one of our wicked actions which we doe, vice is driuen deepelier into our soules, as if it were with a great mallet, and there it sticketh so fast, that scarcely any thing may be found, by which it may be haled and pulled out.

Hence it is, that not seldome we see, that the old age of thē, who haue trifled and spent all their time in vices and wickednes, waxeth childish againe through the dissolutenes of theyr fore­passed life, although that age dooth refuse that inordinatenesse, and nature herselfe abhorre that former lewdnes. And when as theyr nature is tyred, and barren through vices, yet Custome, which as yet rideth on horse-backe, posteth about, seeing for vnpossible pleasures: so great is the impatient tyrannie of euill Custome. Hence it is said in the booke of Iob, His bones shall be f [...]ed with the vices of his youth: and they shall he downe in the dust with him. Insomuch that these vices haue no limit or end, be­sides that, which is common to all other things, that is, death, the last date and terme of all things. Hence is that of Aristotle; That as for the byting of an Aspe there is no remedy, vnlesse the parts infected be cut away; so certaine vices are healed only by death. Then by death these vices are ended, although (if we will confesse the truth) neyther by death they take theyr finall farwell: for they indure alwayes; wherfore Iob saith; And they shall lye downe in the dust with him. The reason of this is, because through the diuturnitie of inueterate custome (which nowe is turned into nature) the appetites and lusts of vices are now roo­ted in the very bones & marrow of the soule, no otherwise, then the plague, or a consumption, which sticketh in the bowels of a man, carelesse of any cure, neyther admitting any medicine. This same thing our Sauiour showed in the raising of Lazarus [Page 273] being foure dayes dead,The Alle­gory of La­zarus foure dayes dead. whom he called forth of his graue with such clamour and gro [...]ing of spirit: when as notwithstanding he had raised others being dead, with farre easier tokens of dif­ficultie: that the Lord might signifie vnto vs, how great a mi­racle it is, that God should raise one foure dayes dead and stin­king: that is, to conuert one buried in the custome of sinning. The first of these foure dayes, as sayth Augustine, is the delight of the pleasure in the hart: the second is the consent: the third the deed: the fourth custome: and he that hath come to this fourth day, as Lazarus, is not raysed vp, vnlesse it be with the loude voyce & teares of our Sauiour. All these things do most euidently declare the exceeding great difficulty, which procra­stination of repentance and conuersion bringeth with it: and by how much the longer repentance is deferred, by so much it becommeth more difficult. Also consequently it is gathered of these, how manifest their errour is, who say, that the amende­ment of theyr life, will hereafter be the easier, and doone vvith greater conuenience.

But let vs yeeld (which yet we do not grant) that all things should succeed according to thy dreames,The losse of time. and that thy vaine hope should not delude thee; what wilt thou say of the tyme, which in the meane time thou wretchedly loosest, and slyppeth away frō thee without any fruite? especially, seeing that in thys time thou mightest haue gained vnto thee an incomparable treasure?A simili­tude. What madnes will it be thought (that we may speak according to the iudgement of the world) if at that time, when a most faire and rich Cittie by force is sacked, whilst other soul­diours with great furie and violence carry out of it gold, siluer, and euery precious thing, some should sitte by playing at Dice with scullions and slaues? It is certaine that they should make no gaine by it. Therefore, how farre greater madnesse is it, that thou, whilst all other good men are painfull & carefull to gaine heauen, that thou, I say, sittest idely playing and sporting vvith chyldren, and onely delighting in the vaine toyes of this world, when as in the meane season thou mightest haue gained that that they enioy?

Furthermore, what wilt thou aunswer me, not only for those good things, which thou loosest; but also for those euills, which [Page 274] in the meane while thou committest? For according to the o­pinion of Saint Augustine,See August. his tenne strings. not one sinne is to be committed for the gold of the whole world. With what forehead darest thou then in thys time commit so many deadly sinnes, one of which is not to be committed for a thousand worlds. How da­rest thou in the meane while offend him, and prouoke him vn­to anger, thorow whose gates thou must enter? before vvhose feete thou must lie prostrate vpon the earth, and thou shalt be compelled so to doe, will thou nill thou? of whose handes the estate of thine eternitie dependeth? whose mercy thou must implore and sue for with teares and sighes? Why then blushest thou not to anger and prouoke him, of whose helpe thou hast need euery moment? And whom thou shalt finde so much the lesse fauourable vnto thee, by howe much the more thou hast prouoked him vnto wrath?

Very vvell dooth Saint Bearnard reason against such men, saying: Thou who takest so prepostorous a course, perseuering in thy wicked and vngodly life, tell me; Beleeuest thou that the Lord GOD will forgiue thee thy sinnes, or beleeuest thou not? If thou beleeuest not that thou shalt finde pardon vvith God, what greater foolishnesse can there be, then to sinne with­out hope of forgiuenes? But if thou beleeuest that thou shalt finde him good, gracious, fauourable, and mercifull vnto thee, who albeit thou offendest him often, yet he is ready to forgiue thee thy sinnes; tell me, I pray thee, what greater frowardnesse, or peeuishnesse can there be, then to take further occasion to offend him, where there is greater cause that thou shouldest loue him? What can be aunswered to this argument?

What wilt thou say vnto mee as concerning those reares, which hereafter thou must plentifully shed for the sinnes,The sinnes which wee nowe com­mit, wee heereafter shal deplore & lament in vaine. which now thou committest? For if God call thee out of this life, or visit thee, euery morsell that thou now eatest, shall then be more bitter vnto thee then gall: and remember that then thou shalt alwayes lament and deplore that, which but once thou didst commit. That day at length will come, make no doubt of it, when thou shalt wish to haue suffered a thousand kinde of pu­nishments, then once to haue offended God. The time that Dauid enioyed his pleasures was very short: but the time that [Page 275] he lyued in sorrow and dolour for them, was exceeding long: as he testifieth of himselfe, saying:Psal. 6. I am weary of my grouing, eue­rie night wash I my bed, and water my couch with my teares. So a­boundant were his teares, that the translation of Ierome hath, for I wash my bed, I make my bed to swim: signifying the great showers, and floods of waters, flowing out of those eyes, which had violated the law of God.

Why then doest thou vnprofitably consume the time in sow­ing that, of which thou shalt gather no other fruite but teares? Besides this, thou oughtest also to consider, that thou doost not onely sow teares, whence thou reapest onely sorrow, but also the difficulty and hardnes for euer entring into a better state of life,A simili­tude. by reason of the long and euill custome. For euen as hee that is endangered with a long and a pernitious disease, sildome so commeth to his former health, that not some reliques of the disease remaine in his body:The reliques of sinne re­maine after the sinne. so the greatnes and diuturnity of sinne, is sildome healed and cured without some reliques remay­ning. A man alwayes is weaker in that part, with which he of­fended: and the tiranny of the deuill rageth more violently in it. The children of Israel worshipped a Calfe, of the ashes of which being burned, Moses made a decoction and caused them to drinke it. For this is the punishment, with which God is wont to punish certaine sinnes, that by his iust iudgmēt some reliques may remaine in our bones, & so that may be a punishment, and a torment, which a little before was our Idoll.

Wilt thou that I shall tell thee,How ab­surd a thing it is to re­serue thy re­pētance for old age. A simili­tude. how [...]nequall the compari­son is to reserue old age for repentance, and filthily to spend the flower of youth in iniquities? What great madnes I pray thee would it be thought, if a man had many and weighty burthens to be carried to some certaine place, and he had many Horses sufficient to carry them, yet he should lay all the burthens vpon one of the weakest and worst Horses, the other being sent away empty? like, or rather greater is their madnes, who doe impose the burthen of repentance to be carried of olde age; sparing youth, and manly age, and letting them goe empty, which are much stronger, and farre more fit to carry then old age: seeing that old age is scarce able to support her owne infirmities. It is excellently sayd of Seneca that great Philosopher; He that de­ferreth [Page 276] to old age his goodnes,Seneca in his book of the shortnes of life. and meaneth onely then to be good, he plainly sheweth, that he is vnwilling to giue any thing vnto Vertue, but that time that is vnfit for all other things. And in another place; Thou shalt heare many saying; when I am fifty yeares old, I will take my selfe to mine ease: but when I am sixty, that will free me from all duties and offices. And what surety doost thou take for a longer life? Who will suffer these things so to passe, as thou hast disposed them? Doth it not shame thee, to reserue thy selfe to the reliques and dregs of thy life; and onely to destinate that time to a good and vertuous minde, which is fit for nothing? How late is it then to begin to liue, when thou must leaue to liue? What a foolish forgetful­nes of mortality is it, to defer thy peace & quiet, and thy whol­somest counsels to the fiftith or sixtith yeare of thy life; & then to purpose to begin a new & a better life, whē as very few reach to those yeares?

The great­nes of the satisfaction. But what wilt thou doe, if thou considerest the greatnes of the satisfaction; which the infinite maiesty of God will require of thee, before thou be disburthened of so great offences? For that is so great, as a learned man sayth; That man is not able to satisfie God for the sinnes of one day, and disburthen himselfe of that day. Why then doost thou gather the debts of thy whole life, as it were into one grosse summe, and deserrest the payment and satisfying for them vntill thine old age, which not with all the paynes that it can take can satisfie for it selfe?Deferring of repen­tance a cer­taine infide­lity. Greg. in his Morals. Repentance is not to be deferred, in regard of benefits re­ceaued at Gods hand. This iniquity is so great, that S. Gregory calleth it the greatest infidelity, as he sheweth it in these words; He is farre enough off from sayth, who for his repentance expecteth old age. For it is to be feared, least while he hopeth for mercy, he finde iudgement. But let vs graunt, that all, that we haue sayd, are of no moment, nor any thing worth: nor that any of these things shall come to passe. Tell me, ought not the greatnes and multitude of benefits re­ceaued, and the glory promised, be onely sufficient to perswade and moue thee (so that there be any law, reason, or iustice re­mayning in the world) that thou shouldest not be so negligent and idle in the time of thy seruice, & so niggardly towards him, who is so liberall in heaping graces and benefits vpon thee? O how worthily is it spoken of Ecclesiasticus; Be not slow to pay thy [Page 277] vow in good time, Ecclesi. 18. and tarry not to be iustified vnto thy death, because the reward of God endureth for euer. Goe to then, tell me I pray thee, if the reward shall endure so long, why wilt thou that thy seruice should be so short and momentany? If the reward shall not be ended, while God shall raigne in heauen, that is, it shall neuer perish: why wilt thou not, that thy seruice at the least should endure so long as thou liuest in this life?

Furthermore,Not to be deferred in regard of predestina­tion. if thou hopest to be saued, it followeth of ne­cessity, that thou must presuppose that he hath predestinated thee from all eternity to this saluation. Tell me then, if the Lord was so mindfull of thee, that he loued thee from euerlasting; & after that thou wast made a Christian, adopted thee to be his owne sonne, & made thee an heire of his kingdome; why doost thou draw backe to loue so gracious a Father? And why doost thou not blush to deferre to the end of thy life, to embrace so good and so bountifull a Lord? How is it possible, that thou shouldest perswade thy selfe, that thou canst satisfie him with so short a worship, who is determined to bestow vpon thee euer­lasting benefits? For it is requisite and meete, that seeing the rewards are eternall, that the worship should also be eternall, if it possibly might be. Which seeing that it cannot be, yea, seeing that thy worship and seruice is no longer then the life of one man;We offer the best part to y^e world, & the worst to God. why then wilt thou take from the Diuine worship the greater part of this short space; and leaue vnto him the lesser and worser part? For euen as out of a vessell, sayth Seneca, first that commeth forth which is the purest,Seneca in his 109. Epi. but that which is mud­dy and troubled sinketh to the bottome: so in the age of our life, that which is the best, is the first. Therefore let vs not re­serue the dregs for God, but let vs offer him the first & purest. See I pray thee, what part is that, that thou reseruest for the Lord God.Mal. 1. Cursed be the deceitfull, sayth the Prophet, which hath in his flocke a male, and voweth, and sacrificeth a corrupt thing to the Lord: because I am a great King, sayth the Lord of Hostes, and my name is fearefull among the Heathen. As if he should say, to so great a Lord as I am, great seruices and worships are due. For it is mighty iniury, to offer to so excellent a Maiesty, those things which are the worst, and basest. Why therfore doost thou reserue the greater and better part of thy life for the seruice of [Page 278] deuils, and sacrificest that part to God, which the world resu­seth? Heare what the Lord sayth;Deut. 25. Thou shalt not haue in thy bag two manner of waights, a great and a small: neyther shalt thou haue in thine house diuers measures, a great and a small. But thou shalt haue a right and iust waight, and a perfect and a iust measure shalt thou haue: And darest thou agaynst this law haue two vnequall measures, one so great for the deuill, as if he were thy friend; and the other so small for God, as if he were thine enemy?

What we owe vnto God in re­spect of our redemtion. Besides all these, if all these benefits seeme base and vild vnto thee, yet I desire thee, that at least-wife thou wouldest remem­ber that inestimable benefit, by which God the father gaue vn­to thee his onely begotten sonne: for he gaue that life for the price of thy soule, which was more precious then all the lifes of men and Angels. Wherfore although thou hadst the lifes of all men, and also infinit others; that in thee were all that lyueth, or could liue; all that thou owest to the giuer of that life. Neyther was this sufficient. Therfore with what forehead with what im­pudency, with what ingratitude doost thou deny to giue this sole life, which thou hast; being so short, so weake, and so mi­serable to that Lord, who for thee hath giuen a life so noble and so excellent? It were somwhat tollerable, if thou wouldest but giue that: but certainly to take away the better part of this mi­serable life, and to giue onely the dregs to him, is intollerable and extreame impudency. Therfore let that of Salomon in his Preacher be the conclusion of this Chapter.Eccles. 12. Remember thy Cre­atour in the dayes of thy youth, or euer the dayes of aduersity come, and or the yeeres draw nigh when thou shalt say, I haue no pleasure in them. Before the sunne, the light, the moone, and starres be dark­ned, An excel­lent exposi­tion of this place of Eccles. and or the clouds turne againe after the rayne. When the kee­pers of the house shall tremble (that is thy hands) & when the strong men shall bow themselues, (that is, thy thighs, which support the whole masse of thy body) when the milners stand still because they be so few, (that is, thy teeth, or iawes) and when the sight of the win­dowes shall waxe dim (that is, thy sight shall faile) when the dores in the streetes shall be shut (for then also the instruments of other sences shall decay) and when the voyce of the milner shall be layde downe: when men shall rise vp at the voyce of the bird (that is, at the crowing of a Cock, by reason of lack of sleepe, which happe­neth [Page 279] in that age) and when all the daughters of Musicke shall be brought low. (That is, thine eares, because all the arteryes are shut, so that no sound can enter, by which the hearing is made.) When men shall feare in high places, & be afraid in the streetes: (for old men can hardly walke vp ascending, cliffie & rockie waies.) When the Almond tree shall flourish, (for thy head shall be full of white haires) and be loaden with the Grashopper, and when all lust shall passe: for which some haue translated, that thy backe shall be loaden, that is, shall be bowed and crooked, and thy concu­piscence shall be lost; for daily more and more the strength of our hart faileth vs, in which is the seate of our appetites. Because man goeth to his long home: which is his graue; and the Mourners goe about the streets: that is, his friends and kinsfolkes. When the dust shall be turned againe vnto earth from whence it came, and the spirit shall returne vnto God, who gaue it. Hetherto are the words of Salomon.

Remember therefore,The con­clusion of the first ob­iection. my brother, thy Creator in the dayes of thy youth, according to this description, and doe not deferre thy repentance ouer to yeeres so troublesome & vnpleasant, in which nature faileth, & the strength of all thy sences: in which man hath more need of all the cherishing that may be, and to supply that by industrie, which is wanting to naturall strength: then to embrace the labours and troubles of repentance. When as vertue shall rather seeme a necessitie then a will. When as vi­ces shall be honested by vs, for they forsake vs, before we forsake them; although for the most part, such is the old age, as the fore-passed youth was, according to that of Ecclesiasticus: If thou hast gathered nothing in thy youth, Ecclus, 25, what wilt thou finde in thine age? Therefore it is very wholsome counsaile, that in another place the same Ecclesiasticus giueth,Ecclus, 17. saying; Abide not thou in the errour of the vngodly, but giue thankes before death. As for the dead, thankefulnes perrisheth from him as nothing: giue thou thanks in thy life, yea while thou art liuing and whole shalt thou giue thanks, and praise God, and reioyce in his mercie.

Surely, great in times past was that misterie, that amongst the diseased he was healed, who first stepped into the Poole, af­ter the water had been troubled of the Angell:Iohn, 5. that thou there­by mayst vnderstand, how that all our safetie consisteth in that, [Page 280] if we forth-with without any lingering obey the heauenly and diuine inspirations and motions. Come therefore, my brother, and make hast,Psalm, 95, To day, sayth the Prophet, if thou wilt heare his voyce, harden not thy hart: that thou maist make answer to hym to morrow, yea begin presently to lay to thine hand: which the sooner that thou shalt doe, it shall be the more easier vnto thee.

Against them that deferre their repentance to the houre of death. CHAP. XXVI.

IVstly and rightlie ought those things which we haue spoken to be sufficient, to confound them, who deferre and put off their repentance to the houre of death. For if it be so dangerous to pro­rogue and deferre it to certaine yeeres; what wil it be I pray thee, to driue it of, and reserue it for that most per­rilous time? But because this errour is too familiar and vsuall in the world; and seeing that very many soules doe perrish, beeing miserably deceiued by this errour, I thought it very necessary to speake somewhat of this vaine opinion of men.It is dange­rous to di­spute of fi­nall repen­tance. And although it is very dangerous to speake of this matter (for it may minister occasion to weake and fearefull consciences to distrust and de­spayre) yet greater shall the danger be, that men know not, in­to what hazard they cast themselues, when they deferre theyr repentance to that time. So that weighing both dangers in an equall ballance, we may manifestly see, that this is greater then that by manie degrees. For experience teacheth vs, that moe soules doe perrish through too much confidence, then by too much feare or faint-hartednes. For wee are appointed Watch­men, as Ezechiell saith,Ezech. 35, that when we see the sword comming, we should tell the people of it; least those that should be admo­nished of vs, be deceaued: and their blood should be required at our hands.

But because in this life we haue no other light, nor no other truth, besides the holy Scripture, and the monuments of holie Fathers and Doctors of the Church, who before vs haue copi­ouslie and sufficiently handled this matter; let vs see what they [Page] say of it. For I hope that no man will be so rash, that will prefer his own opinion before their iudgements. In speaking of which we will obserue this order, that first we remember what the Fa­thers haue spoken of this matter; and then what the Scripture teacheth vs.

Against them, that through the hope of the Diuine mercie, doe continue and perseuere in theyr sinnes. CHAP. XXVII.

SOme men there are, that persisting and conti­nuing in their wicked life, doe cheere vp and comfort themselues in hope of Gods mercie, and the merrits of Christes passion: and to these as to the other, their errour is to bee showen. Thou sayest that the mercy of God is vnmeasurable & infinite, for he willingly would be crucified as a malefactour for sinners. I confesse indeede that his mercy is exceeding great; for it suffereth thee to vtter so lauishlie such cursed blasphemie; as that thou wouldest his goodnes & boun­fulnes, should be a fautour and a fauourer of thy wickednesse: [Page 299] and that his Crosse, which hee apprehended as a meane to de­stroy the kingdome of sinne, should be made of thee a meane to strengthen and defence sinne: and whereas thou shouldest offer a thousand lifes vnto him, if thou haddest so many, be­cause he hath sacrificed his life for thee, there thou takest an oc­casion to denie that one vnto him which thou hast, yea vvhich thou hast receiued of him. This grieueth thy Sauiour more, then the death did, which he suffered for thee: for hee who neyther lamented nor deplored his own death, most greeuously lamen­teth and bewaileth thy sinnes in the Prophet,Psalm, 129, saying; The plow­ers plowed vpon my backe, and made long furrowes. Tell me I pray thee, who hath taught thee thus to argue, that because God is good and gracious, thou shouldest conclude, that it is lawful for thee to sinne, and to follow wickednes? The holy Ghost see­meth vnto me to conclude after another manner; that because God is good and gracious, he gathereth that he is worthy to be worshipped, obeyed, and to be loued aboue all things. And because God is good, it is meete that I be good also; and that I should trust in him: who although I be a most greeuous sin­ner, yet is ready to receiue me into fauour, if I with all my hart will be conuerted vnto him. Because God is good and so good, it is double wickednes to offend so great & magnificent a good­nesse. Therefore, by how much the more thou doost exempli­fie the goodnes of GOD, by so much the more thou doost ag­grauate thy sinne, which thou committest against him. And it is meet and equall that so great a sinne should be punished: for it is the nature and dutie of the Diuine iustice, (which also thou esteemest not to be contrary, but the sister and the auen­ger of the Diuine goodnesse) that it should not leaue so enor­mous an iniury vnpunished.

Thys kinde of excuse is not newe, or sprung vp of late, but very old, and vsuall in the world. This in times past was the dif­ference betweene the true and the false Prophets,The diffe­rence be­tween the true Pro­phets and the false. because the true did denounce the threatnings of God against the people, and did exaggerate and aggrauate his iustice: but the false, on their owne heads did promise false peace and mercy. But when the punishments of GOD did approue the veritie of the one part, and the falsehood of the other, the true Prophets sayde: [Page 300] Where are now your Prophets, Ierem, 37, which prophecied vnto you, saying: The King of Babell shall not come against you, nor against this Land [...] Thou sayst, that the mercy of God is great. Thou which sayst so, credite me, GOD hath not opened thine eyes, that thou mightest see the greatnesse of his iustice. For if thou haddest thine eyes open to behold it, thou wouldest say with the Pro­phet; Who knoweth the power of thy wrath?Psalm, 90,for according to thy feare is thine anger. But that thou mayst be freed from this dan­gerous & perrilour errour, I pray thee let vs dispute of the mat­ter a little, and be ruled by reason.

