The Vanity of the Lives and Passions of Men

CHAP. I.

I F the end be the crown of the work, the creating of man was the crown of the creation; for after God had made man after his own Image, and had infused into him a living soul, he rested on the seventh day from all his works; and this ingrateful man (who was the Master-piece of all God's works, and to whom he had given an unlimited prerogative over the beast of the field, the fowl of the air, and the fishes of the sea,) did by his disobedience become inferior to the most despised creatures under the Sun; and by his sin, all his posterity that lived under the state of Nature, are more miserable and fuller of vanity then any of the unreasonable creatures: forever since they have been an object of sorrow to some, or a subject of derision to others: But because the vanity and misery of their lives will best appear, first, by their Conception, secondly, by their Infancie, thirdly, by their adolescency, fourthly, by their virility, fifthly, by their declination, sixthly, by their decrepit age. I will will speak of them in order.

For the first, concerning their conception, ( Behold, saith the Prophet David, I was shapen in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me, ) it proceeds from a carnal delight, which God hath been pleased (for the increase and the preservation of mankind) to give to the act of generation; for if in lieu of delight this act had been accompanied with dolour, the world had been before this time deprived of reasonable creatures, because of the antipathy there is between Nature and Dolour, but between Nature and Delight there is a loving sympathy which begetteth a desire in the Males and Females of conjunction for to increase or preserve their kind. Now if this conjunction be not according to the Commandment of God, by adhering every man to his wife, and every wife to her husband; this Delight becomes a Lust, and by consequence a sin, odious to God and men: But suppose it be by the undefiled bed of Matrimony, yet their conception according to the Naturalists that have dived into the secrets of Nature, is strange and homely, for six days after the conjunction, say they, of the husband and the wife, the seed of them both, is by the natural heat of the womb, turned into a kind of milk, which is enclosed within a skin, much like to the skin of an Egg, and nine days after it becomes blood, having within it three small bladders, the one containing the substance of the heart; the second containing the substance of the brain, and the third containing the substance of the liver, and then after twelve days it becomes flesh, and then by the admirable work of God the members are formed, and by degrees the veins, sinews and nerves are strengthened, and within eighteen days more, it pleaseth God to infuse into it a living soul, and so the child having life, draws his food by his Navel, and by it increaseth daily in strength, and this food is no other dainties then the menstruall blood of his mother, held to be the most polluted excrement of Nature. now after it hath been imprisoned nine months in this obscure prison, and fed seven months and an half, with this loathsome food, nature growing strong, it breaketh by struggling the skin of the bladder, above spoken of, and feeling the air endeavors to come forth; so by his pangs, groans, and struggling, and the violent travel of his mother it is produced to the light, many miscarrying at their birth by divers accidents, and others in their mothers womb, some by the fright of their mothers, others by some rub on her sides, or by the loathsome sent of the snuff of a candle; besides their mother is subject to swoundings, & longings during her child-bearing, and their longings and fond desires are most commonly for fruits, or for strange and unsavory meats, w ^ch being debarred, causeth oftentimes the mother and the child to miscarry together. The consideration of these things should humble the proudest man upon earth, and make him acknowledge ingenuously, that of all other creatures under the Sun, his conception and birth, are the most miserable.

For the second, Concerning the Infancie of men, it begins at their birth, and continues till they be fifteen years of age; the two first years of it is nothing but impotency, and weak imbecility to himself, and charge, trouble, and vexation to his Parents: and whereas other creatures by the benefit of Nature can stand upon their legs, and seek after their food, man the Lord Paramont of them all is swaddled in clouts, and not able to help himself: the young Chickins as soon as they are hatched can run after their Dam, to seek for food, and have that sagacity to hide themselves under her wings at the fluttering of the Kite: the Lambs, Calves, and young Colts stand suddenly upon their legs to seek their Dams teats, but man would perish if his mother by her natural affection did not bring the nipple of her breast to his mouth, and rock him upon her knees: and for the three or four years of this infancy he must be carefully tended, for fear he should, like Moses, put burning coles into his mouth instead of food, or kill himself with a knife, or some sharp edged tool: and in the fifth and sixth year of his age care must be taken, that Horses, Carts, or Coaches, run not over him in the streets: and at seven years of his age, he must be carefully brought up to learning, according to his birth or degree, either at the Grammar School, or to learn to Write, Cypher, or to keep Accompts, that he may be enabled at fifteen years of age to be sent to the University, or placed with merchants or Trades-men, that by a lawful calling he may live like a man for the time to come. Now for as much as it is the fittest time for the education of children, from seven years of age to fifteen, Parents must be careful in that time, if they intend to have any comfort of them, to bring them up in the true fear of God, to break them of their Will, and make them attain to an habit of Piety, and moral Virtue: for Education goes beyond Nature, and a young twig will bend any way, but an old standard will rather break then bow: and therefore Solomon saith, Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it; and in the 22. Vers. he saith, Folly is naturally bound in the heart of a child, but the rod of correction will drive it far from him, and correction to willful children is as useful to them as their meat and drink; Withhold not correction from the child, saith Solomon, for if thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die, and thou shalt deliver his soul from hell. By these Precepts of the Prince of Wisdom, it is apparent that the only way to have comfort of our children, is to correct them when they are young; and the only reason why this age doth abound more then the former in rebellious children, is the indulgency of the Parents towards them; and this indulgency and fond love of Parents, is the cause of two evils: first, that the children come to a shameful end; secondly, that their Parents hoary heads go down with sorrow to the grave; and Solomon confirms the same, The rod and reproof give wisdom, but a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame: and in the 17. verse. Correct thy son and he shall give thee rest, yea, he shall give delight unto thy soul. This Infancy of man, is then but mere vanity: for the first five years of it, is but imbecility; the second five but puerility, and the last five nothing but malice, obstinacy and disobedience; so that according to their good or bad education, they become a blessing, or a curse to their Parents.

Thirdly, the adolescency or youth of man, begins at 15 years of age, and ends at thirty, the greater part of it is spent under the restraint of their Tutors, or Masters, and by consequence freed from cares, and curbed from vices, if their Tutors or Masters discharge their duty; but if they do not, they commonly become so vicious, that without the special grace of God they can never be recalled, and continue profane and unthrifty all their days: And therefore Tutors and Masters who neglect their duty, and are too indulgent towards their Pupils or Servants, are the cause of their overthrow, and will be called to a strict account for it before the Tribunal of God; The remissness or indulgency of Eli towards his two sons Hophny and Phineas drew a great judgment of God upon him, and upon them both: and the Pupils and Servants that reject the sharp reprehensions and corrections of their Tutors or Masters, aggravate their own guilt, and acquit their Tutors and Masters, for they do not show themselves only disobedient to them, but also to God, for St. Paul chargeth them; Servants be obedient to them that are your Masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ, not with eyeservice as men pleasers, but as the servants of Christ. And ye masters, do the same things unto them, forbearing threatenings; knowing that your master also is in Heaven, neither is there respect of persons with him. But when young men are freed from the subjection of their Tutors and Masters, and have as it were, the Bridle cast over their necks, they run as fiercely after the pleasures, delights and vanities of the flesh, as untamed Colts run from their riders, when they have cast them down; and without God's special grace, miscarry in their race, as it is confirmed by Solomon; who in derision of their folly, saith, Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth, and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thy heart, and in the sight of thine eyes; but know thou, that for all these things, God will bring thee into judgment . The reason, why in this age men are more addicted to their pleasure, then in any other, is, Because their Passions are more predominant in them, and experience doth show, That from twenty five years, to thirty five years of age, men are by the strength of their bodies, the abundance and hear of their blood (in which doth reside the vital spirits,) fitter for great enterprises, where they may show their courage and valor, then at any other season, and that the Passions of Love, and Ambition, are more violent in them, then in any other age: For the Adolescency of men, is compared to the Spring; their Maturity or Virility, to the Summer; their Declination, to the Autumn or Harvest; and their decrepit age to Winter, the most irksome time of the year. But as it is the most pleasant, and precious age of men, so is it the most dangerous; for more are carried away with death, in this age, then in any other, because of the distemper, and excessive riots of young men; which beget burning Fevers, Pleurisies, Sanguine Apoplexies, and divers loathsome Diseases, that sends them to their Grave before their time. And as their Passions are more turbulent in that age, so are their Actions more irregular: Young men being most addicted, to Vindication, Spleen, Indignation, Wrath, Rapines, and Oppressions, then others; and as fickle, and inconstant as the wind; fit to undertake, and active to execute; but rash and inconsiderate, for want of a rational solidity of Judgment. In a word, As this age of man hath many rare Prerogatives over the others, so it is subject to great inconveniencies, and fuller of vanity then any.

Fourthly, The maturity of man's age begins at Thirty, and continues till Fourty five: In this age men's minds are commonly full of the cares of this world; they have wives, children, and servants to care for; and as their families increase, so doth their toil, and their cares: The vices or sins of their youth, are rather changed then forsaken; their delights and pleasures, are changed to Envy or Avarice; their desires are now bent to attain to honor and riches, and to outgo their neighbors in all things; but in Virtue, or a Godly life their thoughts fly high, and are bent only upon Machavilian policies, that they may by them overreach their Brethren, by false lights, by falsifications of Wares, by distinctions and equivocations; and as for Religion, they use it only as a bait to deceive men; and are more insatiable after gain and money, then the Horse-Leeches are after blood: They account this saying of Solomon a Paradox. He that loveth silver, shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he that loveth abundance, with increase: He that trusteth in his riches shall fall, but the righteous shall flourish as a branch And so either by right or wrong, they will become rich, and honorable; at least in show, according to the world, but not really according to God; for in his sight they are the most vile, the poorest, and the most despised Creatures under the Sun; for they never take into consideration this saying of our blessed Savior. What availeth, if a man getteth all the world, and loose his own soul? This virility of man; is then but vanity, and not inferior in Vices to Adolescency; but they are not so visible to the eyes of men, but as odious to the eyes of God.

Fifthly, The declination of men's lives begins at forty five years, and continues till seventy. This age of man, is as much subject to Envy and Avarice, as the former age is to Ambition, and carking cares; whereby it appears, that men's Passions and Sins, do rather change, then forsake them; for volupty, and carnal delights, to which young men are most addicted in their Adolescency, doth change in their declining age, to Envy and Avarice, and sometimes their Avarice doth change to Ambition, a Passion more incident to the virility or mature age of men, then to old age; yet divers instances may be produced to prove, That Avarice doth change into Ambition, in men's declining age. Martius Crassus had by a sordid kind of Avarice, attained to the greatest riches of any that we read of; and yet out of Envy that he bore to the warlike achievements of Pompeius and Caesar, such an insatiable Ambition, or desire of honor possessed him in his declining age, That at threescore and three years of age, he gave away half his estate to the common people of Rome, to obtain a general Commission, to be Commander in chief of the Roman Legions that were appointed to make war in the furthest parts of Armenia against the Parthians. Which insatiable and unseasonable Ambition of his, was ingeniously reproved by an old Armenian Knight (of whom, he did desire to be informed, of the condition, and distance of the way, he was to undergo, and power he was to oppose in this Parthian journey,) saying unto him, That it was too great for him to undertake the same in his declining age, and that the morning Sun of his age, had been fitter for such an enterprise, then the setting of it. And had Crassus been ruled by this wholesome Counsel, he had not by his insatiable desire of honor, fallen from the highest degree of worldly prosperity to the lowest degree of human disgrace and misery, as he did; for by this rash enterprise, he was the cause of his own death, and of his eldest sons, and of the lives of a great part of the bravest Nobility of Rome, and of the rout and utter overthrow of his whole Army. This is to prove, That men in their declining age, are fitter for Counsel, then for Action; and that is the reason, that the Roman Senate, the Counsel of Areopage, and the Senate of Venice, have been, and are composed of men, much advanced in their declining age; because their Passions are commonly more moderate, their Experience greater, their Judgment more solid, and their Counsels safer, then of those who are in the youth or virility of their age; for as Job saith, With the ancient should be wisdom; and in length of years, understanding Contrarily, there have been others, in whom the desire of honor hath reigned in their youth and virility, as their Noble Martial achievements do witness, who have changed this Ambitious Passion into the Sordid Passion of Avarice, in their declining age. As may appear by the lives of Vespasiaanus of Henry the seventh King of England, and of Henry the fourth King of France. Howsoever, the desire of Wine, of Money, and the malicious Passion of Envy is more natural, and doth commonly increase with age, as much as rash Temerity, and carnal Delights do diminish by age; whereby I conclude, That the declining age of men is not free from Vanity. For what greater Vanity can there be, then to Envy at another man's prosperity? or to desire Wine, when our head-piece is so weakened by age, that it cannot overcome the vapors of it? or to desire Money, when we have less need of it, since we daily expect to be carried to our Graves?

Sixthly and Lastly, The decrepit age of men begins at seventy, and ends when Death strikes them with her Dart; which is according to the course of life, between fourscore, or fourscore and ten: For none attains to the days of Methuselah , or of the Patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; for God hath shortened the days of men, because of their transgressions, as it appears, Gen. 7.3. My Spirit, saith the Lord, shall not always strive with man, for he also is flesh, yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years: and the oldest man that hath been known in this age of the world, was a Shropshire Husbandman that was brought up to London as a wonder, in the days of King James, who was said to be one hundred and thirty three years of age; and this long life of his, according to the opinion of the learned Physicians, did proceed from the simplicity of his meat and drink, for as soon as he came to be fed with the dainties of the Court, he came to be diseased, and suddenly departed this life. Plinius, and other Naturalists, have much troubled themselves to find out the natural reasons why men's lives are so short: the best reason they give for it, is, their immoderate diet, and the variety of dainties, and change of superfluous meats, cooked with art, enticing men to gluttony and drunkenness; for daily experience doth show, that those who live soberly, and live upon simple food, avoiding slowth and idleness, do live commonly longer then such as feed on dainties, and use a sedentary life; but the chief cause of it is, that men do daily increase in sin, and it is just with God for the punishment of their sins to shorten their lives, since as the Apostle Paul saith, That the wages of sin is death: howsoever the decrepit age of men, except it be endowed with free grace, and sanctified by the blessed Spirit of God, it is the vanity of vanities, and the misery of all miseries; for the numerous infirmities incident to it, and especially if penury doth accompany the same, for old age with penury is the greatest affliction that can befall to generous spirits, and the greatest temptation of Satan to entice men to despair; for if rich men, who have all manner of comforts, cannot with patience support the infirmities of a decrepit age, but murmur, as some have done in my hearing, that they were weary of their lives; of what distemper must the poor aged people be, who have no worldly comforts at all, but are ready to starve for cold, and to famish for want of food! therefore tender and compassionated Christians should exercise their charity upon these objects of unparalleled misery, as the most acceptable sacrifice they can offer to God: and yet all the hearts of most men are so hardened by a just Judgment of God upon this Nation for its transgressions, that they can look upon these dying objects of compassion, whoperish daily in the streets without pity or reluctance. Now for a conclusion and confirmation of the vanity and misery incident to the life of men: I will make a short relation of the Maladies incident to everyone of the ages of their lives: first, in their very conception they may be extinguished, by ill sents and vapors, and by divers accidents of bruises or falls: secondly, in their infancy, by the squincy, convulsions, measles, or the small pox: thirdly, in their adolescency, by the sword, the pleuresie, and burning fevers: fourthly, in their virility by sanguin apoplexies, bloody-flixes and consumptions: fifthly, in their declining age, by the stone and the gout, by dropsies, paralepsies, and flegmtick apoplexies: and in the decrepit age, by gouts, aches, cough, the retentions of urine, the strangullion, poverty, cold, and hunger, and divers other casualities; so that I may boldly conclude with Solomon, that the lives of natural and unregenerate men and women, are mere vanity and vexation of spirit, &c.

CHAP. II.

AS the end of the Creation of man was the glory of his Creator; even so the end of the lives of men should be the increase of the glory of their Maker: but the lives of the greater part of them have no other end then the honors, riches, and pleasures of this world; and therefore to show you more perfectly the vanity of men's lives, of which I have made a short Narration in the former Chapter: I conceive it needful to describe unto you in these three Chapters following the vanity of their desires, before I come to speak of their Passions, for the desires of honors, riches, and pleasures are the three deities they adore, and to whom they sacrifice morning and evening their best thoughts, and these for their unparalleled vanity, may be called the vanity of vanities. I will then begin with the desires of worldly honors, which are either spiritual or temporal, the spiritual are free from vanity, because they are supernatural, and full of true joy and comfort: but the temporal honors are but a mere conceit and shadow, a vapor without substance and subsistence; and yet the most powerful charm of Satan, whereby he lulls men asleep in the Paradise of fools, to cast them when they are awake into the bottomless pit of eternal woe; for had not Satan held them to be the strongest of his temptations, he had not reserved them for his last battery against the constancy of our blessed Savior, as it appears in the fourth of Matthew, verse. 8, 9. Again the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high monntain, and showeth him all the Kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them, and said unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me: Yet although this roaring Cannon of his could not prevail against this invincible Rock, it doth prevail with many thousands in these days, whom he deludes by the glorious glistering of worldly honors, and doth falsely suggest in their minds that they are the supreme good, in which doth consist their bliss and felicity, and makes them venter their bodies and souls to enjoy and possess them. But to enlighten the eyes of these Monopolists of honors: I will here set out the vanities of worldly honors in their lively colors, that they may avoid this dangerous snare of Satan, and be induced to endeavor to attain unto the spiritual honors that will fill their souls with unspeakable joys and comforts. And to this end I will show in the first place the vanity of the means whereby men usually attain to worldly honors, which for brevity sake I will reduce to these: first, by Descent; secondly, by Strength; thirdly, by Beauty; fourthly, by Riches; fifthly, by Favors; sixthly, by Learning; seventhly, by Prudence; eightly, by Valour. Secondly, I will show to whom honor is truly due; and Lastly, I will give a hint of the excellency, and of the joy and comfort that men may enjoy from spiritual honors.

For the first, Such as are nobly descended, are honorable by their birth, so they degenerate not from the virtues and valor of their Ancestors, for if they do, they are baser then the Plebeians, because they have a great advantage over them to attain to the true personal honor; for Nature doth always endeavor to return to its first principle; and that is the reason why the reply that Marius made to a vicious Patrician, who out-braved him because of his Plebeian descent, is so much commended: My nobility, saith he, begins with me, and thine ends with thee; and it is certainly more honorable to be the spring of a noble race, then the end of it: therefore personal nobility is reputed to be more noble then that of descent, except the persons thus descended do equal or excel their Ancestors in virtue and valor; and when it is so, they are to have the precedency before a new started Moucheron, that is the first of his race, that hath obtained by his personal virtues and valor the honor to be a Gentleman. But what cause have men to boast, or vant, or conceive themselves honorable because of their descent, except they be virtuous and valorous themselves? for it is a ridiculous vanity to vant of the gifts that were never our own, and did belong to other men: and yet it is a common vanity, much in fashion in these days among our Gentlemen, to vant of their Ancestors virtues and valor, when themselves are effeminate and vicious in their manners, lives and conversations: Besides, what have men worthy to vant and boast of? for they were formed out of the dust of the ground, and to dust they shall return again; and if any hath any singular parts above another, they are the immediate gifts of God: It is therefore a mere vanity for men to think they should be honored for their descent, since the meanest Plebeian will be found to be the cosen german to the greatest Monarch of the world, as the Emperor Maximilians fool told him when he saw him over curious to seek out the pedigree of the Nobility of the House of Austria, which for Antiquity is much inferior to that of divers other Princes of Christendom, Leave off my Liege, saith he, these vain curiosities, for if you seek any longer, you will find at last that I am your cosen german.

For the second, concerning strength of body, divers have attained to honor by their strength, especially if they have made use of it against the enemies of God, and of their Native Country; for Sampson for his strength was chose Judge and Governor of Israel: the first essay of his incredible strength was, when he rent a young Lyon as if he would have rent a Kid; the second, when he slew with a new jaw bone of an Ass a thousand men; the third, when he carried away upon his shoulders the gates of Gaza to the top of a hill that is before Hebron; and the last, when he to avenge himself upon the Philistines for the loss of his eyes, took hold upon the two middle Pillars upon which the house stood, and so pulled down the same upon their heads, and slew more of the Philistines at his death then he had done in his life time. And divers Worthies attained to great honor by their strength and valor, as it may be seen in 23 Chap. of the 2. of Samuel, from the 8 verse to the 39 verse. Many other testimonies might be produced out of ancient Histories, to prove that divers of the Heathen have attained to honor by their strength, as three or four of the Hercules, Hector, Aiax, Milun and divers others: but in regard that the natural strength of men is little accounted in these days, when a youth of fifteen years of age can with a musket shot kill the strongest man upon earth, I will only say That strength is mere vanity, and that honor obtained by it cannot be grounded but upon a sandy foundation, since strength is subject to many accidents and mutations.

For the third, which is an extraordinary stature, comeliness and Beauty: divers have attained to honor by these gifts of Nature: Saul for his extraordinary stature and personal parts was chosen King of Israel, as it appears in the tenth of the first of Samuel, 23, 24. verses, And they ran and fetched him thence; and when he stood among the people, he was higher then any of the people from the shoulders upwards; and Samuel said to all the people, See ye him whom the Lord hath chosen? that there is none like him among the people, And all the people shouted, and said, God save the King: but for as much as the personal representation of the body without the gifts of the mind, is not sufficient for the discharge of the honorable function of a King: it is said in the 9. verse, that God was pleased to adorn him, after he was chosen, with the spirit of Government, viz. with Prudence and Wisdom, the chiefest ornament of a Prince: And it was so that when Saul had turned his back to go from Samuel, God gave him another heart. Contrarily it might be proved by divers instances, that the deformity of body, a small stature, and the want of personal representation is a great impediment to Princes, because the common people do always more regard the outward gifts, then the intellectual, as it doth appear in the lives of Agisclaus, of Leonidas, Philopoemen, all wise and valorous Princes and Commanders that were despised of the vulgar sort, because they were of a short stature, and of no representative Majesty: but the comeliness of Alexander, Alcibiades, and of Pompeius the great, made them to be honored and respected above others: Absalom was also much beloved of his father, and honored of the people of Israel for his comeliness and natural endowments, for from the soal of his feet to the grown of his head, there was no blemish in him: And the comely feature and excellent beauty of Esther made her from a Captive attain to that superlative honor, to be the Queen of the great King Ahasuerus, who reigned from India, even to Ethiopia, over one hundred and twenty seven Provinces; and the King loved Esther above all the women, and she obtained grace and favor in his sight more then all the Virgins, so that he set the royal Crown upon her head, and made her Queen instead of Vesta. It is then apparent that personal representation, comeliness, and beauty, are means whereby men and women, attain to worldly honors: but how sandy the foundation of these honors is, I leave it to the consideration of the Reader, for nothing is more casual and subject to mutation then comeliness and beauty, and therefore these honors are mere vanity and vexation of spirit.

Fourthly, Riches are an ordinary means in this vicious age, whereby men attain to worldly honors; for honors that are the only recompense of wisdom, prudence, fidelity and valor, are now sold for ready money; and the honorable titles of Earls, Barons, Knights, Esquires and Gentlemen are obtained for a lump of clay, gold or silver, the base excrements of the earth: this is one of the secondary causes of all our distractions and present miseries, and hath ever been the overthrow of Kingdoms, and Commonweales: as long as the Roman civil Magistrates, Senators, and Commanders of Armies were chosen in to such places of honor and trust for their noble descent, their prudence and valor, their State did flourish, and did enlarge its dominions more in one century of years, then it did in three after these places of honor became to be venal, and purchased by concession, for then men of no parts were for money promoted to highest dignities, whereupon civil contentions were fomented, factions increased, and continual bloody intestine wars maintained, by which the ancient liberties of that State were suppressed, and the last, government of it changed into an Imperial Monarchy. As long as the chiefest Officers of the Crown of France, and the places of Judicature of the Realm were given by Charles the fifth, surnamed the Wise, to men of learning, of wisdom, and valor; in recompense of their loyalty, virtue, and merits, that Kingdom did flourish with peace, honor, and prosperity, and the Courts of Parliaments of France had the honor for their Justice and Equity, to be the Arbitrators and Umpires of all the differences that happened in those days between the greatest Princes of Christendom: but when these places of honor and trust were made venal, in the reigns of Francis the second, Charles the ninth, and Henry the third, and sold for ready money to such as gave most for them; then was Justice and Equity banished, and that flourishing Kingdom reduced to the brim of ruin and desolation, by variety of factions, and a bloody civil war: And the selling of places of honor, and Judicature of late years in this Kingdom, hath been the spring of all the discontents, divisions, and distractions, which have somented this unnatural war, because of the injustice, rapines, and oppressions that followed at the heels the sale of these places of honor and trust, for such as bought them by the great, sold them to their Clients by retail; whereby it appears, that honors bought for money are destructive to the Sellers, to the State, and to the Buyers; and that such as enjoy them, carry upon their foreheads rather ignomy then honor.

For the fifth, Concerning favors, many have been promoted to worldly honors, by favor of the Prince, or such as are in authority for their virtue and merits; but of these commendable favors I intend not to speak of, as being out of fashion in these days, but undeserving favors, proceeding from vicious services: Haman the son of Amedatha the Agagite was promoted by King Ahasuerus to the greatest honors of his Court, for he advanced him, and set his seat above all the Princes that were with him; but as these honors came not by virtue or merit, so the end of them was but shame and confusion. The Emperor Nero promoted Tygelenus by favor to the greatest dignities of the Roman Empire, but it was because he had been the private agent to his base and lascivious delights, for which he was justly deprived of his honors, and of his life by the Emperor Otho. And how many are promoted in these days to great honors for the like services, or for being the projectors of new imposts and taxes, for fishing in troubled waters, for betraying their trust, for selling the liberties of their Native Country, for changing their Principles, as the Chameleons do their colors at every new object? These I say, are the noble services for which men are in these days promoted to places of honor and profit; but alas! the honors and riches purchased by such means, will be like the brand of Cain upon their forehead, and like a Moth in a piece of cloth, and like the gnawing Worm of a despairing Conscience that will forever rack them, and force them to cry out, Vanity of vanities, all is vanity and vexation of spirit.

For the sixth, Concerning Learning; this hath been in all ages a laudable means to promote men to worldly honors, yet Solomon saith He that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow; and certainly as Learning doth much good when it is sanctified, so it doth much hurt when it is not, especially if learned men be transported with Ambition, for such men have from time to time been the fomenters of the divisions of the Church, and the actors of Schisms, Errors and Heresies: but when learned men are sanctified they are the Columns of the Church, and deserve to be reverenced and hononored, and their memory remaineth famous from one generation to the other by the learned Writings they leave behind them; and Princes and States are to cherish and honor them for their noble achievements, that should be buried in the grave of oblivion without them: the liberal Sciences had been lost, had not Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle by their learned Works prevented it: and the martial achievements of the Greeks and Romans had been smothered up in Oblivion had it not been for Herodotus, Thucydides, Livius, Suetonius, Tacitus and others,: and the Art of Eloquence lost, but for Demosthenes and Cicero: nay, the very means to attain to salvation had been hidden from us, had not the learned Writings of the Prophets, Evangelists and Apostles, been preserved by the admirable providence of God from the barbarous hands of the Goths and Vandals; and yet there is a brutish generation among us, that would, if they could, destroy all learning, and learned men; although learned men are the very supporters of a Common-wealth: by them young Princes are instructed in the fear of God, and in natural and moral Philosophy, as Alexander was by Aristotle, Nero by Seneca, the good Emperor Trajan by Plutarch, and Theodosius by Ambrosius, Charles the fifth by Adrianus: and by such laudable means learned men are promoted to honors and dignities: yet as I have said before, Learning without Sanctification, is but me or vanity and vexation of spirit.

For the seventh, which is Prudence, It hath ever been a commendable means to attain to worldly honors. Prudence is the active part of Wisdom, called by some Policy, of which there is two sorts, a Just, and a Machivilian or Devilish Policy: for the Devil was Machiavels Tutor, for all his principles are to be abhorred and detested as coming from an Atheist, that neither did fear God nor the Devil: and his disciple Alexander Borgia, Duke de Valentinois was the most desperate reprobate that ever I have read of. Prudence is necessary in the managing of affairs of State, and by consequence prudent men do commonly attain to great honors, if they be just; otherwise their honors are changed into ignominy: I will prove the point by instances, and first for the Machavilian Prudence; Come on, saith Pharaoh, let us deal wisely with them least they multiply, and so commanded the Hebrew Midwives to smother the Male children of the people of Israel at their birth, and when this policy failed him, he gave commandment they should be drowned in the River Nile; but this policy turned to his ruin and confusion, for he and his horse-men were drowned in the red-Sea: Ahithophel another Machavilian counseled Absalom, Go into thy Fathers Concubines which he hath left to keep the house, and all Israel shall hear that thou art abhorred of thy Father; then shall all the hands of all that are with thee be strong: by this devilish policy, he intended to make the Father and the son irreconcilable, that his infidelity and rebellion might never be called to account; but God turned his wisdom, according to the prayer of David, to foolishness, and so he set his house in order and hanged himself. The wicked counsel given by the Cardinal de Lorraigne, and the Duke of Guise his brother to Charles the ninth King of France, to allure all the Protestants to Paris, under color of the marriage of Henry de Bourbon, with Margaret de Valois the Kings sister, to have them all as in a trap for to cut their throats in their beds, as they did for the greater part, proved fatal to the King, to the Cardinal, and the Duke; for the King, by the just judgment of God died shortly after by an issue of blood which came out of his mouth, ears and nostrils, and could never be stopped; and the Cardinal & the Duke were both slain by the commandment of Henry the third in the Castle of Blois. The barbarous policy of Philip the second King of Spain, to banish two or three hundred thousand Moors, with their wives & children, under color of Religion, on purpose to confiscate all their land, and to appropriate the same to his demains, was fatal to him, and to all the Spanish Nation; for by a just judgment of God he was eaten up with lice, and the Spanish Nation never thrived since, many of their Subjects revolting daily against them; whereby it appears that wicked Policies are ever destructive to their Authors. It was a good Policy, and a wise Council that Jethro gave unto Moses, to make choice out of the people, of grave and able men, such as feared God, men of truth, hating covetousness, and to make them rulers over thousands, and rulers over hundreds, over fifties, and over tens, to disburden himself of the heavy burden he had taken upon him to Judge the people of Israel; for by this council he eased Moses and the people, and made the Elders of Israel to be sharers with him in the honor of the rule and government of the Commonweal, whereby he was much beloved and honored of all the people. It was a wise Policy, and and a wholesome counsel, that the wise woman of Abel gave to her Citizens, to cut off the head of Sheba the son of Bichri, and to cast it over the wall to Joab; for by it she preserved the whole City from sack and ruin, that might justly have been destroyed by Joab if they had persisted to be the abbettors of the rebellion of Sheba, who received but a just reward for his treachery and rebellion, for endeavoring to raise a new War against his lawful Prince, the anointed of the Lord. And it was a Council grounded upon true prudence and policy, which was given to Charles the seventh King of France, by his grave and faithful Counselors of State, to conclude a peace with Philip Duke of Burgundy, although he should yield into his hands his Favorites, who had by his assent murdered the Duke John of Burgundy father to Philip as he was treating a reconciliation with the said King about the murder the said John had committed upon the Duke of Orleans the Kings Uncle; for by this counsel the Kingdom of France was preserved from ruin, and restored again to its former flourishing condition, and the murderers had but their due deserts, it being more just that half a dozen of guilty persons should perish, then a whole Kingdom should be undone: these Counselors justly maintaining, that these Favorites were not to commit such an act, although they had a Warrant from the King: Subjects being not bound to obey the commands of their Prince in things that be contrary, and forbidden by the Law of God, as murder is; and so these Counselors were forever after much honored of the King and of the whole Kingdom for their wisdom and fidelity. It was a wise Counsel grounded upon humanity and sound Policy, that the Bishop of Osma gave to the Emperor Charles the fifth, after Francis the first King of France became his Prisoner at the battle of Pavia, that he should for his own glory, and the future good of Spain, set the said King of France at free liberty, without ransom or capitulations at all, and have him conducted with an honorable Train to the Borders of his own Kingdom; but this good counsel being traversed by the Machavilian policy of the Duke d'Alva, they made a prey of the said King, which was the cause after the Kings release of a bloody war, that was fatal to the Emperor and the Kingdom of Spain: whereby it appears, that by Prudence and just Policy, men may attain to worldly honors, and that Machavilian policy is ever destructive, and subject to shame and ignominy.

For the eighth and the last, which is Valour, it hath ever been one of the first steps to worldly honors, and is a commendable means, so men's valor be exercised in the service of their Prince, and propagation of the true Protestant Religion, and for the desence of the Liberties of their native Country; for by their valor in such cases they attain to the personal Nobility, which is, as I have said before, the spring of the Nobility of race or descent; for the Nobility obtained by valor in any of these three cases, is the most honorable Nobility of all: neither is it true valor to kill any one in duel, but rather an effect of an inconsiderate wrath, and of a desperate vindication, and a mere murder in the sight of God; for true valor appears only in the Field against an open enemy, and not to kill our friends for a word spoken unadvisedly or unawares; and it hath been observed, that these roaring Gallants that make a trade of killing of men for punctillios of honor in duels, are commonly cowards, and are the first that trust to their spurs in a pitched Field; by which it appears that their valor is rather a raging Passion then a virtuous valor which is always guided by Reason and Judgment. Now by these eighth means, by which minds most commonly attain to honor in the world, the Reader may judge, whether there by any probability that worldly honors should afford men any true content, since the means by which they are obtained, are subject to so many accidents, and are so vain, and full of vanity and vexation of spirit.

For the second branch of this Discourse, concerning the persons that deserve to be honored, I will be very brief, because all rational men are acquainted with this duty: first, in the first of S Peter, Chap. 2. ver. 17. there is a general charge, Honor all men, love the brotherhood, fear God, and honor the King: and Solomon in his Proverbs goes further; for we are not only to fear God, but we are also to honor him; Honor the Lord, saith he, with thy substance, and with the first fruits of all thine increase; and next to God and the King, we are to honor our Parents; Honor thy father and thy mother, that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee: God to induce men to honor their Parents, makes here a precious promise to obedient and respective children; the next to our Parents we are to honor civil Magistrates, and the Messengers and Ministers of God; and next to them the grave and ancient men; Thou shalt rise up before the hoary head, and honor the face of the ancient; and yet who are more despised then old men in this corrupt Age? for young men are now preferred to places of Dignity, Profit, and Trust, contrary to former Ages; for Solomon by these words, As snow in Summer, and rain in Harvest, so is honor not seemly for a fool; intimates, that young men are not to be honored with places of Trust in Church or Commonweal, because they are for want of experience no better then fools, and yet they account themselves generally out of a vain presumption, wiser then old men, whom they call doting fools: for want of the knowledge of this Proverb, Before Honor is Humility; for were they truly wise, they would be humble, and not presumptuous; for presumption is the companion of Folly; besides virtuous, learned, wise, prudent and valiant men are to be honored. I distinguish Learning from Prudence and Wisdom, because learned men are not always wise nor prudent, although Learning is a means to attain to Wisdom; but Learning is the theorical part of Wisdom, and without a long practical experience a Learned man cannot attain to Prudence or Wisdom. As for rich men, which are above all others honored in these days, except they be Magistrates, or public Officers, or have any of these qualities above spoken of; I see no reason why they should be honored above the common civility for their Riches; yet an ancient Greek Philosopher, being demanded which of the two, the Rich or the Wise should be most honored, answered, The wise; yet, saith he, I see both the learned and the wise court and attend upon the rich: but above all other the true sanctified children of God should be honored, because they are the only excellent upon earth.

For the last Branch of this Discourse, which is the joy and comfort that men reap from spiritual honors: 1. They that will attain to spiritual honor, must above all things honor God; for if they honor any above him, they shall be lightly esteemed; this is confirmed in the first of Samuel, Chap. 2. verse. 30. When the Lord by one of his Prophets reproved Eli for honoring of his sons above him; I said indeed that thy house, and the house of thy father should walk before me forever; but now the Lord saith, Be it far from me; for them that honor me I will honor; and they that despise me, shall be lightly esteemed. 2. They are to fear the Lord, and to depart from evil. 3. They are to trust in the Lord with all their heart, and lean not to their own understanding. 4. They must love him, and keep his Commandments, that he may show them mercy unto thousand generations; for Love and Obedience are inseparable companions, 5. They are to serve the Lord their God that he may bless them. 6. And lastly, They are to praise the Lord, for his mercy endureth forever; and in so doing they shall be honored of him, and be as his precious Jewels. Men in these days account it a great favor to be honored of a King; but to be honored of God, who is the King of Kings, it is a superlative favor and honor; Nay, to be so beloved of God, that hath not spared his only Son, but hath delivered him up to the death of the Cross, to redeem them that truly love and honor him; this is an unparalleled love and honor, or to make some out of his free grace vessels of honor, when he might have made them vessels of dishonor, this is a superlative love and honor. Now what greater joy or comfort can men attain unto, then to be assured to be the adopted children of so loving and gracious a God, and to be his precious Jewels, and reputed by him as the only excellent upon earth, and in whom is all his delight? This is then the only honor they should strive to attain to; for it is permanent and eternal; but worldly honors vanish away like smoke, and are mere vanity and vexation of Spirit.

CHAP. III.

THere are two sorts of riches; the one worldly, and the other spiritual; the spiritual are the immediate gifts of God, and by consequence superexcellent: but the worldly are mere vanity and vexation of spirit, subject to divers accidents and changes; Wilt thou, saith Solomon, set thine eyes upon that which is not? for riches make themselves wings; they fly away as an Eagle toward heaven; notwithstanding men make an Idol of riches, and will venter their lives, and hazard their souls to obtain and enjoy them. Now as comparing two objects together, it is easy to discern which is the most excellent of the two: so by the comparing of the imperfections of the worldly riches, against the perfections of the spiritual, the excellency of the last will be more visible to the Reader. I will therefore begin with the worldly; and for method sake observe these four Particulars: first, how they are obtained: secondly, how they are perserved: thirdly, how they are lost: fourthly, how they are to be dispensed.

For the first, Worldly riches are of an indifferent nature, and by consequence, become good or evil by accident: I mean, that they are either a blessing or a curse, by the evil or good acquisition and dispensation of them. They are called the gifts of fortune, because they are more proper to the undeserving then to the well-deserving men; for fortune being blind, doth commonly distribute her gifts more by chance, then by judgment. And daily experience doth show, that the wicked abound in worldly riches, and the righteous are poor and needy. Wherefore do the wicked live, become old, yea, are mighty in power? saith Job. Their seed is established in their sight with them, and their off-pring before their eyes: Their houses are safe from fear, neither is the rod of God upon them. Their bull gendereth and faileth not, their Cow calveth and casteth not her Calf. They send forth their little ones like a flock, and their children dance. They take the Timbrel and Harp, and rejoice at the sound of the Organ: And spend their days in wealth. The reasons why ungodly men do out-strip the godly in Riches, may be these:

• 1. Because they have a larger conscience then the godly.
• 2. Because they account worldly Riches as their supreme good.
• 3. Because they erroneously conceive that they were created for no other end then for to enrich themselves, whereas the godly make conscience of enriching themselves by any indirect means, hold the love and favor of God their supreme good: and are confident that they were only created to propagate the honor and glory of their Creator. The main end of the ungodly being then to enrich themselves: it is no wonder if they out-strip the godly in worldly riches, and flourish in this life, like a green Bay-tree. But the end of the godly being only the advancement of God's glory, and to make their calling and election sure, they value not these momentary riches, knowing that wheresoever their Treasure is, there will their heart be also. But to return to the point in hand, worldly riches are obtained
  • 1. By the immediate hand and blessing of God.
  • 2. By hereditary succession.
  • 3. By activity and diligence in our calling.
  • 4. By indirect and unlawful means. And of these I will speak in order.

For the first, The riches of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Job, did immediately proceed from the hand and blessing of God; for their innocent vocation did depend only upon the blessing of God, and not upon the art and industry of man: Therefore God was pleased that the earth should bring forth a hundred for one, and that their Cattle should multiply extraordinarily.

Secondly, Men become rich by hereditary succession, as Solomon by the incredible Treasures that his Father King David heaped up together by the Wars he had with divers Nations, which according to Sir Walter Raughleys Opinion cannot be paralleled in any History.

Thirdly, Men grow to be rich by being diligent and active in their lawful calling; for as Solomon saith, He becometh poor that dealeth with a slack hand, but the hand of the diligent maketh rich. And again, He that gathereth in Summer is a son of wisdom, but he that sleepeth in harvest is a son of shame. Now these three ways of obtaining worldly riches, are commendable, and approved of God, so the dispensation of them be suitable to his word.

But the fourth, That is by indirect and unlawful means, it is odious to God, and destructive to men; And yet it is the ordinary way whereby men do attain to incredible riches: And specially by these four sorts of Professions. 1. By the practice of Arms. 2. By the managing of Politick affairs. 3. By the practice at law. 4. By the practice of Merchandise, which shall be proved by instances. First, by the practice of Arms; Sylla and Lucullus became incredibly rich, but it was by unjust rapines and Tyrannical couses. Secondly, Sejanus and Titus Vinius, by the managing of Politike affairs became extraordinarily wealthy, but it was by concussion and bribery. Thirdly, by the practice at Law, Sir John Cook and Judge Richardson became wealthy and rich, but it was by condemning the innocent, and acquitting the guilty. Fourthly, by the practice of Merchandize, Peter de Medecis, and Sir John Spencer became extraordinary rich, but it was by falsifying and Monopolizing of all manner of Commodities: Whereupon I conclude with Solomon, That such as make haste to be rich, shall not be innocent.

For the second, first, the preservation of riches is as irksome to the mind as their acquisition hath been painful to the body; for when men have heaped up much wealth, they are in continual fears to be deprived of them, and hold no place secure for the keeping of their treasures. Secondly, Riches expose their owners to eminent dangers to preserve them, for as the highest Cedars in a tempest, are more shaken then the low shrubs, even so rich men in a Civil war are the objects of the false accusations of all Promoting Knaves; as it appears in Tacitus; and in the life of Sylla there is a notable instance for it, for although a Roman Senator, called Quintus Aurelius, (in the civil wars between Marius and Sylla ) had always kept himself neuter, and never sided in words and actions, with either of these two parties, yet notwithstanding Sylla coming victorious to Rome, his name was written in the prescriptions of such as had been of the abbettors of the faction of Marius, and for no other reason, but because he was very rich, and had a stately Palace at Alba, and so lost his life because of his riches. But it were in vain to prove this Point by many foreign instances, since in this unnatural civil war of ours: many have been accounted Round-heads, and other Malignants, that neither had sided with one or the other side, but merely because of their riches. Thirdly, Rich men are commonly the prey of Thieves; for where store of gold and silver is, these spirits never leave haunting, For wheresoever the carcass is, there will the Eagles be gathered together. In Queen Elizabeth's days a Pirate of Dunkerk laid a plot with twelve of his mates to carry away Sir John Spencer, which if he had done, fifty thousand pounds ransom had not redeemed him: he came over the seas in a Shallop with twelve Musketiers, and in the night came into Barking-Creek, and left the Shallop in the custody of six of his men, and with the other six came as far as Islington, and there hid themselves in ditches, near the path in which Sir John came always to his house: but by the providence of God, Sir John, upon some extraordinary occasion was forced to stay in London that night, otherwise they had taken him away; and they fearing they should be discovered; in the night time came to their Shallop, and so came safe to Dunkerk again. This was a very desperate attempt; but hear another of the like nature, only it was more bloody, and more successful, for the villains that undertook the same, some two years past it happened at Paris in France, that ten stout thieves had notice given them that the Duke of Orleans had received six thousand pounds in gold, and had caused them to be laid in a chamber, next to his own bedchamber in the Palace of Lugseinbourg his ordinary abode; hereupon they plotted to steal away this gold, & so in the day time got into the great garden, and in the night broke into the middle court, and with a ladder of cords got up to the Chamber window, & so into the chamber, slew two Gentlemen that were asleep in their bed, and carried away the gold, unheard, and undiscovered, although there was above one hundred Officers and servants in the house, and that the Duke lay in the next Chamber. Many other instances might be produced for the confirmation of this Point, That riches do expose their owners to great dangers, but these shall serve for brevity sake. Fourthly, the care of the preservation of riches interrupts the rest and sleep of men, and hinders learned men from their Studies, and others from their ordinary employments. It is recorded, that the Tyrant Policrates, to show his liberality, gave at one time to the Philosopher Anacreon three talents, that is above nine hundred pounds sterlin, but after he had it some four or five days in his custody, the care he took to preserve the same, did so trouble his mind, that he neither could take his rest in the night, nor in the day tend his School as he did before, for the fear he had that thieves should break into his Chamber in the night, and deprive him of his gold, took away his sleep, and the carking cares he took in the day to dispose of his money to increase the same, hindered him from his Studies; whereupon being vexed in his mind, he carried the said money again to the Tyrant, entreating him to keep it himself, for it had done him more hurt in that time, then it could ever do him good if he kept the same. And Demetrius the Phalerian, who by trading in merchandize had attained to be very rich, finding his mind daily more and more perplexed with the increase of his wealth, went to hear the Philosopher Crates, who made public Lectures upon the tranquility of the mind, and having learned that riches were the greatest disturbers of the same, gave away all his riches to his poor kinsmen, that he might with moore freedom apply himself to the Studies of Philosophy: Even so, if the rich men of these days would divide their riches into three parts, and give the first part to the poor, and the second to their poor kinsmen, and keep the third part for themselves, they would be more free to frequent the hearing of the Word of God, and more careful to make their calling and election sure: for the cares of their great riches do so disquiet their minds, that they have no time to endeavor to become rich in God, and so in the midst of their riches remain wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked in the sight of God.

