wealthy Alexandria Europe representeth vnto you learned Athens triumphing Constantinople and Rome the miracle of all Citties and of all the world What reason do you thinke it were all these faire Citties haue so flourished but onely to be ouerthrowne And why haue they been ouerthrowne so often sauing that the Destinie seemed to stand out against Nature and vphold the frailtie of humane things How many times hath euery one of them seene their enemies ouerthrow their walles sack their houses kill their cittizens and burne their Churches Their necessitie to perish hath been so great that when they haue wanted forreine enemies to worke their ouerthrow they haue armed their owne Inhabitants to execute what was ordained about their end There is no remedy that is the Law you cannot goe against it when wee see or heare of others ruines that is a fore-iudgement for vs when our time is come what happeneth to one may happen to all the blow that hitteth the formost threatneth him that followeth Scipio he that ouerthrew Carthage seeing fire in it which deuoured such infinite richesse and stately buildings consumed the mightiest City of Africa moued with compassion for the frailty of humane affaires fell a weeping for the mischiefe he did and vttered two verses of Homer to this sense A fatall day will come wherein Troy so doughty With Priam and his subiects shall all be made a booty Meaning of Rome what the Poet had spoke of Troy but he was farre deceiued in his Prophesie for how many dayes and not one alone hath she been made a bootie how many times sacked how many times destroyed how many times burnt and yet shee hath raised her selfe out of her ashes and being obstinately bent to withstand her own mischiese seemeth to haue tired her ill fortune that she would not worke her ruine any more Notwithstanding the common Law teacheth vs shee must suffer as others haue done and though shee did escape some ages yet shall she not escape the end of all and the firing of the world Plato had much troubled his braines to lay the foundation of his Common-wealth so fast that she might be permanent and euerlasting and notwithstanding after you haue granted him all his dreames for true and you aske him whether this faire Common-wealth can bee made immortall with all his precepts hee hath freely acknowledged it could not he I say which maintained the world to bee immortall But being desirous to grace his workes and flatter his owne conceits he bringeth in the Muses discoursing of the continuance of states and proposeth certaine proportions of numbers by the obseruation whereof they might bee kept vp flourishing a long time and yet auoucheth plainely that as all States haue their birth and beginning so they must haue their end It is the common Law of Nature to which wee must bow and follow willingly least it should dragge vs away with violence obedience vnto it is sweete violence full of paine and shame In the meane time I vnderstand well enough what you would say it is as it seemeth wee hasten our selues our owne destruction and with our hands push forward the end of this poore Kingdome and doe not stay vntill old age carrieth it away that it may sweetly and without striuing passe from life to death You deceiue your selfe those creatures neuer die otherwise they neuer haue an easie end for as those which die of diseases whose causes lay in the sinewes and braines are troubled with great conuulsions afore they giue vp the Ghost the like haue Common-wealthes which commonly come to ruine because their Lawes that are as their sinewes are broken and violated Now if it bee as they vsually say that fore-seene blowes amaze not so much we haue as it seemeth to me great occasion to beare more patiently with more resolution the fall of our State seeing how long it is since it began to shake and the great tokens and apparent markes wee haue had heretofore of its ruine First it is very old and so old that there was neuer any one seene to last so long To waxe old is to be accustomed to die They vse to aske commonly of such as are exceeding old whether they be yet aliue we ought rather to wonder at their life then at their death when they are dead they say He is gone at last as if they would say He hath held out longer thē one would haue thought Besides his age he hath had two hundred yeares since great and irkesome diseases The quarrels of Orleans and Burgundy haue brought him to the brimme of his graue Being recouered of this great fall and growne healthy again he hath liued very loosely vnder Francis and Henrie the second in this disordered and lewd life he hath gathered many ill humours and farre worse conditions Vnder the youth of our last Kings he is returned to his infancie and hath wholly altered his complexion for since the fashions of strangers began to please vs ours haue beene so depraued and corrupted that we may say long agoe we are no more French-men There is no part of this State that hath not beene onely spoyled but euen made infamous with excesse and superfluitie for as touching our Nobilitie which is the chiefest pillar of our Kingdome and that hath raised it vnto the greatnesse we haue seene it and euer maintained the same and vnto which is truly due the glory the French name hath among forreine Nations they haue omitted no craft and guile to spoyle and driue it out of heart and drowne in luxury sensuality and couetousnesse that ancient generofitie they had hereditary from their fathers cause them to lose the loue they owed to the safetie of their state As for the church which ought to haue bin the mother of piety the pattern of good manners the bond of alother orders they haue dishonoured defamed her as much as they can making the greatest charges prelacies to be the reward of the vilest yea fowlest seruices of the Court. So that impietie and ignorance haue in many places sate them down vpon the throne of holines truth made the order odious by the lewdnes of such as were preferred thereto The officers of Iustice who alone might in some sort haue kept the rest in their dutie if they had bin honest true as they ought to haue bin haue suffered a maruellous chāge their principall authority hath bin withdrawne towards the soueraign not to be administred but peruerted by courtiers at their pleasure that were in fauour And to crowne so many disorders and heape vp mischiefe on vs ouer and ouer are falne out the quarrels about Religion vpon which occasion haue been raysed parties and factions by whomsoeuer it hath pleased which were easily entertained by the facilitie and lightnesse of our people and by the deuices of our neighbours which sought to shelter themselues vnder our ruines With these sparks hath bin kindled the fire that hath almost consumed vs
