IT is the maner and stile of the sacred Scrip­ture, that whē any notable cause of im­portancie is shewed and noted vnto vs, some won­derfull vision or miracu­lous type euer goeth be­fore, which doth awake & stirre vp our spirits and senses for attention, lea­uing them in suspense and admiration, as very ordina­rily [Page]may bee seene in the booke of the Prophets, and specially in the Reue­lation of the blessed E­uangelist Saint Iohn, where amongst many other ad­mirable visions & strange figures, chiefely that is to bee noted, which hee hath vvritten in the tenth Chapter (which together with those wordes of the Apostle, in his Epistle to them of Ephesus,Ephes. 5, 16. Redeeme the Time, because the dayes are euill; shall bee the very Theame or ground of this our Treatise and exhorta­tion) saying,Reue. 10.1. that then hee sawe a mightie Angell come downe from heauen, cloa­thed [Page 2]with a cloude, and that hee wore vpon his heade, in steede of a Dyademe, the rainebow, and his face shi­ned as the Sunne in midday, His feet were as pillers of fire, And he had in his hande a lit­tle Booke open, Ver. 2. and hee put his right foote vpon the Sea, and his left vpon the earth, 3. And cried with a loud voice, after the maner of a Lyon when he roareth, 5. and lifting vp his finger towards heauen, 6. sware by him that liueth for euer­more, which created heauen, and the earth, and the Sea, & all things in them contei­ned, That from the daies of the seauenth Angell, there should neuer be any more TIME.

[Page] And briefly to mani­fest the mysteries which here are comprised,Refert illos Viegas in Apoc. cap. 10 Andreas Episc. Cesa­reae in c. 5. Apoc. Act. 1.2. This Angell according to the exposition of many Au­thors, is Christ our Lord; the Angell of the great Councell, or els is one of the blessed Angels which representeth his person, and executeth the office of Legat-ship, as his Imbas­sadour. He came downe from Heauen, because visibly he is to discend from thence in a cloude shining with great power and maiestie, to iudge the whole world: Howbeit, his comming clothed with a cloud, doth signifie the confusion [Page 3]and turmoile which shall happen as well in those last dayes, as also in that space and time, in which the persecution of Anti­christ shall indure: when specially they shall behold those hideous signes and terrible tokens, which are to happen before the day of the vniuersall Iudge­ment, & are euery moment to expect that fearfull pre­sence of the Iudge. The Raine-bow signifies peace; and the Fire, wrath, furi­ousnesse and punishment: and in those two extremi­ties of mans body, which are, the feet, and the head▪ both the end and begin­ning [Page]thereof (viz.) both top & toe, are pourtrayed both the commings of our Sauiour CHRIST into the world. The first was, of meere mercie, to make peace and attonement be­tweene God and men; and because of that, for his Es­cutchion and speciall dif­ference, hee bare vpon his head the Raine-bow of hea­uen, in token that the De­luge of his former anger, displeasure and passed pu­nishment, were now cea­sed. And in the latter com­ming, hee shall come as Iudge, and therefore hee shall carrie feete of fire, which betokens inflexible [Page 4]rigour, and terrible wrath: Ignis ante ipsum praecedet, Psal. 50.3. saith Dauid, There shall goe before him a consuming fire. The Forme and shape of the Pillars signifies, the mighty strength and force he shall haue, for the exe­cution of his final sentence and last Iudgement. The Booke open in his hand, in re­spect of his God-head, re­presenteth the eternal wis­dom he hath, for the which he appropriateth to him­selfe the office of Iudge; & in respect of his Manhood, it signifieth the absolute knowledge he apprehen­deth to vnderstād the worth & worthines of the causes, [Page]processe and actions of all the sonnes of Adam, and the scroll or proclamation of the diuine lawe, where­vpō they are to be iudged. The putting of one foote vpon the Sea, & the other vpon the Land, is as much to say, as that he imbraceth, cōpas­seth & comprehendeth all things, sea and land, earth and water; & that nothing can escape his hands, free it selfe frō his power,Psal. 139. ver. 3. & 8. nor be hid from his presence. The roaring, as of a Lyon, signi­fieth the wrath and venge­ance, wherewith hee shall pronoūce sentence against the condemned ones. And the solemne oath, signifieth [Page 5]the infallible certaintie & assurednesse he shall haue, in the accomplishment and execution of those things before prophecied, & preached to the people, which in the dayes of the seuenth Angell, when they shall heare that fearefull Trumpet sounding and summoning all the sonnes of Adam to Iudgement, shall ende and finish the Time for euer afterwardes; and they who made no profit thereof, when they had it, but haue deferred their good works vntill the vttermost day, & last houre of their liues, shall eternal­ly remaine without it. And [Page]that publike sounding and proclamation of the Angell, with such and so many cir­cumstances, That on some day Time should ende and cease, & when that should be, is, to giue vs intel­ligence that wee may vn­derstand of what price, va­lue and estimation, and what a great benefite of God bestowed vpon vs it is, that hee hath made vs Lords of the same all the dayes of our liues. And on the contrary, what a great crosse and punishment is it, for othersome to bee absolutely bereaued therof and to haue it quite taken away from thē, as a thing [Page 6]by them mispent, and ill imployed.

To manifest what a pre­tious thing Time shall be, it sufficeth onely to know, that in one instance of time, one may gaine infinite eternitie of glorie. And therefore the Holy Ghost counsaileth vs,Eccli. 4.20. to preserue and keepe Time, as we doe gold, so shall we depart from euill; which is, as if he had told vs, that we should vse & imploy it in good works, & not loose the least moment thereof. Againe, he willeth vs to be aduised by the same Eccle­siasticus, Eccli. 14.14. saying: Defraud not thy selfe of the good day, and [Page]let not the portion of the good desires ouerpas thee. One trā ­slation hath Particula bonae diei: & others (as likewise in the vulgar editiō) Boni doni. One while he saith, let no part of the good day ouerpas thee for nought; another while he saith of the good gift, or desires. The meaning is, to admonish vs, that we spend wel the Time, and the Day, yea all days: for he that can wel order & redres one day may by the same amēd and reforme al his life, & in the same, man ought to do all the good he can for him selfe, & for his neighbors, exercising himself in works of Pietie and mercie. King [Page 7] Dauid so much feared to loose the least particle of Time, & so farre indeuored wholy to imploy the same wel, that he striued & con­tēded with the sun, for ear­ly vprising to praise God, which at lēgth the king preuented, according to those words,Psal. 11 [...]. ver. 147.148 Praeuenerūt oculi mei ad te diluculo. Early in the morning do I cry vnto thee: Mine eies preuēt the morning watch, that I might meditate in thy words: for before the Sun was vp, I was occupied in the same. Which according to the exposition of S. Am­brose, is as much as if more clearely hee had spoken, Rise earlier thou Christiā, [Page]before the Sun be vp, for I hold it great negligēce & carelesnesse most culpable in thee, that the beames of the Sunne when it riseth, should find thee idle and sleeping in thy bed. Thou art ignorant perhaps, that thou oughtest euery day to render vnto God almighty the first fruits of thy toung and heart? See thou haue a daily haruest, and daily fruite in like maner. And in another Psalme, the Prophet saith,Psal. 77.4. Anticipaue­runt vigilias oculi mei. My eyes preuented, and awa­ked before the watch-men, and gard of the citie: that is to say, (as S. Ierome de­clareth) [Page 8]before that any body went to watch, or did awake, I awaked and watched at midnight and in the morning, at mid­day & in the euening; and finally seuen times a day doe I laud my Lorde, yea, alwayes and at all houres haue I his prayses in my mouth. Hee well knew how to obserue Time, hee duely acknowledged what it was, and what stood him auaileable; & as of a thing so pretious, hee knew how to make profite thereof, without loosing one iot ei­ther of the Good day, or of the good gift. Time saith Theophrastus is a most costlyTheophrast. [Page]expense.Seneca. Epist. 1. And Seneca in his first Epistle (which hee wrote to his friend Lucili­us) saith thus; What man is he, that will suffer me to set price on his Time? How much thinkes hee, is the day worth, admitting that euery day hee were to die? wherfore we do much deceiue our selues herein, because we fix not our eies vpon death, a great part whereof is already past; all that of our age & life which yet remaineth behinde, death holdes in possession. Wherfore my deere friend Lucilius, persist still in do­ing of that which thou thy selfe in thy Letters, didst [Page 9]write vnto me thou doest, being a person that so well knowest the due estimati­on of Time: imbrace al the houres, so shalt thou de­pend lesse vppon the mor­rowe, pointing (as it were) this day with thy finger, not permitting the same to ouerpasse thee idlely, for the life (putting it selfe off with prolonging) flies a­way & passeth at random; And all things els beeing estrainged & alienated frō vs, onely Time is ours; and very naturall reason hath infourmed vs, that we ob­taine the possession of a ve­ry swift thing, which run­neth away so fast, and sli­deth [Page]amaine, yea flyes apace from betweene our hands. The knowledge and discretion of mortall men is so litle and weake, that they impute it a great losse incase they leaue vndone the least vilest thing, or smallest trifle, being indeed reuocable and amendable though pretermitted, none thinkes that hee oweth or is indebted any thing for hauing receiued Time, cō ­sidering that Time is but one sole thing, which yet the gratefull mā can make no due satisfaction for that which he receiued as hee ought, in regard of the high price, and for that the [Page 10]debt is great in vnderta­king the day vpon himself. And in his booke of the shortnesse of life,Idem lib. de breuit vitae. he saith: There is no man that will forgoe or part with his pa­trimonie or substance, nor disinherite himselfe, but rather will keepe it, and augment it: as for Time, and his course of life, hee will with great facility im­part and bestow them ma­ny times on diuerse vaine things. They are very nig­gard of their wealth, but for Time they are most prodigall and lauish, when as indeed their honest and laudable couetousnesse, should be onely of Time; [Page]because most truely (as in the same Booke, then presently after hee saith: Time is the most precious thing that is, and yet for al that, they dispraise it and hold it of no esteeme, for nought, and of no worth; as though it were right nought indeed, bearing no price at all. Not one makes reckoning of it when they haue it, but if any be sicke, then shall you see bowing of knees & crouching be­fore the Physitian, and if hee feare the sentence of death, that man will waigh him with gold for to ran­some his life,

That blessed holy man, [Page 11] Laurentius Iustinianus, Laur. Iust. de vitae so­lit. 6.10. trea­ting of Time and the value thereof, sayeth thus: Who hath that power to cōpre­hend or conceiue in his heart, what a precious thing Time is? O what grace, eloquence or sweet flowing speach of man is able to declare it? None knowes it, but such as now want and misse the same. Then all the goods of the world, honours, dignities, and prelacies, the pompe of this age, corporall de­lights and bodily pleasures yea and all maner recrea­tions, sports and pastimes, ioyes and intertainements whatsoeuer they be, which [Page]are vnder the cope of hea­uen, would bee giuen in boote and exchanged for one houre of Time, if it were possible to bee obtai­ned; because in this most short space, they would appease the diuine Iustice, they would make glad and reioyce the Angels, they would eschewe from that fearefull sentence of eter­nall damnation, and gaine (yea without al doubt they would procure) life euer­lasting. And they are most vnhappie, vpon whom the Sunne of mercie is already set, who most irreuocably shall descend into that lake of miserie, where there is [Page 12]neither order nor good course,Iob. 10.15. & 22, but fright and hor­ror perpetuall, and with good reason shall bee de­nyed of their pardon, be­cause of their contempt and disdaining of Time when it was offered them, who respected neither cō ­sideration nor the experi­ence of the validitie and worthinesse of the same, nor yet the great necessitie & lacke therof, which one day they should feele, li­uing after the taste of their pallats and proofe of their appetites, as though they should neuer dye. Oh I would to God, that they who imploy the time wic­kedly, [Page]and liue most idlely & securely, did know how to estimat that, which they ouerpasse, and looke with­out consideration and due regarde. For what thing is it that is more valuable then Time? what thing more excellēt? what thing more seemly & cheerfull? what thing of more fruit and better profite? or what thing more louely, amiable and beautifull? But out a­las! great dolour, woe and griefe! There is not any thing more vilipended, nor at least worse respected, nor more basely reputed, nor more indignely, and opprobriously vsed then [Page 13]Time is, whereas indeede men are able to gaine and obtain heaps of eternal re­ward, in whatsoeuer small portion of Time. Where­fore they who well know the due value of Time, will not ouerslip any space or quantity thereof, be it ne­uer so litle without some profit, and for which they are to yeeld to God, a most strait account. And the fa­mous S. Bernard saith:Ber. ser. ad Schol. That hee reckoned nothing more pretious then Time; but in these daies nothing more base nor more con­temptible. They let goe the dayes of health, and none considers of them, as [Page]though by right and equi­tie, a man should not be greeued to loose that day which is neuer to returne againe. But let men note, and be assured, that as one haire of the head shall not pe­rish, Luc. 21.18. much lesse shall anie one moment of Tyme, without rendering good reason & account for the same. Let none of you (my Bretheren,) esteeme that Tyme for nought, which you consume away, and spend in idle talke, Words flye away irreuocable, Tyme runnes on irreme­diable, and the ignorant doth not vnderstand what hee looseth. It is lawfull [Page 14](say some) to chat a litle, and to hold conference till one houre be past, O! but how long will that houre endure? That very houre, which our Lord hath granted thee to repent, to sue and prosecute for thy pardon, to purchase grace, and to procure glory. O! but how long will that Tyme continue? That ve­rie time, wherein thou art to procure fauour & mer­cie of the diuine Pietie, and to make all possible speede to accompanie the Angels, to sigh and desire feruently for that euer­during Inheritance; to waken that slowe and luke­warme [Page]wil, and to bewaile all wicked fellowship and impious iniquitie. Thus farre the Diuine Bernard. I would to God (saith Ber­nardine de Sena) if that traf­fique and marchandise of Time,Bernardin. tom. vlt. ser. 13. art. 3. & 4. Et tom. vlt. ser. 18. p. 1. princip. might be caried in­to Hell to be solde; where for one onely halfe houre, would be giuen a thou­sand worldes, if they had them. But Time surpasseth all things, that are in the worlde, it is so gainefull, that men enioying the same, may reape and ob­taine such grace, as that they may come to possesse and enioy euen God him­selfe, goods & treasure in­finite. [Page 15]And if the Diuell might obtaine to himselfe but a small space of Time, wherein hee might repent him, then would hee saue himselfe, and recouer that good, which now without remedie he hath lost. That thing is most pretious (saith the same man) wher­of a small parcell, valueth so much as a great quanti­tie of another thing: And therefore that is the gold, because that with a litle thereof one may buy ma­nie and large waights of any other thing or mettal; Considering all which, marke well, what a thing Time is, and how auaile­able, [Page]in respect that in one instance of the same, if thou knowest how to traf­fique wel, thou mayest win heauen & life euerlasting in such sort as the good Thiefe hath done.

That holy Arsenius wel knewe the estimation of Time,Dion. Carth. in Opusc. who after he had re­tired himselfe frō his ordi­nary deuotiōs, was so gree­die in spending the time, that hee was wont to say, That a few houres of sleep was sufficient for a religi­ous minde. And whereas on a time perceiuing him­selfe to be stung and con­quered of Time hee called it vnto him, saying; Come, [Page 16]now come my violent ene­mie, then setting himselfe downe, did sleepe a litle.

