goods of a wise man which no force of fire can coÌ„sume nor the furie of no enemy take away In like maner an other being told his own son was dead was no whit moued at yâ— message and being told againe again he was dead why quoth he what of that I knew I begat a mortall creature and being mortall he must needs die who could beare such great cause of griefe without some shew of sorrow but such smal reckning did the wise HeatheÌ„ make of worldly losses for it is the nature of maÌ„ to relent deplore and be subiect to lamentations yet their wisedome kept it vnder the yoake of reason or who in these daies would refuse such preferment as Diâ—genes oâ— his loade of gold as Fabritius or cast his treasure into the sea as Antippus I verily suppose fewe or none would bee of that minde neither is it so needfully required Christian sorrow for worldly losses is sufferable riches and wealth to a good man are comfortable by reason he hath greateâ— means to do good for the daunger lyeth in the abuse and not simply in the vse for to a bad man they are indeede the cause of more euill because they minister more matter to his wicked and sinfull desire A man may warme him by a fire though hee burne not himselfe in it so a rich man may modâ—rately vse his riches though with them hee stoppe not vp the gappe to happinesse but the deadly hatred they bore to externall things shewed theyr loue to Vertue and the desire they had to diue into the depth of wisedome ô how they stroue about the contemplatiue and actiue life some choosing one some the other strugling who should come nearest vnder the wings of Vertue and yet for all this they laboured but in darkenesse and blinde ignorance and neuer attained to that true ioy by which the heart is exalted to immortalitie for the true and absolute Vertue is the true knowledge of GOD the way to worship him aright and true comfort in aduersitie for nothing can bee good without the soueraigne good if mâ—n bee ignorant of that all is false and theyr intentions goe awrie but the Philosophicall summum bonum rested in this namely in the quiet apprehending of reason and fashioning the outward man to ciuill obedience and could neuer possesse themselues of that heauenly felicitie vnder which all Vertue is comprehended Pouertie ought not to moue the minde with restlesse passions but to allaie the heate with contentation and pacific the vnstaied affections which will more easily be done if a man considerately call to mind how many persons in the world are in as wretched or more wofull estate then he himselfe is yet the deare children of God too but in aduersitie many lose themselues in discontentment not patiently wayting but greedily snatching not content with that they haue be it neuer so much but adding goods to goods and multiplying more to enough with neuer satisfied desire tormenting the minde with vnquiet motions and by that meanes make the freedome of life a sharpe and bitter bondage for if their life were six times so long as it may be by the inuitable course of nature yet the tenth part of that they haue were sufficient to maintain them well and honestly and declare whereto they were borne and inrich their posteritie after why should they then be so greedy and earthly minded to consume their dayes in such vnreasonable cares whereby they are neuer at rest but in continuall slauery so greatly do they feare least they should be poore and so in the midst of plentie liue in want and thus become incaple of reason and most miserable of all men for no externall thing can in themselues make a maÌ„ vnhappie if immoderate desire creep not in to breed rebellion so that still our former assertion must hold In medio concisâ—â—t virtus Vertue stands betweene two extreames in cooling the heate of desire with Temperance not in feeding the belly so much as it will hold cloathing the backe so farre as the purse will stretch and giuing scope to pleasure as though much wealth gaue much libertie for that is prodigalitie nor in pinching hoording it vp from necessary duties for that is illiberalitie ouerturneth the whole fellowship of mankind neither must a man neglect his priuat state but labour in his calling to supply his wants the meane therefore is the safest path to walke in in which whosoeuer goeth is safe from stumbling vpon extremities If Y cor as had held his medium tâ—tissâ—mum he had not so vntimely fallen or Phaeton obserued the good counsell of his father he had not bin striken with thunder but presumption arrogance casteth men healong into woe and misery So that if Temperance do not order the life and dispose our humane affaires we fall into an insatiable desire of hauing or into an vtter neglect of our own wants spending too much that vainly or sparing too much that too nigardly But as the higher we clime the lesse appearance those things seeme to haue that are vnder vs our sight being remoued from the obiect and species of things so the nearer we approch to God and frame our obedience vnto him the lesse we value these base transitory things Now if by this compendious course our mindes are abstracted drawen backward immediatly our cogitations ascend vp to heaueÌ„ as vnto the country to which we are trauelling we must not the incumber our mindes with so heauy a load as the cares of this life least they hinder vs in the pursuit to perfect blessednesse O what a burden of torments doth the couetous desire bring with it a disease like the Dropsie the more it hath the more it would thirsty as the serpent Diâ—sas neuer satisfied till it burst wanting that it hath and hath that it wanteth because the good vse of those things present are euer absent ô whither would the greedineâ—â—e of man run if Mydas golden Wish were to be had the couetous Lawier would haue the diuell and all the secular Priest be sick of the golden dropsie the Artificer Alcumize his Instruments into gold the plow man weary of his labour so that here would be Aurea atas a golden world Thus would extreame couetousnes bring a misery vpon the owners and though with Mydas they might turne any thing into gold with a touch yet should they be starued with hunger famish the bodie and robbe the soule of all true comfort For these waight alwaies on a couetous man Impietie periurie thefts rapines treasons fraud deceits and all kind of vnconscionable and mercilesse dealings Let a man then be content with his portion and not seeke to aspire vnto terrestiall honour by tearing out the bowelles of his brethren with vsurie extortion and vnconscionable brokerie For it is better to be contentedly poore then miserably rich and to surpasse in rare Vertues then in earthly treasure for albeit a man