we in the presence of Men Angels Nature and of God himselfe endure somwhat that may shew we can accommodate our selues vnto the Lawes of the World and to the Will of our Soueraigne Pompey being Ambassadour for the Romanes was surprised by King Gentius that indeauoured to wrest from him Publique affaires but to shew him there was no torture that could draw it from him he put his owne Finger in the Fire and suffered it to burne vntill that Gentius himselfe plucked it away He sought torment to make shew of the strength of his fidelitie And shall we betray our Soule if torments befall vs And forget the duetie we owe vnto that that is Diuine in vs Shall we then beare a deiected minde and inthrall it to our body to condole and suffer paines equall with it Farre more generous was that braue Anaxarchus that halfe bruized in the Tyrants Morter would neuer confesse his minde to be touched with paine Stampe on quoth he the case of Anaxarchus for as for him you cannot hurt Hence came that faire resolution Hence as from a quick-spring did flow that Constancie whereby he had learned to despise the body as a thing that is not our owne nor in our power and vse it as a borrowed garment to make shew for a time of our minde vpon this low and transitorie Theater Now were not he ouer-nice that should howle and cry out because his Gowne were spoyled or a Hooke had grapled it or some one going by had torne it some base Broker that would make gaines of such Ware would complaine of it A Prince a great Man a wealthy Citizen would laugh at it and in comparison of the rest of his wealth would make no reckoning of it Let vs value our selues as we ought to doe let vs be curious of our Honour and quietnesse and we shall make little account of all our body can suffer in this World Yea but the paine will be so great we shall lose our Life by it and shall see the Thread of our yeeres cut off in the verie middle Who can free himselfe from the Feare of this blow that euen Nature her selfe doth abhorre for though Death comes in due time yet it is dreadfull How much worse will it be when it is hastened and gathereth vs vp fresh and greene in the very prime of our Youth We deceiue our selues our Death hath nothing dreadfull of her selfe more then our Birth Nature hath nothing that is strange and terrible Death is amongst vs euerie day and doth not scare vs We dye euerie day and euerie houre of our Life that is past is dead It is not the last drop comes out of the Bottle emptieth it but finisheth it and the last moment of our Life doth not cause Death but only sheweth it The chiefest part of Death consisteth in that wee haue liued the more wee desire to liue the more wee desire Death should gaine by vs but from whence comes this desire Euen from the Opinion of the Vulgar that measures all by the Yard and deemes nothing precious that is not great whereas exquisite and excellent things are commonly thinne and slender It is the part of a skilfull workman to enclose much in a little space and we may say that it is almost fatall to illustrious men to dye quickely great Vertue and long Life seldome meetes together Life is measured by the End so that it bee good all the rest hath its proportion quantitie auayleth nothing to make it more or lesse happy a little Circle is as round as a great it is Figure doth all Yet you will say one would wish to die quietly in his bed amongst his owne people comforting them and receiuing comfort from them againe It is a pittifull thing to bee killed in a Corner and be depriued of decent Funerals So many men that goe to the wars and take Post to bee present at a Battell are not of this Opinion They are going to die all aliue and burie themselues among their enemies Little children feare masked men vncouer their faces they feare them no more Euen so beleeue mee Sword and the flames of Fire terrifie vs in the manner as we imagine them take off the maske the Death wherewith they threaten vs is the very same whereof women and little children die But I shall leaue behinde little children without helpe or assistance as if those children belonged more vnto you then vnto God as if you loued them more then he which is the first and truest Father or as if you had more meanes to keepe them safe then hee No no they shall haue the common Father of all the world that shall watch ouer them and preserue them vnder the wings of his fauour as he doth all his creatures from the greatest to the least Euils then are neuer so great as our Ambitious Opinion setteth them foorth vnto vs shee doth fright vs by her guile But shee doth altogether marre and corrupt vs when as shee striues to perswade vs that in such occasions we must grieue and pine our selues Certainely if the sorrow it bringeth had nothing worse then the deformitie wherewithall it is accompanyed wee ought to flye from it with might and maine Obserue it as soone as shee getteth into vs shee filleth vs with such a shame wee dare not shew our selues openly nor so much as in priuate to our friends after we are once seized on by this passion we seeke nothing but an odde corner to lye dreaming in and shun the sight of men we will haue no witnesses to our actions the sight of our friends is troublesome to vs what is the meaning of this but onely that she condemneth her selfe and doth acknowledge how vncomely she is would not you thinke she were a woman that had been catcht in the act that hideth and concealeth her selfe and is afraid to be knowne or Terentius his Chaerea that hauing attired himselfe like an Eunuch to performe a peece of knauerie is ouertakē in the midst of the street or in a strange house It is indeed to apparell men like Eunuchs yea geld thē altogether as to suffer them to fall into that sorrow which bereaueth them of whatsoeuer they haue manly and generous and giueth vs all the countenances and infirmities of women So the Thracians put men that mourned into womens apparell either to make them ashamed of themselues or to cause them to giue ouer quickly such vncomely and effeminate behauior But what need was there of such clothes for that for it seemes to me their countenances and their actions might haue been a sufficient token to shew they were no more men It was in my opinion a publike disgrace the Lawes inflicted vpon them for their pusillanimitie a summons to remember themselues and put on againe their manly courage The Roman Lawes that were more generous haue not sought remedies by disgrace against these effeminate lamentations for they haue vtterly prohibited them by their first and purest ordinances
They deemed not the death of either father mother children kinsmen or friends a sufficient cause that we should vnnaturalize our selues and commit any thing against manlinesse They haue tolerated the first teares that are wrested by a new and fresh sorrow Those teares I say that may fall euen from the eyes of Phylosophers and which with humanitie maintaine dignitie which may fall from our eyes without Vertue falling from our hearts Such were those as I thinke trickled along the cheekes of faire Panthea when as Araspes fell in loue with her because he had seene her to his great liking weepe very tenderly and pittifully for her husbands death For the first violent brunt of sorrow raiseth in vs such liuely passions that they slip easily into the minde of those that look vpon vs and fill them with a like ardour But this inueterate sorrow that hath pierced vnto the very Marrow of our Bones withereth our face disturbeth our Soule so that there remaineth nothing in vs that is louely and gracefull And if Nature hath disposed of any thing comely in either our Body or in our Soule it is faded by this bitter passion as the beautie of a Pearle is dissolued in Vineger It is great pitty then to see vs we walke with our head hanging downe and our eyes fixed on the ground our mouth without euer a word our limmes without motion and our eyes are in no stead but to weepe you would deeme vs to be but sweating statues it is not without cause the Poets haue recorded Niobe was turned into an image of stone with ouer-much weeping Their intention was not onely thereby as an Ancient hath thought to represent to vs the silence shee kept in her mourning but also teach vs she had lost all