And if it be lawfull to speake of Gentiles & Hea­then men for the confoun­ding of ill liuers and bad Christians,Plutarch. Plutarch wri­teth of Marcus Cato censori­us, that three thinges hee greatly abhorred. The first was, to repose secrets in women, The second, To go by water, when one might trauaile by land. And the third was, that hee should ouerpasse any day, wherin some good were not done. Plinie the great, seeing one day a Nephew of his, wal­king for pleasure, sore chid [Page]and reprehended him, say­ing, well thou mayest doe, not to loose them houres. Sertorius the Proconsull & Capitaine generall of the Romaine Forces,Plutarch in Sertorio. at such time as hee was forced to redeeme and buy his Pas­sage for money of certaine barbarous people, some of his company murmured, and took that action in ve­rie ill part, for that it ap­peared vnto them, as Tri­bute giuē by the Romains, he made them this answer, I haue neither redeemed nor bought any other thing saue onely Time, which is a Treasure most pretious of all the best and [Page 17]richest thinges that are in the eyes of the most gree­diest, and most couetous persons that be: To con­clude then, if the Heathen haue so reputed & thought of Time, how much more ought a Christian man to estimate thereof, conside­ring that in and by Time, hee may gaine eternall wealth and end­lesse glory.

THE learned and deuout Laurentius Iustinianus repor­teth the same which Sene­ca said before,Laur. Iust. de vita soli­tar. that all other things are strange vnto vs, but Time is properly tear­med OVRS, and that wee are Lords of the same, be­cause it is in our hands, and lieth in our power, to im­ploy it as we please: which [Page 18]is no small fauour and be­nefite that GOD doth for vs, in bestowing as our owne, one sole thing so pretious, and speciallie by graunting it so bounti­fully, and so long, though the longest be but verie short; Hereupon saith Se­neca, Seneca. the Time we enioy is no small matter, and with­out reason it is, that men do complaine of the short­nesse of their lyues, but ra­ther should esteeme that losse to be very great, whē they loose Time. The life is long enough, for perfor­mance of special and com­mendable actions, incase the whole be well imploy­ed. [Page]In the Angels, God proceeded so determinate­lie, and with such limitati­on, that for instances, hee gaue them set termes, and prefixed times for their tri­all, whether they would stand or fall; very short spaces and moments, as som say, they were but two or three momēts, & other­some extendes them more largely to foure, which in truth to them sufficed, be­cause of their quick appre­hensions, and perfection of their natural inclinations; but to slowe, vnconstant, and changeable man, God hath granted many yeares and ages: Howbeit, not to [Page 19]liue idle and secure, nor to waste and consume it in play, delights, iestes, plea­sures, meriments, pastimes, and carnall sports, much lesse in sinne and the hurt of himselfe, but that it be imployed in good workes, in lawfull exercises & ho­nest recreations, & should labour in the vineyard, Math. 20.2.4.6. &c. and painefully in the sweat of his browes gaine his daily food and stipend, which is the workemans wages, and the reward of his good ad­uenture. Whereupon the Apostle saith,Gal. 6.9.10 Doing of good works, and vsing the Time in such things for which it is lent vs. Let vs therefore, nei­ther [Page]deceiue our selues, nor be dismayed, nor be wearie to reape and mowe Time, and we shall gather our har­uest and fruit in due season. For which, in all that time we enioy, let vs performe what good wee may. And Seneca, Seneca. though an heathen man, saith, that Time was not so liberally & so boun­tifully bestowed vpon vs, that wee should loose anie part of the same, which by the Apostle is called the acceptable time, 2. Cor. 6.2. and the day of saluation. Wherfore (my good bretheren) imploy the same for your soules health, to doe workes ac­ceptable and grateful vnto [Page 20]God. And therefore also, the time of this life, is cal­led the Fayre time, or Mar­ket time. For as in the same, wares are solde and bought most cheape and at a small rate: So in this life, great marchandizes & iewels of infinite value, may be bought at a small rate,2. Cor. 4.17 and for one momenta­nie and light tribulation or affliction may be caused an eternall weight of glorie (as the same Apostle S. Paul saith) which in Heauen is to bee possessed and en­ioyed.

And by the way let vs heere note, how by that holy and blessed Apostle, it [Page]is tearmed a waight, be­cause that with the weight and greatnesse thereof, it maketh light and easie all the difficulties and trou­bles of this life, and that which we suffer and abide here in the same, makes vs to waigh: all which in cō ­parison is as easie and as light to beare, as one straw or chaffe. Euen as a great heauie waight in one end of a paire of scales, doth highly lift vp & out-waigh the other end, wherein there is but one single strawe or chaffe: So the waight of our reward be­ing put in the one end of the ballance, doth lift vp [Page 21]the other end wherein our labours and worldly busi­nesses are weyed. Where­vnto agreeth that, which the same Apostle in ano­ther place hath written, namely, That the passions and tribulations of this life, Rom. 8.18. are neither comparable nor equall to the glorie to come, which heereafter shall be reuealed and manifested in vs: till such time by all cō ­parison, they are very smal, light, and of no waight. And vpon that similitude of the Fayors (for appli­cation sake to our present purpose) it seems our Saui­our CHRIST hath meant and vsed it,Luc. 19.13. when he compa­red [Page]the kingdome of Heauen to a man trafficking & mer­chandizing in this worlde; Math. 13.45. considering when he spake to all the faithfull (as to men full encombered with many businesses) Occupie till I come, for heereafter there will be no place.

Furthermore, the time of this life is called, Time of vacation (from all other businesses) whereby man may solly & wholy addict and imploy himselfe in the seruice of our Lord. It is called Time of imploy­ment, according to those wordes of our Redeemer, spoken by the mouth of his Euangelist S. Iohn, Now is [Page 22]the time to worke, Io. 9.4. while it is day; the night commeth, when no man can worke. It is like­wise called the time of so­wing, and the time of mo­wing and gathering of the Haruest, because it is the time of grace and faith, wherby the reward of hea­uen is to be wonne & ob­tained. And therefore by the example of the heede­full, diligent, and carefull Emmet, the Holy Ghost sendeth to reproue & con­found the idle and sloath­full person,Prou. 6.6. Goe and behold the Emmet (saith hee in the Prouerbs of Salomon) Shee prepareth her meate in the Sommer, Verse 8. and gathereth her [Page]foode in haruest: which shee layeth vp and keepeth in her storehouse or granarie for her prouision against Winter, which season is counted no time to get, but to eate and spend that which before was gathe­red and layd vp.

Time was bestowed on vs by the Lord (saith Lau­rence Iustinian) for to la­ment & bewaile vs of our sins,Lau. Iustin. to be very penitent, to purchase vertues, to in­crease in grace, to atchiue faith, to discharge vs from hellish torments, and to obtaine heauenly glorie. And it is so true, that Time was giuen vs to be imploy­ed [Page 23]in good works, as onely that which we spend about the same, and in vertuous and necessarie exercises is most properly OVRS, and onely entereth within the reckoning of our lyues and account of our dayes: For all the rest, there is neither respect nor memorie ther­of in Heauen, nor in the booke of life; albeit the world makes reckoning of them, records and inrolls them for long continu­ance; but our Lord kno­weth no such, at least hee saith, that hee acknowled­geth no such, as a thing which neither pleaseth, de­lighteth, nor yet conten­teth [Page]him, but rather much vexe and sore offend him. So Origen, Orig. in Psal. 37.18. expounding the words of Dauid, The Lord knoweth the dayes of the vn­defiled, which are the Iust, saith thus; In the sacred Scripture, it is saide, That God knoweth but onelie good things, and that he is ignorant of the euill, and them hee forgets; not in that his knowledge can­not comprehend all things both good and bad, but in regarde the euill are vn­worthie of his sight & no­tice, I knowe you not, Math. 25.12. saide he, to the foolish Virgines, and as much againe to the workers of iniquitie. The [Page 24]Lord knoweth the wayes of the iust (sayed that kinglie Prophet Dauid. Prou. 4.18.) And Sa­lomon saith, that the Lord knoweth the way of the right hand. And so saith Dauid, that the Lord knoweth the houres, and the dayes, and the Time of them that liue without spot of sinne, but is ignorant of the dayes of Sinners. The holy Scrip­ture makes no reckoning of the time of Sauls raigne, saue onely of two yeares, 1. Sam. 13.1 though hee raigned 40. yeares, because onely two yeares hee liued well, and without blemish of sinne, and the residue, were dayes stayned and tainted there­with. [Page]So of S. Paul. Act. 20. verse 31.

Dion Cassius writeth,Dion Cas­sius. that in a Citie of Italie was sound an auncient Sepul­chre, wherein vpon the Tomb or vpper stone ther­of, were written or ingra­ued these words, Here lieth Simil, the Romaine Capi­taine, whose life, though it were long, yet for all that is reputed to liue, but onely sea­uen yeares, because in them hee retired himselfe from the Court, and being freed of the cares and charge in Office, which formerly was imposed vpon him, he addicted himself to the stu­die of vertue, to his owne [Page 25]meditations and godly ex­ercises. Damascen in his hi­storie of Barlaam and Iosa­phat reporteth,Damasc. hi­stor. Barla. cap. 18. that when Iosaphat demanded of Bar­laam, of what age hee was of; he made him this aun­swere, (if I be not decea­ued) I am fourty and fiue yeares of age, and so many yeares there are, since I was borne. What doest thou answere mee (replied Iosaphat) for thou seemest to mee, that thou art past seauentie? I mary (sayed Barlaam) if thou reckonest my yeares euer since I was borne into this world, thou sayest right, and art not de­ceaued, for that I am past [Page]seauentie; But those yeares doe by no meanes seeme vnto me, yeares of life, nor can such be reckoned in the Account, which were spent and consumed in the vanities of this world; be­cause then (as seruant to my sinnes) I liued after the taste of my sensuality, and appetite of my flesh and outward man, being then without all doubt dead ac­cording to the inward mā, and so I may not call them yeares of life, which rather were yeares of death; But after that (by the grace of God) I was crucified and dead to the world, and the world to me, and haue put [Page 26]off the olde man, then li­ued I no more after my sensuality, nor after the flesh, being enemie to the Spirit, but onely to Iesus Christ, and those yeares I call yeares of life and sal­uation. And I beleeue that all those who remaine in sinne, and obey the diuell, and consume their lyues in delights and vaine concu­piscences, are departed this life and dead, because that Sin is the death of the soule, Rom. 6.19.21. as affirmeth the blessed A­postle S. Paul, Rom. 6.21. Godly S. Ierome expoun­ding the first Chapter of the Prophet Haggai, sayth:Hieron. in Agg. cap. 1. All that Time wherein we [Page]giue place to Sinne, and serue our owne vices, pe­risheth and will be lost, and as though it had ne­uer beene, shall be reputed for nought.

It is reported of Titus Ve­spasian, that being one day at supper, and calling to minde, that in that day hee had shewed no curtesie nor rewarded any body, nor had performed any good turne, or done any good deede to any person, hee spake with great feeling & sorrow of heart, to all them that were then present; Oh my friends! how grieuou­sly sorie am I, to haue lost this day; Then let a Chri­stian [Page 27]man holde for lost, that day which by him is ill imployed, and make that reckoning that hee shall haue nothing for it.

For manifestatiō of this truth, that the yeares spent and consumed in vices and wickednesse, are not pro­perly OVRS, Seneca saith,Seneca. That there are many who first must leaue to liue, be­fore they cā begin to liue. Time (sayeth that famous Doctor Thomas de Kempis) was bestowed vpon vs,Tho. de Kemp. 1. pag. Serm. ad Nouit. cap. 7. to performe good works, not for idlenesse, nor to heare or rehearse olde tales, fa­bles, vanities, nor things of no value. Wherefore my [Page]good Sonnes (speaking to the Nouices in Religion) let neither houre nor anie time ouerpasse you with­out some fruit and profit. And when you are freely licensed to speake, you are not permitted to talke or conferre about any other thing, but what shall be commodious, necessarie, and profitable. For as you are to giue reckoning to God almighty for euery idle word: Mat. 12.36. so are you bound to yeeld a straite account for all the Time which you haue lost and ill imployed. Ludouicus Blosius amongst other his exhortations which he giues to such asLud. Blos. [Page 28]purpose to leade a spiritu­all life, aduiseth and sayth, That he should regard and weigh the estimation and value of Time, and esteem the least part thereof (if ill spent) how litle soeuer it be, for a very great losse. And that mysticall Thaule­rus, Io. Thauler. amongst other docu­ments & admonitions hee giues to religious persons, sayth; Take heede and be­ware (as from the most pe­stiferous poyson that is) of the least losse of Time; And so one of the Offences, whereof the Remembran­cers or Chequer-officers; and our Accusers at the day of Iudgement, shall ac­cuse [Page]and taxe vs withall, will be losse of Time, accor­ding to that, which the Prophet Ieremie in his La­mentations doth giue vs to vnderstand,Lame. 1.21 Vocauit aduer­sum me Tempus. The Lord called Time to be witnesse against mee. The which place Thomas of Aquine ex­poundeth of the day of iudgement,Tho. de A­quin. Sap. 5. because a­mongst other things, wher­of we are there to be char­ged & burthened, one will be Time; Where all the whole orbe of the earth (in defence of Gods honour, will commence hard suite against all sottish & sense­lesse sinners, accusing thē, [Page 29]& requiring Iustice against them for the wrong and hurt they did, against both their Creator & the crea­tures, by abusing and mis­imploying them, and hal­ling them by the haire, a­gainst their wills, to serue their owne lusts & wicked appetites.

NOTwithstanding that solemne Oath of the Angell, (whereof wee spake in the first chapter) that on some day, Time should finish, & make an end of all in gene­rall at the day of vniuersall Iudgement, after which [Page 30]there should be no more Time to deserue either wel or ill, or to make any sa­uing repentance: And that euery man in particular, in the last day of his life is to expect his owne peculiar Iudgement: yet for all that it is greatly to be feared & considered. That God ac­custometh for the punish­ment of the heedlesse and negligent sinner, to cut off Time from him, & to shor­ten his life, least he should profit himselfe thereby as he ought and might haue done, considering that hee hath ill imployed and mis­spent the same. So tea­cheth that famous Bernar­dine [Page]de Sena, S. Bern. art. 3. cap. 4. and for proofe thereof citeth that place of the Apocalipse,Apoc. 3.3. Si non vi­gilaueris, veniam ad te tan­quam fur. If thou watch not, I wil come on thee as a thiefe; and thou shalt not know what houre I wil come vpon thee.

Whereupō God threatneth the carelesse sinner, who frō day to day deferreth & prolongeth his conuersion and amendment (dreaming & imagining that he shall haue Time enough, yea, to spare) sayeth thus; Be not negligent and carelesse, neither iest nor dally thou with Time, neither esteem the same so certaine, so sure, so long, nor so at thy [Page 31]commaund as thou ima­ginest; watch and sleepe not, be euer warie & well aduised; If otherwise, hee will come vnto thee as ac­custometh the thiefe to come, to rob and spoile, & will on a suddaine, at vna­wares, catch & apprehend thee; before thou canst know or perceiue on what houre he is to come The thiefe comes to steale, and to carie away the treasure, which he shall finde heed­lesly layed vp, and which is not kept with that due re­gard and carefulnesse as behoued; and such is Time in the house of the sinner: And therefore with good [Page]and iust reasons, will the Lord cut it off, because it was not regarded and im­ployed to that end, where­by good gaine and profita­ble exchange, yea great ri­ches, blessings, and eternall happinesse might haue bin had and obtained.

Conformable to this, sayeth our Sauiour, by his Euangelist S. Matthew; Mat. 25.29 He that hath shall haue more, and from him that hath not, shall be taken away that which hee hath, or seems to haue. The iust man apprehends Time as his owne, and is Lord thereof, for that hee well knoweth how to vse it, and to him that hath time at [Page 32]the end of his life, more time and space shall be gi­uen him, to examine him­selfe & to purifie his con­science, and shall haue a­boundance, because hee shal obtaine full remission and compleat pardon of all his sinnes, plentifull grace, and glory infinite. And hee possesseth no Time, who (while hee li­ueth) doth not well imploy the same, but being sedu­ced and deceiued by the Diuell with prolonging of amendment, thinkes that he shall enioy sufficient, by the iust Iudgement of God shall be bereaued of his vaine expectation, and shal [Page]want space to repent, ei­ther by some sodain death, or by some other disgrace­full and vnfortunate acci­dent; Thus farre Bernardin Senensis. And for that cause doth our Lord and Sauiour, admonish vs so often,Mat. 25.13. that wee watch, be­cause we knowe not the day nor the houre wherein Time will make an end of vs.