and swagger with such confused disorder that a sober man comming amongst them would verily thinke hee were in hell carowsing healths on their knees at which great snuffe is taken if not duly pledged and so great indignitie offered as many times the field is chalenged where the diuels champions trie their valour which to some is vntimely warning Some like swine wallow in their owne filth and forced to disgorge and cast vp the superfluitie and excesse which calleth for vengeance from heauen for so monstrously abusing the good creatures of God And though a drunkard recouer himselfe againe yet the effect doth still remaine leauing such a slyme behinde as defileth both body and soule yet not a fewe are rocked a sleepe in this brutish desire but ô beastly and sinful desire to circumscribe a mans chiefest good within the compasse of his belly and destroy all those good parts that inhabit about the soule and suffer the basest part of the body to ouercome the fiue wits What a madnesse is this custome getting victorie by little and little preuaileth so much with some that they become remedilesse and haue not only the mappe of drunkennesse drawne on their visage by continuall vse but the whole man polluted with the essentiall properties thereof Oh how odious is this vice to God and good men and how dooth it putrifie and contaminate body and soule and yet how plentifully doth it raigne in most places without suppression for now all good fellowship is in drinking and hee is a flincher that will not take his licour and be drunke for companie This riseth from sufferance and too much lenitie for if drunkennesse be but a May-game and hee accounted no good fellow vnlesse hee be a perfect drunkard no maruell if it be so much practised But the surplusage of Ale-houses especially those that arâ— kept by vnconscionable and irreligious persons who make no scruple to open their doores to euerie drunken mate is no small meanes to multiply a swarme of monsters in the Common-wealth Is it not lamentable that a poore man who hath nothing to keepe his charge but his sore labour spendeth all hee can rap and rend in drunkennesse and ryoting and his wife children want that which he leaudly wasteth and where is the cause but in such base minded people that for greedinesse of filthy lucre doo suffer them to drinke out theyr eyes and sweare out their hearts so they may gaine but let them be assured that hell mouth gapes to swallow vp such greedie accursed monsters vnlesse they turne with speedie repentance It is now growne an exercise and a game of actiuitie to swill and quaffe much and he that drinketh most winneth the prize whereof hee is as proud as if he had carried an oxe with Milo at the Olympian games And by your leaue drunkennesse is too grosse a terme and deserueth the stabbe For although all those fine termes and prittie Epithites which are giuen to that sinne import as much yet forsoothe it must be couered with many sportiue denominations otherwise you shall incurre no small displeasure and bring your selfe into a drunken danger But let them blinde it so long as they can with neuer so many faire attributes yet sobrietie and reason will vnmaske and lay them open to their vtter obliquie and though they frame this naked excuse which they alledge as a poore shift to saue theyr credit that they are not drunke so long as they knowe what they doo can goe stand hold their first man and keepe a iust reckening of their pottes But he that drinketh more then will content the want of nature and falleth into the excesse though his braine be so well setled as he is not by and by bereft of reason yet he deserueth no other epithite then a bowsie beastly drunkard And when by coaction one shall be vrged either being not a thirst or his appetite not mouing the one offendeth in offering the other in taking and hence it is so great strife and quarelling ariseth and so many frayes and field-meetings growe Drinking one to an other according as I conceiue is no other but a participation of loue and a kinde communication as when a man saith Syr I drinke to you with all my heart this cup of wine being as much as if he should say all the strength and good this wine shall minister to my body I am readie to spend it in your seruice which being gratefully requited by the other is full of humanitie Many noysome detracting euils lye hid in the bosome of a drunkard which breaketh out vpon euery occasion in so much as he can neuer be at peace but one torment succeedeth an other which as eating vulcers or sores byte and gnawe continually neuer suffering body or mind to haue one houres respite for intollerable anguish The body I say is subiect to so much pestilence and rottennesse as cannot in fewe words be expressed the face blowte puft vp and stuft with the flockes of strong beere the nose so set out with pearles diamonds that by the reflecting beames which they cast froÌ„ so glorious antiquitie the bye-standers may see to walk as by a lighted tapor and the whole body so impaired and shaken with goutes sciaticaes panges palsies appolexies c. that for the most part lye vnder the Phisitions hand who though they liue yet such life is a liuing death for Medice viuere est miserè viuere And being thus surfetted liue disconsolate and hasten their owne destruction by casting themselues headlong into the bottome of endlesse wretchednesse For the excellencie of reason being thrust forth of her cabbin by wine washing excesse they incidently fall into woe and miserie Lot being drunke committed incest with his daughters Noah was mocked of his sonnes Holofernes had his head cut off by a poore woman for it is an easie thing for the diuel to accomplish his will if the mind be bent to surfetting For this is that poysoned fountaine out of which floweth so many maladies greeuous long discases impostumations inflamations obstructions ventosities and what not whereby the mildnesse of nature is disturbed And therefore one of the Sages being asked why he refused a cup of wine when it was offered him because quoth hâ—e I take it to be poyson for this other day when I was inuited to a Feast I sawe that euerie one that drunke of it soone after decayed both in minde and bodie hauing lost both reason and vse of theyr limbes and as the Poet saith Vino forma perit vino corrumpitur at as But these straunge euents happen not simply in respect of the wine it selfe being in it owne nature good for if it be moderately taken it comforteth the bodie and cherisheth the minde strengtheneth the sinewes and helpeth the eyes and that was the cause Saint Paul counselled Tymothie to drinke a little Wine but only and altogether in the intemperate and immeasurable vsage So is it likewise in