Neyther thou, nor I doe see the Diuine iustice, as it is in it selfe;Whence the Diuine iustice is knowne. that we may come to the knowledge of the measure of it. Neither doe we know God himselfe in this worlde, but by hys workes. Therefore let vs enter into the spirituall world of the holy Scripture, & then let vs goe out into this corporall world, wherein we liue, and let vs out of them both reason, what the Diuine iustice is, that by this meanes we may know it. Certain­ly this consideration will be most profitable; For besides thys end which now we propose vnto our selues, we shall reape also out of it another fruite: for it will a fresh stirre vp in our harts the feare of the Lord, which as the Doctors say, is the treasure, the keeper,A simili­tude. and burthen of our soules. For euen as a ship is not safe without balas or lastage; (for it is easily tossed with euerie winde, nowe no this side, and now on that to the great danger of the shyp) so is the soule endangered, which lacketh the bal­las & burthen of the diuine feare. This feare poyzeth the soule, that the windes of worldly fauour, or of diuine graces, doe not tosse and pusse it vp, and so ouerthrowe it. Although it be de­fenced, yet if it hath not his balas, it is in ieopardy. Neither one­lie the Punyes and Incipients, but also those that are growen & old, must necessarily liue in feare in Gods house. Not onely the sinners and guiltie must feare, who haue great cause so to doe:All men ought to feare. but the righteous also are not to be freed, who haue no such great cause to feare. Sinners must feare, because they haue of­fended; and also the righteous, least they should offend: theyr faultes and misdemeanors past, ought to strike feare into them, but the dangers to come, ought to terrifie these. But if thou de­sirest to know, how this holy feare is engendered and wrought [Page 301] in thee,Whence feare is in-gendered. I say that it is wrought when it is infused by grace, and it is preserued, and increaseth by the consideration of the works of the Diuine iustice, of which we begin now to speake. Con­sider of them often, and reuolue them in thy minde, & by little and little, thou shalt feele this feare wrought in thee.

Against them that excuse themselues, saying, that the way of Vertue is rough, sharpe, and difficult. CHAP XXVIII.

WOrldly and carnall men are wont also to bring another excuse, that they may seeme not with­out cause to haue left and eschewd Vertue and Religion, saying, that it is rough and difficult: albeit they are not ignorant that this difficulty ariseth not from vertue her selfe,Vertue a friend vnto reason. (for she is a friend vnto reason, and very well agreeth with the nature of a reasonable creature) but from the euill inclination of our flesh, and our wicked ap­petities: which taketh the originall from sinne.Gal 5. Hence it is that the Apostle sayth; that the flesh lusteth against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh, and that these two doe striue between themselues.Rom 7. And in another place, he sayth: I delight in the law [Page 315] of God, concerning the inner man: But I see another law in my mem­bers, rebelling against the law of my minde, and leading me captiue vnto the law of sinne, which is in my members. By which words the Apostle meaneth; that the law of God and Vertue doe very well agree with the superiour part of our soule, which altoge­ther is spirituall, in which the vnderstanding and the will is: but her watch and warines is hindered by the law of the members: and this happeneth of the euill inclination & corruption of our appetites, and the passions arising from them, which are aduer­saries to the superiour part of the soule, and to God himselfe; which discord & contrariety is the cause of all this difficulty.

For this cause many alienate themselues from Vertue, albeit otherwise they highly account of it, as also sicke men doe, who although they desire health, yet they abstayne from and abhor medicines, because they suppose them to be bitter and of euill tast. Wherefore if we take this errour and opinion from men, I take it that we shall performe a thing not to be repented of: for this is the onely stay and let that hindereth them from Ver­tue: besides this difficulty there is nothing in Vertue, which is not greatly and especially to be desired and affected.

Against them that feare to enter into the way of Vertue for the loue of this world. CHAP. XXIX.

IF we should feele the pulse and life vaine of all them, who feare to enter into the way of vertue, perhaps wee should finde many so slothfull and sluggish, because the loue of this world hath in­fatuated them, and made them fooles; I say, that it hath infatuated them: for this loue is a false glasse, and an ap­parance of good things, which in truth are not good: vvhich false glasse, maketh all worldly things to be in so great price a­mongst the ignorant. Whereupon beasts, which feare shadowes, flie all shadowie things, as hurtfull & dangerous, when in deed they are not: So these men, on the contrary part, doe loue and embrace the things of this world, supposing & estimating them to be louely and delectable, when in deed they are not. There­fore as they that would bring beasts from their shadowie & idle imagination, doe often leade them through those places which they feare: that they may see that that is but a vaine shadowe which they feared: So now it is necessary, that we leade these men through the shadowes of earthly things, who so ordinarily doe loue them, that we may make them to behold them vvith other eyes, that they may plainly see, how great a vanitie and a shadow all that is, which they so greatly admire and loue: and that as those dangers are not worthy that they should be feared, so also these good things are not worthy, that they should be de­sired or loued. He therefore, that shall diligently and seriously consider of the world, with all the felicities in it, shall finde sixe euils and mischiefes in it,What euils are in the world. which no man can denie, as are; short­nesse; miserie; dangers; blindnes; sinnes; and deceipts; vvith which the felicitie of the world is alwaies mingled: by which it may plainly be seene, who, and what it is. Euery one of these wee will handle in that which followeth; yet briefely and in order.

Of the firme and resolute purpose, which a Christian ought to haue, that he may not doe any thing hereafter, which is sinne. CHAP. III.

THE two former instructions being set downe as the principall foundations of this vvhole buil­ding, the first and chiefest thing that a man must doe, that he may be disposed and fit to offer and consecrate himselfe to the Diuine worship,A firme re­solution is to be plan­ted in the soule. and to the exercise of Vertue, is to plant in his soule a firme and re­solute purpose, that he will neuer heereafter fall into sinne, by which he might lose the fauour of his Sauiour, and the enioying of his blessings. This is the chiefest foundation of a spirituall life; this is that by which the friendship and fauour of God is kept, and the hope of the kingdome of heauen. In this Charity consisteth, and the spirituall life of the soule. This is that that maketh the sonnes of men the sonnes of God, temples of the holy Ghost, liuely members of Christ, and maketh them perta­kers of all the spirituall blessings of the Church. So long as the soule perseuereth in this determination, it abideth in Charity, & in the state of saluation; but so soone as it steppeth back from it, it is blotted out of the booke of life, and is registred in the vo­lume of perdition, and is transported to the kingdome of dark­nes. So that this busines being well considered of, it seemeth, that as in all things as well naturall as artificiall there is a sub­stance and an accident, betweene which there is this difference, that the accidents being changed the substance still remayneth; euen as the pictures of an house being defaced,A simili­tude. and the furni­ture spoyled, the house notwithstanding standeth firme on the [Page 371] foundations, albeit not with the same perfection; but if the house fall, which is the substance, then nothing remayneth: af­ter the same manner, as long as this holy and sanctified purpose standeth firme and fast in the soule, the substance of Vertue standeth vnmoueable; but if that faile, forth-with all things fall. The reason of this is, because the whole foundation of a godly life consisteth in Charity, which is to loue God aboue al things: but he loueth God aboue all things, who aboue all things hateth sinne: for only through sinne this charity and loue of God pe­risheth. For euen as adultery is the most contrary thing to ma­riage; so that which is most contrary to a godly and vertuous life is sinne: for this killeth Charity, in which this life consisteth. For this cause the Martyrs haue suffered so greeuous and hor­rible torments, not refusing to be rosted, to be fleane, and to be cut in peeces, to be bowelled, to be racked, to be torne in peeces of wild beasts, rather then they would sinne, by which they might lose the fauour of God, yea, although it was but for a mo­ment; not being ignorant in the meane time, but that they might repent after the offence done, and might be againe en­tertayned into fauour: as Saint Peter was, after that hee had thrice denied Christ. Neuerthelesse, they had rather suffer all the torments of the vvorld, then for so short a time to want the Diuine fauour. Of this euery where we haue many examples, but amongst others of three vvomen; one of the old Testa­ment, the mother of the seauen sonnes in the Machabees, and two vnder the new Testament, one of which is called Felicitas, the other Symphorosa, each of them in like manner the mother of seauen Sonnes. All these three were present, at the tortures and martyrdome of their sonnes, and seeing them to be rent and torne, and the flesh with the skinne to be pulld from the bones, vntill theyr bowels and intrals gushed out, they did not only not faynt, beholding so sorrowfull a spectacle, but they comforted their sonnes, and encouraged them, admonishing them to fight manfully for the fayth and obedience of God. At length they also with theyr sonnes for the same cause most constantly yeel­ded vp their lifes.

But after these famous & illustrious examples, I will here set downe another, which is rehearsed of S. Ierome, in the life of [Page 372] Paule the first inhabiter of the Wildernes.Iorome in the life of Paule the Hermite. The Tyrant, saith he, commaunded another in the florish of his young yeeres to be brought into a most pleasant Garden, and there amongst the white Lillies and the redde Roses, where a bright Riuer made a delectable noyse, & the winde made a pleasant ruffling among the leaues of trees, he commaunded a soft bed of Downe to be made, and that he might not roule himselfe off from it, he cau­sed him to be left lying vpon it, fettered with bonds of silke: to whom, when all the rest were departed, came a very beautifull harlot, who began to coll & kisse him, & vse al daliance to ripen lust, and that which is a shame to be spoken, shee dallied vvith his priuities, that his body beeing thus prouoked to lust, shee might gette the maistry ouer him. What this souldier of Christ might doe, and whether he might turne, he knew not: whom torments had not conquered, nowe pleasure ouercame. At length, beeing inspired from aboue, hee bit off his tongue, and spet it in the face of the harlot kissing him, and so he quenched the heate of his lust by the greatnes of his paine. Surely a deed maruailous heroick, and such an one as hetherto hath not been found eyther in the histories of the Greekes or Latines.

Let these suffise to shew, with howe cheerfull and manly a courage these Saints resisted sinne. I could also alledge other examples of them, who had rather be tumbled naked vppon thornes, and in the deepe of Winter be rouled vpon snow and Ice, then they would satisfie the lust of their flesh, which bur­ned in them, the deuill blowing the coales. Wherefore, that man that determineth to enter into this way, ought firmely to fasten this purpose in his mind, more to esteeme the fauour of God, (as a iust Iudge of things) then all the treasures of thys world, and alwayes to renounce the lesser, that the greater may be kept, when he is in the like need. In this he ought to ground his life; this ought to be his obiect in all his actions; let him ear­nestly craue thys of God in all his prayers; to this end he recei­ueth the Sacraments of the Church. Let him gather thys out of Sermons, and out of the reading of godly Bookes: let him take this out of the creation of the world, & the forming of all crea­tures: let him reape this fruite especially out of the passion of Christ, and out of the rest of the Diuine blessings; for the fruite [Page 373] of these is not to offend him, to whom so great things are due: and according to the soundnes of this holy feare and determi­nation, let him measure the quantitie of his profit, equalizing the strength and firmnes of his purpose according to the great­nes of the profit, so that by how much that is greater or lesser, by so much his resolution may be greater or lesser. Further­more, euen as he that would fasten a naile into a wall,A simili­tude. is not con­tent to haue giuen one, two or three strokes with a mallet, but he so long smiteth it and forceth it forwards, vntill it stick fast: so this purpose and resolution, ought not to be sufficient for a man, there to stay, let it be what it will, but he must daily labour and endeuour, that of all things that he seeth, heareth, readeth, or meditateth vpon, he take an occasion, whereby the loue of God may more and more increase in him, that hee may hate and ab­horre sinne more and more. For by how much the hatred of sinne shall more and more increase in him, by so much shall he perceiue himselfe to haue profited and fructified in the Diuine loue, and consequently in all vertue.

But that hee may more firmely persist and continue in thys resolution, let him perswade himselfe, & assuredly beleeue, that if all the euils, paines, and sorrowes of the world, from that time it first began, to this present houre, were put in one ballance, to­gether with all the punishments, which all the damned suffer in hell; and in the other ballance one onely sinne were put, it is certaine that he should rather preferre the escape from this sin, before all the rest, and flye from it more speedily then from all those tribulations and punishments; albeit the blindnes of thys Egipt, or of thys world is so great, that men thinke far otherwise. Neyther is it maruell, that the men of this world being blind, do not see this so great an euill, or that they being deade, doe not feele a wound so hideously gaping: for it is not giuen to blinde men to see any thing, although it be very great, neyther to the dead to feele a wound, albeit it be deadly.

Therefore, I beeing about to handle in this second Booke the doctrine of Vertue which hath sinne for her contrary, in the first part I will entreate of the irreconcileable hatred of sins, and specially of the remedies of them: for the rootes of sinnes beeing pluckt out of the soule, the plants of vertues may bee [Page 374] more easily ingrafted, of which wee will speake in the second part.The propo­sition of this Booke. Neyther onely will we speake here of those sinnes, vvhich are accounted horrible and abhominable amongst men, but al­so of those, which the world reckoneth not of, and which they make no scruple to commit. We will begin with those seauen mortall and deadly sinnes which are called capitall, because they are the heads and rootes of all other. This doctrine will be pro­fitable, that a man, when he is mightily assaulted and tempted, may haue refuge and recourse to this doctrine, as to a spirituall defence, and that out of many remedies, which are set downe in this part, hee may select and choose those for himselfe, vvhich are more conuenient for his purpose. It is true that many of these remedies are common for all kinde of vices, yet some are particuler, sette downe for certaine vices, as when I say against Pryde, against Couetousnes, and so in the rest. Of these in this part we will speake, setting downe speciall remedies for euerie sinne, that the prouision and furniture of spirituall Armor may be in a readinesse alwaies for vs to vse at all needes.

We must consider & note in this place, that we haue no need of Hercules his strength to fight in this spiritual combat, neither of winged feete to flie away, but of cleere and bright eyes to see; for eyes are the chiefest weapons and instruments of this warre; for wee are not to fight against flesh & blood, but against most peeuish and peruerse deuils, who are spirituall creatures. The reason is; because the first roote of all sinnes, is the errour of the vnderstanding, which is the counsailour of the vvill. For thys cause our aduersaries doe especially labour this, that they may corrupt our vnderstanding; for the vnderstanding beeing cor­rupted, the vvill also is corrupted, which is gouerned and guy­ded of it; therefore they endeuour to colour euill with good, and to [...] vice vnder the show and semblance of vertue, and so to hide the temptation, that it seemeth not temptation, but rea­son. For if they assault any man by ambition, by couetousnesse, by wrath, or desire of reuenge, they perswade him, that it is al­together agreeable vnto reason to desire this, that this or that af­fection desireth; and that it is against reason not to lust after that, that it lusteth after. After this manner they pretend reason, that they may so much the more easily deceiue them, who are [Page 375] ruled by reason. Wherefore, it is very necessary that we should haue sharpe-sighted eyes, that wee may see the hooke lurking within the baite, least wee be deceaued with the shadowe and likelihood of goodnes. Eyes also are necessary vnto vs, that wee may see the malignity, filthines, dangers and losses, which vices bring with them, that our desires may be restrained by this bri­dle, & may feare to tast that, which being tasted bringeth death. Hence it is that those beasts in Ezechiell,Ezech, [...]. which are the figures of holy men, were full of eyes round about, that thereby might be signified, howe necessary these spirituall eyes are for the ser­uants of GOD, that they may defend themselues from vices. Therefore of this remedy we will in this tractate especially en­treate, to which we will also adioyne all others, which seeme to bring any profit, as shall be more plainly seene in the discourse following.

Of the remedies against Pryde. CHAP. IIII.

WE handling in thys former part sinnes, & the re­medies of them, will take our beginning from those seauen, which are called capitall, as it were the heads and fountaines of all other. For euen as the rootes of trees beeing cut vp,A simili­tude. the boughes & branches, which receiue life from the rootes, doe foorth-with wither and perish▪ so those seauen generall & vniuersall rootes of all other vices beeing hewen in sunder, and vtterly eradicated, suddenly also the vices will dye, which are de­riued from them. For this cause Cassianus with great diligence writ eyght bookes against these vices: in which kinde of studie, many other learned and graue men haue imitated him [...] they did see that these enemies being ouerthrowne, others could not lift vp their heads. The reason of this is, because all sinnes doe originally flow from selfe-loue: because euery one of them is committed through the loue & desire of some particuler good, to desire which, this selfe-loue pricketh vs forwards. From this loue those three branches do spring, of which S. Iohn speaketh in his Canonicall Epistle:1, Iohn, 2, which are; The lust of the flesh, the lust [Page 376] of the eyes, and the pride of life. Which (that I may expresse them by more known names) are the loue of carnall delights & plea­sures, and the loue of riches and honours. These three loues are deriued from that first. For from the loue of pleasure three sins are engendered, Luxurie, Gluttony, & Idlenes. From the loue of riches, Cou [...]tousnes ariseth, and from the loue of honour, Pride. The other two, Wrath and Enuye, serue each one of these peruerse & corrupt loues. For Wrath proceedeth thence, that a man cannot obtaine that he desireth; and Enuye thence, that any one is preferred before vs, or that any one hath obtay­ned that we desired.

Seeing therefore that these three are as the vniuersall rootes of all euils, from which all these seauen sinnes proceede, these seauen beeing destroyed, the whole Armie of other vices shall be ouerthrowen. Therefore all our studie ought to be to thys end, that we fight valiantly against these Gyants, if we will try­umph ouer all other enemies, who possesse the Land of Pro­mise. Among these vices Pryde is the most powerfull, which is an inordinate appetite of our owne excellencie. The Saints doe call this the Mother and Queene of all other vices. Wherefore, not without cause amongst many other instructions, holy Toby said to his sonne:Tob, 4. Suffer not pride to raigne in thine hart, or in thy mouth: for in pride destruction tooke her beginning. Therefore, when as this pestilent beast doth assault thy hart, thou maist de­fend thy selfe with the weapons following.

Consider first that horrible punishment, with which Luci­fer and his Angels are punished, because they were proude: for in a moment, in the twinckling of an eye, hee with his Angels was cast from the highest heauen, downe to the deepest hell. See [...] darke and blinde this vice made him, who was more cle [...] [...]n the starres: who not onely was an Angell, but the Prince of Angels; but now is made not onely a deuill, but the wickedst and the filthiest of all deuils. If it could doe so much in Angels, what can it not doe in thee, who art dust and ashes? For God is not contrary to himselfe, neyther is hee an accepter of persons; and as he suffered not pryde in Angels, so also in men it dooth displease him,August. to a certaine Earle. in whom he looketh for humilitie. Hence it is that Saint Augustine saith▪ Humilitie maketh men [Page 377] like vnto holy Angels, & pride, of Angels maketh deuils. And that I may speake plainly, Pride is the beginning, end, & cause of all sinnes, because it is not onely a sinne, but that no sinne is, or hath been, or shall be without it. This saith he. And Bernard saith;Bernard in a certaine Sermon. Pride casteth downe from heauen to hell, Humilitie ray­seth from the lowest place to the highest: an Angell falleth frō the loftiest height to the lowest pitte, and man ascendeth from out the world to heauen.

Then with this punishment let vs consider of the inestima­ble example of the humility of the sonne of God, who for vs tooke vpon him the most abiect nature of man, and for vs in like manner was obedient to his father euen to the death of the Crosse. Learne therfore ô man to be humble; learne ô earth to obey; learne ô dust to be despised. Learne ô man of thy God, for he is meeke and humble in spirit. If it seemeth not honora­ble inough vnto thee to imitate the example of other men, imitate the example of the God of Gods, who became man, not only that he might redeeme vs, but also that he might teach vs humility.

Cast thine eyes also vpon thy selfe, for in thy selfe thou shalt finde that may perswade humility. Consider what thou wast before thou wast borne, what thou art now being borne, and what thou shalt be after death. Before thou wast borne, thou wast filthy and obscene matter, not worthy to be named; now thou art dung couered ouer with snow; and a while after thou shalt be meate for wormes. Why then art thou proud ô man, seeing that thy natiuity is sinne, thy life misery, and thine end putrefaction and corruption? If the possession of temporall goods doe puffe thee vp, stay a while, and death will come, who maketh the begger equall with the King, and the cottage with the crowne. For as we are all borne alike and equall, as much as pertayneth to the condition of nature; so we all dye alike and equall by reason of the common necessity, that being excepted, that after death they haue the greater count to render, who here haue possessed more. Wherfore Chrisostome sayth excellently well: Looke into the Sepulchers of the dead, & seeke amongst them for tokens and notices of that magnificence, in which they [...]ned; seeke and enquire for their riches, seeke for the solaces of [Page 378] this world, which they enioyed whilst they liued. Tell me where are now their ornaments, their precious and costly apparell, their delights and pleasures? they are all past away, all gone, all their magnificent and riotous banquets, laughters, sports, and all the mirth of this world is faded and vanished away. Come neerer to the Sepulcher of whom so euer thou wilt, and thou shalt find no other thing here but dust, ashes, wormes, and putrified bones. Here then is an end of all bodies, yea, although fed and nouri­shed with the greatest delicates and dainties of the world. And I would to God that here were an end of al euils: but that which followeth is much more dreadfull; that is, the fearefull tribunal of the Diuine iudgement; the sentence that there shall be pro­nounced; the weeping and gnashing of teeth, the vtter darknes without hope of light, and the gnawing worme of conscience, which neuer shall dye; and to conclude, the fire, that neuer shall be quenched.

Consider moreouer of the danger, which vaine glory the daughter of Pride bringeth with it, of which Saint Bernard thus speaketh:Bernard in a Sermon. Feare an arrow, it flyeth lightly, and pierceth lightly, but I say vnto thee it maketh no small wound, it sodainly killeth. Vaine glory is this arrow. If men at any time doe prayse & ho­nour thee, forth-with enquire, whether that be in thee, which they so magnifie and extoll: for if that be not in thee, thou art praysed in vaine, and gloriest without cause. But if perhaps this be found in thee, for which they prayse thee; say with the Apo­stle: By the grace of God I am that I am. 1, Cor, 15. For thou mayst not be proud of it, but rather humbled, and giue the glory to God, to whom thou owest all that thou art, least perhaps thou makest thy selfe odious vnto God; for it is not to be doubted but both the honour, which is giuen vnto thee, and the cause for which it is giuen, are both of God, and belong vnto him. Therfore all the glory, that thou doost arrogate vnto thy selfe, thou stealest from God; but what seruant can be found more vnfaithfull then he, that stealeth the glory of his Lord?