And the holy Church sem­blably, like a louing and cōpassionate Mother, doth aduise vs the very same, saying; Let vs reforme and amend that which hither­to we haue most ignorant­lie or wilfully transgressed, considering that no Time [Page 33]of repentance will be here­after left vs, which though we seeke for, yet shall not we obtaine the same. And to this purpose, as God cuts the thrid of life be­fore the time from him, who profited not with Time in his seruice.Bern. de Sena. Ber­nardinus de Sena reporteth a most terrible and feare­full accident which in his time happened in a certain village of Catalunna, neare to the kingdome of Valen­cia. A young man of the age of eighteene yeares, hauing beene most rebelli­ous & disobedient towards his Parents, did many times loose and forget the [Page]regard and respect due vn­to them. In punishment whereof, God leauing him to himselfe, came to be a most notorious Thiefe, & for robberies being appre­hended and condemned to die, was brought to be han­ged to the market place of his owne Towne: And the young man being dead, & hanging vpō the gallowes, and all the whole Towne present, they saw and per­ceiued his beard to sprout out, & much haire to grow, & to remaine with a wrink­led brow & a writhen face, full of gray haires, & with the aspect and semblance of a man of ninety yeares, [Page 34]a thing whereat all were a­stonied and wonderfully a­mazed, which accident be­ing brought to the know­ledge of the Bishop, who then resided in that Vil­lage, commanded that all should prepare themselues to prayer, himselfe perfor­ming the same, most hum­bly beseeched Almightie God, that he would bee pleased, to reueale vnto them the mysterie of so rare an accident, and after a pretie while intreated si­lence, and speaking with a loud voyce, sayd thus; You see (my Sonnes) that this young man died of the age of eighteene yeares, who [Page]afterwards appeared and seemed with the visage and countenance of a man of ninetie yeares; whereupon you are to note what God would haue vs to be instru­cted of, namely, that after the course of nature he was vndoubtedly to liue ninety yeares, and so would haue done, had he beene obedi­ent to his Parents, but in regard of his sins and dis­obedience, the Lord hath permitted him to die a vio­lent death, cutting off from his life so many yeares, as are from eighteen to nine­tie. And because this might be manifest and apparant to al men, he hath wrought [Page 35]this miracle.

S. Ierome saith,Hieron. E­pist. 21. that the shortnesse of life, is a pu­nishment and iudgement against sinners, and there­fore because of sinne the Lord from the beginning of the world, hath shorte­ned and cut off the life, and yeares of men. Once God withdrew from Hezehiah fifteene yeares of his life,Isaiae: 38.1. which according to the course of nature, he was to liue, but afterwardes by meanes of his Teares and hartie repentance,Ver. 3. they were restored and granted vnto him againe. And so Haymo vpon those words of the Prophet Isaiah, Haymo in Isaian, 38.5. The Lord [Page]hard thy Prayer, and hath seene thy teares, and will adde vnto thy dayes fifteene yeares, saith thus; euen as he spake to Adam, that he should be immortall, conditionally so as he continued obedi­ent to the diuine precept: so by God his eternall De­cree those years were gran­ted to King Hezechias con­ditionally, if he liued fault­lesse and blamelesse, and would not suffer himselfe to be puft vp with pride: For those yeares which for his pride should haue bene taken from him, nowe be­cause of his humility and lowlinesse, were restored a­gaine.Psa. 55.23. Viri sanguinum & do­losi, [Page 36]non dimidiabunt dies suos, saith Dauid, The bloudy and deceitfull men shall not liue halfe their daies, That is, as if more plainely he had sayd, They shall not liue the one halfe of the dayes they should haue liued, in case they had beene godly. Sinners are not the men whom they think and ima­gine they are; For as our Sauiour sayd to the Iewes, Auferetur a vobis regnum Dei, &c. Mat. 21.43. The kingdome of God shall be taken from you, and shall be giuen to a Nation which shall bring foorth good fruit, and shall better know how to acknowledge and estimate thereof: So will [Page]God bereaue sinners of Time, because they yeelde no fruit of good workes in the same, and will bestow it on such as will yeeld good fruite and likewise knowe how to imploy the same well. Those words of Da­uid in his 102. Psalme, Ne­reuoces me in dimidio dierum meorum, Psal. 102.24. wherein he besee­ched the Lord, that he would not take him away out of this life in the mid­dest of his dayes; albeit ac­cording to some interpre­ters, are as much to say, as Oh my God I hartily be­seech thee not to take me away in the middest of my dayes, because that time [Page 37]and age is the very gulfe & wracke of life, the nest of cares and pretensions, and more dangerous to die in, then in olde and decrepit age; and is not so secure, nor of such confidence and assurance: Yet others ex­pound them to the purpose we now treate of, that is to say, in other tearmes, O Lord, I feare and tremble that for my demerits and sinnes, and for hauing so ill imployed my Time, my life be cut off or shortened, which is a punishment thou art wont to inflict vp­on some, who runne on in their wickednesse, not re­garding the exceeding in­finite [Page]finite worth of Time. And therefore do I earnestly en­treate thee, that I be not vnseasonably cut off & ta­ken away in the middest of my dayes, but that thou suffer and permit me to in­ioy & fully to accomplish the residue of my yeares, which thou in thy deter­mination hast appointed I should liue, if I persisted o­bedient in thy seruice, as I ought.

That holy and blessed man Iob (the mirrour and patterne of all patience) al­so saith speaking of the sin­full man,Iob. 15.32. Antequam dies eius impleantur, peribit, &c. Before that hee accomplish his [Page 38]dayes, hee shall die, and his hand shall be cut off, as the vine in the bud, that is to say, God will take him a­way, and shall cut him off in the blade, being young and tender, and shall fade and wither away before his time, and in the middest of his dayes shal be bereaued of his life, as being an vn­worthie and vniust posses­sour thereof. Ouer & be­sides THIS, being a great punishment in this life, in the other, the remem­brance of Time which they enioyed & suffered to passe away without any profit, shall be a great paine and grieuous torment to the [Page]condemned ones, and ther­fore shall then though all to late, beholde and be­waile the lack and want of so precious a iewell.

Holy S. Bernard, Bern. ser. de fall [...]. prae­sentis vitae. Sap. 2. in a Sermon intituled of the fallacie and deceipt of this present life, very elegantly declareth how it bewit­cheth and deceiueth Sin­ners, sometimes protra­cting and making their lyues long & large, where­by they might so defer and prolong their conuersion and amendement in such sort, as they neuer after­wards amend indeede or are reclaimed, and other­times abridging it and ma­king [Page 39]it short, whereby they may truly say, That life is short, & is but a blast, and therefore let vs make hast to glut our selues with all maner of delights & plea­sures of the worlde.

Wherupon he saith, that God amongst other things cutteth off such persons in the middest of their gree­die appetites and licenti­ousnes for their impuden­cie in offending, and be­reaueth thē both of Time and of their lyues, because such who of their owne accord haue no regard to leaue their wicked wayes, GOD cutteth off before their time, and chargeth [Page]them with death, and by force constraineth them to forbeare to sinne any fur­ther. And for that respect many sinners die verie im­prouidently & vnwilling­lie which the worlde iud­geth to happen vnto them by some accident, or hid­den indisposition, or for some manifest casuastie; pretending besides, that those daies wherein they liued not in sinne, were not true daies, nor the life that they leade, true life, but painted and appearing: Whereupon they are cal­led in the holy Scripture, Dead sinners. 1. Tim. 5.6. Apoc. 3.1. The Widdowe (saith the Apostle) who li­ueth [Page 40]in pleasure, is dead while she liueth. And our Sauiour saith in the Reuelation vnto a certain Bishop, who liued not as he ought, Thou hast a name that thou liuest, and the world thinkes no lesse, but thou art not liuing but dead, and for such I repute thee to be, cōsidering that thy soule remaineth dead within that liuing body of thine; So as the sinner hath no life in deed, but onely a name that he liueth.

To conclude therefore, if that Time which the wic­ked vainely misspend and abuse, cannot properly be termed a Time of life, and that God oftentimes shor­teneth [Page]the life and dayes of the wicked; then doe they not, nor shall LIVE as the worlde imagineth, but shall be very poore & sparing of dayes, that is, They shall die very time­ously and speedily; Con­trariwise, vpright and iust men shall be full of dayes, and shall liue farre longer then the world supposeth; for the Lord will not ga­ther them into his barne, vntill it be due season.

IF Time bee such a precious iewel, be­stowed vpon vs to do good workes, and to la­bour in the vineyard of our Sauiour all the day long vntill Sunne set; And if we profit not our selues there­with, we may feare and tremble, that it will be ta­ken away from vs, and that we shall want the same, [Page]when we most desire and haue neede thereof: It is good reason therefore, that we imploy it well, and that in the meane time with great earnestnes and zeale we labour in our vocation. So Ecclesiastes aduiseth vs, saying,Eccles. 9.10 Let thy hand labour ALL that it may, and that with earnestnesse, diligence, feruencie and hast; he sayth All, as if he had sayd, Let no good thought or ima­gination ouerslippe thee, which thou mayst obtaine; nor any good word which thou mayest heare, Omit not any thing thou ough­test to vtter, nor any good worke thou mayest per­forme, [Page 42]forgoing neither occasion, opportunitie nor time to do good. And fur­ther he saith, That which THY hand, and not that which a stranger or ano­ther mans hand doth, be­cause thou must not rely or repose thy saluation vpon the hands, power or strēgth of any other, neither ough­test thou imagine that thy seruant, or thy friend, or a­ny other worldly person, ought to gaine Heauen for thee, thy selfe playing the Trewant, and continuing lazie. Thy hand and thy arme are to performe it, and are to labor with gree­dinesse, earnestnesse, care­fulnesse [Page]and zeale, because life flits away, and when thou least suspectest, Thy Sun will set. Reioyce that thou hast laboured much, because thy rest and reward shall be so much the grea­ter. And the reason which the Preacher yeeldeth for al aboue sayd, is, because that after this life no worke ei­ther of reason, or of vnder­standing, or any act of will, or of any other power shal be of worth nor of profit to gaine thereby grace or glory.

The seuen fertile yeares (prefigured by the seuen fat kine, Gen. 41.2. which king Pharao saw in his dreame) do signifie [Page 43]the time of this life, which by weekes (whereof euery weeke comprehendeth se­uen dayes) goeth on with an alternatiue continuati­on & succession, wheeling about & prosequuting his path; but afterwards will come other seuen yeares (which wilbe al that which shall remaine in the other life, which is without end) prefigured by the seauen leane and hunger-starued kine, Vers. 3. barren and without fruit of desert. For which cause in imitation of that discreet and wise man Io­seph, Exod. 16.16 Now (Brother) fill thy granarie and storehouse, & make prouision against the [Page]time of want and famine, because if thou waite to gather Manna for the Sab­baoth day of the other life, it will profit thee no whit, but rather will be conuer­ted into wormes; For ther­by wil remain in thy Soule (whereof we now speake) a perpetuall worme and sting of conscience, Rachel was most faire,Gen. 30.1. and beauti­ful aboue measure, but bar­ren withall, and though Leah was not so well fauo­red, yet was she fruitfull. The other life is most beautifull and excellent, but is sayd to be barren, be­cause there is no place for repentance & good works, [Page 44]proper vnto this present life, the which though in comparison it be browne, duskish, foule & laborious, yet notwithstāding is fruit­full and fertile, and appre­hendeth that soueraigntie, which causeth and produ­ceth works both good and acceptable vnto God, with the encrease of grace and assured hope of glorie; and he who at first doth not re­spect these things, and with alacritie and patience vnder go his labour and suf­fer griefe and tribulation, and daily busie himselfe a­bout good exercises, can­not hope hereafter to en­ioy the exceeding and ex­cellent [Page]beautie of Rachel the other life.Matt. 20.7

Then be carefull (thou Christian) to labour and worke heere All that thou canst, because hereafter thou canst not possibly doe it. We are mercenarie workemen and hirelings, and therefore there is no reason we should passe a­way our liues idlely, nor in delights, pleasures and dainties, as though wee were great Magnificoes or Gentlemen of high repu­tation. Before Adam had sinned GOD placed him in the Paradise of pleasure,Gen. 2.15. the which he ordained for him, that he should labour [Page 45]in that gardeine; that in that lodge or pallace of pleasure, he should be in­tertained, spend his time and solace himselfe. But after he had sinned, he was banished out of Paradise, and was made a labourer and a workeman of the ter­restriall vineyard. Consi­dering therefore the case standeth thus, labour and make speed (my friend) if thou beest desirous to liue without staine or spot of sinne, and to end thy dayes in all ioy and spiritual hap­pinesse.

Because this is not right­lie vnderstoode, or rather because few indeauour or [Page]care to vnderstande and consider the same as they ought, men now a dayes conuert this vineyard into gardens & places of mirth and pleasure, and passe a­way their lyues in all kind of sensuality and delight: Who are rightly compa­red vnto king Ahaz, of whō it is written,2. Reg. 16. that as hee be­held the Altar of Damascus, he sent from that Citie the true patterne and platforme therof vnto Vriah the priest, that thereby hee might frame, and make an Altar according to the kings or­der and direction; but the Altar of brasse and of met­tall,Ver. 8. which stoode till that [Page 46]day before the Lord, hee took away out of the Tem­ple, and from before his presence, That (I say) ma­nie Christians now adayes doe practise, who embrace Religion, & worship God, but vpon the Altar of the Gentiles, liuing as though they were Gentiles or hea­then men, enioying so much & so many dainties, pleasant tastes, and deli­cates they can procure and attaine vnto, they fall straightwayes to all such things, as their appetites can wish and demaund, & without making of anie maner resistance they la­bour to fulfill and perform [Page]what their sensualities shal long and lust after.

Correct and chastice (thou Christian man) that body of thine, tame & sub­due it, busie thy selfe in the workes of a Christian la­bourer, worke in thy vine­yard, dresse and prune it, digge and delue it, plough it, tyll and manure the in­heritance of thy soule, and thou shalt see how thy sen­suality will forgoe and for­get her heady wilfulnesse, her gallant brauerie and wantonnesse, & there shall not be found in the same such store of bryer-bushes, nor so many thornie bram­bles, and sharpe pricking [Page 47]thistles of Sinnes as other­wise there should. So, be­cause the children of Israel should not be multiplied,Exod. 1.1 [...]. nor recouer any head or strength, but that they should be kept vnder and solde, Pharao made them worke and labour, and ap­pointed them ordinarie tasks which were not smal. Knowe and acknowledge (thou Christian) the good time and the good day, hourd them vp in store, & reserue them in thy store­house, whereby that may not be said of thee, which was spokē of the Hebrues. The Kite, the Storke, Isaix. 10. and the Swallow do know their times [Page]and seasons, and well vnder­stand the due value there­of and profit thereby; But Israel neither knoweth nor regardeth the time of his visitation, nor vnderstan­deth how to profit by the occasion thereof, and ther­fore shall some day weepe and lament most bitterly, and shall much long for, & wish euen that which now hee neither esteemeth nor regardeth.

The people of Israel per­ceiuing the riuer of Iordan to be dry, were therefore secure in the passage, and least they should loose so good an opportunitie, they made hast to passe ouer, Iosuae. 4.10 and [Page 48]indeede passed ouer most safely: But if they had de­ferred their iourney till a­nother day, peraduenture they should haue come short & found the passage shut vp. We cannot secure to our selues the morrow, and if this day thou may­est, deferre it not, let it not ouerpasse thee, but con­uert thy selfe to God, for it may bee that to morrow thou shalt not be able or canst not.Psal. 95 7. To day (saith Da­uid) if you will heare the voyce of the Lord, who in­uiteth and calleth you to repentance, and to amend­ment of life, poast it not o­uer so hardening your harts, Verse 8. [Page]and defer not till another day. Consider thou mise­rable wretch, thou blinde and ignorant Sinner, that the Diuell to deceiue and delude thee, saith, Bestow vpon mee this day, and the morrow thou shalt giue to God, and to morrow hee will reiterate and say vnto thee the very same, and so hee will cosen and vndoe thee.

