8 But as true repentance is neuer without faith so is it likewise at all times accompanied with good works What good workes we ought to doe INsomuch as the lord pronounceth he is worshipped in vaine with the commandements of men therfore wee must practise and doe such good workes as are prescribed vnto vs in the worde of God Ezec. 20. because many things may seem good in our eies that are abhominable in the sighte of God How good workes are to be done AFter that a godlye and religious man hath found out what workes are to be don forthwith he addresseth himselfe to vnderstande in what sorte they are to be done for resolution of which question that one place in the Epistle to the Heb. 11 6. may be sufficient wher it is said That without faith it is impossible to please god so that the distribution of our good workes must alwaies bee accompanied with faith in Christ Iesus For neither loue nor obedience can be acceptable except mercy and reconciliation for the mediators sake bee first apprehended By this are excluded the good workes of the wicked and vnbeleeuers in that howsoeuer they seeme beautifull and beneficiall to the world yet god hath no reguard of their deedes insomuch as they are not presented vnto him in the obedience and perfection of christes merits As in the example of Scipio and Dauid they both fought for their countrey Scipio fought and Dauid also fought and yet their warfare was not to bee accounted of alyke For the warfare of Scipio did not plese God because he was not regenerate but the wars and labour of Dauid did please God because he was accepted by faith The causes of good Workers THe causes that stir vp mens mindes and pricke them forward to worke wel may be said to be three The first is the necessitye of Gods commaundement keepe my statutes saith he and walke therein Le. 18.4 Which necessitie of good workes or walking in Gods commaundement stretcheth it selfe into foure other braunches that is to say necessitie of debt we must doe good deedes because they are a debt which God requireth at our handes Ro. 8. The second is necessitie of faith hee that prouideth not for his owne and namelie for them of his houshold denieth the faith and is worse than an infidell 1. Ty. 5.8 The third is the necessitie of auoiding punnishment for vnlesse wee decline from inequity and performe the dutie of good Christians the Lord will plague and punnish vs he that knowes his maisters will and prepares not himselfe to doe thereafter shal be beaten with manie stripes Mat. 12.47 The fourth is the necessitie of conuersion because the Lord hath said I desire not the death of the wicked but that he turne from his way and liue Ezech. 33.11 Therefore by necessity we are bound to fly from sinne and doe good or else we shal neuer be conuerted to the Lord nor the Lord to vs. The second cause of good works THe second cause that may stirre vs vp to good workes is the dignitie which we receiue thereby being regenerate by faith and faith working in vs to Godlinesse and all manner of Christian-like exercises we are made holie as our heauenly father is holie I Pet. 1 16. Our bodies become the temples of the holie Ghost and of god himselfe to dwell in vs and what honnour ioy and comfort that is may be imagined by the honour and ioy that a priuate subiect receiueth when his prince and Soueraign doth vouchsafe to come and lodge with him in his house Therfore they that pollute this temple with the filthinesse of Sathan so that the holy ghost is either not admitted or being admitted is churlish lie cast out of his dwelling againe let them imagine what an act of crueltie they commit The third cause of good workes THe third cause that may moue vs to obedience towards god in the performance of our duties both toward him and the world is the reward and recompence which he hath promissed shall succeed and redound vnto vs by our good workes not for their owne worthynesse but for the promisse of his grace which promise doeth assure vs not only of all good in this life present but also in the life to come I Tymo 4. So that if neither the necessitie nor dignitie of good workes may induce vs to imbrace them yet for the profit and cōmoditie that comes by them let vs not neglect them The Souldior reguardes not woundes so he may be conqueror nor the Marchant the perils of the Sea so he may growe wealthie let it not be saide that they haue greater Zeale and Fortitude in seeking after shadowes than the Children of God in purchasing the substance The Second braunch of Vertues first issue THe second braunch of Vertues first issue are these foure moste beautifull gracious ofsprings Prudence Temperance Fortitude and Iustice Which are called Cardinall vertues for that al other Morall vertues as vpon hindges doe hange and depend vpon these These are the guides of the soule whereby all ciuill duties either of man towarde man or of man towardes himselfe and consequentlie of both to the glorie of God are directed in the way of truth and