of his minde is no whit distracted but resting in securitie smileth at the worlds turbulent state Finally it is a bloud in the vain giuing life to the whole body the head of all vertues for of her selfe she may do many things but without her the rest can doo nothing rightly Fortitude is a greatnesse of mind which without furious or rash resolution feareth not to hazard it selfe in the greatest perils and with eager pursuite to hunt after honourable actions thirsting after glory not respecting the tedious difficultie of the passages therevnto to encounter wiih dangers wade through the mystic clouds of darknes willingly endure all bitternes of fortune for the safegard of the country such were Scipiones Fabij Alcibiades Hannibal c. who by their valour great prowes reached to the top of honour Neither is true Fortitude measured by the compasse of a great body nor by dooing great enterprises in respect of the huge stature but by a fierce and couragious spirit striâ—ing in a good cause the cause is all it is not the torment that maketh a Martyr but the cause for which he suffereth So that to speake properly Fortitude is that which is granted vpon good cause possible to be atchieued such true valour was in Dauid who could not abide to heare the name of God blasphemed by such a monster as Goliah therefore knowing God would aide his enterprise he relyed not vpon his owne strength but cast off all vaine glory for when matters are rightly attempted many straunge aduentures proceed euen as it were by myracle a iust honest cause maketh a man bolde hardie and venterous to striue against one of greater force as King Alexander being of small body sought hand to hand with Porrus which was a more mightie man it is not then any great person or huge Collosse that can triumph ouer a good cause The Romaine Scipio was woâ—t to say no man ought to leuie war or fight with his enemie without iust cause offred but if hee were prouoked by an iniust intrusion it booteth not to tarry til they come but intercept theÌ„ in comming for such cause giueth encouragement to set vpon them freely As when our common enemies in 88. with their Spanish braues meant to haue inuaded our Territories and came armed with instruments of tirannie to insult ouer our natioÌ„ and to bring our necks into a Spanish yoake it pleased God to abate their pride and turne their cruelties into their owne bosomes Heere was cause to make a coward valiant and the fearefull forward to fight because he was compelled to take vp weapons for his owne safetie and he that will not defend himselfe is not worthy to liue in peace especially when his wife children father mother brothers sisters yea the whole Countrey is in daunger â—o be torne and rent in peeces by sauage and mercilesse tyrants When it is for a common defence is not he a wretch that will sit still and see his mothers throate cut What if he dye in the conflict were he not better to dye honourably like a Martyr and souldier of Christ then liue to see the ruine and desolation of his whole Countrey wherefore no man ought to stagger or saint at a good cause but bee the more imboldened because it giueth good encouragement We may call to mind and we cannot remember it too often the ouerthrowe they then had not simply in respect of our owne prowesse but by the assistance of a higher power we being but a poore handfull to their great multitude they came like Briarius threatning the heauens and casting mountaines at Iupiter yet theyr glorious tytle of inuincible was confounded to theyr shame and our glory this we may thinke vpon with reuerence but ascribe the honour of the victorie to him by whose meanes it was wrought If warre be leuied without cause or if one man shall be so foole-hardie to attempt things impossible and presume on his strength to assaile a greatmany beyond hope to vanquish it is no maruaile if the successe fall out against his desire for Ne Herculus contra duos For Hercules himselfe held it oddes to deale with two but when for the common good of the Countrey as I said before any man shall vndertake some hard aduenture to free it of some imminent perill if sent by imperiall commaund though he loose his life in the action yet for that hee is indued with true Fortitude doth winne immortalitie as the three Romans called Decij who for the safegard of their Countrey auowed to dye and with resolute and vndaunted courages pierced the host of their enemies and though they lost their liues yet by their stout example gaue such audacitie and courage to the rest of the Romaines by prouoking them forward as they easily obtained the victorie which was thought to be vnconquerable I might speake the like of Codrus Marcarius Curtius Marcus and Regulus which dyed most willingly for their Countrey I might recite here also a Catalogue of those valorous English Knights that haue honourably yeelded vp their liues in the field of Mars for their Prince and Countrey but that I intend not now to make an Apologie of this Vertue but referre it to a Treatise of Iustice which I suppose shall succeed this worke especially vpon the improuement of this God giuing mee time and quietnesse of minde to performe that This manlinesse is a Vertue that fighteth in defence of equitie and iust dealing but we neuer finde that any man got true praise and honour by rash furie for nothing is honest that is voyd of Iustice He that is hastie to surprise a man soone moued to impatiencie without iust cause cause doth rather merit the name of leaud boldnesse then manly courage because this Vertue standeth in honest deeds and not in vaine glory and being truly carried serueth as a hammer to beate downe those Vices that oppose themselues to the beautie of Vertue which chiefly doth appeare when preferment doth lift a man aloâ—t by imbracing humilitie and ouercomming pride which soone creepes vpon the aduanced or if tossed in aduersitie he be vigorous and beare an inuincible courage to combat against the passion of the minde which is ready basely to decline for whatsoeuer falleth out crookedly is turned to the better part she inableth to vndergoe damage to beare iniurie to be patient and not to stâ—rre but for a common good or his priuate defence when a violent intrusion is made vnto his person Many hide themselues vnder the wings of this Vertue that neuer seeke to apprehend her aright and would seeme valorous and magnanimous when they are but white liuerd cowards and miscreants as many of these brawlers and swashbucklers whose hot bloud once stirred cannot be cooled without reuenge and field-meetings which for euery light cause they vndertake and so violently swaid with fury that they rush forward into all desperation without reuerence of the lawes of
