not spare her but deposed her from her Regency 1. King 15. And indeed it is truly said Iustitia non novit patrem non novit matrem veritatem novit Iustice neither knoweth father nor mother but onely the truth It is reported by a late Traveller that in Zant over the place of judgement where all causes both Criminall and Civill are decided there are these two Latine verses written on the wall in letters of gold Hic locus odit amat punit conservat hâ—norat Nequitiam pacem crimina iâ—ra bonos This place hateth wickedness loveth peace punisheth offences preserveth the lawes honoureth the good implying that there should be no partiality used but every man should be proceeded withall according to his deserts To which purpose was that memorable speech of our King Henry the fourth of that name who when his eldest son the Prince was by the L. chief Iustice for some great misdemeanors commanded and committed to prison hee thanked God that hee had both a sonne of that obedience and a judge of such unpartiall and undanted courage But Agesilaus was as much to blame who when hee commended a friend of his to the Iudge hee mooved him that if his cause were good hee would absolve him for justice sake if not at his motion but howsoever the world went absolved hee must be bee an ill example of dangerous consequence in him who was to be a paterne of indifferent justice to his inferiour Iudges among whom wee finde that too often true which the heathen Orator complained of in his times Omnium Sermone percrebuit It is rife in every mans mouth In his iudiciis quae nunc sunt pecuniosum hominem quamvis sit nocens neminem posse damnari That in these judgements which are now-adayes a monied man though hee bee guilty cannot be condemned Nihil tam sanctum quod non violari nihil tam munitum quod non expugnari pecuniâ possit There is nothing so holy that may not be violated nothing so well fenced that may not bee overthrowne with money the lawes being made like unto cobwebs which catch and holde little â—lyes but the great ones breake through them Blasphemy and perjury sacriledge and symonie and extortion and oppression and vsury and exeessive bribery passe currant when petty theeverie in case of extreame necessity is most severely punished The fifâ— and last point I proposed is the End our Prophet proposeth to him selfe of this great work heer vowed It is the purging of the Citie of the Lord whereby is meant Ierusalem First for example to the whole Realme it being the Metropolis and head Citie of the Kingdome as also and principally by reason the service of God and the exercise of religion was in a speciall mannâ—r by divine ordinance tied unto it in which regard he cals it the Citie of the Lord as the Evangelist doth the holy Citie Mat. 4. This Citie was so large that it conâ—â—â—â—ed of foure quarters every one of them by walles divided from another The first and highest was mount Sion in it was the Citie of David called by â—osephus the superiour Citie exceeding strong in regard of the naturall situation thereof The second was called the Daughter of Sion because it seemed to come out as it were of the bosome of the other and in this was mount Moriah whereupon the Temple stood This Citie was compassed with a stronge walâ— wherein stood threescore Towres The third was beautified with many ample streets faire buildings compassed with a wall wherein were fourteen Towers The fourth was inhabited by all sorts of Artificers compassed with the third wall which was twenty five cubits high and had in it fourescore and tenne strong Towers So populous withall it was that during the siege of the Romans in the space of five monthes there were slaine and died as Iosephus there present reports it to the number of eleven hundred thousand Now albeit in our Prophets dayes this Citie was not yet brought to this perfection yet was it then very spacious and populous notwithstanding which greatness of the place and disordred multitude of the inhabitants yet by Gods helpe he undertakes the reformation It is a thing which we ought to bear away for it meeteth with the idleâ—ess and litherness of many who imagine that it is impossible to reforme a great City yea if it bee but a little market-town it is impossible say they that all should bee well there Yea this excuse is pretended by such as have but small families in comparison and so under a colour of this impossibility to reform all they doo almost just nothing no not so much as the lawes put into their hands and command them to do Yet these men have but as it were a posterne gate in Ierusalem to keep what thinke you would they doo if they had the charge of so great and large a City True it is let Officers doo their best there will be much disorder what wil it bee then when they doo little or nothing in respect of any care to weed out sinne but rather bolster it out take part with leud companions give them countenance speak and write for them yea keep them company men fitte rather to bee overseen and guided continually by others than to bee in authority to see or guide any But let such as bee in office doo their duty executing the good lawes put into their hands by higher authority and then not doubt of the impossibility of reforming abuses in their lesser charges seeing David trusting upon the help of God is so confident touching this great populous City Let them but put-to their endeavours and they shall finde such success in the advancement of godlines and suppressing of impiety many times even beyond