The first Chapter.

I am come to sée how you doe sir, for me thinke it is long since I sawe you.

It is long since I sawe you in déede, but I will not saie you are therefore welcome, for if you would come oftener, you should be much more welcome.

Well, bicause as you saie, I come so seldome, I will tarrie with you so much the longer, & if it were not for hindering your studie, you should haue me dwell with you this whole after-noone, for I haue manie things to talke with you off, you shall sée I will make you werie of me be­fore I go. The last time we were in companie together, if you remember, there was much talke had to and fro, [Page] how we should vse this present world. And me thinke it was well said of one, that séeing it is the will of God to haue vs liue in this world: It is likewise his plesure to haue vs inioy the pleasures of this life. And yet on the other side, the riotous life of a great manie was found fault withall, & that also not without good cause. I would therefore gladlie learne some certeintie in this matter, I would gladly learne I saie, when we vse the pleasures of this world aright, and when we abuse them. But to the end you might vnderstand my meaning a­right, you shall vnderstand that I call those the pleasures of this life, not which are simplie euill as adultrie is, or such things as we inioie by stelth, but I speake of such as maie be both vsed, & not vsed without anie breach of the commaundement: And bicause I am somwhat doubtfull what those are that are of this kinde, I praie you tell me what they are, and how a man maie be bolde to vse them.

The pleasures of this life [Page] maie verie well bée diuided into such as are common to all men, as meate, drinke, & such like: or else into such as are vsed but of some men, of this kind are games, for all men you knowe, are not gamesters. Concerning the first kinde the Apostle telleth vs, that the earth is the Lords, & all that there in is. And therefore we maie boldlie féed on anie thing that is solde in the Shambles. We maie be bolde I saie to delight our tast with anie kinde of foule that flieth in the aire, with a­nie kinde of liuing thing that goeth on the earth, with anie kinde of fish that liueth in the water, or with anie kinde of fruite that groweth out of the earth. It is lawfull to delight our hearing, our eie-sight, our smel­ling, our tast, our féeling: with the vse of anie thing that y^e Lord hath made, for example, it is lawfull to delight our hearing with the singing of birds, or with anie other kind of honest me­lodie. It is lawfull to delight our eies w^t beholding y^e glorious maiestie of y^e heauens, y^t are drawne out like a cur­tein. [Page] We maie behold the Sun when he commeth out of his chamber, like a bridegrome to run his race, we maie beholde all the host of heauen, and all the glorie of the earth, we may delight our eies with looking vpon a­nie amiable coulour or pleasant sight, we may take pleasure in anie fresh & swéet smelling sauour. We may féed as I said before on whatsoeuer is pleasant to our tast: we maie refresh our selues with heat in Winter, and with cooling things in Summer. And1. Tim. 4. 1. as the Apostle is bolde to call the for­biddng of anie kinde of meat the doc­trine of diuels: Bicause the occasiion of giuing God thankes therefore, is therby taken awaie: so I dare boldlie saie, that the forbidding a man to refresh anie of his other senses with anie honest delight, is likewise y^e doc­trine of diuels, so far am I frō condē ­ning anie honest pleasures. We maie therefore sport our selues as I haue said, or to speake more particularlie, we may with delight view the earth y^e is apparelled, with flowers, hearbs, & [Page] trées, & with all kinde of fruite. The incredible multitude wherof is distin­guished with an insatiable vareitie, whervnto we maie adde fountaines,Tullie de natura de­orum. 2. booke. goodlie springs, cléere waters, riuers, with their gréene bankes. The huge height of mountaines, the largnesse of the wide fields: to conclude, the whole earth, with the rich treasures that are hid in y^e bowels therof, what a come­lie grace haue golde and siluer aboue other mettels? what also and how manie kinde of beasts are there, both wilde and tame? how trimlie doe the birds fall vpon the earth? the ground is diuided by the diligence of man, some to pasture, some to tillage, and some is taken vp for places to dwell in. The sea is full of fishes, both great & small. If we consider the beasts of the earth it is wonderfull, what care the dammes haue to defend their lit­tle ones? how louinglie do the hen ga­ther her chickins vnder hir wings? Now if we shall come to the comelie proportion of euerie liuing thing, es­peciallie of man, how trimlie are our [Page] bones knit together fit, for the mouing and for euerie action of the bodie. The sences beeing the interpreters & mes­sengers of things, are verie fitlie pla­ced in y^e head, as it were in a castle, y^e eies as spies, possesse the vppermost part of the face, as it were a tower, by their warning the bodie, auoideth manie harmes. All sounds and all sa­uours doe naturallie assend vpward, our eares therefore and our nostrels, which are made to receiue sounds & sauours, are verie fitlie placed aloft. Our tast which trieth all those kinde of meates and drinks which we féede on, dwelleth in that part of y^e mouth, where through all meats and drinks doe goe. Our féeling is dispearsed throughout our whole bodie, by which meanes, if anie harme come to the bodie by féeling, it maie soone be es­pied and remedied. Our eies haue a couering which is made soft, least our eie sight should be hurt. Our eares are made winding and haue waxe in them, least by béeing plaine and emp­tie, some thing shuld enter in & annoy [Page] vs. Our eies are able to iudge of the order and comlinesse of euerie thing they looke on. Our eares can tel which is a swéet, & which is an harsh sound, wherby were found out sundrie kind of instruments, and the whole art of Musicke. What our tast can doe, we are taught by the sundrie kinde of di­shes that are dailie deuised. With these and all such like pleasant medi­tations maie we delight our selues. Now concerning the right vse of all these thinges that I haue spoken of, we shall haue a good direction, if wée cōsider that they are all the creatures of God, and that we cannot haue the vse of anie thing which is not his, for he made all, of him, for him, and through him are all thinges, and therefore it is good reason that he should be glorified in all. Wée doe not glorifie the Lord in his creatures as we ought to doe, when either wée barre our selues to much from the vse of those thinges that hée hath left fit for vs: or else when we vse them too much. Concerning the first [Page] kinde we are to-learne that the crea­tures of God are as steps and staires wherby we arise to the acknowledge­ing of y^e creator these gifts of God, are as it were his hands, whereby he doth lead vs vnto himself, that gaue them. But how can we be leade vnto him, when wée refuse to take him by the hand? how can we be thankfull for that which we cast a side & make no account of? How can we acknowledge the bountifull goodnesse of God to­ward vs, when we refuse those things which would cause vs to haue a sen­cible feeling of it within our selues? for this cause is the forbidding of meates called the doctrine of diuels. And although this voluntarie absti­nence may séeme to haue a glorious shew in the sight of men: yet theColos. 2. 16 Apostle is verie carefull to haue vs take héede of it. And we are to take the better view of this the Apo­stles admonition, bicause for want of due consideration thereof, the Pope hath of along time beguiled vs. For though he hath opened a gappe to all [Page] kinde of losenesse of life, though hée hath giuen vs great libertie to break all the commandements of God, yet in this matter he hath bene verie strait two daies in euerie wéeke tho­rough out the yeare, and all the Lent long we might eate neither beast, nor foule, nor of any thing that came from either of them. Fresh fish, and the che­rishing meate that is to be sold at the Poticaries is deere and hard to come by, so that the meat that was left vnto vs to feede vpon, was drie & tough salt fish that hath no wholsome moisture in it. I remember, Fuccius y^e Phisiti­on in his institutions, speaketh mere­lie of this matter. It was to be feared (saith he) that if the Pope had reigned ouer vs still, he would haue made vs eate haie with the beasts of the field. This strait charge of the Pope, had a goodlie outward showe: but if wée looke well vpon the matter, we shall sée it was nothing but méere Hipocri­sie. In forbidding these meates, the taming of the bodie was pretended: but why then was not wine forbid­den? [Page] Why were not Poticarie Iun­cates & delicates taken awaie? which are able to set y^e flesh aloft more a gret deale, thē béefe, or mutton. Beside this saltfish is not y^e best meate, to prepare our harts to praier as y^e Papists wold make vs beleue: nay, this cold watrish windie meate, doth trouble & disquiet our bodie, & maketh vs more vnfit for good meditatiōs, thē any other kind of meate. And therefore it is not without good cause, y^t the Apostle hath giuen vs this admonitiō. I denie not, but a man may haue a good meaning in this kind of voluntarie abstinence, & yet if his straitnes be ouer great he maie offēd. Timothie was a good man, and yet he did amisse, in y^t he weakened his bodie too much And therefore y^e Apostle wil­leth him to drink no longer water, but to vse a litle wine, for his stomackes sake, & his oftē infirmities. The Lord1. Tim. 3 is not like a couetous housholder y^t cō ­pelleth his seruants to fast, y^t his vit­tels might be spared, neither doth he enuie vs our meat. He is rich inough, & is alwaies able to giue in great abū ­dance [Page 6] all such things as we haue néed of. Indéed if we abstain from meat, to y^t end we might be more fit to praie, this kind of abstinēce is very accepta­ble vnto him: but if we faint & pine a­way w^e too long fasting, so y^e we cannot pray, or walk in our calling so chéere­fullie as otherwise we might, we are thē in as great falt, as if we had ouer eate our selues, or as if by ouer drink­ing our selues, we were made vnfit to do anie good thing, & therfore when fa­sting is cōmanded vnto vs in y^e scrip­ture, praier is alwaies ioined withall. The heathē philosophers, especiallie y^e Stoicks, were wont to speak very cō ­tēptuouslie of all y^e cōmodities of this life: but yet we Christians like neuer awhit y^e better of thē: for their affecti­ons, which were not delighted with y^e cōmodities of this present life, were not set vpō a better life: but we make some account of them: & although in respect of Christ, we account all the world as dounge: yet otherwise we take them as signes and scales of the fauourable loue of God towards vs. [Page] By them we are assured that he hath greater goods in store for vs, against such time as he shall take vs vnto himselfe. We maie also abuse the cre­atures of God, by vsing of them too much: for whether we eat or drinke, or whatsoeuer we doe, we must do all1. Cor. 10. 31 to the glorie of God. And therefore when the lawfull vse of meats and drinkes is set downe in the scripture, there is also mention made of giuing1. Tim. 4. 4 Rom. 14. 6. of thankes: but when we stuffe our bodies, with meates and drinkes, the heart is kept downe so, that it can­not ascend vnto the acknowledging of the giuer. When we put on gorge­ous or curious apparell, to maruaile at our selues and to contemne other, we cannot be thankfull. For, how can thankfulnesse proceed from a vo­luptuous and a proud heart? How can we lift vp a thankfull heart vnto the creator, when we staie so much in the creature it selfe that we are neuer sa­tisfied therewith? For this cause are we commanded if riches increase, not to set our hearts vpon them. Looke [Page 8] not (saith Salomon) vpon the winePro. 23 31. when it is red, and when it sheweth his colour in the cup, or goeth downe pleasantlie, we must not make a God of our bellie, for we read, that the Iewes that had such a greedie desire to their meate, died with Quailes in their mouthes. For though a man haue abundaunce, yet his life stand­eth not in his riches: Man liueth not by bread, but by the prouidence of God. It was said to the rich man that reioiced so much in his riches, and said to his soule, Soule thou hastLuke. 12. 17 much goods laid vp for manie yeres, liue at ease, eate, drinke, and take thy pastime: O foole, this night will I fetch awaie thy soule from thée, then whose shal those things be which thou hast prouided? The Lord doth some­times of purpose lessen those meanes wherby he wil saue vs, least we shuld staie our selues too much vpon them: for this cause, the Lord doth strike theIudg 7, 2. earth with barrennesse, least our minde should bée too much busied in thinking what great crops we haue [Page] had: for this cause by sicknes he dot [...] often take frō vs, y^e vigor of our tast & doth mingle all our pleasures with griefe, as it were with an vnsauerie tongue as the booke of y^e preacher tea­cheth vs. He sometimes taketh from vs our wise counsellers, our valiant & politicke capitanes. He sometimes sēdeth earthquakes. He beateth down our strong holdes & castels, & all our munition of war, to y^e end we might see what a vaine thing it is to trust in any earthlie defense. An horse saith y^e Prophet is but a vaine thing to saue a mans life. It is but a vaine thing to trust in Princes, for except the Lord kéepe the citie, the kéeper watcheth in vaine. Our trust therefore must be in y^e name of God, that made both heauē Psal. 127. & earth, those y^t trust in him shalbe as mount Sion, which cānot be remoued but remaineth for euer. Héere alone doth the difference consist betweene y^e child of God, & a naturall man: y^e child of God, hath his hart knit vnto him y^t made all things: but the natural man is altogether linked to the creature, [Page 8] they make it y^e place, where all their affections haue their abode, it is their Summū bonum, it is their happines, it is their onlie ioie. The philosophers wer verie diligent markers of y^e good­lie properties that wer in y^e creatures of God, they spake verie plentifullie of the vertue of hearbs & mettals, & of y^t nature of euerie liuing thing. They knewe by y^e creatures y^t there was a God, yet did they neuer worship him as God, neither were they thankfull, but became vain in their imaginatiōs, & their foolish hart was ful of darknes. Euē Tullie their chiefe Orator, in hisRom. 1. 21. booke De natura deorū, when he had discoursed at large, of y^e great wisdom & bountifulnes y^t was to by séene in the workmanship of y^e creatures, yet as if he had bene halfe a god himself, or onlie an idle looker on, & had no be­nefit by thē, he vseth not one word of thanksgiuing. He was a very eloquēt man, & had tounge at will, yet whē he shuld come to sound foorth y^e praise of God, he was altogether speachles: but y^e Prophet Dauid intreting of y^e same [Page] matter, breaketh out into thankfull speaches. O Lord saith he, how ma­nifold are thy workes? In wisedome hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches. And againe, I will sing vnto the Lord all my life, I will praise my God while I liue. And a­gaine, O my soule praise thou the Lord, Praise ye the Lord. LikewisePsal. 104. in the 8. Psalme, O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the world? His whole Psalmes are full of such meditations, for this thanke­fulnesse that I speake of, was al­waies the foote of his song. O that the Papists would but aduisedlie con­sider this thankfulnesse of the Pro­phet Dauid, our controuersie then a­bout Organes, & chaunting of songs, would soone be at an ende. They can readilie alleadge, all the kinde of instruments that Dauid vsed, but they will neuer remember withall, that he praised the Lord in them. They maie vnderstand if they will, by the 14. of the first to the Corinths, that there was made a distinction in [Page 9] the soundes, and that the people knew what was piped, and what was harp­ed.Psa. 106. 4 [...] But they think it maketh no mat­ter though English men sing a song in the Latine tongue that they vnder­stand not. The note is the thing that they take pleasure in, so that as we sée they sing not to the Lord, but to their owne eares. And that makes them speake so baselie of our songs. We all with one voice in a plaine and distinct note sing lustelie vnto the Lord with a good courage. And that they like not of, their hearts are set vpon the melodie of the descant: they worship him that made the note, they doe not sing to the Lord. Where do they finde that the songs of Dauid, vsed in y^e ser­uice of God, were of fiue or six parts? Where doe they finde that they qua­uered and deuided the note so, that the people could not vnderstand what was sung. In the 25. of the first booke of the Chronicles, the order of musick that the Iewes vsed in the seruice of God is set down, but there is no men­tion made of [...]uch babbling musicke. [Page] The end wherefore their songs were sung, is directlie against this chaunt­ing. 1. Chro. 16. the. 4. &. 7. verse. The Lord will be worshipped in spirit & in truth. And if we will sing Dauids Psalmes, we must bring Dauids spi­rit, or els the Lord cares not for our melodie. Our delight must not rest in anie thing but in the Lord, he is the Lord our God, & we must haue none other Gods but him. The Lord him­selfe hath commaunded vs to honour those that he hath set ouer vs, & the Apostle teacheth vs, that it is the first commandement w^t a promise to obay our parents. And yet he y^t loueth fa­ther or mother better then Christ, is not worthie of him. He y^t taketh more plesure in his parents then in Christ, is reiected of him. Likewise we must haue in estimation the ministers of the word for their works sake, yet we1. Cor. 3. 21. must not absolutelie rest our selues vpon thē, we must not reioice in mē, but we must reioice in God y^t work­eth by men. Now if the Lord will not haue vs depend too much vpon men y^t [Page 10] sowe into our hearts y^t immortall andPsa. 014 incorruptible séed of eternal life: how greatlie shal we think wil it displease y^e Lord, to delight so much in y^t dung­hil1. Cor. [...] things of this world which perish with the vse? We maie reioice (as I said before) in vsing these corruptible creatures of God, for wine maketh glad the heart of man (as the Prophet saith) but yet we must reioice as if we reioiced not. For if it be too vehe­ment, the Lord cannot awaie withall. Woe be vnto you (saith Christ) thatLu. 6. 2. [...] are rich, for you haue receiued your consolation, woe be vnto you that are full, for you shall hunger, woe be to you y^t now laugh, for you shall waile and wéepe. They lie vpon beds of I­uorie (saith y^e prophet Amos) & stretch themselues vpon their beds, & eat the Lambes of y^e flocke, & the Calues out of the stall, they sing to the sound of the violl. They inuent to themselues instruments of Musicke like Dauid. Dauid was neuer so busie in deui­sing Instrumentes to serue Gods glorie, as they were in deuising [Page] of them to serue their wanton lusts. It is lawfull no doubt to laugh. ItKing. 18. is lawfull to eate a fat Lambe or a fat Calfe. It is lawfull to delight our selues with musicke, for the earth is the Lords, as the Apostle saith. Yet vnto that people y^t bathed themselues in these pleasures, that wallowed & laid themselues downe in them, neuer remembring the Lord that gaue them, these terrible woes of the Prophet are thundered against. The reason why the rich glutton béeing in tor­ments [...]uke. 16, [...]uke. 8. could receiue no comfort was, because of the pleasures that he enioi­ed in this world. Remember (saith A­braham) that thou in thy life time re­ceiuedst thy pleasure, & likewise La­zarus paines, now therefore is hée comforted, and thou art tormented. And we are to consider that one kinde of men that heare the word vnprofi­tablie, and remaine still in their cur­sed estate, are those into whose hearts voluptuous liuing enters in, & makes the séede vnfruitefull. And therefore Christ our Sauiour setting downe [Page 11] vnto vs the suddainnesse of his com­ming, willeth vs in anie case to take héede of surfetting and dronkennesse. I would to God, we would wiselie consider of this admonition, we shuld not then surfet as we doe, we should not then haue so manie and so sundry kindes of dishes as we haue. Wée vse to saie, doe not men knowe when they haue eate inough, and maie not a man eate of sundrie dishes without surfetting? They alwaies marke what maie be done, but they neuer consider what is like to be done, and what is commonlie done. They think that because no man will be knowne of it, when hée hath eaten too much, that therefore men seldome or neuer ouer eate themselues: But our sa­uiour Christ would haue vs to sus­pect our selues. He giueth vs a watch word, Take héede, saith hée: If there were no daunger in the matter, this warning had bene in vaine. How is it possible but that at our feasting, as we vse the matter, we should offend against this commaundement of [Page] Christ? First we must haue brawne and muscadine, next to that we must haue stewde meate, (the rest of our meat must not be séene all this while) when men haue wel dined with these two seruices, then must we haue rost meate and baked meate: last of all, we must haue a newe dinner with sundrie kinde of fruits. I graunt at such méetings we maie haue a more liberal diet then we wer accustomed, neither are sundrie kindes of meates to be misliked of, if they come round­lie in together, so that euerie man maie eate where he thinketh good. But if our sundrie dishes, come at such sundrie times, with such a pause betwéene them, it is a thousand to one, that we shall breake this com­maundement. It is not for naught, that the godlie man Iob was afraid that his sonnes had offended at their banketting. This rioting setteth vs altogether vpon the hoigh, it stea­leth from our hearts the considerati­on of our owne vilenesse, and so long as we are thus aloft, we can haue no [Page 12] thankfull remembraunce of him that gaue these things vnto vs, for thankes giuing if it be in truth, is done with the beating downe of the heart, and with abasing of our selues. And therfore the wise man saith, It is better to goe to the house of mourning: then to the house of feasting: this reason that I speake of is added, because saith he, this is the ende of all men, and the liuing shall laie it to his heart. And againe, Anger is better then laughter: for by a sad looke the heart is made better. The hart of the wisePreac. 7. 4. is in the house of mourning: but the heart of fooles, is in the house of mirth.