God the law of nature loue charitie which is aboue all care of their owne saluation do arrogant to themselues glory by defacing and spoyling the Image of their Creator The sonnes of Cain thus maistred with wrathful fuâ—ie murder and dismember their bretheren and as catiues and slaues bend the will to such inhumane crueltie and so become branded to euerlasting destruction Now if all Vertue doth consist in obeying God keeping his lawes maistring wicked anger and holding concord how can that be praised which is against such a blessed assembly of vertues or how thinke they that that offence can be remitted which is abhorred detested so expresly prohibited in the sixt Commaundement men ought to liue in Christian amitie and leaue all reuenge to him who saith Vengeance is mine and I will repay it The poore Cinick when one had hit him on the eare I thought quoth he I had left one place vncouered Socrates being tolde one spake many railing and euil words of him was no whit moued thereat and being asked why he would beare so great indignitie answered if he spake truth I haue no cause to be grieued being iustly blamed if false I haue lesse cause to be angry because that which hee spake pertained not to mee O that men would learne patience â— and not so often fight and murder one an other for verball and idle quarells for now if one amongst a hundred be patient quiet will carrie coales and meekely suffer rebuke he is noted of cowardize and deuoyd of manly parts Now lastly followeth Temperance as a sad and sober Matron a prouident guide and wise Nurse awaiting that voluptuousnesse haue no preheminence in the soule of man the most glorious Vertue in any kinde of estate she ordereth the affections with continencie an enemie to lust and a mediocritic in the pleasures of the body whose office is to couâ—t nothing that may bee repented of afterwarde nor to exceede the boundes of modestie but to keepe desire vnder the yoake of reason Of the lyneaments of her perfection the whole world doth subsist and abide euen from the lowest to the highest without whom our lusts would ouerthrowe our vnderstanding and the body rebell against all good order and the habit of reason wholy suppressed for shee tempereth and keepeth in frame the whole body of man without whose aide many enemies would creepe in and infect our best parts and vtterly ruinate and cast downe the bulwarke of reason and walles of vnderstanding but hee that doth sacrifice his endeuours to so diuine an essence swimmeth safe betweene two Riuers deuoyd of daunger Extreames are euer hurtfull for if a man eate too much or too little doth it not hurt the body so is it of too immoderate labour or too much idlenesse of too much boldnesse and too much cowardnesse these extremities are vicious and euill but the meane doth temper them both No man is wise happy or any thing worth if Temperance square not out the course of his life And herein the benefite of olde age is to bee honoured for that it hath this preheminence ouer youth time hath weakened theyr affections abated their courage and stayed the intemperate blastes of vnbrideled libertie and by long experience haue gotteÌ„ a more large portioÌ„ then they whose affections being strong and discretion weake set themselues against this Vertue eclipse her brightnesse with the fogges of ignorance And for this cause haue wise men so ioyfully embraced olde age which Tully so highly applaudes in his booke De Senectute This is guided by Prudence which doth gouerne the life of man with such reason as shee is euer carefull for the welfare of the body by curbing those passions of the mind which are vehement and vnruly by her the mind is made capable of honest actions and beautifull demeanours and like a prouident gouernesse ruleth ouer concupiscence flouds of lusts which would else surround the puritie of the minde A potion to purge the soule an Antidote against pride and a valiant tryumpher ouer flaming desires not like Aetna too hotte or Caucassus too colde but is content betweene both and reioyceth in it If the bodie be not dieted with moderation it will proue a stubborne seruant to the soule vnfruitfull fit for nothing but thorny cogitations the greatest enemies to the spirituall powers that can be for the flesh pampered in delicates or kept short of her naturall needments is effeminated corrupted and weakened and many diseases be gotten which are all staid by a meane and temperate dyet and the boyling lusts of the bodie asswaged Thus farre of these Vertues more might be added if I meant to intreat of them at large but this briefe recapitulation may serue as an introduction to our following discourse Omnis virtus vna virtus absoluta All Vertues are but one simple Vertue being chained and linked so neer together as one cannot be sundred from the other without disparagement of the whole Fortitude is a noble Vertue but if destitute of Iustice shee is hurtfull to the good if Temporance keepe not her vnder she will turne into rage and if Prudence be absent they all fall into error There is a mutuall league a proximitie and neare acquaintance which doth conglutinate and ioyne them all in one one must haue relation to an other and follow by degrees Pietie Truth and Temperance must march before Fortitude In a word Vertue is no other but Vitium fugere hating Vice and loathing euil and we better knowe her by her contrary then by her selfe which doth make the imagination gesse at Vertue a farre off so that knowing Vice is a good grounde of Vertue whereby the inwarde powers are helde in with vnspotted simplicitie farre more better then such as cunningly seeke to knowe what Vertue is then willingly betake themselues to follow it in theyr life so that knowledge is not enough alone vnlesse it be practised by outward action for it is better to doo wisely then wisely to deuise So that in generall Vertue rightly carried comprehendeth whatsoeuer is conducing and leading to a good and holy life and hee that once hath tasted the sweetnesse of one is drawne with much desire to an other one good thing begetteth an other and taking once a deepe impression his estate is thereby preserued incorruptible without chaunge whereas if a man taketh holde on externall goods and leane to the mutabilitie of Fortune doth often stumble vpon many daungerous Rockes and fall into wretchednesse when Vertue will firmely vpholde a man in the midst of all calamitie Villius argentum est auro virtutibus â—â—râ—m Siluer is cheaper then Gold and Gold of lesse price then Vertue She is of great moment and most inestimable value although a carnall and grosse minde cannot equally deeme the price of so rare a Iewell for where ignorance doth couer the minde she is reiected and held of base esteeme as a simple peasant trampleth many wholsome hearbes vnderfoote