Consider also what great folly it is, that thou shouldest e­steeme of thine owne power and ability according to the iudg­ment of men, in whose will it is to encline the ballance to whe­ther side they will: for he that praysed thee ere while, now dis­prayseth [Page 379] thee; and he that now disprayseth thee, will soone af­ter set forth thy prayse with great honour. If thou thinkest that thine honour dependeth of their tongues, thou shalt finde that somtimes thou shalt be extolled to the skie, and somtimes de­pressed euen to hell, and thy glory euen beate to dust and pow­der: euen as it shall please the mutable tongues of men. Ther­fore neuer measure thy selfe by the prayses of men, which are giuen out of thee but according to that thou art, and which is in thy selfe: albeit men extoll and magnifie thee, yet looke thou into thy selfe, what is in thee, and what thy conscience telleth thee: Rather beleeue thy selfe, to whom thou art better known, then others, who see thee a farre of, and iudge of thee as it were by heare-say. Contemne therfore the iudgments of men, and commit all thy glory to the hands of the Lord, who is wise to keepe it; and faithfull to restore it.

Ponder also with thy selfe, ô thou vnhappy ambitious man, into what danger thou castest thy selfe, thou desiring to rule o­uer others, who hast not yet learned to gouerne thy selfe. How canst thou giue an account for many, who canst not answer for thy selfe? Consider of the great danger, into which thou castest thy selfe headlong, by coueting to adde the sinnes of thy sub­iects vnto thine own, and by putting thine and theyrs into thine owne reckoning. Wherfore the Scripture also sayth: An hard iudgement shall they haue that beare rule: Wisdom, 6. For he that is most low is worthy mercy, but the mighty shall be mightily tormented. But who can recount the multitude of troubles, which they are encum­bred with all, vnto whom the rule of others is committed. A certaine King of the Armenians very well vnderstood this,A saying of Tigranes King of the Armenians. who when he was to be crowned, considering of the cares & paines, that Empire brought with it, taking in his hand that princely and dignified cloth, with which the Kings head was wont to be crowned, and long looking vpon it, sayd: O noble rather then happy cloath, which if any one throughly knew how stuffed it were with cares & dangers, he would not stoope to the ground to take it vp.

Acknowledge, ô thou proud man, that thy pride doth please no body, because thou thy selfe art acceptable to no body. Thou doost not please God; for he is contrary vnto thee, Hee [Page 380] resisteth the proude, 1, Peter, 5. and giueth grace to the humble. Thou doost not please the humble, who without doubt doe exceedingly hate thee: for they abhorre all pride and ambition. Thou doost lesse please other proud men like vnto thy selfe: for by reason of that, that puffeth thee vp, thou art hatefull vnto them, for they cannot abide a greater then themselues. Neyther canst thou content thy selfe in this world, vnlesse thou repentest, and acknowledgest thy vanity and thy folly: and much lesse canst thou content and please thy selfe in the other world, where for thine execrable pride thou shalt be tortured with euerlasting torments. Wherfore the Lord sayth by the mouth of Saint Ber­nard: O man, if thou well knewest thy selfe, thou wouldest displease thy selfe, and please me; but because thou doost not know thy selfe, thou pleasest thy selfe, and displeasest me. The time will come, in which thou shalt neyther please thy selfe, nor me. Thou shalt not please me, because thou hast sinned; thou shalt not please thy selfe, because for euer thou shalt burne in hell. Thy pride onely pleaseth the deuill, who when he was a most beautifull Angell, became a most terrible deuill. Wherefore naturally he is delighted with those that are lyke vnto him.

It will helpe thee also in the way of humility, if thou consi­derest, how few thy merrits are before God, and how few or none thy seruices, which may be truly and purely called so: be­cause there are many vices found in them, which haue a show of Vertue, and also vaine glory doth corrupt oftentimes many works which are good of themselues, neyther sildome is that vild in Gods eyes, which shineth most gloriously in the eyes of men. The iudgements of the most iust Iudge are of one sort, and ours of another; and are far vnlike to Gods: For an hum­ble sinner lesse displeaseth God thē a proud iust man: although no man can be termed iust, who is proud. But if perhaps tho [...] shalt doe any good worke, remember that it may so come [...] passe, that whatsoeuer thou hast done may proue stark naug [...] Yea,Greg. in the 9. book of his Morals. Chap. 11, although thy works be good, yet they are not without th [...] defects, so that it is more needful for thee to craue pardon, the [...] to looke for a reward. Wherfore Saint Gregory sayth: If [...] life of the righteous should straightly be examined, it would [...] [Page 381] hold out for currant. For it may be, that those things, vvhich thou thinkest please God, doe offend him. For all our euill deeds are simply euil; but our good deeds are not simply good, seeing that they are mingled with many imperfections: and therfore it is more agreeable to reason, that thou shouldest ra­ther suspect thy good works, then that thou shouldest glory in them:Iob, 9. as holy Iob did, who sayd: I was afrayd of all my works, knowing that thou doost not spare the offender.

Of the remedies against Couetousnes. CHAP. V.

COuetousnesse is an inordinate desire of riches. Wherefore, not onely he that stealeth, but also he that desireth another mans riches with an inor­dinate desire, and hee that inordinately keepeth them, is couetous. The Apostle condemneth this vice,1, Tim, 6, when he sayth: They that will be rich, fall into tentation and snares of the deuill, and into many foolish and noysome lusts, which drowne men in perdition and destruction. For the desire of money, is the roote of all euill. The naughtines and malignitie of this vice, cannot be described more cunningly or curiously. For it is ma­nifest by these words, that that vnhappy man, who is subiect to this euill, is the seruaunt and slaue of all other sinnes. Wherfore whē this vice doth assault thine hart, thou shalt defend thy selfe with these weapons following.

Christ an example pouertie.First therefore, ô thou couetous man, consider, that vvhen the Lord and thy GOD descended from the highest heauen to the earth, he would not possesse riches, which thou so great­ly desirest; yea he loued pouerty so wel, that he would take flesh of a Virgin most poore and lowly, and not of a Queene rich & mighty. When he was borne, he would not lodge in a stately and wealthy pallace; he would not lye vppon a soft bed; he re­fused dainty swadling-clothes, & embraced for his cradle a hard Cratch. So long as he lyued in the world, he alwayes loued po­uerty, and contemned riches; He chose his Apostles and his Embassadours, not Princes and great men, but base and abiect Fishers. What preposterous order then is this, that the most vild worme should seeke riches, which the Lord of al the world, and of all creatures, contemned for his cause.

Consider furthermore, the exceeding great basenes of thine hart, that when as thy soule is created according to the image & [Page 385] similitude of God,How vn­worthy, & how vilde a thing it is, to lose thy soule for gold. and redeemed by his owne blood, in compa­rison of which all the world is nothing, yet thou art not asha­med to lose it for so small a gaine. God would not haue gyuen his life for the whole world, which notwithstanding he willing­ly layd downe for the soule of man. Therefore thy soule is wor­thier, and of more price then the whole world. True riches are not gold, nor siluer, nor precious stones: but they are found in Vertue, which a good conscience bringeth with it. Relinquish the false opinion of men, and thou shalt see that gold and siluer are no other things, but yellow and white earth, which through the errour of men is crept into so great credit. That which hath been despised by all the Phylosophers of the world, doost thou beeing a disciple of Christ so much esteeme it, that thou shoul­dest make thy selfe a seruant and slaue vnto it? For as S. Ierome saith, he is a seruant vnto riches, who keepeth and tendeth them as a seruant; but he who hath cast off that yoke, deuideth them as a Lord.

Consider also what the Lord sayth in the Gospell:Math, 6, No man can serue two Maister, God and Mammon, that is, riches. The soule cannot freely serue God, if it follow and hunt after riches so greedily, and with so open a mouth. Spirituall delights, doe shunne a hart busied and occupied about earthly matters: ney­ther doe things counterfeit and true, agree together, nor things hie and low, temporall and eternall, spirituall, and carnall, ney­ther can any man reioyce and recreate himselfe, in them both together.

Consider in like manner,Riches bring many euils, & in­conuenien­ces with them. that by howe much more prospe­rously earthly matters succeede with thee, by so much perhaps thou art more miserable, by reason of that pledge which here is giuen vnto thee; that thou maist relye vpon vaine felicity, which heere is offered vnto thee. Ah that thou knewest what great euils, and how many inconueniences thys small prosperity brin­geth with it, thou shouldest see the loue of riches more to afflict by desire, then to delight by vse. For it enwrappeth the soule in diuers temptations; and bindeth it in infinite cares: it allureth it with sundry delights, prouoketh it to sinne, and disturbeth the quiet no lesse of the body then of the soule. And that vvhich is greater, riches are neuer gotten without trouble, nor possessed [Page 386] without care; nor lost without griefe; and that which is wor­ser, they are sildome gathered without sin and offence to God. Hence is that prouerbe; A rich man is eyther a wicked man, or the he [...]re of a wicked man.

Consider moreouer, how great an errour it is, without inter­mission to desire those things,Riches doe not satisfie the appetite A simili­tude. which albeit they be most plenti­full, yet they can neuer satisfie the desire of man, yea they pro­uoke it, and inflame it more, as drinke in a Dropsie is the cause of greater thirst; so that although thou hast, yet thou alwaies couetest that, which thou wantest, and alwaies couetest more and more. So that the miserable and wretched hart, wandering through all the things of this world, is wearied, but neuer satis­fied: it drinketh, but the thirst is not quenched: for it estee­meth not those things which it hath, vnlesse also it possesse in like manner those things, which further it may haue: and there is no lesse trouble for things, which it compasseth not, thē there is pleasure in things, which it possesseth; neyther is the heart more satisfied with gold, then the body with wind or ayre.

Wherefore, not without cause Saint Augustine maruelleth, saying:Aug. of the words of the Lord, What greedines, sayth hee, of desire is this, seeing that the beastes haue a meane? For then they rauine, when they are hungry, but they spare the pray when they feele fulnes. Onely the couetousnes of riches is vnfatiable; it alwayes raueneth, and is neuer satisfied, neyther feareth GOD, nor reuerenceth man, neyther spareth Father, nor acknowledgeth Mother, neyther yeeldeth vnto brother, nor keepeth fayth with friend.

Consider that where much riches is, there are many that eate and deuoure them, many that couet them, and many that lye in waite to steale them.Riches are not safe. What hath the richest man of this world more of all his riches, then whereof he may necessarily lyue? & of thys yrksome care thou maist disburthen thy selfe, if thou wilt cast thy care vpon God, and commit thy selfe to his proui­dence: for God neuer confoundeth them that trust in him. For whom God made, he will not suffer to die through hunger. He that feedeth the foules of heauen, and clotheth the Lillyes of the field, how is it possible that he should forsake man; especially, seeing that so small a thing sufficeth the necessity of man? The life is short, & death followeth at our heeles; what need is there [Page 387] then of so great prouision for so short a iourney? What wilt thou doe with so much riches, especially seeing that the lesse thou hast, the more lightly and freely thou mayest walke? and when thou shalt come to the end of thy pilgrimage, if thou be­est poore, thy estate shall not be worser, then rich mens, who are loaden with much gold. Yea it shall be much better: for thou shalt feele lesser griefe in forsaking this trash and pelfe of the world, and a smaller account is to be rendered before God. On the contrary part, rich men in the end of their iourney, leaue their mountaines of gold not without great griefe of hart, which they adored as GOD: neyther without exceeding great dan­ger and hazard vnto them an account is to be rendered of those things they possessed.

Consider also,Riches pro­fit nothing in death. ô thou couetous man, for whom thou gathe­rest so great riches: for it is most certaine that like as thou camst naked into this vvorld, so thou shalt depart naked hence: thou entrest poore, and shalt returne poore. These things are often to be meditated of thee. For he easily contemneth all things, sayth Ierome, who perswadeth himselfe that he shal dye. At the houre of death thou must leaue all temporal things, onely thy works, which thou hast done, whether they be good or euill, shal waite vpon thee: then thou shalt remember how thou hast changed eternal things for things temporal, in heaping vp of which thou hast consumed thy time, thy affections, and all thy labours. Then thy goods shal be deuided into three parts; thy body shal be giuen to the wormes, thy soule to deuils, and thy temporal goods shal fall to thine heires, which perhaps shal be vngrateful, spend-thrifts, and wicked. Therfore it is much bet­ter and safer to follow the counsaile of our Sauiour, who willeth vs to deuide our goods amongst the poore, that they may pre­pare an entrance into life for vs;A simili­tude. as the Princes of this vvorld doe, who determining a voyage, doe send their furniture and treasure before them, and such prouision as would hinder theyr speede, and they themselues follow after. What greater folly and madnes I pray thee can be thought of, then to leaue thy treasure in a place, to the which thou shalt neuer returne againe: and not to send it before thee to that place, in which thou shalt alwayes abide? [Page] [...] [Page] [...]

[Page 388]Consider moreouer of the great Gouernour and high di­rector of this spacious Vniuerse, who like a wise Housholder hath so disposed of the goods of this vvorld, as he hath done of offices and degrees of estate, and hath so ordered all things, that one should rule, and another be ruled; that one should distri­bute and deuide wealth, and another should receaue it. Seeing therfore that thou art one of those, on whom much wealth is bestowed to giue to those that neede, thine owne necessity be­ing supplied, thinkest thou that it is lawfull to reserue it solely to thy selfe,Ambrose in a certaine Sermon. which thou hast receaued for many? Heare what Am­brose sayth: It is no lesser fault to deny that to the needy which he wanteth, thou being of ability to giue it, then it is to take by force from him that hath: It is the bread of the hungry that thou detaynest; the garment of the naked, which thou layest by thee; and the money and ransome of the captiue and misera­ble, which thou hidest in the earth.Riches are remedies & reliefes of mans mise­ry, and not instruments of pleasure. Consider therfore, that those goods, which thou hast receaued of the Lord, are remedies and releefes of mans misery, and not instruments of pleasure and pride. Haue an eye, that seeing all things prosperously succeed with thee, thou remember him, who is the authour and giuer of them, and beware that the remedies of another mans misery doe not minister matter vnto thee of vaine glory. Doe not, ô my brother, more loue banishment, then thy Countrey; Let not the furniture and prouision of thy voyage be an hinderance and a burden to thy iourney. Doe not so loue the Moone-shine, that thou contemne the noone-sunne: doe not so liue, that the solaces of this present life minister matter of eternal death. Be content with the condition and estate, which is happened to thee being mindfull of that of the Apostle:1, Tim. 6. Hauing foode and rayment, let vs there-with be content. For the seruant of God, as Chrisostome sayth, ought not to be clothed gorgiously, to fare deliciously, and to pamper his flesh delicatly, but only to satisfie his necessity. Seeke first the kingdome of God, and his righteousnes, and all other things shall be ministred vnto you: For God, who is willing to bestow great matters vpon thee, will not deny thee small. And if it please him, to giue thee pouerty, take it pati­ently, for the poore are like vnto Christ, who when he was rich became poore for our sakes. They that are poore, and with pa­tience [Page 389] abide the Lords leysure, and doe not respect riches, which they haue not, these make their pouerty a vertue. And as the poore in their pouerty doe imitate Christ, and are fashioned like vnto Christ,Rich men may also be saued. so the rich bestowing and laying out their almes are renewed & reformed by Christ: for not only the poore sheep­heards found Christ; but also the Wise-men that came from the East, and brought him their treasures. Wherfore thou that art rich, giue almes to the poore, which if thou dost, Christ him­selfe receaueth them. And doubt not, but that almes that thou now giuest, shal be reserued for thee in heauen, where thy man­sion shal be for euer: but if in this earth thou hidest thy trea­sures, thou shalt not there finde any thing, where thou hast layd vp nothing. How then shal any man truly terme those goods, which cannot be taken away with vs, yea, which may be lost we looking on?Ambrose in a Sermon. What doe they profit me, sayth Ambrose, if they may not be with me after death? They are gotten heere, and here shal be left. But on the contrary part, spirituall goods are goods truly and in deede; for they neuer leaue nor forsake their Lord, neyther fayle in death, neyther can any man take them a­way, we liuing and being against it.

Remedies against Luxurie. CHAP. VI.

LVxury is an ordinate desire of filthy and vnho­nest pleasures. This sinne is very generall and common, and more violent then all the rest. For of all the combats and battailes, which Christi­ans are to fight,The com­bat of Cha­stity diffi­cult. the combat of Chastity is most difficult, for the wrastling is perpetuall, and the victory rare, as sayth Bernard. Therefore when as this soule and obscene vice [Page 392] doth tempt thy minde, and thy flesh beginneth to tickle and prouoke thee, thou shalt meete these motions with the cogita­tions following.

First and formost consider with thy selfe, that this vice doth not onely pollute and contaminate thy soule,Luxury polluteth the liu [...]ly temple of GOD. which the sonne of God hath washed and beautified with his owne blood, but also it defileth thy body, which is a member of Christ, and the temple of the holy Ghost. But if it be a great wickednes to pol­lute the materiall Church of GOD, what an hainous offence will it be to prophane this temple, which is the liuely habitation of the true God? For euery sinne, sayth the Apostle, that a man dooth, 1, Cor, 6, is without the body, but he that committeth fornication, sinneth against his owne body: that is, by prophaning and coinquinating it with carnall lust and fleshly sinne.

Consider that this sinne cannot be done without the scandall and preiudice of many persons, which concurre to the effecting of it: which thing wonderfully afflicteth the conscience at the houre of death. For if the Law of the Lord commaundeth that life is to be tendered for life, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth: how can he giue a like recompence to God, who hath destroyed so many Christian soules? howe shall hee be able to make satisfaction for so many soules, which Christ hath pur­chased vnto him by his precious blood?

The begin­ning of lux­urie plea­sant, but y^e end bitter. Prou, 23, See how many delights and pleasures this sinne hath in the beginning, but the end is most bitter: the entrance is easie, but the issue and egresse most difficult. Therefore the Wise-man sayth; A whore is as a deepe ditch, and a strange woman is as anar­row pit. Ingresse to her is easie, but egresse difficult. For truely there is nothing found, in which men are more easily taken, then in the sweetnes of this sin, which appeareth by the beginnings and entrance into it. But when as hands haue strooken friend­ship, and this league is confirmed, and lust hath captiuated thy soule, who shall be able to deliuer and free it? Wherefore not without cause this sinne is sayd to be most like a fishers Weele or bow-net, which hath a large entrance into it, but a narrovve getting out; and therefore the fishes that once goe in, cannot get out. Hence it appeareth, how great is the multitude of sins which ariseth from this one, when as in all that time, in which [Page 393] the way is prepared, and the deede committed, God is a thou­sand wayes offended, by thoughts, desires, and workes.

Consider furthermore,Mischiefes ioyned to this vice. (as a certaine learned Doctor sayth) what a multitude of other mischiefes this deceitfull pestilence bringeth with it. First it spoyleth thy good name, which is the most precious thing that belongs to man, neyther is there any sinne, that pulleth more haynous infamy vpon thee, then luxu­rie doth. After that it weakeneth and enfeebleth the strength of man, it taketh away the beauty, it hurteth the sound constituti­on, it bringeth infinite diseases, which are both filthy, and re­prochfull; it perisheth and blasteth the florish and blossome of thy youth, neyther suffereth it to bud and increase; it bringeth old age before the time, it breaketh the force & strength of thy wit, it dulleth the subtiltie of thine vnderstanding, and maketh a man like vnto a brute beast. It with-draweth man from all ho­nest studies and exercises, and drowneth him in the sea of carnal pleasures, so that miserable man dare not presume, nor offer to speake o f +any other thing, then of dishonest and carnall de­lights.

It maketh young men foolish and reprochful, and exposeth old men to the scorne of men: Neither is this vice content thus to haue plunged men, vnlesse also it ouerthrow and squander a­brode his riches and substance. There are no riches so aboun­dant, no treasures so infinite, which luxury will not exhaust & consume in a short time. For the belly, and the instruments of lust are neere neighbours, and very well agree betweene them­selues, and are faythfull complices & confederates in this work. Hence it is, that men giuen to luxurie, are for the most part prodigall and lauishers, and delight in banquets and drunken­nesse; and riches are chiefely consumed through gluttony, and sumptuosnesse of apparell. Thys also is common to all luxuri­ous persons: vnhonest women are neuer satisfied, neyther euer cry they hoe, albeit very many ouches, tablets, iewels, precious stones, rings, and such like be giuen them, and they take more delight to be honoured with such things, then with theyr wret­ched louers, who giue these vnto them. All these are proued to be true by the example of the prodigall chyld,Luke, 15, who spent all his substance by liuing riotously and luxuriously.

[Page 394]Remember, that the oftner thou gyuest thy thoughts & thy body for a pray to carnall lust, thou shalt finde the lesser satietie in them. For the delight doth not bring satietie vnto them, but doth procure and increase a further thirst: for the loue between a man and a woman is neuer altogether extinguished, yea the flame when it is supposed extinct, on a suddaine reuiueth, and burneth more fiercely.

Consider moreouer diligently, that the pleasure, which is reaped of thys vice, is short, and momentany, but the punish­ment which followeth, is eternall. Surely this change is too vn­equall, that for so filthy a pleasure, of so short continuance, thou shouldest lose in this lyfe the ioy of a good conscience, and in that to come euerlasting glory; besides, to suffer paines vvhich neuer shall haue end. Therefore, very well said Saint Gregory: It is momentany and short, sayth he, that delighteth, but eternal that tormenteth.