The proofes that you haue brought are plaine proofes, I cannot saie against it: And yet I haue a probable reason, which maie séeme to make somewhat against that which you haue saide, my reason is this. I thinke, you nor no man els of anie iudgement, will denie, that he that teacheth, that it is not [Page] lawfull for anie man, at anie time to eate anie kinde of meate (so that in the forbidding thereof respect be not had to the common wealth) setteth downe the doctrine of diuels, although he neither forbid all kinde of meate, nor at all times, nor to all men. How then can you saie, that it is not law­full, when one hath comforted him­selfe sufficientlie with some kinde of meat, to haue the vse of new delicates without béeing in the like fault?

The Papists I graunt you in forbidding flesh and white meat in Lent, and in forbidding Priests (as they call them) to marrie, taught the doctrine of diuels. For they forbadde meates, they forbadde marriage. And although they forbadde not meate at all times, nor marriage to all per­sons, yet they forbadde both: and as Maister Iewel telleth them, Ma­gis & minus non mutant speciem. For as he that killeth a fewe men, is a murtherer: so he that forbiddeth meate at some time of the yeare, forbideth meate. [Page 13] But I doe not forbid anie meate to anie man, at anie time. For when I see a man that hath eaten inough, and yet is readie to eate more, if I forbid him, and tell him it is gluttonie to do so: doe I by so saieng forbid anie kinde of meat? Who séeth not that I forbid the stuffing of his bodie with gorge vpon gorge, and not anie kinde of meat, for if his stomake were emp­tie, the meate were lawfull inough, euen at that time, for that person.

Yet I doe not sée how you can call it vnlawfull, when a man ex­céedeth in eating. For where is then that difference, betwéene lawfull and1. Co. 10. 29 expedient that the Apostle speaketh of?

The Apostles meaning was not to tell vs, that abusing of a­nie indifferent thing was onelie not expedient, but not vnlawfull. His purpose was not to make anie such nice distinction, but onelie this, that all indifferent things, though in them­selues they were lawfull, yet the cir­cumstaunces might make them vn­lawfull. [Page] The Apostle bestoweth thrée or foure whole Chapters, in teaching the Romanes and the Corinthes, how to vse indifferent things. He tellethCor. 8. 12. the Corinthes, that by vsing their li­bertie too much, they did sinne against Christ, so that as we sée, they saie no thing, which when a thing is indif­ferent, saie it maketh no matter how it bée done.

Of gaming. The second Chapter.

You haue spoken sufficient­lie of those pleasures that are com­mon to all men: speake I praie you in like manner, of such as are v­sed but of some men, of gaming I meane.

Gaming is an exercise, which a man taketh in hand to delight himselfe withall. By calling it an ex­ercise, I make a difference betwéene it, and other pleasures that are alre­die spoken of, for we do not vse to call eating, drinking, smelling, and such like delightes, by the name of exerci­ses. [Page 14] And I make a difference be­tweene it and the continuall exercises which we dailie labour in, when I saie, that the ende of gaming is to delight a man withall, for other exercises doe especiallie respect pro­fite.

I praie you sir, what thinke you of this matter? some me thinke are verie strait which would not haue vs spend one minute of an houre in anie recreation: they bring their reason out of the Apo­stle,Ephe. 5. 16. which would haue vs redéeme the time, because the daies are euill.

It is a cléere case, that a man doth redéeme the time suffici­entlie, when hée maketh anie lawe­full delight, an occasion to lift vp a thankfull minde vnto God for it. And it is certeine, that the dumpish sadnesse which drieth vp a mans bones doth displease the Lord. The Lord was not one whitte displea­sed with the inwarde fretting, and1. Kings. 21. 4. pensiuenesse of wicked king Achab. [Page] He liketh well inough of a merrie and chéerefull countenaunce, and if a mans talke be wittie, and hath no vn­sauerie vanitie in it, though it be ple­sant, the Scripture will beare a man out in it well inough. Notwithstan­ding, thus much one maie well ga­ther by that place. Bicause men com­monlie run at riot, and make them­selues dronken with delighting in the creatures: For this cause the children of God ought to vse them warilie, that as on the one side, the euill example of manie is of great force to drawe them to inordinate desire to them: so on the other side, their watchfull & warie taking héed, should be as forcible to driue them to godlie moderation in them, & this is it that the Apostle calleth the redéeming of the time. Now, concerning gaming, to y^e end we maie know what games are lawfull, and what are vnlaw­ful, we are to consider, that all games whatsoeuer, must be made sutable to the commaundement, they must agrée in euerie point with Christian doc­trine. [Page 15] Euen an heathen man by the light of nature could sée, that this ruleTullie. 2. his office, 1. booke. is to be obserued, and therfore it is a shame, that we Christians should re­fuse it Our plaie, saith he, must not be, Alienus ab honestatis actionibus. Séeing therfore this rule must stand, we maie be bolde to condemne all the whole rable and rout of games that are vsed at Christmas as we call it. We know that Christ was neuer anie Christmas Lord, he was neuer Lord of misrule, whie then doe we ce­lebrate his feast with vnrulie ga­ming? Towards Christmas the scho­lers maie shutte their maister out of schoole. A fellowe whome they call the Christmas Lord, maie bée checkmate with his betters. But the Lord Iesus would haue vs to shew in outward behauiour, that reuerend estimation that we haue of our supe­riours in our hearts. This vnruly fel­low, maie cause those which offend a­gainst his vnrulie lawes, to haue ten pound and a purse, to be stockt or pumpt, which they call beheadding. [Page] At this time, if men can get a simple fellow, & put him to paine with mum­ling a sparrow, they thinke it is trim sport. At an other time of the yeare, women haue a daie, which they call rock mundaie, then vse they to binde, and otherwise to abuse such men asDeut. 22. 7. they can master, but our Iesus Christ abhorreth all kinde of crueltie. Hée will not haue vs deale cruellie, no not with little birdes, how much more then doth he hate it towardes men, which are made according to his owne Image? There be also games that be filthie which tend to the ouer­throw of y^t commaundement wherin all vncleanenes is forbidden. Of this kinde are our light kinde of daun­sing, sawing of gréene timber, seruing men in sackes, and such like. But the Lord Christ commandeth vs to haueMat. 5. chast hearts, chast eies, & chast hands. The Lord so abhorreth this ribaul­drie, y^e when men striue together one with an other, if the wife of the one come néere for to rid hir husband out of the hands of him y^t smiteth him, & [Page 16] putteth foorth hir hand, and take him by his priuities, then saith the LordDeu. 25. 1 [...]. to the magistrate, thou shalt cut off hir hand: thine eie shall not spare hir. We sée the selfe same filthinesse that we vse, was reuenged with the losse of a hand, notwithstanding the partie that offended ment thereby to deliuer hir husband from violence. Wée haue games also which con­sist in getting moneie one from an­other, and yet the Lorde Christ hath forbidden all couetous desires. Wée haue games wherein we make some or other laughing stockes to the whole companie. Of this kinde are hinch, pinch, and laugh not, and such like: But the Lorde Christ would haue vs mainteine as much as wée can, the good report of our brother: and how is this done when wée goe about to make the compa­nie beléeue, that hée is a foole, and deserueth to be laughed at. In the fiue and twentie of Deuteronomie wée are commaunded to kéepe a moderation in correcting a man, [Page] although he doth deserue, and ought to be punished, least he should séeme despised in our sight, how much more ought we to auoide this thing, when our brother hath not offended? WéeLeui. 19. 14 must not speake euill to him that is deafe, the Lord vnder this one kinde forbiddeth vs to twit our brother by anie of his infirmities or wants, we therefore sinne against the commaun­dement, when by anie kinde of sport we vpbraide him with simplicitie, and want of wit, we ought to be féete to the lame, and eies to the blinde,Iob. 29. 15. wisdome to the foolish, and not vp­braide them with their wants. Men I knowe will make but a light mat­ter of it, for fooles count it but a sport to sinne, they think there is no harme done, except there be an arme or a legge broken. But the Lord doth make more account of his commaun­dement then so. When Adam had eaten of the forbidden trée, there was no harme done, as they call harme. Yet this sinne, that they make so light account of, waied him downe [Page 17] to the pit of hell, and if he had not had a redéemer, he and all his posteri­tie should most certeinlie haue bene swallowed vp of eternall confusion, and Christ came not to destroie the lawe, but to fulfill it. Whosoeuer saith Christ, breaketh the least com­maundementMat. 5. and teacheth men so, he shall be least in the kingdome of God, that is to saie, hée shall not bée in the kindgome of God at all, for it followeth immediatlie, Except your righteousnesse excéede the righteous­nesse of the Scribes and Pharesies, ye shall not enter into the kingdome of heauen: and wée knowe that their righteousnes had respect to out­ward murther, to outward theft, till heauen and earth perish, one iotte or title of the lawe shall not scape, till all thinges be fulfilled. I read not long since a learned & a godlie trea­tise, wherein is conteined a speach belonging to this matter, which be­cause it is excellent, and because a notable iudgement of God did fol­lowe vpon the preaching thereof, [Page] which did as it were from heauen, féele the truth of it, I will repeate it vnto you. Hath Iesus Christ come in­to the flesh to laie the bridle of our necks, to runne after our owne vaine deuises? Hath he obtained by his comming twelue daies of God the fa­ther, for carding, dising, masking, muming, for mocking and mowing, for crieng and laughing, for the prac­tising of euerie vaine deuise that commeth to our heads all the yeare. Or doe we thinke that this propha­ning of so earnest a matter, this tur­ning of the grace of God into li­cence and wantonnesse, shall be vn­punished? What is this but euen to giue a réede into the hand of Iesus Christ, and to mocke his kingdome? What crowning of him is it in this vaine mirth and wantonnesse, but with briers and thornes to pricke his head? Is this the ioie spoken off by the Angell that came to declare his birth, tolde hée tidinges of this gladnesse? Is this the benefite that thou hast purchased to vs by that [Page 18] wonderfull mysterie of thine incar­nation, O Emmanuel? Oh I am a­shamed that it should euer be hearde of among the Iewes and Turkes, that the Christians at that time of the yeare when their sauiour was borne, shuld giue themselues for ma­nie daies, from their ordinarie mo­dest, and shamefaced behauiour, from walking ordinarilie in their vocation & studies, to vnmodest & shamefull practises, to vnmodest & waking, & all for vaine & vnfruitfull works of dark­nesse. Wherin differeth our celebrati­on of the natiuitie of Christ from the popish Christians? How doe we looke to call Papists from their vaine con­uersation: whē we are not our selues a foot from them? I think if but thus much were spoken amongst the Hea­then against so great an abuse, they would repent in sackcloth and ashes. And yet I know that this people will not be brought from this vaine con­uersation, for they loue it and delight in that: without these thinges, they complaine that it is but a dead [Page] Christmas. These men will neuer confesse the truth of this doctrine, till God haue sealed it with some plague or other. This plague of God was threatened by a godlie learned young man in a sermon that he made at Trinitie Colledge, somewhat be­fore Christmas, after Christmas the plague that was threatened fell. For a scholler of Trinitie Colledge stran­gled himselfe right ouer the place where he with other kept such re­uell route. Who is wise saith Da­uid, and will marke these thinges? The sinne which before séemed as light as a feather, did then lie hea­uie at his heart, his merrie compa­nions could not take awaie the sting thereof from him, this sinne so troubled his minde, that the violent renting asunder of the soule from the vodie, séemed nothing so grée­uous, nay, hée vsed this violent ren­ting that I speake off as a re­medie to ease himselfe of the other. The Lord would awake vs by this his fearefull iudgement out of our [Page 29] déepe sléepe of sinne, least we should go to hell as it were in a sléepe before we are aware of it, and yet wée are still foolish, and can take no profit by it. Because these iudgements of God come so seldome, wée soone forgette them: but if the Lorde should thus dailie punish vs, wée would not thinke that there is anie iudgement to come. Because this fearfull plague was not executed vpon our own per­sons, we are therefore without feare: but it pleaseth the Lord to admonish vs by this his iudgement: and how could this thing haue bene, if we our selues had bene thus punished: wée thinke we haue wit inough to auoide this thing, but in thinking so wée thinke amisse, for the Scholler had wit inough: and if hée had not, I am sure Achitophel had, and yet did he thus violentlie destroie himselfe. When the iudgements of God fall vpon vs, all the witte we haue can­not auoide them, the onelie waie to auoide the fearefull iudgements of God, is to forsake our rioting, which [Page] is the cause thereof.

¶ Of continuance at gaming. The third Chapter.

BVt I will goe forward and speake more particulerlie of gaming, Games me think maie verie well be diuided into such, the chiefe sport whereof consisteth in looking on, of which kinde, are hunting, hawking, stage plaies, and such like. And in­to such wherein men are the chiefe dooers, of which kinde are daun­sing, dicing, tenesing, and such like.

I praie you sir, what thinke you of hunting? doe you thinke it an vnméet exercise for a Christian? I haue heard that some haue vtterlie disalowed of it, because Esau a wic­kedman hunted.