S. Basil saith,Basil. hom. 13 exhort. ad Bapt. That he no­ted a most meruailous sub­tle shift of a certaine litle Bird (which according to Elianus is the Partridge) which perceiuing the Fow­ler to draw neere towards her nest where her young [...] [Page 49]lay, fearing that if hee had come any nearer, he would haue made a pray of them all: wherefore in respect they could not well flie, she skipt out of her neast and lighted hard by him, putting him in hope, that hee might speedily catch her (hauing her yong ones, as he now imagined sure in his hands,) of purpose to make him to follow her in­to by-pathes, and whereby he might forget to finde a­gaine her litle young ones. When the Fowler drew neare towardes the Par­tridge, and thought him­selfe sure of her, shee sud­dainly flurted vp, and a­lighted [Page]som short distance before him, and after that maner, alwayes flying and staying, or rather limping and hopping still neare a­bouts him, shee deceaued the Fowler by intertaining and withdrawing him a­loofe so farre, till at length her young ones by litle & litle with short leapes and easie flight, had prouided for themselues, and digged small holes in the ground, and had hid them all in safety. And afterwards, the wylie and cunning dam soared aloft, and quite flew her wayes, leauing the Fowler deceiued & asha­med, considering he could [Page 50]lay hold neither of her self, nor vpon any of her young ones. In the same maner goeth the Diuell about to delude and entrappe thee (thou blinde and foolish Sinner) and so detayneth, entertaineth, and draweth thee on, with vaine plea­sures and deceiueable de­lights frō one day to ano­ther, and from one yeare to another, yea many yeares together, with one false hope, that hereafter thou shalt haue Time sufficient to repent thee, that if thou neglect it this day, thou mayest performe it to mor­row, or some other day, (as though the dayes and times [Page]were in thine owne hands,Act. 10. which the eternall Father hath reserued for himselfe) whereby thus alwaies loo­sing Time, and the occasion present, thou mightest hereafter come to want & lacke all good opportuni­tie or seasons, then shalt thou haue cause to bewaile and mone for euer.

If it be good to conuert our selues to God almigh­tie (saith S. Augustine) let vs do it quickly, let it be done instantly;Aug. ad fraet. in Ere­mo. wilt thou say, I will conuert and turne me to morrow? yea too mor­rowe. And wherefore not this day? Considering the morrowe is neither sure, [Page 51]nor certaine, Happens there not oftentimes many suddaine deaths? Die there not an innumerable mul­titude without acknow­ledging their sins and re­pentance? Thē sayest thou, God help me, what harme haue I spoken, by saying, that to morrow I will con­uert mee and begin a new reckoning, when of neces­sitie it should be done this day? Then God helpe mee likewise Brother mine (an­swered S. Augustine) what hurt haue I spoken by say­ing, it should be done this day? That being much more safe and better; and so I speak better then thou [Page]doest, considering thou hast not for thine owne, but onely this day, and yet not all this day, saue onely the present moments or minutes. How much bet­ter were it if it might be, that all thy life were good, for thou wishest and desi­rest that it were amended and reformed, then that some part therof be good, though as little as may be? Thou wilt haue, or at least indeuorest to obtaine, thy meate, thy wife, thy house, thy apparell, thy hose and shoes, all throughly neate and of the best; Esteeme and respect therefore thy Soule in much more ac­count [Page 52]then thy shoes? Thus farre Saint Augu­stine.

The life (saith Seneca) is diuided into three seasons or times, namely,Seneca. in that that is past, present, and to come, and of them the Time present is the shor­test, and that to come is most doubtfull, but Time past is most sure and cer­taine, and thereof now Na­ture it selfe hath lost the dominion and Ruledome, neither is it possible, that it can be recalled by anie humane facultie. Then if we suffer the Time present to ouerpasse, we indanger our selues to be bereft for [Page]euermore without it, but to cōtinue in eternall con­demnation. How much more thou sottish Sinner, (Open thine eares & listen to mee) I say, how much more better were it, that in all the Time of this life, yea from the very first mo­ment, that thou hast the vse of Reason, thou yeeld forth good fruite, and pre­pare thy selfe, and be in a readinesse against such Time, as when the Maister & Lord thereof doth come to demaund it, for there is neither momēt nor houre, wherein hee cannot come and call vs to particular Iudgement, wherein he re­wardeth [Page 53]the labourers and workemen of his vineyard, according to euery ones labour and industrie. All which out of S. Ierome.

In confirmation where­of, that Parable of the Fig-tree commeth neere this purpose,Mat. 21.19. which our Saui­our Christ had planted, & as our Lord drew neare the same being hungry and desirous to eate some figs, and finding no figges ther­on, did curse the same.Mar. 13.28. And the holy Euangelist well noteth, that as then it was no time of fruite bearing, And therefore did not in­flict that punishment pro­perly vpon the Figge tree, [Page]but vpon fruitlesse & bar­ren men voyde of good workes, signified by the same tree. Because that man at all times is bound to yeeld and render fruite, for which cause our Lord, when hee comes to seeke and findes none, he will in­flict vpon him the paine of his eternall malediction & euerlasting curse.

All things) saith Salomon) haue their determined and precise times, Eccles. 3.1. and after that sort and maner, That all Time, is neither opportune nor seasonable for all thinges, for that which is peculiar and naturall for one thing, is not fit for o­ther [Page 54]businesse, but verie preiudiciall and hurtfull. As if one should sowe, whē hee should reape, fall and grub vp trees, when time were to plant, To speake, when one should keepe si­lence, To laugh, when hee ought to weepe; Further­more, for man to doe good works, and to labour in the vineyard of our Lord, there is no precise nor limitted Time: it is alwayes fitte Time, It will be euer seaso­nable, in what houre so e­uer, & in what age so euer, admitting that at no time, it be lawfull to sinne and offend, and that no Time was giuen & bestowed on [Page]man to doe euill or to exe­cute wickednesse. Accor­ding to those words of Ec­clesiasticus, Ecclus 15.20▪ God commaunded no man to doe vngodly, nei­ther hath hee giuen any man licence to sinne: but rather aduiseth and admonisheth all men to preserue and keepe Time, Ecclus 4.20. and that they depart from euill, because it was lent and giuen them for no other end, but to do good, & to imploy the same wel.

The being of a man idle and carelesse,Matth. 20 7 as well the workeman as the hireling, is reproued by the good­man of the family, yet such an idle standing and care­lesse liuing of him that is [Page 55]most in yeares, and most a­ged deserueth and is wor­thy of most blame. And so compareth that royall Prophet Dauid in the be­ginning of his Psalmes, the Iust man,Psal. 1.3. with the Tree that was planted neer the running waters, which yeelded fruite in due time. By which he meant not to say, that as the tree rendreth no fruite, saue onely in one moneth, or at one speciall time of the yeare, & not in others: so the iust man is to yeeld his fruit vpon certain dayes or moneths, or in some precise and determined yeares, and not in others; But rather saith thus, euen [Page]as the tree yeelds his fruite in his due time & season, & if it did not, thē would the owner cut it downe to the very ground: So man ought to render fruite ac­cording to his estate and profession in his time, And his time is, all the time of his life, And he aduiseth and warneth him on Gods behalfe, that it behoueth him alwayes to pray, Luc. 18.1. and ne­uer to cease, and to be al­wayes watching as it were with a candle in his hand, because he knoweth not at what houre his Lord and Ma­ster will come, Luc. 12.40.46. and that he be alwayes prouided in a rea­dines with the accounting [Page 56]Booke of Receipts and De­frayments of Charges and Allowances against the Time he shall come to de­maund an account of the Ta­lents, Mat. 25.19. which were vppon trust committed vnto his charge and deliuered to be kept, that now they should be restored, and of the in­crease and profite of the Vineyard which was ren­ted and farmed vnto him, and of his traffique and im­ployment. All which is a manifest argumēt or signe, that at all times the Lord expecteth that man beare fruite, and be prepared as a faithfull and wise Seruant. And he calleth his Time, [Page]all the time of his life, be­cause that after the same, (as the Angell most so­lemnly hath sworn it) There should be no more Time. Apoc. 10.6. The tree which the Euangelist S. Iohn in his Reuelation did see, which alwayes cō ­tinued with fruit, and euery moneth yeelded his owne▪ Apoc. 22.2 all which was wholesome and profitable, yea the very leaues therof, represent the iust man, who alwayes bea­reth fruite at all times and in all the moneths of the yeare, and throughout his whole age, and all that is in him, is good & profitable, as well thoughts, words, as deedes.

Seneca de breuitate vitae. AMongest all men, (saith Seneca) they onely are deemed idle, who imploy and ad­dict themselues to the stu­die and exercise of wise­dome and knowledge, al­beit indeed they onely doe liue; seeing they doe not onely preserue and liue out their own yeares and ages, but also adde vnto their dayes, the fore-passed times of former ages, be­cause [Page]they haue the frui­tion of that which in those dayes was registred for the behoofe of insuing poste­ritie, whereof they reape great commodity and pro­fit. Which Idlenesse (ha­uing bin so well imployed) is laudable and prayse­worthy, but (excepting this) al other idlenes which properly is idlenes indeed, is most worthily to be re­prehended: For as the Bird was created to flie,Iob. 15. so was Mán borne to labour. And touching that Idlenes, the same Seneca saith, that it is the liuing mans sepulchre, and that the healthful idle person, & loyterer that fol­loweth [Page 58]nothing but idle­nesse, being as it were in­terred and buried therein, is in great danger of fal­ling into many offences a­gainst God: Wherefore Ecclesiasticus saith,Eccle. 33.26. That I­dlenesse hath taught much malice and enuie. A cer­taine Schooleman termeth Idlenesse,Fr. Francis. in sua regu­la. the Enemie of the Soule.Aug ad fra. tres in Ere­mo ser. 19. And S. Augu­stine writeth, that no friend of idlenesse shall or can be any Citizen in the king­dome of Heauen.Chrysost. hom.: 8. in cap. 4. ad Ephes. S. Chryso­stome affirmeth, that Idle­nesse is a part of vice, or ra­ther no part at all, but a most wicked peruerse root, yea the very cause and oc­casion [Page]of all vices, whereof Idlenesse is the Ringleader and Mistris.

That great Anthonie with lowde shrikes and sorrow­full lamentation to God almighty, cried out in the wildernesse, saying, O my God and my Lord, thou true Samaritane and right keeper and protectour of Soules and of bodies, raise in me thy grace, afford me such fauour, and bestowe vpon thy Seruant so much mercy, as that thou permit me not to be idle one iote in this Desert; whereunto in like maner (as the storie reporteth) a voyce from heauen made him this an­swere, [Page 59] Anthony, thou hast rightly desired to please God. Then pray? & when thou canst not pray, labor and do some handy-work? and alwayes imploy thy selfe in some one thing or other, performing such thinges, which on thy part are to be performed and done, and then shalt thou neuer faile or misse the di­uine fauour? It was the o­pinion of the Fathers who liued in Egypt, Cassian lib. 10. collat. c. 3. That one onely Diuell tempted a la­bouring Monke, but ma­ny, the idle. Howbeit, be­cause many thinges are written concerning and a­gainst that kinde of idle­nesse, [Page]my principall intent and chiefe purpose is, not to intreat thereof so much as of spirituall Idlenesse; Against which I will pro­ceede, freeing many of er­rour in that point (who in their owne conceipt and imagination are much oc­cupied) manifesting and prouing with sufficiēt rea­sons, how they are idle, and how they with-holde Time captiuated & imprisoned.

For which purpose I say, hee is idle who vseth not Time conformable to that end, whereto by our Lord it was graunted vnto vs, but rather imployeth it in things vnlawfull and vn­iust, [Page 60]which neither tendeth nor can be directed to his seruice, nor to the benefit or profit of his Neighbour, or about some other busi­nesses which cānot be per­fected or brought to passe for any honest or laudable end: And so all Officers, Labourers, Marchants, Tradesmen, Workmen, & Hirelings, Kings, Princes, Counsailors, Aduocates, Ministers & Seruants, and all maner of persons that are such, doe as it were co­uer heauē with their Man­tles, and with-holde Time captiuated, when they oc­cupy and busie themselues in and about workes, acti­ons, [Page]exercises, and seruices which are vnlawfull and prohibited by the Lawes, Decrees & Constitutions diuine, or not to that end and intent they ought, or else doe liue so secure and retchlesse, that they do no worke that is good or ac­ceptable vnto God; And therefore (as before wee haue spoken) Time was be­stowed on man, not to doe euill, nor to be idle, and he that is ill occupied, is rec­koned and accounted as idle before God.

In vaine hath he recea­ued a Soule,Psal. 15. who alwayes offendeth GOD with the same. In vaine hath euery [Page 61]Sinner had all that Time, wherein he liued in sinne; and in vaine haue all those now the same, who conti­nue therein, and for all the time their soules haue re­mained idle within them, notwithstanding that they haue profited as touching the world, and reaped be­nefit thereby, and enioy the vse of their strengthes & powers for other works, actions, exercises and ser­uices; but as for the prin­cipall end whereto GOD graunted the same, which was, that they should serue him (as acknowledged Se­neca at length) when hee said:Seneca. That God created all [Page]other thinges of the world for the vse of humane bo­dy, & the body for the fiue senses, and the Senses for the Soule, and the soule to contemplate and loue the diuine Beauty. All the Time they spend and wast sinfully, or doe not imploy thēselues in thinges about the seruice of God, is idle and vaine, And yet for all that you will say, that the King is busie, or a Coun­sailour, or some Officer or Minister, &c. But I will terme such a one an idle Christian, a loyterer or i­dle workman in the house of God, & millions of per­sons do remaine in hell for [Page 62]their idle loytering in that kinde of Idlenesse, who in their owne imagination thinke themselues greatly occupied in this world.

All houres spent and consumed in vnlawfull playes, murmuration, de­traction, in writing & rea­ding of lasciuious letters and profane books, which vsually make chast mindes dishonest, And those times likewise which are spent in registring, sentencing, and iudging of other mens lyues and actions, without deliuering to the partie grieued any Copie of his owne cause, and without any mature or full hearing [Page]thereof, nor yet well kno­wing it, and before the Iudges haue throughly vn­derstoode the truth there­of, nor as yet haue receiued the Informations they ought, and yet proceede to Iudgement, or acquite by proclamation: Who can leaue such persons vncon­demned for idle ones, who wickedly imploy and im­prison all good Time. And all those houres which ei­ther thy selfe, or bad, vaine and naughty women haue wasted (which are not a few in number) in decking, trimming, and adorning themselues, for to ensnare and intangle mens hearts, [Page 63]to captiuate Soules and bring them in subiection, to make free, and set at li­berty them that are bound. May such (tell me?) be o­uer-past, without the same censure and sentence? And the time and houres which the ambitious sort (where­in they are puffed vp, as a­nother Ephraim) doe spend and consume in erecting and building of their lofty Towers & windie Turrets, and in purtraying in the ayre the dreames and in­uentions of their fickle fantasies, speaking to thē ­selues, like vnto that proud King Cyrus (the type and fi­gure of that proud Lucifer) [Page]saying, I will sitte in the mountaine of my testamēt northward; I will place my seate and my throne so high, that my feete may be aboue the starres. What wise or discreete man will say, That such Time is not lost, misspent, and bound (as it were) in fetters and imprisoned? The time and houres which the coue­tous person spendeth in plodding of his Accounts and Reckonings, imagi­ning and compassing how and by what meanes, and with what intelligence, he may hourd and receiue stil greater gaine, vse, and in­terest, by way of trucke, or [Page 64]barterie, by changing and exchanging, by vsurie, or without vsurie, adding and extracting with himselfe, watching, wallowing, and cumbring himselfe there­in, and wholy reposing all his care, indeauour, and in­dustrie in his owne reso­lute appetite, to procure and get all that hee may come to, by lawfull or vn­lawfull wayes and meanes, either by hook or by crook: requiring good and suffici­ent Securitie to be answe­rable for sure vndoubted payment and satisfaction as well of the principall Summe, as of the interest thereof and vse of Time, at [Page]the day limitted and prefi­xed; But what man is hee that can secure himselfe, that that day, wherein hee shall demaund or expect an Account with conside­ration for Time, shal passe for currant and good? I neede not discourse anie further hereof, nor mani­festly expresse any more e­states or cōditions of peo­ple, for by so doing, my memorie might faile mee, and I should put my selfe to excessiue paine & trou­ble. Wherefore, Is the world so ignorant or so sot­tish (being so wide and so spacious) but that hence a­nie vnderstanding Christi­an [Page 65]may collect and gather all the rest, which here may be specified and condem­ned if he please, as well by the Sermons which hee hath heard, the books that hee hath read, and by the holy inspirations and in­ward enlightening which the Lord hath giuen him, as by that which his owne cōscience (being his owne loyall witnes & faithfullest friend, except hee be an A­theist) hath many times ad­monished and inwardly accused himselfe of?