hope and expectation as they wil see cause to rejoice in the performance of their dutie and to praise God for his blessing upon it Again David vowing to reforme this City meaneth not to stay there but to proceed to the cleansing purging of the whole Land This no doubt hee might think that if Ierusalem were reformed it would be a great light and direction to the whole Kingdome as wee see how it falleth out lesser places look to those that beâ— greater and the meaner sort look to those that beâ— higher froÌ„ whom also there is 〈◊〉 force to draw inferiours either to good or evill Above maiori discit ar are minor A great towne or a great house well ordered may fitly bee compared to a great garden ful of sweet flowrs which yeeldeth much good â—avour and prospect to the neighbours if they bee ill ordered they bee like great dunghills noysome and contagious to such as dwell about A great towne or a great Personages house if they bee good do much good to the Countrey but if they bee naught and sinfull the poison of them is strong and the infection daÌ„gerous It is then a work worthy a King to beginne the reformation of
must first bee remooved before health can bee restored and darknesse first chased away before the light break forth In the Verse immediately going before hee professed hee hated the work of those that fall away or lepart from God Now the best way to provide that himself might not bee found faulty in that which hee hated in others was to strive that a froward heart should depart from him For the more this frowardnes decreaseth in us the neerer wee draw to God and the closer it sticks unto us the farther we wander from God True indeed it is that it can never utterly depart our soules till our soules depart our bodies and both body and soule depart this vale of tears While the heart lives its naturall life it will also live in our hearts and as the heart is among the bodily members the first that lives and the last that dies so is this amongst all the corrupt affections of the heart yet must wee still labour to mortisie it that though it remaine yet it raigne not in vs though it live yet the strength of it be broken and the head of it crushed Againe in that hee speakes of parting with a froward heart hee freely acknowledges that though hee were by grace a man after Gods owne hart yet by nature beeing without God as well as others hee could not bee without this froward heart neither his Calling nor his Crowne could priviledge him in that Case unless in becomming a King hee should leaue to be a man and being advanced in dignity he should shake-off nature which being voyde of grace rather serves to deprave nature farther than any way to correct it Once in this Psalme hee promised a reformation of his eyes twice of his heart therefore a double watch is to be set over the heart in regard of any other member Salomon begins with it Prov. 4. 23 Keepe thy heart with all diligence or as the Originall reades aboâ—e all keeping as a man would say with double diligence for out of it are the issues of life And from the heart he comes to the mouth ver 24. Put away from thee a froward moâ—th and from the mouth to the eyes ver 25. Let thine eyes looke right on and from the eyes to the feet ver 26. Ponder the path of thy feet and from the feet to the hand ver 27. Turn not to the right hand nor to the left thereby shewing us that the heart is as the first wheele of the Clock if this bee either righâ— or disordered so are the rest For as out of the aboundance of the heart the mouth speaketh so the eyes looke the feet walke the hand moves As the heart is the shop of the vitall spirits and they againe the food of the naturall life so is it likewise the fountain of new birth and That the beginning of our spirituall life Those sacrifices in which no heart was found were by the Heathen counted ominous Their conceit therein might bee superstitious but I am sure t is true that those religious exercises in which the heart is wanting cannot be acceptable unto God Hear then with thine â—â—res but with thy heart too pray â—â—th thy lips but with thy heart too receive theâ— Sacrament with thine hand but with thy heart too otherwise thy hearing thy praying thy receiving being heartless will in the end proove fâ—uitless Therefore doth our â—ropheâ— so often beat upon this heart-string A froward heart shall depart from mee Frowardnes is sometimes universally extended to the whole corruption of the heart as Psal. 58. 3 The ungodly are froward even from their mothers wombe and so it includes both Ieremies deceitfull heart 17. 9 The heart is deceitfull above all things who can know it and Ezekiels stony heart 11. 19. I will take from them their stony heart and give them a heart of flesh and Saint Stephens uncircumcised heart Acts 7. 51. Yee stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and eares and Saint Pauls foolish heart Rom. 1. 