What some men doe I cannot tell, for my part I dare not condemne it: as for the reason of E­sau, his hunting it is nothing worth. [Page 20] For as euerie thing that a godlie man doth, is not by and by to bée allowed off, so is not euerie thing that a wicked man doth alwaies to be misliked. Beside this, though E­sau béeing a wicked man hunted, yet he did it at the commandement of his father which was a good man, my rea­son wherefore it ought not to be con­demned is this. The Lord hath giuen the free vse of all his creatures to vs Christians, wée maie safelie féede of them all. In giuing therfore the vse of thē, he alloweth of the meanes wher­by we come to haue y^e vse of them, for otherwise he should but mocke vs. Onelie the faultes of hunters and fawkners I will not take vpon me to defende. The spoiling of mens doue­houses for the prouision of their hawkes, the spoiling of mens corne, with the entring of their hawkes, at the beginning of haruest, the break­ing of gaps, whereby mens ground is laide open to the spoile, these thinges cannot bée allowed off, for if the Lorde cannot abide that wée [Page] should profit our selues by the hurt of an other, he can much lesse abide that for our pleasure we should be an hinderaunce to anie. The gene­rall thing that is to be obserued in all games is this, that no man be­stowe too much time in them al­though they be lawfull, for euerie man without exception, must buisie himselfe in some certeine & dailie cal­ling, but those that followe gaming cannot doe so: therfore no man must followe gaming. But to the ende it might bée knowne what I meane, I tearme this a calling (not to paie to euerie man that which is his, or to doe as a man would bée done to,) for that is a generall thing wherevn­to all men are called, but dailie to exercise himselfe in some certeine trade to the profit of others, this is it which I terme a calling. But because you do not yet vnderstand my minde, I will speak more plainlie. This cal­ling which I speake off consisteth either of the dailie laboure of the minde, or of the dailie trauell of the [Page 21] bodie. Those callings which consist of the labour of the minde, are Phi­sicke, Lawe, or Diuinitie. He which doth diligentlie séeke wiselie to applie those Phisicke helpes which the Lord hath apointed for the preseruing or re­storing of our health, he behaueth himselfe well in his calling. In the pro­fession of the Lawe likewise, he which bendeth his pleading, his coun­selling or giuing of sentence, to this ende that euerie man maie enioie that which is his, he liueth well in a good calling. In Diuinitie he which féedeth his flocke diligentlie, liueth honestlie in an honest calling. He I saie which exerciseth himselfe paine­fullie in anie of these professions, or teacheth the tongues, or anie liberall art, whereby men maie be made fitte to practise more profitablie anie of these professions. He liueth in an ho­nest calling: the like maie be said of anie occupation or bodilie trauell, whereby the necessities of this present life are conuaied vnto our bretheren. But euerie bodie will not graunt me [Page] that euery man is bound to labour in some one and certeine calling, and therefore I will stand somewhat in the proofe of it. The Scripture saith, that man is borne vnto trauell. AndIob. 5. it was said to Adam, and in him to all his ofspring, In the sweate of thyGen. 3. face shalt thou eate thy bread. Eue­rie man will graunt that this com­maundement, laieth holde of that of­spring of Adam that is poore, and not otherwise able to mainteine it selfe.

But whether it laieth hold of those that haue sufficient to followe their pleasures, that is a question with some. Belike they thinke that if a man haue enough for himselfe he née­deth not to haue anie care of other. Euerie man for himselfe as they saie, and God for vs all. But whosoeuer saith so, God will not subscribe to this their saieng, for it is flatte con­trarie to his commaundement. Loue saith the Apostle is the fulfilling of the Lawe, not that loue that hath [Page 22] respecte to himselfe, but that loue that hath respecte to others.

And the Scripture bindeth himEphe. 4. 28. that liueth euen of his handie worke to labour, that he maie haue to giue2. Cor. 8. 13. vnto him that néedeth, neither yet was it the Apostles minde, that others should bée eased, and hée grieued, but that that which remained of the honest prouision for him and his, should bee be­stowed vppon such as haue more néede, of such I saie, as either by reason of age, or sicknesse, coulde not labour for their owne mainte­naunce.

Now, if the Apostle asketh thus much at the handes of a labouring man: shall wée not thinke that hée would haue that money which is spent vppon superfluous gaming bestowed vppon the poore? If this be true, as it is most true, then is not a man to make an ordinarie trade in sporting himselfe anie waie, séeing that asketh great charges, [Page] which might be bestowed much bet­ter vpon those that haue neede. Nei­ther is he onlie to abstaine from these néedlesse expences: but he is also to sée that his house be well gouerned. He is to haue a care not onelie to those reuenewes which he hath: but also by all honest meanes to increase them, not that he might enlarge his worldlie delights, but that hee might haue to minister to such as haue need, as the Apostle commandeth. In the last chapter of the Prouerbs, where the properties of a vertuous woman are set down, it is said, y^t she laboureth chéerefullie with her hands: And lest some should cauill, and saie, the scrip­ture speaketh of a poore woman which could not otherwise liue. We are gi­uen to vnderstand, that it speaketh of a wealthie woman, she maketh herselfe carpets saith the text: fine lin­nen and purple is her garment, shée stretcheth out her hand to the poore, and putteth foorth her hand to the née­die. Naie, though there should come no profite either to a mans own selfe, [Page 23] or to anie other, yet labour is so well pleasing in the sight of God, that he will haue a man occupied in it. Hée will not haue a mans minde wander about he cannot tell what. In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eate thy bread, saith he vnto Adam, although he had all the earth before him, and had none to prouide for, but for him­selfe and his wife. Euen before man sinned, when the earth brought foorth all things of her owne accord, when there was no néede to labour, yet the Lord would not haue him liue idlie, but put him in the garden of Eden, that he might dresse and kéepe it, how then dare we saie that a Gentle­man and one that hath inough, maie liue idlie, and as he list? Doth not the Scripture tell vs plainlie that theEzech. 16. sinnes of Sodom and Gomorre, were pride, fulnesse of bread, and abundance of idlenesse? Doeth not I saie, the Scripture tell vs, that idlenesse was one of those faults, which pulled fire and brimstone from heauen vpon the stinking Sodomites? The Cities of [Page] Sodom and Gomorre were fruite­full Cities, they were as the garden of the Lord like the land of Aegypt, as thou goest vnto Zoar, and the peo­ple thereof had as little neede to la­bour for their commodities by rea­son of the fruitfulnesse of the soile, as anie people vnder the Sunne: yet was idlenesse one cause of their destruction. Why then should a man that hath all commodities brought him to his hand, thinke he maie liue idlie? There is no man whom the Lord hath created for naught. Hée will haue euerie one placed in some calling, that one maie bée for the be­nefite of another: those therefore that followe gaming what doe they but trouble the order that God hath appointed. And therefore the Apo­stle speaking of those that liued idlie, saith, that they liued inordinatelie:2. The. 3. 11 thereby he giueth vs to vnderstand, that it is an order set downe by the Lord, that euerie one should labour. But men are meruailous suttle now a daies, and verie cunning to deceiue [Page 24] themselues. They will easilie graunt you that a man which sitteth buzzing all daie long liueth idlie: but hée which vseth such pleasures as aske the exercise of the bodie though hée doeth nothing els, yet it will not sinke into their heades that such a one liueth idlie. Shall we thinke then that the idle Sodomites did no­thing but lie and tumble all daie long? Naie, the Scripture telleth vs that an idle bodie doth occupie him­selfe more in his kinde then anie labouring man. Hée maketh a signe with his eies, hée signifieth with his féete, hée instructeth with his fin­gers, lewde things are in his heart, hée imagineth euill at all times, and raiseth vp contention saith the ho­lie Ghost. The Apostle calleth those which liued idlie busie bodies. And none commonlie meddle more with other mens matters, then those that haue no businesse of their owne. You shall heare them talke of aniePro. 6. 13. thing that can come in question, for as Salomon saith, A sluggarde is2. The. 3. 11. [Page] wiser in his owne conceipt, then sea­uen men that can render a reson. We sée therefore, contrarie to that which they suppose, that a man maie liue idlie and yet be occupied. When wée haue done our necessarie affaires, we vse to saie, that we are at leasure to doe such things, as are not of the like importaunce: but hée which is al­waies thus at leasure, what is he but alwaies idle, notwithstanding hée moue his bodie sometimes. For what other thing is idlenesse, but not to busie a mans selfe about same profit. He which plaieth at football or at ten­nis, though for the time he laboureth as sore as he doth y^t goeth to plough: yet we make a difference betwéene these labours, for the one is a trauell, and the other is a recreation: of the one there commeth some profite: the other is but a pastime: so that though we moue our bodies, yet we maie bée idle. And if we will define idlenesse to be a continuall quietnesse both of the bodie and of the minde: we shall not finde out an idle bodie in the [Page 25] whole world euen Sardanapalus was neuer so idle, but that he would spin sometimes amongst his harlottes. Neither doe I thinke that there was euer anie glutton so lazie, but that hée would exercise his bodie some­times before meales, to make his meate goe downe more pleasauntlie. He alone maie trulie be said to be no idle bodie, which betaketh himselfe to some ordinarie trade. He (I saie) which giueth not himselfe libertie to doe whatsoeuer his wandring head shall by fittes moue him vnto: but setteth downe some certeine, and dai­lie kinde of exercising, either his bo­die or minde to the profit of others, and tieth himselfe thereto, such a one liueth in an honest calling. A man maie vse recreations, as I said before: but this honest calling that I speake of, must haue the chiefe part of his life. It must al­waies haue the vpper hand, we sée that husbandmen and all such as vse anie honest trade are an helpe vnto vs: For by them the necessities of [Page] this present life are conuaied vnto vs: But an idle bodie, what good doeth hée? Why is it sette downe in the Scripture that Caine, Abel, Noah, Lot, Isaacke, and Iacob, were hus­bandmen? Why are we taught thatGen. 3. Tit. 3. 13. Col 4. 14. Tubulkan wrought cunninglie eue­rie craft of brasse and of yron? that Iubal was a maker of tents, that Io­seph was a Carpenter, that the A­postles were fishers, that Peters host was a Tanner, that Luke was a Phisition, that Zeans was a Lawier, that Ioseph, Moses, Dauid, and o­thers were Magistrates, and gouer­ned the people? The Scripture is short and telleth vs in a word, that these all had a set calling wherein they exercised themselues. This no doubt, as all other things was writ­ten for our learning: And what o­ther thing can wée learne thereby but to doe the like? what though a man maie recreate himselfe sometime, maie a man therefore doe nothing els? Doe not men make a God of plaie, when they knowe no other [Page 26] pleasure but it? If the morning be faire and calme, come saie they, heere is a goodlie morning to haue a game at boules in. If the weather be boi­sterous, then it is a iollie close daie, to haue a game at cardes in, no wea­ther commeth amisse, faire or foule, they can passe awaie the time well e­nough. If dinner bée once done, come then, what shall we doe? for the time they thinke is lost that is not spent that waies. After supper they cannot sléepe, except they first plaie a sette at Mawe.

Thus when they are at plaie, then their minde is vpon their game, when they are from plaie, then must they tell what a game they lost with dalieng too long, or for not crossing a trumpe in their fellowes waie. Then must they that are present continue the talke, with telling the like lucke that they haue séene. If their sport bée hawking, then must all their talke be of the faire flight they had. The like maie bée said almost of all other games. So [Page] that, as you sée, all their thoughts are taken vp of plaie. And what a miserable life is this, that when there are so manie good things to en­quire after, yet that men should chuse to spende all their thoughtes vpon so vile and so base a thing as plaie is. I haue heard men speake much a­gainst Atheistes, and Epicures, which thinking that there is no o­ther life after this, imbrace and giue themselues ouer to the delights of this present world: But if both their dooings were inquired after, I meruaile what difference a man could finde, betweene them and the gamesters of our time. They maie saie they looke for another life after this: but lette them showe mée their faith by their déedes. No, no: if they thought not that the seconde comming of Christ to iudge both the quicke and the dead, were a tale of Robin hood, they would neuer doe as they doe. The rich reuenewes of Noble men and Gentlemen, are as it were the store houses of the [Page 27] Lord, by these maister conductes, hée conuaieth foode and raiment, and other necessaries vnto euerie man. The Noble men therefore, which haue so great trust committed vnto them, ought to liue carefullie and faithfullie in their calling: they ought to haue an eie to their offi­ces, least they abuse their tenaunts: they ought to looke that nothing bée spent prodigallie, but to good pur­pose. Lette nothing bée lost, saithIohn. 6. Christ, for that is the best housekée­ping when all is done. Then shall they make men reuerence them in­déede, when they thus showe them­selues fathers and nurses of whole countreies. I speake of them, be­cause I am occasioned by that mat­ter which I haue in hande: for their hands are chiefe in this trespasse. They doe not onelie followe ga­ming themselues, but they cause their whole traine to offende with them: And because all men will willinglie followe the examples of the best, all the whole countreie al­most, [Page] by meanes of the outragious gaming of their superiours, are brought to sette their hearts vpon the like vanities. If they would consi­der well of the matter, they might soone perceiue that they are placed in so high a calling, for a farre more ex­cellent purpose, for they are God his stewards, and shall no doubt giue ac­count of their stewarship. If all that which they possesse, were for them­selues alone, what good could come to the owners thereof, but the behold­ding of it with their eies? The great masse of wealth therefore which they haue in their hands, is not for them­selues alone: but they haue the or­dering of the matter onelie, and are to sée that the Lord his prouision bée bestowed, vpon his people.

If they were thus carefull in the Lords matters, and would not neg­ligentlie giue ouer this their charge vnto others, a great deale of their time which is now lost in riot­tous and superfluous gaming should bée verie well bestowed, and to [Page] good purpose.

It is reported of my olde Lord of Oxford, that hée kept Lawi­ers in his house, which might iudge betwéene plea and plea, ano take vp the controuersies which might fall out betwéene his tenaunts, or those which were vnder his gouern­ment.

If the Noble men in our daies would followe this worthie pat­terne, men should not be hindered so in their calling with following Lawe matters, their eies should not be so wearied with waiting and loo­king Tearme after Tearme for a daie of hearing.

If they would leaue of from following so gréedelie their pastimes, and bend themselues to ouerrule such troublesome fellowes, as without cause molest simple men. If they would deliuer the poore, the fatherlesse, and such as haue none to helpe them.

If they would, (as Iob saith)Iob. 29. 17. breake the chawes of the vnrigh­teous, [Page] and plucke the praie out of his téeth, I dare be bold to saie, that the tongues not onelie of those that receiue benefite by this their honou­rable paines, but euen as manie as heard of it, would blesse them: the spending of a thousand pound at a Christmasse, will not doe them halfe the like honour. It is méete, I graunt, that in their diette, in their apparell, and in euerie parte of their ciuill behauiour, they should haue some outward marke of eccel­lencie aboue the rest: they maie hunt, they maie hawke, or vse anie other kinde of moderate exercise: but the executing of Iustice and Iudge­ment is the thing they are called vn­to, and it is an honourable calling. This labouring in some honest cal­ling, is so well pleasing in the sight of God, that beside the pro­fitte which commeth thereby, he ma­keth men take great delight in it. You shall oftentimes heare one that goeth to cart, make a more chéere­full sound with whistling, then anie [Page] idle fidler that goeth about the coun­trie can do with his instrument. The Tailers, Schomakers, and other men of occupation, that sing at their worke, how merrie are they? for their labour, by reason of the dili­gent minding of that they goe about, is not perceiued of them. And when a man hath fullie purposed with himselfe to do anie thing, hée doth it then chéerefullie without anie bui­sinesse, he setteth himselfe to it, & de­lighteth his minde therein. On the contrarie part, an idle bodie hath al­waies a variable minde: Because he is not throughlie perswaded to goe through with anie thing, his minde cannot tell what to doe. The sléepe saith Salomon, of him that trauailethPreacher. 5. 11. is swéete, whether he eate little or much: but the sacietie of the rich will not suffer him to sléepe. The thing that deceiueth a great manie is this: they thinke, because the matter, where about gamesters and labou­ring men busie themselues is all one, because they both do perteine to this [Page] present life, they thinke it maketh no matter whether they followe labour or gaming, but they doe not consider wiselie of this thing. For labour is commaunded of God: And there­fore though labour in it selfe séeme to bée but a base thing, yet to obeie the voice of the great God is a pre­cious matter. Beside this, though wée inioie profite by our labour, yet our brother also is profited thereby: wée doe good to some, and harme to none. The like cannot be saide of vs, when we followe gaming, though we vse no deceite in it: but if our labour be without deceite, it maie truelie be said of vs. The most that can bée said for games is, that wée maie vse them, and it is alreadie graun­ted, that a moderate vse of such games as are lawfull, ought not to be condemned: but we haue no com­mandement for them, as we haue for labouring in some honest calling. A­mongst other mischifes that come by following plaie, this is not the least that men thereby fall into euill com­panie, [Page 30] euen amongst such as scoffe at all religion, and goodnes, which thing is of great force to driue vs from God. He that delighteth so much in plaie, he cannot alwaies haue his choice of companie, but for the most part is faine to take such as come next hand, and therefore gamesters vse such places as are open & common for euerie bodie. Though a man be neuer so wicked, yet if he be a gamester, hée is a good fellow, vnlesse he be a ras­call, for that is some discredit to them. But otherwise though in the sight of God he be as vile as anie lothsome begger that goeth from doore to doore, his companie is good. They neuer marke the common prouerbe, which béeing rife in euerie mans mouth, is noted of all men to bée true, that a scabbed shéepe infecteth the whole flocke. Knowe ye not saith the Apo­stle, that a little leauen leaueneth a whole lumpe of dowe. And what is1. Cor. 4. 6. it but an intollerable pride, to thinke our selues so strong, that no companie can infect vs? We maie, I graunt, [Page] haue to doe with the wicked, so farre foorth as we shall be constrained by the necessities of this present life: for otherwise we must goe out of the world, as the Apostle saith: but yet we must be no companions withEphe. 5. 7. them. We maie, I graunt, haue an other purpose in kéeping companie then to be infected with them. But as one that walketh in the Sunne, shall be sunburnt, though the end of his walking in it bée not to be sun­burnt, so likewise will it bée with vs in kéeping companie with y^e wicked.

I but sir you knowe we are all sinners, whie then should I auoide an other mans companie, when I am a sinner as well as hée?

Wée are all sinners in déed but all men doe not make a sport of sinne, if there were no difference a­mongst sinners, whie should the holie Ghost forbidde the godlie to vse the companie of the wicked?

But how can I iudge, when a man is such a sinner as ought to be auoided.