The chast beginne an Angels life in this life. Looke vpon the price of virginity, and the dignity of that purity, which perisheth and is violated by this filthy vice, and thou shalt see that virgins in thys life doe begin to leade an An­gels life, and by the singuler priuiledge of this purity, to be like vnto celestiall spirits. For to liue in the flesh without sensual car­nality, this is to liue rather an Angels life, then an humane lyfe. Thys is that which Bernard sayth;Bernard, E­pistle, 42 It is onely chastity, that in this place and tyme of mortality, representeth a certaine state of immortall glory. For amongst the solemnities of marriage, it onely chalengeth the custome of that blessed Country, where­in they doe neyther marry, nor are marryed, shewing on the earth, after a certaine manner, an experience of that heauenly conuersation. For this cause that singuler priuiledge is giuen to virgins in heauen, of which S. Iohn writeth in his Reuelation: These are they, Apoc, 14, sayth he, which are not defiled with women, for they are virgins: these follow the Lambe whether soeuer he goeth. And because they haue performed better things in the world then o­thers, following the Lord Iesus Christ in pure virginity, there­fore in the world to come they shal come more neere vnto him, and shall more familiarly conuerse with him, and shall singu­lerly be delighted with the purity of theyr bodyes. Thys vertue maketh men not onely like vnto Christ, but also temples of the [Page 395] holy Ghost. For the holy Spirit being a louer of purity, as hee detesteth the pollution of luxurie, more then other vices (albeit all vices displease him) so in nothing more willingly or with greater ioy he resteth, then in a soule pure and cleane from all carnall pleasure. Wherefore the sonne of GOD conceaued by the holy Ghost, so loued and priced virginity, that for the loue of it he did this stupendious miracle, that is, he would be borne of a Mother being a Virgine. But if thou hast lost thy virgini­tie, at least after shipwracke feare the dangers, which now thou hast tried: and thou who wouldest not keepe the benefit of na­ture vncorrupted, now it is corrupted, stryue to repaire it, by conuerting thy selfe vnto the Lord, and so much the more dili­gently turne thy good workes vnto God, by how much for thy sins thou hast iudged thy selfe woorthy of greater punishment. For often-times, saith Saint Gregory, it commeth to passe, that the soule after sinne is more feruent, which in the state of grea­ter inn ocencie, was luke-warme, and altogether negligent. And because GOD hath preserued thee, albeit thou hast commit­ted so enormous sinnes and offences, commit them nowe no more, least God chastise thee together, both for thy sinnes past, and also for those present: and so the last errour be worse then the first. With these and such like considerations, man ought to arme himselfe against this sinne. And these be the remedies of the first kinde, which we haue gyuen against this sinne of Lux­urie.

Remedies against Enuie. CHAP. VII.

ENuie is a greefe taken at the good of another man, and an irksomnes conceaued by another mans felicity: I meane at one greater then him­selfe; whom he enuies because he cannot be e­quall vnto him; and at his inferiour, because he thinks that he would be equall vnto him; and at his equall, be­cause his degree and state doth iumpe with his. So King Saule enuied Dauid, and the Pharises Christ, who lay in wayte for their lifes: for so cruell a beast is this enuy, that it cannot a­bide, nor any way brooke those men, whom it enuieth. This sinne is mortall and deadly, and Diameter-wise is opposed vnto Charity; euen as hatred is. This sinne is one of the mightiest and most dangerous, and which most spaciously dominereth throughout the whole world, but especially in the Courts, Pal­laces,Enuy is fa­milier with euery age & person. and houses of Kings and Princes. Although also it is no stranger in Vniuersities, Colledges, and conuents of religious men. Who therefore may defend himselfe from this monster? Who is so happy, that runneth not into this vice, eyther by fal­ling into another mans enuy, or by enuying another man him­selfe? For he that considereth of the enuy, which was betweene those two brethren, I doe not say the founders of the Citty of Rome, but the sonnes of our first parents, which was so great, that one slew the other: or of that, which was betweene the bro­thers [Page 399] of Ioseph,Gen. 37. which forced them to sell Ioseph for a seruant and a slaue; or that, which was betweene the very Disciples of Christ, before they had receaued the holy Ghost; and aboue all the enuy,Num. 12. with which Aaron and Miriam being both elected of the Lord, burned against their brother Moses: He, I say, that readeth these examples, what thinkest thou that he will thinke of other men of this world, amongst whom there is not so great kindred, nor so much sanctitie? Assuredly this vice is one of the mightiest, and most powerfull, which without controuersie at this day most largely swayeth empire throughout the whole world, and more cruelly and tirannously ouerthroweth and wa­steth kingdomes and dominions, then the other vices. For it is a proper effect of enuy to persecute the good, and those that are famous and held in honour for their vertues and excellent gifts. Against these the enuious doe direct their poysoned and vene­mous arrowes as to a white, wherfore it is very well sayd of Sa­lomon: I beheld all trauaile of men, Eccles. 4. and all perfection of works, to suffer the enuy of man.

Therefore it is very requisite and necessary, that thou shoul­dest very well arme thy selfe, whereby thou mayst be able to re­sist so powerfull an enemy; by daily desiring ayd and assistance of the Lord, and by impugning this beast with all the strength of thy wit; which if it perseuere to sollicite thy minde, be thou so much the more cherefully instant to resist it, and fight with greater valiancy and fortitude of minde. For he that willingly consenteth not to this euill, is not hurt, albeit his malicious flesh doth hale and pull him to impure and odious conditions. But if thou shalt see that all things fall out more prosperously to thy neighbour or to thy friend, then to thy selfe, giue God thanks, and thinke that eyther thou art vnworthy of such prosperity; or at least that it is not profitable or conducent for thee; and re­member that thy businesses shall not succeede the more pros­perously with thee, because thou enuiest the happy estate of thy neighbour: but that they will fall out more aduersly and disa­sterously. But if thou desirest to knowe, with what armour and weapons thou mayst resist this vice, obserue the considera­tions following.

First consider that all enuious men are like vnto the deuill, [Page 400] whom our good works doe exceedingly afflict,Enuious men like vnto the deuill. and whom our felicity doth torment with intollerable dolour: not because he can enioy it, albeit men should lose it, for hee hath lost it vvith­out hope of recouery; but that men taken from dust and earth, should not possesse those blessings he lost. Hence is that of Au­gustine in his booke of Christian doctrine:August. in his booke of Christi­an doctrine. God turne, saith he, the plague of enuie from the mindes of all Christians: For en­uie is the deuils sinne, of which alone the deuill is guilty, & vn­pardonably guilty. For it is not sayd to the deuill that he is dam­ned, because thou hast committed adultery, because thou hast stolne, because thou hast violently taken away other mens goods, and possessions; but because thou falling thy selfe, forth­with didst enuy man standing. After thys manner men imita­ting the deuill, are wont to enuie other men, not because they hope to translate theyr prosperitie to themselues, but because they desire that all may be as miserable and wretched, as they themselues are. Marke & consider, ô thou enuious man, that although he, whom thou enuiest, should not haue those goods, for which enuy doth so haunt thee, yet it foloweth not that pre­sently they should be thine. Because therefore that he possesseth them without thy losse or hurt, why doth it grieue thee, that he possesseth them without thy preiudice?

Wee must not enuie the vertues of our neighbor. But if peraduenture enuie hath possessed thy mind, because an other excelleth thee in some vertue and grace of mind, as in religion, and feruencie of prayer, I pray thee see what an enemy thou art to thy selfe. For thou art pertaker of all the good pray­ers of thy neighbour, so that thou be in the fauour of GOD: and by howe much thy neighbour excelleth, in feruencie of spirit, by so much thou growest richer in spirituall things: and therefore thou enuiest him quite beyond all reason: but on the contrary part thou oughtest to reioyce, because the profit is cō ­mon to you both, and thou also pertakest of his blessings.

Consider therefore how great thy misery is, that by hovve much thy neighbour profiteth in goodnes, by so much thou art the worser: but if thou didst loue the good thinges in thy neighbour, which thou hast not, the same good things should be thine by the vertue of Charitie, and so thou shouldest enioy another mans labours without thine owne labour. Thys Saint [Page 401] Gregory showeth,By Charity, other mens good things are made ours. when he sayth; Charitie by louing another mans goodnes, maketh it her owne; but Enuy, by hating that same goodnes, turneth it to the wounding of her own breast.

Perpend also, and ponder I pray thee, howe enuie burneth the hart,The mis­chiefes of Enuie. dryeth the flesh, tortureth the vnderstanding, distur­beth the peace of conscience, maketh all the daies of the life sor­rowfull and heauie, and banisheth all tranquility & all ioy from the hart of man. For enuie is like a worme in wood, which as it is bred in the wood,A simili­tude. so it consumeth it: so also enuy is bredde in the hart, and the hart is the first thing that it excruciateth, and when it hath corrupted the hart, it also taketh away the naturall colour of the countenaunce: for the pale and wanne colour of the face, is a token of the greatnes of the enuy, that tormenteth man within. There is no Iudge so seuere against a man as enuy: for it continually afflicteth him,Enuy is a iust sinne. and tortureth her owne Au­thour. For this cause some Authors call this vice iust, not that it is iust (for it is a sinne) but because by her owne torment shee chastiseth him, in whom she is, and exerciseth punishment vp­pon him.

See also howe contrary this vice is vnto Charitie, which is God, and to the common good, which God euery where re­specteth and promoteth. For it enuyeth the good things of o­ther men, and abhorreth those, whom God hath made and re­deemed, and on whom GOD bestoweth his blessings, which thing is manifestly condemned: for it dissolueth that, that is made of God, if not indeede, yet in will. But if thou will vse a present remedy for this disease, loue Humility, and flye Pride, which is the mother of this deadly plague. For when as a proud man cannot away with a superiour or an equall, enuy is easily inflamed against them, who excell in any thing; for if it see any man eyther superiour or better, it thinketh it selfe worser & ba­ser. The Apostle vnderstood this well,Gala, 5, when he sayd; Let vs not be desirous of vaine-glory, prouoking one another, enuying one ano­ther. He therefore that would cut off the branches of enuy, it is needfull that first he dig vp the roote of ambition, from vvhich enuy ariseth. Furthermore, thou must also withdraw thy minde from an inordinate desire of temporall goods, and thou must only loue the celestiall inheritance, & spirituall blessings; which [Page 402] are not diminished, albeit there are many, who loue and possesse them; yea, they so much the more increase, by how much the possessors are multiplied. On the contrary part, temporall goods are so much the more diminished, by how much they are moe amongst whō they are diuided: & therfore enuie dis­cruciateth the mind of him that lusteth after them. For when as another receaueth that that he desired, or it altogether perisheth, or is diminished, it certainly cannot be done without griefe. But it sufficeth not that thou shouldest not greeue at the good of thy neighbour, but it is necessary that thou shouldest doe well vnto him, as much as lyeth in thy power; and moreouer, thou shouldest pray vnto the Lord God, that he would supply, those things that thou art not able to doe. Thou must not con­temne any man. Loue thy friends in the Lord, and thine ene­mies for the Lords sake: vvho, when thou wast his enemy, he so loued thee, that to redeeme thee, and deliuer thee out of the hands of thine enemies, he gaue his owne life. Although thy neighbour be euill, yet for all this he must not be contemned: but in this thou must imitate the Phisitian,A simili­tude▪ who hateth the dis­ease, yet loueth the person of the diseased: So doe thou, louing that which is made of GOD, and abhorring that, which man hath made euill.

But perhaps thou wilt reason with thy selfe,An obiec­tion. and say: What haue I to doe with him? in what thing am I bound to him? I know him not: he is not my father nor my kinsman: he neuer pleasured me, nor performed any duty vnto me, yea, he hath some-time endamaged me.The answer. But remember that GOD with­out any desert of thine hath heaped many benefits vpon thee, and therefore hath commaunded thee, that in being thankfull, and making some recompence for this his bounty, thou in like manner shouldest be liberall, not towards him (for he nee­deth none of thy goods) but towards thy neighbour, whom [...]e hath commended and committed vnto thee.

Of the remedies against Gluttony. CHAP. VIII.

GLuttony is an inordinate desire or appetite of meate and drinke. Christ exhorteth vs to beware of this vice,Luke, 21. when he sayth: Take heede to your selues, least at any time your harts be oppressed with surfetting and drunkennes, and cares of this life. When as this vice doth knock at the gates of thy hart, resist it with these considerations. First consider how for one sinne of gluttony death entred vpon all mankind:Gluttony the cause of death. and therefore it is ne­cessary that thou shouldest be superiour, and haue the vpper hand in this first combat, in which if thou fayntest or yeeldest, thou shalt be impugned more noisomly of ther vices, and shalt be much more weake and vnable to make resistance. Therfore aboue all things resist the temptation of gluttony with a manly courage: which vnlesse thou conquerest, thou shalt in vaine oppose thy selfe against other vices. But thou shalt easily ouer­come all other enemies, which are without, if first thou shalt o­uerthrow and kill those, that are bred in thee. For he to no end fighteth with them, that are without, if he hath an enemy within. Wherefore the deuil first tempted Christ with gluttony, thin­king so to open a gate for other vices.

Consider also the rare and singuler abstinence of our Lord Iesus Christ,The Absti­nence of Christ. who not onely after his fast in the Wildernes, but also other where oftentimes handled his most holy and sacred flesh most sharply, and suffered hunger for our comfort, that he might giue vs an example. For if he that by his onely pre­sence nourisheth Angels, and feedeth the fowles of heauen, suf­fered hunger for thee; how much more oughtest thou to suffer somthing for thy selfe? by what title wilt thou glory that thou art the seruant of Christ, if he hungered, and thou consumest thy whole life in gluttony and drunkennes? he suffered trou­bles and punishments for thy saluation, and wilt not thou suffer for the same? If the crosse of abstinence seeme too greeuous vn­to thee, remember the gall and Vineger, which Christ tasted vpon the Crosse: because as Bernard sayth: No meate is so [Page 404] bitter, vvhich if it be tempered with the remembrance of the Vineger and gall of Christ, is not forth-with made sweeter.

The absti­nence of the holy fathersRecall also into thy memory the abstinence of all the holy Fathers in the Wildernes, who frequenting desert places, haue with Christ crucified their flesh with all the lusts and concupis­cences, and by the grace of God haue sustained themselues ma­ny yeares onely with the rootes of hearbs, and haue macerated themselues with so great abstinence, that almost it seemeth in­credible. If therfore our fathers haue thus imitated Christ, and after this manner haue followed him into heauen, how thinkest thou to come thether by the way of deliciousnes and pleasure.

Remember how many poore there be in the world, who thinke themselues happy, if they may satisfie their bellies with bread and water, and thou shalt vnderstand how bountifully the Lord hath dealt with thee, who hath bestowed much more vpon thee, then vpon them. Therefore there is no reason, ney­ther is it meete that thou shouldest conuert this liberality of thy Lord, to be an instrument of thy gluttony.

To be briefe▪ consider that the delight of gluttony doth not consist in a greater place,The delight of gluttony very short. then of two fingers, nor in a longer time, then of two minutes, in which the meate passeth downe and is gone: neyther is it meete that for a place of mans glutto­ny so narrow, and for a pleasure so short and momentany, that the Land, the Sea, nor the ayre should suffice. To satisfie this gourmandizing gluttony oftentimes the poore are spoyled, and many iniuries are done, that the hunger of the feeble may be conuerted into the delicates of the mighty. Certainly it is a thing miserable and lamentable, and much to be deplored, that a pleasure of so small a part of mans body should cast the whole man into hell, and that all the members and sences of the body should suffer eternall punishment, for the momentany greedi­nes of one member. Thou doost not marke how shamefully thou errest, nourishing thy body so delicately and with such costly meates, (which ere it be long shall be meate for wormes) but neglectest thy soule, which before it be long shall stand be­fore the Diuine tribunall, which being voyde of vertues, when as the body is full of delicate meates, shal be punished with eter­nall torments. And if thy soule be damned, be sure that thy bo­dy [Page 405] also shall haue her punishment: for euen as the body is cre­ated for the soule, so it shall be punished with the soule. Ther­fore thou contemning the nobler part of thy selfe, and nouri­shing in delicacie the ignobler, thou doost destroy them both, and thou killest thy selfe with thine owne sword. For thy flesh, which is giuen to be an helpe vnto thee, doth lay a snare for thy life, and doth attend thee vnto torments, as it followed thee here in vices.

Remember the hunger of Lazarus,Luke, 16. who desired to be relee­ued with the crums that fell from the rich mans table, and there was no man, that gaue them vnto him. Wherfore when he was dead, he was carried by the hands of Angels into Abrahams bosome; but on the contrary part the rich Glutton, who was clothed in purple and fine linnen, and fared well and delicately, euery day, was buried in hell: for hunger & fulnes, pleasure and continency, haue not the same euent: for after death misery fol­loweth pleasure, and pleasure misery. Let vs put the case; thou [...]atest and drunkest the last yeare both delicately and largely, tell me now what remayneth vnto thee of all those pleasures? surely nothing at all, except it be the sting and remorse of con­science, which perhaps will torment thee euerlastingly. There­fore all that thou hast prodigally wasted and deuoured beyond reason and measure, all that thou hast vtterly lost: and that thou hast with-drawne from thy selfe, and distributed to the poore, that is very well disposed and bestowed, and as a treasure layd vp for thine owne vse, which shall be restored and repayed vnto thee in the heauenly Citty.

Least thou be entrapped by ouer-sight and at vnawares in this vice,We must be wary in the refecti­on of our bodies. thou must very heedfully beware, because often-times when as necessity desireth to be satisfied and relee [...]ed, the plea­sure which lurk [...]th vnder necessity, craueth that t [...]ou wouldest satisfie and fulfill her desire: and it so much the sooner decea­u [...]th, by how much it more couertly insinuateth it selfe vnder the c [...]lour of honest necessity, and hideth from thee her inor­dinary. Therefore very especiall warines and wisedome is here to be vsed, to bridle the appetite of pleasure, and to subiect and subingate the sensuality vnder the rule of reason. If therefore thou desirest that thy flesh should be a seruant and a subiect [Page] vnder the soueranity of thy soule, looke that thy soule be sub­iect vnto God: for it is requisite that thy soule be gouerned of God, that it may in like manner rule ouer the flesh. And by this admirable & amiable order, man shall be reformed, that is, that GOD may rule ouer his reason,How man is reformed the reason may gouerne the soule, and the soule the body; and so man shall be wholy refor­med. But the body striueth and strugleth against the gouern­ment of the soule, if the soule be not subiect vnder the rule of reason, and if the reason be not conformable to the diuine will. When thou art tempted of Gluttony, thinke and consider that thou enioyest a very short delight, which soone passeth away: and that the pleasure of the taste, is like a dreame of the night, vanishing away, and flying frō the eyes; and consider that thys pleasure, when it is past, leaueth the soule heauy in the consci­ence: but if that pleasure be conquered, the soule reioyceth, fro­licketh, and the conscience is quiet, and ful of peace: according to that most excellent and egregious sentence of that wise man. If thou shalt do any honest thing with paines taking,A [...]lus G [...] ­li [...]. the paines passeth, but the honestie remaineth: if thou doost any filthy or vnhonest thing with pleasure taking, the filthines and dishone­stie remaineth, but the pleasure passeth away.

Remedies against anger, hatred, and enmities, which arise of anger and wrath. CHAP. IX.

ANger is an inordinate desire to be reuenged of him, whom we suppose to haue wronged vs. A­gainst this pestilent vice the Apostle sheweth vnto vs an antidote, saying: Let all bitternes, and anger, Ephe, 4, and wrath, crying, and euill speaking bee put away from you, with all maliciousnes. Be ye curteous one to another, and tender-harted, forgiuing one another, euen as God for Christes sake forgaue you. Of thys sinne the Lord speaketh in Matthew: But I say vnto you, whosoeuer is angry with his brother vnaduisedly, shall bee culpable of iudgement. Math, 5, And whosoeuer saith vnto his bro­ther, R [...]c [...], shall be worthy to be punished by the Counsell. And vvho­soeuer shall say, foole, shall be woorthy to bee punished with hell fire. [Page] Therefore, when this outragious vice doth solicite and disquiet thy minde, repell it by these considerations following.

First consider,Man more wrathful then beasts. that brute beastes doe liue peaceably vvith those that are of the same kinde. Elephants accompany with E­lephants: in like maner, Kine and Sheepe feed rogether in their heards and flocks. Byrds of a feather flie together. Cranes on the day time flie together, and at night one plaieth the Sentinell for the other. The same thing also doe Storkes, Harts, Delphins, and many other creatures. The concord and order of Ants and Bees, is knowen vnto euery body. And amongst wilde beastes there is a certaine peace and agreement: The fiercenes of Ly­ons is not exercised against them of the same kinde: the Boare is not spightfull and hurtfull to the Boare: the Linx vvarreth not with the Linx, nor the Dragon with the Dragon. VVhat need we many words? the wicked spirits themselues, vvho are the authors of all our discord, obserue the league between them selues, and by common consent do exercise their tyrannie. One­ly men, to whom curtesie and peace are very necessary, & most conducent, nourish deadly discords and cruell variance. These things are worthy of great consideration.

Neyther is it lesse to be considered of, that nature hath giuen weapons to all liuing creatures to fight:Man hath no weapons giuen him of nature. hoofes to horses, horns to Bulls, tusks to Boares, a sting to Bees, clawes and beakes to birds, yea to Gnats and fleas, nature hath giuen weapons to bite and sting, by which they fetch out blood. But thou ô man, because thou art created to peace and concord, are created vn­armed and naked, that thou maist not haue any thing to hurt or offend another. Therefore consider howe vnnaturall it is, that thou shouldest reuenge, and hurt him of whom thou art offen­ded; especially, by seeking for weapons which are without thee, which nature hath denied vnto thee.

Remember that anger and desire of reuenge is proper vnto wilde beasts, of whose anger thus speaketh a certaine wise man: O man, why doost thou degenerate from the nobility of thine estate and condition, by following the nature of Lyons, Ser­pents, and other fierce and cruell beasts?The anger of a certain Lyon. Aelianus writeth of a certaine Lyon, who beeing wounded in hunting with a launce, more then a yeere after espied him a farre of that had wounded [Page] him, passing that way in the company of the King of Iuba, and many other men; the Lyon forth-with knew him, and rushing violently through the ranckes of the men, they with all theyr forces resisting him, he rested not till he came vnto him, who had hurt him, whom presently he rent and tare in peeces. The same thing we haue seene done of a certaine Bull, against them of whom he was smitten and hurt. Wrathfull and angry men, are the imitators of these fierce and cruell beasts; who whē they might mitigate theyr wrath by reason and discretion, (as it be­commeth men) they had rather follow their beastly force & fu­rie, glorying in their ignobler part, which is common vnto them with beasts, when as they should vse diuine reason, in vvhich they pertake with Angels.

If thou shalt say, that it is an hard thing for thee to mitigate and asswage thine angry hart:From the example of Christ. I answere, that thou oughtest in like manner to consider, that it was much more difficult that the sonne of GOD should suffer for the loue of thee. What wast thou when hee shed his blood for thee? wast not thou his ene­mie? Doost thou not see with what great clemency and gentle­nes he suffereth thee, sinning daily, and with what great benig­nity and goodnes he receaueth thee turning vnto him? Perad­uenture thou wilt say, that thine enemy is not woorthy to haue his fault forgiuen. Tell me, deseruest thou, or art thou worthy, that God should pardon thee? Wouldest thou that God shold pardon thee, and wilt thou vse extreamitie against thy neigh­bour? If thine enemy be not worthy that hee should haue par­don, yet thou art worthy to pardon him, and Christ most wor­thy, for whose loue thou oughtest to forgiue him.