For the third, Riches are lost divers ways, for there is nothing more subject to accidents then riches: some loose their riches by thieves, as it hath been shown, other loose them insensibly, others consume them by riots, gaming, and whoring, others by prodigalities, others by gluttony and drunkenness, others by building stately houses, others by casualties of fire, others by imbrasing more then they can gripe, I mean by undertaking of things beyond their abilities, others by their inconstancy, by changing their dwelling, and their profession, for this Proverb is not more common then true, That a rolling stone never getteth Moss, others by sloth and idleness, For he becometh poor, saith Solomon, that dealeth with a slack hand: But rich men do commonly lose their riches by these four means: first, by ventring over their abilities at sea, by shipwreck, and Pirates: secondly, by invasion of a foreign enemy: thirdly, by siding in a civil war with an unfortunate party: fourthly, by tyranny and oppession; and for confirmation of it I will give some instances. The Philosopher Zeno had been in his former time a rich Merchant, but having lost his wealth by a Shipwrack, gave himself to the Study of Philosophy: and I could here produce the names of divers English, French, and Italian Merchants that have lost all their means by Pirates & shipwrecks, if I did not regard their fame: secondly, by foreign Invasions; Cresus lost his incredible treasures by the invasion of Cyrus, and Darius the last King of Persia his unparalleled riches by the invasion of Alexander the great: thirdly, all those of Marius faction that bore arms against Sylla, lost their means and estates: and between the two factions of the Guelfs and Gibelins, the richest Families of Italy lost their means, sometimes the Guelfs being plundered of all, and presently after the Gibelins; and how many rich families have also been undone in this Kingdom by this unnatural war of both parties? Fourthly, by tyranny and oppression rich men commonly lose their riches, for Tyrants are always jealous of rich men, because moneys are the sinews of war; so where Tyranny reigns the rich men go to rack; Piso under the Emperor Otho lost his life for his riches, and so did Seneca under the Emperor Nero, and the Visier Nassuff under the Emperor Achmat; and the Visier Ibrahim under the Emperor Morat, and a hundred more which I omit for brevity sake. In a word, it is dangerous to be rich, a moderate estate is safer, and there is no confidence to be reposed in riches; for as Solomon saith, He that trusteth in his riches shall fall, but the righteous shall flourish as a branch; nor profit nothing at the hour of death, for as Solomon saith, Riches profit not in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivereth from death: besides, men presume upon their riches, for as Solomon saith in another place, The rich man is wise in his own conceit; but the poor that hath understanding searcheth him out: and at last, the Prophet David saith, Like sheep they are laid in the grave, death shall feed on them, and the upright shall have dominion over them in the morning, and their beauty shall consume in the grave from their dwelling.

For the fourth, of the dispensation of riches; in this consists the bliss, or woe of rich men; for it is certain that they are but the Stewards of their riches, and that the Lord will call them to an account how they have dispensed of them; for Stewards, saith St. Paul are to be faithful: now if the rich man spoken of in the Gospel, might call his Steward to an account, and say thus unto him; How is this that I hear this of you? give an account of your Stewardship: for you may not be any longer steward, how much more may the Lord of Lord's call rich men to an account for the wealth that he hath been pleased to intrust them withal? for by him only they live and move, and all they have are the free gifts of his liberality: And in the twefth Chapter of the same Gospel the Character of a good and bad Steward is elegantly set forth, and the reward of the good, and the punishment of the bad Steward is exactly set down in these words, And the Lord said, Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom the Lord shall make ruler over his household, to give their portion of meat in due season? Blessed is that servant whom the Lord when he cometh shall find so doing: Of a truth I say unto you, that he will make him ruler over all that he hath. But if that servant say in his heart, my Lord delayeth his coming, and shall begin to beat the men-servants and maidens, and to eat and drink, and be drunken; the Lord of that servant will come in a day when he looketh not for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in sunder, and will appoint him his portion with the unbelievers: And that servant which knew his Lord's will, and prepareth not himself, neither did according to his Will, shall be beaten with many stripes. By this it appears that upon the good or evil dispensation of riches, depends the bliss and woe of rich men; and yet there is not one of a hundred that dispense of them as they should, or may truly be called wise and faithful stewards, for the greater part consumes them in carnal pleasures in chambering and wantonness, in braveries and prodigality, in drunkenness and gluttony, in dicing and whoring, in hawking and hunting, and in sensualities and vanities, and other like: miserable wretches continually heap them up, and have not the grace to make use of them, but famish themselves in the midst of their treasures, whereas they might above all other do good to their native Country, relieve the poor, and abound in works of charity, whereby it is commonly seen, that riches are as a stumbling block to the ways of righteousness; and it is confirmed by these words of our Savior, A rich man shall hardly enter in the kingdom of heaven; for rich men are for the greater part so besotted with their riches, that their gold and silver is their Idol, to whom they sacrifice morning and evening, nay day and night, the best of their cogitations and thoughts; and rather then they will part from them, will hazard the salvation of their souls, as it may appear by the carriage of the young man spoken of in the Gospel; for when our Savior said unto him, Go and sell all that thou hast, and distribute the same unto the poor, and thou shalt have a treasure in heaven, and come and follow me; he went away, saith the Text, very sorrowful, because he was very rich: for their hearts be so glued to the things of this world, and their minds so taken up with carking cares to increase or preserve their riches, that they have no time to attend carefully upon the hearing of the Word of God; and suppose they frequent (as other men) do the public exercises, yet their minds are so bent upon their worldly affairs, that they are not attentive to the Word, and do not apply it to themselves, and so neglect to make their calling and election sure: And for Charity, daily experience doth show, that the greater part of them are inferior to others in that excellent grace, for they above all others are full of malice, envy, and vindication, and will upon the least offense, or unadvised word undo poor men by tedious suits at law to vindicate themselves, presumption and pride being as a natural habit to rich men, and these are the greatest Antagonists to charity: and for their charity towards the poor, they are also generally more close-fisted then the middle sort of men, for charity is not to be valued by the gift: a man that giveth six pence a week to the poor, may be more charitable then another that gives five shillings a week, because that six pence may be more, according to the Arithmetical proportion to his estate, then five shillings is to the wealth of a rich man: and that was the reason that the two mites that the poor widow did cast into the Treasury, was more esteemed of our Savior, then the great gifts that the rich Pharisees did cast in, because she gave even all she had, and they gave but a small part of their abundance: and many of them are so hard-hearted, and deprived of all pity, compassion, and mercy, that like the rich Glutton, they will suffer the poor Lazarus to famish at their doors rather then they will allow them the crumbs that fall from their tables; but it will be said unto them one day, Sons remember that in your life time you received your good things, and the poor Lazarus evil things, but now they are comforted and you are tormented. It cannot be denied but there are divers monuments abroad of the Christian charity of many rich Citizens of London; but to erect Alms-Houses, and Hospitals with ill-gotten goods, tending more to Ostentation then to true Charity, is an abomination to the Lord; and Selymus Emperor of the Turks, and one of the greatest tyrants that ever was, made conscience of it, for Pyrrhus his grand Visier persuading him upon his bed of death, to erect a stately Mosque of the moneys that should proceed from the Persian Merchants goods that he had most unjustly confiscated, he answered, No, Pyrrhus, this would be an abomination to God, and to our great Prophet Mahomet: to build a Church and an Hospital, with the moneys proceeding from goods that are not justly my own, but rather I charge thee, they be suddenly restored to their right owners; and to rob Peter to give to Paul, as many do, is a mere impiety, rather then charity: Can men be so grossly deluded by Satan, as to think that it is a satisfactory restitution to erect a sorry Alms-House, or Hospital, or a Free-School for the relief of the poor, and for the education of poor Scholars, after they have undone many by Usury, Rapines, and Oppressions? No, the restitution to be acceptable to God, must be made to the very same parties they have wronged and oppressed, or at least to their heirs; and like Zacchaeus say, Behold Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor, and if I have taken anything from any man by false accusation, I restore him four fold. Mr. Sutton after he had undone by Usury, and Forfeitures of Bonds, and Morgages many Gentlemen, out of a remorse of conscience, erected Charter-House Hospital for relief of decayed Gentlemen; but it had been a better restitution if he had distributed the moneys it cost among the children of those he had oppressed: yet few there are in these days so conscientious as he, for they will make no restitution at all, neither in their life time, nor after their death: True Charity proceeds from a feeling compassion of our poor brethren's present misery, and therefore men that are close-fisted to the poor in their life time, and great benefactors at their death, cannot be accounted true charitable men, for they part from their money when they can make no more use of it, and by consequence, this charity savors more of Ostentation then of true Piety. The Magnificence and Christian Charity of Sir Thomas Gressam is then to be commended, for as another Pericles, he did in his life time erect the Royal Exchange for the ornament of the City of London, and Gressam College for the propagation of Learning, and many Alms-Houses for the relief of the poor, and so shown himself a wise and faithful Steward of those riches that the Lord was pleased to intrust him withal: and certainly rich men that do not dispense of their riches after this manner, specially if they have no children, as he had none, without the special mercy of God, and an unfeigned and timely repentance, they will be cut asunder, and have their portion with the unbelievers: for it is rather a curse then a blessing to be rich, and have not the grace to make use of our riches, which is confirmed by this saying of Solomon, There is an evil, saith he, which I have seen under the Sun, and it is common among men; A man to whom God hath given riches, wealth, and honors, so that he wanteth nothing for his soul of all that he desireth, yet God giveth him not power to eat thereof, but a stranger eateth it: this is vanity, and it is an evil disease. And in another place, There is nothing better, saith he, for a man then he should eat and drink, and that he should make his soul enjoy good in his labor; This also I saw that it was from the hand of God. By these things it appears, that worldly riches are painful in their acquisition, full of cares in their preservation, and in their losses grievous and full of sorrow, and that in their dispensation do consist the bliss, or the woe of the owners of them.

As for the spiritual riches of a Christian, they are the immediate gifts of the blessed Trinity; for his Election is the gift of God the Father, his Justification is of God the Son, and his Sanctification the gift of God the Holy Ghost; and the riches of his other graces proceed from the same Spring, and therefore these riches are supernaturally excellent, and free from all changes and mutations whatsoever. Neither can the Elements, or any creature in heaven, or upon earth, nor the Prince of darkness, nor death deprive him of these riches: for as St. Paul saith, The gifts and calling of God are without repentance: And every good gift, and every perfect gift, saith St. James, is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. Spiritual riches are then that treasure laid up in heaven, where neither moth, nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break thorough and steal; It is that treasure hid in the field, the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth, and selleth all he hath, and buyeth that field. It is that precious Pearl of great price, which when a man had found, he went and sold all he had and bought it. To conclude, the gifts and graces of God, of his Son, and of his blessed Spirit, are the true riches that men should endeavor to attain, for they only are able to rejoice his heart, and content his mind, and to comfort him at the hour of death: This is the wisdom that Solomon saith, is better then rubies, and all things that may be desired, are not to be compared to it. It is in these mercies, and graces, in which the Prophet David took all his delight, and meditated upon day and night, for they are more to be desired then gold, yea then much fine gold, and are sweeter then honey, and the honey comb: whereas riches are but mere vanity and vexation of spirit.

CHAP. IV.

THere is also two sorts of pleasure: first, the Worldly: secondly, the Spiritual; the last are rather spiritual ravishments then pleasures, for their superlative excellency: but the worldly pleasures are like the morning dew, that vanisheth away at the rising of the Sun; even so worldly pleasures have no substance, and in the continuance they become irksome; and yet is one of the dieties of worldly men, in the enjoyment of which, they conceive doth consist their supreme good: Their original spring is the five senses: first, the Sight: secondly, the Hearing: thirdly, the Taste: fourthly, the Smel: fifthly, the Feeling: and everyone of these have their peculiar delights: the Sight takes pleasure in beautiful objects, the Hearing in Music, the Taste in delicious Savors, the Smel in oderiferous Odours, and the hand in lascivious Feelings; so that all the worldly pleasures that can be imagined proceed from one of these senses: how can it then be possible, that rational men should be so mad as to conceive their supreme good should consist in such momentary vanities! besides, it is daily seen, that men's pleasures are rather guided by Phansie then by Reason, and more by inclination, then judgment; for what is pleasant to one is distasteful to the other throughout the five senses: First, in the Objects, some love a flaxen hair'd, others a black hair'd woman: some love to hear a doleful melody, others a joyful: some love to eat one thing, and some another; nay, their very taste will vary, although they eat of one and the same meat: some love a sweet, mild odour, others a strong perfume; and for their Feeling, they are as various; and in the Election of their calling they differ as much, some love a Soldiers life, others love Learning, others to be Merchants, other Shop-keepers; others will be Artificers, others will be Sea-faring men, others will feed cattle, and others will till the ground: Likewise in their Recreations, some love Hawking, others Hunting, others Shooting, others Bowling, others Gaming, and so in all things their pleasures differ & vary. If it be then granted, that their supreme Good doth consist in the enjoyment of their pleasures, then there must of necessity be as many different supreme Goods, as there is variety of pleasures; but as I have said before, all these pleasures or inclinations, are but mere fancies, vanities, and vexations of Spirit; as it shall be proved by these ensuing Discourses: Observe then for method sake, that worldly pleasures may be distinguished thus,

• 1. By necessary and natural.
• 2. By violent and superfluous.
• 3. By moderate and lawful.
• 4. By vicious and unlawful.

And for conclusion, I will give a hint of the spiritual Pleasures that are superexcellent, and free from vanity.

First, under the necessary pleasures are comprised eating, drinking, walking, resting and sleeping, with the actions and employments about our just and lawful Callings, for in all these things there is a natural delight, for he that eateth when he is ahungry, and drinieth when he is athirst, and resteth when he is weary, or sleepeth after a long watching, finds a delight in all these necessary things, without which men cannot subsist, but in all these men are to be moderate, otherwise they become vicious, but they must be laborious in their calling; therefore as Solomon saith, Sleep to a laboring man is sweet; as Soldiers in their Military exercises, Students in their Studies, Merchants in their Negotiations, Shop-keepers in their Shops, and Artificers in their Work, otherwise their professions will seem tedious and irksome unto them; and as a rolling stone never getteth Moss, so fickle and inconstant men in their calling never attain to honor nor riches, for it is diligence, activity, and a constant assiduity in in any profession that make men thrive in the world; He becometh poor, saith Solomon, that dealeth with a slack hand, but the hand of the diligent maketh rich; he that gathereth in Summer is a wise son, but he that sleepeth in Harvest is a son of shame: and many men in these days come to penury by often changing of Calling, or by undertaking such Callings as they never were bred to, or by exercising four or five Callings at one and the same time, which is a great vanity, for that is the cause that Artificers never attain to the perfection of their Art, or handy-craft, but remain ignorant hudlers in them all: It is therefore convenient that men should be constant to one Calling, and to take delight in it, For godliness with content, saith St. Paul, is great gain, and without men take delight in their profession, they will always be changing till they bring themselves to extreme misery.

Secondly, violent and superfluous Pleasures are desructive two ways, the first impair men's health, and shorten their days, and the other doth waste and consume their estates: how many have lost their lives by the excessive pleasures of Venery in the very act, & many more by excessive riots of drunkenness and gluttony, and others by the violent exercises of Tennis, Foot-ball play, Leaping, Vaulting, and running of races: some others by swimming, and others by drinking in Summer wines cooled in snow; and of late years how many have shortened their lives by the excessive use of Tobacco, a bewitching herb, in the taking of which the poorer sort consume the small means they have, and the richer impair their health, and fill their brains as full of foot, as is the funnel of a chimney, by which they deprive themselves of sleep, consume their radical humor, engender Palsies, and apoplexies, and go down to the grave before their time, whereas if it be used moderately, it purgeth the Phlegm, prevents the Dropsy, and refresheth the spirits. It is then apparent, that as these violent pleasures impair the body, so they wast men's estates, for rioting, gluttony and drunkenness, Tennis, and Foot-ballplay, running of races, and drinking of wine cooled in snow are consumers of the means and estates of men.

Thirdly, the moderate and lawful pleasures, are not prohibited in the word of God, so they be used with moderation; for Christians may boldly take pleasure in a moderate way of all the creatures under the Sun, so it be with thanksgiving, and after a sanctified manner in all sobriety and temperance. 1. They may take delight in the admirable works of God, in the contemplation of the light of the Sun, in the constant course it observes in the regulating of the seasons of the year, and in the increase and declination of its height, whereby the days are lengthened or shortened; In the various mutations of the Moon, by whose influence the Tides increase or fall. 2. They may delight to see the aspect of the Spring when after a cold Winter the vegetative creatures begin to sprout, and when Flora doth revest herself in her glorious apparel clothing the earth with variety of odiferous flowers inameled of divers colors, which excel in beauty, in the esteem of our blessed Savior, the very glory of King Solomon; and in Summer they may delight in the blessing of God, upon the labor of the Husbandman; and in Harvest upon the incredible increase of the seed, and in Winter in the consideration of the propriety that God hath given to the vegetative creatures, to draw their sap, which is their life, into their root, that it may be kept in the bowels of the earth, from the danger of the frost and snow; and how by his admirable providence, he doth feed the beasts of the field, and the fowls of the air in that barren season, as well as in havest. 3. They may delight in the glorious objects of the green and beautiful medows, and in the sweet rivers running along their banks; in the numerous herds of cattle feeding in the Valleys and Mountains. 4. They may rejoice in the commerce and trade of rich merchandise that are brought from foreign parts, whereby the commonwealth doth flourish, and the poor are set at work; and all in general provided of all necessary things for this life. 5. They may take delight to see the Artificers, Shop-keepers, and all others of the poorer sort to prosper, and to have vent and utterance for their wares, whereby they are enabled to maintain themselves, wives, children and servants, in a decent condition, and free from want or penury. 6. They may delight and bless the Lord, for their health, peace, and prosperous estate, and that they live, and move, and have a being, with all necessary things for this life, as meat, drink and raiment; but above all they may laud and praise the Lord for his mercy, and the free liberty they have to hear his Word and Gospel preached with zeal and sincerity. 7. They may solace themselves in honest recreations, as in walking abroad to take the air, in the company of their friends; their discourses being seasoned with salt, and rather tending to edification then depravation. 8. They may sometimes go a hunting, hawking, fishing, shooting, bowling, but these recreations are to be short, and only for to refresh their spirits, after tedious studies, and weekly employments, and to strengthen their bodies by these laudable exercises, and not to make them, as some do, their daily work, for otherwise these honest and laudable recreations would become vicious, and destructive to body and soul, for nothing ought to be more precious to Christians then Time.

Fourthly, Vicious and unlawful pleasures are the snares of Satan, and the harbengers of death, and yet they are most in fashion in these days, and few or none that are addicted to them, will give them any bound or limits: It is recorded that Caesar, Edward the fourth King of England, and Henry the fourth King of France, were over-much addicted to Venery, and yet those that have written their Lives, give them this commendation, that they bounded this Passion within certain limits; for their Venerian delights did never, say they, make them neglect any affairs of State, or actions of war, because, saith a modern Author of Caesar, that the Passion of Ambition was more predominate in him then the Passion of Love, although the Passion of Love, in the opinion of Aristotle, and of Senault himself, is held to be the most violent Passion of all the other Passions: but if men are to be moderated, as I have said before, in the natural and necessary pleasures, there is great reason they should be more temperate in their vicious pleasures, since they are sinful, and odious to God, and to all virtuous and temperate men: and St. Paul would have men to be moderate in their cating and drinking for their healths sake, and for conscience sake, for the abuse of the creature is prohibited by the Lord: Nay, they are to be temperate in their walkings, resting, sleeping, and in the very delight of the Nuptiall bed, and that is the reason that St. Paul gives them this charge, Let your moderation be known unto all men: the Lord is at hand; and notwithstanding young and old run after vicious and unlawful pleasures, as the Grayhound runs after the Hare, and yet they besot men, and deprive men of their reason and judgment, and such as by custom have gotten an habit in carnal pleasures, are seldom weaned from them, without a special measure of divine grace, for they are more enticing, and have stronger charms to allure men (then the Harlot spoken of in the 7. of Proverbs, Come let us take our fill of love until the morning, let us solace ourselves with loves, for the good man is not at home, he is gone a long journey, he hath taken a bag of money with him, and will come home at the day appointed; with much fair speech she caused him to yield, with the flattering of her lips she forced him: he goeth after her straightway, as an ox goeth to the slaughter, and as a fool to the correction of the stocks, till a dart strike through his liver, as a bird hasteth to the snare, and knoweth it not that it is for his life ) to entice men to lust, and all impiety, for under vicious pleasures are comprised Lechery, Drunkenness, and Gluttony, Pride, Pomp, lascivious Apparel and Prodigality: all vicious recreations, as Interludes, Comedies, and Tragedies, Tabling, Carding, Dicing, Dancing, Leaping, and Vaulting, Masks, and Mummeries, and all such Court-vanities; and these are the deities of worldly men, and paradise of the wise men, or rather of the fools in these days. But before I proceed, give me leave to examine what bliss or felicity doth consist in the enjoyment of these vanities. First, Venery, is a sensual delight, of no continuance, which enerveth, saith du Bartus, all the faculties of body and soul, and casts men's reason in a quick sand of lust: besides, it draws with cartrobes the judgments of God upon men and women, and fills their bodies of loathsome and incredible diseases. Secondly, for Gluttony and Drunkenness, they are absolutely brutish, and of all the bruits and sensitive creatures, there is none that is addicted to these vicees but the Fox and the Swine, for the Swine will sometimes burst by drinking of Buttermilk, and the Fox by drinking of young Lambs blood, and therefore no Nation hath a better Etymology for a drunkard then the English; for when men are drunk, they say, They are Fox'd; and what is more destructive to the health of men's bodies then drunkenness and gluttony? Awake, ye drunkards, saith the Prophet Joel, and weep, and howl all ye drinkers of wine, because of the new wine, for it is cut off from your mouth. Thirdly, For pride, pomp, lascivious apparel, and prodigality; to be proud of that w ^ch is not our own, is a mere folly, and lascivious apparel is but as the tinder to inflame the fire of lust; and for pomp, and prodigality, the one is the way to penury, and the other may be compared to the Peacock, that hath nothing in him that is good or worthy of praise but his gay feathers: besides, men are but Stewards, or Feofees in trust of the means they have, and they will undoubtedly be called to an account, if they lavish the means they are entrusted withal in such vanities. Fourthly, Interludes, Comedies, and Tragedies, are but the Seminaries of lust, and Playhouses the Schools of the depravation and corruption of youth. Fifthly, Tabling, Dicing, and Carding, are the Circes or rocks where men make shipwreck of their means and estates, and by which swearing, cursing, and banning is promoted and kept in being. Sixthly, Dancing, Masking, and Mummeries, they are but the mere Panders and Bawds of the Court, the very consumers of Princes treasures, and the Nurses of all vices, that make young gallants sell their land to wear gay clothes, and to glister in a Hall with their silver and gold lace; and when they have lavished their estates, and impaired the health of their bodies, multiplied and aggravated their sins, they have nothing left them but grief and sorrow of heart, and a gnawing worm in their consciences that never dieth; except the Lord in his mercy touch their hearts, and make them cry out like the Prodigal Son, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy Son; or prick their hearts as those that crucified our blessed Savior, who said unto St. Peter, and his fellows Apostles, Men and brethren what shall we do? Then Peter said unto them, Repent: even so if these Monopolists of worldly pleasures do not repent unfeignedly, they will incur God's just indignation at the last day.

Lastly, The Spiritual Pleasures are free from vanity, and ravish men's souls into the third heaven, and by the eyes of faith see the presence of God, Angels, and Saints. Thou hast ravished my heart, saith Christ unto his Church: Even so the children of God, that take pleasure to meditate in the Law of God, are ravished in spirit, as St. Paul saith of himself, I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, whether in the body I cannot tell, God knoweth, such a one caught up into the third heaven: and I knew such a man (whether in body, or out of the body, I cannot tell, God knoweth) how he was caught up into Paradise, and heard unspeakable words, unutterable, which is not lawful for a man to utter. And undoubtedly, in zealous prayers, and holy meditations, doth consist the spiritual Pleasures of a Christian; and it is said in Genesis, that Isaac went every evening in the field to meditate; so that it is apparent, that the servants of God have an intimate familiarity with him, which doth fill their hearts with unspeakable pleasures, for the Prophet David saith, The godly men's delight is in the Law of the Lord, and in his Law doth he meditate day and night: And the constant and fervent prayers of Cornelius the Centurion obtained this favor of the Lord, that Saint Peter was sent for, for the conversion of himself, and of his family; and St. Peter by his prayers was cast into a trance, and saw a vision, whereby he was confirmed that God is no accepter of persons, and whether they be Jews or Gentiles, if they love and fear him, they are received into grace by the merits of Christ his beloved Son. They that will then enjoy the spiritual pleasures, must pray continually, and meditate day and night upon the mystery of their salvation, to get an assurance their calling and election is sure, and they are justified by the blood of Christ, shall be saved from wrath through him, and are sanctified by the holy Ghost, and of the number, who by the preaching of the Gospel, have had their eyes opened, to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith in Christ, and that they have received a white stone, and in the stone a new name which no Man knoweth, saving he that receiveth it. This assurance, I say, is able to fill a Christians heart with unspeakable pleasures, and to ravish his soul into the third heavens, where he shall enjoy the presence of God, in whom is the fullness of joy, and in his right hand are pleasures for evermore. But worldly pleasures vanish away like smoke, and are mere vanity and vexation of spirit.

CHAP. V.

THe next aggravation of the vanity of the lives of men, after the former description of the vanity of their desires, is the vanity of their passions, with the exorbitant care they take for the cure of their bodily diseases, and their unparalleled carelessness of the cure of the maladies of their souls; for what greater vanity can there be, then to prefer the health of their body that is momentary and nothing but dust, to the preservation of the welfare and tranquility of their immortal souls, who are in the esteem of our blessed Savior, such a precious Jewel that there is nothing under the Sun, that for value may be given in exchange for it: and yet it is daily seen, that if their finger doth but ache, or if they have but a quotidian ague, (that is a wholesome medicine in the Spring) they will presently take their bed, and send for the best Physicians, and will ingenuously declare unto them the symptoms of their disease, that they may the better prescribe fit remedies for the cure of it: but if their souls be sick, by the rageful distempers of their passions, which breed storms of preturbations in their souls, as the impetuous winds do tempests at sea, they make nothing of it, neither will they send for a spiritual Physician, that can pour in their festered wounds the Balm of Gilead, and asswage by their grave Counsels the fury of their passions, but will rather, if any come to visit them, unsent for, disguise their vicious passions, by the names of virtues, for they commonly call Ambition a desire of Glory, and Avarice a prudent fore-cast; and the furious passion of wrath a generosity of courage, and so of all the rest: and by this concealing and disguishing of their spiritual maladies, make them by custom utterly incurable. This common vanity of men hath induced divers learned Authors, to prescribe in their Writings, divers excellent remedies to cure these concealed maladies of the soul: but before I speak of the remedies, it is fit the Reader should be informed of the essential cause of these distempers, for as it is impossible for a Physician to cure the bodily infirmities of his patient before he be acquainted with the nature of them; even so it is far more impossible for the Reader to pacify the fury of his passions, before he be informed by these ensuing particulars of the cause and nature of them. I will therefore speak in order of these things.

• 1. Of the two distinct powers of the soul.
• 2. Of the Concupiscible and Irascible appetite.
• 3. Of the definition of men's passions.
• 4. Of their seat, and number.
• 5. Of their original spring.
• 6. Of their evil and good essects.

First, the soul is distinguished into two distinct powers, the one is called Rational, the other Sensitive: the Rational is only peculiar to men, but the Sensitive is common to men and beast. The Rational is a spark of the divine essence, and therefore immaterial, and immortal, but the Sensitive is material and earthly, and therefore mortal and corruptible, and from hence the Christian Philosophy, doth infer the resurrection of the body, because it hath such an affinity with one of the powers of the soul; besides, the Rational power doth its operations without the aid of the corporal organs, but the Sensitive cannot execute its functions without the assistance of the organs of the body, and that is the reason, why the operations of it are more carnal, and those of the Rational more divine and celestial; and this made St. Paul cry out, But I see another law in my members warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death! I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord: so then, with the mind I myself serve the Law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin: Moreover, the Rational power of the soul is the spring of all the intellectual faculties of the mind, but the Sensitive power is the spring of the senses, and of all the affections and passions of men.

Secondly, Because this Sensitive power is distinguished into two distinct appetites, viz. the Concupiscible, and the Irascible, which are properly the faculties that the French call Appetitives, which intimates in the English tongue an aptness, an instinct, or natural inclination, enticing men and beast to pursue such objects as seem Good, or to fly from such objects that seem to be Evil; and the truth is, that the propriety of the Concupiscible appetite is to induce men to prosecute the objects that seem simply to be Good, or to draw them back from such that seem simply to be Evil, who have no appearance in them to be difficult to be obtained, or to be avoided: and the propriety of the Irascible appetite is to entice men to meet the objects presented by the senses unto them after a short result of the imagination that be not only simply good or evil, but full of difficulties to obtain or to eschew; for the seeming good simply, is the proper object of the Concupiscible appetite, because it is pleasant and useful to men or beast, and may be obtained without difficulty; but the seeming good that is apparently difficult to obtain, and the evil that is hard to avoid, is the proper object of the Irascible appetite: But you are in this place to take notice once for all, That the objects that the senses represent to men's fancies, or imaginations are not always really good, nor really evil, because the judgments of men are oftentimes deluded by the senses, who varnish over the good with evil, and the evil with good; and that is the reason why this phrase of seeming good, or seeming evil, is used so often in these Discourses.

Thirdly, Passions argues imperfection in the subject, and a distemper in the sensitive power of the soul: and here is the definition of the general words of Passions: Passion is nothing but a motion of the sensitive appetite proceeding from the apprehension of a real or seeming good or evil, which begets an alteration in the body against the law of Nature: Men's passions are born with them, and therefore cannot be utterly extinguished, neither by an habit of moral Virtue, nor by Grace; but their fury may be allayed, and their distemper regulated; they never arise but there is an apparent alteration of the body, as it is noted in the desinition above related, and this alteration proceeds after this manner, the objects having been represented to the imagination by the senses; if it conceives them to be good; the concupiscible appetite doth entice men to prosecute these objects, and having obtained their desire, there proceeds from the enjoyment of it, a passion of joy and delight, which dilates the blood, with the vital spirits that reside in it to the extremist part of the body; and the heart being deprived of some of his natural heat, makes an alteration in the body, that is apparently seen in the face, which hath by it a more pleasant aspect, and a more ruddy complexion then ordinary; but if this delight or joy be violent and come unexpectedly, it makes a contrary alteration in the face, for then it becomes pale, and the body falls into a swound, and sometimes deprives the party of life, because the sudden violence of the passion, hath driven all the blood and vital spirits from the heart, and so for want of heat the life is extinguished. Contrarily, if the objects procure a passion of fear, then the blood and the vital spirits resident in it, with-draw from the extreme parts of the body, and ascend up to the heart to comsort the same, and stir up the passion of undantedness to oppose this fear, but in the mean time, this irregular motion of the heart, and the running of the blood causeth an apparent alteration in the body, for the face and all the members of the body lose their natural complexion and become pale, the knees, feet, and hands trembling, as if the party had the dead-palsy. Nay, if this passion be violent, and happen unexpectedly, it will deprive the party of life, for it will bring up such a superfluous current of blood and vital spirits about the heart, that it will be smothered by it, as it shall be proved by divers instances in convenient time and place. But some will object, How can the powers of the soul sympathize thus with the accidents that happen to the body? I answer, that it is by the communication that is between the Sensitive power of the soul, and the organs of the body, as it appears in the passions of Delight and Dolour; for if a man enjoy any pleasure, the sensitive power of the soul hath her part of this delight; likewise if his body be racked, the sensitive power of his soul suffers her part of the torments, for the body and the soul is but one individual, the body without a soul being but a lump of clay, the one being the matter, and the other the form; or the the body is the Bulk of the ship, and the soul the Helm that guideth the same.

Fourthly, the passions of men are seated in the heart, because it is the seat of the Sensitive power from which they are derived: and this is the opinion of Aristotle, and other ancient and modern Authors: yet divers are of another judgment, some would have the seat of them to be in the liver, others in the gall, others in the spleen: but, because the reasons & arguments they use to prove their opinion, have been confuted for erroneous, I will not trouble you with them, specially since our blessed Savior doth confirm by these words, that they are seated in the heart, For from within, out of the heart proceeds evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, &c. And these are the effects of men's passions, nay, daily experience confirms the point; by the carriage of young children who are addicted to envy, vindication, wrath, and divers other passions, before they be able by their rational power to distinguish the good from the evil, because the rational power that is seated in the Understanding doth increase by age: but the Sensitive power is bred with us; and therefore the heart is the true seat of the passions, affections, and inclinations of men.

As for the number of the passions of men, it is uncertain, for they may be multiplied by the limitation of their objects, as the winds have been of late: for at the first they were but four, the East, North, West, and South, and then they were multiplied to eight, and afterwards to sixteen, and then to two and thirty, and of late they have been multiplied to threescore and four: as for the passions, Aristotle was of opinion that there was but one general passion, and that was Love: Others said there were but two, and they were Delight, and Dolour; others said there were but four, and they were Joy, Sorrow, Hope and Fear; and this opinion was grounded upon reason, for whatsoever men act or undertake, they delight, grieve, fear or hope. But Beau-lieu, and the Bishop of Marseilles maintain there are eleven general passions, but Senault a modern Author hath made them up twelve, to make the passions of the Irascible appetite equal with those of the Concupiscible appetite, and so hath brought in remissness; which in the two former Authors opinions, nor in mine, can be no general passion, because it is mixed or composed of Love and Compassion: and these are the eleven general passions, and the six of the Concupiscible appetite shall have the precedency. First, Love. Secondly Hatred Thirdly, Desire. Fourthly, Flight or Eschewing Fifthly, Joy. Sixthly, Dolour, or Sorrow: and these are the five of the Irascible appetite: First, Fear. Secondly, Vndauntedness or Boldness. Thirdly, Hope. Fourthly, Despair. Fifthly, Wrath, or Choler. And here followeth their definition according to Beau-Lieu, which I conceive to be the best. First, Love, is a motion, an appetite, an affection, or passion towards a thing which is lovely, and pleasant unto us, whether it be present or absent. Secondly, Hatred is a passion against something that is adverse, or seemeth evil unto us, whether it be present or absent. Thirdly, Desire, called by some Concupiscence, is an affection to possess, and enjoy a thing that is absent, which is pleasant unto us. Fourthly, Flight is a Passion enticing us to eschew, or fly from a thing that seemeth evil, or is adverse unto us. Fifthly, Joy, Delight, or Volupty is the possession, or enjoyment of the thing desired, which seemed good and pleasant unto us. Sixthly, Dolour or Sorrow is a passion, proceeding from the anguish of the body, or from some evil accident happened unto us: These six passions are incident to the Concupiscible appetite; and these five following to the Irascible appetite. First, Fear is an apprehension of an evil that is near, and hard to be avoided. Secondly, Vndantedness, is an assurance or confidence that we can avoid, or overcome an evil, though it be never so difficult. Thirdly, Hope is an expectation of a good that we desire and long for; in the obtaining of which we see some probability, although it be environed or compassed about with great difficulties. Fourthly, Despair is a passion that enticeth us to fly back, or retreat from the pursuit of a Good much desired, because we conceive an impossibility to obtain the same. Fifthly, Wrath is a fiery passion, enticing us to vindicate ourselves for some injury received, or to chastise such as do evil, or hinder others to do good.

These eleven general passions, and all others that derive from them, may be reduced to six heads; three incident to the Concupiscible appetite, and three to the Irascible; the three of the Concupiscible have everyone of them their Opposites. First, Love hath for his opposite Hatred. Secondly, the Desire hath for his opposite the Flight. Thirdly, Joy hath for its opposite Dolour: but the passions of the Irascible have but two opposites, viz. First, Hope hath for his opposite Despair. Secondly, Vndantedness hath for his opposite Fear,: but Wrath hath no opposite; If you will know the reasons, read Beau-Lieu, in his Body of Philosophy, for I cut them off for brevity sake. These eleven general passions may be multiplied by the limitation of their objects to be as numerous as a swarm of Bees.

Fifthly, The original spring of the passions of men, is the senses, which are: first, the Sight: secondly, the Odor: thirdly, the Hearing: fourthly, the Taste: fifthly, the Feeling; and they arise and spring up after this manner: The Senses having represented the Objects to the Fansies, or imaginations of men, after a short result of the rational part: the Concupiscible appetite doth entice men to prosecute the real or seeming Good; and the Irascible appetite doth induce them to prosecute the Good, compassed with difficulties, or to fly from the apparent or seeming Evil. Now by this pursuit of the Concupiscible appetite, or by the flight of the Irascible appetite; the heart which is the spring of all the motions of the body, must of necessity be distempered; and from this distemper proceeds the alterations of the body that I have spoken of before, which have been noted to be contrary to the Laws of Nature: for the natural temper of the heart, of such as are in perfect health, and that are free from the motions that arise from their passions, is more equal (as it may appear by the beating of the Pulse, which is the surest evidence men have, of the temper or distemper of the heart) then the balance of the most excellent Watch upon earth: and the heart being once brought out of his natural temper, the foresaid alterations are greater or less, according to the degree of the distemper of the heart; which are so violent in some passions, that they are visibly seen in the strange postures of the body; the high color of the face, the inflammation of the eyes, or by the shrilness, and fierceness of the voice. Besides, these alterations proceeding from the passions, there is a continual contention between the forementioned Concupiscible and Irascible appetites in the will of men, which is the cause of the anxiety and preturbation of the mind, which shall be described in the next Discourse.

Sixthly, the evil effects of the passions of men arise from their contentions one with another, and their good effects arise from the assistance they give one to another to fly from evil, for to cleave to the good; The Desire, that is a passion incident to the Concupiscible appetite is a great inticer to sin, and therefore it is called by St. John, The lust of the eye, and by St. Paul The lust of concupiscence; and by this passion of the lust of the eyes was David enticed to commit the heinous sin of adultery with Bathsheba, the wife to Uriah the Hittite; Now had Flight come to his aid as it did to Joseph, when his lewd Mistress did tempt him to lust, it had been an excellent effect of that passion. It is likely that there was then a great contention between the Concupiscible and the Irascible appetite, the first enticing King David to sin by the representation of so beautiful an object, and of the enjoyment of such a seeming good; and the second by persuading him to eschew and fly from this apparent evil varnished over with a seeming good; but what became of their great contention, but a great perturbation in the mind of David for a time? yet had the Concupiscible appetite the mastery, for David did enjoy his desire, and remained impenitent a whole year: but when he was awaked from this spiritual lethargy by the Prophet Nathan, he cried, out of a penitent heart, I have sinned against the Lord: this was then an evil effect of this passion of Desire. The passion of fear that did possess Saint Peter when our blessed Savior was brought into the Hall of the High Priest, caused another evil effect, for it did entice St. Peter to deny his Lord and Master three times before the Cock crew; but it was a good effect of the passion of Joseph, above cited, for it made him fly from sin to preserve his continency; and it was a noble effect of the passion of Undantedness that did possess the hearts of Shedrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and of the Prophet Daniel, to induce the three first to endure the torments of the fire of a burning furnace, heated seven times more then it was ordinarily: and the second, to despise the rage of the Lions, rather then disobey the Commandment of the Lord. But these are but moral allegories, for it is not in the power of the Concupiscible appetite to make the children of God commit such sins as the Prophet David, and St. Peter did, but it was because God was pleased to give them over to themselves, to make them know that the perseverance in grace is a free gift of his; neither is it in the power of the Irascible appetite to infuse such a continency as was found in Joseph, nor such an unparalleled undantedness as was in Shadrach, Meshach, Abednigo, and in Daniel; but it was the blessed Spirit of God that did infuse in their hearts that admirable fortitude, &c.

CHAP. VI.

AS after a hard winter, the Sun is not only seen to give a new life to all the Vegetative, Sensitive, and rational Creatures upon earth; but also by the heat of his beams to penetrate the very bowels of the earth, for to purify the insensible creatures from their dross, as the silver, gold, and precious stones; even so after men's passions have by their natural commotions, clouded their minds with a Winter of anxiety and sorrow: supernatural Love, doth not only revive their Spirits, but doth also purify them from the dross that these perturbations had left behind them in their souls. Love being then the most noble passion of men, it is fit it should have the precedency in these Discourses, since without love all human society should be extinguished, and by it men deprived of all content and comfort in this life; for the greatest comfort that men can attain to in this vale of Tears, is to have a constant friend, or a faithful consort, in whose breast they may confide their greatest secrets, and be partaker with them of their prosperity, honor, and glory, or sympathize with them in their afflictions and miseries. It is recorded that Fpamonides, the Commander in Chief of the Thebanes, a man as free from vain-glory as any one we read of, did not glory in anything but in this, that his father was living, when he won three famous battles against the Lacedemonians, that were then held for their valor to be invincible, regarding more the content and honor that his father (whom he loved entirely) should receive of it, then his own; and certainly the greatest fruit that men can receive of their prosperity, is, when their friends rejoice and partake of it, and the greatest comfort they can have in their afflictions, is when they are assured to have friends that sympathize with their miseries. Now the passion of Love being of such concernment, I will for the better description of it speak in order of these particulars: first, of the definition of Love: secondly, of the essential cause of Love: thirdly, of the variety or kinds of Love: fourthly, of the end or interest of men's Love: fifthly, of the qualities required in men for to obtain Love: sixthly, of the good, and bad effects of Love: seventhly, of the Love of God towards men: eighthly, of the Love of men to God.

First, Love is nothing else but to wish good to another, not for men's own interest, but for the good and merit of the party beloved, to whom men are to procure all the good and content that shall be in their power. Upon which definition observe these four Particulars: first, that Love doth ever unite the Heart and Will of men to the party beloved; And therefore the ancients said commonly that Alexander and Ephestion had but one soul in two distinct bodies, because their joy and glory, sorrow or disgrace was mutual to them both: secondly, Men's love is not to be grounded upon the pleasure or profit they may receive by them they seem to love; for it can be no love, except their love be grounded upon the virtues and merits of the party beloved: thirdly, Lovers are to wish and procure the good and honor of their beloved, and to require nothing of them but what they may do with honor and equity: fourthly, The goods and lives of men are to be at the disposing of the party beloved, Honor, Religion, and Loyalty only excepted, for true friendship doth not oblige men to blemish their honor, rack their conscience, nor to betray their Prince at the request of their beloved, because these requests are beyond the bounds of love, which is only to be confined within the limits of Virtue; and therefore the ancient Moralist highly commends this saying of a Heathen, who said to his friend, who did require him to perjure himself, I am, saith he, thy friend until the Altar: and the like answer was given to Charles Duke of Bourbon, when he did entreat his noble friends, to side with him against his and their natural Prince, Francis the first, King of France.

Secondly, The cause of Love is conceived by some to be a sympathy, or natural inclination that enticeth men to love one man before another, for it is often seen, that when a man comes in the company of other men he never had seen before, he will affect one of that company more then any of the rest, which proceeds, say they, from a sympathy of affections that is between these two men. Others conceive that the cause of Love doth consist in the influence of the Planets, and for proof of their Opinions say, that the love of Achilles to Patroclus, and of Alexander to the Amazon Queen, was because they were born under one and the same Planet. Others conceive the cause of Love to be the intimate conversation and familiarity of the parties, which by an habit and custom begets love between them. Others conceive that the goodness and beauty of the object is the cause of love; and with these I concur in Opinion, for God who is the Beauty and Goodness itself, is certainly the essential cause of true love.

Thirdly, All sorts of love may be comprised under natural and supernatural, the natural hath divers branches, that may all be reduced under the love of Interest, and the love of Friendship, of which I shall speak hereafter, when I have set forth the Opinion of those, who maintain there is five several sorts of Love: first, the love of the innanimate creatures: secondly, the love of the sensitive creatures: thirdly, the love of the rational creatures: fourthly, the love of Angels: fifthly, the love of God: first, The love of the innanimate creatures, is apparent in the prosecution of the perfection of their being, the light ones ascending upwards, and the heavy ones descending downwards, as to their center: secondly, The love of the sensitive creatures, is an impression wrought by the senses in their imagination, by the objects it conceives to beuseful unto them, which begetteth a desire to enjoy them; and this passion is not only incident to the brute creatures, but also to the rational, who are overcome by the sensitive appetite: thirdly, The love of the reasonable creatures should be guided by Reason, because it is enlightened by the Understanding, the seat of the rational power of the soul: but because the Sensitive power doth oftentimes get the mastery, it straies from its right end, that is properly to endeavor to attain to the supreme good, the very end why men were created; but since Adams fall men are carried away by the violence of their passions to greater inconveniencies and dangers then they which ride upon untamed Colts, their love being no more a temperate motion of their Will, but an effect of their passions: fourthly, The love of Angels doth far excel the love of men, because they are the blessed Spirits, attending day and night before the Throne of God, to execute his Will and Pleausure, and specially to protect his Elect; now as the only object of their love is God, who is the perfection of Beauty and Goodness, their love must of necessity be more excellent then the love of the reasonable creatures: fifthly, The love of God towards mankind, for excellency is so superlative over the love of men and Angels, that it will admit of no comparison, his being infinite and theirs finite, and therefore I will desist to speak of it at this present: for the Love I am to speak of, is the love of Interest, and the love of Friendship.