21. They became vaine in their imaginations and their foolish heart was full of darkness And thus our froward heart is both stony and uncircumcised hard anâ— impure in regard of it selfe deceitfuâ—â— full of windings and turnings in regard of men and lastly foolish voyd of all true knowledge and understanding in regard of God Now to this hard wee must oppose a tender heart compassionating the miseries of men relentinâ— at the threatnings of God and bleeding in the consideration of its owne naturall hardness To this impure wee must oppose a cleane heart Create in me O God a cleane heart cleane though not from all stain yet froÌ„ the foule blots of gross sinnes though not from all impuritie yet from hypocrisie To this deceitfull we must oppose a simple heart sine plicis without pleits and foldes speaking as we thinke and doing as we speake and lastly to this foolish wee must oppose a wise heart wise I meane in things appertaining to saluation and the mysteries of godliness More specially frowardness against God in holy Scripture is contracted either to stubbornness and rebellion in not submitting our necks to the yoke of his law or to repining and murmuring in not submitting our backs to the rod of his chastisement The first is peruersnesse and obstinacy and it shewes it selfe either in preferring the traditions of men before or equalling them to the Oracles of holy Scripture and the ordinances of Christ or which is as bad if not worse in preferring the devices and desires of our hearts before the express injunction or inhibition of Gods commandements faire pretenses may be made for the former but for the later no colour no excuse at all I will instance onely in the two last precepts of the first table because they immediately concerne the honour of God Thou shalt not take my name in vaine saith God if then I speake of him jestingly or inconsiderately or sweare by him rashly or falsly knowing what he commands and my selfe practice Doth not this argue a froward heart Remember that thou keep holy the Sabbath day saith God If then I spend it in gaming or idleness in gluttony and drunkenness in chambering wantonness knowing what he commands and my selfe practice Doth not this argue a froward heart This froward heart it is that our Prophet doth heer promise to put away And surely not without great cause since hee had learned no doubt out of the 26. of Levit. ver 24 If yee will not be reformed but wil walk stubbornly against me I will also vvalke stubbornly against you I will punish you yet seuen times that is in the highest degree Neither could he be ignorant or forgetfull of the message of Samuel to Saul yet fresh in memory To obey is better than sacrifice and to hearken than the fat of Rams but rebellion is as the sinne of witch-craft and stubbornness as idolatry Because thou hast reiected the word of the Lord he hath also reiected thee from beeing
tenne times sought to eat him up to raven all hee could get from him This was the reward he had from his Master for his faithfull service But now God so blessed him for his sincerity in religion that the very Presents he sent his brother Esau were able to make a rich maÌ„ Gen. 32. And of himself hee professeth in the same chapter verse 10 With my staff came I over this Iordan and now have I gotten two bands In regard of men it fared worse with Ioseph though God prospered his Masters house for his sake neither would he hearken to the impudent and importunate suâ—e of his mistresse yet his recompense was disgrace and imprisonment they put his feet in the stockes and the iron entred into his soule But God in stead of the stocks set him in the seat of Iustice and in stead of his fetters put a chaine of gold about his neck I will conclude this point with the exhortation of St. Peter Servants bee subiect to your Masters with all feare not onely to the good and courteous but also to the froward for this is thank-worthy if a man for conscience towards GOD endure grief suffering wrongfully 1. Pet. 2. 18. Secondly as godliness is requisite in a servant in regard of himself so is it in regard of his Master First because if hee feare his Master and not God all that hee doth will bee but eye-service hee will certainely intend his Masters good no further than hee sees it may sort with his owne whereas if God the fear of him bee before his eyes hee is the same man when his Master is absent as if hee were present hee desires and endeavours his best advantage as much though he were a thousand mile off as if hee stood by and lookt on If Gehezi had thought that his Master had been so far indued with a propheticall spirit that hee could have tould him what hee did in so great a distance from him hee would never have taken such paines to run after the Syrian Captaine for a bribe to the disgrace of his Master and the undooing of himself And if Iudas had beleeved our Saviour to have been God and consequently that hee had knowne the thoughts of his heart undoubtedly hee would never have hatched against him such a foule treason within his breast It was nothing that made Achitophel to side as a Rebel with Absolon and to plot against his Master David and Ziba against Mephibosheth but worldly respects and want of true religion Besides as ungodliness in the servant cannot but put the Master in continuall fear both of his estate and person so it serves to infect as wel the children of the house as his fellow-servants wheras on the other side the godliness of one beeing countenanced and incouraged therein serves to shame the lewder sort and to draw-on the well-disposed Thus Daniel beeing admitted into the King of Babylons Court was an instrument for the reforming and converting even of the King Nebuchadnezar himselfe And Ioseph was admitted into the King of Egypts Court that hee might inform his Princes and teach his Senatours wisedom Psal. 125. 