manner of feeling by giuing her selfe ouer to sorrow We ought then to auoyde it were it but for that it is so vnbeseeming and dishonourable Furthermore it is strangely hurtfull and so much the more infects vs vnder colour of doing good she maketh as if she did hasten to helpe vs and contrariwise she doth offend vs she seemeth to pull the Iron from the wound and shee driueth it into the very heart shee doth promise vs Physicke and she giueth vs Poyson her Blowes are so much the harder to put by and her Attempts too crosse because she is an enemy fed and brought vp with vs so that we haue bred our selues to our owne mischiefe It was she in my opinion the Comicall Greeke spoke of when as he cryed out against men O poore people how many euils doe you wittingly endure besides those needfull Nature sendeth vnto you for who can wee complaine of but of our selues when after the feeling of euils past wee retaine still their griefe and opinionate our selues to ruminate and continually bring them into our memory or that for feare of time to come we faint for want of spirit and courage Doth not this euill befall to vs from our selues whereof we ought not to wonder that it is so lasting seeing it is like Riuers which come from the Sea and returne into it and fetching their spring from the same place they runne into are neuer dryed vp Poore fooles why do we so carefully water this plant that beareth such bitter fruite Can we finde any good taste in these moanes griefes sorrowes sighes wherewithall she pestereth our life and poysoneth all our actions for as long as shee dwelleth with vs what doe we doe worthy the name of men when doe wee thinke of doing seruice to our countrey or performing the dutie of good Subiects to oppose our selues against the factions of the wicked to defend the Lawes from the assaults of Ambition and Couetousnesse to protect our friendes from the oppression of the malicious what respite haue we from this importunate passion to lift vp our eyes to heauen and with a pure spirit giue thankes vnto that great and soueraigne God that hath placed vs here in this world and bestowed vpon vs so many blessings and fauours that if wee had nothing else to doe but to giue him prayse yet wee should not haue halfe time enough to giue him his due Truely shee cannot bee excused she is either very vndiscreet or very malicious either her end is bad or else she erreth and strayeth from her end If it be her drift to encrease our euils and that the more she seizeth on vs the heauier more distastful she makes our life why do not we put her backe at her first entrance why doe not wee shut her out of doores or at least why doe not we driue her away by the head and shoulders as soone as we know her designe wee are traytors to our owne rest if being acquainted with its enemies if hauing notice of those do disturbe it we receiue them and vphold them and cherish them If it be her end to ease our sorrow to qualifie and soake it in our teares Why should we imploy so long so bad and rash an Officer that doth what is cleane contrarie to her intent Who did euer see her attaine vnto it What Mind did she euer enter that she hath comforted But contrariwise if she found it quaking hath she not quite ouerthrowne it If vpon falling ouerwhelmed it There commeth not one out of her Clawes but spoyled maymed and bruized When she hath gone ouer it she leaueth behinde neither strength nor resistance and becommeth like vnto a deepe and hollow place which is not onely defyled with the filth that groweth in it but on all sides Sinckes and Gutters run into it so that pure Water is corrupted therein For a mā possessed with Sorrow is offended with his owne Euils and other mens both with publique and priuate euen good fortunes befalling him doe displease him All things waxe tart in his Mind as meat doth in a deboshed Stomake But besides all this I say that Sorrow comming vpon such an occasion as it doth to you is verie vniust and I dare almost call it impious For what is it but a rash and outragious complaint against Nature and the Common Law of the World The first voyce which is pronounced by Nature is that all things which are vnder the Circle of the Moone must perish and as they haue had a beginning so shall they haue an end You would free your Citie from it as by a Priuiledge and make it Immortall Kingdomes States and Townes are of the same condition the other parts of the World are of nay their being is more vncertaine and weaker For most other things haue their forme which vniteth their members so straite and so strong with one only knot that they can hardly be seuered but States and Cities are composed of so many different things one from another which are knit and gathered together onely by the will and consent of men mooued to a communion and society by some Celestiall inclination And that will and consent being subiect to wauer the ruine of
in publike and priuate calamities to perswade himselfe that whatsoeuer befalleth him is ordained by that eternall power distributed by that infinite wisedome which gouerneth the world with the same goodnesse and Iustice wherewithall hee created it When this opinion is once rooted in the heart of man I doe not see what windes can shake his constancie For as much as wee ought to beleeue there commeth nothing from that kinde and gracious hand but what is intended for our good Now although this Prouidence which wee may define to bee the perpetuall care God hath in the gouernement of all that Hee hath created doth shine continually in all the parts of the world and appeareth in wonderfull effects neuerthelesse most men turne their eyes and looke awrie vpon it striuing to deceiue themselues to the end they may not bee beholden vnto that wise mistresse who ruleth the birth and conserueth whatsoeuer is seene in this Vniuerse There hath bin truelie verie few that durst bee so impious as flatly to denie it but if there hath bin any I will forget their names and being so vnworthy I will suppose they neuer were There are a number indeed whose opinions I haue heard but alwaies reiected which acknowledging diuine wisedome and power in the first creation of the world haue taken the gouernement thereof from it after it hath bin created some attributing it vnto that order which they call Nature some to a fatall necessitie some others vnto Chance and Fortune wherein they seeme rather to haue changed the name then the power of diuine prouidence for in expounding their opinion they plainely declare that in all worldly accidents they acknowledge some Entitie that is great and diuine the nature whereof is incomprehensible and neuerthelesse by I know not what carelesse presumption they would haue that little which they vnderstand of it to passe currant for sound doctrine and a part for the whole choosing rather to mistake Prouidence then acknowledge their ignorance It falleth out with them as it might doe with three seuerall persons which comming three seuerall wayes should see a farre off a great pyramide of Marble such a one as you might imagine that of the kings of Egypt carued on three sides with many Characters and hieroglyphicall letters euery one marking at first that face which is on his side and comming no nearer iudgeth there is no more but that and goeth backe with an opinion he hath seen all so all of them report sundry tales of one and the selfe same thing each of them maintaining it to bee as he had seen it on his side But had they approched nearer and walked round about