recompence for theyr vertues The flourishing state of the Romaines Athenians Lacedemonians and other dominions were all vpheld by Vertue for where Vertue is established there Vice is detested for as light and darknesse fire and water cannot be put together but one will confound the others nature so these two contraries cannot ioyntly hold possession but one will vtterly extinct the other and where Vertue is wanting in a generall gouernment that Common-wealth is wholly ouerthrowne Oderunt peccare boni virtutis amore Oderunt peccare mali formidine pane The good hate to sinne because of Vertue the bad for lawe but he is onely good that of his owne wil and honest mind eschueth euil more for coÌ„science sake theÌ„ for dread of mans punishment the euill and vicious contrariwise are with-held by the rigour of Iustice and for feare of penaltie the rebellion within is kept from outwardly working so that nothing but the sword of the magistrate doth stay the hot rage of his furie when the conscience lyes vast and open to all wicked desires he is not to bee numbred amongst vertuous and good men To conclude where the Common-wealth is guided by godly lawes of Princes the lampe of Vertue shining in the hearts of subiects laudable sciences imbraced Iustice without partialitie administred the good protected the bad punished peace maintained there is a happpie and blessed gouernment a sweete harmonie of nature and an earthly Paradize for he that shall goe about to counite and couple Vice Vertue in one putteth a man and a beast together honestie admits no such knot for the end of good which ought to be after one sort must not be mingled with any thing disagreeable in an other sort for Vertue is no longer Vertue if mixed with contrarie qualities we may then safely conclude that there is no goodlyer possession then Vertue and that it is perfect folly to couet to be rich mightie and creepe vp to worldly honour and make so small reckening to be stored with Vertue which is so certaine the tytle so glorious and permanent wherevpon one calleth it Dimidium animae meae which is not vnproperly spoken for take away vertue from a man which is the plain path to sanctimony he must be numbred among those creatures that haue onely essence and want vnderstanding sith hee aymeth not at the purpose of his creation The audacitie and stout courage of the Heathen was such that for morrall vertues would caâ—â— themselues into daungers many times deadly abandon riches endure pouertie abide tortures desiring rather a poore quiet life to follow Vertue then by a prosperous state to draw the mind into a troublesome stirre for pouertie performes that indeed that all Philosophy goeth about to perswade But this dooth much shake the feeble conscience when wee behold diuers good men endued with rare vertues and stored with good parts notwithstanding oppressed discarred and as it were made the scorne and May-game of the world finding no place of safetie to rest vpon and the bad and vicious to sit in Fortunes lap Now wheÌ„ we mark these vnproportionable accidents onely with the eye of common reason oÌ„ how it distracteth the minde accusing through ignorance the iust and diuine prouidence because he permitteth the good to be punished with miserie and the bad to swim in prosperitie but if we bend our wits to find out a deeper reason we shal see that the good are not afflicted for their hurt but fatherly chastised for their better triall the wicked not fauored but seuerely punished for God worketh al things for the good of those that are his yet who can denie but that the burthen of pouertie is importable hunger imprisonment exile intollerable persecution and death insufferable all which is inough to driue a man to dispaire of his owne happinesse supposing God had vtterly forsakeÌ„ him but the waight hereof is lightned made easie to them that steadfastly beleeue Gods promises and cast their care on him as Peter willeth Cast thy care on him for hee hath care on thee Moreouer though a man be poore sicke diseased and wayed downe with a clogge of miserie yet can he not say hee is so bare and naked as vtterly vnable to help himselfe or an other for admit he hath no tempoâ—all goods to helpe that way yet can hee harbour and shewe the rights of hospitalitie if hee hath neither of both yet can hee visit the sicke and cheare vp his mind with good counsell if he be poore sicke lame harborlesse and comforâ—lesse himselfe yet can he helpe with his prayers and communicate his loue by his orysons and deuout supplications so that euery one hath a rich fountaine within which vpon euery occasion may be powred out and therefore no man can pleade disabilitie and want of meanes to relieue And what though a man haue some casuall deformitie in his body or bee vnhappily fallen into a wretched estate yet so long as his vertue and honestie may bee iustified hee neede not bee ashamed of brusing the flesh or feeling penurie but rather boast and glorie in them for it cannot bee any shame or dishonour to carrie about him the visible tokens of such scarres neither dooth it any whit impaire his credit with the wise and vertuous nor make him of lesse esteeme with good men much lesse with God who putteth no difference between a king and a begger but onely in obedience to his will but here is the ignominie to bee branded with the hotte iron of wicked conuersation as when a man shall haue his eares cut from his head or marked in the hand for some villainie and the spots of vice so pregnant on his body or going vnder a hard censure for a bad opinion iustly conceiued in this case hee hath small cause to glory or boast but rather blush be ashamed and exile himselfe from common societie and striue with humilitie to reforme those rebellious passions that haue so strongly lead him into such dishonestie But where Vertue doth rule the affaires and actions of this life are mannaged with wisedome and those swelling thoughts kept backe which as a raging floud carrie away all that is not ground fast that any outward griefe is quietly suffered and patiently endured for what aduerse fortune soeuer happens is borne with contentment in so much as neither pouertie sicknesse crosses afflictions or what calamitie soeuer come cannot moue or distemper a stayed minde for beeing inflamed with a constant resolution doth fit himselfe to beare the troubles of this life with a valiant and immutable courage Stilpâ— a Greeke Philosopher when the citie where hee dwelt was burnt to sinders his wife and children consumed in the flame and all that hee had turned to ashes himselfe hardly escaping with his life was asked what he lost in the fire quoth he I lost nothing for Omnia mea mecum porto all that is mine I carrie about me meaning his vertues the onely proper
