Selected quad for the lemma: book_n
Text snippets containing the quad
|
ID |
Title |
Author |
Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication) |
STC |
Words |
Pages |
|
A43746
|
Institutions, or, Advice to his grandson in three parts / by William Higford ...
|
Higford, William, 1581?-1657.
|
1658
(1658)
|
Wing H1947; ESTC R34464
|
23,330
|
114
|
preserved by a few dishes and those of good juice and nourishment so in learning a few Books well studyed and digested will profit you more than a great number not will chosen Lectio certa prodest saith Seneca The Right Honourable the Lord Viscount Scudamore is best able to direct you when you can have access to his Lordship he is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a great lover of learning and very learned and a most bountifull Mecaenas to all Schollars and men of parts The Book wherein you are to be most conversant is the Holy Scriptures This must be your Vade mecum Non recedat Volumen legis hujus ab ore tuo sed meditaberis in eo diebus noctibus This word is a lantern unto your feet and a light unto your paths The Scripture is compared to a River wherein a Lamb may wade and an Elephant may swim in some places easie in some places hard to be understood The easie must expound the harder and where you doubt you must follow the Advise of St. James Si quis indiget sapientia postulet a Deo and also have recourse to Gods learned Ministers and Embassadors of whom it is said Vobis datum est nôsse mysteria dôi whereto the Prophet Malache agreeth The Priests lips preserve knowledge seek the law at his Mouth Thus doing yo must acquiesce and captivate your understanding to the obedience of Christ The Psalms of Holy David you are to read as they are appointed for the Day being a chioce part of the word of God and the ejaculations of a person according to Gods heart Among other Books I would commend unto you especially in divinity the learned Hookers Ecclesiastical politie in History the honour of our Nation Sr. Walter Raliegh Plutarchs Lives for the knowledge of our own Country Mr. Camdens Britannia and my freind Sr. Richard Baker's Chronicle for precepts of Morality and vertuous Education Xenophons Cyrus and Tullies Offices together with K. James Basilicon Doron and to refresh your self with poetical stories you may take Sr. Philip Sydney in steed of all When I was young it was a defect for a Gentleman not to be versed in Him Alfred one of the Saxon Kings during the Heptarchy Founder of the University of Oxford divided the 24. hours of the Day into 3. parts whereof one third part he spent in the necessities of Nature viz. eating drinking dressing sleeping c. another third part he imployed in hearing and composing matters of state negotiations of his Kingdome but the other third part he constantly devoted to Meditation and acquisition of wisedome Kings and Princes have many and great difficulties and Crownes have thornes and so in like sort all Masters of Families and Trades in their several mysteries and vocations have a full imployment of their time of whom it may be said as Seneca Ipsa vita vitae apparatu consumitur But in you who are freed frem all those incumbrances it were noble to vindicate from sleep and sports some Hours every day and to dispose them in the exercise of learning Of all professions the Lawyer is most painfull and it may well be so Gold is an especial Invitement to industry I have known divers Students of the Law who have without any failer set apart eight nay some ten hours more every day in study of the Law whereby they became great Gainers and were advanced to the highest place of Iudicature Titus the son of the Emperour Vespasian called Deliciae Generis Humani because he was of so sweet a disposition that it is said Neminem ab eo tristem discessisse this Titus kept a Diary of all his Actions and when at night he had found upon examination that he had acted nothing memorable he would exclame Amici diem perdidimus This example I commend to you Dear Cosin and adde no more here concerning your converse either with Men or Books INSTRUCTIONS OR ADVICE TO HIS GRANDSON The third Part. THE last part of our discourse will concern your Actions Virtutis laus omnis in Actione consistit The World is a Stage and every one is to act his part before that great Spectator God Almighty which must make you carefull how you act under his all-seeing eye The highest acts you can perform are the acts of Religion whcich raiseth up your mind from earth to Heaven Your Religion must be accompanied with zeal and your zeal tempered with discretion that you may not be one of them whom the Apostle censureth Habentes zelum sed non secundùm scientiam In your Access to Heaven you are to be led by two Virgins prayer and preaching by the one you talk with God by the other God speaketh unto you In your prayer you are to be frequent and fervent Holy David in the Evening Morning and Noon did pray unto the Lord and that instantly and the Lord heard his prayer He did rise also at midnight to give thanks unto the Lord. Our Saviour Christ pernoctabat in Oratione As for preaching when you enter into the house of God be ready and attentive in hearing the word of God and make it your own by meditation and practice Those beasts onely were accounted clean that ruminate and chew the cud It is practice and the carefull observance of Gods Commandements which brings the Reward Hoc fac vives This is it that doth most lively denominate a Christian You shall know him by his fruits For the better observance of Gods Law you are to pray in aide of Grace as St. Austin adviseth Facere quod possumus petere quod non possumus When you fall let your prayer be Ne derelinquas me Domine Strive to raise your self again by repentance which is no more but peccata praeterita plangere plangenda iterum non committere called by St. Ierom Secunda post naufragium Tabula The Theological Vertues which attend Religion are three Faith Hope and Charity with which you must joyn Humility This is the basis or foundation of all other vertues the first step of Iacobs ladder He that humbleth himself shall be exalted But the Moral vertues are a more proper subject for Me the first in order is Iustice This is the bond of all Societies Families Kingdomes and Commonwealths Justitiâ amotâ quid sunt regna nisi magna Latrocinia Justice is Suum cuique tribuere to perform your word contracts and thereby you will command other mens Estates as your own And let this be a Rule unto you Nullum utile quod non honestum that which is unjustly extorted from others will never prosper De male quaesitis non gaudet terâ—…ius haeres Think not to be registred a Saint in the Court of Heaven unless you make restitution aut voto â—…t facto of that which you have wrongfully exacted upon earth Non remittitur peccatum say the Casuists nisi restituitur ablatum But how will you be able to â—…ender every one his own