it then euery one of them should haue seene all the three faces and haue knowne that all three make but one body would haue beene well enformed of the thing and would agree all together in it When these men are come to contemplate that Soueraigne power which conducteth and gouerneth this Vniuerse and that they haue considered it in its effects euery one of them hath had enough to behold it a farre off and apprehend as much as the first sight affoorded him He that obserued an order and continuall course of regular causes which are brought forth one of another hath called it Nature and hath beleeued this Nature did all He that had seene many things come to passe which had beene fore-seene and fore-told and neuerthelesse could not be auoyded hath called the power that produced them Destinie and fatall necessitie and deemed all to depend from thence The other that had seene an infinite number of casualties whereof they could giue him no reason and which seemed to happen without cause hath named the power from whence such euents did proceede Fortune and hath esteemed all things to be managed on this fashion But if euery one of them had taken the paines to approch neerer vnto truth and report publikely what he had seene in priuate perhaps they might haue knowne truly what was the figure of that first and soueraigne power from whence are deriued all the things and all the accidents of the world and vnderstand that in this Nature in this Destinie in this Fortune gathered all together shineth through humane ignorance that wise and excellent diuine Prouidence known neuertheles more according to the proportion of our weake vnderstanding then according to her incomprehensible greatnesse and Maiestie For I doubt not but in the Creation of this Vniuerse God hath established a rule and a certaine Law whereby all things must be produced disposed of and maintained which if any one will call Nature I will not gainesay so that he makes not of it an Essence separated from God vnto the which hee should thinke hee had committed the gouernment of things created to set himselfe on rest Contrariwise this Nature can bee nothing else but the first Power and Vertue which from the beginning without any separation from him hath printed it felse in the matter and hath giuen vnto it that regular motion by the which things are maintained in their being and bring foorth their effects besides Which Power and Facultie is by him from day to day and houre to houre and moment to moment inspired in the world which as it preserueth it so it doth create it anew againe and repaire it still and euery day makes it vp as it was made in the beginning In such sort that it seemeth God hath built it onely as a shop for him to worke in perpetually and keepe still in action his infinite goodnes which cannot endure but it must communicate it selfe vnto men True it is that like a great Architect he hath many workefolks vnder him which he doth imploy about this great gouernment not so much for any need he hath thereof as for the ornament of this stately worke-house the gracing of its brightnes and magnificence to impart vnto his creatures one of his most high soueraigne faculties cause them to produce create in a manner something as well as he And therefore throgh an admirable wisdom he hath left some part of these low terrestriall things imperfect in some kind to serue vnto man as matter subiect to work vpon hath forthwith giuen him the art to adapt apply them He hath giuen him stones hath not giuen him buildings but the art to make them hee hath giuen him mines and hath not giuen him mony but the art to make it he hath giuen him corne and hath not giuen him bread but the art to make it he hath giuen him wooll and hath not giuen him cloth but the art to make it To be short it seemeth that after hee had created man vnto his likenesse he hath shared with him the honour of the Creation of things yea euen of the Creation of man himselfe his will and pleasure being he should co-operate with him in the generation of his posteritie and that as hee Soueraigne and chiefest Creator had made the soule in his
image so man as an associate to his glory should make in the generation another body like vnto his And though God hath kept to himselfe the creation of the soule of man as of a great Master peece which cannot be wrought but with his owne hand yet in that he hath also called man euen as to his helpe hauing granted him the institution discipline and polishing of it that hee might bragge in a manner to haue affoorded something to his owne perfection But you must neither say nor think that the authority he hath giuen vnto creatures doth lessen his in any thing he doth not rely vpon their care neither doth he rest vpon their vigilancie contrariwise the greater power he hath giuen them so much the greater need hath he to watch ouer them and the more labourers hee hath at worke so much more necessary it is he should haue not onely the Eye but also the Hand ouer them to amend what they doe amisse contrary to the perfect patterne hee hath proposed vnto them and to guide and direct them in their workes which cannot any wayes stand nor last without his helpe and assistance This will I then say that what great faculties soeuer wee obserue in second causes we ought not to thinke for all this that the first is idle and that the others doe any thing but by his direction and farre lesse beleeue that this order and continuance wee see in all things is the chiefest and vniuersall cause thereof seeing it is but the effect no more then in Musicke the melodie is not the cause but the effect of concords produced by the Musitian his skill and art who gathereth the sounds and ordereth them into good consonance Now as it is Prouidence which by this regularorder that is called Nature bringeth forth and maintaineth euery particular thing according to the generall Law that is appointed for euery one of the same kinde so it is she which besides this regular order called Nature giueth sometimes vnto worldly things qualities and intermingleth accidents which one while are different another while contrary to their nature and then doth bring about the meeting of things amongst them to make them bring foorth the effect she hath ordained so that knitting and gathering vp many different causes she draweth from the connexion and weauing thereof not the ende that is natural or propounded to euery one of them but an euent prescribed by her selfe Insomuch that as Nature is seene especially in the creation production and maintenance of euery thing in it selfe according to its kinde and condition and by an ordinary rule and euer alike Destinie contrariwise appeareth in euents which proceede from the meeting of these things already created which being ordered by a rule vnknown to men produce fore-ordaind effects which seeme incuitable and do not concerne nor accōmodate themselues so much to the nature of euery particular thing as vnto that of the Vniuerse Certainly it should seeme that this Law had not bin needfull in the world if euery thing had kept the first motiō God had giuen vnto it at its creation for hauing infused in euery one the most perfect forme and principle of working that could be desired it followed that if they had continued in that condition their owne Nature had of her selfe directed their actions to good effects one towards another and consequently to the good of all the world and glory of the Creator But either throgh the vice imbecillity of