And that more credite may be giuen to that I say, it will not bee amisse for confirmation thereof to a­uouch [Page]the authority of the sacred Scripture, Dauid in one of his Psalmes saith of the good and iust,Psal. 73. Dies pleni inuenientur in eis, That in them will be found full dayes and not empty. It is a very vsuall speech in the old Testament, that they died full of daies, as it is said of Abraham, Isaak, and of other Saints and friends of God,Gen. 25.8. & 35.29. Iob. vlt. ver. 17. Thou shalt go to thy graue in a full age, as a ricke of corne commeth in due sea­son into the barne, Iob. 5.26. Wherupon if that be spo­ken of the iust, then con­trariwise may we say, that neither the dayes nor years of Sinners are full, but [Page 66]emptie and voyde, yea for number few, lessened, di­minished and vain, & their howers, diminished how­ers, and by consequence will not dye full but empty of dayes.Dion. Carth. in Iob 5. And Dionysius Carthusianus expounding those wordes of Iob. Men­ses vacuos enumeraui mihi, Emptie moneths & dayes haue I reckoned to my selfe, saith. That the peni­tent sinner may wel say so, namely, that he hath wa­sted, spent, and consumed without fruit or profit his time and dayes, and so for good workes they were voyd and empty, idle, and full of vanity and all vice, [Page]which is as good as right naught. And thereupon S. Ambrose saith,S. Ambr. that the life of the iust is full, and the dayes of the wicked are voyd & vaine, and naught they apprehend, saue only an appearance and shewe, much like vnto a greene Reede without either mar­row, substance, or pith. Of the same opinion is Grego­rie in his Moralls,Greg in mo­ral. sup. c. vlt. Iob. treating vpon the last Chapter of Iob.

Now, that all persons who haue so liued, and pre­sently do so liue, are most worthie of reprehension, doth already appeare most manifestly out of the for­mer [Page 67]chapters. Then, con­sidering Time to be a most precious Iewel, as may well be vnderstood out of the first Chapter, and that it was bestowed vppon vs, whereby we might win and gaine heauen, by a liuely faith working by loue, as is proued in the second; and that God suddenly accu­stometh to abridge and cut it off from such who do not well and worthily imploy the same as they ought, as may bee seene written in the third Chapter, and not­withstanding regard not to accept the aduise & coun­sell which by the illumina­tion of the holy Spirit we [Page]haue shewed and directed them in the fourth Chap­ter, but beeing altogether forgetfull, and all feare and care being set aside, do by their vnsauorie morsels and bitter tastes (though out­wardly guilt and canded) wickedly imploy Time, the which they dispraise and commit outrage against, & in steed of good dealing or well handling thereof, or profiting themselues there­by, they grieue and vexe it, and do withhold the same in prison and captiuity, without any maner of con­sideration of what they loose, or might thereby ob­taine, nor of what they [Page 68]owe to God, who at his owne cost so redeemed them, and whom, for such and so many innumerable respects, obligations and rewards they ought to serue both day and night, and to loue and reuerence withall their hart and with­all their soule.

Such may be compared to Merchantmen, who on Markets and Fayor dayes, not respecting the present gaine they might there ob­taine, doe occupie them­selues about childish toies, and imbrace fopperies of ieasts and deceite, and by hearing of Ballad singers, or blind folkes rehearsing [Page]of old tales and fables, or by seeing of stage-plaies or Comedies, or other vaine pastimes at Beare or Bull­garden; and afterwards do find their purses emptie, & the occasions to merchan­dise, traffique and to get, to be ouerpast. Likewise they are like those mariners who comming a shore out of their Ship or Galley to prouide them of things ne­cessary for the accomplish­ment of their voyage and arriual to their wished port and desired hauen, doe lin­ger and busie themselues in beholding the curiosities which are about the streets and in shops, or by walking [Page 69]in curious gardens, where­by Time ouerpasseth them without perceiuance, and forget themselues of that they principally came for, and that their Ship, Galley or vessel, was ready at hand vpon a set determined time to launch forth & to strike saile, and so remaine desti­tute of necessaries, poore, comfortlesse and miserable in a strange land, because they came too late and vn­prouided.

It may seeme to those, who so without remorse or feeling do loose time, that they possesse so much, that they shall haue sufficient and inough for all things, [Page]yea Time to spare, to repent and amend their liues: Whereas indeed it appea­reth plainely that their vn­derstanding & knowledge do faile them, considering Zeno Cliticus, being an hea­then man (as Laertius re­porteth) did say,Laert. in vita Phi­losopho. That men had no such lacke or want, nor such penurie of any thing, as they had of Time: and truly with good reason and sound probability, be­cause wee apprehend not that which is past nor that to come, and Time present is so fleeting, successiuely following on, and so short, that in one moment it is past.

A certaine deuoute ho­ly man maruailing with himselfe and bewailing the estate of those idle persons, who so fruitlesly without griefe and compunction of hart, permitted Time to o­uerpasse them, did say, The slothfull looseth both this, and the other life, blessed is he that spendeth his life & his powers in the seruice of God. I pray thee tell me? If a well of wine or a foun­taine of oyle, were freely giuen thee, which for the space of one whole day should continually runne in thy house, wouldest thou (being poore) con­sume that one day in play, [Page]or rather in looking out Barrels and vessels where­in to saue and preserue the same, where by to become rich? Without doubt (if thou wert not mad) thou wouldest do the latter: So did that wise and discreete Widdow (of whom mention is made in the second Book of the Kings) by gathering vp and sauing of the oyle which the Prophet Elisha most miraculously procu­red for her to pay the debts of her late husband,2. Reg. 4,5 least the Creditors would take away her two sonnes for slaues, till she had dischar­ged that she owed; But out alas! (saith that holy man) [Page 71]our blockishnes and mad­nesse is such, and our dis­cretion so little, that wher­as God giueth vs Time, and the life present, whereby in the same through his di­uine grace, manifold bles­sings & exceeding fauors, we might with that maine and principal stocke he be­stoweth vpon vs, make our selues rich, and satisfie that we owe, least hereafter we be made slaues to the Di­uell, without remedy, and without end; yet we lauish­ly spend and consume the same in vanities and trifles. Agreeable to which, bee these wordes of most pari­end Iob, saying,Iob. 24. Dedit ei lo­cum [Page]poenitentiae, God gaue man place of repentance and time for the same, but hee hath conuerted the good vse to an abuse, and in sinnes of Pride.

THE Body after the fall, so lifted vp it selfe, withstood & rebelled so much against the Soule, as the flesh (like another bondslaue Hagar towards her Mistris) hath lost all awfull respect,Gen. 16.4.5. and would seeme to be Lady and Mistris, and that the Soule is but a slaue or ser­uant, [Page]suggesting that all the Time of this life is only for the Body, for his owne gallantnesse and recreati­on, & for the accomplish­ment of his sinfull lusts & greedie appetites; and fur­ther, that the Body sheweth great fauour, yea doth a very good turne vnto the poore Soule by yeelding it so much time as himselfe pleaseth; who by reason of her deiection for sinne, was brought vnto this mi­serable thraldome: Wher­upon shee may say vnto God, counting her trou­bles and anguishes, that which Ierusalē in her great griefes and sorrowes hath [Page 73]vttered,Lam. 1.11. Vide Domine & cō ­sidera, &c. Behold Lord and cōsider how I am become vile, considering that my bond­slaue esteemeth so litle of me, and offereth violence vnto me. And therein doth the Flesh greatly iniurie the Soule, & with a Stran­ger exalteth it selfe against all reason and iustice, and is therefore bound to re­store vnto the Soule that which properly is hers, vp­on paine least whē he shall haue neede of the Soule & Body, both of them doe faile to attaine their finall Saluation.

For prosecution of this point, there can be no bet­ter [Page]doctrine written, then that of S. Bernard in his Sermon of the Aduent,Ber ser. 6. de Aduentu Domini. a great part whereof I will here rehearse. The time of this life (sayeth hee) is not for the Body, but for the Soule, and for her onely was it assigned and appoin­ted: because the Soule is far more worthy then the Bodie, and that which first fell and transgressed is first to be repaired and remedi­ed, and therefore because the Soule was first in the transgression, came the Bo­die to incur in the punish­ment, and to participate thereof: But incase we de­sire to be made liuing and [Page 74]true members of our head, who is IESVS CHRIST, wee are to manifest the same, and to conforme our selues vnto him, wherein our first thought and chie­fest care should be concer­ning our Soules, for whose behoofe most principally HE came into this world, & hath suffered the paines and tormēts of the Crosse; and therefore let vs reserue and keepe the care of the Body, against that day and time when our Lord shall come to reforme it, as the Apostle saith,Philip. 3.20. Saluatorem expectamus Dominum no­strum &c. Wee looke and ex­pect for a Sauiour (who is Ie­sus [...] [Page]safegard and preseruation dependeth vpon hers. Be therefore somewhat curte­ous, ciuill and discreet, to giue place and preferre so honorable a guest. Thou art in thy house and vpon thy ground, for thou hast bene earthly, and of earth thou art, but the Soule is lodged in thy house and home, as a stranger, a pilgrime bani­shed as an exile from her owne dwelling. Tell me (thou Body) what rude, ru­sticall Clowne or countri­man, though neuer so grosse or doltish block-headed fellow, If a Prince or an Earle should come to lodge in his house, would [Page 76]not he with hart and good­will, retire and withdrawe himselfe to the worse part thereof, whereby to suffer that Nobleman to enioy the best roome or cham­ber? yea, if it were necessa­ry, would go and sleepe vp­on hay or straw, or neer the cinders and ashes vpon the very hearth, or in the chim­ney corner. Then likewise do thou the same, and if it be expedient, leaue off to eate and sleep for the good of thy Soule, and for the loue thereof loose thy de­lights and pleasures, forgo thy pastimes and sports, Fast and keepe Dyet, wher­by shee may bee safe and [Page]whole, chasten and disci­pline thy selfe, let thy selfe bloud to tame and mortifie thy flesh, if neede shall so require, that thy Soul may liue; For this Time is no time of mirth and solace, but of lamentation and teares, no time of rest and quietnesse, but of labor and paine; no time of worldly recreations and loose-li­uing, but of prayer and re­pentance, nor time of any contentments, but of tri­bulations and sorow. Time may hereafter come of laughter, when thou may­est reioyce and be mery to­gether with her, so as now thou bewaile and weepe [Page 77]with her; For if thou sowe no tears, thou shalt neither reape nor gather any ala­critie or ioy: Despise not thy guest, esteeme her not of any smal worth or reck­ning, though she seemeth vnto thee a Pilgrime and stranger, but rather admire to beholde the manifold goodnesse and vnspeakable blessings that redound vnto thee, as well because of her society and presence, as al­so by reason of her partici­pation & communicating with thy selfe in all things. That guest, and that Soule is she, who giueth sight to thy eyes, hearing to thy eares, words to thy tongue, [Page]taste to thy palate, and to all thy other parts their sense and seuerall motions, yea all their grace, comeli­nesse and beauty.

But if more cleerly thou desirest to vnderstand this point, then consider what thou shouldest bee in case she were lacking (I meane) departed or fled out of thy house? At that very instant, thy tongue would be mute and dumbe, thy eyes blind, thy eares deafe; thy nose would waxe pale, all thy beauty and comelinesse would fade and perish, and then shouldest thou re­maine dreadfull and ter­rible, foule, filthy, vgly, fro­zen, [Page 78]starke and stiffe, loath­some, irksome and horrible, and wouldest bee a most stinking corrupted rotten carkasse, and a dunghill of wormes. These things be­ing wel considered, Wher­fore doest thou for one mo­mentanie and temporall delight & pleasure greeue and offend so noble and profitable a member, so principall a guest, and be­reauest her of her Time? yea, stealest and robbest her thereof, and consumest the same so ill, and so like a wicked scape-thrift. The which false deceiuable de­lightes notwithstanding, thou couldest not inioy, [Page]incase thy soule were ab­sent from thee? Albeit ne­uerthelesse if such and so great glorie and treasures happen and befall thee by reason of her presence and fellowship, though being a Soiourner in a forraine countrey, by reason of Sin and Transgression, bani­shed out of the soueraigne Court, and from the sight of her Lord; Yet what shal come and redound to thee, when of all sides both (Bo­dy and Soule bee reconci­led vnto the Almighty, and so shall absolutely remaine in his grace and fauour, in his friendship and inward familiaritie? It is reason [Page 79]therefore that thou in all patience and meekenesse, doest dispose and prepare thee to offer thy selfe to all things which may in any wise profit and serue for the obtaining and purchasing of that reconciliation and amitie, Tell thy guest, thy Soule, that which Ioseph sayde to King Pharao his gentleman Butler or Cup­bearer, I am sure & certaine that ere it bee long the King will remember himselfe of thee, Gen. 40.13 and will restore thee to thy former estate, and there­fore, I prethee, haue me in re­membrance at that time. So without doubt, she will specially stretch her selfe [Page]for thy good and regard thee, if now thou serue and vse her well, and imploy­est the time about that which belongeth and ap­pertaineth to the Soule, and not about thine owne onely commodities and peculiar behouffes, on her cost and charges. And when she shall obtaine the grace and fauour of her Lord, and enioy his pre­sence, she will intercede and intreate for thee, and will be thy most faithfull friend, and aduocate, and will say:

Most mercifull and om­nipotent Lord, when for punishment of my offen­ces, [Page 80]I was exiled in the worlde, and as a Pilgrime and stranger walked there­in, a certaine poore, pitti­full, and godly boast recei­ued me into his house, and dealt with mee most lo­uingly, For whom, so effe­ctually and so sincerely as I may, I most humbly be­seech thy most infinite Clemencie and goodnes, that thou requite him, who for the loue of mee gaue away all his Sub­stāce, vtterly vndoing him­selfe for my sake, and offe­red himselfe to performe whatsoeuer I thought be­houefull and good, forgo­ing his owne appetites, [Page]fansies, dainties, and plea­sures, labouring and swea­ting, wearying and vexing himselfe for me, and indu­ring thirst, hunger & faint­nesse, watching, sorrowe and tribulation; and for his owne proper necessi­ties and peculiar affaires tooke the least part of Time, euē as litle as might be, whereby the more might remaine for me.