Fourthly, The end and Interest of men's Love is of a large extent: for many do seem to love such that can prefer them, to the enjoyment of honors, riches, and pleasures: but the Love grounded upon these sandy foundations, is but a feigned and mercenary love: Sejanus the Favorite of the Emperor, Tiberius was adored as the morning Sun is by the Indians, by the greatest Senators and men of war of the Empire, as long as he was in favor and could prefer his Clients to places of honor or gain, but as soon as he fell in disgrace, they became his greatest persecutors. Haman the Favorite of King Ahasuerus was worshipped by the Officers that sat at the Kings gate, Mordecai only excepted, but when he fell into disgrace, these very Officers informed the King that he had erected a gibbit of fifty cubits to hang up Mordecai; upon which information the King commanded, they should instantly hang Haman upon the same gibbit, and having readily performed this command, the said men pillaged his house and rich moveables. If Love be grounded upon Beauty, it cannot be of any continuance; what is more subject to accidents then Beauty? the Measles, the small Pox, or old Age, will disfigure the greatest Beauty. But the love of true friendship, having no other object then the virtue and merit of the beloved party remaineth permenant, and rather increaseth then diminisheth by age. But some will object, Many in these days that profess to be our greatest friends, are our greatest enemies, how shall we then be able to distinguish these counterfeit friends from the real: They may be discerned by these evidences: first, if they rejoice when thou rejoicest, and mourn when thou mournest, not in show but in heart: secondly, If they are as serviceable in thy adversity as in thy prosperity, for if they respect thee in prosperity, and reject thee in thy poverty, they are but feigned friends: thirdly, If they are as easily invited to a simple Meal, as to a great Banquet, for there are too many Table-friends in these days: if they love those thou lovest, and hate those thou hatest, for otherwise their affections do not sympathize with thine, and there can be no true love where an antipathy of affections reigns: fifthly, If the defamation of thy honor, or good name be as tender unto them as it is to thee; and whether they will be as apt to vindicate the same when opportunity serve as thou wilt, for otherwise thou canst not be dear unto them, who make no account of thy infamy: sixthly, If they take in good part thy reproofs, and acknowledge them to proceed from thy love to them, rather then from a censorious austerity: many other Evidences might be given, but these shall serve for brevity sake.

Fifthly, the qualities required in men to obtain Love are numerous; for Aristotle in his Phys. makes mention of fifteen, and yet there be many more, but Piety, Virtue, Goodness and Beauty are four of the principal: first, Piety draws the love of God as the Adamant stone draws the Needle; and such as are honored with the love of God are blessed, and need not fear the hatred of men, For if God be with us, who shall be against us? secondly, Virtue is such a Jewel, that all men and women that are endowed with Virtue are never without lovers, nay, their very enemies love them: Tilligny for his rare Virtues was rescued from death by his greatest enemies at the massacre of Paris: thirdly, Goodness is a dependency of Piety and Virtue; for goodness is to them as the shadow is to the body, and therefore it is never without lovers: fourthly, Beauty, although it be but a fading gift of Nature, hath notwithstanding more lovers then any of the former, for men are bewitched by the rays of Beauty; the comeliness and beauty of Absalom ensnared the love of David unto him, and although he had neither Piety, nor Virtue, it made him cry out O Absalom, Absalom, Absalom my son, would to God I had died for thee: fifthly, such as execute unpartial Justice are beloved of all men, as Aristides and Fabritius: sixthly, Valour makes men to be beloved, if they employ the same for to free their Native Country from oppression, as Jepthy and Gedion: seventhly, Liberal men are beloved, as Mecaenas was of all the learned men of his time: eighthly, Grateful men are beloved, for ingratitude is abhorred of God and men, for the very brute beasts are grateful to their benefactors, witness the gratitude of the Lyon towards the Roman Slave, who saved his life for curing of his paw: ninthly, Peacemakers are beloved, as Mamercus was for reconciling the People with the Patricians: tenthly, Godly and Religious men that constantly stand to their Principles, are beloved, as Athanasius, for although he was exiled divers times, yet was he ever protected, and found friends wheresoever he came: eleventhly, Merciful men are beloved, as Caesar was for his clemency: twelfthly, The cherishers of Learning are beloved, as was Francis the first, King of France: thirteenthly, Men of a sweet, pleasant, and complying conversation are beloved, as Ephestion was of Alexander: fourteenthly, Men free from dissimulation, who speak what they think to be good for their native Country are beloved, as Tracia was in Vespasians days: fifteenthly, Men love courteous and serviceable men that are ready to befriend them upon all occasions, and by this Absalom stole the hearts of the people of Israel from his father. Divers other qualities might be produced which abstract Love from others, but these shall serve for this time.

Sixthly, The effects of Love are either Good or Bad, according to the end of it, for if the end of men's Love be Good, the effects of it are always comfortable; but if the end of their Love is to satisfy their lust, it is always destructive and fatal; and so proved the love of Shechem to Dinah, and the love of Amnon to his sister Tamar, and the rape of Helen by Paris was the cause of the ruin of Troy: the Rape of Lucretia by Tarquinus, was the cause that Rome from a Monarchy fell into a Democracy: the violence committed by the Gibeathites to the Levite's Concubine, was the cause of the death of forty thousand Israelites, and almost of the utter ruin of the whole Tribe of Benjamin; and the love of Antonius to Cleopatra was the cause of their lamentable end; but since a volume would not contain all the examples that might be produced of the evil effects of lust, varnished over with the name of Love: I will now speak of the effects of true Love: first, The love of Tiberius Graccus towards his virtuous wife Cornelia was such, as he slew the male Serpeut, and spared the female, on purpose that he might save her life by the loss of his own: secondly, The love of Antonio Perez's wife to him was such, as she ventured her own life to save his: thirdly, The love of Portia, daughter to famous Cato, and wife to Martius Brutus, was so vehement and passionate, that being informed of his death at the battle of Philippi, she smothered herself by casting a handful of burning coles into her mouth: fourthly, The love of Artemisa Queen of Caria towards her beloved husband Mausolus, was so violent, that being dead, it could not suffer his body to have any other grave then her own bowels, for she caused the same to be burned, and drank a portion of his ashes at every meal in commemoration of their constant love: fifthly, The love of an Italian Gentleman to his betrothed Mistress is to be commended, for hearing she had been taken at sea by some Pirates of Tunis, and sold for a Slave, he went over into Africa, and redeemed her with an incredible sum of money: sixthly, The incredible love and fidelity of Damon and Pythias, two Sicilian Noble men is to be admired; for Dionysius the Elder, King, or Tyrant of Syracuse, having upon some jealousy of state, caused Damon to be cast into prison, and to be condemned to death, Damon presented a petition unto him, desiring to have leave for eight days to go into the Country to set his household in order, promising to return; Dionysius granted the same, upon this condition, that some other Noble man of his means and degree, should bail him body for body, and life for life, and should remain in durance until the day appointed for his return: Pythias his intimate friend bailed him of his free accord, and yields himself prisoner in Damons stead; but the day being come, and almost the hour appointed at hand, and Damon not appearing; Dionysius began to deride Pythias for his credulity of the constancy of his friend, yet before the hour went out, Damon came in and presented himself to the King, desiring his friend might be discharged; at whose love, fidelity and constancy; Dionysius was so astonished, that he set them both at liberty, and required to be accepted for the third of their society; yet all these admirable effects of Love are as much inferior to the Love of God towards man, as the finite is inferior to the infinite, as it will appear by the ensuing Discourse.

Seventhly, The Love of God towards men is altogether incomprehensible, as it will appear by these expressions of the blessed Spirit, For God, saith St. John so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have eternal life: and Christ saith himself, That he is the good Shepherd, who hath given his life for his sheep: And St. John saith, Beloved, let us love one another, for love cometh of God, and every man that loveth is born of God: he that loveth not knoweth not God, for God is Love. In this was manifested the love of God towards us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins: Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another: no man hath seen God at any time; if we love one another God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us: hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his spirit. And we have seen, and do testify, that the Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world. These words of St. John, and divers others to the later end of this Chapter do confirm the Point, that God's Love is the Adamant stone that draweth our love to him, and that we cannot of ourselves love him before he be pleased to love us.

Eighthly, As for the love of man towards God, it comes infinitely short of God's love towards them; for if any love God, it is a gift of his free grace, and God hath loved his elect before the creation of the world; and St. Paul, doth give us a clear instance for it, Rom. 9.13. For God, saith he, loved Jacob, and hated Esau from their mothers womb: and the heart of David was framed after God's own heart, and that is the reason why this holy man hath such rare expressions in his Psalms of his unfeigned love towards God. And to confirm the choice and election of God's faithful ones, we have divers instances of it in his Word: for Moses was a chosen servant of the Lord, as it appears by these words; Even him whom he hath chosen will he cause to come near unto him. And Aaron was a chosen servant of the Lord, as appears, Deut. 18.5. And Cyrus King of Persia, was a chosen servant of the Lord, to execute his will, as it appears Isai. 44.28. And St. Paul was a chosen vessel of the Lord, as it appears, Act 9.15. But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way, for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name fore the Gentiles and Kings, and the children of Israel: Now this incomparable love of God towards St. Paul in converting of him, to become from a persecutor, one of the greatest instruments of God's glory that ever was, did kindle in his breast such a flame of fervent love towards God, that he often desired to be dissolved and to be with Christ, and wished himself accursed from Christ for the increase of God's glory, confirming our blessed Savior's saying, For he loveth much to whom much is forgiven, as appeared by Mary Magdalene: And the Prophet David, who after the pardon of his two abhorred sins of Adultery and Murder, did so fervently love God, that all his delight was to meditate day and night in his Law, and to magnify his love towards him, as it appears in the 18. Psaim, ver. 1. I will love thee, O Lord my strength: and in Psal. 116. ver. 1. I love the Lord because he hath heard my voice and my supplications; because he hath inclined his ear unto me, therefore will I call upon him as long as I live. To conclude, Carnal love is but vanity and vexation of spirit, but the love of God towards man, and the love of man towards God, doth fill their hearts with joy and comfort fort in this life, and will crown their soul with eternal glory in the life to come.

CHAP. VII.

THis Passion is the opposite of Love, and yet without Love and it nature could not be perfect, nor the world subsist; for if the divine Providence were not pleased to make use of the Natural aversion that is between the Elements, this universal Fabric of the World would soon return to its first Chaos: And without this passion of Hatred men might justly complain of Nature, to have only given them an inclination to pursue the good, and not an aversion to eschew the evil. Divers men conceive this passion to be the greatest Antagonist of mankind, and repute it as a Monster in Nature, but it is out of ignorance, and for want of divine knowledge, for all the handy works of God were created perfectly good, as the blessed Spirit doth confirm it by these words: And God saw everything that he had made, and behold it was very good; but since the fall and disobedience of Adam, men have abused the good that was in the creatures, and by a pernicious transmutation have made those which were created for their good, to be the Agents of their corrupt inclinations. And would they make use of Hatred for the end it was created, they would find it a most useful passion for the propagation of a godly life, as it will appear at the end of this Chapter: but for the better description of this passion, I entreat the Reader to observe these ensuing particulars as they are set in order.

• 1. The definition of Hatred.
• 2. How many sorts there are.
• 3. The Causes of it
• 4. Who are most addicted to it.
• 5. The nature and bad effects of it.
• 6. The use that may be made of it.

First for the better description of the nature of this passion, I will set down divers definitions of it, according to the different opinions of the best Authors. Hatred is an aversion and a detestation or horror, that men have against all such things as they conceive in their imagination to be contrary to their good, and opposite to their content. Or Hatred is a detestation or horror of the sensitive appetite against such things as it conceives to be hurtful and distasteful to the Senses, and to its content, or destructive to its Being; even as the Hatred or antipathy there is naturally between the Sheep and the Woolf. As Love, saith another, is a certain sympathy of the Sensitive appetite with such things as are suitable and convenient to Nature; even so Hatred is an antipathy of the Sensitive appetite against such things as are distasteful to the Senses, or contrary to men's good, or destructive to their Being. And as Love is of two sorts, viz. The first, True Love and Amity, called the love of Friendship: Secondly, Vicious Love, called Lust: so there is two sorts of Hatred. viz. The hatred of Detestation or Horror: secondly, the hatred of Enmity; the last being far inferior to the former; for to detest and abhor, is the highest degree of Hatred. Senault saith, That Hatred is nothing else but a mere aversion in us, from whatsoever is contrary unto us; or an antipathy of our appetite to a subject which displeaseth it: all which definitions come near unto one and the same sense.

Secondly, The Moralists are of opinion, there is four sorts of Hatred: first, The Vegetative: secondly, The Brute: thirdly, The Melancholick: fourthly, the Human: but the Divines add to these four the Spiritual Hatred, of which I shall speak towards the later end of this Chapter: first, The Vegetative is apparent in the Plants, as between the Cabbage and the Vine, and between the Oak and the Ivy: secondly, The Brute, is to be seen between the Sheep and the Woolf, between the Cock and the Lyon, and between the Basilisk, the Panther, and Mankind; for the Naturalists say, That if a man see a Basilisk, that the Basilisk dies by the glance of his eyes, but if the Basilisk see the man first, he falls down dead: And it is Recorded, that the Panther doth so detest and abhor man, out of a natural hatred, that the Hunters that seek after him do commonly set the Picture of a man against an Oak, and behind it their snares to catch him, for he hath no sooner discovered this Picture, but with a fierce violence he runs towards it, and so is ensnared and taken: thirdly, The Melancholick Hatred is not natural but accidental, for it doth proceed from an Adust, or burned Choler residing in the blood, but specially in the Mesentery veins, who cast ill and virulent vapors up to the brain that begets Chimaeraes, and strange fancies, that makes men sometimes abhor their Parents, nay, their Wives and children: and this Melancholy begets such a hatred in Timon the Athenian against mankind, that he caused Gibbets to be erected and set up in his Garden, and proclaimed through the streets of the City, That whosoever would come and hang themselves, they might: fourthly, The Human and Natural Hatred proceeds from an antipathy of Affections that is between some men; and between men and women, as the extraordinary antipathy which was between the affections of Mark Antonius, and Augustus Caesar; for which Antonius was advised by an Astrologian, that the good Angel of Augustus would at last prevail over his; and the great antipathy there was between Socrates and his wife, who had lived one with another live Cats and Dogs, if the unparalleled temperance of Socrates had not mitigated their debates. And it is seen daily, that men hate the company of some other men that never did them wrong, nor give them occasion of offense: and I have known myself a man and a woman of good means, that had such an natural aversion one against the other, that they were enforced to live asunder, and yet neither of them could show a just cause; from whence this antipathy of affections did proceed. There is another sort of Human Hatred that is accidental, but the description of it will be more proper in the next Discourse.

Thirdly, some of the accidental causes of the Hatred of men are these, for they are so numerous that I cannot speak of them all: first, An inveterate wrath, is oftentimes the cause of an everlasting Hatred, for when Wrath cannot vindicate itself at the present, it becomes an incurable Hatred, because Wrath is a sudden and fiery distemper of the Heart, which is but like a lightning if it may freely vent itself; but if it be restrained in the breast, it becomes an irreconcilable Hatred: It is a common saying, That Cholerick men never sleep upon their anger, and that it is but a flash that passeth away; but if this Choler hath not some vent, it is changed into such a hatred, that all the precepts of Philosophy can hardly extinguish the fire of it: secondly, One of the greatest causes of Hatred is the denial of Love, or more properly of Lust; the denial that Joseph gave to his Mistress, changed her love to a cruel hatred, for she caused him to be cast into a dungeon, and instead of embracements, to be fettered with irons: thirdly, Self-Love is an ordinary cause of Hatred; for such as are possessed with this vanity, think themselves never sufficiently respected nor honored; and nothing doth sooner engender Hatred in men then misprision: fourthly, Calumnies and false Reports that blemish a man's Fame and Reputation are cause of an inveterate Hatred, for Honor is dearer to some men then their own lives, and many have constantly endured all other injuries, that have been cast into great distempers by Calumnies, which have also bred such a hatred in their hearts, that they have shunned all familiarity with men, as it may appear in Tymolions Life: fifthly, The infidelity of men is often the cause of men's hatred; for Confidence and Trust abused, is a great motive to Hatred: and the reason why Hatred is so predominant in these days, is, that men are so much addicted to betray the Trust that others have confidently deposed in their hands, for like Weather-Cocks they change their friendship upon the lest occasion of their friends disgrace, nay Religion itself, that should be the greatest link, and the strongest bond to knit the fidelity of men together, is as subject to mutation and change as the Winds, for look as the current of the Times goes, these Chameleons Religion is according to that which is most in fashion: sixthly, Jealousies of Hate, and jealousies of Love are great provokers to Hatred: The jealousies that the Turkish Janisaries did conceive, that their Emperor Osman would change his Militia, and remove the Seat of his Empire from Constantinople to Damasco, begot such an implacable hatred in their hearts, that they caused him to be strangled in the black Tower of Constantinople: The jealousy that Mecaenas had conceived of the inconstancy of his wife, did not only deprive him of sleep for three years together, but did also ingender such a hatred in his heart against women, that he ever after abhorred the sight of them: And that is the reason why the hatred proceeding from the jealousy of Love is held to be the most implacable.

Fourthly, Princes Favorites are addicted to Hatred, as it may appear by the carriage of Haman the Agagite, towards Mordecai, because he did not worship him as the other Officers that sat at the King Ahasuerus gate, and his hatred was so cruel, that conceiving Mordecai to be too base an object for his hatred; he made suit to the King that all the Jews living in his Dominions might be destroyed in one day: secondly, Envious men are always addicted to Hatred, and upon the most unjust, and ridiculous occasion that can be imagined, viz. for the prosperity of their intimate friends, or next neighbors, whose good and welfare they are obliged by the Commandments of God to prosecute with all their might; and yet the malice and corruption of men's hearts is so vile, and so base, as to hate those who never injured them, for no other reason but because God is pleased to bless them more then they; exceeding in malice those murmuring laborers who envied at the goodness and liberality of the Father of the Household that sent them into his Vineyard: yet they had some color for their discontent, because they had born the burden and heat of the day; but these have none at all, and therefore their censure will undoubtedly be greater at the last day, then that which was given to these Laborers, viz. Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is thine eye evil because I am good? thirdly, Effeminate and vicious Princes are addicted to Hatred: It is recorded by Dion, that as the Emperor Commodus was riding over the stone-bridge that crosseth the River of Tiber at Rome, he saw six noble Gentlemen, who were discoursing together upon the bridg, and having sent for them, he inquired of what they discoursed, they answered, they were talking of the noble Acts, and virtuous Parts of his father Mark Aurelius, whereupon he commanded that they should instantly be cast into the River, saying, They could not speak well of his father but they thought ill of him: Such a hatred did this effeminate and cruel Emperor bear to the Virtue of his deceased father; and it is daily seen in this age, that the base and profane People doth hate extremely virtuous and religious men: fourthly, Ambitious and high Aspiring men are much addicted to Hatred, for they hate mortally their competitors, and all their abettors, witness the irreconcilable hatred that was between Marius and Sylla, and their adherents; and the horrid hatred that was between Antonius Caracalla, and his brother Geta, that did at last transport Antonius with such rage, that he slew his brother in his mothers arms: fifthly, The common people are addicted to hate the Favorites of Princes, because they conceive them to be the cause of all the burden that are laid upon their backs, I mean Lones, Subsidies, Taxes, and Monopolies: fifthly, The wicked are addicted to Hatred, for they hate implacably the Just and the Righteous, and hold them as the off-scouring of all things.

Fifthly, the nature and effects of Hatred in the unregenerate are nothing else but murders, ruin, and desolation: first, Hatred provoked Cain to kill his brother Abel, and this hatred did proceed from Envy, because his sacrifice was rejected of the Lord, and the sacrifice of his brother was accepted: secondly, Hatred provoked Simeon and Levy to murder (under the veil of Religion) all the Shechemites, and to plunder their City: thirdly, Hatred and the desire of Vengeance provoked Absalom to murder (under color of friendship and hospitality) his brother Amnon at a banquet as he set at table: fourthly, It was Hatred that provoked men to invent all manner of Weapons to destroy themselves; and the devilish Art of making Canons, Gunpowder, Muskets, Calivers, Carabines, and Pistols; whereby the most valiant are as soon slain as the greatest cowards: fifthly, It was Hatred that provoked men to dive into the bowels of the earth to find out Mines of Silver and Gold, whereby they might execute their hatred, spleen and malice, and set all the world together by the ears: sixthly, Hatred hath given men an habit in all manner of impiety, who have left by it their natural humanity, and are become devouring Lions and Tigers; Nay, when open violence cannot serve to execute their hatred, they have an art to poison men in their meat and drink, by the smelling of a pair of gloves, by the putting on of a shirt, or by the drawing off a pair of Boots; nay, by the very taking of a man by the hand under color of courtesy, as the Genovais Admiral did to the Venetians Admiral, after he had been overcome by him at sea. In a word, Hatred hath been the projector of all the horrid actions of men; for it is a passion that deprives men of all Reason & Judgment, and hath been the cause of all the woes of men; for by the hatred of Satan, was our first mother Eve deluded, and by her charms she deluded Adam her husband, and so by their transgression sin is come into the world; and sin, like a contagious disease hath infected the whole race of mankind. Moreover, Hatred is of a permanent nature, for it is not like Envy or Wrath, for Envy declines according as the prosperity of its object doth diminish, and Wrath vanisheth into smoke, if its fury may have some vent, or it may be mitigated, For a soft answer turneth away wrath, saith Solomon ; but Hatred continues from generation to generation, and death itself cannot extinguish Hatred. Amilcar, father to Hannibal, out of an inveterate hatred he bore to the Roman Commonwealth, made Hannibal to take an Oath a little before his death, that he should be to the end of his life a mortal enemy to the Romans; and the hatred that Henry the seventh, King of England, bore to the House of York, induced him to make his son Henry the eight, to swear, as he was upon his bed of death, that after his decease, that he would cause the Duke of Suffolks head to be cut off, that was then his prisoner in the Tower of London as being the last apparent hair of the House of York; an Unchristian part, saith Montagnes, for a Prince to have his heart filled with hatred at his departure out of this world: Nay, the unparalleled hatred that was between the two brethren Eteocles and Polinices, could not be extinguished after their death, for after they had slain one another in a Duel, or single Combat, their bodies being brought together to be burned, the fire, by an admirable antipathy did cleave of itself into two parts, and so divided their bodies that their ashes might not be mixed together: and the inveterate hatred that was between the Guelfs and Gibbelins, did continue from one generation to another. But Paulus Jovius relates the most unheard of cruelty proceeding from an inveterated hatred that ever was read of: Two Italians having had some bickerings together, such a hatred was bred in their hearts, that one of them having got his enemy at an advantage, made him by threats deny his Savior, promising to save his life if he did it, but he had no sooner by imprecations impiously denied him, but the other stabbed him through the heart with his Ponyard, saying, The death of thy body had not been an object worthy of my hatred and vindication, except I had also procured the eternal death of thy soul: An horrid and unparrallel'd cruelty, and a matchless effect of hatred!

Sixthly, Having thus described the evil nature and effects of Hatred; I will now come to the use that Christians should make of it. I remember to have said in the beginning of this Chapter; that this passion of Hatred had not been given to men to abuse it as they do, but rather to eschew sin, the greatest evil upon earth, and that being used as an aversion to fly from sin, it would serve for a strong motive to the propagations of a godly life; for sin should be the only object of men's hatred, as the efficient cause of all their miseries; and why our blessed Savior out of his tender compassions towards his Elect, was willing to suffer the ignominous death of the Cross, to redeem them from the guilt and punishment of sin which was eternal death; And men cannot by any other means show themselves grateful, and to be sensible of this incompre hensible love of Christ, then by having an inveterate hatred against sin, and to detest and abhor with all their hearts all sinful courses, since sin is the only separation wall that bars them from having an intimate and loving familiarity with God: for the hatred of sin, is the first step to attain to the love of God, and without the love of God, a true faith in Christ, and unfeigned hatred of sin, there is no possibility of salvation; hatred against sin being the chiefest ingredient required in a true Repentance: and how can men love God that hate their brethren? and therefore the blessed Spirit in holy Writ, doth so often exhort men to avoid all hatred, except it be against sin; He that loveth not his brother, saith St. John, abideth in death; and whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer; and ye know no murderer hath eternal life. Men must then love God and their brethren, and hate sin; I hate every false way: I hate vain thoughts, but I love thy Law saith the Prophet David: And again, I hate and abhor lying, but thy Law do I love: Do I not hate them, O Lord, that hate thee? and am not I grieved with those that rise against thee? I hate them with a perfect hatred, I account them my enemies. The fear of the Lord, saith Solomon, is to hate evil. Pride and arrogancy, and the freward mouth do I hate: Hate the evil and love the good, saith the Prophet Amos. To conclude with the Apostle St. Peter, Let us lay aside all malice, hatred, env e, and hypopocrisies, and all evil speaking: as new born babes desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby, &c.

CHAP. VIII.

AS the billows of the Sea roll one after another till they break themselves into foam against the clifts or rocks of the adjacent shores; even so the desires of men drive away one another till they vanish away into the smok, because the objects of their desires are for the greater part but vanity; for not one man of a thousand doth fix his desires upon the right object, that can satisfy his desires, and fill his heart with joy and content; and although men's desires be as free as their thoughts; for the greatest Tyrants have no power over them, yet there is an Eagle eye above, who searcheth the reins, that knows their desires as well as their thoughts. Men should therefore be very cautious in their desires, since they proceed from the concupiscible appetite, and are properly called Cupidity, and in plain English Coveteousness; and how dangerous it is to desire or covet anything prohibited in the Law of God, I leave it to the judgment of the Reader; since in the Interpretation of our blessed Savior, who was the best Interpretor of the Law that ever was upon earth, He that coveteth a woman to lust after her, hath already committed adultery with her. If evil desires then be so criminal, men should be very wary how they fix their desires, for they have a hand in all their passions, either to furnish them with weapons, or with strength to afflict them. And among all the rest of the passions, there is not any which hath more branches, proceeding from one and the same root then this passion of Desire; for if all the desires of men were limited by their objects, the number of passions proceeding from the general passion of Desire would be as numerous as a Swarm of Bees. I have already spoken of three of its branches, viz. first, Of the desire of worldly honors: secondly, of the desire of worldly riches: thirdly, Of the desire of worldly pleasures: the first being the passion of Ambition; the second, the passion of Av • rice; the third the passion of Volupty: And now I shall speak of the fourth branch, called Cupidity, which is of greater concernment then any; and therefore give me leave, for the better description of it, to speak of these particulars in order.

• 1. Of the definition of men's desires.
• 2. Of the two essential causes of them.
• 3. Of their effects and proprieties.
• 4. Of the comfort that proceeds from the spiritual desires.

First, All the desires of men may be reduced to these two heads or comprised under Necessary, and Superfluous: The Necessary are limited, but the Superfluous have no bounds, because they cannot be numbered: And this is the most approved definition of men's desires: Desire is nothing else but a passion that men have to attain to some good which they possess not, which they conceive to be convenient for them; And not withstanding men's desires are commonly fixed upon objects that seem good, but are really evil, because the Senses delude their Imagination, and often-times their Reasion and Judgment: Now the passion of D • sire differs not only from the passion of Love, but also from the passion of Delight, because Love is the first motion or passion that entice 〈◊〉 to prosecute the good, whether it be present or absent; but the d • sire is a passion that enduceth men to prosecute the good that is absent; and the passion of Delight is only a sweet content of the possession of the good, after men have obtained the same. Senault saith. That the passion of Desire is nothing else but the motion of the soul towards a good which she already loveth, but doth not as yet possess; whereby it appears, that men's desires are ordinarily fixed upon uncertainties, and that is the reason why I said formerly, they often vanish into smoke.

Secondly, The two most essential causes of men's Desires, is their Impotency, and Discontentedness: for God who is Omnipotent hath no Desires, and in the fruition of his blessed and glorious presence is the end of men's desires: And suppose he had desires, yet the end of them would be his own incomprehensible Beauty and Goodness: If God doth but Will, he hath the enjoyment of his Desire, as it is apparent in Genesis, And God said, or God willed, Let there be light, and there was light. But it is not so with the greatest Monarchs in the world, for through their impotency, they are enforced to desire, and their wishes and desires all are oftentimes rejected by him who is all-sufficient to grant them the enjoyment of their desires: Alexander the Great was the greatest Monarch upon earth, and yet his wishes and desires, nay the prayers he made to his Idols, or imaginary gods, for the recovery of his dear and beloved Ephestion were rejected, and these desires did manifest his impotency. Augustus Caesar was the greatest Monarch in the world, he wished and desired, that the overthrow given to his Legions in Germany might be vindicated, and out of impatiency of the performance of his desire, he often like a mad man stamped with his feet upon the ground, Crying out, Varro, Varro, give me my Legions again; and yet in his life time he did never obtain his desire: It appears then that the impotency of men in the most eminent, is a cause of their desires: secondly, the discontentedness of men in their Station and Calling, is the cause of many fond desires, for there is not one of a hundred that is contented with his condition, because there are but few Diogenes in these days that are contented with a Tub to keep them free from the injuries of the air, or with a wooden-bowl to take their meat and drink, or refuse as he did the great offers of such a Prince as Alexander was; for being demanded by Alexander as he sat in the Sun, what he did desire he should do for him, Nothing, said he, but that you should go out of my Sun, because he shaded him from the Sun in a cold day. But their discontentedness breeds in them swarms of desires, and makes them build Castles in the air; and yet is daily seen that our own wishes and desires, and the wishes and desires of our intimate friends do most commonly prove fatal unto us.

Thirdly, The proprieties and effects of men's desires change according to the good and evil nature of their objects, and of their moderation, or distemper; for the necessary desires of men, who are for the greater part harmless and innocent, become vicious if they be violent and irregular, which makes men's condition to be worse then that of the unreasonable creatures, for they have also natural and necessary desires, or rather natural inclinations as well as men, but they are moderate in the greatest part; for the Oxen, Horses, and Sheep have a natural and necessary desire to their food; but when they have grased sufficiently to satisfy their hunger, they lie down and rest themselves, bounding their desires with that measure and quantity of food as doth satisfy Nature: but men whom God hath endued with Reason, whereby they might better then they, moderate their desires, give them neither bounds nor limits, many of them eating and drinking more then will suffice Nature, and by their exorbitant distemper, are oftentimes enforced (to ease Nature) to vomit up what they have eaten and drunk: Likewise the brute creatures are satisfied with the clothing that Nature hath bestowed on them; the beast of the field with their Wooll or Hair, and the fowls of the air with their Feathers, but men are not contented with their natural skins, nor with woollen Cloth to keep them from cold, and from the injuries of the Meteors of the air, but their desires long after vain and superfluous garments of silk, and cloth of Silver and Gold, although the Indians are as healthful that go naked, as they who go gorgeously apparalled: and Montagnes records, That a French Beggar, went for many years together stark naked through the streets of Paris, having only a linen cloth before his privy members, and when out of pity men gave him their old apparel, he sold them away, and said that Custom made him prefer the clothing that Nature had given him to all other. Moreover, the Foxes and Conies are contented with their holes, the Tvgers and Lions with their dens, and the Sheep, Horses, and horned Beasts with the shelter of Bushes and Hedges; but men are not contented nowadays with Cabins made of Boughs, of Reeds, or Flags, as many of the Indians are, or with thatched Houses as their forefathers were, but they must have Palaces, and stately Houses of a most exquisite and excellent Structure: And these and many other like things do multiply their desires, and do vex and disquiet their minds in these very things which should be free from vanity: but one of the c •• efest proprieties of the superfluous desires, is, That they are insatiable, and harder to be satisfied, saith Solomon, then the Horsleech, the Grave, the Barren Womb, the Earth that is not filled with water, and the fire that saith not, it is enough: and daily experience doth show, that if one desire be obtained, that seven will succeed in his place, and that they are properly the Hydras heads, who the Poets feign, that when one was cut off seven came in its stead; even so, the greater success men have in their desires, the more they multiply them; for the quintessence of all the most excellent creatures under the Sun cannot satisfy the desires and cupidity of men. Alexander the Great having conquered the greater part of the world, did inquire if there were anymore worlds then one, his ambitious Cupidity being not satisfied with the conquest of this world, but aspired to the conquest of another. And Caesar having conquered the lower Asia, Africa, and Europe in three years, his desire was not satisfied, but aspired to conquer also the Hyrcanians and Parthians inhabiting in the furthest parts of the upper Asia: So insatiable are the desires of glory. Likewise Cresus the King of Lydia had heaped up unparalleled treasures, yet could not they satisfy the Cupidity of his desires to increase his riches, but he undertook a war against Cyrus to augment them by the conquest of Jonia, the richest Province that was then in Asia: but this desire proved fatal unto him, for he lost his own Kingdom, and all his treasures, and had lost his life, without the mercy and clemency of Cyrus. Cresus also was the richest man that ever was at Rome, and yet his wealth could not satisfy his Cupidity, but longing still after more, he lost his life in the prosecution of the increase of them: neither can carnal pleasures satisfy the lascivious desires of men, as it doth appear in the effeminate lives of Sardanapalus, Tilegnius, Nero, and Heliogabalus, but rather cast them into the abhorred delights against Nature, and from rational men, makes them become more brutish then beasts. Another propriety of men's superfluous desires, is, that they are swifter, and more inconstant then the winds, for they have the same agility as the thoughts, who are here and there at an instant by the working of the imagination, and more fickle in the prosecution of their objects then the winds, for one object be it never so beautiful or pleasant, cannot detain them long, but it becomes distasteful and odious unto them, and by this they are enticed to seek after another, which they suppose to be more excellent then the former, when it is oftentimes more deformed, and of less worth, because men's desires delight most in Novelties, and variety of changes. The next propriety of men's desires is their Extravagancy, being rather guided by Fansie, then by Reason, for they desire commonly such things as are most opposite, and contrary to their own good, and the welfare of their souls and bodies; for in their diet they love and desire to eat of such things as are most contrary to the preservation of their health; & in their actions they desire, and take more delight in those which are more opposite to the salvation of their souls, their desires being more violent after the pleasures of the flesh, then zealous or fervent after the ways of a godly life; so that men's desires and inclinations are ever more addicted, and fixed upon the evil then upon the good, except the nature and propriety of them be changed by divine Grace. As for the effects of men's desires, they are, as I have said before, Good of Evil, according to their objects; but since it hath been proved that they are commonly fixed upon evil objects, their effects must of necessity be rather evil then good: If the honors of this world be their object, the fruits and effects of Adhbition is the desolation of Kingdoms, the shedding of innocent blood, and the miseries that follow civil and intestine wars: If their object be the riches of this world, their effects are carking cares, moiling and toiling, and vexation of mind in their acquisition, and fears and apprehensions in their keeping, and grief and sorrow in the losing of them. If the pleasures of this world be their object, the effects will be the wasting of their means, the impairing of their health, and the endangering of their souls. But if the object of their desires be the glory of God, then their effects will be comfort in this life, and eternal bliss in the life to come; So that upon the good or bad election of the objects of men's desires, depends their happiness or woe in this life, and their torment or glory in the life to come: It behooveth men therefore to be wary upon what objects they fix their desires, since there is not anything under the Sun that can satisfy them; for if all the excellency of the creatures were abstracted into one, yet it could not satisfy the desires of men, sich their soul is a spark of the divine essence that can never be free of the anxiety and perturbations of mind, that proceed from the inconstancy, and restlessness of men's desires, till by grace it doth enjoy the sight of the glorious presence of God, the original Spring of it, who is the fullness and perfection of all bliss, for that object only can satisfy the wishes and desires of their souls.

Fourthly, The comforts that Christians may receive in this life of their godly desires are many, as it shall appear when I have persuaded them to indevor to banish from their mind the swarms of vain desires, that disquiet the tranquility of their souls, which may be done by these means: first, To hate and abhor all carnal desires, for as long as they have a predominancy in their souls, it is impossible for them to have a feeling of the comforts proceeding from the spiritual desires: for the flesh having the mastery over the spirit, it keeps these effects under hatches. But if men desire the sear of God, and prefer his Statutes and Judgments before the refined gold, and hold them sweeter then honey, or the honey comb, they will by degrees obtain the dominion over their carnal desires: The second means is to indevor to obtain a contented mind, for discontentedness is the cause of the extravagancy of men's desires, But godliness with contentment, saith St. Paul, is great gain; for the daily discontent of men makes them desire they know not what; but when they are contented with their estate and condition in this life, their desires aspire higher, and endeavor to attain to the supreme good, as the only object of men's desires. The third means is to purify their hearts; for as clean and pure streams cannot proceed from a foul and muddy Spring, even so it is impossible that godly desires should spring from the hearts of men except they be purified and sanctified by the Spirit of God; for as our blessed Savior saith, Out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, &c. and these are the effects of men's desires, whose hearts are not purified by grace, because the Concupiscible appetite resides in the heart; and this appetite is the spring or root of all the desires of men. The fourth means is for men to set a watchful Centry over their eyes; for by the eye men perceive the objects, and the objects are the moving cause of men's desires and Cupidities: by the eye King David saw the beauty of Bathsheba, by which he was tempted to lust. Therefore men must make a covenant with their eyes as Job did, for they are the windows whereby men's lascivious desires are conveyed into their hearts, and by these means, and the free grace of God, men will be able to keep their desires within the limits prescribed in his Word, from which will proceed; first, A true and real contentment of mind, which cannot be obtained as long as their vain desires do interrupt the peace of their souls; for being freed of their extravagant desires of Cupidity, They may, as St. Paul saith, be contented with that they have, since God hath promised that he will never leave nor forsake them: secondly, An unspeakable inward joy: for being free from the continual vexation proceeding from the irregularity of their desires, whereby they have more liberty to beat the ways of righteousness, and make their calling and election sure, from which they were distracted by their worldly desires: thirdly, A far greater consolation, by the familiar communion they will have with their gracious God, then they had before, At whose right hand, saith the Prophet David, there are pleasures for evermore: fourthly, A fervent desire to walk in the ways of righteousness, and to seek the Lord in the night, and in the morning, as the Prophet Isaiah saith, With my soul have I desired thee in the night, yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: fifthly, A certain assurance that their desires shall be granted, since they have banished their former vain, and extravagant desires, as Solomon saith, The fear of the wicked shall come upon him, but the desire of the righteous shall be granted: sixthly; A hunger and thirst after righteousness, whereby they shall be in love with all righteous duties, and be induced to meditate day and night in the Law of God; and by their constant habit in the ways of true piety, they shall be made partakers of this blessing of our blessed, Savior Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled, viz. with incredible joy, and unspeakable comfort. It is then apparent that worldly desires are but mere vanity and vexation of spirit, and that there is no true comfort but in the Spiritual, &c.

CHAP. IX.

GOd out of his infinite love to men, hath been pleased to furnish them with arms to oppose their greatest enemies, of which the passion of Cupidity is one of the most implacable; for of all the passions it is the harder to be subdued, because it is the most successful snare of Satan for the increase of his kingdom of darkness; by it sin came first into the world, and hath infected like a contagious disease all the race of mankind; For by the eye, which is the spring of men's desires, Eve seeing the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of good and evil to be beautiful, she coveteth the same, as it appears by these words; And when the woman saw that the tree was good, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof and did eat, and gave of it also to her husband with her, and he did eat; and so by her Cupidity, and Adams Credulity, men have been brought under the bondage of sin. Now against this great enemy of mankind, God hath been pleased to arm them with this passion of Flight, the great Antagonist of all covetous desires; that as he had given men an inclination to desire such things as seemed good to their eyes and fancies, they might also have an aversion to fly from such things as seemed to traverse their good and being, otherwise they might have seen their enemies coming upon them, when they had no arms to defend themselves, nor power to eschew or fly from their apparent danger, and had been enforced to cherish vices, and sinful courses, because they could not eschew, or fly from them, and to harbor a Guest whom they abhorred and detested. This passion being then so useful to men, and specially for the propagation of a godly life; give me leave for the better description of it, to speak in order of these particulars.

• 1. Of the definition of Flight.
• 2. Of the objects of it.
• 3. Of the causes of it.
• 4. Of its proprieties.
• 5. Of its effects.
• 6. Of the uses of it.

First, Flight or Eschewing is a passion, or aversion, that induceth men to avoid or fly from all things that seem to be evil, or inconvenient to them, or that may traverse their good, and annihilate their being. Flight is the cosen German of Hatred, for they have many qualities alike, and is incident to the Concupiscible appetite, and the violent enemy and great opposite to the passion of Cupidity, the spring of all covetous desires: But men are to be cautious how they make use of this passion, or aversion, for otherwise they may flee from such things as are good, instead to eschew those things that are evil: for such is the depravation of this age; that Virtues are called Vices, and Vices are varnished over with the names of Virtues, and true and sincere Piety is called Hypocrisy, and real Hypocrisy is termed godliness and Sanctity; They must then be as harmless as Doves, and as wise as Serpents to make use of this passion aright, and then they will avoid and detest sin as the greatest of all evils, and love God, the perfection of all good and happiness.

Secondly, The chiefest objects of this passion, are the guilt and punishment, which are often taken one for the other; some men taking the guilt for the punishment, and the punishment for the guilt; but guilt is the greater of the two, because the punishment is but an effect of the guilt, and without guilt there would be no punishment; and yet because death is commonly comprised under the punishment (for as St. Paul saith, The wages of sin is death ) men most commonly strive to avoid and flee from the punishment, and with great eagerness pursue the guilt: I mean, they run cheerfully after sin, and fly with fear from the punishment, and so pervert the use of this passion that was given unto them by their Maker, on purpose to flee from sin, that draws with Cart-ropes the wrath and judgments of God upon all Nations, and particuliar men that impenitently go on in their sins. Men commonly fly from Serpents, Dragons, Lions and Tigers, and from the contagious disease of the Plague, but they seldom flee from sin, although it be more dangerous and destructive to their souls, then any of these things above related can be to their bodies, for they can but deprive them of this temporal life, but sin, without the special grace of God, will cast them body and soul into the everlasting flames: and therefore let men fly from sin if they intend to make a perfect use of this passion, and let them not (as our blessed Savior saith of Fear) Flee from them that can kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul.

Thirdly, The causes of Flight are so numerous, that they would be over-tedious to relate, I will therefore speak but of some of them: first, Men if they could, would fly from death, because death is a most horrid thing, specially to the Reprobate; and Nature doth hate and eschew all things that may annihilate its being: secondly, Fear is an ordinary cause of Flight, for many great Armies have fled upon a panic fear, as Titus Livius Records in his Decades: but there be Instances for it in the holy Scriptures, as it appears, 2 Kings, Chap. 7. Vers. 6. When the Lord made the host of the Assyrians to hear a noise of chariots, and a noise of horses, even the noise of a great host, and so raised their siege from Samaria, and fled away, leaving their tents full of riches, and all manner of provisions: thirdly, The Prophet Jonah fled from the presence of the Lord, not to avoid evil, but to commit evil, in disobeying the Commandment of the Lord, because he knew that God was a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger, and of great kindness. A great weakness in a Prophet to be passionate and angry, because God was pleased to be merciful to the Ninevites, and a greater infirmity to flee to Tarshish from the Lord, because he was assured that God would repent of the evil intended against them upon the sight of their repentance: fourthly, Absalom fled from the presence of his father King David, after he had slain his brother Amnon at a Banquet under color of love and hospitality, and went to Geshur, and was there three years till his fathers wrath was appeased: fifthly, Jeroboam the son of Nebat, fled from the presence of Solomon, went into Egypt, and staid there with Shishak King of Egypt till after Solomon's death; for Solomon sought to kill Jeroboam, because he had been informed that the Prophet Ahijah had anointed him King over Israel: sixthly, Joseph the supposed father of our blessed Savior, and the Virgin Mary, with the Child Christ Jesus were commanded by an Angel of God to flee into Egypt, for fear that Herod would seek after the young child to destroy him, whereby it appears, that the cause of men's flight doth commonly proceed from the fear of death, and not to avoid sin: But if men to avoid lust would flee from their beloved object, as Joseph did fly from his lewd Mistress, out of fear to offend the Lord, it were the only way to quench their lascivious desires; for in the passion of true love, between parties of unequal degree, there is not any better remedy to asswage and extinguish the flames of love, then to make the Lovers to absent themselves one from another at a far distance, and for some continuance of time, for since the dropping of a gutter doth in continuance of time, blot out any characters graven upon a Marble stone; there is more probability that the impression of that object of beauty hath made in the imaginaon of men or women, will sooner be worn out, with a long absence, and it is daily seen, that the last object of a beauty drives out of men's minds the former impressions of another beauty: and daily experience doth show, that to appease wrath, the only remedy is to flee from, or to eschew the presence of him that is transported with that passion, for the cause being taken away the effects cease; so the object being removed, which did cause the distemper in the soul, the passion by degrees doth vanish away.

Fourthly, The proprieties of Flight are as numerous as the causes of it, and there is as great a similitude between Hatred and Flight, as there is between Love and Desire: first, it seemeth to fly from evil, and doth aim at the good: secondly, Flight in outward appearance seems to be a coward, and yet it is as generous as the Desire; for to fly from sin is a greater valor then to fight in the field with a valiant enemy: Since it cannot be denied, that he that hath the mastery over his own passions, and can mortify the cupidities of his desires, is a greater conquerer then Caesar: thirdly, As the Desire calls Hope to its aid when it cannot obtain that which is difficult, so Flight calls to its aid Fear and Hatred, that it may with swifter wings fly from the evil that is overpowerful: fourthly, As the desire is a sign of indigence, poverty and want, so Flight is an evidence of Impatiency and Imbecillity; and as men obtain by the prosecution of their desires, such things as they want, so men by flight free themselves of those things they most abhor and detest: fifthly, The propriety of Desire is to open and dilate the heart, to make the same more eager after the prosecution of the good it aims at; so Flight shrinks up the heart, and debars sin from coming in to it: sixthly, As men by the means of the Desire enjoy and possess the good, even so men by the help of Flight preserve themselves from evil. In a word, Desire and Flight are the two faithful Champions of Love and Hatred; for as Love cannot execute any generous achievement without the aid of the Desire, so Hatred cannot perform any noble exploit, without the help of Flight.