An angry man with­out y^e grace and fauour of God. Math, 5,Further obserue, that all the time that thou burnest with ha­tred and rancour against thy neighbour, thou art not worthy to offer any sacrifice to the Lord, gratefull & acceptable vnto him, which our Sauiour intimateth when he saith; If then thou bring thy gift to the altar, & there remembrest that thy brother hath ought against thee, leaue there thine offering before the altar, and goe thy way, first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift. By which precept, we know more cleerely then the noone day, how great a sinne discord with our neighbour is: man be­ing out of the fauour of God, so long as this contention lasteth, [Page 409] and therefore he doth nothing pleasing vnto him, whilst hee is guilty of this crime.In his 8. homily vp­on Ezech. Such a like thing Gregory insinuateth whē he saith; Because nothing pleaseth God without concord, the good things that are done of vs profit nothing, vnlesse we car­rie with a quiet minde the wrongs done vnto vs.

Consider also who is he, whom thou supposest to bee thine enemy: for it is of necessity, that he is eyther iust or vniust. If he be iust, certainly it is an euill and a vild thing, to wish and do ill to a righteous man, and to be an enemy vnto him, who hath God for his friend: but if he be vniust, it is a thing also altoge­ther to be detested, that thou shouldest reuenge another mans maliciousnes with thine owne maliciousnes; & appointing thy selfe Iudge in thine own cause, shouldest chastice another mans iniustice with thine owne. If thou reuengest thine owne iniurie vpon thine enemy, and thine enemy his vpon thee, there shall neuer be an end of discord and reuengement. But that is the most glorious kinde of reuenge which the Apostle teacheth, saying: Ouercome euill with good: that is, ouercome other mens vices with thine owne vertues.How wee must re­uenge. For whilst men render euill for euill, neither will be brought to yeeld, it commeth to passe ma­nie times, that at length they are ouercome by ignominie & re­proch: for anger afflicteth them, and they are shamefully con­quered of theyr owne passions, which if they had ouercome & tamed, theyr victory had been more glorious then his, that hath wonne and vanquished a Citty by force of Armes: yea the vic­tory is much lesser to haue taken one or many Citties, which are without vs, then to conquer our owne affections, which rule & reuell within vs; and to bridle our proud disdaine and indigna­tion, which is shut within vs: which except wee holde vnder, it will rise against vs, and will force vs to assay those things, which afterwards we shall repent vs of, and be ashamed of: and that which is worser, we our selues shall scarcely vnderstand of the euill that we doe: for he that is angry, thinketh all reuenge iust, and is often deceiued, supposing the pricke of anger to be the zeale of iustice, and by this meanes the vice is couered with the semblance of vertue.

Therefore to ouercome this vice, it is the best remedy that thou be very carefull and diligent to pull vp by the rootes all in­ordinate [Page 410] loue of thy selfe,Selfe-loue is to be pulld vp by the roots. and of thine affayres. for otherwise anger will easily waxe hote, if eyther thou, or any of thine be hurt, although with the least word. Furthermore, when thou feelest the beginnings of the temptation of anger, thou must prepare thy selfe vnto patience, fore-seeing wisely all the kinds of euill, which may arise in any busines; because a dart fore­seene doth lesse hurt.We must do nothing in our an­ger. Thou must firmely purpose in thy mind, that as often as choller fumeth and heateth in thee, that thou neyther say nor doe any thing; yea, beleeue not, nor trust to thy selfe; but let all things be suspected of thee, which thy hart per­swadeth thee at this time, albeit they seeme to agree vnto reason. Deferre the execution of thy will whilst anger boyleth, or vn­till thou hast once or oftner sayd ouer the Lords prayer, or some other thing. That wholsome counsaile of Athenodorus, which is reported by Plutarch,Plutarch in the Apo­thegs of the Romanes. ought here to be obserued. For when as he by reason of his old age, desired leaue to returne to his owne house, and Augustus the Emperour had graunted him leaue. When he tooke his farewell of Caesar, desirous to leaue behind him some memoriall worthy a Philosopher, he sayd; O Caesar when thou art angry, before thou shalt say or doe any thing, repeate ouer in thy minde the foure and twenty Greeke letters. Caesar taking the Philosopher by the right hand, sayd; Yet I haue neede of thy presence; and so retayned him with him another whole yeare. For the Philosopher by this aduice taught, that those things were done mithout reason, which were done at such time as anger boyleth in the hart.In the time of anger we must decree of nothing. And it is dili­gently to be marked, that there is not a worser time to delibe­rate in, what should be done, then when a man is angry; and yet all men especially would then dispatch what they haue to doe. Therefore it is very meete that a man at that time when fury and wrath hath possessed his mind, should resist such en­terprizes with a manly courage.A simili­tude. For as it is knowne to all men, that a drunken man cannot doe any thing wisely and with rea­son, and of which he doth not afterwards repent him (as we read of Alexander the great) so when a man is disturbed and trou­bled with anger, and blinded with the smoke of this passion, he cannot rest, neyther take aduisement, which to day although it seeme iust and reasonable vnto him, yet to morrow, when the [Page 411] fury of his passion shall be ouer, he shall confesse that it was vn­iust and vnreasonable: for it is without controuesie, that anger, vvine, and loue, that is carnall concupiscence, are the worst counsailers, that may be found. Where-vpon the Wise-man sayth very well: Wine and women leade wise-men out of the way, and put men of vnderstanding to reproofe. Ecclesi. 19. By vvine the vvise-man vnderstandeth, not only materiall vvine, which is wont to blind and obscure the reason; but any passion that stragleth out of the right way, which in like manner blindeth and obscureth the reason, albeit not euery thing that then is done is alwayes culpable.

And this aduice is not to be contemned; if when thou art angry,Another aduice. thou shalt forth-with occupy thy selfe with some man­ner of busines, and so diuert and turne thy cogitations from an­ger; for if thou doost with-draw wood from the fire, the flame is extinguished. And with al thy strength contend to loue them, whom thou must necessarily suffer: for if that sufferance be not ioyned to loue, the patience which outwardly appeareth, is of­tentimes conuerted into rancour. Therfore when Saint Paule sayth,1, Cor. 13. Loue is patient: he presently addeth, and bountifull: For true loue omitteth not to loue those bountifully, whom it suffe­reth patiently. In like manner it is wisedome to giue place to the wrath of thy brother: for if thou shalt seperate thy selfe from him being angry, thou shalt giue him place, till his anger be ouer; or at least if thou wilt not depart, aunswer him curte­ously. For as Salomon sayth:Prou, 15. A soft aunswere putteth away wrath.

Remedies against Idlenes. CHAP. X.

IDlenes is a slothfulnes and a slugishnes of the minde to doe any good: but in this place it is a lothsomnes and a wearines of spirituall thinges. How dangerous this sinne is, appeareth by these words of Christ:Math. 7. Euery tree that bringeth not forth good fruite, shall be hewen downe, and cast into the fire. And in ano­ther place admonishing vs to liue circumspectly and carefully, [Page 412] which is opposite to this vice, he sayth: Be yee ready, watch, and pray: Math, 24, for in the houre that yee thinke not of, will the sonne of man come. Therefore when this slothfull and idle vice tempteth thine hart, thou mayst arme thy selfe with these considerations following.

First consider what great labours and troubles Christ from the beginning of his life suffered for thee;The lobors of Christ. howe he continued whole nights in prayer for thee; how he ran vp and downe frō one country to another, teaching & healing men; how he was alwayes busied about those things, which belong vnto our sal­uation; and aboue all these things howe at the time of his passi­on he bare that heauy crosse being wearied & martired through many stripes and whippings. If therefore the Lord of maiestie suffered so many labours and sorrowes for the saluation & safe­tie of others▪ how much more meete is it, that thou shouldest doe and suffer some thing for thine owne? That most imma­culate Lambe suffered so great things to deliuer thee from thy sinnes; and wilt thou not suffer a little while and a small thing for his loue?

Consider also what the Apostles haue suffered, when trauai­ling throughout all the world,The labors of y^e Saints. they preached the Gospell, and what the Martyrs, Confessors, and Virgins haue suffered, with those holy Fathers, that liued in most vast and solitary wilder­nesses, farre remote from any humane resort. To be briefe, cō ­sider of all the labours and trauailes of the Saints, who now try­umph with the Lord in heauen, by whose labours & toyles the Church of God to this day enioyeth many notable blessings.

Nothing created to be idle.Contemplate moreouer, how nothing is created to be idle: for the heauenly Armies cease not to praise the Lorde: The Sunne, the Moone, the starres, and all the celestiall bodies, are euery day once turned about the vniuersall Orbe for our com­modity; hearbes, plants, and trees, from small bodies encrease to theyr iust magnitude; Ants in sommer gather theyr grayn [...], which they may liue of in winter; Bees make their Honey­combes; & with all diligence persecute the Drone. Thou shalt finde the same thing to haue place in all, if thou shalt run tho­row all the kindes of liuing creatures. Therefore, ô thou man capable of reason, let it shame thee of idlenes, which all creatures [Page 413] detest, and that onely by the instinct of nature.

Behold how great paynes and trauailes those doe sustaine, who gather earthly riches together, which shall perrish, vvhich are gotten with great labour, & are possessed with gr [...]ter cares and dangers: what oughtest not thou rather to do, who dealest for heauenly matters, who laborest for celestiall treasures, which endure for euer? Beware that now, when thou art sounde and strong, and hast time, that thou walke not idely, least somthing be wanting vnto thee, which hereafter thou canst not labor for, and yet wouldest faine haue. Which we see to happen to many. The tyme of our life is short, and full of a thousand miseries: therefore, whilst thou hast fitte time to worke, take heede that it slide not away vainely in idlenes.Iohn, 5, For the night shall come, in which no man can worke.

Remember,Great re­pentance is required for sinnes. that the multitude of thine enormous sinnes do aske great repentance. Saint Peter denyed the Lord thrice, and he mourned for this sinne all the daies of his life, although it was already forgiuen him. Mary Magdalen deplored her sinnes to her dying day, which shee had committed before her conuersi­on, albeit she had heard those sweet words of Christ;Luke, 7 Thy sinnes are forgiuen thee. But because I labour to be briefe, I cease to re­hearse moe examples of thys sort of those, who in like manner haue ended theyr repentance with theyr life, many of whom had committed both fewer and lesser sinnes then thou hast. But thou, who daily heapest sinnes to sinnes, how darest thou say, that it seemeth a thing too hard and difficult vnto thee, to doe necessary labours, by which thou mayst flie sinnes? Therefore, in the time of grace and mercy, endeuour with thy ful strength that thou maist bring forth fruite worthy of repentance. And sette before thine eyes that example of a certaine godly man, who as often as the clocke made a report of a passed houre, was wont to say:The saying of a godly man. O Lord GOD, behold novve another houre of them is already past, which thou hast allotted vnto my life, for which how shall I be able to render thee an account?

If at any time we be wearied in our godly exercises and la­bours, let vs forth-with consider by how many tribulations and troubles we must enter into the kingdome of heauen; and that hee shall not be crowned, that hath not lawfully contended. [Page 414] And if thou thinkest that thou hast laboured inough already,Without perseuerāce no salua­tion. and that no further paynes is to be endured, remember that he onely shall be s [...]ed, who continueth and perseuereth to the end. For withou [...] [...] all perseuerance, neyther the course is worthy of re­ward, nor of the small fauour of the Lord. For this cause the Lord would not descend from the Crosse, when the Iewes wil­led him, because he would not leaue the worke of our redemp­tion vnperfect. If therefore we will follow our head, it is ne­cessary that we should labour with all diligence till death; be­cause the reward of our Sauiour endureth for euer. Let vs not leaue of continuall repentance, let vs not be weary in bea­ring the Crosse of the Lord,A simili­tude. by following Christ: otherwise what shall it profit to haue sayled succesfully and prosperously a long voyage, if at length we make shipwrack in the Hauen? Thou oughtest not to feare the difficulty of fighting, God, who sendeth thee to the warre, doth promise thee helpe to o­uercome; he is a present beholder of thy fight, and doth ayde and succour thee with a fresh supply, when thou art ēndange­red, or when thy strength faileth; but crowneth thee when thou hast ouercome.

Very good and whol­some coun­saile.When thou art wearied through tediousnes of trauaile, thus resolue with thy selfe: Doe not compare the labours of Vertue with the sweetnes and delight of the contrary vice: but conferre the sorrow and anguish, which thou now feelest in Vertue, with the sorrow and disquietnes, which thou shalt feele after thou hast sinned; and the ioy, which thou feelest in sinning, with the ioy, which for vertue remaineth for thee in the glory to come; and thou shalt presently see, how much better the condition of vertue is,After victo­ry a newe warre ap­procheth. then of vice. When thou shalt come Victour from one warre, be not idle, be not voyde of care: for often-times, as a certaine Wiseman sayth, after victory the conqueror casteth away all care: yea, alwayes stand vpon the watch: for by and by thine enemy wil approch againe, and his trumpet will giue a signe of a new onset, and a new assault will begin. For the Sea cannot be vvithout vvaues and billowes, nor this lyfe vvith­out tribulation and temptation. For he that is a young fresh­water Souldier, and beginneth to leade a godly life, he is more strongly and more importunatly impugned of the enemy, who [Page 415] is not troublesome nor noysome vnto them, whom he is quietly possessed of; but to them, who are without his regiment and iurisdiction. Therefore the young Souldier of Christ must al­wayes stand vpon his court of gard, & diligently watch so long as he is imployed in this warre, being armed from top to toe with Christian compleat armour. But if at any time thou shalt feele thy soule wounded,A simili­tude. beware that thou cast not away thine armour and shield, and shake hands with thine enemy, & yeeld thy selfe vnto him: but imitate valiant and braue men of Arms, who often-times through shame to be ouercome, and through greefe of their wounds are forced not to flye, but to fight a­gaine; and so taking hart at grasse, and calling to thee thy spirits a fresh, thou shalt forth-with see that by thine owne misfortune and mischaunce, thou shalt cause them to flie from thee, whom a little before thou didst flie from, and thou shalt prosecute them, who prosecuted thee. And if peraduenture thou beest wounded the second time, (which often-times happeneth in warre) yet be not discouraged, but remember, that the same thing happeneth often to them that fight most valiantly, not because they are neuer wounded, but because they are neuer conquered. For he is not sayd to be conquered, that is often wounded, but he, that looseth his armour and his courage. If thou beest wounded, seeke presently for remedy; for a fresh and new wound is sooner cured, then anolde vlcer, and that which is putrified: and one is easilier cured, then many.

If thou beest tempted at any time,How temp­tation is to be turned into good. it is not inough for thee not to haue entertayned the temptation, but endeuour by the same temptation to take a greater occasion to embrace Vertue; so by this diligence and the Diuine grace by temptation thou shalt not be made worser, but much better, and all things shall fall out with thee more happily and currantly. If thou beest tempted of Luxury and Gluttony, cease a while from thine ac­customed delicates, yea, albeit they be lawfull, and entertaine fasting, and holy and godly exercises. If couetousnes assault thee, giue larger almes, and doe other works of mercy oftner then thou wast wont. If vaine-glory assaile thee, in all things humble thy selfe more lowly. Doing thus, perhaps the deuill will not dare further to tempt thee, least he should giue thee an [Page 416] occasion to become better, and thou shouldest exercise better works, when as his casting is that thou shouldest doe worser▪ As much as lies in thee fly idlenes, and alwayes meditate vpon some good and profitable thing: and beware that thou beest not so ouerwhelmed with the multitude of busines, that thine hart be estranged from GOD, so that thou canst not meditate on him.

Of other kinds of sinnes, which a good Christian ought to eschew. CHAP. XI.

BEsides the seauen sinnes, which are called capi­tall, there are others, which depend of them, which a Christian ought to eschew with all dili­gence no lesse then the former. Amongst these one of the chiefest is, to sweare vainely by God: for this sinne is directly against God, and therefore in his owne nature it is more greeuous then any other sinne, which is com­mitted against thy neighbour, albeit it be enormous and very farre out ofsquare. And this is done not onely when the name of God is sworne by, but when we sweare by the Crosse, Masse, Sacraments, Saints, or by our owne life, for euery one of these are haynous sinnes also & idolatrous, for by protesting by them we place them in Gods stead, vvhich vnlawfull oaths are much reprehended in the holy Scriptures, because of the iniury, which is offered to the Diuine maiestie. Greatly to blame are they, and much haue they to aunswer for, who sweare of custome for euery light matter, hauing no respect how or wherefore they sweare, neyther doe repent themselues of this custome, neyther endeuour to roote out this corrupt and depraued vse. Neyther are they to be excused, if they say, that they doe not sweare of set purpose or it was not their mind and intent to sweate vainly: for the case being put, that they are willing to entertaine this naughty and corrupt custom, they are also willing to entertaine that, which followeth of it, that is this, and such lyke euills, and therfore they are not free from great and enormous wickednes.

Wherefore a Christian ought to endeuour himselfe as much [Page 417] as lies in him to banish and root out this euill custome, least this incircumspection proue his bane. That this may be done the more easily, we must diligently obserue and marke that coun­saile of Christ,Iames, 5, and of his most louing Disciple Iames, saying; Before all things, my brethren, sweare not, neyther by heauen; nor by earth, nor by any other oath: but let your yea, be yea, and your nay, nay, least yee fall into condemnation: He meaneth, that the custome of swearing should not draw them to false swearing, and therefore should be iudged, and condemned to euerla­sting death:

Neyther ought any man to sweare by the lyfe of his sonnes,We must not sweare by the life of another. or of any other in his family. And hee must also diligently take heede, that as no man sweare after this manner in his family, so let him cast out of his house all such oathes, by admonishing & chasticing all, that are vnder his iurisdiction. And if there be a­ny man, to whom this custome is so turned into a nature, that he can hardly expell it, let him accustome himselfe, that for eue­ry such offence he giue some thing to the poore, or exact some other thing of himselfe, that by it hee may not onely be put in minde of his repentance, but also, that it may be an admonition vnto him, not to incurre the same fault againe.

Of other shorter remedies against all kind of sinnes, but most especially against the seauen capitall sinnes. CHAP. XII.

THE considerations hetherto set downe are pro­fitable for men, that they may alwaies haue their minds well disposed, and sufficiently armed a­gainst all kinde of sinnes. But in the time of com­bat, that is, when any of those crimes doe tempt [Page] thine hart, these briefe sentences may be profitable vnto thee, gathered of a certaine religious man, and left vnto vs in writing: who thus defended himselfe, when any sinne did assault him. Against Pride he saied; When I consider of the exceeding hu­mility, to which the most glorious sonne of God cast downe himselfe for me, I confesse that no creature can doe me so great iniury, that I doe not think my selfe worthy of greater.

Against Couetousnes, hee sayd; When I vnderstand that my soule cannot be satisfied with any other thing, then vvith God alone; I iudge it great folly, to seeke for any thing be­sides him.

Against Luxury, he sayd; When I meditate of that excellent dignity, which is bestowed vpon my body, that it is made the temple of God; it seemeth vnto me a great sacriledge to pro­phane the temple, which is framed of him for himselfe: which is done, if I coinquinate and pollute it with the filth of car­nall sinnes.

Against Anger, he said; No iniury done vnto me of men, shall disturbe or vexe me, if I remember mine owne iniuries, by which I haue offended my God.

Against Hatred and Enuy, he said; After that I haue lear­ned that God hath receaued into fauour so great a sinner, as I am, I cannot wish ill to any one, I cannot deny pardon of an offence to any body.

Against Gluttony, he said; He that considereth of that most bitter gall and vineger, which in the midst of his torments was giuen to the sonne of God in stead of his last refreshing, whilst he suffered for the sinnes of others, it will make him ashamed to liue delicately, seeing he is bound to suffer something for his owne sinnes.

Lastly, against Idlenes, he said; As often as I thinke, that af­ter these short labours I shall haue eternall glory, I thinke that all troubles and vvearines is but small, which any one suffereth for that euerlasting rest.

Certaine other kind of briefe remedies, S. Augustine giueth, against all kind of vices; in which a certaine shew of temptation is set downe before, and presently after the consideration is an­nexed, by which the temptation is repelled. Which remedies, [Page] because they seeme profitable vnto me, I will add them to the precedent.

Of the three kinde of Vertues, in which the vvhole summe of Christian righteousnesse is contained. CHAP. XIII.

SEeing that in the former part of thys Booke wee haue spoken largely and sufficiently of sinnes, by contagion of which our soules are polluted and obscured; now we wil intreat of Vertues, which beautifie them with spirituall graces, and adorne them with the ornaments of righteousnesse, making them seeme fayre and beauteous in the sight of the Diuine Maiestie. Euen as it pertaineth vnto iu­stice to giue to euery one that is his owne,The duties of iustice. & belongs vnto him; that is, to God, to our neighbour, & to our selues: so also there are three kindes of vertues, pertayning to righteousnes and iu­stice, and which concurre to the effecting and perfecting of it. One is, by which we render to GOD, that which is due vnto him; the second is, by which wee giue to our neighbour, that which is his; and the third, by which man is bound vnto him­selfe. When man hath attained these three kindes of vertues, no­thing is further required, to fulfill all that righteousnes, vvhich he professeth. But if thou wouldest learne in fewe words, and very summarily howe thys may be brought to passe, I will tell thee: by thys triple duty and bond, man shall repay most ex­actly all his debt;Note. that is, if towards GOD he hath the hart of a sonne, towards his neyghbour the hart of a mother, & towards himselfe the hart and spirit of a Iudge. These be the three parts of iustice or righteousnes, in which the Prophet teacheth that all our good consisteth,Miche. 6, when hee sayth; I will showe vnto thee, ô man what is good, and what the Lord requireth of thee: surely to do iustly, and to loue mercy, and humbly to walke with thy God. For of [Page 438] these three kindes of duties, the first belongeth vnto vs, namely, to doe iustly: the second to our neighbour, to loue mercy: & the third to God, which the words of the Prophet declare, when he sayth, humbly to walke with thy God. Of these three kindes there­fore in thys last part we will speake, seeing that all our good is contayned in them.