equitie The subiect of Cardinall Vertues THe subiectes wherein these Cardinall Vertues doe remaine are the reformed and docible mindes not onlie of Christians but also of Pagans nay oftētimes the efficacy and strength of these vertues doe more clearelie shine and appeare in Pagans than in Christians What Christian is so absolute that may not learne preceptes of wisedome out of the bookes of Aristotle Plato and diuerse other heathen Philosophers And so consequentlie of all the rest of the Vertues What Prudence is PRudence is the light of vnderstanding whereby we know God and affect his workes to which knowledge is ioyned a discretion to be able to discerne good from bad profitable from that which is hurtfull to the end we may shun the one and practise the other it is to the minde as sight of all other corporall sense is to the body for as the sight is most peircing cleare and apprehensiue so is prudence by whose determinate and deepe iudgement all other vertues are gouernd in their good and commendable operations Why God gaue Prudence vnto man COnsidering that mens thoughts are wauering and their inuentions vnstable and considering that the wilde affections of mans nature do rather opresse then cōfort seduce then conduct the soule to that end for which shee is created namely to the knowledge of God and his creatures therefore hath the almighty of his free grace and mercie to lighten this darknesse and remoue this danger let fall a sparke of his eternall light which is wisedome wherby men see to gouern their actions to the glorie of god their owne good the profit of humane societiy How this wisedome appeares TO be known to haue wisedome wil appeare two manner of waies first inwardly by the dexterity of the mind and
treasure both in heauē and earth yet voluntarilie fasted forty daies and fortye nightes and of Iohn Baptiste whose best delicates was but Locustes and wilde honny And of the apostles that so awed their bodies with temperate diet as they were glad to pull the eares of corne to satisfie hunger We read that Gallen was a hundred and twenty yeare old and when it was wondred how hee liued so long hee made answere that he neuer rose from his table with a full stomach The Egyptians vsed in the midst of their banquets to bring in the anathomy of a dead body dried that the horror thereof might keepe them within the bounds of temperance so that for the bodyes health and for the vigour and alacritye of the soule there is nothing better then fasting nor any thing worse or more fatall than this sinne of gluttonie Of Wrath. WRath may be called the frenzy of the soule and is defined to be a vehement motion of the hart tending to reuenge whereby the bloud boiling exceedingly sendeth vp hot and burning vapors to the braine so that reason is smothered and the wil made obedient to the affections Of Wrath there are eleuen branches MAllice Furie Impatience Malediction Blasphemy Reproch Reuenge Contention Threatning Crueltie and Murder Mallice what MAllice is a kinde of anger deeplie rooted in the hart and closely concealed til opportunity serue to do mischiefe the contrarie to this is clemencie soone forgetting and easily pardoning an offence Furie what FVrie is a chollericke passion of the minde which presentlie breaketh foorth into violence either by worde or deed and is deafe to all trueth and reason during the time it is in heat the contrarie to this is meekenesse whereby we are hardlie mooued to anger Impatience what Impatience is an easie inclination to wrath or anger and it happneth three maner of waies First when the minde stirred vp by offence inuolueth it selfe in manye bitter cogitations studying how he may be reuenged on him with whom he is displeased Secondly when the minde surcharged with vnkindnesse breaketh forth into disordered clamors and confused speeches Thirdly when we grudge and repine at the harmes calamities sicknesse or other euils inflicted vppon vs by god not remembring that for three causes wee ought rather to reioice first because tribulation is the badge of a christian souldier and it is more honor for a souldior to be in battell then to hide his head in a Castle or fortresse Secondly because in patient suffering of afflictions we are made like vnto our captaine Chirst and to bee lyke him is the greatest glory Lastly afflictions are a sure testimony vnto our consciences that wee are the beloued of God for whome the lord loueth he correcteth The contrary to impatience is patience which is a voluntarie and longe suffering of affliction and hard extremities for the loue of vertue and honestie Malediction what Malediction is when through wrath or anger we cursse banne or wish euil to another which sinne I finde to bee very detestable for these three reasons First in that for the most part curses redound vppon the head of him that curseth Secondly in that the euill doer is rather to be praied for than to be cursed considering that to curse is to heape more euill vpon him whereas he