The iudgement of this matter is easie inough. For though I be forbidden to espie a mote in my brothers eie, when I can well inough abide to haue a beame in mine owne eie. Though I must not iudge before the time, but thinke the best, so long as a thing maie be well taken: yet must I not be without all iudge­ment. Though loue be not suspiti­ous, yet it maketh not a man a foole. When I heare a man spew out blas­phemies, when I heare him talke fil­thilie, when I heare him rage, shall I not iudge him to be a wicked man? Whē Abraham came into Gerar, se­ing the peoples conuersation, he said:Gen. 20. 11. surelie the feare of God is not in this place: yet wée must not accuse him of rash iudgement. O it were a fearfull thing: if the Lord when hée commeth, should finde vs eating and drinking, with publicans & sinners. And whie should a man be so grée­die of their [...]mpanie? for though they can be content to vse the companie one of an other, and by kéeping com­panie [Page] together, to passe awaie the time pleasantlie. Yet, when the com­panie is broken vp, & euerie man gone to his seuerall abiding place, If then anie thing shal be spoken in the com­mendation of anie of their cōpanions, they cannot abide it: for by & by they thinke they are dispraised by it. They will then vse such woordes as tend to the abasing one of an other, and what good fellowship call you that? But the loue of good men, though it bée vnperfect: yet it is in truth, the difference betwéene the euill and outward curtesie of worldlie men, and the Christian vnitie of such as feare God, is meruailous great. Who then would not rather wish to be of this companie? The world­lings at their feasting vse curious de­licates, They féede the eies of their gesse with a great manie trimme things, to the ende they maie make report, that other men of their wealth, haue not the like furniture and prouision that they haue. But the children of God eate their meate [Page 32] together with gladnesse, and single­nesse of heart, without anie such curiositie. Whether a man be poore or rich, he is neither enuied nor dis­dained of them. The loue of Paule the Apostle, though he were an ex­cellent man, was yet meruailous great towards Oenesimus béeing a seruaunt.

For he writeth thus, I beséech thée for my sonne Oenesimus whom I haue begotten in my bondes, re­ceiue him that is mine owne bow­els, receiue him as my selfe: If hée hath hurt thée, or oweth thée ought, that put on mine accounts: yea bro­ther, let mée obtaine this pleasure of thée in the Lorde, comfort my bowels in the Lord. The like abun­daunce of more then motherlie affec­tion did the faithfull at Ephesus shew towardes the Apostle, béeing most sorrie, because he saide they should sée his face no more. Neither are they onelie tender harted to­wardes the godlie, but euen towarde the wicked. The wicked Iewes [Page] persecuted Hieremie for discouering their sins, but when the iudgements of God were vpon them, his eies cast foorth teares and ceased not. Men of the world will be sorie, when they haue lost a dailie friend, or a merrie companion: but the children of God are sorie without anie such respect. When wicked Absolon a false trai­tour, and an open rebell against his father, was taken away by death: yet the Prophet Dauid could not but be moued, He went vp to y^e cham­ber ouer the gate and wept: and as he went, thus he said, O my sonne Absolon, my sonne, my sonne Abso­lon, would God I had died for thée, O Absolon my sonne, my sonne. Who would not wish to be amongst this louing companie, whose talke is, how they might obeie the voice of the great God, when other talke of tri­fles? They sing Psalmes & hymnes together to the Lord, for all his good­nesse y^t he sheweth vnto the children of men. The godlie are readie euen with chéerfulnesse, to do a man good: [Page 34] But the wicked will not be at lea­sure, euerie little thing will be anPro. 12 10. hinderaunce in the matter, so that e­uen their mercies are cruell. Whie then should a man be so gréedie of their acquaintance? Whie should a man forsake an honest calling, to fol­lowe their fancies? And whie are we so fond of these worldlie delights? Are they not common to vs with all Turkes and Infidels? Is not the Turke better able to haue all kinde of glorious triumphes, then anie of vs? Maie he not haue what­soeuer is pleasant to his eie, or de­lightsome to his tast? Maie hée not haue whatsoeuer in this world his heart can desire? Hath not the beast of the fielde pleasure in eating, in drinking, in sléeping? Doe not the birdes sport themselues with sing­ing among the gréene braunches? Doe not the young bullockes skippe and leape in the gréene meddowes? naie, do not the beasts of the field go beyond vs in this thing? Doth not the hawke take a greater delight in [Page] following hir praie, then y^e fawkners doe in looking on? doth not y^e hound or the spaniell take delight in an higher kinde, with y^e hope of obteining their praie, then the hunters do in hearing or beholding the sport a far of? Whie then are we so gréedie of gaming.

This your treatise of continuance at gaming, hath ben ve­rie lōg, & therfore, for memories sake, I praie you gather your reasons that you haue vsed into a narrowe roome, y^• I maie y^e better carrie them away. Paule. The sum of that which I haue said in this treatise, is this: séeing eue­rie man without exception, must ex­ercise y^e most part of his life in some certeine & dailie calling: séeing conti­nuance at plaie cannot be mainteined without infinit charges, which ought rather to be bestowed vpon such as haue néed: séeing the Lord hath ioined an honest delight, to a dailie calling, which continuance at gaming doth want: seing by cōtinuāce at gaming, men must of necessitie fall into euill cōpanie, which is of gret force to driue [Page 34] vs from God: séeing by this meanes we bar our selues frō y^• louing com­panie of y^e godlie: séeing by following our dailie calling, we obeie the voice of y^e great God, & do some good to our brethren, which cannot be done with continuall gaming: last of all, séeing y^t delight y^t we haue in gaming is com­mon to vs with all Turks & Infidels & with the beasts of the field, I con­clude, y^t no man must follow gaming.

Of daunsing. The fourth Chapter.

You diuided games into such, wherin men are the chife do­ers: & into such, wherein they are the lookers on You haue spoken of y^e first kinde, though in few words, yet in as manie as I desire: I praie you speake now of the other kinde, of this kind is daunsing: what thinke you of it?

Peter Marter vpon y^e last chap­ter of the Iudges, speaketh of manie kindes of daunces. But if you speake of y^t kinde of dauncing, y^t is receiued w^t vs in euerie place, wher daūsing is vsed, all good consciences must néedes [Page] condemne it. For, is it a seemelie thing (thinke you) that a Christian man, or a Christian woman should be so much delighted with hearing a prophane, and sometimes a filthie song plaide vppon an instrument, that they should leape for ioie at the hearing of it? Shall the Lord thun­der out his terrible iudgements a­gainst the stinking sinne of adulterie, and shall we holde it lawfull to laie baites and allurements to intrappe our selues therein? In the long pau­sing that is vsed in mas king, be­twéene daunce and daunce, doe they not vse all kinde of filthie talke that they can deuise? In other kindes of daunsing where they doe not vse to talke together, what wanton iestures are vsed? The young man must shew himselfe as youthfull as maie bée, his turning on the toe, his capering, and all his other trickes want their grace, if they bée not done in the sight of his ladie. The woman must set out hir bodie, and minse it farre vn­séemelie, either for the bashfull mode­stie [Page 39] of a virgin, or the chast behauiour of a married woman. A man maie suppose in déede that fire and flaxe maie be together without anie daun­ger: But what a straunge fondnesse is this? Wée condemne the popish Pharesies of intollerable pride, for lifting vp the power of man, and for saieng that they are able to keepe themselues from anie sinne: And yet we thinke our selues so strong, that we maie delight our eies with ga­sing vpon anie woman, y^t we maie beholde anie kinde of wanton looke, or light iesture whatsoeuer, without anie harme done: or anie wicked thought, so much as once conceiued thereby, either of the dauncers them­selues, or y^e lookers on. If we thought not our selues so strong, whie would we suffer such prouocations which are as bellowes, to inflame the hearts of young men, and to set on fire the heartes of young women towardes them againe. He that loueth daunger must néeds fall into it. And the diuell knoweth that temptations come no [Page] waie so forceablie to our fancie, as by the eiesight: And therefore he did not tempt Christ, by describing vnto him in manie wordes the glorie of the world: but he taketh him vp on high, and sheweth it him: he knewMath. 4. that this was the better waie. The courtier confesseth that a wanton loke is of greater force to ingēder fil­thilie lust, which he calleth loue, then a thousand words. The godlie man Iob, knowing the weaknesse of man, how great it was, had alwaies a god­lie suspition of himselfe, and was so farre from vsing trifling wordes, or light gestures towards anie woman: that hée made a couenant with hisIob. 31. eies, least by looking wistlie vppon hir, he should thinke on a maide. How dare anie of vs then giue ouer our selues to daunsing, where such light gestures are not onelie vsed, but also openlie professed. HoweEsaie. 3. 16. can wée beholde the stretched out neckes, and the wandering eies: but that (as Salomon saith) wée shall bée in as great daunger, as [Page 36] one that sléepeth in the middest of the sea, and as he that sléepeth in the top of a mast? And yet hée that shall finde fault with vs for it, is a new fangled fellowe, & nothing can pleasePro. 23. 34. him. In other thinges we will easilie graunt y^e force of temptations by our eie-sight: sée for your loue (saie y^e mer­chaunts) and bye for your moneie. They knowe by looking vpon their wares, we are sooner brought to bye them: and therefore the thriftie hus­band giueth counsell to kéepe purse at market, onelie in this thing we will acknowledge no such matter.

Yet we read, that godlie women haue daunced: And Dauid, Exo. 15. 20. a man according to God his owne heart did daunce.

The modest and sober daun­sing that godlie women vsed, a part by themselues after some notable vic­torie, to giue thanks therefore, ought to be no cloke for our wanton daun­sing. For we count it no sport, except men & women daunce together: wher­by is easilie perceiued the filthy ende [Page] of our dauncing. Dauid daunced in déede, but is his dauncing and ours anie thing like? Dauid lift vs his bo­die, and daunced before the Arke: be­cause, béeing a signe of the fauoura­ble presence of God, it was brought home from the Philistines, vnto the people of God againe. But marke (I praie you) what the text saith: Michol sawe his dauncing, and mocked him: belike it was no courtlie daunce, for then it should haue pleased hir well inough. And Dauid aunswering hir1. Sam 6. mockes, saith: I will be yet more vile then thus, and will be lowe in mine owne sight. We vse to braue it, and to shewe our selues as gal­lant as maie be in our dauncing: But Dauid abased himselfe in his dauncing, and for this cause was he contentemned of Michol. He chose no wanton Dame to daunce with­all, neither daunced hée after a­nie vaine Heathenish song: but after a Psalme of thankesgiuing. Neuer compare Dauid his daun­sing with ours, for there is no [Page 37] more likelihood betwéene them, then is betwéene heauen and hell. Dauid caused not so manie instruments to be made to serue God his glorie, as we doe to serue our wanton lusts: as the prophet Amos telleth vs. So that, if we will haue our daunsing appro­ued of the Lord, we must vse some o­ther kinde. For I dare boldlie saie, vpon my reasons alleadged, the word of God is my warrant, that the daun­sing we now vse, is abhominable. Those that are desirons to heare more of this matter, maie read a learned treatise written in French, and dedi­cated by the French Ministers of the reformed Churches, vnto the king of Nauarre: the argu­ment whereof is altoge­ther against our fil­thie kinde of daunsing.

Of Dice and Card-plaie. Chap. 5.

You haue prooued that we offend in daunsing, not onelie as we doe in hunting and hawking, by vsing of it too much: but that we offend, if we vse our wanton kinde of daunsing at all. Ther be other things, wherein I would gladlie haue your iudgement: but that I am afraid I haue troubled you too long alreadie. I told you when I came, I would make you wearie of me before I went, and I am afraid I haue bene as good as my word.

Naie trulie sir, you doe not trouble me, and therefore I praie you doe not thinke so: we méete (you knowe) but seldome, and therefore I wold be loth to part from you so soone.

Séeing you will néedes haue mée trouble you, I will goe forward with that which I was about to speak. Among all games that are vsed, Dice and Cardplaie are worse reported of, then anie other [Page 38] kinde of game: and yet is no other of game vsed halfe so much. Ei­ther gamesters themselues for vsing this game, are much to blame: or els those that giue it so euill a report, I praie sir, how thinke you?

I will tell you Demas, if we will well marke the riotous and outragious dice, and card-plaie, that hath spread it sElfe, and now ouerflow­eth euerie part of the land: If (I saie) we shal way with our selues vpright­lie, the innumerable sleights and fal­shoods that are incident to gaming, & the infinite mischiefes that haue come thereby, both to y^e church of God, & also to y^e common wealth: we shall not one whit meruaile, if y^e godlie sorrow that a Christian heart conceiueth thereby, makes him euen to crie out vpon thē. The diuel indéed doth couer his crafts in all occupations: but he is nener lightlie so suttle, but that the chap­men, in vsing those things they haue bought, euermore lightlie spie him out: Onelie in this kinde of Mer­chandise hée doeth excell, hée hath [Page] shewed héere what he can doe. A man shall be deceiued, yet can hée neuer lightlie tell who hath hurt him. The Cards must be clipt for some kind of games at the toppes, for some other at the sides. When it commeth to a mans course to deale, he hath taught vs how to packe: when another dea­leth, he hath taught vs how to deceiue by cutting. If more plaie then two, then commeth in cousoning: two must deceiue the third, or thrée the fourth. If the fillie soule begin to be wearie of this pastime, because it is to dull a game, & had rather heare y^e ratling of the Dice: or if chaunging the game, he hopeth to change his lucke: they are then also redie for him. Their dice are redie ground or stopt: They haue high men, they haue lowe men, they haue [...]ard cater traies. So that whether he be disposed to plaie at Hazard, Pri­mero, Nouem, Passage, Ticke tacke, Irish, what game soeuer he chooseth, they are with him to bring. I will not take vpon me to tell all. For those that haue practised gaming of a long [Page 39] time, and haue bene at it earlie and late. Those that haue inquired after the sleights thereof, and haue mer­uailouslie profited that waies, are of­tentimes to séeke, and sometimes also ouertaken thereby.

I but sir, doe you not perceiue, that these are the faultes of those that abuse the sport: and not of gaming it selfe. There is deceipt v­sed in euerie occupation, there is craft (as they saie) in dawbing: will you therefore condemne all occupations. Paule. The craft that is vsed in oc­cupations, is in the persons, & not in the thing it selfe: but you cannot saie so of Diceplaie. In euerie trade, there is some honest ende: for they are in­struments and conducts (as it were) to serue the prouidence of God, to­wards the maintenaunce of our life, and defence of our bodie: They tend (I saie) to the maintenaunce one of another: But gaming hath a contra­rie ende. It doth not yéeld anie com­moditie to his brother for the moneie it receiueth, but they stake downe [Page] their monie then must it be yours or mine, win it and take it. A great ma­nie men thinke, because it is not said in precise and expresse words, that the Lord will haue no man plaie for mo­neie, that therefore there is no Scrip­ture against it. These men should con­sider in like manner, that it is not ex­pressed in the Scriptures, that there be thrée persons in the Godhead, that Christ is both God and man, that our infants ought to be baptised: yet none of vs doubteth, but y^t these things are set down as certeinlie, as if they were in most plaine words expressed: so like­wise is it with the thing I haue now in hand. The holie ghost setting down the propertie of loue, telleth vs thatCor. 13. 5. it is so desirous to pleasure the partie it loueth, that oftentimes it séeketh not his owne. If to hazard our monie to put in daunger the moneie of our brother, be not flat contrarie to this propertie of loue, I knowe not what is contrarie. All base golde, and cract siluer is currant monie: belike they thinke it is good enough for the [Page 80] wares they vtter. So that, to set the faults that I spake of before aside, you sée gaming it selfe hath no good ende. But (I praie you) tell me, be­cause you saie these be the faults of men, and not of the thing: where doe you knowe anie, if hée hath bene a gamester of anie long time, but that hée hath béene infected with these sleights? Are not these woords v­suall amongst gamesters: At cardes I will deceiue mine owne Fa­ther, if I can: At Dice I will not trust mine owne brother.

They knowe that the opportu­nitie of a praie, is able to make halfe an honest man a thiefe. Because therefore this kinde of plaie ministreth such opportunitie to deceiue, they will not trust a gamester though otherwise hée bée a reasonable honest man.