Of the bond and dutie of man towards himselfe. CHAP. XIIII.

SEeing that loue rightly ordered in man begin­neth of himselfe, we will begin thys matter from that member, which the Prophet hath put in the first place, that is, To doe iustly. Which pertay­neth to the spirit and hart of the Iudge: and this duty man oweth to himselfe. It is the part of a good Iudge, to haue his prouince well composed and ordered. And because in man,The parts to be refor­med in mā. as in a little Common-wealth, two principall parts are to be reformed, that is, the body with all his members and sences, and the soule with all her affections and powers, it is necessarie that these parts should be reformed, and well ordered, according to the rule of Vertue, which we will declare in thys place. And so a man shall repay and render that he oweth to himselfe.

Of that which man oweth vnto his neigh­bour. CHAP. XV.

THE second part of iustice is, that a man render to his neighbour,The second part of iu­stice. that he oweth him. That is, that he exercise towards him loue and mercy, accor­ding to the commaundement of God. How necessary this part is, and how often commaun­ded in the holy Scripture, which is the rule and line, according to which our life is to be squared, no man will easily beleeue ex­cept he hath beene conuersant in it. Reade the Prophets, Gos­pels, and Epistles: thou shalt haue it so obuious, and so many times commended vnto vs, that thou canst not but exceedingly meruaile. In Esay God teacheth most exc [...]llently, how our [Page] neighbour is to be handled: when the Iewes complayning said, Lord, Esay, 58, wherefore fast we, and thou seest it not? wee put our liues t [...] straightnesse, & thou regardest it not? The Lord answereth, Be­hold when you fast, your lust remaineth still, for yee doe no lesse vio­lence to your debters: loe ye fast to strife and debate, and to smite with your fist without mercy: nowe yee shall not fast thus, that your voyce might be heard aboue. Thinke yee this fast pleaseth me, that a man should chasten himselfe for a day? and to hang downe his head like a Bulrush, and to lye vpon the earth in an hairie-cloth? Should that be called fasting, or a day that pleaseth the Lord? Doth not this fasting rather please me, That thou lose the wicked bands, that thou take of the ouer-heauy burdens, that thou let the oppressed goe free, and breake all manner of yoke? To deale thy bread to the hungry, and to bring the poore wandring home into thy house? When thou seest the naked, that thou couer him, and hide not thy selfe from thine own flesh? Then shall thy light breake forth as the morning, and thy health florish right shortly: righteousnes shall goe before thee, and the glory of the Lord shall embrace thee?

He prosecuteth this matter to the end of the chapter. Thou seest therefore, my brother, in what thing God hath placed a great part of true iustice and righteousnes, and howe religious­ly he would haue vs to be charitable and mercifull, to our bre­theren and neighbours. What shall I [...] of the Apostle Paule, in whose Epistles nothing is so frequent and vsuall, as this com­maundement? With what great praise setteth he foorth Chari­tie? how doth he exemplifie and extoll it? how gallantly dooth he depaint the excellencie of it? how preferreth he it before all other vertues, calling it the most excellent way to come vnto the Lord?1, Cor, 12, Not content with thys, in one place he calleth it. The bond of perfection. Colos 3, In another place he sayth; That Charitie is the end of all the commaundements of God. 1, Tim, 1, And againe in another place;Rom, 13, He that loueth his neighbour, hath fulfilled the Law. What greater prayse may be vttered or spoken of any other vertue? Besides all thys, the most beloued disciple of Christ, I meane Iohn, in his canonicall Epistles, doth repeate nothing so often, neyther commendeth any thing so much, as this vertue. And that he teacheth in his Epistles, he confirmeth in his history, no­thing was so cōmon in his mouth, as, Bretheren, loue one another, [Page 465] and that through the whole course of hys lyfe,Ierome vp­on the sixt chap. of the Epistle to y^e Galathians. yea when he was conuersant among the Disciples, hee would often and sundry times on one day repeate it: and when he was demaunded why he repeated it so often, he answered the demaunders; Because it is the precept of the Lord, and if it alone be done, it is suffici­ent.

Of that which man oweth vnto God. CHAP. XVI.

AFter that we haue showne and declared what we owe to our selues, and to our neighbour, now we will set down, what we owe vnto God: This is the chiefest and noblest part of Christi­an iustice and righteousnes, vpon which three Theologicall vertues doe attend, Fayth, Hope, and Charity, which haue God for their obiect, with that vertue, which of Diuines is called Religion, whose obiect is the Diuine worship. A man shall satisfie all the bonds and obligations, which are contayned vnder this vertue, if towards God he hath such an hart,The hart of a sonne to­wards his parents. as a sonne hath towards his father. For euen as a man shall satisfie & content himselfe, if he hath the hart of a good Iudge; and his neighbour, if he hath the hart of a mother; so after a certaine manner of speaking, he shall satisfie God, if he loue him with such an hart, as a sonne is wont to loue his father: for it is one of the especiall functions and operations of the Spirit of Christ, to giue to man such an hart towards God. Now ther­fore consider diligently, what the hart of a sonne is towards his father: what is his loue, his feare, his reuerence, his obedience towards him, and the zeale of his fathers honour; how he ser­ueth him freely: with what affiance and boldnes he runneth vnto him in all his needs, how patiently he beareth his correcti­on and chasticement, with all other duties and obseruances. Of such an hart and mind be thou towards God, and thou shalt absolutely fulfill this part of iustice and righteousnes. To pre­pare [Page 470] and procure such an ha [...]t,Nine ver­tues are re­quired to prepare and furnish such an hart. nine vertues seeme especially ne­cessary vn [...]o me: the first and principall of which is loue; the second feare and reue [...]ence; the third trust and confidence; the fou [...]th [...] of the honour of God; the fift a pure intent in the [...]rcise of the Di [...]ine worship; the six [...] prayer and refuge to God in all needs and necessities; the seauenth thanksgiuing for Diuine benefits; the eight obedience and conformity of our will to Gods will; the ninth humility & patience in all scourges and tribulations, which God sendeth vnto vs.

The loue of God.According to this order, the first and the especiall thing, that we ought to doe, is to loue God, after that manner, as he hath commaunded himselfe to be loued: that is, with all the hart, with all the soule, and with all our strength: so that what­soeuer is in man, it is to worship and embrace God according to his kind: the vnderstanding by meditating vpon him; the will by louing him; the affections by inclining the [...]selues vnto that, which his loue requireth; the strength and vigour of all the members & sences, by exercising themselues in those things, which his loue hath appointed.

The second thing, that is required after this holy loue, is feare,2. Feare and reuerence. which springeth of this loue: for by how much more we loue any one, by so much we feare, that we doe not onely not lose him, but also that we doe not offend him. This is manifest in the loue of a good sonne towards his father, and of a wife to­wards her husband: who by how much she more tenderly lo­ueth him, so much the more diligently she endeuoureth, least any thing be found in the house, that may offend her husband. This feare is the keeper of innocency: and therefore it is neces­sary, that it take deepe rooting in our harts: which thing the Prophet Dauid long agoe desired of God, when hee sayde; Pierce through my flesh with thy feare:Psal. 119.for I am afrayde of thy iudg­ments. It was not inough for this most holy King to haue feare planted in his hart; but also he would haue it pierced and thrust through his flesh and bowels, that through it he might haue a smarting sence of it, as a naile fastned through, which might stick in his mind for a perpetuall memoriall, to stirre him vp that he might not sleepe, and so in some-thing offend his eyes, whom he feareth: therefore it is most fitly sayd of Ecclesiasti­cus; [Page 471] The feare of the Lord driueth out sinne. Ecclesi. 1. For by how much any one is feared, by so much more diligently we take heed that we doe not offend him. It pertayneth to this holy feare, not on­ly not to commit euill deeds, but also to examine the good, least perhaps they be not pure, or want their necessary circumstan­ces: least a thing of it selfe good, by our defect be made euill, and vnprofitable. For Saint Gregory sayd very well; It per­tayneth to a righteous man to feare a fault, where no fault is. Such a feare holy Iob had, when he sayd, I did feare all my works, knowing, Iob. 9. that thou doost not spare the offender. It pertayneth also to this feare, that when we are present in the Church at Diuine seruice, especially where the holy Sacrament is administred, that we chat not, nor walke, nor vnreuerently gaze about, casting our eyes now hether, now thether, as many doe: but we ought to abide there with feare, and great reuerence in the presence of the Diuine maiestie,How feare is bred in vs. who is there after a speciall manner. But if thou askest me, how this holy affection is begot and bred in our soules; I say, as I sayd a little before, that the loue of God is the especiall roote of it. After which, seruile feare in like manner auayleth, which is the beginning of filiall feare, and doth bring it into the soule, no otherwise then the bristle doth bring the Shoomakers lyne into the shooe. To nourish and increase this holy affection, the consideration of the exceeding highnes of the Diuine maiesty is profitable, and the consideration of the depth and profundity of Gods iudgements, the greatnes of his iustice, and the multitude of our sinnes, but especially the resi­stance, which we make against Diuine inspirations. Therfore it is great wisedome, to busie and occupy our minds with these foure considerations: for so this holy feare is begot and preser­ued in our soules. Of this feare we haue more copiously spoken in the eight and twenty Chapter of the precedent booke.

The third vertue,3. Trust and confidence. A simili­tude. which is required in this Diuine worke, is trust and confidence: that is, euen as a sonne in all his troubles and necessities, which happen vnto him, trusteth and affianceth his repose in his father (especially if he be rich and powerfull) that his helpe and fatherly prouidence will not at any time faile him: so also in this matter let a man haue the hart of a sonne so enlarged, that considering he hath such a father, as he hath, in [Page 472] whose hands is all the power of heauen and earth, let him bold­ly hope and assuredly trust, that in all troubles, that betide him he shall finde helpe in that father; and let him constantly per­swade himselfe, that if he turne vnto him, hoping in the mercy of this heauenly father, he shall altogether be deliuered from euill, or it shall be ordered to his greater good, and further com­modity. For if the sonne hath so great repose and security in his father; how much more ought to be our confidence and trust in God, who is our father after a better manner, then all earthly fathers; and is richer, then all the richest men of this world. But if thou shalt say,An obiec­tion. that the scarcity of thy good works and deserts, and the multitude of the sinnes of thy passed life doe strike a feare into thee, whereby thou darest not expect or promise vn­to thy selfe so great things from God;The answer the remedy will be, if (when this cogitation commeth into thy mind) thou forth-with turnest thy mind from it, & turnest thy selfe wholy vnto God, and to his onely sonne our Sauiour and Mediatour. For then presently thou shalt recouer thy courage, and thy strength shall increase in him.A simi­litude. Euen as we add courage vnto them, who passe or ferry ouer any swift current or riuer, which with the swiftnes and velocity of the running, causeth the swimming and giddi­nes of the head, and with some call or encouragement admo­nish them that they should not behold the water, but the earth or heauen, that they may more securely and healthfully passe: so those that be faint-harted and weaklings, are to be dealt with­all in this busines, least heere they looke vpon themselues, or their sinnes.

But perhaps thou wilt say,Another obiection. whether shall I turne me, that I may procure this strength and confidence vnto me?The answer I aunswer, that aboue all things the infinite goodnes and mercy of God is to be considered, which extendeth it selfe to all the wretched­nes of thys world. Then his infallible promises are to be weigh­ed, in which he promiseth grace and helpe to those that call vp­on his Name, and doe flie vnto him. Neyther are we further to doubt.A simili­tude. For we see that the enemies themselues, doe not denie, their fauour & beneuolence to them that flie vnto their Tents, because they are marked for banishment with some brand or incision, but they graciously defend them in the time of dan­ger, [Page 473] and heale theyr woundes. Consider also the multitude of benefits, which hetherto thou hast receaued of his gracious and bountifull hands; and of his mercy, which thou hast already tryed in benefits past,The merits of Christ. learne to hope for things to come. But aboue all these looke vpon Christ with all his torments & mer­rits, in which there be especiall causes, why we may confidently presume to sue for the fauour of GOD; seeing that it is mani­fest, that those merrits on the one part are so great, that they can­not be greater; and on the other part are the treasuries of the Church, for remedy and releefe of all them, which stand in need of them. These are the cheefest props of our trust and confi­dence, which haue so strengthened and encouraged the Saints in those things they hoped, that they were more stedfast and and more vnmoueable then mount Sion. But it is greatly to be wondered at, that we, when we haue so great motiues to moue vs to hope, and so iust reasons to perswade vs to trust, yet that we are so weake and faint-harted, that when we see present dan­ger to hang ouer our heads, forth-with wee flie into Egypt, to the shadow of Pharaoes Charriots. So that many seruants of GOD are found strong and couragious in fastings, feruent in prayers, liberall in almes, deedes, and exercised, and expert in other vertues: but very few are found, who haue so steddy a confidence,Dan. 13. as that holy woman Susanna had; Whose hart (when she was condemned to death, and brought to the place of exe­cution) had confidence and trust in the Lord. Hee that desireth moe authorities for the perswasion of this vertue, he may bring the whole store-house of the holy Scripture: especially the Psalmes and the Prophets, in which nothing is so vsuall and common, as hope in God, and assurednes of the Diuine ayde and assistance, which remayneth for them that trust in him.

The fourth vertue is the zeale of Gods honour;The 4, ver­tue which is the zeale of Gods ho­nour. that is, if all our cogitations be to this end, that the honour of the Diuine maiesty may be encreased; and be preferred, sanctified; and glo­rified before all other things; and that his will may be done in earth as it is in heauen: and that we haue this minde in vs, that no greater griefe can happen vnto vs, then to see the Diuine honour impugned or abused. Such a will was in the harts of those Saints,Psal. 69. in whose name it is sayd; The zeale of thine house [Page 474] hath [...] e [...]te [...] me. For their harts were so afflicted for this cause, and so great griefe of mind did feede vpon their bodies, that e­uident tokens of it were seene in them. If we did burne with the like zeale, forth-with we should be marked in our fore­heads with that glorious signe of Ezechiell, and wee should liue free from all punishment and scourge of the Diuine iustice.

5. The purity of the in­tent. The fift vertue is the purity of the intent; to which pertay­neth, that in our actions we seeke not our selues, or our owne commodity; but the glory & good pleasure of our Lord God: certainly perswading our selues, that as they that play at the game,A simili­tude. called, He that winneth, looseth; by loosing they winne, and by winning they loose; so also we, by how much more we traffique & negotiate with God without purpose of our owne profit, by so much we make the greater gaynes, and contrarily. Therefore in this poynt we must diligently aduice our selues, and examine all our actions with an vpright and an impartiall iudgement, as men iealous: that our mind doth respect no other thing in working, but God himselfe: for the property of natu­rall selfe-loue is very subtill (as we sayd before) & seeketh it selfe in all things. Many are rich in good works, which if they were tried by the touch of the Diuine iustice, would be found with­out this purity of intendment,Math. 6. which is that Euangelicall eye, which when it is cleare and simple, it maketh the whole body cleare; but if it be wicked, it maketh the body full of darknes. Many men in great places and dignities, placed as well in the common-wealth as in the Church, seeing vertue laudable and beautifull in her functions, haue endeuoured themselues so to walke in her trackt, that they haue been reputed for good men; and haue purged their hands from all filthy luker aud vnclean­nes, which might by any meanes haue polluted their honours. Yet they haue done it for this respect, that they might not fall from that authority, they were placed in; and that they might be fauoured of theyr Princes, and graced with great dignities and honours. And therfore theyr good works proceeded not from the liuely sparke of loue, or from the feare of God: ney­ther had they his obedience and glory theyr purposed end, but sought for their owne commodity, and the glory of man. But [Page 475] what soeuer is doone after thys manner, although it seeme som­what in mans eyes, yet in Gods sight it is as smoake, and a sha­dow of righteousnes, & not true righteousnes. For before God workes are not acceptable, commended onely by the strength and grace of morrall vertues, neyther doe corporall actions and businesses please him, no not if a man should sacrifice his owne sonne: but onely that spirit of loue sent from heauen, & all that, which groweth on this roote, is acceptable in the Diuine sight. In the Temple there was not any thing,3, Regum, 6 which eyther was not gold, or that was not couered with pure gold: so it is not law­full that any thing should be in the liuely Temple of our soule, which is not eyther charitie, or ouer-guilded & deaurated with charity.The intent approueth & cōmen­deth the worke. Therefore the seruant of God should not so much re­spect that he doth, as the end which he intendeth and destineth it for. For workes very base and of low account, beeing doone for an excellent intent, become most [...]ellent, and contrarily: For God doth not so regard the body of the worke, as the soule of the intention, which proceedeth of charity. Thys is to imi­tate after a certaine manner the most noble, and most gracious loue of the sonne of God, who commaundeth in his Gospell, that we should loue after the same manner, as he before loued: that is, of pure good will, and not for the cause of any profit. And seeing that among the circūstances of charitie, which is in God, this is most admirable, he shall be the happiest, who in all the works that he doth, endeuoureth to imitate this: Hee that doth thus, let him assuredly beleeue, that he is entirely beloued of God, as beeing very like vnto him in the perfection of beau­tie, and puritie of intent: for similitude and likenes, is wont to get and winne loue.

Wherfore,With what intent good is to bee doone. let man turne his eyes from all humane respects, when he dooth good: and let him haue them fixed vpon God, neyther let him suffer, that those workes which are in so great reckoning and price with God, serue humane regards. If a no­ble and a beautifull woman,A simili­tude. worthy of a Kings bed, should be married to a foule Collyer, it would mooue all to compassion that beheld her: after the same manner, and much more effec­tually shall he be mooued, that seeth vertues, woorthy of God, and diuine reward, to be made vassals to compasse the drosse & [Page 476] dung of thys world.A pure in­tent is to be craued of GOD. But because this purenesse of intent is not so easily obtained, let man desire it instantly of God in all hys prayers; especially in that part of prayer, which the Lord him­selfe taught his Apostles, where it is said; Thy wil be done in earth as it is in heauen. That as all the heauenly Armies doe the vvill of GOD with a most pure intent, onely that they may please him: so also let man, as much as lyes in him, heere in earth imi­tate that heauenly custome and stile: not because besides that that we please God, we may not come to his kingdome: but because workes are so much the more perfect, as they are voy­der and nakeder of all priuate and selfe commoditie.

The sixt Vertue is Prayer, by meanes of which we ought to haue recourse to our Father in the time of tribulation,6. Prayer. as chyl­dren haue, who when they are feared or daunted, foorth-vvith runne to the bosome and lappe of their Father. We haue neede of this prayer, that [...] [...]ay haue our Father in continuall re­membrance, and standing in his sight, wee may often conuerse and haue conference with him. For all these things are annexed to the bond and duty of a good sonne towards his Father. But because the vse and necessity of this vertue is knowne to euery body, seeing we labour to be briefe, in this place we will speake no further of it.

7. Thanks-gi­uing. The seauenth Vertue is giuing of thanks, to which belon­geth to haue alwaies a gratefull hart for all the benefits we haue receiued of God: and such a tongue, which alwaies may be oc­cupied in giuing thanks to God, for the same: saying with the Prophet,Psalm. 34, I will alwayes giue thankes vnto the Lord: his praise shall euer be in my mouth. And in another place, O let my mouth be fil­led with thy praise: Psalm, 71, that I may sing of thy glory & honour all the day long. For seeing that God doth continually giue vs life, and pre­serueth vs in that estate he hath allotted vs, and daily, yea euery moment, showreth vpon vs his benefits, by the motion of the heauens, and the continuall seruice of all creatures: who wil re­fuse or desist to praise him daily and continually, who alwaies preserueth and gouerneth vs, and bestoweth a thousand bles­sings vpon vs? Let this be the beginning of all our exercises▪ hence (as Saint [...] admonisheth vs) let all our prayers begin. So that in the morning, and at noone, and at night, and in the [Page 477] night, or at what time soeuer we giue thanks to God for all his benefits, particuler and generall, as well of nature as of grace: let vs then yeeld him greater thanks for his greater and larger benefits and blessings; of which sort these are, that for all men he became a man; that he shedde for vs all the blood hee had: and especially in all these benefits this circumstance is to be cō ­sidered, that he bestowed all these benefits vpon vs, not moued by any priuate commoditie to himselfe, but of his meere loue and goodnes.

Of the bond and dutie of diuers estates. CHAP. XVII.

AFter that we haue largely enough handled vvhat generally appertaineth to all men, now it is time, that we speake particularly of seuerall and parti­culer estates of men. But because this tractate would prooue to prolixe & long, therefore I say briefely, besides those things that haue been spoken, that euery one must haue an eye and a diligent respect vnto those Lawes, ordinances and customes, that are prescribed and directed for his estate and condition, which are many and diuers, according to the diuersitie of estates in the Church & Common­w [...]lth: in which some are Rulers and Ouerseers,What is meete for Rulers, and Ouerseers. and some subiects; some Clergie, some Layetie, some maisters of families, &c. E­uery one of which haue theyr peculiar lawes and constitutions. Of the Ruler and Ouerseer the Apostle sayth;2, Tim, 4, Watch thou in all things, lobour, fulfill thy ministerie. And Salomon admonisheth; My so [...]e, Prou, 6, if thou be surety for thy neighbour, and hast fastened thy [...]d for another man. Thou art bound with thine owne words, and taken with thine owne speech. Therefore my sonne doe thus, and thou [...]t be discharged: When thou art come into thy neighbors danger, goe thy wayes then so [...]ne, humble thy selfe, and with thy friendes in­treate thy Creditour. Let not thine eyes sleepe, nor thine eye-lids slum­ber. S [...]ue thy selfe as a Doe from the hand of the Hunter, and as a bird from the hand of the Fouler. Neyther oughtest thou to won­der, that the Wiseman doth admonish thee to be so carefull in this case: For men are wont to be carefull in keeping of theyr things for two causes, eyther because they are of great price, or because they are in great danger and ieopardy. Both of these doe concurre in the charge of soules, neyther can the price of a­ny thing be greater, nor the danger more. Therefore it is requi­site and meete, that a Ruler and an Ouerseer, should be very carefull and circumspect.