the matter or through the tēdernes of their forme which could not subsist without they should adhere perpetually vnto their Creator they haue beene disfigured and strayed from the way which Nature had traced out vnto them For example Angels and men were created as the most perfect and absolute peeces of the world and God in the Creation had infused in them a liuely and pure light to direct their actions to make good vse of worldly things and consequently to bring foorth workes to his glory But as it falleth out vsually in great Buildings that a rich Wainescot or an artificiall winding Staire wrought with great skill will soonest decay because that the more excellent a peece of worke is so much the weaker it is so those most perfect creatures haue first of all declined from the right way peruerted and violated the end of their Creation Which disorder did not remaine onely in them but for the great power wherewithall they were created they haue caused it to slip into the things they had abused And moreouer it seemes that by their fault other things that were created for them were presently changed either by a secret consent or by a secret iudgement to serue for their punishment Therefore it hath beene needful that this All-seeing-eye which pierceth through ages as the Sunne through the Aire hauing from the beginning foreseene this confusion should euen from that time appoint a remedy to stay the presumptiō both of mē and Angels and let them least they should stretch their ill actions as farre as their ill wills The remedie hath beene this inuiolable Law by the which he hath prouided for all euents and hath ordained that things should happen as we see them fall out not altogether after the ordinary power of causes but as it pleaseth God to make them worke sometimes increasing sometimes lessening their strength and now and then causeth them to worke against their nature and bringeth backe to his will what men thinke to doe at theirs But some one will say that this Law seemes to be contrary to the first God being immutable in his essence should be so likewise in his determinations Ought wee to thinke that hee who knoweth all things from all Eternitie taketh new resolutions The alteration that is in this is not in God but in his workes which being separated from him who is vnchangeable alone could not be like vnto him but subiect to decay and waste away by the defect of the matter whereof they are made And the remedy God hath brought vnto the euill is not a new aduice though it bee put in vse since the corruption of Nature neuerthelesse it was resolued vpon euen before her creation For as a worke man that sets a Clocke to goe foure and twentie houres before he taketh vp the weights and setteth it on going can fore-see that either rust wil stay its course or that some idle fellow will stirre the needle touch the wheeles or remoue the ballance euen then prouides whatsoeuer is necessary to set it in order again restore it to the first point so God that hath foreseene euen before the Creation of the world what would fall out in the gouernment and maintenance thereof did in the same instant appoint remedies for it which though they come not to our sight but after a long time and succession of ages yet they were prepared from all eternitie For as the Poet must haue his Play in a readinesse afore any body comes
vpon the Stage and that as soone as the Prologue begins he that is to play the last Act must know well his Quew euen so fareth it with all the things that are come to passe and that shall happen hereafter during so many yeeres in this world whereof the last that must finish the age of the world was knowne and ordained by the Creator afore the first began to be It is that as I thinke Diarchas in Philostratus would intimate when hee sayd God had begot the world all at once as the Beasts do their yong ones notwithstāding that he hath brought it forth by little and little as they doe causing one part to come out first and the other after It is not Time that is the father and authour of things hee is but their Steward and as Tatian shewed vnto the Greekes the Dispencer that bringeth them vpon the Stage Yea but some will say If things were ordained from all eternitie and that this decree cannot be violated what will become of the libertie of our Will must it not be a Bond-slaue vnto this Law and bee such or such good or bad according as it hath appointed No for this Destinie that hath fore-ordained all things hath decreed that our Will shall bee free so that if there bee any necessitie in our will it is this that it is necessarily free And as for that our Wills haue beene foreseen such as they shall bee they haue beene foreseene because they shall be so and are not so because they haue beene foreseene But another will say What auaileth our will seeing that of such things as wee would haue to be done there comes nothing to passe but what God hath ordained and there is almost nothing in our power We cannot almost desire any thing how easie soeuer it bee if it were but in a manner to carry our hand to our mouth that may not be hindered by an infinit number of chances it is that which the Prouerb saith There falleth out many things betweene the Belly and the Lips Though we can do many things that we will and will many things that we can do yet we cannot say that any euent how little soeuer it be depends wholly vpon vs. Notwithstanding out Will remaineth free because it is not the action but the motion vnto action and serueth vs neuerthelesse because that althogh it be not the onely cause yet it co-operates with the rest which are gathered and bound by Destinie into the same knot to bring forth one onely effect When it aimeth at the end which it ought it is backed by Destinie and fauoured by the meeting of other causes and so doing it is conducted vnto its owne purpose or at least to another ende that Prouidence iudgeth to bee good for it When contrariwise it is bent to an ill end it is by the concurrence of other causes and force of Destinie carryed away to a cleane contrarie end from its owne but still for one purpose from the which in spight of it God draweth his glory the good of the Vniuerse For although Destinie most commonly changeth nothing in the nature of causes and suffereth those that are voluntary to worke voluntarily and those that are necessary necessarily and those that are naturall naturally neuerthelesse from the mingling and gathering of them altogether in the point forme wherein he causeth them to meete he bringeth foorth such effects as he listeth drawing oftentimes from the selfe same causes cleane contrary effects as by the transposition of the selfe same letters wee compose words altogether different He is so cunning a worker that he can apply any thing to doe his pleasure yea many times when as wee thinke to withstand his counsels suffring vs to haue our will he carrieth vs where he pleaseth iust like vnto that great Circle in heauen that inuelopeth all the others though he letteth not their naturall course from West to East neuerthelesse he draggeth them all euery day along with him from East to West Whether we run or goe hasten or stay goe right or wrong we come still to our lodging with Destinie we cannot auoyd it we fall vpon it in recoyling from it we finde it when as we flie from it we run vpon it thinking to ouer run it This Destinie comes from too wise a power and too powerfull a wisedome to bee resisted either by force or craft Now such and how great