I haue bene a gamester my selfe a great while too long, and I haue marked some men of all degrées, both high and lowe, howe they haue behaued them­selues [Page] at plaie: yet can I not saie, ei­ther of my selfe, or of anie that I haue seene, (and yet I haue séene a great manie) that they haue bene free from winking, crosse, discarding, or from some deceipt or other, & indéed, to saie the truth, this kind of game is no­thing els, but a profession how to deceiue cunninglie. I doe not one­lie speake what I my selfe haue séene: for manie that haue bene game­sters of a long time, and haue refor­med this their corruption, will wit­nesse with me, that that which I haue said is true. Paschasius Ecloulensis, a Doctor of Phisicke, béeing a tra­uailer in Spaine, for manie yeares, was a daily beholder of courtly game­sters, and others. (He beeing a tra­uailer, marked things more narrow­lie, for y^t was the ende of his trauell, and we are all giuen to marke things more neerelie in a strange place, then at home.) This Paschasius that I speake of, saith plainlie of all game­sters, Noble men and others, that there is none but hée will deceiue if [Page 41] he can. For though manie care not greatlie for the moneie, yet because they disdaine to léese, and the victorie is somwhat, they will not stick to help themselues as much as maie be. This is their order. Young gamesters, by reason of their vnskilfulnesse, or els for that they are so sharpe sette, that they can not match themselues, but with disaduauntage, alwaies goe by the worst. And when they haue bene bitten of a long time, those that haue cousoned him, will make him some part of amends, with making of him priuie to his sleights, that they maie praie vpon young nouises, as they before were a praie to others. Men are soone brought to this lure. For what gamester holdeth it vnlawfull, to get againe by the same meanes, all that which they lost to others before? Nay, though at their first sitting to plaie, they meane honestlie, & purpose to plaie no otherwise then the cards serue: yet if they be much in losse, they thinke it a meruailous follie, by some knacke or other, not to séeke to [Page] recouer themselues againe. So that a man can hardlie trust, not onelie shifters, which liue by plaie: but euen ciuill gamesters: those which pretend no other ende of plaie then good fellowship. And I praie you doe not their owne conscience tell them, that the winnings that come by play, are vnlawfull? For if one oweth them monie that waies, they make no ac­count of it, but as of desperate debt, though the partie that oweth it them, be a man able enough: and to take vp a mans stake, when it is lost, is yet accounted fairer plaie. I appeale to the consciences of all those that vse this kinde of game, whether y^e things that I saie of them be true, or no. And if they be true, I aske them, with what face they can defend them­selues.

I but sir, I praie you let vs reson of the matter, before you come to giue sentence. Indéed (as you saie) though some gamesters saie they can plaie without deceipt: yet I think it is but Hypocrisie in them. For, [Page 42] though they can bée content to vse square plaie, so long as the Cardes goe on their side, (for they can but winne, though they shoulde vse de­ceipt) yet when lucke (as they call it) goeth against them, they will bée sure to saue themselues from loosing: so that the partie with whome they plaie, shall bée sure to goe by the woorst. But you knowe, many times the parties that plaie are cunning all alike: for gaming hath no such wit in it, but that it maie easilie be found out, if men would bend themselues to it.

There is nothing then that bea­reth the swaie, but the chaunce (as they tearme it) of the Dice: for one winneth one daie, and another an­other daie: They winne (I saie) and loose by course, as it falleth out. What then (thinke you,) is the thing that mooueth men to plaie, when they haue no aduaun­tage of him, with whome they plaie.

The thing that moueth men to [Page] plaie, when they cannot deceiue, though they would, I thinke is an ouer well conceiuing of themselues. For, though they sée no reason why, yet because they like better of them­selues, then of the partie with whom they plaie, they thinke the Dice must néedes goe on their sides: for they suppose that the victorie shall alwaies be bestowed vpon the worthier per­son. Why (saie they) should not I win as well as he?

Yea, but though men doe léese at this lotting, and square plaie at Dice and Cardes, yet will they continue plaie still: what thinke you is the cause of this?

Euen the same pride that before I spake of, and therefore the partie that loseth, calleth the victorie of him, with whom he doth play, Nid­gits lucke. He séeth no wittie indea­uour of the conquerour, which might driue him to confesse, that the partie with whom he plaieth is too hard for him: and being still the worthier per­son in his owne conceipt, he think­eth [Page 43] that at the last the Dice will re­member him, so they neuer make an end of plaie. If therefore we looke vpon the first cause that moueth men to plaie at this game, we must néedes mislike of it. Now, if we looke vppon the matter wherevpon this game doth consist, and without the which it will not be, we shall sée it is monie. For they hope to winne, or els why should they plaie? and you knowe that hope is couetous.

Yea, but I cannot so soone yéeld vnto you in this matter. For manie rich merchants, and Gen­tlemen doe vse this kinde of sport, which I thinke make no great ac­count of moneie.

You speake, as if rich men were not couetous. Doeth not the Poet saie, and doth not dailie ex­perience teach vs, that Crescit amor nummi, quantùm ipsa pecunia cres­cit? It is a popish presumption to thinke, that we are not prone to co­uetous desires, as we are to all other sinnes. But plaieng at this moneie [Page] game, doth allure vs to this sin, which thing we haue little néed of. & therfore it is the will of God that we should auoid such allurements.

Yet gamesters, of all other men are commonlie franke fel­lowes: and therefore of all sinnes, I cannot sée, how you can charge them with the sinne of couetousnesse.

They are franke indéede, when at their hosts, or at a Gentle­mans house the paie the boxe, or giue to anie that stand by, or spend it in good chéere, but their franknes comes alwaies out of another mans purse: so that they are couetous, but yet af­ter a more gentlemanlie manner, then the miserlie people in the coun­trie are You maie call it, a statelie & a loftie kinde of couetousnesse: yet (as you saie,) there is a kinde of riot ioi­ned with it: for they hazard their mo­nie, to satisfie their affections. But be­cause you are somewhat doubtfull in this point, I wil proue vnto you by a visible demonstration, y^t all gamsters are couetous. All gamesters, though [Page 44] they had rather plaie small game, thē sit out: yet if they haue vsed franke plaie, and are driuen either for want of moneie, or els for that the partie that plaieth with them will not ven­ture much moneie, if they be thus driuen to plaie for a small sum, they plaie not with halfe the delight they were accustomed to plaie with all: neither care they to plaie with him whom they loue déerelie. By y^e which things it is euident, that there sport is to win moneie. Thus, whether you looke to the first cause y^e moueth men to this game, or to the matter wherv­pon it doeth consist, wée sée it cannot be allowed of. And if we looke vppon the formall cause. If (I saie) we will looke vpon the forme & fashion of the game it selfe, wee shall finde, that it deserueth as little fauour as the other two causes that are alreadie spo­ken of. If one bée ouerséene at Mawe, and against his will loose his dealing, shall he not loose foure? At Ticke tacke if a man touch the wrong chip, doth he not loose y^e game. [Page] The like maie be said of the rest: for what fairer plaie then dotage. But in bargaining if the like aduan­tage be taken, though the common Lawe alloweth it, yet our Lawe of conscience doth ouerrule the matter. And who is he that will not crie out vpon a man, & giue his friends war­ning of him, if taketh vauntage of an Obligation, when by forgetting the day, the monie is brought a daie after the date? And yet who séeth not that there is the like equitie in both? For if they saie that the partie that is ouerséene, and of whom the vauntage is taken, did agrée vpon the matter, at their sitting to plaie, & that he know­eth well enough that it is the order of plaie, and that it is lawfull for him that is ouertaken, to take the like ad­uauntage of him that hath the forfei­ture: euerie man knoweth that a man maie as trulie saie the same of the forfeiture of an obligation. If an­swere be made, y^t the one is a serious matter, & the other is done in sport: y^e word of God, which is a touchstone to [Page 45] trie euerie déede, euerie word, euerie thought. This word of God allow­eth no such distinction, sinne is sinne, whether it be committed in earnest or in sport. Take héede of this di­stinction, if you will, for it is the méere sophistrie of Sathan. And (I praie you) what occasion of wrang­ling is giuen, euen by gaming it self? If a die stand a wrie at the fall, how manie gamesters can tell whether the fairest to the caster, or the fairest to the skie should be the throwe. At Mawe, if the ace of hearts be turned vp, when he that is to make, maketh this for it, then doth a meruailous controuersie arise, whether he that turneth it vp should win the set, or he that winneth fiue tricks: then must wagers be laide. I remember once there arose such heart-burning be­twéene two, for the like blinde con­trouersie, that béeing dailie compani­ons before, they met not together, of a quarter of a yeare after. They had both likelie games, the one asketh a card, an other for me (saith the other:) [Page] thus they both asked so long, till the whole bunch was out. The question was, whether the trumpe that was turned vp at the last, should be a voide card, or no. The diuell hath intangled euerie game with the like doubts, and we carrie a waiward na­ture about with vs that will soone be prouoked, & harme néeds little helpe, and thus much for the formal cause, and for the game it selfe. Now, if we shall come to the end wherefore this game is vsed, we shall also finde suf­ficient matter to condemne it, the end that is pretended, is a recreation, let vs therefore consider, whether it be so or no. Euerie recreation doth re­fresh & quicken our spirits, but Dice and card plaie is so quiet, & so drou­sie a pastime, that if the desire of win­ning did not kéepe them awake, the gamesters would be oftentimes rea­die to fall a sléepe. I will not saie a­gainst it, but some one that vseth to plaie for moneie, maie be earnest at plaie sometimes, though he plai­eth for niflles: but the cause of this [Page 46] his delight, is the calling to minde of his former sport: or els to make him­selfe the cunninger to winne his bro­thers moneie the next time that hée plaieth. But if it were agréed vpon, that all plaie for moneie should cease: In a short time men would haue as much delight to looke vpon a spade or a clubbe, or to turne one chip out of one table into an other, as they haue now in péeling of strawes. It is not so in shooting. It is not so in tennisse plaie, in running, in ri­ding, in throwing the barre, or the hammer. It is not so in games that aske the exercise of the bodie. I re­member maister Ascham hath a wit­tieIn his booke of shooting. similitude against such deceiuing pastimes. We doe not vse (saith he) to whette our knife vpon a chalke stone, for that would not sharpen it, but make it more blunt: neither (saie I) if we wuld refresh our wits, are we to goe to a paire of cards, for they will not quicken, but dull them, It is not so with shooting. It is not so with anie manlie kinde of [Page] exercise, for they stirre vp a certeine liuelinesse in a man. Thereby hée is made quicke and readie to take in hand anie commendable thing: so that the abuse of plaieng for monie béeing taken awaie, there maie bée a verie good vse of them: neither can those whose labour doth consist in the exercise of the minde be well with­out them.

Your mentioning of shooting hath brought to my minde a reason against a great deale of that, which you haue said. For shooting (as you your selfe graunt) is a commenda­ble thing, and if it be not continued, England shall be bereft of a notable help against the time of warre. But how can it be mainteined, except men plaie for moneie?

I am not against it, that shooting should be mainteined: but the meanes whereby you woulde haue it mainteined, is a chargeable meanes, and would skant quite cost. For though the common wealth bée helped by the thing it self, in the time [Page 47] of warre: yet the meanes that you speake of, will helpe to pull it downe in the time of peace. Beside this, sée­ing the skill, and strength to vse a­uie weapon, hath his force from the blessing of the Lord. How can wée looke that the Lord will blesse this skill: when the meanes whereby we attaine thereto are not allowed of him? Thankes be to God, there bée meanes enough to traine vp a suffi­cient number that waies, though the ventering of our moneie to get our brothers moneie from him be laid a­side. But whie do you speake so much of continuing anie sport? Knowe you not that when men continue a­nie long time at plaie, that it is no longer a recreation, but a labour? When men vpon pleasure will rowe vpon the Thames, after supper, in Summer time, we call it a recreati­on: but we doe not vse to call it a recreation in the botemen, whose dailie labour doth consist in rowing. Whereby it is easie to sée, that the difference betwéene a recreation and [Page] a labour, doth consist in the shortnesse or length of time y^t we bestowe vpon either of thē. And amongst other mis­chifes y^t come by plaieng for moneie, this is not the least, y^t by this meanes they are held to long at plaie. For when a man looseth, it is neuer light­lie séene that he will giue ouer: and he that winneth shall be accounted a foule gamester, if he leaue y^e other in the lurch. So y^t beside y^e losse of time, which might otherwise haue ben bet­ter spent, they are oftentimes a tor­ment to thēselues. It is strange to sée, what sodeine alteraions there arise in their outward lookes. If the cards go against them, then is there biting of y^e lip: but if y^e cards alter their course, then is ther clapping a taffaties, and giue me a hand, ther is (I saie) then y^e vncomelie ieasting that the Apostle speaketh against, which is vaine andEphe. 5. 4. vnsauourie, but what doe I speake of outward lookes? There is wr [...]ught through feare & hope, a confusion of y^e whole nature of man, you shall heare them oftentimes complaine, y^t their [Page 48] backe akes with stooping, & that their legs are benummed, their heads are pauled, & their whole bodie is distem­pered: and yet this game must still be accounted a recreation. Is not x. or a .xi. a clocke at night a fitte time (thinke you) to vse recreations? And yet is this dark time of the night, de­dicated to this worke of darknesse, which they call a recreation: neither are they troublesom to themselues a­lone, but to y^e whole house wher they plaie, & to y^e whole houses where they dwel. They turne the day into night, as the Prophet saith: they turne top­sie turnie, y^e whole order of y^e proui­dence of God. For y^e Lord hath made y^e day for labour, & the night for sléepe: but they watch in y^e night, & sléepe in y^e daie. Thus if we looke into y^e effici­ent cause y^t first moueth them to lot­terie, or square play, it is pride: y^e sub­staunce of it is a moneie matter, the forme & fashion of it is to take aduā ­tage of our brothers ouersight, and to minister occasiō of wrāgling: wherto may be added an inuincible argumēt, [Page] which now commeth to my minde. All the games at dice and cardes ei­ther goe by skill, or by méere lotte­rie. If they goe by skill, then is it a shame, that our skill that should be for the benefite of our borther, should turne to his hinderaunce: But if that goe by lotterie, it is against the third commaundement.

Truelie sir, I do not well vnderstand your reason. I knowe (in­déed) y^t our skill must not hinder our brother: for not onelie the lawe of God, but the lawe of nature, and of all nations is against it: but that which you speake of the third com­maundement, I cannot tell what it meaneth.

We are there commaun­ded, not to take the name of God in vaine. You knowe what a name is. A name is a thing, whereby anie thing is knowne. Salomon is knowne by his wisdome. And if I saie the wise man saith so, you can tell whome I meane. So likewise is the prouidence of God, the name of God: it is a [Page 49] thing whereby he is knowne. Now, if I call for his name to witnesse a trifle, what do I but take it in vaine? When I must néeds haue a speciall determination immediatlie from the prouidence of God, whether a testar or a shilling shall be yours or mine, what doe I but make a mocke of his wisdome, which distributeth to euerie man as it séemeth best vnto him? What dalieng is this with him?

Yet we reade, that Iosua diuided their land to the Israelites by lot.

I doe not condemne all ca­sting of lots, no more then I doe all kinde of swearing: but to vse anie of them both, when there is no néede, must néeds be condemned. I thinke it were verie good, if all our demursPro. 18. 18. were ended by lot: for when the Iud­ges stand at a staie, & cannot, or will not make an end of a matter, when a matter cannot be ended by anie or­dinarie lawfull meanes, what should men pause & spend their money to no purpose? In such a case (I graunt) we [Page] might haue a verie good vse of ca­sting of lots: but what maketh this for our common kinds of lotting? Io­sua (you saie) did cast lots. The land of Canaan was to be diuided among the Israelites, to euerie Tribe a por­tion: now, because there could be no such equall diuision, but that there must néedes be some oddes in their portions, it was wisdome both to put bye all suspition of partialitie from Iosua, and enuie from amongst the people. It was wisedome (I saie) for these causes to determine by lottes, what seuerall portion that should be, that euerie seuerall Tribe should haue. But we, when we haue mo­nie in our purses, cast lottes whe­ther that which we haue should bée none of ours, or whether we shal haue more to it. You sée there is great ods betwéene these two. Othes and lots are to end controuersies, and not to waite vpon our fancies. So that, to come againe to that which I was a­bout to saie, the efficient and natural cause of this plaie, is pride & couetous­nesse. [Page 50] In the forme is hard dealing, occasion of falling out & breach of the third commandement. The end is di­stempering of soule & bodie, so y^t what­soeuer you haue respect vnto in this game, it is naught. Men wil not sticke to think y^e they haue meruailous hold of thēselues, when they begin to play, they will set downe a quiet kinde of plaie, how much they will plaie for, and they will make an [...]nd at a verie good time: but when the affection is once vp, all these thinges are cleane forgotten. Naie, though one hauing more care of his health, thē an other, maketh mention of ending plaie: yet if an old fellow come out w^t a wooden iest, and saith that is but a foolish cu­stome to go to bed a nights, this woo­den iest shall be of force to kéepe them vp all y^e night long. Trulie it is a wō ­derfull thing, & almost vncredible, but y^t it is so manifest, y^t men should take such delight in hurting of thēselues. Their ordinarie plaie delighteth thē, but whē ther is a meting pitched, whē they make a daie of it (as they saie) [Page] and sit by it, that is accounted a game­sters feast: they are troubled then with surfetting more then they were accustomed, they make themselues dronken with it, and yet they take such delight in this gossopping ga­ming, that you shall haue there talke of it a great while after. All other delights are nothing, where this ga­ming is awaie. For as it is with a man that hath a bile vppon him, as then all the other parts of the bodie séeme to be without féeling: so other honest delights séeme to be nothing, in respect of that. Though they bee a­mong those that loue them, yet if they be no gamesters, they are not in the right crue, they are not (they thinke) where they should be. Naie, this their itching desire is of such power, that though (by reason of their losses & sur­fettings) they for the time are wearie of it, though they make a vow, & shall forfet monie when soeuer they turne to their vomit again: yet cannot these bars hold them from plaie, for their desire in déede is vnnaturall. I haue [Page 51] heard & séene men casting their peni­worths, how they might make this kinde of game a recreation, & not a toiling. I haue heard (I saie) that ma­nie, euen those that were thought to haue more holde of themselues then a great manie other haue deuised to bring this thing to passe: but it could neuer be. For as Parmeno saith in an other matter, Incerta haec si tu postules, ratione certa facere nihilo plus agas, quam si des operam, vt cum ratione insanias. Thus haue I, as wel as it hath pleased God to make mée able, vnfolded and laid open the vgli­nesse of this beastlie game, to the end that gamesters séeing what a mishapē thing it is, might turne their loue from it, to a better thing.