It behooueth a subiect, that hee haue his eyes on his Ruler and Ouerseer, and that he reuerence him, not as a man, but as GOD;The duty of a subiect. and that he do that he cōmaundeth him with as great [Page 487] alacritie and cheerefulnes of minde, and with as great deuotion, as if God himselfe had commaunded it. For if my Lord com­maund me to obey the Steward of his house, when I obey the Steward, whom doe I obey but my Lord? so also if God com­maund me to obey my Ruler and Ouerseer, when I doe that he commaundeth me, I doe my obedience vnto God. If S. Paule commandeth seruants to obey theyr maisters, not as men, but as Christ; howe much more ought subiects to obey their Rulers and Ouerseers, to whom they are bound by the bond of obe­dience?

In this Obedience three degrees are set down: the first is, to obey onely in worke:Three de­grees of o­bedience. the second, to obey in worke and vvill: the third, to obey in worke, will, and vnderstanding. For some doe that they are commaunded, but because the commaunde­ment seemeth not vnto them iust and right, they doe it not wil­lingly. Others doe it willingly, but they thinke that he that com­maunded it, did not well vnderstand what he commanded. To be briefe, there be others, who haue wholy and altogether dedi­cated their vnderstanding to the diuine worship; and do obey theyr Ruler and Ouerseer, as God, in worke, will, and vnder­standing. And doing this in worke, will, and vnderstanding, they humbly approue all that is commaunded them, without carrying any preiudice of them, of whom they are to be censu­red and iudged. Wherefore my brother, learne with all humili­tie, affectionately to obey thy Ruler and Ouerseer, being mind­full of that is written: He that heareth you, heareth mee: and hee that despiseth you, Luke, 10, despiseth mee. Doe not murmure nor speak ill of them, least thou heare, Your murmuring is not against vs, but against the Lord. Exod, 16, Doe not basely or vildly esteeme of them least the Lord say vnto thee;1, Kings, 8, They haue not cast away thee, but me, that I should not rule ouer them. Doe not lie vnto them or deceaue them, least it be said vnto thee; Thou hast not lyed vnto men, but vnto GOD. Acts, 5, Least for thine offence thou perrish by suddaine death, because thou didst dare to lye, as they, who perrished af­ter the same manner.

Let [...]married wife giue her diligence to rule her house, and please her husband:The duty of a good Matrone. and when she hath satisfied her dutie, and done that belongs vnto her office, as much as she can let her at­tend [Page 488] vpon religion: yet so that she passe not the limits of her e­state and condition.

The duty of a maister of a family. Let a Maister of a family, to whom God hath granted chil­dren, sette before his eyes as a glasse, the fearefull example of Ely, who was negligent in correcting and chastening his chyl­dren, whose punishment was, not onely the suddaine and vn­thought of death of himselfe and his sonnes, but also the perpe­tuall depriuation and losse of the hie Priesthood, of which for that offence he was depriued. Let him marke and consider, that the sinnes of the chyldren, are after a certaine manner the sinnes also of the parents, and the destruction of the child, to be in like manner the destruction of the parent, of whom he was begotte and bred. For he is vtterly vnworthy the name of a Father, that begetteth chyldren not for heauen, but for this world. There­fore let him chastice his children, withdraw them from ill com­pany, commend and commit them to religious Maisters and Tutors, and let it be his onely care, that they may be taught and instructed in the way of vertue: and from theyr cradles, after the example of Tobias, let him teach thē the feare of the Lord. Let him often crosse them of their owne wils, and they that in the birth of theyr children haue been Fathers of theyr bodyes, now they are borne, let them be fathers of theyr soules. For it is not enough that parents should be as byrds, and other brute beastes, who after that they haue brought foorth their young ones doe only nourish them, and prouide meate for them: but a Father ought to be a father as a man, and as a Christian man, and as a true seruant of God, who educateth & traineth vp his chyldren, as the chyldren of God, and heyres of the kingdome of heauen: not that they should be the bond-slaues of sathan, and inhabitants of hell.

Let Maisters of families, who haue seruants and other hous­hold, be mi [...]dfull of the commination of S. Paule, who saith; If any prouide not for his owne, 1, Tim, 5, and especially for them of his hous­hold, he hath denied the fayth: (that is, the faithfulnes that he ow­eth, and to which he is bound) and is worse then an infidell. Let them remember, that these are as Lambes of their sh [...]epefold, and that they are the Sheepheards, that should care and vvatch ouer them; and let them thinke that the time will come, vvhen [Page 489] as GOD will exact an account for them,Ier. 13. saying: Where is the flocke that was giuen thee? the sheepe glorious and noble? Worthe­lie he calleth them glorious and noble: for great is the price by which they are redeemed. Noble and glorious is the most sacred humanity of Christ, by which they are enobled. Therefore there is not any seruant, albeit abiect and base, who is not free and noble, in regard of the blood & humanity of Christ. Ther­fore let a goo [...] Christian striue and endeuour, that those that be in his house, may be free from all enormous vices; as are quar­rels and strifes, vnlawfull gaming, false and vaine oathes, blas­phemies, fornications, &c. And furthermore, that they haue knowledge and skill in matters of Christianity; and that they obserue the orders and constitutions of the Church; and that especially vpon the Lords day they be at Church to heare Ser­mons and Diuine seruice: and that they be not contumacious and peruerse inthwarting the good and orderly proceedings of the Church, as the Puritans and Precisians of this time are, who by their ignorant zeale, & peeuish singularity disturbe the quiet and peace of the Church.

The first admonition in what esteeme and price vertues are to be had, that this rule may be better vnder­stoode. CHAP. XVIII.

AS in the beginning of this rule we set downe cer­tayne preambles agreeable and conuenient for this purpose; so now the rule being perfected and absolute, for the better vnderstanding of it, I take it to be worth the labour, if I shall add cer­taine admonitions. For seeing that we haue spoken & discour­sed of many kinds of vertues, it is behoofefull that we teach, which is worthier, and which lesse worthy: that we may esti­mate matters according to their dignity, and assigne a proper place to euery one. For he that selleth precious pearles & rich Iems,A simi­litude. ought very well to know them, that he be not deceaued in the price: and the ouer-seer and gouernour of any Princes house, ought to know the deserts of euery one in the house, that [Page 490] he may dispose of euery one according to his dignity; for o­therwise he should commit many errors, and offer much ine­qualitie: so a man that dealeth with the worth & value of these Iems, that is, of vertues, and he that as a good ouer-seer and go­uernour of an house, is bound to render and tender to euery one of these vertues the due honour; he must most exactly know the price and dignity of them: that comparing them betweene themselues, he may see which is to be preferred before another: least he (as it is wont to be sayd) be penny wise and pound foo­lish, least he I say, gather ashes, and cast away flower: vvhich many doe.

The two­fold order of vertues. Therfore we must know, that all the vertues, vvhich hether­to we haue spoken of, may be reduced into a two-fold order; for some of them be spirituall, inuisible, and internall; and some corporall, visible, and externall. In the first order are theologi­call vetues, with all other, which are referred vnto God, but es­pecially Charity, which among all other vertues possesseth the first and chiefe place, as the Queene of all other. To this are many other noble vertues ioyned, and which are nearest vnto Charity in dignity; as are, humility, chastity, mercy, patience, discretion, deuotion, poorenes of spirit, contempt of the world, denying of our owne will, the loue of the Crosse and of austeri­ty; and very many moe of this kind, which, by taking largely the signification of this vvord, we call vertues. They are called spi­rituall and internall vertues, because principally they reside and haue their being in the soule, although also they passe into ex­ternall works, as we see in Charity and deuotion: vvhich albeit they are altogether internall, yet they produce their external acts to the honour and glory of God.

Other vertues are more externall and visible, as are fasting discipline, silence, solitarines, reading, singing, preaching, a Chri­stian and a religious life. For albeit these vertues also reside and haue their being in the soule, yet their proper acts are more out­ward, then the former,The inter­nall vertues are more excellent then the externall. which are often hid, and inuisible; as are to beleeue, to loue, to hope, to contemplate, to be humbled, to be inwardly contrite for sinnes, to iudge discreetly, and so in others. Among all these vertues there is no doubt, but that the former are farre more excellent, and more necessary then the latter. For [Page 491] the Lord sayth vnto the vvoman of Samaria:Iohn, 4. Woman, beleeue me, the houre commeth, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the father in spirit, and in the truth: for such the father also requireth to worship him. God is a spirit, and they that worship him, must worship him in spirit, and in the truth. The same words fall also into our common speach, & children in Schooles are wont to learne those verses.

Wherfore also the Prophet Dauid describing the beauty of the Church, and of a soule, that is in the fauour of God, he saith; The Kings daughter is all glorious within: her clothing is of wrought gold. Psal. 45. The same thing the Apostle insinuateth, when he sayth to his Disciple Timothy;1. Tim. 4. Exercise thy selfe vnto godlines: for bo­dily exercise profiteth little, but godlines is profitable vnto all things, hauing promises of the life that is now, and of that which is to come. In which place he vnderstandeth by godlines the worship of God, and mercy toward our neighbonr: and by bodily exer­cise, abstinence, and other corporall austerenes, as learned expo­siters auerre expounding this place.

This also the Heathen Philosophers vnderstood:Aristotle. For Ari­stotle, who albeit he writ very little concerning God, yet sayth; If humane affaires be regarded of God, as we may very proba­bly gather that they are, it is very likely, that he ioyeth in the best things, and in those that are the likest vnto him: but those are the mind and spirit of man. Therfore they that haue their spirits beautified and adorned vvith the knowledge of the truth, and reformed affections, are most acceptable vnto God.

The same thing Galen the Prince of Phisitians vnderstood;Galen. for speaking in a certaine booke of the composition and frame of mans body, and of the vse and profit of the parts of it, when he had come to a certaine place, where the greatnes of the wise­dome and prouidence of the supreame and omniscient work­maister shyned after a singuler and especiall manner; being ca­ried into a most deepe admiration of so great wonders, he as one forgetting his Phisick profession, on a sodaine flyeth to Di­uinity, and exclayming sayth; Others honor and worship God by Frankensence & Hecatombs (which is a sacrifice of an hun­dred [Page 492] beasts) but I will worship him by reuealing and publishing the greatnes of his vvisedome, which so wisely knew how to or­der euery thing in the frame & fructure of this admirable work­manship; and by telling of the greatnes of his power, which could effect euery thing so well ordered; with the greatnes of his goodnes, which hath without any grudging or repining so aboundantly prouided for all creatures necessaries for the pre­seruation of themselues. This a Heathen Philosopher sayd: but I pray thee what could a Christian speake more perfectly? vvhat could he speake better, or more sacredly, yea, albeit he had reade that of the Prophet: I desire mercy and not sacrifice: and the knowledge of God more then whole burnt offerings? Ose 6. Change the name of Hecatombe into a burnt offering, and thou shalt see that an Heathen Philosopher, and a Prophet of God doe speake one and the selfe same thing.

Notwithstanding that we haue spoken so great things of the vertues of the former kind, others also, which we haue bestowed in the second place, (although they be of lesser dignity) are of great waight & moment, both to cōpasse those that be greater, and also to preserue them: & also some of thē are necessary, be­cause they fal vnder precept. This may be proued by running through those vertues, which ere-while we spake of. For solitari­nes preserueth a man that he heareth not, seeth not, speaketh not, and that he doth not a thousand things, which might giue occasion to incurre danger, not only to lose the peace and tran­quility of conscience, but also to make shipwrack of chastity and innocency. Euery one knowes how profitable silence is both to preserue piety and deuotion, and also to keepe a man from the sinnes, which are committed in much babling. For the Wise-man sayth,Prou. 10. Where much babling is, there must needes be of­fence. Fasting, besides that it is an act of temperance, it also cha­sticeth the body, strengtheneth the spirit, weakneth our ene­mies, and disposeth vnto prayer, reading, and contemplation; it spareth and auoydeth superfluous costs, and deliuereth from lusts and wanton desires, in which gluttons, and belly-gods doe liue, being louers of trifles, contentions, quarrels, and of all dis­solutenes, in all which gurmandizing Epicures are wont to be delighted. Furthermore, to reade godly bookes, to heare ser­mons, [Page] to attend on prayer, to sing Psalmes, and to be present at Diuine exercises, are plainly inough knowne to be acts and ex­ercises of Religion, and motiues vnto piety, and meanes further to enlighten the vnderstanding, and more and more to inflame the affections with the loue of spirituall things. This is conuin­ced by so manifest experience, that if the Heretikes would haue seene to it, they had not fallen into so absurd errors, as they haue. For we daily see with our eyes, and feele with our hands, and behold in euery place where discipline, and obseruance of these exteriour matters are kept and obserued, that there vertues flo­rish most, and that there is alwayes greater godlines, deuotion, and charity: and that there are seene more excellent persons, and that there the feare of the Lord, and Christianity her selfe are more perfect. But all things runne contrary, where no re­gard is had of them: For this obseruance being neglected, the conscience also, the manners, and life are neglected: for vvhere there is greater occasion of sinne, there also moe and greater sinnes are committed.

For wee all,Terence. as one sayth, become worser through liberty. Euen as in a Vineyard well kept,A simili­tude. and fenced with a wall or an hedge, all things are in safety: so in that, which is ill kept, & not fenced, all things lye open to the lust and pray of theeues. The like happeneth to man, that is disordered, and will not be con­tayned within order and rule. What argument more manifest, I pray thee, may be desired for the dilucidation of this matter, that we may see the profit of these things, then that which pro­ceedeth from experience; For a man that desireth to obtayne and preserue that excellent vertue of deuotion, which maketh a man prompt and fit for all other vertues, and is as a spurre to all good, how shall it euer be possible, that an affection so super­naturall, and so delicate should be obtayned and preserued of that man; vvho was neuer carefull for the safegard and keepe of himselfe?The affecti­on of deuo­tion how tender and delicate. For this affection is so delicate, and if it be lawfull so to speake, so fugitiue and fleeting, that in the twinkling or turning of an eye it sodainly vadeth and vanisheth. For one immoderate laughter, one superfluous word, one gluttons sup­per, a little wrath, contention, or other small distraction; or curi­ousnes to see, heare, or vnderstand a thing not necessary, al­though [Page] it be not euill, is sufficient to take away a good part of deuotion. Therfore not only pallable and grosse sinnes, but al­so any superfluous imployment, or other matters, which with­draw our minds from God, doe extinguish and quench deuo­tion. For he that would haue Iron alwayes to glow and shine, it is necessary that he alwayes apply it to the fire: For if he take it from the fire,A simili­tude. forthwith it returneth to his naturall coldnesse: So this most noble affection, for dependeth of that, that man be continually vnited vnto God by actuall loue and contemplati­on, that if he turne himselfe but a little from him, forth-with he slideth back to the bosome of his mother, that is, to the old dis­position which before he had.

Therefore, whosoeuer desireth to gette v [...] ̄to hym thys holy affection, and beeing got to preserue it, he must be diligent in the keeping of himselfe, that is, of his eares, eyes, tongue & hart, he must be modest and temperate in eating and drinking: so circumspect and graue in euery word and gesture; he must so loue silence, and solitarinesse; he must so accustome himselfe to diuine exercises, that hee may haue all things, which may pro­ [...]oke a man vnto deuotion, that by the meanes of this diligence he may preserue, and safely keepe this most precious treasure. He that dooth otherwise, let him assuredly know, that this bu­sines shall neuer prosper well with him. All thys doth most ma­nifestly conuince the profit and necessity of these vertues, which in the meane time doe not derogate from the dignity and excel­lencie of them, which are greater.

But by this the difference may be plainly knowne, which is betweene these and those;The diffe­rence be­tweene the outward vertues, and the inward. for those are as the end, these as the meanes to the end: those as health, these as a medicine, by bene­fit of which we obtaine health. Those are as the spirit of Reli­gion, these as the body of it: which albeit it is part of the whole, yet one part is more principall then another, and whose functi­on is more especially required in working. Those are as the trea­sury, these as the keyes by which it is opened and shutte. Those are the fruite of the tree, these as leaues which adorne the tree, and doe preserue the fruite from the iniury of the ayre. Albeit in thys the comparison is lame and maimed, and somewhat fay­leth: because the leaues of the tree, although they preserue the [Page 495] fruite, yet they are not part of the fruite: but these vertues doe so preserue iustice and righteousnes, that they are a part of iu­stice and righteousnesse.

This therefore my brother, is the estimation which is to be made of vertues, of which there hath beene made mention in this rule, as we haue said in the beginning of this Chapter; by benefit of which we may be free from two vicious extreamities, which are in this world▪ Two ex­treames in esteeming vertues. One is the antient one of the Pharises, the other is a later one of moderne Heretikes. For the Pharises, as carnall and ambi [...]ous, were altogether giuen to the obser­uance of that Law, which in like maner was carnall; as for true righteousnes, which consisteth in spirituall vertues; it was in no esteeme among them, as the whole history of the Euangelists dooth testifie: and the Apostle saith; that they had a showe of godlines,2, Tim, 3, Hebr, 10, but had denied the power of it. Also that the Law had onely a shadow, but brought not men to perfection.

The moderne & neotericall Heretikes, after a contrarie ma­ner vnderstanding this errour, and be [...]g willing to auoyde one extreame, fall into another: that is, into contempt of all exter­nall vertues, according to that:

Wherefore the true and Catholicke Church of Christ, con­demning both extreames, approoueth the truth which is the meane: for attributing prerogatiue and excellencie of dignity to the internall vertues, shee also allotted theyr place vnto the externall. Because she accounteth of some, as of the order of Senators, of others, as of the degree of nobles and gentlemen, and other she receiueth into the number of Cittizens, vvhich make one Common-wealth, in which the dignity of euery one is knowen, and what is due and belongeth vnto euery one is ea­sily seene.

[...] very profitable [...], which are [...] of the precedent doctrine. CHAP. XIX.

OVT of the precedent doctrine foure instructi­ons doe arise very profitable and necessary for a spirituall life. The first is, that a perfect man and a true seruant of God, ought not onely to seeke for spirituall vertues (albeit they be excellent and noble) b [...] a [...]o he ought to ioyne others vnto the [...] as well for the preseruation of them, as for the obtaining of absolute per­fection, and the whole complement of Christian righteousnes. Wherefore he ought to consider, that as man is not only a soule, nor onely a body, but a soule & a body together: (for the soule without the body, maketh not a perfect man, & the body with­out the soule, is no other thing then a sacke full of earth and a­shes,) so also it is necessary, that hee know that true and perfect Christianitie, is not onely internall, nor externall; but internall and externall together. For the internall alone cannot be pre­serued without the externall, whether it be little or much, accor­ding to the conueniencie of the bond of euery mans estate:The exter­nall vertues are to bee ioyned to the internal. nei­ther is it sufficient for the fulfilling of all righteousnes. Much lesse can the externall without the internal make a man perfect: as neyther the body alone without the soule can make a man. Euen as therefore all the life of the body proceedeth from the soule;A simili­tude. so all the dignity and worth of the externall, proceedeth from the internall, but especially from Charity.

He therefore that will not erre from this scope and determi­ned resolution, let him thinke that as he, that made man, would not separate the soule from the body; so he must not seuer the spirituall from the corporall, that would make a perfect Chri­stian. The body is ioyned to the soule, the treasure is preserued in the Arke, the hedge compassing the Vineyard, dooth make it safe, and Vertue is defended by her Fortresses, Bulwarkes, & defences, which are her owne parts. Otherwise, beleeue me, one will decay and perrish another. For one cannot be increased nor assisted, vnlesse both be ioyned together. Consider how nature, [Page 497] and Art the Ape and imitatour of Nature doe nothing, which hath not eyther a barke or some couer for a fortification & de­fence, and also for an ornament of it: after the same manner Grace also worketh, which is the most perfect forme, and most perfectly effecteth her operations. Remember also that it is written;Eccles, 7, He that feareth God, neglecteth not any thing: And, Hee that setteth naught by small things, Ecclus, 29, shall fall by little and little. Re­member the example set downe in the former booke, that by the want of one nayle the yron shoe is lost,A simili­tude. and the shoe beeing lost, the horse falleth, and the horse falling, the rider perisheth. Remember the dangers which hee incurreth, that neglecteth small things: for this is the high-way that leadeth to great er­rors. Marke also the order of the plagues of Egipt, after harm­lesse and hurtlesse Frogs, came lyce, and great flyes, Gadbees, stinging Horse-flies, and byting Oxe-flies. Whereby it is eui­dent, that the neglect and contempt of the lesser, doth prepare the way for greater: for they that feare not polluting and euill-sauouring Froggs, will not feare stinging Horse-flies, & byting Oxe-flies.

The second admonition, wherin is handled the diuersity of estates, and sundry manners of liuings in the Church. CHAP. XX.

THys second admonition teacheth, that one should not iudge another in the manner of his liuing. For we must know, that seeing there are many vertues, which are required, that a man may liue christianly, some are giuen to this man, others to that, which direct a man to God, and bring him vnto him; the greater part of which pertaine to a contemplatiue life: by some a man is taught his duty to his neighbour, which per­taine [Page 508] to an actiue life, and some there are, which respect a mans selfe,Diuers meanes to obtaine grace. which especially belong vnto a priuate life. Furthermore, seeing that all vertues are as certaine meanes, by which the grace of the holy Ghost is obtayned, some endeuour to obtayne it by this meanes, others by that. Some seeke for the dewe of grace, and a blessing to be poured vpon their soules by fasting, disci­pline, and austerenes of life; some by almes and the workes of mercy; others by prayers and continuall meditations: in which last meane there is as great variety, as there are prayers and me­ditations. For this forme and manner of prayer and meditation liketh this man, and that another: and as there are many things to meditate on, so are there sundry kinds of meditations; a­mongst which that is the best, whatsoeuer it be, in which a man findeth greater deuotion, and more profit. But we must obserue here;Euery one likes his owne way best. that oftentimes it commeth to passe, that an errour mee­teth with the louers of vertue; for there are some when they haue found some profit by this or that meane, and by the bene­fit of it haue somwhat profited in the way of the Lord, forth­with they perswade themselues, that there is no other meanes to serue God, and please him, besides that, which they vse, and in which they are conuersant: they would haue all men to follow that, and they think that they that enter not into this way, and walke not in this path, shall not come vnto life.