Fifthly, the effects of Flight, tend either to the preservation of the body, or of the soul; I will then first speak of that of the body, and acquaint you, that all horrid and terrible things that may procure the annihilation of men's being, or deprive them from the good they aim at, enticeth this passion, either to eschew or fly from them. It moved David to avoid the Javelin that Saul threw at him, with an intent to smite him even to the wall, but David fled and escaped: again, when he was informed by Jonathan, that Saul his father did seek after his life, then he fled again to Nob, to Ahimelech the Priest; and divers other times when he was in danger, he fled from the presence of Saul and all to preserve his life. And St. Paul being at Damascus, and hearing that the Jews had set wait for his life, and. watched the gates day and night to kill him, the disciples took him by night and let him down by the wall in a basket, preserving his life by his flight. It appears then by these two Instances, that the effects of Flight tend specially to the preservation of men's being; and when they fly from sin, to the prevention of the danger of their souls: for they have no better remedy, as it hath been said already, to free themselves from lust, and from all lascivious desires, then to flee from the objects that engender the same. But why they fly sooner from the punishment of evil, then from the guilt of sin, I will hear enlarge myself, and entreat the Reader to take notice, that it is only the natural men, that do so much abhor the punishment, and are so eager to preserve the guilt, for the true children of God do more detest the guilt then the punishment, for they know the punishment of sin is as inseparable from the guilt, as the shadow is from the body, and they fear more to offend their gracious God, then the punishment of sin: but the wicked who have their portion in this life are afraid of the punishment more then of the guilt, because their supreme good is in this life, which punishment seems to interrupt; but the children of God carry their Cross, and have nothing but disgraces, trouble, and vexations in this life, and expect their supreme bliss and happiness will be in the world to come, and are confident and assured, that the corrections and punishments, that God inflicts upon them because of their sins, are but so many evidences that their heavenly Father doth love, and hath a care of them, and so do adore the arm, and kiss the hand of God that is pleased to chastise them, For whom the Lord loveth, saith St. Paul, he chasteneth and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth; but the wicked murmur at the least corrections they receive from the hand of God, and say with the two men that were possessed with evil spirits, What have we to do with thee? art thou come to torment us before the time? for so they enjoy the pleasures of this life, they care not what will become of them in the world to come, being of this mind, That one bird in the hand is better then two in the bush. But to return from whence this digression brought me: one of the chiefest effects of Flight, is, that it is the protector of Womens and Virgins Chastity, and makes young men free themselves from vicious and debausht company, which they are to flee from, as from a contagious Air, or from the sight of a Serpent, for ill company are Satan's Panders, and the corrupters of youth, and as men cannot handle Pitch without soiling their hands, so young folk cannot haunt ill company without they blemish their reputation, and defile their manners, nor remain in their innocence, for they are the Schools of Sin, and sin draws the wrath of God upon men, from whose wrath it is impossible to flee, as the Prophet David saith, Whether shall I go from thy Spirit? or whether shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: If I make my bed in bell, behold thou 〈◊〉 there; If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the utmost parts of the sea, even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me. Now since it is so, that sin draws upon men the wrath of God, that cannot be eschewed nor avoided, because it is a consuming fire; For a fire, saith Moses, is kindled in his anger, and shall burn unto the lowest hell, and shall consume the earth and set on fire the foundations of the mountains; how careful should they then be to eschew, and fly from sin?

Sixthly, The use that men should make of this passion of Flight, should be to flee from all appearance of evil, as well as from sin, and not transfer their own sins upon others as Adam did upon Eve, The woman, saith he to the Lord, whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the Tree, and I did eat. Much less to charge and accuse men of sins, of which they are most guilty themselves, for this kind of sin is altogether in fashion in these days; neither must men make conscience of one sin, and make none of another; some will make scruple to swear, but they will make no account to lie a hundred times in a day, so they may with these lies delude their brethren, and attain to their own ends. Others will forbear to eat Fish upon a Friday, but will make no account of drabbing and whoring; others will flee from one sin, and will run eagerly after another. In a word, there never was an age more addicted to painting then this, for the most notorious sins are so varnished and painted over, that men take Vices for Virtues: And that is the reason why I said in the beginning of this Chapter, that men should be cautious how they make use of this passion, for fear they flee from the good in lieu to eschew the evil, or get an habit of aversion against the good, instead to have it against the evil: but if this passion of Flight be applied against its right object, it will prove to be of great efficacy to the propagation of a godly life, for it is impossible to love and affect the good unfeignedly, before men have obtained a strong aversion against the evil; and therefore to attain to that blessed condition that the Prophet David speaks of in the first Psalm, they must flee from all manner of conversation with the wicked, Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful, but his delight is in the Law of the Lord, and in his Law doth he meditate day and night. And Solomon secondeth him thus; Enter not in the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men, avoid it, and pass not by it, turn from it and pass away; This triple gradation of Solomon showeth with a great Emphasie, how necessary it is for men to flee from the conversation of wicked men, and from all appearance of sin; and yet there are too many that add sin to sin, and so fall under this censure of the Prophet Isaiah, Woe to the rebellious children, saith the Lord, that take counsel, but not of me, and that cover with a covering, but not of my Spirit, that they may add sin to sin. To conclude, It is apparent that the passion of Flight, except it be to flee from sin, is but vanity, for God's wrath can over-take and find out (as it hath been shown) impenitent sinners wheresoever they flee.

CHAP. X.

AS Laughter is an expression of Joy, so Weeping is an evidence of Sorrow; but these two proprieties, are only peculiar to mankind: because the Ape that seemeth to laugh, doth but grin; and the Crocodile that seemeth to weep, doth but mone: for Joy and Sorrow are affections of the mind, and therefore the unreasonable creatures are incapable of them: Notwithstanding, some Moralists conceive, that the passion of Joy, and the passion of Delight, which the French call Delectation, is but one and the same passion, which cannot certainly be: because Delight is common to men and beast, so is not Joy, for Delight proceeds from the pleasures of the Senses, and Joy from the contentedness of the mind; and our blessed Savior while he was upon earth, shown that these affections did reside in him, as it may appear by these words, These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full: this confirms his affection of Joy, and these will verify his affection of Sorrow; When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping which came with her, he groaned in the Spirit, and was troubled, and said, Where have ye laid him? They say unto him, Lord, come and see. Jesus wept. Now Christ being the purity itself, it is impossible he should have had any affections proceeding from the Senses: And therefore it is certain that Joy and Delight are two distinct passions. This sweet and comfortable passion of Joy was given to the reasonable creatures by their gracious and merciful Creator, for to sweeten and temper the bitterness of their Sorrows, that come upon them as thick as a storm of Hail, under the burden of which, they would undoubtedly have fainted, if God had not been pleased to afford them this cordial of Joy: for although Joy be pleasant to Nature, yet it is a mere stranger to it; but Sorrow which she abhors, is her constant guest, and for one dram of joy that men have in their life time, they have a pound of Sorrow, yet because Joy is the comforter of men's lives (for without it they could not subsist) observe for your better information of the qualities of it, these particulars.

• 1. The definition of Joy.
• 2. The causes of it.
• 3. The proprieties of it.
• 4. Its effects.
• 5. The bad and good use of it.
• 6. The excellency of spiritual Joy.

First, There are two different sorts of Joy, the one is Worldly, and the other Spiritual; the last is a rapture or ravishment of the Soul, by an intimate familiarity that true Christians have with their gracious God, by contemplation, meditation, or fervent prayers: The first is a sudden and violent motion of the heart, that causeth a great alteration in the body, proceeding in the opinion of the Moralists from the possession or fight of some object much desired; which is really good, or reputed to be so by the imagination of men; yet it will appear by the proprieties and effects of it, that it doth not always come from the possession or enjoyment of a beloved object, or from an imaginary good, but sometimes from relations, scurrilous speeches, ridiculous postures, and deformedobjects: for Joy is, as I have said before, an affection of the mind, and is rather infused in the Heart, by the Eye, and by the Ear, then by any of the other three Senses; for those are more proper to the passion of Volupty, of which Delight or Delectation is a branch; however it is the fifth passion incident to the Concupiscible appetite, and proceeds from divers causes, as it will appear in the next Discourse.

Secondly, The causes of worldly joy, are either Public or Private: the Public proceed commonly from the immediate hand of God, or from his favor, or by his permission, and of these I shall speak in the first place: first, It was a great cause of public joy, proceeding from the immediate hand of God to the people of Israel presently after their coming out of Egypt, to see the sea go back, and make a free passage for their host, to pass through the midst of it, and when they were all safe come to dry land, to see the rolling waves of the sea to turn back and overwhelm Pharaoh and all his Army: secondly, It was a cause of public Joy, when it pleased the Lord to deliver the people of the Jews, from that bloody decree obtained by Haman from the great King Ahasuerus against the whole Nation of the Jews, that were scattered through the one hundred and seven and twenty Provinces of the said Kings Dominions; for w ^ch admirable deliverance the people of Israel made the 15 ^th . and 16 ^th . day of the month Adar, days of Thanksgiving, and of Feasting and Rejoicing, from one generation to the other, which were called the days of Purim: thirdly, It was the cause of public joy to the Venetians, and to all Christendom, when God was pleased to give unto the Christian Fleet such a memorable victory over the Turkish Navy at the Battle of Lepantho, for which after thanks given to God, many days of Feasting and Rejoicing were kept at Venice, and other parts of Christendom: fourthly, It was an incredible cause of public joy for England, when the Lord was pleased to deliver this Nation from the devilish plot of the Gunpouder Treason, for which miraculous deliverance, after hearty thanks given to God, great Feasting, Bond-fires, and other expressions of joy were made in London, and through the whole Land.

1. It was a cause of private joy to the old Patriarch Jacob, to hear by the report of his sons, that his beloved son Joseph, who he thought had been devoured by wild beasts, was chief Governor of Egypt, and the next man in honor to the King. 2. It was a cause of private joy for old Jesse, to see his youngest son David from a Shepherd, to be promoted to be King of all Israel, and specially to be reputed by God himself, to be a man after his own heart. 3. It was a cause of private joy for old Mordecai, to see his Niece Esther, from a Captive to be exalted to be the wife of the great King Ahasuerus, and the greatest Queen in the world. 4. It was a cause of incomprehensible joy to the Virgin Mary, and to all mankind to hear the blessed and glad tidings that the Angel Gabriel brought her from the Lord, saying, Behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shall call his name Jesus: He shall be great, and shall be called the son of the Highest, and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: whereupon the Virgin Mary transported with joy, and ravished in spirit, sung some days after this excellent Song, My soul doth magnify the Lord, beginning at the forty sixth Verse of the first Chap. of St. Luke. Here was a true and real Cause of Spiritual Joy, not only for the Virgin Mary, but also for all the Elected of God, who by free grace have part in the merits of Christ; By these Instances it appears, that these causes of joy did proceed from the seeing and hearing, which are the two Senses most proper to the passion of Joy. There are divers other Causes of worldly joy, which are not so well grounded as these, but are most vain and ridiculous, and they are these following.

The joy of private and worldly men suits with their inclinations: first, The Ambitious will rejoice in the increase of their honors: secondly, The Covetous men in the abundance of their riches: thirdly, The Voluptuous men will rejoice in the enjoyment of their pleasures: fourthly, The Merchants and Trades-men in the increase of their Trade: fifthly, The Lawyers in the multiplicity of their Clients, and in the discord of their neighbors: sixthly, The profane and Libertine in all manner of ridiculous Sports, scurrilous Songs, lewd Music; Dancing, Valting, and in lascivious Pictures, and Postures, and in Chambering, Gluttony and Drunkenness; and these are the common and ordinary causes of the joy of worldly men, Let the Reader judge then, whether carnal joy be not mere vanity, and vexation of Spirit: for the great vanity of it moved Solomon to say, I said of laughter, it is mad, and of mirth, what doth it? and the very truth is, that men transported with immoderate joy, are like fools and mad men.

Thirdly, The proprieties of worldly joy are these: first, Worldly joy is of hot temper: secondly, It is of a dilative or spreading quality; and these two proprieties are the cause that sudden joy doth bereave men of life; for when some beloved object, or glad tidings are unexpectedly represented to the eyes, or ears of men, this causeth a violent alteration in all the parts of the body, but specially in the heart, by means of the hot, and dilative quality of this passion of Joy, because the blood and the vital spirits that reside in it, are with great violence driven from the inward parts to the extremity of the members of the body, whereby men's hearts are deprived of their natural heat, and of their vital spirits, and so fall into a swoon; or if this motion be over-fierce and violent, it doth extinguish their life, as the snuff of a Candle goeth out when it hath no more tallow to sustain its light: Now the heart who is the efficient cause of life, being thus deprived of heat, loseth its motion, upon which depends the life of men; for the beating of the heart gives life and motion to all the members of the body, and is congealed and frozen to death by this sudden motion and privation, as water is congealed into Ice by a great frost: and this may be confirmed by another violent action of men, of which many are yet living that were eye-witnesses to it; Two English Foot-men running a race for a great wager from London to Kingston, did by their swift and violent running, so drive their blood and vital spirits from the heart to the extremist parts of their bodies, that their faces looked as black as their hats; one of them obtained the victory, and out-ran the other about twenty yards, and being joyful of his gain and honor presumed over-much of his strength, and did not use the means to preserve himself (as the other did, who was much more distempered then he) whereby his blood and vital spirits, instead of returning to the heart, were congealed in the extreme parts of his body by taking cold: which did deprive him of life within few hours after: but the other putting on his apparel, and covering himself with a warm cloak, prayed two of his fellows to walk him up and down till his blood and vital spirits were settled again about his heart, and by this means he was as well the next morning as ever he was before; now the motion of the blood being more violent by the inward distemper of the fiery passion of Joy, then it can be by the motion of a long-continued race, it must by consequence be more dangerous and mortal then the other: thirdly, As the immoderate Joy hath dangerous proprieties, the moderate joy hath many good, for moderate joy preserves and increaseth the health of the body: fourthly, It giveth a seemly and loving aspect, and a fresh color to the face: fifthly, It makes men's company and conversation more pleasant and acceptable to all other men: sixthly, It makes men more cheerful in their particular and general calling, and pass their days through this vale of Tears with more alacrity and content.

Fourthly, The effects of immoderate Joy would be incredible, if they had not been recorded by approved and faithful Authors: first, A Roman Lady, saith Livius, died with joy at the sight of her son, whom she conceived to have been slain at the battle of Cannae: secondly, The Author of the Turkish History Records, that Sinna Basha had but one son of great valor, who was taken prisoner in a sea fight by a Venetian Galley, whereupon tidings were brought to Sinna his father that he had been slain in that fight, because he had been wounded, but by the care of the Captain of the Galley (who hoped to receive a great ransom for him) he did recover, and his wounds were cured; and it happened some days after, before the Venetian Galley could carry him to shore, that it was taken at sea by Cicala Basha, a great friend of the above-said Sinnae, who finding this prisoner of note in the Venetian Galley, was exceedingly joyful, as knowing how grateful a present it would be to his friend; and therefore after he had appareled him with rich vestures, he sent him in a well-appointed Galley, and with an honorable train to his father Sinna, that had lately been made grand Visier by Achmath, Emperor of the Turks, who was then at Caffa upon the black sea; but this young man was no sooner come into his sight, but Sinna transported with joy fell dead at his sons feet; whereby it appears that he who had the power to bear with admirable constancy, the tidings of the death of his only son, had not the power to moderate the joy that he did receive by his unexpected return: thirdly, Theophrastus Boujou, records the names, and means of a dozen more at least, who have died suddenly by the violent distemper of immoderate joy, some by honors received, others for seeing their mortal enemy lie wallowing in his own blood, ready to give up the Ghost; and others by looking upon Pictures, which by their ugly features enforced them to such an immoderate laughter as it did deprive them of life; others for being victorious in the Olympian Sports; and others in the field, as it is recorded of Epamonides, and of the Duke of Roan, who died rather for joy of two great victories obtained against their enemies in two pitched battles, then by their wounds.

Fifthly, The bad and good use of this passion of Joy, doth only consist in the not regulating, or in the regulating of it; for if Joy be let in to the soul by degrees, the sting and venom of it is changed into an Antidote, and doth rather comfort Nature then destroy it; for as it is dangerous to open the Flood-gates of a river suddenly, and all at once, for fear the violence of the water break down the banks, and pull up the foundation of the sluice, even so it is dangerous to let in, into the soul all at once, the swift currant of good or evil tidings; therefore if Cicala Basha had only at the first sent word to the Visier Sinna, that he had happily rescued his son, and that as soon as his wounds should be cured, he would send him back unto him in an honorable condition, this had undoubtedly prevented the death of this old man; but the sudden and unexpected sight of his son, whom he thought to have been dead, caused so violent a perturbation in his mind, and so great an alteration in the vital faculties of his body, that his natural strength, being then in his declining age, was overcome with it, and his life utterly extinguished, as the light of a candle is by a violent blast of wind: But the Duke of Medina Coeli, who was General for Philip the second, King of Spain, of the invincible Armado (as they termed it) that came against England, in the Year 1588. did deal more prudently with his Prince, for his ship being the first that arrived into Spain, after the utter rout of this great Navy, he sent a discreet Messenger unto him, to inform him that some part of his Navy had miscarried by foul weather, and that himself had been driven back by a storm; and eight days after he sent another messenger to the King, informing him of the particulars, and some days after came in person to give him an account of his Journey, whereby he did prevent the evil effects, that such a loss might have caused by a sudden impression in his Princes heart: therefore the mitigation of the violence of the passions of Joy and Sorrow is of great use, whereas if they be not moderated, they are dangerous and destructive: It may then be collected by these discourses, that worldly joy is but mere vanity and vexation of spirit, for as Job saith, The triumphing of the wicked is short, and the joy of the hypocrite is but for a moment.

The Spiritual Joy doth as much excel the worldly Joy, as the Light doth Darkness, it ravisheth the soul, and fills it with unspeakable pleasures; the nature of it is incomprehensible; neither can the superlative excellency of it be expressed nor described by the Tongue nor Pen of men, for our blessed Savior himself, saith St. Paul, For the joy that was set before him, endured the Cross, despising the Shame, and is set down at the right hand of God: and for, and by that joy, all the Martyrs have despised the burning flames; nay, some have kissed the stakes where they were to be burned, and their greatest torments seemed unto them when they were upon the torturing racks, as if they had been upon a bed of roses. This joy is the true Or-potabily, which can, as Physicians feign, cure all diseases for if a Christian hath but a grain of this joy, the greatest torments, and the greatest persecutions that ever were invented, and exercised by the cruel and blood-thirsty Tyrants will not dant them, but they will bear them with an incredible fortitude of spirit. And St. Paul to manifest the excellency of spiritual joy, saith in the fourteenth Chapter and the seventeenth Verse of his Epistle to the Romans, That in righteousness, peace and joy in the holy Ghost doth consist the Kingdom of God; And in all his Salutations and Wishes to the Churches and Saints, he conjoyns Joy with Peace, Now the God of Hope fill you with all joy and Peace in believing: And St. John in his first Epistle, Chap. 1. and verse 4. making a relation of the excellent Mysteries of eternal life manifested by the coming and incarnation of Christ, concludes with these words, And these things write we unto you that your Joy may be full, intimating that men's joy cannot be full nor perfect but in the meditation of the Mysteries of their salvation: And St. Peter in his first Epistle, Chap. 1. verse. 8. speaking of the trial of the faith of the true children of God, saith; Whom having not seen, ye love, in whom though now you see him not, yet believing ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: Sufficient proofs that men's chiefest joy doth consist in a true faith in Christ, and in the delight they take in the reading and meditating on the Law of God: And that is the reason that the Prophet David breaks out in this expression, Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice ye righteous, and shout for joy all ye that are upright in heart: for this spiritual joy is only peculiar to the true children of God, impenitent sinners being incapable of it: and therefore the Prophet David, after his grievous sins of Adultery and Murder, feeling that this excellent joy was departed from him, doth earnestly entreat the Lord in the 51. Psalm, to make him hear joy and gladness, that the bones which thou hast broken, saith he, may rejoice: And after a heavy burden of sorrow that he had carried in a penitent way, for these abovesaid transgressions, which had in a manner broken his bones, and dried up the marrow that was in them, he breaks out again with this expression, Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation, and uphold me with thy free Spirit. To conclude, Blessed are those who prefer the good and welfare of Jerusalem above their chiefest joy: and unhappy are they that make worldly joy, (that is nothing but vanity and vexation of spirit) their supreme good, &c.

CHAP. XI.

SOme Moralists are of opinion, that Adam in the state of Innocency was free from this passion of Dolour, and that it was after his Fall inflicted upon him as a punishment for his disobedience against his Maker; because this passion is so common to men, that it followeth them at the heels, as the Spaniel doth his Master, their lives being but a continual succession of anguish, grief, and sorrow, from their very Cradle to their Grave: Which unparalleled misery could not consist, say they, with that blessed condition in which man was created at the first: yet I rather conceive, that all the passions that are at this present incident to men, were in our first father in the time of his innocence; and that God was pleased then to give him the power and ability to keep them obedient and subordinate to his Will and Reason, which power was taken away from him for his apostasy and presumptuous rebellion against the special charge and command given unto him by his Creator; and was not only deprived of this power, but also of that royal Prerogative that God had given him over the beasts of the Field, the fowls of the Air, and the fishes of the Sea; so that ever since his Fall, his seed hath had enemies within, and without, to punish and correct them, for the transgression of their first Parents, and their own actual sins, against their gracious God, who had created all things perfectly good, and submitted the most fierce and cruel beasts of the Field, the devouring fowls of the Air, and the monsters of the Sea to be subject and subordinate to the will of man: But he having first of all rebelled against his Maker, his own passions, and the brute creatures by the just judgment of God have also shaken off the obedience and respect they did ow unto him: yet the unreasonable creatures are his meanest enemies, for by that small spark of knowledge and divine Power and Majesty that is left in him, he doth daily find out means to curb their fury and rage, but wants power and ability to regulate the exorbitant distemper of his own passions, of all which Dolour is one of the most irksome. Now for the better description of it, I will speak of these particulars in order.

• 1. Of the definition of Dolour.
• 2. Of the different sorts of it.
• 3. Of the causes of it.
• 4. Of its nature and effects.
• 5. Of the remedies of it.
• 6. Of the use of spiritual sorrow.

First, The Moralists are of different opinions, concerning the definition of this passion of Dolour, under which is comprised, Anguish, Grief, and Sorrow, some say it is a passion of the soul, proceeding from some sensible loss or displeasure received; others say, it is a perturbation of the mind, and an anguish of the body; others, that it is a passion afflicting the soul, by the apprehension of present and future evils: but this last opinion seemeth to be the best. Dolour is a passion of the soul, proceeding from the dislike that men receive from the objects represented to their imagination by their Senses, which are averse, to their inclinations, and irksome to their bodies. Moreover, It is the last passion incident to the Concupiscible appetite, and the root of divers other passions, and the great Antagonist of worldly Joy, because all carnal Joy doth end in Sorrow; there being none so pure, but it leaves in the soul a sting of remorse and repentance: but Spiritual Sorrow is one of the greatest motives that men have to induce them to beat with fervency the ways of righteousness, For godly sorrow, saith St. Paul, worketh Repentance to salvation not to be repented of, but the sorrow of the world worketh death.

Secondly, There are divers sorts and degrees of Dolour, for the very word of Dolour doth signify Anguish, Grief, and Sorrow, and everyone of these have their degrees: Anguish doth properly signify the Dolours, Pains, and Torments of the Body, whether they be natural or accidental: and Grief doth signify the Dolour of the Mind; and Sorrow is an invetered grief of the Mind, which is by long continuance turned into an habit of Sorrow: The first of these which is Anguish, hath a secret reflection to the Sensitive appetite of the soul, by means of the communion there is between it and the senses; yet the seat of Anguish is in the body: or in some of the members of it; but the seat of Grief and Sorrow is in the Mind, and this kind of Dolour is invisible to the eyes of men, because it is intellectual, and hath but little reflection to the body, except it become excessive in degree: but when the grief of the mind is by long continuance turned into an habit of Sorrow, then it hath a great influence upon the body, for by flow paces and degrees it consumes the body, the radical humor, and the very marrow in the bones, and therefore the inveterate Sorrow is accounted the worst Dolour of the three, because it is in a manner incurable, for it doth ordinarily reject all remedies that might ease and cure the same: as for Anguish and Grief they are easily cured by removing of the cause of them; the symtomes of the first being always visible and apparent by the paleness, or the high color of the face, by the inflammation of the parts, by the distemper of the pulse, or by the pains that are felt in any of the members of the body, to which remedies may be applied by learned Physicians; and as for the grief of the mind, which is recent and not yet inveterate, the cause being known by such as frequent, or are familiar with the grieved and afflicted party; such arguments and seasonable consolations may be used that they may stifle this Cockatrice in the shell.

Thirdly, The causes of these three different sorts of Dolour may be reduced to these Heads: first, To Public: secondly, To Private: thirdly, To Natural: fourthly, To Accidental.

1. The Public causes of Sorrow should be more sensible to men then any other: yet in these days they are not regarded, although there never was greater cause: first, It was a cause of public sorrow to the People of Israel, when they were informed of the cruel and bloody decree that Pharaoh King of Egypt had made to cast all their male children into the River, that the Hebrew Nation might by degrees be utterly destroyed: secondly, It was a great cause of public sorrow, of weeping and lamentation for the whole Nation of the Jews, when they were advertised that their good and religious King Josiah had been mortally wounded in the battles fought in the Valley of Megiddo against Necho King of Egypt, and all their Army routed and defeated: thirdly, It was a great cause of public lamentation and sorrow for the people of Israel, when they saw before their eyes the Temple of the Lord to be burned, the City of Jerusalem to be sacked, and the rest of the people to be carried captives into Babylon, by the King Nebuchadnezzar, for which great desolation the Prophet Jeremiah did wish that his head were waters, and his eyes a fountain of tears that he might weep day and night for the slain of the daughters of his people: fourthly, It was a great cause of public sorrow for the people of the Jews that were scattered through the hundred and twenty seven Provinces of the great King Ahasuerus dominions, when they were informed of the cruel decree that Haman their mortal enemy had obtained to put them their wives and children to the sword, for which there was great mourning, and lamentations in the said Provinces, but specially in the City of Shushan.

2. It was a private cause of sorrow to the old Patriarch Jacob when he was informed that his dear and beloved son Joseph had been slain and devoured by wild beasts, although he was living, but had been sold by his brethren out of envy as a slave to the Ishmaelites Merchants that were travelling down into Egypt: secondly, It was a cause of private sorrow for King David to hear of the Rape of his daughter Tamar, who was ravished by his own son Amnon: and again, of the murder of the said Amnon committed by his darling son Absalom, in vindication of the Rape of his sister Tamar: thirdly, It was a cause of private sorrow for King Jeroboam and his Queen to see the best of all their children, Abijah, their elder son to be taken away by death in the flower of his age, and the more, because it was by a judgment of God, for the Idolatry of Jeroboam: fourthly, It was a cause of private sorrow for the great Emperor Augustus Caesar, that his daughter Julia by her impudicity was banished, and that none of his grand children were thought worthy to succeed him in the Empire, because of their vicious miscarriages, but was enforced to adopt, or elect Tiberius Nero his wives son, the worst of men, for his Successor in the Empire.

3. The causes of Dolour or Sorrow of the Mind may be these: first, The privation of the enjoyment of men's desires may be the cause of their sorrow, for Lovers, Ambitious, and Covetous men are cast into strange fits of Melancholy and sorrow if they be deprived of their Love, or of the honors and riches they aim at: secondly, The carking cares that men usually take to increase their means, or to preserve their lives and estates, is a cause of their sorrow: thirdly, The fear that many men have to fall into penury is a common cause of their sorrow: fourthly, The losses of men's goods, fame, or reputation, is a cause of their sorrow, because they want the grace of patience, and cannot say with Job, The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away, blessed be the name of the Lord; nor with the Prophet David, I will wash my hands in innocence: fifthly, The loss of Parents, Wife, Children, or intimate Friends, is often times the cause of men's sorrow; for want of the rememoration of this saying of Solomon, All are of the dust, and all shall return to dust again: sixthly, the vain apprehensions that man have of the evil to come, is the cause of their sorrow, because they rely not upon this gracious promise, All things work together for good to them that love God: seventhly, The want of courage in men is the cause of their sorrow, because like faint hearted Pilots, they give over the Helme of the Ship in a storm; I mean, the Helme of their Reason, whereby they might regulate the distempers of this passion of Sorrow: eightly, The fears that possess men for the punishment of their sins, is a cause of their sorrow; whereas they should fear and grieve for the guilt of sin, to attain to that spiritual Sorrow, which worketh repentance to salvation.

The Natural causes of the Dolour and Anguish of the body may be these: first, Long and tedious diseases, as the Stone in the Kidneys or Bladder, the Gravel, the Strangullion, the Gout, the Cough, and consumption of the Lungs, or the Hectick Feaver; for all these in continuance of time by the secret communion that the senses have with the sensitive power of the soul, do beget in the mind grief and sorrow; besides the Dolour and Anguish of the body: secondly, The Adust or burnt Choler or Bilis gathered in the Mesentery veins, which sendeth virulent vapors up into the brain, is a natural cause of much sorrow.

4. The accidental causes may be these: first when men themselves, or their Parents, Children, or intimate Friends do accidentally come to their end, by sea or by land, as to be murdered upon a Rode, or cast away at sea, or taken captive by Pirates, or slain by a fall from a horse, or lamed by some other accident; all these things are causes of sorrow and grief: yet none of these natural, or accidental causes are or should be sufficient to breed sorrow to men's mind, since nothing happens casually or accidentally, but is guided by the hand of the divine Providence, to whose blessed will men are obliged to submit themselves; and our blessed Savior doth assure us, that the meanest Sparrow, or an hair of our head, doth not fall to the ground without the permission of our heavenly Father.

Fourthly, The nature and effects of Sorrow, are directly contrary to the nature and to the effects of Joy: first, The nature of Joy, is to dilate and spread the blood, and the vital spirits that reside in it into the utmost parts of the members of the body; but Sorrow being of a cold and dry nature, draws the blood and vital spirits from the utmost parts of the body towards the heart to comfort the same: secondly, Joy is hot and active, and by its sudden motion endangers the life of men; but Sorrow is cold and slow, and comes upon men with leaden feet; and never causeth death, but by long continuance, and lingering diseases, except it cast men into despair, as it doth oftentimes, as it will be shown in the effects of it: thirdly, Joy is proper and pleasant to Nature, and rejoiceth the heart, and makes men cheerful in their Calling, both private and general, but Sorrow is adverse and distasteful to Nature, and makes men slow and stupid in their particular and general calling: fourthly, Joy preserveth and increaseth health, and lengtheneth men's days, and makes them pass their lives with mirth and content; but Sorrow impairs men's health, and shortens their days, and makes their lives to be tedious and irksome: In a word, moderate Joy is comfort to man, and excessive Sorrow is the bane of man. And the effects of worldly Sorrow are as bad or rather worse: first, Sorrow makes men flee the society of men, nay the very light of the Sun, and all things that may rejoice and comfort Nature, the sight of their dearest friends, nay, of their wife and children is irksome to men that are possessed with excessive sorrow: secondly, If men's Sorrow proceeds from men's Apostasy in Religion, it doth commonly cast them into despair, and inflicts upon them in this life the very pains of hell, as it doth appear in the life of Francisco Spira: thirdly, Sorrow tempts carnal men to be rid of it, to desperate resolutions, as to bereave themselves of life, by hanging, stabbing, and drowning of themselves, as it hath lately been seen in this City of London: fourthly, Sorrow makes men careless to make their calling and election sure, and to neglect the means appointed by God for their salvation, I mean, the hearing of the Word, with that attention as they should; for their thoughts and cogitations are so fixed, upon the object of their sorrow, that they mind nothing else; for this pernicious passion doth stupefy the most noble faculty of the soul, as the Memory, the Imagination, and the Understanding. Divers other effects might be produced, but these will suffice to induce men to endeavor to eschew, or regulate this dangerous and destructive passion.

Fifthly, The Remedies against the venom of this passion are, first, Natural; secondly, Moral; thirdly, Spiritual. The Natural are, first, to flee as far as men can from the object of their sorrow: secondly, If men's sorrow proceeds from Natural infirmities; they are in the first place to call upon God; and then use the Counsel of Physicians, for they must not do as Ahaziah King of Israel did, who being fallen from an upper Chamber thorough a Lattess, sent to the God of Ekron, to know whether he should recover of his disease (as too many do in these days, who send to Astronomers to know the events of things) not to the Physician, as Asa King of Judah did, who being diseased in his feet, sent to the Physician, before he had called upon the Lord by prayer, for God is the Paramount Physician, and the God of Nature and neither the Art of men, nor the hidden Virtues of drugs and Simples, are of any effect without his blessing: thirdly, the change of Air from bad to good, and the pleasent prospects of green Meadows, corn Fields, beautiful Gardens, and odiferuos Flowers, rejoicing the Senses are remedies against Sorrow: fourthly, Honest and godly Company, and moderate Exercises, as Walking, Shooting and Bowling, divert and drive away Sorrow: fifthly, wholesome Diet, and broath with Chickens and Mutton, Borage, Buglos, Marigolds and yellow Flowers, with a cup or two of Claret Wine with Sugar, are excellent remedies against Grief and Sorrow. The Moral remedies are Fortitude, Temperance, Constancy, and Patience; for the use and practice of these Virtues are special antidotes against the venom of Sorrow: I do not allow of the Stoics Constancy, who would have their wise men to be insensible of anguish in the midst of the greatest torments, nor to be sad for the loss of Parents, Wife, Children, or intimate Friends, for this is rather a brutish stupidity then a true constancy; Neither do I approve of an extreme dejectedness, or excessive sorrow for the loss or deprivation of anything that is dear unto men, but of a moderate demonstration of the sinsibility required by Humanity and Christianity of such a loss; for such as are truly wise are never transported with excessive Joy, nor with extreme Sorrow for anything which befalleth them in prosperity or in adversity, the medium temper being to be preferred before any extreme; as for Fortitude, Temperance, and Constancy; I must acknowledge the Heathen have out-gone in their Virtues the Christians in these days, as it may appear by the lives and actions of divers of them, as of Aristides, Phocion, Epamonides, Scevola, Regulus, Fabricius and Cato; but for true Patience Christians have out-gone them, as it may appear in the Book of Martyrs. Now because Patience is not only a moral Virtue, but also a divine Grace; I will speak of it in the next Discourse, because

Sixthly, The Remedies I am to speak of have a coherence with the use of Spiritual Sorrow; and the chiefest are these: first, Humility: secondly, Fortitude: thirdly, Patience, for the pride of men's hearts is the essential cause of all their sorrows; the other causes being but branches of it, as the of loss Parents, Wife, Children, intimate Friends, Goods, Riches, Honor, Reputation, and the Anguish and Paines of their natural infirmities. Now if men endeavor to obtain from God by fervent prayer these three graces, they will be able to regulate their greatest sorrows: first, If they acknowledge with all humility, that all things they have are the immediate gift of God, they will have no occasion to be grieved, or to be sorrowful when God, who was, and is the giver of them all, is pleased to take them away: And for instance, let the Humility, Fortitude, and Patience of Job be their Pattern and President: he lost his dear children, all his goods and riches by four casual accidents; (as men call them) and besides, the immediate hand of God was upon him to try and prove his patience; for besides the sore Boiles that were upon his body, his wife, and intimate friends that should have comforted him, did aggravate his grief; nay, as he saith himself, The Arrows of the Almighty are within me, the poison whereof drinketh up my spirit; the terrors of God do set themselves in array against me: and yet Satan with all his temptations, nor by these losses, and bodily anguishes, could never induce him to murmur against the Lord, nor cast him in a pit of excessive Sorrow, being always supported by the confidence he had in the mercies of God, and in the assurance that his Redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth; besides, Humility makes men to be contented in any condition, but Pride makes men fret and grieve for the want of superfluous things: secondly, Fortitude makes men cast away all timorous fears that beget sorrow, for men are apt to grieve and sorrow for imaginary evils that they apprehend will come upon them (although there is no probability they should befall them) as much as for those which they suffer: Moreover, in Dolour and Anguish of the body; Fortitude gives men courage, and makes them to regard them no more then a Flea-bite: Lastly, Patience mixed with Hope, suffers all Griefs, Anguishes, sorrows, afflictions, tribulations, and persecutions, as things that be of no continuance, for it teacheth men to know, That weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning; and that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed in us. The first Use is, that men should not grieve, nor be sorrowful for anything but for sin, for sin indangereth the soul, which is more worth then all that a man hath; nay, men must not only be sorrowful for sin, but they must mourn for sin, as one mourneth for his only son; Nay, men must not only mourn for their sins, but their sins must ever be before them, that they may say with the Prophet David, Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out mine iniquities; and they must continually pray, Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin: then shall all worldly sorrow be bah shed away, and their mourning shall be turned into joy, and they be made partakers of this blessing promised by our blessed Savior, Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted. It appears then by these Discourses, that worldly Sorrow is mere vanity and vexation of Spirit; and that godly Sorrow is an introduction to a godly life, and by consequence, to Salvation, &c.

CHAP. XII.

IF the greatest evil is nothing else but the privation of the greatest good, how miserable should the lives of men be in their tedious Pilgrimage through this vale of Tears, if they were deprived of Spiritual Hope? since it is their greatest Comforter, and their chiefest Cordial against the anxieties of their mind, and the anguish of their bodies, under the burden of which their hearts would faint, if they were not supported and comforted by this Hope. And in this as much as in anything, is the incomprehensible wisdom of God visibly seen, that he hath been pleased to store men with Antidotes against all kind of venoms and evils that might be destructive to them, and to their being; for were it not for this passion of Hope, men upon the lest disgraces, afflictions, tribulations, and persecutions of this world, would embrace all manner of desperate resolutions, and make themselves away, to be rid of the continual anguish, grief, and sorrow they are subject unto in this life. And I am persuaded that the want that the Heathen had of this spiritual hope of the eternal joy to come, was the cause that so many of them laid violent hands upon themselves: for some to be free from the imperious insultations of their mortal enemies, or disdaining out of a manly courage to be obliged for their lives to their clemency, have ripped up their own bowels with their swords, as Cato did, rather then he would fall alive into the hands of Caesar; and others to be rid of the excessive grief and sorrow which did rack and torture their souls for the loss of their beloved husbands, or intimate friends, have drunk Poison, or stifled themselves with burning coals, as did Portia for her dear husbands death, Martius Brutus. But Christians being supported by this spiritual Hope, and with an assurance that all worldly disgraces and afflictions are not for continuance, but like unto a vapor arising from the earth, which is suddenly annihilated by the beams of the Sun, accounts these things unworthy to be regarded, in comparison of the eternal joy and glory that is reserved in the highest heavens for such as suffer with patience the crosses, and tribulations of this life for righteousness sake. This passion being then of great use for all true Christians, I will for the better descriptition of it, extend my Discourses on these particulars.

• 1. On the Definition of worldly Hope.
• 2. On the Causes of it.
• 3. On the Objects of it.
• 4. On its Proprieties.
• 5. On its Effects.
• 6. On the Excellency of spiritual Hope.

First, There are diverse Definitions of Hope; some say it is but an expectation of the good: others say, It is nothing but a confidence that men have that such things will happen to them, which they have conceived in their imagination: Others say, It is a passion of the soul, whereby upon the impression that men have of some future good which is represented to their imagination by the senses, as difficult to obtain; whereupon they addict themselves to an eager prosecution of it, conceiving to be able of themselves to obtain the enjoyment of the same. Hope, saith another, is a motion of the soul, that enticeth men to expect and seek after a good that is absent, in which they see some probability to be obtained; and Senault agreeing with these two last Opinions, adds, that there can be no real hope, except there be an apparent possibility it may be obtained. Hope is then the first passion incident to the Irascible appetite, of great use to men, if they fix their hope upon virtuous, or religious objects

Secondly, The causes that beget worldly Hope in the heart of carnal men; are these: first, a continual prosperity in their understandings doth puff up their hearts with vain and deluding hopes that the same prosperity will still continue, and accompany their designs to the end. Pompejus the great was deluded by this hope, for relying overmuch in the prosperous events he had formerly had in war (having never been foiled by any of his enemies) he neglected to raise a sufficient Army to hinder Caesars coming into Italy, as he was counseled to do by his intimate friends, but hoping on his former prosperous success, he said unto them, If I do but stamp with my feet upon the ground, soldiers will issue out of it in all parts of Italy to side with me against Caesar; but this vain hope was the cause of his utter overthrow, for he was enforced to forsake Italy to the mercy of Caesar, and to fly beyond the seas, where his Army was defeated, and himself constrained to save his life by shipping into Egypt, where he was basely murdered: secondly, Might and Power doth fill the hearts of carnal men with vain hopes; Xerxes King of Persia relying upon his numerous Army of a million of men, hoped to over-run Greece, and to dry up the very rivers with the incredible number of his foot and horse, but he was deluded in his hope, and in the straits of Thermopilae, his whole Host was stopped and foiled by Leonidas King of Sparta, who had but three hundred valiant Lacedemonians with him, and presently after his invincible Navy was utterly routed by Themistocles by the Island of Salamine, and he himself enforced out of fear to fly into Asia with a great part of his Army: thirdly, Youth, Strength, and a sanguin Complexion fills the hearts of young Gallants with vain hopes, and makes them undertake things that seem impossible, as Alexander the Great did the Conquest of the greatest part of the world with an inconsiderable Army of fouty thousand foot, and twenty thousand horses, in comparison of five or six hundred thousand that Darius brought into the field; and this passion of Hope was so predominant in him. that before he departed out of Greece, he gave away to others his Patrimony estate, and reserved nothing for himself, but the uncertain hope of the conquest of Asia. The natural reasons why young, strong, and sanguin Complexions are more addicted to this passion of Hope then others, are: first, that they abound in spirits, for the Sanguin have more blood and spirits then the Cholerick, Flegmatick, or Melancholick men: secondly, they have time by their young age to prosecute the enjoyment of their hopes; thirdly, they have strength and activity to overcome all difficulties that seem to bar them from the enjoyment of their hopes, whereas ancient men are more addicted to the passion of Fear then to Hope; first, Because their natural strength, and vital spirits are wasted with age; secondly, because their long experience hath made them more considerate then young men; thirdly, because they have one foot in the grave, and have not time to prosecute the enjoyment of their hopes, and are better acquainted with the incertitude of the undertakings of men: fourthly, Men that are versed in the affairs of the world, have their hearts filled with vain hopes, because they think nothing impossible unto them, by reason that their long experience in the affairs of this world hath drawn them out of the snares of many perplexities: fifthly, Men that have been divers times in great dangers by Sea and by Land, have their hearts filled with Hope when they fall into danger, hoping then to avoid the same, as they have done formerly: sixthly, Men of undaunted spirits, have their hearts filled with vain hopes, because the passion of Undantedness drives away all fears from their minds, yet these come oftentimes short of their hopes; for Baligny one of the most undaunted spirits of the French Nation, who had slain in Duel, or in single Combat seventeen valiant Gentlemen as any were in France, was slain himself in the streets of Paris manfully by another Gentleman, who was reputed but a Novice in the feats of Arms. Therefore men's hopes are for the greater part of a deluding Nature, if they be not grounded upon Reason and good Probabilities.

Thirdly, The Objects of the Hope of worldly men are these: first, Honors: secondly, Riches: thirdly, Pleasures: fourthly, Self-ends, and Vain-glory; for all the hopes of carnal men are fixed upon one of these Objects, and by consequence their hopes must be mere vanity and vexation of spirit: first, Men that make Honors the Objects of their Hopes, will find them to be grounded upon quicksand, for what is more subject to mutation and change then worldly Honors? The Favorites of Princes are compared to Moucherons that grow up in one night, or to Jonahs Gourd that sprouted and grew to its perfection in one day, and by a Worm was withered the next day, even so the honors of Favorites are taken away in a moment; Hamon the Agagite was promoted on a sudden above all the Princes that were with the great King Ahasuerus, but he lost in a moment his life and his Honors, and suffered an ignominious death, for he was hanged on a Gibbet of fifty cubits high. Sejanus likewise the Great Favorite of the Emperor Tiberius Nero, was raised to the greatest honors of the Roman Empire, but in a moment he was degraded of all his Honors, and dragged like a dog thorough the streets of the City of Rome; and of late years the Marquess d'Auere of a Groom was promoted to the greatest Honors of the Crown of France, but in an instant he was pistoled by the command of the King, Lewis the thirteenth, and having been buried in a Church near to the Kings Palace, his body was taken out of the grave by the common people the next day, and dragged up and down the streets of the City of Paris, and afterwards hacked in pieces, burned, and his ashes cast into Seine. Therefore men's hopes that are fixed upon worldly Honors have a very sandy foundation: secondly, If men's Hopes be fixed upon Riches, they are as ill grounded, for what is more fickle then Riches, that make themselves wings and flee away? Cressus King of Lydia, lost all his incredible Treasures and his Kingdoms in a day; and Crassus the richest Roman that ever was, lost his life and his unparalleled riches by endeavoring to increase them: Riches are then a tottering foundation for men's hopes: thirdly, if men's Hopes be fixed upon worldly pleasures, they are of less continuance then the fire of thorns under a Pot, for carnal pleasures seem tedious in the continuance, and men's estates will be sooner wasted, and their bodies consumed by loathsome diseases, then they will besatisfied with carnal pleasures: fourthly, Although Self-ends, and Vain-glory are the ordinary objects of the Hopes of the most generous spirits, yet Vain-glory is but a mere shadow; and for Self-ends it is contemptible and base; for moral Hope which enticeth men to generous actions, cannot be pure if it be not free from Self-ends, and vain ostentation; and notwithstanding, if the most heroical actions of the ancient and modern Worthies, both in Arms, and in learning, were well examined, few will be found, that were acted merely for the love of Virtue, or the public good, but were mixed with Self-ends, and Vain-glory: for the Conquests of Alexander and of Caesar, and of a hundred more, were to increase their fame and Dominions. And the learned Works of Aristotle, of Plate, of Demosthenes, of Cicero, of Seneca, of Salust, and of many more, were written as much to perpetuate their memory, as for the love of Virtue, or of the Public good. Men's Hopes must then have a more excellent object, and a more solid foundation then these before related, or they will prove to be but mere vanity and vexation of spirit.