bawdie songs foolish and wanton ditties then in the well seaâ—oned writings of holy men and this is for want of iudgement being as blinde as he was foolish It may be said of such as Pythagoras said to a leaude fellow that soothed himselfe in conuersing with badde company I had rather quoth he be acquainted with bawdes then wise Phylosophers No maruell quoth he very sadly swine delight more in dirt then in pure and cleane water Of such bookes as moue to good life and bring a benefit to posteritie we haue but too fewe and can neuer haue too many but of such as followe their owne fancies in spewing out their wandering imaginations we haue but too many and it were to be wished we had none at all Good men are not only otherwise imployed but also greatly discouraged for if they set forth any notable booke of diuinitie humanitie or such like they are in no request but to stop musterd-pots what is the reasoÌ„ but this euery Stationers shop stal almost euery post giues knowledge of a new toy which many times intercepts the vertuous dispositioÌ„ of a willing buyer so that hauing time and incouragement labor what they can to deface good mens workes with the multitude of their sinfull fopperies Hee that can but bombast out a blancke verse and make both the endes iumpe together in a ryme is forthwith a poet laureat challeÌ„ging the garland of baies and in one slauering discourse or other hang out the badge of his follie O how weake and shallow much of theyr poetrie is for hauing no sooner laide the subiect and ground of their matter and in the Exordium moued attention but ouer a verse or two runne vpon rockes and shelues carrying their readers into a maze now vp theÌ„ downe one verse shorter then an other by a foote like an vnskilfull Pilot neuer comes nigh the intended harbour in so much that oftentimes they sticke so fast in mudde they loose their wittes ere they can get out either like Chirrillus writing verse not worth the reading or Battillus arrogating to themselues the well deseruing labours of other ingenious spirits Farre from the decorum of Chauser Gowers Lidgate c. or our honourable moderne Poets who are no whit to be touched with this but reuerently esteemed and liberally rewarded Then seeing this naughtie kinde of writing dooth plucke vp the seeds of Vertue by the rootes and quench that little fire assoone as it beginneth to kindle they ought to be shunned as Serpents Snakes and youth chiefly to be kept from reading them The Libeller is punished according to the qualitie of his Libell either by pillorie whipping losse of eares fine imprisonment and such like the thiefe hanged the traitor drawne and euery one punished in that kind he doth offend in are not these filthy bookes libells do they not defame discredit and reproach Vertue and honestie by expounding Vice with large comments do they not steale away all holy deuotion poyson good wits and corrupt young people shall hee be pardoned by course oâ— lawe that offends in the highest degree and shall hee be counted a maister of wisedome that teacheth nought but foolishnesse to the people wherefore then should this so great mischiefe goe vnreproued To conclude he that can read shall finde bookes worthy to be read wherein is both wisedome and learning pleasant wittie sober and chast that both profit the life and ioy the mind but before all other to read those diuine bookes that both lift the heart to God and direct vnto Christian duties for such is Fomentum fidei nourishing faith Lexio alit ingenium so the bookes bee wise vertuous chaste and honest touching the former they are but stinking infectious writings which as mudde and dyrt defile the body so do they pollute the soule By reading good bookes the minde is stored with wisedome the life bettered and setled in quietnesse so that still all reading be referred to the Bible froÌ„ whence all Vertue is deriued For this cause S. Paul admonisheth Timothie to giue attendance to reading for albeit hee was trained vp in the scriptures from a childe and had all Ephesus vnder his charge yet hee stirreth him to reading for by reading more knowledge is not onely gotten but also the decayes and breaches of the memorie is againe renued and vnlesse there be both a powring in of more and a continuall restoring of that which is lost all will drop away and leaue a man emptie for the memorie is like a ruinous house readie to fall downe which if not eftâ—oones repaired will soone become inhabitable Touching Enterludes and Playes I will omit to speak how the best iudgements conceiue of them their reasons being strong and manifolde to thrust them out as things indifferent and make them simply vnlawfull For although they are not simply forbidden in expresse words yet if it once appeare the true vse be lost and cleaue to a bad report it is the part of euerie man to shun and auoyd the same and rather drawe other to reformation then violently suffer himselfe to be swayed with the like affection And this agreeth with that of Paul If indifferent things giue offence to the weake they ought to bee remooâ—ed for the freedome of those things giueth courage to the defect of grace to be more vngracious Nothing is lawfull but that which tendeth to the glory of God and profit of man in comelinâ—sse so that the end of all ioy and myrth must be to glorifie the Creator Those pleasures of the body mind which are of good report are indifferent if modestly vsed honest exercise doth much relieue the debilitie of nature and quicken the dull spirits which would else be depressed and ouerladen with moderate labour Idlenesse is to be condemned as the bel-dame of all euil but idlenesse is not onely in doing nothing but also in doing things vnprofitable Eschew euill and do good it is not inough to abstaine from euill but we must do good also Some Playes as they are now in vse are scandalous and scurrillous detract from Vertue adde to Vice and the very May-games of all sin and wickednesse for for the most part they haue nothing in them but scurrillitie or some grosse shewe of doltishnesse to make the sinfull mouth of laughter to gape and often sporting at that which should rather moue pittie and compunction Stages of desolutenesse and baites to entice people to lightnesse For is not Vice set to sale on open Theaters is there not a Sodome of filthinesse painted out and tales of carnall loue adulterie ribaldrie leacherie murther rape interlarded with a thousand vncleane speeches euen common schooles of bawdrie is not this the way to make men ripe in all kinde of villanie and corrupt the manners of the whole world And there wanteth no Art neither to make these bawdie dishes delightfull in taste For are not their Dialogues puft vp with swelling wordes are