They that deuote themselues wholy vnto Prayer think that prayer is the onely way to saluation: they that wholy apply themselues vnto fasting, thinke that all things besides fasting are in vaine: they that bestow themselues vpon the contempla­tiue life, thinke that they that are not contemplatiue, are in very great danger: and they are so in loue with this their opinion, that they reiect the actiue life as altogether vnprofitable. Con­trarily they that giue themselues to an actiue life, because they neuer tried, what sweetnes passeth betweene God and the soule in holy contemplation & meditation; and seeing the manifest and visible profit that redoundeth of an actiue life, they so exte­nuate the contemplatiue life, that scarce they allow of a pure contemplatiue, vnlesse it haue some of the actiue ioyned and mingled with it; but they so iudge of it, as if it were in euery ones power to be right excellent in that kind. In like manner they [Page 509] that haue wholy deuoted & consecrated themselues vnto pray­er, they thinke that euery ones prayers besides theirs are vnfruit­full; and he that bestoweth his paynes vpon vocall & lip pray­er, saith that it is more laborious then the other, and therefore of greater acceptance.

After this manner euery Merchant, as it is in the Prouerb, prayseth his owne wares: and so by a close and secret manner of pride, not knowing what he doth, prayseth himselfe: extol­ling that, he himselfe doth, because in it he feeleth greater com­modity. Therfore it happeneth in vertues, as in sciences, euery one of which is cōmended to the skies of him,Euery one prayseth that science wherin he excell [...]th. that excelleth in it; of whom also in like maner all other are contemned as vn­profitable. The Orator sayth that in the world there is not any thing more noble then eloquence. The Astrologer affirmeth, that Astrologie carieth the bell from all other Arts, because it is conuersant about the heauens and the starres. The same the Philosopher sayth of Philosophy. The Schoole Diuine not knowing to keepe a meane, condemneth all other sciences, and placeth his throne aboue them all. Neyther are likely reasons wanting to any of them, to proue their sciences and faculties to be better, more profitable, & more necessary then other. Ther­fore that which is openly and notoriously knowne in sciences, is found also in vertues; but somwhat more obscurely. For euery one that desireth vertue, in one respect coueteth to choose that which is the best, and in another respect which is more agreea­ble to his nature: and therfore he supposeth, that to be condu­cent to all, which is conuenient for him; and that the shooes that fit his feete, are fit for all other.

Hence arise rash iudgements of other mens lifes; hence spring contentions, and spirituall schismes among brethren: for one embraceth what another condemneth, while all doe not fol­low one way. In this errour liued the Corinthians, who when they had receaued of God many & sundry gifts, euery one iud­ged his owne more excellent then the rest: and therefore one would be preferred before another: for some said that the grace of tongues was nobler then the rest; others the gift of Prophe­cie; some s [...]d the interpretation of the Scriptures was to be preferred, others affirmed the gift of miracles was the excellen­test [Page 510] of all other: others also defended the excellencie and pre­rogatiue of their owne gifts. Against this error and abuse, there is no remedy more profitable, or more effectuall thē that, which Saint Paule vseth, in his former Epistle sent vnto thē: in which, first he reduceth all graces to their beginning, saying that all graces are riuers of one fountaine, that is, of the holy Ghost: and that therefore they all participate of one equality in theyr cause, although they be diuers and sundry among themselues. Euen as the members of one body of any King are all members of the King,A simi­litude. being deriued from one royall blood, although they be diuers among themselues: so sayth the Apostle; By one spi­rit we are baptized into one body: 1, Cor. 12. that we may be members of one body. And therefore we all participate of one and the selfe same dignity and glory, seeing that we are all members of the same head. Wherefore the Apostleforth-with addeth; If the foote would say, Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body, is it ther­fore not of the body? And if the eare would say, Because I am not the eye, I am not of the body, is it therefore not of the body? We all therfore are made equall, that among all there might be vnity and brother-hood, albeit there is some diuersity betweene vs. This ariseth partly of nature, & partly of grace. We say partly of nature; for although grace is the beginning of all our spirituall Being;A simi­litude. yet grace, as water receaued into diuers vessels, doth put on diuers figures and shapes, according to the disposition and nature of euery one. For there are some men by nature mo­dest, mild,The vari [...]ty of grace by nature. and quiet, and therfore very fit for a contemplatiue life. Others are cholerick, and delighted in practise and action, and therfore more fit for an actiue life; others are strong and of a sound and healthfull constitution, who doe not much tender and affect themselues, and these are meete for greater austerity of life. In this the goodnes and mercy of God shineth after a singuler manner, who willing to deuide and communicate him­selfe vnto all, he would not doe it onely after one manner, but after many and diuers, according to the variety of mans condi­tion, that the man that is not fit for some one meane and gift, might be fit for another.

The other reason is, this diuersity is grace: for the holy Spi­rit the Authour of it, would that among his there should be va­riety, [Page 511] to the greater perfection and beauty of the Church.Variety by grace, and why God would haue variety of gifts in his Church. For euen as diuers members & diuers sences are required to the per­fection and beauty of the body: so also it is required for the perfection and beauty of the Church, that there should be di­uers vertues and graces. For if all the faithfull were of one and the selfe same condition, how should they be called a body? If the whole body were an eye, 1, Corin, 12 sayth Paule, where were the hearing? if the whole were hearing, where were the smelling? But nowe hath God disposed the members, euery one of them in the body at his owne pleasure. But God would that there should be many members, and yet one body, that when there were a multitude conioyned in vnity, there might be a proportion and an harmonious con­cord of many in one: and hence ariseth the perfection & beau­tie of the Church. Such a like thing we see in Musick, where it behoueth that there be diuersity and multitude of voces vvith vnity and agreeablenes of consent in tune:A simili­tude, so that there may be sweetnes and melody in it. If all the voyces were of one qualitie and stampe, they should all be either Baces or Meanes, which would make neither musicke nor harmony.

In naturall things also it is admirable to see so great diuersitie of things, as that high and almighty Work-maister hath made, who hath deuided and bestowed beauty and perfection vppon all creatures in that order, that although euery one of them haue somewhat in themselues in which they excell the rest, yet there is no enuy amongst thē: because euery one of them hath some prerogatiue,There is a certaine di­uersitie in y^c creatures. which in others is not the same. The Peacocke is very beautifull to the sight, but maketh a ranke and an vnplea­sant noyse. The Nightingale singeth sweetly; but is not so faire to the sight. An Horse is good for the race, and profitable for warre; but not good for foode, or fit for the table. The Oxe is profitable for the table and the plough, but vnprofitable for other things. Fruitefull trees doe serue for the nourishment of men, but are vnfit for building: contrarily, wilde and barren trees are fit for building, but vnapt to serue for foode. Therfore amongst all things, there is both a certaine vnity and a diuision, neither in one thing are all things found, that by this meanes the variety and beauty of the Vniuerse, and the forme and shapes of things might be preserued; that one may loue and embrace [Page 512] another, for that neede which one standeth of another.

The same beauty and order, which GOD hath ordained and appointed in the works of nature, he would that it should be also in the works of grace: and therefore hee hath disposed by his Spirit, that there should be a thousand kind of vertues & graces in Church, that of all them there might arise one most sweet harmony, one perfect world, and one beautifull bodie, compounded of diuers and sundry members. Hence it is that in the Church some are giuen to a contemplatiue life, some to an actiue: one is famous and excellent in the works of obedi­ence, another in prayer. Some in singing, others in studying do exercise theyr gifts, that they may help & further others: some attend vpon the weake, & receaue strangers, who deuide theyr goods to the poore, and many other such kinde of vertuous ex­ercises there be. Therefore there be many members in one bo­dy, and many voyces in one musick, that by this meanes there may be comlines, consonancie, and proportion in the Church: and therefore in one Harpe there are many strings, and in one Organ many pipes: that by this meanes there may be a conso­nancie and an harmony of many tunes. This is that garment which the Patriarke Iacob commaunded to be made for hys sonne Ioseph,Gene, 37, of diuers colours. These are those Curtaines, which by the commaundement of God were made for the vse of the Tabernacle of wonderfull varietie and beautie. That the same should be done, both the order and beauty of the Church required. Therefore why should one eate vp another? Why should one iudge and condemne another, saying: Why is it not lawfull for one to doe that another doth? I know not what o­ther thing this is, then to goe about to destroy the body of the Church, and to teare in peeces Iosephs beauteous garment, and to disturbe this heauenly musick and harmony: that is, to make all the members of the Church, feete, or hands, or eyes, &c. which certainly were monstrous beyond measure.

It is an e­uill thing to enuie our neighbour. A simili­tude. By this it manifestly appeareth, how great wickednes it is to speak ill of, or enuie our neighbor: because he hath, that I haue not, or because he is not apt for that function I am. Surely the body should be in ill case, if the eyes should contemne the feete because they see not: and the feete should murmure against the [Page 513] eyes, because they walke not, and should oppose themselues a­gainst the whole body, because the burden of the body is impo­sed vpon them. It is altogether necessary, that the feete should be weary with going, but that the eyes should rest; that the feete should be polluted with durt and mire, but that the eyes should be kept cleane and pure from all dust and moates: ney­ther doe the eyes lesse in being at rest, then the feete in walking: neither doth the Pilot lesse sitting, and holding the sterne in his hand,A simili­tude. neither is lesse necessary for the shyppe, then all the other Marriners, which eyther climbe the mast, or hoyse vp the sailes, or labour at the pumpe: yea albeit hee seemeth to doe the least of all, yet he dooth the most of all; for the excellency of a thing is not to be esteemed by labours, but by the profit and necessity: vnlesse we will say that an husband-man, who diggeth and tyl­leth the ground, is of better esteeme in a Common-wealth, then a vvise-man, that gouerneth the Common-wealth by his aduice and wisedome. He therfore that well considereth these things, will leaue his vocation and calling to euery man: that is, that a foote may continue a foote, and a hand a hand: neyther vvill the foote desire that all the members might be feete; neither the hand, that all should be hands. This is that, which in that most large disputation the Apostle would teach in the Epistle cited a little before; the same thing he also admonisheth whē he saith; Let not him that eateth, Rom, 14, despise him that eateth not, and let not him that eateth not, iudge him that eateth. For he that eateth, perhaps hath neede to eate: yet he may be indued with more excellent vertues, then he that fasteth. For euen as in song, the notes in the space are are valuable,A simili­tude, as those in the line: so in the harmony of the spirituall musick of the Church, he is no lesse valuable that eateth, then he that eateth not: and he that is at quiet and rest, no lesse acceptable then he that is occupied, or he that in his ley­sure laboureth to edifie his neighbour. The same thing vvith great vehemencie S. Bernard teacheth, commaunding that no man should curiously looke into or search their lifes, who are placed in offices to censure and try others, or doe execute func­tions of Iudges and Rulers: neyther that any man should iudge of another mans life, or compare his life with anothers.

The third admonition is of the care and watch, which a religious man ought to haue ouer his actions. CHAP. XXI.

LEt thys be the third admonition; Seeing that in this rule sundry kindes of vertues and instructi­ons are to be remembred, which pertaine to the right ordering and framing of the life; and our vnderstanding being not capable to entertayne all together and at once, I thinke that I shall not doe amisse, if I now ioyne to the former a certaine generall vertue, which con­tayneth all the rest, and which, as much as may be, supplieth the place of all the rest. Thys is a continuall care and a watch, and perpetuall examining of those things,Continuall care, a ge­nerall ver­tue. which are to be done or spoken, that all things may be directed by the guydance of rea­son. That as an Embassadour being to speak in the assembly of an honourable Senate, at one and the selfe-same time standeth carefully thinking of the matters he is to speake of:A simili­tude. and of the words by which he is to vtter them; and of the order vvhich he is to obserue in speaking, and also of the gesture of his body, & of other things necessary for this action: so the seruant of God, ought diligently, carefully, & circumspectly to watch ouer him selfe, and ouer all his actions in speaking, in silence, in demaun­ding, in aunswering, in trafficking, in sitting at table, in the mar­ket, in the Church, in the house, and without the house, as hol­ding a compasse in his hand, measuring and moderating all his actions, works and thoughts: that he may proceed in all things according to the prescript of the diuine law, according to the rule of reason, and the decencie of his person. For albeit there is very great difference betweene good and euill, yet God hath infused and imprinted a certaine light and knowledge of either in our soules: so that a man can scarcely be found, albeit hee be rude and simple, who if he diligently attend that he dooth, but he may vnderstand, what he ought to doe in euery thing. And this care and consideration is profitable to all the documents & instructions of this rule, and of many other. This care is that, which is commended of the holy Ghost, when he saith; Keepe therefore your soules carefully and diligently. And this is that third [Page 516] part of righteousnes and iustice,Deut. 4. which the Prophet Micheas in­sinuateth, saying; Walke humbly, carefully, and circumspectly with thy God. Mich. 6. This is nothing else, then a perpetuall care and a conti­nuall thought, that thou doe not any thing, which is contrary to the Diuine will. This is that, which that multitude of eyes in those misticall creatures of Ezechiell doe signifie, which inti­mateth vnto vs the greatnes of attention and circumspection, which a Christian Souldier ought to haue against so many and so terrible enemies, with which he is to fight. The same thing those threescore strong and valiant men of Israell doe signifie, who compasse the bed of Salomon, Cant. 3. who al handle the sword, and are expert in warre. For in this the same care and vigilancy is signified, in which an armed man ought to be, who is compassed & cirkled about with the troups of so many enemies, & endangered with hands of so great cruelty. The cause of this care, besides many other dangers, is the greatnes and waight of this busines, espe­ciall in them that aspire to the perfection of a spirituall life. For to liue and conuerse worthily with God, is to keepe himselfe cleane and pure from all the spots of this world; to liue in this flesh without any signe of carnall worke or affection; and to walke without offence vntill the day of the Lord, as the Apo­stle sayth. These things are so hard and so supernaturall, that all things are required heere,Phil. 1. yea, God himselfe, with his grace and helpe. Behold the care and circumspection, which a man hath, when he doth any special peece of work: but much grea­ter is the worke of saluation. Therefore what care is here requi­red? Consider with what great care a man beareth any vessell brim full of precious liquor or oyle,A simi­litude. least it should be spilld: Consider with what great care a man goeth ouer any narrow peece of timber, or some old and ruinous bridge, vnder which a very deepe and a swift riuer runneth, least he should fall into it, and be deuoured of the water: To be briefe, consider what great warines they vse that goe vpon ropes, least they declining to this hand or that fall downe.In the be­ginning of our conuer­siō we must walke wari­ly and cir­cumspectly. With the same care and wari­nes thou oughtest to walke, especially in the beginning of thy conuersion, that a good habit may be formed and framed in thee, with a thought and an intent so exact, that thou speake not a word, nor thinke any thing, as much as is possible, which any [Page 516] whit strayeth from the path of vertue.Certaine counsailes. Seneca. For this Seneca giueth vs excellent counsaile, and that which is familier, saying: let a man that is vertuous, or that would liue vprightly, imagine, that he doth alwayes stand and walke in the presence of some man of great authority and account: and who is worthy to be reue­renced of all men: this imagination being presupposed, let him speake and doe all things none otherwise, then he would doe and speake, if he stood in his presence. Besides this aduice, there is another, no lesse conuenient nor lesse profitable then the for­mer: let a man thinke that this is the last day of his life, and ther­fore that all things are to be done, no otherwise, then if that day or that night following he were to stand before the Diuine tri­bunall, to render an account of his life. There is yet another counsaile much more excellent: Alwayes so to be conuersant (as much as is possible) in the sight of the Lord, and to haue him before his eyes, as if he were present visibly and corporally, as in truth he is [...]uisibly present in all places: and therfore to doe all things no otherwise then he that hath God his witnes and his Iudge seeing all things: & let him alwayes desire of God grace so to be conuersant, that he may not be vnworthy the sight and presence of so great a Maiesty. So that this care & watch, which we now speake of hath two proposed scopes; one, to looke vp­on God with our harts, to haue them lifted vp vnto him, that we may stand before him with great reuerence, by worshipping him, by praysing, by reuerencing, by louing him, by yeelding thanks vnto him, and without intermission by offering vnto him the sacrifices of deuotion, vpon the alters of our harts. The other scope is a diligent obseruation of all our actions; that we doe and speake all things with that warines, that we doe not stray in the least from the tract and path of vertue. So that with one eye we alwayes behold God, by requesting grace of him; and with the other looking to that, which is conducent for our life, that it may be well ordered: and after this manner we shall very well bestow that light, which God hath giuen vnto vs, as well in Diuine things, as in humane. Therefore we shall stand partly attending on God, and partly on that thing which we are to doe. The which thing although it cannot alwayes be done, yet let vs doe this, that at the least we may then proceede after [Page 517] this manner, when our intent is not hindered by corporall ex­ercises, yea, our hart is free, and may steale somwhat from exte­riour businesses, and hide it selfe in the wounds of Christ. I thought it very conuenient to handle this instruction here, be­cause it is very profitable.

The fourth admonition of the fortitude, which is necessary for them, that aspire vnto vertue. CHAP. XXII.

THE precedent admonition hath opened our eyes, that we are now able to see, what we are to doe: but this will reach vs an arme; that is, forti­tude and courage, that we may be strengthned and enabled to doe that, which the eyes behold. For seeing that in Vertue there be two difficulties;Two diffi­culties in vertue. one that we may well distinguish good from euill, and seperate this from that; the other that wee may conquer the one, and proceede in the other: in that we haue neede of wisedome and vigilan­cie, in this of fortitude and diligence: so that eyther of these fai­ling, the busines of Vertue remayneth vnperfect. For there will be blindnes, if vigilancy and fore-sight be wanting: and if fortitude and courage faile, man being lame and feeble shall not be able to worke. This fortitude which we here speake of, is not that, which as a meane tempereth and moderateth auda­ciousnes and feare, (for that is one among the foure cardinall vertues) but it is a certaine generall force and power, profitable to ouercome all difficulties, which hinder the vse of Vertue: and therfore it alwayes walketh in the company and fellowship of the vertues, hauing as it were a sword in her hand, that she may open & prepare the way for them, which way so euer they goe. For Vertue (as the Philosophers say) is a thing hard and difficult; and therfore it is needfull, that this fortitude alwayes march in the vauntgard of the vertues, that she may lay to her helping hand to ouercome and conquer this difficulty.A simi­litude. Ther­fore as a stone-cutter ought alwayes to haue his mallet in his hand, by reason of the hard matter which he laboureth in; so a spirituall man of necessity ought alwayes to haue in a readines [Page 518] this fortitude, as a spirituall mallet, to tame and ouercome this difficulty, which meeteth with vs in the way of vertue. And as the stone-cutter shall doe nothing to any purpose, vnlesse he hath his mallet: so also the louer of Vertue without this forti­tude shall sweat in vaine.Vertue is hard and difficult. Tell me what instance of any vertue canst thou giue, which hath not some particuler difficulty ioy­ned vnto it? Consider of them seuerally, if it please thee. Looke into Prayer, fasting, obedience, temperance, poorenes of spirit, patience, chastity, and humility. These and all other are alwaies ioyned with some difficulty, which comes eyther through our owne selfe-loue, or the malice of the deuill, or the crosnes and repugnacy of the world. Wherfore if thou takest away this for­titude, what can naked and vnarmed Vertue doe? and therfore all other vertues doe seeme as it were bound hand and foote, neyther can they performe any thing. Wherfore, my brother, if thou desirest to warre in the tents of Vertue, & to bring forth fruite in them, imagine that the Captaine and Emperor of Ver­tue doth say vnto thee, as he sayd in times past vnto Moses, al­though in another sence: Take this rod in thine hand, where-with thou shalt doe miracles, Exod, 4. and bring my people out of Egipt. Trust, doubt not, as that rod was the worker of these miracles which effected so blessed and ioyfull a worke; so also it is the rod of fortitude, which will conquer & ouercome all difficulties, which may be procured and obiected eyther of selfe-loue, or of any other enemies, and it will strengthen and enable thee to bring the wished victory from this warre. Therefore see that thou haue it alwayes in thine hand, for thou canst doe no admirable thing without it.

The errour of them which forth-with in the be­ginning of their con­uersion doe seeke for peace. In this place in my iudgement they, that are newly inaugu­rated into Gods Church, are to be admonished of a notable er­ror, which oftentimes happen vnto them. Who perchaunce reading in some spirituall booke of the greatnes of the sweetnes and consolations of the holy Ghost, and how great the pleasant allurements and enticements of charity be, forth-with they sup­pose that this whole way is plaine, full of deliciousnes, and that no labour nor trouble is to be found in it: wherefore they pre­pare themselues to walk in this way, as to an easie and delectable matter, neyther doe they arme themselues as those, who goe to [Page 519] warre, but they put on a soft and a delicate robe, as if they were to goe to a mariage or a banquet. They doe not consider, that although the loue of God is sweet and pleasant in it selfe and of it owne nature, yet that the way vnto it is straight and bitter. For it is needfull aboue all things to conquer and ouercome selfe-loue, and to striue alwayes against thy selfe: which fight is greater then any other. Both of them that Euangelicall Pro­phet insinuateth,Esay, 58, when he sayth; O Ierusalem shake off the dust, arise, and sit downe. It is certaine that in sitting there is neyther labour nor difficulty: but it is labour to shake off the dust of earthly and carnall affections, and to arise from the sinne, in which we sleepe: which is necessary to doe, before we come to that sitting and rest, It is true, that God bestoweth many and wonderfull comforts vpon them, that faithfully labour; and in like manner vpon them, who now desire to change the delights ofthe world for the pleasures of heauen: yet if this change be not made, and if a man will not leaue the pray he hath taken; beleeue me, this refreshing and comfort shall not be giuen him: as neither Manna was giuen to the children of Israell in the wil­dernes, before the dowe was spent, which they brought vvith them out of Egypt.

Returning therefore to our purpose, I say, let those seeke for rest as long as they will, who are not armed with this fortitude, and let them know, that vnlesse they first change theyr mindes and purpose, they shall not finde it. Let them knowe and assu­redly beleeue, that quietnes is not purchased but by labor; that a crowne is obtayned by fighting; that ioy is atchiued by sor­rowing, and that the most sweet loue of God, is procured by hatred of our selues. For thys cause this idlenes is so often repre­hended in the Prouerbs, but fortitude and diligence commen­ded: because the holy Spirit, the Authour of this doctrine, knew very well, that vertues are very much hindered by la [...]nes, but ayded and perfitted by fortitude and diligence.