Fourthly, The nature and proprieties of this passion of worldly Hope are these: first, Although all worldly Hope is of an earthly nature, because of its corruptible and transitory objects, yet it hath a propriety of agility, for it is as swift as the thoughts and desire of men, for in an instant of time men's Hope may be here, in France, in Spain, in Turkey, or anywhere, where men have commerce or trading, acquaintance, or intimate friends: secondly, The worldly Hope of men is as inconstant as the Winds, for sometimes it is fixed upon Honors, other times upon Riches, and again upon Pleasures, or upon this undertaking, or this other design, and alters according to men's fancies and imaginations: thirdly, the worldly Hope of men is ordinarily void of Prudence, for it is extravagant, and oftentimes ridiculous, because it doth not take his measures and distances aright, I mean, in fixing their Hopes upon impossibilities, which is the reason that so many are deluded in their Hopes; divers unreasonable creatures having by a natural sagacity a better aim then they: for the Lions, the Tigers, the Bares, and all other devouring beasts will not set upon any other beast except they see some probability they may master them, for if they be too swift, or too strong, they forbear to set upon them: nor the Kite will not offer to ravish the young Chickens, if its sees the Hen near at hand to defend them, nor the Hawk will not fly after the Partridge except it sees that she is within her reach; but worldly men, for the greater part, fix their hopes upon objects, wherein there is no probability at all they should attain to the enjoyment of them, which is against the natural propriety of this passion of Hope; for true Hope eschews all impossibilities: fourthly, The worldly Hopes of men are insatiable, as well as their Desires, for when they have attained the fruition of one of their Hopes, they instantly fix their Hopes upon another object, so that the thirst of an Hydropick will be sooner quenched, then the worldly hope of men will be satisfied. Pyrrhus King of Albania had conceived a vain Hope of the conquest of Italy: but his wise, and prudent Counselor Cynias, perceiving no probability in this hope of his, because the Roman Common-wealth was then powerful, argued with his Prince after this manner; Suppose, saith he, my Liege, that Fortune be so favorable to you, as to grant you the fruition of your hopes, in which I see small probability, because the Roman State is potent, and abounds in valiant and warlike men, and experienced Commanders; where will you then fix your hopes? Pyrrhus answered, when I shall have the possession of Italy; I will cross over into Sicilia and subdue that, and then, replied Cynias, where will you bend your Hopes? to conquer Carthage, said Pyrrhus, and all the coasts of Africa; and whether then saith Cynias? we will then, saith Pyrrhus, return into Albania, and joy in our Conquest, and make good cheer, and be merry: and who hinders you, saith Cynias, to be joyful, and make good cheer, and be merry, since you have a rich Kingdom of your own, and abound in Treasures, and in all things that your heart can desire? my counsel is then, that you should give bounds to your hopes, and prefer the certain to the uncertain events of Fortune. By this Instance only, these things will be confirmed: first, That the hopes of men are insatiable: secondly, That young and sanguin men are most addicted to hopes, and to undertake hard and difficult enterprises: thirdly, That rash, and inconsiderate hopes, void of probabilities are always deceitful, and vanish into smoke; for this young and valiant Prince was deluded by his hopes, and was foiled in Italy by the Romans, and in lieu of the conquest of Italy, of Sicilia, Carthage, and the coast of Africa, after the shedding of his subjects blood, the exhausting of his Treasures, and the many hazards he was in to lose his life, he was enforced to return into Albania, and was slain in the City of Argos by a woman, that did cast a Tyle upon his head.

Fifthly, The effects of worldly hope may be these: first, it is Hope that encourageth generous spirits to undertake all hard and difficult enterprises: It was Hope that moved Alexander to forsake his Kingdom of Macedonia, to undertake the conquest of Asia, and that made him leave a certain good for an imaginary hope of conquest, which had a prosperous success against all human probabilities by the secret decree of God, that the Persian Monarchy should be transferred to the Greeks, as it was fore-told by the Prophet Daniel. It was Hope that moved Ferdinand, and Isabella, King and Queen of Spain to undertake the conquest of the West-Indies: and by Hope the Ottoman Family hath been enticed to undertake the conquest of the third part of the Kingdoms of the earth; but all their hopes had no other object then self-ends, and vain-glory: secondly, It is Hope that induceth Politicians, and Statesmen, to impair their health, and tire their spirits, to dive into the mysteries of the Maxims, and Reasons of State, to propagate the increase, honor, and glory of their native Country, as Cardidinal Ximenez did for Spain; and the Cardinal de Riche-lieu for France, yet their Hopes were mixed with self-ends, and vain-glory: It is Hope that moves Commanders and Soldiers to venture their lives in the dangerous achievements of war, under color to fight for the Liberties and increase of the peace and extent of the demains of their native Country, yet Marius Sylla, and Caesar had a self-end in all their Military exploits, tending more to the utter subversion of the Liberties, and desolation of their native Country, then to the increase of the good or glory of it: fourthly, It is Hope that enticeth Merchants to venture their means and lives at Sea; and Tradsmen, and Artificers to moyl and toil; and the Husbandman to to endure the heat in Summer, and the cold blast of the Northerly winds in Winter; nay, all the injuries of the Meteors of the Air; but all their Hopes have no other object then their private gain, and to keep themselves and their Families in a decent condition, and free from penury. This hope is necessary, and therefore more commendable then any of the former (so it be kept within the bounds of moderation) because it is profitable to the Common-wealth, without which it could not subsist; but the other are destructive to mankind, for they are cause of much shedding of blood, and of the desolation of Kingdoms: fifthly, Moral Hope is better then worldly Hope, for it is a preserver of Life, and the Moderator of Grief and Sorrow, and a Cordial against all Anguishes and Infirmities of the body, it supports men in their greatest miseries, and is the opposite of the passion of despair, for it moved a Rhodian who had been cast into a dungeon full of Adders and Snakes (for some horrid crimes by him committed) to use daily antidotes for his preservation, and to answer to some that persuaded him to rid himself by a violent way out of that misery where he lay; no, saith he, as long as I have breath in my nostrils, I will ever hope for my deliverance; and it is daily seen, that the Gally-slaves, and those that are condemned to die, do ever hope to be redeemed or reprived; and the sickest, or the oldest man hath hope to recover, or to live one year longer: Nature having, as it seems, endowed men with this passion of Hope for the preservation of their being, for as soon as Hope forsakes men they go the way of all flesh, or fall into despair: sixthly, If Moral Hope be thus qualified, it will be of excellent use: first, Its objects must be a real good: secondly, This good must be absent or to come: thirdly, It must be difficult to obtain: fourthly, It must have some probability that it may be obtained, for impossibilities destroy the nature and the proprieties of Hope. Virtue is then the true object of moral Hope, but it must be without mixture of self-ends and Vain-glory. But

Sixthly, The Spiritual Hope is free from both, for it is a supernatual gift of God: The Apostle St. Paul in the eighth of the Romans makes a clear definition of it; Hope that is seen is not Hope, for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? but if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it. Now the object of this hope is the Rock of Eternity, Christ Jesus our Lord, and the Joy and Glory to come, for as the Apostle saith in the same Chapter, We are saved by hope. The cause of this hope is the immediate grace of God, for so excellent a Flower doth not grow in the Garden of our corrupt Nature; The effects it prroduceth in all true Christians proceed from the Promises of God, and the recompense of reward, as the Apostle St. Paul saith of Moses. By faith when Moses was come to years refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, then to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season, esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches then the treasures of Egypt, for he had respect to the recompense of reward. And were it not for this Spiritual Hope, the true Christians should be more miserable then the profane; nay, more then the brute beast: for the portion of the children of God in this life is most commonly, nothing but affliction, grief, and sorrow, tribulations, persecutions, reproaches, and ignominy: whereas the wicked flourish in this world like green Bay trees, and enjoy all the delights and pleasures of this life, because they make no conscience to sin; but the true children of God hate and abhor sin, and are conscious to commit the least sins; therefore without this hope, which doth uphold and comfort them, their race through this vale of tears would be tedious and irksome unto them: for as Solomon saith, Hope deferred maketh the heart sick, but when the desire cometh it is the tree of life. The first effect of spiritual Hope is, that it breeds in the hearts of men such a fortitude and confidence, that it expelleth all fears from their souls, and makes them say with the Prophet David, I have set the Lord always before me, because he is at my right hand I shall not be moved: secondly, Hope engendereth joy in the hearts of the Elect, and this joy is so constant and permanent that it never forsakes them in their greatest perplexities, nay, at the very hour of death, when all worldly comforts forsake them, this joy cheers up their hearts, and makes them say with the Prophet David, My heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth, my flesh also shall rest in hope, for thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thy holy one to see corruption: thirdly, Hope breeds patience, and makes Christians suffer patiently, the greatest torments that the cruellest tyrants can inflict upon them, For we glory, saith S. Paul, in tribulation, knowing that tribulation worketh patience, and patience experience, and experience hope, and hope maketh not ashamed, because the love of God is shed in our hearts by the holy Ghost that is given us: fourthly, Hope gives life to all our Christian and religious Duties, as St. Paul saith, He that ploweth should plow in Hope, and he that thresheth in hope shall be partaker of his hope: Hope is one of the best defensive Arms of a Christian to oppose the fiery darts, and the temptations of Satan, as the Apostle St. Paul saith, Putting on the breast-plate of faith, and love, and for an helmet the hope of salvation: sixthly, Hope is like a sure Anker to all afflicted Christians in the midst of the impetuous storms of persecution, as the Apostle St. Paul saith, That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope that is set before us; which hope we have as an Anker both sure and steadfast: seventhly, Hope doth mitigate and sweetens all kind of afflictions that befall to the children of God in this life, whether they be perplexities of the mind or anguishes of the body: eighthly, All such as confide and hope in Christ shall never be ashamed nor confounded, &c.

CHAP. XIII.

NOthing can be more hateful and odious unto God, who hath been pleased to create men after his own Image, then when they distrust of his mercies and fall into despair, for in the second of the first Table of his Commandments, he doth exalt himself, his Mercies above his Justice, in these words, For I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the father unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me, and showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me and keep my Commandments: Yet the Stoics, the most presumptuous Sect of all the ancient Philosophers, honor the passion of despair above all other passions, for Seneca one of the greatest Champions of it, doth exalt the criminal and abhorred act of Cato of Utica (who ripped up his own bowels with his own hands, because he would not be obliged to the clemency of Caesar for his life) as the most heroical action that ever was acted. And notwithstanding Seneca himself was stricken with a certain fear and horror, when the messenger that was sent unto him from Nero, told him, that it was the Emperors pleasure, that he should make choice of what manner of death he would, for die he must; whereupon, seeing there was no other remedy, he made, as they say, of necessity Virtue, and commanded his servant to heat a Stove, and caused his veins to be opened as he was in the Stews, that he might depart this life with the lest torment and anguish that might be, out of fear that his Stoic constancy should have failed him at his need. But the Academics, another Sect of the Heathen Philosophers, maintain that it is rather a Pusillanimity then a true fortitude of courage for men to lay violent hands upon themselves, to be free of the greatest evil that can befall them in this life, and this opinion doth best agree with the principles of the Protestant Religion, for he that doth with constancy and patience endure the greatest evils, torments, and anguishes of the body, that can be inflicted upon him by the cruellest Tyrants; and the grief and sorrow of mind, which may proceed from the shame, reproaches, and ignominy that is done by them to his person in the public view of the world, hath a far higher degree of fortitude and manly courrge, then they who to prevent the foresaid evils, torments and anguishes, or shame and ignominy, lay violent hands upon themselves, because the longer the Dolour continues, the greater is the constancy and fortitude of men that endure the same; and it is daily seen, that the pains of violent deaths, are of no continuance: And this was the reason why the Emperor Tiberius Nero, one of the most cruel Tyrants that ever lived upon earth, did prolong the lives of those he most hated, by keeping of them in dungeons with bread and water for many years together, saying to his friends that desired to know the reason of it, because they shall (said he) feel daily the fears and apprehensions of death, which is worse then death itself, and die for one death a thousand deaths. Yet if men will dive into the nature and effects of this passion of Despair without partiality, they will find that good use may be made of it, so it doth not attain to that exorbitant and horrid degree of Self-murdering. Give me leave therefore to extend my Discourse upon these particulars.

• 1. On the definition of this passion of Despair.
• 2. On the diversity of the Causes of it.
• 3. On the bad and good Effects of it.
• 4. On the Remedies to allay the fury of it.

There are divers sorts of Despair, which may be reduced to these three: first, Worldly: secondly, Moral: thirdly, Spiritual. The worldly Despair is nothing else but a conceit of an impossibility in the acquisition of the vain hopes of men, as it will appear in the Causes and Effects of that kind of Despair. The definition of the Moral Despair, is according to the opinion of the best Moralists as followeth. Despair, saith Boujou, is a passion of the Soul, withdrawing men from some good much desired, because it is represented by the Senses to their imagination, as impossible to be obtained. Despair, saith Senault, is a violent motion of the soul, that keeps men aloof from the prosecution of some good, in which they see no probability it can be obtained. Now this good is not always a real good, for the Senses do oftentimes delude the Reason and Judgment of men; but suppose it be a real good, then it is Virtue itself, or some virtuous Object, Action, or Design w ^ch they conceive impossible to be obtained or performed, for Moral Hope hath no other object then Virtue, or virtuous and generous actions, and by consequence Moral Despair must have the same objects, for divers of the ancient Moralists held Self-murdering no Despair, (as I have given a hint of it in the last Discourse) but an action of fortitude, and of magnanimity of courage. And this Moral Despair is the opposite, and great Antagonist of Moral Hope, and the second passion incident to the Irascible appetite, which doth mitigate the extravagancy of men's Hopes, as it will appear in the ensuing Discourses; yet men often times despair of things, in which they imagine impossibilities, when there is none, as it will appear by these two Instances, About sixscore years past, it was a thing thought impossible to sail with a ship round about the circuit of the earth, and yet Magalen a Portugais, and Sir Francis Drake an English man have shown by experience that it was possible to be done: secondly, In the days of Charles the ninth, Henry the third, and Henry the fourth, Kings of France; It was a thing thought impossible to take the City of Rochelle by force or by famine, and yet the Cardinal de Riche-lieu by the Art of a French Enginere, hath shown by experience it was possible to be done, for by a floating bridge that he made over an Arm of the Sea, upon which he planted Ordinances, and erected two Towers, and with a land Army, Lewis the thirteenth King of France, took that City by famine in less then a year; whereupon I conclude, that men Despair of things by imagining impossibilities where there is none, and this proceeds from want of judgment, power, or experience, for it is daily seen, that which seems to be impossible to one man, is easy and facile to another. Spiritual Despair is nothing else but a distrust of God's mercy, which by the temptation of Satan, do entice men to be the murderers of themselves, which is the next sin to the sin of the Holy Ghost.

Secondly, The causes of worldly Despair may be these: first, The death of a beloved party; Romelio supposing his beloved Mistress Iuliete to be dead, when she was but in a swound, slew himself upon her body, and when she came to herself again, she seeing her Sweet-Heart had killed himself for her sake, she stabbed herself with his Poynard: secondly, The infidelity in love is a cause of Despair; Dido Queen of Carthage slew herself, because Aeneas a Trojan Prince forsook her and sailed into Italy: but if this be a Poetical Fable, hear a true Relation. A proper young maiden being secretly betrothed to a young man living here in London, who broke his faith, and married another; whereupon the maiden being transported with Despair poisoned herself, and died the next day, this happened within this twelve month. I could relate a hundred such instances, to prove that of all the passions, Love being abused, or extinguished by death, doth sooner then any other thing beget Despair, but I pass them over for brevity sake: thirdly, Avarice is the cause of Despair; A Merchant in London of good means, having had some losses at sea, and having received the tidings of it on the Saturday; he being transported with Despair, hung himself on the Sunday morning when his servants were at Church; and it is a common thing among the Cormorant Farmers, when they have Monopolized all the corn of a County into their hands, to hang or drown themselves, if the next year prove to be a fruitful year: fourthly, Famine is a cause of Despair, for in Jehorams days, such a famine was in Samaria, that two women boiled a child, and did eat the same, the mother of the child out of Despair consenting to it; and whosoever will be pleased to read Josephus will see the horrid actions of some of the Jews committed out of Despair, because of the great famine that was at Jerusalem, when it was besieged by the Romans: fifthly, The fear to fall into the hands of a cruel enemy causeth Despair, some of the richest of the Saguntines, rather then they would fall into the hands of Hannibal, and his cruel Carthaginian and Numidian soldiers, did carry all their wealth, with their wives and children into their Market place, and having made a great heap of their rich moveables they set the fire in it, and slew their wives and children, and having cast them into the fire they slew themselves afterwards: sixthly, Shame is a cause of Despair; Cleopatra Queen of Egypt being informed that it had been resolved in the Counsel of Augustus Caesar, that she should be led as a captive after the triumphant Chariot of the said Emperor, when he should make his entry into Rome; out of Despair to avoid that shame, she applied two Vipers to her two breasts, and so died. There are divers other causes of worldly Despair, but they are of another nature, for they attain not to that exorbitant degree of Self-murdering, but draw men off from their vain hopes, and rash enterprises; of which I shall have occasion to speak in the Effects of this passion of Despair.

The Causes of Moral Despair proceed from the fatal events from generous and Martial achievements, or from the managing of affairs of State: first, after the Battle of Cannae, that Hannibal won upon the Romans, the young Nobility that fled and saved themselves from the rout of it, were so transported with Despair, that they resolved to fly out of Italy, and had done so, but for Publius Scipio, who hearing of their resolution, came amongst them, and after a sharp censure for their pusillanimity made them swear never to forsake him till he had been avenged upon Hannibal for the shame the Romans had received at Cannae: And by their means was he elected by the voice of the People to go as General into Africa, to enforce Hannibal by a diversion of war, to withdraw his forces out of Italy: secondly, The Carthaginians were so transported with Fear and Despair after the last overthrow that Scipio gave them not far from Carthage, where he routed Hannibal and Iuba King of the Numidians, that they lost all hope and courage, and made a most shameful peace with the Romans, for they did deliver up unto them all their shipping: But contrarily after the loss of three famous battles that Hannibal won upon the Romans; Hope inflamed their courage, and by it, from a conquered People, they became Conquerors; A good caveat for Princes or States, to dissuade them from Despairing, in the dismal events of war, but to foment hope in their breast in their greatest disgraces; for if Despair creap in men's hearts that hold the Helm of the ship of the Common-wealth, all goes to wrack: thirdly, Charles the seventh, King of France, was for sometime so possessed with Despair by the evil events that his men of war had daily with the English Armies that were under the Command of the Duke of Bedford, that he suffered his own, and public affairs to go to ruin, till his Concubine La bella Agnes, by the persuasion of the French Peers, and some of his chiefest, and most faithful Commanders of war infused Hope into his heart, by saying unto him, that she was minded to leave him, for she had been told, that she should be the Mistress of the most valorous Prince in Christendom, and she saw nothing but pusillanimity in him, for he did suffer the English to rent his Kingdom in piecemeals: This coming from a woman, filled the King with indignation, and with the hopes that the Pucelle of Orleans, as they called her, gave him to raise the siege of Orleans, that was then besieged by the English, he took from that time forward his, and the public affairs to heart, and became a valorous Prince: fourthly, In the beginning of the reign of Henry the fourth King of France, the true French Nation was brought into such a plunge of Despair by the conspiracy of the Chatholick league, and the association it had with Spain, with the general revolt of the greatest Cities in France against their lawful King, that had not God filled the heart of Henry the fourth with Hope, and undaunted valor, that Kingdom had been rent and torn in pieces by foreign Princes: fifthly, Ahithophel fell into such a deep Despair, because his Council was rejected, and Hushaies Council was accepted, that he went and put his house in order, and then hanged himself: sixthly, The Cardinal Ximines, who was Viceroy in Spain, during the minority of the Emperor, Charles the fifth, died with Sorrow and Despair, because his faithful services to the Crown of Spain were rewarded with an ingrateful dismission from the Court, and all public afairs.

First, Apostasy is the cause of spirtual Despair, for Saul, King of Israel, fell into Despair for disobeying the Commandment of the Lord, in not cutting off all the Amalekites, and for repairing to the Witch of Endor, instead to ask counsel of God; and being wounded by the Philistines, and his Army routed upon Mount Gilboa, he fell upon his sword and killed himself: secondly, Judas Iscariot, that betrayed our blessed Savior, fell into Despair for his Apostasy and disloyalty, and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief Priest and Elders, and said, I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood, and so went out and hanged himself: thirdly, Francisco Spira fell into Despair for his Apostasy, for having embraced the Protestant Religion, he was by large promises of great preferments seduced to return to Popery, but the worm of Conscience did so rack him, that he often cried out he was in in hell, because the torments of hell, as he said, could not be greater then those that he did suffer: fourthly, The persecuting of God's children is a cause to beget a spiritual Despair in men, as you may see at large in a Treatise, called, The Iudgments of God upon Persecutors.

Thirdly, The worst effect of Self-murdering Despair is, that it deprives men of Repentance, and by consequence of salvation, for Repentance is a gift of the free grace of God, neither can men repent when they will, since it is not their own gift but God's, and how can they repent when their Understanding, and their Will which are the noblest faculties of their soul are perverted, and so distempered with this furious passion of Despair, that they are rather like mad then rational men, and worse then the brute creatures, for none of them will destroy their own kind, much less themselves; for Self-murdering is an action contrary to the Law of Nature, for Nature strives in all its Effects to preserve its own being: besides, it is expressly prohibited by the Law of God: that one man should murder another: but suppose he do, yet if he murder the body of a man, he cannot murder his soul; but he that murdereth himself, doth murder his own body, and his own soul, and therefore deserves a far greater punishment then a common murderer: secondly, This kind of Despair proceeds from a distrust of God's mercy, and what greater injury can be done to God by man then to distrust of his infinite mercy, and to be a willful rebel to his blessed Commandments? thirdly, It deprives men of all Reason, Judgment, Compassion, and Humanity, for they are more cruel to themselves then their greatest enemies can be to them, as it will appear by these three ensuing effects of Despair: fourthly, In the time of the civil wars, between Sylla and Marius: Sylla besieged Preneste, a small, but a very strong City of Italy, because it had sided with Marius; and after a long siege he took the same, and commanded that all the Inhabitants should be put to the Sword, and the City set on fire, only he charged that his Host and his Family should be preserved, because in former time he had shown him much love, and good hospitality; so at the first entrance of the Town, an Officer with a band of soldiers were sent to this Hosts house to preserve it from plunder: but he hearing of Syllaes cruel decree against the City, was so transported with Despair, that he slew himself, saying, He would not be obliged for his life to the destroyer of his native Country: fifthly, in the civil war between the Cesarean and the Pompeian faction, a Centurion, or Captain of Caesar, and some thirty common soldiers were taken in a fight, and brought before Cornelius Scipio, that was then Governor of Africa for the Pompeian party, who condemned them all to death, the Centurion excepted, who seeing the cruelty of Scipio, drew out his sword, and slew himself in his presence, saying, He would not be obliged for his life to so cruel an enemy of Caesar: sixthly, In the war that fell out between the Romans and the Jews, in the days of the Emperor Vespasianus: Titus his son laid siege, and encompassed Iopata, a strong City of the Jews, with trenches, and a powerful Army; and after a long siege, and great resistance, thirty of the chiefest Magistrates of Iopata seeing no probability that the City could hold out any longer, hid themselves in a private Vault, into which they conveyed victuals for three days, before which time the City was taken by a Storm, and the greatest part of the people put to the sword, and such strict watch set to the gates that none could escape, so that these thirty in the Vault must either yield themselves to the Romans or famish; whereupon transported with Despair, they resolved rather to kill themselves, then to die a lingering death, or to yield themselves to the mercy of the Romans: a desperate, mad, and barbarous resolution! for the fury of the soldiers being over, they had undoubtedly obtained mercy: and so they cast lots who should be killed first, till there were but two left alive, and that was Josephus and another, who abhorring this Selfmurdering, persuaded his fellow to yield themselves to the Romans, to which he consented, and having discovered themselves they were brought before Titus, who having heard of the merit of Josephus, shown him mercy, and at his entreaty saved the life of his fellow.

Fourthly, The good effects of the passion of Despair may be these: first, It annihilates and turneth to smoke, all the vain and extravagant hopes of men that are fixed upon impossibilities: secondly, It doth quench the burning flames of love, and clips the wings of presumptuous Lovers, who fly too high with their desires, that would otherwise rack and torment their minds, and make them daily sigh and groan, because they could not obtain the enjoyment of that object, that is too rare and excellent for their degree; but Despair coming on, makes them desist from the prosecution of things in which there is no probability they can be obtained: thirdly, it mitigates the ambitious hopes of Princes, who would conceive nothing impossible to them because of their might and power, if this faithful counselor of Despair did not respresent unto them the difficulties there may be to attain to the fruition of their Hope. The Emperor, Charles the fifth, being ready to pass out of Italy into France with a very potent Army, led by approved Commanders, and composed of old and experienced soldiers, caused this Army to be ranged in Battle array, and when it was Marshalized in the best order it could be, according to the Art, and Rules of War, he sent for a French Noble man, that was his Prisoner, to ride along with him to view this Army; and after they had ridden through the same, and viewed all the Squadrons of it; The Emperor did ask the Noble man, what he conceived of this Army? He answered, that it was a gallant one, and well disciplined; I hope, said the Emperor, to ride with this Army thorough the heart of France, without impediment of any moment, and come to the very walls of Paris safe; Sir, said the French Noble man, mitigate your Hopes with Despair, for I can assure you, if you had three such Armies, you will not come to Paris before you are well beaten; and so it fell out, for he went no furthen then Marsellies, and there lost thirty thousand of his men, and was enforced to raise his siege, and to return with shame and dishonor into Italy: fourthly, As Despair makes men fly, and takes away their courage; so, when it isextream, and that there is no hope left for the preservation of their lives, it inflames their courage, and makes them fight like Lions. The Black Prince having entered France with an Army of some ten thousand men, and taken divers strong holds in Poytou; John then King of France, came against him with an Army of thirty thousand men; the Prince seeing himself over-matched, by the means of the Popes Nuncio desired to come to a Treaty, and offered to the French King to restore unto him all the strong holds he had taken, and to make good the damages he had received, so he might peaceably retreat with his Army into Aquitain, that did then belong to the Kingdom of England; but King John, a rash and inconsiderate Prince, required greater things, which stood not with the Princes honor to grant, and so was enforced out of Despair to fight whether he would or no; and being an excellent soldier, seated his Camp in a high ground full of thorns and bushes, which he lined with his Archers, and caused in the night time a deep ditch to be cast up about his Camp, to break the fury of the French horse; the French in the morning, instead to send their foot to make a passage through this ditch, sent their horse, who falling atop of one another in the ditch were slain by the Archers, and the battle of the French disordered; whereupon the Prince came upon them with his whole Army, and obtained a famous victory, and took King John and his youngest son Philip le Hardy, that was afterwards Duke of Burgundy prisoners, and a great number of the French Nobility; which confirms that extreme Despair makes men fight like Lions, and that wise Princes are rather to make golden bridges for their enemies to retreat, then by despair to enforce them to fight. To conclude, Despair is a dangerous passion, and Self-murdering Despair is to be abhorred of Christians, for it doth not only destroy the body, but it doth also cast men's souls into the pit of eternal woe. There is also another sort of Despair, which I have not as yet spoken of, which proceeds from natural infirmities, as from burning Fevers, Frenzies, and Madness; but the evil effects which proceed from these, are rather to be imputed to keepers of the Patients, then to themselves, or to the fury of the disease, and therefore cannot come within the compass of Self murder. The Remedies against which horrid sin are contained in the ensuing Discourse.

Fifthly, The Remedies to prevent the evil and most pernicious effects of this dangerous passion of Despair, which is one of the strongest temptations of Satan, may be these and such other passages of Scripture Hearken unto the voice of my cry, my King and my God, for unto thee will I pray; for constant and fervent prayers are able to cast back this temptation like filth in Satan's face, and to obtain of the Lord these supernatural graces, whereby Christians will be enabled to defy and overcome Despair: first, Faith, as a shield wherewith men shall be able, saith St. Paul, to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And to say with Job in the greatest tribulations that can befall them in this life, Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: secondly, Repentance, for it is a precious Antitode against the venom of Despair; What had become of St. Peter for denying his Lord and Master three times before the Cock crowed once, if by the bitter tears of Repentance he had not obtained mercy? Nay, the very temporal and feigned Repentance of Ahab King of Israel moved God to transfer, or remove the execution of his wrath from him to his children: And it is conceived by the best Divines, that if Judas, who betrayed our blessed Savior had repented of his horrid sin, he had not fallen into despair, for the compassions of the Lord are incomprehensible, and his mercies are infinite, as it appears by his towards Manasseh King of Judah, who had committed all the wickedness that could be imagined by the hearts of men, for he caused the Prophet Isaiah to suffer a most cruel death, by sawing his body in the midst with a Saw, and he turned aside from the Lord to commit Idolatry, and caused his son to pass through the fire, and dealt with Familiar Spirits, and made the streets of Jerusalem to overflow with the innocent blood he caused to be spilled; and yet when he humbled himself by an unfeigned Repentance before the Lord; God was so gracious as to show him mercy, and from a miserable Captive he restored him to his royal dignity: thirdly, Patience is a special remedy against Despair, for it preserved Job in the midst of his greatest temptation, nay, when his wife, that should have been his greatest comforter, said unto him, Dost thou still retain thy integrity? Curse God and die; He answered with an admirable meekness of Spirit, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh, What? Shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? And this only consideration, That all things work for good to them that love God, should keep men from Despair, when they are in a manner overwhelmed with the greatest afflictions that can befall them in this life: fourthly, Confidence in God, is an excellent remedy against Despair; for such as trust in the Lord, may say with the Prophet David, I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people that have set themselves against me: fifthly, Hope is a powerful remedy against Despair; for if men say with the Prophet David, The Lord is my Rock and my Fortress, and my Deliverer, for my hope is in thee: sixthly, Fortitude is an excellent remedy against Despair, for it is able to dash and overcome all the evil apprehensions that beget Despair, and check men's pusillanimity with these words of the Prophet David, Why art thou cast down, O my soul, and why art thou disquieted within me? hope thou in God, for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God. By these and the like passages of Scripture men may prevent the dangerous effect of Despair: Nay, draw unspeakable comforts out of the very Causes that beget Despair, which passion is full of vanity and vexation of spirit, &c.

CHAP. XIV.

IF Diamonds were as common as Pipples, and Virtues as natural to men as Vices, they would not be so precious, nor valued at so high a rate as they are in these days, for it is the rarity of things more then their goodness that makes them to be esteemed among men: for Instance, Bread is the only staff of man's life, and the best food that Nature hath appointed for his subsistence, and yet because it is common, it is little regarded, for Beggers will hardly give men thanks if they give them nothing but dry bread. But this passion I am to speak of, is not only rare, (since one man among one hundred is not endowed with it) but also good and excellent, and therefore the more to be esteemed and valued of men, as a rare and precious Jewel: By it men's hopes are attained, all fears expelled, and despair suppressed, and were it not a Passion, I should call it a Virtue, because of the resemblance it hath with Fortitude: For Undantedness is the Spring of all true Valour and manly courage, and by it all the generous actions that have been acted since the Creation till this day, have had their being and successful end: And therefore most judiciously, and properly placed by the Moralists after Despair, and before Fear, to mitigate by the excellent proprieties of it, the evil qualities of the two others; for were it not for this passion, men would be diverted from undertaking any noble design by Fear and Despair, who have a natural propriety to withdraw the vital spirits into the Center of the body, which hinders the natural faculties to do and execute their functions, and makes men timorous and remiss to undertake any noble action: but Undantedness causeth the blood, and the vital spirits that reside in it to dilate themselves to the utmost parts of the members of the Body, and so gives them life and vigor, and makes men apt and fit to undertake and execute all noble enterprises. Now for the better description of this noble Passion, I will enlarge myself upon these particulars.

• 1. On the Definition of this Passion.
• 2. On the Causes of it.
• 3. On the Nature and Proprieties of it.
• 4. On the evil and good Effects of it.
• 5. On the Spiritual Use of it.

First, This Passion hath several names, some call it Confidence, and have good reason for it, because it is its inseparable companion: others call it Audacity, but this term doth blemish the true Nature of it, for audacious and presumptuous men, are held to be under one and the same predicament: other call it boldness, but this word is often taken for Impudency, but the French call it Hardiesse, which doth express most properly the nature of it, which is Undantedness in the English Tongue; And here is the definition of it, according to the judgment of the best Moralists: Undantedness, saith one, is an affection and assurance to eschew an evil, and to overcome all the difficulties of it: Undantedness, saith another, is a Passion of the soul which strengtheneth the same, and makes it confident, it can overcome the most difficult evils that can befall it in this life, and doth also encourage it, to prosecute the good that is most difficult to obtain. And to this last definition I assent; as concerning the same the best of the two, for it doth truly express the nature of this passion, which is the third passion incident to the Irascible Appetite.

2. The Causes of it are many, but they may be reduced to these six; the two first are Natural, the two middlemost accidental, and the two last supernatural: The first Natural cause may be a moist and hot temper of the body; for the Naturalists have observed, that all such as are of that constitution of body have ordinarily an undaunted spirit: The Natural reason of it is, that this hot and moist temper doth suppress the Melancholick humor, and its evil proprieties and effects, whereby the blood that is hot and airy, an full ofvital spirits, and the bilia that is dry and fiery, and the flegm that is cold and moist, being thus mixed become of a dilative nature, and by the motion of the heart, spread themselves into all the utmost parts of the body, and enableth the mind to undertake, and the body to execute all manner of generous designs, be they never so difflcult or perilous. The second natural cause of Undantedness may be the largeness of the heart of men, for it hath been observed by the Physicians, when they have opened the bodies of valiant and undaunted spirits, that their hearts were larger then the hearts of ordinary men; and King Xerxes King of Persia having caused the body of Leonidas King of Sparta to be opened (partly out of admiration of his valor, and in part out of curiosity, to see whether the heart of such an undaunted spirit was larger then the hearts of common men) he found the same to be as big again, and hairy all over; a natural propriety incident to such as are of a hot and moist constitution of body, to abound in hair. The Natural reason why men with larger hearts then others should be addicted to Valour and Undantedness, is this, that the larger the heart is, the morevital spirits it can contain, which are the essential causes of Valour and Undantedness; and therefore it may very well be that the largeness of the heart is a natural cause of Undantedness: Divers men are of opinion, that tall and burly bodied men are more addicted to Valour and Undantedness then short and middlestatur'd men, but they are mistaken, for tall men have smaller hearts then others, and are also commonly more fainthearted then other men; and the Naturalists give this reason for it; If their hearts, say say, were proportionable to their body, they might have reason to be of that opinion, but it is commonly smaller, because Nature extended its virtue to the utmost parts, deprives the inward parts of it: Besides, all the vital spirits reside in the blood, and in the heart, and by its motion they are dispersed through all the parts of the body: Now the farther distant these parts are from the heart, the longer time are the vital spirits a going to quicken and vivify them; and by consequence tall and burlybodied men are fuller of Flesh then of Spirits, and less courageous then others. It is true, that they have a presuming undantedness, because of their strength, but what is done by strength proceeds from Strength and not from Valour, which doth reside in the heart, and in the mind, and not in the arms, and in the sinews. And the most valorous and undaunted spirits of this Age, and of other Ages, were for the most part short, or at the most of a middle stature; Leonidas, and Peleopidas were but short men; and Sir Francis Veere, and Sir Francis Drake, and the Marshal de Biron, and the Marshal Gastion were all short men: I conclude then, that Valour and undantedness doth reside in the heart and mind, and not in the strength of the body, and that some of all statures may be valiant and undaunted. The first accidental cause may be the innocence of men, and the justice of their Cause, for as Solomon saith, The wicked flee when no man pursueth, but the righteous are bold as a a Lyon; and it is daily seen, that three true men will overcome half a dozen of thieves; And when men fight for the preservation of the Liberties of their native Country, and the lives of their wives and children, and all the means they have, they fight commonly like Lions. The second accidental cause of Undantedness may be, The relations, support, or alliances that men have with potent and powerful Princes or States, for the confidence they have to be backed and supported by them, doth make them undertake with undaunted courage difficult and perilous enterprises; for Instance, The Hollanders, a small Commonwealth, being at the first supported by Elizabeth Queen of England, and afterwards by Henry the fourth King of France, have for many years together undantedly waged war with the great King of Spain; and likewise the Kingdom of Sweden, a petty Kingdom, in comparison of the Empire of Germany, being supported by Lewis the 13 ^th King of France, hath with an undaunted courage waged war many years with the House of Austria. Thirdly, The first supernatural cause of the undantedness of men, may be their zeal to Religion, for men do commonly fight like Lions for the preservation of the true Religion, as the Protestants have done in Germany, and in France, who were but a handful in comparison of the Roman Catholics, and yet they have obtained divers famous victories over them. And notwithstanding Machiavel out of an Atheistical mpudency, doth maintain that the Protestant Religion doth extinguish all true Valour and Undantedness in the heart of men, yet divers instances migh t be produced to prove that none are so courageous and undaunted as those that are truly religious; for the wicked and profane do fight but out of despair; but true Christians fight out of assurance that they shall prevail, because God takes their part. The second supernatural cause of undantedness may be the true confidence that men have in the Omnipotency of God, who is able by small means, nay, without means if it pleaseth him, to make them obtain unexpected Victories, and come off with honor and reputation, from the most perilous enterprises they undertake, as it shall be proved by instances, when I shall speak of the Effects of Undantedness.

Thirdly, The Nature and Proprieties of this Passion of Undantedness will best appear in a comparative way: by showing the differences there are between it and Temerity: first, undantedness is ever accompanied with Prudence and Justice, but Temerity tramples them both under its feet: secondly, Men of undaunted courage never employ their valor but upon some noble occasion, as the defense of their native Country, or for the increase or glory of it; but men transported with Temerity run headlong upon all occasions, and will rather show their valor to murder their dearest friends in a Duel upon some trivial word spoken unadvisedly, then to meet the enemy of their Country in the Field: thirdly, Men of undaunted courage are cautious in all their undertakings, and will not attempt things, except they fee some probability they may come off with honor and reputation, unless it be in desperate cases, that threaten the ruin of their Prince, or of their native Country, for in such cases they will willingly sacrifice their lives, as Leonidas did at the straits of Thermopilae: But men transported with temerity, will hazard their lives for things of no moment, that con •… her do them nor their Country good: fourthly, Men truly valorous 〈◊〉 with patience and great magnanimity 〈…〉 and offenses that are 〈…〉 their own persons, and 〈…〉 of such offenses and injuries which blemish the honor of their Prince or Country, but such as are possessed with temerity, vindicate with severity the offenses done to themselves, and connive at those that are done to their Prince, or native Country. It hath been a subject of much debate among the Moralists, which of these two famous Conquerors, viz. Alexander or Caesar, did excel one another in Undantedness of courage; the greater part hold that Alexander in his actions had shewn to have more temerity then prudence and true undaunted valor, and that Caesar in his actions had been more unjust, but less temerary, and had far excelled Alexander in Valour and Courage: first, The undertaking of the conquest of Asia by Alexander, was more just then Caesars; for he undertook to suppress the Persian Monarchy, that had ever been a mortal enemy to the Greeks; but Caesar undertook to suppress the liberties of his native Country that had raised him to his honors and dignities, and had entrusted him with their Armies for their defense, and not for their overthrow: secondly, All the Actions of Caesar but one, (that was when he commanded the Master of a Ship to cross the sea in a most impetuous storm, saying, Fear not, for thou carriest in thy Ship Caesar and his Fortune; which savored over-much of Temerity) were guided with much Wisdom and Prudence; but all the Actions of Alexander were guided by vain hopes, and his undertakings were rash and temerary, for there was no human probability that an Army of forty thousand foot, and ten thousand horse should be able to encounter and foil, two or three millions of men, but they were raw, and inexperienced soldiers, whereas Caesar had to oppose the most expert Commanders and well trained soldiers that were in the world, his only excepted, and therefore his undaunted courage was far the greater in overcoming of them. But some will object, How came it then to pass that their actions were so successful and fortunate, since the first were accompanied with Temerity, and the second with Injustice? It may be answered, God in his infinite Wisdom had long before decreed that Alexander should give the last period to the Persian Monarchy, and be the first Erector of the Grecian Monarchy, and Caesar the first Founder of the Roman Monarchy, which was to excel in Strength and Power all the former Monarchies; and it was God's Will and Decree that gave their Temerary, and unjust designs such success, and not their prudence, nor undantedness.

Fourthly, The Effects of Undantedness are of two sorts, Evil and Good, the evil proceed from the abuse that men make of so noble a Passion, but the good are essential and natural to it: first, As there is nothing so good, but may be abused by the corrupt and depraved inclination of men; even so this noble Passion whose natural object is Virtue, Prudence, and Justice, is extraordinarily abused by the evil intentions of men, who make it the Emissary of their wrath and revenge. The undaunted courage of Simeon and Levi was by them made the agent and instrument of their cruel revenge upon all the Inhabitants of Shechem, and upon Hamar and Shechem, the Father and the Son; and had not God out of his mercy towards the old Patriarch Jacob, been pleased to send a panic fear upon the Cities that were round about them, their rash temerity had been the cause of their utter ruin: secondly, The undaunted courage of Joab, who was a man of valor from his youth, was made by his immoderate ambition the instrument of the two base and horrid murders of Abner, and of Amasa, two more righteous men then he: thirdly, The undaunted courage of Alexander, of Marius, of Sylla, of Cataline, and of Caesar, was by their ambition made the instrument of the shedding of an ocean of human blood: fourthly, The undaunted courage of the Duke of Guise, and of the Marshal de Biron, was made by their excessive ambition the instrument of the desolations that happened in the civil war of France, and of the troubles that happened in Henry the fourths days, and of their own destruction, and fatal end: whereby it appears, that if Valour and Undantedness of Courage be abused, and are not accompanied with Prudence and Justice, that it is a destructive passion to mankind, and to the owners themselves.

But the good Effects of Valour and Undantedness that is guided by Prudence, and grounded upon Justice, are always honorable to their owners, and profitable to the public, as it shall be proved by Instances: first, The undaunted courage of David that was then but a young stripling in opposing the rage of the great Champion of the Philistines, Goliath, who was so presumptuous as to defy the Army of Israel, and by consequence God himself, was honorable to him, and a cause of joy and comfort to all Israel: secondly, The undaunted courage of Jonathan and of his Armor-Bearer, who assailed a whole Garison of the Philistines, and put them to rout, was honorable to him, and was the cause of a great deliverance to all the people of Israel: thirdly, The undaunted courage of Scevola, who having attempted to kill the King Porsena, killed his Secretary by mistake; and having been taken and brought before the King, burned his own hands in the flame of a torch with an admirable constancy, to insinuate in the said Kings mind, that there was three hundred young men more in his Camp that had vowed to kill him, as he had essaied to do; by which unparalleled undantedness, the King concluded a Peace with the Romans, whereby Mutius Scevola obtained great honor, and the Roman Commonwealth a great deliverance: fourthly, The undaunted courage of Horatius Cocles another Roman Citizen, who was so valorous, as to oppose himself to the whole Army of the said King Porsena, to hinder it from passing over a wooden bridge erected upon the river of Tiber which led into the City of Rome, and made the same good till the bridge was broken down behind him, and then threw himself into the river and saved himself by swimming over; by which noble action he obtained great honor, and preserved the City of Rome from ruin: fifthly, the undaunted courage of a Greek soldier in the seafight that was fought between the Greeks and the Persians near to the Island of Salamina, is worthy of eternal fame; for the Galley which he was in, having boorded and grappled a Persian Galley, the enemies having cut off the iron hooks, he set his right hand to hold it, and that being cut off, he set his left hand, and that being also cut off, he held the Galley fast with his teeth, till his head was cut off from his body: sixthly, The like undaunted courage was seen in a Christian soldier when the City of Vienna was besieged by Soliman the Great, Emperor of the Turks, for in a great storm that the Turks gave to win a great Bastion, or stone Bulwork, which lieth next to the Gate that leads to Bressbourgh in Hungaria; a Turkish Janisary having climbed the said Bulwork, with a Turkish Flag in one of his hands, to plant the same at the point of the Bulwork, a Christian Soldier grappled with him, and flung him and himself, from the top of the Bulwork, to the bottom of the Ditch, and so were both slain; choosing rather to sacrifice his life for the preservation of the City, then to preserve the same, by betraying the trust that was reposed on him. These are the laudable effects of true Valor, and of an Undanted courage.