Hereupon no doubt wil be fulfilled, that portion of Scripture which saith, Our Lord executeth his will vpon them that feare him, Psal. 145.18.19. and will heare their prayers and sup­plications; For when that King of infinite Maiestie [Page 81]shall come, cōpassed with shining brightnesse and glorie, accompanied with thousand millions of An­gels to raise vp and restore our bodies, and to reduce them like vnto his owne, awakening thē out of that sleepe, in which now they rest, by that terrible and dreadfull noyse of the Trū ­pet (thou hauing euer de­meaned thy selfe towards thy Soule in all thy steps and cariage as thou ough­test and appertained, Then will our Lord well reward thee with his glory, who will glorifie and cloathe thee, with those most pre­tious indowments of im­mortality, [Page]mortality, agility, impassi­bility and brightnesse, the which in the company of thy Soule thou shalt for e­uer enioy. Desire not ther­fore (I beseech thee) to loose and ouerpasse a Glo­rie so glorious, such deli­cates, such wealth, & such honour, for any short, fa­ding, and perishing plea­sure, or for any seeming good tastes or carnall li­kings, being indeede full of distastes and dislikes. For which moreouer the wic­ked are to suffer and abide grieuous dolours & euer­lasting tormēts. All which aboue rehearsed out of fa­mous S. Bernard.

Such therefore who for their carnall bodies in this life doe challenge and as­sume the Time that belon­geth to the Soule, which they vainely misspend ac­cording to their owne lusts; neglecting and con­temning, yea and as it were trampling their soule vn­der their feete; the Lord threatneth with great pu­nishment, in those wordes of holy Iob, in the 24 chap­ter, saying▪ Iob. 24.20. Their mirth and pleasures shall most speedily end and finish, and all their sweetnesse shall be turned in­to wormes and stings of con­science, and all mercie and pittie will forget them for [Page]euermore, and at last shall be buried in the perpetuall pit of obliuion, they shall passe from hard frozen sno­wie waters, into intollera­ble excessiue heate, where­by their paines and tor­ments might be the grea­ter, and their punishments prolonged. The cause whereof will be Pauit enim sterilem, Verse 21. &c. Because they fed and pampered the Barren, & they righted not the widowe. That Barren signifieth the Body, for the more it is cockered, and pampered, the lesse fruite of Godli­nesse doth it yeeld. It is all one, as if they pampered and cherished a dry wood­den [Page 83]blocke: The widdowe signifieth the Soule, be­cause there is no widowe so mured vp in a corner, nor so solie left, as her selfe is in the house of the Sin­ner.

To conclude therefore, I hartily pray and intreate all Sinners, for the loue of Iesus Christ, yea all such as bereaue the Soule of Time, and assume it for the lustes & appetites of their owne bodies, diligently to consi­der of all here before spo­ken, and then to reforme themselues, and hartily to repent them for the enor­mities & wickednesse they haue committed; and that [Page]they imploy for the good of their Soules all the time they may; considering that on her health and happi­nesse, dependeth all that of their Bodies, and by the welfare of the Soule must they come to abound and be replenished of that glorie which for euermore they hope to enioy.

BEcause (as holy Iob saith) our Flesh is neither of brasse,Iob. 6.12. nor of steele, nor the power and strength therof of hard and strong flint, but brittle, sensible, soft, feeble, ten­der, and such as will be ti­red and wearied, yea dulled with labor and paine, with manifold businesses and af­faires: and likewise for that the Soule being vnited, and [Page]as it were incorporated with the grosse Body; it is to be granted that at some­times shee must inioy her desires and solace, as also the old maried man though neuer so wise and discreet, yeeldeth and vseth some youthfull behauiour to­wards his wife, specially if shee be a young woman. Wherefore some interpo­sition of mirth is very re­quisite and necessary a­mongst many businesses of care and respect for the re­freshing of the continuall trauell and wearisomnesse of the body: For if man should alwaies without in­termission worke and la­bour, [Page 85]he would not onely make dull and wearie his vnderstanding and memo­rie, continually wast the vigour and strength of his health, but also should most speedily spend and consume his life withall.

And so whereby gene­rally both men and bruite beasts might interchange­ably enioy trauel and ease, labour and rest; Also the naturall disposition and condition of sleepe and of the varietie of Time, it was ordained that the night should succeed and fol­low the day, wherein (as Wisedome speaketh,Wisd. 18.14) All things do keep silence, and ac­cording [Page]to Virgil, Virgilius. All the field as well birds as beasts are quietly at rest; And be­cause that the ordinary rest was thought too litle, the Feriae which we call Feasts were ordained, which throughout all Nations, Countries, and people at seuerall seasons are vsed & obserued: It is conuenient and expedient therefore, that after labour there should be rest, whereby men might repaire their strength, recouer and ob­taine a longing desire and will to returne vnto their labour and businesses a­gaine; without which, eue­rie worke, labour, occupa­tion [Page 86]and exercise would be so heauie and toylesome, that our weakenesse and feeblenesse could not be able to beare and sustaine, For as Ouid saith,

Nothing can endure or long continue, which wan­teth interchangeable rest, which according to Plu­tarch, is the very health and preseruation of labour.

It is written of King A­masis, that when his pub­lique affaires were fini­shed, hee was wont for a while to recreate himselfe with his familiar friends. And of Sceuola, that vpon [Page]vacant houres he played a while at tennis. Howbeit, of our Sauiour Christ (set­ting aside the heathens & pagans) it is not written that at any time he laugh­ed, but that he oftentimes wept as at the raising vp of Lazarus, and ouer that vn­gratefull citie of Ierusalem, Io. 11.35. Luc. 19.41. Heb. 5.7. and vppon the Crosse: Neuertheles for recreatiō sake, when he thought it necessarie and expedient, he somtimes lead his Dis­ciples with him to the fields, and said vnto them, Rest and pause ye a while (you that are weake and mortall men) eate your selues & refresh yee, Take [Page 87]breath & recouer strength & spirit, whereby you may with more ardent feruour and alacritie of spirit, re­turne to your seuerall offi­ces, ministeries, and functi­ons. So that by all which hath beene said in the pre­cedent Chapters, wee are not condemned for all the time that is spent in play, recreations, sports, solaces, spectacles & sights which apprehend the same ends and causes, but rather let vs note and diligently ob­serue, that if it be necessa­rie to keepe order, tempe­rance, and moderation in causes of weight and mo­ment, much more is it in [Page]trifles and friuolous mat­ters, the which though most cunningly handled & framed, yet at times are wont to be disordered and reduced to somwhat; for the perill & danger, which remaineth and ariseth out of the excesse and vnmea­surablenes thereof. Wher­fore according to the Apo­stle, A Christian man ought to performe and do all things orderly, 1. Cor. 14. 40. much more it be­houeth him to prescribe & limit taskes and measure in his recreations,3. Tho. 22. qu. 168. and vpon the time which therein he shall wast. And for that respect there is a vertue, which is called [...] [Page 88]or Comitas, Gentenesse or good behauiour, conforma­ble to which GOD would, that men should recreate and sport thēselues in such sort,S. Ambr. that (as saith S. Am­brose) it behoueth not to loose our grauitie or so­brietie in pleasure, least the harmonie of good life should be dissolued.

Aristotle saith,Aristot. that as a litle salt will serue to sea­son one messe of meate: So a little recreation suffi­ceth life, which recreation is to bee vsed in the same manner as salt is. And so their play, sports and en­tertainements ought to be lawfull, short, seldome, ho­nest [Page]and not preiudiciall or offensiue to any, accomo­date & fitting to the time, place and persons, & with such moderation and so­bernesse, as that which he taketh and assumeth for helpe and ease, be no let or hinderance vnto him, nor any impediment of his ver­tuous exercises and other iust offices or duties.

That which is to be re­couered and obtained is a­bilitie and strength, where­by things may be the bet­ter compassed and brought to passe and effected with­out default or difficultie: For when the faintnesse of our naturall disposition is [Page 89]well refreshed, it incoura­geth and animateth vs to proceed & perseuere ther­in; As on the other side, it is such an enemy vnto la­bour and amendment of life, as that our appetite doth couet and long for pleasures without rule or order, vnlesse great care & diligent respect be had, and that Mediocritie bee kept wherein all vertue consi­steth: Otherwise one may fall with great facility into Idlenesse and vice, and so flie from labour, wherupon it falleth out that the in­ward man commeth to be disordered, and for ordina­rie businesses and requisite [Page]occupations to remaine a person most slothfull, idle and lazie, most slacke and loose, and least apt and dis­posed to doe good. For which cause the Philoso­phers and the ciuill Lawes haue ordeined some docu­ments and set downe limi­tations: Albeit the recre­ations of a Christian, by all good reason ought to be much more moderat, more honest, and more lawfull, then those which the Phi­losophers, Or the ciuill Lawes do permit or grant.

The Lacedaemonians tooke a most heedfull strait reck­ning,Aolian, de varia hist. lib. 2. that no person should loose and Time, nor liue [Page 90]idely, nor enter into any matter of iest or scoffe, saue onely in laudable workes, honest labours and vertuous exercises; where­as vpon a day it came to the notice and knowledge of the cōmon Magistrates, that the Inhabitants of De­celia, were gone foorth to walke at noone time: they sent after them a letter to this effect, Walke ye not abroade so much for mirth and recreation sake, as for the exercising of your bo­dies, because it is very fir­ting & behoouefull for the Lacedaemonians to seeke out help & remedy for the pre­seruation of their healths, [Page]not by walking and loyte­ring, but with bodily exer­cises, about things lawfull and profitable.

Some sports there bee which are good & lawfull, and occasion may be offe­red, & opportunitie serue, wherein pastime may be a vertue, as then chiefely when it is necessarie for man for the administrati­on and performance of his office and function,S. Tho. 22. Qu. 168. speci­ally being vertuous, and a­bout the seruice of our Lord, for the obtaining of greater ability & strength for fulfilling thereof, That therby he may make due sa­tisfaction for the same, least [Page 91]otherwise he shold faile, or be dismayed in the high cōmon pathway, & as the Spanish Prouerb saith, Porno dar con lacarga en el suelo, A Spanish Prouerb. least our burthen & charge fall in the mire, and so wee might loose our labour. Which by litle and litle with great moderation and sobriety are to be vsed, and with such discretion and heedfulnes (as concerning the end and intention) they were first inuented, & spe­cially after their greedie appetites for lucre & pro­fit haue crossed them in some playes, which I holde more then hurtfull and damnable; which not one­lie [Page]are no helpe or ayde for the furthering of our offi­ces and speciall duties, which on Gods behalfe & our owne consciences we are bound to effect, but ra­ther and impediment & let, yea an occasion whereby we cōmit therein no small defects; but oftentimes many offēces against God, as lying, swearing, false oathes, frettings, contenti­ons, standing most stifly & stoutly in bad quarels, out­facing and earnest labou­ring in strifes, which are wont to cause dislikings, euill words, enmities, and rancour, wherefore I holde and am of opinion that the [Page 92]Time which is spēt in such playes & sports, for ill im­ployed and lost, for capti­uated & impr soned Time.

It is very necessarie that persons go visite and com­municate with Charitie, which is a recreation most lawfull for the continuati­on & preseruation of ami­tie and friendship.

Conformable to which, a certain Philosopher said, That Taciturnitie or Si­lence, hath vndone manie friendships, or broken ma­nie a louing knot: But the imparting to their friends of their contentments in their actions, labours, and chaunces for the greater [Page]ioy of the one, & the hart­ease and comfort of the o­ther, is a thing most lawfull and laudable, & the Time needful & expedient about the same, is well imployed; Howbeit, many of the visi­rings & gossippings which now adayes are vsed, are ei­ther so prolix & tedious, so without fruite or profit: Or so hurtfull and preiudiciall to themselues and to their Neighbours, or all that they treate of it but vani­tie, and sauoureth of the world and her fashion; so as I hold such for perillous and dangerous, and the time therein spent, for ill imployed & captiuated.

And I beleeue it is the Tongue which consumeth & vnthriftily spendeth the most Time, because that kinde of Tattle or prittle prattle will neuer cease & haue end, or be wearied & tired, and the fire thereof is it, which most prolongeth and longest putteth off & deferreth repentance, and her spots & blemishes are they that most spread a­broad and furthest creepe, & she is that moath which deuoureth and destroyeth the most cloathes, yea that which with her fine cun­ning and queint subtilty, will neither remit nor for­goe.

The feasts and banquets which are made for conser­uation of peace, loue, con­cord, amitie and vnity, or for any other iust causes are lawfull, being vsed and ob­serued with that tempe­rance and moderation as appertaineth & with their due circumstances, as be­commeth Christians. Ne­uerthelesse for the most part as they are nowe vsed with such disorders, ryot & excesse, for so many houres and for so long time toge­ther, I may not be bold nor dare presume to make them good and perfect, nor to vndertake their iustifica­tion vpon my conscience, [Page 94]because the most part of Time which therein they wast and consume, I rather hold as ill imployed and imprisoned.

Concerning meriments, leapings and dauncings, I haue nothing to say, sauing that I thinke many of them to be most lasciuious and wanton, and that many times they wake and stirre vp them that sleepe, and do change and alter the spirits and affections of chast soules and honest harts, and do disquiet men, raise an hurly burly, cause and pro­uoke vnlawfull and vnmo­dest thoughts and disorde­red desires and lust, where­fore [Page]I hold much of that time, which therein also is consumed and spent, for ill imployed and captiuated.

And whereby it may be seene, with what modera­tion and stint men ought to vse their recreations and sports. It will not be out of purpose or in vaine for the shortning and abridging of the superfluitie of worldly contentments; to write that which diuine Chryso­stom rehearseth in reproofe of those words which they call Donayres, Chrysoft. in expos. Epist. ad Ephes. ser. 17. &c. Merrie iests, wittie sayings, gi­bings, foolish tales, or taunts to make people laugh, counterfeiting of o­ther [Page 95]mens gestures, scof­fings, making of mowes, dancing the Antique, or a­ny ridiculous toy to moue fond delight, legerde­maine, iuggling, perfor­ming of apish comple­ments, to vse termes speci­ally proceeding frō sharpe biting & taunting toungs, and which are mingled with malice; for the incon­ueniences which thereup­on doe insue, sayth: Bre­theren, this life and the time thereof, is the Time of warre, of watching, and alwayes to go ready with armor on our shoulders, & our eyes staring against the plots and ambushments of [Page]the enemies, and by good reason, Time hath here no place of laughter, which is carnall and of the Sonnes of the world, who professe and obserue the lawes, cu­stomes and abuses of the same. Heare (thou Chri­stian) our Sauiour Christ, speaking to al His, The world shall sport it selfe, Io. 16.20. shall laugh and be merrie, but you shall weepe and walke sadly and pensiuely: Christ was cruci­fied and buffetted for thy Sins, and thou desirest to passe this life in Donayres, &c. Merry Iests, fond de­lights, mirth, laughter and vaine pastimes.

THERE were cer­taine Heretickes,Alph. de Ca­stro aduers. haeres. lib. 11. verbe O­ratio. who misinterpre­ting these words of the E­uangelist S. Luke, where it is sayd that men ought al­wayes to pray, Luc. 18.1. and neuer to waxe faint; brought into the Church that false and new coyned doctrine, tea­ching [Page]that no other thing was to be done and perfor­med neither night nor day, but onely to pray, and that without any manner of in­termission, interruption or ceasing howsoeuer: For man ought onely to bee occupied and imployed therein: But these Here­tickes were sithence not without great reason con­demned and banished out of the Church, because it was not possible that our weaknesse and feeblenesse should endure and be able alwayes to pray, in such sort as they haue affirmed; Neither are the words of the Euangelist so to be vn­derstoode [Page 97]and expounded, neither hath the infallible Veritie spoken them in that sense.

That which by these wordes,1. Thes. 5.17. It is expedient al­wayes to pray, and by those of the Apostle,Salmeron. Pray conti­nually without ceasing, is meant, is this; when as ne­cessitie compelleth vs to aske any thing of God, or when we are driuen to any straitnesse, tribulation or aduersitie, or doe feare any such thing, then are wee to entreate and beseech with earnestnesse and perseue­rance, once, twise, & thrise, till hee shew mercy vpon vs, reward, assist, and fa­uour [Page]vs without faile or fraud, not ceasing nor be­ing dismayed, though pre­sently hee doe not sensibly bestow or grant that which we demaund, but that wee knock and call at the gate of his bountiful mercy, vn­till it be opened for vs, and that if he please, he bestow vpō vs our desires, because of our importunacie, euen as the Lord in the Parable of the widdowe and wic­ked Iudge doth teach vs the same (which then to that purpose he propoun­ded after he had said,Luc. 18.2. & seqq. Men ought alwayes to pray, who with meere importunacie and perseuerance, came to [Page 98]wearie the Iudge for the grace and fauour she desi­red. And this is confirmed by the example of the Church who prayed with­out intermission, for the Apostle S. Peter while hee was detained in prison,Act. 12.5. vn­til he was deliuered thēce, and that she saw him safe.