had enough and too much before And thirdly in that it is so vnlawfull a thinge as that it is not permitted against the diuell much lesse against anie christan as appeares by the example of Michael the Archangell whoe when he stroue with the diuel aboute the body of Moses he did not reproue him with cursed speaking but onelie said The Lord rebuke thee Sathan The contrarie to malediction is benediction or blessing when wee wish well to all men yea vnto our enemies Blesse them that curse Do good to thē that hate Blasphemie what BLasphemie is a reuengefull intent vttered against God himselfe thorough opprobrie and contumelious speeches which for fiue causes is held a most horrible sinne First in respect of the greeuous punishment which god himselfe did set downe against it in the old Tastament which was stoning to death Secondly in respect of the ingratitude of the blasphemer that dishonoreth god with that member of his bodie in which god hath honoured him aboue all other creatures namely his tongue Thirdlye in that the blasphemer is more wicked and rebellious then al other creatures for all other creatures doe praise and magnifie their creator according to their kinde declaring his power wisdome goodnesse and omnipotence but the blasphemer dooth not only neglect that dewty but what in him lies contriueth to make a scorn of his name and dignitie Fourthly in respect of the peruerse disposition of the blasphemer which attributes to himselfe that good which he doth but the euill which befalleth him he ascribeth vnto God whereas contrariwise euils doe fal vpon vs thorough our owne desert and whatsoeuer is good proceedeth only from god Fiftly in thar the diuel speaketh in blasphemers for their wordes are so horrible and full of terrour as no man of any conscience or hart-feeling pitty can indure their speeches but will be moued to stop their eares againste them the contrary to blasphemye is Sanctification adoring and worshipping the name of God neuer presuming to haue it in our mouthes but with great and singuler reuerence for as it is written our God is a consuming fire and will not hold them guiltlesse that take his name in vaine Reproch what REproch is an imperfection whereby we are moued to scorne check or deride another man either for the defect of minde or bodie or when we studie to detract or speake euil of a mā behinde his backe the contrarie vnto this is humility or vprightnes of heart and toong giuing to euery one a good report for therefore hath god in the creation of the tongue obserued these foure thinges First he hath made it tender and soft to signifie our wordes should be of like temper Secondly he hath tyed it with many threades and stringes to restraine and bridle it Thirdly it is euery way blunt where by we are admonished that our words ought not to be pricking or hurtfull And fourthlye it is inclosed with a quicke-set and strong rampier of teeth and gummes and with lippes which are as gates to shut it vppe for feare it should take too much liberty Reuenge what REuenge is to take the rod of Iustice out of gods hand and our selues to render euil for euill which is very absurde considering that it is the soule which offendeth and we haue power ouer nothing but the bodie like him that breakes the sword and suffers him that gaue the wounde to passe awaye without blame or preiudice the contrary to reuenge is lenitie and mildnes forgiuing euery one as we looke to be forgiuen our selues Yet is not reuenge altogither forbidden maiestrates may vse it for they are as Gods substitutes prouided they do not execute it as caried away by their
decent cariage of the body wherby such as are so disposd are said to be men of a good presence or men of a faire behauior Secondly it wil appeare outwardly in things belonging to ourselues as sobriety of diet or in thinges belonging to others as in comely entertainment well gouerninge of our house and family and such like The difference betweene wit and Wisedome AS a tuneable Instrumente in the hand of a an vnskilfull musition so is witte to manie men in it selfe verie ripe and pregnant but because they know not how to vse it therfore it stāds them in little steade so that wee may define wit to be a faculty of the minde whereby men vnderstand and knowe much good but oftentimes they neglect to follow it but wisedome wee may tearme to be that correspondencie of the powers of the soule when will and vnderstanding knowledge practise goe together Why wisedome is said to be the light of the minde WIsedome is said to be the light of the minde because as the bodie hath two instruments to direct it which are the two eies euen so Prudence to giue both minde and bodie better direction is likewise said to haue three eies The first is the eye of memory with which she beholdeth time past The second is the eie of vnderstanding with which she beholdeth time present And the third the eye of prouidence by which she takes a vew of thinges to come Two sortes of Prudence THe