Fifthly, [ 5] The Spiritual Uses that may be made of this noble Passion of Undantedness, may be these. First, It may serve as a shield, to cast back the fiery darts of the temptations of Satan. Secondly, It may serve as a precious antidote, to expel the venom of all manner of Afflictions, Tribulations, and Persecutions, that can befall a Christian in this life, specially if it be grounded upon a true confidence in Christ; for as the Prophet David saith, In God I have put my trust, I will not fear what flesh can do unto me. And certainly, if the Undanted courage of men proceed from a true confidence in God, they shall never be moved, but shall be like the middle region of the Air, which is in a perpetual tranquility, when the undermost is disturbed by impetuous Storms and Tempest, for as Saint Paul saith, If God be for us, who can be against us? Thirdly, This Undanted confidence in the mercies of God, will comfort a Christian at the hour of death, when all other worldly comforts do forsake him; for that is the only perilous time, in which men have most need of this Grace of Spiritual Confidence, and Undantedness; because, if Satan, that roaring Lyon, doth then miss of his prey, men are forever freed of his paws; and therefore he doth then most bestir himself, and uses the uttermost of his wiles, to entrap the weak and sickly souls, into his snares. Fourthly, This undaunted Confidence made Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, to despise the burning flames of a Furnace, seven times more fierce then it was ordinarily heated; and made the Prophet Daniel to contemn the rage of the hunger-bitten Lions, when he was cast into their Den, by the malicious envy of the Princes, Presidents, and Governors of Persia. Fifthly, By Faith, and this undaunted Confidence, all the ancient Heroes of the Old Testament, named in the eleventh Chapter of Saint Paul's Epistle to the Hebrews, did suffer with admirable patience those Anguishes of Body, and perplexities of the Mind there specified, because they had respect unto the recompense of the reward. Sixthly, This undaunted Confidence, caused the Apostle Peter, and others, to despise the threatenings and beating of the High Priest; and to rejoice, because they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his Name. And also, it made all the Martyrs that suffered in Queen Mary's days, to bear with admirable patience, the greatest torments that could be inflicted upon them.

It doth then appear by these discourses, that an undaunted Confidence in God, serves as a shield in time of persecution to God's children; and that Valor, and an undaunted Courage, guided by Prudence, and grounded upon Justice, is always honorable to the owners, and profitable to the public; and that rash Undantedness, is nothing but mere vanity, temerity, and vexation of Spirit, &c.

CHAP. XV.

AS nothing can be so good, but it may be abused, so nothing can be so evil, but good use may be made of it. Wine is excellent and good, for it hath a natural propriety to rejoice the heart; and yet divers men abuse Wine, and by the immoderate drinking of it, become worse then brute Beasts, because they deprive themselves of Judgment and Reason. The Viper is naturally rank poison, and yet the Mithridate, and other Antidotes against venoms, are composed of it; even so this passion of Fear is much abused, and made worse then it is, although it proceed from an evil spring, I mean, the weakness and infirmity of men; yet God is pleased to make good use of it to convert sinners, and to make them prosecute with greater fervency, then they would otherwise do, the ways of Righteousness. Divers conceive Fear to be a Feminine passion, and unworthy to be harbored in a Masculine Brest; yet it maketh the proudest of men to be cautious, and circumspect in their undertakings, and clips the wings of their vain hopes, and ambitious designs. Tacitus saith, That it serves as a curb to the licentious will of Princes, and of all others that are in power and authority; and for instance saith, That as long as Agrippina, the mother of the Emperor Nero lived, of whom he stood in fear, his actions were not so exorbitantly wicked, as after her death; but he having like a graceless son, deprived her of life, took free liberty to commit the greatest impieties that his heart could imagine. And Joash King of Judah did the like; for as long as Jehoiada, the high Priest lived, whom he feared, he seemed to love the Lord; but soon after his death, he gave himself over to Idolatry and cruelty; for like an ungrateful wretch, he caused Zechariah, the son of Jehoiada to be slain, because he only delivered unto him, the message he had received from the Lord. Divers prefer Love, before Fear; but there cannot be any true Love without Fear. Others say, it is better to be feared, then beloved, but it is better to be equally loved and feared; for men without Love, endeavor to be rid of the object of their Fears: But if men be beloved and feared; this composure keeps off all danger, and begets security and obedience: Neither can there be any filial obedience without Love; for the obedience that proceeds from Fear, is not free, but forced. The fear of the Lord, is the beginning of knowledge. And the fear of a King is as the roaring of a Lyon; who so provoketh him to anger, sinneth against his own soul. How much more should men be afraid to provoke God's wrath by their sins? and yet that is one of their least fears; for they fear those things which they should not fear, and fear not to sin, which they should most fear. But since the fear of the Lord, is the beginning of wisdom, and of all saving knowledge; which knowledge doth teach men to be afraid of sin, which is the greatest evil: Give me leave to enlarge my discourse upon these ensuing particulars, that you may know to fear nothing but sin.

• 1. On the definition of Fear.
• 2. On the Nature of it.
• 3. On the causes and remedies of men's fears.
• 4. On the evil and good Effects of Fear.
• 5. On the Spirtiual use of Fear.

The Moralists do vary in opinion, concerning the definition of this Passion of Fear. Fear, saith one, is a passion, and apprehension of an evil that is to come; but near at hand, and looked for, and unlikely to be avoided. Fear, saith another, is nothing else, but a Grief and Dolor of the soul, apprehending an evil at hand; in which men see little probability it can be eschewed, although it aims at the annihilation of their Being, or to some dismal disgrace, that threateneth their life or estate. Yet it will appear by the nature, the proprieties and effects of Fear; that men are rather transported with Fears of imaginary Evils, then of real; and that men's fears do but rarely proceed from the annihilation of their Being: However, it is the fourth passion, incident to the irrascible Appetite, and the opposite and great Antagonist to the noble passion of Undantedness.

Secondly, [ 2] The nature of Fear is different from the nature of Joy; for Joy dilates the blood, and the vital spirits residing in it, from the heart, to the utmost parts of the body; contrarily Fear withdraws the blood from the extremes of the body to the heart, because Fear is a cold passion; and the heart finding this cold to oppress it, withdraws, and calls as it were, the blood and vital spirits from the further parts of the body to his aid, that by their natural heat, he may be revived and cherished. And that is the reason, why divers men and women have been deprived of life, by a sudden fear or fright, because this cold passion congealeth the blood about the heart, as a great frost congealeth water into Ice; but if the Fear be not so violent, yet it produceth a great alteration in the body; for men's and women's faces will become as white as a cloth, and sometimes all their members will tremble as a leaf; and the motion proceeding from this alteration, is so swift, and forcible, that women great with-child, miscarry by it; nay, it doth oftentimes turn the child in their womb, which depriveth the mother, and the child of life. But Fear and Dolor have a great resemblance one with the other; for they have both this withdrawing quality, and are both of an extreme cold and dry nature; and therefore Fear and Sorrow are compared to the Winter Season, and Joy and Delectation to the Spring and Summer, in which the vegetative Creatures sprought and spring out their branches, leaves, flowers, and fruits; but in Winter time, they withdraw their sap, which is their life, into their Roots, as Fear and Sorrow doth draw the blood and vital spirits about the heart; that is the essential cause and motion of men's lives: Having both one and the same end, the vegetatives to preserve themselves from the Frost and Snow, and the heart to warm and cherish itself, against these cold and frosty passions of Fear and Sorrow.

Thirdly, [ 3] The causes of men's fears are many, and of several natures; and by consequence, their remedies must be proportionable unto them: I will therefore speak first of the causes, and to every cause apply the remedy; but as I have said a little before, men's fears do oftener proceed from imaginary evils, then from the real; and the worst propriety of this passion of Fear is, That it anticipates, and creates Fears in the Mind, the real effects of which evils, oftentimes are not like to trouble such as apprehend them, nor their children's children; which kind of Fear proceeds from a distrust of God's providence, and therefore as odious to God as any other kind of Fear, as it shall be proved, when I come to speak of the effects of this passion. First, Worldly men Fear to loose their honors and dignities. Secondly, Their treasures and riches. Thirdly, The enjoyment of their delights and pleasures. These three fading, and vanishing things, are the most common causes of men's fears: The remedies against these, are, First, to consider, that there are not many noble called; and that the things which are most despised, God hath chosen. Secondly, That riches certainly make themselves wings, they fly away as an Eagle towards heaven. Thirdly, That pleasures are of no continuance, and leave a sting in the conscience at their departure, and are but mere vanity and vexation of Spirit. Fourthly, Men fear Poverty, and to prevent the same, addict themselves for the greater part to unlawful courses of gain, remembering not this wise saying of Solomon. He that maketh haste to be rich, shall not be innocent. Poverty is no Vice, and yet men abhor Poverty more then any Vice, nay, more then Sin, the worst of evils. The remedy against Poverty, is Contentedness; for many believe they are poor, when they are rich; and many think themselves rich, when they are poor. As Christ said to the Angel of the Church of the Laodiceans, Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing, and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked. Contentedness is a gift, and grace of God; for if men be never so rich, and want that grace, they are but poor and miserable, and like Cormorants that can never be satisfied. This Fear also proceeds from Distrust, and the remedy of it, is to rely upon God's providence, and on this precept, and promise of our blessed Savior. Which of you, by taking thought, can add one cubit unto his stature? and why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the Lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin. And yet I say unto you, That Solomon in all his glory, was not arrayed like one of these. And in the 31, 33. Verses. Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat, or what shall we drink, or wherewith shall we be clothed? But seek ye first the Kingdom of God, and his Righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Fifthly, Men fear to lose their wives, women their husbands, Parents their children, and children their Parents, and one friend another: But this Fear proceeds from the want, they conceive, they will have of their help, and assistance. The remedy to this Fear, is this consideration, That all men are mortal, and that all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again. And let not Christians have less constancy then a Heathen; to whom tidings being brought, that his only son was dead, he answered, I knew he was not begotten to be immortal; and to utterly root out this Fear, which proceeds from the distrust of the want of their aid or assistance, let men have always in their mind, this saying of Saint Paul, All things work together for good to them that love God. Sixthly, Men fear persecutions, tribulations, and afflictions: This Fear proceeds from the infirmity of the flesh, and from the pusillanimity of men's minds, and from an antipathy of nature, who abhorreth Anguish and Dolor: The remedy of this Fear, is Fortitude, and an undaunted Courage; with this assurance, That by tribulations and crosses, God is pleased oftentimes to call his children to repentance, and make them more fervent and zealous in the ways of Righteousness. As the Prophet David saith, Before I was afflicted, I went astray, but now I have kept thy word. Seventhly, Men fear banishment and long imprisonments: This Fear also proceeds from want of a Masculine courage; for a Heathen could say, when he was banished, That the whole world was his Native Country. The only remedy against this Fear, is Patience; and as the prison doth retain men's bodies, so it may, if they make good use of their banishment and imprisonment, refrain them from sin, and increase their Moral virtues, and Spiritual Graces. Paul and Silas prayed, and sung Psalms, and praised God in prison. And Sir Walter Rawleigh, and La Nove, have made themselves famous by the learned Works they have written in prison. And Solon and Cicero did improve their learning, and Moral virtues, in their exile or banishment. Eighthly, Men fear lingering and tedious Diseases; as the Consumption of the Lungs, the Hectick Fever, and the wasting of the Liver: But this Fear proceeds from their natural infirmity, that is impatient of pain; for lingering Diseases prepare men for repentance, whereas sudden diseases deprive them oftentimes of that Grace. The remedy against this Fear, is to seek to the Lord, before men seek after the Physicians; for the issues of life and death, are in his hands. Hezekiah, King of Judah, was soon cured of his Mortal disease, because he called and prayed unto the Lord, with an unfeigned sincerity of heart. Ninthly, Men fear to fall into a decrepit age: A vain and ridiculous Fear, since the oldest man alive doth commonly hope, and desire to live a year longer. It is true, that if decrepit age and poverty do meet, it may be called, The Misery of Miseries; for besides the many infirmities that are incident to decrepit age, the waywardness common to it, is the most insupportable, for it maketh all things distasteful unto them; and being deprived by Poverty, of all worldly comforts, this aggravates far more the misery of decrepit age. The remedy of it, is to attend with patience, the time appointed by the Lord, of the separation of the body and soul, and to say with old Simeon, Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word; for mine eyes have seen thy salvation. Tenthly and lastly, Men are afraid of death, and especially the wicked, because it deprives them of their honors, riches, and pleasures (the enjoyment of which, is their Paradise upon Earth) and ferries them over to the eternal woes. But death is welcome to the children of God; for they account death as their deliverer, who frees them from the continual miseries, and afflictions of this world, who are commonly their portion in this life; for they are assured, that the sting of death hath been taken away, and that the redemption of their sins hath been purchased at a dear rate, viz. By the shedding of the precious blood of the only Son of God, our blessed Savior Jesus Christ. And therefore defy death, and say to her face, O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the the Law; but thanks be to God, which giveth us victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Fourthly, [ 4] The Effects of this Passion of Fear, are of two sorts, viz. Evil and Good: The first evil effect of it, is, That it dants the courage of men, and makes valiant Soldiers become cowards; and this is called a Panick Fear: The Greek and Roman Histories are full of instances to prove it, which I will pass over for brevity sake, and will only relate this ensuing, recorded by Philip de Commines. In the beginning of the reign of Lewis the eleventh, King of France, the Duke Charles of Burgundy, and the discontented Officers of the Crown of France, joined with him, raised a great Army, and came near to Paris, against the said King; who hearing of their approach, came against them with another great Army, and having both pitched their Camp, within a mile one of another, with a resalution to give battle; the next day it fell out to be a misty morning, and certain Troops of Horse being on both sides sent out, to discover the intentions of both Armies, they saw as they imagined, a great range of Lanciers standing on a high ground, the Bourgonians conceiving they came towards them; and the French imagining they came towards their Camp; and so transported both with a Panick fear, they fled as hard as they could drive towards their Camp, and raised a fearful alarm, saying, The enemies were at hand; and so put both Armies into a strange confusion; but when the Sun had dispersed the mist, it was apparently seen that these imaginary Lanciers were but Tysels growing upon a long high bank. And the two Armies being mixed, the French having the better, another Panick fear came amongst the French Horse, by a false rumor that the King was slain; that made them flee as if all had been lost; and had not the King suddenly shown himself, the French Army had utterly been routed. Secondly, Fear begets cruelty in the hearts of effeminate Princes; for it hath been observed that Pusillanimity is ever accompanied with Fear: The effeminate Emperors of Rome have all been addicted to this passion of Fear; Caligula did usually hide himself under a bed out of fear, when it Thundred and Lightned; and Nero, Domitianus, Commodus and Heliogabalus were afraid if men did but whisper together: and they were all more cruel then Tigers or Cannibals. Thirdly, Fear hath no regard to consanguinity; Tiberius Nero out of fear, destroyed by one means or other, all his nearest kinsmen, and caused the valorous and noble Germanicus his Nephew to be poisoned by Piso. And Lewis the Eleventh King of France, caused his own Brother Charles Duke of Normandy to be poisoned out of Fear; and so did Richard the Third, his two hopeful Nephews: And out of reason of State, or more properly out of Fear, The elder sons of the Ottoman Family, have for these many years caused their younger Brothers to be strangled. Fourthly, Fear doth in admirable Effects go beyond Nature; for a Secretary of the State of Florence, being over night condemned to die, was so transported with the Fear of death, that out of the violent apprehension of it, the hair of his head and beard, which was as black as a Crow, became before the morning as white as snow. Lastly, Fear is the cozen german of dispair; for it makes men to eschew the shame of a public death, to lay violent hands on themselves; For Hannibal rather then he would suffer to be made a public spectacle of shame to the Romans, poisoned himself: And Cardinal Wolsey rather then he would lose his head upon Tower-Hill, did the like, and died in Leicester Abbey.

The good Effects of Fear may be these: First, If it were not for the Fear of the punishments appointed by the Laws of the Land, to chastise the misdemeanors of men, the Rodes and Highways would be so full of Thieves and Murderers, that honest men should not be able to go from one Town to another. Secondly, If it were not for Fear, Laws and Magistrates would be trampled under feet, and all manner of Obedience, Reverence, and respect would be banished; Joane would be as good as my Lady, and Jack-Straw would be as good as my Lord Mayor; the Foot-man as good as his Lord, and the Servant as good as his Master; but Fear of correction makes everyone to give honor to whom honor is due, and to know his Rank and Degree. Thirdly, If it were not for Fear, rash and timerary men would fix their hopes beyond the Stars, and would think nothing impossible unto them; but fear clips their wings, and makes them to be more considerate. Fourthly, Fear is the only Antidote against the venom of presumption; and were it not for Fear, this world could not subsist; for there never was an Age so full of Phaetons and Icarus 's as this, that would with their waxed wings flee to Heaven, or burn the Earth by the guiding of Phoebus Chariot, if Fear did not restrain them. Fifthly, Fear is the faithful Counselor of great Politicians and States-men, who would otherwise vaunt themselves (as the great Mathematician Archimedes did, to remove the World, or turn it up-side down, if he could find out a solid Foundation to plant his Mathematical Instruments) to set all the World together by the ears, to make their Prince the only Monarch of the Earth, by the means of their deep Machiavilian Policies: but Fear whispers them in the ear, that Policy hath ever been and ever shall be subordinate to Destiny, and that the secret Decrees of God shall come to pass in despite of them, and will turn their Wisdom and Policy into foolishness. Sixthly, As fear of temporal punishment is a Curbe to restrain open and gross Sinners from criminal offenses: so the Fear of eternal punishment is a strong motive to withdraw civil men from their secret sins; for let civil men be as private in their sins as they can, yet the All-seeing Eye of God and their own Conscience are witnesses of their sin; so that their Conscience which is their Accuser, doth infuse into their mind this Fear of eternal punishment, whereby they are as much restrained from their secret sins, as the gross Sinners are by the Fear of temporal punishment. And as the hope of the recompense of reward doth draw many into the way of righteousness; so the Fear of eternal punishment doth enforce many to forsake sin, and to turn unfeignedly unto God; for Sinners must be first humbled and brought low by the terror of the Law, before they can unfeignedly embrace the gracious Promises of the Gospel: I do therefore conclude, that spiritual Fear joined with spiritual hope, are effectual means to beget in Christians a hunger and thirst to obtain by the merits of Christ eternal life.

Fifthly, The spiritual Uses of Fear may be these. 1. Men are not only to fear, [ 5] but also to love God; that their fear may not be a servile, but a filial fear; for the Devil himself fears and trembles at the very name of God; yet doth he not love, but hate and detest him. 2. Men are not only to fear to disobey God, but they are also to endeavor to do his will, and to perform his commandments, that they may neither commit sins of commission, nor sins of omission; for it is not sufficient for them to eschew evil, but they must also endeavor to do good. 3. Men are not only to fear and to love God, but they are also to love, and to fear to offend their neighbors, that they may fulfill the second Table as well as the first, and observe this precept of our blessed Savior: Therefore all things whatsoever you would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the Law and the Prophets. 4. Men are not only to love and fear God, but they are also to love, fear, honor and respect his Substitutes or Deputies upon Earth; I mean the supreme and subordinate Magistrates to whom he hath given the sword of Justice in hand for to preserve the Innocent, and to punish the wicked; For there is no power but of God; the powers that be are ordained of God. 5. Men cannot fear God, except they fear to commit sin, because there is nothing more odious to God then sin; and such as fear God, do hate and abhor sin: for the fear of the Lord doth always precede the hatred of sin, as it appears by this saying of Solomon, Fear the Lord, and depart from Evil: Intimating, that men cannot depart from sin before they fear the Lord: And how pleasant & acceptable this fear is unto God, it may be collected by these sayings of the Prophet David, Thou hast, saith he, given me the heritage of those that fear thy name; meaning, that such as fear the Lord, have a most excellent Heritage, as it is by him confirmed by these words, The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places; yea, I have a goodly Heritage. And in another place he saith, that God is the help and shield of those who fear him. Again, Solomon saith, The fear of the Lord prolongeth days, but the days of the wicked shall be shortened: Whereby it appears that such as fear the Lord, have most excellent prerogatives. 6. The fear of the Lord is the rarest jewel under the Sun; for King Solomon after he had shewn in his Book of recantations, that all things under the cope of Heaven were but mere vanity and vexation of spirit, he concludes, That to fear God, and to keep his Commandments, is the whole duty of man. And I conclude with him, that all fears whatsoever (except it be the fear of God, and the fear of sin) are mere vanity and vexation of spirit.

CHAP. XVI.

IN the former Ages of the World, They only were accounted generous, and of a masculine courage, that could with patience endure all manner of injuries, and suffer with meekness all kind of reproaches that were done or said unto them, without being moved or distempered with this fiery passion of Wrath: as it may appear by these ensuing Instances that have been recorded by the Ancient Authors, in the praise and commendation of such Princes and private men, that have been endowed with this rare virtue of Fortitude. It is recorded that Antigonus King of Macedonia walking one evening thorough his Camp, heard some of his Soldiers to curse him bitterly; but he with an admirable patience, without being moved or distempered, prayed them lovingly to go a little further, that the King might not hear them. And the Emperor Augustus Caesar, being earnestly entreated by his Son-in-law Tiberius Nero, to punish severely the Author of divers scandalous Libels that had been dispersed through the Streets of Rome against him: Answered, without being moved with anger, That the greatest correction he could inflict upon him, was to disdain to take notice of his calumnies. And King Philip, Father to Alexander the Great, being entreated by one of his Courtiers to punish severely an Athenian Orator that made him odious to the Greeks, by venting in his public Declamations, bitter invectives against him: answered, without being distempered with wrath, It may be, said he, I have not as yet done him any good, as I have done to many others that deserved not so well as he; whereupon he sent him a present of two Talents in Gold, that made this Nightingal to change his tune, & to exalt the Liberality and Heroical Virtues of the King as high as the Sky: And Philip being informed of it, told his Courtier, that he was a better Physician then he, to cure the malignancy of evil-tongued men. And Lewis the Twelfth King of France, being persuaded by some of his Peers to avenge himself of some affronts and injuries done unto him, by some great Officers of the Crown in the days of Charles the Tenth, his Predecessor, when he was only Duke of Orleans: answered with an admirable magnanimity of courage, That it was unseemly for a King of France to revenge himself of the injuries done formerly to the Duke of Orleans. But in this decrepit Age of the World wherein we live, They only are reputed generous, and of a manly courage that are addicted to wrath, and apt to vindicate themselves for the least offense and injury which are done unto them, although it be done unwillingly. And this is one of the causes of all the Divisions that reign in this Commonwealth. Give me leave therefore to enlarge my discourse upon these particulars, to show you the evil Nature, Proprieties, and Effects of this furious passion of Wrath.

• 1. Upon the definition of Wrath.
• 2. Upon the causes that move Wrath.
• 3. Upon the Nature and Proprieties of it.
• 4. Upon the evil and good Effects of the same.
• 5. Upon the Remedies of it.

The Moralists do vary in their Opinions, concerning the definition of this Passion; Senalt and others maintain it hath an opposite; but the Bishop of Marseilles, and Theophraste Boujou Lord of Beaulien, in his Commentaries upon Aristoles Physicks maintains the contrary, to whose Works I refer the Reader for brevity sake. To come to the definition itself, Wrath, saith Boujou, is a Passion enticing men to vindicate themselves for some injury received, or for having been hindered to attain to some good by them prosecuted and desired. Wrath, saith Senault, is nothing else but a violent motion of the sensitive appetite, provoking men to seek revenge for some offense received. However it is the last passion incident to the irascible appetite; for I am of the Opinion of those that maintain it hath no opposite; and is distingushed by these three names, Anger, Choler, and Wrath. Anger is as it were the infancy of it, Choler its adolescencie, and Wrath its virility or maturity, and the highest and superlative degree of the distemper of this fiery and destructive passion of Wrath.

Secondly, The causes of Wrath are numerous; but I will reduce them to these four Heads.

• 1. To the Pride.
• 2. To the Impatiency.
• 3. To the indiscretion.
• 4. To the over-credulity of men.

For the first; It was Pride that moved Simeon and Levi, to slay in their wrath under color of Piety and Religion, Hamor and Shechem, and all the innocent Males of their City, because of the dishonor they conceived to have received by the rape of their sister Dinah: but the reward of their wrath was this heavy curse of their Father Jacob; Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce: and their wrath, for it was cruel; I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel. And it was Pride that moved Nebuchadnezzar King of Babylon, to command in his fierce wrath that Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego should be cast into a burning Furnace heated seven times more then it was wont to be, because they had refused to obey his imperious command: viz. to worship the golden Image he had caused to be set up. But the reward of his unparalleled pride and wrath was this, that he was deposed of his Empire, driven away from the company of men, and enforced to live amongst the beasts of the field, till he was humbled, and did acknowledge that God was the King of Kings.

For the Second; The ambitious Impatiency of Joab moved him in his wrath to slay perfidiously Abner and Amasa, that he might still continue chief General of the Armies of the People of Israel: But the reward of his wrath and ambition was this, that king David at his dying hour charged Solomon his son that he should not suffer Joab's hoary head to go down to the grave in peace. And the natural impatiency of Charles Duke of Burgundy was by Custom changed into such an habit of wrath, that upon the smallest misdemeanor of any of his servants, there was but a word and a blow: But the reward of his inconsiderate wrath was the cause he was betrayed and slain at the rout of the Battle of Nancy by a Neapolitan Commander, to whom he had given a box on the ear.

For the Third; The indiscretion of Clitus, and of Callisthenes, two intimate friends of Alexander, in their out-braiding speeches, moved this Prince to such a wrath that he slew them with his own hands. And the indiscreet and unadvised answer that Zeno gave to Dionysius the Tyrant of Syracuse, when he lovingly required he should give unto him his two Daughters in marriage, viz. that he would rather see them carried to their graves, then they should be married to such a Tyrant; did kindle such a wrath in the heart of Dionysius, that he caused those two innocent Ladies to be slain, and then invited their Father to their Funerals.

For the Fourth; The over-credulity of King Ahasuerus in believing the false reports that Haman his Favorite made unto him against the Jews, kindled such a wrath in his breast, that he caused presently a Decree to be passed for the utter destruction of all the Jews that were scattered throughout the hundred and seven and twenty Provinces of his Dominions. And the over-credulity of the good Emperor Theodosius in believing the false reports of some of his Courtiers concerning an uproar and mutiny that had happened in the City of Thessalonica, did beget such a wrath in this good Princes heart, that he instantly passed a Decree that all the Inhabitants of that City, both men, women and children should be put to the sword: But after this Decree had been put in execution, he was truly informed that very few had a hand in this mutiny: for which inconsiderate wrath of his he was much afflicted and penitent all the days of his life.

Thirdly, The Proprieties of Wrath are these: 1. It is of an airy & fiery quality, [ 3] as proceeding, as I have said before, of an overflowing of the gall, the seat of the yellow Choler; & therefore it must of necessity be fiery, since the choleric humor is compared to the fiery Element; and daily experience doth show, that bilious complexioned men are most addicted to Anger, Choler, and Wrath. It is also of an airy quality, because the mixture of the blood, which is compared to the Element of the Air, maketh the same as light and swift as the Air. 2. Wrath is of a spreading and dilative quality, for as a small piece of Leven doth dilate itself in a short time thorough a great lump of dow, and make the same rise and swell; so this choleric humor mixed with the blood, dilates itself thorough all the parts of the body, and inflames them all with Anger and Wrath. 3. Wrath hath a changing or altering quality; for it changeth the color of the Face, sets the eyes on fire, and makes the members of some men's bodies to tremble like a leaf. Again, in some other men, it will make their Face as white as a Clout, their Tongues to stammer, and their Eyes to roll in their Heads; all which symptoms and qualities do confirm the violent fury of this passion. And that is the reason why it is compared to the flashof Gun-powder, or to the overboyling of a Pot. 4. Wrath opposed and hindered to vent itself, doth in time turn into an inveterate hatred, or at the best into a deep and incurable sorrow; and sometimes it induceth men to despair and to lay violent hands upon themselves when they cannot be revenged to their minds upon their enemies.

Fourthly, [ 4] The evil effects of Wrath are as destructive as the proprieties of it are precipitate. 1. The virulency of this passion is so pernicious that it blemisheth the graces of God's dearest Children, and extinguisheth all moral virtues in civil and moral men: Nay, it deprives them of reason and judgment, and makes them go astray from Justice and equity. King David was a man after God's own heart; yet by the means of this passion he committed a great injustice, in suffering the false Accusator Ziba to have half the land of the Innocent Mephibosheth, as it appears by this unjust sentence; And the king said unto him, why speakest thou anymore of this matter? I have said, Thou and Ziba divide the Land. 2. Wrath begets contention and strife betwixt the chiefest vessels of grace; for it wrought such a contention between S. Paul and Barnabas, that it made Paul to associate himself with Silas; and Barnabas with Mark; and so divided one from the other these two famous Instruments of the propagation of the glory of God. 3. Wrath enticeth men to cruelty, and is often the cause of the ruin and desolation of great and Populous Cities. The Emperor Frederick was so transported with wrath by an Affront done by the People of Milan to the Empresse his wife, that he caused his Army to sack the City of Milan, and to put all the Inhabitants of it to the Sword, and afterwards to burn the same to the ground. And the Duke Charles of Burgundy moved to wrath by an injury done to himself by the Citizens of Dinan, caused all the Inhabitants to be slain by the Sword, and the City to be burned to ashes, & salt to be sown in the fields of it, to make them forever barren. 4. When men are transported with Wrath, they have no regard to Father, Mother nor Brethren. Cain slew his Brother Abel; Nero his Mother; and Selymus poisoned his Father, out of wrath proceeding from ambition: So that Wrath is the cause of much Blooshed, and unparalleled Evils, Miseries and Desolations.

The good effects of Wrath are these.

1. It makes Cowards to become valiant; for the greatest Coward in the World being transported with Wrath, becomes as bold as a Lyon.

2. Wrath inciteth Christians to a Godly Indignation, when they see the Worship and Glory of God abused; and this is the only commendable effect of Wrath: for the which, Phineas the Son of Eleazar, the Son of Aaron the high Priest, obtained this following Blessing of the Lord for having slain Zimri and Cozbi in his wrath, proceeding from a fervent Zeal to God's glory; Wherefore the Lord said, Behold I give unto him my Covenant of Peace; And he shall have it, and his Seed after him; even the Covenant of an everlasting Priesthood: because he was zealous for his God, and made an atonement for the children of Israel.

3. The moderate Anger and Wrath of Parents towards their Children; and of Masters towards their Servants, is oftentimes of great use to keep them in due obedience, and to make them more diligent in the performance of their duty.

4. The Wrath of God is of great use to bring Impenitent Sinners to repentance. For when they hear that his Wrath burns like fire, and that it is like a whirlwind which turneth upside down the highest mountains, it makes them put their hands upon their breasts, and acknowledge with the penitent Publican, that they are not worthy to look up to heaven. And I am persuaded, considering the perverse inclinations of men, that more are converted by the apprehension of his Wrath, then by the gracious invitations of his Love are Promises; yet happy and blessed are they who are drawn near him by his incomprehensible Love in Christ Jesus towards them: and that fear more to displease him out of a sincere and filial Love unto him, then out of a servile apprehension of his Wrath.

To conclude, it appears by the Nature, Proprieties, and Effects of Wrath, that it is a passion above all others that men should most endeavor to subdue and keep subordinate to Reason. And to that end observe these ensuing Remedies that are to be used to hinder this stubborn Passion to obtain the Mastery over Men.

Fifthly, The Remedies to curb and keep under subjection this ragefull and furious Passion of Wrath, may be reduced to these Four heads:

• 1. Humility.
• 2. Patience.
• 3. Prudence.
• 4. Charity.

For the First; Humility is an excellent Remedy to asswage the fiery rage of Wrath; For as Solomon saith, A soft Answer turneth away Wrath; but grievous words stir up Anger: And as fire goeth out of itself if it be not nourished by some Combustible matter: so Wrath will vanish into smoke, if it be not fomented and increased by ill Language, or by insolent Postures and Misdemeanors. Abigail by her humble gesture, and gentle speech, did suddenly pacify the fiery Wrath of David that had been kindled by the churlishness of Nabal, and prevented the execution of the rash Decree that David had pronounced against Nabal and all his Family. Nay, Humility is so powerful and acceptable to God, that it is able to appease his Wrath, as it appears by God's gracious and merciful Carriage towards King David himself after the commission of the two abhorred sins of Adultery and Murder: for he had no sooner acknowledged his sin with an unfeigned Humility, but God was pleased to pardon him the guilt, although he inflicted a heavy Punishment upon his Family for it.

For the Second; Patience is an approved Remedy to appease the rage of Wrath: as it appears by the Counsel that Athenodorus gave to his Pupil Augustus Caesar, whom he knew naturally addicted to Wrath. At the first motion of this Passion, said he to him, You must endeavor to crush this Cockatrice in the shell: but if it cannot be, break the fury of it by Patience: And before you decree anything in your Anger, count upon your fingers ends the four and twenty Letters of the Greek Alphabet: For by this small intermission of time your Reason and Judgment will come to itself again, that hath been perverted by the fury of this Passion of Wrath. It is Recorded that Plato upon the Relation of an unpleasant Message was something moved with Wrath: whereupon he rose from his seat to fetch his staff: But another Philosopher seeing it, said unto him, It is unseemly for you Plato to be thus moved with Wrath as to fetch your staff to beat a Messenger; You are deceived, said he: It was to burb and beat mine own Wrath that began to be Master over my Reason.

Thirdly; Prudence is a sovereign Remedy against Wrath: For Solomon saith, He that is slow to Wrath, is of great understanding: but he that is hasty of spirit, exalteth folly. Whereby it appears, that such as are apt to be transported with immoderate Wrath, are like fools or mad men: and that there is none truly wise but such as can pacify their Wrath. And that was the reason why Socrates was judged by the Oracle of Apollo to be the wisest man of all the Greeks, because he could not be moved to Wrath: for had not he been patient and prudent, he and his wife had lived like dogs and cats: but he with an admirable patience did bear with her Infirmities and waywardness. It is Recorded that Diogenes the Cynic being told that the Athenians jeered him for his rustical and uncivil deportments: let them jeer saith he, for they may do it long enough before they can cast me into a Passion of Wrath.

Fourthly; Charity is a most excellent Remedy against Wrath: for as S. Paul saith, Charity beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things: so if men be endowed with this Superlative Grace of Charity, they will not be moved nor transported with Wrath against their Brethren: But the want of Charity one towards another is the Cause that men are filled with Malice, Envy and Wrath. For Charity suffereth long, and is kind: Charity envieth not, Charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemly, thinketh no evil: Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth. These are the noble and gracious Effects of Charity; which S. Paul sets out so fully and elegantly, to make men in love with Charity, as the chiefest of all Spiritual Graces, as it appears in the last Verse of this Chapter, And now abideth Faith, Hope, Charity, these Three, but the greatest of These is Charity. Men therefore should earnestly endeavor to obtain of God by fervent prayers this excellent Grace of Charity; For without it all other Graces are without life, and of no validity, as S. Paul doth witness the same from the beginning of this Chapter to the latter end. And I am verily persuaded that the want of Charity is the cause of all the Divisions and Contentions that reign in this Commonwealth, and why men are so apt to Vindication and Wrath; Which the Heathen Philosophers did abhor and detest as the most ragefull and furious Passion of all others, fitter for brute and cruel beasts, as Lions and Tigers, then for Rational men, and specially for Christians, who have before their eyes for a special President the admirable Patience and unparalleled Meekness of our Blessed Savior, to make them hate and detest Anger, Choler and Wrath; for the Lord (saith the Prophet Isaiah ) hath laid on him the iniquities of us all; He was oppressed, and he was afflicted: yet he opened not his mouth. He is brought as a Lamb to the slaughter, and as a Sheep before her Shearer is dumb, so he opened not his mouth. The Event, Issue and Accomplishment of this Prophesy is clearly expressed in the 27. Chapter of S. Matthew, where you may see how the Jews spit in his face, set a crown of thorns upon his head, put upon him a scarlet robe, and gave him a reed in his right hand, and in derision bowed the knee before him, and mocked him, saying, Hail king of the Jews. And yet for all these injuries, shameful reproaches, and unparalleled ignominies, he never opened his mouth to give them a bad word: far from being possessed with the least appearance or motion of Anger, Choler and Wrath. This Example should induce Christians to abhor and eschew this vile Passion of Wrath more then the Contagious disease of the Plague. It appears then by this Discourse, that Wrath is not only vanity, but an extreme vexation of spirit.

CHAP. XVII.

HAving thus described the Nature, Proprieties, and Effects of the eleven general Passions of men: I now come to speak of some of the mixed, or composed: And will give the preeminency to Volupty, Avarice, and Ambition, as the most predominant Passions of this Age: For although I have given a hint of them in the second, third, and fourth Chapters of this Treatise, under the notion of the pleasures, riches, and honors of this life; yet I conceive it convenient to speak of them more fully in this place; for if men would but endeavor to allay the fury of these three Passions; the boisterous storms of our Civil Distractions would suddenly be changed into a calm of Peace; Since the distemper of them hath ever been from the beginning of the Creation to this day; the chiefest Incendiary of all the Civil broils and mutations which have happened in the World, as it will appear in the description of their pernicious Effects.

There are divers sorts of Volupties; yet they may be reduced under these three heads:

• 1. The Spiritual.
• 2. The Natural.
• 3. The Carnal.

The first is super-excellent, the second harmless, the third sinful.

The Spiritual proceeds from the delight the Saints take in the hearing of God's Word, and in the meditating in his Law day and night: And in their prayers and other exercises of religious duties, or in the contemplation of the admirable works of the Creation; and how they have been preserved in their first being for so many years together, by his Wisdom and Divine Providence: But specially in the consideration of the incomprehensible love of God towards mankind, manifested by the sending of his only beloved Son into the World to redeem his Elect from eternal death.

The Natural proceeds from a delight men take when they eat, being hungry, when they drink, when they are athirst, sleep, when they have watched, and rest when they are weary; and from divers other such refreshments of Nature.

The Carnal proceeds from a tickling delight of the five senses; for everyone of them have their peculiar volupty, as it appears by the proprieties of their organs: The Eyes take delight in beautiful objects, the Ears in melody, the Nose in odoriferous odors, the Pallate in delitious Wines, and the Members in wanton feelings. Now when any of these delights of the senses becomes disordinate, it is called a carnal volupty, whereby it is apparent that our five senses are the original springs of all carnal volupties, which are innumerable. But the volupty I intend to speak of, is a mixed delight, composed of two of the most lascivious senses, viz. of the seeing and feeling, called lust or lechery: And by consequence the most sinful of any, if it be refractory to the Rules set down in the Word of God: This passion is more pleasant then any other to our corrupt nature; for delight is the darling of nature, and dolour her mortal enemies; and the more pleasing it is to the flesh, the harder it is to overcome, For the flesh, saith S. Paul, lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and as these are contrary one to another, so are their operations: For the fruits of the Spirit, are joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, holiness, &c. But the works of the flesh, are adulteries, fornications, and uncleanness, &c. This Antipathy should then move Christians to endeavor to overcome this passion as the greatest Antagonist against the grace of sanctification; for if it getteth the mastery over their reason, it will deprive them of their love and filial fear, and tempt them, To make of the members of Christ, the members of a Harlot. It is also one of the most prevailing snares of Satan, by which he draweth more millions of souls into the Pit of destruction then by any other sin whatsoever: And therefore give me leave to enlarge myself upon these particulars:

• 1. Upon the definition of this passion.
• 2. Upon the nature of it.
• 3. Upon the causes, why some are more addicted to it then others.
• 4. Upon the evil proprieties of it.
• 5. Upon the pernicious effects of the same.
• 6. Upon the judgments that God doth inflict upon voluptuous men.
• 7. Upon the means or remedies which are to be used to avoid the venom of it.
• 8. And lastly, Upon the express prohibition of the same by the Word of God.

First, Volupty is a composed passion of love and desire, arising from a tickling delight of the senses when men enjoy really, or by imagination, such objects as seem pleasant to their fancy. It is so general, that all such as are under the state of Nature, are more or less addicted to it: Nay, the regenerate are sometimes ensnared by it, by the temptations of Satan and their original corruptions; the difference between them, is, that the unregenerate by their impenitency die in their sins, and the regenerate by the free grace of the sanctifying Spirit of God, are awaked out of this spiritual lethargy, and by an unfeigned repentance are converted and reconciled to God.

Secondly, It is of a feminine nature; for all such as are overmuch addicted to this passion, loose their masculine generosity, and become effeminate: Hercules did cast off his Club and Lions skin, to vest himself and spin like a woman before Omphale his Mistress. And it is daily seen that voluptuous men imitate in their gestures, carriage and fashions, the Courtizans of these days; for they powder their hair, wear black patches, and paint their Faces as they do. It was not then without cause, that the ancient Poets did represent volupty under the shape of the old Witch Circe; for as she transformed the Passengers who sailed through the Straits of Sicilia into Swine if they listened to her Charms: Even so Volupty doth transform into brute beasts rational men, if they converse long, and let themselves be ensnared by the alluring Charms of Harlots; for as Zerubbalel proved it before King Darius, the Charms of a beautiful woman are more powerful then strong Wine, or a mighty King.

Thirdly, The Causes why some men are more addicted to this passion then others, may be natural, accidental, or artificial: such as are naturally more addicted to it, are commonly of a hotter and moister constitution then others, and these are of a sanguine complexion; for the Bilious are hot and dry, the Flegmatick moist and cold, and the Melancholike cold and dry, which are not so apt to the Venereal delight as the Sanguine. The Accidental Causes are, The hot Climate where men live: for Heat dilates the spirits outwardly, and Cold restrains them inwardly. And Experience doth show that the Africans, Spaniards, and Italians, whose Climate is hotter then the Germans, Dutch & English, are the most addicted to Venery. And yet they are not so apt to generation as the last: because the desire of the reiteration of the Act doth weaken their bodies, and doth waste their spirits. Idleness, Pride and Fulness of bread is also an Accidental Cause why one Nation may be more addicted to Venery then another. For this was the Cause why the Sodomites (as the Prophet Ezekiel saith) were so vicious, and transported with Lust. The Artificial Causes are, Sophistical meats; Delitious Wines, and enticing Simples, Drugs and Amber-gris over-much used in these days to provoke Men and Women to Lust. Guicciardine records, that a King of Tunis, being at Naples, spent five hundred Ducats in enticing Drugs and Amber-gris to dress a Peacock, to incite himself and the company that supped with him that night to Lust. But these Means are destructive to the Soul and Lives of Men. For Instance, the Queen of Aragon gave Ferdinand her Husband an enticing Love-Drink to make him more apt to the Venereal sport, but it cast him into an incurable Consumption, which brought him to his grave. And Van-Dick an excellent Dutch Painter, lost lately his life by these enticing Drugs provoking to Lechery. Alas; Men are too prone of themselves to sin without Artificial Means to provoke them to it.

Fourthly; [ 4] The evil Proprieties of this vicious Passion are so numerous, that I should be over-tedious to speak of them all: and therefore will speak but of some of them.

First, It is insatiable; and may be compared to the horsleech, to the barren womb, and to the Grave; for the Desires of Voluptuous men are never satisfied with their carnal Delights, their bodies being sooner tired with the reiteration of the Act, then their Lust can be exstinguished. For many have been found dead in their Mistresses Arms, by endeavoring to satisfy their Lust beyond their Natural Abilities. The Reason of it was, because overmuch evacuation of the spirits exstinguisheth life.

Secondly, it is as inconstant as the wind; for they delight in nothing more then in changes, because their judgment is so depraved by the Spirit of uncleanness which besots them, that they cannot discern the beauty of one Object from another, and do often forsake the most lovely, to dote upon the most unworthy and deformed: conceiving erroneously, that stolen waters are the sweetest.

Thirdly, It hath a Destructive quality; for it provoketh men to commit the most abhorred sins that can be named. By it the Sodomites were enticed to commit with the very Angels the sin against Nature. It moved Pharaoh and Abimelech to take away by violence Sarah, Abraham's wife; Reuben to defile his Fathers bed; Shechem to deflour Dinah; The Gibeahnites to abuse brutishly the Levites concubine; David to commit Adultery with Bathsheba, and to veil his sin to murder Uriah her husband: Amnon to ravish his own sister Tamar: Augustus to take away by force Livia from her husband; Caligula to commit Incest with his two Sisters; Nero to defile himself with his mother; Faragonde to murder King Clotair her Husband, that she might the more freely enjoy her Paramour; King Edgar to murder his Favorite, to marry his Wife; And King Roderick to ravish Duke Godfreys Daughter, which was the cause of the Conquest of Spain by the Moors: And a thousand like abhorred sins, which should move Christians to abhor and flee from this most accursed and sinful passion as from a Serpent.