soeuer it be it is but euen as Nature one of the effects of that wise Prouidence which filleth gouerneth all things that is spred ouer all the parts of the world being euen as its soule She ruleth all the parts of it with wife and infallible counsels most certain reasons which often we do not apprehend but very late and sometimes not at al either for that her wisdome is so deep inscrutable that we cannot penetrate into it or that our negligence and stupidity is so great we doe not vouchsafe to open our eyes to consider it from whence it coms that men attribute vnto Fortune the accidents whose causes they comprehend not And frō thence it is come that some being grown so brutish as they obserued no causes of the effects which they saw they deemed all did happen by chance So out of their ignorance and brutalitie they haue made themselues a Goddesse which they call Fortune and paint her out blind-fold turning with a wheele worldly affaires casting al at randome and throwing her presents and fauours by chaunce as they do new money at the first entrance of Kings into a towne according as they stand neere so euery one takes vp what falls vpon him But I could wish that those which would make the world to be gouerned so many ages by this rash and blind foole would but suffer her to gouerne their houses for one yeare they should see fine oeconomie Sillie people they perceiue well enough that a small familie cannot subsist a yeare without great prudence and they would haue this great Vniuerse composed of many different parts to subsist so many thousand yeares vnder the conduct of Chance They would not haue giuen a flocke of sheepe vnto a Shepheard that were ill sighted and they would commit vnto a blinde Temeritie the gouernment of so many legions both of Angels and men O ingratefull kinde of people why do you set vp Altars to your gods if your sacrilegious opinions worship nothing but Fortune Why doe you offer sacrifices after your victories to giue thankes vnto her that saw you not when she saued you and seeth you not when you giue her thankes you thinke perhaps that this Hobgoblin hath better eares then eyes That which filled men with this errour and compelled them to snatch the Rule and the Compasse from the hands of Prouidence to make all things to rush at randome one against another and happen by hazard it hath beene in my opinion for that they would accommodate the greatnesse and power of God
the humilitie of our prayers bend vnto Mercie the rigour of his Iustice and obtaine of him that he will bee more mercifull vnto vs then wee are our selues and that seeing we haue found our owne mischief in what we desired most he will be pleased by his grace to let vs finde our good in that which wee haue most feared Neuerthelesse if his wrath doth continue against vs what Fortune soeuer falles vpon vs wee must beare it patiently and with great reuerence as proceeding from that great and iust Prouidence whose ballance is neuer stirred but by the weight of Reason vnto which therefore wee must submit our will I apprehend well enough what offendeth you in this discourse it is the same thorne which galled me in times past vpon this verie same way You cannot comprehend why good men in such accidents should suffer together with the wicked the innocent with the guiltie If there be Prouidence she is iust if she be iust she ought to reward the good and punish the wicked and not wrap them altogether in the selfe-same affliction But to cleere this doubt of yours I would aske you in what part of the earth haue haue found this innocencie you bemoane so much by what tokens you can know it Our faults and sinnes are committed by our members and visible parts of our bodie but they are bred inwardly within our soule that is the wombe wherein they are conceiued which they pollute no lesse for being not brought forth then if they had really come to light for yet an ill action which we doo is vsually followed with griefe and repentance that doth somwhat purge it but as for ill intentions which we foster in our mind as burning coales vnder ashes we thinke because they are not known they are not ill do not abstain from them If the seate of sinne be in our soule and that we cannot penetrate into it how should wee haue notice of another mans innocencie seeing wee know how often we haue offended God our selues without others could be able to perceiue it But that goeth beyond our reach let vs suffer him to take notice of it that is the onely Iudge of the heart and voluptuousnesse of men and if wee may presume any thing in this let vs follow that coniecture which is most reasonable let vs presume for his iudgement and beleeue that he is iust As truly it is very hard in so corrupted an age that his thunder should fall out on any place where there were not some guiltie Fishes haue that propertie indeede that they are bred and nourished in the Sea without any taste of the saltnesse of it but that men may be nourished and brought vp in the filth and infection of the earth and neuer bee defiled with it if it be not impossible it is verie difficult and hard But I grant you may finde amongst vs a good number of godly and innocent people that are most of all afflicted by the publike calamitie I will maintaine notwithstanding that they haue no cause to complaine rather they are bound to giue thankes to God for it as for a great fauour and reckon those accidents amongst the greatest benefites they receiue from him This medicine seemeth bitter vnto you seeing the manner how you taste it but take it downe and you will feele it sweete and wholesome and will more settle your mind then any remedy you can vse yea I say that that which we call miseries and calamities are gifts of God most precious and profitable To perswade you thereto it might suffice I haue shewed you that they happen for a good cause and proceede from a hand that is perfectly good from whence as from a quicke spring are deriued al the veines of our goods But if they haue a good cause they haue yet a better end and that will I proue easily Neuerthelesse afore I take it in hand I wil answer some obiections that as I reade in your face you haue a minde to alledge against me concerning the meanes that are vsed to attaine vnto this end You will say Are not warres murthers sackings rauishings other plagues wherewith we are afflicted bad things of themselues those that commit them haue they not an intent to hurt vs doe not they desire our harme doe they not endeauour themselues to vndoe vs Can you call our miseries euils but you must accuse the vices of those that are the instruments thereof and defile their hands with so many sacriledges and wicked deeds To cleere this doubt I desire you to make a distinction betweene the afflictions that happen to vs. Some proceede but from natural causes as Famine Dearth Earthquakes Plagues Floods Mortalities and such like in others the Will of man doth co-operate as Tyrannies Warres Murthers Sackings Those questionlesse haue no other intent but our good for they haue no other end then his that ordaineth them these vndoubtedly haue an ill intent for they are managed by the will of the wicked but it is an euill which God turneth to good For though priuate men which God doth vse in such actions are bent to an ill end neuerthelesse the last end where he causeth them to meete together is our good and welfare Euen as the Archer shooteth the Arrow at a marke which the Arrow seeth not so doth hee conduct them to an effect that