moderate in their Fines and I trust God will bless you the better for it Let these men of bread enjoy and eat the bread which they dearly labour for and earn Panis pauperum vita pauperum qui defrandat eos vir sanguinis To your Tenements and Manour you have an Advousion that is Appendant An Advousion in the eye and construction of the law is no more but a Pleasure for a Friend a good friend indeed which may lead you to God Omnia cum amico delibera sed de ipso prius Cardinal Ximenes Archbishop of Sevilla in Spain would never conferr any Benefice to any person who made suit for the same K. Henry 7. one of the Sages of the Kings of England did never promote any one to any Office or dignity upon the motion of another Give your Benefice your self so shall you have the thanks Give it with Iudgment not with partial affection St. Paul will direct you how to choose Irreprehensibilem ornatum prudentem pudicum hospitalem doctorem non violentum non percussorem non cupidum sed modestum non neophytum ne in superbiam elatus in judicium incidat diaboli Against this yong man I should except a little Young men are Aguish their pots are boiling and they have many Meanders The Cardinals in their conclave would once adventure that but once to make a young Pope which was Leo the 10. of the House of Medices but see what followed This yong Pope by promiscuous granting and selling of Pardons and Indulgences to the German Nation gave occasion to Luther to write against him what a defection hath since ensued from that See The Cardinals since grown more wary in their choice do except against any one though otherwise well parted for so high a function unless he be also old enough to be Pope Coram cano capite consurge saith Syracides The Elder man fixeth a deeper impression in the hearts of his Auditors and the gray hairs exact a better attention as it is lively expressed by Virgil Tum pietate gravem meritis si forte virum quem Conspexere silent arrectisque auribus astant Ille regit dictis animos pectora mulcet The elder man also if he be froward is of less continuance Non datur beneficium nisi propter officium saith the Law If you have provided him of the temporal part he must afford you the spiritual Amongst other his qualifications peaceable must be one in respect of the Interest he shall have in yours and your Tenants Estates When you make a feast though furnished with variety of delicacies your feast will be much impaired if you have no salt This is your Salt It will be an especial act of Piety in you to settle a godly preaching Minister to officiate at Dixton It will be a singular comfort to you and your Family to be informed in your duty to God by the example of his life and by his doctrine It is said Facundus comes in via est pro vehiculo certainly in this your journey ad patri am which is Heaven for we are all but pilgrimes upon earth such a companion will be as a Chariot to bring you to Almighty God and perhaps some of your Ancestors have been less successfull by the omission thereof Now being upon the Treaty of Sacred things I shall recommend and transmit unto you the care of certain Lands piously bequeath'd by William Higford Esq to the use of the Church of Alderton by his Deed bearing date in October the 28. Henry 8. The Church doth pray in aid of Brachium saeculare to support it and the first Law in the Statutes of Magna Carta whereunto the King at his Coronation is solemnly sworn is That the Church of England shall be free and have all her Rights entire and her liberties inviolate You are and must be a Brachium seculare and support to those Lands which being separated and set apart from profane uses must be now onely imployed according to the disposition of the Donour per formam doni To alien or divert the profits to any other use which is often attempted by the Parishioners to save their own mony or to indeavour to gain these Lands to your self is Sacriledge a crying sin greatly tending to the dishonour of Almighty God and which also may infect your other lands There are many examples of such who have broken the Trusts reposed in them but their Names do rot upon the earth Horrendum est incidere in manus Dei You will find other pious Acts of your Ancestors which to their glory and honour you are to maintain as you will expect to be honoured your self You have also another Companion which readeth to you Generosus Animus facilius ducitur quà m trahitur You must hearken to him as substituted by your worthy Mother unto whom God hath confirmed a power over you The Heir saith the Apostle differeth in nothing from a Servant in his Minority but is under Tutors and Governours Disobedience in this kind is destructive Maledictio Matris eradicat fundamenta This your Overseer is to give you your first liquor and then you know Quo semel est imbuta recens servabit odorem Testa diu Sir John Higford who was an eminent man in his Country had for his Tutor the famous Bishop Jewel my Father Doctor Cole an excellent Governour My self Doctor Sebastian Benefield native of Presbury a very learned man All three of Corpus Christi Coll. Oxon. And if we may transcend higher Alexander who conquered the world had for his Tutor Aristotle who conquered the Arts Thomas Aquinas the Champion of the Roman host of whom they boast Tolle Thomam dissipa Ecclesiam had for his Tutor our Countryman and near Neighbour Alexander of Hales surnamed Doctor irrefragabilis Charles the Great Emperour of the West Alcuinus Charles the fift Pope Adrian King James a King of learning as well as of power had for his Tutor the famous Buchanan These Princes and great Persons obtained great renown by their Institution from their Tutors The Iesuits boast that Imperium literaerum penès Iesuitas and they profit raise their Scholars most by the choicest Lecturers that may be gotten to read unto their youth and so also do Both our Universities both in private Colledges and publick schooles after the lecture they meet together hold disputation whet their wits by discourse and rivet what they have heard adding thereunto writing the heads for the helps of fallible memory thus the work is done Reading maketh an able man Discourse a ready man and writing a perfect man There are also other Companions and these are Books held to be the best companions of all because they will not flatter but in the choice of them you ought to be very curious And therefore in the first place cast away from you all wanton leud and licentious Pamplhets and read good books and those in order and method For as in your diet health is