Fifthly, [ 5] The Effects of it are rather worse then better: 1. It deprives men of Reason and Understanding; for Sampson, a Nazarite from his Mothers womb, and a Judge and Deliverer of Israel, was so besotted by the charms and lascivious allurements of Delilah, that he revealed a secret unto her, in the concealing of which did consist the safety of his own life, and of his native Country. 2. Solomon the wisest Prince that ever lived upon Earth, was by the allurements of his Wives and Concubines turned away from the Lord, and offered Sacrifices to their Idols. 3. Marcus Antonius, a valiant Commander of the Romans, who never had been foiled in all his Martial Archivements before he was infatuated by the alluring charms of Cleopatra; was so deprived of understanding, that at the Battle of Antrium (when he had the better of the day) he fled away, to follow her that carried his heart away, and by the fond love of a woman lost his life and the Empire. Charles the Seventh King of France, was so besotted by the lascivious embracements of La-belle Agnes his Concubine, that he neglected all the Civil and Military Affairs of his Kingdom, to Court and dally the time away with her; and had lost utterly his Kingdom by this passion of Volupty, if his Mistress that was of a generous spirit, had not roused him out of his lascivious dumps, saying thus unto him, I was foretold in my youth (saith she) that I should be one day the love and Mistress of the greatest and most valorous Prince in Christendom: But it appears by your carriage that I am the love of the most effeminate Prince in Europe; for you suffer the English Nation to rent your Kingdom into piece-meals; and in lieu to be King of France, you are through your pusillanimity become the petty King of Bourges; for shame rouse up your spirits, and let not a Foreign Nation deprive you of Life and Crown. These taunting reproaches coming from a woman that was dearer unto him then his own life, did so enlighten his understanding, and inflame his courage, that he instantly undertook to relieve Orleans that was then besieged by the English: And after he had enforced them to raise their Siege, he drove them by degrees out of all they held in France ( Calais only excepted.) 2. It deprives the dearest childern of God for some time of the love and favor of their heavenly Father: As it doth appear in the lives of King David, and of Solomon his Son; for David by the lascivious embracements of Bathsheba was cast into a spiritual Lethargy for a whole year together, and deprived of the sweet communion he had formerly with his gracious God; so that in lieu to be penitent for his sin of Adultery, he committed one after another, two other abhorred sins; for to palliate the first, he caused his Servants to allure Uriah to drunkenness, that his understanding being depraved by the vapors of the Wine, he might return home and lie with his Wife; but this wile failing, he caused him to be murdered by the sword of the children of Ammon; yet was his understanding so stupefied by this bewitching spirit of uncleanness, that he had died in his sins, if God out of his infinite mercy had not sent the Prophet Nathan unto him, to rouse him out of this mortal spiritual slumber. And King Solomon lay many years in such a deadly spiritual lethargy, that he was utterly insensible of his gross Idolatries and abhorred Fornications: for in number of Wives and Concubines he did excel all the Turkish Emperors: and had perished in his sins if God out of his accustomed mercy towards his Elect, had not out of Free-grace given him the gift of an unfeigned repentance, as it appears by his Book of Ecclesiastes written after his conversion. 3. It deprives men of all true content, and over-whelms them with grief and sorrows: for in what condition soever voluptuous men find themselves, they neither take pleasure nor content, except their mind be always bent upon the means that can make them attain to the fruition of their carnal delights; for in them they erroneously conceive doth consist their supreme felicity: whereas the termination of the pleasures of the flesh, is ever the beginning of misery and woe: And therefore Aristotle to dissuade his Disciples from carnal volupties, told them that they were like the Mer-maids, who are extraordinarily beautiful above water, for their face is round and fair, their hair as yellow as gold, their eyes of a loving dark gray, their mouth small, their lips as red as Coral, their teeth as white as snow, their breast as round as an apple, and their arms, hands, shoulders, back, flanks as white as Alabaster, but their tail is like the tail of a great Serpent, frightful, full of teeth, and mortal venom: Even so carnal volupties are delightful to men's corrupt nature, and seem to be sweeter then honey and the honey comb at the first enjoyment of them; but at their adieu, they are bitterer then gall, and more loathsome then the snuff of a candle, and for one dram of carnal delight: they over-whelm their Clients with anguish and sorrow, and make them shed rivers of penitent tears, whensoever God is pleased to give them the gift of an unfeigned repentance. Besides, all true joy and content doth consist in the favor and love of God, and in the assurance he doth infuse in the hearts of his Elect by his blessed Spirit, that they are justified and reconciled unto him by the sufferings, blood, and passion of Christ his only Son our most gracious Savior; and this love, favor, and assurance is permanent and eternal; but the joy and content proceeding from carnal volupties, are for continuance like a fire of Thorns under a Pot, or like the morning dew which vanisheth away at the rising of the Sun; for the least blast of dolor and affliction doth suddenly make the very remembrance of carnal pleasures vanish away like smoke; moreover, the very conceits, imaginations, and deportments of voluptuous men are mere vanity and vexation of mind; for their paradise upon Earth is to be always musing upon the beauty, comeliness and perfections of their Mistress: Nay, some are so infatuated by the spirit of uncleanness which doth possess them, that they do Idolize their picture, kiss their dressings, and other things they wear, nay the very ground they tread upon: And can there be any real content in these absurd vanities, mad and foolish deportments? surely no: for these vain fancies whereon they fix their minds, divert their thoughts from being diligent Hearers of the Word of God, and careful observers of his Ordinances, from which they might reap true content. 4. It deprives men of their means; for Princes, Noble-men, Gentlemen, Merchants, and Artificers, who are given to volupties, do commonly fall into penury; for as Solomon saith, By the means of a whorish woman, a man is brought to a piece of bread. I will prove the point by Instances. 1. All the Treasures of Asia did not suffice to defray the excessive volupties of Marcus Antonius and Cleopatra. 2. All the Revenews of the Roman Empire did not serve to discharge the lascivious riots of the Emperors, Caligula, Nero, Vitellius, Domitianus, and Heliogabalus. 3. All the comings in of the Kingdom of France, did not suffice to defray the lascivious volupties of Henry the third King of France; for he left the Crown indebted fourscore millions of Crowns, although he raised the Subsidies and Imposts of his Realm as much more as they were in his Fathers Reign; whereby it may be collected, that voluptuous Princes are the greatest Oppressors of their Subjects. 4. Daily experience doth show that many Noble-men, Gentlemen, and rich Merchants, spend and consume their Portion or Patrimony as the Prodigal Son did with Harlots and riotous living. 5. It shortneth men's days and makes their lives miserable; for none can deny but continency, temperance, and sobriety doth preserve men in health and doth prolong their lives. And without health the greatest Monarch upon the Earth can neither have joy, nor content: And to that end God was pleased to add health and length of days to those extraordinary gifts he gave unto King Solomon; otherwise his Wisdom, incomparable Magnificence, and incredible riches had not afforded him any true joy or content. Besides, carnal volupties do not only consume men's Estates, and impair their health, but it makes also their life miserable and loathsome to themselves; for what anguish, grief, and dolours, perplexity and vexation of mind is it to a miserable Patient, that is sick of the Venereal disease, to see his members rot away by piecemeals, and to smell the stinking vapors that proceed from the inward corruption of his body. And what vexation is it unto him to see Wife, nearest Parents, and intimate friends to eschew the very sight of him, and forsake him in these anxieties? Oh what inward torments doth he feel by the gnawing worm of an awakened conscience which doth rack him day and night, by the horrid representations of his former pollutions? Oh what unspeakable terror do possess him, when he sees and feels the arrows of the Almighty, as Job saith, to be in him, the venom whereof doth drink up his spirits, and the terrors of God fight against him for his former transgressions? Christians should then endeavor to mortify this sinful passion, if it were but to preserve their means, and lengthen their days. But 6. it endangers also their souls, for if they continue in their impenitency till the end of their days, they run a hazard, without the special mercy of God, to be deprived forever of his gracious presence; For S. Paul saith in the affirmative sense, Whoremongers and Adulterers God will judge: And by the Levitical Law, The Adulterer and Adulteress were both to be put to death; yet Christ our Savior goeth further; for he saith, Whosoever looketh upon a woman to lust after her, hath already committed Adultery with her in his heart. Now if the intellectual adulteries and pollutions of the imagination deserve eternal damnation, the actual fornications of voluptuous men, who take no other delight but in the commission of such scandalous sins, must of necessity deserve a greater punishment, if any did exceed the torments of Hell. The consideration then of the evil nature, pernicious proprieties, and destructive Effects of this sinful passion should induce Christians to endeavor by all means to crush this Cockatrice in the shell before it getteth the mastery over their reason: Otherwise if this evil spirit of uncleanness doth possess the noble faculties of their souls, it will require an extraordinary measure of Grace to cast him out, and will cost them many sighs, groans, and floods of penitent tears; for this unclean spirit is of the same kind as our Savior speaks of, which cannot be expelled but by fasting and prayer. Now if they cannot be induced to this so necessary duty, by the reasons, moral precepts, and strong Arguments before cited, let the ensuing judgments of God inflicted upon voluptuous men awake and force them to it.

Sixthly, [ 6] The judgments of God inflicted upon particular Voluptuous men and whole Nations, are so numerous, that it would be an endless piece of work to speak of them all. I will then make choice but of some of them. 1. All the Inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed with Fire and Brimstone (righteous Lot and his two Daughters only excepted) for their abhorred Lust and sins against Nature. 2. Twenty four Thousand of the People of Israel were consumed by the Plague for their fornications with the Moabitish women. 3. All the Tribe of Benjamin (Six hundred only excepted) were destroyed by the Sword for Patronizing the abhorred Lust of some of the Gibeahnites, committed upon the Levites Concubine. 4. All the Inhabitants of Ionia were destroyed by Cyrus for their lascivious Volupties. 5. All the French that were in Sicilia were murdered in one night by the Sicilians for their uncleanness and fornications committed with the women of that Kingdom. 6. A great Borough near unto Putzola in the Kingdom of Naples, was in one night overwhelmed by a just judgment of God, with fire, brimstone and the ashes of a hill near to it, for the abhorred Lusts against Nature of the Inhabitants of the same. 7. Reuben was deprived of his Birth-right, for defiling of his Fathers bed. 8. Shechem lost his life for the rape of Dinah. 9. Zimri was run through the body with a Javelin by Phinehas for his impudent Fornication with a Midianite Lady. 10. Eli the High Priest, and Hophni and Phinehas lost their lives; the two last for their pollutions committed with the Israelitish women that came to Shiloh: and the first for not reprehending his Sons so severely as he should have done for their lascivious courses. 11. King David was severely punished for the Adultery committed with Bathsheba. 12. Amnon his Son was killed by the servants of Absalom his Brother, for the Rape of his sister Tamar; And Absalom was slain by the commandment of Joab, for having defiled his Fathers Concubines in the sight of the Sun, and of all Israel. Pope John the Twelfth was murdered in his bed, for his Adultery committed with a Roman Lady. 14. One of the Sforza's, Duke of Milan was murdered in the Church of S. Steven by a Gentleman for his Adultery committed with his Wife. 15. Alexander de Medecis Duke of Florence was slain in his bed, as he waited for the coming of a Gentlewoman he had allured to his lust. 16. A Counselor of the Court of Parliament of Paris, slew a Gentleman and his own Wife as they lay abed together, for he struck them both thorough the body with a Stiletto as they were upon the very act: And from thence went to the Court, and without perturbation pleaded the Case under feigned names, and obtained a definitive sentence of absolution from the said court for the murder by him committed: For as Solomon saith, Jealousy is the rage of a man, therefore he will not spare him in the day of vengeance. These instances and many others that might be produced of the judgments of God inflicted upon whole Nations and particular men, for the punishment of their lascivious volupties, should refrain them from this destructive passion, and make them flee from it, as from a Serpent, & induce them to leave no remedies unattempted to mortify the same. But before I come to speak of the moral and spiritual remedies which are to be used to curb, or to subdue this sinful passion; give me leave to answer an Objection which some Moralists make to palliate the sin of it.

Voluptie (say they) is but a venial sin, and the most innocent Passion of all others; for it is the Darling of Nature, and all men and women are naturally inclined to Delight; neither could they subsist in the midst of so many woes and sorrows to which they are incident, if it were not for these natural refreshments that you call Volupties. And since the fire and heat of this passion is cooled or utterly extinguished by old age; men need not be so copious in the description of the evil nature, proprieties and effects of it: Nor so tedious in the manifestation of the remedies that may mortify the same: For Volupty doth not increase by Age, as Avarice and drunkenness doth.

I answer, that in regard of the actual act of Volupty, old age may quench the flames of it. But as for the intellectual desires, I say that old men who have from their youth been addicted to this kind of Volupty, will long as much after that delight, as the Avaricious men do after the increase of their Treasures, or the Drunkards after the taste of delicious Wines, except they be sanctified both in body and soul by the sanctifying Spirit of God's Free-grace; for old age, nor all the precepts of Morality cannot cast out of a man's heart this spirit of uncleanness, if once he hath taken possession of it, because it is of the same kind Which goeth not out (as our Savior saith himself) but by prayer and fasting; that is to say, by the mere and immediate operation of the sanctifying Spirit of Grace, as it shall be proved by Instances and divers Passages of the Word of God, when I shall speak of the spiritual remedies which are to be used to mortify this passion: As for the moral remedies that I am now to speak of, they are these; first men are to endeavor to attain to an habit in these four Virtues or Graces:

• 1. Continency.
• 2. Temperance.
• 3. Fortitude.
• 4. Sanctification.

Secondly, they are to eschew these four splitting rocks or great inticers to all lascivious Volupties.

• 1. Idleness.
• 2. Alluring Objects.
• 3. Suspected places.
• 4. Evil company.

And in so doing they will undoubtedly by the help of the sanctifying Spirit obtain the victory over this spirit of uncleanness, that is the greatest Opposite to the grace of sanctification; for there is a greater antipathy between holiness and pollution, then there is between fire and watter, the Lyon and the Cock, the Dog and Cat, or between Vice and Virtue. These things considered, I will begin with those things which are to be eschewed; for it were to small purpose to endeavor to attain to an habit in these four Graces, If men do not eschew the four things above spoken of, by which the use of these Graces would be soon annihilated.

First, Idleness is to be eschewed, for if men's minds be not bent upon laudable employments, they will busy themselves in unlawful things, because their spirits are naturally active: And as standing waters become loathsome, even so men who have no employment become vicious: And daily experience showeth, that such as are rich and have no calling, are more addicted to Volupties then the meaner sort. The Lacedemonians of all the other Greeks were the most active and valorous; and the Athenians the most voluptuous; because the first were kept under a strict Discipline, gold and silver being prohibited in their Commonwealth, and all manner of volupties banished, and Military Atchievements cherished. But the second were rich, and by consequence Idle, and did nothing (as the Apostle S. Paul saith) but hear or tell news; or did employ themselves in all kind of carnal Volupties. Therefore such as will be continent, must addict themselves to some lawful calling, and are to be diligent in the same: For a slothful hand, saith Solomon, maketh poor, but the hand of the diligent maketh rich: Fulness of bread and Idleness were the cause, saith the Prophet Ezekiel, of the abhorred lusts of the Sodomites: And for this cause the Emperor Severus made a Decree, that all men whatsoever living in the City of Rome, should employ themselves in some lawful calling, and wear upon their Apparel the badges of their profession, that all idle persons might be banished out of the Commonwealth, because Idleness is the mother of all vices. The point might be proved by many instances, but two shall serve for brevity sake.

• 1. As long as King David addicted himself to Martial Achievements, he never was carried away by the temptations of Satan, to lust after other men's Wives: but when he was Idle, and walking upon the Leads of his Palace, he was ensnared into sin by the beauty of Bathsheba, the Wife of Uriah the Hittite.
• 2. As long as the Prodigal Son was employed about the managing of his Fathers Household affairs, he carried himself like a dutiful Son, but as soon as he was Idle, and had obtained his Portion, he wasted the same among Harlots, and by riotous living; for Satan desireth no better opportunity to tempt men to sin, then when they are Idle.

Secondly, [ 2] alluring Objects are to be eschewed, and specially those of the feminine Sexe, for many are bewitched by the glances of their eyes; and that is the reason why King David after his fall prayed unto God he would be pleased to turn his eyes from beholding vanity: as conceiving the beauty of women to be the greatest vanity under the Sun; for the glances of their eyes are as destructive to men's souls, as the glances of the eyes of a Basilisk are to their bodies: And that is the cause why Solomon saith, Let thine eyes look right before thee, intimating, that to look aside upon a beautiful woman, is a sign of a lascivious eye; but to look on her straight, is a token of an innocent eye: And it is most certain, that of all the five senses, the Eye doth more then any other increase the Kingdom of darkness: because they are the windows whereby all unclean thoughts enter into the soul, from which do proceed all the actual and intellectual Fornications and Adulteries; and that is the reason why our blessed Savior doth charge us to pluck out our right eye if it doth offend; meaning we should mortify the lust of our eye, rather then be cast into Hell; for as S. John saith, The lust of the eyes is not of the Father, but of the world, and the world passeth away, and the lust thereof; but he that doth the will of God abideth forever.

Thirdly, [ 3] All suspected places where men may be allured to lust, are to be eschewed.

• 1. The Schools of love, as the Italians call them.
• 2. Public meetings.
• 3. Interludes.
• 4. Court-Revels.

For in all these, men do find alluring Objects to commit sin; and when opportunity, time, and place meet together, men or women must have a great measure of Grace to refrain them from sin.

As for the 1. Solomon discribes elegantly in these words, the alluring charms of the Mistresses of the Schools of love, Behold there met him a woman in the habit of a Harlot and subtle of heart; so she caught him and kissed him, and with an impudent face said unto him, I have peace-offerings with me; this day have I paid my vows: Therefore came I forth to meet thee, diligently to seek thy face, and I have found thee; I have decked my bed with coverings of Tapestry, with carved work, with fine linen of Egypt, I have perfumed my bed with Myrrh, Aloes and Cinnamon; Come let us take our fill of love until the morning; let us solace ourselves in loves, &c. But the conclusion of it is, Her house is the way to Hell, going down to the chambers of death.

For the 2. Dinah by rambling abroad to see the public Sports, was Ravished by Shechem the Prince of the Land.

For the 3. Interludes, Plays and Comoedies, are the very Seminaries of all uncleanness; and the Aretin postures that are there seen, with the lascivious Dances and Discourses, do inflame and entice men and women to Lust.

For the 4. Court-Revels and Masks have been the overthrow or loss of many women's chastity: Edward the Third, and Edward the Fourth, Kings of England, and Henry the Third, and Henry the Fourth, Kings of France, were all of them allured to lust by the beautiful Objects they saw in their Court-Masks.

Fourthly, [ 4] All evil Company is to be eschewed; for in them lieth an insensible venom; the Effects of which do not appear suddenly; but in continuance of time it will show itself visibly in the life and conversation of men and women; for young men that fall into evil company, will at the first be ashamed of it; but after they have frequented them, they will delight in it, then they will palliate and excuse them; and lastly, they will patronize and maintain them: And become as vicious, profane, and debauched as the worst of them; and therefore as he that toucheth Pitch shall be defiled with it: even so such as haunt evil company, will at last be infected with their vices: Besides, it is a dishonor to converse with evil company; for if men were as righteous as Lot, Who was, saith Peter, vexed from day today with the unlawful and ahhorred sins of the Sodomites; yet will he be reputed as vicious as they by this common Proverb, That birds of a feather do ever flock together. Now I come to the four Virtues or Graces which are to be obtained, to mortify and subdue this sinful passion of Volupty.

First, men are to endeavor by fervent prayers to obtain from God the Grace of Continency, which is distinguished by corporeal and intellectual; the first is common to natural men as well as to the children of God; but the second is only peculiar to the true Elect, because it is an immediate gift of the sanctifying Spirit of Grace, to such as are regenerated by a justifying Faith, for by Faith men are justified, and afterwards sanctified: for all things which are done without Faith, cannot, saith S. Paul, be acceptable unto God; contrarily they are an abomination unto him. The Heathens have excelled in the corporeal continency, most of the Christians of these days, as it may appear by the carriage of Alexander the Great towards the two Daughters of King Darius; and of Publius Scipio towards a Spanish Lady that was his Captive; but none of them could ever attain to the intellectual continency, because they were out of the Covenant of Grace: and by consequence incapable of a justifying Faith: And among those who were under the Convenant of Grace, the number was small that were truly continent, or had the gift of the corporeal and intellectual continency, except it were Isaac, Joseph, and S. Paul, for all the other Patriarchs were addicted to Polygamy. The corporeal continency may proceed from natural causes, as from a defect of Nature, as the Eunuchs, or it may be obtained by the precepts of Morality and a good education; But the intellectual cannot be acquired, because it is a supernatural Grace of the sanctifying Spirit, except it be by frequent and fervent prayers to God, who is the only giver of it: And certainly by the want of this Grace of intellectual continency, many of the most precious Christians of these days commit Adultery in the cohabitation with their own Wives; of which they seldom repent. Which doth induce me to enlarge myself upon this point. Christ our blessed Savior, who was the best Interpreter of the Law that ever was upon Earth, doth tell us plainly, That whosoever looketh upon a woman to lust after her, hath committed Adultery with her already in his heart. Now this lust proceeds from the eyes; and the lust of the eyes, saith S. John, is not of the Father, but of the world, and the eyes convey the same into the heart; and from the heart, saith our Savior, proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, &c. So many looking upon a woman with lascivious eyes, make such an impression in their imagination of her beauty or comeliness, which is suggested to their fancy by their senses and the temptations of Satan, to excel the beauty or comeliness of their Wives, that in the very cohabitation with them, their mind is wholly bent upon this foreign object, and not upon the same they embrace; and this is a plain intellectual Adultery of the heart, committed in the Matrimonial Bed, which is as odious to God (although it be not censurable by men, because it is invisible) as the actual Adultery with a strange woman. This should move all true Christians, who through a filial fear are timorous to offend God, to be cautious of their ways, that they be not ensnared by their deceitful hearts, and the temptations of Satan in this kind of Adultery: or if they be, that they may unfeignedly repent of it before death part their soul from their body, otherwise without the special mercies of God, their souls may run as much hazard by this sort of Adultery, as by the actual.

Secondly, men are to endeavor to attain to an habit in Temperance and Sobriety, virtues or graces opposite to the vices of gluttony & drunkenness, two of the greatest provokers to Lust. These are also distinguished by corporeal and Intellectual.

The corporal Temperance may be acquired by Moral Precepts, but the Intellectual is an immediate gift of the Sanctifying Spirit of grace, and cannot be obtained but by Prayer; for God is the only giver of it: And it is properly called Meekness of spirit, and the inseparable companion of the grace of sanctification; The proprieties and effects of which are apparently seen in the carriage and replies of Job, Moses, Eli, David, and Hezekiah. 1. When the Messengers came suddenly after one another to acquaint Job of the loss of all he had, and of the death of his Children: he replied with an admirable meekness of spirit, The Lord hath given, and the Lord hath taken: blessed be the name of the Lord. 2. Moses with the like meekness did patiently endure the false and offensive reproaches of his own brother and sister, for the which he is called by the Holy Ghost the meekest man upon earth. 3. Eli with the same meekness of spirit answered the Prophet Samuel, when hd had acquainted him of the will of the Lord, concerning the death of his two sons, and the casting off of his Posterity from the High-Priests office; it is the Lord, let him do what seemeth good unto him. 4. When King David heard the bitter Curses of Shimei, for the which Abishai would have slain him, he answered with the like meckness of spirit, Let him curse, because the Lord hath said unto him, curse David; who shall then say, Wherefore hast thou done so? 5. When the Prophet Isaiah was sent to King Hezekiah to denounce the heavy judgment of God against Jerusalem and his posterity, he answered with the like meekness of spirit, The word of the Lord is good which thou hast spoken. Whereby it appears that the temperance of the mind is a great curb to bridle the violence of the Passions of men: for the Answer that Joseph gave to his lewd Mistress when she tempted him to lie with her, did proceed from the same root, and from the filial fear he had of God: Begold my Master knoweth not what he hath in the house: but hath committed all he hath into my hands: there is none greater in the house then I: neither hath he kept anything from me but only thee, because thou art his wife: How then can I do this great wickedness, and so sin against God? But such is the depravation of this age, that I have heard some Voluptuous men call continent Joseph a very Sot, for having rejected the lascivious Summons of his Mistress, and neglected through a Puerile Fear, the Time, Place and Opportunity to enjoy the pleasures of her embracements. As for the Corporeal Temperance and Sobriety; the Heathens have also excelled most of the Christians of these days in that noble virtue, as it shall appear by these Instances. 1. King Cyrus being demanded by his Steward, Where and What he pleased to have for his Supper, Answered, I will sup by the River-side, and have only for my Diet Bread and Salt: for Drink we shall have enough out of the River. 2. The Queen of Caria having sent to Alexander the rarest Cooks that were in Asia, he sent them back unto her, with this Message, that he had no need of Cooks as long as he did observe the Precepts of his Tutor Leonides, who had charged him to exercise his body in the Morning in running of Races on foot, or in the managing of his War horse, to give him a stomach to his Dinner: and to walk two or three miles in the Evening, to have an Appetite to his Supper. 3. Phocion, one of the Governors of the Athenian Commonwealth, was found at Dinner (by the Embassador that Alexander sent to him with a Present of ten Talents) with one single dish of meat; and having demanded of the Embassador the reason why Alexander did send him such a Present; he answered, Only for your integrity & virtue; Let him leave me so, said Phocion, for this Gold will make me unjust and vicious, and so with thanks sent the present back to Alexander. 4. Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus, Dictator of the Roman Commonwealth, was found at Dinner with a small piece of meat and a dish of Turnips, by the Ambassadors of the Samnites that were sent unto him with a great sum of Gold, to induce him to show them favor in the obtaining of a Peace which they required of the Roman Senate: Whereupon Cincinnatus showing them the frugality of his Diet, said unto them, Tell the Samnites, that he that can be contented with such Fare, needs no Gold; and therefore carry it back; for if their request be just, they shall have my favor without it. There are evidences of the Temperance of the ancient Persians, Greeks, and Romans concerning the passions of Avarice and Volupty. But as soon as the Persians by Cambises, and the Greeks by Alcibiades, and the Romans by Lucullus were allured to desire riches and pleasures, they became the most covetous and voluptuous Nations of the World: and all their former Virtues were turned into Vices: Therefore I conclude, that Temperance and Sobriety are the inseparable companions of Continency and sanctification: And that Riches, Gluttony and Drunkness are the greatest Provokers to lust and carnal Volupties: And this Passage of S. Paul doth confirm the same, They that sleep, saith he, sleep in the night: and they that are drunken are drunken in the night. But let us which are of the day be sober. Therefore let us not sleep, but let us watch and be sober. Intimating that none are more fit to attain to holiness then those who are temperate and sober: And none more adverse then drunkards and voluptuous men.

Thirdly, men are to endeavor to attain to an habit in Fortitude, called by some a virtue; but when it is accompanied with Faith, it is a grace of the sanctifying Spirit. 1. By it Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego did endure with admirable Constancy the burning flames of the fiery furnace heated seven times hotter then it was wont to be, rather then to worship the golden Image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up. 2. By the same Fortitude Daniel did make choice to be cast alive into the Lions Den, rather then to restrain himself from making his Addresses by fervent prayers three times a day to God. 3. By it all those Worthies nominated in the eleventh Chapter to the Hebrews did suffer with incredible Patience all the torments there specified. 4. By the like Fortitude all the Martyrs in Queen Mary's days did suffer with a sweet temper of spirit the fiery Trial that was inflicted upon them. And as it is the propriety of the Christian Fortitude to endure without murmuring all the torments that are inflicted upon them; so it is another of its proprieties to endeavor to subdue the lascivious Volupties of the flesh: believing that he who can overcome his own Passions, is a greater Conqueror then Alexander. The Heathen do much extol and boast of the fortitude of Cato, who ripped up his bowels with his own hands rather then he would be beholding to the clemency of Caesar. But these murthering resolutions are rather evidences of Pusillanimity then of true Fortitude. For a sudden Death is a lesser torment then to continue a long time in anguish and daily tortures. Besides, the magnanimity of Decius Curius and others, did rather proceed from vain glory then from any true fortitude: But the Christian fortitude hath no other end then the glory of God, and to overcome their sinful Passions.

Fourthly, men are to endeavor to attain an habit in the grace of Sanctification, as the Seal of their Justification and Regeneration and Redemption; And the only way to obtain the same, is by frequent prayers and daily exercises in Religious duties: having ever in their mind these Passages of Scripture, For without holiness no man shall see the Lord. Because God from the beginning hath chosen you to salvation by the sanctification of the Spirit, and the faith of truth. And that you should abstain from fornication: that everyone of you should know how to possess his vessel in holiness and honor; and not in the lust of Concupiscence, even as the Gentiles which know not God. For God hath not called us to uncleanness, but unto holiness.

Now because Sanctification is the crown of all other Christian graces, I will here set down the ordinary means whereby the Blessed Spirit doth infuse the same in the hearts of the Elect (for all natural men are incapable of it;) which is commonly done by degrees, and not suddenly, as their Justification. Yet in some it is more sudden, and in others more flow, according to the activity or remissness of Christians in their exercises of Piety. The first Means is, That the Blessed Spirit doth move them to be diligent Hearers and Readers of the Word of God; For Faith (saith S. Paul ) cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God; And none can be Sanctifyed without a Justifying Faith. 2. It endows them with the spirit of Prayer, and with mortifying Graces, whereby they overcome their Original and Actual corruptions. 3. It moves them to be cautious in all their ways, and to be sensible of the smallest sins, and to flee from all appearance or provocation to sin. 4. It infuseth in their hearts a strong Aversion to sin. 5. It engendereth in them a reverent love, and a filial fear, which keeps them from sin. 6. It doth convince them of all their sins; and specially of their bosom sin. 7. By this conviction it begets in them an implacable hatred against their Darling sin. 8. By this hatred it doth enlighten their Judgment, and openeth the eyes of the same, whereby the miserable condition they are in by the enormity and multiplicity of their sins is made apparent unto them. 9. By the consideration of this misery it induceth them to seek earnestly the means whereby they may be delivered out of it. 10. It infuseth in them a constant resolution to return to their heavenly Father, and to humble themselves in Sackcloth and Ashes before him. 11. It mollifies their hearts, and makes them grieve, mourn, and lament for their sins; by which Spiritual Sorrow, never to be repented of, it begets in them an unfeigned Repentance. 12. And Lastly, being by this Cordial Repentance reconciled to God, by the merits of the Passion of their Blessed Savior, it begets in them an extreme thirst after the living waters of that Fountain which was opened to the house of David, and to the Inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and uncleanness. And so by a constant perseverance in the ways of Righteousness, they attain by degrees to that measure of Sanctification as is required to see the Lord with Joy and Consolation. For the most Sanctified man upon Earth cannot attain to a perfect degree of Sanctification as long as he liveth in these tabernacles of clay; the perfection of this Grace being reserved for the glorified Saints in Heaven.

Eighthly, to Conclude, I admonish all those who earnestly desire to attain to some degree of holiness, to suppress betimes the venom of this vicious Passion of Volupty, before it turn into an Habit in them; For (as I have said in my Answer to the Objection of some Moralists) the Volupty of the mind doth as much increase with Age, as do the vices of Avarice and Drunkenness, as it is confirmed by this Saying of the wise Son of Sirach, All bread is sweet to a Whoremonger; he will not leave off till he die.

Now to terrify and induce Voluptuous men to abhor this sin of Uncleanness, I have collected these ensuing Passages out of Solomon's Proverbs, and out of Ecclesiasticus, to show them how Destructive this sin is to their Means, Bodies, and Souls.

By these and many other places contained in the Word of God, it is apparent that the lascivious Passion of Volupty is more destructive to men then any other Passion whatsoever. Therefore it behooveth all sorts of men, whether they be young or old, to be cautious of their ways, that they may not by their own corruptions (set on fire by the temptations of Satan) be ensnared in this horrid sin of uncleanness: And specially that it turn not by a continued custom into an habit. For if it doth, it will cost them rivers of bitter tears before this spirit can be expelled; Because the best Divines hold, that an old Voluptuous sinner is harder to be converted then any; because the sin of Volupty is so suitable with the natural inclinations of men. Yet if young men would always have this Saying of Solomon in their mind, Rejoice O Yong man in thy youth, and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy Youth, and walk in the ways of thy heart, and in the sight of thine eyes: But know thou, that for all these things God will bring thee to judgment; And Old Voluptuous men this Saying of the Prophet Isaiah, Seek ye the Lord while he may be found; call ye upon him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his ways, and the unrighteous his thoughts, and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him: and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. There is no doubt but God out of his infinite mercy would have compassion of them, and hinder that Satan should not tempt so many Voluptuous Old men to Despair as he doth, by suggesting falsely that their sins are unpardonable; And so enticeth them to put violent hands upon themselves, which is to commit a sin that is Cousin-german to the sin against the Holy-Ghost. Therefore when Old men, who have from their Youth been addicted to Actual Fornications and Adulteries, and by an habit in these sins do impenitently continue in their decrepit Age, by the instigations of Satan, in the intellectual Fornications and Adulteries of the heart; let them cast (I say) these false Suggestions of Satan like dung into his face. For to despair of the Mercy of God, is to yield him up their Spiritual weapons, and to commit an unpardonable sin. For were their sins greater then the sins of Manasseh King of Judah, and equal with that of Judas, who betrayd his Lord and Savior: yet if they despair not of God's Mercy, they will undoubtedly find Mercy: God being pleased sometimes to magnify his unparalleled Mercy, by calling some impious sinners into his Vineyard at the last hour of the day, and to give them out of his free grace, the same wages as he had agreed to give to those who had born the burden and heat of the day.

CHAP. XVIII.

DIogenes the Cynic, being demanded why Gold was of so pale a yellow; Answered ingenuously, that it was out of fear, because all men did run after it to make it their captive, or rather their god; For it is daily seen that avaricious men are the slaves of their riches, and that Gold is their only Deity. But the Poet Simonides being moved by a friend of his to resolve him which of these two, viz. of Wisdom or Gold, was to be most desired and pursued: Answered, Wisdom, saith he; for she is the Mistress, and Gold is her Hand-maid; Notwithstanding, said he, I see daily the wisest men court, wait, and attend upon the Gold-mongers and rich men of these days; so little is Virtue regarded, and Vice so highly esteemed: Whereas in the judgment of King Solomon, riches are nothing but vanity and vexation of Spirit. And to this purpose he gives this caveat to avaricious men, Labor not to be rich; wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not? for riches certainly make themselves wings, they fly away as an Eagle towards heaven. But Wisdom, saith he, is better then Rubies; and all things that may be desired, are not to be compared to it: But these sayings of Solomon seem to be paradoxes to avaricious men; for the glistering luster of their Gold hath dazzled the eyes of their judgment to conceive erroneously, that Gold is a sovereign remedy for all diseases: For it can, say they, deliver them from all danger, raise them to honors, and give them the fruition of all the delights of this life, & so they become more eager after the purchase of these momentary riches, then sincere and zealous Christians are fervent, active, and diligent after the acquisition of the spiritual Treasures. Now because this vicious passion of Avarice is extraordinarily predominant in this Age, and enticeth many to undertake strange projects, and practice undirect means to hoard up Gold and Silver, to the undoing of the Commonwealth, and the destruction of their own souls. Give me leave to enlarge myself upon these particulars, to show you the virulency of this sordid passion.

• 1. What is properly called Avarice.
• 2. How it is composed.
• 3. Of what nature it is, being thus mixed.
• 4. What kind of men are most addicted to it.
• 5. The causes moving men to affect the same.
• 6. The pernicious proprieties of it.
• 7. The destructive effects of the same.
• 8. The considerations inducing men to allay the fire of it.

First, What men properly call Avarice, is only an exorbitant and insatiable desire to hoard up Gold and Silver.

Secondly, This desire is never free from fear and self-love; so that Avarice is a composed passion of fear, love, and desire.

Thirdly, Being thus mixed, it is of a violent nature by the means of love, that is extraordinarily violent in all its operations: It is also of an insatiable and sordid nature, by the means of the passion of desire, that hath an insatiable propriety; and is most base, because this desire hath no other object then the excrements of the Earth; for Gold is nothing but a yellow, and Silver nothing but a white clay, calcinated and refined by the beams of the Sun by a long continuance of time: It is likewise of a timorous quality, by the means of the passion of fear that is of a feminine nature; so by the mixture of these ill-qualified ingredients, Avarice is one of the most base passions incident to men.

Fourthly, These kind of men are most commonly addicted to it. 1. Low and base minded men. 2. Old men are more addicted to it then the young. 3. Those who have in their youth been riotous and prodigal, are much inclined to it when they become ancient. 4. Such as have been in great want in their youth, become avaricious, when they are old, out of fear to fall into the like straits. For the first, all generous spirits disdain to be avaricious; for their thoughts soar higher then the excrements of the Earth; whereas the low-minded are like the Swine who never rise nor lift up their eyes to Heaven, but are still fixed and routing with their snout in the muck-hills of the Earth. I mean by using all vile and base means to enrich themselves, as Crassus and Vespasian did. Secondly, the ancient are more addicted to Avarice then young men; and this proceeds of fear, and from the experience they have of the mutability of all worldly things; besides, they consider their weakness & disabilities of body to labor as they did in their youth, & therefore hoard up what they can against the day of need, hope being then utterly extinguished in their breast, by the cold blast of timorous fears which doth possess decrepit aged men: yet this consideration, that they have one of their feet upon the brink of their Grave, should induce them to make use of the blessings of God, since they have but short time to live, and less need of them then younger men. Thirdly, such as have lavished their means by profuse prodigalities, fall (when they are recalled from these courses) from one extreme to another, and from great Prodigals become great Usurers & avaricious Misers. Fourthly, Princes who in their youth, were of a generous spirit, yet having been brought by mutation of state into great wants and necessities, become when they are ancient, out of fear to fall again into the same straits, extremely avaricious, and prone to hoard up Treasures, as it appears by the Lives of Peter de Medecis Duke of Florence, and by Henry the Seventh King of England, and Henry the Fourth King of France.

Fifthly, The causes moving men to affect Avarice, may be these: 1. A base distruct of the providence of God, suggested in their hearts by Satan through want of Faith to believe these precepts of our blessed Savior, Take no thought for your life what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body what ye shall put on: Is not the life more then meat, and the body more then raiment? Behold the fowls of the air; for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not better then they? Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit to his stature? And why take you thought for raiment? consider the Lilies of the Field how they grow; they toil not, neither do they Spin. And yet I say unto you, that even Solomon in all his glory, was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore if God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little Faith? 2. This diffidence doth beget in them a faint-hearted fear to fall into poverty, if they scrape and heap not by hook and crook some heaps of Gold or Silver; for although poverty of itself be innocent, yet in these depraved days it is held criminal, and the greatest vice, and misery upon earth: For the poor, saith Solomon, is hated even of his neighbor. Notwithstanding saith he in another place, Better is the poor that walketh in his integrity, then the rich that is perverse in his ways. 3. Because none are regarded in this age but the rich; yet rich men without wisdom and piety, should be no more regarded then fools; for as snow in Summer, and as rain in Harvest comes unseasonably, even so honor is as unseemly to rich men that want understanding. It was an ingenuous comparison of a modern Author, who said that a wise virtuous and religious poor man was like a good horse with a leather Saddle on his back; and a vicious profane and foolish rich man, like a Jade that had an embroydred Saddle on his back; Men respecting in these days, more the rich and gay apparel of men then their worth and virtue. 4. Because they may enjoy by riches all carnal volupties, from which the poorer sort are debarred by their poverty. 5. Because they erroneously conceive that riches make them have many friends; but they are commonly Sycophants and Table-friends; for all such whose friendship is grounded upon riches, and not upon the virtue and merits of the party, are time-servers, and of a base and mercenary spirit, and as fickle in their love and friendship as the wind, and at the least blast of disgrace or adversity forsake them. These two instances shall prove the point: Haman the great Favorite of King Ahasuerus, had many friends who bowed their knees daily before him when he had the favor of the King: but as soon as his wrath was kindled against him, they acquainted the King he had erected a Gibet of fifty Cubits high to hang up Mordecai the preserver of the Kings life; and were the first upon the Kings command who cast a Cloke upon his face, & offered to hang up Haman upon the same Gibet. 2. Sejanus the beloved Favorite of the Emperor Tiberius, had many friends as long as he was graced by the Emperor; for he was more courted by the Senators and men of War then Tiberius himself: but they all forsook him when he fell into disgrace, and were more eager and active then any, to draw his body through the kennels of the Streets of Rome. Whereby it appears that the rich men's friends are like a broken bow or a bruised reed. 6. Because they falsely believe that riches will rescue them out of many dangers; but they are deceived; for the smaller shrubs in a Forest are safer from being rooted up with the boisterous winds, then the high Cedars in Libanon. And the Antient and Modern Histories do verify, that rich men under Tyrants are always the mark at which promooting knaves & false informers do aim, as it is apparently seen in the lives of Caligula, Nero, Vitellius, Domitianus and Commodus, and such other Monsters in nature. Likewise in all civil broils and public commotions, the richer men go ever to the pot, as it is apparent in Livies Decades, the Plebeian ever repining and envying the richest Patricians. So that riches do rather expose men to dangers then rescue them.

Sixthly, The evil proprieties of this sordid passion are many, but I will speak only of some of them. 1. It enticeth men to Idolatry; for Avaricious men make their addresses morning and evening to their god Mammon, in lieu to make their prayers to God. I mean in bending as soon as they rise, all their thoughts and cogitations upon the means how they may increase their wealth: whereby it appears that the love of money doth extinguish in them the love of God, and that it is almost as impossible for a rich avaricious man to obtain the Kingdom of God, as it is for a Camel to go thorough the eye of a needle; and that is the reason why few noble and rich are called; and why rich men are compared in the Gospel of S. Luke to the thorny ground: because the care they take to increase their riches, smothers in them the seed of the Word, and hinders them to grow in spiritual graces: there being as great an antipathy between the carking care of this life and godliness, as there is between light and darkness; for where men's treasure is, there is their heart. And that is the reason why Saint James doth pronounce this heavy sentence against the rich who are possessed with Avarice, Go to now ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you. Your riches are corrupt, and your garments are motheaten. Your gold and silver is cankered, and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire; ye heave heaped treasures together for the last days. Behold the hire of the Laborers which have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth; and the cries of them which have reaped, are entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth. Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts as in a day of slaughter. Ye have condemned and killed the just, and he hath not resisted you.

The second propriety of it, is, That it deprives those who are possessed with it, of all true joy, because their joy and content doth only consist in the increase of their riches, which can afford no solid joy, the creatures having nothing in them but emptiness: whereas the object of true joy is God himself, that ever will be an infinite, unchangeable and eternal God. Besides, how can avaricious men have any joy or content, that are hourly perplexed with fears of being deprived of all they have, by a thousand accidents which riches are subject unto? And this moved Crates to cast all his wealth into the Sea, saying he would rather drown his riches then they should drown the tranquility of his mind in fears and continual anxieties. He that loveth silver (saith Solomon ) shall not be satisfied with silver: And except men's desires be satisfied, they can have no joy nor content.

The Third Propriety of it, is, That it deprives men of understanding. For Avaritious men cannot make use of their Riches, but will pinch their bellies, go ragged, and deprive themselves from the comfort of all good things: Nay their harmless Cattle shall feel the smart of their biting Avarice. An Italian Bishop was so base, as he did steal in the night time the Provender that was allowed to his Coach-horses: But his Coach-man gave hiw a hundred bastinadoes as a just reward for his Avarice. For seeing his horses daily decline and become poor and faint, he watched all night and found his Master stealing of their Provender out of their manger, and taking no notice who he was, did swadle him soundly, verifying this Saying of Solomon, That he who loveth riches, shall be without the fruit thereof. And this he calleth An evil sickness, or sore disease. And in truth, it is a sign of Phrensy, or of a Privation of understanding, when men make no use of the Blessings of God; And may be compared to a dog that sits upon a truss of hay, that will not suffer it to be taken away, although he cannot eat of it himself.

The Fourth Propriety of it, is, That it banisheth all Christian Charity out of the hearts of men: For none are so closefisted towards the Poor as Rich Avaritious men. And when with much importunity Collectors draw from them some small Contribution towards their relief, they repine for it, and think they draw like horsleeches their hearts blood. Nay, they will bury their Gold and Silver in the ground, rather then they will lend their poor Neighbor some part of it gratis. And this moved Aesop to say to an Avaritious man, who lamented for the loss of a Treasure he had hid in the ground, Lament and vex not thyself (said he) but carry a stone of the like weight, and bury it in the same place where thy gold was, and imagine it is the same Gold which was taken from thee: For this stone will be as useful to thee as thy Gold was, since thou couldst not make a better use of it. And certainly such Nabal's as hoard up their Wealth, and deny to relieve the distressed David's of these Times in their extreme need, may be compared to that Sicilian Merchant, who being possessed with a strong Phrensy, did believe that all the rich ships that came into the Haven of Syracuse, were his own. Even so these miserable Cormorants, are not Really, but Imaginarily rich, since God deprives them of the use of their Riches.

The Fifth Propriety of it, is, That it begets Pride, and makes men insolent, disdainful and arrogant. For it is a Saying as True as Common, That Honors and Riches corrupt good manners. And daily Experience doth show, that such as become rich suddenly, which were before of a mean and low degree, are prouder, and more insolent in their carriage and comportments, then the greatest Noble-men in the Land: And more disdainful towards their neighbors, then those whose shoos they were formerly unworthy to untie. Crassus from a mean condition being by his Avarice and his vile and base courses to get money, grown to be the richest Citizen of Rome, became so proud and insolent, as to dispute and contest for the preeminency with Caesar.

The sixth propriety of it, is, That this sordid passion doth increase by age, and is most eager and insatiable when men have one of their feet upon the brim of their grave, then when they are in their virility and the strength of their youth: Whereas divers other passions, as wrath, ambition, audacity, and volupty, do diminish by age; which pernicious quality should move men to abhor the same, since no passion is more opposite to the tranquility of the mind then it, because when ancient men should only have their mind fixed upon the means appointed by God, to make their calling and election sure, and to attain to that assurance of eternal bliss, without which they can have no true peace, joy nor content, then is it most of all vexed and perplexed with the carking cares to increase and preserve this Idol of theirs; I mean their gold and silver.

Seventhly, The Effects of Avarice are rather more then the Proprieties of it.