Moreouer, that saying, Pray continually, is as much to say, as Pray at houres & time conuenient, wherfore Dionysius Carthusianus say­eth,Dionys. Car­thus. Let him that prayeth, pray without intermission in due times; and he pray­eth alwaies, who prayeth when he may, and hath oc­casion and fit opportuni­tie [Page]thereunto.

Simon de Cassia declareth it thus;Simon de Cass. in Iob. 7 All the life of man is a continuall triall and warfare, and all the time he continueth and abideth here, our enemies wage battell against vs both night & day without cea­sing or intermissiō: And of our selues or by our owne proper strength and might wee are not able to ouer­come or cōquer them, nor to withstand their force, and therefore it behoueth vs to pray continually, and to entreate for aide and suc­cour of that LORD, who onely is able to graunt our requests, for which cause [Page 99]the Spaniard saith, En todas maner as es oportuna la ora­cion importuna: that is, By all meanes an importunate prayer is alwaies oppor­tune and fitting: And ther­fore it is not to be so inten­ded, that there must be no ceasing nor intermission of any Time in prayer, consi­dering that our sleepe, our eating and drinking do of­ten constraine vs, as also our apparrelling, and som­times we must rest and ease our selues, and men must haue time to prepare them selues to their seuerall offi­ces and ministeries, & som­times to recreate and re­paire themselues for per­formance [Page]of corporall and spirituall works of mercie: but that which is sought & expected of vs is, that our intention be wholy setled towards God, and that all our workes be onely dire­cted and intended to his glory, & that at times and houres conuenient, our hearts and thoughts be lif­ted vp vnto him, to pray & begge that which we lacke and haue need of, So as all our life time, it behooueth to pray continually, because throughout the whole course thereof, there is nei­ther day nor houre, where­in man may say, that there is no neede, or can leaue [Page 100]vndone so necessarie, and so important an exercise. But euer and alwayes to continue in prayer & me­ditation: there is no head can beare it, nor body en­dure it, nor any Lawe of God that cōmandeth any such thing, nor obligeth or bindeth vs to anie such taske, (because his yoke is easie & pleasant, and his bur­then light) and there are o­ther thinges wherein wee ought to be imployed, which charitie and necessi­tie demaund and require at our hands.

And for the accomplish­ment of all things, how spi­ritual or holy soeuer a man [Page]be, it is very needfull and requisite that he haue and exercise some lawfull oc­cupation and honest exer­cise, or some other functi­on which may serue him for recreation and ease to lighten the heart, because that variety (as saith Theo­doretus) takes away the irkesomnesse and loathing,Theodor. li. de prouid. and causeth fresh desires and new appetite to spring and grow in vs, and so af­terwards man will returne with better liking & grea­ter abilitie, & with a more feruent desire and earnest­nesse to his spirituall exer­cises. Wherefore,3. Reg. 3. euen as the Wiseman in that his dis­creetSalomon, [Page 101]iudgement and sen­tence,1. King 3.25. which hee gaue for satisfaction of the two wo­men who sued for the child, each of them affirming that it was hers, where he commanded that it should be diuided & parted in the middest, and so distributed betwixt them both: So the wise, prudent, spiritual mā, is to part and diuide his Time betweene the Soule and Body, yeelding & ren­dring to either of them the part due to the same: And as true husband Iacob with his two wiues Rachel and Leah, Genes 29.23. ver. 30. was wont by turnes to exercise himself in both lyues; namely, actiue and [Page]contemplatiue, giuing the most he could, to the most perfect and most excel­lent.

And because that in this miserable and wretched life, the soule is not able to attend alwayes on spiritual things, therfore all authors that write of spirituall life, say, that some interpositi­on of Time is very necessa­rie, whereby the spirituall man might exercise him­selfe in some honest and lawfull trade or occupati­on, which should neither withdrawe nor auert the soule, nor restraine the spi­rit, but such as should strengthen and comfort [Page 102]them, and serue for ayd and courage. For which cause those Fathers who in time of persecution liued in the Desart and solitary places, enioyed and vsed their cor­porall occupations, or bo­dily trauels, and set times thereto limited and dedi­cated, whereby the Diuell might alwayes finde them occupied either in corpo­rall or spirituall exercises, which corporall exercises serued in steede of recrea­tion and repast, and for the obtaining of more valour and courage, to performe the spirituall.

So saith S. Ierome in his Rule,D. Hiero. in reg. cap. 8. Giue no place nor [Page]entertainment to idle and wandering thoughts, for if they begin to be Lords o­uer thee, & to maister thee, thou shalt perceiue and feele in thy soule a most heauy losse and great dam­mage. And least the Diuell doe finde thee lazie & idle, procure (when thou dost not contemplate) to doe and execute some handie­worke, as by making some baskets of rushes, or by fra­ming & composing some small fruite dish or platter of slender, fine, delicate twigs or osyars: Digge a while in some garden, and the ground being seasoned and prepared, dresse and [Page 103]make euen the same, frame it in order, measure it with a line, and diuide it into squares & make beds, sowe and set therin diuerse sorts of pulse, plants, seedes and flowers. Visite them often, succour and prune them, & in due time water them, and as the seeds are grow­ing and sprouting, rake and pluck vp the wilde hearbs and noxious weeds; and if it please thee, thou mayest graffe some trees, whereof thou mayest in time come to gather their sauorie and wished fruite. Make hiues, whereinto the industrious Bees may retire thēselues and abide, and worke their [Page]sweet hony combes: we aue and make nets to fishe and catch the busy rouing fish­es; Write and compound bookes; pourtray & drawe pictures, Paint or limme them with collours, be­cause the idle is an ocean of thoughts, and therefore the religious men of Aegypt doe accustome to receiue none that is ignorant of some office or science, not so much for the earning of his victuals, as for that which imports the soules health, and for the auoy­ding of idlenes, and wher­by with the varietie and change of exercises, hee might returne with more [Page 104]earnestnesse and desire to the spirituall exercise of prayer and cōtemplation, the which in this present life none can possibly en­dure continuallie. And moreouer, writing to De­metrias, hee saith:Idem epist. ad Demetr. It is of great importācie that thou loose no time, but remai­nest alwayes occupied, thē chiefly at the houres of Pryme, the third, sixt, and ninth houre, at Euensong, Completorie, and Morning prayer, wherein euery day thou art to exercise thy self in prayer, assigne to thy self appointed houres for stu­die, to learne and vnder­stād the sacred Scriptures, [Page]and after thou hast spent some time there-abouts, & perceiuest the thoughts, and care of thy Soule, to haue awakened, stirred, and moued thee, to fall downe vpon thy knees, and of­tentimes to kneele vpon the bare ground, haue due respect to the ouer-plus of time, hauing alwayes some businesse & work at hand, and doe thou spinne the wooll, bumbast, or cotton, flax, hempe or towe which remaineth on thy Distaffe, or reele and winde vp bot­tomes of yarne, stitch and sowe a while, labour and performe some such like worke, for if thou be busi­ed, [Page 105]the dayes will neuer see me long or tedious, but easie and short.

D. Berm, tract. de vi­ta solitar.And diuine S. Bernard in his Treatise of solitarie life counselleth the same, say­ing: After thy daylie sacri­fice of prayers, after thou hast studied thy lesson, and after the examination of thy conscience, vse & im­brace some occupation or bodily exercise, whereby the soule & spirit may for some short time rest & re­fresh it selfe, yea pause and breath, least thou be dis­mayed, auerted, or with­drawne from thy purpose of godly exercise, from the which when thou please or [Page]seest cōuenient, thou may­est depart and leaue of, or be freely dispatched with­out any maner of offence or displeasure. For as man was not created for the woman,Gen. 2.18. but the woman for the man: So, the bodily exercise ought to be for the spirituall, and to helpe and further it, but not to hinder or disturbe the same by no meanes. In like ma­ner, as the Companion, which God gaue to Adam, Verse 23. was in all resemblāce most like vnto him, made and formed of his rib, bone, and flesh; So likewise the helpe, assistance and exer­cise, which ought to ac­companie [Page 106]and beare fel­lowship with the life spiri­tuall, must resemble and holde proportion with things spirituall, and by reason of their affinitie, either of them should bee the badge and token of the other, as to meditate some­what that hath beene spo­ken or written, or to write ought that was read or heard; for if they were la­borious workes of great paines and wearines, ama­zing and as it were distra­cting the senses, and tyring the body, the spirite and courage of well dooing would bee altogether as­swaged and abated, and [Page]the deuotion lessened and diminished, yea made luke­warme. Therefore the reli­gious and spirituall per­son must take heede of, and looke diligently, that the Time bee not ouermuch which he shall spend in bo­dily exercises, but so as with great ease and facili­tie, he may returne againe to his spirituall deuotion; howbeit the while and space that the corporall endureth, he ought not to bee alone and his exercise carelesly performed, but accompanied with others, and refreshed with the spirituall. Corporall exer­cises, are those which are [Page 107]tearmed handycrafts or workes of the bodie; for otherwise watchings, fast­ings, and such exercises of mortification, doe not on­ly not perturbe or hinder, nor cause any hurt or da­mage to the spirit, and are not cōtrary vnto the same, but rather they are most fauourable and profitable, if they be done and seaso­ned with discretion and wisedome as is requisite. And the same Saint Ber­nard writing of a religious Sister of his,Idem tract. forma bene viuendi ad soror. ca. 51. saith thus; Thou (seruant of God) must alwaies read, pray, and labour, that the spirit of dishonestie beguile not [Page]thy idle spirit, and carnall delights, and fleshly lustes haue the vpper hand of la­bour and paines-taking. Diuide the day (Sister) in­to three parts, in the first, pray? in the second, read? and in the third, labour? and performe some handie worke: Prayer, doth purifie and make vs cleane, rea­ding, doth teach and in­struct vs, and labour makes vs blessed and happy, ac­cording to that of Dauid; Thou shalt be happy and for­tunate, Psal. 128.2. and all things shall happen well vnto thee, be­cause thou eatest the fruit of thy handiworke and labours. And who so well and so [Page 108]wisely parteth and spend­eth the Time in this maner, shall haue no recconing to yeld vnto God Almightie of Time ill imployed, nei­ther shall Time haue whereof to com­plaine him.

THE Apostle S. Paul, amongst o­ther documents, exhortations and coun­sailes that hee gaue to the Cittizens of Ephesus, and to all Christian people, af­ter hee had admonished them, that they should be­ware from ryotousnes and couetousnes, and from all other workes of darkenes, [Page 109]and that they should not communicate with Here­tikes being enemies of the light, saith thus;Ephes. 5.15 Videte quomodo cautè ambuletis &c.

Now you see how ma­ny daingers there be, occa­sions, impediments, lets, & ambushments in the way to heauen, and how many theeues and robbers, py­rats, rouers and other e­nemies hinder the pas­sage; therefore Looke about you and bee aduised how you walke, and how you trauel that way, make your iour­ney warily, with speciall care and heedfulnes, with much vigilancie and feare, least you fall into their [Page]snares. Walke not as fooles, but as wise, discreet, pru­dent, circumspect and wa­rie, least by following and prosecuting the enemies plots and practises you be quite ouerthrowne. Remē ­ber that it is sayd,Ephe. 5.16. Redimen­tus tempus &c. Redeeme the time because the dayes are euill. The first exposition or explanation of which wordes (because the se­cond part thereof is trea­ted in the Chapter subse­quent) is of Saint Ierome where he saith,Viegas in Apoc. cap. 10. citat Hieronym. that God bestowed Time vpon men wherby he might be serued in it, and they occupied in good workes, (the which [Page 110]more at large may bee vn­derstood in the second chapter precedent) which notwithstanding they de­taine as captiuated and im­prisoned, imploying the same in bad workes & wic­ed affaires (which is a cap­tiuitie most culpable and blameable, and most wor­thie to be lamented) But Time is to be redeemed and rāsomed, by doing of good works; for then doth man redeeme and buy it, and make that properly his owne, which malice had detained as ouercome and alienated.

The second Exposition is this, God cutteth short [Page]& diminisheth many times from Sinners their dayes and time, the which by the course of nature (had they beene good) should haue liued lōger, (as in the third chapter before wee are in­structed) Wherefore the good, iust, and vertuous man, and hee that imploy­eth his time well, doth re­deeme & ransome it. Then hee that rescueth and ran­someth that part of time and space of life, wherein he liued sinfully, for which God by his iust Iudgement would haue cut him off, shal now enioy all the time that Nature had assigned and appointed him to liue [Page 111]in, and shall die a good v­surer or great gayner of time, & full of dayes.

The third Exposition is, That hee redeemeth Time who taketh part thereof from the affaires and traf­fique of the worlde to be­stowe it in the seruice of God, for the enioying of the inward peace and qui­etnes of his Soule, for the idlenesse of Marie Magda­len is not to be accounted Idlenes,Luk. 10.39 but holie and re­ligious imployment.

Furthermore, he that v­seth Time with such circū ­spect limitation and heed­full respect in his transito­rie commodities and tem­porall [Page]businesses, as that he doth not imploy the whole day therein, but now and then borrowes a litle from his worldly imployments, and saues & reserues it for the Soule, for her best ad­uantage and greater bene­fit; hee is truly sayed to re­deeme and purchase Time, and to bestow for the same euen that which he saued and spared from his world­ly affaires for his Soules health. And albeit this re­demption & ransome (be­cause of the delight and good liking otherwise of the which hee is depriued) aggrieueth him in such fort, as it should grieue one [Page 112]to be beguiled of his din­ner, who had a good appe­tite thereunto, yet not­withstanding man ought very earnestly and eagerly to striue and procure by all meanes to redeeme and re­couer againe the pawne or pledge of a thing so preti­ous as Time is, considering that pastimes & sports, vn­lawfull and excessiue en­tertainments and recreati­ons, were the money and price by the which it was solde to the Diuell, who beguiled vs most notably in the sale thereof, with his great subtilty and forcible enticements as well of the Time it selfe▪ as of the pre­tious [Page]woorth and value thereof.

Agreeable to which, that most famous Doctor of the Church S. Augustine saith,August. ser. 24. de verb. Apostol. To redeeme Time is, as when any body implea­deth or sueth thee for thy goods, to loose somewhat thereof for the gayning of Time to serue and please God, and to abstract there­out so much as by suits of law thou shouldest spend; & that which thou seemest to loose, thou gainest, which is the price where­with thou hast bought Time; and something must be lost to get, and to pur­chase; for if thou goest to [Page 113]the market place to buy bread, wine, or oyle, or o­ther merchandice; thou gi­uest & receiuest, thou lea­uest & receiuest, thou lea­uest behind one thing, and bringest home another, thou leauest money behind thee which thou loosest, & cariest home thy ware or merchandise, and that is to buy: for if thou haddest not giuen something, thou shouldest not haue now wanted what thou hadst, but thou shouldest haue possessed much more then before, if haply thou had­dest found it, or diddest in­herite it, or else that others in curtesie had bestowed the same vpon thee; but [Page]when thou giuest and loo­sest, or takest out of thy house one thing to bring home another, then dost thou buy & purchase: and that which thou inioyest, is that which thou bough­test, & that which thou be­stowest and hast not, is the price wherewith thou hast bought.