first kinde of Prudence may be said to be that ripnesse of knowledge and experience which men haue in worldlie matters and so Machevile may be said to be a wiseman but such wisdome is accounted foolishnesse before God 1 Cor. 3 19. And in the end intangles the owners in their owne craftinesse as appeares by the desperate end of Achitophell 2. Sam. 17.23 The second kinde of Prudence is that knowledge which is had in deuine matters touching the vnderstanding of Gods word and the mysterie of our saluation which is called true wisedome and though the drift hereof especiallie tend vnto that end yet is it not without a sharp insight also and an able discretion in such thinges as appertaines vnto this world but it vseth this but as a seruāt or handmaid to the other And this is that wisedom which Solomon so greatly cōmendeth and so largely beautifies and sets forth in his booke of prouerbes accounting all other knowledg but as vanity in respect of this When petition was made to the oracle of Apollo to know what people or nation in the wolrd was the wisest best learned the answer was that the Hebrews were the wisest mē for that they had the knowledg of the true God and so had not the rest The daughters of prudence or Vertues third issue THough we may well say that all other vertues take their beginning from Prudence as the head and fountaine of the rest without which they are altogether vnprofitable yet for the better vnderstanding of her gracious effectes which shee bringeth foorth in the hearts of men it shal not be amisse to consider that from her doe springe proceed these fiue peculier vertues namely consultation vigilancy dillygence prouidence and constancy all which are made manifest vnto vs in that one example of the fiue wise Virgins recorded in the 25 Chapter of the Gospell after S. Mathew Firste they had consultation in preparing and prouiding themselues to meet the bridegroome Secondly they had prouydence in regarding the length of time and so furnishing thēselues accordingly with oile Thirdly they had vigilācie in watching for the houre of the bridgromes cōming Fourthly they were dilligent in triming their lamps lastly they were cōstant in that though they wayted long yet they were not weary of their labour So that by these necessary and helpful effects which follow wisedōe we may gather other vnnecessary hurtfull accedents which it may run into if not ruled and tempered as it should be The maimes to Prudence THere are three speciall euills which wisedome may indanger it selfe with all if it be not carefullie looked vnto The first is temerity or rashnes when it either giues councell or puts in execution anie thinge before mature and serious consultation be had or when vpon a sudden determination it concludeth vpon thinges vnknowne for knowne vncertaine for certaine The second is credulitie when it ouerlightly beleeueth or giueth credit to any thinge it heareth and doeth not first examine the circūstances of euery matter nor confer and lay them together that so the truth may by sifted out The third is curositie which appears two manner of waies First when we pry into thinges forbidden or couet to know more than God hath thought good to reueale vnto vs. As Aristotle that died for griefe because he could not finde the natural cause why the sea did ebbe and flow or of those men that now a daies by their curious questions striue to knowe what god did before he made the world or why he gaue not man such a soule as mighte not sin with a number such like impious and vnlawfull demaundes And secondlie when we seek to be renowmed in shewing and expressing what power of wisedome we haue in triflles and thinges of no moment as he that spent much time and labor in making a locke and a chaine of three and fortie linckes that was in waight no more but one graine or wheat corne so that it being tied about the necke of a flye she was able to drawe it after her Anno Regno Elisa 21. The opposites to Prudence EVerie vertue holdes the myddle betweene two extreames so that on the one side prudence is beset with ignorance and on the other with craft or subtletie And as the one is vicious in respect of the defect so the other is odious in respect of the excesse the one is so farre from knowledge as it knowes nothing or verie little and the other is so fraught with skil and experience as it turnes the vse thereof to many most vile and vngracious purposes What ignorance is WE may call Ignorance an vnskilfulnes both in human and deuine matters what we haue to doe or what wee haue to leaue vndoone what wee haue to choose and make much of or what wee ought to reiect and auoid The effects of Ignorance IT takes awaie the sight of the minde as blindnesse dooeth the sight of the bodie it makes a man prodigal whē he should be liberall couetous when he thinkes to auoid superfluitie if a man be meane it makes him fearefull superstitious vnprofitable needie slothfull and vnfit for any thing If hee be mightie it makes him arrogant rash cruell talkatiue inconstant and giuen to voluptuousnesse and luste It is the spring of all errours bad opinions and absurd behauiors and as by wisdome men are renowmed and had in reputation so by ignorance they become base contemptible and of no reckoning Yet it is better than subtletie because that which is misdoone through