22. In the second of Kings and the fift wee read of a poore silly maid but a Iewesse by Nation the onely people of God at that time who being taken captive by the Aramites and serving Naamans wife tolde her Mistris of the Prophet Elisha in Samaria and by that meanes gave occasion to her Lord of going thither and cleansing himselfe from the leprosie both of his bodie and his soule Lastly a godly and religious servant will ever be praying unto God to send a blessing on that worke which he is set about as Abrahams servant did Gen. 24 and so God prospered his journey and the business he was intrusted with accordingly All which considered great reason had our Prophet to say and to double it to promise and to vow it He that walketh in a perfect way he shal serve mee He he Now because the word heer used to Serve in the Originall signifies a free and liberall kind of service it may well bee thought that our Prophet intended not only the admitting of faithfull and godly servants into his family but the advancing of such to the highest offices the placing of them in the chiefest roome of government under him And surely this consideration and promise was no less nay more necessarie then the former in regarde that the good which froÌ„ hence might arise is more publique They that bee of high calling if they bee good and desire their goodness may spread abroad and reach unto others for this purpose may not unâ—ily bee likened to great Cisterns or ponds full of cleare and wholesome water that might bee beneficial to many if there were sound and sweet pipes to convay it whereas on the other side it yeeldeth no benefit at all if the pipes bee stopt nay proves hurtfull if they bee poysoned and corrupted Whereof it commeth to passe that even when there be good Princes yet things doe still continue out of frame as wee see in the dayes of Iosiah a most excellent and carefull King who feared God betimes twice in his dayes reformed religion his remembrance is as the perfume made by the Art of the Apothecarie and as musick at a banquet of wine there was no King before him either after him that like Iosiah turned to God with all his heart as hee did yet were there in his dayes even in the time of his raigne horrible abominations atheisme and contempt of God pride in apparell oppression and cruelty yea much damnable Idolatry notwithstanding the good King by his laws had taken as good order against these as possibly he could The cause of all was that such as were under him in the Common-wealth and in the Church did not that which hee willed and belonged to their place According to that complaint of Zophonie That the Princes were as roaring Lions the Iudges as Wolves in the Evening which leave not the bones till the morrow the Prophets were light and wicked persons and the Priests such as polluted the Sanctuary and had wrested the lawe of God to serve their owne turne And so what marvaile though in a rare Kings daies iniquity overflowed and abounded Esay in like manner prophecied under good Kings Vzziah and Iotham and Hezekiah yet he justly and sorely complaines how farre all things were even then out of order their silver vvas become drosse and their wine mixt with water Cap. 1. 22 and hee addes the reason hereof in the verse following because their Princes that is their chiefe Officers under the the King vvere rebellious and companions of theeves They loved gifts and followed after rewards they iudged not the fatherless neither did the widowes cause come before them The people themselves do so sensibly see and feele this that they reioyce vvhen the righteous bee in authority Prov. 29. 2 whereas cleane contrariwise they sigh and mourne when
the wicked are set up and beare rule as it followes in the same place Thus when Mordecai came out from the King in royall apparell of blew white and with a great Crowne of golde and with a garment of fine linnen purple the whole citie of Susan rejoiced and was glad Ester 8. 15. The counsell therfore of Iethro Exo. 18. 21. was very good and not without just cause approoved of Moses when hee gave advice that not onely his higher Officers Rulers over thousands and hundreds but the inferiours too over fifties and tennes should bee men of courage fearing God dealing truely and hating covâ—tâ—usnesse Their fearing of God was a meanes for them in good causes to put on courage and their hating of couetousness to deale truely which in case they did not the CoÌ„mon-wealth should not onely suffer but Moses should be sure to hear of it For though to private men it bee sufficient if them-selves doe no wrong yet a Prince must provide that none doe it about him or under him the neglect hereof being the chief imputation that was layde to Galbaes charge and tumbled him out of the Empire as being unworthy of government Omnium consensu dignus imperio nisi imperasset Hitherto of the Conditions which our Prophet râ—quires in those whom hee proposed to admit and entertaine as Servants about him as Counsellers to him as Officers under him Now for himselfe he purposes his eyes should bee upon them and that as I take it first for Choyce and secondly for Vse There is an eye of Search and an eye of Favour the one is for the seeking and finding them out that they may serve the other for the countenancing of their persons and rewarding of their service First then for the eye of search and choyce He would not take them up at haphazard nor upon the bare report and commendation of others hee would not presently entertaine them who most importunately sued or made the greatest friends or largest offers these being for the most part sure signes of little desert and lesse conscience in the parties themselves in discharging the duties of those places they sue