You haue proued that dice and card plaie are, no recreations, as they are pretended: but you haue not yet spoken of the mischiefs that come of them.

Their mischiefes in déed are infinit, and to speake in a word, they bréede contempt of all religion and [Page] goodnesse. For what gamester ma­keth anie account of religion? What gamester will hazard the losse of a friend, or the losse of anie worldlie comfort, for the honour of his God? Naie, a man must be conformable, & applie himselfe to euerie companie, or els he is no méete man to be a gamester. Talk of God who list, they will talke of gaming. Naie, euen in praier time, when they haue giuen eare a little, they must talk of yester­nights good fellowship, and what they shall doe in the afternoone. Good Lord what seruing of God call you this? Would not they thinke it an absurd thing, to talke of anie matter of diui­nitie, when they are set at cardes? And is it not much more absurd to talke of card matters in praier time? I tremble at the remembraunce of that irreuocable sentence that shall be pronounsed ouer them, when they shall be called to iudgement. The Lord for his mercies sake take the mist from their eies, and then I knowe they will sée their sinnes, [Page 52] and repent.

Amongst all other euils, me think this game should bring beg­gerie. For the game it self [...] asketh great charges, and they are hindered by this meanes, both from dooing good to others, and from getting anie thing in their calling: so that except they plaie vpon the vauntage, it is an hundred to one that they shall bee baggered by it.

You saie true, for when they win anie thing, yet because it cōmeth so lightlie, it must go as light­lie & (as Tullie saith) Quod adopti sunt per scelus, per luxuriam offen­dunt. The thing that deceiueth them is this. Whatsoeuer they winne, it commeth vnlooked for, & that is trim. They neuer marke that when they winne, somewhat goeth out: and that when they léese, nothing is gi­uen backe. They neuer marke what griping vsurers dice and cardes are. For if you receiue anie thing of them to daie, you must not looke to go by the yere, nor yet by the [Page] moneth: you must paie your princi­pal, and twise so much more perhaps to morrow. It is wōderful to sée, how blind, and how foolish men bée. For whē they haue a minde to a ring▪ or to anie pretie conceit, they will venture their monie for it w^t some losse, when they refuse to bie it right out. Héereof commeth it, that schollers comming from the vniuersitie, maie rifle away their bookes, when they cannot sell them, & what fondnes is this? Euerie man knoweth that it is great follie, to hope certeinly for an vncertein thing: but to lay a wager of it, that y^t which they vncerteinlie looke for, shall cer­teinlie come to passe, is méere mad­nes. It is thought a goodlie matter of poore men, if rich men will take them as their companions: so likewise is it with gamesters. For though manie of them be men of no great wealth, yet hope is rich: and so long as they plaie, they shall be accompanied with rich hope. Though they bée in losse, yet lucke they thinke maie tourne. Their prophesieng is [Page 53] like the southsaieng of a countreie A­stronomer, that I haue heard of, which thought that after a daie or two of raine, we shall haue fairer weather: but sometimes (this last haruest for example) his southsaieng deceiued him twentie daies together. So gamesters thinke, that after an houre or two of ill lucke, the Cardes will goe on their side an other while: but their prophesieng deceiueth them so long till at the last it can deceiue them no more. You shall sometimes sée manie lustie gallants, that because they will giue the companie to vn­derstand, that they are able to main­taine franke plaie, and that they are no pidlers, they loose all the monie in their pursse: then must they borrow vpon vsurie, by which meanes they runne so farre in the lash, that their reuenewes must be solde, and they stript into their dublet and their hose. Plaie must they néeds, and that they plaie for is in hazard, so that they can not rightlie call any thing theirs. For their watching so pauleth them, and [Page] the loue of sport and companie so oc­cupieth their head, that they haue no leasure to consider what the issue wil be. Afterward when they can get no monie to continue their sport, they begin to awake out of their sléepe, and to consider more déepelie of the mat­ter: and when by waieng the mat­ter well, they haue found that a man can not liue without some mainte­naunce, then consult they with them­selues how to get somewhat. And be­cause they either know not, or béeing Gentlemen, are ashamed to labour in some honest trade: They beginne to complaine of the griping and harde dealing of couetous men. What a world is this (saie they) that a com­panie of loutes should haue so much lieng by them? Why doe we conti­nue thus like slaues? Let vs rather show our selues to be men of courage, let vs laie for some bootie, that wee maie braue it in Poules or in Cheap­side as we were wont. Their friends ind [...]ed oftentimes make friends, and kéepe them from the gallowes: butPro. 11. 21. [Page 54] yet (as Salomon saith) though hand ioine in hand, the wicked shall not be vnpunished. They bootie it so long, till at some gallowes or other, they become an open spectacle of the iudge­ments of God vnto the whole world, and a fearefull warning (if they be wise) to all those that followe their steps. Examples they saie are verie fitte to teach withall, and yet we are so doltish in learning anie kinde of goodnesse, that manifest and plaine examples can teach vs no­thing. I remember, whilest I was in Cambridge, A simple man at his ex­ecution willed schollers in anie case to take héede of gaming, that brought him to that shamefull ende: and yet, because in his exhortation he vsed an auke phrase to expresse his mind with all, I am afraid (said he) you will forgette my exhalations, as soone as you are out of the Castle gates: Because (I saie) hée spake a word amisse, we iested at the phrase, and so by this meanes, the goodnesse that we should haue learned by his [Page] fearefull ende, was put by: whereas if we had loked vpon the matter wel, his words, at that time, ought to haue bene of as great authoritie, as anie Doctors word in Cambridge. But this mischiefe doth not raine in Lon­don and Cambridge alone: for euerie towne, especiallie if it be of anie big­nesse, is infected with this euill. Euen in this towne not long since, there was a man that had a good dowrie with his wife, and was verie well to liue of himselfe: yet by this mischie­uous gaming, he was quite vndone: and to redéeme himselfe out of prison, his wife & his children were throwne out of dores. Surelie it would haue pitied a mans heart to haue séene it: hée himselfe being left to the wide world, no man knoweth what wilbe become of him, wher by the waie are confuted y^• fond pitifull words, which are wont to be vsed in defence of such riotous persons. Alas (saie they) it is great pitie: he was no mans foe but his owne: for héere we maie see, that they are foes to a great manie. The [Page 55] common wealth might well looke to haue some reliefe towards the main­tenance of their poore: but now must they and their children be kept with the goods of the poore: so that the poore in the parish, which should otherwise haue bene well prouided for, are pin­ched, and miserablie vexed, and all through gaming. How true doe wée finde that, which the Scripture saith, He that loueth pastime shall be a poorePro. 21. 17. man. Men maie call it a sport, but it was the waightiest matter, that euer he dealt withall in his life. If men rioted in apparrell, or in meates and drinkes, because a mans vndoing this waie is not so soddaine: men commonlie are their friends, by coun­sell to remedie the matter, before all bée gone. But the vndooing of a man selfe by plaie is so sodaine, that he is vnder the Ice, before a man can be a­ware of it.

Indéede as you saie, ma­nie come to beggerie by this meanes: but yet all doe not.

Though men of large [Page] reuenewes are not beggered, yet they begger a great manie by this means. Their tenaunts are miserablie pinch­ed through their Land-lord his follie: whereas, if this vile moneie game were left, they would no doubt deale better with them, and be more bounti­full Lords to poore men: we should not then haue such forfeiting of lea­ses, and such oppressing of men as we haue. What an absurd thing is it, that men should kéepe such a coile for moneie, and when they haue it cast awaie? I knowe there bée a great manie pennie fathers, which though they loose nothing at gaming, yet gripe poore men: but yet I knowe there be a great manie, that if they lost and spent not so much at plaie, would bée more frank-hearted to poore men, then they are. Doth the Lord finde fault with the vnprofitable seruaunt, that laid not out his talent to his masters aduauntage, but hid it in the ground? And will he not iudge y^t seruant that wasteth it vpon trifles? The holie Ghost commandeth vs to honour thePro. 3. 9. [Page 56] Lord with our riches. And the Iewes, to giue vs to vnderstand, y^t they were redie to bestow their goods at y^e Lords appointment were willed to paie the first fruits to y^e Lord of all that euer they had: but do we honour him with our goods (thinke you) when we trifle them away at cards & tables. But sin hath no staie with it. For it is not e­nough for vs, thus vnthankfullie to a­buse y^e good gifts of God, except we sin directly against himselfe. What chola­rick passions (I pray you) are y^e loosers tossed withall, gentlemen or other: in­somuch y^t he y^t cannot chafe, is accoun­ted a senceles block. And because they dare not giue y^e whole disposition of y^t dice vnto y^e Lord, least in finding falt therwith they shuld open their mouth against him: they set vp an Idoll to their imaginations. I wil set out his hand (saie they) in despite of the dice. Did euer man hold out so long, ha­uing so manie points to enter? What fortune is this? What lucke is this? I care not so much for the monie, but to sée what spitefull lucke I haue. [Page] Then must the Cards be rent in pée­ces, or the Dice throwne into the fire: and yet they will laugh at a little child which beateth the ground for giuing him a fall. I speake fauourablie of them, for they are so farre from thin­king that they shall giue account for euerie angrie and idle word, that they thinke of no account for foming out such blasphemies against the blessed name of God: and that al­so not in vaine alone, as others doe, which are no gamesters to confirme euerie trifle, (for they sweare not to ende anie controuersie,) but because God ordereth the Dice no better for them, therefore do they spue out blas­phemies against him. For why els should they sweare by him? Naie, they themselues rēder this reson that I haue brought, why they sweare. It would make one sweare (saie they) to haue such lucke. Of a truth, God is long suffering, to sée if they will re­pent. For els he would neuer staie to take them awaie by ordinarie sick­nes, as he vseth to deale with others: [Page 57] but he would cause the earth to swal­low them vp into eternall confusion, euen whilest the oathes are in their mouthes, such open contempners of him. And although y^e partie that plai­eth with them, beginneth to tremble for feare: yet he must not reprooue him. For then he looketh vppon him with firie eies, and is readie to thrust his dagger into him: he accounteth then that he hath great iniurie, for loo­sers must haue their saieng. So that a man must, either by reproouing bée in daunger of outrage: or els, by his silence he must be accessarie to open treason against the almightie. So that whether you looke to the winner, or to the looser, they are both guil­tie (euen by the iudgement of sinfull flesh) of most grieuous sinne against the Lord God. What is the cause of drunkennesse, but this beastlie game? For if the companie were not conti­nued with flush, and ace of spades, king a diamonds, and such like stuffe: if I saie men were not kept still at the Alehouse with this fond talke, by [Page] that time they had ben together a litle while, they could not tell what to saie one to another: they would then goe from their cups, before that staring &Pro. 23. 29. rednesse of the eies, that the scripture speaketh of, came vppon them.

When a man doth tell game­sters, that these fruits that you haue spoken of, come by plaie: their aun­swere is, that these be the faultes of men that abuse their sport, and not of the game it selfe.

Those that aunswere so, you maie aske them, how they them­selues knowe anie thing: for exam­ple. How doe they knowe that a tale­bearer causeth contention. They will aunswere, by the effect of the matter: it alwaies falleth out so. So doe I know, and so maie they know, that a thousand more mischiefes then I haue spoken of, doe come of dice-plaie. If they saie, that there be not these mis­chifes in the game, if gamesters were as they should be: so can I saie, that a tale-bearer cannot cause contenti­on, if the partie to whom the tale is [Page 58] told, were as he should be: and yet we saie, a talebearer causeth contenti­on: & we maie as trulie saie, that dice and cards cause such mischiefes as are spoken of. When a statute was made by Act of Parliament, against vnlaw­full games, did not the Knights and Burgesses, being aduertised by the communaltie, whose patrones they are? Did not they perceiue what hor­rible mischiefes broke out into the common wealth.

For want of restraint that waies? Did not the Lords and Nobles of the vpper house, sée that their com­plaint was iust, and that they laide the fault where it was, when they confirmed that, which they deui­sed? And héere haue all good consci­ences iust cause to complaine. For, what a shameful thing is it, that such an honourable assemblie should be ga­thered, from euerie part of the lande, to make so good and so notable a law: and yet, that thorough the loose negli­gence of those that haue that trust committed vnto them, to sée these [Page] lawes executed, all should be to no purpose? Naie, I speake fauourablie of them: for they doe not onelie not punish these vnlawfull games, but with their authoritie they license a companie of néedelesse Alehouses, which are places of refuge for naugh­tie packes to lurke in. And though for verie shame, they be cōpelled to take awaie their license from some dron­ken Alehouse, that for maintaining of wickednesse is more notable then the rest: yet, if some wicked rich mā speak a good word for them, they shall haue leaue to be masters of as much euill rule as euer they wer. And what man cannot make some friend or other to speake for him? If they can saie that they are poore men, all is well. But why should not they worke for their liuing as well as other poore men? Why haue they more respect to the pouertie of one, then to the beggering of al the poore men in y^e towne? They say men maie chuse whether they wil spende their moneie at the Alehouse or no: but poore women, & their chil­dren, [Page 59] can not chuse whether their hus­bands shal spend that at the alehouse, that should be for their maintenance, or no. Beside this, if mē could gouerne themselues, to what purpose should they be appointed gouernours of a towne? For they are set in authoritie aboue their bretheren, to the end they might ouerrule and gouerne such, as cannot gouerne thēselues. Those that beare office, are sworne to put downe dice & card-plaie: & yet, if they kéepe an alehouse thēselues, they wil allure poore men to these vnlawfull games, and rather then they should not play, they will play with them themselues. This hath bene told to him that may remedie the matter, & yet there is no­thing done. A notable iudgement of God hath bene shewed vpon periured persons at Thaxted, not farre hence: and yet are we not afraid to forsweare our selues. Séeing therefore these things are thus, I beséech the Prea­cher in the name of the liuing God, that he wold not sooth vp the officers: as if all things were well, when in­déede [Page] there is onlie a vaine flourish of discipline vsed, which is as much as nothing. For, who knoweth not that these games are vsed? & yet who hath ben reprooued for it? Ther be (indéed) gouernours appointed, but ther is not that diligent inquiring after these things, as shuld be: & yet when things are complained of, other men are not discouraged from sin by y^e punishmēt of the offender. The Magistrate thin­keth that he doth discharge his dutie highlie, if he punisheth when a falt is brought before him: otherwise, though they heare men swearing at cards, as they walke in y^e stréetes, it maketh no matter. Good Lord, wher is y^t merciful seueritie that was: in y^t good man Iob, [...]b. 29. 8. & 6. which made y^e vnrulie young mē hide themselues for feare, when they saw him? He did not waite til a complaint was brought to him but whē he knew not y^e cause, he sought it out diligētlie. This thing, as all other things wer, was written for our lerning: we must therfore do y^e like. We shuld put down all vitling houses, but such as must [Page 60] néedes be had to intertaine straung­ers, those vitling houses that remain, we must search them diligentlie, & if there be anie cards or tables found, we must bring them to the market place, & there burne them before all the people. And if the Law will giue vs leaue, we shuld take all the cards & tables out of y^e haberdashers shops, & burne them. I know not what the Lawe saith in this point, but trulie I can sée no reason, how it can be law­full to buie or sel cards or tables, whē as y^e vse of thē is forbidden. Idle per­sons must be hunted after, at such pla­ces as are suspected, their haunt must be brokē: then shal y^e earth bring forth her increase, and God (euen our owne God) shall giue vs his blessing. If the Preacher be afraid to preach these things (as we are all y^e sort of vs co­wards & dastards in Gods matters) if we be afraid, we know of whō to aske strength, euen of y^t mightie & valiant God, y^t is fierce in battell, the Lord of hosts is his name. What art thou (faith y^e Prophet Esay) y^t thou shuldestEsaie. 51 [Page] feare a mortal man, and the sonne of man, which shall be made as grasse, and forgettest the Lord thy maker, that hath spred out the heauens? Let vs not therefore feare the reproch of men, for their breath is in their no­strells, & the moath shal eate them vp like a garment, & the worme shal eate them like wooll. If we will not speak, the Lord is a iealous God. Trusse vp thy loines (saith the Lord vnto Iere­mie) arise, and speake vnto the people all that I command thée, be not afraid of their faces, least I destroie thée be­fore them. If thou hast this boldnes w^t thée, though men fight against thée, they shall not preuaile: the Lord (euen the Lord shal deliuer thée. Thou must not cease from speaking, when some little abuse is amended. Wicked king Pharao yéelded somwhat to Moses pe­ticion, but Moses would not content himselfe with a litle. The Lord must haue an absolute obedience. We must indéed yéelde obedience to all magi­strates, good and badde: so that it be in the Lord: but yet we must not [Page 61] commend them before they walke roundlie in their office, as they shuld. No, no, if the officers did their due­tie, we shuld not haue such disorders as we haue. If a subtile fellowe, to make those that should looke to it secure, giue it out, that plaie is well ceased: then all is safe.

But you knowe the ma­gistrates cannot punish men for plai­eng in Christmas time: as they call it.