First, They who are addicted to the same, are never loyal to their Prince nor native Country. And this moved Philip King of Macedonia to say, that no Garison was impregnable, if a Mule laden with gold could enter thorough the gate of it. And the Duke of Memorancy high Constable of France, told his King, Francis the First, that the Governor of Metz was the Phenix of that Age for loyalty, since he had been tempted with a great sum of gold by Charles the Fifth Emperor of Germany, to deliver that strong hold into his hands. But the Governor of Calais in Henry the Fourths days was not so faithful; for being possessed with Avarice, he yielded up that Garrison that is one of the Keys of France, into the Archduke Alberts hands, for the sum of thirty thousand Crowns; for which disloyalty, he and his posterity were degraded of their Nobility.

The second Effect of Avarice, is, That it perverteth Justice and Judgment; Cambises King of Persia, caused one of his Judges to be flayed alive, and his skin to be nailed upon the Judgment Seat, because he had been seduced by a Bribe to condemn the Innocent. And the annihilation of the power of the Roman Decemviri, happened because they took Bribes to pervert Justice. And the two Sons of Samuel, Joel and Abiah who were Judges of Israel, out of Avarice walked not in the ways of their Father, but turned aside after luere, took bribes and perverted judgment. And this moved Jethro to give this counsel to Moses his Son-in-law, to provide out of all the people able men, fearing God and hating Avarice, to make them Judges over Israel; for wheresoever Judges and Magistrates are possessed with Avarice, the Laws are trampled underfoot, and Justice is utterly perverted.

The third Effect of it, is, That Avarice doth foment divisions and contentions in all places wheresoever it reigneth. 1. It was the Avarice of the Roman Patricians, that was the only cause of all the divisions and commotions which happened and continued for so many years together, between themselves and the Plebeians or common people of Rome: for Avarice is the mother of Usury, Oppression, and Extortion.

The fourth Effect of it, is, That it maketh Princes and private men as cruel as Lions and Tigers. 1. The Avarice of Ferdinando King of Aragon moved him to undertake the discovery of the West Indies, and with a barbarous cruelty, to cause two or three millious of the poor Indians to be slain with the sword, and to be torn in pieces with Mastiffs, that his Spanish Subjects might have a freer possession of the gold and silver Mines that are there. 2. It moved Philip the second King of Spain to exile out of his Dominions all the Christian Moors that were in Spain; the number of men, women, and children, who were thus cruelly banished, amounting to above three hundred thousand, and all to add to his own demains their Lands and Inheritances, under a false color of zeal to Religion. 3. It moveth Mariners and Merchants to venture their lives into the furthest and the most cold and hotest Climates of the World to increase their Wealth, many of them losing their lives in the prosecution of it. 4. It moveth the most profane and debauched sort of men to become Rovers and Murderers upon the Roades and Highwayes, to break open Houses, and to carry away men's goods by force and violence.

The fifth Effect of it, is, That Avarice hath ever been the Incendiary of Civil Wars. 1. The Avarice of the Plebeian Tribunes of the City of Rome in the days of Caesar, was the cause of the Civil Wars which happened between himself and Pompey's; for by the extraordinary bribes he gave to some of them, they bought the voices of the Centuries of the people to make him continue in his Office of Lieutenant-General of the Roman Legions that were in France, longer then it was appointed by the Law, by which means he attained to such power and reputation, that with the same Army which had been given him by the Senate and People to defend and enlarge the demains of the Roman Commonwealth, he changed the Government of it, and overthrew their Liberties. 2. The Avarice of the chiefest Magistrates and Officers of the Commonwealth of Florence in the days of Peter de Medecis, was the cause of all the Civil broils which happened in that State. 3. The extreme Avarice, mixed with cruelty, of the Duke D'Alva Deputy Governor for the King of Spain in the Low-Countries, was the cause of the death of many Nobles, and of the miserable end of thirty thousand Protestants he caused to be drowned, hanged and slain, to confiscate their goods; and of the rent of seven of those Provinces from the obedience of the King of Spain. 4. The Avarice of the sixteen Zealots who had the Government of the City of Paris in the time of the Catholic League as they called it, was the cause of all the Civil Commotions, Murthers, and Rapines which were committed in Paris, and in divers other Parts of France.

The sixth Effect of Avarice, is, That it endangereth men souls; for men who are possessed with this passion, care not what indirect courses they take to enrich themselves; For he who maketh haste to be rich, saith Solomon, cannot be innocent; Intimating that his many sins and transgressions make him run hazard to be cast into the Pit of eternal destruction, which is confirmed by this saying of S. Paul, They that will be rich, fall into temptations and snares, and into many foolish and noisome lusts, which drown men in perdition and destruction: For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some lusted after, they erred from the Faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

Eighthly, The considerations inducing men to allay the fire of this passion, are these:

• 1. They are to consider that nature is contented with a little; for some bread and water, some Rise, Reasons, Almonds, or Figs, will satisfy the same: So that all such as are not nice but sober in their diet, and temperate in their drinking, will never be enforced to sell their Land to feed their bodies; for it is the excess of the superfluous volupties used in these days that brings men to penury.
• 2. They are to consider, That he who cannot be contented with a little, will not be satisfied with all he could desire; nothing under the Sun being able to satisfy the desires of men, but God only. And that is the reason why S. Paul saith, That godliness with contentment is great gain; for none can be truly contented, except he hath the power of godliness in him, because the love of God doth suppress all other desires in men. It was therefore a wise saying of a Heathen, That he who can give bounds to his desires, is a greater Conqueror and a richer Monarch then Alexander was; for having conquered one World, and having in his possession all the Treasures of Asia which Darius had heaped together, yet were not his desires satisfied; for he did enquite if there were anymore Worlds to satisfy his Ambition and Avarice.
• 3. They are to consider, that riches are accounted the gifts of Fortune, which is held to be blind; therefore it is no wonder if she bestows her gifts upon undeserving men, such as were Nabal, Sobna, and the rich glutton. Besides virtuous and Religious men make conscience of their ways, and will rather be poor then use indirect and unlawful means to enrich themselves; but such as neither fear God nor man, stretch their consciences upon the Tenters, and conceive no courses unlawful or sinful, so they enrich themselves by them.
• 4. They are to consider, that Avarice is worse then Prodigality; for the profuseness of Prodigal men is not destructive to any but to themselves; but the courses used by Avaritious men to enrich themselves, are destructive to the whole Commonwealth: for all Shopkeepers, and Artificers are the better by Prodigals, but they are the worse by Avaritious men, and specially the poorer sort; For they commonly engross or monopolize into their hands all manner of Commodities, to sell them dear; and principally corn; and so like horsleeches, suck the very blood of the Poor: which makes them to be hated of God and of Men. The consideration of which, should move all conscientious men to abhor Avarice, and to endeavor by all means to subdue this sinful Passion.
• 5. They are to consider, that if they had in their possession all the gold and silver Mines of the West Indies, yet they would not add anything to their present and future Felicity, but rather traverse the first, and deprive them of the second. Neither can they prolong their Lives an hour, nor free their bodies from any of the numerous Infirmities they are naturally subject unto. It is then an absolute Madness, for men to tire their bodies, and to waste their spirits, by laboring and carking day and night, to accumulate some small heaps of white and yellow Clay, that will be of no use unto them at the hour of death. Nay, they run great hazard (without the mercy of God) to lose their own souls in, or by the acquisition of them. Therefore they should have always this Saying of our Blessed Savior in their mind, For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole World, and lose his own soul?
• 6. They are to consider, that there is a greater difference between the spiritual and temporal riches, then there is between Light and Darkness: in regard of the superexcellency and duration of the first, and the baseness and mutability of the second. For spiritual riches are free from all Accidents, durable, and eternal; but the temporal riches are subject to changes and mutations, and of no continuance, their abode being uncertain: men being rich today, and extreme poor tomorrow, as it appears by the History of Job, and of Croesus king of Lydia: the one being the richest man of the East; and the other the richest Prince in Asia: And yet in the revolution of one day, the last was deprived of his incredible treasures and kingdom, and became also the Captive of his mortal Enemy: And the first came to be an Object of Poverty and Misery, and a Subject of Derision and false Imputations to his own wife and intimate friends. It is Recorded, that at the sacking or destruction of the City of Thebes by Alexander the Great, a Greek Philosopher for his rare parts was permitted to go away with all he had, before the rest of the Inhabitants were slain, and the city set on fire: And being asked as he came out, Why he carried not away his Goods, Answered, In saving my person I preserve all that may truly be called Riches or Goods; meaning his Learning and Virtue. Even so if Christians would be as careful to hoard up spiritual riches, as they are to heap up gold and silver, they should not need to fear the loss of them. For Godliness and Holiness, that are the spiritual riches of a true Christian, are free from all Accidents. And this is the reason why our Blessed Savior doth charge us all, To seek first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto us: And, Let us take no thought for tomorrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself: sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

CHAP. XIX.

AS it is not the quality, but the quantity of wine that is offensive to men: So it is the excess and the irregularity of men's ambition that is destructive to mankind; for as a little wine rejoiceth the heart, so a spark of ambition in the heart of men bends their minds upon generous actions: And could they make virtue and holiness the only objects of their Ambition, as they do the honor and glory of this world, Ambition would prove to be the best and the most commendable passion of men. Themistocles did use to say, That the great Trophies of Miltiades did hinder him to take his rest; even so, if the Faith of Abraham, the righteousness of Lot, the patience of Job, the continency of Joseph, the meekness of Moses, the zeal of Phineas, the fervency of David, and the holiness of our blessed Savior, were the objects of men's ambition, ambitious men would carry away the garland, and be reputed as the only excellent upon earth. But to be excessively ambitious after the fading and momentary riches, honors, and glory of this world, or after the conquest of a Mole-hill, (for the greatest Kingdom in Christendom in comparison of the whole Globe of the World, will appear but like a Mole-hill,) it is a mere vanity, and an evil disease. Socrates being informed that Alcibiades was proud and ambitions, and boasted of the great demains he possessed in Attica a Province of Greece, of which Athens was the Metropolitan City, brought him into a place where there was a Map of the whole Earth, and prayed him to show him where stood his Possessions; Alcibiades after an exact view of the same, found out at last the Province of Attica, which was no bigger then a great pins-head, but could not see any sign of his demains, whereupon Socrates said unto him, Why are you then so proud and ambitious for a thing of so little Continent, that it cannot be seen in this Card. Even so Princes and Commonwealths, who out of ambition contend for enlargement of their demains, will find at the end, when they have shed their subjects blood, and exhausted their Treasures, that they have only obtained with much ado, a small Mole-hill of ground: And will be enforced to say, as Charles the Fifth, and Philip the Second, Kings of Spain did (who through their Ambition had been the cause of the death of a million of men, and of the exhausting of all the Treasures that came out of the West- Indies, which did amount in threescore years to above two hundred millions of Crowns, by the Wars they made about the Conquest of France,) viz. That with all this blood and incredible Treasures, they had not won a Foot of ground in France, and were further from the Conquest of it, then they were the first day of their War. And verily if the seventeen Provinces of the Low-Countries were represented in a Map, and compared to the whole Globe of the Firmament, of the Seas, and the Earth, they would not seem to be so big as a Mole-hill: And yet they have this threescore years and ten been the object of the Ambition of him that stiles himself the greatest King in Christendom. And notwithstanding his might and power, and the innumerable lives of men that have been lost, and the incredible Treasures that have been exhausted in the Conquest and preservation of them, yet hath he been enforced to acknowledge seven of these Provinces to be free-States, and at this very hour courts them by his Ambassadors, to obtain an offensive and defensive League with them: For although the Ambition of Princes and Commonwealths have no bounds, yet are they bounded by the Lord of Hosts, and shall extend no further then he hath Decreed: The beginning, the increase, the decay, and utter annihilation of Empires, Monarchies, and Commonwealths being wholly at his disposing. Notwithstanding the desires of Ambitious men are never satisfied, and are always projecting to enlarge their bounds, although they are ignorant of God's will and pleasure therein; these ambitious desires of theirs, being oftentimes the fore-runners of their ruin and annihilation. Croesus King of Lydia desiring ambitiously to enlarge his dominions, made War against Cyrus, who deprived him in one day of his Kingdom, and of his incredible Treasures. And Antiochus the great, ambitiously desiring to enlage his Kingdom, declared War against the Romans, who took from him Armenia, and confined him beyond the Mount Taurus. And because this fiery passion of Ambition is as predominant in all parts of Christendom in these days, as it hath been in former Ages, give me leave to enlarge myself upon these particulars:

• 1. On the definition of this passion.
• 2. On the composure of it.
• 3. On the nature of the same.
• 4. On those who are most addicted to it.
• 5. On the Causes that move men to be Ambitious.
• 6. On the proprieties of the same.
• 7. On the pernicious effects of it.
• 8. On the means to subdue the same.

First, Ambition is nothing but an exorbitant and irregular desire of worldly honor and glory.

Secondly, It is a mixed passion, composed of these, viz. of Audacity, of Hope, and Desire. 1. Audacity expels the fears that might dissuade Ambitious men from undertaking any perilous enterprises. 2. Hope infuseth in them a confidence they shall attain to their ends. 3. Desire gives them wings to prosecute with indefatigable labor, the fruition of that which they aim at.

Thirdly, It is of a fiery, restless, and insatiable nature. 1. It is fiery, because such as are more ambitious then others, are of a bilious, hot, and dry constitution. 2. It is restless, because the bilious humor, which is the most predominant in their bodies, doth usually ascend up to their brains, which makes them active in all their actions, and sudden in all their undertakings. And of this natural constitution were Caesar, Henry the Fourth King of France, and the last King of Sweden, who were all three extraordinarily ambitious. 3. It is insatiable, because of the great predominancy the passion of desire hath over the other passions of which it is composed, nothing being more insatiable then the desires of men.

Fourthly, Those who are most ambitious, are commonly of a haughty spirit, envious and impatient when they see any other excel them in valor, honor & glory. It was Ambition that moved Alexander to reject the fair offer that Darius King of Persia made unto him of the half of his Kingdom, and of his eldest Daughter to be his wife, (if that would have satisfied his ambition,) so he might enjoy peaceably the other moity the rest of his days; but this answer of Alexander made unto Darius upon this offer did proceed from a haughty and imperious spirit, viz. That as there was but one Sun in the Firmament, so there could be but one Monarch upon Earth: And this saying of Caesar did proceed from a haughty and ambitious heart, viz. That he would rather be the chiefest Magistrate in a petty City of Italy, then the second in the City of Rome. And this other that he spake to the Master of a ship in the midst of a storm; Fear not, saith he, For thou dost carry in thy ship Caesar and his Fortune; as if the Wind and the Sea had been bound to obey and comply with his ambitious designs: But his passion of Sorrow when he wept, seeing the Figure of Alexander cut in Marble standing in the Market place of the City of Cadice in Spain, doth evidently manifest that he was of a haughty and ambitious spirit. Out of these instances it may then be collected, that Ambition is as common to haughty and proud spirits, as Avarice is proper and peculiar to vile and base-minded-men.

Fifthly, The causes moving men to be ambitious, may be these:

• 1. Self-love.
• 2. Pride.
• 3. Vain-glory.

1. Self-love induceth to prefer their own glory to anything under the Sun. And it is certain that all the heroical Actions of the ancient Heathens did rather proceed from self-love, then from the love they did bear to Virtue, or to their native Country. And in these days most of the commendable Actions of Magistrates, Commanders, and Learned men, have a greater reference to this self-love then the glory of God and the Public good, except it be the actions of some special Saints, and true children of God.

2. Pride raiseth their hearts above the Moon; for like proud and ambitious Haman, they would have all men bow their knees before them, and will be accounted as the Cedars of Libanon, and not as the brambles of the Forest. And this Pride makes them aspire to the greatest Offices and Places of the Commonwealth, being assured that by these Places and Dignities they will be more honored then for their own worth. Never considering that the steepest Mountains, the highest Clifts, Towers, and Steeples are more subject to be beaten down by the boisterous winds and thunder-claps, then the low trees growing in the Valleys. And that God doth always exalt the humble, and speaketh thus to the proud, Though thou exalt thyself as the Eagle, and though thou set thy nest among the stars, thence will I bring thee down, saith the Lord.

3. Vain-glory gives wings to the ambitious men, and makes them undertake the most perilous enterprises, if they conceive they may obtain in this life the praise and the applause of men, and make their memory famous in the Generations to come. This moved the two Decii to throw themselves in the midst of the Enemies Army, to save and to give the Victory to the Roman Legions: It moved Martius Curtius to cast himself on Horse-back, armed from head to foot, into a bottomless Pit to free the City of Rome from the contagion of a consuming Plague: It moved Scevola to burn his own hand before King Porsenna in the flame of a lighted Torch, to obtain an advantageous Peace for his native Country. And the ancient Romans knowing what power vain-glory hath over ambitious men, did ordain to this purpose three kind of Triumphs, to incite them by these vain shows and the applause and acclamations the common people made at their entering, to hazard their lives in Martial Atchievments; the first of these Triumphs excelling in honor the second, and the second the last; that their valor might be honored according to the degrees, as it did really deserve: Whereby it appears that vainglory hath from the beginning to this day been the only aim of proud and ambitious men.

Sixthly, The proprieties of ambition are numerous, but for brevity sake, I shall only speak of three of them.

The first proprietiy of it, is, That it hath neither limits nor bounds; and this I will prove by three instances, that are known to such as are versed in ancient and Modern Histories. 1. The Ambition of the Democratical Commonwealth of Rome had no bounds, although the beginning of it was vile and small; it was vile because the first erectors of it were for the greater part Out-laws, Fugitives, and Vagabonds; and it was small because their number did not exceed three thousand before the Sabines joined with them; the first object of their Ambition was the City of Alba, which was destroyed in one day; the second was Gabes; and the Citizens of them both were joined with the Romans, which did much increase their number, and so by degrees subdued all their neighbouring Princes and Commonwealths; then Sicilia was the object of their Ambition, then Carthage, Spain, France, England, Greece, Macedonia, and Armenia: And when they had in their possession the greatest part of Europe, Asia, and Africa, then the ambition of Caesar swallowed up them: who from a servant became their imperious Lord. Neither was the ambition of their Emperors ever limited; for the greater part of them did endeavor to enlarge their Monarchy, till the days of the Emperor Trajan, at which time it had the largest extent that it ever had; for presently after, it began to decay, and was annihilated by its own weight, as all great Politick Bodies are commonly. 2. The Ottoman ambition was never limited to this day. At the first, it was contained within the Circumference of a Country Village, their number not above six hundred; then they extended the same in the Lesser Asia, and then it came over Hellespontus into Greece, conquered Constantinople, suppressed the Greek Empire, subdued Servia, Dalmatia, and a great part of Hungaria; then Egypt, Syria, and Armenia, with the Island of Cyprus, Rhodes, and all the Islands of the Archipelago; then they extended the same into Persia, but were enforced to give it over because of their Civil Divisions: The Janisaries and the Spahis holding at this present the helm of the ship of that great Monarchy; for they have of late years placed and displaced to, and from the Throne, such as pleased and displeased them; yet is not their ambition limited; for Candia is now the object of it. 3. The ambition of the House of Austria was never yet limited: 1. In the days of Ferdinando and Isabella, they conquered the Kingdom of Grenado, and the West- Indies, and by a wile possessed themselves perfidiously of the Kingdom of Navarre, and drove the French out of the Kingdom of Naples, and the Duchy of Milan; and having by the Heir of the House of Burgundy obtained the rule of the seventeen Provinces of the Netherlands, Charles the Fifth, the son of that Heir was chosen Emperor of Germany when he was already King of Spain, which Kingdom he left to Philip the Second, his son: and the Empire of Germany to his brother Ferdinande, whom he caused to be chosen by his power in his life time; and so ambitiously and cunningly made the Empire of Germany Hereditary to that Family, that was formerly elective; his son Philip the Second of that name, King of Spain, following his ambitious steps, by the invincible Navy he sent to conquer England, and the Catholic League that were his Emissaries to betray into his hands France their native Country, came very near to be the absolute Monarch of Christendom: But God who derides at the ambition of Princes which do not tend to the execution of his secret will, brought all his ambitious designs to nothing; for his invincible Navy was beaten and scattered by the English valor, and the greatest part of it swallowed up by the roaring Seas. And the Catholic League in France, was utterly subdued by the activity, wisdom, and valor of Henry the Fourth their lawful king. Yet notwithstanding that the Hollanders have deprived him of seven of the Netherland Provinces; and the Portuguies from his usurped kingdom of Portugal; he hoped still ambitiously to make himself the absolute Monarch of Christendom, by the divisions he hath lately fomented in Holland, England, France, Scotland and Ireland, by the means of the Machiavellian Principles spread abroad by the Jesuitical Locusts, that he hath scattered among these Nations like so many swarms of Bees. But I hope, God will turn his Counsels into foolishness, as he did that of Achitophel: and make his unlimited Ambition the cause of his utter annihilation.

The Second Propriety of Ambition, is, That it hateth Parity, and all Competitors and Equals. Numerous Instances might be produced for proof of it: but half a dozen shall serve: 1. Romulus and Remus, brethren, having been chosen kings or Governors of the Fugitives that were the first Erectors of the Roman Commonwealth, did not reign two years together, but Romulus out of ambition to reign alone, slew his brother Remus under color that he had in derision leaped over the mud walls of the City of Rome. 2. Lucius Tarquinius impatient of the long life & reign of Servius Tullius his Fatherin-Law, possessed with an ambitious desire to reign in his stead, by the wicked instigations of his wife Tullia, threw him down the Senate-Chamber stairs, and caused him to be murdered in the streets of Rome; and this accursed and abhorred Tullia coming from the Senate in a Chariot with four horses, where she had caused her Husband to be proclaimed King, caused her Coachman to drive the Chariot over her Fathers body, as he lay a dying and gored in his blood in the street: And no marvel it was that she who to prosecute her ambitious design, had already caused her Husband to murder her own sister and his own brother that was her first Husband; would omit to act this unparalleled cruelty towards her Father-in-Law, by whose untimely and violent death she came to have the fruition of her accursed ambition. 3. Crassus, Pompeius, and Caesar having divided the power of the Roman Commonwealth between them, Crassus being gone with a great Army into Asia to subdue the Parthians, and Caesar with another Army into France, and Pompeius with another Army left at Rome to preserve Italy; all three of them being excessively ambitious, and specially the two last, could not be contented with their condition, but under-hand aspired to be absolute Monarchs, which Caesar after the death of Crassus easily obtained. 4. After the death of Caesar, Lepidus, Marcus Antonius, and Augustus Caesar did divide the power of the Roman Empire between them; but before seven years came about, Augustus Caesar the most ambitious of them became the absolute Monarch of the World, by these means; first Antonius and Augustus joined together to deprive Lepidus of his part; then Antonius and Augustus came to a second division; but ambition being more predominant in Augustus then in Antonius, who was addicted to volupty, he soon deprived him of his part, and became the only Monarch upon earth. 5. The Emperor Severus at his death left his two sons, Bassianus and Geta, equal Heirs of the Roman Empire; but Bassianus transported with an unnatural ambition, slew his brother Geta before a year came about in his Mothers arms, to reign alone. 6. Lewis the Twelfth, King of France, and Ferdinando King of Aragon by a mutual consent did divide the Kingom of Naples between them: But the Spaniard being more ambitious then the French, under color of a Toll paid for Cattle, which did really appertain to the French, but feigned to be the Spaniards; Ferdinando's pride and ambition disdaining to have a Competitor or Equal in that Kingdom, deprived the French of all he held in the same.

The third Propriety of ambition, is, That it is never free from jealousy; I mean that which is called the jealousy of State; And for proof of it, these following instances shall suffice. 1. The Emperor Tiberius out of an ill-grounded jealousy that Germanicus his own Nephew, who was extremely beloved of the Senators, Soldiers, and common People for his virtue, valor, and noble parts, should aspire to the Empire before his death; caused Lucius Piso Governor of Syria to poison him at a Banquet, and then forsook the said Piso, being accused and convinced of the Fact, and suffered him to be sentenced and executed, although he had a warrant under his own hand, commanding him to rid him out of the way; the which Warrant he durst not produce out of fear the Tyrant would deprive his children of his incredible Riches and yearly Revenews. 2. Nero out of the same ambitious jealousy, caused young Germanicus the true Heir of the Empire to be poisoned as he sat at his own Table. 3. Domitianus out of the like jealousy, caused divers Roman Senators to be slain, and was resolved to do the like to the Captain of his Guard, and to the best beloved of his Concubines, if they had not prevented him by taking away his life to preserve their own. 4. Lewis the Eleventh King of France, out of an ill-grounded, but violent ambitious jealousy, that his Brother Charles Duke of Normandy did aspire to the Crown, caused him to be poisoned secretly by one of his own servants. 5. Edward the Fourth King of England, by the false impressions that his younger Brother Richard Duke of York had maliciously infused in his heart of this ambitious jealousy, caused the Duke of Clarence his brother to be arraigned and drowned in a Butt of Malmsey. 6. Richard the Third, out of this State jealousy caused the Duke of Buckingham to be beheaded, because he conceived him to be as willing then to disthrone him, and to set his Crown upon the Earl of Richmonds Head, as he had been ready in former times to make him that was an Usurper, King of England. 7. This ambitious jealousy is so cruel, that it makes men trangress the Law of Nature, and to put their own sons to death, as Herod did Antipater his son; whereupon Augustus Caesar said ingeniously, that it was better to be Herod's Swine then his Son. 8. Philip the Second King of Spain, caused Prince Charles his eldest Son to be put to death by the Inquisition of Spain, out of an ambitious jealousy that he did aspire to bereave him of his Crown.

Seventhly, The Effects of Ambition are worse then the Proprieties of it; for Paracidies, Murthers, Rebellions, Mutations of States, Annihilations of Laws, intestine and foreign Wars, with all the desolations and mischiefs that follow them at the heels, are the fruits of men's ambition; and of these I will speak in order, and by instances confirm the same.

For the first, Andronicus the younger, out of ambition to reign, did most cruelly put out the eyes of his Grandfather, and famished him to death in Prison. 2. Sylimus out of ambition to reign, did most unnaturally poison his Father Bajazeth, and flew all his brethren. 3. Athaliah out of Ambition to reign, slew and destroyed all the Seed-Royal of the House of Judah. 4. Richard the Third King of England, out of Ambition to reign, caused his two Nephews to be murdered in the Tower; and in hope to settle the Crown upon himself and his Posterity, he put his Wife to death, to marry the Lady Elizabeth his own Niece: Incests being accounted no sin by ambitious men: So they may (as the House of Austria do daily) uphold and advance by it their ambitious designs.

For the Second, Joab out of ambition to remain still the Commander in Chief of the men of War, murdered perfidiously under color of friendship, Abner and Amasa, by stabbing of them under the fifth rib. 2. Baasha out of ambition to reign, murdered Nadab his Lord and King. 3. Zimri out of ambition to reign, murdered Ela his Lord, the Son of Baasha. 4. Omri out of ambition to reign, rose up against Zimri and enforced him to burn himself in the Kings Palace.

For the Third, Absalom out of Ambition to reign, rebelled against his Father King David, and did endeavor to deprive him of life from whom he had his being. 2. Zedekiah out of ambition to reign as an absolute King, rebelled against his benefactor King Nebuchadnezzar, which was the cause of his miserable end. 3. Otho out of ambition to reign, rebelled against Galba who had made him his second favourite. 4. Pippin the short, out of ambition to reign, rebelled against his Lord King Childerick, and by force and violence caused him to be shaven as a Monk, and to be shut up into a Monastery.

For the Fourth, The ambition of Nebuchadnezzar was the secondary cause of the destruction of the Assyrian Monarchy: And the ambition of Cyrus was the cause of the overthrow of the Babylonian Monarchy: And the ambition of Alexander was the cause of the annihilation of the Persian Monarchy: And the ambition of the Roman Commanders was the cause of the utter subversion of the Greek Monarchy: And the ambition of Caesar was the cause of the mutation of the Democratical Government of Rome into a Monarchical: And the ambition of the Rulers of the Gauls, Goths, Visgots, Vandals, and Lombards, of the utter ruin of the Roman Monarchy; for they rent the same in pieces as a Kite rends a young chiken. I say, the secondary Cause, for the secret will and Decree of God is the first and efficient cause of all the mutations of States or Monarchies: And that is the reason why Saint Paul giveth this charge, Let every soul be subject to the higher powers, for there is no power but of God; the powers that be, are ordained of God.

For the Fifth, From the mutations of one kind of Government to another Government, proceeds annihilation of the ancient Laws of either of them. It happened so at Rome, upon the change that Caesar's ambition brought in that Commonwealth; for the ancient Laws were annihilated, and new Laws were established; and likewise after the coming of William the Conqueror into England, the ancient Britain Laws were annulled, and the Norman Laws confirmed: This proverb being not more common then true, viz. From new Lord's, new Laws; and this might be proved by divers instances out of the ancient and modern Histories; but these two alleged will serve for brevity sake.

For the Sixth, Ambition breeds divisions, and divisions beget intestine and foreign Wars, and from these Wars proceed the mutations of States and Monarchies, and from these mutations the Annihilation of ancient Laws. Now the inseparable companions of foreign and intestine Wars, are, Atheism, Schisms in the Church, and a Laodicean luke-warmness in Religion, and great effusions of blood, injustices, oppressions, and desolations; And all these mischiefs proceed from the exorbitant and irregular ambition of men; and therefore I conclude, that the passion of ambition is nothing but vanity and vexation of spirit, and more destructive to mankind then any other passion.

But before I speak of the means which are to be used to restrain the fury of this violent passion, give me leave to examine the justice, or injustice of the Wars which have been merely undertaken out of an ambitious desire of vain-glory.

It is certain, that if the actions of the most ambitious Princes and Commonwealths that have from the creation to this day been upon the Earth, were examined without prejudice or partiality, that they would be found more injurious then just: If men set aside the secret will & Decree of God, who had ordained from the beginning that these four great Monarchies here spoken of, should be so successful in their increase; they would wonder how injustice and oppressions could have such prosperous events. I will only speak of the Actions of the Romans and Greeks. 1. Because they have been more clearly demonstrated to us by their Authors, then the actions of the other two. 2. Because the Actions of the Assyrians and Babylonians were guided by a special providence of God, for the punishment of the sins of his own People the Jews. As for the Actions of the Romans, men may clearly see, that from their very beginning until the days of Caesar, they have for the greater part been unjust, oppressive and injurious, although they with much cunning and art did palliate them under the cloak of Justice, and the right of the Laws of Nations. And as for the Civil War undertaken by Caesar against his native Country, it was void of all humanity and Justice; and Ambition only gave him the audacity to resolve to enslave under his yoke those to whom he had been a servant for seven years together; Nay, with that very Army that they had given him and entrusted into his hands, and constantly paid wages to for the enlarging of their limits. And as for the invasion of Asia by Alexander, It was in the Opinion of the best Politicians, a rash and inconsiderate enterprize, proceeding rather from Temerity, then from prudence or true valor to undertake such a Conquest with an Army of forty thousand Foot and ten thousand Horse, when Darius had to oppose him twenty times as many more; yet because it was decreed in the secret Council of God, that he should be the Head of the third Mornarchy, the end of this rash and unjust enterprize proved prosperous, and not for the justice of his cause; for Darius had never attempted to invade any of his Dominions, or done him any injury; all the pretext he had, was, that the former Persian Kings had invaded Greece; and to prevent future invasions, it was a wise policy to assail and give him work at home: A poor excuse or color of justice for him to deprive Darius of his Life, Empire, and incredible Treasures; which did well deserve this Answer that a Pirate made unto him, when he was brought before him to be sentenced to death for his Pyracies at Sea; For Alexander having asked him why he did use that base and unlawful trade of Pyracy; Out of need (said the Pirate;) for my Father left me nothing but this small Brigantine to maintain myself, my wife and children; but thy Father left thee a large Kingdom, and incredible Treasures, and yet thou usest this trade by the great, by depriving Princes of their Kingdoms and Treasures, whereas I use it only by retail, in taking some sorry Merchants goods; consider then which of us two is the greatest Pirate, and which of us deserves the greatest punishment. Alexander was so astonished at this Answer, considering that he said nothing but the very truth, that in lieu to sentence him to death, he made him Captain of one of the best Ships he had in his Navy. Therefore foreign and intestine Wars are not to be undertaken but upon just grounds; otherwise the Authors of them will be answerable at the last day for the life and blood of those who have been slain in them, and for appropriating to themselves such Provinces or Kingdoms to which they have neither right, nor any just tittle.

Eighthly, The means which are to be used to allay the fury of this passion, and to subdue it utterly if it be possibe, are these: 1. Men are to endeavor to attain to a true habit in the grace and virtue of humility; for he who is truly humble, can never be ambitious; because Pride and Ambition are inseparable companions. 2. This grace of humility will beget in them a filial fear; for men before they be humbled by the consideration of their unworthiness, can never attain to this filial fear, the fear of God being the beginning of true wisdom; And to fear God, and to keep his Commandments, is, saith Solomon, the whole duty of a man: And those whose are endowed with this filial fear, can never be ambitious; because they know it to be offensive to God and to men: as the criminal effects of this sinful passion here before described do witness the same. 3. Men are to strive to attain to an habit of true contentedness; for such as are contented, cannot be ambitious; because from the discontentedness of the mind, proceed the ambitious desires of men. Diogenes had more content with his Tub, to shelter him from the injuries of the Meteors of the Air, and with his wooden dish to eat and drink therein, then Alexander had with the Conquest of half the World, and the fruition of all the Treasures, Pomps, and lascivious Volupties of Asia. 4. Men are to consider, That naked they came into the World, and naked they shall go out of it. And that the reward of all their ambitious undertakings will be at the conclusion, if they had conquered the whole World, but six foot of ground to bury them in. 5. Ambitious men are ever to have in their mind this saying of our blessed Savior, For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? 6. If men will needs be ambitious, let them be ambitious to excel all others in spiritual Graces, and to make their Calling and Election sure; That they may at their departure out of this miserable life, be made by the merits of Christ Co-heirs with their blessed Savior of the Kingdom of Heaven, and of eternal Glory.

CHAP. XX.

CImon the famous general of the Athenian Commonwealth, hearing a friend of his highly commending his martial Atchievments, Answered, That he feared they were not werthy commendation, because they were not envied. Intimating that in those days, the noble and generous actions of the most valorous and virtuous men were the only object of the Athenians Envy. But Plutarch in his life giveth sufficient reason why Cimons actions were not envied by the Athenians, as the actions of Solon, Themistocles, Alcibìades, and Aristides were in their time (for through envy of their virtue, they banished them all for ten years,) viz. because of his extraordinary liberality shown to the common people; for he having great and spacious Demains about the City of Athens, relieved the poorer sort with corn when it was dear, and every year at Lammas laid open the Gates of his Closing to relieve their Cattle: And this liberality of his did quench the fire of Envy, stopped the mouths of envions men, as conceiving his own prodigality would bring him lower, and make him poorer then their own envy could wish or desire. Aristides was one of the most just and upright Magistrates that ever was in Athens, and for his Justice, Prudence, Temperance, and other rare Virtues was called Aristides the just, and by consequence more envied by the common people then any other. Therefore his name being written in the List of such as the people did desire to banish that year, the day appointed for the collecting of the people's Votes being come, a Country-fellow that could neither write nor read, came amongst the rest to give his voice; and because the Athenians gave their Voyces by Tickets, he addressed himself to Aristides, desiring him to write Aristides name in that Ticket, whereupon Aristides astonished, demanded of him, Whether he knew Aristides, and what injury he had done unto him, that moved him to desire he should be banished; I know him not, said the fellow, neither hath he done me any injury; but I cannot endure to hear him called Aristides the Just; whereupon Aristides without disclosing of himself, write his name in the Ticket, and gave it to the Fellow: And was the same day exiled by the major part of the voices of the people. By this it appears that goodness and virtue is the common object of envy. Give me leave therefore to enlarge my Discourse upon these particulars, to discover the venom of this vicious passion.

• 1. On the definition of Envy.
• 2. On the nature, causes, and proprieties of it.
• 3. On the evil Effects of Envy.
• 4. On the means or remedies for the curbing of it.

First, Envy is a mixed Passion, composed of cupidity, wrath, and hatred; cupidity makes it vile and base; wrath, fiery and furious; and hatred makes it loathsome and odious. And by the mixture of these three pernicious ingredients, it becomes one of the worst passions incident to men; for where it reigneth, it produceth nothing but anguish, grief, and sorrow of heart, and no profit, joy, or pleasure at all. Envy, saith the Bishop of Marseilles, is a sordid passion, begetting a repining grief and sorrow in the hearts of men who are possessed with it.

2. The Nature, Causes and Proprieties of this passion of Envy may be these: First, Envy is by accident of a cold and dry nature, having a shrinking quality, like unto that of Fear and Sorrow; for although Wrath, of which it is composed, be hot and fiery, yet being turned into Hatred, it loseth its natural heat, becomes cold by accident, as the humor of the yellow Choler, which is hot, being burned, changeth its nature, and is turned into a cold melancholy humor. Secondly, the causes of Envy are these:

• 1. Pride.
• 2. Self-love.
• 3. Malice.

First, Pride-begetteth Envy; for all such as are proud, repine and grieve to see others to excel them in honors, riches, pleasures, or in moral Virtues, and spiritual graces.

Secondly, Self-love is the cause of Envy; for such as are possessed with self-love, cannot endure that others should be accounted more valiant, nor more learned, virtuous, or righteous then they.

Thirdly, Malice breeds Envy; for malicious men cannot see without grief and sorrow their Neighbors prosperity; and all these shall be proved by instances, when I shall speak of the malicious effects of this passion of Envy.

The first propriety of Envy is, that such as are transported with it, never envy those who are of a lower degree then themselves; for Envy doth ever ascend and never descend, because Envy is not like Hatred, which continues till death, and sometimes after death, as it hath been proved in the Chapter of Hatred: but it increaseth or decreaseth according to the prosperity or adversity of those that are envied by others; for if the party envied, become poor, or fall into misery, the envious party will change oftentimes his envy into compassion and pity.

The second Propriety of Envy is, That men of different Callings seldom envy one another: But Princes envy Princes, Commanders envy Commanders, Learned men envy the Leaned, Merchants envy Merchants, and Artificers envy Artificers of their own calling; for a Smith will not Envy a Carpenter, nor a Carpenter a Smith. Marius did envy Sylla, Pompeius Caesar; Francis the First King of France did envy the Emperor Charles the Fifth; and all these were Competitors of honor and glory. And likewise learned men never envy Generals of Armies, but they envy such as they fear will outgo them in the Sciences they profess: Orators envy Orators, and Divines envy Divines; for the objects of this malicious passion are those that excel others in Valour, Prudence, Honors, Riches, Pleasures, Sciences, Arts and Piety.

The third Proprietie of Envy, is, That it enticeth men to cruelty, for if Might and Power happen to be in the hands of envious men, to satisfy their envy, they will commit all manner of injustice and Tyrannicall cruelty.

3. The effects of Envy have from the Creation to this day been destructive to mankind. And the Painter that did first represent this Passion under the shape of a woman having a wrinkled face, squint-eyes, a crown of Snakes on her head, and a Vultur gnawing her breast, was well acquainted with the evil nature and pernicious effects of Envy. For the Feminine Sexe first intimates the pusillanimity of this Passion, Secondly, her wrinkled face represents the grief and sorrow that is incident to such as are possessed with envy. Thirdly, her squint-eye demonstrates the indirect objects of this passion. Fourthly, the crown of Snakes on her head, signifies the anxieties of their mind. Fifthly, The Vultur gnawing her breast, is a lively emblem of the wracking tortures wherewith Envy doth continually afflict the hearts of envions men.

The first effect of Envy proceeding from Pride, was the cruel murder of Abel; for the pride of Cain's heart did beget in him this envy, because his Sacrifice was rejected of the Lord, and Abel's Sacrifice was accepted, as it appears by these words, And the Lord had respect unto Abel, and to his Offering: But to Cain and to his Offering he had no respect.

The second effect of Envy proceeding from Pride, was, when the hearts of the Pharisees puffed up with pride, did out of a malicious envy slander our blessed Savior, saying unto him, That he did cast out Devils by the power of Belzebub the Prince of the Devils, because they could not endure to hear their own Officers say, Never man spake like this man. The first effect of Envy proceeding from self-love was this; Dionysius Tyrant of Syracuse caused the Poet Philoxenus to be sold for a slave, because he was generally reputed to be a better Poet then he. The second effect proceeding from self-love was this, That the Emperor Adrianus caused Favorinus and Melisius, two Learned men, to be banished, because they were generally reputed to be more learned in the Liberal Sciences then he. The first effect of Envy proceeding from Malice was this, that Josephs brethren sold him to the Midianite Merchants to be carried and sold as a Slave into Egypt; for being transported with Envy and Malice, they said amongst themselves, Come now therefore, and let us slay him, and cast him into some Pit, and we will say, some evil beast hath devoured him, and we shall see what will become of his dreams. But God who had in his secret Decree otherwise disposed of him, caused Judah to persuade them he should be sold, and not slain. The second effect of Envy proceeding from Malice was the malicious Envy of Saul against David. And for no other cause, but forasmuch as God was pleased to bless him in all his designs and undertakings: And this Malice and Envy was so inveterate, that when all his wiles miscarried, he persuaded Michal his Daughter to betray her own Husband; but she abhorring so base an act, out of love saved his life by a wile.

Fourthly, Tyranny and Cruelty is an effect of Envy; for the Envy of Marius against Sylla was the cause of a bloody Civil War: And the envy of Pompeius against Caesar was the cause of a greater; and the Envy of Francis the First against Charles the Fifth, was the cause of the death of a Million of men. The fifth effect of Envy is, That it begetteth shame and ignominy, because envious men cannot excuse nor palliate this Passion of Envy, as men can divers other passions. The ambitious man will excuse his ambition, and will say it is an evidence of his generosity of spirit, to aspire to honors and places of Authority; that there is none but base-minded men who do affect to live obscurely. The covetous man will varnish over his avarice, and cloke the same by this passage of S. Paul, But if any provide not for his own Family, he hath denied the Faith, and is worse then an Infidel. The choleric man will disguise his wrath, and persuade men it proceeds from a masculine courage, and that there is none but cowards that will suffer injuries and affronts. The voluptuous man will disguise his Vices, and say this, that joy, mirth and pleasure are natural to men, and will pervert this passage of Solomon's, I preceive there is nothing better that a man should rejoice in his own works. The timorous man will excuse his pusillanimity, and say, that Fear is the mother of security, and that there is more prudence to be fearful then over-bold. The curious man will varnish over his nice curiosity, and say it is comely and gentile to be apparrelled a la mode, and that none but Clowns will go after the old fashion. In a word, men have excuses to turn all their vicious passions into Virtues, Envy only excepted: for they disclaim it and will not own it, because it is shameful and ignominious. The last evil effect of Envy is, That it fills the minds and hearts of men with anguish, grief and sorrow; for repining and discontent do follow envious men, as the Spaniel followeth his Master, and the shadow the body. The Philosopher Anarcharis being demanded by a friend of his, why so many men were discontented; because they conceive saith he, that their Neighbors condition is better then theirs; intimating that Envy is the greatest disturber of peace and tranquility of the mind, and that they that are addicted to this vile and base passion, can never be merry nor joyful. And Solomon the Prince of wisdom, that was better able then any to judge of the evil nature and pernicious effects of men's passions, saith, that Envy is worse then Wrath, as it appears by these words, Wrath is cruel, and anger is outrageous, but who is able to stand before Envy? To conclude, Envy is not only vanity, but a great torment and vexation of Spirit.

4. The chief means or remedies against this passion of Envy, are, prayer, contentedness, charity, and self-denial: First, fervent Prayer to God is a special remedy against this passion; for Envy is one of the temptations of Satan, which cannot be overcome without God be pleased to give men power to 〈1 page duplicate〉 〈1 page duplicate〉 cast them like dirt into his face by the shield of Faith; Whereby they may be able to quench all the fiery darts of the Wicked. Secondly, contentedness is an approved remedy against Envy; for if men were contented with the condition that God hath been pleased to set them in, they would never Envy the prosperity of their Neighbous; for this discontent that is so familiar to men, proceeds from their cupidity or covetousness, which is one of the ingredients of the composure of this passion of Envy, and this cupidity is insatiable, except men can obtain from God by fervent prayers this excellent grace of contentedness; for as S Paul saith, Godliness with contentment is great gain. And were a man the absolute Monarch of the whole World, yet without this grace of contentedness, his desires would never be satisfied, but would envy and long for some other imaginary felicity or greater glory. And that is the reason why S. Paul doth exhort the Hebrews to be contented with such things as they had, and that their conversation should be without covetousness; Let your conversation, saith he, be without covetousness, and be content with such things as ye have; for he hath said, I will never leave thee nor forsake thee. Thirdly, Charity is a sovereign remedy against Envy; for if men were in charity with all men, they would never envy at the prosperity of their Neighbors; and the only antidote against Wrath, which is another of the ingredients of the composure of this passion of Envy, is Charity; because men that be endowed with the Grace of Charity, bear patiently all manner of injuries, For Charity, saith S. Paul, suffereth long, and is kind. Fourthly, self-denial is an excellent remedy against Envy; for men that deny themselves drive all manner of hatred and Envy from their hearts. And hatred is the third ingredient of the composure of this passion of Envy; and our blessed Savior doth tell us, that if we will imitate and come after him, we must deny ourselves and take up his cross and follow him. To conclude, If men would be fervent in prayers to obtain these foresaid Graces, they would abhor and detest Envy more then they do the Pestilence and the contagious disease of the Plague; for a grain of Envy is able to stain and blemish all the spiritual Graces of a Christian.