they neither desire nor vnderstand Which wee ought not to thinke strange in the actions of this All-wise Prouidence seeing that euen in humane affaires to attaine vnto a thing we vse often-times that which is intended for another either different or contrary Behold an Armie of Souldiours going furiously to a Battell some are incited to it by quarrels others induced by a desire of glory others moued by spleen others by hope of bootie but they do all conforme themselues in the end to the intent of the Generall that is the victorie Good and bad are in this world entertained vnder Gods pay and fight for his glory some are chosen instructed others are as bondmen slaues Why wil you say should he vse the wicked he that is still All-good All-mightie hath he no other meanes to worke his will He hath not made the wicked such they are become so of thēselues but seeing they are so he must make vse of thē in somthing A great worke-man ought not to haue any thing vnprofitable in his shop Art can draw from the worst things that are very good wholsome effects I will tell you more that there are many things very beneficiall which could not subsist if there were not some ill thing in thē That famous medicament called Treacle an inuentiō truly diuine against poyson hath for its chiefest ingredient the viper that is one of the most venemous of all serpents Would you argue with God for that in the afflictions he sendeth to vs as a medicament as needfull as wholesome for the purgation of our soules hee mingleth a little of
become a spectatour of the ruine of his countrey But mee thinkes that should bee vnderstood of the beginning of troubles which are easie to bee appeased at their first birth Now if the Prince or he that gouerneth vnder his authoritie suffereth this venome of sedition to ranckle so farre that the faction becomes so powerfull that it seizeth vpon the State or Cittie we are in and that going foorth wee can doe no other good but onely giue a testimony of our good will to the Prince or the publike I thinke in such a case there are many reasons can excuse vs for staying behind though we should deem the faction vniust that gouerneth The first is Necessitie when we are kept in by force for that hath no Law The second is a common Law of the affaires of the world that wisheth vs to yeeld vnto force when it is once established As Vertue commandeth vs to wish for good things so it giueth vs counsell to beare those which happen against our will and euen abate some thing of the loue we owe to the State of our dutie to the Lawes lest we should rashly cast away our selues And who can thinke this strange since that seuere and incorruptible Cato iudged it should be so when as departing from Siracuse to goe to Pompey he wished the Sicillians to be obedient to Caesar who had made himselfe maister of Italie The third when our goods and meanes are in the place of our abode and that going forth we should fall into an extreme pouerty For though pouerty is not a sufficient excuse to cause vs to commit an ill deed yet the feare of it ought to excuse vs in some kinde if wee doe not performe whatsoeuer the rigour of the Law can expect at our hands And specially in this season where good men can get neither reliefe nor fauour but from their purse and wherein pouertie and those that are molested with that disease are shunned of all the world as if they were infected with the plague But the most lawfull excuse in such accidents is for those which find thēselues tied bound neere to their old or sickely parents or neere vnto a wife and a number of children Pietie and naturall affection releaseth vs of many things against the rigour of the Law And though the Law saith That for the quarrell of our Countrey we must spare neither Parents nor Children and that it seemes it would purposely infringe the right of Nature yet it must be vnderstood when as forsaking those that we are neerely bound vnto by Charitie we may doe some seruice and performe some thing that counteruaileth so much vnto publike pietie as it offendeth the Domesticall These considerations haue kept as you see amongst vs many honest men that are sore grieued to see this miserable confusion and which had wished rather then any thing in the world to haue beene out of it if they had thought the publike would haue reaped any commoditie thereby But they deemed it not fitting for them to forsake their friends vnto whom their presence was very necessarie heere to goe and bee chargeable to the Prince that called them away Now being imbarked in this ship as some of vs are bearing publike offices to their great mischiefe we haue beene forced to speake truly to dissemble and let passe many pittifull things against the Lawes of the State and the dutie of our places I haue often reasoned with my selfe whether wee ought not vpon such occasions to withstand the euill with an vndaunted courage and euen in ieopardie of our liues plead the cause of Iustice After I had seene some to vndoe themselues by it I found truet he saying of an Ancient That Prudence is the beginning of all Vertues that she ought to goe before as an Vsher and make way for the others and where shee is wanting they are no better then blind and the more they hasten and endeauour themselues so much the sooner doe they stumble and hurt not onely themselues but those also they fall vpon Therefore whatsoeuer wee vndertake after wee haue considered whether the end of it bee iust and lawfull wee must examine what meanes wee haue to bring it to passe and not vndoe our selues to no purpose And when we haue not the meanes to performe whatsoeuer the publike welfare doth expect at our hands striue industriously to do the best we can Now I beleeue that in this pittifull case wherein wee are fallen good men could doe no more to acquit themselues of their dutie but diuert by gentle and faire meanes many cruell and dangerous practises and retard and slacken cunningly the course of Violence which they could not altogether stop For as those which haue giuen ouer themselues vnto Nouelties and prostituted their wits to serue other mens passions are inexcusable before God and men So I doe not accompt them worthy of praise who seeing Force and Violence setled haue beene vndone by their owne seeking Into what case soeuer our countrey falleth it auayleth much there should bee vertuous men who so preserue their reputation as not to be esteemed auerse from the common people to the end that occasions being offered to giue good counsell they may performe it and with a gracious and dreadlesse hand search and heale the wounds of ciuill dissentions Sometimes a Castle that holdeth out affoordeth meanes to recouer a whole Prouince and a wise and discreet Cittizen maintaining his credite in his Cittie may often occasion the common tranquilitie For as health is restored to asicke body by the meanes of his sounnd parts which keepe whole and sound the principles of life euen so in a towne Peace and Concord is reestablished by the modest and impartiall carriage of a good Cittizen It is incredible how many admirable and wholesome effects the very aspects of those which had the name to bee iust and honest and louing the publike good haue brought foorth among people but it must be in a fit occasion It Time that seasoneth Councels There is a certaine moment in businesse which if you take not opportunely all the labours you bestow about them are in vaine Which is obserued specially in them that haue the managing of the spirits of people in commotion Marcus Aurelius the Phylosopher saith in a place of the booke ill intituled His life that bad opinions are impostumes in the minde of man If they be impostumes wee must of necessitie let them ripen before we open them otherwise the Yron will cause an imflammation and in stead of curing the maladie by the cutting we shall inflame it We must speake the truth A multitude of people is a strange beast it is a hazardous Trade to vndertake to rule them after they haue once shaken off the Yoake of the Lawes and taken vpon them the custome of libertie or rather licentiousnesse Those that haue made once triall of it will esteeme nothing the lesse of their goods to shun such an inconsiderate madnesse But there