But they maie, and ought to punish them to: for euen then, when they haue most libertie, they must not plaie at Alehouses: but in their maisters house, or when their mai­ster looke on them, when an inch is giuen they must not take an ell: but I haue before shewed the abuse of this time, and therefore I will not speake of it anie more.

You haue done so indéed: but yet you haue not aunswered one reson that hath bene vsed in defence of abusing the time, in this order. The reason is taken out of the third [Page] Chapter of the Preacher, where the wise man saith, that to all things ther is an appointed time: and that there is a time to cast awaie stones, or to trifle (as they expound it.)

Yet casting of stones, were a great deale better exercise, then to sit moping and dreaming at a paire of cards. But the truth is, they sham­fullie abuse the place. For it hath bene proued before, that whether wée eate or drinke, or whatsoeuer we doe, we must doe it to the glorie of God. When we exercise or recreate our selues, our recreation must tend to edifieng, and to the building vp of our faith: for example. When we plaie at tennis, we refresh our wearied spirits and memories, by the which meanes we are better able to studie, and to get knowledge, whereby our faith is strengthened. For aunswere to their place, this I saie, that the ho­lie Ghost doth not set downe what maie be done without breach of y^t cō ­mandemēt: but he telleth vs what is commonlie done among men, as it is [Page 62] plaine in the text, & as it is easie to perceiue by the argument of y^e whole booke. Among other thinges that are there rehearsed, it is said, that ther is a time to hate, and a time to loue: but we knowe, there is no time, wherein we ought for to hate. If anie alledge, that we ought to hate sin, they say no­thing to y^e purpose. For our hatred a­gainst sin, must not be restrained to anie one time: but we must bid it bat­tle all our life. But ther it is euident that the text speaketh of the diuersitie of time, so that they are still to séeke for the defence of their vanities.

If the lewde example of the vniuersitie were not, truly I thinke, and partlie by report I vnderstand so much, that manie Gentlemen would leaue this game: and also cause all their household to leaue it.

I will not defend y^e vniuersitie in this sin of theirs, notwithstanding so far foorth as the truth will giue me leaue, I will speake somwhat in their defence. Least therefore anie should think worse of Cambridge men, then [Page] they deserue, this I can saie: that all the maisters of Colledges are asha­med of this game. For (as farre as I could euer learne) they neuer plaie publikelie: if they plaie at all, it is in hugger mugger. This also I can saie, that those that vsed this game, were verie infamous, and generallie thought euill of, throughout the Vni­uersitie: and therefore those that lo­ued this sport, were driuen to séeke corners. For they know that it was vnworthie the excellencie of a man, especiallie of such as professe the stu­die of wisdome and learning, to bée séene plaieng at so doltish a game. I haue thought ere now, when I haue séene schollers holding thrée short thicke péeces of paper in their hand, with such great and goutie spots vp­pon them, I haue thought (I saie) that it hath ben the most ill fauoured sight that euer I sawe: a booke of a smal­ler print would become their hands a great deale better, what an vn­séemelie thing is it, that men of lear­ning should be heard talking of a [Page 63] paire of eights, or a paire of tennes, of two ases, and .xxj. Euerie plaine man in the countrie can skill of this arethmatick. But they must plaie for the Butlers aduantage, & they must surfet and be sicke for the Phisitions aduantage. Students commonlie sit too much, and therefore they haue no néede of this sitting pastime. But cannot the Butler be mainteined, ex­cept the poore schollers (for loue of this sport) sell their bookes, and their shéetes from vnder them? They know, or ought to knowe, that we must not doe euill that good maie come thereof. Is it not a more easie matter to find their Butler, whē they put him to no charges, then when they cause him to bie cards, counters, and candelles? Will men of wealth (thinke you) giue anie exhibition, when you trifle awaie your monie at post and paire? Will men haue anie mind to send their children to you, when you let them run at rouers, in the most daungerous time of their age, so long together? If young men [Page] could gouerne themselues, wherefore serue Maisters? Wherfore serue Tu­tors? is it to be thought y^t yoūg youths haue more hold of themselues, & maie better be without gouernment, in so slippery a thing as gaming is, then in other matters. Is not gaming y^e thing y^t giueth a fall to men y^t are of a staied age? Séeing therfore these things are thus, I humblie beséech all maisters of Colledges, & all those that can re­forme this abuse, y^t they wuld not suf­fer thēselues to be carried away with a popish & a doting custome: I beséech them y^t they wuld consider, y^t therfore do mē take such paines at their booke, not y^t they should take whatsoeuer a blinde custome doth offer thē, (for it is soone séene without anie learning, what is done:) but a diligent inquirie after that which ought to be done wil aske a lōger studie. I beséech thē ther­fore in y^e bowels of Iesus Christ, euē as they loue their own soules health, & the health of those y^t are so déerelie bought, euen with y^e precious bloud­shedding of y^e son of God, y^t they wuld [Page 64] reforme this disorder, & send this rio­ting to Rome, from whence it came. I know they are wise men, & it may be, some men thinke y^t my giuing of thē counsell will be to no purpose: but yet Apollos was a verie eloquent & a wise man, & we read of him, that he was cōtent to be reformed by a poore crafts man. And y^e wisest man y^t euer was, saith, that if you reproue a wise man, he will loue you, & increase in wisdome. I haue ben bold therfore to giue admonition to these wise men, & I am in good hope, that they will fol­low, not my counsell, but the counsell of the onelie wise God. But if they will be a froward people, & a stifneck­ed generation, they will constraine y^e simple men of y^e countrie to take vp y^e saieng of Christ against thē, I thank thée (O father) y^t thou hast hid these things from y^e wise & prudent, & hast reuealed them vnto babes, y^t by this means others maie be staied frō stūb­ling at them. But I cannot thus sa­tifie my selfe, with putting by the offence y^t they giue. I desire therefore [Page] all those that aime at examples so much, that they would consider, that y^e Physition doth not alwaies square his life by the rules of physicke: nei­ther doth the Lawyer alwaies square his dooing by the lawe: nor the Di­uine by diuinitie. If we be sicke, we aske y^e Phisition what counsell he gi­ueth, we doe not require after his di­et. Neither if we wuld know a truth in anie matter of diuinitie, are we to looke to the life of a diuine: for then we maie soone be deceiued. If wée looke vpon the examples of a grat ma­nie now residents, we shall take rea­ding Curates to be as good men as they are, we shall be made to beléeue by their examples, that it made no matter whether there were anie preaching, or no. But when they come among their Curates, they will tell them that it is a farre more ex­cellent matter to preach then to read an Homelie: And when they make a sermon, they will tell the people (as the truth is in déede) that preaching is the mightie power of [Page 65] God, to drawe vs from our accursed estate, that by nature we are in, that there is no other ordinarie meanes, whereby the Lord worketh saluation in our hearts. For no man can heare without a Preacher. They will tell you, that the loue of pastors towards Christ and his flocke, must be iudg­ed by féeding: because Christ saith vnto Peter, féede, féede, feede. So dare I saie for Cambridge men, whatso­euer their examples are, that if a Gentleman come to them, that is somewhat doubtfull in this point, and aske them whether the rioting that they vse in Christmas time, is allow­ed off by the word of God, or no: I dare saie for them, that they will giue sentence against their own example. I presume the rather y^t their iudge­ments are against these games, be­cause I cannot thinke that they dare open their mouths against such an ar­mie of learned men, as haue in all a­ges condemned them.

Trulie sir, I thinke it were verie good, that the iudgement of [Page] learned men, that are knowne to bée men of credit, and are generallie wel thought of, were gathered together, & put in print, to y^e end y^e truth might haue some continuance by them. For though (indéede) the bare authorities of men be little worth in themselues: yet because, when men that are fa­mous for their wisedome and lear­ning shall be known to write against anie thing: men will then common­lie make inquirie after the reasons that cause them to write, as they doe: I saie in this respect, it were good to alleadge the authoritie of the lear­ned.

The authorities and the reasons of the most excellent au­thors that we haue, are alreadie ga­thered together by two learned di­uines, Peter Martyr, and Danzus, against this vile game, that idle heads make such account of, and are in print in the handes of a great manie.

I but sir, euerie bodie doth not vnderstande the language that [Page 66] they write in.

I haue gathered out and set down in English most of the authors that they alleadge: and I haue partlie amplified them with other mens iudgements that came to my minde. And if you will staie a little, you shall heare what they saie.

First before I begin, we must re­member that our lawes haue appoin­ted punishment for those that vse this game: it hath alreadie passed the condemnation of our countrie. The ciuill lawe that is more generall then ours, doth likewise condemne it in sundrie places. If F. saith Pretor de alcat. If anie shall call foorth his fel­lowe to plaie, let him be punished, & cast in prison. The Emperour Iusti­nian would not suffer anie of his sub­iects to vse this game, either in pub­like or priuate houses: neither would he suffer anie to loke vpon these that did plaie. If anie thing were lost that waies, there was lawe to recouer it againe. Liber. 3. Codicis Iustine­anei. Tit. 43. The Romanes prouided [Page] Lege Roscia, that those which lost their monie this waies should be ba­nished. In Tullie his time, when the Romanes flourished in all kinde of a­bundance, (at which time men com­monlie vse most rioting:) yet euen then was it accounted a shamefull matter to be a dice plaier. For Tullie going about, & bending all the force of his wit to bring Cataline, and after­ward Anthonie into the hatred of the senate, & the rest of the people, he tel­leth them y^t they were dicers: which thing he would neuer haue done, if to plaie at dice had not bene an odi­ous thing with them. The Poets are wont to match whooredome and dice plaie together.

Hunc damnosa Venus, tunc pre­ceps alia prodit.

Iuuenal saith, that it doth corruptSatyra. 1. whole families. Maister Ascham, that was Schoolemaster to the Quéenes maiestie, bringeth in Chauser our English Poet inueieng against y^e cur­sed bones: & he himselfe in his booke of shooting, would haue it made a matter [Page 67] of fellonie. In the Canons of the Apo­stles, this game is plainlie forbidden: Cano. 41 Euen the Canon lawe that was gathered of the Papists them­selues, doth verie seuerelie condemne it Decretalium. lib. 3. Tit. 1. c. Now if we will come to y^e godlie fathers of the Church, we shall sée, that both old & new haue condemned it. The godly man Cyprian saith, that y^e diuel was the first deuiser of this game. Am­brose, in his first booke of offices. 23. Chapter. And Chrysostome, in his. 6. Homelie vpon Mathew, inuaie vehe­mentlie against it. Austine, in his E­pistle. 54. would haue whatsoeuer is gotten this waies taken from y^e win­ner, and bestowed vpon the poore, by this meanes (saith he) y^e gréedie game­ster shall be depriued of that he look­eth & gapeth for: and the foolish fellow that lost his monie shall be punished. Nicholas Lyra, that was accounted the best learned in his time, wrote a booke called Preceptorium, wherein he proueth by nine reasons. And be­cause our talke is of authohities, his [Page] reasons were gathered out of sundrie authors, wherby he proued y^t dice play was not to be suffered in a Christian cōmon wealth. The godly man Bar­nard, writing to the godlie souldiers y^t were at Hierusalem, coūselleth them to be at defiance with dice play. Peter Martyr. vpon the .xiiij. Chapter of the Iudges, saith, y^t our monie is giuen vs of y^e Lord to nourish our families, and to prouide for such as haue néed: beside this, we Christians are to re­present the image of God, which doth not anie thing at a venture, & at hap hazard. For he waieth the waters by measure, as Iob saith: & saith vnto the proud waues of the sea, thus far shalt thou come. We therefore must do the like, and not set our moneie at six and seuen. Danzus, in his booke de Ludo, saith, that deceit is so incident to dice, that the Apostle in the fourth to y^e E­phesians, y^e fourtenth verse, vseth that word that doth properlie signifie dice2. Thes. 5. 22 for deceit & guile. He telleth vs, out of the Apostle, that we must absteine euen from the appearance of euill. If [Page 68] (saith he) Paule would absteine from flesh all his life long, rather then his weake brother should be offended: it is a shame for vs, if we should not ab­steine frō so trifling a thing, y^t may so well be spared, séeing there are ho­nest recreations enough, when such horrible mischiefes continuallie come thereby. By these, & manie other rea­sons y^e haue ben partlie spoken of be­fore, he is bold to saie, y^t the moneie y^t is gotten by plaie, is vniustlie kept: & with no better conscience, thē a théefe kepeth y^e which he hath stoln. M. Iewel in y^e latter end of his apologie, reher­seth & alloweth very wel of y^e doing of one Gobilo, a Lacedemonian, which whē he was sent ambassador to y^e mē of Corinth, to treat of a league, & had found y^t dice was commonlie vsed a­mongst them, he returned home again w^t his message vndone: and being as­ked of those y^t sent him, why he did so, he made answere, y^t it shuld be a gret reproch to his cōmonwelth, to make a legue w^t dicers. Erasmus, a mā of gret reading, misliketh y^t we should suffer [Page] our children to vse this kind of game, when we buie our selues a new paire of cards, we wuld not haue vs let our children plaie with our olde. For it is better a great deale, that our cardes should be lost, then that we should léese our cards & our children too. Of all other men he could not abide that Priests, as he called them, should vse this game. If he had séene a Bible, & a paire of tables lieng together in a Bishops hall, he would haue thought it a foule fault. For these two cleaue together like claie & yron, as Daniel speaketh, they are not matches. God will be no baude to our naughtines, the scripture must not be pretended where dice play is ment. Euen Casti­l [...]o the courtier, y^t laboureth altogether in framing of an outward mā, though not altogether in wordes, yet in ve­rie déede he doth vtterlie condemne dice and cards. His words be these, I thinke it no vice in y^e courtier to play at dice & cards, except (marke his ex­ceptō) except a man applie it to much, & by reason of that, setteth aside other [Page 69] things more necessarie: or els for none other intent, then to get moneie, & to beguile his fellow, & in his losse fume & take on, so that it might be thought a token of couetousnesse. What man is he y^t vseth this play, that plaieth not too much? For the looser will not giue ouer, and he that winneth, must not leaue his fellowe in the lurch. Who by plaieng thereat, setteth not aside better things? Who plaieth not to get moneie? Who deceiueth not? Who chafeth not? For this cause, Ouid in his Courtier (vnlesse I be deceiued) giueth a louer warning to take héede of plaieng before his Ladie or Lem­man: because it doeth laie open our beastlie affections, which might other­wise be kept secret. And so, by this means, a man shall not be so amiable to y^e companie, as otherwise he shuld. This game maie verie well be com­pared to water that is powred into a boule, which causeth a wooden spoone or anie such light thing to swim aloft, that would otherwise haue bene be­neath. Paschasius the Phisition, of [Page] whom I spake before, writeth a whole treatise against this game: and shew­eth by manie philosophicall resons the beastlinesse of it. It were verie long, and indéede infinite, to rehearse those that haue writ against it. And there­fore let those y^t fauour this game giue me but one instance, let them showe me, if they can, that anie learned man, Diuine, or other, which is otherwise knowne to be a man of iudgement, that if he speake anie thing of it, con­demneth it not. But because they can not bring forth anie such, let them not think themselues wiser then all other men: let them be content to followe the counsell of those that bée wiser then themselues. For my part, I am wearie with laieng abroad this dung­hill of sinne, and therfore I wil grow to a conclusion with it. The summe of that which I haue said is this. Se­ing by vsuall words, and continuall practise of gamesters themselues, this game is an Art, & nothing els but a profession to how deceiue cunninglie: Séeing, whether you looke to the effi­cient, [Page 70] materiall, formal, or final cause, or to the horrible fruits and effects that procéed from anie of them, it is naught: séeing it is no recreation. Séeing, last of all, it hath bene con­demned in all ages, not onelie by the iudgement of manie learned Diuines olde and new, and of manie other that are otherwise learned, but also by the common consent of whole countreies, common wealths, and kingdomes, I conclude: that dice and cards, as com­mon and wrangling barrators, are to be banished the countrie.

The remedie against such euills, as haue bene hetherto spoken of. Chap. 6.

Trulie sir, I doe not thinke that you haue spoken anie thing, to gall anie man, but onelie of méere loue: and therefore in my iudgement, you should doe well, if you would set downe a remedie against such faults as you haue discouered.