for Hee that buyeth is thereby shrewdly provoked nay is after a sort openly dispensed withall to sell againe If hee have to doo with the treasure hee will rob and spoyle if with justice he will take bribes if with Church affaires with matter of warre or Civill government it may be hee will goe farther Such will make small account to sell a State or to deliver up a Kingdome Now the King our Prophet speaketh of will for avoyding these mischiefes rather become a suter himselfe to sufficient and able men for the accepting and undergoing of such charges as he knew them fit for neither would hee advance any to the highest roomes of dignity but such as himselfe by experience had found to bee conscionable and faithfull in lower places and if he could not finde such neare him hee would seeke them farther off his eyes should runne through the Land from the one end to the other for the finding of them out Oculi mei ad â—ideles terrae Mine eyes shall bee to the faithfull of the Land Now as his eyes were to them for choyce and entertainement so were they upon them for encouragement reward Lord saith hee who shall dwell in thy tabernacle or who shall rest upon thy holy hill Among other properties this is one Hee that maketh much of them that feare the Lord Psal. 15. 4. And therefore in the very next Psalme vers 3 hee protests that all his delight was upon the Saints that are on the earth and upon such as excell in vertue And againe in the 119. 36 I am a companion of all them that feare thee and keep thy precepts And in speciall of servants of Kings and Princes sayes Salomon in the 14. of Proverbs at the last verse The pleasure of a King is in a wise servant but his wrath shall be toward him that is lewd Neither is it sufficient to make much of them by lookes and countenance and to feed with good words and faire promises but to speake and doe really for them as occasion shall serve they deserve Let thy soule loue a good seruant and defraud him not of his liberty neither leave him a poore man Ecclus. 7. 21. And the reason is given in the 33. of the same booke vers 29. If thou have a faithfull servant intreate him as thy brother for thou hast need of him as of thy selfe Such a Master it seemes Naaman was to his servants which made them call him father Father if the Prophet had commanded thee a great thing wouldest thou not have done it Such was that Centurion in the Gospell who when his servant was sick intreated our Savior to come to him and heale him calling him by the same name which signifies a sonne thereby shewing that good seruants should be as sonnes to their Masters in dutifull obedience and good Masters againe as kinde fathers in loving affection to their servants as remembring that themselues have a father in heaven to whom they must one day render an account of all their actions and with him there is no respect of persons Verse 7. Hee that worketh deceit shall not dwell within my house he that telleth lies shall not tarry in my sight OVr Prophet in the fift verse had promised to banish Slander and Pride heer hee promiseth to take the like order with Deceit and Lying two vices contrary to those two vertues which before hee had vowed to entertain Deceit beeing opposite to Faithfulness and Lying to Godliness These two vices are so common and generall and yet withall so close and subtile that he could not promise utterly to abolish and extinguish them but to deale with them as Physicians doo with pestilent diseases to expell them from the vitall parts upon discovery they should not lodge in the Court nor remaine in the Presence Hee could not alwaies prevent their entrance and abode there for a while deceitfull men beeing as cunning to cover as to work their deceit yet would hee as narrowly as he could seek them out and when he had found them cast them out too Indeed the saying is Turpius eijcitur quà m non admittitur It is more shamefull to cast out a servant than not to admit him But it is as true Tutius eijcitur like a raw morsell that sitteth ill in the stomach he is more safely cast out than retained or if hee be a Retainer non habitabit hee shall not bee in ordinary or if hee bee hee shall not bee of such as ly under my roof or if hee doo non habitabit in interiori domus meae saith Arias Montanus hee shall have no place in my privy-chamber or bed-chamber And for the Lier hee may chance to come into my sight but non prosperabitur saith Musculus hee shall not build his neast there non firmabitur saith Arias Montanus
those words of S. Paul by some referred For as much as I was crafty I took you by guile 2. Cor. 12. 16. Nay though it tend to the outward hinderance and hurt of some I cannot alwaies utterly condemn it It was by a cunning sleight that the Israelites robbed the Egyptians that Ehud slew Eglon and Iehu Baals priests yet they being warranted by Gods counsell and excited by his Spirit what therin they did was in right justifiable Nay more than so in a just and honorable warre where it is lawfull to kill it is not unlawfull by stratagems to deceive Dolus an virtus quis in hoste requirit It was the speech indeed of a Heathen yet approoved by St. Hierome in his Exposition upon Ezek. 17 but with this caution that it be practised without the violating of an oath the breach of promis or the making of a lie Wâ—ich notwithstanding the world too well knoweth and with griefe feeleth it to bee both the doctrine and the practice of the Church of Rome that Faith plighted to Hereticks is not to bee held Which