Papinianus a pagan being commanded by the Emperour Caracalla to defend an vniuste cause would not doe it Cleon of Lacedemon being elected to an office in the common wealth called all his friends and kindred together and told them during the time of his magistracie and gouernment he did renounce and discharge himselfe of al friendship and affinity Denial of Iustice dangerous BEside that wee may holde it for a maxime that man is no longer a man a King no longer a King nor a magistrate no longer a magestrare thā he is willing forward and ready to execute Iustice so wee may conclude that the deniall or delaying of Iustice is so hainous a thing that it hath been either punished and reuenged by men or where men could not reach God hath stretched foorth his arme and giuen it checke and controlment For the first we haue the example of Henry K. of Sweathland who striking a gentleman with a dagger that was an important suter vnto him for Iustice so robbed him of the hearts of his people as shortly after hee was deposed and put in prison and for the latter wee haue the example of Herod who beeing of that power that the worlde coulde not punish his tyrannie and iniustice was stricken by the hand of God insomuch as his verie bowels were eaten out of Lice Act. 12 23. The opposites to Iustice STill to obserue our first purpose that contraries opposed will alwais shine more cleare and euident and that euerye vertue hath her extreames which consist in too little or too much therfore it followeth that we set down the opposites to Iustice which are two in number namely Iniustice which is the defect and Seueritie which is the excesse for as the one makes the seate of Iustice a shop of disorder so the other makes it a shambles of Tyrannie What Iniustice is INiustice is the deniall of right and equitie either toward God our neighbour or our selues so that wee may saie we are so many waies vniust as we denie vnto God vnto our neighbour or vnto our selues those dewties which we owe vnto them The effects of Iniustice THe effectes of Iniustice are infinite but these in speciall Disorder confusion torment of conscience euen in him that is iniust Impunitie free scope for murther thefte and violence clamors of Widdowes Orphants and innocents whereby vndoubtedly followeth at length the vengeance of God vpon that kingdom or countrie where it is vsed as it is written The crye of the children of Israell is come vp vnto me saith the Lord I haue also seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians opprest them and I will stretch out my hand and smite Egypt Exo. 3 9.20 And againe Woe vnto him that buildeth his house by vnrighteousnesse his chambers without equitie that vseth his neighbour vniustly and giueth him not his hire Ier. 22 13. What Seuerity is SEueritie is a racking of Iustice beyond her limits carried away with fury and passion of the minde rather than ledde by truth and vprighte iudgement so that it punnisheth small faultes for great and allotteth ouerplus where an indifferent measure mighte haue serued the turne Piso appointed proconsull in the Romans warre when two souldiers by his permission went out together about some businesse and the one returned to the campe and the other did not hee condemned him thinking he had slaine his companion and therefore commanded him to bee executed At the very instant of execution the other came whereupon the Captaine that had the charge to see him put to death returned to the Proconsull with both the souldiers but Piso being offended therewith put them all three to death the first because he was condemned the second because he was the cause of the condemnation and the Captaine because he had not obeied So that by rigor and seuerity he made away three for the innocencie of one How all vertues are preserued AS all vertues are planted in vs by nature and the help of art so are they preserued and kepte in their full strength and vigor by vse and exercise for better neuer had than not exercised and put in practise nay howsoeuer they are aboundantly in vs yet if they be not exercised they quickly vanish and are forgot as it appeareth by things most naturall vnto vs. For what is more naturall than to speak and go yet the familiaritie with strangers may make vs forget the one and a litle sicknesse decay the other And thus in speking of Vertues genealogie and the increase and branches that are deriued from her although much more might haue bin saide yet this I truste may in some sort shew her worth and excellencie and what my pen hath ouerslipt I wishe together with so much as is in this booke may bee more plentifullie exprest in mens deedes FINIS