The Lord that shall iudge both me and all other at the last daie, can that loue towards my countreie, my natiue towne, and especiallie to­wards my kinds folke and bretheren, hath caused me to speake as I haue done. And therefore I beséech them, in the bowels of Iesus Christ, that they would looke to these faults, that I haue laid before them, and amend them. I haue shewed them inéed, that their fault is more grieuous then per­haps they take it to be. For how could I els admonish them at all? In the ninetéene of Leuiticus we are com­maunded, that we should not hate our brother: but rebuke him plainlie. If I had spoken coldlie, and a farre of, that had bene a waie to rock them a sléepe in their sinnes, they would haue thought then, that there is no daunger in continuing still the course which they haue begun. For, as one trulie saith, hée that demaundeth a thing fearefullie, teacheth a man to denie him his demaund, and it is as true a principle in Diuinitie, as it is [Page 71] in Surgerie, that soft hands make a foule sore. Desiring them therefore to take this my protestation, as it is ment, I will goe on forward to that remedie you speake of. In intreating of the which thing, I will betake my selfe to that same order, which I haue alreadie set downe. It hath bene said, that we maie offend in vsing the cre­atures of God, either too little, or too much. Concerning the first kind, those that offend that waies, I would desire them to consider the inconueuience that commeth by their too much strait­nesse. For, when men absolutelie con­demne hunting, hawking, or taking delight in anie pleasure, men that vse these delights too much, thinke that it is vnpossible, but that a man should take pleasure in the creatures of God, and indéede, they thinke aright: so, through too much straitnesse, they giue themselues ouer to their accustomed delights, whereas, if the libertie that God hath graunted, were set downe, and men instructed in the right vse thereof, it is to be hoped, that men [Page] would come to a godlie moderation in these things. I will therefoe alleadge such texts of scripture, as maie reme­die this too much seueritie. We are taught in the scripture, that if there were anie, who had not eaten y^e fruits of their labours, they should retourne home euen in the vrgent necessitie of warres. A notable testimonie to shew how wel it liketh y^e Lord, y^t men shuld take comfort of their owne. The ho­nest delight that a man maie take in anie thing y^e the Lord bestoweth vpon vs, is verie plainlie set downe in the parable of Nathan to Dauid. There was (saith he) a poore man, y^t had only one litle shéepe, which he had bought, & norished vp: & it grew vp with him, & with his children also, & did eate of his owne mursels, and dranke of his owne cup, & slept in his bosome, and was vnto him as his daughter. This delight doth so wel please y^e Lord, that in the Prouerbs it is set downe as aChap. 5. 18. sufferaine remedie against sinne. For there y^e holie Ghost disswading of vs from whoredome, willeth vs in anie [Page 72] case to take delight in our wiues. His words be these, Reioice with the wife of y^e youth, let her be as y^e louing hinde & pleasant Roe: let her breasts satisfie thée at all times: & delight in her loue continuallie. For why shouldest thou delight (my sonne) in a strange womā, or imbrace the bosome of a stranger? If these texts doe not proue plainlie enough, y^t a man maie vse recreatiōs, let vs heare what Zacharie saith. TheChap. 8. 5. Prophet foretelling the returne of the Iewes from their captiuitie, setteth it downe in these words: The citie shal be ful of boies & girles, plaieng in the stréets thereof: y^e Lord knoweth y^t we cannot alwaies haue our mind bent & fastned vpō waightie matters, & ther­fore he hath giuen vs leaue to vnbend our wits, & to leaue of our hold, to re­fresh our werisom spirits: to y^e end we might come to thē again w^t greater de­light: y^t which some allege, is nothing. They saie, we must giue account for euery idle word, & much more for spē ­ding our time in this order: but when I delight my selfe some honest waie, [Page] to the ende I might be fitter and bet­ter able afterward to do better things, where as otherwise my memorie would be dulled, and vnapt to good meditations, I doe not now spend my time in vaine, but to good purpose. To vse such things as maie moue me chéerefullie to giue thankes, is no vaine pastime. They saie we must reioice in the Lord onlie. The staie in déed of our ioie must be in y^e Lord, he must be the resting place of our ioie: but yet it hath bene proued, that wée maie reioice in his creatures. When we vse the creatures as steppes to clime vppe to himselfe: God then and his creatures are sub alterna, as the Logitians vse to speak, one is vn­der the other. They maie both stand together, the one doth not take awaie the other. There is another sort of men that delight too much in the cre­ature. The name of an Epicure is not liked of this kinde of men: and ther­fore if it can bée proued vnto them, that the life of an Epicure is all one with theirs, there is some hope, that [Page 73] they will forsake this wicked sect. Marcus Ciecro, writing of this kindeDe finibus. of men, saith that they liked verie wel of wisedome: because thereby they knewe how to procure to themselues such things as are pleasaunt, and to auoid all kind of griefe. They thought if a man did hazard himselfe, to suf­fer anie griefe, to the ende his plea­sures might be increased, he was to be commended. Intemperate surfet­ting, because it afterward brought griefe of bodie, and somewhat disqui­eted their merrie thoughts, they could not like of it. Doing of Iustice and liberalitie, because it procured them the louing fauour of the people, they méetelie well allowed of. They were not such drunken sottes as we ima­gine, that would sit gulling all daie long at the Alehouse: No, they were iollie neat fellowes, and could behaue themselues verie well, what compa­nie so euer they came into, as it maie be séene in that notable Epicure O­uid in his Courtier, otherwise called his booke De arte amandi. They wold [Page] delight themselues, either with such pleasures as are present, or with cal­ling to minde such pleasant things as are past, or els w^t a calme & quiet loo­king after such things as wer to come. The end of one pastime, was alwaies the beginning of another. Labouring in an honest trade, they did not like of: because it was not pleasant. Now let gamesters iudge thēselues, & sée whe­ther they be of this sect or no. A re­medie against the continuall deligh­ting of our selues in the things of this world, is set downe in infinite places of the scripture. We are taught that we are pilgrimes & strangers in this world, and that we haue not héere a­nie abiding citie: Our conuersation must be in the heauens, from whence we looke for a Sauiour. The time isCor. 71. short, and therefore he that reioiceth, must be as if he reioiced not. All flesh is grasse, and the glorie thereof as the flower of the field. Ʋanitie of vani­ties (saith the Preacher) all is vanitie. The whole booke of Eclesiastes is of this matter. Christ telleth vs, y^t wher [Page 74] our treasure is, there will our hearts be also. We maie therfore deceiue our selues, and say, we looke to be saued as well as the best: but the scripture wil not beare vs out in anie such speach: for, if there wer anie treasure laid vp for vs in heauen, our meditations, our talke, our doings, though they cō ­sist of earthlie matters: yet they shuld tend to an heauenlie end. For where­as our treasure is, there will our hearts be also. The delicate fellowes of this world, can not abide, y^t a man should be sorrowfull for his sinnes. What néed such a businesse (say they) do not men know y^t God is merciful? The Prophet Dauid should be a foole by their reckning, for all his psalmes are full of sighing & sobbing for offen­ding so good a God. The Apostle Paul reioiced, & did as it were triumph, be­cause of y^e godly sorrow of y^e Corinths. What great care hath it wrought? Yea, what cléering of your selfe? Yea what indignatiō? yea, what feare? yea, how gret desire? yea, what a zeale? yea, what punishment? & indéed there was [Page] great cause why the Apostle should thus reioice: for godlie sorrow causeth repentaunce vnto saluation not to be repented of. What a pitifull thing is it, that a man should imagine such a kinde of repentaunce, as is no where to be found? For if we looke into that most mercifull promise of God, wher­in his excéeding goodnes is abundant­lie set out, Come vnto me all ye that labour and I will ease you: yet wée shall sée, that it onelie belongeth vnto them, that are grieued with the bur­den of their sinnes. As long as wée make no more account of the bloudie sweates and horrible torments that Christ suffered for vs miserable men, then to saie, we are all sinners: he will haue nothing to do with vs. For what is this, but blasphemouslie to accuse the Lord God of méere tyrannie, for tormenting his onelie sonne with such agonies, reproch, & villanie, and all (as we séeme to thinke) for a thing of no­thing? We must acknowledge our re­demption to be a benefit indéed, before he will doe vs anie good. He came not [Page 75] to call those that make so light ac­count of sinne. He came not to call the righteous, but siuners to repen­taunce. If they had once felt the vn­speakable ioie and comfort that this godlie sorrow bringeth to a wounded conscience, we should soone agrée in this point. For to whom shall I looke (saith the Lord by his Prophet) but to him that trembleth at my words? A contrite and a broken heart (saith Da­uid) O Lord shalt not thou despise. The teares that come from the god­lie, maie verie well be likened to A­pril showers, for they moisten the con­science as it were, with a swéet deaw, and make it (as the prophet speaketh) like a new watred garden The swéet reconcilement then that Iesus Christ hath wrought betweene God and vs, doth make vs féele more sound ioie then the Epicures do in the midst of Christmas, euen in the twelfe night, when their iolitie is at y^e highest. For being iustified by faith, we haue peace with God, & if God doth iustifie, who shall condemne? Iesus Christ that sa­ued [Page] vs, shall be our Iudge, and there­fore we are bolde to looke & long for, without feare, the iudgement daie, which the wicked are so afraid of. Those that are gamesters cannot bée perswaded, that we should auoid the occasions of euill: & yet we all know, that he that will no harme doe, must doe nothing that belongs thereto. This is no precise rule. For that loose fellowe Ouid in his booke De reme­dio amoris, doth set it downe. If wée mislike of our former wantonnes, he telleth vs we must read no wanton books: we must auoid the company of those with whom we haue abused our selues, euen y^e places wher we haue a bused our selues must be auoided: we must in no case be idle, but we must alway be busied about some good mat­ter. The holie Ghost maketh such ac­count of y^e means, y^t lead vs vnto sin, y^t he termeth the meanes by y^e name of sinne. We know the sinnes of So­dom & Gomor were monstrous & vn­naturall: we know y^e fulnes of bread, & idlenesse, were but the meanes that [Page 76] brought on those vglie sinnes: & yet the Prophet Ezechiel saith, that theCap. 16. 49. sinnes of Sodom & Gomor, were ful­nesse of bread, pride, and idlenesse: the place is plaine inough, it néedeth no interpetation, onelie a godlie medita­tion will serue y^e turne. This kind of men y^t I speake of, thinke that little sinnes are not to be made account of: & yet we will laugh at that foolish & papisticall distinction betwéene mor­tal & veniall sinnes. For whorebome, theft & murder, is not that deadlie sin that the Apostle speaketh of? No sinne is veniall, & euerie sin is deadlie. For1. Iohn. 5. 16 the reward of sinne is death, & all vn­righteousnesse is sinne, as Iohn tea­cheth vs: & accursed is he that shall not continue in euerie thing that is written in the booke of the Law, to do it: & we must loue the Lord with all our hearts, & with al our thoughts. When men chafe at cards or at ta­bles, we vse to speake fauourablie of this sin. It is in their heat: but after­ward they are good fellowes againe. But the holie Ghost, when he intrea­teth [Page] of this matter, he sets it out after an other sort. He that worketh wrathPro. 21. 24. in his arrogancie, proud, hautie, and scornfull is his name. A théefe maie lessen his sinnes, by considering y^t vn­worthinesse of the partie, from whom he stealeth: he is a churle, and doth no good with his monie, and therefore it were a good turne to rob him. So like­wise may the murderer: if he be a god­lie man whom he killeth, he may say, he did him a good turne: if hée bée a wicked man that he killeth, then he did the common wealth a good turne: but where is the cōmandement of the great God all this while? It is true, that so long as we liue, the roote of sinne shall dwell with vs, in our mor­tall bodie. We are not pure as y^t Fa­milest supposeth: but yet we must striue to be pure, as y^e scripture teach­eth. Lust, after it hath conceiued, it bringeth forth sin, as Iames teacheth. We ought therefore to be vexed and wearied w^t it, & to desire after a pati­ent manner, to haue this tickle estate changed. The Apostle Paul crieth out, [Page 77] not onelie in his owne person, but in the person of euerie regenerate man, Wretched man that I am, who shall deliuer me from this bodie of sinne? If so singuler a man was not thro­roughlie cast downe, before hée had wrasteled with the iustice of God in this commaundement, we are to take héede least in suspecting y^t to be in vs, which we want, we become carelesse in séeking the mercie of Christ, with­out the which there is no helpe. We must iudge our selues, least we bée iudged of the Lord: wée must be con­founded in our selues, our deliuerie must be from the gates of death, wée must knowe, that our saluation doth cōsist in his frée grace, séeing euen our thoughts are poisoned. If this doctrine séemeth to rough we must remember that it was the saieng of our merci­full & louing God, euen of that God that loueth man déerelie, and sent his onelie sonne to suffer a most horrible and a shamefull death for vs misera­ble men: and that also, euen when we were his enimies, I saie it was [Page] the saieng of this God, Whensoeuer thou eatest of the forbidden trée, thou shalt die y^t deth. Cōtrariwise, it was y^e saieng of y^e enuious serpēt, which was a manslaier frō y^e beginning, y^e father & prince of tyrāts, which gapeth con­tinually for bloud, & goeth about like a roaring Lion, séeking whom he may destroy, I say it was y^e saieng of this our profest & sworne enimie y^t can a­bide no truce w^t vs, you shal not die at al. But if we mark to what a sower death, y^e swéet words of this flatterer tended, we shall be forced to confesse, y^t they wer more bitter thē wormwood: & that y^e wounds of him y^t loueth are farre better thē y^e kisses of him y^t ha­teth. We must therfore resist y^t diuel, & thē he wil flie frō vs: I grone for y^e amendmēt of these men, & what shold I saie vnto thē? I wil shew vnto thē yet a little their owne estate, to the end they may repēt I wold desire thē therfore in y^e feare of God to examine thēselues, by such places of scripture as I will shew thē. We read in. y^e. 4. verse of the. 28. of y^e Prouerbs, y^t those [Page 78] that forsake the lawe praise the wic­ked: but those that kéep y^e law do fight against thē. We read in. y^e. xv. psalme that he shall dwell in y^e tabernacle of God, in whose eies a wicked man is despised, & which doth honour those y^t feare God. He y^t approueth y^e wicked, & condemneth y^e innocent, both of thē are an abhominatiō to y^e Lord. Now let them marke themselues, whether they be more readie to blaze abrode y^t infirmitie of those, which are not asha­med openlie to professe Christ, & his religion: thē they are to vtter y^e lewd behauior of those, y^t for any thing they can perceiue, lie still in their accursed estate: when an vnsatiable man resi­dent, or a wicked vaine man, is but a little touched, then we must iudge y^t best: we do not know their hearts, we cannot indéed sée directlie into their hearts, no more then I can sée y^e hart of him y^t hath cōmitted actual whoor­dome, or actuall murder: but by their couetous, vaine & proud behauiour, & words, we knowe they haue proude hearts, vaine, and couetous heartes, [Page] for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. How can I set my selfe against a wicked man. How can I dispise him, if I cannot tell (without iudgeing) who is wicked? In the Chapter of the Prouerbs that I last alledged, it is said, that he that hideth his sinne, shall not prosper: but he that confesseth & forsaketh them, shall haue mercie. Happie is he that alwaies stādeth in awe: but he which hardneth his hart shall fall into euill. Reioice O yoūg man (saith the Pre­cher) in thy youth, walke in y^e waies of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eies: but knowe, that for all these things God will bring thée to iudge­ment. We vse to alledge the natu­rall inclination to naughtinesse that is in man, to the end more libertie of sinning might be graunted him: we are no Angels, and so foorth: but the consideration thereof ought to make vs more warie, and more afraide of sin, & of the occasions of sinne, as the 12. verse of the. 6. Chapter to the E­phesians teacheth vs. We thinke if [Page] wée maie haue so much time, a lit [...] before we die, as to saie, Lord hau [...] mercie vpon me, they shall doe well enough. But the Scripture saith, not euerie one that saith, Lord Lord, shall enter into the kingdome of heauen: They shall call vppon me (saith the Lord) and I wil not heare them. ThePre. 1. reason is, because they aske not in faith: for euerie man beléeueth not, faith is no light opinion. We thinke we maie repent timelie enough, whē we are olde, or whē we are gréeuous­lie sicke: but y^e Scripture saith, driue not off from daie to daie, to turne to the Lord: for sodeinlie shall his wrath come. Christ saith to all such, that their maister wil come at such a time as they least looke for him. Hieremie in his lamentations giueth vs better counsell then so: It is good (saith he) for a man to beare the yoke in his youth, contrarie to that diuellish saieng of some, A young Saint, and an olde di­uell. For teach a childe in the trade of his youth, & when he is olde he wll not depart from it. I remember mai­ster [Page] Ascham saith, that there was a Iudge in England, that had a compa­nie of wilde Gentlemen brought be­fore him for their misbehauiour: they desire the Iudge y^t he would consider their case by his owne, because he himselfe had ben somtimes wilde as they were. But the Iudge willeth thē in anie case not to presume of his recouerie, for whē I was young, ther was twelue of vs (saith he) that rio­ted then, as you do now, but onelie two of vs came to good, the rest were hanged. I doe not speake this, to the end that anie gamester, that hath a misliking of his present estate, should dispaire of himselfe: for though the waie be straight y^t leadeth vnto life, yet the Lord can make vs crucifie our affections, & denie our selues: his yoke shall then be easie, and his bur­den light, the keping of the comman­dement, (as Iohn saith) shall not then1. Iohn. 5. 3. be gréeuous: for all y^t is borne of god, ouercommeth y^t world. Salomon, spea­king of these waies of wisdome, saith, y^t her waies are waies of pleasure, & [Page] all her paths prosperitie. Throw thy selfe downe therefore before the foot­stole of Iesus Christ, whatsoeuer t [...]ou art, with sighing & sobbing: then hough gamsters haue ben thine one­lie ioie, & darling, yet he can make thée forget all, euen by that mightie power whereby he is able to subdue all things vnto himself, shal he bring this thing to passe. Though by this meanes thou doest well perceiue, that thou shalt forgoe the louing counte­uance of a great manie: yet the Lord will be vnto thée in stéed of all. For he will comfort thée on this manner. If you were of y^e world, y^t world wold loue you, for y^e world loueth hir owne, such loue as it is wont to vse, you should haue part of it: but now you are not of the world, therefore the world hates you. If the world hateth you, it hated me before you: be of good chéere, I haue ouercome the world, feare not little flock, for it is your fa­thers will to giue you a kingdome. Those that sow in teares, shall reape in ioie.