Ars amandi was exiled by Augustus Iuuinall as an instrument of obscenitie and bawdery was driuen out of his countrey because by their wanton Elegies they made the mindes obsequies to loose liuing A good old father being demanded what he thought of Playes and idle Poetrie answered they were very good to infect young wits with vanitie and needlesse fopperie The grossenesse of the Heathen was such that they dedicated Playes games mummeries maskes c. to their Idols to pacifie their supposed displeasure And although there is none but abhorreth such foule Idollatrie yet the diuell hath such a Heccatombe of sacrifices out of obscene and filthy Playes To bee short men ought to recreate themselues comely and decently and vse exercises of better report and lesse hurt for what saieth Saint Chrisostome to the faithfull of his time In no case saieth hee frequent Theaters least you bee branded with infamie It is no small offence saieth Ciprian for a man to disguise himselfe in the garments of a woman vnlesse in cases of great necessitie to saue the life c. And therefore it were to bee wished that all loue-bookes Sonnets and vile pamphles were burned and no more susfered to be printed nor filthy Playes rehearsed which are the bellowes to blowe the coales of lust soften the minde and make it flexible to cuil inclinations vnlesse first seene and allowed by some of approued and discreet iudgement To conclude it were further to be wished that those admired wittes of this age Tragaedians and Comaedians that garnish Theaters with their inuentions would spend their wittes in more profitable studies and leaue off to maintaine those Anticks and Puppets that speake out of their mouthes for it is pittie such noble giftes should be so basely imployed as to prostitute their ingenious labours to inrich such buckorome gentlemen And much better it were indeed they had nor wit nor learning at all then to spend it in such vanitie to the dishonour of God and corrupting the Common-wealth but he that dependeth on such weake staies shall be sure of shame and beggerie in the ende for it hath sildome beneseene that any of that profession haue prospered or come to an assured estate Hast thou wit learning and a vaine to write wickednesse adde wisedome to thy wit and couet to write goodnesse so shalt thou in stead of cursing be blessed and immortally praised of the good and honest The floud of wittie foolishnes hath a long time ouerflowne the bankes of modestie the world is full of idle bookes and friuolous toyes neuer in any age was the like turne thy pen write not with a goose quill any longer clense thy wit of grosse folly and publish things profitable and necessary new and good to the building vp of Vertue and godlinesse Againe is the minde and body wearied with vnreasonable care and labour rest ease and inoffensiue pastimes are then most fittest and in season for we are not created to follow sports and pleasures and sent into the world to play but for graue and waightie studies and to vse honest mirth when the body is tyred and no longer able to endure trauaile vnlesse it be againe refreshed with some actiuitie and not otherwise so that such as spend the time in vaine trifles gadding after Playes and idlely runne vp and downe breake that straight iniunction made by God to Adam In the sweat of thy browes shalt thou eate thy bread What whoredomes drunkennesse swearing and abhominable Sodomie is daily practised doth it not inuite and call vpon Magistrates to draw the sword of reformation do they not crie for vengeance to heauen surely there was neuer more filthinesse committed then now the word contemned Preachers despised and a direct opposition against all honestie that were it not for some fewe that stand in the gap fire and brimstone would fall from heauen consume the wicked like Sodome and Gomorrah For doubtlesse the sins of Sodome are as rife here as euer they were there pride gluttony cutthroat-enuy self-loue vnmercisulnesse to the poore and such like and those not priuate but vnuersall in all places and amongst most men The next enemy to Vertue is Idlenesse a burthen of impediment a vice so deeply rooted in some that it casteth them headlong into infernall bondage the toade out of which issueth nought but drunkennesse whoredomes pride ignorance errour blindnesse beggerie and a thousand moe miseries Time is like so many lighted lampes that with care diligence ought to be kept with oyle which with dampish idlenesse are soone put out and by negligence let fall for mans life of it selfe is not so short by nature but it is more shortned by sinne and the length of time hastened on by iniquitie The soule is of too fine a mettall and so pure a temper as to loue to do nothing but wil be imployed in labour yet because she is imprisoned in the walles of flesh followeth her sluggish inclination the body by too much ease is like a pampered Iade vnseruiceable and her dexteritie and faculties being made blunt and dull with sloth becommeth wholy vnfit for honest labour for if he remit and giue his minde to idlenesse ill corrupting motions creepe into the soule which polluting the purer parts do by little and little carry him to all impietie vntill the whole man become nothing but the sonne of Belial by it a wide gap is opened for adultery to enter in at and therefore Diogenes was wont to say by doing nothing we learne to do euil and lust quoth he is the trade and occupation of loyterers and as that grand-maister of wantonnesse Ouid in his booke Deremedio amors saith Osia sitâ—llas periere Cupidinis arcus And it being asked how the Emperour Aegistus became an adulterer it is answered In promptâ— causa est desidiâ—sus erat It is a plaine case he was idle For if the bodie be not set on worke the minde goeth astray whereby this litle world is soone ouerthrowne by the inuasion made against it by concupiscence as wheÌ„ a man doth fast long and abstaine from bodily foode the emptinesse of the stomacke and passages draweth into the bodie windie humours and infectious vapours because according to Philosophie there is no vacuum but a present supply of ayre so that often eyther by the disposition of the elements or by reason of some accidentall cause the ayre is so infected and poysoned as it pierceth into the vitall powers and either bringeth a vniuersall mortalitie or some lingring disease and sicknesse so in like manner when the body is kept from corporall labour and the minde from studious exercise a fit mansion for don Sathan is prepared euery roome emptied and the whole poores and faculties of soule and body really possest with wicked impietie wherein this grand-traitor to mans happinesse as in a worke-house forge or common shoppe dooth stampe and coine a multitude of euils and suggest abhominable vices into the heart for verily none are such