be certaine things in the world that are learned onely by experience which is a deere and dangerous Mistresse Therfore he that vpō necessitie or through an honest intent of succouring his countrey shall suffer himselfe to be engaged in an vnlawfull faction can do no more but watch and obserue all occasions to dispose the wils of his fellow Cittizens to know their owne good and desire it Which he may easily do if he behaueth himselfe moderately and sheweth hee seeketh for nothing else but their profit making their minds capable of reason by faire words and bringing them backe by discourse to that which is right and iust Wherein he must immitate wine which in the beginning by a daintie and delicious taste allureth men to drinke it then being mingled with their blood heateth by little and little all their body and so it intoxicateth and ouercommeth them For in a word you must beleeue that all great affairs are neuer brought to a good end otherwise then by gentlenesse and patience Whereof Nature giueth vs a faire instruction producing all things how great and excellent soeuer they be by an insensible motion And this must hee practise specially towards those that are in greater credit and authoritie because they are as publike fountaines from whence are drawne the counsels that lose or saue States the good opinion they conceiue of it is soone spread ouer all the others It auaileth much also when it is vsed towards those that speake ordinarily to the people because they are the Lymbecke pipes through which are distilled the affections wherewithall the vulgar are possessed which induce them afterwards to good or bad actions But two things haue hindered good men from comming neere and hauing accesse vnto them The first that being new and raw men and experienced in affaires they were led and carryed away by the opinions of those that had preuented them fed commonly vpon vaine hopes whereon they built Castles in the Aire The other that is falne out with thē as they say ordinarily that those that erre by art erre most dangerously for they erre most obstinately and defend themselues with Science against Reason They endeauoured to bring politicke gouernement which consisteth in a particular prudence vnder generall rules and make an vniuersall Science of it And so applying the rules where they should haue applyed their exceptions they peruerted the iudgement of all things It was good sport to heare them talke they did iust like vnto bad Mathematicians who supposing a right angle or some Geometricall figure to bee otherwise then in truth it is make thereupon seeming demonstrations of things that are not and cannot bee at all For after you haue once granted in arguing any thing that is false they inferre from it strange absurdities The forme of arguing of this Time hath beene thus Such a thing auaileth for the conseruation of Religion therefore it must bee done Now the first part of the argument which was subiect to be denyed and prooued and most commonly was not onely doubtfull but apparantly false was euer held for most certaine nay sometimes made an Article of faith The propositions that were mooued were of such a kinde as ought to haue beene examined with great and mature iudgement by the example of the effects brought foorth by like affaires and wherein they should haue consired the times moments dispositions of men and a thousand other circumstances Neuerthelesse those that had neither the experience of things past nor the knowledge of the present haue taken vpon them the authoritie to iudge of them Vnto all the inconueniences that were set foorth vnto them vnto all the ill successes that were foretold them should happen of their wrath and headie counsels they had no other answer but that God would prouide for it As if God had been set aboue onely to second their passions and frame the rest of the World to their designes and not they placed here to obserue the will of God by the disposition of things and issue of affaires to apply themselues thereto and attaine vnto their end or come as neere as they could by effectuall and ordinary meanes As soone as they perceiued a way somewhat long and tedious they made themselues wings of waxe and flew in the Aire to reach vnto the place where Feare and Desire drew them And it accordingly happened that their wings melted in the Sunne and they are falne and falling haue pulled after them their fellow-Cittizens into a Sea of woe and miserie I would not indeed taxe the intent of all in regard I haue knowne some amongst them that were carried away with the zeale of their Religion But I doubt whether before God their meaning shall serue them for a lawfull excuse to haue vndertaken so important a charge whereof they were incapable For if ciuill Lawes condemne one that taketh vpon him a Trade hee vnderstands not and make him answer for all the hurt is done by his vnskilfulnesse shall not those who euen as by force haue vndertaken the Gouernment and by their fault cast vs into so many dangers bee answerable for so many Deathes Burnings Pillages Rauishments so many Sacriledges so many Blasphemies that proceeded from their bad and giddy counsels I beseech God to forgiue them for it but they are the cause of many euils and mischiefes and giue vs iust occasion to speake of our State as an Ancient did of his The Commonwealth was lost rather by the remedies that were applyed vnto her then by her Maladie But what You wil say Did good men hold their peace then why did they not stoutly declare their opinion for the good of the Commonwealth Why did not they withstand all those idle trickes Alas there are none troubled in such things but those that are ingaged in them Oftentimes seeing this miserable gouernment and the perplexitie good men were in I called to minde a Historie that happened in our dayes in this Cittie It fell out in an honest house that an Ape which was kept for sport went and tooke a little child out of the Cradle and carryed it to the top of the house as soone as it was spyed the father and mother ran all amazed weeping and not knowing what to doe for if they had cryed out and ran after the Ape it would haue let the child fall downe which had certainly broke his necke They stood still then without euer a word looking pittifully all in teares and quaking for feare what should bee the end of it It happened and it was a great gift of God that the Ape came downe againe softly and brought the child to the same place where it had taken it Wee haue beene and are still frighted in the like manner and haue seene and see yet our Religion and our poore State in the hands of strange men and wonderfully rash and heedlesse which play with them and hold them vp hanging in the Aire at their fingers end ready to hurle them downe vpon the