The Diuine Chrysostome expoundeth it after this maner;Chrys. in Epist. ad. Ephes. Ser. 17. Redeeme the time (Bretheren) that is, Re­deeme the opportunity & the occasion to doe good. Time is not yours to be de­spised, and wherein with­out sinning you may play & spend it away wickedly, [Page 114]or consume it vnthriftily (as is said of one, who affir­med that hee could play a­way his money, & throwe it into the riuer if he listed, because hee was Maister thereof) for though it be yours, by being in your hands & power to imploy it well or ill; Yet are you but Pilgrimes and Passin­gers, and therefore ought to desire no worldly ho­nour, nor vaine glory, nor riches, dignities, puissance or authoritie, reuenge, nor any point or particle of re­nowne or worship. Suffer & beare meekly all things which offer themselues vn­to you against the haire as [Page]it were, and disagreeable to your good liking; haue patience therein, & so you shall redeeme and ransom Time, and doe good to your enemies, and giue them of that you haue if they aske it and be in necessitie. Ima­gine that a mā had a house most rich and most sump­tuous, very costly furnish­ed and well orderly proui­ded and prepared, and that by the fame & report ther­of certaine theeues or bur­glarors did enter into the same, who sought and en­deauoured to kill the ow­ner, that afterwards they might spoile and rob him, whereupon hee should say [Page 115]vnto them, Oh my good friends, for the loue of God, doe not murther me, and I will yeeld and render you all that I haue in my house, and thereupon deli­uereth thē all things they aske and demaund; of such a one wee may truly say, that himselfe ransomed his owne life: So after the same maner, thou (my Bro­ther) enioyest a large faire house, greate store of wealth, iewels, pearles, and precious stones; thou pos­sessest a Soule which is the liuely Temple of the liuing God, yea his owne house and dwelling place, thou art endued with faith, hope [Page]and charitie, besides other vertues and gifts from his hands and bountifull libe­rality; Giue and bestowe all that shall be demaun­ded of thee, and loose the remainder when it shall be expedient and needfull, in exchange least thou loose the life of thy Soule, and so thou mayest ransome & redeeme Time, which in case thou dost not, thy enemies will leade thee a­way captiue.

Againe, Sinners may redeeme and ransome the time they with-held capti­uated, if they will embrace and follow the Counsell of the Prophet Baruch, where [Page 116]he sayeth;Baruch. 4 28. Sicut fuit sensus vester, &c. Conuert and turne you to God, and af­ter your conuersion to him by repentance, you shall serue and obey him tenne times more carefull with more ardent heate, feruour and diligence then before when you departed from him and misimployed your time.

They will likewise rescue and repurchase the same a­gaine, if they wil performe the admonition which the Apostle S. Paul giueth, de­claring vpon the conse­quence of these words, Si­cut exhibuistis membra ve­stra, Rom. 6.19. &c. Euen as hitherto [Page]you haue imployed & yeel­ded your bodies, senses, and members in the seruice of vncleannesse and iniquity, to sin, now wheele about and looke back, turne ouer the leafe, and imploy all things to serue equity, ver­tue, and holinesse of life.

The Apostle hauing spo­ken before,Rom. 6.19. Humanum dico propter infirmitatē vestram, &c. I speake as a man for your infirmities sake, and because you are weake, hartily be­seeching you, that you wholy imploy and busie your selues in the seruice of God by keeping his cō ­maundements, and redee­ming the Time (of which [Page 117]holy exercise the fruite is your sanctification, for by such workes man doth san­ctifie and dedicate himselfe wholy to God) & that you perform this with as great affection and alacritie, as euer hereto fore you deuo­ted your selues to impiety, yeelding your members as bondslaues to sinne, whose fruite is nothing else but iniquity, and wherof a Sin­ner can make no other pro­fit, but that hee remaine a Sinner, a miserable wret­ched man, and be so ac­counted.

And notwithstanding it be true that Sanctification doth far exceed iniquitie, [Page]yet rest I well satisfied with such vnfained endeuor and resolution of doing good workes, which some haue performed after their con­uersion, with such earnest­nesse as before they were set and bent to sin by dis­pleasing and offending of God; We see how violent and couragious many are to sinne, and after they haue glutted their appe­tites how slothful and luke­warme, howe slacke and faint they are to repent & to exercise themselues in actions of vertue? The sin­ner rusheth through thick and thin to accomplish his desire, and to satisfie his [Page 118]lustfull appetite: and as it were to run away with that he longed for; nothing see­meth difficult or hard vnto him; and if thou aske him, how canst thou suffer this, or that? though he be ne­uer so graue and ancient, to all things he will frame an answer, and say, yes.

Time seemeth most short to sinners for inioying of their lusts and pleasures, but to occupie themselues in good workes it seemes most large and wearisome: The Seruice long, the Ser­mon large, his prayers, me­ditations, paines and fa­sting, laborious and tedi­ous: Cold weather makes [Page]them heartlesse and cow­ards, heate slacketh and re­leaseth them, and all things seemes painefull and hea­uie. So as (to conclude) that is a most singular re­medie and helpe for to re­deeme Time, to imploy it well, and to vse it with such alacritie, heedfulnesse, ear­nestnesse and liuelinesse to deuotion, as he hath done when he was altogether bent and resolued to loose and capti­uate to same.

AL things that God hath created are good being consi­dered in themselues, and according to their owne nature and kind, because that from his most blessed hands, there could pro­ceed no worke or thing which were not good; And so himselfe after the worke of Creation sayd, that all were good and perfect, Gen. 1.31, that [Page]he had made and created.

And to speake to our purpose, the dayes and yeares considered in them­selues cannot be euill, nei­ther can there be any mo­rall malice found in them, which iustly may be tear­med a fault, because they are not capable thereof: nor yet any feeling of pu­nishment, for they cannot apprehend it, nor any o­ther miserie which men suffer for their sinnes: But the dayes are sayd to be e­uill, in respect of men, who liue in them by occasion of their transgressions and sins they commit, or by reason of those punishments they [Page 120]suffer, caused by the former, according to S. Chrysostome and S. Ieromes exposition.Chrys. & Hier. sup. Psal. 27. And so are persons that be weake, sicke, sad, sorowfull or afflicted, wont to say, O what an euill day this hath beene vnto me! oh how terrible, and how bit­ter!

Two things there are (saith that excellent S. Au­gustine) that make the daies to be euill,Aug. ser. 24. de verbis Apost. & are the cause wherefore they are termed euill, being indeed in thē ­selues good, namely the Malice and the Miserie of men: The miserie or wret­chednesse is common, but the malice ought not so to [Page]be. From the time that A­dam sinned, and was bani­shed out of Paradise, the dayes haue euer continued euill: and the crying of in­fants at the time of their birth is a presage of their miserie and troubles, and a sure signe and infallible to­ken that vpon that day they enter into this vale of teares, and that at the least (though they be so happie as to become good) they shall not faile but bee en­combred with sundry dan­gerous temptations and tryals, albeit the cause thereof cannot be expresly declared.

Euthymius expoundingEuthym. in Psal. 34. [Page 121]those wordes of the Psal­mist, Who is that man that wisheth life and desireth to see good dayes? saith, that those good dayes, are they of the other life, for that those of this, are euill, ac­cording to that which Ia­cob spake to Pharao, Gen. 47.8.9. and the Apostle S. Paul also when he wrote to them of Ephe­sus, Redeeme the time, Ephes. 5.15. because the dayes are euill. And S. Basil faith the same: The whole time of my Pisgrimage (saith Iacob answering Pha­rao, Basil, ibid. who had asked him,Gen. 47.9. how old he was) is an hun­dred and thirty yeares fewe and euill haue the dayes of my life beene. The king deman­ded [Page]him, how many are the yeares of thy life? and he answered, The dayes of my pilgrimage, &c. and though it seemes that he answered not to the purpose, yet did he answer most admirably, like a most holy, wise and discreet Saint, amending and secretly correcting the demaund and question pro­pounded vnto him, euen as the Maister is accustomed to doe with his Disciple, when he demaundeth not aright: who gaue Pharao to vnderstand, that the yeares of mans life, are not yeares, but dayes, and the dayes be not dayes but houres, and the houres, not houres, but [Page 122]moments; and that the life of the Seruants of God, is no steedfast or permanent life, but only a peregrinati­on and pilgrimage towards the heauenly Ierusalem; They are passengers and strangers, and thereafter they vse the goods of this world; and sayde further, that the daies he liued were few, being a hundred and thirty yeares, because these and many more, are indeed but few,Gen. 29. & 31. Iob. 7. likes as the longest life, is but short.

And finally he cals his dayes euill, because of the manifold perils wherein he remembred himselfe of­tentimes plunged, and of [Page]the corporall and spirituall trauels which vsually hee suffered: For the life of man is a temptation and tryall euen all the time that he liues vpon the earth. And because of the misery and troubles, the mischan­ces and disgraces which be­fall and happen vnto men in their dayes, happen and be­fall men in their time, the dayes are called euill, as likewise in the sacred scrip­ture they are so tearmed.

Therefore also is the day of Iudgement called the euill and the bitter day,Psalm. 50. in respect of the wicked; and from hence we may vnder­stand the sence and mea­ning [Page 123]of those words of our Sauiour written by S. Mat­thew, Matth. 6.34. Be not ouer carefull for the morrow, for the morrow shall care for it selfe; the day hath inough with his owne griefe: That is,Simon de Cassià. as if more plainely he had sayde, Too day yee haue sufficient to do, namely to carke and care for this present day, and for all the labors, tur­moyles, occupations, ne­cessities & businesses ther­of, without doubling the waight or ouer-charging your selues, in taking vpon you too day, the anguish, vexation and burthen of the morrowe, imagining that then you may do it, or [Page]that then such a thing may happen vnto you: for I assure you that to morrow will be very carefull of it selfe.

And therefore the mea­ning of that, which the A­postle wrote to them of Ephesus, when he sayd, Re­deeme the time because the dayes are euill, Ephe, 5.16. was this, Be­hold, that the dayes are troublesome, full of mise­rie, difficulties and lets, oc­cupations, temptations & impediments of your sal­uation and health; For the which, and for many other things and affaires, where­into the necessities of this body and life, & our owne [Page 124]ill inclined naturall dispo­sition after the fall haue leade vs, much part of time is often lost without fruite, and is sold, morgaged, im­pawned, pledged and cap­tiuated. And therefore I hartily beseech and exhort you, and do highly com­mit to your charge, that you take speciall care and regard that it be not ill im­ployed any longer, nor withheld imprisoned, but that you cause and procure to your vttermost power and endeuor, that thereby you may reape profit, that it be redeemed, repurcha­sed and ransomed, and that you will duly esteeme ther­of, [Page]and negotiate there­with; So as when our Sa­uiour shall come to de­mand an Account, thou mayest be able to make it good. And so are all of vs to do and performe, consi­dering besides that the dayes are most short, vn­certaine and irreuocable, we should be couetous of Time, endeuoring and pro­curing to recouer that which is lost, and to paci­fie them vnto whome we haue done any harme by making of great hast to re­couer and saue that which is to come to serue God in, and to repaire our former negligences and passed [Page 125]heedlessnes with present diligence and care, renew­ing and augmenting our repentance, mortificati­ons and charitable deeds: Euen as accustometh the Trauellor to doe when he hath any long iourney to make, and perceiuing the time to be short, and that by his owne negligence, rechlesnes and carelesnes, he is much behind, he in­deauoreth afterwards to runne in such sort that hee goeth in two houres so much way as that other­wise hee would not haue gone in sixe, and for that purpose lookes for neerer wayes and shorter cuts, he [Page]sweats and toyles, and runs on headlong a thousand rugged wayes, without re­sting or pawsing, though necessitie much require it, and if he hap to eate, it will be but a bit, and that with much celerity and quicke speed.

So did the same Apostle for the redeeming of the Time which he had lost, & withheld captiuated. Se­quor si quomodo comprehen­dam. Phil. 3.12. 1. Cor. 9.24 As if he had sayde, Now in respect I captiua­ted and lost so much time, and erred so farre, and con­tinued so backwards in the right path of Gods seruice, and was so negligent in [Page 126]gaining and procuring the glorie of the life to come, I will now giue double di­ligence and bestir my selfe apace, and runne without any looking backe, because I make no reckoning of all that I haue already iourne­yed and traced, but rather will commit all that to ob­liuion, as if I had not tra­uelled it at all, crowding and thrusting my selfe for­ward, as it were through the middest of all that stand be­fore me, hauing alwayes an eye to that which I haue to go, and not to that, which I haue already trauelled.

King Dauid did the same, after that God had ampli­fied [Page]and enlarged his heart with his loue and feare, and tooke away those gifes or fetters which he had on his feet, as himselfe confesseth, saying;Psalm. 119. Viam mandatorum tuorum cucurri, &c. When as by thy great mercy (O my Lorde God) thou thoughtest good to drawe me out of my sinne and mi­serie, wherein I detained & spent so much time, and hast bene pleased to burst the chaines where with I was tied and bound, refre­shing and comforting my heart with the water of thy superabundant grace, more then of Angels; I begunne (for the redeeming of [Page 127]Time captiuated) to runne, and haue runned (as farre forth as I could) with all diligence, without reach­ing, as it were, one breath or other, the way of thy precepts.

The deuoute and mysti­call Thaulerus (with whom we wil conclude this Trea­tise) did aske,Thauler. how lost and passed Time might be re­deemed and raunsomed, considering wee haue no moment of time which we owe not to God, and (as Gregory Nissenus saieth) when all the life is implo­yed in Prayer,Greg. Niss. in orat. Do­minie. & in giuing thanks to God, with much ado, do we accomplish as [Page]we ought, what at the pre­sent ouerrunnes vs, how much lesse that of the Time past, and to come: maketh answer thus; Let euery one depart and retire himselfe withall possible power and strength, from all and eue­ry place and time, and be­take himselfe wholy vnto that present Nuno (which properly cannot be sayd in the vulgar language) of e­ternitie, where God is es­sentially, & always cōtinu­eth in one Being, and in one firme stability, without re­spect of any thing that is Past, or To come, but all Pre­sent and in one perperuale­state, vniforine, perdurable, [Page 128]fixed, permanent, constant, vnchangeable & vnmoue­able, hauing no time to o­uerpasse him, In whom re­maineth & is al presēt, past & future, & all beginning and end of time, without beginning & without end. And there in God are foūd all the treasures which by the wicked are vilified, de­spifed & contēned, yea infi­nit moe. And they who ac­custome many times to lift them aboue themselues, & aboue all things created, & to hide themselues and make their nests and dwel­ling with God, who abi­deth in the Soules of all present, such without [Page]doubt do make themselues rich, and shall finde in him much more of that which otherwise they might haue lost. And in this introuer­sion or conuersion to God, ought euery one of vs, wholy, entirely and per­fectly to transforme him­selfe into him, and from the very bowels of his heart say vnto him after this man­ner.

Oh my euerlasting God, If all the TIME which hath bene from the beginning of the world, and which shall be till the end, were granted vnto me, I would liue wholy for thee and in thy seruice, and from [Page 129]henceforth I would God I might liue and continue so loyal, faithfull & obedi­ent in all kind of vertue, as all as many men as haue bene borne and liued, though it be in all manner affliction, tryall, misery & tribulation. I would to God that all the waters of the Sea might be distilled through my eies to remedy al them that are poore and in necessitie, and to com­fort them that are sad and heauie, and to loue thee (my God) to praise thee, to extoll thee, to magnifie thee, and to glorifie thee so much as all thy Saints and Angels of thy soue­raigne [Page]Court: For with­out all doubt I would doe and performe all those things very willingly and with all my heart.

And certainely he that retaineth and feeleth in his hart that will and liuely af­fection, shall be so assured that he shal be accepted of that most iust and rightfull Iudge, as if he had put it in effect, because the seeking with an vnfained will to accomplish and performe any thing,Chrysost. ho­mil. 19. in Matth. S. Tho. 1.2. qu 20. art 4 2. Cor. 8.12 and the reall do­ing and fulfilling thereof, is all one and the very same with God. For as S. Paul saith, if there be first a wil­ling mind, it is accepted ac­cording [Page 130]to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not.