meates when one doth gurmandize and feede vpon diuersitie and disguised dishes of manifolde operations Many accidences arise and diseases growe and this is by reason of the contrarietie and different natures of those meates and in the superfluitie and aboundance as the prouerbe saith much meate much maladie whereas in simple and vniforme kindes delight neuer exceedes the appetite and he that feedeth but of one dish liueth longer and is more healthfull then those accidentall dieters queasie stomackes that glutte themselues with eueric kinde artificially compounded sometime of easie digestion then of harde digestion that many times before one can be concocted the other putrifieth in the stomacke and this is verie familiar in common knowledge that the ploughman that liues by curdes bread and cheese and such homely fare workes harde all the day and lyeth vneasie at night is more sounder healthfuller and more free of malladies then those fine nice and curious dyeters Now when the bodie is thus misdieted by surfetting and drunkennesse it is not only subiect to diseases and afflicted with torments and incurable laments whereby it becommeth vnweildie vnfit for any vertuous exercise but also draweth the horror and iudgements of God vppon both bodie and soule How ought men therefore to liue soberly and chastely and stoppe the abuse of such abhominable Epicurisme and as wise Cato saieth Eate to liue and not liue to eate like the Epicure that putteth all his felicitie in Bacchus his belly-cheare By this the quicke conceit of the spirit is dulled and made impregnable the glorious sun-shine of Vertue eclipsed and all good motions quite extinguished that a man cannot be saide to be a man but the trunke or caâ—kasse of a man wherein an infernall spirit in stead of a soule doth inhabite Heereby hee becommeth rash-headed and vnaduised dooing that in haste whereof he repenteth at leisure As Alexander who in his drunken nesse would sley his dearest friends and being sober w ould be readie to kill himselfe for anger and all those noble vertues and princely qualities wherewith he was endued were all defaced by the intollerable delight he had in drinking The famous Citie Persepolis in a drunken humour was burned to ashes which was no sooner deuised by Thayis the harlot but was executed with great celeritie but recouering his wits repented his folly for with this spirit is a drunken man alwaies possest to attempt things rashly to despise good counsel to vndertake great exployts but neuer with mature deliberatioÌ„ vnruly disobedient and violating the lawes both of God and man and lastly with the foolish Troians sero sapiunt phriges be wise when it is too late If this Hidra infuse her venome into the tendernes of youth and not crushed downe when it begins to peepe by killing the serpent in the egge but suffered to growe ripe ô how it distilleth into the soule and pulles downe the whole frame of Vertue whereby he is cast downe headlong from a high promentarie into a deepe vgly dungeon it weakeneth the nature and maketh them fooles and meacockes not fit for any imployment And therefore the Spartans and Lacedemonians at their great festiuals would shewe vnto their children drunkeÌ„ men that by seeing their beastlines they might shun the like practise It was a great shame among the Athenians for a young man to haunt tauernes or common tap-houses in so much as on a time when a youth beeing in a tauerne and seeing Diogenes come towards him shifted into an other roome for feare he should see him Nay quoth he stay young man the more you goe in that way the further you goe into the Tauerne If Diogenes or Polemon liued in these daies they should haue woâ—ke inough to sweepe youth out of Tauernes and Ale-houses being now traded vp in it as in an occupation If we see a man often frequent the Phisitions house we by and by suspect his health and suppose he is not well his body out of temper and some infirmitie breeding so when wee behold one often to repaire to such places of ill note we may censure him and safely conclude his wits are distracted and daungerously infected with Opprobrium medicorum Neuerthelesse leaud company is the ouerthrow of many good wits which otherwise be ingenious and of a liuely promptitude to Vertue getting such vices in an houre as tarrieth with theÌ„ many dayes for bad company is as a stench about a man that annoyeth the sence And as cleare christall water is corrupted if it fall into a a stinking puddle so a vertuous minde is stained with the leaud vices of loose liuers and therfore no man can be freed of the effect till he shun the cause for conuersing with naughtie people the good disposition is soonet infected with their euill maners then the bad reformed with their good conditions For as by a contagious ayre the soundest bodies are soonest infected so the tender and greene capacitie is soone violently carried away into all voluptuousnesse For as it is impossible to holde the hand in the fire and not be burnt so can hee not hold fellowship with bad companie but hee must needs be the worse Euery creature keepeth a due course and order the Sunne like a ramping Lyon runneth about the world with a swift reuolution the Moone knoweth her sitting downe and rising vp the Pleiades keepe their stations the Starres goe their circuit the earth the sea and euerie creature keepe theyr time onely man is out of frame and temper too and euerie part disioynted the naturall impediment is the verie bane and putrifaction of the soule O how hard is it then to pull out those weedes within which like rebels hold a continuall warre against all good motions a greater victorie is it therefore to ouercome a mans owne selfe then to conquere a citie for he that vanquisheth an enemie mastereth but flesh and bloud but hee that can humble his pride and rule his passions ouercommeth the diuell the one is but the sonne of man the the other the sonne of God Dauid could cut off the head of Goliah yet was not able to tame his owne affections Sampson could slaie the Philistines with a iaw-bone and yet was made a slaue to Dalilath In like manner the Poets ascribe to Hercules many incredulous labors as in killing the snake of Learna maistering the wilde bull of Aramanthus clensing Domedes stables killing the Centaures and such toilsome works that his taske-mistresse Iuno was faine to crie out Defessa sum iubendo and yet for all this was conquered by lust and made spinne on a rocke by Omphila with womens garments So that by this we may see that it is more difficill to quench the raging lust of concupiscence and chase away the corruption of nature then to do these wonderfull labours Which thing Cicero in his Oration Pro Marcello dooth well remember speaking to the Emperour O Caesar saith hee thou hast subdued kingdomes subiected nations tamed the Barbarians