position while she houlds I see not how those whom she accounts Heretiques can either with safety and security or without just fear and manifest danger any way rely upon the contracts made with her or her adherents Their morall or civill honesty may chance ty them to the performance of such oaths but I am sure their religion the strongest bond of conscience doth not Nay if it bee for the good of their Church it dispenseth with the breach and which is more coÌ„mands them to break it It is written by an Italian no stranger to the Court of Rome that the Proverb is Mercatorum est non regum stare iuramentis It is for Merchaunts not Kings to stand to their oathes but from such Merchants of mens soules Libera nos Domine Good Lord deliver us Now the inconveniences and mischiefes which accompany this deceitfulness specially in a servant are these First himself seldome or never thrives by it hee enjoyes not the benefit of that which hee gets by falshod according to that of Salomon Proverb 12. 27. The deceitfull man rosteth not that which he tooke in hunâ—ing and of our Prophet Psal. 58. 9. Or ever their pots bee made hot with thornes so shall indignation vex them as a thing that is raw It shall fare with them as with hunters who many times when they take a prey yet themselves taste not of it or as with meat which the thornes being consumed under the pot is left unsodden and so all their plottes and enterprises become as the untimely fruit of a woman which never sees the sunne And if they come not to publike shame amongst men which for the most part they doe the vizard of their hypocrisie being pluckt off yet God in his due time will not forget them According to that of the Apostle 1. Thes. 4. 6 Let no man oppresse or defraud his brother for God is the avenger of all such things If a man be so mighty to oppresse that the Magistrate wil not lay holde on him or so cunning to defraude that the lawe cannot take holde of him then where man and his lawe cease there God and his lawe begin though they dazle the eyes of men yet the eye of God they cannot and the lesse they feele at the hands of men the heavier shall they feele the hand of God either in their states or in their bodies or in their soules or in their posterity or in all Such a one may flourish for a while like a greene Bay tree but I went by and loe hee was gone I sought him but his place could no vvhere bee found Keepe innocencie then and take heed to the thing that is right for that shall bring a man peace at the last Psal. 37. It is the surest and fairest and likeliest way to bring him to riches and honour in as much as all men desire to deale with him whom they repute honest though themselves bee not such but the undoubted way it is to bring him Peace peace with himselfe and peace with his God without which his riches and honour will doe him little good Nay they will in the ende prove his bane and confusion Another mischiefe that arises from the deceitfulness of a Servant is to his Master specially if hee be a great personage and of eminent note either by bringing-in unjust accounts or by betraying him to his enemies who somtimes preferre a servant that they may thereby worke villany and get intelligence of secrets and so it may come to passe that under a velvet or silke or scarlet cloake a Iesuite or Priest may be entertained or lastly in deceiving others by using his Masters name though without his knowledge or consent yet hee cannot but by that means breed in mens minds an ill conceit in their tongues an il report of his Master It very much then imports great men Princes not onely to observe narrowly such servants as they suspect but for examples sake to punish them severely being detected Such were some of them about the good Emperour Aurelian who by Monopolies and impositions by projects and perquisites enenriched themselves to the impoverishing of the estate and the dishonoring of their Master Nay of him they made a Monopoly too who being let to know no more then what they pleased to informe him was of them by that meanes even bought and sold. But Alexander Severus tooke another course with them who understanding that Vercovius had greatly abused his favour taking much money of diverse to preferre their sutes and dooing nothing for them hee caused him to bee hanged up in a chimney as some write or as others to bee tied in publique to a stake and there to bee stifled with smoake an Herauld proclaiming to the people Fumum vendidit fumo pereat Smoak he solde and with smoak let him perish And if it be observed the greatest Marchants of smoak have ever been found to be the greatest slaterers of their Masters Having mens persons in admiration because of advantage Iude 16. I have dwelt somewhat the longer upon this point because the Court is generally held the Shop the Forge nay the Schoole and Theater of this vice not without good cause then doth our Prophet vow it shall not dwell with him As in the first place hee excludeth working of deceit So doth he in the second telling of lies Hee that telleth lies shall not tarry in my sight Servum nolle mentiri nova religio est Saith one of the antient Comikes And another Is cliens frugi habetur qui neque leges neque aequum bonum unquam colit But this is heathenish divinity or as it may well bee thought they rather spake what men commonly did then what they should doe Once our Prophet I am sure was of another minde though he were an old servant though never so usefull and profitable to him though never so neare